Liv. 22.12.1Dictātor exercitū cōnsulis acceptō ā Fulviō Flaccō lēgātō per agrum Sabīnum Tībur, quō diem ad conveniendum ēdīxerat novīs mīlitibus, vēnit.The dictator, having taken over the consul's army from the legate Fulvius Flaccus, came through the Sabine country to Tibur, where he had proclaimed a day for the new soldiers to assemble. Liv. 22.12.2Inde Praeneste ac trānsversīs līmitibus in viam Latīnam est ēgressus, unde itineribus summā cum cūrā explōrātīs ad hostem dūcit, nūllō locō, nisi quantum necessitās cōgeret, fortūnae sē commissūrus.From there he went to Praeneste and by cross-roads came out onto the Latin Way, from which, having reconnoitred the routes with the greatest care, he leads towards the enemy, intending to commit himself to fortune nowhere except so far as necessity compelled. Liv. 22.12.3Quō prīmum diē haud procul Arpīs in cōnspectū hostium posuit castra, nūllā morā factā, quīn Poenus ēdūceret in aciem cōpiamque pugnandī faceret.On the first day that he pitched camp in sight of the enemy, not far from Arpi, the Carthaginian made no delay in leading out his men into battle line and offering a chance to fight.
Liv. 22.12.4Sed ubi quiēta omnia apud hostēs nec castra ūllō tumultū mōta videt, increpāns quidem, victōs tandem Mārtiōs animōs Rōmānīs dēbellātumque et concessum prōpalam dē virtūte ac glōriā esse, in castra rediit;But when he sees everything quiet among the enemy and their camp stirred by no commotion, taunting them indeed that the martial spirit of the Romans had at last been conquered, that the war was over and they had openly yielded the prize of valour and glory, he returned to his camp; Liv. 22.12.5cēterum tacita cūra animum incessit, quod cum duce haudquāquam Flāminī Semprōnīque similī futūra sibi rēs esset ac tum dēmum ēdoctī malīs Rōmānī parem Hannibalī ducem quaesīssent.but a silent anxiety came over his mind, that he would have to deal with a general in no way like Flaminius and Sempronius, and that the Romans, schooled at last by their misfortunes, had sought out a general equal to Hannibal. Liv. 22.12.6Et prūdentiam quidem dictātōris extemplō timuit;And the dictator's prudence, indeed, he feared at once; Liv. 22.12.6cōnstantiam hauddum expertus agitāre ac temptāre animum movendō crēbrō castra populandōque in oculīs eius agrōs sociōrum coepit;not yet having put his firmness to the test, he began to provoke and try his temper by frequently moving camp and ravaging the allies' lands before his eyes; Liv. 22.12.7et modo citātō agmine ex cōnspectū abībat, modo repente in aliquō flexū viae, sī excipere dēgressum in aequum posset, occultus subsistēbat.and at one moment he would move out of sight with a rapid march, at another he would suddenly halt, hidden, at some bend of the road, in case he could catch him once he had come down onto level ground.
Liv. 22.12.8Fabius per loca alta agmen dūcēbat modicō ab hoste intervallō, ut neque omitteret eum neque congrederētur.Fabius led his column over high ground at a moderate distance from the enemy, so as neither to let him go nor to engage him. Liv. 22.12.8Castrīs, nisi quantum ūsūs necessāriī cōgerent, tenēbātur mīles;The soldiers were kept in camp except so far as necessary needs compelled; Liv. 22.12.8pābulum et ligna nec paucī petēbant nec passim;fodder and wood they sought neither in small parties nor scattered about; Liv. 22.12.9equitum levisque armātūrae statiō conpositā īnstrūctaque in subitōs tumultūs et suō mīlitī tūta omnia et īnfesta effūsīs hostium populātōribus praebēbat;an outpost of cavalry and light infantry, organised and ready for sudden alarms, made everything safe for their own soldiers and dangerous for enemy plunderers who had scattered; Liv. 22.12.10neque ūniversō perīculō summa rērum committēbātur et parva mōmenta levium certāminum ex tūtō coeptōrum fīnitimōque receptū adsuēfaciēbant territum prīstinīs clādibus mīlitem minus iam tandem aut virtūtis aut fortūnae paenitēre suae.the whole fortune of the war was not staked on a general engagement, and the small successes of light skirmishes, begun from a safe position with a retreat close at hand, were accustoming the soldiers, terrified by earlier disasters, at last to think less poorly now of either their courage or their fortune.
Liv. 22.12.11Sed nōn Hannibalem magis īnfestum tam sānīs cōnsiliīs habēbat quam magistrum equitum, quī nihil aliud, quam quod impār erat imperiō, morae ad rem pūblicam praecipitandam habēbat.But he found Hannibal no more hostile to such sound counsels than the master of the horse, who had nothing to hold him back from plunging the state into ruin except that he was subordinate in command. Liv. 22.12.11Ferōx rapidusque cōnsiliīs ac linguā inmodicus prīmō inter paucōs, Dein prōpalam in vulgus prō cūnctātōre segnem, prō cautō timidum, adfingēns vīcīna virtūtibus vitia, compellābat premendōque superiōrem, quae pessima ars nimis prosperīs multōrum successibus crēvit, sēsē extollēbat.Headstrong and hasty in his counsels and unrestrained in his tongue, first among a few, then openly before the crowd, he called him sluggish instead of deliberate, timid instead of cautious, attaching to him the vices that border on virtues; and by running down his superior — the worst of arts, which has grown through the too prosperous success of many — he was exalting himself.