Liv. 22.17.1Prīmīs tenebrīs silentiō mōta castra;At first dark the camp was moved in silence; Liv. 22.17.1bovēs aliquantō ante signa āctī.the oxen were driven some way ahead of the standards. Liv. 22.17.2Ubi ad rādīcēs montium viāsque angustās ventum est, signum extemplō datur, ut accēnsīs cornibus armenta in adversōs concitentur montēs;When they came to the foot of the mountains and the narrow roads, the signal is at once given to set the horns alight and drive the herds up the mountains in front of them; Liv. 22.17.2et metus ipse relūcentis flammae ā capite calorque iam ad vīvum ad īmaque cornua veniēns velut stimulātōs furōre agēbat bovēs.and the very fear of the flame flaring from their heads, and the heat now reaching the quick at the roots of the horns, drove the oxen on as if goaded by madness. Liv. 22.17.3Quō repente discursū haud secus quam silvīs montibusque accēnsīs omnia circā virgulta uīsa ārdēre, capitumque irrita quassātiō excitāns flammam hominum passim discurrentium speciem praebēbat.At this sudden scattering all the brushwood around seemed to be burning, just as if the woods and mountains had been set on fire, and the vain tossing of their heads, fanning the flames, gave the appearance of men running about in every direction.
Liv. 22.17.4Quī ad trānsitum saltūs īnsīdendum locātī erant, ubi in summīs montibus ac super sē quōsdam ignēs cōnspēxēre, circumventōs sē esse ratī praesidiō excessēre;Those who had been posted to hold the crossing of the pass, when they saw some fires on the mountaintops and above themselves, thinking they had been surrounded, left their post; Liv. 22.17.4quā minimē dēnsae micābant flammae, velut tūtissimum iter petentēs summa montium iuga, tamen in quōsdam bovēs pālātōs ā suīs gregibus incidērunt.making for the highest ridges of the mountains, where the flames twinkled least thickly, as if that were the safest way, they nonetheless ran into some oxen that had strayed from their herds. Liv. 22.17.4Et prīmō cum procul cernerent, velutī flammās spīrantium mīrāculō attonitī cōnstitērunt;And at first, when they saw them from afar, they stood still, thunderstruck at the marvel of creatures that seemed to breathe flames; Liv. 22.17.5deinde ut hūmāna appāruit fraus, tum vērō, īnsidiās ratī esse, cum maiōre tumultū concitant sē in fugam.then, when it became clear that the trick was a human one, thinking that there was an ambush, they took to flight in even greater panic.
Liv. 22.17.6Levī quoque armātūrae hostium incurrēre;They ran into the enemy's light-armed troops as well; Liv. 22.17.6cēterum nox aequātō timōre neutrōs pugnam incipientīs ad lūcem tenuit.but the night, making the fear equal, kept both sides from starting a fight until daylight. Liv. 22.17.7Intereā tōtō agmine Hannibal trānsductō per saltum et quibusdam in ipsō saltū hostium oppressīs in agrō Allīfānō posuit castra.Meanwhile Hannibal, having brought his whole column through the pass and overwhelmed some of the enemy in the pass itself, pitched camp in the territory of Allifae.