Liv. 22.29.1Tum Fabius prīmō clamōre paventium audītō, Dein cōnspectā procul turbātā aciē " ita est," inquit " celerius quam timuī dēprendit fortūna temeritātem.Then Fabius, hearing first the shouts of the terrified men, and then seeing the line in disorder in the distance, said: 'So it is: fortune has caught up with rashness sooner than I feared. Liv. 22.29.2Fabiō aequātus imperiō Hannibalem et virtūte et fortūnā superiōrem videt.Made equal to Fabius in command, he sees Hannibal his superior in both courage and fortune. Liv. 22.29.2Sed aliud iūrgandī suscēnsendīque tempus erit;But there will be another time for reproaches and anger; Liv. 22.29.2nunc signa extrā vallum prōferte: victōriam hostī extorqueāmus, cōnfessiōnem errōris cīvibus."now carry the standards outside the rampart: let us wrest victory from the enemy, and an admission of error from our fellow citizens.' Liv. 22.29.3Iam magnā ex parte caesīs aliīs, aliīs circumspectantibus fugam Fabiāna sē aciēs repente velut caelō dēmissa ad auxilium ostendit.Some had already been cut down in great numbers, others were looking round for escape, when the Fabian line suddenly showed itself, as if sent down from heaven to their aid.
Liv. 22.29.4Itaque priusquam ad coniectum tēlī venīret aut manum cōnsereret, et suōs ā fugā effūsā et ab nimis ferōcī pugnā hostīs continuit.So, before it came within javelin range or joined battle, it checked both its own side from headlong flight and the enemy from fighting too fiercely. Liv. 22.29.4Quī solūtīs ōrdinibus vage dissipātī erant, undique cōnfūgērunt ad integram aciem;Those who had broken ranks and scattered in all directions fled from every side to the fresh line; Liv. 22.29.4quī plūrēs simul terga dederant, conversī in hostem volventēsque orbem nunc sēnsim referre pedem, nunc conglobātī restāre.those who had turned their backs in larger groups faced about towards the enemy and, forming a circle, now gave ground slowly, now massed together and stood firm. Liv. 22.29.5Ac iam prope ūna aciēs facta erat victī atque integrī exercitūs īnferēbantque signa in hostem, cum Poenus receptuī cecinit, palam ferente Hannibale ab sē Minucium, sē ab Fabiō victum.And by now the beaten army and the fresh one had almost become one line and were advancing on the enemy, when the Carthaginian sounded the retreat, Hannibal openly declaring that he had beaten Minucius but had been beaten by Fabius.
Liv. 22.29.7Ita per variam fortūnam diēī maiōre parte exāctā cum in castra reditum esset, Minucius convocātīs mīlitibus " saepe ego" inquit "audīvī, mīlitēs, eum prīmum esse virum, quī ipse cōnsulat, quid in rem sit, secundum eum, quī bene monentī oboediat;So when, the greater part of the day having been spent amid changing fortune, they had returned to camp, Minucius called his soldiers together and said: 'I have often heard, soldiers, that the first man is he who himself advises what is useful, the second he who obeys one who advises well; Liv. 22.29.8quī nec ipse cōnsulere nec alterī pārēre sciat, eum extrēmī ingeniī esse.and that he who knows neither how to advise himself nor how to obey another is of the lowest intelligence. Liv. 22.29.9Nōbīs quoniam prīma animī ingeniīque negāta sors est, secundam ac mediam teneāmus et, dum imperāre discimus, pārēre prūdentī in animum indūcāmus.Since the first rank of spirit and intelligence has been denied to us, let us hold the second, the middle one, and, while we learn to command, let us bring ourselves to obey a wise man. Liv. 22.29.10Castra cum Fabiō iungāmus: ad praetōrium eius signa cum tulerimus, ubi ego eum parentem appellāverō, quod beneficiō eius ergā nōs ac maiestāte eius dignum est, vōs, mīlitēs, eōs, quōrum vōs modo arma ac dexterae tēxērunt, patrōnōs salūtābitis, et, sī nihil aliud, grātōrum certē nōbīs animōrum glōriam diēs hic dederit."Let us join our camp to Fabius': when we have carried our standards to his headquarters, when I have called him father, as befits his kindness towards us and his dignity, you, soldiers, will greet as patrons those whose arms and right hands have just now protected you; and, if nothing else, this day will at least have given us the glory of grateful hearts.'