Liv. 22.42.1Ubi inlūxit, subductae prīmō statiōnēs, deinde propius adeuntibus īnsolitum silentium admīrātiōnem fēcit.When it grew light, first the outposts were seen to have been withdrawn, then, as men came nearer, the unusual silence caused astonishment. Liv. 22.42.2Tum satis compertā sōlitūdine in castrīs concursus fit ad praetōria cōnsulum nūntiantium fugam hostium adeō trepidam, ut tabernāculīs stantibus castra relīquerint, quoque fuga obscūrior esset, crēbrōs etiam relictōs ignīs.Then, when the emptiness of the camp had been sufficiently established, there was a rush to the consuls' headquarters by men announcing that the enemy's flight had been so panicked that they had left the camp with the tents standing, and that, to make the flight less noticeable, numerous fires had even been left. Liv. 22.42.3Clamor inde ortus, ut signa prōferrī iubērent dūcerentque ad persequendōs hostīs ac prōtinus castra dīripienda.Then a clamour arose for them to order the standards to be carried forward and to lead the men in pursuit of the enemy and to the immediate plunder of the camp. Liv. 22.42.3Et cōnsul alter velut ūnus turbae mīlitāris erat;And one of the consuls was like one of the soldiers' mob; Liv. 22.42.4Paulus etiam atque etiam dīcere prōvidendum praecavendumque esse;Paulus kept saying again and again that they must look ahead and take precautions; Liv. 22.42.4postrēmō, cum aliter neque sēditiōnem neque ducem sēditiōnis sustinēre posset, Marium Statilium praefectum cum turmā Lūcānā explōrātum mittit.finally, when he could hold back neither the mutiny nor the leader of the mutiny in any other way, he sends Marius Statilius, a prefect, with a Lucanian troop to reconnoitre.
Liv. 22.42.5Quī ubi adequitāvit portīs subsistere extrā mūnīmenta cēterīs iussīs ipse cum duōbus equitibus vallum intrāvit, speculātusque omnia cum cūrā renūntiat īnsidiās profectō esse: ignēs in parte castrōrum, quae vergat in hostem, relictōs;When he had ridden up to the gates, he ordered the rest to halt outside the fortifications and himself entered the rampart with two horsemen; and having examined everything with care, he reports that there was certainly an ambush: fires had been left in the part of the camp facing the enemy; Liv. 22.42.6tabernācula aperta et omnia cāra in prōmptū relicta;the tents were open and everything of value left in plain view; Liv. 22.42.6argentum quibusdam locīs temerē per viās velut obiectum ad praedam vīdisse.he had seen silver in some places scattered carelessly along the paths, as if thrown out as bait for plunder. Liv. 22.42.7Quae ad dēterrendōs ā cupiditāte animōs nūntiāta erant, ea accendērunt, et clamōre ortō ā mīlitibus, nī signum dētur, sine ducibus itūrōs, haudquāquam dux dēfuit: nam extemplō Varrō signum dedit proficīscendī.What had been reported to deter their minds from greed inflamed them, and when a shout went up from the soldiers that, unless the signal was given, they would go without leaders, a leader was by no means lacking: for Varro at once gave the signal to march.
Liv. 22.42.8Paulus, cum eī suā sponte cūnctantī pullī quoque auspiciō nōn addīxissent, nūntiārī iam efferentī portā signa collēgae iussit.Paulus, since the sacred chickens too had refused their approval in the auspices while he was already hesitating of his own accord, ordered this to be reported to his colleague as he was already leading the standards out of the gate. Liv. 22.42.9Quod quamquam Varrō aegrē est passus, Flāminī tamen recēns cāsus Claudīque cōnsulis prīmō Pūnicō bellō memorāta nāvālis clādēs religiōnem animō incussit.Although Varro took this badly, yet the recent fate of Flaminius and the remembered naval disaster of the consul Claudius in the First Punic War struck religious fear into his mind. Liv. 22.42.10Dī prope ipsī eō diē magis distulēre quam prohibuēre inminentem pestem Rōmānīs: nam forte ita ēvēnit, ut, cum referrī signa in castra iubentī cōnsulī mīlitēs nōn pārērent, servī duo, Formiānī ūnus, alter Sidicīnī equitis, quī Servīliō atque Atīliō cōnsulibus inter pābulātōrēs exceptī ā Numidīs fuerant, profugerent eō diē ad dominōs;On that day the gods themselves almost postponed rather than prevented the ruin hanging over the Romans: for it happened by chance that, when the soldiers would not obey the consul ordering the standards to be carried back into camp, two slaves, one belonging to a horseman of Formiae, the other to one of Sidicinum, who had been captured by Numidians among the foragers in the consulship of Servilius and Atilius, escaped that day to their masters; Liv. 22.42.11dēductīque ad cōnsulēs nūntiant omnem exercitum Hannibalis trāns proximōs montēs sedēre in īnsidiīs.and, brought before the consuls, they report that Hannibal's whole army was sitting in ambush beyond the nearest mountains.
Liv. 22.42.12Hōrum opportūnus adventus cōnsulēs imperiī potentēs fēcit, cum ambitiō alterīus suam prīmum apud eōs prāvā indulgentiā maiestātem solvisset.Their timely arrival made the consuls masters of their command, after one of them, courting popularity, had first undermined his own authority with them by misguided indulgence.