Liv. 22.49.1Parte alterā pugnae Paulus, quamquam prīmō statim proeliō fundā graviter ictus fuerat, tamen et occurrit saepe cum cōnfertīs Hannibalī et aliquot locīs proelium restituit, prōtegentibus eum equitibus Rōmānīs, omissīs postrēmō equīs, quia cōnsulem ad regendum equum vīrēs dēficiēbant.On the other side of the battle Paulus, although he had been badly struck by a sling-stone right at the start of the fighting, nevertheless often met Hannibal with his men in close order and restored the fight in several places, the Roman cavalry protecting him, until at last they gave up their horses, because the consul lacked the strength to manage his horse. Liv. 22.49.3Tum nūntiantī cuidam, iussisse cōnsulem ad pedēs dēscendere equitēs, dīxisse Hannibalem ferunt " quam māllem, vinctōs mihi trāderet."Then, when someone reported that the consul had ordered the horsemen to dismount, Hannibal is said to have remarked: 'How much rather would I have him hand them over to me in chains!' Liv. 22.49.3Equitum pedestre proelium, quāle iam haud dubiā hostium victōriā, fuit, cum victī morī in vestīgiō māllent quam fugere, victōrēs morantibus victōriam īrātī trucīdārent, quōs pellere nōn poterant.The cavalry fought on foot, as one would expect when the enemy's victory was no longer in doubt, since the beaten preferred to die where they stood rather than flee, and the victors, angry with those who were delaying their victory, butchered the men they could not dislodge.
Liv. 22.49.5Pepulērunt tamen iam paucōs superantīs et labōre ac vulneribus fessōs.Yet they did dislodge them, by now few survivors, exhausted by toil and wounds. Liv. 22.49.5Inde dissipātī omnēs sunt, equōsque ad fugam quī poterant repetēbant.Then all were scattered, and those who could were making for their horses again to escape. Liv. 22.49.6Cn. Lentulus tribūnus mīlitum cum praetervehēns equō sedentem in saxō cruōre opplētum cōnsulem vīdisset, "L. Aemilī," inquit "quem ūnum īnsontem culpae clādis hodiernae deī respicere dēbent, cape hunc equum, dum et tibi vīrium aliquid superest et comes ego tē tollere possum ac prōtegere.Gnaeus Lentulus, a military tribune, as he rode past and saw the consul sitting on a stone, covered in blood, said: 'Lucius Aemilius, you whom alone the gods should look upon with favour as guiltless of today's disaster, take this horse, while you still have some strength left and I am here beside you to lift you up and protect you. Liv. 22.49.8Nē fūnestam hanc pugnam morte cōnsulis fēcerīs;Do not make this battle a day of mourning by the death of a consul; Liv. 22.49.8etiam sine hōc lacrimārum satis lūctusque est."even without that there are tears and grief enough.' Liv. 22.49.8Ad ea cōnsul: "tū quidem, Cn. Cornēlī, macte virtūte estō;To this the consul replied: 'All honour to your courage, Gnaeus Cornelius; Liv. 22.49.9sed cavē frūstrā miserandō exiguum tempus ē manibus hostium ēvādendī absūmās.but take care not to waste in useless pity the little time you have to escape from the enemy's hands.
Liv. 22.49.10Abī, nūntiā pūblicē patribus, urbem Rōmānam mūniant ac, priusquam victor hostis advenit, praesidiīs firment;Go, and tell the senators publicly that they must fortify the city of Rome and, before the victorious enemy arrives, strengthen it with garrisons; Liv. 22.49.10prīuātim Q. Fabiō, L. Aemilium praeceptōrum eius memorem et vīxisse adhūc et morī.and tell Quintus Fabius privately that Lucius Aemilius has lived until now, and is dying, mindful of his precepts. Liv. 22.49.11Mē in hāc strāge mīlitum meōrum patēre expīrāre, nē aut reus iterum ē cōnsulātūsim aut accūsātor collēgae existam ut, aliēnō crilatu sim aut accūsātor collēgae existam ut, aliēnō crīmine innocentiam meam prōtegam protegam."Let me breathe my last amid this slaughter of my soldiers, so that I may not either stand trial a second time after my consulship or come forward as my colleague's accuser, protecting my own innocence by charging another.' Liv. 22.49.12Haec eōs agentīs prius turba fugientium cīvium, deinde hostēs oppressēre;While they were thus engaged, first a crowd of fleeing citizens, then the enemy, overwhelmed them; Liv. 22.49.12cōnsulem ignōrantēs, quis esset, obruēre tēlīs, Lentulum inter tumultum abripuit equus.not knowing who the consul was, they buried him under missiles; Lentulus was carried off by his horse amid the confusion.
Liv. 22.49.12Tum undique effūsē fugiunt.Then on every side they flee in disorder. Liv. 22.49.13Septem mīlia hominum in minōra castra decem in maiōra, duo ferme in vīcum ipsum Cannās;Seven thousand men into the smaller camp, ten thousand into the larger, about two thousand into the village of Cannae itself; Liv. 22.49.13— perfūgērunt, quī extemplō ā Carthalōne atque equitibus nūllō mūnīmentō tegente vīcum circumventī sunt.these fled for refuge, and the last were at once surrounded by Carthalo and the cavalry, since no fortification protected the village. Liv. 22.49.14Cōnsul alter, seu forte seu cōnsiliō nūllī fugientium īnsertus agminī, cum quīnquāgintā ferē equitibus Uenusiam perfūgit.The other consul, whether by chance or by design not caught up in any column of fugitives, escaped to Venusia with about fifty horsemen. Liv. 22.49.15Quadrāgintā quīnque mīlia quīngentī peditēs, duo mīlia septingentī equitēs et tantadem prope cīvium sociōrumque pars caesī dīcuntur;Forty-five thousand five hundred infantry and two thousand seven hundred cavalry, citizens and allies in almost equal parts, are said to have been killed; Liv. 22.49.15in hīs ambō cōnsulum quaestōrēs, L. Atīlius et L. Fūrius Bibāculus, et ūndētrīgintā tribūnī mīlitum, cōnsulārēs quīdam praetōriīque et aedīliciī — inter eōs Cn. Servīlium Geminum et M. Minucium numerant, quī magister equitum priōre annō, aliquot annīs ante cōnsul fuerat — , octōgintā praetereā aut senātōrēs aut quī eōs magistrātūs gessissent, unde in senātum legī dēbērent, cum suā voluntāte mīlitēs in legiōnibus factī essent.among them both the consuls' quaestors, Lucius Atilius and Lucius Furius Bibaculus, and twenty-nine military tribunes, some of them former consuls, praetors and aediles (among these they count Gnaeus Servilius Geminus and Marcus Minucius, who had been master of horse the year before and consul some years earlier), and in addition eighty men who were either senators or had held the magistracies from which they ought to be chosen into the senate, since they had of their own will become soldiers in the legions.
Liv. 22.49.18Capta eō proeliō tria mīlia peditum et equitēs mīlle et quīngentī dīcuntur.Three thousand infantry and fifteen hundred cavalry are said to have been captured in that battle.