[9,11] Ὡς δ´ εἰς τὸ πεδίον ἀμφότεροι κατέστησαν, καὶ τὸ πολεμικὸν ἐσήμηναν αἱ σάλπιγγες, ἔθεον ἀλαλάξαντες ὁμόσε· καὶ συμπεσόντες ἀλλήλοις ἱππεῖς ἱππεῦσι καὶ πεζοὶ πεζοῖς ἐμάχοντο, καὶ πολὺς ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων ἐγίνετο φόνος. οἱ μὲν οὖν τὸ δεξιὸν ἔχοντες τῶν Ῥωμαίων κέρας, οὗ τὴν ἡγεμονίαν εἶχεν ὁ ἕτερος τῶν ὑπάτων Μάλλιος, ἐξέωσαν τὸ καθ´ ἑαυτοὺς μέρος, καὶ καταβάντες ἀπὸ τῶν ἵππων ἐμάχοντο πεζοί. οἱ δ´ ἐν τῷ εὐωνύμῳ κέρατι ταχθέντες ὑπὸ τοῦ δεξιοῦ τῶν πολεμίων ἐκυκλοῦντο. ἦν γὰρ ἡ Τυρρηνῶν φάλαγξ κατὰ τοῦτο τὸ χωρίον ὑπερπετής τε καὶ οὐκ ὀλίγῳ μείζων τῆς ἑτέρας. παρερρήγνυτο δὴ ταύτῃ τὸ Ῥωμαικὸν στράτευμα καὶ πολλὰς πληγὰς ἐλάμβανεν. ἡγεῖτο δὲ τούτου κέρως Κόιντος Φάβιος, πρεσβευτὴς καὶ ἀντιστράτηγος ὤν, ὁ δὶς ὑπατεύσας· καὶ μέχρι πολλοῦ ἀντεῖχε τραύματα λαμβάνων παντοδαπά, ἔπειτα λόγχῃ βληθεὶς εἰς τὰ στέρνα μέχρι τῶν σπλάγχνων ἐλθούσης τῆς αἰχμῆς ἔξαιμος γενόμενος πίπτει. ὡς δὲ τοῦτ´ ἤκουσεν ὁ ἕτερος τῶν ὑπάτων, Μάρκος Φάβιος - ἦν δὲ κατὰ μέσην τὴν φάλαγγα τεταγμένος - τοὺς κρατίστους τῶν λόχων ἀναλαβὼν καὶ τὸν ἕτερον τῶν ἀδελφῶν Καίσωνα Φάβιον ἀνακαλεσάμενος, παρήλαυνεν {ἐπὶ} τὴν ἑαυτοῦ φάλαγγα καὶ μέχρι πολλοῦ προελθών, ἐπειδὴ παρήλλαξεν τὸ δεξιὸν τῶν πολεμίων κέρας, ἤλαυνεν ἐπὶ τοὺς κυκλουμένους. ἐμπεσὼν δ´ αὐτοῖς φόνον τε τοῖς ἐν χερσὶ ποιεῖ πολὺν καὶ φυγὴν τῶν πρόσω, τόν τ´ ἀδελφὸν ἔτι ἐμπνέοντα καταλαβὼν αἴρεται. ἐκεῖνος μὲν οὖν οὐ πολὺν ἔτι χρόνον ἐπιβιοὺς ἀποθνήσκει· τοῖς δὲ τιμωροῦσιν αὐτῷ θυμὸς ἔτι πλείων παρέστη καὶ μείζων πρὸς τὸ ἀντίπαλον· καὶ οὐδὲν ἔτι τῆς ἰδίας ψυχῆς προνοούμενοι σὺν ὀλίγοις εἰς μέσους ἐμπεσόντες τοὺς μάλιστα συνεστηκότας τῶν πολεμίων, σωροὺς ἐξεπλήρουν νεκρῶν. κατὰ μὲν δὴ τοῦτο τὸ μέρος ἔκαμεν ἡ Τυρρηνῶν φάλαγξ, καὶ οἱ πρότερον ὠσάμενοι τοὺς πολεμίους ὑπὸ τῶν κεκρατημένων ἀνεκόπησαν. οἱ δὲ τὸ εὐώνυμον ἔχοντες κέρας κάμνοντες ἤδη καὶ φυγῆς ἄρχοντες, {ἔνθα ὁ Μάλλιος ἦν} ἐτρέψαντο τοὺς καθ´ ἑαυτούς. παλτῷ γάρ τις βαλὼν τὸν Μάλλιον διὰ τοῦ γόνατος ἄχρι τῆς ἰγνύας διήρεισε τὴν λόγχην· καὶ τὸν μὲν οἱ πέριξ ἄραντες ἐπὶ τὴν παρεμβολὴν ἀπεκόμιζον, οἱ δὲ πολέμιοι τὸν ἡγεμόνα τῶν Ῥωμαίων τεθνηκέναι δόξαντες ἐπερρώσθησαν, καὶ παραβοηθησάντων αὐτοῖς τῶν ἑτέρων ἐνέκειντο τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις οὐκ ἔχουσιν ἡγεμόνα. ἠναγκάσθησαν δὲ πάλιν οἱ Φάβιοι καταλιπόντες τὸ εὐώνυμον κέρας τῷ δεξιῷ βοηθεῖν· καὶ οἱ Τυρρηνοὶ προσιόντας αὐτοὺς στίφει καρτερῷ μαθόντες τῆς μὲν ἐπὶ πλέον διώξεως ἀποτρέπονται, πυκνώσαντες δὲ τοὺς λόχους ἐμάχοντο ἐν τάξει, καὶ πολλοὺς μὲν τῶν σφετέρων ἀπέβαλον, πολλοὺς δὲ καὶ τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἀπέκτειναν.

[9,11] When both armies had come into the plain and the trumpets had sounded the charge, they raised their war-cries and ran to close quarters; and engaging, horse with horse and foot with foot, they fought there, and great was the slaughter on both sides. The troops on the right wing of the Romans, commanded by Manlius, one of the consuls, repulsed the part of the enemy that stood opposite to them, and quitting their horses, fought on foot. But those on the left wing were being surrounded by the enemy's (p321) right wing,since the Tyrrhenians' line at this point outflanked that of the Romans and was considerably deeper. Thus the Roman army was being broken in this sector and was receiving many blows. This wing was commanded by Quintus Fabius, who was a legate and proconsul and had been twice consul. He maintained the fight for a long time, receiving wounds of all kinds till, being struck in the breast by a spear, the point of which pierced his bowels, he fell through loss of blood. When Marcus Fabius, the other consul, who commanded in the centre, was informed of this, he took with him the best of the centuries, and summoning Caeso Fabius, his other brother, he passed beyond his own line, and advancing a long way, till he had got beyond the enemy's right wing, he turned upon those who were encircling his men, and charging them, caused great slaughter among all whom he encountered, and also put to flight those who were at a distance; and finding his brother still breathing, he took him up.The man lived only a short time after that; but his death filled his avengers with still more and greater anger against the foe and, heedless now of their own lives, they rushed with a few followers into the densest ranks of the enemy and made large heaps of their dead bodies.In this part of their line, therefore, the (p323) Tyrrhenians were hard pressed, and those who earlier had forced their enemies to give ground were now repulsed by those they had conquered; but those on the left wing, where Manlius was, though they were already in distress and beginning to flee, put their opponents to flight. For when Manlius had been struck in the knee with a javelin by an opponent who thrust the point through to the hamstrings, and those about him took him up and were carrying him back to the camp, the enemy, believing the Roman commander to be dead, took heart and, the rest coming to their assistance, pressed hard upon the Romans who now had no commander.This obliged the Fabii to quit their left wing once more and rush to the relief of the right; and the Tyrrhenians, learning that they were approaching in a strong body, gave over further pursuit, and closing their ranks, fought in good order, losing a large number of their own men, but also killing many of the Romans.