[9,3] Καίσων δὲ Φάβιος ὁ ἕτερος τῶν ὑπάτων, οὐδενὸς χεῖρον στρατηγήσας, ἀφῃρέθη τὸν ἐκ τῶν ἔργων ἔπαινον παρ´ οὐδὲν ἁμάρτημα ἴδιον, ἀλλ´ ὅτι τὸ δημοτικὸν οὐκ εἶχε κεχαρισμένον αὐτῷ, ἐξ οὗ τὸν ὕπατον Κάσσιον ἐπὶ τῇ τυραννίδι προσαγγείλας ἀπέκτεινεν. οὔτε γὰρ ὅσα δέοι σὺν τάχει στρατηγῷ κελεύσαντι τοὺς ὑπηκόους πειθαρχεῖν, οὔθ´ ὅσα τῷ προθύμῳ καὶ πρέποντι χρησαμένους βίᾳ κατασχεῖν, οὔθ´ ὅσα λάθρα τῶν ἀντιπολεμίων χωρία εἰς πλεονεξίαν εὔθετα σφετερίσασθαι, οὔτ´ ἄλλο πράττειν οὐδὲν ἕτοιμοι ἦσαν, ἐξ οὗ τιμήν τινα ὁ στρατηγὸς καὶ δόξαν ἀγαθὴν ἐξοίσεσθαι ἔμελλε. καὶ τἆλλα μὲν αὐτῶν, ὅσα ὑβρίζοντες τὸν ἡγεμόνα διετέλουν, ἐκείνῳ θ´ ἧττον λυπηρὰ ἦν καὶ τῇ πόλει βλάβης οὐ μεγάλης ἄξια, ὃ δὲ τελευτῶντες ἐξειργάσαντο κίνδυνον οὐ μικρὸν ἤνεγκε καὶ πολλὴν αἰσχύνην ἀμφοῖν. γενομένης γὰρ παρατάξεως ἐν τῷ μεταξὺ τῶν λόφων, ἐφ´ οἷς ἦσαν ἐστρατοπεδευκότες ἀμφότεροι, πάσῃ τῇ παρ´ ἑκατέρων δυνάμει, πολλὰ καὶ καλὰ ἔργα ἀποδειξάμενοι καὶ τοὺς πολεμίους ἀναγκάσαντες ἄρξαι φυγῆς, οὔτ´ ἠκολούθησαν ἀπιοῦσι τοῦ στρατηγοῦ πολλὰ ἐπικελεύοντος οὔτε παραμείναντες ἐκπολιορκῆσαι τὸν χάρακα ἠθέλησαν, ἀλλ´ ἐάσαντες ἀτελὲς ἔργον καλὸν ἀπῄεσαν εἰς τὴν αὑτῶν στρατοπεδείαν. ἐπιχειρησάντων δ´ αὐτοκράτορα τὸν ὕπατον ἀναγορεῦσαί τινων μέγα ἐμβοήσαντες ἀθρόοι κακιζούσῃ τῇ φωνῇ τὸν ἡγεμόνα ἐλοιδόρουν, ὡς πολλοὺς σφῶν καὶ ἀγαθοὺς ἀπολωλεκότα δι´ ἀπειρίαν τοῦ στρατηγεῖν· καὶ ἄλλῃ πολλῇ βλασφημίᾳ καὶ ἀγανακτήσει χρησάμενοι λύειν τὸν χάρακα καὶ ἀπάγειν σφᾶς εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἠξίουν, ὡς οὐχ ἱκανοὺς ἐσομένους, ἐὰν ἐπίωσιν οἱ πολέμιοι, δευτέραν ὑπομεῖναι μάχην. καὶ οὔτε μεταδιδάσκοντος ἐπείθοντο τοῦ ἡγεμόνος, οὔτ´ ὀλοφυρομένου καὶ ἱκετεύοντος ἔπασχόν τι πρὸς τὰς δεήσεις, οὔτ´ ἀπειλὰς καὶ ἀνατάσεις, ὁπότε καὶ ταύταις χρήσαιτο, δι´ εὐλαβείας ἐλάμβανον, ἀλλὰ πρὸς ἅπαντα τραχυνόμενοι ταῦτα διέμενον. τοσαύτη δ´ ἀναρχία καὶ καταφρόνησις τοῦ ἡγεμόνος πᾶσιν ἐξ αὐτῶν παρέστη, ὥστε περὶ μέσας νύκτας ἐξαναστάντες τάς τε σκηνὰς ἔλυον καὶ τὰ ὅπλα ἀνελάμβανον καὶ τοὺς τραυματίας ἐβάσταζον οὐδενὸς κελεύσαντος.

[9,3] Caeso Fabius, the other consul, though as a general his performance was second to none, was nevertheless deprived of the praise that his achievements deserved, not through any fault of his own, but because he did not enjoy the goodwill of the plebeians from the time when he had denounced and put to death the consul Cassius for aiming at a tyranny. For they never showed any alacrity either in those matters in which men under authority ought to yield a prompt obedience to the orders of their general, or when they should through eagerness and a sense of duty seize positions by force, or when it was necessary (p295) to occupy advantageous positions without the knowledge of the enemy, or in anything else from which the general would derive any honour and good repute. Most of their conduct, to be sure, by which they were continually insulting their general was neither very troublesome to him nor the occasion of any great harm to the commonwealth; but their final action brought no small danger and great disgrace to both. For when the two armies had arrayed themselves in battle order in the space between the hills on which their camps were placed, using all the forces on either side, and the Romans had performed many gallant deeds and forced the enemy to begin flight, they neither pursued them as they retreated, notwithstanding the repeated exhortations of the general, nor were they willing to remain and think the enemy's camp by siege; on the contrary, they left a glorious action unfinished and returned to their own camp. And when some of the soldiers attempted to salute the consul as imperator, all the rest joined in a loud outcry, reproaching and taunting their commander with the loss of many of their brave comrades through his want of ability to command; and after many other insulting and indignant remarks they demanded that he break camp and lead them back to Rome, pretending that they would be unable, if the enemy attacked them, to sustain a second battle. And they neither gave heed when their commander endeavoured to show them the error of their course, nor were moved by his entreaties when he turned to lamentations and supplications, nor were they alarmed by the violence of his threats when he made (p297) use of these too; but they continued exasperated in the face of all these appeals. Indeed, some of them were possessed with such a spirit of disobedience and such contempt for their general that they rose up about midnight and without orders from anyone proceeded to strike their tents, take up their arms, and carry off their wounded.