Ab urbe condita

These fresh troops checked the advance of the Samnites, who were now pressing forward. Just at this moment the standards were descried on the hills, and a fresh battle-shout arose from the Roman ranks.

The alarm which was created among the Samnites was greater than circumstances warranted, for Fabius exclaimed that his colleague Decius was coming, and every soldier, wild with

joy, took up the cry and shouted that the other consul with his legions was at hand.

This mistake occurring so opportunely filled the Samnites with dismay; they dreaded, exhausted as they were by fighting, the prospect of being overwhelmed by a second army, fresh and unhurt. Unable to offer any further resistance they broke and fled, and owing to their scattered flight, the bloodshed was small when compared with the greatness of the victory; 3400 were killed, about 830 made prisoners, and 23 standards were captured.

Before this battle took place the Samnites would have been joined by the Apulians had not the consul Decius anticipated their action by fixing his camp at Maleventum.

He drew them into an engagement and routed them, and in this battle also there were more who escaped by flight than were slain; these amounted to 2000. Without troubling himself further about the Apulians, Decius led his army into Samnium.

There the two consular armies spent five months in ravaging and desolating the country.

There were forty-five different places in Samnium where Decius at one time or another had fixed his camp; in the case of the other consul there were eightysix.