ack the Roman lines. Great tumult and disturbance was produced
by this, but one of the tribunes, by name Flavius, seizing a standard,
stood his ground, and struck the first elephant with the spiked end of
the staff, till he forced him to turn back. He then attacked the next
one, and those that followed. Marcellus, seeing this, ordered his
cavalry to ride as fast as they could to the scene of the confusion
and complete the rout of the enemy. They charged briskly and pursued
the flying Carthaginians, cutting them down up to their very camp.
Great havoc was wrought by the wounded elephants among them; and in
all, over eight thousand are said to have perished. Of the Roman force
three thousand were killed, and almost all the survivors were wounded,
which circumstance enabled Hannibal to leave his camp by night
unmolested, and remove himself from the neighbourhood of Marcellus;
for Marcellus could not pursue, because of the number of wounded, but
marched in a leisurely manner towards Campania, and passed the summer
at Sinuessa, recruiting the health of his soldiers.

XXVII. Hannibal, after he had thus torn himself free from Marcellus,
sent his army to plunder Italy as recklessly as though it were
disbanded; and in Rome Marcellus was ill spoken of. His enemies
induced Publius Bibulus, a clever and violent partisan, to attack him.
This man frequently addressed assemblies of the people and urged them
to transfer the command to another general, since "Marcellus," he
said, "after a little sparring with the enemy had gone to the hot
baths to refresh himself as if after a gymnastic contest." Marcellus,
hearing of this, left the army in charge of his legates, and went to
Rome to clear his reputation from these slanders; but, in consequence
of them he found that he was to undergo a trial. A day was fixed; the
people assembled in the Circus Flaminius; Bibulus rose and impeached
him. Marcellus spoke shortly and simply in his own defence, but the
highest and noblest citizens spoke at great length in his praise,
calling on the people not to show themselves by their vote worse
judges of war than Hannibal, who was always as eager to avoid fighting
with Marcellus, as he was to fight with other generals. After these
speeches had been delivered the accuser was proved to be so far wrong
in his impeachment, that Marcellus was not only honourably acquitted,
but actually elected consul for the fifth time.

XXVIII. On assuming his office, he firs