But though our men were superior to the enemy in courage, the latter nevertheless
defended them
selves so well by the advantage of the higher ground, and the shouts were
so loud, and the discharge of darts on both side
s so great, that we almost began to despair
of victory. For the first onset and shout, by which an enemy is most apt to be dismayed,
were pretty equal in the present encounter.
All fought with equal
valor; the place was
covered with arrows and darts, and great numbers of the enemy fell. We have already
observed that the tenth legion was on the right, which, though not considerable for the
number of me
n, was nevertheless formidable for its cour
age; and so pressed the enemy
on that side that they were
obliged to draw a legion from
the right wing to reinforce the
left, lest we should come upon their flank;
but they fought so bravely that the
reinforcement could not find an opportunity
of entering the ranks. Upon this motion, our
cavalry on the left fell upon Pompey's right wing. Meanwhile the clashing of armormingled with the shouts of com batants, and the groans of the dying and the wounded,
terrified the new-raised soldiers. On this occasion
,
as Ennius says, "they fo
ught hand to
hand, foot to foot, and shield to shield;"
but though the enem
y fought with the utm
o
st
vigor, they were obliged to give ground, a
nd retire toward the town. The battle was
fought on the feast of Bacchus, and the Pom
p
eian
s were entirely rou
t
ed and put to flight;
insom
u
ch that not a m
a
n could have escaped,
had
they not sh
e
lte
red them
selves in the
place whence they advan
ced to th
e ch
arge. The en
em
y lost on this occasio
n upward of
thirty thous
and m
e
n, and am
ong the rest La
bienus
and Attius Varus, whose funeral
obsequies w
e
re performed upon the field of
battle. They had likewise three thousand
Rom
a
n knights killed, partly Italian, partly
provincial. About a thousand were slain on
our side, partly foot, partly
horse; and five hundred wounded.
W
e
gained thirteen eagles,
and several standards, and em
ble
m
s of author
ity, and m
a
de s
e
venteen officers prisoners.
Such was the issue of this action.” (From
The Spanish War an account believed to have
been written by a supporter of Caesar
who participated in the campaign)