, when they saw these spoils carried in triumph along their
ranks, raised a joyful cry, while the Greeks were correspondingly
disheartened, until Pyrrhus, learning what had taken place, rode along
the line with his head bare, stretching out his hands to his soldiers
and telling them that he was safe. At length he was victorious, chiefly
by means of a sudden charge of his Thessalian horse on the Romans after
they had been thrown into disorder by the advance of the elephants. The
Roman horses were terrified at these animals, and, long before they came
near, ran away with their riders in panic. The slaughter was very great:
Dionysius says that of the Romans there fell but little short of fifteen
thousand, but Hieronymus reduces this to seven thousand, while on
Pyrrhus' side there fell, according to Dionysius, thirteen thousand, but
according to Hieronymus less than four thousand.

These, however, were the very flower of Pyrrhus' army; for he lost all
his most trusty officers and his most intimate personal friends. Still,
he captured the Roman camp, which was abandoned by the enemy, induced
several of their allied cities to join him, plundered a vast extent of
country, and advanced within three hundred stades--less than forty
English miles--of Rome itself. After the battle many of the Lucanians
and Samnites came up; these allies he reproached for their dilatory
movements, but was evidently well pleased at having conquered the great
Roman army with no other forces but his own Epirotes and the Tarentines.

The Romans did not remove Laevinus from his office of consul, although
Caius Fabricius is reported to have said that it was not the Epirotes
who had conquered the Romans, but Pyrrhus who had conquered Laevinus;
meaning that he thought that the defeat was owing not to the greater
force but the superior generalship of the enemy. They astonished Pyrrhus
by quickly filling up their ranks with fresh levies, and talking about
the war in a spirit of fearless confidence. He decided to try whether
they were disposed to make terms with him, as he perceived that to
capture Rome and utterly subdue the Roman people would be a work of no
small difficulty, and that it would be vain to attempt it with the force
at his disposal, while after his victory he could make peace on terms
which would reflect great lustre on himself. Cineas was sent as
ambassador to conduct this negotiation.

He conversed with the leading men of Rome, and offered t