XXVII. Though Crassus used such words to encourage them, he did not see many eager to follow his exhortations: but, by ordering them to shout the battle cry, he discovered the dispirited condition of his men, so weak, and feeble, and irregular a shout they made; while the cries on the side of the enemy were clear and bold. When the Parthians began the attack, their slaves and clients, riding about on the flanks of the Romans, galled them with their arrows: and the horsemen in front, using their long spears, kept driving the Romans into a narrow compass, except those who, to avoid death from the arrows, made a desperate attempt to rush upon the Parthians; wherein they did the enemy little damage, but met with a speedy death by great and mortal wounds; for the Parthians drove their spears, heavy with iron, against the horsemen; and, from the force of the blow, they often went even through two men. After thus fighting, as dark came on the Parthians retired, saying, that they allowed Crassus a single night to lament his son, unless he should take better counsel for himself, and choose rather to come to King Arsakes than to be taken. The Parthians encamped near the Romans, in high hopes. A painful night followed to the Romans, who neither paid any attention to the interment of the dead, nor care to the wounded, and those who were in the agonies of death; but every man was severally lamenting his own fate; for it appeared that they could not escape, either if they waited there till daybreak, or if they plunged by night into a boundless plain. And the wounded caused a great difficulty; for they would be an obstacle to the quickness of their flight if they attempted to carry them off: and, if they should leave them, their shouts would betray the attempt to escape unobserved. Though they considered Crassus to be the cause of all their sufferings, the soldiers still wished to see him and hear his voice. But Crassus, wrapping himself up in his cloak, lay concealed in the dark, an example to the many of fortune's reverses, and to the wise of want of judgment and of ambition, which made him dissatisfied unless he was the first and greatest among so many thousands, and think that he lacked everything because he was judged to be inferior to two men only. However, Octavius the legate, and Cassius, endeavoured to rouse and comfort him; but, finding that he had entirely given himself up to despair, they called together the centurions and tribunes, and, after deliberating, they resolved not to stay on the ground, and they made an attempt at first to put the army in motion without the sound of the trumpet, and in silence. But when the soldiers who were disabled, perceived that they were going to be deserted, terrible disorder and confusion, mingled with groans and shouts, filled the camp; and this was followed by disorder and panic as they began to advance, for they thought that the enemy was coming upon them. After frequently turning from their route, and frequently putting themselves in order of battle, and taking up the wounded who followed, and then laying them down again, they lost much time on the march, with the exception of three hundred horsemen, with Ignatius[82] at their head, who reached Carrhæ about midnight. Ignatius, calling out in the Roman language to the watch upon the walls, and making them hear, told them to tell Coponius, the commander, that there had been a great battle between Crassus and the Parthians; and, without saying more or who he was, he rode off to the Zeugma, and saved all his men; but he got a bad name for deserting his general. However, the information thus conveyed to Coponius was some advantage to Crassus; for Coponius concluded that this hasty and confused message indicated that he who brought it had no good news to report: and, accordingly, he immediately ordered the soldiers to arm; and, as soon as he learned that Crassus was on his march, he went out to meet him, and, taking charge of him and his army, conducted them into the city.