ILLINOIS

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAM PAIGN

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2014THE UNIVERSITY

OF ILLINOIS

LIBRARY

■>;

THE

EISTOBY OF EOMB,

BY

TITUS LIVIUS.

BOOKS NINE TO TWENTY-SIX.

LITEKALLY TRANSLATED, WITH NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS,

BY

D. SPILLAN AND CYRUS EDMONDS.

LONDON:

BUTT, & DAI/DY, 6, YOKK STREET, COVENT GARDEN,
1867.

!LONDON : PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREKT
AND CHARING CBOSS.871
L5.Es
1868,

v. 3

o_	the

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^ HISTORY OF ROME.

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BOOK IX.

V

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Titus Veturius and Spurius Postumius, with their army, surrounded by
the Samnites at the Caudine forks ; enter into a treaty, give six hundred
hostages, and are sent under the yoke. The treaty declared invalid; the
two generals and the other sureties sent back to the Samnites, but are
not accepted. Not long after, Papirius Cursor obliterates this disgrace,
by vanquishing the Samnites, sending them under the yoke, and recover-
ing the hostages. Two tribes added. Appius Claudius, censor, con-
structs the Claudian aqueduct, and the Appian road j admits the sons of
freedom into the senate. Successes against the Apulians, Etruscans,
Umbrians, Marsians, Pelignians, JEquans, and Samnites. Mention
made of Alexander the Great, who flourished at this time; a compara-
tive estimate of his strength, and that of the Roman people, tending to
show, that if he had carried his arms into Italy, he would not have been
as successful there as he had been in the Eastern countries.

IxJ. This year is followed by the convention of Caudium, so
ft memorable on account of the misfortune of the Romans, the
consuls being Titus Yeturius Calvinus and Spurius Postumius.
jg The Samnites had as their commander that year Caius Pon-
y^us, son to Herennius, born of a father most highly renowned
^for wisdom, and himself a consummate warrior and com-
^ mander. When the ambassadors, who had been sent to make
restitution, returned, without concluding a peace, he said,
'^That ye may not think that no purpose has been effected by
W^this embassy, whatever degree of anger the deities of heaven
' vhad conceived against us, on account of the infraction of the
vol. ii.	2 o

560

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. IX. CHAP. 2.

treaty, has been hereby expiated. I am very confident, that
whatever deities they were, whose will it was that you should
be reduced to the necessity of making the restitution, which
had been demanded according to the treaty, it was not agree-
able to them, that our atonement for the breach of treaty
should be so haughtily spurned by the Romans. For what
more could possibly be done towards appeasing the gods, and
softening the anger of men, than we have done ? The effects
of the enemy, taken among the spoils, which appeared to be
our own by the right of war, we restored : the authors of the
war, as we could not deliver them up alive, we delivered to
them dead : their goods we carried to Rome, lest by retaining
them, any degree of guilt should remain among us. What
more, Roman, do I owe to thee ? what to the treaty ? what
to the gods, the guarantees of the treaty ? What umpire
shall I call in to judge of your resentment, and of my punish-
ment ? I decline none ; neither nation nor private person.
But if nothing in human law is left to the weak against a
stronger, I will appeal to the gods, the avengers of intolerable
arrogance," and will beseech them to turn their wrath against
those for whom neither the restoration of their own effects,
nor additional heaps of other men's property, can^&uffice ;
whose cruelty is not satiated by the death of the guilty, by the
surrender of their lifeless bodies, nor by their goods accompa-
nying the surrender of the owner; who cannot be appeased
otherwise than by giving them our blood to drink, and our
entrails to be torn. Samnites, war is just to those for whom
it is necessary, and arms are clear of impiety for those who
have no hope left but in arms. Wherefore, as in every human
undertaking, it is of the utmost importance what matter men
may set about with the favour, what under the displeasure
of the gods, be assured that the former wars ye waged in
opposition to the gods more than to men ; in this, wjaich is
now impending, ye will act under the immediate guidance of
the gods themselves."

2. After uttering these predictions, not more cheering than
true, he led out the troops, and placed his camp about Caudium,
as much out of view as possible. From thence he sent to Cala-
tia, where he heard that the Roman consuls were encamped,
ten soldiers, in the habit of shepherds, and ordered them to
keep some cattle feeding in several different places, at a smallY. R. 433.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

563

distance from the Roman posts ; and that, when they fell in
with any of their foragers, they should all agree in the same
story, that the legions of the Samnites were then in Apulia,
that they were besieging Luceria with their whole force, and
very near taking it by storm. Such a rumour had been in-
dustriously spread before, and had already reached the Ro-
mans ; but these prisoners increased the credit of it, especially
as they all concurred in the same report. There was no doubt
but that the Romans would carry succour to the Lucerians,
as being good and faithful allies ; and for this further reason,
lest all Apulia, through apprehension of the impending danger,
might go over to the enemy. The only point of deliberation
was, by what road they should go. There were two roads
leading to Luceria, one along the coast of the upper sea, wide
and open ; but, as it was the safer, so it was fropprtionably
longer: the other, which was shorter, through the Caudine
forks. The nature of the place is this: there are two deep
glens, narrow and covered with wood, connected together by
mountains ranging on both sides from one to the other ; be-
tween these lies a plain of considerable extent, enclosed in the
middle, abounding in grass and water, and through the mid-
dle of which the passage runs : but before you can arrive at
it, the first defile must be passed, while the only way back is
through the road by which you entered it; or if in case of
resolving to proceed forward, you must go by the other glen,
which is still more narrow and difficult. Into this plain the
Romans, having marched down their troops by one of those
passes through the cleft of a rock, when they advanced onward
to the other defile, found it blocked up by trees thrown across,
and a mound of huge stones lying in their way. When the
stratagem of the enemy now became apparent, there is seen
at the same time a body of troops on the eminence over the
glen. Hastening back, then, they proceed to retrace the road
by which they had entered ; they found that also shut up by
such another fence, and men in arms. Then, without orders,
they halted; amazement took possession of their minds, and
a strange kind of numbness seized their limbs : they then re-
mained a long time motionless and silent, each looking to the
other, as if each thought the other more capable of judging
and advising than himself. After some time, when they saw
that the consul's pavilions were being erected, and that some

2 o 2562

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

[B. IX. CHAP. 3.

were getting ready the implements for throwing up works,
although they were sensible that it must appear ridiculous,
the attempt to raise a fortification in their present desperate
condition, and when almost every hope was lost, would be an
object of necessity, yet, not to add a fault to their misfortunes,
they all, without being advised or ordered by any one, set
earnestly to work, and enclosed a camp with a rampart, close
to the water, while themselves, besides that the enemy heaped
insolent taunts on them, seemed with melancholy to acknow-
ledge the apparent fruitlessness of their toil and labour.. The
lieutenants-general and tribunes, without being summoned to
consultation, (for there was no room for either consultation or
remedy,) assembled round the dejected consul; while the
soldiers, crowding to the general's quarters, demanded from
their leaders that succour, which it was hardly in the power
of the immortal gods themselves to afford them.

3. Night came on them while lamenting their situation,
rather than consulting, whilst they urged expedients, each
according to his temper; one crying out, " Let us go over
those fences of the roadsothers, " over the steeps; through
the woods ; any way, where arms can be carried. Let us be
but permitted to come to the enemy, whom we have been used
to conquer now near thirty years. All places will be level
and plain to a Roman, fighting against the perfidious Sam-
nite." Another would say, " Whither, or by what way can
we go ? Do we expect to remove the mountains from their
foundations ? While these cliffs hang over us, by what road
will you reach the enemy ? Whether armed or unarmed,
brave or dastardly, we are all, without distinction, captured
and vanquished. The enemy will not even show us a weapon,
by which we might die with honour. He will finish the war,
without moving from his seat." In such discourse, thinking
of neither food nor rest, the night was passed. Nor could
the Samnit.es, though in circumstances so joyous, instantly
determine how to act : it was therefore universally agreed,
that Herennius Pontius, father of the general, should be con-
sulted by letter. He was now grown feeble through age, and
had withdrawn himself, not only from all military, but also
from all civil occupations; yet, notwithstanding the decline
of his bodily strength, his mind retained its full vigour. When
he heard that the Roman armies were shut up at the Caudiney. R. 433.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

563

forks between the two glens, being consulted by his son's
messenger, he gave his opinion, that they should all be im-
mediately dismissed from thence unhurt. On this counsel
being rejected, and the same messenger returning a second
time, he recommended that they should all, to a man, be put
to death. When these answers, so opposite to each other,
like those of an ambiguous oracle, were given, although his
son in particular considered that the powers of his father's
mind, together with those of his body, had been impaired by
age, was yet prevailed on, by the general desire of all, to send
for him to consult him. The old man, we are told, complied
without reluctance, and was carried in a waggon to the camp,
where, when summoned to give his advice, he spoke in such
a way as to make no alteration in his opinions; he only added
the reasons for them. That "by his first plan, which he
esteemed the best, he meant, by an act of extraordinary kind-
ness, to establish perpetual peace and friendship with a most
powerful nation: by the other, to put off the return of war
to the distance of many ages, during which the Roman state,
after the loss of those two armies, could not easily recover its
strength. A third plan there was not. When his son, and
the other chiefs, went on to ask him if " a plan of a middle
kind might not be adopted; that they both should be dis-
missed unhurt, and, at the same time, by the right of war,
terms imposed on them as vanquished?" "That, indeed,"
said he, "is a plan of such a nature, as neither procures friends
nor removes enemies. Only preserve those whom ye would
irritate by ignominious treatment. The Romans are a race
who know not how to sit down quiet under defeat; whatever
that is which the present necessity shall brand will rankle in
their breasts for ever, and will not suffer them to rest, until
they have wreaked manifold vengeance on your heads." Nei-
ther of these plans was approved, and Herennius was carried
home from the camp.

4. In the Roman camp also, when many fruitless efforts to
force a passage had been made, and they were now destitute
of every means of subsistence, forced by necessity, they send
ambassadors, who were first to ask peace on equal terms;
which, if they did not obtain, they were to challenge the
enemy to battle. To this Pontius answered, that "the war
was at an end; and since, even in their present vanquished564

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

[B. IX. CHAP. 4.

and captive state, they were not willing to acknowledge their
situation, he would send them under the yoke unarmed, each
with a single garment; that the other conditions of peace
should be such as were just between the conquerors and the
conquered. If their troops would depart, and their colonies
be withdrawn out of the territories of the Samnites ; for the
future, the Romans and Samnites, under a treaty of equality,
shall live according to their own respective laws. On these
terms he was ready to negotiate with the consuls : and if any
of these should not be accepted, he forbade the ambassadors
to come to him again." When the result of this embassy was
made known, such general lamentation suddenly arose, and
such melancholy took possession of them, that had they been
told that all were to die on the spot, they could not have felt
deeper affliction. • After silence continued a long time, and
the consuls were not able to utter a word, either in favour of
a treaty so disgraceful, or against a treaty so necessary; at
length, Lucius Lentulus, who was the first among the lieu-
tenants-general, both in respect of bravery, and of the public
honours which he had attained, addressed them thus : " Con-
suls, I have often heard my father say, that he was the only
person in the Capitol who did not advise the senate to ransom
the state from the Gauls with gold; and these he would not
concur in, because they had not been enclosed with a trench
and rampart by the enemy, (who were remarkably slothful
with respect to works and raising fortifications,) and because
they might sally forth, if not without great danger, yet with-
out certain destruction. Now if, in like manner as they had
it in their power to run down from the Capitol in arms against
their foe, as men besieged have often sallied out on the be-
siegers, it were possible for us to come to blows with the
enemy, either on equal or unequal ground, I would not be
wanting in the high quality of my father's spirit in stating
my advice. I acknowledge, indeed, that death, in defence of
our country, is highly glorious; and I am ready, either to
devote myself for the Roman people and the legions, or to
plunge into the midst of the enemy. But in this spot I behold
my country: in this spot, the whole of the Roman legions:
and unless these choose to rush on death in defence of their
own individual characters, what have they which can be pre-
served by their death? The houses of the city, some mayT. r. 433.]

THE HISTORY OP ROME.

565

say, and the walls of it, and the crowd who dwell in it, by
which the city is inhabited. But in fact, in case of the de-
struction of this army, all these are betrayed, not preserved.
For who will protect them? An unwarlike and unarmed
multitude, shall I suppose? Yes, just as they defended them
against the attack of the Gauls. Will they call to their suc-
cour an army from Yeii, with Camillus at its head ? Here,
on the spot, I repeat, are all our hopes and strength; by pre-
serving which, we preserve our country; by delivering them
up to death, we abandon and betray our country. But a sur-
render is shameful and ignominious. True: but such ought
to be our affection for our country, that we should save it by
our own disgrace, if necessity required, as freely as by our
death. Let therefore that indignity be undergone, how great
soever, and let us submit to that necessity which even the gods
themselves do not overcome. Go, consuls, ransom the state
for arms, which your ancestors ransomed with gold."

5. The consuls having gone to Pontius to confer with him,
when he talked, in the strain of a conqueror, of a treaty, they
declared that such could not be concluded without an order
of the people, nor without the ministry of the heralds, and
the other customary rites. Accordingly the Caudine peace
was not ratified by settled treaty, as is commonly believed,
and even asserted by Claudius, but by conventional sureties.
For what occasion would there be either for sureties or host-
ages in the former case, where the ratification is performed
by the imprecation, "that whichever nation shall give occa-
sion to the said terms being violated, may Jupiter strike that
nation in like manner as the swine is struck by the heralds."
The consuls, lieutenants-general, quasstors, and military tri-
bunes, became sureties; and the names of all these who be-
came sureties are extant; where, had the business been trans-
acted by treaty, none would have appeared but those of the
two heralds. On account of the necessary delay of the treaty,
six hundred horsemen were demanded as hostages, who were
to suffer death if the compact were not fulfilled; a time was
then fixed for delivering up the hostages, and sending away
the troops disarmed. The return of the consuls renewed the
general grief in the camp, insomuch that the men hardly re-
frained from offering violence to them, "by whose rashness,"
they said, " they had been brought into such a situation ; and566

THE HISTORY OF ROME.	[B. IX. CHAP. 6.

through whose cowardice they were likely to depart with
greater disgrace than they came. They had employed no
guide through the country, nor scouts; but were sent on
blindly, like beasts into a pitfall." They cast looks on each
other, viewed earnestly the arms which they must presently
surrender; while their persons would be subject to the will
of the enemy: figured to themselves the hostile yoke, the
scoffs of the conquerors, their haughty looks, and finally, thus
disarmed, their march through the midst of an armed foe. In
a word, they saw with horror the miserable journey of their
dishonoured band through the cities of the allies; and their
return into their own country, to their parents, whither them-
selves, and their ancestors, had so often come in triumph.
Observing, that "they alone had been conquered without a
fight, without a weapon thrown, without a wound; that they
had not been permitted to draw their swords, nor to engage
the enemy. In vain had arms, in vain had strength, in vain
had courage been given them." While they were giving vent
to such grievous reflections, the fatal hour of their disgrace
arrived, which was to render every circumstance still more
shocking in fact, than they had preconceived it in their ima-
ginations. First, they were ordered to go out, beyond the
rampart, unarmed, and with single garments ; then the host-
ages were surrendered, and carried into custody. The lictors
were next commanded to depart from the consuls, and the
robes of the latter were stripped off. This excited such a de-
gree of commiseration in the breasts of those very men, who
a little before, pouring execrations upon them, had proposed
that they should be delivered up and torn to pieces, that
every one, forgetting his own condition, turned away his eyes
from that degradation of so high a dignity, as from a spectacle
too horrid to behold.

6. First, the consuls, nearly half naked, were sent under
the yoke; then each officer, according to his rank, was ex-
posed to disgrace, and the legions successively. The enemy
stood on each side under arms, reviling and mocking them;
swords were pointed at most of them, several were wounded
and some even slain, when their looks, rendered too fierce by
the indignity to which they were subjected, gave offence tc
the conquerors. Thus were they led under the yoke; and
what was still more intolerable, under the eyes of the enemy.Y. R. 433.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME,

567

When they had got clear of the defile, they seemed as if they
had been drawn up from the infernal regions, and then for
the first time beheld the light; yet, when they viewed the
ignominious appearance of the army, the light itself was more
painful to them than any kind of death could have been; so
that although they might have arrived at Capua before night,
yet, uncertain with respect to the fidelity of the allies, and be-
cause shame embarrassed them, in need of every thing, they
threw themselves carelessly on the ground, on each side of the
road: which being told at Capua, just compassion for their
allies got the better of the arrogance natural to the Campa-
nians. They immediately sent to the cQnsuls their ensigns
of office, the fasces and lictors; to the soldiers, arms, horses,
clothes, and provisions in abundance: and, on their approach
to Capua, the whole senate and people went out to meet them,
and performed every proper office of hospitality, both public
and private. But the courtesy, kind looks, and address of the
allies, could not only not draw a word from them, but it could
not even prevail on them to raise their eyes, or look their
consoling friends in the face, so completely did shame, in ad-
dition to grief, oblige them to shun the conversation and so-
ciety of these their friends. Next day, when some young
nobles, who had been sent from Capua, to escort them on
their road to the frontiers of Campania, returned, they were
called into the senate-house, and, in answer to the inquiries
of the elder members, said, that " to them they seemed deeply
sunk in melancholy and dejection ; that the whole body moved
on in silence, almost as if dumb; the former genius of the
Romans was prostrated, and that their spirit had been taken
from them, together with their arms. Not one returned a
salute, nor returned an answer to those who greeted them;
as if, through fear, they were unable to utter a word; as if
their necks still carried the yoke under which they had been
sent. That the Samnites had obtained a victory, not only
glorious, but lasting also; for they had subdued, not Rome
merely, as the Gauls had formerly done, but what was a much
more warlike achievement, the Roman courage." When these
remarks were made and attentively listened to, and the almost
extinction of the Roman name was lamented in this assembly
of faithful allies, Ofilius Calavius, son of Ovius, a man highly
distinguished, both by his birth and conduct, and at this time568

THE HISTORY OF ROME.	[B. IX. CHAP. 7.

further respectable on account of his age, is said to have de-
clared that he entertained a very different opinion in the case.
" This obstinate silence," said he, " those eyes fixed on the
earth,—those ears deaf to all comfort,—with the shame of be-
holding the light,—are indications of a mind calling forth,
from its inmost recesses, the utmost exertions of resentment.
Either he was, ignorant of the temper of the Romans, or that
silence would shortly excite, among the Samnites, lamentable
cries and groans; for that the remembrance of the Caudine
peace would be much more sorrowful to the Samnites than to
the Romans. Each side would have their own native spirit,
wherever they should happen to engage, but the Samnites
would not, every where, have the glens of Caudium."

7. Their disaster was, by this time, well known at Rome
also. At first, they heard that the troops were shut up; after-
wards the news of the ignominious peace caused greater
affliction than had been felt for their danger. On the report
of their being surrounded, a levy of men was begun; but
when it was understood that the army had surrendered in so
disgraceful a manner, the preparations were laid aside; and
immediately, without any public directions, a general mourn-
ing took place, with all the various demonstrations of grief.
The shops were shut; and all business ceased in the forum,
spontaneously, before it was proclaimed. Laticlaves1 and gold
rings were laid aside: and the public were in greater tribula-
tion, if possible, than the army itself; they were not only en-
raged against the commanders, the advisers and sureties of the
peace, but detested even the unoffending soldiers, and asserted,
that they ought not to be admitted into the city or its habita-
tions. But these transports of passion were allayed by the
arrival of the troops, which excited compassion even in the
angry; for entering into the city, not like men returning
into their country with unexpected safety, but in the habit
and with the looks of captives, late in the evening; they hid
themselves so closely in their houses, that, for the next, and
several following days, not one of them could bear to come in

1 In the original, lati clavi. The latus clavus was a tunic, or vest, or-
namented with a broad stripe of purple on the fore part, worn by the
senators; the knights wore a similar one, only ornamented with a nar-
rower stripe. Gold rings were also used as badges of distinction, the
common people wore iron onesT. R. 434.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

569

isight of the forum, or of the public. The consuls, shut up in
private, transacted no official business, except that which was
wrung from them by a decree of the senate, to nominate a
dictator to preside at the elections. They nominated Quintus
Fabius Ambustus, and as master of the horse Publius .ZElius
Paetus. But they having been irregularly appointed, there
were substituted in their room, Marcus ^Emilius Papus dicta-
tor, and Lucius Valerius Flaccus master of the horse. But
neither did these hold the elections: and the people being
dissatisfied with all the magistrates of that year, an interreg-
num ensued. The interreges were, Quintus Fabius Maxim as
and Marcus Valerius Corvus, who elected consuls Quintus
Publilius Philo, and Lucius Papirius Cursor a second time;
a choice universally approved, for there were no commanders
at that time of higher reputation.

8. They entered into office on the day they were elected,
for so it had been determined by the fathers. When the cus-
tomary decrees of the senate were passed, they proposed the
consideration of the Caudine peace; and Publilius, who was
in possession of the* fasces, said, " Spurius Postumius, speak:"
he arose with just the same countenance with which he had
passed under the yoke, and delivered himself to this effect:
" Consuls, I ani well aware that 1 have been called up first
with marked ignominy, not with honour; and that I am or-
dered to speak, not as being a senator, but as a person answer-
able as well for an unsuccessful war as for a disgraceful
peace. However, since the question propounded by you is
not concerning our guilt, or our punishment; waving a de-
fence, which would not be very difficult, before men who are
not unacquainted with human casualties or necessities, I shall
briefly state my opinion on the matter in question; which
opinion will testify, whether I meant to spare myself or your
legions, when I engaged as surety to the convention, whether
dishonourable or necessary: by which, however, the Eoman
people are not bound, inasmuch as it was concluded without
their order ; nor is any thing liable to be forfeited to the Sam-
nites, in consequence of it, except our persons. Let us then
be delivered up to them by the heralds, naked, and in chains.
Let us free the people of the religious obligation, if we have
bound them under any such ; so that there may be no restric-
tion, divine or human, to prevent your entering on the war570

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

[B. IX. CHAP. 9.

anew, without violating either religion or justice. I am also
of opinion, that the consuls, in the mean time, enlist, arm, and
lead out an army; but that they should not enter the enemy's
territories before every particular, respecting the surrender
of us, be regularly executed. You, O immortal gods ! I pray
and beseech that, although it has not been your will that
Spurius Postumius and Titus Yeturius, as conouls, should
wage war with success against the Samnites, ye may yet deem
it sufficient to have seen us sent under the yoke; to have
seen us bound under an infamous convention; to have seen
us delivered into the hands of our foes naked and shackled,
taking on our own heads the whole weight of the enemy's re-
sentment. And gfant, that the consuls and legions of Rome
may wage war against the Samnites, with the same fortune
with which every war has been waged before we became con-
suls." On his concluding this speech, men's minds were so
impressed with both admiration and compassion, that now
they could scarce believe him to be the same Spurius Postu-
mius who had been the author of so shameful a peace; again
lamenting, that such a man was likely to undergo, among the
enemy, a punishment even beyond that of others, through re-
sentment for annulling the peace. When all the members,
extolling him with praises, expressed their approbation of his
sentiments, a protest was attempted for a time by Lucius Li-
vius and Quintus Mselius, tribunes of the commons, who said,
that " the people could not be acquitted of the religious obli-
gation by the consuls being given up, unless all things were
restored to the Samnites in the same state in which they had
been at Caudium; nor had they themselves deserved any
punishment, for having, by becoming sureties to the peace,
preserved the army of the Roman people; nor, finally, could
they, being sacred and inviolable, be surrendered to the ene-
my or treated with violence."

9. To this Postumius replied, " In the mean time surrender
us as unsanctified persons, which ye may do, without offence
to religion; those sacred and inviolable personages, the tri-
bunes, ye will afterwards deliver up as soon as they go out
of office: but, if ye listen to me, they will be first scourged
with rods, here in the Comitium, that they may pay this
as interest for their punishment being delayed. For, as
to their denying that the people are acquitted of the re-r. r. 434."]

THE HISTOEt OF ROME.

571

ligious obligation, by our being given up, who is there so
ignorant of the laws of the heralds, as not to know, that those
men speak in that manner, that they themselves may not be
surrendered, rather than because the case is really so ? Still
I do not deny, conscript fathers, that compacts, on sureties
given, are as sacred as treaties, in the eyes of all who regard
faith between men, with the same reverence which is paid to
duties respecting the gods: but I insist, that without the or-
der of the people, nothing can be ratified that is to bind the
people. Suppose that, out of the same arrogance with which
the Samnites wrung from us the convention in question, they
had compelled us to repeat the established form of words for
the surrendering of cities, would ye, tribunes, say, that the
Roman people was surrendered? and, that this city, these
temples, and consecrated grounds, these lands and waters,
were become the property of the Samnites ? I say no more
of the surrender, because our having become sureties is the
point insisted on. Now, suppose we had become sureties that
the Roman people should quit this city; that they should
set it on fire ; that they should have no magistrates, no se-
nate, no laws; that they should, in future, be ruled by kings:
the gods forbid, you say. But, the enormity of the articles
lessens not the obligation of a compact. If there is any thing
in which the people can be bound, it can in all. Nor is there
any importance in another circumstance, which weighs, per-
haps, with some: whether a consul, a dictator, or a praetor,
be the surety. And this, indeed, was what even the Sam-
nites themselves proved, who were not satisfied with the se-
curity of the consuls, but compelled the lieutenants-general,
quaestors, and military tribunes to join them. Let no one,
then, demand of me, why I entered into such a compact, when
neither such power was vested in a consul, and when I could
not, either to them, insure a peace, of which I could not com-
mand the ratification ; or in behalf of you, who had given me
no powers. Conscript fathers, none of the transactions at
Caudium were directed by human wisdom. The immortal
gods deprived of understanding both your generals and those
of the enemy. On the one side we acted not with sufficient
caution in the war; on the other, they threw away a victory,
which through our folly they had obtained, while they hardly
confided in the places, by means of which they had conquered;572

THE HISTORY OP ROME. [B. IX. CHAP. 10.

but were in haste, on any terms, to take arms out of the hands
of men who were born to arms. Had their reason been sound,
would it have been difficult, during the time which they spent
in sending for old men from home to give them advice, to
send ambassadors to Rome, and to negotiate a peace and
treaty with the senate, and with the people ? It would have
been a journey of only three days to expeditious travellers.
In the interim, matters might have rested under a truce, that
is, until their ambassadors should have brought from Rome,
either certain victory or peace. That would have been really
a compact, on the faith of sureties, for we should have become
sureties by order of the people. But, neither would ye have
passed such an order, nor should we have pledged our faith ;
nor was it right that the affair should have any other issue,
than, that they should be vainly mocked with a dream, as it
were, of greater prosperity than their minds were capable of
comprehending, and that the same fortune, which had entan-
gled our army, should extricate it; that an ineffectual victory
should be frustrated by a more ineffectual peace; and that a
convention, on the faith of a surety, should be introduced,
which bound no other person beside the surety. For what
part had ye, conscript fathers; what part had the people, in
this affair ? Who can call upon you ? Who can say, that he
has been deceived by you ? Can the enemy ? Can a citizen ?
To the enemy ye engaged nothing. Ye ordered no citizen to
engage on your behalf. Ye are therefore no way concerned
either with us, to whom ye gave no commission; nor with the
Samnites, with whom ye transacted no business. We are sure-
ties to the Samnites; debtors, sufficiently wealthy in that which
is our own, in that which we can offer—our bodies and our
minds. On these, let them exercise their cruelty; against these,
let them whet their resentment and their swords. As to what
relates to the tribunes, consider whether the delivering them
up can be effected at the present time, or if it must be defer-
red to another day. Meanwhile let us, Titus Yeturius, and
the rest concerned, offer our worthless persons, as atonements,
for the breaking our engagements, and, by our sufferings,
liberate the Roman armies."

10. Both these arguments, and, still more, the author of
them, powerfully affected the senators; as they did likewise
every one, not excepting even the tribunes of the commons,Y. R. 434.]

THE mSlORY OF ROME.

573

who declared, that they would be directed by the senate.
They then instantly resigned their office, and were delivered,
together with the rest, to the heralds, to be conducted to
Caudium. On passing this decree of the senate, it seemed as
if some new light had shone upon the state: Postumius was
in every mouth: they extolled him to heaven; and pro-
nounced his conduct as equal even to the devoting act of the
consul Publius Becius, and to other illustrious acts. " Through
his counsel, and exertions," they said, "the state had raised up
its head from an ignominious peace. He now offered him-
self to the enemy's rage, and to torments; and was suffering,
in atonement for the Roman people." All turned their thoughts
towards arms and war, [and the general cry was,] " When
shall we be permitted with arms in our hands to meet the
Samnites?" While the state glowed with resentment and
rancour, the levies were composed almost entirely of volun-
teers. New legions, composed of the former soldiers, were
quickly formed, and an army marched to Caudium. The he-
ralds, who went before, on coming to the gate, ordered the
sureties of the peace to be stripped of their clothes, and their
hands to be tied behind their backs. As the apparitor, out
of respect to his dignity, was binding Postumius in a loose
manner, " Why do you not," said he, " draw the cord tight,
that the surrender may be regularly performed ? " Then, when
they came into the assembly of the Samnites, and to the
tribunal of Pontius, Aulus Cornelius Arvina, a herald, pro-
nounced these words: "Forasmuch as these men, here pre-
sent, without orders from the Roman people, the Quirites,
entered into surety, that a treaty should be made, and have
thereby rendered themselves criminal; now, in order that the
Roman people may be freed from the crime of impiety, I here
surrender these men into your hands." On the herald saying
thus, Postumius gave him a stroke on the thigh with his
knee, as forcibly as he could, and said with a loud voice, that
" he was now a citizen of Samnium, the other a Roman am-
bassador ; that the herald had been, by him, violently ill-
treated, contrary to the law of nations; and that his people
would therefore have the more justice on their side, in
waging war."

11. Pontius then said, "Neither will I accept such a sur-
render, nor will the Samnites deem it valid. Spurius PostU-574

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. IX. CHAP. 11.

mius, if you believe that there are gods, why do you not undo
all that has been done, or fulfil your agreement ? The Sam-
nite nation is entitled, either to all the men whom it had in
its power, or, instead of them, to a peace. But why do I call
on you, who, with as much regard to faith as you are able to
show, return yourself a prisoner into the hands of the con-
queror ? I call on the Roman people. If they are dissatisfied
with the convention made at the Caudine forks, let them re-
place the legions within the defile where they were pent up.
Let there be no deception on either side. Let all that has
been done pass as nothing. Let them receive again the arms
which they surrendered by the convention; let them return
into their camp. Whatever they were in possession of, the
day before the conference, let them possess again. Then let
war and resolute counsels be adopted. Then let the conven-
tion, and peace, be rejected. Let us carry on the war in the
same circumstances, and situations, in which we were before
peace was mentioned. Let neither the Roman people blame
the convention of the consuls, nor us the faith of the Roman
people. Will ye never want an excuse for not standing to
the compacts which ye make on being defeated ? Ye gave
hostages to Porsena: ye clandestinely withdrew them. Ye
ransomed your state from the Gauls, for gold: while they
were receiving the gold, they were put to the sword. Ye
concluded a peace* with us, on condition of our restoring your
captured legions: that peace ye now annul; in fine, ye al-
ways spread over your fraudulent conduct some show of right.
Do the Roman people disapprove of their legions being saved
by an ignominious peace ? Let them have their peace, and re-
turn the captured legions to the conqueror. This would be
conduct consistent with faith, with treaties, and with the laws
of the heralds. But that you should, in consequence of the
convention, obtain what you desired, the safety of so many
of your countrymen, while I obtain not, what I stipulated for
on sending you back those men, a peace; is this the law
which you, Aulus Cornelius, which ye, heralds, prescribe to
nations ? But for my part, I neither accept those men whom
ye pretend to surrender, nor consider them as surrendered;
nor do I hinder them from returning into their own country,
which stands bound under an actual convention, formally en-
tered into carrying with them the wrath of all the gods,Y. B. 434.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

575

whose authority is thus baffled. Wage war, since Spurius
Postumius has just now struek with his knee the herald, in
character of ambassador. The gods are to believe that Pos-
tumius is a citizen of Samnium, not of Rome ; and that a Ro-
man ambassador has been violated by a Samnite; and that
therefore a just war has been waged against us by you. That
men of years, and of consular dignity, should not be ashamed
to exhibit such mockery of religion in the face of day ! And
should have recourse to such shallow artifices to palliate their
breach of faith, unworthy even of children! Go, lictor, take
off the bonds from those Romans. Let no one delay them
from 'departing when they think proper." Accordingly they
returned unhurt from Caudium to the Roman camp, having
acquitted, certainly, their own faith, and perhaps that of the
public.

12. The Samnites finding that, instead of a peace which
flattered their pride, the war was revived, and with the ut-
most inveteracy, not only felt, in their minds, a foreboding of
all the consequences which ensued, but saw them, in a man-
ner, before their eyes. They now, too late and in vain,
applauded the plans of old Pontius, by blundering between
which, they had exchanged the possession' of victory for an
uncertain peace ; and having lost the opportunity of doing a
kindness or an injury, were now to fight against men, whom
they might have either put out of the way, for ever, as ene-
mies ; or engaged, for ever, as friends. And such was the
change which had taken place in men's minds, since the Cau-
dine peace, even before any trial of strength had shown an
advantage on either side, that Postumius, by surrendering
himself, had acquired greater renown among the Romans,
than Pontius among the Samnites, by his bloodless victory.
The Romans considered their being at liberty to make war,
as certain victory; while the Samnites supposed the Romans
victorious, the moment they resumed their arms. Meanwhile,
the Satricans revolted to the Samnites, who attacked the
colony of Fregellaa, by a sudden surprise in the night, accom-
panied, as it appears, by the Satricans. From that time until
day, their mutual fears kept both parties quiet: the daylight
was the signal for battle, which the Fregellans contrived to
maintain, for a considerable time, without loss of ground;
both because they fought for their religion and liberty; and576

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. IX. CHA-P. 13.

the multitude, who were unfit to bear arms, assisted them,
from the tops of the houses. At length a stratagem gave the
advantage to the assailants; for they suffered the voice of a
crier to be heard proclaiming, that "whoever laid down his
arms might retire in safety." This relaxed their eagerness
in the fight, and they began almost every where to throw
away their arms. A part, more determined, however, retain-
ing their arms, rushed out by the opposite gate, and their
boldness brought greater safety to them, than their fears,
which inclined them to credulity, did to the others: for the
Samnites, having surrounded the latter with fires, burned
them all to death, while they made vain appeals to the faith
of gods and men. The consuls having settled the provinces
between them, Papirius proceeded into Apulia to Luceria,
where the Roman horsemen, given as hostages at Caudium,
were kept in custody: Publilius remained in Samnium, to
oppose the Caudine legions. This proceeding perplexed the
minds of the Samnites: they could not safely determine either
to go to Luceria, lest the enemy should press on their rear;
or to remain where they were, lest in the mean time Luceria
should be lost. They concluded, therefore, that it would be
most advisable to trust to the decision of fortune, and to try
the issue of a battle with Publilius: accordingly they drew
out their forces into the field.

13. When Publilius was about to engage, considering it
proper to address his soldiers first, he ordered an assembly to
be summoned. But though they ran together to the general's
quarters with the greatest alacrity, yet so loud were their
clamours, demanding the fight, that none of the general's
exhortations were heard: each man's own reflections on the
late disgrace served as an exhortation. They advanced there-
fore to battle, urging the standard-bearers to hasten; and
rest, in beginning the conflict, there should be any delay, in
wielding their javelins and then drawing their swords, they
threw away the former, as if a signal to that purpose had
been given, and, drawing the latter, rushed in full speed upon
the foe. Nothing of a general's skill was displayed in form-
ing ranks or reserves ; the resentment of the troops performed
all, with a degree of fury little inferior to madness. The
enemy, therefore, were not only completely routed, not even
daring to embarrass their flight by retreating to their camp,Y. R. 434.}

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

577

but dispersing, made towards Apulia in scattered parties: after-
wards, however, collecting their forces into one body, they
reached Luceria. The same exasperation, which had carried
the Romans through the midst of the enemy's line, carried
them forward also into their camp, where greater carnage was
made, and more blood spilt, than even in the field, while the
greater part of the spoil was destroyed in their rage. The
other army, with the consul Papirius, had now arrived at Arpi,
on the sea-coast, having passed without molestation through
all the countries in their way; which was owing to the ill-
treatment received by those people from the Samnites, and
their hatred towards them, rather than to any favour received
from the Roman people. For such of the Samnites as dwelt
on the mountains in separate villages, used to ravage the low
lands, and the places on the coast; and being mountaineers,
and savage themselves, despised the husbandmen who were
of a gentler kind, and, as generally happens, resembled the
district they inhabited. Now if this tract had been favour-
ably affected towards the Samnites, either the Roman army
could have been prevented from reaching Arpi, or, as it lay
between Rome and Arpi, it might have intercepted the con-
voys of provisions, and utterly destroyed them by the conse-
quent scarcity of all necessaries. Even as it was, when they
went from thence to Luceria, both the besiegers and the
besieged were distressed equally by want. Every kind of
supplies was brought to*the Romans from Arpi; but in so very
scanty proportion, that the horsemen had to carry corn from
thence to the camp,, in little bags, for the foot, who were em-
ployed in the outposts, watches, and works; and sometimes
falling in with the enemy, they were obliged to throw the
corn from off their horses, in order to fight. Before the ar-
rival of the other consul and his victorious army, both provi-
sions had been brought in to the Samnites, and reinforcements
conveyed in to them from the mountains; but the coming of
Publilius contracted all their resources; for, committing the
siege to the care of his colleague, and keeping himself disen-
gaged, he threw every difficulty in the way of the enemy's
convoys. There being therefore little hope for the besieged, or
that they would be able much longer to endure want, the Sam-
nites, encamped at Luceria, were obliged to collect their forces
from every side, and come to an engagement with Papirius*

2 p 2578

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. IX. CHAP. 14.

14. At this juncture, while both parties were preparing for
an action, ambassadors from the Tarentines interposed, re-
quiring both Samnites and Romans to desist from war; with
menaces, that " if either refused to agree to a cessation of
hostilities, they would join their arms with the other party,
against them." Papirius, on hearing the purport of their
embassy, as if influenced by their words, answered, that he
would consult his colleague: he then sent for him, employing
the intermediate time in the necessary preparations; and
when he had conferred with him on a matter, about which no
doubt was entertained, he made the signal for battle. While
the consuls were employed in performing the religious rites,
and the other usual business preparatory to an engagement,
the Tarentine ambassadors put themselves in their way, ex-
pecting an answer: to whom Papirius said, " Tarentines, thd
priest reports that the auspices are favourable, and that our
sacrifices have been attended with excellent omens: under
the direction of the gods, we are proceeding, as you see, to
action." He then ordered the standards to move, and led out
the troops; thus rebuking the exorbitant arrogance of that
nation, which at a time when, through intestine discord and
sedition, it was unequal, to the management of its own affairs,
yet presumed to prescribe the bounds of peace and war to
others. On the other side, the Samnites, who had neglected
every preparation for fighting, either because they were really
desirous of peace, or it seemed their interest to pretend to be
so, in order to conciliate the favour of the Tarentines, when
they saw, on a sudden, the Romans drawn up for battle, cried
out, that " they would continue to be directed by the Taren-
tines, and would neither march out, nor carry their arms be-
yond the rampart. That if deceived, they would rather endure
any consequence which chance may bring, than show contempt
to the Tarentines, the advisers of peace." The consuls said,
that "they embraced the omen, and prayed that the enemy
might continue in the resolution of not even defending their
rampart." Then, dividing the forces between them, they
advanced to the works ; and, making an assault on every side
at once, while some filled up the trenches, others tore down
the rampart, and tumbled it into the trench. All were sti-
mulated, not only by their native courage, but by the resent-
ment which, since their disgrace, had been festering in theirY. it. 434.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

579

breasts. They made their way into the camp; where, every
one repeating, that here was not Caudium, nor the forks, nor
the impassable glens, where cunning haughtily triumphed
over error; but Roman valour, which no rampart nor trench
could ward off;—they slew, without distinction, those who
resisted and those who fled, the armed and unarmed, freemen
and slaves, young and old, men and cattle. Nor would a
single animal have escaped, had not the consuls given the sig-
nal for retreat; and, by commands and threats, forced out of
the camp the soldiers, greedy of slaughter. As they were
highly incensed at being thus interrupted in the gratification
of their vengeance, a speech was immediately addressed to
them, assuring the soldiers, that " the consuls neither did nor
would fall short of any one of the soldiers, in hatred toward
the enemy; on the contrary, as they led the way in battle, so
would they have done the same in executing unbounded
vengeance, had not the consideration of the six hundred horse-
men, who were confined as hostages in Luceria, restrained
their inclinations; test total despair of pardon might drive on
the enemy blindly to take vengeance on them, eager to de-
stroy them before they themselves should perish." The sol-
diers highly applauded this conduct, and rejoiced that their
resentment had been checked, and acknowledged that every
thing ought to be endured, rather than that the safety of so
many Roman youths of the first distinction should be brought
into danger.

15. The assembly being then dismissed, a consultation was
held, whether they should press forward the siege of Luceria,
with all their forces; or, whether with one of the commanders,
and his army, trial should be made of the Apulians, a nation
in the neighbourhood still doubtful. The consul Publilius set
out to make a circuit through Apulia, and in the one expedi-
tion 'either reduced Jby force, or received into alliance on
conditions, a considerable number of the states. Papirius
likewise, who had remained to prosecute the siege of Luceria,
soon found the event agreeable to his hopes : for all the roads
being blocked up through which provisions used to be con-
veyed from Samnium, the Samnites, who were in garrison,
were reduced so low by famine, that they sent ambassadors to
the Roman consul, proposing that he should raise the siege,
on receiving the horsemen who were the cause of the war580

THE HISTORY OF ROME. |"B. IX. CHAP. 16.

To whom Papirius returned this answer, that " they ought to
have consulted Pontius, son of Herennius, by whose advice
they had sent the Romans under the yoke, what treatment he
thought fitting for the conquered to undergo. But since, in-
stead of offering fair terms themselves, they chose rather that
they should be imposed on them by their enemies, he desired
them to carry back orders to the troops in Luceria, that they
should leave within the walls their arms, baggage, beasts of
burthen, and all persons unfit for war. The soldiers he would
send under the yoke with single garments, retaliating the dis-
grace formerly inflicted, not inflicting a new one." The terms
were not rejected. Seven thousand soldiers were sent under
the yoke, and an immense booty was seized in Luceria, all the
standards and arms which they had lost at Caudium being
recovered; and, what greatly surpassed all their joy, reco-
vered the horsemen whom the Samnites had sent to Luceria
to be kept as pledges of the peace. Hardly ever did the Ro-
mans gain a victory more distinguished for the sudden reverse
produced in the state of their affairs; especially if it be true,
as I find in some annals, that Pontius, son of Herennius, the
Samnite general, was sent under the yoke along with the rest,
to atone for the disgrace of. the consuls. I think it indeed
more strange that there should exist any doubt whether it
was Lucius Cornelius, in quality of dictator, Lucius Papirius
Cursor being master of the horse, who performed these
achievements at Caudium, and afterwards at Luceria, as the
single avenger of the disgrace of the Romans, enjoying the
best deserved triumph, perhaps, next to that of Furius Ca-
millus, which had ever yet been obtained; or whether that
honour belongs to the consuls, and particularly to Papirius.
This uncertainty is followed by another, whether, at the next
election, Papirius Cursor was chosen consul a third time, with
Quintus Aulus Ceretanus a second time, being re-elected in
requital of his services at Luceria; or whether it was Lucius
Papirius Mugillanus, the surname being mistaken.

16. From henceforth, the accounts are clear, that the other
wars were conducted to a conclusion by the consuls. Aulius,
by one successful battle, entirely conquered the Forentans.
The city, to which their army had retreated after its defeat,
surrendered on terms, hostages having been demanded. With
similar success the other consul conducted his operationsy. r. 435.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

581

against the Satrieans; who, though Roman citizens, had, after
the misfortune at Caudium, revolted to the Samnites, and re-
ceived a garrison into their city. The Satrieans, however,#
when the Roman army approached their walls, sent deputies
to sue for peace, with humble entreaties; to whom the consul
answered harshly, that "they must not come again to him,
unless they either put to death, or delivered up, the Samnite
garrison:" by which terms greater terror was struck into the
colonists than by the arms with which they were threatened.
The deputies, accordingly, several times asking the consul,
how he thought that they, who were few and weak, could
attempt to use force against a garrison so strong and well-
armed: he desired them to "seek counsel from those, by
whose advice they had received that garrison into the city."
They then departed, and returned to their countrymen, hav-
ing obtained from the consul, with much difficulty, permission
to consult their senate on the matter, and bring back their
answer to him. Two factions divided the senate; one that
whose leaders had been the authors of the defection from the
Roman people, the other consisted of the citizens who retained
their loyalty; both, however, showed an earnest desire, that
every means should be used towards effecting an accommoda-
tion with the consul for the restoration of peace. As the
Samnite garrison, being in no respect prepared for holding
out a siege, intended to retire the next night out of the town,
one party thought it sufficient to discover to the consul, at
what hour, through what gate, and by what road, his enemy
was to march out. The other, against whose wishes defec-
tion to the Samnites had occurred, even opened one of the
gates for the consul in the night, secretly admitting the armed
enemy into the town. In consequence of this twofold treachery,
the Samnite garrison was surprised and overpowered by an
ambush, placed in the woody places, near the road; and, at
the same time, a shout was raised in the city, which was now
filled with the enemy. Thus, in the short space of one hour,
the Samnites were put to the sword, the Satrieans made pri-
soners, and all things reduced under the power of the consul;
who, having instituted an inquiry by whose means the revolt
had taken place, scourged with rods and beheaded such as he
found to be guilty; and then, disarming the Satrieans, he
placed a strong garrison in the place. On this those writers582

THE HISTORr OF ROME. [B. IX. CKAP. 17

state, that Papirius Cursor proceeded to Rome to celebrate
his triumph, who say, that it was under his guidance Luceria
was retaken, and the Samnites sent under the yoke. Undoubt-
edly, as a warrior, he was deserving of every military praise,
excelling not only in vigour of mind, but likewise in strength
of body. He possessed extraordinary swiftness of foot, sur-
passing every one of his age in running, from whence came
the surname into his family; and he is said, either from the
robustness of his frame, or from much practice, to have
been able to digest a very large quantity of food and wine.
Never did either the foot-soldier or horseman feel military
service more laborious, under any general, because he was of
a constitution not to be overcome by fatigue. The cavalry,
on some occasion, venturing to request that, in consideration
of their good behaviour, he would excuse thern some part of
their business, he told them, "Ye should not say that no in-
dulgence has been granted you,—I excuse you from rubbing
your horses' backs when ye dismount." He supported also
the authority of command, in all its vigour, both among the
allies and his countrymen. The praetor of Praeneste, through
fear, had been tardy in bringing forward his men from the re-
serve to the front: he, walking before his tent, ordered him
to be called, and then bade the lictor to make ready his axe, on
which, the Prsenestine standing frightened almost to death, he
said, " Here, lictor, cut away this stump, it is troublesome to
people as they walkand, after thus alarming him with the
dread of the severest punishment, he imposed a fine and dis-
missed him. It is beyond doubt, that during that age, than
which none was ever more productive of virtuous characters,
there was no man in whom the Roman affairs found a more
effectual support; nay, people even marked him out, in their
minds, as a match for Alexander the Great, in case that, hav-
ing completed the conquest of Asia, he should have turned
his arms on Europe.

17. Nothing can be found farther from my intention, since
the commencement of this history, than to digress, more than
necessity required, from the course of narration; and, by
embellishing my work with variety, to seek pleasing resting-
places, as it were, for my readers, and relaxation for my own
mind: nevertheless, the mention of so great a king and com-
mander, now calls forth to public view those silent reflections,Y. it. 435.]

THE HISTORY 6F ROME.

583

with which it has oftentimes occupied my mind; and disposes
me to inquire, what would have been the consequence, re-
specting the affairs of the Romans, if they had happened to
have been engaged in a war with Alexander. The circum-
stances of greatest moment in war seem to be, the number and
bravery of the soldiers, the abilities of the commanders, and
fortune, which exerts a powerful sway over all human con-
cerns, and especially over those of war. Now these particu-
lars, to one who considers them both separately and collect-
ively, must clearly convince an observer, that not only other
kings and nations, but that even Alexander himself, would
have found the Roman empire invincible. And first to begin
with comparing the commanders. I do not, indeed, deny that
Alexander was a captain of consummate merit; but still it
renders him more illustrious that he was single in command,
and that he died young, while his affairs were advancing in
improvement, and while he had not yet experienced a reverse
of fortune. For, to pass by other illustrious kings and leaders,
who afford exemplary instances of the decline of human
greatness, what was it, but length of life, which subjected
Cyrus (whom the Greeks, in their panegyrics, exalt so far
beyond all others) to the caprice of fortune ? And the same
was, lately, the case of Pompey the Great. I shall enumerate
the Roman chiefs ; not every one of every age, but those very
ones with whom, either as consuls or dictators, Alexander
might have been epgaged: Marcus Valerius Corvus, Caius
Marcius Rutilus, Caius Sulpicius, Titus Manlius Torquatus,
Quintus Publilius Philo, Lucius Papirius Cursor, Quintus
Fabius Maximus, the two Decii, Lucius Vplumnius, Maniua
Curius. Then follow a number of very extraordinary men,
had it so happened, that he had first engaged in war with
Carthage, and had come into Italy at a more advanced period
of life. Every one of these both possessed powers of mind
and a capacity equal with Alexander; and also a regular
system of military discipline had been transmitted from one
to another, from the first rise of the city of Rome; a system
now reduced into the form of an art, completely digested in a
train of fixed and settled principles. According to these prin-
ciples kings had carried on wars; and afterwards, the expel-
lers of those kings, the Junii and Valerii; according to these
the Fabii, the Quintii, the Cornelii, and so too Furius Ca-
millus, who was an old man in the earlier years of those with584

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. IX. CHAP. 18.

whom Alexander must have fought. Manlius Torquatus,
had he met him in the field, might, perhaps, have yielded to
Alexander in discharging military duties in battle (for these
also render him no less illustrious); and so might Valerius
Corvus; men who were distinguished soldiers, before they
became commanders. The same, too, might have been the
case with the Decii, who, after devoting their persons, rushed
upon the enemy; or of Papirius Cursor, though possessed of
such powers, both of body and mind. By the counsels of
one youth, it is possible the wisdom of a whole senate, not to
mention individuals, might have been baffled, [consisting of
such members,] that he alone, who declared that " it consisted
of kings," conceived a correct idea of a Roman senate. But
then the danger was, that with more judgment than any one
of those whom I have named he might choose ground for an
encampment, provide supplies, guard against stratagems, dis-
tinguish the season for fighting, form his line of battle, or
strengthen it properly with reserves. He would have owned
that he was not dealing with Darius, who drew after him a
train of women and eunuchs; saw nothing about him but
gold and purple; was encumbered with the trappings of his
state, and should be called his prey, rather than his anta-
gonist ; whom therefore he vanquished without loss of blood,
and had no other merit, on the occasion, than that of show-
ing a proper spirit in despising empty show. The aspect of
Italy would have appeared to him of a quite different nature
from that of India, which he traversed in the guise of a re-
veller, at the head of a crew of drunkards, if he had seen the
forests of Apulia, and the mountains of Lucania, with the
vestiges of the disasters of his house, and where his uncle
Alexander, king of Epirus, had been lately cut off.

18. We are now speaking of Alexander not yet intoxicated
by prosperity, the seductions of which no man was less capa-
ble of withstanding. But, if he is to be judged from the
tenor of his conduct in the new state of his fortune, and from
the new disposition, as I may say, which he put on after his
successes, he would have entered Italy more like Darius than
Alexander; and would have brought thither an army who
had forgotten Macedonia, and were degenerating into the
manners of the Persians. It is painful, in speaking of so
great a king, to recite his ostentatious change of dress; his
requiring that people should address him with adulation,Y. R. 435.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

585

prostrating themselves on the ground, a practice insupport-
able to the Macedonians, had they even been conquered, much
more so when they were victorious ; the shocking cruelty of
his punishments; his murdering his friends in the midst of
feasting and wine; with the folly of his fiction respecting his
birth. What must have been the consequence, if his love
of wine had daily become more intense ? if his fierce and
uncontrollable anger? And as I mention not any one cir-
cumstance of which there is a doubt among writers, do we
consider these as no disparagements to the qualifications of a
commander? But then, as is frequently repeated by the
silliest of the Greeks, who are fond of exalting the reputa-
tion, even of the Parthians, at the expense of the Roman
name, the danger was that the Roman people would not have
had resolution to bear up against the splendour of Alexander's
name, who, however, in my opinion, was not known to them
even by common fame; and while, in Athens, a state reduced
to weakness by the Macedonian arms, which at the very time
saw the ruins of Thebes smoking in its neighbourhood, men
had spirit enough to declaim with freedom against him, as is
manifest from the copies of their speeches, which have been
preserved; [we are*to be told] that out of such a number of
Roman chiefs, no one would have freely uttered his senti-
ments. How great soever our idea of this man's greatness
may be, still it is the greatness of an individual, constituted
by the successes of a little more than ten years; and those
who give it pre-eminence on account that the Roman people
have been defeated, though not in any entire war, yet in se-
veral battles, whereas Alexander was never once unsuccessful
in a single fight, do not consider that they are comparing the
actions of one man, and that a young man, with the exploits
of a nation waging wars now eight hundred years. Can we
wonder if, when on the one side more ages are numbered
than years on the other, fortune varied more in so long a
lapse of time than in the short term of thirteen years ?1 But
why not compare the success of one general with that of
another ? How many Roman commanders might I name who
never lost a battle ? In the annals of the magistrates, and the
records, we may run over whole pages of consuls and dicta-
tors, with whose bravery, and successes also, the Roman

1 The duration of Alexander's military career.586

THE HISTORY OF ROME. 1B. IX. CHAP. 19.

people never once had reason to be dissatisfied. And what
renders them more deserving of admiration than Alexander,
or any king, is, that some of these acted in the office of dic-
tator, which lasted only ten, or it might be twenty days;
none, in a charge of longer duration than the consulship of a
year; their levies obstructed by plebeian tribunes; often late
in taking the field; recalled, before the time, on account of
elections; amidst the very busiest efforts of the campaign,
their year of office expired; sometimes the rashness, some-
times the perverseness of a colleague, proving an impediment
or detriment; and finally succeeding to the unfortunate ad-
ministration of a predecessor, with an army of raw or ill-dis-
ciplined men. But, on the other hand, kings, being not only
free from every kind of impediment, but masters of circum-
stances and seasons, control all things in subserviency to their
designs, themselves uncontrolled by any. So that Alexander,
unconquered, would have encountered unconquered com-
manders ; and would have had stakes of equal consequence
pledged on the issue. Nay, the hazard had been greater on
his side; because the Macedonians would have had but one
Alexander, who was not only liable, but fond of exposing
himself to casualties; the Romans would have had many
equal to Alexander, both in renown, and in the greatness of
their exploits ; any one of whom might live or die according
to his destiny, without any material consequence to the
public.

19. It remains that the forces be compared together, with
respect to their numbers, the quality of the men, and their
supplies of auxiliaries. Now, in the general surveys of that
age, there were rated two hundred and fifty thousand men;
so that, on every revolt of the Latin confederates, ten legions
were enlisted almost entirely in the city levy. It often
happened during those years, that four or five armies were
employed at a time, in Etruria, in Umbria, the Gauls also
being at war, in Samnium, in Lucania. Then as to all La-
tium, with the Sabines, and Yolscians, the iEquans, and all
Campania; half of Umbria, Etruria, and the Picentians, the
Marsians, Pelignians, Yestinians, and Apulians ; to whom we
may add, the whole coast of the lower sea, possessed by the
Greeks, from Thurii to Neapolis and Cumse; and the Sam-
nites from thence as far as Antium and Ostia: all these he
would have found either powerful allies to the Romans, ory. R. 435 ]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

587

deprived of power by their arms. He would have crossed the
sea with his veteran Macedonians, amounting to no more
than thirty thousand infantry and four thousand horse, these
mostly Thessalians. This was the whole of his strength.
Had he brought with him Persians and Indians, and those
other nations, it would be dragging after him an encumbrance
rather than a support. Add to this, that the Romans, being
at home, would have had reqpuits at hand: Alexander, waging
war in a foreign country, would have found his army worn
out with long service, as happened afterwards to Hannibal.
As to arms, theirs were a buckler and long spears ; those of
the Romans, a shield, which covered the body more effectually,
and a javelin, a much more forcible weapon than the spear,
either in throwing or striking. The soldiers, on both sides,
were used to steady combat, and to preserve their ranks. But
the Macedonian phalanx was unapt for motion, and composed
of similar parts throughout: the Roman line less compact,
consisting of several various parts, was easily divided as occa-
sion required, and as easily conjoined. Then what soldier is
comparable to the Roman in the throwing up of works ? who
better calculated to endure fatigue ? Alexander, if overcome
in one battle, would have been overcome in war. The Roman,
whom Claudium, whom Canna6, did not crush, what line of
battle could crush ? In truth, even should events have been
favourable to him at first, he would have often wished for the
Persians, the Indians, and the effeminate tribes of Asia, as
opponents ; and would have acknowledged, that his wars had
been waged with women, as we are told was said by Alexander,
king of Epirus, after receiving his mortal wound, when com-
paring the wars waged in Asia by this very youth, with those
in which himself had been engaged. Indeed, when I reflect
that, in the first Punic war, a contest was maintained by the
Romans with the Carthaginians, at sea, for twenty-four years,
I can scarcely suppose that the life of Alexander would have
been long enough for the finishing of one war [with either of
those nations]. And perhaps, as both the Punic state was
united to the Roman by ancient treaties, and as similar ap-
prehensions might arm against a common foe those two nations
the most potent of the time in arms and in men, he might have
been overwhelmed in a Punic and a Roman war at once.
The Romans have had experience of the boasted prowess of588

THE HISTORY OP ROME. [B. IX. CHAP. 20

the Macedonians in arms, not indeed under Alexander as
their general, or when their power was at the height, but in
the wars against Antiochus, Philip, and Perses; and not only
not with any losses, but not even with any danger to them-
selves. Let not my assertion give offence, nor our civil wars
be brought into mention ; never were we worsted by an
enemy's cavalry, never by their infantry, never in open fight,
never on equal ground, much leaf when the ground was fa-
vourable. Our soldiers, heavy laden with arms, may reason-
ably fear a body of cavalry, or arrows; defiles of difficult
passage, and places impassable to convoys. But they have
defeated, and will defeat a thousand armies, more formidable
than those of Alexander and the Macedonians, provided that
the same love of peace and solicitude about domestic harmony,
in which we now live, continue permanent.

20. Marcus Foslius Flaccinator and Lucius Plautius Yenno
were the next raised to the consulship. In this year ambas-
sadors came from most of the states of the Samnites to'procure
a renewal of the treaty; and, after they had moved the com-
passion of the senate, by prostrating themselves before them,
on being referred to the people, they found not .their prayers
so efficacious. The treaty therefore, being refused, after they
had importuned them individually for several days, was ob-
tained. The Teaneans likewise, and Canusians of Apulia,
worn out by the devastations of their country, surrendered
themselves to the consul, Lucius Plautius, and gave hostages.
This year prefects first began to be created for Capua, and a
code of laws was given to that nation, by Lucius Furius the
praetor; both in compliance with their own request, as a re-
medy for the disorder of their affairs, occasioned by intestine
dissensions. At Rome, two additional tribes were constituted,
the Ufentine and Falerine. On the affairs of Apulia falling
into decline, the Teatians of that country came to the new
consuls, Caius Junius Bubulcus, and Quintus ^Emilius Bar-
bula, suing for an alliance; and engaging, that peace should
be observed towards the Romans through every part of Apu-
lia. By pledging themselves boldly for this, they obtained
the grant of an alliance, not however on terms of equality, but
of their submitting to the dominion of the Roman people.
Apulia being entirely reduced, (for Junius had also gained pos-
session of Forentum, a town of great strength,) the consuls ad-Y, r. 438.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

589

vanced into Lucania ; there Nerulum was surprised and storm-
ed by the sudden advance of the consul JEmilius. When
fame had spread abroad among the allies, how firmly the af-
fairs of Capua were settled by [the introduction of] the
Roman institutions, the Antians, imitating the example, pre-
sented a complaint of their being without laws, and without
magistrates ; on which the patrons of the colony itself were
appointed by the senate to form a body of laws for it. Thus
not only the arms, but the laws, of Rome became extensively
prevalent.

21.	The consuls, Caius Junius Bubulcus and Quintus
JEmilius Barbula, at the conclusion of the year, delivered
over the legions, not to the consuls elected by themselves,
who were Spurius Nautius and Marcus Popillius, but to a
dictator, Lucius JEmilius. He, with Lucius Fulvius, master
of the horse, having commenced to lay siege to Saticula, gave
occasion to the Samnites of reviving hostilities. Hence a
twofold alarm was occasioned to the Roman army. On one
side, the Samnites having collected a numerous force to re-
lieve their allies from the siege, pitched their camp at a small
distance from that of the Romans: on the other side, the
Saticulans, opening suddenly their gates, ran up with violent
tumult to the posts of the enemy. Afterwards, each party,
relying on support from the other, more than on its own
strength, formed a regular attack, and pressed on the Ro-
mans. The dictator, on his part, though obliged to oppose
two enemies at once, yet had his line secure on both sides;
for he both chose a position not easily surrounded, and also
formed two different fronts. However, he directed his greater
efforts against those who had sallied from the town, and,
without much resistance, drove them back within the walls.
He then turned his whole force against the Samnites: there
he found greater difficulty. But the victory, though long de-
layed, was neither doubtful nor alloyed by losses. The Sam-
nites, being forced to fly into their camp, extinguished theii
fires at night, and marched away in silence; and renouncing
all hopes of relieving Saticula, sat themselves down before
Plistia, which was in alliance with the Romans, that they
might, if possible, retort equal vexation on their enemy.

22.	The year coming to a conclusion, the war was thence-
forward conducted by a dictator, Quintius Fabius. The new590

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. IX. CHAP. 2Z

consuls, Lucius Papirius Cursor and Quintus Publilius Philo,
both a fourth time, as the former had done, remained at
Rome. Fabius came with a reinforcement to Saticula, to
receive the army from ^Emilius. For the Samnites had not
continued before Plistia; but having sent for a new supply
of men from home, and relying on their numbers, had en-
camped in the same spot as before; and, by provoking the
Romans to battle, endeavoured to divert them from the siege.
The dictator, so much the more intently, pushed forward his
operations against the fortifications of the enemy; consider-
ing that only as war which was directed against the city, and
showing an indifference with respect to the Samnites, except
that he placed guards in proper places, to prevent any at-
tempt on his camp. The more furiously did the Samnites
ride up to the rampart, and allowed him no quiet. When
the enemy were now come up close to the gates of the camp,
Quintus Aulius Cerretpius, master of the horse, without con-
sulting the dictator, sallied out furiously at the head of all
the troops of cavalry, and drove back the enemy. In this de-
sultory kind of fight, fortune worked up the strength of the
combatants in such a manner, as to occasion an extraordinary
loss on both sides, and the remarkable deaths of the com-
manders themselves. First, the general of the Samnites, in-
dignant at being repulsed, and compelled to fly from a place
to which he had advanced so confidently, by entreating and
exhorting his horsemen, renewed the battle. As he was easily
distinguished among the horsemen, while he urged on the
fight, the Roman master of the horse galloped up against him,
with his spear directed, so furiously, that, with one stroke, he
tumbled him lifeless from his horse. The multitude, however,
were not, as is generally the case, dismayed by the fall of their
leader, but father raised to fury. All who were within reach
darted their weapons at Aulius, who incautiously pushed for-
ward among the enemy's troops; but the chief share of the
honour of revenging the death of the Samnite general they
assigned to his brother; he, urged by rage and grief, dragged
down the victorious master of the horse from his seat, and
slew him. Nor were the Samnites far from obtaining his
body also, as he had fallen among the enemies' troops: but
the Romans instantly dismounted, and the Samnites were
obliged to do the same; and lines being thus formed suddenly,X. r, 439.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

591

they began a battle on foot, yound the bodies of the generals,
in which the Romans had manifestly the advantage; and re-
covering the body of Aulius, carried it back in triumph to
the camp, with joy mixed with grief. The Samnites having lost
their commander, and made a trial of their strength in this
contest between the cavalry, left Saticula, which they in vain
hoped to relieve, and returned to the siege of Plistia : within
a few days after which, the Romans got possession of Saticula
by capitulation, and the Samnites of Plistia by force.

23. The seat of the war was then changed. The legions
were led away from Samnium and Apulia to Sora. Sora had
revolted to the Samnites, and put to death the Roman colo-
nists. The Roman army having arrived here first, by forced
marches, with the purpose of revenging the murder of their
countrymen, and recovering possession of the colony, and the
scouts who were scattered about the roads bringing intelli-
gence, one after another, that the Samnites were following and
were now not far off, they marched to meet the enemy, and
at Lautulse fought them with doubtful success. Neither loss
nor flight on either side, but the night separated the combat-
ants, uncertain whether they were victorious or defeated. I
find in some historians, that the Romans were worsted in this
battle, and that here Quintus Aulius, the master of the horse,
fell. Caius Fabius, substituted master of the horse in the
room of Quintus Aulius, came hither with a new army from
Rome; and having, by messengers whom he sent forward,
consulted the dictator, where he should halt, at what time,
and on what side he should fall upon the enemy, and, being
sufficiently apprized of his designs in every particular, he
rested in a place where he was safe from observation. The
dictator, after having kept his men within the rampart for
several days after the engagement, like one besieged, rather
than a besieger, suddenly displayed the signal for battle; and
judging it the more efficacious method of inflaming the cour-
age of brave men, to let none have any room for hope but in
himself, he kept secret from the troops the arrival of the mas-
ter of the horse and the new army ; and, as if there were no
safety but in forcing their way thence, he said, " Soldiers,
caught as we are in a confined situation, we have no passage
through which we can extricate ourselves, unless we open
one by a victory. Our post is sufficiently secured by works;592

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. IX. CHAP. 24

but, at the same time, untenable through scarcity of neces-
saries : for all the country round, from which provisions could
be supplied, has revolted ; and besides, even were the inhabit-
ants disposed to aid us, the ground is unfavourable. I will
not therefore mislead you by leaving a camp here, into which
ye may retreat, as on a former day, without completing the
victory. Works ought to be secured by arms, not arms by
works. Let those keep a camp, and repair to it, whose in-
terest it is to protract the war; but let us cut off from our-
selves every other prospect but that of conquering. Advance
the standards against the enemy; as soon as the troops shall
have marched beyond the rampart, let those who have it in
orders burn the camp. Your losses, soldiers, shall be com-
pensated with the spoil of all the nations round who have re-
volted." The soldiers advanced against the enemy with spirits
inflamed by the dictator's discourse, which seemed indicative
of an extreme necessity; and, at the same time, the very sight
of the camp burning behind them, though the nearest part
only was set on fire, (for so the dictator had ordered,) was no
small incitement: rushing on therefore like madmen, they
disordered the enemy's battalions at the very first onset; and
the master of the horse, when he saw at a distance the fire of
the camp, which was a signal agreed on, made a seasonable at-
tack on their rear. The Samnites, thus surrounded on every
side, fled different ways. A vast number, who had gathered
into a body through fear, yet from confusion incapable of act-
ing, were surrounded and cut to pieces. The enemy's camp was
taken and plundered; and the soldiers being laden with the
spoil, the dictator led them back to the Roman camp, highly re-
joiced at the success, but by no means so much as at finding,
contrary to their expectation, every thing there safe, except a
small part only, which was injured or destroyed by the fire.

24. They then marched back to Sora; and the new con-
suls, Marcus Poetelius and Caius Sulpicius, receive the army
from the dictator Fabius, discharging a great part of the
veteran soldiers, having brought with them new cohorts to
supply their place. Now while, on account of the difficult
situation of the city, no certain mode of attack could be de-
vised, and success must either be distant in time, or at a
desperate risk; a deserter from Sora came out of the
town privately by night, and when he had got as far as theY. It. 440.]	THE HISTORY OF BOME.	593

Roman watches, desired to be conducted instantly to the con-
suls : which being complied with, he made them an offer of
delivering the place into their hands. When he answered
their questions, respecting the means by which he intended
to make good his promise, appearing to state a project by no
means idle, he persuaded them to remove the Roman camp,
which was almost close to the walls, to the distance of six
miles; that the consequence would be that this would render
the guards by day, and the watches by night, the less vigilant.
He then desired that some cohorts should post themselves the
following night in the woody places under the town, and took
with himself ten chosen soldiers, through steep and almost
impassable ways, into the citadel, where a quantity of missive
weapons had been collected, larger than bore proportion to
the number of men. There were stones besides, some lying
at random, as in all craggy places, and others heaped up de-
signedly by the townsmen, to add to the security of the place.
Having posted the Romans here, and shown them a steep and
narrow path leading up from the town to the citadel—" From
this ascent," said he, " even three armed men would keep off
any multitude whatever. Now ye are ten in number; and,
what is more, Romans, and the bravest among the Romans.
The night is in your favour, which, from the uncertainty it
occasions, magnifies every object to people once alarmed. I
will immediately fill every place with terror: be ye alert in
defending the citadel." He then ran down in haste,v crying
aloud, " To arms, citizens, we are undone, the citadel is taken
by the enemy; run, defend it." This he repeated, as he
passed the doors of the principal men, the same to all whom
he met, and also to those who ran out in a fright into the
streets. The alarm, communicated first by one, was soon
spread by numbers through all the city. The magistrates,
dismayed on hearing from scouts that the citadel was full of
arms and armed men, whose number they multiplied, laid
aside all hopes of recovering it. All places are filled with
terror: the gates are broken open by persons half asleep, and
for the most part unarmed, through one of which the body of
Roman troops, roused by the noise, burst in, and slew the
terrified inhabitants, who attempted to skirmish in the streets.
Sora was now taken, when, at the first light, the consuls ar-
rived, and accepted the surrender of those whom fortune had

2 Q 2594

THE HISTORY- OF ROME.

[b. ix. chap. 2o.

left remaining after the flight and slaughter of the night. Of
these, they conveyed in chains to Rome two hundred and
twenty-five, whom all men agreed in pointing out as the au-
thors, both of the revolt, and also of the horrid massacre of
the colonists. The rest they left in safety at Sora, a garrison
being placed there. All those who were brought to Rome
were beaten with rods in the forum, and beheaded, to the
great joy of the commons, whose interest it most highly con-
cerned, that the multitudes, sent to various places in colonies,
should be in safety.

25. The consuls, leaving Sora, turned their warlike opera-
tions against the lands and cities of the Ausonians; for all
places had been set in commotion by the coming of the Sam-
nites, when the battle was fought at Lautulse: conspiracies
likewise had been formed in several parts of Campania; nor
was Capua itself clear of the charge: nay, the business spread
even to Rome, and inquiries came to be instituted respecting
some of the principal men there. However, the Ausonian
nation fell into the Roman power, in the same manner as
Sora, by their cities being betrayed: these were Ausona,
Minturnee, and Vescia. Certain young men, of the principal
families, twelve in number, having conspired to betray their
respective cities, came to the consuls; they informed them
that their countrymen, who had for a long time before earn-
estly wished for the coming of the Samnites, on hearing of the
battle at Lautulse, had looked on the Romans as defeated, and
had assisted the Samnites with supplies of young men and
arms; but that, since the Samnites had been beaten out of the
country, they were wavering between peace and war, not
shutting their gates against the Romans, lest they should
thereby invite an attack; yet determined to shut them if an
army should approach; that in that fluctuating state they
might easily be overpowered by surprise. By these men's
advice the camp was moved nearer; and soldiers were sent, at
the same time, to each of the three towns; some armed, who
were to lie concealed in places near the walls; others, in the
garb of peace, with swords hidden under their clothes, who,
on the opening of the gates at the approach of day, were to
enter into the cities. These latter began with killing the
guards; at the same time, a signal was made to the men in
arms, to hasten up from the ambuscades. Thus the gatesY. R. 440.]

THE HISTORY OF HOME.

595

were seized, and the three towns taken in the same hour and
by the same device. But as the attacks were made in the ab-
sence of the generals, there were no bounds to the carnage
which ensued; and the nation of the Ausonians, when there
was scarcely any clear proof of the charge of its having re-
volted, was utterly destroyed, as if it had supported a contest
through a.deadly "war.

26. During this year, Luceria fell into the hands of the
Samnites, the Roman garrison being betrayed to the enemy.
This matter did not long go unpunished with the trai-
tors : the Roman army was not far off, by whom the city,
which lay in a plain, was taken at the first onset. The Lu-
cerians and Samnites were to a man put to the sword ; and
to such a length was resentment carried, that at Rome, on the
senate being consulted about sending a colony to Luceria,
many voted for the demolition of it. Besides, their hatred
was of the bitterest kind, against a people whom they had
been obliged twice to subdue by arms ; the great distance,
also, made them averse from sending away their citizens
among nations so ill-affected towards them. However the
resolution was carried, that the colonists should be sent ; and
accordingly two thousand five hundred were transported
thither. This year, when all places were becoming disaffected
to the Romans, secret conspiracies were formed among the
leading men at Capua, as well as at other places ; a motion
concerning which being laid before the senate, the matter was
by no means neglected. Inquiries were decreed, and it was
resolved that a dictator should be appointed to enforce these
inquiries. Caius Mtenius was accordingly nominated, and
he appointed Marcus Foslius master of the horse. People's
dread of that office was very great, insomuch that the Calavii,
Ovius and Novius, who were the heads of the conspiracy,
either through fear of the dictator's power, or the conscious-
ness of guilt, previous to the charge against them being laid in
form before him, avoided, as appeared beyond doubt, trial by
a voluntary death. As the subject of the inquiry in Campania
was thus removed, the proceedings were then directed towards
Rome: by construing the order of the senate to have meant,
that inquiry should be made, not specially who at Capua, but
generally who at any place had caballed or conspired against
the state ; for that cabals, for the attaining of honours, were596

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. IX. CHAP. 26

contrary to the edicts of the state. The inquiry was extended
to a greater latitude, with respect both to the matter, and to
the kind of persons concerned, the dictator scrupling not to
avow, that his power of research was unlimited : in conse-
quence, some of the nobility were called to account ; and
though they applied to the tribunes for protection, no one in-
terposed in their behalf, or to prevent the charges from being
received. On this the nobles,* not those only against whom
the charge was levelled, but the whole body jointly insisted
that such an imputation lay not against the nobles, to whom
the way to honours lay open if not obstructed by fraud, but
against the new men : so that even the dictator and master
of the horse, with respect to that question, would appear more
properly as culprits than suitable inquisitors; and this they
should know as soon as they went out of office. Then indeed
Mgenius, who was more solicitous about his character than
his office, advanced into the assembly and spoke to this effect:
"Romans, both of my past life ye are all witnesses; and
this honourable office, which ye conferred on me, is in itself
a testimony of my innocence. For the dictator, proper to be
chosen for holding these inquiries, was not, as on many other
occasions, where the exigencies of the state so required, the
man who was most renowned in war ; but him whose course
of life was most remote from such cabals. But certain of the
nobility (for what reason it is more proper that ye should judge,
than that I, as a magistrate, should, without proof, insinuate)
have laboured to stifle entirely the inquiries ; and then, find-
ing their strength unequal to it, rather than stand a trial have
fled for refuge to the stronghold of their adversaries, an appeal,
and the support of the tribunes; and on being there also re-
pulsed, (so fully were they persuaded that every other mea-
sure was safer than the attempt to clear themselves,) have
made an attack upon us ; and, though in private characters,
have not been ashamed of instituting a criminal process against
a dictator. Now, that gods and men may perceive that they,
to avoid a scrutiny as to their own conduct, attempt even
things which are impossible, and that I willingly meet the
charge, and face the accusations of my enemies, I divest my-
self of the dictatorship. And, consuls, I beseech you, that,
if this business is put into your hands by the senate, ye will
make me and Marcus Foslius the first objects of your ex-Y* R. 440.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

597

animations ; that it may be manifested that we are safe from
such imputations by our own innocence, not by the dignity
of office." He then abdicated the dictatorship, as did Marcus
Foslius, immediately after, his office of master of the horse
and being the first brought to trial before the consuls, for to
them the senate had committed the business, they were most
honourably acquitted of all the charges brought by the nobles.
Even Publilius Philo, who had so often been invested with
the highest honours, and had performed so many eminent ser-
vices, both at home and abroad, being disagreeable to the no-
bility, was brought to trial, and acquitted. Nor did the in-
quiry continue respectable on account of the illustrious names
of the accused, longer than while it was new, which is usually
the case ; it then began to descend to persons of inferior rank ;
and, at length, was suppressed, by means of those factions and
cabals against which it had been instituted.

27. The accounts received of these matters, but more espe-
cially the hope of a revolt in Campania, for which a conspiracy
had been formed, recalled the Samnites, who were turning to-
wards Apulia, back to Caudium; so that from thence, being
near, they might, if any commotion should open them an op-
portunity, snatch Capua out of the hands of the Romans. To
the same place the consuls repaired with a powerful army.
They both held back for some time, on the different sides of
the defiles, the roads being dangerous to either party. Then
the Samnites, making a short circuit through an open tract,
marched down their troops into level ground in the Campanian
plains, and there the hostile camps first came within view of
each other. Trial of their strength in slight skirmishes was
made on both sides, more frequently between the horse than the
foot; and the Romans were no way dissatisfied either at the
issue of these, or at the delay by which they protracted the
war. The Samnite generals, on the contrary, considered
that their battalions were becoming weakened daily by small
losses, and the general vigour abated by prolonging the war.
They therefore marched into the field, disposing their cavalry
on both wings, with orders to give more heedful attention to
the camp behind than to the battle ; for that the line of in-
fantry would be able to provide for their own safety. The con-
suls took post, Sulpicius on the right wing, Poetelius on the left.
The right wing was stretched out wider than usual, where the598

THE HISTORY OF ROME. LB- Ix- CHAP. 28.

Samnites also stood formed in thin ranks, either with design
of turning the flank of the enemy, or to avoid being them-
selves surrounded. On the left, besides that they were form-
ed in more compact order, an addition was made to their
strength, by a sudden act of the consul Poetelius ; for the sub-
sidiary cohorts, which were usually reserved for the exigencies
of a tedious fight, he brought up immediately to the front,
and, in the first onset, 'pushed the enemy with the whole of
his force. The Samnite line of infantry giving way, their
cavalry advanced to support them ; and as they were charging
in an oblique direction between the two lines, the Roman
horse, coming up at full speed, disordered their battalions and
ranks of infantry and cavalry, so as to oblige the whole line
on that side to give ground. The left wing had not only the
presence of Poetelius to animate them, but that of Sulpicius
likewise ; who, on the shout being first raised in that quarter,
rode thither from his own division, which had not yet engaged.
When he saw victory no longer doubtful there, he returned
to his own post with twelve hnndred men, but found the state
of things there very different; the Romans driven from their
ground, and the victorious enemy pressing on them thus dis-r
mayed. However, the arrival of the consul effected a speedy
change in every particular ; for, on the sight of their leader,
the spirit of the soldiers was revived, and the bravery of the
men who came with him rendered them more powerful aid
than even their number ; while the news of success in the
other wing, which was heard, and after seen, restored the fight.
From this time, the Romans became victorious through the
whole extent of the line, and the Samnites, giving up the
contest, were slain or taken prisoners, except such as made
their escape to Maleventum, the town which is now called
Beneventum. It is recorded that thirty thousand of the Sam-
nites were slain or taken.

28. The consuls, after this important victory, led forward
the legions to lay siege to Bovianum; and there they passed
the winter quarters, until Caius Poetelius, being nominated
dictator, with Marcus Foslius, master of the horse, received
the command of the army from the new consuls, Lucius Pa-
pirius Cursor a fifth, and Caius Junius Bubulcus a second
time. On hearing that the citadel of Fregellae was taken by
the Samnites, he left Bovianum, and proceeded to Fregellae,Y. R. 442.]

THE HISTORY OP ROME.

599

whence, having recovered possession of it without any contest,
the Samnites abandoning it in the night, and having placed
a strong garrison there, he returned to Campania, directing
his operations principally to the recovery of Nola. Within
the walls of this place, the whole multitude of the Samnites,
and the inhabitants of the country about Nola, betook them-
selves on the approach of the dictator. Having taken a view
of the situation of the city, in order that the approach to the
fortifications may be the more open, he set fire to all the build-
ings which stood round the walls, which were very numer-
ous ; and, in a short time after, Nola was taken, either by
the dictator Poetelius, or the consul Caius Junius, for both
accounts are given. Those who attribute to the consul the
honour of taking Nola, add, that Atina and Calatia were also
taken by him, and that Poetelius was created dictator in con-
sequence of a pestilence breaking out, merely for the purpose
of driving the nail. The colonies of Suessa and Pontiae were
established in this year. Suessa had belonged to the Aurun-
cians: the Yolscians had occupied Pontile, an island lying
within sight of their shore. A decree of the senate was also
passed for conducting colonies to Interamna and Cassinum.
But commissioners were appointed, and colonists, to the num-
ber of four thousand, were sent by the succeeding consuls,
Marcus Valerius and Publius Decius.

29. The war with the Samnites being now nearly put an
end to, before the Roman senate was freed from all concern
on that side, a report arose of an Etrurian war; and there
was not, in those times, any nation, excepting the Gauls,
whose arms were more dreaded, by reason both of the vicinity
of their country, and of the multitude of their men. While
therefore one of the consuls prosecuted the remains of the
war in Samnium, Publius Decius, who, being attacked by a
severe illness, remained at Rome, by direction of the senate,
nominated Caius Junius Bubulcus dictator. He, as the
magnitude of the affair demanded, compelled all the younger
citizens to enlist, and with the utmost diligence prepared
arms, and the other matters which the occasion required.
Yet he was not so elated by the power he had collected, as to
think of commencing offensive operations, but prudently de-
termined to remain quiet, unless the Etrurians should become
aggressors. The plans of the Etrurians were exactly similar600

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. IX. CHAP. 30

with respect to preparing for, and abstaining fi-om, war: nei-
ther party went beyond their own frontiers. The censorship
of Appins Claudius and Caius Plautius, for this year, was
remarkable; but the name of Appius has been handed down
with more celebrity to posterity, on account of his having
made the road, [called after him, the Appian,] and for having
conveyed water into the city. These works he performed
alone; for his colleague, overwhelmed with shame by reason
of the infamous and unworthy choice made of senators, had
abdicated his office. Appius possessing that inflexibility of
temper, which, from the earliest times, had been the charac-
teristic of his family, held on the censorship by himself. By
direction of the same Appius, the Potitian family, in which
the office of priests attendant on the great altar of Hercules
was hereditary, instructed some of the public servants in the
rites of that solemnity, with the intention to delegate the same
to them. A circumstance is recorded, wonderful to be told, and
one which should make people scrupulous of disturbing the
established modes of religious solemnities: for though there
were, at that time, twelve branches of the Potitian family, all
grown-up persons, to the number of thirty, yet they were
every one, together with their offspring, cut off within the
year; so that the name of the Potitii became extinct, while
the censor Appius also was, by the unrelenting wrath of the
gods, some years after, deprived of sight.

30. The consuls of the succeeding year were, Caius Junius
Bubulcus a third time, and Quintus JEmilius Barbula a se-
cond. In the commencement of their office, they complained
before the people, that, by the improper choice of members
of the senate, that body had been disgraced, several having
been passed over who were preferable to the persons chosen
in; and they declared, that they would pay no regard to such
election, which had been made without distinction of right or
wrong, merely to gratify interest or humour: they then im-
mediately called over the list of the senate, in the same order
which had existed before the censorship of Appius Claudius
and Caius Plautius. Two public employments, both relating
to military affairs, came this year into the disposal of the peo-
ple ; one being an order, that sixteen of the tribunes, for four
legions, should be appointed by the people; whereas hitherto
they had been generally in the gift of the dictators and con-Y. R. 443.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

601

suls, very few of the places being left to suffrage. This order
was proposed by Lucius Atilius and Caius Marcius, plebeian
tribunes. Another was, that the people likewise should con-
stitute two naval commissioners, for the equipping and refit-
ting of the fleet. The person who introduced this order of
the people, was Marcus Decius, plebeian tribune. Another
transaction of this year I should pass over as trifling, did it
not seem to bear some relation to religion. The flute-players,
taking offence because they had been prohibited by the last
censors from holding their repasts in the temple of Jupiter,
which had been customary from very early times, went off in
a body to Tibur; so that there was not one left in the city to
play at the sacrifices. The religious tendency of this affair
gave uneasiness to the senate; and they sent envoys to Tibur
to endeavour that these men might be sent back to Rome.
The Tiburtines readily promised compliance, and first, calling
them into the senate-house, warmly recommended to them to
return to Rome; and then, when they could not be prevailed
on, practised on them an artifice not ill adapted to the dispo-
sitions of that description of people: on a festival day, they
invited them separately to their several houses, apparently
with the intention of heightening the pleasure of their feasts
with music, and there plied them with wine, of which such
people are always fond, until they laid them asleep. In this
state of insensibility they threw them into waggons, and car-
ried them away to Rome: nor did they know any thingf of the
matter, until, the waggons having been left in the forum, the
light surprised them, still heavily sick from the debauch. The
people then crowded about them, and, on their consenting at
length to stay, privilege was granted them to ramble about
the city in full dress, with music, and the licence which is
now practised every year during three days. And that li-
cence, which we see practised at present, and the rig^it of be-
ing fed in the temple, was restored to those who played at
the sacrifices. These incidents occurred while the public at-
tention was deeply engaged by two most important wars.

31. The consuls adjusting the provinces between them, the
Samnites fell by lot to Junius, the new war of Etruria to -ZEmi-
lius. In Samnium the Samnites had blockaded and reduced
by famine Cluvia, a Roman garrison, because they had been
unable to take it by storm; and, after torturing with stripes,602

THE HISTORY OF ROME. j>. IX. CHAP. 31.

in a shocking manner, the townsmen who surrendered, they
had put them to death. Enraged at this cruelty, Junius deter-
mined to postpone everything else to the attacking of Cluvia;
and, on the first day that he assaulted the walls, took it by
storm, and slew all who were grown to man's estate. The
victorious troops were led from thence to Bovianum; this
was the capital of the Pentrian Samnites, by far the most
opulent of their cities, and the most powerful both in men
and arms. The soldiers, stimulated by the hope of plunder,
for their resentment was not so violent, soon made themselves
masters of the town: where there was less severity exercised
on the enemy; but a quantity of spoil was carried off, greater
almost than had ever been collected out of all Samnium, and
the whole was liberally bestowed on the assailants. And
when neither armies, camps, or cities could now withstand
the vast superiority of the Romans in arms ; the attention of
all the leading men in Samnium became intent on this, that
an opportunity should be sought for some stratagem, if by
any chance the army, proceeding with incautious eagerness
for plunder, could be caught in a snare and overpowered.
Peasants who deserted and some prisoners (some thrown
in their way by accident, some purposely) reporting to
the consul a statement in which they concurred, and one
which was at the same time true, that a vast quantity of
cattle had been driven together into a defile of difficult
access, prevailed on them to lead thither the legions lightly
accoutred for plunder. Here a very numerous army of the
enemy had posted themselves, secretly, at all the passes;
and, as soon as they saw that the Romans had got into the
defile, they rose up suddenly, with great clamour and tu-
mult, and attacked them unawares. At first an event so
unexpected caused some confusion, while they were taking
their arms, and throwing the baggage into the centre ; but, as
fast as each had freed himself from his burden and fitted
himself with arms, they assembled about the standards, from
every side ; and all, from the long course of their service,
knowing their particular ranks, the line was formed of its own
accord witliout any directions. The consul, riding up to the
place where the fight was most warm, leaped from his horse,
and called "Jupiter, Mars, and the other gods to witness, that
he had come into that place, not in pursuit of any glory toT. R. 443. J

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

603

himself, bat of booty for his soldiers ; nor could any other
fault be charged on him, than too great a solicitude to enrich
his soldiers at the expense of the enemy. From that disgrace
nothing could extricate him but the valour of the troops : let
them only join unanimously in a vigorous attack against a foe,
already vanquished in the field, beaten out of their camps, and
stripped of their towns, and now trying their last hope by the
contrivance of an ambuscade, placing their reliance on the
ground they occupied, not on their arms. But what ground
was now unsurmountable to Roman valour ?" The citadel of
Fregellse, and that of Sora, were called to their remembrance,
with many other places where difficulties from situation had
been surmounted. Animated by these exhortations, the sol-
diers, regardless of all difficulties, advanced against the line
of the enemy, posted above them; and here there was some fa-
tigue whilst the army was climbing the steep. But as soon
as the first battalions got footing in the plain, on the summit,
and the troops perceived that they now stood on equal ground,
the dismay was instantly turned on the plotters ; who, dis-
persing and casting away their arms, attempted, by flight, to
recover the same lurking-places in which they had lately con-
cealed themselves. But the difficulties of the ground, which
had been intended for the enemy, now entangled them in the
snares of their own contrivance. Accordingly very few found
means to escape ; twenty thousand men were slain, and the
victorious Romans hastened in several parties to secure the
booty of cattle, spontaneously thrown in their way by the
enemy.

32. While such was the situation of affairs in Samnium,
all the states of Etruria, except the Arretians, had taken arms,
and vigorously commenced hostilities, by laying siege to Su-
trium ; which city, being in alliance with the Romans, served
as a barrier against Etruria. Thither the other consul,
.ZEmilius, came with an army to deliver the allies from the
siege. On the arrival of the Romans, the Sutrians conveyed
a plentiful supply of provisions into their camp, which was
pitched before the city. The Etrurians spent the first day in
deliberating whether they should expedite or protract the
war. On the day following, when the speedier plan pleased the
leaders in preference to the safer, as soon as the sun rose the
signal for battle was displayed, and the troops marched out to604

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

[b, ix. Chap. 33.

the field ; which being reported to the consul, he instantly
commanded notice to be given, that they should dine, and af-
ter taking refreshment, then appear under arms. The order
was obeyed ; and the consul, seeing them armed and in rea-
diness, ordered the standards to be carried forth beyond the
rampart, and drew up his men at a small distance from the
enemy. Both parties stood a long time with fixed attention,
each waiting for the shout and fight to begin on the opposite
side ; and the sun had passed the meridian before a weapon
was thrown by either side. Then, rather than leave the place
without something being done, the shout was given by the
Etrurians, the trumpets sounded, and the battalions advanced.
With no less alertness do the Romans commence the fight :
both rushed to the fight with violent animosity; the enemy
were superior in numbers, the Romans in valour. The battle
being doubtful, carries off great numbers on both sides, par-
ticularly the men of greatest courage ; nor did victory declare
itself, until the second line of the Romans came up fresh to
the front, in the place of the first, who were much fatigued.
The Etrurians, because their front line was not supported by
any fresh reserves, fell all before and round the standards, and
in no battle whatever would there have been seen less disposition
to run, or a greater effusion of human blood, had not the night
sheltered the Etrurians, who were resolutely determined on
death ; so that the victors, not the vanquished, were the first
who desisted from fighting. After sunset the signal for re-
treat was given, and both parties retired in the night to their
camps. During the remainder of the year, nothing memor-
able was effected at Sutrium; for, of the enemy's army, the
whole first line had been cut off in one battle, the reserves
only being left, who were scarce sufficient to guard the camp ;
and, among the Romans, so numerous were the wounds, that
more wounded men died after the battle than had fallen in
the field.

33. Quintus Fabius, consul for the ensuing year, succeeded
to the command of the army at Sutrium ; the colleague given
to him was Caius Marcius Rutilus. On the one side, Fabius
brought with him a reinforcement from Rome, and on the
other, a new army had been sent for, and came from home, to
the Etrurians. Many years had now passed without any dis-
putes between the patrician magistrates and plebeian tribunes,Y. R. 444.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

605

when a contest took its rise from that family, which seemed
raised by fate as antagonists to the tribunes and commons of
those times; Appius Claudius, being censor, when the
eighteen months had expired, which was the time limited by
the JEmilian law for the duration of the censorship, although
his colleague Caius Plautius had already resigned his office,
could not be prevailed on, by any means, to give up his.
There was a tribune of the commons, Publius Sempronius ; he
undertook to enforce a legal process for terminating the cen-
sorship within the lawful time, which was not more popular
than just, nor more pleasing to the people generally than to
every man of character in the city. After he frequently appeal-
ed to the iEmilian law, and bestowed commendations* on Ma-
mercus .ZEmilius, who, in his dictatorship, had been the author
of it, for having contracted, within the space of a year and six
months, the censorship, which formerly had lasted five years,
and was a power which, in consequence of its long continu-
ance, often became tyrannical, he proceeded thus: "Tell me,
Appius Claudius, in what manner you would have acted, had
you been censor, at the time when Caius Furius and Marcus
Geganius were censors?" Appius insisted, that "the tri-
bune's question was irrelevant to his case. For, although the
.ZEmilian law might bind those censors, during whose magis-
tracy it was passed,—because the people made that law after
they had become censors ; and whatever order is the last
passed by the people, that is held to be the law, and valid:—
yet neither he, nor any of those who had been created cen-
sors subsequent to the passing of that law, could be bound
by it."	,

34. While Appius urged such frivolous arguments as these,
which carried no conviction whatever, the other said, "Behold,
Romans, the offspring of that Appius, who being created de-
cemvir for one year, created himself for a second; and who,
during a third, without being created even by himself or by
any other, held on the fasces and the government though a
private individual; nor ceased to continue in office, until the
government itself, ill acquired, ill administered, and ill re-
tained, overwhelmed him in ruin. This is the same fa-
mily, Romans, by whose violence and injustice ye were com-
pelled to banish yourselves from your native city, and seize
on the Sacred mount; the same, against which ve pro-606

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

[B. IX. CHAP. 34

vided for yourselves the protection of tribunes ; the same,
on account of which two armies of you took post on the Aven-
tine; the same, which violently opposed the laws against
usury, and always the agrarian laws ; the same, which broke
through the right of intermarriage between the patricians and
the commons ; the same, which shut up the road to curule
offices against the commons: this is a name, more hostile to
your liberty by far, than that of the Tarquins. I pray you,
Appius Claudius, though this is now the hundredth year since
the dictatorship of Mamercus JEmilius, though there have
been so many men of the highest characters and abilities cen-
sors, did none of these ever read the twelve tables ? none
of them know, that, whatever was the last order of the peo-
ple, that was law ? Nay, certainly they all knew it; and they
therefore obeyed the JEmilian law, rather than the old one,
under which the censors had been at first created ; because it
was the last order; and because, when two laws are contra-
dictory, the new always repeals the old. Do you mean to say,
Appius, that the people are not bound by the ^Emilian law ?
Or, that the people are bound, and you alone exempted ? The
.ZEmilian law bound those violent censors, Caius Furius and
Marcus Geganius, who showed what mischief that office might
do in the state ; when, out of resentment for the limitation of
their power, they disfranchised Mamercus JEmilius, the first
man of the age, either in war or peace. It bound all the cen-
sors thenceforward, during the space of a hundred years. It
binds Caius Plautius your colleague, created under the same
auspices, with the same privileges. Did not the people cre-
ate him with the fullest privileges with which any censor ever
was created ? Or is yours an excepted case, in which this
peculiarity and singularity takes place ? Shall the person,
whom you create king of the sacrifices, laying hold of the style
of sovereignty, say, that he was created with the fullest pri-
vileges with which any king was ever created at Rome ?
Who then, do you think, would be content with a dictatorship
of six months ? who, with the office of interrex for five days ?
Whom would you, with confidence, create dictator, for the
purpose of driving the nail, or of exhibiting games ? How
foolish, how stupid, do ye think, those must appear in this
man's eyes, who, after performing most important services,
abdicated the dictatorship within the twentieth day ; or who,Y. R. 444.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

607

being irregularly created, resigned their office ? Why should
I bring instances from antiquity? Lately, within these last
ten years, Caius Masnius, dictator, having enforced inquiries,
with more strictness than consisted with the safety of some
powerful men, a charge was thrown out by his enemies, that
he himself was infected with the very crime against which
his inquiries were directed;—now Maenius, I say, in order
that he might, in a private capacity, meet the imputation,
abdicated the dictatorship. I expect not such moderation in
you; you will not degenerate from your family, of all others
the most imperious and assuming; nor resign your office a
day, nor even an hour, before you are forced to it. Be it so:
but then let no one exceed the time limited. It is enough to
add a day, or a month, to the censorship. But Appius says, I
will hold the censorship, and hold it alone, three years and
six months longer than is allowed by the .iEmilian law.
Surely this is like kingly power. Or will you fill up the
vacancy with another colleague, a proceeding not allowable,
even in the case of the death of a censor? You are not satis-
fied that, as if a religious censor, you have degraded a most
ancient solemnity, and the only one instituted by the very deity
to whom it is performed, from priests of that rite who were
of the highest rank to the ministry of mere servants. [You
are not satisfied that] a family, more ancient than the origin
of this city, and sanctified by an intercourse of hospitality
with the immortal gods, has, by means of you and your cen-
sorship, been utterly extirpated, with all its branches, within
the space of a year, unless you involve the whole common-
wealth in horrid guilt, which my mind feels a horror even to
contemplate. This city was taken in that lustrum in which
Lucius Papirius Cursor, on the death of his colleague Julius,
the censor, rather than resign his office, substituted Marcus
Cornelius Maluginensis. Yet how much more moderate was
his ambition, Appius, than yours ! Lucius Papirius neither
held the censorship alone, nor beyond the time prescribed by
law. But still he found no one who would follow his exam-
ple ; all succeeding censors, in case of the death of a colleague,
abdicated the office. As for you, neither the expiration of the
time of your censorship, nor the resignation of your colleague,
nor law, nor shame restrains you. You make fortitude to con-
sist in arrogance, in boldness, in a contempt of gods and men.

2 R608

THE HISTORY OF ROlVIE. [B. IX. CHAP. 35.

Appius Claudius, in consideration of the dignity and respect
due to that office which you have borne, I should be sorry,
not only to offer you personal violence, but even to address
you in language too severe. With respect to what I have
hitherto said, your pride and obstinacy forced me to speak.
And now, unless you pay obedience to the JEmilian law, I
shall order you to be led to prison. Nor, since a rule has been
established by our ancestors, that in the election of censors,
unless two shall obtain the legal number of suffrages, neither
shall be returned, but the election deferred,—will I suffer
you, who could not singly be created censor, to hold the cen-
sorship without a colleague." Having spoken to this effect,
he ordered the censor to be seized, and borne to prison. But,
although six of the tribunes approved of the proceeding of
their colleague, three gave their support to Appius, on his
appealing to them, and he held the censorship alone, to the
great disgust of all ranks of men.

35. While such was the state of affairs at Rome, the Etru-
rians had laid siege to Sutrium, and the consul Fabius, as he
was marching along the foot of the mountains, with a design
to succour the allies, and attempt the enemy's works, if it
were by any means practicable, was met by their army pre-
pared for battle. As the wide-extended plain below showed
the greatness of their force, the consul, in order to remedy
his deficiency in point of number, by advantage of the
ground, changed the direction of his route a little towards
the hills, where the way was rugged and covered with stones,
and then formed his troops, facing the enemy. The Etru-
rians, thinking of nothing but their numbers, on which
alone they depended, commence the fight with such haste and
eagerness, that, in order to come the sooner to a close engage-
ment, they threw away their javelins, drew their swords, rush-
ing against the enemy. On the other side, the Romans poured
down on them, sometimes javelins, and sometimes stones,
which the place abundantly supplied; so that whilst the
blows on their shields and helmets confused even those
whom they did not wound, (it was neither an easy matter to
come to close quarters, nor had they missive weapons with
which to fight at a distance,) when there was nothing now to
protect them whilst standing and exposed to the blows, some
even giving way, and the whole line wavering and unsteady,Y. R. 444.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

609

the spearmen and the first rank, renewing the shout, rush on
them with drawn swords. This attack the Etrurians could
not withstand, but, facing about, fled precipitately towards
their camp; when the Roman cavalry, getting before them by
galloping obliquely across the plain, threw themselves in the
way of their flight, on which they quitted the road, and bent
their course to the mountains. From thence, in a body, al-
most without arms, and debilitated with wounds, they made
their way into the Ciminian forest. The Romans, having
slain many thousands of the Etrurians, and taken thirty-eight
military standards, took also possession of their camp, together
with a vast quantity of spoil. They then began to consider
of pursuing the enemy.

36. The Ciminian forest was in those days deemed as im-
passable and frightful as the German forests have been in
latter times; not even any trader having ever attempted to
pass it. Hardly any, besides the general himself, showed
boldness enough to enter it; the others had not the remem-
brance of the disaster at Caudium effaced from their mind.
On this, of those who were present, Marcus Fabius, the con-
sul's brother, (some say Caeso, others Caius Claudius, born of
the same mother with the consul,) undertook to go and ex-
plore the country, and to bring them in a short time an ac-
count of every particular. Being educated at Caere, where
he had friends, he was perfectly acquainted with the Etrurian
language. I have seen it affirmed, that, in those times, the
Roman youth were commonly instructed in the Etrurian
learning, as they are now in the Greek: but it is more pro-
bable, that there was something very extraordinary in the
person who acted so daringly a counterfeit part, and mixed
among the enemy. It is said, that his only attendant was a
slave, who had been bred up with him, and who was there-
fore not ignorant of the same language. They received no
further instructions at their departure, than a summary de-
scription of the country through which they were to pass; to
this was added the names of the principal men in the several
states, to prevent their being at a loss in conversation, and
from being discovered by making some mistake. They set
out in the dress of shepherds, armed with rustic weapons,
bills, and two short javelins each. But neither their speak-
ing the language of the country, nor the fashion of their dress

2 R 2610

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. IX. CHAP. 37-

and arms, concealed them so effectually, as the incredible cir-
cumstance of a stranger's passing the Ciminian forest. They
are said to have penetrated as far as the Camertian district
of the Umbrians: there the Romans ventured to own who
they were, and being introduced to the senate, treated with
them, in the name of the consul, about an alliance and friend-
ship ; and after being entertained with courteous hospitality,
were desired to acquaint the Romans, that if pthey came into
those countries, there should be provisions in readiness for
the troops sufficient for thirty days, and that they should find
the youth of the Camertian Umbrians prepared in arms to
obey their commands. When this information was brought
to the consul, he sent forward the baggage at the first watch,
ordering the legions to march in the rear of it. He himself
staid behind with the cavalry, and next day, as soon as light
appeared, rode up to the posts of the enemy, which had been
stationed on the outside of the forest; and, when he had de-
tained them there for a sufficient length of time, he retired to
his camp, and marching out by the opposite gate, overtook
the main body of the army before night. At the first light,
on the following day, he had gained the summit of Mount
Ciminius, from whence having a view of the opulent plains
of Etruria, he let loose his soldiers upon them. When a vast
booty had been driven off, some tumultuary cohorts of Etru-
rian peasants, hastily collected by the principal inhabitants
of the district, met the Romans; but in such disorderly
array, that these rescuers of the prey were near becoming
wholly a prey themselves. These being slain or put to flight,
and the country laid waste to a great extent, the Romans re-
turned to their camp victorious, and enriched with plenty of
every kind. It happened that, in the mean time, five depu-
ties, with two plebeian tribunes, had come hither, to charge
Fabius, in the name of the senate, not to attempt to pass the
Ciminian forest. These, rejoicing that they had arrived too
late to prevent the expedition, returned to Rome with the
news of its success.

37. By this expedition of the consul, the war, instead of
being brought nearer to a conclusion, was only spread to a
wider extent: for all the tract adjacent to the foot of Mount
Ciminius had felt his devastations ; and, out of the indigna-
tion conceived thereat, had roused to arms, not only the statesY R. 444.]

THE HISTORY OF RO&E.

611

of Etruria, but the neighbouring parts of Umbria. They
came therefore to Sutrium, with such a numerous army as
they had never before brought into the field ; and not only
ventured to encamp on the outside of the wood, but through
their earnest desire of coming to an engagement as soon as
possible, marched down the plains to offer battle. The troops,
being marshalled, stood at first, for some time, on their own
ground, having left a space sufficient for the Romans to draw
up, opposite to them; but perceiving that the enemy declined
fighting, they advanced to the rampart; where, when they
observed that even the advanced guards had retired within
the works, a shout at once was raised around their generals,
that they should order provisions for that day to be brought
down to them: " for they were resolved to remain there under
arms ; and either in the night, or, at all events, at the dawn
of day, to attack the enemy's camp." The Roman troops,
though not less eager for action, were restrained by the com-
mands of the general. About the tenth hour, the consul or-
dered his men a repast; and gave directions that they should
be ready in arms, at whatever time of the day or night he
should give the signal. He then addressed a few words to
them; spoke in high terms of the wars of the Samnites, and
disparagingly of the Etrurians, who "were not," he said, "as
an enemy to be compared with other enemies, nor as a nu-
merous force, with others in point of numbers. Besides, he
had an engine at work, as they should find in due time ; at
present it was of importance to keep it secret." By these
hints he intimated that the enemy was circumvented in order
to raise the courage of his men, damped by the superiority of
the enemy's force ; and, from their not having fortified the
post where they lay, the insinuation of a stratagem formed
against them seemed the more credible. After refreshing
themselves, they consigned themselves to rest, and being
roused without noise, about the fourth watch, took arms.
Axes, are distributed among the servants following the army,
to tear down the rampart and fill up the trench. The line
was formed within the works, and some chosen cohorts posted
close to the gates. Then, a little before day, which in sum-
mer nights is the time of the profoundest sleep, the signal
being given, the rampart was levelled, and the troops rushing
forth, fell upon the enemy, who were every where stretched612

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. IX. CHAP. 38.

at their length. Some were put to death before they could
stir; others half asleep, in their beds ; the greatest part, while
they ran in confusion to arms ; few, in short, had time afford-
ed them to arm themselves ; and these, who followed no par-
ticular leader, nor orders, were quickly routed by the Romans
and pursued by the Roman horse. They fled different ways;
to the camp and to the woods. The latter afforded the safer
refuge ; for the former, being situated in a plain, was taken
the same day. The gold and silver was ordered to be brought
to the consul; the rest of the spoil was given to the soldiers.
On that day, sixty thousand of the enemy were slain or taken.
Some affirm, that this famous battle was fought on the farther
side of the Ciminian forest, at Perusia; and that the public
had been under great dread, lest the army might be enclosed
in such a dangerous pass, and overpowered by a general com-
bination of the Etrurians and Umbrians. But on whatever
spot it was fought, it is certain that the Roman power pre-
vailed ; and, in consequence thereof, ambassadors from Perusia,
Cortona, and Arretium, which were then among the principal
states of Etruria, soliciting a peace and alliance with the Ro-
mans, obtained a truce for thirty years.

38. During these transactions in Etruria, the other consul,
Caius Marcius Rutilus, took Allifae by storm from the Sam-
nites ; and many of their forts, and smaller towns, were either
destroyed by his arms, or surrendered without being injured.
About the same time also, the Roman fleet, having sailed to
Campania, under Publius Cornelius, to whom the senate had
given the command on the sea-coast, put into Pompeii. Im-
mediately on landing, the soldiers of the fleet set out to ravage
the country about Nuceria : and after they had quickly laid
waste the parts which lay nearest, and whence they could have
returned to the ships with safety, they were allured by the
temptation of plunder, as it often happens, to advance too far,
and thereby roused the enemy against them. While they
rambled about the country, they met no opposition, though
they might have been cut off to a man; but as they were re-
turning, in a careless manner, the peasants overtook them, not
far from the ships, stripped them of the booty, and even slew
a great part of them. Those who escaped were driven in con-
fusion to the ships. As Fabius' having marched through the
Ciminian forest had occasioned violent apprehensions at Rome,Y. R. 444. J

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

613

so it had excited joy in proportion among the enemy in Sam-
nium: they talked of the Roman army being pent up, and
surrounded; and of the Caudine forks, as a model of their de-
feat. " Those people," they said, " ever greedy after further
acquisitions, were now brought into inextricable difficulties,
hemmed in, not more effectually by the arms of their enemy,
than by the disadvantage of the ground." Their joy was even
mingled with a degree of envy, because fortune, as they
thought, had transferred the glory of finishing the Roman
war, from the Samnites to the Etrurians: they hastened,
therefore, with their whole collected force, to crush the consul
Caius Marcius; resolving, if he did not give them an oppor-
tunity of fighting, to proceed, through the territories of the
Marsians and Sabines, into Etruria. The consul met them,
and a battle was fought with great fury on both sides, but
without a decisive issue. Although both parties suffered se-
verely, yet the discredit of defeat fell on the Romans, because
several of equestrian rank, some military tribunes, with one
lieutenant-general, had fallen; and, what was more remark-
able than all, the consul himself was wounded. On account
of this event, exaggerated by report as is usual, the senate be-
came greatly alarmed, so that they resolved on having a dicta-
tor nominated. No one entertained a doubt that the nomina-
tion would light on Papirius Cursor, who was then universally
deemed to possess the greatest abilities as a commander: but
they could not be certain, either that a message might be
conveyed with safety into Samnium, where all was in a state
of hostility, or that the consul Marcius was alive. The other
consul, Fabius, was at enmity with Papirius, on his own
account; and lest this resentment might prove an obstacle
to the public good, the senate voted that deputies of consular
rank should be sent to him, who, uniting their own influence
to that of government, might prevail on him to drop, for
the sake of his country, all remembrance of private animosi-
ties. When the deputies, having come to Fabius, delivered to
him the decree of the senate, adding such arguments as were
suitable to their instructions, the consul, casting his eyes to-
wards the ground, retired in silence, leaving them in uncer-
tainty what part he intended to act. Then, in the silent time
of the night, according to the established custom, he nominated
Lucius Papirius dictator. When the deputies returned him614

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. IX. CHAP. 39.

thanks, for so very meritoriously subduing his passion, he still
persevered in obstinate silence, and dismissed them without
any answer, or mention of what he had done: a proof that he
felt an extraordinary degree of resentment, which had been
suppressed within his breast. Papirius appointed Caius Ju-
nius Bubulcus master of the horse; and, as he was proceeding
in an assembly of the Curiae1 to get an order passed respect-
ing the command of the army, an unlucky omen obliged him
to adjourn it; for the Curia which was to vote first, happened
to be the Faucian, remarkably distinguished by two disasters,
the taking of the city, and the Caudine peace; the same Cu-
ria having voted first in those years in which the said events
are found. Licinius Macer supposes this Curia ominous, also,
on account of a third misfortune, that which was experienced
at the Cremera.

39. Next day the dictator, taking the auspices anew, ob-
tained the order, and, marching out at the head of the legions,
lately raised on the alarm occasioned by the army passing the
Ciminian forest, came to Longula; where having received the
old troops of the consul Marcius, he led on his forces to battle;
nor did the enemy seem to decline the combat. However,
they stood drawn up for battle and under arms, until night
came on ; neither side choosing to begin the fray. After this,
they continued a considerable time encamped near each other,
without coming to action; neither diffident of their own
strength, nor despising the adversary. Meanwhile matters
went on actively in Etruria; for a decisive battle was fought
with the Umbrians,in which the enemy was routed, but lost not
many men, for they did not maintain the fight with the vigour
with which they began it. Besides this the Etrurians, having
raised an army under the sanctions of the devoting law, each
man choosing another, came to an engagement at the Cape of
Va?dimon, with more numerous forces, and, at the same
time, with greater spirit than they had ever shown before.
The battle was fought with such animosity that no javelins
were thrown by either party: swords alone were made use

1 The comitia curiata, or assemblies of the curiae, alone had the power
of conferring military command ; no magistrate, therefore, could assume
the command without the previous order of their assembly. In time, this
came to be a mere matter of form; yet the practice always continued to
be observed.Y. R. 444. J

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

615

of; and the fury of the combatants was still higher inflamed
by the long-continued contest; so that it appeared to the Ro-
mans as if they were disputing, not with Etrurians, whom
they had so often conquered, but with a new race. Not the
semblance of giving ground appeared in any part; the first
lines fell; and lest the standards should be exposed, without
defence, the second lines were formed in their place. At
length, even the men forming the last reserves were called
into action; and to such an extremity of difficulty and danger
had they come, that the Roman cavalry dismounted, and pressed
forward, through heaps of arms and bodies, to the front ranks
of the infantry. These starting up a new army, as it were,
among men now exhausted, disordered the battalions of the
Etrurians; and the rest, weak as their condition was, seconding
their assault, broke at last through the enemy's ranks. Their
obstinacy then began to give way: some companies quitted
their posts, and, as soon as they once turned their backs, be-
took themselves to more decided flight. That day first broke
the strength of the Etrurians, now grown exuberant through
a long course of prosperity; all the flower of their men were
cut off in the field, and in the same assault their camp was
seized and sacked.

40. Equal danger, and an issue equally glorious, soon after
attended the war with the Samnites; who, besides their many
preparations for the field, made their army to glitter with new
decorations of their armour. Their troops were in two divi-
sions, one of which had their shields embossed with gold, the
other with silver. The shape of the shield was this ; broad
at the middle to cover the breast and shoulders, the summit
being flat, sloping off gradually so as to become pointed below,
that it might be wielded with ease; a loose coat of mail also
served as a protection for the breast, and the left leg was
covered with a greave; their helmets were adorned with
plumes, to add to the appearance of their stature. The gold-
en-armed soldiers wore tunics of various colours; the silver-
armed, of white linen. To the latter the right wing was as-
signed ; the former took post on the left. The Romans had
been apprized of these splendid accoutrements, and had been
taught by their commanders, that "a soldier ought to be
rough; not decorated with gold and silver, but placing his
confidence in his sword. That matters of this kind were in616

THE HISTORY OP HOME. [B. IX. CHAP. 40.

reality spoil rather than armour; glittering before action, but
soon becoming disfigured amid blood and wounds. That the
brightest ornament of a soldier was valour; that all those
trinkets would follow victory, and that those rich enemies
would be valuable prizes to the conquerors, however poor."
Cursor, having animated his men with these observations, led
them on to battle. He took post himself on the right wing,
he gave the command of the left to the master of the horse.
As soon as they engaged, the struggle between the two armies
became desperate, while it was no less so between the dictator
and the master of the horse, on which wing victory should
first show itself. It happened that Junius first, with the left
wing, made the right of the enemy give way; this consisted
of men devoted after the custom of Samnites, and on that ac-
count distinguished by white garments and armour of equal
whiteness. Junius, saying "he would sacrifice these to Pluto,"
pressed forward, disordered their ranks, and made an evident
impression on their line: which being perceived by the dicta-
tor, he exclaimed, " Shall the victory begin on the left wing,
and shall the right, the dictator's own troops, only second the
arms of others, and not claim the greatest share of the vic-
tory?" This spurred on the soldiers: nor did the cavalry
yield to the infantry in bravery, nor the ardour of lieutenants-
general to that of the commanders. Marcius Valerius from
the right wing, and Publius Decius from the left, both men of
consular rank, rode off to the cavalry, posted on the extremi-
ties of the line, and, exhorting them to join in putting in for a
share of the honour, charged the enemy on the flanks. When
the addition of this new alarm assailed the enemies' troops on
both sides, and the Roman legions, having renewed the shout
to confound the enemy, rushed on, they began to fly. And
now the plains were quickly filled with heaps of bodies and
splendid armour. At first, their camp received the dismayed
Samnites ; but they did not long retain even the possession of
that: before night it was taken, plundered, and burnt. The
dictator triumphed, in pursuance of a decree of the senate;
and the most splendid spectacle by far, of any in his proces-
sion, was the captured arms : so magnificent were they deemed,
that the shields, adorned with gold, were distributed among
the owners of the silver shops, to serve as embellishments to
the forum. Hence, it is said, arose the custom of the forumY. R. 445.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

617

being decorated by the aediles, when the grand processions are
made, on occasion of the great games. The Romans, indeed,
converted these extraordinary arms to the honour of the gods:
but the Campanians, out of pride, and in hatred of the Sam-
nites, gave them as ornaments to their gladiators, who used to
be exhibited as a show at their feasts, and whom they distin-
guished by the name of Samnites. During this year, the
consul Fabius fought with the remnants of the Etrurians at
Perusia, which city also had violated the truce, and gained an
easy and decisive victory. He would have taken the town it-
self, (for he marched up to the walls,) had not deputies come
out and capitulated. Having placed a garrison at Perusia,
and sent on before him to the Roman senate the embassies of
Etruria, who solicited friendship, the consul rode into the city
in triumph, for successes more important than those of the
dictator. Besides, a great share of the honour of reducing
the Samnites was attributed to the lieutenants-general, Pub-
lius Decius and Marcius Valerius : whom, at the next election,
the people, with universal consent, declared the one consul,
the other praetor.

41. To Fabius, in consideration of his extraordinary merit
in the conquest of Etruria, the consulship was continued.
Decius was appointed his colleague. Valerius was created
praetor a fourth time. The consuls divided the provinces be-
tween them. Etruria fell to Decius, Samnium to Fabius. The
latter, having marched to Nuceria, rejected the application of
the people of Alfaterna, who then sued for peace, because
they had not accepted it when offered, and by force of arms
compelled them to surrender. A battle was fought with
the Samnites; the enemy were overcome without much dif-
ficulty : nor would the memory of that engagement have been
preserved, except that in it the Marsians first appeared in
arms against the Romans. The Pelignians, imitating the de-
fection of the Marsians, met the same fate. The other con-
sul, Decius, was likewise very successful in his operations:
through terror he compelled the Tarquinians to supply his
army with corn, and to sue for a truce for forty years. He
took several forts from the Volsinians by assault, some of
which he demolished, that they might not serve as receptacles
to the enemy, and by extending his operations through every
quarter, diffused such a dread of his arms, that the whole618

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. IX. CHAP. 41,

Etrurian nation sued to the consul for an alliance: this they
did not obtain; but a truce for a year was granted them.
The pay of the Roman army for that year was furnished by
the enemy ; and two tunics for each soldier were exacted from
them: this was the purchase of the truce." The tranquillity
now established in Etruria was interrupted by a sudden in-
surrection of the Umbrians, a nation which had suffered no
injury from the war, except what inconvenience the country
had felt in the passing of the army. These, by calling into the
field all their own young men, and forcing a great part of the
Etrurians to resume their arms, made up such a numerous
force, that speaking of themselves with ostentatious vanity,
and of the Romans with contempt, they boasted that they
would leave Decius behind in Etruria, and march away to
besiege Rome; which design of theirs being reported to the
consul Decius, he removed by long marches from Etruria to-
wards their city, and sat down in the district of Pupinia, in
readiness to act according to the intelligence received of the
enemy. Nor was the insurrection of the Umbrians slighted at
Rome: their very threats excited tears among the people, who
had experienced, in the calamities suffered from the Gauls, how
insecure a city they inhabited. Deputies were therefore de-
spatched to the consul Fabius with directions, that, if he had
any respite from the war of the Samnites, he should with all
haste lead his army into Umbria. The consul obeyed the
order, and by forced marches proceeded to Mevania, where
the forces of the Umbrians then lay. The unexpected arrival
of the consul, whom they had believed to be sufficiently em-
ployed in Samnium, far distant from their country, so tho-
roughly affrighted the Umbrians, that several advised retiring
to their fortified towns; others, the discontinuing the war.
However, one district, called by themselves Materina, pre-
vailed on the rest not only to retain their arms, but to come to
an immediate engagement. They fell upon Fabius while he
was fortifying his camp. When the consul saw them rush-
ing impetuously towards his rampart, he called off his men
from the work, and drew them up in the best manner
which the nature of the place and the time allowed; en-
couraging them by displaying, in honourable and just terms,
the glory which they had acquired, as well in Etruria as in
Samnium, he bade them finish this insignificant appendageY. R. 446.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

619

to the Etrurian war, and take vengeance for the impious ex-
pressions in which these people had threatened to attack the
city of Rome. Such was the alacrity of the soldiers on hear-
ing this, that, raising the shout spontaneously, they interrupt-
ed the general's discourse, and, without waiting for orders,
advanced, with the sound of all the trumpets and cornets, in
full speed against the enemy. They made their attack
not as on men, or at least men in arms, but, what must ap-
pear wonderful in the relation, began by snatching the
standards out of the hands which held them ; and then, the
standard-bearers themselves were dragged to the consul,
and the armed soldiers transferred from the one line to the
other ; and wherever resistance was any where made, the
business was performed, not so much with swords, as with
their shields, with the bosses of which, and thrusts of their
elbows, they bore down the foe. The prisoners were more
numerous than the slain, and through the whole line the Um-
brians called on each other, with one voice, to lay down their
arms. Thus a surrender was made in the midst of action, by
the first promoters of the war ; and on the next and following
days, the other states of the Umbrians also surrendered. The
Ocriculans were admitted to a treaty of friendship on giving
security.

42. Fabius, successful in a war allotted to another, led back
his army into his own province. And as, in the preceding
year, the people had, in consideration of his services so suc-
cessfully performed, re-elected him to the consulship, so now
the senate, from the same motive, notwithstanding a warm op-
position made by Appius, prolonged his command for the year
following, in which Appius Claudius and Lucius Yolumnius
were consuls. In some annals I find, that Appius, still hold-
ing the office of censor, declared himself a candidate for the
consulship, and that his election was stopped by a protest of
Lucius Furius, plebeian tribune, until he resigned the censor-
ship. After his election to the consulship, the new war with
the Sallentine enemies being decreed to his colleague, he re-
mained at Rome, with design to increase his interest by city
intrigues, since the means of procuring honour in war were
placed in the hands of others. Yolumnius had no reason to be
dissatisfied with his province : he fought many battles with
good success, and took several cities by assault. He was620

THE HISTORY OF ROME. |B. IX. CHAP. 43.

liberal in his donations of the spoil; and this munificence, en-
gaging in itself, he enhanced by his courteous demeanour, by
which conduct he inspired his soldiers with ardour to meet
both toil and danger. Quintus Fabius, proconsul, fought a
pitched battle with the armies of the Samnites, near the city
of Allifaa. The victory was complete. The enemy were driven
from the field, and pursued to their camp ; nor would they
have kept possession of that, had not the day been almost
spent. It was invested, however, before night, and guarded
until day, lest any should slip away. Next morning, while it
was scarcely clear day, they proposed to capitulate, and it was
agreed, that such as were natives of Samnium should be dis-
missed with single garments. All these were sent under the
yoke. No precaution was taken in favour of the allies of the
Samnites : they were sold by auction, to the number of seven
thousand. Those who declared themselves subjects of the
Hernicians, were kept by themselves under a guard. All
these Fabius sent to Rome to the senate ; and, after being ex-
amined, whether it was in consequence of a public order, or
as volunteers, that they had carried arms on the side of the
Samnites against the Romans, they were distributed among
the states of the Latins to be held in custody ; and it was or-
dered, that the new consuls, Publius Cornelius Arvina and
Quintus Marcius Tremulus, who by this time had been elected,
should lay that affair entire before the senate : this gave such
offence to the Hernicians, that, at a meeting of all the states,
assembled by the Anagnians, in the circus called the Maritime,
the whole nation of the Hernicians, excepting the Alatrians,
Ferentines, and Yerulans, declared war against the Roman
people.

43. In Samnium also, in consequence of the departure of
Fabius, new commotions arose. Calatia and Sora, and the
Roman garrisons stationed there, were taken, and extreme
cruelty was exercised towards the captive soldiers : Publius
Cornelius was therefore sent thither with an army. The
command against the new enemy (for by this time an order
had passed for declaring war against the Anagnians, and the
rest of the Hernicians) was decreed to Marcius. • These, in
the beginning, secured all the passes between the camps of the
consuls, in such a manner, that no messenger, however ex-
pert, could make his way from one to the other; and eachY. r. 447.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

621

consul spent several days in absolute uncertainty regarding
every matter and in anxious suspense concerning the state of
the other. Apprehensions for their safety spread even to
Rome ; so that all the younger citizens were compelled to en-
list, and two regular armies were raised, to answer sudden
emergencies. The conduct of the Hernicians during the pro-
gress of the war afterwards, showed nothing suitable to the
present alarm, or to the ancient renown of that nation. With-
out ever venturing any effort worth mentioning, being strip-
ped of three different camps within a few days, they stipulated
for a truce of thirty days, during which they might send to
Rome, to the senate, on the terms of furnishing two months'
pay, and corn, and a tunic to every soldier. They were re-
ferred back to Marcius by the senate, whom by a decree they
empowered to determine regarding the Hernicians, and he ac-
cepted their submission. Meanwhile, in Samnium, the other
consul, though superior in strength, was very much embar-
rassed by the nature of his situation ; the enemy had blocked
up all the roads, and seized on the passable defiles, so that no
provisions could be conveyed ; nor could the consul, though he
daily drew out his troops and offered battle, allure them to an
engagement. It was evident, that neither could the Samnites
support an immediate contest, nor the Romans a delay of ac-
tion. The approach of Marcius, who, after he had subdued
the Hernicians, hastened to the succour of his colleague, put
it out of the enemy's power any longer to avoid fighting : for
they, who had not deemed themselves a match in the field,
even for one of the armies, could not surely suppose that if they
should allow the two consular armies to unite, they could have
any hope remaining : they made an attack therefore on Mar-
cius, as he was approaching in the irregular order of march.
The baggage was hastily thrown together in the centre, and
the line formed as well as the time permitted. First the shout
which reached the standing camp of Cornelius, then the
dust observed at a distance, excited a bustle in the camp of
the other consul. Ordering his men instantly to take arms,
and leading them out to the field with the utmost haste, he
charged the flank of the enemy's line, which had enough to
do in the othei dispute, at the same time exclaiming, that " it
would be the height of infamy if they suffered Marcius's army
to monopolize the honour of both victories, and did not assert622

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. IX. CHAP. 43-

their claim to the glory of their own war." He bore down
all before him, and pushed forward, through the midst of the
enemy's line, to their camp, which, being left without a guard,
he took and set on fire; which when the soldiers of Marcius
saw in flames, and the enemy observed it on looking about, a
general flight immediately took place among the Samnites. But
they could not effect an escape in any direction; in every quar-
ter they met death. After a slaughter of thirty thousand men,
the consuls had now given the signal for retreat; and were
collecting, into one body, their several forces, who were em-
ployed in mutual congratulations, when some new cohorts of
the enemy, which had been levied for a reinforcement, being
seen at a distance, occasioned a renewal of the carnage. On
these the conquerors rushed, without any order of the consuls,
or signal received, crying out, that they would make these
Samnites pay dearly for their introduction to service. The
consuls indulged the ardour of the legions, well knowing that
the raw troops of the enemy, mixed with veterans dispirited
by defeat, would be incapable even of attempting a contest.
Nor were they wrong in their judgment: all the forces of the
Samnites, old and new, fled to the nearest mountains. These
the Roman army also ascended, so that no situation afforded
safety to the vanquished ; they were beaten off, even from the
summits which they had seized. And npw they all, with one
voice, supplicated for a suspension of arms. On which, being
ordered to furnish corn for three months, pay for a year, and
a tunic to each of the soldiers, they sent deputies to the senate
to sue for peace. Cornelius was left in Samnium. Marcius
returned into the city, in triumph over the Hernicians ; and
a decree was passed for erecting to him, in the forum, an eques-
trian statue, which was placed before the temple of Castor.
To three states of the Hernicians, (the Alatrians, Verulans,
and Ferentines,) their own laws were restored, because they
preferred these to the being made citizens of Rome ; and they
were permitted to intermarry with each other, a privilege
which they alone of the Hernicians, for a long time after, en-
joyed. To the Anagnians, and the others, who had made war
on the Romans, was granted the freedom of the state, without
the right of voting ; public assemblies, and intermarriages,
were not allowed them, and their magistrates were prohibited
from acting except in the ministration of public worship.Y, R. 448.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

623

During this year, Caius Junius Bubulcus, censor, contracted
for the building of a temple to Health, which he had vowed
during his consulate in the war with the Samnites. By the
same person, and his colleague, Marcus Valerius Maximus,
roads were made through the fields at the public expense.
During the same year the treaty with the Carthaginians was
renewed a third time, and ample presents made to their am-
bassadors who came on that business.

44. This year had a dictator in office, Publius Cornelius
Scipio, with Publius Decius Mus, master of the horse. By
these the election of consuls was held, being the purpose for
which they had been created, because neither of the consuls
could be absent from the armies. The consuls elected were
Lucius Postumius and Titus Minucius; whom Piso places
next after Quintus Fabius and Publius Decius, omitting the
two years in which I have set down Claudius with Yolumnius,
and Cornelius with Marcius, as consuls. Whether this hap-
pened through a lapse of memory in digesting his annals, or
whether he purposely passed over those two consulates as
deeming the accounts of them false, cannot be ascertained.
During this year the Samnites made incursions into the dis-
trict of Stellas in the Campanian territory. Both the consuls
were therefore sent into Samnium, and proceeded to different
regions, Postumius to Tifernum, Minucius to Bovianum. The
first engagement happened at Tifernum, under the command
of Postumius. Some say, that the Samnites were completely
defeated, and twenty thousand of them made prisoners. Others,
that the army separated without victory on either side; and
that Postumius, counterfeiting fear, withdrew his forces pri-
vately by night, and marched away to the mountains; whither
the enemy also followed, and took possession of a strong-hold
two miles distant. The consul, having created a belief that
he had come thither for the sake of a safe post, and a fruitful
spot, (and such it really was,) secured his camp with strong
works. Furnishing it with magazines of every thing useful,
he left a strong guard to defend it; and at the third watch,
led away the legions lightly accoutred, by the shortest road
which he could take, to join his colleague, who lay opposite to
his foe. There, by advice of Postumius, Minucius came to an
engagement with the enemy; and when the fight had con-
tinued doubtful through a great part of the day, Postumius,

2 s624

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B« Ix- CHAP. 45.

with his fresh legions, made an unexpected attack on the ene-
my's line, spent by this time with fatigue: thus, weariness and
wounds having rendered them incapable even of flying, they
were cut off to a man, and twenty-one standards taken. The
Romans then proceeded to Postumius's station, where the two
victorious armies falling upon the enemy, already dismayed by
the news of what had passed, routed and dispersed them:
twenty-six military standards were taken here, and the Sam-
nite general, Statius Gellius, with a great number of other
prisoners, and both the camps were taken. Next day Bovi-
anum was besieged, and soon after taken. Both the consuls
were honoured with a triumph, with high applause of their
excellent conduct. Some writers say, that the consul Minu-
cius was brought back to the camp grievously wounded, and
that he died there; that Marcus Fulvius was substituted con-
sul in his place, and that it was he who, being sent to com-
mand Minucius's army, took Bovianum. During the same
year, Sora, Arpinum, and Censennia were recovered from the
Samnites. The great statue of Hercules was erected in the
Capitol, and dedicated.

45. In the succeeding consulate of Publius Sulpicius Saver-
rio and Publius Sempronius Sophus, the Samnites, desirous
either of a termination or a suspension of hostilities, sent ambas-
sadors to Rome to treat of peace; to whose submissive solicit-
ations this answer was returned, that, " had not the Samnites
frequently solicited peace, at times when they were actually
preparing for war, their present application might, perhaps, in
the course of negotiating, have produced the desired effect.
But now, since words had hitherto proved vain, people's con-
duct must be guided by facts: that Publius Sempronius the
consul would shortly be in Samnium with an army: that he
could not be deceived in judging whether their dispositions
inclined to peace or war. He would bring the senate certain
information respecting every particular, and their ambassadors
might follow the consul on his return from Samnium." When
the Roman army accordingly marched through all parts of Sam-
nium, which wras in a state of peace, provisions being liberally
supplied, a renewal of the old treaty was, this year, granted to
the Samnites. The Roman arms were then turned against
the iEquans, their old enemies, but who had, for many years
past, remained quiet, under the guise of a treacherous peace;y. r. 449. J

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

625

because, while the Hernicians were in a state of prosperity,
these had, in conjunction with them, frequently sent aid to the
Samnites ; and after the Hernicians were subdued, almost the
whole nation, without dissembling that they acted by public
authority, had revolted to the enemy; and when, after the
conclusion of the treaty with the Samnites at Rome, ambassa-
dors were sent to demand satisfaction, they said, that "this
was only a trial made of them, on the expectation that they
would through fear suffer themselves to be made Roman citi-
zens. But how much that condition was to be wished for,
they had been taught by the Hernicians; who, when they had
the option, preferred their own laws to the freedom of the
Roman state. To people who wished for liberty to choose
what they judged preferable, the necessity of becoming Ro-
man citizens would have the nature of a punishment." In
resentment of these declarations, uttered publicly in their as-
semblies, the Roman people ordered war to be made on the
iEquans; and, in prosecution of this new undertaking, both
the consuls marched from the city, and sat down at the dis-
tance of four miles from the camp of the enemy. The troops
of the -ZEquans, like tumultuary recruits, in consequence of
their having passed such a number of years without waging
war on their own account, were all in disorder and confusion,
without established officers and without command. Some
advised to give battle, others to defend the camp; the greater
part were influenced by concern for the devastation of their
lands, likely to take place, and the consequent destruction of
their cities, left with weak garrisons. Among a variety of
propositions, one, however, was heard which, abandoning all
concern for the public interest, tended to transfer every man's
attention to the care of his private concerns. It recommend-
ed that, at the first watch, they should depart from the camp
by different roads, so as to carry all their effects into the cities,
and to secure them by the strength of the fortifications; this
they all approved with universal assent. When the enemy
were now dispersed through the country, the Romans, at the
first dawn, marched out to the field, and drew up in order of
battle; but no one coming to oppose them, they advanced in a
brisk pace to the enemy's camp. But when they perceived
neither guards before the gates, nor soldiers on the ramparts,
nor the usual bustle of a camp,— surprised at the extra-

2 s 2626

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

[B. IX. CHAP. 46.

ordinary silence, they halted in apprehension of some strata-
gem. At length, passing over the rampart, and finding the
whole deserted, they proceeded to search out the tracks of the
enemy. But these, as they scattered themselves to every
quarter, occasioned perplexity at first. Afterwards discover-
ing their design by means of scouts, they attacked their cities,
one after another, and within the space of fifty days took,
entirely by force, forty-one towns, most of which were razed
and burnt, and the race of the -ZEquans almost extirpated. A
triumph was granted over the -ZEquans. The Marrucinians,
Marsians, Pelignians, and Ferentans, warned by the example
of their disasters, sent deputies to Rome to solicit peace and
friendship; and these states, on their submissive applications,
were admitted into alliance.

46. In the same year, Cneius Flavius, son of Cneius, grand-
son of a freed man, a notary, in low circumstances originally,
but artful and eloquent, was appointed curule aedile. I find
in some annals, that, being in attendance on the sediles, and
seeing that he was voted gedile by the prerogative tribe, but
that his name would not be received, because he acted as a
notary, he threw down his tablet, and took an oath, that he
would not, for the future, follow that business. But Li-
cinius Macer contends, that he had dropped the employment
of notary a considerable time before, having already been
a tribune, and twice a triumvir, once for regulating the
nightly watch, and another time for conducting a colony.
However, of this there is no dispute, that against the nobles,
who threw contempt on the meanness of his condition, he
contended with much firmness. He made public the rules of
proceeding in judicial causes, hitherto shut up in the closets of
the pontiffs; and hung up to public view, round the forum,
the calendar on white tablets, that all might know when busi-
ness could be transacted in the courts. To the great dis-
pleasure of the nobles, he performed the dedication of the
temple of Concord, in the area of Vulcan's temple; and the
chief pontiff, Cornelius Barbatus, was compelled by the united
instances of the people, to dictate to him the form of words,
although he affirmed, that, consistently with the practice of
antiquity, no other than a consul, or commander-in-chief, could
dedicate a temple. This occasioned a law to be proposed to
the people, by direction of the senate, that no person shouldT. R. 449.J

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

627

dedicate a temple, or an altar, without an order from the se-
nate, or from a majority of the plebeian tribunes. The inci-
dent which I am about to mention would be trivial in itself,
were it not an instance of the freedom assumed by plebeians
in opposition to the pride of the nobles. When Flavius had
come to make a visit to his colleague, who was sick, and when,
by an arrangement between some young nobles who were sit-
ting there, they did not rise on his entrance, he ordered his
curule chair to be brought thither, and from his honourable
seat of office enjoyed the sight of his enemies tortured with
envy. However, a low faction, which had gathered strength
during the censorship of Appius Claudius, had made Flavius
an aedile ; for he was the first who degraded the senate, by
electing into it the immediate descendants of freed men ; and
when no one allowed that election as valid, and when he had
not acquired in the senate-house that influence in the city
which he had been aiming at, by distributing men of the
meanest order among all the several tribes, he thus corrupted
the assemblies both of the forum and of the field of Mars ; and
so much indignation did the election of Flavius excite, that
most of the nobles laid aside their gold rings and bracelets in
consequence of it. From that time the state was split into two
parties. The uncorrupted part of the people, who favoured
and supported the good, held one side; the faction of the
rabble, the other ; until Quintus Fabius and Publius Decius
were made censors ; and Fabius, both for the sake of concord,
and at the same time to prevent the elections remaining in the
hands of the lowest of the people, purged the rest of the tribes
of all the rabble of the forum, and threw it into four, and called
them city tribes. And this procedure, we are told, gave such
universal satisfaction, that, by this regulation in the orders of
the state, he obtained the surname of Maximus, which he had
not obtained by his many victories. The annual review of the
knights, on the ides of*July5 is also said to have been instituted
by him.BOOK X.

Submission of the Martians accepted. The college of Augurs augmented
from four to nine. The law of appeal to the people carried by Valerius
the consul. Two more tribes added. War declared against the Sam-
nites. Several successful actions. In an engagement against the com-
bined forces of the Etruscans, Umbrians, Samnites, and Gauls, Publius
Decius, after the example of his father, devotes himself for the army.
Dies, and, his death, procures the victory to the Romans. Defeat of
the Samnites by Papirius Cursor. The census held. The lustrum
closed. The number of the citizens two hundred and sixty-two thousand
three hundred and twenty-two.

1. During the consulate of Lucius Genucius and Servius
Cornelius, the state enjoyed almost uninterrupted rest from
foreign wars. Colonies were led out to Sora and Alba. For
the latter, situated in the country of the .ZEquans, six thousand
colonists were enrolled. Sora had formerly belonged to the
Yolscian territory, but had fallen into the possession of the
Samnites: thither were sent four thousand settlers. This year
the freedom of the state was granted to the Arpinians and
Trebulans. The Frusinonians were fined a third part of their
lands, because it was discovered that the Hernieians had been
tampered with by them; and the heads of that conspiracy,
after a trial before the consuls, held in pursuance of a decree of
the senate, were beaten with rods and beheaded. However,
that the Romans might not pass the year entirely exempt from
war, a little expedition was made into Umbria; intelligence
being received from thence, that excursions of* men, in arms,
had been made, from a certain cave, into the adjacent country.
Into this cave the troops penetrated with their standards, and,
the place being dark, they received many wounds, chiefly from
stones thrown. At length the other mouth of the cave being
found, for it was pervious, both the openings were filled up
with wood, which being set on fire, there perished by meansY. 3A. 451.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

629

of the smoke and heat, no less than two thousand men ; many
of whom, at the last, in attempting to make their way out,
rushed into the very flames. The two Marci, Livius Denter
and iEmilius, succeeding to the consulship, war was renewed
with the JEquans ; who, being highly displeased at the colony
established within their territory, as if it were a fortress, having
made an attempt, with their whole force, to seize it, were re-
pulsed by the colonists themselves. They caused, however,
such an alarm at Rome, that, to quell this insurrection, Caius
Junius Bubulcus was nominated dictator : for it was scarcely
credible that the JEquans, after being reduced to such a degree
of weakness, should by themselves alone have ventured to
engage in a war. The dictator, taking the field, with Marcus
Titinius, master of the horse, in the first engagement reduced
the JEquans to submission; and returning into the city in
triumph, on the eighth day, dedicated, in the character of dic-
tator, the temple of Health, which he had vowed when consul,
and contracted for when censor.

.2. During this year a fleet of Grecians, under the command
of Cleonymus, a Lacedaemonian, arrived on the coast of Italy,
and took Thuriae, a city in the territory of the Sallentines.
Against this enemy the consul ^Emilius was sent, who, in one
battle, completely defeated them, and drove them on board
their ships. Thuriae was then restored to its old inhabitants,
and peace re-established in the country of the Sallentines. In
some annals, I find that Junius Bubulcus was sent dictator
into that country, and that Cleonymus, without hazarding an
engagement with the Romans, retired out of Italy. He then
sailed round the promontory of Brundusium, and, steering
down the middle of the Adriatic gulf, because he dreaded, on
the left hand, the coasts of Italy destitute of harbours, and, on
the right, the Illyrians, Liburnians, and Istrians, nations of
savages, and noted in general for piracy, he passed on to the
coasts of the Venetians. Here, having landed a small party
to explore the country, and being informed that a narrow
beach stretched along the shore, beyond which were marshes,
overflowed by the tides; that dry land was seen at no great
distance, level in the nearest part, and rising behind into hills,
beyond which was the mouth of a very deep river, into which
they had seen ships brought round and moored in safety, (this
was the river Meduacus,) he ordered his fleet to sail into it and630

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

[B. X. CHAP. 2

go up against the stream. As the channel would not admit the
heavy ships, the troops, removing into the lighter vessels,
arrived at a part of the country occupied by three maritime
cantons of the Patavians, settled on that coast. Here they
made a descent, leaving a small guard with the ships, made
themselves masters of these cantons, set fire to the houses,
drove off a considerable booty of men and cattle, and, allured
by the sweets of plunder, proceeded still further from the
shore. When news of this was brought to Patavium, where
the contiguity of the Gauls kept the inhabitants constantly in
arms, they divided their young men into two bands, one of
which was led towards the quarter where the marauders were
said to be busy ; the other by a different route, to avoid meet-
ing any of the pirates, towards the station of the ships, fifteen
miles distant from the town. An attack was made on the
small craft, and the guards being killed, the affrighted mari-
ners were obliged to remove their ships to the other bank of
the river. By land, also, the attack on the dispersed plun-
derers was equally successful; and the Grecians, flying back
towards their ships, were opposed in their way by the Vene-
tians. Thus they were enclosed on both sides, and cut to
pieces; and some, who were made prisoners, gave information
that the fleet, with their king, Cleonymus, was but three miles
distant. Sending the captives into the nearest canton, to be
kept under a guard, some soldiers got on board the flat-bottomed
vessels, so constructed for the purpose of passing the shoals
with ease ; others embarked in those which had been lately
taken from the enemy, and proceeding down the river, sur-
rounded their unwieldy ships, which dreaded the unknown
sands and flats more than they did the Romans, and which
showed a greater eagerness to escape into the deep than to
make resistance. The soldiers pursued them as far as the
mouth of the river ; and having taken and burned a part of
the fleet, which in the hurry and confusion had been stranded,
returned victorious. Cleonymus, having met success in no
part of the Adriatic sea, departed with scarce a fifth part of
his navy remaining. Many, now alive, have seen the beaks
of his ships, and the spoils of the Lacedaemonians, hanging in
the old temple of Juno. In commemoration of this event,
there is exhibited at Patavium, every year, on its anniversary
dav, a naval combat on the river in the middle of the town.y. it. 451. j

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

631

3.	A treaty was this year' concluded at Rome with the
Vestinians, who solicited friendship. Various causes of ap-
prehension afterwards sprung up. News arrived, that Etruria
was in rebellion; the insurrection having arisen from the
dissensions of the Arretians; for the Cilnian family having
grown exorbitantly powerful, a party, out of envy of their
wealth, had attempted to expel them by force of arms. [Ac-
counts were also received] that the Marsians held forcible
possession of the lands to which the colony of Carseoli, con-
sisting of four thousand men, had been sent. By reason,
therefore, of these commotions, Marcus Valerius Maximus
was nominated dictator, and chose for his master of the horse
Marcus JEmilius Paullus. This I am inclined to believe, ra-
ther than that Quintus Fabius, at such an age as he then was,
and after enjoying many honours, was placed in a station sub-
ordinate to Valerius: but I think it not unlikely that the mis-
take arose from the surname Maximus. The dictator, having
set out at the head of an army, in one battle utterly defeated
the Marsians, drove them into their fortified towns, and after-
wards, in the course of a few days, took Milionia, Plestina,
and Fresilia; and then finding Marsians in a part of their lands,
granted them a renewal of the treaty. The war was then di-
rected against the Etrurians ; and when the dictator had gone
to Rome, for the purpose of renewing the auspices, the master
of the horse, going out to forage, was surrounded by an am-
buscade, and obliged to fly shamefully into his camp, after
losing several standards and many of his men. The occur-
rence of which discomfiture to Fabius is exceedingly impro-
bable ; not only because, if in any particular, certainly, above
all, in the qualifications of a commander, he fully merited his
surname; but besides, mindful of Papirius's severity, he
never could have been tempted to fight, without the dictator's
orders.

4.	The news of this disaster excited at Rome an alarm
greater than suited the importance of the affair; for, as
if the army had been destroyed, a justitium was proclaimed,
guards mounted at the gates, and watches set in every street:
and armour and weapons were heaped on the walls. All the
younger citizens being compelled to enlist, the dictator was
ordered to join the army. There he found every thing in a more
tranquil state than he expected, and regularity established632

THE HISTORY" OF ROME.

[b. X. CHAP. b.

through, the care of the master of the horse; the camp removed
to a place of greater safety; the cohorts, which had lost their
standards, left without tents on the outside of the ramparts;
and the troops ardently impatient for battle, that their disgrace
might be the sooner obliterated. He therefore immediately
advanced his camp into the territory of Rusella. Thither the
enemy also followed; and although, since their late success,
they entertained the most sanguine hopes from an open trial
of strength, yet they endeavoured to circumvent the enemy
by a stratagem which they had before practised with success.
There were, at a small distance from the Roman camp, the
half-ruined houses of a town which had been burnt in the de-
vastation of the country. A body of troops being concealed
there, some cattle was driven on, within view of a Roman
post, commanded by a lieutenant-general, Cneius Fulvius.
When no one was induced by this temptation to stir from his
post, one of the herdsmen, advancing close to the works, called
out, that others were driving out those cattle at their leisure
from the ruins of the town, why did they remain idle, when
they might safely drive them through the middle of the Roman
camp ? When this was interpreted to the lieutenant-general,
by some natives of Caere, and great impatience prevailed
through every company of the soldiers, who, nevertheless,
dared not to move without orders, he commanded some who
were skilled in the language to observe attentively, whether
the dialect of the herdsmen resembled that of rustics or of citi-
zens. When these reported, that their accent in speaking,
their manner and appearance, were all of a more polished cast
than suited shepherds; " Go then," said he, " tell them that
they may uncover the ambush which they vainly conceal;
that the Romans understand all their devices, and can now be
no more taken by stratagem than they can be conquered by
arms." When these words were heard, and carried to those
who lay in ambush, they immediately arose from their lurk-
ing place, and marched out in order into the plain which was
open to view on every side. The lieutenant-general thought
their force too powerful for his small band to cope with. He
therefore sent in haste to Valerius for support, and in the
mean time, by himself, sustained the enemy's onset.

5. On receiving his message, the dictator ordered the
standards to move, and the troops to follow in arms. ButY. it. 452.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

633

every thing was executed more quickly, almost, than ordered.
The standards and arms were instantly snatched up, and they
were with difficulty restrained from running impetuously on ;
both indignation at their late defeat stimulated them, as well
as the shouts striking their ears with increasing vehemence,
as the contest grew hotter. They therefore urged each other,
and pressed the standard-bearers to quicken their pace. The
dictator, the more eagerly he saw them push forward, took
the more pains to repress their haste, and ordered them to
march at a slower rate. On the other side, the Etrurians,
putting themselves in motion, on the first beginning of the
fray had come up with their whole force; and several ex-
presses came to the dictator, one after another, that all the
legions of the Etrurians had joined in the fight, and that his
men could not any longer withstand them: at the same time,
he himself saw, from the higher ground, in how perilous a
situation the party was. Confident, however, that the lieu-
tenant-general was able, even yet, to support the contest, and
considering that he himself was at hand to rescue him from
defeat, he wished to let the enemy be fatigued, as much as
might be, in order that, when in that state, he might fall on
them with his fresh troops. Slowly as these marched, the
distance was now just sufficient for the cavalry to begin their
career for a charge. The battalions of the legions marched
in front, lest the enemy might suspect any secret or sudden
movement, but intervals had been left in the ranks of the in-
fantry, affording room for the horses to gallop through. At
the same instant the line raised the shout, and the cavalry,
charging at full speed, poured on the enemy, and spread at
once a general panic. After this, as succour had arrived,
almost too late, to the party surrounded, so now they were
allowed entire rest, the fresh troops taking on themselves the
whole business of the fight. Nor was that either long or du-
bious. The enemy, now routed, fled to their camp, and the
Romans advancing to attack it, they give way, and are
crowded all together in the remotest part of it. In their
flight they are obstructed by the narrowness of the gates, the
greater number climbed up on the mounds and ramparts, to
try if they could either defend themselves with the aid of the
advantageous ground, or get over, by any means, and escape.
One part of the rampart, happening to be badly compacted,634

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

[B. X. CHAP. 6.

sunk under the weight of the multitude who stood on it, and
fell into the trench. On which, crying out that the gods had
opened that pass to give them safety, they made their way
out, most of them leaving their arms behind. By this battle
the power of the Etrurians was, a second time, effectually
crushed, so that, engaging to furnish a year's pay, and corn
for two months, with the dictator's permission, they sent am-
bassadors to Rome to treat of peace. This was refused, but
a truce for two years was granted to them. The dictator re-
turned into the city in triumph. I have seen it asserted, that
tranquillity was restored in Etruria by the dictator, without
any memorable battle, only by composing the dissensions of
the Arretians, and effecting a reconciliation between the Oil-
man family and the commons. Marcus Valerius was elected
consul, before the expiration of his dictatorship, many have
believed, without his soliciting the office, and even while he
was absent; and that the election was held by an interrex.
In one point all agree, that he held the consulship with
Quintus Appuleius Pansa.

6. During this consulate of Marcus Valerius and Quintus
Appuleius, affairs abroad wore a very peaceable aspect. Their
losses sustained in war, together with the truce, kept the
Etrurians quiet. The Samnites, depressed by the misfortunes
of many years, had not yet become dissatisfied with their new
alliance. At Rome, also, the carrying away of such multi-
tudes to colonies, rendered the commons tranquil, and light-
ened their burthens. But, that things might not be tranquil
on all sides, a contention was excited between the principal
persons in the commonwealth, patricians on one hand, and
plebeians on the other, by the two Ogulnii, Quintus and
Cneius, plebeian tribunes, who, seeking every where occasions
of criminating the patricians in the hearing of the people, and
having found other attempts fruitless, set on foot a proceeding
by which they might inflame, not the lowest class of the com-
mons, but their chief men, the plebeians of consular and tri-
umphal rank, to the completion of whose honours nothing was
now wanting but the offices of the priesthood, which were not
yet laid open to them. They therefore published a proposal
for a law, that, whereas there were then four augurs and four
pontiffs, and it had been determined that the number of
priests should be augmented, the four additional pontiffs andY. R. 452.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

635

five augurs should all be chosen out of the commons. How
the college of augurs could be reduced to the. number of four,
except by the death of two, I do not understand: for it is a
rule among the augurs, that their number should be composed
of threes, so that the three ancient tribes, the Ramnes, Ti-
tienses, and Luceres, should have each its own augur; or, in
case there should be occasion for more, that each should in-
crease its number of augurs, in equal proportion with the
rest, in like manner as when, by the addition of five to four,
they made up the number nine, so that there were three to
each tribe. However, as it was proposed that they should be
chosen out of the commons, the patricians were as highly of-
fended at the proceeding, as when they saw the consulship
made common; yet they pretended that the business con-
cerned not them so much as it did the gods, who would "take
care that their own worship should not be contaminated; that,
for their parts, they only wished that no misfortune might ensue
to the commonwealth." But they made a less vigorous oppo-
sition, as being now accustomed to suffer defeat in such kind
of disputes; and they saw their adversaries, not, as formerly,
grasping at that which they could scarcely hope to reach, the
higher honours; but already in possession of all those advan-
tages, on the uncertain prospect of which they had maintained
the contest, manifold consulships, censorships, and triumphs.

7. The principal struggle, however, in supporting and op-
posing the bill, they say, was between Appius Claudius and
Publius Decius Mus. After these had urged nearly the same
topics, respecting the privileges of patricians and plebeians,
which had been formerly employed for and against the Lici-
nian law, when the proposition was brought forward of open-
ing the consulship to plebeians, Decius is said to have drawn
a lively description of his own father, such as many then pre-
sent in the assembly had seen him, girt in the Gabine dress,
standing on a spear, in the attitude in which he had devoted
himself for the people and the legions, and to have added, that
" the consul Publius Decius was then deemed by the immortal
gods an offering equally pure and pious, as if his colleague,
Titus Manlius, had been devoted. And might not the same
Publius Decius have been, with propriety, chosen to perform
the public worship of the Roman people ? Was there any
danger that the gods would give less attention to his prayers636

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

IB. X. CHAP. 8

than to those of Appius Clauclius ? Did the latter perform his
private acts of .adoration with a purer mind, or worship the
gods more religiously than he ? Who had any reason to com-
plain of the vows offered in behalf of the commonwealth, by
so many plebeian consuls and dictators, either when setting
out to their armies, or in the heat of battle ? Were the num-
bers of commanders reckoned, during those years since busi-
ness began to be transacted under the conduct and auspices of
plebeians, the same number of triumphs might be found.
The commons had now no reason to be dissatisfied with their
own nobility. On the contrary, they were fully convinced,
that in case of a sudden war breaking out, the senate and peo-
ple of Rome would not repose greater confidence in patrician
than in plebeian commanders. Which being the case," said
he, " what god or man can deem it an impropriety, if those
whom ye have honoured with curule chairs, with the purple
bordered gown, with the palm-vest and embroidered robe,
with the triumphal crown and laurel, whose houses ye have
rendered conspicuous above others, by affixing to them the
spoils of conquered enemies, should add to these the badges of
augurs or pontiffs ? If a person, who has rode through the
city in a gilt chariot; and, decorated with the ensigns of Ju-
piter, supremely good and great, has mounted the Capitol, should
be seen with a chalice and wand; what impropriety, I say,
that he should, with his head veiled, slay a victim, or take an
augury in the citadel ? When, in the inscription on a per-
son's statue, the consulship, censorship, and triumph shall be
read with patience, will the eyes of readers be unable to en-
dure the addition of the office of augur or pontiff ? In truth
(with deference to the gods I say it) I trust that we are, through
the kindness of the Roman people, qualified in such a manner
that we should, by the dignity of our characters, reflect back,
on the priesthood, not less lustre than we should receive;
and may demand, rather on behalf of the gods, than for our
own sakes, that those whom we worship in our private we
may also worship in a public capacity.

8. "But why do I argue thus, as if the cause of the patricians,
respecting the priesthood, were untouched ? and as if we were
not already in possession of one sacerdotal office, of the high-
est class ? We see plebeian decemvirs, for performing sacri-
fices, interpreters of the Sibylline prophecies, and of the fatesY. R. 452.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

637

of the nation; we also see them presidents of Apollo's festival,
and of other religious performances. Neither was any injus-
tice done to the patricians, when, to the two commissioners
for performing sacrifices, an additional number was joined, in
favour of the plebeians; nor is there now, when a tribune, a
man of courage and activity, wishes to add five places of augurs,
and four of pontiffs, to which plebeians may be nominated;
not, Appius, with intent to expel you from your places; but,
that men of plebeian rank may assist you, in the management
of divine affairs, with the same zeal with which they assist you
in matters of human concernment. Blush not, Appius, at
having a man your colleague in the priesthood, whom you
might have a colleague in the censorship or consulship, whose
master of the horse you yourself may be, when he is dictator,
as well as dictator when he is master of the horse. A Sabine
adventurer, the first origin of your nobility, either Attus Clau-
sus, or Appius Claudius, which you will, the ancient patri-
cians of those days admitted into their number: do not then,
on your part, disdain to admit us into the number of priests.
We bring with us numerous honours; all those honours, in-
deed, which have rendered your party so proud. Lucius Sex-
tius was the first consul chosen out of the plebeians; Caius
Licinius Stolo, the first master of the horse; Caius Marcius
Rutilus, the first dictator, and likewise censor; Quintus Pub-
lilius Philo, the first praetor. On all occasions was heard a
repetition of the same arguments; that the right of auspices
was vested in you; that ye alone had the rights of ancestry;
that ye alone were legally entitled to the supreme command,
and the auspices both in peace and war. The supreme com-
mand has hitherto been, and will continue to be, equally pros-
perous in plebeian hands as in patrician. Have ye never
heard it said, that the first created patricians were not men
sent down from heaven, but such as could cite their fathers,
that is, nothing more than free born. I can now cite my fa-
ther, a consul; and my son will be able to cite a grandfather.
Citizens, there is nothing else in it, than that we should
never obtain any thing without a refusal. The patricians
wish only for a dispute; nor do they care what issue their
disputes may have. For my part, be it advantageous, happy,
and prosperous to you and to the commonwealth, I am of
opinion that this law should receive your sanction."638

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

[B. X. CHAP. 9.

9. The people ordered that the tribes should be instantly
called; and there was every appearance that the law would
be accepted. It was deferred, however, for that day, by a
protest, from which on the day following the tribunes were
deterred; and it passed with the approbation of a vast major-
ity. The pontiffs created were, Publius Decius Mus, the ad-
vocate for the law; Publius Sempronius Sophus, Caius Marcius
Rutilus, and Marcus Livius Denter. The five augurs, who
were also plebeians, were, Caius Genucius, Publius .ZElius
Pofitus, Marcus Minucius Fessus, Caius Marcius, and Titus
Publilius. Thus the number of the pontiffs was made eight;
that of the augurs nine. In the same year Marcus Valerius,
consul, procured a law to be passed concerning appeials; more
carefully enforced by additional sanctions. This was the third
time, since the expulsion of the kings, of this law being intro-
duced, and always by the same family. The reason for renew-
ing it so often was, I believe, no other, than that the influ-
ence of a few was apt to prove too powerful for the liberty of
the commons. However, the Porcian law seems intended,
solely, for the security of the persons of the citizens; as it visit-
ed with a severe penalty any one for beating with stripes or
putting to death a Roman citizen. The Valerian law, after
forbidding a person, who had appealed, to be beaten with
rods and beheaded, added, in case of any one acting contrary
thereto, that it shall yet be only deemed a wicked act. This,
I suppose, was judged of sufficient strength to enforce obedi-
ence to the law in those days; so powerful was then men's sense
of shame ; at present one would scarcely make use of such a
threat seriously. The -ZEquans rebelling, the same consul
conducted the war against them; in which no memorable event
occurred ; for, except ferocity, they retained nothing of their
ancient condition. The other consul, Appuleius, invested the
town of Nequinum in Umbria. The ground, the same where-
on Narnia now stands, was steep (on one side even perpen-
dicular) ; this rendered the town impregnable either by assault
or works. That business, therefore, came unfinished into the
hands of the succeeding consuls, Marcus Fulvius Paetinus and
Titus Manlius Torquatus. When all the centuries named
Quintus Fabius consul for that year though not a candidate,
Macer Licinius and Tubero state that he himself recommended
them to postpone the conferring the consulship on him until aY. K 453.1

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

639

year wherein there might be more employment for their arms ;
adding, that, during the present year, he might be more use-
ful to the state in the management of a city magistracy; and
thus*, neither dissembling what he preferred, nor yet making
direct application for it, he was appointed curule asdile with
Lucius Papirius Cursor. Piso, a more ancient writer of an-
nals, prevents me from averring this as certain; he asserts
that the curule aediles of that year were Caius Domitius Cal-
vinus, son of Cneius, and Spurius Carvilius Maximus, son of
Caius. I am of opinion, that this latter surname caused a
mistake concerning the sediles ; and that thence followed a
story conformable to this mistake, patched up out of the two
elections, of the sediles, and of the consuls. The general sur-
vey was performed, this year, by Publius Sempronius Sophus
and Publius Sulpicius Saverrio, censors; and two tribes were
added, the Aniensian and Terentine. Such were the occur-
rences at Rome.

10. Meanwhile, after much time had been lost in the tedious
siege of Nequinum, two of the townsmen, whose houses were
contiguous to the wall, having formed a subterraneous passage,
came by that private way to the Roman advanced guards ;
and being conducted thence to the consul, offered to give ad-
mittance to a body of armed men within tlie works and walls.
The proposal was thought to be such as ought neither to be
rejected, nor yet assented to without caution. With one of
these men, the other being detained as an hostage, two spies
were sent through the mine, and certain information being
received from them, three hundred men in arms, guided by the
deserter, entered the city, and seized by night the nearest gate,
which being broken open, the Roman consul and his army
took possession of the city without any opposition. In' this
manner came Nequinum under the dominion of .the Roman
people. A colony was sent thither as a barrier against the
Umbrians, and called Narnia, from the river Nar. The troops
returned to Rome with abundance of spoil. This year the
Etrurians made preparations for war in violation of the truce.
But a vast army of the Gauls, making an irruption into their
territories, while their attention was directed to another quar-
ter, suspended for a time the execution of their design. They
then, relying on the abundance of money which they possessed,
endeavour to make allies of the Gauls, instead of enemies; in

2 T640

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. X. CHAP. 11.

order that, with their armies combined, they might attack the
Romans. The barbarians made no objection to the alliance,
and a negotiation was opened for settling the price ; which
being adjusted and paid, and every thing else being in readi-
ness for commencing their operations, the Etrurians desired
them to accompany them in their march. This they refused,
alleging that " they had stipulated a price for making war
against the Romans : that the payment already made, they had
received in consideration of their not wasting the Etrurian
territory, or using their arms against the inhabitants. That
notwithstanding, if it was the wish of the Etrurians, they
were still willing to engage in the war, but on no other con-
dition than that of being allowed a share of their lands, and
obtaining at length some permanent settlement." Many as-
semblies of the states of Etruria were held on this subject,
and nothing could be settled; not so much by reason of their
aversion from the dismemberment of their territory, as because
every one felt a dread of fixing in so close vicinity to them-
selves people of such a savage race. The Gauls were therefore
dismissed, and carried home an immense sum of money, ac-
quired without toil or danger. The report of a Gallic tumult,
in addition to an Etrurian war, had caused serious apprehen-
sions at Rome; and, with the less hesitation on that account,
an alliance was concluded with the state of the Picentians.

11. The province of Etruria fell by lot to the consul Titus
Manlius; who, when he had but just entered the enemy's coun-
try, as he was exercising the cavalry, in wheeling about at full
speed, was thrown from his horse, and almost killed on the
spot; three days after the fall, he died. The Etrurians, em-
bracing this omen, as it were, of the future progress of the war,
and observing that the gods had commenced hostilities on their
behalf, assumed new courage. At Rome the news caused
great affliction, on account both of the loss of such a man and
of the unseasonableness of the juncture ; insomuch that an
assembly, held for the purpose of substituting a new consul,
having been conducted agreeably to the wishes of people of
the first consequence, prevented the senate from ordering a
dictator to be created. All the votes and centuries concurred
unanimously in appointing Marcus Valerius consul, the same
whom the senate would have ordered to be made dictator.
They then commanded him to proceed immediately into Etru-Y. B. 454.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

641

ria, to the legions. His coming gave such a check to the
Etrurians, that not one of them dared thenceforward to appear
on the outside of their trenches ; their own fears operating as
a blockade. Nor could the new consul, by wasting their lands
and burning their houses, draw them out to an engagement;
for not only country-houses, but numbers of their towns, were
seen smoking and in ashes, on every side. While this war
proceeded more slowly than had been expected, an account
was received of the breaking out of another ; which was, not
without reason, regarded as terrible, in consequence of the
heavy losses formerly sustained by both parties, from in-
formation given by their new allies, the Picentians, that the
Samnites were looking to arms and a renewal of hostilities,
and that they themselves had been solicited to join therein.
The Picentians received the thanks of the state ; and a large
share of the attention of the senate was turned from Etruria
towards Samnium. The dearness of provisions also distressed
the state very much, and they would have felt the extremity
of want, according to the relation of those who make Fabius
Maximus curule sedile that year, had not the vigilant activity
of that man, such as he had on many occasions displayed in the
field, been exerted then with equal zeal at home, in the man-
agement of the market, and in procuring and forming maga-
zines of corn. An interregnum took place this year, the
reason of which is not mentioned. Appius Claudius, and,
after him, Publius Sulpicius, were interreges. The latter
held an election of consuls, and chose Lucius Cornelius Scipio
and Cneius Fulvius. In the beginning of this year, am-
bassadors came from the Lucanians to the new consuls to
complain, that " the Samnites, finding that they could not, by
any offers, tempt them to take part in the war, had marched
an army in a hostile manner into their country, and were
now laying it waste, and forcing them into a war; that
the Lucanian people had on former occasions erred enough
and more than enough; that their minds were so firmly fixed
that they thought it more endurable to bear and suffer every
hardship, rather than ever again to outrage the Roman name:
they besought the senate to take the people of Lucania into
their protection, and defend them from the injustice and out-
rage of the Samnites; that although fidelity on their part to
the Romans would now become necessary, a war being un-
2 T 2642

THE HISTORY OF ROME.	[B. X. CHAP, 12.

dertaken against the Samnites, still they were ready to give
hostages.

12. The deliberation of the senate was short. They all, tn
a man, concurred in opinion, that a compact should be entered
into with the Lucanians, and satisfaction demanded from the
Samnites: accordingly, a favourable answer was returned to
the Lucanians, and the alliance concluded. Heralds were then
sent, to require of the Samnites, that they should depart from
the country of the allies, and withdraw their troops from the
Lucanian territory. • These were met by persons despatched
for the purpose by the Samnites, who gave them warning, that
" if they appeared at any assembly in Samnium, they must
not expect to depart in safety." As soon as this was heard at
Rome, the senate voted, and the people ordered, that war
should be declared against the Samnites. The consuls, then,
dividing the provinces between thjem, Etruria fell to Scipio,
the Samnites to Fulvius; and they set out by different routes,
each against the enemy allotted to him. Scipio, while he ex-
pected a tedious campaign, like that of the preceding year,
was met near Volaterra by the Etrurians, in order of battle.
The fight lasted through the greater part of the day, while
very many fell on both sides, and night came on while it was
uncertain to which side victory inclined. But the following
dawn showed the conqueror and the vanquished; for the
Etrurians had decamped in the dead of the night. The Ro-
mans, marching out with intent to renew the engagement, and
seeing their superiority acknowledged by the departure of the
enemy, advanced to their camp; and, finding even this forti-
fied post deserted, took possession of it, evacuated as it was,
together with a vast quantity of spoil. The consul then,
leading back his forces into the Faliscian territory, and leav-
ing his baggage with a small guard at Falerii, set out with his
troops, lightly accoutred, to ravage the enemy's country. All
places are destroyed with fire and sword; plunder driven from
every side; and not only was the ground left a mere waste to
the enemy, but their forts and small towns were set on fire;
he refrained from attacking the cities into which fear had
driven the Etrurians. The consul Cneius Fulvius fought a
glorious battle in Samnium, near Bovianum, attended with
success by no means equivocal. Then, having attacked Bo-
vianum, and not long after Aufidena, he took them by storm.Y. R. 454. ]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

643

This year a colony was carried out to Carseoli, into the territory
of the JEquicolae. The consul Fulvius triumphed on his de-
feat of the Samnites.

13. When the consular elections were now at hand, a re-
port prevailed, that the Etrurians and Samnites were raising
vast armies; that the leaders of the Etrurians were, in all their
assemblies, openly censured for not having procured the aid
of the Gauls on any terms; and the magistrates of the Sam-
nites arraigned, for having opposed to the Romans an army
destined to act against the Lucanians. That, in consequence,
the people were rising up in arms, with all their own strength
and that of their allies combined; and that this affair seemed
not likely to be terminated without a contest of much greater
difficulty than the former. Although the candidates for the
consulship were men of illustrious characters, yet this alarm-
ing intelligence turned the thoughts of all on Quintus Fabius
Maximus, who sought not the employment at first, and after-
wards, when he discovered their wishes, even declined it.
"Why," said he, "should they impose such a difficult task on
him, who was now in the decline of life, and had passed
through a full course of labours, and of the rewards of labour ?
Neither the vigour of his body, nor of his mind, remained the
same; and he dreaded fortune herself, lest to some god she
should seem too bountiful to him, and more constant than the
course of human affairs allowed. He had himself succeeded,
in gradual succession, to the dignities of his seniors; and he
beheld, with great satisfaction, others rising up to succeed to
his glory. There was no scarcity at Rome, either of honours
suited to men of the highest merit, or of men of eminent merit
suited to the highest honours." This disinterested conduct,
instead of repressing, increased, while in fact it j ustified their
zeal. But thinking that this ought to be checked by respect
for the laws, he ordered that clause to be read aloud by which
it was not lawful that the same person shall be re-elected con-
sul within ten years. The law was scarcely heard in conse-
quence of the clamour; and the tribunes of the commons de-
clared, that this " decree should be no impediment; for they
would propose an order to the people, that he should be exempted
from the obligation of the laws." Still he persisted in his op-
position, asking, "To what purpose were laws enacted, if they
were eluded by the very persons who procured them ? The644

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

[B. X. CHAP. 14.

laws now," he said, " instead of being rulers, were overruled."
The people, nevertheless, proceeded to vote; and, according as
each century was called in, it immediately named Fabius consul.
Then at length, overcome by the universal wish of the state,
he said, "Romans, may the gods approve your present, and
all your future proceedings. But since, with respect to me,
ye intend to act according to your own wills, let my interest
find room with you, with respect to my colleague. I earnestly
request, that ye will place in the consulship with me Publius
Decius; a man with whom I have already experienced the
utmost harmony in our joint administration of that office; a
man worthy of you, worthy of his father." The recommenda-
tion was deemed well founded, and all the remaining centuries
voted Quintus Fabius and Publius Decius consuls. This year,
great numbers were prosecuted by the asdiles, for having in
possession larger quantities of land than the state allowed;
and hardly any were acquitted: by which means, a very great
restraint was laid on exorbitant covetousness.

14. Whilst the new consuls, Quintus Fabius Maximus a
fourth, and Publius Decius Mus a third time, were settling
between themselves that one should command against the
Samnites, and the other against the Etrurians; and what
number of forces would be sufficient for this and for that
province; and which would be the fitter commander in each
war ; ambassadors from Sutrium, Nepete, and Falerii, stating
that the states of Etruria were holding assemblies on the sub-
ject of suing for peace, they directed the whole force of their
arms against Samnium. The consuls, in order that the supply
of provisions might be the more ready, and to leave the enemy
in the greater uncertainty on what quarter the war would fall,
Fabius led his legions towards Sam ium through the territory
of Sora, and Decius his through th"t of Sidicinum. As soon
as they arrived at the frontiers of the enemy, both advanced
briskly, spreading devastation wherever they came; but still
they explore the country, to a distance beyond where the
troops were employed in plundering. Accordingly the fact
did not escape the notice of the Romans, that the enemy were
drawn up in a retired valley, near Tifernum, which, when the
Romans entered, they were preparing to attack them from the
higher ground. Fabius, sending away his baggage to a place
of safety, and setting a small guard over it, and having givenY. E. 455.]

THE HISTORY OP ROME.

645

notice to his soldiers that a battle was at hand, advanced in a
square body to the hiding-place of the enemy already men-
tioned. The Samnites, disappointed in making an unexpected
attack, determined on a regular engagement, as the matter
was now likely to come to an open contest. They therefore
marched out into the plain; and, with a greater share of spirit
than of hopes, committed themselves to the disposal of fortune.
However, whether in consequence of their having drawn to-
gether, from every state, the whole of the force which it pos-
sessed, or that the consideration of their all being at stake,
heightened their courage, they occasioned, even in open fight,
a considerable alarm. Fabius, when he saw that the enemy
in no place gave way, ordered Marcus Fulvius and Marcus
Valerius, military tribunes, with whom he hastened to the
front, to go to the cavalry, and to exhort them, that, " if they
remembered any instance wherein the public had received ad-
vantage from the service of the horsemen, they would, on that
day, exert themselves to insure the invincible renown of that
1|ody; telling them that the enemy stood immovable against
the efforts of the infantry, and the only hope remaining was
in the charge of horse." He addressed particularly both these
youths, and with the same cordiality, loading them with praises
and promises. But considering that, in case that effort should
also fail, it would be necessary to accomplish by stratagem
what his strength could not effect; he ordered Scipio, one of
his lieutenants-general, to draw off the spearmen of the first
legion out of the line; to lead them round as secretly as pos-
sible to the nearest mountains; and, by an ascent concealed
from view, to gain the heights, and show himself suddenly on
the rear of the enemy. The cavalry, led on by the tribunes,
rushing forward unexpectedly before the van, caused scarcely
more confusion among the enemy than among their friends.
The line of the Samnites stood firm against the furious onset
of the squadrons; it neither could be driven from its ground,
nor broken in any part. The cavalry, finding their attempts
fruitless, withdrew from the fight, and retired behind the line
of infantry. On this the enemies' courage increased, so that
the Roman troops in the van would not have been able to
support the contest, nor the force thus increasing by confi-
dence in itself, had not the second line, by the consul's order,
come up into the place of the first. These fresh troops646

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

[B. X. CHAP. 15.

checked the progress of the Samnites, who had now began to
gain ground; and, at this seasonable juncture, their comrades
appearing suddenly on the mountains, and raising a shout, oc-
casioned in the Samnites a fear of greater danger than really
threatened them; Fabius called out aloud that his colleague De-
cius was approaching; on which all the soldiers, elated with
joy, repeated eagerly, that the other consul was come, the le-
gions were arrived ! This artifice, useful to the Romans, filled
the Samnites with dismay and terror; terrified chiefly lest,
fatigued as they were, they should be overpowered by another
army fresh and unhurt. As they dispersed themselves in their
flight on every side, there was less effusion of blood than
might have been expected, considering the completeness of the
victory. There were three thousand four hundred slain,
about eight hundred and thirty made prisoners, and twenty-
three military standards taken.

15. The Apulians would have joined their forces to the Sam-
nites before this battle, had not the consul, Publius Decius,
encamped in their neighbourhood at Maleventum; and, find^
ing means to bring them to an engagement, put them to the
rout. Here, likewise, there was more of flight than of blood-
shed. Two thousand of the Apulians were slain; but Decius,
despising such an enemy, led his legions into Samnium.
There the two consular armies, overrunning every part of the
country during the space of five months, laid it entirely waste.
There were in Samnium forty-five places where Decius, and
eighty-six where the other consul, encamped. Nor did they
leave traces only of having been there, as ramparts and
trenches, but other dreadful mementos of it—general desola-
tion and regions depopulated. Fabius also took the city of
Cimetra, where he made prisoners two thousand four hundred
soldiers; and there were slain in the assault about four hun-
dred and thirty. Going thence to Rome to preside at the
elections, he used all expedition in despatching that business.
All the first-called centuries voted Quintus Fabius consul.
Appius Claudius was a candidate, a man of consular rank,
daring and ambitious; and as he wished not more ardently
for the attainment of that honour for himself, than he did that
the patricians might recover the possession of both places in
the consulship, he laboured, with all his own power, supported
by that of the whole body of the nobility, to prevail on themT. R. 466.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

647

to appoint him consul along with Quintus Fabius. To this
Fabius objected, giving, at first, the same reasons which he
had advanced the year before. The nobles then all gathered
round his seat, and besought him to raise up the consulship
out of the plebeian mire, and to restore both to the office itself,
and to the patrician rank, their original dignity. Fabius
then, procuring silence, allayed their warmth by a qualifying
speech, declaring, that "he would have so managed, as to
have received the names of two patricians, if he had seen an
intention of appointing any other than himself to the consul-
ship. As things now stood, he would not set so bad a pre-
cedent as to admit his own name among the candidates; such
a proceeding being contrary to the laws." Whereupon Ap-
pius Claudius, and Lucius Volumnius, a plebeian, who had
likewise been colleagues in that office before, were elected
consuls. The nobility reproached Fabius for declining to act
in conjunction with Appius Claudius, because he evidently
excelled him in eloquence and political abilities.

16. When the election was finished, the former consuls,
their command being continued for six months, were order-
ed to prosecute the war in Samnium. Accordingly, during
this next year also, in the consulate of Lucius Yolumnius and
Appius Claudius, Publius Decius, who had been left consul in
Samnium by his colleague, in the character of proconsul,
ceased not to spread devastation through all parts of that
country ; until, at last, he drove the army of the Samnites, which
never dared to face him in the field, entirely out of the coun-
try. Thus expelled from home, they bent their route to
Etruria; and, supposing that the business, which they had
often in vain endeavoured to accomplish by embassies, might
now be negotiated with more effect, when they were backed
by such a powerful armed force, and could intermix terror
with their entreaties, they demanded a meeting of the chiefs
of Etruria: which being assembled, they set forth the great
number of years during which they had waged war with the
Romans, in the cause of liberty; " they had," they said, "tried
to sustain, with their own strength, the weight of so great a
war: they had also made trial of the support of the adjoining
nations, which proved of little avail. When they were un-
able longer to maintain the conflict, they had sued the Ro-
man people for peace; and had again taken up arms, because643

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

[b. x. chap. 17

they felt peace was more grievous to those with servitude, than
war to free men. That their one only hope remaining rested
in the Etrurians. They knew that nation to be the most
powerful in Italy, in respect of arms, men, and money; to
have the Gauls their closest neighbours, born in the midst of
war and arms, of furious courage, both from their natural
temper, and particularly against the people of Rome, whom
they boasted, without infringing the truth, of having made
their prisoners, and of having ransomed for gold. If the
Etrurians possessed the same spirit which formerly Porsena
and their ancestors once had, there was nothing to prevent
their obliging the Romans, driven from all the lands on this
side of the Tiber, to fight for their own existence, and not for
the intolerable dominion which they assumed over Italy. The
Samnite army had come to them, in readiness for action, fur-
nished with arms and pay, and were willing to follow that in-
stant, even should they lead to the attack of the city of Rome
itself.*

17. While they were engaged in these representations; and
intriguing at Etruria, the operations of the Romans in their
own territories distressed them severely. For Publius Decius,
when he ascertained through his scouts the departure of the
Samnite army, called a council, and there said, " Why do we
ramble through the country, carrying the war from village to
village ? Why not attack the cities and fortified places ? No
army now guards Samnium. They have fled their country;
they are gone into voluntary exile." The proposal being
universally approved, he marched to attack Murgantia, a city
of considerable strength; and so great was the ardour of the
soldiers, resulting from their affection to their commander,
and from their hopes of richer treasure than could be found
in pillaging the country places, that in one day they took it
by assault. Here, two thousand one hundred of the Samnites,
making resistance, were surrounded and taken prisoners; and
abundance of other spoil was captured. Decius, not choosing
that the troops should be encumbered in their march with
heavy baggage, ordered them to be called together, and said
to them, " Do ye intend to rest satisfied with this single vic-
tory, and this booty ? or do ye choose to cherish hopes pro-
portioned to your bravery ? All the cities of the Samnites,
and the property left in them, are your own ; since, after soY. R. 456.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

649

often defeating their legions, ye have finally driven them out
of the country. Sell those effects in your hands; and allure
traders, by a prospect of profit, to follow you on your march.
I will, from time to time, supply you with goods for sale. Let
us go hence to the city of Romulea, where no greater labour,
but greater gain awaits you." Having sold off the spoil, and
warmly adopting the general's plan, they proceeded to Romu-
lea. There, also, without works or engines, as soon as the
battalions approached, the soldiers, deterred from the walls by
no resistance, hastily applying ladders wherever was most
convenient to each, they mounted the fortifications. The town
was taken and plundered. Two thousand three hundred
men were slain, six thousand taken prisoners, and the soldiers
obtained abundance of spoil. This they were obliged to sell
in like manner as the former; and, though no rest was allowed
them, they proceeded, nevertheless, with the utmost alacrity
to Ferentinum. But here they met a greater share both of
difficulty and danger: the fortifications were defended with
the utmost vigour, and the place was strongly fortified both by
nature and art. However, the soldiers, now inured to plun-
der, overcame every obstacle. Three thousand of the enemy
were killed round the walls, and the spoil was given to the
troops. In some annals, the principal share of the honour of
taking these cities is attributed to Maximus. They say that
Murgantia was taken by Decius; Romulea and Ferentinum
by Fabius. Some ascribe this honour to the new consuls:
others not to both, but to one of these, Lucius Volumnius:
that to him the province of Samnium had fallen.

18. While things went on thus in Samnium, whoever it was
that had the command and auspices, powerful combination,
composed of many states, was formed in Etruria against the
Romans, the chief promoter of which was Gellius Egnatius, a
Samnite. Almost all the Etrurians had united in this war.
The neighbouring states of Umbria were drawn in, as it
were, by the contagion; and auxiliaries were procured from
the Gauls for hire: all their several numbers assembled at the
camp of the Samnites. When intelligence of this sudden com-
motion was received at Rome, after the consul, Lucius Volum-
nius, had already set out for Samnium, with the second and
third legions, and fifteen thousand of the allies; it was, there-
fore, resolved, that Appius Claudius should, at the very earliest650

THE HISTORY OF ROME.	[B. X. CHAP. 18,

opportunity, go into Etruria. Two Roman legions followed
him, the first and fourth, and twelve thousand allies; their
camp was pitched at a small distance from the enemy. How-
ever, advantage was gained by his early arrival in this particu-
lar, that the awe of the Roman name kept in check some states
of Etruria which were disposed to war, rather than from any
judicious or successful enterprise achieved under the guidance
of the consul. Several battles were fought, at times and
places unfavourable, and increasing confidence rendered the
enemy daily more formidable; so that matters came nearly to
such a state, as that neither could the soldiers rely much on
their leader, nor the leader on his soldiers. It appears in
three several histories, that a letter was sent by the consul to
call his colleague from Samnium. But I will not affirm what
requires stronger proof, as that point was a matter of dispute
between these two consuls of the Roman people, a second time
associated in the same office; Appius denying that the letter
was sent, and Yolumnius affirming that he was called thither
by a letter from Appius. Yolumnius had, by this time, taken
three forts in Samnium, in which three thousand of the enemy
had been slain, and about half that number made prisoners;
and, a sedition having been raised among the Lucanians by
the plebeians and the more indigent of the people, he had, to
the great satisfaction of the nobles, quelled it by sending thither
Quintus Fabius, proconsul, with his own veteran army. He
left to Decius the ravaging of the enemy's country; and pro-
ceeded with his troops into Etruria to his colleague; where,
on his arrival, the whole army received him with joy. Appius,
if he did not write the letter, being conscious of this, had, in
my opinion, just ground of displeasure; but if he had actually
stood in need of assistance, his disowning it, as he did, arose
from an illiberal and ungrateful mind. For, on going out to
receive him, when they had scarcely exchanged salutations,
he said, "Is all well, Lucius Yolumnius ? How stand affairs
in Samnium? What motive induced you to remove out of
your province?" Yolumnius answered, that "affairs in SaiP-
nium were in a prosperous state; and that he had come thither
in compliance with the request in his letter. But, if that were
a forged letter, and that there was no occasion for him in
Etruria, he would instantly face about, and depart." " You
may depart," replied the others " no one detains you: for itY B. 466."]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

65 i

is a perfect inconsistency, that when, perhaps, you are scarcely
e^;al to the management of your own war, you should vaunt
o. coming hither to succour others." To this Yolumnius re-
joined, " May Hercules direct all for the best; for his part,
he was better pleased that he had taken useless trouble, than
that any conjuncture should have arisen which had made one
consular army insufficient for Etruria."

19. As the consuls were parting, the lieutenants-general
and tribunes of Appius's army gathered round them. Some
entreated their own general that he would not reject the
voluntary offer of his colleague's assistance, which ought to
have been solicited in the first instance: the greater number
used their endeavours to stop Yolumnius, beseeching him "not,
through a peevish dispute with his colleague, to abandon the
interest of the commonwealth; and represented to him, that
in case any misfortune should happen, the blame would fall
on the person who forsook the other, not on the one forsaken ;
that the state of affairs was such, that the credit and discredit
of every success and failure in Etruria would be attributed
to Lucius Yolumnius: for no one would inquire, what were
the words of Appius, but what the situation of the army.
Appius indeed had dismissed him, but the commonwealth, and
the army, required his stay. Let him only make trial of the
inclinations of the soldiers." By such admonitions and en-
treaties they, in a manner, dragged the consuls, who almost
resisted, to an assembly. There, longer discourses were made
to the same purport, as had passed before in the presence of a
few. And when Yolumnius, who had the advantage of the
argument, showed himself not deficient in oratory, in despite
of the extraordinary eloquence of his colleague; Appius ob-
served with a sneer, that " they ought to acknowledge them-
selves indebted to him, in having a consul who possessed
eloquence also, instead of being dumb and speechless, when in
their former consulate, particularly during the first months, he
was not able so much as to open his lips; but now, in his ha-
rangues, even aspired after popularity." Yolumnius replied,
" How much more earnestly do I wish, that you had learned
from me to act with spirit, than I from you to speak with
elegance: that now he made a final proposal, which would de-
termine, not which is the better orator, for that is not what
the public wants, but which is the better commander. The652

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. X. CHAP. 19

provinces are Etruriaand Samnium: that he might select which
he preferred; that he, with his own army, will undertake to
manage the business either in Etruria or in Samnium." The
soldiers then, with loud clamours, requested that they would,
in conjunction, carry on the war in Etruria; when Yolumnius
perceiving that it was the general wish, said, " Since I have
been mistaken in apprehending my colleague's meaning, I will
take care that there shall be no room for mistake with respect
to the purport of your wishes. Signify by a shout whether you
choose that I should stay or depart." On this, a shout was raised,
so loud, that it brought the enemy out of their camp: they
snatched up their arms, and marched down in order of battle.
Yolumnius likewise ordered the signal to be sounded, and the
standard to be advanced from the camp. It is said that Appius
hesitated, perceiving that, whether he fought or remained in-
active, his colleague would have the victory; and that, after-
wards, dreading lest his own legions also should follow Yo-
lumnius, he also gave the signal, at the earnest desire of his
men. On neither side were the forces drawn up to advantage:
for, on the one, Gellius Egnatius, the Samnite general, had
gone out to forage with a few cohorts, and his men entered
on the fight as the violence of their passions prompted, rather
than under any directions or orders. On the other, the Ko-
man armies neither marched out together, nor had time suf-
ficient to form: Yolumnius began to engage before Appius
came up to the enemy, consequently the engagement com-
menced, their front in the battle being uneven; and by some
accidental interchange of their usual opponents, the Etrurians
fought against Yolumnius; and the Samnites, after delaying
some time on account of the absence of their general, against
Appius. We are told that Appius, during the heat of the
fight, raising his hands toward heaven, so as to be seen in the
foremost ranks, prayed thus, " Bellona, if thou grantest us the
victory this day, I vow to thee a temple." And that after
this vow, as if inspirited by the goddess, he displayed a degree
of courage equal to that of his colleague and of the troops.
The generals performed every duty, and each of their armies
exerted, with emulation, its utmost vigour, lest victory should
commence on the other side. They therefore routed and put
to flight the enemy, who were ill able to withstand a force so
much superior to any with which they had been accustomedY. B. 456.J

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

653

to contend: then pressing them as they gave ground, and
pursuing them closely as they fled, they drove them into their
camp. There, by the interposition of Gellius and his Samnite
cohorts, the fight was renewed for a little time. But these
being likewise soon dispersed, the camp was now stormed by
the conquerors ; and whilst Yolumnius, in person, led his
troops against one of the gates, Appius, frequently invoking
Bellona the victorious, inflamed the courage of his men, they
broke in through the rampart and trenches. The camp was
taken and plundered, and an abundance of spoil was found,
and given up to the soldiers. Of the enemy seven thousand
three hundred were slain ; and two thousand one hundred and
twenty taken.

20. While both the consuls, with the whole force of the
Romans, pointed their exertions principally against the war
in Etruria, a new army which arose in Samnium, with design
to ravage the frontiers of the Roman empire, passed over
through the country of the Yescians, into the Campanian and
Falernian territories, and committed great depredations. Yo-
lumnius, as he was hastening back to Samnium, by forced
marches, because the term for which Fabius and Decius had
been continued in command was nearly expired, heard of this
army of Samnites, and of the mischief which they had done
in Campania; determining, therefore, to afford protection to
the allies, he altered his route towards that quarter. When
he arrived in the district of Cales, he found marks of their re-
cent ravages; and the people of Cales informed him that the
enemy carried with them such a quantity of spoil, that they
could scarcely observe any order in their march: and that the
commanders then directed publicly that the troops should
go immediately to Samnium, and having deposited the booty
there, that they should return to the business of the expe-
dition, as they must not commit to the hazard of an engagement
an army so heavily laden. Notwithstanding that this ac-
count carried, every appearance of truth, he yet thought it
necessary to obtain more certain information; accordingly he
despatched some horsemen, to seize on some of the straggling
marauders; from these he learned, on inquiry, that the enemy
lay at the river Yulturnus; that they intended to remove
thence at the third watch; and that their route was towards
Samnium. 0n receiving this intelligence, which could be de-654

TIIE HISTORY OF ROME.

fB. X. CHAP. 20.

pended upon, he set out, and sat down at such a distance from
the enemy, that his approach could not be discovered by his
being too near them, and, at the same time, that he might sur-
prise them, as they should be coming out of their camp. A
long time before day, he drew nigh to their post, and sent per-
sons, who understood the Oscan language, to discover how
they were employed : these, mixing with the enemy, which
they could easily do during the confusion in the night, found
that the standards had gone out thinly attended; that the
booty, and those appointed to guard it, were then setting out,
a contemptible train; each busied about his own affairs, with-
out any concert with the rest, or much regard to orders. This
was judged the fittest time for the attack, and day-light was
now approaching; he gave orders to sound the charge, and
fell on the enemy as they were marching out. The Samnites
being embarrassed with the spoil, and very few armed, some
quickened their pace, and drove the prey before them; others
halted, deliberating whether it would be safer to advance, or
to return again to the camp; and while they hesitated, they
were overtaken and cut off. The Romans had by this time
passed over the rampart, and filled the camp with slaughter
and confusion: the Samnite army, in addition to the disorder
caused by the enemy, had their disorder increased by a sudden
insurrection of their prisoners; some of whom, getting loose,
set the rest at liberty, while others snatched the arms which
were tied up among the baggage, and being intermixed with
the troops, raised a tumult more terrible than the battle itself.
They then performed a memorable exploit: for making an at-
tack on Statius Minacius, the general, as he was passing be-
tween the ranks and encouraging his men; then, dispersing
the horsemen who attended him, they gathered round himself,
and dragged him, sitting on his horse, a prisoner to the Roman
consul. By this movement the foremost battalions of the Sam-
nites were brought back, and the battle, which seemed to have
been already decided, was renewed: but they could not sup-
port it long. Six thousand of them were slain, and two thou-
sand five hundred taken, among whom were four military tri-
bunes, together with thirty standards, and, what gave the
conquerors greater joy than all, seven thousand four hundred
prisoners were recovered. The spoil which had been taken
from the allies was immense, and the owners were summonedY. B. 456.]

THE HISTORY OP ROME.

600

by a proclamation, to claim and receive their property. On
the day appointed, all the effects, the owners of which did not
appear, were given to the soldiers, who were obliged to sell
them, in order that they might have nothing to think of but
their duty.

21. The depredations, committed on the lands of Campania,
had occasioned a violent alarm at Home; and it happened, that
about the same time intelligence was brought from Etruria,
that, after the departure of Volumnius's army, all that coun-
try had risen up in arms; and that Gellius Egnatius, the lead-
er of the Samnites, was causing the Umbrians to join in the
insurrection, and tempting the Gauls with high offers. Ter-
rified at this news, the senate ordered the courts of justice to
be shut, and a levy to be made of men of every description.
Accordingly not only free-born men and the younger sort
were obliged to enlist, but cohorts were formed of the elder
citizens, and the sons of freed-men were incorporated in the
centuries. Plans were formed for the defence of the city, and
the prgetor, Publius Sempronius, was invested with the chief
command. However, the senate was exonerated of one half
of their anxiety, by a letter from the consul, Lucius Volum-
nius, informing them that the army, which had ravaged Cam-
pania, had been defeated and dispersed: whereupon, they
decreed a public thanksgiving for this success, in the name
of the consul. The courts were opened, after having been
shut eighteen days, and the thanksgiving was performed with
much joy. They then turned their thoughts to devising mea-
sures for the future security of the country depopulated by
the Samnites; and, with this view, it was resolved, that two
colonies should be settled on the frontiers of the Vescian and
Falernian territories; one at the mouth of the river Liris,
which has received the name of Minturnas; the other in the
Yescian forest, which borders on the Falernian territory;
where, it is said, stood Sinope, a city of Grecians, called
thenceforth by the Roman colonists Sinuessa. The plebeian
tribunes were charged to procure an order of the commons,
commanding Publius Sempronius, the prsetor, to create trium-
virs for conducting the colonies to those places. But persons
were not readily found to give in their names; because they con-
sidered that they were being sent into what was almost a per-
petual advanced guard in a hostile country, not as a provision

2 u656

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

[b. x. chap. 22.

of land. From these employments, the attention of the senate
was drawn away by the Etrurian war, growing now more
formidable; and by frequent letters from Appius, warning
them not to neglect the disturbances in that quarter. That
four nations were uniting their arms, the Etrurians, the Sam-
nites, the Umbrians, and the Grauls; and they had already
formed two separate camps, because one spot was insufficient
to contain so great a multitude. In consequence, the time of
the elections drawing nigh, the consul, Lucius Volumnius,
was recalled to Home, to hold them. Having summoned an
assembly of the people before he should call the centuries to
give their votes, he spoke at length on the great importance
of the Etrurian war, and said, that "even at the time when
he himself acted there, in conjunction with his colleague, the
war was too weighty to be managed by one general or one
army; and that it was now reported, that the Umbrians had
since that time joined them, and a numerous body of Gauls."
He desired them to "bear in mind, that consuls were on
that day to be chosen, who were to command in a war against
four nations. For his own part, were he not confident that
the Roman people would concur in appointing to the consul-
ship the man who was allowed, beyond dispute, to be the first
commander at present in the world, he would have imme-
diately nominated a dictator."

22. No one doubted but that Quintus Fabius would be
chosen by universal consent; and accordingly, the preroga-
tive, and all the first-called centuries, were for naming him
consul with Lucius Yolumnius. The speech of Fabius was
to the same purpose as it had been two years before ; but
afterwards, when he yielded to the general wish, he applied
himself to procure Decius to be appointed his confederate:
"that," he said, "would be a prop to his advanced age. In
the censorship, and two consulships, in which they had been
associated, he had experienced that there could be no firmer
support, in promoting the interest of the commonwealth, than
harmony with a colleague. At his advanced stage of life,
his mind could hardly conform itself to a new associate in
command; and he could more easily act in concert with a
temper to which he had been familiarized." Yolumnius sub-
scribed to these sentiments, both by bestowing due praises on
Publius Decius, and enumerating "the advantages resultingy. R. 456.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

657

from concord between consuls, and the evils arising from
their disagreement in the conduct of military affairs;" at the
same time remarking, "how near the extremity of danger
matters had been brought, by the late dispute between his
colleague and himself." He warmly recommended to Decius
and Fabius to "live together with one mind and one spirit."
Observed that " they were men qualified by nature for mili-
tary command: great in action, but unpractised in the strife
of words and eloquence; their talents were such as eminently
became consuls. As to the artful and the ingenious lawyers
and orators, such as Appius Claudius, they ought to be kept
at home to preside in the city and the forum; and to be ap-
pointed praetors for the administration of justice." In these
proceedings that day was spent, and, on the following, the
elections both of consuls and praetor were held, and were
guided by the recommendations suggested by the consul.
Quint us Fabius and Publius Decius were chosen consuls;
Appius Claudius, prastor; all of them absent; and, by a de-
cree of the senate, followed by an order of the commons, Lu-
cius Volumnius was continued in the command for another
year.

23. During that year many prodigies happened. For the
purpose of averting which, the senate decreed a supplication
for two days: the wine and frankincense for the sacrifices
were furnished at the expense of the public; and numerous
crowds of men and women attended the performance. This
supplication was rendered remarkable by a quarrel, which
broke out among the matrons in the chapel of patrician chas-
tity, which stands in the cattle market, near the round temple
of Hercules. Virginia, daughter of Aulus, a patrician, but
married to Volumnius the consul, a plebeian, was, because
she had married out of the patricians, excluded by the ma-
trons from sharing in the sacred rites: a short altercation en-
sued, which was afterwards, through the intemperance of
passion incident to the sex, kindled into a flame of contention.
Virginia boasted with truth that she had a right to enter the
temple of patrician chastity, as being of patrician birth, and
chaste in her character, and, besides, the wife of one husband,
to whom she was betrothed a virgin, and had no reason to be
dissatisfied either with her husband, or his exploits or hon-
ours : to her high-spirited words, she added importance by an

2 u 2658

THE HISTOKY OF ROME.	[B. X. CHAP. 24

extraordinary act. In the long, street where she resided, she
enclosed with a partition a part of the house, of a size suf-
ficient for a small chapel, and there erected an altar. Then,
calling together the plebeian matrons, and complaining of the
injurious behaviour of the patrician ladies, she said, "This
altar I dedicate to plebeian chastity, and exhort you, that the
same degree of emulation which prevails among the men of
this state, on the point of valour, may be maintained by the
women on the point of chastity; and that you contribute
your best care, that this altar may have the credit of being
attended with a greater degree of sanctity, and by chaster
women, than the other, if possible." Solemn rites were per-
formed at this altar under the same regulations, nearly, with
those at the more ancient one; no person being allowed the
privilege of taking part in the sacrifices, except a woman of
approved chastity, and who was the wife of one husband.
This institution, being afterwards debased by [the admission
of] vicious characters, and not only by matrons, but women
of every description, sunk at last into oblivion. During this
year the Ogulnii, Cneius and Quintus, being curule sediles,
carried on prosecutions against several usurers; whose pro-
perty being fined, out of the produce, which was deposited in
the treasury, they ordered brazen thresholds for the Capitol,
utensils of plate for three tables in the chapel of Jupiter, a
statue of Jupiter in a chariot drawn by four horses placed on
the roof, and images of the founders of the city in their infant
state under the teats of the wolf, at the Ruminal fig-tree.
They also paved with square stones the roads from the Ca-
puan gate to the temple of Mars. By the plebeian aediles
likewise, Lucius JElius Pastus and Caius Fulvius Corvus, out
of money levied as fines on farmers of the public pastures,
whom they had convicted of malpractices, games were ex-
hibited, and golden bowls were placed in the temple of Ceres.

24. Then came into the consulship Quintus Fabius a fifth
time, and Publius Decius a fourth. They had been colleagues
in the censorship, and twice in the consulship, and were cele-
brated not more for their glorious achievements, splendid as
these were, than for the unanimity which had ever subsisted be-
tween them. The continuance of this feeling I am inclined to
think was interrupted by a j arring between the [opposite] orders
rather than between themselves; the patricians endeavouringT. r. 466.]

THE HISTORY OP ROME.

659

that Fabius should have Etruria for his province, without
casting lots, and the plebeians insisting that Decius should
bring the matter to the decision of lots. There was certainly
a contention in the senate, and the interest of Fabius being
superior there, the business was brought before the people.
Here, between military men who laid greater stress on deeds
than on words, the debate was short. Fabius said, "that
it was unreasonable, after he had planted a tree, another
should gather the fruit of it. He had opened the Ciminian
forest, and made a way for the Roman arms, through passes
until then impracticable. Why had they disturbed him, at
that time of his life, if they intended to give the management
of the war to another?" Then, in the way of a gentle re-
proof, he observed, that " instead of an associate in command,
he had chosen an adversary; and that Decius thought it too
much that their unanimity should last through three consulates."
Declaring, in fine, that " he desired nothing further, than that,
if they thought him qualified for the command in the province,
they should send him thither. He had submitted to the judg-
ment of the senate, and would now be governed by the au-
thority of the people." Publius Decius complained of in-
justice in the senate; and asserted, that "the patricians had
laboured, as long as possible, to exclude the plebeians from all
access to the higher honours; and since merit, by its own in-
trinsic power, had prevailed so far, as that it should not, in
any rank of men, be precluded from the attainment of hon-
ours, expedients were sought how not only the suffrages of
the people, but even the decisions of fortune may be rendered
ineffectual, and be converted to the aggrandizement of a few.
All the consuls before him had disposed of the provinces by
lots; now, the senate bestowed a province on Fabius without
lots. If this was meant as a mark of honour, the merits of
Fabius were so great towards the commonwealth, and towards
himself in particular, that he would gladly second the ad-
vancement of his reputation, provided only its splendour could
be increased without reflecting dishonour on himself. But
who did not see, that, when a war of difficulty and danger, and
out of the ordinary course, was committed to only that one
consul,, the other would be considered as useless and insignifi-
cant. Fabius gloried in his exploits performed in Etruria:
Publius Decius wished for a like subject of glory, and perhaps660

THE HISTORY OF ROME*	[B. X. CHAP. 25.

would utterly extinguish that fire, which the other left smother-
ed, in such a manner that it often broke out anew, in sudden
conflagrations. In fine, honours and rewards he would con-
cede to his colleague, out of respect to his age and dignified
character: but when danger, when a vigorous struggle with an
enemy was before them, he never did, nor ever would, willing-
ly, give place. With respect to the present dispute, this much
he would gain at all events, that a business, appertaining to
the jurisdiction of the people, should be determined by an order
of that people, and not complimented away by the senate. He
prayed Jupiter, supremely good and great, and all the immor-
tal gods, not to grant him an equal chance with his colleague,
unless they intended to grant him equal ability and success,
in the management of the war. It was certainly in its nature
reasonable, in the example salutary, and concerned the reputa-
tion of the Roman people, that the consuls should be men of
such abilities, that under either of them a war with Etruria
could be well managed." Fabius, after requesting of the peo-
ple nothing else than that, before the tribes were called in to
give their votes, they would hear the letters of the praetor
Appius Claudius, written from Etruria, withdrew from the
Comitium, and with no less unanimity of the people than of
the senate, the province of Etruria was decreed to him with-
out having recourse to lots.

25. Immediately almost all the younger citizens flocked
together to the consul, and readily gave in their names; so
strong was their desire of serving under such a commander.
Seeing so great a multitude collected round him, he said, "My
intention is to enlist only four thousand foot and six hundred
horse : such of you as give in your names to-day and to-mor-
row, I will carry with me. I am more solicitous to bring home
all my soldiers rich, than to employ a great multitude." Ac-
cordingly, with a competent number of men, who possessed
greater hopes and confidence because a numerous army had
not been required, he marched to the town of Aharna, from
which the enemy were not far distant, and proceeded to the
camp of the praetor Appius. When within a few miles of it,
he was met by some soldiers, sent to cut wood, attended
by a guard. Observing the lictors preceding him, and learn-
ing that he was Fabius the consul, they were filled with joy
and alacrity; they expressed their thanks to the gods, and toY. R. 457.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

661

the Roman people, for having sent them such a commander.
Then, as they gathered round to pay their respects, Fabius
inquired whither they were going; and on their answering
they were going to provide wood, " What do you tell me," said
he; "have you not a rampart, raised about your camp?"
When to this they replied, " they had a double rampart, and
a trench; and, notwithstanding, were in great apprehension."
" Well then," said he, "you have abundance of wood, go back
and level the rampart." They accordingly returned to the
camp, and there levelling the rampart, threw the soldiers who
had remained in it, and Appius himself, into the greatest
fright, until with eager joy each called out to the rest, that,
" they acted by order of the consul, Quintus Fabius." Next
day the camp was moved from thence, and the praetor, Appius,
was dismissed to Rome. From that time the Romans had no
fixed post; the consul affirming, that it was prejudicial to an
army to lie in one spot; and that by frequent marches, and
changing places, it was rendered more healthy, and more ca-
pable of brisk exertions: and marches were made as long as
the winter, which was not yet ended, permitted. Then,
in the beginning of spring, leaving the second legion near
Clusium, which they formerly called the Camertian, and giving
the command of the camp to Lucius Scipio, as propraetor, he
returned to Rome, in order to adjust measures for carrying on
the war; either led thereto by his own judgment, because the
war seemed to him more serious than he had believed, from re-
port ; or, being summoned by a decree of the senate; for writers
give both accounts. Some choose to have it believed, that
he was forced back by the praetor, Appius Claudius; who, both
in the senate, and before the people, exaggerated, as he was wont
in all his letters, the danger of the Etrurian war, contending,
that " one general, or one army, would not be sufficient to
oppose four nations. That whether these directed the whole
of their combined force against him alone, or acted separately
in different parts, there was reason to fear, that he would be
unable to provide against every emergency. That he had
left there but two Roman legions ; and that the foot and horse,
who came with Fabius, did not amount to five thousand. It
was, therefore, his opinion, that the consul Publius Decius
should, without delay, set out to his colleague in Etruria; and
that the province of Samnium should be given to Lucius Vo-662

THE HISTORY OF ROME.	[B. X. CHAP. 26.

lumnius. But if the consul preferred going to his own province,
that then Volumnius should march a full consular army into
Etruria, to join the other consul." When the advice of the prae-
tor influenced a great part of the members, they say that Pub-
lius Decius recommended that every thing should be kept unde-
termined, and open for Quintus Fabius ; until he should either
come to Rome, if he could do so without prejudice to the public,
or send some of his lieutenants, from whom the senate might
learn the real state of the war in Etruria; and with what num-
ber of troops, and by how many generals, it should be carried on.

26. Fabius, as soon as he returned to Rome, qualified his
discourses, both in the senate and when brought before the
people, in such a manner as to appear neither to exaggerate,
or lessen, any particular relating to the war; and to show,
that, in agreeing to another general being joined with him, he
rather indulged the apprehensions of others, than guarded
against any danger to himself, or the public. " But if they
chose," he said, "to give him an assistant in the war, and
associate in command, how could he overlook Publius Decius
the consul, whom he had tried during so many associations in
office ? There was no man living whom he would rather wish
to be joined in commission with him: with Publius Decius he
should have forces sufficient, and never too many enemies.
If, however, his colleague preferred any other employment,
let them then give him Lucius Yolumnius as an assistant."
The disposal of every particular was left entirely to Fabius by
the people and the senate, and even by his colleague. And
when Decius declared that he was ready to go either to Etru-
ria or Samnium, such general congratulation and satisfaction
took place, that victory was anticipated, and it seemed as if a
triumph, not a war, had been decreed to the consuls. I find
in some writers, that Fabius and Decius, immediately on their
entering into office, set out together for Etruria, without any
mention of the casting of lots for the provinces, or of the dis-
putes which I have related. Others, not satisfied with re-
lating those disputes, have added charges of misconduct, laid
by Appius before the people against Fabius, when absent;
and a stubborn opposition, maintained by the prastor against
the consul, when present; and also another contention be-
tween the colleagues, Decius insisting that each consul should
attend to the care of his own separate province. Certainty,Y. B. 457.]

THE UISTORY OF ROME.

663

however, begins to appear from the time when both consuls
set out for the campaign. Now, before the consuls arrived in
Etruria, the Senonian Gauls came in a vast body to Clusium,
to attack the Roman legion and the camp. Scipio, who com-
manded the camp, wishing to remedy the deficiency of his
numbers by an advantage in the ground, led his men up a
hill, which stood between the camp and the city: but having,
in his haste, neglected to examine the place, he reached near
the summit, which he found already possessed by the enemy,
who had ascended on the other side. The legion was conse-
quently attacked on the rear, and surrounded in the middle,
when the enemy pressed it on all sides. Some writers say,
that the whole were cut off, so that not one survived to give
an account of it; and that no information of the misfortune
reached the consuls, who were, at the time, not far from Clu-
sium, until the Gallic horsemen came within sight, carrying
the heads of the slain, some hanging before their horses'
breasts, others on the points of their spears, and expressing
their triumph in songs according to their custom. Others af-
firm, that the defeat was by Umbrians, not Gauls, and that
the loss sustained was not so great. That a party of foragers,
under Lucius Manlius Torquatus, lieutenant-general, being
surrounded, Scipio, the proprietor, brought up relief from the
camp, and the battle being renewed, that the Umbrians, late-
ly victorious, were defeated, and the prisoners and spoil re-
taken. But it is more probable that this blow was suffered
from a Gallic than an Umbrian enemy; because during that
year, as was often the case at other times, the danger princi-
pally apprehended by the public, was that of a Gallic tumult;
for which reason, notwithstanding that both the consuls had
marched against the enemy, with four legions, and a large
body of Roman cavalry, joined by a thousand chosen horse-
men of Campania, supplied on the occasion, and a body of the
allies and Latin confederates, superior in number to the Romans,
two other armies were posted near the city, on the side facing
Etruria; one in the Faliscian, the other in the Vatican territory.
Cneius Fulvius and Lucius Postumius Megellus, both proprae-
tors, were ordered to keep the troops stationed in those places.

27. The consuls, having crossed the Apennines, came up
with the enemy in the territory of Sentinum; their camp was
pitched there at the distance of about four miles. Several664

THE HISTORY OP ROME. [B. X. CHAP. 27.

councils were then held by the enemy, and their plan of oper-
ations was thus settled: that they should not encamp together,
nor go out together to battle; the Gauls were united to the
Samnites, the Umbrians to the Etrurians. The day of bat-
tle was fixed. The part of maintaining the fight was com-
mitted to the Samnites and Gauls; and the Etrurians and
Umbrians were ordered to attack the Roman camp during the
heat of the engagement. This plan was frustrated by three
Clusian deserters, who came over by night to Fabius, and af-
ter disclosing the above designs, were sent back with presents,
in order that they might discover, and bring intelligence of,
any new scheme which should be determined on. The con-
suls then wrote to Flavius and Postumius to move their ar-
mies, the one from the Faliscian, the other from the Vatican
country, towards Clusium; and to ruin the ^enemy's territory
by every means in their power. The news of these depreda-
tions drew the Etrurians from Sentinum to protect their own
region. The consuls, in their absence, practised every means
to bring on an engagement. For two days they endeavoured, by
several attacks, to provoke the enemy to fight; in which time,
however, nothing worth mention was performed. A few fell
on each side, but still the minds [of the Romans] were irri-
tated to wish for a general engagement; yet nothing decisive
was hazarded. On the third day, both parties marched out
their whole force to the field: here, while the armies stood in
order of battle, a hind, chased by a wolf from the mountains,
ran through the plain between the two lines: there the ani-
mals taking different directions, the hind bent its course to-
wards the Gauls, the wolf towards the Romans: way was
made between the ranks for the wolf, the Gauls slew the hind
with their javelins; on which one of the Roman soldiers in
the van said, "To that side, where you see an animal, sacred
to Diana, lying prostrate, flight and slaughter are directed;
on this side the victorious wolf of Mars, safe and untouched,
reminds us of our founder, and of our descent from that deity."
The Gauls were posted on the right wing, the Samnites on
the left: against the latter, Fabius drew up, as his right wing,
the first and third legions: against the Gauls, Decius formed
the left wing of the fifth and sixth. The second and fourth
were employed in the war in Samnium, under the proconsul,
Lucius Volumnius. In the first encounter the action wasy. r. 457.]

the history of rome.

665

supported with strength so equal on both sides, that had the
Etrurians and Umbrians been present, either in the field or
at the camp, in whichever place they might have employed
their force, the Romans must have been defeated.

28. However, although the victory was still undecided, for-
tune not having declared in favour of either party, yet the
course of the fight was by no means similar on both right and
left wings. The Romans, under Fabius, rather repelled than
offered assault; and the contest was protracted until very late
in the day: for their general knew very well, that both Sam-
nites and Gauls were furious in the first onset; so that, to
withstand them would be sufficient. It was known, too, that
in a protracted contest the spirits of the Samnites gradually
flagged, and even the bodies of the Gauls, remarkably ill able
to bear labour and heat, became quite relaxed; and although,
in their first efforts, they were more than men, yet in their
last they were less than women. He, therefore, reserved the
strength of his men as unimpaired as possible, until the time
when the enemy were the more likely to be worsted. Decius,
more impetuous, as being in the prime of life and full flow of
spirits, exerted whatever force he had to the utmost in the
first encounter; and thinking the infantry not sufficiently
energetic, brought up the cavalry to the fight. Putting him-
self at the head of a troop of young horsemen of distinguished
bravery, he besought those youths, the flower of the army, to
charge the enemy with him ; [telling them] "they would reap
a double share of glory, if the victory should commence on the
left wing, and through their means." Twice they compelled
the Gallic cavalry to give way. At the second charge, when
they advanced farther and were briskly engaged in the midst
of the enemy's squadrons, by a method of fighting new to
them, they were thrown into dismay. A number of the
enemy, mounted on chariots and cars, made towards them with
such a prodigious clatter from the trampling of the cattle and
rolling of wheels, as affrighted the horses of the Romans, un-
accustomed to such tumultuous operations. By this means
the victorious cavalry were dispersed, through a panic, and
men and horses, in their headlong flight, were tumbled pro-
miscuously on the ground. Hence also the battalions of the
legions were thrown into disorder: through the impetuosity
of the horses, and of the carriages which they dragged through666

THE HISTORY OF ROME.	[B. X. CHAP. 20.

the ranks, many of the soldiers in the van were trodden or
bruised to death; while the Gallic line, as soon as they saw
their enemy in confusion, pursued the advantage, nor allowed
them time to take breath or recover themselves. Decius, call-
ing aloud, " Whither were they flying, or what hope could
they have in running away?" strove to stop them as they
turned their backs; but finding that he could not, by any ef-
forts, prevail on them to keep their posts, so thoroughly were
they dismayed, he called on his father, Publius Decius, by name.
He said, " Why do I any longer defer the fate entailed on my
family ? It is destined to our race, that we should serve as
expiatory victims to avert the public danger. I will now
offer the legions of the enemy, together with myself, to be im-
molated to Earth, and the infernal gods." Having thus said,
he commanded Marcus Livius, a pontiff, whom, at his coming
out to the field, he had charged not to stir from him, to dic-
tate the form of words in which he was to devote himself,
and the legions of the enemy, for the army of the Roman
people, the Quirites. He was accordingly devoted with the
same imprecations, and in the same habit, in which his fa-
ther, Publius Decius, had ordered himself to be devoted at
the Yeseris in the Latin war. When, immediately after the
solemn imprecation, he added, that "he drove before him dis-
may and flight, slaughter and blood, and the wrath of the
gods celestial and infernal; that, with the contagious influ-
ence of the furies, the ministers of death, he would infect the
standards, the weapons, and the armour of the enemy; and
that the same spot should be that of his perdition, and that
of the Gauls and Samnites." After uttering these execrations
on himself and the foe, he spurred forward his horse, where
he saw the line of the Gauls thickest, and, rushing upon the
enemy's weapons, met his death.

29. Thenceforward the battle seemed to be fought with a
degree of force scarcely human. The Romans, on the loss of
their general, a circumstance which, on other occasions, is
wont to inspire terror, stopped their flight, and were anxious
to begin the combat afresh. The Gauls, and especially the
multitude which encircled the consul's body, as if deprived of
reason, cast their javelins at random without execution ; some
became so stupid as not to think of either fighting or flying:
while on the other side, Livius, the pontiff, to whom DeciusT. It. 457.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

667

had transferred his lictors, with orders to act as propraetor,
cried out aloud, that "the Romans were victorious, being saved
by the death of their consul. That the Gauls and Sam-
nites were now the victims of mother Earth and the infernal
gods. That Decius was summoning and dragging to himself
the army devoted along with him: and that, among the ene-
my, all was full of dismay, and the vengeance of all the furies."
While the soldiers were busy in restoring the fight, Lucius
Cornelius Scipio and Caius Marcius, with some reserved troops
from the rear, who had been sent by Quintus Fabius, the
consul, to the support of his colleague, calne up. There the
fate of Decius is ascertained, a powerful stimulus to brave
every danger in the cause of the public. Wherefore, when
the Gauls stood in close order, with their shields formed into
a fence before them, and but little prospect of success appear-
ed from a close fight, the javelins, which lay scattered between
the two lines, were, therefore, by order of the lieutenants-
general, gathered up from the ground, and thrown against the
enemy's shields, and as most of them pierced the fence, the
long-pointed ones even into their bodies, their compact band
was overthrown in such a manner, that a great many, who
were unhurt, yet fell as if thunderstruck. Such were the
changes of fortune on the left wing of the Romans: on the
right, Fabius had at first protracted the time, as we mentioned
above, in slow operations ; then, as soon as he perceived that
neither the shout, nor the efforts of the enemy, nor the wea-
pons which they threw, retained their former force, having
ordered the commanders of the cavalry to lead round their
squadrons to the flank of the Samnites, so that, on receiving
the signal, they should charge them in flank, with all pos-
sible violence, he commanded, at the same time, his infantry
to advance leisurely, and drive the enemy from their ground.
When he saw that they were unable to make resistance, and
that their exhaustion was certain, drawing together all his re-
serves, whom he had kept fresh for that occasion, he made
a brisk push with the legions, and gave the cavalry the signal
to charge. The Samnites could not support the shock, but
fled precipitately to their camp, passing by the line of the
Gauls, and leaving their allies to fight by themselves. These
stood in close order under cover of their shields: Fabius,
therefore, having heard of the death of his colleague, ordered668

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. X. CHAP. 30.

the squadron of Campanian cavalry, in number about five
hundred, to fall back from the ranks, and riding round, to
attack the rear of the Gallic line, then the chief strength of the
third legion to follow, with directions that wherever they should
see the enemy's troops disordered by the charge, to follow the
blow, and cut them to pieces, when in a state of consternation.
After vowing a temple and the spoils of the enemy to Jupiter
the Victorious, he proceeded to the camp of the Samnites,
whither all their forces were hurrying in confusion. The
gates not affording entrance to such very great numbers,
those who were necessarily excluded, attempted resistance
just at the foot of the rampart, and here fell Gellius Egnatius,
the Samnite general. These, however, were soon driven
within the rampart; the camp was taken after a slight resist-
ance; and at the same time the Gauls were attacked on the
rear, and overpowered. There were slain of the enemy on
that day twenty-five thousand: eight thousand were taken
prisoners. Nor was the victory an unbloody one ; for, of the
army of Publius Decius, the killed amounted to seven thou-
sand; of the army of Fabius, to one thousand two hun-
dred. Fabius, after sending persons to search for the body
of his colleague, had the spoils of the enemy collected into a
heap, and burned them as an offering to Jupiter the Victori-
ous. The consul's body could not be found that day, being
hid under a heap of slaughtered Gauls: on the following, it
was discovered and brought to the camp, amidst abundance
of tears shed by the soldiers. Fabius, discarding all concern
about any other business, solemnized the obsequies of his col-
league in the most honourable manner, passing on him the
high encomiums which he had j ustly merited.

30. During the same period, matters were managed suc-
cessfully by Cneius Fulvius, proprietor, he having, besides the
immense losses occasioned to the enemy by the devastation of
their lands, fought a battle with extraordinary success, in
which there were above three thousand of the Perusians and
Clusians slain, and twenty military standards -taken. The
Samnites, in their flight, passing through the Pelignian terri-
tory, were attacked on all sides by the Pelignians; and, out
of five thousand, one thousand were killed. The glory of the
day on which they fought at Sentinum was great, even when
truly estimated; but some have gone beyond credibility byb. 457.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME*

669

their exaggerations, who assert in their writings, that there
were in the army of the enemy forty thousand three hundred
and thirty foot, six thousand horse, and one thousand chariots,
that is, including the Etrurians and Umbrians, who [they af-
firm] were present in the engagement: and, to magnify like-
wise the number of Roman forces, they add to the consuls
another general, Lucius Volumnius, proconsul, and his army
to the legions of the consul. In the greater number of an-
nals, that victory is ascribed entirely to the two consuls. Vo-
lumnius was employed in the mean time in Samnium; he
drove the army of the Samnites to Mount Tifernus, and, not
deterred by the difficulty of the ground, routed and dispersed
them. Quintus Fabius, leaving Decius's army in Etruria,
and leading off his own legions to the city, triumphed over
the Gauls, Etrurians, and Samnites: the soldiers attended
him in his triumph. The victory of Quintus Fabius was not
more highly celebrated, in their coarse military verses, than
the illustrious death of Publius Decius; and the memory of
the father was recalled, whose fame had been equalled by
the praiseworthy conduct of the son, in respect of the issue
which resulted both to himself and to the public. Out of the
spoil, donations were made to the soldiers of eighty-two asses1
to each, with cloaks and vests; rewards for service, in that
age, by no means contemptible.

31. Notwithstanding these successes, peace was not yet
established, either among the Samnites or Etrurians: for the
latter, at the instigation of the Perusians, resumed their arms,
after his army had been withdrawn by the consul; and the
Samnites made predatory incursions on the territories of
Vescia and Formiae; and also on the other side, on those of
JEsernia, and the parts adjacent to the river Yulturnus.
Against these was sent the prsetor Appius Claudius, with the
army formerly commanded by Decius. In Etruria, Fabius,
on the revival of hostilities, slew four thousand five hundred
of the Perusians, and took prisoners one thousand seven hun-
dred and forty, who were ransomed at the rate of three hun-
dred and ten asses2 each. All the rest of the spoil was be-
stowed on the soldiers. The legions of the Samnites, though
pursued, some by the praetor Appius Claudius, the others by
Lucius Volumnius, proconsul, formed a junction in the coun-
1 5s. did.	2 £1.670

THE* HISTORY OF ROME.

[B. X. CHAP. 31.

try of the Stellatians. Here sat down the whole body of the
Samnites; and Appius and Volumnius, with their forces
united in one camp. A battle was fought with the most ran-
corous animosity, one party being spurred on by rage against
men who had so often renewed their attacks on them, and the
other now fighting in support of their last remaining hope.
Accordingly, there were slain, of the Samnites, sixteen thou-
sand three hundred, and two thousand and seven hundred
made prisoners: of the Roman army fell two thousand and
seven hundred. This year, so successful in the operations of
war, was filled with distress at home, arising from a pestilence,
and with anxiety, occasioned by prodigies : for accounts were
received that, in many places, showers of earth had fallen;
and that very many persons, in the army of Appius Claudius,
had been struck by lightning; in consequence of which, the
books were consulted. At this time, Quintus Fabius Gurges,
the consul's son, having prosecuted some matrons before the
people on a charge of adultery, built, with the money accruing
from the fines which they were condemned to pay, the temple
of Yenus, which stands near the circus. Still we have the
wars of the Samnites on our hands, notwithstanding that the
relation of them has already extended, in one continued course,
through four volumes of our history, and through a period of
forty-six years, from the consulate of Marcus Valerius and
Aulus Cornelius, who first carried the Roman arms into
Samnium. And, not to recite the long train of disasters sus-
tained by both nations, and the toils which they underwent,
by which, however, their stubborn breasts could not be sub-
dued ; even in the course of the last year, the Samnites, with
their own forces separately, and also in conjunction with
those of other nations, had been defeated by four several
armies, and four generals of the Romans, in the territory of
Sentinum, in that of the Pelignians, at Tifernum, and in the
plains of the Stellatians; had lost the general of the highest
character in their nation; and, now, saw their allies in the
war, the Etrurians, the Umbrians, and the Gauls, in the
same situation with themselves; but, although they could
now no longer stand, either by their own or by foreign
resources, yet did they not desist from the prosecution of
hostilities. So far were they from being weary of defend-
ing liberty, even though unsuccessfully ": and they preferredv e m.\

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

671

being defeated to not aspiring after victory. Who does not
find his patience tired, either in writing, or reading, of wars
of such continuance; and which yet exhausted not the reso-
lution of the parties concerned ?

32. Quintus Fabius and Publius Decius were succeeded in
the consulship by Lucius Postumius Megellus and Marcus
Atilius Regulus. The province of Samnium was decreed to
both in conjunction; because intelligence had been received
that the enemy had embodied three armies; with one that
Etruria was to be recovered; with another the ravages in
Campania were to be repeated; and the third was intended
for the defence of their frontiers. Sickness detained Postu-
mius at Rome, but Atilius set out immediately, with design
to surprise the enemy in Samnium, before they should have
advanced beyond their own borders; for such had been the
directions of the senate. The Romans met the enemy, as if
by mutual appointment, at a spot where, while they could be
hindered, not only from ravaging, but even from entering the
Samnite territory,t they could likewise hinder the Samnites
from continuing their progress into the countries which were
quiet, and the lands of the allies of the Roman people. While
their camps Jay opposite to each other, the Samnites attempted
an enterprise, which the Romans, so often their conquerors,
would scarcely have ventured to undertake; such is the rash-
ness inspired by extreme despair; this was to make an assault
on the Roman camp. And although this attempt, so daring,
succeeded not in its full extent, yet it was not without effect.
There was a fog, which continued through a great part of the
day, so thick as to exclude the light of the sun, and to pre-
vent not only the view of any thing beyond the rampart, but
scarcely the sight of each other, when they should meet. De-
pending on this, as a covering to the design, when the sun
was scarcely yet risen, and the light which he did afford was
obscured by the fog, the Samnites came up to an advanced
guard of the Romans at one of the gates, who were standing
carelessly on their post. In the sudden surprise, these had
neither courage nor strength to make resistance: an assault
was then made, through the Decuman gate, in the rear of the
camp: the quaestor's quarters in consequence were taken, and
the quaestor, Lucius Opimius Pansa, was there slain; on this
a general alarm was given to take up arms.672

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. X. CHAP. 33

33. The consul, being roused by the tumult, ordered two
cohorts of the allies, a Lucanian and Suessanian, which hap-
pened to be nearest, to defend the head-quarters, and led the
companies of the legions down the principal street. These
ran into the ranks, scarcely taking time to furnish themselves
with arms; and, as they distinguished the enemy by their
shout rather than by sight, could form no judgment how
great their number might be: thus, ignorant of the circum-
stances of their situation, they at first drew back, and admitted
the enemy into the heart of the camp. Then when the con-
sul cried out, asking them, whether they intended to let
themselves be beaten out beyond the rampart, and then to re-
turn again to storm their own camp, they raised the shout,
and uniting their efforts, stood their ground; then made ad-
vances, pushed closely on the enemy, and having forced them
to give way, drove them back, without suffering their first
terror to abate. They soon beat them out beyond the gate
and the rampart, but not daring to pursue them, because the
darkness of the weather made them apprehend an ambush,
and content with having cleared the camp, they retired within
the rampart, having killed about three hundred of the enemy.
Of the Romans, including the first advanced guard and the
watchmen, and those who were surprised at the quaestor's
quarters, two hundred and thirty perished. This not unsuc-
cessful piece of boldness raised the spirits of the Samnites so
high, that they not only did not suffer the Romans to march
forward into their country, but even to procure forage from
their lands; and the foragers were obliged to go back into
the quiet country of Sora. News of these events being con-
veyed to Rome, with circumstances of alarm magnified be-
yond the truth, obliged Lucius Postumius, the consul, though
scarcely recovered from his illness, to set out for the army.
However, before his departure, having issued a proclamation
that his troops should assemble at Sora, he dedicated the tem-
ple of Victory, for the building of which he had provided,
when curule sedile, out of the money arising from fines; and,
joining the army, he advanced from Sora towards Samnium,
to the camp of his colleague. The Samnites, despairing of being
able to make head against the two armies, retreated from thence,
on which the consuls, separating, proceeded by different routes
to lay waste the enemy's lands and besiege their towns.Y.lt. 458 ]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

673

34. Postumius attempted to make himself master of Mili-
onia, at first by storm and an assault; but these not succeed-
ing, he carried his approaches to the walls, and thus gained
an entrance into the place. The fight was continued in all
parts of the city from the fourth hour until near the eighth,
the result being a long time uncertain: the Romans at last
gained possession of the town. Three thousand two hundred
of the Samnites were killed, four thousand seven hundred
taken, besides the other booty. From thence the legions were
conducted to Ferentinum, out of which the inhabitants had,
during the night, retired in silence through the opposite gate,
with all their effects which could be either carried or driven.
The consul, on his arrival, approached the walls with the
same order and circumspection, as if he were to meet an op-
position here equal to what he had experienced at Milionia.
Then, perceiving a dead silence in the city, and neither arms
nor men on the towers and ramparts, he restrains the soldiers,
who were eager to mount the deserted fortifications, lest they
might fall into a snare. He ordered two divisions of the
confederate Latin horse to ride round the walls, and explore
every particular. These horsemen observed one gate, and, at
a little distance, another on the same side, standing wide open,
and on the roads leading from these every mark of the enemy
having fled by night. They then rode up leisurely to the
gates, from whence, with perfect safety, they took a clear
view through straight streets quite across the city. They report
to the consul, that the city was abandoned by the enemy, as
was plain from the solitude, the recent tracks on their retreat,
and the things which, in the confusion of the night, they had
left scattered up and down. On hearing this, the consul led
round the army to that side of the city which had been ex-
amined, and making the troops halt at a little distance from
the gate, gave orders that five horsemen should ride into the
city; and when they should have advanced a good way into
it, then, if they saw all things safe, three should remain there,
and the other two return to him with intelligence. These re-
turned and said, that they had proceeded to a part of the town
from which they had a view on every side, and that nothing
but silence and solitude reigned through the whole extent of
it. The consul immediately led some light-armed cohorts
into the city; ordering the rest to fortify a camp in the mean

2x2674

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. X. CHAP.

time. The soldiers who entered the town, breaking open the
doors, found only a few persons, disabled by age or sickness;
and such effects left behind as could not, without difficulty,
be removed. These were seized as plunder: and it was dis-
covered from the prisoners, that several cities in that quarter
had, in pursuance of a concerted plan, resolved on flight; that
their towns-people had gone off at the first watch, and they
believed that the same solitude they should find in the other
places. The accounts of the prisoners proved well-founded,
and the consul took possession of the forsaken towns.

35. The war was by no means so easy with the other con-
sul, Marcus Atilius. As he was marching his legions towards
Luceria, to which he was informed that the Samnites had
laid siege, the enemy met him on the border of the Lucerian
territory. Rage supplied them, on this occasion, with strength
to equal his: the battle was stubbornly contested, and the
victory doubtful; in the issue, however, more calamitous on
the side of the Romans, both because they were unaccustomed
to defeat, and that, on leaving the field, they felt more sensibly,
than during the heat of the action, how much more wounds
and bloodshed had been on their side. In consequence of this,
such dismay spread through the camp, as, had it seized them
during the engagement, a signal defeat would have been the
result. Even as the matter stood, they spent the night in
great anxiety; expecting, every instant, that the Samnites
would assault the camp ; or that, at the first light, they should
be obliged to stand a battle with a victorious enemy. On the
side of the enemy, however, although there was less loss, yet
there was not greater courage. As soon as day appeared,
they wished to retire without any more fighting; but there
was only one road, and that leading close by the post of their
enemy; on their taking which, they seemed as if advancing
directly to attack the camp. The consul, therefore, ordered
his men to take arms, and to follow him outside the ram-
part, giving directions to the lieutenants-general, tribunes,
and the praefects of the allies, in what manner he would
have each of them act. They all assured him that "they
would do every thing in their power, but that the soldiers
were quite dejected; that, from their own wounds, and the
groans of the dying, they had passed the whole night without
sleep; that if the enemy had approached the camp before day,Y. R. 458. J

THE HISTORY OP ROME.

675

so great were the fears of the troops, that they would certainly
have deserted their standards. " Even at present they were
restrained from flight merely by shame ; and, in other re-
spects, were little better than vanquished men." This account
made the consul judge it necessary to go himself among the
soldiers, and speak to them ; and, as he came up to each, he
rebuked them for their backwardness in taking arms, asking,
" Why they loitered, and declined the fight ? If they did not
choose to go out of the camp, the enemy would come into it;
and they must fight in defence of their tents, if they would
not in defence of the rampart. Men who have arms in their
hands, and contend with their foe, have always a chance for
victory; but the man who waits naked and unarmed for his
enemy, must suffer either death or slavery." To these repri-
mands and rebukes they answered, that "they were exhausted
by the fatigue of the battle of yesterday; and had no strength,
nor even blood remaining; and besides, the enemy appeared
more numerous than they were the day before." The hostile
army, in the mean time, drew near; so that, seeing every thing
more distinctly as the distance grew less, they asserted that
the Samnites carried with them pallisades for a rampart, and
evidently intended to draw lines of circumvallation round the
camp. On this the consul exclaimed, with great earnestness,
against submitting to such an ignominious insult, and from
so dastardly a foe. " Shall we even be blockaded," said he,
"in our camp, and die, with ignominy, by famine, rather than
bravely by the sword, if it must be so ? May the gods be
propitious! and let every one act in the manner which he
thinks becomes him. The consul Marcus Atilius, should no
other accompany him, will go out, even alone, to face the
enemy; and will fall in the middle of the Samnite battalions,
rather than see the Roman camp enclosed by their trenches."
The lieutenants-general, tribunes, every troop of the cavalry,
and the principal centurions, expressed their approbation of
what the consul said; and the soldiers at length, overcome
by shame, took up their arms, but in a spiritless manner;
and in the same spiritless manner, marched out of the camp.
In a long train, and that not every where connected, melan-
choly, and seemingly subdued, they proceeded towards the
enemy, whose hopes and courage were not more steady than
theirs. As soon therefore as the Roman standards were be-676

THE HISTORY OF Ro^~. " X. CHAP. 36.

held, a murmur spread from front to rear of the Samnites,
that, as they had feared, "the Romans were coming out to
oppose their march; that there was no road open, through
which they could even fly thence ; in that spot they must fall,
or else cut down the enemy's ranks, and make their way over
their bodies."	•

36. They then threw the baggage in a heap in the centre,
and, with their arms prepared for battle, formed their line,
each falling into his post. There was now but a small inter-
val between the two armies, and both stood, waiting until the
shout and onset should be begun by their adversary. Neither
party had any inclination to fight, and they would have separ-
ated, and taken different roads, unhurt and untouched, but
that each had a dread of being harassed, in retreat, by the
other. Notwithstanding this shyness and reluctance, an en-
gagement unavoidably began, but spiritless, and with a shout
which discovered neither resolution nor steadiness; nor did
any move a foot from his post. The Roman consul, then, in
order to infuse life into the action, ordered a few troops of
cavalry to advance out of the line and charge: most of whom
being thrown from their horses and the rest put in disorder,
several parties ran forward, both from the Samnite line, to
cut off those who had fallen, and from the Roman, to protect
their friends. In consequence the battle became a little more
brisk, but the Samnites had come forward with more brisk-
ness, and also in greater numbers, and the disordered cavalry,
with their affrighted horses, trod down their own party who
came to their relief. Flight commencing in this quarter,
caused the whole Roman line to turn their backs. And now
the Samnites had no employment for their arms but against
the rear of a flying enemy, when the consul, galloping on be-
fore his men to the gate of the camp, posted there a body of
cavalry, with orders to treat as an enemy any person who
should make towards the rampart, whether Roman or Sam-
nite ; and, placing himself in the way of his men, as they
pressed in disorder towards the camp, denounced threats to
the same purport: "Whither are you going, soldiers?" said
he; " here also you will find both men and arms; nor, while
your consul lives, shall you pass the rampart, unless victorious.
Choose therefore which you will prefer, fighting against your
own countrymen, or the enemy." While the consul was thusf. R.458.J

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

677

speaking the cavalry gathered round, with the points of their
spears presented, and ordered the infantry to return to the
fight. Not only his own brave spirit, but fortune likewise
aided the consul, for the Samnites did not push their advan-
tage ; so that he had time to wheel round his battalions, and to
change his front from the camp towards the enemy. The men
then began to encourage each other to return to the battle, while
the centurions snatched the ensigns from the standard-bearers
and bore them forward, pointing out to the soldiers the enemy,
coming on in a hurry, few in number, and with their ranks
disordered. At the same time the consul, with his hands lift-
ed up towards heaven, and raising his voice so as to be heard
at a distance, vowed a temple to Jupiter Stator, if the Roman
army should rally from flight, and, renewing the battle, cut
down and defeat the Samnites. All divisions of the army,
now, united their efforts to restore the fight; officers, soldiers,
the whole force, both of cavalry and infantry; even the
powers of heaven seemed to have looked, with favour, on the
Roman cause; so speedily was a thorough change effected in
the fortune of the day, the enemy being repulsed from the
camp, and, in a short time, driven back to the spot where the
battle had commenced. Here they stopped, being obstructed
by the heap of baggage, lying in their way, where they had
thrown it together; and then, to prevent the plundering of
their effects, formed round them a circle of troops. On this,
the infantry assailed them vigorously in front, while the ca-
valry, wheeling, fell on their rear: and, being thus enclosed
between the two, they were all either slain, or taken prisoners.
The number of the prisoners was seven thousand two hun-
dred, who were all sent under the yoke; the killed amounted
to four thousand eight hundred. The victory did not prove
a joyous one, even on the side of $ie Romans : when the con-
sul took an account of the loss sustained in the two days, the
number returned, of soldiers lost, was seven thousand three
hundred. During these transactions in Apulia, the Samnites
with the other army having attempted to seize on Iteramna,
a Roman colony situated on the Latin road, did not however
obtain the town; whence, after ravaging the country, as they
were driving off spoil, consisting of men and cattle, together
with the colonists whom they had taken, they met the consul
returning victorious from Luceria, and not only lo3t their678

THE HISTORY OF ROME.	[B. X. CHAP. S?,

booty, but marching in disorder, in a long train, and hea-
vily encumbered, were themselves cut to pieces. The con-
sul, by proclamation, summoned the owners to Interamna, to
claim and receive again their property, and leaving his army
there, went to Rome to hold the elections. On his applying
for a triumph, that honour was refused him, because he had
lost so many thousands of his soldiers; and also, because he
had sent the prisoners under the yoke without imposing any
conditions.

37. The other consul, Postumius, because there was no
employment for his arms in Samnium, having led over his
forces into Etruria, first laid waste the lands of the Volsini-
ans; and afterwards, on their marching out to protect their
country, gained a decisive victory over them, at a small dis-
tance from their own walls. Two thousand two hundred of
the Etrurians were slain; the proximity of their city pro-
tected the rest. The army was then led into the territory of
Rusella, and there, not only were the lands wasted, but the
town itself taken. More than two thousand men were made
prisoners, and somewhat less than that number killed on the
walls. But a peace, effected that year in Etruria, was still
more important and honourable than the war had been.
Three very powerful cities, the chief ones of Etruria, (Vol-
sinii, Perusia, and Arretium,) sued for peace ; and having
stipulated with the consul to furnish clothing and corn for
his army, on condition of being permitted to send deputies to
Rome, they obtained a truce for forty years, and a fine was
imposed on each state of five hundred thousand asses,1 to be
immediately paid. When the consul demanded a triumph
from the senate, in consideration of these services, rather to
comply with the general practice, than in hope of succeeding;
and when he saw that one party, his own personal enemies,
another party, the friends of his colleague, refused him the
triumph, the latter to console a similar refusal, some on the
plea that he had been rather tardy in taking his departure
from the city; others, that he had passed from Samnium into
Etruria without orders from the senate; he said, "Conscript
fathers, I shall not be so far mindful of your dignity, as to
forget that I am consul. By the same right of office by
which I conducted the war, I shall now have a triumph, when
1 £1614. Us. 8d.Y. K. 459. |

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

679

this war has been brought to a happy conclusion, Samnium
and Etruria being subdued, and victory and peace procured.
With these words he left the senate. On this arose a con-
tention between the plebeian tribunes; some of them de-
claring that they would protest against his triumphing in a
manner unprecedented; others, that they would support his
pretensions, in opposition to their colleagues. The affair
came at length to be discussed before the people, and the con-
sul being summoned to attend, when he represented, that
Marcus Horatius and Lucius Valerius, when .consuls, and
lately Caius Marcus Rutilus, father of the present censor, had
triumphed, not by direction of the senate, but by that of the
people; he then added that "he would in like manner have
laid his request before the public, had he not known that some
plebeian tribunes, the abject slaves of the nobles, would have
obstructed the law. That the universal approbation and will
of the people were and should be with him equivalent to any
order whatsoever." Accordingly, on the day following, by
the support of three plebeian tribunes, in opposition to the
protest of the other seven, and the declared judgment of the
senate, he triumphed; and the people paid every honour to
the day. The historical accounts regarding this year are by
no means consistent; Claudius asserts, that Postumius, after
having taken several cities in Samnium, was defeated and put
to flight in Apulia; and that, being wounded himself, he was
driven, with a few attendants, into Luceria. That the war
in Etruria was conducted by Atilius, and that it was he who
triumphed. Fabius writes, that the two consuls acted in con-
junction, both in Samnium and at Luceria; that an army was
led over into Etruria, but by which of the consuls he has not
mentioned; that at Luceria, great numbers were slain on both
sides; and that in that battle, the temple of Jupiter Stator
was vowed, the same vow having been formerly made by
Romulus, but the fane only, that is, the area approp:*iated for
the temple, had been yet consecrated. However, in this year,
the state having been twice bound by the same vow, it became
a matter of religious obligation that the senate should order
the temple to be erected.

38. In the next year, we find a consul, distinguished by
the united splendour of his own and his father's glory, Lucius
Papirius Cursor, as also a war of vast importance, and a vie-680	THE HISTOEY OF KOME. [B. X. CHAP. 38.

tory of such consequence, as no man, excepting Lucius Papi-
rius, the consul's father, had ever before obtained over the
Samnites. It happened too that these had, with the same care
and pains as on the former occasion, decorated their soldiers
with the richest suits of splendid armour; and they had, like-
wise, called in to their aid the power of the gods, having, as
it were, initiated the soldiers, by administering the military
oath, with the solemn ceremonies practised in ancient times,
and levied troops in every part of Samnium, under an ordin-
ance entirely new, that " if any of the younger inhabitants
should not attend the meeting, according to the general's pro-
clamation, or shall depart without permission, his head should
be devoted to Jupiter." Orders being then issued, for all to
assemble at Aquilonia, the whole strength of Samnium came
together, amounting to forty thousand men. There a piece
of ground, in the middle of the camp, was enclosed with hur-
dles and boards, and covered over-head with linen cloth, the
sides being all of an equal length, about two hundred feet.
In this place sacrifices were performed, according to direc-
tions read out of an old linen book, the priest being a very
old man, called Ovius Paccius, who affirmed, that he took
these ceremonials from the ancient ritual of the Samnites,
being the same which their ancestors used, when they had
formed the secret design of wresting Capua from the Etru-
rians. When the sacrifices were finished, the general ordered
a beadle to summon every one of those who were most highly
distinguished by their birth or conduct: these were intro-
duced singly. Besides the other exhibitions of the solemnity,
calculated to impress the mind with religious awe, there were,
in the middle of the covered enclosure, altars erected, about
which lay the victims slain, and the centurions stood around
with their swords drawn. The soldier was led up to the al-
tars, rather like a victim, than a performer in the ceremony,
and was bound by an oath not to divulge what he should see
and hear in that place. He was then compelled to swear, in
a dreadful kind of form, containing execrations on his own
person, on his family and race, if he did not go to battle,
whithersoever the commanders should lead; and, if either he
himself fled from the field, or, in case he should see any other
flying, did not immediately kill him. At first some, refusing
to take the oath, were put to death round the altars, and ly-Y. n 459.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

681

ing among the carcasses of the victims, served afterwards as
a warning to others not to refuse it. When those of the first
rank in the Samnite nation had been bound under these so-
lemnities, the general nominated ten, whom he desired to
choose each a man, and so to proceed until they should have
filled up the number of sixteen thousand. This body, from
the covering of the enclosure wherein the nobility had
been thus devoted, was called the linen legion. They were
furnished with splendid armour and plumed helmets, to dis-
tinguish them above the rest. They had another body of
forces, amounting to somewhat more than twenty thousand,
not inferior to the linen legion, either in personal appearance,
or renown in war, or their equipment. This number, com-
posing the main strength of the nation, sat down at Aquilonia.

39. On the other side, the consuls set out from the city.
First, Spurius Carvilius, to whom had been decreed the vete-
ran legions, which Marcus Atilius, the consul of the preceding
year, had left in the territory of Interamna, marched at their
head into Samnium; and, while the enemy were busied in
their superstitious rites, and holding their secret meeting, he
took by storm the town of Amiternum. Here were slain
about two thousand eight hundred men; and four thousand
two hundred and seventy were made prisoners. Papirius,
with a new army, which he raised in pursuance of a decree
of the senate, made himself master of the city of Duronia.
He took fewer prisoners than his colleague; but slew much
greater numbers. Rich booty was acquired in both places.
The consuls then, overrunning Samnium, and wasting the
province of Atinum with particular severity, arrived, Carvi-
lius at Cominium, and Papirius at Aquilonia, where the main
force of the Samnites were posted. Here, for some time, there
was neither a cessation of action, nor any vigorous effort.
The day was generally spent in provoking the enemy when
quiet, and retiring when they offered resistance; in menacing,
rather than making an attack. By which practice of begin-
ning, and then desisting, even those trifling skirmishes were
continually left without a decision. The other Roman camp
was twenty miles distant, and the advice of his absent col-
league was appealed to on every thing which he undertook,
while Carvilius, on his part, directed a greater share of his
attention to Aquilonia, where the state of affairs was more682

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

[b. x c6ap 40.

critical and important, than to Comimum, which he himself
was besieging. When Papirius had fully adjusted every mea-
sure, preparatory to an engagement, he despatched a message
to his colleague, that " he intended, if the auspices permitted,
to fight the enemy on the day following; and that it would
be necessary that he (Carvilius) should at the same time make
an assault on Cominium, with his utmost force, that the Sam-
nites there might have no leisure to send any succour to
Aquilonia." The messenger had the day for the performance
of his journey, and he returned in the night, with an answer
to the consul, that his colleague approved of the plan. Papi-
rius, on sending off the messenger, had instantly called an
assembly, where he descanted, at large, on the nature of the
war in general, and on the present mode of equipment adopted
by the enemy, which served for empty parade, rather than for
any thing effectual towards insuring success; for " plumes,"
he said, " made no wounds; that a Roman javelin would make
its way through shields, however painted and gilt; and that
the army, refulgent from the whiteness of their tunics, would
soon be besmeared with blood, when matters came to be ma-
naged with the sword. His father had formerly cut off, to a
man, a gold and silver army of the Samnites; and such ac-
coutrements had made a more respectable figure, as spoils, in
the hands of the conquering foe, than as arms in those of the
wearers. Perhaps it was allotted, by destiny, to his name
and family, that they should be opposed in command against
the most powerful efforts of the Samnites; and should bring
home spoils, of such beauty, as to serve for ornaments to the
public places. The immortal gods were certainly on his side,
on account of the leagues so often solicited and so often
broken. Besides, if a judgment might be formed of the senti-
ments of the deities, they never were more hostile to any army,
than to that which, smeared with the blood of human beings
mixed with that of cattle in their abominable sacrifice, doomed
to the twofold resentment of the gods, dreading on the one
hand the divinities, witnesses of the treaties concluded with
the Romans, on the other hand the imprecations expressed in
the oath sworn in contradiction to those treaties, swore with
reluctance, abhorred the oath, and feared at once the gods,
their countrymen, and their enemies."

40. When the consul had recounted these particulars, as-y. R. 459.1

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

683

certained from the information of the deserters, to the soldiers
already enraged of themselves, they then, filled with confi-
dence in both divine and human aid, with one universal shout,
demanded the battle ; were dissatisfied at the action being de-
ferred to the following day ; they are impatient under the in-
tended delay of a day and a night. Papirius, at the third
watch, having received his colleague's letter, arose in silence,
and sent the keeper of the chickens to take the auspices.
There was no one description of men in the camp who felt not
earnest wishes for the fight: the highest and the lowest were
equally eager; the general watching the ardour of the sol-
diers, and the soldiers that of the general. This universal
zeal spread even to those employed in taking the auspices;
for the chickens having refused to feed, the auspex ventured
to misrepresent the omen, and reported to the consul that
they had fed voraciously.1 The consul, highly pleased, and
giving notice that the auspices were excellent, and that they
were to act under the direction of the gods, displayed the
signal for battle. Just as he was going out to the field,
he happened to receive intelligence from a deserter, that
twenty cohorts of Samnites, consisting of about four hun-
dred each, had marched towards Cominium. Lest his col-
league should be ignorant of this, he instantly despatched a
messenger to him, and then ordered the troops to advance with
speed, having already assigned to each division of the army
its proper post, and appointed general officers to command
them. The command of the right wing he gave to Lucius
Volumnius, that of the left to Lucius Scipio, that of the ca-
valry to the other lieutenants-general, Caius Csedicius and
Caius Trebonius. He ordered Spurius Nautius to take off
the panniers from the mules, and to lead them round quickly,
together with his auxiliary cohorts, to a rising ground in
view; and there to show himself during the heat of the en-
gagement, and to raise as much dust as possible. While the

1 When the auspices were to be taken from the chickens, the keeper threw
some of their food upon the ground, in their sight, and opened the door
of their coop. If they did not come out; if they came out slowly; if
they refused to feed, or ate in a careless manner, the omen was considered
as bad. On the contrary, if they rushed out hastily and ate greedily, so
that some of the food fell from their mouths on the ground, this was con-
sidered as an omen of the best import; it was called tripudium solisti-
mum, originally, terripavium, from terra, and pavire, to strike.684

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. X. CHAP. 41.

general was employed in making these dispositions, a dispute
arose among the keepers of the chickens, about the auspices
of the day, which was overheard by some Roman horsemen,
who, deeming it a matter not to be slighted, informed Spurius
Papirius, the consul's nephew, that there was a doubt about the
auspices. The youth, born in an age when that sort of learning
which inculcates contempt of the gods was yet unknown, ex-
amined into the affair, that he might not carry an uncertain re-
port to the consul; and then acquainted him with it. His an-
swer was, " I very much applaud your conduct and zeal. How-
ever, the person who officiates in taking the auspices, if he makes
a false report, draws on his own head the evil portended; but to
the Roman people and their army, the favourable omen re-
ported to me is an excellent auspice." He then commanded
the centurions to place the keepers of the chickens in the
front of the line. The Samnites likewise brought forward
their standards; their main body followed, armed and deco-
rated in such a manner, that the enemy afforded a magnificent
show. Before the shout was raised, or the battle begun, the
auspex, wounded by a random cast of a javelin, fell before
the standards; which being told to the consul, he said, " The
gods are present in the battle; the guilty has met his punish-
ment." While the consul uttered these words, a crow, in
front of him, cawed with a clear voice; at which augury, the
consul being rejoiced, and affirming, that never had the gods
interposed in a more striking manner in human affairs, order-
ed the charge to be sounded and the shout to be raised.

41. A furious conflict now ensued, but with very unequal
spirit [in the combatants]. Anger, hope, and ardour for con-
quest, hurried on the Romans to battle, thirsting for their
enemy's blood; while the Samnites, for the most part reluct-
antly, as if compelled by necessity and religious dread, rather
stood on their defence, than made an attack. Nor would they,
familiarized as they were to defeats, through a course of so
many years, have withstood the first shout and shock of the
Romans, had not another fear, operating still more powerfully
in their breasts, restrained them from flying. For they had
before their eyes the whole scene exhibited at the secret sa-
crifice, the armed priests, the promiscuous carnage of men and
cattle, the altars besmeared with the blood of victims and of
their murdered countrymen, the dreadful curses, and the dire-Y, R. 459.J

THE HISTORY OF SOME.

685

ful form of imprecation, drawn up for calling down perdition
on their family and race. Prevented by these shackles from
running away, they stood, more afraid of their countrymen than
of the enemy. The Romans pushed on both the wings, and in
the centre, and made great havoc among them, stupified as they
were, through their fears of the gods and of men. A faint
resistance is now made, as by men whom fear alone prevented
from running away. The slaughter had now almost reached
to their standards, when, on one side, appeared a cloud of dust,
as if raised by the marching of a numerous army: it was
3purius Nautius, (some say Octavius Metius,) commander of
the auxiliary cohorts: for these raised a greater quantity of
dust than was proportioned to the number of men, the servants
of the camp, mounted on the mules, trailing boughs of trees,
full of leaves, along the ground. Through the light thus
obscured, arms and standards were seen in front; behind, a
higher and denser cloud of dust presented the appearance of
horsemen bringing up the rear. This effectually deceived, not
only the Samnites, but the Romans themselves : and the consul
confirmed the mistake, by calling out among the foremost
battalions, so that his voice reached also the enemy, that
" Cominium was taken; and that his victorious colleague was
approaching bidding his men " now make haste to complete
the defeat of the enemy, before the glory should fall to the
share of the other army." This he said as he sat on horse-
back, and then ordered the tribunes and centurions to open
passages for the horse. He had given previous directions to
Trebonius and Caedicius, that, when they should see him
waving the point of his spear aloft, they should incite the ca-
valry to charge the enemy with all possible violence. Every
particular, as previously concerted, was executed with the
utmost exactness. The passages were opened between the
ranks, the cavalry darted through, and, with the points of their
spears presented, rushed into the midst of the enemy's batta-
lions, breaking down the ranks wherever they charged. Vo-
lumnius and Scipio seconded the blow, and taking advantage
of the enemy's disorder, made a terrible slaughter. Thus at-
tacked, the cohorts, called linteatce, regardless of all restraints
from either gods or men, quitted their posts in confusion; the
sworn and the unsworn all fled alike, no longer dreading
aught but the enemies. The body of their infantry which686

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. X. CHAP. 42.

survived the battle, were driven into the camp at Aquilonia.
The nobility and cavalry directed their flight to Boviannm.
The horse were pursued by the Homan horse, the infantry
by their infantry, while the wings proceeded by different
roads; the right, to the camp of the Samnites; the left,
to the city. Yolumnius succeeded first in gaining posses-
sion of the camp. At the city, Scipio met a stouter resist-
ance ; not because the conquered troops there had gained
courage, but because walls were a better defence against
armed men than a rampart. From these they repelled the
enemy with stones. Scipio, considering that unless the busi-
ness were effected during their first panic, and before they
could recover their spirits, the attack of so strong a town
would be very tedious, asked his soldiers "if they could en-
dure, without shame, that the other wing should already have
taken the camp, and that they, after all their success, should
be repulsed from the gates of the city ?" Then, all of them
loudly declaring their determination to the contrary, he him-
self advanced, the foremost, to the gate, with his shield raised
over his head: the rest, following under the like cover of their
shields conjoined, burst into the city, and dispersing the Sam-
nites who were near the gate, took possession of the walls,
but they ventured not to push forward into the interior of the
city in consequence of the smallness of their number.

42. Of these transactions the consul was for some time
ignorant; and was busily employed in calling home his troops,
for the sun was now hastening to set, and the approach of
night rendered every place suspicious and dangerous, even to
victorious troops. Having rode forward a considerable way,
he saw on the right the camp taken, and heard on the left a
shouting in the city, with a confused noise of fighting, and
cries of terror. This happened while the fight was going on
at the gate. When, on riding up nearer, he saw his own men
on the walls, and so much progress already made in the busi-
ness, pleased at having gained, through the precipitate con-
duct of a few, an opportunity of striking an important blow,
he ordered the troops, whom he had sent back to the camp, to
be called out, and to march to the attack of the city: these,
having made good their entrance on the nearest side, pro-
ceeded no farther, because night approached. Before morn-
inff, however, the town was abandoned by the enemy. ThereY. iL 459.J

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

687

were slain of the Samnites on that day, at Aquilonia, thirty
thousand three hundred and forty; taken, three thousand
eight hundred and seventy, with ninety-seven military stand-
ards. One circumstance, respecting Papirius, is particularly
mentioned by historians: that, hardly ever was any general
seen in the field with a more cheerful countenance; whether this
was owing to his natural temper or to his confidence of success.
From the same firmness of mind it proceeded, that he did not
suffer himself to be diverted from the war by the dispute
about the auspices ; and that, in the heat of the battle, when
it was customary to vow temples to the immortal gods, he
vowed to Jupiter the victorious, that if he should, defeat the
legions of the enemy, he would, before he tasted of any gener-
ous liquor, make a libation to him of a cup of wine and honey.
This kind of vow proved acceptable to the gods, and they con-
ducted the auspices to a fortunate issue.

43. Matters were conducted with the same success by the
other consul at Cominium: leading up his forces to the walls,
at the first dawn, he invested the city on every side, and
posted strong guards opposite to the gates to prevent any
sally being made. Just as he was giving the signal, the
alarming message from his colleague, touching the march of
the twenty Samnite cohorts, not only caused him to delay the
assault, but obliged him to call off a part of his troops, when
they were formed and ready to begin the attack. He ordered
Decius Brutus Scaeva, a lieutenant-general, with the first le-
gion, ten auxiliary cohorts, and the cavalry, to go and oppose
the said detachment; and in whatever place he should meet
the foe, there to stop and detain them, and even to engage in
battle, should opportunity offer for it; at all events not to
suffer those troops to approach Cominium. He then com-
manded the scaling ladders to be brought up to the walls, on
every side of the city; and, under a fence of closed shields,
advanced to the gates. Thus, at the same moment, the gates
were broken open, and the assault made on every part of the
walls. Though the Samnites, before they saw the assailants
on the works, had possessed courage enough to oppose their
approaches to the city, yet now, when the action was no
longer carried on at a distance, nor with missile weapons, but
in close fight; and when those, who had with difficulty gained
the walls, having overcome the disadvantage of ground, which

2 Y688

THE HISTORY OF ROME. IB. X. CHAP. 41.

tliey principally dreaded, fought with ease on equal ground,
against an enemy inferior in strength, they all forsook the
towers and walls, and being driven to the forum, they tried
there for a short time, as a last effort, to retrieve the fortune
of the fight; but soon throwing down their arms, surrendered
to the consul, to the number of eleven thousand four hundred;
four thousand three hundred and eighty were slain. Such
was the course of events at Cominium, such at Acfuilonia.
In the middle space between the two cities* where a third
battle had been expected, the enemy were not found; for,
when they were within seven miles of Cominium, they were
recalled by their countrymen, and had no part in either bat-
tle. At night-fall, when they were now within sight of their
camp, and also of Aquilonia, shouts from both places reaching
them with equal force induced them to halt; then, on the side
of the camp, which had been set on fire by the Romans, the
wide-spreading flames indicating with more certainty the dis-
aster [which had happened], prevented their proceeding any
farther. In that same spot, stretched on the ground at ran-
dom under their arms, they passed the whole night in great
inquietude, at one time wishing for, at another dreading the
light. At the first dawn, while they were still undetermined
to what quarter they should direct their march, they were
obliged to betake themselves hastily to flight, being descried
by the cavalry; who having gone in pursuit of the Samnites,
that left the town in the night, saw the multitude unprotected
either by a rampart or advanced guard. This party had likewise
been perceived from the walls of Aquilonia, and the legionary
cohorts now joined in the pursuit. The foot were unable to
overtake them, but about two hundred and eighty of their
rear guard were cut off by the cavalry. In their consterna-
tion they left behind them a great quantity of arms and
eighteen military standards: they reached Bovianum with
the rest of their party in safety, as far as could be expected
after so disorderly a rout.

44. The joy of both Roman armies was enhanced by the
success achieved on the other side. Each consul, with the
approbation of his colleague, gave to his soldiers the plunder
of the town which he had taken; and, when the houses were
cleared, set them on fire. Thus, on the same day, Aquilonia
and Cominium were both reduced to ashes. The consuls thenY. R. 459.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME

689

united their camps, where mutual congratulations took place
between them and between their soldiers. Here, in the view
of the two armies, Carvilius bestowed on his men commenda-
tions and presents according to the desert of each; and Pa-
pirius likewise, whose troops had been engaged in a variety
of actions, in the field, in the assault of the camp, and in that
of the city, presented Spurius Nautius, Spurius Papirius, his
nephew, four centurions, and a company of the spearmen,
with bracelets and crowns of gold:—to jNautius, on account of
his behaviour at the head of his detachment, when he had
terrified the enemy with the appearance as of a numerous
army; to young Papirius, on account of his zealous exertions
with the cavalry, both in the battle and in harassing the Sam-
nites in their flight by night, when they withdrew privately
from Aquilonia; and to the centurions and company of sol-
diers, because they were the first who gained possession of
the gate and wall of that town. All the horsemen he pre-
sented with gorgets and bracelets of silver, on account of their
distinguished conduct on many occasions. As the time was
low come for withdrawing the army out of Samnium, the
expediency was considered, as to whether they should with-
draw both, or at least one. It was concluded, that the lower
he strength of the Samnites was reduced, the greater perse-
verance and vigour ought to be used in prosecuting the war,
<o that Samnium might be given up to the succeeding consuls
>erfectly subjected. As there was now no army of the enemy
;vhich could be supposed capable of disputing the field, there
remained one mode of operations, the besieging of the cities;
Oj the destruction of which, they might be enabled to enrich
[heir soldiers with the spoil; and, at the same time, utterly to
destroy the enemy, reduced to the necessity of fighting, their
11 being at stake. The consuls, therefore, after despatching
otters to the senate and people of Rome, containing accounts
. af the services which they had performed, led away their le-
sions to different quarters; Papirius going to attack Ssepi-
um, Carvilius to Yolana.

45. The letters of the consuls were heard with extraor-
inary exultation, both in the senate-house and in the assembly
. if the people; and, in a thanksgiving of four days' continu-
nce, the public rejoicings were celebrated with zeal by
individuals. These successes were not only important in
. 2 y 2690

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. X. CHAP. 45.

themselves to the Roman people, but peculiarly seasonable;
for it happened, that at the same time intelligence was
brought that the Etrurians were again in arms. The reflec-
tion naturally occurred to people's minds, how it would have
been possible, in case any misfortune had happened in Sam-
nium, to have withstood the power of Etruria; which, being
encouraged by the conspiracy of the Samnites, and seeing
both the consuls, and the whole force of the Romans, em-
ployed against them, had made use, of that juncture, in which
the Romans had so much business on their hands, for reviv-
ing hostilities. Ambassadors from the allies, being introduced
to the senate by the prsetor Marcus Atilius, complained that
their countries were wasted with fire and sword by the neigh-
bouring Etrurians, because they had refused to revolt from
the Romans; and they besought the conscript fathers to pro-
tect them from the violence and injustice of their common
enemy. The ambassadors were answered, that " the senate
would take care that the allies should not repent their fidelity."
That the " Etrurians should shortly be in the same situation
with the Samnites." Notwithstanding which, the business
respecting Etruria would have been prosecuted with less
vigour, had not information been received, that the Faliscians
likewise, who had for many years lived in friendship witl
Rome, had united their arms with those of the Etrurians
The consideration of the near vicinity of that nation quick-
ened the attention of the senate 5 insomuch that they passec
a decree that heralds should be sent to demand satisfaction r
which being refused, war was declared against the Faliscianr
by direction of the senate, and order of the people; and the
consuls were desired to determine, by lots, which of them
should lead an army from Samnium into Etruria. Carvilim
had, in the mean time, taken from the Samnites Yolana, Pa
lumbinum, and Herculaneum; Yolana after a siege of a ft"""
days, Palumbinum the same day on which he approached
the walls. At Herculaneum, it is true, the consul had
two regular engagements without any decisive advantage
on either side, and with greater loss on his side than on
that of the enemy; but afterwards, encamping on the spot,
he shut them up within their works. The town was besieged
and taken. In these three towns were taken or slain ten
thousand men, of whom the prisoners composed somewhat thelr. B. 459.]	THE HISTORY OF ROME.	691

greater part. On the consuls casting lots for tlie provinces,
Etruria fell to Carvilius, to the great satisfaction of the sol-
diers, who could no longer bear the intensity of the cold lii
Samnium. Papirius was opposed at Saepinum with a more
powerful force: he had to fight often in pitched battles,
often on a march, and often under the walls of the city,
against the eruptions of the enemy; and could neither besiege,
nor engage them on equal terms ; for the Samnites not only
protected themselves by walls, but likewise protected their
walls with numbers of men and arms. At length, after a
great deal of fighting, he forced them to submit to a regular
siege. This he carried on with vigour, and made himself
master of the city by means of his works, and by storm. The
rage of the soldiers on this occasion caused the greatest slaugh-
ter in the taking of the town; seven thousand four hundred
fell by the sword; the number of the prisoners did not amount
to three thousand. The spoil, of which the quantity was very
great, the whole substance of the Samnites being collected in
a few cities, was given up to the soldiers.

46. The snow had now entirely covered the face of the
country, and they could no longer dispense with the shelter
of houses: the consul therefore led home his troops from Sam-
nium. While he was on his way to Rome, a triumph was
decreed him with universal consent; and accordingly he
triumphed while in office, and with extraordinary splendour,
considering the circumstances of those times. The cavalry
and infantry marched in the procession, adorned with presents.
Great numbers of civic, vallar, and mural crowns were seen.1
The spoils of the Samnites were inspected with much cu-
riosity, and compared, in respect of magnificence and beauty,
with those taken by his father, which were well known,
from being frequently exhibited as ornaments of the pub-
lic places. Several prisoners of distinction, renowned for
their own exploits and those of their ancestors, were led in
the cavalcade. There were carried in the train two millions
and thirty-three thousand asses in weight.2 This money was
said to be produced by the sale of the prisoners. Of silver,
taken in the cities, one thousand three hundred and thirty

1 These marks of honour were bestowed for having saved the lives of
citizens, or for having been the first to mount walls or ramparts.

a £4940 13s. 6d.f>92

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

[B. X. CHAP. 46.

pounds. All the silver and brass were lodged in the treasury,
no share of this part of the spoil being given to the soldiers.
The ill humour in the commons was further exasperated, be-
cause the tax for the payment of the army was collected by
contribution; whereas, said they, if the vain parade of conveying
the produce of the spoil to the treasury had been disregarded,
donations might have been made to the soldiers out of the spoil,
and the pay of the army also supplied out of that fund. The
temple of Quirinus, vowed by his father when dictator, (for
that he himself had vowed it in the heat of battle, I do not
find in any ancient writer, nor indeed could he in so short a
time have finished the building of it,) the son, in the office of
consul, dedicated and adorned with military spoils. And of
these, so great was the abundance, that not only that temple
and the forum were decorated with them, but some were also
distributed among the allies and colonies in the neighbourhood,
to serve as ornaments to their temples and public places.
Immediately after his triumph, he led his army into winter
quarters in the territory of Vescia; because that country was
harassed by the Samnites. Meanwhile, in Etruria, the con-
sul Carvilius having set about laying siege to Troilium, suf-
fered four hundred and seventy of the richest inhabitants to
depart; they had paid a large sum of money for permission
to leave the place: the town, with the remaining multitude,
he took by storm. He afterwards reduced, by force, five forts
strongly situated, wherein were slain two thousand four hun-
dred of the enemy, and not quite two thousand made prison-
ers. To the Faliscians, who sued for peace, he granted a
truce for a year, on condition of their furnishing a hundred
thousand asses in weight,1 and that year's pay for his army.
This business completed, he returned home to a triumph,
which, though it was less illustrious than that of his colleague,
in respect of his share in the defeat of the Samnites, was yet
raised to an equality with it, by his having put a termination
to the war in Etruria. He carried into the treasury three
hundred and ninety thousand asses in weight.2 Out of the
remainder of the money accruing to the public from the spoils,
he contracted for the building of a temple to Fors Fortuna,
near to that dedicated to the same goddess by king Servius
Tullius ; and gave to the soldiers, out of the spoil, one hun-
1 £322 18s. 4d.	2 £1259 7s. 6d.Y. B. 459.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

693

dred and two asses3 each, and double that sum to the centu-
rions and horsemen, who received this donative the more
gratefully, on account of the parsimony of his colleague.

47. The favour of the consul saved from a trial, before the
people, Postumius; who, on a prosecution being commenced
against him by Marcus Scantius, plebeian tribune, evaded, as
was said, the jurisdiction of the people, by procuring the com-
mission of lieutenant-general, so the indictment against him
could only be held out as a threat, and not put in force. The
year having now elapsed, new plebeian tribunes had come
into office; and for these, in consequence of some irregularity
in their appointments, others had been, within five days after,
substituted in their room. The lustrum was closed this year
by the censors Publius Cornelius Arvina and Caius Marcius
Rutilus. The number of citizens rated was two hundred and
sixty-two thousand three hundred and twenty-two. These
were the twenty-sixth pair of censors since the first institu-
tion of that office; and this the nineteenth lustrum. In this
year, persons who had been presented with crowns, in con-
sideration of meritorious behaviour in war, first began to wear
them at the exhibition of the Roman games. Then, for the
first time, palms were conferred on the victors according to a
custom introduced from Greece. In the same year the paving
of the road from the temple of Mars to Bovillae was completed
by the curule aediles, who exhibited those games out of fines
levied on the farmers of the pastures. Lucius Papirius pre-
sided at the consular election, and returned consuls Quintus
Fabius Gurges, son of Maximus, and Decius Junius Brutus
Scaeva. Papirius himself was made praetor. This year, pros-
perous in many particulars, was scarcely sufficient to afford
consolation for one calamity, a pestilence, which afflicted both
the city and country: the mortality was prodigious. To dis-
cover what end, or what remedy, was appointed by the gods
for that calamity, the 'books were consulted: in the books
it was found that JEsculapius must be brought to Rome from
Epidaurus. Nor were any steps taken that year in that mat-
ter, because the consuls were fully occupied in the war, except
that a supplication was performed to JEsculapius for one day.
i fi*. 7d.[Here ten "books of the original are lost, making a chasm of seventy-fivs
years. The translator's object being to publish the work of Livy only,
he has not thought it his duty to attempt to supply this deficiency,
either by a compilation of his own, or by transcribing or translating those
of others. The reader, however, who may be desirous of knowing the
events which took place during this interval, will find as complete a
detail of them as can now be given, in Hooke's or Rollin's Roman
History.

The contents of the lost books have been preserved, and are as follows:—]

Book XI.—[y. r. 460. b. c. 292.] Fabius Grurges, consul,
having fought an unsuccessful battle with the Samnites, the
senate deliberate about dismissing him from the command of
the army; are prevailed upon not to inflict that disgrace upon
him, principally by the entreaties of his father, Fabius Maxi-
mus, and by his promising to join the army, and serve, in
quality of lieutenant-general, under his son: which promise
he performs, and the consul, aided by his counsel and co-
operation, obtains a victory over the Samnites, and a triumph
in consequence. C. Pontius, the general of the Samnites, led
in triumph before the victor's "carriage, and afterwards be-
headed. A plague at Rome. [y. r. 461. b. c. 291.] Am-
bassadors sent to Epid^urus, to bring from thence to Rome
the statue of JEseulapius: a serpent, of itself, goes on board
their ship; supposing it to be the abode of the deity, they
bring it with them; and, upon its quitting their vessel, and
swimming to the island in the Tiber, they consecrate there
a temple to iEsculapius. L. Postumius, a man of consular
rank, condemned for employing the soldiers under his com-
mand in working upon his farm. * [y. r. 462. b. c. 290.]
Curius Dentatus, consul, having subdued the Samnites, and
the rebellious Sabines, triumphs twice during his year of
office, [y. r. 463. b. c. 289.] The colonies of Castrum,
Sena, andAdria, established. Three judges of capital crimes
now first appointed. A census and lustrum: the number of
citizens found to be two hundred and seventy-three thousand.
After a long-continued sedition, on account of debts, the com-the history of rome.

695

mons secede to the Janiculum: [y. r. 466. b. c. 286.] are
brought back by Hortensius, dictator, who dies in office.
Successful operations against the Yolsinians and Lucanians,
[y. r. 468. b. c. 284.] against whom it was thought expedient
to send succour to the Thuringians.

Book XII.—[y. r? 469. b. c. 283.] The Senonian Gauls
having slain the Roman ambassadors, war is declared against
them: they cut off L. Csecilius, praetor, with the legions under
his command, [y. r. 470. b. c. 282.] The Roman fleet
plundered by the Tarentines, and the commander slain: am-
bassadors, sent to complain of this outrage, are ill-treated and
sent back; whereupon war is declared against them. The
Samnites revolt; against whom, together with the Lucanians,
Bruttians, and Etruscans, several unsuccessful battles are fought
by different generals, [y. r. 471. b. c. 281.] Pyrrhus, king
of Epirus, comes into Italy, to succour the Tarentines. A
Campanian legion, sent, under the command of Decius Jubel-
lius, to garrison Rhegium, murder the inhabitants, and seize
the city.

Book XIII.—[y. r. 472. b. c. 280.] Valerius Lsevinus,
consul, engages with Pyrrhus, and is beaten, his soldiers
being terrified at the unusual appearance of elephants. After
the battle, Pyrrhus, viewing the bodies of the Romans who
were slain, remarks, that they all of them lay with their faces
turned towards their enemy. He proceeds towards Rome,
ravaging the country as he goes along. C. Fabricius is sent
by the senate to treat for the redemption of the prisoners: the
king, in vain, attempts to bribe him to desert his country
The prisoners restored without ransom. Cineas, ambassador
from Pyrrhus to the senate, demands, as a condition of peace,
that the king be admitted into the city of Rome: the con-
sideration of which being deferred to a fuller meeting, Appius
Claudius, who, on account of a disorder in his eyes, had not,
for a long time, attended in the senate, comes there; moves,
and carries his motion, that the demand of the king be refused,
Cneius Domitius, the first plebeian censor, holds a lustrum;
the number of the citizens found to be two hundred and
seventy-eight thousand two hundred and twenty-two. A
second, but undecided battle with Pyrrhus.' [y. r. 473. b. c.696

the history of rome.

279.] The treaty with the Carthaginians renewed a fourth
time. An offer made to Fabricius, the consul, by a traitor, to
poison Pyrrhus; [y. r. 474. b. c. 278.] he sends him to the
king, and discovers to him the treasonable offer. Successful
operations against the Etruscans, Lucanians, Bruttians, and
Samnites.

Book XIV.—Pyrrhus crosses over into Sicily, [y. r. 475.
b. c. 277.] Many prodigies, among which, the statue of
Jupiter in the Capitol is struck by lightning, and thrown
down. [y. r. 476. b. c. 276.] The head of it afterwards
found by the priests. Curius Dentatus, holding a levy, puts
up to sale the goods of a person who refuses to answer to his
name when called upon. [y. r. 477. b. c. 275.] Pyrrhus,
after his return from Sicily, is defeated, and compelled to quit
Italy. The censors hold a lustrum, and find the number of
the citizens to be two hundred and seventy-one thousand two
hundred and twenty-four. [y. r. 479. b. c. 273.] A treaty
of alliance formed with Ptolemy, king of Egypt. Sextilia, a
vestal, found guilty of incest, and buried alive. Two colonies
sent forth, to Posidonium and Cossa. [y. r. 480. b. c. 272.]
A Carthaginian fleet sails, in aid of the Tarentines, by which
act the treaty is violated. Successful operations against the
Lucanians, Samnites, and Bruttians. Death of king Pyrrhus.

Book XV.—The Tarentines overcome: peace and freedom
granted to them. [y. r. 481. b. c. 271.] The Campanian
legion, which had forcibly taken possession of Rhegium, be-
sieged there; lay down their arms, and are punished with
death. Some young men, who had ill-treated the ambassa-
dors from the Apollonians to the senate of Rome, are delivered
up to them. Peace granted to the Picentians. [y. r. 484.
b. c. 268.] Two colonies established; one at Ariminum in
Picenum, another at Beneventum in Samnium. Silver coin
now, for the first time, used by the Roman people, [y. r. 485.
b. c. 267.] The Umbrians and Sallentines subdued. The
number of qusestors increased to eight.

Book XYI.—[y. r. 488. b. c. 264.] Origin and progress
of the Carthaginian state. After much debate, the senate
resolves to succour the Mammertines against the Carthagini-the history of rome.

697

ans, and against Hiero, king of Syracuse. Roman cavalry,
then, for the first time, cross the sea, and engage, successfully,
in battle with Hiero; who solicits and obtains peace, [y. r.

489.	b. c. 263.] A lustrum: the number of the citizens
amounts to two hundred and ninety-two thousand two hun-
dred and twenty-four. D. Junius Brutus exhibits the first
show of gladiators, in honour of his deceased father, [y. r.

490.	b. c. 262.] The JEsernian colony established. Success-
ful operations against the Carthaginians and Yulsinians.
[y. r. 491. b. c. 261.]

Book XYII.—[y. r. 492. b. c. 260.] Cneius Cornelius,
consul, surrounded by the Carthaginian fleet; and, being
drawn into a conference by a stratagem, is taken, [y. r. 493.
b. c. 259.] C. Duilius, consul, engages with and vanquished
the Carthaginian fleet; is the first commander to whom a
triumph was decreed for a naval victory; in honour of which,
he is allowed, when returning to his habitation at night, to be
attended with torches and music. L. Cornelius, consul, fights
and subdues the Sardinians and Corsicans, together with
Hanno, the Carthaginian general, in the island of Sardinia.
[y. r. 494. b. c. 258.] Atilius Calatinus, consul, drawn into
an ambuscade by the Carthaginians, is rescued by the skill
and valour of M. Calpurnius, a military tribune, who making
a sudden attack upon the enemy, with a body of only three
hundred men, turns their whole force against himself, [y. r.
495. b. c. 257.] Hannibal, the commander of the Cartha-
ginian fleet which was beaten, is put to death by his soldiers.

Book XYIII.—[y. r. 496. b. c. 256.] Attilius Regulus,
consul, having overcome the Carthaginians in a sea-fight,
passes over into Africa: kills a serpent of prodigious magni-
tude, with great loss of his own men. [y. r. 497. b. c. 255.]
The senate, on account of his successful conduct of the war,
not appointing him a successor, he writes to them, complain-
ing ; and, among other reasons for desiring to be recalled, al-
leges, that his little farm, being all his subsistence, was going
to ruin, owing to the mismanagement of hired stewards.
[y. r. 498. b. c. 254.] A memorable instance of the instability
of fortune exhibited in the person of Regulus, who is over-
come in battle, and taken prisoner by Xanthippus, a Lacedae-698

the history of rome.

monian general, [y. r. 499. b. c. 253.] The Eoman fleet
shipwrecked; which disaster entirely reverses the good for-
tune which had hitherto attended their affairs. Titus Coru-
canius, the first high priest chosen from among the commons.
[y. r. 500. b. c. 252.] P. Sempronius Sophus and M. Vale-
rius Maximus, censors, examine into the state of the senate,
and expel thirteen of the members of that body. [y. r. 501.
b. c. 251.] They hold a lustrum, and find the number of citi-
zens to be two hundred and ninety-seven thousand seven
hundred and ninety-seven, [y. r. 502. b. c. 250.] Regulus
being sent by the Carthaginians to Rome to treat for peace,
and an exchange of prisoners, binds himself by oath to return
if these objects be not attained; dissuades the senate from
agreeing to the propositions: and then, in observance of his
oath, returning to Carthage, is put to death by torture.

Book XIX.—[y. r. 502. b. c. 250.] C. Caocilius Metellus,
having been successful in several engagements with the Car-
thaginians, triumphs with more splendour than had ever yet
been seen; thirteen generals of the enemy, and one hundred
and twenty elephants, being exhibited in the procession, [y. r.
503. b. c. 249.] Claudius Pulcher, consul, obstinately persist-
ing, notwithstanding the omens were inauspicious, engages
the enemy's fleet, and is beaten ; drowns the sacred chickens
which would not feed: recalled by the senate, and ordered to
nominate a dictator; he appoints Claudius Glicia, one of the
lowest of the people, who, notwithstanding his being ordered
to abdicate the office, yet attends the celebration of the public
games in his dictator's robe. [y. r. 504. b. c. 248.] Atilius
Calatinus, the first dictator who marches with an army out of
Italy. An exchange of prisoners with the Carthaginians.
Two colonies established at Fregenae and Brundusium in the
Sallentine territories, [y. r. 505. b. c. 247.] A lustrum; the
citizens numbered amount to two hundred and fifty-one thou-
sand two hundred and twenty-two. [y. r. 506. b. c. 246.]
Claudia, the sister of Claudius, who had fought unsuccessfully,
in contempt of the auspices, being pressed by the crowd, as
she was returning from the game, cries out, I wish my brother
were alive and had again the command of the fleet: for which
offence she is tried and fined, [y. r. 507. b. c. 245.] Two
praetors now first created. Aulus Postumius, consul, beingTHE HISTORY OF ROME.

699

priest of Mars, forcibly detained in the city by Caecilius Me-
tellus, the high priest, and not suffered to go forth to war,
being obliged by law to attend to the sacred duties of his
office, [y. r. -508. b. c. 244.] After several successful en-
gagements with the Carthaginians, Caius Lutatius, consul,
puts an end to the war, [y. r. 509. b. c. 243.] by gaining a
complete victory over their fleet, at the island of JEgate. The
Carthaginians sue for peace, which is granted to them. [y. r.
510. b. c. 242.] The temple of Vesta being on fire, the high
priest, Csecilius Metellus, saves the sacred utensils from the
flames, [y. r. 511. b. c. 241.] Two new tribes added, the Ve-
line and Quirine. The Falisci rebel; are subdued in six days.

Book XX.—A colony settled at Spoletum. [y. r. 512. b.
c. 240.] An army sent against the Ligurians; being the
first war with that state. The Sardinians and Corsicans rebel,
and are subdued, [y. r. 514. b. c. 238.] Tuccia, a vestal,
found guilty of incest. War declared against the Illyrians,
who had slain an ambassador; they are subdued and brought
to submission, [y. r. 515. b. c. 237.] The number of pras-
tors increased to four. The Transalpine Gauls make an irrup-
tion into Italy: are conquered and put to the sword, [y. r.
516. b. c. 236.] The Roman army, in conjunction with the
Latins, is said to have amounted to no less than three hundred
thousand men. [y. r. 517. b. c. 235.] The Roman army for
the first time crosses the Po; fights with and subdues the In-
subrian G-auls. [y. r. 530. b. c. 222.] Claudius Marcellus,
consul, having slain Yiridomarus, the general of the Insubrian
Gauls, carries off the spolia opima. [y. r. 531. b. c. 221.]
The Istrians subdued; also the Illyrians, who had rebelled.
[y. r. 532. b. c. 220.] The censors hold a lustrum, in which
the number of the citizens is found to be two hundred and
seventy thousand two hundred and thirteen. The sons of
freedmen formed into four tribes; the Esquiline, Palatine,
Suburran, and Colline. [y. r. 533. b. c. 219.] Caius Fla-
minius, censor, constructs the Flaminian road, and builds the
Flaminian circus.BOOK XXL

Origin of the second Punic war. Hannibal's character. In violation of a
treaty, he passes the Iberus. Besieges Saguntum, and at length takes it.
The Romans send ambassadors to Carthage; declare war. Hannibal
crosses the Pyrenees: makes his way through Gaul; then crosses the
Alps ; defeats the Romans at the Ticinus. The Romans again defeated
at the Trebia. Cneius Cornelius Scipio defeats the Carthaginians in
Spain, and takes Hanno, their general, prisoner.	/

1. I may be permitted to premise at this division of my
work, what most historians1 have professed at the beginning
of their whole undertaking; that I am about to relate the
most memorable of all wars that were ever waged : the war
which the Carthaginians, under the, conduct of Hannibal,
maintained with the Roman people. For never did any states
and nations more efficient in their resources engage in con-
test ; nor had they themselves at any other period so great a
degree of power and energy. They brought into action too
no arts of war unknown to each other, but those which had
been tried in the first Punic war; and so various was the
fortune of the conflict, and so doubtful the victory, that they
who conquered were more exposed to danger. The hatred
with which they fought also was almost greater than their
resources; the Romans being indignant that the conquered
aggressively took up arms against their victors; the Cartha-
ginians, because they considered that in their subjection it
had been lorded over them with haughtiness and avarice.
There is besides a story, that Hannibal, when about nine
years old, while he boyishly coaxed his father Hamilcar that
he might be taken to Spain, (at the time when the African war
was completed, and he was employed in sacrificing previously
to transporting his army thither,) was conducted to the altar;

1 Thucydides seems to be specially referred to.THE HI8T0BT OP ROME,

701

and, having laid his hand on the offerings, was bound by an
oath to prove himself, as soon as he could, an enemy to the
Roman people. The loss of Sicily and Sardinia grieved the
high spirit of Hamilcar: for he deemed that Sicily had been
given up through a premature despair of their affairs; and
that Sardinia, during the disturbances in Africa, had been
treacherously taken by the Romans, while, in addition, the
payment of a tribute had been imposed.

2. Being disturbed with these anxieties, he so conducted him-
self for five years in the African war, which commenced shortly
after the peace with Rome, and then through nine years em-
ployed in augmenting the Carthaginian empire in Spain, that it
was obvious that he was revolving in his mind a greater war
than he was then engaged in; and that if he had lived longer,
the Carthaginians under Hamilcar would have carried the war
into Italy, which, under the command of Hannibal, they after-
wards did. The timely death of Hamilcar and the youth of Han-
nibal occasioned its delay. Hasdrubal, intervening between
the father and the son, held the command for about eight
years. He was first endeared to Hamilcar, as they say, on
account of his youthful beauty, and then adopted by him,
when advanced in age, as his son-in-law, on account of his
eminent aBilitiW; and, because he was his son-in-law, he
obtained the supreme authority, against the wishes of the
nobles, by the influence of the Barcine faction,1 which was
very powerful with the military and the populace. Prose-
cuting his designs rather by stratagem than force, by epter-
taining the princes, and by means of the friendship of their
leaders, gaining the favour of unknown nations, he aggran-
dized the Carthaginian power, more than by arms and battles.
Yet peace proved no greater security to himself. A bar-
barian, in resentment of his master's having been put to death
by him, publicly murdered him; and, having been seized by
the bystanders, he exhibited the same countenance as if he
had escaped; nay, even when he was lacerated by tortures,
he preserved such an expression of face, that he presented the
appearance of one who smiled, his joy getting the better of
his pains. With this Hasdrubal, because he possessed such
wonderful skill in gaining over the nations and adding them

1 The Barcine faction derived its name from Hamilcar, who was sur-
named fiarca. Hanno appears to have been at the head of the opposite

party-	/702

THE HISTORY OP HOME. [b. xxi. chap. 3, 4.

to his empire, the Roman people had renewed the treaty,1 on
the terms, that the river Iberus should be the boundary of both
empires; and that to the Saguntines, who lay between the
territories of the two states, their liberty should be preserved.

3. There was no doubt that in appointing a successor to
Hasdrubal, the approbation of the commons would foDow the
military prerogative, by which the young Hannibal had been
immediately carried to the praetorium, and hailed as general,
amid the loud shouts and acquiescence of all. Hasdrubal had
sent for him by letter, when scarce yet arrived at manhood;
and the matter had even been discussed in the senate, the
Barcine faction using all their efforts, that Hannibal might
be trained to military service and succeed to his father's com-
mand. Hanno, the leader of the opposite faction, said, " Has-
drubal seems indeed to ask what is reasonable, but I, never-
theless, do not think his request ought to be granted." When
he had attracted to himself the attention of all, through sur-
prise at this ambiguous opinion, he proceeded: " Hasdrubal
thinks that the flower of youth which he gave to the enjoy-
ment of Hannibal's father, may justly be expected by himself
in return from the son: but it would little become us to ac-
custom our youth, in place of a military education, to the lust-
ful ambition of the generals. Are we afraid that the son of
Hamilcar should be too late in seeing the immoderate power
and splendour of his father's sovereignty ? or that we shall
not soon enough become slaves to the son of him, to whose
son-in-law our armies were bequeathed as an hereditary
right? I am of opinion, that this youth should be kept at
home, and taught, under the restraint of the laws and the
authority of magistrates, to live on an equal footing with the
rest of the citizens, lest at some time or other this small fire
should kindle a vast conflagration."

4. A few, and nearly every one of the highest merit,
concurred with Hanno; but, as usually happens, the more
numerous party prevailed over the better. Hannibal, having

1 A. XJ. C. 526, thirteen years after the conclusion of the first Punic
war, being the sixth treaty between the Carthaginians and Romans. The
first was a commercial agreement made during the first consulate, in the
ear that the Tarquins were expelled from Rome; but is not mentioned
y Livy. The second is noted by him, lib. vii. 27, and the third, lib. ix.
43. The fourth was concluded during the war with Pyrrhus and the Ta-
rentines, Polyb. V. iii. 25; and the filth was the memorable treaty at the
close of the first war.THE HISTORY OF ROME.

been sent into Spain, from his very first arrival drew the
eyes of the whole army upon him. The veteran soldiers
imagined that Hamilcar, in his youth, was restored to them;
they remarked the same vigour in his looks and animation in
his eye, the same features and expression of countenance;
and then, in a short time, he took care that his father should be
of the least powerful consideration in conciliating their esteem.
There never was a genius more fitted for the two most op-
posite duties of obeying and commanding; so that you could
not easily decide whether he were dearer to the general or the
army: and neither did Hasdrubal prefer giving the command
to any other, when any thing was to be done with courage
and activity; nor did the soldiers feel more confidence and
boldness under any other leader. His fearlessness in en-
countering dangers, and his prudence when in the midst of
them, were extreme. His body could not be exhausted, nor
his mind subdued, by any toil. He could alike endure either
heat or cold. The quantity of his food and drink was de-
termined by the wants of nature, and not by pleasure. The
seasons of his sleeping and waking were distinguished neither
by day nor night. The time that remained after the transac-
tion of business was given to repose; but that repose was
neither invited by a soft bed nor by quiet. Many have seen
him wrapped in a military cloak, lying on the ground amid
the watches and outposts of the soldiers. His dress was not
at all superior to that of his equals: his arms and his horses
were conspicuous. He was at once by far the first of the
cavalry and infantry; and, foremost to advance to the charge,
was last to leave the engagement. * Excessive vices counter-
balanced these high virtues of the hero; inhuman cruelty,
more than Punic perfidy, no truth, no reverence for things
sacred, no fear of the gods, no respect for oaths, no sense ot
religion. With a character thus made up of virtue and vices,
he served for three years under the command of Hasdrubal,
without neglecting any thing which ought to be done or seen
by one who was to become a great general.

5. But from the day on which he was declared general, as
if Italy had been decreed to him as his province, and the war
with Home committed to him, thinking there should be no
delay, lest, while he procrastinated, some unexpected accident
might defeat him, as had happened to his father, Hamilcar,

2 zTHE HISTORY OF ROME. [ B. XXI. CHAP. 5.

and afterwards to Hasdrubal, he resolved to make war on
tlie Saguntines. As there could be no doubt that by attack-
ing them the Romans would be excited to arms, he first led
his army into the territory of the Olcades, a people beyond
the Iberus, rather within the boundaries than under the do-
minion of the Carthaginians, so that he might not seem to
have had the Saguntines for his object, but to have been
drawn on to the war by the course of events; after the ad-
joining nations had been subdued, and by the progressive an-
nexation of conquered territory. He storms and plunders
Carteia, a wealthy city, the capital of that nation; at which
the smaller states being dismayed, submitted to his commands
and to the imposition of a tribute. His army, triumphant and
enriched with booty, was led into winter-quarters to New
Carthage. Having there confirmed the attachment of all his
countrymen and allies by a liberal division of the plunder, and
by faithfully discharging the arrears of pay, the war was ex-
tended, in the beginning of spring, to the Vaccaei. The cities
Hermandica and Arbocala were taken by storm. Arbocala
was defended for a long time by the valour and number of its
inhabitants. Those who escaped from Hermandica joining
themselves to the exiles of the Olcades, a nation subdued the
preceding summer, excite the Carpetani to arms; and having
attacked Hannibal near the river Tagus, on his return from
the Vaccaei, they threw into disorder his army encumbered
with spoil. Hannibal avoided an engagement, and having
pitched his camp on the bank, as soon as quiet and silence
prevailed among the enemy, forded the river; and having
removed his rampart so far that the enemy might have room
to pass over, resolved to attack them in their passage. He
commanded the cavalry to charge as soon as they should see
them advanced into the water. He drew up the line of his
infantry on the bank with forty elephants in front. The
Carpetani, with the addition of the Olcades and Vaccaei,
amounted to a hundred thousand, an invincible army, were
the fight to take place in the open plain. Being therefore
both naturally ferocious and confiding in their numbers ; and
since they believed that the enemy had retired through fear,
thinking that victory was only delayed by the intervention of
the river, they raise a shout, and in every direction, without
the command of any one, dash into the stream, each where itt. B. 534.]

THE HISTORY OP BOHE.

705

was nearest to him. At the same time, a heavy force of
cavalry poured into the river from its opposite bank, and the
engagement commenced in the middle of the channel on very
unequal terms; for there the foot-soldier, having no secure
footing, and scarcely trusting to the ford, could be borne
down even by an unarmed horseman, by the mere shock of
his horse urged at random; while the horseman, with the
command of his body and his weapons, his horse moving
steadily even through the middle of the eddies, could maintain
the fight either at close quarters or at a distance. A great
number were swallowed up by the current; some being car-
ried by the whirlpools of the stream to the side of the enemy,
were trodden down by the elephants; and whilst the last, for
whom it was more safe to retreat to their own bank, were col-
lecting together after their various alarms, Hannibal, before
they could regain courage after such excessive consternation,
having entered the river with his army in a close square,
forced them to fly from the bank. Having then laid waste
their territory, he received the submission of the Carpetani
also within a few days. And now all the country beyond the
Iberus, excepting that of the Saguntines, was under the power
of the Carthaginians.

6. As yet there was no war with the Saguntines, but
already, in order to a war, the seeds of dissension were sown
between them and their neighbours, particularly the Tur-
detani, with whom when the same person sided who had
originated the quarrel, and it was evident, not that a trial of
the question of right, but violence, was his object, ambassa-
dors were sent by the Saguntines to Rome to implore assist-
ance in the war which now evidently threatened them. The
consuls then at Rome were Publius Cornelius Scipio and
Tiberius Sempronius Longus, who, after the ambassadors
were introduced into the senate, having made a motion on
the state of public affairs, it was resolved that envoys
should be sent into Spain to inspect the circumstances of the
allies; and if they saw good reason, both to warn Hannibal
that he should refrain from the Saguntines, the allies of the
Roman people, and to pass over into Africa to Carthage, and
report the complaints of the allies of the Roman people. This
embassy having been decreed but not yet despatched, the news
arrived, more quickly than any one expected, that Saguntum706

THE HISTORY OP ROME. [B. XXI. CHA?. 7.

was besieged. The business was then referred anew to the
senate. And some, decreeing Spain and Africa as provinces
for the consuls, thought the war should be maintained both by
sea and land, while others wished to direct the whole hostili-
ties against Spain and Hannibal. There were others again,
who thought that an affair of such importance should not be
entered on rashly; and that the return of the ambassadors
from Spain ought to be awaited. This opinion, which seemed
the safest, prevailed*; and Publius Valerius Flaccus, and
Quintus Baebius Tamphilus, were, on that account, the more
quickly despatched as ambassadors to Hannibal at Saguntum,
and from thence to Carthage, if he did not desist from the war,
to demand the general himself in atonement for the violation
of the treaty.

7. While the Romans thus prepare and deliberate, Sagun-
tum was already besieged with the utmost vigour. That
city, situated about a mile from the sea, was by far the most
opulent beyond the Iberus. Its inhabitants are said to have
been sprung from the island Zacynthus, and some of the
Rutulian race from Ardea to have been also mixed with them;
but they had risen in a short time to great wealth, either by
their gains from the sea or the land, or by the increase of
their numbers, or the integrity of their principles, by which
they maintained their faith with their allies, even to their own
destruction. Hannibal having entered their territory with a
hostile army, and laid waste the country in every direction,
attacks the city in three different quarters. There was an
angle of the wall sloping down into a more level and open
valley than the other space around; against this he resolved
to move the vine®, by means of which the battering-ram
might be brought up to the wall. But though the ground at
a distance from the wall was sufficiently level for working the
vineaB, yet their undertakings by no means favourably suc-
ceeded, when they came to effect their object Both a huge
tower overlooked it, and the wall, as in a suspected place, was
raised higher than in any other part; and a chosen band of
youths presented a more vigorous resistance, where the great-
est danger and labour were indicated. At first they repelled
the enemy with missile weapons, and suffered no place to be
sufficiently secure for those engaged in the works; afterwards,
not only did they brandish their weapons in defence of the wallsY. r. 534.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

707

and tower, but they had courage to make sallies on the post
and works of the enemy; in which tumultuary engagements,
scarcely more Saguntines than Carthaginians were slain. But
when Hannibal himself, while he too incautiously approached
the wall, fell severely wounded in the thigh by a javelin, such
flight and dismay spread around, that the works and vinese
had nearly been abandoned.

8. For a few days after, while the general's wound was
being cured, there was rather a blockade than a siege: during
which time, though there was a respite from fighting, yet
there was no intermission in the preparation of works and
fortifications. Hostilities, therefore, broke out afresh with
greater fury, and in more places, in some even where the
ground scarcely admitted of the works, the vinese began to
be moved forward, and the battering-ram to be advanced to
the walls. The Carthaginian abounded in the numbers of
his troops; for there is sufficient reason to believe that he
had as many as a hundred and fifty thousand in arms. The
townsmen began to be embarrassed, by having their attention
multifariously divided, in order to maintain their several de-
fences, and look to every thing; nor were they equal to the
task, for the walls were now battered by the rams, and many
parts of them were shattered. One part by continuous ruins
left the city exposed; three successive towers and all the wall
between them had fallen down with an immense crash, and
the Carthaginians believed the town taken by that breach;
through which, as if the wall had alike protected both, there
was a rush from each side to the battle. There was nothing
resembling the disorderly fighting which, in the storming of
towns, is wont to be engaged in, on the opportunities of either
party; but regular lines, as in an open plain, stood arrayed
between the ruins of the walls and the buildings of the city,
which lay but a slight distance from the walls. On the one
side hope, on the other despair, inflamed their courage; the
Carthaginian believing that, if a little additional effort were
used, the city was his; the Saguntines opposing their bodies
in defence of their native city deprived of its walls, and not a
man retiring a step, lest he might admit the enemy into the
place he deserted. The more keenly and closely, therefore,
they fought on both sides, the more, on that account, were
wounded, no weapon falling without effect amidst their708

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXI. CHAP. 9, 10.

rms and persons. There was used by the Saguntines a
missile weapon, called falarica, with the shaft of fir, and
round in other parts except towards the point, whence the
iron projected: this part, which was square, as in the piliim,
they bound around with tow, and besmeared with pitch. It
had an iron head three feet in length, so that it could pierce
through the body with the armour. But what caused the
greatest fear was, that this weapon, even though it stuck in
the shield and did not penetrate into the body, when it was
discharged with the middle part on fire, and bore along a
much greater flame, produced by the mere motion, obliged
the armour to be thrown down, and exposed the soldier to
succeeding blows.

9.	When the contest had for a long time continued doubt-
ful, and the courage of the Saguntines had increased, because
they had succeeded in their resistance beyond their hopes,
while the Carthaginian, because he had not conquered, felt as
vanquished, the townsmen suddenly set up a shout, and drive
their enemies to the ruins of the wall; thence they force them,
while embarrassed and disordered; and lastly, drove them
back, routed and put to flight, to their camp. In the mean
time it was announced that ambassadors had arrived from
Rome; to meet whom messengers were sent to the sea-side
by Hannibal, to tell them that they could not safely come to
him through so many armed bands of savage tribes, and that
Hannibal at such an important conjuncture had not leisure to
listen to embassies. It was obvious that, if not admitted,
they would immediately repair to Carthage: he therefore
sends letters and messengers beforehand to the leaders of the
Bareine faction, to prepare the minds of their partisans, so
that the other party might not be able in any thing to give an
advantage to the Romans.

10.	That embassy, therefore, excepting that the ambassa-
dors were admitted and heard, proved likewise vain and fruit-
less. Hanno alone, in opposition to the rest of the senate,
pleaded the cause of the treaty, amidst deep silence on ac-
count of his authority, and not from the approbation of the
audience. He said: that he had admonished and forewarned
them by the gods, the arbiters and witnesses of treaties, that
they should not send the son of Hamilcar to the army; that
the manes, that the offspring of that man could not rest inY. R. 534.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

709

peace, nor ever, while any one of the Barcine name and blood
survived, would the Roman treaties continue undisturbed.
" You, supplying as it were fuel to the flame, have sent to
your armies a youth burning with the desire of sovereign
power, and seeing but one road to his object, if by exciting
war after war, he may live surrounded by arms and legions.
You have therefore fostered this fire, in which you now burn.
Your armies invest Saguntum, whence they are forbidden by
the treaty: ere long the Roman legions will invest Carthage,
under the guidance of those gods tjirough whose aid they re-
venged in the former war the infraction of the treaty. Are
you unacquainted with the enemy, or with yourselves, or
with the fortune of either nation ? Your good general refused
to admit into his camp ambassadors coming from allies and in
behalf of allies, and set at nought the law of nations. They,
however, after being there repulsed, where not even the am-
bassadors of enemies are prohibited admittance, come to you:
they require restitution according to the treaty: let not guilt
attach to the state, they demand to have delivered up to them
the author of the transgression, the person who is chargeable
with this offence. The more gently they proceed,—the slower
they are to begin, the more unrelentingly, I fear, when they
have once commenced, will they indulge resentment. Set
before your eyes the islands ^Egates and Eryx, all that for
twenty-four years ye have suffered by land and sea. Nor was
this boy the leader, but his father Hamilcar himself, a second
Mars, as these people would have it: but we had not refrained
from Tarentum, that is, from Italy, according to the treaty ;
as now we do not refrain from Saguntum. The gods and men
have, therefore, prevailed over us; and as to that about which
there was a dispute in words, whether of the two nations
had infringed the treaty, the issue of the war, like an equitable
judge, hath awarded the victory to the party on whose side
justice stood. It is against Carthage that Hannibal is now
moving his vinese and towers: it is the wall of Carthage that
he is shaking with his battering-ram. The ruins of Sagun-
tum (oh that I may prove a false prophet!) will fall on our
heads; and the war commenced against the Saguntines must
be continued against the Romans. Shall we, therefore,
some one will say, deliver up Hannibal ? In what relates to
liim I am aware that my authority is of little weight, on ac-710

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXI. CHAP. 11.

count of my enmity with his father. But I both rejoice that
Hamilcar perished, for this reason, that, had he lived, we
should have now been engaged in a war with the Romans; and
this youth, as the fury and firebrand of this war, I hate and
detest. Nor ought he only to be given up in atonement for
the violated treaty; but even though no one demanded him,
he ought to be transported to the extremest shores of earth or
s*ea, and banished to a distance, whence neither his name nor
any tidings of him can reach us, and he be unable to disturb
the peace of a tranquil state. I therefore give my opinion,
that ambassadors be sent immediately to Rome to satisfy the
senate; others to tell Hannibal to lead away his army from
Saguntum, and to deliver up Hannibal himself, according to
the treaty to the Romans; and I propose a third embassy, to
make restitution to the Saguntines."

11. When Hanno had concluded, there was no occasion
for any one to contend with him in debate, to such a degree
were almost all the senators devoted to Hannibal; and they
accused Hanno of having spoken with more malignity than
Flaccus Valerius, the Roman ambassador. It was then said,
in answer to the Roman ambassadors, " that the war had been
commenced by the Saguntines, not by Hannibal; and that the
Roman people acted unjustly if they preferred the Saguntines
to the most ancient1 alliance of the Carthaginians." Whilst
the Romans waste time in sending embassies, Hannibal, be-
cause his soldiers were fatigued with the battles and the
works, allowed them rest for a few days, parties being
stationed to guard the vine® and other works. In the mean
time he inflames their minds, now by inciting their anger
against the enemy, now with the hope of reward. But when
he declared before the assembled army, that the plunder of the
captured city should be given to the soldiers, to such a degree
were they all excited, that if the signal had been immediately
given, it appeared that they could not have been resisted by
any force. The Saguntines, as they had a respite from fight-
ing, neither for some days attacking nor attacked, so they had
not, by night or day, ever ceased from toiling, that they
might repair anew the wall in the quarter where the town
had been exposed by the breach. A still more desperate

1 Alluding to the first treaty made in the year that the kings were ex-
pelled from Rome.Y. b. 534.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

711

storming than the former then assailed them; nor whilst all
quarters resounded with various clamours, could they satis-
factorily know where first or principally they should lend
assistance. Hannibal, as an encouragement, was present in
person, where a movable tower, exceeding in height all the
fortifications of the city, was urged forward. When being
brought up it had cleared the walls of their defenders by
means of the catapultas and ballistae ranged through all its
stories, then Hannibal, thinking it a favourable opportunity,
sends about five hundred Africans with pickaxes to undermine
the wall: nor was the work difficult, since the unhewn stones
were not fastened with lime, but filled in their interstices
with clay, after the manner of ancient building. It fell,
therefore, more extensively than it was struck, and through
the open spaces of the ruins troops of armed men rushed into
the city. They also obtain possession of a rising ground;
and having collected thither catapultae and ballistae, so that
they might have a fort in the city itself, commanding it like a
citadel, they surround it with a wall: and the Saguntines
raise an inner wall before the part of the city which was not
yet taken. On both sides they exert the utmost vigour in
fortifying and fighting: but the Saguntines, by erecting these
inner defences, diminish daily the size of their city. At the
same time, the want of all supplies increased through the
length of the siege, and the expectation of foreign aid dimin-
ished, since the Romans, their only hope, were at such a dis-
tance, and all the country round was in the power of the
enemy. The sudden departure of Hannibal against the
Oretani and Carpetani1 revived for a little their drooping
spirits; which two nations, though, exasperated by the severity
of the levy, they had occasioned, by detaining the commissaries,
the fear of a revolt, having been suddenly checked by the
quickness of Hannibal, laid down the arms they had taken up.

12. Nor was the siege of Saguntum, in the mean time, less

1 The Carpetani have already been mentioned, chap. v. The Oretani,
their neighbours, occupied the country lying between the sources of the
Bsetis and the Anas, or what are now called the Guadalquiver and Gua-
diana. In a part of Orospeda they deduced their name from a city called
Oretum, the site of which has been brought to light in a paltry village to
which the name of Oreto still remains.—D'Anville.712

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXI. CHAP. 13.

vigorously maintained; Maharbal, the son of Himilco, whom
Hannibal had set over the army, carrying on operations so
actively that neither the townsmen nor their enemies perceived
that the general was away. He both engaged in several
successful battles, and with three battering-rams overthrew a
portion of the wall; and showed to Hannibal, on his arrival,
the ground all covered with fresh ruins. The army was
therefore immediately led against the citadel itself, and a des-
perate combat was commenced with much slaughter on both
sides, and part of the citadel was taken. The slight chance
of a peace was then tried by two persons; Alcon a Saguntine,
and Alorcus a Spaniard. Alcon, thinking he could effect some-
thing by entreaties, having passed over, without the know-
ledge of the Saguntines, to Hannibal by night, when his tears
produced no effect, and harsh conditions were offered as from
an exasperated conqueror, becoming a deserter instead of an
advocate, remained with the enemy ; affirming that the man
would be put to death who should treat for peace on such
terms. For it was required that they should make restitution
to the Turdetani; and after delivering up all their gold and
silver, departing from the city each with a single garment,
should take up their dwelling where the Carthaginian should
direct. Alcon having denied that the Saguntines would ac-
cept such terms of peace, Alorcus, asserting that when all
else is subdued, the mind becomes subdued, offers himself as
the proposer of that peace. Now at that time he was a soldier
of Hannibal's, but publicly the friend and host of the Sagun-
tines. Having openly delivered his weapon to the guards of
the enemy and passed the fortifications, he was conducted, as
he had himself requested, to the Saguntine praetor; whither
when there was immediately a general rush of every descrip-
tion of people, the rest of the multitude being removed, an
audience of the senate is given to Alorcus ; whose speech was
to the following effect:

13. "If your citizen Alcon, as he came to implore a
peace from Hannibal, had in like manner brought back to you
the terms of peace proposed by Hannibal, this journey of
mine would have been unnecessary; by which circumstance
I should not have had to come to you as the legate of Hanni-
bal. nor as a deserter. Since he has remained with youry. R. 534.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

713"

enemies, either through your fault or his own, (through his
own, if he counterfeited fear; through yours, if among you
there be danger to those who tell the truth,) that you may not
be ignorant that there are some terms of safety and peace for
you, I have come to you in consideration of the ancient ties of
hospitality which subsist between us. But that I speak what
I address to you for your sake and that of no other, let even
this be the proof: that neither while you resisted with your
own strength, nor while you expected assistance from the
Romans, did I ever make any mention of peace to you. But
now, after you have neither any hope from the Romans, nor
your own arms nor walls sufficiently defend you, I bring to
you a peace rather necessary than just: of effecting which
there is thus some hope, if, as Hannibal offers it in the spirit
of a conqueror, you listen to it as vanquished ; if you will con-
sider not what is taken from you as loss, (since all belongs
to the conqueror,) but whatever is left as a gift. He takes
away from you your city, which, already for the greater part
in ruins, he has almost wholly in his possession; he leaves
you your territory, intending to mark out a place in which you
may build a new town; he commands that all the gold and
silver, both public and private, shall be brought to him; he
preserves inviolate your persons and those of your wives and
children, provided you are willing to depart from Saguntum,
unarmed, each with two garments. These terms a victorious
enemy dictates. These, though harsh and grievous, your
condition commends to you. Indeed I do not despair, when
the power of every thing is given him, that he will remit
something from these terms. But even these I think you
ought rather to endure, than suffer, by the rights of war, your-
selves to be slaughtered, your wives and children to be
ravished and dragged into captivity before your faces."

14. When an assembly of the people, by the gradual
crowding round of the multitude, had mingled with the senate
to hear these proposals, the chief men suddenly withdrawing
before an answer was returned, and throwing all the gold
and silver collected, both from public and private stores, into
a fire hastily kindled for that purpose, the greater part flung
themselves also into it. When the dismay and agitation pro-
duced by this deed had pervaded the whole city, another noise
was heard in addition from the citadel. A tower, long bat-714	THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXI. CHAP. 15, 16.

tered, had fallen down; and when a Carthaginian cohort,
rushing through the breach, had made a signal to the general
that the city was destitute of the usual outposts and guards,
Hannibal, thinking that there ought to be no delay at such an
opportunity, having attacked the city with his whole forces,
took it in a moment, command being given that all the adults
should be put to death; which command, though cruel, was
proved in the issue to have been almost necessary. For to
whom of those men could mercy have been shown, who,
either shut up with their wives and children, burned their
houses over their own heads, or abroad in arms made no end
of fighting, except in death.

15.	The town was taken, with immense spoil. Though
the greater part of the goods had been purposely damaged by
their owners, and resentment had made scarce any distinction
of age in the massacre, and the captives were the booty of the
soldiers ; still it appears that some money was raised from the
price of the effects that were sold, and that much costly fur-
niture and garments were sent to Carthage. Some have
written that Saguntum was taken in the eighth month after
it began to be besieged; that Hannibal then retired to New
Carthage, into winter quarters; and that in the fifth month
after he had set out from Carthage he arrived in Italy. If
this be so, it was impossible that Publius Cornelius and Tibe-
rius Sempronius could have been consuls, to whom both at
the beginning of the siege the Saguntine ambassadors were
despatched, and who, during their office, fought with Hanni-
bal ; the one at the river Ticinus, and both some time after
at the Trebia. Either all these events took place in a some-
what shorter period, or Saguntum was not begun to be be-
sieged, but taken at the beginning of the year in which Pub-
lius Cornelius and Tiberius Sempronius were consuls. For the
battle at Trebia could not have been so late as the year of Cneius
Servilius and Caius Flaminius, since Flaminius entered on the
office at Ariminum, having been created by the consul Tiberius
Sempronius; who, having repaired to Rome after the battle at
Trebia for the purpose of creating consuls, returned when the
election was finished to the army into winter quarters.

16.	Nearly about the same time, both the ambassadors who
had returned from Carthage brought intelligence to Rome
that all appearances were hostile, and the destruction of Sa-Y. it. 534.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

715

guntum was announced. Then such grief, and pity for allies
so undeservingly destroyed, and shame that aid was withheld,
and rage against the Carthaginians, and fear for the issue of
events, as if the enemy were already at the gates, took at once
possession of the senators, that their minds, disturbed by so
many simultaneous emotions, trembled with fear rather than
deliberated. For they considered that neither had a more
spirited or warlike enemy ever encountered them nor had the
Roman state been ever so sunk in sloth, and unfit for war: that
the Sardinians, the Corsicans, the Istrians, and the Illyrians,
had rather kept in a state of excitement than exercised the
Roman arms; and with the Gauls it had been more properly
a tumult than a war. That the Carthaginian, a veteran
enemy, ever victorious during the hardest service for twenty-
three years among the tribes of Spain, first trained to war
under Hamilcar, then Hasdrubal, now Hannibal, a most active
leader, and fresh from the destruction of a most opulent city,
was pass'ing the Iberus; that along with them he was bringing
the numerous tribes of Spain, already aroused, and was about
to excite the nations of Gaul, ever desirous of war; and that
a war against the world was to be maintained in Italy and be-
fore the walls of Rome.

17. The provinces had already been previously named for
the consuls; and having been now ordered to cast lots for
them, Spain fell to Cornelius, and Africa with Sicily to
Sempronius. Six legions were decreed for that year, and as
many of the allies as should seem good to the consuls, and as
great a fleet as could be equipped. Twenty-four thousand
Roman infantry were levied, and one thousand eight hundred
horse: forty thousand infantry of the allies, and four thou-
sand four hundred horse: two hundred and twenty ships of
five banks of oars, and twenty light galleys, were launched.
It was then proposed to the people, " whether they willed and
commanded that war should be declared against the people
of Carthage;" and for the sake of that war a supplication was
made through the city, and the gods were implored that the
war which the Roman people had decreed might have a pros-
perous and fortunate issue. The forces were thus divided
between the consuls. To Sempronius two legions were given,
(each of these consisted of four thousand infantry and three
hundred horse,) and sixteen thousand of the infantry of the716

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXI. CHAP. 18.

allies, and one thousand eight hundred horse: one hundred
and sixty ships of war, and twelve light galleys. With these
land and sea forces Tiberius Sempronius was despatched to
Sicily, in order to transport his army to Africa if the other
consul should be able to prevent the Carthaginian from in-
vading Italy. Fewer troops were given to Cornelius, be-
cause Lucius Manlius, the prgetor, also had been sent with no
weak force nito Gaul. The number of ships in particular
was reduced to Cornelius. Sixty of five banks of oars were
assigned to him, (for they did not believe that the enemy
would come by sea, or would fight after that mode of warfare,)
and two Roman legions with their regular cavalry, and four-
teen thousand of the infantry of the allies, with one thousand
six hundred horse. The province of Gaul being not as yet
exposed to the Carthaginian invasion, had, in the same year,
two Roman legions, ten thousand allied infantry, one thousand
allied cavalry, and six hundred Roman.

18. These preparations having been thus made, in order
that every thing that was proper might be done before they
commenced war, they send Quintus Fabius, Marcus Livius,
Lucius ^Emilius, Caius Licinius, and Quintus Baebius, men of
advanced years, as ambassadors into Africa, to inquire of the
Carthaginians if Hannibal had laid siege to Saguntum by
public authority ; and if they should confess it, as it seemed
probable they would, and defend it as done by public au-
thority, to declare war against the people of Carthage. After
the Romans arrived at Carthage, when an audience of the
senate was given them, and Quintus Fabius had addressed no
further inquiry than the one with which they had been
charged, then one of the Carthaginians replied : " Even your
former embassy, O Romans, was precipitate, when you de-
manded Hannibal to be given up, as attacking Saguntum on
his own authority : but your present embassy, though so far
milder in words, is in fact more severe. For then Hannibal
was both accused, and required to be delivered up : now
both a confession of wrong is exacted from us, and, as
though we had confessed, restitution is immediately de-
manded. But I think that the question is not, whether Sa-
guntum was attacked by private or public authority, but
whether it was with right or wrong. For in the case of our
citizen, the right of inquiry, whether he has acted by his ownY. r. 534.J

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

717

pleasure or ours, and the punishment also, belongs to us.
The only dispute with you is, whether it was allowed to be
done by the treaty. Since, therefore, it pleases you that a
distinction should be made between what commanders do by
public authority, and what on their own suggestion, there
was a treaty between us made by the consul Lutatius; in
which, though provision was made for the allies of both,
there is no provision made for the Saguntines, for they were
not as yet your allies. But in that treaty which was made
with Hasdrubal, the Saguntines are excepted ; against which
I am going to say nothing but what I have-learned from you.
For you denied that you were bound by the treaty which
Caius Lutatius the consul first made with us, because that it
had neither been made by the authority of the senate nor the
command of the people; and another treaty was therefore
concluded anew by public authority. If your treaties do not
bind you unless they are made by your authority and your
commands, neither can the treaty of Hasdrubal, which he
made without our knowledge, be binding on us. Cease,
therefore, to make mention of Saguntum and the Iberus, and
let your mind at length bring forth that with which it has
long been in labour." Then the Koman, having formed a
fold in his robe, said, " Here we bring to you peace and war;
take which you please." On this speech they exclaimed no
less fiercely in reply: " he might give which he choseand
when he again, unfolding his robe, said " he gave war," they
all answered that " they accepted it, and would maintain it
with the same spirit with which they accepted it."

19. This direct inquiry and denunciation of war seemed
more consistent with the dignity of the Roman people, both
before and now, especially when Saguntum was destroyed,
than to cavil in words about the obligation of treaties. For if it
was a subject for a controversy of words, in what was the
treaty of Hasdrubal to be compared with the former treaty of
Lutatius, which was altered ? Since in the treaty of Lutatius,
it was expressly added, " that it should only be held good if
the people sanctioned it; but in the treaty of Hasdrubal,
neither was there any such exception; and that treaty during
his life had been so established by the silence of so many years,
that not even after the death of its author was any change
made in it. Although even were they to abide by the former718

THE HISTORY OF ROME. |b. xxi. CHAP. 20

treaty, there had been sufficient provision made for the Sagun-
tines by excepting the allies of both states; for neither was
it added, "those who then were," nor "those who should
afterwards be admittedand since it is allowably to admit
new allies, who could think it proper, either that no people
should be received for any services into friendship ? or that,
being received under protection, they should not be defended ?
It was only stipulated, that the allies of the Carthaginians
should not be excited to revolt, nor, revolting of their own
accord, be received. The Roman ambassadors, according as
they had been commanded at Rome, passed over from Carthage
into Spain, in order to visit the nations, and either to allure
them into an alliance, or dissuade them from joining the Car-
thaginians. They came first to the Bargusii, by whom having
been received with welcome, because they were weary of the
Carthaginian government, they excited many of the states
beyond the Iberus to the desire of a revolution. Thence they
came to the Yolciani, whose reply being celebrated through
Spain, dissuaded the other states from an alliance with the
Romans; for thus the oldest member in their council made
answer: " What sense of shame have ye, Romans, to ask of
us that we should prefer your friendship to that of the
Carthaginians, when you, their allies, betrayed the Sagun-
tines with greater cruelty than that with which the Cartha-
ginians, their enemies, destroyed them? There, methinks,
you should look for allies, where the massacre of Saguntum is
unknown. The ruins of Saguntum will remain a warning
as melancholy as memorable to the states of Spain, that no
one should confide in the faith or alliance of Rome." Having
been then commanded to depart immediately from the terri-
tory of the Yolciani, they afterwards received no kinder
words from any of the councils of Spain: they therefore pass
into Gaul, after having gone about through Spain to no
purpose.

20. Among the Gauls a new and alarming spectacle was
seen, by reason of their coming (such is the custom of the
nation) in arms to the assembly. When, extolling in their
discourse the renown and valour of the Roman people, and
the wide extent of their empire, they had requested that they
would refuse a passage through their territory and cities to
the Carthaginian invading Italy; such laughter and yelling isY. B, 534.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME,

719

said to have arisen, that the youths were with difficulty com-
posed to order by the magistrates and old men. So absurd
and shameless did the request seem, to propose that the Gauls,
rather than suffer the war to pass on to Italy, should turn it
upon themselves and expose their own lands to be laid waste
instead of those of others. When the tumult was at length
allayed, answer was returned to the ambassadors, " that they
had neither experienced good from the Romans, nor wrong
from the Carthaginians, on account of which they should
either take up arms in behalf of the Romans, or against the
Carthaginians. On the contrary, they had heard that men of
their nation had been driven from the lands and confines of
Italy by the Roman people, that they had to pay a tribute,
and suffered other indignities." Nearly the same was said
and heard in the other assemblies of Gaul; nor did they hear
any thing friendly or pacific before they came to Marseilles.
There, every thing found out by the care ^nd fidelity of the
allies was made known to them—" that the minds of the Gauls
had been already prepossessed by Hannibal, but that not even
by him would that nation be found very tractable, (so fierce
and untameable are their dispositions,) unless the affections of
the chiefs should every now and then be conciliated with gold,
of which that people are most covetous." Having thus gone
round through the tribes of Spain and Gaul, the ambassadors
return to Rome not long after the consuls had set out for
their provinces. They found the whole city on tiptoe in ex-
pectation of war, the report being sufficiently confirmed, that
the Carthaginians had already passed the Iberus. '

21. Hannibal, after the taking of Saguntum, had retired to
New Carthage into winter quarters; and there, having heard
what had been done and decreed at Rome and Carthage, and
that he was not only the leader, but also the cause of the war,
after having divided and sold the remains of the plunder,
thinking there ought to be no longer delay, he calls together
and thus addresses his soldiers of the Spanish race: " I believe,
allies, that even you yourselves perceive that, all the tribes of
Spain having been reduced to peace, we must either conclude
our campaigns and disband our armies, or transfer the war
into other regions: for thus these nations will flourish amid
the blessings not only of peace, but also of victory, if we seek
from other countries spoils and renown. Since, therefore,

3 A720

THE HISTORY OP ROME. [B. XXI. CHAP. 22.

a campaign far from home soon awaits you, and it is uncertain
when you shall again see your homes, and all that is there
dear to you, if any one of you wishes to visit his friends, I
grant him leave of absence. I give you orders to be here at
the beginning of spring, that, with the good assistance of the
gods, we may enter on a war which will prove one of great
glory and spoil." This power of visiting their homes, volun-
tarily offered, was acceptable to almost all, already longing to
see their friends, and foreseeing in future a still longer absence.
Repose through the whole season of winter, between toils
already undergone and those that were soon to be endured,
repaired the vigour of their bodies and minds to encounter
all difficulties afresh. At the beginning of spring they
assembled according to command. Hannibal, when he had
reviewed the auxiliaries of all the nations, having gone to
Grades, performs his vows to Hercules ; and binds himself by
new vows, provided his other projects should have a prosperous
issue. Then dividing his care at the same time between the
offensive and defensive operations of the war, lest while he
was advancing on Italy by a land journey through Spain and
Gaul, Africa should be unprotected and exposed to the Ro-
mans from Sicily, he resolved to strengthen it with a power-
ful force. For this purpose he requested a reinforcement
from Africa, chiefly of light-armed spearmen, in order that
the Africans might serve in Spain, and the Spaniards in
Africa, each likely to be a better soldier at a distance from
home, as if bound by mutual pledges. He sent into Africa
thirteen thousand eight hundred and fifty targetteers, eight
hundred and seventy Balearic slingers, and one thousand
two hundred horsemen, composed of various nations. He
orders these forces partly to be used as a garrison for Carthage,
and partly to be distributed through Africa: at the same time
having sent commissaries into the different states, he orders
four thousand chosen youth whom they had levied to be con-
ducted to Carthage, both as a garrison and as hostages.

22. Thinking also that Spain ought not to be neglected,
(and the less because he was aware that it had been traversed
by the Roman ambassadors, to influence the minds of the
chiefs,) he assigns that province to his brother Hasdrubal, a
man of active spirit, and strengthens him chiefly with African
troops: eleven thousand eight hundred and fifty Africany. B. 534.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

721

infantry, three hundred Ligurians, and five hundred Baleari-
ans. To these forces of infantry were added four hundred
horsemen of the Libyphoenicians, a mixed race of Carthagi-
nians and Africans; of the Numidians and Moors, who border
on the ocean, to the number of one thousand eight hundred,
and a small band of Ilergetes from Spain, amounting to two
hundred horse: and, that no description of land force might
be wanting, fourteen elephants. A fleet was given him be-
sides to defend the sea-coast, (because it might be supposed
that the Romans would then fight in the same mode of war-
fare by which they had formerly prevailed,) fifty quinque-
remes, two quadriremes, five triremes: but only thirty-two
quinqueremes and five triremes were properly fitted out and
manned with rowers. From Gades he returned to the winter
quarters of the army at Carthage; and thence setting out, he
led his forces by the city Etovissa to the Iberus and the sea-
coast. There, if is reported, a youth of divine aspect was
seen by him in his sleep, who said, " that he was sent by
Jupiter as the guide of Hannibal into Italy, and that he should,
therefore, follow him, nor in any direction turn his eyes away
from him." At first he followed in terror, looking no where,
either around or behind: afterwards, through the curiosity of
the human mind, when he revolved in his mind what that
could be on which he was forbidden to look back, he could
not restrain his eyes ; then he beheld behind him a serpent of
wonderful size moving along with an immense destruction of
trees and bushes, and after it a cloud following with thunder-
ings from the skies; and that then inquiring " what was that
great commotion, and what the cause of the prodigy," he heard
in reply: " That it was the devastation of Italy: that he
should continue to advance forward, nor inquire further, but
suffer the fates to remain in obscurity."

23. Cheered by this vision, he transported his forces in
three divisions across the Iberus, having sent emissaries
before him to conciliate by gifts the minds of the Gauls, in
the quarter through which his army was to be led, and to
examine the passes of the Alps. He led ninety thousand
infantry and twelve thousand cavalry across the Iberus. He
then subdued the Ilergetes, the Bargusii, the Ausetani, and
that part of Lacetania which lies at the foot of the Pyrensean
mountains; and he placed Hapno in command over all this

3 TT722

THE HT8T0KY OP HOME. [B. XXI. CHAP. 24,25.

district, that the narrow gorges which connect Spain with
Gaul might be under his power. Ten thousand infantry, and
a thousand cavalry, were given to Hanno for the defence of
the country he was to occupy. After the army began to
march through the passes of the Pyrenees, and a more certain
rumour of the Roman war spread through the barbarians,
three thousand of the Carpetanian infantry turned back: it
clearly appeared that they were not so much swayed by the
prospect of the war as by the length of the journey and the
insuperable passage of the Alps. Hannibal, because it was
hazardous to recall or detain them by force, lest the fierce
minds of the rest might also be irritated, sent home above
seven thousand men, whom also he had observed to be an-
noyed with the service, pretending that the Carpetani had
also been dismissed by him.

24.	Then, lest delay and ease might unsettle their minds,
he crosses the Pyrenees with the rest of his forces, and pitches
his camp at the town Illiberis. The Gauls, though they had
heard that the war was directed against Italy, yet because
there was a report that the Spaniards on the other side of the
Pyrenees had been reduced by force, and that strong forces
had been imposed on them, being roused to arms through the
fear of slavery, assembled certain tribes at Ruscino. When
this was announced to Hannibal, he, having more fear of the
delay than of the war, sent envoys to say to their princes, "that
he wished to confer with them ; and that they should either
come nearer to Illiberis, or that he would proceed to Ruscino,
that their meeting might be facilitated by vicinity: for that
he would either be happy to receive them into his camp, or
would himself without hesitation come to them: since he had
entered Gaul as a friend, and not as an enemy, and would not
draw the sword, if the Gauls did not force him, before he
came to Italy." These proposals, indeed, were made by his
messengers. But when the princes of the Gauls, having im-
mediately moved their camp to Illiberis, came without re-
luctance to the Carthaginian, being won by his presents, they
suffered his army to pass through their territories, by the town
of Ruscino, without any molestation.

25.	In the mean time no further intelligence had been
brought into Italy to Rome by the ambassadors of Marseilles,
than that Hannibal had passed the Iberus; when the Boii, asc. a. 534.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

if he had already passed the Alps, revolted after instigating
the Insubrians ; not so much through their ancient resentment
towards the Roman people, as on account of their having felt
aggrieved that the colonies of Placentia and Cremona had
been lately planted in the Gallic territory about the Po.
Having, therefore, suddenly taken up arms, and made an
attack on that very territory, they created so much of terror
and tumult, that not only the rustic population, but even the
Roman triumvirs, Caius Lutatius, Caius Servilius, and Titus
Annius, who had come to assign the lands, distrusting the
walls of Placentia, fled to Mutina. About the name of Luta-
tius there is no doubt: in place of Caius Servilius and Titus
Annius, some annals have Quintus Acilius and Caius Heren-
nius; others, Publius Cornelius Asina and Caius Papirius
Maso. This point is also uncertain, whether the ambassadors
sent to expostulate to the Boii suffered violence, or whether
an attack was made on the triumvirs while measuring out the
lands. While they were shut up in Mutina, and a people
unskilled in the arts of besieging towns, and, at the same
time, most sluggish at military operations, lay inactive before
the walls, which they had not touched, pretended proposals
for a peace were set on foot; and the ambassadors, being in-
vited out to a conference by the chiefs of the Gauls, are seized,
not only contrary to the law of nations, but in violation of the
faith which was pledged on that very occasion; the Gauls
denying that they would set them free unless their hostages
were restored to them. When this intelligence respecting the
ambassadors was announced, and that Mutina and its garrison
were in danger, Lucius Manlius, the praetor, inflamed with
rage, led his army in haste to Mutina. There were then
woods on both sides of the road, most of the country being
uncultivated. There, having advanced without previously
exploring his route, he fell suddenly into an ambuscade; and
after much slaughter of his men, with difficulty made his way
into the open plains. Here a camp was fortified, and because
confidence was wanting to the Gauls to attack it, the spirit of
the soldiers revived, although it was sufficiently evident that
their strength was much clipped. The journey was then com-
menced anew; nor while the army was led in march through
the open tracts did the enemy appear: but, when the woods
were again entered, then attacking the rear, amid great con-THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXI. CHAP. 26

fusion and alarm of all, they slew eight hundred soldiers, and
took six standards,	was an end to the Gauls of

creating, and to the Romans of experiencing terror, when
they escaped from the pathless and entangled thicket; then
easily defending their march through the open ground, the
Romans directed their course to Tanetum, a village near the
Po; where, by a temporary fortification, and the supplies con-
veyed by the river, and also by the aid of the Brixian Gauls,
they defended themselves against the daily increasing multi-
tude of their enemies.

26. When the account of this sudden disturbance was
brought to Rome, and the senators heard that the Punic had
also been increased by a Gallic war, they order Caius Atilius,
the praetor, to carry assistance to Manlius with one Roman
legion and five thousand of the allies, enrolled in the late levy
by the consul: who, without any contest, for the enemy had
retired through fear, arrived at Tanetum. At the same time
Publius Cornelius, a new legion having been levied in the
room of that which was sent with the praetor, setting out
from the city with sixty ships of war, by the coast of Etruria
and Liguria, and then the mountains of the Salyes, arrived
at Marseilles, and pitched his camp at the nearest mouth of
the Rhone, (for the stream flows down to the sea divided into
several channels,) scarcely as yet well believing that Hannibal
had crossed the Pyrenasan mountains ; whom when he ascertain-
ed to be also meditating the passage of the Rhone, uncertain in
what place he might meet him, his soldiers not yet being
sufficiently recovered from the tossing of the sea, he sends
forward, in the mean time, three hundred chosen horses, with
Massilian guides and Gallic auxiliaries, to explore all the coun-
try, and observe the enemy from a safe distance. Hannibal,
the other states being pacified by fear or bribes, had now
come into the territory of the Yolcae, a powerful nation. They,
indeed, dwell on both sides of the Rhone: but doubting that
the Carthaginian could be driven from the hither bank, in
order that they might have the river as a defence, having trans-
ported almost all their effects across the Rhone, occupied in arms
the farther bank of the river. Hannibal, by means of pre-
sents, persuades the other inhabitants of the river-side, and
some even of the Yolcae themselves, whom their homes had
detained, to collect from every quarter and build ships; andy. R. 534.1

THE HISTORY OF HOME.

721v

they at the same time themselves desired that the army
should be transported, and their country relieved, as soon as
possible, from the vast multitude of men that burthened it.
A great number, therefore, of ships and boats rudely formed
for the neighbouring passages, were collected together; and
the Gauls, first beginning the plan, hollowed out some new
ones from single trees; and then the soldiers themselves, at
once induced by the plenty of materials and the easiness of
the work, hastily formed shapeless hulks, in which they could
transport themselves and their baggage, caring about nothing
else, provided they could float and contain their burthen.

27. And now, when all things were sufficiently prepared for
crossing, the enemy over against them occupying the whole
bank, horse and foot, deterred them. In order to dislodge
them, Hannibal orders Hanno, the son of Bomilcar, at the
first watch of the night, to proceed with a part of the forces,
principally Spanish, one day's journey up the river; and
having crossed it where he might first be able, as secretly as
possible, to lead round his forces, that when the occasion re-
quired he might attack the enemy in the rear. The Gauls,
given him as guides for the purpose, inform him that about
twenty-five miles from thence, the river spreading round a
small island, broader where it was divided, and therefore with
a shallower channel, presented a passage. At this place timber
was quickly cut down and rafts formed, on which men, horses,
and other burthens might be conveyed over. The Spaniards,
without making any difficulty, having put their clothes in
bags of leather, and themselves leaning on their bucklers
placed beneath them, swam across the river. And the rest
of the army, after passing on the rafts joined together, and
pitching their camp near the river, being fatigued by the
journey of the night and the labour of the work, are refreshed
by the rest of one day, their leader being anxious to execute
his design at a proper season. Setting out next day from
this place, they signify by raising a smoke that they had
crossed, and were not far distant; which when Hannibal un-
derstood, that he might not be wanting on the opportunity,
he gives the signal for passing. The infantry already had
the boats prepared and fitted; a line of ships higher up
transporting the horsemen for the most part near their horses
gwimming beside them, in order to break the force of the726

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXI. CHAP. 28.

current, rendered the water smooth to the boats crossing be-
low. A great part of the horses were led across swimming,
held by bridles from the stern, except those which they put
on board saddled and bridled, in order that they might be
ready to be used by the rider the moment he disembarked on
the strand.

28. The Gauls run down to the bank to meet them with
various whoopings and songs, according to their custom,
shaking their shields above their heads, and brandishing
their weapons in their right hands, although such a multitude
of ships in front of them alarmed them, together with the
loud roaring of the river, and the mingled clamours of the
sailors and soldiers, both those who were striving to break
through the force of the current, and those who from the
other bank were encouraging their comrades on their passage.
While sufficiently dismayed by this tumult in front, more
terrifying shouts from behind assailed them, their camp
having been taken by Hanno; presently he himself came up,
and a twofold terror encompassed them, both such a multi-
tude of armed men landing from the ships, and this unex-
pected army pressing on their rear. When the Gauls, having
made a prompt and bold effort to force the enemy, were
themselves repulsed, they break through where a way seemed
most open, and fly in consternation to their villages around.
Hannibal, now despising these tumultuary onsets of the
Gauls, having transported the rest of his forces at leisure,
pitches his camp. I believe that there were various plans
for transporting the elephants; at least there are various ac-
counts of the way in which it was done. Some relate, that
after the elephants were assembled together on the bank, the
fiercest of them being provoked by his keeper, pursued him
as he swam across the water, to which he had run for refuge,
and drew after him the rest of the herd; the mere force of
the stream hurrying them to the other bank, when the bottom
had failed each, fearful of the depth. But there is more reason
to believe that they were conveyed across on rafts; which
plan, as it must have appeared the safer before execution, is
after it the more entitled to credit. They extended from the
bank into the river one raft two hundred feet long and fifty
broad, which, fastened higher up by several strong cables to
the bank, that it might not be carried down by the stream53i.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

727

covered, like a bridge, with earth thrown upon it, so
at the beasts might tread upon it without fear, as over solid
ound. Another raft equally broad and a hundred feet long,
for crossing the river, was joined to this first; and when
lQ elephants, driven along the stationary raft as along a
ro^d, had passed, the females leading the way, on to the
smaller raft which was joined to it, the lashings, by which it
was slightly fastened, being immediately let go, it was drawn
by some light boats to the opposite side. The first having
been thus landed, the rest were then returned for and carried
across. They gave no signs of alarm whatever while they
were driven along as it were on a continuous bridge. The
first fear was, when, the raft being loosed from the rest, they
were hurried into the deep. Then pressing together, as those
at the edges drew back from the water, they produced some
disorder, till mere terror, when they saw water all around,
produced quiet. Some, indeed, becoming infuriated, fell into
the river ; but, steadied by their own weight, having thrown
off their riders, and seeking step by step the shallows, they
escaped to the shore.

29. Whilst the elephants were conveyed over, Hannibal, in
the mean time, had sent five hundred Numidian horsemen to-
wards the camp of the Romans, to observe where and how
numerous their forces were, and what they were designing.
The three hundred Roman horsemen sent, as was before said,
from the mouth of the Rhone, meet this band of cavalry ; and
a more furious engagement than could be expected from the
number of the combatants takes place. For, besides many
wounds, the loss on both sides was also nearly equal: and the
flight and dismay of the Numidians gave victory to the
Romans, now exceedingly fatigued. There fell of the con-
querors one hundred and sixty, not all Romans, but partly
Gauls : of the vanquished more than two hundred. This com-
mencement, and at the same time omen of the war, as it portend-
ed to the Romans a prosperous issue of the whole, so did it also
the success of a doubtful and by no means bloodless contest.
When, after the action had thus occurred, his own men re-
turned to each general, Scipio could adopt no fixed plan of
proceeding, except that he should form his measures from the
plans and undertakings of the enemy : and Hannibal, uncer-
tain whether he should pursue the march he had commenced728

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXI. CHAT

into Italy, or fight with the Roman army which had first
sented itself, the arrival of ambassadors from the Boii, an
a petty prince called Magalus, diverted from an immedia
engagement ; who, declaring that they would be the guides
his journey and the companions of his dangers, gave it as the
opinion, that Italy ought to be attacked with the entire force
of the war, his strength having been nowhere previously im-
paired. The troops indeed feared the enemy, the remembrance
of the former war not being yet obliterated ; but much more
did they dread the immense journey and the Alps, a thing
formidable by report, particularly to the inexperienced.

30. Hannibal, therefore, when his own resolution was fixed
to proceed in his course and advance on Italy, having sum-
moned an assembly, works upon the minds of the soldiers in
various ways, by reproof and exhortation. He said, that
" he wondered what sudden fear had seized breasts ever be-
fore undismayed : that through so many years they had made
their campaigns with conquest ; nor had departed from Spain
before all the nations and countries which two opposite seas
embrace, were subjected to the Carthaginians. That then, in-
dignant that the Romans demanded those, whosoever had
besieged Saguntum, to be delivered up to them, as on account
of a crime, they had passed the Iberus to blot out the name of
the Romans, and to emancipate the world. That then the
way seemed long to no one, though they were pursuing it
from the setting to the rising of the sun. That now, when they
saw by far the greater part of their journey accomplished, the
passes of the Pyrenees surmounted, amid the most ferocious
nations, the Rhone, that mighty river, crossed, in spite of the
opposition of so many thousand Gauls, the fury of the river
itself having been overcome, when they had the Alps in
sight, the other side of which was Italy, should they halt
through weariness at the very gates of the enemy, imagining
the Alps to be—what else than lofty mountains ? That sup-
posing them to be higher than the summits of the Pyrenees,
assuredly no part of the earth reached the sky, nor was in-
surmountable by mankind. The Alps in fact were inhabited
and cultivated;—produced and supported living beings. Were
they passable by a few men and impassable to armies ? That
those very ambassadors whom they saw before them had not
crossed the Alps borne aloft through the air on wings ; neithery. a. 534.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

729

were their ancestors indeed natives of the soil, but settling in
Italy from foreign countries, had often as emigrants safely
crossed these very Alps in immense bodies, with their wives
and children. To the armed soldier, carrying nothing with
him but the instruments of war, what in reality was imper-
vious or insurmountable ? That Saguntum might be taken,
what dangers, what toils were for eight months undergone!
Now, when their aim was Rome, the capital of the world,
could any thing appear so dangerous or difficult as to delay
their undertaking ? That the Gauls had formerly gained pos-
session of that very country which the Carthaginian despairs
of being able to approach. That they must, therefore, either
yield in spirit and valour to that nation which they had so
often during those times overcome; or look forward, as the
end of their journey, to the plain which spreads between the
Tiber and the walls of Rome."

31. He orders them, roused by these exhortations, to re-
fresh themselves and prepare for the journey. Next day,
proceeding upward along the bank of the Rhone, he makes
for the inland part of Gaul: not because it was the more
direct route to the Alps, but believing that the farther he re-
tired from the sea, the Romans would be less in his way;
with whom, before he arrived in Italy, he had no intention
of engaging. After four days' march he came to the Island:
there the streams of the Arar and the Rhone, flowing down
from different branches of the Alps, after embracing a pretty
large tract of country, flow into one. The name of the Island
is given to the plains that lie between them. The Allobroges
dwell near, a nation even in those days inferior to none in
Gaul in power and fame. They were at that time at vari-
ance. Two brothers were contending for the sovereignty.
The elder, named Brancus, who had before been king, was
driven out by his younger brother and a party of the younger
men, who, inferior in right, had more of power. When the
decision of this quarrel was most opportunely referred to
Hannibal, being appointed arbitrator of the kingdom, he re-
stored the sovereignty to the elder, because such had been the
opinion of the senate and the chief men. In return for this
service, he was assisted with a supply of provisions, and
plenty of all necessaries, particularly clothing, which the
Alps, notorious for extreme cold, rendered necessary to be730

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXI. CHAP. 32,

prepared. After composing the dissensions of the Allobroges,
when he now w^as proceeding to the Alps, he directed his
course thither, not by the straight road, but turned to the left
into the country of the Tricastini, thence by the extreme
boundary of the territory of the Yocontii he proceeded to the
Tricorii; his way not being any where obstructed till he
came to the river Druentia. This stream, also arising amid
the Alps, is by far the most difficult to pass of all the rivers
in Gaul; for though it rolls down an immense body of water,
yet it does not admit of ships; because, being restrained by
no banks, and flowing in several and not always the same
channels, and continually forming new shallows and new
whirlpools, (on which account the passage is also uncertain to
a person on foot,) and rolling down besides gravelly stones, it
affords no firm or safe passage to those who enter it; and hav-
ing been at that time swollen by showers, it created great dis-
order among the soldiers as they crossed, when, in addition
to other difficulties, they were of themselves confused by their
own hurry and uncertain shouts.

32. Publius Cornelius the consul, about three days after
Hannibal moved from the bank of the Rhone, had come to
the camp of the enemy, with his army drawn up in square,
intending to make no delay in fighting: but when he saw the
fortifications deserted, and that he could not easily come up
with them so far in advance before him, he returned to the
sea and his fleet, in order more easily and safely to encounter
Hannibal when descending from the Alps. But that Spain,
the province which he had obtained by lot, might not be des-
titute of Roman auxiliaries, he sent his brother Cneius Scipio
with the principal part of his forces against Hasdrubal, not
only to defend the old allies and conciliate new, but also to
drive Hasdrubal out of Spain. He himself, with a very small
force, returned to Genoa, intending to defend Italy with the
army which was around the Po. From the Druentia, by a
road that lay principally through plains, Hannibal arrived at
the Alps without molestation from the Gauls that inhabit
those regions. Then, though the scene had been previously
anticipated from report, (by which uncertainties are wont to
be exaggerated,) yet the height of the mountains when viewed
so near, and the snows almost mingling with the sky, the
shapeless huts situated on the cliffs, the cattle and beasts ofY. R. 534.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

731

burden withered by the cold, the men unshorn and wildly
dressed, all things, animate and inanimate, stiffened with frost,
and other objects more terrible to be seen than described, re-
newed their alarm. To them, marching up the first acclivities,
the mountaineers appeared occupying the heights over head;
who, if they had occupied the more concealed valleys, might,
by rushing out suddenly to the attack, have occasioned great
flight and havoc. Hannibal orders them to halt, and having
sent forward Gauls to view the ground, when he found there
was no passage that way, he pitches his camp in the widest
valley he could find, among places all rugged and precipitous.
Then, having learned from the same Gauls, when they had
mixed in conversation with the mountaineers, from whom they
differed little in language and manners, that the pass was only
beset during the day, and that at night each withdrew to his
own dwelling, he advanced at the dawn to the heights, as if
designing openly and by day to force his way through the de-
file. The day then being passed in feigning a different at-
tempt from that which was in preparation, when they had
fortified the camp in the same place where they had halted, as
soon as he perceived that the mountaineers had descended
from the heights, and that the guards were withdrawn, having
lighted for show a greater number of fires than was propor-
tioned to the number that remained, and having left the bag-
;gage in the camp, with the cavalry and the principal part of
the infantry, he himself with a party of light-armed, consist-
ing of all the most courageous of his troops, rapidly cleared
the defile, and took post on those very heights which the
enemy had occupied.

33. At dawn of light the next day the camp broke up, and
the rest of the army began to move forward. The moun-
taineers, on a signal being given, were now assembling from
their forts to their usual station, when they suddenly behold
part of the enemy over-hanging them from above, in possession
of their former position, and the others passing along the road.
Both these objects, presented at the same time to the eye and
the mind, made them stand motionless for a little while ; but
when they afterwards saw the confusion in the pass, and that
the marching body was thrown into disorder by the tumult
which itself created, principally from the horses being terrified,
thinking that whatever terror they added would suffice for the732

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

[B. XXI. CHAP. 34.

destruction of the enemy, they scramble along the dangerous
rocks, as being accustomed alike to pathless and circuitous
ways. Then indeed the Carthaginians were opposed at
once by the enemy and by the difficulties of the ground; and
each striving to escape first from the danger, there was more
fighting among themselves than with their opponents. The
horses in particular created danger in the lines, which, being
terrified by the discordant clamours which the groves and re-
echoing valleys augmented, fell into confusion ; and if by
chance struck or wounded, they were so dismayed that they
occasioned a great loss both of men and baggage of every de-
scription : and as the pass on both sides was broken and pre-
cipitous, this tumult threw many down to an immense depth,
some even of the armed men ; but the beasts of burden, with
their loads, were rolled down like the fall of some vast fabric.
Though these disasters were shocking to view, Hannibal how>-
ever kept his place for a little, and kept ITis men together, lest
he might augment the tumult and disorder ; but afterwards,
when he saw the line broken, and that there was danger that
he should bring over his army, preserved to no purpose if de-
prived Qf their baggage, he hastened down from the higher
ground ; and though he had routed the enemy by the first
onset alone, he at the same time increased the disorder in his
own army : but that tumult was composed in a moment, after
the roads were cleared by the flight of the mountaineers; and
presently the whole army was conducted through, not only
without being disturbed, but almost in silence. He then took
a fortified place, which was the capital of that district, and the
little villages that lay around it, and fed his army for three
days with the corn and cattle he had taken; and during these
three days, as the soldiers were neither obstructed by the
mountaineers, who had been daunted by the first engagement,
nor yet much by the ground, he made considerable way.

34. He then came to another state, abounding, for a moun-
tainous country, with inhabitants ; where he was nearly over-
come, not by open war, but by his own arts of treachery and
ambuscade. Some old men, governors of forts, came as deputies
to the Carthaginian, professing, " that having been warned by
the useful example of the calamities of others, they wished
rather to experience the friendship than the hostilities of the
Carthaginians : they would, therefore, obediently execute hisY, ^ 54.]	THE HISTORY OF ROME.	733

comnynds, and begged that he would accept of a supply of
provis\ons, guides of his march, and hostages for the sincerity
of their promises." Hannibal, when he had answered them in
a friendly manner, thinking that they should neither be rashly
trusted nor yet rejected, lest if repulsed they might openly
become enemies, having received the hostages whom they
proffered, and made use of the provisions which they of their
own accord brought down to the road, follows their guides,
by no means as among a people with whom he was at peace,
but with his line of march in close order. The elephants and
cavalry formed the van of the marching body ; he himself,
examining every thing around, and intent on every circum-
stance, followed with the choicest of the infantry. When
they came into a narrower pass, lying on one side beneath an
overhanging eminence, the barbarians, rising at once on all
sides from their ambush, assail them in front and rear, both
at close quarters and from a distance, and roll down' huge
stones on the army. The most numerous body of men pressed
on the rear; against whom the infantry, facing about and
directing their attack, made it very obvious, that had not the
rear of the army been well supported, a great loss must have
been sustained in that pass. Even as it was they came to the
extremity of danger, and almost to destruction: for while
Hannibal hesitates to lead down his division into the defile,
because, though he himself was a protection to the cavalry,
he had not in the same way left any aid to the infantry in the
rear; the mountaineers, charging obliquely, and on having
broken through the middle of the army, took possession of
the road ; and one night was spent by Hannibal without his
cavalry and baggage.

35. Next day, the barbarians running in to the attack be-
tween (the two divisions) less vigorously, the forces were
re-united, and the defile passed, not without loss, but yet
with a greater destruction of beasts of burden than of men.
From that time the mountaineers fell upon them in smaller
parties, more like an attack of robbers than war, sometimes
on the van, sometimes on the rear, according as the ground
afforded them advantage, or stragglers advancing or loitering
gave them an opportunity. Though the elephants were driven
through steep and narrow roads with great loss of time, yet
wherever they went they rendered the army safe from the734 — "	THE HISTORY OF ROME. [b. XXI. c: . 36

enemy, because men unacquainted with such animal were
afraid of approaching too nearly. On the ninth df y they
came to a summit of the Alps, chiefly through places track-
less ; and after many mistakes of their way, which were
caused either by the treachery of the guides, or, when they
were not trusted, by entering valleys at random, on tl^ir own
conjectures of the route. For two days they remained en-
camped on the summit; and rest was given to the soldiers,
exhausted with toil and fighting: and several beasts of turden,
which had fallen down among the rocks, by following the
track of the army arrived at the camp. A fall of snow, it
being now the season of the setting of the constellation of the
Pleiades, caused great fear to the soldiers, already worn out
with weariness of so many hardships. On the standards be-
ing moved forward at day-break, when the army proceeded
slowly over all places entirely blocked up with snow, and
languor and despair strongly appeared in the countenances of
all, Hannibal, having advanced before the standards, and or-
dered the soldiers to halt on a certain eminence, whence there
was a prospect far and wide, points out to them Italy and the
plains of the Po, extending themselves beneath the Alpine
mountains; and said " that they were now surmounting not
only the ramparts of Italy, but also of the city of Rome ; that
the rest of the journey would be smooth and down-hill; that
after one, or, at most, a second battle, they would have the
citadel and capital of Italy in their pow$r and possession."
The army then began to advance, the enemy now making no
attempts beyond petty thefts, as opportunity offered. But
the journey proved much more difficult than it had been in
the ascent, as the declivity of the Alps being generally shorter
on the side of Italy is consequently steeper; for nearly all the
road was precipitous, narrow, and slippery, so that neither
those who made the least stumble could prevent themselves
from falling, nor, when fallen, remain in the same place, but
rolled, both men and beasts of burden, one upon another.

36. They then came to a rock much more narrow, and
formed of such perpendicular ledges, that a light-armed sol-
dier, carefully making the attempt, and clinging with his
hands to the bushes and roots around, could with difficulty
lower himself down. The ground, even before very steep by
nature, had been broken by a recent falling away of the earthy. r. 534.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

735

into a precipice of nearly a thousand feet in depth. Here
when the cavalry had halted, as if at the end of their journey,
it is announced to Hannibal, wondering what obstructed the
march, that the rock was impassable. Having then gone
himself to view the place, it seemed clear to him that he must
lead his army round it, by however great a circuit, through
the pathless and untrodden regions around. But this route
also proved impracticable; for while the new snow of a
moderate depth remained on the old, which had not been re-
moved, their footsteps were planted with ease as they walked
upon the new snow, which was soft and not too deep; but
when it was dissolved by the trampling of so many men and
beasts of burden, they then walked on the bare ice below, and
through the dirty fluid formed by the melting snow. Here
there was a wretched struggle, both on account of the slippery
ice not affording any hold to the step, and giving way beneath
the foot more readily by reason of the slope; and whether
they assisted themselves in rising by their hands or their
knees, their supports themselves giving way, they would
tumble again; nor were there any stumps or roots near, by
pressing against which, one might with hand or foot support
himself; so that they only floundered on the smooth ice and
amid the melted snow. The beasts of burden sometimes also
cut into this lower ice by merely treading upon it, at others
they broke it completely through, by the violence with which
they struck in their hoofs in their struggling, so that most of
them, as if taken in a trap, stuck in the hardened and deeply
frozen ice.

37. At length, after the men and beasts of burden had
been fatigued to no purpose, the camp was pitched on the
summit, the ground being cleared for that purpose with great
difficulty, so much snow was there to be dug out and carried
away. The soldiers being then set to make a way down the
cliff, by which alone a passage could be effected, and it being
necessary that they should cut through the rocks, having
felled and lopped a number of large trees which grew around,
they make a huge pile of timber; and as soon as a strong
wind fit for exciting the flames arose, they set fire to it, and,
pouring vinegar on the heated stones, they render them soft
and crumbling. They then open a way with iron instruments
through the rock thus heated by the fire, and soften its de-

3 b736 '	THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXI. CHAP. 38

clivities by gentle windings, so that not only the beasts of bur-
den, but also the elephants could be led down it. Four days were
spent about this rock, the beasts nearly perishing through
hunger: for the summits of the mountains are for the most
part bare, and if there is any pasture the snows bury it.
The lower parts contain valleys, and some sunny hills, and
rivulets flowing beside woods, and scenes more worthy of the
abode of man. There the beasts of burden were sent out to
pasture, and rest given for three days to the men, fatigued
with forming the passage: they then descended into the
plains, the country and the dispositions of the inhabitants
being now less rugged.

38. In this manner chiefly they came to Italy in the fifth
month (as some authors relate) after leaving New Carthage,
having crossed the Alps in fifteen days. What number of
forces Hannibal had when he had passed into Italy is by no
means agreed upon by authors. Those who state them at the
highest, make mention of a hundred thousand foot and twenty
thousand horse; those who state them at the lowest, of twenty
thousand foot and six thousand horse. Lucius Cincius Ali-
mentus, who relates that he was made prisoner by Hannibal,
would influence me most as an authority, did he not confound
the number by adding the Gauls and Ligurians. Including
these, (who, it is more probable, flocked to him afterwards,
and so some authors assert,) he says, that eighty thousand foot
and ten thousand horse were brought into Italy; and that he
had heard from Hannibal himself, that after crossing the
Rhone he had lost thirty-six thousand men, and an immense
number of horses, and other beasts of burden, among the
Taurini, the next nation to the Gauls, as he descended into
Italy. As this circumstance is agreed on by all, I am the more
surprised that it should be doubtful by what road he crossed
the Alps; and that it should commonly be believed that he
passed over the Pennine mountain, and that thence1 the name
was given to that ridge of the Alps. Coelius says, that he
passed over the top of Mount Cremo; both which passes would
have brought him, not to the Taurini, but through the Salas-
sian mountaineers to the Libuan Gauls. Neither is it proba-
ble that these roads into Gaul were then open, especially

1 from Psemis, Carthaginian.y. E. 534J

T&E HISTORY OF ROME.

737

since those which lead to the Pennine mountain would have been
blocked up by nations half German; nor by Hercules (if this
argument has weight with any one) do the Yeragri, the in-
habitants of this ridge, know of the name being given to these
mountains from th^ passage of the Carthaginians, but from
the divinity, whom the mountaineers style Penninus, wor-
shipped on the highest summit.

39. Yery opportunely for the commencement of his
operations, a war had broken out with the Taurini, the
nearest nation, against the Insubrians; but Hannibal could
not put his troops under arms to assist either party, as they
now chiefly felt the disorders they had before contracted, in
remedying them; for ease after toil, plenty after want, and
attention to their persons after dirt and filth, had variously af-
fected their squalid and almost savage-looking bodies. This
was the reason that Publius Cornelius, the consul, when he had
arrived at Pisa with his fleet, hastened to the Po, though the
troops he received from Manlius and Atilius were raw and
disheartened by their late disgraces, in order that he might
engage the enemy when not yet recruited. But when the
consul came to Placentia, Hannibal had already moved from
his quarters, and had taken by storm one city of the Taurini.
the capital of the nation, because they did not come willingly
into his alliance; and he would have gained over to him, not
only from fear, but also from inclination, the Gauls who dwell
beside the Po, had not the arrival of the consul suddenly
checked them while watching for an opportunity of revolt.
Hannibal at the same time moved from the Taurini, thinking
that the Gauls, uncertain which side to choose, would follow
him if present among them. The armies were now almost in
sight of each other, and their leaders, though not at present
sufficiently acquainted, yet met each other with a certain feel-
ing of mutual admiration. For the name of Hannibal, even
before the destruction of Saguntum, was very celebrated
among the Pomans; and Hannibal believed Scipio to be a
superior man, from the very circumstance of his having been
especially chosen to act as commander against himself. They
had increased too their estimation of each other; Scipio, be-
cause, being left behind in Gaul, he had met Hannibal when
he had crossed into Italy; Hannibal, by his daring attempt of
passing the Alps and by its accomplishment. Scipio, however,

3 b 2738	THE HISTORY OF ROME. " [B. XXI. CHAP. 40

was the first to cross the Po, and having pitched his camp at
the river Ticinus, he delivered the following oration for the
sake of encouraging his soldiers before he, led them out to
form for battle:

40. " If, soldiers, I were leading out that army to battle
which I had with me in Gaul, I should have thought it super-
fluous to address you; for of what use would it be to exhort
either those horsemen who so gloriously vanquished the
cavalry of the enemy at the river Rhone, or those legions with
whom, pursuing this very enemy flying before us, I obtained,
in lieu of victory, a confession of superiority, shown by his re-
treat and refusal to fight ? Now because that army, levied for
the province of Spain, maintains the war under my auspices,1
and the command of my brother Cneius Scipio, in the country
where the senate and people of Rome wished him to serve;
and since I, that you might have a consul for your leader
against Hannibal and the Carthaginians, have offered myself
voluntarily for this contest, few words are required to be ad-
dressed from a new commander to soldiers unacquainted with
him. That you may not be ignorant of the nature of the war
nor of the enemy, you have to fight, soldiers, with those whom
in the former war you conquered both by land and sea ; from
whom you have exacted tribute for twenty years; from whom
you hold Sicily and Sardinia, taken as the prizes of victory.
In the present contest, therefore, you and they will have those
feelings which are wont to belong to the victors and the van-
quished. Nor are they now about to fight because they are
daring, but because it is unavoidable; except you can believe
that they who declined the engagement when their forces were
intire, should have now gained more confidence when two-
thirds of their infantry and cavalry have been lost in the
passage of the Alps, and when almost greater numbers have
perished than survive. Yes, they are few indeed, (some may
say,) but they are vigorous - in mind and body ; men whose
strength and power scarce any force may withstand. On the
contrary,- they are but the resemblances, nay, are rather the
shadows of men; being worn out with hunger, cold, dirt, and
filth, and bruised and enfeebled among stones and rocks. Be-
sides all this, their joints are frost-bitten, their sinews stiffened

1 Because Spain was his propel province as consul.Y. it. 534.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

739

with the snow, their limbs withered up by the frost, their
armour battered and shivered, their horses lame and power-
less. With such cavalry, with such infantry, you have to
fight: you will not have enemies in reality, but rather their
last remains. And I fear nothing more than that when you
have fought Hannibal, the Alps may appear to have con-
quered him. But perhaps it was fitting that the gods them-
selves should, without any human aid, commence and carry
forward a war with a leader and a people that violate the faith
of treaties; and that we, who next to the gods have been in-
jured, should finish the contest thus commenced and nearly
completed.

41. "I do not fear lest any one should think that I say this
ostentatiously for the sake of encouraging you, while in my
own mind I am differently affected. I was at liberty to go
with my army into Spain, my own province, whither I had
already set out; where I should have had a brother as the
sharer of my councils and my dangers, and Hasdrubal, instead
of Hannibal, for my antagonist, and without question a less
laborious war: nevertheless, as I sailed along the coast of
Gaul, having landed on hearing of this enemy, and having
sent forward the cavalry, I moved my camp to the Rhone. In
a battle of cavalry, with which part of my forces the oppor-
tunity of engaging was afforded, I routed the enemy; and be-
cause I could not overtake by land his army of infantry,
which was rapidly hurried away, as if in flight, having re-
turned to the ships with all the speed I could, after compass-
ing such an extent of sea and land, I have met him at the foot
of the Alps. Whether do I appear, while declining the con-
test, to have fallen in unexpectedly with this dreaded foe, or
to encounter him in his track ? to challenge him and drag him
out to decide the contest ? I am anxious to try whether the
earth has suddenly, in these twenty years, sent forth a new
race of Carthaginians, or whether these are the same who
fought at the islands -ZEgates, and whom you permitted to de-
part from Eryx, valued at eighteen denarii a head; and
whether this Hannibal be, as he himself gives out, the rival of
the expeditions of Hercules, or one left by his father the
tributary and taxed subject and slave of the Roman people;
who, did not his guilt at Saguntum drive him to frenzy, would
certainly reflect, if not upon his conquered country, at least740

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXI. CHAP. 42.

on his family, and his father, and the treaties written by the
hand of Hamilcar; who, at the command of our consul, with-
drew the garrison from Eryx; who, indignant and grieving,
submitted to the harsh conditions imposed on the conquered
Carthaginians; who agreed to depart from Sicily, and pay
tribute to the Roman people. I would, therefore, have you
fight, soldiers, not only with that spirit with which you are
wont to encounter other enemies, but with a certain indigna-
tion and resentment, as if you saw your slaves suddenly
taking up arms against you. We might have killed them
when shut up in Eryx by hunger, the most dreadful of human
tortures; we might have carried over our victorious fleet to
Africa, and in a few days have destroyed Carthage without
any opposition. We granted pardon to their prayers; we
released them from the blockade; we made peace with them
when conquered; and we afterwards considered them under
our protection when they were oppressed by the African war.
In return for these benefits, they come under the conduct' of
a furious youth to attack our country. And I wish that the
contest on your side was for glory, and not for safety: it is
not about the possession of Sicily and Sardinia, concerning
which the dispute was formerly, but for Italy, that you must
fight: nor is there another army behind, which, if wre should
not conquer, can resist the enemy; nor are there other Alps,
during the passage of which fresh forces may be procured:
here, soldiers, we must make our stand, as if we fought before
the walls of Rome. Let every one consider that he defends
with his arms not only his own person, but his wife and
young children: nor let him only entertain domestic cares
and anxieties, but at the same time let him revolve in his
mind, that the senate and people of Rome now anxiously re-
gard our efforts; and that according as our strength and
valour shall be, such henceforward will be the fortune of that
city and of the Roman empire."

42. Thus the consul addressed the Romans. Hannibal,
thinking that his soldiers ought to be roused by deeds rather
than by words, having drawn his army around for the spec-
tacle, placed in their midst the captive mountaineers in fet-
ters ; and after Gallic arms had been thrown at their feet, he
ordered the interpreter to ask, "whether any among them,
on condition of being released from chains, and receiving, ifY. R. 534.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

741

victorious, armour and a horse, was willing to combat with
the sword?" When they all, to a man, demanded the com-
bat and the sword, and lots were cast into the urn for that
purpose, each wished himself the person whom fortune might
select for the contest. As the lot of each man came out,
eager and exulting with joy amidst the congratulations of his
comrades, and dancing after the national custom, he hastily
snatched up the arms: but when they fought, such was the
state of feeling, not only among their companions in the same
circumstances, but among the spectators in general, that the
fortune of those who conquered was not praised more than
that of those who died bravely.

43. When he had dismissed the soldiers, thus affected
after viewing several pairs of combatants, having then sum-
moned an assembly, he is said to have addtessed them in
these terms: "If, soldiers, you shall by and by, in judging of
your own fortune, preserve the same feelings which you ex-
perienced a little before in the example of the fate of others,
we have already conquered; for neither was that merely a
spectacle, but as it were a certain representation of your con-
dition. And I know not whether fortune has not thrown
around you still stronger chains and more urgent necessities
than around your captives. On the right and left two seas
enclose you, without your possessing a single ship even for
escape. The river Po around you, the Po larger and more
impetuous than the Rhone, the Alps behind, scarcely passed
by you when fresh and vigorous, hem you in. Here, soldiers,
where you have first met the enemy, you must conquer or
die; and the same fortune which has imposed the necessity
of fighting, holds out to you, if victorious, rewards, than
which men are not wont to desire greater, even from the im-
mortal gods. If we were only about to recover by our valour
Sicily and Sardinia, wrested from our fathers, the recompence
would be sufficiently ample; but whatever, acquired and
amassed by so many triumphs, the Romans possess, all, with
its masters themselves, will become yours. To gain this
rich reward, hasten, then, and seize your arms with the favour
of the gods. Long enough in pursuing cattle among the
desert mountains of Lusitania1 and Celtiberia, you have seen
no emolument from so many toils and dangers: it is time to
1 The ancient name of Portugal.742

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXI. CHAP. 44.

make rich and profitable campaigns, and to gain the great re-
ward of your labours, after having accomplished such a length
of journey over so many mountains and rivers, and so many
nations in arms. Here fortune has granted you the termina-
tion of your labours; here she will bestow a reward worthy of
the service you have undergone. Nor, in proportion as the
war is great in name, ought you to consider that the victory
will be difficult. A despised enemy has often maintained a
sanguinary contest, and renowned states and kings been con-
quered by a very slight effort. For, setting aside only the
splendour of the Roman name, what remains in which they
can be compared to you? To pass over in silence your service
for twenty years, distinguished by such valour and success,
you have made your way to this place from the pillars of Her-
cules,1 from the ocean, and the remotest limits of the world,
advancing victorious through so many of the fiercest nations ot
Gaul and Spain: you will fight with a raw army, which this
very summer was beaten, conquered, and surrounded by the
Gauls, as yet unknown to its general, and ignorant of him.
Shall I compare myself, almost born, and certainly bred in the
tent of my father, that most illustrious commander, myself the
subjugator of Spain and Gaul, the conqueror too not only of
the Alpine nations, but what is much more, of the Alps them-
selves, with this six months' general, the deserter of his army ?
To whom, if any one, having taken away their standards,
should show to-day the Carthaginians and Romans, I am sure
that he would not know of which army he was consul. I do
not regard it, soldiers, as of small account, that there is not a
man among you before whose eyes I have not often achieved
some military exploit; and to whom, in like manner, I the
spectator and witness of his valour, could not recount his own
gallant deeds, particularized by time and place. With soldiers
who have a thousand times received my praises and gifts,
I, who was the pupil of you all before I became your com-
mander, will march out in battle-array against those who are
unknown to and ignorant of each other.

44. " On whatever side I turn my eyes I see nothing but
what is full of courage and energy; a veteran infantry;

1 Calpe, a mountain or rather rock in Spain, and Abyla in Africa,
fabled to have been placed by Hercules as marks of his most distant voy-
age, are now weii known as Gibraltar and Ceuta.y. r. 534.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

743

cavalry, both those with and those without the bridle, com-
posed of the most gallant nations, you our most faithful and
valiant allies, you Carthaginians, who are about to fight as
well for the sake of your country as from the justest resent-
ment. We are the assailants in the war, and descend into
Italy with hostile standards, about to engage so much more
boldly and bravely than the foe, as the confidence and courage
of the assailant are greater than those of him who is defensive.
Besides suffering, injury and indignity inflame and excite our
minds: they first demanded me your leader for punishment,
and then all of you who had laid siege to Saguntum; and had
we been given up they would have visited us with the sever-
est tortures. That most cruel and haughty nation considers
every thing its own, and at its own disposal; it thinks it right
that it should regulate with whom we are to have war, with
whom peace: it circumscribes and shuts us up by the bound-
aries of mountains and rivers, which we must not pass; and
then does not adhere to those boundaries which it appointed.
Pass not the Iberus ; have nothing to do with the Saguntines.
Saguntum is on the Iberus; you must not move a step in any
direction. Is it a small thing that you take away my most
ancient provinces Sicily and Sardinia ? will you take Spain
also ? and should I withdraw thence, you will cross over into
Africa—will cross, did I say ? they have sent the two consuls
of this year one to Africa, the other to Spain: there is nothing
left to us in any quarter, except what we can assert to our-
selves by arms. Those may be cowards and dastards who
have something to look back upon ; whom, flying through safe
and unmolested roads, their own lands and their own country
will receive: there is a necessity for you to be brave; and
since all between victory and death is broken off from you by
inevitable despair, either to conquer, or, if fortune should
waver, to meet death rather in battle than flight. If this be
well fixed and determined in the minds of you all, I will re-
peat, you have already conquered: no stronger incentive to
victory has been given to man by the immortal gods."

45. When the minds of the soldiers on both sides had been
animated to the contest by these exhortations, the Romans
throw a bridge over the Ticinus, and, for the sake of defend-
ing the bridge, erect a fort on it. The Carthaginian, while the
Romans were engaged in this work, sends Maharbal with a744

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXI. CHAP. 46

squadron of five hundred Numidian horse, to lay waste the
territories of the allies of the Roman people. He orders that
the Gauls should be spared as much as possible, and the minds
of their chiefs be instigated to a revolt. When the bridge
was finished, the Roman army being led across into the ter-
ritory of the Insubrians, took up its station five miles from
Yictumvise. At this place Hannibal lay encamped; and
having quickly recalled Maharbal and the cavalry, when he
perceived that a battle was approaching, thinking that in
exhorting the soldiers enough could never be spoken or ad-
dressed by way of admonition, he announces to them, when
summoned to an assembly, stated rewards, in expectation of
which they might fight. He promised, " that he would give
them land in Italy, Africa, Spain, where each man might
choose, exempt from all burdens to the person who received
it, and to his children: if any one preferred money to land,
lie would satisfy him in silver; if any of the allies wished to
become citizens of Carthage, he would grant them permis-
sion; if others chose rather to return home, he would lend
his endeavours that they should not wish the situation of any
one of their countrymen exchanged for their own." To the
slaves also who followed their masters he promised freedom,
and that he would give two slaves in place of each of them
to their masters. And that they might know that these pro-
mises were certain, holding in his left hand a lamb, and in his
right a flint, having prayed to Jupiter and the other gods,
that, if he was false to his word, they would thus slay him as
he slew the lamb ; after the prayer he broke the skull of the
sheep with the stone. Then in truth all, receiving as it were
the gods as sureties, each for the fulfilment of his own hopes,
and thinking that the only delay in obtaining the object of
their wishes arose from their not yet being engaged, with one
mind and one voice demanded the battle.

46. By no means so great an alacrity prevailed among the
Romans, who, in addition to other causes, were also alarmed
by recent prodigies; for both a wolf had entered the camp,
and having torn those who met him, had escaped unhurt;
and a swarm of bees had settled on a tree overhanging the
general's tent. After these prodigies were expiated, Scipio
having set out with his cavalry and light-armed spearmen
towards the camp of the enemy, to observe from a near pointY. E. 531.J

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

745

their forces, how numerous, and of what description they
were, falls in with Hannibal, who had himself also advanced
with his cavalry to explore the circumjacent country: neither
at first perceived the other, but the dust arising from the
trampling of so many men and horses soon gave the signal of
approaching enemies. Both armies halted, and were prepar-
ing themselves for battle. Scipio places his spearmen and
Gallic cavalry in front; the Romans and what force of allies
he had with him, in reserve. Hannibal receives the horse-
men who rode with the rein in the centre, and strengthens
his wings with Numidians. When the shout was scarcely
raised, the spearmen fled among the reserve to the second
line: there was then a contest of the cavalry, for some time
doubtful; but afterwards, on account of the foot soldiers, who
were intermingled, causing confusion among the horses, many
of the riders falling off from their horses, or leaping down
where they saw their friends surrounded and hard pressed,
the battle for the most part came to be fought on foot; until
the Numidians, who were in the wings, having made a small
circuit, showed themselves on the rear. That alarm dismayed
the Romans, and the wound of the consul, and the danger to
his life, warded off by the interposition of his son, then just
arriving at the age of puberty, augmented their fears. This
youth will be found to be the same to whom the glory of
finishing this war belongs, and to whom the name of Afri-
canus was given, on account of his splendid victory over
Hannibal and the Carthaginians. The flight, however, of the
spearmen, whom the Numidians attacked first, was the most
disorderly. The rest of the cavalry, in a close body, protecting,
not only with their arms, but also with their bodies, the con-
sul, whom they had received into the midst of them, brought
him back to the camp without any where giving way in dis-
order or precipitation. Coelius attributes the honour of saving
the consul to a slave, by nation a Ligurian. I indeed should
rather wish that the account about the son was true, which
also most authors have transmitted, and the report of which
has generally obtained credit.

47. This was the first battle with Hannibal; from which
it clearly appeared that the Carthaginian was superior in
cavalry; and on that account, that open plains, such as lie
between the Po and the Alps, were not suited to the Romans746

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXI. CHAP. 43.

for carrying on the war. On the following night, therefore,
the soldiers being ordered to prepare their baggage in silence,
the camp broke up from the Ticinus, and they hastened to
the Po, in order that the rafts by which the consul had
formed a bridge over the river, being not yet loosened, he
might lead his forces across without disturbance or pursuit of
the enemy. They arrived at Placentia before Hannibal had
ascertained that they had set out from the Ticinus. He took,
however, six hundred of those who loitered on the farther
bank, who were slowly unfastening the raft; but he was not
able to pass the bridge, as the whole raft floated down the
stream as soon as the ends were unfastened. Ccelius relates
that Mago, with the cavalry and Spanish infantry, immediately
swam the river; and that Hannibal himself led the army
across by fords higher up the Po, the elephants being opposed
to the stream in a line to break the force of the current.
These accounts can scarcely gain credit with those who are
acquainted with that river; for it is neither probable that the
cavalry could bear up against the great violence of the stream,
without losing their arms or horses, even supposing that in-
flated bags of leather had transported all the Spaniards; and
the fords of thePo, by which an army encumbered with baggage
could pass, must have been sought by a circuit of many days'
march. Those authors are more credited by me, who relate that
in the course of two days a place was with difficulty found fit
for forming a bridge of rafts across the river, and that by this
way the light-armed Spanish cavalry was sent forward with
Mago. Whilst Hannibal, delaying beside the river to give
audience to the embassies of the Gauls, conveys over the
heavy-armed forces of infantry, in the mean time Mago and
the cavalry proceed towards the enemy at Placentia one
day's journey after crossing the river. Hannibal, a few days
after, fortified his camp six miles from Placentia, and on the
following day, having drawn up his line of battle "farsight of
the enemy, gave them an opportunity of fighting.

48. On the following night a slaughter was made in the Ro-
man camp by the auxiliary Gauls, which appeared greater from
the tumult than it proved in reality. Two thousand infantry
and two hundred horse, having killed the guards at the gates,
desert to Hannibal; whom the Carthaginians having addressed
kindly, and excited by the hope of great rewards, sent each tor. r. 534.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

747

several states to gain over the minds of their countrymen.
Scipio, thinking that that slaughter was a signal for the re-
volt of all the Gauls, and that, contaminated with the guilt of
that affair, they would rush to arms as if a frenzy had been
sent among them, though he was still suffering severely from
his wound, yet setting out for the river Trebia at the fourth
watch of the following night with his army in silence, he
removes his camp to higher ground and hills more embarrass-
ing to the cavalry. He escaped observation less than at the
Ticinus; and Hannibal, having despatched first the Numidi-
ans and then all the cavalry, would have thrown the rear at
least into great confusion, had not the Numidians, through
anxiety for booty, turned aside into the deserted Roman camp.
There whilst, closely examining every part of the camp, they
waste time, with no sufficient reward for the delay, the enemy
escaped out of their hands; and when they saw the Romans
already across the Trebia, and measuring out their camp, they
kill a few of the loiterers intercepted on that side of the river.
Scipio being unable to endure any longer the irritation of his
wound, caused by the roughness of the road, and thinking
that he ought to wait for his colleague, (for he had now
heard that he was recalled from Sicily,) fortified a space of
chosen ground, which, adjoining the river, seemed safest for
a stationary camp. When Hannibal had encamped not far
from thence, being as much elated with the victory of his
cavalry, as anxious on account of the scarcity which every
day assailed him more severely, marching as he did through
the territory of the enemy, and supplies being no where pro-
vided, he sends to the village of Clastidium, where the Ro-
mans had collected a great stock of corn. There, whilst they
were preparing for an assault, a hope of the town being be-
trayed to them was held out: Dasius, a Brundusian, the
governor of the garrison, having been corrupted for four hun-
dred pieces of gold, (no great bribe truly,) Clastidium is sur-
rendered to Hannibal. It served as a granary for the Cartha-
ginians while they lay at the Trebia. No cruelty was used
towards the prisoners of the surrendered garrison, in order
that a character for clemency might be acquired at the com-
mencement of his proceedings.

49. While the war by land was at a stand beside the Tre-
bia, in the mean time operations went on by land and sea around748

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXI. CHAP. 49.

Sicily and the islands adjacent to Italy, both under Sempro-
nius the consul, and before his arrival. Twenty quinqueremes,
with a thousand armed men, having been sent by the Cartha-
ginians to lay waste the coast of Italy, nine reached the Liparae,
eight the island of Yulcan, and three the tide drove into the
strait. On these being seen from Messana, twelve ships sent
out by Hiero king of Syracuse, who then happened to be at
Messana, waiting for the Roman consul, brought back into
the port of Messana the ships taken without any resistance.
It was discovered from the prisoners that, besides the twenty
ships, to which fleet they belonged, and which had been des-
patched against Italy, thirty-five other quinqueremes were
directing their course to Sicily, in order to gain over their
ancient allies: that their main object was to gain possession
of Lilybaeum, and they believed that that fleet had been driven
to the islands jEgates by the same storm by which they them-
selves had been dispersed. The king writes these tidings,
according as they had been received, to Marcus ^Emilius the
praetor, whose province Sicily was, and advises him to occupy
Lilybaeum with a strong garrison. Immediately the lieu-
tenants, generals, and tribunes, with the praetor, were des-
patched to the different states, in order that they might keep
their men on vigilant guard; above all things it was com-
manded, that Lilybreum should be secured: an edict having
been put iorth that, in addition to such warlike preparations,
the crews should carry down to their ships dressed provisions
for ten days, so that no one when the signal was given might
delay in embarking; and that those who were stationed along
the whole coast should look out from their watch-towers for
the approaching fleet of the enemy. The Carthaginians,
therefore, though they had purposely slackened the course of
their ships, so that they might reach Lilybaeum just before
daybreak, were descried before their arrival, because both the
moon shone all night, and they came with their sails set up.
Immediately the signal was given from the watch-towers, and
the summons to arms was shouted through the town, and
they embarked in the ships: part of the soldiers were left on
the walls and at the stations of the gates, and part went on
board the fleet. The Carthaginians, because they perceived
that they would not have to do with an unprepared enemy,
kept back from the harbour till daylight, that interval beingt. R. 534.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

749

spent in taking down their rigging and getting ready the fleet
for action. When the light appeared, they withdrew their
fleet into the open sea, that there might be room for the battle,
and that the ships of the enemy might have a free egress from
the harbour. "Nor did the Romans decline the conflict, being
emboldened both by the recollection of the exploits they had
performed near that very spot, and by the numbers and valour
of their soldiers.

50. When they had advanced into the open sea, the Ro-
mans wished to come to close fight, and to make a trial of
strength hand to hand. The Carthaginians, on the contrary,
eluded them, and sought to maintain the fight by art, not by
force, and to make it a battle of ships rather than of men and
arms: for though they had their fleet abundantly supplied
with mariners, yet it was deficient in soldiers; and when a
ship was grappled, a very unequal number of armed men
fought on board of it. When this was observed, their num-
bers increased the courage of the Romans, and their inferiority
of force diminished that of the others. Seven Carthaginian
ships were immediately surrounded; the rest took to flight:
one thousand seven hundred soldiers and mariners were cap-
tured in the ships, and among them were three noble Cartha-
ginians. The Roman fleet returned without loss to the
harbour, only one ship being pierced, and even that also
brought back into port. After this engagement, before those
at Messana were aware of its occurrence, Titus Sempronius
the consul arrived at Messana. As he entered the strait,
king Hiero led out a fleet fully equipped to meet him; and
having passed from the royal ship into that of the general, he
congratulated him on having arrived safe with his army and
fleet, and prayed that his expedition to Sicily might be pros-
perous and successful. He then laid before him the state
of the island and the designs of the Carthaginians, and pro-
mised that with the same spirit with which he had in his
youth assisted the Romans during the former war, he would
now assist them in his old age; that he would gratuitously
furnish supplies of corn and clothing to the legions and naval
crews of the consul; adding, that great danger threatened
Xjilybaeum and the maritime states, and that a change of af-
fairs would be acceptable to some of them. For these reasons
it appeared to the consul that he ought to make no delay,
but to repair to Lilyboeum with his fleet. The king and750

THE HISTORY OP ROME. [B. XXI. CHAP. 51, 52.

the royal squadron set out along with him, and on their
passage they heard that a battle had been fought at Lily-
baeum, and that the enemy's ships had been scattered and
taken.

51.	The consul having dismissed Hiero with the royal
fleet, and left the praetor to defend the coast of Sicily, passed
over himself from Lilybaeum to the island Melita, which was
held in possession by the Carthaginians. On his arrival,
Hamilcar, the son of Gisgo, the commander of the garrison,
with little less than two thousand soldiers, together with the
town and the island, are delivered up to him: thence, after a
few days, he returned to Lilybaeum, and the prisoners taken,
both by the consul and the praetor, excepting those illustrious
for their rank, were publicly sold. When the consul considered
that Sicily was sufficiently safe on that side, he crossed over
to the islands of Vulcan, because there was a report that the
Carthaginian fleet was stationed there: but not one of the
enemy was discovered about those islands. They had already,
as it happened, passed over to ravage the coast of Italy, and
having laid waste the territory of Vibo, were also threatening
the city. The descent made by the enemy on the Vibonen-
sian territory is announced to the consul as he was returning
to Sicily: and letters were delivered to him which had been
sent by the senate, about the passage of Hannibal into Italy,
commanding him as soon as possible to bring assistance to his
colleague. Perplexed with having so many anxieties at once,
he immediately sent his army, embarked in the fleet, by the
upper sea to Ariminum; he assigned the defence of the ter-
ritory of Vibo, and the sea-coast of Italy, to Sextus Pompo-
nius, his lieutenant-general, with twenty-five ships of war:
he made up a fleet of fifty ships for Marcus -ZEmilius the
praetor j and he himself, after the affairs of Sicily were set-
tled, sailing close along the coast of Italy with ten ships,
arrived at Ariminum, whence, setting out with his army for
the river Trebia, he joined his colleague.

52.	Both the consuls and all the strength of Rome being
now opposed to Hannibal, made it sufficiently obvious that
the Roman empire could either be defended by those forces,
or that there was no other hope left. Yet the one consul be-
ing dispirited by the battle of the cavalry and his own wound,
wished operations to be deferred: the other having his spirits
unsubdued, and being therefore the more impetuous, admitted¥. n. 534.J

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

751

no delay. The tract of country between the Trebia and the
Po was then inhabited by the Gauls, who, in this contest of
two very powerful states, by a doubtful neutrality, were
evidently looking forward to the favour of the conqueror.
The Romans submitted to this conduct of the Gauls with
tolerable satisfaction, provided they did not take any ac-
tive part at all; but the Carthaginian bore it with great dis-
content, giving out that he had come invited by the Gauls to
set them at liberty. On account of that resentment, and in
order t%t he might at the same time maintain his troops from
the plunder, he ordered two thousand foot and a thousand
horse, chiefly Numidians, with some Gauls intermixed, to lay
waste all the country straightforward as far as the banks of the
Po. The Gauls, being in want of assistance, though they had
up to this time kept their inclinations doubtful, are forced by
the authors of the injury to turn to some who would be their
supporters; and having sent ambassadors to the consul, they
implore the aid of the Romans in behalf of a country which
was suffering for the too great fidelity of its inhabitants to the
Romans. Neither the cause nor the time of pleading it was
satisfactory to Cornelius; and the nation was suspected by
him, both on account of many treacherous actions, and though
others might have been forgotten through length of time, on
account of the recent perfidy of the Boii. Sempronius, on
the contrary, thought that it would be the strongest tie upon
the fidelity of the allies, if those were defended who first re-
quired support. Then, while his colleague hesitated, he sends
his own cavalry, with about a thousand spearmen on foot in
their company, to protect the Gallic territory beyond the
Trebia. These, when they had unexpectedly attacked the
enemy while scattered and disordered, and for the most part
encumbered with booty, caused great terror, slaughter, and
flight, even as far as the camp and outposts of the enemy;
whence being repulsed by the numbers that poured out, they
again renewed the fight with the assistance of their own
party. Then pursuing and retreating in doubtful battle,
though they left it at last equal, yet the fame of the victory
was more with the Romans than the enemy.

53. But to no one did it appear more important and just
than to the consul himself. He was transported with joy
"that he had conquered with that part of the forces with

3 c752

THE HISTORY OP ROME. [B. XXI. CHAP. 53.

which the other consul had been defeated ; that the spirits of
the soldiers were restored and revived; that there was no one,
except his colleague, who would wish an engagement delayed;
and that he, suffering more from disease of mind than body,
shuddered, through recollection of his wound, at arms and
battle. But others ought not to sink into decrepitude together
with a sick man. For why should there be any longer pro-
traction or waste of time ? What third consul, what other army
did they wait for ? The camp of the Carthaginians was in
Italy, and almost in sight of the city. It was not Sicily and
Sardinia, which had been taken from them when vanquished,
nor Spain on this side of the Iberus, that was their object, but
that the Romans should be driven from the land of their
fathers, and the soil in which they were born. How deeply,"
he continued, "would our fathers groan, who were wont to
wage war around the walls of Carthage, if they should see us
their offspring, two consuls and two consular armies, trembling
within our camps in the heart of Italy, while a Carthaginian
had made himself master of all the country between the Alps
and the Apennine !" Such discourses did he hold while sit-
ting beside his sick colleague, and also at the head-quarters,
almost in the manner of an harangue. The approaching
period of the elections also stimulated him, lest the war should
be protracted till the new consuls were chosen, and the oppor-
tunity of turning all the glory to himself, while his colleague
lay sick. He orders the soldiers, therefore, Cornelius in vain
attempting to dissuade him, to get ready for an immediate en-
gagement. Hannibal, as he saw what conduct would be best
for the enemy, had scarce at first any hope that the consuls
would do any thing rashly or imprudently, but when he dis-
covered that the disposition of the one, first known from re-
port, and afterwards from experience, was ardent and impetu-
ous, and believed that it had been rendered still more impetuous
by the successful engagement with his predatory troops, he
did not doubt that an opportunity of action was near at hand.
He was anxious and watchful not to omit this opportunity,
while the troops of the enemy were raw, while his wound
rendered the better of the two commanders useless, and while
the spirits of the Gauls were fresh; of whom he knew that a
great number would follow him with the greater reluctance
the farther they were drawn away from home. When, forT. r. 534.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

753

these and similar reasons, lie hoped that an engagement was
near, and desired to make the attack himself, if there should
be any delay; and when the Gauls, who were the safer spies
to ascertain what he wished, as they served in both camps,
had brought intelligence that the Romans were prepared for
battle, the Carthaginian began to look about for a place for an
ambuscade.

54. Between the armies was a rivulet, bordered on each
side with very high banks, and covered around with marshy
plants, and with the brushwood and brambles with which
uncultivated places are generally overspread; and when,
riding around it, he had, with his own eyes, thoroughly re-
connoitred a place which was sufficient to afford a covert
even for cavalry, he said to Mago his brother: " This will be
the place which you must occupy. Choose out of all the in-
fantry and cavalry a hundred men of each, with whom come
to me at the first watch. Now is the time to refresh their
bodies." The council was thus dismissed, and in a little time
Mago came forward with his chosen men. "I see," said
Hannibal, " the strength of the men; but that you may be
strong not only in resolution, but also in number, pick out
each from the troops and companies nine men like yourselves:
Mago will show you the place where you are to lie in am-
bush. You will have an enemy who is blind to these arts of
war." A thousand horse and a thousand foot, under the com-
mand of Mago, having been thus sent off, Hannibal orders
the Numidian cavalry to ride up, after crossing the river
Trebia by break of day, to the gates of the enemy, and to
draw them out to a battle by discharging their javelins at the
guards; and then, when the fight was commenced, by re-
tiring slowly to decoy them across the river. These instruc-
tions were given to the Numidians: to the other leaders of the
infantry and cavalry it was commanded that they should order
all their men to dine; and then, under arms and with their
horses equipped, to await the signal. Sempronius, eager for
the contest, led out, on the first tumult raised by the Numidians,
all the cavalry, being full of confidence in that part of the
forces; then six thousand infantry, and lastly all his army,
to the place already determined in his plan. It happened
to be the winter season and a snowy day, in the region which
lies between the Alps and the Apennine, and excessively cold754

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXI. CHAP. 55

by the proximity of rivers and marshes: besides, there was
no heat in the bodies of the men and horses thus hastily led
out without having first taken food, or employed any means
to keep off the cold; and the nearer they approached to the
blasts from the river, a keener degree of cold blew upon
them. But when, in pursuit of the flying Numidians, they
entered the water, (and it was swollen by rain in the night as
high as their breasts,) 'then in truth the bodies of all, on
landing, were so benumbed, that they were scarcely able to
hold their arms; and as the day advanced they began to grow
faint, both from fatigue and hunger.

55. In the mean time the soldiers of Hannibal, fires having
been kindled before the tents, and oil sent through the com-
panies to soften their limbs, and their food having been taken
at leisure, as soon as it was announced that the enemy had
passed the river, seized their arms with vigour of mind and
body, and advanced to the battle. Hannibal placed, before
the standards the Baliares and the light-armed troops, to the
amount of nearly eight thousand men; then the heavier-
armed infantry, the chief of his power and strength: on the
wings he posted ten thousand horse, and on their extremities
stationed the elephants divided into two parts. The consul
placed on the flanks of his infantry the cavalry, recalled by
the signal for retreat, as in their irregular pursuit of the
enemy they were checked, while unprepared, by the Nu-
midians suddenly turning upon them. There were of infantry
eighteen thousand Romans, twenty thousand allies of the
Latin name, besides the auxiliary forces of the Cenomani,
the only Gallic nation that had remained faithful: with these
forces they engaged the enemy. The battle was commenced
by the Baliares ; whom when the legions resisted with supe-
rior force, the light-armed troops were hastily drawn off to
the wings; which movement caused the Roman cavalry to be
immediately overpowered: for when their four thousand al-
ready with difficulty withstood by themselves ten thousand
of the enemy, the wearied, against men for the most part
fresh, they were overwhelmed in addition by a cloud as it
were of javelins, discharged by the Baliares; and the ele-
phants besides, which held a prominent position at the ex-
tremities of the wings, (the horses being greatly terrified not
only at their appearance, but their unusual smell,) occasioned'Y. E. 534.]

THE HISTORT OF ROME.

7 55

flight to a wide extent. The battle between the infantry was
equal rather in courage than strength; for the Carthaginian
brought the latter entire to the action, having a little before
refreshed themselves, while, on the contrary, the bodies of the
Romans, suffering from fasting and fatigue, and stiff with cold,
were quite benumbed. They would have made a stand,
however, by dint of courage, if they had only had to fight
with the infantry. But both the Baliares, having beaten off
the cavalry, poured darts on their flanks, and the elephants
had already penetrated to the centre of the line of the in-
fantry ; while Mago and the Numidiansj as soon as the army
had passed their place of ambush without observing them,
starting up on their rear, occasioned great disorder and alarm.
Nevertheless, amid so many surrounding dangers, the line for
some time remained unbroken, and, most contrary to the ex-
pectation of all, against the elephants. These the light in-
fantry, posted for the purpose, turned back by throwing their
spears; and following them up when turned, pierced them
under the tail, where they received the wounds in the softest
skin.

56. Hannibal ordered the elephants, thus thrown into dis-
order, and almost driven by their terror against their own
party, to be led away from the centre of the line to its ex-
tremity against the auxiliary Gauls on the left wing. In an
instant they occasioned unequivocal flight; and a new alarm
was added to the Romans when they saw their auxiliaries
routed. About ten thousand men, therefore, as they now
were fighting in a circle, the others being unable to escape,
broke through the middle of the line of the Africans, which
was supported by the Gallic auxiliaries, with immense
slaughter of the enemy: and since they neither could return
to the camp, being shut out by the river, nor, on account of
the heavy rain, satisfactorily determine in what part they
should assist their friends, they proceeded by the direct road
to Placentia. After this several irruptions were made in all
directions; and those who sought the river were either swal-
lowed up in its eddies, or whilst they hesitated to enter it
were cut off by the enemy. Some, who had been scattered
abroad through the country in their flight, by following the
traces of the retreating army, arrived at Placentia; others,
whom the fear of the enemy inspired with boldness to enter756

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXI. CHAP. 57.

the river, having crossed it, reached the camp. The rain
mixed with snow, and the intolerable severity of the cold, de-
stroyed many men and beasts of burden, and almost all the
elephants. The river Trebia was the termination of the Car-
thaginians' pursuit of the enemy; and they returned to the
camp so benumbed with cold, that they could scarcely feel joy
for the victory. On the following night, therefore, though
the guard of the camp and the principal part of the soldiers
that remained passed the Trebia on rafts, they either did not
perceive it, on account of the beating of the rain, or being
unable to bestir themselves, through their fatigue and wounds,
pretended that they did not perceive it; and the Carthaginians
remaining quiet, the army was silently led by the consul
Scipio to Placentia, thence transported across the Po to Cre-
mona, lest one colony should be too much burdened by the
winter quarters of two armies.

57. Such terror on account of this disaster was carried to
Rome, that they believed that the enemy was already ap-
proaching the city with hostile standards, and that they had
neither hope nor aid by which they might repel his attack
from the gates and walls. One consul having been defeated
at the Ticinus, the other having been recalled from Sicily,
and now both consuls and their two consular armies having
been vanquished, what other commanders, what other legions
were there to be sent for ? The consul Sempronius came to
them whilst thus dismayed, having passed at great risk
through the cavalry of the enemy, scattered in every direction
in search of plunder, with courage, rather than with any plan
or hope of escaping, or of making resistance if he should not
escape it. Having held the assembly for the election of the
consuls, the only thing which was particularly wanting at
present, he returned to the winter quarters. Cneius Servilius
and Caius Flaminius were elected consuls. But not even the
winter quarters of the Romans were undisturbed, the Numi-
dian horse ranging at large, and where the ground was im-
practicable for these, the Celtiberians and Lusitanians. All
supplies, therefore, from every quarter, were cut off, except
such as the ships conveyed by the Po. There was a maga-
zine near Placentia, both fortified with great care and secured
by a strong garrison. In the hope of taking this fort, Han-
nibal having set out with the cavalry and the light-armedT. It. 534.J ^ THE HISTORY OF ROME.

757

horse, and having attacked it by night, as he rested his main
hope of effecting his enterprise on keeping it concealed, did
not escape the notice of the guards. Such a clamour was im-
mediately raised, that it was heard even at Placentia. The
consul, therefore, came up with the cavalry about daybreak,
having commanded the legions to follow in a square band. In
the mean time an engagement of cavalry commenced, in which
the enemy being dismayed because Hannibal retired wounded
from the fight, the fortress was admirably defended. After
this, having taken rest for a few days, and before his wound
was hardly as yet sufficiently healed, he sets out to lay siege
to Victumviag. This magazine had been fortified by the
Romans in the Gallic war; afterwards a mixture of inhabit-
ants from the neighbouring states around had made the place
populous; and at this time the terror created by the devasta-
tion of the enemy had driven together to it numbers from the
country. A multitude of this description, excited by the re-
port of the brave defence of the fortress near Placentia, having
snatched up their arms, went out to meet Hannibal. They
engaged on the road rather like armies in order of march than
in line of battle; and since on the one side there was nothing
but a disorderly crowd, and on the other a general confident
in his soldiers, and soldiers in their general, as many as thirty-
five thousand men were routed by a few. On the following
day, a surrender having been made, they received a garrison
within their walls; and being ordered to deliver up their
arms, as soon as they had obeyed the command, a signal is
suddenly given to the victors to pillage the city, as if it had
been taken by storm; nor was any outrage, which in such
cases is wont to appear to writers worthy of relation, left un-
perpetrated; such a specimen of every kind of lust, barbarity,
and inhuman insolence was exhibited towards that unhappy
people. Such were the expeditions of Hannibal during the
winter.

^ 58. For a short time after, while the cold continued intoler-
able, rest was given to the soldiers; and having set out from
his winter quarters on the first and uncertain indications of
spring, he leads them into Etruria, intending to gain that na-
tion to his side, like the Gauls and Ligurians, either by force
or favour. As he was crossing the Apennines, so furious a
storm attacked him, that it almost surpassed the horrors of the758

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXI. CHAP. 59

Alps. When the rain and wind together were driven directly
against their faces, they at first halted, because their arms
must either be cast away, or striving to advance against the
storm they were whirled round by the hurricane, and dashed
to the ground: afterwards, when it now stopped their breath,
nor suffered them to respire, they sat down for a little, with
their backs to the wind. Then indeed the sky resounded with
loud thunder, and the lightnings flashed between its terrific
peals ; all, bereft of sight and hearing, stood torpid with fear.
At length, when the rain had spent itself, and the fury of the
wind was on that account the more increased, it seemed
necessary to pitch the camp in that very place where they had
been overtaken by the storm. But this was the beginning of
their labours, as it were, afresh; for neither could they spread
out nor fix any tent, nor did that which perchance had been
put up remain, the wind tearing through and sweeping every
thing away: and soon after, when the water raised aloft by
the wind had been frozen above the cold summits of the
mountains, it poured down such a torrent of snowy hail, that
the men, casting away every thing, fell down upon their faces,
rather buried under than sheltered by their coverings; and
so extreme an intensity of cold succeeded, that when each
wished to raise and lift himself from that wretched heap of
men and beasts of burden, he was for a long time unable, be-
cause their sinews being stiffened by the cold, they had great
difficulty in bending their joints. Afterwards, when, by con-
tinually moving themselves to and fro, they succeeded in re-
covering the power of motion, and regained their spirits, and
fires began to be kindled in a few places, every helpless man
had recourse to the aid of others. They remained as if
blockaded for two days in that place. Many men and beasts
of burden, and also seven elephants, of those which had re-
mained from the battle fought at the Trebia, were destroyed.

59. Having descended from the Apennines, he moved his
camp back towards Placentia, and having proceeded as far as
ten miles, took up his station. On the following day he leads
out twelve thousand infantry and five thousand cavalry against
the enemy. Nor did Sempronius the consul (for he had now
returned from Rome) decline the engagement; and during
that day three miles intervened between the two camps. On
the following day they fought with amazing courage andY R. 534.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

759

various success. At the first onset the Roman power was so
superior, that they not only conquered the enemy in the
regular battle, but pursued them when driven back quite into
their camp, and soon after also assaulted it. Hannibal, having
stationed a few to defend the rampart and the gates, and hav-
ing admitted the rest in close array into the middle of the
camp, orders them to watch attentively the signal for sallying
out. It was now about the ninth hour of the day when the
Roman, having fatigued his soldiers to no purpose, after there
was no hope of gaining possession of the camp, gave the signal
for retreat; which when Hannibal heard, and saw that the
attack was slackened, and that they were retreating from the
camp, instantly having sent out the cavalry on the right and
left against the enemy, he himself in the middle with the main
force of the infantry rushed out from the camp. Seldom has
there been a combat more furious, and few would have been
more remarkable for the loss on both sides, if the day had suf-
fered it to continue for a longer time. Night broke off the
battle when raging most from the determined spirit of the
combatants. The conflict therefore was more severe than the
slaughter: and as it was pretty much a drawn battle, they
separated with equal loss. On neither side fell more than six
hundred infantry, and half that number of cavalry. But the
loss of the Romans was more severe than proportionate to the
number that fell, because several of equestrian rank, and five
tribunes of the soldiers, and three prefects of the allies were
slain. After this battle Hannibal retired to the territory of
the Ligurians, and Sempronius to Luca. Two Roman
quaestors, Caius Fulvius and Lucius Lucretius, who had been
treacherously intercepted, with two military tribunes and five
of the equestrian order, mostly sons of senators, are delivered
up to Hannibal when coming among the Ligurians, in order
that he might feel more convinced that the peace and alliance
with them would be binding.

60. While these things are transacting in Italy, Cneius Cor-
nelius Scipio having been sent into Spain with a fleet and
army, when, setting out from the mouth of the Rhone, and
sailing past the Pyrenaean mountains, he had moored his fleet
at Emporiae, having there landed his army, and beginning
with the Lacetani, he brought the whole coast, as far as the
river Iberus, under the Roman dominion, partly by renewing760

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXI. CHAP. 61.

the old, and partly by forming new alliances. The reputation
for clemency, acquired by these means, had influence not only
with the maritime states, but now also with the more savage
tribes in the inland and mountainous districts; nor was peace
only effected with them, but also an alliance of arms, and
several fine cohorts of auxiliaries were levied from their num-
bers. The country on this side of the Iberus was the province
of Hanno, whom Hannibal had left to defend that region.
He, therefore, judging that he ought to make opposition, be-
fore every thing was alienated from him, having pitched his
camp in sight of the enemy, led out his forces in battle-array ;
nor did it appear to the Roman, that the engagement ought
to be deferred, as he knew that he must fight with Hanno and
Hasdrubal, and wished rather to contend against each of them
separately, than against both together. The conflict did not
prove one of great difficulty; six thousand of the enemy were
slain, and two thousand made prisoners, together with the
guard of the camp; for both the camp was stormed, and the
general himself, with several of the chief officers, taken ; and
Scissis, a town near the camp, was also carried by assault.
But the spoil of this town consisted of things of small value,
such as the household furniture used by barbarians and slaves
that were worth little. The camp enriched the soldiers; al-
most all the valuable effects, not only of that army which was
conquered, but of that which was serving with Hannibal in
Italy, having been left on this side the Pyrenees, that the bag-
gage might not be cumbrous to those who conveyed it.

61. Before any certain news of this disaster arrived, Has-
drubal, having passed the Iberus with eight thousand foot and
a thousand horse, intending to meet the Romans on their first
approach, after he heard of the ruin of their affairs at Scissis,
and the loss of the camp, turned his route towards the sea.
Not far from Tarraco, having despatched his cavalry in vari-
ous directions, he drove to their ships, with great slaughter,
and greater route, the soldiers belonging to the fleet and the
mariners, while scattered and wandering through the fields
(for it is usually the case that success produces negligence) ;
but not daring to remain longer in that quarter, lest he should
be surprised by Scipio, he withdrew to the other side of the
Iberus. And Scipio, having quickly brought up his army on
the report of fresh enemies, after punishing a few captains ofY. R. 534. J

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

761

ships, and leaving a moderate garrison at Tarraco, returned
with his fleet to Emporiae. He had scarcely departed, when
Hasdrubal came up, and having instigated to a revolt the
state of the Ilergetes, which had given hostages to Scipio, he
lays waste, with the youth of that very people, the lands of
the faithful allies of the Romans. Scipio being thereupon
roused from his winter quarters, Hasdrubal again retires
from all the country on this side the Iberus. Scipio, when
with a hostile army he had invaded the state of the Ilergetes,
forsaken by the author of their revolt, and having driven
them all into Athanagia, which was the capital of that na-
tion, laid siege to the city; and within a few days, having
imposed the delivery of more hostages than before, and also
fined the Ilergetes in a sum of money, he received them back
into his authority and dominion. He then proceeded against
the Ausetani near the Iberus, who were also the allies of the
Carthaginians; and having laid siege to their city, he cut off
by an ambuscade the Lacetani, while bringing assistance by
night to their neighbours, having attacked them at a small
distance from the city, as they were designing to enter it. As
many as twelve thousand were slain; the rest, nearly all
without their arms, escaped home, by dispersing through the
country in every direction. Nor did any thing else but the
winter, which was unfavourable to the besiegers, secure the
besieged. The blockade continued for thirty days, during
which the snow scarce ever lay less deep than four feet; and
it had covered to such a degree the sheds and mantelets of the
Romans, that it alone served as a defence when fire was fre-
quently thrown on them by the enemy. At last, when
Amusitus, their leader, had fled to Hasdrubal, they are sur-
rendered, on condition of paying twenty talents of silver.
They then returned into winter quarters at Tarraco.

62. At Rome during this winter many prodigies either
occurred about the city, or, as usually happens when the
minds of men are once inclined to superstition, many were
reported and readily believed; among which it was said that
an infant of good family, only six months old, had called out
"Io triumphe" in the herb market: that in the cattle market
an ox had of his own accord ascended to the third story, and
that thence, being frightened by the noise of the inhabitants,
had flung himself down; that the appearance of ships had762

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXI. CHAP. 63

been brightly visible in the sky, and that the temple of Hope
in the herb market had been struck by lightning; that the
spear at Lanuvium had shaken itself; that a crow had flown
down into the temple of Juno and alighted on the very couch;
that in the territory of Amiternum figures resembling men
dressed in white raiment had been seen in several places at a
distance, but had not come close to any one; that in Picenum
it had rained stones; that at Caere the tablets for divination
had been lessened in size; and that in Gaul a wolf had
snatched out the sword from the scabbard of a soldier on
guard, and carried it off. On account of the other prodigies
the decemvirs were ordered to consult the books; but on ac-
count of its having rained stones in Picenum the festival of
nine days was proclaimed, and almost all the state was occu-
pied in expiating the rest, from time to time. First of all the
city was purified, and victims of the greater kind were sacri-
ficed to those gods to whom they were directed to be offered;
and a gift of forty pounds' weight of gold was carried to the
temple of Juno at Lanuvium; and the matrons dedicated a
brazen statue to Juno on the Aventine; and a lectisternium
was ordered at Casre, where the tablets for divination had
diminished; and a supplication to Fortune at Algidum; at
Rome also a lectisternium was ordered to Youth, and a sup-
plication at the temple of Hercules, first by individuals named,
and afterwards by the whole people at all the shrines; five
greater victims were offered to Genius; and Caius Atilius
Serranus the prgetor was ordered to make certain vows if the
republic should remain in the same state for ten years. These
things, thus expiated and vowed according to the Sibylline
books, relieved, in a great degree, the public mind from super-
stitious fears.

63. Flaminius, one of the consuls elect, to whom the legions
which were wintering at Placentia had fallen by lot, sent an
edict and letter to the consul, desiring that those forces should
be ready in camp at Ariminum on the ides of March. He
had a design to enter on the consulship in his province, recol-
lecting his old contests with the fathers, which he had waged
with them when tribune of the people, and afterwards when
consul, first about his election to the office, which was an-
nulled, and then about a triumph. He was also odious to the
fathers on account of a new law which Quintus Claudius, aY. a. 534.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

763

tribune of the people, had carried against the senate, Caius
Flaminius alone of that body assisting him, that no senator, or
he who had been father of a senator, should possess a ship fit for
sea service, containing more than three hundred amphorae. This
size was considered sufficient for conveying the produce of their
lands: all traffic appeared unbecoming a senator. This con-
test, maintained with the warmest opposition, procured the ha-
tred of the nobility to Flaminius, the advocate of the law; but
the favour of the people, and afterwards a second consulship.
For these reasons, thinking that they would detain him in the
city by falsifying the auspices, by the delay of the Latin
festival, and other hinderances to which a consul was liable, he
pretended a journey, and, while yet in a private capacity, de-
parted secretly to his province. This proceeding, when it
was made public, excited new and additional anger in the
senators, who were before irritated against him. They said,
" That Caius Flaminius waged war not only with the senate,
but now with the immortal gods; that having been formerly
made consul without the proper auspices, he had disobeyed both
gods and men recalling him from the very field of battle ; and
now, through consciousness of their having been dishonoured,
he had shunned the Capitol and the customary offering of
vows, that he might not on the day of entering his office ap-
proach the temple of Jupiter, the best and greatest of gods;
that he might not see and consult the senate, himself hated
by it, as it was hateful to him alone; that he might not pro-
claim the Latin festival, or perform on the Alban mount the
customary rights to Jupiter Latiaris; that he might not,
under the direction of the auspices, go up to the Capitol to
offer his vows, and thence, attended by the lictors, proceed to
his province in the garb of a general; but that he had set off,
like some camp boy, without his insignia, without the lictors,
with secrecy and stealth, just as if he had been quitting his
country to go into banishment; as if forsooth he would enter
on his office more consistently with the dignity of the con-
sulate at Ariminum than Rome, and assume the robe of office
in a public inn better than before his own household gods."—
They unanimously resolved that he should be recalled and
brought back, and be constrained to perform in person every
duty to gods and men before he went to the army and the
province. Quintus Terentius and Marcus Antistius having764

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXI. CHAP. 53

set out on this embassy, (for it was decreed that ambassadors
should be sent,) prevailed with him in no degree more than the
letter sent by the senate in his former consulship. A few days
after he entered on his office, and as he was sacrificing, a calf,
after being struck, having broken away from the hands of the
ministers, sprinkled several of the bystanders with its blood.
Flight and disorder ensued, to a still greater degree at a dis-
tance among those who were ignorant what was the cause of
the alarm. This circumstance was regarded by most persons
as an omen of great terror. Having then received two legions
from Sempronius, the consul of the former year, and two from
Caius Atilius, the praetor, the army began to be led into
Etruria, through the passes of the Apennines.BOOK XXII.

Hannibal, after an uninterrupted march of four days and three nights, ar-
rives in Etruria, through the marshes, in which he lost an eye. Caius
Flaminius, the consul, an inconsiderate man, having gone forth in opposi-
tion to the omenst dug up the standards which could not otherwise be
raised, and been thrown from his horse immediately after he had
mounted, is insnared by Hannibal, and cut off by his army near the
Thrasimene lake. Three thousand who had escaped are placed in chains
by Hannibal, in violation of pledges given. Distress Occasioned in Rome
by the intelligence. The Sibylline books consulted, and a sacred spring
decreed. Fabius Maximus sent as dictator against Hannibal, whom he
frustrates by caution and delay. Marcus Minucius, the master of the
horse, a rash and impetuous man, inveighs against the caution of Fabius,
and obtains an equality of command with him. The army is divided be-
tween them, and Minucius engaging Hannibal in an unfavourable position,
is reduced to the extremity of danger, and is rescued by the dictator, and
places himself under his authority. Hannibal, after ravaging Campania,
is shut up by Fabius in a valley near the town of Casilinum, but escapes
by night, putting to flight the Romans on guard by oxen with lighted
faggots attached to their horns. Hannibal attempts to excite a suspicion
of the fidelity of Fabius by sparing his farm while ravaging with fire
the whole country around it. yEmilius Paulus and Terentius
Varro are routed at Cannes, and forty thousand men slain, among whom
were Paulus the consul, eighty senators, and thirty who had served the
office of consul, prcetor, or edile. A design projected by some noble youths
of quitting Italy in despair after this calamity, is intrepidly quashed by
Publius Cornelius Scipio, a military tribune, afterwards surnamed Afri-
canus. Successes in Spain, eight thousand slaves are enlisted by the Ro-
mans, they refuse to ransom the captives, they go out in a body to meet
Varro, and thank him for not having despaired of the commonwealth.

1. Spring was now at hand, when Hannibal quitted his
winter quarters, having both attempted in vain to cross the
Apennines, from the intolerable cold, and having remained
with great danger and alarm. The Gauls, whom the hope of
plunder and spoil had collected, when, instead of being them-
selves engaged in carrying and driving away booty from the
fields of others, they saw their own lands made the seat of
war, and burdened by the wintering of the armies of both
parties, turned their hatred back again from the Romans
upon Hannibal; and though plots were frequently concertedf66	THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXtl. CHAP. 1

against him by their chieftains, he was preserved by the
treachery they manifested towards each other; disclosing
their conspiracy with the same inconstancy with which they
had conspired ; and by changing sometimes his dress, at other
times the fashion of his hair, he protected himself from
treachery by deception. However, this fear was the cause of
his more speedily quitting his winter quarters. Meanwhile
Cneius Servilius, the consul, entered upon his office at Rome,
on the ides of March. There, when he had consulted the
senate on the state of the republic in general, the indignation
against Flaminius was rekindled. They said " that they had
created indeed two consuls, that they had but one; for what
regular authority had the other, or what auspices ? That their
magistrates took these with them from home, from the tutelar
deities of themselves and the state, after the celebration of the
Latin holidays ; the sacrifice upon the mountain being completed,
and the vows duly offered up in the Capitol: that neither could
an unofficial individual take the auspices, nor could one who
had gone from home without them, take them new, and for the
first time, in a foreign soil." Prodigies announced from many
places at the same time, augmented the terror: in Sicily,
that several darts belonging to the soldiers had taken fire;
and in Sardinia, that the staff of a horseman, who was going
his rounds upon a wall, took fire as he held it in his hand;
that the shores had blazed with frequent fires; that two
shields had sweated blood at Praeneste; that redhot stones had
fallen from the heavens at Arpi; that shields were seen in the
heavens, and the sun fighting with the moon, at Capena; that
two moons rose in the daytime; that the waters of Caere had
flowed mixed with blood; and that even the fountain of Her-
cules had flowed sprinkled with spots of blood. In the ter-
ritory of Antium, that bloody ears of corn had fallen into the
basket as they were reaping. At Falerii, that the heavens
appeared cleft as if with a great chasm; and, that where it
had opened, a vast light had shone forth; that the prophetic
tablets had spontaneously become less; and that one had
fallen out thus inscribed, " Mars shakes his spear." During
the same time, that the statue of Mars at Rome, on the Appian
way, had sweated at the sight of images of wolves. At Capua,
that there had been the appearance of the heavens being on
fire, and of the moon as falling amidst rain. After these, creditY. B. 535.]

THE HISTORY OF HOME.

767

was given to prodigies of less magnitude: that the goats of
certain persons had borne wool; that a hen had changed her-
self into a cock; and a cock into a hen: these things haying
been laid before the senate as reported, the authors being con-
ducted into the senate-house, the consul took the sense of the
fathers on religious affairs. It was decreed that those prodigies
should be expiated, partly with full-grown, partly with suck-
ing victims; and that a supplication should be made at every
shrine for the space of three days; that the other things
should b$ done accordingly as the gods should declare in their
oracles to be agreeable to their will when the decemviri had
examined the books. By the advice of the decemviri it
was decreed, first, that a golden thunderbolt of fifty pounds'
weight should be made as an offering to Jupiter; that offer-
ings of silver should be presented to Juno and Minerva; that
sacrifices of full-grown victims should be offered to Juno Re-
gina on the Aventine; and to Juno Sospita at Lanuvium;
that the matrons, contributing as much money as might be
convenient to each, should cafrry it to the Aventine, as a pre-
sent to Juno Regina; and that a lectisternium should be
celebrated. Moreover, that the very freed-women should,
according to their means, contribute money from which a
present might be made to Feronia. When these things were
done, the decemviri sacrificed with the larger victims in the
forum at Axdea. Lastly, it being now the month of Decem-
ber, a sacrifice was made at the temple of Saturn at Rome,
and a lectisternium ordered, in which senators prepared the
couch and a public banquet. Proclamation was made through
the city, that the Saturnalia should be kept for a day and a
night; and the people were commanded to account that day
as a holiday, and observe it for ever.

2, While the consul employs himself at Rome in appeasing
the gods and holding the levy, Hannibal, setting out from his
winter quarters, because it was reported that the consul Fla-
minius had now arrived at Arretium, although a longer but
more commodious route was pointed out to him, takes the
nearer road through a marsh where the Arno had, more than
usupl, overflowed its banks. He ordered the Spaniards and
Africans (in these lay the strength of his veteran army)
to lead, their town baggage being intermixed with them, lest,
being compelled to halt any where, they should want what768

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXII. CHAP. 3.

might be necessary for their use: the Gauls he ordered to go
next, that they might form the middle of the marching body;
the cavalry to march in the rear: next, Mago with the light-
arme4 Numidians to keep the army together, particularly
coercing the Gauls, if, fatigued with exertion and the length of
the march, as that nation is wanting in vigour for such exer-
tions, they should fall away or halt. The van still followed
the standards wherever the guides did but lead them, through
the exceeding deep and almost fathomless eddies of the river,
nearly swallowed up in, mucl, and plunging themselves in.
The Gauls could neither support themselves when fallen, nor
raise themselves from the eddies. Nor did they sustain their
bodies with spirit, nor their minds with hope; some scarce
dragging on their wearied limbs; others dying where they
had once fallen, their spirits being subdued with fatigue,
among the beasts which themselves also lay prostrate in every
place. But chiefly watching wore them out, endured now for
four days and three nights. When, the water covering every
place, not a dry spot could be found where they might stretch
their weary bodies, they laid themselves down upon their
baggage, thrown in heaps into the waters. Piles of beasts,
which lay every where through the whole route, afforded a
necessary bed for temporary repose to those seeking any place
which was not under water. Hannibal himself, riding on the
only remaining elephant, to be the higher from the water,
contracted a disorder in his eyes, at first from the unwhole-
someness of the vernal air, which is attended with transitions
from heat to cold; and at length from watching, nocturnal
damps, the marshy atmosphere disordering his head, and be-
cause he had neither opportunity nor leisure for remedies,
loses one of them.

3. Many men and cattle having been lost thus wretchedly,
when at length he had emerged from the marshes, he pitches
his camp as soon as he could on dry ground. And here he
received information, through the scouts sent in advance,
that the Roman army was round the walls of Arretium.
Next the plans and temper of the consul, the situation of the
country, the roads, the sources from which provisions might
be obtained, and whatever else it was useful to know; all
these things he ascertained by the most diligent inquiry.
The country was among the most fertile of Italy, the plainsy. R. 535.J

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

769

of Etruria, between Faesulae and Arretium, abundant in its
supply of corn, cattle, and every other requisite. The consul
was haughty from his former consulship, and felt no pro-
per degree of reverence not only for the laws and the majesty
of the fathers, but even for the gods. This temerity, in-
herent in his nature, fortune had fostered by a career of pros-
perity and success in civil and military affairs. Thus it was
sufficiently evident that, heedless of gods and men, he would
act in all cases with presumption and precipitation; and, that
he might fall the more readily into the errors natural to him,
the Carthaginian begins to fret and irritate him; and leaving
the enemy on his left, he takes the road to Faesulas, and march-
ing through the centre of Etruria, with intent to plunder, he
exhibits to the consul, in the distance, the greatest devastation
he could with fires and slaughters. Flaminius, who would
not have rested even if the enemy had remained quiet; then,
indeed, when he saw the property of the allies driven and
carried away almost before his eyes, considering that it re-
flected disgrace upon him that the Carthaginian now roaming
at large through the heart of Italy, and marching without re-
sistance to storm the very walls of Rome, though every other
person in the council advised safe rather than showy mea-
sures, urging that he should wait for his colleague, in order
that, joining their armies, they might carry on the war with
united courage and counsels; and that, meanwhile, the enemy
should be prevented from his unrestrained freedom in plun-
dering by the cavalry and the light-armed auxiliaries; in a
fury hurried out of the council, and at once gave out the sig-
nal for marching and for battle. " Nay, rather," says he, " let
us lie before the walls of Arretium, for here is our country,
here our household gods. Let Hannibal, slipping through
our fingers, waste Italy through and through; and, ravaging
and burning every thing, let him arrive at the walls of Rome;
nor let us move hence till the fathers shall have summoned
Flaminius from Arretium, as they did Camillus of old from
Veii." While reproaching them thus, and in the act of or-
dering the standards to be speedily pulled up, when he had
sprung upon his horse, the animal fell suddenly, and threw
the unseated consul over his head. All the bystanders being
alarmed at this as an unhappy omen in the commencement of
the affair, in addition word is brought, that the standard could

3 d 2770

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXII. CHAP. 4.

not be pulled up, though the standard-bearer strove with all
his force. Flaminius, turning to the messenger, says, "Do
you bring, too, letters from the senate, forbidding me to act.
Go, tell them to dig up the standard, if, through fear, their
hands are so benumbed that they cannot pluck it up." Then
the army began to march; the chief officers, besides that they
dissented from the plan, being terrified by the two-fold pro-
digy ; while the soldiery in general were elated by the con-
fidence of their leader, since they regarded merely the hope
he entertained, and not the reasons of the hope.

4. Hannibal lays waste the country between the city Cor-
tona and the lake Trasimenus, with all the devastation of war,
the more to exasperate the enemy to revenge the injuries in-
flicted on his allies. They had now reached a place formed
by nature for an ambuscade, where the Trasimenus comes
nearest to the mountains of Cortona. A very narrow passage
only intervenes, as though room enough just for that purpose
had been left designedly; after that a somewhat wider plain
opens itself, and then some hills rise up. On these he pitches
his camp, in full view, where he himself with his Spaniards
and Africans only might be posted. The Baliares and his
other light troops he leads round the mountains; his cavalry
he posts at the very entrance of the defile, some eminences
conveniently concealing them; in order that when the Ro-
mans had entered, the cavalry advancing, every place might
be enclosed by the lake and the mountains. Flaminius, pass-
ing the defiles before it was quite daylight, without recon-
noitring, though he had arrived at the lake the preceding day
at sunset, when the troops began to be spread into the wider
plain, saw that part only of the enemy which was opposite to
him; the ambuscade in his rear and overhead escaped his
notice. And when the Carthaginian had his enemy enclosed
by the lake and mountains, and surrounded by his troops, he
gives the signal to all to make a simultaneous charge; and
each running down the nearest way, the suddenness and un-
expectedness of the event was increased to the Romans by a
mist rising from the lake, which had settled thicker on the
plain than on the mountains; and thus the troops of the enemy
ran down from the various eminences, sufficiently well dis-
cerning each other, and therefore with the greater regularity.
A shout being raised on all sides, the Roman found himselfY. It. 535.]	TH;E HISTORY OF ROME.	771

surrounded before/he could well see the enemy; and the at-
tack on the front arid flank had commenced ere his line could
be well formed, Ais arms prepared for action, or his swords
unsheathed.

5. The consul, while all were panic-struck, himself suf-
ficiently undaunted though in so perilous a case, marshals,
as well as the time and place permitted, the lines which were
thrown into confusion by each man's turning himself towards
the various shouts; and wherever he could approach or be
heard, exhorts them, and bids them stand and fight: for that
they could not escape thence by vows and prayers to the
gods, but by exertion and valour; that a way was sometimes
opened by the sword through the midst of marshalled armies,
and that generally the less the fear the less the danger.
However, from the noise and tumult, neither his advice nor
command could be caught; and so far were the soldiers from
knowing their own standards, and ranks, and position, that
they had scarce sufficient courage to take up arms and make
them ready for battle; and certain of them were surprised
before they could prepare them, being burdened rather than
protected by them; while in so great darkness there was
more use of ears than of eyes. They turned their faces and
eyes in every direction towards the groans of the wounded,
the sounds of blows upon the body or arms, and the mingled
clamours of the menacing and the affrighted. Some, as they
were making their escape, were stopped, having encountered
a body of men engaged in fight; and bands of fugitives re-
turning to the battle, diverted others. After charges had
been attempted unsuccessfully in every direction, and on
their flanks the mountains and the lake, on the front and rear
the lines of the enemy enclosed them, when it was evident
that there was no hope of safety but in the right hand and the
sword; then each man became to himself a leader, and en-
courager to action; and an entirely new contest arose, not a
regular line, with principes, hastati, and triarii; nor of such
a sort as that the vanguard should fight before the standards,
and the rest of the troops behind them ; nor such that
each soldier should be in his own legion, cohort, or com-
pany : chance collects them into bands ; and each man's own
will assigned to him his post, whether to fight in front or
rear; and so great was the ardour of the conflict, so intent772

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXII. CHAP. 6

were their minds upon the battle, that not one of the com-
batants felt an earthquake which threw down large portions
of many of the cities of Italy, turned rivers from their rapid
courses, carried the sea up into rivers, and levelled mountains
with a tremendous crash.

6. The battle was continued near three hours, and in every
quarter with fierceness; around the consul, however, it was
still hotter and more determined. Both the strongest of the
troops, and himself too, promptly brought assistance wherever
he perceived his men hard pressed and distressed. But, dis-
tinguished by his armour, the enemy attacked him with the
utmost vigour, while his countrymen defended him; until an
Insubrian horseman, named Ducarius, knowing him also by
his face, says to his countrymen, " Lo, this is the consul who
slew our legions and laid waste our fields and city. Now
Will I offer this victim to the shades of my countrymen,
miserably slain;" and putting spurs to his horse, he rushes
through a very dense body of the enemy; and first slaying
his armour-bearer, who had opposed himself to his attack as
he approached, ran the consul through with his lance; the
triarii, opposing their shields, kept him off when seeking to
despoil him. Then first the flight of a great number began;
and now neither the lake nor the mountains obstructed their
hurried retreat; they run through all places, confined and
precipitous, as though they were blind; and arms and men
are tumbled one upon another. A great many, when there
remained no more space to run, advancing into the water
through the first shallows of the lake, plunge in, as far as
they could stand above it with their heads and shoulders.
Some there were whom inconsiderate fear induced to try to
escape even by swimming ; but as that attempt was inordinate
and hopeless, they were either overwhelmed in the deep
water, their courage failing, or, wearied to no purpose, made
their way back, with extreme difficulty, to the shallows ; and
there were cut up on all hands by the cavalry of the enemy,
which had entered the water. Near upon six thousand of
the foremost body having gallantly forced their way through
the opposing enemy, entirely unacquainted with what was
occurring in their rear, escaped from the defile; and having
halted on a certain rising ground, and hearing only the shout-
ing and clashing of arms, they could not know nor discern, byir. r. 535,]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

773

reason of the mist, what was the fortune of the battle. At
length, the affair being decided, when the mist, dispelled by
the increasing heat of the sun, had cleared the atmosphere,
then, in the clear light, the mountains and plains showed their
ruin, and the Roman army miserably destroyed; and thus,
lest, being descried at a distance, the cavalry should be sent
against them, hastily snatching up their standards, they hur-
ried away with all possible expedition. On the following day,
when, in addition to their extreme sufferings in other respects,
famine also was at hand, Maharbal, who had followed them
during the night with the whole body of cavalry, pledging his
honour that he would let them depart with single garments,
if they would deliver up their arms, they surrendered them-
selves; which promise was kept by Hannibal with Punic
fidelity, and he threw them all into chains.

7. This is the celebrated battle at the Trasimenus, and
recorded among the few disasters of the Roman people. Fif-
teen thousand Romans were slain in the battle. Ten thousand,
who had been scattered in the flight through all Etruria, re-
turned to the city by different roads. One thousand five
hundred of the enemy perished in the battle; many on both
sides died afterwards of their wounds. The carnage on both
sides is related, by some authors, to have been many times
greater. I, besides that I would relate nothing drawn from a
worthless source, to which the minds of historians generally
incline too much, have as my chief authority Fabius, who
was contemporary with the events of this war. Such of the
captives as belonged to the Latin confederacy being dismissed
without ransom, and the Romans thrown into chains, Han-
nibal ordered the bodies of his own men to be gathered from
the heaps of the enemy, and buried: the body of Flaminius
too, which was searched for with great diligence for burial,
he could not find. On the first intelligence of this defeat at
Rome, a concourse of the people, dismayed and terrified, took
place in the forum. The matrons, wandering through the
streets, ask all they meet, what sudden disaster was reported ?
what was the fate of the army? And when the multitude,
like a full assembly, having directed their course to the
comitium and senate-house, were calling upon the magistrates,
at length, a little before sunset, Marcus Pomponius, the pra3-
tor, declares, "We have been defeated in a great battleand774

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [b. xxii. CHAi>. 8.

tbougli nothing more definite was heard from him, yet, fall
of the rumours which they had caught one from another, they
carry back to their homes intelligence, that the consul, with a
great part of his troops, was slain; that a few only survived,
and these either widely dispersed in flight through Etruria,
or else captured by the enemy. As many as had been the
calamities of the vanquished army, into so many anxieties
were the minds of those distracted whose relations had served
under Flaminius, and who were uninformed of what had been
the fate of their friends, nor does any one know certainly what
he should either hope or fear. During the next and several
successive days, a greater number of women almost than men
stood at the gates, waiting either for some one of their friends,
or for intelligence of them, surrounding and earnestly inter-
rogating those they met: nor could they be torn away from
those they knew especially, until they had regularly inquired
into every thing. Then as they retired from the informants,
you might discern their various expressions of countenance,
according as intelligence, pleasing or sad, was announced to
each; and those who congratulated or condoled on their re-
turn home. The joy and grief of the women were espe-
cially manifested. They report that one, suddenly meeting
her son, who had returned safe, expired at the very door be-
fore his face—that another, who sat grieving at her house at
the falsely reported death of her son, became a corpse, from
excessive joy, at the first sight of him on his return. The
praetors detained the senators in the house for several days,
from sunrise to sunset, deliberating under whose conduct,
and by what forces, the victorious Carthaginians could be
opposed.

8. Before their plans w"ere sufficiently determined another
unexpected defeat is reported: four thousand horse, sent
under the conduct of C. Centenius, propraetor, by Servilius
to his colleague, were cut off by Hannibal in Umbria, to
which place, on hearing of the battle at Trasimenus, they had
turned their course. The report of this event variously af-
fected the people. Some, having their minds pre-occupied
with heavier grief, considered the recent loss of cavalry
trifling, in comparison with their former losses; others did
not estimate what had occurred by itself, but considered that,
as in a body already labouring under disease, a slight causey. R. 535]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

775

would be felt more violently than a more powerful one in a
robust constitution; so whatever adverse event befell the state
in its then sickly and impaired condition, ought to be estimated,
not by the magnitude of the event itself, but with reference
to its exhausted strength, which could endure nothing that
could oppress it. The state therefore took refuge in a remedy
for a long time before neither wanted nor employed, the ap-
pointment of a dictator; and because the consul was absent,
by whom alone it appeared he could be nominated; and be-
cause neither message nor letter could easily be sent to him
through the country occupied by Punic troops; and because
the people could not appoint a dictator, which had never been
done to that day, the people created Quintus Fabius Maximus
pro-dictator, and Marcus Minucius Rufus master of the horse.
To them the senate assigned the task of strengthening the
walls and towers of the city; of placing guards in such quar-
ters as seemed good, and breaking down the bridges of the
river, considering that they must now fight at home in de-
fence of their city, since they were unable to protect Italy.

9. Hannibal, marching directly through Umbria, arrived at
Spoletum; thence, having completely devastated the adjoining
country, and commenced an assault upon the city, having been
repulsed with great loss, and conjecturing from the strength
of this one colony, which had been not very successfully at-
tacked, what was the size of the city of Rome, turned aside
into the territory of Picenum, which abounded not only with
every species of grain, but was stored with booty, which his
rapacious and needy troops eagerly seized. There he con-
tinued encamped for several days, and his soldiers were re-
freshed, who had been enfeebled by winter marches and
marshy ground, and with a battle more successful in its result
than light or easy. When sufficient time for rest had been
granted for soldiers delighting more in plunder and devasta-
tion than ease and repose; setting out, he lays waste the
territories of Pretutia and Hadria, then of the Marsi, the
Marrucini, and the Peligni, and the contiguous region of
Apulia around Arpi and Luceria. Cneius Servilius, the con-
sul, having fought some slight battles with the Gauls, and
taken one inconsiderable town, when he heard of the defeat of
his colleague and the army, alarmed now for the walls of the
capital, marched towards the city, that he might not be absent776

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXII. CHAP. 10.

at so extreme a crisis. Quintus Fabius Maximus, a second
time dictator, assembled the senate the very day he entered on
his office; and commencing with what related to the gods,
after he had distinctly proved to the fathers, that Caius
Flaminius had erred more from neglect of the ceremonies and
auspices than from temerity and want of judgment, and that
the gods themselves should be consulted as to what were the
expiations of their anger, he obtained a resolution that the
decemviri should be ordered to inspect the Sibylline books,
which is rarely decreed, except when some horrid prodigies
were announced. Having inspected the prophetic books, they
reported, that, the vow which was made to Mars on account of
this war, not having been regularly fulfilled, must be per-
formed afresh and more fully; that the great games must be
vowed to Jupiter, temples to Venus Erycina and Mens; that
a supplication and lectisternium must be made, and a sacred
spring vowed, if the war should proceed favourably and the
state continue the condition it was in before the war. Since
the management of the war would occupy Fabius, the senate
orders Marcus iEmilius, the praetor, to see that all these things
are done in good time, according to the directions of the col-
lege of pontiffs.

10. These decrees of the senate having been passed, Lucius
Cornelius Lentulus, pontifex maximus, the college of prfetors
consulting with him, gives his opinion that, first of all, the people
should be consulted respecting a sacred spring: that it could
not be without the order of the people. The people having been
asked according to this form : Do ye will and order that this
thing should be performed in this manner ? If the republic of
the Roman people, the Quirites, shall be safe and preserved,
as I wish it may, from these wars for the next five years, (the
war which is between the Roman people and the Cartha-
ginian, and the wars which are with the Cisalpine Gauls,)
the Roman people, the Quirites, shall present whatsoever the
spring shall produce from herds of swine, sheep, goats, oxen,
and which shall not have been consecrated, to be sacrificed to
Jupiter, from the day which the senate and people shall ap-
point. Let him who shall make an offering do it when he
please, and in what manner he please; in whatsoever manner
he does it, let it be considered duly done. If that which
ought to be sacrificed die, let it be unconsecrated, and let noY. R. 535.]

THE HISTORY OF HOME.

777

guilt attach; if any one unwittingly wound or kill it, let it be
no injury to him; if any one shall steal it, let no guilt attach
to the people or to him from whom it was stolen ; if any one
shall unwittingly offer it on a forbidden day, let it be esteemed
duly offered; also whether by night or day, whether slave or
free-man perform it. If the senate and people shall order it
to be offered sooner than any person shall offer it, let the peo-
ple being acquitted of it be free. On the same account great
games were vowed, at an expense of three hundred and thirty-
three thousand three hundred and thirty-three asses and a
third; moreover, it was decreed that sacrifice should be done
to Jupiter with three hundred oxen, to many other deities with
white oxen and the other victims. The vows being duly
made, a supplication was proclaimed; and not only the in-
habitants of the city went with their wives and children, but
such of the rustics also as, possessing any property themselves,
were interested in the welfare of the state. Then a lectis-
ternium was celebrated for three days, the decemviri for
sacred things superintending. Six couches were seen, for
Jupiter and Juno one, for Neptune and Minerva another, for
Mars and Yenus a third, for Apollo and Diana a fourth, for
Yulcan and Yesta a fifth, for Mercury and Ceres a sixth.
Then temples were vowed. To Yenus Erycina, Quintus
Fabius Maximus vowed a temple; for so it was delivered from
the prophetic books, that he should vow it who held the
highest authority in the state. Titus Otacilius, the praetor,
vowed a temple to Mens.

11. Divine things having been thus performed, the dictator
then put the question of the war and the state; with what,
and how many legions the fathers were of opinion that the
victorious enemy should be opposed. It was decreed that he
should receive the army from Cneius Servilius, the consul:
that he should levy, moreover, from the citizens and allies as
many horse and foot as seemed good; that he should transact
and perform every thing else as he considered for the good oi
the state. Fabius said he would add two legions to the army
of Servilius. These were levied by the master of the horse,
and were appointed by Fabius to meet him at Tibur on a cer-
tain day. And then having issued proclamation that those
whose towns or castles were unfortified should quit them and
assemble in places of security; that all the inhabitants of that778

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXII. CHAP. 12,

tra^t through which Hannibal was about to march, should
remove from the country, having first burnt their buildings
and spoiled their fruits, that there might not be a supply of
any thing; he himself set out on the Flaminian road to meet
the consul and his army; and when he saw in the distance
the marching body on the Tiber, near Ocriculum, and the
consul with the cavalry advancing to him, he sent a beadle to
acquaint the consul that he must meet the dictator without
the lictors. When he had obeyed his command, and their
meeting had exhibited a striking display of the majesty of
the dictatorship before the citizens and allies, who, from its
antiquity, had now almost forgotten that authority; a letter
arrived from the city, stating that the ships of burden, con-
veying provisions from Ostia into Spain to the army, had
been captured by the Carthaginian fleet off the port of Cossa.
The consul, therefore, was immediately ordered to proceed to
Ostia, and, having manned the ships at Rome or Ostia with
soldiers and sailors, to pursue the enemy, and protect the
coasts of Italy. Great numbers of men were levied at Rome;
sons of freedmen even, who had children, and were of the
military age, had taken the oath. Of these troops levied in
the city, such as were under thirty-five were put on board of
ships, the rest were left to protect the city.

12. The dictator, having received the troops of the consul
from Fulvius Flaccus, his lieutenant-general, marching through
the Sabine territory, arrived at Tibur on the day which he
had appointed the new-raised troops to assemble. Thence he
went to Praneste, and cutting across the country, came out
in the Latin way, whence he led his troops towards the enemy,
reconnoitring the road with the utmost diligence; not in-
tending to expose himself to hazard any where, except so
far as necessity compelled him. The day he first pitched
his camp in sight of the enemy, not far from Arpi, the
Carthaginian, without delay, led out his troops, and forming
his line gave an opportunity of fighting: but when he found
all still with the enemy, and his camp free from tumult
and disorder, he returned to his camp, saying indeed taunt-
ingly, " That even the spirit of the Romans, inherited from
Mars, was at length subdued; that they were warred down;
and had manifestly given up all claim to valour and re-
nown but burning inwardly with stifled vexation, becauseY, R. 535.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

779

he would have to encounter a general by no means like Fla-
minius and Sempronius ; and because the Romans, then at
length schooled by their misfortunes, had sought a general a
match for Hannibal; and that now he had no longer to fear
the headlong violence, but the deliberate prudence of the dic-
tator. Having not yet experienced his constancy, he began
to provoke and try his temper, by frequently shifting his camp
and laying waste the territories of the allies before his eyes :
and one while he withdrew out of sight at quick march,
another while he halted suddenly, and concealed himself in
some winding of the road, if possible to entrap him on his de-
scending into the plain. Fabius kept marching his troops
along the high grounds, at a moderate distance from the enemy,
so as neither to let him go altogether nor yet to encounter
him. The troops were kept within the camp, except so far
as necessary wants compelled them to quit it; and fetched in
food and wood not by small nor rambling parties. An out-
post of cavalry and light-armed troops, prepared and equip-
ped for acting in cases of sudden alarm, rendered every thing
safe to their own soldiers, and dangerous to the scattered
plunderers of the enemy. Nor was his whole cause committed
to general hazard ; while slight contests, of small importance
in themselves, commenced on safe ground, with a retreat at
hand, accustomed the soldiery, terrified by their former dis-
asters, now at length to think less meanly either of their
prowess or good fortune. But he did not find Hannibal a
greater enemy to such sound measures than his master of the
horse, who was only prevented from plunging the state into
ruin by his inferiority in command. Presumptuous and pre-
cipitate in his measures, and unbridled in his tongue, first
among a few, then openly and publicly, he taunted him with
being sluggish instead of patient, spiritless instead of cautious ;
falsely imputing to him those vices which bordered on his vir-
tues ; and raised himself by means of depressing his superiors,
which, though a most iniquitous practice, has become more
general from the too great successes of many.

13. Hannibal crosses over from the Hirpini into Samnium ;
lays waste the territory of Beneventum ; takes the town of
Telesia ; and purposely irritates the dictator, if perchance he
could draw him down to a battle on the plain, exasperated by
so many indignities and disasters inflicted on his allies780

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXII. CHAP. 14.

Among the multitude of allies of Italian extraction, who had
been captured by Hannibal at the Trasimenus, and dismissed,
were three Campanian horsemen, who had even at that time
been bribed by many presents and promises from Hannibal to
win over the affections of their countrymen to him. These,
bringing him word that he would have an opportunity of get-
ting possession of Capua, if he brought his army into the
neighbourhood in Campania, induced Hannibal to quit Sam-
nium for Campania ; though he hesitated, fluctuating between
confidence and distrust, as the affair was of more importance
than the authorities. He dismissed them, repeatedly charging
them to confirm their promises by acts, and ordering them to
return with a greater number, and some of their leading men.
Hannibal himself orders his guide to conduct him into the ter-
ritory of Casinum, being certified by persons acquainted with
the country, that if he seized that pass he would deprive the
Romans of a passage by which they might get out to the as-
sistance of their allies. But his Punic accent, ill adapted to
the pronunciation of Latin names, caused the guide to under-
stand Casilinum, instead of Casinum ; and leaving his former
course, he descends through the territory of Allifae, Calatia,
and Cales, into the plain of Stella, where, seeing the country
enclosed on all sides by mountains and rivers, he calls the
guide to him, and asks him where in the world he was ? when
he replied, that on that day he would lodge at Casilinum:
then at length the error was discovered, and that Casinum lay
at a great distance in another direction. Having scourged
the guide with rods and crucified him, in order to strike terror
into all others, he fortified a camp, and sent Maharbal with
the cavalry into the Falernian territory to pillage. This
depredation reached as far as the waters of Sinuessa; the
Numidians caused destruction to a vast extent, but flight and
consternation through a still wider space. Yet not even the
terror of these things, when all around was consuming in the
flames of war, could shake the fidelity of the allies; for this
manifest reason, because they lived under a temperate and
mild government: nor were they unwilling to submit to
those who were superior to them, which is the only bond of
fidelity.

14. But when the enemy's camp was pitched on the Vul-
turnus, and the most delightful country in Italy was beingT. R. 535.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

781

consumed by fire, and the farm-houses, on all hands, were
smoking from the flames, whilst Fabius led his troops along
the heights of Mount Massicus, then the strife had nearly-
been kindled anew, for they had been quiet for a few days,
because, as the army had marched quicker than usual, they
had supposed that the object of this haste was to save Cam-
pania from devastation; but when they arrived at the ex-
treme ridge of Mount Massicus, and the enemy appeared
under their eyes, burning the houses of the Falernian terri-
tory, and of the settlers of Sinuessa, and no mention made of
battle, Minucius exclaims, "Are we come here to see our
allies butchered, and their property burned, as a spectacle to
be enjoyed? and if we are not moved with shame on account
of any others, are we not on account of these citizens, whom
our fathers sent as settlers to Sinuessa, that this frontier
might be protected from the Samnite foe: which now not
the neighbouring Samnite wastes with fire, but a Cartha-
ginian foreigner, who has advanced even thus far from the
remotest limits of the world, through our dilatoriness and in-
activity ? What! are we so degenerate from our ancestors
as tamely to see that coast filled with Numidian and Moorish
foes, along which our fathers considered it a disgrace to
their government that the Carthaginian fleets should cruise ?
We, who erewhile, indignant at the storming of Saguntum,
appealed not to men only, but to treaties and to gods, be-
hold Hannibal scaling the walls of a Roman colony un-
moved. The smoke from the flames of our farm-houses
and lands comes into our eyes and faces; our ears ring
with the cries of our weeping allies, imploring us to assist
them oftener than the gods, while we here are leading
our troops, like a herd of cattle, through shady forests and
lonely paths, enveloped in clouds and woods. If Marcus
Furius had resolved to recover the city from the Gauls, by
thus traversing the tops of mountains and forests, in the same
manner as this modern Camillus goes about to recover Italy
from Hannibal, who has been sought out for our dictator in
our distress, on account of his unparalleled talents, Rome
would be the possession of the Gauls; and I fear lest, if we
are thus dilatory, our ancestors will so often have preserved
it only for the Carthaginians and Hannibal; but that man
and true Roman, on the very day on which intelligence was782

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXII. CHAP. 15.

brought him to Veii, that he was appointed dictator, on the
authority of the fathers and the nomination of the people,
came down into the plain, though the Janiculum was high
enough to admit of his sitting down there, and viewing the
enemy at a distance; and on that very day defeated the Gallic
legions in the middle of the city, in the place where the Gallic
piles are now, and on the following day on the Roman side of
Gabii. What! many years after this, when we were sent
under the yoke at the Caudine forks by the Samnite foe, did
Lucius Papirius Cursor take the yoke from the Roman neck
and place it upon the proud Samnites, by traversing the
heights of Samnium? or was it by pressing and besieging
Luceria, and challenging the victorious enemy? A short time
ago, what was it that gave victory to Caius Lutatius but ex-
pedition ? for on the day after he caught sight of the enemy,
he .surprised and overpowered the fleet, loaded with provi-
sions, and encumbered of itself by its own implements and
apparatus. It is folly to suppose that the war can be brought
to a conclusion by sitting still, or by prayers ; the troops must
be armed and led down into the plain, that you may engage
man to man. The Roman power has grown to its present
height by courage and activity, and not by such dilatory mea-
sures as these, which the cowardly only designate as cautious."
A crowd of Roman tribunes and knights poured round Mi-
nucius, while thus, as it were, haranguing; his presumptuous
expressions reached the ears of the common soldiers; and had
the question been submitted to the votes of the soldiers, they
showed evidently that they would have preferred Minucius to
Fabius for their general.

15. Fabius, keeping his attention fixed no less upon his
own troops than on the enemy, first shows that his resolution
was unconquered by the former. Though he well knew that
his procrastination was disapproved, not only in his own
camp, but by this time even at Rome; yet, inflexibly adher-
ing to the same line of policy, he delayed through the re-
mainder of the summer; in order that Hannibal, devoid of
all hope of a battle, which he so earnestly desired, might now
look out for a place for winter quarters; because that district
was one of present, but not constant, supply, consisting, as it
did, of plantations and vineyards, and all places planted with
luxurious rather than useful produce. This intelligence wasi. R. 535.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

783

brought to Fabius by his scouts. When he felt* convinced
that he would return by the same narrow pass through
which he had entered the Falernian territory, he occupied
Mount Callicula and Casilinum with a pretty strong guard.
Which city, intersected by the river Vulturnus, divides
the Falernian and Campanian territories. He himself leads
back his troops along the same heights, having sent Lu-
cius Hostilius Mancinus with four hundred of the allied
cavalry to reconnoitre ; who being one of the crowd of youths
who had often heard the master of the horse fiercely ha-
ranguing, at first advanced after the manner of a scout, in
order that he might observe the enemy in security; and when
he saw the Numidians scattered widely throughout the vil-
lages, having gotten an opportunity, he also slew a few of
them. But from that moment his mind was engrossed with the
thoughts of a battle, and the injunctions of the dictator were
forgotten, who had charged him, when he had advanced as
far as he could with safety, to retreat before he came within
the enemy's view. The Numidians, party after party, skir-
.mishing and retreating, drew the general almost to their
camp, to the fatigue of his men and horses. Then Karthalo,
who. had the command of the cavalry, charging at full speed,
and having put them to flight before he came within a dart's
throw, pursued them for five miles almost in a continuous
course. Mancinus, when he saw that the enemy did not de-
sist from the pursuit, and that there was no hope of escapt,
having encouraged his troops, turned back to the battle
though inferior in every kind of force. Accordingly he him-
self, and the choicest of his cavalry, being surrounded, are cut
to pieces. The rest in disorderly retreat fled first to Cales,
and thence to the dictator, by ways almost impassable. It
happened that on that day Minucius had formed a junction
with Fabius, having been sent to secure with a guard the pass
above Tarracina, which, contracted into a narrow gorge, over-
hangs the sea, in order that Hannibal might not be able to
get into the Roman territory by the Appian way's being un-
guarded. The dictator and master of the horse, uniting their
forces, lead them down into the road through which Hannibal
was about to march his troops. The enemy was two miles
from that place.

16. The following day the Carthaginians filled the whole
3 E784

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXII. CHAP. 17.

road between the two camps with his troops in marching
order ; and though the Romans had taken their stand im-
mediately under their rampart, having a decidedly superior
position, yet the Carthaginian came up with his light horse,
and, with a view to provoke the enemy, carried on a kind of
desultory attack, first charging and then retreating. The
Roman line remained in its position. The battle was slow,
and more conformable to the wish of the dictator than of Han-
nibal. On the part of the Romans ther£ fell two hundred, on
the part of the enemy eight hundred. It now began to appear
that Hannibal was hemmed in, the road to Casilinum being
blockaded; and that while Capua, and Samnium, and so many
wealthy allies in the rear of the Romans might supply them
with provisions, the Carthaginian, on the other hand, must
winter amid the rocks of Formise and the sands and hideous
swamps of Liternum. Nor did it escape Hannibal that he
was assailed by his own arts; wherefore, since he could not
escape by way of Casilinum, and since it was necessary to
make for the mountains, and pass the summit of Callicula, lest
in any place the Romans should attack his troops while en-,
closed in valleys; having hit upon a stratagem calculated to
deceive the sight, and excite terror from its appearance, by
means of which he might baffle the enemy, he resolved to
come up by stealth to the mountains at the commencement of
night. The preparation of his wily stratagem was of this
description. Torches, collected from every part of the coun-
try, and bundles of rods and dry cuttings, are fastened before
the horns of oxen, of which, wild and tame, he had driven
away a great number among other plunder of the country:
the number of oxen was made up to nearly two thousand.
To Hasdrubal was assigned the task of driving to the moun-
tains that herd, after having set fire to their horns, as soon as
ever it was dark; particularly, if he could, over the passes
beset by the enemy.

17. As soon as it was dark the camp was moved in silence;
the oxen were driven a little in advance of the standards.
When they arrived at the foot of the mountains and the nar-
row passes, the signal is immediately given for setting fire to
their horns and driving them violently up the mountains be-
fore them. The mere terror excited by the flame, which cast
a glare from their heads, and the heat now approachingy. r. 535 ]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

785

the quick and the roots of their horns, drove on the oxen
as if goaded by madness. By which dispersion, on a sud-
den all the surrounding shrubs were in a blaze, as if the
mountains and woods had been on fire; and the unavail-
ing tossing of their heads quickening the flame, exhibited
an appearance as of men running to and fro on every side.
Those who had been placed to guard the passage of the wood,
when they saw fires on the tops of the mountains, and some
over their own heads, concluding that they were surrounded,
abandoned their post; making for the tops of the mountains
in the direction in which the fewest fires blazed, as being the
safest course; however they fell in with some oxen which had
strayed from their herds. At first, when they beheld them at
a distance, they stood fixed in amazement at the miracle, as it
appeared to them, of creatures breathing fire; afterwards,
when it showed itself to be a human stratagem, then, forsooth,
concluding that there was an ambuscade, as they are hurrying
away in flight, with increased alarm, they fall in also with the
light-armed troops of the enemy. But the night, when the
fear was equally shared, kept them from commencing the battle
till morning. Meanwhile Hannibal, having marched his whole
army through the pass, and having cut off some of the enemy
in the very defile, pitches his camp in the country of Allifas.

18. Fabius perceived this tumult, but concluding that it
was a snare, and being disinclined for a battle, particularly by
night, kept his troops within the works. At break of day a
battle took place under the summit of the mountain, in which
the Romans, who were considerably superior in numbers,
would have easily overpowered the light-armed of the enemy,
cut off as they were from their party, had not a cohort of
Spaniards, sent back by Hannibal for that very purpose,
reached the spot. That body being more accustomed to
mountains, and being more adapted, both from the agility of
their limbs and also from the character of their arms, to
skirmishing amid rocks and crags, easily foiled, by their man-
ner of fighting, an enemy loaded with arms, accustomed to
level ground and the steady kind of fighting. Separating
from a contest thus by no means equal, they proceeded to
their camps; the Spaniards almost all untouched; the Ro-
mans having lost a few. Fabius also moved his camp, and
passing the defile, took up a position above Allifse, in a strong

3 e 2786

THE HISTORY OP HOME. **• xstt chap. 19.

and elevated place. Then Hannibal, pretending to march to
Rome through Samnium, came back as far as the Peligni,
spreading devastation. Fabius led his troops along the heights
midway between the army of the enemy and the city of Rome;
neither avoiding him altogether, nor coming to an engage-
ment. From the Peligni the Carthaginian turned his course,
and going back again to Apulia, reached Geronium, a city
deserted by its inhabitants from fear, as a part of its walls
had fallen down together in ruins. The dictator formed a
completely fortified camp in the territory of Larinum, and be-
ing recalled thence to Eome on account of some sacred rites,
he not only urged the master of the horse, in virtue of his
authority, but with advice and almost with prayers, that he
would trust rather to prudence than fortune ; and imitate him
as a general rather than Sempronius and Flaminius; that he
would not suppose that nothing had been achieved by having
worn out nearly the whole summer in baffling the enemy;
that physicians too sometimes gained more by rest than by
motion and action. That it was no small thing to have ceased
to be conquered by an enemy so often victorious, and to have
taken breath after successive disasters. Having thus unavail-
ingly admonished the master of the horse, he set out for Rome.

19. In the beginning of the summer in which these events
occurred, the war commenced by land and sea in Spain also.
To the number of ships which he had received from his bro-
ther, equipped and ready for action, Hasdrubal added ten.
The fleet of forty ships he delivered to Himilco: and thus
setting out from Carthage, kept his ships near the land, while
he led his army along the shore, ready to engage with which-
ever part of his forces the enemy might fall in with. Cneius
Scipio, when he heard that the enemy had quitted his winter
quarters, at first formed the same plan; but afterwards, not
daring to engage him by land, from a great rumour of fresh
auxiliaries, he advances to meet him with a fleet of thirty-five
ships, having put some chosen soldiers on board. Setting out
from Tarraco, on the second day, he reached a convenient
station, ten miles from the mouth of the Iberus. Two ships
of the Massilians, sent forward from that place reconnoitring,
brought word back that the Carthaginian fleet was stationed
in the mouth of the river, and that the camp was pitched upon
the bank. In order, therefore, to overpower them while off
their guard ar I incautious, by a universal and wide-spreadY. B. 535.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

787

terror, he weighed anchor and advanced. In Spain there are
several towers placed in high situations, which they employ
both as watch-towers and as places of defence against pirates.
From them first, a view of the ships of the enemy having
been obtained, the signal was given to Hasdrubal; and a tu-
mult arose in the camp, and on land sooner than on the ships
and at sea ; the dashing of the oars and other nautical noises
not being yet distinctly heard, nor the promontories disclosing
the fleet. Upon this, suddenly one horseman after another,
sent out by Hasdrubal, orders those who were strolling upon
the shore or resting quietly in their tents, expecting any thing
rather than the enemy and a battle on that day, immediately
to embark and take up arms: that the Roman fleet was now
a short distance from the harbour. The horsemen, despatched
in every direction, delivered these orders; and presently Has-
drubal himself comes up with the main army. All places re-
sound with noises of various kinds; the soldiers and rowers
hurrying together to the ships, rather like men running away
from the land than marching to battle. Scarcely had all em-
barked, when some, unfastening the hawsers, are carried out
against the anchors; others cut their cables, that nothing
might impede them; and by doing every thing with hurry
and precipitation, the duties of mariners were impeded by the
preparations of the soldiers, and the soldiers were prevented
from taking and preparing for action their arms, by the
bustle of the mariners. And now the Roman was not only
approaching, but had drawn up his ships for the battle.
The Carthaginians, therefore, thrown into disorder, not more
by the enemy and the battle than by their own tumult, having
rather made an attempt at fighting than commenced a battle,
turned their fleet for flight; and as the mouth of the river
which was before them could not be entered in so broad a
line, and by so many pressing in at the same time, they ran
their ships on shore in every part. And being received, some
in the shallows, and others on the dry shore, some armed and
some unarmed, they escaped to their friends, who were drawn
up in battle-array over the shore. Two Carthaginian ships
were captured and four sunk on the first encounter.

20. The Romans, though the enemy was master of the shore,
and they saw armed troops lining the whole bank, promptly
pursuing the discomfited fleet of the enemy, towed out into the
deep all the ships which had not either shattered their prows788

THE HISTORY OF HOME. [B. XXII. CHAP. 21.

by the violence with which they struck the shore, or set their
keels fast in the shallows. They captured as many as twenty-
five out of forty. Nor was that the most splendid result of
their victory: but they became masters of the whole sea on
that coast by one slight battle; advancing, then, with their fleet
to Honosca, and making a descent from the ships upon the
coast, when they had taken the city by storm and pillaged it,
they afterwards made for Carthage: then devastating the
whole surrounding country, they, lastly, set fire also to the
buildings contiguous to the wall and gates. Thence the fleet,
laden with plunder, arrived at Longuntica, where a great
quantity of oakum for naval purposes had been collected by
Hasdrubal: of this, taking away as much as was sufficient for
their necessities, they burnt all the rest. Nor did they only
sail by the prominent coasts of the continent, but crossed over
into the island Ebusus ; where, having with the utmost exer-
tion, but in vain, carried on operations against the city, which
is the capital of the island, for two days, when they found that
time was wasted to no purpose upon a hopeless task, they
turned their efforts to the devastation of the country ; and
having plundered and fired several villages, and acquired a
greater booty than they had obtained on the continent, they
retired to their ships, when ambassadors from the Baliares
came to Scipio to sue for peace. From this place the fleet
sailed back, and returned to the hither parts of the province,
whither ambassadors of all the people who dwell on the
Iberus, and of many people in the most distant parts of Spain,
assembled. But the number of states who really became sub-
ject to the authority and dominion of the Romans, and gave
hostages, amounted to upwards of one hundred and twenty.
The Roman therefore, relying sufficiently on his land forces
also, advanced as far as the pass of Castulo. Hasdrubal re-
tired into Lusitania, and nearer the ocean.

21. After this, it seemed probable that the remainder of
the summer would be peaceful; and so it would have been
with regard to the Punic enemy: but besides that the tempers
of the Spaniards themselves are naturally restless, and eager
for innovation, Mandonius, together with Indibilis, who had
formerly been petty prince of the Ilergetes, having stirred up
their countrymen, came to lay waste the peaceful country of
the Roman allies, after the Romans had retired from the pass
to the sea-coast. A military tribune with some light-armedy. R. 635.]

THE HISTORY OF HOME.

789

auxiliaries being sent against these by Scipio, with a small
effort put them all to the rout, as being but a disorderly band:
some having been captured and slain, a great portion of them
were deprived of their arms. This disturbance, however,
brought back Hasdrubal, who was retiring to the ocean, to
protect his allies on this side the Iberus. The Carthaginian
camp was in the territory of Ilercao, the Roman camp at the
New Fleet, when unexpected intelligence turned the war into
another quarter. The Celtiberians, who had sent the chief
men of their country as ambassadors to the Romans, and had
given them hostages, aroused by a message from Scipio, take
up arms and invade the province of the Carthaginians with a
powerful army; take three towns by storm; and after that,
encountering Hasdrubal himself in two battles with splendid
success, slew fifteen thousand and captured four thousand,
together with many military standards.

22. This being the state of affairs in Spain, Publius Scipio
came into his province, having been sent thither by the senate,
his command being continued to him after his consulate, with
thirty long ships, eight thousand soldiers, and a large im-
portation of provisions. That fleet, swelled to an enormous
size by a multitude of transports, being descried at a distance,
entered safe the port of Tarraco, to the great joy of the citi-
zens and allies. Landing his troops there, Scipio set out and
formed a junction with his brother, and thenceforward they
prosecuted the war with united courage and counsels. While
the Carthaginians, therefore, were occupied with the Celti-
berian war, they promptly crossed the Iberus, and not seeing
any enemy, pursue their course to Saguntum ; for it was re-
ported that the hostages from every part of Spain, having
been consigned to custody, were kept in the citadel of that
place under a small guard. That pledge alone checked the
affections of all the people of Spain, which were inclined to-
wards an alliance with the Romans; lest the guilt of their
defection should be expiated with the blood of their children.
One man, by a stratagem more subtle than honourable, liber-
ated the Spaniards from this restraint. There was at Sagun-
tum a noble Spaniard, named Abelux, hitherto faithful to the
Carthaginians, but now (such are for the most part the dis-
positions of barbarians) had changed his attachment with
fortune; but considering that a deserter going over to ene-
mies without the betraying of something valuable, would be790

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXII. CHAP. 22.

looked upon only as a stigmatized and worthless individual,
was solicitous to render as great a service as possible to his
new confederates. Having turned over in his mind, then, the
various means which, under the favour of fortune, he migh,
employ, in preference to every other, he applied himself tc
the delivering up of the hostages; concluding that this one
thing, above all others, would gain the Romans the friendship
of the Spanish chieftains. But since he knew that the guards
of the hostages would do nothing without the authority of
Bostar, the governor, he addresses himself with craft to Bos-
tar himself. Bostar had his camp without the city, just upon
the shore, in order to preclude the approach of the Romans
from that quarter. He informs him, taken aside to a secret
place, and as if uninformed, in what position affairs were:
" That hitherto fear had withheld the minds of the Spaniards
to them, because the Romans were at a great distance: that
now the Roman camp was on this side the Iberus, a secure
fortress and asylum for such as desired a change, that there-
fore those whom fear could not bind should be attached by
kindness and favour." When Bostar, in astonishment, earn-
estly asked him, what sudden gift of so much importance that
could be, he replied, " Send back the hostages to their states:
this will be an acceptable boon, privately to their parents, who
possess the greatest influence in their respective states, and
publicly to the people. Every man wishes to have confidence
reposed in him; and confidence reposed generally enforces
the fidelity itself. The office of restoring the hostages to their
homes, I request for myself; that I may enhance my project
by the trouble bestowed, and that I may add as much value
as I can to a service in its own intrinsic nature so accept-
able." When he had persuaded the man, who was not cun-
ning as compared with Carthaginian minds in general, having
gone secretly and by night to the outposts of the enemy, he
met with some auxiliary Spaniards; and having been brought
by them into the presence of Scipio, he explains what brought
him. Pledges of fidelity having been given and received, and
the time and place for delivering the hostages having been
appointed, he returns to Saguntum. The following day he
spent with Bostar, in taking his commands for effecting the
business; having so arranged it, that he should go by night,
in order that he might escape the observation of the enemy,
he was dismissed; and awakening the guards of the youthsy. r. 535.]

the histoby op bom35.

791

at the hour agreed upon with them, set out and led them, as
if unconsciously, into a snare prepared by his own deceit.
They were brought to the Roman camp, and every thing else
respecting the restoration of the hostages was transacted as
had been agreed upon with Bostar, and in the same course as
if the affair had been carried on in the name of the Cartha-
ginians. But the favour of the Romans was somewhat
greater than that of the Carthaginians would have been in a
similar case; for misfortune and fear might have seemed to
have softened them, who had been found oppressive and
haughty in prosperity. The Roman, on the contrary, on his
first arrival, having been unknown to them before, had begun
with an act of clemency and liberality: and Abelux, a man
of prudence, did not seem likely to have changed his allies
without good cause. Accordingly all began, with great
unanimity, to meditate a revolt; and hostilities would imme-
diately have commenced, had not the winter intervened,
which compelled the Romans* and the Carthaginians also, to
retire to shelter.

23. Such were the transactions in Spain also during the
second summer of the Punic war; while in Italy the prudent
delay of Fabius had procured the Romans some intermission
from disasters; which conduct, as it kept Hannibal disturbed
with no ordinary degree of anxiety, for it proved to him that
the Romans had at length selected a general who would carry
on the war with prudence, and not in dependence on fortune;
so was it treated with contempt by his countrymen, both in
the camp and in the city; particularly after that a battle had
been fought during his absence from the temerity of the
master of the horse, in its issue, as I may justly designate it,
rather joyful than successful. Two causes were added to
augment the unpopularity of the dictator: one arising out of
a stratagem and artful procedure of Hannibal; for the farm
of the dictator having been pointed out to him by deserters,
he ordered that the fire and sword and every outrage of ene-
mies should be restrained from it alone, while ail around were
levelled with the ground; in order that it might appear to
have been the term of some secret compact: the other from an
act of his own, at first perhaps suspicious, because in it he had
not waited for the authority of the senate, but in the result
turning unequivocally to his highest credit, with relation to the792

THE HISTORY OF tOME. [B. XXII. CHAP. 24

change of prisoners : for, as was the j case in the first Punic
war, an agreement had been made between the Roman and
Carthaginian generals, that whichever received more prisoners
than he restored, should give two pounds and a hialf of silver
for every man. And when the Roman had received two hun-
dred and forty-seven more than the Carthaginian, and the
silver which was due for them, after the matter had been fre-
quently agitated in the senate, was rot promptly supplied,
because he had not consulted the fathers, he sent his son
Quintus to Rome and sold his farm, uninjured by the enemy^
and thus redeemed the public credit at his own private expense.
Hannibal lay in a fixed camp before th^ walls of G-eronium,
which city he had captured and burnt, leaving only a few
buildings for the purpose of granaries: thence hs was in the
habit of sending out two-thirds of his forces to frrage; with
the third part kept in readiness, he himself remained on
guard, both as a protection to his camp, and for the purpose
of looking out, if from any quarter an attack should be made
upon his foragers.	""•••- . .

24. The Roman army was at that time in the territory of
Larinum. Minucius, the master of the horse, had the com-
mand of it; the dictator, as was before mentioned, having
gone to the city. But the camp, which had been pitched in
an elevated and secure situation, was now brought down into
the plain; plans of a bolder character, agreeably with the
temper of the general, were in agitation; and either an attack
was to be made upon the scattered foragers, or upon the camp
now left with an inconsiderable guard. Nor did it escape the
observation of Hannibal, that the plan of the war had been
changed with the general, and that the enemy would act with
more boldness than counsel. Hannibal himself too, which
one would scarcely credit, though the enemy was near, de-
spatched a third part of his troops to forage, retaining the
remaining two-thirds in the camp. After that he advanced
his camp itself nearer to the enemy, to a hill within the ene-
my's view, nearly two miles from Geronium ; that they might
be aware that he wa3 on the alert to protect his foragers if
any attack should be made upon them. Then he discovered
an eminence nearer to, and commanding the very camp of the
Romans: and because if he marched openly in the day-time
to occupy it, the enemy would doubtless anticipate him by at. K. 535.]

THE HISTORY OF ROMS.

793

shorter way, the Numidians having been sent privately in
the night, took possession of it. These, occupying this
position, the Romans, the next day, despising the smallness
of their numbers, dislodge, and transfer their camp thither
themselves. There was now, therefore, but a very small
space between rampart and rampart, and that the Ro-
man line had almost entirely filled; at the same time the
cavalry, with the light infantry sent out against the for-
agers through the opposite part of the camp, effected a
slaughter and flight of the scattered enemy far and wide.
Nor dared Hannibal hazard a regular battle; because with so
few troops, that he would scarcely be able to protect his camp
if attacked. And now he carried on the war (for part of his
army was away) according to the plans of Fabius, by sitting
still and creating delays. He had also withdrawn his troops
to their former camp, which was before the walls of Geroni-
um. Some authors affirm that they fought in regular line, and
with encountering standards; that in the first encounter the
Carthaginian was driven in disorder quite to his camp; but
that, a sally thence having been suddenly made all at once, the
Romans in their turn became alarmed; that after that the
battle was restored by the arrival of Numerius Decimius the
Samnite; that this man, the first in family and fortune, not
only in Bovianum, whence he came, but in all Samnium,
when conducting by command of the dictator to the camp
eight thousand infantry and five hundred horse, having shown
himself on the rear of Hannibal, seemed to both parties to
be a fresh reinforcement coming with Quintus Fabius from
Rome; that Hannibal, fearing also some ambuscade, with-
drew his troops; and that the Roman, aided by the Samnite,
pursuing him, took by storm two forts on that day; that six
thousand of the enemy were slain, and about five thousand of
the Romans ; but that though the loss was so nearly equal,
intelligence was conveyed to Rome of a signal victory; and a
letter from the master of the horse still more presumptuous.

25. These things were very frequently discussed, both in
the senate and assemblies. When the dictator alone, while
joy pervaded the city, attached no credit to the report or
letter; and granting that all were true, affirmed that he feared
more from success than failure; then Marcus Metilius, a
plebeian tribune, declares that such conduct surely could not794	THE HISTORY OF ifOME. [B. XXII. CHAP. 25.

be endured. That the dictator, not only when present was
an obstacle to the right management^ of the affair, but also,
being absent from the camp, opposed lit still when achieved;
that he studiously dallied in his conduct of the war, that he
might continue the longer in office, arid that he might have
the sole command both at Rome and in the army. Since one
of the consuls had fallen in battle, and the other was removed
to a distance from Italy, under pretext of pursuing a Cartha-
ginian fleet; and the two prastors were occupied in Sicily and
Sardinia, neither of which provinces required a prastor at this
time. That Marcus Minucius, the master of the horse, was
almost put under a guard, lest he should see the enemy, and
carry on any warlike operation. That therefore, by Hercules,
not only Samnium, which had now been yielded to the Cartha-
ginians, as if it had been land beyond the Iberus, but the
Campanian, Calenian, and Falernian territories had been
devastated, while the dictator was sitting down at Casilinum,
protecting his own farm with the legions of the Roman peo-
ple : that the army, eager for battle, as well as the master of
the horse, were kept back almost imprisoned within the ram-
part : that their arms were taken out of their hands, as from
captured enemies: at length, as soon as ever the dictator had
gone away, having marched out beyond their rampart, that
they had routed the enemy and put him to flight. On ac-
count of which circumstances, had the Roman commons re-
tained their ancient spirit, that he would have boldly proposed
to them to annul the authority of Quintus Fabius; but now
he would bring forward a moderate proposition, to make the
authority of the master of the horse and the dictator equal;
and that even then Quintus Fabius should not be sent to the
army, till he had substituted a consul in the room of Caius
Flaminius. The dictator kept away from the popular assem-
blies, in which he did not command a favourable hearing;
and even in the senate he was not heard with favourable ears,
when his eloquence was employed in praising the enemy, and
attributing the disasters of the last two years to the temerity
and unskilfulness of the generals; and when he declared that
the master of the horse ought to be called to account for hav-
ing fought contrary to his injunction. That "if the supreme
command and administration of affairs were intrusted to him,
he would soon take care that men should know, that to a goody. il 636.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

795

general fortune was not of great importance; that prudence and
conduct governed every thing; that it was more glorious for
him to have saved the army at a crisis, and without disgrace,
than to have slain many thousands of the enemy.n/ Speeches
of this kind having been made without effect, and Marcus
Atilius Regulus created consul, that he might not be present
to dispute respecting the right of command, he withdrew to
the army on the night preceding the day on which the pro-
position was to be decided When there was an assembly of
the people at break of day, a secret displeasure towards the
dictator, and favour towards the master of the horse, rather
possessed their minds, than that men had not sufficient reso-
lution to advise a measure which was agreeable to the public;
and though favour carried it, influence was wanting to the bilL
One man indeed was found who recommended the law, Caius
Terentius Yarro, who had been praetor in the former year,
sprung not only from humble but mean parentage. They re-
port that his father was a butcher, the retailer of his own
meat, and that he employed this very son in the servile offices
of that trade.

26. This young man, when a fortune left him by his
father, acquired in such a traffic, had inspired him with the
hope of a higher condition, and the gown and forum were the
objects of his choice, by declaiming vehemently in behalf of
men and causes of the lowest kind, in opposition to the in-
terest and character of the good, first came to the notice of
the people, and then to offices of honour. Having passed
through the offices of quaestor, plebeian, and curule aedile, and,
lastly, that of praetor; when now he raised his mind to the
hope of the consulship, he courted the gale of popular favour
by maligning the dictator, and received alone the credit of
the decree of the people. All men, both at Rome and in the
army, both Mends and foes, except the dictator himself, con-
sidered this measure to have been passed as an insult to him ;
but the dictator himself bore the wrong which the infuriated
people had put upon him, with the same gravity with which
he endured the charges against him which his enemies laid
before the multitude ; and receiving the letter containing a
decree of the senate respecting the equalization of the com-
mand while on his journey, satisfied that an equal share of
military skill was not imparted together with the equal share796	THE HISTORY OF ^OME. [B. XXII. CHA

V

of command, he returned to the army twith a mind unsubdued
alike by his fellow-citizens and by the enemy.

27. But Minucius, who, in consequence of his success and
the favour of the populace, was scarcely endurable before,
now especially, unrestrained by shame or moderation, boasted
not more in having conquered Hannibal than Quintus Fa-
bius. " That he, who had been sought out in their distress as
the only general, and as a match for Hannibal; that he, an
event which no record of history contains, was by the order
of the people placed upon an equal footing with himself,—
a superior with an inferior officer, a dictator with a master of
the horse,—in that very city wherein the masters of the
horse are wont to crouch and tremble at the rods and axes of
the dictator. With such splendour had his valour and suc-
cess shone forth. That he therefore would follow up his
own good fortune, though the dictator persisted in his delay
and sloth ; measures condemned alike by the sentence of gods
and men." Accordingly, on the first day on which he met
Quintus Fabius, he intimated " that the first point to be settled
was the manner in which they should employ the command
thus equalized. That he was of opinion that the best plan
would be for them to be invested with the supreme authority
and command either on alternate days, or, if longer intervals
were more agreeable, for any determinate periods; in order
that the person in command might be a match for the enemy,
not only in j udgment, but in strength, if any opportunity for
action should occur." Fabius by no means approved of this
proposition: he said, " that Fortune would have at her dis-
posal all things which the rashness of his colleague had; that
his command had been shared with him, and not taken away ;
that he would never, therefore, willingly withdraw from con-
ducting the war, in whatever post he could with prudence
and discretion: nor would he divide the command with him
with respect to times or days, but that he would divide the
army, and that he would preserve, by his own measures, so
much as he could, since it was not allowed him to save the
whole." Thus he carried it, that, as was the custom of con-
suls, they should divide the legions between them: the first
and fourth fell to the lot of Minucius, the second and third to
Fabius. They likewise divided equally between them thet. a. 536.]

THE HISTOBT OP ROME.

797

cavalry, the auxiliaries of the allies and of the Latin name.
The master of the horse was desirous also that they should
have separate camps.

28. From this Hannibal derived a twofold joy; for nothing
which was going on among the enemy escaped him; the de-
serters revealing many things, and he himself examining by
his own scouts. For he considered that he should be able to
entrap the unrestrained temerity of Minucius by his usual
arts, and that half the force of the sagacity of Fabius had
vanished. There was an eminence between the camps of
Minucius and the Carthaginians; whoever occupied it would
evidently render the position of his enemy less advantageous.
Hannibal was not so desirous of gaining it without a contest,
though that were worth his while, as to bring on a quarrel
with Minucius, who, he well knew, would at all times throw
himself in his way to oppose him. All the intervening ground
was at first sight unavailable to one who wished to plant an
ambuscade, because it not only had not any part that was
woody, but none even covered with brambles, but in reality
formed by nature to cover an ambush; so much the more, be-
cause no such deception could be apprehended in a naked
valley: and there were in its curvatures hollow rocks, such
that some of them were capable of containing two hundred
armed men. Within these recesses, five thousand infantry
and cavalry are secreted, as many as could conveniently oc-
cupy each. Lest, however, in any part, either the motion of
any one of them thoughtlessly coming out, or the glittering of
their arms, should discover the stratagem in so open a valley,
by sending out a few troops at break of day to occupy the be-
fore-mentioned eminence, he diverts the attention of the
enemy. Immediately, on the first view of them, the small-
ness of their number was treated with contempt, and each
man began to request for himself the task of dislodging the
enemy. The general himself, among the most headstrong
and absurd, calls to arms to go and seize the place, and in-
veighs against the enemy with vain presumption and menaces.
First, he despatches his light-armed; after that his cavalry,
in a close body; lastly, perceiving that succours were also
being sent to the enemy, he marches with his legions drawn
up in order of battle. Hannibal also, sending band after
band, as the contest increased, as aids to his men when dis-798	THE HISTORY OF SjEtOME. [B. XXII. CHAP. 2R

tressed, had now completed a regular] army, and a battle was
fought with the entire strength of both sides. First, the light
infantry of the Romans, approaching the eminence, which
was preoccupied, from the lower ground, being repulsed and
pushed down, spread a terror among ^the cavalry, which was
marching up also and fled back to the standards of the legions:
the line of infantry alone stood fearless amidst the panic-
struck ; and it appeared that they wo ild by no means have
been inferior to the enemy, had it bee n a regular and open
battle, so much confidence did the successful battle a few days
before inspire. But the troops in ambush created such con-
fusion and alarm, by charging them on both flanks and on
their rear, that no one had spirit enough left to fight, or hope
enough to try to escape.

29. Then Fabius, first having heard the shout of the terri-
fied troops, and then having gotten a view of their disordered
line, exclaims, " It is so; and no sooner than I feared, has
adverse fortune overtaken temerity. Equalled to Fabius in
command, he sees that Hannibal is superior to him in courage
and in fortune. But another will be the time for reproaches
and resentment. Now advance your standards beyond the
rampart: let us wrest the victory from the enemy, and a con-
fession of their error from our countrymen." A great part of
the troops having been now slain, and the rest looking about
for a way to escape; the army of Fabius showed itself on a sud-
den for their help, as if sent down from heaven. And thus, be-
fore he came within a dart's throw or joined battle, he both
stayed his friends from a precipitate flight and the enemy from
excessive fierceness of fighting. Those who had been scattered
up and down, their ranks being broken, fled for refuge from
every quarter to the fresh army ; those who had fled togethei
in parties, turning upon the enemy, now forming a circle, re-
treat slowly, now concentrating themselves, stand firm. And
now the vanquished and the. fresh army had nearly formed
one line, and were bearing their standards against the enemy,
when the Carthaginians sounded a retreat; Hannibal openly
declaring that though he had conquered Minucius, he was
himself conquered by Fabius. The greater part of the day
having been thus consumed with varying success, Minucius
calling together his soldiers, when they had returned to the
camp, thus addressed them: "I have often heard, soldiers,y. r. 536.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

799

that he is the greatest man who himself counsels what is ex-
pedient; and that he who listens to the man who gives good
advice is the second; but that he who neither himself is capa-
ble of counselling, and knows not how to obey another, is of
the lowest order of mind. Since the first place of mind and
talent has been denied us, let us strive to obtain the second
and intermediate kind; and while we are learning to com-
mand, let us prevail upon ourselves to submit to a man of
prudence. Let us join camps with Fabius, and, carrying our
standards to his pavilion, when I have saluted him as ray parent,
which he deserves on account of the service he has rendered us
and of his dignity; you, my soldiers, shall salute those men as
patrons, whose arms and right-hands just now protected you:
and if this day has conferred nothing else upon us, it hath at
least conferred upon us the glory of possessing grateful hearts."

30. The signal being given, there was a general call to
collect the baggage: then setting out, and proceeding in
order of march to the dictator's camp, they excited at once
the surprise of the.dictator himself and all around him.
When the standards were planted before the tribunal, the
master of the horse, advancing before the rest, having saluted
Fabius as father, and the whole body of his troops having,
with one voice, saluted the soldiers who surrounded him as
patrons, said, "To my parents, dictator, to whom I have just
now equalled you, only in name, as far as I could express
myself, I am indebted for my life only; to you I owe both
my own preservation and that of all these soldiers. That
order of the people, therefore, with which I have been op-
pressed rather than honoured, I first cancel and annul; and
(may it be auspicious to me and you, and to these your
armies, to the preserved and the preserver,) I return to your
authority and auspices, and restore to you these standards
and these legions; and I entreat you that, being reconciled,
you would order that I may retain the mastership of the
horse, and that these soldiers may each of them retain their
ranks." After that hands were joined, and when the as-
sembly was dismissed, the soldiers were kindly and hospitably
invited by those known to them and unknown: and that day,
from having been a little while ago gloomy in the extreme,
and almost accursed, was turned into a day of joy. At Rome,
when the report of the action was conveyed thither, and was

3 F800

THE HISTORY OF ( ROME. [B. XXII. CHAP. 31.

afterwards confirmed, not less by letters from the common
soldiers of both armies, than from the generals themselves, all
men individually extolled Maximus to the skies. His renown
was equal with Hannibal, and his enemies the Carthaginians :
and then at length they began to feel that they were engaged
in war with Romans, and in Italy. For the two preceding
years they entertained so utter a contempt for the Roman
generals and soldiers, that they could scarcely believe that
they were waging war with the same nation which their fa-
thers had reported to them as being so formidable. They
relate also, that Hannibal said, as he returned from the field,
that at length that cloud, which was used to settle on the tops
of the mountains, had sent down a shower with a storm.

31. While these events occur in Italy, Cneius Servilius
Geminus, the consul, having sailed round the coast of Sar-
dinia and Corsica with a fleet of one hundred and twenty
ships, and received hostages from both places, crossed over
into Africa; and before he made a descent upon the con-
tinent, havin(| laid waste the island of Meninx, and received
from the inhabitants of Cercina ten talents of silver, in order
that their fields too might not be burnt and pillaged, he ap-
proached the shores of Africa, and landed his troops. Thence
the soldiers were led out to plunder, and the crews scattered
about just as if they were plundering uninhabited islands;
and thus, carelessly falling upon an ambuscade, when they
were surrounded—the ignorant of the country by those ac-
quainted with it, the straggling by those in close array, they
were driven back to their ships in ignominious flight, and
with great carnage. As many as one thousand men, together
with Sempronius Blaesus, the quaestor, having been lost, the
fleet hastily setting sail from the shore, which was crowded
with the enemy, proceeded direct for Italy, and was given up
at Lilybseum to Titus Otacilius, the prastor, that it might be
taken back to Rome by his lieutenant, Publius Sura. The
consul himself, proceeding through Sicily on foot, crossed the
strait into Italy, summoned, as well as his colleague, Marcus
Atilius, by a letter from Quintus Fabius, to receive the ar-
mies from him, as the period of his command, which was six
months, had nearly expired. Almost all the annalists record
that Fabius conducted the war against Hannibal, as dictator.
Caelius also writes, that he was the first dictator created byT. B. 536.]

THE HISTORT OP ROME.

801

the people. But it has escaped Caelius and all the others
that Cneius Servilius, the consul, who was then a long way
from home in Gaul, which was his province, was the only
person who possessed the right of appointing a dictator; and
that as the state, terrified by the disasters which had just be-
fallen it, could not abide the delay, it had recourse to the de-
termination that the people should create a prodictator; that
his subsequent achievements, his singular renown as a general,
and his descendants, who exaggerated the inscription of his
statue, easily brought it about that he should be called dic-
tator, instead of prodictator.

32. The consuls, Atilius and Geminus Servilius, having
received, the former the army of Fabius, the latter that of
Minucius, and fortified their winter quarters in good time, (it
was the close of the autumn,) carried on the war with the most
perfect unanimity, according to the plans of Fabius. In many
places they fell upon the troops of Hannibal when out on
foraging excursions, availing themselves of the opportunity,
and both harassing their march and intercepting the stragglers.
They did not come to the chance of a general battle, which
the enemy tried by every artifice to bring about. And Han-
nibal was so straitened by the want of provisions, that had
he not feared in retiring the appearance of flight, he would
have returned to Gaul, no hope being left of being able to
subsist an army in those quarters, if the ensuing consuls should
carry on the war upon the same plan. The war having been
arrested in its progress at Geronium, the winter interrupting
it, ambassadors from Naples came to Rome. They carried
into the senate-house forty golden goblets, of great weight,
and spoke to this effect: " That they knew the treasury of
the Romans was exhausted by the war; and since the war
was carried on alike in defence of the cities and the lands of
the allies, and of the empire and city of Rome, the capital and
citadel of Italy, that the Neapolitans thought it but fair that
they should assist the Roman people with whatever gold had
been left them by their ancestors as well for the decoration of
their temples as for the relief of misfortune. If they had thought
that there was any resource in themselves, that they would
have offered it with the same zeal. That the Roman fathers
and people would render an acceptable service to them, if they
would consider all the goods of the Neapolitans as their own;

3 f 2802

THE HISTORY OF KOME. [B. XXII. CHAP. 33.

and if they would think them deserving, that they should ac-
cept a present at their hands, rendered valuable and of con-
sequence rather by the spirit and affection of those who gave
it with cheerfulness, than by its intrinsic worth." Thanks were
given to the ambassadors for their munificence and attention,
and the goblet of least weight was accepted.

33. During the same days a Carthaginian spy, who had
escaped for two years, was apprehended at Rome, and his
hands having been cut off, was let go: and twenty-five slaves
were crucified for forming a conspiracy in the Campus Mar-
tius; his liberty was given to the informer, and twenty
thousand asses of the heavy standard. Ambassadors were
also sent to Philip, king of the Macedonians, to demand
Demetrius of Pharia, who, having been vanquished in war,
had fled to him. Others were sent to the Ligurians, to ex-
postulate with them for having assisted the Carthaginians with
their substance and with auxiliaries; and, at the same time,
to take a near view of what was going on amongst the Boii
and Insubrians. Ambassadors were also sent to the Illyrians
to king Pineus, to demand the tribute, the day of payment of
which had passed; or if he wished to postpone the day, to re-
ceive hostages. Thus, though an arduous war was on their
shoulders, no attention to any one concern in any part of the
world, however remote, escapes the Romans. It was made a
matter of superstitious fear also, that the temple of Concord,
which Lucius Manlius, the praetor, had vowed in Gaul two
years ago, on occasion of a mutiny, had not been contracted
for to that day. Accordingly, Cneius Pupius and Caeso
Quinctius Flaminius, created duumviri by Marcus JEmilius,
the city praetor, for that purpose, contract for the building a
temple in the citadel. By the same praetor a letter was sent
to the consuls, agreeably to a decree of the senate, to the effect
that, if they thought proper, one of them should come to Rome
to elect consuls; and that he would proclaim the election for
whatever day they might name. To this it was replied by
the consuls, that they could not leave the enemy without
detriment to the public; that it would be better, therefore,
that the election should be held by an interrex, than that one
of the consuls should be called away from the war. It ap-
peared more proper to the fathers, that a dictator should be
nominated by a consul, for the purpose of holding the electiony» b. 636.]

THE HI8T0BT OF ROME.

803

Lucius Veturius Philo was nominated, who chose Manius
Pomponius Matho master of the horse. These having been
created with some defect, they were ordered to give up their
appointment on the fourteenth day; and the state came to an
interregnum.

34. To the consuls the authority was continued for a year
longer. Caius Claudius Centho, son of Appius, and then
Publius Cornelius Asina, were appointed interreges by the
fathers. During the interregnum of the latter the election was
held, with a violent contest between the patricians and the peo*
pie. Caius Terentius Yarro, whom, as a man of their own order,
commended to their favour by inveighing against the patrii
cians and by other popular arts; who had acquired celebrity
by maligning others, by undermining the influence of Fabius;
and bringing into contempt the dictatorial authority, the conf-
mons strove to raise to the consulship. The patricians op-
posed him with all their might, lest men, by inveighing
against them, should come to be placed on an equality witjf
them. Quintus Boebius Herennius, a plebeian tribune, and
kinsman of Caius Terentius, by criminating not only f the
senate, but the augurs also, for having prevented the dictator
from completing the election, by the odium cast upon them,
conciliated favour to his own candidate. He asserted, " that
Hannibal had been brought into Italy by the nobility, who
had for many years been desirous of a war. That by the
fraudulent machinations of the same persons the war had been
protracted, whereas it might have been brought to a conclu-
sion. That it had appeared that the war could be maintained
with an army consisting of four legions in all, from Marcus
Minucius's having fought with success in the absence of Fa-
bius. That two legions had been exposed to be slain by the
enemy, and were afterwards rescued from absolute destruc-
tion, in order that that man might be saluted as father and
patron, who had deprived them of victory before he delivered
them from defeat. That subsequently the consuls, pursuing
the plans of Fabius, had protracted the war, whereas it was
in their power to have put a period to it. That this was an
agreement made by the nobility in general; nor would they
ever have the war concluded till they had created a consul
really plebeian; that is, a new man: for that plebeians who
had attained nobility were now initiated into the mysteries,804

THE HISTORY OF itOME. [B. XXII. CHAP. 35.

and had begun to look down with contempt upon plebeians,
from the moment they ceased to be despised by the patricians.
Who was not fully aware that their end and object was, that
an interregnum should be formed, in order that the elections
might be under the influence of the patricians ? That both
the consuls had that in view in tarrying with the army: and
that afterwards a dictator having been nominated to hold the
election contrary to their wishes, they had carried it, as it
were, by storm, that the augurs should declare the dictator
informally elected. That they therefore had gotten an in-
terregnum ; but one consulate was surely in the hands of the
Roman people. Thus the people would have that at their
own unbiassed disposal, and that they would confer it on that
man who would rather conquer in reality than lengthen the
term of his command."

35. When the people had been inflamed by these harangues,
though there were three patrician candidates for the consul-
ship, Publius Cornelius Merenda, Lucius Manlius Yulso, and
Marcus ^Emilius Lepidus, two of plebeian families, who had
been ennobled, Caius Atilius Serranus and Quintus iElius
Psetus, one of whom was pontiff, the other an augur, Teren-
tius alone was created consul, that the comitia for choosing
his colleague might be in his own management. Then the
nobles, finding that the competitors whom they had set up
were not strong enough, though he strenuously refused for a
long time, prevail upon -ZEmilius Paulus, who was strongly
opposed to the people, to become a candidate. He had been
consul before with Marcus Livius, and from the condemnation
of his colleague, and almost of himself, had come off scathed.
On the next day of the election, all who had opposed Yarro
withdrawing, he is given to the consul rather as a match to
oppose him than as a colleague. Afterwards the assembly for
the election of prgetors was held, and Manius Pomponius
Matho and Publius Furius Philus were chosen. The city lot
for the administration of justice at Rome fell to the lot of
Pomponius ; between Roman citizens and foreigners, to Philus.
Two preators were added, Marcus Claudius Marcellus for
Sicily, and Lucius Postumius for Gaul. These were all ap-
pointed in their absence; nor was an honour which he had
not previously borne committed to any one of them, except
the consul Terentius, several brave and able men having beent. ft. 636.]

the history of rome.

805

passed over, because, at such a juncture, it did not appear ad-
visable that a new office should be committed to any one.

36.	The forces also were augmented. But how great was
the augmentation of infantry and cavalry authors vary bo
much, that I scarcely dare positively assert. Some state, that
ten thousand soldiers were levied as a reinforcement; others,
four fresh legions, that there might be eight legions in service.
It is said also, that the complement of the legion was increased
in respect both to foot and horse, one thousand foot and one
hundred horse being added to each, so that each might con-
tain five thousand foot and three hundred horse; and that the
allies furnished twice as many cavalry, and an equal number
of infantry. Some authorities affirm that there were eighty-
seven thousand two hundred soldiers in the Roman camp
when the battle of Cannae was fought. There is no dispute,
that the war was prosecuted with greater energy and spirit
than during former years, because the dictator had given them
a hope that the enemy might be subdued. Before, however,
the new-raised legions marched from the city, the decemviri
were ordered to have recourse to and inspect the sacred
volumes, on account of persons having been generally alarmed
by extraordinary prodigies; for intelligence was brought, that
it had rained stones on the Aventine at Rome and at Aricia
at the same time. That among the Sabines, statues had
sweated blood copiously, and at Caere the waters had flowed
warm from a fountain. The latter prodigy excited a greater
degree of alarm, because it had frequently occurred. In a
street called the Arched Way, near the Campus Marti us,
several men were struck by lightning and killed. These pro-
digies were expiated according to the books. Ambassadors
from Paestum brought some golden goblets to Rome> they
were thanked, as the Neapolitans were, but the gold was not
accepted.

37.	During the same time a fleet from Hiero arrived at
Ostia with a large cargo of supplies. The Syracusan ambas-
sadors, on being introduced into the senate, delivered this
message: " That king Hiero was so much affected at the
slaughter announced to him of Caius Flaminius the consul
and his troops, that he could not have been more distressed at
any disasters which could have befallen himself or his own
kingdom; and accordingly, though he was well aware that806	THE HISTORY OF | ROME. [B. XXII. CHAP. 37-

i

the greatness of the Roman people was almost more admirable
in adversity than prosperity, he had; nevertheless sent every
thing which good and faithful allies are wont to contribute to
assist the operations of war, which he earnestly implored the
conscript fathers not to refuse to accept. First of all, for the
sake of the omen, they had brought a golden statue of Victory,
of three hundred pounds' weight, which they begged them to
accept, keep by them, and hold as their own peculiar and last-
ing possession. That they had also brought three hundred
thousand pecks of wheat, and two hundred thousand of bar-
ley, that there might be no want of provisions; and that as
much more as might be necessary they would convey, as a
supply, to whatever place they might appoint. He knew
that the Roman people employed no legionary troops or cavalry
who were not Romans, or of the Latin confederacy; that he
had seen foreign auxiliary as well as native light-armed troops
in the Roman camps ; he had, therefore, sent one thousand
archers and slingers, a suitable force against the Baliares and
Moors, and other nations which fought with missile weapons."
To these presents they added also advice: " That the prastor
to whose lot the province of Sicily had fallen, should pass a
fleet over to Africa, that the enemy also might have a war in
their own country, and that less liberty should be afforded
them of sending reinforcements to Hannibal." The senate
thus replied to the king: " That Hiero was a good man and
an admirable ally; and that from the time he first formed a
friendship with the Roman people he had uniformly cultivated
a spirit of fidelity, and had munificently assisted the Roman
cause at all times and in every place. That this was, as it
ought to be, a cause of gratitude to the Roman people. That
the Roman people had not accepted gold which had been
brought them al^) from certain states, though they felt grati-
tude for the act. The Victory and the omen," they said,
" they would accept, and would assign and dedicate to that
goddess, as her abode, the Capitol, the temple of Jupiter, the
best and greatest of gods; hoping that, consecrated in that
fortress of the city of Rome, she would continue there firm
and immoveable, kind and propitious to the Roman people."
The slingers, archers, and corn were handed over to the con-
suls. To the fleet which Titus Otacilius the propraetor had
in Sicily, twenty-five quinqueremes were added, and permis-y. B. 536.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

807

sion was given him, if he thought it for the interest of the
state, to pass over into Africa.

38. The levy completed, the consuls waited a few days,
till the allies of the Latin confederacy arrived. At this time
the soldiers were bound by an oath, which had never before
been the case, dictated by the military tribunes, that they
would assemble at the command of the consuls, and not de-
part without orders; for up to that time the military oath
only had been employed; and further, when the soldiers met
to divide into decuries or centuries, the cavalry being formed
into decuries and the infantry into centuries, all swore to-
gether, amongst themselves, of their own accord, that they
would not depart or quit their ranks for flight or fear, ex-
cept, for the purpose of taking up or fetching a weapon, and
either striking an enemy or saving a countryman. This,
from being a voluntary compact among the soldiers them-
selves, was converted into the legal compulsion of an oath by
the tribunes. Before the standards were moved from the
city, the harangues of Varro were frequent and furious,
protesting that the war had been invited into Italy by the
nobles, and that it would continue fixed in the bowels of the
state if it employed any more such generals as Fabius; that
he would bring the war to conclusion on the very day he got
sight of the enemy. His colleague Paulus made but one
speech, on the day before they set out from the city, which
was more true than gratifying to the people, in which nothing
was said severely against Varro, except this only. " That he
wondered how any general, before he knew any thing of his
own army, or that of the enemy, the situation of the places,
or the nature of the country, even now while in the city, and
with the gown on, could tell what he must do when in arms,
and could even foretell the day on which he^ould fight
standard to standard with the enemy. That, for his own
part, he would not, before the time arrived, prematurely an-
ticipate those measures which circumstances imposed on mep,
rather than men on circumstances. He could only wish that
those measures which were taken with due caution and de-
liberation might turn out prosperously. That temerity, set-
ting aside its folly, Jiad hitherto been also unsuccessful/'
This obviously appeared, that he would prefer safe to precipi-
tate counsels; but that he might persevere the more constantly808	THE HISTORY OF RjpME. [B. XXII. CHAP. 39

in this, Quintus Fabius Maximus is reported to have thus ad-
dressed him on his departure.

39. "If you either had a colleague like yourself, Lucius
iEmilius, which is what I should prefer, or you were like
your colleague, an address from me would be superfluous.
For were you both good consuls, you would do every thing
for the good of the state from your own sense of honour, even
without my saying a word: and were you both bad consuls,
you would neither receive my words into your ears, nor my
counsels into your minds. As the case now is, looking at
your colleague and yourself, a man of such character, my ad-
dress will be solely to you; who, I feel convinced, will prove
yourself a good man and a worthy citizen in vain, if the state
on the other hand should halt. Pernicious counsels will
have the same authority and influence as those which are
sound. For you are mistaken, Lucius Paulus, if you imagine
that you will have a less violent contest with Caius Terentius
than with Hannibal. I know not whether the former, your
opponent, or the latter, your open enemy, be the more hostile.
With the latter you will have to contend in the field only;
with the former, at every place and time. Hannibal, more-
over, you have to oppose with your own horse and foot;
while Yarro will head your own soldiers against you. Let
Caius Flaminius be absent from your thoughts, even for the
omen's sake. Yet he only began to play the madman's con-
sul, in his province, and at the head of the army. This man
is raving before he put up for the consulship, afterwards
while canvassing for it, and now having obtained it, before he
has seen the camp or the enemy. And he who by talking
largely of battles and marshalled armies, even now excites
such storms among the citizens with their gowns on, what do
you think he will effect among the youth in arms, where words
are followed forthwith by acts ? But be assured, if this man,
as he protests he will, shall immediately engage the enemy,
either I am unacquainted with military affairs, with this kind
of war, and the character of the enemy, or another place will
become more celebrated than the Trasimenus by our disasters.
Neither is this the season for boasting while I am address-
ing one man; and besides, I have exceeded the bounds of
moderation in despising rather than in courting fame. But
the case is really this. The only way of conducting the warY. EU 536.]

THE HI8T0BY OP BOME.

809

against Hannibal is that which I adopted: nor does the event
only, that instructor of fools, demonstrate it, but that same
reasoning which has continued hitherto, and will continue un-
changeable so long as circumstances shall remain the same.
We are carrying on war in Italy, in our own country, and our
own soil. All around us are countrymen and allies in abund-
ance. With arms, men, horses, and provisions, they do and
will assist us. Such proofs of their fidelity have they given in
our adversity. Time, nay, every day makes us better, wiser, and
firmer. Hannibal, on the contrary, is in a foreign, a hostile
land, amidst all hostile and disadvantageous circumstances, far
from his home, far from his country; he has peace neither by
land nor sea: no cities, no walls receive him: he sees nothing
any where which he can call his own: he daily lives by
plunder. He has now scarcely a third part of that army
which he conveyed across the Iberus. Famine has destroyed
more than the sword; nor have the few remaining a sufficient
supply of provisions. Do you doubt, therefore, whether by
remaining quiet we shall not conquer him who is daily sink-
ing into decrepitude ? who has neither provisions nor money ?
How long before the walls of Geronium, a miserable fortress

of Apulia, as if before the walls of Carthage-? But not

even in your presence will I boast. See how Cneius Servilius
and Atilius, the last consuls, fooled him. This is the only
path of safety, Lucius Paulus, which your countrymen will
render more difficult and dangerous to you than their enemies
will. For your own soldiers will desire the same thing as
those of the enemy: Varro,a Roman consul, and Hannibal, a
Carthaginian general, will wish the same thing. You alone
must resist two generals: and you will resist them sufficiently
if you stand firm against the report and the rumours of men;
if neither the empty glory of your colleague, and the unfounded
calumnies against yourself, shall move you. They say that
truth too often suffers, but is never destroyed. He who
despises fame will have it genuine. Let them call you coward
instead of cautious, dilatpry instead of considerate, unwarlike
instead of an expert general. I would rather that a sagacious
enemy should fear you, than that foolish countrymen should
commend you. A man who hazards all things Hannibal will
despise, him who does nothing rashly he will fear. And
neither do I advise that nothing should be done; but that in810	THE HISTORY OF ^ROME. [B. XXII. CHAP. 40,41.

what you do, reason should guide you, and not fortune. All
things will be within your own power, and your own. Be al-
ways ready armed and on the watch, and neither be wanting
when a favourable opportunity presents itself, nor give any fa-
vourable opportunity to the enemy. All things are clear and sure
to the deliberate man. Precipitation is improvident and blind."

40.	The address of the consul in reply was by no means
cheerful, admitting that what he said was true, rather than
easy to put in practice. He said, " That to him, as dictator,
his master of the horse was unbearable: what power or influ-
ence could a consul have against a factious and intemperate
colleague? That he had in his former consulate escaped a
popular conflagration not without being singed: his prayer
was, that every thing might happen prosperously; but if, on
the contrary, any misfortune should occur, that he would
rather expose his life to the weapons of the enemy, than to the
votes of his incensed countrymen." Directly after this dis-
course, it is related that Paulus set out, escorted by the
principal senators."' The plebeian consul attended his own
plebeian party, more distinguished by their numbers than re-
spectability. When they had arrived at the camp, the old
and new troops being united, they formed two distinct camps,
so that the new and smaller one might be the nearer to Han-
nibal, and the old one might contain the greater part, and all
the choicest of the troops. They then sent to Rome Marcus
Atilius, the consul of the former year, who alleged his age in
excuse. They appoint Geminus Servilius to the command of
a Roman legion, and two thousand of the allied infantry and
cavalry in the lesser camp. Hannibal, although he perceived
that the forces of the enemy were augmented by one-half, was
yet wonderfully rejoiced at the arrival of the consuls ; for he
had not only nothing remaining of the provisions which he
daily acquired by plunder, but there was not even any thing
left which he could seize, the corn in all the surrounding
country having been collected into fortified cities, when the
country was too unsafe; so that, as was afterwards discovered,
there scarcely remained corn enough for ten days, and the
Spaniards would have passed over to the enemy, through
want of food, if the completion of that time had been awaited.

41.	But fortune afforded materials also to the headstrong
and precipitate disposition of the consul, for in checking they. b, 536.]

THE HISTORY OP BOMiB.

811

plundering parties a battle having taken place, of a tumultu-
ary kind, and occasioned rather by a disorderly advance of
the soldiers, than by a preconcerted plan, or by the command
of the general, the contest was by no means equal with the
Carthaginians. As many as one thousand seven hundred of
them were slain, but not more than one hundred of the Ro-
mans and allies. The consul Paulus, however, who was in
command on that day, (for they held the command on alternate
days,) apprehending an ambuscade, restrained the victorious
troops in their headstrong pursuit; while Varro indignantly
vociferated, that the enemy had been allowed to slip out of
their hands, and that the war might have been terminated
had not the pursuit been stopped. Hannibal was not much
grieved at that loss; nay, rather he felt convinced, that the
temerity of the more presumptuous consul, and of the soldiers,
particularly the fresh ones, would be lured by the bait; and
besides, all the circumstances of the enemy were as well
known to him as his own: that dissimilar and discordant men
were in command; that nearly two-thirds of the army con-
sisted of raw recruits. Accordingly, concluding that he now
had both a time and place adapted for an ambuscade, on
the following night he led his troops away with nothing but
their arms, leaving the camp filled with all their effects, both
public and private. His infantry drawn up he conceals on the
left, on the opposite side of the adjoining hills; his cavalry on
the right; his baggage in an intermediate line he leads over
the mountains through a valley, in order that he might sur-
prise the enemy when busy in plundering the camp, deserted,
as they would imagine, by its owners, and when encumbered
with booty. Numerous fires were left in the camp, to pro-
duce a belief that his intention was to keep the consuls in their
places by the appearance of a camp, until he could himself
escape to a greater distance, in the same manner as he had
deceived Fabius the year before.

42. When it was day, the outpost withdrawn first occasioned
surprise, then, on a nearer approach, the unusual stillness. At
length, the desertion being manifest, there is a general rush to
the pavilions of the consuls, of those who announced the flight
of the enemy so precipitate, that they left their camp, with
their tents standing; and, that their flight might be the more
secret, that numerous fires were left. Then a clamour arose812

THE HISTORY OF ilOME. [b. xxil. CHAP. 42.

that they should order the standards \o be advanced, and lead
them in pursuit of the enemy, and to the immediate plunder
of the camp. The other consul too was as one of the common
soldiers. Paulus again and again urged, that they should see
their way before them, and use every precaution. Lastly, when
he could no longer withstand the sedition and the leader of the
sedition, he sends Marius Statilius, a prefect, with a Lucanian
troop, to reconnoitre, who, when he had ridden up to the gates,
ordered the rest to stay without the works, and entered the
camp himself, attended by two horsemen. Having carefully
examined every thing, he brings back word that it was mani-
festly a snare: that fires were left in that part of the camp
which faced the enemy: that the tents were open, and that all
their valuables were left exposed: that in some places he had
seen silver carelessly thrown about the passages, as if laid
there for plunder. This intelligence, which it was hoped
would deter their minds from greediness, inflamed them; and
the soldiers clamorously declaring, that unless the signal
was given they would advance without their leaders, they by
no means wanted one, for Yarro instantly gave the signal for
marching. Paulus, whom, unwilling from his own sugges-
tions to move, the chickens had not encouraged by their
auspices, ordered the unlucky omen to be reported to his col-
league, when he was now leading the troops out of the gate.
And though Yarro bore it impatiently, yet the recent fate of
Flaminius, and the recorded naval defeat of Claudius, the
consul in the first Punic war, struck religious scruples into
his mind. The gods themselves (it might almost be said)
rather postponed than averted the calamity which hung over
the Romans; for it fell out by mere accident, that when the
soldiers did not obey the consul who ordered them to return
to the camp, two slaves, one belonging to a horseman of
Formias, the other to one of Sidicinum, who had been cut off
by the Numidians among a party of foragers, when Servilius
and Atilius were consuls, had escaped on that day to their
masters : and being brought into the presence of the consuls,
inform them that the whole army of Hannibal was lying in
ambush on the other side of the adjoining mountains. The
seasonable arrival of these men restored the consuls to their
authority, when the ambition of one of them had relaxed his
influence with the soldiers, by an undignified compliance.y.R.036.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

813

43. Hannibal, perceiving that the Romans had been indis-
creetly prompted rather than rashly carried to a conclusion,
returned to his camp without effecting any thing, as his
stratagem was discovered. He could not remain there many
days, in consequence of the scarcity of corn; and, moreover,
not only among the soldiers, who were mixed up of the off-
scouring of various nations, but even with the general him-
self, day by day new designs arose: for, first, when there had
been murmuring of the soldiers, and then an open and
clamorous demand of their arrears of pay, and a complaint
first of the scarcity of provisions, and lastly of famine; and
there being a report that the mercenaries, particularly the
Spanish, had formed a plan of passing over to the enemy,
it is affirmed that Hannibal himself too sometimes enter-
tained thoughts of flying into Gaul, so that, having left all
his infantry, he might hurry away with his cavalry. Such
being the plans in agitation, and such the state of feeling in
the camp, he resolved to depart thence into the regions of
Apulia, which were warmer, and therefore earlier in the
harvest. Thinking also, that the farther he retired from the
enemy, the more difficult would desertion be to the wavering.
He set out by night, having, as before, kindled fires, and
leaving a few tents to produce an appearance; that a fear of
an ambuscade, similar to the former, might keep the Romans
in their places. But when intelligence was brought by the
same Lucanian Statilius, who had reconnoitred every place
on the other side the mountains, and beyond the camp, that
the enemy was seen marching at a distance, then plans began
to be deliberated on about pursuing him. The consuls per-
sisted in the same opinions they ever entertained; but nearly
all acquiesced with Varro, and none with Paulus except Ser-
vilius, the consul of the former year. In compliance with
the opinion of the majority, they set out, under the impulse
of destiny, to render Cannae celebrated by a Roman disaster.
Hannibal Had pitched his camp near that village, with his
back to the wind Vulturnus, which, in those plains which are
parched with drought, carries with it clouds of dust. This
circumstance was not only very advantageous to the camp,
but would be a great protection to them when they formed
their line; as they, with the wind blowing only on their814

THE HI8TORY OF HOME. [B. XXII. CHAP. 44.

backs, would combat with an enemy blinded with the thickly
blown dust

44.	When the consuls, employing sufficient diligence in
exploring the road in pursuit of the Carthaginian, had arrived
at Cannae, where they had the enemy in the sight of them,
having divided their forces, they fortify two camps with
nearly the same interval as before, at Geronium. The river
Aufidus, which flowed by both the camps, afforded approach
to the watering parties of each, as opportunity served, though
not without contest. The Romans in the lesser camp, how-
ever, which was on th<^ other side the Aufidus, were more
freely furnished with water, because the further bank had no
guard of the enemy. Hannibal, entertaining a hope that the
consuls would not decline a battle in this tract, which was
naturally adapted to a cavalry engagement, in which por-
tion of his forces he was invincible, formed his line, and pro-
voked the enemy by a skirmishing attack with his Numidians.
Upon this the Roman camp began again to be embroiled by
a mutiny among the soldiers, and the disagreement of the
consuls: since Paulus instanced to Varro the temerity of
Sempronius and Flaminius ; while Varro pointed to Fabius,
as a specious example to timid and inactive generals. The
latter called both gods and men to witness, " that no part of
the blame attached to him that Hannibal had now made Italy
•his own^(in ill irrrnj by right of possession ; that he was held
bound by his colleague ,* that the swords and arms were taken
out of the hands of the indignant soldiers who were eager to
fight." The former declared, "that if any disaster should
befall the legions thus exposed and betrayed into an ill-ad-
vised and imprudent battle, he should be exempt from any
blame, though the sharer of all the consequences. That he
must take care that their hands were equally energetic in the
battle whose tongues were so forward and impetuous."

45.	While time is thus consumed in altercation rather than
deliberating, Hannibal, who had kept his troops drawn up in
order of battle till late in the day, when he had led the rest of
them back into the camp, sends Numidians across the river to
attack a watering party of the Romans from the lesser camp.
Having routed this disorderly band by shouting and tumult,
before they had well reached the opposite bank, they advancedy. r. 536.]

THE HISTORY OP ROME.

815

even to an outpost which was before the rampart, and near
the very gates of the camp. It seemed so great an indignity,
that now even the camp of the Romans should be terrified by a
tumultuary band of auxiliaries, that this cause alone kept back
the Romans from crossing the river forthwith, and forming their
line, that the chief command was on that day held by Paulus.
Accordingly Varro, on the following day, on which it was his
turn to hold the command, without consulting his colleague,
displayed the signal for battle, and forming his troops, led
them across the river. Paulus followed, because he could
better disapprove of the proceeding, than withhold his assist-
ance. Having crossed the river, they add to their forces
those which they had in the lesser camp; and thus forming
their line, place the Roman cavalry in the right wing, which
was next the river; and next them the infantry : at the ex-
tremity of the left wing the allied cavalry; within them the
allied infantry, extending to the centre, and contiguous to the
Roman legions. The darters, and the rest of the light-armed
auxiliaries, formed the van. The consuls commanded the
wings ; Terentius the left, .jEmilius the right. To Geminus
Servilius was committed the charge of maintaining the battle
in the centre.

46. Hannibal, at break of day, having sent before him the
Baliares and other light-armed troops, crossed the river, and
placed his troops in line of battle, as he had conveyed them
across the river. The Gallic and Spanish cavalry he placed
in the left wing, opposite the Roman cavalry: the right wing
was assigned to the Numidian cavalry, the centre of the line
being strongly formed by the infantry, so that both extremi-
ties of it were composed of Africans, between which Gauls
and Spaniards were placed. One would suppose the Africans
were for the most part Romans, they were so equipped with
arms captured at the Trebia, and for the greater part at the
Trasimenus. The shields of the Gauls and Spaniards were of
the same shape; their swords unequal and dissimilar. The
Gauls had very long ones, without points. The Spaniards,
who were accustomed to stab more than to cut their enemy,
had swords convenient from their shortness, and with points.
The aspect of these nations in other respects was terrific,
both as to the appearance they exhibited and the size of their
persons. The Gauls were naked above the navel: the

3 a816

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXII. CHAP. 47.

Spaniards stood arrayed in linen vests resplendent with surpris-
ing whiteness, and bordered with purple. The whole amount
of infantry standing in battle-array was forty thousand, of
cavalry ten. The generals who commanded the wings were,
on the left Hasdrubal, on the right Maharbal: Hannibal him-
self, with his brother Mago, commanded the centre. The sun
very conveniently shone obliquely upon both parties; the
Romans facing the south, and the Carthaginians the north;
either placed so designedly, or having stood thus by chance.
The wind, which the inhabitants of the district call the Vul-
turnus, blowing violently in front of the Romans, prevented
their seeing far by rolling clouds of dust into their faces.

47. The shout being raised, the auxiliaries charged, and
the battle commenced in the first place with the light-armed
troops: then the left wing, consisting of the Gallic and Span-
ish cavalry, engages with the Roman right wing, by no means
in the manner of a cavalry battle; for they were obliged to
engage front to front; for as on one side the river, on the
other the line of infantry hemmed them in, there was no space
left at their flanks for evolution, but both parties were com-
pelled to press directly forward. At length the horses stand-
ing still, and being crowded together, man grappling with
man, dragged him from his horse. The contest now came to
be carried on principally on foot. The battle,'however, was
more violent than lasting; and the Roman cavalry being re-
pulsed, turn their backs. About the conclusion of the contest
between the cavalry, the battle between the infantry com-
menced. At first the Gauls and Spaniards preserved their
ranks unbroken, not inferior in strength or coufage: but at
length the Romans, after long and repeated efforts, drove in
with their even front and closely compacted line, that part of
the enemy's line in the form of a wedge, which projected be-
yond the rest, which was too thin, and therefore deficient in
strength. These men, thus driven back and hastily retreating,
they closely pursued; and as they urged their course without
interruption through this terrified band, as it fled with pre-
cipitation, were borne first upon the centre line of the enemy;
and lastly, no one opposing them, they reached the African
reserved troops. These were posted at the two extremities
of the line, where it was depressed; while the centre, where
the Gauls and Spaniards were placed, projected a little. Wheny. B. 536.]

THE HISTORY OP ROME.

817

the wedge thus formed being driven in, at first rendered the
line level, but afterwards, by the pressure, made a curvature
in the centre, the Africans, who had now formed wings on
each side of them, surrounded the Romans on both sidep, who
incautiously rushed into the intermediate space; an4 pre-
sently extending their wings, enclosed the enemy on the rear
also. After this the Romans, who had in vain finished one
battle, leaving the Gauls and Spaniards, whose rear they had
slaughtered, in addition commence a fresh encounter with the
Africans, not only disadvantageous, because being hemmed in
they had to fight against troops who surrounded them, but
also because, fatigued, they fought with those who were fresh
and vigorous.

48.	Now also in the left wing of the Romans, in which the
allied cavalry were opposed to the Numidians, the battle was
joined, which was at first languid, commencing with a strata-
gem on the part of the Carthaginians. About five hundred
Numidians, who, besides their usual arms, had swords con-
cealed beneath their coats of mail, quitting their own party,
and riding up to the enemy under the semblance of deserters,
with their bucklers behind them, suddenly leap down from
their horses; and, throwing down their bucklers and javelins
at the feet of their enemies, are received into their centre, and
being conducted to the rear, ordered to remain there; and
there they continued until the battle became general. But
afterwards, when the thoughts and attention of all were occu-
pied with the contest, snatching up the shields which lay
scattered on all hands among the heaps of slain, they fell upon
the rear of the Roman line, and striking their backs and
wounding their hams, occasioned vast havoc, and still greater
panic and confusion. While in one part terror and flight
prevailed, in another the battle was obstinately persisted in,
though with little hope. Hasdrubal, who was then command-
ing in that quarter, withdrawing the Numidians from the
centre of the army, as the conflict with their opponents was
slight, sends them idyrarsuit of the scattered fugitives, and
joining the Africans, now almost weary with slaying rather
than fighting the Spanish and Gallic infantry.

49.	On the other side of the field, Paulus, though severely
wounded from a sling in the very commencement of the
battle, with a compact body of troops, frequently opposed

3 g 2818

THE HISTORY OP BOMB. [B. XXII. CHAP. 49.

himself to Hannibal, and in several quarters restored the
battle, the Roman cavalry protecting him; who, at length,
when the consul had not strength enough even to manage his
horse, dismounted from their horses. And when some one
brought intelligence that the consul had ordered the cavalry
to dismount, it is said that Hannibal observed, " How much
rather would I that he delivered them to me in chains." The
fight maintained by the dismounted cavalry was such as
might be expected, when the victory was undoubtedly on the
side of the enemy, the vanquished preferring death in, their
places to flight; and the conquerors, who were enraged at
them for delaying the victory, butchering those whom they
could not put to flight. They at length, however, drove the
few who remained away, worn out with exertion and wounds.
After that they were all dispersed, and such as could, sought
to regain their horses for flight. Cneius Lentulus, a military
tribune, seeing, as he rode by, the consul sitting upon a stone
and covered with blood, said to him : " Lucius iEmilius! the
only man whom the gods ought to regard as being guiltless of
this day's disaster, take this horse, while you have any strength
remaining, and I am with you to raise you up and protect
you. Make not this battle more calamitous by the death of
a consul. There is sufficient matter for tears and grief with-
out this addition." In reply the consul said: " Do thou in-
deed go on and prosper, Cneius Servilius, in your career of
virtue! But beware lest you waste in bootless commiseration
the brief opportunity of escaping from the hands of the
enemy. Go and tell the fathers publicly, to fortify the city
of Rome, and garrison it strongly before the victorious enemy
arrive: and tell Quintus Fabius individually, that Lucius
^Emilius lived, and now dies, mindful of his injunctions.
Allow me to expire amid these heaps of my slaughtered
troops, that I may not a second time be accused after my con-
sulate, or stand forth as the accuser of my colleague, in order
to defend my own innocence by criminating another." While
finishing these words, first a crowd of their flying country-
men, after that the enemy, came upon them ; they overwhelm
the consul with their weapons, not knowing who he was: in
the confusion his horse rescued Lentulus. After that they fly
precipitately. Seven thousand escaped to the lesser camp, ten
to the greater, about two thousand to the village itself ofy. e. 536.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

819

Cannae, who were immediately surrounded by Carthalo and
the cavalry, no fortifications protecting the village. The other
consul, whether by design or by chance, made good his escape
to Venusia with about seventy horse, without mingling with
any party of the flying troops. Forty thousand foot, two
thousand seven hundred horse, there being an equal number
of citizens and allies, are said to have been slain. Among
these both the quaestors of the consuls, Lucius Atilius and
Lucius Furius Bibaculus; twenty-one military tribunes; se-
veral who had passed the offices of consul, praetor, and aedile;
among these they reckon Cneius Servilius Grerminus, and
Marcus Minucius, who had been master of the horse on a
former year, and consul some years before: moreover eighty,
either senators, or who had borne those offices by which they
might be elected into the senate, and who had voluntarily
enrolled themselves in the legions. Three thousand infantry
and three hundred cavalry are said to have been captured in
that battle.

50. Such is the battle of Cannae, equal in celebrity to the
defeat at the Allia: but as it was less important in respect to
those things which happened after it, because the enemy did
not follow up the blow, so was it more important and more
horrible with respect to the slaughter of the army; for with
respect to the flight at the Allia, as it betrayed the city, so it
preserved the army. At Cannae, scarcely seventy accompanied
the flying consul: almost the whole army shared the fate of
the other who died. The troops collected in the two camps
being a half-armed multitude without leaders, those in the
larger send a message to the others, that they should come
over to them at night, when the enemy was oppressed with
eleep, and wearied with the battle, and then, out of joy, over-
powered with feasting: that they would go in one body to
Canusium. Some entirely disapproved of that advice. " For
why," said they, "did not those who sent for them come
themselves, since there would be equal facility of forming a
junction ? Because, evidently, all the intermediate space was
crowded with the enemy, and they would rather expose the
persons of others to so great a danger than their own." Others
did not so much disapprove, as want courage to fulfil the ad-
vice. Publius Sempronius Tuditanus, a military tribune,
exclaims, " Would you rather, then, be captured by the most820	THE HISTORY OP ROME. [B. XXII. CHAP. 51.

rapacious and cruel enemy, and have a price set upon jour
heads, and have your value ascertained by men who will ask
whether you are Roman citizens or Latin confederates, in
order that from your miseries and indignities honour may be
sought for another ? Not you, at least, if you are the fellow -
citizens of Lucius JBmilius, the consul who preferred an hon-
ourable death to a life of infamy, and of so many brave men
who lie heaped around him. But, before the light overtakes us,
and more numerous bodies of the enemy beset the way, let us
break through those disorderly and irregular troops who are
making a noise at our gates. By the sword and courage, a
road may be made through enemies, however dense. In a
wedge we shall make our way through this loose and dis-
jointed band, as if nothing opposed us. Come along with me,
therefore, ye who wish the safety of yourselves and the state."
Having thus said, he draws his sword, and forming a wedge,
goes through the midst of the enemy; and as the Numidians
discharged their javelins on their right side, which was ex-
posed, they transferred their shields to the right hand, and
thus escaped, to the number of six hundred, to the greater
camp; and setting out thence forthwith, another large body
having joined them, arrived safe at Canusium, These mea-
sures were taken by the vanquished, according to the impulse
of their tempers, which his own disposition or which accident
gave to each, rather than in consequence of any deliberate
plan of their own, or in obedience to the command of any one.

51. When all others, surrounding the victorious Hannibal,
congratulated him, and advised that, having completed so
great a battle, he should himself take the remainder of the
day and the ensuing night for rest, and grant it to his ex-
hausted troops ; Maharbal, prefect of the cavalry, who was of
opinion that no time should be lost, said to him, " Nay, rather,
that you may know what has been achieved by this battle, five
days hence you shall feast in triumph in the Capitol. Follow
me: I will go first with the cavalry, that they may know that
I am arrived before they know of me as approaching." To
Hannibal this project appeared too full of joy, and too great for
his mind to embrace it and determine upon it at the instant.
Accordingly, he replied to Maharbal, that " he applauded his
zeal, but that time was necessary to ponder the proposal."
Upon this Maharbal observed, " Of a truth the gods have noty. it. 536.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

821

bestowed all things upon the same person. You know how
to conquer, Hannibal; but you do not know how to make
use of your victory." That day's delay is firmly believed to
have been the preservation of the city and the empire. On
the following day, as soon as it dawned, they set about gather-
ing the spoi's and viewing the carnage, which was shocking,
even to enemies. So many thousands of Romans were lying,
foot and horse promiscuously, according as accident had
brought them together, either in the battle or in the flight.
Some, whom their wounds, pinched by the morning cold, had
roused, as they were rising up, covered with blood, from the
midst of the heaps of slain, were overpowered by the enemy.
Some too they found lying alive with their thighs and hams
cut, who, laying bare their necks and throats, bid them drain
the blood that remained in them. Some were found with
their heads plunged into the earth, which they had excavated;
having thus, as it appeared, made pits for themselves, and
having suffocated themselves by overwhelming their faces
with the earth which they threw over them. A living Nu-
midian, with lacerated nose and ears, stretched beneath a life-
less Roman who lay upon him, principally attracted the
attention of all; for when his hands were powerless to grasp
his weapon, turning from rage to madness, he had died in the
act of tearing his antagonist with his teeth.

52. The spoils having been gathered for a great part of the
day, Hannibal leads his troops to storm the lesser camp,
and, first of all, interposing a trench, cuts it off from the
river. But as the men were fatigued with toil, watching,
and wounds, a surrender was made sooner than he expected.
Having agreed to deliver up their arms and horses, on con-
dition that the ransom of every Roman should be three hun-
dred denarii, for an ally two hundred, for a slave one hundred,
and that on payment of that ransom they should be allowed
to depart with single garments, they received the enemy into
the camp, and were all delivered into custody, the citizens
and allies being kept separate. While the time is being spent
there, all who had strength or spirit enough, to the number of
four thousand foot and two hundred horse, quitted the greater
camp and arrived at Canusium; some in a body, others
widely dispersed through the country, which was no less
secuie a course : the camp itself was surrendered to the enemy822

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXII. CHAP. 53.

by the wounded and timid troops, on the same terms as the
other was. A very great booty was obtained ; and with the
exception of the men and horses, and what silver there was,
which was for the most part on the trappings of the horses;
for they had but very little in use for eating from, particularly
in campaign; all the rest of the booty was given up to be
plundered. Then he ordered the bodies of his own troops to
be collected for burial. They are said to have been as many as
eight thousand of his bravest men. Some authors relate, that
the Eoman consul also was carefully searched for and buried.
Those who escaped to Canusium, being received by the people
of that place within their walls and houses only, were assisted
with corn, clothes, and provisions for their journey, by an
Apulian lady, named Busa, distinguished for her family and
riches ; in return for which munificence, the senate afterwards,
when the war was concluded, conferred honours upon her.

53. But, though there were four military tribunes there,
Fabius Maximus of the first legion, whose father had been
dictator the former year; and of the second legion, Lucius
Publicius Bibulus and Publius Cornelius Scipio; and of the
third legion, Appius Claudius Pulcher, who had been ^edile
the last year; by the consent of all, the supreme command
was vested in Publius Scipio, then a very young man, and
Appius Claudius. To these, while deliberating with a few
others on the crisis of their affairs, Publius Furius Philus, the
son of a man of consular dignity, brings intelligence, " That
it was in vain that they cherished hopes which could never be
realized: that the state was despaired of, and lamented as
lost. That certain noble youths, the chief of whom was Lu-
cius Csecilius Metellus, turned their attention to the sea and
ships, in order that, abandoning Italy, they might escape to
some king." When this calamity, which was not only dread-
ful in itself, but new, and in addition to the numerous disasters
they had sustained, had struck them motionless with astonish-
ment and stupor; and while those who were present gave it
as their opinion that a council should be called to deliberate
upon it, young Scipio, the destined general of this war, as-
serts, " That it is not a proper subject for deliberation: that
courage and action, and not deliberation, were necessary in
so great a calamity. That those who wished the safety of the
state would attend him forthwith in arms; that in no placey. m. 536.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

823

was the camp of the enemy more truly, than where such de-
signs were meditated." He immediately proceeds, attended
by a few, to the lodging of Metellus; and finding there the
council of youths of which he had been apprized, he drew his
sword over the heads of them, deliberating, and said, " With
sincerity of soul I swear that neither will I myself desert the
cause of the Roman republic, nor will I suffer any other
citizen of Rome to desert it. If knowingly I violate my oath,
then, O Jupiter, supremely great and good, mayest thou visit
my house, my family, and my fortune with perdition the most
horrible ! I require you, Lucius Csecilius, and the rest of you
who are present, to take this oath; and let the man who shall
not take it be assured, that this sword is drawn against him."
Terrified, as though they were beholding the victorious Han-
nibal, they all take the oath, and deliver themselves to Scipio
to be kept in custody.

54. During the time in which these things were going on
at Canusium, as many as four thousand foot and horse, who
had been dispersed through the country in the flight, came
to Yenusia, to the consul. These the Yenusini distributed
throughout their families, to be kindly entertained and taken
care of; and also gave to each horseman a gown, a tunic,
and twenty-five denarii; and to each foot soldier ten denarii,
and such arms as they wanted; and every other kind of hos-
pitality showed them, both publicly and privately: emulously
striving that the people of Yenusia might not be surpassed by
a woman of Canusium in kind offices. But the great number
of her guests rendered the burden more oppressive to Busa,
for they amounted now to ten thousand men. Appius and
Scipio, having heard that the other consul was safe, imme-
diately send a messenger to inquire how great a force of in-
fantry and cavalry he had with him, and at the same time to
ask, whether it was his pleasure that the army should be
brought to Yenusia, or remain at Canusium. Yarro himself
led over his forces to Canusium. And now there was some
appearance of a consular army, and they seemed able to de-
fend themselves from the enemy by walls, if not by arms. At
Rome intelligence had been received, that not even these
relics of their citizens and allies had survived, but that the
two consuls, with their armies, were cut to pieces, and all
their forces annihilated. Never when the city was in safety824

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXII. CHAP*65.

was there so great a panic and confusion within the walls of
Rome. I shall therefore shrink from the task, and not at-
tempt to relate what in describing I must make less than the
reality. The consul and his army having been lost at the
Trasimenus the year before, it was not one wound upon ano-
ther which was announced, but a multiplied disaster, the loss
of two consular armies, together with the two consuls: and
that now there was neither any Roman camp, nor general,
nor soldiery: that Apulia and Samnium, and now almost the
whole of Italy, were in the possession of Hannibal. No other
nation surely would not have been overwhelmed by such an
accumulation of misfortune. Shall I compare with it the dis-
aster of the Carthaginians, sustained in a naval battle at the
islands iEgates, dispirited by which they gave up Sicily and
Sardinia, and thenceforth submitted to become tributary and
stipendiary ? Or shall I compare with it the defeat in Africa,
under which this same Hannibal afterwards sunk ? In no
respect are they comparable, except that they were endured
with less fortitude.

55. Publius Furius Philus and Manius Pomponius, the
praetors, assembled the senate in the curia hostilia, that they
might deliberate about the guarding of the city; for they
doubted not but that the enemy, now their armies were anni-
hilated, would come to assault Rome, the only operation of
the war which remained. Unable to form any plan in mis-
fortunes, not only very great, but unknown and undefined,
and while the loud lamentations of the women were resound-
ing, and nothing was as yet made known, the living and the
dead alike being lamented in almost every house; such being
the state of things, Quintus Fabius gave it as his opinion,
" That light horsemen should be sent out on the Latin and
Appian ways, who, questioning those they met, as some
would certainly be dispersed in all directions from the flight,
might bring back word what was the fate of the consuls and
their armies ; and if the gods, pitying the empire, had left any
remnant of the Roman name where these forces were; whither
Hannibal had repaired after the battle, what he was medi-
tating ; w^hat he was doing, or about to do. That these points
should be searched out and ascertained by active youths.
That it should be the business of the fathers, since there was
a deficiency of magistrates, to do away with the tumult andY. R. 536.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

825

trepidation in the city; to keep the women from coming into
public, and compel each to abide within her own threshold;
to put a stop to the lamentations of families ; to obtain silence
in the city; to take care that the bearers of every kind of in-
telligence should be brought before the praetors; that each
person should await at home the bearer of tidings respecting
his own fortune: moreover, that they should post guards at
the gates, to prevent any person from quitting the city; and
oblige men to place their sole hopes of safety in the preserva-
tion of the walls and the city. That when the tumult had
subsided the fathers should be called again to the senate-
house, and deliberate on the defence of the city."

56. When all had signified their approbation of this opinion,
and after the crowd had been removed by the magistrates
from the forum, and the senators had proceeded in different
directions to allay the tumult; then at length a letter is
brought from the consul Terentius, stating, "That Lucius
iEmilius, the consul, and his army were slain; that he him-
self was at Canusium, collecting, as it were after a shipwreck,
the remains of this great disaster; that he had nearly ten
thousand irregular and unorganized troops. That the Car-
thaginian was sitting still at Cannae, bargaining about the
price of the captives and the other booty, neither with the
spirit of a conqueror nor in the style of a great general."
Then also the losses of private families were made known
throughout the several houses; and so completely was the
whole city filled with grief, that the anniversary sacred rite
of Ceres was intermitted, because it was neither allowable to
perform it while in mourning, nor was there at that juncture
a single matron who was not in mourning. Accordingly,
lest the same cause should occasion the neglect of other pub-
lic and private sacred rites, the mourning was limited to thirty
days, by a decree of the senate. Now when th§ tumult in
the city was allayed, an additional letter was brought from
Sicily, from Titus Otacilius, the propraetor, stating, " that the
kingdom of Hiero was being devastated by the Carthaginian
fleet: and that, being desirous of affording him the assistance
he implored, he received intelligence that another Carthaginian
fleet was stationed at the ^Egates, equipped and prepared; in
order that when the Carthaginians had perceived that he was
gone away to protect the coast of Syracuse, they might im-826

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXII. CHAP. 57.

mediately attack Lilybaeum and other parts of the Koman
province ; that he therefore needed a fleet, if they wished him
to protect the king their ally, and Sicily."

57. The letters of the consul and the propraetor having been
read, they resolved that Marcus Claudius, who commanded
the fleet stationed at Ostia, should be sent to the army to
Canusium; and a letter be written to the consul, to the effect
that, having delivered the army to the praetor, he should
return to Rome the first moment he could, consistently with
the interest of the republic. They were terrified also, in
addition to these disasters, both with other prodigies, and also
because two vestal virgins, Opimia and Floronia, were that
year convicted of incontinence ; one of whom was, according
to custom, buried alive at the Colline gate ; the other destroyed
herself. Lucius Cantilius, secretary of the pontiff, whom
they now call the lesser pontiffs, who had debauched Floronia,
was beaten by rods in the comitium, by order of the chief
pontiff, so that he expired under the stripes. This impiety
being converted into a prodigy, as is usually the case when
happening in the midst of so many calamities, the decemviri
were desired to consult the sacred books. Quintus Fabius
Pictor was also sent to Delphi, to inquire of the oracle by
what prayers and offerings they might appease the gods, and
what termination there would be to such great distresses.
Meanwhile certain extraordinary sacrifices were performed,
according to the directions of the books of the fates ; among
which a Gallic man and woman, and a Greek man and
woman, were let down alive in the cattle market, into a place
fenced round with stone, which had been already polluted
with human victims, a rite by no means Roman. The gods
being, as they supposed, sufficiently appeased, Marcus Clau-
dius Marcellus sends from Ostia to Rome, as a garrison for
the city, one thousand five hundred soldiers, which he had
with him, levied for the fleet. He himself sending before
him a marine legion, (it was the third legion,) under the com-
mand of the military tribunes, to Teanum Sidicinum, and
delivering the fleet to Publius Furius Philus, his colleague,
after a few days, proceeded by long marches to Canusium.
Marcus Junius, created dictator on the authority of the senate,
and Titus Sempronius, master of the horse, proclaiming a
levy, enrol the younger men from the age of seventeen, andY. R. 536.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

827

some who wore the toga praetexta : of these, four legions and
a thousand horse were formed. They send also to the allies
and the Latin confederacy, to receive the soldiers according
to the terms of the treaty. They order that arms, weapons,
and other things should be prepared ; and they take down
from the temples and porticoes the old spoils taken from the
enemy. They adopted also another and a new form of levy,
from the scarcity of free persons, and from necessity: they
armed eight thousand stout youths from the slaves, purchased
at the public expense, first inquiring of each whether he was
willing to serve. They preferred this description of troops,
though they had the power of redeeming the captives at a less
expense.

58. For Hannibal, after so great a victory at Cannse, being
occupied with the cares of a conqueror, rather than one who
had a war to prosecute, the captives having been brought
forward and separated, addressed the allies in terms of kind-
ness, as he had done before at the Trebia and the lake Tra-
simenus, and dismissed them without a ransom; then he ad-
dressed the Romans too, who were called to him, in very
gentle terms: " That he was not carrying on a war of exter-
mination with the Romans, but was contending for honour
and empire. That his ancestors had yielded to the Roman
valour; and that he was endeavouring that others might be
obliged to yield, in their turn, to his good fortune and valour
together. Accordingly, he allowed the captives the liberty
of ransoming themselves, and that the price per head should
be five hundred denarii for a horseman, three hundred for a
foot soldier, and one hundred for a slave." Although some
addition was made to that sum for the cavalry, which they
stipulated for themselves when they surrendered, yet they
joyfully accepted any terms of entering into the compact.
They determined that ten persons should be selected, by their
own votes, who might go to Rome to the senate ; nor was any
other guarantee of their fidelity taken than that they should
swear that they would return. With these was sent Carthalo,
a noble Carthaginian, who might propose terms, if perchance
their minds were inclined towards peace. When they had
gone out of the camp, one of their body, a man who had very
little of the Roman character, under pretence of having for-
gotten something, returned to the camp, for the purpose of828

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXII. CHAP. 59

freeing himself from the obligation of his oath, and overtook
his companions before night. When it was announced that
they had arrived at Rome, a lictor was despatched to meet
Carthalo, to tell him, in the words of the dictator, to depart
from the Roman territories before night.

59. An audience of the senate was granted by the dictator
to the delegates of the prisoners. The chief of them, Marcus
Junius, thus spoke: " There is not one of us, conscript fathers,
who is not aware that there never was a nation which held
prisoners in greater contempt than our own. But unless our
own cause is dearer to us than it should be, never did men fall
into the hands of the enemy who less deserved to be disre-
garded than we do ; for we did not surrender our arms in the
battle through fear; but having prolonged the battle almost
till night-fall, while standing upon heaps of our slaughtered
countrymen, w§ betook ourselves to bur camp. For the re-
mainder of the day and during the following night, although
exhausted with exertion and wounds, we protected our ram-
part. On the following day, when, beset by the enemy, we
were deprived of water, and there was no hope of breaking
through the dense bands of the enemy; and, moreover, not
considering it an impiety that any Roman soldier should sur-
vive the battle of Cannas, after fifty thousand of our army had
been butchered; then at length we agreed upon terms on
which we might be ransomed and let off; and our arms, in
which there was no longer any protection, we delivered to the
enemy. We had been informed that our ancestors also had
redeemed themselves from the Gauls with gold, and that
though so rigid as to the terms of peace, had sent ambassa-
dors to Tarentum for the purpose of ransoming the captives.
And yet both the fight at the Allia with the Gauls, and at
Heraclea with Pyrrhus, was disgraceful, not so much on
account of the loss as the panic and flight. Heaps of Roman
carcasses cover the plains of Cannae; nor would any of us
have survived the battle, had not the enemy wanted the
strength and the sword to slay us., There are, too, some of
us, who did not even retreat in the field; but being left to
guard the camp, came into the hands of the enemy when it
was surrendered. For my part, I envy not the good fortune
or condition of any citizen or fellow-soldier, nor would I en-
deavour to raise myself by depressing another: but not eveny. R. 536.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

829

those men who, for the most part, leaving their arms, fled
from the field, and stopped not till they arrived at Yenusia or
Canusium; not even those men, unless some reward is due to
them on account of their swiftness of foot and running, would
justly set themselves before us, or boast that there is more pro-
tection to the state in them than in us. But you will both find
them to be good and brave soldiers, and us still more zealous,
because, by your kindness, we have been ransomed and re-
stored to our country. You are levying from every age and
condition: I hear that eight thousand slaves are being armed.
We are no fewer in number; nor will the expense of redeem-
ing us be greater than that of purchasing these. Should I
compare ourselves with them, I should injure the name of
Roman. I should think also, conscript fathers, that in de-
liberating on such a measure, it ought also to be considered,
(if you are disposed to be over severe, which you cannot do
from any demerit of ours,) to what sort of enemy you would
abandon us. Is it to Pyrrhus, for instance, who treated us,
when his prisoners, like guests; or to a barbarian and Car-
thaginian, of whom it is difficult to determine whether his ra-
pacity or cruelty be the greater ? If you were to see the
chains, the squalid appearance, the loathsomeness of your
countrymen, that spectacle would not, I am confident, less
affect you, than if, on the other hand, you beheld your legions
prostrate on the plains of Cannse. You may behold the solici-
tude and the tears of our kinsmen, as they stand in the lobby
of your senate-house, and await your answer. When they
are in so much suspense and anxiety in behalf of us, and those
who are absent, what think you must be our own feelings,
whose lives and liberty are at stake ? By Hercules ! should
Hannibal himself, contrary to his nature, be disposed to be
lenient towards us, yet we should not consider our lives worth
possessing, since we have seemed unworthy of being ran-
somed by you. Formerly, prisoners dismissed by Pyrrhus,
without ransom, returned to Pome; but they returned in
company with ambassadors, the chief men of the state, who
were sent to ransom them. Would I return to my country, a
citizen, and not considered worth three hundred denarii?
Every man has his own way of thinking, conscript fathers.
I know that my life and person are at stake. But the danger
which threatens my reputation affects me most, if we should830

^HE HISTORY OF ROME. [B XXII. CHAP. 60.

go away rejected and condemned by you; for men will never
suppose that you grudged the price of our redemption."

60. When he had finished his address, the crowd of persons
in the comitium immediately set up a loud lamentation, and
stretched out their hands to the senate, imploring them to re-
store to them their children, their brothers, and their kinsmen.
Their fears and affection for their kindred had brought the
women also with the crowd of men in the forum. Witnesses
being excluded, the matter began to be discussed in the senate.
There being a difference of opinion, and some advising that
they should be ransomed at the public charge, others, that the
state should be put to no expense, but that they should not be
prevented redeeming themselves at their own cost; and that
those who had not the money at present should receive a loan
from the public coffer, and security given to the people by
their sureties and properties; Titus Manlius Torquatus,
a man of primitive, and, as some considered, over-rigorous
severity, being asked his opinion, is reported thus to have
spoken : " Had the deputies confined themselves to making a
request, in behalf of those who are in the hands of the enemy,
that they might be ransomed, I should have briefly given my
opinion, without inveighing against any one. For what else
would have been necessary but to admonish you, that you
ought to adhere to the custom handed down from your ances-
tors, a precedent indispensable to military discipline. But
now, since they have almost boasted of having surrendered
themselves to the enemy, and have claimed to be preferred,
not only to those who were captured by the enemy in the
field, but to those also who came to Venusia and Canusium,
and even to the consul Terentius himself; I will not suffer
you to remain in ignorance of things which were done there.
And I could wish that what I am about to bring before you,
were stated at Canusium, before the army itself, the best
witness of every man's cowardice or valour ; or at least that
one person, Publius Sempronius, were here, whom had they
followed as their leader, they would this day have been
soldiers in the Roman camp, and not prisoners in the power
of the enemy. Bat though the enemy was fatigued with
fighting, and engaged in rejoicing for their victory, and had,
the greater part of them, retired into their camp, and they
had the night at their disposal for making a sally, and as theyy. it. 536.]

the history of rome.

831

were seven thousand armed troops, might have forced their
way through the troops of the enemy, however closely ar-
rayed ; yet they neither of themselves attempted to do this,
nor were willing to follow another. Throughout nearly the
whole night Sempronius ceased not to admonish and exhort
them, while but few of the enemy were about the camp, while
there was stillness and quiet, while the night would conceal
their design, that they would follow him; that before day-
break they might reach places of security, the cities of their
allies. If as Publius Decius, the military tribune in Sam-
nium, said, within the memory of our grandfathers; if he had
said, as Calpurnius Flamma, in the first Punic war, when we
were youths, said to the three hundred volunteers, when he
was leading them to seize upon an eminence situated in the
midst of the enemy: Let us die, soldiers, and by our

deaths rescue the surrounded legions from ambuscade ;

—if Publius Sempronius had said thus, he would neither have
considered you as Romans nor men, had no one stood forward
as his companion in so valorous an attempt. He points out
to you the road that leads not to glory more than to safety;
he restores you to your country, your parents, your wives and
children. Do you want courage to effect your preservation ?
What would you do if you had to die for your country ? Fifty
thousand of your countrymen and allies on that very day lay
around you slain. If so many examples of courage did not
move you, nothing ever will. If so great a carnage did not
make life less dear, none ever will. While in freedom and
safety, show your affection for your country; nay, rather do
so while it is your country, and you its citizens. Too late you
now endeavour to evince your regard for her when degraded,
disfranchised from the rights of citizens, and become the
slaves of the Carthaginians. Shall you return by purchase to
that degree which you have forfeited by cowardice and neg-
lect? You did not listen to Sempronius, your countryman,
when he bid you take arms and follow him; but a little after
you listened to Hannibal, when he ordered your arms to be
surrendered, and your camp betrayed. But why do I charge
those men with cowardice, when I might tax them with vil-
lany ? They not only refused to follow him who gave them
good advice, but endeavoured to oppose and hold him back,
had not some men of the greatest bravery, drawing their

3 H832

THE HISTORY OF ROME* [B. XXII. CH*p.-80t

swords, removed the cowards. PubliuS Sempronius, I say*
was obliged to force his way through a band of his country-
men, before he burst through the enemy's troops. Can our
country regret such citizens as these, whom if all the rest re-
sembled, she would not have one citizen of all those who
fought at Cannse ? Out of seven thousand armed men, there
were six hundred who had courage to force their way, who
returned to their country free, and in arms; nor did forty
thousand of the enemy successfully oppose them. How safe,
think you, would a passage have been for nearly two legions ?
Then you would have had this day at Canusium, conscript
fathers, twenty thousand bold and faithful. But now how
can these men be called faithful and good citizens, (for they
do not even call themselves brave,) except any man suppose
that they showed themselves such when they opposed those
who were desirous of forcing their way through the enemy ?
or, unless any man can suppose, that they do not envy those
men their safety and glory acquired by valour, when they
must know that their timidity and cowardice were the cause
of their ignominious servitude? Skulking- in their tents,
they preferred to wait for the light and the enemy together,
when they had an opportunity of sallying forth during the
silence of the night. But though they had not courage to
sally forth from the camp, had they courage to defend it
strenuously? Having endured a siege for several days and
nights, did they protect their rampart by their arms, and
themselves by their rampart ? At length, having dared and
suffered every extremity, every support of life being gone,
their strength exhausted with famine, and unable to hold
their arms, were they subdued by the necessities of nature,
rather than by arms ? At sunrise, the enemy approached the
rampart: before the second hour, without hazarding any con-
test, they delivered up their arms and themselves. Here is
their military service for you during two days. When they
ought to have stood firm in array and fight on, then they fled
back into their camp ; when they ought to have fought before
their rampart, they delivered up their camp: good for no-
thing, either in the field or the camp. I redeem you?
When you ought to sally from the camp, you linger and hesi-
tate ; and when you ought to stay and protect your camp in
arms, you surrender the camp, your arms, and yourselves toy. it. 536.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

833

the enemy. I am of opinion, conscript fathers, that these men
should no more be ransomed, than that those should be sur-
rendered to Hannibal, who sallied from the camp through the
midst of the enemy, and, with the most distinguished courage,
restored themselves to their country."

61. After Manlius had thus spoken, notwithstanding the
captives were related to many even of the senators, besides
the practice of the state, which had never shown favour to
captives, even from the remotest times, the sum of money
also influenced them: for they were neither willing to drain
the treasury, a large sum of money having been already
issued for buying and arming slaves to serve in the war, nor
to enrich Hannibal, who, according to report, was particularly
in want of this very thing. The sad reply, that the captives
would not be ransomed, being delivered, and fresh grief being
added to the former on account of the loss of so many citi-
zens, the people accompanied the deputies to the gate with
copious tears and lamentations. One of them went home, be-
cause he had evaded his oath by artfully returning to the
camp. But when this was known and laid before the senate,
they all resolved that he should be apprehended and conveyed
to Hannibal by guards, furnished by the state. There is ano-
ther account respecting the prisoners, that ten came first, and
that, the senate hesitating whether they should be admitted
into the city or not, they were admitted, on the understanding
that they should not have an audience of the senate. That
when these staid longer than the expectation of all, three more
came, Scribonius, Calpurnius, and Manlius. That then at
length a tribune of the people, a relation of Scribonius, laid
before the senate the redemption of the captives, and that
they resolved that they should not be ransomed. That the
three last deputies returned to Hannibal, and the ten former
remained, because they had evaded their oath, having returned
to Hannibal after having set out, under pretence of learning
afresh the names of the captives. That a violent contest took
place in the senate, on the question of surrendering them, and
that those who thought they ought to be surrendered were
beaten by a few votes, but that they were so branded by every
kind of stigma and ignominy by the ensuing censors, that
some of them immediately put themselves to death, and the
rest, for all their life afterwards, not only shunned the forum,

3 h 2834

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXII. CHAP. 61

but almost the light and publicity. You can more easily
wonder that authors differ so much than determine what is
the truth. How much greater this disaster was than any
preceding, even this is a proof, that such of the allies as had
stood firm till that day then began to waver, for no other
cause certainly but that they despaired of the empire. The
people who revolted to the Carthaginians were these: the
Atellani, Calatini, the Hirpini, some of the Apulians, the
Samnites, except the Pentrians, all the Bruttians, and the
Lucanians. Besides these the Surrentinians, and almost the
whole coast possessed by the Greeks, the people of Tarentum,
Metapontum, Croton. the Locrians, and all Cisalpine Gaul.
Yet not even these losses and defections of their allies so shook
the firmness of the Romans, that any mention of peace was
made among them, either before the arrival of the consul at
Rome, or after he came thither, and renewed the memory of
the calamity they had suffered. At which very juncture,
such was the magnanimity of the state, that the consul, as he
returned after so severe a defeat, of which he himself was the
principal cause, was met in crowds of all ranks of citizens,
and thanks bestowed because he had not despaired of the re-
public, in whose case, had he been a Carthaginian commander,
no species of punishment would have been spared.BOOK XXIII.

The Campanians revolt to Hannibal. Mago is sent to Carthage to announce
the victory of Cannce. Hanno advises the Carthaginian senate to make
peace with the Romans, but is overborne by the Barcine faction. Claudi-
us Marcellus the prcetor defeats Hannibal at Nola. Hannibal's army is
enervated in mind and body by luxurious living at Capua. Casilinum
is besieged by the Carthaginians, and the inhabitants reduced to the last
extremity of famine. A hundred and ninety-seven senators elected from
the equestrian order. Lucius Postumius is, with his army, cut off by the
Gauls. Cneius and Publius Scipio defeat Hasdrubal in Spain, and gain
possession of that country. The remains of the army, defeated at Cannce,
are sent off to Sicily, there to remain until the termination of the war.
An alliance is formed between Philip, king of Macedon, and Hannibal.
Sempronius Gracchus defeats the Campanians. Successes of Titus
Manlius in Sardinia: he takes Hasdrubal the general, Mago, and Han-
no prisoners. Claudius Marcellus again defeats the army of Hannibal
at Nola, and the hopes of the Romans are revived as to the results of
the war.

1. After the battle of Cannae, Hannibal, having captured
and plundered the Roman camp, had immediately removed from
Apulia into Samnium; invited into the terutory of the Hirpini
by Statius, who promised that he would surrender Compsa.
Trebius, a native of Compsa, was conspicuous for rank among
his countrymen ; but a faction of the Mopsii kept him down—
a family of great influence through the favour of the Romans.
After intelligence of the battle of Cannse, and a report of the
approach of Hannibal, circulated by the discourse of Trebius,
the Mopsian party had retired from the city; which was thus
given up to the Carthaginian without opposition, and a gar-
rison received into it. Leaving there all his booty and bag-
gage, and dividing his forces, he orders Mago to receive under
his protection the cities of that district which might revolt
from the Romans, and to force to defection those which might
be disinclined. He himself, passing through the territory of
Campania, made for the lower sea, with the intention of as-
saulting Naples, in order that he might be master of a mari-
time city. As soon as he entered the confines of the Neapoli-836

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [> XXIII. CHAP. 2.

tan territory, he placed part of his Numidians in ambush,
wherever he could find a convenient spot; for there are very
many hollow roads and secret windings : others he ordered
to drive before them the booty they had collected from the
country, and, exhibiting it to the enemy, to ride up to the
gates of the city. As they appeared to be few in number and
in disorder, a troop of horse sallied out against them, which
was cut off, being drawn into an ambuscade by the others, who
purposely retreated : nor would one of them have escaped, had
not the sea been near, and some vessels, principally such as
are used in lishing, observed at a short distance from the
shore, afforded an escape for those who could swim. Several
noble youths, however, were captured and slain in that affair.
Among whom, Hegeas, the commander of the cavalry, fell
when pursuing the retreating enemy too eagerly. The sight
of the walls, which were not favourable to a besieging force,
deterred the Carthaginian from storming the city.

2. Thence he turned his course to Capua, which was
wantoning under a long course of prosperity, and the indul-
gence of fortune: amid the general corruption, however, the
most conspicuous feature was the extravagance of the com-
mons, who exercised their liberty without limit. Pacuvius
Calavius had rendered the senate subservient to himself and
the commons, at once a noble and popular man, but who had
acquired his influence by dishonourable intrigues. Happening
to hold the chief magistracy during the year in which the de-
feat at the Trasimenus occurred, and thinking that the com-
mons, who had long felt the most violent hostility to the
senate, would attempt some desperate measure, should an op-
portunity for effecting a change present itself; and if Han-
nibal should come into that quarter with his victorious army,
would murder the senators and deliver Capua to the Cartha-
ginians ; as he desired to rule in a state preserved rather than
subverted (for though depraved he was not utterly abandoned) ;
and as he felt convinced that no state could be preserved if be-
reaved of its public council, he adopted a plan by which he
might preserve the senate and render it subject to himself and
the commons. Having assembled the senate, he prefaced his
remarks by observing, " that nothing would induce him to
acquiesce in a plan of defection from the Romans, were it not
absolutely necessary; since he had children by the daughterY. it. 536.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

837

of Appius Claudius, and had a daughter at Rome married to
Livius: but that a much more serious and alarming matter
threatened them, than any consequences which could result
from such a measure. For that the intention of the com-
mons was not to abolish the senate by revolting to the
Carthaginians, but to murder the senators, and deliver the
state thus destitute to Hannibal and the Carthaginians. That
it was in his power to rescue them from this danger, if they
would resign themselves to his care, and, forgetting their
political dissensions, confide in him." When, overpowered
with fear, they all put themselves under his protection, he
proceeded: " I will shut you up in the senate-house, and pre-
tending myself to be an accomplice in the meditated crime, I
will, by approving measures which I should in vain oppose,
find out a way for your safety. For the performance of this
take whatever pledge you please." Having given his honour,
he went out; and having ordered the house to be closed,
placed a guard in the lobby that no one might enter or leave
it without his leave.

3. Then assembling the people, he thus addressed them:
" What you have so often wished for, Campanians, the power
of punishing an unprincipled and detestable senate, you now
have, not at your own imminent peril, by riotously storming
the houses of each, which are guarded and garrisoned with
slaves and dependants, but free and without danger. Take
them all, shut up in the senate-house, alone and unarmed ; nor
need you do any thing precipitately or blindly. I will give
you the opportunity of pronouncing upon the life or death of
each, that each may suffer the punishment he has deserved. But,
above all, it behoves you so to give way to your resentment, as
considering that your own safety and advantage are of greater
importance. For I apprehend that you hate these particular
senators, and not that you are unwilling to have any senate at
all; for you must either have a king, which all abominate, or
a senate, which is the only course compatible with a free state.
Accordingly you must effect two objects at the same time;
you must remove the old senate and elect a new one. I will
order the senators to be summoned one by one, and I shall put
it to you to decide whether they deserve to live or die : what-
ever you may determine respecting each shall be done; but
before you execute your sentence on the culprit, you shall838

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIII. CHAP.^r

elect some brave and strenuous man as a fresh senator to sup-
ply his place." Upon this he took his seat, and, the names
having been thrown together into an urn, he ordered that the
name which had the lot to fall out first should be proclaimed,
and the person brought forward out of the senate-house.
When the name was heard, each man strenuously exclaimed
that he was a wicked and unprincipled fellow, and deserved
to be punished. Pacuvius then said, " I perceive the sentence
which has been passed on this man ; now choose a good and
upright senator in the room of this wicked and unprincipled
one." At first all was silence, from the want of a better man
whom they might substitute; afterwards, one of them, laying
aside his modesty, nominating some one, in an instant a much
greater clamour arose; while some denied all knowledge of
him, others objected to him at one time on account of flagitious
conduct, at another time on account of his humble birth, his
sordid circumstances, and the disgraceful nature of his trade
and occupation. The same occurred with increased vehe-
mence with respect to the second and third senators, so that
it was evident that they were dissatisfied with the senator
himself, but had not any one to substitute for him; for it was
of no use that the same persons should be nominated again, to
no other purpose than to hear of their vices, and the rest were
much more mean and obscure than those who first occurred to
their recollection. Thus the assembly separated, affirming
that every evil which was most known was easiest to be en-
dured, and ordering the senate to be discharged from custody.

4. Pacuvius, having thus rendered the senators more sub-
servient to himself than to the commons by the gift of their
lives, ruled without the aid of arms, all persons now acqui-
escing. Henceforward the senators, forgetful of their rank
and independence, flattered the commons; saluted them court-
eously ; invited them graciously; entertained them with
sumptuous feasts; undertook those causes, always espoused
that party, decided as judges in favour of that side, which was
most popular, and best adapted to conciliate the favour of the
commons. Now, indeed, every thing was transacted in the
senate as if it had been an assembly of the people. The
Capuans, ever prone to luxurious indulgence not only from
natural turpitude, but from the profusion of the means of
voluptuous enjoyment which flowed in upon them, and theY. it. 536. J

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

839

temptations of all the luxuries of land and sea ; at that
time especially proceeded to such a pitch of extravagance in-
consequence of the obsequiousness of the nobles and the un-
restrained liberty of the commons, that their lust and prodi-
gality had no bounds. To a disregard for the laws, the
magistrates, and the senate, now, after the disaster of Cannas,
was added a contempt for the Roman government also, for
which there had been some degree of respect. The only
obstacles to immediate revolt were the intermarriages which,
from a remote period, had connected many of their distin-
guished and influential families with the Romans ; and, which
formed the strongest bond of union, that while several of
their countrymen were serving in the Roman armies, particu-
larly three hundred horsemen, the flower of the Campanian
nobility, had been selected and sent by the Romans to garri-
son the cities of Sicily.

5. The parents and relations of these men with difficulty
obtained that ambassadors should be sent to the Roman consul.
The consul, who had not yet set out for Canusium, they found
at Venusia with a few half-armed troops, an object of entire
commiseration to faithful, but of contempt to proud and per-
fidious allies, like the Campanians. The consul too increased
their contempt of himself and his cause, by too much exposing
and exhibiting the disastrous state of his affairs; for when
the ambassadors had delivered their message, which was, that
the senate and people of Capua were distressed that any ad-
verse event should have befallen the Romans, and were pro-
mising every assistance in prosecuting the war, he observed,
" In bidding us order you to furnish us with all things which
are necessary for the war, Campanians, you have rather ob-
served the customary mode of addressing allies, than spoken
suitably to the present posture of our affairs; for hath any-
thing been left us at Cannag, so that, as if we possessed that,
we can desire what is wanting to be supplied by our allies ?
Can we order a supply of infantry, as if we had any cavalry ?
Can we say we are deficient in money, as if that were the
only thing we wanted? Fortune has not even left us any-
thing which we can add to. Our legions, cavalry, arms,
standards, horses, men, money, provisions, all perished either
in the battle, or in the two camps which were lost the follow-
ing day. You must, therefore, Campanians, not assist us in840

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIII. CHAI\ 6.

the war, but almost take it upon yourselves in our stead. Call
to mind how formerly at Saticula we received into our pro-
tection and defended your ancestors, when dismayed and driven
within their walls; terrified not only by their Samnite but
Sidicinian enemies; and how we carried on, with varying
success, through a period of almost a century, a war with the
Samnites, commenced on your account. Add to this, that
when you gave yourselves up to us we granted you an alli-
ance on equal terms, that we allowed you your own laws, and
lastly, what before the disaster at Cannas was surely a privi-
lege of the highest value, we bestowed the freedom of our
city on a large portion of you, and held it in common with
you. It is your duty, therefore, Campanians, to look upon
this disaster which has been suffered as your own, and to
consider that our common country must be protected. It is
not a Samnite or Tuscan foe we are engaged with, so that the
empire taken from us might still continue in Italy. A Cartha-
ginian enemy draws after him from the remotest regions of
the world, from the straits of the ocean and the pillars of
Hercules, a body of soldiers who are not even natives of
Africa, destitute of all laws, and of the condition and almost
of the language of men. Savage and ferocious from nature and
habit, their general has rendered them still more so, by forming
bridges and works with heaps of human bodies ; and, what
the tongue can scarcely utter, by teaching them to live on
human flesh. What man, provided he were born in any part
of Italy, would not abominate the idea of seeing and having
for his masters these men, nourished with such horrid food,
whom even to touch were an impiety; of fetching laws from
Africa and Carthage; and of suffering Italy to become a pro-
vince of the Moors and Numidians ? It will be highly hon-
ourable, Campanians, that the Roman empire, sinking under
this disastrous defeat, should be sustained and restored by
your fidelity and your strength. I conceive that thirty thou-
sand foot and four thousand horse may be raised in Campania.
You have already abundance of money and corn. If your
zeal corresponds with your means, neither will Hannibal feel
that he has been victorious, nor the Romans that they have
been defeated."

6. After the consul had thus spoken, the ambassadors were
dismissed; and as they were returning home, one of them,y. R. 536.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

841

named Vibius Virius, observed, " that the time had arrived at
which the Campanians might not only recover the territory
once injuriously taken away by the Romans, but also pos-
sess themselves of the sovereignty of Italy. For they might
form a treaty with Hannibal on whatever terms they pleased ;
and there could be no question but that after Hannibal, having
put an end to the war, had himself retired victorious into
Africa, and had withdrawn his troops, the sovereignty of
Italy would be left to the Campanians." All assenting to
Vibius, as he said this, they framed their report of the em-
bassy so that all might conclude that the Eoman power was
annihilated. Immediately the commons and the major part
of the senate turned their attention to revolt. The measure,
however, was postponed for a few days at the instigation of
the elder citizens. At last, the opinion of the majority pre-
vailed, that the same ambassadors who had gone to the Ro-
man consul should be sent to Hannibal. I find in certain
annals, that before this embassy proceeded, and before they
had determined on the measure of revolting, ambassadors were
sent by the Campanians to Rome, requiring that one of the
consuls should be elected from Campania if they wished as-
sistance to the Roman cause. That from the indignation
which arose, they were ordered to be removed from the
senate-house, and a lictor despatched to conduct them out of
the city and command them to lodge that day without the
Roman frontier. But as this request is too much like that
which the Latins formerly made, and as Coelius and other
writers had, not without reason, made no mention of it, I have
not ventured to vouch for its truth.

7. The ambassadors came to Hannibal and concluded a
treaty of peace with him on the terms, " That no Carthaginian
commander should have any authority over a Campanian
citizen, nor any Campanian serve in war or perform any
office against his will: that Capua should have her own laws
and her own magistrates: that the Carthaginian should give
to the Campanians three hundred captives selected by them-
selves, who might be exchanged for the Campanian horse who
were serving in Sicily." Such were the stipulations: but
in addition to them, the Campanians perpetrated the follow-
ing atrocities; for the commons ordered that the prefects of
the allies and other citizens of Rome should be suddenly seized,842

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIII. CHAP. 7.

while some of them were occupied with military duties, others
engaged in private business, and be shut up in the baths, as
if for the purpose of keeping them in custody; where, suffo-
cated with heat and vapour, they might expire in a horrid
manner. Decius Magius, a man who wanted nothing to com-
plete his influence except a sound mind 011 the part of his
countrymen, had resisted to the uttermost the execution of
these measures, and the sending of the embassy to Hannibal;
and when he heard that a body of troops was sent by Hanni-
bal, bringing back to their recollection, as examples, the
haughty tyranny of Pyrrhus and the miserable slavery of
the Tarentines, he at first openly and loudly protested that the
troops should not be admitted; then he urged either that
they should expel them when received, or, if they had a mind
to expiate, by a bold and memorable act, the foul crime they
had committed in revolting from their most ancient and inti-
mate allies, that having slain the Carthaginian troops they should
give themselves back to the Romans. These proceedings
having been reported to Hannibal, for they were not carried
on in secret, he at first sent persons to summon Magius into
his presence at his camp; then, on his vehemently refusing
to come, on the ground that Hannibal had no authority over
a Campanian, the Carthaginian, excited with rage, ordered
that the man should be seized and dragged to him in chains;
but afterwards, fearing lest while force was employed some
disturbance might take place, or lest, from excitement of feel-
ing, some undesigned collision might occur, he set out him-
self from the camp with a small body of troops, having sent
a message before him to Marius Blosius, the praetor of Cam-
pania, to the elFect, that he would be at Capua the next day.
Marius calling an assembly, issued an order that they should
go out and meet Hannibal in a body, accompanied by their
wives and children. This was done by all, not only with
obedience, but with zeal, with the full agreement of the com-
mon people, and with eagerness to see a general rendered illus-
trious by so many victories. Decius Magius neither went out
to meet him, nor kept himself in private, by which course he
might seem to indicate fear from a consciousness of demerit;
he promenaded in the forum with perfect composure, attended
by his son and a few dependants, while all the citizens were
in a bustle to go to see and receive the Carthaginian. Han-y. R. 536.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

843

nibal, on entering the city, immediately demanded an audience
of the senate ; when the chief men of the Campanians, be-
seeching him not to transact any serious business on that day,
but that he would cheerfully and willingly celebrate a day
devoted to festivity in consequence of his own arrival, though
naturally extremely prone to anger, yet, that he might not
deny them any thing at first, he spent a great part of the
day in inspecting the city.

8. He lodged at the house of the Ninii Celeres, Stenius and
Pacuvius, men distinguished by their noble descent and their
wealth. Thither Pacuvius Calavius, of whom mention has
already been made, who was the head of the party which had
drawn over the state to the Carthaginian cause, brought his
son, a young man, whom he had forced from the side of De-
cius Magius, in conjunction with whom he had made a most
determined stand for the Roman alliance in opposition to the
league with the Carthaginians ; nor had the leaning of the state
to the other side, or his father's authority, altered his senti-
ments. For this youth his father procured pardon from
Hannibal, more by prayers than by clearing him. Hannibal,
overcome by the entreaties and tears of his father, even gave
orders that he should be invited with his father to the ban-
quet; to which entertainment he intended to admit no Cam-
pan i an besides his hosts, and Jubellius Taurea, a man distin-
guished in war. They began to feast early in the day, and
the entertainment was not conformable to the Carthaginian
custom, or to military discipline, but as might be expected in
a city and in a house both remarkable for luxury, was fur-
nished with all the allurements of voluptuousness. Perolla,
the son of Calavius, was the only person who could not be
won either by the solicitations of the masters of the house, or
those which Hannibal sometimes employed. The youth him-
self pleaded ill health as an apology, while his father urged
as an excuse the disturbed state of his mind, which was not
surprising. About sunset, Calavius, who had gone out from
the banquet, was followed by his son ; and when they had ar-
rived at a retired place, (it was a garden at the back part of
the house,) he said, " I have a plan to propose to you, my
father, by which we shall not only obtain pardon from the
Romans for our crime, in that we revolted from them to
the Carthaginian, but shall be held in much higher esteem,844

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIII. CHAP. 9

than we Campanians ever have been." When the father in-
quired with surprise what that plan could be, he threw back
his gown off his shoulder and exposed to view his side, which
was girt with a sword. "Forthwith will I ratify the alliance
with Rome with the blood of Hannibal. I was desirous that
you should be informed of it first, in case you might prefer to
be absent while the deed is performing."

9. On hearing and seeing which the old man, as though he
were actually present at the transactions which were being
named to him, wild with fear, exclaimed, 441 implore, I be-
seech you, my son, by all the ties which unite children to pa-
rents, that you will not resolve to commit and to suffer every
thing that is horrible before the eyes of a father. Did we but
a few hours ago, swearing by every deity, and joining right
hands, pledge our fidelity to Hannibal, that immediately on
separating from the conference we should arm against him
the hands which were employed as the sacred pledges of our
faith ? Do you rise from the hospitable board to which as one
of three of the Campanians you have been admitted by Han-
nibal, that you may ensanguine that very board with the
blood of your host. Could I conciliate Hannibal to my son,
and not my son to Hannibal ? But let nothing be held sacred
by you, neither our pledges, nor the sense of religion, nor
filial duty; let the most horrid deeds be dared, if with guilt
they bring not ruin upon us. Will you singly attack Han-
nibal ? What will that numerous throng of freemen and slaves
be doing ? What the eyes of all intent on him alone ? What
those so many right hands ? Will they be torpid amidst your
madness ? Will you be able to bear the look of Hannibal him-
self, which armed hosts cannot sustain, from which the Roman
people shrink with horror ? And though other assistance be
wanting, will you have the hardihood to strike me when I
oppose my body in defence of Hannibal's ? But know that
through my breast you must strike and transfix him. Suffer
yourself to be deterred from your attempt here, rather than
to be defeated there. May my entreaties prevail with you, as
they did for you this day." Upon this, perceiving the youth
in tears, he threw his arms around him, and kissing him af-
fectionately, ceased not his entreaties until he prevailed upon
him to lay aside his sword and give his promise that he would
do no such thing. The young man then observed, 441 will in-'T. R. 536.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

845

deed pay to my father the debt of duty which I owe to my
country, but I am grieved for you on whom the guilt of
having thrice betrayed your country rests; once when you
sanctioned the revolt from the Romans; next when you ad-
vised the alliance with Hannibal; and thirdly, this day, when
you are the delay and impediment of the restoration of Capua
to the Romans. Do thou, my country, receive this weapon,
armed with which in thy behalf I would fain have defended
this citadel, since a father wrests it from me." Having thus
said, he threw the sword into the highway over the garden
wall, and that the affair might not be suspected, himself re-
turned to the banquet.

10. The next day an audience of a full senate was given to
Hannibal, when the first part of his address was full of gra-
ciousness and benignity, in which he thanked the Campanians
for having preferred his friendship to an alliance with the
Romans, and held out among his other magnificent promises
" that Capua should soon become the capital of all Italy, and
that the Romans as well as the other states should receive laws
from it. That there was, however, one person who had no
share in the Carthaginian friendship and the alliance formed
with him, Decius Magius, who neither was nor ought to be
called a Campanian. Him he requested to be surrendered
to him, and that the sense of the senate should be taken re-
specting his conduct, and a decree passed in his presence."
All concurred in this proposition, though a great many con-
sidered him as a man undeserving such severe treatment;
and that this proceeding was no small infringement of their
liberty to begin with. Leaving the senate-house, the magis-
trate took his seat on the consecrated bench, ordered Decius
Magius to be apprehended, and to be placed by himself before
his feet to plead his cause. But he, his proud spirit being
unsubdued, denied that such a measure could be enforced
agreeably to the conditions of the treaty; upon which he was
ironed, and ordered to be brought into the camp before a lie-
tor. As long as he was conducted with his head uncovered,
he moved along earnestly haranguing and vociferating to the
multitude which poured around him on all sides. " You have
gotten that liberty, Campanians, which you seek; in the mid-
dle of the forum, in the light of day, before your eyes, I, a
man second to none of the Campanians, am dragged in chains846

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIII. CHAP. 11.

to suffer death. What greater outrage could have been com-
mitted had Capua been captured ? Go out to meet Hannibal,
decorate your city to the utmost, consecrate the day of his
arrival, that you may behold this triumph over a fellow-citi-
zen." As the populace seemed to be excited by him, vocifer-
ating these things, his head was covered, and he was ordered
to be dragged away more speedily without the' gate. Having
been thus brought to the camp, he was immediately put on
board a ship and sent to Carthage, lest if any commotion
should arise at Capua on account of the injustice of the pro-
ceeding, the senate also should repent of having given up a
leading citizen; and lest if an embassy were sent to request
his restoration, he must either offend his new allies by refusing
their first petition, or, by granting it, be compelled to retain
at Capua a promoter of sedition and disturbance. A tempest
drove the vessel to Cyrenae, which was at that time under the
dominion of kings. Here flying for refuge to the statue of
king Ptolemy, he was conveyed thence in custody to Alexan-
dria to Ptolemy; and having instructed him that he had been
thrown into chains by Hannibal, contrary to the law of treaties,
he was liberated and allowed to return to whichever place
he pleased, Rome or Capua. But Magius said, that Capua
would not be a safe place for him, and that Pome, at a time
when there was war between the Pomans and Capuans, would
be rather the residence of a deserter than a guest. That there
was no place that he should rather dwell in, than in the do-
minions of him whom he esteemed an avenger and the pro-
tector of his liberty.

] 1. While these things were carrying on, Quintus Fabius
Pictor, the ambassador, returned from Delphi to Pome, and
read the response of the oracle from a written copy. In it
both the gods were mentioned, and in what manner supplica-
tion should be made. It then stated, " If you do thus, Po-
mans, your affairs will be more prosperous and less perplexed ;
your state will proceed more agreeably to your wishes; and
the victory in the war will be on the side of the Poman peo-
ple. After that your state shall have been restored to pros-
perity and safety, send a present to the Pythian Apollo out
of the gains you have earned, and pay honours to him out of
the plunder, the booty, and the spoils. Banish licentiousness
from among you."v. R. 536.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

847

Having read aloud these words, translated from tlie Greek
verse, lie added, that immediately on his departure from the
oracle, he had paid divine honours to all these deities with
wine and frankincense ; and that he was ordered by the chief
priest of the temple, that, as he had approached the oracle
and performed the sacred ceremonies decorated with a laurel
crown, so he should embark wearing the crown, and not put
it off till he had arrived at Rome. That he had executed all
these injunctions with the most scrupulous exactness and dili-
gence, and had deposited the garland on the altar of Apollo
at Rome. The senate decreed that the sacred ceremonies
and supplications enjoined should be carefully performed with
all possible expedition. During these events at Rome and
in Italy, Mago, the son of Hamilcar, had arrived at Carthage
with the intelligence of the victory at Cannas. He was not
sent direct from the field of battle by his brother, but was
detained some days in receiving the submission of such states
of the Bruttii as were in revolt. Having obtained an audience
of the senate he gave a full statement of his brother's exploits
in Italy: " That he had fought pitched battles with six gene-
rals, four of whom were consuls, two a dictator and master of
the horse, with six consular armies; that he had slain above
two hundred thousand of the enemy, and captured above fifty
thousand. That out of the four consuls he had slain two ; of
the two remaining, one was wounded, the other, having lost his
whole army, had fled from the field with scarcely fifty men ;
that the master of the horse, an authority equal to that of con-
sul, had been routed and put to flight; that the dictator, be-
cause he had never engaged in a pitched battle, was esteemed
a matchless general; that the Bruttii, the Apulians, part of the
Samnites and of the Lucanians had revolted to the Carthagi-
nians. That Capua, which was the capital not only of Cam-
pania, but after the ruin of the Roman power by the battle
of Cannas, of Italy also, had delivered itself over to Hannibal.
That in return for these so many and so great victories,
gratitude ought assuredly to be felt and thanks returned to
the immortal gods."

12. Then, in proof of this such joyful news, he ordered
the golden rings to be poured out in the vestibule of the se-
nate-bouse, of which there was such a heap that some have
taken upon themselves to say that on being measured they

3 i848

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIII. CHAP. 12.

filled three pecks and a half. The statement has obtained
and is more like the truth, that there were not more than a
peck. He then added, by way of explanation, to prove the
greater extent of the slaughter, that none but knights, and of
these the principal only, wore that ornament. The main drift
of his speech was, "that the nearer the prospect was of bring-
ing the war to a conclusion, the more should Hannibal be aided
by every means, for that the seat of war was at a long distance
from home and in the heart of the enemy's country. That a
great quantity of corn was consumed and money expended;
and that so many pitched battles, as they had annihilated the
armies of the enemy, had also in some degree diminished the
forces of the victor. That a reinforcement therefore ought
to be sent; and money for the pay, and corn for the soldiers,
who had deserved so well of the Carthaginian name." After
this speech of Mago's, all being elated with joy, Himilco, a
member of the Barcine faction, conceiving this a good oppor-
tunity for inveighing against Hanno, said to him, " What
think you now, Hanno ? do you now also regret that the war
against the Romans was entered upon ? Now urge that Han-
nibal should be given up; yes, forbid the rendering of thanks
to the immortal gods amidst such successes; let us hear a
Roman senator in the senate-house of the Carthaginians."
Upon which Hanno replied, " I should have remained silent
this day, conscript fathers, lest, amid the general joy, I should
utter any thing which might be too gloomy for you. But
now, to a senator, asking whether I still regret the undertaking
of the war against the Romans, if I should forbear to speak,
I should seem either arrogant or servile, the former of which
is the part of a man who is forgetful of the independence
of others, the latter of his own. I may answer therefore to
Himilco, that I have not ceased to regret the war, nor shall
I cease to censure your invincible general until I see the war
concluded on some tolerable terms; nor will any thing except
a new peace put a period to my regret for the loss of the old
one. Accordingly those achievements, which Mago has so
boastingly recounted, are a source of present joy to Himilco
and the other adherents of Hannibal; to me they may become
so; because successes in war, if we have a mind to make the
best use of fortune, will afford us a peace on more equitable
terms; for if we allow this opportunity to pass by, on whichY. R. 536.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

849

we have it in our power to appear to dictate rather than
to receive terms of peace, I fear lest even this our joy should
run into excess, and in the end prove groundless. However,
let us see of what kind it is even now. I have slain the
armies of the enemy, send me soldiers. What else would you
ask if you had been conquered ? I have captured two of the
enemy's camps, full, of course, of booty and provisions; sup-
ply me with corn and money. What else would you ask had
you been plundered and stripped of your camp ? And that I
may not be the only person perplexed, I could wish that either
Himilco or Mago would answer me, for it is just and fair that
I also should pat a question, since I have answered Himilco.
Since the battle at Cannse annihilated the Roman power, and
it is a fact that all Italy is in a state of revolt; in the first
place, has any one people of the Latin confederacy come over
to us ? In the next place, has any individual of the five and
thirty tribes deserted to Hannibal?" When Mago had an-
swered both these questions in the negative, he continued:
" there remains then still too large a body of the enemy. But
I should be glad to know what degree of spirit and hope that
body possesses."

13. Mago declaring that he did not know; " Nothing," said
he, " is easier to be known. Have the Romans sent any am-
bassadors to Hannibal to treat of peace ? Have you, in short,
ever heard that any mention has been made of peace at
Rome ?" On his answering these questions also in the nega-
tive: "We have upon our hands then, said he, a war as en-
tire as we had on the day on which Hannibal crossed over
into Italy. There are a great many of us alive now who re-
member how fluctuating the success was in the former Punic
war. At no time did our affairs appear in so prosperous a
condition as they did before the consulship of Caius Lutatius
and Aulus Posthumius. In the consulship of Caius Lutatius
and Aulus Posthumius we were completely conquered at the
islands iEgates. But if now, as well as then, (oh! may the
gods avert the omen!) fortune should take any turn, do you
hope to obtain that peace when we shall be vanquished which
no one is willing to grant now we are victorious. I have an
opinion which I should express if any one should advise with
me on the subject of proffering or accepting terms of peace
with the enemy; but with respect to the supplies requested850

the history of rome. [b.'xxiii. chapes,

by Mago, I do not think there is any necessity to send them
to a victorious army; and I give it as my opinion that they
should far less be sent to them, if they are deluding us by
groundless and empty hopes." But few were influenced by
the harangue of Hanno, for both the jealousy which he enter-
tained towards the Barcine family, made him a less weighty
authority; and men's minds being taken up with the present
exultation, would listen to nothing by which their joy could be
made more groundless, but felt convinced, that if they should
make a little additional exertion the war might be speedily
terminated. Accordingly a decree of the senate was made
with very general approbation, that four thousand Numidians
should be sent as a reinforcement to Hannibal, with four
hundred elephants and many talents of silver. Moreover, the
dictator was sent forward into Spain with Mago to hire
twenty thousand foot and four thousand horse, to recruit the
armies in Italy and Spain.

14. But these resolutions, as generally happens in the sea-
son of prosperity, were executed in a leisurely and slothful
manner. The Romans, in addition to their inborn activity
of mind, were prevented from delaying by the posture of their
affairs. For the consul was not wanting in any business
which was to be done by him ; and the dictator, Marcus Ju-
nius Pera, after the sacred ceremonies were concluded, and
after having, as is usual, proposed to the people that he might
be allowed to mount his horse; besides the two legions which
had been enlisted by the consuls in the beginning of the year,
and besides the cohorts collected out of the Picenian and
Gallic territories, descended to that last resort of the state
when almost despaired of, and when propriety gives place to
utility, and made proclamation, that of such persons as had
been guilty of capital crimes or were in prison on judgment
for debt, those who would serve as soldiers with him, he
would order to be released from their liability to punishment
and their debts. These six thousand he armed with the
Gallic spoils which were carried in the procession at the tri-
umph of Caius Flaminius. Thus he marched from the city
at the head of twenty-five thousand men. Hannibal, after
gaining Capua, made a second fruitless attempt upon the
minds of the Neapolitans, partly by fear and partly by hope;
and then marched his troops across into the territory of Nola:y: B. 536.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

851

not immediately in a hostile attitude; for he did not despair
of a voluntary surrender, yet intending to omit nothing which
they could suffer or fear, if they delayed the completion of his
hopes. The senate, and especially the principal members of
it, persevered faithfully in keeping up the alliance with the
Romans; the commons, as usual, were all inclined to a change
in the government and to espouse the cause of Hannibal,
placing before their minds the fear lest their fields should be
devastated, and the many hardships and indignities which
must be endured in a siege; nor were there wanting persons
who advised a revolt. In this state of things, when a fear
took possession of the senate, that it would be impossible to
resist the excited multitude if they went openly to work, de-
vised a delay of the evil by secret simulation. They pre-
tended that they were agreeable to the revolt to Hannibal;
but that it was not settled on what terms they should enter
into the new alliance and friendship. Thus having gained
time, they promptly sent ambassadors to the Roman praetor,
Marcellus Claudius, who was at Casilinum with his army,
and informed him what a critical situation Nola was in; that
the fields were already in the possession of Hannibal and the
Carthaginians, and that the city soon would be, unless suc-
cour were sent; that the senate, by conceding to the commons
that they would revolt when they pleased, had caused them
not to hasten too much to revolt. Marcellus, after bestowing
high commendations on the Nolans, urged them to protract
the business till his arrival by means of the same pretences;
in the mean time, to conceal what had passed between them,
as well as all hope of succour from the Romans. He himself
marched from Casilinum to Calatia, and thence crossing the
Vulturnus, and passing through the territories of Saticula
and Trebula, pursuing his course along the mountains above
Suessula, he arrived at Nola.

15. On the approach of the Roman praetor, the Cartha-
ginians retired from the territory of Nola and marched down
to the sea close upon Naples, eager to get possession of a
maritime town to which there would be a safe course for ships
from Africa. But hearing that Naples was held by a Roman
prefect, Marcus Junius Silanus, who had been invited thither
by the Neapolitans themselves, he left Naples as he had left
Nola, and directed his course to Nuceria, which he at length852

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIII. CHAP. 15.

starved into capitulation, after having besieged it for a con-
siderable time, often by open force, and often by soliciting to
no purpose sometimes the commons, at other times the nobles;
agreeing that they should depart with single garments and
without arms. Then, as wishing to appear from the begin-
ning to show lenity to all the inhabitants of Italy except the
Romans, he proposed rewards and honours to those who
might remain with him, and would be willing to serve with
him. He retained none, however, by the hopes he held out;
they all dispersed in different directions throughout the cities
of Campania, wherever either hospitable connexions or the
casual impulse of the mind directed them, but principally to
Nola and Naples. About thirty senators, including as it
happened all of the first rank, made for Capua; but being
shut out thence, because they had closed their gates on Han-
nibal, they betook themselves to Cumae. The plunder of
Nuceria was given to the soldiery, the city sacked and burned.
Marcellus continued to hold possession of Nola, relying not
more from confidence in his own troops than from the favour-
able disposition of the leading inhabitants. Apprehensions
were entertained of the commons, particularly Lucius Bantius,
whose having been privy to an attempt at defection, and
dread of the Roman praetor, stimulated sometimes to the be-
trayal of his country, at others, should fortune fail him in that
undertaking, to desertion. He was a young man of vigorous
mind, and at that time enjoying the greatest renown of almost
any of the allied cavalry. Found at Cannae half dead amid
a heap of slain, Hannibal had sent him home, after having had
him cured, with the kindest attention, and even with presents*
In gratitude for this favour, he had conceived a wish to put
Nola under the power and dominion of the Carthaginian; but
his anxiety and solicitude for effecting a change did not
escape the notice of the praetor. However, as it was neces-
sary that he should be either restrained by penal inflictions or
conciliated by favours, he preferred attaching to himself a
brave and strenuous ally, to depriving the enemy of him;
and summoning him into his presence, in the kindest manner
said, " that the fact that he had many among his countrymen
who were jealous of him, might be easily collected from the
circumstance that not one citizen of Nola had informed him
how many were his splendid military exploits. But that ity. r. 536.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

853

was impossible for the valour of one who served in the Roman
camp to remain in obscurity; that many who had served with
him had reported to him how brave a man he was, how often
and what dangers he had encountered for the safety and
honour of the Roman people ; and how in the battle of Cannaa
he had not given over fighting till, almost bloodless, he was
buried under a heap of men, horses, and arms which fell upon
him. Go on then," says he, " and prosper in your career of
valour, with me you shall receive every honour and every re-
ward, and the oftener you be with me, the more you shall find
it will be to your honour and emolument." He presented the
young man, delighted with these promises, with a horse of
distinguished beauty, ordered the quaestor to give him five
hundred denarii, and commanded the lictors to allow him
to approach him whenever he might please.

16. The violent spirit of the youth was so much soothed
by the courteous treatment of Marcellus, that thenceforward
no one of the allies displayed greater courage or fidelity in
aiding the Roman cause. Hannibal being now at the gates,
for he had moved his camp back again from Nuceria to Nola,
and the commons beginning to turn their attention to revolt
afresh, Marcellus, on the approach of the enemy, retired within
the walls; not from apprehension for his camp, but lest he
should give an opportunity for betraying the city, which too
many were anxiously watching for. The troops on both sides
then began to be drawn up; the Romans before the walls of
Nola, the Carthaginians before their own camp. Hence arose
several battles of small account between the city and the
camp, with varying success, as the generals were neither will-
ing to check the small parties who inconsiderately challenged
the enemy, nor to give the signal for a general engagement.
While the two armies continued to be thus stationed day after
day, the chief men of the Nolans informed Marcellus, that
conferences were held by night between the commons of Nola
and the Carthaginians; and that it was fixed, that, when the
Roman army had gone out at the gates, they should make
plunder of their baggage and packages, then close the gates
and post themselves upon the walls, in order that when in
possession of the government and the city, they might then
receive the Carthaginian instead of the Roman. On receiv-
ing this intelligence Marcellus, having bestowed the highest854

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIII. CHAP. 16

commendations on the senators, resolved to hazard the issue
of a battle before any commotion should arise within the city.
He drew up his troops in three divisions at the three gates
which faced the enemy; he gave orders that the baggage
should follow close by; that the servants, suttlers' boys, and
invalids should carry palisades; at the centre gate he stationed
the choicest of the legionary troops and the Roman cavalry,
at the two gates on either side, the recruits, the light-armed,
and the allied cavalry. The Nolans were forbidden to ap-
proach the walls and gates, and the troops designed for a re-
serve were set over the baggage, lest while the legions were
engaged in the battle an attack should be made upon it. Thus
arranged they were standing within the gates. Hannibal,
who had waited with his troops drawn up in battle-array, as
he had done for several days, till the day was far advanced,
at first was amazed that neither the Roman army marched out
of the gates, nor any armed man was to be seen on the walls;
but afterwards concluding that the conferences had been dis-
covered, and that they were quiet through fear, he sent
back a portion of his troops into the camp, with orders to
bring into the front line, with speed, every thing requisite for
assaulting the city ; satisfied that if he urged them vigorously
while they were indisposed to action, the populace would ex-
cite some commption in the city. While, in the van, the
troops were running up and down in a hurried manner in dis-
charge of their several duties, and the line was advancing up
to the gates, suddenly throwing open the gate, Marcellus
ordered that the signal should be given, and a shout raised,
and that first the infantry and after them the cavalry should
burst forth upon the enemy with all possible impetuosity.
They had occasioned abundant terror and confusion in the
centre of the enemy's line, when, at the two side gates, the
lieutenant-generals, Publius Valerius Flaccus and Caius
Aurelius, sallied forth upon the wings. The servants, suttlers'
boys, and the other multitude appointed to guard the baggage,
joined in the shout, so that they suddenly exhibited the ap-
pearance of a vast army to the Carthaginians, who despised
chiefly their paucity of numbers. For my own part I would
not take upon me to assert what some authors have declared,
that two thousand eight hundred of the enemy were slain, and
that the Romans lost not more than five hundred. Whether theT. R. 536.J

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

855

victory was so great or not, it is certain that a very important
advantage, and perhaps the greatest during thq war, was
gained on that day; for not to be vanquished by Hannibal
was then a more difficult task to the victorious troops, than
to conquer him afterwards.

17. When Hannibal, all hope of getting possession of Nola
being lost, had retired to Acerrae, Marcellus, having closed
the gates and posted guards in different quarters to prevent
any one from going out, immediately instituted a judicial
inquiry in the forum, into the conduct of those who had been
secretly in communication with the enemy. He beheaded
more than seventy who were convicted of treason, and ordered
their goods to be confiscated to the Roman state; and then
committing the government to the senate, set out with all his
forces, and, pitching a camp, took up a position above Suessula.
The Carthaginian, having at first endeavoured to win over the
people of Acerrae to a voluntary surrender, but finding them
resolved, makes preparations for a siege and assault. But
the people of Acerrae had more spirit than power. Despair-
ing, therefore, of the defence of the city, when they saw their
walls being circumvallated, before the lines of the enemy were
completed, they stole off in the dead of night through the
opening in the works, and where the watches had been neg-
lected ; and pursuing their course through roads and pathless
regions, accordingly as design or mistake directed each, made
their escape to those towns of Campania which they knew
had not renounced their fidelity. After Acerrae was plundered
and burnt, Hannibal, having received intelligence that the
Roman dictator with the new-raised legions was seen at some
distance from Casilinum, and fearing lest, the camp of the ene-
my being so near, something might occur at Capua, marched
his army to Casilinum. At that time Casilinum was occupied
by five hundred Praenestines, with a few Romans and Latins,
whom the news of the defeat at Cannae had brought to the
same place. These men setting out from home too late, in
consequence of the levy at Praeneste not being completed at
the appointed day, and arriving at Casilinum before the de-
feat was known there, where they united themselves with
other troops, Romans and allies, were proceeding thence in a
tolerably large body, but the news of the battle at Cannse
turned them back to Casilinum. Having spent several days856

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIII. CHAP. 18,

there in evading and concerting plots, in fear themselves
and suspected by the Campanians, and having now received
certain information that the revolt of Capua and the recep-
tion of Hannibal were in agitation, they put the townsmen
to the sword by night, and seized upon the part of the town
on this side the Yulturnus, for it is divided by that river.
Such was the garrison the Romans had at Casilinum; to
these was added a cohort of Perusians, in number four hun-
dred and sixty, who had been driven to Casilinum by the
same intelligence which had brought the Praenestines a few
days before. They formed a sufficient number of armed men
for the defence of walls of so limited extent, and protected on
one side by the river. The scarcity of corn made them even
appear too numerous.

18. Hannibal having now advanced within a short distance
of the place, sent forward a body of Getulians under a com-
mander named Isalca, and orders them in the first place, if an
opportunity of parley should be given, to win them over "by
fair words, to open the gates, and admit a garrison; but, if
they persisted in obstinate opposition, to proceed to action,
and try if in any part he could force an entrance into the city.
When they had approached the walls, because silence pre-
vailed there appeared a solitude; and the barbarian, supposing
that they had retired through fear, made preparation for
forcing the gates and breaking away the bars, when, the
gates being suddenly thrown open, two cohorts, drawn up
within for that very purpose, rushed forth with great tumult,
and made a slaughter of the enemy. The first party being
thus repulsed, Maharbal was sent with a more powerful body
of troops; but neither could even he sustain the sally of the
cohorts. Lastly, Hannibal, fixing his camp directly before the
walls, prepared to assault this paltry city and garrison, with
every effort and all his forces, and having completely sur-
rounded the city with a line of troops, lost a considerable
number of men, including all the most forward, who were
shot from the walls and turrets, while he pressed on and pro-
voked the enemy. Once he was very near cutting them off,
by throwing in a line of elephants, when aggressively sallying
forth, and drove them in the utmost confusion into the town;
a good many, out of so small a number, having been slain.
More would have fallen had not night interrupted the battle.y. u. 536.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

857

On the following day, the minds of all were possessed with an
ardent desire to commence the assault, especially after a golden
mural crown had been promised, and the general himself had
reproached the conquerors of Saguntum with the slowness of
their siege of a little fort situated on level ground; reminding
them, each and all, of Cannae, Trasimenus, and,, Trebia. They
then began to apply the vineae and to spring mines: nor was
any measure, whether of open force or stratagem, unemployed
against the various attempts of the enemy. These allies of the
Romans erected bulwarks against the vineae, cut off the mines
of the enemy by cross-mines, and met their efforts both covertly
and openly, till, at last, shame compelled Hannibal to desist
from his undertaking; and, fortifying a camp in which he
placed a small guard, that the affair might not appear to have
been abandoned, he retired into winter quarters to Capua.
There he kept, under cover, for the greater part of the winter,
that army, which, though fortified by frequent and continued
hardships against every human ill, had yet never experienced
or been habituated to prosperity. Accordingly, excess of good
fortune and unrestrained indulgence were the ruin of men
whom no severity of distress had subdued; and so much the
more completely, in proportion to the avidity with which they
plunged into pleasures to which they were unaccustomed.
For sleep, wine, feasting, women, baths, and ease, which cus-
tom rendered more seductive day by day, so completely un-
nerved both mind and body, that from henceforth their past
victories rather than their present strength protected them;
and in this the general is considered by those who are skilled
in the art of war to have committed a greater error than in
not having marched his troops to Eome forthwith from the
field of Cannae: for his delay on that occasion might be con-
sidered as only to have postponed his victory, but this mis-
take to have bereaved him of the power of conquering.
Accordingly, by Hercules, as though he marched out of Ca-
pua with another army, it retained in no respect any of its
former discipline; for most of the troops returned in the em-
brace of harlots; and as soon as they began to live under
tents, and the fatigue of marching and other military labours
tried them, like raw troops, they failed both in bodily strength
and spirit. From that time, during the whole period of the
summer campaign, a great number of them slunk away from858

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. xxiii. CHAP. 19.

the standards without furloughs3 while Capua was the only
retreat of the deserters.

19. However, when the rigour of winter began to abate,
marching his troops out of their winter quarters he returned
to Casilinum; where, although there had been an intermis-
sion of the assault, the continuance of the siege had re-
duced the inhabitants and the garrison to the extremity of
want. Titus Sempronius commanded the Roman camp, the
dictator having gone to Rome to renew the auspices. The
swollen state of the Yulturnus and the entreaties of the peo-
ple of Nola and Acerrse, who feared the Campanians if the
Roman troops should leave them, kept Marcellus in his place;
although desirous himself also to bring assistance to the be-
sieged. Gracchus, only maintaining his post near Casilinum,
because he had been enjoined by the dictator not to take any
active steps during his absence, did not stir; although intelli-
gence was brought from Casilinum which might easily over-
come every degree of patience. For it appeared that some
had precipitated themselves from the walls through famine,
and that they were standing unarmed upon the walls, ex-
posing their undefended bodies to the blows of the missile
weapons. Gracchus, grieved at the intelligence, but not
daring to fight contrary to the injunctions of the dictator, and
yet aware that he must fight if he openly attempted to con-
vey in provisions, and having no hope of introducing them
clandestinely, collected corn from all parts of the surrounding
country, and filling several casks sent a message to the magis-
trate to Casilinum, directing that they might catch the casks
which the river would bring down. The following night,
while all were intent upon the river, and the hopes excited
by the message from the Romans, the casks sent came float-
ing down the centre of the stream, and the corn was equally
distributed among them all. This was repeated the second
and third day; they were sent off and arrived during the
same night; and hence they escaped the notice of the enemy's
guards. But afterwards, the river, rendered more than ordi-
narily rapid by continual rains, drove the casks by a cross
current to the bank which the enemy were guarding; there
they were discovered sticking among the osiers which grew
along the banks ; and, it being reported to Hannibal, from
that time the watches were kept more strictly, that nothingY. R. 536.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

859

sent to the city by the Vulturnus might escape notice. How-
ever, nuts poured out at the Roman camp floated down the
centre of the river to Casilinum, and were caught with hur-
dles. At length they were reduced to such a degree of want,
that they endeavoured to chew the thongs and skins which
they tore from their shields, after softening them in warm
wrater; nor did they abstain from mice or any other kind of
animals. They even dug up every kind of herb and root from
the lowest mounds of their wall; and when the enemy had
ploughed over all the ground producing herbage which was
without the wall, they threw in turnip seed, so that Hannibal
exclaimed, Must I sit here at Casilinum even till these spring
up ? and he, who up to that time had not lent an ear to any
terms, then at length allowed himself to be treated with re-
specting the ransom of the free persons. Seven ounces of
gold for each person were agreed upon as the price; and then,
under a promise of protection, they surrendered themselves.
They were kept in chains till the whole of the gold was paid,
after which they were sent back to Cumae, in fulfilment of the
promise. This account is more credible than that they were
slain by a body of cavalry, which was sent to attack them as
they were going away. They were for the most part Prae-
nestines. Out of the five hundred and seventy who formed
the garrison, almost one half were destroyed by sword or
famine ; the rest returned safe to Praeneste with their praetor
Manicius, who had formerly been a scribe. His statue placed
in the forum at Praeneste, clad in a coat of mail, with a gown
on, and with the head covered, formed an evidence of this ac-
count ; as did also three images with this legend inscribed on
a brazen plate, " Manicius vowed these in behalf of the sol-
diers who were in the garrison at Casilinum." The same
legend was inscribed under three images placed in the temple
of Fortune.

20. The town of Casilinum was restored to the Campani-
ans, strengthened by a garrison of seven hundred soldiers
from the army of Hannibal, lest on the departure of the
Carthaginian from it, the Romans should assault it. To the
Praenestine soldiers the Roman senate voted double pay and
exemption from military service for five years. On being
offered the freedom of the state, in consideration of their
valour, they would not make the exchange. The account of860

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [u. XXIV. CHAP. 21.

the fate of the Perusians is less clear, as no light is thrown
upon it by any monument of their own, or any decree of the
Romans. At the same time the Petelini, the only Bruttian
state which had continued in the Roman alliance, were at-
tacked not only by the Carthaginians, who were in possession
of the surrounding country, but also by the rest of the Brut-
tian states, on account of their having adopted a separate
policy. The Petelini, unable to bear up against these dis-
tresses, sent ambassadors to Rome to solicit aid, whose prayers
and entreaties (for on being told that they must themselves
take measures for their own safety, they gave themselves up
to piteous lamentations in the vestibule of the senate-house)
excited the deepest commiseration in the fathers and the peo-
ple. On the question being proposed a second time to the
fathers by Manius Pomponius, the prastor, after examining all
the resources of the empire, they were compelled to confess
that they had no longer any protection for their distant allies,
and bid them return home, and having done every thing
which could be expected from faithful allies, as to what re-
mained to take measures for their own security in the present
state of fortune. On the result of this embassy being reported
to the Petelini, their senate was suddenly seized with such
violent grief and dismay, that some advised that tliey should
run away wherever each man could find an asylum, and
abandon the city. Some advised, that as they were deserted
by their ancient allies, they should unite themselves with the
rest of the Bruttian states, and through them surrender them-
selves to Hannibal. The opinion however which prevailed
was that of those who thought that nothing should be done in
haste and rashly, and that they should take the whole matter
into their consideration again. The next day, when they had
cooled upon it, and their trepidation had somewhat subsided,
the principal men carried their point that they should collect
all their property out of the fields, and fortify the city and the
walls.

21. Much about the same time letters were brought from
Sicily and Sardinia. That of Titus Otacilius the propraetor
was first read in the senate. It stated that Lucius Furius the
prastor had arrived at Lilybasum from Africa with his fleet.
That he himself, having been severely wounded, was in im-
minent danger of his life; that neither pay nor corn wasY. R. 536.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

861

punctually furnished to the soldiers or the marines; nor were
there any resources from which they could be furnished.
That he earnestly advised that such supplies should be sent
with all possible expedition; and that, if it was thought proper,
they should send one of the new praetors to succeed him.

Nearly the same intelligence respecting corn and pay was
conveyed in a letter from Aulus Cornelius Mammula, the pro-
praetor, from Sardinia. The answer to both was, that there
were no resources from whence they could be supplied, and
orders were given to them that they should themselves pro-
vide for their fleets and armies. Titus Otacilius having sent
ambassadors to Hiero, the only source of assistance the Ro-
mans had, received as much money as was wanting to pay the
troops and a supply of corn for six months. In Sardinia, the
allied states contributed liberally to Cornelius. The scarcity
of money at Rome also was so great, that on the proposal of
Marcus Minucius, plebeian tribune, a financial triumvirate
was appointed, consisting of Lucius iEmilius Papus, who had
been consul and censor, Marcus Atilius Regulus, who had
been twice consul, and Lucius Scribonius Libo, who was then
plebeian tribune. Marcus and Caius Atilius were also created
a duumvirate for dedicating the temple of Concord, which Lu-
cius Manlius had vowed when praetor. Three pontiffs were also
created, Quintus Caecilius Metellus, Quintus Fabius Maximus,
and Quintus Fulvius Flaccus, in the room of Publius Scantinius
deceased, and of Lucius iEmilius Paulus the consul, and of
Quintus JElius Paetus, who had fallen in the battle of Cannae.

22. The fathers having repaired, as far as human counsels
could effect it, the other losses from a continued series of un-
fortunate events, at length turned their attention on them-
selves, on the emptiness of the senate-house, and the paucity
of those who assembled for public deliberation. For the se-
nate-roll had not been reviewed since the censorship of Lucius
iEmilius and C. Flaminius, though unfortunate battles, during
a period of five years, as well as the private casualties of each,
had carried off so many senators. Manius Pomponius, the
praetor, as the dictator was now gone to the army after the
loss of Casilinum, at the earnest request of all, brought in a
bill upon the subject. When Spurius Carvilius, after having
lamented in a long speech not only the scantiness of the se-
nate, but the fewness of citizens who were eligible into that862

THE HISTOKY OF ROME. [B. XXIII. CHAP. 23.

body, with the design of making up the numbers of the
senate and uniting more closely the Romans and the Latin
confederacy, declared that he strongly advised that the free-
dom of the state should be conferred upon two senators from
each of the Latin states, if the Roman fathers thought proper,
who might be chosen into the senate to supply the places of
the deceased senators. This proposition the fathers listened
to with no more equanimity than formerly to the request when
made by the Latins themselves. A loud and violent expres-
sion of disapprobation ran through the whole senate-house.
In particular, Manlius reminded them that there was still
existing a man of that stock, from which that consul was
descended who formerly threatened in the Capitol that he
would with his own hand put to death any Latin senator he
saw in that house. Upon which Quintus Fabius Maximus
said, " that never was any subject introduced into the senate
at a juncture more unseasonable than the present, when a ques-
tion had been touched upon which would still further irritate
the minds of the allies, who were already hesitating and wa-
vering in their allegiance. That that rash suggestion of one
individual ought to be annihilated by the silence of the whole
body; and that if there ever was a declaration in that house
which ought to be buried in profound and inviolable silence,
surely that above all others was one which deserved to be
covered and consigned to darkness and oblivion, and looked
upon as if it had never been made." This put a stop to the
mention of the subject. They determined that a dictator
should be created for the purpose of reviewing the senate,
and that he should be one who had been a censor, and was
the oldest living of those who had held that office. They
likewise gave orders that Caius Terentius, the consul, should
be called home to nominate a dictator ; who, leaving his
troops in Apulia, returned to Rome with great expedition;
and, according to custom, on the following night nominated
Marcus Fabius Buteo dictator, for six months, without a mas-
ter of the horse, in pursuance of the decree of the senate.,

23. He having mounted the rostrum attended by the lictors,
declared, that he neither approved of there being two dictators
at one time, which had never been done before, nor of his
being appointed dictator without a master of the horse; nor
of the censorian authority being committed to one person, andY. it. 536.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

863

to the same person a second time; nor that command should
be given to a dictator for six months, unless he was created
for active operations. That he would himself restrain within
proper bounds those irregularities which chance, the exigencies
of the times, and necessity had occasioned. For he would not
remove any of those whom the censors Flaminius and JEmilius
had elected into the senate; but would merely order that their
names should be transcribed and read over, that one man
might not exercise the power of deciding and determining on
the character and morals of a senator; and would so elect in
place of deceased members, that one rank should appear to
be preferred to another, and not man to man. The old senate -
roll having been read, he chose as successors to the deceased,
first those who had filled a curule office since the censorship
of Flaminius and ^Emilius, but had not yet been elected
into the senate, as each had been earliest created. He next
chose those who had been sediles, plebeian tribunes, or quaes-
tors ; then of those who had never filled the office of magis-
trate, he selected such as had spoils taken from an enemy fixed
up at their homes, or had received a civic crown. Having
thus elected one hundred and seventy-seven senators, with the
entire approbation of his countrymen, he instantly abdicated
his office, and, bidding the lictors depart, he descended from
the rostrum as a private citizen, and mingled with the crowd
of persons who were engaged in their private affairs, design-
edly wearing away this time, lest he should draw off the
people from the forum for the purpose of escorting him home.
Their zeal, however, did not subside by the delay, for they
escorted him to his house in great numbers. The consul re-
turned to the army the ensuing night, without acquainting the
senate, lest he should be detained in the city on account of
the elections.

24. The next day, on the proposition of Manius Pom-
ponius the prastor, the senate decreed that a letter should be
written to the dictator, to the effect, that if he thought it for
the interest of the state, he should come, together with the
master of the horse and the praetor, Marcus Marcellus, to hold
the election for the succeeding consuls, in order that the
fathers might learn from them in person in what condition
the state was, and take measures according to circumstances.
All who were summoned came, leaving lieutenant-generals to

3 K864

THE HISTORY OF EOME. [B. XXIII. CHAP. 24

hold command of the legions. The dictator, speaking briefly
and modestly of himself, attributed much of the glory of the
campaign to the master of the horse, Tiberius Sempronius
Gracchus. He then gave out the day for the comitia, at which
the consuls created were Lucius Posthumius in his absence,
being then employed m the government of the province of
Gaul, for the third time, and Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus,
who was then master of the horse and curule aedile. Marcus
Valerius Laevinus, Appius Claudius Pulcher, Quintus Fulvius
Flaccus, and Quintus Mucius Scsevola, were then created
prsetors. After the election of the magistrates, the dictator
returned to his army, which was in winter quarters at Teanum,
leaving his master of the horse at Rome, to take the sense of
the fathers relative to the armies to be enlisted and embodied
for the service of the year, as he was about to enter upon the
magistracy after a few days. While busily occupied with
these matters, intelligence arrived of a fresh disaster—fortune
crowding into this year one calamity after another—that
Lucius Posthumius, consul elect, himself with all his army
was destroyed in Gaul. He was to march his troops through
a vast wood, which the Gauls called Litana. On the right
and left of his route, the natives had sawed the trees in such
a manner that they continued standing upright, but would fall
when impelled by a slight force. Posthumius had with him
two Roman legions, and besides had levied so great a number
of allies along the Adriatic Sea, that he led into the enemy's
country twenty-five thousand men. As soon as this army
entered the wood, the Gauls, who were posted around its ex-
treme skirts, pushed down the outermost of the sawn trees,
which falling on those next them, and these again on others,
which of themselves stood tottering and scarcely maintained
their position, crushed arms, men, and horses in an indis-
criminate manner, so that scarcely ten men escaped. For
most of them being killed by the trunks and broken boughs
of trees, the Gauls, who beset the wood on all sides in arms,
killed the rest, panic-struck by so unexpected a disaster. A
very small number, who attempted to escape by a bridge, were
taken prisoners, being intercepted by the enemy who had taken
possession of it before them. Here Posthumius fell, fighting
with all his might to prevent his being taken. The Boii,
having cut off his head, carried it and the spoils they striptt. R. 536.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

866

off his body, in triumph into the most sacred temple they had.
Afterwards they cleansed the head according to their custom,
and having covered the skull with chased gold, used it as a
cup for libations in their solemn festivals, and a drinking cup
for their high priests and other ministers of the temple. The
spoils taken by the Gauls were not less than the victory. For
though great numbers of the beasts were crushed by the fall-
ing trees, yet as nothing was scattered by flight, every thing
else was found strewed along the whole line of the prostrate
band.

25. The news of this disaster arriving, when the state
had been in so great a panic for many days, that the shops
were shut up as if the solitude of night reigned through the
city; the senate gave it in charge to the sediles to go round
the city, cause the shops to be opened, and this appearance of
public affliction to be removed. Then Titus Sempronius,
having assembled the senate, consoled and encouraged the
fathers, requesting, "that they who had sustained the defeat
at Cannae with so much magnanimity would not now be cast
down with less calamities. That if their arms should prosper,
as he hoped they would, against Hannibal and the Carthagini-
ans, the war with the Gauls might be suspended and deferred
without hazard. The gods and the Roman people would
have it in their power to revenge the treachery of the Gauls
another time. That they should now deliberate about the
Carthaginian foe, and the forces with which the war was to
be prosecuted." He first laid before them the number of foot
and horse, as well citizens as allies, that were in the dic-
tator's army. Then Marcellus gave an account of the amount
of his. Those who knew were asked what troops were in
Apulia with Caius Terentius Yarro the consul. But no
practicable plan could be devised for raising consular armies
sufficient to support so important a war. For this reason,
notwithstanding a just resentment irritated them, they deter-
mined that Gaul should be passed over for that year. The
dictator's army was assigned to the consul; and they ordered
such of the troops of Marcellus's army as had fled from
Cannas, to be transported into Sicily, to serve there as long
as the war continued in Italy. Thither, likewise, were or-
dered to be sent as unfit to serve with him, the weakest of the
dictator's troops, no time of service being appointed, but the

3 k 2866

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIII. CHAP. 26.

legal number of campaigns. The two legions in the city-
were voted to the other consul who should be elected in the
room of Posthumius; and they resolved that he should be
elected as soon as the auspices would permit. Besides, two
legions were immediately to be recalled from Sicily, out of
which the consul, to whom the city legions fell, might take
what number of men he should have occasion for. The con-
sul Caius Terentius Yarro was continued in his command for
one year, without lessening the army he had for the defence
of Apulia.

26. During these transactions and preparations in Italy,
the war in Spain was prosecuted with no less vigour; but
hitherto more favourably to the Romans. The two generals
had divided their troops, so that Cneius acted by land, and
Publius by sea. Hasdrubal, general of the Carthaginians, suf-
ficiently trusting to neither branch of his forces, kept himself
at a distance from the enemy, secured by the intervening space
and the strength of his fortifications, until, after much solicita-
tion, four thousand foot and five hundred horse were sent him
out of Africa as a reinforcement. At length, inspired with
fresh hopes, he moved nearer the enemy; and himself also
ordered a fleet to be equipped and prepared for the protection
of the islands and sea-coasts. In the very onset of renewing
the war, he was greatly embarrassed by the desertion of the
captains of his ships, who had ceased to entertain a sincere
attachment towards the general and the Carthaginian cause,
ever since they were severely reprimanded for abandoning
the fleet in a cowardly manner at the Iberus. These deserters
had raised an insurrection among the Tartessians, and at
their instigation some cities had revolted; they had even
taken one by force. The war was now turned from the
Romans into that country, which he entered in a hostile
manner, and resolved to attack Galbus, a distinguished ge-
neral of the Tartessians, who with a powerful army kept close
within his camp, before the walls of a city which had been
captured but a few days before. Accordingly, he sent his
light-armed troops in advance to provoke the enemy to battle,
and part of his infantry to ravage the country throughout in
every direction, and to cut off stragglers. There was a skir-
mish before the camp, at the same time that many were killed
and pat to flight in the fields. But having by different routesY. R. 536.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

867

returned to their camp, they so quickly sliook off all fear, that
they had courage not only to defend their lines, but challenge
the enemy to fight. They sallied out, therefore, in a body
from the camp, dancing according to their custom. Their
sudden boldness terrified the enemy, who a little before had
been the assailants. Hasdrubal therefore drew off his troops
to a tolerably steep eminence, and secured further by having
a river between it and the enemy. Here the parties of light-
armed troops which had been sent in advance, and the horse
which had been dispersed about, he called in to join him. But
not thinking himself sufficiently secured by the eminence or
the river, he fortified his camp completely with a rampart.
While thus fearing and feared alternately, several skirmishes
occurred, in which the Numidian cavalry were not so good
as the Spanish, nor the Moorish darters so good as the Spanish
targetteers, who equalled them in swiftness, but were superior
to them in strength and courage.

27. The enemy seeing they could not, by coming up to
Hasdrubal's camp, draw him out to a battle, nor assault it
without great difficulty, stormed Asena, whither Hasdrubal,
on entering their territories, had laid up his corn and other
stores. By this they became masters of all the surrounding
country. But now they became quite ungovernable, both
when on march and within their camp.

Hasdrubal, therefore, perceiving their negligence, which,
as usual, was the consequence of success, after having exhorted
his troops to attack them while they were straggling and with-
out their standards, came down the hill, and advanced to their
camp in order of battle. On his approach being announced
in a tumultuous manner, by men who fled from the watch-
posts and advanced guards, they shouted to arms; and as
each could get his arms, they rushed precipitately to battle,
without waiting for the word, without standards, without or-
der, and without ranks. The foremost of them were already
engaged, while some were running up in parties, and others
had not got out of their camp. However, at first, the very
boldness of their attack terrified the enemy. But when they
charged their close ranks with their own which were thin,
and were not able to defend themselves for want of numbers,
each began to look out for others to support him; and being
repulsed in all nuarters tliev collect^! themselves in form of868

THE HISTORY OF ROME. 3. XXIII. CHAP 28

a circle, where being so closely crowded together, body to
body, armour to armour, that they had not room to wield their
arms, they were surrounded by the enemy, who continued to
slaughter them till late in the day. A small number, having
forced a passage, made for the woods and hills. With like
consternation, their camp was abandoned, and next day the
whole nation submitted. But they did not continue long
quiet, for immediately upon this, Hasdrubal received orders
from Carthage to march into Italy with all expedition. The
report of which, spreading over Spain, made almost all the
states declare for the Romans. Accordingly he wrote imme-
diately to Carthage, to inform them how much mischief the
report of his march had produced. " That if he really did
leave Spain, the Romans would be masters of it all before he
could pass the Iberus. For, besides that he had neither an
army nor a general whom he could leave to supply his place,
so great were the abilities of the Roman generals who com-
manded there, that they could scarcely be opposed with equal
forces. If, therefore, they had any concern for preserving
Spain, they ought to send a general with a powerful army to
succeed him. To whom, however prosperous all things might
prove, yet the province would not be a position of ease."

28. Though this letter made at first a great impression on
the senate, yet, as their interest in Italy was first and most
important, they did not at all alter their resolution in relation
to Hasdrubal and his troops. However, they despatched Hi-
milco with a complete army, and an augmented fleet, to pre-
serve and defend Spain both by sea and land. When he had
conveyed over his land and naval forces, he fortified a camp ;
and having drawn his ships upon dry land, and surrounded
them with a rampart, he marched with a chosen body of ca-
valry, with all possible expedition; using the same caution
when passing through people who were wavering, and those
who were actually enemies; and came up with Hasdrubal.
As soon as he had informed him of the resolutions and orders
of the senate, and in his turn been thoroughly instructed in
what manner to prosecute the war in Spain, he returned to
his camp; his expedition more than any thing else saving
him, for he quitted every place before the people could con-
spire. Before Hasdrubal quitted his position he laid all the
states in subjection to him under contribution. He knewT. R. 536.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

869

well, that Hannibal purchased a passage through some na-
tions; that he had no Gallic auxiliaries but such as were
hired; and that if he had undertaken so arduous a march
without money, he would scarcely have penetrated so far as
the Alps. For this reason, having exacted the contributions
with great haste, he marched down to the Iberus. As soon
as the Roman generals got notice of the Carthaginian senate's
resolution, and Hasdrubal's march, they gave up every other
concern, and uniting their forces, determined to meet him and
oppose his attempt. They reflected, that when it was already
so difficult to make head against Hannibal alone in Italy,
there would be an end of the Roman empire in Spain, should
Hasdrubal join him with a Spanish army. Full of anxiety
and care on these accounts, they assembled their forces at the
Iberus, and crossed the river; and after deliberating for some
time whether they should encamp opposite to the enemy, or
be satisfied with impeding his intended march by attacking
the allies of the Carthaginians, they made preparations for
besieging a city called Ibera, from its contiguity to the river,
which was at that time the wealthiest in that quarter. When
Hasdrubal perceived this, instead of carrying assistance to his
allies, he proceeded himself to besiege a city which had lately
placed itself under the protection of the Romans ; and thus
the siege which was now commenced was given up by them,
and the operations of the war turned against Hasdrubal
himself.

29. For a few days they remained encamped at a distance
of five miles from each other, not without skirmishes, but
without going out to a regular engagement. At length the
signal for battle was given out on both sides on one and the
same day, as though by concert, and they marched down into
the plain with all their forces. The Roman army stood in
triple line; a part of the light troops were stationed among
the first line, the other half were received behind the stand-
ards, the cavalry covering the wings. Hasdx*ubal formed his
centre strong with Spaniards, and placed the Carthaginians in
the right wing, the Africans and hired auxiliaries in the left.
His cavalry he placed before the wings, attaching the Numi-
dians to the Carthaginian infantry, and the rest to the Afri-
cans. Nor were all the Numidians placed in the right wing,
but such as taking two horses each into the field are accus-870	THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. xxiii. CHAP. 29.

tomed frequently to leap full armed, when the battle is at the
hottest, from a tired horse upon a fresh one, after the manner
of vaulters: such was their own agility, and so docile their
breed of horses. While they stood thus drawn up, the hopes
entertained by the generals on both sides were pretty much
upon an equality; for neither possessed any great superiority,
either in point of the number or quality of the troops. The
feelings of the soldiers were widely different. Their generals
had, without difficulty, induced the Romans to believe, that
although they fought at a distance from their country, it was
Italy and the city of Rome that they were defending. Accord-
ingly, they had brought their minds to a settled resolution to
conquer or die; as if their return to their country had hinged
upon the issue of that battle. The other army consisted of
less determined men; for they were principally Spaniards,
who would rather be vanquished in Spain, than be victorious
to be dragged into Italy. On the first onset, therefore, ere
their javelins had scarcely^ been thrown, their centre gave
ground, and the Romans pressing on with great impetuosity,
turned their backs. In the wings the battle proceeded with
no less activity; on one side the Carthaginians, on the other
the Africans, charged vigorously, while the Romans, in a
manner surrounded, were exposed to a two-fold attack. Rut
when the whole of the Roman troops had united in the centre,
they possessed sufficient strength to compel the wings of the
enemy to retire in different directions; and thus there were
two separate battles, in both of which the Romans were de-
cidedly superior, as after the defeat of the enemy's centre
they had the advantage both in the number and strength of
their troops. Vast numbers were slain on this occasion; and
had not the Spaniards fled precipitately from the field ere the
battle had scarce begun, very few out of the whole army
would have survived. There was very little fighting of the
cavalry, for as soon as the Moors and Numidians perceived
that the centre gave way, they fled immediately with the
utmost precipitation, leaving the wings uncovered, and also
driving the elephants before them. Hasdrubal, after waiting
the issue of the battle to the very last, fled from the midst of
the carnage with a few attendants. The Romans took and
plundered the camp. This victory united with the Romans
whatever states of Spain were wavering, and left HasdrubalV. k. 536 ]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

871

no hope, not only of leading an army over into Italy, but
even of remaining very safely in Spain. When these events
were made generally known at Rome by letters from the Sci-
pios, the greatest joy was felt, not so much for the victory,
as for the stop which was put to the passage of Hasdrubal
into Italy.

30. While these transactions were going on in Spain, Pe-
tilia, in' Bruttium, was taken by Himilco, an officer of Han-
nibal's, several months after the siege of it began. This victory
cost the Carthaginians much blood and many wounds, nor did
any power more subdue the besieged than that of famine; for
after having consumed their means of subsistence, derived
from fruits and the flesh of every kind of quadrupeds, they
were at last compelled to live upon skins found in shoemakers'
shops, on herbs and roots, the tender barks of trees, and ber-
ries gathered from brambles: nor were they subdued until
they wanted strength to stand upon the walls and support
their arms. After gaining Petilia, the Carthaginian marched
his forces to Consentia, which being less obstinately defended,
he compelled to surrender within a few days. Nearly about
the same time, an army of Bruttians invested Croton, a Greek
city, formerly powerful in men and arms, but at the present
time reduced so low by many and great misfortunes, that less
than twenty thousand inhabitants of all ages remained. The
enemy, therefore, easily got possession of a city destitute of
defenders: of the citadel alone possession was retained, into
which some of the inhabitants fled from the midst of the car-
nage during the confusion created by the capture of the city.
The Locrians too revolted to the Bruttians and Carthaginians,
the populace having been betrayed by the nobles. The Rhe-
gians were the only people in that quarter who continued to
the last in faithful attachment to the Romans, and in the en-
joyment of their independence. The same alteration of feel-
ing extended itself into Sicily also; and not even the family
of Hiero altogether abstained from defection; for Gelo, his
eldest son, conceiving a contempt for his father's old age, and,
after the defeat of Cannae, for the alliance with Rome, went
Over to the Carthaginians; and he would have created a dis-
turbance in Sicily, had he not been carried oif, when engaged
in arming the people and soliciting the allies, by a death so
seasonable, that it threw some degree of suspicion even upon872

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIII. CHAP. 31.

his father. Such, with various result, were the transactions
in Italy, Africa, Sicily, and Spain during this year. At the
close of the year, Quintus Fabius Maximus requested of the
senate, that he might be allowed to dedicate the temple of
Yenus Erycina, which he had vowed when dictator. The
senate decreed, that Tiberius Sempronius, the consul elect, as
soon as ever he had entered upon his office, should propose to
the people, that they should create Quintus Fabius duumvir,
for the purpose of dedicating the temple. Also, in honour of
Marcus ^Emilius Lepidus, who had been consul twice and
augur, his three sons, Lucius, Marcus, and Quintus exhibited
funeral games and twenty-two pairs of gladiators for three
days in the forum. The curule aediles, Caius Laetorius, and
Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus consul elect, who during his
sedileship had been master of the horse, celebrated the Roman
games, which were repeated for three days. The plebeian
games of the aediles, Marcus Aurelius Cotta and Marcus Clau-
dius Marcellus, were thrice repeated. At the conclusion of
the third year of the Punic war, Tiberius Sempronius Grac-
chus the consul entered upon his office on the ides of March.
Of the praetors, Quintus Fulvius Flaccus, who had before
been consul and censor, had by lot the city jurisdiction; Mar-
cus Valerius Lsevinus, the foreign. Sicily fell to the lot of
Appius Claudius Pulcher; Sardinia to Quintus Mucius Scae-
vola. The people ordered that Marcus Marcellus should be
in command as proconsul, because he was the only Roman
general who had been successful in his operations in Italy
since the defeat at Cannae.

31. The senate decreed, the first day they deliberated in
the Capitol, that double taxes should be imposed for that year,
one moiety of which should be immediately levied, as a fund
from which pay might be given forthwith to all the soldiers,
except those who had been at Cannae. With regard to the
armies they decreed, that Tiberius Sempronius the consul
should appoint a day for the two city legions to meet at Cales,
whence these legions should be conveyed into the Claudian
camp above Suenula. That the legions which were there,
and they consisted principally of the troops which had fought
at Cannae, Appius Claudius Pulcher, the praetor, should trans-
port into Sicily; and that those in Sicily should be removed
to Rome. Marcus Claudius Marcellus was sent to the army,Y. E. 537.]

TELE HISTORY OF ROME.

873

which had been ordered to meet at Gales on a certain day,
with orders to march the city legions thence to the Claudian
camp. Titus Metilius Croto, lieutenant-general, was sent by
Appius Claudius Pulclier to receive the old army and remove
it into Sicily. People at first had expected in silence that
the consul would hold an assembly for the election of a col-
league, but afterwards perceiving that Marcus Marcellus,
whom they wished above all others to be consul this year, on
account of his brilliant success during his prastorship, was re-
moved to a distant quarter, as it were on purpose, a murmur-
ing arose in the senate-house, which the consul perceiving,
said, " Conscript fathers, it was conducive to the interest of
the state, both that Marcus Marcellus should go into Campa-
nia to make the exchange of the armies, and that the assem-
bly should not be proclaimed before he had returned thence
after completing the business with which he was charged, in
order that you might have him as consul whom the situation
of the republic required and yourselves prefer." Thus nothing
was said about the assembly till Marcellus returned. Mean-
while Quintus Fabius Maximus and Titus Otacilius Crassus
were created duumvirs for dedicating temples; Otacilius to
Mens, Fabius to Veifus Erycina. Both are situated in the
Capitol, and separated by one channel. It was afterwards
proposed to the people, to make Roman citizens of the three
hundred Campanian horsemen who had returned to Rome
after having faithfully served their period, and also that they
should be considered to have been citizens of Cumse from the
day before that on which the Campanians had revolted from
the Roman people. It had been a principal inducement to
this proposition, that they themselves said they knew not to
what people they belonged, having left their former country,
and being not yet admitted into that to which they had re-
turned. After Marcellus returned from the army, an assem-
bly was proclaimed for electing one consul in the room of
Lucius Posthumius. Marcellus was elected with the greatest
unanimity, and was immediately to enter upon his office; but
as it thundered while he entered upon it, the augurs were
summoned, who pronounced that they considered the creation
informal; and the fathers spread a report that the gods were
displeased, because on that occasion, for the first time, two
plebeians had been elected consuls. Upon Marcellus's ab-874

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIII. CHAP. 32.

dicating Lis office, Fabius Maximus, for the third time, was
elected in his room. This year the sea appeared on fire; at
Sinuessa a cow brought forth a horse foal; the statues in the
temple of Juno Sospita Lanuvium flowed down with blood;
and a shower of stones fell in the neighbourhood of that tem-
ple : on account of which shower the nine days' sacred rite
was celebrated, as is usual on such occasions, and the other
prodigies were carefully expiated.

32. The consuls divided the armies between them. The
army which Marcus Junius the dictator had commanded fell
to the lot of Fabius. To that of Sempronius fell the volun-
teer slaves, with twenty-five thousand of the allies. To Mar-
cus Valerius the praetor were assigned the legions which had
returned from Sicily. Marcus Claudius, proconsul, was sent
to that army which lay above Suessula for the protection of
Nola. The praetors set out for Sicily and Sardinia. The
consuls issued a proclamation, that as often as they summoned
a senate, the senators and those who had a right to give their
opinion in the senate, should assemble at the Capuan gate.
The praetors who were charged with the administration of
justice, fixed their tribunals in the public fish market; there
they ordered sureties to be entered into,® and here justice was
administered this year. Meanwhile news was brought to
Carthage, from which place Mago, Hannibal's brother, was
on the point of carrying over into Italy twelve thousand foot,
fifteen hundred horse, twenty elephants, and a thousand talents
of silter, under a convoy of sixty men of war, that the opera-
tions of the war had not succeeded in Spain, and that almost
all the people in that province had gone over to the Romans.
There were some who were for sending Mago with that fleet
and those forces into Spain, neglecting Italy, when an unex-
pected prospect of regaining Sardinia broke upon them. They
were informed, that " the Roman army there was small, that
Aulus Cornelius, who had been praetor there, and was well
acquainted with the province, was quitting it, and that a new
one was expected. Moreover, that the minds of the Sardi-
nians were now wearied with the long continuance of rule;
and that during the last year it had been exercised with se-
verity and rapacity. That the people were weighed down
with heavy taxes, and an oppressive contribution of corn;
that there was nothing wanting but a leader to whom they*. r. 537.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

875

might revolt." This secret embassy had been sent by the no-
bles, Hampsicora being the chief contriver of the measure,
who at that time was first by far in wealth and influence.
Disconcerted and elated almost at the same time by these ac-
counts, they sent Magb with his fleet and forces into Spain,
and selecting Hasdrubal as general for Sardinia, assigned to
him about as large a force as to Mago. At Rome, the con-
suls, after transacting what was necessary to be done in the
city, now prepared themselves for the war. Tiberius Sem-
pronius appointed a day for his soldiers to assemble at Si-
nuessa; and Quintus Fabius also, having first consulted the
senate, issued a proclamation, that all persons should convey
corn from the fields into fortified towns, before the calends of
June next ensuing: if any neglected to do so he would lay
waste his lands, sell his slaves by auction, and burn his farm-
houses. Not even the prastors, who were created for the pur-
pose of administering justice, were allowed an exemption from
military employments. It was resolved that Valerius the
praetor should go into Apulia, to receive the army from Te-
rentius, and that, when the legions from Sicily had arrived,
he should employ them principally for the protection of that
quarter. That the army of Terentius should be sent into
Sicily, with some one of the lieutenant-generals. Twenty-
five ships were given to Marcus Valerius, to protect the sea-
coast between Brundusium and Tarentum. An equal number
was given to Quintus Fulvius, the city praetor, to protect the
coasts in the neighbourhood of the city. To Caius Terentius,
the proconsul, it was given in charge to press soldiers in the
Picenian territory, and to protect that part of the country;
and Titus Otacilius Crassus, after he had dedicated the tem-
ple of Mens in the Capitol, was invested with command, and
sent into Sicily to take the conduct of the fleet.

33. On this contest, between the two most powerful people
in the world, all kings and nations had fixed their attention.
Among them Philip, king of the Macedonians, regarded it
with greater anxiety, in proportion as he was nearer to Italy,
and because he was separated from it only by the Ionian Sea.
When he first heard that Hannibal had crossed the Alps, as
he was rejoiced that a war had arisen between the Romans
and the Carthaginians, so while their strength was yet un-
determined, he felt doubtful which he should rather wish to876

THE HISTORY OF BOME* [B. XXIII. CHAP. 34

be victorious. But after the third battle had been fought,
and the third victory had been on the side of the Carthagini-
ans, he inclined to fortune, and sent ambassadors to Hannibal.
These, avoiding the harbours of Brundusium and Tarentum,
because they were occupied by^ guards of Roman ships, landed
at the temple of Juno Lacinia. Thence passing through
Apulia, on their way to Capua, they fell in with the Roman
troops stationed to protect the country, and were conveyed te
Marcus Valerius Laevinus, the praetor, who lay encamped in
the neighbourhood of Luceria. Here Xenophanes, who was
at the head of the embassy, fearlessly stated, that he was sent
by King Philip to conclude a treaty of alliance and friendship
with the Roman people, and that he had commissions to the
Roman consuls, senate, and people. The praetor, highly de-
lighted with this new alliance with a distinguished potentate,
amidst the desertions of her old allies, courteously entertained
these enemies as guests, and furnished them with persons to
accompany them carefully to point out the roads, and inform
them what places, and what passes, the Romans or the enemy
occupied. Xenophanes passing through the Roman troops
came into Campania, whence, by the shortest way, he entered
the camp of Hannibal, and concluded a treaty of alliance and
friendship with him on the following terms: That "King
Philip, with as large a fleet as he could, (and it was thought
he could make one of two hundred ships,) should pass over
into Italy, and lay waste the sea-coast, that he should carry on
the war by land and sea with all his might; when the war
was concluded, that all Italy, with the city of Rome itself,
should be the property of the Carthaginians and Hannibal,
and that all the booty should be given up to Hannibal. That
when Italy was completely subdued they should sail into
Greece, and carry on war with such nations as the king pleased.
That the cities on the continent and the islands which border
on Macedonia, should belong to Philip, and his dominions."

34. A treaty was concluded between the Carthaginian
general and the ambassadors, upon nearly these terms; and
Gisgo, Bostar, and Mago were sent as ambassadors with them
to receive the ratification of the king in person. They ar-
rived at the same place, near the temple of Juno Lacinia,
where the vessel lay concealed in a creek. Setting out thence,
when they had got into the open sea, they were descried by537.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

877

the Roman fleet, which was guarding the coasts of Calabria.
Publius Valerius Flaccus having sent fly-boats to pursue and
bring back the ship, the king's party at first attempted to fly;
but afterwards, finding that they were overmatched in swiftness,
they delivered themselves up to the Romans, and were brought
to the commander of the fleet. Upon being asked by him
who they were, whence they came, and whither they were
going, Xenophanes, having once been pretty successful, made
up a fictitious story and said, " that he was sent from Philip
to the Romans; that he had succeeded in reaching Marcus
Valerius, to whom alone he had safe access; that he was
unable to make his way through Campania, which was
beset with the troops of the enemy." But afterwards the
Carthaginian dress and manners excited suspicions of the
messengers of Hannibal, and when interrogated, their speech
betrayed them; then on their companions being removed to
separate places, and intimidated by threats, even a letter from
Hannibal to Philip was discovered, and the agreement made
between the king of the Macedonians and the Carthaginian.
These points having been ascertained, the best course appear-
ed to be, to convey the prisoners and their companions as soon
as possible to the senate at Rome, or to the consuls, whereso-
ever they might be ; for this service five of the fastest sailing
vessels were selected, and Lucius Valerius Antias sent in
command of them, with orders to distribute the ambassadors
through all the ships separately, and take particular care that
they should hold no conversation or consultation with each
other. About the same time Aulus Cornelius Mammula, on
his return from the province of Sardinia, made a report of the
state of affairs in the island; that every body contemplated
war and revolt; that Quintus Mucius who succeeded him,
being on his arrival affected by the unwholesomeness of the
air and water, had fallen into a disorder rather lingering than
dangerous, and would for a long time be incapable of sustain-
ing the violent exertion of the war; that the army there,
though strong enough for the protection of a province in a
state of tranquillity, was, nevertheless, not adequate to the
maintenance of the war which seemed to be about to break out.
Upon which the fathers decreed, that Quintus Fulvius Flac-
cus should enlist five thousand foot and four hundred horse,
and take care that the legion thus formed should be trans-878

THE HISTORY OF EOME. [B. XXIII. CHAP.

ported as soon as possible into Sardinia, and send invested
with command whomsoever he thought fit to conduct the busi-
ness of the war until Mucius had recovered. For this service
Titus Manlius Torquatus was sent; he had been twice con-
sul and censor, and had subdued the Sardinians during his
consulate. Nearly about the same time a fleet sent from Car-
thage to Sardinia under the conduct of Hasdrubal, surnamed
the Bald, having suffered from a violent tempest, was driven
upon the Balearian islands, where a good deal of time was
lost in refitting the ships, which were hauled on shore, so
much were they damaged, not only in their rigging but also in
their hulls.

35. As the war was carried on in Italy with less vigour
since the battle of Cannae, the strength of one party having
been broken, and the energy of the other relaxed, the Cam-
panians of themselves made an attempt to subjugate CumaB,
at first by soliciting them to revolt from the Romans, and
when that plan did not succeed, they contrived an artifice by
which to entrap them. All the Campanians had a stated
sacrifice at Hamae. They informed the Cumans that the Cam-
panian senate would come there, and requested that the Cuman
senate should also be present to deliberate in concert, in order
that both people might have the same allies and the same
enemies; they said that they would have an armed force there
for their protection, that there might be no danger from the
Romans or Carthaginians. The Cumans, although they sus-
pected treachery, made no objection, concluding that thus the
deception they meditated might be concealed. Meanwhile
Tiberius Sempronius, the Roman consul, having purified his
army at Sinuessa, where he had appointed a day for their
meeting, crossed the Yulturnus, and pitched his camp in the
neighbourhood of Liternum. As his troops were stationed
here without any employment, he compelled them frequently
to go through their exercise, that the recruits, which consisted
principally of volunteer slaves, might accustom themselves to
follow the standards, and know their own centuries in battle.
While thus engaged, the general was particularly anxious for
concord, and therefore enjoined the lieutenant-generals and the
tribunes that "no disunion should be engendered among the dif-
ferent orders, by casting reproaches on any one on account of his
former condition. That the veteran soldier should be content537.]

THE HISTORY OF BOMB.

879

be placed on an eqtial footing with the tiro, the freeman
with the volunteer slave ; that all should consider those men
sufficiently respectable in point of character and birth, to whom
the Roman people had intrusted their arms and standards ;
that the measures which circumstances made it necessary to
adopt, the same circumstances also made it necessary to support
when adopted." This was not more carefully prescribed by
the generals than observed by the soldiers ; and in a short
time the minds of all were united in such perfect harmony,
that the condition from which each became a soldier was al-
most forgotten. While G-raechus was thus employed, ambas-
sadors from Cumae brought him information of the embassy
which had come to them from the Campanians, a few days
before, and the answer they had given them ; that the festival
would take place in three days from that time ; that not only
the whole body of their senate, but that the camp and the army
of the Campanians would be there. Gracchus having directed
the Cumans to convey every thing out of their fields into the
town, and to remain within their walls, marched himself to
Cumae, on the day before that on which the Campanians were
to attend the sacrifice. Hamae was three miles distant from
his position. The Campanians had by this time assembled
there in great numbers according to the plan concerted ; and
not far off Marius Alfius, Medixtuticus, which is the name of
the chief magistrate of the Campanians, lay encamped in a
retired spot with fourteen thousand armed men, considerably
more occupied in making preparation for the sacrifice and in
concerting the stratagem to be executed during it, than in for-
tifying his camp or any other military work. The sacrifice
at Hamas lasted for three days. It was a nocturnal rite, so
arranged as to be completed before midnight. Gracchus,
thinking this the proper time for executing his plot, placed
guards at the gates to prevent any one from carrying out in-
telligence of his intentions; and having compelled his men to
employ the time from the tenth hour in taking refreshment
and sleep, in order that they might be able to assemble on a
signal given as soon as it was dark. He ordered the standards
to be raised about the first watch, and marching in silence,
reached Hamae at midnight; where, finding the Campanian
camp in a neglected state, as might be expected during a
nocturnal festival, he assaulted it at every gate at once; some

3 T.880

THE HISTORY OF HOME. [B. XXIII. CHA.

he butchered while stretched on the ground asleep, others
they were returning unarmed after finishing the sacrifice. In
the tumultuous action of this night more than two thousand
men were slain, together with the general himself, Marius
Alfius, and thirty-four military standards were captured.

36.	Gracchus, having made himself master of the enemy's
camp with the loss of less than a hundred men, hastily re-
turned to Cumae, fearful of an attack from Hannibal, who lay
encamped above Capua on Tifata; nor did his provident an-
ticipation of the future deceive him; for as soon as intelligence
was brought to Capua of this loss, Hannibal, concluding that
he should find at Hamae this army, which consisted for the
most part of recruits and slaves, extravagantly elated with
its success, despoiling the vanquished and collecting booty,
marched by Capua at a rapid pace, ordering those Campani-
ans whom he met in their flight to be conducted to Capua
under an escort, and the wounded to be conveyed in carriages.
He found at Hamae the camp abandoned by the enemy, where
there was nothing to be seen but the traces of the recent
carnage, and the bodies of his allies strewed in every part.
Some advised him to lead his troops immediately thence to
Cumae, and assault the town. Though Hannibal desired, in
no ordinary degree, to get possession of Cumae at least, as a
maritime town, since he could not gain Neapolis ; yet as his
soldiers had brought out with them nothing besides their arms
on their hasty march, he retired to his camp on Tifata. But,
wearied with the entreaties of the Campanians, he returned
thence to Cumae the following day, with every thing requisite
for besieging the town ; and having thoroughly wasted the
lands of Cumae, pitched his camp a mile from the town, in
which Gracchus had stayed more because he was ashamed to
abandon, in such an emergency, allies who implored his pro-
tection and that of the Roman people, than because he felt
confidence in his army. Nor dared the other consul, Fabius,
who was encamped at Cales, lead his troops across the Vul
turnus, being employed at first in taking new auspices, and
afterwards with the prodigies which were reported one after
another; and while expiating these, the aruspices answered
that they were not easily atoned.

37.	While these causes detained Fabius, Sempronius was
besieged, and now works were employed in the attack. AgainstY. R. 537.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

881

a very large wooden tower which was brought up to the town,
the Roman consul raised up another considerably higher from
the wall itself; for he had made use of the wall, which was
pretty high of itself, as a platform, placing strong piles as sup-
ports. From this the besieged at first defended their walls
and city, with stones, javelins, and other missiles ; but lastly,
when they perceived the tower advanced into contact with the
wall, they threw upon it a large quantity of fire, making use
of blazing fire-brands ; and while the armed men were throw-
ing themselves down from the tower in great numbers, in
consequence of the flames thus occasioned, the troops sallying
out of the town at two gates at once, routed the enemy, and
drove them back to their camp ; so that the Carthaginians
that day were more like persons besieged than besiegers. As
many as one thousand three hundred of the Carthaginians
were slain, and fifty-nine made prisoners, having been unex-
pectedly overpowered, while standing careless and uncon-
cerned near the walls and on the outposts, fearing any thing
rather than a sally. Gracchus sounded a retreat, and with-
drew his men within the walls, before the enemy could re-
cover themselves from the effects of this sudden terror. The
next day Hannibal, supposing that the consul, elated with
his success, would engage him in a regular battle, drew up
his troops in battle-array between the camp and the city; but
finding that not a man was removed from the customary
guard of the town, and that nothing was hazarded upon rash
hopes, he returned to Tifata without accomplishing any thing.
At the same time that Cumse was relieved from siege, Tiberius
Sempronius, surnamed Longus, fought successfully with the
Carthaginian general, Hanno, at Grumentum in Lucania.
He slew above two thousand of the enemy, losing two hun-
dred and eighty of his own men. He took as many as forty-
one military standards. Hanno, driven out of the Lucanian
territory, drew back among the Bruttii. Three towns belong-
ing to the Hirpinians, which had revolted from the Romans,
were regained by force by the praetor, Marcus Valerius.
Vercellius and Sicilius, the authors of the revolt, were be-
headed ; above a thousand prisoners sold by auction ; and the
rest of the booty having been given up to the soldiery, the
army was marched back to Luceria.

38. While these things were taking place in Lucania and
3 l 2882

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIII. CHAP. 38,

Hirpinia, the five ships, which were conveying to Rome the
captured ambassadors of the Macedonians and Carthaginians,
after passing round the whole coast of Italy from the upper
to the lower sea, were sailing by Cumas, when, it not being
known whether they belonged to enemies or allies, Gracchus
despatched some ships from his fleet to meet them. When it
was ascertained, in the course of their mutual inquiries, that
the consul was at Cumae, the ships put in there, the captives
were brought before the consul, and their letters placed in
his hands. The consul, after he had read the letters of Philip
and Hannibal, sent them all, sealed up, to the senate by land,
ordering that the ambassadors should be conveyed thither by
sea. The ambassadors and the letters arriving at Rome nearly
on the same day, and on examination the answers of the am-
bassadors corresponding with the contents of the letters, at
first intense anxiety oppressed the fathers, on seeing what a
formidable war with Macedonia threatened them, when with
difficulty bearing up against the Punic war; yet so far were
they from sinking under their calamities, that they immediately
began to consider how they might divert the enemy from
Italy, by commencing hostilities themselves. After ordering
the prisoners to be confined in chains, and selling their attend-
ants by public auction, they decreed, that twenty more ships
should be got ready, in addition to the twenty-five ships which
Publius Valerius Flaccus had been appointed to command.
These being provided and launched, and augmented by the
five ships which had conveyed the captive ambassadors to
Rome, a fleet of fifty ships set sail from Ostia to Tarentum.
Publius Valerius was ordered to put on board the soldiers of
Varro, which Lucius Apustius, lieutenant-general, commanded
at Tarentum; and, with this fleet of fifty ships, not only to
protect the coast of Italy, but also to make inquiry respecting
the Macedonian war. If the plans of Philip corresponded
with his letter, and the discoveries made by his ambassadors,
he was directed to acquaint the praetor, Marcus Valerius, with
it, who, leaving Lucius Apustius, lieutenant-general, in com-
mand of the army, and going to Tarentum to the fleet, was
to cross over to Macedonia with all speed, and endeavour to
detain Philip in his own dominions. The money which had
been sent into Sicily to Appius Claudius, to be repaid to
Hiero, was assigned for the support of the fleet and the main-Y. r. 537. J

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

883

tenance of the Macedonian war. This money was conveyed
to Tarentum, by Lucius Apustius, lieutenant-general, and
with it Hiero sent two hundred thousand pecks of wheat,
and a hundred thousand of barley.

39.	While the Romans were engaged in these preparations
and transactions, the captured ship, which formed one of those
which had been sent to Rome, made its escape on the voyage
and returned to Philip; from which source it became known
that the ambassadors with their letters had been made prison-
ers. Not knowing, therefore, what had been agreed upon
between Hannibal and his ambassadors, or what proposals
they were to have brought back to him, he sent another em-
bassy with the same instructions. The ambassadors sent to
Hannibal were Heraclitus, surnamed Scotinus, Crito of Be-
raea, and Sositheus of Magnesia; these successfully took and
brought back their commissions, but the summer had passed
before the king could take any step or make any attempt.
Such an influence had the capture of one vessel, together with
the ambassadors, in deferring a war which threatened the
Romans. Fabius crossed the Yulturnus, after having at length
expiated the prodigies, and both the consuls prosecuted the
war in the neighbourhood of Capua. Fabius regained by
force the towns Compulteria, Trebula, and Saticula, which
had revolted to the Carthaginians; and in them were cap-
tured the garrisons of Hannibal and a great number of Cam-
panians. At Nola, as had been the case the preceding year,
the senate sided with the Romans, the commons with Han-
nibal ; and deliberations were held clandestinely on the sub-
ject of massacring the nobles and betraying the city; but to
prevent their succeeding in their designs, Fabius marched his
army between Capua and the camp of Hannibal on Tifata,
and sat down in the Claudian camp above Suessula, whence
he sent Marcus Marcellus, the proconsul, with those forces
which he had under him, to Nola for its protection.

40.	In Sardinia also the operations of the war, which had
been intermitted from the time that Quintus Mucius, the prae-
tor, had been seized with a serious illness, began to be con-
ducted by Titus Manlius, the praetor. Having hauled the
ships of war on shore at Carale, and armed his mariners, in
order that he might prosecute the war by land, and received
the army from the praBtor, he made up the number of twenty-884

the history of home. [b. xxm. chap. 41.

two thousand foot and twelve hundred horse. Setting out
for the territory of the enemy with these forces of foot and
horse, he pitched his camp not far from the camp of Hampsi-
cora. It happened that Hampsicora was then gone among
the Sardinians, called Pelliti, in order to arm their youth,
whereby he might augment his forces. His son, named
Hiostus, had the command of the camp, who coming to an
engagement, with the presumption of youth, was routed and
put to flight. In that battle as many as three thousand of
the Sardinians were slain, and about eight hundred taken
alive. The rest of the army at first wandered in their flight
through the fields and woods, but afterwards all fled to a city
named Cornus, the capital of that district, whither there was
a report that their general had fled; and the war in Sardinia
would have been brought to a termination by that battle, had
not the Carthaginian fleet under the command of Hasdrubal,
which had been driven by a storm upon the Balearian islands,
come in seasonably for inspiring a hope of renewing the war.
Manlius, after hearing of the arrival of the Punic fleet, re-
turned to Carale, which afforded Hampsicora an opportunity
of forming a junction with the Carthaginian. Hasdrubal,
having landed his forces and sent back his fleet to Carthage,
set out under the guidance of Hampsicora, to lay waste the
lands of the allies of the Romans; and he would have pro-
ceeded to Carale, had not Manlius, meeting him with his army,
restrained him from this wide-spread depredation. At first
their camps were pitched opposite to each other, at a small
distance; afterwards skirmishes and slight encounters took
place with varying success; lastly, they came down into the
field and fought a regular pitched battle for four hours. The
Carthaginians caused the battle to continue long doubtful, for
the Sardinians were accustomed to yield easily; but at last,
when the Sardinians fell and fled on all sides around them,
the Carthaginians themselves were routed. But as they were
turning their backs, the Roman general, wheeling round that
wing with which he had driven back the Sardinians, inter-
cepted them, after which it was rather a carnage than a battle.
Two thousand of the enemy, Sardinians and Carthaginians
together, were slain, about three thousand seven hundred cap-
tured, with twenty-seven military standards.

41. Above all, the general, Hasdrubal, and two other nobleY. it. 537.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

885

Carthaginians having been made prisoners, rendered the bat-
tle glorious and memorable ; Mago, who was of the Barcine
family, and nearly related to Hannibal, and Hanno, the author
of the revolt of the Sardinians, and without doubt the insti-
gator of this war. Nor less did the Sardinian generals ren-
der that battle distinguished by their disasters; for not only
was Hiostus, son of Hampsicora, slain in the battle, but Hairip-
sicora himself flying with a few horse, having heard of the
death of his son in addition to his unfortunate state, commit-
ted suicide by night, lest the interference of any person should
prevent the accomplishment of his design. To the other fugi-
tives the city of Cornus afforded a refuge, as it had done be-
fore; but Manlius, having assaulted it with his victorious
troops, regained it in a few days. Then other cities also
which had gone over to Hampsicora and the Carthaginians,
surrendered themselves and gave hostages, on which having
imposed a contribution of money and corn, proportioned to
the means and delinquency of each, he led back his troops to
Carale. There launching his ships of war, and putting the
soldiers he had brought with him on board, he sailed to Rome,
reported to the fathers the total subjugation of Sardinia, and
handed over the contribution of money to the quaestors, of
corn to the sediles, and the prisoners to the praetor Fulvius.
During the same time, as Titus Otacilius the praetor, who had
sailed over with a fleet of fifty ships from Lilybaeum to Africa,
and laid waste the Carthaginian territory, was returning
thence to Sardinia, to which place it was reported that Has-
drubal had recently crossed over from the Baleares, he fell in
with his fleet on its return to Africa; and after a slight en-
gagement in the open sea, captured seven ships with their
crews. Fear dispersed the rest far and wide, not less effect-
ually than a storm. It happened also, at the same time, that
Bcmilcar arrived at Locri with soldiers sent from Carthage as
a reinforcement, bringing with him also elephants and pro-
visions. In order to surprise and overpower him, Appius
Claudius, having hastily led his troops to Messana, under pre-
text of making the circuit of the province, crossed over to
Locri, the tide being favourable. Bomilcar had by this time
left the place, having set out for Bruttium to join Hanno.
The Locrians closed their gates against the Romans, and Ap-
pius Claudius returned to Rome without achieving any thing,886

THE HISTORY OF EOMfi. [b. xxill. chap. 42.

by his strenuous efforts. The same summer Marcellus made
frequent excursions from Nola, which he was occupying with
a garrison, into the lands of the Hirpini and Caudine Sam-
nites, and so destroyed all before him with fire and sword, that
he renewed in Samnium the memory of her ancient disasters.

42. Ambassadors were therefore despatched from both na-
tions at the same time to Hannibal, who thu3 addressed the
Carthaginian : " Hannibal, we carried on hostilities with the
Roman people, by ourselves and from our own resources, as
long as our own arms and our own strength could protect us.
Our confidence in these failing, we attached ourselves to king
Pyrrhus. Abandoned by him, we accepted of a peace, dictated
by necessity, which we continued to observe up to the period
when you arrived in Italy, through a period of almost fifty
years. Your valour and good fortune, not more than your
unexampled humanity and kindness displayed towards our
countrymen, whom, when made prisoners, you restored to
us, so attached us to you, that while you our friend were in
health and safety, we not only feared not the Romans, bijt not
even the anger of the gods, if it were lawful so to express
ourselves. And yet, by Hercules, you not only being in safety
and victorious, but on the spot, (when you could almost hear
the shrieks of our wives and children, and see our buildings
in flames,) we have suffered, during this summer, such re-
peated devastations, that Marcellus, and not Hannibal, would
appear to have been the conqueror at Cannas; while the Ro-
mans boast that you had strength only to inflict a single blow;
and having as it were left your sting, now lie torpid. For
near a century we waged war with the Romans, unaided by
any foreign general or army; except that for two years
Pyrrhus rather augmented his own strength by the addition
of our troops, than defended us by his. I will not boast of
our successes, that two consuls and two consular armies were
sent under the yoke by us, nor of any other joyful and glorious
events which have happened to us. We can tell of the diffi-
culties and distresses we then experienced, with less indigna-
tion than those which are now occurring. Dictators, those
officers of high authority, with their masters of horse, two
consuls with two consular armies, entered our borders, and,
after having reconnoitred and posted reserves, led on their
troops in regular array to devastate our country. Now wer. a. 537.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

887

are the prey of a single propraetor, and of one little garrison,
for the defence of Nola. Now they do not even confine them-
selves to plundering in companies, but, like marauders, range
through our country from one end to the other, more uncon-
cernedly than if they were rambling through the Roman terri-
tory. And the reason is this, you do not protect us yourself,
and the whole of our youth, which, if at home, would keep
us in safety, is serving under your banners. We know no-
thing either of you or your army, but we know that it would
be easy for the man who has routed and dispersed so many
Roman armies, to put down these rambling freebooters of
ours, who roam about in disorder to whatsoever quarter the
hope of booty, however groundless, attracts them. They in-
deed will be the prey of a few Numidians, and a garrison sent
to us will also dislodge that at Nola, provided you do not
think those, men undeserving that you should protect them as
allies, whom you have esteemed worthy of your alliance."

43. To this Hannibal replied, " that the Hirpini and Sam-
nites did every thing at once: that they both represented
their sufferings, solicited succours, and complained that they
were undefended and neglected. Whereas, they ought first
to have represented their sufferings, then to have solicited
succours; and lastly, if those succours were not obtained,
then, at length, to make complaint that assistance had been
implored without effect. That he would lead his troops not
into the fields of the Hirpini and Samnites, lest he too should
be a burthen to them, but into the parts immediately con-
tiguous, and belonging to the allies of the Roman people, by
plundering which, he would enrich his own soldiers, and
cause the enemy to retire from them through fear. With re-
gard to the Roman war, if the battle of Trasimenus was more
glorious than that at Trebia, and the battle of Cannae than
that of Trasimenus, that he would eclipse the fame of the
battle of Cannae by a greater and more brilliant victory."
With this answer, and with munificent presents, he dismissed
the ambassadors. Having left a pretty large garrison in
Tifata, he set out with the rest of his troops to go to Nola.
Thither came Hanno from the Bruttii with recruits and
elephants brought from Carthage. Having encamped not
far from the place, every thing, upon examination, was found
to be widely different from what he had heard from the am-888

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIII. CHAP. 44.

bassadors of the allies. For Marcellus was doing nothing, in
such a way that he could be said to have committed himself
rashly either to fortune or to the enemy. He had gone out on
plundering expeditions, having previously reconnoitred, plant-
ed strong guards, and secured a retreat; the same caution was
observed and the same provisions made, as if Hannibal were
present. At this time, when he perceived the enemy on the
approach, he kept his forces within the walls, ordered the se-
nators of Nola to patrole the walls, and explore on all hands
what was doing among the enemy. Of these Herennius Bas-
sus and Herius Petrius, having been invited by Hanno, who
had come up to the wall, to a conference, and gone out with
the permission of Marcellus, were thus addressed by him,
through an interpreter. After extolling the valour and good
fortune of Hannibal, and vilifying the majesty of the Roman
people, which he represented as sinking into decrepitude with
their strength ; he said, "but though they were on an equality
in these respects, as once perhaps they were, yet they who
had experienced how oppressive the government of Rome
was towards its allies, and how great the clemency of Han-
nibal, even towards all his prisoners of the Italian name, were
bound to prefer the friendship and alliance of the Carthagi-
nians to those of the Romans. If both the consuls with their
armies were at Nola, still they would no more be a match for
Hannibal than they had been at Cannae, much less would one
praetor with a few raw soldiers be able to defend it. It was
a question which concerned themselves more than Hannibal,
whether he should take possession of Nola as captured or
surrendered, for that he would certainly make himself master
of it, as he had done with regard to Capua and Nuceria, and
what difference there was between the fate of Capua and Nu-
ceria, the Nolans themselves, situated as they were nearly
midway between them, were well aware. He said he was
unwilling to presage the evils which would result to the city
if taken by force, but would in preference pledge himself that
if they would deliver up Nola, together with Marcellus and
his garrison, no other person than themselves should dictate
the conditions on which they should come into the friendship
and alliance of Hannibal.

44. To this Herennius Bassus replied, that, " a friendship
had subsisted now for many years between the Romans andY. R. 537.J

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

889

the Nolans, which neither party up to that day regretted;
and even had they been disposed to change their friends upon
a change of fortune, it was now too late to change ; had they
intended to surrender themselves to Hannibal, they should
not have called a Roman garrison to their aid: that all for-
tunes both were now and should to the last be shared with
those who had come to their protection." This conference
deprived Hannibal of the hope of gaining Nola by treachery;
he therefore completely invested the city, in order that he
might attack the walls in every part at once. Marcellus,
when he perceived that he had come near to the walls, having
drawn up his troops within the gate, sallied forth with great
impetuosity; several were knocked down and slain on the
first charge: afterwards the troops running up to those who
were engaged, and their forces being thus placed on an equal-
ity, the battle began to be fierce; nor would there have been
many actions equally memorable, had not the combatants been
separated by a shower of rain attended with a tremendous
storm. On that day, after having engaged in a slight contest,
and with inflamed minds, they retired, the Romans to the city,
the Carthaginians to their camp. Of the Carthaginians, how-
ever, there fell from the shock of the first sally not more than
thirty, of the Romans not one. The rain continued without
intermission through the whole night, until the third hour of
the following day, and therefore, though both parties were
eager for the contest, they nevertheless kept themselves with-
in their works for that day. On the third day Hannibal sent
a portion of his troops into the lands of the Nolans to plunder.
Marcellus perceiving this, immediately led out his troops and
formed for battle, nor did Hannibal decline fighting. The
interval between the city and the camp was about a mile. In
that space, and all the country round Nola consists of level
ground, the armies met. The shout which was raised on both
sides, called back to the battle, which had now commenced,
the nearest of those cohorts which had gone out into the fields
to plunder. The Nolans too joined the Roman line. Mar-
cellus having highly commended them, desired them to station
themselves in reserve, and to carry the wounded out of the
field, but not take part in the battle, unless they should re-
ceive a signal from him.

45. It was a doubtful battle; the generals exerting them-890

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIII. CHAP. 45.

selves to the utmost in exhorting, and the soldiers in fighting.
Marcellus urged his troops to press vigorously on men who
had been vanquished but three days before, who had been
put to flight at Cumse only a few days ago, and who had
been driven from Nola the preceding year by himself, as
general, though with different troops. He said, " that all the
forces of the enemy were not in the field; that they were
rambling about the country in plundering parties, and that
even those who were engaged, were enfeebled with Campanian
luxury, and worn out with drunkenness, lust, and every kind
of debauchery, which they had been indulging in through the
whole winter. That the energy and vigour had left them,
that the strength of mind and body had vanished, by which
the Pyrenees and the tops of the Alps had been passed. That
those now engaged were the remains of those men, with
scarcely strength to support their arms and limbs. That
Capua had been a Cannae to Hannibal; that there his courage
in battle, his military discipline, the fame he had already ac-
quired, and his hopes of future glory, were extinguished."
While Marcellus was raising the spirits of his troops by thus
inveighing against the enemy, Hannibal assailed them with
still heavier reproaches. He said, " he recognised the arms
and standards which he had seen and employed at Trebia and
Trasimenus, and lastly at Cannae; but that he had indeed
led one sort of troops into winter quarters at Capua, and
brought another out. Do you, whom two consular armies
could never withstand, with difficulty maintain your ground
against a Roman lieutenant-general, and a single legion with
a body of auxiliaries ? Does Marcellus now a second time
with impunity assail us with a band of raw recruits and Nolan
auxiliaries ? Where is that soldier of mine, who took off the
head of Caius Flaminius, the consul, after dragging him from
his horse ? Where is the man who slew Lucius Paulus at
Cannae ? Is it that the steel hath lost its edge ? or that your
right hands are benumbed ? or what other miracle is it ? You
who, when few, have been accustomed to conquer numbers,
now scarce maintain your ground, the many against the few.
Brave in speech only, you were wont to boast that you would
take Rome by storm if you could find a general to lead you.
Lo ! here is a task of less difficulty. I would have you try
your strength and courage here. Take Nola, a town situatedy. e. 537.]

the history of rome.

891

on a plain, protected neither by river nor sea; after that,
when you have enriched yourselves with the plunder and
spoils of that wealthy town, I will either lead or follow you
whithersoever you have a mind."

46. Neither praises nor reproaches had any effect in con-
firming their courage. Driven from their ground in every
quarter, while the Romans derived fresh spirits, not only from
the exhortations of their general, but from the Nolans, who,
by their acclamations in token of their good wishes, fed the
flame of battle, the Carthaginians turned their backs, and were
driven to their camp, which the Roman soldiers were eager
to attack; but Marcellus led them back to Nola, amidst the
great joy and congratulations even from the commons, who
hitherto had been more favourable to the Carthaginians. Of
the enemy more than five thousand were slain on that day,
six hundred made prisoners, with nineteen military standards
and two elephants. Four elephants were killed in the battle.
Of the Romans less than a thousand were killed. The next
day was employed by both parties in burying their dead, un-
der a tacit truce. Marcellus burnt the spoils of the enemy,
in fulfilment of a vow to Vulcan. On the third day after, on
account of some pique, I suppose, or in the hope of more ad-
vantageous service, one thousand two hundred and seventy-
two horsemen, Numidians and Spaniards, deserted to Mar-
cellus. The Romans had frequently availed themselves of
their brave and faithful service in that war. After the con-
clusion of the war, portions of land were given to the Spaniards
in Spain, to the Numidians in Africa, in consideration of their
valour. Having sent Hanno back from Nola to the Bruttians
with the troops with which he had come, Hannibal went him-
self into winter quarters in Apulia, and took up a position in
the neighbourhood of Arpi. Quintus Fabius, as soon as he
heard that Hannibal was set out into Apulia, conveyed corn,
collected. from Nola and Naples, into the camp above Sues-
sula; and having strengthened the fortifications and left a
garrison sufficient for the protection of the place during the
winter, moved his camp nearer to Capua, and laid waste the
Campanian lands with fire and sword ; so that at length the
Campanians, though not very confident in their strength, were
obliged to go out of their gates and fortify a camp in the open
space before the city. They had six thousand armed men,892

THE HISTORY OF HOME. [B. xxiii. CHAP. 47.

the infantry, unfit for action. In their cavalry they had more
strength. They therefore harassed the enemy by attacking
them with these. Among the many distinguished persons
who served in the Campanian cavalry was one Cerrinus Ju-
bellius, surnamed Taurea. Though of that extraction, he was
a Roman citizen, and by far the bravest horseman of all the
Campanians, insomuch that when he served under the Roman
banners, there was but one man, Claudius Asellus, a Roman,
who rivalled him in his reputation as a horseman. Taurea
having for a long time diligently sought for this man, riding
up to the squadrons of the enemy, at length having obtained
silence, inquired where Claudius Asellus was, and asked why,
since he had been accustomed to dispute about their merit in
words, he would not decide the matter with the sword, and if
vanquished give him spolia opima, or if victorious take them.

47. Asellus, who was in the camp, having been informed
of this, waited only to ask the consul leave to depart from the
ordinary course and fight an enemy who had challenged him.
By his permission, he immediately put on his arms, and riding
out beyond the advanced guards called on Taurea by name,
and bid him come to the encounter when he pleased. By this
time the Romans had gone out in large bodies to witness the
contest, and the Campanians had crowded not only the ram-
part of the camp, but the walls of the city to get a view of it.
After a flourish of expressions of mutual defiance, they spurred
on their horses with their spears pointed. Then evading each
other's attacks, for they had free space *to move in, they pro-
tracted the battle without a wound. Upon this the Campa-
nian observed to the Roman, " This will be only a trial of skill
between our horses and not between horsemen, unless we ride
them down from the plain into this hollow way. There, as
there will be no room for retiring, we shall come to close
quarters." Almost quicker than the word, Claudius leaped
into the hollow way. Taurea, bold in words more than in
reality, said, "Never be the ass in the ditch;" an expression
which from this circumstance became a common proverb
among rustics. Claudius having rode up and down the way
to a considerable distance, and again come up into the plam
without meeting his antagonist, after reflecting in reproachful
terms on the cowardice of the enemy, returned in triumph to
the camp, amidst great rejoicing and congratulation. To they. r. 537.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

893

account of this equestrian contest, some histories add a cir-
cumstance which is certainly astonishing; how true it is, is
an open matter of opinion: that Claudius, when in pursuit of
Taurea, who fled back to the city, rode in at one of the gates
of the enemy which stood open and made his escape unhurt
through another, the enemy being thunderstruck at the
strangeness of the circumstance.

48. The camps were then undisturbed; the consul even
moved his camp back, that the Campanians might complete
their sowing; nor did he do any injury to the lands till the
blades in the corn-fields were grown sufficiently high to be
useful for forage. This he conveyed into the Claudian
camp above Suessula, and there erected winter quarters.
He ordered Marcus Claudius, the proconsul, to retain at Nola
a sufficient force for the protection of the place, and send the
rest to Rome, that they might not be a burthen to their allies
nor an expense to the republic. Tiberius Gracchus also,
having led his legions from Cumse to Luceria in Apulia, sent
Marcus Valerius, the praetor, thence to Brundusium with the
troops which he had commanded at Luceria, with orders to
protect the coast of the Sallentine territory, and make pro-
visions with regard to Philip and the Macedonian war. At
the close of the summer, the events of which I have described,
letters arrived from Publius and Cneius Scipio, stating the
magnitude and success of their operations in Spain, but that
the army was in want of money, clothing, and corn, and that
their crews were in want of every thing. With regard to the
pay, they said, that if the treasury was low, they would adopt
some plan by which they might procure it from the Spaniards ;
but that the other supplies must certainly be sent from Rome,
for otherwise neither the army could be kept together nor the
province preserved. When the letters were read, all to a
man admitted that the statement was correct, and the request
reasonable; but it occurred to their minds, what great forces
they were maintaining by land and sea, and how large a fleet
must soon be equipped if a war with Macedon should break
out; that Sicily and Sardinia, which before the war had
yielded a revenue, were scarcely able to maintain the troops
which protected those provinces; that the expenses were
supplied by a tax; that both the number of the persons who
contributed this tax was diminished by the great havoc made894

THE HISTORY OF BOME. J_B. XXIII. CHAP. 49.

in their armies at the Trasimenus and Cannae, and the few
who survived, if they were oppressed with multiplied imposi-
tions, would perish by a calamity of a different kind. That,
therefore, if the republic could not subsist by credit, it could
not stand by its own resources. It was resolved, therefore,
that Fulvius, the prsetor, should present himself to the public
assembly of the people, point out the necessities of the state,
and exhort those persons who had increased their patrimonies
by farming the public revenues, to furnish temporary loans
for the service of that state, from which they had derived their
wealth, and contract to supply what was necessary for the
army in Spain, on the condition of being paid the first when
there was money in the treasury. These things the prastor
laid before the assembly, and fixed a day on which he would
let on contract the furnishing the army in Spain with clothes
and corn, and with such other things as were necessary for
the crews.

49. When the day arrived, three companies, of nineteen
persons, came forward to enter into the contract; but they
made two requests: one was, that they should be exempt
from military service while employed in that revenue busi-
ness ; the second was, that the state should bear all losses of
the goods they shipped, which might arise either from the
attacks of the enemy or from storms. Having obtained both
their requests, they entered into the contract, and the affairs
of the state were conducted by private funds. This character
and love of country uniformly pervaded all ranks. As all
the engagements were entered into with magnanimity, so
were they fulfilled with the strictest fidelity; and the supplies
were furnished in the same manner as formerly, from an
abundant treasury. At the time when these supplies arrived,
the town of Illiturgi was being besieged by Hasdrubal, Mago,
and Hamilcar the son of Bomilcar, on account of its having
gone over to the Romans. Between these three camps of
the enemy, the Scipios effected an entrance into the town of
their allies, after a violent contest and great slaughter of their
opponents, and introduced some corn, of which there was a
scarcity; and after exhorting the townsmen to defend their
walls with the same spirit which they had seen displayed by
the Roman army fighting in their behalf, led on their troops
tc attack the largest of the camps, in which Hasdrubal hady. it. 537.J

THE HISTOBY OF ROME,

895

the command. To this camp the two other generals of the
Carthaginians with their armies came, seeing that the great
business was to be done there. They therefore sallied from
the camp and fought. Of the enemy engaged there were
sixty thousand; of the Romans about sixteen; the victory,
however, was so decisive, that the Romans slew more than
their own number of the enemy, and captured more than
three thousand, with nearly a thousand horses and fifty-nine
military standards, five elephants having been slain in the
battle. - They made themselves masters of the three camps on
that day. The siege of Illiturgi having been raised, the Car-
thaginian armies were led away to the siege of Intibili; the
forces having been recruited out of that province, which was,
above all others, fond of war, provided there was any plunder
or pay to be obtained, and at that time had an abundance of
young men. A second regular engagement took place, at-
tended with the same fortune to both parties ; in which above
three thousand of the enemy were slain, more than two thou-
sand captured, together with forty-two standards and nine
elephants. Then, indeed, almost all the people of Spain came
over to the Romans, and the achievements in Spain during
that summer were much more important than those in Italy.

3 22BOOK XXIV._

Hieronymus, king of Syracuse, whose grandfather Eiero had been a faithful
ally of Rome, revolts to the Carthaginians, and for his tyranny is put
to death by his subjects. Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, the pro-consul,
defeats the Carthaginians under Hanno at Beneventum chiefly by the
services of the slaves in his army, whom he subsequently liberated.
Claudius Marcellus, the consul, besieges Syracuse. War is declared
against Philip, king of Macedon ; he is routed by night at Apollonia and
retreats into Macedonia. This war is intrusted to Valerius the prcetor.
Operations of the Scipios against the Carthaginians in Spain. Syphax,
king of the Numidians, is received into alliance by the Romans, and is
defeated by Masinissa, king of the Massillians, who fought on the side of
the Carthaginians. The Celtiberians joined the Romans, and their troops
having been taken into pay, mercenary soldiers for the first time served
in a Roman camp.

1. On his return from Campania into Bruttium, Hanno,
with the assistance and under the guidance of the Bruttians,
made an attempt upon the Greek cities; which were the more
disposed to continue in alliance with the Romans, because
they perceived that the Bruttians, whom they feared and hated,
had taken part with the Carthaginians. The first place at-
tempted was Rhegium, where several days were spent with-
out effect. Meanwhile the Locrians hastily conveyed from
the country into the city, corn, wood, and other things neces-
sary for their use, as also that no booty might be left for the
enemy. The number of persons which poured out of every
gate increased daily, till at length those only were left in the
city whose duty it was to repair the walls and gates, and to
collect weapons in the fortresses. Against this mixed mul-
titude, composed of persons of all ages and ranks, while ram-
bling through the country, and for the most part unarmed,
Hamilcar, the Carthaginian, sent out his cavalry, who, having
been forbidden to hurt any one, only interposed their squad-
rons, so as to cut them off from the city when dispersed in
flight. The general himself, having posted himself upon an
eminence which commanded a view of the country and the city,
ordered a cohort of Bruttians to approach the walls, call outY. R. 537.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

897

the leaders of the Locrians to a conference, and promising
them the friendship of Hannibal, exhort them to deliver up
the city. At first the Bruttians were not believed in any thing
they stated in the conference, but afterwards, when the Car-
thaginian appeared on the hills, and a few who had fled back
to the city brought intelligence that all the rest of the multi-
tude were in the power of the enemy, overcome with fear,
they said they would consult the people. An assembly of the
people was immediately called, when, as all the most fickle
of the inhabitants were desirous of a change of measures and
a new alliance, and those whose friends were cut off by the
enemy without the city, had their minds bound as if they had
given hostages, while a few rather silently approved of a con-
stant fidelity than ventured to support the opinion they ap-
proved, the city was surrendered to the Carthaginians, with
an appearance of perfect unanimity. Lucius Atilius, the cap-
tain of the garrison, together with the Roman soldiers who
were with him, having been privately led down to the port,
and put on board a ship, that they might be conveyed to
Rhegium, Hamilcar and the Carthaginians were received into
the city on condition that an alliance should be formed on
equal terms; which condition, when they had surrendered,
the Carthaginian had very nearly not performed, as he accused
them of having sent away the Roman fraudulently, while the
Locrians alleged that he had spontaneously fled. A body of
cavalry went in pursuit of the fugitives, in case the tide might
happen to detain them in the strait, or might carry the ships
to land. The persons whom they were in pursuit of they did
not overtake, but they descried some ships passing over the
strait from Messana to Rhegium. These contained Roman
troops sent by the praetor, Claudius, to occupy the city with
a garrison. The enemy therefore immediately retired from
Rhegium. At the command of Hannibal, peace was concluded
with the Locrians on these terms: that "they should live
free under their own laws; that the city should be open to
the Carthaginians, the harbour, in the power of the Locrians.
That their alliance should rest on the principle, that the Car-
thaginian should help the Locrian and the Locrian the Car-
thaginian in peace and war."

2. Thus the Carthaginian troops were led back from the
strait, while the Bruttians loudly complained that Locri and

3 k 2898

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIT. CHAP. 2.

Rhegium, cities which they had fixed in their minds that
they should have the plundering of, they had left untouched.
Having therefore levied and armed fifteen thousand of their
own youth, they set out by themselves to lay siege to Croto,
which was also a Greek city, and on the coast; believing that
they would obtain a great accession to their power, if they
could get possession of a city upon the sea-coast, which had
a port and was strongly defended by walls. This considera-
tion annoyed them, that they neither could venture on the
business without calling in the Carthaginians to their assist-
ance, lest they should appear to have done any thing in a
manner unbecoming allies; and on the other hand, lest, if the
Carthaginian general should again show himself to have been
rather an umpire of peace than an auxiliary in war, they
should fight in vain against the liberty of Croto, as before in
the affair of the Locrians. The most advisable course, there-
fore, appeared to be, that ambassadors should be sent to Han-
nibal, and that a stipulation should be obtained from him that
Croto, when reduced, should be in possession of the Bruttians.
Hannibal replied, that it was a question which should be de-
termined by persons on the spot, and referred them to Hanno,
from whom they could obtain no decisive answer. For they
were unwilling that so celebrated and opulent a city should
be plundered, and were in hopes that if the Bruttians should
attack it, while the Carthaginians did not ostensibly approve
or assist in the attack, the inhabitants would the more readily
come over to them. The Crotonians were not united either
in their measures or wishes. All the states of Italy were
infected with one disease, as it were; the commons dissented
from the nobles; the senate favouring the Romans, while the
commons endeavoured to draw the states over to the Cartha-
ginians. A deserter announced to the Bruttii that such a
dissension prevailed in the city; that Aristomachus was the
leader of the commons, and the adviser of the surrender of
the city; that the city was of wide extent and thinly inhabited,
that the walls in every part were in ruins, that it was only
here and there that the guards and watches were kept by
senators, and that wherever the commons kept guard, there
an entrance lay open. Under the direction and guidance of
the deserter, the Bruttians completely invested the city; and
being received into it by the commons, got possession of everyy. u. 537.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

899

part, except the citadel, on the first assault. The nobles held
the citadel, which they had taken care beforehand to have
ready as a refuge against such an event. In the same ^place
Aristomachus took refuge, as though he had advised the
surrender of the city to the Carthaginians, and not to the
Bruttians.

3. The wall of the city of Croto in circuit extended through
a space of twelve miles, before the arrival of Pyrrhus in Italy.
After the devastation occasioned by that war, scarcely half
the city was inhabited. The river which had flowed through
the middle of the town, now ran on the outside of the parts
which were occupied by buildings, and the citadel was at a
distance from the inhabited parts. Six miles from this cele-
brated city stood the temple of Juno Lacinia, more celebrated
even than the city itself, and venerated by all the surround-
ing states. Here was a grove fenced with a dense wood and
tall fir trees, with rich pastures in its centre, in which cattle
of every kind, sacred to the goddess, fed without any keeper;
the flocks of every kind going out separately and returning
to their folds, never being injured, either from the lying in
wait of wild beasts, or the dishonesty of men. These flocks
were, therefore, a source of great revenue, from which a co-
lumn of solid gold was formed and consecrated; and the
temple became distinguished for its wealth also, and not only
for its sanctity. Some miracles are attributed to it, as is
generally the case with regard to such remarkable places.
Rumour says that there is an altar in the vestibule of the
temple, the ashes of which are never moved by any wind.
But the citadel of Croto, overhanging the sea on one side, on
the other, which looks towards the land, was protected formerly
by its natural situation only, but was afterwards surrounded
by a wall. It was in this part that Dionysius, the tyrant of
Sicily, took it by stratagem, approaching by way of some
rocks which faced from it. This citadel, which was con-
sidered sufficiently secure, was now occupied by the nobles of
Croto, the Bruttians, in conjunction even with their own com-
mons, besieging them. The Bruttians, however, perceiving
at length that it was impossible to take the citadel by their
own efforts, compelled by necessity, implored the aid of Hanno.
He endeavoured to bring the Crotonians to surrender, under
an agreement that they should allow a colony of Bruttians to900

THE HISTORY OP ROME. |B. XXIV. CHAP. 4.

settle there; so that their city, desolate and depopulated by
wars, might recover its former populousness: bat not a man
besides Aristomachus did he move; they affirmed, that "they
would die sooner than, mixing with Bruttians, be turned to
the rites, manners, and laws, and soon the language also of
others." Aristomachus alone, since he was neither able to
persuade them to surrender, nor could obtain an opportunity
for betraying the citadel as he had betrayed the city, deserted
to Hanno. A short time afterwards ambassadors of Locri,
entering the citadel with the permission of Hanno, persuaded
them to allow themselves to be removed to Locri, and not re-
solve to hazard extremities. They had already obtained leave
from Hannibal to do this, by ambassadors sent for this pur-
pose. Accordingly, Croto was evacuated, and the inhabitants
were conducted to the sea, where they embarked; and the
whole multitude removed to Locri. In Apulia, Hannibal and
the Romans did not rest even during the winter. The con-
sul Sempronius wintered at Luceria, Hannibal not far from
Arpi. Slight engagements took place between them, accord-
ingly as either side had an opportunity or advantage; by which
the Roman soldiery were improved, and became daily more
guarded and more secure against stratagems.

4. In Sicily, the death of Hiero, and the transfer of the
government to his grandson, Hieronymus, had completely
altered all things with regard to the Romans. Hieronymus
was but a boy, as yet scarcely able to bear liberty, still less
sovereign power. His guardians and friends gladly observed
in him a disposition which might be easily plunged into every
kind of vice; which Hiero foreseeing, is said to have formed
an intention, in the latter part of his long life, of leaving Sy-
racuse free, lest the sovereignty which had been acquired and
established by honourable means, should be made a sport of
and fall into ruin, under the administration of a boy. This
plan of his his daughters strenuously opposed, who anticipated
that the boy would enjoy the name of royalty, but that the
administration of all affairs would be conducted by themselves
and their husbands, Andranodorus and Zoippus, for these were
left the principal of his guardians. It was not an easy task
for a man in his ninetieth year, beset night and day by the
winning artifices of women, to disenthral his judgment, and
to consult only the good of the state in his domestic affairs.Y. r. 537.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

901

Accordingly, all he did was to leave fifteen guardians over
his son, whom he entreated, on his death-bed, to preserve in-
violate that alliance with the Romans, which he had himself
cultivated for fifty years, and to take care that the young
king should, above all things, tread in the steps of his father,
and in that course of conduct in which he had been educated.
Such were his injunctions. On the death of the king, the
will was brought forward by the guardians, and the young
king, who was now about fifteen, introduced into the public
assembly, where a few persons, who had been placed in dif-
ferent parts on purpose to raise acclamations, expressed their
approbation of the will; while all the rest were overwhelmed
with apprehensions, in the destitute condition of the state,
which had lost as it were its parent. The funeral of the
king was then performed, which was honoured more by the
love and affection of his citizens than the attentions of his
kindred. Andranodorus next effected the removal of the
other guardians, giving out that Hieronymus had now attained
the years of manhood, and was competent to assume the go-
vernment ; and thus, by voluntarily resigning the guardian-
ship which he shared with several others, united the powers
of all in himself.

5. It would scarcely have been easy even for any good and
moderate king, succeeding one so deeply rooted in their affec-
tions as Hiero was, to obtain the favour of the Syracusans.
But Hieronymus, forsooth, as if he was desirous of exciting
regret for the loss of his grandfather by his own vices, showed,
immediately on his first appearance, how completely every
thing was changed. For those who for so many years had
seen Hiero and his son Gelon differing from the rest of the
citizens neither in the fashion of their dress nor any other
mark of distinction, now beheld the purple, the diadem, and
armed guards, and their king sometimes proceeding from his
palace in a chariot drawn by four white horses, according to
the custom of the tyrant Dionysius. This costliness in equip-
age and appearance was accompanied by corresponding con-
tempt of everybody, capricious airs, insulting expressions,
difficulty of access, not to strangers only, but even to his
guardians also, unheard of lusts, inhuman cruelty. Terror
so great took possession of every body therefore, that some of
his guardians, either by a voluntary death, or by exile, anti-902

THE HISTORY OF HOME. [B. XXIV. CHAP. 6.

cipated the terror of his inflictions. Three of those persons
to whom alone belonged a more familiar access to the palace,
Andranodorus and Zoippus, sons-in-law of Hiero, and one
Thraso, were not much attended to upon other subjects; but
the two former exerting themselves in favour of the Cartha-
ginians, while Thraso argued for the Roman alliance, they
sometimes engaged the attention of the young king by their
zeal and earnestness. It was at this time that a conspiracy
formed against the life of the tyrant was discovered by a cer-
tain servant, of the same age as Hieronymus, who from his
very childhood had associated with him on entirely familiar
terms. The informer was able to name one of the conspira-
tors, Theodotus, by whom he himself had been solicited. He
was immediately seized, and delivered to Andranodorus to be
subjected to torture, when, without hesitation, he confessed as
to himself, but concealed his accomplices. At last, when
racked with every species of torture, beyond the power of
humanity to bear, pretending to be overcome by his sufferings,
he turned his accusation from the guilty to the innocent, and
feigned that Thraso was the originator of the plot, without
whose able guidance, he said, they never would have been
bold enough to attempt so daring a deed, he threw the guilt
upon such innocent men, near the king's person, as appeared
to him to be the most worthless, while fabricating his story
amid groans and agonies. The naming of Thraso gave the
highest degree of credibility to the story in the mind of the
tyrant. Accordingly he was immediately given up to punish-
ment, and others were added who were equally innocent.
Not one of the conspirators, though their associate in the plot
was for a long time subjected to torture, either concealed him-
self or fled; so great was their confidence in the fortitude and
fidelity of Theodotus, and so great was his firmness in con-
cealing their secret.

6. Thus on the removal of Thraso, who formed the only
bond which held together the alliance with the Romans, im-
mediately affairs clearly indicated defection. Ambassadors
were sent to Hannibal, who sent back in company with a
young man of noble birth named Hannibal, Hippocrates and
Epicydes, natives of Carthage, and of Carthaginian extraction
on their mother's side, but whose grandfather was an exile
from Syracuse. Through their means an alliance was formedY. ii. 537.]

THE HISTORY OP ROME.

903

between Hannibal and the tyrant of Syracuse; and, with the
consent of Hannibal, they remained with the tyrant. As soon
as Appius Claudius, the praetor, whose province Sicily was,
had received information of these events, he sent ambassadors
to Hieronymus ; who, upon stating that the object of their
mission was to renew the alliance which had subsisted between
the Romans and his grandfather, were heard and dismissed in
an insulting manner, Hieronymus asking themsneeringly, "how
they had fared at the battle of Cannae ? for that the ambassa-
dors of Hannibal stated what could hardly be credited." He
said, "he wished to know the truth, in order that before he
made up his mind, he might determine which he should
espouse as offering the better prospect." The Romans re-
plied, that they would return to him when he had learned to
receive embassies with seriousness; and, after having cau-j
tioned, rather than requested him, not rashly to change his
alliance, they withdrew. Hieronymus sent ambassadors to
Carthage, to conclude a league in conformity with the alliance
with Hannibal. It was settled in the compact, that after they
had expelled the Romans from Sicily, (which would speedily
be effected if the Carthaginians sent ships and troops,) the
river Himera, which divides the island in nearly equal por-
tions, should be the limit of the Carthaginian and Syracusan
dominions. Afterwards, puffed up by the flattery of those
persons who bid him be mindful, not of Hiero only, but of
king Pyrrhus, his maternal grandfather, he sent another em-
bassy, in which he expressed his opinion that equity required
that the whole of Sicily should be conceded to him, and that
the dominion of Italy should be acquired as the peculiar pos-
session of the Carthaginians. This levity and inconstancy of
purpose in a hot-headed youth, did not excite their surprise,
nor did they reprove it, anxious only to detach him from the
Romans.

7. But every thing conspired to hurry him into perdition.
For having sent before him Hippocrates and Epicydes with
two thousand armed men, to make an attempt upon those cities
which were occupied by Roman garrisons, he himself also
proceeded to Leontium with all the remaining troops, which
amounted to fifteen thousand foot and horse, when the con-
spirators (who all happened to be in the army) took posses-
sion of an uninhabited house, which commanded a narrow904

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIV. CHAP. 8.

way, by which the king was accustomed to go to the forum.
The rest stood here prepared and armed, waiting for the king
to pass by. One of them, by name Dinomenes, as he was one
of the body-guards, had the task assigned him of keeping
back the crowd behind in the narrow way, upon some pre-
text, when the king approached the door. All was done ac-
cording to the arrangement. Dinomenes having delayed the
crowd, by pretending to lift up his foot and loosen a knot
which was too tight, occasioned such an interval, that an at-
tack being made upon the king, as he passed by unattended
by his guards, he was pierced with several wounds before any
assistance could be brought. When the shout and tumult was
heard, some weapons were discharged on Dinomenes, who now
openly opposed themhe escaped from them, however, with
only two wounds. The body-guard, as soon as they saw the
king prostrate, betook themselves to flight. Of the assassins,
some proceeded to the forum to the populace, who were re-
joiced at the recovery of their liberty; others to Syracuse to
anticipate the measures of Andranodorus and the rest of the
royal party. Affairs being in this uncertain state, Appius
Claudius perceiving a war commencing in his neighbourhood,
informed the senate by letter, that Sicily had become recon-
ciled to the Carthaginians and Hannibal. For his own part,
in order to frustrate the designs of the Syracusans, he collected
all his forces on the boundary of the province and the king-
dom. At the close of this year, Quintus Fabius, by the au-
thority of the senate, fortified and garrisoned Puteoli, which,
during the war, had begun to be frequented as an emporium.
Coming thence to Rome to hold the election, he appointed the
first day for it which could be employed for that purpose,
and, while on his march, passed by the city and descended into
the Campus Martius. On that day, the right of voting first
having fallen by lot on the junior century of the Anien tribe,
they appointed Titus Otacilius and Marcus -ZEinilius Regillus
consuls, when Quintus Fabius, having obtained silence, de-
livered the following speech:

8. "If we had either peace in Italy, or had war with such
an enemy that the necessity to be careful was less urgent than
it is, I should consider that man as wanting in respect for
your liberty, who would at all impede that zealous desire
which you bring with you into the Campus Martius, of con-y. R. 537.J

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

905

ferring honours on whom you please. But since during the
present war, and with the enemy we have now to encounter,
none of our generals have ever committed an error which has
not been attended with most disastrous consequences to us, it
behoves you to use the same circumspection in giving your
suffrages for the creation of consuls, which you Would exert
were you going armed into the field of battle. Every man
ought thus to say to himself: I am nominating a consul who
is to cope with the general Hannibal. In the present year,
at Capua, when Jubellius Taurea, the most expert horseman
of the Campanians, gave a challenge, Claudius Asellus, the
most expert among the Roman horsemen, was pitted against
him. Against the Gaul who at a former period gave a chal-
lenge on the bridge of the Anio, our ancestors sent Titus
Manlius, a man of resolute courage and great strength. It
was for the same reason, I cannot deny it, that confidence
was placed in Marcus Valerius, not many years ago, when he
took arms against a Gaul who challenged him to combat in a
similar manner. In the same manner as we wish to have our
foot and horse more powerful, but if that is impracticable,
equal in strength to the enemy, so let us find out a commander
who is a match for the general of the enemy. Though we
should select the man as general whose abilities are greater
than those of any other in the nation, yet still he is chosen at
a moment's warning, his office is only annual; whereas he
will have to cope with a veteran general who has continued
in command without interruption, unfettered by any restric-
tions either of duration or of authority, which might prevent
him from executing or planning every thing according as the
exigencies of the war shall require. But with us the year is
gone merely in making preparations, and when we are only
commencing our operations. Having said enough as to what
sort of persons you ought to elect as consuls, it remains
that I should briefly express my opinion of those on whom
the choice of the prerogative century has fallen. Marcus
jEmilius Regillus is flamen of Quirinus, whom we can neither
send abroad nor retain at home without neglecting the gods
or the war. Otacilius married to my sister's daughter, and
has children by her, but the favours you have conferred upon
me and my ancestors, are not such as that I should prefer
private relationship to the public weal. Any sailor or pas-906

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIV. CHAP. 9.

senger can steer the vessel in a calm sea, but when a furious
storm has arisen, and the vessel is hurried by the tempest
along the troubled deep, then there is need of a man and a
pilot. We are not sailing on a tranquil sea, but have already
well nigh sunk with repeated storms; you must therefore em-
ploy the utmost caution and foresight in determining who
shall sit at the helm. Of you, Titus Otacilius, we have had
experience in a business of less magnitude; and, certainly,
you have not given us any proof that we ought to confide to
you affairs of greater moment. The fleet which you com-
manded this year we fitted out for three objects: to lay waste
the coast of Africa, to protect the shores of Italy, but, above
all, to prevent the conveyance of reinforcements with pay and
provisions from Carthage to Hannibal. Now if Titus Ota-
cilius has performed for the state, I say not all, but any one
of these services, make him consul. But if, while you had
the command of the fleet, supplies of whatever sort were con-
veyed safe and untouched to Hannibal, even as though he had
no enemy on the sea; if the coast of Italy has been more in-
fested this year than that of Africa, what can you have to
urge why you should be preferred before all others as the
antagonist of Hannibal? Were you consul, we should give it
as our opinion that a dictator should be appointed in obedience
to the example of our ancestors. Nor could you feel offended
that some one in the Roman nation was deemed superior to
you in war. It concerns yourself more than any one else,
Titus Otacilius, that there be not laid upon your shoulders a
burthen under which you would fall. I earnestly exhort you,
that with the same feelings which would influence you if
standing armed for battle, you were called upon suddenly to
elect two generals, under whose conduct and auspices you
were to fight, you would this day elect your consuls; to whom
your children are to swear allegiance, at whose command they
are to assemble, and under whose protection and care they are
to serve. The Trasimene Lake and Cannae are melancholy
precedents to look back upon, but form useful warnings to
guard against similar disasters. Crier, call back the younger
century of the Anien tribe to give their votes again."

9. Titus Otacilius, vociferating in the most furious manner,
that his object was to continue in the consulship, the consul
ordered the lictors to go to him; and as he had not enteredY. K. 538.] * THE HISTORY OF ROME.

907

the city, but had proceeded directly without halting from his
march to the Campus Martius, admonished him that the axes
were in the fasces which were carried before him. The pre-
rogative century proceeded to vote a second time, when Quin-
tus Fabius Maximus for the fourth time, and Marcus Mar-
cellus for the third time, were created consuls. The other
centuries voted for the same persons without any variation.
One praetor, likewise, Quintus Fulvius Flaccus, was re-
elected ; the other new ones who were chosen, were Titus
Otacilius Crassus a second time, Quintus Fabius, son of the
consul, who was at that time curule aedile, and Publius Cor-
nelius Lentulus. The election of the praetors completed, a
decree of the senate was passed, that Quintus Fulvius should
have the city department out of the ordinary course, and that
he in preference to any other should command in the city
while the consuls were absent in the war. Greatr floods hap-
pened twice during this year, and the Tiber overflowed the
fields, with great demolition of houses and destruction of men
and cattle. In the fifth year of the second Punic war Quintus
Fabius Maximus for the fourth time, and Marcus Claudius
Marcellus for the third time, entering upon their office, drew
the attention of the state upon them in a more than ordinary
degree, for there had not been two such consuls now for many
years. The old men observed, that thus Maximus R-ullus
and Publius Decius were declared consuls for conducting the
Gallic war; that thus afterwards Papirius and Carvilius were
appointed to that office against the Samnites, the Bruttians,
and the Lucanian with the Tarentine people. Marcellus, who
was with the army, was created consul in his absence; to Fa-
bius, who was present and Jield the "election himself, the office
was continued. The critical state of affairs, the exigencies of
the war, and the danger which threatened the state, prevented
any one from looking narrowly into the precedent, or suspect-
ing that the consul was actuated by an excessive love of com-
mand ; on the contrary, they, applauded his magnanimity in
that when he knew the state was in want of a general of the
greatest ability, and that he was himself confessedly such an
one, he thought less of the personal odium which might arise
out of the transaction, than of the good of the state.

10. On the day on which the consuls entered on their office,
the senate was assembled in the Capitol, and in the first place908

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIV. CHAP. 10.

a decree was passed to the effect that the consuls should draw
lots, and settle between themselves which should hold the elec-
tion for the creation of censors, before they proceeded to join
the army. Next, all those who had the command of armies
were continued in their offices, and ordered to remain in their
provinces; Tiberius Gracchus at Luceria, where he was with
an army of volunteer slaves; Caius Terentius Yarro in the
Picenian, and Manius Pomponius in the Gallic territory. Of
the praetors of the former year, it was settled that Quintus
Mucius should have the government of Sardinia as proprietor,
Marcus Valerius the command of the sea-coast near Brundu-
sium, watchful against all the movements of Philip, king of the
Macedonians. To Publius Cornelius Lentulus, the praetor,
the province of Sicily was assigned. Titus Otacilius received
the same fleet which he had employed the year before against
the Carthaginians. Many prodigies were reported to have
happened this year, which increased in proportion as they
were believed by the credulous and superstitious. That crows
had built a nest within the temple of Juno Sospita at Lanu-
vium; that a green palm-tree had taken fire in Apulia; that
a pool at Mantua, formed by the overflowing of the river
Mincius, had assumed the appearance of blood; that it had
rained chalk at Cales, and blood at Rome in the cattle market;
that a fountain under ground in the Istrian street had dis-
charged so violent a stream of water, that rolling along with
the impetuosity of a torrent, it carried away the butts and
casks which were near it; that the public court in the Capitol
had been struck by lightning; also the temple of Yulcan in
the Campus Martius, a nut-tree in the Sabine territory, a wall
and gate at Gabii. Now other miracles were published: that
the spear of Mars at Praeneste moved forward of its own ac-
cord ; that in Sicily an ox had spoken; that a child in the
womb of its mother cried out Io Triumphe! in the country
of the Marrucinians; at Spoletum, that a woman was trans-
formed into a man; at Hadria, that an altar, with appearances
as of men surrounding it in white clothing, was seen in the hea-
vens. Nay, even in the city of Rome itself, after a swarm of bees
had been seen in the forum, some persons roused the citizens to
arms, affirming that they saw armed legions on the Janiculum ;
but those who were on the Janiculum at the time, declared
that they had seen no person there besides the usual cultivatorsY. B. 538.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

909

of the hill. These prodigies were expiated by victims of the
larger kind, according to the response of the aruspices; and
a supplication was ordered to all the deities who had shrines
at Rome.

11. The ceremonies which were intended to propitiate the
gods being completed, the consuls took the sense of the senate
on the state of the nation, the conduct of the war, what troops
should be employed, and where they were severally to act.
It was resolved that eighteen legions should be engaged in
the war; that the consuls should take two each; that two
should be employed in each of the provinces of Gaul, Sicily,
and Sardinia; that Quintus Fabius, the praetor, should have
the command of two in Apulia, and Tiberius Gracchus of two
legions of volunteer slaves in the neighbourhood of Luceria;
that one each should be left for Caius Terentius, the proconsul,
for Picenum, and to Marcus Valerius for the fleet off Brun-
dusium, and two for the protection of the city. To complete
this number of legions six fresh ones were to be enlisted,
which the, consuls were ordered to raise as soon as possible ;
and also to prepare the fleet, so that, together with the ships
which were stationed off the coasts of Calabria, it might
amount that year to one hundred and fifty men of war. The
levy completed, and the hundred new ships launched, Quintus
Fabius held the election for the creation of censors, when
Marcus Atilius Regulus and Publius Furius Philus were
chosen. A rumour prevailing that war had broken out in
Sicily, Titus Otacilius was ordered to proceed thither with
his fleet; but as there was a deficiency of sailors, the consuls,
in conformity with a decree of the senate, published an order
that those persons who themselves or whose fathers had been
rated in the censorship of Lucius .ZEmilius and Caius Fla-
minius, at from fifty to one hundred thousand asses, or whose
property had since reached that amount, should furnish one
sailor and six months' pay; from one to three hundred * thou-
sand, three sailors with a year's pay; from three hundred
thousand to a million, five sailors; above one million, seven
sailors; that senators should furnish eight sailors with a
year's pay. The sailors furnished according to this pro-
clamation being armed and equipped by their masters, em-
barked with cooked provisions for thirty days. Then first it910

THE HISTORY OF HOME. [B. XXIT. CHAP. 12.

happened that the Roman fleet was manned at the expense of
individuals.

12.	These unusually great preparations alarmed the Cam-
panians particularly, lest the Romans should commence the
year's campaign with the siege of Capua. They therefore
sent ambassadors to Hannibal, to implore him to bring his
army to Capua, and tell him that new armies were levying at
Rome for the purpose of besieging it; and that there was not
any city the defection of which had excited more hostile feel-
ings. As they announced this with so much fear, Hannibal
concluded he must make haste lest the Romans should get
there before him; and setting out from Arpi, took up his
position in his old camp at Tifata, above Capua. Leaving his
Numidians and Spaniards for the protection both of the camp
and Capua, he went down thence with the rest of his troops
to the lake Avernus on the pretence of performing sacrifice,
but in reality to make an attempt upon Puteoli and the garri-
son in it. Maximus, on receiving intelligence that Hannibal
had set out from Arpi, and was returning to Campania, went
back to his army, pursuing his journey without intermission
by night or by day. He also ordered Tiberius Gracchus to
bring up his troops from Luceria to Beneventum, and Quintus
Fabius the praetor, the son of the consul, to go to Luceria in
the room of Gracchus. At the same time the two praetors
set out for Sicily, Publius Cornelius to join his army, Otacilius
to take the command of the sea-coast and the fleet; the rest
also proceeded to their respective provinces, and those who
were continued in command remained in the same countries
as in the former year.

13.	While Hannibal was at the lake Avernus, five noble
youths came to him from Tarentum. They had been made
prisoners partly at the lake Trasimenus, and partly at Cannae,
and had been sent home by the Carthaginian with the same
civility which he had shown towards all the Roman allies.
They stated to him that, impressed with gratitude for his
favours, they had succeeded in inducing a large portion of
the Tarentine youth to prefer his alliance and friendship to
that of the Romans; and that they were sent by their country-
men as ambassadors to request Hannibal to bring his forces
nearer to Tarentum; that if his standards and camp wereT. r. 538,]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

911

within sight of Tarentum, that city would be delivered into
his hands without delay; that the commons were under the
influence of the youth, and the state of Tarentum in the hands
of the commons. Hannibal after bestowing the highest com-
mendations upon them, and loading them with immense
promises, bid them return home to mature their plans, saying
that he would be there in due time. With these hopes, the
Tarentines were dismissed. Hannibal had himself conceived
the strongest desire of getting possession of Tarentum. He
saw that it was a city opulent and celebrated, on the coast,
and lying conveniently over against Macedonia. And that
as the Romans were in possession of Brundusium, king Philip
would make for this port if he crossed over into Italy. Hav-
ing completed the sacrifice for which he came, and during his
stay there laid waste the territory of Cumas as far as the pro-
montory of Misenum, he suddenly marched his troops thence
to Puteoli to surprise the Roman garrison there. It consisted
of six thousand men, and the place was secured not only by
its natural situation, but by works also. The Carthaginian
having waited there three days, and attempted the garrison
in every quarter, without any success, proceeded thence to
devastate the territory of Naples, influenced by resentment
more than the hope of getting possession of the place. The
commons of Nola, who had been long disaffected to the Ro-
mans and at enmity with their own senate, moved into the
neighbouring fields on his approach; and in conformity with
this movement ambassadors came to invite Hannibal to join
them, bringing with them a positive assurance that the city
would be surrendered to him. The consul, Marcellus, who
had been called in by the nobles, anticipated their attempt.
In one day he had reached Suessula from Cales, though the
river Vulturnus had delayed him crossing; and from thence
the ensuing night introduced into Nola for the protection of
the senate, six thousand foot and three hundred horse. The
dilatoriness of Hannibal was in proportion to the expedition
which the consul used in every thing he did in order to pre-
occupy Nola. Having twice already made the attempt un-
successfully, he was slower to place confidence in the Nolans.

14. During the same time, the consul, Fabius, came to at-
tempt Casilinum, which was occupied by a Carthaginian gar-
rison ; and, as if by concert, Hanno approached Beneventum on

3 N912

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIV. CHAP. 15.

one side from the Bruttians, with a large body of foot and
horse, while on the other side Gracchus approached it from
Luceria. The latter entered the town first. Then, hearing
that Hanno had pitched his camp three miles from the city,
at the river Calor, and from thence was laying waste the
country, he himself marched without the walls, and pitching
his camp about a mile from the enemy, harangued his soldiers.
The legions he had consisted for the most part of volunteer
slaves, who chose rather to earn their liberty silently by an-
other year's service, than demand it openly. The general,
however, on quitting his winter quarters, had perceived that
the troops murmured, asking when the time would arrive that
they should serve as free citizens. He had written to the
senate, stating not so much what they wanted as what they
had deserved ; he said they had served him with fidelity and
courage up to that day, and that they wanted nothing but
liberty, to bring them up to the model of complete soldiers.
Permission was given him to act in the business as he thought
for the interest of the state, and, accordingly, before he engaged
with the enemy, he declared that the time was now arrived
for obtaining that liberty which they had so long hoped for;
that on the following day he should fight a pitched battle on
a level and open plain, in which the contest would be decided
by valour only, without any fear of ambuscade. The man
who should bring back the head of an enemy, he would
instantly order to be set free ; but that he would punish,
in a manner suited to a slave, the man who should quit
his post; that every man's fortune was in his own hands;
that not he himself alone would authorize their enfranchise-
ment, but the consul, Marcus Marcellus, and the whole body
of the fathers, who, on being consulted by him on the sub-
ject, had left the matter to his disposal. He then read the
letter of the consul and the decree of the senate, on which
they raised a general shout of approbation, demanded to be led
to battle, and vehemently urged him to give the signal forth-
with. Gracchus broke up the assembly, after proclaiming
the battle for the following day. The soldiers, highly de-
lighted, particularly those whose enfranchisement was to be
the reward of one day's prowess, employed the remaining time
in getting ready their arms.

15. The next day, as soon as the trumpets began to sound,
they were the first to assemble at the general's tent, armedY. r. 538.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

913

and ready for action. When the sun had risen, Gracchus led
out his troops to the field of battle; nor did the enemy delay
to engage him. His troops consisted of seventeen thousand
infantry, principally Bruttians and Lucanians, with twelve
hundred horse, among which were very few Italians, almost
all the rest being Numidians and Moors. The contest was
fierce and protracted. For four hours neither side had the
advantage, nor did any other circumstance more impede the
Romans, than that the heads of their enemies were made the
price of their liberty. For when each man had gallantly
slain his enemy, first, he lost time in cutting off his head,
which was done with difficulty amid the crowd and confusion,
and secondly, all the bravest troops ceased to be engaged in
fight, as their right hands were employed in holding the
heads; and thus the battle was left to be sustained by the in-
active and cowardly. But when the military tribunes re-
ported to Gracchus that the soldiers were employed not in
wounding any of the enemy who were standing, but in man-
gling those who were prostrate, their right hands being occu-
pied in holding the heads of men instead of their swords, he
promptly ordered a signal to be given that they should throw
down the heads and charge the enemy; that they had given
evident and signal proofs of valour, and that the liberty of
such brave men was certain. Then the fight was revived,
and the cavalry also were sent out against the enemy. The
Numidians engaging them with great bravery, and the con-
test between the cavalry being carried on with no less spirit
than that between the infantry, the victory again became
doubtful; when, the generals on both sides vilifying their
opponents, the Roman saying, that their enemies were Brut-
tians and Lucanians, who had been so often vanquished and
subjugated by their ancestors ; the Carthaginian, that the
troops opposed to them were Roman slaves, soldiers taken out
of a workhouse; at last Gracchus exclaimed, that his men
had no ground to hope for liberty unless the enemy were
routed and put to flight that day.

16. These words at length kindled their courage so effect-
ually, and renewing the shout, as if suddenly changed into
other men, they bore down upon the enemy with such im-
petuosity that they could not longer be withstood. First,
those of the Carthaginians who stood before the standards;

3 n 2914

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIT. CHAP. 16.

then the standards were thrown into disorder; and lastly, the
whole line was compelled to give way. They then turned
their backs downright, and fled precipitately to their camp
with such terror and consternation, that not a man made a
stand in the gates or on the rampart; while the Romans, who
pursued them so close as to form almost a part of their body,
commenced the battle anew, enclosed within the rampart of
the enemy. Here the battle was more bloody as the com-
batants had less room to move, from the narrowness of the
place in which they fought. The prisoners too assisted; for
snatching up swords in the confusion, and forming themselves
into a body, they slew the Carthaginians in the rear and pre-
vented their flight. Thus less than two thousand men out of
so large an army, and those principally cavalry, effected their
escape with their commander, all the rest were slain or taken
prisoners. Thirty-eight standards were taken. Of the vic-
tors about two thousand fell. All the booty except that of
the prisoners was given up to the soldiery. Such cattle also
as the owners should identify within thirty days was excepted.
When they returned to their camp loaded with spoil, about
four thousand of the volunteer slaves who had fought with
less spirit, and had not joined in breaking into the enemy's
camp, through fear of punishment, took possession of a hill
not far from the camp. Being brought down thence the next
day by a military tribune, it happened that they arrived
during an assembly of the soldiers which Gracchus had called.
At this assembly the proconsul, having first rewarded the
veteran soldiers with military presents, according to the valour
displayed, and the service rendered by each man in the en-
gagement, then observed, with respect to the volunteer slaves,
that he would rather that all should be praised by him whe-
ther deserving it or not, than that any one should be chastised
on that day. I bid you, said he, all be free, and may the
event be attended with advantage, happiness, and prosperity
to the state and to yourselves. These words were followed
by the most cordial acclamations, the soldiers sometimes em-
bracing and congratulating one another, at other times lifting
up their hands to heaven, and praying that every blessing
might attend the Roman people, and Gracchus in particular;
when Gracchus addressed them thus: " Before I had placed
you all on an equal footing with respect to the enjoyment ofY. it. 538.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

915

liberty, I was unwilling to affix any marks by which the
brave and dastardly soldier might be distinguished. But now
the pledge given by the state being redeemed, lest all distinc-
tion between courage and cowardice should disappear, I shall
order that the names of those persons be laid before me, who,
conscious of their dastardly conduct in the battle, have lately
seceded. I shall have them cited before me, when I shall
bind them by an oath", that none of them, except such as shall
have the plea of sickness, will, so long as they serve, take
either meat or drink in any other posture than standing.
This penalty you will bear with patience when you reflect
that it is impossible your cowardice could be marked with a
slighter stigma." He then gave the signal for packing up the
baggage; and the soldiers, sporting and jesting as they drove
and carried their booty, returned to Beneventum in so playful
a mood, that they appeared to be returning, not from the field
of battle, but from a feast celebrated on some remarkable holi-
day. All the Beneventans pouring out in crowds to meet
them at the gate, embraced, congratulated,, and invited the
troops to entertainments. They had all prepared banquets in
the courts of their houses, to which they invited the soldiers,
and of which they entreated Gracchus to allow them to par-
take. Gracchus gave permission, with the proviso that they
should feast in the public street. Each person brought every
thing out before his door. The volunteers feasted with caps of
liberty on their heads, or filletted with white wool; some reclin-
ing at the tables, others standing, who at once partook of the
repast, and waited upon the rest. It even seemed a fitting
occasion that Gracchus, on his return to Rome, should order a
picture representing the festivities of that day to be executed
in the temple of Liberty, which his father caused to be built
on the Aventine out of money arising from fines, and which
his father also dedicated.

17. While these events occurred at Beneventum, Hannibal
having laid waste the territory of Naples, moved his camp to
Nola. The consul, as soon as he was aware of his approach,
sent for Pcmponius the propraetor, with the troops he had in
the camp above Suessula; and then prepared to meet the
enemy and to make no delay in fighting. He sent out Caius
Claudius Nero in the dead of night with the main strength of
the cavalry, through the gate which was farthest removed916

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIV. CHAP, IS

from the enemy, with orders to make a circuit so as not to be
observed, and then slowly to follow the enemy as they moved
along, and as soon as he perceived the battle begun, to charge
them on the rear. Whether Nero was prevented from exe-
cuting these orders by mistaking the route, or from the short-
ness of the time, is doubtful. Though he was absent when
the battle was fought, the Romans had unquestionably the ad-
vantage ; but as the cavalry did not come up in time, the plan
of the battle which had been agreed upon was disconcerted,
and Marcellus, not daring to follow the retiring enemy, gave
the signal for retreat when his soldiers were conquering.
More than two thousand of the enemy are said, however, to
have fallen on that day; of the Romans, less than four hun^-
dred. Nero, after having fruitlessly wearied both men and
horses, through the day and night, without even having seen
the enemy, returned about sunset; when the consul went so
far in reprimanding him as to assert, that he had been the
only obstacle to their retorting on the enemy the disaster sus-
tained at Cannae. The following day the Roman came into
the field, but the Carthaginian, beaten even by his own tacit
confession, kept within his camp. Giving up all hope of get-
ting possession of Nola, a thing never attempted without loss,
during the silence of the night of the third day he set out for
Tarentum, which he had better hopes of having betrayed to
him.

18. Nor were the Roman affairs administered with less
spirit at home than in the field. The censors being freed
from the care of letting out the erection of public works, from
the low state of the treasury, turned their attention to the re-
gulation of men's morals, and the chastisement of vices which
sprung up during the war, in the same manner as constitu-
tions broken down by protracted disease, generate other mala-
dies. In the first place, they cited those persons who, after
the battle of Cannae, were said to have formed a design of
abandoning the commonwealth, and leaving Italy. The chief
of these was Lucius Caecilius Metellus, who happened to be
then quaestor. In the next place, as neither he nor the other
persons concerned were able to exculpate themselves on being
ordered to make their defence, they pronounced them guilty
of having used words and discourse prejudicial to the state,
that a conspiracy might be formed for the abandonment of Italy.v. a. 538.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

917

After them were cited those persons who showed too much
ingenuity in inventing a method of discharging the obligation
of their oath, namely, such of the prisoners as concluded that
the oath which they had sworn to return, would be fulfilled
by their going back privately to Hannibal's camp, after set-
ting out on their journey. Such of these and of the above-
mentioned as had horses at the public expense were deprived
of them, and all were degraded from their tribes and dis-
franchised. Nor was the attention of the censors confined to
the regulation of the senate and the equestrian order. They
erased from the lists of the junior centuries the names of all
who had not served during the last four years, unless they
were regularly exempted, or were prevented by sickness.
Those too, amounting to more than two thousand names, were
numbered among the disfranchised, and were all degraded.
To this more gentle stigma affixed by the censors, a severe
decree of the senate was added, to the effect that all those
whom the censor had stigmatized, should serve on foot, and
be sent into Sicily to join the remains of the army of Cannae,
a class of soldiers whose time of service was not to terminate
till the enemy was driven out of Italy. The censors, in con-
sequence of the poverty of the treasury, having abstained from
receiving contracts for the repairs of the sacred edifices, the
furnishing of curule horses, and similar matters, the persons
who had been accustomed to attend auctions of this descrip-
tion, came to the censors in great numbers, and exhorted them
.to " transact all their business and let out the contracts in the
same manner as if there were money in the treasury. That
none of them would ask for money out of the treasury before
the war was concluded." Afterwards the owners of those
slaves whom Tiberius Sempronius had manumitted at Bene-
ventum, came to them, stating that they were sent for by the
public bankers, to receive the price of their slaves, but that
they would not accept of it till the war was concluded. This
disposition on the part of the commons to sustain the im-
poverished treasury having manifested itself, the property of
minors first, and then the portions of widows, began to be
brought in; the persons who brought them being persuaded,
that their deposit would no where be more secure and in-
violable than under the public faith. If any thing was bought
or laid in for the widows and minors, an order upon the quses-918

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. xxiy. chap. 19.

tor was given for it. This liberality in individuals flowed
from the city into the camp also, insomuch that no horseman
or centurion would accept of his pay, and those who would ac-
cept it were reproached with the appellation of mercenary men.

19. Quintus Fabius, the consul, was encamped before Casi-
linum, which was occupied by a garrison of two thousand
Campanians and seven hundred of the soldiers of Hannibal.
The commander was Statius Metius, who was sent there by
Cneius Magius Atellanus, who was that year Medixtuticus,
and was arming the slaves and people without distinction, in
order to assault the Roman camp, while the consul was in-
tently occupied in the siege of Casilinum. None of these
things escaped Fabius. He therefore sent to his colleague at
Nola, " That another army was requisite, which might be op-
posed to the Campanians, while the siege of Casilinum was
going on; that either he should come himself, leaving a force
sufficient for the protection of Nola, or if the state of Nola
required him to stay there, in consequence of its not being
yet secure against the attempts of Hannibal, that be should
summon Tiberius Gracchus, the proconsul, from Beneventum."
On this message, Marcellus, leaving two thousand troops in
garrison at Nola, came to Casilinum with the rest of his
forces; and at his arrival the Campanians, who were already
in motion, desisted from their operations. Thus the siege of
Casilinum was commenced by the two consuls. But as the
Roman soldiers received many wounds as they rashly ap-
proached the walls, and as they did not succeed satisfactorily
in their attempts, Fabius gave it as his opinion that this,
which was a small matter, though as difficult as more im-
portant ones, should be abandoned, and that they should re-
tire from the place, as affairs of greater moment were press-
ing. Marcellus, however, succeeded in persuading him that
they should not go away with their object unaccomplished,
observing that as there were many objects which great
generals should not attempt, bo when once attempted they
should not be abandoned, because the mere report in either
case would have important consequences. Upon this the
vineae and all kinds of military works and engines were ap-
plied ; in consequence of which, the Campanians entreated
Fabius to allow them to retire to Capua in safety; when a
few of them having come out of the town, Marcellus took poa-y. r. 538.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

919

session of the gate through which they passed, and first slew
all indiscriminately who were near the gate, and then rushing
in, the slaughter commenced in the town also. About fifty
of the Campanians, who at first came out of the city, having
fled for refuge to Fabius, arrived safe at Capua under his
protection. Thus Casilinum was captured on an accidental
opportunity which occurred during the conferences and de-
lay of those who were soliciting protection. The prisoners,
both those who were Campanians and those who were Han-
nibal's soldiers, were sent to Rome, where they were shut up
in a prison. The crowd of townsmen was distributed among
the neighbouring people to be kept in custody.

20. At the same time that the consuls retired from Casili-
num, their object having been accomplished, Gracchus, who
was in Lucania, sent, under a prgefect of the allies, some co-
horts which he had levied in that country to ravage the lands
of the enemy. These, as they were straggling in a careless
manner, Hanno surprising, retorted upon his enemy a defeat
not much less disastrous than he had himself received at
Bene vent um, and then hastily retired to the territory of the
Bruttians, lest Gracchus should overtake him. Of the con-
suls, Marcellus returned to Nola, whence he had come, Fabius
proceeded to Samnium to waste the lands, and recover by
force the cities which had revolted. The Samnites of Caudium
suffered the severest devastation; their fields were laid waste
by fire for a wide extent, and both men and cattle were con-
veyed away as booty. The towns of Compulteria, Telesia,
Compsa, Melge, Fulfulae, and Orbitanium, were taken by
storm. Blandae, belonging to the Lucanians, and JEcae to
the Apulians, were taken after a siege. Twenty-five thousand
of the enemy were captured or slain in these towns, and three
hundred and seventy deserters recovered; who, being sent to
Rome by the consul, were all of them beaten with rods in the
comitium, and thrown down from the rock. Such were the
achievements of Fabius within the space of a few days. Ill
health detained Marcellus from active operations at Nola. The
town of Accua also was taken by storm, during the same
period, by the praetor Quintus Fabius, whose province was
the neighbourhood of Luceria; he also fortified a stationary
camp at Ardonea. While the Romans were thus employed
in different quarters, Hannibal had reached Tarentum, utterly920

THE HISTORY OF HOME. [B. XXIV. CHAP. 21.

destroying every thing whichsoever way he went. In the
territory of Tarentum, the troops at length began to march in
a peaceable manner. There nothing was violated, nor did
they ever go out of the road; it was evident that this was
done not from the moderation of the soldiery, or their general,
but to conciliate the affections of the Tarentines. However,
on advancing almost close to the walls without perceiving
any movement, which he expected would occur on the sight
of his vanguard, he pitched his camp about a mile off the
city. Three days before the arrival of Hannibal, Marcus
Livius, who had been sent by Marcus Valerius, the proprae-
tor, commanding the fleet at Brundusium, had enlisted the
young nobility of Tarentum, and stationing guards at every
gate, and round the walls, wherever circumstances made it
necessary, had kept such a strict watch both by day and night,
as to give no opportunity for making any attempt either to
the enemy or doubtful allies. On this account several days
were consumed there to no purpose, when Hannibal, as none
of those who had come to him at the lake Avernus, either
came themselves or sent any letter or message, perceiving
that he had carelessly followed delusive promises, moved his
camp thence. Even after this he did not offer any violence
to the Tarentine territory, not quitting the hope of shaking
their allegiance to the Romans, though his simulated lenity
had hitherto been of no advantage to him; but as soon as he
came to Salapia he collected stores of corn there from the
Metapontine and Heraclean lands; for midsummer was now
past, and the situation pleased him as a place for winter
quarters. From hence the Moors and Numidians were de-
tached to plunder the territory of Sallentum, and the neigh-
bouring woods of Apulia, from which not much booty of any
other sort was obtained, but principally droves of horses, four
thousand of which were distributed among his horsemen to
be broken.

21. The Eomans, since a war by no means to be despised
was springing up in Sicily, and the death of the tyrant had
furnished the Syracusans with more enterprising leaders, rather
than changed their attachment to the Carthaginian cause, or
the state of their minds, decreed that province to Marcus
Marcellus, one of their consuls. After the assassination of
Hieronymus, at first a tumult had taken place among the sol-r. r. 538.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

921

diery in the territory of the Leontines. They exclaimed
furiously that the manes of the king should be appeased with
the blood of the conspirators. Afterwards the frequent repe-
tition of the word liberty, which was restored to them, a word
so delightful to the ear, the hopes they had conceived of lar-
gesses from the royal treasury, and of serving in future under
better generals, the relation of the horrid crimes and more
horrid lusts of the tyrant, effected such an alteration in their
sentiments, that they suffered to lie unburied the corpse of
the king, whom a little before they regretted. As the rest
of the conspirators remained behind, in order to keep the army
on their side, Theodotus and Sosis, mounted on the king's
horses, rode off to Syracuse with all possible speed, that they,
might surprise the king's party, while unacquainted with all
that had occurred. But they were anticipated not only by
report, than which nothing is swifter in such affairs, but also
by a messenger who was one of the royal servants. In con-
sequence, Andranodorus had occupied with strong garrisons
the Insula and the citadel, and every other convenient part
which he could. After; sunset, when it was now growing
dark, Theodotus and Sosis rode in by the Hexapylum, and
displayed the royal vest stained with blood, and the ornament
of the king's head; then passing through the Tycha, and call-
ing the people at once to liberty and arms, bid them assemble
in the Achradina. Some of the multitude ran out into the
streets, some stood in the porches of their houses, while others
looked out from the roofs and windows, and inquired what
was the matter. Every part of the city was filled with lights
and noises of various kinds. Assemblies of armed men were
formed in the open spaces. Those who had no arms tore down
from the temple of the Olympian Jupiter the spoils of the
Gauls and Illyrians, which had been presented to Hiero by
the Roman people, and hung up there by him; at the same
time offering up prayers to Jupiter, that he would willingly,
and without feeling offence, lend those consecrated weapons
to those who were arming themselves in defence of their
country, of the temples of their gods, and their liberty. This
multitude was also joined by the watches which were stationed
through the principal quarters of the city. In the island, An^
dranodorus, among other places, secured the public granaries
by a garrison. This place, which was enclosed by a wall ofS22

THE HISTORY OF HOME. [B. XXIV. CHAP. 22.

stones hewn square, and built up on high, after the manner
of a citadel, was occupied by a body of youth, who had been
appointed to garrison it, and these sent messengers to the
Achradina, to give information that the granaries and the
corn were in the power of the senate.

22. At break of day the whole populace, armed and un-
armed, assembled at the senate-house in the Achradina;
where from the altar of Concord, which stood there, one of
the nobles, named Polyoenus, delivered a liberal and temperate
address. He said, that " men who had experienced servitude
and contumely, were enraged against an evil which was well
known, but that the Syracusans had rather heard from their
fathers than seen with their own eyes the disasters which
civil discord introduces." He said, " he commended them for
the alacrity with which they had taken arms; but that he
should commend them more if they should abstain from using
them unless compelled by extreme necessity. At present he
advised that ambassadors should be sent to Andranodorus, to
charge him to submit to the direction of the senate and the
people, to throw open the gates of the island, and withdraw
the garrison. If he resolved to usurp the sovereignty of
which he had been appointed guardian, that he would recom-
mend that their liberty be recovered more energetically from
Andranodorus than it had been from Hieronymus." From
this assembly ambassadors were despatched. The senate be-
gan now to meet, which though during the reign of Hiero it
had continued to be the public council of the state, from the
time of his death up to the present had never been assembled
or consulted upon any subject. When the ambassadors came
to Andranodorus, he was himself moved by the unanimous
opinion of his countrymen, by their having possession of other
parts of the city, and by the fact that the strongest part of the
island was betrayed and placed in the hands of others; but
his wife, Demarata, the daughter of Hiero, still swelling with
the pride of royalty and female presumption, called him out
from the presence of the ambassadors, and reminded him of
the expression so often repeated by the tyrant Dionysius.
that a man ought only to relinquish sovereign power when
dragged by the feet, and not while sitting on horseback. That
it was an easy thing, at any moment one pleased, to give up
possession of grandeur, but that to create and obtain them wasY. it. 538.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

923

difficult and arduous. That he should obtain from the am-
bassadors a little time to deliberate, and to employ it in fetch-
ing the soldiers from the Leontines; to whom, if he promised
the royal treasure, every thing would be at his disposal."
This advice, suggested by a woman, Andranodorus neither
entirely rejected nor immediately adopted, considering it the
safer way to the attainment of power to temporize for the
present. Accordingly he told the ambassadors to carry word
back, that he should act subserviently to the senate and the
people. The next day, as soon as it was light, he threw open
the gates of the island, and came into the forum of the Achra-
dina; then mounting the altar of Concord, from which Poly-
aenus had delivered his harangue the day before, he commenced
a speech by soliciting pardon for his delay. " He had kept
the gates closed," he said, " not as separating his own from
the public interest, but from fear as to where the carnage
would stop when once the sword was drawn; whether they
would be satisfied with the blood of the tyrant, which was
sufficient for their liberty, or whether all who were connected
with the court, by consanguinity, affinity, or any offices, would,
as implicated in another's guilt, be butchered. After he per-
ceived that those who had liberated their country were de-
sirous of preserving it when liberated, and that the counsels
Of all were directed towards the public good, he had not hesi-
tated to restore to his country his own person and every thing
else which had been committed to his honour and guardian-
ship, since the person who had intrusted him with them had
fallen a victim to his own madness." Then turning to the
persons who had killed the tyrant, and calling on Theodotus
and Sosis by name, he said, " You have performed a memor-
able deed, but believe me, your glory is only beginning, not
yet perfected; and there still remains great danger lest the
enfranchised state should be destroyed, if you do not provide
for its tranquillity and harmony."

23. At the conclusion of this speech, he laid the keys of
the gates and of the royal treasure at their feet; and on that
day, retiring from the assembly in the highest spirits, they
made supplication with their wives and children at all the
temples of the gods. On the following day an assembly was
held for the election of praetors. Andranodorus was created
among the first; the rest consisted for the most part of the924

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIV. CHAP. 23

destroyers of the tyrant; two of these, Sopater and Dino-
menes, they appointed in their absence. These, on hearing
of what had passed at Syracuse, conveyed thither the royal
treasure which was at Leontini, and put it into the hands of
quaestors appointed for that purpose. The treasure also in
the island and the Achradina was delivered to them, and that
part of the wall which formed too strong a separation between
the island and the other parts of the city, was demolished by
general consent. Every thing else which was done was in
conformity with this inclination of their minds to liberty.
Hippocrates and Epicydes, on hearing of the death of the ty-
rant, which Hippocrates had wished to conceal even by put-
ting the messenger to death, being deserted by the soldiery,
returned to Syracuse, as that appeared the safest course un-
der present circumstances; but lest if they appeared there in
common they should become objects of suspicion, and looked
upon as persons who were seeking an opportunity of effecting
some change, they in the first place addressed themselves to
the praetors and then through them to the senate. They de-
clared, that "they were sent by Hannibal to Hieronymus, as
to a friend and ally; that they had obeyed the orders of that
man whom their general wished them to obey; that they de-
sired to return to Hannibal; but as the journey would not be
safe, as armed Romans were ranging at large through the
whole of Sicily, that they requested to be furnished with
some escort which might convey them in safety to Locri in
Italy; and that thus they would confer a great obligation
upon Hannibal, with little trouble." The request was easily
obtained, for they were desirous of getting rid of these generals
of the king, who were skilled in war, and at once necessitous
and enterprising. But they did not exert themselves so as to
effect what they desired with the requisite speed. Meanwhile
these young men, who were of a military turn and accustomed
to the soldiers, employed themselves in circulating charges
against the senate and nobles, sometimes in the minds of the
soldiers themselves, sometimes of the deserters, of which the
greater part were Roman sailors, at other times of men be-
longing to the lowest order of the populace, insinuating, that
" what they were secretly labouring and contriving to effect,
was to place Syracuse under the dominion of the Romans
with the pretence of a renewed alliance, and then that ay. u. 538.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

925

faction and the few promoters of the alliance would be
supreme."

24. The crowds of persons disposed to hear and credit
these insinuations which flowed into Syracuse from every
quarter increased daily, and afforded hopes, not only to
Epicydes but to Andranodorus also, of effecting a revolution.
The latter, wearied at length by the importunities of his wife,
who warned him, "that now was the favourable time for
seizing the government, while every thing was in confusion
in consequence of liberty being recent and not yet regularly
established; while a soldiery supported by the royal pay was
to be met with, and while generals sent by Hannibal and ac-
customed to the soldiery might forward the attempthe com-
municated his design with Themistus, who had married the
daughter of Grelon, and a few days afterwards incautiously
disclosed it to a certain tragic actor, named Ariston, to whom
he was in the habit of committing other secrets. He was a
man of reputable birth and fortune, nor did his profession dis-
grace them, for among the Greeks no pursuit of that kind was
considered dishonourable. He therefore discovered the plot
to the praetors, from a conviction that his country had a su-
perior claim upon his fidelity. These having satisfied them-
selves that his statement was not false by indubitable proofs,
took the advice of the elder senators, and with their sanction,
having placed a guard at the doors, slew Themistus and An-
dranodorus as soon as they had entered the senate-house. A
disturbance arising in consequence of this act, which, as none
but the praetors knew the cause of it, wore an appearance of
atrocity, the praetors, having at length procured silence, intro-
duced the informer into the senate-house; and after he had
in a regular manner detailed to the senate every particular,
showing that the conspiracy owed its origin to the marriage
of Harmonia, the daughter of Grelon, with Themistus; that
the African and Spanish auxiliaries had been prepared to
murder the praetors and others of the nobility; that it had
been given out that their goods were to be the booty of the
assassins; that already a band of mercenaries accustomed to
obey the command of Andranodorus had been procured for
the reoccupation of the island; and having then distinctly
represented to them the several parts which the persons im-
plicated in the transaction were performing, and having926

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIY. CHAP. 25

brought under their view the entire plot prepared for execu-
tion with men and arms; it seemed to the senate that they
had fallen as justly as Hieronymus had. A shout was raised
before the senate-house by a crowd of people variously dis-
posed and uncertain of the facts; but as they were conducting
themselves in a furious and menacing manner, the bodies of
the conspirators in the vestibule of the senate-house restrained
them with such alarm, that they silently followed the more
discreet part of the commons to an assembly. Sopater was
the person commissioned by the senate and his colleague to
explain the affair.

25. Treating them as if they stood upon their trial, he be-
gan with their past lives; and insisted that Andranodorus and
Themistus were the authors of every act of iniquity and im-
piety which had been perpetrated since the death of Hiero.
" For what," said he, " did the boy Hieronymus ever do of his
own accord ? What could he do who had scarce as yet arrived
at puberty ? His tutors and guardians had ruled, while the
odium rested on another. Therefore they ought to have
been put to death either before Hieronymus or with him.
Nevertheless those men, deservedly marked out for death, had
attempted fresh crimes after the decease of the tyrant; first
openly, when, closing the gates of the island, Andranodorus
declared himself heir to the throne, and kept that as proprietor
which he had held only in the capacity of guardian; after-
wards, when betrayed by those who were in the island and
blockaded by the whole body of the citizens who held the Achra-
dina, he endeavoured to obtain, by secret and artful means,
that sovereignty which he had in vain attempted openly;
whom not even benefits and honorary distinction could move,
for even this conspirator against the liberty of his country
was created praetor among her liberators. But that wives of
royal blood had infected them with this thirst for royalty, one
having married the daughter of Hiero, the other the daughter
of Gelon." On hearing these words, a shout arose from every
part of the assembly, that " none of these women ought to
live, and that not one of the royal family should be left alive."
Such is the nature of the populace; they are either cringing
slaves or haughty tyrants. They know not how with modera-
tion to spurn or to enjoy that liberty which holds the middle
place; nor are there generally wanting ministers, the pandersy. R. 538.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

927

to their resentment, who incite their eager and intemperate
minds to blood and carnage. Thus, on the present occasion,
the prsetors instantly proposed the passing of a decree, which
was consented to almost before it was proposed, that all the
royal family should be put to death; and persons despatched
for the purpose by the prastors, put to death Demarata, the
daughter of Hiero, and Harmonia. the daughter of Gelon, the
wives of Andranodorus and Themistus.

26. There was a daughter of Hiero, named Heraclea, the
wife of Zoippus, who, having been sent by Hieronymus as
ambassador to king Ptolemy, had become a voluntary exile.
As soon as she was apprized that they were coming to her
also, she fled for refuge into the chapel to the household gods,
accompanied by her two virgin daughters, with dishevelled
hair, and other marks of wretchedness. In addition to this,
she had recourse to prayers also; she implored them "by the
memory of her father, Hiero, and her brother, Gelon, that they
would not suffer her, a guiltless person, to be consumed by
their hatred of Hieronymus. That all that she had derived
from his reign was the exile of her husband. That neither
did she enjoy the same advantages as her sister while Hier-
onymus was alive, nor was her cause the same as hers now he
was dead. What ? Though her sister would have shared the
throne with Andranodorus, had he succeeded in his designs,
she must have been in servitude with the rest. Can any one
doubt, that if information should be conveyed to Zoippus that
Hieronymus had been put to death, and that Syracuse was
free, he would instantly embark and return to his native land.
But how are all human hopes deceived! His wife and children
are struggling for their lives in his native land, now blessed
with liberty ! In what manner standing in the way of liberty
or the laws ? What danger could arise to any one from them,
from a solitary, and in a manner, widowed woman and girls
living in a state of orphanage ? But perhaps it will be granted
that no danger is to be apprehended from them, but alleged
that the whole royal family is detested. If this were the case,
she entreated that they would banish them far from Syracuse
and Sicily, and order them to be conveyed to Alexandria,
the wife to her husband, the daughters to their father." See-
ing that their ears and minds were unimpressed, and that cer-
tain of them were drawing their swords to prevent a fruitless

3 o928

THE HISTORY OF ROME, [B. XXIV. CHAP. *17.

consumption of time, she gave over entreating for herself, and
began to implore them to " spare, at least, her daughters, at
an age which even exasperated enemies spared." She entreated
them " that they would not, in their revenge on tyrants, them-
selves imitate the crimes which were odious to them." While
thus employed, they dragged her from the sanctuary and mur-
dered her; and after that they fell upon the virgins, who were
sprinkled with the blood of their mother ; who, distracted
alike by fear and grief, and as if seized with madness, rushed out
of the chapel with such rapidity, that had there been an open-
ing by which they might have escaped into the street, they
would have filled the city with confusion. As it was, they
several times made their escape through the midst of so many
armed men with their persons uninjured in the contracted
space which the house afforded, and extricated themselves
from their grasp, though they had to disengage themselves
from so many and such strong hands; but at length enfeebled
by wounds, and after covering every place with blood, they
fell down lifeless. This murder, piteous as it was in itself,
was rendered still more so by its happening that a short time
after it a message arrived that they should not be killed, as
the minds of the people were now turned to compassion. This
compassion then gave rise to a feeling of anger, because so
much haste had been shown in carrying the punishment into
effect, and because no opportunity was left for relenting or
retracing the steps of their passion. The multitude therefore
gave vent to their indignation, and demanded an election to
supply the places of Andranodorus and Themistus, for both
of them had been praetors; an election by no means likely to
be agreeable to the praetors.

27. The day was fixed for the election, when, to the sur-
prise of all, one person from the extremity of the crowd no-
minated Epicydes, and then another from the same quarter
nominated Hippocrates. Afterwards the voices in favour of
these persons increased with the manifest approbation of the
multitude. The assembly was one of a heterogeneous cha-
racter, consisting not only of the commons, but a crowd of
soldiers, with a large admixture even of deserters, who were
desirous of innovation in every thing. The praetors, at
first, concealed their feelings, and were for protracting the
business; but at length, overcome by the general opinion,Y. R. 538.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

929

and apprehensive of a sedition, they declared them the prae-
tors. These did not, however, immediately openly avow their
sentiments, though they were chagrined that ambassadors had
been sent to Appius Claudius to negotiate a ten days' truce,
and that on obtaining this, others were sent to treat for the
renewal of the old alliance. The Romans, with a fleet of a
hundred ships, were then stationed at Murgantia, waiting the
issue of the commotion raised at Syracuse by the death of the
tyrants, and to what their recent acquisition of liberty would
impel the people. Meanwhile, the Syracusan ambassadors
were sent by Appius Claudius to Marcellus on his coming
into Sicily, and Marcellus having heard the conditions of
peace, and being of opinion that matters might be brought to
a settlement, himself also sent ambassadors to Syracuse to
treat with the praetors in person on the renewal of the alliance.
But now by no means the same state of quiet and tranquillity
existed there. Hippocrates and Epicydes, their fears being
removed, after that intelligence had arrived that a Cartha-
ginian fleet had put in at Pachynum, complained sometimes
to the mercenary soldiers, at other times to the deserters, that
Syracuse was being betrayed to the Romans. And when
Appius began to station his ships at the mouth of the port, in
order to inspire the other party with courage, their false in-
sinuations appeared to receive great corroboration; and on
the first impulse, the populace had even run down in a dis-
orderly manner to prevent them from disembarking.

28. While affairs were in this unsettled state, it was re-
solved to call an assembly; in which, when some leaned to
one side and some to the other, and an insurrection being on
the point of breaking out, Apollonides, one of the nobles, de-
livered a speech fraught with salutary advice, considering the
critical state of affairs: " Never," he said, " had a state a
nearer prospect of safety and annihilation. For if they would
all unanimously espouse the cause either of the Romans or
the Carthaginians, there could be no state whose condition
would be more prosperous and happy; but if they pulled dif-
ferent ways, the war between the Romans and Carthaginians
would not be more bloody than that which would take place
between the Syracusans themselves, in which both the con-
tending parties would have their forces, their troops, and their
generals, within the same walls. Every exertion ought there-

3 o 2930

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIY. CHAP. 29.

fore to be made that all might think alike. Which alliance
would be productive of the greater advantages, was a ques-
tion of quite a secondary nature, and of less moment; though
the authority of Hiero ought to be followed in preference to
that of Hieronymus in the selection of allies, and a friendship
of which they had had a happy experience through a space of
fifty years, ought to be chosen rather than one now untried
and formerly unfaithful. That it ought also to have some
weight in their deliberations, that peace with the Carthaginians
might be refused in such a manner as not immediately, at
least, to have a war with them, while with the Romans they
must forthwith have either peace or war." The less of party
spirit and warmth appeared in this speech the greater weight
it had. A military council also was united with the praetors
and a chosen body of senators ; the commanders of companies
also, and the prefects of the allies, were ordered to consult
conjointly. After the question had been agitated with great
warmth, at length, as there appeared to be no means of carry-
ing on a war with the Romans, it was resolved that a treaty
of peace should be formed, and that ambassadors should be
sent with those from Rome to ratify the same.

29. Not many days intervened before ambassadors came
from the Leontines, requesting troops to protect their fron-
tiers ; an embassy which appeared to afford a very favourable
opportunity for disencumbering the city of a turbulent and
disorderly rabble, and for removing their leaders to a distance.
The praetor, Hippocrates, was ordered to lead the deserters
thither. Many of the mercenary auxiliaries accompanying
them made them number four thousand armed men. This
expedition gave great delight both to those who were sent
and those who sent them, for to the former an opportunity
was afforded of change which they had long desired, while
the latter were rejoiced because they considered that a kind
of sink of the city had been drained off. But they had, as it
were, only relieved a sick body for a time, that it might after-
wards fall into a more aggravated disease. For Hippocrates
began to ravage the adjoining parts of the Roman province,
at first by stealthy excursions, but afterwards, when Appius
had sent a body of troops to protect the lands of the allies, he
made an attack with all his forces upon the guard posted over
against him, and slew many. Marcellus, when informed ofy. R. 538.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

931

this, immediately sent ambassadors to Syracuse, who said that
the faith of the treaty had been broken, and that there would
never be wanting a cause for hostilities, unless Hippocrates
and Epicydes were removed not only from Syracuse, but far
from all Sicily. Epicydes, lest by being present he should
be arraigned for the offence committed by his absent bro-
ther, or should be wanting on his own part in stirring up a
war, proceeded himself also to the Leontines; and seeing
that they were already sufficiently exasperated against the
Romans, he endeavoured to detach them from the Syracusans
also. His argument was, that the terms on which they
had formed a treaty of peace with the Romans were, that
whatever people had been subject to their kings should be
placed under their dominion; and that now they were not
satisfied with liberty unless they could also exercise kingly
power and dominion over others. The answer, therefore, he
said, which they ought to send back was, that the Leontines
also considered themselves entitled to liberty, either on the
ground that the tyrant fell in the streets of their city, or that
there the shout was first raised for liberty; and that they
were the persons who, abandoning the king's generals, flocked
to Syracuse. That, therefore, either that article must be ex-
punged from the treaty, or that that term of it would not be
admitted. They easily persuaded the multitude; and when
the ambassadors of Syracuse complained of the slaughter of
the Roman guard, and ordered that Hippocrates and Epicydes
should depart either to Locri or any other place they pleased,
provided they quitted Sicily, a reply was made to them in a
haughty manner, " that they had neither placed themselves at
the disposal of the Syracusans to make a peace for them with
the Romans, nor were they bound by the treaties of other
people." This answer the Syracusans laid before the Romans,
declaring at the same time that "the Leontines were not
under their control, and that, therefore, the Romans might
make war on them without violating the treaty subsisting be-
tween them; that they would also not be wanting in the war,
provided that when brought again under sulyection, they
should form a part of their dominion, agreeably to the con-
ditions of the peace."

30. Marcellus marched with his entire forces against Leon-
tini, having sent for Appius also, in order that he might932

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIV. CHAP. 30.

attack it in another quarter; when, such was the ardour of the
troops in consequence of the indignation they felt at the Ro-
man guard's being put to the sword during the negotiations for
a peace, that they took the town by storm on the first assault.
Hippocrates and Epicydes, perceiving that the enemy were
getting possession of the walls and breaking open the gates,
retired with a few others into the citadel, from which they fled
unobserved during the night to Herbessus. The Syracusans,
who had marched from home with eight thousand troops, were
met at the river Myla by a messenger, who informed them
that the city was taken. The rest which he stated was a
mixture of truth and falsehood; he said that there had been
an indiscriminate massacre of the soldiers and the townsmen,
and that he did not think that one person who had arrived at
puberty had survived; that the town had been pillaged, and
the property of the rich men given to the troops. On re-
ceiving such direful news the army halted; and while all
were under violent excitement, the generals, Sosis and Di-
nomenes, consulted together as to the course to be taken.
The scourging and beheading of two thousand deserters had
given to this false statement a plausibility which excited
alarm; but no violence was offered to any of the Leontine or
other soldiers after the city was taken; and every man's pro-
perty was restored to him, with the exception only of such as
was destroyed in the first confusion which attended the cap-
ture of the city. The troops, who complained of their fellow-
soldiers having been betrayed and butchered, could neither be
induced to proceed to Leontini, nor wait where they were for
more certain intelligence. The praetors, perceiving their
minds disposed to mutiny, but concluding that their violence
would not be of long continuance, if those who had led them
on to such folly were removed, led the troops to Megara,
whence they themselves with a few horsemen proceeded to
Herbessus, under the expectation of having the city betrayed
to them in the general consternation ; but being disappointed
in this attempt, they resolved to resort to force, and moved
their camp from Megara on the following day, in order to
attack Herbessus with all their forces. Hippocrates and
Epicydes having formed the design of putting themselves into
the hands of the soldiers, who were for the most part accus-
tomed to them, and were now incensed at the report of they. it. 538.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

933

massacre of their comrades, not so much as a safe measure on
the first view of it as that it was their only course, now that
all hope was cut off, went out to meet the army. It happened
that the troops which marched in the van were six hundred
Cretans, who had been engaged in the service of Hieronymus
under their command, and were under obligation to Hannibal,
having been captured at the Trasimenus among the Roman
auxiliaries, and dismissed by him. Hippocrates and Epicydes,
recognising them by their standards and the fashion of their
armour, held out olive branches, and the fillets usually worn
by suppliants, and implored them to receive them into their
ranks, protect them when received, and not betray them to
the Syracusans, by whom they themselves would soon be de-
livered up to the Romans to be butchered.

31. But the Cretans with one accord called out to them to
be of good courage; that they would share every fortune with
them. During this conversation, the vanguard had halted,
and the march was delayed; nor had the cause of the delay
as yet reached the generals. After the report had spread that
Hippocrates and Epicydes were there, and a voice was heard
through the whole army, which showed evidently that the
troops were pleased at their arrival, the praetors immediately
gallopped to the front, and earnestly asked "what was the
meaning of that violation of discipline, which the Cretans had
committed in holding conference with the enemy, and allow-
ing them to mingle with their ranks without the authority of
the praetors." They ordered Hippocrates to be seized and
thrown into chains. On hearing which such a clamour was
raised, first by the Cretans and then by the rest, that it was
quite evident if they proceeded farther that they would have
cause to fear. In this state of anxiety and perplexity, they gave
orders to march back to Megara, whence they had set out, and
sent messengers to Syracuse, to give information of their pre-
sent condition. Hippocrates added a deception, seeing that
the minds of the troops were disposed to entertain every sus-
picion. Having sent some Cretans to lie in wait in the roads,
he read a letter he pretended had been intercepted, but which
he had written himself. The address was : " The praetors of
Syracuse to the consul Marcellus." After the customary wishing
of health, it stated " that he had acted duly and properly in
sparing none of the Leontines, but that the cause of all the934

THE HISTORY OP ROME. [B. XXIY. CHAP. 32.

mercenary troops was the same, and that Syracuse would
never be tranquil while there were any foreign auxiliaries in
the city or in the army. That it was therefore necessary that
he should endeavour to get into his power those who were
encamped at Megara, with their praetors, and by punishing
them, at length restore Syracuse to liberty." After this letter
had been read, they ran to seize their arms in every direction,
with so great a clamour, that the praetors, in the utmost con-
sternation, rode away to Syracuse during the confusion. The
mutiny, however, was not quelled even by their flight, but an
attack was made upon the Syracusan soldiers; nor would any
one have escaped their violence, had not Hippocrates and
Epicydes opposed the resentment of the multitude, not from
pity or any humane motive, but lest they should cut off all
hope of effecting their return; and that they might ha>^ the
soldiers, both as faithful supporters of their cause, and as
hostages, and conciliate to themselves their relatives and
friends, in the first place by so great an obligation, and in the
next by reason of the pledge. Having also experienced that
the populace could be excited by any cause, however ground-
less or trifling, they procured a soldier of the number of those
who were besieged at Leontini, whom they suborned to carry
a report to Syracuse, corresponding with that which had been
falsely told at the Myla; and by vouching for what he stated,
and relating as matters which he had seen, those things of
which doubts were entertained, to kindle the resentment of
the people.

32. This man not only obtained credit with the commons,
but being introduced into the senate-house, produced an im-
pression upon the senate also. Some men of no small authority
openly declared, that it was very fortunate that the rapacity
and cruelty of the Romans had been made apparent in the
case of the Leontines; that if they had entered Syracuse, they
would have committed the same or even more horrible acts,
as there the temptations to rapacity would have been greater.
All, therefore, advised that the gates should be closed and the
city guarded, but not the same persons were objects of fear
or hatred to all alike. Among the soldiers of every kind, and
a great part of the people, the Roman name was hated. The
praetors, and a few of the nobles, though enraged by the ficti-
tious intelligence, rather directed their cautions against ay. it. 538.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

- 935

nearer and more immediate evil. Hippocrates and Epicydes
were now at the Hexapylum; and conversations were taking
place, fomented by the relatives of the native soldiers who
were in the army, touching the opening of the gates, and the
allowing their common country to be defended from the vio-
lence of the Romans. One of the doors of the Hexapylum
was now thrown open, and the troops began to be taken in at
it, when the prastors interposed; and first by commands and
menaces, then by advice, they endeavoured to deter them from
their purpose, and last of all, every other means proving in-
effectual, forgetful of their dignity, they tried to move them
by prayers, imploring them not to betray their country to men
heretofore the satellites of the tyrant, and now the corrupters
of the army. But the ears of the excited multitude were deaf
to all these arguments, and the exertions made from within
to break open the gates, were not less than those without;
the gates were all broken open, and the whole army received
into the Hexapylum. The prsetors, with the youth of the
city, fled into the Achradina; the mercenary soldiers and de-
serters, with all the soldiers of the late king who were at
Syracuse, joined the forces of the enemy. The Achradina
also was therefore taken on the first assault, and all the prae-
tors, except such as escaped in the confusion, were put to the
sword. Night put an end to the carnage. On the following
day the slaves were invited to liberty, and those bound in
prison were released; after which this mixed rabble created
Hippocrates and Epicydes their prastors, and thus Syracuse,
when for a brief period the light of liberty had shone on it,
relapsed into her former state of servitude.

33. The Romans, on receiving information of these events,
immediately moved their camp from Leontini to Syracuse.
It happened at this time that ambassadors were sent by Ap-
pius in a quinquereme, to make their way through the har-
bour. A quadrireme was sent in advance, which was captured
as soon as it entered the mouth of the harbour, and the am-
bassadors with difficulty made their escape. And now not
only the laws of peace but of war also were not regarded,
when the Roman army pitched their camp at Olympium, a
temple of Jupiter, a mile and a half from the city. From
which place also it was thought proper that ambassadors
should be sent forward; these were met by Hippocrates and936

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIV. CHAP. 34.

Epicydes with their friends without the gate, to prevent their
entering the city. The Roman, who was appointed to speak,
said that " he did not bring war, but aid and assistance to the
Syracusans, not only to such as, escaping from the midst of
the carnage, fled to the Romans for protection, but to those
also, who, overpowered by fear, were submitting to a servi-
tude more shocking, not only than exile, but than death. Nor
would the Romans suffer the horrid murder of their friends to
go unavenged. If, therefore, those who had taken refuge
with them were allowed to return to their country with safety,
the authors of the massacre delivered up, and the Syracusans
reinstated in the enjoyment of their liberty and laws, there
would be no necessity for arms; but if these things were not
done, they wo aid direct their arms unceasingly against those
who delayed them, whoever they might be." Epicydes re-
plied, that " if they had been commissioned with any message
for them, they would have given them an answer; and when
the government of Syracuse was in the hands of those persons
to whom they were come, they might visit Syracuse again.
If they should commence hostilities, they would learn by
actual experience that it was by no means the same thing to
besiege Syracuse and Leontini." With this he left the am-
bassadors and closed the gate. The siege of Syracuse then
commenced by sea and land at the same time; by land on the
side of the Hexapylum; by sea on the side of the Achradina,
the wall of which is washed by its waves; and as the Romans
felt a confidence that as they had taken Leontini by the terror
they occasioned on the first assault, they should be able in
some quarter to effect an entrance into a city so desert, and
diffused over so large an extent of ground, they brought up to
the walls every kind of engine for besieging cities.

34. And an attempt made with so much energy would have
succeeded, had it not been for one person then at Syracuse.
That person was Archimedes, a man of unrivalled skill in ob-
serving the heavens and the stars, but more deserving of ad-
miration as the inventor and constructor of warlike engines
and works, by means of which, with a very slight effort, he
turned to ridicule what the enemy effected with great diffi-
culty. The wall which ran along unequal eminences, most of
which were high and difficult of access, some low and open to
approach along level vales, he furnished with every kind ofY. r. 538.]

THE HISTOEY OF ROME.

937

warlike engine, as seemed suitable to each particular place.
Marcellus attacked from the quinqueremes the wall of the
Achradina, which, as before stated, was washed by the sea.
From the other ships the archers and slingers and light in-
fantry, whose weapon is difficult to be thrown back by the un-
skilful, allowed scarce any person to remain upon the wall
unwounded. These, as they required room for the discharge
of their missiles, kept their ships at a distance from the wall.
Eight more quinqueremes joined together in pairs, the oars
on their inner sides being removed, so that side might be
placed to side, and which forming as it were ships, were
worked by means of the oars on the outer sides, carried tur-
rets built up in stories, and other engines employed in batter-
ing walls. Against this naval armament, Archimedes placed
on different parts of the walls engines of various dimensions.
Against the ships which were at a distance he discharged
stones of immense weight. Those which were nearer he
assailed with lighter, and therefore more numerous missiles.
Lastly, in order that his own men might heap their weapons
upon the enemy, without receiving any wounds themselves,
he perforated the wall from the top to the bottom with a great
number of loop-holes, about a cubit in diameter^ through
which some with arrows, others with scorpions of moderate size,
assailed the enemy without being seen. Certain ships which
came nearer to the walls in order to get within the range of
the engines, he placed upon their sterns, raising up their
prows by throwing upon them an iron grapple, attached to a
strong chain, by means of a tolleno which projected from the
wall, and overhung them, having a heavy counterpoise of lead
which forced back the lever to the ground; then the grapple
being suddenly disengaged, the ship falling as it were from
the wall, was, by these means, to the utter consternation of
the mariners, dashed in such a manner against the water, that
even if it fell back in an erect position it took in a great quan-
tity of water. Thus the attack by sea was foiled, and their
whole efforts were directed to an attack by land with all their
forces. But on this side also the place was furnished with a
similar array of engines of every kind, procured at the expense
of Hiero, who had given his attention to this object through a
course of many years, and constructed by the unrivalled abili-
ties of Archimedes. The nature of the place also assisted938

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIY. CHAP. 35

them; for the rock which formed the foundation of the wall
was for the most part so steep, that not only materials dis-
charged from engines, but such as were rolled down by their
own gravity, fell upon the enemy with great force; the same
cause rendered the approach to the city difficult, and the foot-
ing unsteady. Wherefore, a council being held, it was re-
solved, since every attempt was frustrated, to abstain from
assaulting the place, and keeping up a blockade, only to cut off
the provisions of the enemy by sea and land.

35. Meanwhile, Marcellus, who had set out with about a
third part of the army, to recover the towns which, during
the commotion, had gone over to the Carthaginians, regained
Helorus and Herbessus by voluntary surrender. Megara,
which he took by storm, he demolished and plundered, in
order to terrify the rest, but particularly the Syracusans.
Much about the same time, Himilco, who had kept his fleet
for a long time at the promontory of Pachynus, landed
twenty-five thousand infantry, three thousand horse, and
twelve elephants, at Heraclea, which they call Minoa. This
force was much greater than that which he had before on
board his fleet at Pachynus. But after Syracuse was seized
by Hippocrates, he proceeded to Carthage, where, being
aided by ambassadors from Hippocrates, and a letter from
Hannibal, who said that now was the time to recover Sicily
with the highest honour, while his own advice given in per-
son had no small influence, he had prevailed upon the Car-
thaginians to transport into Sicily as large a force as possible,
both of foot and horse. Immediately on his arrival he retook
Heraclea, and within a few days after Agrigentum; and in
the other states which sided with the Carthaginians, such
confident hopes were kindled of driving the Romans out of
Sicily, that at last even those who were besieged at Syracuse
took courage; and thinking that half their forces would be
sufficient for the defence of the city, they divided the business
of the war between them in such a manner, that Epicydes
superintended the defence of the city, while Hippocrates, in
conjunction with Himilco, prosecuted the war against the
Roman consul. The latter, having passed by night through
the intervals between the posts, with ten thousand foot and
five hundred horse, was pitching a camp near the city Acrillae,
when Marcellus came upon them, while engaged in raisingY. It 5tf8.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

939

the fortifications, on his return from Agrigentum, which was
already occupied by the enemy, having failed in his attempt
to get there before the enemy by expeditious marching.
Marcellus calculated upon any thing rather than meeting
with a Syracusan army at that time and place; but still through
fear of Himilco and the Carthaginians, for whom he was by
no means a match with the forces he had with him, he was
marching with all possible circumspection, and with his troops
so arranged, as to be prepared for any thing which might
occur.

36. It happened that the caution he had observed with in-
tent to guard him against the Carthaginians, proved useful
against the Sicilians. Having caught them in disorder and
dispersed, employed in forming their camp, and for the most
part unarmed, he cut off all their infantry. Their cavalry,
having commenced a slight engagement, fled to Acrge with
Hippocrates. This battle having checked the Sicilians in
their purpose of revolting from the Romans, Marcellus re-
turned to Syracuse, and a few days after Himilco, being joined
by Hippocrates, encamped on the river Anapus, about eight
miles distant from that place. Nearly about the same time,
fifty-five ships of war of the Carthaginians, with Bomilcar as
commander of the fleet, put into the great harbour of Syracuse
from the sea, and a Roman fleet of thirty quinqueremes landed
the first legion at Panormus; and so intent were both the
cpntending powers upon Sicily, that the seat of war might
seem to have been removed from Italy. Himilco, who thought
that the Roman legion which had been landed at Panormus,
would doubtless fall a prey to him on its way to Syracuse,
was mistaken in his road; for the Carthaginian marched
through the inland parts of the country, while the legion,
keeping along the coast, and attended by the fleet, came up
with Appius Claudius, who had advanced to Pachynum with
a part of his forces to meet it. Nor did the Carthaginians
delay longer at Syracuse. Bomilcar, who at the same time
that he did not feel sufficient confidence in his naval strength,
as the Romans had a fleet more than double his number, was
aware that delay which could be attended with no good effect,
would only increase the scarcity of provisions among the allies
by the presence of his troops, sailed out into the deep, and
crossed over into Africa. Himilco, who had in vain followed940

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIV. CHAP. 37.

Marcellus to Syracuse, to see if he could get any opportunity
of engaging him before he was joined by larger forces, failing
in this object, and seeing that the enemy were secured at
Syracuse, both by their fortifications and the strength of their
forces, to avoid wasting time in sitting by as an idle spectator
of the siege of his allies, without being able to do any good,
marched his troops away, in order to bring them up wherever
the prospect of revolt from the Romans might invite him, and
wherever by his presence he might inspire additional courage
in those who espoused his interest. He first got possession
of Murgantia, the Roman garrison having been betrayed by
the inhabitants themselves. Here a great quantity of corn
and provisions of every kind had been laid up by the Romans.

37. To this revolt the minds of other states also were
stimulated; and the Roman garrisons were now either driven
out of the citadels, or treacherously given up and overpowered.
Enna, which stood on an eminence lofty and of difficult ascent
on all sides, was impregnable on account of its situation, and
had besides in its citadel a strong garrison commanded by one
who was very unlikely to be overreached by treachery, Lucius
Pinarius, a man of vigorous mind, who relied more on the
measures he took to prevent treachery, than on the fidelity of
the Sicilians; and at that time particularly the intelligence
he had received of so many cities being betrayed, and revolt-
ing, and of the massacre of the garrisons, had made him soli-
citous to use every precaution. Accordingly, by day and night
equally, every thing was kept in readiness, and every place
furnished with guards and watches, the soldiery being conti-
nually under arms and at their posts. But when the principal
men in Enna, who had already entered into a covenant with
Himilco to betray the garrison, found that they could get no
opportunity of circumventing the Roman, they resolved to act
openly. They urged, that " the city and the citadel ought to
be under their control, as they had formed an alliance with
the Romans on the understanding that they were to be free,
and had not been delivered into their custody as slaves. That
they therefore thought it just that the keys of the gates should
be restored to them. That their honour formed the strongest
tie upon good allies, and that the people and senate of Rome
would entertain feelings of gratitude towards them if they
continued in friendship with them of their own free will, andy. it. -538.]

the history of rome.

941

not by compulsion." The Roman replied, that "he was
placed there by his general to protect the place; that from
him he had received the keys of the gates and the custody of
the citadel, trusts which he held not subject to his own will,
nor that of the inhabitants of Enna, but to his who committed
them to him. That among the Romans, for a man to quit his
post was a capital offence, and that parents had sanctioned
that law by the death even of their own children. That the
consul Marcellus was not far off; that they might send am-
bassadors to him, who possessed the right and liberty of de-
ciding." But they said, they would certainly not send to him.
and solemnly declared, that as they could not obtain their
object by argument, they would seek some means of asserting
their liberty. Pinarius upon this observed, "that if they
thought it too much to send to the consul, still they would, at
least, grant him an assembly of the people, that it might be
ascertained whether these denunciations came from a few, or
from the whole state." An assembly of the people was pro-
claimed for the next day, with the general consent.

38. After this conference, he returned into the citadel, and
assembling his soldiers, thus addressed them: " Soldiers, I
suppose you have heard in what manner the Roman garrisons
have been betrayed and cut off by the Sicilians of late. You
have escaped the same treachery, first by the kindness of the
gods, and secondly by your own good conduct, in unremit-
tingly standing and watching under arms. I wish the rest of
our time may be passed without suffering or committing
dreadful things. This caution, which we have hitherto em-
ployed, has been directed against covert treachery, but not
succeeding in this as they wished, they now publicly and
openly demand back the keys of the gates; but as soon as
we shall have delivered them up, Enna will be instantly in
the hands of the Carthaginians, and we shall be butchered
under circumstances more horrid than those with which the
garrison of Murgantia were massacred. I have with diffi-
culty procured a delay of one night for deliberation, that I
might employ it in acquainting you with the danger which
threatens you. At daybreak they intend holding a general
assembly for the purpose of criminating me, and stirring up
the people against you; to-morrow, therefore, Enna will be
inundated either with your blood, or that of its own inhabit-942

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIV. CHAP. 39.

ants. If they are beforehand with you, you will have no
hope left; but if you anticipate their proceedings, you will
have no danger. Victory will belong to that side which shall
have drawn the sword first. You shall all, therefore, full
armed, attentively wait the signal. I shall be in the assembly,
and by talking and disputing will spin out the time till every
thing shall be ready. When I shall have given the signal
with my gown, then, mind me! raising a shout on all sides,
rush upon the multitude, and fell all before you with the
sword, taking care that no one survive from whom either
force or fraud can be apprehended. You, mother Ceres and
Proserpine, I entreat, and all ye other gods, celestial and in-
fernal, who frequent this city and these consecrated lakes and
groves, that you would lend us your friendly and propitious
aid, as we adopt this measure not for the purpose of inflicting,
but averting injury. I should exhort you at greater length,
my soldiers, if you were about to fight with armed men; men
unarmed and off their guard, you will slay to satiety. The
consul's camp too is near, so that nothing can be apprehended
from Himilco and the Carthaginians."

39. Being allowed to retire immediately after this exhorta-
tion, they employed themselves in taking refreshment. The
next day they stationed themselves some in one place and
others in another, to block up the streets, and shut up the
ways by which the townsmen might escape, the greater part
of them stationing themselves upon and round the theatre, as
they had been accustomed before also to be spectators of the
assemblies. When the Roman prasfect, having been brought
into the presence of the people by the magistrates, said, that
the power and authority of deciding the question appertained
to the consul, and not to him, repeating for the most part
what he had urged the day before; first of all a small num-
ber, and then more, desired him to give up the keys, but
afterwards all with one consent demanded it; and when he
hesitated and delayed, threatened him furiously, and seemed
as though they would not further delay violent extremities ;
then the prasfect gave the signal agreed upon with his gown,
and the soldiers, who had been long anxiously waiting the
signal, and in readiness, raising a shout, ran down, some of
them from the higher ground, upon the rear of the assembly,
while others blocked up the passages leading out of they. u. 538.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

943

crowded theatre. The people of Enna thus shut up in the
pit were put to the sword, being heaped one upon another not
only in consequence of the slaughter, but also from their own
efforts to escape ; for some scrambling over the heads of others,
and those that were unhurt falling upon the wounded, and the
living upon the dead, they were accumulated together. Thence
they ran in every direction throughout the city, when nothing
was any where to be seen but flight and bloodshed, as though
the city had been captured; for the rage of the soldiery was
not less excited in putting to the sword an unarmed rabble,
than it would have been had the heat of battle and an equality
of danger stimulated it. Thus possession of Enna was re-
tained, by an act which was either atrocious or unavoidable.
Marcellus did not disapprove of the deed, and gave up the
plunder of the place to the soldiery; concluding that the Sici-
lians, deterred by this example, would refrain from betraying
their garrisons. As this city was situated in the heart of
Sicily, and was distinguished both on account of the remark-
able strength of its natural situation, and because every part
of it was rendered sacred by the traces it contained of the
rape of Proserpine of old, the news of its disaster spread
through the whole of Sicily in nearly one day ; and as people
considered that by this horrid massacre violence had been
done not only to the habitations of men, but even of the gods,
then indeed those who even before this event were in doubt
which side they should take, revolted to the Carthaginians.
Hippocrates and Himilco, who had in vain brought up their
troops to Enna at the invitation of the traitors, retired thence,
the former to Murgantia, the latter to Agrigentum. Mar-
cellus retrograded into the territory of Leontium, and after
collecting a quantity of corn and other provisions in his camp
there, left a small body of troops to protect it, and then went
to carry on the siege of Syracuse. Appius Claudius having
been allowed to go from thence to Rome to put up for the
consulship, he appointed Titus Quintus Crispinus to command
the fleet and the old camp in his room. He himself fortified his
camp, and built huts for his troops at. a distance of five miles
from Hexapylum, at a place called Leon. These were the
transactions in Sicily up to the beginning of the winter.

40. The same summer the war with king Philip, as had
been before suspected, broke out. Ambassadors from Oricum

3 p£44

THE HISTORY OF	[B. XXIY. CHAP. 40.

came to Marcus Valerius, the praetor, who was directing his
fleet around Brundusium and the neighbouring coasts of Ca-
labria, with intelligence, that Philip had first made an attempt
• pon Apollonia, having approached it by sailing up the river
with a hundred and twenty barks with two banks of oars;
after that, not succeeding so speedily as he had hoped, that
he had brought up his army secretly to Oricum by night;
which city, as it was situated on a plain, and was not secured
either by fortifications or by men and arms, was overpowered
at the first assault. At the same time that they delivered
this intelligence, they entreated him to bring them succour,
and repel that decided enemy of the Romans by land or by a
naval force, since they were attacked for no other cause than
that they lay over against Italy. Marcus Valerius, leaving
Publius Valerius lieutenant-general charged with the protec-
tion of that quarter, set sail with his fleet equipped and pre-
pared, having put on board of ships of burthen such soldiers
as there was not room for in the men of war, and reached
Oricum on the second day; and as that city was occupied by
a slight garrison, which Philip had left on his departure
thence, he retook it without much opposition. Here ambas-
sadors came to him from Apollonia, stating that they were
subjected to a siege because they were unwilling to revolt
from the Romans, and that they would not be able any longer
to resist the power of the Macedonians, unless a Roman force
were sent for their protection. Having undertaken to per-
form what they wished, he sent two thousand chosen armed
men in ships of war to the mouth of the river, under the
command of Quintus Nasvius Crista, prsefect of the allies, a
man of enterprise, and experienced in military affairs. Having
landed his troops, and sent back the ships to join the rest of
the fleet at Oricum, whence he had come, he marched his
troops at a distance from the river, by a way not guarded at
all by the king's party, and entered the city by night, so that
none of the enemy perceived him. During the following day
they remained quiet, to afford time for the prsefect to inspect
the youth of Apollonia, together with the arms and resources
of the city. Having derived considerable confidence from a
review and inspection of these, and at the same time discover-
ing from scouts the supineness and negligence which prevailed
among the enemy, he marched out of the city during the deady. R. 538.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

945

of night without any noise, and entered the camp of the ene-
my, which was in such a neglected and exposed state, that it
was quite clear that a thousand men had passed the rampart
before any one perceived them, and that had they abstained
from putting them to the sword, they might have penetrated
to the royal pavilion. The killing of those who were nearest
the gate aroused the enemy; and in consequence, they were
all seized with such alarm and dismay, that not only none of
the rest attempted to take arms or endeavour to expel the
enemy from the camp, but even the king himself, betaking
himself to flight, in a manner half naked and just as he was
when roused from his sleep, hurried away to the river and his
ships in a garb scarcely decent for a private soldier, much
less for a king. Thither also the rest of the multitude fled
with the utmost precipitation. Little less than three thou-
sand men were slain or made prisoners in the camp; con-
siderably more, however, were captured than slain. The
camp having been plundered, the Apollonians removed into
their city the catapults, ballistas, and other engines which had
been got together for the purpose of assaulting their city, for
the protection of their walls, in case at any time a similar
conjuncture should arise; all the rest of the plunder which
the camp afforded was given up to the Romans. Intelligence
of these events having been carried to Oricum, Marcus Vale-
rius immediately brought his fleet to the mouth of the river,
that the king might not attempt to make his escape by ship.
Thus Philip, having lost all hope of being able to cope with
his enemies by land or sea, and having either hauled on shore
or burnt his ships, made for Macedonia by land, his troops
being for the most part unarmed and despoiled of their bag-
gage. The Roman fleet, with Marcus Valerius, wintered at
Oricum.

41. The same year the war was prosecuted in Spain with
various success; for before the Romans crossed the Iberus,
Mago and Hasdrubal had routed an immense army of
Spaniards; and the farther Spain would have revolted from
the Romans, had not Publius Cornelius, hastily crossing the
Iberus with his army, given a seasonable stimulus to the
wavering resolutions of his allies by his arrival among them.
The Romans first encamped at a place called the High Camp,
which is remarkable for the death of the great Hamilcar. It

3p2946

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIV. CHAP. 42.

was a fortress strongly defended by works, and thither they
had previously conveyed corn; but as the whole circumjacent
country was full of enemy's troops, and the Roman army on
its march had been charged by the cavalry of the enemy with-
out being able to take revenge upon them, two thousand men,
who either loitered behind or had strayed through the fields,
having been slain, the Romans quitted this place to get nearer
to a friendly country, and fortified a camp at the mount of
Victory. To this place came Cneius Scipio with all his forces,
and Hasdrubal, son of Gisgo, and a third Carthaginian general,
with a complete army, all of whom took up a position opposite
the Roman camp and on the other side the river. Publius
Scipio, going out with some light troops to take a view of the
surrounding country, was observed by the enemy; and he
would have been overpowered in the open plain, had he not
seized an eminence near him. Here too he was closely in-
vested, but was rescued from the troops which environed him
by the arrival of his brother. Castulo, a city of Spain, so
strong and celebrated, and so closely connected with the Car-
thaginians, that Hannibal had taken a wife from it, revolted
to the Romans. The Carthaginians commenced the siege of
Illiturgi, because there was a Roman garrison in it; and it
seemed that they would carry the place, chiefly in consequence
of a lack of provisions. Cneius Scipio, setting out with a
legion lightly equipped, in order to bring succour to his allies
and the garrison, entered the city, passing between the two
camps of the enemy, and slaying a great number of them.
The next day also he sallied out and fought with equal suc-
cess. Above twelve thousand were slain in the two battles,
more than a thousand made prisoners, and thirty-six military
standards captured. In consequence of this they retired from
Illiturgi. After this the siege of Bigerra, a city which was
also in alliance with the Romans, was commenced by the
Carthaginians; but Scipio coming up, raised the siege with-
out experiencing any opposition.

42. The Carthaginians then removed their camp to Munda,
whither the Romans speedily followed them. Here a pitched
battle was fought, which lasted almost four hours ; and while
the Romans were carrying all before them in the most glori-
ous manner, the signal for retreat was sounded, because the
thigh of Cneius Scipio had been transfixed with a javelin.Y. R. 538.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

947

The soldiers round about him were thrown into a state of
great alarm, lest the wound should be mortal. However,
there was no doubt but that if they had not been prevented
by the intervention of this accident, they might have taken
the Carthaginian camp that day. By this time, not only the
men, but the elephants, were driven quite up to the rampart;
and even upon the top of it nine and thirty elephants were
pierced with spears. In this battle, too, as many as twelve
thousand are said to have been slain, nearly three thousand
captured, with fifty-seven military standards. The Cartha-
ginians retired thence to the city Auringis, whither the Ro-
mans followed them, in order to take advantage of their terror.
Here Scipio again fought them, having been carried into the
field in a small litter; the victory was decisive; but not half
so many of the enemy were slain as before, because fewer sur-
vived to fight. But this family, which possessed a natural
talent at renewing war and restoring its effects, in a short
time recruited their army, Mago having been sent by his bro-
ther to press soldiers, and assumed courage to try the issue of
a fresh struggle. Though the soldiers were for the most part
different, yet as they fought in a cause which had so often been
unsuccessful within the space of a few days, they carried into
the field the same state of mind as those which had been en-
gaged before, and the issue of the battle was similar. More
than eight thousand were slain, not much less than a thousand
captured, with fifty-eight military standards. The greater
part of the spoils had belonged to the Gauls, consisting of
golden chains and bracelets in great numbers. Also two dis-
tinguished Gallic petty princes, whose names were Moenicap-
tus and Civismarus, fell in this battle. Eight elephants were
captured and three slain. When affairs went on so prosper-
ously in Spain, the Romans began to feel ashamed that Sa-
guntum, on account of which the war had originated, should
continue for now the eighth year in the power of the enemy.
Accordingly, having expelled by force the Carthaginian gar-
rison, they retook that town, and restored it to such of the
ancient inhabitants as had survived the fury of the war. The
Turditanians also, who had been the cause of the war between
that people and the Carthaginians, they reduced under their
power, sold them as slaves, and razed their city.

43. Such were the achievements in Spain during the con-948

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIY. CHAP. 44,

sulate of Quintus Fabius and Marcus Claudius. At Rome,
as soon as the new plebeian tribunes entered upon their office,
Lucius Metellus, a plebeian tribune, immediately appointed a
day for impleading the censors, Publius Furius and Marcus
Atilius, before the people. In the preceding year, when he
was quaestor, they had deprived him of his horse, removed him
from his tribe, and disfranchised him, on account of the con-
spiracy entered into at Cannae to abandon Italy. But being
aided by the other nine tribunes, they were forbidden to an-
swer while in office, and were discharged. The death of Pub-
lius Furius prevented their completing the lustrum. Marcus
Atilius abdicated his office. An assembly for the election of
consuls was held by Quintus Fabius Maximus. The consuls
elected were Quintus Fabius Maximus, son of the consul, and
Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus a second time, both being ab-
sent. The praetors appointed were Marcus Atilius, and the
two curule aediles, Publius Sempronius Tuditanus and Cneius
Fulvius Centumalus, together with Marcus iEmilius Lepidus.
It is recorded, that the scenic games were this year, for the
first time, celebrated for four days by the curule aediles. The
aedile Tuditanus was the man who made his way through
the midst of the enemy at Cannae when all the rest were
paralysed with fear, in consequence of that dreadful calamity.
As soon as the elections were completed, the consuls elect
having been summoned to Rome, at the instance of Quintus
Fabius, the consul, entered upon their office, and took the
sense of the senate respecting the war, their own provinces
as well as those of the praetors, and also respecting the armies
to be employed, and which each of them was to command.

44. The provinces and armies were thus distributed: the
prosecution of the war with Hannibal was given to the con-
suls, and of the armies, one which Sempronius himself had
commanded, and another which the consul Fabius had com-
manded, each consisting of two legions. Marcus iEmilius, the
prcetor, who had the foreign jurisdiction, was to have Luceria
as his province, with the two legions which Quintus Fabius,
then consul, had commanded as praetor, his colleague, Marcus
Atilius, the city praetor, undertaking the duties of his office.
The province of Ariminum fell to the lot of Publius Sempro-
nius, that of Suessula to Cneius Fulvius, with two legions
each likewise; Fulvius taking with him the city legions;Y. R. 539.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

949

Tuditanus receiving his from Manius Pomponius. The fol-
lowing generals were continued in command, and their pro-
vinces assigned to them thus: to Marcus Claudius, so much
of Sicily as lay within the limits of the kingdom of Hiero ; to
Lentulus, the proprietor, the old province in that island; to
Titus Otacilius, the fleet; no additional troops were assigned
to them. Marcus Valerius had Greece and Macedonia, with
the legion and the fleet which he had there; Quintus Mucius
had Sardinia, with his old army, consisting of two legions;
Caius Terentius, Picenum, with one legion which he then
commanded. Besides, orders were given to enlist two legions
for the city, and twenty thousand men from the allies. With
these leaders and these forces did they fortify the Roman em-
pire against the many wars which had either actually broken
out, or were suspected at one and the same time. After en-
listing the city legions and raising troops to make up the
numbers of the others, the consuls, before they quitted the
city, expiated the prodigies which were reported. A wall
and a gate had been struck by lightning; and at Aricia even
the temple of Jupiter had been struck by lightning. Other
illusions of the eyes and ears were credited as realities. An
appearance as of ships had been seen in the river at Tarracina,
when there were none there. A clashing of arms was heard
in the temple of Jupiter Vidimus, in the territory of Compsa;
and a river at Amiternum had flowed bloody. These pro-
digies having been expiated according to a decree of the pon-
tiffs, the consuls set out, Sempronius for Lucania, Fabius for
Apulia. The father of the latter came into the camp at Sues-
sula, as his lieutenant-general; and when the son advanced
to meet him, the lictors, out of respect for his dignity, went
on in silence. The old man rode past eleven of the fasces,
when the consul ordered the lictor nearest to him to take care
and he called to him to dismount; then at length dismount*
ing, he exclaimed, "I wished to try, my son, whether you
were duly sensible that you are a consul."

45. To this camp came Dasius Altinius of Arpi privately
and by night, attended by three slaves, with a promise that ii
he should receive a reward for it, he would engage to betray
Arpi to them. Fabius having laid the matter before a coun-
cil, some were of opinion that " he ought to be scourged and
put to death as a deserter, as a man of unstable mind, and a950

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIV. CHAP. 45

common enemy to both sides; who, after the defeat at Cannae,
had gone over to Hannibal and drawn Arpi into revolt, as if
it were right that a man's fidelity should vary according to
the fluctuations of fortune; and who now, when the Roman
cause, contrary to his hopes and wishes, was as it were rising
up again, would seem to aggravate his baseness by recom-
pensing those whom he had formerly betrayed, by fresh be-
trayal. That a man whose custom it was to espouse one side,
while his heart was on another, was unworthy of confidence
as an ally, and contemptible as an enemy; that he ought to
be made a third example to deserters, in addition to the be-
trayers of Falerii and Pyrrhus." On the other hand, Fabius,
the father of the consul, observed, that, " forgetful of circum-
stances, men were apt to exercise a free judgment on every
question in the heat of war, as in time of peace; for though
in the present instance that which ought rather to form the
object of their endeavours and to occupy their thoughts, is by
what means it may be brought about that none of the allies
may revolt from the Roman people, yet that they never think
of; but, on the contrary, they urge that an example ought to
be made of any who might repent and look back upon their
former alliance. But if it is allowable to forsake the Romans,
and not allowable to return to them, who can doubt but that
in a short time the Romans, deserted by their allies, will see
every state in Italy united in leagues with the Carthaginians.
Not, however, that he was of opinion that any confidence was
to be reposed in Altinius, but he would invent some middle
course of proceeding. Treating him neither as an enemy nor
as a friend for the present, his wish was, that he should be
kept during the war in some city whose fidelity could be re-
lied on, at a short distance from the camp, in a state of easy
restraint; and that when the war was concluded, they should
then deliberate whether he more deserved to be punished for
his former defection, or pardoned for his present return."
The opinion of Fabius was approved of. Altinius was bound
in chains and given into custody, together with his com-
panions, and a large quantity of gold which he brought with
him was ordered to be kept for him. He was kept at Cales,
where, during the day, he was unconfined, but attended by
guards who locked him up at night. He was first missed and
inquired for at his house at Arpi, .but afterwards, when theY. R. 539.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

951

report of his absence had spread through the city, a violent
sensation was excited, as if they had lost their leader, and,
from the apprehension of some attempt to alter the present
state of things, messengers were immediately despatched to
Hannibal. With this the Carthaginian was far from being
displeased, both because he had long regarded the man him-
self with suspicion, as one of doubtful fidelity, and because he
had now been lucky enough to get a pretext for possessing
himself of the property of so wealthy a person. But that the
world might suppose that he had yielded to resentment more
than to avarice, he added cruelty to rapacity; for he sum-
moned his wife and children to the camp, and after having
made inquiry, first, respecting the flight of Altinius, and
then, touching the quantity of gold and silver which was left
at his house, and informed himself on all these points, he
burned them alive.

46. Fabius, setting out from Suessula, first set about the
siege of Arpi; and having pitched his camp about half a mile
from it, he took a near view of the site and walls of the city,
and resolved to attack it, in preference, in that quarter where
it was most secured by works, and where the least care was
taken in guarding it. After getting all things together which
could be of use in besieging a city, he selected the most
efficient of the centurions out of the whole army, placing
them under the command of tribunes of approved valour, and
giving them six hundred soldiers, a number which was thought
sufficient for the purpose. These he ordered to bring the
scaling ladders to the place which he had marked out, as soon
as the signal of the fourth watch had sounded. In this part
there was a low and narrow gate, opening into a street which
was little frequented, and which led through a deserted part
of the city. He ordered them, after scaling the wall, to pro-
ceed to this gate, and break down the bars on the inside by
force; and when they were in possession of that part of the
city, to give a signal with a cornet, that the rest of the troops
might be brought up, observing, that he would have every
thing prepared and ready. These orders were executed
promptly; and that which seemed likely to impede their
operations, served more than any thing to conceal them. A
shower of rain, which came on suddenly at midnight, com-
pelled the guards and watches to slip away from their posts952

THE HISTORY OF ROME. 113. XXIV. CHAP. 47.

and take shelter in the houses ; and the noise of the shower,
which was somewhat copious, at first prevented their hearing
that which was made by the men in breaking open the gate.
Afterwards, when it fell upon the ear more gently and uni-
formly, it lulled a great number of the men to sleep. After
they had secured possession of the gate, they placed cornet -
players in the street at equal distances, and desired them to
sound, in order to call the consul. This being done accord-
ing to the plan previously agreed upon, the consul ordered
the troops to march, and a little before daylight entered the
city through the broken gate.

47. Then at length the enemy were roused, the shower
was now subsiding, and daylight coming on. Hannibal had
a garrison of about five thousand armed men in the city, and
the inhabitants themselves had three thousand men in arms;
these the Carthaginians placed in front against the enemy, to
guard against any treachery on their rear. The fight was
carried on at first in the dark, and in the narrow streets, the
Romans having seized not only the streets, but the houses
also nearest the gate, that they might not be struck or wound-
ed by any thing discharged at them from above. Some of
the Arpinians and Romans recognised each other, which led
to conversations, in which the Romans asked them, what it
was they meant ? for what offence on the part of the Romans,
or what service on that ot the Carthaginians, they, who were
Italians, made war in favour of foreigners and barbarians,
against their ancient allies the Romans, and endeavoured to
render Italy tributary and stipendiary to Africa? The Ar-
pinians urged in excuse of themselves, that in ignorance of
all the circumstances, they had been sold to the Carthaginians
by their nobility, and that they were kept in a state of thral-
dom and oppression by the few. A beginning having been
made, greater numbers on both sides entered into conversa-
tion ; and at length the praetor of Arpi was brought by his
countrymen before the consul, and after exchanging assurances
in the midst of the standards and the troops, the Arpinians
suddenly turned their arms against the Carthaginians, in
favour of the Romans. Some Spaniards also, little less than
a thousand in number, after only stipulating with the consul
that the Carthaginian garrison might be allowed to march out
unhurt, passed over to the consul. The gates were thereforeY. R. 539.J

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

953

thrown open for the Carthaginians; and being allowed to go
out unmolested, in conformity with the stipulation, they joined
Hannibal in Salapia. Thus was Arpi restored to the Romans,
without the loss of a life, except that of one man, who was
formerly a traitor, and recently a deserter. The Spaniards
were ordered to receive a double allowance of provisions, and
on very many occasions the republic availed itself of their
brave and faithful services. While one of the consuls was in
Apulia, and the other in Lucania, a hundred and twelve Cam-
panian noblemen, having gone out of Capua, with the per-
mission of the magistrates, under pretence of collecting booty
from the enemy's lands, came into the Roman camp, which
lay above Suessula. They told the soldiers, forming the van-
guard, that they wished to speak with the praetor. Cneius
Fulvius commanded the camp; who, on being informed of
the circumstance, ordered ten of them to be brought into his
presence unarmed; and after hearing their request, (and all
they asked was, that when the Romans should recover Capua,
their property might be restored to them,) they were all re-
ceived under his protection. The other praetor, Sempronius
Tuditanus, took by force the town of Aternum; more than
seven thousand were captured, with a considerable quantity
of coined brass and silver. A dreadful fire happened at
Rome, which continued for two nights and a day; every thing
was burnt to the ground between the Salinae and the Car-
mental gate, with the JEquimaelium and the Jugarian street.
In the temples of Fortune, Mater Matuta, and Hope, which
latter stood without the gate, the fire, spreading to a wide ex-
tent, consumed much both sacred and profane.

48. The same year, the two Cornelii, Publius and Cneius,
as affairs were now in a prosperous state in Spain, and they
had recovered many ancient allies, and attached fresh ones to
them, extended their views even to Africa. Syphax was a
king of the Numidians, who had suddenly become hostile to
the Carthaginians; to him they sent three centurions as am-
bassadors, to form a treaty of friendship and alliance with
him; and to promise, that, if he persevered in pressing the
war against the Carthaginians, he would render an acceptable
service to the senate and people of Rome, and they would en-
deavour to requite the favour with large additions, and at a
seasonable time. This embassy was gratifying to the bar-
barian ; and when conversing with the ambassadors- on the954

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXIV. CHAP. 48.

art of war he, heard the observations of those experienced
soldiers, by comparing his own practice with so regular a sys-
tem of discipline, he became sensible of how many things he
himself was ignorant. Then he entreated them to give the
first proof of their being good and faithful allies, " by letting
two of them carry back the result of their embassy to their
generals, while one remained with him as his instructor in
military science, observing that the Numidian nation were
unacquainted with the method of carrying on war with foot
forces, being useful only as mounted soldiers. That it was in
this manner that their ancestors had carried on war even from
the first origin of their nation, and to this they were habituated
from their childhood. But that they had to contend with an
enemy who relied upon the pi-owess of their infantry; with
whom, if they wished to be placed upon an equality in respect
of efficient strength, they must also furnish themselves with
infantry. That his dominions abounded with a large quantity
of men fit for the purpose, but that he was unacquainted with
the art of arming, equipping, and marshalling them; that all
his infantry were unwieldy and unmanageable, like a rabble
collected together by chance." The ambassadors answered,
that they would comply with his request for the present, on
his engaging to send him back immediately, if their generals
did not approve of what they had done. The name of the
person who staid behind with the king was Quintus Statorius.
With the two other Romans, the Numidian sent ambassadors
into Spain, to receive the ratification of the alliance from the
Roman generals. He gave it in charge to the same persons,
forthwith to induce the Numidians, who were serving as
auxiliaries among the Carthaginian troops, to go over to the
other side. Statorius raised a body of infantry for the king
out of the large number of young men which he found; and
having formed them into companies, in close imitation of the
Roman method, taught them to follow their standards and
keep their ranks when being marshalled, and when perform-
ing their evolutions; and he so habituated them to military
works and other military duties, that in a short time the king
relied not more on his cavalry than on his infantry; and in a
regular and pitched battle, fought on a level plain, he over-
came his enemies, the Carthaginians. In Spain also the ar-
rival of the king's ambassadors was of the greatest advantage
to the Romans, for at the news thereof the Numidians begany. it. 539.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

9 55

rapidly to pass over. Thus the Romans and Syphax were
united in friendship, which the Carthaginians hearing of, im-
mediately sent ambassadors to Gala, who reigned in another
part of Numidia, over a nation called Massylians.

49. Gala had a son named Masinissa, seventeen years of
age, but a youth of such talents, that even at that time it was
evident that he would render the kingdom more extensivet
and powerful than when he received it. The ambassadors
represented that, " since Syphax had united himself with the
Romans, that by their alliance he might strengthen his hands
against the kings and nations of Africa, it would be better for
Gala also to unite with the Carthaginians as soon as possible,
before Syphax crossed over into Spain, or the Romans into
Africa; that Syphax might be overpowered, while as yet he
derived nothing from his league with the Romans but the
name of it." Gala, his son claiming to be intrusted with the
conduct of the war, was easily prevailed upon to send an
army, which, joined by the legions of the Carthaginians, to-
tally defeated Syphax in a great battle. In this thirty thou-
sand men are said to have been slain. Syphax, with a few
horsemen, fled from the field, and took refuge among the
Maurusian Numidians, a nation dwelling at the extremity ot
Africa, near the ocean, and over against Gades. But the bar-
barians flocking to his standard from all sides, in consequence
of his great renown, he speedily armed a very large force.
Before he passed over with these forces into Spain, which
was separated only by a narrow strait, Masinissa came up
with his victorious army; and here he acquired great glory
in the prosecution of the war with Syphax, in which he acted
alone and unsupported by any aid from the Carthaginians, In
Spain nothing worth mentioning was performed, except that
the Romans drew over to their side the Celtiberian youth, by
giving them the same pay which they had stipulated with the
Carthaginians to pay them. They also sent above three hun-
dred Spaniards of the greatest distinction into Italy, to bring
over their countrymen, who served among the auxiliary troops
of Hannibal. The only memorable circumstance of this year
in Spain was, that the Romans then, for the first time, em-
ployed mercenary troops in their camp, namely, the Celtibe-
rians.BOOK XXV.

Publins Cornelius Scipio, afterwards called Africanus, elected cedile before
he had attained the age required by the law. The citadel of Tarentum,
in which the Roman garrison had taken refuge, betrayed to Hannibal.
Games instituted in honour of Apollo, called Apollinarian. Quintus Ful-
vius and Appius Claudius, consuls, defeat Hanno the Carthaginian ge-
neral. Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus betrayed by a Lucanian to Mago,
and slain. Centenius Penula, who had been a centurion, as&s the senate
for the command of an army, promising to engage and vanquish Han-
nibal; is cut off with eight thousand men. Cneius Fulvius engages Han-
nibal; and is beaten,	foss of sixteen thousand men slain; he
himself escapes with only two hundred horsemen. Quintus Fulvius and
Appius Claudius, consuls, fey to Capua. Syracuse taken by Clau-
dius Marcellus after a siege of three years. In the tumult occasioned by
taking the city, Archimedes is killed while intently occupied on some
figures lohich he had drawn in the sand. Publius and Cornelius Scipio,
after having performed many eminent services in Spain, are slain, toge-
ther icith nearly the whole of their armies, eight years after their arrival
in that country ; and the possession of that province would have been en-
tirely lost, but for the valour and activity of Lucius Marcius, a Roman
knight, who, collecting the scattered remains of the vanquished armies,
utterly defeats the enemy ; storming their two camps, killing thirty-seven
thousand of them, and taking eighteen hundred together with an im-
mense booty.

1. Hannibal passed the summer during which these events
occurred in Africa and Italy, in the Tarentine territory, with
the hope of having the city of the Tarentines betrayed to him.
Meanwhile some inconsiderable towns belonging to them, and
to the Sallentines, revolted to him. At the same time, of the
twelve states of the Bruttians, which had in a former year
gone over to the Carthaginians, the Consentians and Thurians
returned to the protection of the Roman people. And more
would have done the same, had not Titus Pomponius Veien-
tanus, praefect of the allies, having acquired the appearance
of a regular general, in consequence of several successful pre-
datory expeditions in the Bruttian territory, got together a
tumultuary band, and fought a battle with Hanno. In that
battle, a great number of men, consisting, however, of a dis-
orderly rabble of slaves and rustics, were slain or captured.
The least part of the loss was, that the praefect himself was
taken prisoner; for he was not only in the present instance
guilty of having rashly engaged the enemy, but previously, inY. R. 539.]	THE HISTORY OF ROME.	957

the capacity of farmer of thevrevenue, by iniquitous practices
of every description, had shown himself faithless and injurious
to the state, as well as the companies. Among the Lucanians,
the consul, Sempronius, fought several small battles, but none
worthy of being recorded; he also took several inconsiderable
towns. In proportion as the war was protracted, and the
sentiments no less than the circumstances of men fluctuated
accordingly as events flowed prosperously or otherwise, the
citizens were seized with such a passion for superstitious ob-
servances, and those for the most part introduced from foreign
countries, that either the people or the gods appeared to have
undergone a sudden change. And now the Roman rites were
growing into disuse, not only in private, and within doors, but
in public also ; in the forum and Capitol there were crowds of
women sacrificing, and offering up prayers to the gods, in
modes unusual in that country. A low order of sacriflcers
and soothsayers had enslaved men's understandings, and the
numbers of these were increased by the country people, whom
want and terror had driven into the city, from the fields which
had lain uncultivated during a protracted war, and had suf-
fered from the incursions of the enemy, and by the profitable
trading in the ignorance of others which they carried on like
an allowed and customary trade. At first, good men gave
utterance in private to the indignation they felt at these pro-
ceedings ; but aftei'wards the thing came before the fathers,
and formed a matter of public complaint. The gediles and
triumviri, appointed for the execution of criminals, were se-
verely reprimanded by the senate for not preventing these
irregularities ; but when they attempted to remove the crowd
of persons thus employed from the forum, and to overthrow
their preparations for their sacred rites, they narrowly escaped
personal injury. It being now evident, that the evil was toe
powerful to be checked by inferior magistrates, the senate
commissioned Marcus Atilius, the city prastor, to rid the
people of these superstitions. He called an assembly, in
which he read the decree of "the senate, and gave notice, that
all persons who had any books of divination, or forms of
prayer, or any written system of sacrificing, should lay all the
aforesaid books and writings before him before the calends
of April; and that no person should sacrifice in any public
or consecrated place according to new or foreign rites.958

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXV. CHAP. 2, &

2.	Several of the public priests too died this year: Lucius
Cornelius Lentulus, chief pontiff, Caius Papirius Maso, son of
Caius, a pontiff, Publius Furius Philo, an augur, and Caius
Papirius Maso, son of Lucius, a decemvir for the superintend-
ence of sacred rites. In lieu of Lentulus, Marcus Cornelius
Cethegus, in lieu of Papirius Cnaeius, Servilius Caepio, were
created pontiffs. Lucius Quinctius Flaminius was created
augur, and Lucius Cornelius Lentulus decemvir for the super-
intendence of sacred rites. The time for the election of con-
suls was now approaching; but as it was not thought proper
to call the consuls away from the war with which they were
intently occupied, Tiberius Sempronius, the consul, nominated
Caius Claudius Centho as dictator to hold the election. He
appointed Quintus Fulvius Flaccus as his master of the horse.
On the first day on which the election could be held, the dic-
tator appointed as consuls, Quintus Fulvius Flaccus, his master
of the horse, and Appius Claudius Pulcher, who had held the
government of Sicily as praetor. The praetors created were
Cneius Fulvius Flaccus, Caius Claudius Nero, Marcus Junius
Silanus, Publius Cornelius Sulla. The election completed,
the dictator retired from his office. This year, Publius Cor-
nelius Scipio, afterwards surnamed Africanus, held the office
of curule asdile, with Marcus Cornelius Cethegus; and when
the tribunes of the people opposed his pretensions to the
aedileship, alleging, that no notice ought to be taken of him,
because he had not attained the legal age for candidateship, he
observed, " if the citizens in general are desirous of appointing
me eedile, I am old enough." Upon this the people ran to
their respective tribes to give their votes, with feelings so
strongly disposed in his favour, that the tribunes on a sudden
abandoned their attempt. The largesses bestowed by the
asdiles were the following : the Pom an games were sumptuously
exhibited, considering the present state of their resources ;
they were repeated daring one day, and a gallon of oil was
given to each street. Lucius Villius Tapulus, and Marcus
Fundanius Fundulus, the plebeian aediles, accused some ma-
trons of misconduct before the people, and some of them they
convicted and sent into exile. The plebeian games were re-
peated during two days, and a feast in honour of Jupiter was
celebrated on occasion of the games.

3.	Quintus Fulvius Flaccus, for the third time, and AppiusY. it. 540. J

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

959

Claudius entered upon the office of consuls. The praetors
determined their provinces by lot. Publius Cornelius Sulla
received both the city and the foreign jurisdiction, formerly
allotted to two persons; Cneius Fulvius Flaccus, Apulia,
Caius Claudius Nero, Suessula, and Marcus Junius Silanus,
Tuscany. To the consuls the conduct of the war with Han-
nibal was decreed with two legions each; one taking the
troops of Quintus Fabius, the consul of the former year, the
other those of Fulvius Centumalus. Of the praetors, Fulvius
Flaccus was to have the legions which were in Luceria under
.ZEmilius the praetor, Nero Claudius those in Picenum under
Caius Terentius; each raising recruits for himself to fill up
the number of his troops. To Marcus Junius the city legions
of the former year were assigned, to be employed against the
Tuscans. Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus and Publius Sem-
pronius Tuditanus were continued in command in their pro-
vinces of Lucania and Gaul with the armies they had, as was
also Publius Lentulus in that part of Sicily which formed the
ancient Roman province. Marcus Marcellus had Syracuse,
and that which was the kingdom of Hiero. Titus Otacilius
was continued in the command of the fleet, Marcus Valerius
in that of Greece, Quintus Mucius Scasvola in that of Sar-
dinia. The Cornelii, Publius and Cneius, were continued in
the command of Spain. In addition to the armies already
existing, two legions for the service -of the city were levied
by the consuls, and a total of twenty-three legions was made
up this year. The levy of the consuls was impeded by the
conduct of Marcus Posthumius Pyrgensis, almost accompanied
with a serious disturbance. Posthumius was a farmer of the
revenue, who, for knavery and rapacity, practised through a
course of many years, had no equal except Titus Pomponius
Yeientanus, who had been taken prisoner the former year by
the Carthaginians under the conduct of Hanno, while care-
lessly ravaging the lands in Lucania. As the state had taken
upon itself the risk of any loss which might arise from storms
to the commodities conveyed to the armies, not only had these
two men fabricated false accounts of shipwrecks, but even
those which had really occurred were occasioned by their own
knavery, and not by accident. Their plan was to put a few
goods of little value into old and shattered vessels, which they
sank in the deep, taking up the sailors in boats prepared for

3 Q960

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXV. CHAP, 4.

the purpose, and then returning falsely the cargo as many
times more valuable than it was. This fraudulent practice
had been pointed out to Marcus Atilius, the praetor in a for-
mer year, who had communicated it to the senate; no decree,
however, had been passed censuring it, because the fathers
were unwilling that any offence should be given to the order
of revenue farmers while affairs were in such a state. The
people were severer avengers of the fraud; and at length
two tribunes of the people, Spurius and Lucius Carvilius, be-
ing moved to take some active measure, as they saw that this
conduct excited universal disgust, and had become notorious,
proposed that a fine of two hundred thousand asses should be
imposed on Marcus Posthumius. When the day arrived for
arguing the question, the people assembled in such numbers,
that the area of the Capitol could scarcely contain them; and
the cause having been gone through, the only hope of safety
which presented itself was, that Caius Servilius Casca, a tri-
bune of the people, a connexion and relation of Posthumius,
should interpose his protest before the tribes were called to
give their votes. The witnesses having been produced, the
tribunes caused the people to withdraw, and the urn was
brought, in order that the tribes should draw lots which
should give the vote first. Meanwhile, the farmers of the
revenue urged Casca to stop the proceedings for that day.
The people, however, loudly opposed it; and Casca happened
to be sitting on the most prominent part of the rostrum,
whose mind fear and shame were jointly agitating. Seeing
that no dependence was to be placed in him for protection,
the farmers of the revenue, forming themselves into a wedge,
rushed into the void space occasioned by the removal of the
people for the purpose of causing disturbance, wrangling at
the same time with the people and the tribunes. The af-
fair had now almost proceeded to violence, when Fulvius
Flaccus, the consul, addressing the tribunes, said, "Do you
not see that you are degraded to the common rank, and that
an insurrection will be the result, unless you speedily dismiss
the assembly of the commons."

4. The commons being dismissed, the senate was assem-
bled, when the consuls proposed the consideration of the in-
terruption experienced by the assembly of the commons, in
consequence of the violence and audacity of the farmers of ther. r. 540.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

961

revenue. They said, that " Marcus Furius Camillus, whose
banishment was followed by the downfal of the city, had suf-
fered himself to be condemned by his exasperated country-
men. That before him, the decemviri, according to whose
laws they lived up to the present day, and afterwards many
men of the first rank in the state, had submitted to have sen-
tence passed upon them by the people. But Posthumius
Pyrgensis had wrested from the Roman people their right of
suffrage, had dissolved the assembly of the commons, had set
at nought the authority of the tribunes, had drawn up a body
of men in battle-array against the Roman people ; and seized
upon a post, in order to cut off the tribunes from the com-
mons, and prevent the tribes being called to give their votes.
That the only thing which had restrained the people from
bloodshed and violence, was the forbearance of the magistrates
in giving way for the moment to the fury and audacity of a
few individuals, and suffering themselves and the Roman peo-
ple to be overcome; and that no opportunity might be afforded
those who were seeking an occasion of violence, in dissolving,
agreeably to the wish of the defendant himself, that assembly
which he was about to interrupt by force of arms." Observ-
ations of this kind having been urged with a warmth propor-
tioned to the atrocity of the conduct which called them forth,
by all the most respectable persons, and the senate having
passed a decree to the effect that the violence offered was pre-
judicial to the state, and a precedent of pernicious tendency,
immediately the Carvilii, tribunes of the people, giving up
the action for a fine, appointed a day on which Posthumius
should be tried capitally, and ordered, that unless he gave
bail, he should be apprehended by the beadle, and carried to
prison. Posthumius gave bail, but did not appear. The tri-
bunes then proposed to the commons, and the commons re-
solved, that if Marcus Posthumius did not appear before the
calends of May, and if on being cited on that day he did not
answer, and sufficient cause were not shown why he did not,
he would be adjudged an exile, his goods would be sold, and
himself interdicted from water and fire. They then proceeded
to indict capitally, and demand bail of each of the persons
who had been the promoters of the disorder and riot. At
first they threw into prison those who d^d not give bail, and
afterwards even such as could; upon which the greater part

3 q 2962

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXY. CHAP. 5.

of them went into exile, to avoid the danger to which this
proceeding exposed them.

5. The knavery of the revenue farmers, and their subse-
quent audacious conduct to screen themselves from its effects,
thus terminated. An assembly was then held for the creation
of a chief pontiff. The new pontiff, Marcus Cornelius Cethe-
gus, presided. The election was contested with the greatest
obstinacy by three candidates, Quintus Fulvius Flaccus, the
consul, who had been twice consul before and censor; Titus
Manlius Torquatus, who had himself also been distinguished
by two consulships and the censorship; and Publius Licinius
Cra&sus, who was about to stand for the office of curule sedile.
In this contest, the last-mentioned candidate, though a young
man, beat the others, who were his superiors in years, and had
filled offices of honour. Before him there had not been a man
for a hundred and twenty years, except Publius Cornelius
Calussa, who had been created chief pontiff without having
sat in the curule chair. Though the consuls found great dif-
ficulty in completing the levy, for in consequence of the
scarcity of young men, it was not easy to procure enough for
the two purposes of forming the new city legions, and recruit-
ing the old ones, the senate forbade them to desist from the
attempt, and ordered two triumvirates to be appointed, one of
which within, the other without the fiftieth mile from the city,
might ascertain the utmost number of free-born men which
were to be found in the villages, and market towns, and ham-
lets, and enlist whom they thought strong enough to bear
arms, though they had not attained the military age. That
the tribunes of the people, if they thought proper, should pro-
pose to the people, that such as should take the military oath
being under seventeen years, should be allowed to reckon
their period of service in the same manner as if they had en-
listed at seventeen or older. The two triumvirates, created
agreeably to this decree of the senate, enlisted free-born men
throughout the country. At the same time a letter from
Marcellus from Sicily, respecting the petition of the troops
who served with Publius Lentulus, was read in the senate."
These troops were the relics of the disaster at Cannae, and
had been sent out of the way into Sicily, as has been men-
tioned before, on an understanding that they should not be
brought home before the conclusion of the Carthaginian war.V. R. 540.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

963

6. With the permission of Lentulus, these men sent the
most distinguished of the cavalry and centurions, and a select
body of the legionary infantry, as ambassadors to Marcellus,
to his winter quarters. Having obtained leave to speak, one
of them thus addressed him: "We should have approached
you, Marcus Marcellus, when consul in Italy, as soon as that
decree of the senate was passed respecting us, which, though
not unjust, was certainly severe, had we not hoped, that be-
ing sent into a province which was in a state of disorder in
consequence of the death of its kings, to carry on. an arduous
war against the Sicilians and Carthaginians together, we
should make atonement to the state by our blood and wounds,
in the same manner as, within the memory of our fathers,
those who were taken prisoners by Pyrrhus at Heraclea,
made atonement by fighting against the same Pyrrhus. And
yet, for what fault of ours, conscript fathers, did you then, or
do you now, feel displeasure towards us; for when I look upon
you, Marcus Marcellus, I seem to behold both the consuls and
the whole body of the senate; and had you been our consul
at Cannge, a better fate would have attended the state as well
as ourselves. Permit me, I entreat you, before I complain of
the hardship of our situation, to clear ourselves of the guilt
with which we are charged. If it was neither by the anger
of the gods, nor by fate, according to whose laws the course
of human affairs is unalterably fixed, but by misconduct that
we were undone at Cannae; but whose was that misconduct;
the soldiers', or that of their generals ? For my own part, I,
as a soldier, will never say a word of my commander, par-
ticularly when I know that he received the thanks of the
senate for not having despaired of the state; and who has
been continued in command through every year since his
flight from Cannse. We have heard that others also who sur-
vived that disaster, who were military tribunes, solicit and fill
offices of honour, and have the command of provinces. Do
you then, conscript fathers, pardon yourselves and your chil-
dren, while you exercise severity towards such insignificant
persons as we are ? It was no disgrace to a consul and other
leading persons in the state, to fly when no other hope re-
mained ; and did you send your soldiers into the field as per-
sons iwho must of necessity die there ? At the Allia nearly
the whole army fled; at the Caudine Forks the troops de-964

THE HISTORY OP ROME. [B. XXY. CHAP. 6.

livered up their arms to the enemy, without even making an
effort; not to mention other disgraceful defeats of our armies.
Yet, so far from any mark of infamy being sought for, which
might be fixed upon these troops, the city of Rome was re-
covered by means of those very troops who had fled to Yeii
from the Allia; and the Caudine legions, which had returned
to Rome without their arms, being sent back armed to Sam-
nium, brought under the yoke that very enemy who had ex-
ulted in the disgrace which, in this instance, attached to them.
But i3 there a man who can bring a charge of cowardice or
running away against the army which fought at Cannae, where
more than fifty thousand men fell; from whence the consul
fled with only seventy horsemen; where not a man survived,
except perchance those whom the enemy left, being wearied
with killing? When the proposal to ransom the prisoners
was negatived, we were the objects of general commendation,
because we reserved ourselves for the service of the state;
because we returned to the consul to Yenusia, and exhibited
an appearance of a regular army. Now we are in a worse
Condition than those who were taken prisoners in the time of
our fathers; for they only had their arms, the nature of their
service, and the place where they might pitch their tents in
the camp altered; all which, however, they got restored by one
service rendered to the state, and by one successful battle.
Not one of them was sent away into banishment; not one
was deprived of the hope of completing the period of his ser-
vice ; in short, an enemy was assigned to them, fighting with
whom they might at once terminate their life or their disgrace.
We, to whom nothing can be objected, except that it is owing
to us that any Roman soldier has survived the battle of
Cannae, are removed far away, not only from our country and
Italy, but even from an enemy; where we may grow old in
exile, where we can have no hope or opportunity of ob-
literating our disgrace, of appeasing the indignation of our
countrymen, or, in short, of obtaining an honourable death.
We seek neither to have our ignominy terminated, nor our
virtue rewarded, we only ask to be allowed to make trial of
our courage, and to exercise our virtue. We seek for labour
and danger that we may discharge the duty of men and
soldiers. A war is carrying on in Sicily, now for the second
year, with the utmost vigour on both sides. The Cartha-Y. it. 540.J

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

965

ginians are storming some cities, the Eomans others; armies
of infantry and horse are engaging in battle ; at Syracuse the
war is prosecuted by sea and by land. We hear distinctly
the shout of the combatants, and the din of arms, while we
ourselves lie inactive and unemployed, as if we had neither
hands nor arms. The consul, Sempronius, has now fought
many pitched battles with the enemy with legions of slaves.
They receive as the fruits of their exertion their liberty, and
the rights of citizens. Let us at least be employed by you
as slaves purchased for the service of this war; let us be
allowed to combat with the enemy and acquire our freedom
by fighting. Do you wish to make trial of our valour by
sea, by land, in a pitched battle, or in the assault of towns ?
We ask as our portion all those enterprises which present the
greatest difficulty and danger, that what ought to have been
done at Cannae may be done as soon as possible ; for the whole
of our subsequent lives has been doomed to ignominy."

7. At the conclusion of this speech they prostrated them-
selves at the knees of Marcellus. Marcellus replied, that the
question was neither within his authority nor his power; that
he would, however, write to the senate, and be guided in
every thing he did by the judgment of the fathers. This
letter was brought to the new consuls, and by them read in
the senate; and, on the question being put relative to this
letter, they decreed, " that the senate saw no reason why the
interests of the republic should be intrusted to the hands of
soldiers who had deserted their comrades, in battle, at Cannae.
If Marcus Marcellus, the proconsul, thought otherwise, that
he should act as he deemed consistent with the good of the
republic and his own honour; with this proviso, however,
that none of these men should be exempt from service, nor
be presented with any military reward in consideration of
valour, or be conveyed back to Italy, while the enemy was in
that country." After this, agreeably to the decree of the
senate, and the order of the people, an election was held by
the city praetor, at which five commissioners were created for
the purpose of repairing the walls and turrets, and two sets
of triumviri; one to search for the property belonging to the
temples, and to register the offerings; the other for repairing
the temples of Fortune and Mother Matuta within the Car-
mental gate, and also that of Hope without the gate, which966

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXY. CHAP. 8

had been destroyed by fire the year before. Dreadful storms
occurred at this time. It rained stones for two days without
intermission in the Alban mount. Many places were struck
by lightning; two buildings in the Capitol, the rampart in
the camp above Suessula in many places, and two of the men
on guard were killed. A wall and certain towers at Cumae
were not only struck with lightning, but demolished. At
Reate, a vast rock was seen to fly about; the sun appeared
unusually red and blood-like. On account of these prodigies
there was a supplication for one day, and the consuls employed
themselves for several days in sacred rites; at the same time
there was a sacred rite performed through nine days. An
accidental circumstance which occurred at a distance, hast-
ened the revolt of Tarentum, which had now for a long time
been the object of the hopes of Hannibal and of the suspicion
of the Romans. Phileas, a native of Tarentum, who had
been a long time at Rome under the pretence of an embassy,
being a man of a restless mind, and ill brooking that inac-
tive state in which he considered that his powers had been
for too long a time sinking into imbecility, discovered for
himself a means of access to the Tarentine hostages. They
were kept in the court of the temple of Liberty, and guarded
with less care, because it was neither the interest of them-
selves nor of their state to escape from the Romans. By
corrupting two of the keepers of the temple, he was enabled
to hold frequent conferences with them, at which he solicited
them to come into this design; and having brought them out
of their place of confinement as soon as it was dark, he be-
came the companion of their clandestine flight, and got clear
away. As soon as day dawned, the news of their escape
spread through the city, and a party sent in pursuit, having
seized them all at Tarracina, brought them back. They
were led into the Comitium, and after being scourged with
rods, with the approbation of the people, were thrown down
from the rock.

8. The severity of this punishment exasperated the inha-
bitants of two of the most distinguished Greek states in Italy,
not only publicly as communities, but privately as individuals,
according as each was connected, either by relationship or
friendship, with those who had been so disgracefully put to
death. Of these about thirteen noble Tarentine youths formedY. r. 540.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

967

a conspiracy, the chief of whom were Nico and Philemenus.
Concluding that it would be right to confer with Hannibal
before they took any step, they went to him, having been
allowed to go out of the city by night on pretence of hunting.
When they were now not far from the camp, all the rest hid
themselves in a wood by the road side; but Nico and Phile-
menus, proceeding to the advanced guard, were seized, and at
their own request brought before Hannibal. Having laid be-
fore him the motives of their plan, and the object they had
in view, they received the highest commendation, and were
loaded with promises; and that their countrymen might be-
lieve that they had gone out of the city to obtain plunder,
they were desired to drive to the city some cattle of the Car-
thaginians which had been sent out to graze. A promise was
given them that they might do this without danger or inter-
ruption. The booty of the young men attracted notice, and
less astonishment was therefore felt that they should frequently
repeat the attempt. At a second meeting with Hannibal
they entered into a solemn engagement, that the Tarentines
should be free, enjoying their own laws, and all their rights
uninterfered with; that they should neither pay any tribute
to the Carthaginians, nor receive a garrison against their
will; that their present garrison should be delivered up to
the Carthaginians. These points being agreed upon, Phile-
menus then began to repeat more frequently his customary
practice of going out and returning to the city followed by
his dogs, and furnished with the other requisites for hunting;
for he was remarkable for his fondness of hunting; and gener-
ally bringing home something which he had captured or taken
away from the enemy, who had purposely placed it in his way
he presented it to the commander or the guards of the gates.
They supposed that he preferred going and returning by night
through fear of the enemy. After this practice had become
so familiar, that at whatever time of the night he gave a sig-
nal, by whistling, the gate was opened, Hannibal thought
that it was now time to put the plan in execution. He was
at the distance of three days' journey, and to diminish the
wonder which would be felt at his keeping his camp fixed in
one and the same place so long, he feigned himself ill. Even
to the Romans who formed the garrison of Tarentum, his
protracted inactivity had ceased to be an object of suspicion.968

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXY. CHAP. 9

9. But after he determined to proceed to Tarentum, select-
ing from his infantry and cavalry ten thousand men, whom,
from activity of body, and lightness of arms, he judged best
adapted for the expedition, he began his march in the fourth
watch of the night; and sending in advance about eighty Nu-
midian horsemen, ordered them to scour the country on each
side of the road, and narrowly examine every place, lest any
of the rustics who might have observed his army at a distance
should escape ; to bring back those who were got before, and kill
those whom they met, that they might appear to the neighbour-
ing inhabitants to be a plundering party, rather than a regular
army. Hannibal himself, marching at a rapid pace, pitched
his camp about fifteen miles from Tarentum; and without
telling his soldiers even there, what was their destination, he
only called them together and admonished them to march all
of them in the road, and not to suffer any one to turn aside or
deviate from the line; and above all, that they would be on
the watch, so as to catch the word of command, and not do
any thing without the order of their leaders ; that in due time
he would issue his commands as to what he wished to be done.
About the same hour a rumour reached Tarentum, that a few
ISTumidian horsemen were devastating the fields, and had ter-
rified the rustics through a wide extent of country; at which
intelligence the Roman praefect took no further step than to
order a division of his cavalry to go out the following day at
sunrise to check the depredations of the enemy; and so far
was he from directing his attention to any thing else on this
account, that on the contrary, this excursion of the Numidians
was a proof to him that Hannibal and his army had not moved
from his camp. Early in the night Hannibal put his troops
in motion, and Philemenus, with his customary burden of prey
taken in hunting, was his guide. The rest of the conspirators
waited the accomplishment of what had been concerted; and
the agreement was, that Philemenus, while bringing in his
prey through the small gate by which he was accustomed to
pass, should introduce some armed men, while Hannibal in
another quarter approached the gate called Temenis, which
faced the east, in that quarter which was towards the conti-
nent, near the tombs which were within the walls. When he
drew near to the gate, Hannibal raised a fire according to
agreement, which made a blaze; the same signal was returnedY. R. 540.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

969

by Nico, and the fires were extinguished on both sides. Han-
nibal led his troops on in silence to the gate. Nico suddenly
fell upon the guards while asleep, slew them in their beds,
and opened the gate. Hannibal then entered with his infantry,
ordering his cavalry to stay behind, that they might be able
to bring their assistance wherever it was required without
obstruction. Philemenus also in another quarter approached
the small gate by which he was accustomed to pass and re-
pass. His voice, which was well known, for he said he could
scarcely bear the weight of the huge beast he had gotten, and
his signal, which had now become familiar, having roused the
guard, the small gate was opened. Two youths carrying in a
boar, Philemenus himself followed, with a huntsman, unen-
cumbered, and whil^e the attention of the guard was incau-
tiously turned upon those who carried the boar, in consequence
of its astonishing size, he transfixed him with a hunting spear.
About thirty armed men then entering, slew the rest of the
guards, and broke open the adjoining gate, when a body of
troops, in regular array, instantly rushed in. Being conducted
thence in silence to the forum, they joined Hannibal. The
Carthaginian then sent the Tarentines, with two thousand
Gauls formed into three divisions, in different directions
through the city, with orders to occupy the most frequented
streets. A confusion arising, the Romans were put to the
sword on all hands. The townsmen were spared; but in order
to insure this, he instructed the Tarentine youths, when they
saw any of their friends at a distance, to bid them be quiet
and silent, and be of good courage.

10. The tumult and clamour was now such as usually takes
place in a captured city, but no man knew for certain what
was the occasion. The Tarentines supposed that the Romans
had suddenly risen to plunder the city. To the Romans it
appeared, that some commotion had been set on foot by the
townsmen with a treacherous design. The praefect, who was
awakened at the first alarm, escaped to the port, whence get-
ting into a boat he was conveyed round to the citadel. The
sound of a trumpet also from the theatre excited alarm; for it
was a Roman trumpet, prepared by the conspirators for this
very purpose; and as it was blown unskilfully by a Grecian,
it could not be ascertained who gave the signal, or to whom it
was given. At dawn of the day, the Romans recognised the970

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXY. CIIAP. 11.

Carthaginian and Gallic arms, which removed all doubt; and
the Greeks, seeing the bodies of slain Romans spread about in
all directions, perceived that the city had been taken by Han-
nibal. When the light had increased, so that they could dis-
criminate with greater certainty, and the Romans who sur-
vived the carnage had taken refuge in the citadel, the tumult
now beginning to subside a little, Hannibal gave orders to
assemble the Tarentines without their arms. All of them at-
tended the assembly, except those who had accompanied the
Romans in their retreat to the citadel, to share every fortune
with them. Here Hannibal having addressed the Tarentines
in terms of kindness, and appealed to the services he had ren-
dered to those of their countrymen whom he had captured at
the Trasimenus and at Cannge, and having at the same time
inveighed against the haughty domination of the Romans,
desired that they would every one of them retire to their re-
spective houses, and inscribe their names upon their doors;
declaring, that he should give orders that those houses which
had not the names written upon them should be plundered.
That if any man should write his name upon the house of a
Roman, (and the Romans occupied houses by themselves,) he
should treat him as an enemy. Having dismissed the assem-
bly, and the names inscribed upon the doors having made it
easy to distinguish the house of an enemy from that of a friend,
on a signal given, the troops ran in every direction to plunder
the lodgings of the Romans, and a considerable booty was
found.

11. The next day he led his troops to assault the citadel;
but seeing that it was protected by very high rocks towards
the sea, which washed the greater part of it, and formed it into
a sort of peninsula, and towards the city by a wall and ditch,
and consequently that it could not be taken by assault or by
works; lest the design to protect the Tarentines should detain
him from the prosecution of more important objects, and lest
the Romans should have the power of sallying from the citadel
whenever they pleased against the Tarentines, if left without
a strong protecting force, he resolved to cut off the communi-
cation between the citadel and city by a rampart; not with-
out a hope that he might have an opportunity of fighting with
the Romans, when attempting to obstruct the work; and if
they should sally forth too eagerly, that by killing many ofy. it. 540.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

971

them the strength of the garrison would be so far reduced, that
the Tarentines alone would be easily able to defend them-
selves from them. After they had begun, the Romans, sud-
denly throwing open the gate, rushed in upon the workmen.
The guard stationed before the works allowed itself to be
driven back, in order that their boldness might be increased
by success, and that they might pursue them when driven
back, in greater numbers, and to a greater distance. Then
on a signal given, the Carthaginians, whom Hannibal kept in
readiness for this purpose, sprang up on all sides; nor could
the Romans sustain the attack, but were prevented from pre-
cipitate flight by the narrowness of the ground, by impedi-
ments occasioned in some places by the works already com-
menced, in others by the preparations for the work. Most of
them were driven headlong into the ditch, and more were
killed in the flight than in the battle. After this the work
was commenced without any attempt to obstruct it. A large
ditch was formed, within which a rampart was thrown up.
He prepared also to add a wall at a small distance, and on the
same side, that they might defend themselves from the Ro-
mans even without a garrison. He, however, left them a
small force, at once for their protection and to assist in build-
ing the wall. The general himself, setting out with the rest
of his forces, pitched his camp at the river Galsesus, five miles
from the city. Returning from this position to inspect the
work, which had gone on somewhat faster than he had antici-
pated, he conceived a hope that the citadel might even be
taken by storm ; for it was not protected by an elevated
situation as the other parts were, but placed upon a plain, and
separated from the city only by a wall and ditch. While sub-
jected to an attack from every kind of military engine and
work, a reinforcement sent from Metapontum inspired the
Romans with courage to assault the works of the enemy, by a
sudden attack, under cover of the night. Some of them they
threw down, others they destroyed by fire, and thus there
was an end to Hannibal's attempts against the citadel in that
quarter. His only remaining hope was in a siege; nor did
that aiford a good prospect of success, because, occupying a
citadel which was placed on a peninsula and commanded the
entrance of the harbour, they had the sea open to them, while
the city, on the contrary, was deprived of any supplies by972

THE HISTOKY OF ROME. [B. XXV. CHAP. U.

sea; and thus tlie besiegers were in greater danger of want
than the besieged. Hannibal assembled the chief men of the
Tarentines, and laid before them all the present difficulties.
He said, " That he could neither discover any method by
which a citadel so well fortified could be taken, nor could he
hope for any favourable result from a siege, while the enemy
was master of the sea; but that if ships could be obtained, by
which the introduction of supplies might be prevented, the
enemy would either immediately evacuate it, or surrender
themselves." The Tarentines agreed with him; but were of
opinion, that " he who gave the advice ought also to assist in
carrying it into execution ; for if the Carthaginian ships were
brought there from Sicily, they would be able to effect it;
but by what means could their own ships, shut up as they
were in a confined harbour, the mouth of which was in the
command of the enemy, be brought out into the open sea."
" They shall be brought out," said Hannibal. " Many things
which are difficult in themselves, are easily effected by con-
trivance. You have a city situated upon a plain; you have
level and sufficiently wide roads extending in every direction.
By the road which runs through the midst of the city from
the harbour to the sea I will convey your ships in waggons
without any great difficulty, and the sea will be ours which
the enemy now commands. We will invest the citadel on
one side by sea, on the other by land; nay, rather, in a short
time, we will take it either abandoned by the enemy, or with
the enemy in it." This speech not only inspired hopes of ac-
complishing the object, but excited the greatest admiration of
the general. Waggons were immediately collected from every
quarter and joined together; machines were employed to haul
the ships on shore, and the road was prepared, in order that
the waggons might run more easily, and thus the difficulty of
passing be diminished. Beasts of burden and men were next
collected, and the work was actively commenced. After the
lapse of a few days, the fleet, equipped and ready for action,
sailed round the citadel, and cast anchor just before the mouth
of the harbour. Such was the state of things at Tarentum,
when Hannibal left it and returned to his winter quarters.
Authors, however, are divided as to whether the defection of
the Tarentines took place in the present or former year. The
greater number, and those who, from their age, were moreY. R. 540. J

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

973

able to recollect these events, represent it to have occurred in
the present year.

12. The Latin holidays detained the consuls and praetors at
Rome till the fifth of the calends of May; on which day, hav-
ing completed the solemnities on the mount, they proceeded
to their respective provinces. Afterwards a new difficulty re-
specting religious matters arose out of the prophetic verses of
Marcius, who had been a distinguished soothsayer; and on a
search being made the year before, for books of this descrip-
tion, agreeably to a decree of the senate, these verses had
fallen into the hands of Marcus Atilius, the city praetor, who
had the management of that business, and he had immediately
handed them over to the new praetor, Sulla. The importance
attached to one of the two predictions of Marcius, which was
brought to light after the event to which it related had oc-
curred, and the truth of which was confirmed by the event,
attached credence to the other, the time of whose fulfilment had
not yet arrived. In the former prophecy, the disaster at Cannae
was predicted in nearly these words: " Roman of Trojan de-
scent, fly the river Canna, lest foreigners should compel thee
to fight in the plain of Diomede. But thou wilt not believe
me until thou shalt have filled the plain with blood, and the
river carries into the great sea, from the fruitful land, many
thousands of your slain countrymen, and thy flesh becomes a
prey for fishes, birds, and beasts inhabiting the earth. For
thus hath Jupiter declared to me." Those who had served in
that quarter recognised the correspondence with respect to the
plains of the Argive Diomede and the river Canna, as well as
the defeat itself. The other prophecy was then read, which was
more obscure, not only because future events are more uncertain
than past, but also from being more perplexed in its style of
composition. " Romans, if you wish to expel the enemy and the
ulcer which has come from afar, I advise, that games should
be vowed, which may be performed in a cheerful manner an-
nually to Apollo; when the people shall have given a portion
of money from the public coffers, that private individuals then
contribute, each according to his ability. That the praetor
shall preside in the celebration of these games, who holds the
supreme administration of justice to the people and commons.
Let the decemviri perform sacrifice with victims after the
Grecian fashion. If you do these things properly you will974

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXV. CHAP. 1&

ever rejoice, and your affairs will be more prosperous, for that
deity will destroy your enemies who now, composedly, feed upon
your plains." They took one day to explain this prophecy.
The next day a decree of the senate was passed, that the de-
cemviri should inspect the books relating to the celebration of
games and sacred rites in honour of Apollo. After they had
been consulted, and a report made to the senate, the fathers
voted, that " games should be vowed to Apollo and celebrated;
and that when the games were concluded, twelve thousand
asses should be given to the praetor to defray the expense of
sacred ceremonies, and also two victims of the larger sort."
A second decree was passed, that "the decemviri should per-
form sacrifice in the Grecian mode, and with the following
victims: to Apollo, with a gilded ox, and two white goats
gilded; to Latona, with a gilded heifer." When the praetor was
about to celebrate the games in the Circus Maximus, he issued
an order, that during the celebration of the games, the people
should pay a contribution, as large as was convenient, for the
service of Apollo. This is the origin of the Apollinarian
games, which were vowed and celebrated in order to victory,
and not restoration to health, as is commonly supposed. The
people viewed the spectacle in garlands; the matrons made
supplications; the people in general feasted in the courts of
their houses, throwing the doors open; and the day was dis-
tinguished by every description of ceremony.

13. While Hannibal was in the neighbourhood of Taren-
tum, and both the consuls in Samnium, though they seemed
as if they were about to besiege Capua, the Campanians were
experiencing famine, that calamity which is the usual at-
tendant of a protracted siege. It was occasioned by the Ro-
man armies' having prevented the sowing of the lands. They
therefore sent ambassadors to Hannibal, imploring him to give
orders that corn should be conveyed to Capua from the neigh-
bouring places, before both the consuls led their legions into
their fields, and all the roads were blocked up by^fefae troops
of the enemy. Hannibal ordered Hanno to pass with his army
from Bruttium into Campania, and to take care that the Cam-
panians were supplied with corn. Hanno, setting out from Brut-
tium with his army, and carefully avoiding the camp of the
enemy and the consuls who were in Samnium, when he drew
near to Beneventum, pitched his camp on an eminence threeY. R. 540.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

975

miles from the city. He next ordered that the corn which
had been collected during the summer, should be brought from
the neighbouring people in alliance with him, into his camp,
assigning a guard to escort those supplies. He then sent a
messenger to the Capuans, fixing a day when they should
attend at his camp to receive the corn, bringing with them
vehicles and beasts of every description, collected from every
part of their country. The Campanians executed this busi- j
ness with their usual indolence and carelessness. Somewhat
more than four hundred vehicles, with a few beasts of burden
besides, were sent. After receiving a reproof from Hanno
for this conduct, who told them, that not even hunger, which
excited dumb animals to exertion, could stimulate them to
diligence, another day was named when they were to fetch
the corn after better preparation. All these transactions being
reported to the Beneventans, just as they occurred, they lost
no time in sending ten ambassadors to the Roman consuls,
who were encamped in the neighbourhood of Bovianum. The
consuls, hearing what was going on at Capua, arranged it so
that one of them should lead an army into Campania; and
Fulvius, to whose lot that province had fallen, setting out by
night, entered the walls of Beneventum. Being now near
the enemy, he obtained information that Hanno had gone out
to forage with a portion of his troops; that the Campanians
were supplied with corn by a quasstor; that two thousand
waggons had arrived together with an undisciplined and un-
armed rabble; that every thing was done in a disorderly and
hurried manner; and that the form of a camp, and all military
subordination, were destroyed by the intermixture of rustics
out of the neighbourhood. This intelligence being sufficiently
authenticated, the consul ordered his soldiers to get ready only
their standards and arms against the next night, as he must
attack the Carthaginian camp. They set out at the fourth
watch of the night, leaving all their packages and baggage
of every description at Beneventum; and arriving a little
before daylight at the camp, they occasioned such a panic,
that, had the camp been situated on level ground, it might
doubtlessly have been taken on the first assault. The height
of its situation and the works defended it; for they could not
be approached on any side except by a steep and difficult
ascent. At break of day a hot engagement commenced, when

3 R976

THE HISTORY OF ROME, [B. XXV. CHAP. 14.

the Carthaginians not only defended their rampart, but having
more even ground, threw down the enemy as they attempted
to ascend the steep.

14. Persevering courage, however, at length prevailed over
every impediment, and they made their way up to the ditch
and rampart in several parts at the same time, but with many
wounds and much loss of soldiers. The consul, therefore,
assembling the military tribunes, said they must desist from
this inconsiderate enterprise; and that it appeared to him to
be the safer course, that the troops should be led back to Be-
neventum for that day, and then on the following day to pitch
his camp close to that of the enemy, so that the Campanians
could not quit it, nor Hanno return to it; and in order that
that object might be attained with the greater ease, that he
should send for his colleague and his army; and that they
would direct their whole force on that point. This plan of
the general was disconcerted, after the signal began to sound
for a retreat, by the clamours of the soldiery, who despised
so pusillanimous an order. Nearest to the gate of the enemy's
camp was a Pelignian cohort, whose commander, Yibius Ac-
cuaaus, seizing the standard, threw it over the rampart. Then
pronouncing a curse upon himself and his cohort, if the enemy
got possession of that standard, he rushed forward before the
rest, and crossing the ditch and rampart, burst into the camp
of the enemy. The Pelignians were now fighting within the
rampart, when in another quarter Valerius Flaccus, a military
tribune of the third legion, taunting the Romans with cow-
ardice for conceding to allies the honour of taking the camp,
Titus Pedanius, first centurion of the first century, snatched
the standard out of the hands of the standard-bearer, and
cried out, " Soon shall this standard, and this centurion, be
within the rampart of the enemy; let those follow who would
prevent the standard's being captured by the enemy." Cross-
ing the ditch, he was followed first by the men of his own
maniple, and then by the whole legion. By this time the
consul also, changing his plan on seeing them crossing the
rampart, began to incite and encourage his soldiers, instead
of calling them off; representing to them, how critical and
perilous was the situation of the bravest cohort of their allies,
and a legion of their countrymen. All, therefore, severally
exerting themselves to the utmost, regardless whether theY. R. 540.]

THE HISTORY OP ROME.

977

ground were even or uneven, while showers of weapons were
thrown against them from all sides, the enemy opposing their
arms and their persons to obstruct them, made their way and
burst in. Many who were wounded, even those whose blood
and strength failed them, pressed forward, that they might
fall within the rampart of the enemy. The camp, therefore,
was taken in an instant, as if it had been situated upon level
ground, and not completely fortified. What followed was a
carnage rather than a battle. The troops of both sides being
huddled together within the rampart, above six thousand of
the enemy were slain; above seven thousand, together with
the Campanians who fetched the corn, and the whole collec-
tion of waggons and beasts of burden, were captured. There
was also a great booty, which Hanno in his predatory ex-
cursions, which he had been careful to make in every quarter,
had drawn together from the lands of the allies of the Ro-
mans. After throwing down the camp of the enemy, they
returned thence to Beneventum; and there both the consuls
(for Appius Claudius came thither a few days after) sold the
booty and distributed it, making presents to those by whose
exertions the camp of the enemy had been captured; above
all, to Accuseus the Pelignian, and Titus Pedanius, first cen-
turion of the third legion. Hanno, setting off from Cominium
in the territory of Cere, whither intelligence of the loss of the
camp had reached him, with a small party of foragers, whom
he happened to have with him, returned to Bruttium, more
after the manner of a flight than a march.

15. The Campanians, when informed of the disaster which
had befallen themselves and their allies, sent ambassadors to
Hannibal to inform him, that " the two consuls were at Bene-
ventum, which was a day's march from Capua; that the war
was all but at their gates and their walls; and that if he did
not hasten to their assistance, Capua would fall into the power
of the enemy sooner than Arpi had; that not even Tarentum
itself, much less its citadel, ought to be considered of so much
consequence as to induce him to deliver up to the Roman
people, abandoned and undefended, Capua, which he used to
place on an equal footing with Carthage." Hannibal, pro-
mising that he would not neglect the interest of the Campa-
nians, sent, for the present, two thousand horse, with the
ambassadors, aided by which, they might secure their lands

3 r 2978

THE HISTORY OP ROME. [B. XXY. CHAP. 15.

from devastation. The Romans, meanwhile, among the other
things which engaged their attention, had an eye to the cita-
del of Tarentum, and the garrison besieged therein. Caius
Servilius, lieutenant-general, having been sent, according to
the advice of the fathers, by Publius Cornelius, the praetor, to
purchase corn in Etruria, made his way into the harbour of
Tarentum, through the guard-ships of the enemy, with some
ships of burden. At his arrival, those who before, having
very slight hopes of holding out, were frequently invited by
the enemy, in conferences, to pass over to them, now, on the
contrary, were the persons to invite and solicit the enemy to
come over to them; and now, as the soldiers who were at
Metapontum had been brought to assist in guarding the cita-
del of Tarentum, the garrison was sufficiently powerful. In
consequence of this measure, the Metapontines, being freed
from the fears which had influenced them, immediately re-
volted to Hannibal. The people of Thurium, situated on the
same coast, did the same. They were influenced not more
by the defection of the Metapontines and Tarentines, with
whom they were connected, being sprung from the same
country, Achaia, than by resentment towards the Romans, in
consequence of the recent execution of the hostages. The
friends and relations of these hostages sent a letter and a mes-
sage to Hanno and Mago, who were not far off among the
Bruttii, to the effect, that if they brought their troops up to
the walls, they would deliver the city into their hands. Mar-
cus Atinius was in command at Thurium, with a small garri-
son, who they thought might easily be induced to engage
rashly in a battle, not from any confidence which he reposed
in his troops, of which he had very few, but in the youth of
Thurium, whom he had purposely formed into centuries, and
armed against emergencies of this kind. The generals, after
dividing their forces between them, entered the territory of
Thurium; and Hanno, with a body of infantry, proceeded to-
wards the city in hostile array. Hanno staid behind with the
cavalry, under the cover of some hills, conveniently placed for
the concealment of an ambush. Atinius, having by his scouts
discovered only the body of infantry, led his troops into the
field, ignorant both of the domestic treachery and of the
stratagem of the enemy. The engagement with the infantry
was particularly dull, a few Romans in the first rank engagingy. R. 540.J

THE HISTORY OF HOME.

979

while the Thurians rather waited than helped on the issue.
The Carthaginian line retreated, on purpose that they might
draw the incautious enemy to the back of the hill, where their
cavalry were lying in ambush; and when they had come
there, the cavalry rising up on a sudden with a shout, imme-
diately put to flight the almost undisciplined, rabble of the
Thurians, not firmly attached to the side on which they
fought. The Romans, notwithstanding they were surrounded
and hard pressed on one side by the infantry, on the other by
the cavalry, yet prolonged the battle for a considerable time;
but at length even they were compelled to turn their backs,
and fled towards the city. There the conspirators, forming
themselves into a dense body, received the multitude of their
countrymen with open gates; but when they perceived that
the routed Romans were hurrying towards the city, they ex-
claimed that the Carthaginian was close at hand, and that the
enemy would enter the city mingled with them, unless they
speedily closed the gates. Thus they shut out the Romans,
and left them to be cut up by the enemy. Atinius, however,
and a few others were taken in. After this for a short time
there was a division between them, some being of opinion that
they ought to defend the city, others that they ought, after all
that had happened, to yield to fortune, and deliver up the city
to the conquerors; but, as it generally happens, fortune and
evil counsels prevailed. Having conveyed Atinius and his
party to the sea and the ships, more because they wished that
care should be taken of him, in consequence of the mildness
and justice of his command, than from regard to the Romans,
they received the Carthaginians into the city. The consuls
led their legions from Beneventum into the Campanian terri-
tory, with the intention not only of destroying the corn, which
was in the blade, but of laying siege to Capua; considering
that they would render their consulate illustrious by the de-
struction of so opulent a city, and that they would wipe away
the foul disgrace of the empire, from the defection of a city so
near remaining unpunished for three years. Lest, however,
Beneventum should be left without protection, and that in
case of any sudden emergency, if Hannibal should come to
Capua, in order to bring assistance to his friends, which they
doubted not he would do, the cavalry might be able to sustain
his attack, they ordered Tiberius Gracchus to come from Lu-980

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXV. CHAP. 16.

cania to Beneventum with his cavalry and light-armed troops,
and to appoint some person to take the command of the
legions and stationary camp, for the defence of Lucania.

16. An unlucky prodigy occurred to Gracchus, while sacri-
ficing, previous to his departure from Lucania. Two snakes
gliding from a secret place to the entrails, after the sacrifice
was completed, ate the liver; and after having been observed,
suddenly vanished out of sight. The sacrifice having been
repeated according to the admonition of the aruspices, and the
vessel containing the entrails being watched with increased
attention, it is reported that the snakes came a second, and a
third time, and, after tasting the liver, went away untouched.
Though the aruspices forewarned him that the portent had
reference to the general, and that he ought to be on his guard
against secret enemies and machinations, yet no foresight
could avert the destiny which awaited him. There was a
Lucanian, named Flavius, the leader of that party which ad-
hered to the Romans when the others went over to Hannibal;
he was this year in the magistracy, having been created prse-
tor by the same party. Suddenly changing his mind, and
seeking to ingratiate himself with the Carthaginians, he did
not think it enough that he himself should pass over to them,
or that he should induce the Lucanians to revolt with him,
unless he ratified his league with the enemy with the head
and blood of the general, betrayed to them, though his guest.
He entered into a secret conference with Mago, who had the
command in Bruttium, and receiving a solemn promise from
him, that he would take the Lucanians into his friendship,
without interfering with their laws, if he should betray the
Roman general to the Carthaginians, he conducted Mago to a
place to which he was about to bring Gracchus with a few
attendants. He then directed Mago to arm his infantry and
cavalry, and to occupy the retired places there, in which he
might conceal a very large number of troops. After thoroughly
inspecting and exploring the place on all sides, a day was
agreed upon for the execution of the affair. Flavius came to
the Roman general, and said, that " he had begun a business
of great importance, for the completion of which, it was neces-
sary to have the assistance of Gracchus himself. That he had
persuaded the praetors of all the states which had revolted to the
Carthaginians in the general defection of Italy, to return intoy. it. 540.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

981

the friendship of the Romans, since now the Roman power
too, which had almost come to ruin by the disaster at Cannae,
was daily improving and increasing, while the strength of
Hannibal was sinking into decay, and was almost reduced to
nothing. He had told them that the Romans would be dis-
posed to accept an atonement for their former offence; that
there never was any state more easy to be entreated, or more
ready to grant pardon; how often, he had observed to them,
had they forgiven rebellion even in their own ancestors!
These considerations," he said, " he had himself urged, but
that they would rather hear the same from Gracchus himself
in person, and touching his right hand, carry with them that
pledge of faith. That he had agreed upon a place with those
who were privy to the transaction, out of the way of observa-
tion, and at no great distance from the Roman camp; that
there the business might be settled in few words, so that all
the Lucanian states might be in the alliance and friendship of
the Romans.* Gracchus, not suspecting any treachery either
from his words or the nature of the proposal, and being caught
by the probability of the thing, set out from the camp with
his lictors and a troop of horse, under the guidance of his host,
and fell headlong into the snare. The enemy suddenly arose
from their lurking-place, and Flavius joined them; which
made the treachery obvious. A shower of weapons was
poured from all sides on Gracchus and his troop. He imme-
diately leaped from his horse, and ordering the rest to do the
same, exhorted them, that " as fortune had left them only one
course, they would render it glorious by their valour. And
what is there left," said he, " to a handful of men, surrounded
by a multitude, in a valley hemmed in by a wood and moun-
tains, except death ? The only question was, whether, tamely
exposing themselves to be butchered like cattle, they should
die unavenged; or whether, drawing the mind off from the
idea of suffering and anticipation of the event, and giving full
scope to fury and resentment, they should fall while doing
and daring, covered with hostile blood, amid heaps of arms
and bodies of their expiring foes." He desired that " all would
aim at the Lucanian traitor and deserter;" adding, that " the
man who should send that victim to the shades before him,
would acquire the most distinguished glory, and furnish the
highest consolation for his own death." While thus speaking,982

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXY. CHAP. 17-

he wound his cloak round his left arm, for they had not
even brought their shields out with them, and then rushed
upon the enemy. The exertion made in the fight was greater
,han could be expected from the smallness of the number.
The bodies of the Romans were most exposed to the javelins,
with which, as they were thrown on all sides from higher
ground into a deep valley, they were transfixed. The Car-
thaginians seeing Gracchus now bereft of support, endea-
voured to take him alive; but he having descried his Luca-
nian host among the enemy, rushed with such fury into their
dense body that it became impossible to save his life without
a great loss. Mago immediately sent his corpse to Hannibal,
ordering it to be placed, with the fasces which were taken at
the same time, before the tribunal of the general. This is the
true account; Gracchus fell in Lucania, near the place called
the Old Plains.

17. There are some who have put forth an account, stating,
that when in the territory of Beneventum, near the river
Calor, having gone out from his camp with his lictors and
three servants, for the purpose of bathing, he was slain while
naked and unarmed, and endeavouring to defend himself with
the stones which the river brought down, by a party of the
enemy which happened to be concealed among the osiers
which grew upon the banks. Others state, that having gone
out five hundred paces from the camp, at the instance of the
aruspices, in order to expiate the prodigies before mentioned
on unpolluted ground, he was cut off by two troops of Numi-
dians who happened to be lying in ambush there. So different
are the accounts respecting the place and manner of the death
of so illustrious and distinguished a man. Various also are
the accounts of the funeral of Gracchus. Some say that he
was buried by his own friends in the Roman camp; others
relate, and this is the more generally received account, that a
funeral pile was erected by Hannibal, in the entrance of the
Carthaginian camp; that the troops under arms performed
evolutions, with the dances of the Spaniards, and motions of
the arms and body, which were customary with the several
nations; while Hannibal himself celebrated his obsequies with
every mark of respect, both in word and deed. Such is the
account of those who assert that the affair occurred in Lucania.
If you are disposed to credit the statement of those who re-Y. 11. 540.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

983

late that he was slain at the river Calor, the enemy got pos-
session only of the head of Gracchus; which being brought
to Hannibal, he immediately despatched Carthalo to convey it
into the Roman camp to Cneius Cornelius, the quaestor, who
buried the general in the camp, the Beneventans joining the
army in the celebration.

18. The consuls having entered the Campanian territory,
while devastating the country on all sides, were alarmed, and
thrown into confusion, by an eruption of the townsmen and
Mago with his cavalry. They called in their troops to their
standards from the several quarters to which they were dis-
persed, but having been routed when they had scarcely formed
their line, they lost above fifteen hundred men. The con*
fidence of the Campanians, who were naturally presumptuous,
became excessive in consequence of this event, and in many
battles they challenged the Romans; but this one battle,
which they had been incautiously and imprudently drawn
into, had increased the vigilance of the consuls. Their spirits
were restored, while the presumption of the other party was
diminished, by one trifling occurrence; but in war nothing is
so inconsiderable as not to be capable, sometimes, of producing
important consequences. Titus Quinctius Crispinus was a
guest of Badius, a Campanian, united with him by the great-
est intimacy. Their acquaintance had increased from the cir-
cumstance of Badius having received the most liberal and
kind attentions at the house of Crispinus, in a fit of illness, at
Rome, before the Campanian revolt. On the present occa-
sion, Badius, advancing in front of the guards, which were
stationed before the gate, desired Crispinus to be called; and
Crispinus, on being informed of this, thinking that a friendly
and familiar interview was requested, and the memory of their
private connexion remaining even amidst the disruption of
public ties, advanced a little from the rest. When they had
come within view of each other, Badius exclaimed, " I chal-
lenge you to combat, Crispinus; let us mount our horses, and
making the rest withdraw, let us try which is the better sol-
dier." In reply, Crispinus said, that " neither of them were
in want of enemies to display their valour upon ; for his own
part, even if he should meet him in the field he would turn
aside, lest lie should pollute his right-hand with the blood of
a guestand then turning round, was going away. But the984

THE HISTORY OF ROME. |B. XXV. CHAP. 19.

Campanian, with increased presumption, began to charge him
with cowardice and effeminacy, and cast upon him reproaches
which he deserved himself, calling him " an enemy who shel-
tered himself under the title of host, and one who pretended
to spare him for whom he knew himself not to be a match.
If he considered, that when public treaties were broken, the
ties of private connexion were not severed with them, then
Badius the Campanian openly, and in the hearing of both
armies, renounced his connexion of hospitality with Titus
Quinctius Crispinus the Roman. He said, that there could
exist no fellowship or alliance with him and an enemy whose
country and tutelary gods, both public and private, he had
come to fight against. If he was a man, he would meet him."
Crispinus hesitated for a long time ; but the men of his troop
at length prevailed upon him not to allow the Campanian to
insult him with impunity. Waiting, therefore, only to ask
his generals whether they would allow him to fight, contrary
to rule, with an enemy who had challenged him; having ob-
tained their permission, he mounted his horse, and addressing
Badius by name, called him out to the combat. The Cam-
panian made no delay. They engaged with their horses ex-
cited to hostility. Crispinus transfixed Badius with his spear
in the left shoulder, over his shield. He fell from his horse
in consequence of the wound; and Crispinus leaped down to
despatch him as he lay, on foot. But Badius, before his
enemy was upon him, ran off to his friends, leaving his horse
and buckler. Crispinus, decorated with the spoils, and dis-
playing the horse and arms which he had seized together with
the bloody spear, was conducted amid the loud plaudits and
congratulations of the soldiery into the presence of the con-
suls, where he was highly commended, and was presented
with gifts.

19. Hannibal, having moved his camp from the territory of
Beneventum to Capua, drew out his troops in order of battle
the third day after his arrival; not entertaining the least
doubt but that, as the Campanians had fought successfully a
few days ago when he was absent, the Romans would be still
less able to withstand him and his army, which had been so
often victorious. After the battle had commenced, the Roman
line was distressed chiefly from the attack of the cavalry, be-
ing overwhelmed with their darts, till the signal was given toY. R. 540.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

985

the Roman cavalry to direct their horses against the enemy;
thus it was a battle of the cavalry. But at this time the
Sempronian army, commanded by Cneius Cornelius the quags-
tor, being descried at a distance, excited alarm in both parties
equally, lest those who were approaching should be fresh
enemies. As if by concert, therefore, both sounded a retreat;
and the troops were withdrawn from the field to their camps,
in an equal condition; a greater number, however, of the Ro-
mans fell in the first charge of the cavalry. The consuls, to
divert the attention of Hannibal from Capua, departed thence
on the following night in different directions, Fulvius into
the territory of Cuma, Claudius into Lucania. The next day
Hannibal, having received intelligence that the camp of the
Romans was deserted, and that they had gone off in different
directions in two divisions, doubtful at first which he should
follow, commenced the pursuit of Appius; who, after leading
him about whichever way he pleased, returned by another
route to Capua. Hannibal, while in this quarter, had another
opportunity of gaining an advantage. Marcus Centenius,
surnamed Penula, was distinguished among the centurions
of the first rank by the size of his person, and his courage.
Having gone through his period of service, he was introduced
to the senate by Publius Cornelius Sulla, when he requested
of the fathers that five thousand men might be placed at his
disposal. He said, that " as he was acquainted with the cha-
racter of the enemy, and the nature of the country, he should
speedily perform some service; and that he would employ
those arts by which our generals and armies had been hitherto
insnared against the inventor of them." This was not pro-
mised more foolishly than it was believed; as if the qualifi-
cations of a soldier and a general were the same. Instead of
five, eight thousand men were given him, half Romans, half
allies. He himself also got together a considerable number
of volunteers, in the country, on his march; and having al-
most doubled his force, arrived in Lucania, where Hannibal
had halted after having in vain pursued Claudius. No doubt
could be entertained of the issue of a contest which was to
take place between Hannibal, as general on one side, and a
centurion on the other; between armies, one of which had
grown old in victory, the other entirely inexperienced, and
for the most part even tumultuary and half-armed. As soon98G

THE HISTORY OP ROME. [B. XXV. CHAP. 20.

as the troops came within sight of each other, and neither of
them declined an engagement, the lines were formed. The
battle, notwithstanding the utter disparity of the 'contending
parties, lasted more than two hours, the Roman troops acting
with the greatest spirit as long as their general survived.
But after that he had fallen, for he continually exposed him-
self to the weapons of the enemy, not only from regard to
his former character, but through fear of the disgrace which
would attach to him if he survived a disaster occasioned by
his own temerity, the Roman line was immediately routed.
But so completely were they prevented from flying, every
way being beset by the cavalry, that scarcely a thousand men
escaped out of so large an army; the rest were destroyed on
all hands, in one way or other.

20. The siege of Capua was now resumed by the consuls
with the utmost energy. Every thing requisite for the busi-
ness was conveyed thither and got in readiness. A store of
corn was collected at Casilinum; at the mouth of the Vul-
turnus, where a town now stands, a strong post was fortified;
and a garrison was stationed in Puteoli, which Fabius had
formerly fortified, in order to have the command of the neigh-
bouring sea and the river. Into these two maritime forts, the
corn recently sent from Sicily, with that which Marcus Juni-
us, the praetor, had bought up in Etruria, was conveyed from
Ostia, to supply the army during the winter. But, in addition
to the disaster sustained in Lucania, the army also of volun-
teer slaves, who had served during the life of Gracchus with
the greatest fidelity, as if discharged from service by the death
of their general, left their standards. Hannibal was not will-
ing that Capua should be neglected, or his allies deserted, at
so critical a j uncture ; but, having obtained such success from
the temerity of one Roman general, his attention was fixed
on the opportunity which presented itself of crushing the
other general and his army. Ambassadors from Apulia re-
ported that Cneius Fulvius, the praetor, had at first conducted
his measures with caution, while engaged in besieging certain
towns of Apulia, which had revolted to Hannibal; but that
afterwards, in consequence of extraordinary success, both
himself and his soldiers, being glutted with booty, had so
given themselves up to licentiousness and indolence, that all
military discipline was disregarded. Having frequently onY. r. 540.]

THE HISTORY OF HOME.

987

other occasions, as well as but a few days ago, experienced
what an army was good for, when conducted by an unskilful
commander, he moved his camp into Apulia.

21. The Roman legions, and the praetor, Fulvius, were in
the neighbourhood of Herdonia, where, receiving intelligence
of the approach of the enemy, they had nearly torn up the
standards and gone out to battle without the praetor's orders;
nor did any thing tend more to prevent it than the assured
hope they entertained that they could do so whenever they
pleased, consulting only their own will. The following night,
Hannibal having obtained information that the camp was in a
state of tumult, and that most of the troops were in a disor-
derly manner urging the general to give the signal, and calling
out to arms, and therefore feeling convinced that an oppor-
tunity presented itself for a successful battle, distributed
three thousand light troops in the houses in the neighbour-
hood, and among the thorns and woods. These, on a signal
being given, were to rise up from their lurking-place with one
accord; and Mago, with about two thousand horse, was or-
dered to occupy all the roads in the direction in which he sup-
posed their flight would be directed. Having made these
preparations during the night, he led his troops into the field
at break of day. Nor did Fulvius decline the challenge; not
so much from any hope of success entertained by himself, as
drawn by the blind impetuosity of his soldiers. Accordingly,
the line itself was formed with the same want of caution with
which they entered the field, agreeably to the whim of the
soldiers, who came up as chance directed, and took their
stations just where they pleased; which they afterwards
abandoned, as fear or caprice suggested. The first legion and
the left wing of the allied troops were drawn up in front.
The line was extended to a great length, the tribunes remon-
strating, that there was no strength in it, and that wherever
the enemy made the charge they would break through it: but
no salutary advice reached their minds, nor even their ears.
Hannibal was now come up, a general of a totally different
character, with an army neither similar in its nature, nor
similarly marshalled. The consequence was, that the Romans
did not so much as sustain their shout and first attack. Their
general, equal to Centenius in folly and temerity, but by no
means to be compared with him in courage, when he saw988

THE HISTORY OP ROME. [B. XXY. CHAP 22

things going against him, and his troops in confusion, hastily
mounting his horse, fled from the field with about two hun-
dred horsemen. The rest of the troops, beaten in front, and
surrounded on the flank and rear, were slaughtered to such a
degree, that out of eighteen thousand men, not more than two
thousand escaped. The enemy got possession of the camp.

22. When these disastrous defeats, happening one upon
another, were reported at Rome, great grief and consternation
seized the city. But still, as the consuls had been hitherto
successful when it was most important, they were the less
affected by these disasters. Caius Lsetorius and Marcus Me-
tilius were sent as ambassadors to the consuls, with directions
carefully to collect the remains of the two armies, and use
every endeavour to prevent their surrendering themselves to
the enemy, through fear or despair, (which was the case after
the battle of Cannae,) and to search for the deserters from the
army of volunteer slaves. Publius Cornelius was charged
with the same business; to him also the levy was intrusted.
He caused an order to be issued throughout the market and
smaller towns, that search should be made for the volunteer
slaves, and that they should be brought back to their standards.
All these things were executed with the most vigilant care.
The consul, Appius Claudius, having placed Decius Junius in
command at the mouth of the Vulturnus, and Marcus Aurelius
Cotta at Puteoli, with directions to send off the corn imme-
diately to the camp, as each of the ships from Etruria and
Sardinia arrived with it, returned himself to Capua, and found
hi3 colleague Quintus Fulvius at Casilinum, conveying every
requisite thence, and making every preparation for the siege
of Capua. Both of them then joined in besieging the city,
summoning Claudius Nero, the praetor, from the Claudian
camp at Suessula; who, leaving a small garrison there, marched
down to Capua with all the rest of his forces. Thus there
were three generals' tents erected round Capua; and three
armies, applying themselves to the work in different parts,
proceeded to surround the city with a ditch and rampart,
erecting forts at moderate intervals. The Campanians at-
tempting to obstruct the work, a battle was fought in several
places at once; the consequence of which was, that at length
the Campanians confined themselves within their gates and
walls. Before, however, these works were carried quiteY. R. 540.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

989

round, ambassadors were sent to Hannibal to complain that
Capua was abandoned, and almost given up to the Komans;
and to implore him, that he would now, at least, bring them
assistance, when they were not only besieged, but surrounded
by a rampart. A letter was sent to the consuls from Publius
Cornelius, the prsetor, directing that before they completely
enclosed Capua with their works, they should grant permis-
sion to such of the Campanians as chose to quit Capua, and
take their property with them. That those should retain their
liberty, and all their possessions, who quitted it before the
ides of March; but that those who quitted it after that day,
as well as those who continued there, would be considered as
enemies. Proclamation was made to the Campanians to this
effect; but it was received with such scorn, that they spon-
taneously used insulting language and menaces. Hannibal
had marched his legions from Herdonea to Tarentum, with
the hope of getting possession of the citadel of that place, by
force or stratagem. But not succeeding there, he turned his
course to Brundusium, thinking that town would be betrayed
to him; but, while fruitlessly spending time there also, the
Campanian ambassadors came to him with complaints and en-
treaties. Hannibal answered them in a proud manner, that
he had before raised the siege of Capua, and that now the
consuls would not sustain his approach. The ambassadors,
dismissed with these hopes, with difficulty effected their re-
turn to Capua, which was by this time surrounded by a dour
ble trench and rampart.

23. At the time when the circumvallation of Capua was
carrying on with the greatest activity, the siege of Syracuse,
which had been forwarded by intestine treachery, in addition
to the efforts and bravery of the general and his army, was
brought to a conclusion. For in the beginning of spring,
Marcellus being in doubt whether he should direct the opera-
tions of the war against IJimilco and Hippocrates at Agrigen-
tum, or press the siege of Syracuse; though he saw that it was
impossible to take the city by force, which, from its situation,
both with respect to sea and land, was impregnable; nor by
famine, as it was supported by an uninterrupted supply of
provisions from Carthage; yet that he might leave no course
untried, directed the Syracusan deserters (and there were in
the Roman camp some men in this situation of the highest990

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXV. CHAP. 23

rank, who had been driven out of the city during the defec-
tion from the Romans, because they were averse to a change
of measures) to sound the feelings of those who were of the
same party in conferences, and to promise them, that if Syra-
cuse was delivered up, they should have their liberty, and be
governed by their own laws. There was no opportunity,
however, of having a conference; for as many were suspected
of disaffection, the attention and observation of all were ex-
erted, lest any thing of the kind should occur unknown to
them. One of the exiles, who was a servant, having been
allowed to enter the city in the character of a deserter, assem-
bled a few persons, and opened a conversation upon the sub-
ject. After this, certain persons, covering themselves with
nets in a fishing smack, were in this way conveyed round to
the Roman camp, and conferred with the fugitives. The same
was frequently repeated by different parties, one after another;
and at last they amounted to eighty. But after every thing
had been concerted for betraying the city, the plot was re-
ported to Epicydes, by one Attalus, who felt hurt that he had
not been intrusted with the secret; and they were all put to
death with torture. This attempt having miscarried, another
hope was immediately raised. One Damippus, a Lacedasmo-
nian, who had been sent from Syracuse to king Philip, had
been taken prisoner by the Roman fleet. Epicydes was par-
ticularly anxious to ransom this man above any other; nor
was Marcellus disinclined to grant it; the Romans, even at
this time, being desirous of gaining the friendship of the JEto-
lians, with whom the Laceda3monians were in alliance. Some
persons having been sent to treat respecting his ransom, the
most central and convenient place to both parties for this
purpose appeared to be at the Trogilian port, near the tower
called Galeagra. As they went there several times, one of the
Romans, having a near view of the wall, and having deter-
mined its height, as nearly as it could be done by conjecture,
from counting the stones, and by forming an estimate, in his
own mind, what was the height of each stone in the face of
the work; and having come to the conclusion that it was con-
siderably lower than he himself and all the rest had supposed
it, and that it was capable of being scaled with ladders of mo-
derate size, laid the matter before Marcellus. It appeared a
thing not to be neglected; but as the spot could not be ap-Y. R. 540-J '	THE HISTORY OP ROME.	991

proached, being oil this very account guarded with extra-
ordinary care, a favourable opportunity of doing it was sought
for. This a deserter suggested, who brought intelligence
that the Syracu^ans were celebrating the festival of Diana ;
that it was to last three days, and that as there was a defi-
ciency of other things during the siege, the feasts would be
more profusely celebrated with wine, which was furnished by
Epicydes to the people in general, and distributed through the
tribes by persons of distinction. When Marcellus had re-
ceived this intelligence, he communicated it to a few of the
military tribunes ; then having selected, through their means,
such centurions and soldiers as had courage and energy enough
for so important an enterprise, and having privately gotten
together a number of scaling-ladders, he directed that a signal
should be given to the rest of the troops to take their refresh-
ment, and go to rest early, for they were to go upon an ex-
pedition that night. Then the time, as it was supposed,
having arrived, when, after having feasted from the middle of
the day, they would have had their fill of wine, and have be-
gun to sleep, he ordered the soldiers of one company to pro-
ceed with the ladders, while about a thousand armed men
were in silence marched to the spot in a slender column. The
foremost having mounted the wall, without noise or confusion,
the others followed in order ; the boldness of the former in-
spiring even the irresolute with courage.

24. The thousand armed men had now taken a part of the
city, when the rest, applying a greater number of ladders*
mounted the wall on a signal given from the Hexapylos. Tj
this place the former party had arrived in entire solitude ;
as the greater part of them, having feasted in the towers, were
either asleep from the effects of wine, or else, half asleep, were
still drinking. A few of them, however, they surprised in
their beds, and put to the sword. They began then to break
open a postern gate near the Hexapylos, which required great
force ; and a signal was given from the wall by sounding a
trumpet, as had been agreed upon. After this, the attack
was carried on in every quarter, not secretly, but by open
force ; for they had now reached Epipolae, a place protected
by numerous guards, where the business was to terrify the
enemy, and not to escape their notice. In effect they were
terrified; for as soon as the sound of the trumpets was heard.

3 s992

THE HISTORY OP ROME. [B. XXV. CHAS*. 24,

and the shouts of the men who had got possession of the walls
and a part of the city, the guards concluded that every part
was taken, and some of them fled along the wall, others leaped
down from it, or were thrown down headlong by a crowd of
the terrified townsmen. A great part of the inhabitants,
however, were ignorant of this disastrous event, all of them
being overpowered with wine and sleep ; and because, in a
city of so wide extent, what was perceived in one quarter
was not readily made known through the whole city. A
little before day, Marcellus having entered the city with all
his forces, through the Hexapylos, which was forced open,
roused all the townsmen; who ran to arms, in order, if pos-
sible, by their efforts, to afford succour to the city, which was
now almost taken. Epicydes advanced with a body of troops
at a rapid pace from the Insula, which the Syracusans them-
selves call Nasos, not doubting but that he should be able to
drive out what he supposed a small party, which had got over
the wall through the negligence of the guards. He earnestly
represented to the terrified inhabitants who met him, that
they were increasing the confusion, and that in their accounts
they made things greater and more important than they really
were. But when he perceived that every place around
Epipolas was filled with armed men, after just teazing the
enemy with the discharge of a few missiles, he marched back
to the Achradina, not so much through fear of the number
and strength of the enemy, as that some intestine treachery
might show itself, taking advantage of the opportunity, and
he might find the gates of the Achradina and island closed
upon him in the confusion. When Marcellus, having en-
tered the walls, beheld this city as it lay subjected to his
view from the high ground on which he stood, a city the
most beautiful, perhaps, of any at that time, he is said to
have shed tears over it; partly from the inward satisfaction
he felt at having accomplished so important an enterprise,
and partly in consideration of its ancient renown. The fleets
of the Athenians sunk there, and two vast armies destroyed,
with two generals of the highest reputation, as well as the
many wars waged with the Carthaginians with so much peril,
arose before his mind ; the many and powerful tyrants and
kings ; but above all Hiero, a king who was not only fresh
in his memory, but who was distinguished for the signalY. it. 540.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

993

services lie had rendered the Roman people, and more than
all by the endowments which his own virtues and good fortune
had conferred. All these considerations presenting themselves
at once to his recollection, and reflecting, that in an instant
every thing before him would be in flames, and reduced to
ashes; before he marched his troops to the Achradina, he sent
before him some Syracusans, who, as was before observed,
were among the Roman troops, to induce the enemy, by a
persuasive address, to surrender the city.

25. The gates and walls of the Achradina were occupied
principally by deserters, who had no hopes of pardon in case
of capitulation. These men would neither suffer those who
were sent to approach the walls, nor to address them. Mar-
cellus, therefore, on the failure of this attempt, gave orders
to retire to the Euryalus, which is an eminence at the ex-
tremity of the city, at the farthest point from the sea, and
commanding the road leading into the fields and the interior
of the island, and is conveniently situated for the introduction
of supplies. This fort was commanded by Philodemus, an
Argive, who was placed in this situation by Epicydes. Mar-
cellus sent Sosis, one of the regicides, to him. After a long
conversation, being put off for the purpose of frustrating him,
he brought back word to Marcellus, that Philodemus had
taken time to deliberate. This man postponing his answer
day after day, till Hippocrates and Himilco should quit their
present position, and come up with their legions; not doubt-
ing but that if he should receive them into the fort, the Ro-
man army, shut up as it was within the walls, might be anni-
hilated, Marcellus, who saw that the Euryalus would neither
be delivered up to him, nor could be taken by force, pitched
his camp between Neapolis and Tycha, which are names of
divisions of the city, and are in themselves like cities; fearful
lest if he entered populous parts of the city, he should not be
able to restrain his soldiers, greedy of plunder, from running
up and down after it. When three ambassadors came to him
from Tycha and Neapolis with fillets and other badges of
supplicants, imploring him to abstain from fire and slaughter,
Marcellus, having held a council respecting these entreaties,
for so they were, rather than demands, ordered his soldiers,
according to the unanimous opinion of the council, not to offer
violence to any free person, but told them that every thing

3 s 2994

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXY. CHAP. 26.

else might be their booty. The walls of the houses forming
a protection for his camp, he posted guards and parties of
troops at the gates, which were exposed, as they faced the
streets, lest any attack should be made upon his camp while
the soldiers were dispersed in pursuit of plunder. After
these arrangements, on a signal given, the soldiers dispersed
for that purpose; and though they broke open doors and
every place resounded in consequence of the alarm and con-
fusion created, they nevertheless refrained from blood. They
did not desist from plunder till they had gutted the houses of
all the property which had been accumulated during a long
period of prosperity. Meanwhile, Philodemus also, who de-
spaired of obtaining assistance, having received a pledge that
he might return to Epicydes in safety, withdrew the garrison,
and delivered up the fortress to the Romans. While the at-
tention of all was engaged by the tumult occasioned in that
part of the city which was captured, Bomilcar, taking ad-
vantage of the night, when, from the violence of the weather
the Roman fleet was unable to ride at anchor in the deep, set
out from the bay of Syracuse, with thirty-five ships, and
sailed away into the main without interruption ; leaving fifty-
five ships for Epicydes and the Syracusans; and having in-
formed the Carthaginians in what a critical situation Syracuse
was placed, returned, after a few days, with a hundred ships ;
having, as report says, received many presents from Epicydes
out of the treasure of Hiero.

26. Marcellus, by gaining possession of the Euryalus, and
placing a garrison in it, was freed from one cause of anxiety ;
which was, lest any hostile force received into that fortress
on his rear might annoy his troops, shut up and confined as
they were within the walls. He next invested the Acliradina,
erecting three camps in convenient situations, with the hope
of reducing those enclosed within it to the want of every ne-
cessary. The outposts of both sides had remained inactive
for several days, when the arrival of Hippocrates and Himilco
suddenly caused the Romans to be attacked aggressively on
all sides; for Hippocrates, having fortified a camp at the great
harbour, and given a signal to those who occupied the Aehra-
dina, attacked the old camp of the Romans, in which Crispinus
had the command; and Epicydes sallied out against the out-
posts of Marcellus, the Carthaginian fleet coming up to thatY. it. 540.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

995

part of the shore which lay between the city and the Roman
camp, so that no succour could be sent by Marcellus to Cris-
pinus. The enemy, however, produced more tumult than
conflict; for Crispinus not only drove back Hippocrates from
his works, but pursued him as he fled with precipitation,
while Marcellus drove Epicydes into the city; and it was
considered that enough was now done even to prevent any
danger arising in future from their sudden sallies. They were
visited too by a plague; a calamity extending to both sides,
and one which might well divert their attention from schemes
of war. For as the season of the year was autumn, and the
situation naturally unwholesome, though this was much more
the case without than within the city, the intolerable intensity
of the heat had an effect upon the constitution of almost every
man in both the camps. At first they sickened and died from
the unhealthiness of the season and cKmate; but afterwards
the disease was spread merely by attending upon, and coming
in contact with, those affected; so that those who were seized
with it either perished neglected and deserted, or else drew
with them those who sat by them and attended them, by in-
fecting them with the same violence of disease. Daily funerals
and death were before the eye ; and lamentations were
heard from all sides, day and night. At last, their feelings
had become so completely brutalized by being habituated to
these miseries, that they not only did not follow their dead
with tears and decent lamentations, but they did not even
carry them out and bury them ; so that the bodies of the dead
lay strewed about, exposed to the view of those who were
awaiting a similar fate; and thus the dead were the means ot
destroying the sick, and the sick those who were in health,
both by fear and by the filthy state and the noisome stench
of their bodies. Some preferring to die by the sword, even
rushed alone upon the out-posts of the enemy. The violence
of the plague, however, Was much greater in the Carthaginian
than the Roman army; for the latter, from having been a
long time before Syracuse, had become more habituated to the
climate and the water. Of the army of the enemy, the Sici-
lians, as soon as they perceived that diseases had become very
common from the unwholesomeness of the situation, dispersed
to their respective cities in the neighbourhood; but the Car-
thaginians, who had no place to retire to, perished, together996

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

[B. XXV. CHAP. 27.

with their generals, Hippocrates and Himilco, to a man.
Marcellus, on seeing the violence with which the disease was
raging, had removed his troops into the city, where their de-
bilitated frames were recruited in houses and shade. Many,
however, of the Roman army were cut off by this pestilence.

27. The land forces of the Carthaginians being thus de-
stroyed, the Sicilians, who had served under Hippocrates,
retired to two towns of no great size, but well secured by
natural situation and fortifications; one was three miles, the
other fifteen, from Syracuse. Here they collected a store of
provisions from their own states, and sent for reinforcements.
Meanwhile, Bomilcar, who had gone a second time to Car-
thage, by so stating the condition of their allies as to inspire
a hope that they might not only render them effectual aid, but
also that the Romans might in a manner be made prisoners
in the city which they had captured, induced the Carthaginians
to send with him as many ships of burden as possible, laden
with every kind of provisions, and to augment the number of
his ships. Setting sail, therefore, from Carthage with a hun-
dred and thirty men of war and seven hundred transports, he
had tolerably fair winds for crossing over to Sicily, but was
prevented by the same wind from doubling Cape Pachynum.
The news of the approach of Bomilcar, and afterwards his
unexpected delay, excited alternate fear and joy in the Ro-
mans and Syracusans. Epicydes, apprehensive lest if the
same wind which now detained him should continue to blow
from the east for several days, the Carthaginian fleet would
return to Africa, put the Achradina in the hands of the
generals of the mercenary troops, and sailed to Bomilcar;
whom he at length prevailed upon to try the issue of a naval
battle, though he found him with his fleet stationed in the
direction of Africa, and afraid of fighting, not so much be-
cause he was unequal in the strength or the number of his
ships, for he had more than the Romans, as because the wind
was more favourable to the Roman fleet than to his own.
Marcellus also seeing that an army of Sicilians was assembling
from every part of the island, and that the Carthaginian fleet
was approaching with a great want of supplies, though infe-
rior in the number of his ships, resolved to prevent Bomilcar
from coming to Syracuse, lest, blocked up in the city of his
enemies, he should be pressed both by se& and land. TheY. R. 540.]	THE HISTORY OF ROME.

997

two hostile fleets were stationed near the promontory of
Pachynum, ready to engage as soon as the sea should become
calm enough to admit of their sailing out into the deep. Ac-
cordingly, the east wind, which had blown violently for
several days, now subsiding, Bomilcar got under sail first, his
van seeming to make for the main sea, in order to double the
promontory with greater ease; but seeing the Roman ships
bearing down upon him, terrified by some unexpected occur-
rence, it is not known what, he sailed away into the main sea;
and sending messengers to Heraclea, to order the transports to
return to Africa, he passed along the coast of Sicily and made
for Tarentum. Epicydes, thus suddenly disappointed in such
great expectations, to avoid returning to endeavour to raise the
siege of a city, a great part of which was already in the hands
of the enemy, sailed to Agrigentum, intending to wait the issue
of the contest, rather than take any new measures when there.

28. Intelligence of these events having been carried into
the camp of the Sicilians, that Epicydes had departed from
Syracuse, that the island was deserted by the Carthaginians,
and almost again delivered up to the Romans; after sounding
the inclinations of the besieged in conferences, they sent am-
bassadors to Marcellus, to treat about terms of capitulation.
They had not much difficulty in coming to an agreement, that
all the parts of the island which had been under the dominion
of their kings should be ceded to the Romans; that the rest,
with their liberty and their own laws, should be preserved to
the Sicilians. They then invited to a conference the persons
who had been intrusted with the management of affairs by
Epicydes; to whom they said, that they were sent from the
army of the Sicilians, at once to Marcellus and to them, that
both those who were besieged and those who were not might
share the same fortune; and that neither of them might stipu-
late any thing for themselves separately. They were then
allowed to enter, in order to converse with their relations
and friends; when, laying before them the terms which they
had made with Marcellus, and holding out to them a hope of
safety, they induced them to join with them in an attack upon
the prefects of Epicydes, Polyclitus, Philistion, and Epicydes,
surnamed Sindon. Having put them to death, they sum-
moned the multitude to an assembly; and after complaining998

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [b. XXV. CHAr. 29.

of the famine, at which they had been accustomed to express
their dissatisfaction to each other in secret, they said, that
" although they were pressed by so many calamities, they had
no right to accuse Fortune, because it was at their own option
liow long they should continue to suffer them. That the
motive which the Romans had in besieging Syracuse was
affection for the Syracusans, and not hatred; for when they
heard that the government was usurped by Hippocrates and
Epicydes, the creatures first of Hannibal and then of Hiero-
nymus, they took arms and began to besiege the city, in order
to reduce not the city itself, but its cruel tyrants. But now
that Hippocrates is slain, Epicydes shut out of Syracuse, his
prefects put to death, and the Carthaginians driven from the
entire possession of Sicily by sea and land, what reason can
the Romans have left why they should not desire the pre-
servation of Syracuse, in the same manner as they would if
Hiero were still living, who cultivated the friendship of Rome
with unequalled fidelity ? That, therefore, neither the city
nor its inhabitants were in any danger, except from them-
selves, if they neglected an opportunity of restoring them-
selves to the favour of the Romans; and that no so favour-
able a one would ever occur as that which presented itself
at the present instant, immediately upon its appearing that
they were delivered from their insolent tyrants."

29. This speech was received with the most unqualified
approbation of all present. It was resolved, however, that
prastors should be elected before the nomination of deputies;
which being done, some of the prastors themselves were sent
as deputies to Marcellus, the chief of whom thus addressed
him: " Neither in the first instance did we Syracusans revolt
from you, but Hieronymus, whose impiety towards you was
by no means so great as towards us; nor afterwards was it
any Syracusan who disturbed the peace established by the
death of the tyrant, but Hippocrates and Epicydes, creatures
of the tyrant; while we were overpowered, on the one hand
by fear, and on the other by treachery. Nor can any one say
that there ever was a time when we were in possession of our
liberty, when we were not also at peace with you. In the pre-
sent instance, manifestly, as soon as ever we became our own
masters, by the death of those persons who held Syracuse inY. R. 540.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

999

subjection, we lost no time in coming to deliver up our arms,
to surrender ourselves, our city, and our walls, and to refuse
no conditions which you shall impose upon us. To you, Mar-
cellus, the gods have given the glory of having captured the
most renowned and beautiful of the Grecian cities. Every
memorable exploit which we have at any time achieved by
land or sea accrues to the splendour of your triumph. Would
you wish that it should be known only by fame, how great a
city has been captured by you, rather than that she should
stand as a monument even to posterity; so that to every one
who visits her by sea or land, she may point out at one time
our trophies gained from the Athenians and Carthaginians, at
another time those which you have gained from us; and that
you should transmit Syracuse unimpaired to your family, to be
kept under the protection and patronage of the race of the
Marcelli ? Let not the memory of Hieronymus have greater
weight with you than that of Hiero. The latter was your
friend for a much longer period than the former was your
enemy. From the latter you have realized even benefits,
while the frenzy of Hieronymus only brought ruin mpon him-
self." At the hands of the Romans all things were obtain-
able and secure. There was a greater disposition to war, and
more danger to be apprehended among themselves; for the
deserters, thinking that they were delivered up to the Romans,
induced the mercenary auxiliaries to entertain the same ap-
prehension ; and hastily seizing their arms, they first put the
praetors to death, and then ran through the city to massacre
the. Syracusans. In their rage they slew all whom chance
threw in their way, and plundered every thing which pre-
sented itself; and then, lest they should have no leaders, they
elected six praetors, so that three might have the command in
the Achradina, and three in the island. At length, the tumult
having subsided, and the mercenary troops having ascertained,
by inquiry, what had been negotiated with the Romans, it be-
gan to appear, as was really the case, that their cause and that
of the deserters were different.

30. The ambassadors returned from Marcellus very oppor-
tunely. They informed them that they had been influenced
by groundless suspicions, and that the Romans saw no reason
why they should inflict punishment upon them. Of the three
praefects of the Achradina one was a Spaniard, named Me-1000

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXV. CHAP. 30.

ricus. To him one of the Spanish auxiliaries was designedly
sent, among those who accompanied the ambassadors. Hav-
ing obtained an interview with Merieus in the absence of wit-
nesses, he first explained to him the state in which he had
left Spain, from which he had lately returned: " That there
every thing was in subjection to the Roman arms; that it was
in his power, by doing the Romans a service, to become the
first man among his countrymen, whether he might be in-
clined to serve with the Romans, or to return to his country.
On the other hand, if he persisted in preferring to hold out
against the siege, what hope could he have, shut up as he was
by sea and land ? " Merieus was moved by these suggestions,
and when it was resolved upon to send ambassadors to Mar-
cellus, he sent his brother among them; who, being brought
into the presence of Marcellus, apart from the rest, by means
of the same Spaniard, after receiving an assurance of protec-
tion, arranged the method of carrying their object into effect,
and then returned to the Achradina. Merieus then, in order
to prevent any one from conceiving a suspicion of treachery,
declared, that he did not like that deputies should be passing
to and fro; he thought that they should neither admit nor
send any; and in order that the guards might be kept more
strictly, that such parts as were most exposed should be dis-
tributed among the prefects, each being made responsible for
the safety of his own quarter. All approved of the distribu-
tion of the posts. The district which fell to the lot of Merieus
himself extended from the fountain Arethusa to the mouth of
the large Ijarbour, of which he caused the Romans to be in-
formed. Accordingly, Marcellus ordered a transport with
armed men to be towed by a quadrireme to the Achradina
during the night, and the soldiers to be landed in the vicinity
of that gate which is near the fountain of Arethusa. This
order having been executed at the fourth watch, and Merieus
having received the soldiers when landed at the gate, accord-
ing to the agreement, Marcellus assaulted the walls of the
Achradina with all his forces at break of day, so that he not
only engaged the attention of those who occupied the Achra-
dina, but also bands of armed men, quitting their own posts,
ran to the spot from the island, in order to repel the furious
attack of the Romans. During this confusion, some light
ships which had been prepared beforehand, and bad sailedY. R. 540.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1001

round, landed a body of armed men at the island ; these sud-
denly attacking the half-manned stations and the opened door
of the gate at which the troops had a little before run out,
got possession of the island without much opposition, aban-
doned as it was, in consequence of the flight and trepidation
of its guards. Nor were there any who rendered less service,
or showed less firmness in maintaining their posts, than the
deserters ; for as they did not repose much confidence even
in those of their own party, they fled in the middle of the con-
test. When Marcellus learnt that the island was taken, one
quarter of the Achradina in the hands of his troops, and that
Mericus, with the men under his command, had joined them,
he sounded a retreat, lest the royal treasure, the fame of
which was greater than the reality, should be plundered.

31. The impetuosity of the soldiers having been checked,
time and opportunity to escape were given to the deserters in
the Achradina ; and the Syracusans, at length delivered from
their fears, threw open the gates of the Achradina, and sent
deputies to Marcellus, requesting only safety for themselves
and children. Having summoned a council, to which the
Syracusans were invited who were among the Roman troops,
having been driven from home during the disturbances, Mar-
cellus replied, " that the services rendered by Hiero through a
period of fifty years, were not more in number than the in-
juries committed against the Roman people in these few years
by those who had had possession of Syracuse ; but that
most of these injuries had justly recoiled upon their authors,
and that they had inflicted much more severe punishment
upon themselves for the violation of treaties, than the Roman
people desired. That he was indeed now besieging Syracuse
for the third year, but not that the Romans might hold that
state in a condition of slavery, but that the ringleaders of the
deserters might not keep it in a state of thraldom and op-
pression. What the Syracusans could do was exemplified,
either by the conduct of those Syracusans who were among
the Roman troops, or that of the Spanish general, Mericus,
who had delivered up the post which he was appointed to
command, or, lastly, by the late but bold measure adopted by
the Syracusans themselves. That the greatest possible re-
compence for all the evils and dangers which he had for so
long a time undergone, both by sea and land, around the walls1002

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXV. CHAP. 32.

of Syracuse, was the reflection, that he had been able to take
that city." The quaestor was then sent with a guard to the
island, to receive and protect the royal treasure. The city
was given up to be plundered by the soldiery, after guards
had been placed at each of the houses of those who had been
with the Roman troops. While many acts exhibited horrid
examples of rage and rapacity, it is recorded that Archi-
medes, while intent on some figures which he had described
in the dust, although the confusion was as great as could
possibly exist in a captured city, in which soldiers were run-
ning up and down in search of plunder, was put to death by
a soldier, who did not know who he was ; that Marcellus was
grieved at this event, and that pains were taken about his
funeral, while his relations also, for whom diligent inquiry
was made, derived honour and protection from his name and
memory. Such, for the most part, was the manner in which
Syracuse was captured. The quantity of booty was so great,
that had Carthage itself, which was carrying on a contest on
equal terms, been captured, it would scarcely have afforded so
much. A few days before the taking of Syracuse, Titus
Otacilius passed over from Lilybaeum to Utica with eighty
quinqueremes, and entering the harbour before it was light,
took some transports laden with corn; then landing, he laid
waste a considerable portion of the country around Utica, and
brought back to his ships booty of every description. He
returned to Lilybasum, the third day after he set out, with a
hundred and thirty transports laden with corn and booty.
The corn he sent immediately to Syracuse ; and had it not
been for the very seasonable arrival of this supply, a destruc-
tive famine threatened alike the victors and the vanquished.

32. Nothing very memorable had been done in Spain for
about two years, the operations of the war consisting more in
laying plans than in fighting ; but during the same summer
in which the events above recorded took place, the Roman
generals, quitting their winter quarters, united their forces ;
then a council was summoned ; and the opinions of all ac-
corded, that since their only object hitherto had been to pre-
vent Hasdrubal from pursuing his march into Italy, it was
now time that an effort should be made to bring the war in
Spain to a termination ; and they thought that the twenty
thousand Celtiberians, who had been induced to take armsv. r. 540. J

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1003

that winter, formed a sufficient accession to their strength.
There were three armies of the enemy. Hasdrubal, son of
Gisgo, and Mago, who had united their forces, were about a
five days' journey from the Romans. Hasdrubal, son of Ha-
milcar, who was the old commander in Spain, was nearer to
them: he was with his army near the city Anitorgis. The
Roman generals were desirous that he should be overpowered
first; and they hoped that they had enough and more than
enough strength for the purpose. Their only source of anx-
iety was, lest the other Hasdrubal and Mago, terrified at his
discomfiture, should protract the war by withdrawing into
trackless forests and mountains. Thinking it, therefore, the
wisest course to divide their forces and embrace the whole
Spanish war, they arranged it so that Publius Cornelius should
lead two-thirds of the Roman and allied troops against Mago
and Hasdrubal, and that Cneius Cornelius, with the remain-
ing third of the original army, and with the Celtiberians
added to them, should carry on the war with the Barcine
Hasdrubal. The two generals and their armies, setting out
together, preceded by the Celtiberians, pitched their camp
near the city Anitorgis, within sight of the enemy, the river
only separating them. Here Cneius Scipio, with the forces
above mentioned, halted, but Publius Scipio proceeded to the
portion of the war assigned to him.

33. Hasdrubal perceiving that there were but few Roman
troops in the camp, and that their whole dependence was on
the Celtiberian auxiliaries; and having had experience of the
perfidy of the barbarian nations in general, and particularly
of all those nations among which he had served for so many
yea'rs; as there was every facility of intercourse, for both
camps were full of Spaniards, by secret conferences with the
chiefs of the Celtiberians, he agreed with them, for a large
consideration, to take their forces away. Nor did they con-
ceive it to be any great crime; for the object was not that
they should turn their arms against the Romans, while the
reward which they were to receive to abstain from the war
was large enough to remunerate them for their service in it.
At the same time the mere rest from labour, the return to
their homes, with the pleasure of seeing their friends and pro-
perty, were pleasing to the generality. Accordingly, the mul-
titude were prevailed upon as easily as their leaders. They1004

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXV. CHAP. 34.

had, moreover, nothing to fear from the Romans, in conse-
quence of the smallness of their numbers, should they en-
deavour to detain them by force. It will indeed be the duty
of all Roman generals to take care, and the instances here re-
corded should be considered as strong arguments, never to
place so much confidence in foreign auxiliaries, as not to re-
tain in their camps a preponderance of their own strength,
and of that force which is properly their own. The Celti-
berians, suddenly taking up their standards, marched away,
replying only to the Romans, who asked the cause of their de-
parture and entreated them to stay, that they were called away
by a war at home. Scipio seeing that his allies could be de-
tained neither by prayers nor force, and that he was neither
a match for his enemy without them, nor could again effect a
junction with his brother, no other course which promised
safety offering itself, resolved to retire as far as possible, care-
fully using every caution not to encounter the enemy any
where on level ground. On his departing, the enemy, cross-
ing the river, pursued him almost in his footsteps.

34. During the same period an equal terror and a greater
danger pressed upon Publius Scipio. Masinissa was a young
man at that time an ally of the Carthaginians, whom after-
wards the friendship of the Romans rendered illustrious and
powerful. He not only opposed himself with his Numidian
cavalry to Scipio on his approach, but afterwards harassed
him incessantly day and night, so as both to cut off his strag-
glers, who had gone out to a distance from the camp in search
of wood and forage, and riding up to the very gates of his
camp, and charging into the midst of his advanced guards, to
fill every quarter with the utmost confusion. By night also
alarm was frequently occasioned in the gates and rampart by
his sudden attacks. Nor was there any time or place at which
the Romans were exempt from fear and anxiety; and driven
within their rampart, and deprived of every necessary, they
suffered in a manner a regular siege; and it appeared that it
would have been still straiter, if Indibilis, who it was reported
was approaching with seven thousand five hundred Suesse-
tani, should form a junction with the Carthaginians. Scipio,
though a wary and provident general, overpowered by diffi-
culties, adopted the rash measure of going to meet Indibilis
by night, with the intention of fighting him wherever heY» it. 540.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1005

should meet him. Leaving, therefore, a small force in his
camp, under the command of Titus Fonteius, lieutenant-
general, he set out at midnight, and meeting with the enemy,
came to battle with him. The troops fought in the order of
march rather than of battle. The Romans, however, had the
advantage, though in an irregular fight; but the Numidian
cavalry, whose observation the general supposed that he had
escaped, suddenly spreading themselves round his flanks, oc-
casioned great terror. After a new contest had been entered
into with the Numidians, a third enemy came up in addition
to the rest, the Carthaginian generals having come up with
their rear when they were now engaged in fighting. Thus
the Romans were surrounded on every side by enemies; nor
could they make up their minds which they should attack
first, or in what part, forming themselves into a close body,
they should force their way through. The general, while
fighting and encouraging his men, exposing himself wherever
the strife was the hottest, was run through the right side with
a lance ,* and when the party of the enemy, which, formed
into a wedge, had charged the troops collected round the ge-
neral, perceived Scipio falling lifeless from his horse, elated
with joy, they ran shouting through the whole line with the
news that the Roman general had fallen. These words spread-
ing in every direction, caused the enemy to be considered as
victors, and the Romans as vanquished. On the los3 of the
general the troops immediately began to fly from the field;
but though it was not difficult to force their way through the
Numidians and the other light-armed auxiliaries, yet it was
scarcely possible for them to escape so large a body of cavalry,
and infantry equal to horses in speed. Almost more were
slain in the flight than in the battle; nor would a man have
survived, had not night put a stop to the carnage, the day by
this time rapidly drawing to a close.

35. After this, the Carthaginian generals, who were not
slow in following up their victory, immediately after the bat-
tle, scarcely giving their soldiers necessary rest, hurry their
army to Hasdrubal, son of Hamilcar; confidently hoping, that
after uniting their forces with his, the war might be brought
to a conclusion. On their arrival, the warmest congratula-
tions passed between the troops and their generals, who were
delighted with their recent victory; for they had not only de-1006

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

[b. xxy. chap. 30.

stroyed one distinguished general and all his men, but looked
forward to another victory of equal magnitude as a matter of
certainty. The intelligence of this great disaster had not yet
reached the Romans; but there prevailed a kind of melancholy
silence and mute foreboding, such as is usually found in minds
which have a presentiment of impending calamity. The ge-
neral himself, besides feeling that he was deserted by his allies,
and that the forces of the enemy were so much augmented,
was disposed from conjecture and reasoning rather to a sus-
picion that some defeat had been sustained, than to any fa-
vourable hopes. "For how could Hasdrubal and Mago bring
up their troops without opposition, unless they had terminated
their part of the war ? How was it that his brother had no*
opposed his progress or followed on his rear ? in order that,
if he could not prevent the armies and generals of the enemy
from forming a junction, he might himself join his forces with
his brother's." Disturbed with these cares, he believed that
the only safe policy for the present was to retire as far as pos-
sible; and, accordingly, he marched a considerable distance
thence in one night, the enemy not being aware of it, and on
that account continuing quiet. At dawn, perceiving that
their enemy had decamped, they sent the Numidians in ad-
vance, and began to pursue them as rapidly as possible. The
Numidians overtook them before night, and charged; some-
times their rear, at other times their flanks. They then began
to halt and defend themselves as well as they com Id ; but
Scipio exhorted them at once to fight so as not to exposo
themselves, and march at the same time, lest the infantry
should overtake them.

36. But having made but little progress for a long time, in
consequence of his making his troops sometimes advance and
at others halt, and night now drawing on, Scipio recalled his
troops from the battle, and collecting them, withdrew to a
certain eminence, not very safe, indeed, particularly for dispi-
rited troops, but higher than any of the surrounding places.
There, at first, his infantry, drawn up around his baggage
and cavalry, which were placed in their centre, had no diffi-
culty in repelling the attacks of the charging Numidians;
but afterwards, when three generals with three regular armies
marched up in one entire body, and it was evident that his
men would not be able to do much by arms in defending^theY. U. 540.]	THE HISTORY OF ROME.	1007

position without fortifications, the general began to look about,
and consider whether he could by any means throw a rampart
around; but the hill was so bare, and the soil so rough, that
neither could a bush be found for cutting a palisado, nor earth
for making a mound, nor the requisites for making a trench
or any other work; nor was the place naturally steep or ab-
rupt enough to render the approach and ascent difficult to the
enemy, as it rose on every side with a gentle acclivity. How-
ever, that they might raise up against them some semblance
of a rampart, they placed around them the panniers tied to the
burdens, building them up as it were to the usual height, and
when there was a deficiency of panniers for raising it, they
presented against the enemy a heap of baggage of every kind.
The Carthaginian armies coming up, very easily marched up
the eminence, but were stopped by the novel appearance of
the fortification, as by something miraculous, when their lead-
ers called out from all sides, asking " what they stopped at ?
and why they did not tear down and demolish that mockery,
which was scarcely strong enough to impede the progress of
women and children; that the enemy, who were skulking be-
hind their baggage, were, in fact, captured and in their hands."
Such were the contemptuous reproofs of their leaders. But it
was not an easy task either to leap over or remove the bur-
dens raised up against them, or to cut through the panniers,
closely packed together and covered completely with baggage.
When the removal of the burdens had opened a way to the
troops, who were detained by them for a long time, and the
same had been done in several quarters, the camp was now
captured on all sides; the Romans were cut to pieces on all
hands, the few by the many, the dispirited by the victorious.
A great number of the men, however, having fled for refuge
into the neighbouring woods, effected their escape to the
camp of Publius Scipio, which Titus Fonteius commanded.
Some authors relate that Cneius Scipio was slain on the
eminence on the first assault of the enemy; others that he
escaped with a few attendants to a castle near the camp ; this,
they say, was surrounded with fire, by which means the doors
which they could not force were consumed ; that it was thus
t-aken, and all within, together with the general himself, put
to death. Cneius Scipio was slain in the eighth year after his
arrival in Spain, and on the twenty-ninth day after the death

3 T1008

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXV. CHAP. 37.

of his brother. At Rome the grief occasioned by their death
was not more intense than that which was felt throughout
Spain. The sorrow of the citizens, however, was partly dis-
tracted by the loss of the armies, the alienation of the province,
and the public disaster; while in Spain they mourned and
regretted the generals themselves; Cneius, however, the more,
because he had been longer in command of them, had first en-
gaged their affections, and first exhibited a specimen of Ro-
man justice and forbearance.

37. When it seemed that the Roman armies were annihil-
ated, and Spain lost, one man recovered this desperate state
of affairs. There was in the army one Lucius Marcius, the
son of Septimus, a Roman knight, an enterprising youth, and
possessing a mind and genius far superior to the condition in
which he had been born. To his high talents had been added
the discipline of Cneius Scipio, under which he had been
thoroughly instructed during a course of so many years in all
the qualifications of a soldier. This man, having collected the
troops which had been dispersed in the flight, and drafted
some from the garrisons, had formed an army not to be de-
spised, and united it with Titus Fonteius, the lieutenant-
general of Publius Scipio. But so transcendent was the
Roman knight in authority and honour among the troops,
that when, after fortifying a camp on this side of the Iberus,
it had been resolved that a general of the two armies should
be elected in an assembly of the soldiers, relieving each other
in the guard of the rampart, and in keeping the outposts until
every one had given his vote, they unanimously conferred the
supreme command upon Lucius Marcius. All the inter-
vening time, which was but short, was occupied in fortifying
their camp and collecting provisions; and the soldiers exe-
cuted every order not only with vigour, but with feelings by
no means depressed. But when intelligence was brought
them that Hasdrubal, son of Gisgo, who was coming to put
the finishing stroke to the war, had crossed the Iberus and
was drawing near, and when they saw the signal for battle
displayed by a new commander; then calling to mind whom
they had had for their leaders a little while ago, relying on
what leaders and what forces they used to go out to fight, they
all suddenly burst into tears and beat their heads; some
raising their hands to heaven and arraigning the gods;y. r. 540.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1009

others prostrating themselves upon the ground and invoking
by name each his own former commander. Nor could their
lamentations be restrained, though the centurions endeavour-
ed to animate their companies, and though Marcius himself
soothed and remonstrated with them, asking them " why they
had given themselves up to womanish and unavailing lament-
ations rather than summon up all their courage to protect
themselves and the commonwealth together, and not suffer
their generals to lie unavenged?" But suddenly a shout and
the sound of trumpets were heard; for by this time the enemy
were near the rampart. Upon this, their grief being suddenly
converted into rage, they hastily ran to arms, and, as it were,
burning with fury, rushed to the gates and charged the enemy,
while advancing in a careless and disorderly manner. This
unexpected event instantly struck terror into the Carthaginians,
who wondering whence so many enemies could have sprung
up so suddenly, as the army had been almost annihilated; what
could have inspired men who had been vanquished and routed
with such boldness and confidence in themselves; what ge-
neral could have arisen now that the two Scipios were slain;
who could command the camp, and who had given the signal
for. battle; in consequence of these so many and so unexpected
circumstances, at first, being in a state of complete uncertainty
and amazement, they gave ground; but afterwards, discomfit-
ed by the violence of the charge, they turned their backs; and
either there would have been a dreadful slaughter of the fly-
ing enemy, or a rash and dangerous effort on the part of the
pursuers, had not Marcius promptly given the signal for re-
treat, and by throwing himself in the way of the front rank,
and even holding some back with his own hands, repressed
the infuriated troops. He then led them back to the camp,
still eager for blood and slaughter. When the Carthaginians,
who were at first compelled to fly with precipitation from the
rampart of theiy enemy, saw that no one pursued them, con-
cluding that they had stopped from fear, now on the other
hand went away to their camp at an easy pace, with feelings
of contempt for the enemy. There was a corresponding
want of care in guarding their camp; for though the enemy
were near, yet it seemed that they were but the remains
of the two armies which had been cut to pieces a few days
before. As in consequence of this all things were neglected

3 t 21010

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXY. CHAP. 38.

in tlie enemy's camp, Marcius having ascertained this, ad-
dressed his mind to a measure which on the first view of it
might appear rather rash than bold: it was, aggressively to
assault the enemy's camp, concluding that the camp of Has-
drubal, while alone, might be carried with less difficulty than
his own could be defended, if the three armies and as many
generals should again unite; taking into consideration also,
that either if he succeeded he would retrieve their prostrate
fortune, or if repulsed, still, by making the attack himself, he
would rescue himself from contempt.

38. Lest, however, the suddenness of the affair, and the
fear of night, should frustrate a measure which was in itself
ill adapted to his condition, he thought it right that his
soldiers should be addressed and exhorted; and having call-
ed an assembly, he discoursed as follows: " Soldiers, either
my veneration for our late commanders, both living and dead,
or our present situation, may impress on every one the belief
that this command, as it is highly honourable to me, conferred
by your suffrages, so is it in its nature a heavy and anxious
charge. For at a time when I should be scarcely so far mas-
ter of myself as to be able to find any solace for my afflicted
mind, did not fear deaden the sense of sorrow, I am compel-
led to take upon myself alone the task of consulting for the
good of you all; a task of the greatest difficulty when under
the influence of grief. And not even at that critical moment,
when I ought to be considering in what manner I may be
enabled to keep together for my country these remains of two
armies, can I divert my mind from the affliction which inces-
santly preys upon me. /For bitter recollection is ever present,
and the Scipios ever disturb me with anxious cares by day
and dreams by night, frequently rousing me from my sleep,
and imploring me not to suffer themselves nor their soldiers,
your companions in war, who had been victorious in this
country for eight years, nor the commonwealth to remain un-
revenged; enjoining me also to follow their discipline and
their plans; and desiring that as there was no one more
obedient to their commands while they were alive than I, so
after their death I would consider that conduct as best, which
I might have the strongest reason for believing they would
have adopted in each case. I could wish also that you, my
soldiers, should not show your respect for them by lamenta-y. it. 540.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1011

tions and tears, as if they were dead; (for they still live and
flourish in the fame of their achievements;) but that when-
ever the memory of those men shall occur to you, you would
go into battle as though you saw them encouraging you and
giving you the signal. Nor certainly could anything else
than their image presenting itself yesterday to your eyes and
minds, have enabled you to fight that memorable battle, in
which you proved to the enemy that the Roman name had
not become extinct with the Scipios ; and that the energy
and valour of that people, which had not been overwhelmed
by the disaster at Cannae, would, doubtlessly, emerge from
the severest storms of fortune. Now since you have dared
so much of your own accord, I have a mind to try how much
you will dare when authorized by your general : for yester-
day, when I gave the signal for retreat while you were pur-
suing the routed enemy with precipitation, I did not wish to
break your spirit, but to reserve it for greater glory and more
advantageous opportunities; that you might afterwards, when
prepared and armed, seize an occasion of attacking your enemy
while off their guard, unarmed, and even buried in sleep.
Nor do I entertain the hope of gaining an opportunity of this
kind rashly, but from the actual state of things. Doubtless,
if any one should ask even himself, by what means, though
few in number and disheartened by defeat, you defended your
camp against troops superior in number and victorious, you
would give no other answer than that, as this was the very
thing you were afraid of, you had kept every place secured by
works and yourselves ready and equipped. And so it generally
happens : men are least secure against that which fortune
causes not to be feared; because you leave unguarded and ex-
posed what you think is not necessary to be cared about. There
is nothing whatever which the enemy fear less at the present
time, than lest we, who were a little while ago besieged and as-
saulted, should aggressively assault their camp ourselves. Let
us dare, then, to do that which it is incredible we should have
the courage to attempt; it will be most easy from the very fact
of its appearing most difficult. At the third watch of the night
I will lead you thither in silence. I have ascertained by means
of scouts that they have no regular succession of watches, no
proper outposts. Our shout at their gates, when heard, and
the first assault, will carry their camp. Then let that car-1012

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B XXV. CHAP. 39.

nage be made among men, torpid with sleep, terrified at the
unexpected tumult, and overpowered while lying defenceless
in their beds, from which you were so grieved to be recalled
yesterday. I know that the measure appears to you a daring
one ; but in difficult and almost desperate circumstances the
boldest counsels are always the safest. For if when the cri-
tical moment has arrived, the opportunity of seizing which is
of a fleeting nature, you delay ever so little, in vain do you
seek for it afterwards when it has been neglected. One army
is near us : two more are not far off. We have some hopes
if we make an attack now ; and you have already made trial
of your own and their strength. If we postpone the time and
cease to be despised in consequence of the fame of yesterday's
irruption, there is danger lest all the generals and all the forces
should unite. Shall we be able then to withstand three ge-
nerals and three armies, whom Cneius Scipio with his army
unimpaired could not withstand? As our generals have
perished by dividing their forces, so the enemy may be over-
powered while separated and divided. There is no other
mode of maintaining the war ; let us, therefore, wait for no-
thing but the opportunity of the ensuing night. Now de-
part, with the favour of the gods, and refresh yourselves, that,
unfatigued and vigorous, you may burst into the enemy's camp
with the same spirit with which you have defended your
own." This new enterprise, proposed by their new general,
they received with joy ; and the more daring it was the more
it pleased them. The remainder of the day was spent in get-
ting their arms in readiness and recruiting their strength, the
greater part of the night was given to rest, and at the fourth
watch they were in motion.

39. At a distance of six miles beyond their nearest camp
lay other forces of the Carthaginians. A deep valley, thickly
planted with trees, intervened. Near about the middle of
this wood a Roman cohort and some cavalry were placed in
concealment with Punic craft. The communication between
the two armies being thus cut off, the rest of the forces were
marched in silence to the nearest body of the enemy ; and as
there were no outposts before the gates, and no guards on the
rampart, they entered quite into the camp, as though it had
been their own, no one any where opposing them. The sig-
nals were then sounded and a shout raised. Some put theY, R. 540.]

THE HISTORY OF HOME.

1013

enemy to the sword when half asleep; others threw fire upon
the huts, which were covered in with dry straw; others
blocked up the gates to intercept their escape. The enemy,
who were assailed at once with fire, shouting, and the sword,
were in a manner bereaved of their senses, and could neither
hear each other, nor take any measures for their security.
Unarmed, they fell into the midst of troops of armed men:
some hastened to the gates; others, as the passes were
blocked up, leaped over the rampart, and as each escaped
they fled directly towards the other camp, where they were
cut off by the cohort and cavalry rushing forward from their
concealment, and were all slain to a man. And even had any
escaped from that carnage, the Romans, after taking the
nearer camp, ran over to the other with such rapidity, that
no one could have arrived before them with news of the dis-
aster. In this camp, as they were far distant from the enemy,
and as some had gone off just before day-light for forage,
wood, and plunder, they found every thing in a still more
-neglected and careless state. Their arms only were placed
at the outposts, the men being unarmed, and either sitting
and reclining upon the ground, or else walking up and down
before the rampart and the gates. On these men, thus at their
ease and unguarded, the Romans, still hot from the recent battle,
and flushed with victory, commenced an attack ; no effectual
opposition therefore could be made to them in the gates.
Within the gates, the troops having rushed together from
every part of the camp at the first shout and alarm, a furious
conflict arose; which would have continued for a long time,
had not the bloody appearance of the Roman shields disco-
vered to the Carthaginians the defeat of the other forces, and
consequently struck them with dismay. This alarm produced
a general flight; and all except those who were overtaken
with the sword, rushing out precipitately wherever they could
find a passage, abandoned their camp. Thus, in a night and
a day, two camps of the enemy were carried, under the con-
duct of Lucius Marcius. Claudius, who translated the annals
of Acilius out of Greek into Latin, states that as many as
thirty-seven thousand ^men were slain, one thousand eight
hundred and thirty made prisoners, and a great booty ob-
tained ; among which was a silver shield of a hundred and
thirty-eight pounds' weight, with an image upon it of the Bar-1014

THE HISTORY OF ROME* [B. XXY. CHAP. 40.

cine Hasdrubal. Valerius Antias states, that the camp of
Mago only was captured, and seven thousand of the enemy
slain; and that in the other battle, when the Romans sallied
out and fought with Hasdrubal, ten thousand were slain, and
four thousand three hundred captured. Piso writes, that five
thousand were slain in an ambuscade when Mago incautiously
pursued our troops who retired. With all, the name of the
general, Marcius, is mentioned with great honour, and to his
real glory they add even miracles. They say, that while he
was haranguing his men a stream of fire poured from his head
without his perceiving it, to the great terror of the surround-
ing soldiers; and that a shield, called the Marcian, with an
image of Hasdrubal upon it, remained in the temple up to the
time of the burning of the Capitol, a monument of his victory
over the Carthaginians. After this, affairs continued for a
considerable time in a tranquil state in Spain, as both parties,
after giving and receiving such important defeats, hesitated
to run the hazard of a general battle.

40. During these transactions in Spain, Marcellus, after the
capture of Syracuse, having settled the other affairs in Sicily
with so much honour and integrity as not only to add to his
own renown, but also to the majesty of the Roman people,
conveyed to Rome the ornaments of the city, together with
the statues and pictures with which Syracuse abounded.
These were certainly spoils taken from enemies, and acquired
according to the laws of war; but hence was the origin of the
admiration of the products of Grecian art, and to that freedom
with which at present all places, both sacred and profane, are
despoiled; which at last recoiled upon the Roman gods, and
first upon that very temple which was so choicely adorned by
Marcellus. For foreigners were in the habit of visiting the
temples dedicated by Marcellus near the Capuan gate, on ac-
count of their splendid ornaments of this description, of which
a very small portion can be found. Embassies from almost
all the states of Sicily came to him. As their cases were dif-
ferent, so were also the terms granted to them. Those who
had either not revolted or had returned to the alliance before
the capture of Syracuse, were received and honoured as faith-
ful allies. Those who had been induced to submit through
fear after the capture of Syracuse, as vanquished, received
laws from the conqueror. The Romans, however, had stilly. it. 540.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1015

remaining a war of no small magnitude at Agrigentum, headed
by Epicydes and Hanno, generals in the late war, and a third
new one sent by Hannibal in the room of Hippocrates, a Liby-
phoenician by nation, and a native of Hippo, called by his coun-
trymen Mutines; an energetic man, and thoroughly instructed
in all the arts of war under the tuition of Hannibal. To this
man the Numidian auxiliaries were assigned by Epicydes
and Hanno. With these he so thoroughly overran the lands
of his enemies, and visited his allies with such activity, in
order to retain them in their allegiance, and for the purpose
of bringing them seasonable aid as each required it, that in a
short time he filled all Sicily with his fame, nor was greater
confidence placed in any one else by those who favoured the
Carthaginian interest. Accordingly the Carthaginian and
Syracusan generals, who had been hitherto compelled to keep
within the walls of Agrigentum, not more at the advice of
Mutines than from the confidence they reposed in him, had the
courage to go out from the walls, and pitched a camp near the
river Himera. When this was announced to Marcellus, he
immediately advanced and sat down at a distance of about
four miles from the enemy, with the intention of waiting to
see what steps they took, and what they meditated. But Mu-
tines allowed no room or time^ for delay or deliberation, but
crossed the river, and, charging the outposts of his enemy,
created the greatest terror and confusion. The next day, in
an engagement which might almost be called regular, he com-
pelled his enemy to retire within their works. Being called
away by a mutiny of the Numidians, which had broken out in
the camp, and in which about three hundred of them had retired
to Heraclea Minoa, he set out to appease them and bring them
back; and is said to have earnestly warned the generals not to
engage with the enemy during his absence. Both the gene-
rals were indignant at this conduct, but particularly Hanno,
who was before disturbed at his reputation. " Is it to be
borne," said he, " that a mongrel African should impose re-
straints upon me, a Carthaginian general, commissioned by
the senate and people ?" Epicydes, who wished to wait, was
prevailed upon by him to agree to their crossing the river and
offering battle; for, said he, if they should wait for Mutines,
and the battle should terminate successfully, Mutines would
certainly have the credit of it.1016

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXV. CHAP. 41.

41. But Marcellus, highly indignant that he who had re-
pulsed Hannibal from Nola, when rendered confident by his
victory at Cannae, should succumb to enemies whom he had
vanquished by sea and land, ordered his soldiers immediately
to take arms and raise the standards. While marshalling his
army, ten Numidians rode up rapidly from the enemy's line
with information that their countrymen, first induced by the
same causes which brought on the mutiny, in which three
hundred of their number retired to Heraclea, and secondly,
because they saw their commander, just on the approach of a
battle, sent out of the way by generals who wished to detract
from his glory, would not take any part in the battle. This
deceitful nation made good their promise in this instance.
Accordingly the spirits of the Romans were increased by the
intelligence, which was speedily conveyed through the lines,
that the enemy were abandoned by the cavalry, which the Ro-
mans principally feared ; while at the same time the enemy
were dispirited, not only because they were deprived of the
principal part of their strength, but further, because they
were afraid lest they should themselves be attacked by their
own cavalry. Accordingly, there was no great resistance
made: the first shout and onset determined the business.
The Numidians who stood quiet in the wings during the ac-
tion, when they saw their party turning their backs, accom-
panied them in their flight only for a short time; but when
they perceived that they were all making for Agrigentum with
the most violent haste, they turned off to the neighbouring
towns round about, through fear of a siege. Many thousand
men were slain and captured, together with eight elephants.
This was the last battle which Marcellus fought in Sicily, after
which he returned victorious to Syracuse. The year was now
about closing ; the senate therefore decreed that Publius Cor-
nelius, the praetor, should send a letter to Capua to the con-
suls, with directions that while Hannibal was at a distance,
and nothing of any great importance was going on at Capua,
one of them, if they thought fit, should come to Rome to elect
new magistrates. On the receipt of the letter, the consuls ar-
ranged it between themselves, that Claudius should hold the
election, and Fulvius remain at Capua. The consuls created
by Claudius were Cneius Fulvius Centumalus, and Publius
Sulpicius Gralba, the son of Servius, who had never exercisedy, R. 540.]

the history of rome.

1017

any curule magistracy. After this Lucius Cornelius Lentulus,
Marcus Cornelius Cethegus, Caius Sulpicius, and Caius Cal-
purnius Piso, were created prastors. Piso had the city juris-
diction ; Sulpicius, Sicily ; Cethegus, Apulia; Lentulus, Sar-
dinia. The consuls were continued in command for a year
longer.

BOOK XXVI.

Hannibal encamps on the banks of the Anio, within three miles of Rome.
A ttended by two thousand horsemen, he advances close to the Colline
gate to take a view of the walls and situation of the city. On two suc-
cessive days the hostile armies are hindered from engaging by the severity
of the weather. Capua taken by Quintus Fulvius and Appius Claudius ;
the chief nobles die, voluntarily, by poison. Quintus Fulvius having cpn-
demned the principal senators to death, at the moment they are actually
tied to the stakes, receives despatches from Rome, commanding him to
spare their lives, which he postpones reading until the sentence is executed.
Publius Scipio, offering himself for the service, is sent to command in
Spain; takes New Carthage in one day. Successes in Sicily. Treaty
of friendship with the JEtolians. War with Philip, king of Macedonia,
and the Acarnanians.

1. The consuls, Cneius Fulvius Centumalus and Publius
Sulpicius Galba, having entered on their office on the ides
of March, assembled the senate in the Capitol, and took the
opinion of the fathers on the state of the republic, the manner
of conducting the war, and on what related to the provinces
and the armies. Quintus Fulvius and Appius Claudius, the
consuls of the former year, were continued in command ; and
the armies which they before had were assigned to them, it
being added that they should not withdraw from Capua,
which they were besieging, till they had taken it. The Ro-
mans were now solicitously intent upon this object, not from
resentment so much, which was never juster against any
city, as from the consideration that as this city, so celebrated
and powerful, had by its defection drawn away several states,
so when reduced it would bring back their minds to respect for1018

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXVI. CHAP. 2.

the former supreme government. Two praetors also of the
former year, Marcus Junius and Publius Sempronius, were
each continued in command of the two legions which they had
under them, the former in Etruria, the latter in Gaul. Marcus
Marcellus also was continued in command, that he might, as
proconsul, finish the war in Sicily with the army he had there.
If he wanted recruits he was to take them from the legions
which Publius Cornelius, the proprietor, commanded in Sicily,
provided he did not choose any soldier who was of the num-
ber of those whom the senate had refused to allow to be dis-
charged, or to return home till the war was put an end to. To
Caius Sulpicius, to whose lot Sicily had fallen, the two legions
which Publius Cornelius had commanded were assigned, to
be recruited from the army of Cneius Fulvius, which had
been shamefully beaten, and had experienced a dreadful loss
the year before in Apulia. To soldiers of this description the
senate had assigned the same period of service as to those who
fought at Cannae; and as an additional mark of ignominy
upon both, they were not allowed to winter in towns, or to
build huts for wintering within the distance of ten miles from
any town. To Lucius Cornelius, in Sardinia, the two legions
which Quintus Mucius had commanded were assigned; if re-
cruits were wanted, the consuls were ordered to enlist them.
To Titus Otacilius and Marcus Valerius was allotted the pro-
tection of the coasts of Sicily and Greece, with the legions and
fleets which they had commanded. The Greek coast had fifty
ships with one legion ; the Sicilian^ a hundred ships with two
legions. Twenty-three legions were employed by the Romans
in carrying on the war this year by land and sea.

2. In the beginning of the year, on a letter from Lucius
Marcius being laid before the senate, they considered his
achievements as most glorious; but the title of honour which
he assumed (for though he was neither invested with the
command by the order of the people, nor by the direction of
the fathers, his letter ran in this form, " The propraetor to the
senate") gave offence to a great many. It was considered as
an injurious precedent for generals to be chosen by the armies,
and for the solemn ceremony of elections, held under auspices,
to be transferred to camps and provinces, and (far from the
control of the laws and magistrates) to military thoughtless-
ness. And though some gave it as their opinion, that theY. R. 541.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1019

sense of the senate should be taken on the matter, yet it was
thought more advisable that the discussion should be post-
poned till after the departure of the horsemen who brought
the letter from Marcius. It was resolved, that an answer
should be returned respecting the corn and clothing of the
army, stating, that the senate would direct its attention to
both those matters; but that the letter should not be addressed
to Lucius Marcius, propraetor, lest he should consider that as
already determined which was the very point they reserved
for discussion. After the horsemen were dismissed, it was
the first thing the consuls brought before the senate; and the
opinions of all to a man coincided, that the plebeian tribunes
should be instructed to consult the commons with all possible
speed, as to whom they might resolve to send into Spain to
take the command of that army which had been under the con-
duct of Cneius Scipio. The plebeian tribunes were instructed
accordingly, and the question was published. But another con-
test had pre-engaged the minds of the people: Caius Sempro-
nius Blaesus, having brought Cneius Fulvius to trial for the
loss of the army in Apulia, harassed him with invectives in
the public assemblies: " Many generals," he reiterated, " had
by indiscretion and ignorance brought their armies into most
perilous situations, but none,.save Cneius Fulvius, had cor-
rupted his legions by every species of excess before he be-
trayed them to the enemy; it might therefore with truth be
said, that they were lost before they saw the enemy, and that
they were defeated, not by Hannibal, but by their own general.
No man, when he gave his vote, took sufficient pains in ascer-
taining who it was to whom he was intrusting an army. What
a difference was there between this man and Tiberius Sem-
pronius! The latter> having been intrusted with an army of
slaves, had in a short time brought it to pass, by discipline and
authority, that not one of them in the field of battle remembered
his condition and birth, but they became a protection to our
allies and a terror to our enemies. They had snatched, as it
were, from the very jaws of Hannibal, and restored to the
Roman people, Cumge, Beneventum, and other towns. But
Cneius Fulvius had infected with the vices peculiar to slaves,
an army of Roman citizens, of honourable parentage and liberal
education ; and had thus made them insolent and. turbulent
among their allies, inefficient and dastardly among their ene-1020

THE HIS10RY OF ROME. [B. XXVI. CHAP. 3.

mies, unable to sustain, not only the charge, but the shout of
the Carthaginians. But, by Hercules, it was no wonder that
the troops did not stand their ground in the battle, when their
general was the first to fly; with him, the greater wonder was,
that any had fallen at their posts, and that they were not all
the companions of Cneius Fulvius in his consternation and
his flight. Caius Flaminius, Lucius Paullus, Lucius Post-
humius, Cneius and Publius Scipio, had preferred falling in
the battle to abandoning their armies when in the power of
the enemy. But Cneius Fulvius was almost the only man
who returned to Rome to report the annihilation of his army.
It was a shameful crime that the army of Canna3 should be
transported into Sicily, because they fled from the field of
battle, and not be allowed to return till the enemy has quitted
Italy; that the same decree should have been lately passed
with respect to the legions of Cneius Fulvius ; while Cneius
Fulvius himself has no punishment inflicted upon him for
running away, in a battle brought about by his own indiscre-
tion ; that he himself should be permitted to pass his old age
in stews and brothels, where he passed his youth, while his
troops, whose only crime was that they resembled their ge-
neral, should be sent away in a manner into banishment, and
suffer an ignominious service. So unequally," he said, " was
liberty shared at Rome by the rich and the poor, by the en-
nobled and the common people."

3. The accused shifted the blame from himself to his
soldiers; he said, " that in consequence of their having in
the most turbulent manner demanded battle, they were led
into the field, not on the day they desired, for it was then
evening, but on the following; that they were drawn up at a
suitable time and on favourable ground; but either the re-
putation or the strength of the enemy was such, that they were
unable to stand their ground. When they all fled precipi-
tately, he himself also was carried away with the crowd, as
had happened to Yarro at the battle of Cannse, and to many
other generals. How could he, by his sole resistance, benefit
the republic, unless his death would remedy the public dis-
asters ? that he was not defeated in consequence of a failure in
his provisions; that he had not, from want of caution, been
drawn into a disadvantageous position; that he had not been
cut off by an ambuscade in consequence of not having ex-Y. R. 541.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1021

plored his route, but had been vanquished by open force, and
by arms, in a regular engagement. He had not in his power
the minds of his own troops, or those of the enemy. Courage
and cowardice were the result of each man's natural constitu-
tion." He was twice accused, and the penalty was laid at a
fine. On the third accusation, at which witnesses were pro-
duced, he was not only overwhelmed with an infinity of dis-
graceful charges, but a great many asserted on oath, that the
flight and panic commenced with the praetor, that the troops
being deserted by him, and concluding that the fears of their
general were not unfounded, turned their backs; when so
strong a feeling of indignation was excited, that the assembly
clamorously rejoined that he ought to be tried capitally. This
gave rise to a new controversy; for when the tribune, who
had twice prosecuted him as for a finable offence, now, on the
third occasion, declared that he prosecuted him capitally; the
tribunes of the commons being appealed to, said, " they would
not prevent their colleague from proceeding, as he was per-
mitted according to the custom of their ancestors, in the man-
ner he himself preferred, whether according to the laws or to
custom, until he had obtained judgment against a private in-
dividual, convicting him either of a capital or finable offence."
Upon this, Sempronius said, that he charged Cneius Fulvius
with the crime of treason; and requested Caius Calpurnius,
the city prastor, to appoint a day for the comitia. Another
ground of hope was then tried by the accused, viz. if his bro-
ther, Quintus Fulvius, could be present at his trial, who was at
that time flourishing in the fame of his past achievements and
in the near expectation of taking Capua. Fulvius wrote to
the senate, requesting the favour in terms calculated to excite
compassion, in order to save the life of his brother; but
the fathers replied, that the interest of the state would not
admit of his leaving Capua. Cneius Fulvius, therefore, be-
fore the day appointed for the comitia arrived, went into
exile to Tarquinii, and the commons resolved that it was a
legal exile.

4. Meanwhile all the strength of the war was directed
against Capua. It was, however, more strictly blockaded than
besieged. The slaves and populace could neither endure the
famine, nor send messengers to Hannibal through guards so1022

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXYI. CHAP. 5

closely stationed. A ISTumidian was at length found, who, on
undertaking to make his way with it, was charged with a let-
ter ; and going out by night, through the midst of the JRoman
camp, in order to fulfil his promise, he inspired the Campa-
nians with confidence to try the effect of a sally from every
quarter, while they had any strength remaining. In the many
encounters which followed, their cavalry were generally suc-
cessful, but their infantry were beaten : however, it was by
no means so joyful to conquer, as it was miserable to be
worsted in any respect by a besieged and almost subdued
enemy. A plan was at length adopted, by which their defi-
ciency in strength might be compensated by stratagem. Young
men were selected from all the legions, who, from the vigour
and activity of their bodies, excelled in swiftness ; these were
supplied with bucklers shorter than those worn by horsemen,
and seven javelins each, four feet in length, and pointed with
steel in the same manner as the spears used by light-armed
troops. The cavalry taking one of these each upon their
horses, accustomed them to ride behind them, and to leap
down nimbly when the signal was given. When, by daily
practice, they appeared to be able to do this in an orderly
manner, they advanced into the plain between the camp and
the walls, against the cavalry of the Campanians, who stood
there prepared for action. As soon as they came within a
dart's cast, on a signal given, the light troops leaped down,
when a line of infantry formed out of the body of horse sud-
denly rushed upon the cavalry of the enemy, and discharged
their javelins one after another with great rapidity ; which
being thrown in great numbers upon men and horses indis-
criminately, wounded a great many. The sudden and un-
suspected nature of the attack, however, occasioned still
greater terror ; and the cavalry charging them, thus panic-
struck, chased them with great slaughter as far as their gates.
From that time the Roman cavalry had the superiority; and
it was established that there should be velites in the legions.
It is said that Quintus Navius was the person who advised
the mixing of infantry with cavalry, and that he received
honour from the general on that account.

5. While affairs were in this state at Capua, Hannibal was
perplexed between two objects, the gaining possession ofY. B. 541.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1023

the citadel of Tarentum, and the retaining of Capua. His
concern for Capua, however, prevailed, on which he saw that
the attention of every body, allies and enemies, was fixed ;
and whose fate would be regarded as a proof of the conse-
quences resulting from defection from the Romans. Leav-
ing, therefore, a great part of his baggage among the Brut-
tians, and all his heavier armed troops, he took with him a
body of infantry and cavalry, the best he could select for
marching expeditiously, sfad bent his course into Campania,
Rapidly as he marched he was followed by thirty-three ele-
phants. He took up his position in a retired valley behind
Mount Tifata, which overhung Capua. Having at his com-
ing taken possession of fort G-alatia, the garrison of which he
dislodged by force, he then directed his efforts against those
who were besieging Capua. Having sent forward messengers
to Capua stating the time at which he would attack the Ro-
man camp, in order that they also, having gotten themselves
in readiness for a sally, might at the same time pour forth
from all their gates, he occasioned the greatest possible terror ;
for on one side he himself attacked them suddenly, and on
the other side all the Campanians sallied forth, both foot and
horse, joined by the Carthaginian garrison under the com-
mand of Bostar and Hanno. The Romans, lest in so perilous
an affair they should leave any part unprotected, by running
together to any one place, thus divided their forces : Appius
Claudius was opposed to the Campanians ; Fulvius to Han-
nibal ; Caius Nero, the proprietor, with the cavalry of the
sixth legion, placed himself in the road leading to Suessula ;
and Caius Fulvius Flaccus, the lieutenant-general, with the
allied cavalry, on the side opposite the river Yulturnus. The
battle commenced not only with the usual clamour and tumult,
but in addition to the din of men, horses, and arms, a multi-
tude of Campanians, unable to bear arms, being distributed
along the walls, raised such a shout together with the clangour
of brazen vessels, similar to that which is usually made in
the dead of night when the moon is eclipsed, that it di-
verted the attention even of the combatants. Appius easily
repulsed the Campanians from the rampart. On the other
side Hannibal and the Carthaginians, forming a larger force,
pressed hard on Fulvius. There the sixth legion gave way ;
which being repulsed, a cohort of Spaniards with three ele-

3 u1024

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXVI. CHAP. 6,

phants made their way up to the rampart. They had broken
through the centre of the Roman line, and were in a state of
anxious and perilous suspense, whether to force their way
into the camp, or be cut off from their own army. When
Fulvius saw the disorder of the legion, and the danger the
camp was in, he exhorted Quintus Navius, and the other
principal centurions, to charge the cohort of the enemy which
was fighting under the rampart; he said, " that the state of
things was most critical; that either they must retire before
them, in which case they would burst into the camp with lesfe
difficulty than they had experienced in breaking through a
dense line of troops, or they must cut them to pieces under
the rampart: nor would it require a great effort; for they
were few, and cut off from their own troops, and if the line
which appeared broken, now while the Romans were dispirit-
ed, should turn upon the enemy on both sides, they would be-
come enclosed in the midst, and exposed to a twofold attack."
Navius, on hearing these words of the general, snatched the
standard of the second company of spearmen from the stand-
ard-bearer, and advanced with it against the enemy, threaten-
ing that he would throw it into the midst of them unless the
soldiers promptly followed him and took part in the fight.
He was of gigantic stature, and his arms set him off; the
standard also, raised aloft, attracted the gaze both of his coun-
trymen and the enemy. When, however, he had reached the
standards of the Spaniards, javelins were poured upon him
from all sides, and almost the whole line was turned against
him; but neither the number of his enemies nor tl^e force of
the weapons could repel the onset of this hero.

6. Marcus Atilius, the lieutenant-general, also caused the
standard of the first company of principes of the same legion
to be borne against a cohort of the Spaniards. Lucius Por-
tius Licinus and Titus Popilius, the lieutenant-generals, who
had the command of the camp, fought valiantly in defence of
the rampart, and slew the elephants while in the very act of
crossing it. The carcasses of these filling up the ditch, af-
forded a passage for the enemy as effectually as if earth had
been thrown in, or a bridge erected over it; and a horrid car-
nage took place amid the carcasses of the elephants which lay
prostrate. On the other side of the camp, the Campanians,\
with the Carthaginian garrison, had by this time been repulsed,Y. R. 541.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1025

and the battle was carried on immediately under the gate of
Capua leading to Yulturnus. Nor did the armed men con-
tribute so much in resisting the Romans, who endeavoured to
force their way in, as the gate itself, which, being furnished
with balistas and scorpions, kept the enemy at bay by the
missiles discharged from it. The ardour of the Romans was
also damped by the general, Appius Claudius, receiving a
wound; he was struck by a javelin in the upper part of his
breast, beneath the left shoulder, while encouraging his men
before the front line. A great number, however, of the enemy
were slain before the gate, and the rest were driven in dis-
order into the city. When Hannibal saw the destruction of
the cohort of Spaniards, and that the camp of the enemy was
defended with the utmost vigour, giving up the assault, he
began to withdraw his standards, making his infantry face
about, but throwing out his cavalry in the rear lest the enemy
should pursue them closely. The ardour of the legions to
pursue the enemy was excessive, but Flaceus ordered a re-
treat to be sounded, considering that enough had been achieved
to convince the Campanians, and Hannibal himself, how un-
able he was to afford them protection. Some who have un-
dertaken to give accounts of this battle, record that eight
thousand of the army of Hannibal, and three thousand Cam-
panians, were slain; that fifteen military standards were taken
from the Carthaginians, and eighteen from the Campanians.
In other authors I find the battle to have been by no means so
important, and that there was more of panic than fighting ;
that a party of Numidians and Spaniards suddenly bursting
into the Roman camp with some elephants, the elephants, as they
made their way through the midst of the camp, threw down
their tents with a great noise, and caused the beasts of burden
to break their halters and run away. That in addition to the
confusion occasioned, a stratagem was employed; Hannibal
having sent in some persons acquainted with the Latin lan-
guage, for he had some such with him, who might command
the soldiers, in the name of the consuls, to escape every one as
fast as he could to the neighbouring mountains, since the camp
was lost ; but that the imposture was soon discovered, and
frustrated with a great slaughter of the enemy; that the ele-
phants were driven out of the camp by fire. However com-
menced, and however terminated, this was the last battle which

3 v 21026

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXVI. CHAP. 7.

was fought before the surrender of Capua. Seppius Lesius
was Medixtuticus, or chief magistrate of Capua, that year, a
man of obscure origin and slender fortune. It is reported
that his mother, when formerly expiating a prodigy which had
occurred in the family in behalf of this boy, who was an
orphan, received an answer from the aruspex, stating, that
u the highest office would come to himand that not recog?
nising, at Capua, any ground for such a hope, exclaimed,
" the state of the Campanians must be desperate indeed, when
the highest offic<| shall come to my son." But even this ex-
pression, in which the response was turned into ridicule,,
turned to be true, for those persons whose birth allowed them
to aspire to high offices, refusing to accept them when the
city was oppressed by sword and famine, and when all hope
was lost, Lesius, who complained that Capua was deserted
and betrayed by its nobles, accepted the office of chief ma-
gistrate, being the last Campanian who held it.

7. But Hannibal, when he saw that the enemy could not
be drawn into another engagement, nor a passage be forced
through their camp into Capua, resolved to ren^sre his i
camp from that place and leave the attempt unaccomplished,
fearful lest the new consuls might cut off his supplies of pro-
vision. While anxiously deliberating on the point to which
he should next direct his course, an impulse suddenly entered
his mind to make an attack on Rome, the very source of the
war. That the opportunity of accomplishing this ever coveted
object, which occurred after the battle of Cannae, had been
neglected, and was generally censured by others, he himself
did not deny. He thought that there was some hope that he
might be able to get possession of some part of the city, in
consequence of the panic and confusion Which his unexpected
approach would occasion, and that if Rome were in danger,
either both the Roman generals, or at least one of them, would
immediately leave Capua; and if they divided their forces,
both generals being thus rendered weaker, would afford a
favourable opportunity either to himself or the Campanians of
gaining some advantage. One consideration only disquieted
him, and that was, lest on his* departure the Campanians
should immediately surrender. By means of presents he in-
duced a Numidian, who was ready to attempt any thing, how-
ever daring, to take charge of a letter; and, entering the Ro-Y. R. 541.J

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1027

man camp under the disguise of a deserter, to pass out privately
on the other side and go to Capua. As to the letter, it was
full of encouragement. It stated, that " his departure, which
would be beneficial to them, would have the effect of drawing
off the Roman generals and armies from the siege of Capua to
the defence of Rome. That they must not allow their spirits
to sink; that by a few days' patience they would rid them-
selves entirely of the siege." He then ordered the ships on
the Yulturnus to be seized, and rowed up to the fort which he
had before erected for his protection. And when he was in-
formed that there were as many as were necessary to convey
his army across in one night, after providing a stock of pro-
visions for ten days, he led his legions down to the river by
night, and passed them over before daylight.

8. Fulvius Flaccus, who had discovered from deserters that
this would happen, before it took place, having written to
Rome to the senate to apprize them of it, men's minds were
variously affected by it according to the disposition of each.
As might be expected in so alarming an emergency, the senate
was immediately assembled, when Publius Cornelius, sur-
named Asina, was for recalling all the generals and armies
from every part of Italy to protect the city, disregarding
Capua and every other concern. Fabius Maximus thought
that it would be highly disgraceful to retire from Capua, and
allow themselves to be terrified and driven about at the nod
and menaces of Hannibal. "Was it probable that 4ie, who,
though victorious at Cannae, nevertheless dared not approach
the city, now, after having been repulsed from Capua, had
conceived hopes of making himself master of Rome ? It was
not to besiege Rome, but to raise the siege of Capua that he
was coming. Jupiter, the witness of treaties violated by
Hannibal, and the other deities, would defend the city of
Rome with that army which is now at the city." To these
opposite opinions, that of Publius Valerius Flaccus, which
recommended a middle course, was preferred. Regardful of
both objects, he thought that a letter should be written to the
generals at Capua, informing them of the force they had at
the city for its protection, and stating, that as to the num-
ber of forces which Hannibal was bringing with him, or how
large an army was necessary tc carry on the siege of Capua,
they themselves knew. If one of the generals and a part of1028

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXYI. CHAP. 9

the army could be sent to Rome, and at the same time Capua
could be efficiently besieged by the remaining general and
army, that then Claudius and Fulvius should settle between
themselves which should continue the siege of Capua, and
which should come to Rome to protect their capital from being
besieged. This decree of the senate having been conveyed to
Capua, Quintus Fulvius, the proconsul, who was to go to
Rome, as his colleague was ill from his wound, crossed the
Yulturnus with a body of troops, to the number of fifteen
thousand infantry and a thousand horse, selected from the
three armies. Then having ascertained that Hannibal in-
tended to proceed along the Latin road, he sent persons be-
fore him to the towns on and near the Appian way, Setia,
Cora, and Lanuvium, with directions that they should not
only have provisions ready in their towns, but should bring
them down to the road from the fields which lay out of the
way, and that they should draw together into their towns
troops for their defencie, in order that each state might be
under its own protection.

9. On the day he crossed the Yulturnus, Hannibal pitched
his camp at a small distance from the river. The next day,
passing by Cales, he reached the Sidicinian territory, and
having spent a day there in devastating the country, he led
his troops along the Latin way through the territory of Su-
essa, Allifae, and Casinum. Under the walls of Casinum he
remained encamped for two days, ravaging the country all
around; thence passing by Interamna and Aquinum, he came
into the Fregellan territory, to the river Liris, where he found
the bridge broken down by the Fregellan s in order to impede
his progress. Fulvius also was detained at the Yulturnus, in
consequence of Hannibal's having burnt the ships, and the
difficulty he had in procuring rafts to convey his troops across
that river from the great scarcity of materials. The army
having been conveyed across by rafts, the remainder of the
march of Fulvius was uninterrupted, a liberal supply of pro-
visions having been prepared for him, not only in all'the
towns, but also on the sides of the road; while his men, who
were all activity, exhorted each other to quicken their pace,
remembering that they were going to defend their country.
A messenger from Fregella, who had travelled a day and a
night without intermission, arriving at Rome, caused thev. r. 541 .J

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1029

greatest consternation; and the whole city was thrown into a
state of alarm by the running up and down of persons who
made vague additions to what they heard, and thus increased
the confusion which the original intelligence created. The
lamentations of women were not only heard from private
houses, but the matrons from every quarter, rushing into the
public streets, ran up and down around the shrines of the
gods, sweeping the altars with their dishevelled hair, throw-
ing themselves upon their knees and stretching their uplifted
hands to heaven and the gods, imploring them to rescue the
city of Rome out of the hands of their enemies, and preserve
the Roman mothers and their children from harm. The
senate sat in the forum near the magistrates, in case they
should wish to consult them. Some were receiving orders
and departing to their own department of duty; others were
offering themselves wherever there might be occasion for their
aid. Troops were posted in the citadel, in the Capitol, upon
the walls around the city, and also on the Alban mount, and
the fort of JEsula. During this confusion, intelligence was
brought that Quintus Fulvius, the proconsul, had set out from
Capua with an army; when the senate decreed that Quintus
Fulvius should have equal authority with the consuls, lest on
entering the city his power should cease. Hannibal, having
most destructively ravaged the Fregellan territory, on account
of the bridge having been broken down, came into the terri-
tory of the Lavici, passing through those of Frusino, Feren-
tinum, and Anagnia; thence passing through Algidum he
directed his course to Tusculum; but not being received
within the walls, he went down to the right below Tusculum
to Gabii; and marching his army down thence into the terri-
tory of the Pupinian tribe, he pitched his camp eight miles
from the city. The nearer the enemy came, the greater was
the number of fugitives slain by the Numidians who preceded
him, and the greater the number of prisoners made of every
rank and age.

10. During this confusion, Fulvius Flaccus entered the city
with his troops through the Capuan gate, passed through the
midst of the city, and through Carinas, to Esquilise; and go-
ing out thence, pitched his camp between the Esquiline and
Colline gates. The plebeian aediles brought a supply of pro-
visions there. The consuls and the senate came to the camp,1030	THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXVI. CHAP. 11.

and a consultation was held on the state of the republic. It
was resolved that the consuls should encamp in the neigh-
bourhood of the Colline and Esquiline gates ; that Caius Cal-
purnius, the city prsetor, should have the command of the
Capitol and the citadel; and that a fall senate shoujd be con-
tinually assembled in the forum, in case it should be neces-
sary to consult them amidst such sudden emergencies. Mean-
while, Hannibal advanced his camp to the Anio, three miles
from the city, and fixing his position there, he advanced with
two thousand horse from the Colline gate as far as the temple
of Hercules, and riding up, took as near a view as he could
of the walls and site of the city. Flaccus, indignant that he
should do this so freely, and so much at his ease, sent out a
party of cavalry, with orders to displace and drive back to
their camp the cavalry of the enemy. After the fight had
begun, the consuls ordered the Numidian deserters who were
on the Aventine, to the number of twelve hundred, to march
through the midst of the city to the Esquilise, judging that no
troops were better calculated to fight among the hollows, the
garden walls, and tombs, or in the enclosed roads which were
on all sides. But some persons, seeing them from the citadel
and Capitol as they filed off on horseback down the Publician
hill, cried out that the Aventine was taken. This circum-
stance occasioned such confusion and terror, that if the Car-
thaginian camp had not been without the city, the whole
multitude, such was their alarm, would have rushed out.
They then fled for refuge into their houses and upon the'roofs,
where they threw stones and weapons on their own soldiers
as they passed along the streets, taking them for enemies.
Nor could the tumult be repressed, or the mistake explained,
as the streets were thronged with crowds of rustics and cat-
tle, which the sudden alarm had driven into the city. The
battle between the cavalry was successful, and the enemy
were driven away; and as it was necessary to repress the
tumults which were arising in several quarters without any
cause, it was resolved that all who had been dictators, consuls,
or censor^, should be invested with authority till such time
as the enemy had retired from the walls. During the re-
mainder of the day and the following night, several tumults
arose without any foundation, and were repressed.

11/The next day Hannibal, crossing the Anio, drew outY. R. 541.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1031

all his forces in order of battle; nor did Flaccus and the con-
suls decline to fight. When the troops on both sides were
drawn up to try the issue of a battle, in which Rome was to
be the prize of the victors, a violent shower of rain mingled
with hail created such disorder in both the lines, that the
troops, scarcely able to hold their arms, retired to their camps,
less through fear of the enemy than of any thing else. On
the following day, likewise, a similar tempest separated the
armies marshalled on the same ground; but after they had
retired to their camps the weather became wonderfully serene
and tranquil. The Carthaginians considered this circum-
stance as a Divine interposition, and it is reported that Han-
nibal was heard to say, " That sometimes he wanted the will
to make himself master of Rome, at other times the oppor-
tunity." Two other circumstances also, one inconsiderable,
the other important, diminished his hopes. The important
one was, that while he lay with his armed troops near the
walls of the city, he was informed that troops had marched
out of it with colours flying, as a reinforcement for Spain;
that of less importance was, that he was informed by one of
his prisoners, that the very ground on which his camp stood
was sold at this very time, without any diminution in its
price. Indeed, so great an insult and indignity did it appear
to him that a purchaser should be found at Rome for the very
soil which he held and possessed by right of conquest, that he
immediately called a crier, and ordered that the silversmiths'
shops, which at that time stood around the Roman forum,
should be put up for sale. Induced by these circumstances
he retired to the river Tutia, six miles from the city, whence
he proceeded to the grove of Feronia, where was a temple at
that time celebrated for its riches. The Capenatians and
"other states in the neighbourhood, by bringing here their first-
fruits and other offerings according to their abilities, kept it
decorated with abundance of gold and silver. Of all these
offerings the temple was now despoiled. After the departure
of Hannibal, vast heaps of brass were found there, as the
soldiers, from a religious feeling, had thrown in pieces of un-
coined brass. The spoliation of this temple is undoubted by
historians; but Caslius asserts, that Hannibal, in his progress
to Rome, turned out of his way to it from Eretum. Accord-
ing to him his route commenced with Amiternum, Caetilii,1032	THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXVI. CHAP. 12.

and Keate. He came from Campania into Samnium, and
thence into Pelignia; then passing the town Sulmio, he en-
tered the territory of the Marracini; thence through the
Alban territory he came to that of the Marsi, from which he
came to Amiternum and the village of Foruli. Nor is this
diversity of opinion a proof that the traces of so great an
army could be confounded in the lapse of so brief a period.
That he went that way is evident. The only question is,
whether he took this route to the city, or returned by it from
the city into Campania ?

12. With regard to Capua, Hannibal did not evince such
obstinate perseverance in raising the siege of it as the Ro-
mans did in pressing it; for quitting Lucania, he came into
the Bruttian territory, and marched to the strait and Rhegium
with such rapidity, that he was very near taking the place
by surprise, in consequence of the suddenness of his arrival.
Though the siege had been urged with undiminished vigour
during his absence, yet Capua felt the return of Flaccus ; and
astonishment was excited that Hannibal had not returned
with him. Afterwards they learnt, by conversations, that they
were abandoned and deserted, and that the Carthaginians had
given up all hopes of retaining Capua. In addition to this a
proclamation was made by the proconsul, agreeably to a de-
cree of the senate, and published among the enemy, that any
Campanian citizen who came over before a stated day should
be indemnified. No one, however, came over, as they were
held together by fear more than fidelity; for the crimes they
had committed during their revolt were too great to admit of
pardon. As none of them passed over to the enemy, consult-
ing their own individual interest, so no measure of safety was
taken with regard to the general body. The nobility had de-
serted the state, nor could they be induced to meet in the se-
nate, while the office of chief magistrate was filled by a man
who had not derived honour to himself from his office, but
stripped the office of its influence and authority by his own
unworthiness. Now none of the nobles made their appear-
ance even in the forum, or any public place, but shut them-
selves up in their houses, in daily expectation of the downfal
of their city, and their own destruction together. The chief
responsibility in every thing devolved upon Bostar and Hanno,
the praifects of the Punic garrison, who were anxious on ac-X. it. 541.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1033

count of their own danger, and not that of their allies. They
addressed a letter to Hannibal, in terms, not only of freedom,
but severity, charging him with " delivering, not only Capua
into the hands of the enemy, but with treacherously abandon-
ing themselves also, and their troops, to every species of tor-
ture;" they told him "he had gone off, to the Bruttians, in
order to get out of the way, as it were, lest Capua should be
taken before his eyes; while, by Hercules, the Romans, on
the contrary, could not be drawn off from the siege of Capua,
even by an attack upon their city. So much more constant
were the Romans in their enmity than the Carthaginians in
their friendship. If he would' return to Capua and direct the
whole operations of the war to that point, that both themselves
and the Campanians would be prepared for a sally. That they
had crossed the Alps not to carry on a war with the people
of Rhegium nor Tarentum. That where the Roman legions
were, there the armies of the Carthaginians ought to be.
Thus it was that victories had been gained at Cannae and
Trasimenus; by uniting, by pitching their camp close to that
of the enemy, by trying their fortune." A letter to this effect
was given to some Numidians who had already engaged to
render their services for a stated reward. These men came
into the camp to Flaccus under pretence of being deserters,
with the intention of quitting it by seizing an opportunity,
and the famine, which had so long existed at Capua, afforded
a pretext for desertion which no one could suspect. But a
Campanian woman, the paramour of one of the deserters, un-
expectedly entered the camp, and informed the Roman general
that the Numidians had come over according to a preconcerted
plan of treachery, and were the bearers of letters to Hannibal;
that she was prepared to convict one of the party of that fact,
as he had discovered it to her. On being brought forward,
he at first pretended, with considerable pertinacity, that he did
not know the woman; but afterwards, gradually succumbing
to the force of truth, when he saw the instruments of torture
called for and preparing, he confessed that it was so. The
letters were produced, and a discovery was made of an addi-
tional fact, before concealed, that other Numidians were stroll-
ing about in the Roman camp, under pretence of being de-
serters. Above seventy of these were arrested, and, with the
late deserters, scourged with rods; and after their hands had1034

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXVI. CHAP. 13

been cut off, were driven back to Capua. The sight of so
severe a punishment broke the spirit of the Campanians.

13. The people, rushing in crowds to the senate-house,
compelled Lesius to assemble a senate, and openly threatened
the nobles, who had now for a long time absented themselves
from the public deliberations, that unless they attended the
meeting of the senate, they would go round to their houses
and drag them all before the public by force. The fear of
this procured the magistrate a full senate. Here, while
the rest contended for sending ambassadors to the Roman
generals, Yibius Yirrius, who had been the instigator of the
revolt from the Romans, on being asked his opinion, observed,
that " those persons who spoke of sending ambassacjors,
and of peace, and a surrender, did not bear in mind either
what they would do if they had the Romans in their power,
or what they themselves must expect to suffer. What! do
you think," says he, "that your surrender will be like that in
which formerly we placed ourselves and every thing belonging
to us at the disposal of the Romans, in order that we might
obtain assistance from them against the Samnites ? Have you
already forgotten at what a juncture we revolted from the
Romans, and what were their circumstances ? Have you for-
gotten how at the time of the revolt we put to death, with tor-
ture and indignity, their garrison, which might have been sent
out? How often, and with determined hostility, we have
sallied out against them when besieging us, and assaulted their
camp ? How we invited Hannibal to come and cut them off ?
And how most recently we sent him hence to lay siege to
Rome ? But come, retrace on the other hand what they have
done in hostility towards us, that you may learn therefrom
what you have to hope for. When a foreign enemy was in
Italy, and that enemy Hannibal; when the flame of war was
kindled in every quarter; disregarding every other object,
disregarding even Hannibal himself, they sent two consuls
with two consular armies to lay siege to Capua. This is the
second year, that, surrounded with lines and shut up within
our walls, they consume us by famine, having suffered in like
manner with ourselves the extremest dangers and the severest
hardships, having frequently had their troops slain near their
rampart and trenches, and at last having been almost de-
prived of their camp. But I pass over these matters. It hasY. R. 541.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1035

been usual, even from of old, to suffer dangers and hardships
in besieging an enemy's city. The following is a proof of
their animosity and bitter hatred. Hannibal assaulted their
camp with an immense force of horse and foot, and took a part
of it. By so great a danger they were not in the least diverted
from the siege. Crossing the Vulturnus, he laid waste the
territory of Cales with fire. Such calamities inflicted upon
their allies had no effect in calling them off. He ordered his
troops to march in hostile array to the very city of Rome.
They despised the tempest which threatened them in this
case also. Crossing the Anio, he pitched his camp three miles
from the city, and lastly, came up to the very walls and gates.
He gave them to understand that he would take their city
from them, unless they gave up Capua. But they did not
give it up. Wild beasts, impelled by headlong fury and rage,
you may divert from their object to bring assistance to those
belonging to them, if you attempt to approach their dens and
their young. The Romans could not be diverted from Capua
by the blockade of Rome, by their wives and children, whose
lamentations could almost be heard from this place, by their
altars, their hearths, the temples of their gods, and the se-
pulchres of their ancestors profaned and violated. So great
was their avidity to bring us to punishment, so insatiable
their thirst for drinking our blood. Nor, perhaps, without
reason. We too would have done the same had the oppor-
tunity been afforded us. Since, however, the gods have
thought proper to determine it otherwise, though I ought not
to shrink from death, while I am free, while I am master of
myself, I have it in my power, by a death not only honourable
but mild, to escape the tortures and indignities which the
enemy hope to inflict upon me. I will not see Appius
Claudius and Quintus Fulvius in the pride and insolence of
victory, nor will I be dragged in chains through Rome as a
spectacle in a triumph, that afterwards in a dungeon, or tied
to a stake, after my back has been lacerated with stripes, I
may place my neck under a Roman axe. I will neither see
my native city demolished and burnt, nor the matrons, virgins,
and freeborn youths of Campania dragged to constupration.
Alba, from which they themselves derived their origin, they
demolished from her foundations, that there might remain no
trace of their rise and extraction; much less can I believe, they1036

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXVI. CHAP. 14,

will spare Capua, towards which they bear a more rancorous
hatred than towards Carthage. For such of you, therefore,
as have a mind to yield to fate, before they behold such hor-
rors, a banquet is furnished and prepared at my house. When
satiated with wine and food, the same cup which shall have
been given to me shall be handed round to them. That potion
will rescue our bodies from torture, our minds from insult,
our eyes and ears from seeing and hearing all those cruelties
and indignities which await the vanquished. There will be
persons in readiness who will throw our lifeless bodies upon a
large pile kindled in the court-yard of the house. This is the
only free and honourable way to death. Our very enemies
will admire our courage, and Hannibal will learn that those
whom he deserted and betrayed were brave allies."

14. More of those who heard this speech of Yirrius ap-
proved of the proposal contained in it, than had strength of
mind to execute what they approved. The greater part of
the senate being not without hopes that the Romans, whose
clemency they had frequently had proof of in many wars,
would be exorable by them also, decreed and sent ambassa-
dors to surrender Capua to the Romans. About twenty-seven
senators, following Yibius Yirrius to his home, partook of the
banquet with him; and after having, as far as they could,
withdrawn their minds, by means of wine, from the percep-
tion of the impending evil, all took the poison. They then
rose from the banquet, after giving each other their right
hands, and taking a last embrace, mingling their tears for
their own and their country's fate; some of them remained,
that they might be burned upon the same pile, and the rest
retired to their homes. Their veins being filled in conse-
quence of what they had eaten, and the wine they drank,
rendered the poison less efficacious in expediting death; and
accordingly, though the greater part of them languished the
whole of that night and part of the following day, all of them,
however, breathed their last before the gates were opened to
the enemy. The following day the gate of Jupiter, which
faced the Roman camp, was opened by order of the proconsul,
when one legion and two squadrons of allies marched in at
it, under the command of Caius Fulvius, lieutenant-general.
When he had taken care that all the arms and weapons to be
found in Capua should be brought to him; having placedY. R. 541.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1037

guards at all the gates to prevent any one's going or being
sent out, he seized the Carthaginian garrison, and ordered
the Campanian senators to go into the camp to the Roman
generals. On their arrival they were all immediately thrown
into chains, and ordered to lay before the quaestor an account
of all the gold and silver they had. There were seventy
pounds of gold, and three thousand two hundred of silver.
Twenty-five of the senators were sent to Cales, to be kept in
custody, and twenty-eight to Teanum; these being the per-
sons by whose advice principally it appeared that the revolt
from the Romans had taken place.

15. Fulvius and Claudius were far from being agreed as
to the punishment of the Campanian senators. Claudius was
disposed to grant their prayer for pardon, but Fulvius was
more inclined to severity. Appius, therefore, was for refer-
ring the entire disposal of the question to the Roman senate.
He thought it right also, that the fathers should have the op-
portunity of asking them whether any of the Latin confeder-
ates, or of the municipal towns, had taken part in these
designs, and whether they had derived any assistance from
them in the war. Fulvius, on the contrary, urged that they
ought by no means to run the hazard of having the minds of
faithful allies harassed by doubtful accusations, and subjected
to informers who never cared at all what they did or what
they said. For this reason he said that he should prevent
and put a stop to any such inquiry. After this conversation
they separated; Appius not doubting but that his colleague,
though he expressed himself so warmly, would, nevertheless,
wait for a letter from Rome, in an affair of such magnitude.
But Fulvius, fearing that his designs would be frustrated by
that very means, dismissed his council, and commanded the
military tribunes and the praefects of the allies to give notice
to two thousand chosen horsemen to be in readiness at the
third trumpet. Setting out for Teanum wdth this body of
cavalry, he entered the gate at break of day, and proceeded
direct to the forum; and a number of people having flocked
together at the first entrance of the horsemen, he ordered the
Sidicinian magistrate to be summoned; when he desired him
to bring forth the Campanians whom he had in custody.
These were all accordingly brought forth, scourged, and be-
headed. He then proceeded at full speed to Cales; where,1038

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXVI. CHAP. 16l

when he had taken his seat on the tribunal, and while the
Campanians, who had been brought forth, were being bound
to the stake, an express arrived from Eome, and delivered to
him a letter from Caius Calpurnius, the praetor, and a decree
of the senate.. A murmur immediately pervaded the whole
assembly, beginning at the tribunal, that the entire question
respecting the Campanians was referred to the decision of
the fathers; and Fulvius, suspecting this to be the case, took
the letter, and without opening it put it into his bosom, and
then commanded the crier to order the lictor to do his duty.
Thus punishment was inflicted on those also who were at
Cales. The letter was then read, together with the decree
of the senate, when it was too late to prevent the business
which was already executed, and which had been accelerated
by every means to prevent its being obstructed. When Ful-
vius was now rising from his seat, Jubellius Taurea, a Cam-
panian, making his way through the middle of the city and
the crowd, called upon him by name; and when Flaccus, who
wondered greatly what he could want, had resumed his seat,
he said, " Order me also to be put to death, that you may be
able to boast, that a much braver man than yourself has been
put to death by you." Fulvius at first said, that the man
could not certainly be in his senses; then, that he was re-
strained by a decree of the senate, even though he might wish
it; when Jubellius exclaimed: " Since, after the capture of my
country, and the loss of my relations and friends, after having
killed, with my own hand, my wife and children to prevent
their suffering any indignity, I am not allowed even to die in
the same manner as these my countrymen, let a rescue be
sought in courage from this hated existence." So saying, he
thrust a sword, which he had concealed under his garment,
right through his breast, and fell lifeless at the general's feet.

16. Because not only what related to the punishment of the
Campanians, but most of the other particulars of this affair,
were transacted according to the judgment of Flaccus alone,
some authors affirm that Appius Claudius died about the
time of the surrender of Capua; and that this same Taurea
neither came to Cales voluntarily nor died by his own hand;
but that while he was being tied to the stake among the rest,
Flaccus, who could not distinctly hear what he vociferated
from the noise which was made, ordered silence; when TaureaY R. 541.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1039

said the things which have been before related: " that lie, a
man of the greatest courage, was being put to death by one
who was by no means his equal in respect to valour." That
immediately on his saying this, the herald, by command of the
proconsul, pronounced this order: " Lictor, apply the rods to
this man of courage, and execute the law upon him first." Some
authors also relate, that he read the decree of the senate before
he beheaded them, but that as there was a clause in it, to the
effect, that if he thought proper he should refer the entire
question to the senate, he construed it that the decision as to
what was most for the interest of the state was left to himself.
He returned from Cales to Capua. Atella and Calatia sur-
rendered themselves, and were received. Here also the prin-
cipal promoters of the revolt were punished. Thus eighty
principal members of the senate were put to death, and about
three hundred of the Campanian nobles thrown into prison.
The rest were distributed through the several cities of the
Latin confederacy, to be kept in custody; where they perished
in various ways. The rest of the Campanian citizens were
cold. The remaining subject of deliberation related to the
city and its territory. Some were of opinion that a city so
eminently powerful, so near, and so hostile, ought to be de-
molished. But immediate utility prevailed; for on account
of the land, which was evidently superior to any in Italy from
the variety and exuberance of its produce, the city was pre-
served that it might become a settlement of husbandmen.
For the purpose of peopling the city, a number of sojourners,
freed-men, dealers, and artificers, were retained; but all the
land and buildings were made the property of the Roman
state. It was resolved, however, that Capua should only be
inhabited and peopled as a city; that there should be no body-
politic, nor assembly of the senate or people, nor magistrates.
For it was thought that a multitude not possessing any public
council, without a ruling power, and unconnected by, the par-
ticipation of any common rights, would be incapable of com-
bination. They resolved to send a pnefect annually from
Rome to administer justice. Thus were matters adjusted at
Capua, upon a plan in every respect worthy of commendation.
Punishment was inflicted upon the most guilty with rigour
and despatch; the populace dispersed beyond all hope of re-
turn ; no rage vented in fire and ruins upon the unoffending

3 x1040

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXYI. CHAP. 17.

houses and walls. Together also with advantage, a reputa-
tion for clemency was obtained among the allies, by the pre-
servation of a city of the greatest celebrity and opulence; the
demolition of which, all Campania, and all the people dwelling
in the neighbourhood of Campania, would have bewailed;
while their enemies were compelled to admit the ability of the
Romans to punish their faithless allies, and how little assist-
ance could be derived from Hannibal towards the defence of
those whom he had taken under his protection.

17. The Roman senate having gone through every thing
which required their attention relative to Capua, decreed to
Caius Nero six thousand foot and three hundred horse, which-
ever he should himself choose out of those two legions which
he had commanded at Capua, with an equal number of in-
fantry, and eight hundred horse of the Latin confederacy.
This army Nero embarked at Puteoli, and conveyed over into
Spain. Having arrived at Tarraco with his ships, landed his
troops, hauled his ships ashore, and armed his mariners to
augment his numbers, he proceeded to the river Iberus, and
received the army from Titus Fonteius and Lucius Marcius.
He then marched towards the enemy. Hasdrubal, son of Ha-
milcar, was encamped at the black stones in Ausetania, a
place situated between the towns Illiturgi and Mentissa. The
entrance of this defile Nero seized; and Hasdrubal, to prevent
his being shut up in it, sent a herald to engage that, if he
were allowed to depart thence, he would convey the whole of
his army out of Spain. The Roman general having received
this proposition gladly, Hasdrubal requested the next day for
a conference, when the Romans might draw up conditions re-
lative to the surrender of the citadels of the towns, and the
appointment of a day on which the garrisons might be with-
drawn, and the Carthaginians might remove every thing be-
longing to them without imposition. Having obtained his
point in this respect, Hasdrubal gave orders that as soon as
it was dark, and during the whole of the night afterwards,
the heaviest part of his force should get out of the defile by
whatever way they could. The strictest care was taken that
many should not go out that night, that the very fewness of
their numbers might both be more adapted to elude the notice
of the enemy from their silence, and to an escape through con-
fined and rugged paths. Next day they met for the confer-Y. II. 541.]

THE HISTORY OP ROME.

1041

ence; but that day having been spent, on purpose, in speaking
and writing about a variety of subjects, which were not to this
point, the conference was put off to the next day. The addi-
tion of the following night gave him time to send still more
out; nor was the business concluded the next day. Thus se-
veral days were spent in openly discussing conditions, and as
many nights in privately sending the Carthaginian troops out
of their camp; and after the greater part of the army had been
sent out, he did not even keep to those terms which he had
himself proposed; and his sincerity decreasing with his fears,
they became less and less agreed. By this time nearly all the
infantry had cleared the defile, when at daybreak a dense
mist enveloped the whole defile and the neighbouring plains;
which Hasdrubal perceiving, sent to Nero to put off the con-
ference to the following day, as the Carthaginians held that
day sacred from the transaction of any serious business. Not
even then was the cheat suspected. Hasdrubal having gained
the indulgence he sought for that day also, immediately quit-
ted his camp with his cavalry and elephants, and without
creating any alarm escaped to a place of safety. About the
fourth hour the mist, being dispelled by the sun, left the at-
mosphere clear, when the Romans saw that the camp of the
enemy was deserted. Then at length Claudius, recognising i
the Carthaginian perfidy, and perceiving that he had been
caught by trickery, immediately began to pursue the enemy
as they moved off, prepared to give battle; but they declined
fighting. Some skirmishes, however, took place between the
rear of the Carthaginians and the advanced guard of the
Romans.

18. During the time in which these events occurred, nei-
ther did those states of Spain which had revolted after the
defeat that was sustained, return to the Romans, nor did any
others desert them. At Rome, the attention of the senate and
people, after the recovery of Capua, was not fixed in a greater
degree upon Italy than upon Spain. They resolved that the
army there should be augmented and a general sent. They
were not, however, so clear as to the person whom they should
send, as that, where two generals had fallen within the space
of thirty days, he who was to supply the place of them should
be selected with unusual care. Some naming one person, and
others another, they at length came to the resolution that the1042

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXVI. CHAP. 19,

people should assemble for the purpose of electing a procon-
sul for Spain; and the consuls fixed a day for the election.
At first they waited in expectation that those' persons who
might think themselves qualified for so momentous a com-
mand would give in their names ; but this expectation being
disappointed, their grief was renewed for the calamity they
had suffered, and their regret for the generals they had lost.
The people thus afflicted, and almost at their wits' end, came
down, however, to the Campus Martius on the day of the
election; where, turning towards the magistrates, they looked
round at the countenances of their most eminent men, who
were earnestly gazing at each other; and murmured bitterly,
that their affairs were in so ruinous a state, and the condition
of the commonwealth so desperate, that no one dared under-
take the command in Spain. When suddenly Publius Cor-
nelius, son of Publius who had fallen in Spain, who was
about twenty-four years of age, declaring himself a candidate,
took his station on an eminence from which he could be seen
by all. The eyes of the whole assembly were directed to-
wards him, and by acclamations and expressions of approba-
tion, a prosperous and happy command were at once augured
to him. Orders were then given that they should proceed to
vote, when not only every century, but every individual to a
man, decided that Publius Scipio should be invested with the
command in Spain. But after the business had been con-
cluded, and the ardour and impetuosity of their zeal had sub-
sided, a sudden silence ensued, and a secret reflection on what
they had done; whether their partiality had not got the bet-
ter of their judgment ? They chiefly regretted his youth; but
some were terrified at the fortune which attended his house
and his name; for while the two families to which he be-
longed were in mourning, he was going into a province where
he must carry on his operations between the tombs of his
father and his uncle.

19. Perceiving the solicitude and anxiety which people felt,
after performing the business with so much ardour, he sum-
moned an assembly, in which he discoursed in so noble and
high-minded a manner, on his years, the command intrusted
to him, and the war which he had to carry on, as to rekindle
and renew the ardour which had subsided, and inspire the
people with more confident hopes than the reliance placed onY. R. 541,]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1043

human professions, or reasoning on the promising appearance
of affairs, usually engenders. For Scipio was not only de-
serving of admiration for his real virtues, but also for his
peculiar address in displaying them, to which he had been
formed from his earliest years;—effecting many things with
the multitude, either by feigning nocturnal visions or as with
a mind divinely inspired; whether it was that he was himself,
too, endued with a superstitious turn of mind, or that they
might execute his commands and adopt his plans without
hesitation, as if they proceeded from the responses of an
oracle. With the intention of preparing men's minds for this
from the beginning, he never at any time from his first as-
sumption of the manly gown transacted any business, public
or private, without first going to the Capitol, entering the
temple, and taking his seat there; where he generally passed
a considerable time in secret and alone. This practice, which
was adhered to through the whole of his life, occasioned in
some persons a belief in a notion which generally prevailed,
whether designedly or undesignedly propagated, that he was
a man of divine extraction ; and revived a report equally ab-
surd and fabulous with that formerly spread respecting Alex-
ander the Great, that he was begotten by a huge serpent,
whose monstrous form was frequently observed in the bed-
chamber of his mother, but which, on any one's coming in,
suddenly unfolding his coils, glided out of sight. The belief
in these miraculous accounts was never ridiculed by him, but
rather increased by his address; neither positively denying
any such thing nor openly affirming it. There were also
many other things, some real and others counterfeit, which
exceeded in the case of this young man the usual measure of
human admiration, in reliance on which the state intrusted
him with an affair of so much difficulty, and with so important
a command, at an age by no means ripe for it. To the forces
in Spain, consisting of the remains of the old army, and those
which had been conveyed over from Puteoli by Claudius
Nero, ten thousand infantry and a thousand horse were added;
and Marcus Junius Silanus, the propraetor, was sent to assist
in the management of affairs. Thus with a fleet of thirty
ships, all of which were quinqueremes, he set sail from the
mouth of the Tiber, and coasting along the shore of the Tus-
can Sea, the Alps, and the Gallic Gulf, and then doubling the
promontory of the Pyrenees, landed his troops at Emporias, a1044

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXYI. CHAP. 20.

Greek city, which also derived its origin from Phocsea. Or-
dering his ships to attend him, he marched by land to Tarraco;
where he held a congress of deputies from all the allies; for
embassies had poured forth from every province on the news
of his arrival. Here he ordered his ships to be hauled on
shore, having sent back the four triremes of the Massilians,
which had, in compliment to him, attended him from their
home.. After that, he began to give answers to the embassies
of the several states, which had been in suspense on account
of the many vicissitudes of the war; and this with so great
dignity, arising from the great confidence he had in his own
talents, that no presumptuous expression ever escaped him;
and in every thing he said there appeared at once the greatest
majesty and sincerity.

20. Setting out from Tarraco, he visited the states of his
allies and the winter quarters of his army; and bestowed the
highest commendations upon the soldiers, because, though
they had received two such disastrous blows in succession,
they had retained possession of the province, and not allowing
the enemy to reap any advantage fromxtheir successes, had ex-
cluded them entirely from the territory on this side of the
Iberus, and honourably protected their allies. Marcius he
kept with him, and treated him with such respect, that it was
perfectly evident there was nothing he feared less than lest
any one should stand in the way of his own glory. Silanus
then took the place of Nero, and the fresh troops were led
into winter quarters. Scipio having in good time visited
every place where his presence was necessary, and completed
every thing which was to be done, returned to Tarraco. The
reputation of Scipio among his enemies was not inferior to
that which he enjoyed among his allies and countrymen.
They felt also a kind of presentiment of what was to come,
which occasioned the greater apprehension, the less they
could account for their fears, which had arisen without any
cause. They had retired to their winter quarters in different
directions. Hasdrubal, son of Gisgo, had gone quite to the
ocean and Gades; Mago into the midland parts chiefly above
the forest of Castulo; Hasdrubal, son of Hamilcar, wintered
in the neighbourhood of Saguntum, close upon the Iberus.
At the close of the summer in which Gapua was recovered
and Scipio entered Spain, a Carthaginian fleet, which had
been fetched from Sicily to Tarentum2 to cut off the suppliesY. R. 541.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1045

of the Roman garrison in the citadel of that place, had blocked
up all the approaches to the citadel from the sea; but by
lying there too long, they caused a greater scarcity of pro-
visions to their friends than to their enemies. For so much
corn could not be brought in for the townsmen, along the
coasts which were friendly to them, and through the ports
which were kept open through the protection afforded by the
Carthaginian fleet, as the fleet itself consumed, which had on
board a crowd made up of every description of persons. So
that the garrison of the citadel, which was small in number,
could be supported from the stock they had previously laid
in without importing any, while that which they imported
was not sufficient for the supply of the Tarentines and the
fleet. At length the fleet was sent away with greater satis-
faction than it was received. The scarcity of provisions,
however, was not much relieved by it; because when the
protection by sea was removed corn could not be brought in.
, 21. At the close of the same summer, Marcus Mareellus
arriving at the city from his province of Sicily, an audience
of the senate was given him by Caius Calpurnius, the praetor,
in the temple of Bellona. Here, after discoursing on the
services he had performed, and complaining in gentle terms,
not on his own account more than that of his soldiers, that
after having completely reduced the province, he had not been
allowed to bring home his army, he requested that he might
be allowed to enter the city in triumph ; this he did not ob-
tain. A long debate took place on the question, whether it
was less consistent to deny a triumph on his return to him, in
whose name, when absent, a supplication had been decreed
and honours paid to the immortal gods, for successes obtained
under his conduct; or, when they had ordered him to deliver
over his army to a successor, which would not have been de-
creed unless there were still war in the province, to allow him
to triumph, as if the war had been terminated, when the army,
the evidence of the triumph being deserved or undeserved,
were absent. As a middle course between the two opinions,
it was resolved that he should enter the city in ovation. The
plebeian tribunes, by direction of the senate, proposed to the
people, that Marcus Mareellus should be invested with com-
mand during the day on which he should enter the city in
ovation. The day before he entered the city he triumphed on
the Alban mount; after which he entered the city in ovation,1046

THE HISTORY OF HOME. [B. XXVI. CHAP. 21.

having a great quantity of spoils carried before him, together
with a model of the capture of Syracuse. The catapultas and
balistas, and every other instrument of war were carried;
Likewise the rich ornaments laid up by its kings during a long
continuance of peace ; a quantity of wrought silver and brass,
and other articles, with precious garments, and a number of
celebrated statues, with which Syracuse had been adorned in
such a manner as to ranjc among the chief Grecian cities in
that respect. Eight elephants were also led as an emblem of
victory over the Carthaginians. Sosis, the Syracusan, and
Mericus, the Spaniard, who preceded him with golden crowns,
formed not the least interesting part of the spectacle; under
the guidance of one of whom the Romans had entered Syracuse
by night, while the other had betrayed to them the island and
the garrison in it. To both of them the freedom of the city
was given, and five hundred acres of land each. Sosis was
to have his portion in the Syracusan territory, out of the lands
which had belonged either to the kings or the enemies of the
Roman people, together with a house at Syracuse, which had
belonged to any one of those persons who had been punished
according to the laws of war. Mericus and the Spaniards who
had come over with him were ordered to have a city and lands
assigned to them in Sicily, which had belonged to some of
those who had revolted from the Romans. It was given in.
charge to Marcus Cornelius to assign them the city and lands
wherever he thought proper. In the same country, four hun-
dred acres of land were decreed to Belligenes, by whose means
Mericus had been persuaded to come over. After the de-
parture of Marcellus from Sicily, a Carthaginian fleet landed
eight thousand infantry and three thousand Numidian cavalry.
To these the Murgantian territories revolted; Hybla, Macella,
and certain other towns of less note followed their defection.
The Numidians also, headed by Murines, ranging without
restraint through the whole of Sicily, ravaged with fire the
lands of the allies of the Romans. In addition to these un-
fortunate circumstances, the Roman soldiers, incensed partly
because they had not been taken from the province with their
general, and partly because they had been forbidden to winter
in towns, discharged their duties negligently, and wanted a
a leader more than inclination for a mutiny. Amid these
difficulties Marcus Cornelius, the praetor, sometimes by sooth-
ing, at other times by reproving them, pacified the mindssr. r. 541.]

THE HISTORT OF ROME.

1047

of the soldiers ; and reduced to obedience all the states which
had revolted ; out of which he gave Murgantia to those
Spaniards who were entitled to a city and land, in conformity
with the decree of the senate.

22. As both the consuls had Apulia for their province, and
as there was now less to be apprehended from Hannibal and
the Carthaginians, they were directed to draw lots for the
provinces of Apulia and Macedonia. Macedonia fell to the
lot of Sulpicius, who succeeded Laevinus. Fulvius having
been called to Rome on account of the election, held an as-
sembly to elect new consuls ; when the junior Yeturian cen-
tury, which had the right of voting first, named Titus Man-
lius Torquatus and Titus Otacilius. A crowd collecting
round Manlius, who was present, to congratulate him, and it
being certain that the people would concur in his election, he
went, surrounded as he was with a multitude of persons, to
the tribunal of the consul, and requested that he would listen
to a few words from him ; and that he would order the
century which had voted to be recalled. While all present
were waiting impatiently to hear what it was he was going
to ask, he alleged as an excuse the weakness of his eyes ; ob-
serving, that " a pilot or a general might fairly be charged
with presumption who should request that the lives and for-
tunes of others might be intrusted to him, when in every
thing which was to be done he must make use of other peo-
ple's eyes. Therefore he requested, that, if it seemed good
to him, he would order the junior Yeturian century to come
and vote again ; and to recollect, while electing consuls, the
war which they had in Italy, and the present exigencies of
the state. That their ears had scarcely yet ceased to ring
with the noise and tumult raised by the enemy, when but a
few months ago they nearly scaled the walls of Rome." This
speech was followed by the century's shouting out, one and
all, that " they would not in the least alter their vote, but
would name the same persons for consulswhen Torquatus
replied, " neither shall I as consul be able to put up with
your conduct, nor will you be satisfied with my government.
Go back and vote again, and consider that you have a Punic
war in Italy, and that the leader of your enemies is Hanni-
bal." Upon this the century, moved by the authority of the
man and the shouts of admirers around, besouerht the consul1048

THE HISTOftY OF ROME. [B. XXYI. CHAP. 23

to summon the elder Veturian century ; for they were desirous
of conferring with persons older than themselves, and to name
the consuls in accordance with their advice. The elder Vetu-
rian century having been summoned, time was allowed them
to confer with the others by themselves in the ovile. The
elders said that there were three persons whom they ought to
deliberate about electing, two of them having already served
all the offices of honour, namely, Quintus Fabius and Marcus
Marcellus ; and if they wished so particularly to elect some
fresh person as consul to act against the Carthaginians, that
Marcus Valerius Laevinus had carried on operations against
king Philip by sea and land with signal success. Thus, three
persons having been proposed to them to deliberate about,
the seniors were dismissed, and the juniors proceeded to vote.
They named as consuls, Marcus Claudius Marcellus, then
glorious with the conquest of Sicily, and Marcus Valerius,
both in their absence. All the centuries followed the recom-
mendation of that which voted first. Let men now ridicule
the admirers of antiquity. Even if there existed a republic
of wise men, which the learned rather imagine than know of;
for my own part I cannot persuade myself that there could
possibly be a nobility of sounder judgment, and more moder-
ate in their desire of power, or a people better moralled. In-
deed that a century of juniors should have been willing to
consult their elders, as to the persons to whom they should
intrust a command by their vote, is rendered scarcely proba-
ble by the contempt and levity with which the parental author-
ity is treated by children in the present age.

23. The assembly for the election of praetors was then held,
at which Publius Manlius Vulso, Lucius Manlius Acidinus,
Caius Laetorius, and Lucius Cincius Alimentus were elected.
It happened that just as the elections were concluded, news
was brought that Titus Otacilius, whom it seemed the people
would have made consul in his absence, with Titus Manlius,
had not the course of the elections been interrupted, had died
in Sicily. The games in honour of Apollo had been per-
formed the preceding year, and on the motion of Calpurnius,
the praetor, that they should be performed this year also, the
senate decreed that they should be vowed every year for the
time to come. The same year several prodigies were seen
and reported. At the temple of Concord, a statue of Victory,Y. u. 541.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1049

which stood on the roof, having been struck by lightning and
thrown down, stuck among the figures of Victory, which were
among the ornaments under the eaves, and did not fall to the
ground from thence. Both from Anagnia and Fregellse it
was reported that a wall and some gates had been struck by
lightning. That in the forum of Sudertum streams of blood
had continued flowing through a whole day; at Eretum, that
there had been a shower of stones; and at Reate, that a mule
had brought forth. These prodigies were expiated with vic-
tims of the larger sort, the people were commanded to offer
up prayers for one day, and perform the nine days' sacred
rite. Several of the public priests died off this year, and
fresh ones were appointed. In the room of Manius JEmilius
Numida, decemvir for sacred rites, Marcus .iEmilius Lepidus
was appointed; in the room of Manius Pomponius Matho,
the pontiff, Caius Livius; in the room of Spurius Carvilius
Maximus, the augur, Marcus Servilius. As Titus Otacilius
Crassus, a pontiff, died after the year was concluded, no per-
son was nominated to succeed him. Caius Claudius, flamen
of Jupiter, retired from his office, because he had distributed
the entrails improperly.

24. During the same time Marcus Valerius Lgevinus, having
first sounded the intentions of the leading men by means of
secret conferences, came with some light ships to a council of
the JEtolians, which had been previously appointed to meet
for this very purpose. Here having proudly pointed to the
capture of Syracuse and Capua, as proofs of the success of the
Roman arms in Sicily and Italy, he added, that "it was a
custom with the Romans, handed down to them from their
ancestors, to respect their allies; some of whom they had re-
ceived into their state, and had admitted to the same privi-
leges they enjoyed themselves, while others they treated so
favourably that they chose rather to be allies than citizens.
That the .iEtolians would be honoured by them so much the
more, because they were the first of the nations across the sea
which had entered into friendship with them. That Philip
and the Macedonians were troublesome neighbours to them,
but that he had broken their strength and spirits already, and
would still further reduce them to that degree, that they
should not only evacuate the cities which they had violently
taken from the iEtolians, but have Macedonia itself disturbed1050

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXVI. CHAP. 24

with war. And that as to the Acarnanians, whose separation
from their body was a source of grief to the JEtolians, he
would place them again under their ancient system of juris-
diction and dominion. These assertions and promises of the
Roman general, Scopas, who was at that time praetor of the
nation, and Dorymachus, a leading man among the .ZEtolians,
confirmed on their own authority, extolling the power and
greatness of the Roman people with less reserve, and with
greater force of conviction. However, the hope of recovering
Acarnania principally moved them. The terms, therefore,
were reduced to writing, on which they should enter into
alliance and friendship with the Roman people, and it was
added, that " if it were agreeable to them and they wished it,
the Eleans and Lacedaemonians, with Attalus, Pleuratus, and
Scerdilaedas, should be included on the same conditions."
Attalus was king of Asia; the latter, kings of the Thracians
and Illyrians. The conditions were, that "the iEtolians
should immediately make war on Philip by land, in which
the Romans should assist, with not less than twenty quinque-
remes. That the site and buildings, together with the walls
and lands, of all the cities as far as Corcyra, should become
the property of the iEtolians, every other kind of booty, of
the Romans. That the Romans should endeavour to put the
JEtolians in possession of Acarnania. If the JEtolians should
make peace with Philip, they should insert a stipulation that
the peace should stand good only on condition that they ab-
stained from hostilities against the Romans, their allies, and
the states subject to them. In like manner, if the Romans
should form an alliance with the king, that they should pro-
vide that he should not have liberty to make war upon the
iEtolians and their allies." Such were the terms agreed
upon; and copies of them having been made, they were laid
up two years afterwards by the ^Etolians at Olympia, and by
the Romans in the Capitol, that they might be attested by
these consecrated records. The delay had been occasioned
by the iEtolian ambassadors' having been detained at Rome.
This, however, did not form an impediment to the war's pro-
ceeding. Both the iEtolians immediately commenced war
against Philip, and Laevinus taking, all but the citadel, Zacyn-
thus, a small island near to JEtolia, and having one city of
the same name with the island; and also taking iEniadas andr. it. 541,]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1051

Nasus from the Acarnanians, annexed them to the iEtolians ;
and also considering that Philip was sufficiently engaged in
war with his neighbours to prevent his thinking of Italy, the
Carthaginians, and his compact with Hannibal, he retired to
Corcyra.

25. To Philip intelligence of the defection of the JEtolians
was brought while in winter quarters at Pella. As'he was
about to march an army into Greece at the beginning of the
spring, he undertook a sudden expedition into the territories
of Oricum and Apollonia, in order that Macedonia might not
be molested by the Illyrians, and the cities bordering upon
them, in consequence of the terror he would thus strike them
with in turn. The Apollonians came out to oppose him, but
he drove them, terrified and dismayed, within their walls.
After devastating the adjacent parts of Illyricum he turned
his course into Pelagonia, with the same expedition. He
then took Sintia, a town of the Dardanians, which would have
afforded them a passage into Macedonia. Having with the
greatest despatch performed these achievements, not forgetting
the war made upon him by the JEtolians and Romans in con-
junction, he marched down into Thessaly through Pelagonia,
Lyncus, and Bottisea. He trusted that people might be in-
duced to take part with him in the war against the iEtolians,
and, therefore, leaving Perseus with four thousand armed
men at the gorge, which formed the entrance into Thessaly,
to prevent the iEtolians from passing it, before he should be
occupied with more important business, he marched his army
into Macedonia, and thence into Thrace and Maedica. This
nation had been accustomed to make incursions into Mace-
donia when they perceived the king engaged in a foreign war,
and the kingdom left unprotected. Accordingly, he began to
devastate the lands in the neighbourhood of Phragandse, and
to lay siege to the city Jamphorina, the capital and chief for-
tress of Msedica. Scopas, on hearing that the king had gone
into Thrace, and was engaged in a war there, armed all the
iEtolian youths, and prepared ttf invade Acarnania. The
Acarnanian nation, unequal to their enemy in point of strength,
and seeing that they had lost JEniadse and Nasus, and more-
over that the Roman arms were threatening them, prepare the
war rather with rage than prudence. Having sent their
wives, children, and those who were above sixty years old.1052

the history op rome. [b. xxvi. chap. 26i

into the neighbouring parts of Epirus, all who were between
the ages of fifteen aud sixty, bound each other by an oath not
to return unless victorious. That no one might receive into
his city or house, or admit to his table or hearth, such as
should retire from the field vanquished, they drew up a form
of direful execration against their countrymen who should do
so ; and the most solemn entreaty they could devise, to
friendly states. At the same time they entreated the Epirotes
to bury in one tomb such of their men as should fall in the
encounter, adding this inscription over their remains : here
LIE THE ACARNANIANS, WHO DIED WHILE FIGHTING- IN DE-
FENCE OF THEIR COUNTRY, AGAINST THE VIOLENCE AND IN-
JUSTICE of the iETOLiANS. Having worked up their courage
to the highest pitch by these means, they fixed their camp at
the extreme borders of their country in the way of the enemy ;
and sending messengers to Philip to inform him of the critical
situation in which they stood, they obliged him to suspend
the war in which he was engaged, though he had gained
possession of Jamphorina by surrender, and had succeeded in
other respects. The ardour of the JEtolians was damped, in
the first instance, by the news of the combination formed by
the Acarnanians ; but afterwards the intelligence of Philip's
approach compelled them even to retreat into the interior of
the country. Nor did Philip proceed farther than Dium,
though he had marched with great expedition to prevent the
Acarnanians being overpowered; and when he had received
information that the JEtolians had returned out of Acarnania,
he also returned to Pella.

26. Laevinus set sail from Corcyra in the beginning of the
spring, and doubling the promontory Leucate, arrived at
Naupactus ; when he gave notice that he should go thence to
Anticyra, in order that Scopas and the ^Etolians might be
ready there to join him. Anticyra is situated in Locris, on
the left hand as you enter the Corinthian Gulf. The distance
between Naupactus and this place is short both by sea and
land. In about three days after, the attack upon this place
commenced on both elements. The attack from the sea pro-
duced the greatest effect, because there were on board the
ships engines and machines of every description, and because
the Romans besieged from that quarter. In a few days, there-
fore, the town surrendered, and was delivered over to theY. K. 541.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

10 53

^Etolians; the booty, according to compact, was given up to
the Romans. Laevinus then received a letter informing him,
that lie liad been elected consul in his absence, and that Publius
Sulpicius was coming as his successor. He arrived at Rome
later than he was generally expected, being detained by a
lingering illness. Marcus Marcellus, having entered upon the
consulship on the ides of March, assembled the senate on that
day merely for form's sake. He declared, that " in the absence
of his colleague he would not enter into any question relative
to the state or the provinces." He said, " he well knew there
were crowds of Sicilians in the neighbourhood of the city at
the country-houses of those who maligned him, whom he was
so far from wishing to prevent from openjy publishing, at
Rome, the charges which had been circulated and got up against
him by his enemies, that did they not pretend that they enter-
tained some fear of speaking of a consul in the absence of his
colleague, he would forthwith have given them a hearing of
the senate. That when his colleague had arrived, he would
not allow any business to be transacted before the Sicilians
were brought before the senate. That Marcus Cornelius had
in a manner held a levy throughout all Sicily, in order that as
many as possible might come to Rome to prefer complaints
against him; that the same person had filled the city with
letters containing false representations that there was still
war in Sicily, in order to detract from his merit." The con-
sul, having acquired on that day the reputation of having a
well-regulated mind, dismissed the senate; and it appeared
that there would be almost a total suspension of every kind of
business till the other consul returned to the city. The want
of employment, as usual, produced expressions of discontent
among the people. They complained of the length of the
war; that the lands around the city were devastated wherever
Hannibal had marched his hostile troops; that Italy was ex-
hausted by levies, and that almost every year their armies
were cut to pieces; that the consuls elected were both of them
fond of war, men over-enterprising and impetuous, who would
probably stir up war in a time of profound peace, and there-
fore were the less likely to allow the state to breathe in time
of war.

' 27. A fire which broke out in several places at once in the
neighbourhood of the forum, on the night before the festival1054

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXYI. C1IAP. 2?.

of Minerva, interrupted these discourses. Seven shops, where
five were afterwards erected, and the banks, which are now
called the new banks, were all on fire at once. Afterwards
the private dwellings caught, for there were no public halls
there then, the prisons called the Quarry, the fish-market, and
the royal palace. The temple of Vesta was with difficulty
saved, principally by the exertions of thirteen slaves, whg
were redeemed at the public expense and manumitted. The fire
continued for a day and a night. It was evident to every body
that it was caused by human contrivance, because the flames
burst forth in several places at once, and those at a distance
from each other. The consul, therefore, on the recommend-
ation of the senate, publicly notified, that whoever should
make known by whose act the conflagration was kindled,
should be rewarded; if a free-man, with money, if a slave, with
liberty. Induced by this reward, a slave of the Campanian
family, the Calavii, named Mannus, gave information that
" his masters, with five noble Campanian youths, whose parents
had been executed by Fulvius, were the authors of the fire,
and that they would commit various other acts of the same
kind if they were not seized." Upon this they were seized, as
well as their slaves. At first, the informer and his evidence
were disparaged; for that " he had run away from his masters
the day before in consequence of a whipping, and that from
an event which had happened by mere chance, he had fabri-
cated this charge, from resentment and wantonness. But
when they were charged by their accusers face to face, and the
ministers of their villanies began to be examined in the middle
of the forum, they all confessed; and punishment was inflicted
upon the masters and their accessory slaves. The informer
received his liberty and twenty thousand asses. The consul
Lsevinus, while passing by Capua, was surrounded by a mul-
titude of Campanians, who besought him, with tears, that they
might be permitted to go to Rome to the senate, so that if they
could at length be in any degree moved by compassion, they
might not carry their resentment so far as to destroy them
utterly, nor suffer the very name of the Campanian nation to
be obliterated by Quintus Flaccus. Flaccus declared, that
" he had individually no quarrel with the Campanians, but that
he did entertain an enmity towards them on public grounds,
and because they were foes, and should continue to do so asY. R. 542.J

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1055

long as he felt assured that they had the same feelings towards
the Roman people; for that there was no nation or people on
earth more inveterate against the Roman name. That his
reason for keeping them shut up within their walls was, that
if any of these got out any where they roamed through the
country like wild beasts, tearing and massacring whatever
fell in their way. That some of them had deserted to Han-
nibal, others had gone and set fire to Rome; that the consul
would find the traces of the villany of the Campanians in the
half-burnt forum. That the temple of Vesta, the eternal fire,
and the fatal pledge for the continuance of the Roman empire
deposited in the shrine, had been the objects of their attack.
That in his opinion it was extremely unsafe for any Campa-
nians to be allowed to enter the walls of Rome." Lsevinus
ordered the Campanians to follow him to Rome, after Flaccus
had bound them by an oath to return to Capua on the fifth
day after receiving an answer from the senate. Surrounded
by this crowd, and followed also by the Sicilians and iEto-
lians, who came out to meet him, he went to Rome; taking
with him into the city as accusers of two men who had ac-
quired the greatest celebrity by the overthrow of two most
renowned cities, those whom they had vanquished in war.
Both the consuls, however, first proposed to the senate the
consideration of the state of the commonwealth, and the ar-
rangements respecting the provinces.

28. On this occasion Laevinus reported the state of Mace-
donia and Greece, of the -ZEtolians, Acarnanians, and Locrians,
and the services he had himself performed there on sea and
land. That " Philip, who was bringing an army against the
-ZEtolians, had been driven back by him into Macedonia, and
compelled to retire into the heart of his kingdom. That the
legion might therefore be withdrawn from that quarter, and
that the fleet was sufficient to keep the king out of Italy."
Thus much he said respecting himself and the province where
he had commanded. The consuls jointly proposed the consi-
deration of the provinces, when the senate decreed, that,
" Italy and the war with Hannibal should form the province
of one of the consuls; that the other should have the com-
mand of the fleet which Titus Otacilius had commanded, and
the province of Sicily, in conjunction with Lucius Cincius,
the praetor." The two armies decreed to them were those in

3 y1056

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXVI. CHAP. 29,

Etruria and Gaul, consisting of four legions. That the two
city legions of the former year should be sent into Etruria,
and the two which Sulpicius, the consul, had commanded,
into Gaul; that he should have the command of Gaul, and
the legions there whom the consul, who had the province of
Italy, should appoint. Caius Calpurnius, having his command
continued to him for a year after the expiration of his praetor-
ship, was sent into Etruria. * To Quintus Fulvius also the
province of Capua was decreed, with his command continued
for a year. The army of citizens and allies was ordered to be
reduced, so that, out of two, one legion should be formed con-
sisting of five thousand foot and three hundred horse, those
being discharged who had served the greatest number of cam-
paigns. That of the allies there should be left seven thousand
infantry and three hundred horse, the same rule being ob-
served with regard to the periods of their service in discharg-
ing the old soldiers. With Cneius Fulvius, the consul of the
former year, no change was made touching his province of
Apulia nor his army; only he was continued in command for
a year. Publius Sulpicius, his colleague, was ordered to dis-
charge the whole of his army excepting the marines. It was
ordered also, that the army which Marcus Cornelius had com-
manded, should be sent out of Sicily as soon as the consul ar-
rived in his province. The soldiers which had fought at
Cannae, amounting to two legions, were assigned to Lucius
Cincius, the praetor, for the occupation of Sicily. As many
legions were assigned to Publius Manlius Yulso, the praetor,
for Sardinia, being those which Lucius Cornelius had com-
manded in that province the former year. The consuls were
directed so to raise legions for the service of the city, as riot
to enlist any one who had served in the armies of Marcus
Claudius, Marcus Valerius, or Quintus Fulvius, so that the
Roman legions might not exceed twenty-one that year.

29. After the senate had passed these decrees, the consuls
drew lots for their provinces. Sicily and the fleet fell to the
lot of Marcellus; Italy, with the war against Hannibal, to
Lsevinus. This result so terrified the Sicilians, who were
standing in sight of the consuls waiting the determination of
the lots, that their bitter lamentations and mournful cries both
drew upon them the eyes of all at the time, and afterwards
furnished matter for conversation. For they went round toY. u. 542.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1057

tlie several senators in mourning garments, affirming, that
"they would not only abandon, each of them, his native country,
but all Sicily, if Marcellus should again go thither with com-
mand. That he had formerly been implacable toward them
for no demerit of theirs; what would he do now, when el-
asperated that they had come to Rome to complain of him ?
That it would be better for that island to be overwhelmed
with the fires of JEtna, or sunk in the sea, than to be delivered
up, as it were, for execution to an enemy." These complaints
of the Sicilians, having been carried round to the houses of
the nobility, and frequently canvassed in conversations, which
were prompted partly by compassion for the Sicilians and
partly by dislike for Marcellus, at length reached the senate
also. The consuls were requested to take the sense of the
senate on an exchange of provinces. Marcellus said, that " if
the Sicilians had already had an audience of the senate, his
opinion perhaps might have been different, but as the case now
stood, lest any one should be able to say that they were pre-
vented by fear from freely venting their complaints respecting
him, to whose power they were presently about to be subject,
he was willing, if it made no difference to his colleague, to ex-
change provinces with him. That he deprecated a premature
decision on the part of the senate ; for since it would be un-
just that his colleague should have the power of selecting his
province without drawing lots, how much greater injustice
would it be, nay, rather indignity, for his lot to be transferred
to him." Accordingly the senate, having rather shown than
decreed what they wished, adjourned. An exchange of
provinces was made by the consuls of themselves; fate hurry-
ing on Marcellus to encounter Hannibal, that he might be the
last of the Roman generals, who, by his fall, when the affairs
of the war were most prosperous, might add to the glory of
that man, from whom he derived the reputation of having
been the first Roman general who defeated him.

30. After the provinces had been exchanged, the Sicilians,
on being introduced into the senate, discoursed largely on the
constant fidelity of king Hiero to the Roman people, convert-
ing it into a public merit. They said, "that the tyrants,
Hieronymus, and, after him, Hippocrates and Epicydes, had
been objects of detestation to them, both on other accounts and
especially on account of their deserting the Romans to take

3 y 21058 *	THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXVI. CHAP. 30

part with Hannibal. For this cause Hieronymus was put to
death by the principal young men among them, almost with
the public concurrence, and a conspiracy was formed to mur-
der Epicydes and Hippocrates, by seventy of the most dis-
tinguished of their youth; but being left without support in
consequence of the delay of Marcellus, who neglected to bring
up his troops to Syracuse at the time agreed upon, they were
all, on an indictment that was made, put to death by the tyrants.
That Marcellus, by the cruelty exercised in the sacking of
Leontini, had given occasion to the tyranny of Hippocrates
and Epicydes. From that time the leading men among the
Syracusans never ceased going over to Marcellus, and pro-
mising him that they would deliver the city to him whenever
he pleased; but that he, in the first instance, was disposed
rather to take it by force, and afterwards, finding it impossible
to effect his object by sea or land, after trying every means,
he preferred having Syracuse delivered to him by Sosis, a
brazier, and Mericus, a Spaniard, to receiving it from the
principal men of Syracuse, who had so often offered it to him
voluntarily to no purpose; doubtless in order that he might
with a fairer pretext butcher and plunder the most ancient
allies of the Roman people. If it had not been Hieronymus
who revolted to Hannibal, but the people and senate of Syra-
cuse ; if the body of the Syracusan people, and not their tyrants,
Hippocrates and Epicydes, who held them in thraldrom, had
closed the gates against Marcellus; if they had carried on
war with the Roman people with the animosity of Carthagini-
ans, what more could Marcellus have done in hostility than he
did, without levelling Syracuse with the ground ? Nothing in-
deed was left at Syracuse except the walls and gutted houses of
her city, the temples of her gods broken open and plundered;
her very gods and their ornaments having been carried away.
From many their possessions also were taken away, so that they
were unable to support themselves and their families, even from
the naked soil, the only remains of their plundered property.
They entreated the conscript fathers, that they would order, if
not all, at least such of their property as could be found and
identified, to be restored to the owners." After they had
made these complaints, Laevinus ordered them to withdraw
from the senate-house, that the senate might deliberate on
their requests, when Marcellus exclaimed, "Nay, rather letTa B. 542.]

THE HISTORY OP ROME.

1059

them stay here, that I may reply to their charges in their
presence, since we conduct your wars for you, conscript
fathers, on the condition of having as our accusers those whom
we have conquered with our arms. Of the two cities which
have been captured this year, let Capua arraign Fulvius, and
Syracuse Marcellus."

31. The deputies having been brought back into the senate-
house, the consul said: " I am not so unmindful of the dignity
of the Roman people and of the office I fill as consul, con-
script fathers, as to make a defence against charges brought
by Greeks, had the inquiry related only to my own delin-
quency. But it is not so much what I have done, as what
they deserved to suffer, which comes into dispute. For if
they were not our enemies, there was no difference between
sacking Syracuse then, and when Hiero was alive. But if, on
the other hand, they have renounced their connexion with us,
attacked our ambassadors sword in hand, shut us out of their
city and walls, and defended themselves against us with an
army of Carthaginians, who can feel indignant that they
should suffer the hostilities they have offered ? I turned away
from the leading men of the Syracusans, when they were de-
sirous of delivering up the city to me, and esteemed Sosis
and Mericus as more proper persons for so important an af-
fair. Now you are not the meanest of the Syracusans, who
reproach others with the meanness of their condition. But
who is there among you, who has promised that he would
open the gates to me, and receive my armed troops within
the city ? You hate and execrate those who did so; and not
even here can you abstain from speaking with insult of them;
so far is it from being the case that you would yourselves have
done any thing of the kind. The very meanness of the con-
dition of those persons, conscript fathers, with which these
men reproach them, forms the strongest proof that I did not
turn away from any man who was willing to render a service
to our state. Before I began the siege of Syracuse I attempted
a peace, at one time by sending ambassadors, at another time
by going to confer with them; and after that they refrained
not from laying violent hands on my ambassadors, nor would
give me an answer when I held an interview with their chief
men at their gates, then, at length, after suffering many hard-
ships by sea and land, I took Syracuse by force of arms. Of10 60

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXVI. CHAP, 32.

what befell them after their city was captured they would
complain with more justice to Hannibal, the Carthaginians,
and those who were vanquished with them, than to the senate
of the victorious people. If, conscript fathers, I had intended
to conceal the fact that I had despoiled Syracuse, I should
never have decorated the city of Rome with her spoils. As to
what things I either took from individuals or bestowed upon
them, as conqueror, I feel assured that I have acted agreeably
to the laws of war, and the deserts of each. That you should
confirm what I have done, conscript fathers, certainly con-
cerns the commonwealth more than myself, since I have dis-
charged my duty faithfully ; but it is the duty of the state to
take care, lest, by rescinding my acts, they should render other
commanders for the time to come less zealous. And since, con-
script fathers, you have heard both what the Sicilians and I
had to say, in the presence of each other, we will go out of the
senate-house together, in order that in my absence the senate
may deliberate more freely." Accordingly, the Sicilians
having been dismissed, he himself also went away to the Capi-
tol to levy soldiers.

32. The other consul then proposed to the fathers the con-
sideration of the requests of the Sicilians, when a long debate
took place. A great part of the senate acquiesced in an
opinion which originated with Titus Manlius Torquatus, "that
the war ought to have been carried on against the tyrants,
the enemies both of the Syracusans and the Roman people;
that the city ought to have been recovered, not captured;
and, when recovered, should have been firmly established
under its ancient laws and liberty, and not distressed by war,
when worn out with a wretched state of bondage. That in
the contest between the tyrants and the Roman general, that
most beautiful and celebrated city, formerly the granary and
treasury of the Roman people, which was held up as the re-
ward of the victor, had been destroyed; a city by whose mu-
nificence and bounty the commonwealth had been assisted and
adorned on many occasions, and lastly, during this very Punic
war. Should king Hiero, that most faithful friend of the
Roman empire, rise from the shades, with what face could
either Syracuse or Rome be shown to him, when, after be-
holding his half-demolished and plundered native city, he
should see, on entering Rome, the spoils of his country in theY. n. 542.]

THE HISTORY OP ROME.

1061

vestibule, as it were, of the city, and almost in the very-
gates?" Although these and other similar things were said,
to throw odium upon the consul and excite compassion for the
Sicilians, yet the fathers, out of regard for Marcellus, passed
a milder, decree, to the effect, " that what Marcellus had done
while prosecuting the war, and when victorious, should be
confirmed. That for the time to come, the senate would look
to the affairs of Syracuse, and would give it in charge to the
consul Lsevinus, to consult the interest of that state, so far as
it could be done without detriment to the commonwealth."
Two senators having been sent to the Capitol to request the
consul to return to the senate-house, and the Sicilians having
been called in, the decree of the senate was read. The deputies
were addressed in terms of kindness, and dismissed; when
they threw themselves at the knees of the consul, Marcellus,
beseeching him to pardon them for what they had said for the
purpose of exciting compassion, and procuring relief from
their calamities, and to receive themselves and the city of
Syracuse under his protection and patronage; after which,
the consul addressed them kindly and dismissed them.

33. An audience of the senate was then granted to the
Campanians. Their speech was more calculated to excite
compassion, but their case less favourable; for neither could
they deny that they deserved the punishment they had suf-
fered, nor were there any tyranfs to whom they could transfer
their guilt. But they trusted that sufficient atonement had
been made by the death of so many of their senators by poison
and the hands of the executioner. They said, "that a few
only of their nobles remained, being such as were not induced
by the consciousness of their demerit to adopt any desperate
measure respecting themselves, and had not been condemned
to death through the resentment of their conquerors. That
these implored the restoration of their liberty, and some por-
tion of their goods for themselves and families, being citizens
of Rome, and most of them connected with the Romans by
affinity and now too near relationship, in consequence of in-
termarriages which had taken place for a long period." After
this they were removed from the senate-house, when for a
short time doubts were entertained whether it would be right
or not to send for Quintus Fulvius from Capua, (for Claudius,
the proconsul, died after the capture of that place,) that the1062

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXYI. CHAP, 33.

question might be canvassed in the presence of the general
who had been concerned, as was done in the affair between
Marcellus and the Sicilians. But afterwards, when they saw
in the senate Marcus Atilius, and Caius Fulvius, the brother
of Flaccus, his lieutenant-generals, and Quintus Minucius,
and Lucius Veturius Philo, who were also his lieutenant-ge-
nerals, who had been present at every transaction ; and being
unwilling that Fulvius should be recalled from Capua, or the
Campanians put off, Marcus Atilius Regulus, who possessed
the greatest weight of any of those present who had been at
Capua, being asked his opinion, thus spoke: " I believe I as-
sisted at the council held by the consuls after the capture of
Capua, when inquiry was made whether any of the Campa-
nians had deserved well of our state; and it was found that
two women had done so; Yestia Oppia, a native of Atella and
an inhabitant of Capua, and Faucula Cluvia, formerly a com-
mon woman. The former had daily offered sacrifice for the
safety and success of the Roman people, and the latter had
clandestinely supplied the starving prisoners with food. The
sentiments of all the rest of the Campanians towards us had
been the same," he said, " as those of the Carthaginians; and
those who had been decapitated by Fulvius, were the most
conspicuous in rank, but not in guilt. I do not see," said he,
" how the senate can decide respecting the Campanians who
are Roman citizens, without an order of the people. And the
course adopted by our ancestors, in the case of the Satricani
when they had revolted, was, that Marcus Antistius, the
plebeian tribune, should first propose and the commons make
an order, that the senate should have the power of pronouncing
judgment upon the Satricani. I therefore give it as my
opinion, that application should be made to the plebeian tri-
bunes, that one or more of them should propose to the people
a bill, by which we may be empowered to determine in the
case of the Campanians." Lucius Atilius, plebeian tribune,
proposed to the people, on the recommendation of the senate,
a bill to the following effect: "Concerning all the Campa-
nians, Atellanians, Calatinians, and Sabatinians, who have
surrendered themselves to the proconsul Fulvius, and have
placed themselves under the authority and dominion of the
Roman people; also concerning what things they have sur-
rendered, together with their persons, both lands and city,T. B. 542.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1063

divine or human, together with their utensils and whatsoever
else they have surrendered; concerning these things, Roman
citizens, I ask you what it is your pleasure should be done."
The commons thus ordered: " Whatsoever the senate on oath,
or the majority of those present, may determine, that we will
and order."

34. The senate having taken the matter into their con-
sideration in conformity with this order of the people, first
restored to Oppia and Cluvia their goods and liberty; direct-
ing, that if they wished to solicit any other rewards from the
senate, they should come to Rome. Separate decrees were
passed respecting each of the Campanian families, all of which
it is not worth while to enumerate. The goods of some were
to be confiscated; themselves, their children, and their wives
were to be sold, excepting such of their daughters as had
married before they came into the power of the Roman peo-
ple. Others were ordered to be thrown into chains, and their
cases to be considered at a future time. They made the
amount of income the ground on which they decided, whether
the goods of the rest of the Campanians should be confiscated
or not. They voted, that all the cattle taken except the
horses, all the slaves except adult males, and every thing
which did not belong to the soil, should be restored to the
owners. They ordered that all the Campanians, Atellanians,
Calatinians, and Sabatinians, except such as were themselves,
or whose parents were, among the enemy, should be free,
with a proviso, that none of them should become a Roman
citizen or a Latin confederate; and that none of those who
had been at Capua while the gates were shut should remain
in the city or territory of Capua after a certain day. That a
place should be assigned to them to inhabit beyond the Tiber,
but not contiguous to it. That those who had neither been
in Capua nor in any Campanian city which had revolted from
the Romans during the war, should inhabit a place on this
side the river Liris towards Rome; and that those who had
come over to the Romans before Hannibal arrived at Capua,
should be removed to a place on this side the Yulturnus, with
a proviso, that none of them should have either land or house
within fifteen miles of the sea. That such of them as were
removed to a place beyond the Tiber, should neither them-
selves nor their posterity acquire or possess any property any1064

THE HISTORY OF BOMB. [B. XXVI. UHAP. 35.

where, except in the Veientian, Sutrian, or Nepetian terri-
tories ; and, except on condition, that no one should possess a
greater extent of land than fifty acres. That the goods of all
the senators, and such as had been magistrates at Capua, Ca-
latia, and Atella, should be sold at Capua; but that the free
persons who were decreed to be exposed to sale, should be
sent to Rome and sold there. As to the images and brazen
statues, which were said to have been taken from the enemy,
whether sacred or profane, they referred them to the college
of pontiffs. They sent the Campanians away, considerably
more grieved than they were when they came, in consequence
of these decrees; and now they no longer complained of the
severity of Quintus Fulvius towards them, but of the ma-
lignity of the gods and their own accursed fortune.

35. After the Sicilians and Campanians were dismissed, a
levy was made; and after the troops had been enlisted for the
army, they then began to consider about making up the num-
ber of rowers; but as there was neither a sufficient supply of
men for that purpose, nor any money at that time in the
treasury by which they might be purchased or paid, the con-
suls issued an edict, that private persons should furnish row-
ers in proportion to their income and rank, as had been done
before, with pay and provisions for thirty days. So great
was the murmuring and indignation of the people, on account
of this edict, that a leader, rather than matter, was wanting
for an insurrection. It was said, that "the consuls, after
having ruined the Sicilians and Campanians, had undertaken
to destroy and lacerate the Roman commons ; that, drained as
they had been for so many years by taxes, they had nothing
left but wasted and naked lands. That the enemy had burned
their houses, and the state had taken away their slaves, who
were the cultivators of their lands, at one time by purchasing
them at a low rate for soldiers, at another by commanding a
supply of rowers. If any one had any silver or brass it was
taken away from him, for the payment of rowers or for an-
nual taxes. That no force could compel and no command
oblige them to give what they had not got. That they might
sell their goods and then vent their cruelty on their persons,
which were all that remained to them. That they had nothing
even left from which they could be redeemed." These com-
plaints were uttered not in secret, but publicly in the forum,t. r. 542.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1065

and before the eyes of the consuls themselves, by an immense
crowd which surrounded them; nor could the consuls ap-
pease them now by coercing nor by soothing them. Upon this
they said that three days should be allowed them to consider
of the matter; which interval the consuls employed in ex-
amining and planning. The following day they assembled the
senate to consider of raising a supply of rowers; and after
arguing at great length that the people's refusal was fair, they
brought their discourse to this point, that whether it were
just or unjust, this burden must be borne by private indi-
viduals. For from what source could they procure rowers,
when there was no money in the treasury ? and how, with-
out fleets, could Sicily be kept in subjection, or Philip be
prevented from entering Italy, or the shores of Italy be pro-
tected ?

36. In this perplexing state of affairs, when all deliberation
was at a stand, and a kind of torpor had seized on men's
minds, Laevinus, the consul, observed, that " as the magistrates
were more honoured than the senators, and the senators than
the people, so also ought they to be the first in taking upon
themselves every thing that was burdensome and arduous.
If you would enjoin any duty on an inferior, and would first
submit yourself and those belonging to you to the obligation,
you will find everybody else more ready to obey; nor is ah
expense thought heavy, when, the people see every one of
their principal men taking upon himself more than his pro-
portion of it. Are we then desirous that the Roman people
should have and equip a fleet ? that private individuals should
without repugnance furnish rowers ? Let us first execute
the command ourselves. Let us, senators, bring into the
treasury to-morrow all our gold, silver, and coined brass, each
reserving rings for himself, his wife, and children, and a bulla
for his son; and he who has a wife or daughters, an ounce
weight of gold for each. Let those who have sat in a curule
chair have the ornaments of a horse, and a pound weight of
silver, that they may have a salt-cellar and a dish for the ser-
vice of the gods. Let the rest of us, senators, reserve for each
father of a family, a pound weight only of silver and five
thousand coined asses. All the rest of our gold, silver, and
coined brass, let us immediately carry to the triumviri for
banking affairs, no decree of the senate having been previously1066

THE HISTOEY OF ROME. [b. xxvi. CHAP. 37.

made; that our voluntary contributions, and our emulation
in assisting the state, may excite the minds, first, of the
equestrian order to emulate us, and after them of the rest of
the community. This is the only course which we, your con-
suls, after much conversation on the subject, have been able
to discover. Adopt it, then, and may the gods prosper the
measure. If the state is preserved, she can easily secure the
property of her individual members, but by betraying the
public interests you would in vain preserve your own. This
proposition was received with such entire approbation, that
thanks were spontaneously returned to the consuls. The
senate was then adjourned, when every one of the members
brought his gold, silver, and brass into the treasury, with such
emulation excited, that they were desirous that their names
should appear among the first on the public tables; so that
neither the triumviri were sufficient for receiving nor the
notaries for entering them. The unanimity displayed by the
senate was imitated by the equestrian order, and that of the
equestrian order by the commons. Thus, without any edict,
or coercion of the magistrates, the state neither wanted rowers
to make up the numbers, nor money to pay them ; and after
every thing had been got in readiness for the war, the consuls
set out for their provinces.

37. Nor was there ever any period of the war, when both
the Carthaginians and the Romans, plunged alike in vicissi-
tudes, were in a state of more anxious suspense between hope
and fear. For on the side of the Romans, with respect to
their provinces, their failure in Spain on the one hand, and
their successes in Sicily on the other, had blended joy and
sorrow ; and in Italy, the loss of Tarentum was an injury and
a source of grief to them, while the unexpected preservation
of the citadel with the garrison was matter of joy to them.
The sudden terror and panic occasioned by the siege and
attack of Rome, was turned into joy by the capture of Capua,
a few days after. Their affairs beyond sea also were equal-
ized by a kind of compensation. Philip had become their
enemy at a juncture somewhat unseasonable; but then the
-ZEtolians, and Attalus, king of Asia, were added to their
allies ; fortune now, in a manner, promising to the Romans the
empire of the east. The Carthaginians also set the loss of
Capua against the capture of Tarentum; and as they consiy. b. 542.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1067

dered it as glorious to them to have reached the walls of Rome
without opposition, so they were chagrined at the failure of
their attempt; and they felt ashamed that they had been held
in such contempt, that while they lay under the walls of Rome,
a Roman army was marched out for Spain at an opposite gate.
With regard also to Spain itself, the greater the reason was
to hope that the war there was terminated, and that the Ro-
mans were driven from the country, after the destruction of
two such renowned generals and their armies, so much the
greater was the indignation felt, that the victory had been
rendered void and fruitless by Lucius Marcius, a general irre-
gularly appointed. Thus fortune balancing events against
each other, all was suspense and uncertainty on both sides
their hopes and their fears being as strong as though they
were now first commencing the war.

38. What grieved Hannibal more than anything was the fact,
that Capua having been more perseveringly besieged by the
Romans than defended by him, had turned from him the regard
of many of the states of Italy; and it was not only impossible
for him to retain possession of all these by means of garrisons,
unless he could make up his mind to tear his arriiy into a num-
ber of small portions, which at that time was most inexpedient;
but he could not, by withdrawing the garrisons, leave the
fidelity of his allies open to the influence of hope, or subject
to that of fear. His disposition, which was strongly inclined
to avarice and cruelty, induced him to plunder the places he
could not keep possession of, that they might be left for the
enemy in a state of desolation. This resolution was equally
horrid in principle and in its issue; for not only were the af-
fections of those who suffered such harsh treatment alienated
from him, but also of the other states; for the warning affected
a greater number than did the calamity. Nor did the Roman
consul fail to sound the inclinations of the cities, whenever
any prospect of success presented itself. Dasius and Blasius
were the principal men in Salapia; Dasius was the friend of
Hannibal; Blasius, as far as he could do it with safety, pro-
moted the Roman interest; and, by means of secret messengers,
had given Marcellus hopes of having the place betrayed to
him; but the business could not be accomplished without the
assistance of Dasius. After much and long hesitation, and1068

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXVI. CHAP. 89.

even then more for the want of a better plan than from any
hope of success, he addressed himself to Dasius; but he, being
both adverse to the measure and also hostile to his rival in the
government, discovered the affair to Hannibal. Both parties
were summoned, and while Hannibal was transacting some
business on his tribunal, intending presently to take cognizance
of the case of Blasius, and the accuser and the accused were
standing apart from the crowd, which was put back, Blasius
solicited Dasius on the subject of surrendering the city; when
he exclaimed, as if the case were now clearly proved, that he
was being treated with about the betrayal of the city, even
before the eyes of Hannibal. The more audacious the pro-
ceeding was, the less probable did it appear to Hannibal and
those who were present. They considered that the charge was
undoubtedly a matter of rivalry and animosity, and that it had
been brought because it was of such a nature that, not admit-
ting of being proved by witnesses, it could the more easily be
fabricated. Accordingly the parties were dismissed. But
Blasius, notwithstanding, desisted not from his bold under-
taking, till by continually harping upon the same subject, and
proving how conducive such a measure would be to themselves
and their country, he carried his point that the Punic garri-
son, consisting of five hundred Numidians, and Salapia, should
be delivered up to Marcellus. Nor could it be betrayed with-
out much bloodshed, consisting of the bravest of the cavalry
in the whole Punic army. Accordingly, though the event was
unexpected, and their horses were of no use to them in the
city, yet hastily taking arms, during the confusion, they en-
deavoured to force their way out; and not being able to escape,
they fell fighting to the last, not more than fifty of them fall-
ing into the hands of the enemy alive. The loss of this body
of cavalry was considerably more detrimental to Hannibal
than that of Salapia, for the Carthaginian was never after-
wards superior in cavalry, in which he had before been most
effective.

39. During this time the scarcity of provisions in the cita-
del of Tarentum was almost intolerable; the Roman garrison
there, and Marcus Livius, the prefect of the garrison and the
citadel, placing all their dependence in the supplies sent from
Sicily; that these might safely pass along the coast of Italy, aY. it. 542.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1069

fleet of about twenty ships was stationed at Rhegium. Decius
Quinctius, a man of obscure birth, but who had acquired great
renown as a soldier, on account of many acts of bravery, had
charge of the fleet and the convoys. At first he had five
ships, the largest of which were two triremes, given to him by
Marcellus; but afterwards, in consequence of his spirited
conduct on many occasions, three quinqueremes were added
to his number; at last, by exacting from the allied states of
Rhegium, Yelia, and Paestum, the ships they were bound to
furnish according to treaty, he made up a fleet of twenty ships,
as was before stated. This fleet setting out from Rhegium,
was met at Sacriportus, about fifteen miles from the city, by
Democrates, with an equal number of Tarentine ships. It
happened that the Roman was then coming with his sails up,
not expecting an approaching contest; but in the neighbour-
hood of Croto and Sybaris, he had supplied his ships with row-
ers, and had his fleet excellently equipped and armed for the size
of his vessels; and it also happened, that just at the time
when the enemy were in sight, the wind completely fell, so
that there was sufficient time to furl their sails, and get their
rowers and soldiers in readiness for the approaching action.
Rarely elsewhere have regular fleets engaged with so much
spirit, for they fought for what was of greater importance than
the fleets themselves. The Tarentines, in order that, having
recovered their city from the Romans after the lapse of almost
a century, they might also rescue their citadel; hoping also to
cut off the supplies of their enemy, if by a naval battle they
could deprive them of the dominion of the sea. The Romans,
that, by keeping possession of the citadel, they might prove
that Tarentum was lost not by the strength and valour of
their enemies, but by treachery and stealth. Accordingly,
the signal having been given on both sides, they charged each
other with the beaks of their ships, and neither did they draw
back their own, nor allow the ships of the enemy with which
they were engaged to separate from them, having thrown
their grappling irons ; and thus the battle was carried on in
such close quarters, that they fought not only with missile
weapons, but in a manner foot to foot even with their swords.
The prows joined together remained stationary, while the
sterns were moved round by the force of their adversaries'
oars. The ships were crowded together in so small a com-1070

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXYI. CHAP. 39

pass, that scarcely one weapon fell into the sea without taking
effect. They pressed front against front like lines of troops
engaging on land, and the combatants could pass from one
ship to another. But the contest between two ships which
had engaged each other in the van, was remarkable above the
rest. In the Roman ship was Quinctius himself, in the
Tarentine, Nico, surnamed Perco, who hated, and was hated
by, the ^Romans, not only on public grounds, but also person-
ally, for he belonged to that faction which had betrayed
Tarentum to Hannibal. This man transfixed Quinctius with
a spear while off his guard, and engaged at once in fighting
and encouraging his men, and he immediately fell headlong
with his arms over the prow. The victorious Tarentine
promptly boarded the ship, which was all in confusion from the
loss of the commander, and when he had driven the enemy
back, and the Tarentines had got possession of the prow, the
Romans, who had formed themselves into a compact body,
with difficulty defending the stern, suddenly another trireme
of the enemy appeared at the stern. Thus the Roman ship,
enclosed between the two, was captured. Upon this a panic
spread among the rest, seeing the commander's ship captured,
and flying in every direction, some were sunk in the deep and
some rowed hastily to land, where, shortly after, they became a
prey to the Thurians and Metapontines. Of the storeships
which followed, laden with provisions, a very few fell into the
hands of the enemy; the rest, shifting their sails from one
side to another with the changing winds, escaped into the
open sea. An affair took place at Tarentum at this time,
which was attended with widely different success; for a party
of four thousand men had gone out to forage, and while they
were dispersed, and roaming through the country, Livius, the
commander of the citadel and the Roman garrison, who was
anxious to seize every opportunity of striking a blow, sent
out of the citadel Caius Persius, an active officer, with two
thousand soldiers, who attacked them suddenly when widely
dispersed and straggling about the fields; and after slaying
them for a long time on all hands, drove the few that remained
of so many into the city, to which they fled in alarm and con-
fusion, and where they rushed in at the doors of the gates,
which were half-opened that the city might not be taken in
the same attack. In this manner affairs were equally balancedY. R. 542.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1071

at Tarentum, the Eomans being victorious by land, and the
Tarentines by sea. Both parties were equally disappointed
in their hope of receiving provisions, after they were within
sight.

40. While these events were occurring, the consul, Laevinus,
after a great part of the year had elapsed, having arrived in
Sicily, where he had been expected by both the old and new
allies, considered it his first aad principal duty to adjust the
affairs of Syracuse, which were still in a state of disorder,
the peace being but recent. He then marched his legions to
Agrigentum, the seat of the remaining part of the war, which
was occupied by a strong garrison of Carthaginians ; and here
fortune favoured his attempt. Hanno was commander-in-
chief of the Carthaginians, but their whole reliance was placed
upon Mutines and the Numidians. Mutines, scouring the
whole of Sicily, employed himself in carrying off spoil from
the allies of the Eomans ; nor could he by force or stratagem
be cut off from Agrigentum, or prevented from sallying from
it whenever he pleased. The renown which he gained by
this conduct, as it began now to eclipse the fame of the com-
mander-in-chief, was at last converted into a source of jealousy ;
so that even now his successes were not as acceptable as they
ought to have been, on account of the person who gained them.
For these reasons Hanno at last gave his commission to his
own son, concluding that by taking away his command he
should also deprive him of the influence he possessed with the
Numidians. But the result was very different; for their
former attachment to him was increased,by the envy incurred
by him. Nor did he brook the affront put upon him by this
injurious treatment, but immediately sent secret messengers to
Lsevinus, to treat about delivering up Agrigentum. After an
agreement had been entered into by means of these persons,
and the mode of carrying it into execution concerted, the Nu-
midians seized on a gate which leads towards the sea, having
driven the guards from it, or put them to the sword, and then
received into the city a party of Romans sent for that purpose ;
and when these troops were now marching into the heart of the
city and the forum with a great noise, Hanno, concluding that
it was nothing more than a disturbance and secession of the
Numidians, such as had happened before, advanced to quell

3 z1072

THE HISTORY OP ROME. [B. XXYI. CHAP. 40.

the mutiny; but observing at a distance that the numbers
were greater than those of the Numidians, and hearing the
Roman shout, which was far from being new to him, he be-
took himself to flight before he came within reach of their
weapons. Passing out of the town at a gate in the opposite
quarter, and taking Epicydes to accompany him, he readied
the sea with a few attendants; and having very seasonably
met with a small vessel, they abandoned to the enemy Sicily,
for which they had contended for so many years, and crossed
over into Africa. The remaining multitude of Carthaginians
and Sicilians fled with headlong haste, but as every passage
by which they could escape was blockaded up, they were cut
to pieces near the gates. On gaining possession of the town,
Lsevinus scourged and beheaded those who took the lead in
the affairs of Agrigentum. The rest, together with the booty,
he sold. All the money he sent to Rome. Accounts of the
sufferings of the Agrigentines spreading through all Sicily,
all the states suddenly turned to the Romans. In a short
time twenty towns were betrayed to them, and six taken by
storm. As many as forty put themselves under their pro-
tection, by voluntary surrender. The consul having reward-
ed and punished the leading men of these states, according to
their several deserts, and compelled the Sicilians, now that
they had at length laid aside arms, to turn their attention to
the cultivation of their lands, in order that the island might
by its produce not only maintain its inhabitants, but, as it
had frequently done on many former occasions, add to the
supplies of Rome and Italy, he returned into Italy, taking
with him a disorderly multitude from Agathyrna. These
were as many as four thousand men, made up of a mixed as-
semblage of every description of persons, exiles, bankrupts, the
greater part of them felons, who had supported themselves by
rapine and robbery, both when they lived in their native
towns, under the restraint of the laws, and also after that a
coincidence in their fortunes, brought about by causes differ-
ent in each case, had congregated them at Agathyrna. These
men Lsevinus thought it hardly safe to leave in the island,
when an unwonted tranquillity was growing up, as the ma-
terials of fresh disturbances; and besides, they were likely to
be useful to the Rhegians, who were in want of a band of men*. e. 542.J

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1073

habituated to robbery, for the purpose of committing depre-
dations upon the Bruttian territory. Thus, so far as related
to Sicily, the war was this year terminated.

41. In Spain, in the beginning of spring, Publius Scipio,
having launched his ships, and summoned the auxiliary troops
of his allies to Tarraco by an edict, ordered his fleet and
transports to proceed thence to the mouth of the Iberus. He
also ordered his legions to quit their winter quarters, and
meet at the same place; and then set out from Tarraco, with
five thousand of the allies, to join the army. On his arrival
at the camp he considered it right to harangue his soldiers,
particularly the old ones who had survived such dreadful dis-
asters ; and therefore, calling an assembly, he thus addressed
them: "Never was there a new commander before myself
who could, with justice and good reason, give thanks to his
soldiers before he had availed himself of their services. For-
tune laid me under obligations to you before I set eyes on my
province or your camp; first, on account of the respect you
have shown to my father and uncle, both in their lifetime and
since their death; and secondly, because by your valour you
have recovered and preserved entire, for the Roman people,
and me their successor, the possession of the province which
had been lost in consequence of so dreadful a calamity. But
since, now, by the favour of the gods, our purpose and en-
deavour is not that we may remain in Spain ourselves, but
that the Carthaginians may not; and not to stand on the bank
of the Iber,us, and hinder the enemy from crossing that river,
but cross it first ourselves, and carry the war to the other
side, I fear lest to some among you the enterprise should ap-
pear too important and daring, considering your late misfor-
tunes, wrhich are fresh in your recollection, and my years.
There is no person from whose mind the memory of the de-
feats sustained in Spain could be obliterated with more diffi-
culty than from mine ; inasmuch as there my father and uncle
were both slain within the space of thirty days, so that one
death after another was accumulated on my family. But as
the orphanhood and desolation of my own family depresses
my mind, so both the good fortune and valour of our nation
forbid me to despair of the safety of the state. It has hap-
pened to us by a kind of fatality, that in all important wars
we have been victorious, after having been defeated. I pass

3 z 21074

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXVI. CHAP. 41

over those wars of ancient date with Porsena, the Gauls, and
Samnites. I will begin with the Punic wars. How many-
fleets, generals, and armies were lost in the former war?
Why should I mention what has occurred in this present war ?
I have either been myself present at all the defeats sustained,
or have felt more than any other those from which I was
absent. What else are the Trebia, the Trasimenus, and
Cannse, but monuments of Roman armies and consuls slain ?
Add to these the defection of Italy, of the greater part of
Sicily and Sardinia, and the last terror and panic, the Car-
thaginian camp pitched between the Anio and the walls of
Rome, and the victorious Hannibal seen almost in our gates.
Amid this general ruin, the courage of the Roman people
alone stood unabated and unshaken. When every thing lay
prostrate on the ground, it was this that raised and supported
the state. You, first of all, my soldiers, under the conduct
and auspices of my father, opposed Hasdrubal on his way to
the Alps and Italy, after the defeat of Cannse, who, had he
formed a junction with his brother, the Roman name would
now have been extinct. These successes formed a counter-
poise to those defeats. Now, by the favour of the gods, every
thing in Italy and Sicily is going on prosperously and suc-
cessfully, every day affording matter of fresh joy, and pre-
senting things in a better light. In Sicily, Syracuse and
Agrigentum have been captured, the enemy entirely expelled
the island, and the province placed again under the dominion
of the Romans. In Italy, Arpi has been recovered and Ca-
pua taken. Hannibal has been driven into the remotest cor-
ner of Bruttium, having fled thither all the way from Rome,
in the utmost confusion; and now he asks the gods no greater
boon than that he might be allowed to retire in safety, and
quit the territory of his enemy. What then, my soldiers,
could be more preposterous than that you, who here supported
the tottering fortune of the Roman people, together with my
parents, (for they may be equally associated in the honour of
that epithet,) when calamities crowded one upon another in
quick succession, and even the gods themselves, in a man-
ner, took part with Hannibal, should now sink in spirits
when every thing is going on happily and prosperously ?
Even with regard to the events which have recently oc-
curred, I could wish that they had passed with as little griefY. B. 542 ]

THE HISTORY OP ROME.

1075

to me as to you. At the present time the immortal gods
who preside over the destinies of the Roman empire, who
inspired all the centuries to order the command to be
given to me, those same gods, I say, by auguries and aus-
pices, and even by nightly visions, portend entire success
and joy. My own mind also, which has hitherto been to me the
truest prophet, presages that Spain will be ours; that the
whole Carthaginian name will in a short time be banished
from this land, and will fill both sea and land with ignomi-
nious flight. What my mind presages spontaneously, is also
supported by sound reasoning. Their allies, annoyed by them,
are by ambassadors imploring our protection ; their three gene-
rals, having differed so far as almost to have abandoned each
other, have divided their army into three parts, which they
have drawn off into regions as remote as possible from each
other. The same fortune now threatens them which lately
afflicted us; for they are both deserted by their allies, as for-
merly we were by the Celtiberians, and they have divided
their forces, which occasioned the ruin of my father and uncle.
Neither will their intestine differences allow them to unite,
nor will they be able to cope with us singly. Only do you,
my soldiers, favour the name of the Scipios, favour the off-
spring of your generals, a scion springing up from the trunks
which have been cut down. Come then, veterans, lead your
new commander and your new army across the Iberus, lead
us across into a country which you have often traversed, with
many a deed of valour. I will soon bring it to pass that, as
you now trace in me a likeness to my father and uncle in my
features, countenance, and figure, I will so restore a copy of
their genius, honour, and courage, to you, that every man of
you shall say that his commander, Scipio, has either returned
to life, or has been born again."

42. Having animated his troops with this harangue, and
leaving Marcus Silanus with three thousand infantry and
three hundred horse, for the protection of that district, he
crossed the Iberus with all the rest of his troops, consisting
of twenty-five thousand infantry and two thousand five hun-
dred horse. Though certain persons there endeavoured to
persuade him that, as the Carthaginian armies had retired
from each other into three such distant quarters, he should
attack the nearest of them; yet concluding that if he did so
there was danger lest he should cause them to concentrate all1076

THE HISTORY OP ROME. [B. XXYI. CHAP. 43.

their forces, and he alone should not be a match for so many,
he determined for the present to make an attack upon New
Carthage, a city not only possessing great wealth of its own,
but also full of every kind of military store belonging to the
enemy; there were their arms, their money, and the hostages
from every part of Spain. It was, besides, conveniently situ-
ated, not only for a passage into Africa, but also near a port
sufficiently capacious for a fleet of any magnitude, and, for
aught I know, the only one on the coast of Spain which is
washed by our sea. No one but Caius Laelius knew whither
he was going. He was sent round with the fleet, and ordered
so to regulate the sailing of his ships, that the army might
come in view and the fleet enter the harbour at the same time.
Both the fleet and army arrived at the same time at New
Carthage, on the seventh day after leaving the Iberus. The
camp was pitched over against that part of the city which
looks to the north. A rampart was thrown up as a defence
on the rear of it, for the front was secured by the nature of
the ground. Now the situation of New Carthage is as fol-
lows : at about the middle of the coast of Spain is a bay facing
for the most part the south-west, about two thousand five
hundred paces in depth, and a little more in breadth. In the
mouth of this bay is a small island forming a barrier towards
the sea, and protecting the harbour from every wind except
the south-west. From the bottom of the bay there runs out
a peninsula,- which forms the eminence on which the city is
built; which is washed in the east and south by the sea, and
on the west is enclosed by a lake which extends a little way
also towards the north, of variable depth according as the sea
overflows or ebbs. An isthmus of about two hundred paces
broad connects the city with the continent, on which, though
it would have been a work of so little labour, the Roman ge-
neral did not raise a rampart; whether his object was to make
a display of his confidence to the enemy from motives of pride,
or that he might have free regress when frequently advancing
to the walls of the city.

43. Having completed the other requisite works, he drew
up his ships in the harbour, that he might exhibit to the ene-
my the appearance of a blockade by sea also; he then went
round the fleet, and having warned the commanders of the
ships to be particularly careful in keeping the night-watches,
because an enemy, when besieged, usually tried every effortr. u. 542.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1077

and in every quarter at first, he returned into his camp; and
in order to explain to his soldiers the reason why he had
adopted the plan of commencing the war with the siege of a
city, in preference to any other, and also by exhortations to
inspire them with hopes of making themselves masters of it,
he summoned them to an assembly, and thus addressed them:
" Soldiers, if any one among you suppose that you have been
brought here to attack a single city, that man takes a more
exact account of your present labour than of its profitable re-
sult from it. For you will in truth attack the walls of a single
city, but in that single city you will have made yourselves
masters of all Spain. Here are the hostages of all her most
distinguished kings and states; and as soon as you shall have
gained possession of these, they will immediately deliver into
your hands every thing which is now subject to the Cartha-
ginians. Here is the whole of the enemy's treasure, without
which they cannot carry on the war, as they are keeping mer-
cenary troops, and which will be most serviceable to us in
conciliating the affections of the barbarians. Here are their
engines, their arms, their tackle, and every requisite in war ;
which will at once supply you, and leave the enemy destitute.
Besides, we shall gain possession of a city, not only of the
greatest beauty and wealth, but also most convenient as hav-
ing an excellent harbour, by means of which we may be sup-
plied with every requisite for carrying on the war both by sea
and land. Great as are the advantages we shall thus gain, we
shall deprive our enemies of much greater. This is their cita-
del, their granary, their treasury, their magazine, their recep-
tacle for every thing. Hence there is a direct passage into
Africa; this is the only station for a fleet between the Pyre-
nees and Grades; this gives to Africa the command of all
Spain. But as I perceive you are arrayed and marshalled, let
us pass on to the assault of New Carthage, with our whole
strength, and with undaunted courage." Upon this, they all
with one accord cried out that it should be done; and he led
them to Carthage, and ordered that the assault should be
made both by sea and land.

44. On the other side, Mago, the Carthaginian general, per-
ceiving that a siege was being prepared for both by sea and
land, himself also disposed his forces thus: he placed two
thousand of the townsmen to oppose the enemy, on the side1078

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXVI. CHAP. 44

facing the Roman camp ; he occupied the citadel with five
hundred soldiers, and stationed five hundred on a rising
ground, facing the east; the rest of his troops he ordered, in-
tent on every thing that occurred, to hasten with assistance
wherever the shout, or any sudden emergency, might call
them. Then, throwing open the gate, he sent out those he
had drawn up in the street leading to the camp of the enemy.
The Romans, according to the direction of their general, re-
tired a little, in order that they might be nearer to the reserved
troops which were to be sent to their assistance during the
engagement. At first they stood with pretty equal force, but
afterwards the reserved troops, sent from time to time from
the camp, not only obliged the enemy to turn their backs, but
followed them up so close when flying in disorder, that had
not a retreat been sounded, they seemed as though they would
have rushed into the city together with the fugitives. The
consternation in the field was not greater than in every part
of the city; many of the outposts were abandoned in panic
and flight; and the walls were deserted, as they leaped down
each in the part nearest him. Scipio, who had gone out to
an eminence called Mercury's hill, perceiving that the walls
were abandoned by their defenders in many parts, ordered all
his men to be called out of his camp and advance to take the
city, and orders them to bring the scaling-ladders. The
general himself, covered by the shields of three stout young
men, (for now an immense number of missiles of every de-
scription were let fly from the walls,) came up to the city,
cheered them on, and gave the requisite orders; and, what
was of the utmost importance in exciting the courage of his
men, he appeared among them a witness and spectator of the
valour or cowardice of each. Accordingly, they rushed for-
ward, amidst wounds and weapons; nor could the walls, or the
armed troops which stood upon them, repel them from eagerly
mounting them. At the same time an attack was commenced
by the fleet upon that part of the city which was washed by
the sea. But here the alarm occasioned was greater than the
force which could be employed; for while they were bringing
the boats to shore, and hastily landing the ladders and the
men, each man pressing forward to gain the land the shortest
way, they hindered one another by their very haste and
eagerness.Y. E. 542.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1079

45. In the mean time, the Carthaginians had now filled the
walls again with armed men, who were supplied with a great
quantity of missiles from the immense stores which they had
laid up. But neither men nor missiles, nor any thing else, so
effectually defended them as the walls themselves; for very few
of the ladders were equal to the height of them, and all those
which were longer than the rest were proportionably weaker.
Accordingly, those who were highest being unable to mount
from them, and being followed, nevertheless, by others, they
broke from the mere weight upon them. Some, though the
ladders stood, a dizziness having come over their eyes in con-
sequence of the height, fell to the ground. And as men and
ladders were every where tumbling down, while the boldness
and alacrity of the enemy were increased by the mere success,
the signal for retreat was sounded; which afforded hopes to
the besieged, not only of present rest after such a laborious
contest, but also for the future, as it appeared their city could
not be taken by scalade and siege. To raise works they con-
sidered would be attended with difficulty, and would give
time to their generals to bring them assistance. Scarcely had
the first tumult subsided, when Scipio ordered other fresh
and unfatigued troops to take the ladders from those who
were tired and wounded, and assault the city with increased
vigour. Having received intelligence that the tide was ebb-
ing, and having before been informed by some fishermen of
Tarraco who used to pass through the lake, sometimes in light
boats, and, when these ran aground, by wading, that it af-
forded an easy passage to the wall for footmen, he led some
armed men thither in person. It was about mid-day, and
besides that the water was being drawn off naturally, in con-
sequence of the tide receding, a brisk north wind rising im-
pelled the water in the lake, which was already in motion, in
the same direction as the tide, and rendered it so shallow, that
in some parts the water reached only to the navel, while in
others it scarcely rose above the knees. Scipio, referring this
discovery, which he had made by his own 'diligence and pene-
tration, to the gods and to miracle, which had turned the.
course of the sea, withdrawn it from the lake, and opened ways
never before trodden by human feet to afford a passage to the
Romans, ordered them to follow Neptune as their guide, and1080

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXVI. CHAP. 46-

passing through the middle of the lake, make good their way
to the walls.

46. Those who renewed the assault by land experienced
great difficulty; for they were baffled not only by the height
of the walls, but also because they exposed the Romans, as
they approached them, to the missiles of the enemy from dif-
ferent quarters, so that their sides were endangered more than
the fronts of their bodies. But in the other quarter five hun-
dred passed without difficulty through the lake, and then
mounted the wall, for neither was it defended by any fortifica-
tions, because there they thought the city was sufficiently pro-
tected by the nature of the place and the lake, nor were there
any outposts or guards stationed there, because all were en-
gaged in bringing succour to that quarter in which the danger
appeared. Having entered the city without opposition, they
proceeded direct, with all possible speed, to that gate near
which the contest was concentrated; and so intently occupied
with this were not only the minds, but the eyes and ears of
all, both of those who were engaged in fighting, and of those
who were looking on and encouraging the combatants, that
no one perceived that the city had been captured in their rear
till the weapons fell upon their backs, and they had an enemy
on both sides of them. Then, the defenders having been
thrown into confusion through fear, both the walls were cap-
tured, and the gate began to be broken open both from within
and from without; and presently, the doors having been broken to
pieces by blows, in order that the way might not be obstructed,
the troops rushed in. A great number had also got over the
walls, but these employed themselves in putting the townsmen
to the sword; those which entered by the gate, forming a
regular body, with officers and in ranks, advanced through
the midst of the city into the forum. Scipio then perceiving
that the enemy fled in two different directions, some to the
eminence which lay eastward, which was occupied by a gar-
rison of five hundred men, others to the citadel, into which
Mago himself also had fled for refuge, together with almost
all the troops which had been driven from the walls, sent part
of his forces to storm the hill, and part he led in person
against the citadel. Not only was the hill captured at the
first assault, but Mago also, after making an effort to defendy. it. -542.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1081

it, when lie saw every place filled with the enemy, and that
there was no hope, surrendered himself and the citadel, with
the garrison. Until the citadel was surrendered, the massacre
was continued in every quarter throughout the city; nor did
they spare any one they met who had arrived at puberty: hut
after that, on a signal given, a stop was put to the carnage,
and the victors turned their attention to the plunder, of which
there was an immense quantity of every description.

47. Of males of free condition, as many as ten thousand
were captured. Of these he allowed to depart such as were
citizens of New Carthage; and restored to them their city,
and all their property which the war had left them. The
artisans amounted to two thousand, whom he assigned to the
Roman people as their property; holding out to them a hope
of speedy emancipation, provided they should address them-
selves strenuously to the service of the war. Of the rest of
the mass of inhabitants, the young men and able-bodied slaves
he assigned for the service of the fleet, to fill up the numbers
of the rowers. He had also augmented his fleet with five
ships which he had captured. Besides this multitude, there
remained the Spanish hostages, to whom as much attention
was paid as if they had been children of allies. An immense
quantity of military stores was also taken; one hundred and
twenty catapultge of the larger size, two hundred and eighty-
one of the smaller; twenty-three balistse of the larger size,
fifty-two of the smaller; an immense number of scorpions of
the larger and smaller size, and also of arms and missile wea-
pons ; and seventy-four military standards. Of gold and
silver, an immense quantity was brought to the general; there
were two hundred and seventy-six golden bowls, almost all of
them weighing a pound; of silver, wrought and coined, eighteen
thousand three hundred pounds' weight; and of silver vessels
an immense number. All these were weighed and reckoned
to the quaestor, Caius Flaminius. There were twenty thou-
sand pecks of wheat, and two hundred and seventy of barley.
One hundred and thirteen ships of burden were boarded and
captured in the harbour, some of them with their cargoes,
consisting of corn and arms, besides brass, iron, sails, spartum,
and other naval materials, of use in equipping a fleet; so that
amid such large military stores which were captured, Car-
thage itself was of the least consideration.1082

THE HISTORY OF ROME. [B. XXVI. CHAP.

48. Having ordered Caius Laelius with the marines to
guard the city, Scipio led back his legions to the camp the
same day in person; and as his soldiers were tired, as they
had in one day gone through every kind of military labour;
for they had engaged the enemy in the field, and had under-
gone very great fatigue and danger in taking the city; and
after they had taken it had fought, and that on disadvantage-
ous ground, with those who had fled to the citadel, he ordered
them to attend to themselves. The next day, having as-
sembled the land and naval forces, he, in the first place,
ascribed praise and thanks to the immortal gods, who had not
only in one day made him master of the wealthiest city in
Spain, but had previously collected in it the riches of almost
all Africa and Spain; so that while his enemy had nothing
left, he and his army had a superabundance of every thing.
He then commended in the highest terms the valour of his
soldiers, because that neither the sally of the enemy, nor the
height of the walls, nor the unexplored fords of the lake, nor
the fort standing upon a high hill, nor the citadel, though
most strongly fortified, had deterred them from surmounting
and breaking through every thing. Therefore, though all
credit was due to them all, he said that the man who first
mounted the wall ought to be distinguished above the rest, by
being honoured with a mural crown; and he desired that he
who thought himself worthy of that reward would claim it.
Two persons laid claim to it, Quintus Trebellius, a centurion
of the fourth legion, and Sextus Digitius, a marine. Nor did
these contest so fiercely as each excited the zeal of his own
body of men. Caius Laelius, admiral of the fleet, patronized
the marines, and Marcus Sempronius Tuditanus, the legion-
ary troops. As this contest began almost to assume the cha-
racter of a mutiny, Scipio having notified that he should ap-
point three delegates, who, after making themselves acquainted
with the case, and examining the witnesses, might decide
which had been the first to scale the wall and enter the town,
added Publius Cornelius Caudinus, a middle party, to Laelius
and Sempronius, the advocates of the two parties, and ordered
these three delegates to sit and determine the cause. But as
the contest was now carried on with increased warmth, be-
cause those high characters, who had acted more as moder-
ators of the zeal of both than as advocates of any particularY. R. 542.]

THE HISTORY OP ROME.

1083

party, were withdrawn, Caius Laelius, leaving the council,
went up to the tribunal of Scipio and informed him, " that the
contest was proceeding without bounds or moderation, and
that they had almost come to blows. But still, though no vio-
lence should take place, that the proceedings formed a most
hateful precedent; for that the honours due to valour were be-
ing sought by fraud and perjury. That on one side stood the
legionary troops, on the other the marines, ready to swear by
all the gods what they wished, rather than what they knew,
to be true, and to involve in the guilt of perjury not only
themselves and their own persons, but the military standards,
the eagles, and their solemn oath of allegiance. That he laid
these matters before him, in accordance with the opinion of
Publius Cornelius and Marcus Sempronius." Scipio, after
highly praising Laelius, summoned an assembly, and then de-
clared, "that he had ascertained satisfactorily that Quintus
Trebellius and Sextus Digitius had mounted the wall at the
same time, and that he presented them both with mural
crowns in consideration of their valour." He then gave
presents to the rest, according to the merit and valour of each.
Above all he honoured Caius Laelius, the admiral of the fleet,
by the placing him upon an equality with himself, and be-
stowing upon him every kind of commendation, and also by
presenting him with a golden crown and thirty oxen.

49. He then ordered the Spanish hostages to be summoned.
What the number of these was I feel reluctant to state, be-
cause in some authors I find that it was about three hundred,
in others seven hundred and twenty-five. There is the same
difference between authors with regard to the other particu-
lars. One writes that the Punic garrison consisted of ten
thousand, another of seven, a third of not more than two
thousand. In some you may find that ten thousand persons
were captured, in others above twentyrfive thousand. I should
have stated the number of scorpions captured, both of the
greater and smaller size, at sixty, if I had followed the Greek
author, Silenus ; if Valerius Antius, of the larger at six thou-
sand, of the smaller at thirteen; so great is the extent of false-
hood. Nor are they agreed even respecting the commanders;
most say that Laelius commanded the fleet, but some say Mar-
cus Junius Silanus. Valerius Antius says, that Arines com-
manded the Punic garrison, and was given up to the Komans ;1084

THE HISTORY OF ROME. |B. XXVI. CHAP. 49.

other writers say it was Mago. They are not agreed re-
specting the number of the ships taken, respecting the weight
of gold and silver, and of the money brought into the public
treasury. If we must assent to some of their statements, the
medium is nearest to the truth. However, Scipio having
summoned the hostages, first bid them all keep up their spirits,
observing, " that they had fallen into the hands of the Roman
people, who chose to bind men to them by benefits rather
than by fear, and keep foreign nations attached to them by
honour and friendship, rather than subject them to a gloomy
servitude." Then receiving the names of the states to which
they belonged, he took an account of the captives, distinguish-
ing the number belonging to each people, and sent messengers
to their homes, to desire that they would come and take back:
their respective friends. If ambassadors from any of the
states happened to be present, he delivered their countrymen
to them in person, and assigned to them the quaestor, Caius
Flaminius, the charge of kindly taking care of the rest. Mean-
while, there advanced from the midst of the crowd of hostages
a woman in years, the wife of Mandonius, who was the bro-
ther of Indibilis, the chieftain of the Illergetians ; she threw
herself weeping at the general's feet, and began to implore
him to give particularly strict injunctions to their guardians
with respect to the care and treatment of females. Scipio
replied, that nothing certainly should be wanting ; when the
woman rejoined : " We do not much value such things, for
what is not good enough for such a condition ? A care of a
different kind disquiets me, when beholding the age of these
females ; for I am myself no longer exposed to the danger
peculiar to females. Around her stood the daughters of In-
dibilis, in the bloom of youth and beauty, with others of equal
rank, all of whom looked up to her as a parent. Scipio then
said : " Out of regard for that discipline which I myself and
the Roman nation maintain, I should take care that nothing,
which is any where held sacred, should be violated among us.
In the present case, your virtue and your rank cause me to
observe it more strictly; for not even in the midst of misfor-
tunes have you forgotten the delicacy becoming matrons."
He then delivered them over to a man of tried virtue, order-
ing him to treat them with no less respect and modesty than
the wives and mothers of guests.Y. R. 542.]

THE HISTORY OP RQME.

1085

50. The soldiers then brought to him a female captive, a
grown-up virgin, of such exquisite beauty, that whichever
way she walked she attracted the eyes of every body. Scipio,
on making inquiries as to her country and parentage, heard,
among other particulars, that she was betrothed to a young
prince of the Celtiberians, named Allucius. He immediately,
therefore, summoned from their abode her parents and lover,
and having heard in the mean time that the latter was despe-
rately enamoured of her, as soon as he arrived he addressed
him in a more studied manner than her parents. " A young
man myself," said he, " I address myself to a young man, and
therefore there need be the less reserve in this conversation.
As soon as your intended bride, having been captured by my
soldiers, was brought into my presence, and I was * informed
that she was endeared to you, which her beauty rendered pro-
bable ; considering that I should myself wish that my affection
for my intended bride, though excessive, should meet with in-
dulgence, could I enjoy the pleasures suited to my age, (par-
ticularly in an honourable and lawful love,) and were not
my mind engrossed by public affairs, I indulge as far as I
can your passion. Your mistress, while under my protection,
has received as much respect as under the roof of her own
parents, your father-in-law and mother-in-law. She has been
kept in perfect safety for yop, that she might be presented to
you pure, a gift worthy of me and of you. This only reward I
bargain for in return for the service I have rendered you, that
you would be a friend to the Roman people; and if you be-
lieve that I am a true man, as these nations knew my father
and uncle to have been heretofore, that you would feel assured
that in the Roman state there are many like us; and that no
nation in the world at the present time can be mentioned, with
which you ought to be less disposed that you, or those belong-
ing to you, should be at enmity, or with which you would ra-
ther be in friendship." The young man, overcome at once
with joy and modesty, clung to Scipio's right hand, and in-
voked all the gods to recompense him in his behalf, since he
himself was far from possessing means proportioned either to
his own wishes or Scipio's deserts. He then addressed him-
self to the parents and relatives of the damsel, who, on receiv-
ing her back without any reward, whom they had brought a
very large weight of gold to redeem, entreated Scipio to ac-1086

THE HISTORY OF HOME. " [B. XXVI. CHAP. 51.

cept it from them as a present to himself; affirming, that if
he would do so, they should feel as grateful for it as they did
for the restoration of their daughter inviolate. As they were
so earnest in their entreaties, Scipio promised to accept it,
and ordered it to be laid at his feet. Then calling Allucius
to him, he said: "To the dowry which you are about to re-
ceive from your father-in-law, let these marriage presents also
from me be added ;" bidding him take away the gold and keep
it for himself. Delighted with these presents and honours,
he was dismissed to his home, where he inspired his country-
men with the deserved praises of Scipio, observing, "that a most
godlike youth had come among them, who conquered every
thing, not only by arms, but by kindness and generosity."
Accordingly, making a levy among his dependants, he re-
turned to Scipio after a few days, with fourteen hundred
chosen horsemen.

51. Scipio kept Laelius with him until he had disposed of
the captives, hostages, and booty, in accordance with his ad-
vice ; but when all these matters were satisfactorily arranged,
he gave him a quinquereme; and selecting from the captives
Mago, and about fifteen senators who had been made prisoners
at the same time with him, put them on board, and sent him
to Rome with the news of his victory. He himself employed
the few days he had resolved to stay at Carthage, in exercis-
ing his naval and land forces. On the first day the legions
under arms performed evolutions through a space of four
miles; on the second day he ordered them to repair and clean
their arms before their tents; on the third day they engaged
in imitation of a regular battle with wooden swords, throwing
javelins with the points covered with balls ; on the fourth
day they rested; on the fifth they again performed evolutions
under arms. This succession of exercise and rest they kept
up as long as they staid at Carthage. The rowers and ma-
riners, pushing out to sea when the weather was calm, made
trial of the manageableness of their ships by mock sea-fights.
Such exercises, both by sea and land, without the city pre-
pared their minds and bodies for war. The city itself was
all bustle with warlike preparations, artificers of every de-
scription being collected together in a public workshop. The
general went round to all the works with equal attention. At
one time he was employed in the dock-yard with his fleet, aty. it. 542.]

THE HISTORY OF ROME.

1087

another he exercised with the legions; sometimes he would
devote his time to the inspection of the works, which were
every day carried on with the greatest eagerness by a multi-
tude of artificers both in the workshops, and in the armoury
and docks. Having put these preparations in a train, repaired
the walls in a part where they had been shattered, and placed
bodies of troops to guard the city, he set out for Tarraco;
and on his way thither was visited by a number of embassies,
some of which he dismissed, having given them answers on
his journey, others he postponed till his arrival at Tarraco; at
which place he had appointed a meeting of all his new and old
allies. Here ambassadors from almost all the people dwelling
on this side the Iberus, and from many dwelling in the farther
Spain, met. The Carthaginian generals at first industriously
suppressed the rumour of the capture of Carthage; but after-
wards, when it became too notorious to be concealed or dis-
sembled, they disparaged its importance by their language.
They said, that " by an unexpected attack, and in a manner
by stealth, in one day, one city of Spain had been snatched out
of their hands; that a presumptuous youth, elated with the
acquisition of this, so inconsiderable an advantage, had, by the
extravagance of his joy, given it the air of an important vic-
tory ; but that as soon as he should hear that three generals
and three victorious armies of his enemies were approaching,
the deaths which had taken place in his family would occur to
his recollection." Such was the tone in which they spoke of
this affair to the people, though they were, at the same time,
far from ignorant how much their strength had been dimin-
ished, in every respect, by the loss of Carthage.

END OF VOL. n.

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