INTERNAL HISTORY OF ROME DURING THE MACEDONIAN AND SYRIAN WARS. CATO AND
SCIPIO.
The conquests of the Romans in the East had exercised a most pernicious
influence upon the national character. They were originally a hardy,
industrious, and religious race, distinguished by unbending integrity
and love of order. They lived with great frugality upon their small
farms, which they cultivated with their own hands; but they were stern
and somewhat cruel, and cared little or nothing for literature and the
arts. Upon such a people the sudden acquisition of wealth produced its
natural effects. They employed it in the gratification of their
appetites, and in coarse sensual pleasures. Some of the Roman nobles,
such as Scipio Africanus, Flamininus (the conqueror of Philip), and
others, acquired a love for Greek literature and art; but the great mass
of the nation imitated only the vices of the Greeks. Cooks, who had
formerly been the cheapest kind of slaves at Rome, now became the most
valuable. A love of luxury and a general depravity gradually spread
through all classes of society. A striking instance of the growing
licentiousness of the times was brought to light in B.C. 186. It was
discovered that the worship of Bacchus had been introduced from Southern
Italy into Rome and other towns, and that secret societies were formed,
which, under the cloak of this worship, indulged in the most abominable
vices. A stringent inquiry was made into these practices; the most
guilty were put to death; and a decree of the Senate was passed,
forbidding the worship of Bacchus in Rome and throughout Italy.
Another circumstance will illustrate the manners of the times. L.
Flamininus, the brother of the conqueror of Philip, and Consul in B.C.
192, took with him into Cisalpine Gaul a beautiful Carthaginian boy, to
whom he was attached. The youth complained of leaving Rome just before
the exhibition of the games of the gladiators. Shortly after reaching
the province, when Flamininus was feasting with his favorite, a Boian
chief came into the Consul's tent to implore his protection. Flamininus
seized this opportunity to please the boy, and, telling him that he
should be rewarded for not seeing the gladiators, he ordered an
attendant to stab the Gaul, that his favorite might enjoy the dying
agonies of the man.
The increasing love of gladiatorial combats was another indication of
the national character. These brutalizing sports are said to have taken
their origin from the Etruscans, who were accustomed to kill slaves and
captives at the funerals of their relatives. They were first exhibited
at Rome in the beginning of the First Punic War (B.C. 264). At first
confined to funerals, they were afterward exhibited by the Ædiles at the
public games, with the view of pleasing the people. The passion for this
brutalizing amusement rose to a great height toward the end of the
Republic and under the Empire. Great pains were taken with the training
of gladiators, who were divided into different classes according to
their arms and modes of fighting.
Among many other important consequences of these foreign wars, two
exercised an especial influence upon the future fate of the Republic.
The nobles became enormously rich, and the peasant proprietors almost
entirely disappeared. The wealthy nobles now combined together to keep
in their own families the public offices of the state, which afforded
the means of making such enormous fortunes. Thus a new Nobility was
formed, resting on wealth, and composed alike of plebeian and patrician
families. Every one whose ancestry had not held any of the curule
magistracies[53] was called a New Man, and was branded as an
upstart.[54] It became more and more difficult for a New Man to rise to
office, and the Nobles were thus almost an hereditary aristocracy in the
exclusive possession of the government. The wealth they had acquired in
foreign commands enabled them not only to incur a prodigious expense in
the celebration of the public games in their ædileship, with the view of
gaining the votes of the people at future elections, but also to spend
large sums of money in the actual purchase of votes. The first law
against bribery[55] was passed in B.C. 181, a sure proof of the growth
of the practice.
The decay of the peasant proprietors was an inevitable consequence of
these frequent and long-protracted wars. In the earlier times the
citizen-soldier, after a few weeks' campaign, returned home to cultivate
his land; but this became impossible when wars were carried on out of
Italy. Moreover, the soldier, easily obtaining abundance of booty, found
life in the camp more pleasant than the cultivation of the ground. He
was thus as ready to sell his land as the nobles were anxious to buy it.
But money acquired by plunder is soon squandered. The soldier, returning
to Rome, swelled the ranks of the poor; and thus, while the nobles
became richer and richer, the lower classes became poorer and poorer. In
consequence of the institution of slavery there was little or no demand
for free labor, and as prisoners taken in war were sold as slaves, the
slave-market was always well supplied. The estates of the wealthy were
cultivated by large gangs of slaves; and even the mechanical arts, which
give employment to such large numbers in the modern towns of Europe,
were practiced by slaves, whom their masters had trained for the
purpose. The poor at Rome were thus left almost without resources; their
votes in the popular assembly were nearly the only thing they could turn
into money, and it is therefore not surprising that they were ready to
sell them to the highest bidder.
Many distinguished men saw with deep regret the old Roman virtues
disappearing, and strove vigorously against these corruptions of the
national character. Of this party the most conspicuous member was M.
Porcius Cato, who may be taken as a type of the old Roman character. He
was born at Tusculum in B.C. 234. When a young man, the death of his
father put him in possession of a small hereditary estate in the Sabine
territory, at a distance from his native town. It was here that he
passed the greater part of his boyhood, hardening his body by healthful
exercise, and superintending and sharing the operations of the farm.
Near his estate was an humble cottage, which had been tenanted, after
three triumphs, by its owner M. Curius Dentatus, whose warlike exploits
and simple character were often talked of with admiration in the
neighborhood. The ardor of the youthful Cato was kindled. He resolved to
imitate the character, and hoped to rival the glory, of Dentatus.
Opportunity was not wanting. He took his first military lessons in the
campaigns against Hannibal, and gained the favor and friendship of
Fabius Maximus. He was also patronized by L. Valerius Flaccus, a Roman
noble in his neighborhood, and a warm supporter of the old Roman
manners, who had observed Cato's eloquence, as well as his martial
spirit. Encouraged by Fabius and Flaccus, Cato became a candidate for
office, and was elected Quæstor in B.C. 204. He followed P. Scipio
Africanus to Sicily, but there was not that cordiality of co-operation
between Cato and Scipio which ought to subsist between a Quæstor and his
Proconsul. Fabius had opposed the permission given to Scipio to carry
the attack into the enemy's home, and Cato, whose appointment was
intended to operate as a check upon Scipio, adopted the views of his
friend. Cato was Prætor in Sardinia in B.C. 198, where he took the
earliest opportunity of illustrating his principles by his practice. He
diminished official expenses, walked his circuits with a single
attendant, administered justice with strict impartiality, and restrained
usury with unsparing severity. He had now established a reputation for
pure morality and strict old-fashioned virtue. He was looked upon as the
living type and representative of the ideal ancient Roman. To the
advancement of such a man opposition was vain. In B.C. 195 he was
elected Consul with his old friend and patron L. Valerius Flaccus.
During his consulship a strange scene took place peculiarly illustrative
of Roman manners. In B.C. 215, at the height of the Punic War, a law had
been passed, proposed by the Tribune Oppius, that no woman should
possess more than half an ounce of gold, nor wear a garment of divers
colors, nor drive a carriage with horses within a mile of the city,
except for the purpose of attending the public celebration of religious
rites. Now that Hannibal was conquered, and Rome abounded with
Carthaginian wealth, there being no longer any necessity for women to
contribute toward the exigencies of an impoverished treasury the savings
spared from their ornaments and pleasures, two Tribunes thought it time
to propose the abolition of the Oppian law; but they were opposed by two
of their colleagues. The most important affairs of state excited far
less interest and zeal than this singular contest. The matrons blockaded
every avenue to the forum, and intercepted their husbands as they
approached, beseeching them to restore the ancient ornaments of the
Roman matrons. Even Flaccus wavered, but his colleague Cato was
inexorable. Finally, the women carried the day. Worn out by their
importunity, the two Tribunes withdrew their opposition, and the hated
law was abolished by the suffrage of all the tribes.
Cato's campaign in Spain during his Consulship, which added greatly to
his military reputation, has been already related. He afterward served
in Greece under M. Glabrio, where he distinguished himself at the battle
of Thermopylæ fought against Antiochus (B.C. 191).
The victory of Zama had made P. Scipio Africanus the first man in the
Republic, and for a time silenced all his enemies. But the party of
Fabius still cherished their old animosity against him, and Cato
inherited the hatred of his friend and patron. After the return of P.
Scipio and his brother Lucius from the war against Antiochus, they were
charged with having been bribed to let off the Syrian monarch too
leniently, and of having appropriated to their own use a portion of the
money which had been paid by Antiochus to the Roman state. The first
blow was directed against Lucius Scipio. At the instigation of Cato, the
two Petillii Tribunes of the people required Lucius to render an account
of all sums of money which he had received from Antiochus. Lucius
accordingly prepared his accounts; but, as he was in the act of
delivering them up, the proud conqueror of Hannibal indignantly snatched
them out of his hands, and tore them in pieces, saying "it was unworthy
to call to account for a few thousands a man who had paid millions into
the treasury." But this haughty conduct appears to have produced an
unfavorable impression, and his brother, when brought to trial in the
course of the tame year, was declared guilty, and sentenced to pay a
heavy fine. The Tribune ordered him to be dragged to prison, and there
detained till the money was paid; whereupon Africanus, still more
enraged at this fresh insult to his family, and setting himself above
the laws, rescued his brother from the hands of the Tribune's officer.
The contest would probably have been attended with fatal results had not
Tib. Gracchus, the father of the celebrated Tribune, and then Tribune
himself, had the prudence, although he disapproved of the violent
conduct of Africanus, to release his brother Lucius from the sentence of
imprisonment.
The successful issue of the prosecution of Lucius emboldened his enemies
to bring the great Africanus himself before the people. His accuser was
the Tribune M. Nævius. When the trial came on, Scipio did not condescend
to say a single word in refutation of the charges that had been brought
against him, but descanted long and eloquently upon the signal services
he had rendered to the commonwealth. Having spoken till nightfall, the
trial was adjourned till the following day. Early next morning, when the
Tribunes had taken their seats on the rostra, and Africanus was
summoned, he proudly reminded the people that this was the anniversary
of the day on which he had defeated Hannibal at Zama, and called upon
them to neglect all disputes and lawsuits, and follow him to the
Capitol, there to return thanks to the immortal gods, and pray that they
would grant the Roman state other citizens like himself. Scipio struck a
chord which vibrated in every heart; their veneration for the hero
returned; and he was followed by such crowds to the Capitol that the
Tribunes were left alone in the rostra. Having thus set all the laws at
defiance, Scipio immediately quitted Rome, and retired to his country
seat at Liternum. The Tribunes wished to renew the prosecution, but
Gracchus wisely persuaded them to let it drop. Scipio never returned to
Rome. He would neither submit to the laws, nor aspire to the sovereignty
of the state, and he therefore resolved to expatriate himself forever.
He passed his remaining days in the cultivation of his estate at
Liternum, and at his death is said to have requested that his body might
be buried there, and not in his ungrateful country (B.C. 183).
Hannibal perished in the same year as his great opponent. Scipio was the
only member of the Senate who opposed the unworthy persecution which the
Romans employed against their once dreaded foe. Each of these great men,
possessing true nobility of soul, could appreciate the other's merits. A
story is told that Scipio was one of the embassadors sent to Antiochus
at Ephesus, at whose court Hannibal was then residing, and that he there
had an interview with the great Carthaginian, who declared him the
greatest general that ever lived. The compliment was paid in a manner
the most flattering to Scipio. The latter had asked, "Who was the
greatest general?" "Alexander the Great," was Hannibal's reply. "Who was
the second?" "Pyrrhus." "Who was the third?" "Myself," replied the
Carthaginian. "What would you have said, then, if you had conquered me?"
asked Scipio, in astonishment. "I should then have placed myself above
Alexander, Pyrrhus, and all other generals."
After the defeat of Antiochus, Hannibal, as we have already seen, took
up his abode with Prusias, king of Bithynia, and there found for some
years a secure asylum. But the Romans could not be at ease so long as
Hannibal lived, and T. Flamininus was at length dispatched to the court
of Prusias to demand the surrender of the fugitive. The Bithynian king
was unable to resist; but Hannibal, who had long been in expectation of
such an event, took poison to avoid falling into the hands of his
implacable foes.
We now return to Cato, whose Censorship (B.C. 184) was a great epoch in
his life. He applied himself strenuously to the duties of his office,
regardless of the enemies he was making. He repaired the water-courses,
paved the reservoirs, cleansed the drains, raised the rents paid by the
publicani for farming the taxes, and diminished the contract-prices
disbursed by the state to the undertakers of public works. There can be
no doubt that great abuses existed in the management of the public
finances, with which nothing but the undaunted courage and
administrative abilities of Cato could have successfully grappled. He
was disturbing a nest of hornets, and all his future life was troubled
by their buzz, and their attempts to sting. But, though he was accused
no fewer than forty-four times during the course of his life, it was
only once that his enemies prevailed against him. His enactments against
luxury were severe and stringent. He levied a heavy tax upon expensive
slaves and costly furniture and dress. He justly degraded from the
Senate L. Flamininus for the act of abominable cruelty in Gaul which has
been already narrated.[56]
The strong national prejudices of Cato appear to have diminished in
force as he grew older and wiser. He applied himself in old age to the
study of Greek literature, with which in youth he had no acquaintance,
although he was not ignorant of the Greek language. Himself an historian
and orator, the excellences of Demosthenes and Thucydides made a deep
impression upon his kindred mind. But throughout life his conduct was
guided by prejudices against classes and nations whose influence he
deemed to be hostile to the simplicity of the old Roman character. When
Eumenes, king of Pergamus, visited Rome after the war with Antiochus,
and was received with honor by the Senate, and splendidly entertained by
the nobles, Cato was indignant at the respect paid to the monarch,
refused to go near him, and declared that "kings were naturally
carnivorous animals." He had an antipathy to physicians, because they
were mostly Greeks, and therefore unfit to be trusted with Roman lives.
He loudly cautioned his eldest son against them, and dispensed with
their attendance. When Athens sent three celebrated philosophers,
Carneades, Diogenes, and Critolaüs, to Rome, in order to negotiate a
remission of the 500 talents which the Athenians had been awarded to pay
to the Oropians, Carneades excited great attention by his philosophical
conversation and lectures, in which he preached the pernicious doctrine
of an expediency distinct from justice, which he illustrated by the
example of Rome herself: "If Rome were stripped of all that she did not
justly gain, the Romans might go back to their huts." Cato, offended
with his principles, and jealous of the attention paid to the Greek,
gave advice which the Senate followed: "Let these deputies have an
answer, and a polite dismissal as soon as possible."
Cato was an unfeeling and cruel master. His conduct toward his slaves
was detestable. The law held them to be mere chattels, and he treated
them as such, without any regard to the rights of humanity. After supper
he often severely chastised them, thong in hand, for trifling acts of
negligence, and sometimes condemned them to death. When they were worn
out, or useless, he sold them, or turned them out of doors. He treated
the lower animals no better. His war-horse, which bore him through his
campaign in Spain, he sold before he left the country, that the state
might not be charged with the expenses of its transport. As years
advanced he sought gain with increasing eagerness, but never attempted
to profit by the misuse of his public functions. He accepted no bribes;
he reserved no booty to his own use; but he became a speculator, not
only in slaves, but in buildings, artificial waters, and
pleasure-grounds. In this, as in other points, he was a representative
of the old Romans, who were a money-getting and money-loving people.
[Footnote 53: See p. 117.(Third paragraph of Chapter XVII.--Transcriber)]
[Footnote 54: The _Nobiles_ were distinguished from the _Ignobiles_. The
outward distinction of the former was the _Jus Imaginum_. These Imagines
were figures with painted masks of wax, representing the ancestors who
had held any of the curule magistracies. They were placed in cases in
the atrium or reception-hall of the house, and were carried in the
funeral procession of a member of the family. Any one who first obtained
a curule magistracy became the founder of the nobility of his family.
Such a person was himself neither a _Nobilis_ nor an _Ignobilis_. He was
termed a _Novus Homo_, or a new man.]
[Footnote 55: The Latin word for bribery is _ambitus_, literally
canvassing. It must not be confounded with _repetundæ_, the offense of
extortion or pecuniary corruption committed by magistrates in the
provinces or at Rome.]
[Footnote 56: See p. 127.(Second paragraph of Chapter
XVIII.--Transcriber)]
[Illustration: Island in the Tiber, with the Fabrician and Cestian
Bridges.]