25. To Philip intelligence of the defection of the Aetolians 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 Aetolians

and Romans in conjunction, he marched down into Thessaly through

Pelagonia, Lyncus, and Bottiaea. He trusted that people might be

induced to take part with him in the war against the Aetolians, and,

therefore, leaving Perseus with four thousand armed men at the gorge,

which formed the entrance into Thessaly, to prevent the Aetolians 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

Macedonia 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 Phragandae, and to lay siege to the city

Jamphorina, the capital and chief fortress of Maedica. Scopas, on

hearing that the king had gone into Thrace, and was engaged in a war

there, armed all the Aetolian youths, and prepared to invade

Acarnania. The Acarnanian nation, unequal to their enemy in point of

strength, and seeing that they had lost Aeniadae and Nasus, and

moreover 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 into the neighbouring parts of

Epirus, all who were between the ages of fifteen and 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 DEFENCE OF THEIR COUNTRY, AGAINST THE VIOLENCE AND INJUSTICE OF THE

AETOLIANS. 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 Aetolians 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 Aetolians 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 Aetolians 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 produced 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, therefore, the town surrendered, and was delivered over

to the Aetolians, the booty, according to compact, was given up to the

Romans. Laevinus then received a letter informing him, that he had

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 openly publishing, at Rome, the charges

which had been circulated and got up against him by his enemies, that

did they not pretend that they entertained 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 consul, 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 exhausted 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

therefore 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 festival 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, who

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 recommendation of the senate, publicly notified,

that whoever should make known by whose act the conflagration was

kindled, should 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 fabricated this charge, from

resentment and wantonness." But when they were charged by their

accusers face to face, and the ministers of their villanies begin 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 Laevinus, while passing by Capua, was surrounded by a

multitude 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 as 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 Hannibal, 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 Campanians to be allowed to enter the

walls of Rome." Laevinus 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 Aeolians, who came

out to meet him, he went to Rome; taking with him into the city as

accusers of two men who had acquired 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 arrangements

respecting the provinces.

28. On this occasion Laevinus reported the state of Macedonia and

Greece, of the Aetolians, Acarnanians, and Locrians, and the services

he had himself performed there on sea and land. That "Philip, who was

bringing an army against the Aetolians, 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 consideration 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 command 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

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

praetorship, 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 consisting of five thousand

foot and three hundred horse, those being discharged who had served

the greatest number of campaigns. That of the allies there should be

left seven thousand infantry and three hundred horse, the same rule

being observed with regard to the periods of their service in

discharging 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 discharge the whole of his

army excepting the marines. It was ordered also, that the army which

Marcus Cornelius had commanded, should be sent out of Sicily as soon

as the consul arrived 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 Vulso, the praetor, for Sardinia, being

those which Lucius Cornelius had commanded in that province the former

year. The consuls were directed so to raise legions for the service of

the city, as not 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 Laevinus. 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 to the 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 command.

That he had formerly been implacable toward them for no demerit of

theirs, what would he do now, when exasperated 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 Aetna, 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

prevented 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 exchange

provinces with him. That he deprecated a premature decision on the

part of the senate, for since it would be unjust 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 hurrying 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, converting 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 then

deserting the Romans to take 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

murder Epicydes and Hippocrates, by seventy of the most distinguished

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

promising 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 Syracuse; if the

body of the Syracusan people, and not their tyrants, Hippocrates and

Epicydes, who held them in thraldom, had closed the gates against

Marcellus; if they had carried on war with the Roman people with the

animosity of Carthaginians, what more could Marcellus have done in

hostility than he did, without levelling Syracuse with the ground?

Nothing indeed 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 let 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, conscript fathers, as to make a

defence against charges brought by Greeks, had the inquiry related

only to my own delinquency. 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 desirous of

delivering up the city to me, and esteemed Sosis and Mericus as more

proper persons for so important an affair. 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 condition 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 hardships by sea and land, I took Syracuse by force of

arms. Of 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 concerns the

commonwealth more than myself, since I have discharged 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, conscript 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

Capitol to levy soldiers.

32. The other consul then proposed to the fathers the consideration 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

reward of the victor, had been destroyed; a city by whose munificence

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 beholding his half-demolished and plundered native city, he

should see, on entering Rome, the spoils of his country in the

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 Laevinus, 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 suffered, nor were there any tyrants 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 portion 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

intermarriages 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 the 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-generals, 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

assisted at the council held by the consuls after the capture of

Capua, when inquiry was made whether any of the Campanians had

deserved well of our state; and it was found that two women had done

so; Vestia Oppia, a native of Atella and an inhabitant of Capua, and

Faucula Cluvia, formerly a common 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 tribunes, 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 Campanians,

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 surrendered, together with their persons, both lands

and city, 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 consideration in

conformity with this order of the people, first restored to Oppia and

Cluvia their goods and liberty; directing, 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 people. 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 Vulturnus, 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 themselves nor their posterity

acquire or possess any property any where, except in the Veientian,

Sutrian, or Nepetian territories; 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,

Calatia, 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 malignity 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 number 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 consuls issued an edict, that private persons should furnish

rowers 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 annual 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 complaints were uttered not in

secret, but publicly in the forum, and before the eyes of the consuls

themselves, by an immense crowd which surrounded them; nor could the

consuls appease 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 examining 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

individuals. For from what source could they procure rowers, when

there was no money in the treasury? and how, without fleets, could

Sicily be kept in subjection, or Philip be prevented from entering

Italy, or the shores of Italy be protected?

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 an expense

thought heavy, when the people see every one of their principal men

taking upon himself more than his proportion 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 service 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

previously 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 consuls, 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 vicissitudes, 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 equalized by a kind of

compensation. Philip had become their enemy at a juncture somewhat

unseasonable; but then the Aetolians, 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 considered 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

Romans 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 irregularly 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 any thing 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 army into a number 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 affections 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, promoted 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 and 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

proceeding 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 admitting 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 undertaking, 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

garrison, consisting of five hundred Numidians, and Salapia, should be

delivered up to Marcellus. Nor could it be betrayed without 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 endeavoured to force their way out; and not being

able to escape, they fell fighting to the last, not more than fifty of

them falling 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 afterwards superior in

cavalry, in which he had before been most effective.

39. During this time the scarcity of provisions in the citadel of

Tarentum was almost intolerable; the Roman garrison there, and Marcus

Livius, the praefect 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, a 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, Velia, 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 neighbourhood of Croto

and Sybaris, he had supplied his ships with rowers, 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 then 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

compass, 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 personally,

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

confusion, 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 balanced at Tarentum, the Romans

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 and 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 Romans; 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

commander-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 Laevinus, 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 Numidians 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 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

betook 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 reached 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, Laevinus 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 protection, by voluntary surrender.

The consul having rewarded 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 assemblage 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 different in

each case, had congregated them at Agathyrna. These men Laevinus

thought it hardly safe to leave in the island, when an unwonted

tranquillity was growing up, as the materials of fresh disturbances;

and besides, they were likely to be useful to the Rhegians, who were

in want of a band of men habituated to robbery, for the purpose of

committing depredations 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

disasters; 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. Fortune 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 endeavour is not that we may remain in

Spain ourselves, but that the Carthaginians may not; and not to stand

on the bank of the Iberus, 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 appear too

important and daring, considering your late misfortunes, which are

fresh in your recollection, and my years. There is no person from

whose mind the memory of the defeats sustained in Spain could be

obliterated with more difficulty 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 happened to us by a kind of fatality, that

in all important wars we have been victorious, after having been

defeated. I pass 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 Cannae, 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 Carthaginian

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 Cannae, who, had he formed a

junction with his brother, the Roman name would now have been extinct.

These successes formed a counterpoise to those defeats. Now, by the

favour of the gods, every thing in Italy and Sicily is going on

prosperously and successfully, every day affording matter of fresh

joy, and presenting 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 Capua taken. Hannibal has been

driven into the remotest corner 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 manner, 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 occurred, I could wish

that they had passed with as little grief 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 auspices, 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

ignominious 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 generals, 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 formerly 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 offspring 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 hundred 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 all 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 situated, 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

follows: 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 general 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 enemy 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

effort 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 result

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 Carthaginians. Here is the whole of the enemy's

treasure, without which they cannot carry on the war, as they are

keeping mercenary 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 having an excellent harbour, by means of which

we may be supplied 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 citadel,

their granary, their treasury, their magazine, their receptacle for

every thing. Hence there is a direct passage into Africa; this is the

only station for a fleet between the Pyrenees and Gades; 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, perceiving 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 side 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,

intent 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, retired 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 description 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 forward, 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.

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 consequence

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 considered 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 ebbing, 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 afforded 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 consequence of the tide receding, a brisk

north wind rising impelled 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 penetration, 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, and 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 different quarters, so that their sides

were endangered more than the fronts of their bodies. But in the other

quarter five hundred passed without difficulty through the lake, and

then mounted the wall, for neither was it defended by any

fortifications, because there they thought the city was sufficiently

protected by the nature of the place and the lake, nor were there any

outposts or guards stationed there, because all were engaged 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 captured, 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 garrison 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 defend it, when he 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: but 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 themselves

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 catapultae of the larger size, two hundred and eighty-one of

the smaller; twenty-three ballistae 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 weapons; 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 thousand 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,

Carthage itself was of the least consideration.

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 undergone very great fatigue and danger in taking the city;

and after they had taken it had fought, and that on disadvantageous

ground, with those who had fled to the citadel, he ordered them to

attend to themselves. The next day, having assembled 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

legionary troops. As this contest began almost to assume the character

of a mutiny, Scipio having notified that he should appoint 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,

because those high characters, who had acted more as moderators of the

zeal of both than as advocates of any particular 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 violence should take place, that the proceedings

formed a most hateful precedent, for that the honours due to valour

were being 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

declared, "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 bestowing 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, because 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 particulars. 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 twenty-five 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 thousand, of the smaller at

thirteen, so great is the extent of falsehood. Nor are they agreed

even respecting the commanders, most say that Laelius commanded the

fleet, but some say Marcus Junius Silanus. Valerius Antius says, that

Arines commanded the Punic garrison, and was given up to the Romans;

other writers say it was Mago. They are not agreed respecting 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, distinguishing 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. Meanwhile, there

advanced from the midst of the crowd of hostages a woman in years, the

wife of Mandonius, who was the brother 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 Indibilis, 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 misfortunes have you forgotten the delicacy

becoming matrons." He then delivered them over to a man of tried

virtue, ordering him to treat them with no less respect and modesty

than the wives and mothers of guests.

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

desperately 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

probable, considering that I should myself wish that my affection for

my intended bride, though excessive, should meet with indulgence,

could I enjoy the pleasures suited to my age, (particularly 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 you, 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 believe 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

belonging to you, should be at enmity, or with which you would rather

be in friendship." The young man, overcome at once with joy and

modesty, clung to Scipio's right hand, and invoked 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 himself to the parents and relatives of the damsel,

who, on receiving her back without any reward, whom they had brought a

very large weight of gold to redeem, entreated Scipio to accept 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 receive 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 countrymen 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 returned 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 advice; 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

exercising 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

mariners, 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 prepared their minds and bodies

for war. The city itself was all bustle with warlike preparations,

artificers of every description 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, at 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 multitude 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 further Spain, met. The

Carthaginian generals at first industriously suppressed the rumour of

the capture of Carthage; but afterwards, when it became too notorious

to be concealed or dissembled, 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 victory; 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 diminished,

in every respect, by the loss of Carthage.

END OF VOL. II