SECT. VII. ARTS AND SCIENCES.—It cannot be said that the Carthaginians

renounced entirely the glory which results from study and knowledge. The

sending of Masinissa, son of a powerful king,(550) thither for education,

gives us room to believe that Carthage was provided with an excellent

school. The great Hannibal,(551) who in all respects was an ornament to

that city, was not unacquainted with polite literature, as will be seen

hereafter. Mago,(552) another very celebrated general, did as much honour

to Carthage by his pen as by his victories. He wrote twenty-eight volumes

upon husbandry, which the Roman senate had in such esteem, that after the

taking of Carthage, when they presented the African princes with the

libraries found there, (another proof that learning was not entirely

banished from Carthage,) they gave orders to have these books translated

into Latin,(553) though Cato had before written his books on that subject.

There is still extant a Greek version of a treatise drawn up by Hanno in

the Punic tongue,(554) relating to a voyage he made (by order of the

senate) with a considerable fleet round Africa, for the settling of

different colonies in that part of the world. This Hanno is believed to be

more ancient than that person of the same name who lived in the time of

Agathocles.

Clitomachus, called in the Punic language Asdrubal, was a great

philosopher.(555) He succeeded the famous Carneades, whose disciple he had

been; and maintained in Athens the honour of the Academic sect. Cicero

says,(556) that he was a more sensible man, and fonder of study, than the

Carthaginians generally are. He wrote several books;(557) in one of which

he composed a piece to console the unhappy citizens of Carthage, who, by

the ruin of their city, were reduced to slavery.

I might rank among, or rather place at the head of, the writers who have

adorned Africa, the celebrated Terence; himself singly being capable of

reflecting infinite honour on his country by the fame of his productions,

if, on this account, Carthage, the place of his birth, ought not to be

less considered as his country than Rome, where he was educated, and

acquired that purity of style, that delicacy and elegance, which have

gained him the admiration of all succeeding ages. It is supposed,(558)

that he was carried off when an infant, or at least very young, by the

Numidians in their incursions into the Carthaginian territories, during

the war carried on between these two nations, from the conclusion of the

second, to the beginning of the third Punic war. He was sold for a slave

to Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator; who, after giving him an excellent

education, gave him his liberty, and called him by his own name, as was

then the custom. He was united in a very strict friendship with the second

Scipio Africanus, and Lælius; and it was a common report at Rome, that he

had the assistance of these two great men in composing his pieces. The

poet, so far from endeavouring to stifle a report so advantageous to him,

made a merit of it. Only six of his comedies are extant. Some authors, on

the authority of Suetonius, (the writer of his life,) say, that in his

return from Greece, whither he had made a voyage, he lost a hundred and

eight comedies, which he had translated from Menander, and could not

survive an accident which must naturally afflict him in a sensible manner;

but this incident is not very well founded. Be this as it may, he died in

the year of Rome 594, under the consulship of Cneius Cornelius Dolabella,

and M. Fulvius, at the age of thirty-five years, and consequently he was

born anno 560.

It must yet be confessed, notwithstanding all we have said, that there

ever was a great scarcity of learned men in Carthage, since it hardly

furnished three or four writers of reputation in upwards of seven hundred

years. Although the Carthaginians held a correspondence with Greece and

the most civilized nations, yet this did not excite them to borrow their

learning, as being foreign to their views of trade and commerce.

Eloquence, poetry, history, seem to have been little known among them. A

Carthaginian philosopher was considered as a sort of prodigy by the

learned. What then would an astronomer or a geometrician have been

thought? I know not in what esteem physic, which is so highly useful to

life, was held at Carthage; or jurisprudence, so necessary to society.

As works of wit were generally had in so much disregard, the education of

youth must necessarily have been very imperfect and unpolished. In

Carthage, the study and knowledge of youth were for the most part confined

to writing, arithmetic, book-keeping, and the buying and selling goods; in

a word, to whatever related to traffic. But polite learning, history, and

philosophy, were in little repute among them. These were, in later years,

even prohibited by the laws, which expressly forbade any Carthaginian to

learn the Greek tongue, lest it might qualify them for carrying on a

dangerous correspondence with the enemy, either by letter or word of

mouth.(559)

Now what could be expected from such a cast of mind? Accordingly there was

never seen among them that elegance of behaviour, that ease and

complacency of manners, and those sentiments of virtue, which are

generally the fruits of a liberal education in all civilized nations. The

small number of great men which this nation has produced, must therefore

have owed their merit to the felicity of their genius, to the singularity

of their talents, and a long experience, without any great assistance from

cultivation and instruction. Hence it was, that the merit of the greatest

men of Carthage was sullied by great failings, low vices, and cruel

passions; and it is rare to meet with any conspicuous virtue among them

without some blemish; with any virtue of a noble, generous, and amiable

kind, and supported by enlightened and steady principles, such as is every

where found among the Greeks and Romans. The reader will perceive that I

here speak only of the heathen virtues, and agreeably to the idea which

the Pagans entertained of them.

I meet with as few monuments of their skill in arts of a less noble and

necessary kind, as painting and sculpture. I find, indeed, that they had

plundered the conquered nations of a great many works in both these kinds;

but it does not appear that they themselves had produced many.

From what has been said, one cannot help concluding, that traffic was the

predominant inclination, and the peculiar characteristic of the

Carthaginians; that it formed, in a manner, the basis of the state, the

soul of the commonwealth, and the grand spring which gave motion to all

their enterprises. The Carthaginians, in general, were skilful merchants;

employed wholly in traffic; excited strongly by the desire of gain, and

esteeming nothing but riches; directing all their talents, and placing

their chief glory, in amassing them; though at the same time they scarce

knew the purpose for which they were designed, or how to use them in a

noble or worthy manner.

SECT. VIII. THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND QUALITIES OF THE CARTHAGINIANS.—In

the enumeration of the various qualities which Cicero(560) assigns to

different nations, as their distinguishing characteristics, he declares

that of the Carthaginians to be craft, skill, address, industry, cunning,

_calliditas_; which doubtless appeared in war, but was still more

conspicuous in the rest of their conduct; and this was joined to another

quality that bears a very near relation to it, and is still less

reputable. Craft and cunning lead naturally to lying, duplicity, and

breach of faith; and these, by accustoming the mind insensibly to be less

scrupulous with regard to the choice of the means for compassing its

designs, prepare it for the basest frauds and the most perfidious actions.

This was also one of the characteristics of the Carthaginians;(561) and it

was so notorious, that to signify any remarkable dishonesty, it was usual

to call it _Punic faith, fides Punica_; and to denote a knavish, deceitful

disposition, no expression was thought more proper and emphatical than

this, a Carthaginian disposition, _Punicum ingenium_.

An excessive thirst for amassing wealth, and an inordinate love of gain,

generally gave occasion in Carthage to the committing base and unjust

actions. One single example will prove this. During a truce, granted by

Scipio to the earnest entreaties of the Carthaginians, some Roman vessels,

being driven by a storm on the coasts of Carthage, were seized by order of

the senate and people,(562) who could not suffer so tempting a prey to

escape them. They were resolved to get money, though the manner of

acquiring it were ever so scandalous.(563) The inhabitants of Carthage,

even in St. Austin’s time, (as that Father informs us,) showed on a

particular occasion, that they still retained part of this characteristic.

But these were not the only blemishes and faults of the

Carthaginians.(564) They had something austere and savage in their

disposition and genius, a haughty and imperious air, a sort of ferocity,

which, in the first transports of passion, was deaf to both reason and

remonstrances, and plunged brutally into the utmost excesses of violence.

The people, cowardly and grovelling under apprehensions, were proud and

cruel in their transports; at the same time that they trembled under their

magistrates, they were dreaded in their turn by their miserable vassals.

In this we see the difference which education makes between one nation and

another. The Athenians, whose city was always considered as the centre of

learning, were naturally jealous of their authority, and difficult to

govern; but still, a fund of good nature and humanity made them

compassionate the misfortunes of others, and be indulgent to the errors of

their leaders. Cleon one day desired the assembly, in which he presided,

to break up, because, as he told them, he had a sacrifice to offer, and

friends to entertain. The people only laughed at the request, and

immediately separated. Such a liberty, says Plutarch, at Carthage, would

have cost a man his life.

Livy makes a like reflection with regard to Terentius Varro.(565) That

general on his return to Rome after the battle of Cannæ, which had been

lost by his ill conduct, was met by persons of all orders of the state, at

some distance from Rome; and thanked by them, for his not having despaired

of the commonwealth; who, says the historian, had he been a general of the

Carthaginians, must have expected the most severe punishment: _Cui, si

Carthaginensium ductor fuisset, nihil recusandum supplicii foret._ Indeed,

a court was established at Carthage, where the generals were obliged to

give an account of their conduct; and they all were made responsible for

the events of the war. Ill success was punished there as a crime against

the state; and whenever a general lost a battle, he was almost sure, at

his return, of ending his life upon a gibbet. Such was the furious, cruel,

and barbarous disposition of the Carthaginians, who were always ready to

shed the blood of their citizens as well as of foreigners. The unheard-of

tortures which they made Regulus suffer, are a manifest proof of this

assertion; and their history will furnish us with such instances of it, as

are not to be read without horror.

Part The Second. The History of the Carthaginians.

The interval of time between the foundation of Carthage and its ruin,

included seven hundred years, and may be divided into two parts. The

first, which is much the longest and the least known, (as is ordinary with

the beginnings of all states,) extends to the first Punic war, and takes

up five hundred and eighty-two years. The second, which ends at the

destruction of Carthage, contains but a hundred and eighteen years.

Chapter I. The Foundation of Carthage and its Aggrandizement till the Time

of the first Punic War.

Carthage in Africa was a colony from Tyre, the most renowned city at that

time for commerce in the world. Tyre had long before transplanted into

that country another colony, which built Utica,(566) made famous by the

death of the second Cato, who, for this reason, is generally called Cato

Uticensis.

Authors disagree very much with regard to the æra of the foundation of

Carthage.(567) It is a difficult matter, and not very material, to

reconcile them; at least, agreeably to the plan laid down by me, it is

sufficient to know, within a few years, the time in which that city was

built.

Carthage existed a little above seven hundred years.(568) It was destroyed

under the consulate of Cn. Lentulus, and L. Mummius, the 603d year of

Rome, 3859th of the world, and 145 before Christ. The foundation of it may

therefore be fixed in the year of the world 3158, when Joash was king of

Judah, 98 years before the building of Rome, and 846 before our Saviour.

The foundation of Carthage is ascribed to Elisa, a Tyrian princess, better

known by the name of Dido.(569) Ithobal, king of Tyre, and father of the

famous Jezebel, called in Scripture Ethbaal, was her great-grandfather.

She married her near relation Acerbas, called otherwise Sicharbas and

Sichæus, an extremely rich prince, and Pygmalion, king of Tyre, was her

brother. This prince having put Sichæus to death, in order that he might

have an opportunity of seizing his immense wealth, Dido eluded the cruel

avarice of her brother, by withdrawing secretly with all her dead

husband’s treasures. After having long wandered, she at last landed on the

coast of the Mediterranean, in the gulf where Utica stood, and in the

country of Africa, properly so called, distant almost fifteen(570) miles

from Tunis, so famous at this time for its corsairs; and there settled

with her few followers, after having purchased some lands from the

inhabitants of the country.(571)

Many of the neighbouring people, invited by the prospect of lucre,

repaired thither to sell these new comers the necessaries of life; and

shortly after incorporated themselves with them. These inhabitants, who

had been thus gathered from different places, soon grew very numerous. The

citizens of Utica, considering them as their countrymen, and as descended

from the same common stock, deputed envoys with very considerable

presents, and exhorted them to build a city in the place where they had

first settled. The natives of the country, from the esteem and respect

frequently shown to strangers, did as much on their part. Thus all things

conspiring with Dido’s views, she built her city, which was charged with

the payment of an annual tribute to the Africans for the ground it stood

upon; and called Carthada,(572) or Carthage, a name that, in the

Phoenician and Hebrew tongues, (which have a great affinity,) signifies

the New City. It is said, that when the foundations were dug, a horse’s

head was found, which was thought a good omen, and a presage of the future

warlike genius of that people.(573)

This princess was afterwards courted by Iarbas king of Getulia, and

threatened with a war in case of refusal. Dido, who had bound herself by

an oath not to consent to a second marriage, being incapable of violating

the faith she had sworn to Sichæus, desired time for deliberation, and for

appeasing the manes of her first husband by sacrifice. Having therefore

ordered a pile to be raised, she ascended it; and drawing out a dagger

which she had concealed under her robe, stabbed herself with it.(574)

Virgil has made a great alteration in this history, by supposing that

Æneas, his hero, was contemporary with Dido, though there was an interval

of near three centuries between the one and the other; Carthage being

built three hundred years after the destruction of Troy. This liberty is

very excusable in a poet, who is not tied to the scrupulous accuracy of an

historian; and we admire, with great reason, the judgment which he has

shown in his plan, when, to interest the Romans (for whom he wrote) in his

subject, he has the art of introducing into it the implacable hatred which

subsisted between Carthage and Rome, and ingeniously deduces the original

of it from the very remote foundation of those two rival cities.

Carthage, whose beginnings, as we have observed, were very weak at first,

grew larger by insensible degrees, in the country where it was founded.

But its dominion was not long confined to Africa. This ambitious city

extended her conquests into Europe, invaded Sardinia, made herself

mistress of a great part of Sicily, and reduced to her subjection almost

the whole of Spain; and having sent out powerful colonies into all

quarters, enjoyed the empire of the seas for more than six hundred years;

and formed a state which was able to dispute preeminence with the greatest

empires of the world, by her wealth, her commerce, her numerous armies,

her formidable fleets, and, above all, by the courage and ability of her

captains. The dates and circumstances of many of these conquests are

little known. I shall take but a transient notice of them, in order to

enable my readers to form some idea of the countries, which will be often

mentioned in the course of this history.

_Conquests of the Carthaginians in Africa._—The first wars made by the

Carthaginians were to free themselves from the annual tribute which they

had engaged to pay the Africans, for the territory which had been ceded to

them.(575) This conduct does them no honour, as the settlement was granted

them upon condition of their paying a tribute. One would be apt to

imagine, that they were desirous of covering the obscurity of their

original, by abolishing this proof of it. But they were not successful on

this occasion. The Africans had justice on their side, and they prospered

accordingly; the war being terminated by the payment of the tribute.

The Carthaginians afterwards carried their arms against the Moors and

Numidians, and gained many conquests over both.(576) Being now emboldened

by these happy successes, they shook off entirely the tribute which gave

them so much uneasiness,(577) and possessed themselves of a great part of

Africa.

About this time there arose a great dispute between Carthage and Cyrene,

on the subject of their respective limits. Cyrene was a very powerful

city, situated on the Mediterranean, towards the greater Syrtis, and had

been built by Battus the Lacedæmonian.(578)

It was agreed on each side, that two young men should set out at the same

time, from either city; and that the place of their meeting should be the

common boundary of both states. The Carthaginians (these were two brothers

named Philæni) made the most haste; and their antagonists pretending that

foul play had been used, and that the two brothers had set out before the

time appointed, refused to stand to the agreement unless the two brothers

(to remove all suspicion of unfair dealing) would consent to be buried

alive in the place where they had met. They acquiesced with the proposal;

and the Carthaginians erected, on that spot, two altars to their memories,

and paid them divine honours in their city; and from that time the place

was called the altars of the Philæni, Aræ Philænorum,(579) and served as

the boundary of the Carthaginian empire, which extended from thence to the

pillars of Hercules.

_Conquests of the Carthaginians in Sardinia, &c._—History does not inform

us exactly, either of the time when the Carthaginians entered Sardinia, or

of the manner in which they got possession of it. This island was of great

use to them; and during all their wars supplied them abundantly with

provisions.(580) It is separated from Corsica only by a strait of about

three leagues in breadth. The metropolis of the southern and most fertile

part of it, was Caralis or Calaris, now called Cagliari. On the arrival of

the Carthaginians, the natives withdrew to the mountains in the northern

parts of the island, which are almost inaccessible, and whence the enemy

could not dislodge them.

The Carthaginians seized likewise on the Balearic isles, now called

Majorca and Minorca. Port Mahon, (_Portus Magonis_,) in the latter island,

was so called from Mago, a Carthaginian general, who first made use of,

and fortified it. It is not known who this Mago was; but it is very

probable that he was Hannibal’s brother.(581) This harbour is, at this

day, one of the most considerable in the Mediterranean.

These isles furnished the Carthaginians with the most expert slingers in

the world, who did them great service in battles and sieges.(582) They

slang large stones of above a pound weight; and sometimes threw leaden

bullets,(583) with so much violence, that they would pierce even the

strongest helmets, shields, and cuirasses; and were so dexterous in their

aim, that they scarce ever missed the mark. The inhabitants of these

islands were accustomed, from their infancy, to handle the sling; for

which purpose their mothers placed on the bough of a high tree, the piece

of bread designed for their children’s breakfast, who were not allowed a

morsel till they had brought it down with their slings. From this

practice, these islands were called Baleares and Gymnasiæ, by the

Greeks,(584) because the inhabitants used to exercise themselves so early

in slinging of stones.(585)

_Conquests of the Carthaginians in Spain._—Before I enter on the relation

of these conquests, I think it proper to give my readers some idea of

Spain.

Spain is divided into three parts, Bœtica, Lusitania, Tarraconensis.(586)

Bœtica, so called from the river Bœtis,(587) was the southern division of

it, and comprehended the present kingdom of Granada, Andalusia, part of

New Castile, and Estremadura. Cadiz, called by the ancients Gades and

Gadira, is a town situated in a small island of the same name, on the

western coast of Andalusia, about nine leagues from Gibraltar. It is well

known that Hercules, having extended his conquests to this place, halted,

from the supposition that he was come to the extremity of the world.(588)

He here erected two pillars, as monuments of his victories, pursuant to

the custom of that age. The place has always retained the name, though

time has quite destroyed these pillars. Authors are divided in opinion,

with regard to the place where these pillars were erected. Bœtica was the

most fruitful, the wealthiest, and most populous part of Spain.(589) It

contained two hundred cities, and was inhabited by the Turdetani, or

Turduli. On the banks of the Bœtis stood three large cities, Castulo

towards the source, Corduba lower down, the native place of Lucan and the

two Senecas, lastly, Hispalis.(590)

Lusitania is bounded on the west by the Ocean, on the north by the river

Durius,(591) and on the south by the river Anas.(592) Between these two

rivers is the Tagus. Lusitania was what is now called Portugal, with part

of Old and New Castile.

Tarraconensis comprehended the rest of Spain, that is, the kingdoms of

Murcia and Valentia, Catalonia, Arragon, Navarre, Biscay, the Asturias,

Gallicia, the kingdom of Leon, and the greatest part of the two Castiles.

Tarraco,(593) a very considerable city, gave its name to this part of

Spain. Pretty near it lay Barcino.(594) Its name gives rise to the

conjecture, that it was built by Hamilcar, surnamed Barca, father of the

great Hannibal. The most renowned nations of Tarraconensis were the

Celtiberi, beyond the river Iberus;(595) the Cantabri, where Biscay now

lies; the Carpetani, whose capital was Toledo; the Oretani, &c.

Spain, abounding with mines of gold and silver, and peopled with a martial

race of men, had sufficient to excite both the avarice and ambition of the

Carthaginians, who were more of a mercantile than of a warlike

disposition, from the very genius and constitution of their republic. They

doubtless knew that their Phœnician ancestors, (as Diodorus relates,)(596)

taking advantage of the happy ignorance of the Spaniards, with regard to

the immense riches which were hid in the bowels of their lands, first took

from them these precious treasures, in exchange for commodities of little

value. They likewise foresaw, that if they could once subdue this country,

it would furnish them abundantly with well-disciplined troops for the

conquest of other nations, as actually happened.

The occasion of the Carthaginians first landing in Spain, was to assist

the inhabitants of Cadiz, who were invaded by the Spaniards.(597) That

city was a colony from Tyre, as well as Utica and Carthage, and even more

ancient than either of them. The Tyrians having built it, established

there the worship of Hercules, and erected, in his honour, a magnificent

temple, which became famous in after ages. The success of this first

expedition of the Carthaginians made them desirous of carrying their arms

into Spain.

It is not exactly known in what period they entered Spain, nor how far

they extended their first conquests. It is probable that these were slow

in the beginning, as the Carthaginians had to do with very warlike

nations, who defended themselves with great resolution and courage. Nor

could they ever have accomplished their design, as Strabo observes,(598)

had the Spaniards (united in a body) formed but one state, and mutually

assisted one another. But as every district, every people, were entirely

detached from their neighbours, and had not the least correspondence nor

connection with them, the Carthaginians were forced to subdue them one

after another. This circumstance occasioned, on one hand, the loss of

Spain; but on the other, protracted the war, and made the conquest of the

country much more difficult.(599) Accordingly it has been observed, that

though Spain was the first province which the Romans invaded on the

continent, it was the last they subdued;(600) and was not entirely

subjected to their power, till after having made a vigorous opposition for

upwards of 200 years.

It appears from the accounts given by Polybius and Livy, of the wars of

Hamilcar, Asdrubal, and Hannibal in Spain, which will soon be mentioned,

that the arms of the Carthaginians had not made any considerable progress

in that country before that period, and that the greatest part of Spain

was then unconquered. But in twenty years’ time they completed the

conquest of almost the whole country.

At the time that Hannibal set out for Italy, all the coast of Africa, from

the Philænorum Aræ, by the great Syrtis, to the pillars of Hercules, was

subject to the Carthaginians.(601) Passing through the straits, they had

conquered all the western coast of Spain, along the ocean, as far as the

Pyrenean hills. The coast, which lies on the Mediterranean, had been

almost wholly subdued by them; and it was there they had built Carthagena;

and they were masters of all the country, as far as the river Iberus,

which bounded their dominions. Such was, at that time, the extent of their

empire. In the centre of the country, some nations had indeed held out

against all their efforts, and could not be subdued by them.

_Conquests of the Carthaginians in Sicily._—The wars which the

Carthaginians carried on in Sicily are more known. I shall here relate

those which were waged from the reign of Xerxes, who first prompted the

Carthaginians to carry their arms into Sicily, till the first Punic war.

This period includes near two hundred and twenty years; _viz._ from the

year of the world 3520 to 3738. At the breaking out of these wars,

Syracuse, the most considerable as well as most powerful city of Sicily,

had invested Gelon, Hiero, and Thrasybulus, (three brothers who succeeded

one another,) with the sovereign power. After their deaths, a democracy or

popular government was established in that city, and subsisted above sixty

years. From this time, the two Dionysius’s, Timoleon, and Agathocles, bore

the sway in Syracuse. Pyrrhus was afterwards invited into Sicily, but he

kept possession of it only a few years. Such was the government of Sicily

during the wars of which I am going to treat. They will give us great

light with regard to the power of the Carthaginians, at the time that they

began to be engaged in war with the Romans.

Sicily is the largest and most considerable island in the Mediterranean.

It is of a triangular form, and for that reason was called Trinacria and

Triquetra. The eastern side, which faces the Ionian or Grecian sea,

extends from Cape Pachynum(602) to Pelorum.(603) The most celebrated

cities on this coast are Syracuse, Tauromenium, and Messana. The northern

coast, which looks towards Italy, reaches from Cape Pelorum to Cape

Lilybæum.(604) The most noted cities on this coast are Mylæ, Hymera,

Panormus, Eryx, Motya, Lilybæum. The southern coast, which lies opposite

to Africa, extends from Cape Lilybæum to Pachynum. The most remarkable

cities on this coast are Selinus, Agrigentum, Gela, and Camarina. This

island is separated from Italy by a strait, which is not more than a mile

and a half over, and called the Faro or strait of Messina, from its

contiguity to that city. The passage from Lilybæum to Africa is but 1500

furlongs,(605) that is, about seventy-five leagues.(606)

(M99) The period in which the Carthaginians first carried their arms into

Sicily is not exactly known.(607) All we are certain of is, that they were

already possessed of some part of it, at the time that they entered into a

treaty with the Romans; the same year that the kings were expelled, and

consuls appointed in their room, _viz._ twenty-eight years before Xerxes

invaded Greece. This treaty, which is the first we find mentioned to have

been made between these two nations, speaks of Africa and Sardinia as

possessed by the Carthaginians; whereas the conventions with regard to

Sicily, relate only to those parts of the island which were subject to

them. By this treaty it is expressly stipulated, that neither the Romans

nor their allies shall sail beyond the Fair Promontory,(608) which was

very near Carthage; and that such merchants, as shall resort to this city

for traffic, shall pay only certain duties which are settled in it.(609)

It appears by the same treaty, that the Carthaginians were particularly

careful to exclude the Romans from all the countries subject to them; as

well as from the knowledge of what was transacting in them; as though the

Carthaginians, even at that time, had taken umbrage at the rising power of

the Romans; and already harboured in their breasts the secret seeds of

that jealousy and distrust, that were one day to burst out in long and

cruel wars, and a mutual hatred and animosity, which nothing could

extinguish but the ruin of one of the contending powers.

(M100) Some years after the conclusion of this first treaty, the

Carthaginians made an alliance with Xerxes king of Persia.(610) This

prince, who aimed at nothing less than the total extirpation of the

Greeks, whom he considered as his irreconcilable enemies, thought it would

be impossible for him to succeed in his enterprise without the assistance

of Carthage, whose power was formidable even at that time. The

Carthaginians, who always kept in view the design they entertained of

seizing upon the remainder of Sicily, greedily snatched the favourable

opportunity which now presented itself for their completing the reduction

of it. A treaty was therefore concluded; wherein it was agreed that the

Carthaginians were to invade, with all their forces, those Greeks who were

settled in Sicily and Italy, while Xerxes should march in person against

Greece itself.

The preparations for this war lasted three years. The land army amounted

to no less than three hundred thousand men. The fleet consisted of two

thousand ships of war, and upwards of three thousand small vessels of

burden. Hamilcar, the most experienced captain of his age, sailed from

Carthage with this formidable army. He landed at Palermo;(611) and, after

refreshing his troops, he marched against Hymera, a city not far distant

from Palermo, and laid siege to it. Theron, who commanded in it, seeing

himself very much straitened, sent to Gelon, who had possessed himself of

Syracuse. He flew immediately to his relief, with fifty thousand foot, and

five thousand horse. His arrival infused new courage into the besieged,

who, from that time, made a very vigorous defence.

Gelon was an able warrior, and excelled in stratagems. A courier was

brought to him, who had been despatched from Selinus, a city of Sicily,

with a letter for Hamilcar, to inform him of the day when he might expect

the cavalry which he had demanded of them. Gelon drew out an equal number

of his own troops, and sent them from his camp about the time agreed on.

These being admitted into the enemy’s camp, as coming from Selinus, rushed

upon Hamilcar, killed him, and set fire to his ships. In this critical

conjuncture, Gelon attacked, with all his forces, the Carthaginians, who

at first made a gallant resistance. But when the news of their general’s

death was brought them, and they saw their fleet in a blaze, their courage

failed them, and they fled. And now a dreadful slaughter ensued; upwards

of a hundred and fifty thousand being slain. The rest of the army, having

retired to a place where they were in want of every thing, could not make

a long defence, and were forced to surrender at discretion. This battle

was fought the very day of the famous action of Thermopylæ, in which three

hundred Spartans,(612) with the sacrifice of their lives, disputed

Xerxes’s entrance into Greece.

When the sad news was brought to Carthage of the entire defeat of the

army, consternation, grief, and despair, threw the whole city into such a

confusion and alarm as are not to be expressed. It was imagined that the

enemy was already at the gates. The Carthaginians, in great reverses of

fortune, always lost their courage, and sunk into the opposite extreme.

Immediately they sent a deputation to Gelon, by which they desired peace

upon any terms. He heard their envoys with great humanity. The complete

victory he had gained, so far from making him haughty and untractable, had

only increased his modesty and clemency even towards the enemy. He

therefore granted them a peace, without any other condition, than their

paying two thousand(613) talents towards the expense of the war. He

likewise required them to build two temples, where the treaty of this

peace should be deposited, and exposed at all times to public view. The

Carthaginians did not think this a dear purchase of a peace, that was so

absolutely necessary to their affairs, and which they hardly durst hope

for. Gisgo, the son of Hamilcar, pursuant to the unjust custom of the

Carthaginians, of ascribing to the general the ill success of a war, and

making him bear the blame of it, was punished for his father’s misfortune,

and sent into banishment. He passed the remainder of his days at Selinus,

a city of Sicily.

Gelon, on his return to Syracuse, convened the people, and invited all the

citizens to appear under arms. He himself entered the assembly, unarmed

and without his guards, and there gave an account of the whole conduct of

his life. His speech met with no other interruption, than the public

testimonies which were given him of gratitude and admiration. So far from

being treated as a tyrant, and the oppressor of his country’s liberty, he

was considered as its benefactor and deliverer; all, with an unanimous

voice, proclaimed him king; and the crown was bestowed, after his death,

on his two brothers.

(M101) After the memorable defeat of the Athenians before Syracuse, where

Nicias perished with his whole fleet;(614) the Segestans, who had declared

in favour of the Athenians against the Syracusans, fearing the resentment

of their enemies, and being attacked by the inhabitants of Selinus,

implored the aid of the Carthaginians, and put themselves and city under

their protection. At Carthage the people debated some time, what course it

would be proper for them to take, the affair meeting with great

difficulties. On one hand, the Carthaginians were very desirous to possess

themselves of a city which lay so convenient for them; on the other, they

dreaded the power and forces of Syracuse, which had so lately cut to

pieces a numerous army of the Athenians; and become, by so shining a

victory, more formidable than ever. At last, the lust of empire prevailed,

and the Segestans were promised succours.

The conduct of this war was committed to Hannibal, who at that time was

invested with the highest dignity of the state, being one of the Suffetes.

He was grandson to Hamilcar, who had been defeated by Gelon, and killed

before Himera; and son to Gisgo, who had been condemned to exile. He left

Carthage, animated with an ardent desire of revenging his family and

country, and of wiping away the disgrace of the last defeat. He had a very

great army as well as fleet under his command. He landed at a place called

the _Well of Lilybæum_, which gave its name to a city afterwards built on

the same spot. His first enterprise was the siege of Selinus. The attack

and defence were equally vigorous, the very women showing a resolution and

bravery above their sex. The city, after making a long resistance, was

taken by storm, and the plunder of it abandoned to the soldiers. The

victor exercised the most horrid cruelties, without showing the least

regard to either age or sex. He permitted such inhabitants as had fled, to

continue in the city after it had been dismantled; and to till the lands,

on condition of their paying a tribute to the Carthaginians. This city had

been built two hundred and forty-two years.

Himera, which he next besieged and took likewise by storm, after being

more cruelly treated than Selinus, was entirely razed, two hundred and

forty years after its foundation. He forced three thousand prisoners to

undergo every kind of ignominious punishments; and at last murdered them

all on the very spot where his grandfather had been killed by Gelon’s

cavalry, to appease and satisfy his manes by the blood of these unhappy

victims.

These expeditions being ended, Hannibal returned to Carthage, on which

occasion the whole city came out to meet him, and received him amidst the

most joyful acclamations.

These successes reinflamed the desire, and revived the design, which the

Carthaginians had ever entertained, of making themselves masters of the

whole of Sicily.(615) Three years after, they appointed Hannibal their

general a second time; and on his pleading his great age, and refusing the

command of this war, they gave him for lieutenant, Imilcon, son of Hanno,

of the same family. The preparations for this war were proportioned to the

great design which the Carthaginians had formed. The fleet and army were

soon ready, and set out for Sicily. The number of their forces, according

to Timæus, amounted to above six-score thousand; and, according to

Ephorus, to three hundred thousand men. The enemy, on their side, were

prepared to give the Carthaginians a warm reception. The Syracusans had

sent to all their allies, in order to levy forces among them; and to all

the cities of Sicily, to exhort them to exert themselves vigorously in

defence of their liberties.

Agrigentum expected to feel the first fury of the enemy. This city was

prodigiously rich,(616) and strongly fortified. It was situated, as was

also Selinus, on that coast of Sicily which faces Africa. Accordingly,

Hannibal opened the campaign with the siege of this city. Imagining that

it was impregnable except on one side, he directed his whole force to that

quarter. He threw up banks and terraces as high as the walls: and made

use, on this occasion, of the rubbish and fragments of the tombs standing

round the city, which he had demolished for that purpose. Soon after, the

plague infected the army, and swept away a great number of the soldiers,

and the general himself. The Carthaginians interpreted this disaster as a

punishment inflicted by the gods, who revenged in this manner the injuries

done to the dead, whose ghosts many fancied they had seen stalking before

them in the night. No more tombs were therefore demolished, prayers were

ordered to be made according to the practice of Carthage; a child was

sacrificed to Saturn, in compliance with a most inhuman superstitious

custom; and many victims were thrown into the sea in honour of Neptune.

The besieged, who at first had gained several advantages, were at last so

pressed by famine, that all hopes of relief seeming desperate, they

resolved to abandon the city. The following night was fixed on for this

purpose. The reader will naturally image to himself the grief with which

these miserable people must be seized, on their being forced to leave

their houses, their rich possessions, and their country; but life was

still dearer to them than all these. Never was a more melancholy spectacle

seen. To omit the rest, a crowd of women, bathed in tears, were seen

dragging after them their helpless infants, in order to secure them from

the brutal fury of the victor. But the most grievous circumstance was, the

necessity they were under of leaving behind them the aged and sick, who

were unable either to fly or to make the least resistance. The unhappy

exiles arrived at Gela, which was the nearest city, and there received all

the comforts they could expect in the deplorable condition to which they

were reduced.

In the mean time, Imilcon entered the city, and murdered all who were

found in it. The plunder was immensely rich, and such as might be expected

from one of the most opulent cities of Sicily, which contained two hundred

thousand inhabitants, and had never been besieged, nor consequently

plundered, before. A numberless multitude of pictures, vases, and statues

of all kinds, were found here; the citizens having an exquisite taste for

the polite arts. Among other curiosities was the famous bull(617) of

Phalaris, which was sent to Carthage.

The siege of Agrigentum had lasted eight months. Imilcon made his forces

take up their winter-quarters in it, to give them the necessary

refreshment; and left this city (after laying it entirely in ruins) in the

beginning of the spring. He afterwards besieged Gela, and took it,

notwithstanding the succours which were brought by Dionysius the Tyrant,

who had seized upon the government of Syracuse. Imilcon ended the war by a

treaty with Dionysius. The conditions of it were, that the Carthaginians,

besides their ancient acquisitions in Sicily, should still possess the

country of the Sicanians,(618) Selinus, Agrigentum, and Himera; as

likewise that of Gela and Camarina, with leave for the inhabitants to

reside in their respective dismantled cities, on condition of their paying

a tribute to Carthage; that the Leontines, the Messenians, and all the

Sicilians, should retain their own laws, and preserve their liberty and

independence: lastly, that the Syracusans should still continue subject to

Dionysius. After this treaty was concluded, Imilcon returned to Carthage,

where the plague still made dreadful havoc.

(M102) Dionysius had concluded the late peace with the Carthaginians with

no other view than to get time to establish his new authority, and make

the necessary preparations for the war which he meditated against

them.(619) As he was very sensible how formidable the power of this state

was, he used his utmost endeavours to enable himself to invade them with

success; and his design was wonderfully well seconded by the zeal of his

subjects. The fame of this prince, the strong desire he had to distinguish

himself, the charms of gain, and the prospect of the rewards which he

promised those who should show the greatest industry; invited, from all

quarters, into Sicily, the most able artists and workmen at that time in

the world. All Syracuse now became in a manner an immense workshop, in

every part of which men were seen making swords, helmets, shields, and

military engines; and preparing all things necessary for building ships

and fitting out fleets. The invention of vessels with five benches of oars

(or _Quinqueremes_) was at that time very recent; for, till then, those

with three alone(620) had been used. Dionysius animated the workmen by his

presence, and by the applauses he gave, and the bounty which he bestowed

seasonably; but chiefly by his popular and engaging behaviour, which

excited, more strongly than any other conduct, the industry and ardour of

the workmen;(621) and he frequently allowed those of them who most

excelled in their respective arts the honour to dine with him.

When all things were ready, and a great number of forces had been levied

in different countries, he called the Syracusans together, laid his design

before them, and represented to them that the Carthaginians were the

professed enemies to the Greeks; that they had no less in view than the

invasion of all Sicily; the subjecting all the Grecian cities; and that,

in case their progress was not checked, the Syracusans themselves would

soon be attacked: that the reason why the Carthaginians did not attempt

any enterprise, and continued unactive, was owing entirely to the dreadful

havoc made by the plague among them; which (he observed) was a favourable

opportunity, of which the Syracusans ought to take advantage. Though the

tyranny and the tyrant were equally odious to Syracuse, yet the hatred the

people bore to the Carthaginians prevailed over all other considerations;

and every one, guided more by the views of an interested policy than by

the dictates of justice, received the speech with applause. Upon this,

without the least complaint made, or any declaration of war, Dionysius

gave up to the fury of the populace the persons and possessions of the

Carthaginians. Great numbers of them resided at that time in Syracuse, and

traded there on the faith of treaties. The common people ran to their

houses, plundered their effects, and pretended they were sufficiently

authorized to exercise every ignominy, and inflict every kind of

punishment on them, for the cruelties they had exercised against the

natives of the country. And this horrid example of perfidy and inhumanity

was followed throughout the whole island of Sicily. This was the bloody

signal of the war which was declared against them. Dionysius having thus

begun to do himself justice, (in his way,) sent deputies to Carthage, to

require them to restore all the Sicilian cities to their liberties; and

that otherwise, all the Carthaginians found in them should be treated as

enemies. This news spread a general alarm in Carthage, especially when

they reflected on the sad condition to which they were reduced.

Dionysius opened the campaign with the siege of Motya, which was the

magazine of the Carthaginians in Sicily; and he pushed on the siege with

so much vigour, that it was impossible for Imilcon, the Carthaginian

admiral, to relieve it. He brought forward his engines, battered the place

with his battering-rams, advanced to the wall towers, six stories high

(rolled upon wheels,) and of an equal height with their houses; and from

these he greatly annoyed the besieged, with his Catapultæ, an engine(622)

then recently invented, which hurled, with great violence, numerous

volleys of arrows and stones against the enemy. At last, the city, after a

long and vigorous defence, was taken by storm, and all the inhabitants of

it put to the sword, those excepted who took sanctuary in the temples. The

plunder of it was abandoned to the soldiers, and Dionysius, leaving a

strong garrison and a trusty governor in it, returned to Syracuse.

The following year Imilcon being appointed one of the Suffetes, returned

to Sicily with a far greater army than before.(623) He landed at

Palermo,(624) recovered Motya by force, and took several other cities.

Animated by these successes, he advanced towards Syracuse, with design to

besiege it; marching his infantry by land, whilst his fleet, under the

command of Mago, sailed along the coast.

The arrival of Imilcon threw the Syracusans into great consternation.

Above two hundred ships laden with the spoils of the enemy, and advancing

in good order, entered in a kind of triumph the great harbour, being

followed by five hundred barks. At the same time, the land army,

consisting, according to some authors, of three hundred thousand

foot,(625) and three thousand horse, was seen marching forward on the

other side of the city. Imilcon pitched his tent in the very temple of

Jupiter; and the rest of the army encamped at twelve furlongs, or about a

mile and a half from the city. Marching up to it, Imilcon offered battle

to the inhabitants, who did not care to accept the challenge. Imilcon,

satisfied at his having extorted from the Syracusans this confession of

their own weakness and his superiority, returned to his camp; not doubting

but he should soon be master of the city, considering it already as a

certain prey which could not possibly escape him. For thirty days

together, he laid waste the neighbourhood about Syracuse, and ruined the

whole country. He possessed himself of the suburb of Acradina, and

plundered the temples of Ceres and Proserpine. To fortify his camp, he

beat down the tombs which stood round the city; and, among others, that of

Gelon and his wife Demarata, which was prodigiously magnificent.

But these successes were not lasting. All the splendour of this

anticipated triumph vanished in a moment, and taught mankind, says the

historian,(626) that the proudest mortal, blasted sooner or later by a

superior power, shall be forced to confess his own weakness. Whilst

Imilcon, now master of almost all the cities of Sicily, expected to crown

his conquests by the reduction of Syracuse, a contagious distemper seized

his army, and made dreadful havoc in it. It was now the midst of summer,

and the heat that year was excessive. The infection began among the

Africans, multitudes of whom died, without any possibility of their being

relieved. At first, care was taken to inter the dead; but the number

increasing daily, and the infection spreading very fast, the dead lay

unburied, and the sick could have no assistance. This plague was attended

with very uncommon symptoms, such as violent dysenteries, raging fevers,

burning entrails, acute pains in every part of the body. The infected were

even seized with madness and fury, so that they would fall upon any

persons that came in their way, and tear them to pieces.

Dionysius did not suffer to escape so favourable an opportunity for

attacking the enemy. Being more than half conquered by the plague, they

made but a feeble resistance. The Carthaginian ships were almost all

either taken or burnt. The inhabitants in general of Syracuse, old men,

women, and children, came pouring out of the city to behold an event which

to them appeared miraculous. With hands lifted up to heaven, they thanked

the tutelar gods of their city, for having avenged the sanctity of the

temples and tombs, which had been so brutally violated by these

barbarians. Night coming on, both parties retired; when Imilcon, taking

the opportunity of this short suspension of hostilities, sent to

Dionysius, requesting leave to carry back with him the small remains of

his shattered army, with an offer of three hundred talents,(627) which was

all the specie he had then left. But this permission could only be

obtained for the Carthaginians, with whom Imilcon stole away in the night,

and left the rest to the mercy of the conqueror.

Such was the condition in which this Carthaginian general, who a few days

before had been so proud and haughty, retired from Syracuse. Bitterly

bewailing his own fate, and still more that of his country, he, with the

most insolent fury, accused the gods as the sole authors of his

misfortunes. “The enemy,” continued he, “may indeed rejoice at our misery,

but have no reason to glory in it. We return victorious over the

Syracusans, and are defeated by the plague alone.” His greatest subject of

grief, and that which most keenly distressed him, was his having survived

so many gallant soldiers, who had died in arms. “But,” added he, “the

sequel shall make it appear, whether it is through fear of death, or from

the desire of leading back to their native country the miserable remains

of my fellow-citizens, that I have survived the loss of so many brave

comrades.” And in fact, on his arrival at Carthage, which he found

overwhelmed with grief and despair, he entered his house, shut his doors

against the citizens, and even his own children; and then gave himself the

fatal stroke, in compliance with a practice to which the heathens falsely

gave the name of courage, though it was, in reality, no other than a

cowardly despair.

But the calamities of this unhappy city did not stop here; for the

Africans, who had ever borne an implacable hatred to the Carthaginians,

but were now exasperated to fury, because their countrymen had been left

behind, and exposed to the murdering sword of the Syracusans, assemble in

the most frantic manner, sound the alarm, take up arms, and, after seizing

upon Tunis, march directly to Carthage, to the number of more than two

hundred thousand men. The citizens now gave themselves up for lost. This

new incident was considered by them as the sad effect of the wrath of the

gods, which pursued the guilty wretches even to Carthage. As its

inhabitants, especially in all public calamities, carried their

superstition to the greatest excess, their first care was to appease the

offended gods. Ceres and Proserpine were deities who, till that time, had

never been heard of in Africa. But now, to atone for the outrage which had

been done them in the plundering of their temples, magnificent statues

were erected to their honour; priests were selected from among the most

distinguished families of the city; sacrifices and victims, according to

the Greek ritual, (if I may use that expression,) were offered up to them;

in a word, nothing was omitted which could be thought conducive in any

manner to appease and propitiate the angry goddesses. After this, the

defence of the city was the next object of their care. Happily for the

Carthaginians, this numerous army had no leader, but was like a body

uninformed with a soul; no provisions nor military engines; no discipline

nor subordination, was seen among them: every man setting himself up for a

general, or claiming an independence on the rest. Divisions therefore

arising in this rabble of an army, and the famine increasing daily, the

individuals of it withdrew to their respective homes, and delivered

Carthage from a dreadful alarm.

The Carthaginians were not discouraged by their late disaster, but

continued their enterprises on Sicily. Mago, their general, and one of the

Suffetes, lost a great battle, in which he was slain. The Carthaginian

chiefs demanded a peace, which was granted, on condition of their

evacuating all Sicily, and defraying the expenses of the war. They

pretended to accept the terms; but representing that it was not in their

power to deliver up the cities, without first obtaining an order from

their republic, they obtained so long a truce, as gave them time

sufficient for sending to Carthage. They took advantage of this interval,

to raise and discipline new troops, over which Mago, son of him who had

been lately killed, was appointed general. He was very young, but of great

abilities and reputation. As soon as he arrived in Sicily, at the

expiration of the truce, he gave Dionysius battle; in which Leptines,(628)

one of the generals of the latter, was killed, and upwards of fourteen

thousand Syracusans left dead in the field. By this victory the

Carthaginians obtained an honourable peace, which left them in the

possession of all they had in Sicily, with even the addition of some

strong-holds; besides a thousand talents,(629) which were paid to them

towards defraying the expenses of the war.

About this time a law was enacted at Carthage, by which its inhabitants

were forbid to learn to write or speak the Greek language;(630) in order

to deprive them of the means of corresponding with the enemy, either by

word of mouth, or in writing. This was occasioned by the treachery of a

Carthaginian, who had written in Greek to Dionysius, to give him advice of

the departure of the army from Carthage.

Carthage had, soon after, another calamity to struggle with.(631) The

plague spread in the city, and made terrible havoc. Panic terrors, and

violent fits of frenzy, seized on a sudden the unhappy sufferers; who

sallying, sword in hand, out of their houses, as if the enemy had taken

the city, killed or wounded all who came in their way. The Africans and

Sardinians would very willingly have taken this opportunity to shake off a

yoke which was so hateful to them; but both were subjected, and reduced to

their allegiance. Dionysius formed at this time an enterprise, in Sicily,

with the same views, which was equally unsuccessful. He died(632) some

time after, and was succeeded by his son of the same name.

We have already taken notice of the first treaty which the Carthaginians

concluded with the Romans. There was another, which, according to Orosius,

was concluded in the 402d year of the foundation of Rome, and consequently

about the time we are now speaking of. This second treaty was very near

the same with the first, except that the inhabitants of Tyre and Utica

were expressly comprehended in it, and joined with the Carthaginians.

(M103) After the death of the elder Dionysius, Syracuse was involved in

great troubles.(633) Dionysius the younger, who had been expelled,

restored himself by force of arms, and exercised great cruelties there.

One part of the citizens implored the aid of Icetes, tyrant of the

Leontines, and by descent a Syracusan. This seemed a very favourable

opportunity for the Carthaginians to seize upon all Sicily, and

accordingly they sent a mighty fleet thither. In this extremity, such of

the Syracusans as loved their country best, had recourse to the

Corinthians, who had often assisted them in their dangers; and were,

besides, of all the Grecian nations, the most professed enemies of

tyranny, and the most avowed and most generous assertors of liberty.

Accordingly, the Corinthians sent over Timoleon, a man of great merit, who

had signalized his zeal for the public welfare, by freeing his country

from tyranny, at the expense of his own family. He set sail with only ten

ships, and arriving at Rhegium, he eluded, by a happy stratagem, the

vigilance of the Carthaginians; who having been informed, by Icetes, of

his voyage and design, wanted to intercept him in his passage to Sicily.

Timoleon had scarce above a thousand soldiers under his command; and yet,

with this handful of men, he marched boldly to the relief of Syracuse. His

small army increased in proportion as he advanced. The Syracusans were now

in a desperate condition, and quite hopeless. They saw the Carthaginians

masters of the port; Icetes of the city; and Dionysius of the citadel.

Happily, on Timoleon’s arrival, Dionysius having no refuge left, put the

citadel into his hands, with all the forces, arms, and ammunition in it,

and escaped, by his assistance, to Corinth.(634) Timoleon had, by his

emissaries, artfully represented to the foreign soldiers, who (by that

error in the constitution of Carthage, which we have before taken notice

of) formed the principal strength of Mago’s army, and the greatest part of

whom were Greeks; that it was astonishing to see Greeks using their

endeavours to make barbarians masters of Sicily, from whence they, in a

very little time, would pass over into Greece. For could they imagine,

that the Carthaginians were come so far, with no other view than to

establish Icetes tyrant of Syracuse? Such discourses being spread among

Mago’s soldiers, gave this general very great uneasiness; and, as he

wanted only a pretence to retire, he was glad to have it believed, that

his forces were going to betray and desert him; and upon this, he sailed

with his fleet out of the harbour, and steered for Carthage. Icetes, after

his departure, could not hold out long against the Corinthians; so that

they now got entire possession of the whole city.

Mago, on his arrival at Carthage, was impeached, but he prevented the

execution of the sentence passed upon him, by a voluntary death. His body

was hung upon a gallows, and exposed as a public spectacle to the people.

New forces were levied at Carthage, and a greater and more powerful fleet

than the former was sent to Sicily.(635) It consisted of two hundred ships

of war, besides a thousand transports; and the army amounted to upwards of

seventy thousand men. They landed at Lilybæum, under the command of

Hamilcar and Hannibal, and resolved to attack the Corinthians first.

Timoleon did not wait for, but marched out to meet them. But such was the

consternation of Syracuse, that, of all the forces which were in that

city, only three thousand Syracusans and four thousand mercenaries

followed him; and even of these latter a thousand deserted upon the march,

through fear of the danger they were going to encounter. Timoleon,

however, was not discouraged; but exhorting the remainder of his forces to

exert themselves courageously for the safety and liberties of their

allies, he led them against the enemy, whose rendezvous he had been

informed was on the banks of the little river Crimisus. It appeared, at

the first reflection, madness to attack an army so numerous as that of the

enemy, with only four or five thousand foot, and a thousand horse; but

Timoleon, who knew that bravery, conducted by prudence, is superior to

number, relied on the courage of his soldiers, who seemed resolved to die

rather than yield, and with ardour demanded to be led against the enemy.

The event justified his views and hopes. A battle was fought; the

Carthaginians were routed, and upwards of ten thousand of them slain, full

three thousand of whom were Carthaginian citizens, which filled their city

with mourning and the greatest consternation. Their camp was taken, and

with it immense riches, and a great number of prisoners.

Timoleon, at the same time that he despatched the news of this victory to

Corinth, sent thither the finest arms found among the plunder.(636) For he

was desirous of having his city applauded and admired by all men, when

they should see that Corinth alone, among all the Grecian cities, adorned

its finest temples, not with the spoils of Greece, and offerings dyed in

the blood of its citizens, the sight of which could tend only to preserve

the sad remembrance of their losses, but with those of barbarians, which,

by fine inscriptions, displayed at once the courage and religious

gratitude of those who had won them. For these inscriptions imported,

“That the Corinthians, and Timoleon their general, after having freed the

Greeks, settled in Sicily, from the Carthaginian yoke, had hung up these

arms in their temples, as an eternal acknowledgment of the favour and

goodness of the gods.”

After this, Timoleon, leaving the mercenary troops in the Carthaginian

territories to waste and destroy them, returned to Syracuse. On his

arrival there, he banished the thousand soldiers who had deserted him; and

took no other revenge than the commanding them to leave Syracuse before

sun-set.

This victory gained by the Corinthians was followed by the capture of a

great many cities, which obliged the Carthaginians to sue for peace.

In proportion as the appearance of success made the Carthaginians

vigorously exert themselves to raise powerful armies both by land and sea,

and prosperity led them to make an insolent and cruel use of victory; so

their courage would sink in unforeseen adversities, their hopes of new

resources vanish, and their grovelling souls condescend to ask quarter of

the most inconsiderable enemy, and without sense of shame accept the

hardest and most mortifying conditions. Those now imposed were, that they

should possess only the lands lying beyond the river Halycus;(637) that

they should give all the natives free liberty to retire to Syracuse with

their families and effects; and that they should neither continue in the

alliance, nor hold any correspondence with the tyrants of that city.

About this time, in all probability, there happened at Carthage a

memorable incident, related by Justin.(638) Hanno, one of its most

powerful citizens, formed a design of seizing upon the republic, by

destroying the whole senate. He chose, for the execution of this bloody

plan, the day on which his daughter was to be married, on which occasion

he designed to invite the senators to an entertainment, and there poison

them all. The conspiracy was discovered; but Hanno had such influence,

that the government did not dare to punish so execrable a crime; the

magistrates contented themselves with only preventing it, by an order

which forbade, in general, too great a magnificence at weddings, and

limited the expense on those occasions. Hanno, seeing his stratagem

defeated, resolved to employ open force, and for that purpose armed all

the slaves. However, he was again discovered; and, to escape punishment,

retired, with twenty thousand armed slaves, to a castle that was very

strongly fortified, and there endeavoured, but without success, to engage

in his rebellion the Africans and the king of Mauritania. He afterwards

was taken prisoner, and carried to Carthage; where, after being whipped,

his eyes were put out, his arms and thighs broken; he was put to death in

presence of the people, and his body, all torn with stripes, was hung on a

gibbet. His children and all his relations, though they had not joined in

his guilt, shared in his punishment. They were all sentenced to die, in

order that not a single person of his family might be left, either to

imitate his crime, or revenge his death. Such was the temper of the

Carthaginians; ever severe and violent in their punishments, they carried

them to the extremes of rigour, and made them extend even to the innocent,

without showing the least regard to equity, moderation, or gratitude.

I come now to the wars sustained by the Carthaginians, in Africa itself as

well as in Sicily, against Agathocles, which exercised their arms during

several years.(639)

(M104) This Agathocles was a Sicilian, of obscure birth and low

fortune.(640) Supported at first by the forces of the Carthaginians, he

had invaded the sovereignty of Syracuse, and made himself tyrant over it.

In the infancy of his power, the Carthaginians kept him within bounds; and

Hamilcar, their chief, forced him to agree to a treaty, which restored

tranquillity to Sicily. But he soon infringed the articles of it, and

declared war against the Carthaginians themselves; who, under the conduct

of Hamilcar, obtained a signal victory over him,(641) and forced him to

shut himself up in Syracuse. The Carthaginians pursued him thither, and

laid siege to that important city, the capture of which would have given

them possession of all Sicily.

Agathocles, whose forces were greatly inferior to theirs, and who moreover

saw himself deserted by all his allies, from their detestation of his

horrid cruelties, meditated a design of so daring, and, to all appearance,

so impracticable a nature, that, even after being happily carried into

execution, it yet appears almost incredible. This design was no less than

to make Africa the seat of war, and to besiege Carthage, at a time when he

could neither defend himself in Sicily, nor sustain the siege of Syracuse.

His profound secresy in the execution is as astonishing as the design

itself. He communicated his thoughts on this affair to no person

whatsoever, but contented himself with declaring, that he had found out an

infallible way to free the Syracusans from the danger that surrounded

them; that they had only to endure with patience, for a short time, the

inconveniences of a siege; but that those who could not bring themselves

to this resolution, might freely depart the city. Only sixteen hundred

persons quitted it. He left his brother Antander there, with forces and

provisions sufficient for him to make a stout defence. He set at liberty

all slaves who were of age to bear arms, and, after obliging them to take

an oath, joined them to his forces. He carried with him only fifty

talents,(642) to supply his present wants, well assured that he should

find in the enemy’s country whatever was necessary to his subsistence. He

therefore set sail with two of his sons, Archagathus and Heraclides,

without letting any one person know whither he intended to direct his

course. All who were on board his fleet believed that they were to be

conducted either to Italy or Sardinia, in order to plunder those

countries, or to lay waste those coasts of Sicily which belonged to the

enemy. The Carthaginians, surprised at so unexpected a departure,

endeavoured to prevent it; but Agathocles eluded their pursuit, and made

for the main ocean.

He did not discover his design till he had landed in Africa. There,

assembling his troops, he told them, in few words, the motives which had

prompted him to this expedition. He represented, that the only way to free

their country, was to carry the war into the territories of their enemies:

that he led them who were enured to war, and of intrepid dispositions,

against a parcel of enemies who were softened and enervated by ease and

luxury: that the natives of the country, oppressed with the yoke of a

servitude equally cruel and ignominious, would run in crowds to join them

on the first news of their arrival: that the boldness of their attempt

would alone disconcert the Carthaginians, who had no expectation of seeing

an enemy at their gates: in short, that no enterprise could possibly be

more advantageous or honourable than this; since the whole wealth of

Carthage would become the prey of the victors, whose courage would be

praised and admired by latest posterity. The soldiers fancied themselves

already masters of Carthage, and received his speech with applauses and

acclamations. One circumstance alone gave them uneasiness, and that was an

eclipse of the sun, which happened just as they were setting sail. In

these ages, even the most civilized nations understood very little the

reason of these extraordinary phenomena of nature; and used to draw from

them (by their soothsayers) superstitious and arbitrary conjectures, which

frequently would either suspend or hasten the more important enterprises.

However, Agathocles revived the drooping courage of his soldiers, by

assuring them that these eclipses always foretold some instant change:

that, therefore, good fortune was taking its leave of Carthage, and coming

over to them.

Finding his soldiers in the good disposition he wished them, he executed,

almost at the same time, a second enterprise, which was even more daring

and hazardous than his first, of carrying them over into Africa; and this

was the burning every ship in his fleet. Many reasons determined him to so

desperate an action. He had not one good harbour in Africa where his ships

could lie in safety. As the Carthaginians were masters of the sea, they

would not have failed to possess themselves immediately of his fleet,

which was incapable of making the least resistance. In case he had left as

many hands as were necessary to defend it, he would have weakened his

army, (which was inconsiderable at the best,) and put it out of his power

to gain any advantage from this unexpected diversion, the success of which

depended entirely on the swiftness and vigour of the execution. Lastly, he

was desirous of putting his soldiers under a necessity of conquering, by

leaving them no other refuge than victory. Much courage was necessary to

adopt such a resolution. He had already prepared all his officers, who

were entirely devoted to his service, and received every impression he

gave them. He then came suddenly into the assembly with a crown upon his

head, dressed in a magnificent habit, and with the air and behaviour of a

man who was going to perform some religious ceremony, and addressing

himself to the assembly: “When we,” says he, “left Syracuse, and were

warmly pursued by the enemy; in this fatal necessity I addressed myself to

Ceres and Proserpine, the tutelar divinities of Sicily; and promised, that

if they would free us from this imminent danger, I would burn all our

ships in their honour, at our first landing here. Aid me therefore, O

soldiers, to discharge my vow; for the goddesses can easily make us amends

for this sacrifice.” At the same time, taking a flambeau in his hand, he

hastily led the way on board his own ship, and set it on fire. All the

officers did the like, and were cheerfully followed by the soldiers. The

trumpets sounded from every quarter, and the whole army echoed with joyful

shouts and acclamations. The fleet was soon consumed. The soldiers had not

been allowed time to reflect on the proposal made to them. They all had

been hurried on by a blind and impetuous ardour; but when they had a

little recovered their reason, and, surveying in their minds the vast

extent of ocean which separated them from their own country, saw

themselves in that of the enemy without the least resource, or any means

of escaping out of it; a sad and melancholy silence succeeded the

transport of joy and acclamations, which, but a moment before, had been so

general in the army.

Here again Agathocles left no time for reflection. He marched his army

towards a place called the Great City, which was part of the domain of

Carthage. The country through which they marched to this place, afforded

the most delicious and agreeable prospect in the world. On either side

were seen large meads, watered by beautiful streams, and covered with

innumerable flocks of all kinds of cattle; country seats built with

extraordinary magnificence; delightful avenues planted with olive and all

sorts of fruit trees; gardens of a prodigious extent, and kept with a care

and elegance which delighted the eye. This prospect reanimated the

soldiers. They marched full of courage to the Great City, which they took

sword in hand, and enriched themselves with the plunder of it, which was

entirely abandoned to them. Tunis made as little resistance; and this

place was not far distant from Carthage.

The Carthaginians were in prodigious alarm when it was known that the

enemy was in the country, advancing by hasty marches. This arrival of

Agathocles made the Carthaginians conclude, that their army before

Syracuse had been defeated, and their fleet lost. The people ran in

disorder to the great square of the city, whilst the senate assembled in

haste and in a tumultuous manner. Immediately they deliberated on the

means for preserving the city. They had no army in readiness to oppose the

enemy; and their imminent danger did not permit them to wait the arrival

of those forces which might be raised in the country and among the allies.

It was therefore resolved, after several different opinions had been

heard, to arm the citizens. The number of the forces thus levied, amounted

to forty thousand foot, a thousand horse, and two thousand armed chariots.

Hanno and Bomilcar, though divided betwixt themselves by some family

quarrels, were however joined in the command of these troops. They marched

immediately to meet the enemy; and, on sight of them, drew up their forces

in order of battle. Agathocles(643) had, at most, but thirteen or fourteen

thousand men. The signal was given, and an obstinate fight ensued. Hanno,

with his sacred cohort, (the flower of the Carthaginian forces,) long

sustained the fury of the Greeks, and sometimes even broke their ranks;

but at last, overwhelmed with a shower of stones, and covered with wounds,

he fell dead on the field. Bomilcar might have changed the face of things;

but he had private and personal reasons not to obtain a victory for his

country. He therefore thought proper to retire with the forces under his

command, and was followed by the whole army, which, by that means, was

forced to leave the field to Agathocles. After pursuing the enemy some

time, he returned, and plundered the Carthaginian camp. Twenty thousand

pair of manacles were found in it, with which the Carthaginians had

furnished themselves, in the firm persuasion of their taking many

prisoners. The result of this victory was the capture of a great number of

strong-holds, and the defection of many of the natives of the country, who

joined the victor.

This descent of Agathocles into Africa, doubtless gave birth to Scipio’s

design of making a like attempt upon the same republic, and from the same

place.(644) Wherefore, in his answer to Fabius, who ascribed to temerity

his design of making Africa the seat of the war, he forgot not to mention

the example of Agathocles, as an instance in favour of his enterprise; and

to show, that frequently there is no other way to get rid of an enemy who

presses too closely upon us, than by carrying the war into his own

country; and that men are much more courageous when they act upon the

offensive, than when they stand only upon the defensive.

While the Carthaginians were thus warmly attacked by their enemies,

ambassadors arrived to them from Tyre.(645) They came to implore their

succour against Alexander the Great, who was upon the point of taking

their city, which he had long besieged. The extremity to which their

countrymen (for so they called them) were reduced, touched the

Carthaginians as sensibly as their own danger. Though they were unable to

relieve, they at least thought it their duty to comfort them; and deputed

thirty of their principal citizens to express their grief that they could

not spare them any troops, because of the present melancholy situation of

their own affairs. The Tyrians, though disappointed of the only hope they

had left, did not however despond; they committed their wives,

children,(646) and old men, to the care of these deputies; and thus, being

delivered from all inquietude, with regard to persons who were dearer to

them than any thing in the world, they thought alone of making a resolute

defence, prepared for the worst that might happen. Carthage received this

afflicted company with all possible marks of amity, and paid to guests who

were so dear and worthy of compassion, all the services which they could

have expected from the most affectionate and tender parents.

Quintus Curtius places this embassy from Tyre to the Carthaginians at the

same time that the Syracusans were ravaging Africa, and had advanced to

the very gates of Carthage. But the expedition of Agathocles against

Africa cannot agree in time with the siege of Tyre, which was more than

twenty years before it.

At the same time, Carthage was solicitous how to extricate itself from the

difficulties with which it was surrounded. The present unhappy state of

the republic was considered as the effect of the wrath of the gods: and it

was acknowledged to be justly deserved, particularly with regard to two

deities, towards whom the Carthaginians had been remiss in the discharge

of certain duties prescribed by their religion, and which had once been

observed with great exactness. It was a custom (coeval with the city

itself) at Carthage, to send annually to Tyre (the mother city) the tenth

of all the revenues of the republic, as an offering to Hercules, the

patron and protector of both cities. The domain, and consequently the

revenues of Carthage, having increased considerably, the portion, on the

contrary, of the god, had been lessened; and they were far from remitting

the whole tenth to him. They were seized with a scruple on this point:

they made an open and public confession of their insincerity and

sacrilegious avarice; and, to expiate their guilt, they sent to Tyre a

great number of presents, and small shrines of their deities all of gold,

which amounted to a prodigious value.

Another violation of religion, which to their inhuman superstition seemed

as flagrant as the former, gave them no less uneasiness. Anciently,

children of the best families in Carthage used to be sacrificed to Saturn.

They now reproached themselves with having failed to pay to the god the

honours which they thought were due to him; and with having used fraud and

dishonest dealing towards him, by having substituted, in their sacrifices,

children of slaves or beggars, bought for that purpose, in the room of

those nobly born. To expiate the guilt of so horrid an impiety, a

sacrifice was made to this blood-thirsty god, of two hundred children of

the first rank; and upwards of three hundred persons, through a sense of

this terrible neglect, offered themselves voluntarily as victims, to

pacify, by the effusion of their blood, the wrath of the gods.

After these expiations, expresses were despatched to Hamilcar in Sicily,

with the news of what had happened in Africa, and, at the same time, to

request immediate succours. He commanded the deputies to observe the

strictest silence on the subject of the victory of Agathocles; and spread

a contrary report, that he had been entirely defeated, his forces all cut

off, and his whole fleet taken by the Carthaginians; and, in confirmation

of this report, he showed the irons of the vessels pretended to be taken,

which had been carefully sent to him. The truth of this report was not at

all doubted in Syracuse; the majority were for capitulating;(647) when a

galley of thirty oars, built in haste by Agathocles, arrived in the port;

and through great difficulties and dangers forced its way to the besieged.

The news of Agathocles’s victory immediately flew through the city, and

restored alacrity and resolution to the inhabitants. Hamilcar made a last

effort to storm the city, but was beaten off with loss. He then raised the

siege, and sent five thousand men to the relief of his distressed country.

Some time after,(648) having resumed the siege, and hoping to surprise the

Syracusans by attacking them in the night, his design was discovered; and

falling alive into the enemy’s hands, he was put to death with the most

exquisite tortures.(649) Hamilcar’s head was sent immediately to

Agathocles, who, advancing to the enemy’s camp, threw it into a general

consternation, by displaying to them the head of this general, which

manifested the melancholy situation of their affairs in Sicily.

To these foreign enemies was joined a domestic one, which was more to be

feared, as being more dangerous than the others;(650) this was Bomilcar

their general, who was then in possession of the first post in Carthage.

He had long meditated the establishment of himself as tyrant at Carthage,

and attaining the sovereign authority there; and imagined that the present

troubles offered him the wished-for opportunity. He therefore entered the

city, and being seconded by a small number of citizens, who were the

accomplices of his rebellion, and a body of foreign soldiers, he

proclaimed himself tyrant; and showed himself literally such, by cutting

the throats of all the citizens whom he met with in the streets. A tumult

arising immediately in the city, it was at first thought that the enemy

had taken it by some treachery; but when it was known that Bomilcar caused

all this disturbance, the young men took up arms to repel the tyrant, and

from the tops of the houses discharged whole volleys of darts and stones

upon the heads of his soldiers. When he saw an army marching in order

against him, he retired with his troops to an eminence, with design to

make a vigorous defence, and to sell his life as dear as possible. To

spare the blood of the citizens, a general pardon was proclaimed for all

without exception who would lay down their arms. They surrendered upon

this proclamation, and all enjoyed the benefit of it, Bomilcar their chief

excepted: for the Carthaginians, without regarding their oath, condemned

him to death, and fastened him to a cross, where he suffered the most

exquisite torments. From the cross, as from a rostrum, he harangued the

people; and thought himself justly entitled to reproach them for their

injustice, their ingratitude, and perfidy, which he did by enumerating

many illustrious generals, whose services they had rewarded with an

ignominious death. He expired on the cross whilst uttering these

reproaches.(651)

Agathocles had won over to his interest a powerful king of Cyrene,(652)

named Ophellas, whose ambition he had flattered with the most splendid

hopes, by leading him to understand, that, contenting himself with Sicily,

he would leave to Ophellas the empire of Africa. But, as Agathocles did

not scruple to commit the most horrid crimes when he thought them

conducive to his interest, the credulous prince had no sooner put himself

and his army in his power, than, by the blackest perfidy, he caused him to

be murdered, in order that Ophellas’s army might be entirely at his

devotion. Many nations were now joined in alliance with Agathocles, and

several strongholds were garrisoned by his forces. As he now saw the

affairs of Africa in a flourishing condition, he thought it proper to look

after those of Sicily; accordingly he sailed back thither, having left the

command of the army to his son Archagathus. His renown, and the report of

his victories, flew before him. On the news of his arrival in Sicily many

towns revolted to him; but bad news soon recalled him to Africa. His

absence had quite changed the face of things; and all his endeavours were

incapable of restoring them to their former condition. All his

strong-holds had surrendered to the enemy; the Africans had deserted him;

some of his troops were lost, and the remainder were unable to make head

against the Carthaginians; he had no way to transport them into Sicily, as

he was destitute of ships, and the enemy were masters at sea: he could not

hope for either peace or treaty with the barbarians, since he had insulted

them in so outrageous a manner, by his being the first who had dared to

make a descent in their country. In this extremity, he thought only of

providing for his own safety. After many adventures, this base deserter of

his army, and perfidious betrayer of his own children, who were left by

him to the wild fury of his disappointed soldiers, stole away from the

dangers which threatened him, and arrived at Syracuse with very few

followers. His soldiers, seeing themselves thus betrayed, murdered his

sons, and surrendered to the enemy. Himself died miserably soon after, and

ended, by a cruel death,(653) a life that had been polluted with the

blackest crimes.

In this period may be placed another incident related by Justin.(654) The

fame of Alexander’s conquests made the Carthaginians fear, that he might

think of turning his arms towards Africa. The disastrous fate of Tyre,

whence they drew their origin, and which he had so lately destroyed; the

building of Alexandria upon the confines of Africa and Egypt, as if he

intended it as a rival city to Carthage; the uninterrupted successes of

that prince, whose ambition and good fortune were boundless; all this

justly alarmed the Carthaginians. To sound his inclinations, Hamilcar,

surnamed Rhodanus, pretending to have been driven from his country by the

cabals of his enemies, went over to the camp of Alexander, to whom he was

introduced by Parmenio, and offered him his services. The king received

him graciously, and had several conferences with him. Hamilcar did not

fail to transmit to his country whatever discoveries he made from time to

time of Alexander’s designs. Nevertheless, on his return to Carthage,

after Alexander’s death, he was considered as a betrayer of his country to

that prince; and accordingly was put to death, by a sentence which

displayed equally the ingratitude and cruelty of his countrymen.

(M105) I am now to speak of the wars of the Carthaginians in Sicily, in

the time of Pyrrhus, king of Epirus.(655) The Romans, to whom the designs

of that ambitious prince were not unknown, in order to strengthen

themselves against any attempts he might make upon Italy, had renewed

their treaties with the Carthaginians, who, on their side, were no less

afraid of his crossing into Sicily. To the articles of the preceding

treaties, there was added an engagement of mutual assistance, in case

either of the contracting powers should be attacked by Pyrrhus.

The foresight of the Romans was well founded: Pyrrhus turned his arms

against Italy, and gained many victories.(656) The Carthaginians, in

consequence of the last treaty, thought themselves obliged to assist the

Romans; and accordingly sent them a fleet of six-score sail, under the

command of Mago. This general, in an audience before the senate, signified

to them the interest which his superiors took in the war which they heard

was carrying on against the Romans, and offered them their assistance. The

senate returned thanks for the obliging offer of the Carthaginians, but at

present thought fit to decline it.

Mago,(657) some days after, repaired to Pyrrhus, upon pretence of offering

the mediation of Carthage for terminating his quarrel with the Romans; but

in reality to sound him, and discover, if possible, his designs with

regard to Sicily, which common fame reported he was going to invade. The

Carthaginians were afraid that either Pyrrhus or the Romans would

interfere in the affairs of that island, and transport forces thither for

the conquest of it. And, indeed, the Syracusans, who had been besieged for

some time by the Carthaginians, had sent pressingly for succour to

Pyrrhus. This prince had a particular reason to espouse their interests,

having married Lanassa, daughter of Agathocles, by whom he had a son named

Alexander. He at last sailed from Tarentum, passed the Strait, and arrived

in Sicily. His conquests at first were so rapid, that he left the

Carthaginians, in the whole island, only the single town of Lilybæum. He

laid siege to it, but meeting with a vigorous resistance, was obliged to

raise the siege; not to mention that the urgent necessity of his affairs

called him back to Italy, where his presence was absolutely necessary. Nor

was it less so in Sicily, which, on his departure, returned to the

obedience of its former masters. Thus he lost this island with the same

rapidity that he had won it. As he was embarking, he turned his eyes back

to Sicily, and exclaimed to those about him,(658) “What a fine field of

battle(659) do we leave the Carthaginians and Romans!” His prediction was

soon verified.

After his departure, the chief magistracy of Syracuse was conferred on

Hiero, who afterwards obtained the name and dignity of king, by the united

suffrages of the citizens; so greatly had his government pleased. He was

appointed to carry on the war against the Carthaginians, and obtained

several advantages over them. But now a common interest reunited them

against a new enemy, who began to appear in Sicily, and justly alarmed

both: these were the Romans, who, having crushed all the enemies which had

hitherto exercised their arms in Italy itself, were now powerful enough to

carry them out of it; and to lay the foundation of that vast power there

to which they afterwards attained, and of which it was probable they had

even then formed the design. Sicily lay too commodious for them, not to

form a resolution of establishing themselves in it. They therefore eagerly

snatched this opportunity for crossing into it, which caused the rupture

between them and the Carthaginians, and gave rise to the first Punic war.

This I shall treat of more at large, by relating the causes of that war.

Chapter II. The History of Carthage from the first Punic War to its

destruction.

The plan which I have laid down does not allow me to enter into an exact

detail of the wars between Rome and Carthage; since that pertains rather

to the Roman history, which I do not intend to touch upon, except

transiently and occasionally. I shall therefore relate such facts only as

may give the reader a just idea of the republic whose history lies before

me; by confining myself to those particulars which relate chiefly to the

Carthaginians, and to their most important transactions in Sicily, Spain,

and Africa: a subject in itself sufficiently extensive.

I have already observed, that from the first Punic war to the ruin of

Carthage, a hundred and eighteen years elapsed. This whole time may be

divided into five parts or intervals.

I. The first Punic war lasted twenty-four years.

II. The interval betwixt the first and second Punic war is also

twenty-four years.

III. The second Punic war took up seventeen years.

IV. The interval between the second and third is forty-nine years.

V. The third Punic war, terminated by the destruction of Carthage,

continued but four years and some months.

Total: 118 years.

(M106) ARTICLE I. THE FIRST PUNIC WAR.—The first Punic war arose from the

following cause. Some Campanian soldiers, in the service of Agathocles,

the Sicilian tyrant, having entered as friends into Messina, soon after

murdered part of the townsmen, drove out the rest, married their wives,

seized their effects, and remained sole masters of that important

city.(660) They then assumed the name of Mamertines. In imitation of them,

and by their assistance, a Roman legion treated in the same cruel manner

the city of Rhegium, lying directly opposite to Messina, on the other side

of the strait. These two perfidious cities, supporting one another,

rendered themselves at length formidable to their neighbours; and

especially Messina, which became very powerful, and gave great umbrage and

uneasiness both to the Syracusans and Carthaginians, who possessed one

part of Sicily. As soon as the Romans had got rid of the enemies they had

so long contended with, and particularly of Pyrrhus, they began to think

of punishing the crime of their citizens, who had settled themselves at

Rhegium, in so cruel and treacherous a manner, nearly ten years before.

Accordingly, they took the city, and killed, in the attack, the greatest

part of the inhabitants, who, instigated by despair, had fought to the

last gasp: three hundred only were left, who were carried to Rome,

whipped, and then publicly beheaded in the forum. The view which the

Romans had in making this bloody execution, was, to prove to their allies

their own sincerity and innocence. Rhegium was immediately restored to its

lawful possessors. The Mamertines, who were considerably weakened, as well

by the ruin of their confederate city, as by the losses which they had

sustained from the Syracusans, who had lately placed Hiero at their head,

thought it time to provide for their own safety. But divisions arising

among them, one part surrendered the citadel to the Carthaginians, whilst

the other called in the Romans to their assistance, and resolved to put

them in possession of their city.

The affair was debated in the Roman senate, where, being considered in all

its lights, it appeared to have some difficulties.(661) On one hand, it

was thought base, and altogether unworthy of the Roman virtue, for them to

undertake openly the defence of traitors, whose perfidy was exactly the

same with that of the Rhegians, whom the Romans had recently punished with

so exemplary a severity. On the other hand, it was of the utmost

consequence to stop the progress of the Carthaginians, who, not satisfied

with their conquests in Africa and Spain, had also made themselves masters

of almost all the islands of the Sardinian and Hetrurian seas; and would

certainly get all Sicily into their hands, if they should be suffered to

possess themselves of Messina. From thence into Italy, the passage was

very short; and it was in some manner to invite an enemy to come over, to

leave the entrance open. These reasons, though so strong, could not

prevail with the senate to declare in favour of the Mamertines; and

accordingly, motives of honour and justice prevailed in this instance over

those of interest and policy. (M107) But the people were not so

scrupulous; for, in an assembly held on this subject, it was resolved that

the Mamertines should be assisted.(662) The consul Appius Claudius

immediately set forward with his army, and boldly crossed the strait,

after he had, by an ingenious stratagem, eluded the vigilance of the

Carthaginian general. The Carthaginians, partly by art and partly by

force, were driven out of the citadel; and the city was surrendered

immediately to the consul. The Carthaginians hanged their general, for

having given up the citadel in so cowardly a manner, and prepared to

besiege the town with all their forces. Hiero joined them with his own.

But the consul, having defeated them separately, raised the siege, and

laid waste at pleasure the neighbouring country, the enemy not daring to

face him. This was the first expedition which the Romans made out of

Italy.

It is doubted(663) whether the motives which prompted the Romans to

undertake this expedition, were very upright, and exactly conformable to

the rules of strict justice. Be this as it may, their passage into Sicily,

and the succour they gave to the inhabitants of Messina, may be said to

have been the first step by which they ascended to that height of glory

and grandeur which they afterwards attained.

(M108) Hiero, having reconciled himself to the Romans, and entered into an

alliance with them, the Carthaginians bent all their thoughts on Sicily,

and sent numerous armies thither.(664) Agrigentum was their place of arms;

which, being attacked by the Romans, was won by them, after they had

besieged it seven months, and gained one battle.

Notwithstanding the advantage of this victory, and the conquest of so

important a city, the Romans were sensible, that whilst the Carthaginians

should continue masters at sea, the maritime places in the island would

always side with them, and put it out of their power ever to drive them

out of Sicily.(665) Besides, they saw with reluctance Africa enjoy a

profound tranquillity, at a time that Italy was infested by the frequent

incursions of its enemies. They now first formed the design of having a

fleet, and of disputing the empire of the sea with the Carthaginians. The

undertaking was bold, and in outward appearance rash; but it evinces the

courage and magnanimity of the Romans. They were not at that time

possessed of a single vessel which they could call their own; and the

ships which had transported their forces into Sicily had been borrowed of

their neighbours. They were unexperienced in sea affairs, had no

carpenters acquainted with the building of ships, and did not know even

the shape of the Quinqueremes, or galleys with five benches of oars, in

which the chief strength of fleets at that time consisted. But happily,

the year before, one had been taken upon the coasts of Italy, which served

them as a model. They therefore applied themselves with incredible

industry and ardour to the building of ships in the same form; and in the

mean time they got together a set of rowers, who were taught an exercise

and discipline utterly unknown to them before, in the following manner.

Benches were made, on the shore, in the same order and fashion with those

of galleys. The rowers were seated on these benches, and taught, as if

they had been furnished with oars, to throw themselves backwards with

their arms drawn to their breasts; and then to throw their bodies and arms

forward in one regular motion, the instant their commanding officer gave

the signal. In two months, one hundred galleys of five benches of oars,

and twenty of three benches, were built; and after some time had been

spent in exercising the rowers on shipboard, the fleet put to sea, and

went in quest of the enemy. The consul Duillius had the command of it.

(M109) The Romans coming up with the Carthaginians near the coast of Myle,

they prepared for an engagement.(666) As the Roman galleys, by their being

clumsily and hastily built, were neither very nimble nor easy to work;

this inconvenience was supplied by a machine invented for this occasion,

and afterwards known by the name of the Corvus,(667) (_Crow_, or _Crane_,)

by the help of which they grappled the enemy’s ships, boarded them, and

immediately came to close engagement. The signal for fighting was given.

The Carthaginian fleet consisted of a hundred and thirty sail, under the

command of Hannibal.(668) He himself was on board a galley of seven

benches of oars, which had once belonged to Pyrrhus. The Carthaginians,

thoroughly despising enemies who were utterly unacquainted with sea

affairs, imagined that their very appearance would put them to flight, and

therefore came forward boldly, with little expectation of fighting; but

firmly imagining they should reap the spoils, which they had already

devoured with their eyes. They were nevertheless a little surprised at the

sight of the above-mentioned engines, raised on the prow of every one of

the enemy’s ships, and which were entirely new to them. But their

astonishment increased, when they saw these engines drop down at once; and

being thrown forcibly into their vessels, grapple them in spite of all

resistance. This changed the form of the engagement, and obliged the

Carthaginians to come to close engagement with their enemies, as though

they had fought them on land. They were unable to sustain the attack of

the Romans: a horrible slaughter ensued, and the Carthaginians lost

fourscore vessels, among which was the admiral’s galley, he himself

escaping with difficulty in a small boat.

So considerable and unexpected a victory raised the courage of the Romans,

and seemed to redouble their vigour for the continuance of the war.

Extraordinary honours were bestowed on the consul Duillius, who was the

first Roman that had a naval triumph decreed him. A rostral pillar was

erected in his honour, with a noble inscription; which pillar is yet

standing in Rome.(669)

During the two following years, the Romans grew still stronger at sea, by

their success in several engagements.(670) But these were considered by

them only as essays preparatory to the great design they meditated of

carrying the war into Africa, and of combating the Carthaginians in their

own country. There was nothing the latter dreaded more; and to divert so

dangerous a blow, they resolved to fight the enemy, whatever might be the

consequence.

(M110) The Romans had elected M. Atilius Regulus, and L. Manlius, consuls

for this year.(671) Their fleet consisted of three hundred and thirty

vessels, on board of which were one hundred and forty thousand men, each

vessel having three hundred rowers, and a hundred and twenty soldiers.

That of the Carthaginians, commanded by Hanno and Hamilcar, had twenty

vessels more than the Romans, and a greater number of men in proportion.

The two fleets came in sight of each other near Ecnomus in Sicily. No man

could behold two such formidable navies, or be a spectator of the

extraordinary preparations they made for fighting, without being under

some concern, on seeing the danger which menaced two of the most powerful

states in the world. As the courage on both sides was equal, and no great

disparity in the forces, the fight was obstinate, and the victory long

doubtful; but at last the Carthaginians were overcome. More than sixty of

their ships were taken by the enemy, and thirty sunk. The Romans lost

twenty-four, not one of which fell into the enemy’s hands.

The fruit of this victory, as the Romans had designed it, was their

sailing to Africa, after having refitted their ships, and provided them

with all necessaries for carrying on a long war in a foreign country.(672)

They landed happily in Africa, and began the war by taking a town called

Clypea, which had a commodious haven. From thence, after having sent an

express to Rome, to give advice of their landing, and to receive orders

from the senate, they overran the open country, in which they made

terrible havoc; bringing away whole flocks of cattle, and twenty thousand

prisoners.

(M111) The express returned in the mean time with the orders of the

senate, who decreed, that Regulus should continue to command the armies in

Africa, with the title of Proconsul; and that his colleague should return

with a great part of the fleet and the forces; leaving Regulus only forty

vessels, fifteen thousand foot, and five hundred horse. Their leaving the

latter with so few ships and troops, was a visible renunciation of the

advantages which might have been expected from this descent upon Africa.

The people at Rome depended greatly on the courage and abilities of

Regulus; and the joy was universal, when it was known that he was

continued in the command in Africa; he alone was afflicted on that

account.(673) When news was brought him of it, he wrote to Rome, and

desired, in the strongest terms, that he might be appointed a successor.

His chief reason was, that the death of the farmer who rented his grounds,

having given one of his hirelings an opportunity of carrying off all the

implements of tillage, his presence was necessary for taking care of his

little spot of ground, (but seven acres,) which was all his family

subsisted upon. But the senate undertook to have his lands cultivated at

the public expense; to maintain his wife and children; and to indemnify

him for the loss he had sustained by the robbery of his hireling. Thrice

happy age! in which poverty was thus had in honour, and was united with

the most rare and uncommon merit, and the highest employments of the

state! Regulus thus freed from his domestic cares, bent his whole thoughts

on discharging the duty of a general.

After taking several castles, he laid siege to Adis one of the strongest

fortresses of the country.(674) The Carthaginians, exasperated at seeing

their enemies thus laying waste their lands at pleasure, at last took the

field, and marched against them, to force them to raise the siege. With

this view, they posted themselves on a hill, which overlooked the Roman

camp, and was convenient for annoying the enemy; but, at the same time, by

its situation, rendered one part of their army useless. For the strength

of the Carthaginians lay chiefly in their horses and elephants, which are

of no service but in plains. Regulus did not give them an opportunity of

descending from the hill; but, in order to take advantage of this

essential mistake of the Carthaginian generals, fell upon them in this

post; and after meeting with a feeble resistance, put the enemy to flight,

plundered their camp, and laid waste the adjacent country. Then, having

taken Tunis,(675) an important city, and which brought him near Carthage,

he made his army encamp there.

The enemy were in the utmost alarm. All things had succeeded ill with

them, their forces had been defeated by sea and land, and upwards of two

hundred towns had surrendered to the conqueror. Besides, the Numidians

made greater havoc in their territories than even the Romans. They

expected every moment to see their capital besieged. And their affliction

was increased by the concourse of peasants with their wives and children,

who flocked from all parts to Carthage for safety: which gave them

melancholy apprehensions of a famine in case of a siege. Regulus, afraid

of having the glory of his victories torn from him by a successor, made

some proposal of an accommodation to the vanquished enemy; but the

conditions appeared so hard, that they could not listen to them. As he did

not doubt his being soon master of Carthage, he would not abate any thing

in his demands; but, by an infatuation which is almost inseparable from

great and unexpected success, he treated them with haughtiness; and

pretended, that every thing he suffered them to possess, ought to be

esteemed a favour; adding this farther insult, “That they ought either to

overcome like brave men, or learn to submit to the victor.”(676) So harsh

and disdainful a treatment only fired their resentment; and they resolved

rather to die sword in hand, than to do any thing which might derogate

from the dignity of Carthage.

Reduced to this fatal extremity, they received, in the happiest juncture,

a reinforcement of auxiliary troops out of Greece, with Xanthippus the

Lacedæmonian at their head, who had been educated in the discipline of

Sparta, and learnt the art of war in that renowned and excellent school.

When he had heard the circumstances of the last battle, which were told

him at his request; had clearly discerned the occasion of its being lost;

and perfectly informed himself in what the strength of Carthage consisted;

he declared publicly, and repeated it often, in the hearing of the rest of

the officers, that the misfortunes of the Carthaginians were owing

entirely to the incapacity of their generals. These discourses came at

last to the ear of the public council; the members of it were struck with

them, and they requested him to attend them. He enforced his opinion with

such strong and convincing reasons, that the oversights committed by the

generals were visible to every one; and he proved as clearly, that, by a

conduct opposite to the former, they would not only secure their

dominions, but drive the enemy out of them. This speech revived the

courage and hopes of the Carthaginians; and Xanthippus was entreated, and,

in some measure, forced, to accept the command of the army. When the

Carthaginians saw, in his exercising of their forces near the city, the

manner in which he drew them up in order of battle, made them advance or

retreat on the first signal, file off with order and expedition; in a

word, perform all the evolutions and movements of the military art; they

were struck with astonishment, and owned, that the ablest generals which

Carthage had hitherto produced, knew nothing in comparison of Xanthippus.

The officers, soldiers, and every one, were lost in admiration; and, what

is very uncommon, jealousy gave no alloy to it; the fear of the present

danger, and the love of their country, stifling, without doubt, all other

sentiments. The gloomy consternation, which had before seized the whole

army, was succeeded by joy and alacrity. The soldiers were urgent to be

led against the enemy, in the firm assurance (as they said) of being

victorious under their new leader, and of obliterating the disgrace of

former defeats. Xanthippus did not suffer their ardour to cool; and the

sight of the enemy only inflamed it. When he had approached within little

more than twelve hundred paces of them, he thought proper to call a

council of war, in order to show respect to the Carthaginian generals, by

consulting them. All unanimously deferred to his opinion; upon which it

was resolved to give the enemy battle the following day.

The Carthaginian army was composed of twelve thousand foot, four thousand

horse, and about a hundred elephants. That of the Romans, as near as may

be guessed from what goes before, (for Polybius does not mention their

numbers here,) consisted of fifteen thousand foot and three hundred horse.

It must be a noble sight to see two armies like these before us, not

overcharged with numbers, but composed of brave soldiers, and commanded by

very able generals, engaged in battle. In those tumultuous fights, where

two or three hundred thousand are engaged on both sides, confusion is

inevitable; and it is difficult, amidst a thousand events, where chance

generally seems to have a greater share than counsel, to discover the true

merit of commanders, and the real causes of victory. But in such

engagements as this before us, nothing escapes the curiosity of the

reader; for he clearly sees the disposition of the two armies; imagines he

almost hears the orders given out by the generals; follows all the

movements of the army; can point out the faults committed on both sides;

and is thereby qualified to determine, with certainty, the causes to which

the victory or defeat is owing. The success of this battle, however

inconsiderable it may appear from the small number of the combatants, was

nevertheless to decide the fate of Carthage.

The disposition of both armies was as follows. Xanthippus drew up all his

elephants in front. Behind these, at some distance, he placed the

Carthaginian infantry in one body or phalanx. The foreign troops in the

Carthaginian service were posted, one part of them on the right, between

the phalanx and the horse; and the other, composed of light-armed

soldiers, in platoons, at the head of the two wings of the cavalry.

On the side of the Romans, as they apprehended the elephants most,

Regulus, to provide against them, posted his light-armed soldiers, on a

line, in the front of the legions. In the rear of these, he placed the

cohorts one behind another, and the horse on the wings. In thus

straitening the front of his main battle, to give it more depth, he indeed

took a just precaution, says Polybius, against the elephants; but he did

not provide for the inequality of his cavalry, which was much inferior in

numbers to that of the enemy.

The two armies being thus drawn up, waited only for the signal. Xanthippus

orders the elephants to advance, to break the ranks of the enemy; and

commands the two wings of the cavalry to charge the Romans in flank. At

the same time, the latter, clashing their arms, and shouting after the

manner of their country, advance against the enemy. Their cavalry did not

stand the onset long, being so much inferior to that of the Carthaginians.

The infantry in the left wing, to avoid the attack of the elephants, and

show how little they feared the mercenaries who formed the enemies’ right

wing, attacks it, puts it to flight, and pursues it to the camp. Those in

the first ranks, who were opposed to the elephants, were broken and

trodden under foot, after fighting valiantly; and the rest of the main

body stood firm for some time, by reason of its great depth. But when the

rear, being attacked by the enemy’s cavalry, was obliged to face about and

receive it; and those who had broken through the elephants, met the

phalanx of the Carthaginians, which had not yet engaged, and which

received them in good order, the Romans were routed on all sides, and

entirely defeated. The greatest part of them were crushed to death by the

enormous weight of the elephants: and the remainder, standing in the

ranks, were shot through and through with arrows from the enemy’s horse.

Only a small number fled; and as they were in an open country, the horse

and elephants killed a great part of them. Five hundred, or thereabouts,

who went off with Regulus, were taken prisoners with him. The

Carthaginians lost in this battle eight hundred mercenaries, who were

opposed to the left wing of the Romans; and of the latter only two

thousand escaped, who, by their pursuing the enemy’s right wing, had drawn

themselves out of the engagement. All the rest, Regulus and those taken

with him excepted, were left dead in the field. The two thousand, who had

escaped the slaughter, retired to Clypea, and were saved in an almost

miraculous manner.

The Carthaginians, after having stripped the dead, entered Carthage in

triumph, dragging after them the unfortunate Regulus, and five hundred

prisoners. Their joy was so much the greater, as, but a very few days

before, they had seen themselves upon the brink of ruin. The men and

women, old and young people, crowded the temples, to return thanks to the

immortal gods; and several days were devoted wholly to festivities and

rejoicings.

Xanthippus, who had contributed so much to this happy change, had the

wisdom to withdraw shortly after, from the apprehension lest his glory,

which had hitherto been unsullied, might, after this first blaze,

insensibly fade away, and leave him exposed to the darts of envy and

calumny, which are always dangerous, but most in a foreign country, when a

man stands alone, unsustained by friends and relations, and destitute of

all support.

Polybius tells us, that Xanthippus’s departure was related in a different

manner, and promises to take notice of it in another place: but that part

of his history has not come down to us. We read in Appian,(677) that the

Carthaginians, excited by a mean and detestable jealousy of Xanthippus’s

glory, and unable to bear the thoughts that they should stand indebted to

Sparta for their safety; upon pretence of conducting him and his

attendants back with honour to his own country, with a numerous convoy of

ships, gave private orders to have them all put to death in their passage;

as if with him they could have buried in the waves for ever the memory of

his services, and their horrid ingratitude to him.(678)

“This battle,” says Polybius,(679) “though not so considerable as many

others, may yet furnish very salutary instructions; which,” adds that

author, “is the greatest benefit that can be reaped from the study of

history.”

First, ought any man to put a great confidence in his good fortune, after

he has considered the fate of Regulus? That general, insolent with

victory, inexorable to the conquered, scarcely deigning to listen to them,

saw himself a few days after vanquished by them, and made their prisoner.

Hannibal suggested the same reflection to Scipio, when he exhorted him not

to be dazzled with the success of his arms. Regulus, said he, would have

been recorded as one of the most uncommon instances of valour and

felicity, had he, after the victory obtained in this very country, granted

our fathers the peace which they sued for. But putting no bounds to his

ambition and the insolence of success, the greater his prosperity, the

more ignominious was his fall.(680)

In the second place, the truth of the saying of Euripides is here seen in

its full extent, “That one wise head is worth a great many hands.”(681) A

single man here changes the whole face of affairs. On one hand, he defeats

troops which were thought invincible; on the other, he revives the courage

of a city and an army, whom he had found in consternation and despair.

Such, as Polybius observes, is the use which ought to be made of the study

of history. For there being two ways of acquiring improvement and

instruction, first by one’s own experience, and secondly by that of other

men; it is much more wise and useful to improve by other men’s

miscarriages than by our own.

I return to Regulus, that I may here finish what relates to him; Polybius,

to our great disappointment, taking no further notice of that

general.(682)

(M112) After being kept some years in prison, he was sent to Rome to

propose an exchange of prisoners.(683) He had been obliged to take an

oath, that he would return in case he proved unsuccessful. He then

acquainted the senate with the subject of his voyage; and being invited by

them to give his opinion freely, he answered, that he could no longer do

it as a senator, having lost both this quality, and that of a Roman

citizen, from the time that he had fallen into the hands of his enemies;

but he did not refuse to offer his thoughts as a private person. This was

a very delicate affair. Every one was touched with the misfortunes of so

great a man. “He needed only,” says Cicero, “to have spoken one word, and

it would have restored him to his liberty, his estate, his dignity, his

wife, his children, and his country;” but that word appeared to him

contrary to the honour and welfare of the state. He therefore plainly

declared, that an exchange of prisoners ought not to be so much as thought

of: that such an example would be of fatal consequence to the republic:

that citizens who had so basely surrendered their arms to the enemy, were

unworthy of the least compassion, and incapable of serving their country;

that with regard to himself, as he was so far advanced in years, his death

ought to be considered as nothing; whereas they had in their hands several

Carthaginian generals, in the flower of their age, and capable of doing

their country great services for many years. It was with difficulty that

the senate complied with so generous and unexampled a counsel. The

illustrious exile therefore left Rome, in order to return to Carthage,

unmoved either with the deep affliction of his friends, or the tears of

his wife and children, although he knew but too well the grievous torments

which were prepared for him.(684) And indeed, the moment his enemies saw

him returned without having obtained the exchange of prisoners, they put

him to every kind of torture their barbarous cruelty could invent. They

imprisoned him for a long time in a dismal dungeon, whence (after cutting

off his eye-lids) they drew him at once into the sun, when its beams

darted the strongest heat. They next put him into a kind of chest stuck

full of nails, whose points wounding him did not allow him a moment’s ease

either day or night. Lastly, after having been long tormented by being

kept for ever awake in this dreadful torture, his merciless enemies nailed

him to a cross, their usual punishment, and left him to expire on it. Such

was the end of this great man. His enemies, by depriving him of some days,

perhaps years, of life, brought eternal infamy on themselves.

The blow which the Romans had received in Africa did not discourage

them.(685) They made greater preparations than before, to retrieve their

loss; and put to sea, the following campaign, three hundred and sixty

vessels. The Carthaginians sailed out to meet them with two hundred; but

were beaten in an engagement fought on the coasts of Sicily, and a hundred

and fourteen of their ships were taken by the Romans. The latter sailed

into Africa to take in the few soldiers who had escaped the pursuit of the

enemy, after the defeat of Regulus; and had defended themselves vigorously

in Clupea,(686) where they had been unsuccessfully besieged.

Here again we are astonished that the Romans, after so considerable a

victory, and with so large a fleet, should sail into Africa, only to bring

from thence a small garrison; whereas they might have attempted the

conquest of it, since Regulus, with much fewer forces, had almost

completed it.

The Romans, on their return, were overtaken by a storm, which almost

destroyed their whole fleet.(687) The like misfortune befell them also the

following year.(688) However, they consoled themselves for this double

loss, by a victory which they gained over Asdrubal, from whom they took

near a hundred and forty elephants. This news being brought to Rome,

filled the whole city with joy; not only because the strength of the

enemy’s army was considerably diminished by the loss of their elephants,

but chiefly because this victory had inspired the land forces with fresh

courage; who, since the defeat of Regulus, had not dared to venture upon

an engagement; so great was the terror with which those formidable animals

had filled the minds of all the soldiers. It was therefore judged proper

to make a greater effort than ever, in order to finish, if possible, a war

which had continued fourteen years. The two consuls set sail with a fleet

of two hundred ships, and arriving in Sicily, formed the bold design of

besieging Lilybæum. This was the strongest town which the Carthaginians

possessed, and the loss of it would be attended with that of every part of

the island and open to the Romans a free passage into Africa.

The reader will suppose, that the utmost ardour was shown, both in the

assault and defence of the place.(689) Imilcon was governor there, with

ten thousand regular forces, exclusive of the inhabitants; and Hannibal,

the son of Hamilcar, soon brought him as many more from Carthage; he

having, with the most intrepid courage, forced his way through the enemy’s

fleet, and arrived happily in the port.

The Romans had not lost any time. Having brought forward their engines,

they beat down several towers with their battering rams; and gaining

ground daily, they made such progress, as gave the besieged, who now were

closely pressed, some fears. The governor saw plainly that there was no

other way left to save the city, but by firing the engines of the

besiegers. Having therefore prepared his forces for this enterprise, he

sent them out at daybreak with torches in their hands, tow, and all kind

of combustible matters; and at the same time attacked all the engines. The

Romans exerted their utmost efforts to repel them, and the engagement was

very bloody. Every man, assailant as well as defendant, stood to his post,

and chose to die rather than quit it. At last, after a long resistance and

dreadful slaughter, the besieged sounded a retreat, and left the Romans in

possession of their works. This conflict being over, Hannibal embarked in

the night, and concealing his departure from the enemy, sailed for

Drepanum, where Adherbal commanded for the Carthaginians. Drepanum was

advantageously situated; having a commodious port, and lying about a

hundred and twenty furlongs from Lilybæum; and the Carthaginians had been

always very desirous of preserving it.

The Romans, animated by their late success, renewed the attack with

greater vigour than ever; the besieged not daring to make a second attempt

to burn their machines, so much were they disheartened by the ill success

of the former. But a furious wind rising suddenly, some mercenary soldiers

represented to the governor, that now was the favourable opportunity for

them to fire the engines of the besiegers, especially as the wind blew

full against them; and they offered themselves for the enterprise. The

offer was accepted, and accordingly they were furnished with every thing

necessary. In a moment the fire caught all the engines; and the Romans

could not possibly extinguish it, because the flames being spread

instantly every where, the wind carried the sparks and smoke full in their

eyes, so that they could not see where to apply relief; whereas their

enemies saw clearly where to aim their strokes, and throw their fire. This

accident made the Romans lose all hopes of being ever able to carry the

place by force. They therefore turned the siege into a blockade; raised a

strong line of contravallation round the town; and, dispersing their army

in every part of the neighbourhood, resolved to effect by time, what they

found themselves absolutely unable to perform any other way.

When the transactions of the siege of Lilybæum, and the loss of part of

the forces, were known at Rome, the citizens, so far from desponding at

this ill news, seemed to be fired with new vigour.(690) Every man strove

to be foremost in the muster roll; so that, in a very little time, an army

of ten thousand men was raised, who, crossing the strait, marched by land

to join the besiegers.

(M113) At the same time, P. Claudius Pulcher, the consul, formed a design

of attacking Adherbal in Drepanum.(691) He thought himself sure of

surprising him, because, after the loss lately sustained by the Romans at

Lilybæum, the enemy could not imagine that they would venture out again at

sea. Flushed with these hopes, he sailed out with his fleet in the night,

the better to conceal his design. But he had to do with an active general,

whose vigilance he could not elude, and who did not even give him time to

draw up his ships in line of battle, but fell vigorously upon him whilst

his fleet was in disorder and confusion. The Carthaginians gained a

complete victory. Of the Roman fleet, only thirty vessels got off, which

being in company with the consul, fled with him, and got away in the best

manner they could along the coast. All the rest, amounting to fourscore

and thirteen, with the men on board them, were taken by the Carthaginians;

a few soldiers excepted, who had escaped from the wreck of their vessels.

This victory displayed as much the prudence and valour of Adherbal, as it

reflected shame and ignominy on the Roman consul.

Junius, his colleague, was neither more prudent nor more fortunate than

himself, but lost his whole fleet by his ill conduct.(692) Endeavouring to

atone for his misfortune by some considerable action, he held a secret

correspondence with the inhabitants of Eryx,(693) and by that means got

the city surrendered to him. On the summit of the mountain stood the

temple of Venus Erycina, which was certainly the most beautiful as well as

the richest of all the Sicilian temples. The city stood a little below the

summit of this mountain, and the only access to it was by a road very long

and very rugged. Junius posted one part of his troops upon the top, and

the remainder at the foot of the mountain, imagining that he now had

nothing to fear; but Hamilcar, surnamed Barca, father of the famous

Hannibal, found means to get into the city, which lay between the two

camps of the enemy, and there fortified himself. From this advantageous

post he harassed the Romans incessantly for two years. One can scarce

conceive how it was possible for the Carthaginians to defend themselves,

when thus attacked from both the summit and foot of the mountain; and

unable to get provisions, but from a little port, which was the only one

open to them. By such enterprises as these, the abilities and prudent

courage of a general, are as well, or perhaps better discovered, than by

the winning of a battle.

For five years, nothing memorable was performed on either side.(694) The

Romans had imagined that their land forces would alone be capable of

finishing the siege of Lilybæum: but as they saw it protracted beyond

their expectation, they returned to their first plan, and made

extraordinary efforts to fit out a new fleet. The public treasury was at a

low ebb; but this want was supplied by the zeal of individuals; so ardent

was the love which the Romans bore their country. Every man, according to

his circumstances, contributed to the common expense; and, upon public

security, advanced money, without the least scruple, for an expedition on

which the glory and safety of Rome depended. One man fitted out a ship at

his own charge; another was equipped by the contributions of two or three;

so that, in a very little time, two hundred were ready for sailing. (M114)

The command was given to Lutatius the consul, who immediately put to sea.

The enemy’s fleet had retired into Africa: the consul therefore easily

seized upon all the advantageous posts in the neighbourhood of Lilybæum;

and foreseeing that he should soon be forced to fight, he omitted no

precautions to ensure success; and employed the interval in exercising his

soldiers and seamen at sea.

He was soon informed that the Carthaginian fleet drew near, under the

command of Hanno, who landed in a small island called Hiera, opposite to

Drepanum. His design was to reach Eryx undiscovered by the Romans, in

order to supply the army there; to reinforce his troops, and take Barca on

board to assist him in the expected engagement. But the consul, suspecting

his intention, was beforehand with him; and having assembled all his best

forces, sailed for the small island Ægusa,(695) which lay near the other.

He acquainted his officers with the design he had of attacking the enemy

on the morrow. Accordingly, at daybreak, he prepared to engage:

unfortunately the wind was favourable for the enemy, which made him

hesitate whether he should give him battle. But considering that the

Carthaginian fleet, when unloaded of its provisions, would become lighter

and more fit for action; and, besides, would be considerably strengthened

by the forces and presence of Barca he came to a resolution at once; and,

notwithstanding the foul weather, made directly to the enemy. The consul

had choice forces, able seamen, and excellent ships, built after the model

of a galley that had been lately taken from the enemy; and which was the

completest in its kind that had ever been seen. The Carthaginians, on the

other hand, were destitute of all these advantages. As they had been the

entire masters at sea for some years, and the Romans did not once dare to

face them, they held them in the highest contempt, and looked upon

themselves as invincible. On the first report of the enemy being in

motion, the Carthaginians had put to sea a fleet fitted out in haste, as

appeared from every circumstance of it: the soldiers and seamen being all

mercenaries, newly levied, without the least experience, resolution, or

zeal, since it was not for their own country they were going to fight.

This soon appeared in the engagement. They could not sustain the first

attack. Fifty of their vessels were sunk, and seventy taken, with their

whole crews. The rest, favoured by a wind which rose very seasonably for

them, made the best of their way to the little island from whence they had

sailed. There were upwards of ten thousand taken prisoners. The consul

sailed immediately for Lilybæum, and joined his forces to those of the

besiegers.

When the news of this defeat arrived at Carthage, it occasioned so much

the greater surprise and terror, as it was less expected. The senate,

however, did not lose their courage, though they saw themselves quite

unable to continue the war. As the Romans were now masters of the sea, it

was not possible for the Carthaginians to send either provisions, or

reinforcements, to the armies in Sicily. An express was therefore

immediately despatched to Barca, the general there, empowering him to act

as he should think proper. Barca, so long as he had room to entertain the

least hopes, had done every thing that could be expected from the most

intrepid courage and the most consummate wisdom. But having now no

resource left, he sent a deputation to the consul, in order to treat about

a peace. “Prudence,” says Polybius, “consists in knowing how to resist and

yield at a seasonable juncture.” Lutatius was not insensible how tired the

Romans were grown of a war, which had exhausted them both of men and

money; and the dreadful consequences which had attended on Regulus’s

inexorable and imprudent obstinacy, were fresh in his memory. He therefore

complied without difficulty, and dictated the following treaty.

THERE SHALL BE PEACE BETWEEN ROME AND CARTHAGE (IN CASE THE ROMAN PEOPLE

APPROVE OF IT) ON THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS: THE CARTHAGINIANS SHALL

EVACUATE ALL SICILY; SHALL NO LONGER MAKE WAR UPON HIERO, THE SYRACUSANS,

OR THEIR ALLIES: THEY SHALL RESTORE TO THE ROMANS, WITHOUT RANSOM, ALL THE

PRISONERS WHICH THEY HAVE TAKEN FROM THEM; AND PAY THEM, WITHIN TWENTY

YEARS, TWO THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED EUBOIC TALENTS OF SILVER.(696) It is worth

the reader’s remarking, by the way, the simple, exact, and clear terms in

which this treaty is expressed; that, in so short a compass, adjusts the

interests of two powerful republics and their allies, both by sea and

land.

When these conditions were brought to Rome, the people, not approving of

them, sent ten commissioners to Sicily, to terminate the affair. These

made no alteration as to the substance of the treaty;(697) only shortening

the time appointed for the payment, reducing it to ten years: a thousand

talents were added to the sum that had been stipulated, which were to be

paid immediately; and the Carthaginians were required to depart out of all

the islands situated between Italy and Sicily. Sardinia was not

comprehended in this treaty; but they gave it up by another treaty which

was made some years afterwards.