to be ready to slip away, so that, when his antagonist gathered up his
strength to make a hit, the force was always expended on vacancy. The
Romans grew extremely impatient of a series of tactics which showed no
immediate result; and Fabius, having occasion to return to Rome, was
insulted by having the epithet of Cunctator, the dawdler, or the
slow-coach, applied to him. One of the tribunes even went so far as to
charge him with treachery; to which he made, what is usually called, the
"noble" reply, "Fabius cannot be suspected."
It seems to have been extremely easy to get a reputation for "noble"
replies among the Romans, since the mere denial of a charge, amounting
to the commonplace plea of "not guilty," is frequently cited by the
historians as a noble reply, because an individual in a toga happens to
have uttered it. For the purpose of annoying Fabius, or the "slow
coach," the people conferred on Minucius, who, for the sake of
distinction, may be appropriately termed the "fast man," an equal share
of power with the dictator himself, and half the command of the army. On
the return of Fabius to the camp, Minucius proposed that they should
command on alternate days, a course that would have been extremely
inconvenient; for if Minucius had ordered the army to take a week's
march, it is possible that on the day ensuing, Fabius would have ordered
the army back again. The latter, therefore, proposed that each should
take a separate half; but an army, like a house, cannot be divided
without weakness being the inevitable consequence. The ill effects of
the separation were soon shown; for Minucius, who was hot and hasty, was
soon provoked by Hannibal to make an attack, and the Carthaginian
general, who had been accustomed to talk of the Romans hanging over him
like a cloud, declared that they had now come down upon him in a weak
and watery shower. Minucius and his army would certainly have been
absorbed, or, to use a more powerful figure, they would have been
effectually wiped out, but for the generous intervention of Fabius. The
latter saved the former from destruction, when Minucius, who was no less
mawkish than rash, followed up the allegory of the rain by bursting into
tears, and throwing himself on the neck, as well as on the generosity,
of Fabius. Minucius resigned the dictatorship into the hands of his
colleague, who leisurely wound up the campaign; and having resigned his
power, has to this day reigned supreme as the example of the
slow-and-sure principle in the theme of every schoolboy.
[Illustration]
Hannibal was now beginning to feel the effects of the policy of delay,
for he was getting out of heart, and was terribly out of pocket. The
harvest had been all gathered in before he could lay his hands upon it;
and he felt it would be idle to take the field, unless he could take the
corn that had grown in it. His army was clamorous for food; and
complaint is never so open-mouthed as when hunger is at the bottom of
it. The Romans began to think the time had arrived for a decisive blow,
and had chosen as one of the Consuls of the year an individual named C.
T. Varro, whom Livy has described as an eloquent meat salesman.[51] He
had been in the habit of going from door to door in the service of his
father, collecting orders for meat in the morning, and taking it round
in the afternoon; but he was determined that his voice should be heard
in something more impressive than a cry of "butcher," at the door-ways
of the citizens. His first flights of eloquence were in the
market-place, where he interlarded his ordinary exclamations of "Buy,
buy," with sarcastic inquiries how long the people would consent to be
sold by those who professed to be their friends and rulers. By degrees,
he quitted the shambles for the platform, and he began attending public
meetings as a professional demagogue. Like those who pursue patriotism
as a trade, he accepted the first offer of a place that was made to him;
and he became in succession a quæstor, an ædile, and a prætor. At length
he was elevated to the consulship, or rather the consulship was lowered
to him; for though the name of Varro became afterwards truly
illustrious, we cannot allow to C. T. the title of respectable. His
colleague, as Consul, was L. Æmilius Paulus, a patrician, who is said to
have cherished a profound hatred of the people; but why he is said to
have done anything of the sort--except it is in slavish subjection to
the old prejudice, according to which all the patricians are supposed to
hate all the people--we are at a loss to discover. The two Consuls were
at daggers drawn between themselves, which prevented them from agreeing
as to the proper time for drawing the sword against the enemy. C. T.
Varro, the ex-butcher, was for cutting and slashing at the Carthaginians
off-hand; but Æmilius Paulus, having consulted a poulterer, declared the
sacred chickens to have lost their appetites, which some considered a
foul pretext, and others a fair excuse, for avoiding a battle. The
Consuls had, however, set out with 80,000 foot, and 6000 horse, which
were encamped on the river Aufidus; their stores being packed up in
baskets and cans at the little town of Cannæ. Hannibal, who was
completely out of elephants--there being not even one left for the
saddle for his own especial use--was compelled to ride the high
horse--the highest he could find among his cavalry--as a substitute. He
took Cannæ under the very eyes and Roman noses of the consuls, one of
whom, Varro, would have fought, but Æmilius Paulus, the other, had taken
the sacred chickens so much to heart, that he had not courage for
anything.
[Illustration: Young Varro.]
At length, on the 2nd of August, Hannibal, whose pockets were empty of
cash, and whose baggage was bare of provisions, determined to provoke
the Romans to a battle. Had the policy of Fabius Cunctator, "slow
coach," been pursued at this stage, the defeat of the Carthaginians was
certain, for they were an army of mercenaries without pay, and in ten
days there would not have been a bone for the dogs of war to feed upon.
Hannibal, who had always much tact in discovering which way the wind
blew, was taking a walk in the morning, when his eyes getting suddenly
filled with dust, caused him to see a point that had hitherto escaped
him. It occurred to him at once that, by placing his army with its back
to the wind, the Romans who faced him would have to face a blow which
might prove very embarrassing. He knew that the dust would set the
Romans rubbing their eyes, or even if they did not raise a hand against
the inconvenience, they would, at all events, be compelled to wink at
it. In order to increase the annoyance, he ordered the ground to be
thoroughly well ploughed, and though he had not the advantage of shot,
he found the dust a very good substitute for powder. He had placed the
Gauls in the middle, supported by Africans on each side, and the Romans
having first attacked the centre, which gave way, were enclosed between
the two wings; a position in which they were so hard pressed, that they
could not get out of the claws of the enemy.
The slaughter was, as usual, tremendous, 45,000 being left dead on the
field, or rather, in conformity with the excess of caution used in those
days to prevent the return of an adversary to life, being "cut to
pieces." Æmilius Paulus, the patrician, who had been reluctant to fight,
was killed while boldly combating with his sword in his hand, but Varro,
the patriotic butcher, who had been all ardour and enthusiasm to strike
the decisive blow, ran off as fast as his horse's heels could carry him.
He reached Rome in safety, and such a perfect master was he of the
demagogue's art, that he succeeded in obtaining the thanks of the Senate
for his services. It was true that he had shown boldness, amounting to
rashness, when the security of the army was at stake, and he had
exhibited caution amounting to cowardice, in taking care of himself, by
running away when the battle was lost; but he had got the character of
the "people's friend," and the people are often a long time in finding
out, and casting off, those who are in the habit of duping them.
Among other instances of gross popular delusion which occurred about
this time, was the sending of Fabius Pictor as ambassador to Delphi, to
consult the Oracle. Fabius was the historian of his age, and was
supposed, therefore, qualified to record all sorts of falsehood; for
history in those early days had not been dignified by that conscientious
accuracy which is in our own time indispensable. His second name of
Pictor was acquired rather by his industry as a house-painter, than by
his talent as an artist, for he had done the whole of the painting of
the Temple of the Goddess of Health; and he probably devoted himself
rather to the pound-brush than the pencil. As a writer of history, there
was something of the painter in his labours; but he was unfortunately in
the habit of employing very false colours. On his return from Delphi,
the public seemed to have derived very little instruction from his
journey; for the sacrifice of two pairs of human beings, a male and
female Greek, and a male and female Gaul, was the principal result of
the information he brought home with him.
As it may be interesting to the student to be told how the Oracle was
worked in those days, we furnish a few particulars. The office for
making inquiries of the Delphic Oracle was in the Temple--dedicated to
Apollo--where a fire was continually burning, fed with the wood of
laurels, which typifies the ever-greenness that deception lives upon. In
the centre of the Temple was a small opening which emitted intoxicating
smoke, and, as the Pythia sat immediately above it, she was rapidly
reduced to a state in which she fell on the floor and uttered incoherent
sounds, which were said to be inspired. A prophet was in attendance to
write down the pith of what the Pythia was supposed to say, and the
purport of these drunken ravings was accepted by nations and individuals
as a guide to their conduct in cases of the most serious interest.
Originally the Pythia was always a young girl, but, subsequently, a law
was passed, limiting the office to those who had passed their fiftieth
year; and there is no doubt that intoxication being the chief duty,
rendered the place peculiarly eligible to the old women. At first there
had been only one female employed, but when the business increased, a
second, and subsequently a third, was appointed, so that there might
always be one at hand to perform the duty, while the other was drunk and
incapable. Of course, a fee was exacted from all who came to consult the
Oracle, which was entirely in the hands of a few aristocratic families
of the place, who made a double profit, by taking money, and giving only
such advice as was calculated to promote their own class interests.
FOOTNOTES:
[49] See the "Course of Hannibal over the Alps ascertained," by
Whittaker, London, 1794, 2 vols. 8vo.; and "A Dissertation on the
Passage of Hannibal over the Alps," by Walsham and Cramer, Oxford.
[50] Polybius, 3. Appian, c. 316. Livy, 22.
[51] Polybius says nothing about the origin of Varro; and as there was
no directory in those days, we are unable to decide whether the omission
of Polybius, or the assertion of Livy, is more to be relied upon.
CHAPTER THE EIGHTEENTH.
CONCLUSION OF THE SECOND PUNIC WAR.
Hannibal was now strongly urged by one Maharbal, the commander of the
cavalry, to march against Rome, and the gallant general went so far as
to promise that if he had permission, he would go and take it so easy,
that in five days they might sleep in the Capitol. "The idea is indeed a
good one," said Hannibal, with an incredulous smile, "but the only
objection to its being carried out, is that it's utterly impossible."
Maharbal persevered in his recommendation; but finding his advice
rejected, he grew sententious and sentimental, which is often the effect
of a snubbing. "Alas!" he exclaimed, with that anti-colloquial style of
expression, which characters in history--but not in real life--are so
fond of assuming,--"Alas! thou knowest how to gain a victory, but thou
knowest not how thou oughtest to use thy victory when thou hast gained
it." If this was the ordinary mode in which Maharbal expressed himself,
it is not surprising that Hannibal preferred his deeds to his words, the
use of his sword to the abuse of his tongue, and his hand in war to his
advice in council.
The object of Hannibal had been to attach to himself the Italian towns,
but they naturally repudiated an attachment, which consisted in his
fastening himself on to them with an army which they were made to
support at a ruinous sacrifice. He had, however, succeeded in winning
over Capua to his designs, for it was inhabited by a contemptible race,
who lay continually in the lap of luxury, where the lapse of all the
better qualities would seem to be unavoidable. Not satisfied with
treachery to the parent state, the Capuans added cruelty to their other
vices, and stifled in their hot baths all the Romans who were living
among them--an enormity which sends the blood immediately to boiling
heat, to contemplate. The faithless inhabitants stipulated that they
should be allowed to break all their engagements with Rome, on entering
into new engagements with Carthage,--an arrangement like that of a
dishonest servant, who, having robbed a former master, stipulates for
impunity for past roguery as the condition of future fidelity. Hannibal
was weak or politic enough to enter into terms with this contemptible
set; but he incurred the unfailing penalty of wrong, for his own army
became corrupted by contact with the Capuan crew, and his fortunes began
to decline from the time of his alliance with this degraded people.
The exertions of Rome to repair her reverses were extreme after the
battle of Cannæ; and though nearly every family had lost a relative, the
period of mourning was limited to thirty days, while a law was passed
prohibiting all women from weeping in the streets, for they had been
found a crying evil. Sparing no expense, the state performed an
operation of a rather curious kind, for 8000 slaves were bought on
credit--the Government thus making a large purchase without any money at
all--and freeing these slaves, made them fight; thus retaining them
actually in bondage, while nominally giving them their liberty. Even
gladiators were allowed the valuable privilege of fighting the foe
instead of each other, and of falling in the field instead of falling in
the circus.
Hannibal having used up nearly all his men and materials, was compelled
to send to Carthage for fresh supplies, when his old rival Hanno
exclaimed in the senate, that if the Carthaginian general had been
unsuccessful, he deserved no help, and if he had been victorious, he
could not possibly need any. The speech of Hanno on this occasion would
have done credit--or discredit--to a political partisan of the present
day; for it was essentially the language of a disappointed leader of the
opposition. "If," said the honourable--or dis-honourable--member (for in
mere party dissensions it is difficult to distinguish one from the
other), "if Hannibal has conquered all our enemies, why does he send to
us for soldiers? If he has reduced Italy--the most fertile country in
Europe--why does he ask us for corn? And if he has obtained such rich
booty, what on earth can he want with money? The truth, I suspect, to
be, that his victories are sham--his territorial acquisitions sham--the
riches (of which he has sent us specimens, in the shape of a few rings,)
sham,--while his necessities, and the burden thrown upon us in supplying
them, are the only things that are real."
This argument, though specious, did not altogether prevail, for the
senate decreed him four thousand Numidians and forty elephants, the men
and the brutes being looked upon as equally articles of consumption in
the game of war that had been so long playing. The Romans began to act
with increased determination, and blockaded Capua, which was left to its
fate by Hannibal, though an attempt to relieve it was made by a
detachment which received a severe beating at the hands of Tib. S.
Gracchus.
This period is rendered additionally remarkable by the siege of
Syracuse, which eventually fell into the hands of M. Claudius Marcellus,
whose efforts had long been thwarted by the genius of Archimedes. This
illustrious inventor lived to the good old age of seventy-five; but how
he lived so long is a matter of almost as much wonder as some of his
inventions, for his biographers tell us that he always forgot to eat and
drink; nor could he ever be persuaded to take a bath, except when his
friends pushed him into one. Even when this was accomplished, he was
sure to be found under the ashes of the fire-places, writing problems
among the cinders, and endeavouring to sift some important point; so
that a bath was really thrown away upon the great philosopher. In a
visit to Egypt, he became anxious to elevate the Nile to a certain
point; but he remained in Egypt until all his money was spent, for the
philosopher had never thought of raising the wind while intent on
raising the water. He invented a screw, which still bears his name; but
he is said to have amused himself, during the siege of Syracuse, by
sitting at the window and inventing all sorts of missiles to hurl at the
ships of the enemy. One day he might be seen throwing stones from a
newly-invented sling, and a few days after he was found casting out
chains, to pull--with a tremendous hook--the ships of the foe completely
out of the water. He was so intent upon everything he came near, that he
gave a lift to enemies occasionally as well as to friends, as in the
instance just recorded, and he declared his ability to give the whole
world a lift if he could only find a convenient spot in the
neighbourhood for himself and his lever to rest upon. That in one sense
he carried out his boast, we are willing to admit; for he undoubtedly
elevated the world by raising the standard of science, and he exalted
the whole of civilised humanity by his great discoveries. The part he
took in the siege of Syracuse has been underrated by some, and
exaggerated by others; for though the story of his pulling the ships out
of the sea requires a length of rope, and other apparatus, which none
but the greatest stretch of imagination can supply, his destroying the
vessels by burning-glasses is perfectly credible. He is supposed to have
used very powerful reflectors, capable of taking effect within the
distance of bow-shot; and though for some time the moderns insisted that
the long-bow had been pulled for the purpose of increasing the space,
the powers of the burning-glass are now familiar to every schoolboy.
On the fall of Syracuse, orders were given by Marcellus, the Roman
general, that the philosopher should be respected; but he was so
absorbed in a problem, that the soldier who was sent after him not being
able to solve the problem of who he was, or what he was about, fell upon
and slew him.
It is of the great man we have been noticing that a story is told, which
proves that the pursuit of the laws of gravity may sometimes be
associated with the ludicrous. King Hiero, of Syracuse, had handed over
a good lump of pure gold to a working jeweller to be converted into a
crown, with the distinct understanding that the true metal only should
be used, and that there might be no alloy to the pleasure his Majesty
would feel in wearing it. The goldsmith brought back an article of the
proper weight; but the king, after trying it on his head, turning it
over in his mind, and revolving it beneath his eyes in the sun, declared
his suspicion that the metal had been tampered with, and a base
imposition had been practised. He consulted Archimedes as to the means
of detecting the imposture; and on one of those days when the friends of
the philosopher had forced him to take a bath, he became immersed as
deeply in speculation as in the water.
The bath into which he plunged having been full to the brim, the
apartment was soon flooded by the water he displaced; and looking at the
wet floor, he thought only of the dry facts of science. It occurred to
him that any body of equal bulk would have done exactly the same thing;
and he immediately thought of his royal master's crown, which, if all
the gold sent for its construction had been fairly used up, should
displace as much water as a piece of pure metal equal in weight to that
which the crown ought to contain. The moment the idea struck him he
jumped out of the bath, and thinking of nothing but the bare facts, he
ran through the streets, perfectly unconscious of the naked truth of his
own condition. His shout was εὕρηκα[52]--I have found it; but everybody
thought, when they saw him, that whatever he might have found, he had
certainly lost his senses.
[Illustration: Archimedes taking a Warm Bath.]
There is, no doubt, much exaggeration in the absurd stories told of
Archimedes; but we may excuse a little oddness in a great man whom none
was even with. He ran so far in advance of his age, that eighteen
centuries had nearly elapsed before any one came up to him, and then it
was chiefly by following the track marked out by his footsteps.[53]
We must now leave the nobler instruments of science, to return to the
engines of war, which were as usual in full play, and had been employed
in the total dissolution of the already too dissolute city of Capua. The
dissipated nobles, palsied by their excesses, and paralysed by their
fears, fell by their own hands; for they had neither the courage to
fight for the chance of success, nor the nerve to meet the consequences
of failure.
It is stated that one Vibius Virrius, the chief of the Senate, on the
eve of the opening of the gates, gave a sort of legislative supper to
twenty-eight of the members, and, at the conclusion of a hearty meal, he
produced a cup, with the contents of which he proposed that every one
present should poison the remainder of his own existence. The deadly
potion was poured out into twenty-nine different vessels, and, with
faces more or less wry, the Senators swallowed the fatal mixture. On the
surrender of the place, the citizens were sold for slaves; and it must
be admitted that they had shown themselves fit for little better than
the fate assigned to them.
In the year previous to the fall of Capua, Hannibal had taken Tarentum;
but, three years later, the stupidity or treachery of the general in
charge, or man in possession, had allowed Q. Fabius Maximus to take it
back again. Hannibal was thus daily losing territory, and his cause was
consequently losing ground. Many small states which had adhered to him
because they believed him to be strong enough to assist them, withdrew
from him directly he appeared as if he could not help himself.