These measures alarmed Jugurtha much more than the loss of the late

battle; for he, whose whole security lay in flight, was compelled to

pursue; and he who could not defend his own part of the kingdom, was

obliged to make war in that which was occupied by others. Under these

circumstances, however[174], he adopted what seemed the most eligible

plan. He ordered the main body of his army to continue stationary;

while he himself, with a select troop of cavalry, went in pursuit of

Metellus, and coming upon him unperceived, by means of night marches

and by-roads, he fell upon such of the Roman as were straggling about,

of whom the greater number, being unarmed, were slain, and several

others made prisoners; not one of them, indeed, escaped unharmed; and

the Numidians, before assistance could arrive from the camp, fled, as

they had been ordered, to the nearest hills.

LV. In the mean time great joy appeared at Rome when the proceedings

of Metellus were reported, and when it was known how he was conducting

himself and his army conformably to the ancient discipline; how, on

adverse ground, he had gained a victory by his valor; how he was

securing possession of the enemy's territory; and how he had driven

Jugurtha, when elated by the weakness of Aulus, to depend for safety

on the desert or on flight. For these successes, accordingly, the

senate decreed a thanksgiving[175] to the immortal gods; the city,

which had been full of anxiety, and apprehensive as to the event of

the war, was now filled with joy; and the fame of Metellus was raised

to the utmost height.

The consul's eagerness to gain a complete victory was thus increased;

he exerted himself in every possible way, taking care, at the same

time, to give the enemy no opportunity of attacking him to advantage.

He remembered that envy is the concomitant of glory, and thus, the

more renowned he became, the greater was his caution and

circumspection. He never went out to plunder, after the sudden attack

of Jugurtha, with his troops in scattered parties; when corn or forage

was sought, a body of cohorts, with the whole of the cavalry, were

stationed as a guard. He himself conducted part of the army, and

Marius the rest. The country was wasted, however, more by fire than by

spoliation. They had separate camps, not far from each other; whenever

there was occasion for force, they formed a union; but, that

desolation and terror might spread the further, they acted separately.

Jugurtha, meanwhile, continued to follow them along the hills,

watching for a favorable opportunity or situation for an attack. He

destroyed the forage, and spoiled the water, which was scarce,

wherever he found that the enemy were coming. He presented himself

sometimes to Metellus, and sometimes to Marius; he would attack their

rear upon a march, and instantly retreat to the hills; he would

threaten sometimes one point, and sometimes another, neither giving

battle nor allowing rest, but making it his great object to retard the

progress of the enemy.

LVI. The Roman commander, finding himself thus harassed by artifices,

and allowed no opportunity of coming to a general engagement, resolved

on laying siege to a large city, named Zama, which was the bulwark of

that part of the kingdom in which it was situate; expecting that

Jugurtha, as a necessary consequence, would come to the relief of his

subjects in distress, and that a battle would then follow. But the

king, being apprised by some deserters of the consul's design, reached

the place, by rapid marches, before him, and exhorted the inhabitants

to defend their walls, giving them, as a reinforcement, a body of

deserters; a class of men, who, of all the royal forces, were the most

to be trusted, inasmuch as they dared not be guilty of treachery[176].

He also promised to support them, whenever it should be necessary,

with his whole army.

Having taken these precautions, he retired into the deserts of the

interior; where he soon after learned that Marius, with a few cohorts,

had been dispatched from the line of march to bring provisions from

Sicca[177], a town which had been the first to revolt from him after

his defeat. To this place he hastened by night, accompanied by a

select body of cavalry, and attacked the Romans at the gate, just as

they were leaving the city; calling to the inhabitants, at the same

time, with a loud voice, to surround the cohorts in the rear; adding,

that Fortune had given them an opportunity for a glorious exploit; and

that, if they took advantage of it, he would henceforth enjoy his

kingdom, and they their liberty, without fear. And had not Marius

hastened to advance the standards, and to escape from the town, it is

certain that all, or the greater part of the inhabitants, would have

changed their allegiance; so great is the fickleness which the

Numidians exhibit in their conduct. The soldiers of Jugurtha, animated

for a time by their king, but finding the enemy pressing them with

superior force, betook themselves, after losing a few of their number,

to flight.

LVII. Marius arrived at Zama. This town, built on a plain, was better

fortified by art than by nature. It was well supplied with

necessaries, and contained plenty of arms and men. Metellus, having

made arrangements suitable for the time and the place, encompassed the

whole city with his army, assigning to each of his officers his post

of command. At a given signal, a loud shout was raised on every side,

but without exciting the least alarm in the Numidians, who awaited the

attack full of spirit and resolution. The assault was consequently

commenced; the Romans were allowed to act each according to his

inclination; some annoyed the enemy with slings and stones from a

distance; others came close up to the walls, and attempted to

undermine or scale them, desiring to engage in close combat with the

besieged. The Zamians, on the other hand, rolled down stones, and

hurled burning stakes, javelins[178], and wood smeared with pitch and

sulphur, on the nearest assailants. Nor was caution a sufficient

protection to those who kept aloof; for darts, discharged from engines

or by the hand, inflicted wounds on most of them; and thus the brave and

the timid, though of unequal merit, were exposed to equal danger.

LVIII. While the struggle was thus continued at Zama, Jugurtha, at the

head of a large force, suddenly attacked the camp of the Romans, and,

through the remissness of those left to guard it, who expected any

thing rather than an attack, effected an entrance at one of the gates.

Our men, struck with sudden consternation, acted each on his own

impulse; some fled, others seized their arms; and many of them were

wounded or slain. About forty, however, out of the whole number

mindful of the honor of Rome, formed themselves into a body, and took

possession of a slight eminence, from which they could not be

dislodged by the utmost efforts of the enemy, but hurled back the

darts discharged at them, and, as they were few against many, not

without execution. If the Numidians came near them, they displayed

their courage, and slaughtered, repulsed, and dispersed them, with the

greatest fury. Metellus, meanwhile, who was vigorously pursuing the

siege, heard a noise, as of enemies, in his rear, and, turning round

his horse, perceived a party of soldiers in flight toward him; a

certain proof that they were his own men. He instantly, therefore,

dispatched the whole of the cavalry to the camp, and immediately

afterward Caius Marius, with the cohorts of the allies, entreating him

with tears, by their mutual friendship, and by his regard for the

public welfare, to allow no stain to rest on a victorious army, and

not to let the enemy escape with impunity. Marius soon executed his

orders. Jugurtha, in consequence, after being embarrassed in the

intrenchments of the camp, while some of his men threw themselves over

the ramparts, and others, in their haste, obstructed each other at the

gates, fled, with considerable loss, to his strongholds, Metellus, not

succeeding in his attempt on the town, retired with his forces, at the

approach of night, into his camp.

LIX. On the following day, before he marched out to resume the siege,

he ordered the whole of his cavalry to take their station before the

camp, on the side where the approach of Jugurtha was to be apprehended;

assigning the gates, and adjoining posts, to the charge of the tribunes.

He then marched toward the town, and commenced an assault upon the walls

as on the day before. Jugurtha, meanwhile, issuing from his concealment,

suddenly attacked our men in the camp, of whom those stationed in advance

were for the moment alarmed and thrown into confusion; but the rest soon

came to their support; nor would the Numidians have longer maintained

their ground, had not their foot, which were mingled with the cavalry,

done great execution in the struggle; for the horse, relying on the

infantry, did not, as is common in actions of cavalry, charge and then

retreat, but pressed impetuously forward, disordering and breaking the

ranks, and thus, with the aid of the light-armed foot, almost succeeded

in giving the army a defeat[179].

LX. The conflict at Zama, at the same time, was continued with great

fury. Wherever any lieutenant or tribune commanded, there the men

exerted themselves with the utmost vigor. No one seemed to depend for

support on others, but every one on his own exertions. The townsmen,

on the other side, showed equal spirit. Attacks, or preparations for

defense, were made in all quarters[180]. All appeared more eager to

wound their enemies than to protect themselves. Shouts, mingled with

exhortations, cries of joy, and the clashing of arms, resounded

through the heavens. Darts flew thick on every side. If the besiegers,

however, in the least relaxed their efforts, the defenders of the

walls immediately turned their attention to the distant engagement of

the cavalry; they were to be seen sometimes exhibiting joy, and

sometimes apprehension, according to the varying fortune of Jugurtha,

and, as if they could be heard or seen by their friends, uttering

warnings or exhortations, making signs with their hands, and moving

their bodies to and fro, like men avoiding or hurling darts. This

being noticed by Marius, who commanded on that side of the town, he

artfully relaxed his efforts, as if despairing of success, and allowed

the besieged to view the battle at the camp unmolested. Then, while

their attention was closely fixed on their countrymen, he made a

vigorous assault on the wall, and the soldiers mounting their scaling

ladders, had almost gained the top, when the townsmen rushed to the

spot in a body, and hurled down upon them stones, firebrands, and

every description of missiles. Our men made head against these

annoyances for a while, but at length, when some of the ladders were

broken, and those who had mounted them dashed to the ground, the rest

of the assailants retreated as they could, a few indeed unhurt, but

the greater number miserably wounded. Night put an end to the efforts

of both parties.

LXI. When Metellus saw that all his attempts were vain; that the town

was not to be taken; that Jugurtha was resolved to abstain from

fighting, except from an ambush, or on his own ground, and that the

summer was now far advanced, he withdrew his army from Zama, and

placed garrisons in such of the cities that had revolted to him as

were sufficiently strong in situation or fortifications. The rest of

his forces he settled in winter quarters, in that part of our province

nearest to Numidia[181].

This season of repose, however, he did not, like other commanders,

abandon to idleness and luxury; but as the war had been but slowly

advanced by fighting, he resolved to try the effect of treachery on

the king through his friends, and to employ their perfidy instead of

arms. He accordingly addressed himself with large promises, to

Bomilcar, the same nobleman who had been with Jugurtha at Rome, and

who had fled from thence, notwithstanding he had given bail, to escape

being tried for the murder of Massiva; selecting this person for his

instrument, because, from his great intimacy with Jugurtha, he had the

best opportunities of betraying him. He prevailed on him, in the first

place, to come to a conference with him privately, when, having given

him his word, "that, if he should deliver up Jugurtha, alive or dead,

the senate would grant him a pardon, and the full possession of his

property," he easily brought him over to his purpose, especially as he

was naturally faithless, and also apprehensive that, if peace were

made with the Romans, he himself would be surrendered to justice by

the terms of it.

LXII. Bomilcar took the earliest opportunity of addressing Jugurtha,

at a time when he was full of anxiety, and lamenting his ill success.

He exhorted and implored him, with tears in his eyes, to take at

length some thought for himself and his children, as well as for the

people of Numidia, who had so much claim upon him. He reminded him

that they had been, defeated in every battle; that the country was

laid waste; that numbers of his subjects had been captured or slain;

that the resources of the kingdom were greatly reduced; that the valor

of his soldiers, and his own fortune, had been already sufficiently

tried; and that he should beware, lest, if he delayed to consult for

his people, his people should consult for themselves. By these and

similar appeals, he prevailed with Jugurtha to think of a surrender.

Embassadors were accordingly sent to the Roman general, announcing

that Jugurtha was ready to submit to whatever he should desire, and to

trust himself and his kingdom unconditionally to his honor. Metellus,

on receiving this statement, summoned such of his officers as were of

senatorial rank, from their winter quarters; of whom, with, others

whom he thought eligible, he formed a council. By a resolution of this

assembly, in conformity with ancient usage, he demanded of Jugurtha,

through his embassadors, two hundred thousand pounds' weight of

silver, all his elephants, and a portion of his horses and arms. These

requisitions being immediately complied with, he next desired that all

the deserters should be brought to him in chains. A large number of

them were accordingly brought; but a few, when the surrender first

began to be mentioned, had fled into Mauretania to king Bocchus.

When Jugurtha, however, after being thus despoiled of arms, men and

money, was summoned to appear in person at Tisidium[182], to await the

consul's commands, he began again to change his mind, dreading, from a

consciousness of guilt, the punishment due to his crimes. Having spent

several days in hesitation, sometimes, from disgust at his ill

success, believing any thing better than war, and sometimes

considering with himself how grievous would be the fall from

sovereignty to slavery, he at last determined, notwithstanding that he

had lost so many and so valuable means of resistance, to commence

hostilities anew.

At Rome, meanwhile, the senate, having been consulted about the

provinces, had decreed Numidia to Metellus.

LXIII. About the same time, as Caius Marius, who happened to be at

Utica, was sacrificing to the gods[183], an augur told him that great

and wonderful things were presaged to him; that he might therefore

pursue whatever designs he had formed, trusting to the gods for

success; and that he might try fortune as often as he pleased, for

that all his undertakings would prosper. Previously to this period an

ardent longing for the consulship had possessed him; and he had,

indeed, every qualification for obtaining it, except antiquity of

family; he had industry, integrity, great knowledge of war, and a

spirit undaunted in the field; he was temperate in private life,

superior to pleasure and riches, and ambitious only of glory.

Having been born at Arpinum, and brought up there during his boyhood,

he employed himself, as soon as he was of age to bear arms, not in the

study of Greek eloquence, nor in learning the refinements of the city,

but in military service; and thus, amid the strictest discipline, his

excellent genius soon attained full vigor. When he solicited the

people, therefore, for the military tribuneship, he was well known by

name, though most were strangers to his face, and unanimously elected

by the tribes. After this office he attained others in succession, and

conducted himself so well in his public duties, that he was always

deemed worthy of a higher station than he had reached. Yet, though

such had been his character hitherto (for he was afterward carried

away by ambition), he had not ventured to stand for the consulship.

The people, at that time, still disposed of[184] other civil offices,

but the nobility transmitted the consulship from hand to hand among

themselves. Nor had any commoner appeared, however famous or

distinguished by his achievements, who would not have been thought

unworthy of that honor, and, as it were, a disgrace to it[185].

LXIV. But when Marius found that the words of the augur pointed in the

same direction as his own inclinations prompted him, he requested of

Metellus leave of absence, that he might offer himself a candidate for

the consulship. Metellus, though eminently distinguished by virtue,

honor, and other qualities valued by the good, had yet a haughty and

disdainful spirit, the common failing of the nobility. He was at

first, therefore, astonished at so extraordinary an application,

expressed surprise at Marius's views, and advised him, as if in

friendship, "not to indulge such unreasonable expectations, or elevate

his thoughts above his station; that all things were not to be coveted

by all men; that his present condition ought to satisfy him; and,

finally, that he should be cautious of asking from the Roman people

what they might justly refuse him." Having made these and similar

remarks, and finding that the resolution of Marius was not at all

affected by them, he told him "that he would grant what he desired as

soon as the public business would allow him".[186] On Marius repeating

his request several times afterward, he is reported to have said,

"that he need not be in a hurry to go, as he would be soon enough if

he became a candidate with his own son."[187] Metellus's son was then

on service in the camp with his father[188], and was about twenty

years old.

This taunt served only to rouse the feelings of Marius, as well for

the honor at which he aimed, as against Metellus. He suffered himself

to be actuated, therefore, by ambition and resentment, the worst of

counselors. He omitted nothing henceforward, either in deeds or words,

that could increase his own popularity. He allowed the soldiers, of

whom he had the command in the winter quarters, more relaxation of

discipline than he had ever granted them before. He talked of the war

among the merchants, of whom there was a great number at Utica,

censoriously with respect to Metellus, and vauntingly with regard to

himself; saying "that if but half of the army were granted him, he

would in a few days have Jugurtha in chains; but that the war was

purposely protracted by the consul, because, being a man of vanity and

regal pride, he was too fond of the delights of power." All these

assertions appeared the more credible to the merchants, as, by the

long continuance of the war, they had suffered in their fortunes; and

to impatient minds no haste is sufficient.

LXV. There was then in our army a Numidian named Gauda, the son of

Mastanabal, and grandson of Masinissa, whom Micipsa, in his will, had

appointed next heir to his immediate successors. This man had been

debilitated by ill-health, and, from the effect of it, was somewhat

impaired in his understanding. He had petitioned Metellus to allow him

a seat, like a prince, next to himself, and a troop of horse for a

bodyguard; but Metellus had refused him both; the seat, because it was

granted only to those whom the Roman people had addressed as kings,

and the guard, because it would be an indignity to Roman cavalry to

act as guards to a Numidian. While Gauda was discontented at these

refusals, Marius paid him a visit, and prompted him, with his

assistance, to seek revenge for the affronts put upon him by the

general; inflating his mind, which was as weak as his body,[189] with

flattering speeches, telling him that he was a prince, a great man,

and the grandson of Masinissa; that if Jugurtha were taken or killed,

he would immediately become king of Numidia; and that this event might

soon happen, if he himself were sent as consul to the war.

Thus partly the influence of Marius himself, and partly the hope of

obtaining peace, induced Gauda, as well as most of the Roman knights,

both soldiers and merchants,[190] to write to their friends at Rome,

in a style of censure, respecting Metellus's management of the war,

and to intimate that Marius should be appointed general. The consulship,

accordingly, was solicited for him by numbers of people, with the most

honorable demonstrations in his favor.[191] It happened that the

people too, at this juncture, having just triumphed over the nobility

by the Mamilian law,[192] were eager to raise commoners to office.

Hence every thing was favorable to Marius's views.

LXVI. Jugurtha, meantime, who, after relinquishing his intention to

surrender, had renewed the war, was now hastening the preparations for

it with the utmost diligence. He assembled an army; he endeavored, by

threats or promises, to recover the towns that had revolted from him;

he fortified advantageous positions;[193] he repaired or purchased

arms, weapons, and other necessaries, which he had given up on the

prospect of peace; he tried to seduce the slaves of the Romans, and

even tempted with bribes the Romans themselves who occupied the

garrisons; he, indeed, left nothing untried or neglected, but put

every engine in motion.

Induced by the entreaties of their king, from whom, indeed, they had

never been alienated in affection, the leading inhabitants of Vacca, a

city in which Metellus, when Jugurtha began to treat for peace, had

placed a garrison, entered into a conspiracy against the Romans. As

for the common people of the town, they were, as is generally the

case, and especially among the Numidians, of a fickle disposition,

factious and turbulent, and therefore already desirous of a change,

and adverse to peace and quiet. Having arranged their plans, they

fixed upon the third day following for the execution of them, because

that day, being a festival, celebrated throughout Africa, would

promise merriment and dissipation rather than alarm. When the time

came, they invited the centurions and military tribunes, with Titus

Turpilius Silanus, the governor of the town, to their several houses,

and butchered them all, except Turpilius, at their banquets; and then

fell upon the common soldiers, who, as was to be expected on such a

day, when discipline was relaxed, were wandering about without their

arms. The populace followed the example of their chiefs, some of them

having been previously instructed to do so, and others induced by a

liking for such disorders, and, though ignorant of what had been done

or intended, finding sufficient gratification in tumult and variety.

LXVII. The Roman soldiers, perplexed with sudden alarm, and not

knowing what was best for them to do, were in trepidation. At the

citadel,[194] where their standards and shields were, was posted a

guard of the enemy; and the city-gates, previously closed, prevented

escape. Women and children, too, on the roofs of the houses,[195]

hurled down upon them, with great eagerness, stones and whatever else

their position furnished. Thus neither could such twofold danger be

guarded against, nor could the bravest resist the feeblest; the worthy

and the worthless, the valiant and the cowardly, were alike put to

death unavenged. In the midst of this slaughter, while the Numidians

were exercising every cruelty, and the town was closed on all sides,

Turpilius was the only one, of all the Italians, that escaped unhurt.

Whether his flight was the consequence of compassion in his entertainer,

of compact, or of chance, I have never discovered; but since, in such a

general massacre, he preferred inglorious safety to an honorable name,

he seems to have been a worthless and infamous character.[196]

LXVIII. When Metellus heard of what had happened at Vacca, he retired

for a time, overpowered with sorrow, from the public gaze; but at

length, as indignation mingled with his grief, he hastened, with the

utmost spirit, to take vengeance for the outrage. He led forth, at

sunset, the legion that was in winter quarters with him, and as many

Numidian horse as he could, and arrived, about the third hour on the

following day, at a certain plain surrounded by rising grounds. Here

he acquainted the soldiers, who were now exhausted with the length of

their march, and averse to further exertion,[197] that the town of

Vacca was not above a mile distant, and that it became them to bear

patiently the toil that remained, with the hope of exacting revenge for

their countrymen, the bravest and most unfortunate of men. He likewise

generously promised them the whole of the plunder. Their courage being

thus revived, he ordered them to resume their march, the cavalry

maintaining an extended line in front, and the infantry, with their

standards concealed, keeping the closest order behind.

LXIX. The people of Vacca, perceiving an army coming toward them,

judged rightly at first that it was Metellus, and shut their gates;

but, after a while, when they saw that their fields were not laid

waste, and that the front consisted of Numidian cavalry, they imagined

that it was Jugurtha, and went out with great joy to meet him. A

signal being immediately given, both cavalry and infantry commenced an

attack; some cut down the multitude pouring from the town, others

hurried to the gates, others secured the towers, revenge and the hope

of plunder prevailing over their weariness. Thus Vacca triumphed only

two days in its treachery; the whole city, which was great and

opulent, was given up to vengeance and spoliation. Turpilius, the

governor, whom we mentioned as the only person that escaped, was

summoned by Metellus to answer for his conduct, and not being able to

clear himself, was condemned, as a native of Latium,[198] to be

scourged and put to death.

LXX. About this time, Bomilcar, at whose persuasion Jugurtha had

entered upon the capitulation which he had discontinued through fear,

being distrusted by the king, and distrusting him in return, grew

desirous of a change of government. He accordingly meditated schemes

for Jugurtha's destruction, racking his invention night and day. At

last, to leave nothing untried, he sought an accomplice in Nabdalsa, a

man of noble birth and great wealth, who was in high regard and favor

with his countrymen, and who, on most occasions, used to command a

body of troops distinct from those of the king, and to transact all

business to which Jugurtha, from fatigue, or from being occupied with

more important matters, was unable to attend;[199] employments by

which he had gained both honors and wealth. By these two men in

concert, a day was fixed for the execution of their treachery;

succeeding matters they agreed to settle as the exigences of the

moment might require. Nabdalsa then proceeded to join his troops,

which he kept in readiness, according to orders, among the winter

quarters of the Romans,[200] to prevent the country from being ravaged

by the enemy with impunity.

But as Nabdalsa, growing alarmed at the magnitude of the undertaking,

failed to appear at the appointed time, and allowed his fears to

hinder their plans, Bomilcar, eager for their execution, and

disquieted at the timidity of his associate, lest he should relinquish

his original intentions and adopt some new course, sent him a letter

by some confidential person, in which he "reproached him with

pusillanimity and irresolution, and conjured him by the gods, by whom

he had sworn, not to turn the offers of Metellus to his own

destruction;" assuring him "that the fall of Jugurtha was approaching;

that the only thing to be considered was whether he should perish by

their hand or by that of Metellus; and that, in consequence, he might

consider whether to choose rewards, or death by torture."

LXXI. It happened that when this letter was brought, Nabdalsa,

overcome with fatigue, was reposing on his couch, where, after reading

Bomilcar's letter, anxiety at first, and afterward, as is usual with a

troubled mind, sleep overpowered him. In his service there was a

certain Numidian, the manager of his affairs, a person who possessed

his confidence and esteem, and who was acquainted with all his designs

except the last. He, hearing that a letter had arrived, and supposing

that there would be occasion, as usual, for his assistance or

suggestions, went into the tent, and, while his master was asleep,

took up the letter thrown carelessly upon the cushion behind his

head,[201] and read it; and, having thus discovered the plot, set off

in haste to Jugurtha. Nabdalsa, who awoke soon after, missing the

letter, and hearing of the whole affair, and how it had happened, at

first attempted to pursue the informer, but finding that pursuit was

vain, he went himself to Jugurtha to try to appease him; saying that

the disclosure which he intended to make, had been anticipated by the

perfidy of his servant; and beseeching him with tears, by his

friendship, and by his own former proofs of fidelity, not to think

that he could be guilty of such treachery.

LXXII. To these entreaties the king replied with a mildness far

different from his real feelings. After putting to death Bomilcar, and

many others whom he knew to be privy to the plot, he refrained from

any further manifestation of resentment, lest an insurrection should

be the consequence of it. But after this occurrence he had no peace

either by day or by night; he thought himself safe neither in any

place, nor with any person, nor at any time; he feared his subjects

and his enemies alike; he was always on the watch, and was startled at

every sound; he passed the night sometimes in one place, and sometimes

in another, and often in places little suited to royal dignity; and

sometimes, starting from his sleep, he would seize his arms and raise

an alarm. He was indeed so agitated by extreme terror, that he

appeared under the influence of madness.

LXXIII. Metellus, hearing from some deserters of the fate of Bomilcar,

and the discovery of the conspiracy, made fresh preparations for

action, and with the utmost dispatch, as if entering upon an entirely

new war. Marius, who was still importuning him for leave of absence,

he allowed to go home; thinking that as he served with reluctance, and

bore him personal enmity, he was not likely to prove a very useful

officer.

The common people at Rome, having learned the contents of the letters

written from Africa concerning Metellus and Marius, had listened to

the accounts given of both with eagerness. But the noble birth of

Metellus, which had previously been a motive for paying him honor, had

now become a cause of unpopularity; while the obscurity of Marius's

origin had procured him favor. In regard to both, however, party

feeling had more influence than the good or bad qualities of either.

The factious tribunes,[202] too, inflamed the populace, charging

Metellus, in their harangues, with offenses worthy of death, and

exaggerating the excellent qualities of Marius. At length the people

were so excited that all the artisans and rustics, whose whole

subsistence and credit depended on their labor, quitting their several

employments, attended Marius in crowds, and thought less of their own

wants than of his exaltation. Thus the nobility being borne down, the

consulship, after the lapse of many years,[203] was once more given to

a man of humble birth. And afterward, when the people were asked by

Manilius Mancinus, one of their tribunes, whom they would appoint to

carry on the war against Jugurtha, they, in a full assembly, voted it

to Marius. The senate had previously decreed it to Metellus; but that

decree was thus rendered abortive.[204]

LXXIV. During this period, Jugurtha, as he was bereft of his friends

(of whom he had put to death the greater number, while the rest, under

the influence of terror, had fled partly to the Romans, and partly to

Bocchus), as the war, too, could not be carried on without officers,

and as he thought it dangerous to try the faith of new ones after such

perfidy among the old, was involved in doubt and perplexity; no

scheme, no counsel, no person could satisfy him; he changed his route

and his captains daily; he hurried sometimes against the enemy, and

sometimes toward the deserts; depended at one time on flight, and at

another on resistance; and was unable to decide whether he could less

trust the courage or the fidelity of his subjects. Thus, to whatever

direction he turned his thoughts, the prospect was equally

disheartening.

In the midst of his irresolution, Metellus suddenly made his

appearance with his army. The Numidians were assembled and drawn up by

Jugurtha, as well as time permitted; and a battle was at once

commenced. Where the king commanded in person, the struggle was

maintained for some time; but the rest of his force was routed and put

to flight at the first onset. The Romans took a considerable number of

standards and arms, but not many prisoners; for, in almost every

battle, their feet afforded more security to the Numidians than their

swords.

LXXV. In consequence of this defeat, Jugurtha, feeling less confidence

in the state of his affairs than ever, retreated with the deserters,

and part of his cavalry, first into the deserts, and afterward to

Thala,[205] a large and opulent city, where lay the greater portion of

his treasures, and where there was magnificent provision for the

education of his children. When Metellus was informed of this,

although he knew that there was, between Thala and the nearest river,

a dry and desert region fifty miles broad, yet, in the hope of

finishing the war if he should gain possession of the town, he

resolved to surmount all difficulties, and to conquer even Nature

herself. He gave orders that the beasts of burden, therefore, should

be lightened of all the baggage excepting ten days' provision; and

that they should be laden with skins and other utensils for holding

water. He also collected from the fields as many laboring cattle as he

could find, and loaded them with vessels of all sorts, but chiefly

wooden, taken from the cottages of the Numidians. He directed such of

the neighboring people, too, as had submitted to him after the retreat

of Jugurtha, to bring him as much water as they could carry,

appointing a time and a place for them to be in attendance. He then

loaded his beasts from the river, which, as I have intimated, was the

nearest water to the town, and, thus provided, set out for Thala.

When he came to the place at which he had desired the Numidians to

meet him, and had pitched and fortified his camp, so copious a fall of

rain is said to have happened, as would have furnished more than

sufficient water for his whole army. Provisions, too, were brought him

far beyond his expectations; for the Numidians, like most people after

a recent surrender, had done more than was required of them.[206] The

men, however, from a religious feeling, preferred using the

rain-water; the fall of which greatly increased their courage, for

they thought of themselves the peculiar care of the gods. On the next

day, to the surprise of Jugurtha, they arrived at Thala. The

inhabitants, who thought themselves secured by difficulties of the

approach to them, were astonished at so strange and unexpected a

sight, but, nevertheless, prepared for their defense. Our men showed

equal alacrity on their side.

LXXVI. But Jugurtha himself, believing that Metellus, who, by his

exertions, had triumphed over every obstacle, over arms, deserts,

seasons, and finally over Nature herself that controls all, nothing

was impossible, fled with his children, and a great portion of his

treasure, from the city during the night. Nor did he ever, after this

time, continue[207] more than one day or night in any place;

pretending to be hurried away by business, but in reality dreading

treachery, which he thought he might escape by change of residence, as

schemes of such a kind are the result of leisure and opportunity.

Metellus, seeing that the people of Thala were determined on

resistance, and that the town was defended both by art and situation,

surrounded the walls with a rampart and a trench. He then directed his

machines against the most eligible points, threw up a mound, and

erected towers upon it to protect[208] the works and the workmen. The

townsmen, on the other hand, were exceedingly active and diligent; and

nothing was neglected on either side. At last the Romans, though

exhausted with much previous fatigue and fighting, got possession,

forty days after their arrival, of the town, and the town only; for

all the spoil had been destroyed by the deserters; who, when they saw

the walls shaken by the battering-ram, and their own situation

desperate, had conveyed the gold and silver, and whatever else is

esteemed valuable, to the royal palace, where, after being sated with

wine and luxuries, they destroyed the treasures, the building, and

themselves, by fire, and thus voluntarily submitted to the sufferings

which, in case of being conquered, they dreaded at the hands of the

enemy.

LXXVII. At the very time that Thala was taken, there came to Metellus

embassadors from the city of Leptis,[209] requesting him to send them

a garrison and a governor; saying "that a certain Hamilcar, a man of

rank, and of a factious disposition, against whom the magistrates and

the laws were alike powerless, was trying to induce them to change

sides; and that unless he attended to the matter promptly, their own

safety,[210] and the allies of Rome, would be in the utmost danger."

For the people at Leptis, at the very commencement of the war with

Jugurtha, had sent to the consul Bestia, and afterward to Rome,

desiring to be admitted into friendship and alliance with us. Having

been granted their request, they continued true and faithful adherents

to us, and promptly executed all orders from Bestia, Albinus, and

Metellus. They therefore readily obtained from the general the aid

which they solicited; and four cohorts of Ligurians were dispatched to

Leptis, with Caius Annius to be governor of the place.

LXXVIII. This city was built by a party of Sidonians, who, as I have

understood, being driven from their country through civil dissensions,

came by sea into those parts of Africa. It is situated between the two

Syrtes, which take their name from their nature[211] These are two

gulfs almost at the extremity of Africa[212] of unequal size, but of

similar character. Those parts of them next to the land are very deep;

the other parts sometimes deep and sometimes shallow, as chance may

direct; for when the sea swells, and is agitated by the winds, the

waves roll along with them mud, sand, and huge stones; and thus the

appearance of the gulfs changes with the direction of the wind.

Of this people, the language alone[213] has been altered by their

intermarriages with the Numidians; their laws and customs continue for

the most part Sidonian; which they have preserved with the greater

ease, through living at so great a distance from the king's

dominions.[214] Between them and the populous parts of Numidia lie

vast and uncultivated deserts.

LXXIX. Since the affairs of Leptis have led me into these regions, it

will not be foreign to my subject to relate the noble and singular act

of two Carthaginians, which the place has brought to my recollection.

At the time when the Carthaginians were masters of the greater part of

Africa, the Cyrenians were also a great and powerful people. The

territory that lay between them was sandy, and of a uniform

appearance, without a stream or a hill to determine their respective

boundaries; a circumstance which involved them in a severe and

protracted war. After armies and fleets had been routed and put to

flight on both sides, and each people had greatly weakened their

opponents, fearing lest some third party should attack both victors

and vanquished in a state of exhaustion, they came to an agreement,

during a short cessation of arms, "that on a certain day deputies

should leave home on either side, and that the spot where they should

meet should be the common boundary between the two states." From

Carthage, accordingly, were dispatched two brothers, who were named

Philaeni,[215] and who traveled with great expedition. The deputies of

the Cyrenians proceeded more slowly; but whether from indolence or

accident I have not been informed. However, a storm of wind in these

deserts will cause obstruction to passengers not less than at sea; for

when a violent blast, sweeping over a level surface devoid of

vegetation,[216] raises the sand from the ground, it is driven onward

with great force, and fills the mouth and eyes of the traveler, and

thus, by hindering his view, retards his progress. The Cyrenian

deputies, finding that they had lost ground, and dreading punishment

at home for their mismanagement, accused the Carthaginians of having

left home before the time; quarreling about the matter, and preferring

to do any thing rather than submit. The Philaeni, upon this, asked

them to name any other mode of settling the controversy, provided it

were equitable; and the Cyrenians gave them their choice, "either that

they should be buried alive in the spot which they claimed as the

boundary for their people, or that they themselves, on the same

conditions, should be allowed to go forward to whatever point they

should think proper." The Philaeni, having accepted the conditions,

sacrificed themselves[217] to the interest of their country, and were

interred alive. The people of Carthage consecrated altars to the

brothers on the spot; and other honors were instituted to them at

home. I now return to my subject.

LXXX. After the loss of Thala, Jugurtha, thinking no place sufficiently

secure against Metellus, fled with a few followers into the country of

the Getulians, a people savage and uncivilized, and, at that period,

unacquainted with even the name of Rome. Of these barbarians he collected

a great multitude, and trained them by degrees to march in ranks, to

follow standards, to obey the word of command, and to perform other

military exercises. He also gained over to his interest, by large

presents and larger promises, the intimate friends of king Bocchus, and

working upon the king by their means, induced him to commence war

against the Romans. This was the more practicable and easy, because

Bocchus, at the commencement of hostilities with Jugurtha, had sent an

embassy to Rome to solicit friendship and alliance; but a faction,

blinded by avarice, and accustomed to sell their votes on every question

honorable or dishonorable,[218] had caused his advances to be rejected,

though they were of the highest consequence to the war recently begun.

A daughter of Bocchus, too, was married to Jugurtha,[219] but such a

connection, among the Numidians and Moors, is but lightly regarded;

for every man has as many wives as he pleases, in proportion to his

ability to maintain them; some ten, others more, but the kings most of

all. Thus the affection of the husband is divided among a multitude;

no one of them becomes a companion to him,[220] but all are equally

neglected.

LXXXI. The two kings, with their armies,[221] met in a place settled

by mutual agreement, where, after pledges of amity were given and

received, Jugurtha inflamed the mind of Bocchus by observing "that the

Romans were a lawless people, of insatiable covetousness, and the

common enemies of mankind; that they had the same motive for making

war on Bocchus as on himself and other nations, the lust of dominion;

that all independent states were objects of hatred to them; at present,

for instance, himself; a little before, the Carthaginians had been so,

as well as king Perses; and that, in future, as any sovereign became

conspicuous for his power, so would he assuredly be treated as an enemy

by the Romans."

Induced by these and similar considerations, they determined to march

against Cirta, where Metellus had deposited his plunder, prisoners,

and baggage. Jugurtha supposed that, if he took the city, there would

be ample recompense for his exertions; or that, if the Roman general

came to succor his adherents, he would have the opportunity of

engaging him in the field. He also hastened this movement from policy,

to lessen Bocchus's chance of peace;[222] lest, if delay should be

allowed, he should decide upon something different from war.

LXXXII. Metellus, when he heard of the confederacy of the kings, did

not rashly, or in every place, give opportunities of fighting, as he

had been used to do since Jugurtha had been so often defeated, but,

fortifying his camp, awaited the approach of the kings at no great

distance from Cirta; thinking it better, when he should have learned

something of the Moors,[223] as they were new enemies in the field,

to give battle on an advantage. In the mean time he was informed, by

letters from Rome, that the province of Numidia was assigned to Marius,

of whose election to the consulship he had already heard.

Being affected at these occurrences beyond what was proper and

decorous, he could neither restrain his tears nor govern his tongue;

for though he was a man eminent in other respects, he had too little

firmness in bearing trouble of mind. His irritation was by some

imputed to pride; others said that a noble spirit was wounded by

insult; many thought him chagrined because victory, just attained, was

snatched from his grasp. But to me it is well known that he was more

troubled at the honor bestowed on Marius than at the injustice done to

himself; and that he would have shown much less uneasiness if the

province of which he was deprived had been given to any other than

Marius.

LXXXIII. Discouraged, therefore, by such a mortification, and thinking

it folly to promote another man's success at his own hazard, he sent

deputies to Bocchus, entreating him "not to become an enemy to the

Romans without cause;" and observing "that he had a fine opportunity

of entering into friendship and alliance with them, which were far

preferable to war; that though he might have confidence in his

resources, he ought not to change certainties for uncertainties; that

a war was easily begun, but discontinued with difficulty; that its

commencement and conclusion were not dependent on the same party; that

any one, even a coward, might commence hostilities, but that they

could be broken off only when the conqueror thought proper; and that

he should therefore consult for his interest and that of his kingdom,

and not connect his own prosperous circumstances with the ruined

fortunes of Jugurtha."

To these representations the king mildly answered, "that he desired

peace, but felt compassion for the condition of Jugurtha, to whom if

similar proposals were made, all would easily be arranged." Metellus,

in reply to this request of Bocchus, sent deputies with overtures, of

which the King approved some, and rejected others. Thus, in sending

messengers to and fro, the time passed away, and the war, according to

the consul's desire, was protracted without being advanced.

LXXXIV. Marius, who, as I said before, had been made consul with great

eagerness on the part of the populace, began, though he had always

been hostile to the patricians, to inveigh against them, after the

people gave him the province of Numidia, with great frequency and

violence; he attacked them sometimes individually and sometimes in a

body; he said that he had snatched from them the consulship as spoils

from vanquished enemies; and uttered other remarks laudatory to

himself and offensive to them. Meanwhile he made the provision for the

war his chief object; he asked for reinforcements for the legions; he

sent for auxiliaries from foreign states, kings, and allies; he also

enlisted all the bravest men from Latium, most of whom were known to

him by actual service, some few only by report, and induced, by

earnest solicitation, even discharged veterans[224] to accompany him.

Nor did the senate, though adverse to him, dare to refuse him any

thing; the additions to the legions they had voted even with

eagerness, because military service was thought to be unpopular with

the multitude, and Marius seemed likely to lose either the means of

warfare[225], or the favor of the people. But such expectations were

entertained in vain, so ardent was the desire of going with Marius

that had seized on almost all. Every one cherished the fancy[226] that

he should return home laden with spoil, crowned with victory, or

attended with some similar good fortune. Marius himself, too, had

excited them in no small degree by a speech; for, when all that he

required was granted, and he was anxious to commence a levy, he called

an assembly of the people, as well to encourage them to enlist, as to

inveigh, according to his practice, against the nobility. He spoke, on

the occasion, as follows:

LXXXV. "I am aware, my fellow-citizens, that most men do not appear as

candidates before you for an office, and conduct themselves in it when

they have obtained it, under the same character; that they are at

first industrious, humble, and modest, but afterward lead a life of

indolence and arrogance. But to me it appears that the contrary should

be the case; for as the whole state is of greater consequence than the

single office of consulate or praetorship, so its interests ought to

be managed[227] with greater solicitude than these magistracies are

sought. Nor am I insensible how great a weight of business I am,

through your kindness, called upon to sustain. To make preparations

for war, and yet to be sparing of the treasury; to press those into

the service whom I am unwilling to offend; to direct every thing at

home and abroad; and to discharge these duties when surrounded by the

envious, the hostile,[228] and the factious, is more difficult, my

fellow-citizens, than is generally imagined. In addition to this, if

others fail in their undertakings, their ancient rank, the heroic

actions of their ancestors, the power of their relatives and

connections, their numerous dependents, are all at hand to support

them; but as for me, my whole hopes rest upon myself, which I must

sustain by good conduct and integrity; for all other means are

unavailing.

I am sensible, too, my fellow-citizens, that the eyes of all men are

turned upon me; that the just and good favor me, as my services are

beneficial to the state, but that the nobility seek occasion to attack

me. I must therefore use the greater exertion, that you may not be

deceived in me,[229] and that their views may be rendered abortive. I

have led such a life, indeed, from my boyhood to the present hour,

that I am familiar with every kind of toil and danger; and that

exertion, which, before your kindness to me, I practiced gratuitously,

it is not my intention to relax after having received my reward. For

those who have pretended to be men of worth only to secure their

election,[230] it may be difficult to conduct themselves properly in

office: but to me, who have passed my whole life in the most honorable

occupations, to act well has from habit become nature.

You have commanded me to carry on the war against Jugurtha; a

commission at which the nobility are highly offended. Consider with

yourselves, I pray you, whether it would be a change for the better,

if you were to send to this, or to any other such appointment, one of

yonder crowd of nobles[231], a man of ancient family, of innumerable

statues, and of no military experience; in order, forsooth, that in so

important an office, and being ignorant of every thing connected with

it, he may exhibit hurry and trepidation, and select one of the people

to instruct him in his duty. For so it generally happens, that he whom

you have chosen to direct, seeks another to direct him. I know some,

my fellow-citizens, who, after they have been elected[232] consuls,

have begun to read the acts of their ancestors, and the military

precepts of the Greeks; persons who invert the order of things;[233]

for though to discharge the duties of the office[234] is posterior, in

point of time, to election, it is, in reality and practical

importance, prior to it.

Compare now, my fellow-citizens, me, who am _a new man,_ with those

haughty nobles.[235] What they have but heard or read, I have

witnessed or performed. What they have learned from books, I have

acquired in the field; and whether deeds or words are of greater

estimation, it is for you to consider.

They despise my humbleness of birth; I contemn their imbecility. My

condition[236] is made an objection to me; their misconduct is a

reproach to them. The circumstance of birth,[237] indeed, I consider

as one and the same to all; but think that he who best exerts himself

is the noblest. And could it be inquired of the fathers,[238] of

Albinus and Bestia, whether they would rather be the parents of them

or of me, what do you suppose that they would answer, but that they

would wish the most deserving to be their offspring! If the patricians

justly despise me, let them also despise their own ancestors, whose

nobility, like mine, had its origin in merit. They envy me the honor

that I have received; let them also envy me the toils, the

abstinence,[239] and the perils, by which I obtained that honor.

But they, men eaten up with pride, live as if they disdained all the

distinctions that you can bestow, and yet sue for those distinctions

as if they had lived so as to merit them. Yet those are assuredly

deceived, who expect to enjoy, at the same time, things so

incompatible as the pleasures of indolence and the rewards of

honorable exertion.[240]

When they speak before you, or in the senate, they occupy the

greatest part of their orations in extolling their ancestors;[241]

for, they suppose that, by recounting the heroic deeds of their

forefathers, they render themselves more illustrious. But the reverse

of this is the case; for the more glorious were the lives of their

ancestors, the more scandalous is their own inaction. The truth,

indeed, is plainly this, that the glory of ancestors sheds a light on

their posterity,[242] which suffers neither their virtues nor their

vices to be concealed. Of this light, my fellow-citizens, I have no

share; but I have, what confers much more distinction, the power of

relating my own actions. Consider, then, how unreasonable they are;

what they claim to themselves for the merit of others, they will not

grant to me for my own; alleging, forsooth, that I have no statues,

and that my distinction is newly-acquired; but it is surely better to

have acquired such distinction myself than to bring disgrace on that

received from others.

I am not ignorant, that, if they were inclined to reply to me, they

would make an abundant display of eloquent and artful language. Yet,

since they attack both you and myself on occasion of the great favor

which you have conferred upon me, I did not think proper to be silent

before them, lest any one should construe my forbearance into a

consciousness of demerit. As for myself, indeed, nothing that is said

of me, I feel assured,[243] can do me injury; for what is true, must

of necessity speak in my favor; what is false, my life and character

will refute. But since your judgment, in bestowing on me so

distinguished an honor and so important a trust, is called in

question, consider, I beseech you, again and again, whether you are

likely to repent of what you have done. I can not, to raise your

confidence in me, boast of the statues, or triumphs, or consulships of

my ancestors; but, if it be thought necessary, I can show you spears,[244]

a banner,[245] caparisons[246] for horses, and other military rewards;

besides the scars of wounds on my breast. These are my statues; this

is my nobility; honors, not left, like theirs, by inheritance, but

acquired amid innumerable toils and dangers.

My speech, they say, is inelegant; but that I have ever thought of

little importance. Worth sufficiently displays itself; it is for my

detractors to use studied language, that they may palliate base

conduct by plausible words. Nor have I learned Greek; for I had no

wish to acquire a tongue that adds nothing to the valor[247] of those

who teach it. But I have gained other accomplishments, such as are of

the utmost benefit to a state; I have learned to strike down an enemy;

to be vigilant at my post;[248] to fear nothing but dishonor; to bear

cold and heat with equal endurance; to sleep on the ground; and to

sustain at the same time hunger and fatigue. And with such rules of

conduct I shall stimulate my soldiers, not treating them with rigor

and myself with indulgence, nor making their toils my glory. Such a

mode of commanding is at once useful to the state, and becoming to a

citizen. For to coerce your troops with severity, while you yourself

live at ease, is to be a tyrant, not a general.

It was by conduct such as this, my fellow-citizens, that your

ancestors made themselves and the republic renowned. Our nobility,

relying on their forefathers' merits, though totally different from

them in conduct, disparage us who emulate their virtues; and demand of

you every public honor, as due, not to their personal merit, but to

their high rank. Arrogant pretenders, and utterly unreasonable! For

though their ancestors left them all that was at their disposal, their

riches, their statues, and their glorious names, they left them not,

nor could leave them, their virtue; which alone, of all their

possessions, could neither be communicated nor received.

They reproach me as being mean, and of unpolished manners, because,

forsooth, I have but little skill in arranging an entertainment, and

keep no actor,[249] nor give my cook[250] higher wages than my

steward; all which charges I must, indeed, acknowledge to be just; for

I learned from my father, and other venerable characters, that vain

indulgences belong to women, and labor to men; that glory, rather than

wealth, should be the object of the virtuous; and that arms and armor,

not household furniture, are marks of honor. But let the nobility, if

they please, pursue what is delightful and dear to them; let them

devote themselves to licentiousness and luxury; let them pass their

age as they have passed their youth, in revelry and feasting, the

slaves of gluttony and debauchery; but let them leave the toil and

dust of the field, and other such matters, to us, to whom they are

more grateful than banquets. This, however, they will not do; for when

these most infamous of men have disgraced themselves by every species

of turpitude, they proceed to claim the distinctions due to the most

honorable. Thus it most unjustly happens that luxury and indolence,

the most disgraceful of vices, are harmless to those who indulge in

them, and fatal only to the innocent commonwealth.

As I have now replied to my calumniators, as far as my own character

required, though not so fully as their flagitiousness deserved, I

shall add a few words on the state of public affairs. In the first

place, my fellow-citizens, be of good courage with regard to Numidia;

for all that hitherto protected Jugurtha, avarice, inexperience, and

arrogance[251], you have entirely removed. There is an army in it,

too, which is well acquainted with the country, though, assuredly,

more brave than fortunate; for a great part of it has been destroyed

by the avarice or rashness of its commanders. Such of you, then, as

are of military age, co-operate with me, and support the cause of your

country; and let no discouragement, from the ill-fortune of others, or

the arrogance of the late commanders, affect any one of you. I myself

shall be with you, both on the march and in the battle, both to direct

your movements and to share your dangers. I shall treat you and myself

on every occasion alike; and, doubtless, with the aid of the gods, all

good things, victory, spoil, and glory, are ready to our hands; though,

even if they were doubtful or distant, it would still become every able

citizen to act in defense of his country. For no man, by slothful

timidity, has escaped the lot of mortals[252]; nor has any parent wished

for his children[253] that they might live forever, but rather that they

might act in life with virtue and honor. I would add more, my

fellow-citizens, if words could give courage to the faint-hearted; to

the brave I think that I have said enough."

LXXXVI. After having spoken to this effect, Marius, when he found that

the minds of the populace were excited, immediately freighted vessels

with provisions, pay, arms, and other necessaries, and ordered Aulus

Manlius, his lieutenant-general, to set sail with them. He himself, in

the mean time, proceeded to enlist soldiers, not after the ancient

method, or from the classes[254], but taking all that were willing to

join him, and the greater part from the lowest ranks. Some said that

this was done from a scarcity of better men, and others from the

consul's desire to pay court[255] to the poorer class, because it was

by that order of men that he had been honored and promoted; and,

indeed, to a man grasping at power, the most needy are the most

serviceable, persons to whom their property (as they have none) is not

an object of care, and to whom every thing lucrative appears honorable.

Setting out, accordingly, for Africa, with a somewhat larger force than

had been decreed, he arrived in a few days at Utica. The command of the

army was resigned to him by Publius Rutilius, Metullus's

lieutenant-general; for Metullus himself avoided the sight of Marius,

that he might not see what he could not even endure to hear mentioned.

LXXXVII. Marius, having filled up his legions[256] and auxiliary

cohorts, marched into a part of the country which was fertile and

abundant in spoil, where, whatever he captured, he gave up to his

soldiers. He then attacked such fortresses or towns as were ill

defended by nature or with troops, and ventured on several

engagements, though only of a light character, in different places.

The new recruits, in process of time, began to join in an encounter

without fear; they saw that such as fled were taken prisoners or

slain; that the bravest were the safest; that liberty, their country,

and parents,[257] are defended, and glory and riches acquired, by

arms. Thus the new and old troops soon became as one body, and the

courage of all was rendered equal.

The two kings, when they heard of the approach of Marius, retreated,

by separate routes, into parts that were difficult of access; a plan

which had been proposed by Jugurtha, who hoped that, in a short time,

the enemy might be attacked when dispersed over the country, supposing

that the Roman soldiers, like the generality of troops, would be less

careful and observant of discipline when the fear of danger was removed.

LXXXVIII. Metellus, meanwhile, having taken his departure for Rome,

was received there, contrary to his expectation, with the greatest

feelings of joy, being equally welcomed, since public prejudice had

subsided, by both the people and the patricians.

Marius continued to attend, with equal activity and prudence, to his

own affairs and those of the enemy. He observed what would be

advantageous, or the contrary, to either party; he watched the

movements of the kings, counteracted their intentions and stratagems,

and allowed no remissness in his own army, and no security in that of

the enemy. He accordingly attacked and dispersed, on several

occasions, the Getulians and Jugurtha on their march, as they were

carrying off spoil from our allies;[258] and he obliged the king

himself, near the town of Cirta, to take flight without his arms[259]

But finding that such enterprises merely gained him honor, without

tending to terminate the war, he resolved on investing, one after

another, all the cities, which, by the strength of their garrisons or

situation, were best suited either to support the enemy, or to resist

himself; so that Jugurtha would either be deprived of his fortresses,

if he suffered them to be taken, or be forced to come to an engagement

in their defense. As to Bocchus, he had frequently sent messengers to

Marius, saying that he desired the friendship of the Roman people, and

that the consul need fear no act of hostility from him. But whether he

merely dissembled, with a view to attack us unexpectedly with greater

effect, or whether, from fickleness of disposition he habitually

wavered between war and peace, was never fairly ascertained.

LXXXIX. Marius, as he had determined, proceeded to attack the

fortified towns and places of strength, and to detach them, partly by

force, and partly by threats or offers of reward, from the enemy. His

operations in this way, however, were at first but moderate; for he

expected that Jugurtha, to protect his subjects, would soon come to an

engagement. But finding that he kept at a distance, and was intent on

other affairs, he thought it was time to enter upon something of

greater importance and difficulty. Amid the vast deserts there lay a

great and strong city, named Capsa, the founder of which is said to have

been the Libyan Hercules.[260] Its inhabitants were exempted from taxes

by Jugurtha, and under mild government, and were consequently regarded

as the most faithful of his subjects. They were defended against enemies,

not only by walls, magazines of arms, and bodies of troops, but still

more by the difficulty of approaching them; for, except the parts

adjoining the walls, all the surrounding country is waste and

uncultivated, destitute of water, and infested with serpents, whose

fierceness, like that of other wild animals, is aggravated by want of

food; while the venom of such reptiles, deadly in itself, is exacerbated

by nothing so much as by thirst. Of this place Marius conceived a strong

desire[261] to make himself master, not only from its importance for the

war, but because its capture seemed an enterprise of difficulty; for

Metellus had gained great glory by taking Thala, a town similarly

situated and fortified; except that at Thala there were several springs

near the walls, while the people of Capsa had only one running stream,

and that within the town, all the water which they used beside being

rain-water. But this scarcity, both here and in other parts of Africa,

where the people live rudely and remote from the sea, was endured with

the greater ease, as the inhabitants subsist mostly on milk and wild

beasts' flesh,[262] and use no salt, or other provocatives of appetite,

their food being merely to satisfy hunger or thirst, and not to encourage

luxury or excess.

XC. The consul,[263] having made all necessary investigations, and

relying, I suppose, on the gods (for against such difficulties he

could not well provide by his own forethought, as he was also

straitened for want of corn, because the Numidians apply more to

pasturage than agriculture, and had conveyed, by the king's order,

whatever corn had been raised into fortified places, while the ground

at the time, it being the end of summer, was parched and destitute of

vegetation), yet, under the circumstances, conducted his arrangements

with great prudence. All the cattle, which had been taken for some

days previous, he consigned to the care[264] of the auxiliary cavalry;

and directed Aulus Manlius, his lieutenant-general, to proceed with

the light-armed cohorts to the town of Lares,[265] where he had

deposited provisions and pay for the army, telling him that, after

plundering the country, he would join him there in a few days. Having

by this means concealed his real design, he proceeded toward the river

Tana.

XCI. On his march he distributed daily, to each division of the

infantry and cavalry, an equal portion of the cattle, and gave orders

that water-bottles should be made of their hides; thus compensating,

at once, for the scarcity of corn, and providing, while all remained

ignorant of his intention, utensils which would soon be of service. At

the end of six days, accordingly, when he arrived at the river, a

large number of bottles had been prepared. Having pitched his camp,

with a slight fortification, he ordered his men to take refreshment,

and to be ready to resume their march at sunset; and, having laid aside

all their baggage, to load themselves and their beasts only with water.

As soon as it seemed time, he quitted the camp, and, after marching the

whole night,[266] encamped again.

The same course he pursued on the following night, and on the third,

long before dawn, he reached a hilly spot of ground, not more than two

miles distant from Capsa, where he waited, as secretly as possible,

with his whole force. But when daylight appeared, and many of the

Numidians, having no apprehensions of an enemy, went forth out of the

town, he suddenly ordered all the cavalry, and with them the lightest

of the infantry, to hasten forward to Capsa, and secure the gates. He

himself immediately followed, with the utmost ardor, restraining his

men from plunder.

When the inhabitants perceived that the place was surprised, their

state of consternation and extreme dread, the suddenness of the

calamity, and the consideration that many of their fellow-citizens

were without the walls in the power of the enemy, compelled them to

surrender. The town, however, was burned; of the Numidians, such as

were of adult age, were put to the sword; the rest were sold, and the

spoil divided among the soldiers. This severity, in violation of the

usages of war, was not adopted from avarice or cruelty in the consul,

but was exercised because the place was of great advantage to Jugurtha,

and difficult of access to us, while the inhabitants were a fickle and

faithless race, to be influenced neither by kindness nor by terror.

XCII. When Marius had achieved so important an enterprise, without any

loss to his troops, he who was great and honored before became still

greater and still more honored. All his undertakings,[267] however

ill-concerted, were regarded as proofs of superior ability; his

soldiers, kept under mild discipline, and enriched with spoil,

extolled him to the skies; the Numidians dreaded him as some thing

more than human; and all, indeed, allies as well as enemies, believed

that he was either possessed of supernatural power, or had all things

directed for him by the will of the gods.

After his success in this attempt, he proceeded against other towns; a

few, where they offered resistance, he took by force; a greater number,

deserted in consequence of the wretched fate of Capsa, he destroyed by

fire; and the whole country was filled with mourning and slaughter.

Having at length gained possession of many places, and most of them

without loss to his army, he turned his thoughts to another enterprise,

which, though not of the same desperate character as that at Capsa, was

yet not less difficult of execution.[268] Not far from the river Mulucha,

which divided the kingdoms of Jugurtha and Bocchus, there stood, in the

midst of a plain,[269] a rocky hill, sufficiently broad at the top for

a small fort; it rose to a vast height, and had but one narrow ascent

left open, the whole of it being as steep by nature as it could have

been rendered by labor and art. This place, as there were treasures of

the king in it, Marius directed his utmost efforts to take.[270] But

his views were furthered more by fortune than by his own contrivance.

In the fortress there were plenty of men and arms for its defense,

as well as an abundant store of provisions, and a spring of water;

while its situation was unfavorable for raising mounds, towers, and

other works; and the road to it, used by its inhabitants, was extremely

steep, with a precipice on either side. The vineae were brought up with

great danger, and without effect; for, before they were advanced any

considerable distance, they were destroyed with fire or stones. And from

the difficulties of the ground, the soldiers could neither stand in front

of the works, nor act among the vineae,[271] without danger; the boldest

of them were killed or wounded, and the fear of the rest increased.

XCIII. Marius having thus wasted much time and labor, began seriously

to consider whether he should abandon the attempt as impracticable, or

wait for the aid of Fortune, whom he had so often found favorable.

While he was revolving the matter in his mind, during several days and

nights, in a state of much doubt and perplexity, it happened that a

certain Ligurian, a private soldier in the auxiliary cohorts,[272]

having gone out of the camp to fetch water, observed, near that part

of the fort which was furthest from the besiegers, some snails

crawling among the rocks, of which, when he had picked up one or two,

and afterward more, he gradually proceeded, in his eagerness for

collecting them, almost to the top of the hill. When he found this

part deserted, a desire, incident to the human mind, of seeing what he

had never seen,[273] took violent possession of him. A large oak

chanced to grow out among the rocks, at first, for a short distance,

horizontally,[274] and then, as nature directs all vegetables,[275]

turning and shooting upward. Raising himself sometimes on the boughs

of this tree, and sometimes on the projecting rocks, the Ligurian, as

all the Numidians were intently watching the besiegers, took a full

survey of the platform of the fortress. Having observed whatever he

thought it would afterward prove useful to know, he descended the same

way, not unobservantly, as he had gone up, but exploring and noticing

all the peculiarities of the path. He then hastened to Marius,

acquainted him with what he had done, and urged him to attack the fort

on that side where he had ascended, offering himself to lead the way

and the attempt. Marius sent some of those about him, along with the

Ligurian, to examine the practicability of his proposal, who,

according to their several dispositions, reported the affair as

difficult or easy. The consul's hopes, however, were somewhat

encouraged; and he accordingly selected, from his band of trumpeters

and bugle-men, five of the most nimble, and with them four centurions

for a guard;[276] all of whom he directed to obey the Ligurian,

appointing the next day for commencing the experiment.

XCIV. When, according to their instructions, it seemed time to set

out, the Ligurian, after preparing and arranging every thing,

proceeded to the place of ascent. Those who commanded the

centuries,[277] being previously instructed by the guide, had changed

their arms and dress, having their heads and feet bare, that their

view upward, and their progress among the rocks, might be less

impeded;[278] their swords were slung behind them, as well as their

shields, which were Numidian, and made of leather, both for the sake

of lightness, and in order that, if struck against any object, they

might make less noise. The Ligurian went first, and tied to the rocks,

and whatever roots of trees projected through age, a number of ropes,

by which the soldiers supporting themselves might climb with the

greatest ease. Such as were timorous, from the extraordinary nature of

the path, he sometimes pulled up by the hand; when the ascent was

extremely rugged, he sent them on singly before him without their

arms, which he then carried up after them; whatever parts appeared

unsafe,[279] he first tried them himself, and, by going up and down

repeatedly in the same place, and then standing aside, he inspired the

rest with courage to proceed. At length, after uninterrupted and

harassing exertion they reached the fortress, which, on that side, was

undefended, for all the occupants, as on other days, were intent on

the enemy in the opposite quarter.

Though Marius had kept the attention of the Numidians, during the

whole day, fixed on his attacks, yet, when he heard from his scouts

how the Ligurian had succeeded, he animated his soldiers to fresh

exertions, and he himself, advancing beyond the vineae, and causing a

testudo to be formed,[280] came up close under the walls, annoying the

enemy, at the same time, with his engines, archers, and slingers, from

a distance.

But the Numidians, having often before overturned and burned the

vineae of the Romans, no longer confined themselves within the

fortress, but spent day and night before the walls, railing at the

Romans, upbraiding Marius with madness, threatening our soldiers with

being made slaves to Jugurtha, and exhibiting the utmost audacity on

account of their successful defense. In the mean time, while both the

Romans and Numidians were engaged in the struggle, the one side

contending for glory and dominion, the other for their very existence,

the trumpets suddenly sounded a blast in the rear of the enemy, at

which the women and children, who had gone out to view the contest,

were the first to flee; next those who were nearest to the wall, and

at length the whole of the Numidians, armed and unarmed, retreated

within the fort. When this had happened, the Romans pressed upon the

enemy with increased boldness, dispersing them, and at first only

wounding the greater part, but afterward making their way over the

bodies of those who fell, thirsting for glory, and striving who should

be first to reach the wall; not a single individual being detained by

the plunder. Thus the rashness of Marius, rendered successful by

fortune, procured him renown from his very error.

XCV. During the progress of this affair, Lucius Sylla, Marius's

quaestor, arrived in the camp with a numerous body of cavalry, which

he had been left at Rome to raise among the Latins and allies.

Of so eminent a man, since my subject brings him to my notice, I think

it proper to give a brief account of the character and manners; for I

shall in no other place allude to his affairs;[281] and Lucius

Sisenna,[282] who has treated that subject the most ably and accurately

of all writers, seems to me to have spoken with too little freedom.

Sylla, then, was of patrician descent, but of a family almost sunk in

obscurity by the degeneracy of his forefathers. He was skilled, equally

and profoundly, in Greek and Roman literature. He was a man of large

mind, fond of pleasure, but fonder of glory. His leisure was spent in

luxurious gratifications, but pleasure never kept him from his duties,

except that he might have acted more for his honor with regard to his

wife[283]. He was eloquent and subtle, and lived on the easiest terms

with his friends.[284] His depth of thought in disguising his

intentions, was incredible; he was liberal of most things, but

especially of money. And though he was the most fortunate [285] of all

men before his victory in the civil war, yet his fortune was never

beyond his desert;[286] and many have expressed a doubt whether his

success or his merit were the greater. As to his subsequent acts, I

know not whether more of shame, or of regret must be felt at the

recital of them.

XCVI. When Sylla came with his cavalry into Africa, as has just been

stated, and arrived at the camp of Marius, though he had hitherto been

unskilled and undisciplined in the art of war, he became, in a short

time, the most expert of the whole army. He was besides affable to the

soldiers; he conferred favors on many at their request, and on others

of his own accord, and was reluctant to receive any in return. But he

repaid other obligations more readily than those of a pecuniary

nature; he himself demanded repayment from no one; but rather made it

his object that as many as possible should be indebted to him. He

conversed, jocosely as well as seriously, with the humblest of the

soldiers; he was their frequent companion at their works, on the

march, and on guard. Nor did he ever, as is usual with depraved

ambition, attempt to injure the character of the consul, or of any

deserving person.

His sole aim, whether in the council or the field, was to suffer none

to excel him; to most he was superior. By such conduct he soon became

a favorite both with Marius and with the army.

XCVII. Jugurtha, after he had lost the city of Capsa, and other strong

and important places, as well as a vast sum of money, dispatched

messengers to Bocchus, requesting him to bring his forces into Numidia

as soon as possible, and stating that the time for giving battle was

at hand. But finding that he hesitated, and was balancing the

inducements to peace and war, he again corrupted his confidants, as on

a previous occasion, with presents, and promised the Moor himself a

third part of Numidia, should either the Romans be driven from Africa,

or the war brought to an end without any diminution of his own

territories. Being allured by this offer, Bocchus joined Jugurtha with

a large force.

The armies of the kings being thus united, they attacked Marius, on

his march to his winter quarters, when scarcely a tenth part of the

day remained[287], expecting that the night, which was now coming on,

would be a shelter to them if they were beaten, and no impediment if

they should conquer, as they were well acquainted with the country,

while either result would be worse for the Romans in the dark. At the

very moment, accordingly, that Marius heard from various quarters[288]

of the enemy's approach, the enemy themselves were upon him, and

before the troops could either form themselves or collect the baggage,

before they could receive even a signal or an order, the Moorish and

Getulian horse, not in line, or any regular array of battle, but in

separate bodies, as chance had united them, rushed furiously on our

men; who, though all struck with a panic, yet, calling to mind what

they had done on former occasions, either seized their arms, or

protected those who were looking for theirs, while some, springing on

their horses, advanced against the enemy. But the whole conflict was

more like a rencounter with robbers than a battle; the horse and foot

of the enemy, mingled together without standards or order, wounded

some of our men, and cut down others, and surprised many in the rear

while fighting stoutly with those in front; neither valor nor arms

were a sufficient defense, the enemy being superior in numbers, and

covering the field on all sides. At last the Roman veterans, who were

necessarily well experienced in war,[289] formed themselves, wherever

the nature of the ground or chance allowed them to unite, in circular

bodies, and thus secured on every side, and regularly drawn up,

withstood the attacks of the enemy.

XCVIII. Marius, in this desperate emergency, was not more alarmed or

disheartened than on any previous occasion, but rode about with his

troop of cavalry, which he had formed of his bravest soldiers rather

than his nearest friends, in every quarter of the field, sometimes

supporting his own men when giving way, sometimes charging the enemy

where they were thickest, and doing service to his troops with his

sword, since, in the general confusion, he was unable to command with

his voice.

The day had now closed, yet the barbarians abated nothing of their

impetuosity, but, expecting that the night would be in their favor,

pressed forward, as their kings had directed them, with increased

violence. Marius, in consequence, resolved upon a measure suited to

his circumstances, and, that his men might have a place of retreat,

took possession of two hills contiguous to each other, on one of

which, too small for a camp, there was an abundant spring of water,

while the other, being mostly elevated and steep, and requiring little

fortification, was suited for his purpose as a place of encampment. He

then ordered Sylla, with a body of cavalry, to take his station for

the night on the eminence containing the spring, while he himself

collected his scattered troops by degrees, the enemy being not less

disordered[290], and led them all at a quick march[291] up the other

hill. Thus the kings, obliged by the strength of the Roman position,

were deterred from continuing the combat; yet they did not allow their

men to withdraw to a distance, but, surrounding both hills with a

large force, encamped without any regular order. Having then lighted

numerous fires, the barbarians, after their custom, spent most of the

night in merriment, exultation, and tumultuous clamor, the kings,

elated at having kept their ground, conducting themselves as

conquerors. This scene, plainly visible to the Romans, under cover of

the night and on the higher ground, afforded great encouragement to

them.

XCIX. Marius, accordingly, deriving much confidence from the

imprudence of the enemy, ordered the strictest possible silence to be

kept, not allowing even the trumpets, as was usual, to be sounded when

the watches were changed;[292] cavalry, and legions, to sound all and

then, when day approached, and the enemy were fatigued and just

sinking to sleep, he ordered the sentinels, with the trumpeters of the

auxiliary cohorts,[293] their instruments at once, and the soldiers,

at the same time, to raise a shout, and sally forth from the camp[294]

upon the enemy. The Moors and Getulians, suddenly roused by the

strange and terrible noise, could neither flee, nor take up arms,

could neither act, nor provide for their security, so completely had

fear, like a stupor,[295] from the uproar and shouting, the absence of

support, the charge of our troops, and the tumult and alarm, seized

upon them all. The whole of them were consequently routed and put to

flight; most of their arms, and military standards, were taken; and

more were killed in this than in all former battles, their escape

being impeded by sleep and the sudden alarm.

C. Marius now continued the route, which he had commenced, toward his

winter quarters, which, for the convenience of getting provisions, he

had determined to fix in the towns on the coast. He was not, however,

rendered careless or presumptuous by his victory, but marched with his

army in form of a square[296] just as if he were in sight of the

enemy. Sylla, with his cavalry, was on the right; Aulus Manlius, with

the slingers and archers, and Ligurian cohorts, had the command on the

left; the tribunes, with the light-armed infantry, the consul had

placed in the front and rear. The deserters, whose lives were of

little value, and who were well acquainted with the country, observed

the route of the enemy. Marius himself, too, as if no other were

placed in charge, attended to every thing, went through the whole of

the troops, and praised or blamed them according to their desert. He

was always armed and on the alert, and obliged his men to imitate his

example. He fortified his camp with the same caution with which he

marched; stationing cohorts of the legions to watch the gates, and the

auxiliary cavalry in front, and others upon the rampart and lines. He

went round the posts in person, not from suspicion that his orders

would not be observed, but that the labor of the soldiers, shared

equally by their general, might be endured by them with cheerfulness.

[297] Indeed, Marius, as well at this as at other periods of the war,

kept his men to their duty rather by the dread of shame[298] than of

severity; a course which many said was adopted from desire of popularity,

but some thought it was because he took pleasure in toils to which he had

been accustomed from his youth, and in exertions which other men call

perfect miseries. The public interest, however, was served with as much

efficiency and honor as it could have been under the most rigorous

command.

CI. At length, on the fourth day of his march, when he was not far

from the town of Cirta, his scouts suddenly made their appearance from

all quarters at once; a circumstance by which the enemy was known to

be at hand. But as they came in from different points, and all gave

the same account, the consul, doubting in what form to draw up his

army, made no alteration in it, but halted where he was, being already

prepared for every contingency. Jugurtha's expectations, in consequence,

disappointed him; for he had divided his force into four bodies, trusting

that one of them, assuredly,[299] would surprise the Romans in the rear.

Sylla, meanwhile, with whom they first came in contact, having cheered

on his men, charged the Moors, in person and with his officers,[300]

with troop after troop of cavalry, in the closest order possible; while

the rest of his force, retaining their position, protected themselves

against the darts thrown from a distance, and killed such of the enemy

as fell into their hands.

While the cavalry was thus engaged, Bocchus, with his infantry, which

his son Volux had brought up, and which, from delay on their march,

had not been present in the former battle, assailed the Romans in the

rear. Marius was at that moment occupied in front, as Jugurtha was

there with his largest force. The Numidian king, hearing of the

arrival of Bocchus, wheeled secretly about, with a few of his

followers, to the infantry,[301] and exclaimed in Latin, which he had

learned to speak at Numantia, "that our men wore struggling in vain;

for that he had just slain Marius with his own hand;" showing, at the

same time, his sword besmeared with blood, which he had, indeed,

sufficiently stained by vigorously cutting down our infantry[302].

When the soldiers heard this, they felt a shock, though rather at the

horror of such an event, than from belief in him who asserted it; the

barbarians, on the other hand, assumed fresh courage, and advanced

with greater fury on the disheartened Romans, who were just on the

point of taking to flight, when Sylla, having routed those to whom he

had been opposed, fell upon the Moors in the flank. Bocchus instantly

fled. Jugurtha, anxious to support his men, and to secure a victory so

nearly won, was surrounded by our cavalry, and all his attendants,

right and left, being slain, had to force a way alone, with great

difficulty, through the weapons of the enemy. Marius, at the same

time, having put to flight the cavalry, came up to support such of his

men as he had understood to be giving ground. At last the enemy were

defeated in every quarter. The spectacle on the open plains was then

frightful;[303] some were pursuing, others fleeing; some were being

slain, others captured; men and horses were dashed to the earth; many,

who were wounded, could neither flee nor remain at rest, attempting to

rise, and instantly falling back; and the whole field, as far as the

eye could reach, was strewed with arms and dead bodies, and the

intermediate spaces saturated with blood.

CII. At length the consul, now indisputably victor, arrived at the

town of Cirta, whither he had at first intended to go. To this place,

on the fifth day after the second defeat of the barbarians, came

messengers from Bocchus, who, in the king's name, requested of Marius

to send him two persons in whom he had full confidence, as he wished

to confer with them on matters concerning both the interest of the

Roman people and his own. Marius immediately dispatched Sylla and

Aulus Manlius; who, though they went at the king's invitation, thought

proper, notwithstanding, to address him first, in the hope of altering

his sentiments, if he were unfavorable to peace, or of strengthening

his inclination, if he were disposed to it. Sylla, therefore, to whose

superiority, not in years but in eloquence, Manlius yielded

precedence, spoke to Bocchus briefly as follows:

"It gives us great pleasure, King Bocchus, that the gods have at

length induced a man, so eminent as yourself, to prefer peace to war,

and no longer to stain your own excellent character by an alliance

with Jugurtha, the most infamous of mankind; and to relieve us, at the

same time, from the disagreeable necessity of visiting with the same

punishment your errors and his crimes. Besides, the Roman people, even

from the very infancy[304] of their state, have thought it better to

seek friends than slaves, thinking it safer to rule over willing than

forced subjects. But to you no friendship can be more suitable than

ours; for, in the first place, we are at a distance from you, on which

account there will be the less chance of misunderstanding between us,

while our good feeling for you will be as strong as if we were near;

and, secondly, because, though we have subjects in abundance, yet

neither we, nor any other nation, can ever have a sufficiency of

friends. Would that such had been your inclination from the first; for

then you would assuredly, before this time, have received from the

Roman people more benefits than you have now suffered evils. But since

Fortune has the chief control in human affairs, and it has pleased her

that you should experience our force as well as our favor, now, when,

she gives you this fair opportunity, embrace it without delay, and

complete the course which you have begun. You have many and excellent

means of atoning, with great ease, for past errors by future services.

Impress this, however, deeply on your mind, that the Roman people are

never outdone in acts of kindness; of their power in war you have

already sufficient knowledge."

To this address Bocchus made a temperate and courteous reply, offering

a few observations, at the same time, in extenuation of his error; and

saying "that he had taken arms, not with any hostile feeling, but to

defend his own dominions, as part of Numidia, out of which he had

forcibly driven Jugurtha,[305] was his by right of conquest, and he

could not allow it to be laid waste by Marius; that when he formerly

sent embassadors to the Romans, he was refused their friendship; but

that he would say nothing more of the past, and would, if Marius gave

him permission, send another embassy to the senate." But no sooner was

this permission granted, than the purpose of the barbarian was altered

by some of his friends, whom Jugurtha, hearing of the mission of Sylla

and Manlius, and fearful of what was intended by it, had corrupted

with bribes.

CIII. Marius, in the mean time, having settled his army in winter

quarters, set out, with the light-armed cohorts and part of the

cavalry, into a desert part of the country, to besiege a fortress of

Jugurtha's, in which he had placed a garrison consisting wholly of

Roman deserters. And now again Bocchus, either from reflecting on what

he had suffered in the two engagements, or from being admonished by

such of his friends as Jugurtha had not corrupted, selected, out of

the whole number of his adherents, five persons of approved integrity

and eminent abilities, whom he directed to go, in the first place, to

Marius, and afterward to proceed, if Marius gave his consent, as

embassadors to Rome, granting them full powers to treat concerning his

affairs, and to conclude the war upon any terms whatsoever. These five

immediately set out for the Roman winter-quarters, but being beset and

spoiled by Getulian robbers on the way, fled, in alarm and ill

plight,[306] to Sylla, whom the consul, when he went on his expedition,

had left as pro-praetor with the army. Sylla received them, not, as they

had deserved, like faithless enemies, but with the greatest ceremony and

munificence; from which the barbarians concluded that what was said of

Roman avarice was false, and that Sylla, from his generosity, must be

their friend. For interested bounty,[307] in those days, was still

unknown to many; by whom every man who was liberal was also thought

benevolent, and all presents were considered to proceed from kindness.

They therefore disclosed to the quaestor their commission from Bocchus,

and asked him to be their patron and adviser; extolling, at the same

time, the power, integrity, and grandeur of their monarch, and adding

whatever they thought likely to promote their objects, or to procure

the favor of Sylla. Sylla promised them all that they requested; and,

being instructed how to address Marius and the senate, they tarried in

the camp about forty days.[308]

CIV. When Marius, having failed in the object[309] of his expedition,

returned to Cirta, and was informed of the arrival of the embassadors,

he desired both them and Sylla to come to him, together with Lucius

Bellienus, the praetor from Utica, and all that were of senatorial rank

in any part of the country, with whom he discussed the instructions of

Bocchus to his embassadors; to whom permission to proceed to Rome was

granted by the consul. In the mean time a truce was asked, a request

to which assent was readily expressed by Sylla and the majority; the

few, who advocated harsher measures, were men inexperienced in human

affairs, which, unstable and fluctuating, are always verging to

opposite extremes.[310]

The Moors having obtained all that they desired, three of them started

for Rome with Oneius Octavius Rufus, who, as quaestor, had brought pay

for the army to Africa; the other two returned to Bocchus, who heard

from them, with great pleasure, their account both of other

particulars, and especially of the courtesy and attention of Sylla.

To his three embassadors that went to Rome, when, after a deprecatory

acknowledgment that their king had been in error, and had been led

astray by the treachery of Jugurtha, they solicited for him friendship

and alliance, the following answer was given: "The senate and people

of Rome are wont to be mindful of both services and injuries; they

pardon Bocchus, since he repents of his fault, and will grant him

their alliance and friendship when he shall have deserved them."

CV. When this reply was communicated to Bocchus, he requested Marius,

by letter, to send Sylla to him, that, at his discretion,[311]

measures might be adopted for their common interest. Sylla was

accordingly dispatched, attended with a guard of cavalry, infantry,

and Balearic slingers, besides some archers and a Pelignian cohort,

who, for the sake of expedition, were furnished with light arms,

which, however, protected them, as efficiently as any others, against

the light darts of the enemy. As he was on his march, on the fifth day

after he set out, Volux, the son of Bocchus, suddenly appeared on the

open plain with a body of cavalry, which amounted in reality to not

more than a thousand, but which, as they approached in confusion and

disorder, presented to Sylla and the rest the appearance of a greater

number, and excited apprehensions of hostility. Every one, therefore,

prepared himself for action, trying and presenting[312] his arms and

weapons; some fear was felt among them, but greater hope, as they were

now conquerors, and were only meeting those whom they had often

overcome. After a while, however, a party of horse sent forward to

reconnoiter, reported, as was the case, that nothing but peace was

intended.

CVI. Volux, coming forward, addressed himself to Sylla, saying that he

was sent by Bocchus his father to meet and escort him. The two parties

accordingly formed a junction, and prosecuted their journey, on that

day and the following, without any alarm. But when they had pitched

their camp, and evening had set in, Volux came running, with looks of

perplexity, to Sylla, and said that he had learned from his scouts

that Jugurtha was at hand, entreating and urging him, at the same

time, to escape with him privately in the night. Sylla boldly replied,

"that he had no fear of Jugurtha, an enemy so often defeated; that he

had the utmost confidence in the valor of his troops; and that, even

if certain destruction were at hand, he would rather keep his ground,

than save, by deserting his followers, a life at best uncertain, and

perhaps soon to be lost by disease." Being pressed, however, by Volux,

to set forward in the night, he approved of the suggestion, and

immediately ordered his men to dispatch their supper,[313] to light as

many fires as possible in the camp, and to set out in silence at the

first watch.

When they were all fatigued with their march during the night, and

Sylla was preparing, at sunrise, to pitch his camp, the Moorish

cavalry announced that Jugurtha was encamped about two miles in

advance. At this report, great dismay fell upon our men; for they

believed themselves betrayed by Volux, and led into an ambuscade. Some

exclaimed that they ought to take vengeance on him at once, and not

suffer such perfidy to remain unpunished.

CVII. But Sylla, though he had similar thoughts, protected the Moor

from violence; exhorting his soldiers to keep up their spirits; and

saying, "that a handful of brave men had often fought successfully

against a multitude; that the less anxious they were to save their

lives in battle, the greater would be their security; and that no man,

who had arms in his hands, ought to trust for safety to his unarmed

heels, or to turn to the enemy, in however great danger, the

defenseless and blind parts of his body".[314] Having then called

almighty Jupiter to witness the guilt and perfidy of Bocchus, he

ordered Volux, as being an instrument of his father's hostility,[315]

to quit the camp.

Volux, with tears in his eyes, entreated him to entertain no such

suspicions; declaring "that nothing in the affair had been caused by

treachery on his part, but all by the subtlety of Jugurtha, to whom

his line of march had become known through his scouts. But as Jugurtha

had no great force with him, and as his hopes and resource were

dependent on his father Bocchus, he assuredly would not attempt any

open violence, when the son of Bocchus would himself be a witness of

it. He thought it best for Sylla, therefore, to march boldly through

the middle of his camp, and that as for himself, he would either send

forward his Moors, or leave them where they were, and accompany Sylla

alone." This course, under such circumstances, was adopted; they set

forward without delay, and, as they came upon Jugurtha unexpectedly,

while he was in doubt and hesitation how to act, they passed without

molestation. In a few days afterward, they arrived at the place to

which their march was directed.

CVIII. There was, at this time, in constant and familiar intercourse

with Bocchus, a Numidian named Aspar, who had been sent to him by

Jugurtha, when he heard of Sylla's intended interview, in the

character of embassador, but secretly to be a spy on the Mauretanian

king's proceedings. There was also with him a certain Dabar, son of

Massugrada, one of the family of Masinissa,[316] but of inferior birth

on the maternal side, as his father was the son of a concubine. Dabar,

for his many intellectual endowments, was liked and esteemed by

Bocchus, who, having found him faithful[317] on many former occasions,

sent him forthwith to Sylla, to say that "he was ready to do whatever

the Romans desired; that Sylla himself should appoint the place, day,

and hour,[318] for a conference; that he kept all points, which he had

settled with him before, inviolate;[319] and that he was not to fear

the presence of Jugurtha's embassador as any restraint[320] on the

discussion of their common interests, since, without admitting him, he

could have no security against Jugurtha's treachery". I find, however,

that it was rather from African duplicity[321] than from the motives

which he professed, that Bocchus thus allured both the Romans and

Jugurtha with the hopes of peace; that he frequently debated with

himself whether he should deliver Jugurtha to the Romans, or Sylla to

Jugurtha; and that his inclination swayed him against us, but his

fears in our favor.

CIX. Sylla replied, "that he should speak on but few particulars

before Aspar, and discuss others at a private meeting, or in the

presence of only a few;" dictating, at the same time, what answer

should be returned by Bocchus.[322] Afterward, when they met, as

Bocchus had desired, Sylla stated, "that he had come, by order of the

consul, to inquire whether he would resolve on peace or on war."

Bocchus, as he had been previously instructed by Sylla, requested him

to come again at the end of ten days, since he had as yet formed no

determination, but would at that time give a decisive answer. Both

then retired to their respective camps.[323] But when the night was

far advanced, Sylla was secretly sent for by Bocchus. At their

interview, none but confidential interpreters were admitted on either

side, together with Dabar, the messenger between them, a man of honor,

and held in esteem by both parties. The king at once commenced thus:

CX. "I never expected that I, the greatest monarch in this part of the

world, and the richest of all whom I know, should ever owe a favor to

a private man. Indeed, Sylla, before I knew you, I gave assistance to

many who solicited me, and to others without solicitation, and stood

in need of no man's assistance.

But at this loss of independence, at which others are wont to repine,

I am rather inclined to rejoice. It will be a pleasure to me[324] to

have once needed your friendship, than which I hold nothing dearer to

my heart. Of the sincerity of this assertion you may at once make

trial, take my arms, my soldiers, my money, or whatever you please,

and use it as your own. But do not suppose, as long as you live, that

your kindness to me has been fully requited; my sense of it will

always remain undiminished, and you shall, with my knowledge, wish for

nothing in vain. For, as I am of opinion, it is less dishonorable to a

prince to be conquered in battle than to be surpassed in generosity.

With respect to your republic, whose interests you are sent to guard,

hear briefly what I have to say. I have neither made war upon the

Roman people, nor desired that it should be made; I have merely

defended my territories with arms against an armed force. But from

hostilities, since such is your pleasure, I now desist. Prosecute the

war with Jugurtha as you think proper. The river Malucha, which was

the boundary between Miscipsa and me, I shall neither pass myself, nor

suffer Jugurtha to come within it. And if you shall ask any thing

besides, worthy of me and of yourself, you shall not depart with a

refusal."

CXI. To this speech Sylla replied, as far as concerned himself,

briefly and modestly; but spoke, with regard to the peace and their

common concerns, much more at length. He signified to the king "that

the senate and people of Rome, as they had the superiority in the

field, would think themselves little obliged by what he promised; that

he must do something which would seem more for their interest than his

own; and that for this there was now a fair opportunity, since he had

Jugurtha in his power, for, if he delivered him to the Romans, they

would feel greatly indebted to him, and their friendship and alliance,

as well as that part of Numidia which he claimed,[325] would readily

be granted him." Bocchus at first refused to listen to the proposal,

saying that affinity, the ties of blood,[326] and a solemn league,

connected him with Jugurtha; and that he feared, if he acted

insincerely, he might alienate the affections of his subjects, by whom

Jugurtha was beloved, and the Romans disliked. But at last, after

being frequently importuned, his resolution gave way,[327] and he

engaged to do every thing in accordance with Sylla's wishes. They then

concerted measures for conducting a pretended treaty of peace, of

which Jugurtha, weary of war, was extremely desirous. Having settled

their plans, they separated.

CXII. On the next day Bocchus sent for Aspar, Jugurtha's envoy, and

acquainted him that he had ascertained from Sylla, through Dabar, that

the war might be concluded on certain conditions; and that he should

therefore make inquiry as to the sentiments of his king. Aspar

proceeded with joy to Jugurtha's camp, and having received full

instructions from him, returned in haste to Bocchus at the end of

eight days, with intelligence "that Jugurtha was eager to do whatever

might be required, but that he put little confidence in Marius, as

treaties of peace, concluded with Roman generals, had often before

proved of no effect; that if Bocchus, however, wished to consult the

interests of both,[328] and to have an established peace, he should

endeavor to bring all parties together to a conference, as if to

settle the conditions, and then deliver Sylla into his hands, for when

he had such a man in his power, a treaty would at once be concluded by

order of the senate and people of Rome; as a man of high rank, who had

fallen into the hands of the enemy, not from want of spirit, but from

zeal for the public interest, would not be left in captivity".

CXIII. The Moor, after long meditation on these suggestions, at length

expressed his assent to them, but whether in pretense or sincerity I

have not been able to discover. But the inclinations of kings, as they

are violent, are often fickle, and at variance with themselves. At

last, after a time and place were fixed for coming to a conference

about the treaty, Bocchus addressed himself at one time to Sylla and

at another to the envoy of Jugurtha, treating them with equal

affability, and making the same professions to both. Both were in

consequence equally delighted, and animated with the fairest

expectations. But on the night preceding the day appointed for the

conference, the Moor, after first assembling his friends, and then,

on a change of mind, dismissing them, is reported to have had many

anxious struggles with himself, disturbed alike in his thoughts and

his gestures, which, even when he was silent, betrayed the secret

agitation of his mind. At last, however, he ordered that Sylla should

be sent for, and, according to his desire, laid an ambush for

Jugurtha.

As soon as it was day, and intelligence was brought that Jugurtha was

at hand, Bocchus, as if to meet him and do him honor, went forth,

attended by a few friends, and our quaestor, as far as a little hill,

which was full in the view of the men who were placed in ambush. To

the same spot came Jugurtha with most of his adherents, unarmed,

according to agreement; when immediately, on a signal being given, he

was assailed on all sides by those who were lying in wait. The others

were cut to pieces, and Jugurtha himself was delivered bound to Sylla,

and by him conducted to Marius.

CXIV. At this period war was carried on unsuccessfully by our generals

Quintus Caepio and Marcus Manlius, against the Gauls; with the terror

of which all Italy was thrown into consternation. Both the Romans of

that day, indeed, and their descendants, down to our own times,

maintained the opinion that all other nations must yield to their

valor, but that they contended with the Gauls, not for glory, but

merely in self-defense. But after the war in Numidia was ended, and

it was announced that Jugurtha was coming in chains to Rome, Marius,

though absent from the city, was created consul, and Gaul decreed to

him as his province. On the first of January he triumphed as consul,

with great glory. At that time[329] the hopes and dependence of the

state were placed on him.