SERTORIUS

It is no great wonder if in long process of time, while fortune

takes her course hither and thither, numerous coincidences

should spontaneously occur. If the number and variety of

subjects to be wrought upon be infinite, it is all the more

easy for fortune, with such an abundance of material, to effect

this similarity of results. Or if, on the other hand, events

are limited to the combinations of some finite number, then of

necessity the same must often recur, and in the same sequence.

There are people who take a pleasure in making collections of

all such fortuitous occurrences that they have heard or read

of, as look like works of a rational power and design; they

observe, for example, that two eminent persons, whose names

were Attis, the one a Syrian, the other of Arcadia, were both

slain by a wild boar; that of two whose names were Actaeon, the

one was torn in pieces by his dogs, the other by his lovers;

that of two famous Scipios, the one overthrew the Carthaginians

in war, the other totally ruined and destroyed them; the city

of Troy was the first time taken by Hercules for the horses

promised him by Laomedon, the second time by Agamemnon, by

means of the celebrated great wooden horse, and the third time

by Charidemus, by occasion of a horse falling down at the gate,

which hindered the Trojans, so that they could not shut them

soon enough; and of two cities which take their names from the

most agreeable odoriferous plants, Ios and Smyrna, the one from

a violet, the other from myrrh, the poet Homer is reported to

have been born in the one, and to have died in the other. And

so to these instances let us further add, that the most warlike

commanders, and most remarkable for exploits of skillful

stratagem, have had but one eye; as Philip, Antigonus,

Hannibal, and Sertorius, whose life and actions we describe at

present; of whom, indeed, we might truly say, that he was more

continent than Philip, more faithful to his friend than

Antigonus, and more merciful to his enemies than Hannibal; and

that for prudence and judgment he gave place to none of them,

but in fortune was inferior to them all. Yet though he had

continually in her a far more difficult adversary to contend

against than his open enemies, he nevertheless maintained his

ground, with the military skill of Metellus, the boldness of

Pompey, the success of Sylla, and the power of the Roman

people, all to be encountered by one who was a banished man and

a stranger at the head of a body of barbarians. Among Greek

commanders, Eumenes of Cardia may be best compared with him;

they were both of them men born for command, for warfare, and

for stratagem; both banished from their countries, and holding

command over strangers; both had fortune for their adversary,

in their last days so harshly so, that they were both betrayed

and murdered by those who served them, and with whom they had

formerly overcome their enemies.

Quintus Sertorius was of a noble family, born in the city of

Nursia, in the country of the Sabines; his father died when he

was young, and he was carefully and decently educated by his

mother, whose name was Rhea, and whom he appears to have

extremely loved and honored. He paid some attention to the

study of oratory and pleading in his youth, and acquired some

reputation and influence in Rome by his eloquence; but the

splendor of his actions in arms, and his successful

achievements in the wars, drew off his ambition in that

direction.

At his first beginning, he served under Caepio, when the Cimbri

and Teutones invaded Gaul; where the Romans fighting

unsuccessfully, and being put to flight, he was wounded in many

parts of his body, and lost his horse, yet, nevertheless, swam

across the river Rhone in his armor, with his breastplate and

shield, bearing himself up against the violence of the current;

so strong and so well inured to hardship was his body.

The second time that the Cimbri and Teutones came down with

some hundreds of thousands, threatening death and destruction

to all, when it was no small piece of service for a Roman

soldier to keep his ranks and obey his commander, Sertorius

undertook, while Marius led the army, to spy out the enemy's

camp. Procuring a Celtic dress, and acquainting himself with

the ordinary expressions of their language requisite for common

intercourse, he threw himself in amongst the barbarians; where

having carefully seen with his own eyes, or having been fully

informed by persons upon the place of all their most important

concerns, he returned to Marius, from whose hands he received

the rewards of valor; and afterwards giving frequent proofs

both of conduct and courage in all the following war, he was

advanced to places of honor and trust under his general. After

the wars with the Cimbri and Teutones, he was sent into Spain,

having the command of a thousand men under Didius, the Roman

general, and wintered in the country of the Celtiberians, in

the city of Castulo, where the soldiers enjoying great plenty,

and growing insolent, and continually drinking, the inhabitants

despised them and sent for aid by night to the Gyrisoenians,

their near neighbors, who fell upon the Romans in their

lodgings and slew a great number of them. Sertorius, with a

few of his soldiers, made his way out, and rallying together

the rest who escaped, he marched round about the walls, and

finding the gate open, by which the Gyrisoenians had made their

secret entrance, he gave not them the same opportunity, but

placing a guard at the gate, and seizing upon all quarters of

the city, he slew all who were of age to bear arms, and then

ordering his soldiers to lay aside their weapons and put off

their own clothes, and put on the accoutrements of the

barbarians, he commanded them to follow him to the city, from

whence the men came who had made this night attack upon the

Romans. And thus deceiving the Gyrisoenians with the sight of

their own armor, he found the gates of their city open, and

took a great number prisoners, who came out thinking to meet

their friends and fellow-citizens come home from a successful

expedition. Most of them were thus slain by the Romans at

their own gates, and the rest within yielded up themselves and

were sold for slaves.

This action made Sertorius highly renowned throughout all

Spain, and as soon as he returned to Rome he was appointed

quaestor of Cisalpine Gaul, at a very seasonable moment for his

country, the Marsian war being on the point of breaking out.

Sertorius was ordered to raise soldiers and provide arms, which

he performed with a diligence and alacrity, so contrasting with

the feebleness and slothfulness of other officers of his age,

that he got the repute of a man whose life would be one of

action. Nor did he relinquish the part of a soldier, now that

he had arrived at the dignity of a commander, but performed

wonders with his own hands, and never sparing himself, but

exposing his body freely in all conflicts, he lost one of his

eyes. This he always esteemed an honor to him; observing that

others do not continually carry about with them the marks and

testimonies of their valor, but must often lay aside their

chains of gold, their spears and crowns; whereas his ensigns of

honor, and the manifestations of his courage always remained

with him, and those who beheld his misfortune, must at the same

time recognize his merits. The people also paid him the

respect he deserved, and when he came into the theater,

received him with plaudits and joyful acclamations, an honor

rarely bestowed even on persons of advanced standing and

established reputation. Yet, notwithstanding this popularity,

when he stood to be tribune of the people, he was disappointed,

and lost the place, being opposed by the party of Sylla, which

seems to have been the principal cause of his subsequent enmity

to Sylla.

After that Marius was overcome by Sylla and fled into Africa,

and Sylla had left Italy to go to the wars against Mithridates,

and of the two consuls Octavius and Cinna, Octavius remained

steadfast to the policy of Sylla, but Cinna, desirous of a new

revolution, attempted to recall the lost interest of Marius,

Sertorius joined Cinna's party, more particularly as he saw

that Octavius was not very capable, and was also suspicious of

anyone that was a friend to Marius. When a great battle was

fought between the two consuls in the forum, Octavius overcame,

and Cinna and Sertorius, having lost not less than ten

thousand men, left the city, and gaining over most part of the

troops who were dispersed about and remained still in many

parts of Italy, they in a short time mustered up a force

against Octavius sufficient to give him battle again, and

Marius, also, now coming by sea out of Africa, proffered

himself to serve under Cinna, as a private soldier under his

consul and commander.

Most were for the immediate reception of Marius, but Sertorius

openly declared against it, whether he thought that Cinna would

not now pay as much attention to himself, when a man of higher

military repute was present, or feared that the violence of

Marius would bring all things to confusion, by his boundless

wrath and vengeance after victory. He insisted upon it with

Cinna that they were already victorious, that there remained

little to be done, and that, if they admitted Marius, he would

deprive them of the glory and advantage of the war, as there

was no man less easy to deal with, or less to be trusted in, as

a partner in power. Cinna answered, that Sertorius rightly

judged the affair, but that he himself was at a loss, and

ashamed, and knew not how to reject him, after he had sent for

him to share in his fortunes. To which Sertorius immediately

replied, that he had thought that Marius came into Italy of his

own accord, and therefore had deliberated as to what might be

most expedient, but that Cinna ought not so much as to have

questioned whether he should accept him whom he had already

invited, but should have honorably received and employed him,

for his word once past left no room for debate. Thus Marius

being sent for by Cinna, and their forces being divided into

three parts, under Cinna, Marius, and Sertorius, the war was

brought to a successful conclusion; but those about Cinna and

Marius committing all manner of insolence and cruelty, made the

Romans think the evils of war a golden time in comparison. On

the contrary, it is reported of Sertorius, that he never slew

any man in his anger, to satisfy his own private revenge, nor

ever insulted over anyone whom he had overcome, but was much

offended with Marius, and often privately entreated Cinna to

use his power more moderately. And in the end, when the slaves

whom Marius had freed at his landing to increase his army,

being made not only his fellow-soldiers in the war, but also

now his guard in his usurpation, enriched and powerful by his

favor, either by the command or permission of Marius, or by

their own lawless violence, committed all sorts of crimes,

killed their masters, ravished their masters' wives, and abused

their children, their conduct appeared so intolerable to

Sertorius that he slew the whole body of them, four thousand in

number, commanding his soldiers to shoot them down with their

javelins, as they lay encamped together.

Afterwards, when Marius died, and Cinna shortly after was

slain, when the younger Marius made himself consul against

Sertorius's wishes and contrary to law, when Carbo, Norbanus,

and Scipio fought unsuccessfully against Sylla, now advancing

to Rome, when much was lost by the cowardice and remissness of

the commanders, but more by the treachery of their party, when

with the want of prudence in the chief leaders, all went so ill

that his presence could do no good, in the end when Sylla had

placed his camp near to Scipio, and by pretending friendship,

and putting him in hopes of a peace, corrupted his army, and

Scipio could not be made sensible of this, although often

forewarned of it by Sertorius, at last he utterly despaired of

Rome, and hasted into Spain, that by taking possession there

beforehand, he might secure refuge to his friends, from their

misfortunes at home. Having bad weather in his journey, and

traveling through mountainous countries, and the inhabitants

stopping the way, and demanding a toll and money for passage,

those who were with him were out of all patience at the

indignity and shame it would be for a proconsul of Rome to pay

tribute to a crew of wretched barbarians. But he little

regarded their censure, and slighting that which had only the

appearance of an indecency, told them he must buy time, the

most precious of all things to those who go upon great

enterprises; and pacifying the barbarous people with money, he

hastened his journey, and took possession of Spain, a country

flourishing and populous, abounding with young men fit to bear

arms; but on account of the insolence and covetousness of the

governors from time to time sent thither from Rome, they had

generally an aversion to the Roman supremacy. He, however,

soon gained the affection of their nobles by intercourse with

them, and the good opinion of the people by remitting their

taxes. But that which won him most popularity, was his

exempting them from finding lodgings for the soldiers, when he

commanded his army to take up their winter quarters outside the

cities, and to pitch their camp in the suburbs; and when he

himself, first of all, caused his own tent to be raised without

the walls. Yet not being willing to rely totally upon the good

inclination of the inhabitants, he armed all the Romans who

lived in those countries that were of military age, and

undertook the building of ships and the making of all sorts of

warlike engines, by which means he kept the cities in due

obedience, showing himself gentle in all peaceful business, and

at the same time formidable to his enemies by his great

preparations for war.

As soon as he was informed that Sylla had made himself master

of Rome, and that the party which sided with Marius and Carbo

was going to destruction, he expected that some commander with

a considerable army would speedily come against him, and

therefore sent away Julius Salinator immediately, with six

thousand men fully armed, to fortify and defend the passes of

the Pyrenees. And Caius Annius not long after being sent out

by Sylla, finding Julius unassailable, sat down short at the

foot of the mountains in perplexity. But a certain Calpurnius,

surnamed Lanarius, having treacherously slain Julius, and his

soldiers then forsaking the heights of the Pyrenees, Caius

Annius advanced with large numbers and drove before him all who

endeavored to hinder his march. Sertorius, also, not being

strong enough to give him battle, retreated with three thousand

men into New Carthage, where he took shipping, and crossed the

seas into Africa. And coming near the coast of Mauritania, his

men went on shore to water, and straggling about negligently,

the natives fell upon them and slew a great number. This new

misfortune forced him to sail back again into Spain, whence he

was also repulsed, and, some Cilician pirate ships joining with

him, they made for the island of Pityussa, where they landed

and overpowered the garrison placed there by Annius, who,

however, came not long after with a great fleet of ships, and

five thousand soldiers. And Sertorius made ready to fight him

by sea, although his ships were not built for strength, but for

lightness and swift sailing; but a violent west wind raised

such a sea that many of them were run aground and shipwrecked,

and he himself, with a few vessels, being kept from putting

further out to sea by the fury of the weather, and from landing

by the power of his enemies, was tossed about painfully for ten

days together, amidst the boisterous and adverse waves.

He escaped with difficulty, and after the wind ceased, ran for

certain desert islands scattered in those seas, affording no

water, and after passing a night there, making out to sea

again, he went through the straits of Cadiz, and sailing

outward keeping the Spanish shore on his right hand, he landed

a little above the mouth of the river Baetis, where it falls

into the Atlantic sea, and gives the name to that part of

Spain. Here he met with seamen recently arrived from the

Atlantic islands, two in number, divided from one another only

by a narrow channel, and distant from the coast of Africa ten

thousand furlongs. These are called the Islands of the Blest;

rains fall there seldom, and in moderate showers, but for the

most part they have gentle breezes, bringing along with them

soft dews, which render the soil not only rich for plowing and

planting, but so abundantly fruitful that it produces

spontaneously an abundance of delicate fruits, sufficient to

feed the inhabitants, who may here enjoy all things without

trouble or labor. The seasons of the year are temperate, and

the transitions from one to another so moderate, that the air

is almost always serene and pleasant. The rough northerly and

easterly winds which blow from the coasts of Europe and Africa,

dissipated in the vast open space, utterly lose their force

before they reach the islands. The soft western and southerly

winds which breathe upon them sometimes produce gentle

sprinkling showers, which they convey along with them from the

sea, but more usually bring days of moist bright weather,

cooling and gently fertilizing the soil, so that the firm

belief prevails even among the barbarians, that this is the

seat of the blessed, and that these are the Elysian Fields

celebrated by Homer.

When Sertorius heard this account, he was seized with a

wonderful passion for these islands, and had an extreme desire

to go and live there in peace and quietness, and safe from

oppression and unending wars; but his inclinations being

perceived by the Cilician pirates, who desired not peace nor

quiet, but riches and spoils, they immediately forsook him, and

sailed away into Africa to assist Ascalis, the son of Iphtha,

and to help to restore him to his kingdom of Mauritania. Their

sudden departure noways discouraged Sertorius; he presently

resolved to assist the enemies of Ascalis, and by this new

adventure trusted to keep his soldiers together, who from this

might conceive new hopes, and a prospect of a new scene of

action. His arrival in Mauritania being very acceptable to the

Moors, he lost no time, but immediately giving battle to

Ascalis, beat him out of the field and besieged him; and

Paccianus being sent by Sylla, with a powerful supply, to raise

the siege, Sertorius slew him in the field, gained over all his

forces, and took the city of Tingis, into which Ascalis and his

brothers were fled for refuge. The Africans tell that Antaeus

was buried in this city, and Sertorius had the grave opened,

doubting the story because of the prodigious size, and finding

there his body, in effect, it is said, full sixty cubits long,

he was infinitely astonished, offered sacrifice, and heaped up

the tomb again, gave his confirmation to the story, and added

new honors to the memory of Antaeus. The Africans tell that

after the death of Antaeus, his wife Tinga lived with Hercules,

and had a son by him called Sophax, who was king of these

countries, and gave his mother's name to this city, whose son,

also, was Diodorus, a great conqueror, who brought the greatest

part of the Libyan tribes under his subjection, with an army of

Greeks, raised out of the colonies of the Olbians and Myceneans

placed here by Hercules. Thus much I may mention for the sake

of king Juba, of all monarchs the greatest student of history,

whose ancestors are said to have sprung from Diodorus and

Sophax.

When Sertorius had made himself absolute master of the whole

country, he acted with great fairness to those who had confided

in him, and who yielded to his mercy; he restored to them their

property, cities, and government, accepting only of such

acknowledgments as they themselves freely offered. And whilst

he considered which way next to turn his arms, the Lusitanians

sent ambassadors to desire him to be their general; for being

terrified with the Roman power, and finding the necessity of

having a commander of great authority and experience in war,

being also sufficiently assured of his worth and valor by those

who had formerly known him, they were desirous to commit

themselves especially to his care. And in fact Sertorius is said

to have been of a temper unassailable either by fear or

pleasure, in adversity and dangers undaunted, and noways puffed

up with prosperity. In straightforward fighting, no commander

in his time was more bold and daring, and in whatever was to be

performed in war by stratagem, secrecy, or surprise, if any

strong place was to be secured, any pass to be gained speedily,

for deceiving and overreaching an enemy, there was no man equal

to him in subtlety and skill. In bestowing rewards and

conferring honors upon those who had performed good service in

the wars he was bountiful and magnificent, and was no less

sparing and moderate in inflicting punishment. It is true that

that piece of harshness and cruelty which he executed in the

latter part of his days upon the Spanish hostages, seems to

argue that his clemency was not natural to him, but only worn

as a dress, and employed upon calculation, as his occasion or

necessity required. As to my own opinion, I am persuaded that

pure virtue, established by reason and judgment, can never be

totally perverted or changed into its opposite, by any

misfortune whatever. Yet I think it at the same time possible,

that virtuous inclinations and natural good qualities may, when

unworthily oppressed by calamities, show, with change of

fortune, some change and alteration of their temper; and thus I

conceive it happened to Sertorius, who when prosperity failed

him, became exasperated by his disasters against those who had

done him wrong.

The Lusitanians having sent for Sertorius, he left Africa, and

being made general with absolute authority, he put all in order

amongst them, and brought the neighboring parts of Spain

under subjection. Most of the tribes voluntarily submitted

themselves, won by the fame of his clemency and of his courage,

and, to some extent, also, he availed himself of cunning

artifices of his own devising to impose upon them and gain

influence over them. Amongst which, certainly, that of the

hind was not the least. Spanus, a countryman who lived in

those parts, meeting by chance a hind that had recently calved,

flying from the hunters, let the dam go, and pursuing the fawn,

took it, being wonderfully pleased with the rarity of the

color, which was all milk white. And as at that time Sertorius

was living in the neighborhood, and accepted gladly any

presents of fruit, fowl, or venison, that the country afforded,

and rewarded liberally those who presented them, the countryman

brought him his young hind, which he took and was well pleased

with at the first sight, but when in time he had made it so

tame and gentle that it would come when he called, and follow

him wheresoever he went, and could endure the noise and tumult

of the camp, knowing well that uncivilized people are naturally

prone to superstition, by little and little he raised it into

something preternatural, saying that it was given him by the

goddess Diana, and that it revealed to him many secrets. He

added, also, further contrivances. If he had received at any

time private intelligence that the enemies had made an

incursion into any part of the districts under his command, or

had solicited any city to revolt, he pretended that the hind

had informed him of it in his sleep, and charged him to keep

his forces in readiness. Or if again he had notice that any of

the commanders under him had got a victory, he would hide the

messengers and bring forth the hind crowned with flowers, for

joy of the good news that was to come, and would encourage them

to rejoice and sacrifice to the gods for the good account they

should soon receive of their prosperous success.

By such practices, he brought them to be more tractable and

obedient in all things; for now they thought themselves no

longer to be led by a stranger, but rather conducted by a god,

and the more so, as the facts themselves seemed to bear witness

to it, his power, contrary to all expectation or probability,

continually increasing. For with two thousand six hundred men,

whom for honor's sake he called Romans, combined with seven

hundred Africans, who landed with him when he first entered

Lusitania, together with four thousand targeteers, and seven

hundred horse of the Lusitanians themselves, he made war

against four Roman generals, who commanded a hundred and twenty

thousand foot, six thousand horse, two thousand archers and

slingers, and had cities innumerable in their power; whereas at

the first he had not above twenty cities in all. And from this

weak and slender beginning, he raised himself to the command of

large nations of men, and the possession of numerous cities;

and of the Roman commanders who were sent against him, he

overthrew Cotta in a sea-fight, in the channel near the town of

Mellaria; he routed Fufidius, the governor of Baetica, with the

loss of two thousand Romans, near the banks of the river

Baetis; Lucius Domitius, proconsul of the other province of

Spain, was overthrown by one of his lieutenants; Thoranius,

another commander sent against him by Metellus with a great

force, was slain, and Metellus, one of the greatest and most

approved Roman generals then living, by a series of defeats,

was reduced to such extremities, that Lucius Manlius came to

his assistance out of Gallia Narbonensis, and Pompey the Great,

was sent from Rome, itself, in all haste, with considerable

forces. Nor did Metellus know which way to turn himself, in a

war with such a bold and ready commander, who was continually

molesting him, and yet could not be brought to a set battle,

but by the swiftness and dexterity of his Spanish soldiery, was

enabled to shift and adapt himself to any change of

circumstances. Metellus had had experience in battles fought

by regular legions of soldiers, fully armed and drawn up in due

order into a heavy standing phalanx, admirably trained for

encountering and overpowering an enemy who came to close

combat, hand to hand, but entirely unfit for climbing among the

hills, and competing incessantly with the swift attacks and

retreats of a set of fleet mountaineers, or to endure hunger

and thirst, and live exposed like them to the wind and weather,

without fire or covering.

Besides, being now in years, and having been formerly engaged

in many fights and dangerous conflicts, he had grown inclined

to a more remiss, easy, and luxurious life, and was the less

able to contend with Sertorius, who was in the prime of his

strength and vigor, and had a body wonderfully fitted for war,

being strong, active, and temperate, continually accustomed to

endure hard labor, to take long tedious journeys, to pass many

nights together without sleep, to eat little, and to be

satisfied with very coarse fare, and who was never stained with

the least excess in wine, even when he was most at leisure.

What leisure time he allowed himself, he spent in hunting and

riding about, and so made himself thoroughly acquainted with

every passage for escape when he would fly, and for overtaking

and intercepting in pursuit, and gained a perfect knowledge of

where he could and where he could not go. Insomuch that

Metellus suffered all the inconveniences of defeat, although he

earnestly desired to fight, and Sertorius, though he refused

the field, reaped all the advantages of a conqueror. For he

hindered them from foraging, and cut them off from water; if

they advanced, he was nowhere to be found; if they stayed in

any place and encamped, he continually molested and alarmed

them; if they besieged any town, he presently appeared and

besieged them again, and put them to extremities for want of

necessaries. And thus he so wearied out the Roman army, that

when Sertorius challenged Metellus to fight singly with him,

they commended it, and cried out, it was a fair offer, a Roman

to fight against a Roman, and a general against a general; and

when Metellus refused the challenge, they reproached him.

Metellus derided and contemned this, and rightly so; for, as

Theophrastus observes, a general should die like a general, and

not like a skirmisher. But perceiving that the town of the

Langobritae, who gave great assistance to Sertorius, might

easily be taken for want of water, as there was but one well

within the walls, and the besieger would be master of the

springs and fountains in the suburbs, he advanced against the

place, expecting to carry it in two days' time, there being no

more water, and gave command to his soldiers to take five days'

provision only. Sertorius, however, resolving to send speedy

relief, ordered two thousand skins to be filled with water,

naming a considerable sum of money for the carriage of every

skin; and many Spaniards and Moors undertaking the work, he

chose out those who were the strongest and swiftest of foot,

and sent them through the mountains, with order that when they

had delivered the water, they should convey away privately all

those who would be least serviceable in the siege, that there

might be water sufficient for the defendants. As soon as

Metellus understood this, he was disturbed, as he had already

consumed most part of the necessary provisions for his army,

but he sent out Aquinus with six thousand soldiers to fetch in

fresh supplies. But Sertorius having notice of it, laid an

ambush for him, and having sent out beforehand three thousand

men to take post in a thickly wooded watercourse, with these he

attacked the rear of Aquinus in his return, while he himself,

charging him in the front, destroyed part of his army, and took

the rest prisoners, Aquinus only escaping, after the loss of

both his horse and his armor. And Metellus, being forced

shamefully to raise the siege, withdrew amidst the laughter and

contempt of the Spaniards; while Sertorius became yet more the

object of their esteem and admiration.

He was also highly honored for his introducing discipline and

good order amongst them, for he altered their furious savage

manner of fighting, and brought them to make use of the Roman

armor, taught them to keep their ranks, and observe signals and

watchwords; and out of a confused number of thieves and

robbers, he constituted a regular, well-disciplined army. He

bestowed silver and gold upon them liberally to gild and adorn

their helmets, he had their shields worked with various figures

and designs, he brought them into the mode of wearing flowered

and embroidered cloaks and coats, and by supplying money for

these purposes, and joining with them in all improvements, he

won the hearts of all. That, however, which delighted them

most, was the care that he took of their children. He sent for

all the boys of noblest parentage out of all their tribes, and

placed them in the great city of Osca, where he appointed

masters to instruct them in the Grecian and Roman learning,

that when they came to be men, they might, as he professed, be

fitted to share with him in authority, and in conducting the

government, although under this pretext he really made them

hostages. However, their fathers were wonderfully pleased to

see their children going daily to the schools in good order,

handsomely dressed in gowns edged with purple, and that

Sertorius paid for their lessons, examined them often,

distributed rewards to the most deserving, and gave them the

golden bosses to hang about their necks, which the Romans

called bullae.

There being a custom in Spain, that when a commander was slain

in battle, those who attended his person fought it out till

they all died with him, which the inhabitants of those

countries called an offering, or libation, there were few

commanders that had any considerable guard or number of

attendants; but Sertorius was followed by many thousands who

offered themselves, and vowed to spend their blood with his.

And it is told that when his army was defeated near a city in

Spain, and the enemy pressed hard upon them, the Spaniards,

with no care for themselves, but being totally solicitous to

save Sertorius, took him up on their shoulders and passed him

from one to another, till they carried him into the city, and

only when they had thus placed their general in safety,

provided afterwards each man for his own security.

Nor were the Spaniards alone ambitious to serve him, but the

Roman soldiers, also, that came out of Italy, were impatient to

be under his command; and when Perpenna Vento, who was of the

same faction with Sertorius, came into Spain with a quantity of

money and a large number of troops, and designed to make war

against Metellus on his own account, his own soldiers opposed

it, and talked continually of Sertorius, much to the

mortification of Perpenna, who was puffed up with the grandeur

of his family and his riches. And when they afterwards

received tidings that Pompey was passing the Pyrenees, they

took up their arms, laid hold on their ensigns, called upon

Perpenna to lead them to Sertorius, and threatened him that if

he refused they would go without him, and place themselves

under a commander who was able to defend himself and those that

served him. And so Perpenna was obliged to yield to their

desires, and joining Sertorius, added to his army three and

fifty cohorts.

And when now all the cities on this side of the river Ebro also

united their forces together under his command, his army grew

great, for they flocked together and flowed in upon him from

all quarters. But when they continually cried out to attack

the enemy, and were impatient of delay, their inexperienced,

disorderly rashness caused Sertorius much trouble, who at first

strove to restrain them with reason and good counsel, but when

he perceived them refractory and unseasonably violent, he gave

way to their impetuous desires, and permitted them to engage

with the enemy, in such sort that they might, being repulsed,

yet not totally routed, become more obedient to his commands

for the future. Which happening as he had anticipated, he soon

rescued them, and brought them safe into his camp. And after a

few days, being willing to encourage them again, when he had

called all his army together, he caused two horses to be

brought into the field, one an old, feeble, lean animal, the

other a lusty, strong horse, with a remarkably thick and long

tail. Near the lean one he placed a tall strong man, and near

the strong young horse a weak despicable-looking fellow; and at

a sign given, the strong man took hold of the weak horse's tail

with both his hands, and drew it to him with his whole force,

as if he would pull it off; the other, the weak man, in the

mean time, set to work to pluck off hair by hair from the great

horse's tail. And when the strong man had given trouble enough

to himself in vain, and sufficient diversion to the company,

and had abandoned his attempt, whilst the weak pitiful fellow

in a short time and with little pains had left not a hair on

the great horse's tail, Sertorius rose up and spoke to his

army, "You see, fellow soldiers, that perseverance is more

prevailing than violence, and that many things which cannot be

overcome when they are together, yield themselves up when taken

little by little. Assiduity and persistence are irresistible,

and in time overthrow and destroy the greatest powers whatever.

Time being the favorable friend and assistant of those who use

their judgment to await his occasions, and the destructive

enemy of those who are unseasonably urging and pressing

forward." With a frequent use of such words and such devices,

he soothed the fierceness of the barbarous people, and taught

them to attend and watch for their opportunities.

Of all his remarkable exploits, none raised greater admiration

than that which he put in practice against the Characitanians.

These are a people beyond the river Tagus, who inhabit neither

cities nor towns, but live in a vast high hill, within the deep

dens and caves of the rocks, the mouths of which open all

towards the north. The country below is of a soil resembling a

light clay, so loose as easily to break into powder, and is not

firm enough to bear anyone that treads upon it, and if you

touch it in the least, it flies about like ashes or unslaked

lime. In any danger of war, these people descend into their

caves, and carrying in their booty and prey along with them,

stay quietly within, secure from every attack. And when

Sertorius, leaving Metellus some distance off had placed his

camp near this hill, they slighted and despised him, imagining,

that he retired into these parts, being overthrown by the

Romans. And whether out of anger and resentment, or out of his

unwillingness to be thought to fly from his enemies, early in

the morning he rode up to view the situation of the place. But

finding there was no way to come at it, as he rode about,

threatening them in vain and disconcerted, he took notice that

the wind raised the dust and carried it up towards the caves of

the Characitanians, the mouths of which, as I said before,

opened towards the north; and the northerly wind, which some

call Caecias, prevailing most in those parts, coming up out of

moist plains or mountains covered with snow, at this particular

time, in the heat of summer, being further supplied and

increased by the melting of the ice in the northern regions,

blew a delightful fresh gale, cooling and refreshing the

Characitanians and their cattle all the day long. Sertorius,

considering well all circumstances in which either the

information of the inhabitants, or his own experience had

instructed him, commanded his soldiers to shovel up a great

quantity of this light, dusty earth, to heap it up together,

and make a mount of it over against the hill in which these

barbarous people resided, who, imagining that all this

preparation was for raising a mound to get at them, only mocked

and laughed at it. However, he continued the work till the

evening, and brought his soldiers back into their camp. The

next morning a gentle breeze at first arose, and moved the

lightest parts of the earth, and dispersed it about as the

chaff before the wind; but when the sun coming to be higher,

the strong northerly wind had covered the hills with the dust,

the soldiers came and turned this mound of earth over and over,

and broke the hard clods in pieces, whilst others on horseback

rode through it backward and forward, and raised a cloud of

dust into the air: there with the wind the whole of it was

carried away and blown into the dwellings of the

Characitanians, all lying open to the north. And there being

no other vent or breathing-place than that through which the

Caecias rushed in upon them, it quickly blinded their eyes, and

filled their lungs, and all but choked them, whilst they strove

to draw in the rough air mingled with dust and powdered earth.

Nor were they able, with all they could do, to hold out above

two days, but yielded up themselves on the third, adding, by

their defeat, not so much to the power of Sertorius, as to his

renown, in proving that he was able to conquer places by art,

which were impregnable by the force of arms.

So long as he had to do with Metellus, he was thought to owe

his successes to his opponent's age and slow temper, which were

ill-suited for coping with the daring and activity of one who

commanded a light army more like a band of robbers than regular

soldiers. But when Pompey also passed over the Pyrenees, and

Sertorius pitched his camp near him, and offered and himself

accepted every occasion by which military skill could be put to

the proof, and in this contest of dexterity was found to have

the better, both in baffling his enemy's designs and in

counter-scheming himself, the fame of him now spread even to

Rome itself, as the most expert commander of his time. For the

renown of Pompey was not small, who had already won much honor

by his achievements in the wars of Sylla, from whom he received

the title of Magnus, and was called Pompey the Great; and who

had risen to the honor of a triumph before the beard had grown

on his face. And many cities which were under Sertorius were

on the very eve of revolting and going over to Pompey, when

they were deterred from it by that great action, amongst

others, which he performed near the city of Lauron, contrary to

the expectation of all.

For Sertorius had laid siege to Lauron, and Pompey came with

his whole army to relieve it; and there being a hill near this

city very advantageously situated, they both made haste to take

it. Sertorius was beforehand, and took possession of it first,

and Pompey, having drawn down his forces, was not sorry that it

had thus happened, imagining that he had hereby enclosed his

enemy between his own army and the city, and sent in a

messenger to the citizens of Lauron, to bid them be of good

courage, and to come upon their walls, where they might see

their besieger besieged. Sertorius, perceiving their

intentions, smiled, and said, he would now teach Sylla's

scholar, for so he called Pompey in derision, that it was the

part of a general to look as well behind him as before him, and

at the same time showed them six thousand soldiers, whom he had

left in his former camp, from whence he marched out to take the

hill, where if Pompey should assault him, they might fall upon

his rear. Pompey discovered this too late, and not daring to

give battle, for fear of being encompassed, and yet being

ashamed to desert his friends and confederates in their extreme

danger, was thus forced to sit still, and see them ruined

before his face. For the besieged despaired of relief, and

delivered up themselves to Sertorius, who spared their lives

and granted them their liberty, but burnt their city, not out

of anger or cruelty, for of all commanders that ever were,

Sertorius seems least of all to have indulged these passions,

but only for the greater shame and confusion of the admirers of

Pompey, and that it might be reported amongst the Spaniards,

that though he had been so close to the fire which burnt down

the city of his confederates as actually to feel the heat of

it, he still had not dared to make any opposition.

Sertorius, however, sustained many losses; but he always

maintained himself and those immediately with him undefeated,

and it was by other commanders under him that he suffered; and

he was more admired for being able to repair his losses, and

for recovering the victory, than the Roman generals against him

for gaining these advantages; as at the battle of the Sucro

against Pompey, and at the battle near Tuttia, against him and

Metellus together. The battle near the Sucro was fought, it is

said, through the impatience of Pompey, lest Metellus should

share with him in the victory, Sertorius being also willing to

engage Pompey before the arrival of Metellus. Sertorius

delayed the time till the evening, considering that the

darkness of the night would be a disadvantage to his enemies,

whether flying or pursuing, being strangers, and having no

knowledge of the country. When the fight began, it happened

that Sertorius was not placed directly against Pompey, but

against Afranius, who had command of the left wing of the Roman

army, as he commanded the right wing of his own; but when he

understood that his left wing began to give way, and yield to

the assault of Pompey, he committed the care of his right wing

to other commanders, and made haste to relieve those in

distress; and rallying some that were flying, and encouraging

others that still kept their ranks, he renewed the fight, and

attacked the enemy in their pursuit so effectively as to cause

a considerable rout, and brought Pompey into great danger of

his life. For after being wounded and losing his horse, he

escaped unexpectedly. For the Africans with Sertorius, who

took Pompey's horse, set out with gold, and covered with rich

trappings, fell out with one another; and upon the dividing of

the spoil, gave over the pursuit. Afranius, in the meantime,

as soon as Sertorius had left his right wing, to assist the

other part of his army, overthrew all that opposed him; and

pursuing them to their camp, fell in together with them, and

plundered them till it was dark night; knowing nothing of

Pompey's overthrow, nor being able to restrain his soldiers

from pillaging; when Sertorius, returning with victory, fell

upon him and upon his men, who were all in disorder, and slew

many of them. And the next morning he came into the field

again, well armed, and offered battle, but perceiving that

Metellus was near, he drew off, and returned to his camp,

saying, "If this old woman had not come up, I would have

whipped that boy soundly and sent him to Rome."

He was much concerned that his white hind could nowhere be

found; as he was thus destitute of an admirable contrivance to

encourage the barbarous people, at a time when he most stood in

need of it. Some men, however, wandering in the night, chanced

to meet her, and knowing her by her color, took her; to whom

Sertorius promised a good reward, if they would tell no one of

it; and immediately shut her up. A few days after, he appeared

in public with a very cheerful look, and declared to the chief

men of the country, that the gods had foretold him in a dream

that some great good fortune should shortly attend him; and,

taking his seat, proceeded to answer the petitions of those who

applied themselves to him. The keepers of the hind, who were

not far off, now let her loose, and she no sooner espied

Sertorius, but she came leaping with great joy to his feet,

laid her head upon his knees, and licked his hands, as she

formerly used to do. And Sertorius stroking her, and making

much of her again, with that tenderness that the tears stood in

his eyes, all that were present were immediately filled with

wonder and astonishment, and accompanying him to his house with

loud shouts for joy, looked upon him as a person above the rank

of mortal men, and highly beloved by the gods; and were in

great courage and hope for the future.

When he had reduced his enemies to the last extremity for want

of provision, he was forced to give them battle, in the plains

near Saguntum, to hinder them from foraying, and plundering the

country. Both parties fought gloriously. Memmius, the best

commander in Pompey's army, was slain in the heat of the

battle. Sertorius over threw all before him, and with great

slaughter of his enemies pressed forward towards Metellus.

This old commander, making a resistance beyond what could be

expected from one of his years, was wounded with a lance; an

occurrence which filled all who either saw it or heard of it,

with shame, to be thought to have left their general in

distress, but at the same time it provoked them to revenge and

fury against their enemies; they covered Metellus with their

shields, and brought him off in safety, and then valiantly

repulsed the Spaniards; and so victory changed sides, and

Sertorius, that he might afford a more secure retreat to his

army, and that fresh forces might more easily be raised,

retired into a strong city in the mountains. And though it was

the least of his intention to sustain a long siege, yet he

began to repair the walls, and to fortify the gates, thus

deluding his enemies, who came and sat down before the town,

hoping to take it without much resistance; and meantime gave

over the pursuit of the Spaniards, and allowed opportunity for

raising new forces for Sertorius, to which purpose he had sent

commanders to all their cities, with orders, when they had

sufficiently increased their numbers, to send him word of it.

This news he no sooner received, but he sallied out and forced

his way through his enemies, and easily joined them with the

rest of his army. And having received this considerable

reinforcement, he set upon the Romans again, and by rapidly

assaulting them, by alarming them on all sides, by ensnaring,

circumventing, and laying ambushes for them, he cut off all

provisions by land, while with his piratical vessels, he kept

all the coast in awe, and hindered their supplies by sea. He

thus forced the Roman generals to dislodge, and to separate

from one another: Metellus departed into Gaul, and Pompey

wintered among the Vaccaeans, in a wretched condition, where,

being in extreme want of money, he wrote a letter to the

senate, to let them know that if they did not speedily supply

him, he must draw off his army; for he had already spent his

own money in the defense of Italy. To these extremities, the

chiefest and the most powerful commanders of the age were

reduced by the skill of Sertorius; and it was the common

opinion in Rome, that he would be in Italy before Pompey.

How far Metellus was terrified, and at what rate he esteemed

him, he plainly declared, when he offered by proclamation a

hundred talents, and twenty thousand acres of land, to any

Roman that should kill him, and leave, if he were banished, to

return; attempting villainously to buy his life by treachery,

when he despaired of ever being able to overcome him in open

war. And when once he gained the advantage in a battle against

Sertorius, he was so pleased and transported with his good

fortune, that he caused himself to be publicly proclaimed

imperator; and all the cities which he visited received him

with altars and sacrifices; he allowed himself, it is said, to

have garlands placed on his head, and accepted sumptuous

entertainments, at which he sat drinking in triumphal robes,

while images and figures of victory were introduced by the

motion of machines, bringing in with them crowns and trophies

of gold to present to him, and companies of young men and women

danced before him, and sang to him songs of joy and triumph.

By all which he rendered himself deservedly ridiculous, for

being so excessively delighted and puffed up with the thoughts

of having followed one who was retiring of his own accord, and

for having once had the better of him whom he used to call

Sylla's runaway slave, and his forces, the remnant of the

defeated troops of Carbo.

Sertorius, meantime, showed the loftiness of his temper in

calling together all the Roman senators who had fled from Rome,

and had come and resided with him, and giving them the name of

a senate; and out of these he chose praetors and quaestors, and

adorned his government with all the Roman laws and

institutions. And though he made use of the arms, riches, and

cities of the Spaniards, yet he would never, even in word,

remit to them the imperial authority, but set Roman officers

and commanders over them, intimating his purpose to restore

liberty to the Romans, not to raise up the Spaniard's power

against them. For he was a sincere lover of his country, and

had a great desire to return home; but in his adverse fortune

he showed undaunted courage, and behaved himself towards his

enemies in a manner free from all dejection and

mean-spiritedness; and when he was in his prosperity, and in

the height of his victories, he sent word to Metellus and

Pompey, that he was ready to lay down his arms, and live a

private life, if he were allowed to return home, declaring that

he had rather live as the meanest citizen in Rome, than, exiled

from it, be supreme commander of all other cities together.

And it is thought that his great desire for his country was in

no small measure promoted by the tenderness he had for his

mother, under whom he was brought up after the death of his

father, and upon whom he had placed his entire affection. And

after that his friends had sent for him into Spain to be their

general, as soon as he heard of his mother's death, he had

almost cast away himself and died for grief; for he lay seven

days together continually in his tent, without giving the word,

or being seen by the nearest of his friends; and when the chief

commanders of the army, and persons of the greatest note came

about his tent, with great difficulty they prevailed with him

at last to come abroad, and speak to his soldiers, and to take

upon him the management of affairs, which were in a prosperous

condition. And thus, to many men's judgment, he seemed to have

been in himself of a mild and compassionate temper, and

naturally given to ease and quietness, and to have accepted of

the command of military forces contrary to his own inclination,

and not being able to live in safety otherwise, to have been

driven by his enemies to have recourse to arms, and to espouse

the wars as a necessary guard for the defense of his person.

His negotiations with king Mithridates further argue the

greatness of his mind. For when Mithridates, recovering

himself from his overthrow by Sylla, like a strong wrestler

that gets up to try another fall, was again endeavoring to

reestablish his power in Asia, at this time the great fame of

Sertorius was celebrated in all places and when the merchants

who came out of the western parts of Europe, bringing these, as

it were, among their other foreign wares, had filled the

kingdom of Pontus with their stories of his exploits in war,

Mithridates was extremely desirous to send an embassy to him,

being also highly encouraged to it by the boastings of his

flattering courtiers, who, comparing Mithridates to Pyrrhus,

and Sertorius to Hannibal, professed that the Romans would

never be able to make any considerable resistance against such

great forces, and such admirable commanders, when they should

be set upon on both sides at once, on one by the most warlike

general, and on the other by the most powerful prince in

existence.

Accordingly, Mithridates sends ambassadors into Spain to

Sertorius with letters and instructions, and commission to

promise ships and money towards the charge of the war, if

Sertorius would confirm his pretensions upon Asia, and

authorize him to possess all that he had surrendered to the

Romans in his treaty with Sylla. Sertorius summoned a full

council which he called a senate, where, when others joyfully

approved of the conditions, and were desirous immediately to

accept of his offer, seeing that he desired nothing of them but

a name, and an empty title to places not in their power to

dispose of, in recompense of which they should be supplied with

what they then stood most in need of, Sertorius would by no

means agree to it; declaring that he was willing that king

Mithridates should exercise all royal power and authority over

Bithynia and Cappadocia, countries accustomed to a monarchical

government, and not belonging to Rome, but he could never

consent that he should seize or detain a province, which, by

the justest right and title, was possessed by the Romans, which

Mithridates had formerly taken away from them, and had

afterwards lost in open war to Fimbria, and quitted upon a

treaty of peace with Sylla. For he looked upon it as his duty

to enlarge the Roman possessions by his conquering arms, and

not to increase his own power by the diminution of the Roman

territories. Since a noble-minded man, though he willingly

accepts of victory when it comes with honor, will never so much

as endeavor to save his own life upon any dishonorable terms.

When this was related to Mithridates, he was struck with

amazement, and said to his intimate friends, "What will

Sertorius enjoin us to do when he comes to be seated in the

Palatium in Rome, who at present, when he is driven out to the

borders of the Atlantic sea, sets bounds to our kingdoms in the

east, and threatens us with war, if we attempt the recovery of

Asia?" However, they solemnly, upon oath, concluded a league

between them, upon these terms: that Mithridates should enjoy

the free possession of Cappadocia and Bithynia, and that

Sertorius should send him soldiers, and a general for his army,

in recompense of which the king was to supply him with three

thousand talents and forty ships. Marcus Marius, a Roman

senator who had quitted Rome to follow Sertorius, was sent

general into Asia, in company with whom when Mithridates had

reduced divers of the Asian cities, Marius made his entrance

with rods and axes carried before him, and Mithridates followed

in the second place, voluntarily waiting upon him. Some of

these cities he set at liberty, and others he freed from taxes,

signifying to them that these privileges were granted to them

by the favor of Sertorius, and hereby Asia, which had been

miserably tormented by the revenue-farmers, and oppressed by

the insolent pride and covetousness of the soldiers, began to

rise again to new hopes, and to look forward with joy to the

expected change of government.

But in Spain, the senators about Sertorius, and others of the

nobility, finding themselves strong enough for their enemies,

no sooner laid aside fear, but their minds were possessed by

envy and irrational jealousies of Sertorius's power. And

chiefly Perpenna, elevated by the thoughts of his noble birth,

and carried away with a fond ambition of commanding the army,

threw out villainous discourses in private amongst his

acquaintance. "What evil genius," he would say, "hurries us

perpetually from worse to worse? We who disdained to obey the

dictates of Sylla, the ruler of sea and land, and thus to live

at home in peace and quiet, are come hither to our destruction,

hoping to enjoy our liberty, and have made ourselves slaves of

our own accord, and are become the contemptible guards and

attendants of the banished Sertorius, who, that he may expose

us the further, gives us name that renders us ridiculous to all

that hear it, and calls us the Senate, when at the same time he

makes us undergo as much hard labor, and forces us to be as

subject to his haughty commands and insolences, as any

Spaniards and Lusitanians." With these mutinous discourses, he

seduced them; and though the greater number could not be led

into open rebellion against Sertorius, fearing his power, they

were prevailed with to endeavor to destroy his interest

secretly. For by abusing the Lusitanians and Spaniards, by

inflicting severe punishments upon them, by raising exorbitant

taxes, and by pretending that all this was done by the strict

command of Sertorius, they caused great troubles, and made many

cities to revolt; and those who were sent to mitigate and heal

these differences, did rather exasperate them, and increase the

number of his enemies, and left them at their return more

obstinate and rebellious than they found them. And Sertorius,

incensed with all this, now so far forgot his former clemency

and goodness, as to lay hands on the sons of the Spaniards,

educated in the city of Oscar and, contrary to all justice, he

cruelly put some of them to death, and sold others.

In the meantime, Perpenna, having increased the number of his

conspirators, drew in Manlius, a commander in the army, who, at

that time being attached to a youth, to gain his affections the

more, discovered the confederacy to him, bidding him neglect

others, and be constant to him alone; who, in a few days, was

to be a person of great power and authority. But the youth

having a greater inclination for Aufidius, disclosed all to

him, which much surprised and amazed him. For he was also one

of the confederacy, but knew not that Manlius was anyways

engaged in it; but when the youth began to name Perpenna,

Gracinus, and others, whom he knew very well to be sworn

conspirators, he was very much terrified and astonished; but

made light of it to the youth, and bade him not regard what

Manlius said, a vain boasting fellow. However, he went

presently to Perpenna, and giving him notice of the danger they

were in, and of the shortness of their time, desired him

immediately to put their designs in execution. And when all

the confederates had consented to it, they provided a messenger

who brought feigned letters to Sertorius, in which he had

notice of a victory obtained, it said, by one of his

lieutenants, and of the great slaughter of his enemies; and as

Sertorius, being extremely well pleased, was sacrificing and

giving thanks to the gods for his prosperous success, Perpenna

invited him, and those with him, who were also of the

conspiracy, to an entertainment, and being very importunate,

prevailed with him to come. At all suppers and entertainments

where Sertorius was present, great order and decency was wont

to be observed, for he would not endure to hear or see any

thing that was rude or unhandsome, but made it the habit of all

who kept his company, to entertain themselves with quiet and

inoffensive amusements. But in the middle of this

entertainment, those who sought occasion to quarrel, fell into

dissolute discourse openly, and making as if they were very

drunk, committed many insolences on purpose to provoke him.

Sertorius, being offended with their ill behavior, or

perceiving the state of their minds by their way of speaking

and their unusually disrespectful manner, changed the posture

of his lying, and leaned backward, as one that neither heard

nor regarded them. Perpenna now took a cup full of wine, and,

as he was drinking, let it fall out of his hand and make a

noise, which was the sign agreed upon amongst them; and

Antonius, who was next to Sertorius, immediately wounded him

with his sword. And whilst Sertorius, upon receiving the

wound, turned himself, and strove to get up, Antonius threw

himself upon his breast, and held both his hands, so that he

died by a number of blows, without being able even to defend

himself.

Upon the first news of his death, most of the Spaniards left the

conspirators, and sent ambassadors to Pompey and Metellus, and

yielded themselves up to them. Perpenna attempted to do something

with those that remained, but he made only so much use of

Sertorius's arms and preparations for war, as to disgrace himself

in them, and to let it be evident to all, that he understood no

more how to command, than he knew how to obey; and when he came

against Pompey, he was soon overthrown, and taken prisoner.

Neither did he bear this last affliction with any bravery, but

having Sertorius's papers and writings in his hands, he offered to

show Pompey letters from persons of consular dignity, and of the

highest quality in Rome, written with their own hands, expressly

to call Sertorius into Italy, and to let him know what great

numbers there were that earnestly desired to alter the present

state of affairs, and to introduce another manner of government.

Upon this occasion, Pompey behaved not like a youth, or one of

a light inconsiderate mind, but as a man of a confirmed, mature,

and solid judgment; and so freed Rome from great fears and dangers

of change. For he put all Sertorius's writings and letters

together and read not one of them, nor suffered anyone else to

read them, but burnt them all, and caused Perpenna immediately to

be put to death, lest by discovering their names, further troubles

and revolutions might ensue.

Of the rest of the conspirators with Perpenna, some were taken

and slain by the command of Pompey, others fled into Africa,

and were set upon by the Moors, and run through with their

darts; and in a short time, not one of them was left alive,

except only Aufidius, the rival of Manlius, who, hiding

himself, or not being much inquired after, died an old man, in

an obscure village in Spain, in extreme poverty, and hated by

all.