29.1
On his arrival in Sicily Scipio organised the volunteers into maniples
and centuries, and selected three hundred of the most robust and active
whom he kept about his person. They did not carry arms, and did not know
why they were unarmed, and why they were not included in the centuries.
Then he picked out of the whole military population of Sicily three hundred
of the noblest and wealthiest and formed them into a cavalry corps to take
with him into Africa. He fixed a day on which they were to present themselves
fully equipped with horses and arms. The prospect of a campaign far from
home with its many toils and great dangers both by land and sea appalled
the young fellows as well as their parents and relations. When the appointed
day arrived they all appeared fully armed and accounted. Scipio then told
them that it had come to his knowledge that some of the Sicilian cavalry
were looking forward with dread to their expedition as one full of difficulties
and hardships. If any of them felt like that he would rather that they
owned it at once than that the republic should have reluctant and inefficient
soldiers who were always grumbling. They should speak out their mind, he
would listen to them without any feeling of resentment. One of them ventured
to say that if he were free to choose he would rather not go, whereupon
Scipio replied: "Since, young man, you have not concealed your real sentiments
I will provide a substitute for you; you will give up to him your horse
and your arms and other military outfit and take him with you at once to
train him and instruct him in the management of a horse and the use of
arms." The man was delighted to get off on these terms and Scipio handed
over to him one of the three hundred whom he was keeping unarmed. When
the others saw the trooper exempted in this way with the commander's approval
they, every one of them, excused themselves and accepted a substitute.
By this means the Romans replaced the three hundred Sicilian cavalry without
any expense to the State. The Sicilians had all the care of their training,
for the general's orders were that any one who did not carry this out would
have to go on active service himself. It is said that this turned out a
splendid squadron of cavalry and did good work for the republic in many
battles.
Then he inspected the legions and picked out the men who had seen most
service, particularly those who had been under Marcellus, as he considered
that these had been trained in the best school, and after their protracted
investment of Syracuse were thoroughly familiar with the methods of attacking
fortified places. In fact Scipio was not contemplating any small operations,
he had already fixed his mind on the capture and destruction of Carthage.
He then distributed his army amongst the fortified towns and ordered the
Sicilians to supply corn, thus husbanding what had been brought from Italy.
The old ships were refitted and C. Laelius was sent with them to plunder
the African coast; the new ones he beached at Panormus, as owing to their
hasty construction they had been built of unseasoned wood and he wished
them to be on dry land through the winter. When his preparations for war
were completed, Scipio visited Syracuse. This city had not yet recovered
its tranquillity after the violent convulsions of the war. Certain men
of Italian nationality had seized the property of some Syracusans at the
time of the capture, and though the senate had ordered its restitution
they still retained it. After making fruitless efforts to recover it, the
Greeks came to Scipio for redress. He felt that confidence in the honesty
of the government was of the very first importance, and by issuing a proclamation
and pronouncing judgment against those who persisted in keeping possession
he succeeded in restoring their property to the Syracusans. This action
on his part was gratefully appreciated not only by the owners themselves
but by all the cities of Sicily, and they exerted themselves more than
ever to assist him.
During this summer an extensive war broke out in Spain at the instigation
of Indibilis, whose sole motive was his intense admiration for Scipio which
made him think lightly of other commanders. The people looked upon him
as the only general the Romans had left to them, all the others having
been killed by Hannibal. Indibilis told the Spaniards that it was owing
to this there was no one else who could be sent to Spain after the two
Scipios were killed, and when the war began to press more heavily on Italy
he was recalled home as the only man who could oppose Hannibal. The Roman
generals in Spain were nothing but names and the veteran army had been
withdrawn; now there was confusion everywhere, and an untrained mob of
raw recruits. Never again would Spain have such a chance of recovering
its liberty. Up to that time it had been in bondage to either the Romans
or the Carthaginians, nor always to one alone, occasionally to both at
the same time. The Carthaginians had been expelled by the Romans, the Romans
could be expelled by the Spaniards if they were unanimous, and then with
their country freed for ever from foreign domination they could return
to the traditions and rites of their forefathers. By arguments of this
kind he succeeded in rousing his own people and their neighbours, the Ausetani.
Other tribes round joined them and in a few days 30,000 infantry and about
4000 cavalry mustered in the Sedetanian territory, the appointed rendezvous.
29.2
.The Roman commanders, L. Lentulus and L. Manlius Acidinus, were determined
not to let the war spread through any remissness on their part. They united
their forces and marched with their combined strength through the Ausetanian
territory, inflicting no injury on either the hostile or the peaceable
districts, until they came to where the enemy was encamped. They fixed
their own camp at a distance of three miles from that of the enemy, and
sent envoys to persuade him to lay down his arms. When, however, the Spanish
horse attacked a party of foragers, cavalry supports were at once hurried
up from the Roman outposts, and a skirmish took place without any special
advantage to either side. On the morrow the whole of the Spanish army marched
under arms and in battle formation to within a mile of the Roman camp.
The Ausetani formed the centre, the Ilergetes were on the right and the
left was made up of various nameless tribes. Between the wings and the
centre open spaces were left, wide enough to allow of the cavalry charging
through when the right moment arrived. The Roman line was formed in the
usual way, except that they so far copied the enemy as to leave spaces
between the legions for their cavalry also to pass through. Lentulus, however,
saw that this disposition would be of advantage to that side only who were
the first to send their cavalry through the wide gaps in the opposing line.
Accordingly
he gave the military tribune, Servius Cornelius, orders to send his cavalry
at full speed through the openings. He himself, finding that his infantry
were making no progress, and that the twelfth legion, who were on the left,
opposed to the Ilergetes, were beginning to give ground, brought up the
thirteenth legion who were in reserve to their support. As soon as the
battle was restored in this quarter he rode up to L. Manlius, who was at
the front encouraging his men and bringing up assistance wherever it was
required, and pointed out to him that all was safe on his left and that
S. Cornelius, acting under his orders, would soon envelop the enemy with
a whirlwind of cavalry. He had hardly said this when the Roman cavalry
charging into the middle of the enemy threw his infantry into confusion,
and at the same time barred the passage for the Spanish horse. These, finding
themselves unable to act as cavalry, dismounted and fought on foot. When
the Roman commanders saw the enemy's ranks in disorder, confusion and panic
spreading and the standards swaying to and fro, they appealed to their
men to break up the enemy while thus shaken and not let them re-form their
line. The barbarians would not have withstood the furious attack which
followed had not Indibilis and his dismounted cavalry placed themselves
in front to screen the infantry. There was very violent fighting for some
time, neither side giving way. The king though half dead kept his ground
till he was pinned to the earth by a javelin, and then those who were fighting
round him were at last overwhelmed beneath showers of missiles. A general
flight began and the carnage was all the greater because the troopers had
no time to recover their horses, and the Romans never relaxed the pursuit
until they had stripped the enemy of his camp. 13,000 Spaniards were killed
on that day and about 1800 prisoners taken. Of the Romans and allies a
little more than 200 fell, mainly on the left wing. The Spaniards who had
been routed on the field or driven out of their camp, dispersed amongst
the fields, and finally returned to their respective communities.
29.3
After this Mandonius summoned a meeting of the national council, at which
loud complaints were uttered about the disasters they had incurred, and
the authors of the war were strongly denounced. It was resolved to send
envoys to make a formal surrender and offer to give up their arms. They
threw all the blame on Indibilis for starting the war, and on the other
chieftains also, most of whom had fallen in the battle. The reply they
received was that their surrender would only be accepted on condition of
their giving up Mandonius alive and the other instigators of the war; failing
this, the Roman army would march into the country of the Ilergetes and
Ausetani, and into the territories of other nations one after another.
When this reply was reported to the council, Mandonius and the other chiefs
were at once arrested and handed over for punishment. Peace was re-established
amongst the Spanish tribes. They were required to furnish double pay for
the troops that year, a six months' supply of corn, and cloaks and togas
for the army. Hostages were also demanded from about thirty tribes. In
this way the revolt in Spain was crushed without any serious disturbance,
and all the terror of our arms was turned towards Africa. C. Laelius reached
Hippo Regius in the night, and at daybreak his soldiers and the crews of
the vessels were sent ashore for the purpose of ravaging the surrounding
country. As the inhabitants were all peacefully pursuing their avocations
and suspecting no danger, considerable mischief was done amongst them.
Wild alarm was spread through Carthage by the breathless fugitives, who
declared that a Roman fleet had arrived under the command of Scipio; the
report of his having crossed over to Sicily had already got abroad. As
no one was quite clear as to how many ships had been sighted, or what was
the strength of the force that was landed, they were led by their fears
to exaggerate everything. When they had recovered from the first shock
of alarm they were filled with consternation and grief. "Has Fortune,"
they asked, "so completely changed that the nation which in the pride of
victory had an army before the walls of Rome, and after making so many
of the enemy's armies bite the dust, forced or persuaded into submission
all the peoples of Italy should now in the recoil of war have to witness
the desolation of Africa and the siege of Carthage without having anything
like the resources which the Romans have wherewith to meet these troubles?
In the Roman plebs and in Latium they are supplied with a soldiery which
is always growing more efficient and more numerous to replace all the armies
they have lost, whilst our common people are utterly unwarlike whether
in town or country. We have to hire mercenaries from amongst the Africans,
upon whom no dependence can be placed, who are as fickle as the wind. The
native sovereigns are hostile now; Syphax has quite turned against us since
his interview with Scipio; Masinissa has openly declared himself our bitterest
enemy. Nowhere does there appear the slightest prospect of help. Mago has
not created any outbreak in Gaul nor has he effected a junction with Hannibal;
Hannibal himself is weakening, both in prestige and in strength."
29.4
The Carthaginians were recalled from the gloomy reflections into which
the dire news had plunged them by the pressure of immediate danger and
the necessity of devising means to meet it. They decided to raise a hasty
levy from the town and country population alike, to send officers to enlist
African mercenaries, to strengthen the defences of the city, to accumulate
stores of corn, to prepare a supply of weapons and armour, to fit out ships
and despatch them against the Roman fleet at Hippo. In the midst of these
preparations news came that it was Laelius, not Scipio, who was in command,
that the force he had brought was only sufficient to make a raid and that
the main strength of the war was still in Sicily. So they breathed freely
once more, and began to send deputations to Syphax and the other princes
with the view of consolidating their alliance. They even sent envoys to
Philip with the promise of two hundred talents of silver to induce him
to invade either Sicily or Italy. Instructions were also sent to their
generals in Italy to keep Scipio fully employed at home and so prevent
him from leaving the country. To Mago they sent not only instructions but
also 25 warships, a force of 6000 infantry, 800 cavalry and 7 elephants.
A large amount of money was also forwarded to him to enable him to raise
a body of mercenaries, with which he might be able to move nearer Rome
and form a junction with Hannibal. Such were the preparations and plans
of Carthage. While Laelius was carrying off the enormous quantity of booty
which he had taken from the defenceless and unprotected peasantry, Masinissa,
who had heard of the arrival of the Roman fleet, came with a small escort
to visit him. He complained of the want of energy shown by Scipio. Why,
he asked, had he not brought his army to Africa just at a time when the
Carthaginians were in a state of dismay and consternation, and Syphax was
preoccupied with war with his neighbours? He was quite certain that if
time were allowed him for arranging matters as he wished, Syphax would
be anything but a true friend to the Romans. Laelius must urge Scipio to
push on without delay and he, Masinissa, though driven from his kingdom
would assist him with a force of horse and foot, which would be by no means
contemptible. Laelius himself, too, must not stay in Africa, there was
reason to believe that a fleet had sailed from Carthage with which in Scipio's
absence it would not be safe to engage. After this conversation Masinissa
took his departure, and the following day Laelius left Hippo with his ships
laden with plunder and returned to Sicily where he laid Masinissa's instructions
before Scipio.
29.5
It was about this time that the ships which had been despatched from Carthage
to Mago appeared off the coast at a place situated between the Ingauni
and Genua. Mago's fleet happened to be anchored there at the time, and
as soon as he learnt the nature of the instructions brought to him and
that he was to gather together as large a force as possible, he at once
summoned a council of the Gallic and Ligurian chieftains, the two nationalities
of which the large population of that country was composed. When they were
assembled he told them that his mission was to restore them to liberty,
and as they could see for themselves reinforcements were being sent to
him from home. But it depended upon them what numbers and strength would
be available for the war. There were two Roman armies in the field, one
in Gaul, the other in Etruria, and he knew as a matter of fact that Spurius
Lucretius would unite his forces with M. Livius. A good many thousands
of men must be armed if they were to offer an effectual resistance to two
Roman generals and two armies. The Gauls assured him that they were perfectly
willing to do their part, but as one Roman camp was on their territory
and the other just within the frontier of Etruria, almost within sight
of them, any attempt to assist the Carthaginians openly would subject their
country to an invasion from both sides. Mago must ask from the Gauls only
such assistance as they could furnish secretly. As for the Ligurians, the
Roman camp was a long way from their cities, they were therefore free to
act as they chose, it was right that they should arm their men and take
their fair share in the war. The Ligurians raised no objection, they only
asked for an interval of two months in which to raise their force. Mago
in the meantime after sending the Gauls home began to hire mercenary troops
secretly throughout their country, and clandestine supplies were sent to
him from the different communities. M. Livius marched his army of volunteer
slaves from Etruria into Gaul and after joining hands with Lucretius made
preparations for opposing any movement which Mago might make in the direction
of Rome. If on the other hand the Carthaginians remained quiet in that
corner of the Alps he would also stay where he was, near Ariminum, to defend
Italy.
29.6
Scipio's eagerness to carry out his project was quickened by the report
which C. Laelius brought back of his conversation with Masinissa, and the
troops, too, were very keen to make the voyage when they saw the whole
of Laelius' fleet loaded with plunder taken from the enemy. His larger
purpose, however, was crossed by a smaller undertaking, namely the conquest
of Locri, one of the cities which in the general defection of Italy had
gone over to the Carthaginians. The hope of achieving this object had arisen
from a very trivial incident. The struggle in Bruttium had assumed the
character of brigandage much more than that of regular warfare. The Numidians
had commenced the practice, and the Bruttians followed their example, not
so much because of their alliance with the Carthaginians as because it
was their traditional and natural method of carrying on war. At last even
the Romans were infected by the passion for plunder and, as far as their
generals allowed them, used to make predatory incursions on the enemy's
fields. A party of Locrians who had left the shelter of their city were
caught by them in one of these raids and carried off to Regium, and amongst
them were some artisans who had been working for the Carthaginians in the
citadel of Locri. Many of the Locrian nobles who had been expelled by their
opponents when the city was surrendered to Hannibal had retired to Regium
and were living there at the time. They recognised these artisans and naturally
after their long absence wanted to know what was going on at home. After
replying to all their questions the prisoners said that if they were ransomed
and sent back they believed that they could betray the citadel to them,
as they lived there and were implicitly trusted by the Carthaginians. The
nobles, filled as they were, with a yearning for home and burning to take
vengeance on their opponents, came to an understanding with them as to
how the project was to be executed and what signals those in the citadel
were to look out for. They then promptly ransomed them and sent them back.
Their next step was to proceed to Syracuse, where some of the refugees
were staying, and interview Scipio. They told him what the prisoners had
promised to do, and he felt that there was a reasonable prospect of success.
Two military tribunes, M. Sergius and P. Matienus, accompanied them back
to Regium with orders to take 3000 men from the garrison there and march
to Locri. Written instructions were also sent to the propraetor Q. Pleminius
to take command of the expedition.
The troops started from Regium carrying with them ladders specially
constructed to reach the lofty elevation of the citadel and about midnight
they arrived at the place from which they were to give the signal agreed
upon. The conspirators were on the look out, and when they observed the
signal they lowered ladders which they had made for the purpose, and in
this way the assailants were able to mount at several different points
simultaneously. Before any shouting arose they attacked the men on guard
who, suspecting no danger, were asleep. Their dying groans were the first
sounds that were heard, then there was the consternation of men suddenly
awakened and not knowing the cause of the tumult, and at last when they
discovered it they roused the rest and every man shouted his loudest, "To
arms! the enemy is in the citadel and the sentinels are being killed!"
The Romans, who were far outnumbered, would have been overpowered had not
the shouts of those outside bewildered the garrison, whilst everything
seemed more terrible in the confusion and panic of a nocturnal assault.
The Carthaginians in their alarm imagined that the citadel was filled by
the enemy, and abandoning all further resistance fled to the other citadel
which was situated not far from the first. The city itself, which lay between
the two as the prize of victory, was held by the townsmen. Sorties were
made from each citadel and skirmishes went on day by day. Q. Pleminius
commanded the Roman garrison and Hamilcar the Carthaginian. The numbers
on each side were augmented by reinforcements from neighbouring positions.
At last Hannibal himself moved up and the Romans would not have held out
had not the population, embittered by the tyranny and rapacity of the Carthaginians,
taken their side.
29.7
When information reached Scipio as to the serious state of affairs at Locri
and Hannibal's approach, he feared for the garrison, which would be in
great danger owing to the difficulty of withdrawal. Leaving his brother
Lucius in command of a detachment at Messana, he set sail as soon as the
tide turned and allowed a favourable voyage. Hannibal had reached the river
Bulotus, at a point not far from Locri, and had sent instructions from
there to Hamilcar, ordering him to commence a violent attack on the Romans
and Locrians, whilst he himself would deliver an assault on the opposite
side of the city, which would be left unguarded as everyone's attention
would be devoted to the attack which Hamilcar was making. He arrived before
the city at daybreak and found the fighting already begun, but he would
not confine himself in the citadel where his men, crowded together, would
hamper one another's movements, and he had not brought scaling ladders
for an attempt on the walls. After giving orders for the baggage to be
piled, he displayed his army in battle formation with the view of intimidating
the enemy. Whilst ladders were being got ready and preparations made for
an assault he rode round the walls with his Numidians to see where an approach
could best be made. As he was advancing towards the wall, one of those
who happened to be close to him was struck by a missile from a scorpion,
and, alarmed at the danger to which his men were exposed, he ordered the
retreat to be sounded and entrenched himself in a position far beyond the
range of any missiles. The Roman fleet arrived from Messana sufficiently
early in the day to allow of the whole force disembarking and entering
the city before sunset. The next day the Carthaginians began the fighting
from the citadel, whilst Hannibal advanced to the walls with the scaling
ladders and all other apparatus in readiness for the assault. Suddenly
a gate was flung open, and the Romans sallied out against him-the last
thing he was expecting. In their sudden charge they killed as many as 200,
and Hannibal, finding that the consul was commanding in person, retired
the rest of his force to his camp. He sent word to those in the citadel
that they must provide for their own safety. During the night he broke
up his camp and departed, and the men in the citadel, after setting their
quarters on fire in order to delay any pursuit by the confusion thus created,
followed and overtook their main body with a speed which looked very much
like flight.
29.8
When Scipio discovered that the citadel had been evacuated and the camp
abandoned, he summoned the Locrians to an assembly and bitterly reproached
them for their defection. The authors of the revolt were executed and their
property assigned to the leaders of the other party as a reward for their
exceptional loyalty to Rome. As regarded the political status of Locri
he said that he would make no change, they were to send representatives
to Rome, and what the senate thought right, that would be their fate. He
added that he was quite sure that although they had behaved so badly to
Rome, they would be better off under the Romans, incensed as they were
against them, than under their friends, the Carthaginians. Leaving the
detachment which had captured the citadel, with Pleminius in command, to
protect the city, he returned with the troops he had brought to Messana.
After their secession from Rome the Locrians had met with such tyrannical
and brutal treatment from the Carthaginians, that they could have submitted
to ordinary ill-usage not only with patience but almost with cheerfulness.
But, as a matter of fact, Pleminius so far surpassed Hamilcar, his soldiers
so far surpassed the Carthaginians in criminality and greed that they seemed
to be rivalling one another in vice, not in courage. Nothing that can make
the power of the strong hateful to the weak and defenceless was left undone
by the general and his men in their conduct towards the townsmen. Unspeakable
outrages were inflicted on their persons, their wives and their children.
Their rapacity did not shrink even from sacrilege; not content with plundering
the other temples it is recorded that they laid hands on the treasury of
Proserpine, which had always been undisturbed, except by Pyrrhus, and even
he restored the plunder and made a costly offering to expiate his sacrilegious
deed. As on that occasion the king's ships, tempest tossed and shattered,
brought to land nothing that was uninjured, except the sacred money of
the goddess, so now by a disaster of a different kind the same money drove
all who were contaminated by the violation of her temple to such a pitch
of frenzy that general was turned against general, and soldier against
soldier in all the madness of mortal strife.
29.9
Pleminius was in supreme command, and he had with him the troops he had
brought from Regium, the rest were under the military tribunes. One of
his men was running off with a silver cup which he had stolen from a house,
and the owners were running after him. He happened to meet Sergius and
Matienus, the military tribunes, who ordered the cup to be taken from him.
A dispute arose, angry shouts were raised, and at last a regular fight
began between the soldiers of Pleminius and those of the military tribunes.
As first one and then another ran up and joined his own side, the number
and noise of the combatants went on increasing. Pleminius' party were worsted
and ran to their commander with loud and angry shouts, showing him their
wounds and blood-stained armour, and repeating the insulting language which
had been used about him in the quarrel. He was furious, and rushing out
of his house summoned the tribunes before him, and ordered them to be stripped
and the rods got ready. This took some time, for they struggled and appealed
for help to their men, who, excited by their recent victory, ran up from
all parts as though they had been summoned to arms to repel an attack.
When they saw the persons of their tribunes actually outraged by the rods
they were kindled into ungovernable fury, and without the slightest respect
for the majesty of office or even for humanity, they grossly maltreated
the lictors, and then having separated Pleminius from his men and hemmed
him in, they slit his nose and ears and left him half dead. All this was
reported to Scipio at Messana, and a few days later he came in a six-banked
galley to Locri, where he held a formal enquiry into the causes of the
disturbance. Pleminius was acquitted and retained his post; the tribunes
were declared to be guilty and thrown into chains with a view to their
being sent to Rome. Scipio then returned to Messana, and from there proceeded
to Syracuse. Pleminius was beside himself with rage. He considered that
Scipio had treated his wrongs far too lightly, and that the only man who
could assess the penalty was the man who had suffered the outrage. The
tribunes were dragged before him, and after undergoing every torture which
the human body can endure, were put to death. Even then his cruelty was
not satiated and he ordered the bodies to be cast forth unburied. He exercised
the same savage cruelty upon the leading citizens of Locri, who he learnt
had gone to Scipio to complain of his misconduct. The shocking proofs he
had already given of his lust and greed amongst the allies of Rome were
now multiplied in his fury, and the shame and odium they created recoiled
not only on him but on his commander-in-chief as well.
29.10
The date of the elections was approaching, when a despatch was received
from the consul P. Licinius. In it he stated that both he and his army
were suffering from serious illness, and they could not have held their
position if the enemy had not been visited with equal or even greater severity.
As, therefore, he could not himself come, he would, if the senate approved,
nominate Quintus Caecilius Metellus as Dictator to conduct the elections.
He suggested that it would be advisable in the public interest for Q. Caecilius'
army to be disbanded, as there was no immediate use for them now that Hannibal
had gone into winter quarters and the epidemic had attacked their camp
with such violence that unless they were soon disbanded, not a single man,
judging from appearances, would survive. The senate left it to the consul
to take such steps as he thought most consistent with his duty to the commonwealth.
About this time the citizens were much exercised by a religious question
which had lately come up. Owing to the unusual number of showers of stones
which had fallen during the year, an inspection had been made of the Sibylline
Books, and some oracular verses had been discovered which announced that
whenever a foreign foe should carry war into Italy he could be driven out
and conquered if the Mater Idaea were brought from Pessinus to Rome. The
discovery of this prediction produced all the greater impression on the
senators because the deputation who had taken the gift to Delphi reported
on their return that when they sacrificed to the Pythian Apollo the indications
presented by the victims were entirely favourable, and further, that the
response of the oracle was to the effect that a far grander victory was
awaiting Rome than the one from whose spoils they had brought the gift
to Delphi. They regarded the hopes thus raised as confirmed by the action
of Scipio in demanding Africa as his province as though he had a presentiment
that this would bring the war to an end. In order, therefore, to secure
all the sooner the victory which the Fates the omens and the oracles alike
foreshadowed, they began to think out the best way of transporting the
goddess to Rome.
29.11
Up to that time the Roman people had no allies amongst the communities
in Asia. They had not forgotten however, that when they were suffering
from a serious epidemic they had sent to fetch Aesculapius from Greece
though they had no treaty with that country, and now that King Attalus
had formed a friendly league with them against their common enemy, Philip,
they hoped that he would do what he could in the interest of Rome. Accordingly,
they decided to send a mission to him; those selected for the purpose being
M. Valerius Laevinus who had been twice consul and had also been in charge
of the operations in Greece, M. Caecilius Metellus an ex-praetor, S. Sulpicius
Galba, formerly aedile, and two who had been quaestors, Cnaeus Tremellius
Flaccus and M. Valerius Falto. It was arranged that they should sail with
five quinqueremes in order that they might present an appearance worthy
of the people of Rome when they visited those states which were to be favourably
impressed with the greatness of the Roman name. On their way to Asia the
commissioners landed at Delphi, and at once went to consult the oracle
and ascertain what hopes it held out to them and their country of accomplishing
their task. The response which they are said to have received was that
they would attain their object through King Attalus and when they had conveyed
the goddess to Rome they were to take care that the best and noblest men
in Rome should accord her a fitting reception. They went on to the royal
residence in Pergamum, and here the king gave them a friendly welcome and
conducted them to Pessinus in Phrygia. He then handed over to them the
sacred stone which the natives declared to be "the Mother of the Gods,"
and bade them carry it to Rome. M. Valerius Falto was sent on in advance
to announce that the goddess was on her way, and that the best and noblest
man in Rome must be sought out to receive her with all due honour. The
consul commanding in Bruttium nominated Q. Caecilius Metellus as Dictator
to conduct the elections and his army was disbanded; L. Veturius Philo
was Master of the Horse. The new consuls were M. Cornelius Cethegus and
P. Sempronius Tuditanus; the latter was elected in his absence as he was
commanding in Greece. Then followed the election of praetors, those elected
being Tiberius Claudius Nero, M. Marcius Ralla, L. Scribonius Libo and
M. Pomponius Matho. When the elections were over, the Dictator resigned
his office. The Roman Games were celebrated three times, the Plebeian Games,
seven times. The curule aediles were the two Cornelii, Cnaeus and Lucius.
Lucius was in charge of the province of Spain; he was elected in his absence,
and though absent, discharged the duties of his office. Tiberius Claudius
Asellus and M. Junius Pennus were the plebeian aediles. The temple of Virtus
near the Porta Capena was dedicated by M. Marcellus this year; it had been
vowed by his father at Clastidium in Gaul seventeen years previously. M.
Aemilius Regillus, Flamen of Mars, died this year.
29.12
Little attention had been paid to affairs in Greece for the last two years.
As a result, Philip, finding that the Aetolians had been abandoned by the
Romans to whom alone they looked for help, compelled them to sue for peace
and accept whatever terms he chose. Had he not devoted all his strength
to secure this result as soon as possible, his operations against them
would have been interrupted by the proconsul P. Sempronius who had succeeded
Sulpicius and commanded a force of 10,000 infantry, 1000 cavalry and 35
ships of war, a considerable force to bring to the assistance of our allies.
Hardly had the peace been concluded when news reached the king that the
Romans were at Dyrrachium and that the Parthini and neighbouring tribes
had risen and were besieging Dimallum. The Romans had diverted their force
to this place, for as the Aetolians had concluded the treaty with the king
without their consent, they showed their resentment by refusing the help
which they were sent to give them. On receiving this intelligence Philip,
anxious to prevent the movement from spreading, hastened to Apollonia.
Sempronius had withdrawn to this place after sending Laetorius with a portion
of his force and fifteen ships to Aetolia to see how matters stood there
and, if possible, upset the peace. Philip ravaged the country round Apollonia,
and brought his forces up to the city in order to give the Romans an opportunity
of fighting. As, however, he saw that they kept within their walls, and
feeling doubtful as to his ability to attack the place, he withdrew into
his kingdom. An additional motive for his retirement was his desire to
establish peace with them as he had with the Aetolians, or if not peace
at all events a truce, and consequently he avoided irritating them by further
hostilities.
The Epirotes were by this time tired of the long-continued war and after
sounding the Romans sent envoys to Philip with proposals for a general
settlement and assuring him that there was no doubt as to its being arranged
if he would confer with Sempronius. The king was by no means averse from
the proposal, and readily consented to visit Epirus. Phoenice, an important
city in Epirus, was chosen as the place of meeting, and there the king,
after a preliminary interview with Aeropus, Dardas and Philip, the chief
magistrates of the Epirotes, met Sempronius. There were present at the
conference Amynander, king of the Athamanians, as well as the chief magistrates
of the Epirotes and Acarnanians. The Epirote magistrate, Philip, opened
the discussion by appealing to the king and the Roman general to put a
stop to the war out of consideration for the Epirotes. The conditions of
peace as stated by Sempronius were that the Parthini together with the
towns of Dimallum, Bargullum and Eugenium should belong to Rome, and Atintania
should be annexed by Macedon, if Philip obtained the sanction of the senate
to the arrangement. When the terms were settled the king included Prusias,
king of Bithynia, and also the Achaeaus, the Boeotians, the Thessalians,
the Acarnanians and the Epirotes as parties to the agreement. The Romans
on their side extended its provisions to the Ilienses, King Attalus, Pleuratus,
Nabis, tyrant of the Lacedaemonians, the Eleans, the Messenians and the
Athenians. The clauses were then reduced to writing and duly sealed. A
two months' armistice was agreed upon to allow of envoys being sent to
Rome to obtain from the Assembly the ratification of the treaty. All the
tribes voted for it; they were glad to be relieved for the time from the
pressure of other wars now that their efforts were directed towards Africa.
After the conclusion of peace, P. Sempronius left for Rome to take up the
duties of his consulship.
29.13
P. Sempronius and M. Cornelius entered upon their consulship in the fifteenth
year of the Punic War. To the latter was decreed the province of Etruria
with the standing army there; Sempronius received Bruttium and had to enrol
fresh troops. Of the praetors, M. Marcius took over the City jurisdiction,
L. Scribonius Libo was charged with the jurisdiction over aliens and also
the administration of Gaul, Sicily fell to M. Pomponius Matho, and Sardinia
to Tiberius Claudius Nero. P. Scipio had his command extended for twelve
months with the army and fleet which he already had. P. Licinius was to
remain in Bruttium with two legions as long as the consul thought it advisable
for him to retain his command there. M. Livius and Sp. Lucretius were also
to retain the legions with which they had been protecting Gaul against
Mago. Cnaeus Octavius was to hand over his legion and the command in Sardinia
to Nero and take charge of a fleet of forty ships for the protection of
the coast within the limits fixed by the senate. The remains of the army
of Cannae, amounting to two legions, were assigned to M. Pomponius, the
praetor commanding in Sicily. T. Quinctius was to hold Tarentum and C.
Hostilius Tubulus Capua with the existing garrisons-both with the rank
of propraetor. With regard to the command in Spain it was left to the people
to decide upon the two proconsuls who were to be sent into that province
and they were unanimous in retaining L. Cornelius Lentulus and L. Manlius
Acidinus in command there. The consuls proceeded with the enlistment, as
ordered by the senate, for the purpose of raising fresh legions for Bruttium
and bringing the other armies up to full strength.
29.14
Although Africa had not been officially placed among the provinces-the
senators, I think, kept it secret to prevent the Carthaginians from getting
information beforehand-the citizens fully expected that Africa would be
the scene of hostilities this year, and that the end of the Punic War was
not far off. In this state of excitement men's minds were filled with superstition
and the ready credence given to announcement of portents increased their
number. Two suns were said to have been seen; there were intervals of daylight
during the night; a meteor was seen to shoot from east to west; a gate
at Tarracina and at Anagnia a gate and several portions of the wall were
struck by lightning; in the temple of Juno Sospita at Lanuvium a crash
followed by a dreadful roar was heard. To expiate these portents special
intercessions were offered for a whole day, and in consequence of a shower
of stones a nine days' solemnity of prayer and sacrifice was observed.
The reception of Mater Idaea was also being anxiously discussed. M. Valerius,
the member of the deputation who had come in advance, had reported that
she would be in Italy almost immediately and a fresh messenger had brought
word that she was already at Tarracina. The attention of the senate was
engrossed by a very difficult question; they had to decide who was the
best and noblest man in the State. Every one felt that to gain this distinction
would be for him a real victory, far outweighing any official position
or honourable distinction which either patricians or plebeians could confer.
Of all the great and good men in the State they adjudged the best and noblest
to be P. Scipio, the son of the Cnaeus Scipio who had fallen in Spain;
a young man not yet old enough to be quaestor. What special merits of his
induced the senate to come to this conclusion I should have been glad to
record for posterity had the writers who lived nearest to those days handed
them down. As it is I will not obtrude my conjectures upon a matter hidden
in the mists of antiquity.
P. Scipio was ordered to go to Ostia, accompanied by all the matrons,
to meet the goddess. He was to receive her as she left the vessel, and
when brought to land he was to place her in the hands of the matrons who
were to bear her to her destination. As soon as the ship appeared off the
mouth of the Tiber he put out to sea in accordance with his instructions,
received the goddess from the hands of her priestesses, and brought her
to land. Here she was received by the foremost matrons of the City, amongst
whom the name of Claudia Quinta stands out pre-eminently. According to
the traditional account her reputation had previously been doubtful, but
this sacred function surrounded her with a halo of chastity in the eyes
of posterity. The matrons, each taking their turn in bearing the sacred
image, carried the goddess into the temple of Victory on the Palatine.
All the citizens flocked out to meet them, censers in which incense was
burning were placed before the doors in the streets through which she was
borne, and from all lips arose the prayer that she would of her own free
will and favour be pleased to enter Rome. The day on which this event took
place was 12th April, and was observed as a festival; the people came in
crowds to make their offerings to the deity; a lectisternium was held and
Games were constituted which were known afterwards as the Megalesian.
29.15
Whilst steps were being taken to complete the drafts for the legions in
the provinces, some of the senators suggested that the time had come to
deal with a state of things, which, however they might have put up with
it at a time of critical emergency, was intolerable now that the goodness
of the gods had removed their fears. Amid the close attention of the House
they stated that "the twelve Latin colonies which refused to furnish soldiers
when Q. Fabius and Q. Fulvius were our consuls have now for almost six
years been enjoying an exemption from military service, as though an honourable
distinction had been conferred upon them. In the meanwhile our good and
faithful allies have, as a reward for their fidelity and devotion, been
completely exhausted by the levies which they have raised year after year."
These words not only recalled to the memory of the senate a fact which
they had almost forgotten, but they called forth a strong feeling of resentment.
Accordingly, they insisted on taking this as the first business before
the House, and made the following decree: "The consuls shall summon to
Rome the chief magistrates and the ten leading councillors of each of the
offending colonies, namely, Nepete, Sutrium, Ardea, Cales, Alba, Carseoli,
Sora, Suessa, Setia, Cerceii, Narnia, and Interamna. They shall order each
colony to supply a contingent of infantry twice as numerous as the largest
they have raised since the Carthaginians appeared in Italy, and 120 cavalry
in addition. In case any colony cannot make up the required number of mounted
men they shall be allowed to substitute three foot-soldiers for each horseman
deficient. Both the cavalry and infantry are to be selected from the wealthiest
citizens, and sent wherever reinforcements are required outside the limits
of Italy. If any of them refuse to comply with this demand, we order that
the magistrates and representatives of that colony be detained, and no
audience of the senate shall be granted until they have done what is required
of them. In addition to these requirements a property tax of one tenth
per cent. shall be imposed on those colonies to be paid annually, and the
assessment shall be made similarly to the one in force in Rome. The Roman
censors are to supply the censors of the colonies with the necessary schedule
of instructions, and the latter must bring their lists to Rome and verify
their accuracy on oath before going out of office."
In pursuance of this resolution of the senate the magistrates and chief
councillors of those colonies were summoned to Rome. When the consuls ordered
them to furnish the necessary supplies of men and money they broke out
into loud and angry remonstrances. It was impossible, they said, for so
many soldiers to be raised, they would have the utmost difficulty in getting
as many as they were bound to supply under the old conditions. They entreated
that they might be allowed to appear and plead their cause before the senate,
and protested that they had done nothing to justify this ruinous treatment.
Even if it meant death to them, no fault which they might have committed,
no angry threats on the part of Rome could make them raise more men than
they possessed. The consuls were inflexible and ordered the representatives
to remain in Rome whilst the magistrates returned home to levy the men.
They were told that unless the required number of men was brought to Rome
the senate would grant them no audience. As there was no hope of approaching
the senate and begging for more favourable treatment, they proceeded with
the enlistment throughout the twelve colonies, and it presented no difficulty
owing to the increase in the number of men of military age through the
long exemption.
29.16
Another matter which had been lost sight of for a similar length of time
was brought up by M. Valerius Laevinus. It was only just and right, he
said, that the sums which were contributed by private individuals in the
year when he and M. Claudius were the consuls should at last be repaid.
No one ought to be surprised that he was particularly anxious for the State
to meet its obligations honourably, for, apart from the fact that it specially
concerned the consul for that year, it was he himself who advocated these
contributions at a time when the treasury was exhausted, and the plebeians
were unable to pay their war-tax. The senators were glad to be reminded
of the incident, and the consuls were instructed to submit a resolution
to the House. They made a decree that the loans should be repaid in three
instalments, the first, immediately by the consuls then in office, the
second and third by the consuls who should be in office in two and four
years' time, respectively. A subject was afterwards brought up which absorbed
all other interests, namely the terrible state of things at Locri. Up to
that time nothing had been heard of it, but since the arrival of the delegates
it had become generally known. Deep resentment was felt at the criminal
conduct of Pleminius, but still more at the partiality or the indifference
shown by Scipio. The delegates from Locri, presenting a picture of grief
and misery, approached the consuls, who were on their tribunals in the
comitium, and holding out in Greek fashion olive-branches as tokens of
suppliants prostrated themselves on the ground with tears and groans. In
reply to the consuls' enquiry as to who they were, they stated that they
were Locrians, and that they had experienced at the hands of Pleminius
and his Roman soldiers such treatment as the Roman people would not wish
even the Carthaginians to undergo. They craved permission to appear before
the senate and unfold their tale of woe.
29.17
An audience was granted them, and the senior delegate addressed the senate
in the following terms: "Whatever importance, senators, you attach to our
complaints must, I am well aware, depend very largely upon your knowing
accurately the circumstances under which Locri was betrayed to Hannibal,
and after the expulsion of his garrison was again brought under your suzerainty.
For if our senate and people were in no way responsible for the defection,
and it can be shown that our return to your obedience was brought about
not only with our full consent, but even by our own efforts and courage,
then you will feel all the more indignation at such shameful outrages having
been inflicted by your officer and soldiers upon good and faithful allies.
I think, however, that we ought to put off for another time any explanation
of our double change of sides, for two reasons. One is that the matter
ought to be discussed when P. Scipio is present, as he recaptured Locri
and was an eyewitness of all our acts, both good and bad, and another reason
is that, however bad we may be, we ought not to have suffered as we have
done. We do not deny, senators, that when we had the Carthaginian garrison
in our citadel we had to submit to many acts of insolence and cruelty at
the hands of Hamilcar and his Numidians and Africans, but what were they
compared with what we are going through today? I pray, senators, that you
will not take offence at what I am most reluctantly compelled to say. The
whole world is waiting in feverish expectation to see whether you or the
Carthaginians are to be the lords of the earth. If the choice between Roman
and Punic supremacy depended upon the way in which the Carthaginians have
treated us Locrians as compared with what we are suffering today from your
soldiers, there is not one of us who would not prefer their rule to yours.
And yet in spite of all this, see what our feeling towards you has been.
When we were suffering comparatively slight injuries from the Carthaginians
we betook ourselves to your commander; now that we are suffering from your
troops injuries worse than any enemy would inflict it is before you and
no one else that we lay our complaint. If you, senators, do not show any
regard for our misery, there is nothing left which we can pray for, even
to the immortal gods themselves."
Q. Pleminius was sent with a body of troops to recover Locri from the
Carthaginians and was left with his troops in the city. In this officer
of yours-the extremity of misery gives me courage to speak freely-there
is nothing human except his face and appearance, there is no trace of the
Roman save in his garb and speech; he is a wild beast, a monster such as
were fabled to haunt the waters which divide us from Sicily, to the destruction
of navigators. If he were content with wreaking his own villainy and lust
and rapacity upon your allies, we might fill up this one gulf, deep as
it is, by patient endurance, but as it is, he has been so eager to spread
licentiousness and wickedness indiscriminately that he has made every centurion
and every private soldier into a Pleminius. They all alike rob, plunder,
beat, wound, kill, outrage matrons, maidens and boys torn from their parent's
arms. Each day witnesses a fresh storm, a fresh sack of our city; everywhere,
day and night, it is echoing with the shrieks of women who are being seized
and carried off. Any one who knows what is going on might wonder how we
are able to endure it all, or why they have not become weary of their crimes.
I cannot go into details, nor is it worth your while to hear what each
of us has suffered; I will give you a general description. There is not
a single house in Locri, I venture to assert, not a single individual who
has escaped ill-treatment; there is no form of villainy or lust or rapacity
which has not been practiced upon everyone who was a suitable victim. It
is difficult to decide which is the worst misfortune for a city, to be
captured by an enemy in war, or to be crushed by force and violence by
a sanguinary tyrant. All the horrors which attend the capture of a city
we have suffered and are suffering to the utmost; all the tortures which
ruthless and cruel tyrants inflict on their down-trodden subjects Pleminius
has inflicted on us, our children and our wives."
29.18
"There is one matter about which our religious instincts compel us to make
a special complaint, and we should be glad if you would hear what has happened,
and if you so decide, take steps to clear your State from the taint of
sacrilege. We have seen with what pious care you not only worship your
own gods, but even recognise those of other nations. Now there is in our
city a shrine sacred to Proserpine, and I believe some rumours of the sanctity
of that temple reached your ears during your war with Pyrrhus. On his return
voyage from Sicily he touched at Locri and added to the atrocities which
he had committed against us for our loyalty to you by plundering the treasury
of Proserpine, which up to that day had never been disturbed. He placed
the money on board his fleet, and continued his journey overland. What
happened, senators? The very next day his fleet was shattered by a terrible
storm and the ships which were carrying the sacred gold were all cast ashore
on our coast. Taught by this great disaster that there are gods after all,
the arrogant monarch gave orders for all the money to be collected and
carried back to Proserpine's treasury. In spite of this nothing ever prospered
with him afterwards, he was driven out of Italy and in a foolhardy attempt
to enter Argos by night he met with an ignoble and dishonourable death.
Your commander and the military tribunes had heard of this incident and
of countless others which were related to them not so much to increase
the feeling of dread as to give proofs of the direct and manifest power
of the goddess, a power which we and our ancestors had often experienced.
Notwithstanding this, they dared to lay sacrilegious hands on that inviolate
treasure and to attains themselves and their houses and your soldiers with
the guilt of their unhallowed plunder. We implore you therefore, senators,
by all you hold sacred, not to employ these men in any military service
till you have expiated their crime, lest their sacrilege should be atoned
for, not by their blood alone but also by disaster to the commonwealth.
Even now the wrath of the goddess is not slow to visit your officers
and soldiers. Frequently have they already engaged in pitched battles;
Pleminius leading the one side, the military tribunes the other. They have
fought quite as furiously with one another as they ever fought with the
Carthaginians, and in their frenzy would have given Hannibal an opportunity
of recapturing Locri if we had not sent for Scipio. Do not suppose that
whilst the guilt of sacrilege drove the soldiers mad, the goddess did not
manifest her wrath by punishing the leaders. It is just here where she
manifested it most clearly. The tribunes were beaten with rods by their
superior officer, afterwards he was caught unawares by them and, in addition
to being hacked all over, his nose and ears were sliced off and he was
left for dead. At length, recovering from his wounds, he placed the tribunes
in irons and then, after flogging them and subjecting them to all the tortures
that are inflicted on slaves, he put them to death and after they were
dead forbade them to be buried. In this way is the goddess inflicting retribution
upon the despoilers of her temple, nor will she cease to vex them with
every kind of madness until the sacred hoard has once more been deposited
in the shrine. Once when our ancestors were hard pressed in the war with
Croto, they decided, as the temple was outside the city walls, to carry
the treasure into the city. A voice was heard at night proceeding from
the shrine and uttering a warning: 'Lay no hand upon it! The goddess will
protect her temple.' Deterred by religious fears from moving the treasure,
they wanted to build a wall round the temple. After it had been carried
up some distance it suddenly collapsed. Often in the past has the goddess
protected her temple and the seat of her presence, or else as at the present
time she has exacted a heavy atonement from those who have violated it.
But our wrongs she cannot avenge, nor can any one but you, senators; it
is your honour that we invoke and your protection beneath which we seek
shelter. To allow Locri to remain under that commander and those troops
is, as far as we are concerned, the same as handing us over for punishment
to all the rage of Hannibal and his Carthaginians. We do not ask you to
accept what we say at once, in the absence of the accused or without hearing
his defence. Let him appear, let him hear the charges against him, and
let him rebut them. If there be any single crime that one man can be guilty
of towards another, which that man has failed to commit against us, then
we are willing to go through all our sufferings, if it is in our power
to do so, once more, and ready to pronounce him void of all offence towards
gods and men."
29.19
At the close of the delegate's speech, Q. Fabius enquired whether they
had laid their complaints before Scipio. They stated in reply that they
had sent a deputation to him, but he was fully occupied with his preparations
for war and had either sailed or was going to sail in a very few days for
Africa. They had had proof of the high favour in which Pleminius stood
with his commander-in-chief, for after investigating the circumstances
which led to the dispute between him and the military tribunes Scipio had
thrown the tribunes into chains and allowed his subordinate to retain his
command though he was equally or even more guilty. They were then ordered
to withdraw, and in the discussion which followed both Pleminius and Scipio
were very severely handled by the leaders of the House, especially by Quintus
Fabius. He declared that Scipio was born to destroy all military discipline.
It was the same in Spain; more men had been lost there in mutiny than in
battle. His conduct was that of some foreign tyrant, first indulging the
licence of the soldiers and then punishing them. Fabius closed his attack
with the following drastic resolution: "I move that Pleminius be brought
to Rome to plead his cause in chains, and if the charges which the Locrians
have brought against him are substantiated, that he be put to death in
prison and his property confiscated. With regard to Publius Scipio, as
he has left his province without orders, I move that he be recalled, and
that it be referred to the tribunes of the plebs to bring in a bill before
the Assembly to relieve him of his command. As to the Locrians, I move
that they be brought back into the House, and that we assure them in reply
to their complaint that the senate and the people alike disapprove of what
has been done, and that we recognise them as good and trusty allies and
friends. And, further, that their wives and children and all that has been
taken away from them be restored, and that all the money abstracted from
Proserpine's treasury be collected, and double the amount put back. The
question of expiation must be referred to the pontifical college, who must
decide what expiatory rites are to be observed, what deities are to be
propitiated and what victims are to be sacrificed in cases where sacred
treasures have been violated. The soldiers at Locri must be transferred
to Sicily and four Latin cohorts sent to garrison the place." Owing to
the heated debate between Scipio's supporters and opponents the votes could
not be collected that day. Not only had he to bear the odium of Pleminius'
criminal brutality towards the Locrians, but the Roman commander was even
taunted with his style of dress as being un-Roman and even unsoldierly.
It was asserted that he walked about the gymnasium in a Greek mantle and
Greek slippers and spent his time amongst rhetoricians and athletes and
that the whole of his staff were enjoying the attractions of Syracuse and
living a life of similar self-indulgence and effeminacy. They had completely
lost sight of Hannibal and the Carthaginians; the entire army was demoralised
and out of hand; like the one formerly at Sucro or the one now at Locri,
they were more dreaded by their allies than by the enemy.
29.20
Though there was sufficient truth in these charges to give them an air
of probability, Q. Metellus carried the majority with him. Whilst agreeing
with the rest of Fabius' speech, he dissented from what he said about Scipio.
Scipio, he said, had only the other day been chosen by his fellow-citizens,
young as he was, to command the expedition which was to recover Spain,
and after he had recovered it, was elected consul to bring the Punic War
to a close. All hopes were now centered in him as the man who was destined
to subjugate Africa and rid Italy of Hannibal. How, he asked, could they
with any propriety order him to be peremptorily recalled, like another
Q. Pleminius, without being heard in his defence, especially when the Locrians
admitted that the cruelties of which they complained took place at a time
when Scipio was not even on the spot and when nothing could be definitely
brought against him, beyond undue leniency or shrinking from cruelty in
sparing his subordinate officers? He moved a resolution that M. Pomponius,
the praetor to whom Sicily had been allotted, should depart for his province
in three days' time; that the consuls should select at their discretion
ten members of the senate who would accompany the praetor, as well as two
tribunes of the plebs and one of the aediles. With these as his assessors
he should conduct an investigation, and if the acts of which the Locrians
complained should prove to have been done under the orders or with the
consent of Scipio, they should order him to quit his province. If he had
already landed in Africa, the tribunes and the aedile with two of the ten
senators whom the praetor considered fittest for the task should proceed
thither,
the tribunes and the aedile to bring Scipio back and the two senators to
take command of the army until a fresh general arrived. If on the other
hand M. Pomponius and his ten assessors ascertained that what had been
done was neither by the orders nor with the concurrence of Scipio, he was
to retain his command and carry on the war as he proposed. This resolution
proposed by Metellus was adopted by the senate, and the tribunes of the
plebs were asked to arrange which of them should accompany the praetor.
The pontifical college was consulted as to the necessary expiations for
the desecration and robbery of Proserpine's temple. The plebeian tribunes
who accompanied the praetor were M. Claudius Marcellus and M. Cincius Alimentus.
A plebeian aedile was assigned to them so that in case Scipio refused to
obey the praetor or had already landed in Africa, the tribunes might, by
virtue of their sacrosanct authority, order the aedile to arrest him and
bring him back with them. They decided to go to Locri first and then on
to Messana.
29.21
As to Pleminius two stories are current. One is to the effect that when
he heard of the decision arrived at in Rome he started to go into exile
at Naples, and on his way was met by Q. Metellus, one of the ten senators,
who arrested him and brought him back to Regium. According to the other
account Scipio himself sent an officer with thirty men of highest rank
amongst his cavalry and threw Pleminius and the prime movers of the outbreak
into chains. They were all handed over by Scipio's orders or those of the
officer to the people of Regium for safe keeping. The praetor and the rest
of the commission, on their arrival at Locri, made the religious question
their first care, in accordance with their instructions. All the sacred
money in the possession of Pleminius and his soldiers was collected together,
and together with what they had brought with them was placed in the temple,
and then expiatory sacrifices were offered. After this the praetor summoned
the troops to assembly, and issued an order of the day threatening severe
punishment to any soldier who stayed behind in the city or carried away
anything that did not belong to him. He then ordered the standards to be
borne outside the city, and fixed his camp in the open country. The Locrians
were given full liberty to take whatever they recognised as their own property,
and make a claim for whatever could not be found. Above all he insisted
upon the immediate restoration of all free persons to their homes, any
one who neglected to restore them would be very severely punished.
The praetor's next business was to convene an assembly of the Locrians,
and here he announced that the senate and people of Rome gave them back
their constitution and their laws. Whoever wished to prosecute Pleminius
or any one else was to follow the praetor to Regium. If their government
wished to charge Scipio with either ordering or approving of the crimes
against gods and men which had been perpetrated in Locri they were to send
representatives to Messana, where, with the aid of his assessors, he should
hold an enquiry. The Locrians expressed their gratitude to the praetor
and the other members of the commission, and to the senate and people of
Rome. They announced their intention of prosecuting Pleminius, but as to
Scipio, "though he had not been much troubled about the injuries inflicted
on their city, they would rather have him their friend than their enemy.
They were quite convinced that it was neither by the orders nor with the
approval of P. Scipio that such infamous crimes were committed; his fault
was that he either reposed too much confidence in Pleminius or felt too
much distrust in the Locrians. Some men are so constituted that whilst
they would not have crimes committed they lack the resolution to inflict
punishment when they have been committed." The praetor and his council
were greatly relieved at not having to call Scipio to account; Pleminius
and thirty-two others they found guilty and sent them in chains to Rome.
The commission then went to Scipio to find out by personal observation
whether there was any truth in the common rumours about Scipio's style
of dress and love of pleasure, in order to be able to report to Rome.
29.22
Whilst they were on their way to Syracuse Scipio prepared to justify himself,
not by words but by acts. He gave orders for the whole of the army to muster
at Syracuse and the fleet to be prepared for action as though he had to
engage the Carthaginians that day both by land and sea. When the commission
had landed he received them courteously, and the following day he invited
them to watch the maneuvers of his land and sea forces, the troops performing
their evolutions as in battle, whilst the ships in the harbour engaged
in a sham sea-fight. Then the praetor and the commissioners were taken
for a tour of inspection round the arsenals and magazines and the other
preparations for war, and the impression made by the whole and by each
separate detail was such as to convince them that if that general and that
army could not conquer Carthage, no one ever could. They bade him sail
for Africa with the blessing of heaven, and fulfil as speedily as possible
the hopes and expectations in which the centuries had unanimously chosen
him as their consul. They left in such joyous spirits that they seemed
to be taking back the announcement of a victory, and not simply reporting
the magnificent preparations for war. Pleminius and his fellow criminals
were thrown into prison as soon as they reached Rome. When they were first
brought before the people by the tribunes the minds of all were too full
of the sufferings of the Locrians to leave any room for pity. But after
they had been brought forward several times the feeling against them became
gradually less embittered, the mutilation which Pleminius had suffered
and the thought of the absent Scipio who had befriended him disposed the
populace in his favour. However, before the trial was over he died in prison.
Clodius Licinius in the Third Book of his Roman History says that Pleminius
bribed some men to set fire to various parts of the City during the Games
which Scipio Africanus was celebrating, in fulfilment of a vow, during
his second consulship, to give him an opportunity of breaking out of gaol
and making his escape. The plot was discovered, and he was by order of
the senate consigned to the Tullianum. No proceedings took place with regard
to Scipio except in the senate, where all the commissioners and the tribunes
spoke in such glowing terms of the general and his fleet and army that
the senate resolved that an expedition should start for Africa as soon
as possible. They gave Scipio permission to select from the armies in Sicily
what troops he would like to take with him, and what he would leave in
occupation of the island.
29.23
During these occurrences in Rome, the Carthaginians had established look-out
stations on all the headlands and waited anxiously for the news which each
successive courier brought; the whole winter was passed in a state of alarm.
They formed an alliance with King Syphax, a step which they considered
would materially aid in protecting Africa against invasion, for it was
in reliance upon his cooperation that the Roman general would attempt a
landing Hasdrubal Gisgo had, as we have already mentioned, formed ties
of hospitality with the king when on his departure from Spain he met Scipio
at his court. There was some talk of a closer connection through the king's
marriage with Hasdrubal's daughter, and with a view to realising this project
and fixing a day for the nuptials-for the girl was of a marriageable age-Hasdrubal
paid Syphax a visit. When he saw that the prince was passionately desirous
of the match-the Numidians are of all barbarians the most ardent lovers-he
sent for the maiden from Carthage and hastened on the wedding. The gratification
felt at the match was heightened by the action of the king in strengthening
his domestic tie with Carthage by a political alliance. A treaty was drawn
up and ratified on oath between Carthage and the king, in which the contracting
parties bound themselves to have the same friends and the same enemies.
Hasdrubal, however, had not forgotten the treaty which Scipio had formed
with Syphax, nor the capricious and fickle character of the barbarians
with whom he had to deal, and his great feat was that if once Scipio landed
in Africa this marriage would prove a very slight restraint upon the king.
So whilst the king was in the first transports of passion and obedient
to the persuasive endearments of his bride, he seized the opportunity of
inducing Syphax to send envoys to Scipio advising Scipio not to sail to
Africa on the faith of his former promises, as he was now connected with
a Carthaginian family through his marriage with Hasdrubal's daughter; Scipio
would remember meeting her father at his court. They were to inform Scipio
that he had also made a formal alliance with Carthage, and it was his wish
that the Romans should conduct their operations against Carthage at a distance
from Africa as they had hitherto done. Otherwise he might be involved in
the dispute and compelled to support one side and abandon his alliance
with the other. If Scipio refused to keep clear of Africa, and led his
army against Carthage, Syphax would feel himself under the necessity of
fighting in defence of the land of his birth, and in defence of his wife's
native city and her father and her home.
29.24
Furnished with these instructions the king's envoys repaired to Syracuse
to interview Scipio. He recognised that he was deprived of the valuable
support which he had hoped for in his African campaign, but he decided
to send the envoys back at once before their mission became generally known.
He gave them a letter for the king in which he reminded him of the personal
ties between them, and the alliance he had formed with Rome, and solemnly
warned him against breaking those ties or violating the solemn engagements
he had undertaken, and so offending the gods who had witnessed and would
avenge them. The visit of the Numidians could not, however, be kept secret,
for they strolled about the city and were seen at headquarters, and there
was a danger of the real object of their visit becoming all the more widely
known through the efforts made to conceal it, and of the army being discouraged
at the prospect of having to fight the king and the Carthaginians at the
same time. To prevent this Scipio determined to keep them from the truth
by preoccupying their minds with falsehood. The troops were summoned to
assembly and Scipio told them that there must be no further delay. The
friendly princes were urging him to start for Africa as soon as possible;
Masinissa himself had already gone to Laelius to complain of the way in
which time was being wasted, and now Syphax had sent envoys to express
his surprise at the delay and to demand that the army should be sent to
Africa or, if there was a change of plan, that he should be informed of
it in order that he might take measures to safeguard himself and his kingdom.
As therefore all the preparations were completed and circumstances did
not admit of any further delay, it was his intention to order the fleet
to Lilybaeum, to muster the whole of his infantry and cavalry there and
on the very first day which promised a favourable voyage set sail, with
the blessing of heaven, for Africa. He then wrote to M. Pomponius requesting
him, if he thought it advisable, to come to Lilybaeum that they might consult
together as to what legions should be selected and what ought to be the
total strength of the invading force. Orders were also sent all round the
coast for every transport vessel to be requisitioned and brought to Lilybaeum.
When the whole of the military and naval forces in Sicily were assembled
there, the town could not afford accommodation for all the men, nor could
the harbour hold all the ships, and such enthusiasm prevailed in all ranks
that it seemed as though instead of marching to war they were to reap the
fruits of a victory already won. This was particularly the case with the
survivors of Cannae, who felt quite certain that under no other leader
would they be able to do such service for the commonwealth as would put
an end to their ignominious condition. Scipio was far from despising these
men, he was quite aware that the defeat at Cannae was not brought about
by any cowardice on their part, and he knew, too, that there were no soldiers
in the Roman army who had had such a long experience in every kind of fighting,
and in the conduct of sieges. They formed the fifth and sixth legions.
After announcing to them that he would take them with him to Africa, he
inspected them man by man, and those whom he did not consider suitable
he left behind, replacing them from the men whom he had brought from Italy.
In this way he brought up the strength of each legion to 6200 men and 300
cavalry. He selected the Latin contingent also, both horse and foot, out
of the army of Cannae.
29.25
As to the number of troops put on board there is considerable divergence
among the authorities. I find that some state it to have amounted to 10,000
infantry and 2200 cavalry; others give 16,000 infantry and 1600 cavalry;
others again double this estimate and put the total of infantry and cavalry
at 32,000 men. Some writers give no definite number, and in a matter so
uncertain I prefer to include myself amongst them. Coelius declines, it
is true, to give any definite number, but he exaggerates to such an extent
as to give the impression of a countless multitude; the very birds, he
says, fell to the ground stunned by the shouting of the soldiers, and such
a mighty host embarked that it seemed as though there was not a single
man left in either Italy or Sicily. To avoid confusion Scipio personally
superintended the embarkation. C. Laelius who was in command of the fleet
had previously sent all the seamen to their posts and kept them there while
the soldiers went on board. The praetor, M. Pomponius, was responsible
for the shipping of the stores; forty-five days' provisions, including
fifteen days' supply of cooked food, were put on board. When all were now
on board, boats were sent round to take off the pilots and captains and
two men from each ship who were to assemble in the forum and receive their
orders. When all were present, his first enquiry was as to the supply of
water for the men and horses, whether they had put on board sufficient
to last as long as the corn. They assured him that there was water in the
ships sufficient to last for forty-five days. He then impressed upon the
soldiers the necessity of keeping quiet and maintaining discipline and
not interfering with the sailors in the discharge of their duties. He further
informed them that he and Lucius Scipio would command the right division
of twenty ships of war, whilst C. Laelius, prefect of the fleet, in conjunction
with M. Porcius Cato, who was quaestor at the time, would be in charge
of the left line containing the same number, and would protect the transports.
The warships would show single lights at night, the transports would have
two, while the commander's ship would be distinguished by three lights.
He gave the pilots instructions to make for Emporia. This was an extremely
fertile district, and supplies of all kinds were to be found there in abundance.
The natives, as usually happens in a fruitful country, were unwarlike,
and would probably be overpowered before assistance could reach them from
Carthage. After issuing these orders he dismissed them to their ships,
and on the morrow at the given signal they were, with the blessing of heaven,
to set sail.
29.26
Many Roman fleets had put out from Sicily and from that very port, but
not even during the First Punic War-in the present war the majority were
simply raiding expeditions-had any afforded a more striking picture at
its departure. And yet, if you only take into account the number of vessels,
it must be remembered that two consuls with their respective armies had
left that port on a previous occasion and the warships in their fleets
were almost as numerous as the transports with which Scipio was now making
his passage, for in addition to the forty ships of war he was carrying
his army in four hundred transports. Several causes conspired to invest
the occasion with unique interest. The Romans regarded the present war
as a more serious one than the former because it was going on in Italy,
and had involved the destruction of so many armies with their generals.
Scipio, again, had become the most popular general of his time for his
gallant deeds of arms, and his unvarying good fortune had immensely raised
his reputation as a soldier. His design of invading Africa had never before
been attempted by any commander, and it was generally believed that he
would succeed in drawing Hannibal away from Italy and finish the war on
African soil. A vast crowd of spectators had gathered in the harbour; besides
the population of Lilybaeum, all the deputations from the different cities
in the island who had come to pay their respects to Scipio as well as those
who had accompanied M. Pomponius, the governor of the province, were present.
The legions which were to remain in Sicily also marched down to bid their
comrades God-speed, and the throng which crowded the harbour was as grand
a spectacle to those afloat as the fleet itself was to those ashore.
29.27
When the moment for departure came, Scipio ordered the herald to proclaim
silence throughout the fleet and put up the following prayer: "Ye gods
and goddesses of sea and land, I pray and beseech you to vouchsafe a favourable
issue to all that has been done or is being done now or will be done hereafter
under my command. May all turn out happily for the burghers and plebs of
Rome, for our allies of the Latin name, for all who have the cause of Rome
at heart, and for all who are marching beneath my standard, under my auspices
and command, by land or sea or stream. Grant us your gracious help in all
our doings, crown our efforts with success. Bring these my soldiers and
myself safe home again, victorious over our conquered foes, adorned with
their spoils, loaded with booty and exulting in triumph. Enable us to avenge
ourselves on our enemies and grant to the people of Rome and to me the
power to inflict exemplary chastisement on the city of Carthage, and to
retaliate upon her all the injury that her people have sought to do to
us." As he finished he threw the raw entrails of the victim into the sea
with the accustomed ritual. Then he ordered the trumpeter to sound the
signal for departure, and as the wind which was favourable to them freshened
they were quickly carried out of sight. In the afternoon they were enveloped
in so thick a fog that they had difficulty in keeping their ships from
fouling one another, and as they got out to sea the wind dropped. During
the night a similar fog prevailed, which dispersed after sunrise, and at
the same the wind freshened. At last they descried land, and a few minutes
later the pilot informed Scipio that they were not more than five miles
from the coast of Africa, and that the headland of Mercurius was plainly
visible. If he would give orders for him to steer for it, the man assured
him, the whole of the fleet would soon be in port. When he caught sight
of land Scipio offered a prayer that this first view of Africa might bring
good to himself and to the republic. He then gave orders for the fleet
to make for an anchorage further south. They went before the wind which
was still in the same quarter, but a fog which came up about the same time
as on the day before blotted out the view of the land and made the wind
fall. As night came on everything became obscure, and to avoid all risk
of the ships coming into collision or being driven ashore it was decided
to cast anchor. When it grew light, the wind again freshened from the same
quarter, and the dispersal of the fog revealed the entire coastline of
Africa. Scipio enquired the name of the nearest headland, and on learning
that was called Pulchrum ("Cape Beautiful") he remarked, "I accept the
omen, steer for it." The fleet brought up there and the whole of the force
was landed. This description of the voyage as favourable and unaccompanied
by any confusion or alarms rests upon the statements of numerous Greek
and Latin authorities. According to Coelius, though the fleet was not actually
submerged by the waves, it was exposed to every possible danger from sea
and sky, and was at last driven from the African coast to the island of
Aegimurus, and from here with great difficulty succeeded in getting on
the right course. He adds that as the ships were leaking badly and all
but sinking, the soldiers took to the boats without orders just as though
they were shipwrecked and escaped to land without arms and in the utmost
disorder.
29.28
When the disembarkation was completed, the Romans measured out a site for
their camp on some rising ground close by. The sight of a hostile fleet,
followed by the bustle and excitement of the landing, created consternation
and alarm, not only in the fields and farms on the coast, but in the cities
as well. Not only were the roads filled everywhere by crowds of men and
troops of women and children, but the peasantry were driving their live
stock inland, so that you would say that Africa was being suddenly depopulated.
The terror which these fugitives created in the cities was greater even
than what they themselves felt, especially in Carthage, where the confusion
was almost as great as if it had been actually captured. Since the days
of the consuls M. Atilius Regulus and L. Manlius, almost fifty years ago,
they had never seen a Roman army other than those employed on raiding expeditions,
who picked up what they could in the fields and always got back to their
ships before the countrymen could assemble together to meet them. This
made the excitement and alarm in the city all the greater. And no wonder,
for there was neither an effective army nor a general whom they could oppose
to Scipio. Hasdrubal, the son of Gisgo, was by far the most prominent man
in the State, distinguished alike by his birth, his military reputation
and his wealth, and now by his connection with royalty. But the Carthaginians
had not forgotten that he had been defeated and routed in several battles
by this very Scipio, and that as a general he was no more a match for him
than the irregular levies which made up his force were a match for the
army of Rome. There was a general call to arms, as though they were anticipating
an immediate assault; the gates were hastily closed, troops stationed on
the walls, outposts and sentinels posted, and the night was passed under
arms. The next day, a body of cavalry, 1000 strong, who had been sent down
to the sea to reconnoitre and harass the Romans during the disembarkation,
came upon the Roman outposts. Scipio, meanwhile, after sending the fleet
to Utica, had advanced a short distance from the shore and seized the nearest
heights, where he stationed some of his cavalry as outposts; the rest he
sent to plunder the fields.
29.29
In the skirmish which ensued, the Romans killed some of the enemy in the
actual fighting, but the greater number were slain in the pursuit, amongst
them the young Hanno, who was in command. Scipio ravaged the surrounding
fields and captured a fairly opulent city in the immediate neighbourhood.
In addition to the plunder which was at once put on board the transports
and sent to Sicily, he made prisoners of some 8000 men, freemen and slaves.
What cheered the whole army most of all at the outset of their campaign
was the arrival of Masinissa, who, according to some writers, was accompanied
by a mounted force of 200 men; most authorities, however, assert that it
numbered 2000. As this monarch was by far the greatest of his contemporaries
and rendered most important service to Rome, it may be worth while to digress
from the order of our narrative and give a brief account of the various
fortunes he experienced in the loss and subsequent recovery of the throne
of his ancestors. Whilst he was fighting for the Carthaginians in Spain,
his father Gala died. In accordance with the Numidian custom the crown
passed to the late king's brother Oezalces, a man advanced in years. He
died not long afterwards and the elder of his two sons, Capussa-the other
was quite a boy-succeeded to the throne. But as he wore the crown by right
of descent rather than through any influence or authority he possessed
with his subjects, a certain Mazaetullus prepared to dispute his claim.
This man was also of royal blood and belonged to a family which had always
been foes to the reigning house, and had kept up a constant struggle with
varying fortunes against the occupants of the throne. He succeeded in rousing
his countrymen, over whom, owing to the king's unpopularity, he had considerable
influence, and taking the field against him, compelled him to fight for
his crown. Capussa fell in the action, together with many of his principal
supporters; the whole of the Maesulian tribe submitted to Mazaetullus.
He would not, however, accept the title of king, this he bestowed on the
boy Lacumazes, the sole survivor of the royal house. and contented himself
with the modest title of Protector. With a view to an alliance with Carthage
he married a Carthaginian lady of noble birth, a niece of Hannibal's, and
widow of Oezalces. He also sent envoys to Syphax and renewed the old ties
of hospitality with him, thus securing on all sides support for the coming
struggle with Masinissa.
29.30
On hearing of his uncle's death, followed by that of his cousin, Masinissa
left Spain for Mauretania. Baga was king at the time, and Masinissa, by
his earnest and humble entreaties, obtained from him a force of 4000 Moors
to serve as an escort as he could not induce him to supply enough for warlike
operations. With this escort he reached the frontiers of Numidia, having
sent messengers in advance to his father's friends and his own. Here about
500 Numidians joined him, and, as had been arranged, his escort of Moors
returned to their king. His adherents were fewer than he expected, too
few, in fact, with which to venture on so great an enterprise. Thinking,
however, that by active personal effort he might collect a force which
would enable him to achieve something, he advanced to Thapsus, where he
met Lacumazes, who was on his way to Syphax. The king's escort retreated
hurriedly into the town, and Masinissa captured the place at the first
assault. Some of the royal troops surrendered, others who offered resistance
were killed, but the great majority escaped with their boy-king in the
confusion and continued their journey to Syphax. The news of this initial
success, slight though it was, brought the Numidians over to Masinissa,
and from the fields and hamlets on all sides the old soldiers of Gala flocked
to his standard and urged the young leader to win back his ancestral throne.
Mazaetullus had considerably the advantage in point of numbers; he had
the army with which he had defeated Capussa as well as some of the troops
who had gone over to him after the king's death, and Lacumazes had brought
very large reinforcements from Syphax. His total force amounted to 15,000
infantry and 10,000 cavalry, but, though so inferior in both arms, Masinissa
engaged him. The courage of the veterans and the skill of their commander,
trained as he had been in the wars in Spain, carried the day; the king
and the Protector with a mere handful of Masaesulians escaped into Carthaginian
territory. Thus Masinissa won back the throne of his ancestors. As he saw,
however, that a much more serious contest awaited him with Syphax, he thought
it best to effect a reconciliation with his cousin, and sent to the boy
to assure him that if he would place himself in Masinissa's hands he would
experience the same honourable treatment that Oezalces received from Gala.
He also pledged his word to Mazaetullus that he should not suffer for what
he had done, and, more than that, that all his property should be restored
to him. Both Lacumazes and Mazaetullus preferred a moderate share of fortune
at home to a life of exile, and in spite of all the efforts of the Carthaginians
went over to Masinissa.
29.31
.Hasdrubal happened to be on a visit to Syphax at the time. The Numidian
did not consider it a matter of much importance to him whether the Maesulian
throne was occupied by Lacumazes or Masinissa, but Hasdrubal warned him
that he was making a very great mistake if he supposed that Masinissa would
be content with the same frontiers as his father Gala. "That man," he said,
"possessed much more ability and much more force of character than any
one of that nation had hitherto shown. In Spain he had often exhibited
to friends and foes alike proofs of a courage rare amongst men. Unless
Syphax and the Carthaginians stifled that rising flame, they would soon
be involved in a conflagration which nothing could check. As yet his power
was weak and insecure, he was nursing a realm whose wounds had not yet
closed." By continually urging these considerations, Hasdrubal persuaded
him to move his army up to the frontiers of Maesulia and fix his camp on
territory which he claimed as beyond question forming part of his dominions,
a claim which Gala had contested not only by argument, but by force of
arms. He advised him in case any one offered opposition-and he only wished
they would-to be prepared to fight; if they for fear of him retired he
must advance into the heart of the kingdom. The Maesulii would either submit
to him without a struggle or they would find themselves hopelessly outmatched
in arms. Encouraged by these representations Syphax commenced war with
Masinissa, and in the very first battle defeated and routed the Maesulians.
Masinissa with a few horsemen escaped from the field and fled to a mountain
range called by the natives Bellum. Several households with their tent-wagons
and cattle-their sole wealth-followed the king; the bulk of the population
submitted to Syphax. The mountain district which the fugitives had taken
possession of was grassy and well watered, and as it afforded excellent
pasturage for cattle it provided ample sustenance for men who lived on
flesh and milk. From these heights they harried the whole country round,
at first in stealthy nocturnal incursions, and afterwards in open brigandage.
They ravaged the Carthaginian territory mainly, because it offered more
plunder and depredation was a safer work there than amongst the Numidians.
At last they reached such a pitch of audacity that they carried their plunder
down to the sea and sold it to traders who brought their ships up for the
purpose. More Carthaginians fell or were made prisoners in these forays
than often happens in regular warfare. The authorities at Carthage complained
loudly of all this to Syphax and pressed him to follow up these remnants
of the war. Angry as he was, however, he hardly thought it part of his
duties as a king to hunt down a robber at large on the mountains.
29.32
Boncar, one of the king's officers, a keen and energetic soldier, was selected
for the task. He was supplied with 4000 infantry and 200 horsemen and he
had a good prospect of gaining rewards if he brought back Masinissa's head,
or-what would afford measureless gratification-captured him alive. Making
a surprise attack on the plunderers when they were suspecting no danger,
he cut off an enormous number of men and cattle from their armed escort
and drove Masinissa himself with a few followers up to the summit of the
mountain. He now regarded serious hostilities as at an end, and after despatching
his capture of men and cattle to the king, sent back also the bulk of his
troops whom he considered unnecessary for what remained of the fighting,
retaining only 500 infantry and 200 mounted men. With these he hastened
in pursuit of Masinissa who had left the heights and, catching him in a
narrow valley, he blocked both entrances and inflicted a very severe loss
on the Maesulii. Masinissa with not more than fifty troopers got away through
steep mountain tracks unknown to his pursuers. Boncar, however, kept on
his track and overtook him in the open country near Clupea where he surrounded
him so completely that the whole party were killed with the exception of
four who with Masinissa, himself wounded, slipped out of his hands during
the fray. Their flight was observed and the cavalry were sent in pursuit.
They spread over the plain, some making a short cut to head off the five
fugitives, whose flight brought them to a large river. Dreading the enemy
more than the river, they spurred their horses without a moment's hesitation
into the water, and the rapid current carried them down stream. Two were
drowned before their pursuers' eyes, and it was believed that Masinissa
had perished. He, however, with the two survivors, landed amongst the bush
on the other side. This was the end of Boncar's pursuit, as he would not
venture into the river and did not believe that there was any one now left
for him to follow. He returned to the king with the baseless story of Masinissa's
death, and messengers were sent to carry the good news to Carthage. The
report soon spread throughout Africa, and affected men's minds in very
different ways. Masinissa was resting in a secret cave and treating his
wound with herbs, and for some days kept himself alive on what his two
troopers brought in from their forays. As soon as his wound was sufficiently
healed to allow him to bear the movements of the horse he started with
extraordinary boldness on a fresh attempt to recover his kingdom. During
his journey he did not collect more than forty horsemen, but when he reached
the Maesulii and made his identity known, his appearance created intense
excitement. His former popularity and the unhoped-for delight of seeing
him safe and sound, after they had believed him dead, had such an effect
that in a few days 6000 infantry and 4000 cavalry had gathered round his
standard. He was now in possession of his kingdom, and began to devastate
the tribes who were friendly to Carthage, and the territory of the Maesulii,
which formed part of the dominions of Syphax. Having thus provoked Syphax
into hostilities, Masinissa took up a position on some mountain heights
between Cirto and Hippo, a situation which was every way advantageous.
29.33
Syphax looked upon the struggle as too serious a one to be entrusted to
his lieutenants. He placed one division of his army under his son Vermina
with instructions to march round the back of the mountain and attack the
enemy in the rear while he himself occupied his attention in front. Vermina
started in the night as he was to fall on the enemy unawares; Syphax broke
camp and marched out in broad daylight with the obvious intention of giving
regular battle. When sufficient time had elapsed for Vermina to reach his
objective, Syphax led his men over a part of the mountain which afforded
a gentle slope and made straight for the enemy, trusting to his superiority
in numbers and the success of the attack in the rear. Masinissa prepared
to meet the attack with confidence owing to his vastly superior position.
The battle was fiercely and for a long time evenly contested; Masinissa
had the advantage of the ground and finer soldiers, Syphax, that of great
superiority in numbers. His masses of men, which had been formed into two
divisions, one pressing the enemy in front, the other surrounding his rear,
gave Syphax a decisive victory. Flight was impossible as they were hemmed
in on both sides, and almost the whole force of infantry and cavalry were
killed or made prisoners. Some two hundred horsemen had gathered as a bodyguard
round Masinissa, and he divided them into three troops with orders to cut
their way through at different points and after they had got clear away
to rejoin him at a spot he named. He himself charged through the enemy
and escaped in the direction he intended, but two of the troops found escape
impossible, one surrendered, the other after an obstinate resistance was
buried beneath the enemy's missiles. Masinissa found Vermina almost at
his heels, but by continually doubling first to one side and then to the
other he eluded his pursuit until at last he forced him to abandon the
exhausting and hopeless chase. Accompanied by sixty troopers he reached
the Lesser Syrtis. Here, in the proud consciousness of his many heroic
efforts to recover his father's throne, he passed his time between the
Carthaginian Emporia and the tribe of the Garamantes until the appearance
of Scipio and the Roman fleet in Africa. This leads me to believe that
when Masinissa came to Scipio it was with a small rather than with a large
body of troops; the former would be much more suitable to the fortunes
of an exile, the latter to those of a reigning prince.
29.34
After the loss of their cavalry corps and its commander, the Carthaginians
raised a fresh force which they placed under Hamilcar's son Hanno. They
had sent repeated messages to both Hasdrubal and Syphax and at last sent
a special embassy to each of them, appealing to Hasdrubal to succour his
native city which was all but invested, and imploring Syphax to come to
the aid of Carthage and indeed of the whole of Africa. Scipio at the time
was encamped about a mile from Utica, having moved up from the coast where
for a few days he had occupied an intrenched position close to his fleet.
The mounted troops which had been supplied to Hanno were by no means strong
enough to harass the enemy or even to protect the country from his depredations,
and his first and most pressing task was to increase its strength. Though
he did not reject recruits from other tribes, his levy consisted mainly
of Numidians, by far the finest cavalry in Africa. When he had brought
his corps up to about 4000 men, he took possession of a town called Salaeca,
about fifteen miles from the Roman camp. This was reported to Scipio, and
he exclaimed, "What? Cavalry in houses in the summer! Let there be more
of them as long as they have such a leader!" Realising that the less energy
the enemy showed, the less hesitation ought he himself to show, he instructed
Masinissa and his cavalry to ride up to the enemy's quarters and draw them
into action: when their whole force was engaged and he was being outnumbered
he was to retire slowly, and when the moment arrived Scipio would come
to his support. The Roman general waited until Masinissa had had sufficient
time to draw the enemy, and then followed with his cavalry, his approach
being concealed by some low hills which fortunately flanked his route.
Masinissa, in accordance with his instructions, rode right up to the
gates and, when the enemy appeared, retired as though afraid to meet him;
this simulated fear made the enemy all the more confident, until he was
tempted into a rash pursuit. The Carthaginians had not yet all emerged
from the city, and their general had more than enough to do in forcing
some who were heavy with wine and sleep to seize their weapons and bridle
their horses and preventing others from rushing out of the gates in scattered
disorder, with no attempt at formation and even without their standards.
The first who incautiously galloped out fell into Masinissa's hands, but
they soon poured out in a compact body and in greater numbers, and the
fighting became more equal. At last, when the whole of the Carthaginian
cavalry were in the field, Masinissa could not longer bear the weight of
their attack. His men did not, however, take to flight but retired slowly
before the enemy's charges until their commander had brought them as far
as the rising ground which concealed the Roman cavalry. Then these latter
charged from behind the hill, horses and men alike fresh, and threw themselves,
in front and flank and rear, upon Hanno and his Africans, who were tired
out with the fight and the pursuit. Masinissa at the same time wheeled
round and recommenced fighting. About 1000 who were in the front ranks,
unable to effect a retreat, were surrounded and killed, amongst them Hanno
himself; the rest, appalled at their leader's death, fled precipitately,
and were pursued by the victors for more than thirty miles. As many as
2000 were either killed or made prisoners, and it is pretty certain that
amongst them there were not less than 200 Carthaginians, including some
of their wealthiest and noblest families
29.35
On the very day on which this action was fought, it happened that the ships
which had carried the plunder to Sicily returned with supplies, as though
they had divined that they would have to carry back a second cargo of spoils
of war. Not all the authorities state that two Carthaginian generals of
the same name were killed in two separate actions, they were afraid, I
think, of being misled into repeating the same incident twice over. Coelius
at all events, and Valerius tell us that Hanno was taken prisoner. Scipio
distributed amongst the cavalry and their officers rewards proportioned
to the service each had rendered; Masinissa was distinguished above the
rest by some splendid presents. After placing a strong garrison in Salaeca
he continued his advance with the rest of his army, and not only stripped
the fields along his line of march, but captured various towns and villages
as well, spreading terror far and wide. After a week's marching he returned
to camp with a long train of men and cattle and all sorts of booty, and
the ships were sent off for the second time heavily loaded with the spoils
of war. He now abandoned his plundering expeditions and devoted all his
strength to an attack on Utica, intending if he took it to make that the
base of his future operations. His naval contingent was employed against
the side of the city which faced the sea, while his land army operated
from some rising ground which commanded the walls. Some artillery and siege
engines he had brought with him, and some had been sent with the supplies
from Sicily, new ones were also being constructed in an arsenal where a
large number of artisans trained in this work were assembled. Under the
pressure of such a vigorous investment all the hopes of the people of Utica
rested on Carthage, and all the hopes of the Carthaginians rested on Hasdrubal
and on whatever assistance he could obtain from Syphax. In their anxiety
for relief everything seemed to be moving too slowly. Hasdrubal had been
doing his utmost to obtain troops, and had actually assembled a force of
30,000 infantry and 3000 cavalry, but he did not venture to move nearer
the enemy till Syphax joined him. He came with 50,000 infantry and 10,000
cavalry, and with their united forces they at once advanced from Carthage
and took up a position not far from Utica and the Roman lines. Their approach
led to one important result at least: after prosecuting the siege of Utica
with all the resources at his command Scipio abandoned any further attempts
on the place, and as winter was coming on he constructed an intrenched
camp on a tongue of land which projected into the sea and was connected
by a narrow isthmus with the mainland. He enclosed the military and naval
camps within the same lines. The legions were stationed in the middle of
the headland; the ships, which had been beached, and their crews occupied
the northern side; the low ground on the south side was allotted to the
cavalry. Such were the incidents in the African campaign down to the end
of the autumn.
29.36
In addition to the corn which had been accumulated from the plunder of
all the country round, and the supplies which had been conveyed from Sicily
and Italy, a large quantity was sent by the propraetor Cnaeus Octavius
which he had obtained from Ti. Claudius, the governor of Sardinia. The
existing granaries being all full, new ones were built. The army was in
need of clothing and Octavius received instructions to confer with the
governor as to whether any could be made and despatched from that island.
The matter was promptly attended to and in a short time 1200 togas and
12,000 tunics were sent off. During this summer the consul P. Sempronius,
who was commanding in Bruttium, was marching near Croto when he fell in
with Hannibal. An irregular battle ensued, as both armies were in column
of march and did not deploy into line. The Romans were repulsed, and though
it was more of a melee than a battle no fewer than 1200 of the consul's
army were killed. They retreated in confusion to their camp, but the enemy
did not venture to attack it. The consul, however, marched away in the
silence of the night after despatching a message to the proconsul P. Licinius
to bring up his legions. With their united forces the two commanders marched
back to meet Hannibal. There was no hesitation on either side, the consul's
confidence was restored by the doubling of his strength, and the enemy's
courage was raised by his recent victory. P. Sempronius stationed his own
legions in front, those of P. Licinius were placed in reserve. At the commencement
of the battle the consul vowed a temple to Fortuna Primigenia in case he
routed the enemy, and his prayer was granted. The Carthaginians were routed
and put to flight, above 4000 were killed, nearly 300 were made prisoners
and 40 horses and 11 standards were captured. Daunted by his failure, Hannibal
withdrew to Croto. Etruria, at the other end of Italy, was almost wholly
in sympathy with Mago, hoping to effect a revolution with his help. The
consul M. Cornelius kept his hold on the province more by the terror created
by his judicial proceedings than by force of arms. He conducted the investigations
which the senate had commissioned him to make without any respect of persons,
and many Etrurian nobles who had personally interviewed Mago or been in
correspondence with him about the defection of their cantons were brought
up and condemned to death; others knowing themselves to be equally guilty
went into exile and were sentenced in their absence. As their persons were
beyond arrest, their property only could be confiscated as an earnest of
their future punishment.
29.37
While the consuls were thus occupied in their widely separated spheres
of action, the censors, M. Livius and C. Claudius, were busy in Rome. They
revised the roll of senators, and Q. Fabius Maximus was again chosen as
Leader of the House. Seven names were struck off the roll, but none of
them had ever filled a curule chair. The censors insisted upon the exact
fulfilment of the contracts which had been made for the repair of public
buildings, and they made additional contracts for the construction of a
road from the Forum Boarium to the temple of Venus with public seats on
each side of it and also for the building of a temple to Mater Magna on
the Palatine. They also imposed a new tax in the shape of a duty on salt.
In Rome and throughout Italy it had been sold at a sextans, and the contractors
were bound to sell it at the old price in Rome but allowed to charge a
higher price in the country towns and markets. It was commonly believed
that one of the censors had devised this tax to spite the people because
he had once been unjustly condemned by them, and it was said that the rise
in the price of salt pressed most heavily on those tribes who had been
instrumental in procuring his condemnation. It was owing to this that Livius
got the name of Salinator. The lustrum was closed later than usual because
the censors had sent commissioners into the provinces to ascertain the
number of Roman citizens who were serving in the armies. Including these,
the total number as shown in the census amounted to 214,000. The lustrum
was closed by C. Claudius Nero. This year, for the first time, a return
was furnished of the population of the twelve colonies, the censors of
the colonies themselves furnishing the lists so that the military strength
and financial position of each might be permanently recorded in the archives
of the State. Then followed the revision of the equites. It so happened
that both the censors had government horses. When they came to the Pollian
tribe, which contained the name of M. Livius, the usher hesitated about
citing the censor himself. "Cite M. Livius," exclaimed Nero and then, whether
it was that the old enmity still survived or that he was pluming himself
upon an ill-timed strictness, he turned to Livius and ordered him to sell
his horse as he had been condemned by the verdict of the people. When they
were going through the Arniensian tribe and came to his colleague's name,
Livius ordered C. Claudius Nero to sell his horse for two reasons, first
because he had borne false witness against him, and secondly because he
had not been sincere in his reconciliation with him. Thus at the close
of their censorship a dispute arose equally discreditable to both, each
besmirching the other's good name at the cost of his own.
After C. C. Nero had made the usual affidavit that he had acted in accordance
with the laws, he went up to the treasury and amongst the names of those
whom he left disfranchised he placed that of his colleague. He was followed
by M. Livius who took still more dramatic action. With the exception of
the Maecian tribe, who had neither condemned him nor afterwards, in spite
of his condemnation, made him either consul or censor, Livius reduced to
the status of aerarii the whole of the remaining tribes of the Roman people
on the ground that they had condemned an innocent man, and afterwards had
made him consul and censor. He argued that they must admit that either
they were acting wrongfully as judges in the first instance, or afterwards
as electors. Amongst the thirty-four tribes, C. C. Nero, he said, would
be disfranchised, and if there were any precedent for disfranchising the
same man twice he would have inserted his name specially. This rivalry
between the censors in affixing a stigma on each other was deplorable,
but the sharp lesson administered to the people for their inconstancy was
just what a censor ought to have given and befitted the seriousness of
the times. As the censors had fallen into disfavour one of the tribunes
of the plebs, Cnaeus Baebius, thought it a good opportunity for advancing
himself at their expense, and appointed a day for their impeachment. The
project was defeated by the unanimous vote of the senate, who were determined
that the censorship should not for the future be at the mercy of popular
caprice.
29.38
During the summer Clampetia in Bruttium was taken by storm by the consul;
Consentia, Pandosia and some other unimportant places surrendered voluntarily.
As the time for the elections was approaching it was thought best to summon
Cornelius from Etruria as there were no active hostilities there, and he
conducted the elections. The new consuls were Cnaeus Servilius Caepio and
Caius Servilius Geminus. At the election of praetors which followed, those
returned were P. Cornelius Lentulus, P. Quintilius Varus, P. Aelius Paetus
and P. Villius Tappulus; the last two were plebeian aediles at the time.
When the elections were over the consul returned to Etruria. Some deaths
took place among the priests this year, and appointments were made to fill
the vacancies. Tiberius Veturius Philo was appointed Flamen of Mars in
place of M. Aemilius Regillus who died in the preceding year. M. Pomponius
Matho, who had been both augur and keeper of the Sacred Books, was succeeded
by M. Aurelius Cotta in the latter office and as augur by Tiberius Sempronius
Gracchus, a very young man, a very unusual thing at that time in appointments
to the priesthood. Golden chariots were placed in the Capitol by the curule
aediles, C. Livius and M. Servilius Geminus. The Roman Games were celebrated
for two days by the aediles P. Aelius and P. Villius. There was also a
feast in honour of Jupiter on the occasion of the Games.
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