Book 5-38 - History of Rome by Livy

38.1

Whilst the war was going on in Asia, even Aetolia did not remain free from disturbance. The Athamanians were the cause of the trouble. After the expulsion of Amynander, the country was held down by the governors whom Philip had established and provided with troops, and their arbitrary and lawless rule made the people feel keenly the disappearance of their king. He was spending his time of exile in Aetolia, and the letters of his friends and their description of the condition of Athamania led him to hope that he might recover his crown. He sent messengers to Argithea, their capital, to inform their leaders that if he were fully assured of the sympathies of his compatriots, he would obtain assistance from the Aetolians and enter the country with the members of the Aetolian council and their captain-general, Nicander. When he saw that they were prepared for all eventualities, he told them at very short notice the day on which he intended to enter Athamania with an army. The movement against the Macedonians was begun by four men; they each selected six comrades, then feeling no confidence in so small a number, which was more adapted to conceal than to execute their project, they doubled the number of their fellow-conspirators. Having thus grown to fifty-two, they formed themselves into four parties; one was to make for Heraclea, a second for Tetraphylia where the royal treasure used to be kept, the third was to go to Theudoria, and the fourth to Argithea. They had all agreed to show themselves in the forums without making any disturbance, as though they had come on private business, and on a fixed day they were to raise the populations in the different cities and expel the Macedonian garrisons from their citadels. When the day came and Amynander was on the frontier with 1000 Aetolians, the Macedonian garrisons were simultaneously driven out of the four cities, and letters were sent to all the other cities urging them to shake themselves free from the tyranny of Philip and win back their ancestral and legitimate monarchy. The Macedonians were expelled from all parts of the country. Xeno, the commandant of the garrison in Theium, intercepted the message sent to that city, and by seizing the citadel was able to stand a siege for a few days. At last that place, too, surrendered to Amynander, and the whole of Athamania, with the exception of the fort of Athenaeum, which lay close to the frontier of Macedonia, was now in his power.

38.2

On hearing of the revolution in Athamania, Philip started off with a force of 6000 men, and after an extraordinarily rapid march arrived at Gomphi. Here he left the greater part of his army, who were unable to keep up such long marches, and went on with 2000 men to Athenaeum, the one place that had been retained by his troops. From here he tried to secure some of the places nearest to him, but he soon found that they were all hostile, and accordingly he returned to Gomphi. Re-entering Athamania with the whole of his force, he sent Xeno forward with 1000 infantry to seize Ethopia, a good position for commanding Argithea. When Philip saw that his men were in occupation of the place, he encamped near the temple of Jupiter Acraeus. Here he was detained a whole day by a terrible storm; the next day he decided to advance against Argithea. Whilst his men were on the march they suddenly caught sight of the Athamanians running up to some high ground which commanded their line of march. At this sight the leading ranks halted and there was confusion throughout the column, as the men all asked themselves what would happen if the column went down into the valley where it was commanded by those heights. Philip wanted to push rapidly through the pass, but the confusion that had been caused compelled him to recall the head of the column and order them to counter-march along the way they had come. At first the Athamanians followed them quietly at some distance, but when the Aetolians had joined them, they left it to them to harass the enemy's rear while they themselves closed in on their flank, and some making a short cut through country they were familiar with, seized the head of the pass. The confusion amongst the Macedonians was such that their recrossing of the river resembled a precipitate flight rather than an orderly march, and they left many men and arms behind. Here the pursuit stopped and the Macedonians got back safely to Gomphi and from there withdrew into Macedonia. The Athamanians and Aetolians mustered from all sides round Ethopia with the object of expelling Xeno and his 1000 Macedonians. Feeling their position to be insecure they left Ethopia and took up a position on higher and more precipitous ground. The Athamanians, however, found out the approaches, attacked them from several different points and drove them from the heights. Scattered in flight and unable to find their way through pathless thickets and over rocky ground with which they were unfamiliar, they were killed or made prisoners, many in their panic fell down the cliffs, and only a very few succeeded in making their escape with Xeno to the king. Subsequently a truce was arranged for the burial of those who had fallen.

38.3

His crown recovered, Amynander sent a delegation to the senate and another to the Scipios, who were staying at Ephesus after the battle with Antiochus. He asked to be allowed to remain on a peaceful footing with Rome, and in excusing himself for having sought the aid of the Aetolians in winning back his ancestral throne, threw the whole responsibility for the war on Philip. From Athamania the Aetolians marched into Amphilochia, and the voluntary surrender of the majority of the population made them masters of the whole country. After recovering Amphilochia which had formerly belonged to them, they invaded Aperantia, hoping for equal success, and this State also to a large extent surrendered without offering any resistance. The Dolopians had never been under Aetolia; they had formed part of Philip's dominions. At first they flew to arms, but when they learnt that the Amphilochians had joined the Aetolians, that Philip had fled from Athamania and his force had been cut up, they too revolted from him and joined the Aetolians. With these States all round them, the Aetolians considered themselves secure on every side from the Macedonians. But in the midst of their security they received intelligence of the defeat of Antiochus at the hands of the Romans in Asia, and not long after, their envoys returned from Rome bringing no hope of peace and announcing that the consul Fulvius had already landed in Greece with an army. Appalled at these tidings they begged Rhodes and Athens to send delegates to Rome so that with the support of these friendly nations their own petitions which had been lately rejected might find readier access to the ear of the senate. They then sent their leaders to Rome as their last hope, having taken no precautions to avoid war until the enemy was almost in sight. M. Fulvius had now brought his army up to Apollonia and was consulting the Epirot leaders as to where he should open the campaign. They thought the best course would be to begin with an attack on Ambracia, which had by that time joined the Aetolian League. They pointed out that if the Aetolians came to its relief, the open and level country afforded a favourable field of battle; if they avoided an engagement, the siege would be by no means a difficult one as there was abundance of timber in the neighbourhood for constructing the raised galleries and all the other siege works; the Aretho, a navigable river and well adapted for transporting all necessary materials, flowed past the very walls; and in the last place, summer, the season for active operations, was approaching.

38.4

Induced by these considerations the consul advanced through Epirus, but when he came to Ambracia he saw that its siege would be a serious undertaking. Ambracia lies at the foot of a rugged eminence which the natives call Perranthes. The city on the side where the wall skirts the river and the plain looks to the west; the citadel built on the hill lies to the east. The Aretho, which rises in Athamania, falls into the gulf named after the city-the Ambracian Gulf. In addition to the protection afforded by the river on the one side and the hill on the other, the city was enclosed by a strong wall more than four miles in circumference. Fulvius constructed two entrenched camps at a short distance from each other in the direction of the plain and one fort on a height over against the citadel, and made preparations for connecting the whole by a rampart and fosse, so that those shut up in the city would not be able to leave it, nor would it be possible to introduce succours from outside. When the news of the siege of Ambracia reached them, the Aetolian national council assembled at Stratus, on the summons of Nicander, their captain-general. Their first intention was to march thither with all their forces and raise the siege, but when they found that a great part of the city was already invested and that the Epirot camp was fixed on the level ground the other side the river, they divided their forces. Eupolemus with 1000 light infantry succeeded in entering the city at a point where the lines were not yet closed. Nicander intended to make a night attack with the rest of the troops upon the Epirot camp, as the Romans would find it difficult to come to their assistance with the river between them. On second thoughts, however, the risk seemed too great in case the Romans took the alarm and endangered his retreat, so he marched away and ravaged Acarnania.

38.5

The lines of investment were at length closed and the siege works which the consul was preparing to bring up against the walls completed. He now commenced an assault from five different points. On the side of the city overlooking the plain where the approach was easiest he brought up three siege-engines, at equal distances from each other, at a place called the Pyrrheum, another near the Aesculapium, and the fifth against the citadel. As he shook the walls with the battering-rams and sheared off the parapet by scythe blades fixed on long poles the defenders were dismayed at the sight and at the terrific noise of the blows delivered by the rams, but when they saw that the walls were still standing, their courage revived and they hammered the rams by means of swing beams with heavy masses of lead, large stones and stout beams of wood; they dragged with iron grapples the poles with the scythe blades inside the walls and broke off the blades. Their night attacks on the parties guarding the engines, and sorties by day against the outposts, spread alarm on the other side. While this was the state of things in Ambracia the Aetolians had returned from their plundering raid to Stratus. Here Nicander hit upon a bold stroke by which he hoped to raise the siege. His intention was to introduce a certain Nicodamus into the city with 500 Aetolians, and he fixed the night and the hour at which an attack was to be made from the city on the hostile works directed against the Pyrrheum whilst he himself threatened the Roman camp. By this double attack, all the more alarming because made in the night, he hoped to secure a brilliant success. Nicander moved forward in the dead of the night and after passing some of the advanced posts unobserved and forcing his way through others by a determined onslaught, climbed over the lines connecting the different works and penetrated into the city. His arrival raised the hopes of the besieged and emboldened them to attempt any adventure however hazardous. When the appointed night arrived he made a sudden attack on the works. His attempt did not meet with a corresponding success, for no attack was made from outside, either because the Aetolian commander was afraid to move or because he deemed it more important to carry assistance to the Amphilochians, who had been lately won over and whom Philip's son Perseus, who had been sent to recover Dolopia and Amphilochia, was attacking with his utmost strength.

38.6

As stated above, the Roman engines were directed against the Pyrrheum at three separate points, and against each of these the Aetolians were making simultaneous attacks, though not with the same weapons or the same force. Some went up with lighted torches, others carried tow and pitch and fire-darts; the whole of their line was lit up by the flames. At the first onset they overwhelmed many of the guards; then when the noise of the tumult and clamour reached the camp, the consul gave the signal and the Romans, seizing their weapons, poured out of all the gates to help their comrades. Only at one point was there a real fight between sword and fire; at the two others the Aetolians after attempting, rather than sustaining, a conflict retreated without effecting anything. A desperate struggle raged in one quarter; here the two generals, Eupolemus and Nicodamus, at the head of their respective divisions urged on the combatants and encouraged them with the almost certain hope of Nicander's coming up as he had promised and taking the enemy in the rear. This hope for some time kept up their spirits, but when they failed to receive the agreed signal from their comrades and found that the numbers of the enemy were increasing, their courage waned and at last they gave up the attempt, and finding their retreat almost cut off, fled in disorder back to the city. They succeeded, however, in setting some of the siege-works on fire after losing considerably more than they had themselves killed of the enemy. If the preconcerted plan of operations had been successful, there is no doubt that at least one section of the siege-works would have been carried with a great slaughter of the Romans. The Ambracians and Aetolians in the city not only abandoned all further attempts that night, but during the remainder of the siege showed themselves much less enterprising, as they felt they had been betrayed. No more sorties were made against the enemy's posts; they confined themselves to fighting in comparative safety from the walls and towers.

38.7

When Perseus heard that the Aetolians were approaching, he raised the siege of the city which he was attacking and, after devastating their fields, left Amphilochia and returned to Macedonia. The Aetolians, too, were called away by the ravages which were being committed on their sea-board. Pleuratus, king of the Illyrians, had sailed into the Gulf of Corinth with sixty ships, reinforced by the Aetolian vessels from Patrae, and was devastating the maritime districts of Aetolia. A force of 1000 Aetolians was despatched against him and by taking direct roads they were able to meet him at whatever point his fleet had, in its cruising in and out of the indented coast, tried to effect a landing. At Ambracia the Romans had battered down the walls in several places and partially laid bare the city, but they could not force their way into it. As fast as the wall was destroyed a new one was raised in its place and the citizens stood in arms on the fallen masonry to bar all approach. Finding that he was making very little progress by direct assault, the consul decided to construct a secret passage underground after first covering the place whence it started with vineae. Working day and night they succeeded for a considerable time in escaping the observation of the enemy, not only whilst they were digging but also whilst carrying away the earth. Suddenly the sight of a conspicuous mound of soil gave the townsmen an indication of what was going on. To avert the danger of the wall being undermined and a way into the city being thrown open, they began to run a trench inside the wall in the direction of the place covered with vineae. When they had excavated as low as the bottom of the secret passage would probably be, they remained perfectly silent, and by placing their ears against different places in the side of the trench they caught the sound of the enemy diggers. As soon as they heard this they broke through straight into the tunnel. There was no difficulty in doing this, for they quickly found themselves in an open space where the wall had been underpinned with timber props by the enemy.1 As the trench and tunnel now opened into one another the two parties of diggers commenced a fight with their digging tools. Very soon armed bodies came up on both sides and an underground battle began in the dark. The besieged closed up the tunnel in one place by stretching a screen of goats' hair across and improvising barricades, and they adopted a novel device against the enemy which was small but effective. A hole was bored through the bottom of a cask in which an iron pipe was inserted. and an iron cover perforated with several holes was prepared to fit the other end. The cask was then filled with light feathers, the cover fastened on, and through the holes some long spears-the so-called "sarissae"-were inserted to keep off the enemy. The cask was now placed with its head towards the tunnel and a light was placed amongst the feathers which were blown into a blaze by a pair of smith's bellows inserted in the pipe. The tunnel was soon filled with a dense smoke, rendered all the more pungent from the horrid smell of the burning feathers, and hardly a man could endure it.

38.8

Whilst this was the state of things in Ambracia, the Aetolians decided to open negotiations with the consul. In view of the fact that on one side Ambracia was undergoing a siege, on another the coast was being threatened by a hostile fleet, whilst on the third side Amphilochia and Dolopia were being harried by the Macedonians, and that the Aetolians were not strong enough to confront their various enemies collectively, the captain-general convened a meeting of the Aetolian League and consulted the national leaders as to what was to be done. They were unanimously of opinion that they must sue for peace, on equal terms, if possible; failing that, on any terms, if they were not intolerable. It was in reliance upon Antiochus, they said, that they had undertaken the war; now that Antiochus had been worsted both on land and sea and driven beyond the Taurus almost to the ends of the world, what hope was there of sustaining the war? Phaeneas and Damoteles must take such steps as they thought best in the interests of Aetolia, and consistent with their own honour, for what counsel, what choice had their fortunes left them? Furnished with these instructions, the envoys implored the consul to spare the city and to take pity on a nation which had once been an ally and had been driven to madness-they would not say by their wrongs, but at all events, by the wretched conditions under which they lived. The punishment they deserved for their share in the war with Antiochus ought not to outweigh the services they had rendered in the war against Philip. At that time no great gratitude had been shown them; they ought not now to pay an excessive penalty. The consul told them in reply that the Aetolians had frequently asked for peace, but seldom with the honest intention of keeping it. They must follow the example of Antiochus whom they had dragged into the war. He had ceded not only those few cities whose liberty had been the cause of quarrel, but the whole of Asia on this side the Taurus-a rich and fertile realm. He, the consul, would not listen to any proposals unless the Aetolians laid down their arms. They must first give up their arms and all their horses; then they must pay 1000 talents; half the sum to be paid down at once, if they wished to have peace. And in addition to these terms it must be stipulated in the treaty that they would have the same friends and the same enemies as Rome.

38.9

The envoys felt these to be onerous terms, and as they knew the fierce and fickle temper of their countrymen they left without giving any decided answer. They wished to discuss the whole position thoroughly with the captain-general and the national leaders and come to some decision as to what ought to be done. They were received with clamorous protests and reproaches. "How long," they were asked, "were they going to let matters drag on after receiving definite orders to bring back peace at any price?" Their return journey to Ambracia was a disastrous one. The Acarnanians with whom they were at war had posted an ambush close to the road on which they were travelling; they were made prisoners and conducted to Tyrrhenum for safe keeping. This interrupted the peace negotiations. The delegates who had been sent from Athens and Rhodes to support the Aetolians were already with the consul, when Amynander, who had obtained a safe-conduct, arrived in the Roman camp. He was more concerned for the city of Ambracia, where he had passed most of his years of exile, than for the Aetolians. When the consul learnt from them what had happened to the Aetolian envoys, he sent orders for them to be brought from Tyrrhenum, and on their arrival the negotiations commenced. Amynander, whose main interest was in Ambracia, did his utmost to induce the place to surrender. He approached the walls and held conversations with the leaders, but finding that he was making no progress, he at last obtained the consul's permission to enter the city and succeeded by argument and entreaty in persuading them to place themselves in the hands of the Romans. The Aetolians found a strong advocate also in C. Valerius, the son of the Valerius Laevinus who was the first to establish friendly relations with them. He was also half-brother of the consul.

After stipulating for the safe departure of their auxiliary troops, the Ambracians opened their gates. Then the Aetolians accepted the following conditions: They were to pay 500 Euboean talents; 200 at once, the remaining 300 to be spread over six years; the prisoners and refugees were to be restored to the Romans; they were not to retain within their League any city which from the day when T. Quinctius landed in Greece had either been taken by or entered into friendly relations with the Romans. Although these conditions were much less onerous than they had expected, they asked to be allowed to lay them before their council. Here there was a brief debate on the question of the cities which had been confederated with them. They felt their loss keenly; it was as though they were being torn from their living body; nevertheless they were unanimous in deciding that the terms must be accepted. The Ambracians gave the consul a gold crown 150 lbs. in weight. The statues in bronze and marble and the paintings with which Ambracia, as the royal residence of Pyrrhus, had been more richly adorned than any other city in that part of the world were all carried away, but beyond these nothing was injured or interfered with.

38.10

The consul left Ambracia for the interior of Aetolia and fixed his camp at Amphilochian Argos, twenty-two miles distant from Ambracia. Here the Aetolian delegates at last arrived, the consul meantime wondering what had delayed them. On their informing him that the Aetolian Council accepted the conditions of peace, he told them to go to Rome to appear before the senate; the Rhodians and Athenians were also allowed to go to plead for them; and the consul also allowed his brother, C. Valerius, to accompany them. After their departure be crossed over to Cephallania. In Rome the delegates found the ears and minds of the leading men preoccupied by the accusations which Philip had brought against them. Through his representatives, in his despatches he had asserted that Dolopia, Amphilochia and Athamania had been wrested from him, and his garrisons and even his son Perseus had been expelled from Amphilochia. The senate consequently refused to listen to them. The Rhodians and Athenians, however, obtained a hearing. The Athenian spokesman, Leon the son of Hicesias, is said to have moved them by his eloquence. Making use of a common simile he compared the people of Aetolia to a calm sea which has become agitated by the winds. "As long as they were faithful to Rome," he said, "their peace-loving temperament kept them quiet, but when Thoas and Dicaearchus sent a blast from Asia and Menestas and Damocritas from Europe, then that storm arose which dashed them against Antiochus as against a rock."

38.11

After a good deal of rough-handling the Aetolians at last succeeded in getting the terms of peace settled. They were as follows: "The nation of the Aetolians shall uphold sincerely and honestly the majesty and dominion of the Roman people; they shall not suffer to pass through their territories or in any way assist any army which may be led against the friends and allies of Rome; they shall count the enemies of Rome as their enemies and bear arms against them and wage war against them equally with Rome; they shall restore to the Romans and their allies the deserters, the refugees and the prisoners, save and except any who have escaped from captivity and returned to their homes and then been taken captive a second time, and any prisoners from amongst those who were fighting against Rome at the time when the Aetolians formed a part of the Roman forces. Of the others, all who are known shall be handed over without reserve or subterfuge to the magistrates at Corcyra within 100 days; those who have not then been discovered shall be delivered up as soon as they are found. The Aetolians shall surrender forty hostages, such as the consul in his discretion shall choose, not less than twelve or more than forty years of age. No magistrate or commander of cavalry or public secretary shall be taken as a hostage, nor any one who has been previously held as a hostage by the Romans. Cephallania shall be excluded from the terms of peace." As to the indemnity which they were to pay and the method of payment, the understanding with the consul held good. If they preferred to pay it in silver rather than in gold, they might do so provided that ten silver pieces were taken as the equivalent of one gold piece. "Concerning the cities, the territories, the populations, which have at any time been incorporated in the Aetolian League-those of them which have either been subjugated or voluntarily surrendered to Rome during the consulships of T. Quinctius, Cneius Domitius, or the consuls which followed them, none of these must the Aetolians seek to recover. The Oeniadae with the city and the soil shall belong to the Acarnanians." Such were the terms upon which peace was concluded with the Aetolians.

38.12

Almost at the very time when M. Fulvius was thus engaged in Aetolia, the other consul, Cneius Manlius, was warring in Gallograecia. I will now proceed to narrate the events of this war. The consul went to Ephesus at the beginning of spring and took over the troops from L. Scipio. After holding a review of the army he addressed the soldiers. He began by eulogising their valour in bringing the war with Antiochus to a close in a single battle, and went on to encourage them to begin a fresh war against the Gauls. This nation, he reminded them, had gone to the assistance of Antiochus, and so intractable was their temper that the removal of Antiochus beyond the Taurus would be useless unless the power of the Gauls was broken. He concluded his address with a few sincere and unaffected words about himself. The soldiers were delighted and frequently applauded him; they looked upon the Gauls as simply a division of Antiochus' army, and now that the king was overcome they did not think that there would be much aggressive energy in the Gauls when left to themselves. Eumenes was in Rome at the time and the consul regarded his absence as ill-timed, since he was familiar with the country and the population and was personally interested in the destruction of the power of the Gauls. The consul sent, therefore, for his brother Attalus, who was at Pergamum, and pressed him to take his part in the war. Attalus promised on his own behalf and on that of his subjects to assist him, and was sent back to muster troops. A few days later the consul advanced from Ephesus and was met at Magnesia by Attalus with 1000 infantry and 500 cavalry. His brother Athenaeus was under orders to follow with the rest of the forces, and the defence of Pergamum was entrusted to men whom he believed to be loyal subjects of their king. The consul warmly approved of the young man's action and advanced with the whole of his forces to the Maeander. Here he entrenched himself, and as the river was unfordable, vessels had to be collected to carry the army over.

38.13

After crossing the Maeander they marched to Hiera Come. Here there was a noble temple to Apollo and an oracular shrine; it is said that the priests delivered the responses in smooth and graceful verses. From this place, after a two days' march, they reached the river Harpasus. Here they were met by a deputation from Alabandi, who came with a request to the consul to compel, either by his personal authority or his arms, a revolted stronghold to return to its former allegiance. Here, too, came Eumenes' brother Athenaeus with the Cretan Leusus and Corragus of Macedonia. They brought with them 1000 infantry drawn from various nationalities and 300 cavalry. The consul despatched a military tribune with a small force to reduce the stronghold and it was restored to the people of Alabandi; he himself continuing his march encamped at Antiochia on the Maeander. This river rises at Celaenae; the city was once the capital of Phrygia. The population migrated a short distance from the old city and built a new one, which received the name of Apamea after Apama, the sister of King Seleucus. The river Marsyas which rises not far from the sources of the Maeander flows into that river, and the story goes that it was at Celaenae that Marsyas contested the palm of song with Apollo. The Maeander rises at the highest part of Celaenae and runs through the middle of the city. Its course then lies through Caria and Ionia and it finally empties itself into the bay between Priene and Miletus.

Whilst the consul was in camp at Antiochia, Seleucus the son of Antiochus came to furnish corn for the army, in pursuance of the treaty obligation with Scipio. There was a slight difficulty raised in the case of the auxiliaries under Attalus because Seleucus maintained that Antiochus had only agreed to supply corn to the Roman soldiers. The dispute was settled by the firmness of the consul, who sent a tribune from the headquarters tent to give notice that the Roman soldiers were not to take the corn before the troops of Attalus had received their share. From Antiochia they marched to a place called Gordiutichi, and a further three days' march brought them to Tabae. This place lies within the frontiers of Pisidia, in that part which looks towards the Pamphylian sea. As this country was unwasted by war, its population were in a bellicose mood. On this occasion they made a vigorous attack on the Roman column and at first created some confusion, but when it became evident that they were outmatched in numbers and in courage and were driven back to their city, they craved for mercy and offered to surrender the city. A fine of 25 talents of silver and 10,000 medimni of wheat was imposed upon them. On these terms they were allowed to surrender.

38.14

Three days after this they reached the river Casus and advanced to attack the city of Eriza, which they captured at the first assault. Continuing their march they came to Thabusion, a fortified place commanding the Indus. This river got its name from a mahout who was thrown from his elephant. They were now not far from the city of Cibyra, but no deputation came from Moagetes, the faithless and cruel tyrant of that city. In order to ascertain his attitude the consul sent an advance-party of 4000 infantry and 500 cavalry under C. Helvius. This force was already entering his territory when envoys met them with the announcement that the tyrant was ready to comply with the consul's orders. They begged Helvius to enter their territory peaceably and to restrain his soldiery from plundering their fields; they also brought 15 lbs. of gold made into a crown. Helvius promised to protect their fields from pillage and told them to go to the consul. When they had spoken in a similar strain to him, he replied: "We Romans have received no proofs of goodwill on the part of the tyrant towards us, and it is a matter of common knowledge that he is the sort of man whom we ought to think of punishing rather than treating as a friend." The envoys were greatly perturbed at these words and simply requested him to accept the golden crown and to allow the tyrant to visit him in person with liberty to speak and clear himself of suspicions. The consul gave permission and the next day the tyrant arrived. His dress and his retinue were hardly equal to those of a private citizen of moderate means; his language was abject and broken, and he sought to excuse himself by pleading the poverty of his cities and his dominions. Besides Cibyra he had the city of Sylleum and a place called Alimne, and out of these cities he promised, though somewhat doubtfully, to raise 25 talents, but only by robbing himself and his subjects. "Really," replied the consul, "this trifling is intolerable! After trying, unblushingly, to fool us through your envoys, you actually keep up the same effrontery now you are here. You say 25 talents will exhaust your government. Very well, then, unless you pay down 500 talents in three days, look out for the plunder of your fields and the investment of your city." Though appalled by the threat, the tyrant still persisted in his presence of poverty. Shuffling, whimpering and shedding crocodile tears, he was at last brought to a fine of 100 talents, and in addition 10,000 medimni of corn. All this was carried through in six days.

38.15

From Cibyra the army was led through the district of Sinda, and after crossing the Caularis formed camp. The following day they marched past the Caralite marshes and made a halt at Madamprum. On their further advance towards Lacos the inhabitants fled from the city, and finding it devoid of men but filled with abundance of every kind, the Romans sacked it. Then they went on to the sources of the Lysis and the following day reached the Cobulatus. The Termessians had captured the city of Isionde and were now attacking the citadel. Shut up within their walls the only hope left to them was help from the Romans. They sent to the consul to implore his assistance; shut up in their citadel with their wives and children, they were daily looking forward to death either by sword or famine. The consul gladly seized the pretext for a march into Pamphylia, and raised the siege, granting peace to Termessus on the payment of 50 talents of silver. Aspendus and the other cities in Pamphylia were treated in the same way. Leaving Pamphylia and resuming his march he encamped at the river Taurus, and the next day at a place called Xyline Come. From there he marched continuously till he reached the city of Cormasa. The next city to this was Dursa, which they found deserted by the panic-stricken inhabitants, but abundantly supplied with all manner of stores. On his advance past the marshes a deputation came to him from Lysinoe to surrender their city. From this point he entered the territory of Sagalassus, a fertile district rich in all kinds of fruits. Its Pisidian inhabitants are by far the best soldiers in that part of the world. Their military superiority, the fruitfulness of their soil, their large population, and the situation of their exceptionally strong city make them a brave people. As no envoys appeared when the consul reached their frontiers, he sent out plundering parties into their fields. At last, as they saw their crops carried off and their cattle driven away, their stubbornness yielded. The envoys whom they sent agreed to pay a fine of 50 talents, 20,000 medimni of wheat and an equal amount of barley, and on these terms they obtained peace. Making a further advance to the source of the Rhotris he encamped at a village called Acoridos Come. The next day Seleucus arrived from Apamea. The consul sent the sick and all the baggage which was not needed to Apamea, and after being supplied with guides by Seleucus, he marched into the plain of Metropolis, and the next day to Dyniae in Phrygia. A further advance brought him to Synnada. All the cities round had been deserted by their inhabitants, and the army was so heavily laden with the booty from these places that they took a whole day to traverse the five miles to Old Beudi, as it is called. His next halt was at Anabura; the day following he encamped at the source of the Alander, and on the third day at Abassium. As he had now reached the frontiers of the Tolostobogii he remained encamped for several days.

38.16

A large body of Gauls, induced either by want of room or desire for plunder and convinced that none of the nations through whom they intended to pass was a match for them in arms, marched under the leadership of Brennus into the country of the Dardani. Here a quarrel arose, and as many as 20,000 of them left Brennus and went off under two of their chiefs, Lonorius and Lutarius, into Thrace. Fighting with those who opposed their progress and exacting tribute from those who asked for peace, they reached Byzantium. Here they remained for some time in occupation of the coast of the Propontis, all the cities in that region being tributary to them. When reports from those acquainted with Asia of the fertility of its soil reached their ears, they were seized with the desire of crossing over to it, and after capturing Lysimachia by treachery and making themselves masters of the whole of the Chersonese, they moved down to the Hellespont. They were all the more eager to make the passage when they saw that there was only a narrow strait which separated them, and they sent to Antipater, the governor of the coastal district, asking him to arrange for their transport. The matter took longer than they expected, and a fresh quarrel broke out between the chiefs. Lonorius, with the greater part of the host, returned to Byzantium; Lutarius took two decked ships and three light barques from some Macedonians who had been sent by Antipater, ostensibly as negotiators, but really as spies, and in these vessels he transported one detachment after another, night and day, until he had carried his whole force across. Not long afterwards, Lonorius, with the assistance of Nicomedes king of Bithynia, sailed across from Byzantium. The re-united Gauls assisted Nicomedes in his war against Ziboetas, who was holding a part of Bithynia, and it was mainly owing to them that Ziboetas was defeated and the whole of Bithynia brought under the rule of Nicomedes.

From Bithynia they went further into Asia. Out of the 20,000 men not more than 10,000 were carrying arms, yet so great was the terror they inspired in all the nations west of the Taurus, that those who had no experience of them, as well as those who had come into contact with them, the most remote as well as their next neighbours, all alike submitted to them. They were made up of three tribes, the Tolostobogii, the Trocmi and the Tectosagi, and in the end they divided the conquered territory of Asia into three parts, each tribe retaining its own tributary cities. The coast of the Hellespont was given to the Trocmi, the Tolostobogii took Aeolis and Ionia, and the Tectosagi received the inland districts. They levied tribute on the whole of Asia west of the Taurus, but fixed their own settlement on both sides of the Halys. Such was the terror of their name and the growth of their numbers that at last even the kings of Syria did not dare to refuse the payment of tribute. The first man in Asia to refuse was Attalus the father of Eumenes, and contrary to universal expectation, fortune favoured his courageous action; he proved himself superior in a pitched battle. The Gauls, however, were not so far disheartened as to renounce their supremacy in Asia; their power remained unimpaired down to the war between Antiochus and Rome. Even then, after the defeat of Antiochus, they quite expected that owing to their distance from the sea the Romans would not advance so far.

"The Macedonians who occupy Alexandria, Seleucia, Babylonia and their other colonies throughout the world, have degenerated into Syrians and Parthians and Egyptians. Massilia, situated amongst Gauls, has contracted something of the temperament of its neighbours. How much of the rough and stern discipline of Sparta has survived amongst the Tarentines? Everything grows most vigorously in its own home; when planted in an alien soil its nature changes and it deteriorates into that from which it gets its subsistence. As in the battle with Antiochus you slew the Phrygians in spite of their heavy Gaulish arms, so you will slay them now, you the victors, they the vanquished. I am more afraid of our gaining too little glory in this war than of gaining too much. Antiochus has often routed and scattered them. Do not imagine that it is only wild beasts which preserve their ferocity when newly-captured but after being fed for some time at the hands of men grow tame. Nature works in the same way in softening the savagery of men. Do you suppose that these men are the same as their fathers and grandfathers were? Driven from their home by want of room they wandered across the rugged coast of Illyria, and after traversing the whole length of Paeonia and Thrace and fighting their way through warlike nations took possession of these countries. After becoming hardened and savage by all they had to go through, they have found a home in a land which makes them fat with bountiful supplies of every kind. All the ferocity which they brought with them has been tamed by a most fertile soil, a most genial climate and the gentle character of the people amongst whom they have settled. You, sons of Mars, believe me, will have to be on your guard against the attractions of Asia and shun them from the very first; such power have the pleasures of other lands to weaken and destroy your energies, so easily can the habits and practices of the people round you affect you. It is, however, fortunate for us that though they cannot oppose you with anything like the strength they once could, they still enjoy their former reputation amongst the Greeks. You will therefore gain as much credit with our allies in conquering as if the Gauls you defeat had retained all the courage of old days."

The consul, aware that he was now in the enemy's country, advanced with caution, keeping his force well together and throwing out scouting parties. Marching continuously, he came to the river Sangarius, and as there was no possibility of fording it, he decided to construct a bridge. The Sangarius rises in the Adoreos range and flowing through Phrygia mingles its waters with the Tymbris on the frontier of Bithynia, and with its volume thus increased flows through Bithynia and empties itself into the Propontis. It is not, however, so remarkable for its size as for the vast quantity of fish with which it supplies the inhabitants. When the bridge was completed the army crossed the river and as they were marching along the bank they were met by the "Galli" or priests of the Mater Magna from Pessinus with their insignia, who prophesied in mystic and oracular verses that the goddess was granting the Romans safety and victory in the war and the sovereignty of the country in which they were. The consul welcomed the omen and fixed his camp for the night on that very spot. The next day he arrived at Gordium. This is not a large place but it possesses a widely-known and much-frequented market; a larger one, in fact, than most inland towns. It is almost equally distant from three seas, the Hellespont, the Euxine at Sinope, and the sea which washes the shores of Cilicia, and also adjoins the territories of several large populations, who for the sake of mutual commercial advantages have made this their business centre. The Romans found it deserted, the inhabitants having fled, and stored with goods of every description. Whilst they were encamped here, envoys from Eposognatus arrived with the intelligence that he had interviewed the Gaulish chiefs but could not make them listen to reason. They were abandoning their villages and farms in the open country, and together with their wives and children were carrying their portable property and driving their flocks and herds before them towards Olympus. Here they intended to defend themselves by arms and their strong position.

38.19

Subsequently, more definite information was received from Oroanda to the effect that the Tolostobogii had actually occupied Olympus; that the Tectosagi going in a different direction had established themselves on another mountain called Magaba, and that the Trocmi had left their wives and children in the care of the Tectosagi and gone to the assistance of the Tolostobogii. The chiefs of these three tribes were Ortiagon, Comboiomarus and Gaulotus. Their main reason for adopting this mode of warfare was that by holding the principal heights in the country, provided with everything they might require for an indefinite period, they hoped to wear out the enemy. They never imagined he would venture to approach them over such steep and difficult ground; if he did make the attempt they believed that even a small force would be sufficient to dislodge him or throw him back in confusion; whilst if he remained inactive at the foot of the mountain he would be unable to endure the cold and hunger. Though the height of their position was itself a protection, they drew a trench and constructed other defences round the peaks on which they were established. Missile weapons they troubled themselves very little about as they thought the rocky ground would supply them with plenty of stones.

38.20

As the consul had anticipated that the fighting would not be at close quarters but would involve an attack upon positions from a distance, he accumulated a large quantity of javelins, light infantry spears, arrows and leaden balls and small stones suitable for hurling from slings. Provided with these missile weapons, he marched towards Olympus and encamped about four miles' distance from the mountain. On the morrow he sent Attalus with 500 cavalry to reconnoitre the ground and the situation of the Gaulish camp. While thus engaged a body of hostile cavalry, twice as large as his own force, sallied from their camp and put him to flight; some of his men were killed and several wounded. The next day the consul went out with the whole of his cavalry to explore, and as none of the enemy appeared outside their lines he made the circuit of the mountain in safety. He noticed that towards the south the ground rose in gentle slopes and was covered with soil; on the north the cliffs were precipitous and almost vertical. There were only three possible roads-everywhere else it was inaccessible-the one up the middle of the mountain free from rocks, and two which were difficult, one on the south-east and the other on the north-west. After making these observations he encamped for the day close to the foot of the mountain. The following day, after he had offered the sacrifices and the first victims had given favourable omens, he advanced against the enemy. The army was formed into three divisions; the largest he commanded in person and began the ascent where it afforded the easiest approach; his brother, L. Manlius, was ordered to advance from the southeastern side as far as the ground allowed of his doing so safely, but if he came to a dangerous or precipitous part he was not to struggle against the difficulties of the path nor try to force his way over insuperable obstacles. In that case he was to turn and march across the face of the mountain and unite his division with the one which the consul was leading. C. Helvius was to work gradually round the lower slopes of the mountain and then take his division up the north-eastern side. Attalus' auxiliaries were also formed into three divisions, Attalus himself accompanying the consul. The cavalry and elephants were left on the level ground at the bottom, and their commanders were under orders to watch carefully the progress of the action and render prompt assistance wherever it was required.

38.21

The Gauls feeling confident that on two sides they were unassailable directed their attention to the southern slope. To close all access on this side they sent 4000 men to seize a height which commanded the road, distant rather less than a mile from their camp, where, as in a fort, they might prevent the enemy's advance. When they saw this, the Romans made ready for battle. Somewhat in front of the legions went the velites, the Cretan archers and slingers and the Tralli and Thracians under Attalus. The heavy infantry advanced slowly as the ground was steep and they held their shields in front of them, not because they expected a hand-to-hand contest, but simply to avoid the missiles. With the discharge of missiles the battle began, and at first it was fought on even terms as the Gauls had the advantage of their position, the Romans that of the variety and abundance of their missile weapons. As the struggle went on, however, it became anything but equal; the shields of the Gauls though long were not broad enough to cover their bodies, and being flat also afforded poor protection. Moreover, they had no weapons but their swords, and as they could not come to close quarters these were useless. They tried to make use of stones, but as they had not got any ready, they had to use what each man in his hurry and confusion could lay hands on, and unaccustomed as they were to these weapons, they could not make them more effective by either skill or strength. On all sides they were being hit by the arrows and leaden bullets and javelins which they were powerless to ward off; blinded by rage and fear they did not see what they were to do, and they found themselves engaged in the kind of fighting for which they were least fitted. In close fighting where they can receive and inflict wounds in turn, their fury stimulates their courage; so when they are being wounded by missiles flung from a distance by an unseen foe and there is no one against whom they can make a blind rush, they dash recklessly against their own comrades like wild beasts that have been speared. Their practice of always fighting naked makes their wounds more visible, and their bodies are white and fleshy as they never strip except in battle. Consequently more blood flowed from them, the open gashes appeared more horrible, and the whiteness of their bodies showed up the stain of the dark blood. Open wounds, however, do not trouble them much. Sometimes, where it is a surface bruise rather than a deep wound, they cut the skin, and even think that in this way they win greater glory in battle. But when the head of an arrow has gone in or a leaden bullet buried itself and it tortures them with what looks like a slight wound and defies all their efforts to get rid of it, they fling themselves on the ground in shame and fury at so small an injury threatening to prove fatal. So they were lying about everywhere, and some who rushed down on their enemy were being pierced with missiles from all sides; those who got to close quarters the velites slew with their swords. These soldiers carry a shield three feet long, javelins in their right hand for use at a distance and a Spanish sword in their belts. When they have to fight at close quarters they transfer the javelins to their left hands and draw their swords. Few of the Gauls now survived, and when they found themselves worsted by the light infantry and the legions coming on, they fled in disorder back to their camp, which was full of tumult and panic, as the women and children and other noncombatants were all crowded there together. The Romans took possession of the heights from which the enemy had fled.

38.22

L. Manlius and C. Helvius in the meanwhile had marched up as far as the mountain-side afforded a path, and when they came to a place where it was impossible to advance they each turned towards the only part which was accessible, and as though by mutual understanding, they followed the consul at some distance from each other. Necessity compelled them to adopt now what would have been the best course at the outset, for over such difficult ground supports have often proved of the greatest use; when the first line has been thrown into disorder the second line can shelter them and go into action fresh and unshaken. When the foremost ranks of the legions had gained the heights which the light infantry had captured, the consul ordered his men to rest and recover their breath. He pointed to the bodies of the Gauls scattered over the ground and said: "If the light infantry could fight as they have done, what may I not expect from the legions, from those who are fully armed, from the valour of my bravest soldiers? Surely after the light infantry have driven the enemy in confusion into their camp, you legionaries must storm and capture it." During this halt the light infantry had been busy collecting the missiles which were lying everywhere, in order that they might have a sufficient supply, and the consul now ordered them to advance. As they approached the camp, the Gauls, fearing lest their entrenchments should afford them insufficient protection, were standing in arms in front of the rampart. They were at once overwhelmed by a general discharge of missiles, for the greater their numbers and the closer their formation so much more surely did every weapon find its mark. In a few minutes they were driven inside their lines, leaving only strong bodies to guard the camp gates. A heavy shower of missiles was now directed upon the masses in the camp, and the mingled shrieks of women and children showed that many of them were hit. Against those who were holding the gates the legionaries hurled their javelins. They were not wounded by them, but their shields were pierced, and thus hopelessly entangled together they were not able long to resist the Roman attack.

38.23

As the gates were now open, the Gauls fled in every direction from the camp before the victors burst in. Blindly they dashed along the paths and over places where there was no path; no precipices, no cliffs stopped them; they feared nothing but the enemy. Most of them fell headlong from the heights; they died, maimed and crushed. The consul kept his men from plundering the captured camp and ordered them to do their best to pursue and harass the enemy and increase his panic. When the second division under L. Manlius came up, he forbade them also to enter the camp, and sent them off at once in pursuit. After placing the prisoners in charge of the military tribunes he joined in the pursuit, for he believed that the war would be at an end if as many as possible were killed or made prisoners whilst they were in such a state of panic. After the consul had gone, C. Helvius came up with his division, and was unable to restrain his men from plundering the camp, and so by a most unfair chance the booty went to those who had no share of the fighting. The cavalry stood for a long time knowing nothing of the battle or the victory which their comrades had won. Then they rode, wherever their horses could travel, after the Gauls dispersed round the mountain, and either killed or took them prisoners.

It was not easy to get at the number of those killed, for the flight and the carnage extended over all the spurs and ravines of the mountain, and a great many losing their way had fallen into the deep recesses below; many, too, were killed in the woods and thickets. Claudius, who states that there were two battles on Olympus, puts the number of killed at 40,000; Valerius Antias, who is usually more given to exaggeration, says that there were not more than 10,000. The prisoners, no doubt, amounted to 40,000, because they had carried with them a multitude of both sexes and all ages, more like emigrants than men going to war. The enemy's weapons were gathered into a heap and burnt, and the consul ordered the troops to collect the rest of the booty. That portion which was to go to the State he sold; the rest he distributed with most scrupulous fairness amongst the soldiers. He then paraded them, and after warmly commending the services which the whole army had rendered, he conferred rewards on each according to their merit, especially on Attalus, who was unanimously applauded, for the exemplary courage and untiring energy which the young prince had shown in facing toils and dangers was only equalled by his modesty.

On receiving Attalus' assurance that the kings would come and that the negotiations could be completed, the consul started from the camp with the same escort as before. He had ridden nearly five miles and was not far from the appointed place when he suddenly saw the Gauls coming on at full gallop with hostile intent. Halting his force and bidding them prepare themselves and their arms for battle, he met the first charge firmly without giving ground. Then when the weight of numbers began to tell he slowly retired, keeping his ranks unbroken, but at last when there was more danger in remaining on the field than safety in keeping their ranks, they all broke and fled. Thus scattered they were hard pressed by the Gauls, as they cut them down, and a large proportion of them would have been destroyed had not the 600 who were posted to protect the foragers met them in their flight. They had heard the shouts of alarm amongst their comrades, and hurriedly getting their weapons and horses ready they came fresh into the fight when it was almost over. This turned the fortunes of the day. and the panic recoiled from the defeated on to the conquerors. The Gauls were routed in the first charge, and as the foragers came running up from the fields, the enemy found themselves met on every side, with hardly any way of escape open. The Romans on fresh horses were pursuing those which were tired and exhausted, and few escaped. No prisoners were taken. By far the greater number paid the death penalty for their breach of good faith. Furious at this treachery the Romans advanced in full strength against the enemy the following day.

38.26

The consul spent two days in making a close inspection of the natural features of the mountain that he might be familiar with every detail. The next day, after taking the auspices and offering the sacrifices, he led out his army. It was formed into four divisions; two of these he intended to take up the middle of the mountain, the two others were to ascend the sides and take the Gauls in both flanks. The dispositions of the enemy were as follows: the Tectosagi and the Trocmi, who formed his main strength, numbering 50,000 men, held the centre; the cavalry, 10,000 strong, were dismounted as horses were useless on that broken ground, and formed the right wing; the Cappadocians under Ariarathes and the Morzian auxiliaries, in all about 4000, were posted on the left. The consul placed his light infantry in the first line as he had done in the battle on Olympus, and took care that they should have an equally ample supply of weapons at hand. When they approached the enemy all the features of the former battle were reproduced except that the courage of the one side was raised by their recent victory and that of the other side depressed, for the enemy though not yet themselves defeated, looked upon the defeat of their fellow-countrymen as tantamount to their own. As the battle began, so it ended in the same way. A perfect cloud of missiles overwhelmed the Gauls. None durst run forward from his entrenchments lest he should expose his naked body to the certainty of being hit from all sides, and whilst they remained standing within their lines in close formation, they received more wounds the more densely they were packed, as though each man was specially aimed at. The consul thought that the sight of the standards of the legions would put the already demoralised Gauls to instant flight, and accordingly he retired the light infantry and other skirmishers within the ranks of the legions and ordered an advance.

38.27

The Gauls, unnerved by the memory of the defeat of the Tolostobogii, exhausted by their long standing and their wounds, with the javelins sticking in their bodies, did not wait for the first charge and battle-shout of the Romans. They fled towards their camp, but few gained the shelter of their entrenchments; the greater number rushed past them right or left, where-ever their eagerness to escape carried them. The victors pursued them up to their camp, slaying them from behind, but once at the camp they stopped in their eagerness for plunder; no one continued the pursuit. The Gauls held their ground somewhat longer on the wings, as it took longer to reach them; they did not, however, wait for the first discharge of missiles. As the consul could not keep his men from looting the camp, he sent the other two divisions in instant pursuit. They followed them up for a considerable distance and killed in all some 8000 men in the flight; there was no attempt at fighting. The survivors crossed the Halys. A large part of the Roman army passed the night in the enemy's camp; the rest the consul led back to their own camp. The day following, the consul counted up the prisoners and the booty; the amount of the latter was as great as even a nation that was always bent on rapine, and had for many years held by force of arms all the country west of the Taurus, could possibly have amassed. After the Gauls had collected from their scattered flight, most of them wounded, without arms, and stripped of all their belongings, they sent to the consul to sue for peace. Manlius ordered them to go to Ephesus. He himself, anxious to get out of the cold district near the Taurus-it was now the middle of autumn-led his victorious army back to the coast for their winter quarters.

38.28

During these operations in Asia things were quiet in the other provinces. In Rome the censors T. Quinctius Flamininus and M. Claudius Marcellus revised the roll of senators. P. Scipio Africanus was for the third time selected to lead the Senate, and only four members were struck off the roll, none of whom had held any curule office. The censors showed great forbearance also in revising the list of equites. They contracted for the building of the substructure on the Capitol over the Aequimelium and also the laying down of a paved road from the Porta Capena to the temple of Mars. The Campanians asked the Senate to decide where their census should be taken, and it was decreed that it should be taken in Rome. There were very heavy floods this year; on twelve several occasions the Tiber inundated the Campus Martius and the low-lying parts of the City. After Cn. Manlius had brought the war against the Gauls in Asia to a close, the other consul, M. Fulvius, now that the Aetolians were subjugated, sailed across to Cephallania, and sent round to the various cities in the island to ask them which they preferred-surrender to the Romans or the chances of war. Fear prevented them all from refusing to surrender, and they gave the hostages, which the consul demanded in proportion to their scanty resources. Peace beyond their hopes had now dawned upon the Cephallanians, when suddenly, for some unknown reason, one city that of Same, revolted. They said that, as their city occupied an advantageous position, they were afraid that the Romans might compel them to live elsewhere. Whether this was an invention on their part, and their breach of the peace was due to imaginary fears, or whether the matter had been talked about amongst the Romans and so come to their ears, is quite uncertain. What is certain is that after giving hostages they closed their gates, and though the consul sent these hostages to the walls to appeal to the sympathies of their fellow-citizens and kinsmen, they refused to abandon their opposition. As no peaceable reply was given, the siege of the city was begun. The consul had all the siege-engines brought from Ambracia, and the soldiers rapidly completed what works had to be made. The rams began to batter the walls in two directions.

38.29

Nothing was left undone by the Samaeans in the way of defence against siege-works or assaults. Their method of resistance was mainly two-fold. On the one hand, where the wall was destroyed they always built a strong one inside close to it, and on the other they made sudden sorties, at one time against the siege-works, at another against the outposts. In these actions they generally proved superior. One method was discovered of keeping them back; a simple one, but worth mentioning. A hundred slingers were sent for from Aegium, Patrae and Dymae. These men had been in the habit, as their fathers had before them, of practicing with their slings, with which they used to hurl into the sea the round stones lying on the beach. In this way they gained a more accurate and longer range than the Baliaric slingers. Their slings, too, were not made of a single strap, like those of the Baliarics and other nations, but they consisted of three thongs, stiffened by beings sewn together. This prevented the bullet from flying off at random when the thong was let go; when fixed in the sling it could be so whirled round as to fly out as though from the string of a bow. They used to send their stones through rings at a great distance, as targets, and were thus able to hit not only the head but whatever part of the face they aimed at. These slings kept the Samaeans from making such frequent or such daring sorties; so much so in fact that they called to the Achaeans from their walls and begged them to retire for a time and remain quiet spectators while they fought with the Roman outposts. Same sustained a siege of four months. Day by day some of their scanty numbers fell or were wounded, and the survivors became exhausted in mind and body. At last the Romans surmounted the wall and forced their way through the citadel which they call the Cyatis-the city extends on the west down to the sea-and appeared in the forum. When the Samaeans found that the city was partly captured by the enemy they took refuge in the larger citadel with their wives and children. The next day they surrendered; the city was sacked, and the whole of its population sold into slavery.

38.30

After settling matters in Cephallania and placing at garrison in Same, the consul sailed to the Peloponnesus, whither the people of Aegium and the Lacedaemonians had for some time urged him to go. Either as a concession to its importance or owing to its convenient situation, Aegium had been the meeting-place of the Council of the League ever since it had been formed. This year for the first time Philopoemen tried to do away with this custom, and was preparing to bring in a law enacting that the Assembly should be held in each city of the League in turn. Just before the consul's visit the Damiourgi (the supreme magistrates) of the various States had convened a meeting of the League at Aegium, whilst Philopoemen the captain-general had summoned them to Argos. As they would evidently almost all meet there, the consul, though he was in favour of Aegium, went to Argos. Here the question was debated, and when he saw that the Assembly were inclined towards Argos, he gave way. The Lacedaemonians then drew his attention to their grievances. The main cause of anxiety to their city was the threatening attitude of the exiles, many of whom were living in forts and villages which they had seized on the Laconian coast. The Lacedaemonians chafed under this state of things; they wanted to have access to the sea somewhere or other in case they wanted to send a mission to Rome or elsewhere, and also that they might have a free port in which to receive merchandise and necessaries from abroad. They made an attack by night upon a maritime village called Las. The villagers and exiles were at first terror-struck by the unlooked-for attack, but before it was day they collected in a body and without much difficulty drove the Lacedaemonians out. Then the whole of the coast took alarm and all the forts and villages and the exiles who had made their homes there sent a joint appeal to the Achaeans for help.

38.31

From the first, Philopoemen had championed the cause of the exiles and had always tried to persuade the Achaeans to abridge the power and influence of the Lacedaemonians. He now summoned a council to hear the envoys, and on his initiative a decree was passed in the following terms: "Whereas T. Quinctius and the Romans have committed to the good faith and protection of the Achaeans the villages and forts on the coast of Laconia, and whereas the village of Las has been attacked by the Lacedaemonians who were bound by treaty not to interfere with them, and blood has been shed there, we decree that unless the authors and abettors of this outrage are surrendered to the Achaeans, the treaty shall be held to be broken." A mission was at once despatched to Lacedaemon to insist on this demand. So arbitrary and arrogant did it appear in the eyes of the Lacedaemonians that if that city had been in the position it once held they would undoubtedly have taken up arms. What they feared most of all was that if they submitted to the yoke so far as to comply with this initial demand, Philopoemen would carry out the policy he had long contemplated of handing Lacedaemon to the exiles. In a frenzy of anger they put to death thirty men who belonged to the party who were in league with Philopoemen and the exiles, and then passed a decree denouncing the alliance with the Achaeans and ordering the immediate despatch of a mission to Cephallania to make a formal surrender of Lacedaemon to the consul and to Rome, begging him to come to the Peloponnesus and receive their city into the protection and suzerainty of the people of Rome.

38.32

When these proceedings were reported to the Achaeans, all the States of the League with one consent proclaimed war against the Lacedaemonians. Winter prevented any immediate operations on a large scale, but their territories were devastated by bodies of raiders both by land and sea, more in the fashion of brigandage than of regular warfare. It was this disturbance that brought the consul to the Peloponnesus, and by his orders a council was summoned to Elis and the Lacedaemonians were invited to state their case. The discussion soon became a heated quarrel, which the consul put an end to. He was anxious to befriend both sides and after giving a reply which committed him to nothing, warned them both to abstain from hostilities until their representatives had appeared before the Senate. Both sides sent delegates to Rome; the Lacedaemonian exiles entrusted their cause to the Achaeans. The leaders of the Achaean embassy were Diophanes and Lycortas, both natives of Megalopolis. They were opposed to one another in their political views and the speeches they delivered showed a similar divergence. Diophanes was for leaving the decision on every point to the Senate as they would settle the matters in dispute between the Achaeans and the Lacedaemonians in the best possible way. Lycortas, acting on instructions from Philopoemen, claimed the right of the Achaeans to execute their decree in accordance with the treaty and their laws, and pleaded that as the Senate had been the instrument of their freedom, so they should preserve that freedom for them undiminished and unimpaired. At that time the Achaeans stood high in Roman esteem; it was, however, decided that the position of the Lacedaemonians should be in no way changed. The reply of the senate was so ambiguous that while the Achaeans assumed that they had a free hand with regard to Lacedaemon, the Lacedaemonians interpreted it to mean that the Achaeans had not gained all they asked for.

38.33

The Achaeans made a most unscrupulous use of the permission which they considered to have been granted them. Philopoemen was still in office and in the first days of spring he called out the army and fixed his camp on Lacedaemonian territory. Then he sent to demand the authors of the revolt, and promised that if the city would surrender them it should remain at peace, and the men themselves should suffer no injury until their case had been heard. Fear kept the rest silent; those who had been named declared their willingness to go, as they had received from Philopoemen's emissaries a guarantee that they would be safe from violence until they had pleaded their cause. Others, men of high position, went with them to support their friends and also because they considered their cause to be the cause of the State. Never before had the Achaeans brought the exiles with them on to Lacedaemonian soil, because they thought that nothing would do more to estrange their fellow-countrymen from them, but now they were almost in the forefront of the whole army. When the Lacedaemonians came to the gate of the camp the exiles met them in a body. At first they assailed them with insults; then passions became heated on both sides, and the more ferocious of the exiles made an attack upon the Lacedaemonians. Whilst these were appealing to the gods and the pledged word of Philopoemen's emissaries, and he and his emissaries were keeping back the crowd and protecting the Lacedaemonians and preventing some from actually manacling them, a large crowd collected and the disturbance increased. The Achaeans ran up to see what was going on, and the exiles, protesting loudly about the sufferings they had endured, implored their help and told them if they let this opportunity slip they would never again have such a favourable one. "The treaty which had been solemnly published in the Capitol at Olympia and in the citadel at Athens had been set at nought by these men, and before we are bound by another treaty the guilty must be punished." This language excited the crowd, and one man shouted out "Kill them." On this they flung stones at them, and seventeen men who had been thrown into chains during the tumult were killed. On the following day sixty-three were arrested whom Philopoemen had protected from violence, not that he was concerned for their safety, but because he did not want them to perish before the day of trial. Victims to the fury of the mob, they spoke but little and that to deaf ears. All were found guilty and handed over for punishment.

38.34

Having thus terrorised the Lacedaemonians, they sent them peremptory orders: first, that they must destroy their walls; secondly, that all the foreign mercenaries who had served under the tyrants must depart from the land of Laconia; thirdly, that all the slaves whom the tyrants had set free, and of whom there was a large number, must leave by a certain day; any who remained the Achaeans would have the right to carry off and sell; lastly, they must abrogate the laws and customs of Lycurgus and accustom themselves to the laws and institutions of the Achaeans, as in this way they would form one body and unite more easily in a common policy. With none of these demands did they comply more readily than with that demanding the destruction of their walls, and none roused such bitter feeling as that demanding the restoration of the exiles. A decree for their restoration was passed in the Council of the Achaeans at Tegea, and it was stated that the foreign mercenaries had been disbanded, and that the "naturalised Lacedaemonians," for so they designated the slaves set free by the tyrants, had left the city and dispersed into the surrounding country. On receiving this intelligence it was decided that before the army was demobilised the captain-general should go with a light force and arrest those people and sell them as lawfully acquired booty. Many were thus caught and sold. With the money thus raised the colonnade at Megalopolis, which the Lacedaemonians had destroyed, was at the suggestion of the Achaeans restored. This city also won back the territory of Belbina, which the tyrants of Lacedaemon had wrongfully taken possession of; this was in pursuance of an old decree made by the Achaeans during the reign of Philip the son of Amyntas. Through these measures the city of Lacedaemon lost the sinews of her strength, and was for a long time at the mercy of the Achaeans. No loss, however, affected her more deeply than the loss of the discipline of Lycurgus, which they had maintained for 800 years.

38.35

After the meeting of the Council in which the dispute between the Achaeans and the Lacedaemonians took place before the consul, M. Fulvius returned to Rome for the purpose of conducting the elections, as the year was now drawing to a close. M. Aemilius Lepidus, one of the candidates, was a personal enemy of his, and he refused to allow any votes to be cast for him. The consuls elected were M. Valerius Messala and C. Livius Salinator. The praetors elected were Q. Marcius Philippus, M. Claudius Marcellus, C. Stertinius, C. Atinius, P. Claudius Pulcher and L. Manlius Acidinus. When the elections were over it was decided that M. Fulvius should return to his army and command, and an extension of office was granted to him and to his colleague Cn. Manlius. This year P. Cornelius, as directed by the Keepers of the Sacred Books, placed a statue of Hercules and a chariot with six horses, all gilded, in the Capitol. The inscription stated that it had been given by a consul. Twelve gilt shields were also hung there by the curule aediles P. Claudius Pulcher and Servius Sulpicius Gallus out of the fines levied on corn factors who had been holding back their grain. Another had been convicted at the instance of the plebeian aedile, on two separate charges, and with this fine he provided two gilt statues. His colleague A. Caecilius had not prosecuted any one. The Roman Games were exhibited three times, the Plebeian Games five times. Immediately on entering into office on the Ides of March the new consuls consulted the senate on the policy to be pursued in the provinces and the armies. No change was made with regard to Aetolia or Asia. Pisa and Liguria were assigned to one consul, Gaul to the other. They were instructed to come to a mutual arrangement, or failing that to ballot, as to which province each should take, and each was to raise afresh army of two Roman legions and 15,000 foot and 1200 cavalry from the Italian allies. Liguria fell to Messala; Gaul to Salinator. Then the praetors balloted for their commands. The City jurisdiction fell to M. Claudius; the alien to P. Claudius; Sicily to Q. Marcius; Sardinia to C. Stertinius; Hither Spain to L. Manlius; and Further Spain to C. Atinius.

38.36

In the case of the armies abroad it was settled that the legions in Gaul which had been under C. Laelius should be transferred to the propraetor M. Tuccius for service in Bruttium. The army in Sicily was to be disbanded, and the fleet lying there M. Sempronius the propraetor was to bring back to Rome. It was decreed that the legion stationed in each of the two Spanish provinces should remain there, and the praetors were each to take with them 3000 infantry and 200 cavalry drawn from the allies as reinforcements. Before the new magistrates left for their provinces, special intercessions for three days were ordered on the authority of the Keepers of the Sacred Books to be offered at all the cross-roads owing to a darkness which came over in broad daylight between the third and fourth hours. Sacrifices were also enjoined for nine days in consequence of a shower of stones on the Aventine. The Campanians had been obliged by a decree of the senate passed the year before to have their census taken in Rome as it had previously been uncertain where they ought to be enrolled. They now requested that they might be allowed to marry women who were Roman citizenesses, and that any who had already done so might hold themselves to be lawfully married, and that children already born might be regarded as legitimate and capable of inheriting property. Both requests were granted. One of the tribunes of the plebs, C. Valerius Tappo, brought forward a proposal granting the full franchise to the citizens of the municipal boroughs of Formiae, Fundi and Arpinum. They had hitherto enjoyed the citizenship without the power of voting. This motion was opposed by four of the tribunes on the ground that it had not received the sanction of the senate, but on being informed that it rested with the people and not the senate to confer the franchise on whom they chose, they abandoned their opposition. The citizens of Formiae and Fundi were authorised to vote in the Aemilian tribe, and those of Arpinum in the Cornelian. In these tribes, therefore, they were for the first time enrolled by virtue of the plebiscite, passed on the motion of Valerius. The censor M. Claudius Marcellus, to whom the ballot gave precedence over T. Quinctius, closed the lustrum. The census gave the number of citizens as 258,318. After these matters were settled the consuls left for their provinces.

38.37

During this winter Cn. Manlius, who was passing the season in Asia first as consul and then as proconsul, was visited by deputations from all the cities and nationalities west of the Taurus. Whilst the Romans regarded their victory over Antiochus as a more notable one than their subsequent victory over the Gauls, their Asiatic allies rejoiced more over the latter than the former. Subjection to the king was a much easier thing to bear than the ferocity of the ruthless barbarians and the terror which haunted them from one day to another, for they never knew in what direction that ferocity might sweep them like a storm upon plundering and devastating raids. They had regained their liberty through the repulse of Antiochus and their peace through the subjugation of the Gauls, and now they brought to the consul not only their congratulations and thanks but also golden crowns, each according to their ability. Delegates came, too, from Antiochus and even from the Gauls themselves to learn the conditions of peace. Ariarathes also sent envoys from Cappadocia to sue for forgiveness and offer a pecuniary atonement for his offence in assisting Antiochus. He was ordered to pay 600 talents of silver and the Gauls were told that when Eumenes arrived they would have the conditions of peace given to them. The delegations from the various cities were dismissed with gracious replies and went away even happier than they had come. Those from Antiochus received instructions to convey money and corn into Pamphylia, as agreed with L. Scipio, as the consul was going there with his army.

At the beginning of spring, therefore, after performing the lustrations on behalf of his army, he commenced his march, and after eight days reached Apamea. Here he remained encamped for three days, and then advanced into Pamphylia where he had ordered the king's envoys to deposit the money and the corn. He received 1500 talents of silver which were taken to Apamea; the corn was distributed amongst the soldiers. From there he advanced to Perga, the only city in that country which was held by a garrison of the king's troops. On his approach he was met by the commandant who asked for a respite of thirty days that he might consult Antiochus about surrendering the city. He was allowed the interval and on the thirtieth day the garrison evacuated the place. Whilst the consul was at Perga he sent his brother L. Manlius with a force of 4000 men to Oroanda to exact the rest of the money which, according to the stipulation, was to be paid. On learning that Eumenes and the ten commissioners from Rome had arrived at Ephesus, he led his army back to Apamea and ordered the envoys from Antiochus to follow him.

38.38

Here the treaty as settled by the ten commissioners was drawn up. The substance of it was as follows: "There shall be peace and amity between King Antiochus and the Roman people on these terms and conditions: The king shall not suffer any army purposing to levy war on the Roman people or their allies to pass through the borders of his kingdom or of any subject to him, nor shall he assist it with provisions or in any other way whatever. The Romans and their allies shall act in like manner towards Antiochus and those under his sway. Antiochus shall have no right to levy war upon those who dwell in the islands, or to sail across to Europe. He shall withdraw from all the cities, lands, villages and forts west of the Taurus as far as the Halys and extending from the lowlands of the Taurus up to the range which stretches towards Lycaonia. He shall not carry any arms from the aforesaid towns and lands and forts from which he withdraws; if he has carried any away he shall duly restore them to whatever place they belong. He shall not reclaim any soldier or any other person whatever from the kingdom of Eumenes. If any citizens belonging to the cities which are passing from under his rule are with Antiochus or within the boundaries of his realm, they shall all return to Apamea by a certain day; if any of Antiochus' subjects are with the Romans and their allies they shall be at liberty to depart or to remain. He shall restore to the Romans and their allies the slaves, whether fugitives or prisoners of war, or any free man who has been taken captive or is a deserter. He shall give up his elephants and not procure any more. He shall likewise make over his ships of war and all their tackle, nor shall he possess more than ten light decked ships, none of which may be propelled by more than thirty oars, and no smaller ones for use in any war which he may undertake. He shall not take his ships west of the headlands of the Calycadnus or the Sorpedon, save only such ships as shall carry money or tribute or envoys or hostages. Antiochus shall not have the right to hire mercenary troops from those nations which shall be under the suzerainty of Rome nor to accept them even as volunteers. Such houses and buildings as belonged to the Rhodians and their allies within the dominions of Antiochus shall be held by them on the same right as before the war. If any moneys are due to them they shall have the same right to exact them, if aught has been taken from them, they shall have the right of search and recovery. Whatever cities amongst those that are to be surrendered they hold as a gift from Antiochus; he shall withdraw the garrisons from them and provide for their due surrender. He shall pay 12,000 Attic talents of sterling silver in equal instalments over twelve years-the talent shall weigh not less than 80 Roman pounds-and 540,000 modii of wheat. To King Eumenes he shall pay 350 talents within five years, and in place of corn its value in money, 127 talents. He shall give twenty hostages to the Romans and exchange them for others in three years, that none may be less than eighteen or more than forty-five years of age. If any of the allies of Rome shall wantonly and without provocation make war on Antiochus, he shall have the right to repel them by force of arms, always providing that he shall not hold any city by right of war or receive it into friendship and amity. Disputes shall be determined before a judicial tribunal, or if both parties shall so will it, by war." There was an additional clause dealing with the surrender of Hannibal, Thoas and Mnasilochus, as well as Eubulidas and Philo of Chalcidaea, and also a proviso that if it should afterwards be decided to add to, or repeal, or alter any of the articles, that should be done without impairing the validity of the treaty.

38.39

The consul took the oath to observe the treaty, and Q. Minucius Thermus and L. Manlius who happened to have just returned from Oroanda went to demand the oath from the king. The consul also sent written instructions to Q. Fabius Labeo, who was in command of the fleet, to proceed forthwith to Patara and break up or burn all the king's ships which were stationed there. Fifty decked ships were thus either broken up or burnt. During this voyage he retook Telmessus, where the inhabitants had been greatly alarmed at the sudden appearance of the fleet. Leaving Lycia he continued his voyage, and sailing through the Archipelago he landed in Greece, and stayed a few days at Athens, waiting for the ships which he had ordered to follow him from Ephesus. As soon as they entered the Peiraeus he returned with the entire fleet to Italy. Amongst the things which were to be taken from Antiochus were his elephants, and these Cn. Manlius presented to Eumenes. He then commenced an investigation into the circumstances of the different cities, many of which were in a state of confusion owing to the political changes. Ariarathes had about this time betrothed his daughter to Eumenes, and owing to the latter's good offices half the indemnity demanded from him was remitted.

When the investigation into the circumstances and position of the different cities was completed, the ten commissioners decided each case upon its merits. Those which had been tributary to Antiochus but whose sympathies had been with Rome were granted immunity from all tribute. Those who had sided with Antiochus or paid tribute to Attalus were all ordered to pay tribute to Eumenes. The natives of Colophon who were living at Notium, together with the inhabitants of Cymae and Mylasa, were also specially named as receiving immunity. To Clazomenae was given the island of Drymussa, as well as immunity. They restored to the Milesians the so-called "sacred ground," and the inhabitants of Ilium received Rhoeteum and Gergithus as additions to their territory not so much on account of services recently rendered as in recognition of its being the original home, and for the same reason Dardanus was granted its liberty. Chios, Zmyrna and Erythrae in return for their conspicuous loyalty in the war received a grant of territory and were treated with especial honour. The territory which the Phoceans had held before the war was restored to them, and they were allowed to enjoy their old constitution. The grants made to Rhodes under a former decree were confirmed; these included Lycia and Caria as far as the Maeander, with the exception of Telmessus. The dominions of Eumenes were enlarged by the addition of the European Chersonesus and Lysimachia, the forts, villages and territory within the limits of Antiochus' rule; in Asia the two Phrygias, the one on the Hellespont, the other called "Greater Phrygia"; Mysia which Prusias had taken from him was restored as well as Lycaonia, Milyas and Lydia, and the cities of Tralles, Ephesus and Telmessus, which were specially named. With regard to Pamphylia a difficulty arose between Eumenes and the envoys of Antiochus, as part of it lies on one side the Taurus and part on the other, and the matter was referred to the senate.

The general was with the first division and the broken and difficult ground made him anxious. As long as the armed troops were passing through, the Thracians did not stir, but when they saw that the vanguard had cleared the narrowest part of the pass and those behind were nowhere near, they attacked the baggage and the pack animals, and killing the escort began to loot the wagons, while others led off the horses with their packs. The cries and shouts were first heard by those behind who had already entered the pass; then they reached the leading division. From both directions a rush was made to the centre, and irregular fighting began at several points. The booty itself exposed the Thracians to slaughter, hampered as they were by the loads they were carrying, and most of them without arms that they might have their hands free for pillage. The unfavourable ground on the other hand exposed the Romans to the barbarians, who ran up through paths they were familiar with or concealed themselves in the recesses of the rocks. Even the packs and wagons obstructed the combatants and interfered with the movements of one side or the other just as it chanced. Here a plunderer fell; there, one trying to recover the plunder. The fortunes of the battle changed as first one side and then the other was on favourable or unfavourable ground; as the courage of each rose or fell; as the numbers preponderated on either side, some engaged with larger, others with smaller bodies than their own. Many fell on both sides and night was already coming on when the Thracians drew off from the fight, not to escape wounds and death, but because they had as much plunder as they wanted.

The victorious Romans encamped at a village belonging to Maronia called Sale. The following day, marching through open country, they entered the plain of Priantae. Here they remained, taking in corn partly from the country people, who brought it in from their fields, and partly from the ships of the fleet which were loaded with all sorts of stores and were following their movements. A day's march brought them to Apollonia and from here, through the district of Abdera, they arrived at Neapolis. The whole of this march through the Greek colonies was unmolested, but the other part through the heart of Thrace, though not actually opposed, demanded caution both by day and night. When this army traversed the same route under Scipio they found the Thracians less aggressive; the only reason for this being that there was less chance of plunder, plunder being their one object. We are, however, told by Claudius that a body of Thracians, amounting to some 15,000, sought to oppose Muttines the Numidian, who was reconnoitring in advance of the main army. There were 400 Numidian cavalry and a few elephants; the son of Muttines, with 150 picked troopers, rode through the middle of the enemy, and after Muttines with his elephants in the centre and his cavalry on the flanks had engaged the enemy, his son attacked their rear and created such disorder amongst them that they never got near the main body of infantry. Passing through Macedonia, Cn. Manlius led his army into Thessaly and finally reached Apollonia. Here he remained for the winter, as the dangers of a winter voyage were not yet so contemptible that he could venture to cross.

There were rumours of a warlike movement on a large scale in Liguria, which was every day growing more serious. In consequence of this the senate decreed that both the consuls should have Liguria as their province. The consul Lepidus opposed this resolution and protested against both consuls being confined to the valleys of Liguria. M. Fulvius, he said, and Cn. Manlius had now for two years been acting like kings, the one in Europe, the other in Asia, as though they had replaced Philip and Antiochus on their thrones. If it was the pleasure of the senate that there should be armies in those countries it was more fitting that consuls should command them than unofficial citizens. They were visiting with all the horrors of war nations against whom no war had been proclaimed, and selling peace to them at a price. If it was necessary that armies should occupy those provinces, then C. Livius and M. Valerius as consuls ought to succeed Fulvius and Manlius, just as L. Scipio, when consul, succeeded Manius Acilias, and M. Fulvius and Cn. Manlius, when they became consuls, succeeded L. Scipio. Now, at all events, seeing that the war in Aetolia was at an end, Asia taken from Antiochus, and the Gauls subjugated, either consuls ought to be sent to command consular armies, or the legions brought home and restored to the republic. After listening to this speech the senate adhered to their decision that Liguria should be the province of both consuls, and Manlius and Fulvius were to resign their provinces, bring their armies away and return to Rome.

The House was impressed by these statements and the other consul took up the cause of Fulvius. He pointed out that the Ambracians had taken an old and outworn course; just in the same way had M. Marcellus been accused by the Syracusans, and Q. Fulvius by the Campanians. Why might not the senate allow charges to be brought on similar grounds against T. Quinctius by Philip, against Manius Acilius and L. Scipio by Antiochus, against Cn. Manlius by the Gauls, against M. Fulvius himself by the Aetolians and Cephallanians? "Ambracia," he went on to say, "has been taken by storm, the statues and temple ornaments have been carried away, and everything has happened which usually does happen at the capture of cities. Do you think, senators, that either I, speaking for Fulvius, or M. Fulvius himself, will deny this? He is going to demand a triumph just because he has done all this, and will carry in front of his chariot and fasten on the pillars of his house the captured Ambracia and the statues which he is alleged to have criminally removed. There is nothing to separate the case of the Ambracians from that of the Aetolians, the cause of the one is the cause of the other. My colleague must display his enmity in some other case or if he prefers the present one, he must keep his Ambracians till Fulvius returns. I will not allow any decree to be passed in respect of either the Ambracians or the Aetolians in M. Fulvius' absence."

"Do not suppose, senators, that it is only in their name that the Gallograeci are a mixed race; it is much more their bodies and minds that have become mixed and corrupted. If they had been real Gauls like those with whom we have fought numberless doubtful battles in Italy, would a single man, so far as our general is concerned, have returned to tell the story? He fought with them twice. On both occasions he advanced against them at a disadvantage, and from his lower ground almost placed his line under the enemy's feet, so that, without discharging their weapons from above, by simply hurling their naked bodies upon us, they could have overwhelmed us. What, then, occurred to prevent this? Great is the Fortune of the Roman people, great and terrible its name! The recent downfall of Hannibal, of Philip, of Antiochus, had almost stunned the Gauls. With all their huge bulk they were put to flight by slings and arrows, not a sword in the army was stained by the blood of a Gaul, they fled away like flocks of birds at the first whirr of our missiles. Yes, but Fortune also warned us what would have happened to us then, if we had had a real enemy. On our return march we fell amongst Thracian brigands, and were killed, put to flight, and stripped of our baggage. Q. Minucius Thermus fell, together with many brave men, and his loss was much more serious than that of Cn. Manlius would have been, through whose foolhardiness the disaster occurred. The army which was bringing home the spoil taken from Antiochus was dispersed in three sections, the van in one place, the rear in another, and the baggage in another, and they lay down one night amongst thickets and lairs of wild beasts. Is it for these exploits that a triumph is asked for? Supposing no ignominious defeat had been sustained in Thrace, over what enemy would you seek triumph? Over those, I presume, whom the senate or the people of Rome had assigned to you as your enemy. On these terms a triumph was granted to L. Scipio, to Manius Acilius over Antiochus, to T. Quinctius, a little earlier, over Philip, to P. Africanus over Hannibal and Carthage and Syphax. And even when the senate has voted for war, certain minor questions have had to be answered-as to whom the declaration of war ought to be made, whether in any case to the kings themselves, or whether it would be sufficient to proclaim it at one of his frontier garrisons. Do you then, senators, want all these formalities to be treated with scorn, the solemn procedure of the fetials to be abolished, and the fetials themselves to be done away with? Suppose all religious scruples-the gods forgive me for saying it!-were cast to the winds and forgetfulness of the gods took possession of your hearts, should you still think it right that the senate should not be consulted as to war, or the question referred to the people whether it was their will and order that war should be waged with the Gauls? Recently, at all events, when the consuls wanted to have Greece and Asia as their provinces, you held to your resolution to decree Liguria as their province, and they submitted to your authority. Deservedly, therefore, will they ask for a triumph, after their successes, from you under whose authority they will have achieved them."

38.47

This was the substance of what Furius and Aemilius said. I understand that Manlius spoke to the following effect: "Formerly, senators, it was the tribunes of the plebs who usually opposed those who claimed a triumph. I am grateful to them for having conceded this much to me, either personally or in acknowledgment of the greatness of my services, that they not only showed by their silence their approval of my being thus honoured, but were even ready, if necessary, to recommend it to the senate. It is amongst the ten commissioners that I find my opponents, those whom our ancestors assigned to their commanders for the purpose of gathering the fruits of their victories and enhancing their glory. L. Furius and L. Aemilius forbid me to enter the triumphal chariot; they snatch the victor's wreath from my brow; these very men whom I was going to call as witnesses to what I have done, had the tribunes opposed my triumph. I envy no man his honours, senators. Only the other day when the tribunes of the plebs were trying to prevent the triumph of Q. Fabius Labeo, strong and determined as they were, you overawed them by your authority. His enemies laid it to his charge, not that he had fought an unjust war, but that he had never even seen an enemy. Still he enjoyed his triumph. I, who have fought so many pitched battles with 100,000 of our fiercest enemies, who have killed or taken prisoners 40,000, who have stormed two of their camps, who have left all the country this side the Taurus more peaceable than the land of Italy-I am not only being defrauded of my triumph, but actually have to defend myself before you against the accusations of my commissioners.

"You have noticed, senators, that they bring a double charge against me; that I ought not to have made war on the Gauls, and that I conducted it in a rash and imprudent way. 'The Gauls,' they say, 'were not hostile to us, but you wantonly attacked them while they were quietly carrying out your orders.' I am not going to ask you, senators, to judge the Gauls who inhabit those countries from what you know of the savagery common to the race, and their deadly hatred to the name of Rome. Keep out of sight the infamous and hateful character of the race as a whole and judge those men by themselves. I wish Eumenes, I wish all the cities of Asia were here, and that you were hearing their complaints rather than the charges I am bringing. Send commissioners to visit all the cities of Asia and find out which has delivered them from the heavier thraldom, the removal of Antiochus beyond the Taurus or the subjugation of the Gauls. Let them bring back word how often the fields of those people have been devastated, how often they and all their property have been carried off, with hardly a chance of ransoming the captives, and knowing that human victims were being sacrificed and their children immolated. Let me tell you that your allies paid tribute to the Gauls, and would have been paying it now, though freed from the rule of Antiochus, if it had not been put a stop to by me.

"But why do I use these arguments, as though I had made the Gauls into enemies and had not found them such already? I appeal to you, L. Scipio, whose valour and good fortune alike I prayed to the immortal gods-and not in vain-to grant me, when I succeeded to your command; I appeal to you, P. Scipio, who though subordinate to your brother the consul, still possessed both with him and the army all the authority of a colleague; and I ask you whether you know that there were legions of Gauls in the army of Antiochus; whether you saw that they were posted at either end of his line, for there his main strength seemed to be; whether you fought with them as regular enemies, and killed them and brought their spoils home. And yet the war which the senate had decreed and the people ordered was a war against Antiochus, not against the Gauls. Yes, but I hold that the decree and order included those who had formed part of his army, and amongst these-with the exception of Antiochus with whom Scipio had concluded peace and with whom you ordered a special treaty to be made-all who bore arms on his behalf were our enemies. The Gauls above all supported his cause, as did also some petty kings and tyrants. With the others, however, I made peace and compelled them to make an expiation for their misdoings proportionate to the dignity of your empire, and I tried to influence the Gauls, if haply their innate ferocity could be mitigated. When I saw that they remained untameable and implacable, I thought they ought to be coerced by force of arms.

"Now that I have cleared myself of the charge of wanton aggression, I have to account for my conduct of the war. On this topic I should feel perfect confidence in my case, even if I were pleading not before the Romans but before the Carthaginian senate, where it is said that their generals are crucified, even when successful, if their strategy has been faulty. But this State has recourse to the gods at the commencement and during the conduct of all its business, because it will not have those matters which the gods have approved of open to any man's censure, and when it decrees special thanksgivings or a triumph, employs the solemn formula: 'Whereas he has managed the affairs of the Republic with success and good fortune.' If, then, renouncing all assertion of my own merits as arrogant and presumptuous, I were to demand on behalf of my own good fortune and that of my army, in having crushed so powerful a nation without any loss, that honours should be paid to the immortal gods, and that I, myself, should go up in triumph to the Capitol, from whence I started after my vows and prayers had been duly offered, would you refuse this to me and to the immortal gods as well?

38.49

"But, they say, I fought on unfavourable ground. Then tell me where I could have fought at less disadvantage. The enemy had occupied the mountain, they kept themselves within their lines; surely if I was to win the battle it was necessary for me to advance against them. How would it have been if they had been holding a city there and keeping within its walls? Of course, they must have been attacked. Why, did not Manius Acilius engage Antiochus on unfavourable ground at Thermopylae? Did not T. Quinctius under similar conditions dislodge Philip when he was holding the heights above the Aous? So far I am unable to make out what sort of an enemy they are picturing to themselves, or in what light they wish you to regard him. If they say that he has degenerated and become enervated by the attractions and luxuries of Asia, what risk did we run in attacking him even when we were in a bad position? If they regard him as formidable, owing to ferocity and physical strength, do you refuse a triumph for so great a victory? Envy, senators, is blind and knows no other method than that of disparaging merit and soiling its honours and rewards. I crave your indulgence, senators, if the necessity of defending myself against accusations, and not a desire to sound my praises, has made my speech somewhat long. Was it in my power when marching through Thrace to make the narrow passes into open country, the broken road into level ground, the forests into open fields? Could I have made such dispositions as to prevent the Thracian banditti from concealing themselves in lurking-places with which they were perfectly familiar, or any of our baggage from being stolen, or any pack animal from being carried off from so long a column, or a single man from being wounded, or that gallant soldier, Q. Minucius, from dying of his wounds? They make a great point of that sad misfortune, involving as it did the loss of so good a citizen. But the fact of our two divisions at the front and rear of the column having hemmed in the barbarians when busy in looting our baggage, after attacking in a difficult pass on ground wholly against us; the fact that those two divisions killed or took prisoners many thousands of the enemy on that day and many more a few days later-if they have been silent as to these facts, are they not aware that you will know them when the whole army can testify to what I say? If I had never drawn the sword in Asia, or seen an enemy there, I should still have deserved a triumph for those two battles in Thrace. But I have said enough and would only ask for and, I hope, receive your indulgence for having wearied you by speaking at greater length than I wished."

38.50

The attack would that day have prevailed over the defence had they not protracted the debate to a late hour. When the House rose, the general opinion was that it would in all likelihood refuse the triumph. The next day the friends and relatives of Cn. Manlius exerted their utmost efforts, and the authority of the older senators prevailed. They said that there was no instance on record of a commander who had brought back his army, after subjugating a dangerous enemy and reducing his province to order, entering the city in an unofficial and private capacity without the chariot and laurels of triumph. The sense of the indignity of such a proceeding was too strong for the aspersions of his enemies, and a full senate decreed to him a triumph. All discussion and even recollection of this dispute were lost in the outbreak of a more serious controversy with a greater and more distinguished man. We are told on the authority of Valerius Antias that the two Petillii instituted proceedings against P. Scipio Africanus. Men put different interpretations on this according to their various dispositions. Some blamed, not the tribunes only, but the whole body of citizens, for letting such a thing be possible; the two greatest cities in the world, they said, had proved themselves, almost at the same time, ungrateful to their foremost men. Rome was the more ungrateful of the two, for whilst Carthage after her defeat drove the defeated Hannibal into exile, Rome would banish the victorious Scipio in the hour of her victory. Others again took the ground that no single citizen should stand on such an eminence that he could not be required to answer according to law. Nothing contributed more towards maintaining liberty for all than the power of putting the most powerful citizen on his trial. What business, it was asked-not to mention the supreme interests of the State-could be entrusted to any man, if he had not to render an account for it? If a man cannot submit to laws which are the same for all, no force which may be employed against him is unlawful. So the matter was discussed until the day of trial came. Never before had anyone, even Scipio himself when he was consul or censor, been surrounded by a greater concourse of people of all sorts and conditions than on the day when he was conducted into the Forum to make his defence. When he was called upon to plead, he made no allusion whatever to the charges brought against him, but spoke of the services he had rendered in such a lofty tone that it was universally felt that no man had ever deserved higher or truer praise. He described his actions in the spirit and temper in which he had performed them, and he was listened to without any impatience because they were recounted not in self-glorification but in self-defence.

38.51

In order to support the charges they were bringing against him, the tribunes brought up the old story of his luxurious living in his winter quarters in Syracuse and the disturbance created by Pleminius at Locri. They then went on to accuse him of having received bribes, more on grounds of suspicion than by direct proof; they alleged that his son who was taken prisoner was restored to him without ransom; that Antiochus had in every way tried to ingratiate himself with Scipio as though peace and war with Rome were solely in his hands; that Scipio had behaved towards the consul in his province as dictator rather than subordinate; that he had gone out with no other object than to make clear to Greece and Asia and all the kings and nationalities in the East what had long been the settled conviction of Spain and Gaul and Sicily and Africa, that he alone was the head and mainstay of Roman sovereignty; that under Scipio's shadow the mistress city of the world lay sheltered and that his nod took the place of the decrees of the senate and the orders of the people. No stigma of disgrace could be fastened upon him, so they did their utmost to excite popular odium against him. As the speeches went on till night, the proceedings were adjourned. When the next day for the hearing came, the tribunes took their seats on the Rostra at daybreak. The defendant was summoned, and passing through the middle of the Assembly accompanied by a large body of friends and clients, stood before the Rostra. Silence having been called he spoke as follows:

"Tribunes of the plebs, and you, Quirites, this is the anniversary of the day on which I fought with success and good fortune a pitched battle against Hannibal and the Carthaginians. It is therefore only right and fitting that on this day all pleas and actions should be suspended. I am going at once to the Capitol and the Citadel to make my devotions to Jupiter Optimus Maximus, and Juno and Minerva and all the other tutelar deities of the Capitol and the Citadel, and to offer up thanksgivings to them for having given me as on this day the wisdom and the strength to do the Republic exceptional service. Those of you, Quirites, who are at liberty to do so, come with me. You have always from my seventeenth year down to this period of my old age advanced me to honours before I was of the age for them, and I have always forestalled your honours by my services; then pray now to the gods that you may always have leaders like me." From the Rostra he went straight up to the Capitol, and the whole Assembly turning their backs on the tribunes followed him; even the secretaries and apparitors left the tribunes; there was no one with them except their attendant slaves and the usher who used to stand at the Rostra and call the defendants. Scipio not only went up to the Capitol; he visited all the temples throughout the City, accompanied by the Roman people. The enthusiasm of the citizens and their recognition of his real greatness made that day almost a more glorious one for him than when he entered the City in triumph after his victories over Syphax and the Carthaginians.

38.52

This splendid day was the last day of brightness for Scipio. He saw before him envious attacks and contests with the tribunes, and so after a somewhat lengthy adjournment had been agreed upon, he retired to Liternum, firmly resolved not to appear in his defence. His spirit was too high, his mind too great; he had all through held a position too lofty to allow him to accept the position of a defendant or submit to the humiliation of having to plead his cause. When the day arrived and his name was called, L. Scipio apologised for his absence on the ground of ill-health. The prosecuting tribunes did not accept the excuse and gave out that his refusal to appear was dictated by the same spirit of pride and arrogance in which he had left the seat of judgment and the tribunes and the Assembly. Surrounded by the very men whom he had deprived of the right and liberty of passing sentence upon him, and dragging them after him like prisoners of war, he had celebrated a triumph over the people of Rome and had made a secession on that day from the tribunes to the Capitol. "So now," they continued, "you have the due reward of your folly; the man at whose instigation and under whose leadership you deserted us, has now deserted you. So low is our courage falling day by day, that the man whom seventeen years ago we dared to send tribunes to Sicily to apprehend, whilst he had an army and a fleet at his command, that man we dare not now, though he is only a private citizen, fetch from his country-house to stand his trial." L. Scipio appealed to the tribunes of the plebs as a body, and they passed the following resolution: "If illness be pleaded as an excuse, it is our pleasure that this excuse be accepted, and our colleagues must again adjourn the day of trial." Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus was one of the tribunes. He was a political opponent of Scipio, and had forbidden his colleagues to add his name to their resolution. It was generally expected that he would give a more severe sentence, but he drew up a resolution in the following terms: "Since L. Scipio has pleaded illness as the reason for his brother's absence, I hold that to be sufficient excuse, and will not allow P. Scipio to be put on his trial before his return to Rome; even then, if he appeals to me, I will support him in any effort to avoid a trial. Scipio has by the common consent of gods and men attained such a lofty position through his own acts and the honours which the Roman people have conferred upon him, that for him to stand beneath the Rostra as a defendant, and have to listen to the insults of young men, would be a greater ignominy for the people of Rome than for him."

38.53

He followed this up by an indignant speech: Is Scipio, the conqueror of Africa, to stand at your feet, tribunes? Was it for this that he broke and routed four armies in Spain under the most famous generals that Carthage possessed? Was it for this that he captured Syphax and crushed Hannibal, made Carthage tributary to us, removed Antiochus beyond the Taurus-for his brother Lucius allowed him to share his glory-was it simply that he might succumb to the two Petillii, and that you might claim the palm of victory over Publius Africanus. Will you allow the claim, citizens? Will illustrious men never either through their own merits or the honours you confer, reach a safe, and if I may say so, a sacred asylum where their old age may rest, if not venerated, at least inviolate?" His resolution and the speech which followed it had their effect upon the other tribunes, even upon the prosecutors, who said that they would deliberate as to what their right and duty demanded. After the Assembly broke up, a meeting of the senate was held. Here a most hearty vote of thanks to Tiberius Gracchus was passed by the whole order, especially the men of consular rank and the elder senators, for having placed the interests of the State before his own private feelings, and the Petillii were taunted with wanting to shine by darkening another's reputation and enrich themselves by a triumph over Africanus. After this nothing more was said about proceedings against Scipio. He passed his life at Liternum without any wish to return to the City, and it is said that on his death-bed he gave orders that he should be buried and his monument set up there, so that there might be no funeral rites performed for him by his ungrateful country. He was an extraordinary man, more distinguished, however in the arts of war than in those of peace. The earlier part of his life was more brilliant than the later; as a young man he was constantly engaged in war; with advancing years the glory of his achievements faded, and there was nothing to call forth his genius. What additional lustre did his second consulship confer as compared with his first, or even his censorship? What further distinction did he gain during his subordinate command in Asia, rendered useless through bad health and saddened by the misfortune which overtook his son? Then, again, after his return he was under the necessity of either standing his trial or of absenting himself from his native city. Still, he alone won the unique glory of bringing the war with Carthage to a close, the greatest and most serious war that the Romans have ever waged.

38.54

With the death of Africanus the courage of his enemies rose. The foremost of these was M. Porcius Cato, who even during Scipio's lifetime was constantly belittling his greatness, and it was at his instigation, it was thought, that the Petillii attacked him whilst he was alive. After his death they introduced into the Assembly the following motion: "Touching the money which was seized, confiscated and exacted from Antiochus and his subjects, is it your will and pleasure, Quirites, that in respect of such money as has not been accounted for to the State, the City praetor Servius Sulpicius shall consult the senate as to which of the acting praetors it shall appoint to investigate the matter?" The two Mummii, Quintus and Lucius, interposed their veto to this proposal; they considered that where money had not been accounted for to the State, it was only right and proper that the senate should conduct such investigation as it always had done previously. The Petillii accused the nobility and the despotic power which the Scipios possessed over the senate. L. Furius Purpurio, a man of consular rank, one of the ten commissioners, thought that the inquiry ought to go further. By way of damaging his enemy Cn. Manlius, he suggested that it ought to include not only the amount taken from Antiochus, but all that had been taken from other kings and nations. L. Scipio, who it was evident would speak more in his own defence than against the proposal, came forward to oppose it. He protested strongly against this question being raised after the death of his brother P. Africanus, of all men the bravest and most illustrious. No public eulogium had been made over him when he died, but that was not enough, now accusations must be levelled at him. Even the Carthaginians were content with banishing Hannibal; the Roman people were not satisfied with the death of Africanus, but his reputation must be torn to pieces over his tomb, and as an aggravation of malice, his brother also must be sacrificed. M. Cato supported the motion; his speech, "Concerning the money of King Antiochus," is still extant. The weight of his authority deterred the Mummii from opposing it, and as these withdrew their veto, the proposal was earned by the unanimous vote of the Tribes.

38.55

Ser. Sulpicius next consulted the senate as to who was to conduct the inquiry, and they fixed upon Q. Terentius Culleo. There are some writers who assert that this praetor was so attached to the family of the Cornelii that at the funeral-they say he died and was buried in Rome-he preceded the bier wearing a cap of liberty just as though he were marching in a triumphal procession, and at the Porta Capena he distributed wine sweetened with honey to those who followed the body, because amongst the other captives in Africa he had been delivered by Scipio. Another account is that he was hostile to the family; that, knowing this, the party opposed to the Scipios selected him as the one man to conduct the inquiry. However this may be, it was before this praetor, whether biassed in favour of or against the defendant, that L. Scipio was at once put on his trial. The names of his divisional commanders, Aulus and Lucius Hostilius Cato, were also given in to the praetor, and entered by him, as well as that of the quaestor C. Furius Aculeo; and that his whole staff might appear to be associated in the embezzlement, his two secretaries and his marshal were also included. Lucius Hostilius, the secretaries and the marshal were all acquitted before Scipio's case was heard. He, together with A. Hostilius and C. Furius, were found guilty-Scipio, of having received 6000 pounds of gold and 480 of silver over and above what he had brought into the treasury; and Hostilius was convicted of having similarly embezzled 80 pounds of gold and 403 of silver; the quaestor was found guilty of having received 130 pounds of gold and 200 of silver. These are the amounts I find as stated by Antias. In the case of L. Scipio, I should prefer to regard these figures as a mistake on the part of the copyist, rather than a false assertion of the author, for the weight of the silver was in all probability greater than that of the gold, and the fine was more likely to be fixed at 400,000 than at 2,400,000 sesterces, especially as it is stated that this was the sum for which Publius Scipio was asked to account in the senate. It is also recorded that when he had told his brother Lucius to fetch his account-book, he tore it up with his own hands while the senate was looking on, and indignantly protested against an account for 400,000 sesterces being demanded of him after he had brought into the treasury 2,000,000. He is further stated to have shown the same self-confidence in demanding the keys of the treasury, when the quaestors did not venture to bring the money out as against the law, and declaring that as it was through him it was shut, so he would open it.

38.56

There are many other details in which writers differ, especially as regards his closing years, his impeachment, his death, his funeral, and his tomb, so that I cannot decide what traditions or documents to follow. There is no agreement as to the prosecutors. . Some say that M. Naevius, others that the Petillii, initiated the proceedings; nor as to the date when they began, nor the year in which he died, nor where he was buried. Some say that he died and was buried in Rome; others say in Liternum. In both places his monument and statues are shown. At Liternum there was a monument surmounted by a statue which we have seen lately, and which was overthrown by a storm. At Rome there are three statues above the monument of the Scipios; two are said to be those of Publius and Lucius; the third that of the poet Q. Ennius. Nor is it only the chroniclers who differ; even the speeches, if they are really those of the men whose they are said to be, viz., P. Scipio and Tiberius Gracchus, cannot be brought into agreement. The title of Scipio's speech gives the prosecutor's name as M. Naevius; in the speech itself the name does not appear; sometimes he describes him as a knave, sometimes as a trifler. Even the speech of Gracchus makes no mention of the Petillii as the prosecutors of Africanus, nor of the actual proceedings. Quite another story will have to be put together to fit this speech of Gracchus, and we shall have to follow those authorities who aver that at the time when Lucius Scipio was tried and convicted of having taken bribes from the king, Africanus was serving in a subordinate command in Etruria and, on hearing of the misfortune which had befallen his brother, hurried back to Rome. On learning that his brother was being taken to prison, he went straight to the Forum, drove off the officer who had charge of him and, his affection for his brother getting the better of his citizenship, even used violence towards the tribunes who tried to hold him back.

Gracchus himself complains that in this instance the authority of the tribunes was successfully defied by a private citizen, and at the end of his speech where he promises to support Scipio, he adds that it would form a better precedent were it to appear that the tribunitian and State authority had been overborne by a tribune of the plebs rather than by a private citizen. But while he reproaches him bitterly for losing his self-control in this one outbreak of lawlessness, and censures him for having fallen so far below himself, he makes up for his censures in recalling the high esteem in which Scipio was held in the old days for his equable and self-disciplined character. He reminded his hearers how severely Scipio rebuked the people for wishing to make him perpetual consul and dictator; how he had prevented them from raising statues to him in the Comitium, the Rostra, the senate house, and in the shrine of Jupiter on the Capitol, and how he had prevented a decree from being passed authorising his image decked in triumphal garb to be borne in procession from the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus. These things, even if inserted in a public eulogium, would still be a proof of his greatness of soul in keeping his honours within the limits of ordinary civic life; how much more so when they are the admissions of an enemy.

38.57

It is generally understood that the younger of his two daughters was married to this same Gracchus, and the elder one was certainly disposed of by her father to P. Cornelius Nasica, but whether it was after her father's death is uncertain. It is equally uncertain whether the current belief in the following story is well founded. The story goes that when Gracchus saw that L. Scipio was on the point of being carried off to prison and that none of his fellow-tribunes interfered on his behalf, he swore that though his enmity towards the Scipios was as strong as ever, and he would do nothing to win his favour, yet he would not look on whilst the brother of Africanus was being taken to a dungeon into which he had seen Africanus himself taking kings and commanders. The senate happened to be dining that day in the Capitol, and rising in a body they begged Scipio to betroth his daughter to Gracchus there and then. The betrothal having been formally completed in the presence of the whole gathering, Scipio went home. On meeting his wife, he told her that he had betrothed their youngest daughter. She was naturally hurt and indignant at not having been consulted in the disposal of their child, and observed that even if he were giving her to Tiberius Gracchus, her mother ought to have had a voice in the matter. Scipio was delighted to find that they were of one accord, and told her that it was to that man that she was betrothed. It is right that in the case of so great a man the various opinions and the different historical statements as to these details should be noted.

38.58

When the praetor Q. Terentius had brought the proceedings to a close, Hostilius and Furius, who had been convicted, gave the required sureties to the City quaestors. Scipio, who stoutly maintained that the whole of the money he had received was in the treasury, and that he had none which belonged to the State, was ordered off to prison. P. Scipio Nasica formally appealed to the tribunes in a speech full of just and true encomiums on the house of the Cornelii and particularly on his own family. He pointed out that the two distinguished men, Cn. and P. Scipio, were the fathers respectively of himself, and of P. and L. Scipio, who was now being led to prison. These two men had for many years fought in Spain against numerous armies of Carthaginians and Spaniards, and had not only added to the glory of Rome, but after presenting to those two nations an example of Roman moderation and good faith, had at last given their lives for the commonwealth. It would have been enough had their glory been kept untarnished for posterity, but P. Africanus had so far surpassed his father's renown that men believed him to be sprung from no human parents, but to be of divine origin. As to Lucius Scipio, whose case was before them, he would pass over all that he had done as his brother's lieutenant in Spain and Africa, and would remind them that when he was consul the senate thought him worthy of being entrusted with Asia and the war with Antiochus as his province, without having recourse to the ballot. His brother, too, though he had been censor and twice consul, and graced with a triumph, went to him to serve as his lieutenant in Asia. Whilst he was there, as though to prevent the greatness and splendour of the lieutenant from eclipsing the fame of the consul, it so happened that on the day when Lucius Scipio completely defeated Antiochus in the great battle of Magnesia, Publius Scipio was several days' journey away, lying ill at Elaea. The army that Lucius engaged was not less than that which Hannibal commanded at the battle in Africa. Hannibal who had commanded all through the Punic war was also among the generals with Antiochus. The conduct of the war was such that no one could charge even Fortune with caprice. It is in respect of the peace that the charges are made; the peace is said to have been sold. If so, the ten commissioners are also involved in the charge; it was on their advice that the peace was granted. And though out of those ten men some came forward to accuse Cn. Manlius, not only did they fail to prove their charge, they were not even able to delay his triumph.

38.59

But in Scipio's case the very terms of the peace formed the grounds of suspicion as being too favourable to Antiochus. "His kingdom," they say, "has been left to him in its entirety; after his defeat he remained in possession of all that had belonged to him before the war. Though he had a large amount of gold and silver, none of it has been brought into the treasury; it has all passed into private hands." Was not the amount of gold and silver borne before all men's eyes in Lucius Scipio's triumph greater than in any other ten triumphs if it were all collected together? What am I to say about the limits of the king's dominions? Antiochus held all Asia and the adjacent parts of Europe; how great a part of the world that is, stretching from the Taurus to the Aegean, you all know. This tract of country, more than thirty days' march in length and, measured from sea to sea, ten days' march in breadth, extending right up to the Taurus, has been taken from Antiochus. He has been banished to the most remote corner of the world. What more, pray, could have been taken from him, even if peace had been granted without any conditions? After Philip's defeat, Macedonia was left to him as Lacedaemon was to Nabis, and yet no criminal inquiry was instituted against Quinctius. He had not Africanus for his brother, whose great reputation ought to have helped Lucius instead of injuring him by the jealousy it aroused. It was stated in the trial that the amount of gold and silver brought into Lucius Scipio's house was greater than could have been realised by the sale of the whole of his property. Where, then, is that gold and silver and all the benefactions he has received? Surely this access of fortune must have been in evidence in a house which is not wasted with extravagance. Yes, but what cannot be got out of his property, his enemies will get out of his person by insult and torture, in order that a man so illustrious may be shut up with burglars and highwaymen in the inmost dungeon and breathe out his life in darkness, and his naked body flung out of the prison doors. That would not bring a deeper disgrace upon the house of the Cornelii than upon the whole City of Rome.

38.60

Terentius, in reply, read the resolution carried by the Petillii, the decision of the senate and the sentence passed upon L. Scipio. He declared that unless the sum stated in the judgment were restored to the treasury, there was no other course open to him but to order him to be arrested and taken to prison. The tribunes retired for consultation and shortly afterwards C. Fannius, in the name of all his colleagues except Gracchus, declared that they would not intervene to prevent the praetor from exercising his authority. T. Gracchus gave his decision thus: He would not oppose the action of the praetor in recovering the sum in question from the sale of Lucius Scipio's property, but that as to L. Scipio himself, a man who had conquered the most prosperous and wealthy monarch in the world; who had carried the dominion of Rome to the utmost limits of the world; who had bound King Eumenes, the Rhodians, and so many other cities in Asia under obligations to Rome; who had led first in triumph, and then to prison, so many enemy commanders-this man he would not allow to lie in prison and in chains amongst the enemies of Rome. He then ordered him to be released. His decision was greeted with such enthusiasm by those who heard it, and there was such general delight at the news of Scipio's release, that it seemed hardly possible that these were the same people before whom the sentence against him had lately been pronounced. The praetor then sent the quaestors to seize L. Scipio's property in the name of the government. Not only was there not a vestige of the king's gold to be seen, but the amount realised was nowhere near the sum named in the judgment. The relatives and friends and clients of L. Scipio's contributed a sum sufficient, if he accepted it, to make him even richer than before. He refused to accept any of it. Everything necessary for him was supplied by his nearest relations. The ill-will and popular odium against the Scipios had now turned against the praetor and his assessors and the prosecution.

THE HISTORY OF ROME

by Livy (Titus Livius)

Translated by Rev. Canon Roberts (1912)