The new consuls, Cn, Fulvius Centimalus and P. Sulpicius Galba, entered upon office on the 15th of March, and at once convened a meeting of the senate in the Capitol to discuss questions of State, the conduct of the war and the distribution of the provinces and the armies. The retiring consuls-Q. Fulvius and Appius Claudius-retained their commands and were instructed to prosecute the siege of Capua unremittingly until they had effected its capture. The recovery of this city was the main concern of the Romans now. What determined them was not only the bitter resentment which its defection had evoked, a feeling which was never more justified in the case of any city, but also the certainty they felt that, as in its revolt it had drawn many communities with it, owing to its greatness and strength, so its recapture would create amongst these communities a feeling of respect for the power whose sovereignty they had formerly acknowledged. The praetors of the past year, M. Junius in Etruria and P. Sempronius in Gaul, had their commands extended and were each to retain the two legions they had. M. Marcellus was to act as proconsul and finish the war in Sicily with the army which he had. If he needed reinforcements he was to take them from the troops which P. Cornelius was commanding in Sicily, but none were to be selected from those who had been forbidden by the senate to take a furlough or return home before the end of the war. The province of Sicily was assigned to C. Sulpicius, and he was to take over the two legions which were with P. Cornelius; any reinforcements he needed were to be supplied from the army of Cn. Fulvius which had been so disgracefully routed and cut up the previous year in Apulia. The soldiers who had so disgraced themselves were placed under the same conditions with regard to length of service as the survivors of Cannae. As an additional brand of ignominy the men of both these armies were forbidden to winter in towns or to construct winter quarters for themselves within ten miles of any town. The two legions which Q. Mucius had commanded in Sardinia were given to L. Cornelius, and any additional force he might require was to be raised by the consuls. T. Otacilius and M. Valerius were ordered to cruise off the coasts of Sicily and Greece respectively with the fleets and soldiers they had previously commanded. The former had a hundred ships with two legions on board; the latter, fifty ships and one legion. The total strength of the Roman armies engaged on land and sea this year amounted to twenty-five legions.

.At the beginning of the year a despatch from L. Marcius was laid before the senate. The senators fully appreciated the successful way in which he had conducted his operations, but a good many of them were indignant at the honorific title he had assumed. The superscription of the letter was "The propraetor to the senate," though the imperium had not been conferred upon him by an order of the people nor with the sanction of the senate. An evil precedent had been set, they said, when a commander was chosen by his army, and the solemn procedure at elections, after the auspices were duly taken, was transferred to camps and provinces far away from the magistrates and the laws, and left to the caprice of the soldiers. Some thought the senate ought to take the matter up, but it was thought better to adjourn the consideration of it until the horsemen who had brought the despatch had left the City. With regard to the food and clothing of the army, they ordered a reply to be sent to the effect that both these matters would be attended to by the senate. They refused, however, to allow the despatch to be addressed "To the propraetor L. Marcius," lest it should appear that the question which was to be discussed had been prejudged. After the messengers had been dismissed the consuls gave this question priority over everything else, and it was unanimously agreed that the tribunes should consult the plebs as soon as possible as to whom they wished to have sent to Spain with the imperium as commander-in-chief to take over the army which Cn. Scipio had commanded. The tribunes undertook to do so, and due notice of the question was given to the Assembly. But the citizens were preoccupied with a controversy of a very different nature. C. Sempronius Blaesus had fixed a day for bringing Cn. Fulvius to trial for losing his army in Apulia, and made a very bitter attack upon him beforehand in the Assembly. "Many commanders," he said, "have through rashness and inexperience led their armies into most dangerous positions, but Cn. Fulvius is the only one who has demoralised his army by every form of vice before betraying them. They may with perfect truth be said to have been destroyed before they saw the enemy; they owed their defeat to their own commander, not to Hannibal.

"Now no man, when he is going to vote, takes sufficient trouble to find out what sort of a man it is to whom he is entrusting the supreme command of the army. Think of the difference between Tiberius Sempronius and Cn. Fulvius. Tiberius Sempronius had an army of slaves given to him, but in a short time, thanks to the discipline he maintained and the wise use he made of his authority, there was not a man amongst them who when he was in the field of battle gave a thought to his birth or his condition. Those men were a protection to our allies and a terror to our enemies. They snatched, as though from the very jaws of Hannibal, cities like Cumae and Beneventum and restored them to Rome. Cn. Fulvius, on the other hand, had an army of Roman citizens, born of respectable parents, brought up as free men, and he infected them with the vices of slaves, and made them such that they were insolent and riotous amongst our allies, weaklings and cowards in face of the enemy; they could not stand even the war-cry of the Carthaginians, let alone their charge. Good heavens! no wonder the soldiers gave ground, when their commander was the first to run away; the wonder is that any stood their ground and fell, and that all did not accompany Cn. Fulvius in his panic and flight. C. Flaminius, L. Paulus, L. Postumius, and the two Scipios, Cnaeus and Publius, all chose to fall in battle rather than desert their armies, when they were hemmed in by the foe. Cn. Fulvius came back to Rome as the all-but solitary herald of the annihilation of his army. After the army had fled from the field of Cannae it was deported to Sicily, not to return till the enemy had evacuated Italy, and a similar decree was recently passed in the case of Fulvius' legions. But, shame to relate, the commander himself remained unpunished after his flight from a battle brought on by his own headstrong folly; he is free to pass the rest of his life where he passed it in youth-in stews and brothels-whilst his soldiers, whose only fault is that they copied their commander, are practically sent into exile and have to undergo a service of disgrace. So unequal are the liberties enjoyed in Rome by the rich and the poor, the men of rank and the men of the people."

In his defence Fulvius threw all the blame upon his men. They clamoured, he said, for battle, and he led them out, not at the moment, for it was late in the day, but on the following morning. Though they were drawn up on favourable ground, at an early hour they found either the terror of the enemy's name or the strength of his attack too much for them. When they were all flying in disorder he was swept away by the rush as Varro was at Cannae and as many other commanders have been at different times. What help would he have given to the republic by staying there alone? unless indeed his death would have warded off other national disasters. His failure was not due to lack of supplies, or to incautiously taking up a position on unfavourable ground; he had not been ambushed through insufficient reconnoitring; he had been beaten in a fair fight on an open field. Men's tempers, on whichever side they were, were beyond his control, a man's natural disposition made him either brave or cowardly. The speeches of the prosecutor and the defendant occupied two days, on the third day the witnesses were produced. Besides all the other serious charges brought against him, a great many men stated on oath that the panic and flight began with the praetor, and that when the soldiers found that they were left to themselves, and thought that their commander had good ground for fear, they too turned their backs and fled. The prosecutor had in the first instance asked for a fine, but the evidence which had been given roused the anger of the people to such an extent that they insisted upon a capital charge being laid. This led to a fresh contest. As the prosecutor during the first two days had limited the penalty to a fine and only on the third day made the charge a capital one, the defendant appealed to the other tribunes, but they refused to interfere with their colleague. It was open to him by ancient custom to proceed either by statute law or by customary precedent, whichever he preferred, until he had obtained judgment, whether the penalty were a capital or a pecuniary one. On this Sempronius announced that he should prosecute C. Fulvius on the charge of treason and requested the City praetor to convene the Assembly for the purpose on the appointed day. Then the accused tried another way of escape. His brother Quintus was in high favour with the people at the time, owing to his former successes and the general conviction that he would soon take Capua, and the defendant hoped that he might be present at his trial. Quintus wrote to the senate for their permission, appealing to their compassion and begging to be allowed to defend his brother's life, but they told him in reply that it would militate against the interests of the State for him to leave Capua. Just before the day of trial Cn. Fulvius went into exile at Tarquinii. The plebs affirmed by resolution his legal status as exile and all the consequences it involved.

Meanwhile the whole stress of the war bore on Capua. The blockade was proving more effective than direct assault; the common people and the slaves could not endure the famine, nor could they send messengers to Hannibal owing to the strict watch which was kept. At last a Numidian was found who promised to get through with the despatches, and he succeeded. He escaped through the Roman lines by night, and this encouraged the Capuans to attempt sorties in all directions while they still had some strength left. Numerous cavalry encounters took place in which they generally had the advantage, but their infantry got the worst of it. The gratification which the Romans derived from their infantry successes was considerably damped by their finding themselves beaten in any arm by an enemy whom they had invested and almost conquered. At length they devised a clever plan by which they could make up for their inferiority in the mounted arm. Young men of exceptional speed and agility were selected from all the legions and supplied with bucklers somewhat shorter than those used by the cavalry. Each was furnished with seven javelins, four feet long and tipped with iron heads similar to those on the darts of the velites. The troopers each took one of these upon his horse and trained them to ride behind and leap down briskly at a given signal. As soon as their daily training had given them sufficient confidence, the cavalry advanced against the Capuans, who were drawn up on the level ground between the Roman camp and the city walls. As soon as they came within range the signal was given and the velites sprang down to the ground. The line of infantry thus formed made a sudden attack on the Capuan horse; shower after shower of javelins was flung at the men and horses all along the line. A great many were wounded, and the novel and unexpected form of attack created widespread consternation. Seeing the enemy shaken the Roman cavalry charged home, and in the rout that followed they drove them with much loss right up to their gates. From that time the Romans had the superiority in their cavalry also. The velites were subsequently incorporated in the legions. This plan of combining infantry and cavalry in one force is said to have originated with one of the centurions-Q. Navius, and he received special honour from his commander in consequence.

Such was the position of affairs at Capua. During this time Hannibal was drawn in two directions; he was anxious to get possession of the citadel of Tarentum and he was equally anxious to retain his hold on Capua. Regard for Capua however carried the day, for he saw that it was the spot to which all eyes were turned, of friends and foes alike, and its fate would show conclusively, one way or the other, the consequences of defection from Rome. Leaving therefore his baggage and heavy-armed troops in Bruttium, he hurried into Campania with a force of horse and foot selected for their capacity for rapid marching. Swift as his advance was, however, three and thirty elephants followed him. He took up his position in a secluded valley at the back of Mount Tifata which overlooked Capua. On his march he captured the fortified post of Calatia. He then turned his attention to the besiegers of Capua, and sent a message to the city telling them at what time he intended to attack the Roman lines, so that they might be ready to make a sortie and pour in full strength out of all their gates. The investing force was thrown into a state of great alarm, for while Hannibal was delivering his assault on one side, the whole of the forces of Capua, mounted and unmounted, supported by the Punic garrison under Bostar and Hanno were making a vigorous sortie on the other. Realising their critical position and the danger of leaving a portion of their lines unprotected by concentrating their defence in any one direction, the Romans divided their force; Appius Claudius confronted the Capuans, Fulvius was opposed to Hannibal; the propraetor C. Nero with the cavalry of the six legions held the road to Suessula, and C. Fulvius Flaccus with the cavalry of the allies took up a position towards the Volturnus. There was not only the usual shouting and uproar when the battle commenced; the din of horses and men and arms was aggravated by the non-combatant population of Capua. They crowded on to the walls, and by clashing brazen vessels together, as people do in the dead of the night when there is an eclipse of the moon, they made such a dreadful noise that it even distracted the attention of the combatants.

Appius had no difficulty in driving the Capuans from his earthworks, but Fulvius had to meet a much heavier attack from Hannibal and his Carthaginians on the other side. Here the sixth legion gave way and a cohort of Spaniards with three elephants succeeded in getting up to the breastwork. They had penetrated the Roman line, and whilst they saw their chance of breaking through into the camp they saw also the danger of being cut off from their supports. When Fulvius saw the disorder of the legion and the danger which threatened the camp, he called upon Q. Navius and other centurions of the first rank to charge the enemy's cohort which was fighting just under the breastwork. "It is a most critical moment," he told them; "either you must allow the enemy to go on, in which case they will break into the camp with less difficulty than they found in breaking through the closed ranks of the legion, or you must dispose of them whilst they are still below the breastwork. It will not be a hard fight; they are a small body, cut off from their support; and the very fact of the Roman line being broken will be an advantage if both sections close on the enemy's flanks, who would then be hemmed and exposed to a double attack." On hearing this Navius took the standard of the second maniple of hastati from the bearer and advanced with it against the enemy, threatening at the same time to throw it into their midst if his men did not promptly follow him and take their share in the fighting. He was a huge man and his armour set him off, and as he lifted the standard high in the air, he attracted all eyes. But when he was close to the Spaniards they hurled their javelins at him from all sides, and almost the whole of their line turned their attention to this one man. Neither the number of the enemy, however, nor the force of their missiles were able to check the gallant fellow's onset.

M. Atilius now brought up the leading maniple of the sixth legion against the Spanish cohort; L. Porcius Licinius and T. Popilius, who were in command of the camp, were keeping up a fierce struggle in front of the breastwork, and killed some of the elephants whilst they were actually clambering over it. Their bodies rolled down into the fosse and filled it up, making a bridge for the passage of the enemy, and a terrible carnage began over the prostrate elephants. On the other side of the camp the Capuans and their Punic garrison had by this time been repulsed, and the fighting went on right up to the city gate which leads to the Volturnus. The efforts of the Romans to break in were frustrated not so much by the arms of the defenders as by the ballistae and scorpions which were mounted over the gate and kept the assailants at a distance by the missiles they discharged. A further check was given them by a wound received by Appius Claudius; he was struck by a heavy javelin in the upper part of the chest under the left shoulder, whilst he was riding along the front encouraging his men. A great many of the enemy were however killed outside the gate; the rest were driven in hasty flight into the city. When Hannibal saw the destruction of his Spanish cohort and the energy with which the Romans were defending their lines, he gave up the attack and recalled the standards. The retiring column of infantry was followed by the cavalry who were to protect the rear in case the enemy harassed their retreat. The legions were burning to pursue them, but Fulvius ordered the "retire" to be sounded, as he considered that he had gained quite enough in making both the Capuans and Hannibal himself realise how little he could do in their defence.

Some authors who describe this battle say that 8000 of Hannibal's men were killed that day and 3000 Capuans, and that 15 standards were taken from the Carthaginians and 18 from the Capuans. In other accounts I find that the affair was nothing like so serious, there was more excitement and confusion than actual fighting. According to these writers the Numidians and Spaniards broke unexpectedly into the Roman lines with the elephants, and these animals, trotting all over the camp, upset the tents and created terrible uproar and panic during which the baggage animals broke their tethers and bolted. To add to the confusion Hannibal sent some men got up as Italians, who could speak Latin, to tell the defenders in the name of the consul that as the camp was lost each man must do his best to escape to the nearest mountains. The trick was, however, soon detected and frustrated with heavy loss to the enemy, and the elephants were driven out of the camp with firebrands. In any case, however it began or ended, this was the last battle fought before Capua surrendered. The "medix tuticus," the supreme magistrate of Capua, happened for that year to be Seppius Loesius, a man of humble birth and slender fortune. The story goes that owing to a portent which had occurred in his mother's household she consulted a soothsayer on behalf of her little boy, and he told her that the highest official position in Capua would come to her son. As she was not aware of anything which would justify such expectations she replied, "You are indeed describing a desperate state of things in Capua when you say that such an honour will come to my son." Her jesting reply to what was a true prediction turned out itself to be true, for it was only when famine and sword were pressing them sorely and all hope of further resistance was disappearing that Loesius accepted the post. He was the last Capuan to hold it, and he only did so under protest; Capua, he declared, was abandoned and betrayed by all her foremost citizens.

Finding that his enemy could not be drawn into an engagement and that it was impossible to break through their lines and relieve Capua, Hannibal decided to abandon his attempt and march away from the place, for he was afraid of being cut off from his supplies by the new consuls. He was anxiously turning over in his mind the question of his future movements when the idea occurred to him of marching upon Rome, the head and guiding spirit of the whole war. He had always set his heart upon this, and men blamed him for letting the opportunity slip, immediately after the battle of Cannae; he himself admitted that he had made a mistake in not doing so. He was not without hope of seizing some part of the City in the confusion caused by his unexpected appearance, and if Rome were in danger, he expected that both the consuls-or at all events, one of them-would at once quit their hold on Capua. Then, as they would be weakened by their forces being divided, they would give either him or the Capuans the opportunity of fighting a successful action. One thing made him anxious, the possibility of the Capuans surrendering as soon as he had withdrawn. Amongst his men there was a Numidian who was ready for any desperate enterprise, and he induced this man, by the offer of a reward, to carry a despatch and enter the Roman lines in the guise of a deserter, then steal away on the opposite side and enter Capua. He wrote in a very encouraging strain, and pointed out that his departure would be the means of saving them, as it would draw off the Roman generals from their attack on Capua to defend Rome. They were not to be despondent, a few days' patience would completely break up the siege. He then ordered the boats which were on the Volturnus to be seized and brought up to a fort which he had previously constructed to secure the passage of the river. He was informed that there was a sufficient number of them to admit of his entire army being taken across in one night. Ten days' rations were supplied to the men; they marched down to the river, and all his legions were across before day-break.

Fulvius Flaccus was informed by deserters of this project before it was put into execution, and at once sent intelligence of it to the senate. The news was received with varying feelings as men's temperaments differed. Naturally, at such a crisis, a meeting of the senate was instantly convened. Publius Cornelius Asina was for recalling all the generals and armies from every part of Italy for the defence of the City, regardless of Capua or any other object they had in view. Fabius Maximus considered that it would be a disgrace for them to quit their hold on Capua and allow themselves to be scared by Hannibal and marched up and down at his beck and menaces. "Do you suppose," he asked the senators, "that the man who did not venture to approach the City after his victory at Cannae, really hopes to capture it now that he has been driven away from Capua? His object in coming here is not to attack Rome but to raise the siege of Capua. The army which is now in the City will be sufficient for our defence, for it will be aided by Jupiter and the other gods who have witnessed Hannibal's violation of treaty engagements." P. Valerius Flaccus advocated a middle course, which was ultimately adopted. He recommended that a despatch should be sent to the generals commanding at Capua, telling them what defensive force the City possessed. They themselves would know what troops Hannibal was bringing and how large an army was required to maintain the siege of Capua. If one of the generals commanding could be sent with a part of the army to Rome without interfering with the effective conduct of the siege by the other general, Claudius and Fulvius might arrange which of them should continue the investment of Capua and which should go to Rome to prevent their own city from being invested. When this decision of the senate reached Capua, the proconsul Q. Fulvius, whose colleague had been obliged to leave for Rome owing to his wound, selected a force out of the three armies and crossed the Volturnus with 15,000 infantry and 1000 cavalry. When he had definitely ascertained that Hannibal was advancing by the Latin Road, he sent men on in advance through the burghs situated on the Appian Way and also to some lying near it, to warn the inhabitants to have supplies stored in readiness in their towns and to bring them in from the outlying fields to the line of march. They were further to call in their fighting men to defend their homes, and each municipality was to provide for its own protection.

After crossing the Volturnus Hannibal fixed his camp a short distance from the river, and the next day he marched past Cales into the Sidicine territory. One day was devoted to laying waste the district, and then he proceeded along the Latin Road through the lands of Suessa, Allifae, and Casinum up to the walls of the last-mentioned place. Here he remained encamped for two days and ravaged the whole of the surrounding country. From there he went on past Interamna and Aquinum into the territory of Fregellae as far as the Liris. Here he found that the bridge had been destroyed by the people of Fregellae in order to delay his advance. Fulvius too had been delayed at the Volturnus, owing to Hannibal having burnt his boats, and he had considerable difficulty in procuring rafts for the transport of his troops, owing to the lack of timber. When, however, he had once crossed, the remainder of his march was uninterrupted, as he found ample supplies of provisions waiting for him in each city he came to, and also put out by the side of the road in the country districts. His men, too, in their eagerness urged one another to march more quickly, for they were going to defend their homes. A messenger who had travelled from Fregellae for a day and a night without stopping created great alarm in Rome, and the excitement was increased by people running about the City with wildly exaggerated accounts of the news he had brought. The wailing cry of the matrons was heard everywhere, not only in private houses but even in the temples. Here they knelt and swept the temple-floors with their dishevelled hair and lifted up their hands to heaven in piteous entreaty to the gods that they would deliver the City of Rome out of the hands of the enemy and preserve its mothers and children from injury and outrage. The senators remained in session in the Forum so as to be at hand should the magistrates wish to consult them. Some received orders and went off to execute their commissions, others offered their services in case they could be of use anywhere. Troops were posted at the Capitol, on the walls, round about the City and even as far as the Alban Mount and the fortress of Aesula. In the midst of all this excitement word was brought that the proconsul Q. Fulvius was on his way from Capua with an army. As proconsul he could not hold command in the City, the senate therefore passed a decree conferring upon him consular powers. After completely destroying the territory of Fregellae in revenge for the destruction of the bridge over the Liris, Hannibal continued his march through the districts of Frusinum, Ferentinum and Anagnia into the neighbourhood of Labicum. He then crossed Algidus and marched on Tusculum, but he was refused admittance, so he turned to the right below Tusculum towards Gabii, and still descending, came into the district of Pupinia where he encamped, eight miles from Rome. The nearer his approach the greater was the slaughter of those who were fleeing to the City at the hands of the Numidians who rode in front of the main body. Many, too, of all ages and conditions were made prisoners.

In the midst of this turmoil and excitement Fulvius Flaccus entered Rome with his army. He passed through the Porta Capena and marched right through the City past the Cavinae and the Esquiliae, and out again through the Colline Gate, entrenching himself on ground between the Colline and Esquiline Gates. Here the plebeian aediles furnished him with provisions. The consuls, attended by the senate, visited him in his camp, and a council was held to consider what measures the supreme interests of the republic demanded. It was decided that the consuls should form entrenched camps in the vicinity of the Colline and Esquiline Gates, the City praetor taking command of the Citadel and the Capitol, and that the senate should remain in permanent session in the Forum in case any sudden emergency should need to be provided against. Hannibal had now moved his camp to the Anio at a distance of three miles from the City. From this position, he advanced with a body of 2000 cavalry towards the Colline Gate as far as the temple of Hercules, and from that point he rode up and made as close an inspection as he could of the walls and the situation of the City. Flaccus was furious with indignation at this calm and leisurely proceeding and sent some cavalry with orders to clear the enemy and drive them back to their camp. There were some 1200 Numidian deserters stationed on the Aventine at the time, and the consuls sent orders to them to ride through the City to the Esquiliae, as they considered none more fitted to fight amongst the hollows and garden walls and sepulchres and enclosed paths all around that part of the City. When those on guard at the Citadel and the Capitol saw them trotting down the Publician hill they shouted out that the Aventine was taken. This caused so much confusion and panic that, had not the Carthaginian camp been outside the City, the terrified population would have poured out of the gates. As it was, they took refuge in the houses and various buildings, and seeing some of their own people walking in the streets, they took them for enemies and attacked them with stones and missiles. It was impossible to calm the excitement or to rectify the mistake, as the streets were packed with crowds of country people with their cattle, whom the sudden danger had driven into the City. The cavalry action was successful and the enemy were driven off. It became necessary, however, to quell the disturbances which, without the slightest reason, were breaking out in many quarters, and the senate decided that all who had been Dictators, consuls or censors should be invested with the imperium until the enemy had retired from the walls. During the remainder of the day and throughout the night, many such disturbances arose and were promptly repressed.

The following day Hannibal crossed the Anio and led out the whole of his force to battle; Flaccus and the consuls did not decline the challenge. When both sides were drawn up to decide an action in which Rome was the victor's prize, a tremendous hailstorm threw the two armies into such disorder that they had difficulty in holding their arms. They retired to their respective camps, fearing everything rather than their enemy. The following day, when the armies were drawn up in the same position, a similar storm separated them. On each occasion, after they were once more in camp, the weather cleared up in an extraordinary way. The Carthaginians looked upon the occasion as preternatural, and the story runs that Hannibal was heard to say that at one time he lacked the will, at another the opportunity, of becoming master of Rome. His hopes were further damped by two incidents, one of some importance, the other less so. The more important was his receiving information that while he was actually in arms near the walls of Rome a force had marched out fully equipped, under their standards, to reinforce the army in Spain. The other incident, which he learnt from a prisoner, was the sale by auction of the spot on which he had fixed his camp, and the fact that, in spite of his occupation of it, there was no abatement in the price. That any one should have been found in Rome to buy the ground which he was holding in possession as spoil of war, seemed to Hannibal such an insulting piece of arrogance that he instantly summoned a crier and made him give notice of the sale of the silversmiths' shops round the Forum of Rome.

These incidents led to his withdrawal from Rome, and he retired as far as the river Tutia, six miles distant from the City. From there he marched to the grove of Feronia and the temple, which was celebrated in those days for its wealth. The people of Capena and other cities round used to bring their first-fruits and other offerings, according to their ability, and they had also embellished it with a considerable quantity of gold and silver. Now the temple was despoiled of all its treasures. Great heaps of metal, where the soldiers, struck by remorse, had thrown pieces of uncoined brass, were found there after Hannibal's departure. All writers are agreed as to the plundering of this temple. Coelius tell us that Hannibal diverted his march to it while he was going from Eretum to Rome, after marching from Amiternum by Reate and Cutiliae. According to this writer, on leaving Capua, Hannibal entered Samnium, and from there passed to the Peligni; then, marching past the town of Sulmo, he crossed the frontiers of the Marrucini and then advanced through the Alban territory to the country of the Marsi, and from there to Amiternum and the hamlet of Foruli. There can be no uncertainty as to the route he took, for the traces of that great commander and his large army could not have been lost in so short a space of time; the only point at issue is whether that was the route he took when he marched to Rome or whether he followed it on his return to Campania.

The energy with which the Romans pressed the siege of Capua was far greater than that which Hannibal exhibited in its defence, for he hurried away through Lucania to Bruttium in the hope of surprising Regium. Though the siege was in no way relaxed during Fulvius' absence, his return made a sensible difference in the conduct of operations, and it was a matter of general surprise that Hannibal had not returned at the same time. The Capuans gradually learnt through their conversations with the besiegers that they were abandoned and left to themselves, and that the Carthaginians had given up all hope of saving Capua. In accordance with a resolution of the senate, the proconsul issued an edict which was published in the city, that any Campanian burgher who went over to the Romans before a certain day would be amnestied. Not a single man went over; their fears prevented them from trusting the Romans, for they had in their revolt committed crimes too great for any hope of pardon. But whilst no one would provide for his own safety by going over to the enemy, there was nothing done for the public safety in the way of wise or prudent counsel. The nobility had deserted their public duties; it was impossible to get together a meeting of the senate. The supreme magistracy was held by a man who conferred no honour on his office; on the contrary, his unfitness detracted from its authority and power. None of the nobility were to be seen in the forum, or indeed anywhere in public; they shut themselves up at home waiting for their country's downfall and their own destruction. All responsibility was thrown upon the commandants of the Punic garrison, Bostar and Hanno, and they were much more concerned for their own safety than for that of their supporters in the city. A communication was drawn up for the purpose of forwarding it to Hannibal, in which he was directly charged with surrendering Capua into the enemy's hands and exposing his garrison to every kind of torture. He had gone off, so the despatch hinted, to be out of the way, lest Capua should be taken before his eyes, The Romans could not be drawn off from besieging Capua even when an attack was threatened on their city; so much more determination did the Romans show as enemies, than the Carthaginians as friends. If Hannibal would return to Capua and turn the whole tide of war in that direction, then the garrison were prepared to make an attack on the besiegers. He had not crossed the Alps to make war with Regium or Tarentum; where the legions of Rome were, there ought the armies of Carthage to be. That was how he had conquered at Cannae, and at Thrasymenus, by meeting the enemy face to face, army to army, and trying his fortune in battle.

This was the main drift of the despatch. It was handed to some Numidians who had undertaken to carry it on promise of a reward. They had come into Fulvius' camp as deserters, intending to seize a favourable opportunity of slipping away, and the famine from which Capua had long been suffering was a very good reason why they should desert. A Campanian woman, however, the mistress of one of these deserters, suddenly appeared in the camp and informed the Roman commander that the Numidians had come in as part of a pre-arranged plot, and were really carrying a despatch to Hannibal, and that she was prepared to prove it, as one of them had disclosed the affair to her. When this man was brought forward, he at first stoutly denied all knowledge of the woman, but gradually he gave way before the truth, especially when he saw that instruments of torture were being sent for and got ready, and at last made a complete confession. The despatch was produced, and further evidence came to light, as it was found that other Numidians were at large in the Roman camp under the guise of deserters. Above seventy of them were arrested and together with the recent arrivals were all scourged, and their hands were cut off, after which they were sent back to Capua. The sight of this terrible punishment broke the spirit of the Capuans.

The people went in a body to the senate house and insisted on Loesius summoning the senate. They openly threatened the nobles who had so long absented themselves from the senate, that they would go round to their houses and drag them all by main force into the streets. These threats resulted in a full meeting of the senate. The general opinion was in favour of sending a deputation to the Roman commander, but Vibius Virrius, the prime author of the revolt from Rome, when asked his opinion, told those who were talking about a deputation and terms of peace and surrender that they were forgetting what they would have done had they had the Romans in their power, or what, as circumstances now were, they would have to suffer. "Why! ," he exclaimed, "do you imagine that our surrender now will be like the one we made in old days when, in order to get help against the Samnites, we surrendered ourselves and all that belonged to us to Rome? Have you already forgotten at what a critical moment for Rome we revolted from her? How we put to death with every torture and indignity the garrison which we could easily have sent away? What numerous and desperate sorties we have made against our besiegers, how we have assaulted their lines and called Hannibal in to crush them? Have you forgotten this last act of ours when we sent him to attack Rome ?

"Now look at the other side, consider their determined hostility to us and see if you have anything to hope for. Though there was a foreign enemy on Italian soil, and that enemy Hannibal, though the flames of war were being kindled in every quarter, they neglected everything, even Hannibal himself, and sent both the consuls, each with an army, to Capua. For two years now have they hemmed us in with their lines of circumvallation, and are wearing us down with famine. They have endured as much as we have in the extremity of peril, the utmost severity of toil; often have they been slaughtered about their entrenchments, and all but driven out of them. But I pass over these things; the labours and dangers of a siege are an old and common experience. But to show their rage and implacable hatred against us I will remind you of these incidents: Hannibal assaulted their lines with an enormous force of infantry and cavalry, and partly captured them, but they did not raise the siege; he crossed the Volturnus and desolated the district of Calenum with fire; the sufferings of their allies failed to call off the Romans; he ordered a general advance on Rome itself, they disregarded the threatening storm; he crossed the Anio and encamped within three miles of the City, and at last rode up to its walls and gates and made as though he would take their city from them if they did not loose their hold on Capua; they did not loose their hold. When wild beasts are mad with rage you can still divert their blind fury by approaching their lairs and young ones which they will hasten to defend. The Romans were not diverted from Capua by the prospect of their city being besieged, or by the terrified cries of their wives and children which could almost be heard here, or by the threatened desecration of their hearths and altars, of the shrines of their gods and the tombs of their ancestors. So eager are they to visit us with punishment, so greedily do they thirst for our blood. And, perhaps, rightly; we should have done the same had fortune favoured us.

"Heaven, however, has ordered otherwise, and so, though I am bound to meet my death in any case, I can, whilst I am still free, escape the insults and the tortures which the enemy is preparing for me, I can dispose of myself by a death as peaceful as it is honourable. I refuse to look upon Appius Claudius and Q. Fulvius exulting in all the insolence of victory; I refuse to be dragged in chains through the streets of Rome to grace their triumph, and then in the dungeon or bound to the stake, with my back torn with the scourge, pass under the headsman's axe. I will not see my city plundered and burnt, and the matrons and maidens and noble boys of Capua ravished and outraged. Alba, the mother city of Rome, was rased by the Romans to its foundations in order that no memorial of their origin and of the stock whence they sprung might survive; much less can I believe that they will spare Capua which they hate more bitterly than they hate Carthage. So, for those of you who intend to meet your fate before you witness all these horrors I have prepared a banquet today at my house. When you have taken your fill of food and wine, the same goblet that is handed to me will be passed round to you. That draught will free our bodies from torture, our spirits from insult, our eyes and ears from seeing and hearing all the suffering and outrage which await the vanquished. Men will be in readiness to place our lifeless bodies on a vast pile which will be kindled in the court-yard of the house. This is the only path to death which is honourable and worthy of free men. Even the enemy will admire our courage, and Hannibal will know that the allies whom he has abandoned and betrayed were, after all, brave men."

This speech of Virrius was received with approbation by many who had not the courage to carry out what they approved of. The majority of the senators were not without hope that the clemency of the Roman people so often experienced in former wars would be once more extended to them, and they determined to send envoys to make a formal surrender of Capua. About seven-and-twenty accompanied Virrius home and banqueted with him. When they had as far as possible deadened their feelings with wine against the sense of impending evil, they all partook of the poisoned cup. Then they rose from table and grasped each other's hands and took a last embrace of one another, weeping for their own and their country's doom. Some remained that they might be cremated together on the same funeral pyre, others departed for their homes. The congestion of the veins caused by the food and wine they had taken made the action of the poison somewhat slow, and most of them lingered through the whole night and part of the following day. All however, expired before the gates were opened to the enemy. The following day, the gate called "the Gate of Jupiter," opposite the Roman camp, was opened by the proconsul's order. One legion was admitted through it and two squadrons of allied cavalry, with C. Fulvius in command. First he took care that all the weapons of war in Capua were brought to him; then, after stationing guards at all the gates to prevent any exit or escape, he arrested the Punic garrison and ordered the senate to go to the Roman commanders. On their arrival in the camp they were manacled, and ordered to send word for all the gold and silver they possessed to be brought to the quaestors. This amounted to 2072 pounds of gold and 31,200 pounds of silver. Twenty-five senators were sent to be kept in custody at Cales, and twenty-eight who were proved to have been mainly instrumental in bringing about the revolt were sent to Teanum

As to the punishment to be meted out to the senators of Capua, Claudius and Fulvius were anything but unanimous. Claudius was prepared to grant them pardon, but Fulvius took a much sterner line. Appius Claudius wished to refer the whole question to the senate at Rome. He maintained that it was but right that the senators should have an opportunity of investigating all the circumstances and finding out whether the Capuans had made any of the allies or the Latins or the municipal burghs privy to their designs, and if so, whether any of these had given them assistance in the war. Fulvius, on the other hand, declared that the very last thing they ought to do was to harass their faithful allies by vague charges and put them at the mercy of informers who were perfectly indifferent as to what they said or what they did. Any such investigation therefore he should stifle. After this interchange of views they parted, Appius feeling no doubt that in spite of his violent language his comrade would, in such an important matter, await instructions from Rome. Fulvius, determined to forestall any such obstacle to his designs, dismissed the council and ordered the military tribunes and the officers of the allies to select 2000 horsemen and warn them to be in readiness by the time the third watch was sounded. Starting with this force in the night, he reached Teanum at day-break and rode straight into the forum. A crowd had collected at the first entry of the cavalry, and Fulvius ordered the chief magistrate of the district to be summoned, and on his appearance commanded him to produce the Capuans who were in his custody. They were all brought forward and then scourged and beheaded. Then putting spurs to his horse he rode to Cales. When he had taken his seat on the tribunal and the Capuans who had been brought out were being bound to the stake, a mounted messenger arrived post-haste from Rome and handed Fulvius a despatch from the praetor C. Calpurnius containing the decree of the senate. The spectators guessed the nature of the contents, and those standing round the tribunal expressed their belief-a belief which soon found expression throughout the Assembly-that the whole question of the treatment of the Capuan prisoners was to be left to the senate. Fulvius thought so too; he took the letter and without opening it placed it in his breast and then ordered his marshal to tell the lictor to carry out the law. Thus, those who were at Cales were also executed. Now he read the despatch and the decree of the senate. But it was too late to prevent a deed accomplished, which had been hurried on as quickly as possible in order that it might not be prevented. Just as Fulvius was leaving the tribunal a Capuan named Taurea Vibellius strode through the middle of the crowd and addressed him by name. Fulvius resumed his seat, wondering what the man wanted. "Order me too," he cried, to be put to death so that you may boast of having caused the death of a braver man than yourself." Fulvius declared that the man was certainly out of his mind, and added that even if he wished to kill him he was prevented from doing so by the decree of the senate. Then Vibellius exclaimed, "Now that my native city has been taken, my friends and relations lost to me, my wife and children slain by my own hand to save them from insult and outrage, and since even the opportunity of dying as my fellow-countrymen here have died is refused me, let me seek in courage a release from the life which has become so hateful to me." With these words he drew out a sword which he had concealed in his garment, and plunging it into his heart fell dying at the general's feet.

As the execution of the Capuans and most of the other steps taken were carried out by the instructions of Fulvius alone, some authors assert that Appius Claudius died immediately after the surrender of Capua. According to this account, Taurea did not come voluntarily to Cales, nor did he perish by his own hand; when he had been tied to the stake along with the others he shouted repeatedly, and as owing to the noise they could not hear what he was saying, Fulvius ordered silence. Then Taurea said, as I have already related, that he was being done to death by a man who was far from being his equal in courage. At these words, the marshal, on the proconsul's order gave this direction to the lictor: "Lictor, let this brave man have more of the rod, and execute the law upon him first of all." Some authors assert that the decree of the senate was read before the men were beheaded, but there was a proviso in it to the effect that if he thought fit, he might refer the question to the senate, and Fulvius took this to mean that he was at liberty to decide as to what would be the best course in the interests of the republic. After Fulvius returned to Capua, he received the submission of Atella and Calatia. Here too the ringleaders in the revolt were punished; seventy of the leading senators were put to death, and three hundred Campanian nobles thrown into prison. Others who were distributed amongst the various Latin cities to be kept in custody perished from various causes; the rest of the population of Capua were sold as slaves. The question now was what was to be done with the city and its territory. Some were of opinion that a city so strong, so near to Rome and so hostile to it, ought to be utterly destroyed. Utilitarian considerations however prevailed. The territory was generally allowed to be the first in Italy in point of productiveness, and the only reason why the city was spared was that there might be a place for the tillers of the soil to live in. A motley throng of peasants, freedmen, small tradesmen and artisans were told off to occupy the place; the whole of the territory with the buildings on it became the property of the Roman State. It was settled that Capua itself should be simply a lodgment and a shelter, a city merely in name; there was to be no corporate life, no senate, no council of the plebs, no magistrates; the population were without any right of public assembly or self-government; they had no common interest and were incapable of taking any common action. The administration of justice was in the hands of a praetor who was to be sent annually from Rome. In this way matters were arranged at Capua in pursuance of a policy which commends itself from every point of view. Sternly and swiftly was punishment meted out to those who had been most guilty, the civic population was scattered far and wide with no hope of return, the unoffending walls and houses were spared from the ravages of fire and demolition. The preservation of the city, whilst it was a material advantage to Rome, afforded to the friendly communities a striking proof of her lenity; the whole of Campania and all the surrounding nationalities would have been horror-struck at the destruction of such a famous and wealthy city. The enemy, on the other hand, was made to realise the power of Rome to punish those who were faithless to her, and the powerlessness of Hannibal to protect those who had gone over to him.

Now that the senate was relieved from its anxiety about Capua, it was able to turn its attention to Spain. A force of 6000 infantry and 300 cavalry was placed at Nero's disposal, and he selected it from the two legions he had had with him at Capua; an equal number of infantry and 600 cavalry were to be furnished by the allies. He embarked his army at Puteoli and landed at Tarraco. Here he hauled his ships ashore and furnished the crews with arms, thus augmenting his strength. With this composite force he marched to the Ebro and took over the army there from Ti. Fonteius and L. Marcius. He then advanced against the enemy. Hasdrubal-Hamilcar's son-was encamped at the Lapides Atri (the "Black Boulders"). This is a place in the Auretanian country between the towns of Iliturgis and Mentissa. Nero occupied the two exits of the pass. Hasdrubal, finding himself shut in, sent a herald to promise in his name that he would deport the whole of his army from Spain if he were allowed to leave his position. The Roman general was glad to accept the offer, and Hasdrubal asked for an interview the following day. At this conference they were to draw up in writing the terms upon which the various citadels were to be handed over, and the date at which the garrisons were to be withdrawn, on the understanding that they should take with them all their goods and chattels.

His request was granted, and Hasdrubal ordered the most heavily armed portion of his army to get out of the pass as best they could as soon as darkness set in. He was careful to see that not very many went out that night, as a small body would make but little noise and be more likely to escape observation. They would also find their way more easily through the narrow and difficult foot-paths. The next day he kept the appointment, but so much time was taken up in discussing and writing down a number of things which had nothing to do with the matters they had agreed to discuss, that the whole day was lost and the business adjourned till the morrow. So another opportunity was afforded him of sending off a fresh body of troops by night. The discussion was not brought to a close the next day, and so it went on; several days were occupied in discussing terms, and the nights in despatching the Carthaginians secretly from their camp. When the greater part of the army had escaped, Hasdrubal no longer kept to the conditions which he had himself proposed, and there was less and less desire to come to terms as his sincerity diminished with his fears. Almost the entire force of infantry had now got out of the defile when, at daybreak, a dense fog covered the valley and the whole of the surrounding country. No sooner did Hasdrubal become aware of this than he sent a message to Nero begging that the interview might be put off for that day as it was a day on which the Carthaginians were forbidden by their religion to transact any important business. Even this did not arouse any suspicion of trickery. On learning that he would be excused for that day, Hasdrubal promptly left his camp with the cavalry and elephants, and by keeping his movements secret, emerged into safety. About ten o'clock the sun dispersed the mist, and the Romans saw that the hostile camp was deserted. Then, recognising at last the trick which the Carthaginian had played upon him and how he had been befooled, Nero hurriedly prepared to follow him and force him to an engagement. The enemy, however, declined battle; only a few skirmishes took place between the Carthaginian rear and the Roman advanced guard.

The Spanish tribes who had revolted after the defeat of the two Scipios showed no signs of returning to their allegiance; there were not, however, any fresh instances. After the recovery of Capua the public interest both in senate and people centered in Spain quite as much as in Italy; and it was decided that the army serving there should be increased and a commander-in-chief appointed. There was, however, much uncertainty felt as to whom they ought to appoint. Two consummate generals had fallen within thirty days of each other, and the selection of a man to take their place demanded exceptional care. Various names were proposed, and at last it was arranged that the matter should be left to the people, and a proconsul for Spain formally elected. The consuls fixed a day for the election. They were in hopes that those who felt themselves qualified for such an important command would become candidates. They were, however, disappointed, and the disappointment renewed the grief of the people, as they thought of the defeats they had sustained and the generals they had lost. The citizens were depressed, almost in despair, nevertheless they went out to the Campus Martius on the day fixed for the election. All turned their eyes to the magistrates and watched the expression of the leaders of the republic as they looked enquiringly at one another. Everywhere men were saying that the State was in such a hopeless condition that no one dared to accept the command in Spain. Suddenly, Publius Cornelius Scipio, the son of the Scipio who had fallen in Spain, a young man barely twenty-four years old, took his stand upon a slight eminence where he could be seen and heard, and announced himself as a candidate. All eyes were turned towards him, and the delighted cheers with which his announcement was received were at once interpreted as an omen of his future good fortune and success. On proceeding to vote, not only the centuries but even the individual voters were unanimous to a man in favour of entrusting P. Scipio with the supreme command in Spain. When, however, the election was decided and their enthusiasm had had time to cool down, there was a sudden silence as the people began to reflect on what they had done, and ask themselves whether their personal affection for him might not have got the better of their judgment. What gave them the greatest concern was his youth. Some, too, recalled with dread the fortune that had attended his house, and regarded as ominous of evil even the name of the man who was quitting two bereaved families in order to carry on a campaign round the tombs of his uncle and his father.

Seeing how the step which they had taken so impetuously now filled them with anxiety, Scipio called the voters together and spoke to them about his age and the command which they had entrusted to him, and the war which he had to conduct. He spoke in such lofty and glowing words that he evoked their enthusiasm once more, and inspired them with more hopeful confidence than is usually called out by faith in men's promises or by reasonable anticipations of success. Scipio won people's admiration not only by the sterling qualities which he possessed, but also by his cleverness in displaying them, a cleverness which he had developed from early youth. In his public life he generally spoke and acted as though he were guided either by visions of the night or by some divine inspiration, whether it was that he was really open to superstitious influences or that he claimed oracular sanction for his commands and counsels in order to secure prompt adoption. He sought to create this impression on men's minds from the beginning, from the day when he assumed the toga virilis, for he never undertook any important business, either public or private, without first going to the Capitol, where he sat for some time in the temple in privacy and alone. This custom, which he kept up all through his life, gave rise to a widespread belief, whether designedly upon his part or not, that he was of divine origin, and the story was told of him which was commonly related of Alexander-a story as silly as it was fabulous-that he was begotten by an enormous serpent which had been often seen in his mother's bedroom, but on any one's approach, suddenly uncoiled itself and disappeared. The belief in these marvels was never scoffed at by him; on the contrary, it was strengthened by deliberate policy on his part in refusing to deny or to admit that anything of the kind ever occurred. There were many other traits in this young man's character, some of which were genuine, others the result of studied acting, which created a greater admiration for him than usually falls to the lot of man.

It was the confidence with which he had in this way inspired his fellow-citizens that led them to entrust to him, young as he was, a task of enormous difficulty, and a command which involved the gravest responsibilities. The force which he had formed out of the old army in Spain, and that which sailed from Puteoli with C. Nero, were further reinforced by 10,000 infantry and 1000 cavalry. M. Junius Silanus was appointed as his second in command. Setting sail from the mouth of the Tiber with a fleet of thirty vessels, all quinqueremes, he coasted along the Etruscan shore, crossed the Gulf of Gaul, and after rounding the Pyrenaean Promontory brought up at Emporiae, a Greek city, founded by settlers from Phocaea. Here he disembarked his troops and proceeded overland to Tarraco, leaving orders for his fleet to follow his movements. At Tarraco he was met by deputations which had been sent from all the friendly tribes as soon as they knew of his coming. The vessels were hauled ashore, and the four Massilian triremes which had acted as convoy were sent home. The deputations informed Scipio of the unsettlement amongst their tribes due to the varying fortunes of the war. He replied in a bold and assured tone, full of self-confidence, but no expression savouring of presumption or arrogance escaped him, everything he said was marked by perfect dignity and sincerity.

Tarraco was now his headquarters. From there he paid visits to the friendly tribes, and also inspected the winter quarters of the army. He praised them warmly for having maintained their hold on the province after sustaining two such terrible blows, and also for keeping the enemy to the south of the Ebro, thereby depriving them of any advantages from their victories, and also affording protection to their own friends. Marcius, whom he kept with him, he treated with so much honour that it was perfectly obvious that Scipio had not the slightest fear of his reputation being dimmed by anybody. Soon afterwards Silanus succeeded Nero and the new troops were sent into winter quarters. After making all the necessary visits and inspections and completing the preparations for the next campaign Scipio returned to Tarraco. His reputation was quite as great among the enemy as among his own countrymen; there was amongst the former a foreboding, a vague sense of fear which was all the stronger because no reason for it could be given. The Carthaginian armies withdrew into their respective winter-quarters: Hasdrubal, the son of Gisgo, to Gades on the coast, Mago into the interior above the forest of Castulo, Hasdrubal, the son of Hamilcar, near the Ebro in the neighbourhood of Saguntum. This summer, marked by two important events, the recovery of Capua and the despatch of Scipio to Spain, was drawing to a close when a Carthaginian fleet was sent from Sicily to Tarentum to intercept supplies from the Roman garrison in the citadel. It certainly succeeded in blocking all access to the citadel from the sea, but the longer it remained the greater was the scarcity amongst the townspeople as compared with that amongst the Romans in the citadel. For though the coast was clear and open access was secured to the harbour by the Carthaginian fleet, it was impossible to convey to the population of the city as much corn as was consumed by the crowd of sailors, drawn from every class, on board the fleet. The garrison in the citadel, on the other hand, being only a small body, were able to exist on what they had previously laid in, without any external supply. At length the ships were sent away, and their departure was hailed with more delight than their arrival had been. But the scarcity was not in the slightest degree lessened, for when their protection was withdrawn, corn could not be brought in at all.

Towards the end of this summer M. Marcellus left Sicily for Rome. On his arrival in the City he was granted an audience of the senate in the Temple of Bellona. After giving a report of his campaign and gently protesting on his own behalf and on that of his soldiers against not being allowed to bring them home, though he had completely pacified the province, he requested to be allowed to enter the City in triumph. After a lengthy debate his request was refused. On the one hand, it was argued, it was most inconsistent to refuse him a triumph now that he was on the spot after the way in which the news of his successes in Sicily had been received, and public thanksgivings and special rites ordered while he was still in his province. Against this it was alleged that as the senate had ordered him to hand over his army to his successor, it was a proof that a state of war still existed in the province, and he could not enjoy a triumph since he had not brought the war to a close, nor was his army present to testify as to whether he deserved a triumph or not. They decided upon a middle course, he was to be allowed an ovation. The tribunes of the plebs were authorised by the senate to propose as an ordinance to the people "that for the day on which he entered the City in ovation M. Marcellus should retain his command."

The day previous to this he celebrated his triumph on the Alban Mount. From there he marched into the City in ovation. An enormous quantity of spoil was carried before him together with a model of Syracuse at the time of its capture. Catapults and ballistae and all the engines of war taken from the city were exhibited in the procession, as were also the works of art which had been accumulated in royal profusion during the long years of peace. These included a number of articles in silver and bronze, pieces of furniture, costly garments and many famous statues with which Syracuse, like all the principal cities of Greece, had been adorned. To signalise his victories over the Carthaginians eight elephants were led in the procession. Not the least conspicuous feature of the spectacle was the sight of Sosis the Syracusan and Moericus the Spaniard who marched in front wearing golden crowns. The former had guided the nocturnal entry into Syracuse, the latter had been the agent in the surrender of Nasos and its garrison. Each of these men received the full Roman citizenship and 500 jugera of land. Sosis was to take his allotment in that part of the Syracusan territory which had belonged to the king or to those who had taken up arms against Rome, and he was allowed to choose any house in Syracuse which had been the property of those who had been put to death under the laws of war. A further order was made that Moericus and the Spaniards should have assigned to them a city and lands in Sicily out of the possessions of those who had revolted from Rome. M. Cornelius was commissioned to select the city and territory for them, where he thought best, and 400 jugera in the same district were also decreed as a gift to Belligenes through whose instrumentality Moericus had been induced to change sides. After Marcellus' departure from Sicily a Carthaginian fleet landed a force of 8000 infantry and 3000 Numidian horse. The cities of Murgentia and Ergetium revolted to them, and their example was followed by Hybla and Macella and some other less important places. Muttines and his Numidians were also roaming all through the island and laying waste the fields of Rome's allies with fire. To add to these troubles the Roman army bitterly resented not being withdrawn from the province with their commander and also not being allowed to winter in the towns. Consequently they were very remiss in their military duties; in fact it was only the absence of a leader that prevented them from breaking out into open mutiny. In spite of these difficulties the praetor M. Cornelius succeeded by remonstrances and reassurances in calming the temper of his men, and then reduced all the revolted cities to submission. In pursuance of the senate's orders he selected Murgentia, one of those cities, for the settlement of Moericus and his Spaniards.

As both the consuls had Apulia for their province, and as there was less danger from Hannibal and his Carthaginians, they received instructions to ballot for Apulia and Macedonia. Macedonia fell to Sulpicius, and he superseded Laevinus. Fulvius was recalled to conduct the consular elections in Rome. The Veturian century of juniors was the first to vote, and they declared for T. Manlius Torquatus and T. Otacilius, the latter being at the time absent from Rome. The voters began to press round Manlius to congratulate him, regarding his election as a certainty, but he at once proceeded, surrounded by a large crowd, to the consul's tribunal and begged to be allowed to make a brief speech and also asked that the century which had voted might be recalled. When all were on the tiptoe of expectation to learn what he wanted, he began by excusing himself on the score of his eyesight. "A man must have little sense of shame," he continued "whether he be pilot of a ship or commander of an army, who asks that the lives and fortunes of others should be committed to him when, in all he does, he has to depend upon other people's eyes. If, therefore, you approve, order the Veturian century of juniors to cast their vote again, and to remember, whilst they are choosing their consuls, the war in Italy and the critical position of the republic. Your ears can hardly yet have recovered from the uproar and confusion caused by the enemy a few months ago, when he brought the flames of war almost up to the very walls of Rome." The century replied with a general shout that they had not changed their minds, they should vote as before. Then Torquatus said, "I shall not be able to tolerate your manners and conduct, nor will you submit to my authority. Go back and vote again, and bear in mind that the Carthaginians are carrying war in Italy, and that their leader is Hannibal." Then the century, swayed by the speaker's personal authority and by the murmurs of admiration which they heard all around them, begged the consul to call up the Veturian century of seniors, as they wished to consult their elders and be guided by their advice in the choice of consuls. They were accordingly called up and an interval was allowed for the two bodies to consult privately in the ovile. The seniors maintained that the choice really lay between three men, two of them already full of honours-Q. Fabius and M. Marcellus-and, if they particularly wished a new man to be appointed consul to act against the Carthaginians, M. Valerius Laevinus, who had conducted operations against Philip both by sea and land with conspicuous success. So they discussed the claims of these three, and after the seniors had withdrawn the juniors proceeded to vote. They gave their vote in favour of M. Marcellus Claudius, resplendent with the glory of his conquest of Sicily, and, as the second consul, M. Valerius. Neither of them had put in a personal appearance. The other centuries all followed the leading century. People nowadays may laugh at the admirers of antiquity. I for my part do not believe it possible, even if there ever existed a commonwealth of wise men such as philosophers dream of but have never really known, that there could be an aristocracy more grave or more temperate in their desire for power or a people with purer manners and a higher moral tone. That a century of juniors should have been anxious to consult their seniors as to whom they were to place in supreme authority is a thing hardly credible in these days, when we see in what contempt children hold the authority of their parents.

Then followed the election of praetors. The successful candidates were P. Manlius Vulso, L. Manlius Acidinus, C. Laetorius and L. Cincius Alimentus. When the elections were over news came of the death of T. Otacilius in Sicily. He was the man whom the people would have given to T. Manlius as his colleague in the consulship, if the order of the proceedings had not been interrupted. The Games of Apollo had been exhibited the previous year, and when the question of their repetition the next year was moved by the praetor Calpurnius, the senate passed a decree that they should be observed for all time. Some portents were observed this year and duly reported. The statue of victory which stood on the roof of the temple of Concord was struck by lightning and thrown down on to the statues of Victory which stood above the facade in front of the pediment, and here it was caught and prevented from falling lower. At Anagnia and Fregellae the walls and gates were reported to have been struck. In the forum of Subertum streams of blood had flowed for a whole day. At Eretium there was a shower of stones and at Reate a mule had produced offspring. These portents were expiated by sacrifices of full-grown victims; a day was appointed for special intercessions and the people were ordered to join in solemn rites for nine days. Some members of the national priesthood died this year, and others were appointed in their stead. Manlius Aemilius Numida, one of the Keepers of the Sacred Books, was succeeded by M. Aemilius Lepidus. C. Livius was appointed pontiff in the room of M. Pomponius Matho, and M. Servilius, augur, in the place of Spurius Carvilius Maximus. The death of the pontiff T. Otacilius Crassus did not occur before the close of the year, so no one was appointed in his place. C. Claudius, one of the Flamens of Jupiter, was guilty of irregularity in laying the selected parts of the victim on the altar and consequently resigned his office.

M. Valerius Laevinus had been holding private interviews with some of the leading Aetolians with the view of ascertaining their political leanings. It was arranged that a meeting of their national council should be convened to meet him, and thither he proceeded with some fast-sailing vessels. He commenced his address to the assembly by alluding to the captures of Syracuse and Capua as instances of the success which had attended the arms of Rome in Sicily and Italy, and then proceeded: "It is the practice of the Romans, a practice handed down from their ancestors, to cultivate the friendship of other nations; some of them they have received into citizenship on the same footing as themselves; others they have allowed to remain under such favourable conditions that they preferred alliance to full citizenship. You, Aetolians, will be held in all the greater honour because you will have been the first of all the oversea nations to establish friendly relations with us. Philip and the Macedonians you find to be troublesome neighbours; I have already dealt a fatal blow to their ambitions and aggressiveness, and I shall reduce them to such a pass that they will not only evacuate those cities which they have wrested from you, but will have enough to do to defend Macedonia itself. The Acarnanians, too, whose secession from your league you feel so keenly, I shall bring back to the old terms by which your rights and suzerainty over them were guaranteed." These assertions and promises of the Roman commander were supported by Scopas, the chief magistrate of Aetolia at the time, and by Dorimachus, a leading man amongst them, both of whom from their official position spoke with authority. They were less reserved, and adopted a more confident tone as they extolled the power and greatness of Rome. What weighed most, however, with the Assembly was the hope of becoming masters of Acarnania.

The terms on which they were to become the friends and allies of Rome were reduced to writing and an additional clause was inserted that if it was their will and pleasure the Eleans and Lacedaemonians as well as Attalus, Pleuratus and Scerdilaedus might be included in the treaty. Attalus was king of Pergamum in Asia Minor; Pleuratus, king of the Thracians; Scerdilaedus, king of the Illyrians. The Aetolians were at once to commence war with Philip on land, and the Roman general would assist them with not less than twenty-five quinqueremes. The territories, buildings and walls of all the cities as far as Corcyra were to become the property of the Aetolians, all the other booty was to go to the Romans, who were also to be responsible for Acarnania passing under the dominion of the Aetolians. Should the Aetolians make peace with Philip, one of the conditions was to be that he would abstain from hostilities against Rome and her allies and dependencies. Similarly, if the Romans made a treaty with him it was to be a provision that he should not be allowed to make war upon the Aetolians and their allies. These were the agreed conditions, and after a lapse of two years, copies of the treaty were deposited by the Aetolians at Olympia, and by the Romans in the Capitol, in order that the sacred memorials round them might be a perpetual witness to their obligation. The reason for this delay was that the Aetolian envoys had been detained for a considerable time in Rome. No time, however, was lost in commencing hostilities, and Laevinus attacked Zacynthus. This is a small island adjacent to Aetolia, and it contains one city of the same name as the island; this city, with the exception of its citadel, Laevinus captured. He also took two cities belonging to the Acarnanians-Oeniadae and Nasos-and handed them over to the Aetolians. After this he withdrew to Corcyra, feeling satisfied that Philip had enough on his hands with the war on his frontiers to prevent him from thinking about Italy and the Carthaginians and his compact with Hannibal.

Philip was wintering in Pella when the news of the defection of the Aetolians reached him. He had intended to march into Greece at the beginning of the spring, and with the view of keeping the Illyrians and the cities adjacent to his western frontier quiet he made a sudden invasion into the territories of Oricum and Apollonia. The men of Apollonia came out to give battle, but he drove them back in great panic to their walls. After devastating the neighbouring district of Illyria, he turned swiftly into Pelagonia and captured Sintia, a city of the Dardani, which gave them easy access into Macedonia. After these rapid incursions he turned his attention to the war which the Aetolians, in conjunction with the Romans, were commencing against him. Marching through Pelagonia, Lyncus and Bottiaea he descended into Thessaly, whose population he hoped to rouse to joint action with him against the Aetolians. Leaving Perseus with a force of 4000 men to hold the pass into Thessaly against them he returned to Macedonia, before engaging in the more serious contest, and from there marched into Thrace to attack the Maedi. This tribe were in the habit of making incursions into Macedonia whenever they found the king occupied with some distant war and his kingdom unprotected. To break their aggressiveness he devastated their country, and attacked Iamphoryna, their chief city and stronghold.

When Scopas heard that the king had gone into Thessaly, and was engaged in hostilities there, he called up all the fighting men of Aetolia and prepared to invade Acarnania. The Acarnanians were inferior to their enemy in strength; they were also aware that Oeniadae and Nasos were lost, and above all, that the arms of Rome were turned against them. Under these circumstances they entered upon the struggle more in a spirit of rage and despair than with prudence and method. Their wives and children and all men over sixty years of age were sent into the adjoining country of Epirus. All who were between fifteen and sixty bound themselves by oath not to return home unless they were victorious, and if any one left the field, defeated, no man should receive him into any city or house or admit him to his table or his hearth. They drew up a form of words, invoking a terrible curse upon any of their countrymen who should prove recreants, and a most solemn appeal to their hosts, the Epirotes, to respect their oath. They also begged them to bury those of their countrymen who fell in battle in one common grave and place over it this inscription: "Here lie the Acarnanians who met their death whilst fighting for their country against the violence and injustice of the Aetolians." In this determined and desperate mood, they fixed their camp on the extreme limit of their borders and awaited the enemy. Messengers were despatched to Philip to announce their critical situation, and in spite of his recapture of Iamphoryna and other successes in Thrace he was compelled to abandon his northern campaign and go to their assistance. Rumours of the oath which the Acarnanians had taken arrested the advance of the Aetolians; the news of Philip's approach compelled them to withdraw into the interior of their country. Philip had made a forced march to prevent the Acarnanians from being crushed, but he did not advance beyond Dium, and on learning that the Aetolians had retired he returned to Pella.

At the beginning of spring Laevinus set sail from Corcyra and after rounding the promontory of Leucata reached Naupactus. He announced that he was going on to attack Anticyra, so that Scopas and the Aetolians might be ready for him there. Anticyra is situated in Locris, on the left hand as you enter the Corinthian Gulf, and is only a short distance either by sea or land from Naupactus. In three days the attack began in both directions; the naval attack was the heavier one because the ships were furnished with artillery and engines of every kind, and it was the Romans who were delivering the attack on this side. In a few days the place surrendered and was made over to the Aetolians; the booty in accordance with the treaty became the property of the Romans. During the siege a despatch was handed to Laevinus informing him that he had been made consul, and that P. Sulpicius was coming to succeed him. Whilst he was there he was overtaken by a tedious illness, and consequently arrived in Rome much later than was expected. M. Marcellus entered upon his consulship on March 15, and in order to comply with traditional usage summoned a meeting of the senate on the same day. The meeting was a purely formal one; he announced that in his colleague's absence he should not submit any proposals either in respect of the policy of the State or the assignment of provinces. "I am quite aware," he told the senators, "that there are a large body of Sicilians quartered in the country houses of my detractors round the City. I have no intention of preventing them from publishing here in Rome the charges which have been got up by my enemies; on the contrary, I was prepared to give them an immediate opportunity of appearing before the senate had they not pretended to be afraid of speaking about a consul in his colleague's absence. When, however, my colleague has come I shall not allow any business to be discussed before the Sicilians have been brought into the senate house. M. Cornelius has issued what is practically a formal summons throughout the island in order that as many as possible might come to Rome to lay their complaints against me. He has filled the City with letters containing false information about a state of war existing in Sicily, solely that he may tarnish my reputation." The consul's speech won for him the reputation of being a man of moderation and self-control. The senate adjourned, and it seemed as though there would be a total suspension of business pending the other consul's arrival. As usual, idleness led to discontent and grumbling. The plebs were loud in their complaints about the way the war dragged on, the devastation of the land round the City wherever Hannibal and his army moved, the exhaustion of Italy by the constant levies, the almost annual destruction of their armies. And now the new consuls were both of them fond of war, far too enterprising and ambitious, quite capable, even in a time of peace and quiet, of getting up a war, and now that war was actually going on all the less likely to allow the citizens any respite or breathing space.

All this talk was suddenly interrupted by a fire which broke out in the night in several places round the Forum on the eve of the Quinquatrus. Seven shops which were afterwards replaced by five were burning at the same time, as well as the offices where the New Banks now stand. Soon after, private buildings-the Basilicae did not yet exist-the Lautumiae, the Fish Market and the Hall of Vesta were alight. It was with the utmost difficulty that the Temple of Vesta was saved, mainly through the exertions of thirteen slaves, who were afterwards manumitted at the public cost. The fire raged all through the next day and there was not the smallest doubt that it was the work of incendiaries, for fires started simultaneously in several different places. The senate accordingly authorised the consul to give public notice that whoever disclosed the names of those through whose agency the conflagration had been started should, if he were a freeman, receive a reward, if a slave, his liberty. Tempted by the offer of a reward, a slave belonging to the Capuan family of the Calavii, called Manus, gave information to the effect that his masters, together with five young Capuan nobles, whose fathers had been beheaded by Q. Fulvius, had caused the fire and were prepared to commit every description of crime if they were not arrested. They and their slaves were at once apprehended. At first they endeavoured to throw suspicion upon the informer and his statement. It was asserted that after being beaten by his master, the day before he gave information, he had run away and had made out of an occurrence which was really accidental the foundation of a false charge. When, however, the accused and accuser were brought face to face and the slaves were examined under torture, they all confessed. The masters as well as the slaves who had been their accessories were all executed. The informer was rewarded with his liberty and 20,000 ases.

When Laevinus was passing Capua on his way to Rome he was surrounded by a crowd of the inhabitants who implored him with tears to allow them to go to Rome and try if they could not awaken the compassion of the senate and persuade them not to allow Q. Flaccus to ruin them utterly and efface their name. Flaccus declared that he had no personal feeling against the Capuans, it was as public enemies that he regarded them, and should continue to do so as long as he knew that they maintained their present attitude towards Rome. He had shut them up, he said, within their walls, because if they got out anywhere they would prowl about the country like wild beasts, and mangle and murder whatever came in their way. Some had deserted to Hannibal, others had gone off to burn down Rome. The consul would see in the half-burnt Forum the result of their crime. They had tried to destroy the temple of Vesta, with its perpetual fire, and the image which was concealed in the sacred shrine-that image which Fate had decreed to be the pledge and guarantee of Roman dominion. He considered that it would be anything but safe to give the Capuans a chance of entering the City. After hearing this Laevinus made the Capuans take an oath to Flaccus that they would return within five days after receiving the reply of the senate. Then he ordered them to follow him to Rome. Surrounded by this crowd and by a number of Sicilians who had also met him, he entered the City. It seemed just as though he were bringing in a body of accusers against the two commanders who had distinguished themselves by the destruction of two famous cities and who would now have to defend themselves against those they had vanquished.

The first questions, however, which the two consuls brought before the senate were those relating to foreign policy and the allocation of the various commands. Laevinus made his report on the situation in Macedonia and Greece, and the unrest amongst the Aetolians, the Acarnanians and the Locrians. He also gave details as to his own military and naval movements, and stated that he had driven Philip, who was meditating an attack on the Aetolians, back into the interior of his kingdom. The legion could now be safely withdrawn, as the fleet was sufficient to protect Italy from any attempt on the part of the king. After this statement about himself and the province of which he had had charge, he and his colleague raised the question of the various commands. The senate made the following dispositions. One consul was to operate in Italy against Hannibal; the other was to succeed T. Otacilius in command of the fleet and also to administer Sicily with L. Cincius as praetor. They were to take over the armies in Etruria and Gaul, each of which comprised two legions. The two City legions which the consul Sulpicius had commanded the previous year were sent to Gaul, and the consul who was to act in Italy was to appoint to the command in Gaul. C. Calpurnius had his office of propraetor extended for a year, and was sent into Etruria, Q. Fulvius also received a year's extension of his command at Capua. The composite force of citizens and allies was reduced, one strong legion being formed out of the two; this consisted of 5000 infantry and 300 cavalry, those who had served longest being sent home. The army of the allies was reduced to 7000 infantry and 300 cavalry, the same rule being observed as to the release of the veterans who had seen the longest service. In the case of the retiring consul, Cn. Fulvius, no change was made; he retained his army and his province, Apulia, for another year. His late colleague, P. Sulpicius, received orders to disband his entire army with the exception of the naval force. Similarly the army which M. Cornelius had commanded was to be sent home from Sicily. The men of Cannae, who practically represented two legions, were still to remain in the island, under the command of the praetor L. Cincius. L. Cornelius had commanded the same number of legions the previous year in Sardinia, and these were now transferred to the praetor P. Manlius Vulso. The consuls received instructions to see that in raising the City legions, none were enrolled who had been in the army of M. Valerius, or in that of Q. Fulvius. So the total number of Roman legions in active service that year was not to exceed one-and-twenty.

When the senate had finished making the appointments, the consuls were ordered to ballot for their commands. Sicily and the fleet fell to Marcellus, Italy and the campaign against Hannibal to Laevinus. This result utterly appalled the Sicilians, to whom it seemed as though all the horrors of the capture of Syracuse were to be repeated. They were standing in full view of the consuls, waiting anxiously for the result of the balloting, and when they saw how it was decided, they broke out into loud laments and cries of distress, which drew the eyes of all upon them for the moment, and became the subject of much comment afterwards. Clothing themselves in mourning garb they visited the houses of the senators and assured each of them in turn that if Marcellus went back to Sicily with the power and authority of a consul they would every one of them abandon his city and quit the island for ever. He had, they said, before shown himself vindictive and implacable towards them; what would he do now, furious as he was at the Sicilians who had come to Rome to complain of him? It would be better for the island to be buried beneath the fires of Aetna or plunged in the depths of the sea than to be given up to such an enemy to wreak his rage and vengeance on it. These remonstrances of the Sicilians were made to individual nobles in their own homes, and gave rise to lively discussions, in which sympathy with the sufferers and hostile sentiments towards Marcellus were freely expressed. At last they reached the senate. The consuls were requested to consult that body as to the advisability of a rearrangement of the provinces. In addressing the House Marcellus said that had the Sicilians been already admitted to an audience he would have taken a different line, but as matters stood, he did not wish it to be open to any one to say that they were afraid to lay their complaints against the man in whose power they would shortly be placed. If, therefore, it made no difference to his colleague he was prepared to exchange provinces with him. He begged the senate not to make any order, for since it would have been unfair to him for his colleague to have chosen his province without recourse to the ballot, how much more unfair and even humiliating to him would it be now to have the province which had fallen to him formally transferred to his colleague! After indicating their wish, without embodying it in a decree, the senate adjourned, and the consuls themselves arranged to exchange provinces. Marcellus was being hurried on by his destiny to meet Hannibal, in order that, as he was the first Roman general to win the distinction of a successful action with him after so many disastrous ones, so he would be the last to contribute to the Carthaginian's reputation by his own fall, and that just at the time when the war was going most favourably for the Romans.

When the exchange of provinces had been decided, the Sicilians were introduced into the senate. After expatiating at some length upon the unbroken loyalty of Hiero to Rome, and claiming the credit of it for the people rather than for the king, they proceeded: "There were many reasons for the hatred we felt towards Hieronymus and afterwards towards Hippocrates and Epicydes, but the principal one was their abandoning Rome for Hannibal. It was this that led some of the foremost of our younger men to assassinate Hieronymus close to the senate-house, and also induced some seventy who belonged to our noblest houses to form a plot for the destruction of Epicydes and Hippocrates. As Marcellus failed to support them by bringing up his army to Syracuse at the time he promised, the plot was disclosed by an informer, and they were all put to death by the tyrants. Marcellus was really responsible for the tyranny, owing to his ruthless sacking of Leontium. From that time the Syracusan leaders never ceased to go over to Marcellus and undertake to deliver up the city to him whenever he wished. He would rather have taken it by storm, but when all his attempts by sea and land failed, and he saw that the thing was impossible, he chose as agents of the surrender an artisan called Sosis and the Spaniard Moericus, rather than let the leaders of the city, who had so often offered in vain to do so, undertake the task. No doubt he considered that he would thus have more justification for plundering and massacring the friends of Rome. Even if the revolt to Hannibal had been the act of senate and people and not simply of Hieronymus; if it had been the government of Syracuse who closed the gates against Marcellus, and not the tyrants Hippocrates and Epicydes who had ousted the government; if we had warred against Rome in the spirit and temper of the Carthaginians, what greater severity could Marcellus have shown towards us than that which he actually practiced, unless he had blotted Syracuse out from the face of the earth? At all events, nothing has been left to us beyond our walls and our houses stripped of everything, and the defaced and despoiled temples of our gods, from which even the gods themselves and their votive offerings have been carried off. Many have been deprived of their land, so that they have not even the bare soil on which to support themselves, and all who belong to them, with the remains of their wrecked fortunes. We beg and entreat you, senators, if you cannot order all that we have lost to be restored to us, at least to insist upon the restitution of what can be found and identified." After they had stated their grievances, Laevinus ordered them to withdraw, that their position might be discussed. "Let them stop," exclaimed Marcellus, "that I may make my reply in their presence, since we who conduct war on your behalf, senators, must do so on condition of those whom we have vanquished coming forward as our accusers. Two cities have been taken this year: let Capua call Fabius to account, and Syracuse, Marcellus."

When they had been brought back into the senate-house, Marcellus made the following speech: "I have not so far forgotten, senators, the majesty of Rome or the dignity of my office as to stoop to defend myself, as consul, against the charges of these Greeks, if they concerned me alone. The question is not so much what I have done as what they ought to have suffered. Had they not been enemies it is a matter of indifference whether I maltreated Syracuse now or in Hiero's lifetime. But if they have proved false to us, opened their gates to the enemy, threatened our envoys with drawn swords, shut their city and walls against us and called in a Carthaginian army to protect them against us, who is there who can feel any indignation at their having suffered hostile violence after having practiced it? I declined the offers of their leaders to deliver up the city, and looked upon Sosis and the Spaniard Moericus as much more suitable persons to be trusted in a matter of such importance. As you make their humble station in life a reproach to others, you do not yourselves belong to the lowest class in Syracuse, and yet who amongst you promised to open your gates and admit my armed force into your city? Those who did this are the objects of your hatred and execration; not even in this place do you shrink from insulting them, showing thereby how far you yourselves were from contemplating anything of the kind. That low social position, senators, which these men make a ground of reproach, proves most clearly that I discouraged no man who was willing to render effectual help to the commonwealth. Before commencing the siege of Syracuse, I made various attempts at a peaceful settlement, first by sending envoys and then by personal interviews with the leaders. It was only when I found that no reverence for the persons of my envoys protected them from violence and that I was unable to get any reply from the leaders with whom I conferred at their gates, that I took action and finally took the city by storm, after a vast expenditure of toil and exertion by sea and land. As to the incidents attending its capture, these men would be more justified in laying their complaints before Hannibal and his vanquished Carthaginians than before the senate of the people who vanquished them. If, senators, I had intended to conceal my spoliation of Syracuse I should never have adorned the City of Rome with its spoils. With regard to what I, as conqueror, took away or bestowed in individual cases, I am quite satisfied that I acted in accordance with the laws of war, according to the deserts of each individual. Whether you approve of my action or not is a question that concerns the State more than it concerns me. I only did my duty, but it will be a serious matter for the republic, if by rescinding my acts you make other generals in the future more remiss in doing their duty. And since you have heard what both the Sicilians and I have had to say in each other's presence, we will leave the House together in order that the senate may be able to discuss the matter more freely in my absence." The Sicilians were accordingly dismissed; Marcellus proceeded to the Capitol to enrol troops.

The other consul, Laevinus, then consulted the senate as to what reply was to be given to the petition of the Sicilians. There was a long debate and great divergence of opinion. Many of those present supported the view expressed by T. Manlius Torquatus. They were of opinion that hostilities ought to have been directed against the tyrants, who were the common enemies of Syracuse and of Rome. The city ought to have been allowed to surrender, not taken by storm, and when surrendered it ought to have had its own laws and liberties guaranteed to it, instead of being ruined by war after it had been worn out by a deplorable servitude under its tyrants. The struggle between the tyrants and the Roman general in which Syracuse was the prize of victory had resulted in the utter destruction of a most famous and beautiful city, the granary and treasury of the Roman people. The commonwealth had frequently experienced its generosity, especially in the present Punic war, and the City had been embellished by its munificent gifts. If Hiero, that loyal supporter of the power of Rome, could rise from the dead, with what face would any one dare to show him either Rome or Syracuse? In the one-his own city-he would see universal spoliation and a large part of it burnt, and as he approached the other he would see just outside its walls, almost within its gates, the spoils of his country. This was the line of argument urged by those who sought to create a feeling against the consul and evoke sympathy for the Sicilians. The majority, however, did not take such an unfavourable view of his conduct, and a decree was passed confirming the acts of Marcellus both during the war and after his victory, and declaring that the senate would for the future make the interests of the Syracusans their charge and would instruct Laevinus to safeguard the property of the citizens so far as he could without inflicting any loss on the State. Two senators were sent to the Capitol to request the consul to come back, and after the Sicilians had again been brought in, the decree was read to them. Some kind words were addressed to the envoys and they were dismissed. Before they left the House they flung themselves on their knees before Marcellus and implored him to forgive them for what they had said in their anxiety to gain sympathy and relief in their distress. They also begged him to take them and their city under his protection, and look upon them as his clients. The consul promised that he would do so, and after a few gracious words dismissed them.

The Capuans were then admitted to an audience. Their case was a harder one, and their appeal for mercy was all the stronger. They could not deny that they deserved punishment, and there were no tyrants on whom they could throw the blame, but they considered that they had paid an adequate penalty after so many of their senators had been carried off by poison, and so many had died under the axe. Some of their nobles, they said, were still living, who had not been driven by the consciousness of guilt into doing away with themselves, nor had the victor in his wrath condemned them to death. These men begged that they and their families might be set at liberty, and some portion of their goods restored to them. They were for the most part Roman citizens, connected with Roman families by intermarriage. After the envoys had withdrawn, there was some doubt as to whether they ought to summon Q. Fulvius from Capua-the consul Claudius had died soon after its capture-in order that the matter might be debated in the presence of the general whose proceedings were being called in question. This had just been done in the case of Marcellus and the Sicilians. When, however, some senators were seen sitting in the House who had been through the whole of the siege-M. Atilius Regulus and Caius the brother of Flaccus, both on his staff, and Q. Minucius and L. Veturius Philo, who had been members of Claudius' staff-they would not have Q. Fulvius recalled, nor the hearing of the Capuans adjourned. Amongst those who had been at Capua, the man whose opinion carried most weight was M. Atilius, and he was asked what course he would advise. He replied: "I believe I was present at the military council which met after the fall of Capua, when the consuls made enquiry as to which of the Capuans had assisted our republic. They discovered only two, and those were women. One was Vestia Oppia of Atella, who was living in Capua and who offered sacrifices daily for the welfare and triumph of Rome; the other was Cluvia Pacula, at one time a woman of loose character, who secretly supplied the starving prisoners with food. The rest of the Capuans were just as hostile to us as the Carthaginians themselves, and those whom Q. Fulvius executed were selected rather on account of their higher rank than of their greater guilt. I do not quite see how the senate is competent to deal with the Capuans, who are Roman citizens, without an order of the people. After the revolt of the Satricans, the course adopted by our ancestors was for a tribune of the plebs, M. Antistius, to bring the matter first before the Assembly, and a resolution was passed empowering the senate to decide what should be done to them. I therefore advise that we arrange with the tribunes of the plebs for one or more of them to propose a resolution to that body empowering us to settle the fate o f the Capuans." L. Atilius, tribune of the plebs, was authorised by the senate to put the question in the following terms: "Whereas the inhabitants of Capua, Atella and Calatia, and also the dwellers in the valley of the Sabatus have yielded themselves to the proconsul Fulvius to be at the arbitrament and disposal of the people of Rome, and whereas they have surrendered divers persons together with themselves, as also their land and city with all things therein, sacred and profane, together with their goods and chattels and whatsoever else they had in possession, I demand of you Quirites to know what it is your will and pleasure shall be done in regard of all these persons and things?" The resolution of the Assembly ran thus: "What the senate, or the greater part of those who are present, shall, on oath, decree and determine, that we will and order shall be done."

The plebs having thus resolved, the senate made the following orders: First they restored their liberty and property to Oppia and Cluvia; if they wished to ask the senate for a further reward, they were to come to Rome. Separate decrees were made in the case of each of the Capuan families; it is not worth while giving a complete enumeration. Some were to have their property confiscated, they themselves with their wives and children were to be sold, with the exception of those of their daughters who had married outside the territory before they passed under the power of Rome. Others were to be thrown into chains, and their fate settled afterwards. In the case of the rest, the question whether their property should be confiscated or not depended upon the amount at which they were assessed. Where property was restored it was to include all the captured live stock except the horses, all the slaves except the adult males, and everything which was not attached to the soil. It was further decreed that the populations of Capua, Atella, Calatia and the valley of the Sabatus should all retain their liberty, except those who themselves, or whose parents had been with the enemy, but none of them could become a Roman citizen or a member of the Latin League. None of those who had been in Capua during the siege could remain in the city or its neighbourhood beyond a certain date; a place of residence was assigned to them beyond the Tiber at some distance from it. Those who had not been in Capua during the war, nor in any revolted Campanian city, were to be settled to the north of the Liris in the direction of Rome; those who had gone over to the side of Rome before Hannibal came to Capua were to be removed to this side of the Volturnus, and no one was to possess any land or building within fifteen miles of the sea. Those who had been deported beyond the Tiber were forbidden to acquire or to hold either for themselves or their posterity landed property anywhere except in the territories of Veii, Sutrium and Nepete, and in no case was such holding to exceed fifty jugera. The property of all the senators and of all who had held any magistracy in Capua, Atella and Calatia was ordered to be sold in Capua, and those persons whom it had been decided to sell into slavery were sent to Rome and sold there. The disposal of the images and bronze statues which were alleged to have been taken from the enemy, and the question which of them were sacred and which profane, were referred to the Pontifical College. After hearing these decrees. the Capuans were dismissed in a much more sorrowful state of mind than that in which they had come. It was no longer Q. Fulvius' cruelty to them, but the injustice of the gods and their accursed fate that they denounced.

After the departure of the Sicilian and Capuan envoys, the enrolment of the new legions was completed. Then came the question of providing the fleet with its proper complement of rowers. There was not a sufficient number of men available, nor was there any money at the time in the treasury with which to procure them or to pay them. In view of this state of things the consuls issued an order requiring private individuals to furnish seamen in proportion to their income and their rank, as they had done on a previous occasion, and also to supply them with thirty days' provision and pay. This order excited such a widespread feeling of indignation and resentment that if the people had had a leader they would have risen in insurrection. The consuls, they said, after ruining the Sicilians and Capuans, had seized upon the Roman plebs as their next victim to mangle and destroy. "After being drained by the war-tax," they complained, "for so many years, we have nothing left but the bare and wasted soil. Our houses have been burnt by the enemy, our slaves who tilled our fields have been appropriated by the State, first buying them for a few coppers to make soldiers of them, and now requisitioning them for seamen. Whatever silver or gold we had has been taken to pay the rowers and furnish the annual war-tax. No resort to force, no exercise of authority can compel us to give what we do not possess. Let the consuls sell our goods, then let them glut their rage on our bodies which are all we have left; nothing remains with which we can even ransom ourselves." Language of this kind was used not only in private conversation, but openly in the Forum, before the very eyes of the consuls. A vast crowd had gathered round the tribunal, uttering angry cries, and the consuls were powerless to allay the agitation either by fair speeches or by threats. Ultimately they announced that they would give them three days to think the matter over, and they themselves devoted that time to seeing whether they could not find some way out of the difficulty. The next day they called the senate together to consider the matter, and many arguments were advanced to prove that the plebs were acting fairly and reasonably in their protest. At last the discussion came round to this point, that whether fair or unfair the burden must fall on the individual citizens. From what source, it was asked, could they procure seamen and sailors, when there was no money in the treasury, and how could they keep their hold on Sicily, or render the shores of Italy safe against any attempt by Philip, if they had no fleet?

As there seemed to be no solution of the difficulty and a kind of mental torpor appeared to beset the senate, the consul Laevinus came to the rescue. "As the magistrates," he said, "take precedence of the senate and the senate of the people in honour and dignity; so they ought to lead the way in discharging unpleasant and difficult tasks. If, in laying any obligation on an inferior, you have first decided that it is binding on you and those connected with you, you will find that all are more ready to obey you. They do not feel an expense to be burdensome when they see each of their leaders bearing more than his due share of it. We want the Roman people to have fleets and to equip them, we want each citizen to furnish rowers and not to shirk his duty; then let us impose the burden on ourselves first of all. Let us, every one of us, bring our gold and silver and bronze money, tomorrow, to the treasury, only reserving the rings for ourselves, our wives and our children, and the bullae for our boys. Those who have wives and daughters may keep an ounce of gold for each of them. With regard to silver, those who have occupied curule chairs should keep the plating on their horse-trappings and two pounds of silver that they may have a dish and saltcellar for the gods. All the other senators should keep only one pound of silver. In the case of bronze coin let us retain 5000 ases for each household. All the rest of our gold and silver and money let us place in the hands of the commissioners of the treasury. No formal resolution should be passed; our contributions must be strictly voluntary; and our mutual rivalry to assist the commonwealth may stir up the equestrian order to emulate us, and after them, the plebs. This is the only course which we consuls have been able to devise after our lengthy discussion, and we beg you to adopt it with the help of the gods. As long as the commonwealth is safe, each man's property is safe under its protection, but if you desert it, it will be in vain that you try to keep what you have." These suggestions were so favourably received that the consuls were even thanked for them. No sooner did the senate adjourn, than they each brought their gold and silver and bronze to the treasury, and they were so eager to be among the first to have their names inscribed in the public register that the commissioners were not able to take over the amounts or the clerks to enter them fast enough. The equestrian order showed quite as much zeal as the senate, and the plebs were not behind the equestrian order. In this way, without any formal order or compulsion by the magistrates, the full complement of rowers was made up, and the State put in a position to pay them. As the preparations for war were now complete the consuls started for their respective provinces.

At no period of the war were the Carthaginians and the Romans alike subjected to greater vicissitudes of fortune, or to more rapid alternations of hope and fear. In the provinces, the disasters in Spain on the one hand and the successes in Sicily on the other filled the Romans with mingled feelings of sorrow and joy. In Italy the loss of Tarentum was felt to be a grievous blow, but the unexpected stand by the garrison in the citadel made all hearts glad, and the sudden panic at the prospect of Rome being besieged and stormed gave way to universal rejoicings when Capua was taken a few days later. In the campaign overseas a kind of balance was struck. Philip began hostilities at an inopportune moment for Rome, but in the new alliance with the Aetolians and Attalus, king of Pergamum, it seemed as though Fortune were giving a pledge of Rome's dominion in the East. The Carthaginians, again, felt that the capture of Tarentum was a set-off against the loss of Capua, and though they prided themselves on having marched unopposed up to the walls of Rome they were mortified at the futility of their enterprise, and humiliated by the contempt shown for them when a Roman army marched out on its way to Spain whilst they were actually lying under the very walls. Even in Spain itself, where the destruction of two great generals with their armies had raised their hopes of finally expelling the Romans and finishing the war, the higher their hopes had been, the greater the disgust they felt at their victory being robbed of all its importance by L. Marcius, who was not even a regular general. So whilst Fortune was holding the scales evenly and everything was in suspense, both sides felt the same hopes and fears as though the war were only just beginning.

Hannibal's principal cause of anxiety was the effect produced by the fall of Capua. It was generally felt that the Romans had shown greater determination in attacking than he had in defending the place, and this alienated many of the Italian communities from him. He could not occupy them all with garrisons unless he was prepared to weaken his army by detaching numerous small units from it; a course at that time highly inexpedient. On the other hand he did not dare to withdraw any of his garrisons and so leave the loyalty of his allies to depend upon their hopes and fears. His temperament, prone as it was to rapacity and cruelty, led him to plunder the places which he was unable to defend, in order that they might be left to the enemy waste and barren. This evil policy had evil results for him, for it aroused horror and loathing not only amongst the actual sufferers but amongst all who heard of them. The Roman consul was not slow in sounding the feelings of those cities where any hope of recovering them had shown itself. Amongst these was the city of Salapia. Two of its most prominent citizens were Dasius and Blattius. Dasius was friendly to Hannibal; Blattius favoured the interests of Rome as far as he safely could, and had sent secret messages to Marcellus holding out hopes that the city might be surrendered. But the thing could not be carried through without the help of Dasius. For a long time he hesitated, but at last he addressed himself to Dasius, not so much in the hope of success as because no better plan presented itself. Dasius was opposed to the project, and by way of injuring his political rival disclosed the affair to Hannibal. Hannibal summoned them both before his tribunal. When they appeared, he was occupied with business, intending to go into their case as soon as he was at liberty, and the two men, accuser and accused, stood waiting, apart from the crowd. Whilst thus waiting Blattius approached Dasius on the subject of the surrender. At this open and barefaced conduct, Dasius called out that the surrender of the city was being mooted under the very eyes of Hannibal. Hannibal and those round him felt that the very audacity of the thing made the charge improbable, and regarded it as due to spite and jealousy, since it was easy to invent such an accusation in the absence of witnesses. They were accordingly dismissed. Blattius, however, did not desist from his venturesome project. He was perpetually urging the matter and showing what a beneficial thing it would be for them both and for their city. At last he succeeded in effecting the surrender of the city with its garrison of 5000 Numidians. But the surrender could only be effected with a heavy loss of life. The garrison were by far the finest cavalry in the Carthaginian army, and although they were taken by surprise and could make no use of their horses in the city, they seized their arms in the confusion and attempted to cut their way out. When they found escape impossible they fought to the last man. Not more than fifty fell into the hands of the enemy alive. The loss of this troop of horse was a heavier blow to Hannibal than the loss of Salapia; never from that time was the Carthaginian superior in cavalry, hitherto by far his most efficient arm.

During this period the privations of the Roman garrison in the citadel of Tarentum had become almost insupportable; the men and their commandant M. Livius placed all their hopes in the arrival of supplies sent from Sicily. To secure a safe passage for these along the coast of Italy, a squadron of about twenty vessels was stationed at Regium. The fleet and the transports were under the command of D. Quinctius. He was a man of humble birth, but his many deeds of gallantry had gained him a high military reputation. He had only five ships to begin with, the largest of these-two triremes-had been assigned to him by Marcellus; subsequently, owing to the effective use he made of these, three quinqueremes were added to his command, and at last, by compelling the allied cities, Regium, Velliea and Paestum to furnish the ships which they were bound by treaty to supply, he made up the above-mentioned squadron of twenty vessels. As this fleet was setting out from Regium, and was opposite Sapriportis, a place about fifteen miles from Tarentum, it fell in with a Tarentine fleet, also of twenty ships, under the command of Democrates. The Roman commander, not anticipating a fight, had all sail set; he had, however, got together his full complement of rowers while he was in the neighbourhood of Croton and Sybaris, and his fleet was excellently equipped and manned, considering the size of the vessels. It so happened that the wind completely died down just as the enemy came into sight, and there was ample time to lower the sails and get the rowers and soldiers into readiness for the approaching conflict. Seldom have two regular fleets gone into action with such determination as these small flotillas, for they were fighting for larger issues than their own success. The Tarentines hoped that as they had already recovered their city from the Romans after the lapse of nearly a century, so they might now rescue their citadel, by cutting off the enemy's supplies after they had deprived them of the mastery of the sea. The Romans were eager to show, by retaining their hold on the citadel, that Tarentum had not been lost in fair fight. but by a foul and treacherous stroke. So, when the signal was given on each side, they rowed with their prows straight at each other; there was no backing or maneuvering, nor did they let go of any ship when once they had grappled and boarded. They fought at such close quarters that they not only discharged missiles, but even used their swords in hand-to-hand fighting. The prows were locked together and remained so while the hinder part of the vessel was pushed about by the oars of hostile ships. The vessels were so crowded together that hardly any missile failed to reach its aim or fell into the water. They pressed forward front to front like a line of infantry, and the combatants made their way from ship to ship. Conspicuous amongst all was the fight between the two ships which had led their respective lines and were the first to engage.

Quinctius himself was in the Roman ship, and in the Tarentine vessel was a man named Nico Perco, who hated the Romans for private as well as public grounds, and who was equally hated by them, for he was one of the party who betrayed Tarentum to Hannibal. Whilst Quinctius was fighting and encouraging his men, Nico took him unawares and ran him through with his spear. He fell headlong over the prow, and the victorious Tarentine springing on to the ship dislodged the enemy, who were thrown into confusion by the loss of their leader. The foreship was now in the hands of the Tarentines, and the Romans in a compact body were with difficulty defending the hinder part of the vessel, when another of the hostile triremes suddenly appeared astern. Between the two the Roman ship was captured. The sight of the admiral's ship in the enemy's hands created a panic, and the remainder of the fleet fled in all directions; some were sunk, others were hurriedly rowed to land and were seized by the people of Thurium and Metapontum. Very few of the transports which were following with supplies fell into the enemy's hands; the rest, shifting their sails to meet the changing winds, were carried out to sea. An affair took place at Tarentum during this time which led to a very different result. A foraging force of 4000 Tarentines were dispersed through the fields, and Livius, the Roman commandant, who was always looking out for a chance of striking a blow, sent C. Persius, an able and energetic officer, with 2500 men from the citadel to attack them. He fell upon them while they were dispersed in scattered groups all through the fields, and after inflicting great and widespread slaughter, drove the few who escaped in headlong flight through their half-opened gates into the town. So matters were equalised as far as Tarentum was concerned; the Romans were victorious by land, and the Tarentines by sea. Both were alike disappointed in their hopes of obtaining the corn which had been within their view.

Laevinus' arrival in Sicily had been looked forward to by all the friendly cities, both those who had been old allies of Rome, and those who had recently joined her. His first and most important task was the settlement of the affairs of Syracuse, which, as peace had only quite recently been established, were still in confusion. When he had accomplished this task he marched to Agrigentum, where the embers of war were still smouldering, and a Carthaginian garrison still in occupation. Fortune favoured his enterprise. Hanno was in command, but the Carthaginians placed their chief reliance on Muttines and his Numidians. He was scouring the island from end to end and carrying off plunder from the friends of Rome; neither force nor stratagem could keep him from entering Agrigentum and leaving it on his raids whenever he chose. His reputation as a dashing officer was beginning to eclipse that of the commandant himself, and at last created so much jealousy that even the successes he gained were unwelcome to Hanno, because of the man who gained them. It ended in his giving the command of the cavalry to his own son in the hope that by depriving Muttines of his post he would also destroy his influence with the Numidians. It had just the opposite effect, for the ill-feeling created only made Muttines more popular, and he showed his resentment at the injustice done to him by at once entering into secret negotiations with Laevinus for the surrender of the city. When his emissaries had come to an understanding with the consul and arranged the plan of operations, the Numidians seized the gate leading to the sea after driving off or massacring the men on guard, and admitted a Roman force which was in readiness into the city. As they were marching in serried ranks into the forum and the heart of the city, amidst great confusion, Hanno, thinking it was only a riotous disturbance caused by the Numidians, such as had often happened before, went to allay the tumult. When, however, he saw in the distance a larger body of troops than the Numidians amounted to, and when the well-known battle shout of the Romans reached his ears, he at once took to flight before a missile could reach him. Escaping with Epicydes through a gate on the other side of the city, and attended by a small escort, he reached the shore. Here they were fortunate enough to find a small ship, in which they sailed across to Africa, abandoning Sicily, for which they had fought through so many years, to their victorious enemy. The mixed population of Sicilians and Carthaginians whom they had left behind, made no attempt at resistance, but rushed away in wild flight, and, as the exits were all closed, they were slaughtered round the gates. When he had gained possession of the place, Laevinus ordered the men who had been at the head of affairs in Agrigentum to be scourged and beheaded; the rest of the population he sold with the plunder, and sent all the money to Rome.

When the fate of the Agrigentines became generally known throughout Sicily, all the cities at once declared for Rome. In a short time twenty towns were clandestinely surrendered and six taken by storm, and as many as forty voluntarily surrendered on terms. The consul meted out rewards and punishments to the chief men in these cities, according to each man's deserts, and now that the Sicilians had at last laid arms aside he obliged them to turn their attention to agriculture. That fertile island was not only capable of supporting its own population, but had on many occasions relieved the scarcity in Rome, and the consul intended that it should do so again if necessary. Agathyrna had become the seat of a motley population, numbering some 4000 men, made up of all sorts of characters-refugees, insolvent debtors-most of them had committed capital offences at the time when they were living in their own cities and under their own laws and afterwards when similarity of fortunes arising from various causes had drawn them together at Agathyrna. Laevinus did not think it safe to leave these men behind in the island, as a material for fresh disturbances, whilst things were settling down under the newly established peace. The Regians too would find a body so experienced in brigandage as they were, very useful; accordingly Laevinus transported them all to Italy. As far as Sicily was concerned, the state of war was put an end to this year.

At the commencement of spring P. Scipio issued orders for the allied contingents to muster at Tarraco. He then launched his ships and led the fleet and transports to the mouth of the Ebro, where he had also ordered the legions to concentrate from their winter quarters. He then left Tarraco, with an allied contingent of 5000 men for the army. On his arrival he felt that he ought to address some words of encouragement to his men, especially to the veterans who had gone through such terrible disasters. He accordingly ordered a parade and addressed the troops in the following words: "No commander before my time, who was new to his troops, has been in a position to express well-deserved thanks to his men before he made use of their services. Fortune laid me under obligations to you before I saw my province or my camp, first because of the devoted affection you showed towards my father and my uncle during their lifetime and after their death, and then again, because of the courage with which you kept your hold on the province when it was apparently lost after their terrible defeat, and so retained it unimpaired for Rome and for me their successor. It must be our aim and object now with the help of heaven not so much to maintain our own footing in Spain as to prevent the Carthaginians from maintaining theirs. We must not remain stationary here, defending the bank of the Ebro against the enemy's passage of the river; we must cross over ourselves and shift the seat of war. To some of you at least, I fear that this plan may seem too large and bold when you remember the defeats we have lately sustained, and when you think of my youth. No man is less likely to forget those fatal battles in Spain than I am, for my father and my uncle were killed within thirty days of each other, so that my family was visited by one death upon another.

"But though I am almost heart-broken at the orphanhood and desolation of our house, the good fortune and courage of our race forbid me to despair of the State. It has been our lot and destiny to conquer in all great wars only after we have been defeated. Not to mention the earlier wars-Porsena and the Gauls and the Samnites-I will take these two Punic wars. How many fleets and generals and armies were lost in the first war! And what about this war? In all our defeats I was either present in person, or where I was not, I felt them more keenly than any one. The Trebia, Lake Thrasymenus, Cannae-what are they but records of Roman consuls and their armies cut to pieces? Add to these the defection of Italy, of the greatest part of Sicily, of Sardinia, and then the crowning terror and panic-the Carthaginian camp pitched between the Anio and the walls of Rome, and the sight of the victorious Hannibal almost within our gates. In the midst of this utter collapse one thing stood unshaken and unimpaired, the courage of the Roman people; it and it alone raised up and sustained all that lay prostrate in the dust. You, my soldiers, under the conduct and auspices of my father were the first to retrieve the defeat of Cannae by barring the way to Hasdrubal when he was marching to the Alps and Italy. Had he joined forces with his brother the name of Rome would have perished; this success of yours held us up under those defeats. Now, by the goodness of heaven, everything is going in our favour; the situation in Italy and Sicily is becoming better and more hopeful day by day. In Sicily, Syracuse and Agrigentum have been captured, the enemy has been everywhere expelled and the whole of the island acknowledges the sovereignty of Rome. In Italy, Arpi has been recovered and Capua taken, Hannibal in his hurried flight has traversed the whole breadth of Italy from Rome to the furthest corners of Bruttium, and his one prayer is that he may be allowed to make a safe retreat and get away from the land of his enemies. At a time when one defeat followed close on the heels of another, and heaven itself seemed to be fighting on Hannibal's side, you, my soldiers, together with my two parents-let me honour them both with the same appellation-upheld in this country the tottering fortunes of Rome. What then can be more foolish than for you to fail in courage now when all is going on prosperously and happily there? As to recent events, I could wish that they had caused as little pain to me as to you.

"The immortal gods who watch over the fortunes of the dominions of Rome, and who moved the electors in their centuries to insist with one voice upon the supreme command being given to me-the gods, I say, are assuring us through auguries and auspices and even through visions of the night that all will go successfully and happily with us. My own heart too, hitherto my truest prophet, presages that Spain will be ours and that ere long all who bear the name of Carthage will be driven away from this soil and will cover sea and land in their shameful flight. What my breast thus divines is confirmed by solid reasoning from facts. Owing to the maltreatment they have received their allies are sending envoys to us to appeal for protection. Their three generals are at variance, almost in active opposition to each other, and after breaking up their army into three separate divisions have marched away into different parts of the country. The same misfortune has overtaken them which was so disastrous to us, they are being deserted by their allies as we were by the Celtiberians, and the army which proved so fatal to my father and my uncle they have split up into separate bodies. Their domestic quarrel will not let them act in unison, and now that they are divided they will not be able to withstand us. Welcome, soldiers, the omen of the name I bear, be loyal to a Scipio who is the offspring of your late commander, the scion of a stock which has been cut down. Come on then, my veterans, and lead a new army and a new commander across the Ebro into the lands which you have so often traversed and where you have given so many proofs of your prowess and your courage. You recognise a likeness to my father and my uncle in figure, face, and expression, I will soon show you that I am like them also in character and fidelity and courage, so that each of you may say that the Scipio who was his old commander has either come to life again or reappeared in his son."

After kindling the spirits of his men by this speech, he crossed the Ebro with 25,000 infantry and 2500 cavalry, leaving M. Silanus in charge of the country north of the Ebro with 3000 infantry and 300 cavalry. As the Carthaginian armies had all taken different routes, some of his staff urged him to attack the one which was nearest, but he thought that if he did that there would be a danger of their all concentrating against him, and he would be no match for the three together. He decided to begin with an attack on New Carthage, a city not only rich in its own resources, but also with the enemy's war-stores, their arms, their war-chest and hostages drawn from every part of Spain. It possessed an additional advantage in its situation, as it afforded a convenient base for the invasion of Africa, and commanded a harbour capable of holding any fleet however large, and, as far as I know, the only one of the kind on that part of the coast which abuts on our sea. No one knew of his intended march except C. Laelius, who was sent round with his fleet and instructed to regulate the pace of his vessels so that he might enter the harbour at the same time that the army showed itself. Seven days after leaving the Ebro, the land and sea forces reached New Carthage simultaneously. The Roman camp was fixed opposite the north side of the city, and to guard against attacks from the rear was strengthened by a double rampart; the front was protected by the nature of the ground. The following is the situation of New Carthage. There is a bay about half-way down the coast of Spain, opening to the south-west and stretching inland about two-and-a-half miles. A small island at the mouth of the harbour forms a breakwater and shelters it from all winds, except those from the south-west. From the innermost part of the bay stretches a promontory on the slopes of which the city stands, surrounded on the east; and south by the sea. On the west it is enclosed by a shallow sheet of water which extends northward and varies in depth with the rise and fall of the tide. A neck of land about a quarter of a mile in length connects the city with the mainland. The Roman commander did not throw an earthwork across this isthmus, though it would have cost him very little trouble to do so; whether it was that he wished to impress the enemy with his confidence in his strength, or because he wished to have an unimpeded retirement in his frequent advances against the city.

When the necessary intrenchments were completed he drew up the vessels in the harbour as though he were going to blockade the place by sea. Then he was rowed round the fleet and warned the captains to be careful in keeping a look-out by night, as an enemy when first besieged makes counter-attacks in all directions. On his return to camp he explained to his soldiers his plan of operations and his reasons for beginning the campaign with an attack upon a solitary city in preference to anything else. After they were mustered on parade he made the following speech to them: "Soldiers, if any one supposes that you have been brought here for the sole purpose of attacking this city, he is making more account of the work before you than of the advantage you will reap from it. You are going, it is true, to attack the walls of a single city, but in the capture of this one city you will have secured the whole of Spain. Here are the hostages taken from all the nobles and kings and tribes, and when once these are in your power, everything which the Carthaginians now hold will be given up to you. Here is the enemy's war-chest, without which they cannot keep up the war, seeing that they have to pay their mercenaries, and the money will be of the utmost service to us in gaining over the barbarians. Here are their artillery, their armoury, the whole of their engines of war, which will at once provide you with all you want, and leave the enemy destitute of all he needs. And what is more, we shall become masters, not only of a most wealthy and beautiful city, but also of a most commodious harbour, from which all that is requisite for the purposes of war, both by sea and land, will be supplied. Great as our gains will be, the deprivations which the enemy suffers will be still greater. Here is their stronghold, their granary, their treasure, their arsenal-everything is stored here. Here is their direct route from Africa. This is their only naval base between the Pyrenees and Gades; from this Africa threatens the whole of Spain. But I see that you are all perfectly ready; let us pass over to the assault on New Carthage, with our full strength and a courage that knows no fear." The men all shouted with one voice, that they would carry out his orders, and he marched them up to the city. Then he ordered a general attack to be made by the army and the fleet.

When Mago, the Carthaginian commander, saw that an attack was being prepared both by land and sea, he made the following disposition of his forces. Two thousand townsmen were posted in the direction of the Roman camp; the citadel was occupied by 500 soldiers; 500 more were stationed in the higher part of the city, towards the east. The rest of the townsmen were ordered to be in readiness to meet any sudden emergency and to hasten in whatever direction the shouting of the enemy might summon them. Then the gate was thrown open and those who had been drawn up in the street leading to their enemy's camp were sent forward. The Romans, at the direction of their general, retired a short distance in order to be nearer to the supports which were to be sent up. At first the lines stood confronting each other in equal strength; but as the successive reinforcements came up they not only turned the enemy to flight, but pressed upon them so closely as they fled in disorder that if the "retire" had not sounded they would in all probability have burst into the city pell-mell with the fugitives. The confusion and terror of the battlefield spread right through the city; many of the pickets fled from their stations panic-struck; the defenders of the walls leaped down the shortest way they could and deserted the fortifications. Scipio had taken his stand on an eminence which they called Mercury's Hill, and from here he became aware that the walls were in many places without defenders. He at once called out the whole force in the camp to the attack, and ordered the scaling ladders to be brought up. Covered by the shields of three powerful young men-for missiles of every description were flying from the battlements-he went up close to the walls, encouraging his men, giving the necessary orders, and, what did most to stimulate their efforts, observing with his own eyes each man's courage or cowardice. So they rushed on, regardless of missiles and wounds, and neither the walls nor the men upon them could prevent them from striving who should be the first to mount. At the same time the ships commenced an attack upon that part of the city which faced the sea. Here, however, there was too much noise and confusion to admit of a regular assault, for what with bringing up the vessels and hauling out the scaling ladders, and clambering ashore as quickly as they could, the men only got in one another's way through their hurry and eagerness.

Whilst this was going on the Carthaginian general had manned the walls with his regular soldiers, and they were amply supplied with missiles, great heaps of which had been stored in readiness. But neither the men, nor their missiles, nor anything else proved such a sure defence as the walls themselves. Very few of the ladders were long enough to reach to the top of the wall, and the longer the ladders the weaker they were. The consequence was that whilst each man who reached the top was unable to get on to the wall, the others who came up behind him were unable to advance and the ladder was broken by the mere weight of men. Some who were on ladders which stood the strain grew dizzy from the height and fell to the ground. As men and ladders were crashing down in all directions and the spirits and courage of the enemy were rising with their success, the signal was sounded for retiring. This led the besieged to hope that they would not only gain a respite from their hard and wearisome struggle for the time being, but would also be safe for the future, as they believed that the city could not be taken by escalade and storm, whilst the construction of siege works would be a difficult matter and would allow time for succours to be sent. The noise and tumult of this first attempt had hardly subsided when Scipio ordered fresh troops to take the ladders from those who were exhausted and wounded and make a more determined attack upon the city. He had ascertained from the fishermen of Tarraco, who were in the habit of crossing these waters in light skiffs and when these ran aground of wading ashore through the shallows, that it was easy at low water to approach the walls on foot. It was now reported to him that the tide was on the ebb; and he at once took about 500 men with him and marched down to the water. It was about midday, and not only was the falling tide drawing the water seaward, but a strong northerly wind which had sprung up was driving it in the same direction, and the lagoon had become so shallow that in some places it was waist-deep and in others only reached to the knee. This state of things, which Scipio had ascertained by careful investigation and reasoning, he ascribed to the direct intervention of the gods, who he said were turning the sea into a highway for the Romans, and by withdrawing its waters were opening up a path which had never before been trodden by mortal feet. He bade his men follow the guidance of Neptune and make their way through the middle of the lagoon up to the walls.

Those who were making the attack on the land side were in very great difficulties. Not only were they baffled by the height of the walls, but as they approached them they were open to showers of missiles on both hands, so that their sides were more exposed than their front. In the other direction, however, the 500 found their passage through the lake and their ascent from there to the foot of the walls an easy matter. No fortifications had been constructed on this side, as it was considered to be sufficiently protected by the lake and by the nature of the ground, nor were there any outposts or pickets on guard against any attack, as all were intent on rendering assistance where danger was actually visible. They entered the city without meeting any opposition, and at once marched full speed to the gate round which all the fighting had gathered. All had their attention absorbed in the struggle; even the eyes and ears of the combatants, as of those who were watching and cheering them on, were so riveted on the fighting that not a single man was aware that the city behind him was captured until the missiles began to fall upon them from the rear. Now that they had the enemy in front and rear they gave up the defence, the walls were seized, the gate was battered from both sides, smashed to pieces, and carried out of the way to allow a free passage to the troops. A large number surmounted the walls and inflicted heavy slaughter on the townsmen, but those who entered through the gate marched in unbroken ranks through the heart of the city into the forum. From this point Scipio saw the enemy retreating in two directions; one body was making for a hill to the east of the city, which was being held by a detachment of 500 men; the others were going to the citadel where Mago, together with the men who had been driven from the walls, had taken refuge. Sending a force to storm the hill, he led the rest of his troops against the citadel. The hill was taken at the first charge, and Mago, seeing that the whole of the city was in occupation of the enemy, and that his own position was hopeless, surrendered the citadel and its defenders. Until the citadel was surrendered the carnage went on everywhere throughout the city, no adult male who was met with was spared, but on its surrender the signal was given and an end put to the slaughter. The victors then turned their attention to the plunder, of which there was a vast amount of every kind.

As many as 10,000 freemen were made prisoners. Those who were citizens were set free and Scipio gave them back their city and all the property which the war had left them. There were some 2000 artisans; these Scipio allotted to the public service, and held out to them hopes of recovering their liberty if they did their best in the tasks which the war demanded. The rest of the able-bodied population and the sturdiest of the slaves he assigned to the fleet to make up the complement of rowers. He also augmented his fleet by five vessels which he had seized. Besides all this population there were the Spanish hostages; these he treated with as much consideration as though they had been children of the allies of Rome. An enormous amount of munitions of war was also secured; 120 catapults of the largest size and 281 smaller ones, 23 of the heavier ballistae and 52 lighter ones, together with an immense number of scorpions of various calibre, as well as missiles and other arms. 73 military standards were also captured. A vast quantity of gold and silver was brought to the general, including 287 golden bowls, almost all of which were at least a pound in weight, 18,300 pounds of silver plate and coinage, the former comprising a large number of vessels. This was all weighed and counted and then made over to the quaestor C. Flaminius, as were also 10,000 bushels of wheat and 270 pecks of barley. In the harbour 63 transports were captured, some of them with their cargoes of corn and arms, as well as bronze, iron, sails, esparto grass, and other articles required for the fleet. Amidst such an enormous supply of military and naval stores, the actual city itself was regarded as the least important capture of all.

Leaving C. Laelius with the marines in charge of the city, Scipio led his legions the same day back into camp. They were well-nigh worn out; they had fought in the open field, had undergone much toil and danger in the capture of the city, and after capturing it had sustained a conflict on unfavourable ground with those who had taken refuge in the citadel. So he gave them one day's respite from all military duties and ordered them to seek refreshment and rest. The next day he issued orders for all the soldiers and marines to appear on parade that he might address them. First he offered up a thanksgiving to the immortal gods because they had not only made him master in a single day of the wealthiest city in all Spain, but had also brought together beforehand into the place all the resources of Africa and Spain, so that whilst nothing was left to the enemy he and his men had a superabundance of everything. Then he praised the courage of his troops, whom, he said, nothing had daunted, neither the sortie of the enemy, nor the height of the walls, nor the untried depth of the lagoon, nor the fort on the hill, nor the unusual strength of the citadel. Nothing had prevented them from surmounting every obstacle and forcing their way everywhere. Though every man amongst them deserved all the rewards he could give, the glory of the mural crown belonged especially to him who was the first to scale the wall, and the man who considered that he deserved it should claim it.

Two men came forward, Q. Tiberilius, a centurion of the fourth legion, and Sextus Digitius, one of the marines. The contention between them was not so heated as the excitement with which each body advocated the claim of its own representative. C. Laelius, the commander of the fleet, supported the marine, M. Sempronius Tuditanus took the part of his legionaries. As the dispute was almost becoming a mutiny, Scipio announced that he would allow three arbitrators to be named who should investigate the case and take evidence and give their decision as to which had been the first to scale the wall and enter the town. C. Laelius and M. Sempronius were named by their respective parties, and Scipio added the name of P. Cornelius Caudinus, who belonged to neither party, and bade the three sit at once and try the case judicially. As they proceeded, the dispute became hotter than ever, for the two men whose dignity and authority had helped to restrain the excitement were now withdrawn to the tribunal. At last Laelius left his colleagues and stepped down in front of the tribunal to Scipio and pointed out to him that the proceedings were being carried on in defiance of all order and self-restraint, and the men were almost coming to blows. And even if there were no resort to violence the precedent that was being set was none the less detestable, since men were trying to win the reward of valour by falsehood and perjury. On the one side were the soldiers of the legion, on the other those of the fleet, all alike ready to swear by all the gods to what they wanted rather than to what they knew to be true, and prepared to involve in the guilt of perjury not themselves only, but the military standards, the eagles and their solemn oath of allegiance. Laelius added that he was making these representations to him at the wish of P. Cornelius and M. Sempronius. Scipio approved of the step Laelius had taken and summoned the troops to assembly. He then announced that he had definitely ascertained that Q. Tiberilius and Sextius Digitius had both surmounted the wall at the same moment, and he should honour their bravery by presenting them each with a mural crown. Then he bestowed rewards upon the rest according to each man's merit. C. Laelius, the commander of the fleet, was singled out for special distinction, and in the praises which he lavished upon him he placed him on an equality with himself, finally presenting him with a golden crown and thirty oxen.

After this he ordered the hostages from the various Spanish states to be summoned into his presence. It is difficult to give their number, for I find in one place 300 mentioned and in another 3724. There is a similar discrepancy amongst the authorities on other points. One author asserts that the Carthaginian garrison amounted to 10,000 men, another puts it at 7000, whilst a third estimates it as not more than 2000. In one place you will find that there were 10,000 prisoners, in another the number is said to have exceeded 25,000. If I followed the Greek author Silenus I should give the number of scorpions large and small as 60; according to Valerius Antias there were 6000 large ones and 13,000 small ones; so wildly do men invent. It is even a matter of dispute who were in command. Most authorities agree that Laelius was in command of the fleet, but there are some who say that it was M. Junius Silanus. Antias tells us that Arines was the Carthaginian commandant when the garrison surrendered, other writers say it was Mago. Nor are authors agreed as to the number of ships that were captured, or the weight of gold and silver, or the amount of money that was brought into the treasury. If we are to make a choice, the numbers midway between these extremes are probably nearest the truth. When the hostages appeared Scipio began by reassuring them and dispelling their fears. They had, he told them, passed under the power of Rome, and the Romans preferred to hold men by the bonds of kindness rather than by those of fear. They would rather have foreign nations united to them on terms of alliance and mutual good faith than kept down in hard and hopeless servitude. He then ascertained the names of the States from which they came and made an inventory of the number belonging to each State. Messengers were then despatched to their homes, bidding their friends to come and take charge of those who belonged to them-where envoys from any of these States happened to be present he restored their own relations to them on the spot; the care of the rest he entrusted to C. Flaminius the quaestor, with injunctions to show them all kindness and protection. Whilst he was thus engaged a high-born lady, wife of Mandonius the brother of Indibilis, chief of the Ilergetes, came forward from the crowd of hostages and flinging herself in tears at the general's feet implored him to impress more strongly on their guards the duty of treating the women with tenderness and consideration. Scipio assured her that nothing would be wanting in this respect. Then she continued: "We do not set great store on those things, for what is there that is not good enough for the condition that we are in? I am too old to fear the injury to which our sex is exposed, but it is for others that I am anxious as I look at these young girls." Round her stood the daughters of Indibilis and other maidens of equal rank in the flower of their youthful beauty, and they all looked up to her as a mother. Scipio replied: "For the sake of the discipline which I in common with all Romans uphold, I should take care that nothing which is anywhere held sacred be violated amongst us; your virtue and nobility of soul, which even in misfortune is not forgetful of matronly decorum, make me now still more careful in this matter." He then delivered them into the charge of a man of tried integrity, with strict injunctions to protect their innocence and modesty as carefully as though they were the wives and mothers of his own guests.

Soon afterwards an adult maiden who had been captured was brought to him by the soldiers, a girl of such exceptional beauty that she attracted the eyes of all wherever she moved. On enquiring as to her country and parentage, Scipio learnt, amongst other things, that she had been betrothed to a young Celtiberian noble named Aluccius. He at once sent for her parents and also for her betrothed, who, he learnt, was pining to death through love of her. On the arrival of the latter Scipio addressed him in more studied terms than a father would use. "A young man myself," he said, "I am addressing myself to a young man, so we may lay aside all reserve. When your betrothed had been taken by my soldiers and brought to me, I was informed that she was very dear to you, and her beauty made me believe it. Were I allowed the pleasures suitable to my age, especially those of chaste and lawful love, instead of being preoccupied with affairs of state, I should wish that I might be forgiven for loving too ardently. Now I have the power to indulge another's love, namely yours. Your betrothed has received the same respectful treatment since she has been in my power that she would have met with from her own parents. She has been reserved for you, in order that she might be given to you as a gift inviolate and worthy of us both. In return for that boon I stipulate for this one reward-that you will be a friend to Rome. If you believe me to be an upright and honourable man such as the nations here found my father and uncle to be, you may rest assured that there are many in Rome like us, and you may be perfectly certain that nowhere in the world can any people be named whom you would less wish to have as a foe to you and yours, or whom you would more desire as a friend."

The young man was overcome with bashfulness and joy. He grasped Scipio's hand, and besought all the gods to recompense him, for it was quite impossible for him to make any return adequate to his own feelings, or the kindness Scipio had shown him. Then the girl's parents and relatives were called. They had brought a large amount of gold for her ransom, and when she was freely given back to them, they begged Scipio to accept it as a gift from them; his doing so, they declared, would evoke as much gratitude as the restoration of the maiden unhurt. As they urged their request with great importunity, Scipio said that he would accept it, and ordered it to be laid at his feet. Calling Aluccius, he said to him: "In addition to the dowry which you are to receive from your future father-in-law you will now receive this from me as a wedding present." He then told him to take up the gold and keep it. Delighted with the present and the honourable treatment he had received, the young man resumed home, and filled the ears of his countrymen with justly-earned praises of Scipio. A young man had come among them, he declared, in all ways like the gods, winning his way everywhere by his generosity and goodness of heart as much as by the might of his arms. He began to enlist a body of his retainers, and in a few days returned to Scipio with a picked force of 1400 mounted men.

Scipio kept Laelius with him to advise as to the disposal of the prisoners, the hostages and the booty, and when all had been arranged, he assigned him one of the captured quinqueremes, and placing on board Mago and some fifteen senators who had been made prisoners with him, he sent Laelius to Rome to report his victory. He had himself decided to spend a few days in New Carthage, and he employed this time in exercising his military and naval forces. On the first day the legions, fully equipped, went through various evolutions over a space of four miles; the second day was employed in rubbing up and sharpening their weapons in front of their tents; the third day they engaged in regular battle. practice with single-sticks and darts, the points of which were muffled with balls of cork or lead; the fourth day they rested, and on the fifth they were again exercised under arms. This alternation of exercise and rest was kept up as long as they remained in Carthage. The rowers and marines put out to sea when the weather was calm and tested the speed and handiness of their ships in a sham fight. These maneuvers going on outside the city on land and sea sharpened the men both physically and mentally for war; the city itself resounded with the din of warlike constructions carried on by the artisans of every kind who were kept together in the Government workshops. The general devoted his attention equally to everything. At one time he was present with the fleet watching a naval encounter; at another he was exercising his legions; then he would be giving some hours to an inspection of the work which was going on in the shops and in the arsenal and dockyards, where the vast number of artisans were vying with each other as to who could work the hardest. After starting these various undertakings and seeing that the damaged portions of the walls were repaired, he started for Tarraco, leaving a detachment in the city for its protection. On his way he was met by numerous delegations; some of them he dismissed, after giving his reply while still on the march; others he put off till he reached Tarraco, where he had given notice to all the allies, old and new, to meet him. Almost all the tribes south of the Ebro obeyed the summons, as did many also from the northern province. The Carthaginian generals did their best to suppress any rumours of the fall of New Carthage, then when the facts came out too clearly to be either suppressed or perverted, they tried to minimise its importance. It was by a sudden ruse, almost by stealth, they said, that one city out of the whole of Spain had been filched from them in a single day; a young swaggerer elated with this trifling success had in the intoxication of his delight made believe that it was a great victory. But when he learnt that three generals and three victorious armies were bearing down upon him he would be painfully reminded of the deaths which had already visited his family. This was what they told people generally, but they themselves were perfectly aware how much their strength was in every way weakened by the loss of New Carthage.

End of Book 26

Such was the position of affairs in Spain. In Italy the consul Marcellus recovered Salapia, which was betrayed to him, and gained forcible possession of two places belonging to the Samnites-Marmoreae and Heles. 3000 of Hannibal's troops who had been left to garrison these towns were destroyed. The plunder, of which there was a considerable quantity, was given to the soldiers; 60,000 bushels of wheat and 28,000 of barley were also found there. The satisfaction derived from this success was, however, more than counterbalanced by a defeat which was sustained a few days later not far from Herdonea. This city had revolted from Rome after the disaster of Cannae, and Cn. Fulvius, the proconsul, was encamped before it in the hope of recovering it. He had chosen a position for his camp which was not sufficiently protected, and the camp itself was not in a proper state of defence. Naturally a careless general, he was still less cautious now that he had reason to hope that the inhabitants were weakening in their allegiance to the Carthaginians, since the news had reached them of Hannibal's withdrawal into Bruttium after losing Salapia. This was all duly reported to Hannibal by emissaries from Herdonea, and the intelligence made him anxious to save a friendly city and at the same time hopeful of catching his enemy when off his guard. In order to forestall any rumours of his approach he proceeded to Herdonea by forced marches, and as he approached the place he formed his men in battle order with the view of intimidating the enemy. The Roman commander-his equal in courage, but far inferior to him in tactical skill and in numbers-hastily formed his line and engaged. The action was begun most vigorously by the fifth legion and the allies on the left wing. Hannibal, however, had instructed his cavalry to wait until the attention of the infantry was completely taken up with the battle and then to ride round the lines; one division to attack the Roman camp, the other the rear of the Roman line. He told his staff that he had defeated a Cn. Fulvius, a praetor, on the same ground two years before, and as the names were the same, so the result of the fight would be the same. His anticipations were realised, for after the lines had closed and many of the Romans had fallen in the hand-to-hand fighting, though the ranks still held their ground with the standards, the tumultuous cavalry charge in the rear threw into disorder first the sixth legion stationed in the second line, and then, as the Numidians pressed on, the fifth legion and finally the front ranks with their standards. Some were scattered in flight, others were cut down between the two bodies of assailants. It was here that Cn. Fulvius fell together with eleven military tribunes. As to the number of those killed, who could definitely state it, when I find in one author the number given as 13,000, in another not more than 7000? The victor took possession of the camp and its spoil. As he learnt that Herdonea was prepared to go over to the Romans and would not remain faithful after his withdrawal, he transported the whole population to Metapontum and Thurii and burnt the place. Its leading citizens who were discovered to have held secret conferences with Fulvius were put to death. Those Romans who escaped from the fatal field fled by various routes, almost wholly weaponless, to Marcellus in Samnium.

Marcellus was not particularly disturbed by this serious disaster. He sent a despatch to the senate informing them of the loss of the general and his army at Herdonea and adding that he himself was the same Marcellus who had beaten Hannibal when flushed with his victory at Cannae, that he intended to meet him and would soon put an end to any pleasure he might feel at his recent success. In Rome itself there was great mourning for what had happened and great apprehension as to what might happen in the future. The consul marched out of Samnium and advanced as far as Numistro in Lucania. Here he encamped on level ground in full view of Hannibal, who was occupying a hill. To show the confidence he felt, he was the first to offer battle, and when Hannibal saw the standards emerging from the gates of the camp, he did not decline the challenge. They formed their lines so that the Carthaginian rested his right on the hill, while the Roman left was protected by the town. The troops who were first engaged were, on the Roman side, the first legion and the right wing of the allies; those under Hannibal comprised the Spanish infantry and the Balearic slingers. When the action had commenced the elephants were driven on to the field. The contest was prolonged from the third hour of the day until nightfall, and when the front lines were worn out, the third legion relieved the first and the left wing of the allies took the place of the right. Fresh troops also came into action on the other side, with the result that instead of a spiritless and exhausted struggle a fierce fight broke out anew between men who were fresh in mind and body. Night, however, separated the combatants whilst the victory was yet undecided." The following day the Romans remained under arms from sunrise till well on in the day, ready to renew the contest. But as no enemy showed himself, they began to gather the spoils of the field, and after collecting the bodies of the slain into one heap, they burnt them. Hannibal broke up his camp quietly at night and withdrew into Apulia. When daylight revealed the enemies' flight, Marcellus made up his mind to follow in his track. He left the wounded with a small guard at Numistro under the charge of L. Furius Purpurio, one of his military tribunes, and came up with Hannibal at Venusia. Here for some days there were skirmishes between the outposts and slight actions in which both cavalry and infantry took part, but no regular battle. In nearly every case the Romans had the advantage. Both armies traversed Apulia without fighting any important action, Hannibal marching by night always on the look-out for a chance of surprise or ambush, Marcellus never moving but in daylight, and then only after careful reconnoitring.

At Capua, in the meantime, Flaccus was occupied with the sale of the property of the principal citizens and the farming of the revenues from that part of the territory which had become Roman domain-land; the impost being paid in corn. As though there was never to be wanting some reason or other for treating the Capuans with severity, disclosures were made of a fresh crime which had been hatched in secret. Fulvius had moved his men out of the houses in Capua, partly through fear lest his army should demoralised by the attractions of the city, as Hannibal's had been, and partly that there might be houses to go with the land which was being let. The troops were ordered to construct military huts just outside the walls and gates. Most of these they made of wattle or planking; some used plaited osiers and covered them with straw, as though deliberately designing them to feed a conflagration. One hundred and seventy Capuans with the brothers Blossius at their head formed a plot to set fire to all these huts simultaneously in the night. Some slaves belonging to the Blossian household betrayed the secret. On receiving the information the proconsul at once ordered the gates to be shut and the troops to arm. All those involved in the crime were arrested, examined under torture, found guilty, and summarily executed. The informers received their freedom and 10,000 ases each. The people of Nuceria and Acerrae having complained that they had nowhere to live, as Acerrae was partly destroyed by fire and Nuceria completely demolished, Fulvius sent them to Rome to appear before the senate. Permission was given to the Acerrans to rebuild those houses which had been burnt, and as the people of Nuceria had expressed their desire to settle at Atella, the Atellans were ordered to remove to Calatia. In spite of the many important incidents, some favourable, some unfavourable, which were occupying the public attention, the citadel of Tarentum was not lost sight of. M. Ogulnius and P. Aquilius were appointed commissioners for the purchase of corn in Etruria, and a force of 1000 men drawn from the home army, with an equal number from the allied contingents, conveyed it to Tarentum.

The summer was now drawing to a close, and the date of the consular elections was near at hand. Marcellus wrote to say that it would be against the interests of the republic to lose touch with Hannibal, as he was being pressed steadily back, and avoided anything like a battle. The senate were reluctant to recall him just when he was most effectively employed; at the same time they were anxious lest there should be no consuls for the coming year. They decided that the best course would be to recall the consul Valerius from Sicily, though he was outside the borders of Italy. The senate instructed L. Manlius the City praetor to write to him to that effect, and at the same time to send on the despatch from M. Marcellus that he might understand the reason for the senate recalling him rather than his colleague from his province. It was about this time that envoys from King Syphax came to Rome. They enumerated the successful battles which the king had fought against the Carthaginians, and declared that there was no people to whom he was a more uncompromising foe than the people of Carthage, and none towards whom he felt more friendly than the people of Rome. He had already sent envoys to the two Scipios in Spain, now he wished to ask for the friendship of Rome from the fountain-head. The senate not only gave the envoys a gracious reply, but they in their turn sent envoys and presents to the king-the men selected for the mission being L. Genucius, P. Poetelius, and P. Popillius. The presents they took with them were a purple toga and a purple tunic, an ivory chair and a golden bowl weighing five pounds. After their visit to Syphax they were commissioned to visit other petty kings in Africa and carry as a present to each of them a toga praetexta and a golden bowl, three pounds in weight. M. Atilius and Manlius Acilius were also despatched to Alexandria, to Ptolemy and Cleopatra, to remind them of the alliance already existing, and to renew the friendly relations with Rome. The presents they carried to the king were a purple toga and a purple tunic and an ivory chair; to the queen they gave an embroidered palla and a purple cloak. During the summer in which these incidents occurred numerous portents were reported from the neighbouring cities and country districts. A lamb is said to have been yeaned at Tusculum with its udder full of milk; the summit of the temple of Jupiter was struck by lightning and nearly the whole of the roof stripped off; the ground in front of the gate of Anagnia was similarly struck almost at the same time and continued burning for a day and a night without anything to feed the fire; at Anagnia Compitum the birds had deserted their nests in the grove of Diana; at Tarracina snakes of an extraordinary size leaped out of the sea like sporting fishes close to the harbour; at Tarquinii a pig had been farrowed with the face of a man; in the district of Capena four statues near the Grove of Feronia had sweated blood for a day and a night. The pontiffs decreed that these portents should be expiated by the sacrifice of oxen; a day was appointed for solemn intercessions to be offered up at all the shrines in Rome, and on the following day similar intercessions were to be offered in Campania, at the grove of Feronia.

On receiving his letter of recall the consul M. Valerius handed over the army and the administration of the province to the praetor Cincius, and gave instructions to M. Valerius Messala, the commander of the fleet, to sail with a part of his force to Africa and harry the coast and at the same time find out what he could about the plans and preparations of Carthage. Then he left with ten vessels for Rome, which he reached after a good voyage. Immediately on his arrival he summoned a meeting of the senate and laid before them a report of his administration. For nearly sixty years, he said, Sicily had been the scene of war both by land and sea, and the Romans had suffered many serious defeats there. Now he had completely reduced the province, there was not a Carthaginian in the island, nor was there a single Sicilian amongst those who had been driven away who had not now returned. They had all been repatriated, and were settled in their own cities and ploughing their own fields. Once more the desolated land was under tillage, the land which enriched its cultivators with its produce and formed an unfailing bulwark against scarcity for Rome in times of war and peace, alike. When the consul had addressed the senate, Muttines and others who had done good service to Rome were introduced, and the promises which the consul had made were redeemed by the bestowal of honours and rewards upon them. A resolution was carried in the Assembly, with the sanction of the senate, conferring the full Roman citizenship on Muttines. M. Valerius, meanwhile, having reached the African shore with his fifty ships before daybreak, made a sudden descent on the territory of Utica. Extending his depredations far and wide he secured plunder of every kind including a large number of prisoners. With these spoils he returned to his ships and sailed back to Sicily, entering the port of Lilybaeum, within a fortnight of his departure. The prisoners were subjected to a close examination, and the following facts were elicited and duly forwarded to Laevinus that he might understand the position in Africa: 5000 Numidians were at Carthage with Gala's son, Masinissa, a young man of great energy and enterprise; other mercenary troops were being raised throughout Africa to be sent over to Spain to reinforce Hasdrubal, so that he might have as large a force as possible with which to cross over into Italy and join his brother, Hannibal. The Carthaginians, believed that in adopting this plan they were sure of victory. In addition to these preparations an immense fleet was being fitted out to recover Sicily, and it was expected to appear off the island in a short time.

The consul communicated this intelligence to the senate, and they were so impressed by its importance that they thought the consul ought not to wait for the elections, but return at once to his province after naming a Dictator to preside over the elections. Matters were delayed somewhat by the debate which followed. The consul said that when he reached Sicily he would nominate M. Valerius Messalla, who was at that time commanding the fleet, as Dictator; the senators on the other hand asserted that no one who was outside Roman soil, i.e., who was beyond the frontiers of Italy, could be nominated Dictator: M. Lucretius, one of the tribunes of the plebs, took the sense of the House upon the question, and the senate made a decree, requiring the consul, previously to his departure from the City, to put the question to the people, whom they wished to have nominated Dictator, and then to nominate the man whom the people had chosen. If the consul declined to do this, then the praetor was to put the question, and if he refused, then the tribunes were to bring the matter before the people. As the consul refused to submit to the people what was within his own rights, and had inhibited the praetor from doing so either, it fell to the tribunes to put the question, and the plebs resolved that Q. Fulvius, who was then at Capua, should be nominated. But the day before the Assembly met, the consul left secretly in the night for Sicily, and the senate, thus left in the lurch, ordered a despatch to be sent to Marcellus, urging him to come to the aid of the Commonwealth which his colleague had deserted, and nominate the man whom the people had resolved to have as Dictator. Q. Fulvius was accordingly nominated Dictator by the consul M. Claudius, and under the same resolution of the plebs P. Licinius Crassus, the Pontifex Maximus, was named by Q. Fulvius as his Master of the Horse.

On the Dictator's arrival in Rome he sent C. Sempronius Blaesus, who had been his second in command in Capua, to the army in Etruria, to relieve C. Calpurnius, to whom he had sent written instructions to take over the command of his own army at Capua. He fixed the earliest possible date for the elections, but they could not be closed owing to a difference between the tribunes and the Dictator. The junior century of the Galerian tribe had obtained the first place in the order of voting, and they had declared for Q. Fulvius and Q. Fabius. The other centuries, summoned in their order, would have gone the same way, had not two of the tribunes of the plebs-Caius Arrenius and his brother Lucius-intervened. They said that it was infringing the rights of his fellow-citizens for a magistrate to extend his period of office, and it was a still greater offence for the man who was conducting the elections to allow himself to be elected. If, therefore, the Dictator accepted votes for himself, they should place their veto on the proceedings, but if the names of any others than himself were put up, they would not stop the election. The Dictator defended the procedure by alleging the authority of the senate and a resolution of the Assembly as precedents. "When Cneius Servilius," he said, "was consul and the other consul had fallen in battle at Lake Thrasymenus, this question was referred by authority of the senate to the plebs, and they passed a resolution that as long as there was war in Italy the people had the right to reappoint as consuls, any who had been consuls, as often as they pleased. I have an old precedent for my action in this instance in the case of L. Postumius Megellus, who was elected consul together with C. Junius Bubulcus at the very election over which he was presiding as interrex, and a recent one in the case of Q. Fabius Maximus, who would certainly never have allowed himself to be re-elected if it had not been in the interest of the State."

A long discussion followed, and at last an agreement was come to between the Dictator and the tribunes that they would abide by the opinion of the senate. In view of the critical position of the State, the senate saw that the conduct of affairs ought to be in the hands of old and tried men of ability and experience in war, and that there ought to be no delay in the elections. The tribunes gave way and the elections were held. Q. Fabius Maximus was returned as consul for the fifth time, and Q. Fulvius Flaccus for the fourth time. The elections of praetors followed, the successful candidates being: L. Veturius Philo, T. Quinctius Crispinus, C. Hostilius Tubulus and C. Aurunculeius. As soon as the magistrates were appointed for the year, Q. Fulvius laid down his office. At the close of this summer a Carthaginian fleet of forty vessels under the command of Hamilcar sailed across to Sardinia and laid waste the territory of Olbia. On the appearance of the praetor P. Manlius Volso with his army, they sailed round to the other side of the island and devastated the district of Caralita, after which they returned to Africa with every description of plunder. Several Roman priests died this year and others were appointed in their place. C. Servilius was made pontiff in place of T. Otacilius Crassus. Tiberius Sempronius Longus, son of Tiberius, was appointed augur in place of T. Otacilius Crassus, Tiberius Sempronius Longus, son of Tiberius, was similarly appointed one of the Keepers of the Sacred Books in place of Ti. Sempronius Longus, son of Tiberius. The deaths took place also of M. Marcius, the Rex Sacrorum, and M. Aemilius Papus, the Curio Maximus; these vacancies were not filled up during the year. The censors appointed this year were L. Veturius Philo and P. Licinius Crassus, the Pontifex Maximus. Licinius Crassus had not been either consul or praetor before he was made censor, he went straight from the aedileship to the censorship. These censors, however, did not revise the roll of senators, nor did they transact any public business whatever; the death of L. Veturius put an end to their censorship, for Licinius at once resigned office. The curule aediles, L. Veturius and P. Licinius Varus, celebrated the Roman Games for one day. The plebeian aediles, Q. Catius and L. Porcius Licinius, devoted the money derived from fines to the casting of bronze statues for the temple of Ceres; they also celebrated the Plebeian Games with great splendour, considering the resources available at the time.

At the close of the year C. Laelius arrived in Rome, thirty-four days after leaving Tarraco. His entrance into the City with his train of prisoners was watched by a great crowd of spectators. The next day he appeared before the senate and reported that Carthage, the capital city of Spain, had been captured in a single day, whilst several revolted cities had been recovered and new ones received into alliance. The information gained from the prisoners tallied with that conveyed in the despatches of M. Valerius Messalla. What produced the greatest impression on the senate was the threatened march of Hasdrubal into Italy, which could hardly hold its ground against Hannibal and his arms. When Laelius was brought before the Assembly he repeated the statements already made in the senate. A day of solemn thanksgiving for P. Scipio's victories was decreed, and C. Laelius was ordered to return as soon as possible to Spain with the ships he had brought over. Following many authorities, I have referred the capture of New Carthage to this year, though I am quite aware that some writers place it in the following year. This, however, appears improbable, as Scipio could hardly have spent a whole year in Spain without doing anything. The new consuls entered office on March 15th, and on the same day the senate assigned them their province. They were both to command in Italy; Tarentum was to be the objective for Fabius; Fulvius was to operate in Lucania and Bruttium. M. Claudius Marcellus had his command extended for a year The praetors balloted for their provinces; C. Hostilius Tubulus obtained the City jurisdiction; L. Venturius Philo the alien jurisdiction together with Gaul; Capua fell to T. Quinctius Crispinus, and Sardinia to C. Aurunculeius. The following was the distribution of the armies. The two legions which M. Valerius Laevinus had in Sicily were assigned to Fulvius, those which C. Calpurnius had commanded in Etruria were transferred to Q. Fabius; C. Calpurnius was to remain in Etruria and the City force was to form his command; T. Quinctius was to retain the army which Quintus Fulvius had had; C. Hostilius was to take over his province and army from the propraetor C. Laetorius who was at the time at Ariminum. The legions who had been serving with the consul were assigned to M. Marcellus. M. Valerius and L. Cincius had their term in Sicily extended, and the army of Cannae was placed under their command; they were required to bring it up to full strength out of any that remained of Cn. Fulvius' legions. These were hunted up and sent by the consuls into Sicily, where they were subjected to the same humiliating conditions as the defeated of Cannae and those belonging to Cn. Fulvius' army who had already been sent to Sicily as a punishment by the senate. The legions with which P. Manlius Vulso had held Sardinia were placed under C. Aurunculeius and remained in the island. P. Sulpicius retained his command for another year with instructions to employ the same legion and fleet against Macedonia which he had previously had. Orders were issued for thirty quinqueremes to be despatched from Sicily to the consul at Tarentum, the rest of the fleet was to sail to Africa and ravage the coast, under the command of M. Valerius Laevinus, or if he did not go himself he was to send either L . Cincius or M. Valerius Messalla. There were no changes in Spain except that Scipio and Silanus had their commands extended, not for a year but until such time as they should be recalled by the senate. Such were the distribution of the provinces and the military commands for the year.

While the public attention was fixed on more important matters an old controversy was revived on the occasion of the election of a Curio Maximus, in place of M. Aemilius. There was one candidate, a plebeian, C. Mamilius Atellus, and the patricians contended that no votes ought to be counted for him, as none but a patrician had ever yet held that dignity. The tribunes, on being appealed to, referred the matter to the senate, the senate left it to the decision of the people. C. Mamilius Atellus was accordingly the first plebeian to be elected Curio Maximus. P. Licinius, the Pontifex Maximus, compelled C. Valerius Flaccus to be consecrated, against his will, a Flamen of Jupiter. C. Laetorius was appointed one of the Keepers of the Sacred Books in place of Q. Mucius Scaevola, deceased. Had not the bad repute into which Valerius had fallen given place to a good and honourable character, I should have preferred to keep silence as to the cause of his forcible consecration. It was in consequence of his careless and dissolute life as a young man, which had estranged his own brother Lucius and his other relations, that the Pontifex Maximus made him a Flamen. When his thoughts became wholly occupied with the performance of his sacred duties he threw off his former character so completely that amongst all the young men in Rome, none held a higher place in the esteem and approbation of the leading patricians, whether personal friends or strangers to him. Encouraged by this general feeling he gained sufficient self-confidence to revive a custom which, owing to the low character of former Flamens, had long fallen into disuse; he took his seat in the senate. As soon as he appeared L. Licinius the praetor had him removed. He claimed it as the ancient privilege of the priesthood and pleaded that it was conferred together with the toga praetexta and curule chair as belonging to the Flamen's office. The praetor refused to rest the question upon obsolete precedents drawn from the annalists and appealed to recent usage. No Flamen of Jupiter, he argued, had exercised that right within the memory of their fathers or their grandfathers. The tribunes, when appealed to, gave it as their opinion that as it was through the supineness and negligence of individual Flamens that the practice had fallen into abeyance, the priesthood ought not to be deprived of its rights. They led the Flamen into the senate amid the warm approval of the House and without any opposition even from the praetor, though every one felt that Flaccus had gained his seat more through the purity and integrity of his life than through any right inherent in his office.

Before the consuls left for their provinces they raised two legions in the City to supply the necessary drafts for the armies. The old City army was made over by the consul Fulvius to his brother Caius for service in Etruria, the legions which were in Etruria being sent to Rome. The consul Fabius ordered his son Quintus to take to M. Valerius, the proconsul in Sicily, the remains, so far as they had been got together, of the army of Fulvius. They amounted to 4344 men. He was at the same time to receive from the proconsul two legions and thirty quinqueremes. The withdrawal of these legions from the island did not weaken the occupying force in either numbers or efficiency, for besides the two old legions which had now been brought up to full strength, the proconsul had a large body of Numidian deserters, mounted and unmounted, and he also enlisted those Sicilians who had served with Epicydes and the Carthaginians, and were seasoned soldiers. By strengthening each of the Roman legions with these foreign auxiliaries he gave them the appearance of two complete armies. One of these he placed under L. Cincius, for the protection of that part of the island which had constituted the kingdom of Hiero; the other he retained under his own command for the defence of the rest of Sicily. He also broke up his fleet of seventy ships so as to make it available for the defence of the entire coast-line of the island. Escorted by Muttines' cavalry he made a tour of the island in order to inspect the land and note which parts were cultivated and which were uncultivated, and commend or rebuke the owners accordingly. Owing to his care and attention there was so large a yield of corn that he was able to send some to Rome, and also accumulate a store at Catina to furnish supplies for the army which was to pass the summer at Tarentum.

The deportation of the soldiers to Sicily, most of whom belonged to the Latin and the allied nationalities, very nearly caused a great rising; so often do small occasions involve serious consequences. Meetings were held amongst the Latins and the allied communities in which they complained loudly that for ten years they had been drained by levies and war-taxes; every year they fought only to sustain a great defeat, those who were not killed in battle were carried off by sickness. A fellow-citizen who was enlisted by the Romans was more lost to them than one who had been made prisoner by the Carthaginians, for the latter was sent back to his home without ransom, the former was sent out of Italy into what was really exile rather than military service. There the men who had fought at Cannae had been for eight years wearing out their lives, and there they would die before the enemy, who had never been stronger than he was today, quitted Italian soil. If the old soldiers were not to return, and fresh ones were always being enlisted, there would soon be nobody left. They would be compelled therefore, before they reached the last stage of depopulation and famine, to refuse to Rome what the necessities of their situation would very soon make it impossible to grant. If the Romans saw that this was the unanimous determination of their allies, they would assuredly begin to think about making peace with Carthage. Otherwise Italy would never be free from war as long as Hannibal was alive. Such was the general tone of the meetings. There were at the time thirty colonies belonging to Rome. Twelve of these announced to the consuls through their representatives in Rome that they had no means from which to furnish either men or money. The colonies in question were Ardea, Nepete, Sutrium, Alba, Carseoli, Sora, Suessa, Cercei, Setia, Cales, Narnia and Interamna.

The consuls, startled by this unprecedented step, wanted to frighten them out of such a detestable course, and thought that they would succeed better by uncompromising sternness than by adopting gentle methods. "You colonists," they said, "have dared to address us, the consuls, in language which we cannot bring ourselves to repeat openly in the senate, for it is not simply a refusal of military obligations, but an open revolt against Rome. You must go back to your respective colonies at once, while your treason is still confined to words, and consult your people. You are not Capuans or Tarentines, but Romans, from Rome you sprang, from Rome you have been planted in colonies on land taken from the enemy, in order that you may augment her dominion. Whatever duties children owe to their parents, you owe to Rome, if indeed you feel a spark of affection for her or cherish any memories of your mother country. So you must begin your deliberations afresh, for what you are now so recklessly contemplating means the betrayal of the sovereignty of Rome and the surrender of victory into the hands of Hannibal." Such were the arguments which each of the consuls advanced at considerable length, but they produced no impression. The envoys said that there was no reply for them to take home, nor was there any other policy for their senate to consider since there was not a man left for conscription nor any money for his pay. As the consuls saw that their determination was unshaken they brought the matter before the senate. Here such general consternation and alarm were felt that most of the senators declared that the empire was doomed, other colonies would take the same course, as would also the allies; all had agreed together to betray the City of Rome to Hannibal.

The consuls spoke in reassuring terms to the senate. They declared that the other colonies were as loyal and dutiful as ever, and even those colonies which had forgotten their duty would learn to respect the empire if representatives of the government were sent amongst them, with words of admonishment and rebuke, not of supplication or entreaty. The senate left it to the consuls to take such action as they deemed best in the interests of the State. After sounding the temper of the other colonies, they summoned their delegates to Rome and questioned them as to whether they had soldiers in readiness in accordance with the terms of their constitution. M. Sextilius of Fregellae, acting as spokesman for the eighteen colonies, replied that the stipulated number of soldiers were ready for service; if more were needed they would furnish more, and do their utmost to carry out the wishes and commands of the Roman people. They had no insufficiency of resources, they had more than a sufficiency of loyalty and goodwill. The consuls told them in reply that they felt they could not praise their conduct as they deserved unless the senate as a body thanked them, and with this, bade them follow them into the House. A resolution was adopted by the senate and read to them, couched in the most complimentary and laudatory terms possible. The consuls were then charged to introduce them to the Assembly and, among the other splendid services which they had rendered to them and their ancestors, to make special mention of this fresh obligation which they had conferred on the Republic. Though so many generations have passed away, their names ought not to be passed over in silence nor their due meed of praise withheld. Signia, Norba, Saticula, Fregellae, Lucerium, Venusia, Brundisium, Hadria, Formae and Ariminum; on the Tyrrhenian Sea, Pontia, Paestum, Cosa; and the inland colonies, Beneventum, Aesernum, Spoletum, Placentia and Cremona-these were the colonies by whose aid and succour the dominion of Rome was upheld, it was these who were publicly thanked in the senate and before the Assembly. The senate forbade all mention of the other colonies who had proved false to the empire; the consuls were to ignore their representatives, neither retaining them nor dismissing them nor addressing them, but leaving them severely alone. This silent rebuke seemed most in accordance with the dignity of the Roman people. The other preparations for war now occupied the attention of the consuls. It was decided that the "vicesimary gold" which was kept as a reserve for extreme emergencies in the secret treasury should now be brought out. Four thousand pounds of gold were produced. Of this 550 pounds were given to each of the consuls and to the proconsuls M. Marcellus and P. Sulpicius. A similar amount was given to the praetor L. Veturius, who had drawn in the lottery the province of Gaul, and a special grant of 100 pounds was placed in the hands of the consul Fabius, to be carried into the citadel of Tarentum. The rest was made use of in purchasing, for cash at contract prices, clothing for the army in Spain, whose successful operations were enhancing their own and their general's reputation.

It was further decided that before the consul left the City certain portents should be expiated. Various places had been struck by lightning: the statue of Jupiter on the Alban Mount and a tree near his temple, a grove at Ostia, the city wall and temple of Fortune at Capua and the wall and one of the gates at Sinuessa. Some people asserted that the water at Alba had run blood and that in the sanctuary of the temple of Fors Fortuna in Rome a statuette in the diadem of the goddess had fallen of itself on to her hand. It was confidently believed that at Privernum an ox had spoken and that a vulture had flown down on to a booth in the crowded forum. At Sinuessa it was reported that a child was born of doubtful sex, these are commonly called androgyni-a word like many others borrowed from the Greek, a language which readily admits compound words-also that it had rained milk and that a boy had been born with an elephant's head. These portents were expiated by sacrifices of full-grown victims, and a day was appointed for special intercessions at all the shrines. It was further decreed that the praetor C. Hostilius should vow and celebrate the Games of Apollo in strict accordance with the practice of recent years. During this interval the consul Q. Fulvius convened the Assembly for the election of censors. Two men were elected, neither of whom had attained the dignity of consul-M. Cornelius Cethegus and P. Sempronius Tuditanus. A measure was adopted by the plebs, with the sanction of the senate, authorising these censors to let the territory of Capua to individual occupiers. The revision of the senatorial roll was delayed through a difference between them as to who ought to be chosen as leader of the senate. The selection had fallen to Sempronius; Cornelius, however, insisted that they ought to follow the traditional usage in accordance with which the man who had been the first of all his surviving contemporaries to be appointed censor was always chosen as leader of the senate and in this case it was T. Manlius Torquatus. Sempronius replied that the gods who had given him by lot the right of choosing had also given him the right to make a free choice; he should therefore act on his own discretion and choose Q. Fabius Maximus, the man whom he claimed as foremost of all the Romans, a claim he would make good before Hannibal himself. After a lengthy argument his colleague gave way and Sempronius selected Q. Fabius Maximus as leader of the senate. The revision of the roll was then proceeded with, eight names being struck off, amongst them that of M. Caecilius Metellus, the author of the infamous proposal to abandon Italy after Cannae. For the same reason some were struck out of the equestrian order, but there were very few on whom the taint of that disgrace rested. All those who had belonged to the cavalry of the legions of Cannae, which were in Italy at the time-and there was a considerable number of them-were deprived of their regulation horses. This punishment was made still heavier by an extension of their compulsory service. The years they had served with the horses furnished by the State were not to count, they were to serve their ten years from that date with their own horses. A large number of men were discovered who ought to have served, and all those who had reached the age of seventeen at the commencement of the war and had not done any military service were degraded to the aerarii. The censors next signed contracts for the rebuilding of the places round the Forum which had been destroyed by fire. These comprised seven shops, the fish market and the Hall of Vestal.

After despatching their business in Rome the consuls started for the war. Fulvius was the first to leave and went on in advance to Capua. After a few days Fabius followed, and in a personal interview with his colleague strongly urged him, as he had Marcellus by letter, to do his utmost to keep Hannibal on the defensive while he himself was attacking Tarentum. He pointed out that the enemy had now been driven back on all sides, and if he were deprived of that city there would be no position where he could make a stand, no sure place for retreat, there would be no longer anything to keep him in Italy. He also sent a message to the commandant of the garrison which Laevinus had stationed in Regium as a check against the Bruttii. This was a force of 8000 men, the majority drawn, as stated above, from Agathyrna in Sicily, and all accustomed to live by rapine; their numbers had been swelled by deserters from Bruttium, who were quite their equals in recklessness and love of desperate adventures. Fabius ordered the commandant to take this force into Bruttium and lay waste the country and then attack the city of Caulonia. They carried out their orders with alacrity and zest, and after plundering and scattering the peasants, they made a furious attack on the citadel. The consul's letter and his own belief that no Roman general was so good a match for Hannibal as himself stirred Marcellus into action. As soon as there was plenty of forage in the fields he broke up his winter quarters and confronted Hannibal at Canusium. The Carthaginian was trying to induce the Canusians to revolt, but as soon as he heard of the approach of Marcellus, he moved away. As the country was open, affording no cover for an ambuscade, he began to withdraw into a more wooded district. Marcellus followed at his heels, fixed his camp close to Hannibal's, and the moment he had completed his entrenchments he led his legions out to battle. Hannibal saw no necessity for risking a general engagement, and sent out detached troops of cavalry and bodies of slingers to skirmish. He was, however, drawn into the battle which he had tried to avoid, for after he had been marching all night, Marcellus caught him up in level and open country, and prevented him from fortifying his camp by attacking the entrenching parties on all sides. A pitched battled ensued in which the whole strength of both armies was engaged, and at the approach of nightfall they separated on equal terms. Both the camps, separated by only a small interval, were hastily fortified before dark. As soon as it began to grow light on the morrow Marcellus marched his men on to the field and Hannibal accepted the challenge. He said much to encourage his men, bidding them remember Thrasymenus and Cannae, and tame the insolence of their foe, who was incessantly pressing them and following on their heels, preventing them from fortifying their camp, giving them no breathing space, no time to look round. Day after day two objects met their eyes at the same time, the rising sun and the Roman battle-line on the plain. If the enemy got away with heavy loss after one battle, he would conduct his operations more quietly and deliberately. Animated by their general's words and exasperated at the defiant way in which the enemy challenged and provoked them, they began the battle with great spirit. After more than two hours' fighting the allied contingent on the Roman right including the special levies, began to give way. As soon as Marcellus saw this he brought the 10th legion up to the front. They were slow in coming up, and as the others were becoming unsteady and falling back, the whole line was gradually thrown into disorder and ultimately routed. Their fears got the better of them and they took to flight. 2700 Romans and allies fell in the battle and during the pursuit; amongst them were four centurions and two military tribunes, M. Licinius and M. Helvius. Four standards were lost out of the wing which began the fight, and two from the legion which came up in support.

When they were once more in camp, Marcellus addressed such an impassioned and stinging remonstrance to his men that they suffered more from the words of their angry general than in the adverse struggle which they had kept up the livelong day. "As matters are," he said, "I am devoutly thankful to heaven that the enemy did not actually attack the camp while you in your panic were dashing into the gates and over the rampart; you would most certainly have abandoned your camp in the same wild terror in which you deserted the field. What is the meaning of this panic, this terror? What has suddenly come to you that you should forget who you are and with whom you are fighting? These surely are precisely the same enemies as those whom you spent last summer in defeating and pursuing, whom you have been closely following up these last few days, whilst they fled before you night and day, whom you have worn out in skirmishes, whom as late as yesterday you prevented from either advancing or encamping. I pass over incidents for which you may possibly take credit to yourselves and will only mention one circumstance which ought to fill you with shame and remorse. Last night, as you know, you drew off from the field after holding your own against the enemy. How has the situation changed during the night or throughout the day? Have your forces been weakened or his strengthened? But really, I do not seem to myself to be speaking to my army or to Roman soldiers, it is only your bodies and weapons that are the same. Do you imagine if you had had the spirit of Romans that the enemy would have seen your backs or captured a single standard from either maniple or cohort? So far he has prided himself upon the Roman legions he has cut up, you have been the first to confer upon him today the glory of having put a Roman army to flight."

Then there arose a general cry of supplication; the men begged him to pardon them for that day's work, and to make use of his soldiers' courage whenever and wherever he would. "Very well, soldiers," he said, "I will make proof of it and lead you to battle tomorrow, so that you may win the pardon you crave as victors rather as vanquished." He ordered the cohorts who had lost their standards to be put on barley rations, and the centurions of the maniples whose standards were lost were ordered to stand away from their fellows without their military cloaks and girdles and with their swords drawn. All the troops, mounted and unmounted, were ordered to assemble under arms the following day. They were then dismissed and all acknowledged that they had been justly and deservedly censured, and that in the whole army there was not one who had that day shown himself a man except their commander. They felt bound to make satisfaction to him either by their deaths or by a brilliant victory. The next morning they appeared equipped and armed according to orders. The general expressed his approval and announced that those who had been the first to flee and the cohorts which had lost their standards would be placed in the forefront of the battle. He went on to say that all must fight and conquer, and that they must, one and all, do their utmost to prevent the rumour of yesterday's flight from reaching Rome before the news of that day's victory. They were then ordered to strengthen themselves with food, so that if the fight was prolonged they might hold out. After all had been said and done to raise their courage, they marched to battle.

When this was reported to Hannibal, he remarked, "Evidently we have to do with an enemy who cannot endure either good fortune or bad. If he is victorious he follows up the vanquished in fierce pursuit; if he is defeated he renews the struggle with his conquerors." Then he ordered the advance to be sounded, and led his men on to the field. The fighting was much hotter than on the previous day; the Carthaginians did their utmost to maintain the prestige they had gained, the Romans were equally determined to wipe out the disgrace of their defeat. The contingents who had formed the Roman left and the cohorts who had lost their standards were fighting in the front line, and the twentieth legion was stationed on their right. L. Cornelius Lentulus and C: Claudius Nero commanded the wings; Marcellus remained in the centre to encourage his men and mark how they bore themselves in battle. Hannibal's front line consisted of his Spanish troops, the flower of his army. After a long and undecided struggle he ordered the elephants to be brought up into the fighting line, in the hope that they would create confusion and panic among the enemy. At first they threw the front ranks into disorder, trampling some underfoot and scattering those round in wild alarm. One flank was thus exposed, and the rout would have spread much farther had not C. Decimius Flavus, one of the military tribunes, snatched the standard of the foremost maniple of hastati and called on them to follow him. He took them to where the animals trotting close to one another were creating the greatest tumult, and told his men to hurl their javelins at them. Owing to the short distance and the huge mark presented by the beasts, crowded as they were together, every missile went home. They were not all hit, but those in whose flanks the javelins were sticking turned the uninjured ones to flight, for these animals cannot be depended upon. Not only the men who first attacked them, but every soldier within reach hurled his javelin at them as they galloped back into the Carthaginian ranks, where they caused much more destruction than they had caused amongst the enemy. They dashed about much more recklessly and did far greater damage when driven by their fears, than when directed by their drivers. Where the line was broken by their charge, the Roman standards at once advanced, and the broken and demoralised enemy was put to rout without much fighting. Marcellus sent his cavalry after the fugitives, and the pursuit did not slacken till they had been driven in wild panic to their camp. To add to their confusion and terror two of the elephants had fallen and blocked up the camp gate, and the men had to scramble into their camp over fosse and rampart. It was here that they suffered the heaviest loss; 8000 men were killed and five elephants. The victory was anything but a bloodless one for the Romans; out of the two legions some 1700 men were killed and 1300 of the allied contingents, besides a very large number of wounded in both divisions. The following night Hannibal shifted his camp. Marcellus, though anxious to follow him, was unable to do so owing to the enormous number of wounded. Reconnoitring parties who were sent out to watch his movements reported that he had taken the direction of Bruttium.

About this time the Hirpini, the Lucani and the Vulcientes surrendered to the consul Q. Fulvius, and delivered up the garrisons which Hannibal had placed in their cities. He accepted their submission graciously, and only reproached them for the mistake they had made in the past. This led the Bruttians to hope that similar indulgence might be shown to them, and they sent the two men who were of highest rank amongst them. Vivius and his brother Paccius, to ask for favourable terms of surrender. The consul Q. Fabius carried by storm the town of Manduria, in the country of the Sallentines. 3000 prisoners were secured and a considerable amount of plunder. From there he marched to Tarentum, and fixed his camp at the very mouth of the harbour. Some of the ships which Laevinus had had for the purpose of keeping the sea open for supplies he loaded with the engines and apparatus necessary for battering the walls; others he made use of for carrying artillery and stores and projectiles of every kind. Only the transports which were propelled by oars were there made use of, so that whilst some of the troops could bring up their engines and scaling ladders close to the walls, others could beat off the defenders from the walls by attacking them at a distance from the ships. These vessels were so fitted up that they could attack the city from the open sea without any interference from the enemy, as the Carthaginian fleet had sailed across to Corcyra to assist Philip in his campaign against the Aetolians. The force besieging Caulo, hearing of Hannibal's approach and fearing a surprise, withdrew to a position on the hills which was safe from any immediate attack.

While Fabius was besieging Tarentum an incident, of slight importance in itself, helped him to achieve a great success. The Tarentines had been furnished by Hannibal with a garrison of Bruttian troops. One of their officers was deeply in love with a young woman who had a brother in Fabius' army. She had written to tell him of the intimacy that had sprung up between her and a stranger who was rich and held a high position amongst his countrymen. The brother was led to hope that through his sister's means her lover might be led on to any lengths, and he communicated his anticipations to the consul. The idea did not seem at all an unreasonable one, and he received instructions to cross the lines and enter Tarentum as a deserter. After being introduced to the officer by his sister and getting on friendly terms with him, he cautiously sounded his disposition without betraying his real object. When he had satisfied himself as to the weakness of his character he called in his sister's aid, and through her coaxing and blandishments the man was persuaded to betray the position which he was in charge of. When the time and method of carrying out the project were arranged, a soldier was despatched from the city at night to make his way through the outposts and report to the consul what had been done and what arrangements had been made.

At the first watch Fabius gave the signal for action to the troops in the citadel and those who were guarding the harbour, and then marched right round the harbour and took up his position without being observed on the east side of the town. Then he ordered the trumpets to sound at the same moment from the citadel, the harbour and the ships which had been brought up from the open sea. The greatest shouting and uproar was designedly raised in just those parts where there was least danger of an attack. The consul meanwhile kept his men perfectly quiet. Democrates, who had formerly commanded the fleet, happened to be in charge of that part of the defences. Finding all quiet round him whilst elsewhere there was shouting and tumult as though the city had been taken, he feared to remain where he was in case the consul should storm the place and break in somewhere else. So he led his men up to the citadel from which the most alarming noise proceeded. From the time that had elapsed and the silence which followed the excited shouts and calls to arms, Fabius judged that the garrison had withdrawn from that part of the fortifications. He at once ordered the scaling ladders to be carried to that part of the walls where he understood from the traitor that the Bruttii were mounting guard. With their aid and connivance that section of the fortifications was carried, and the Romans made their way into the town after breaking down the nearest gate to allow the main body of their comrades to march in. Raising their battle shout they went on to the forum; which they reached about sunrise without meeting a single armed enemy. All the defenders who had been engaged at the citadel and the harbour now combined to attack them.

The fighting in the forum commenced with an impetuosity which was not sustained. The Tarentine was no match for the Roman either in courage or weapons or military training or bodily strength and vigour. They hurled their javelins, and that was all; almost before they came to close quarters they turned and fled through the streets, seeking shelter in their own homes and in their friends' houses. Two of their leaders, Nico and Democrates, fell fighting bravely; Philemenus, who had been the prime agent in delivering the city up to Hannibal, rode at full speed out of the battle, but though his riderless horse was recognised soon afterwards whilst straying about the city, his body was nowhere found. It was commonly believed that he had been pitched headlong from his horse down an unprotected well. Carthalo the commandant of the garrison, had laid down his arms and was going to the consul to remind him of the old tie of hospitality between their fathers when he was killed by a soldier who met him. Those found with arms and those who had none were massacred indiscriminately, Carthaginians and Tarentines met the same fate. Many even of the Bruttians were killed in different parts of the town, either by mistake or to satisfy an old-standing hate, or to suppress any rumour of its capture through treachery, by making it appear as though it had been taken by storm. After the carnage followed the sack of the city. It is said that 30,000 slaves were captured together with an enormous quantity of silver plate and bullion, 83 pounds' weight of gold and a collection of statues and pictures almost equal to that which had adorned Syracuse. Fabius, however, showed a nobler spirit than Marcellus had exhibited in Sicily; he kept his hands off that kind of spoil. When his secretary asked him what he wished to have done with some colossal statues-they were deities, each represented in his appropriate dress and in a fighting attitude-he ordered them to be left to the Tarentines who had felt their wrath. The wall which separated the city from the citadel was completely demolished.

Hannibal had in the meanwhile received the surrender of the force which was investing Caulo. As soon as he heard that Tarentum was being attacked he hurried to its relief, marching night and day. On receiving the news of its capture, he remarked, "The Romans too have their Hannibal, we have lost Tarentum by the same practices by which we gained it." To prevent his retirement from appearing like a flight he encamped at a distance of about five miles from the city, and after staying there for a few days he fell back on Metapontum. From this place he sent two of the townsmen with a letter to Fabius at Tarentum. It was written by the civic authorities, and stated that they were prepared to surrender Metapontum and its Carthaginian garrison if the consul would pledge his word that they should not suffer for their conduct in the past. Fabius believed the letter to be genuine and handed the bearers a reply addressed to their chiefs, fixing the date of his arrival at Metapontum. This was taken to Hannibal. Naturally delighted to find that even Fabius was not proof against his stratagems, he disposed his force in ambuscade not far from Metapontum. Before leaving Tarentum Fabius consulted the sacred chickens, and on two occasions they gave an unfavourable omen. He also consulted the gods of sacrifice, and after they had inspected the victim the augurs warned him to be on his guard against plots and ambuscades on the part of the enemy. As he did not come at the appointed time, the Metapontines were again sent to him to hasten his movements, and were promptly arrested. Terrified at the prospect of examination under torture, they disclosed the plot.

P. Scipio had spent the whole winter in winning over the various Spanish tribes, either by bribes or by restoring those of their countrymen who had been taken as hostages or prisoners. At the commencement of summer Edesco, a famous Spanish chieftain, came to visit him. His wife and children were in the hands of the Romans, but that was not the only reason why he came. He was influenced by the change which Fortune apparently was bringing about over the whole of Spain in favour of Rome as against Carthage. The same motive actuated Indibilis and Mandonius, who were beyond question the most powerful chiefs in Spain. They abandoned Hasdrubal, with the whole of their contingent, and withdrew to the hills above his camp and keeping along the ridge of mountains made their way safely to the Roman headquarters. When Hasdrubal saw that the enemy were receiving such accessions of strength whilst his own forces were shrinking in equal proportion, he realised that unless he made some bold move, the wastage would continue, so he made up his mind to seize the first opportunity of fighting. Scipio was still more anxious for a battle; his confidence had grown with success, and he was unwilling to wait till the hostile armies had formed a junction, preferring to engage each separately rather than all united. In case, however, he might have to fight with their combined armies, he had augmented his strength by a somewhat ingenious method. As the whole of the Spanish coast was now clear of the enemy's ships, he had no further use for his own fleet, and after beaching the vessels at Tarraco he brought up the crews to reinforce his land army. Of arms and armament he had more than enough, what with those taken in the capture of New Carthage, and those which the large body of artisans had fabricated for him subsequently. Laelius, in whose absence he would not undertake anything of importance, had now returned from Rome, so in the early days of spring he left Tarraco with his composite army and marched straight for the enemy.

The country through which he passed was everywhere peaceful; each tribe as he approached gave him a friendly reception and escorted him to their frontiers. On his route he was met by Indibilis and Mandonius. The former, speaking for himself and his companion, addressed Scipio in grave and dignified language, very unlike the rough and heedless speech of barbarians. Instead of claiming credit for having seized the first opportunity of going over to the side of Rome he rather pleaded that he had no alternative. He was quite aware, he said, that the name of deserter was an object of loathing to the old friends and of suspicion to the new ones, nor did he find fault with this way of looking at it as long as the twofold odium attached not merely to the name but to the motive. Then after dwelling on the services they had both rendered to the Carthaginian generals and the rapacity and insolence which the latter had exhibited and the innumerable wrongs inflicted on them and their fellow-countrymen, he continued: "Hitherto we have been associated with them so far as our bodily presence is concerned, but our hearts and minds have long been where we believe justice and right are cherished. Now we come as suppliants to the gods who cannot permit violence and injustice, and we implore you, Scipio, not to regard our change of sides, as either a crime or a merit; put us to the test from this day forward, and as you find us, so judge and appraise our conduct." The Roman general replied that this was just what he intended to do; he should not regard as deserters men who did not consider an alliance binding where no law, human or divine, was respected. Thereupon their wives and children were brought out and restored to them amid tears of joy. For that day they were the guests of the Romans, on the morrow a definite treaty of alliance was concluded, and they were sent off to bring up their troops. On their return they shared the Roman camp and acted as guides until they reached the enemy.

The first army they came to was the one commanded by Hasdrubal, which was encamped near the city of Baecula. Cavalry outposts were stationed in front of the camp. The advance guard of the Roman column with the velites and skirmishers, at once attacked these outposts without changing their order of march or stopping to entrench themselves, and the contempt they showed for their enemy showed clearly the difference in the temper of the two armies. The cavalry were driven in hasty flight back to their camp, and the Roman standards were carried almost to the gates. That day's skirmish only served to whet the courage of the Romans, and, impatient for battle, they formed their camp. In the night Hasdrubal withdrew his force to a hill, the summit of which formed a broad table-land. His rear was protected by a river, in front and on either side the hill sloped down precipitously, forming a kind of steep bank, which surrounded the whole position. Below there was another level stretch of ground which also fell away abruptly, and was equally difficult of ascent. When, on the morrow, Hasdrubal saw the Roman battle-line standing in front of their camp, he sent his Numidian cavalry and the Balearic and African light infantry on to this lower ground. Scipio rode along the ranks and pointed to the enemy standing in full view, who, he said, having given up all hope of success on level ground were clinging to the hills, trusting to the strength of their position and not to their arms or their courage. But the walls of New Carthage were higher still, and yet Roman soldiers had surmounted them; neither hills, nor citadel, nor the sea itself had stayed the advance of their arms. What use would the heights which the enemy had seized be to them except to compel them to leap down cliffs and precipices in their flight? Even that way of escape he should close to them. He then told off two cohorts, one to hold the entrance of the valley through which the river ran, the other to block the road which led from the city along the slope of the hill into the country. The attack was commenced by the light-armed troops who had repulsed the outposts the day before, and who were led by Scipio in person. At first their only difficulty was the rough ground over which they were marching, but when they came within range of the infantry stationed on the lower plateau, all kinds of missiles were showered upon them, to which they replied with showers of stones, with which the ground was strewn, and which not only the soldiers but the camp followers who were with them flung at the enemy. Difficult as the climb was, and almost buried as they were beneath stones and javelins and darts, they went steadily on, thanks to their training in escalade and their grim determination. As soon as they reached level ground and could plant their feet firmly, their superior mode of fighting told. The light and active enemy, accustomed to fighting and skirmishing at a distance, when he could evade the missiles, was quite incapable of holding his own in a hand-to-hand fight, and he was hurled back with heavy loss on to the main body posted on the higher ground. Scipio ordered the victors to make a frontal attack on the enemy's centre, while he divided the remainder of his force between himself and Laelius. Laelius was ordered to work round the right of the hill till he could find an easier ascent; he himself, making a short detour to the left, attacked the enemy's flank. Shouts were now resounding on all sides, and the enemy tried to wheel their wings round to face the new attack; the consequence was their lines got into confusion. At this moment Laelius came up and the enemy fell back to avoid being assailed from the rear; this led to their front being broken, and an opportunity was afforded for the Roman centre to gain the plateau, which they could not have reached over such difficult ground, had the leading ranks of the Carthaginians kept their formation and the elephants remained in the fighting line. The carnage was now spreading over the field, for Scipio, who had brought his left against the enemy's right, was cutting up his exposed flank. There was no longer even a chance of flight, for the roads in both directions were blocked by the Roman detachments. Hasdrubal and his principal officers had in their flight closed the gate of their camp, and to make matters still worse, the elephants were galloping wildly about, and were dreaded by the Carthaginians as much as by the Romans. The enemies' losses amounted to 8000 men.

Hasdrubal had secured the war-chest before the battle, and after sending on the elephants in advance and collecting all the fugitives that he could, he directed his march along the Tagus towards the Pyrenees. Scipio took possession of the enemy's camp, and gave up all the plunder, with the exception of the prisoners, to his troops. On counting the prisoners he found that they amounted to 10,000 infantry and 2000 cavalry. The Spanish prisoners were all released and sent to their homes; the Africans were ordered to be sold by the quaestor. All the Spaniards, those who had previously surrendered and those who had been made prisoners the day before, now crowded round him, and with one accord saluted him as "King." He ordered silence to be proclaimed, and then told them that the title he valued most was the one his soldiers had given him, the title of "Imperator." "The name of king," he said, "so great elsewhere, is insupportable to Roman ears. If a kingly mind is in your eyes the noblest thing in human nature, you may attribute it to me in thought, but you must avoid the use of the word." Even the barbarians appreciated the greatness of a man who stood so high that he could look down on a title the splendour of which dazzled other men's eyes. Presents were then distributed amongst the Spanish princes and chieftains, and Scipio invited Indibilis to choose 300 horses out of the large number captured. Whilst the quaestor was putting up the Africans to sale, he found amongst them a remarkably handsome youth, and hearing that he was of royal blood, he sent him to Scipio. Scipio questioned him as to who he was, what country he belonged to, and why at his tender age he was in camp. He told him that he was a Numidian, and his people called him Massiva. Left an orphan by his father, he had been brought up by his maternal grandfather Gala, king of the Numidians. His uncle Masinissa had come with his cavalry to assist the Carthaginians, and he had accompanied him into Spain. Masinissa had always forbidden him to take part in the fighting because he was so young, but that day he had, unknown to his uncle, secured arms and a horse and gone into action, but his horse fell and threw him, and so he had been made prisoner. Scipio ordered the Numidian to be kept under guard, and when he had transacted all the necessary business he left the tribunal and resumed to his tent. Here he sent for his prisoner and asked him whether he would like to return to Masinissa. The boy replied amid tears of joy that he should only be too glad to do so. Scipio then presented him with a gold ring, a tunic with a wide purple border, a Spanish cloak with a gold clasp, and a beautifully caparisoned horse. He then ordered an escort of cavalry to accompany him as far as he wanted to go, and dismissed him.

A council of war was then held. Some of those present urged the immediate pursuit of Hasdrubal, but Scipio thought it hazardous in case Mago and the other Hasdrubal should join forces with him. He contented himself with sending a division to occupy the passes of the Pyrenees, and spent the remainder of the summer in receiving the submission of the Spanish tribes. A few days after the battle of Baecula, when Scipio had descended from the pass of Castulo on his return to Tarraco, the two Carthaginian generals, Hasdrubal Gisgo and Mago, came from Further Spain to join forces with Hasdrubal. They were too late to prevent his defeat, but their arrival was very timely in enabling them to concert measures for the prosecution of the war. When they came to compare notes as to the feeling in the different provinces, Hasdrubal Gisgo considered that as the distant coast of Spain between Gades and the ocean still knew nothing of the Romans, it was so far faithful to Carthage. The other Hasdrubal and Mago were agreed as to the influence which Scipio's generous treatment had had upon the feelings of all states and individuals alike, and they were convinced that the desertions could not be checked until all the Spanish soldiery had either been removed to the furthest corners of Spain or transported into Gaul. They decided therefore, without waiting for the sanction of the senate, that Hasdrubal must proceed to Italy, the focus of the war where the decisive conflict would be fought. In this way he would remove all the Spanish soldiers out of Spain far beyond the spell of Scipio's name.

His army, weakened as it was by desertions and by the losses in the recent disastrous battle, had to be brought up to its full strength. Mago was to hand over his own army to Hasdrubal Gisgo, and cross over to the Balearic Isles with an ample supply of money to hire mercenaries among the islanders. Hasdrubal Gisgo was to make his way into the interior of Lusitania and avoid any collision with the Romans. A force of 3000 horse, selected from all their cavalry, was to be made up for Masinissa, with which he was to traverse Western Spain, ready to assist the friendly tribes and carry devastation amongst the towns and territory of those who were hostile. After drawing up this plan of operations the three generals separated to carry out their several tasks. This was the course of events during the year in Spain. Scipio's reputation was rising day by day in Rome. Fabius too, though he had taken Tarentum by treachery rather than by valour, added to his prestige by its capture. Fulvius' laurels were fading. Marcellus was even the object of general censure, owing to the defeat which he had suffered and still more because he had quartered his army in Venusia in the height of the summer whilst Hannibal was marching where he pleased in Italy. He had an enemy in the person of C. Publicius Bibulus, a tribune of the plebs. Immediately after Marcellus met with his defeat, this man blackened his character and stirred up a bitter feeling against him by the harangues which he was constantly delivering to the plebs, and now he was actually working to get him deprived of his command. Claudius' friends obtained permission for him to leave his second in command at Venusia, and come home to clear himself of the charges brought against him, and they also prevented any attempt to deprive him of his command in his absence. It so happened that when Marcellus reached Rome to avert the threatened disgrace, Fulvius also arrived to conduct the elections.

The question of depriving Marcellus of his command was debated in the Circus Flaminius before an enormous gathering in which all orders of the State were represented. The tribune of the plebs launched his accusations, not only against Marcellus, but against the nobility as a whole. It was due to their crooked policy and lack of energy, he said, that Hannibal had for ten years been holding Italy as his province; he had, in fact, passed more of his life there than in Carthage. The Roman people were now reaping the fruits of the extension of Marcellus' command, his army after its double defeat was now passing the summer comfortably housed in Venusia. Marcellus made such a crushing reply to the tribune's speech by simply recounting all that he had done that not only was the proposal to deprive him of his command rejected, but the next day all the centuries with absolute unanimity elected him consul. T. Quinctius Crispinus, who was praetor at the time, was assigned to him as his colleague. The next day came the election of praetors. Those elected were P. Licinius Crassus Dives, the Pontifex Maximus, P. Licinius Varus, Sextus Julius Caesar and Q. Claudius. In the middle of the elections considerable anxiety was created by the intelligence that Etruria had revolted. C. Calpurnius, who was acting in that province as propraetor, had written to say that the movement was started at Arretium. Marcellus, the consul elect, was hastily despatched thither to ascertain the position of affairs, and if he thought it sufficiently serious to require the presence of his army he was to transfer his operations from Apulia to Etruria. The Etruscans were sufficiently intimidated by these measures to keep quiet. Envoys came from Tarentum to ask for terms of peace under which they might retain their liberties and their laws. The senate directed them to come again as soon as Fabius arrived in Rome. The Roman Games and the Plebeian Games were celebrated this year, each for one day. The curule aediles were L. Cornelius Caudinus and Servius Sulpicius Galba; the plebeian aediles, C. Servilius and Q. Caecilius Metellus. It was asserted that Servilius had no legal right to be either tribune of the plebs or aedile, because there was sufficient evidence that his father, who was supposed to have been killed by the Boii near Mutina ten years previously when acting as agrarian commissioner, was really alive and a prisoner in the hands of the enemy.

It was now the eleventh year of the Punic War when M. Marcellus and T. Quinctius Crispinus entered upon their duties as consuls. Reckoning the consulship to which Marcellus had been elected, but in which, owing to some flaw in his election, he did not act, this was the fifth time he had held the office. Italy was assigned to both consuls as their province and the two armies which the previous consuls had had, and a third which Marcellus had commanded and which was at the time in Venusia, were all placed at their disposal so that they could select which of the three they chose. The remaining one would then be given to the commander to whom Tarentum and the Sallentini should be allotted. The other spheres were allocated as follows: P. Licinius Varus was placed in charge of the city jurisdiction, P. Licinius Crassus the Pontifex Maximus had the jurisdiction over aliens and also wherever the senate might determine. Sicily was allotted to Sextus Julius Caesar, Tarentum to Q. Claudius the Flamen. Q. Fulvius Flaccus had his command extended for a year and was to hold the district of Capua, which T. Quinctius had previously held as praetor, with one legion. C. Hostilius Tubulus also had his command extended, he was to succeed C. Calpurnius as propraetor with two legions in Etruria. A similar extension of command was granted to L. Veturius Philo, who was to remain in Gaul as propraetor with the two legions he had previously commanded. The same order was made in the case of C. Aurunculeius, who had administered Sardinia as praetor; the fifty ships which P. Scipio was to send from Spain were assigned to him for the protection of his province. P. Scipio and M. Silanus were confirmed in their commands for another year. Out of the ships which Scipio had brought with him from Italy or captured from the Carthaginians-eighty in all-he was instructed to send fifty to Sardinia, as there were rumours of extensive naval preparations at Carthage. It was said that they were fitting out 200 ships to menace the whole of the Italian, Sicilian and Sardinian coasts. In Sicily it was arranged that the army of Cannae should be given to Sextus Caesar whilst M. Valerius Laevinus. whose command had also been extended, was to retain the fleet of seventy ships which was stationed off Sicily, and augment it with the thirty vessels which had lain at Tarentum during the past year. This fleet of one hundred ships he was to employ, if he thought good, in harrying the African seaboard. P. Sulpicius was to continue to hold Macedonia and Greece in check with the fleet which he had. There was no change in the case of the two legions which were quartered in the City. The consuls were commissioned to raise fresh troops where it was necessary, in order to bring up the legions to their proper strength. Thus one-and-twenty legions were under arms to defend the Roman empire. P. Licinius Varus, the City praetor, was charged with the task of refitting the thirty old warships which were laid up at Ostia, and manning with their full complement twenty new ones, so that he might have a fleet of fifty ships for the protection of that part of the coast which was nearest to Rome. C. Calpurnius received strict orders not to move his army from Arretium before the arrival of Tubulus who was to succeed him; Tubulus was also enjoined to be especially on his guard in case any revolutionary projects were formed.

The praetors left for their provinces, but the consuls were detained by religious matters; several portents had been announced, and the omens drawn from the sacrificial victims were mostly unfavourable. News came from Campania that two temples in Capua-those of Fortune and Mars-as well as several sepulchral monuments had been struck by lightning. To such an extent does a depraved superstition see the work of the gods in the most insignificant trifles, that it was seriously reported that rats had gnawed the gold in the temple of Jupiter in Cumae. At Casinum a swarm of bees had settled in the forum; at Ostia a gate and part of the wall had been struck by lightning; at Caere a vulture had flown into the temple of Jupiter, and at Vulsinii the waters of the lake had run with blood. In consequence of these portents a day of special intercession was ordered. For several days full-grown victims had been sacrificed without giving any propitious indications, and it was long before the "peace of the gods" could be secured. It was on the heads of the consuls that the direful mischance prognosticated by these portents fell, the State remained unharmed. The Games of Apollo had been celebrated for the first time in the consulship of Q. Fulvius and Appius Claudius under the superintendence of the City praetor, P. Cornelius Sulla. Subsequently all the City praetors celebrated them in turn, but they used to vow them for one year only, and there was no fixed day for their celebration. This year a serious epidemic attacked both the City and the country districts, but it resulted more frequently in protracted than in fatal illness. In consequence of this epidemic special intercessions were appointed at all the chapels throughout the City, and P. Licinius Varus, the City praetor, was instructed to propose a measure to the people providing that the Games of Apollo should always be celebrated on the same day. He was the first to celebrate them under this rule, and the day fixed for their celebration was July 5th, which was henceforth observed as the day.

Day by day the reports from Arretium became more serious and caused increasing anxiety to the senate. Written instructions were sent to C. Hostilius, bidding him lose no time in taking hostages from the townspeople, and C. Terentius Varro was sent with powers to receive them from him and conduct them to Rome. As soon as he arrived, Hostilius ordered one of his legions which was encamped before the city to enter it in military order, and he then disposed the men in suitable positions. This done, he summoned the senators into the forum and ordered them to give hostages for their good behaviour. They asked for forty-eight hours for consideration, but he insisted upon their producing the hostages at once, and threatened in case of refusal to seize all their children the next day. He then issued orders to the military tribunes and prefects of allies and centurions to keep a strict watch on the gates, and to allow no one to leave the city during the night. There was too much slackness and delay in carrying out these instructions; before the guards were posted at the gates seven of the principal senators with their children slipped out before it was dark. Early on the morrow, when the senators began to assemble in the forum, the absence of these men was discovered, and their property was sold. The rest of the senators offered their own children to the number of one hundred and twenty; the offer was accepted, and they were entrusted to C. Terentius to be conveyed to Rome. The report he gave to the senate made matters look still more serious. It seemed as though a rising throughout Etruria was imminent. C. Terentius was accordingly ordered to proceed to Arretium with one of the two City legions and occupy the place in force, C. Hostilius with the rest of the army was to traverse the entire province and see that no opening was afforded for revolutionary disturbances. When C. Terentius and his legion reached Arretium, he demanded the keys of the gates. The magistrates replied that they could not find them, but he was convinced that they had been deliberately carried off and not lost through carelessness, so he had fresh locks fitted on all the gates, and took especial precautions to have everything under his own control. He earnestly impressed upon Hostilius the need of vigilance, and warned him that all hope of Etruria remaining quiet depended upon his taking such precautions as to make any movement of disaffection impossible.

There was an animated debate in the senate as to the treatment to be meted out to the Tarentines. Fabius was present, and stood up for those whom he had subjugated; others took the opposite line, the majority regarded their guilt as equal to that of Capua and deserving equally severe punishment. At last a resolution was adopted embodying the proposal of Manlius Acilius, viz. that the town should be garrisoned and the entire population confined within their walls until Italy was in a less disturbed state, when the whole question could be reconsidered. An equally warm discussion arose in connection with M. Livius who had commanded the force in the citadel. Some were for passing a formal vote of censure on him for having, through his negligence, allowed the place to be betrayed to the enemy. Others considered that he ought to be rewarded for having successfully defended the citadel for five years, and having done more than any one else to effect the recapture of Tarentum. A third party, taking a middle course, urged that it was for the censors, not the senate, to take cognisance of his action. This view was supported by Fabius, who remarked that he quite admitted what Livius' friends were constantly asserting in that House, that it was owing to his efforts that Tarentum had been retaken, for there would have been no recapture had it not previously been lost. One of the consuls, T. Quinctius Crispinus, left with reinforcements for the army in Lucania which Q. Fulvius Flaccus had commanded. Marcellus was detained by religious difficulties which one after another presented themselves. In the war with the Gauls he had vowed during the battle of Clastidium a temple to Honos and Virtus, but he was prevented from dedicating it by the pontiffs. They said that one shrine could not be lawfully dedicated to two deities, because in case it were struck by lightning, or some other portent occurred in it, there would be a difficulty about the expiation, since it could not be known which deity was to be propitiated; one victim could not be sacrificed to two deities except in the case of certain specified deities. A second temple was hastily built to Virtus, but this was not dedicated by Marcellus. At last he started with reinforcements for the army which he had left the previous year at Venusia. Seeing how Tarentum had enhanced Fabius' reputation, Crispinus determined to attempt the capture of Locri in Bruttium. He had sent to Sicily for all kinds of artillery and military engines, and had also collected a number of ships to attack that part of the city which faced the sea. As, however, Hannibal had brought up his army to Lacinium, he abandoned the siege, and hearing that his colleague had moved out by Venusia, he was anxious to join forces with him. With this view he marched back into Apulia, and the two consuls encamped within three miles of each other in a place between Venusia and Bantia. As all was now quiet at Locri Hannibal moved up into their neighbourhood. But the consuls were quite sanguine of success; they drew out their armies for battle almost every day, feeling perfectly certain that if the enemy would try his chance against two consular armies, the war would be brought to a close.

Hannibal had already fought two battles with Marcellus during the past year, in one he had been victorious, the other he lost. After this experience he felt that if he had to meet him again there was as much ground for fear as for hope, and he was therefore far from feeling himself equal to the two consuls together. He decided to employ his old tactics and looked out for a position suitable for an ambuscade. Both sides, however, confined themselves to skirmishes, with varying success, and the consuls thought that as the summer was being spun out in this way there was no reason why the siege of Locri should not be resumed. So they sent written instructions to L. Cincius to take his fleet from Sicily to Locri, and as the walls of that city were open to a land attack also, they ordered a portion of the army which was garrisoning Tarentum to be marched there. These plans were disclosed to Hannibal by some people from Thurium, and he sent a force to block the road from Tarentum. 3000 cavalry and 2000 infantry were concealed under a hill above Petelia. The Romans, marching on without reconnoitring, fell into the trap, and 2000 were killed and 1500 taken prisoners. The rest fled through the fields and woods back to Tarentum. Between the Carthaginian camp and that of the Romans there was a wooded hill which neither side had taken possession of, for the Romans did not know what that side of it was like which fronted the enemy, and Hannibal regarded it as better adapted for an ambuscade than for a camp. He accordingly sent a force of Numidians during the night to conceal themselves in the wood, and there they remained the following day without stirring from their position, so that neither they nor their arms were visible. It was being everywhere remarked in the Roman camp that the hill ought to be seized and strengthened with defences, for if Hannibal seized it they would have the enemy, so to speak, over their heads. The idea impressed Marcellus, and he said to his colleague: "Why do we not go with a few horsemen and examine the place? When we have seen it for ourselves we shall know better what to do." Crispinus assented, and they started with 220 mounted men, 40 of whom were from Fregellae, the rest were Etruscans. They were accompanied by two military tribunes, M. Marcellus, a son of the consul, and A. Manlius, and also by two prefects of allies, L. Arrenius and Manius Aulius. Some writers assert that whilst Marcellus was sacrificing on that day, the liver of the first victim was found to have no head; in the second all the usual parts were present, but the head appeared abnormally large. The haruspex was seriously alarmed at finding after misshaped and stunted parts such an excess of growth.

Marcellus, however, was seized with such a keen desire of engaging Hannibal that he never thought that their respective camps were near enough to each other. As he was crossing the rampart on his way to the hill he signalled to the soldiers to be at their posts, ready to get the baggage together and follow him in case he decided that the hill which he was going to reconnoitre was suitable for a camp. There was a narrow stretch of level ground in front of the camp, and from there a road led up to the hill which was open and visible from all sides. The Numidians posted a vidette to keep a look out, not in the least anticipating such a serious encounter as followed, but simply in the hope of intercepting any who had strayed too far from their camp after wood or fodder. This man gave the signal for them to rise from their concealment. Those who were in front of the Romans further up the hill did not show themselves until those who were to close the road behind them had worked round their rear. Then they sprang up on all sides, and with a loud shout charged down. Though the consuls were hemmed in, unable to force their way to the hill which was occupied, and with their retreat cut off by those in their rear, still the conflict might have kept up for a longer time if the Etruscans, who were the first to flee, had not created a panic among the rest. The Fregellans, however, though abandoned by the Etruscans, maintained the conflict as long as the consuls were unwounded and able to cheer them on and take their part in the fighting. But when both the consuls were wounded, when they saw Marcellus fall dying from his horse, run through with a lance, then the little band of survivors fled in company with Crispinus, who had been hit by two darts, and young Marcellus, who was himself wounded. Aulus Manlius was killed, and Manius Aulius; the other prefect of allies, Arrenius, was taken prisoner. Five of the consuls' lictors fell into the hands of the enemy, the rest were either killed or escaped with the consul. Forty-three of the cavalry fell either in the battle or the pursuit, eighteen were made prisoners. There was great excitement in the camp, and they were hurriedly preparing to go to the consuls' assistance when they saw one consul and the son of the other coming back wounded with the scanty remnant who had survived the disastrous expedition. The death of Marcellus was to be deplored for many reasons, especially because, with an imprudence not to be expected at his age-he was more than sixty-and altogether out of keeping with the caution of a veteran general, he had flung into headlong danger not only himself but his colleague as well, and almost the entire commonwealth. I should make too long a digression about one solitary fact, if I were to go through all the accounts of the death of Marcellus. I will only cite one authority, Coelius. He gives three different versions of what happened, one handed down by tradition, another copied from the funeral oration delivered by his son who was on the spot, and a third which Coelius gives as the ascertained result of his own researches. Amidst the variations of the story, however, most authorities agree that he left the camp to reconnoitre the position, and all agree that he was ambushed.

Hannibal felt convinced that the enemy would be thoroughly cowed by the death of one consul and the disablement of the other, and he determined not to lose the opportunity thus afforded him. He at once transferred his camp to the hill where the action had been fought, and here he interred the body of Marcellus, which had been found. Crispinus, unnerved by the death of his colleague and his own wound, left his position in the dead of night and fixed his camp on the first mountains he came to, in a lofty position protected on every side. And now the two commanders showed great wariness, the one trying to deceive his opponent, the other taking every precaution against him. When the body of Marcellus was discovered, Hannibal took possession of his rings. Fearing that the signet might be used for purposes of forgery, Crispinus sent couriers to all the cities round, warning them that his colleague was killed and his ring in the possession of the enemy, so that they were not to trust any missives sent in the name of Marcellus. Soon after the consul's messenger had arrived at Salapia, a despatch was received from Hannibal purporting to come from Marcellus, and stating that he would come to Salapia the night after they received the letter, and the soldiers of the garrison were to hold themselves in readiness in case their services should be required. The Salapians saw through the ruse, and supposed that he was seeking an opportunity for punishing them, not only for their desertion of the Carthaginian cause, but also for the slaughter of his cavalry. They sent back the messenger, who was a Roman deserter, that he might not be cognisant of the measures which they decided to take, and then made their dispositions. The townsmen took their places on the walls and other commanding positions, the patrols and sentries for the night were strengthened and kept a most careful look out, and the pick of the garrison were formed up near the gate to which the enemy were expected to come.

Hannibal approached the city about the fourth watch. The head of the column was formed of Roman deserters; they carried Roman weapons, their armour was Roman, and they were all speaking Latin. When they reached the gate, they called up the sentinels and told them to open the gate as the consul was there. The sentinels, pretending to be just wakened up, bustled about in hurry and confusion and began slowly and laboriously to open the gate. It was closed by a portcullis, and by means of levers and ropes they raised it just high enough for a man to pass upright under it. The passage was hardly sufficiently clear when the deserters rushed through the gate, each trying who should be first. About 600 were inside, when suddenly the rope which held it was let go, and the portcullis fell with a great crash. The Salapians attacked the deserters, who were marching carelessly along with their shields hung from their shoulders, as though friends; others on the gate tower and the walls kept off the enemy outside with stones and long poles and javelins. So Hannibal, finding himself caught in his own trap, drew off and proceeded to raise the siege of Locri. Cincius was making a most determined attack upon the place with siege works and artillery of every kind which he had brought from Sicily, and Mago was beginning to despair of holding the place when his hopes were suddenly revived by the news of Marcellus' death. Then came a messenger with the tidings that Hannibal had sent his Numidian cavalry on in advance, and was following as rapidly as he could with his infantry. As soon as the signal was given from the look-out of the approach of the Numidians, Mago flung the city gate open and made a vigorous sortie. Owing to the suddenness of his attack which was quite unlooked for, rather than to his fighting strength, the battle was for some time an even one, but when the Numidians came up, such a panic seized the Romans that they abandoned the siege works and the engines with which they were battering the walls, and fled in disorder to the sea and to their ships. Thus by the arrival of Hannibal, the siege of Locri was raised.

As soon as Crispinus found that Hannibal had withdrawn to Bruttium he ordered M. Marcellus to take the army which his late colleague had commanded back to Venusia. Though hardly able to bear the motion of the litter owing to his serious wounds, he started with his legions for Capua. In a despatch which he sent to the senate, after alluding to his colleague's death and the critical condition he himself was in, he explained that he could not go to Rome for the elections because he did not think he could bear the fatigue of the journey, and also because he was anxious about Tarentum in case Hannibal should leave Bruttium and direct his armies against it. He also requested that some men of wisdom and experience might be sent to him, as it was necessary for him to confer with them as to the policy of the Republic. The reading of this despatch evoked a feeling of deep regret at the death of the one consul and serious apprehensions for the life of the other. In accordance with his wish they sent young Q. Fabius to the army at Venusia, and three representatives to the consul, viz. Sextus Julius Caesar, L. Licinius Pollio and L. Cincius Alimentus who had returned from Sicily a few days previously. Their instructions were to tell the consul that if he could not come to Rome to conduct the elections, he was to nominate a Dictator in Roman territory for the purpose. If the consul had gone to Tarentum, the praetor Q. Claudius was required to withdraw the legions stationed there, and march with them into that district in which he could protect the greatest number of cities belonging to the allies of Rome. During the summer M. Valerius sailed across to Africa with a fleet of a hundred vessels. Landing his men near the city of Clupea, he ravaged the country far and wide without meeting with any resistance. The news of the approach of a Carthaginian fleet caused the pillagers to return in haste to their ships. This fleet consisted of eighty-three ships, and the Roman commander successfully engaged it not far from Clupea. After capturing eighteen ships and putting the rest to flight, he returned to Lilybaeum with a great quantity of booty. In the course of the summer Philip lent armed assistance to the Achaeans, who had implored his aid against Machanidas, tyrant of the Lacedaemonians, and against the Aetolians. Machanidas was harassing them with a border warfare, and the Aetolians had crossed the narrow sea between Naupactus and Patrae-the local name of the latter is Rhion-and were making forays in Achaia. There were rumours also of an intention on the part of Attalus, king of Asia, to visit Europe, as the Aetolians had at the last meeting of their national council made him one of their two supreme magistrates.

This being the position of affairs, Philip moved southward into Greece. The Aetolians under the command of Pyrrhias, who had been elected Attalus' colleague, met Philip at the city of Lamia. They were supported by a contingent furnished by Attalus, and also by about 1000 men whom P. Sulpicius had sent from his fleet. Philip won two battles against Pyrrhias, and in each battle the enemy lost not less than 1000 men. From that time the Aetolians were afraid to meet him in the field and remained inside the walls of Lamia. Philip accordingly marched his army to Phalara. This place lies on the Maliac Gulf, and was formerly the seat of a considerable population, owing to its splendid harbour, the safe anchorages in the neighbourhood, and other maritime and commercial advantages. Whilst he was here he was visited by embassies from Ptolemy king of Egypt, and from Rhodes and Athens and Chios, with the view of bringing about a reconciliation between him and the Aetolians. Amynandor, king of the Athamanians, a neighbour of the Aetolians. was also acting on their behalf as peacemaker. But the general concern was not so much for the Aetolians, who were more warlike than the rest of the Greeks, as for the liberty of Greece, which would be seriously endangered if Philip and his kingdom took an active part in Greek politics. The question of peace was held over for discussion in the meeting of the Achaean League. The place and time for this meeting were settled, and in the meantime a thirty days' armistice was arranged. From Phalara the king proceeded through Thessaly and Boeotia to Chalcis in Euboea, in order to prevent Attalus, who he understood was sailing thither, from landing on the island. Leaving a force there in case Attalus should sail across in the meantime, he went on with a small body of cavalry and light infantry to Argos. Here the presidency of the Heraean and Nemean Games was conferred upon him by the popular vote, on the ground that the kings of Macedon trace their origin to Argos. As soon as the Heraean Games were over he went off to Aegium to the meeting of the League which had been fixed some time previously.

The discussion turned upon the question of putting a stop to the war with the Aetolians, so that neither the Romans nor Attalus might have any reason for entering Greece. But everything was upset by the Aetolians almost before the armistice had expired, after they learnt that Attalus had reached Aegina and that a Roman fleet was anchored off Naupactus. They had been invited to attend the meeting of the League, and the deputations who had been trying to secure peace at Phalara were also present. They began by complaining of certain trivial infringements of the armistice, and ended by declaring that hostilities could never cease until the Achaeans restored Pylos to the Messenians, and Atintania was given back to Rome, and the Ardiaei to Scerdilaedus and Pleuratus. Philip was naturally indignant at those whom he had defeated proposing terms of peace to him, their conqueror. He reminded the assembly that when the question of peace was referred to him and an armistice was granted, it was not with any expectation that the Aetolians would remain quiet, but solely in order that all the allies might bear him witness that whilst he was seeking a basis for peace, the other side were determined to find a pretext for war. Since there was no chance of peace being established, he dismissed the council and returned to Argos, as the time for the Nemean Games was approaching and he wished to add to their popularity by his presence. He left a force of 4000 men to protect the Achaeans, and at the same time took over from them five ships of war. He intended to add these to the fleet recently sent from Carthage; with these vessels and the ships which Prusias was despatching from Bithynia he had made up his mind to offer battle to the Romans who were masters of the sea in that part of the world.

While the king was preoccupied with the preparations for the Games, and was allowing himself more recreation than was possible in a time of active warfare, P. Sulpicius, setting sail from Naupactus, brought up his fleet between Sicyon and Corinth, and spread devastation far and wide over that wonderfully fertile land. This news brought Philip away from the Games. He hurried off with his cavalry, leaving the infantry to follow, and caught the Romans whilst they were dispersed through the fields in all directions, laden with plunder, and utterly unsuspicious of danger. They were driven to their ships, and the Roman fleet returned to Naupactus, far from happy at the result of their raid. Philip returned to see the close of the Games, and their splendour was enhanced by the news of his victory, for whatever its importance it was still a victory over the Romans. What added to the universal enjoyment of the festival was the way in which he gratified the people by laying aside his diadem and purple robe and the rest of his royal state so as to be, as far as appearance went, on a level with the rest. Nothing is more grateful than this to the citizens of a free State. He would indeed have given them every reason to hope that their liberties would remain unimpaired if he had not sullied and disgraced all by his insufferable debauchery. Accompanied by one or two boon companions, he ranged as he pleased through homes and families, day and night, and by stooping to the status of a private citizen he attracted less notice and was therefore under less restraint. The liberty with which he had cheated others he turned in his own case to unbridled licence, and he did not always effect his purpose by money or blandishments but even resorted to criminal violence. It was a dangerous thing for husbands and fathers to place obstacles in the way of the king's lusts by any untimely scruples on their part. A lady called Polycratia, the wife of Aratus, one of the leading men amongst the Achaeans, was taken away from her husband and carried off to Macedon under a promise from the king to marry her. In the midst of these debaucheries the sacred festival of the Nemean Games came to a close. A few days afterwards Philip marched to Dymae to expel the Aetolian garrison which the Eleans had invited and admitted into their city. Here the king was met by the Achaeans under Cycliadas their captain general, who were burning with resentment against the Eleans for having deserted the Achaean League, and furious against the Aetolians for having, as they believed, brought the arms of Rome against them. The combined force left Dymae and crossed the Larisus, which separates the territory of Elia from that of Dymae.

The first day of their advance in the enemy's country was spent in plunder and destruction. The next day they marched in battle array towards the city, the cavalry having been sent forward to provoke the Aetolians to fight, which they were perfectly ready to do. The invaders were unaware that Sulpicius had sailed across from Naupactus to Cyllene with fifteen ships and landed 4000 men who had entered Elis in the night. As soon as they recognised the standards and arms of Rome amongst the Aetolians and Eleans, the unlooked-for sight filled them with great alarm. At first the king wanted to retire his men, but they were already engaged with the Aetolians and Trallians-an Illyrian tribe-and as he saw that they were being hard pressed, he charged the Roman cohort with his cavalry. His horse was wounded by a javelin and fell, throwing the king over its head, and a fierce contest began, on both sides, the Romans making desperate efforts to reach him and his own men doing their best to protect him. Compelled as he was to fight on foot amongst mounted men, he showed conspicuous courage. The struggle became at length an unequal one, many were falling round him and many were wounded, and he was seized by his own men and placed on another horse on which he fled. That day he fixed his camp about five miles from Elis; the following day he led the whole of his force to a fortified place called Pyrgon. This was a fort belonging to the Eleans, and he had been informed that a large number of peasants with their cattle had taken refuge there through fear of being plundered. Destitute as they were of organisation and arms, the mere fact of his approach filled them with terror and they were all made prisoners. This booty was some compensation for his humiliating defeat at Elis. Whilst he was distributing the spoil and the captives-there were 4000 prisoners and 20,000 head of cattle large and small-a messenger arrived from Macedonia stating that a certain Eropus had taken Lychnidos after bribing the commandant of the garrison, that he was in possession of some villages belonging to the Dassaretii and was also making the Dardanians restless. Philip at once abandoned hostilities with the Aetolians and prepared to return home. He left a force of 2500 of all arms under the command of Menippus and Polyphantas to protect his allies, and taking his route through Achaia and Boeotia, and across Euboea, he arrived at Demetrias in Thessaly on the tenth day after his departure from Dymae.

There he was met by still more alarming tidings; the Dardanians were pouring into Macedonia and were already in occupation of the Orestides district, they had even descended into the Argestaean Plain. The report was current that Philip had been killed; the rumour was due to the fact that in the encounter with the plundering parties from the Roman fleet at Sicyon, his horse flung him against a tree and one of the horns of his helmet was broken off by a projecting branch. This was afterwards picked up by an Aetolian and taken to Scerdilaedus, who recognised it. Hence the rumour. After the king had left Achaia Sulpicius sailed to Aegina and Scipio in Spain joined forces with Attalus. The Achaeans in conjunction with the Aetolians and Eleans fought a successful action not far from Messene. Attalus and Sulpicius went into winter quarters in Aegina. At the close of this year the consul T. Quinctius died of his wounds, having previously nominated T. Manlius Torquatus Dictator to conduct the elections. Some say he died in Tarentum, others, in Campania. This accident of two consuls being killed in a quite unimportant action had never occurred in any previous war, and it left the republic, so to speak, in a state of orphanhood. The Dictator named C. Servilius, who was curule aedile at the time, his Master of the Horse. On the first day of their session the senate instructed the Dictator to celebrate the Great Games. M. Aemilius, who was city praetor at the time, had celebrated them in the consulship of C. Flaminius and Cnaeus Servilius, and had made a vow that they should be celebrated in five years' time. The Dictator celebrated them accordingly, and made a vow that they should be repeated at the following lustrum. Meanwhile, as the two consular armies had no generals and were in such close proximity to the enemy, both senate and people were anxious that all other business should be postponed, and consuls elected as soon as possible. It was felt that, above all, men ought to be elected whose courage and skill would be proof against the wiles of the Carthaginian, for all through the war the hot and hasty temperament of different commanders had proved disastrous, and in that very year the consuls had been led by their eagerness to come to grips with the enemy into snares of which they did not suspect the existence. The gods, however, out of pity for the name of Rome, spared the unoffending armies and visited the rashness of the consuls on their own heads.

When the patricians began to look round and see who would make the best consuls, one man stood out conspicuously-C. Claudius Nero. The question was, who was to be his colleague? He was regarded as a man of exceptional ability but too impulsive and venturesome for such a war as the present one, or such an enemy as Hannibal, and they felt that his impetuous temperament needed to be restrained by a cool and prudent colleague. Their thoughts turned to M. Livius. He had been consul several years previously, and after laying down his consulship had been impeached before the Assembly and found guilty. This disgrace he felt so keenly that he removed into the country, and for many years was a stranger to the City and to all public gatherings. It was about eight years after his condemnation that the consuls M. Claudius Marcellus and M. Valerius Laevinus brought him back to the City, but his squalid garments, his neglected hair and beard, his whole appearance showed pretty clearly that he had not forgotten the humiliation. The censors L. Veturius and P. Licinius made him trim his hair and beard and lay aside his squalid garments and take his place in the senate and discharge other public duties. Even then he contented himself with a simple "aye" or "no" to the question before the House, and in the event of a division with a silent vote, until the case of his kinsman Marcus Livius Macatus came up, when the attack upon his relative's fair fame compelled him to rise in his place and address the House. The voice which after so long an interval was once more heard was listened to with deep attention, and the senators remarked to one another that the people had wronged an innocent man to the great detriment of the commonwealth, which in the stress of a grievous war had been unable to avail itself of the help and counsel of such a man as that. Neither Q. Fabius nor M. Valerius Laevinus could be assigned to C. Nero as his colleague because it was illegal for two patricians to be elected, and the same difficulty existed in the case of T. Manlius, who had moreover already refused a consulship and would continue to refuse it. If they gave him M. Livius as colleague, they felt that they would have a splendid pair of consuls. This suggestion put forward by the senators was approved by the great body of the people. There was only one among all the citizens who rejected it and that was the man on whom the honour was to be conferred. He accused them of inconsistency. "When he appeared in mourning garments at his trial they felt no pity for him, now, in spite of his refusal, they would have him put on the white robe of the candidate. They heaped penalties and honours on the same man. If they thought that he was a good citizen, why had they condemned him as a criminal? If they had found him to be a criminal, why were they entrusting him with a second consulship after he had misused the first?" The senators severely censured him for complaining and protesting in this way, and reminded him of M. Furius Camillus who after being recalled from exile restored his country to its ancient seat. "We ought to treat our country," they told him, "like our parents, and disarm its severity by patience and submission." By their united efforts they succeeded in making him consul with C. Claudius Nero.

Three days later came the election of praetors. Those elected were L. Porcius Licinius, C. Mamilius and the two Catos, C. Hostilius and A. Hostilius. When the elections were over and the Games concluded, the Dictator and the Master of the Horse resigned office. C. Terentius Varro was sent into Etruria as propraetor to relieve C. Hostilius, who was to take over the command of the army at Tarentum which the consul T. Quinctius had had. L. Manlius was to go to Greece and find out what was going on there. As the Olympian Games were to be held this summer, and as a very large gathering would be there, he was, if he could get through the enemy's forces, to be present at them and inform those Sicilians who had fled there from the war and any citizens of Tarentum who had been banished by Hannibal that they might return home and rest assured that the Roman people would restore to them all that they possessed before the war. As the coming year seemed to be fraught with most serious dangers, and the State was for the moment without consuls, all eyes were turned to the consuls-elect, and it was universally hoped that they would lose no time in balloting for their provinces and deciding what enemy each of them would have to meet. On the initiative of Q. Fabius Maximus a resolution was earned in the senate insisting upon their becoming reconciled to each other. Their quarrel was only too notorious, and was embittered by Livius' resentment at the insulting treatment he had received, for he felt that his honour had been sullied by his prosecution. This made him all the more implacable; he said that there was no need for any reconciliation, each would act with greater energy and alertness if he knew that failure to do so would give his enemy an advantage. However, the senate successfully exerted their authority, and they were induced to lay aside their private differences and conduct the affairs of State with one mind and one policy. Their provinces were not contiguous as in former years, but widely separated, at the extremities of Italy. One was to act against Hannibal in Bruttium and Lucania, the other in Gaul against Hasdrubal, who was reported to be now nearing the Alps. The consul to whose lot Gaul should fall was to choose either the army which was in Gaul or the one in Etruria, and would receive in addition the army of the City. The one to whom Bruttium fell was to raise fresh legions in the City and select one of the two consular armies of the previous year. The other one Q. Fabius was to take over as proconsul, in which capacity he was to act for the year. C. Hostilius, who had already been removed from Etruria to Tarentum, was now again to change from Tarentum to Capua. One legion was given him, the one which Fulvius had commanded.

Hasdrubal's appearance in Italy was looked forward to with daily increasing anxiety. The first news came from the Massilians, who reported that he had passed into Gaul, and that there was widespread excitement amongst the natives owing to a rumour that he had brought a large amount of gold for the payment of auxiliary troops. The Massilian envoys were accompanied on their return by Sextus Antistius and M. Raecius, who were sent to make further investigations. These reported that they had sent emissaries, accompanied by some Massilians who had friends amongst, the Gaulish chieftains, to gain information and that they had definitely ascertained that Hasdrubal intended to cross the Alps the next spring with an enormous army. The only thing that kept him from advancing at once was that the Alps were insurmountable in winter. P. Aelius Paetus was appointed and consecrated augur in place of M. Marcellus, and Cnaeus Cornelius Dolabella was consecrated "King of Sacrifices" in place of M. Marcius, who had been dead for two years. The lustrum was closed by the censors P. Sempronius Tuditanus and M. Cornelius Cethegus. The census returns gave the number of citizens as 137,108, a considerably smaller number than the one before the beginning of the war. For the first time since Hannibal had invaded Italy the comitium is stated to have been covered over and the Roman Games were celebrated for one day by the curule aediles Q. Metellus and C. Servilius. The Plebeian Games also were celebrated for two days by the plebeian aediles C. Mamilius and M. Caecilius Metellus. They also gave three statues to the temple of Ceres, and a banquet was held in honour of Jupiter on the occasion of the Games. The consuls then entered upon office; C. Claudius Nero for the first time, M. Livius for the second. As they had balloted for their provinces they ordered the praetors to ballot for theirs. The urban jurisdiction fell to C. Hostilius, and the jurisdiction over aliens was also committed to him in order that three praetors might be available for foreign service. A. Hostilius was allotted to Sardinia, C. Mamilius to Sicily and L. Porcius to Gaul. The total military strength amounted to twenty-three legions and were thus distributed: each of the consuls had two; four were in Spain; each of the three praetors had two in Sardinia, Sicily and Gaul respectively; C. Terentius had two in Etruria; Quintus Fulvius had two in Bruttium; Q. Claudius had two in the neighbourhood of Tarentum and the Sallentine district; C. Hostilius Tubulus had one at Capua; and two were raised in the City for home defence. The people appointed the military tribunes for the first four legions; the consuls commissioned the rest.

Prior to the departure of the consuls religious observances were kept up for nine days owing to the fall of a shower of stones at Veii. As usual, no sooner was one portent announced than reports were brought in of others. At Menturnae the temple of Jupiter and the sacred grove of Marica were struck with lightning, as were also the wall of Atella and one of the gates. The people of Menturnae reported a second and more appalling portent; a stream of blood had flowed in at their gate. At Capua a wolf had entered the gate by night and mauled one of the watch. These portents were expiated by the sacrifice of full-grown victims, and special intercessions for the whole of one day were ordered by the pontiffs. Subsequently a second nine days' observance was ordered in consequence of a shower of stones which fell in the Armilustrum. No sooner were men's fears allayed by these expiatory rites than a fresh report came, this time from Frusino, to the effect that a child had been born there in size and appearance equal to one four years old, and what was still more startling, like the case at Sinuessa two years previously, it was impossible to say whether it was male or female. The diviners who had been summoned from Etruria said that this was a dreadful portent, and the thing must be banished from Roman soil, kept from any contact with the earth, and buried in the sea. They enclosed it alive in a box, took it out to sea, and dropped it overboard.

The pontiffs also decreed that three bands of maidens, each consisting of nine, should go through the City singing a hymn. This hymn was composed by the poet Livius, and while they were practicing it in the temple of Jupiter Stator, the shrine of Queen Juno on the Aventine was struck by lightning. The diviners were consulted, and they declared that this portent concerned the matrons and that the goddess must be appeased by a gift. The curule aediles issued an edict summoning to the Capitol all the matrons whose homes were in Rome or within a distance of ten miles. When they were assembled they selected twenty-five of their number to receive their offerings; these they contributed out of their dowries. From the sum thus collected a golden basin was made and carried as an oblation to the Aventine, where the matrons offered a pure and chaste sacrifice. Immediately afterwards the Keepers of the Sacred Books gave notice of a day for further sacrificial rites in honour of this deity. The following was the order of their observance. Two white heifers were led from the temple of Apollo through the Carmental Gate into the City; after them were borne two images of the goddess, made of cypress wood. Then twenty-seven maidens, vested in long robes, walked in procession singing a hymn in her honour, which was perhaps admired in those rude days, but which would be considered very uncouth and unpleasing if it were recited now. After the train of maidens came the ten Keepers of the Sacred Books wearing the toga praetexta, and with laurel wreaths round their brows. From the Carmental Gate the procession marched along the Vicus Jugarius into the Forum, where it stopped. Here the girls, all holding a cord, commenced a solemn dance while they sang, beating time with their feet to the sound of their voices. They then resumed their course along the Vicus Tuscus and the Velabrum, through the Forum Boarium, and up the Clivus Publicius till they reached the temple of Juno. Here the two heifers were sacrificed by the Ten Keepers, and the cypress images were carried into the shrine.

After the deities had been duly appeased, the consuls proceeded with the levy and conducted it with a rigour and exactitude such as no one could remember in former years. The appearance of a fresh enemy in Italy redoubled the apprehensions generally felt as to the issue of the war, and at the same time there was a smaller population from which to obtain the men required. Even the maritime colonies which were declared to have been solemnly and formally exempted from military service were called upon to furnish soldiers, and on their refusal a day was fixed on which they were to appear before the senate and state, each for themselves, the grounds on which they claimed exemption. On the appointed day representatives attended from Ostia, Alsium, Antium, Anxur, Menturnae, Sinuessa, and from Sena on the upper sea. Each community produced its title to exemption, but as the enemy was in Italy, the claim was disallowed in the case of all but two-Antium and Ostia-and in the case of these, the men of military age were compelled to take an oath that they would not sleep outside their walls for more than thirty nights as long as the enemy was in Italy. Everybody was of opinion that the consuls ought to take the field at the earliest possible moment; for Hasdrubal must be met on his descent from the Alps, otherwise he might foment a rising amongst the Cisalpine Gauls and in Etruria, and Hannibal must be kept fully employed, so as to prevent his leaving Bruttium and meeting his brother. Still Livius delayed. He did not feel confidence in the troops assigned to him, and complained that his colleague had his choice of three splendid armies. He also suggested the recall to the standards of the volunteer slaves. The senate gave the consuls full powers to obtain reinforcements in any way they thought best, to select what men they wanted from all the armies and to exchange and transfer troops from one province to another as they thought best in the interest of the State. The consuls acted in perfect harmony in carrying out all these measures. The volunteer slaves were incorporated in the nineteenth and twentieth legions. Some authorities assert that Publius Scipio sent M. Livius strong reinforcements from Spain including 8000 Gauls and Spaniards, 2000 legionaries, and 1000 Numidian and Spanish horse, and that this force was transported to Italy by M. Lucretius. It is further stated that C. Mamilius sent 3000 bowmen and slingers from Sicily.

The excitement and alarm in Rome were heightened by a despatch from L. Porcius, the propraetor commanding in Gaul. He announced that Hasdrubal had left his winter quarters and was actually crossing the Alps. He was to be joined by a force of 8000 men raised and equipped amongst the Ligurians, unless a Roman army were sent into Liguria to occupy the attention of the Gauls. Porcius added that he would himself advance as far as he safely could with such a weak army. The receipt of this despatch made the consuls hurry on the enlistment, and on its completion they left for their provinces at an earlier date than they had fixed. Their intention was that each of them should keep his enemy in his own province and not allow the brothers to unite or concentrate their forces. They were materially assisted by a miscalculation which Hannibal made. He quite expected his brother to cross the Alps during the summer, but remembering his own experience in the passage first of the Rhone and then of the Alps, and how for five months he had had to carry on an exhausting struggle against man and against nature, he had no idea that Hasdrubal's passage would be as easy and rapid as it really was. Owing to this mistake he was too late in moving out of his winter quarters. Hasdrubal, however, had a more expeditious march and met with fewer difficulties than either he or anyone else expected. Not only did the Arverni and the other Gallic and Alpine tribes give him a friendly reception, but they followed his standard. He was, moreover, marching mainly over roads made by his brother where before there were none, and as the Alps had now been traversed to and fro for twelve years he found the natives less savage. Previously they had never visited strange lands nor been accustomed to seeing strangers in their own country; they had held no intercourse with the rest of the world. Not knowing at first the destination of the Carthaginian general, they imagined that he wanted their rocks and strongholds and intended to carry off their men and cattle as plunder. Then when they heard about the Punic War with which Italy had been alight for twelve years, they quite understood that the Alps were only a passage from one country to another, and that the struggle lay between two mighty cities, separated by a vast stretch of sea and land, which were contending for power and dominion. This was the reason why the Alps lay open to Hasdrubal. But whatever advantage he gained by the rapidity of his march was forfeited by the time he wasted at Placentia, where he commenced a fruitless investment instead of attempting a direct assault. Lying as it did in flat open country he thought that the town would be taken without difficulty, and that the capture of such an important colony would deter the others from offering any resistance. Not only was his own advance hampered by this investment, but he also retarded Hannibal's movements, who, on learning of his brother's unexpectedly rapid march, had quitted his winter quarters, for Hannibal knew what a slow business sieges usually are and had not forgotten his own unsuccessful attempt on that very colony after his victory at the Trebia.

The consuls left for the front, each by a separate route, and their departure was watched with feelings of painful anxiety. Men realised that the republic had two wars on its hands simultaneously; they recalled the disasters which followed upon Hannibal's appearance in Italy, and wondered what gods would be so propitious to the City and the empire as to grant victory over two enemies at once in widely distant fields. Up till now heaven had preserved it by balancing victories against defeats. When the cause of Rome had been brought to the ground in Italy at Thrasymenus and at Cannae, the successes in Spain raised it up once more; when reverse after reverse had been sustained in Spain and the State lost its two generals and the greater part of both their armies, the many successes achieved in Italy and Sicily stayed the collapse of the battered republic, whilst the distance at which that unsuccessful war was waged in the remotest corner of the world afforded in itself a breathing space. Now they had two wars on hand, both in Italy; two generals who bore illustrious names were closing round Rome; the whole weight of the peril, the whole burden of the conflict had settled down on one spot. The one who was first victorious would in a few days unite his forces with the other. Such were the gloomy forebodings, and they were deepened by the recollections of the past year made so mournful by the death of both consuls. In this depressed and anxious mood the population escorted the consuls to the gates of the City, as they left for their respective provinces. There is an utterance recorded of M. Livius which shows his bitter feeling towards his fellow-citizens. When on his departure Q. Fabius warned him against giving battle before he knew the sort of enemy he had to meet, Livius is said to have replied that he would fight as soon as he caught sight of the enemy. When asked why he was in such a hurry he said: "Either I shall win special distinction from conquering such an enemy or a well-earned if not very honourable pleasure from the defeat of my fellow-citizens." Before the consul Claudius Nero arrived in his province, Hannibal, who was marching just outside the frontiers of the territory of Larinum on his way to the Sallentini, was attacked by C. Hostilius Tubulus. His light infantry created considerable disorder amongst the enemy, who were not prepared for action; 4000 of them were slain, and nine standards captured. Q. Claudius had quartered his troops in various cities in the Sallentine district, and on hearing of the enemy's approach he quitted his winter quarters and took the field against him. Not wishing to meet both armies at once, Hannibal left the neighbourhood by night, and withdrew into Bruttium. Claudius marched back into the Sallentine territory, and Hostilius while on his way to Capua met the consul Claudius Nero near Venusia. Here a corps d'elite was selected from both armies, consisting of 40,000 infantry and 2500 cavalry, which the consul intended to employ against Hannibal. The rest of the troops Hostilius was ordered to take to Capua and then hand them over to Q. Fulvius the proconsul.

Hannibal assembled the whole of his force, those in winter quarters and those on garrison duty in Bruttium, and marched to Grumentum in Lucania, with the intention of recovering the towns whose inhabitants had been led by their fears to go over to Rome. The Roman consul marched to the same place from Venusia, making careful reconnaissances as he advanced, and fixed his camp about a mile and a half from the enemy. The rampart of the Carthaginian camp seemed to be almost touching the walls of Grumentum; there was really half a mile between them. Between the two hostile camps the ground was level; on the Carthaginian left and the Roman right stretched a line of bare hills which did not arouse any suspicion on either side, as they were quite devoid of vegetation and afforded no hollows where an ambuscade could be concealed. In the plain between the camps small skirmishes took place between the advanced posts, the one object of the Roman evidently being to prevent the retirement of the enemy; Hannibal, who was anxious to get away, marched on to the field with his whole force marshalled for battle. The consul, adopting his enemy's tactics with all the more chance of success since there could be no fears of an ambuscade on such open ground, told off five cohorts strengthened with five maniples of Roman troops to mount the hill by night and take their station in the dip on the other side. He placed T. Claudius Asellus a military tribune and P. Claudius a prefect of allies in command of the party, and gave them instructions as to the moment when they were to rise from ambush and attack the enemy. At dawn of the following day he led out the whole of his force, horse and foot, to battle. Soon after Hannibal, too, gave the signal for action, and his camp rang with the shouts of his men as they ran to arms. Scrambling through the gates of the camp, mounted and unmounted men each trying to be first they raced over the plain in scattered groups towards the enemy. When the consul saw them in this disorder he ordered C. Aurunculeius, military tribune of the third legion, to send the cavalry attached to his legion at full gallop against the enemy, for, as he said, they were scattered over the plain like a flock of sheep and could be ridden down and trampled under foot before they could close their ranks.

Hannibal had not left his camp, when he heard the noise of the battle. He lost not a moment in leading his force against the enemy. The Roman cavalry had already created a panic amongst the foremost of their assailants, the first legion and the allied contingent on the left wing were coming into action, the enemy in no sort of formation were fighting with infantry or cavalry as they happened to meet them. As their reinforcements and supports came up the fighting became more general, and Hannibal would have succeeded in getting his men into order in spite of the confusion and panic-a task almost impossible for any but veteran troops under a veteran commander-if they had not heard in their rear the shouts of the cohorts and maniples running down the hill, and saw themselves in danger of being cut off from their camp. The panic spread and flight became general in all parts of the field. The nearness of their camp made their flight easy, and for this reason their losses were comparatively small, considering that the cavalry were pressing on their rear and the cohorts charging along an easy road down the hill were attacking their flank Still, over 8000 men were killed and 700 made prisoners, nine standards were captured, and of the elephants which had proved useless in the confusion and hurry of the fight four were killed and two captured. About 500 Roman and allies fell. The next day the Carthaginians remained quiet. The Roman general marched in battle order on to the field, but when he saw that no standards were advancing from the opposing camp he ordered his men to gather the spoils of the slain and collect the bodies of their comrades and bury them in one common grave. Then for several days in succession he marched up so close to the gates that it seemed as though he were going to attack the camp, until Hannibal made up his mind to depart. Leaving numerous fires burning and tents standing on the side of the camp facing the Romans, and a few Numidians who were to show themselves on the rampart and at the gates, he set out with the intention of marching into Apulia. As soon as it grew light, the Roman army approached the rampart and the Numidians made themselves visible on the ramparts and at the gates. After deceiving their enemy for some time they rode off at full speed to join their comrades. When the consul found that the camp was silent and that even the few who had been patrolling it at dawn were nowhere visible, he sent two troopers into the camp to reconnoitre. They brought back word that they had examined it and found it safe everywhere, on which he ordered the troops to enter. He waited while the soldiers secured the plunder, and then the signal was given to retire; long before nightfall he had his soldiers back in camp. Very early next morning he started in pursuit and, guided by the local information supplied to him and the traces of their retreat, he succeeded, by making forced marches, in coming up with the enemy not far from Venusia. There a second irregular action took place in which the Carthaginians lost 2000 men. After this Hannibal decided to give no further opportunity of fighting and, in a series of night marches over the mountains, made for Metapontum. Hanno was in command of the garrison here, and he was sent with a few troops into Bruttium to raise a fresh army there. The rest of his force Hannibal incorporated with his own, and retracing his steps reached Venusia, and from there went on to Canusium. Nero never lost touch with him, and while he was following him to Metapontum he sent Q. Fulvius into Lucania, so that that country might not be left without a defending force.

After Hasdrubal had raised the siege of Placentia, he sent off four Gaulish and two Numidian troopers with despatches to Hannibal. They had passed through the midst of the enemy, and almost traversed the length of Italy, and were following Hannibal's retreat to Metapontum when they missed the road and were brought to Tarentum. Here they were caught by a Roman foraging party dispersed amongst the fields, and conducted to the propraetor Q. Claudius. At first they tried to mislead him by evasive answers, but the fear of torture compelled them to confess the truth, and they informed him that they were the bearers of despatches from Hasdrubal to Hannibal. They and the despatches, with seals intact, were handed over to L. Verginius, one of the military tribunes. He was furnished with an escort of two troops of Samnite cavalry, and ordered to conduct the six troopers to the consul Claudius Nero. After the despatches had been translated to him, and the prisoners had been examined, the consul saw that the regulation which confined each consul to the province and the army and the enemy which had been designated for him by the senate would not in the present instance be beneficial to the republic. He would have to venture upon a startling innovation, and though at the outset it might create as much alarm among his own countrymen as amongst the enemy, it would, when carried through, turn their great fear into great rejoicing. Hasdrubal's despatches he sent on to the senate together with one from himself explaining his project. As Hasdrubal had written to say that he would meet his brother in Umbria, he advised the senators to recall the Roman legion from Capua, raise troops in Rome, and with this City force oppose the enemy at Narnia. This was what he wrote to the senate. But he also sent couriers into the districts through which he intended to march-Larinum, Marrucina, Frentanum and Praetutia-to warn the inhabitants to collect all the supplies from the towns and the country districts and have them in readiness on the line of march to feed the troops. They were also to bring their horses and other draught animals so that there might be an ample supply of vehicles for the men who fell out through fatigue. Out of the whole of his army he selected a force of 6000 infantry and 1000 cavalry, the flower of the Roman and allied contingents, and gave out that he intended to seize the nearest city in Lucania with its Carthaginian garrison, so that all should be ready to march. Starting by night, he turned off in the direction of Picenum. Leaving Q. Catius, his second in command, in charge of the camp he marched as rapidly as he could to join his colleague.

The excitement and alarm in Rome were quite as great as they had been two years previously, when the Carthaginian camp was visible from the walls and gates of the City. People could not make up their minds whether the consul's daring march was more to be lauded or censured, and it was evident that they would await the result before pronouncing for or against it-a most unfair way of judging. "The camp." they said, "is left, near an enemy like Hannibal, with no general, with an army from which its main strength, the flower of its soldiery, has been withdrawn. Pretending to march into Lucania, the consul has taken the road to Picenum and Gaul, leaving the safety of his camp dependent upon the ignorance of the enemy as to what direction he and his division have taken. What will happen if they find that out, if Hannibal with his whole army decides to start in pursuit of Nero with his 6000 men, or attacks the camp, left as it is to be plundered, without defence, without a general with full powers or one who can take the auspices?" The former disasters in this war, the recollection of the two consuls killed the previous year, filled them with dread. "All those things," it was said, "happened when the enemy had only one commander and one army in Italy; now there are two distinct wars going on, two immense armies, and practically two Hannibals in Italy, for Hasdrubal too is a son of Hamilcar and is quite as able and energetic a commander as his brother. He has been trained in war against Rome for many years in Spain, and distinguished himself by the double victory in which he annihilated two Roman armies and their illustrious captains. In the rapidity of his march from Spain, and the way in which he has roused the tribes of Gaul to arms, he can boast of far greater success than even Hannibal himself, for he got together an army in those very districts in which his brother lost the greater part of his force by cold and hunger, the most miserable of all deaths." Those who were acquainted with recent events in Spain went on to say that he would meet in Nero a general who was no stranger to him, for he was the general whom Hasdrubal, when intercepted in a narrow pass, had duped and baffled as though he were a child by making illusory proposals for peace. In this way they exaggerated the strength of the enemy and depreciated their own, their fears made them look on the darkest side of everything.

When Nero had placed a sufficient distance between himself and the enemy to make it safe for him to reveal his design, he made a brief address to his men. "No commander," he said, "has ever formed a project apparently more risky but really less so than mine. I am leading you to certain victory. My colleague did not enter upon this campaign until he had obtained from the senate such a force of infantry and cavalry as he deemed sufficient, a force indeed more numerous and better equipped than if he were advancing against Hannibal himself. However small the addition you are now making to it, it will be enough to turn the scale. When once the news spreads on the battle-field-and I will take care that it does not spread sooner-that a second consul has arrived with a second army, it will make victory no longer doubtful. Rumour decides battles; slight impulses sway men's hopes and fears; if we are successful you yourselves will reap almost all the glory of it, for it is always the last weight added that has the credit of turning the balance. You see for yourselves what admiring and enthusiastic crowds welcome you as you march along." And indeed they did advance amidst vows and prayers and blessings from the lines of men and women who were gathered everywhere out of the fields and homesteads. They were called the defenders of the republic, the vindicators of the City and sovereignty of Rome; upon their swords and strong right hands depended all security and liberty for the people and their children. The bystanders prayed to all the gods and goddesses to grant them a safe and prosperous march, a successful battle and an early victory over their foes. As they were now following them with anxious hearts, so they prayed that they might fulfil the vows which they were making when they went forth with joy to meet them flushed with the pride of victory. Then they invited the soldiers to take what they had brought for them, each begging and entreating them to take from his hands rather than from any one else's what would be of use to them and their draught animals, and loading them with presents of all sorts. The soldiers showed the utmost moderation and refused to accept anything that was not absolutely necessary. They did not interrupt their march or leave the ranks or even halt to take food; day and night they went steadily on, hardly allowing themselves the rest which nature demanded. The consul sent messages in advance to announce his coming to his colleague, and to enquire whether it would be better to come secretly or openly, by night or by day, and also whether they were to occupy the same camp or separate ones. It was thought better that he should come by night.

The consul Livius had issued a secret order by means of the tessera that the tribunes should take in the tribunes who were coming; the centurions, the centurions; the cavalry, their mounted comrades; and the legionaries, the infantry. It was not desirable to extend the camp, his object was to keep the enemy in ignorance of the other consul's arrival. The crowding together of a larger number of men in the restricted space afforded by the tents was rendered all the easier because Claudius' army, in their hurried march, had brought hardly anything with them except their arms. On the march, however, their numbers had been augmented by volunteers, partly old soldiers who had served their time and partly young men who were anxious to join. Claudius enlisted those whose appearance and strength seemed to qualify them for service. Livius' camp was in the neighbourhood of Sena, and Hasdrubal was about half a mile distant. When he found that he was nearing the place, the consul halted where he was screened by the mountains, so as not to enter the camp before night. Then the men entered in silence and were conducted to the tents, each by a man of his own rank, where they received the warmest of welcomes and most hospitable entertainment. Next day a council of war was held, at which the praetor L. Porcius Licinus was present. His camp was now contiguous with that of the consuls; before their arrival he had adopted every possible device to baffle the Carthaginian by marching along the heights and seizing the passes, so as to check his advance, and also by harassing his columns whilst on the march. Many of those present at the council were in favour of postponing battle in order that Nero might recruit his troops worn out with the length of the march and want of sleep, and also might have a few days for getting to know his enemy. Nero tried to dissuade them from this course, and earnestly implored them not to endanger the success of his plan after he had made it perfectly safe by the rapidity of his march. Hannibal's activity, he argued, was so to speak paralysed by a mistake which he would not be long in rectifying; he had neither attacked the camp in the absence of its commander, nor had he made up his mind to follow him on his march. Before he moved, it was possible to destroy Hasdrubal's army and march back into Apulia. "To give the enemy time by putting off the engagement would be to betray their camp in Apulia to Hannibal and give him a clear road into Gaul, so that he would be able to form a junction with Hasdrubal when and where he pleased. The signal for action must be given at once, and we must march on to the field and profit by the mistakes which both our enemies are making, the distant one and the one close at hand. That one does not know that he has to deal with a smaller army than he supposes, this one is not aware that he has to meet a larger and stronger one than he imagines." As soon as the council broke up, the red ensign was displayed and the army at once took the field.

The enemy were already standing in front of their camp, in battle order. But there was a pause. Hasdrubal had ridden to the front with a handful of cavalry, when he noticed in the hostile ranks some well-worn shields which he had not seen before, and some unusually lean horses; the numbers, too, seemed greater than usual. Suspecting the truth he hastily withdrew his troops into camp and sent men down to the river from which the Romans obtained water, to catch if they could some of the watering parties and see whether they were especially sunburnt, as is generally the case after a long march. He ordered, at the same time, mounted patrols to ride round the consul's camp and observe whether the lines had been extended in any direction and to notice at the same time whether the bugle-call was sounded once or twice in the camp. They reported that both the camps-M. Livius' camp and that of L. Porcius-were just as they had been, no addition had been made, and this misled him. But they also informed him that the bugle-call was sounded once in the praetor's camp and twice in the consul's, and this perturbed the veteran commander, familiar as he was with the habits of the Romans. He concluded that both the consuls were there and was anxiously wondering how the one consul had got away from Hannibal. Least of all could he suspect what had actually occurred, namely that Hannibal had been so completely outwitted that he did not know the whereabouts of the commander and the army whose camp had been so close to his own. As his brother had not ventured to follow the consul, he felt quite certain that he had sustained a serious defeat, and he felt the gravest apprehensions lest he should have come too late to save a desperate situation, and lest the Romans should enjoy the same good fortune in Italy which they had met with in Spain. Then again he was convinced that his letter had never reached Hannibal, but had been intercepted by the consul who then hastened to crush him. Amidst these gloomy forebodings he ordered the camp fires to be extinguished, and gave the signal at the first watch for all the baggage to be collected in silence. The army then left the camp. In the hurry and confusion of the night march the guides, who had not been kept under very close observation, slipped away; one hid himself in a place selected beforehand, the other swam across the Metaurus at a spot well known to him. The column deprived of its guides marched on aimlessly across country, and many, worn out by sleeplessness flung themselves down to rest, those who remained with the standards becoming fewer and fewer. Until daylight showed him his route, Hasdrubal ordered the head of the column to advance cautiously, but finding that owing to the bends and turns of the river he had made little progress, he made arrangements for crossing it as soon as daybreak should show him a convenient place. But he was unable to find one, for the further he marched from the sea, the higher were the banks which confined the stream, and by thus wasting the day he gave his enemy time to follow him.

Nero with the whole of the cavalry was the first to come up, then Porcius followed with the light infantry. They began to harass their wearied enemy by repeated charges on all sides, until Hasdrubal stopped a march which began to resemble a flight, and decided to form camp on a hill which commanded the river. At this juncture Livius appeared with the heavy infantry, not in order of march, but deployed and armed for immediate battle. All their forces were now massed together, and the line was formed; Claudius Nero taking command of the right wing, Livius of the left, while the centre was assigned to the praetor. When Hasdrubal saw that he must give up all idea of entrenching himself and prepare to fight, he stationed the elephants in the front, the Gauls near them on the left to oppose Claudius, not so much because he trusted them as because he hoped they would frighten the enemy, while on the right, where he commanded in person, he posted the Spaniards in whom as veteran troops he placed most confidence. The Ligurians were stationed in the centre behind the elephants. His formation was greater in depth than length and the Gauls were covered by a hill which extended across their front. That part of the line which Hasdrubal and his Spaniards held engaged the Roman left; the whole of the Roman right was shut out from the fighting, the hill in front prevented them from making either a frontal or a flank attack. The struggle between Livius and Hasdrubal was a fierce one, and both sides lost heavily. Here were the two captains, the greater part of the Roman infantry and cavalry, the Spaniards who were veteran soldiers and used to the Roman methods of fighting, and also the Ligurians, a people hardened by warfare. To this part of the field the elephants too had been driven, and at their first onset they threw the front ranks into confusion and forced the standards to give way. Then as the fighting became hotter and the noise and shouting more furious, it became impossible to control them, they rushed about between the two armies as though they did not know to which side they belonged, just like ships drifting rudderless. Nero made fruitless efforts to scale the hill in front of him, calling out repeatedly to his men, "Why have we made so long a march at such break-neck speed? "When he found it impossible to reach the enemy in that direction, he detached some cohorts from his right wing where he saw that they were more likely to stand on guard than to take any part in the fighting, led them past the rear of his division and to the surprise of his own men as much as of the enemy commenced an attack upon the enemy's flank. So rapidly was this maneuver executed, that almost as soon as they showed themselves on the flank, they were attacking the rear of the enemy. Thus attacked on every side, front, flank and rear, Spaniards and Ligurians alike were simply massacred where they stood. At last the carnage reached the Gauls. Here there was very little fighting, for a great many had fallen out during the night and were lying asleep everywhere in the fields, and those who were still with the standards were worn out by the long march and want of sleep, and being quite unable to stand fatigue could hardly sustain the weight of their armour. It was now mid-day, and the heat and thirst made them gasp for breath, until they were cut down or made prisoners without offering any resistance.

More elephants were killed by their drivers than by the enemy. They had a carpenter's chisel and a mallet, and when the maddened beasts rushed among their own side the driver placed the chisel between the ears just where the head is joined to the neck and drove it home with all his might. This was the quickest method that had been discovered of putting these huge animals to death when there was no hope of controlling them, and Hasdrubal was the first to introduce it. Often had this commander distinguished himself in other battles, but never more than in this one. He kept up the spirits of his men as they fought by words of encouragement and by sharing their dangers; when, weary and dispirited, they would no longer fight, he rekindled their courage by his entreaties and reproaches; he rallied those in flight and often revived the battle where it had been abandoned. At last when the fortune of the day was decisively with the enemy he refused to survive that great army which had followed him, drawn by the magic of his name, and setting spurs to his horse dashed against a Roman cohort. There he fell fighting-a death worthy of Hamilcar's son and Hannibal's brother. Never during the whole of the war had so many of the enemy perished in a single battle. The death of the commander and the destruction of his army were regarded as an adequate repayment for the disaster of Cannae. 56,000 of the enemy were killed, 5400 taken prisoners, and a great quantity of plunder was secured, especially of gold and silver. Above 3000 Romans who had been captured by the enemy were recovered, and this was some consolation for the losses incurred in the battle. For the victory was by no means a bloodless one; about 8000 Romans and allies were killed. So satiated were the victors with bloodshed and carnage that when it was reported to Livius on the following day that the Cisalpine Gauls and Ligurians who had taken no part in the battle or had escaped from the field were marching off in a body without general or standards or any one to give the word of command, and that a single squadron of cavalry could wipe out the whole lot, the consul replied: "Let some survive to carry the news of their defeat and our victory."

The night after the battle Nero started off at a more rapid pace than he had come, and in six days reached his camp and was once more in touch with Hannibal. His march was not watched by the same crowds as before, because no messengers preceded him, but his return was welcomed with such extravagant delight that people were almost beside themselves for joy. As to the state of feeling in Rome, it is impossible to describe it, or to picture the anxiety with which the citizens waited for the result of the battle or the enthusiasm which the report of the victory aroused. Never from the day when the news came that Nero had commenced his march had any senator left the House, or the people the Forum from sunrise to sunset. The matrons, as they could give no active help, betook themselves to prayers and intercessions; they thronged all the shrines and assailed the gods with supplications and vows. Whilst the citizens were in this state of anxious suspense, a vague rumour was started to the effect that two troopers belonging to Narnia had gone from the battle-field to the camp there which was holding the road to Umbria with the announcement that the enemy had been cut to pieces. People listened to the rumour, but they could not take it in, the news was too great, too joyful for them to realise or to accept as true, and the very speed at which it had travelled made it less credible, for the battle was reported as having taken place only two days previously. Then followed a despatch from L. Manlius Acidinus, reporting the arrival of the two troopers in his camp. When this despatch was carried through the Forum to the praetor's tribunal the senators left their seats, and such was the excitement of the people as they pushed and struggled round the door of the senate-house that the courier could not get near it. He was dragged away by the crowd, who demanded with loud shouts that the despatch should be read from the rostra before it was read in the senate-house. At last the magistrates succeeded in forcing back and restraining the populace, and it became possible for all to share in the joyous news they were so impatient to learn. The despatch was read first in the senate-house, and then in the Assembly. It was listened to with different feelings according to each man's temperament; some regarded the news as absolutely true, others would not believe it till they had the consul's despatch and the report of the envoys.

Word was brought that the envoys were approaching. Everybody young and old alike ran out to meet them, each eager to drink in the good tidings with eyes and ears, and the crowd extended as far as the Mulvian bridge. The envoys were L. Veturius Philo, P. Licinius Varus and Q. Caecilius Metellus. They made their way to the Forum surrounded by a crowd which represented every class of the population, and besieged by questions on all sides as to what had really happened. No sooner did any one hear that the army of the enemy and its commander had been slain whilst the consuls and their army were safe, than he hastened to make others sharers of his joy. The senate-house was reached with difficulty, and with much greater difficulty was the crowd prevented from invading the space reserved for the senators. Here the despatch was read, and then the envoys were conducted to the Assembly. After the despatch was read, L. Veturius gave fuller details and his narrative was received with bursts of applause, which finally swelled into universal cheers, the Assembly being hardly able to contain itself for joy. Some ran to the temples to give thanks to heaven, others hurried home that their wives and children might hear the good news. The senate decreed a three days' thanksgiving "because the consuls, M. Livius and C. Claudius Nero, had preserved their own armies in safety and destroyed the army of the enemy and its commander." C. Hostilius, the praetor, issued the order for its observance. The services were attended by men and women alike, the temples were crowded all through the three days, and the matrons in their most splendid robes, accompanied by their children, offered their thanksgivings to the gods, as free from anxiety and fear as though the war were over. This victory also relieved the financial position. People ventured to do business just as in a time of peace, buying and selling, lending and repaying loans. After Nero had returned to camp he gave orders for Hasdrubal's head, which he had kept and brought with him, to be thrown in front of the enemies' outpost, and the African prisoners to be exhibited just as they were in chains. Two of them were released with orders to go to Hannibal and report all that had happened. Stunned by the blow which had fallen on his country and on his family, it is said that Hannibal declared that he recognised the doom which awaited Carthage. He broke up his camp, and decided to concentrate in Bruttium, the remotest corner of Italy, all his supporters whom he could no longer protect, whilst scattered in the different cities. The whole population of Metapontum had to leave their homes together with all the Lucanians who acknowledged his supremacy, and were transported into Bruttian territory.

End of Book 27

Though Hasdrubal's invasion had shifted the burden of war to Italy and brought corresponding relief to Spain, war was suddenly renewed in that country which was quite as formidable as the previous one. At the time of Hasdrubal's departure Spain was divided between Rome and Carthage as follows: Hasdrubal Gisgo had retreated to the ocean littoral near Gades, the Mediterranean coast-line and almost the whole of Eastern Spain was held by Scipio on behalf of Rome. A new general took Hasdrubal's place, named Hanno, who brought over a fresh army, and marched into Celtiberia, which lies between the Mediterranean and the ocean, and here he soon raised a very considerable army. Scipio sent M. Silanus against him with a force of not more than 10,000 infantry and 500 cavalry. Silanus marched with all the speed he could, but his progress was impeded by the bad state of the roads and by the narrow mountain passes, obstacles which are met with in most parts of Spain. In spite of these difficulties he outstripped not only any natives who might have carried tidings, but even any floating rumours of his advance, and with the assistance of some Celtiberian deserters who acted as guides he succeeded in finding the enemy. When he was about ten miles distant, he was informed by his guides that there were two camps near the road on which he was marching; the one on the left was occupied by the Celtiberians, a newly raised army about 9000 strong, the one on the right by the Carthaginians. The latter was carefully guarded by outposts, pickets and all the usual precautions against surprise; the Celtiberian camp was without any discipline, and all precautions were neglected as might be expected of barbarians and raw levies who felt all the less fear because they were in their own country. Silanus decided to attack that one first, and kept his men as much to the left as possible, so as not to be seen by the Carthaginian outposts. After sending on his scouts he advanced rapidly against the enemy.

He was now about three miles away and none of the enemy had yet noticed his advance, the rocks and thickets which covered the whole of this hilly district concealed his movements. Before making his final advance, he ordered his men to halt in a valley where they were effectually hidden and take food. The scouting parties resumed and confirmed the statements of the deserters, on which the Romans, after placing the baggage in the centre and arming themselves for the combat, advanced in order of battle. The enemy caught sight of these when they were a mile distant and hurriedly prepared to meet them. As soon as Mago heard the shouting and confusion he galloped across from his camp to take command. There were in the Celtiberian army 4000 men with shields and 200 cavalry, making up a regular legion. These were his main strength and he stationed them in the front; the rest who were lightly armed he posted in reserve. In this formation he led them out of the camp, but they had hardly crossed the rampart when the Romans hurled their javelins at them. The Spaniards stooped to avoid them, and then sprang up to discharge their own, which the Romans who were in their usual close order received on their overlapping shields; then they closed up foot to foot and fought with their swords. The Celtiberians, accustomed to rapid evolutions, found their agility useless on the broken ground, but the Romans, who were used to stationary fighting, found no inconvenience from it beyond the fact that their ranks were sometimes broken when moving through narrow places or patches of brushwood. Then they had to fight singly or in pairs, as if they were fighting duels.

These very obstacles, however, by impeding the enemy's flight, gave them up, as though bound hand and foot, to the sword. Almost all the heavy infantry of the Celtiberians had fallen when the Carthaginian light infantry, who had now come from the other camp, shared their fate. Not more than 2000 infantry escaped; the cavalry, which had hardly taken any part in the battle, together with Mago also got away. The other general, Hanno, was taken prisoner, together with those who were the last to appear in the field when the battle was already lost. Mago, with almost the whole of his cavalry and his veteran infantry, joined Hasdrubal at Gades ten days after the battle. The Celtiberian levies dispersed amongst the neighbouring forests and so reached their homes. So far the war had not been a serious one, but there was all the material for a much greater conflagration had it been possible to induce the other tribes to join the Celtiberians in arms; that possibility was by this most timely victory destroyed. Scipio therefore eulogised Silanus in generous terms, and felt hopeful of bringing the war to a termination if he on his part acted with sufficient promptitude. He advanced, accordingly, into the remote corner of Spain where all the remaining strength of Carthage was concentrated under Hasdrubal. He happened at the time to be encamped in the district of Baetica for the purpose of securing the fidelity of his allies, but on Scipio's advance he suddenly moved away and in a march which closely resembled a flight retreated to Gades on the coast. Feeling, however, quite certain that as long as he kept his army together he would be the object of attack, he arranged, before he crossed over to Gades, for the whole of his force to be distributed amongst the various cities, so that they could defend the walls whilst the walls protected them.

When Scipio became aware of this breaking up of the hostile forces, he saw that to carry his arms from city to city would involve a loss of time far greater than the results gained, and consequently marched back again. Not wishing, however, to leave that district in the enemy's hands, he sent his brother Lucius with 10,000 infantry and 1000 cavalry to attack the richest city in that part of the country; the natives call it Orongi. It is situated in the country of the Maessesses, one of the tribes of Southern Spain; the soil is fertile, and there are also silver mines. Hasdrubal had used it as his base from which to make his incursions on the inland tribes. Lucius Scipio encamped in the neighbourhood of the city, but before investing it, he sent men up to the gates to hold a parley with the townsmen and endeavour to persuade them to put the friendship rather than the strength of the Romans to the proof. As nothing in the shape of a peaceable answer was resumed, he surrounded the place with a double line of circumvallation and formed his army into three divisions, so that one division at a time could be in action while the other two were resting, and thus a continuous attack might be kept up. When the first division advanced to the storm there was a desperate fight; they had the utmost difficulty in approaching the walls and bringing up the scaling-ladders owing to the rain of missiles showered down upon them. Even when they had planted the ladders against the walls and began to mount them, they were thrust down by forks made for the purpose, iron hooks were let down upon others so that they were in danger of being dragged off the ladders and suspended in mid-air. Scipio saw that what made the struggle indecisive was simply the insufficient number of his men and that the defenders had the advantage because they were fighting from their walls. He withdrew the division which was engaged, and brought up the two others. In face of this fresh attack the defenders, worn out with meeting the former assault, retreated hastily from the walls, and the Carthaginian garrison, fearing that the city had been betrayed, left their various posts and formed into one body. This alarmed the townsmen, who dreaded lest the enemy when once inside the city should massacre every one, whether Carthaginian or Spaniard. They flung open one of the gates and burst out of the town, holding their shields in front of them in case missiles should be hurled on them from a distance, and showing their empty right hands to make it plain that they had thrown away their swords. Their action was misinterpreted either owing to the distance at which they were seen, or because treachery was suspected, and a fierce attack was made upon the flying crowd, who were cut down as though they were a hostile army. The Romans marched in through the open gate whilst other gates were demolished with axes and mallets, and as each cavalry man entered he galloped in accordance with instructions to the forum. The cavalry were supported by a detachment of triarii; the legionaries occupied the rest of the city. There was no plundering and, except in the case of armed resistance, no bloodshed. All the Carthaginians and about a thousand of the townsmen who had closed the gates were placed under guard, the town was handed over to the rest of the population and their property restored to them. About 2000 of the enemy fell in the assault upon the city; not more than 90 of the Romans.

The capture of this city was a source of great gratification to those who had effected it, as it was also to the commander-in-chief and the rest of the army. The entry of the troops was a noteworthy sight owing to the immense number of prisoners who preceded them. Scipio bestowed the highest commendation on his brother, and declared that the capture of Orongis was as great an achievement as his own capture of New Carthage. The winter was now coming on, and as the season would not admit of his making an attempt on Gades or pursuing Hasdrubal's army, dispersed as it was throughout the province, Scipio brought his entire force back into Hither Spain. After dismissing the legions to their winter quarters, he sent his brother to Rome with Hanno and the other prisoners of high rank, and then retired to Tarraco. The Roman fleet under the command of the proconsul M. Valerius Laevinus sailed during the year to Africa, and committed widespread devastation round Utica and Carthage; plunder was carried off under the very walls of Utica and on the frontiers of Carthage. On their return to Sicily they fell in with a Carthaginian fleet of seventy vessels. Out of these seventeen were captured, four were sunk, the rest scattered in flight. The Roman army, victorious alike on land and sea, returned to Lilybaeum with an enormous amount of plunder of every kind. Now that the enemy's ships had been driven off and the sea rendered safe, large supplies of corn were conveyed to Rome.

It was in the beginning of this summer that the proconsul P. Sulpicius and King Attalus who, as already stated, had wintered at Aegina, sailed for Lemnos with their combined fleets, the Roman vessels numbering twenty-five and the king's ships, thirty-five. In order to be in readiness to meet his enemies by land or sea, Philip went down to Demetrias on the coast and issued orders for his army to assemble at Larissa by a given day. When they heard of the king's arrival at Demetrias, deputations from all his allies visited him there. The Aetolians, emboldened by their alliance with Rome and the arrival of Attalus, were ravaging their neighbours' lands. Great alarm was created amongst the Acarnanians, the Boeotians and the inhabitants of Euboea, and the Achaeans had further cause for apprehension, for, in addition to their war with the Aetolians, they were threatened by Machanidas the tyrant of Lacedaemon, who had encamped not far from the Argive frontiers. The deputations informed the king of the state of things, and one and all begged him to render them assistance against the dangers which were threatening by land and sea. The condition of his own kingdom was far from tranquil; reports were brought to him announcing that Scerdilaedus and Pleuratus were again active and that Thracian tribes, especially the Maedi, were prepared to invade Macedonia as soon as the king was involved in a distant war. The Boeotians and the States in the interior of Greece reported that the Aetolians had closed the pass of Thermopylae at its narrowest part with a fosse and rampart to prevent him from carrying succour to the cities of his allies. Even a lethargic leader would have been roused to activity by all these disturbances round him. He dismissed the deputations with a definite promise that he would furnish assistance to them all as time and circumstances allowed. For the moment the most pressing care was the city of Peparethos, as King Attalus, who had sailed thither from Lemnos, was reported to be plundering and destroying all the country round. Philip sent a detachment to protect the place. He also sent Polyphantas with a small force into Boeotia, and Menippus, one of his generals, with 1000 peltasts to Chalcis. This force was supplemented by 500 Agrianians, in order that the whole of the island might be protected. Philip himself proceeded to Scotusa and ordered the Macedonian troops at Larissa to march there. Information was brought to him here that the national council of the Aetolians had been summoned to meet at Heraclea and that Attalus would be present to consult with them as to the conduct of the war. Philip accordingly proceeded thither by forced marches, but did not reach the place till the council was broken up. He destroyed the crops, however, which were almost ripe, especially round the gulf of the Aenianes, and then led his army back to Scotusa. Leaving the bulk of his forces there he returned to Demetrias with his household troops. With the view of meeting any movement on the part of the enemy, he sent men into Phocis, Euboea and Peparethos to select elevated positions on which beacon fires might be lighted, and himself fixed an observation post on Tisaeos, a peak of immense height. In this way he hoped to receive instant notice from the distant fires of any movement on the part of the enemy. The Roman general and Attalus sailed from Peparethos to Nicaea, and from there to the city of Oreus in Euboea. This is the first city in Euboea which you pass on your left hand as you leave the Gulf of Demetrias for Chalcis and the Euripus. It was arranged between Attalus and Sulpicius that the Romans should attack by sea and the king's troops by land.

It was not till the fourth day after their arrival that they commenced the attack, the interval having been spent in secret conferences with Plator, whom Philip had made commandant of the garrison. The city has two citadels, one overlooking the sea, the other in the heart of the city. From the latter a subterranean passage leads down to the sea, and at one time terminated in a tower five stories high, which formed an imposing defence. Here a violent contest took place, for the tower was plentifully stored with missiles of every kind, and the engines and artillery had been brought up from the ships for use against the walls. Whilst every one's attention was engrossed by the struggle going on here, Plator admitted the Romans through the gate of the seaward citadel, and this was captured at once. Then the defenders, finding themselves forced back into the city, tried to gain the other citadel. Men who were posted here for the purpose closed the gates against them, and thus shut out from both citadels they were killed or made prisoners. The Macedonian garrison stood in a close phalanx under the wall of the citadel, neither attempting to flee nor taking an active part in the fighting. Plator persuaded Sulpicius to let them go and they were placed on board and landed at Demetrium in Phthiotis. Plator himself joined Attalus. Encouraged by his easy success at Oreus, Sulpicius sailed at once with his victorious fleet to Chalcis, but here the result by no means answered his expectations. The sea which is wide and open at each end of the Euripus contracts here into a narrow channel, which at first sight presents the appearance of a double harbour with two mouths opposite each other. But it would be difficult to find a more dangerous roadstead for a fleet. Sudden tempestuous winds sweep down from the lofty mountains on both sides, and the Euripus does not, as is commonly asserted, ebb and flow seven times a day at regular intervals, but its waters, driven haphazard like the wind first in one direction and then in another, rush along like a torrent down the side of a precipitous mountain, so that ships are never in quiet waters day or night. After Sulpicius had anchored his fleet in these treacherous waters, he found that the town was protected on the one side by the sea, and on the other, the land side, by very strong fortifications, whilst the strength of its garrison and the loyalty of the officers, so different from the duplicity and treason at Oreus, made it impregnable. After surveying the difficulties of his position, the Roman commander acted wisely in desisting from his rash enterprise, and without any further loss of time sailed away to Cynos in Locris, a place situated about a mile from the sea, which served as the emporium of the Opuntians.

The beacon fires at Oreus had given Philip warning, but through the treachery of Plator they were lighted too late, and in any case Philip's inferiority in naval strength would have made it extremely difficult for him to reach the island. In consequence of this delay he made no effort for its relief, but he hastened to the relief of Chalcis as soon as he got the signal. Although this city is also situated on the island, it is separated from the mainland by such a narrow strait as to allow of its being connected by a bridge, and it is therefore more easy to approach it by land than by sea. Philip marched from Demetrias to Scotusa; he left that place at midnight, and after routing the Aetolians who were holding the pass of Thermopylae drove them in confusion to Heraclea. He finally reached Elatia in Phocis, having covered more than sixty miles in one day. Almost on the very same day the city of the Opuntians was taken and sacked by Attalus. Sulpicius had left the spoils to him, because Oreus had been sacked by the Romans a few days previously, when the king's troops were elsewhere. Whilst the Roman fleet was lying off Oreus, Attalus was busily occupied in extorting contributions from the principal citizens of Opus, utterly unaware of Philip's approach. So rapid was the Macedonian advance that had not some Cretans who had gone foraging further than usual caught sight of the hostile column in the distance, Attalus would have been completely surprised. As it was he fled, without stopping to arm, in wild disorder to his ships, and the men were actually pushing their vessels off when Philip appeared, and even from the water's edge created great alarm amongst the crews. Then he returned to Opus, storming at gods and men because the chance of a great success had been almost snatched out of his hands. He was just as furious with the Opuntians, for, though they might have held out till his arrival, no sooner did they see the enemy than they voluntarily surrendered.

After settling matters at Opus, he went on to Thronium. Attalus had sailed to Oreus, but on learning that Prusias, the king of Bithynia, had violated the frontiers of his dominions he dropped all his projects in Greece, including the Aetolian war, and sailed to Asia. Sulpicius took his fleet back to Aegina, whence he had started in the beginning of spring. Philip captured Thronium with no more difficulty than Attalus had experienced at Opus. The population of this city consisted of refugees from Thebes in Phthiotis. When the place was captured by Philip, they escaped and put themselves under the protection of the Aetolians, who assigned for their abode a city which had been ruined and abandoned in the previous war with Philip. After his capture of Thronium he advanced to the capture of Tithronon and Drymiae, small unimportant towns in Doris. Ultimately he reached Elatia, where it was arranged that the embassies from Ptolemy and the Rhodians should meet him. Here they were discussing the question of bringing the Aetolian war to a close-the ambassadors had been present at the recent council of the Romans and Aetolians at Heraclea-when news was brought that Machanidas had decided to attack the Eleans in the midst of their preparations for the Olympic Games. Philip thought it his duty to prevent this, and accordingly dismissed the ambassadors after assuring them that he was responsible for the war and would place no obstacles in the way of peace, provided its terms were fair and honourable. He then set off with his army in light marching order, and passed through Boeotia to Megara, and from there he descended to Corinth. Here he collected supplies, and then advanced towards Phlius and Pheneos. When he had reached Heraea he heard that Machanidas, alarmed at his rapid approach, had made a hurried return to Lacedaemon. On receiving this intelligence he repaired to Aegium, in order to be present at the meeting of the Achaean League; he also expected to find there the Carthaginian fleet, which he had sent for in the hope of doing something by sea. The Carthaginians had left that place a few days previously for Oxeae and then, when they heard that Attalus and the Romans had left Oreus, they sought shelter in the harbours of Acarnania, fearing lest if they were attacked within the strait of Rhium, the neck of the Gulf of Corinth, they should be overpowered.

Philip was extremely disappointed and vexed at finding that in spite of his rapid movements he was always too late to do anything, and that Fortune mocked his energy and activity by snatching away every opportunity from before his eyes. However, he concealed his disappointment in the presence of the council, and spoke in a very confident tone. Appealing to gods and men he declared that at no time or place had he ever failed to go with all possible speed wherever the clash of hostile arms was heard. It would be difficult, he continued, to estimate whether the enemy's anxiety to flee or his own eagerness to fight played the greater part in the war. In this way Attalus got away from Opus, and Sulpicius from Chalcis, and now Machanidas had slipped out of his hands. But flight did not always mean victory, and it was impossible to regard as serious a war in which when once you have come into touch with the enemy, you have conquered. The most important thing was the enemy's own admission that they were no match for him, and in a short time he would win a decisive victory, the enemy would find the result of the battle no better than they had anticipated. His allies were delighted with his speech. He then made over Heraea and Triphylia to the Achaeans, and on their bringing forward satisfactory evidence that Aliphera in Megalopolis had formed part of their territory, he restored that place also to them. Subsequently with some vessels furnished by the Achaeans-three quadriremes and as many biremes-he sailed to Anticyra. He had previously sent into the Gulf of Corinth seven quinqueremes and more than twenty light vessels, intending to strengthen the Carthaginian fleet, and with these he proceeded to Eruthrae in Aetolia near Eupalium, where he disembarked. The Aetolians were aware of his landing, for all the men who were in the fields or in the neighbouring forts of Potidania or Apollonia fled to the woods and the mountains; their flocks and herds which they were unable in their haste to drive away Philip secured and placed on board. The whole of the plunder was despatched in charge of Nicias the praetor of the Achaeans to Aegium; Philip, sending his army overland through Boeotia, went himself to Corinth, and from there to Cenchreae. Here he re-embarked, and sailing past the coast of Attica, round the headland of Sunium and almost through the hostile fleets, arrived at Chalcis. In his address to the citizens he spoke in the highest terms of their loyalty and courage in refusing to be moved by either threats or promises, and he urged them, in case they were attacked, to show the same determination to be true to their ally if they thought their own position preferable to that of Opus or Oreus. From Chalcis he sailed to Oreus, where he entrusted the administration and defence of the city to those magnates who had fled on the capture of the place rather than betray it to the Romans. Then he returned to Demetrias, the place from which he had started to render assistance to his allies. He now proceeded to lay down the keels of 100 war-ships at Cassandrea, and a large number of shipwrights were assembled for their construction. As matters were now quiet in Greece, owing to the departure of Attalus and the effective assistance which Philip had given to his allies in their difficulties, he returned to Macedonia to commence operations against the Maedi.

Just at the close of this summer Quintus Fabius, the son of Maximus, who was on the staff of the consul M. Livius, came to Rome to inform the senate that the consul considered L. Porcius and his legions sufficient for the defence of Gaul, in which case he, Livius, and his consular army might be safely withdrawn. The senate recalled not only Livius, but his colleague as well, but the instructions given to each differed. M. Livius was ordered to bring his troops back, but Nero's legions were to remain in their province, confronting Hannibal. The consuls had been in correspondence with each other and had agreed that as they had been of the same mind in their conduct of public affairs, so, though coming from opposite directions, they should approach the City at the same time. Whichever should be the first to reach Praeneste was to wait there for his colleague, and, as it happened, they both arrived there on the same day. After despatching a summons for the senate to meet at the temple of Bellona in three days' time they went on together towards the City. The whole population turned out to meet them with shouts of welcome, and each tried to grasp the consuls' hands; congratulations and thanks were showered upon them for having, by their efforts, rendered the commonwealth safe. When the senate was assembled they followed the precedent set by all victorious generals and laid before the House a report of their military operations. Then they made request that in recognition of their energetic and successful conduct of public affairs special honours should be rendered to the gods and they, the consuls, should be allowed to enter the City in triumph The senators passed a decree that their request should be granted out of gratitude to the gods in the first place, and then, next to the gods, out of gratitude to the consuls. A solemn thanksgiving was decreed on their behalf, and each of them was allowed to enjoy a triumph.

As they had been in perfect agreement as to the management of their campaign, they decided that they would not have separate triumphs, and the following arrangement was made: As the victory had been won in the province assigned to Livius, and as it had fallen to him to take the auspices on the day of battle, and further, as his army had been brought back to Rome, whilst Nero's army was unable to leave its province, it was decided that Livius should ride in the chariot at the head of his soldiers, and C. Claudius Nero alone on horseback. The triumph thus shared between them enhanced the glory of both, but especially of the one who allowed his comrade to surpass him in honour as much as he himself surpassed him in merit. "That horseman," men said to one another, "traversed Italy from end to end in six days, and at the very time when Hannibal believed him to be confronting him in Apulia he was fighting a pitched battle with Hasdrubal in Gaul. So one consul had checked the advance of two generals, two great captains from the opposite corners of Italy, by opposing his strategy to the one and meeting the other in person. The mere name of Nero had sufficed to keep Hannibal quiet in his camp, and as to Hasdrubal, what brought about his defeat and destruction but Nero's arrival in the field? The one consul may ride in a chariot with as many horses as he pleases, the real triumph belongs to the other who is borne on horseback through the City; even if he went on foot Nero's renown would never die, whether through the glory he acquired in war, or the contempt he showed for it in his triumph." These and similar remarks from the spectators followed Nero till he reached the Capitol. The money they brought into the treasury amounted to 300,000 sesterces and 80,000 of bronze coinage. M. Livius' largesse to his soldiers amounted to fifty-six ases per man, and C. Nero promised to give the same amount to his men as soon as he rejoined his army. It is remarked that in their jests and songs the soldiers on that day celebrated the name of C. Claudius Nero more frequently than that of their own consul; and that the members of the equestrian order were full of praises for L. Veturius and Q. Caecilius, and urged the plebs to make them consuls for the coming year. The consuls added considerably to the weight of this recommendation when on the morrow they informed the Assembly with what courage and fidelity the two officers had served them.

The time was approaching for the elections and it was decided that they should be conducted by a Dictator. C. Claudius Nero named his colleague M. Livius as Dictator, and he nominated Q. Caecilius as his Master of the Horse. L. Veturius and Q. Caecilius were both elected consuls. Then came the election of praetors; those appointed were C. Servilius, M. Caecilius Metellus, Tiberius Claudius Asellus and Q. Mamilius Turrinus, who was a plebeian aedile at the time. When the elections were over, the Dictator laid down his office and after disbanding his army went on a mission to Etruria. He had been commissioned by the senate to hold an enquiry as to which cantons in Etruria had entertained the design of deserting to Hasdrubal as soon as he appeared, and also which of them had assisted him with supplies, or men, or in any other way. Such were the events of the year at home and abroad. The Roman Games were celebrated in full on three successive days by the curule aediles, Cnaeus Servilius Caepio and Servilius Cornelius Lentulus; similarly the Plebeian Games were celebrated by the plebeian aediles, M. Pomponius Matho and Q. Mamilius Turrinus. It was now the thirteenth year of the Punic War. Both the consuls, L. Veturius Philo and Q. Caecilius Metellus, had the same province-Bruttium-assigned to them, that they might jointly carry on operations against Hannibal. The praetors balloted for their provinces. M. Caecilius Metellus obtained the City jurisdiction; Q. Mamilius, that over aliens. Sicily fell to C. Servilius, and Sardinia to Ti. Claudius.

The armies were distributed as follows: One of the consuls took over Nero's army; the other, that which Q. Claudius had commanded; each consisted of two legions. M. Livius, who was acting as proconsul for the year, took over from C. Terentius the two legions of volunteer slaves in Etruria. It was also decreed that Q. Mamilius, to whom the jurisdiction over aliens had been allotted, should transfer his judicial business to his colleague, and hold Gaul with the army which L. Porcius had commanded as propraetor; he was also instructed to ravage the fields of those Gauls who had gone over to the Carthaginians on the arrival of Hasdrubal. C. Servilius was to protect Sicily, as C. Mamilius had done, with the two legions of the survivors of Cannae. The old army in Sardinia, under A. Hostilius, was recalled, and the consuls enrolled a new legion which Tiberius Claudius was to take with him to the island. A year's extension of command was granted to Q. Claudius, that he might remain in charge at Tarentum, and to C. Hostilius Tubero, that he might continue to act at Capua. M. Valerius, who had been charged with the defence of the Sicilian seaboard, was ordered to hand over thirty ships to the praetor' C. Servilius, and return to Rome with the rest of his fleet.

In the anxiety caused by the strain of such a serious war when men referred every occurrence, fortunate or the reverse, to the direct action of the gods, numerous portents were announced. At Tarracina the temple of Jupiter, at Satricum that of Mater Matuta were struck by lightning. At the latter place quite as much alarm was created by the appearance of two snakes which glided straight through the doors into the temple of Jupiter. From Antium it was reported that the ears of corn seemed to those who were reaping them to be covered with blood. At Caere a pig had been farrowed with two heads, and a lamb yeaned which was both male and female. Two suns were said to have been seen at Alba, and at Fregellae it had become light during the night. In the precinct of Rome an ox was said to have spoken; the altar of Neptune in the Circus Flaminius was asserted to have been bathed in perspiration, and the temples of Ceres, Salus and Quirinus were all struck by lightning. The consuls received orders to expiate the portents by sacrificing full-grown victims and to appoint a day of solemn intercession. These measures were carried out in accordance with the senatorial resolution. What was a much more terrifying experience than all the portents reported from the country or seen in the City, was the extinction of the fire in the temple of Vesta. The vestal who was in charge of the fire that night was severely flogged by order of P. Licinius, the Pontifex Maximus. Though this was no portent sent by the gods, but merely the result of human carelessness, it was decided to sacrifice full-grown victims and hold a service of solemn supplication in the temple of Vestal.

Before the consuls left for the seat of war, they were advised by the senate "to see to it that the plebeians were reinstated on their holdings. Through the goodness of the gods the burden of war had now been shifted from the City of Rome and from Latium, and men could dwell in the country parts without fear, it was by no means fitting that they should be more concerned for the cultivation of Sicily than for that of Italy." The people found it, however, anything but an easy matter. The small holders had been carried off by the war, there was hardly any servile labour available, the cattle had been driven off as plunder, and the homesteads had been either stripped or burnt. Still, at the authoritative behest of the consuls a considerable number did return to their farms. What led to the senate taking up this question was the presence of deputations from Placentia and Cremona, who came to complain of the invasion and wasting of their country by their neighbours, the Gauls. A large proportion of their settlers, they said, had disappeared, their cities were almost without inhabitants, and the countryside was a deserted wilderness. The praetor Mamilius was charged with the defence of these colonies; the consuls, acting on a resolution of the senate, published an edict requiring all those who were citizens of Cremona and Placentia to return to their homes before a certain day. At last, towards the beginning of spring, they left for the seat of war. The consul Q. Caecilius took over the army from C. Nero, and L. Veturius, the one which Q. Claudius had commanded, and this he brought up to its full strength with the fresh levies which he had raised. They led their armies into the district of Consentia, and ravaged it in all directions. As they were returning laden with plunder they were attacked in a narrow pass by a force of Bruttians and Numidian javelin-men, and not only the plunder but the troops themselves were in danger. There was, however, more alarm and confusion than real fighting. The plunder was sent forward and the legions succeeded in getting into a position free from danger. They advanced into Lucania, and the whole of the district returned to its allegiance to Rome without offering any resistance.

No action was fought with Hannibal this year, for after the blow which had fallen upon him and upon his country, he made no forward movement, nor did the Romans care to disturb him, such was their impression of the powers which that single general possessed, even while his cause was everywhere round him crumbling into ruin. I am inclined to think that he deserves our admiration more in adversity than in the time of his greatest successes. For thirteen years he had been carrying on war with varying fortune in an enemy's country far from home. His army was not made up of his own fellow-countrymen, it was a mixed assemblage of various nationalities who had nothing in common, neither laws nor customs, nor language, who differed in appearance, dress and arms, who were strangers to one another in their religious observances, who hardly recognised the same gods. And yet he had united them so closely together that no disturbance ever broke out, either amongst the soldiers themselves or against their commander, though very often money and supplies were lacking and it was through want of these that numerous incidents of a disgraceful character had occurred between the generals and their soldiers in the First Punic War. He had rested all his hopes of victory on Hasdrubal and his army, and after that army had been wiped out he withdrew into Bruttium and abandoned the rest of Italy to the Romans. Is it not a matter of surprise that no mutiny broke out in his camp? For in addition to all his other difficulties, there was no prospect of feeding his army except from the resources of Bruttium, and even if the whole of that country had been in cultivation it would have afforded but meager support for so large an army. But as it was, a large part of the population had been diverted from the tillage of the soil by the war and by their traditional and innate love of brigandage. He received no assistance from home, for the government was mainly concerned about keeping their hold on Spain, just as though everything in Italy was going on successfully.

The situation in Spain was in some respects similar, in others completely dissimilar to the state of affairs in Italy. It was similar in so far as the Carthaginians after their defeat and the loss of their general had been driven into the most distant parts of Spain to the shores of the ocean. It was dissimilar because the natural features of the country and the character of the inhabitants made Spain more fitted than Italy, more fitted, in fact, than any country in the world for the constant renewal of hostilities. Though it was the first province, at all events on the continent, into which the Romans made their way, it was, owing to this cause, the very last to be completely subjugated, and this only in our own days under the conduct and auspices of Augustus Caesar. Hasdrubal Gisgo, who, next to the Barcine family, was the greatest and most brilliant general that held command in this war, was encouraged by Mago to renew hostilities. He left Gades, and traversing Further Spain, raised a force of 50,000 infantry and 4500 cavalry. As to the strength of his cavalry the authorities are generally agreed, but some writers assert that the infantry force which he led to Silpia amounted to 70,000 men. Near this city the two Carthaginian commanders encamped on a wide and open plain, determined to accept battle if offered.

When intelligence was brought to Scipio of the muster of this large army, he did not consider that he could meet it with his Roman legions unless he employed his native auxiliaries to give at all events the appearance of greater strength. At the same time he felt that he ought not to depend too much upon them, for if they changed sides it might lead to the same disaster as that which had overtaken his father and his uncle. Culchas, whose authority extended over twenty-eight towns, had promised to raise a force of infantry and cavalry during the winter, and Silanus was sent to bring them up. Then breaking up his quarters at Tarraco, Scipio marched down to Castulo, picking up small contingents furnished by the friendly tribes which lay on his line of march. There Silanus joined him with 3000 infantry and 500 cavalry. His entire army, Romans and allied contingents, infantry and cavalry, amounted now to 55,000 men. With this force he advanced to meet the enemy and took up his position near Baecula. Whilst his men were entrenching their camp they were attacked by Mago and Masinissa with the whole of their cavalry and would have been thrown into great disorder had not Scipio made a charge with a body of horse which he had placed in concealment behind a hill. These speedily routed those of the assailants who had ridden close up to the lines and were actually attacking the entrenching parties; with the others, however, who kept their ranks and were advancing in steady order the conflict was more sustained, and for a considerable time remained undecided. But when the cohorts of light infantry came in from the outposts, and the men at work on the intrenchments had seized their arms and, fresh for action, were in ever increasing numbers relieving their wearied comrades until a considerable body of armed men were hastening from the camp to do battle, the Carthaginians and Numidians retreated. At first they retired in order though hurriedly and kept their ranks, but when the Romans pressed their attacks home and resistance was no longer possible, they broke and fled as best they could. Though this action did much to raise the spirits of the Romans and depress those of the enemy, there were for several days incessant skirmishes between the cavalry and light infantry on both sides.

After the strength of each side had been sufficiently tested in these encounters Hasdrubal led out his army to battle, on which the Romans did the same. Each army remained standing in front of its camp, neither caring to begin the fight. Towards sunset the two armies, first the Carthaginian and then the Roman, marched back to camp. This went on for some days; the Carthaginians were always the first to get into line and the first to receive the order to retire when they were tired out with standing. No forward movement took place on either side, no missile was discharged, no battle-shout raised. The Romans were posted in the centre on the one side, the Carthaginians in the centre of the other; the flanks on both armies were composed of Spanish troops. In front of the Carthaginian line were the elephants which looked in the distance like towers. It was generally supposed in both camps that they would fight in the order in which they had been standing, and that the main battle would be between the Romans and Carthaginians in the centre, the principals in the war and fairly matched in courage and in arms. When Scipio found that this was assumed as a matter of course, he carefully altered his dispositions for the day on which he intended to fight. The previous evening he sent a tessera through the camp ordering the men to take their breakfast and see that their horses were fed before daybreak, the cavalry were at the same time to be fully armed with their horses ready, bitted and saddled. Day had scarcely broken when he sent the whole of his cavalry with the light infantry against the Carthaginian outposts, and at once followed them up with the heavy infantry of the legions under his personal command. Contrary to universal expectation he had made his wings the strongest part of his army by posting the Roman troops there, the auxiliaries occupied the centre.

The shouts of the cavalry roused Hasdrubal and he rushed out of his tent. When he saw the melee in front of the rampart and the disordered state of his men, and in the distance the glittering standards of the legions and the whole plain covered with the enemy, he at once sent the whole of his mounted force against the hostile cavalry. He then led his infantry out of the camp, and formed his battle line without any change in the existing order. The cavalry fight had now been going on for some time without either side gaining the advantage. Nor could any decision be arrived at, for as each side was in turn driven back they retreated into safety amongst their infantry. But when the main bodies were within half a mile of each other, Scipio recalled his cavalry and ordered them to pass to the rear of the infantry, whose ranks opened out to give them passage, he then formed them into two divisions, and posted one as a support behind each of the wings. Then when the moment for executing his maneuver arrived he ordered the Spaniards in the centre to make a slow advance, and sent word to Silanus and Marcius that they were to extend to the left as they had seen him extend to the right, and engage the enemy with their light cavalry and infantry before the centers had time to close. Each wing was thus lengthened by three infantry cohorts and three troops of horse, besides velites, and in this formation they advanced against the enemy at a run, the others following en echelon. The line curved inwards towards the centre because of the slower advance of the Spaniards. The wings were already engaged whilst the Carthaginians and African veterans, the main strength of their army, had not yet had the chance of discharging a single missile. They did not dare to leave their place in the line and help their comrades for fear of leaving the centre open to the advance of the enemy. The wings were being pressed by a double attack, the cavalry and light infantry had wheeled round and were making a flank charge, whilst the cohorts were pressing their front in order to sever them from their centre.

The struggle had now become a very one-sided one in all parts of the field. Not only were untrained Balearics and raw Spanish levies face to face with the Roman and Latin legionaries but as the day went on, the physical strength of Hasdrubal's army began to give way. Surprised by the sudden attack in the early morning they had been compelled to go into battle before they could strengthen themselves with food. It was with this view that Scipio had deliberately delayed the fight till late in the day, for it was not until the seventh hour that the attack began on the wings, and it was some time after that before the battle reached the centre, so that, what with the heat of the day, the fatigue of standing under arms, and the hunger and thirst from which they were suffering, they were worn out before they closed with the enemy. Thus exhausted they leaned on their shields as they stood. To complete their discomfiture the elephants, scared by the sudden onsets of the cavalry and the rapid movements of the light infantry, rushed from the wings into the centre of the line. Wearied and depressed, the enemy began to retreat, keeping their ranks however, just as if they had been ordered to retire. But when the victors saw that matters were going in their favour they made still more furious attacks in all parts of the field, which the enemy were almost powerless to withstand, though Hasdrubal tried to rally them and keep them from giving way by calling out that the hill in their rear would afford them a safe retreat if they would retire in good order. Their fears, however, got the better of their sense of shame, and when those nearest to the enemy gave way, their example was suddenly followed by all and there was a universal flight. Their first halt was on the lower slope of the hill, and as the Romans hesitated about mounting the hill, they began to re-form their ranks, but when they saw them steadily advancing they again fled and were driven back in disorder to their camp. The Romans were not far from the rampart and would have carried the camp in their onset had not the brilliant sunshine which often glows between heavy showers been succeeded by such a storm that the victors could hardly get back to their camp, and some were even deterred by superstitious fears from attempting anything further for the day. Although the night and the storm invited the Carthaginians, exhausted as they were by their toil and many of them by their wounds, to take the rest they so sorely needed, yet their fears and the danger they were in allowed them no respite. Fully expecting an attack on their camp as soon as it was light they strengthened their rampart with large stones collected from all the valleys round, hoping to find in their intrenchments the defence which their arms had failed to afford them. The desertion of their allies, however, decided them to seek safety in flight rather than risk another battle. The first to abandon them was Attenes, chief of the Turdetani; he went over with a considerable body of his countrymen, and this was followed by the surrender of two fortified towns with their garrisons to the Romans. For fear of the evil spreading and the spirit of disaffection becoming general, Hasdrubal shifted his camp the following night.

When the outposts brought intelligence of the enemy's departure Scipio sent on his cavalry and followed with his entire army. Such was the rapidity of the pursuit that had they followed in Hasdrubal's direct track they must have caught him up. But, acting on the advice of their guides, they took a shorter route to the river Baetis, so that they might be able to attack him if he attempted its passage. Finding the river closed to him, Hasdrubal turned his course towards the ocean, and his hurried march, which in its haste and confusion looked like a flight gave him a considerable start on the Roman legions. Their cavalry and light infantry harassed and retarded him by attacking him in flank and rear, and whilst he was continually forced to halt to repel first the cavalry and then infantry skirmishers, the legions came up. Now it was no longer a battle but sheer butchery, until the general himself set the example of flight and escaped to the nearest hills with some 6000 men, many of them without arms. The rest were killed or made prisoners. The Carthaginians hastily improvised an intrenched camp on the highest point of the hills, and as the Romans found it useless to attempt the precipitous ascent, they had no difficulty in making themselves safe. But a bare and sterile height was hardly a place in which to stand even a few days' siege, and there were numerous desertions. At last Hasdrubal sent for ships-he was not far from the sea-and fled in the night, leaving his army to its fate. As soon as Scipio heard of his flight he left Silanus to keep up the investment of the Carthaginian camp with 10,000 infantry and 1000 cavalry, whilst he himself with the rest of his force returned to Tarraco. During his seventy days' march to this place, he took steps to ascertain the attitude of the various chiefs and tribes towards Rome, so that they might be recompensed as they deserved. After his departure Masinissa came to a secret understanding with Silanus, and crossed over with a small following to Africa, to induce his people to support him in his new policy. The reasons which determined him on this sudden change were not evident at the time, but the loyalty which he subsequently displayed throughout his long life to its close proved beyond question that his motives at the beginning were carefully weighed. After Mago had sailed to Gades in the ships which Hasdrubal had sent back for him, the rest of the army abandoned by their generals broke up, some deserting to the Romans, others dispersing amongst the neighbouring tribes. No body of troops remained worth consideration either for numbers or fighting strength. Such, in the main, was the way in which under the conduct and auspices of Publius Scipio the Carthaginians were expelled from Spain, fourteen years from the commencement of the war, and five years after Scipio assumed supreme command. Not long after Mago's departure Silanus joined Scipio at Tarraco, and reported that the war was at an end.

Lucius Scipio was sent to Rome in charge of numerous prisoners of high rank to announce the subjugation of Spain. Everybody else welcomed this brilliant success with feelings of delight and exultation, but the one man who had achieved it and whose thirst for solid and lasting renown was insatiable looked upon his conquest of Spain as only a small instalment of what his lofty ambition led him to hope for. Already he was looking to Africa and the great city of Carthage as destined to crown his glory and immortalise his name. This was the goal before him and he thought it best to prepare the way to it by gaining over the kings and tribes in Africa. He began by approaching Syphax, king of the Masaesulians, a tribe of Moorish nationality. They lived opposite that part of the Spanish coast where New Carthage lies. At that time there existed a treaty of alliance between their king and Carthage, but Scipio did not imagine that Syphax would regard the sanctity of treaties more scrupulously than they are generally regarded by barbarians whose fidelity depends upon the caprices of fortune. Accordingly he sent C. Laelius to him with presents to win him over. The barbarian was delighted with the presents, and, as he saw that the cause of Rome was everywhere successful, whilst the Carthaginians had failed in Italy and entirely disappeared from Spain, he consented to become friendly to Rome, but insisted that the mutual ratification of the treaty should take place in the presence of the Roman general. All that Laelius could obtain from the king was a safe-conduct, and with that he returned to Scipio. In furtherance of his designs on Africa it was of supreme importance for him to secure Syphax; he was the most powerful of the native princes, and had even attempted hostilities against Carthage; moreover, his frontiers were only separated from Spain by a narrow strait.

Scipio thought it worth while running considerable risk in order to accomplish his end, and as it could not be effected in any other way, he made arrangements for visiting Syphax. Leaving the defence of Spain in the hands of L. Marcius at Tarraco and M. Silanus at New Carthage, to which latter place he had proceeded by forced marches from Tarraco, he sailed across to Africa accompanied by C. Laelius. He only took two quinqueremes, and as the sea was calm most of the passage was made by rowing, though a light breeze occasionally assisted them. It so happened that Hasdrubal after his expulsion from Spain entered the harbour at the same time. He had brought his seven triremes to anchor and was preparing to land when the two quinqueremes were sighted. No one entertained the smallest doubt that they belonged to the enemy and could easily be overpowered by superior numbers before they gained the harbour. The efforts of the soldiers and sailors, however, to get their arms ready and the ships into trim amidst much noise and confusion were rendered futile by a freshening breeze from the sea, which filled the sails of the quinqueremes and carried them into port before the Carthaginians could get up their anchors. As they were now in the king's harbour, no one ventured to make any further attempt to molest them. So Hasdrubal, who was the first to land. and Scipio and Laelius, who disembarked soon afterwards, all made their way to the king.

Syphax regarded it as an exceptional honour-as indeed it was-for the captains of the two most powerful nations of their time to come to him seeking his friendship and alliance. He invited them both to be his guests, and as Fortune had willed that they should be under the same roof and at the same hearth he tried to induce them to confer together with the view of removing all causes of quarrel. Scipio declined on the ground that he had no personal quarrel with the Carthaginian and he was powerless to discuss affairs of State without the orders of the senate. The king was anxious that it should not seem as if one of his guests was excluded from his table, and he did his utmost to persuade Scipio to be present. He raised no objection, and they both dined with the king, and at his particular request occupied the same couch. Such was Scipio's charm of manner and innate tact in dealing with everybody that he completely won over not only Syphax, who as a barbarian was unaccustomed to Roman manners, but even his deadly enemy. Hasdrubal openly avowed that "he admired Scipio more now that he had made his personal acquaintance than after his military successes, and he had no doubt that Syphax and his kingdom were already at the disposal of Rome, such skill did the Roman possess in winning men. The question for the Carthaginians was not how Spain had been lost, but how Africa was to be retained. It was not from a love of travel or a passion for sailing along pleasant shores that a great Roman commander had quitted his newly subjugated province and his armies and crossed over with two vessels to Africa, the land of his enemies, and trusted himself to the untried honour of a king. His real motive was the hope of becoming master of Africa; this project he had long been pondering over; he openly complained that 'Scipio was not conducting war in Africa as Hannibal was in Italy."' After the treaty with Syphax was concluded Scipio set sail from Africa and, after a four days' passage in which he was buffeted by changeable and mostly stormy winds, reached the harbour of New Carthage.

Spain was now quiet as far as war with Carthage was concerned, but it was quite evident that some communities conscious of wrong-doing were kept quiet more by their fears than by any feeling of loyalty to Rome. Amongst these Iliturgi and Castulo were foremost in importance and foremost in guilt. As long as Roman arms were successful Castulo remained true to her alliance; after the Scipios and their armies were destroyed they revolted to Carthage. Iliturgi had gone further, for the inhabitants had betrayed and put to death those who had sought refuge with them after those disasters, thus aggravating their treason by crime. To take action against these cities immediately on his arrival in Spain, whilst the issue was still undecided, might have been justifiable but hardly wise. Now, however, that matters were settled, it was felt that the hour of punishment had arrived. Scipio sent orders to L. Marcius to take a third part of his force to Castulo and at once invest the place, and with the remainder he himself marched to Iliturgi where he arrived after a five days' march. The gates were closed and every preparation had been made to repel an assault; the townsmen were quite conscious of the punishment they deserved, and any formal declaration of war was, therefore, unnecessary. Scipio made this the subject of his address to his soldiers. "The Spaniards," he said, "by closing their gates have shown how well they deserve the punishment which they fear. We must treat them with much greater severity than we treated the Carthaginians; with the latter we contend for glory and dominion, with hardly any feeling of anger, but from the former we have to exact the penalty for cruelty, treachery and murder. The time has come for you to avenge the atrocious massacre of your fellow-soldiers and the treachery meditated against yourselves had you been carried there in your flight. You will make it clear for all time by this awful example that no one must ever consider a Roman citizen or a Roman soldier a fit subject for ill-treatment, whatever his condition may be."

Roused by their general's words the men began to prepare for the assault, storming parties were picked out of all the maniples and supplied with ladders, and the army was formed into two divisions, one being placed under the command of Laelius, so that the town might be attacked from opposite sides and a twofold terror created. The defenders were stimulated to a determined and prolonged resistance not by their general or their chiefs but by the fear which came from a consciousness of guilt. With their past crime in mind they warned each other that the enemy was seeking not victory so much as vengeance. The question was not how to escape from death but where to meet it, whether, sword in hand, on the battlefield where the fortune of war often raises up the vanquished and flings the victor to the ground, or amidst the ashes of their city before the eyes of their captive wives and children after being torn with the lash and subjected to shameful and horrible tortures. With this prospect before them every man who could carry arms took his part in the fighting, and even the women and children working beyond their strength supplied missiles to the combatants, and carried stones up to the walls for those who were strengthening the defences. Not only was their liberty at stake-that motive only inspires the brave-but they had before their eyes the very extremity of torture and a shameful death. As they looked at each other and saw that each was trying to outdo all the rest in toil and danger, their courage was fired, and they offered such a furious resistance that the army which had conquered Spain was again and again repulsed from the walls of one solitary city, and fell back in confusion after a contest which brought it no honour. Scipio was afraid that the futile efforts of his troops might raise the enemies' courage and depress his own men, and he decided to take his part in the fighting and his share of the danger. Reproaching his soldiers for their cowardice he ordered the ladders to be brought up and threatened to mount himself if the rest hung back. He had already reached the foot of the wall and was in imminent danger when shouts arose on all sides from the soldiers who were anxious for their commander's safety, and the ladders were at once planted against the wall. Laelius now delivered his attack from the other side of the town. This broke the back of the resistance; the walls were cleared of their defenders and seized by the Romans, and in the tumult the citadel also was captured on that side where it was considered impregnable.

Its capture was effected by some African deserters who were serving with the Romans. Whilst the attention of the townsmen was directed to defending the positions which appeared to be in danger and the assailants were mounting their ladders wherever they could approach the walls, these men noticed that the highest part of the city, which was protected by precipitous cliffs, was left unfortified and undefended. These Africans, men of light make and through constant training extremely agile, were furnished with iron hooks, and where the projections of the cliff gave them a footing they climbed it, when they came to a place where it was too steep or too smooth they fixed the hooks in at moderate intervals and used them as steps, those in front pulling up those behind, and those below pushing up those above them. In this way, they managed to reach the top, and no sooner had they done so than they ran down with loud shouts into the city which the Romans had already captured. And now the hatred and resentment which had prompted the attack on the city showed itself. No one thought of making prisoners or securing plunder though everything was at the mercy of the spoilers; the scene was one of indiscriminate butchery, non-combatants together with those in arms, women equally with men were all alike massacred; the ruthless savagery extended even to the slaughter of infants. Then they flung lighted brands on the houses and what the fire could not consume was completely demolished. So bent were they upon obliterating every vestige of the city, and blotting out all record of their foes. From there Scipio marched to Castulo. This place was being defended by natives from the surrounding towns and also by the remains of the Carthaginian army who had gathered there after their flight. But Scipio's approach had been preceded by the news of the fall of Iliturgi, and this spread dismay and despair everywhere. The interests of the Carthaginians and of the Spaniards were quite distinct, each party consulted for its own safety without regard to the other, and what was at first mutual suspicion soon led to an open rupture between them. Cerdubelus openly advised the Spaniards to surrender, Himilco, the Carthaginian commander, counselled resistance. Cerdubelus came to a secret understanding with the Roman general, and betrayed the city and the Carthaginians into his hands. More clemency was shown in this victory; the town was not so deeply involved in guilt and the voluntary surrender went far to soften any feelings of resentment.

After this Marcius was sent to reduce to submission any tribes that had not yet been subjugated. Scipio returned to New Carthage to discharge his vows and to exhibit the gladiatorial spectacle which he had prepared in honour of the memory of his father and his uncle. The gladiators on this occasion were not drawn from the class from which the trainers usually take them-slaves and men who sell their blood-but were all volunteers and gave their services gratuitously. Some had been sent by their chiefs to give an exhibition of the instinctive courage of their race, others professed their willingness to fight out of compliment to their general, others again were drawn by a spirit of rivalry to challenge one another to single combat. There were several who had outstanding quarrels with one another and who agreed to seize this opportunity of deciding them by the sword on the agreed condition that the vanquished was to be at the disposal of the victor. It was not only obscure individuals who were doing this. Two distinguished members of the native nobility, Corbis and Orsua, first cousins to each other, who were disputing the primacy of a city called Ibes gave out that they intended to settle their dispute with the sword. Corbis was the elder of the two, but Orsua's father had been the last to hold that dignity, having succeeded his brother. Scipio wanted them to discuss the question calmly and peaceably, but as they had refused to do so at the request of their own relations, they told him that they would not accept the arbitrament of any one, whether god or man except Mars, and to him alone would they appeal. The elder relied upon his strength, the younger on his youth; they both preferred to fight to the death rather than that one should be subject to the commands of the other. They presented a striking spectacle to the army and an equally striking proof of the mischief which the passion for power works amongst men. The elder cousin by his familiarity with arms and his dexterity easily prevailed over the rough untrained strength of the younger. The gladiatorial contests were followed by funeral games with all the pomp which the resources of the province and the camp could furnish.

Meantime Scipio's lieutenants were by no means inactive. Marcius crossed the Baetis, called by the natives the Certis, and received the surrender of two cities without striking a blow. Astapa was a city which had always been on the side of Carthage. But it was not this that created a strong feeling of resentment so much as its extraordinary hatred against the Romans, far more than was justified by the necessities of war. Neither the situation nor the fortifications of the city were such as to inspire its inhabitants with confidence, but their love of brigandage induced them to make raids on the territories of their neighbours who were allies of Rome. In these excursions they made a practice of capturing any Roman soldiers or camp sutlers or traders whom they came across. As it was dangerous to travel in small parties, large companies used to travel together and one of these whilst crossing the frontier was surprised by the brigands who were lying in ambush, and all were killed. When the Roman army advanced to attack the place, the inhabitants, fully aware of the chastisement which their crime merited, felt quite certain that the enemy were too much incensed to allow of any hope of safety in surrender. Despairing of protection either in their walls or their arms, they resolved upon a deed equally cruel and horrible to themselves and to those who belonged to them. Collecting the more valuable of their possessions they piled them up into a heap in a selected place in their forum. On this pile they ordered their wives and children to take their seats and then heaped round them a quantity of wood, on the top of which they threw dead brushwood. Fifty armed men were told off to guard their possessions and the persons of those who were dearer than their possessions, and the following instructions were given them: "Remain on guard as long as the battle is doubtful, but if you see that is going against us, and the city is on the point of being captured, you know that those whom you see going into action will never return alive, and we implore you by all the gods celestial and infernal in the name of liberty, liberty which will end in either an honourable death or a dishonourable servitude, that you leave nothing on which a savage enemy can vent his rage. Fire and sword are in your hands. Better that faithful and loving hands should make away with what is doomed to die than that the enemy should add mockery and scorn to murder. "These admonitions were followed by a dire curse on any one who was turned from his purpose by hope of life or by softheartedness.

Then they flung open the gates and burst out in a tumultuous charge. There was no advanced post strong enough to check them, for the last thing to be feared was that the besieged would venture outside their walls. One or two troops of horse and some light infantry were sent against them from the camp, and a fierce irregular fight ensued in which the troopers who had been first to come into collision with the enemy were routed, and this created a panic amongst the light infantry. The attack would have been pushed even to the foot of the rampart if the pick of the legions had not made the most of the few minutes allowed them for getting into line. As it was, there was at first some wavering amongst the front ranks, for the enemy, blinded by rage, rushed with mad recklessness upon wounds and death. Then the veterans who came up in support, unshaken by the frantic onset, cut down the front ranks and stayed the advance of those behind. When in their turn they tried to force the enemy back they found that not a man would give ground, they were all resolved to die where they stood. On this the Romans extended their lines, which their superiority in numbers enabled them to do easily, until they outflanked the enemy, who fighting in a compact body were killed to a man.

The wholesale slaughter was at any rate the work of an exasperated soldiery who met their armed foes in the shock of open battle. But a much more horrible butchery took place in the city, where a weak and defenceless crowd of women and children were massacred by their own people, and their still writhing bodies flung on to the lighted pile which was again almost extinguished by the streams of blood. And last of all the men themselves, exhausted by the pitiful slaughter of those dear to them, flung themselves arms and all into the midst of the flames. All had perished by the time the Romans came on the scene. At first they stood horror-struck at such a fearful sight, then, seeing the melted gold and silver flowing amongst the other articles which made up the heap, the greediness common to human nature impelled them to try and snatch what they could out of the fire. Some were caught by the flames, others were scorched by the heated air, for those in front could not retreat owing to the crowd pressing on behind. Thus Astapa was destroyed without yielding any plunder to the soldiers. After accepting the surrender of the remaining cities in that district Marcius led his victorious army back to Scipio at New Carthage. Just at this time some deserters came from Gades and promised to deliver up the city with its Carthaginian garrison and the commandant and also the ships in the harbour. After his flight Mago had taken up his quarters in that city, and with the help of the ships which he had assembled he had got together a considerable force, partly from the opposite coast of Africa and partly through the agency of Hanno from the Spanish tribes round. After guarantees of good faith had been given on both sides, Scipio sent Marcius with the cohorts of light infantry and Laelius with seven triremes and one quinquereme to conduct joint operations against the place by sea and land.

Scipio was overtaken by a serious illness, which rumour, however, made still more serious, as each man from the innate love of exaggeration added some fresh detail to what he had already heard. The whole of Spain, especially the remoter parts, was much agitated at the news, and it was easy to judge what an amount of trouble would have been caused by his actual death from seeing what storms arose from the groundless rumour of it. Friendly states did not preserve their fidelity, the army did not remain loyal. Mandonius and Indibilis had made up their minds, that after the expulsion of the Carthaginians the sovereignty of Spain would pass to them. When they found that their hopes were frustrated they called out their countrymen, the Lacetani, and raised a force amongst the Celtiberians with which they ravaged the country of the Suessitanians and the Sedetanians, who were allies of Rome. A disturbance of a different kind, an act of madness on the part of the Romans themselves, occurred in the camp at Sucro. It was held by a force of 8000 men who were stationed there to protect the tribes on this side the Ebro. The vague rumours about their commander's life were not however the primary cause of their movement. A long period of inactivity had, as usual, demoralised them, and they chafed against the restraints of peace after being accustomed to live on the plunder captured from the enemy. At first their discontent was confined to murmurs amongst themselves. "If there is war going on in the province," they said, "what are we doing here amongst a peaceable population? If the war is at an end why are we not taken back to Rome? "Then they demanded their arrears of pay with an insolence quite inconsistent with military discipline or the respect which soldiers should show towards their officers. The men at the outposts insulted the tribunes as they went their rounds of inspection, and some went off during the night to plunder the peaceable inhabitants in the neighbourhood, till at last they used to quit their standards in broad daylight without leave. They did everything just as their caprice and fancy dictated, no attention was paid to rules or discipline or to the orders of their officers. One thing alone helped to keep up the outward aspect of a Roman camp and that was the hope which the men entertained that the tribunes would become infected with their madness and take part in their mutiny. In this hope they allowed them to administer justice from their tribunals, they went to them for the watchword and the orders of the day, and relieved guard at the proper intervals. Thus after depriving them of any real authority they kept up the appearance of obedience, whilst they were actually their own commanders. When they found that the tribunes censured and reprobated their proceedings and endeavoured to repress them, and openly declared that they would have nothing to do with their insensate folly, they broke out into open mutiny. They drove the tribunes from their official seats, and then out of the camp, and amidst universal acclamation placed the supreme command in the hands of the chief ringleaders of the mutiny, two common soldiers whose names were C. Albius of Cales and C. Atrius, an Umbrian. These men were by no means content to wear the insignia of the military tribunes, they had the audacity to affect those of the chief magistrates, the fasces and the axes. It never occurred to them that those symbols which they had carried before them to strike fear into others were impending over their own backs and necks. The false belief that Scipio was dead blinded them; they felt certain that the spread of this report would kindle the flames of war throughout the whole of Spain. In the general turmoil they imagined that they would be able to levy contributions on the allies of Rome and plunder the cities round them, and when crime and outrage were being committed everywhere, what they had done would not be noticed in the universal confusion.

They were every hour expecting fresh details of Scipio's death, and even news of his funeral. None came however and the idle rumours by degrees died away. Then they began to look for those who started the report, but each in turn kept out of the way, preferring to be thought credulous rather than suspected of inventing such a story. Abandoned by their followers, the ringleaders looked with dread upon the insignia they had assumed, and fully expected that in return for this idle show of power they would draw down upon themselves the weight of the true and legitimate authority. While the mutiny was thus at a standstill, definite information was brought that Scipio was alive and this was soon followed