To you, and to your honour, we fly, and, as suppliants, implore relief. For whether you suffer Locri to continue under the present lieutenant-general and garrison, or deliver our countrymen up to Hannibal and the Carthaginians, to be punished as their anger may direct, it will be equally fatal to them. We do not require that you should, at once, give credit to us, and to charges made in the general's absence, or without allowing him to make his defence: let him come, let him hear them in person; let him clear himself of them, | if he can. In fine, if there be any act of iniquity which one man can commit against others, that he has not committed against us, we con- | sent, if it be possible, again to endure our griefs, and that he shall be acquitted of all guilt towards both gods and men." XIX. When the ambassadors had concluded their discourse, being asked by Quintus Fabius whether they had laid those complaints before Publius Scipio, they answered, that "an embassy had been sent to him; but that he was taken up with the preparations for the war: and that, either before this time he had passed over into Africa, or would do so in a very few days. That they had experienced what great interest the lieutenant-general had with the commander; when, after hearing the cause between him and the tribunes, he threw the tribunes into chains, and left the lieutenant-general, who was equally guilty, or rather more so, in possession of the same power as before." The ambassadors being ordered to withdraw, the principal senators inveighed severely not only against Pleminius, but against Scipio also; but, above all, Quintus Fabius, who asserted, that he was born for the corruption of military discipline; that, through such conduct, he had lost, in Spain, nearly as many men by mutiny as in war; that he both indulged the licentiousness of the soldiers, and let his own passions loose against them, in a manner customary only among foreigners and kings." To this speech he added a resolution equally harsh: that "they should pass a vote, that Quintus Pleminius, lieutenant-general, be brought to Rome, and stand his trial in chains: and that, if the complaints of the Locrensians should appear to be well-founded, he should be put to death in prison, and his effects confiscated. That Publius Scipio, on account of his having gone out of his province without an order of the senate, should be recalled; and that appli cation should be made to the tribunes of the commons, to take the sense of the people of the abrogating of his commission. That the Locrensians should be called in, and receive this answer from the senate: that, as to the injuries stated to have been done to them, neither the senate nor the people of Rome approved of their being done; that they should be complimented with the appellations of worthy men, allies, and friends; that their children, their wives, and whatever else had been taken from them by violence, should be restored; that a search should be made for the entire money which had been carried off from the temple of Proserpine, and that double the sum should be replaced in the treasury. That a solemn expiation should be performed, the college of pontiffs being first consulted on this question : inasmuch as the sacred treasures had been removed and violated, what atonements, to what gods, and with what victims, should they be made? That the soldiers who were at Locri should be all transported into Sicily; and that four cohorts of allies, of the Latine confederacy, should be brought to Locri for a garrison." The collecting of the votes could not be finished that day, the zeal of the parties for and against Scipio rising to a great degree of warmth; for, besides the crime of Pleminius, and the calamities of the Locrensians, the gen eral's own manner of living was represented as so far from being Roman, that it was not even military; that " he walked in the public place, having a cloak and slippers; that he gave much of his time to books of entertainment, and the schools of exercise; and that his whole corps of officers, with equal indolence and effeminacy, indulged in all the pleasures of Syracuse; that Carthage was quite forgotten among them; that the whole army, (debauched and licentious, like that at Sucro in Spain, or that now at Locri,) was more formidable to the allies than to the enemy." XX. These representations were compounded of a mixture of truth and falsehood, yet carrying an appearance of the former. The opinion of Quintus Metellus, however, prevailed, who, concurring with Maximus in the other points, dissented from him in that concerning Scipio; affirming, that "it would be the height of inconsistency, if the person whom when but a youth, the state had some time since made choice of as the only commander capable of recovering Spain; whom, after he had actually XXI. Concerning Pleminius, there are two different accounts: some say, that on hearing what had passed at Rome, he was going to Naples into exile, when he happened to meet Quintus Metellus, one of the deputies, and was by him forcibly carried back to Rhegium; others, that Scipio himself had sent a lieutenant-general, with thirty of the most distinguished among the cavalry, to throw Pleminius into chains, and also the principals in the mutiny. All these, however, either by the orders of Scipio before, or of the prætor now, were given in charge to the inhabitants of Rhegium, to be kept in custody. The prætor and de recovered it, they had elected consul for the pur- | refuse to obey the orders of the prætor, the pose of putting an end to the Punic war, and tribunes were to give directions to the ædile to whom they conceived able to draw away Han- apprehend and bring him home, under the nibal from Italy, and even to subdue Africa:- authority of their inviolable office. It was inthat this man, as if he were Quintus Pleminius, tended that they should proceed first to Locri, should be in a manner condemned without a and then to Messana. trial, and suddenly recalled from his province, he repeated, were highly inconsistent. The abominable facts which the Locrensians complain of are not alleged to have been committed when Scipio was present: nor can any thing else be laid to his charge than the having been tender of the lieutenant-general, either through good nature or respect. That it was his opi. nion, that Marcus Pomponius, the prætor, to whose lot Sicily had fallen, should, within the next three days, repair to his province. That the consuls should choose out of the senate ten deputies, whom they should send along with the prætor, together with two tribunes of the people and an ædile: and that, with the assist-puties proceeding to Locri, applied their ance of this council, the prætor should make an inquiry into the affair. If it should be found that the oppressions of the Locrensians arose from the orders or with the approbation of Publius Scipio, that they should then command him to quit the province. If Publius Scipio should have already passed over into Africa, that in such case the tribunes of the commons and the ædile, with two of the deputies, whom the prætor should judge fittest, should immediately proceed thither: the tribunes and the ædile to bring back Scipio from thence; the deputies to command the forces until a new general should be appointed. But if Marcus Pomponius and the ten deputies should discover that those severities had not been committed, either by the order or with the approbation of Publius Scipio, that then Scipio should remain with the army, and carry on the war as he had proposed.' A decree of the senate having passed to this effect, application was made to the tribunes of the commons, to settle among themselves, or choose by lot, which two were to go with the prætor and deputies. The college of pontiffs was consulted about the expiations to be performed on account of the spoliation in the temple of Proserpine at Locri. Marcus Claudius Marcellus, and Marcus Cincius Alimentus, tribunes of the commons, accompanied the prætor and the ten deputies; with whom an ædile of the commons was also sent. The instructions were, that should Scipio (whether in Sicily or Africa) This done, the first care, as they had been directed, to Pleminius, and him, were, on their arrival at Rome, immediately thrown into prison. When first produced by the tribunes, the people found no room for mercy, prepossessed as they were by the calamities of the Locrensians. However, after having been repeatedly brought forward, and the odium abating through length of time, the public resentment was softened; while the maimed condition of Pleminius, and the respect they had for Scipio, even in his absence, conciliated for them some degree of favour. Never. to the deputies, and to the senate and people of | grand preparation for war. Rome; declaring "that they would prosecute those who were in the same circumstances with Pleminius. That, as to Scipio, although he had shown but little feeling for the injuries done them, yet he was such a man as they would much rather have for their friend than their enemy. That they firmly believed, the many shocking cruelties which had been practised were neither by the orders or with the approbation of Publius Scipio, who had only given too much credit to Pleminius, too little to them that some men's natural disposition was such, that they showed rather a dislike to the commission of faults, than sufficient resolu-theless, Pleminius died in confinement, and tion to punish them, when committed." This relieved the prætor and council from a heavy burthen, that of inquiring into the conduct of Scipio. They condemned Pleminius, with thirty-two others, whom they sent in chains to Rome; and then proceeded to Scipio, that, witnessing all matters, they might carry certain information to Rome as to the truth of those reports which had been propagated concerning his manner of living, inactivity, and total relaxation of military discipline. on that general, his fleet, and army, induced them to vote, that he should pass over into Africa as soon as possible; with liberty to make his own choice, from out the forces then in Sicily, which to carry with him, and which to leave for the defence of the province. before his trial was finished. Clodius Licinius, in the third book of his Roman history, relates, indeed, that this Pleminius, during the votive games which Africanus in his second consulate, exhibited at Rome, made an attempt, by means of some persons whom be had bribed, to set fire to the city in several places, that he might have an opportunity of breaking the prison, and making his escape; and that on the discovery of his wicked design, he was committed to the dungeon by order of XXII. While they were on their way to the senate. Concerning Scipio, there were no Syracuse, Scipio prepared, not words, but facts, proceedings but in the senate, where the encomto clear himself of any charges in the remissioniums made by all the deputies and the tribunes of duty. He ordered all the troops to assemble in that city, and the fleet to be got in readiness, as if, on that day, there was to be an engagement with the Carthaginians both on land and sea. On the arrival of the commissioners, he gave them a kind reception and entertainment, and next day showed them both the land and naval forces, not only marshalled in exact order, but the former performing their evolutions, and the fleet in the harbour exhibiting a representa tion of a naval combat. The prætor and deputies were then led round to take a view of the armories, granaries, and other warlike preparations and with such admiration were they struck, of each in particular, and of the whole together, as to become thoroughly persuaded, that the Carthaginians would be vanquished by that general and that army, or by no other. They desired him to set out on his voyage, with the blessing of the gods; and to fulfil, as soon as possible, the hopes of the Roman people, those hopes which they had conceived on that day, when all the centuries concurred in naming him first consul: saying this, they left the place, and with as much joy as if they were to carry to Rome the news of a victory, not of a : XXIII. During these transactions at Rome, the Carthaginians, on their side, passed the winter in extreme anxiety. They fixed beacons on every promontory; kept scouts in incessant motion, every messenger filling them with terror. They had acquired, however, an advantage of no small moment towards the defence of Africa,-an alliance with king Syphax; an assistance, on which they supposed the Romans to have relied, and as being their great inducement to set foot on Africa. Hasdrubal, son of Gisgo, was not only connected with the king in hospitality, (as has been mentioned above, when he and Scipio happened to come to him at the same time from Spain,) but mention had been also made of an affinity to be contracted between them, by the king marrying Hasdrubal's daughter. Hasdrubal had gone with a design of completing this business, and fixing a time for the nuptials, the damsel being now marriageable; and finding him inflamed | justice, nor faith, (their right hands pledged,) with desire, (for the Numidians are, beyond all other barbarians, inclined to amorous pleasures,) he sent for her from Carthage, and hastened the wedding. Among other instances of mutual regard and affection, and in order that their private connection might be cemented by a public one, an alliance between the king and the people of Carthage was ratified by oath, and their faith reciprocally pledged that they would have the same friends and enemies. But Hasdrubal remembered that the king had previously entered into a league with Scipio, and knowing how unsteady and changeable were the minds of the barbarians, he dreaded lest, if Scipio once came into Africa, that match might prove a slender tie; he therefore seized the opportunity while the warmth of the Numidian's new passion was at the highest, and calling to his aid the blandishments of his daughter, prevailed on him to send ambassadors into Sicily to Scipio, and by them to warn him, "not to be induced, by a reliance on his former promises, to pass over to Africa, for that he was now united to the people of Carthage, both by his marriage with a citizen of that state, daughter of Hasdrubal, whom he had seen entertained in his house, and also by a public treaty. He recommended it strongly to the Romans, to carry on the war against the Carthaginians, at a distance from Africa as they had hitherto done; lest he might be under a necessity of interfering in their disputes, and of joining one or the other, while he wished to decline taking part with either. If Scipio should enter Africa, and advance his army towards Carthage, he must then of necessity fight, as well in defence of the country wherein he himself was born, as in support of the native city of his spouse, her parent, and household gods." XXIV. The ambassadors, charged with these despatches from the king to Scipio, had an interview with him at Syracuse. Scipio, though disappointed in a matter of the utmost consequence to the success of his affairs in Africa, and in the high expectations which he had entertained from that quarter, sent back the ambassadors speedily, before their business should become publicly known, and gave them a letter for the king, in which he conjured him, in the most forcible terms, not "to violate the laws of hospitality; nor the alliance which he had concluded with the Roman people; nor nor act in any thing offensive to the gods, the witnesses and guarantees of compacts." The coming of the Numidians was generally known, for they had walked about the city, and had been frequently at the prætorium; so that it was feared, should the subject of their embassy transpire, that the troops might become alarmed at the prospect of being to fight against Syphax and the Carthaginians. Scipio judged it prudent, therefore, to divert their thoughts from the truth, by prepossessing them with false informations. Calling them to an assembly, he said, "that there was no room for longer delay: that the kings, their allies, pressed him to pass over to Africa immediately. That Masinissa had before come in person to Lælius, complaining of time being wasted in inactivity; and that Syphax now sent despatches to the like effect; requiring, that either the troops should at length be carried over to Africa, or if the plan was changed, that he should be made acquainted with it, in order that he might adopt such measures as would be convenient to himself and beneficial to his kingdom. Since, therefore, every preparation had been made, and as the business admitted no longer hesitation, it was his intention, after bringing over the fleet to Lilybæum, and assembling at that place all the forces of horse and foot, to pass into Africa, with the favour of the gods, the first day on which the ships could sail." He sent a letter to Marcus Pomponius, to come to that port, in order that they might consult together as to what particular legions, and what number of men he should carry to Africa; with orders also to all the sea-coast, that the ships of burthen should be all seized, and brought thither. When the troops and vessels had assembled at Lilybæum, neither could the city contain the men, nor the harbour the ships; and such an ardent desire to pass into Africa possessed them all, that they appeared, not as if going to be employed in war, but in receiving the rewards of victory already secured; especially those of the army of Cannæ, for they expected, by exerting themselves on the present occasion, and under the then general, to put an end to their ignominious service. Scipio showed not the least inclination to reject soldiers of that description, knowing that the misfortune at Cannæ had not arisen from their want of spirit, and that, besides, there were none in the Roman army who had served so long, or who had acquired so much experience, both in a variety | Porcius Cato, the quæstor, with the same numof battles, and in attacking towns. The le-ber, those on the left: that the ships of war gions of Canna were the fifth and sixth. Af- would carry each a single light, the transports ter giving notice that he would carry these to two; that the signal by night, on board the Africa, he reviewed them, man by man, and ship of the commander-in-chief, would consist leaving behind such as he thought unfit for the of three lights. The pilots had orders to steer service, he substituted in their places those to Emporium, where the land is remarkably whom he had brought from Italy, and filled up fertile; consequently the country abounds with those legions in such a manner, that each con- plenty of all things. The inhabitants are untained six thousand two hundred foot, and three warlike, as is generally the case where the soil hundred horse; the horse and foot of the allies, is rich; and Scipio supposed that they might of the Latine confederacy, he chose also out of be overpowered before succour could arrive the army of Cannæ. from Carthage. Having issued these orders, he commanded them to return to their ships, and on the signal being given next day, with the favour of the gods, to set sail. XXV. Authors differ widely with regard to the number of men carried over to Africa. In one I find ten thousand foot, and two thousand two hundred horse; in another sixteen thousand foot, and one thousand six hundred horse while others augment them more than half, and assert, that thirty-five thousand horse and foot were put on board the ships. Some have not stated the numbers; and among these, as the matter is uncertain, I choose to place myself. Cœlius, indeed, avoids specifying the same; but he magnifies to an immense extent the idea that he gives of their multitude; he tells us, that birds fell to the ground, stunned by the shouts of the soldiers: and that it might have been well imagined, that there was not a man left behind either in Italy or in Sicily. Scipio took upon himself the charge of embarking the men in a regular manner. The seamen were kept in order on board the ships by Caius Lælius, who had the command of the fleet. The care of shipping the stores was allotted to Marcus Pomponius, the prætor. A quantity of food sufficient for forty-five days was put on board: as much of it ready dressed as would serve for fifteen days. When all were embarked, the general sent round boats to bring the pilots and masters, with two soldiers out of each ship, to the forum, to receive orders. Being there assembled, he first inquired whether they had put water on board for men and cattle, and for as many days as they had corn; they answered, that there was water on board for forty-five days. He then charged the soldiers, that, attentive to their ¡duty, they should behave themselves quietly, so that the seamen might perform their business without interruption; informed them, that he and Lucius Scipio, with twenty ships of war, would protect the transports on the right division; and Caius Lælius commander of the fleet, and Marcus XXVI. Many Roman fleets had sailed from Sicily, and from that same harbour; but never did any equipment afford so grand a spectacle, either in the present war, (which was not surprising, as most of these fleets had only gone in quest of plunder,) or even in any former one. And yet his force could not be fully estimated from a view of the present armament, for not only two consuls with their armies had passed from thence before, but there had been almost as many war-vessels in their fleets, as there were transports attending Scipio. These, it is true, were not less than four hundred, but of ships of battle he had only fifty. But the Romans had more alarming apprehensions from one war than from the other; from the second, than from the former; as well by reason of its being waged in Italy, as of the dreadful destruction of so many armies, together with their commanders. Scipio, however, had attracted an extraordinary degree of attention. He had acquired a high degree of renown, partly by his bravery, partly by the happy success which had attended it, and which gave room to expect from him the most glorious achievements. Besides, the very object proposed of passing into the enemy's country, which had not been attempted by any general during that war, strongly roused men's feelings; for he had on all occasions publicly declared that his intention was to draw Hannibal away from Italy, to transfer the war to Africa, and to finish it there. Not only the whole of the inhabitants of Lilybæum crowded together to the harbour to get a view of them, but also deputies from all parts of Sicily; who came for the purpose of showing that mark of respect, not only to Scipio, but to Marcus Pomponius, prætor of the province. |