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men together, said, "Soldiers, I have often heard, that he is the first man, in point of abilities, who, of himself, forms good counsels; that the next, is he, who submits to good advice; and that he who neither can himself form good counsels, nor knows how to comply with those of another, is of the very lowest capacity. Now, since our lot has denied us the first rank in genius and capacity, let us maintain the second, the middle one; and, until we learn to command, be satisfied to be ruled by the skilful. Let us join camps with Fabius; and, when we shall have carried our standards to his quarters; when I shall have saluted him by the title of Father; for nothing less has his kindness towards us, as well as his high dignity deserved; then, soldiers, ye will salute, as your patrons, those men, whose arms and whose prowess have just now protected you; and then this day will have procured for us, if nothing else, at least the honour of possessing grateful minds."

XXX. The signal was displayed, and notice given to get ready to march. They then set out; and, as they proceeded in a body to the camp of the dictator, they threw him, and all around, into great surprise. When they had planted their standards before his tribunal, the master of the horse, advan cing before the rest, saluted him by the title of Father; and the whole body of his men, with one voice, saluted those who stood round as their patrons. Minucius then expressed himself thus: "Dictator, to my parents, to whom I have just now compared you, in the most respectful appellation by which I could address myself, I am indebted for life only; to you, both for my own preservation, and that of all these preThat order of the people, therefore, by which I have been oppressed rather than honoured, I am the first to cancel and annul; and, so may it be happy to you, to me, and to these your armies, the preserved and the preserver, I replace myself and them, these standards, and these legions, under your command and auspices; and entreat you, that, re-admitting

sent.

us to your favour, you will order me to hold the post of master of the horse, and these their several ranks." On this they cordially embraced; and, on the meeting being dismissed, the soldiers accompanying Minucius were hospitably and kindly invited to refreshment, both by their acquaintance and those to whom they were unknown. Thus was converted into a day of rejoicing, from a day of sorrow, one which but a little before had nearly proved fatal. When an account of these events arrived at Rome, and was afterwards confirmed by letters, not only from the generals themselves, but from great numbers of the soldiers, in both the armies, all men warmly praised Maximus, and extolled him to the sky. Nor were the sentiments felt by the Carthaginians, his enemies, and by Hannibal, less honourable to him. They then at length perceived, that they were waging war against Romans and in Italy. For during the two preceding years, they had entertained such contemptuous notions, both of the Roman generals and soldiers, as scarcely to believe that they were fighting against the same nation, of which they had received from their fathers such a terrible character. We are told likewise, that Hannibal, as he returned from the field, observed, that "the cloud which hung over the mountains, had at last discharged its rain in a storm."

XXXI. During the course of these transactions in Italy, Cneius Servilius Geminus, consul, with a fleet of one hundred and twenty ships, sailed round the coasts of Sardinia and Corsica. Having received hostages in both places, he steered his course towards Africa, and, before he made any descent on the continent, ravaged the island of Meninx, and received from the inhabitants of Cercia ten talents of silver* as a contribution, to prevent the like devastation and burning of their country: he then drew near the coast of Africa, and disembarked his forces. Here the soldiers and mariners were

1,9377. 10s.

led out to ravage the country, in as careless a manner as if they were plundering the islands where there were very few inhabitants; in consequence of which rashness they fell unawares into a snare. Being assailed on all sides, and while they were in loose disorder, by compact bodies of men acquainted with the country of which themselves were utterly ignorant, they were driven back to their ships in a disgraceful flight, and with severe loss. There fell no less than a thousand men, among whom was Sempronius Blæsus, the quæstor. The fleet hastily setting sail from the shore, which was covered with the enemy, passed over to Sicily, and at Lilybæum was delivered to the prætor Titus Otacilius, to be conducted home to Rome, by his lieutenant-general Publius Sura. The consul himself, travelling by land through Sicily, crossed the streight into Italy, having been summoned, as was likewise his colleague, Marcus Atilius, by a letter from Qintus Fabius, in order that they might receive the command of the army from him, as the six months, the term of his office, were nearly expired. Almost all the historians affirm, that Fabius acted against Hannibal in the capacity of dictator. Cœlius even remarks, that he was the first dictator created by the people. But it escaped the notice of Cœlius and the rest, that the privilege of nominating that officer belonged solely to Cneius Servilius, the only consul in being, who was at the time, far distant from home, in the province of Gaul; and so much time must necessarily elapse before it could be done by him, that the state, terrified by the late disaster, could not endure the delay, and therefore had recourse to the expedient of creating, by a vote of the people, a prodictator; and that the services which he afterwards performed, his distinguished renown as a commander, and the exaggerations of his descendants, in the inscription of his statue, may easily account for his being called dictator instead of prodictator.

XXXII. The consuls, having taken the command of the

armies, Marcus Atilius of that of Fabius, and Geminus Servilius of that of Minucius, and having erected huts for the winter, as the season required (for it was now near the close of autumn), conducted their operations conformably to the plan of Fabius, and with the utmost harmony between themselves. Whenever Hannibal went out to forage, they came upon him in different places, as opportunity served, harrassing him on his march, and cutting off stragglers; but never hazarded a general engagement, which the enemy endeavoured to bring on by every means he could contrive: so that Hannibal was reduced, by scarcity, to such distress, that had he not feared that a retreat would have carried the appearance of flight, he would have returned back into Gaul; not having the least hope of supporting his army in those places, if the succeeding consuls should adopt the same plan of operations with these. While, in the neighbourhood of Geronium, hostilities were suspended by the coming on of winter, ambassadors came to Rome from Neapolis, who brought into the senate-house forty golden bowls of great weight, and spoke to this effect: "They knew that the treasury of the Roman people was exhausted by the present war, which was carried on no less in defence of the cities and lands of the allies, than the empire and city of Rome, the metropolis and bulwark of Italy; that the Neapolitans had therefore thought it reasonable, that whatever gold had been left to them by their ancestors for the decoration of their temples, or support in time of need, should now be applied to the aid of the Roman people. That if they had thought their personal service of any use, they would with the same zeal have offered it. That the Roman senate and people would act in a manner highly grateful to them, if they would reckon every thing in possession of the Neapolitans as their own, and vouchsafe to accept from them a present, of which the principal value and importance consisted in the disposition and wishes of those who cheerfully offered it rather than in its

own intrinsic worth." Thanks were given to the ambassadors for their attention and generosity, and one bowl, which was the least in weight, was accepted.

XXXIII. About the same time a Carthaginian spy, who had lurked undiscovered for two years, was detected, at Rome: his hands were cut off, and he was sent away. Twenty-five slaves, for having formed a conspiracy in the field of Mars, were crucified, and the informer was rewarded with his freedom, and twenty-thousand asses in weight.* Ambassadors were sent to Philip King of Macedonia, to insist on his delivering up Demetrius of Pharia, who, being defeated in war, had fled to him; others also were sent, at the same time, to the Ligurians, to expostulate on their having assisted the Carthaginian with men and supplies, and to observe what was doing in the neighbourhood among the Boians and Insubrians. Delegates were also sent to Illyrium, to Pineus the King, to demand the tribute, of which the day of payment had elapsed; or to receive hostages, if he wished to be allowed longer time. Thus the Romans, though pressed at home by a war immensely grievous, yet relaxed not their attention to the business of the state in any part of the world, however distant. Their care was also excited by a matter of religious concernment. The temple of Concord, vowed two years before by the prætor Lucius Manlius, on occasion of the mutiny of the soldiers in Gaul, not having been yet set about, Marcus Emilius prætor of the city, constituted duumvirs for that purpose, Cneius Pupius and Caso Quintus Flamininus, who contracted for the building of it in the citadel. By the same prætor, in pursuance of a decree

* Eris gravis, 647. 11s, 8d. About this time, in consequence of the scarcity of money, the comparative value of brass to silver was changed, and a denarius made to pass for twelve and afterwards for sixteen asses. The words es grave were thenceforward employed to signify not any particular piece, or weight, of money, but the old comparative standard of ten asses, as we say pounds sterling.

VOL. III.-G

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