{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_66147/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_66147","id":"gutenberg_66147","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66147","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: History - Ancient","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Rome -- History -- Juvenile literature"],"text":"[Illustration: Verginius left his beautiful young daughter Verginia in\nthe care of her nurse]\n\n\n\n\n THE\n STORY OF ROME\n\n FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES\n TO THE DEATH OF AUGUSTUS\n\n TOLD TO BOYS AND GIRLS BY\n\n MARY MACGREGOR\n\n AUTHOR OF \u2018THE STORY OF FRANCE,\u2019 ETC.\n\n WITH TWENTY PLATES IN COLOUR\n BY PAUL WOODROFFE, W. RAINEY\n AND DUDLEY HEATH\n\n [Illustration]\n\n LONDON: T.\u00a0C. & E.\u00a0C. JACK\n 67 LONG ACRE, W.\u00a0C.\n AND EDINBURGH\n\n\n\n\n TO\n\n IAN AND WILLIE TAYLOR\n\n\nDEAR IAN AND WILLIE,--The Story of Rome has been written, as you know,\nin your beautiful, quiet old garden.\n\nAnd as the story grew, the short cold days of winter passed and the\nlong warm days of summer were here.\n\nIn the garden a miracle had been wrought. It had become alive.\n\nAfter slow, persistent struggle with storm and frost, the delicate bare\nbranches were no longer bare, but clothed in living green. The hard\nblack earth too had stirred, and shoots and blades appeared, until at\nlength the garden was ablaze with gold, purple, crimson.\n\nSometimes I dreamed that, in its own different way, the Story of Rome\ntoo was a miracle, wrought out of the tears and throes of a brave and\nambitious people.\n\nFor the story tells of the birth of a city and of its growth through\nstorm and struggle, until it became a great world empire.\n\nThe city which Romulus founded was built upon a single hill; soon\nseven hills were not great enough to contain her. And when Augustus,\nthe first Emperor of Rome, began to reign, part of Europe, Asia Minor,\nEgypt, Syria, and a large portion of Africa formed his kingdom.\n\nAlthough the story was written in the quiet of your garden, little of\nits peace has stolen into the tale, and for that you boys may care for\nit the more.\n\nAs you read, fierce battle-cries will ring in your ears, and the clash\nof arms will startle you. You will hear the tramp of armies marching\nto new lands to conquer them and their treasures for Rome, the city of\ntheir love.\n\nSometimes you will catch your breath in horror as you read of terrible\nand cruel deeds, for the Romans were often pitiless, showing little\nmercy to those they conquered.\n\nBut at other times your breath will come quick with wonder as you read\nof the dauntless courage, the rare endurance of these mighty men of old.\n\nAnd if there are many things which you do not admire in the people of\nRome, yet they possess one virtue which you and every British boy and\ngirl may not only admire, but gladly imitate.\n\nWhat that virtue is I will leave you to find out for yourselves as you\nread _The Story of Rome_.--Yours affectionately,\n\n MARY MACGREGOR.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n CHAP. PAGE\n I. THE LADY ROMA 1\n\n II. THE SHE-WOLF 4\n\n III. THE TWIN BOYS 6\n\n IV. NUMITOR RECOGNISES HIS GRANDSON 8\n\n V. THE SACRED BIRDS 10\n\n VI. THE FOUNDING OF ROME 12\n\n VII. THE SABINE MAIDENS 14\n\n VIII. THE TARPEIAN ROCK 17\n\n IX. THE MYSTERIOUS GATE 19\n\n X. THE KING DISAPPEARS 22\n\n XI. THE PEACE-LOVING KING 24\n\n XII. HORATIUS SLAYS HIS SISTER 28\n\n XIII. THE PRIDE OF TULLUS HOSTILIUS 31\n\n XIV. THE KING WHO FOUGHT AND PRAYED 33\n\n XV. THE FAITHLESS FRIEND 35\n\n XVI. A SLAVE BECOMES A KING 38\n\n XVII. THE CRUEL DEED OF TULLIA 40\n\n XVIII. THE FATE OF THE TOWN OF GABII 43\n\n XIX. THE BOOKS OF THE SIBYL 46\n\n XX. THE INDUSTRY OF LUCRETIA 48\n\n XXI. THE DEATH OF LUCRETIA 50\n\n XXII. THE SONS OF BRUTUS 52\n\n XXIII. HORATIUS COCLES, OR THE ONE-EYED 55\n\n XXIV. GAIUS MUCIUS BURNS HIS RIGHT HAND 60\n\n XXV. THE DIVINE TWINS 63\n\n XXVI. THE TRIBUNES 66\n\n XXVII. CORIOLANUS AND HIS MOTHER VETURIA 68\n\n XXVIII. THE ROMAN ARMY IN A TRAP 73\n\n XXIX. THE HATED DECEMVIRS 77\n\n XXX. THE DEATH OF VERGINIA 80\n\n XXXI. THE FRIEND OF THE PEOPLE 85\n\n XXXII. CAMILLUS CAPTURES THE CITY OF VEII 88\n\n XXXIII. THE STATUE OF THE GODDESS 92\n\n XXXIV. THE SCHOOLMASTER WHO PROVED A TRAITOR 94\n\n XXXV. THE BATTLE OF ALLIA 97\n\n XXXVI. THE SACRED GEESE 99\n\n XXXVII. THE CITY IS REBUILT 105\n\n XXXVIII. CAMILLUS SETS THE CAMP OF THE VOLSCIANS ON FIRE 109\n\n XXXIX. THE BATTLE ON THE BANKS OF THE ANIO 111\n\n XL. THE CURTIAN LAKE 116\n\n XLI. THE DREAM OF THE TWO CONSULS 119\n\n XLII. THE CAUDINE FORKS 124\n\n XLIII. THE DISGRACE OF THE CAUDINE FORKS AVENGED 129\n\n XLIV. FABIUS AMONG THE CIMINIAN HILLS 131\n\n XLV. THE BATTLE OF SENTINUM 135\n\n XLVI. THE SON OF FABIUS LOSES A BATTLE 138\n\n XLVII. PYRRHUS, KING OF THE EPIROTS 141\n\n XLVIII. THE ELEPHANTS AT THE BATTLE OF HERACLEA 145\n\n XLIX. PYRRHUS TRIES TO FRIGHTEN FABRICIUS 149\n\n L. PYRRHUS IS DEFEATED 153\n\n LI. THE ROMANS BUILD A FLEET 155\n\n LII. THE BATTLE OF ECNOMUS 159\n\n LIII. THE ROMAN LEGIONS IN AFRICA 161\n\n LIV. REGULUS IS TAKEN PRISONER 164\n\n LV. THE ROMANS CONQUER THE GAULS 168\n\n LVI. THE BOY HANNIBAL 172\n\n LVII. HANNIBAL PREPARES TO INVADE ITALY 176\n\n LVIII. HANNIBAL CROSSES THE ALPS 178\n\n LIX. THE BATTLE OF TREBIA 183\n\n LX. THE BATTLE OF LAKE TRASIMENUS 187\n\n LXI. HANNIBAL OUTWITS FABIUS 192\n\n LXII. FABIUS WINS TWO VICTORIES 197\n\n LXIII. THE BATTLE OF CANN\u00c6 200\n\n LXIV. THE DESPAIR OF ROME 203\n\n LXV. THE DEFEAT OF HASDRUBAL 208\n\n LXVI. LIVIUS AND CLAUDIUS ENJOY A TRIUMPH 213\n\n LXVII. THE CAPTURE OF NEW CARTHAGE 215\n\n LXVIII. SCIPIO SAILS TO AFRICA 220\n\n LXIX. THE ROMANS SET FIRE TO THE CAMP OF THE NUMIDIANS 223\n\n LXX. HANNIBAL LEAVES ITALY 226\n\n LXXI. THE BATTLE OF ZAMA 229\n\n LXXII. SCIPIO RECEIVES A TRIUMPH 231\n\n LXXIII. FLAMININUS IS COVERED WITH GARLANDS 233\n\n LXXIV. THE DEATH OF HANNIBAL 238\n\n LXXV. THE HATRED OF CATO FOR CARTHAGE 243\n\n LXXVI. THE STERN DECREE 246\n\n LXXVII. THE CARTHAGINIANS DEFEND THEIR CITY 249\n\n LXXVIII. THE DESTRUCTION OF CARTHAGE 253\n\n LXXIX. CORNELIA, THE MOTHER OF THE GRACCHI 258\n\n LXXX. TIBERIUS AND HIS FRIEND OCTAVIUS 261\n\n LXXXI. THE DEATH OF TIBERIUS GRACCHUS 266\n\n LXXXII. THE DEATH OF GAIUS GRACCHUS 269\n\n LXXXIII. THE GOLD OF JUGURTHA 278\n\n LXXXIV. GAIUS MARIUS WINS THE NOTICE OF SCIPIO AFRICANUS 281\n\n LXXXV. GAIUS MARIUS BECOMES COMMANDER OF THE ARMY 283\n\n LXXXVI. THE CAPTURE OF JUGURTHA\u2019S TREASURE TOWNS 287\n\n LXXXVII. THE CAPTURE OF JUGURTHA 290\n\n LXXXVIII. JUGURTHA IS BROUGHT TO ROME IN CHAINS 294\n\n LXXXIX. MARIUS CONQUERS THE TEUTONES 297\n\n XC. MARIUS MOCKS THE AMBASSADORS OF THE CIMBRI 303\n\n XCI. METELLUS IS DRIVEN FROM ROME 307\n\n XCII. SULLA ENTERS ROME WITH HIS TROOPS 311\n\n XCIII. THE FLIGHT OF MARIUS 315\n\n XCIV. THE GAUL DARES NOT KILL GAIUS MARIUS 318\n\n XCV. MARIUS RETURNS TO ROME 320\n\n XCVI. THE ORATOR ARISTION 325\n\n XCVII. SULLA BESIEGES ATHENS 328\n\n XCVIII. SULLA SAVES ROME FROM THE SAMNITES 331\n\n XCIX. THE PROSCRIPTIONS OF SULLA 334\n\n C. THE GLADIATORS\u2019 REVOLT 337\n\n CI. THE PIRATES 341\n\n CII. POMPEY GOES TO WAR WITH MITHRIDATES 345\n\n CIII. CICERO DISCOVERS THE CATILINARIAN CONSPIRACY 350\n\n CIV. THE DEATH OF THE CONSPIRATORS 353\n\n CV. JULIUS C\u00c6SAR IS CAPTURED BY PIRATES 356\n\n CVI. C\u00c6SAR GIVES UP HIS TRIUMPH 360\n\n CVII. C\u00c6SAR PRAISES HIS TENTH LEGION 363\n\n CVIII. C\u00c6SAR WINS A GREAT VICTORY OVER THE NERVII 367\n\n CIX. C\u00c6SAR INVADES BRITAIN 370\n\n CX. C\u00c6SAR CROSSES THE RUBICON 374\n\n CXI. C\u00c6SAR AND THE PILOT 378\n\n CXII. THE FLIGHT OF POMPEY 381\n\n CXIII. CATO DIES RATHER THAN YIELD TO C\u00c6SAR 386\n\n CXIV. C\u00c6SAR IS LOADED WITH HONOURS 389\n\n CXV. THE NOBLES PLOT AGAINST C\u00c6SAR 392\n\n CXVI. THE ASSASSINATION OF C\u00c6SAR 396\n\n CXVII. BRUTUS SPEAKS TO THE CITIZENS 399\n\n CXVIII. MARK ANTONY SPEAKS TO THE CITIZENS 402\n\n CXIX. THE SECOND TRIUMVIRATE 405\n\n CXX. THE BATTLE OF PHILIPPI 408\n\n CXXI. THE DEATH OF BRUTUS 411\n\n CXXII. ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA 413\n\n CXXIII. THE BATTLE OF ACTIUM 418\n\n CXXIV. ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA DIE 421\n\n CXXV. THE EMPEROR AUGUSTUS 425\n\n INDEX 427\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n Verginius left his beautiful young daughter Verginia\n in the care of her nurse, _Frontispiece_\n\n AT PAGE\n A she-wolf, coming to the edge of the river to drink, heard their\n cries, 6\n\n When she saw Horatius wearing on his shoulders the cloak of her\n betrothed, she broke into bitter sobs, 30\n\n She carried in her arms nine books, 46\n\n \u2018O my mother, thou hast saved Rome, but thou hast lost thy son,\u2019 72\n\n Seated in chairs of ivory, sat a number of strange, venerable old\n men, 100\n\n The youth laid the arms he had taken from his foe at his father\u2019s\n feet, 120\n\n The armour of Pyrrhus was richer and more beautiful than that of\n his soldiers, 146\n\n \u2018I carry here peace and war, choose, men of Carthage, which ye\n will,\u2019 176\n\n \u2018We are beaten, O Romans, in a great battle, our army is\n destroyed,\u2019 190\n\n A messenger was seen spurring his horse toward the city, 213\n\n His progress was as that of a king, 232\n\n So Carthage was given to the flames, 258\n\n Here it would be possible, he thought, to hold the enemy at bay, 276\n\n Jugurtha came to the tent of his father-in-law unarmed, 292\n\n Gaius Marius sitting in exile among the ruins of Carthage, 320\n\n Lists of those who were doomed were hung up in the Forum, 336\n\n The following morning Cicero made another speech against\n Catiline, 352\n\n Looking down upon the stream, he stood awhile deep in thought, 378\n\n Here, sheltered by steep cliffs, he sat down to rest, 412\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF ROME\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I\n\nTHE LADY ROMA\n\n\nLong, long years ago, Troy, one of the great cities in Asia Minor, was\ntaken by the Greeks.\n\nMany mighty Trojans had defended their city well, and among them all\nnone had fought more bravely than the prince \u00c6neas.\n\nBut when \u00c6neas saw that the Greeks had set fire to the city, he fled,\ncarrying, it is said, his father on his shoulders, and grasping by the\nhand his son Ascanius.\n\nMoreover, so precious to him was the sacred image of the goddess\nPallas, that he saved it from the burning city.\n\nThe gods, pleased with his reverence, helped him in his flight by\nbuilding a ship. So when \u00c6neas reached the sea he at once embarked in\nit, with his followers and their wives, and sailed away to seek for a\nnew land in which to build a new city.\n\nAs the Trojans sailed they saw a bright star shining above them. Day\nand night the star was always to be seen, showing the seafarers the\ndirection in which to steer.\n\nAt length the Trojans reached the western shore of Italy, and here, at\na town called Latium, they disembarked.\n\nThe women were weary of the sea, and no sooner had they landed than\nthey began to wonder how they could persuade their husbands to journey\nno farther, but to settle in the pleasant country which they had\nreached.\n\nAmong these women was a lady of noble birth, who was wise as she was\ngood.\n\nRoma, for that was the lady\u2019s name, proposed that they should burn the\nship in which they had sailed. Then it would be impossible for their\nhusbands to go any farther in search of a new home.\n\nThe other women agreed to Roma\u2019s daring plan, and with mingled hope and\nfear the ship was set on fire.\n\nWhen the men saw the flames devouring the vessel they were troubled,\nbut when they found out how it had been set on fire, they were angry.\n\nYet, as anger could not give them back their ship, and as Italy was a\npleasant land, the men did as the women wished. They settled near a\nhill called Mount Palatine, and there they built a city.\n\nSome old stories tell that the city was called Rome after Roma, the\nnoble lady who had first thought of setting the ship on fire.\n\nBut other stories say that the country in which \u00c6neas landed belonged\nto a king named Latinus, who welcomed the Trojan, and gave him ground\non which to build. \u00c6neas married Lavinia, the daughter of the king, and\ncalled the city which he built after her Lavinium.\n\nSoon after this, King Latinus was killed in battle, and then for\nthree years \u00c6neas ruled well and wisely not only over his own Trojan\nfollowers, but also over the subjects of his royal father-in-law. His\npeople he now called Latins, in memory of King Latinus.\n\nWhen the three years were passed, war broke out against the Etruscans,\nwho were at that time the most powerful tribe in Italy.\n\nOne day a terrible storm overtook the armies on the battlefield; so\ndark grew the clouds that the soldiers could not see each other.\n\nWhen at length the sky cleared \u00c6neas had disappeared, and was seen no\nmore on earth.\n\n\u2018The gods have taken him away,\u2019 said the Latins. So they built an\naltar, and henceforth worshipped their king as the god Jupiter.\n\nAscanius, who had escaped from Troy with his father, now ruled in\nLavinium. But he soon found that the city was not large enough for all\nhis people; so, leaving Lavinium, he built a new city, and called it\nAlba Longa, or the Long White City.\n\nAlba Longa stood in the midst of the Alban hills, not far from the site\non which Rome itself was soon to be built.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II\n\nTHE SHE-WOLF\n\n\nAfter the death of Ascanius nearly three hundred years passed away, and\nthen a king named Proca died, leaving behind him two sons. The name of\nthe elder was Numitor, the name of the younger Amulius.\n\nThe crown belonged by right to Numitor, the elder son, but Amulius,\nwho was ambitious, was not willing that his brother should reign. So\nhe said to Numitor, \u2018One of us shall wear the crown, and to the other\nshall belong the gold and treasures left by our father Proca.\u2019\n\nThe story does not tell if Numitor was indignant with his brother, and\nsaid that the crown belonged to him; it only tells that Numitor chose\nto reign, as was indeed his right.\n\nAmulius then seized the gold and treasure, and bribed his followers to\ndrive Numitor from the throne and to make him king.\n\nThis, in their greed, they were soon persuaded to do.\n\nEre long Numitor was banished from the city, and Amulius, to his great\ncontent, began to reign.\n\nBut the king was soon surprised to find that the crown rested uneasily\nupon his head.\n\nIt might be that the children of Numitor would some day wrench the\ncrown from him, even as he had wrenched it from their father.\n\nThat this might never be, Amulius, thinking to get rid of fear, ordered\nNumitor\u2019s son to be slain, while his daughter Silvia was kept, by the\ncommand of the king, in a temple sacred to the goddess Vesta. Here the\nmaiden tended the altar fire, which was never allowed to die.\n\nBut the god Mars, angry, it might well be, with the cruelty of Amulius,\ntook pity upon the maiden and sent twin sons to cheer her in her\nloneliness. Such strong beautiful babes had never before been seen.\n\nAs for the king, when he heard of the birth of these little boys he was\nboth angry and afraid, lest they should grow into strong men and wrest\nhis kingdom from him.\n\nIn his fear Amulius ordered Silvia to be shut up in a prison for the\nrest of her life, and her beautiful boys he commanded to be thrown into\nthe river Tiber.\n\nHeavy rains had fallen of late, and, as the king knew, the river had\noverflowed its banks, but of this he recked not at all, although,\nindeed, the flood was to be his undoing.\n\nTwo servants, obeying the cruel order of Amulius, placed the baby boys\nin a basket, and going to the Tiber, flung their burden into the river.\n\nLike a boat the basket floated hither and thither on the water, until\nat length, carried onward by the flood, it was washed ashore at the\nfoot of a hill called Mount Palatine.\n\nHere, under the shade of a wild fig-tree, the basket was overturned,\nand the babes lay safe and sound upon the dry ground, while the river\nstole softly backward into its accustomed channel.\n\nBefore long the babes awoke hungry and began to cry. A she-wolf coming\nto the edge of the river to drink heard their cries, and carried them\naway to her cave, where she fed them with her milk, just as she would\nhave fed her lost cubs. She washed them, too, as she was used to wash\nher own children, by licking them with her tongue.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III\n\nTHE TWIN BOYS\n\n\nThe twin boys, it was said, were guarded by the god Mars. So it was not\nstrange that, as they grew older, the god should send his sacred birds,\nthe woodpeckers, to feed the children. In and out of the cave the birds\nflew each day, bringing with them food for the little boys.\n\nBut neither the wolf nor the birds could do all that was needful, so\nbefore long, the god who watched over the children sent Faustulus to\ntheir aid.\n\nFaustulus was one of the herdsmen of King Amulius. He had often seen\nthe wolf going in and out of the cave, and had noticed, too, how the\nwoodpeckers came and went each day. So when the wolf went off to prowl\nin the woods, Faustulus ventured into the cave, where to his amazement\nhe found two beautiful and well-fed children. He took them in his arms\nand carried them home to his wife. She gladly welcomed the little\nstrangers, and, naming them Romulus and Remus, brought them up as\nthough they had been her own sons.\n\nAs the years passed the boys grew ever more beautiful. Stronger and\nbraver, too, they became, until the rough herdsmen among whom they\ndwelt called them princes.\n\nThe lads soon showed that they were fitted to lead the herdsmen. If\nwild beasts attacked the flocks, or if robbers tried to steal them,\nRomulus and Remus were ever the first to attack, and to drive away\neither the robbers or the wild beasts.\n\n[Illustration: A she-wolf, coming to the edge of the river to drink,\nheard their cries.]\n\nFaustulus lived on Mount Palatine, near to the spot where the boys\nhad been washed ashore when they were babes.\n\nThis hill belonged to the cruel king Amulius, and it was his sheep and\ncattle that the princes, unwitting of the evil the king had done to\nthem, defended from danger.\n\nNot far from Mount Palatine was another hill, named Mount Aventine, and\nhere also were herdsmen guarding flocks, but these herdsmen belonged to\nthe dethroned King Numitor. Numitor was living quietly in the city of\nAlba.\n\nNow it chanced that the herdsmen of Amulius began to quarrel with the\nherdsmen of Numitor. One evening, forgetting all about their enemies,\nthe shepherds on Mount Palatine were merrymaking at a festival in\nhonour of the god Pan.\n\nThen the herdsmen on Mount Aventine said one to the other, \u2018See, here\nis our chance. We will lay an ambush for these unwary merrymakers.\u2019\n\nAs the gods willed, they captured none other than Remus, and well\npleased with their prize, they carried the prince a prisoner to their\nmaster Numitor.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV\n\nNUMITOR RECOGNISES HIS GRANDSONS\n\n\nThe young prisoner was brought before Numitor in the city of Alba. No\nsooner had the old man\u2019s eyes fallen on the lad than he threw up his\nhands in amaze, and gazed more keenly at the prisoner.\n\n\u2018No herdsman this,\u2019 muttered the old king to himself, \u2018rather does he\nbear himself as a prince.\u2019\n\nScanning the face before him even more closely, it seemed to Numitor\nthat the features were not unknown to him. Dreams of his lost daughter\nSilvia gladdened his heart.\n\nGently the old man tried to win the confidence of the lad, asking him\nwho he was, and whence he came.\n\nRemus was touched by the kindness of Numitor, and answered: \u2018I will\nhide nothing from you, sire, for you seem of a princely temper, in that\nyou give a hearing and examine before you punish.\u2019\n\nThen he told the old man the story that Faustulus had often told to him\nand Romulus, of how the wolf had found them as babes on the banks of\nthe river Tiber, and had carried them to her cave and fed them with her\nmilk.\n\nLong before Remus had ended his story, Numitor knew that it was his\ngrandson, his daughter Silvia\u2019s child, who stood before him, and his\nold heart beat quick with joy. Here at length was one who would take\nhis side against the cruel King Amulius.\n\nAt this moment Romulus, leading a rough band of herdsmen, approached\nthe city gate, determined to rescue his brother from the hands of\nNumitor.\n\nIn the city were many folk who groaned under the tyranny of Amulius.\nThese, hearing that Romulus was without the city gate, stole\nnoiselessly away to join the prince, believing he had come to punish\nthe king.\n\nMeantime Romulus had divided his followers into companies of a hundred\nmen. At the head of each company was a captain, carrying a small bundle\nof grass and shrubs tied to a pole.\n\nThese rough standards were called \u2018manipuli,\u2019 and it was because they\ncarried these manipuli that captains in the Roman army came to be\ncalled Manipulares.\n\nWhen Amulius heard that Numitor had recognised in the prisoner one of\nhis long lost grandsons he was afraid. Then, hearing the shouts and\nblows of Romulus and his men as they attacked the city gate, he rushed\nto defend it, determined that the second prince should not enter the\ncity.\n\nBut Romulus captured the gate, slew the king, and entered the city in\ntriumph.\n\nHere he found Remus, no longer a prisoner as he had feared, but the\nacknowledged grandson of Numitor.\n\nThe old king welcomed Romulus as joyfully as he had welcomed his\nbrother, and the two princes, eager to please the gentle old man,\nplaced him upon the throne from which he had so long ago been driven.\n\nThey then sped to the prison where their mother Silvia had lain since\nthe princes had been born. Swiftly they set her free, and cheered her\nby their love and care as good sons ever will.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V\n\nTHE SACRED BIRDS\n\n\nThe grandsons of Numitor could no longer live as shepherds on Mount\nPalatine, which they had learned to love. Nor could they dwell quietly\nin Alba, for all their lives they had been used to live free among the\nmountains, nor had they been subject to any king.\n\nSo the princes made up their minds to leave Alba, and to build a city\nfor themselves on the hills they loved.\n\nBut the brothers could not agree on which hill to build their city,\nRomulus choosing the Palatine, Remus the Aventine.\n\nNot knowing how to settle their dispute, they asked Numitor to help\nthem. He bade them, as the custom was, to appeal to augury--that is, to\nwatch for a sign or omen from the gods. These signs were given in many\ndifferent forms, sometimes by the flight of birds, as happened now.\n\nThe princes determined to follow their grandfather\u2019s advice. Romulus\nwent to Mount Palatine, Remus to Mount Aventine, and patient through\none long day they watched for a sign.\n\nBut no sign appeared. The slow hours passed, and night drew on apace,\nyet still the brothers never stirred.\n\nThen, as darkness faded before the dawn, Remus saw, far off, dark,\nmoving shapes. Were the gods going to be gracious, the prince wondered,\nand after so many hours send a sign?\n\nNearer and nearer drew the dark shapes.\n\n\u2018Ah!\u2019 Remus cried sharply, \u2018it is a good omen.\u2019 For now he could see\nthat the moving forms were six vultures winging their way toward the\nwest. These birds were sacred to the gods, and did no harm to corn,\nfruit, or cattle, nor would they, indeed, wound any living thing.\n\nSwiftly Remus bade a messenger to go tell his brother of the good omen\nvouchsafed to him. But even as his messenger sped to do his will, Remus\nwas crestfallen. For before him stood one of the servants of Romulus\nto tell him that his brother, too, had seen a flight of vultures, but\nwhile Remus had seen six birds, Romulus had seen twelve.\n\nWhat was to be done? It seemed now that the brothers were not thinking\non which hill the city should stand, but of which of them should build\nthe city. Remus believed that the augury proclaimed him as the founder\nof the new city. Romulus was sure that it was he who was intended by\nthe gods to build it; for had not he seen twelve vultures while his\nbrother had seen but six?\n\nThe princes turned to their followers, demanding who should be their\nking. Then loud and lusty was the answering shout: \u2018Romulus, Romulus,\nhe shall be our king!\u2019\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI\n\nTHE FOUNDING OF ROME\n\n\nIt was in the year 753 B.C. that Romulus was chosen king. He at once\nbegan to make preparations to build a city on the Palatine hill. The\nfoundation he wished to lay on the twenty-first of the glad month of\nApril, for, as Romulus knew, this was a feast-day among the shepherds.\n\nOften he, with his brother, had joined the herdsmen on that day, to\noffer cakes to the goddess Pales, to beseech her blessing on themselves\nand on their flocks. And when the prayers and sacrifices were over, how\ngladly he had joined in the shepherds\u2019 games and jollity! No better day\ncould be found on which to lay the foundation of the new city.\n\nWhen the feast-day arrived, a hole was first dug on the spot where the\ncity was to stand.\n\nInto this hole the king flung the first fruits of the earth, corn and\nfruit.\n\nEach of his followers then took a handful of earth which he had carried\nwith him from his own, perhaps distant, home, and flung it also into\nthe hole, which was then filled to the top.\n\nHere, too, an altar was built, on which the people laid offerings to\nthe gods. From henceforth the spot, where the temple had been erected,\nwas to be the hearth or centre of the new city.\n\nRomulus then throwing his toga, or as we would say, his mantle, around\nhim, with one end covering his head, took a white bull and a cow and\nyoked them to a sacred plough, the share of which was made of brass.\n\nWith this ploughshare the king then made a furrow to mark the boundary\nof the city, bidding his followers watch that the upturned earth fell\ninward to the hearth of the city. Not a clod must be allowed to lie\nwithout the furrow. When the plough reached the different spots at\nwhich the gates of the city were to stand, it was carefully lifted over\nthe spaces.\n\nAs he guided the plough, Romulus cried to his gods that his city might\nbecome strong and endure, and ever grow more powerful in the great\nworld.\n\nOut of a clear sky thunder crashed, lightning flashed over the hills as\nRomulus uttered his petitions, and the people believed that the storm\nwas the answer of the god Jupiter to the prayers of their king.\n\nWhen these sacred rites were ended, Romulus bade his men begin at once\nto build the wall which was to surround his city.\n\nThe wall itself was sacred. None might enter the city, save by the\ngates. So the king bade one of his followers, named Celer, to guard the\nsacred furrow, and to see that no one dared to scale the wall or jump\nacross it, as it was being built.\n\nRemus, who was still angry that he had not been chosen king, had been\nstanding near to Romulus as he laid the foundation of the city. Then,\nas the wall began to rise before him, a swift rage sprang up in his\nheart, and he leaped across it, crying: \u2018Shall such defences as these\nguard your city?\u2019\n\nCeler, the watchman, seeing that Remus had scorned the order of the\nking, raised his spade in sudden fury and struck the young prince dead\nto the ground.\n\nThen, fearing lest Romulus should punish him for his hasty deed, he\nfled. Fear lent him wings, and his name from that day became a byword\nto betoken great speed.\n\nOur own word, \u2018celerity,\u2019 comes from Celer, the swift-footed servant of\nRomulus.\n\nWhen Romulus was told that his brother had been slain, he showed\nneither grief nor anger. \u2018Thus perish every one who may attempt to\ncross these walls,\u2019 were his stern words to those who brought the sad\ntidings.\n\nCeler, it was plain, had fled in needless haste.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII\n\nTHE SABINE MAIDENS\n\n\nWhen Romulus had built his city and surrounded it with a wall, he began\nto fortify the hill on which it was built. This was necessary because\nhostile tribes held the neighbouring hills, and might at any moment\nattack the new city.\n\nThe king ordered his followers to scrape the steep slopes of the\nPalatine until they were smooth. Then great slabs of stones, fitted\ninto each other without mortar, were built into the sides of the hill,\nfrom the base to the summit.\n\nRomulus was pleased when he saw this great fortification finished, for\nhe knew that it was almost impossible that an enemy should scale the\nsmooth surface of the hill and lay siege to the city.\n\nNot far from the foot of the Palatine flowed the river Tiber, a\nsafe highway to the sea. So the king as he gazed, first at his\nwell-fortified city and then down to the swift flowing river, felt that\nhe had indeed chosen his site with wisdom.\n\nThe Palatine was only one of seven hills, and each of the other six was\nadded to the city during the reign of the six kings who ruled after\nRomulus. Five of these hills were called montes or mountains, while the\nother two, being only spurs that jutted out from the tableland, were\ncalled colles or hills.\n\nBut I have not yet told you the name of the city! Amid the shouts of\nhis people the king named it Rome, after its founder Romulus.\n\nRome was built and fortified, yet the king was dissatisfied, for now\nhe found that he had not enough people to dwell in the city.\n\nThe king must by this time have taken possession of the Capitoline\nhill, which was close to the Palatine, for here he resolved to build a\ncity of refuge, that those who fled to it might gradually be removed to\nRome.\n\nAsylum, which is the Greek word for refuge, was the name of this city,\nand it was open to all those who had been forced by crime or misfortune\nto flee from their own homes.\n\nTo this Asylum hastened robbers, exiles, slaves who had fled from their\nmasters, as well as those who had stained their hands with blood.\n\nThe city of refuge was soon crowded, and many of these rough and\ncriminal folk were then sent to Rome, until Romulus had as many\nsubjects as he wished.\n\nBut there were no women among those who fled to the king for\nprotection, and Romulus saw that he would have to find wives for his\nnew subjects.\n\nSo he begged the neighbouring tribes, among which was a tribe called\nthe Sabines, to allow their daughters to marry his new subjects. But\nthe king\u2019s request was refused. Give their daughters to robbers and\nmurderers, to men who had been outlawed! The tribes did not hesitate to\nmock at Romulus for thinking that such a thing could be.\n\nRomulus was not a king to be lightly thwarted. He was determined at any\ncost to gain wives for his subjects.\n\nSo, as his neighbours had proved churlish and refused his request, he\nmade up his mind to capture their daughters by guile, or by a trick,\nas we would say. Nor did he take long to lay his plans. He invited his\nneighbours, among whom were the Sabines, to a feast and games which he\nwished to celebrate in honour of the god Consus.\n\nThey, eager to enjoy the feast and the great spectacle of the games,\ncame flocking into Rome on the appointed day, bringing with them their\nwives and daughters.\n\nFearlessly they came, and were greeted with great hospitality by the\nking, who knew that he must hide his anger until his plot had been\nsuccessful.\n\nThe feast began with solemn rites, sacrifices being offered to the\ngods, and especially to Consus, in whose name the festival was held.\n\nWhen the sacrifices were ended, the guests mingled carelessly with the\nRomans, thinking only of the games and races.\n\nThe king, seeing that the moment had come, gave the signal for which\nhis people were waiting.\n\nA band of armed men at once rushed in among the guests, and in spite of\ntheir screams and struggles, carried away the Sabine maidens.\n\nThe parents of the maidens hastened to leave the city where the laws of\nhospitality had been so cruelly transgressed. As they went, they called\ndown the anger of the gods upon Romulus and his people.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII\n\nTHE TARPEIAN ROCK\n\n\nThe tribes who had been at the feast of Consus were so angry with the\nking that many of them went to fight against him, without waiting to\ngather together a large army. Thus Romulus soon defeated and scattered\nhis foes.\n\nMoreover, having slain one of the kings with his own hand, he stripped\nhim of his armour, and tying it to a pole, carried it back to Rome,\nwhere he offered it to Jupiter. This was the earliest Triumph\ncelebrated at Rome. In days to come the Triumphs of the Roman generals\nbecame famous. They were held when the soldiers returned victorious\nfrom a great battle. The general at the head of his army rode into the\ncity in a chariot drawn by beautiful horses. Other chariots followed,\nfilled with the treasures and spoils of war, while the most noble\nprisoners, often loaded with chains, were dragged along behind the\nchariots. The day on which a Triumph was celebrated was always held as\na holiday by the citizens of Rome.\n\nNow, among the tribes which Romulus had robbed, none had suffered so\nheavily as the Sabines. But they, more wary than the king\u2019s other foes,\ndid not attempt to avenge their wrongs until they had had time to\ncollect a large and powerful army. Nearly two years had passed before\nthis army was led by Tatius, the King of the Sabines, against the\nRomans.\n\nThe fortress on the Capitoline hill Romulus had entrusted to the care\nof a chief named Tarpeius. Now Tarpeius had a daughter named Tarpeia,\nand she loved ornaments and jewels of gold and silver.\n\nAs the Sabines, led by Tatius, drew near to attack the fortress,\nTarpeia looked out of a spy-hole and saw that the enemy was adorned\nwith beautiful golden bracelets. The longer she looked, the greater\nbecame her desire to possess these dazzling ornaments. What would she\nnot do to wear such splendid jewels? She would--yes, she would even\nbetray the fortress into the hands of the Sabines, if only she might\nhear the tinkle of the golden bracelets on her arms.\n\nSo, leaving the spy-hole, Tarpeia slipped secretly out of the fortress\nand spoke to the Sabines, offering to show them how to take the citadel\nif they would give her in reward \u2018what they wore on their left arms.\u2019\n\nThe Sabines agreed to do as Tarpeia wished, but in their hearts they\ndespised the maiden for her treachery.\n\nBut she, heedless of all save the ornaments that would soon be hers,\nhastened back to the fortress.\n\nThen, when it grew dark, she stealthily opened the gate, outside of\nwhich stood the waiting foe.\n\nAs the Sabines marched into the fortress, Tarpeia cried to them to\nremember their promise and give her her reward.\n\nThen Tatius bade his men not to refuse \u2018the least part of what they\nwore on their left arms,\u2019 and himself taking off his bracelet, threw it\nto her, together with his shield, which he also bore on his left arm.\n\nHis men did as their king had done, so that Tarpeia soon fell to the\nground and was killed by the weight of the shields that covered her.\n\nThe traitress was buried on the hill which she had betrayed. From that\nday traitors were punished by being thrown over the steepest rock on\nthe Capitoline hill, which was named after the maiden who betrayed her\ncity, \u2018The Tarpeian Rock.\u2019\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX\n\nTHE MYSTERIOUS GATE\n\n\nThe fortress on the Capitoline hill was now in the hands of the\nSabines, but they had still to fight with the Romans who dwelt on the\nPalatine hill.\n\nRomulus was, indeed, already to be seen leading his men into the valley\nthat lay between the two mountains.\n\nThe battle was long and fierce, and disaster well-nigh overtook the\nSabines.\n\nIn the valley was a swamp, and in this swamp the whole of the enemy\u2019s\narmy would have been engulfed, had not Curtius, one of their most\ngallant soldiers, warned them of danger.\n\nHe himself had been carried by his horse into the mire. Nobly he tried\nto free his steed, but his efforts were all in vain. The more the\nanimal struggled, the deeper it sank into the swamp, until at length\nCurtius was forced to leave his horse that he might save himself. This\nswamp was ever after known as the Curtian Lake.\n\nHour after hour the battle raged, until at last Romulus and his\nfollowers were driven backward. In their dismay the Roman army rushed\nthrough one of the gates into their city, hastily shutting it behind\nthem, that the foe might not also enter.\n\nBut lo! so says the legend, the gate would not remain shut, but opened,\nas it seemed, of its own accord.\n\nTwice again the terrified Romans tried to close it, and twice it opened\nas mysteriously as before.\n\nThe Sabines reached the gate as it opened for the last time.\n\nIn through the open gate pushed the triumphant enemy, when suddenly a\ngreat flood of water gushed forth from the temple of the god Janus,\nwhich stood near to the gate.\n\nOverwhelmed by the force of the water, the Sabines were swept, not only\nout of the gate, but far away from the city, and Rome was saved.\n\nBut although the Sabines had been forced to flee, they had not been\nconquered. Again and again they marched against Romulus, for they could\nnot forgive him for the loss of their daughters.\n\nIn one of these battles Romulus was wounded by a stone and fell to the\nground. His followers, seeing that their king was wounded, lost courage\nand began to retreat.\n\nBut the king was soon on his feet, calling to his men to stand and\nfight. But it seemed as though they dared not turn to face the foe.\n\nThen, in his great need the king stretched out his hands to heaven and\nbesought Jupiter to come to his aid, promising that he would build a\ntemple to his name, so only he would stay the flight of his army.\n\nEven as he prayed the answer came. No voice from heaven commanded them\nto stand, yet the Romans were suddenly ashamed of their cowardice and\nturned once more to face the foe.\n\nBut as the battle was about to begin with redoubled fury the Sabine\nwomen rushed in between the two armies with loud cries, entreating\nnow their fathers and brothers, now their husbands to end this cruel\nslaughter.\n\nThey even begged that they themselves might be slain, for, \u2018Better it\nis that we perish,\u2019 said the women, \u2018than live as widows and orphans.\u2019\n\nIn their arms the women carried their little sons, and these babes\nstretched out their tiny arms toward their grandsires, as though they\ntoo would beg for peace. The lamentable cries of their daughters, the\nsight of their little grandchildren made the Sabines hesitate, and soon\nthe warriors in either army let their weapons fall to the ground in\nmood no longer warlike. \u2018Then fathers and sons-in-law clasped hands in\nfriendship. The old men embraced their daughters, and carried their\nbaby grandsons on their shields. Surely a sweeter way was that to use\nthe shield.\u2019\n\nPeace was then made, and the Romans and Sabines agreed to become one,\nwhile Romulus and Tatius ruled together over their united people.\n\nFive years later Tatius was killed in a quarrel, and Romulus again\nruled alone.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X\n\nTHE KING DISAPPEARS\n\n\nAs the years passed, the city of Rome became ever larger and more\npowerful. The king, too, grew haughty, and as his greatness increased,\ncareless of the welfare of his people. His subjects, who had formerly\nloved Romulus, now began to hate him, so insolent seemed to them his\nbehaviour.\n\nDressed in a scarlet robe, the king spent his days lying on a couch,\nwhile young lads, called Celeres, waited upon him. This name was\nbestowed upon them because of the swiftness with which they sped to do\nthe king\u2019s behests.\n\nNor was this all, but when Romulus at times roused himself to walk\nthrough the streets of the city, the Celeres went before him, bearing\nstaves. These they used, to thrust aside any of the common people who\ndared to disturb the king by their presence.\n\nThe staves angered the people, but even more did they resent the\nleather thongs which the Celeres wore, for these were used to bind and\ntake prisoner whoever displeased the king.\n\nAfter he had reigned forty years a strange thing happened.\n\nRomulus ordered the people to assemble on the Field of Mars, which\nreached from the city to the river Tiber, for here a festival was to\nbe held. But when the king and his subjects met, a terrible storm\narose. Dark and yet darker grew the sky, while fierce gusts of wind,\nblowing now in one direction, now in another, confused the terrified\ncrowd. Flashes of lighting gleamed across the faces of the throng,\nthen darkness, more dense, fell across the field, hiding each from the\nother. Thunder rolled until the earth seemed to shake at the sound.\n\nIn terror and distraught with fear, the crowd fled to their homes,\nlashed by a ceaseless torrent of rain.\n\nAnd the king? When the storm was over the king was nowhere to be found.\nHe had disappeared, and was seen no more on earth in human form.\n\n\u2018His enemies have slain him,\u2019 said some among the people. But others\nthought that the god Mars had carried the king to heaven in a chariot.\n\nProculus, a friend of Romulus, told the people a story, which made them\nbelieve that their king had himself become a god.\n\nOne day, as Proculus was walking from Alba to Rome, Romulus stood\nbefore him, clad in shining armour.\n\nHis friend was afraid when he saw the king, so tall and comely had he\nbecome, and he cried: \u2018Why, O King, have you abandoned us, and left the\nwhole city to bereavement and endless sorrow?\u2019\n\nProculus did not seem to know that Romulus had lost the love of his\npeople many years before.\n\nThe figure in shining armour answered his friend in these wise words:\n\n\u2018It pleased the gods, O Proculus, that we, who came from them, should\nremain so long a time amongst men as we did, and having built a city to\nbe the greatest in the world for empire and glory, should again return\nto heaven.\n\n\u2018Farewell, and tell the Romans that by the exercise of temperance and\nfortitude they shall attain the height of human power. We will be to\nyou from henceforth the god Quirinus.\u2019\n\nThe Romans listened eagerly to Proculus, and when his story ended, they\ndetermined to build a temple on the Quirinal hill in honour of their\nnew god.\n\nAnd each year, on the 17th February, the day that Romulus had been\ntaken from their sight, the Romans held a festival in honour of\nQuirinus, calling it the Quirinalia.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI\n\nTHE PEACE-LOVING KING\n\n\nAfter the disappearance of Romulus, the Romans and Sabines each wished\nto appoint a new king.\n\nRomulus had been a Roman, so the Sabines said that now it was but just\nthat a Sabine king should rule.\n\nThe dispute between the people lasted for a whole year, and then at\nlength it was determined that the new king should be a Sabine, but that\nthe Romans should be allowed to choose him.\n\nNow among the Sabines dwelt a man named Numa Pompilius. He was honoured\nby the Romans as well as by his own people, for he was both good and\nwise. He had indeed been known for his wisdom since he was a boy. And\nif, when he was young, any one ventured to dispute his wisdom, his\nfriends would point to his grey hair, believing there was no need to\nspeak. For the hair of Numa Pompilius had been grey from the day of his\nbirth, and that surely was a sign from the gods to show that he already\nwas and ever would be wise.\n\nOften he was to be seen, a solitary man, walking in the fields and\ngroves which were consecrated to the gods. At other times he would\nspend long days and weeks alone in desert places.\n\nIt was to this strangely quiet, thoughtful man, who was now about forty\nyears old, that the Romans sent ambassadors to beg him to become their\nking.\n\nNuma Pompilius had no wish to rule. Moreover, he deemed that the people\nwould desire a more warlike king than he was like to be. So he bade\nthe messengers return to Rome, saying: \u2018I should but be, methinks, a\nlaughing-stock, while I should go about to inculcate the worship of\nthe gods and give lessons in the love of justice and the abhorrence of\nviolence and war to a city whose needs are rather for a captain than\nfor a king.\u2019\n\nIn spite of these words, the ambassadors still urged Numa to return\nwith them to Rome. \u2018Your presence,\u2019 said they, \u2018will help to put an end\nto war and discord.\u2019\n\nThen the wise man consulted the gods, and they sent a flight of sacred\nbirds as a sign that he should reign in Rome.\n\nSo Numa Pompilius set out with the ambassadors, and when he reached the\ncity he called together the people to ask them if they were willing to\nobey his commands.\n\nThey, greeting him as \u2018a holy king, and one beloved of the gods,\u2019\npromised to obey him in all things. Thus, almost against his will, the\nwise man became king. But being king, he was not the man to shirk the\nduties belonging to his royal state.\n\nHis first act was to dismiss the band of three hundred Celeres, which\nhad formed the life-guard of Romulus, for this king trusted his\nsubjects, and believed that they would safeguard him from danger.\n\nTo train the Romans in the love of truth he built on the Capitol a\ntemple to the goddess Fides, or Faith, bidding them invoke this goddess\nabove all others. At the same time he told them ever to remember as\nthey went about their daily work that their promises were as sacred as\ntheir oaths.\n\nIn the temple no sacrifice of sheep, oxen, or bird was ever offered,\nfor the good king would not have his gifts to the gods stained with\nblood. Fruits, cakes, corn, these were the offerings he bade the people\nbring to the temple.\n\nPompilius himself had loved to work and to walk in the fields, so now\nhe encouraged the Romans to labour in the country, dividing among them\na large part of the land which Romulus had conquered.\n\nIn these and other ways the king did all he could to curb the fierce\npassions of his subjects, who, when left to themselves, were swift to\nturn to war and bloodshed, rather than to peace.\n\nMany of the people reverenced their peace-loving king, but others\nmocked at his gentle ways.\n\nEven the feasts of the king were more simple than some of the Romans\nliked, and these discontented ones grumbled at the plain fare of which\nthey were invited to partake.\n\nOne day, so the legend runs, the king ordered, as was his custom, a\nsimple meal to be prepared, and to this meal he invited many of his\nfriends.\n\nThey came, for the king had asked them, but, as they expected, the food\nwas plain, the plates were of earthenware, and water was served in\nbottles of stone.\n\nBut no sooner had the guests seated themselves at the table than\nbehold! as if by magic, the plain food was changed into the choicest\nviands, the water became the richest wine, while the earthenware dishes\ndisappeared, and in their place stood plates of silver and of gold.\n\nThe guests were startled, yet it pleased them well that the gods should\nshow such favour to their king, for they never doubted that it was thus\nthe gods treated those who honoured them.\n\nHenceforth the people grumbled less, and were more ready to obey their\nsovereign.\n\nNuma Pompilius ruled for forty-three years, caring, during his long\nreign, for the welfare of his people.\n\nEven the enemies of Rome did not venture to disturb this good and\ngentle king. So, while he ruled, the weapons of war were laid aside.\nThe gates of the temple of Janus, too, which were only opened in time\nof war, remained closed during the reign of Numa Pompilius.\n\nIt seemed that the gods did indeed show goodwill to this pious king,\nfor neither sickness nor famine troubled the country as long as he sat\nupon the throne, and the Romans prospered in all that they undertook.\n\nWhen he was eighty years of age Numa Pompilius passed away in a death\nas peaceful as his life.\n\nThe Romans mourned his loss, for he had been to them father as well as\nking.\n\nQuietly they laid his body to rest, beyond the Tiber, on the hill\nJaniculum which looks toward the west.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII\n\nHORATIUS SLAYS HIS SISTER\n\n\nTullus Hostilius, the king who succeeded Numa Pompilius in 672 B.C.,\nloved war as much as Pompilius had loved peace.\n\nHe feared lest already the Romans had lost the renown that had been\ntheirs on the battlefield when Romulus was king. So he determined to\nfind a pretext for war as soon as possible, that his soldiers might\nshow that courage was still theirs, and that their fame might spread as\nof old to the neighbouring tribes.\n\nSuch was the warlike character of Tullus Hostilius, that it was soon\nfound necessary to throw wide the gates of the temple of Janus.\n\nIt chanced that shortly after the new king came to the throne some\nRoman and Alban countrymen quarrelled, each saying that he had been\nrobbed by the other.\n\nTullus at once took the side of his own people, sending to the King of\nAlba to demand that the goods which had been stolen should be restored.\nThe King of Alba at the same time sent messengers to Tullus, claiming\nthat justice should be meted out to those who had robbed his subjects.\n\nThe King of Rome received the messengers from Alba so courteously and\ntreated them so well, that they forgot the errand on which they had\nbeen sent, until startled by the return of the Roman ambassadors.\n\nThey, having been refused justice by the King of Alba, had, ere they\nleft, declared that the Romans would avenge the wrong done to their\ncountrymen.\n\nTullus was well pleased with the report of his ambassadors. He sent\naway the careless messengers of Alba, bidding them tell their king that\nit was he who had provoked the war.\n\nThe two kings speedily collected their armies and marched to the\nbattlefield. But before the war began the King of Alba died. Then the\nAlbans chose one of their number, named Mettius, to be Dictator.\n\nHe, standing between the two armies, begged that the victory might be\ndecided by single combat, so that many lives might be spared.\n\nTo this Tullus agreed, sending forth as the Roman champions three\nbrothers, called the Horatii, while the choice of Mettius fell upon\nthree Alban brothers, named the Curiatii.\n\nA great silence fell upon the two armies as the combatants stood forth,\narmed to the teeth, and the contest which was to settle the fate of\nRome and Alba began.\n\nShould the Horatii win, Rome would seize Alba as its prize. Should the\nCuriatii be the victors, Rome would be forfeit to the Albans.\n\nFierce and yet more fierce fell the blows of the champions, until at\nlength, two of the Horatii lay slain on the ground, while the three\nCuriatii were wounded.\n\nThen, to the dismay of the Roman army, Horatius, on whose courage the\nsafety of Rome depended, turned and fled, pursued by the three wounded\nmen.\n\nBut the Romans need not have feared that Horatius had turned coward.\nHis flight, as they soon saw, was but a feint to separate his enemies.\n\nAs the swiftest of the Curiatii gained upon him, the Roman champion\nturned and smote him to the ground. Without a moment\u2019s pause Horatius\nthen attacked the second brother, who had now reached his side, and\nhe also fell before the fury of the Roman\u2019s stroke. The last of the\nCuriatii had been forced to follow more slowly, as his wounds had been\nsevere. He, too, was now stricken down by the conqueror.\n\nRome was saved! At the thought great shouts rent the air, and Horatius\nwas led in triumph toward the city.\n\nAs the glad procession drew near to the gate, the sister of Horatius\ncame out to meet her brother. She was the promised bride of one of the\nCuriatii.\n\nWhen she saw Horatius, wearing on his shoulders the cloak of her\nbetrothed, which she herself had embroidered, she broke into bitter\nsobs and began to curse him for his cruel deed.\n\nThen Horatius, in sudden passion, drew his sword and stabbed his\nsister, crying: \u2018So perish the Roman maiden who shall weep for her\ncountry\u2019s enemy.\u2019\n\nGreat was the service Horatius had done for Rome that day, yet his rash\nact could not be allowed to pass unpunished. He was taken prisoner, and\nbrought before two judges, who condemned him to death.\n\nBut Horatius refused to submit to his sentence, and appealed to the\npeople of Rome to save him. And for the sake of his old father, who\nhad already that day lost two sons, as well as because he himself had\nrisked his life for his country, the people listened to his plea and\nset him free.\n\nYet, as a public penance, he was obliged to pass beneath a yoke and\noffer sacrifices to the spirit of the sister he had slain.\n\nThe yoke under which Horatius had to pass was formed of two beams of\nwood which were thrust into the ground, and across the top of which\na third beam was placed. Sometimes the yoke was made by using three\nswords in this way.\n\nBut it was a wooden yoke under which Horatius stooped, and one of the\nbeams was treasured for many years, and named the \u2018sister\u2019s beam.\u2019\n\nYet it was not only the memory of his penance that was preserved. To\nrecall his courage to the Romans who would follow him, the arms which\nHoratius had taken from the Curiatii were hung on a pillar in the\nmarket-place. And in days to come the citizens would point to this\npillar, saying: \u2018It is the pillar of Horatius.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: When she saw Horatius wearing on his shoulders the cloak\nof her betrothed, she broke into bitter sobs.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII\n\nTHE PRIDE OF TULLUS HOSTILIUS\n\n\nBy the victory of Horatius, the Albans became subject to Rome, and were\nforced to help them in their wars.\n\nBut Mettius, the Dictator, never ceased to hope that he would yet be\nable to throw off the yoke of Rome.\n\nSo when Tullus summoned him to bring an army to help the Romans in\ntheir battle against the Etruscans, Mettius brought an army as he was\nbidden, but when the battle was at its height, he secretly told his men\nto give no aid to the Romans.\n\nIn spite of the treachery of Mettius, Tullus was victorious.\n\nThe Dictator, hoping that the king knew naught of his deceit, boldly\npraised him for the victory he had won.\n\nBut Tullus knew that Mettius had done nothing to help him win the\nbattle, and so angry was he with his treachery that he ordered him to\nbe torn to pieces by horses. Then the king ordered the Albans to be\ndisarmed, and after burning their city, he carried off the people to\nRome.\n\nThe Roman nobles, or patricians as they were called, welcomed the Alban\nnobles to their city, while the countrymen of Alba soon became friends\nwith the common people, or plebeians.\n\nAs in the reign of Romulus the Sabines and the Romans became one, so\nnow the Albans and Romans were united. In this way the number of the\ncitizens in Rome was nearly doubled.\n\nEncouraged by his victories, Tullus spent the rest of his reign in wars\nwith the Etruscans. His success, instead of making him humble, made\nhim proud, and he grew careless of the service of the gods. Moreover,\nhe neglected the wise and just laws made by the good King Pompilius.\n\nThen, in sign of their displeasure, the gods sent a plague among the\npeople, and the king himself was smitten with sickness. In his misery\nTullus remembered the gods and prayed. But Jupiter was angry, and sent\na shaft of lightning from the sky, which killed Tullus and destroyed\nhis house.\n\nTullus Hostilius reigned for thirty-two years, and after his death, in\n640 B.C., Ancus Marcius, a grandson of Pompilius, became King of Rome.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV\n\nTHE KING WHO FOUGHT AND PRAYED\n\n\nLike his grandfather Numa Pompilius, Ancus Marcius loved peace.\n\nHis first act after he became king was to restore the service of the\ngods, which during the last reign had ofttimes been neglected. The\nsacred laws of Pompilius, too, he ordered to be written on tablets of\nwood and to be shown to the people.\n\nNow among the enemies of Rome was a tribe named the Latins. The Latins,\nknowing that King Ancus spent his time in prayer and in offering\nsacrifices to the gods, began to plunder and destroy the country round\nabout Rome, thinking to go unpunished. But they soon found that the\nking could fight as well as pray.\n\nNo sooner, indeed, had Ancus heard that the Latins were laying waste\nhis dominions, than he commanded the priests to attend to the temple\nservices. Then, placing himself at the head of his army, he marched\nagainst the enemy.\n\nThe battle was fierce and long, but at length the Latins were beaten\nand their towns destroyed. His prisoners the king took back with him to\nRome, bidding them make their home on the Aventine hill.\n\nAncus next determined to secure the command of the Tiber and to join\nthe Janiculum hill to Rome by throwing a wooden bridge across the\nriver, which was named the \u2018Bridge of the Wooden Piles,\u2019 for it was\nbuilt entirely of wood. The beams were placed loosely, one alongside\nanother, so that, should an enemy approach, it could be quickly taken\nto pieces.\n\nAncus loved peace, but he could not yet lay down his arms, for he saw\nthat Rome ought to secure the land that lay between the city and the\nsea. So he led his army against the tribes to whom this land belonged,\nand, taking it from them, he built a town at the mouth of the Tiber,\nwhich he called Ostia. And here a busy harbour was soon to be seen,\nfrom which Roman ships set sail for the open sea.\n\nFor twenty-four years this good king reigned, and then, calm and\ncontent as his royal grandfather, he died. His name was ever held in\nhonour by his people, for in time of peace he had been just, in time of\nwar victorious.\n\nThe children of the king were still young when their father died, so\nthey were left to the care of his friend, Lucius Tarquinius.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV\n\nTHE FAITHLESS FRIEND\n\n\nLucius Tarquinius, to whom the king had entrusted the care of his\nchildren, was a Greek noble possessing great wealth. His real name was\nLucumo, and being driven from his native town by a tyrant, he had taken\nrefuge in the town of Tarquinii in Etruria. It was from this town that\nhe took the name by which he was known in Rome.\n\nBut neither Lucumo nor his wife Tanaquil were content to spend their\nlives in such a sleepy little town as Tarquinii proved to be. So they\ndetermined to go to Rome, where, it was said, strangers were ever\nwelcome.\n\nOne day, then, the husband and wife set out on their journey. As they\ndrew near to the Janiculum hill, an eagle suddenly swooped down upon\nthe travellers, and seized the cap which Lucumo was wearing. Then,\nuttering loud screams, the bird flew high in the air, only to return in\na few moments to replace the cap on the head of its astonished owner.\n\nTanaquil seemed pleased with the strange behaviour of the eagle, and\nassured her husband that it was an augury or sign from the gods that he\nwould rise to honour in the city to which they were going.\n\nKing Ancus heard of the wealth and the wisdom of the stranger who had\ncome to Rome, and ere long he sent a messenger to Tarquinius, bidding\nhim attend the king\u2019s councils. So wisely did Tarquinius behave that\nthe king soon treated him as a friend.\n\nWhen Ancus Marcius was dying, he did not fear the future for his\nchildren. They would be safe, he believed, in the care of Tarquinius.\nBut he, alas! betrayed his trust that he might satisfy his own ambition.\n\nAfter the death of the king, Tarquinius, pretending that he wished to\nmake the sons of Ancus forget their grief, persuaded them to go away\nfrom the city to hunt.\n\nIn their absence the false friend appealed to the people to make him\nking, and this they did.\n\nTarquinius had gained his power by a treacherous deed, but by his\ncourage on the battlefield he won the admiration of his subjects.\n\nHe fought against the Latins, and made many of their cities subject to\nRome. And when the Sabines took up arms and marched almost to the gates\nof the city, Tarquinius, vowing that if Jupiter would come to his aid\nhe would build a temple in his honour, rushed against the foe and drove\nit away.\n\nFlushed with victory, he then went to war with the Etruscans, and\nforced them to acknowledge him as their king.\n\nAs a sign of their subjection the conquered tribe sent to Tarquinius\nroyal gifts--a golden crown, a sceptre, an ivory chair, an embroidered\ntunic, a purple toga, and twelve axes tied up in bundles of rods.\n\nThese gifts the king sent before him to Rome as a proof of his victory\nover the Etruscans.\n\nThen, when peace was at length proclaimed, Tarquinius remembered\nthe vow he had made to Jupiter, and began to build a temple on the\nCapitoline hill.\n\nAs the workmen were digging, in order to lay a good foundation, they\nfound a human head. This was a sign, so said those who knew, that the\nspot on which the head had been buried should become the chief place of\nworship in Rome.\n\nThe temple, when it was finished, was named the Capitol, and in days to\ncome it was indeed looked upon as the most sacred building in the city.\n\nAlthough Tarquinius was but a usurper, yet he did all that he could to\nimprove the kingdom over which he ruled.\n\nHe ordered great drains to be built, that the marshy valleys between\nthe hills of Rome might become healthier. He also built a large circus\nand a racecourse, to encourage the games of the people, and in course\nof time the Roman games became famous.\n\nIn the valley between the Capitoline hill and the Palatine hill the\nking then began to build the Forum, or market-place. Round the Forum he\nset up booths, where the trades-folk might carry on their business.\n\nMeanwhile, the subjects of Rome had become so numerous, that the king\nwished to increase the three tribes into which Romulus had divided his\npeople.\n\nBut a skilful augur, named Attius, forbade Tarquinius to alter what\nRomulus had consecrated with rites sacred to the gods.\n\nThe king could ill brook interference, and he mocked at the augur\u2019s\nwords in the Forum, where the people had assembled.\n\nThen, thinking to show that Attius was not really as wise as he was\nbelieved to be, he cried: \u2018Tell me, O Attius, can the thing of which I\nam thinking at this moment come to pass?\u2019\n\nThe augur, undisturbed by the mockery of the king, consulted the sacred\nbirds. Yes, the omens were good. The thought in the mind of the king\ncould be put into action.\n\nTarquinius pointed to a whetstone which lay before him, and said: \u2018Can\nyou then cut this whetstone in twain with a razor?\u2019\n\nUndismayed, Attius at once seized a razor, and with one stroke the\nstone was split in two.\n\nThen the king was afraid, and dared not disregard the wisdom of the\naugur. So the number of tribes ordained by Romulus was left unchanged.\n\nBut Tarquinius doubled the nobles in each tribe, and also increased the\ncompanies of knights.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI\n\nA SLAVE BECOMES A KING\n\n\nAmong the slaves of the king was a young boy named Servius Tullius. One\nday the lad fell fast asleep in the doorway of the palace.\n\nAs he slept, it chanced that Tanaquil, the queen, came out to walk in\nthe palace grounds. When she saw Servius she would have roused him,\nsave that a flame of fire was playing around his head, yet doing him no\nhurt.\n\nBut the attendants of the queen also saw this strange sight, and at\nonce rushed off in search of water with which to put out the flame.\n\nTanaquil, however, called to them to return, saying: \u2018Leave the lad to\nsleep. The flame will not injure him.\u2019\n\nThen, hastening back to the palace, she told the king what she had\nseen, adding: \u2018The gods have appointed Servius to great honour.\u2019\n\nFrom that day the boy was no longer treated as a slave, but as the\nking\u2019s son, and when he was older he was married to the daughter of\nTarquinius.\n\nLittle by little Servius Tullius was entrusted with the cares of State,\nwhile the Senate or elders of the people treated him as a prince.\n\nNow the sons of Ancus, from whom Tarquinius had stolen the crown, were\nindignant when they saw the former slave treated with more honour\nthan were they, and they grew afraid lest the king should appoint\nServius to succeed him. That this might not be, they determined to kill\nTarquinius.\n\nHiring two men, they bade them go kill the king, and they should be\nwell rewarded for their deed.\n\nSo the men disguised themselves as shepherds, and begged to be admitted\nto the presence of Tarquinius, that he might settle their dispute, for,\nso they pretended, they had quarrelled with one another while they\ntended their flocks.\n\nWhen they stood before the king one of the shepherds began to tell a\npiteous tale. While Tarquinius was listening, the other suddenly raised\nhis axe, and with one great blow killed the king. The false shepherds\nthen fled from the palace.\n\nBut the sons of Ancus had forgotten that Tanaquil was left to thwart\ntheir plans.\n\nNo sooner was the king slain, than she ordered the doors of the palace\nto be closed. Then, when the people heard it rumoured that the king\nwas dead and rushed to the palace, Tanaquil opened an upper window and\nspoke to the crowds below.\n\n\u2018The king is but wounded,\u2019 she told them, \u2018he is not dead. He has\ncommanded that you should obey Servius until he is again able to rule.\u2019\nBut all the while Tarquinius lay in the palace, dead.\n\nBut the people, loyal, as they thought, to the wishes of their king,\nallowed Servius to rule. And the sons of Ancus knew that they had\nkilled the king in vain.\n\nA few days later it was known that the king was really dead; yet,\nalthough neither the Senate nor the people had chosen Servius to be\nking, he continued to sit upon the throne and to rule over Rome.\nMoreover, he was wise enough to try to win the hearts of the people by\npromising to give them land and to rule justly.\n\nSo well did he perform his royal duties, that when he called together\nan assembly of the people he was at once elected king.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII\n\nTHE CRUEL DEED OF TULLIA\n\n\nServius Tullius began to reign in 578 B.C. Like Pompilius and Ancus, he\nloved peace, and fought against none, save only the Etruscans.\n\nWith the Latins he made a treaty, after which the two tribes built a\ntemple to Diana on the Aventine hill, and here every year sacrifices\nwere offered for Rome and for Latium.\n\nThe city which Romulus had built on the Palatine had long ago become\ntoo small for the Romans. Little by little, cities had grown up on\nthe neighbouring hills, and now Servius was able to enclose all the\nseven hills of Rome within the city, building around her a great wall\nof stone. This wall was called after the king the \u2018Servian Wall,\u2019 and\nso strongly was it built that it was still standing in the days of\nAugustus. Beyond the wall a deep moat was then dug, a hundred feet in\nbreadth.\n\nHaving thus strengthened the city, Servius divided it into four\nregions, while the people were arranged in numerous tribes.\n\nShould a citizen be wanted to appear before the king or the Senate, it\nwas then an easy task to find the tribe to which he belonged and the\nregion in which he dwelt.\n\nServius also made a law which pleased the Romans well, called an\nordinance of the king.\n\nThis ordinance forbade the nobles to oppress the poor. It also decreed\nthat, however lowly the birth of a Roman citizen, if he became rich he\nmight hold positions of power in the State. This encouraged the poor\nman to be industrious, for if he could but gain wealth there was no\nambition which he might not be able to satisfy.\n\nBut while the ordinance pleased the common people, it displeased the\nnobles, who had no wish to see the plebeians raised to positions which\nuntil now had been sacred to them and to their sons. They bore Servius\nno good will for passing this new law.\n\nTrouble, too, was threatening the king through his two daughters, both\nof whom, as the Roman custom was, were named Tullia.\n\nBut although their names were the same, their natures were as different\nas summer is different from winter.\n\nTullia, the elder, was wicked and ambitious; Tullia, the younger, good\nand gentle.\n\nServius determined to marry his daughters to the sons of King\nTarquinius, whose kindness had placed him on the throne.\n\nThe princes, as the princesses, were of strangely different natures.\nLucius was proud, his temper violent; while Aruns was humble and\ngood-natured.\n\nNow the king thought that if the gentle Tullia married Lucius, he would\nbecome a better man; while he hoped that if his ambitious daughter\nmarried Aruns she would learn from him the grace of humility.\n\nBut Servius made a great mistake when he married his daughters. For\nbefore long Lucius hated his quiet wife, and killed both her and his\nbrother Aruns, so that he and Tullia the elder might be free to marry\neach other.\n\nNo sooner had Lucius Tarquinius married Tullia, than, encouraged by\nher, he joined the discontented nobles, who hated Servius.\n\nDay by day Lucius grew more bold, more rude to Servius, and at length\nhe put on the royal robes and sat on the king\u2019s seat in the Senate\nhouse, unrebuked by the nobles.\n\nServius was now no longer young, but when he heard how Lucius had\ndared to behave he went at once to the door of the Senate house, and\nbade the prince come down from the throne, and lay aside the royal\nrobes.\n\nBut Lucius paid no heed to the king\u2019s command. Then, as the king\nrepeated his words, Lucius seized the old man and flung him down the\nstone steps of the Senate house.\n\nServius, bruised and dazed by his fall, yet struggled to his feet, and\nslowly turned away toward the palace.\n\nLucius dared not let the king live now that he had defied him. So,\nsending his servants after Servius, he bade them kill the old man.\n\nIt was easy to overtake him, and the fellows soon slew their king,\nleaving his body lying in the middle of the street.\n\nWhen Tullia heard what her husband had done, she had no grief to spare\nfor her father\u2019s cruel death. She ordered her chariot, and drove\nquickly to the Forum to greet her husband as king.\n\nBut Lucius did not wish the people to see the triumph of his wife, and\nhe sternly bade her go home.\n\nTullia obeyed, heedless of his anger. She had room in her heart for\nonly one thought. Lucius was king, and she, she was queen.\n\nSo full was her mind of the new honours that would now be hers, that\nher chariot had reached the street where the dead body of her father\nlay before she was aware. The driver drew up his horses sharply, seeing\nhis murdered king lying across his path.\n\nBut Tullia angrily bade him drive on, and as he obeyed, her robe was\nstained with her father\u2019s blood. The street was ever after called the\nVia Scelerata, or the Way of Crime.\n\nLucius showed no shame for the murder of the king, and haughtily\nrefused to allow his body to be buried with the usual rites.\n\nAnd because of his pride the new king was named Tarquinius Superbus or\nTarquin the Proud.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII\n\nTHE FATE OF THE TOWN OF GABII\n\n\nTarquin, having killed Servius, seized the throne, and began his reign\nby condemning to death the chief senators who had supported the old\nking. He also ordered the tablets, on which Servius had written many\nwise and good laws, to be destroyed. Refusing to summon the Senate,\nTarquin then attempted to rule alone.\n\nHis cruelty was so great that he was soon hated both by rich and poor.\nBefore many months had passed he was forced to surround himself with a\nbodyguard, lest he should be slain by those whom he had ruined. For, in\norder to grow rich, he imposed heavy fines on the wealthy, sometimes\ndriving the nobles into exile that he might take possession of their\ngoods. If they ventured to remonstrate, Tarquin did not hesitate to put\nthem to death that he might seize their money.\n\nAs for the poor people, he forced them to work so hard that they were\nmore like slaves than freemen. Often in despair they escaped from the\nking\u2019s cruelty by killing themselves.\n\nAfter he had crushed the spirit of his subjects, Tarquin went to war\nwith the Latins, conquering many of their cities, and even enrolling\nsome of his prisoners in the Roman legions.\n\nOne ancient Latin town determined to resist the cruel king. Gabii, for\nthis was the name of the brave little town, even opened its gates to\nthe nobles who had been exiled from Rome.\n\nIn vain Tarquin sent legion after legion against the city. Its\ndefenders still defied him, fighting with all their strength so as to\nprotect their homes from the cruel hands of Tarquin the Proud.\n\nSince he could not take the town by force, the king resolved to take it\nby treachery, and in this resolve he was aided by his son Sextus.\n\nSextus, pretending that he had been forced to leave Rome by his\nfather\u2019s cruelty, fled to Gabii. Telling the citizens a piteous tale,\nhe showed them his back, bare and bleeding from stripes, and begged to\nbe taken into the town that his father might not capture him.\n\nThe citizens did not find it difficult to believe that the tyrant had\nill-used his son, and they willingly opened their gates to the prince.\nAnd not only did they give him shelter, but, so great was their trust,\nthat before long they gave him command of a company of soldiers.\n\nOne day a Roman legion was seen marching toward the city. Sextus at\nonce led his soldiers against it, and, instructed secretly by Tarquin,\nthe Romans fled before the prince.\n\nThis made the men of Gabii still more sure that they could trust\nSextus, so they foolishly gave to him the chief command of the defences\nof the town.\n\nThen Sextus sent in triumph to his father to know what he should do.\n\nTarquin the Proud was walking in his garden when his son\u2019s messenger\narrived, and he listened in silence to his words. But he still walked\nup and down the garden paths, switching off with his stick the heads of\nthe tallest poppies in the flower-beds. Then, still without a word, he\nsent the messenger back to Gabii.\n\nBut when Sextus heard of the fate of the poppies, he needed no words to\nexplain his father\u2019s silence. He knew as well as if the king had spoken\nthat as the tallest poppies had been beheaded, so he was to behead the\nleading nobles in Gabii.\n\nThe citizens knew nothing of what had happened in the king\u2019s flower\ngarden, so they were startled and dismayed when, day after day,\nSextus accused one and another of their nobles of crime or treason,\nand ordered them to be put to death. The prince then completed his\ntreachery by delivering the town into the hands of the king.\n\nTarquin\u2019s next victory was over the Volscians, a powerful tribe which\ndwelt south of Latium. After plundering one of their richest towns, he\ndetermined with his new-found wealth to finish the great temple on the\nCapitoline hill, which had been begun by his father Lucius Tarquinius.\n\nHe adorned Rome with many other beautiful buildings, and ordered\nthe great sewers, also begun by his father, to be finished. He then\ncompleted the Forum, or market-place. In the Forum the people bought\nand sold, and here also were held the great assemblies of the people.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX\n\nTHE BOOKS OF THE SIBYL\n\n\nOne day, when Tarquin the Proud was at the height of his power, a woman\ncame to the city and demanded to see the king. She was a stranger, and\ncarried in her arms nine books.\n\nWhen she was brought before the king she asked him to buy the books,\ntelling him that they were the sacred prophecies of the inspired Sibyl\nof Cum\u00e6. Cum\u00e6 was in the Campania, and was the most ancient of the\nGreek towns in Italy. The prophecies were written on loose leaves, and\nin them, said the strange woman, the king would read the destiny of\nRome, and how to fulfil it.\n\nBut the stranger asked so large a sum of money for the nine books that\nthe king laughed and refused to buy.\n\nQuietly, before the king\u2019s eyes the woman burned three of the nine\nbooks. Then, turning to him again, she offered the six books for the\nsame price as she had before demanded for the nine.\n\nTarquin laughed still more scornfully, and refused to buy the six as he\nhad already refused to buy the nine books.\n\nQuietly as before the woman burned three more books before the eyes of\nthe king. Then turning to him she offered the three books that were\nleft for the same sum.\n\nThen the king laughed no more. He began to wonder if perhaps the gods\nhad sent the books to Rome. So he consulted the augurs, and by their\nadvice he now bought the three books for the sum which would have\nbought the nine.\n\n[Illustration: She carried in her arms nine books.]\n\nThe strange woman, having done her work, disappeared and was seen no\nmore, while the books were put in a chest and kept in the Capitol,\nwhich was now complete.\n\nTwo Greeks were appointed to guard the Sibylline books, for they were\nwritten in the Greek language. And ever when death, pestilence, or\nwar threatened the city, the books were consulted by the augurs, if\nperchance Rome might be saved from destruction.\n\nMany years after the reign of Tarquin the Capitol was burned, and the\nsacred books were destroyed in the fire.\n\nTo the Romans the loss of the books was a greater blow than even the\ndestruction of the Capitol.\n\nThe Senate sent ambassadors to Greece and to Asia Minor to beseech\nthe sibyls there to find fresh oracles, that calamity might still be\naverted from Rome.\n\nAnd the ambassadors were successful, for when they returned they\nbrought with them new scrolls, which, when a new Capitol was built,\nwere placed within its sacred precincts.\n\nDuring the reign of Augustus, the oracles were removed to the temple of\nApollo, which stood on Mount Palatine.\n\nBut long after the time of Augustus, in A.D. 400, they were burned in\npublic by a famous Roman, for he was a Christian, and cared little for\nthe ancient oracles, believing them to be but a useless relic of the\nold pagan days.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XX\n\nTHE INDUSTRY OF LUCRETIA\n\n\nAs the years passed, Tarquin was disturbed by terrible dreams. The evil\ndeeds he had done came back to his memory, and haunted him by day and\nby night. Even in the temples of the gods he could find no rest from\nhis fears.\n\nOne day, as sacrifices were being offered, the king saw a serpent\nstealing down a wooden pillar. Fascinated, he watched as it dropped\nslowly on to the altar and devoured the sacrifice. His fear told him\nthat this was a bad omen, and, thoroughly alarmed, Tarquin determined\nto consult the Greek oracle at Delphi, for this oracle was famous not\nonly in Greece, but throughout the world.\n\nSo he sent his two sons, Titus and Aruns, to Delphi. With them went the\nking\u2019s nephew, named Junius, but called Brutus because he was believed\nto be stupid. But Brutus only pretended to be stupid so that his uncle\nwould not trouble to do him harm.\n\nWhen the princes reached the dwelling of the priestess, the king\u2019s sons\noffered her valuable gifts, while Brutus gave to her only a simple\nstaff. His cousins mocked at Brutus as they were used to do, for a\npriestess would not care for so poor a gift, they were sure. But Brutus\nwas wiser than they deemed, for the staff had been made hollow, and\nthen had been filled with gold.\n\nAs the king had bidden, the young princes asked the oracle the meaning\nof the serpent that had devoured the sacrifice on the altar.\n\nIt was indeed an evil omen. \u2018The fall of Tarquin is at hand,\u2019 was the\nsinister answer they received.\n\n\u2018Which of us shall reign after him?\u2019 demanded the king\u2019s sons with\nunseemly eagerness.\n\n\u2018He who shall first kiss his mother,\u2019 responded the oracle.\n\nThen the two princes cast lots to determine which of them should greet\ntheir mother first on their return.\n\nBut Brutus guessed that the words of the oracle had a deeper meaning.\n\nAs he left the Delphic temple, he pretended to slip, and falling to the\nground, he secretly kissed the Earth, knowing that she was the mother\nof all men.\n\nWhen the princes returned the king was at war, besieging Ardea, a town\nin Latium. It seemed that he had forgotten his fears, nor does the\nstory tell what he thought of the answer of the oracle.\n\nMeanwhile the siege of Ardea dragged on month after month, so bravely\ndid the inhabitants defend their town.\n\nIn the Roman camp, Prince Sextus and a noble named Collatinus one day\nwhiled away the hours by wondering what their wives were doing. Each\nboasted that his wife was the more diligent and the more modest of the\ntwo women.\n\nAt length one of their friends idly suggested that Sextus and\nCollatinus should ride to their homes and find out how their wives were\nemployed.\n\nSo the two officers, accompanied by their friends, ordered their\nhorses, and rode first of all to Rome.\n\nHere they found the wife of Sextus at a banquet, where she was dancing\ngaily, the merriest of all the merry throng.\n\nIt was late when they reached Collatia, where they found Lucretia, the\nwife of Collatinus, still busy with her maidens at the spinning-wheel.\n\nThe whole company agreed that of the two wives Lucretia deserved the\ngreater praise. Then the frolic being over, the prince and his friends\nrode back to camp.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI\n\nTHE DEATH OF LUCRETIA\n\n\nThe idle suggestion that had made Sextus and Collatinus ride from the\ncamp to Rome and Collatia led to terrible disaster.\n\nSextus, having seen how wise and beautiful Lucretia was, wished to win\nher from her husband; and one day, leaving the camp, he again rode to\nCollatia, but this time he rode alone.\n\nLucretia, believing the prince was her husband\u2019s friend, received him\nwith fitting hospitality when he arrived at her house, hot and tired\nafter his ride. But when she found that he was not a true friend to\nCollatinus she was no longer kind. Then the prince grew angry, and\ntreated Lucretia so cruelly that she knew she could never again be\nhappy.\n\nThe next day she clad herself in black, and sent messengers to her\nfather and her husband, bidding them come to Collatia with all possible\nspeed.\n\nWhen they arrived, she told them how Sextus had treated her, and making\nthem swear to avenge her wrongs, she plunged a dagger into her heart\nand died.\n\nBrutus, the king\u2019s nephew, had ridden from the camp with Collatinus,\nand he, too, swore to avenge Lucretia, and to see that never more\nshould any of the race of Tarquin sit upon the throne of Rome.\n\nThis oath was also taken by the husband and father of Lucretia, as well\nas by two brave Romans named Publius Valerius and Spurius Lucretius.\n\nThe dead body of the Roman matron was carried to the market-place, and\nwhen the people were told what had happened, they broke out into loud\ncries, and mourned for her sad fate.\n\nBrutus then hastened to Rome to tell the terrible tale. In the Forum,\namid the assembled people, his voice rang out clear and fearless as he\nreminded them of the crimes of Tarquin the Proud, and denounced the\nking and his son Sextus.\n\n\u2018Will you suffer such a tyrant or any of his race to rule longer over\nyou, O Romans?\u2019 demanded Brutus sternly. And the people in a storm of\nindignation shouted \u2018No.\u2019\n\nThe Romans were in earnest. An army was at once enrolled, and, led by\nBrutus, set out to attack the king at Ardea.\n\nTullia, the queen, meanwhile, startled by the tumult in the Forum, fled\nfrom the palace. As her chariot drove along the streets the people\nmuttered curses, calling down upon her the vengeance of her murdered\nfather.\n\nRumours had already reached the camp that Rome was in revolt, and\nTarquin at once marched to the city with a division of his army to\npunish the rebels.\n\nBrutus, on his way to Ardea, took care to avoid the king. He had\ndetermined to win over the army that was left before the besieged town.\n\nWhen he reached the camp, he quickly roused the soldiers by the tale of\nLucretia\u2019s wrongs.\n\nThey swore never again to own Tarquin or any of his race as king, and\nat once prepared to march to Rome.\n\nMeanwhile, the king had reached the city only to find the gates closed,\nand the citizens, stern and resolute, manning the walls. No threats, no\npromises would make them open to the king whom they had determined to\ndethrone.\n\nTarquin, knowing that if he lingered he would have to face the army led\nby Brutus, turned away from the city and hastened to seek refuge in\nEtruria.\n\nThe Romans, having thus expelled their king, appointed a day to be\ncelebrated as the Feast of Flight, or the Feast of the Expulsion of the\nKings. This feast was held each year on the 24th February.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXII\n\nTHE SONS OF BRUTUS\n\n\nAfter Tarquin the Proud had been driven away from Rome, the people\ndetermined that they would never again be ruled by kings.\n\nThey resolved to follow the wise laws of Servius, who had bidden them\nchoose each year two men to rule, giving them equal power, the right to\nmake laws, and to see that justice was done in the land.\n\nThe two men, chosen by the Senate and the people, were called Consuls.\n\nIn token of his office, each Consul had at his command six men, named\nlictors.\n\nWhen a Consul went into the Forum or into the street, he was preceded\nby his lictors, who carried, as a sign of their master\u2019s power, rods to\nchastise and an axe to kill.\n\nRome had now become a Republic, and the first Consuls to be elected\nwere Brutus and Collatinus.\n\nBut if the Romans expected Tarquin to make no effort to recover his\nthrone, they soon discovered their mistake.\n\nBefore long, the king sent messengers to Rome to ask that his own\nprivate possessions might be sent to him, and to this simple request\nthe Senate and the people agreed.\n\nAs perhaps the Romans might have suspected, Tarquin had another reason\nfor sending to Rome than the one his messengers carried to the Senate.\nHe knew that among the younger patricians were many who wished to place\nhim again upon the throne, and his messengers had come to talk secretly\nwith these nobles. They even hoped to arrange the best time for the\nking\u2019s return.\n\nBut as the conspirators talked together, a slave chanced to overhear\nwhat they said, and he at once went to the Consuls and told them of the\ndanger that threatened the city.\n\nThe conspirators were immediately seized and thrown into prison, while\nthe slave was set free and made a citizen of Rome.\n\nAmong the prisoners were Titus and Tiberius, the sons of Brutus.\n\nThe brave Consul was dismayed to learn that his sons, whom he loved\nwell, had been guilty of treason. How could he bear to pronounce\njudgment upon them as upon other traitors?\n\nYet soon he thrust aside his weakness. A true Roman must love his\ncountry better even than his own children.\n\nSo when the conspirators were brought before him he did not flinch.\nWith stern, set face he condemned Titus and Tiberius to death along\nwith the other traitors, nor did he stoop to ask the people to show\nmercy to his sons.\n\nThe young men were bound to the stake before his eyes, after which the\nlictors beat them with rods and then cut off their heads with the axe.\n\nSo angry were the Senate and the people with Tarquin for attempting to\nplot against the Republic, that they now refused to send to him his\npossessions. And not only so, but they divided his goods among the\npeople, while the field between the city and the Tiber which Tarquin\nhad sown with corn was destroyed, the corn cut down and thrown into the\nriver. The angry citizens then dedicated the field to the god Mars, and\nhenceforth it was known as the Field of Mars.\n\nThe Senate then made a law banishing for ever from Rome all who bore\nthe hated name of Tarquin.\n\nSo Collatinus, whose other name was Tarquinius, resigned his Consulship\nand left the city in obedience to the law. And this he did, although he\nwas the friend of Brutus, and hated the exiled king.\n\nValerius was then chosen Consul in his stead.\n\nMeanwhile, Tarquin was full of wrath because he had not been able\nto enter Rome by craft, and he went to Etruria, and persuaded the\nEtruscans to help him to recover his throne.\n\nBut when the Etruscans proclaimed war against Rome, Brutus gathered\ntogether an army and led it against the enemy.\n\nClose to a wood the battle raged. Aruns, one of Tarquin\u2019s sons, saw\nBrutus at the head of the Roman army, wearing the royal robes which he\nconsidered belonged to his house alone. In sudden fury he put spurs to\nhis horse, and with his spear ready dashed toward his enemy.\n\nBrutus saw Aruns drawing near, and he also spurred his horse forward\nand couched his spear.\n\nOnward flew the two warriors until at length they met. Then each,\npierced by the other\u2019s spear, fell from his horse and moved no more.\n\nAll day the battle raged, and still when night fell the victory was\nuncertain.\n\nBut, during the night, while both armies were encamped on the\nbattlefield, a loud voice was heard coming from the direction of the\nwood.\n\nIt was Silvanus, the god of the wood, who was speaking. \u2018The victory\nbelongs to the Romans,\u2019 said the god, \u2018for they have slain one more\nthan their enemy.\u2019\n\nObedient to the voice of Silvanus, the Etruscans on the following\nmorning withdrew their army, while the Romans marched back to Rome.\n\nIn spite of their victory they were sad, for they carried with them the\ndead body of their leader.\n\nBrutus was mourned by all the people. But the Roman matrons lamented\nmore than others, setting aside a whole year in which to grieve for his\ndeath, because he had so bravely avenged the matron Lucretia.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIII\n\nHORATIUS COCLES, OR THE ONE-EYED\n\n\nAfter the death of Brutus, Valerius ruled alone. But he soon displeased\nthe people, for they thought that he behaved too much as though he were\na king.\n\nThe Consul had indeed built himself a beautiful house, from the windows\nof which, had he wished, he could look down into the Forum.\n\nWhen he walked from his house to the market-place, Valerius, it was\ntrue, was preceded by six lictors, bearing rods and axes, but this was\na dignity accorded to the Consuls by the people themselves.\n\nValerius had in truth no wish to spy upon the people as they feared,\nnor did he try to use his authority unjustly.\n\nYet the people grumbled, and grew restless and suspicious, until at\nlength the Consul heard that he had displeased them.\n\nValerius was not angry with the foolish citizens, but he resolved to\nmake them ashamed of their groundless suspicions.\n\nSo one evening, when it was dark, he sent for workmen and ordered them\nto pull his beautiful house to pieces.\n\nWhen morning dawned, the people, gazing upward from the Forum to the\nConsul\u2019s house, were startled. What could have happened? There was no\nlonger any house to be seen.\n\nIt was not for some time that they learned that it was their foolish\nsuspicions that had caused the Consul to destroy his house.\n\nThen, fickle as the Roman crowd always was, it changed its mind and\nhung its head, ashamed of the destruction it had caused.\n\nBut Valerius not only made the citizens ashamed of their suspicions, he\nmade them love him for his humility.\n\nWhen he came into the Forum, the Consul now ordered his lictors to\ncarry the rods and axes in two separate bundles, while the axes were\nfrom this time always lowered when he entered the Senate-house, or\nstood before the assembly of the people.\n\nValerius also made a law that pleased the Romans well.\n\nWhen a Roman was condemned to death by a magistrate, the Consul decreed\nthat he should have the right to appeal to the people against the\nsentence. This, you remember, was what Horatius had done when he was\ncondemned to death for slaying his sister.\n\nSo completely had the Consul endeared himself to the Romans that they\nnow called him Poplicola, or the Lover of the People.\n\nMeanwhile, Tarquin the Proud had enlisted the aid of a powerful king,\nnamed Lars Porsenna.\n\nThis king now sent to Rome, bidding the people open their gates to\nTarquin. When they refused, he at once marched against the city with a\ngreat army.\n\nThe Romans increased the guard and strengthened the forts on the\nJaniculum hill. At all costs the enemy must be prevented from crossing\nthe Tiber by the wooden bridge that joined the hill to the city itself.\n\nSlaves, cattle, goods--all were brought from the surrounding country,\neither within the walls of the city, or into forts without.\n\nBut in spite of all the Romans could do, Lars Porsenna reached the\nJaniculum, and storming the heights, drove the Roman soldiers down the\nhill toward the river. His men pursued the fugitives, who seemed to\nthink of nothing save their own safety.\n\nIf the enemy was not to enter the city, the bridge must be defended\nuntil the Roman soldiers on the other side of the river had cut through\nthe beams that supported it.\n\nThen, as the enemy drew near and ever nearer to the bank of the river,\na brave Roman, named Horatius Cocles, or Horatius the One-Eyed, whose\ncountry was dearer to him than life itself, cried to the Consul right\nmanfully:--\n\n \u2018\u201cHew down the bridge, Sir Consul,\n With all the speed ye may:\n I, with two more to help me,\n Will hold the foe in play.\n In yon strait path a thousand\n May well be stopped by three.\n Now, who will stand on either hand,\n And keep the bridge with me?\u2019\n\nThere were not lacking Romans to answer the brave challenge:--\n\n \u2018\u201cLo, I will stand at thy right hand,\n And keep the bridge with thee,\u201d\u2019\n\ncried Spurius Lartius, one of Rome\u2019s strongest warriors, while the\nvoice of another brave soldier, named Herminius, rang out clear above\nthe noise of arms:--\n\n \u2018\u201cI will abide on thy left side,\n And keep the bridge with thee,\u201d\n For Romans in Rome\u2019s quarrel\n Spared neither land nor gold,\n Nor son, nor wife, nor limb, nor life,\n In the brave days of old.\u2019\n\nFully armed, the three brave men sprang to the end of the bridge\nfarthest from the city, and flung defiance at Lars Porsenna and his\ngreat army.\n\nThe king and his army, seeing but three stalwart warriors, laughed them\nto scorn, yet ere long their scorn gave way to amazement.\n\nBefore the missiles hurled upon them, before the fiercest\nsword-thrusts, Horatius and his comrades stood dauntless and unafraid,\nwhile at their feet rose a ghastly heap of those the brave Romans slew.\n\nAnd while they held the bridge thus resolutely, behind them fell the\nblows of mighty axes, loosening the great beams that held the bridge\nsecure.\n\nSoon the axes had done their work. The bridge began to totter, to sway,\nand the Romans shouted to the noble three to come back ere the bridge\ngave way.\n\nAt the call, Lartius and Herminius turned and darted swiftly across the\nswaying planks.\n\nBut Horatius stayed behind. Not till the bridge fell into the river\nwould he stir from his post.\n\nThen, with a mighty crash the bridge gave way, and fell into the\nrushing torrent beneath.\n\nHoratius, separated from his friends, stood alone, facing thirty\nthousand of the foe. Behind him tossed the broad surging river.\n\n \u2018\u201cDown with him,\u201d cried false Sextus,\n With a smile on his pale face.\n \u201cNow yield thee,\u201d cried Lars Porsena,\n \u201cNow yield thee to our grace.\u201d\n\n \u2018Round turned he, as not deigning\n Those craven ranks to see,\n Nought spake he to Lars Porsena,\n To Sextus naught spake he;\n But he saw on Palatinus\n The white porch of his home;\n And he spake to the noble river\n That rolls by the towers of Rome.\n\n \u2018\u201cO Tiber! father Tiber!\n To whom the Romans pray,\n A Roman\u2019s life, a Roman\u2019s arms,\n Take thou in charge this day!\u201d\n So he spake, and speaking sheathed\n The good sword by his side,\n And with his harness on his back,\n Plunged headlong in the tide.\u2019\n\nNot a sound was heard from either bank as Horatius, wounded and\nbleeding, disappeared in the flood.\n\nThen the enemy, furious that it had allowed the great warrior to\nescape, hurled its spears after him.\n\nBut not one reached the bold swimmer, who, weighed down by his armour\nand weakened by his wounds, often sank, yet ever rose again and\nstruggled onwards.\n\nAt length he reached the bank, where eager hands were waiting to draw\nhim up into safety.\n\nWhen the Romans saw that their hero was safe indeed, although exhausted\nwith his efforts, a mighty shout of triumph rent the air.\n\nHoratius was rewarded for his brave deed by the Senate, who gave him as\nmuch land as he could plough in a day, while in later days a monument\nwas erected in memory of his prowess and placed in the Comitium. The\nComitium was near to the Forum, and was sometimes counted as part of\nit.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIV\n\nGAIUS MUCIUS BURNS HIS RIGHT HAND\n\n\nLars Porsenna had been repulsed, but he had not been defeated. He now\nbesieged Rome so closely, that the people were soon suffering all the\nhorrors of famine.\n\nThen a youth, named Gaius Mucius, determined to save Rome by killing\nLars Porsenna.\n\nGaining the consent of the Senate to his scheme, he disguised himself\nas a countryman, and found his way into the camp of the enemy. Beneath\nthe folds of his simple dress, Mucius had concealed a dagger.\n\nIt had been easy to enter the camp, but now the lad was in a difficult\nposition, for he did not know the king, nor did he dare to ask any one\nto point him out.\n\nBut seeing a courtier wearing a purple robe and distributing money to\nthe soldiers, he believed he had found him. Drawing near, he stealthily\ndrew his dagger and stabbed--not Lars Porsenna, but his treasurer.\n\nBefore he had time to escape, Mucius was seized and taken before the\nking.\n\nThe king threatened the young noble with torture, even with death,\nin order to make him reveal the condition of the Roman army. But\nMucius thrust his right hand into a flame that was alight on an altar\nbeside him, and held it there until it was burned to ashes. This he\ndid without flinching, that Lars Porsenna might see that he feared no\ntorture. As for death, when it came, he would bear it as a Roman should.\n\nBut the king, amazed at the courage of the youth, forgot his anger, and\nbade him return unharmed to Rome.\n\nThen Mucius, touched by the kindness of the king, told him that three\nhundred Roman youths had sworn to take his life, and would not rest\nuntil one of them had succeeded in doing so.\n\nLars Porsenna was a wise king. He listened to the warning given to him\nby Mucius, and offered terms to the starving city, promising if they\nwere accepted to withdraw with his army. But the terms were hard, for\nthe king demanded that Tarquin\u2019s possessions should be sent to him,\nthat the Romans should give up all their dominions on the right bank of\nthe Tiber, that they should not use iron save to cultivate the ground,\nand that ten noble youths and maidens should be sent to him as hostages.\n\nWith starvation staring them in the face, the Romans were forced to\nagree to these terms, and the hostages that he had demanded were sent\nto the king as a pledge of good faith.\n\nAmong the hostages was a noble maiden named Cl\u0153lia. In the Etruscan\ncamp she pined for the freedom of her own home, for the joy of seeing\nher own friends, and at length she determined to escape.\n\nSo one night, when it grew dark, she slipped out of the camp unnoticed,\nand found her way to the edge of the river.\n\nWithout hesitation she plunged into the water and swam across to the\nother side--to home, to freedom.\n\nBut a sad disappointment was in store for the maiden. The Romans\nrefused to allow her to stay in Rome, for although they admired her\ncourage, their treaty with Lars Porsenna must be kept.\n\nSo poor Cl\u0153lia was sent back to the king. But he, pleased that the\nRomans had behaved so honourably, set Cl\u0153lia free, and allowed her to\ntake many of the other hostages back with her to Rome.\n\nSoon after this, Lars Porsenna refused to help Tarquin the Proud any\nlonger, and breaking up his camp on the Janiculum he went back to his\nown country. His tents, which were full of corn and provisions, he\ngave to the starving city.\n\nSo grateful were the Romans for the food that they rewarded Lars\nPorsenna with royal gifts--a throne and sceptre of ivory, a golden\ncrown, and a purple robe.\n\nAnd these gifts the king well deserved, for he had proved a generous\nfoe.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXV\n\nTHE DIVINE TWINS\n\n\nTarquin the Proud was an old man now, but he was not yet ready to\nbelieve that he would never again reign in Rome.\n\nOnce more he prepared for battle, invoking the aid of the Latins, for\nhe believed that the Romans would quail before this fierce and warlike\npeople.\n\nThe Romans did not quail, but they knew that they would need brave\nmen to lead their army. So they appointed a Dictator, who was to have\nsupreme command of the army and power as though he was king in Rome,\nfor six months.\n\nAulus Postumius was the name of the Roman who was chosen for this great\ntrust.\n\nTarquin, his cruel son Sextus, and a band of Roman exiles marched to\nthe battlefield, near Lake Regillus in the region of Tusculum. With\nthem was their ally the King of the Latins, leading a great army.\n\nThe Romans, with Aulus at their head, advanced against the foe, and a\ngreat battle was fought.\n\nValerius, the Consul was on the field, and when he saw Sextus anger\nfilled his heart, and he dashed forward to slay him. But the prince\nretreated, and Valerius followed until he was drawn into the lines of\nthe enemy, and perished by the thrust of a spear.\n\nFiercely as the Romans fought, the day began to go against them. Then\nAulus vowed that he would build a temple to the twin brothers, Castor\nand Pollux, if they would but come to his aid and give to the Romans\nvictory.\n\nScarcely had the Dictator ended his prayer, when lo! two youths of more\nthan human height and majesty appeared, clad in shining armour, and\nriding upon white horses.\n\nGoing to the head of the army, they led it afresh against the Latins.\n\nThe enemy, terrified by the splendour of the strangers, and startled at\nthe suddenness of the new attack, were seized with panic, and fled.\n\nOn rushed the Romans in pursuit of the foe, on until they reached the\ncamp of the Latins, which the strange horsemen were the first to enter.\n\nThe Latin army was now in utter confusion, while a great victory had\nbeen won by the Romans.\n\nAulus wished to reward the strangers to whom the victory was really\ndue, but they were nowhere to be seen. Neither in the field nor in the\ncamp was there any trace of the riders or their steeds.\n\nBut in Rome, where old men and women awaited, with anxious hearts, news\nof the battle, there appeared in the Forum, as the sun went down, two\nhorsemen. They were mounted on pure white steeds, and they themselves\nwere \u2018exceeding beautiful and tall above the stature of men.\u2019 But they\nbore upon them the stains of battle.\n\nWhen they reached the spring that rises close to the temple of Vesta,\nthey dismounted, and washed the foam from their horses, the stains from\ntheir clothes.\n\nMen and women crowded around the strangers, eager to hear their\ntidings. Then the brothers told them of the glorious victory that had\nbeen won, after which they mounted their white steeds, and riding away,\nwere seen no more.\n\nWhen the Dictator returned to Rome, he told how he had prayed to the\nDivine Twins Castor and Pollux, and how he believed that they had\nindeed come to his aid.\n\nMoreover, he was sure that it was they who had ridden to Rome with more\nthan mortal speed to tell of the victory that had been won.\n\nThen Aulus, with a glad heart, began to build the temple he had vowed\nto the Divine Twins, and the Romans kept a festival each year in honour\nof Castor and Pollux.\n\nAt this festival, sacrifices were offered in the temple, while a solemn\nprocession of knights, clad in purple and crowned with olive, rode from\nthe temple of Mars without the city wall to the temple dedicated by the\nDictator to the Divine Twins. This temple is now being excavated in the\nForum of Rome.\n\nThe Latins, after their defeat, refused any longer to fight for\nTarquin, while they hastened to make peace with his enemies.\n\nAlone and childless, for Sextus had fallen in battle, Tarquin went away\nto Cum\u00e6, and there he, the last of the Kings of Rome, died.\n\nSoon after this, Rome regained her dominions on the right bank of the\nTiber. She had already ceased to regard the treaty which had forbidden\nher the use of arms.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVI\n\nTHE TRIBUNES\n\n\nThe people of Rome were divided into two great classes, the patricians\nor nobles, the plebeians or common people.\n\nAfter the death of Tarquin the Proud, the patricians began to oppress\nthe plebeians even more than they had done in the time of the kings.\n\nSometimes the poor were forced to borrow from the rich, and the rich,\nalthough they lent their money, demanded such heavy interest that the\nplebeians were often unable to pay their debts.\n\nThen the patricians swept down upon the miserable debtors, drove their\nwives and children from their home, and carried them away to work as\nbondsmen.\n\nWhen at any time war threatened Rome, the plebeians were called on to\nfight, and while they were at war their fields lay untilled, unless\nthey hired labourers to work in them. In either case the plebeians\nsuffered. Did they hire labourers, they must borrow money from the\npatricians to pay them. Did they leave their fields untilled, they\nmusts borrow money to buy food and seed.\n\nDriven at length to desperation, the plebeians rose against their\noppressors, and at the very time that a hostile army was marching\nagainst Rome, they left the city, and encamped on a hill near the river\nAnio, about three miles away. Here they determined to build a city for\nthemselves.\n\nBut the patricians could not hope to hold Rome against the approaching\nfoe without the help of the plebeians. So the Senate sent a messenger\nto the \u2018seceders,\u2019 offering terms of peace and protection from the\npatricians, if they would return to Rome to fight against the common\nenemy.\n\nThe plebeians agreed to go back to the city, and for a time, at least,\nthe patrician magistrates ceased to treat them unjustly.\n\nTo make them more secure, the plebeians were now, in 493 B.C., allowed\nto elect two magistrates of their own, who were to be called tribunes.\n\nAs the patricians were able to appeal to the Consuls, so the plebeians\ncould now appeal to their tribunes against unjust treatment.\n\nThe tribunes were elected for one year, and during that year they were\nobliged to live in Rome, while their doors were to stand open day and\nnight, that the plebeians might claim their protection at any hour.\n\nThis new law was made a sacred law, and the hill on which the seceders\nhad encamped was named the Sacred Hill.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVII\n\nCORIOLANUS AND HIS MOTHER VETURIA\n\n\nMany legends are told of the wars which the Romans now waged with a\nfierce tribe named the Volscians.\n\nNone, perhaps, is so well known as the story I am going to tell you of\nGaius Marcius, who was named Coriolanus.\n\nMarcius was only a lad of seventeen years of age when he fought in the\ngreat battle of Lake Regillus. For his courage in saving the life of a\ncomrade on the battlefield he was crowned with a wreath of oak leaves,\nas was the Roman custom.\n\nThe young lad loved his mother Veturia well. When the battle was over,\nhis first thought was to hasten to show her the wreath that his valour\nhad gained, for he had no greater joy than to please her.\n\nWhen the Romans went to war with the Volscians, Marcius was with the\narmy which was besieging Corioli, their capital town.\n\nOne day, the defenders of the city, seeing that part of the Roman army\nhad withdrawn from the walls, determined to venture out to attack those\nsoldiers who remained.\n\nSo fierce was their onslaught, that the Romans began to give way.\n\nMarcius, who was some distance off, saw what had happened, and with\nonly a few followers rushed to the aid of his comrades, at the same\ntime calling in a loud voice to those who were retreating to follow him.\n\nEncouraged by the young patrician, the Romans rallied, and dashing\nafter Marcius, they soon forced the enemy to turn and fly back toward\nthe shelter of their city.\n\nThe Romans pursued the Volscians until they reached the gates, but they\ndid not dream of entering, for within the city were many more of the\nenemy. Already the walls were manned, and a deadly rain of arrows was\ndescending among them.\n\nBut Marcius, crying that the gates were open, \u2018Not so much to shelter\nthe vanquished as to receive the conquerors,\u2019 forced his way into the\ncity.\n\nWith only a handful of men, he succeeded in keeping the gates of\nCorioli open, until the main body of the army arrived, when the city\nwas taken without difficulty.\n\nThe soldiers said, as was indeed the truth, that it was Gaius Marcius\nwho had taken the city.\n\nWhen the war with the Volscians ended, the Consul wished to reward\nMarcius for this and many another courageous deed. So he ordered that\nof all the booty that had been taken in the war, the tenth part should\nbe given to the brave young patrician. He himself gave to Marcius a\nnoble horse, splendidly caparisoned.\n\nBut Marcius refused to receive more than his proper share of the booty.\nHe begged, however, for one favour. It was that a Volscian who had\nshown him hospitality and was now a prisoner, might be set free.\n\nShouts of applause greeted Marcius when the soldiers heard his request.\n\nWhen all was again quiet, the Consul said: \u2018It is idle,\nfellow-soldiers, to force and obtrude those other gifts of ours on one\nwho is unwilling to accept them. Let us therefore give him one of such\na kind that he cannot well reject it. In memory of his conquest of the\ncity of Corioli, let him henceforth be called Coriolanus.\u2019\n\nSo it was that from this time Coriolanus was the name of the young\nsoldier.\n\nIn Rome, as was usual after war, there was much misery, for the fields\nhad been left unploughed, and no seed had been sown while the plebeians\nwere away on the battlefield. Now the people were starving.\n\nThe Consuls sent to Etruria for food, and when it reached Rome it was\ndivided among the people, but still there was not enough to satisfy\ntheir hunger.\n\nWhile the people still cried for bread, the time to elect Consuls for\nthe following year drew near.\n\nCoriolanus was one of the candidates. He came to the Forum, clad in his\nwhite toga only, and drawing it aside he showed to the people the marks\nof the wounds he had received in fighting for his country.\n\nBut although at first they meant to elect Coriolanus, many of\nthem remembered that he often spoke of their tribunes with bitter\ncontempt. If he were Consul, he might try to do away with the tribunes\naltogether, and to whom then would the people be able to appeal against\nthe oppression of the haughty patricians?\n\nWhen the day came to elect the Consuls, the feeling against Coriolanus\nhad grown so strong that he was rejected. This made him very angry with\nthe plebeians, nor did he try to disguise his feelings.\n\nSoon after the elections were over, large ships laden with corn reached\nOstia. The senators were eager to feed the starving people, and as some\nof the corn was a gift, they were ready to give it to them without\ncharging even a small sum.\n\nBut Coriolanus was indignant, and denounced in the Senate-house those\nwho wished to treat the people so well. The plebeians had already grown\nmore insolent than was fitting, owing to the favours bestowed upon\nthem. \u2018Before you feed them,\u2019 said the haughty patrician, \u2018let them\ngive up their tribunes.\u2019\n\nWhen the plebeians learned what Coriolanus had said, their anger knew\nno bounds. They would have forced their way into the Senate-house and\ntorn him to pieces, had not the tribunes protected him and calmed the\nfury of the people.\n\n\u2018Do not kill him,\u2019 said the tribunes, \u2018for that will only harm your\ncause. We will accuse him of having broken the sacred laws, and you\nshall yourselves pronounce his sentence.\u2019\n\nBut when the tribunes summoned Coriolanus to appear before them, he\nmocked both at them and at the people.\n\nA patrician appear before the tribunes to be judged! That was to\nCoriolanus a foolish idea.\n\nBut although the patrician ignored the summons, the tribunes and the\npeople met and declared that Coriolanus was banished from Rome.\n\nThen Coriolanus was forced to leave the city. Hastening to the\nVolscians, he threw himself upon the mercy of their chief, Attius\nTullius.\n\nTullius was willing to help the banished patrician to punish Rome, and\nsoon an army, led by the chief and by Coriolanus, was on its way to the\ncity. Town after town fell into the hands of the advancing army. At\nlength it encamped only five miles from Rome.\n\nThe Senate, in alarm at the success of the Volscians, sent to beg for\npeace.\n\nBut Coriolanus sent back the Roman ambassadors, saying that unless all\nthe towns taken from the Volscians in the last war were restored to\nthem, peace would not be granted.\n\nSuch terms were scorned by the Senate, and it sent other ambassadors\nto beg for easier conditions. But Coriolanus refused even to see these\nmessengers.\n\nThen the priests, clad in their sacred robes, walked in solemn\nprocession to the camp of the enemy, to try to appease the anger of the\nhaughty patrician. But the efforts of the priests were vain.\n\nMeanwhile, the matrons of Rome had been beseeching Jupiter to come to\nthe aid of the city.\n\nWhen the priests returned, having accomplished nothing, one of these\nmatrons said: \u2018We will go to Veturia and Volumnia and beseech them to\ngo plead with Coriolanus. He cannot refuse to listen to his mother and\nhis wife, for he loves them well.\u2019\n\nVeturia, who was stricken with grief that her son could betray his\ncountry into the hands of the enemy, needed no persuasion to go to\nspeak with him.\n\nClad in black garments, she and Volumnia with her little children,\nfollowed by a band of Roman matrons set out for the camp of the enemy.\n\nCoriolanus, when he caught sight of his mother, leaped from his seat,\nand running quickly toward her, would have kissed her, as was his wont.\n\nBut she, putting him aside, bade him first answer her question.\n\n\u2018Am I the mother of Gaius Marcius,\u2019 she asked reproachfully, \u2018or a\nprisoner in the hands of the leader of the Volscians? Alas! had I not\nbeen a mother, my country had still been free.\u2019 As his mother said\nthese words, his wife and children fell at his knees and clung to him.\nHis mother\u2019s words did what nothing else had been able to do, for the\nproud patrician could not bear to listen to her reproaches.\n\nWith tears in his eyes he cried: \u2018O my mother, thou hast saved Rome,\nbut thou hast lost thy son.\u2019\n\nThen he led the Volscian army away from the city, and restored to the\nRomans the towns which the enemy had taken.\n\nSome legends tell that the Volscians were so angry with Coriolanus for\ndeserting them, that they slew him as a traitor; but others say that he\nlived in exile until he was an old man.\n\nWeary of exile, he is said to have cried: \u2018Only an old man knows how\nhard it is to live in a far country.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: \u201cO my mother, thou hast saved Rome, but thou hast lost\nthy son.\u201d]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVIII\n\nTHE ROMAN ARMY IN A TRAP\n\n\nWhile the Romans were at war with the Volscians, another tribe, called\nthe \u00c6quians, poured down from their mountain fastnesses and plundered\nand destroyed their land.\n\nIn 459 B.C. peace was made with these fierce mountaineers, and Rome\nhoped that her borders would no longer be disturbed.\n\nBut the \u00c6quians were a restless people. They soon broke the treaty,\nand, led by their chief Cl\u0153lius, pitched their camp on one of the spurs\nof the Alban hills, and began to burn and plunder as of old.\n\nThe Romans, furious at this breach of faith, sent an embassy to demand\nredress.\n\nBut Cl\u0153lius mocked at the Roman ambassadors, and laughingly bade them\nlay their complaints before the oak-tree, under which his tent was\npitched.\n\nThe angry ambassadors took the oak and all the gods to witness that it\nwas not they but the \u00c6quians who had broken the treaty and begun the\nwar. Then hastening back to Rome, they told how insolently they had\nbeen treated.\n\nAn army, with the Consul Minucius at its head, was at once dispatched\nto punish the \u00c6quians.\n\nCl\u0153lius was a skilful general, and as the Roman army advanced he slowly\nretreated into a narrow valley. The Romans foolishly followed the\nretreating \u00c6quians, as Cl\u0153lius intended that they should.\n\nWhen the enemy was in the midst of the valley, hemmed in by steep\nhills on either side, Cl\u0153lius ordered a band of soldiers to guard the\nend by which the Romans had entered. Minucius was caught in a trap.\n\nBut before the \u00c6quian general had secured the end of the valley, five\nRoman soldiers had escaped, and these, putting spurs to their horses,\nrode swiftly to Rome to tell how the Consul and his army were ensnared.\n\nAs the terrible news spread, Rome was stricken with panic. She feared\nthe enemy would soon be at her very gates, and their second Consul was\nfar away, fighting against the Sabines.\n\nIn their dismay, the Senate determined to appoint a Dictator, who would\nhave supreme authority as long as the country was in danger.\n\nNeither the Senate nor the people had any doubt as to whom they should\nturn to in their trouble. There was one man only who could save the\ncountry. He was a noble patrician who had already held positions of\ntrust in the State, and he was, too, a proved and experienced general.\n\nCincinnatus, or the Crisp-Haired, was the name of the man to whom the\nSenate now determined to send. This strange name had been given to him\nbecause his hair clustered in curls around his head. The family of the\nC\u00e6sars also received their name from their curls.\n\nWhen the messengers from Rome reached the home of the patrician it was\nstill early morning, but Cincinnatus was already at work in his fields.\nFor he, as many a noble Roman in the olden days, cultivated his own\nestate. As the heat was great, Cincinnatus had thrown aside his toga,\nand was digging with bare arms.\n\nOne of his household ran to the fields to tell that messengers had\narrived from Rome and wished to speak with him.\n\nSo, putting on his toga that he might receive the messengers of the\nState in suitable guise, the simple-minded patrician hastened to the\nhouse.\n\nNo sooner did he hear that his country was in danger, and that he had\nbeen chosen Dictator, than he speedily went to Rome, where the people\ngreeted him with shouts of joy.\n\nCincinnatus lost no time in assembling a new army. Going to the Forum,\nhe ordered that the shops should be closed, and all business cease\nuntil Rome was safe.\n\nAll who could bear arms were told to assemble without delay on the\nField of Mars, bringing with them twelve stakes for ramparts and food\nfor five days.\n\nThat same evening, before the sun sank to rest, the new army had left\nRome, and by midnight it was close to the valley in which Minucius,\nwith his legions, lay entrapped.\n\nHere the Dictator commanded his men to halt and throw their baggage in\na heap. Then he ordered trenches to be dug round the enemy\u2019s camp, as\nnoiselessly as might be, and the stakes they had brought with them to\nbe driven into the ground.\n\nWhen this was done, Cincinnatus bade his soldiers shout with all their\nstrength. The noise aroused the \u00c6quians, who sprang to their feet, and\nin terror seized their arms.\n\nBut the legions of Minucius also heard the shouts, and recognising\ntheir own war-cry, they also grasped their weapons and attacked the\n\u00c6quians.\n\nThey, seeing that they were surrounded by the enemy, with no way\nof escape possible, surrendered to the Dictator, begging him to be\nmerciful.\n\nCincinnatus spared the lives of Cl\u0153lius and his soldiers, but he made\nthe men pass under the yoke, after which they were allowed to find\ntheir way back to their mountain retreats.\n\nThe yoke was formed of three spears, and as the soldiers stooped to\npass beneath this rough erection they had to lay aside their cloaks and\nsurrender their arms.\n\nCl\u0153lius and the other leaders of the \u00c6quians were kept prisoners.\n\nThen the Dictator having freed his country from danger, returned\nin triumph to Rome. At the end of sixteen days he resigned the\nDictatorship, and went back to his home, honoured by the people and\ncrowned with glory.\n\nSoon he was again to be seen digging or ploughing in his fields,\ncontented as of yore.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIX\n\nTHE HATED DECEMVIRS\n\n\nThe tribunes, you remember, were appointed to protect the people from\nthe cruelty of the patricians.\n\nAs they were chosen from among the plebeians themselves, they did not\nunderstand the laws of their country as well as did the nobles, who had\never guarded them as they might have guarded a mystery.\n\nSo when the tribunes tried to gain justice for those who appealed to\nthem, they often found their plans thwarted by the patricians, because\nof their superior knowledge of the law.\n\nThus, in spite of all that the tribunes could do, the people still\nsuffered under the oppressions of the nobles.\n\nSo restless and discontented did the plebeians become, that in 451 B.C.\nthree patricians were sent by the Senate to Greece to find out how the\npeople were governed in Athens.\n\nThe nobles of Greece were wiser and more cultured than those of Rome,\nand may have been supposed to have discovered how best to rule those\nunder them.\n\nWhether the three ambassadors drank deep of the wisdom of the Greeks\nor no, they returned to Rome with a new plan for the government of the\ncountry.\n\nIt would be well, said the ambassadors, if, for a time, there should\nbe neither Consuls nor tribunes. In their place ten men or decemvirs\n(decemvirs being the Latin for ten men) should be chosen from among\npatricians and plebeians alike, to rule the country and reform her\nlaws.\n\nUntil now the laws had been unknown to the people. But the ambassadors\nsaid that the reformed laws should be written on tables of brass and\nbe hung up in the place of assembly, so that the people might read and\nunderstand them.\n\nThe new laws were called the Laws of the Twelve Tables, and for many\nlong years they were obeyed. In the time of Cicero, schoolboys had to\nlearn these laws as part of their regular lessons, while they were, as\nwe would say, in the lower forms.\n\nLike the Consuls, the decemvirs were elected only for one year, each of\nthem during the year having in turn full authority.\n\nAt first the decemvirs tried to please the people. They worked hard to\nreform the laws, and before their year of office came to an end, ten of\nthe twelve tables had been revised.\n\nIt was determined that the decemvirs should be re-elected for the\nfollowing year that they might finish the code of laws which they had\nbegun.\n\nBut Appius Claudius, who had been the chief among the first year\u2019s\ndecemvirs, was not satisfied that this should be so, and he saw to it\nthat more plebeians should be elected among the second year\u2019s decemvirs.\n\nHe hoped by doing this to persuade the people that he was their friend,\nbut before long it appeared that he was a true friend to neither\npatrician nor plebeian.\n\nThe new decemvirs, with Appius Claudius at their head, soon struck\ndismay into the hearts of the people by going to the Forum, with a band\nof one hundred and twenty lictors. The lictors carried with them not\nonly rods, but, as in earlier days, axes were concealed among the rods,\nwhich was a sign that the decemvirs had power over life and death.\n\nNor did the decemvirs scruple to use their power, banishing or putting\nto death those who displeased or opposed them, and seizing their\nproperty for themselves. When their year of office was nearly ended,\nthe decemvirs had not finished the code of laws as they were expected\nto have done.\n\nIt was soon plain why they had seen no reason for haste, for, when the\nyear came to an end, the decemvirs refused to resign.\n\nBoth patricians and plebeians were indignant, while the Senate, angry\nthat the decemvirs did not consult it, had already, for the most part,\nleft Rome.\n\nTo add to the confusion in the country, war now broke out with the\nSabines and the \u00c6quians.\n\nOne of the Roman armies was to be led by a plebeian tribune, who was\nloved by the people, for he had fought for his country in one hundred\nand twenty battles. On his way to join his army, this brave soldier was\nmurdered, it was said by the order of Appius Claudius. The soldiers\nwere furious at the loss of their leader, and the hatred against the\nchief of the decemvirs increased each day.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXX\n\nTHE DEATH OF VERGINIA\n\n\nAppius Claudius did not go to the war. He stayed in Rome, and before\nlong roused the temper of the people beyond control.\n\nVerginius, a brave plebeian soldier, was with the army, and in his\nabsence he had left his beautiful young daughter Verginia in the care\nof her nurse.\n\nOne day as the young girl was on her way to school in the Forum, Appius\nClaudius saw how beautiful she was, and he determined to take her away\nfrom her father and Icilius, to whom she was betrothed.\n\nBut although he did his utmost to persuade the maiden to go home with\nhim, Verginia refused to leave her father\u2019s house.\n\nThen Appius Claudius grew angry, and vowed to himself that he would\ntake her away by foul means, since fair ones had failed.\n\nSo the tyrant ordered a man, named Marcus Claudius, to declare that\nVerginia was not a free Roman maiden, as Verginius had pretended, but\nwas a slave belonging to himself.\n\nThis Marcus did, and then, seeing the girl one day in the Forum, he\ntried to lay hold of her. But her nurse cried aloud for help, so that\na crowd quickly gathered, and hearing what had happened, it vowed to\nprotect Verginia, until her father and her betrothed returned from the\ncamp.\n\nThen Marcius did as Appius Claudius had secretly bidden him. He said\nthat he did not wish to harm the maiden, indeed, he was even willing to\ntake the matter to law.\n\nSo, followed by the crowd, he led Verginia before the judge, who was no\nother than Appius Claudius.\n\nHere Marcus announced that he could prove to Verginius that the maiden\nwas not really his child, but belonged to a slave who lived in his\nhouse. Meanwhile he demanded that the maiden should be given into his\ncharge.\n\nBut the crowd did not believe what Marcus said, nor did they care to\nlet the young girl leave her home in her father\u2019s absence.\n\n\u2018Send to the camp for Verginius,\u2019 cried the people, heedless of the\nangry looks of the judge. \u2018Verginia is a free maiden, and shall stay\nwith her friends until she is proved a slave.\u2019\n\nWith an effort, Appius Claudius concealed his real feelings, and,\nspeaking with the dignity of a judge, he said: \u2018The maiden belongs\neither to Verginius or to Marcus. As Verginius is absent, Marcus shall\ntake charge of her until her father returns, when the case shall again\ncome before me.\u2019\n\nBut to such an unfair sentence the people refused to submit. So fierce\nwas their temper that they would have forced Claudius to leave the city\nhad he not reluctantly allowed Verginia to stay with her friends until\nthe following day. If Verginius did not then appear at his tribunal\nMarcus should claim the maiden without delay, said Claudius.\n\nIcilius had by this time returned to the city, and he at once sent to\nthe camp, beseeching Verginius to let nothing keep him from at once\ncoming to Rome.\n\nBut Claudius also sent a messenger to the camp, bidding his officers on\nno account to allow Verginius to leave his post.\n\nFortunately, the messenger sent by Icilius reached the camp first, and\nVerginius was already hastening to the city when his officers received\nthe order sent by Claudius.\n\nThe next morning Claudius went to the Forum, sure that before the day\nwas over he would have secured Verginia.\n\nWhat was his surprise and anger to see that Verginius, whom he had\nbelieved to be safely detained at camp, was already there by the side\nof his daughter, accompanied by many Roman matrons and a crowd of\npeople.\n\nThe judge could hear the voice of Verginius as he drew near. He was\nspeaking to the people, and Claudius knew too well how easily the\npassions of the mob could be roused.\n\n\u2018It is not only my daughter that is not safe,\u2019 Verginius was saying;\n\u2018who will dare henceforth to leave their children in Rome if I am\nrobbed of my child?\u2019\n\nAs the matrons listened they wept, thinking of the fate that might\novertake their own dear daughters.\n\nClaudius was now much too angry to try to humour the people.\n\nBidding Verginius be silent, he at once gave his verdict that the\nmaiden should be given to Marcus, until her father had proved that she\nwas free-born.\n\nThe people stood silent, stunned for the moment by the wickedness of\nthe judge. But as Marcus drew near to lead Verginia away, her friends\ngathered around her, refusing to let the man come near her.\n\nThen, in his rage, Claudius bade his lictors drive the people away, and\nthey, raising their axes, soon scattered the crowd, for it was unarmed.\n\nVerginius, turning quietly to Claudius, asked that he might at least\nspeak apart for a moment to his daughter and her nurse. His request was\ngranted. Then the poor father in his desperate sorrow knew that there\nwas but one thing to be done. To trust his daughter to these wicked men\nwas not to be thought of, so, drawing her into his arms, he snatched\na knife from one of the stalls, and whispered in her ear: \u2018My child,\nthere is no other way to free thee.\u2019 Swift and sure, even as he spoke,\nhe plunged the knife into his daughter\u2019s heart.\n\nTurning to the unjust judge, Verginius cursed him to his face; then\nbreaking through the crowd, he sped to the city gates, and mounting a\nhorse, rode in hot haste back to the camp.\n\nMeanwhile, Icilius lifted the dead body of the maiden, and bade the\npeople see what the tyrant Claudius had done.\n\nIn fierce anger, the crowd rushed upon the lictors and a band of armed\npatricians and drove them from the Forum. Claudius, covering his face\nwith his toga, fled, and for the time escaped with his life.\n\nVerginius had no sooner reached the camp than he told his piteous\ntale to the army. Willingly the soldiers marched to Rome, led by the\nmiserable father, and joined by another army, at the head of which was\nIcilius.\n\nTogether they entered Rome, and the soldiers deposed the decemvirs,\nwhile each army elected ten tribunes. They then marched out of the\ncity, followed by the people, and encamped, as once before, on the\nSacred Mount, leaving Rome to the patricians.\n\nThe Senate saw that it was time to act, for the decemvirs, it was\nplain, still hoped to keep the power they had grasped. So it forced\nthem to resign, and then sent to the Sacred Mount to ask the plebeians\nwhat sentence they wished the tyrants to suffer.\n\nIcilius demanded that the decemvirs should be put to death, the others\nwere content that they should be banished from Rome. But Appius\nClaudius was not banished with the other decemvirs. He was sent to\nprison, where some say that he killed himself, but others assert that\nhis enemies put him to death.\n\nThe people were now ready to return to the city, having obtained from\nthe Senate a promise that they should have their tribunes as of old,\nand that the sacred laws should be again established.\n\nIn 445 B.C., about four years later, the plebeians succeeded in gaining\nnew privileges. A law was passed allowing them to marry patricians, and\nthis greatly pleased the people.\n\nFor many years the plebeians had wished to be allowed to stand for\nthe Consulship. Now it was arranged that, instead of Consuls, from\nthree to six military tribunes should be appointed, and for this office\nplebeians might stand.\n\nTwo of the duties however that had belonged to the Consuls were not\ngiven to the military tribunes, but kept for two new officers, called\ncensors. The censors were to be chosen from among the patricians.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXI\n\nTHE FRIEND OF THE PEOPLE\n\n\nTen years after the decemvirs had been banished, there was a severe\nfamine in Rome. The misery was terrible--men, women, and little\nchildren were dying in hundreds for lack of bread.\n\nFaint and stricken, those who still managed to exist looked to the\nSenate for help.\n\nSo Minucius was appointed Master of the Markets, and did his utmost\nto succour the people, buying large supplies of corn from foreign\ncountries and selling it to them for a small sum.\n\nShould a family be found to have in its possession more corn than it\nneeded for a month, Minucius ordered the surplus to be sold to those\nwho were starving. Slaves were put on the smallest possible allowance\nof food.\n\nBut, in spite of the efforts of Minucius, the misery in the city was\nbut little less than before. The poor still suffered the awful pangs of\nhunger, and many threw themselves into the river Tiber to escape from\ntheir desperate plight.\n\nWhen the famine was at its height, M\u00e6lius, a rich plebeian, full of\npity for the suffering he saw on every side, sent to Etruria for large\nquantities of corn and divided it among the ravenous folk.\n\nSometimes he gave his bounty freely, at other times he took a small sum\nof money for his goods.\n\nThe patricians, who, needless to say, were not starving, were not\npleased to hear of the generous gifts of M\u00e6lius. Instead of being glad\nthat the poor hungry people were being fed, they murmured that he\nwas doing what Minucius had been appointed to do. The truth was, that\nthe patricians were seized with an ugly passion called jealousy, and\nthe more the people showed their gratitude to their benefactor, the\nangrier, the more jealous grew the patricians.\n\nIt was certain that M\u00e6lius was trying to win the favour of the people\nfor his own ends, said his enemies one to the other. What was his\nambition, they wondered, and how could they thwart it?\n\nMinucius, who was more suspicious of the good plebeian than any one\nelse, informed the Senate that M\u00e6lius held secret meetings in his\nhouse, where he had concealed a large number of arms. Moreover, he\ndeclared that M\u00e6lius had bribed the tribunes, and soon the Republic\nwould be overturned, while the traitor would reign as king.\n\nThe Senate, alarmed by such a report, did not stay to find out if it\nwere true or false, but at once determined to elect a Dictator.\n\nCincinnatus was once again entreated to leave his plough, to come to\nRome and save his country.\n\nSo, lest his country should be betrayed by the honest plebeian,\nCincinnatus hastened to the city, and appointing one named Ahala master\nof the horse, bade him summon M\u00e6lius to the Forum. Here the Dictator\nawaited the traitor, sitting on his tribunal.\n\nM\u00e6lius knew all that had been said against him, and not wishing to be\naccused of treason, he refused to go with Ahala, and appealed to the\npeople he had helped to support him.\n\nBut Ahala, furious that the plebeian dared to ignore his summons, drew\na dagger and stabbed M\u00e6lius to death.\n\nThe people, horrified at the fate of their friend, rushed to the Forum\nand demanded that the Dictator should punish Ahala.\n\nBut this Cincinnatus refused to do, saying that even if M\u00e6lius had not\nbeen guilty of treason, yet he had deserved death for disobeying the\ncommand of the Dictator.\n\nToo weak from want of food to persist that their benefactor should\nbe avenged, the people, so some stories tell, soon grew quiet, for\nMinucius promised that the corn still stored at the house of M\u00e6lius\nshould be sold to them at a low price.\n\nBut other stories say that the people refused to be satisfied until\nthey had driven Ahala from the city.\n\nIt was in such selfish, wicked ways that the patricians sought to ruin\nthe plebeians when they saw them gaining power and influence in the\nState.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXII\n\nCAMILLUS CAPTURES THE CITY OF VEII\n\n\nWhen Rome was in danger, the people, as you know, were called from\ntheir homes, their shops, and their fields to fight for their country.\nIf the army was sent to besiege a town, it was one which could be taken\nin a short time, so that the soldiers were soon free to go home to\nplough their fields and tend their shops.\n\nThese soldier citizens received no wages for fighting for their\ncountry. They were but doing their duty in defending her or in adding\nto her dominions.\n\nBut the Romans were now growing ambitious to win greater glory by\ntheir conquests than they had yet done. To do this they knew that they\nmust have a regular army that could stay in the field as long as was\nnecessary. This army, too, would have to be paid by the State. It was,\npartly, at least, through the influence of Camillus, who was soon to\nbe made Dictator, that a standing army was raised. Under him the army\nbegan to grow in power, nor did it cease to grow until at length it was\nable to control Senate and people alike.\n\nIn 406 B.C. the Romans began their more ambitious wars by besieging a\nbeautiful city called Veii. Veii was in Etruria, about ten miles north\nof Rome.\n\nFor many years the inhabitants of this city had made raids along the\nborders of Rome, plundering and burning the countryside, until the\npeople fled from their homes at the slightest rumour of their approach.\n\nTo destroy Veii was the only way to put an end to these constant and\nirritating border raids, and the siege was begun.\n\nThe town was built on the summit of a steep rock, three sides of\nwhich it was impossible to scale, and she was strongly fortified. Her\npopulation was larger and richer than that of Rome, while her buildings\nwere grander and more beautiful.\n\nCamillus was made Dictator during the siege, which lasted for ten long\nyears.\n\nI need not tell you of all that happened in the course of these ten\nyears, but of the taking of the city many legends are told. Here is one\nof them.\n\nIt was autumn, and many of the lakes and brooks were dry, for little\nrain had fallen during the summer. But in the Lake of Alba the water\nbegan to rise in a strange, mysterious way.\n\nFirst it rose to the foot of the mountains which encircled the lake,\nand that was wonderful enough, but when the water reached the summit of\nthe mountains that was marvellous indeed.\n\nNo waves disturbed the peace of the lake, but by and by the sheer\nweight of the water broke down part of the surrounding mountains, which\nhad acted as a dam.\n\nThen a great flood of water spread over fields and groves, and the\nRomans whispered to one another, \u2018It is a sign from the gods,\u2019 yet no\none could tell what the sign might portend.\n\nIn the camp before Veii and in the city itself every one talked of the\nstrange omen.\n\nOne day a Roman soldier talked with a Veian soldier, who was said to\nknow the meaning of omens.\n\nIt was plain that the Veian did not think that the omen boded ill to\nhis city, but the Roman did not find it easy to find out all that the\nother knew. Until he had done so, he determined not to let him go.\n\nSo, telling the Veian stories about his own country, he drew the wise\nman unaware farther and farther from the gates of Veii. As they drew\nnear to the Roman camp, the soldier, who was tall and strong, seized\nthe Veian in his arms and carried him before his captain. Before long\nthe captive had been persuaded to tell all he knew.\n\n\u2018The city of Veii shall never be taken,\u2019 said the wise man, \u2018until the\nwaters of the Lake of Alba are dried up.\u2019\n\nIt seemed to the Romans that the soothsayer should be sent to the\nSenate, that it might hear for itself what he had to say.\n\nBut when the Senate had listened to the Veian\u2019s words it was still\nuncertain what to do; so it sent messengers to the oracle of Delphi,\nwhich was the highest authority it knew. The oracle sent back a plain\nmessage. \u2018Shut up the water of the lake in its ancient bounds, and keep\nit from flowing into the sea\u2019; and the Romans at once began to carry\nout its instructions.\n\nChannels were dug, and soon, with the help of great engineering works,\nthe water of the lake was carried away to irrigate the plain.\n\nMeanwhile, Camillus, finding that he would never be able to take Veii\nby storm, ordered underground passages to be made between his camp and\nthe centre of the city. So secretly were the tunnels dug that the enemy\nnever dreamed what was going on beneath their streets and temples.\n\nAt length the passage was complete, and Camillus led a picked band of\nsoldiers along the tunnel, until they stood beneath the temple of Juno,\nthe goddess of Veii.\n\nWhile the Dictator was stealing underground with his followers, the\nwalls of the city were being once again attacked.\n\nThe Veians, still ignorant of the mine beneath their feet, rushed to\ndefend their walls against the enemy.\n\nAs the conflict raged, the King of Veii hastened to the temple of Juno\nto offer sacrifices, and to beseech the goddess to grant him victory.\n\n\u2018The victory will be won by him who lays the sacrifice on the altar,\u2019\ncried the priest who stood by the side of the king.\n\nCamillus, who was just beneath the altar, heard the priest\u2019s words.\nInstantly he broke through the floor of the temple and entered the\nsacred building with his followers, who shouted and waved their weapons\nabove their heads.\n\nThe Veians fled from the temple in dismay, while Camillus hastened to\nseize the sacrifice and fling it upon the altar.\n\nThen, knowing that victory was assured, the band of Roman soldiers\nrushed to the gates of the city and flung them wide that their comrades\nmight enter.\n\nA little later, and the Veians were overwhelmed, and Veii was at length\nin the hands of the Romans.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXIII\n\nTHE STATUE OF THE GODDESS\n\n\nWhen Veii had fallen into his hands, Camillus allowed not only the\nsoldiers, but the citizens of Rome to plunder the city, for he had\nagreed with the Senate that all the people should share in the spoil.\n\nAs he stood on a high tower watching the sack of the city which had\nresisted Rome for ten years, Camillus wept for pity. Then, covering his\nface with his toga, he prayed that if his great victory had made him\nproud, Jupiter would punish, not Rome or the army, but only him, and\nthat \u2018with as little hurt as might be.\u2019\n\nTurning then to his right, as was the custom after prayer, the Dictator\nslipped and fell to the ground. This, he believed, was the \u2018little\nhurt\u2019 sent to him by the god.\n\nMany treasures were taken from the conquered city to Rome, but none\nmore sacred than the statue of Juno.\n\nCamillus ordered some young men to clothe themselves in white robes,\nand then to go to the temple to remove the statue.\n\nIt was a solemn moment when the youths stood before the image, scarce\nventuring to look upon it, lest they should be punished for their\nboldness.\n\nOne of them, half mocking, yet, it may be, half in earnest too, said:\n\u2018O Juno, wilt thou go to Rome?\u2019\n\nClear through the temple echoed the voice of the goddess: \u2018I will.\u2019\n\nThen reverently the young men lifted the image, but to their\nastonishment it was so light that they felt as though their arms were\nempty, and the goddess was walking by their side.\n\nIn safety they reached Rome with the wondrous image, and Camillus built\na temple on the Aventine hill, in which henceforth the statue of Juno\nstood.\n\nWhen the Dictator returned to Rome he enjoyed a great triumph. Dressed\nin the garments of Jupiter, he drove through the gates in a chariot\ndrawn by four white horses, his soldiers following him, shouting the\npraises of their leader.\n\nBut the people of Rome were displeased with the Dictator, for none but\nkings might drive in a chariot drawn by four white horses.\n\nSoon they even hated Camillus, for he sided with the Senate against\nthose tribunes who had been faithful to the plebeians. Moreover, he had\nvowed to give a tenth of the spoil taken at Veii to the god Apollo.\nAt the time that the city was sacked, it seemed that the Dictator had\nforgotten his vow. When he remembered it, the people had spent or\nparted with their share of the spoil, so Camillus forced them to give\nup the tenth part of their goods. At this the poor folk grumbled, as\nindeed they had some cause to do.\n\nBut much as the people hated Camillus, they could not do without him.\nWhen war broke out against a people called the Falerians, he was\nelected as a military tribune, and at once marched away with his army\nto besiege the strongly fortified town of Falerii.\n\nIn his heart Camillus hoped that if he was successful in taking the\ncity, the Romans would forget their anger against him.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXIV\n\nTHE SCHOOLMASTER WHO PROVED A TRAITOR\n\n\nThe Falerians were not disturbed when the Roman army pitched its camp\nwithout their walls, not even although they knew that so great a\ngeneral as Camillus was at its head.\n\nTheir city was well fortified, and so, sure of being able to defend it,\nthey guarded their walls, and then went on with their work and with\ntheir play as was their wont.\n\nBut there was a traitor within the walls of Falerii, and through his\ntreachery misfortune well-nigh overtook the city.\n\nThe traitor was a schoolmaster. He thought that it would be an easy\nmatter to betray the city to the Romans by the aid, unknown to\nthemselves, of his pupils.\n\nBefore the siege began he had been used to take the children outside\nthe city walls for their daily walks and exercises.\n\nHe continued to do so after the Romans had laid siege to the city,\nbut at first he did not venture far from the gates, lest the children\nshould be afraid.\n\nBut, little by little, as they became careless of the enemy, the\nschoolmaster took them nearer and nearer to the Roman camp. Then one\nday, before the boys were aware, their master had led them close to the\nenemy\u2019s lines and had asked to be taken before Camillus.\n\nHe was admitted to the presence of the tribune, and pointing to his\npupils the traitor said: \u2018I have brought you the children of Falerii.\nWith them in your power, you will soon be able to make what terms you\nplease with the citizens. They will give up their city without a\nstruggle to secure the safe return of their children.\u2019\n\nBut Camillus was not the man that the traitor had dreamed. He looked\nwith scorn upon the treacherous schoolmaster, then, turning to those\nwho stood near, he said: \u2018War indeed is of necessity attended with much\ninjustice and violence. Certain laws, however, all good men observe,\neven in war itself, nor is victory so great an object as to induce us\nto incur for its sake obligations for base and impious acts. A great\ngeneral should rely on his own valour and not on other men\u2019s vice.\u2019\n\nCamillus then bade his officers strip off the schoolmaster\u2019s clothes\nand tie his hands behind him. The children were then given rods and\ntold to beat their master back to the city.\n\nMeanwhile, the Falerians had missed the children. Fathers and mothers,\ndistraught with grief, rushed to the walls, to the gates, but nowhere\nwas there any trace of their boys. Cries and lamentations filled the\ncity.\n\nSuddenly the cries were hushed. Hark! that was a joyful shout! And then\nanother and yet another rent the air.\n\nThe children were there, in sight, running back, merrily as it seemed,\nfrom the direction of the enemy\u2019s camp.\n\nThen silence fell upon the parents, for as the children came nearer a\nstrange picture was visible.\n\nTheir boys had rods in their hands, and they were chasing and beating a\nmiserable, naked man, who looked like the honourable schoolmaster. But\nsurely they must be mistaken....\n\nA moment or two later the children rushed through the gates, and in\nbreathless haste told to their parents all that had befallen them, and\nhow Camillus himself had bidden them chase the traitor schoolmaster\nback to the city.\n\nNot only the parents, but all the citizens of Falerii were so pleased\nwith the kindness Camillus had shown to the children that they sent\nambassadors to him, offering to give up to the Romans whatever he chose\nto ask.\n\nAgain Camillus showed how generous a foe he could be, for he made peace\nwith the Falerians, and demanding from them only a sum of money, he\ntook his army back to Rome.\n\nBut the soldiers, who had hoped to gain much booty in Falerii, were\nangry. When they reached Rome empty-handed, they grumbled against their\ngeneral, and told the people he was not their friend, for he cared for\nnothing save his own welfare.\n\nThen his enemies determined to get rid of Camillus. So they accused\nhim of keeping more than his share of the spoils of Veii. Even now, so\nthey said, valuable brass gates, to which he had no right, were in his\npossession.\n\nCamillus had many friends as well as many enemies, and he entreated\nthose who trusted him to prove that the accusations brought against\nhim were false. But all they could promise to do was to help him pay,\nshould the Senate insist on fining him.\n\nBut this did not satisfy the brave Roman, who knew that he was\nguiltless. He determined to leave the city for which he had done so\nmuch, without waiting to hear his sentence pronounced.\n\nAs he passed through the gates, he turned, and stretching out his hands\ntoward the Capitol, he cried to the gods: \u2018If not for evil I have\ndone,\u2019 he cried, \u2018but through the hatred of my enemies I have been\ndriven into exile, grant that the Romans may soon grow sorry and send\nfor Camillus to help them when trouble befalls.\u2019\n\nAnd his prayer was answered. For when, in 390 B.C., the Gauls descended\nupon Rome, soldiers and citizens alike demanded that the Senate should\nsend to Camillus and beseech him to come to help them in their dire\nneed.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXV\n\nTHE BATTLE OF ALLIA\n\n\nThe inhabitants of Gaul, who dwelt in the country we now call France,\nwere tall, fair, blue-eyed warriors. Long before the time of which I\nam going to tell you, they had crossed the Alps and made themselves\nmasters of Northern Italy.\n\nNow, in 389 B.C., they turned to the south, crossed the Apennines, and\ncame pouring down into the valleys of Etruria. The city of Clusium,\nonly a few days\u2019 march from Rome, was the first to attract the\nbarbarians.\n\nThere was peace at this time between Rome and Etruria, and the\ninhabitants of Clusium, in fear of the fierce-looking Gallic warriors,\nbesought Rome to come to their aid.\n\nThe Senate at once sent three patricians as ambassadors to the Gauls,\nwarning them not to attack the allies of Rome.\n\nBut the haughty barbarians, heedless of the ambassadors\u2019 words, at once\ndemanded from the Etruscans land on which they and their families might\nsettle. When their request was refused, they began to fight.\n\nNow the Roman ambassadors had no right to join in the battle, for just\nas they were protected by their mission from being attacked, so they\nwere forbidden to attack others.\n\nBut forgetting, in their anger with the Gauls, that they were\nambassadors, the three Romans joined in the defence of Clusium, and\nunfortunately slew one of the Gallic chiefs and took his armour.\n\nBrennus, the King of the Gauls, was so angry with the envoys that he at\nonce withdrew from Clusium, and marched with his whole army through the\nvalley of the Tiber toward Rome. He was determined to punish the city\nfor the folly of her ambassadors.\n\nThe Romans at once marched out to meet the enemy, and in July, 390\nB.C., near the Allia, about ten miles from Rome, a terrible battle was\nfought.\n\nAlthough the Roman army was but forty thousand strong, while the\nbarbarians numbered seventy thousand, yet the Romans had no fear.\nAgainst such uncouth foes they were sure to win the victory. Thus in\ntheir insolence and pride spoke the warriors of Rome.\n\nBut the battle day--it was the 18th of the month--was one that was\nnever to be forgotten by the Roman legions.\n\nShouting their strange, fierce war-cries, the Gauls rushed upon the\nfoe, while the Romans, dismayed at the wild appearance of the gigantic\nGauls, and distracted by their war-cries, were seized with sudden\npanic. Without even attempting to fight, they turned and fled.\n\nPursued by the terrible barbarians, many of the fugitives plunged in\ndespair into the river Tiber, and were drowned by the weight of their\narmour; many others were overtaken and slain. Only a remnant of the\narmy reached Rome, for most of the fugitives who escaped took refuge at\nVeii.\n\nThe Gauls themselves were astonished at their easily won victory, for\nthe fame of the Roman legions had reached even these barbarous tribes.\n\nIn Rome the Battle of Allia was henceforth a name of ill omen, nor\nwould the Romans ever undertake a new adventure on the 18th of July,\nlest it should be doomed to failure, by the evil influence of that\nfatal day. For many long years, the Romans, who feared no other foe,\ntrembled at the name of the barbarians.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXVI\n\nTHE SACRED GEESE\n\n\nRome, when she heard of the defeat of Allia was stricken with terror.\nHer walls were left unguarded, her gates open, for the one thought of\nthe citizens was flight.\n\nAnd in truth, so fearful were they lest the Gauls should reach the city\nand find them still there, that they crowded out of the gates, across\nthe bridge to the Janiculum.\n\nSome few sacred images they stayed to bury, and the vestal virgins\ntarried to take with them the sacred fire which must not be allowed to\ndie, but many of the most sacred treasures of Rome were left to perish\nby the hands of the barbarians.\n\nSo the city was left desolate, her gates open to the enemy. Only in the\nCapitol, the temple of the gods, a band of armed men kept guard, and\nwith them stayed the priests, who refused to leave the sacred building,\nand the Senate.\n\nNo others were left in Rome save some old patricians, who long years\nbefore had been Consuls, and had led the legions of the Republic to\nmany a hard-won battlefield.\n\nThese clad themselves in their richest robes, then, after praying to\nthe gods, they walked to the Forum and seated themselves, each in his\nivory chair, there to await what the gods should send.\n\nThree days after the Battle of Allia, the Gauls, having feasted as was\ntheir custom after a victory, appeared before the city.\n\nThe gates were open, the walls unmanned, and within the city all was\nsilent as the grave. Was it a trap? Did an ambush lie in wait? Thus the\nGauls hesitated, questioning one another.\n\nAt length they ventured into the city--not a single citizen was to be\nseen. On through the desolate streets wandered the bewildered warriors,\nuntil at length they stood in the Forum.\n\nThere, seated in chairs of ivory, silent and still as statues, sat a\nnumber of strange, venerable old men.\n\nKing Brennus himself came to the Forum to gaze at these still images of\nmen, and was amazed to see them thus unmoved in his presence.\n\nHe noticed that \u2018they neither rose at his coming, nor so much as\nchanged colour or countenance, but remained without fear or concern,\nleaning upon their staves, and sitting quietly, looked at each other.\u2019\n\nFor a long time the Gauls gazed in silence at the quiet figures. Then,\none of the soldiers, bolder than the others, drew near to Papirius,\nstretched out his hand, and slowly stroked the long white beard of the\nold patrician.\n\nThis was more than Papirius could bear. He, a Roman senator, to be\ntouched by a barbarian! Quick as thought he raised his staff and struck\nthe Gaul a blow.\n\nThe strange, silent images were alive then! They could move!\n\nSwiftly the barbarian drew his sword, and a moment later Papirius fell\nfrom his ivory chair, wounded to death.\n\nNo longer awed by the silent images, the Gauls now fell upon the other\npatricians and killed them too. Then for days they sacked the city,\nand at length burned it to the ground, angry that the Capitol was held\nagainst them.\n\nThe Capitol stood on a hill, steep and impossible to scale, save at one\npoint.\n\n[Illustration: Seated in chairs of ivory, sat a number of strange,\nvenerable old men.]\n\nAgain and again the Gauls tried to storm this one approach, but the\nbrave defenders drove them back, killing some of their number. Then the\nGauls determined to besiege the Capitol, but days and weeks passed,\nand still they seemed no more likely to take it than before. And now\ntheir provisions were beginning to run short.\n\nMeanwhile, the Roman soldiers who had fled from Allia and taken refuge\nin Veii, began to be ashamed of themselves. Surely they ought to go to\nthe help of their comrades who were so manfully holding the Capitol. If\nthey had but a leader they would go.\n\nThen all at once they remembered Camillus, who was still in exile. They\nwould ask him to come back and lead them as of old to victory.\n\nSo they sent to beg Camillus to come to Veii and take command of the\nsoldiers. But Camillus refused to come unless the Senate recalled him\nand asked him to deliver Rome.\n\nAt first it seemed that there was no way to reach the Senate. It was\nshut up in the Capitol. But a young soldier, named Cominius, hoping to\nretrieve the disgrace of his flight from Allia, offered to try to scale\nthe rock and reach the citadel.\n\nDisguising himself as a poor man, and carrying corks under his old\nclothes, he reached the Tiber as it was growing dark. The bridge, as he\nhad expected, was guarded by the Gauls. To cross it was impossible.\n\nSo, taking off his clothes, he tied them on to his head, and laying\nthe corks he had brought in the river, he swam with their help safely\nacross and slipped unnoticed into the city.\n\nCominius, fortunately, was light and agile. He actually succeeded in\nscaling the rock on which the Capitol was built, as only a bold and\nskilful climber could. When he reached the summit in safety he called\nto the astonished guards and begged to be taken to the Senate.\n\nIt was pleased to see the brave youth, and after listening to his\ntale at once bade Cominius return and let Camillus know that Rome not\nonly recalled him from exile, but appointed him Dictator. So Cominius\nhastened back to Veii with the good news, and because the soldiers\nwere eager to fight, messengers were sent in hot haste to Camillus to\ntell him the decision of the Senate, and to bring him back to Veii.\n\nSoon Camillus had twenty thousand men ready to follow him to Rome.\n\nMeanwhile the Capitol was all but taken by the Gauls.\n\nThe morning after Cominius had clambered down the cliff, the barbarians\nnoticed that the shrubs had been crushed, that bushes had had their\nbranches torn, that the soil had been loosened on the side of the rock.\n\nIt was clear that some one had either climbed up to the Capitol, or had\ncome down the terrible descent. And if that was possible, why should\nnot they climb the cliff, and at last capture the Capitol?\n\nSo when night had come, the Gauls began their dangerous task. Up and\nup they climbed as noiselessly as might be, up and up, until they had\nnearly reached the top.\n\nAt the summit there was no wall, no sentinel. Even the watchdogs heard\nno sound and slept on undisturbed.\n\nClose to the top of the rock, however, stood the temple of Jupiter,\nJuno, and Minerva, the three guardian deities of Rome. Without the\ntemple, geese, sacred to Juno, had their home. Although the defenders\nof the Capitol were starving, yet they never dreamed of touching the\nbirds that were sacred to the goddess, \u2018which thing proved their\nsalvation.\u2019\n\nUp and up climbed the Gauls, and no one heard them as they drew near\nto the summit of the rock, no one save the sacred geese. They, divine\nbirds as they were, began to cackle and to flap their wings, and to\nmake as much noise as geese can make.\n\nManlius, the captain of the guard, who slept near the temple, awoke\nstartled to hear the din caused by the sacred birds. Springing swiftly\nfrom the couch on which he had lain wrapped in his military cloak, he\nseized his arms and ran to the top of the cliff. As he ran he shouted\nto his men to follow as quickly as they could.\n\nAs Manlius reached the edge of the rock, lo, the face of a Gaul peered\nat him over the summit.\n\nThe Roman was but just in time. Dashing his shield at the enemy, he\nhurled him down the cliff, and he, as he fell, knocked against those\nwho were behind, so that they also were carried down the face of the\nrock, which they had climbed with so much difficulty. Thus the Capitol\nwas saved by the sacred geese.\n\nThe defenders of the citadel were grateful to Manlius for acting so\npromptly, and although they were all suffering from hunger, each one\nagreed to give him, from his own slender store, one day\u2019s allowance of\nfood. This consisted of half a pound of corn and a measure holding five\nounces of wine.\n\nAt length a day came when the brave folk in the Capitol must either die\nof starvation or surrender. So the senators sent to King Brennus and\noffered to pay him a large sum of money if he would raise the siege.\n\nAs the Gauls too were suffering from famine, the king was willing to\naccept a ransom, but he demanded the large sum of one thousand pounds\nof gold.\n\nOnly by borrowing treasures from the temple, and receivings gifts of\ngolden ornaments from Roman matrons, could the sum be found.\n\nIn bitterness of spirit the Romans went down to the Forum on the day\nappointed, and began to lay their treasures on the scales.\n\nSuddenly they noticed that the weights which the barbarians were using\non their scales, were false.\n\nBut when they complained, the king threw his sword into the scale,\ncrying scornfully, \u2018V\u00e6 Victis,\u2019 \u2018Woe to the Conquered.\u2019\n\nAt that moment, Rome was saved from the shame of paying a ransom, for\nCamillus with his army marched into the Forum.\n\nAs Dictator, the supreme power was his, and he had the right to forbid\neven what the Senate had allowed.\n\nHe looked at the gold ornaments lying in the scales, and bade the\nRomans take them back, for, said Camillus proudly, \u2018It is usual with\nRomans to pay their debts, not in gold, but in iron.\u2019 By these words\nthe Dictator meant that the Romans used their weapons to settle their\nquarrels.\n\nThen, forcing the Gauls out of the city which they had ruined, Camillus\nand his army fought so fiercely against their enemy that not a single\nman was left alive to tell the tidings to his countrymen.\n\nKing Brennus himself was slain, and as he fell he heard the Romans\nshout in triumph the words he himself had so lately used, \u2018V\u00e6 Victis,\u2019\n\u2018Woe to the conquered.\u2019\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXVII\n\nTHE CITY IS REBUILT\n\n\nWhen the Dictator had cut the Gallic host to pieces, he returned\nto Rome. The brave defenders of the Capitol went out to meet their\ndeliverer, tears of joy streaming down their gaunt, hungry-looking\nfaces. Scarcely yet could they believe that they were saved.\n\nBut when they saw the vestal virgins returning to their temple, bearing\nwith them the fire they tended, still undimmed, and the priests also\ncoming back to the city, they grew quiet and unafraid, for were not the\nministers of the gods again in their midst?\n\nBefore aught else, the sacred places that had been pulled down must be\nrestored. It was difficult amid the ruins of the city to find the very\nspot on which the temples had stood, but they were rebuilt as nearly as\ncould be in the places where the people had been used to see them.\n\nAs the touch of the barbarian had made the sites unholy, they were\ndedicated anew to the gods, with solemn rites and sacrifices.\n\nUnder the buildings which had been destroyed some relics were found,\nas by a miracle unharmed. One of these was the staff or crook used by\nRomulus when he dwelt upon Mount Palatine, a careless shepherd lad,\nwhile another was the Laws of the Twelve Tables.\n\nBut the ancient records of the history of the seven kings were never\nfound, and this is why the story of the early days of Rome is so full\nof fancy as well as of fact.\n\nWhen the sacred places were restored, many of the poorer citizens felt\nthat they had done all that was needful. They shrank from the labour\nof rebuilding the city. Many of them, too, had houses of their own in\nVeii, which they had built while the Gauls were in Rome. They wished to\nreturn to their new homes and found a new city.\n\nCamillus was grieved that the people should wish to desert Rome, the\ncity of their birth, and he appealed to them by the things they held\nmost sacred to remain.\n\nWas it not in Rome that their beautiful temples stood? Was it not\nhere that they had ofttimes heard the sacred voices of the gods? The\npeople, touched by the words of Camillus, wavered. At that moment a\nband of soldiers halted without the Comitium or place of Assembly, the\ncenturion calling to his standard-bearer: \u2018Pitch thy standard here, for\nthis is the best place to stop at.\u2019\n\nSurely such words were not spoken by chance, thought the citizens.\nSurely they were words sent by the gods, bidding them to stay in Rome.\n\nIn this strange way the die was cast, and the people, throwing aside\ntheir indolence, began to build, pulling down the houses at Veii and\nbringing the stones to Rome to complete the rebuilding of the city.\n\nEven with the help of material from Veii, the plebeians were forced to\nborrow money from the patricians before their houses were finished, and\ntheir shops and farms replenished.\n\nAs in earlier days, the patricians showed no mercy to their debtors,\nand when they could not pay, threw them into prison or sold them as\nbondsmen.\n\nNow Manlius, who had saved the Capitol from the Gauls, was a rich man,\nand the troubles of the poor folk made him sad.\n\nOne day he saw a famous centurion, who had fought by his side in many a\nbattle, being dragged from the Forum to prison, because he was unable\nat once to pay some haughty patrician what he owed.\n\nManlius could not look on at such cruelty and do nothing. He hastened\nto the spot, paid his old comrade\u2019s debt, and set him free. This was\nonly one of the kindnesses by which he won from the grateful people the\ntitle, \u2018Father of the Commons.\u2019\n\nThe patricians soon heard that Manlius was winning the hearts of the\npeople. Jealous as ever, they determined to crush him.\n\nOn one pretext or another he was arrested, and when he stood before the\nassembly of the people he was accused of treason, for he had, so his\nenemies said, tried to make himself king.\n\nManlius was standing in the Forum when he was accused, and looking up\nhe could see the Capitol.\n\nPointing to the temple, Manlius appealed to the gods and to the\ngratitude of the Romans to save him. And the people, remembering all\nthat he had done, refused to condemn him, in spite of the anger of the\npatricians.\n\nBut the patricians were still determined to destroy the Father of the\nCommons. The very name was an offence to them.\n\nThey succeeded in once more bringing Manlius to trial; but this time\nthey arranged that it should take place in a grove, from which no\nglimpse of the Capitol could be caught.\n\nHere he was sentenced to death, and as his crime was treason, it was\ndecreed that he should be thrown down the Tarpeian Rock.\n\nThe struggle between the patricians and the plebeians lasted for nearly\nhalf a century after the death of Manlius.\n\nBut in the year 376 B.C., and for ten years afterwards, a wise man\nnamed Licinius did all that he could to make better laws for the\npeople. The laws of this tribune were called the Licinian Laws.\n\nLet me tell you three of the laws by which Licinius tried to gain fair\ntreatment for the plebeians.\n\nHe made it unlawful for the patricians to take an unjust rate of\ninterest from the poor. As the patricians had grown rich with the money\nthat they had extorted from the plebeians, they disliked this Licinian\nlaw. But to the poor it was of the greatest use.\n\nPublic land, which belonged to the poor as much as to the rich, had in\nthe past been seized by the powerful and already wealthy patricians.\nThis, said the tribune, should no longer be allowed. The land should\nhenceforth be divided justly.\n\nAnd of all these new laws, perhaps the most important was this, that\none Consul should be chosen from among the plebeians. The patricians\ndid their utmost to prevent this law from being passed, and when they\nwere forced to yield, they did so with a bad grace.\n\nTo make it clear that they still had privileges which were not shared\nby the people, they decreed that certain new magistrates should be\nelected. These new magistrates were called pr\u00e6tors, and only patricians\ncould be chosen for this new office.\n\nYet even so, the Licinian Laws improved the position of the plebeians,\nand were considered by them to be both wise and just.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXVIII\n\nCAMILLUS SETS THE CAMP OF THE VOLSCIANS ON FIRE\n\n\nWhile Rome was still at work repairing the damage which the Gauls had\ninflicted on her city, the Volscians encamped within twenty miles of\nher gates. They hoped to attack the city while she was unprepared for\nwar.\n\nBut an army at once set out to meet the enemy. Before the Romans were\naware, however, their camp was surrounded by the Volscians, and they\nwere unable either to fight or to retire.\n\nCamillus, who had again been appointed Dictator, summoned every Roman\nwho could bear arms to follow him. He then marched to within a short\ndistance of the camp of the Volscians. Here he ordered fires to be\nlighted, that the imprisoned army might know that help was at hand.\n\nBut the Volscians saw the fires as well as the Romans, and at once\nbegan to strengthen their camp with a strong barricade, made out of the\ntrunks of trees.\n\nThen, knowing that their numbers would soon be reinforced, they were\nsatisfied that the enemy could do them no harm.\n\nBut Camillus did not mean to wait until their allies joined them.\nHe determined at once to set fire to the wooden barricade that the\nVolscians had built around their camp.\n\nOrdering part of his force to attack the camp on one side, the Dictator\nwithdrew the rest of the army to that side of the camp from which the\nwind blew. He then bade the soldiers fling lighted torches in among the\nwooden defences.\n\nThe flames, blown by the wind, quickly spread from stake to stake until\nthey reached the camp itself.\n\nThere was no water at hand to quench the fire, and the Volscians were\nsoon driven from their tents, to find themselves in the hands of the\nRomans, who cut them down without mercy.\n\nCamillus then ordered the flames to be put out, that the soldiers might\npillage what was still unconsumed by the fire.\n\nLeaving his son to guard the prisoners, the Dictator was soon marching\nto Sutrium, which town was besieged by the Etruscans.\n\nBut before Camillus reached the city, he met a pitiful band of men,\nwomen and children, who had already been banished from the town by the\nvictorious enemy.\n\nTheir homes were plundered, their treasures were in the enemy\u2019s hands.\nWith nothing left, save only the clothes they wore, they were wandering\nthrough the country in search of shelter.\n\nCamillus was grieved for the misery of these poor folk. When he saw\nthat his soldiers also pitied them, he determined still to go to the\ncity, that he might wrest it once again from the Etruscans, and restore\nthe Sutrians to their homes.\n\nHe foresaw that the victorious soldiers would be feasting, that the\ngates would be unguarded.\n\nAnd so it was. Camillus had no difficulty in seizing the gates and\nmanning the walls of Sutrium. Then he ordered his soldiers to fall\nupon the merrymakers, who were celebrating their victory with song and\nfeast. Many of the Etruscans surrendered, while others waited like\ncowards to be slain. Sutrium was thus taken twice in one day.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXIX\n\nTHE BATTLE ON THE BANKS OF THE ANIO\n\n\nThe battle on the banks of the Anio took place when Camillus was no\nlonger young, and when he was attacked with illness.\n\nYet the Senate, anxious to have his help, would not listen as he\npleaded that he was unable for the duties of a tribune.\n\nBut when war broke out with the Volscians and the Pr\u00e6nestines, it sent\nanother tribune with Camillus, to lead the army, so that the old man\u2019s\nstrength might be spared. Lucius Furius was the name of the tribune who\naccompanied Camillus.\n\nThe two tribunes encamped near the enemy, Camillus hoping to avoid\nbattle until he was stronger.\n\nBut Lucius wished to win glory on the field, and was impatient to fight.\n\nThe old warrior, too generous to thwart the young tribune, agreed that\nhe should lead the army to the field; yet he feared that the rashness\nof Lucius might lead to defeat.\n\nOwing to his feeble health, Camillus himself stayed in the camp,\nwith only a small company of soldiers. But he could see all that was\nhappening on the battlefield.\n\nAs he had feared, Lucius proved too rash a leader, and the Roman army\nwas soon in dire confusion and flying toward the camp.\n\nSuch a sight was more than the brave old warrior could endure. Leaping\nfrom his couch, he bade those who were near to follow him.\n\nThen as the fugitives saw their old general, who had so often led them\nto victory, forcing his way toward the enemy, shame stayed their flight.\n\nSwiftly they rallied, and turning, followed Camillus, so that the\nVolscians and the Pr\u00e6nestines were in their turn forced to flee.\n\nThe next day Camillus led the whole army against the foe, and fought so\nfiercely that before long the enemy was in full retreat. Many of the\nfugitives sought refuge in their camp, but the Romans followed, and\ndriving them from the shelter of the tents, put them to death.\n\nThen, having won these three victories, Camillus returned in triumph to\nRome, carrying with him much plunder.\n\nBut the old warrior was not yet to be allowed to rest.\n\nIn 381 B.C. war broke out in Tusculum, which town had long been\nfaithful to Rome, and Camillus was sent to put down the rebellion. He\nwas told to choose one of his five colleagues to help him.\n\nEach tribune longed for the glory of accompanying Camillus, but his\nchoice fell upon Lucius, who had so nearly lost a battle in the last\nwar. Perhaps the great general wished to give the tribune a chance to\nretrieve his mistake.\n\nWhen the Tusculans heard that Camillus was approaching their gates with\na large army, they speedily repented of their rebellion and laid down\ntheir arms.\n\nPloughmen hastened back to their fields, shepherds to their sheep.\nTradesmen, too, were soon again busy in their workshops, children were\nin their places at school, while the well-to-do citizens walked about\nthe streets in their usual dress, unarmed.\n\nWhen the tribunes arrived at Tusculum, they were welcomed by the\nmagistrates with every sign of pleasure, and entertained as hospitably\nas though they were eagerly expected guests.\n\nCamillus was too wise to be deceived by these simple folk, yet seeing\ntheir penitence, he was sorry for them.\n\nSo, instead of punishing them, he merely bade them send ambassadors to\nthe Senate to beg for forgiveness, promising himself to speak on their\nbehalf.\n\nThe Senate proved merciful. For the city was forgiven, and her\ninhabitants were made Roman citizens.\n\nAbout five years later, in 376 B.C., the Latins were defeated so\nseverely by the Romans, that they were glad to enter into alliance with\ntheir conquerors. Then for nearly ten years Rome enjoyed greater peace\nthan had been her lot for long. It was during these years that Licinius\nmade the laws of which I have told you.\n\nBut in 367 B.C., the Gauls, who were still dreaded by the Romans,\nmarched with a large army toward Rome, laying waste the country through\nwhich they passed.\n\nCamillus, although now eighty years of age, was again made Dictator.\n\nBefore leading his army against the dreaded foe, the Dictator ordered\nsmooth and polished helmets of iron to be made. In other days he had\nseen that the swords of the Gauls swept down with relentless force on\nthe heads and shoulders of the Romans. Now he hoped that their blows\nwould glance off the smooth surface of the iron helmets, or be broken.\n\nThe Roman shields, too, were made of wood, but Camillus ordered their\nrims to be strengthened with bands of brass.\n\nWith his army thus equipped, the Dictator felt that victory was secure.\n\nThe Gauls, already laden with the plunder that they had taken on their\nmarch, were encamped near the river Anio.\n\nWithin sight of the camp was a hill with hollows, behind which it would\nbe easy to hide from the enemy. To this hill Camillus led his men,\ncarefully concealing the larger number of them behind these hollows so\nthat from the Gallic camp the Roman soldiers seemed but a small company.\n\nThe Gauls were indeed completely deceived. It seemed to them that the\nRomans did not mean to attack them; that they had fled for safety to\nthe hills.\n\nCamillus, wishing to lure the Gauls into danger, never stirred, even\nwhen the enemy ventured close to his trenches in search of plunder.\n\nSoon, careless of the enemy, the barbarians scattered over the country\nin search of forage, while those left in the camp spent day and night\nin song and feast.\n\nThen the Dictator knew that the time for action had come.\n\nHe sent a small company of his men to harass the enemy, while early the\nfollowing morning he marched with his whole army to the foot of the\nhill.\n\nThe barbarians were dismayed when they saw so great a host in battle\narray, and before they could form into their proper ranks the enemy was\nupon them.\n\nShouting their wild battle-cries, the Gauls then drew their swords and\nfought with fury. But their swords were soon twisted or broken, as they\nslid off the polished helmets worn by the Roman soldiers. To complete\ntheir discomfort, the javelins which Camillus now bade his soldiers\nthrow at the enemy\u2019s shields, stuck fast in them, until they grew too\nheavy to wield.\n\nAs their swords were useless, the Gauls sought to pull the javelins out\nof their shields, that they might use the Romans\u2019 weapons against the\nenemy.\n\nBut Camillus saw what they meant to do, and ordered his men to advance\nswiftly, and cut the Gauls to pieces before they could carry out their\nplan. The foremost were speedily hewn down, while those who could fled\nover the plains, for the hills were already held by the Romans.\n\nSo sure of victory had the Gauls been, that they had left their camp\nunguarded, and it too was soon captured.\n\nThirteen years before, the defeat at Allia and the sack of Rome had\nfilled the Romans with a superstitious fear of the fierce Gallic\nwarriors.\n\nThe battle now won by the banks of the river Anio for ever put an end\nto their dread of the barbarians.\n\nCamillus returned once more in triumph to Rome, to find yet another\nservice he could do for the country he had served so loyally and loved\nso well.\n\nCivil war was on the point of breaking out, for the people, acting\naccording to one of the Licinian laws, had chosen Sextus, a plebeian,\nto be Consul.\n\nThe Senate and patricians were not at all ready to carry out this law.\nIndeed, it seemed that they would rather fight than let the people\nhave their will. As the plebeians refused to give up their new-won\nprivilege, the city was in an uproar.\n\nBut Camillus had great influence with the Senate, and he persuaded it\nto yield to the just demand of the people. So the angry passions of the\npatricians and the plebeians were allayed, and Sextus became the first\nplebeian Consul.\n\nIn the following year, 366 B.C., a pestilence swept over Italy, and in\nRome, among many who perished was the brave old soldier Camillus.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XL\n\nTHE CURTIAN LAKE\n\n\nThe pestilence, to which Camillus fell a prey, did not cease until 361\nB.C.\n\nDuring the second year, the superstitious folk, of whom there were\nmany, were startled by strange omens.\n\nThe Tiber overflowed its banks. This was perhaps not so unusual as\nto alarm the citizens of Rome, but when the waters streamed into the\nCircus it was certainly strange. For at that very time games were\nbeing held there, in the hope of propitiating the gods, so that the\npestilence might be stayed.\n\nBut the flood speedily put an end to the games, and the people wondered\nif this was the answer of the gods.\n\nThe flood was alarming, but still more so was an earthquake that took\nplace before the people had forgotten their fears. It is supposed that\nthe earthquake gave rise to the well-known legend of the Curtian Lake.\n\nFor it was after the shock that a gulf wide and deep yawned in the\nForum. The Romans believed that the gods who had sent the pestilence\nhad now opened this terrible abyss in their market-place.\n\nIn vain the terrified people tried to fill up the gulf. However much\nthey threw into it, there it was, deep, dark, mysterious as before.\n\nThen the Romans went to their priests and begged them to learn from the\ngods how the gulf might be closed.\n\nThe answer, when it came, seemed almost as perplexing as had been the\nproblem. \u2018Never will the awful chasm disappear until into it has been\nthrown the best and truest strength of Rome.\u2019\n\nWhat was the true strength of the city? With grave faces and anxious\nhearts the people pondered the answer of the gods.\n\nSuddenly the truth flashed into the mind of a noble youth named\nCurtius, who was known among his fellows as a brave and gallant soldier.\n\n\u2018The true strength of Rome,\u2019 said Curtius, \u2018can lie in naught save in\nthe arms and in the valour of her children. To think otherwise would\nshame us all.\u2019\n\nSo, believing that he had discovered the will of the gods, the noble\nyouth donned his armour, mounted his steed, and plunged headlong into\nthe abyss.\n\nA great crowd had gathered in the Forum to see what Curtius meant to\ndo. For a moment the people stood in silence, awed by the fate of the\nyoung Roman, and full of admiration for his deed.\n\nThen, rousing themselves, they took offerings of gold and precious\nornaments and flung them after the bold rider and his horse, and as\nthey did so, slowly the gulf closed. And since that day the place where\nonce the chasm yawned has been called the Curtian Lake.\n\nBefore the plague was subdued, in 361 B.C., the Gauls once more invaded\nRoman lands, and a terrible battle was again fought, near the river\nAnio.\n\nTitus Manlius engaged in single combat with one of the barbarians, who\nwas strong and tall as a giant. Yet so bravely did the Roman fight that\nthe giant was slain. Then Manlius took from the neck of his foe a gold\ncollar. As the Latin word for necklet is \u2018torques,\u2019 Manlius and his\ndescendants were ever after called Torquati.\n\nWhen the Gauls saw that their champion was slain, they retreated; yet\nfor a year and a half they continued to harass the Romans. But in 358\nB.C. they were defeated so severely that those who were left after the\nbattle were glad to escape from the neighbourhood of Rome.\n\nTen years later, however, the Gauls were once again laying waste the\nplains and coasts of Latium.\n\nFurius Camillus, son of the great Camillus, was Consul, and as his\ncolleague had died, he alone was responsible for the safety of the\nState.\n\nHe, like his father, was a brave soldier, and his army soon scattered\nthe Gauls.\n\nDuring the battle, as Valerius fought in single combat with one of the\nstrongest of the barbarians, a strange sight was seen.\n\nA crow circled over the heads of the combatants, then suddenly it flew\ndown and perched on the helmet of the Roman.\n\nThe clashing of swords, the cries of the barbarians, did not disturb\nthe bird. It sat on the helmet of Valerius as still as though it was\nperched on a tree in the forest.\n\nBut by and by this strange crow began to watch what Valerius and the\nGaul were doing. Seizing its chance, it darted again and again between\nthe combatants, flapping its wings and tearing with beak and claws at\nthe face and eyes of the barbarian.\n\nUnable to see what he was doing with his sword, as well as unable to\navoid the thrusts of his foe, the Gaul tried in vain to get rid of the\nbird.\n\nAt length, worn out with the unequal struggle, the barbarian fell, and\nValerius was hailed as victor.\n\nThe crow, as though content with the result of the battle, now flew\naway and was seen no more; but from that time Valerius was called\nCorvus, corvus being the Latin word for a crow.\n\nAfter the victory of Camillus, the Gauls left Rome undisturbed until\nthe end of the third Samnite war, in 290 B.C.\n\nAbout the Samnite wars I am now going to tell you.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLI\n\nTHE DREAM OF THE TWO CONSULS\n\n\nThe Samnites were a rough and hardy race of warriors, whose homes were\namong the mountains of the Apennines.\n\nIn 343 B.C. they determined to wrest Campania, in the south of Italy,\nfrom the Romans.\n\nThe wars of the Samnites lasted for many long years, and when at\nlength Rome conquered, she was mistress of Italy. But before she was\nvictorious, the first, second, and third Samnite wars had been fought\nand won.\n\nOf the first Samnite war little is known, save that it lasted for three\nyears, and that the Romans won three battles.\n\nDuring this first war, however, the Latins, who had allied themselves\nwith Rome, revolted. They wished to be given the full rights of Roman\ncitizens, and they demanded that one Consul, as well as half the\nmembers of the Senate should be Latins. Nor was this all. For they\nrefused to be content unless Latium and Rome were henceforth counted as\none Republic.\n\nThe Romans did not for a moment dream of granting such ambitious\ndemands. Indeed, they resolved to punish the Latins for their\npresumption in making such large requests.\n\nSo they went to war and fought, until the Latins lost their last\nstronghold and were forced again to submit to Rome.\n\nThe Latins had gained little by provoking their former allies, for\nwhile some Latin cities were granted the rights of Roman citizens, all\nwere forced to send soldiers to the Roman army.\n\nTwo famous stories are told of the war with the Latins.\n\nThe armies had encamped near to each other on the plain of Capua, in\nthe south of Italy.\n\nManlius Torquatus was one of the Consuls, and he, with his colleague,\nhad given strict orders that no soldier was to engage in single combat.\n\nBut the son of Torquatus chanced to be challenged by one of the enemy,\nand the temptation to fight was more than the young man could stand.\n\nWas he victorious, what glory he would win! Was he beaten, he could\nbut die! So, despite the strict order of the Consuls, young Manlius\naccepted the challenge.\n\nGroups of Roman and Latin soldiers watched the combat with the keenest\ninterest, and when at length, after a gallant fight, Manlius slew his\nopponent, a shout of triumph arose from his comrades. But the Latins\nlooked on, sullen and ashamed, while their champion was stripped of his\narms.\n\nFlushed with victory, and thinking that his father would forgive his\ndisobedience, the youth hastened to the tent of Torquatus, and laid the\narms he had taken from his foe at his father\u2019s feet.\n\nBut discipline was dear to the Consul\u2019s heart, and he did not greet his\nson as he entered the tent, but turned coldly away from him. Had it\nbeen any other who had disobeyed, punishment swift and sharp would have\ndescended on the culprit.\n\nIt made Torquatus angry to think that he should dream even for a\nmoment of being more merciful to his own son than to another. He loved\ndiscipline, but he loved his son as well. So it was with a mighty\neffort that he resolved that, although it was his own son who had\ntransgressed, punishment swift and sharp should be inflicted on him.\n\n[Illustration: The youth laid the arms he had taken from his foe at\nhis father\u2019s feet.]\n\nCold and stern, the Consul\u2019s voice rang out, bidding the soldiers\nassemble in front of his tent, and there, before them all, he ordered\nthat his son should be beheaded.\n\nNo one dared to dispute the order of the Consul, and the soldiers\nlooked on in horror while their brave young comrade was put to death\nbecause of his disobedience.\n\nThe soldiers hated Torquatus for his severity, and never forgot it.\nBut if they hated, they also feared, and never again were his commands\ndisobeyed.\n\nThe second story is about a terrible battle that was fought close to\nMount Vesuvius.\n\nIt was the night before the battle that the two Consuls, Torquatus and\nDecius Mus, both dreamed the same dream.\n\nA man taller than any mortal appeared to each of the Consuls, and\nwarned him that in the battle which was to be fought, both sides must\nsuffer, one losing its leader, the other its whole army.\n\nIn the morning, when the Consuls found that each had dreamed exactly\nthe same dream, they determined to appeal to the gods. Even as their\ndreams were alike, so also was the answer each received.\n\n\u2018The gods of the dead, and earth, the mother of all, claim as their\nvictim the general of one party and the army of the other.\u2019\n\nAt all costs the Roman army must be saved. Of that neither Consul had\nany doubt. Nor did they shrink when they realised that to save the army\none of them must perish.\n\nSo Manlius and Decius Mus agreed that the one whose legions should\nfirst give way before the enemy should give himself up to the gods of\nthe dead.\n\nWhen the battle was raging most fiercely, the right wing of the Latins\ncompelled one of the Roman divisions to give way. The leader of the\ndivision was Decius Mus.\n\nWithout a murmur, the Consul prepared to fulfil the agreement he had\nmade with Torquatus. By doing so he was sure that he would save the\narmy from destruction.\n\nTurning to a priest who was on the battlefield, he begged to be told\nhow best to devote himself to the gods.\n\nThen the priest bade Decius Mus take the toga that he wore as Consul,\nbut which was not usually seen on the battlefield, and wrap it round\nhis head, holding it close to his face with one of his hands. His feet\nthe Consul placed on a javelin, and then, as the priest bade, he prayed\nto the god of the dead.\n\n\u2018God of the dead, I humbly beseech you, I crave and doubt not to\nreceive this grace from you, that you prosper the people of Rome with\nall might and victory; and that you visit the enemies of the people of\nRome ... with terror, with dismay, and with death.\n\n\u2018And, according to these words which I have spoken, so do I now, on\nbehalf of the Commonwealth of the Roman people ... devote the legions\nand the foreign aids of our enemies, along with myself, to the god of\nthe dead and to the grave.\u2019\n\nWhen he had prayed, Decius Mus sent his lictors to tell Manlius what he\nwas about to do.\n\nThen, with his toga wrapped across his face, the noble Roman leaped\nupon his horse, and fully armed, plunged into the midst of the Latin\narmy and was slain.\n\nInspired by the courage of Decius Mus, and knowing that the vengeance\nof the gods would now fall upon their enemies, the Romans fought with\nfresh courage.\n\nAt first the Latins were dismayed and driven backward. But they soon\nrallied, and fought so fiercely that it seemed as though the sacrifice\nof the Consul had been in vain.\n\nBut just as the Romans were beginning to give way, Manlius with a band\nof veterans rushed to their aid, and with loud cheers dashed upon the\nenemy.\n\nThe Latins, already weary, were not able to withstand this new shock.\nSo the Romans were soon victorious, and slaughtered or took prisoners\nnearly a fourth part of the Latin army.\n\nTorquatus now returned to Rome, expecting to receive a great triumph.\nBut the citizens looked on his procession in silence and dislike, for\nhe had come back from battle without his colleague.\n\nIn this the Romans were unjust to Torquatus, for had his legions been\nthe first to flinch before the enemy, he would have faced death as\nbravely as did Decius Mus.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLII\n\nTHE CAUDINE FORKS\n\n\nOne of the chief events of the Second Samnite war took place in 321\nB.C., at a gorge or pass called the Caudine Forks.\n\nGaius Pontius, the general of the Samnite army, was encamped at\nCaudium. He had hoped to hold the passes which led from the plain of\nNaples to the higher mountain valleys among the Apennines.\n\nBut one day he thought of a better plan. If he could but entice the\nRoman army into the mountain passes, he would have them in a trap\nbefore they were aware.\n\nSo he sent two countrymen to Rome, bidding them report to the Consuls\nthat the Samnite army had left Caudium and marched to Apulia, where\nthey were besieging the town of Luceria.\n\nThe Consuls had no reason to doubt the truth of the countrymen\u2019s words,\nand as Luceria was held by allies of Rome, they resolved to send an\narmy to her help, lest she should fall into the hands of the enemy.\n\nSo before long the Roman legions were marching toward Apulia. As the\nshortest way lay through the pass of the Caudine Forks, and as the\nConsul Postumius, who was at the head of the legions, believed that the\nSamnite army was far away, he did not hesitate to enter the gorge.\n\nIt was a deep and gloomy pass, between rugged mountains. As the Romans\nadvanced, the gorge grew more narrow and precipitous, and they were\nglad when at length they approached the end of the dangerous path. But\ntheir pleasure was soon changed to anxiety, for the exit from the pass\nwas barricaded with trees and great masses of stone.\n\nPostumius began to suspect treachery. It was plain that the trees had\nbut recently been cut down. Suppose the barricades were the work of the\nSamnites! The Consul at once ordered the army to retreat.\n\nBut long before the weary legions reached the opening by which they had\nentered the pass they felt sure that they were caught in a trap.\n\nThe Samnites were indeed guarding the entrance, and escape was\nimpossible.\n\nNevertheless, the Romans made a gallant attempt to scale the side of\nthe steep mountains that brooded over the gorge, and when they reached\nthe opening they even tried to make their way through the enemy. But\nthe Samnites killed or wounded all who tried to escape.\n\nWhen night fell, Postumius ordered his army to encamp in the valley at\nits broadest point, and here he awaited the will of Gaius Pontius.\n\nBut the Samnite general was in no haste to make terms with his\nprisoners. Each day that he delayed, famine would stare the Roman army\nmore closely in the face. Before long it would be forced to agree to\nwhatever terms he chose to dictate.\n\nAnd, indeed, before many days had passed, the Romans were compelled to\nyield, crying to their foes: \u2018Put us to the sword, sell us as slaves,\nor keep us as prisoners until we be ransomed, only save our bodies,\nwhether living or dead, from all unworthy insult.\u2019\n\nIt was plain that the Romans feared lest they should be treated in the\nsame way as they used their captives.\n\nFor the Romans dragged their prisoners in chains at the chariot wheels\nof their victorious generals. Often, too, their captives were beheaded\nin the common prison, and their bodies refused the rite of burial.\n\nBut Pontius used his power generously. If his terms were hard, yet they\nwere just, and had in them no trace of cruelty.\n\n\u2018Restore to us,\u2019 said the Samnite general, \u2018the towns you have taken\nfrom us, and recall the Roman colonists you have unjustly settled on\nour soil. Then conclude with us a treaty, which shall own each nation\nto be alike independent of the other. If you will swear to do this I\nwill spare your lives and let you go without ransom, each man of you\ngiving up your arms merely and keeping his clothes untouched, and you\nshall pass in sight of our army as prisoners, whom we ... set free of\nour own will, when we might have killed them, or sold them, or held\nthem to ransom.\u2019\n\nThe Consuls and officers of the army vowed to observe this treaty, and\nsix hundred knights were given as hostages to the Samnites.\n\nBut Pontius, had he been wise, would have gained the consent of the\nSenate and people of Rome to his terms, before he was content.\n\nTo the Romans, the demands of Pontius seemed severe, but yet deeper was\nthe humiliation they were to endure.\n\nThe entire army, along with the Consuls, were forced to pass beneath\nthe yoke, in the presence of, their foe. It was the only way of escape\nfrom the pass of the Caudine Forks.\n\nGiving up their arms, and wearing only a kilt which reached from their\nwaist to their knees, the vanquished army filed sullenly out of the\ngorge beneath the yoke.\n\nThis was no unusual humiliation, but was the custom in those days, and\nequal to our demand that arms should be laid down on the surrender of a\ngarrison.\n\nPontius was indeed strangely kind to his conquered foes, ordering\ncarriages for the wounded, and giving them food to eat on the march\nback to Rome.\n\nBut nothing could comfort the Romans, whose pride had been gravely\nwounded by being forced to pass beneath the yoke.\n\nIn silence, shame written clear upon their faces, they marched gloomily\nalong, with no desire to reach the end of their journey.\n\nWhen they drew near to Rome, those who lived in the country slipped\naway to their homes, hoping that none would notice them. Those who\nlived in the city waited until it was dark that they might enter unseen.\n\nThe Consuls were not able to shun the attention of the crowd, for they\nentered the city during the day. But they, too, were so ashamed that\nthey deemed themselves no longer fit to be Consuls, and escaping from\nthe people as soon as possible, they shut themselves up in their homes.\n\nRome was a gloomy city for days after the return of the disgraced army.\n\nThe senators laid aside their gold rings, and no longer wore on their\nrobes the red border which was the sign of their rank. In sombre\nattire and with grave faces they sat in the Senate-house, or paced the\nstreets, thinking of the disgrace that had overtaken their people.\n\nShops were shut, business was laid aside, while the citizens mourned\nalike for those who had returned as for those who had been slain.\n\nEre long new Consuls were elected, and they, with the Senate, agreed\nthat the treaty made with Pontius must not be kept.\n\nPostumius then offered to go back to the Samnites, with his colleague\nand officers, as a punishment for agreeing to so humiliating a treaty.\nTo this proposal the Senate gave its approval.\n\nThe Consuls and officers were then stripped of all save the kilt which\nthey had worn when they passed beneath the yoke, and thus, with their\nhands tied behind them, they were sent back to the Samnites.\u2019\n\n\u2018These men are forfeited to you in atonement for the broken treaty,\u2019\ncried those who accompanied the miserable penitents, when at length\nthey stood in the presence of Pontius.\n\nBut the Samnite general refused to receive such atonement. \u2018Either,\u2019\nsaid he, \u2018you must put your army back in the Caudine Forks, or you must\nkeep the treaty to which your Consuls agreed.\u2019\n\nAs the Romans refused to do this, the second Samnite war continued to\nbe waged.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLIII\n\nTHE DISGRACE OF THE CAUDINE FORKS AVENGED\n\n\nA year after the Romans had been, as they felt, disgraced at the\nCaudine Forks, they determined to blot out their humiliation.\n\nThe old annalists, whose one desire was to increase the glory of Rome,\nwrote of great victories and marvellous deeds achieved by the legions,\nbut historians of a later day say that not all the stories told by\nthese ancient writers are true.\n\nIt is one of these old annalists who tells that in 320 B.C. Papirius\nCursor marched with an army into Apulia. He did not venture through the\nfatal pass of the Caudine Forks, but took his men along the coast. If\nthis was a longer way it was at least safer than through the valley.\n\nReaching Luceria, Papirius took it from the Samnites, and not only so,\nbut he recaptured all the arms and standards which the Romans had lost\nat the Caudine Forks. The hostages too, who had been taken to Luceria\nby the Samnites, the Consul found and set free.\n\nThen, that the enemy might never dare to boast of the victory which\nthey had won over the Romans, Papirius made seven thousand Samnite\nsoldiers pass beneath the yoke.\n\nAnd, by the favour of the gods, Pontius was commander of the city, so\nthat the humiliation he had erstwhile forced upon the Romans he had now\nhimself to endure.\n\nAfter this victory, the Consul returned to Rome and enjoyed a triumph.\n\nThe chief object of the war was to secure Campania. After many\nbattles, in which now one army, now the other was victorious, a\ndecisive one was fought in 314 B.C., when the Romans utterly defeated\nthe Samnites. The whole of Campania was now in the hands of Rome.\n\nSo as to protect her new possessions, the Romans sent a colony to\nPonza, an island lying off the Campanian and Latin coasts. A new\ninterest thus arose in the sea: in 312 B.C. commissioners were\nappointed to look after the ships of Rome and see that they were in\ngood repair. The following year the Romans had a small fleet ready to\nsail along the coast of Campania.\n\nRome was not yet prepared to test her fleet by fighting at sea, but she\nwas now able to send troops to the coast towns of her enemies.\n\nIt was about this time that the Consul Appius Claudius began to build\nthe great road between Rome and Capua, which was called The Appian Way.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLIV\n\nFABIUS AMONG THE CIMINIAN HILLS\n\n\nOne of the most famous heroes of the second Samnite war was Fabius.\n\nBefore the disgrace of the Caudine Forks, Fabius, who was an ardent\nwarrior, had fought a battle against the command of the Dictator,\nPapirius. That he was victorious did not make Papirius less angry with\nhis disobedience. Indeed so angry was he, that he ordered that Fabius\nshould at once be beheaded. But the soldiers threatened to mutiny if\nthe order was carried out, and so for the time the life of the young\nsoldier was saved.\n\nKnowing that the Dictator would take the first opportunity to carry out\nthe sentence he had pronounced, Fabius waited only until it was dark\nand then fled from the camp to Rome.\n\nWhen he reached the city he summoned the Senate to meet, meaning to beg\nfor protection from the wrath of the Dictator.\n\nBut before the Senate had assembled, Papirius, who had followed Fabius,\ndashed into the Forum and ordered the runaway to be arrested.\n\nThe father of Fabius then besought the tribunes to interfere between\nhis son and the Dictator, declaring that if they did not do so, he\nwould appeal to the Assembly of the people.\n\nBut although the tribunes disapproved of the severity of Papirius, they\ndid not dare to interfere, for the power of the Dictator was supreme.\n\nThe people, however, who had now gathered in the Forum, speedily took\nthe matter into their own hands. With one voice they begged Papirius to\nforgive Fabius for their sake.\n\nPapirius, whose passion had had time to cool, was pleased that the\npeople should ask him to be merciful, and he promised to pardon the\ndisobedient soldier.\n\nIn 310 B.C., Fabius was elected Consul, along with Marcius. Together\nthe two Consuls set out, each with his own army, to the relief of\nSutrium, which town had already been besieged for a year by the\nEtruscans.\n\nRoman troops had tried again and again, but without success, to raise\nthe siege.\n\nNew hope was aroused in Sutrium when the citizens heard that both the\nConsuls were on the way to their relief. Before they had accomplished\nanything, however, Marcius was forced to leave his colleague to march\nagainst the Samnites, who were in Apulia, plundering the allies of Rome.\n\nFabius was left alone at Sutrium, but before long he had forced the\nEtruscans to raise the siege and had captured their camp, in which he\nfound thirty-eight standards.\n\nThe Consul then pursued the enemy across the Ciminian hills, which\nhills we now know as the mountains of Viterbo.\n\nIn these days of long ago, the Ciminian hills were densely-wooded, and\nstrange stories were told of their mysterious shades.\n\nNo pathway was to be found through these hilly forests, while their\nunknown terrors were dreaded so much that even peaceful merchants never\nattempted to reach Etruria by passing through the Ciminian hills. This\nwas the way that Fabius ventured in pursuit of the enemy.\n\nThe Senate at Rome no sooner heard of the Consul\u2019s daring, than it sent\nmessengers to bid him be less reckless. But long before the messengers\nreached the edge of the thicket, Fabius was in the depth of the\nforests.\n\nFor weeks nothing was heard of the Consul and his army, and the Senate\nbelieved that they were lost. Fabius had, however, escaped from the\nthickly-wooded hills with but few adventures, and was safe in the rich\nplains of central Etruria. If he had not captured the Etruscans, he was\nnow at least able to plunder their country.\n\nMeanwhile the dire tidings reached Rome that Marcius had been defeated\nby the Samnites, nor was it known whether the Consul had escaped with\nhis life.\n\nBereft, for the time at least, of both Consuls, the Senate resolved to\nappoint a Dictator, and Papirius, they knew, was the man to inspire the\npeople with the greatest trust.\n\nBut a Dictator must be appointed by one of the Consuls, and Marcius was\neither dead or in the hands of his enemies.\n\nFabius, of whose safety the Senate was now assured, would scarcely\nappoint Papirius to the supreme post of honour, for it was he who had\nhunted Fabius and condemned him to death in earlier days.\n\nNevertheless, the Senate determined to beg Fabius to forget the\ntreatment he had received from Papirius, and for the sake of his\ncountry to appoint him Dictator. So messengers were sent to the Consul\nwith the Senate\u2019s request.\n\nFabius had fought and won many battles, but never had he had a fiercer\none to fight than while he listened to the message sent to him by the\nSenate.\n\nHis look indeed was forbidding, and gave the ambassadors little hope of\nsuccess. Having heard what they had to say, he gave them no clue to his\nthoughts, for he dismissed them without a word.\n\nBut in the dead of night, he arose, as was the custom when a Dictator\nhad to be appointed, and gave to his enemy the coveted post. By this\nact he made himself once more the subordinate of Papirius.\n\nThe ambassadors thanked Fabius for his noble deed, but showing no\npleasure in their praise, the Consul, still without a word, sent them\nfrom his presence.\n\nFabius had won that night a more glorious victory than any he had ever\ngained on the battlefield, for he had conquered himself.\n\nNo sooner was Papirius appointed Dictator, than he marched against the\nSamnites and defeated them in a great battle. Marcius, who was alive,\nwas thus set free to return to Rome. The Samnites were forced back into\ntheir own mountain country, and in 304 B.C. they made an honourable\npeace with Rome. Thus the second Samnite war came to an end.\n\nFabius meanwhile won victory after victory over the Etruscans, and in\n304 B.C. they also made a peace with Rome, which lasted for several\nyears.\n\nRome was now mistress of Italy, and in such respect was she held that\nno tribe henceforth dared to attack her, without first enlisting other\npowers to help them in their adventure.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLV\n\nTHE BATTLE OF SENTINUM\n\n\nThe peace made with the Samnites in 304 B.C. lasted for six years,\nafter which the third war with these hardy mountaineers began.\n\nOne of the Consuls at this time was Cornelius Scipio, the\ngreat-grandfather of the famous Scipio who conquered Hannibal.\n\nNow the Samnites had persuaded the Gauls to join them in their new\nattack upon Rome, and they, it is said, surprised and slew one of\nScipio\u2019s legions. So dreadful was the slaughter that not a single\nsoldier escaped to tell the Consul, who was some distance off with the\nmain body of his army, what had happened.\n\nNor did the Romans know what had befallen their comrades, until the\nGauls, elated with victory, galloped up to the camp of the enemy\nshouting their war-cries and carrying on the point of their lances the\nheads of those whom they had slain.\n\nIn 295 B.C. the Romans grew alarmed at the forces that had united\nagainst them, for the Samnites had now not only the Gauls, but also the\nEtruscans and other tribes to strengthen them.\n\nFabius, whose courage had been tested in many a difficult position,\nwas therefore appointed Consul for the fifth time, and sent with his\ncolleague Decius to the war.\n\nThe leader of the Samnites, Egnatius, was at Sentinum in Umbria. He was\nanxious to fight without delay, for he knew how quickly the Gauls were\nused to desert their allies.\n\nSo he, as well as his men, was pleased when they saw that the Roman\nlegions, with the two Consuls at their head, had reached Sentinum.\n\nYet for two days no battle took place. But as the armies faced one\nanother, a stag chased by a wolf ran in between the two forces.\n\nThe Gauls, in their barbarous way, threw their javelins at the stag\nand killed it, while the Romans allowed the wolf to run safely through\ntheir ranks, for the beast was sacred to Mars, and its presence was to\nthem a sign of victory.\n\n\u2018The Gauls have slain the stag which is sacred to Diana,\u2019 cried the\nRoman soldiers. \u2018It is certain that her wrath will fall upon them. As\nfor us, the wolf bids us remember Quirinus, our divine founder. With\nhis aid we have naught to fear.\u2019\n\nThe Consuls could no longer restrain the eagerness of their legions,\nand they at once led them against the enemy.\n\nFabius commanded the right wing, and faced the Samnites; Decius was\nopposite the Gauls. They, as was their way, rushed with loud war-cries\nupon the foe, spurring their horses forward with fury and driving their\nwar-chariots upon the Roman cavalry.\n\nStartled by the noise of the heavy chariots and by their strange\nappearance, the Roman horses turned and fled. In their flight they\nencountered the infantry, and dashing upon it, caused the legions to\ngive way.\n\nDecius tried in vain to rally his men. Then, in despair, he determined\nto do as his father had done, and yield himself up to death, that the\narmy might be saved.\n\nSo, spurring his steed, he rode headlong into the midst of the Gallic\nwarriors and was slain.\n\nThe soldiers, seeing that the Consul had sacrificed himself for their\nsake, took courage and turned to face the foe. Decius had, by his\ndeath, won a victory for his country.\n\nFabius meanwhile, had routed the Samnites, who now added to the\nconfusion by rushing past the Gauls, in a desperate effort to reach\ntheir camp.\n\nAs the Samnites fled, the Gauls formed themselves into a dense mass,\nfor they feared that they would now be attacked by Fabius.\n\nThe Consul, however, contented himself by sending a detachment of his\nmen to harass the Gauls in their rear, and another to attack them in\nfront.\n\nThen vowing to build a temple to Jupiter and to offer him all the spoil\nif he was victorious, Fabius himself followed the Samnites and cut them\ndown ruthlessly, until at length Egnatius, their brave commander, fell.\nResistance was now at an end, yet those who were still alive refused to\nsurrender. Forming themselves into a compact body, they marched away\nand struggled back to their own country.\n\nThe Gauls too were utterly crushed, and the glory of the battle of\nSentinum belonged to Rome.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLVI\n\nTHE SON OF FABIUS LOSES A BATTLE\n\n\nThe year 295 B.C. in which the battle of Sentinum was won, was a year\nlong remembered by the Romans for its glorious victories.\n\nBut three years later their armies were defeated by the Samnites.\n\nFabius, the son of the Fabius who crossed the Ciminian hills, led the\nRoman legions against the foe. The young Consul believed that the\nSamnites had been so severely beaten during the last few years, that he\nneed take no great precautions before attacking them.\n\nIt was after a long march that Fabius encountered a small detachment of\nthe enemy. His men were weary, but he determined to pursue the foe, and\nsucceeded in making it slowly retreat.\n\nThe Consul pushed on still more eagerly, to find himself, before he was\naware, close to the entire Samnite army, which was drawn up ready for\nbattle.\n\nA terrible struggle took place. But the Romans, exhausted and\nunprepared, were slain in great numbers. Indeed had night not fallen,\nthe whole army would have been destroyed.\n\nAt Rome, the dreadful tidings roused great indignation against Fabius.\nIt was even proposed in the Senate that the young Consul should be\nrecalled and have his Consulship taken from him, a disgrace unheard of\nuntil now.\n\nBut his father pleaded that his son might be spared so heavy a\npunishment. If he was allowed to keep his command, Fabius even offered\nto go to the war and serve under his son.\n\nSo unselfish an offer could not be refused, and the veteran general was\npermitted to join the army. He lost no time in setting out, and he took\nwith him large reinforcements, for every man was willing to follow the\nbrave old chief.\n\nThe Roman soldiers were themselves anxious to retrieve their defeat.\nEncouraged by the presence of the general, who had so often led them\nto victory, they fought fiercely and defeated the Samnites, taking\nPontius, their leader, captive.\n\nWhen young Fabius returned to Rome, his former defeat was forgotten in\nthe joy of this great victory, and he enjoyed a triumph.\n\nSome histories tell that the leader of the Samnites, whom Fabius had\ncaptured, was the same Pontius who thirty years before had spared the\nlives of the Roman soldiers at Caudium.\n\nIf that was so the generous treatment of the Samnite chief was now\ncruelly requited. For as Fabius drove in his chariot through the\nstreets of Rome, Pontius, loaded with chains, walked in the procession.\nAt the foot of the Capitol he was taken, with other captives, to the\nprison beneath the Capitoline hill and beheaded.\n\nA year or two later, in 290 B.C. the third Samnite war drew to a close.\nThe last battle was won by a famous Consul, named Dentatus.\n\nThe Samnites, hoping to bribe the Roman, sought for him in his country\nhome. They found him, like Cincinnati, living quietly on his farm,\ncooking for his dinner turnips which he had himself sown in his fields.\n\nDentatus had little to say to the Samnite ambassadors, when they\noffered him bribes to desert his country, save to tell them that he did\nnot consider it a great thing to possess gold. \u2018To rule those who have\nit, is what I value,\u2019 he added sternly. And as the ambassadors withdrew\nthey saw, as in a picture, their own army defeated, and the Romans,\nwith Dentatus at their head, marching home victorious.\n\nThe Consul did indeed defeat the Samnites, so that they were forced to\nsue for peace and retire once again to their mountain strongholds.\n\nYet even now their hardy spirits were not subdued, and again and again\nyou will read of them coming down from their fastnesses to strike a\nblow at Rome. And they were wise in their warfare, choosing always the\ntime when Rome was already surrounded by other foes.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLVII\n\nPYRRHUS, KING OF THE EPIROTS\n\n\nAlong the southern coast of Italy, many of the towns were Greek, and\nhad not yet become subject to Rome.\n\nBut as Rome became more and more powerful in the south of Italy, many\nof these Greek towns, when attacked by an enemy, appealed to her for\nhelp.\n\nTarentum, the chief of these towns, was jealous of Rome, and chose to\nsend to Greece or Sicily when help was needed.\n\nDuring the second Samnite war, Rome had made a treaty with the\nTarentines, promising that no ships of war should enter the Gulf of\nTarentum.\n\nBut in the autumn of 282 B.C. ten Roman warships suddenly appeared\nbefore the harbour, to the indignation as well as to the dismay of the\nTarentines.\n\nShould the warships be allowed to enter the inner harbour, their town\nwould be in the hands of Rome. So the Tarentines speedily manned their\nships and boldly sailed to attack the enemy.\n\nOn this occasion the Tarentines showed themselves good fighters, and\nsoon they had sunk four of the Roman warships and taken one, while the\nother five escaped.\n\nThe admiral of the fleet was killed, and many soldiers and sailors were\nmade prisoners. Of these, the Tarentines sold the sailors as slaves,\nthe soldiers they put to death.\n\nKnowing that the defeat of the Roman fleet would be avenged, the\nTarentines grew reckless.\n\nThurii, a town not far off, had received help from Rome and had had a\nRoman garrison imposed upon it. The Tarentines now marched to Thurii,\nexpelled the garrison, and prepared to defend themselves from the\nconsequences of their act.\n\nBut Rome was at war with the Samnites, and was not yet ready to punish\nTarentum.\n\nShe merely sent an embassy to demand that the prisoners taken from\nher fleet should be given up, that the garrison should be restored to\nThurii.\n\nThe Tarentines not only refused to do as Rome demanded; they treated\nthe embassy with insults.\n\nThis was more than the Senate could brook. The Consul \u00c6milius was at\nonce sent with his legions into the country of the Tarentines.\n\n\u00c6milius offered the people peace on the same terms as the embassy, but\nagain the citizens flouted the offer. Then knowing that the legions of\n\u00c6milius had come to support the demands of Rome, they sent in hot haste\nto Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, begging him to come to their aid.\n\nThe Consul seeing that his terms were rejected, did indeed begin to\nplunder and lay waste the country, while the Tarentines looked but the\nmore eagerly for the answer of Pyrrhus.\n\nNor was it long in coming. In the early spring of 280 B.C. the king of\nEpirus reached Tarentum.\n\nEpirus, the region over which Pyrrhus was king, lay in the north-west\nof Greece, among wild mountains and narrow valleys.\n\nThe Epirots were proud of their king, and because of his courage on the\nbattlefield they called him the \u2018Eagle.\u2019\n\nPyrrhus knew the name his soldiers had given to him, and he said to\nthem, \u2018It is by you that I am an eagle, for how should I not be such,\nwhile I have your arms as wings to sustain me.\u2019\n\nThe king had one peculiarity, which added to the terror he at times\ninspired. When he opened his mouth no row of upper teeth was to be\nseen. Instead of teeth, one single long bone was visible, with small\nlines to mark where the separate teeth should have been. Such was the\nking who had hastened to the aid of the Tarentines.\n\nSo eager had Pyrrhus been to set out, that he had refused to wait for a\nfair wind, and a terrible storm had overtaken his fleet and scattered\nit, while he, with only a small part of his army, had been driven\nashore some distance from Tarentum.\n\nWith his army Pyrrhus had brought twenty elephants, for, the king had\nbeen in Africa and had learned there how useful these huge animals\ncould be on the battlefield. But he had reached Tarentum with only two\nelephants and a few soldiers.\n\nAfter many difficulties, however, his whole force had succeeded in\nrejoining him, bringing with it the other eighteen elephants. To the\nTarentines, as to the Romans on the battlefield, these elephants were a\nnew and awe-inspiring sight.\n\nThe king had been but a short time in Tarentum before he found that the\npeople he had come to help were lazy, and more fond of pleasure than of\nwar.\n\nThey would be well pleased to stay at home to feast, to talk of the\ngreat battles they would fight, while their new ally was in the field,\nenduring hardships and struggling with the Roman legions.\n\nThe king of the Epirots was used to having real soldiers around him,\nand he determined, if it was possible, to turn the foolish, indolent\nTarentines into an army of trained, resolute men.\n\nSo he ordered the theatres, the baths, and the other places of\namusement to be closed, and then he called upon all who were old\nenough, to enrol their names for service.\n\nThen began a strange state of affairs in Tarentum. The city was turned\ninto a military camp. Discipline was strict, and the recruits grumbled\nthat they were under arms all day, guarding the walls, or watching in\nthe market-place.\n\nThe most indolent actually made up their minds to escape, forgetting\nthat Pyrrhus was training them that they might be able to defend their\nown homes. There seemed no trace in these indifferent citizens of the\nspirit that had made them sail against the Roman fleet and turn the\nRoman garrison out of Thurii.\n\n\u2018Not understanding what it was to be commanded, these called it mere\nslavery not to do as they pleased.\u2019\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLVIII\n\nTHE ELEPHANTS AT THE BATTLE OF HERACLEA\n\n\nWhile Pyrrhus was training the lazy Tarentines, the new Consul,\nValerius, was advancing with his army toward the city, burning and\nplundering the country through which he passed. So Pyrrhus resolved\nto leave Tarentum and go to meet the enemy. Assembling his troops he\nmarched away toward the town of Heraclea, which stood on the bank of\nthe river Siris, where he determined to pitch his camp.\n\nAcross the river lay the Roman army, and the king rode along the bank\non his side of the Siris, admiring the order and discipline of the\nenemy.\n\n\u2018We shall see presently what they can do,\u2019 he said to a friend who rode\nby his side.\n\nWishing to keep the Romans from crossing the river until his\nreinforcements arrived, Pyrrhus ordered soldiers to guard the passage.\n\nBut Valerius did not mean to wait for the king to strengthen his force,\nand he at once sent his cavalry higher up the Siris to cross at a ford,\nwhile he, with his infantry, tried to cross the river in spite of the\nguard set by Pyrrhus.\n\nThe king immediately advanced with three thousand horse, hoping to\nscatter the Romans ere they succeeded in reaching the opposite bank.\n\nBut protecting themselves with their shields, the Roman soldiers were\nsoon scrambling out of the river.\n\nPyrrhus, ordering his men to form in closer ranks, then led them\nagainst the enemy. His armour, richer and more beautiful than that of\nhis soldiers, at once attracted the attention of the Romans and drew on\nhim the most determined attacks.\n\nHis friends, seeing the danger to which the king was exposed, begged\nhim to beware.\n\nOne of them, pointing to a barbarian who rode upon a black horse with\nwhite feet, said, \u2018Sire, yonder fellow fixes his whole attention on you\nalone, taking no notice of others. Be on your guard against him.\u2019\n\nThe king answered, \u2018It is impossible for any man to avoid his fate,\nbut neither he nor any other Italian shall have much satisfaction in\nengaging with me.\u2019\n\nAt that moment the Roman, spurring on his horse and lowering his spear,\ndashed upon the king.\n\nPyrrhus fell to the ground, for his steed was pierced by the enemy\u2019s\nspear.\n\nQuick as lightning, Leonnatus, who had warned Pyrrhus of this very\nsoldier, killed the Roman\u2019s horse, and before he or any other of the\nenemy could reach the king, his friends had dragged him to a place of\nsafety. He was then persuaded to change his armour with one of his\nofficers named Megacles.\n\nThe Romans now fiercely attacked Megacles, and at length they succeeded\nin dragging him from his horse and in wounding him to death.\n\nThen the victors seized his helmet and cloak and hastened with them to\ntheir general, to show that they had indeed killed the king.\n\nThe royal trophies were placed on the point of a spear and carried\nalong the lines of the Roman army, that all might see that the king was\nslain.\n\nWhile the Romans shouted for joy, the Greeks looked on in dismay,\nthinking that their Eagle king was no longer alive.\n\n[Illustration: The armour of Pyrrhus was richer and more beautiful than\nthat of his soldiers.]\n\nBut Pyrrhus soon learned what had happened, and dashing to the\nfront, he rode bare-headed before his men, shouting to them to follow\nhim.\n\nThe Consul now determined to bring forward the force he had kept in\nreserve, thinking that it would decide the day. But Pyrrhus too had a\nreserve force, and a more terrible one than his enemy. This was his\ntwenty elephants, which, with towers on their backs filled with armed\nmen, he now let loose upon the foe.\n\nThe huge beasts, trumpeting loudly, were more than the Roman horses\ncould stand. Wild with fear at the sight of such strange monsters, they\ngalloped madly away, either throwing their riders or carrying them off\nthe battlefield.\n\nMany of the fallen were trampled to death by the elephants, while the\nvictorious Greeks hastened in pursuit of the flying legions.\n\nThe whole Roman army would have been destroyed save for an accident.\n\nAs he fled, one of the Roman soldiers flung his spear at an elephant\nand wounded it. The beast, wild with pain, turned back upon its own\narmy, making the other elephants also restive.\n\nBefore order was restored and the animals pacified, the main body of\nthe Romans had escaped across the Siris.\n\nPyrrhus had gained a victory indeed, but he had lost a large number\nof his men. As he looked sadly upon the hosts of the dead lying upon\nthe battlefield, he cried, \u2018Another such victory and I must return to\nEpirus alone.\u2019\n\nThe sight of the Roman soldiers slain in battle roused his admiration,\nfor he noticed that their wounds were all in front. \u2018Had I such\nsoldiers,\u2019 said the king, \u2018I should soon be master of the world.\u2019\nPyrrhus must have been thinking as he spoke of the lazy, undisciplined\nTarentines, for his own brave Epirots were surely the last to turn\ntheir backs to an enemy.\n\nWhen tidings of the king\u2019s victory became known, many Greek towns sent\ntardy recruits to the conqueror.\n\nAnd Pyrrhus, who had a generous heart, gave to these a share of the\nplunder, and rebuked them but lightly for joining him only after the\nbattle was won.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLIX\n\nPYRRHUS TRIES TO FRIGHTEN FABRICIUS\n\n\nAfter the great victory of Heraclea, Pyrrhus sent his minister Cineas\nto Rome to offer terms of peace.\n\nCineas was an orator. By the magic of his word he could sway men\u2019s\nminds and wills, and it was said that he, by his tongue, had won more\ncities than Pyrrhus by his sword.\n\nBetween the eloquence of Cineas and the fear of another defeat, the\nSenate wavered--almost it was tempted to accept the terms offered by\nthe conqueror of Heraclea.\n\nAs the Senate hesitated, Appius Claudius, who was now old and blind,\nappeared before the Assembly, leaning upon the arms of his sons. He had\nheard that the Senate thought of accepting the terms of the conqueror,\nand old and feeble as he was, he had come to protest against so\ndisloyal a deed.\n\n\u2018Hitherto, Fathers,\u2019 said the old man, \u2018I used to mourn that I was\ndeprived of the light of the eye; now, however, I should consider\nmyself happy, if, in addition to that, I had lost the sense of hearing,\nthat I might not hear the disgraceful counsels which are here openly\nproposed to the shame of the Roman name.... Whither have your pride and\nyour courage flown?\u2019\n\nWeak as the old man was, he spoke with such passion and such wisdom,\nthat when he ended, there was not a single member of the Senate who was\nnot prepared to vote that war should continue until Pyrrhus had been\nforced to withdraw from Italy.\n\nCineas, as he listened to the passionate words of Appius Claudius, knew\nthat his cause was lost. He was indeed bidden to hasten back to his\nmaster and say that the Romans would never make peace with him, no, not\nif he \u2018should have defeated a thousand such as the Consul Valerius.\u2019\n\nMeanwhile Pyrrhus had marched north, to Capua, hoping to seize the\ntown, only, however, to find that Valerius had already taken possession\nof it.\n\nDisappointed as he was, the king continued his march until he was\nwithin twenty-three miles of Rome. And as he marched Valerius followed,\nharassing his rear on every possible occasion.\n\nThen Pyrrhus, hearing that a Dictator had been appointed and was ready\nto oppose him, retreated to Tarentum, where he spent the winter months.\n\nThe victory of Heraclea had been followed only by a useless march.\n\nDuring the winter an embassy, led by Fabricius, came from Rome to\nTarentum, to offer an exchange of prisoners.\n\nCineas advised the King to try to bribe the Roman. So Pyrrhus offered\nFabricius splendid gifts, but he answered proudly, \u2018If I am base how\ncan I be worth a bribe, if honest how can you expect me to take one?\nPoverty with honesty is more to be desired than wealth.\u2019\n\nThen Pyrrhus, finding that the advice of Cineas had been useless,\ndetermined to try a plan of his own. Perhaps he would be able to\nfrighten Fabricius into doing as he wished, and this is the strange way\nhe chose.\n\nHe ordered his largest elephant to be placed in the room in which he\nand the Roman were to meet. The elephant was to be hidden by a curtain,\nwhich at a signal from the king was to be drawn aside.\n\nSo the next day when Pyrrhus and the ambassador met, their conversation\nwas suddenly interrupted, and the Roman to his astonishment found\nhimself standing close to a huge beast, whose trunk and tusks would\nhave looked formidable enough even to a strong soldier, while\nFabricius was an old man.\n\nBut when the elephant began to trumpet, the Roman only laughed, and\nwithout stirring he said, \u2018The beast cannot move me to-day more than\nyour gold yesterday.\u2019\n\nFabricius had easily guessed the meaning of the strange interruption,\nand of the appearance of the huge animal in the king\u2019s sitting-room.\n\nPyrrhus saw that it was hopeless to try to come to terms with the\nRoman, and he again prepared for war.\n\nEarly in 279 B.C. he marched into Apulia, and there, near the town of\nAsculum, another great battle was fought.\n\nThe Romans had learned to dread the terrible war-elephants which\naccompanied Pyrrhus on the battlefield. To cope with them, they had\nwagons built, with spikes fixed to the wheels. These wagons were filled\nwith soldiers, who carried javelins, ready to throw at the dread beasts.\n\nBut Pyrrhus made these precautions of little use, for he sent the\nelephants to a part of the field where no wagons had been placed.\n\nLong and terrible was the struggle between the two armies.\n\nThe elephants, with archers scattered among them, advanced in a\nclosely-formed body upon the Romans, while the Greeks, using their\nswords, seemed heedless of their wounds, so only they might get to\nclose quarters with the enemy. But here, as at Heraclea, the elephants\ndashed upon the Romans before they were aware, and they were forced to\nflee.\n\nPyrrhus and many of his officers were wounded, and although the day was\ntheirs, they were soon glad to retire to Tarentum, until their wounds\nwere healed.\n\nThe victory of Asculum seemed of as little use as that of Heraclea, for\nwhen his wound was healed, Pyrrhus found that so many of his men had\nperished, that he could not again take the field until reinforcements\narrived from Epirus.\n\nSo in the spring of 278 B.C. the king once again tried to make terms\nwith Rome.\n\nBut the Senate still heard the brave words of Appius Claudius ringing\nin its ears, and it refused even to discuss terms of peace with the\nvictor.\n\nMeanwhile the people of Tarentum showed their dislike to the discipline\nof the king more and more plainly. Their ingratitude and the approach\nof the hostile armies of Rome I made Pyrrhus glad to leave Tarentum.\n\nSo he sailed to Sicily, where the Greek colonies were in danger from\nthe Carthaginians, who had come from Africa in hope of new conquests.\n\nHe spent two years in the island, where at first he won great\nvictories. But here, as in Italy, he seemed unable to reap good from\nhis conquests.\n\nMoreover his officers, although they began by behaving well to the\nSicilians, soon showed themselves to be both greedy and cruel. In 276\nB.C. the people resolved to endure these foreign soldiers no longer,\nand they hounded them out of the island.\n\nPyrrhus then went back to Italy, where both the Tarentines and the\nSamnites were becoming alarmed at the growing power of Rome.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER L\n\nPYRRHUS IS DEFEATED\n\n\nPyrrhus found it no easy task to return to Italy, for the Romans had\nmade a league with the Carthaginians, whose fleet was now watching the\nshore, to prevent him from landing.\n\nBut the soldier-king was not easily daunted, and although in a battle\nwith the Carthaginian fleet he lost a number of his ships, he succeeded\nin reaching Italy.\n\nWhen the king now marched for the second time into Tarentum, it was at\nthe head of as large an army as he had brought with him from Epirus.\n\nBut although in numbers his army was as strong as before, in real\nstrength it had lost much. For the king\u2019s own faithful veterans had\nperished on the battlefields of Heraclea and Asculum, and their place\nwas taken by hired soldiers. And of true courage and devotion to their\nleader, what did these hired fighters know?\n\nThe king himself, too, had lost hope of achieving great things in\nItaly, and Cineas was no longer living to cheer him with his outbursts\nof eloquence. Yet his name alone, had he but known it, still awoke\nterror among the legions of Rome, and made them shrink from meeting him\nagain in battle.\n\nMeanwhile the Consul Dentatus, with his army, had already left Rome,\nand was marching along the Appian Way toward Maleventum. Here he took\nup a strong position on the hills, hoping to fight as soon as his\ncolleague joined him.\n\nPyrrhus knew that his cavalry and elephants could be of little use on\nthe hilly ground on which the Romans had taken up their position, yet,\nrather than wait until Dentatus was strengthened by the arrival of his\ncolleague, he at once offered battle.\n\nAll might have gone well for the king had not one of his young\nelephants been wounded. In its pain and fright it rushed wildly hither\nand thither among the other elephants, seeking its mother.\n\nThe beasts were soon thrown into utter confusion, while the hired\nsoldiers were seized with panic, and proved useless in quelling the\ndisorder.\n\nTwo of the elephants were at length killed by the Romans, while four\nwere captured and led in the triumph of Dentatus, when he returned\nvictorious to Rome.\n\nFor the king was utterly defeated and forced to escape, with only a few\nfollowers, to Tarentum. In 274 B.C. he sailed back to Epirus, having\nlost all hope of gaining a kingdom in Italy. But he left a garrison in\nTarentum, under one of his officers.\n\nThe town, however, was blockaded by the Carthaginian fleet and besieged\nby the Consul Papirius, and soon, being in a sorry strait for want of\nfood, it was forced to surrender.\n\nLatin colonies were then sent to settle in many towns that had until\nnow been held by the Greeks, and soon Rome was mistress from the river\nRubicon to the extreme south of Italy.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LI\n\nTHE ROMANS BUILD A FLEET\n\n\nThe Romans had conquered Pyrrhus with the help of the Carthaginians.\nNow that they no longer needed the help of their new allies, the Romans\nwould have been glad had the Carthaginians sailed away to their home in\nAfrica. But this they did not seem to think of doing.\n\nIn Sicily they took possession of many Greek towns, and this made Rome\njealous. Their fleet, too, was often seen sailing along the coasts of\nItaly.\n\nLike the Vikings of the North, the Carthaginians would suddenly swoop\ndown upon some undefended coast town and plunder it and the surrounding\ndistrict. Farm-houses were burned, plantations destroyed, and men\nand women dragged away to be sold as slaves, long before the Romans\nhad been able to gather an army and march to the spot to punish the\noffenders.\n\nBut such insolence Rome could not brook, and she declared war against\nthe bold intruders. This was the beginning of the first Punic war,\nwhich was the name given to the struggle between the Romans and P\u0153ni or\nCarthaginians for the empire of the world.\n\nOn land the Romans quickly showed that they were more powerful than\ntheir former allies, and in about three years the Carthaginians had\nbeen forced to sail away to the shores of Africa, while those who\nstayed behind held only a few sea-coast towns in Sicily.\n\nBut the Carthaginian fleet was as powerful as ever, and the Romans saw\nthat they would never get rid of their enemy, until they, too, had a\nfleet, and could cope with them on sea as well as on land. So, although\nthey knew little about ships and none of them were sailors, the Romans\ndetermined to build a fleet.\n\nThe Carthaginian warships were large vessels with five benches, built\none above the other. The five benches were provided for five sets of\nrowers.\n\nThese large five-decked boats were called quinqueremes, quinque being\nthe Latin word for five, and remus for an oar.\n\nOne day, one of these Punic vessels was stranded on the Italian coast.\nHere was the very model the Romans needed. They seized it, and sent it\nto Rome as a copy for the ships that were to form the new fleet.\n\nWhen the quinquereme reached Rome the shipwrights at once set to work.\nForests were hewn down, timber was sawn, and in two short months the\nRomans had built and launched one hundred ships, large and solid as\nthose of the Carthaginians.\n\nAnd what was perhaps even more wonderful was that there were sailors\nready to man the fleet. For while the ships were being built, the men\nchosen to form the crew had been placed on benches on dry land. These\nbenches were arranged in the position they would have on board.\n\nHere the landsmen, who had still to be changed into sailors, had\npractised the movements of the oars, and had learned to keep time as\nthey would have to do when actually at sea. A musical accompaniment had\nhelped them to pull the oars together.\n\nBut these hastily trained sailors could not hope to handle their\nvessels as skilfully as the well-trained mariners of Carthage. So the\nRomans added to each ship a solid wooden bridge, with a spike at the\nend. When the enemy\u2019s ship drew near, the Romans meant to drop the\nbridge, which was attached to the masts, on to the deck of their foe.\nThe spike, sinking into the deck by the force of the fall, would hold\nthe ship, while the Romans would rush across this rough drawbridge and\nfight with their enemy at close quarters, as though they were on land.\n\nIn 260 B.C. the new fleet put to sea under the command of the Consul\nDuilius, and before long it met the enemy on the northern coast of\nSicily.\n\nThe Carthaginians had no fear of the newly built ships and quickly\ntrained sailors. Their captain even thought the usual man\u0153uvres\nunnecessary, and sailed toward the Roman fleet in a careless way,\nthinking to charge prow to prow. To his surprise he found his vessels\nsuddenly gripped by the ships of the enemy, and unable to move.\n\nThe bridges, of which I told you, could be wheeled round the masts\nand dropped just where they were needed, and the Romans, aided by the\ncareless attack of the Carthaginians, had dropped their bridges at the\nright moment and secured the enemy\u2019s ships.\n\nBefore the Carthaginians had recovered from their surprise, the Romans\nhad rushed on board, sword in hand, and ere long had captured many of\nthe crew and taken possession of, or destroyed, fifty of the Punic\nvessels.\n\nEven the flagship, a huge vessel of seven rows of oars, which the\nCarthaginians had once taken from Pyrrhus, was abandoned to the victors.\n\nThis, the first great victory at sea, caused much joy in Rome, and\nDuilius was awarded a triumph.\n\nIt is said that to the end of his life, the Consul was accompanied by\na flute-player and a torchbearer as he returned home from banquets, in\nmemory of this glorious victory.\n\nThree years later another great battle was fought at sea, both sides\nclaiming the victory.\n\nBut the Romans were ambitious and inspired by their success, they\ndetermined to sail to Africa and attack the Carthaginians in their own\ncountry.\n\nSo they began to build a larger fleet of three hundred and thirty\nships. When it was ready they sent on board two armies, of about\n40,000 men, under the command of the two Consuls, Regulus and Manlius.\n\nAs the Roman fleet sailed along the south coast of Sicily, it was met\nat Ecnomus by an even larger Carthaginian fleet, under the command of\nHamilcar and Hanno.\n\nThe Punic generals had been sent to scatter or destroy the Roman fleet\nbefore it reached Africa.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LII\n\nTHE BATTLE OF ECNOMUS\n\n\nThe Romans no sooner saw the Carthaginian fleet than they knew that it\nwould be necessary to fight before they could sail on their way.\n\nAs the enemy\u2019s ships were drawn out in a long weak line, the Consuls\ndetermined to charge through its centre.\n\nNo sooner had the Romans begun the attack, than Hamilcar ordered his\nships to row away, as though they had been put to flight.\n\nAs the Carthaginian had foreseen, two divisions of the Roman fleet\nfollowed, one of them having Regulus on board.\n\nOn sped the Punic ships, eager to separate the Roman divisions from\nthe rest of the fleet. When the enemy was some distance off, Hamilcar\nordered his ships to turn, to attack the vessels that had followed them.\n\nBut at close quarters, as the Carthaginians should have known, the\nRomans were more than a match for their foe.\n\nThe bridges of the Roman ships fell, grappling the enemy\u2019s vessels to\ntheir own, and in a fierce hand-to-hand fight Hamilcar and his ships\nwere soon overpowered.\n\nRegulus then hastened to the help of his fourth division, which had\nbeen attacked by Hanno, and was now fighting desperately between two\ndivisions of the enemy. Here, too, the Consul was successful, and\nforced Hanno to retreat.\n\nMeanwhile, the third division of the Roman fleet had been driven toward\nthe coast, but had suffered little damage, for the Carthaginians\nfeared to approach too near lest they should find themselves grappled\nby the Roman bridges. These they were learning to dread.\n\nThe two Consuls soon set the third division free, and before long they\nhad taken sixty-four of the Carthaginian ships with their crews, while\nmore than thirty vessels had been sunk.\n\nAs for the Romans, they had lost only twenty-four ships, and these were\nsunk not captured.\n\nThe victory of Ecnomus left the way to Africa open, and after putting\nin on the Sicilian coast for repairs, the Roman fleet sailed away\ntoward the Gulf of Carthage.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LIII\n\nTHE ROMAN LEGIONS IN AFRICA\n\n\nThe Roman soldiers did not wish to sail to a strange land. Their\ndislike to the voyage grew as they listened to bewildering tales of\nthese unknown regions.\n\nSo they began to grumble, saying that the heat would overpower them,\nthat they would be lost in the great forests of which they had been\ntold, and that huge and poisonous serpents would certainly strangle\nthem. Even one of the tribunes was disloyal, and encouraged the\nsoldiers to complain.\n\nBut Regulus paid no heed to the distress of the soldiers, and the fleet\nsailed on, until it reached the coast of Africa.\n\nThe soldiers disembarked, and in a short time they found how foolish\nhad been their fears. Instead of being lost in dark and fearful\nforests, they found themselves in a country that was beautiful and glad\nas a garden.\n\nFigs, larger than the Romans had ever seen, grew in abundance;\nharvests, more plentiful than they had deemed possible, waved golden\nin the fields. Houses, surrounded by vineyards, oliveyards and rich\npasture land, roused the envy as well as the delight of the soldiers.\n\nOver this beautiful country the Roman army was soon scattered to\nplunder and to destroy. Houses were burned, fields were trampled down,\ncattle was stolen, and it is said that 20,000 persons, many of whom had\nlived in comfort all their lives, were now captured and sold as slaves.\n\nAnd while their land was destroyed and their people were taken\nprisoners, the Punic army kept to the hills, and left the enemy\nunmolested.\n\nThen the Romans, knowing that on such steep ground neither cavalry nor\nelephants would be of much use to the enemy, attacked the Carthaginian\narmy and defeated it.\n\nAfter this victory, Manlius, with one army, was recalled to Rome.\n\nRegulus continued to ravage the country unchecked, for the\nCarthaginians, after their defeat, were unable to hinder his\nonslaughts. The Consul indeed is said to have boasted that he had taken\nand plundered more than three hundred walled villages.\n\nTo add to the misery of the people, the wild tribes of the desert\nalso began to attack the defenceless village folk, and to rob their\nhomesteads.\n\nThen, from far and near, the wretched inhabitants flocked into Carthage\nfor shelter and protection, until the city was so full that there was\nscarcely enough bread to feed the hungry multitude.\n\nThe Senate of Carthage sent, in despair, to Regulus, to beg for peace.\n\nBut the Consul received the ambassadors with scant courtesy, while the\nterms he offered were intolerable.\n\nAmong other things, he demanded that the Carthaginians should make\nneither alliance nor war, unless by the permission of Rome, that they\nshould never send more than one ship of war to sea for their own ends,\nwhile if Rome demanded help they must be ready to provide her with a\nfleet of fifty vessels. The Consul also said that they must agree to\npay, not only the expenses of the war that was going on, but a yearly\ntribute to Rome as well.\n\nWhen the ambassadors protested that it would be impossible for Carthage\nto accept such degrading terms, Regulus drove them from his camp,\nrudely saying, \u2018Men who are good for anything, should either conquer or\nsubmit to their betters.\u2019\n\nThe Senate, with one voice, agreed that the terms offered by the Consul\ndeserved no consideration.\n\nIt was plain that Regulus would not help them, and so the people, in\ntheir despair, turned to their gods. Lest the city of Carthage itself\nshould fall into the hands of the enemy, they must be appeased with\nsacrifices.\n\nIn the temple, one of the gods stood with arms outstretched, while\nat his feet a furnace flamed. Into the cold and lifeless arms little\nchildren of noble rank were laid. But the god was unable to hold the\ntreasures given into his keeping, and they rolled out of his arms\nand fell into the furnace below. By such terrible sacrifices the\nCarthaginians strove to appease their gods.\n\nAfter the sacrifices had been offered the Senate determined to send for\nhired soldiers to Greece, that the army might be strengthened. Among\nthose who came to fight for the Carthaginians was a Spartan officer,\nnamed Xanthippus.\n\nAs he belonged to Sparta, Xanthippus, like all the youths of his land,\nhad been trained from the age of seven to endure hardships, and to\nsuffer pain without a murmur.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LIV\n\nREGULUS IS TAKEN PRISONER\n\n\nXanthippus had fought in the wars of Greece, and he was a skilful as\nwell as an experienced soldier.\n\nHe had been but a short time in Carthage before he saw that the Punic\narmy had made a mistake in fighting among the hills.\n\nSo wisely did he speak to the officers, showing them how they could yet\nconquer the enemy, that he inspired them with confidence.\n\nBefore long he was appointed, by the Senate, commander of the entire\nCarthaginian army. Under the training of the Spartan, the troops\nspeedily regained their lost courage, and soon they were clamouring to\nbe led against their cruel foe.\n\nXanthippus, secure in the enthusiasm of his troops, led them to an open\nplain. Their number was not large, but he could depend on his cavalry,\nwhich was four thousand strong. A hundred elephants too, if carefully\nguided, might well cause havoc among the enemy.\n\nRegulus would perhaps have been glad to avoid a pitched battle. But\nif the Punic army was now strong enough to stop the raids of his\nfollowers, his food supply would soon come to an end. So as a battle\nwas inevitable, the Consul marched to within a mile of the enemy.\n\nWhen the Carthaginians saw the dreaded Roman legions so near, they\nwere wellnigh panic-stricken. But Xanthippus was at hand to allay\ntheir fears, and confident in their leader, the men\u2019s courage was soon\nrestored.\n\nThen the Spartan gave the signal to advance. At the same moment, the\nRomans, clasping their spears, rushed to meet the enemy that they had\ngrown used to conquer.\n\nA line of elephants was ranged in front of the Carthaginian army, but\nthe left wing of the Romans slipped past the animals and attacked the\nPunic infantry.\n\nIt was on the point of giving way when Xanthippus, riding quickly up,\nrallied it. Then flinging himself from his horse, the Spartan fought in\nthe midst of his infantry, as a common soldier.\n\nThe Carthaginian cavalry meanwhile had swept the Roman horsemen from\nthe field, and was now charging the legions at the rear.\n\nThen the elephants, already roused to fury by the noise of battle,\nreached the main body of the Roman army and trampled and crushed the\nbravest to the ground.\n\nThose who succeeded in escaping from the elephants found themselves in\nfront of the unbroken ranks of the Punic infantry, and were soon cut to\npieces.\n\nOnly two thousand of the Roman army escaped. Regulus himself fled from\nthe field, followed by about five hundred soldiers, but he was pursued\nand taken prisoner.\n\nIn a short time after this great victory, which was gained in 255 B.C.,\nthe Romans lost all that they had formerly gained in Africa.\n\nIn Carthage, and throughout the land, joy and gratitude were unbounded.\nPeople crowded into the temples with offerings and thanksgiving, for\nthe foe who had used them so cruelly was crushed.\n\nXanthippus, to whom the glory of the victory belonged, went back to\nGreece, loaded with gifts from the grateful Carthaginians.\n\nThe Consul was kept a prisoner for five years. During these years the\nwar between the Romans and Carthaginians was carried on in Sicily, the\nRomans in the end making themselves masters of the island.\n\nThen the Carthaginians, disheartened and tired of war, determined to\nbeg for peace.\n\nAmbassadors were sent from Carthage to Rome, and with them went\nRegulus, having first taken an oath that if he did not prevail on the\nSenate to grant terms of peace and an exchange of prisoners, he would\nreturn to captivity.\n\nWhen the ambassadors reached the gates of Rome, Regulus refused to\nenter the city, saying that he was no longer worthy to be counted a\ncitizen. Nor could he be persuaded to see his wife or his children.\n\nAs Regulus would not enter Rome, the Senate agreed to meet him without\nthe walls. It believed that he had come to ask that peace should be\nmade with the Carthaginians.\n\nBut the Roman had never meant to urge the Senate to make peace.\nAlthough he knew that he must go back a prisoner to Carthage if the war\nwas continued, yet he besought the Senate to fight until Africa was\nsubdued, for his pride in his country was greater even than his love of\nliberty.\n\nAnd so, the Senate having agreed to carry on the war, Regulus, true to\nhis oath, went back to Carthage, knowing that torture and death awaited\nhim.\n\nThe legends say that the Carthaginians were so angry that Regulus had\nnot even tried to make peace, that they did indeed torture him.\n\nSo cruel were they that they shut their prisoner up with an elephant,\nso that at any moment he might be trampled or crushed to death.\nHe was starved, his eyelids were cut off, and he was laid in the\nscorching sun, where no shade tempered the burning rays. At length\nthe unfortunate Roman was placed in a box, in which he could not move\nwithout his body being torn by the nails with which it was studded.\n\nIt is also told that when the tale of what Regulus had suffered reached\nRome, two noble Carthaginian prisoners were given to his widow and her\nsons, that they might avenge on these the cruelty done to Regulus.\n\nBut these terrible stories of vengeance and torture are now thought by\nmany historians to be untrue.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LV\n\nTHE ROMANS CONQUER THE GAULS\n\n\nThe first Punic war ended in 242 B.C., leaving the Romans in possession\nof Sicily, while the second Punic war did not begin until twenty-three\nyears later.\n\nFor a little time Rome was at peace, and in 235 B.C. the gates of the\ntemple of Janus were closed for the first time since the reign of the\npeace-loving King, Numa Pompilius.\n\nBut ten years later, the Gauls once again threatened to invade Rome.\nThey were always foes to be dreaded, and some of the old superstitious\nfears, which had apparently vanished for ever, began once more to\nspread among the Roman legions.\n\nOmens of ill too were rife. The Capitol was struck with lightning, so\nthe Sibylline books were opened, and behold, it was written, \u2018When the\nlightning shall strike the Capitol and the temple of Apollo, then, must\nthou, O Roman, beware of the Gauls.\u2019\n\nAfter that the simplest event seemed to the Romans to forebode evil.\nAnd while they brooded over the meaning of a strange light in the sky\nor a cloud of curious aspect, a large Gallic army was marching through\nEtruria, upon Clusium, a town only three days\u2019 march from Rome. This\nwas the very way their fathers had taken long years before.\n\nWhen the Consuls were absent from Rome, or already engaged with other\nmatters, pr\u00e6tors were sent to lead the Romans against the foe.\n\nIn this case it was a pr\u00e6tor who was sent with a reserve corps to track\nthe enemy. He succeeded in following the Gauls to Clusium, and believed\nthe enemy was in his grasp.\n\nBut during the night, the main body of the Gauls slipped quietly out of\ntheir camp and marched some distance off, leaving only the cavalry to\nguard the tents. They hoped to entrap the Romans.\n\nThe pr\u00e6tor, finding only a small force of cavalry in the camp, ordered\nan attack. As the Gallic horse retreated, the Romans followed, to find\nthemselves, almost at once, face to face with the whole force of the\nbarbarians.\n\nA fierce struggle followed, in which six thousand Romans were slain.\nThose who were left alive entrenched themselves with the pr\u00e6tor on a\nhill, and were at once surrounded by the Gauls.\n\nMeanwhile \u00c6milius, one of the Consuls, found himself free to hasten\nto Clusium with a large army. Here he heard of the disaster that had\nbefallen the arms of Rome, and he resolved to restore her fortune.\n\nThe prisoners on the hill were soon cheered to see the watchfires of\ntheir comrades, and they were sure that in the morning the Consul would\nscatter the barbarians.\n\nBut the Gauls had no wish to encounter \u00c6milius while they were laden\nwith prisoners and booty. So they began to march northward, followed by\nthe Consul, who harassed their rear, and wrested what booty he could\nfrom the retreating-foe.\n\nSuddenly the barbarians were ordered to halt. Their chiefs had seen\nanother army approaching. If they were Romans, the Gauls saw that they\nwere caught in a trap.\n\nIt was indeed a Roman army that was marching toward them, led by\nRegulus, the son of the Consul who had perished at Carthage. He was\non his way to Rome when he unwittingly startled the Gauls by his\nappearance.\n\nWith an army marching straight toward them and another in their rear,\nthere was nothing left for the Gauls to do save prepare for battle.\n\nOne part of the Gallic army continued to face northward, ready to\ndestroy, as they hoped, the troops led by Regulus. The other turned to\nthe south, to face \u00c6milius, who was eager to attack the warriors. A\nshort time before it had seemed as though they were going to escape the\npunishment he was anxious to inflict.\n\nThose who advanced upon \u00c6milius were the fiercest of all the fierce\nGallic tribes. They wore neither armour nor clothes, but their bodies\nwere covered with ornaments.\n\nThe chiefs wore the richest jewels, for they were adorned with heavy\ncollars and bracelets of twisted gold, the sight of which filled the\nRomans with greed. Their savage war-cries filled them with fear.\n\nAmid the blowing of horns and trumpets, the Gauls, still shouting their\nwild battle-cries, dashed upon the enemy, while they, remembering the\ndread day of Allia, fought with all their might.\n\nToward the north, the battle also raged. Regulus himself led his\ncavalry, but he was slain almost at once. The barbarians cut off his\nhead, and in their savage way held it aloft on a spear, that his\nfollowers might see what had befallen their leader. With no one to\ncommand them, the cavalry withdrew, to allow the infantry to advance.\n\nBut the Gauls soon found that their weapons were of little use against\nthe shield or helmet of the enemy. Their swords, of which the steel was\nbadly tempered, bent at the first stroke and glanced aside, leaving the\nRoman\u2019s shield or helmet unglazed.\n\nFierce was the struggle between the two forces, but ere long the\nbarbarians found that the day was going against them. The knowledge\nmade them fight but the more desperately.\n\nSlowly but steadily the Roman legions now began to close in, shutting\nthe Gauls together in their midst, until at length they were hemmed in\nso relentlessly that it was not possible for them to use their arms.\nThen the Romans slaughtered them without mercy.\n\nForty thousand were killed, ten thousand taken prisoners, while one of\nthe Gallic kings was captured alive. The other perished by his own hand.\n\nAll the booty that the Gauls had taken from the Romans, when they\nenticed them out of the camp at Clusium, was now recaptured. The Gauls\nthemselves were robbed of their ornaments and their land was invaded by\nthe victorious armies.\n\n\u00c6milius then led his troops back to Rome and was given a great triumph,\nwhile the people thanked the gods that their city was safe from the\nbarbarians.\n\nFor three years the war with the Gauls continued, until, from the\nApennines to the Alps, the whole plain of Northern Italy had been\nsubdued and was subject to Rome.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LVI\n\nTHE BOY HANNIBAL\n\n\nThe Carthaginians, as you know, had been turned out of Sicily at the\nend of the first Punic war. They had, too, lost more than Sicily, and\nwere eager to atone for their losses by gaining territory in other\nlands.\n\nTheir thoughts turned to Spain, where already they had a few colonies.\n\nSo while the Romans were busy fighting against the Gauls, and too\nengrossed with the barbarians to trouble about the ambitions of the\nCarthaginians, they sent their general Hamilcar Barca to Spain, to add\nto the power and dominion of Carthage.\n\nThis was in time to prove the cause of the second Punic war.\n\nBefore setting out for Spain, Hamilcar went to the temple to offer a\nsacrifice to the supreme god of his people, at the same time beseeching\nhim to grant success to his adventure.\n\nAs he turned away from the altar he caught sight of his little son\nHannibal, then a boy of nine years old, who was watching his father\nwith eager, awe-struck eyes.\n\nBidding those who stood near to withdraw, Hamilcar called the boy to\nhim, and asked if he would like to go with him to Spain.\n\nTo go with his gallant father! To be a soldier like him!\n\nThere was no need for the child to answer, his eager face told his\nfather all he wished to know.\n\nSo then the great general solemnly led his little son to the altar and\nbade him lay his hands upon it, as he swore never to be the friend of\nthe Romans.\n\nHannibal took the oath as his father bade him, and never, in all the\nyears to come, did he forget it. His hatred of the Romans grew with his\nstrength, and when he became a man, his chief aim was to thwart their\nplans and overthrow their power. So it happened that when Hamilcar set\nout for Spain, Hannibal went with him.\n\nIn the camp the boy soon learned to love the hardships as well as the\njoys of a soldier\u2019s life.\n\nHis father himself saw that he was trained as a good soldier should\nbe. In the end he gave his life to save his son from danger on the\nbattlefield. After his father\u2019s death, Hannibal served under his\nbrother-in-law, Hasdrubal, for eight years.\n\nWhile he was still young, he was given a command in the army, and none\nwas ever loved by his men as was he.\n\nIn battle, the young leader was always to be found at the point of\ndanger, and every hardship, in the camp as on the field, he shared\nwith his men. Nothing seemed able to daunt his spirit. In disaster as\nin success he remained cheerful and confident. And he complained of no\ntrouble when it could help his cause.\n\nUntil he was twenty, Hannibal lived his hard and happy soldier life.\nThen young as he was, a great responsibility was laid upon him.\n\nHasdrubal was killed in his tent by a slave whose master he had\nmurdered, and the army shouted with one voice, that no one but Hannibal\nshould become their commander.\n\nAnd at length, the government of Carthage reluctantly agreed that the\nyoung soldier should be appointed. Until now this important post had\nbeen filled by men of greater age and wider experience than Hannibal.\n\nBut the new general soon showed the stuff of which he was made. He was\nyoung and energetic, and in two years he had taken many towns and\nadded to the power and possessions of Carthage in Spain.\n\nBut Saguntum, a town on the east coast of Spain, defied Hannibal\u2019s\nefforts and remained unconquered. As the inhabitants watched the\ngrowing power of the young Carthaginian leader, they grew afraid, lest\nthey in the end should be forced to yield. So they appealed to Rome for\nhelp.\n\nIn the winter of 220 B.C. a Roman embassy was therefore sent to Spain,\nbearing a message from the Senate for Hannibal.\n\nThe young leader received it with no goodwill. Did it not come from the\ncountry he had sworn to hate, and had not his hatred grown, until now\nit had become the burning passion of his life?\n\nBut although the Roman ambassadors found Hannibal in no pleasant mood,\nthey did not attempt to pacify him. Haughtily they gave their message\nthat he should not attack Saguntum, or dare to cross the river Ebro,\nbeyond which the Carthaginians had not yet advanced.\n\nHannibal listened with undisguised disdain to the demands of the\nSenate, and dismissed the ambassadors from his camp without an answer.\n\nIn the spring of 219 B.C., it was plain that he meant to defy Rome, for\nhe laid siege to Saguntum.\n\nFor eight months the city held out. When their provisions failed, and\nstarvation stared them in the face, they still refused to surrender,\nbelieving that Rome would send help.\n\nBut at length all hope of relief faded. Then the Spanish chiefs\ndetermined to die rather than fall into the hands of the enemy. So\nthey ordered a fire to be kindled in the market-place, and into it\nthey flung all the treasures which were left in the city. After the\ntreasures were consumed, they themselves leaped into the flames and\nwere burned to death.\n\nWhen tidings of the fall of Saguntum reached Rome, she sent an embassy\nto Carthage, at the head of which was a noble named Fabius.\n\nFabius demanded that Hannibal and his officers should be given up,\notherwise Rome would declare war against Carthage.\n\nWhile the Carthaginians hesitated, Fabius rose, and gathering up the\nfolds of his toga, as though in them he held the fate of the city, he\ncried, \u2018I carry here peace and war. Choose, men of Carthage, which ye\nwill.\u2019\n\n\u2018Give us whatever ye wish,\u2019 answered the Senate.\n\nThen shaking out the folds of his toga Fabius answered, \u2018Then here I\ngive ye war,\u2019 and without another word he left the Senate-house.\n\n\u2018With that spirit with which ye give it, shall we wage it,\u2019 cried the\nCarthaginians, while the ambassador strode away.\n\nAs the shout of the Assembly followed him, Fabius knew that the men of\nCarthage did not dread his gift.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LVII\n\nHANNIBAL PREPARES TO INVADE ITALY\n\n\nThe Romans thought it would be an easy matter to send an army to Spain\nto punish the young general for his daring defiance of the Senate. But\nas they soon found, it was not so simple as they had deemed.\n\nHannibal had ambitions beyond the wildest imaginations of the Romans,\nand before they had sent an army to Spain, he had left the country to\ninvade Italy, for this was his great ambition.\n\nIn order to reach Italy, he determined to lead his army across the\nAlps, a feat that no one without the genius and the daring of the\nCarthaginian general could have ever hoped to accomplish.\n\nThe Gauls, who had so lately been at war with Rome, promised to join\nHannibal\u2019s forces. When he was assured of the help of the barbarians,\nHannibal called his soldiers together and told them his plans.\n\n\u2018The Romans,\u2019 he said, \u2018have demanded that I and my principal officers\nshould be delivered up to them as malefactors. Soldiers, will you\nsuffer such an indignity? The Gauls are holding out their arms to us,\ninviting us to come to them and to assist them in revenging their\nmanifold injuries. And the country which we shall invade, so rich in\ncorn and wine and oil, so full of flocks and herds, so covered with\nflourishing cities, will be the richest prize that could be offered by\nthe gods to reward your valour.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: \u201cI carry here peace and war, choose, men of Carthage,\nwhich ye will.\u201d]\n\nAs you know, Hannibal was the idol of his men, and when he had\nspoken a loyal shout arose. It was plain that his soldiers would follow\nhim to death.\n\nHannibal thanked his troops for their devotion, told them the day on\nwhich they were to march, and then dismissed them.\n\nHe himself went to the temple to pray to the gods for the success of\nhis invasion of Italy.\n\nDay and night he brooded over his plans, so that even when he slept his\nmind was possessed by them.\n\nOne night he dreamed that he was in the presence of the gods of\nCarthage. The deities bade him invade Italy, and one of them, they\npromised, would be with him as his guide.\n\nIn his dream he and his divine leader then set out. \u2018See that thou look\nnot behind thee,\u2019 said the god. But in spite of this command Hannibal\nlooked back and a terrible dragon, covered with innumerable scales,\nmet his gaze. As the monster moved, it dragged in its path, woods,\norchards, houses.\n\n\u2018What is this that I see?\u2019 asked Hannibal.\n\n\u2018Thou seest the desolation of Italy,\u2019 answered his guide. \u2018Go thy way\nstraight forward and cast no look behind.\u2019\n\nThus encouraged by his dream, Hannibal went back to his army more\nconfident than before, and marched into Italy to perform his boyhood\u2019s\nvow.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LVIII\n\nHANNIBAL CROSSES THE ALPS\n\n\nIn the spring of 218 B.C. the Carthaginian army set out on its great\nundertaking, thirty-seven elephants in its train.\n\nHasdrubal, one of Hannibal\u2019s brothers, was left behind to guard the\ntowns that had been taken in Spain.\n\nMeanwhile the Roman Senate, knowing nothing of Hannibal\u2019s movements,\nsent Sempronius, one of the Consuls, into Sicily with an army, while\nthe other, Cornelius Scipio, was ordered to lead an army into Spain to\npunish Hannibal.\n\nBut while Rome was thus hoping to secure the general who had flouted\nher, he was already marching through Gaul. At the river Rhone he\nwas met by his first difficulty, for some of the tribes that were\nunfriendly to the Carthaginians had gathered on the opposite bank to\noppose his passage.\n\nHannibal at once sent a body of his troops higher up the river, with\norders to cross, and, stealing unnoticed into the camp of the enemy, to\nset it on fire. When the general thought that there had been time for\nthis to be done, he began to cross the river with the main body of his\narmy, in boats and canoes. On the opposite bank, the barbarians were\ndrawn up in battle array.\n\nHannibal did not fear them. Already his quick eyes had seen a column\nof smoke rising from the Gallic camp, and he knew that when the flames\nburst out, the Gauls would not stay to oppose his passage across the\nriver.\n\nAs Hannibal had foreseen, so it happened. The Gauls, to their dismay,\nsoon saw that their camp was on fire, and many of them at once rushed\naway to try to save their goods. Those who did not desert their post\nwere too few to prevent Hannibal and his army from landing in safety.\n\nIt was no easy matter to get the elephants across the river. Huge rafts\nwere moored to the bank and covered with earth to make them seem part\nof the land. The animals were then persuaded to venture on board.\n\nWhen the rafts began to move, some of the elephants grew restive and\njumped into the river, drowning their drivers. The beasts themselves,\nhowever, reached the other side in safety.\n\nBy this time Rome had discovered Hannibal\u2019s movements. Scipio, who had\nnot yet sailed for Spain, was sent toward the Rhone to keep Hannibal\nfrom crossing the river. But as you know, he was already too late to do\nso.\n\nHowever, he sent out a company of cavalry to find out the movements of\nthe enemy and to report to him. The cavalry soon came across a number\nof Hannibal\u2019s men, who, after crossing the Rhone, had been sent forward\nto reconnoitre.\n\nScipio\u2019s horsemen drove them back toward their camp, then sped swiftly\nto the Consul to tell him that Hannibal was across the river and had\nnow encamped on its banks.\n\nNo sooner had Scipio heard this, than he hastened in the direction of\nthe river, only to find that the Carthaginians had marched away three\ndays earlier. But from the direction in which the enemy had gone,\nScipio learned that they intended to cross the Alps and descend into\nItaly by one of the passes used by the Gauls in other times.\n\nIt was incredible, yet it was true. Scipio did not dare to follow\nHannibal into the dangerous passes of the Alps, so he marched into\nItaly, to be ready to meet the bold invader when he descended into the\nvalley of the river Po.\n\nAmong the mountain passes, the Carthaginian army was meanwhile\nstruggling against terrible difficulties.\n\nIt was already October, and snow had fallen and lay thick in the\npasses, so that often no footpath was to be seen. Guides proved false,\nmountain tribes hostile.\n\nIt was almost impossible to find food or shelter for the great army he\nwas leading, yet Hannibal went before his troops, fearless, undaunted.\nNeither cold, nor hunger, nor treachery could change his purpose.\n\nThe hostile tribes were guarding many of the defiles through which the\narmy must pass, but it was only during the day that they were to be\nseen. When darkness fell they slipped away to their own homes, which\nwere scattered among the mountains.\n\nOne evening, Hannibal with a band of lightly armed troops, seized the\nposts that had been held by the barbarians through the day.\n\nWhen morning dawned, the general ordered his army to advance along the\nnarrow and difficult defile, while he stayed above the pass, to keep\nthe enemy in check.\n\nAt first the barbarians looked at the slowly moving army in\nastonishment; then, seeing how easy it would be to attack and plunder\nit, they rushed down the mountains and dashed upon the startled\nCarthaginians. Hannibal had been unable to hinder their descent.\n\nIn the narrow pass all was soon in utter confusion. The cattle, laden\nwith baggage, stumbled, fell and slipped over the track, while the\nhorses, wounded by the darts of the enemy and mad with fear, plunged\ninto the depths below.\n\nHannibal saw the havoc that was being done in the valley, and despite\nthe danger, he now charged down upon the barbarians, and succeeded in\ndriving them away. But in the struggle, as he had foreseen, many of his\nown men were lost.\n\nSoon after this desperate adventure, the army emerged from the pass,\nand ere long reached a town which Hannibal took by storm.\n\nHere he found many of his own men, as well as much baggage, which had\nbeen captured by the hostile tribes.\n\nIn the town there was also a good supply of corn and cattle, so that\nthe exhausted army was fed and rested, before it again began its\nperilous march.\n\nIt seemed as though the natives had now determined to be friendly. When\nthe army had marched steadily on for four days, many of the tribes came\nto meet it, with branches of trees in their hands and on their heads\nwreaths, in sign of friendship. They even brought with them cattle to\nprovide the army with food, and offered hostages, to prove that they\nwere sincere.\n\nYet Hannibal did not trust them. He accepted their offers of help, but\nas the army approached another dangerous pass, he was careful to send\nthe baggage and cavalry on in front.\n\nThe cavalry left the defile safely, but as the foot soldiers were still\ntoiling along the dangerous way, the faithless barbarians attacked them\nfrom above, rolling huge stones and great masses of rock upon them.\n\nA great number of soldiers were killed, and it was with difficulty that\nHannibal regained his cavalry on the following day.\n\nBut the worst of the ascent was now over, and the army reached the\nsummit of the Alps, after a march of nine days.\n\nThe soldiers, who had come from the warm and sunny climates of Africa\nand Spain, were unused to snow and frost, and they grumbled at every\ndiscomfort.\n\nHannibal soon roused them to a braver spirit. Calling them together\nhe bade them look at the valley beneath. \u2018That valley,\u2019 he said, \u2018is\nItaly. It leads us to our allies, the Gauls, and yonder is the way to\nRome.\u2019\n\nAfter resting for ten days, the army began the descent, and although no\nhostile tribes added to the difficulties, the downward way proved even\nmore dangerous than the ascent.\n\nSnow had completely covered the path, and the soldiers unawares stepped\noff it, to be hurled down the precipice into the chasm below.\n\nAt one spot it is said that the road was broken away by an avalanche,\nand in front of the army yawned a hideous gulf. But even such a\ndisaster proved powerless to daunt Hannibal.\n\nEncouraged by their general, the men were soon at work bridging the\nchasm. Before a day had passed the cavalry and baggage were sent across\nin safety. But it took three days to make a bridge strong enough and\nwide enough to bear the elephants.\n\nAt length, all obstacles were overcome, and Hannibal led his army into\nNorthern Italy. But in the terrible journey across the Alps he had lost\nthree thousand men.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LIX\n\nTHE BATTLE OF TREBIA\n\n\nAfter the hardships they had endured while crossing the Alps Hannibal\nand his army were forced to rest. But in a short time Hannibal was\nready to lead his men along the left bank of the river Po, having sent\na corps of cavalry forward to reconnoitre.\n\nScipio, you remember, had determined to await Hannibal in the valley of\nthe Po, and he was now also marching along the left bank of the river.\n\nAs he crossed the Ticinus, a tributary of the Po, he suddenly found\nhimself face to face with the cavalry of the enemy.\n\nA fierce struggle at once took place, but before long the Roman\nsoldiers turned and fled, in spite of all the Consul could do to rally\nthem. He himself showed the greatest courage, fighting in the forefront\nof the battle and so being wounded. Had it not been for the bravery of\nhis young son, he would indeed have been captured or killed.\n\nSeeing that his father was wounded and surrounded by the enemy, the\nlad, who was only sixteen years of age, dashed into their midst. He\nwas followed by his men, who were ashamed to linger behind their\nyoung leader. His daring attack scattered the foe, and the Consul was\ncarried off the field in safety. This lad of sixteen was the Scipio who\nafterwards became known as Scipio Africanus, the conqueror of Hannibal.\n\nThe battle at the Ticinus was in reality only a skirmish. But Scipio\nwas warned by this defeat to be cautious, and he determined to withdraw\nacross the Po. There he would await his colleague Sempronius, who had\nbeen recalled from Sicily, when it became known that Hannibal meant to\ninvade Italy.\n\nAlthough the fight at Ticinus was only a skirmish, yet the victory of\nHannibal\u2019s cavalry encouraged many Gallic tribes to throw off their\nfear of Rome and join the Carthaginians.\n\nEven those Gauls who had joined the Roman camp were eager to\nescape, and one night more than two thousand of them mutinied, and,\noverpowering the sentinels, left the Romans to join Hannibal.\n\nAfter the flight of the Gauls, Scipio thought it would be wise to\nmove to a safer position, so he marched to the upper Trebia, another\ntributary of the Po. Here he was joined by Sempronius.\n\nHannibal was eager to fight while the Gauls were still faithful to him,\nfor he, as well as the Romans, knew their unstable character. Scipio\non the other hand, wished to delay meeting the enemy, for he was still\nwounded. Moreover, he thought that if a battle did not take place soon,\nthe Gauls would be more than likely to forsake their new ally.\n\nBut Sempronius, who had entire charge of both the Roman armies since\nScipio was wounded, could brook no delay.\n\nThe Carthaginian general had already discovered that it would be easy\nto tempt the second Consul to fight. He therefore determined to entice\nhim to cross the river Trebia.\n\nIt was winter. Heavy rains and sleet had fallen, and the river was\nflooded, when, early one bleak morning, Hannibal ordered his brave\nyoung brother Mago, with a large number of troops, to lie in ambush in\na dried-up watercourse, where they were hidden by high banks and tall\nbushes. Until a signal bade them dash out upon the enemy, they were not\nto stir.\n\nMeanwhile a body of Carthaginian cavalry had been sent across the\nriver, close to the Roman camp. The cavalry was to tempt Sempronius to\nleave his camp and offer battle.\n\nThe Consul no sooner saw the enemy, than without waiting for his men\nto have breakfast, he ordered the horsemen to advance at once, and the\ninfantry to follow as soon as possible.\n\nCold and hungry, the Roman army obeyed, and the Punic cavalry retreated\nacross the river before the enemy.\n\nThe Roman foot soldiers were ordered to follow, although the water was\ncold as ice, and reached almost to their shoulders. When they scrambled\nup on the other bank, they were chilled to the bone as well as faint\nfor want of food. More miserable bedraggled Roman soldiers had never\nbeen seen. They were scarcely fit to attack a small body of the enemy,\nmuch less to face the main body of the Carthaginian army, which, well\nfed and warm, awaited them in battle array.\n\nHannibal, with his usual care for his soldiers, had seen that they had\na good meal, after which he had bade them rub their bodies with oil in\nfront of the camp fires, before they buckled on their armour.\n\nIt was soon plain that the Romans were not fit to cope with the\ncomfortable Carthaginian troops.\n\nYet in spite of the elephants, that trampled them underfoot, and in\nspite, too, of the Punic cavalry which was stronger than their own, the\nRoman legions held their ground.\n\nIt was only when the signal had been given, and Mago, with two thousand\nmen rushed from his ambush, and attacked them in the rear, that the\nRomans gave way.\n\nThen they turned and fled towards the Trebia, hoping to be able to\ncross it and to regain their camp. But many of them were cut down\nbefore they reached the river, while, of those who attempted to recross\nthe cold and swollen waters, many were drowned.\n\nOnly ten thousand in the centre of the Roman army succeeded in keeping\ntheir ranks unbroken. These brave soldiers pushed their way through\nthe enemy and retreated to Placentia, a town on the river Po, which had\nalready been taken and fortified by their own legions.\n\nBefore the day was over the Carthaginians, too, had suffered severely\nfrom the weather. Showers of rain and snow forced them at length to\ngive up the pursuit of the Romans and hasten to their tents for shelter\nand warmth. Many of the elephants perished in the storm.\n\nWhen Rome heard of the defeat of her two armies, and that both her\nConsuls were shut up in Placentia with a remnant of their soldiers, she\nwas dismayed at the greatness of the disaster. Moreover, she was well\naware that this victory would make the Gauls cleave more steadfastly\nthan before to the successful general.\n\nThus the year 218 B.C. drew to a close, while signs of evil omen added\nto the anxiety of the citizens of Rome.\n\nRain fell; no gentle, refreshing showers, but rain of red-hot stones.\nIn the market-place a bull ran up the third story of a house and leapt\nfrom thence into the street. And who ever heard of a child of six\nmonths old being able to speak! Yet one of just such tender age was\nheard to shout \u2018Triumph.\u2019\n\nEven the least superstitious saw in these strange portents the hand of\nthe gods, and they trembled for what might next befall.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LX\n\nTHE BATTLE OF LAKE TRASIMENUS\n\n\nEarly in 217 B.C. Hannibal broke up his camp in the valley of the Po.\n\nThe Gauls in large numbers were still with him, but he had lost many of\nhis own loyal soldiers, since he had crossed the Rhone a year earlier.\n\nNow, with the first sign of spring, he marched to the river Arno. Here\nhis difficulties began.\n\nThe country through which Hannibal wished to take his army was in a\nstate of flood. As the snow melted on the mountains, streams of water\npoured down into the valley, and these streams, along with the heavy\nrains of spring, had made the ground like a vast swamp.\n\nMany of the Carthaginians sank deep into the marsh, and they and their\nbeasts perished.\n\nFor three days, part of the army was forced to wade through the floods,\nand, when night fell, there was no dry spot on which to pitch its\ntents. The soldiers had perforce to rest as well as they could on the\nbodies of their poor fallen steeds or amid the baggage which had been\nleft behind by their comrades.\n\nDamp and hardships of this kind made many of the soldiers ill, while\nHannibal himself lost the sight of one eye, through an attack of\ninflammation.\n\nBut it was the Gauls who suffered most, and they were less willing than\nthe well-trained Carthaginian troops to endure hardship. Had it been\npossible they would have deserted, but Hannibal, knowing their fickle\nways, had ordered his brother Mago with the cavalry to ride at the\nrear of the army.\n\nAs the march continued, it seemed that Hannibal was on his way to Rome.\nHe passed the Roman camp where Flaminius, one of the new Consuls, was\nin command, and then continued southward, with no army now to hinder\nhis approach to the city.\n\nBut what the great general was really trying to do was, not to reach\nRome and besiege it, since for that he had not the necessary machines,\nbut to entice the Roman army from its camp and force it to fight. All\nunwittingly, the army fell into the trap which the Carthaginian set.\n\nFlaminius had been sent into Etruria to see that Hannibal did not march\nupon Rome. As he had allowed the enemy to pass his camp unhindered, he\ndetermined to atone for his error as well as might be, by following\nswiftly and destroying it.\n\nThe Consul was urged to wait until his colleague Servilius joined him,\nbut this he was much too impatient to do.\n\nHannibal meanwhile had reached the Trasimenus Lake. Between the lake\nand the mountains ran a narrow road. The general saw at once that this\nwas the very place in which to entrap the Roman army. So he sent his\nmen to command the heights that overlooked the path.\n\nThat same evening, Flaminius encamped a short distance from the lake.\nHe could see the narrow road stretching out before him.\n\nEarly in the morning the Romans were again on the march, hastening\nafter the enemy that was, as they believed, on the way to Rome.\n\nUnaware of evil, they marched along the narrow road by the side of the\nlake, scarce able to see a step before them, so heavy hung the mist on\nthe pathway and along the foot of the mountains.\n\nBut up on the heights, where Hannibal had posted his men, the sun was\nshining bright.\n\nThe Consul was glad of the mist. He would be able to approach the enemy\nunseen and attack it suddenly, while it was in marching order and\nunprepared for battle.\n\nOn and on tramped the Roman soldiers, and although they knew it not,\nthey were tramping to destruction.\n\nHannibal waited until the rearguard had entered the defile, and then he\ngave his men the signal to attack.\n\nSuddenly the Romans seemed to see the mist break and scatter before\ntheir eyes, pierced by the terrible battle-cry of the Gauls and by the\nquick tramp of Hannibal\u2019s cavalry as it dashed out of the silence, upon\nthe startled foe.\n\nJavelins and arrows, hurled by unseen hands penetrated the mist as it\nagain closed around them, while great stones came crashing down upon\nthem, too huge to be withstood by shield or helmet.\n\nIn vain Flaminius strove to rally his panic-stricken troops. They\nbut rushed the more wildly hither and thither, falling now upon the\nenemy, now upon each other, in their despair. The Consul himself fought\nbravely, but he soon fell wounded to death.\n\nThousands of his soldiers were slain. Some threw themselves into the\nlake, hoping to swim to safety, but their armour weighed them down\nand they were drowned. Others waded out as far as they dared into the\nwater, only to be followed by the cavalry of the enemy and slaughtered\nwithout mercy.\n\nIt was useless to cry for quarter that day, for it was a day of\nvengeance and of sacrifice to the gods of Carthage. In three short\nhours, the Roman army was not only defeated; it no longer existed.\n\nOnly a body of six thousand men escaped. It had been at the vanguard of\nthe army, and had cut its way through the enemy to the top of the hills.\n\nHere the survivors stayed until the mist lifted, knowing nothing of\nwhat had befallen their comrades, until it was too late to go to their\naid. So they then entrenched themselves in a village not far from the\nlake, but Hannibal\u2019s cavalry soon surrounded them and forced them to\nsurrender.\n\nIn the battle of Lake Trasimenus the Carthaginians lost but fifteen\nhundred men, and of these the larger number were Gauls.\n\nFugitives from the army soon reached Rome, and threw the citizens into\nconsternation by the terrible and different tales they told.\n\nThe following day tidings of the awful slaughter at the edge of Lake\nTrasimenus reached the Senate.\n\nThen the people thronged into the Forum and surrounded the\nSenate-house, demanding to know what really had happened.\n\nIn the evening, when the people\u2019s patience was all but at an end,\nMarcus, one of the pr\u00e6tors, mounted the public platform and cried in a\nloud voice, \u2018We are beaten, O Romans, in a great battle, our army is\ndestroyed, and Flaminius the Consul is slain.\u2019\n\nAt the words of Marcus the city became a scene of wild despair. Many\nmen and women who had lost their husbands and sons called down the\ncurses of the gods upon their enemy, others wept and prayed in the\ntemples and forbore to curse, for all the bitterness of their loss.\n\nAmid the tumult, the Senate alone remained calm. Day after day, from\nearly morning until late in the evening, it sat to consider how it\nmight best save the city from the mighty conqueror.\n\nThree days passed, and then even worse tidings arrived.\n\nThe Consul Servilius had sent his cavalry to prevent Hannibal\u2019s advance\non Rome, but it had been either captured or put to the sword. Servilius\nwithout his cavalry was powerless to prevent the Punic army from\nadvancing upon the city.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cWe are beaten, O Romans, in a great battle, our army is\ndestroyed.\u201d]\n\nIn a short time indeed, Hannibal, at the head of his triumphant\narmy, was scarcely two days\u2019 march from Rome.\n\nFlaminius was dead. Between Servilius and the city was the Carthaginian\narmy.\n\nBeing bereft of both her Consuls, Rome determined to appoint a\nDictator.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXI\n\nHANNIBAL OUTWITS FABIUS\n\n\nThe Senate had restored some sense of confidence to the stricken people\nby its gravity and calmness. It had also reassured them by destroying\nthe bridges by which the city could be approached and by strengthening\nher walls.\n\nSoldiers who had been deemed too old to follow the army were now called\ntogether, and armed with weapons which had hung for years in the\ntemples--trophies these from many a hard-fought field.\n\nBut most important of all, a Dictator was chosen to guide Rome in the\ncrisis that had befallen her.\n\nFabius, the noble patrician who was elected, was a wise man, and\none who was not easily swayed by others. He was, however, neither a\nbrilliant nor an enterprising soldier.\n\nMinucius, one of the people\u2019s favourites, was appointed to be the\nDictator\u2019s master of horse.\n\nNow many of the people believed that disaster had overtaken the army\nbecause Flaminius had marched to the war without first offering\nsacrifices to the gods. And also because he had treated their warnings\nwith contempt.\n\nFor as he rode off to join his troops he was thrown from his horse,\nwhile a standard that had been thrust into the ground was found to be\nso firmly embedded that the standard-bearer, with all his efforts,\ncould not dislodge it. These omens Flaminius had treated with scorn,\nmerely remounting his steed and ordering the standard to be dug out of\nthe ground.\n\nFabius the Dictator, therefore, determined before he did aught else,\nto pacify the anger of the gods and at the same time to please the\npeople.\n\nSo he ordered white oxen to be offered in the temples, as an atonement\nfor the neglect shown to the gods by Flaminius. The people flocked\ngladly to these sacrifices, bringing with them their own offerings to\nlay on the altars, while they prayed for the goodwill of the god of\nbattle.\n\nA vow, too, was made by the whole of the people, to keep \u2018A holy\nspring.\u2019\n\nThis vow said that \u2018every animal fit for sacrifice, born in the spring\nof the year 216 B.C., and reared on any mountain or plain or river bank\nor upland pasture throughout Italy, should be offered to Jupiter.\u2019\n\nThere was no need to offer children to the gods in sacrifice, for\nthey, when they grew old enough, offered their lives, and that right\nwillingly, on the battlefield to the god of war.\n\nWhen the religious rites were ended, Fabius prepared to meet the enemy.\n\nTwo new legions were soon raised, and Servilius was ordered to bring\nhis two legions to Rome, so that Fabius had four legions to lead to\nbattle.\n\nThe Dictator had his own idea of how best to beat Hannibal, and to this\nidea he remained faithful, although his own followers as well as the\nenemy derided his policy.\n\nFabius had determined not to meet the Carthaginians in a pitched\nbattle. They had already been victorious too often in such a struggle.\nHe intended to harass the rear guard of the enemy and to cut off the\nparties Hannibal sent out in search of food or forage. This discreet\npolicy proved pleasing neither to Hannibal nor to his own troops, but\nof this Fabius recked little.\n\nAfter deciding on these tactics, the Dictator led his legions into\nNorthern Apulia and encamped near to the enemy. In vain Hannibal tried\nto tempt Fabius to fight. He wantonly burned the homesteads and\ndestroyed the vineyards of the Italians, that the Dictator might grow\nindignant and hasten to their help. But seemingly untouched by the\ndesolation of his country, Fabius continued to follow his own method of\nwarfare.\n\nThis method of delay has since his time become a byword, and is known\nas \u2018The Fabian Policy.\u2019 He himself was named, or perhaps I should say\nhe was nicknamed, Cunctator, The Delayer.\n\nMinucius, the master of the horse, eager for battle, encouraged the\nsoldiers in their discontent with the Dictator, until they even dared\nto say that Minucius was more fit to command Romans than Fabius.\n\nThen Minucius, seeing the men were in his favour, grew more daring,\nand ventured to jest at the Dictator because he encamped always on the\nhills, while the enemy was in the plains. \u2018It is,\u2019 said the officer,\n\u2018as if Fabius has taken us to the hills as to a theatre, to look at the\nflames and desolation of our country.\u2019 Or he would mockingly declare\nthat the Dictator was leading them up to heaven, having no hopes on\nearth, or even that he was trying to hide them in the clouds from the\nCarthaginians.\n\nThese words were told to Fabius, and his friends urged him, as they had\noften done before, to fight.\n\nBut the Dictator answered, \u2018I should be more faint-hearted than they\nmake me, if through fear of idle reproaches I should abandon my own\nconvictions.\u2019\n\nSuch words showed the true bravery of the Delayer\u2019s spirit.\n\nSoon after this, Hannibal, who had been despoiling the beautiful\ncountry of Campania, determined to march back to Apulia, with the booty\nhe had secured. He had with him great herds of cattle which formed a\nlarge part of the spoil.\n\nTo reach Apulia, the Carthaginians would have to march through a\nnarrow defile, and Fabius believed that now his patience was going to\nbe rewarded. He would catch Hannibal in a trap.\n\nBut Fabius had scarcely realised the man with whom he had to deal.\nHannibal in a trap like that which he had himself often set for the\nRomans! That surely was not easy to believe.\n\nKnowing the country well, the Dictator did not on this occasion delay,\nbut sent a company of four thousand soldiers to guard the exit by which\nthe enemy must leave the pass, on its way to Apulia. He, with the main\nbody of his army, stationed himself on the summit of a hill, close at\nhand.\n\nHannibal guessed what the Romans had done, and he made up his mind to\nfrustrate their plans; moreover, he determined to do so by a trick. He\nseemed to treat the Dictator and his arrangements with scarcely the\nrequisite gravity.\n\nFirst he ordered two thousand of the oxen he had captured to have\ntorches or dry faggots fastened to their horns.\n\nThen when it grew dark these faggots were lighted, and the beasts were\ndriven toward the mountains where the Roman soldiers were encamped.\nHannibal and his army followed slowly behind the oxen.\n\nThe beasts moved heavily along, the lights on their heads making them\nappear like a mighty army, marching through the night. By and by the\nfire burned the horns down to the quick, and the poor animals, in\nhorrible pain, ran hither and thither, tossing their heads and thus\nsetting fire to the trees which they happened to pass.\n\nOn the crest of the hill, the Roman army saw the moving lights, but as\nFabius issued no orders, the soldiers stayed in the camp.\n\nThe company guarding the pass also saw the lights and thought that they\nwere moving toward the mountains. Thinking their comrades would be in\ndanger, they deserted their post and ran to give them help.\n\nHannibal\u2019s soldiers at once seized the forsaken exit, and the\nCarthaginian army passed out of the defile unharmed.\n\nBefore morning dawned Fabius discovered how he had been outwitted by\nHannibal. Yet fearing lest his men should fall into an ambush if he\nsent them in pursuit of the enemy before it was light, he still kept\nhis army idle in camp.\n\nWhen it was daylight it was too late to do the Carthaginians much harm,\nalthough the Dictator ordered his army to attack them in the rear.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXII\n\nFABIUS WINS TWO VICTORIES\n\n\nRome was not long in hearing how Hannibal had tricked the Dictator, and\nthe people were roused to fury because Fabius had allowed their great\nenemy to escape.\n\nNow it was necessary at this time for Fabius to leave the army and\nreturn to Rome to celebrate a religious rite.\n\nMinucius was left in command of the legions during the absence of the\nDictator. Before he left, Fabius bade the young officer on no pretext\nto risk a battle while he was away.\n\nBut no sooner had the Dictator gone, than Minucius, hearing that a\nlarge body of the enemy had left their camp in search of forage, fell\nupon a company of those that were left behind. He killed many of them,\nand retreated without losing any of his own men.\n\nWhen tidings of this success, slight though it was, reached Rome, the\npeople were both excited and elated. And as was perhaps natural, they\nbegan to compare Minucius and his triumph with the Dictator and his\npolicy of delay.\n\nIf Minucius had been commander, Hannibal would have been beaten long\nago, so grumbled the people. Surely it was ignoble to camp on the hills\nin safety, while the country was being destroyed by the enemy.\n\nSo great was the discontent of the people that at length the Senate\ndecreed that Minucius should be given power equal to that of the\nDictator. This had never been done before, as the Dictator always held\nthe supreme power alone.\n\nWhen Fabius returned to camp he showed no chagrin at the new\narrangement, but gave to his former master of the horse complete\ncontrol of two legions, while he himself kept command of the other two.\nThis was, he believed, wiser than that two generals should rule the\nentire army.\n\nHannibal was well pleased when he heard how the Roman command had\nbeen divided. For he foresaw that it would be easy to draw the young\nimpetuous general down from the heights.\n\nSo, as his way was, he carefully laid an ambush, and then sent out a\nsmall party to take possession of a hill that lay not far from the\nenemy\u2019s camp.\n\nMinucius rose, as a fish rises, to the bait. He sent out his light\ntroops and cavalry to scatter the enemy. Then when he saw the great\nCarthaginian general himself march to the help of his men, he ordered\nhis whole army to hasten forward to the attack.\n\nNo sooner did Hannibal see that his ruse had been successful than he\ngave a signal to the men lying in ambush, and they, springing from\ntheir hiding place, with loud cries attacked the Romans in the rear.\n\nIn vain did Minucius try to rally his terrified followers. They were\nsoon in utter confusion. Nor, now that battle had actually been given,\ndid the new general show himself a capable or wise soldier.\n\nJust as the Romans were on the point of flying from the field, Fabius,\nwho, foreseeing what would happen, had ordered his army to be ready,\ncried, \u2018We must haste to rescue Minucius, who is a valiant man and a\nlover of his country.\u2019\n\nThen speeding to the battlefield with his men, he led them so bravely,\nand at the same time so warily, that Hannibal was soon forced to sound\na retreat.\n\nTo his friends the Punic general remarked, \u2018Did I not tell you that\nthis cloud which always hovered upon the mountains, would at some time\nor other, come down with a storm upon us?\u2019\n\nAfter Hannibal had withdrawn his troops, Fabius went back to his camp\nwithout saying a harsh or reproachful word to Minucius.\n\nHe, the more ashamed, that Fabius treated him so generously, called\ntogether his discomfited army, and told them that he was sorry that he\nhad ever spoken against the Dictator.\n\n\u2018Some reason,\u2019 he said, \u2018I may have to accuse fortune, but I have many\nmore to thank her; for in a few hours she hath cured a long mistake,\nand taught me that I am not the man who should command others, but\nhave need of another to command me.... Therefore in everything else\nhenceforth the Dictator must be your commander; only in showing\ngratitude towards him, I will still be your leader and always be the\nfirst to obey his orders.\u2019\n\nThen he bade his men follow him to the camp of Fabius, carrying with\nthem their standards.\n\nAs Minucius drew near to the tent of the Dictator, Fabius came out to\nmeet him.\n\nOrdering the standards to be laid at the feet of the man he had\ndisdained, Minucius said, \u2018You have this day, O Dictator, obtained two\nvictories, one by your valour and conduct over Hannibal, and another by\nyour wisdom and goodness to your colleague.\u2019\n\nThen thanking Fabius for saving his life and the lives of those under\nhim, he flung himself into the arms of the Dictator, calling him father.\n\nThe soldiers of each army, touched by the example of their leader,\nforgot their jealousy and also embraced one another with tears of joy.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXIII\n\nTHE BATTLE OF CANN\u00c6\n\n\nWinter was nearly over, and spring, the usual time for the new Consuls\nto begin their duties, was at hand. Fabius therefore resigned his\nDictatorship, as the Consuls would be able to carry on the war.\n\nThe people had chosen Varro, a man hated by the patricians, to be one\nof the Consuls. He was the son of a butcher, so it was declared; but be\nthat as it may, his birth had not kept him from holding positions of\ntrust in the state.\n\nHis colleague was \u00c6milius, a member of a noble family, who had, three\nyears earlier, held the post of Consul.\n\nSpring passed, and in summer of this same year, 216 B.C., Hannibal\nagain marched into Apulia and seized the citadel of Cann\u00e6, where the\nRomans had stored a large quantity of provisions for the army.\n\nThis, Hannibal was well aware, would force the Romans either to retreat\nor to give battle, for their army now consisted of eight legions,\nand without food, and a large supply of food, the Consuls would be\ncompelled to take action.\n\nNow \u00c6milius and Varro commanded the army on alternate days. The\npatrician Consul, who before leaving Rome had said: \u2018I will rather seek\nin my conduct to please and obey Fabius than all the world besides,\u2019\nurged Varro not to fight on the plains of Apulia.\n\nFabius, he knew, would never have risked a battle on the plains, where\nthe cavalry of Hannibal would have every advantage. And his cavalry\nwas without doubt his greatest strength.\n\nBut Varro refused to listen to the advice of his colleague. When it was\nhis turn to command, he drew up his army close to the village of Cann\u00e6,\nand hung his scarlet coat outside his tent. This was a signal that the\nConsul meant to fight, and Hannibal at once ordered his men to prepare\nfor battle.\n\nAs the wind at the time was blowing violently, carrying with it a cloud\nof dust, the Carthaginians took up their position with their backs to\nthe storm, so that the dust swept harmlessly past them. But it dashed\ninto the faces of the Roman legions, wellnigh blinding them.\n\nIn the centre of his army, and a little in advance, Hannibal had placed\nthe soldiers on whom he could least depend. The bravest and most loyal\nmen were in the wings.\n\nThis he did because he foresaw that the Romans would first attack the\ncentre, and as the less resolute soldiers fell back, they would press\nforward. Then, as they continued to push back the Carthaginian centre,\nHannibal meant to bid the men on the right and left wings to close in\nand envelop the enemy.\n\nSo when the Romans charged the centre of the Punic army, pushed it well\nback and were already beginning to think of victory, the wings closed\nin and charged upon their flanks. Then the centre, seeing how it was\nsupported, took fresh courage, and charged the front of the enemy with\nsudden determination.\n\nSlowly but surely the Roman infantry was pressed closer and closer\ntogether, until they were unable to strike a blow, unable even to move.\n\nThose on the edge were cut down at once, while thousands in the centre\nwere compelled to stand and look on, awaiting their fate.\n\nFor a whole day the slaughter never ceased, and when the sun sank there\nwas no longer any Roman army left. Hannibal had cut to pieces wellnigh\nthe whole eight legions, which was the largest army that Rome had ever\nsent to the field.\n\n\u00c6milius had been wounded at the beginning of the battle. In spite of\nthis he had tried to remount, to rally his men. But he was too severely\ninjured to be able to sit in his saddle, and he fell again, unnoticed,\nand was slain.\n\nMinucius, who was on the field, was also killed, as well as eighty\nsenators who had taken part in the battle.\n\nThe plebeian Consul, Varro, escaped, with about seventy horsemen, to\nthe town of Venusia, where scattered troops of soldiers gradually\nrejoined him.\n\nMaharbal, the master of Hannibal\u2019s cavalry, begged to be sent at once\nto Rome. \u2018If you will let me lead the horses and follow quickly,\nyou shall dine in the Capitol in five days,\u2019 he said with perfect\nconfidence.\n\nBut Hannibal refused to march on Rome, and offered her terms of peace\ninstead.\n\nThen Maharbal turned sadly away, muttering, it is said, these words:\n\u2018You know how to win a victory, Hannibal, but not how to use it.\u2019\n\nThe terms offered by Hannibal, Rome in her pride refused, although the\nloss of her eight legions had left her wellnigh helpless in the hands\nof her conqueror.\n\nHannibal seemed indeed not to know how to use his victory. He turned\naway from Rome, and marched to the wealthy city of Capua, in the south\nof Italy. The gates were thrown wide to the victorious general, and\nhere he entered and set up his camp.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXIV\n\nTHE DESPAIR OF ROME\n\n\nAfter the victory of Cann\u00e6, Hannibal was deemed more than a mere man.\nSurely he must be endowed with the power of the gods, or he would never\nbe able to sweep eight legions from his path, as he had done on this\nlast dread battlefield.\n\nEven a number of young Roman knights, of the best patrician families,\nwere so sure that nothing could now save their country, that they\ndetermined to fly to the coast and thus escape to another land, where\nthey might yet win honour by their arms.\n\nBut Cornelius Scipio, although but a lad like themselves, drew his\nsword and boldly declared that he would kill any one of them who\nrefused to swear never to forsake his country. His courage made the\nyoung knights so ashamed that they gave up their selfish plan.\n\nIn Rome itself the people had been more confident than of late years,\nfor was not Varro at the head of their army, and had he not been heard\nto say that he would conquer Hannibal in a day?\n\nTidings of the disaster at Cann\u00e6 reached the city first as a mere\nrumour, but even so it filled the hearts of the people with dread\nforebodings. Rumour said that the whole army was annihilated, that both\nConsuls were slain--the citizens in despair watched and waited for\ncertain news of the battle.\n\nAt length a horseman was seen riding in hot haste toward the city. The\npeople\u2019s hopes rose at the sight. For a moment they forgot the rumours\nthat had made them so uneasy, forgot all, save that their favourite\nVarro had been fighting for them. So they rushed toward the messenger,\nshouting with expectant voices: \u2018Is it victory of which you have to\ntell--victory?\u2019\n\nBut even as they spoke the people knew how foolish were their hopes.\nFor the face of the rider was pale and stricken with pain, and the folk\nshrank back, fearful now to hear the truth. And the messenger seemed in\nno haste to tell his tidings.\n\nBut Fabius the Delayer came to him and bade him speak, saying that if\nhe had bad news, they were prepared to listen.\n\nSo, amid a sudden silence, the terrible tale was told, nor when it\nwas ended was there a house to be found in Rome that was not filled\nwith mourning. Henceforth the people trembled at the very sound of the\nconqueror\u2019s name.\n\nAfter the first shock of the tidings, the people awoke to fresh fears.\nSuppose Hannibal was already marching upon Rome?\n\nIn a panic they flocked to the gates, longing to escape from the city\nthat they believed was doomed.\n\nAgain it was Fabius who came and talked to the terrified folk, and by\nhis calmness allayed their fears. In these troublous days the Delayer\nproved indeed so strong and wise that, before long, even those who had\nbeen used to mock at his slowness were glad to turn to him for counsel.\n\nIt was Fabius who ordered guards to be placed at the gates, that the\nfrightened inhabitants might not desert their city. It was he who\nordered the women not to wail and sob in the streets, but to go quietly\nto their homes to mourn there for their dead.\n\nMeanwhile messengers were sent along the Appian and Latin roads to\ngather tidings of Hannibal\u2019s movements. And soon they returned to\ntell that the conqueror was not on his way to Rome, but was still in\nApulia, dividing the spoil of the battle.\n\nVarro, who was in Venusia, had with much difficulty gathered together\nthe remnant of the army. He was now bidden by the Senate to bring it\nback to Rome.\n\nIt was a command he had dreaded. He had left Rome in joy, proud of the\nconfidence of the people, he was going back shamed and, in his own\neyes, disgraced. How would he be received by the Senate, by the people?\n\nWhen he reached the gates of the city he would not enter, but awaited\nwithout the judgment of his fellows.\n\nThen the Senate, knowing that the Consul loved his country and mourned\nfor the humiliation he had brought upon her, went down to the gates to\nwelcome him, followed by many of the people.\n\nFabius was among the senators, and from none of their lips did Varro\nhear a word of blame for the disaster of Cann\u00e6. But they praised him\nfor gathering together the remnant of the army, and thanked him, too,\nthat after so great a loss \u2018he had not despaired of the safety of the\nCommonwealth, but had come back to Rome to help them in their plans to\ndeliver their country from the Carthaginians.\u2019\n\nMeanwhile Hannibal had marched to Campania, and been gladly welcomed\nto its chief city Capua. Here, after their many hardships, he and his\narmy enjoyed through the winter months comfort and ease. It is even\nsaid that the great general relaxed the severity of his discipline for\na time.\n\nBut Capua was punished for opening its gates to Hannibal, for two Roman\narmies, under Fabius and Marcellus, were sent to besiege the town. The\nsiege lasted during 212 and 211 B.C.\n\nIn the latter year Hannibal determined to march to Rome, for by doing\nso he thought he would force the Roman armies to leave Capua.\n\nSo at length what the citizens had often feared actually came to pass.\nThe dreaded Carthaginian was on his way to Rome, and the people\nwere sure that their city would be razed to the ground, while they\nthemselves would be carried away as slaves.\n\nBut although Hannibal encamped three miles from the city, and rode\nround part of her walls, he did not attempt to lay siege to her.\nHe knew that he had not the materials needed to reduce so strong a\nfortress as Rome.\n\nHannibal did not achieve all that he had hoped from his march. The\nsiege of Capua was not raised, although Fabius, it is true, was\nrecalled from before her walls.\n\nSo the Punic general, having accomplished little, set out, meaning to\nreturn to Capua. He was followed by a Roman army, of which he took no\nnotice until five days later.\n\nThen, hearing that Capua was still besieged, he was angry, and vented\nhis wrath upon the army at his rear. Waiting until it was dark and\ntheir camp was set up, Hannibal stormed it, and drove the Romans away\nin utter confusion. As he knew he was not strong enough to relieve\nCapua, he did not return to the city, and she, thus deserted, was\nforced to surrender to the Romans.\n\nBut thirty of the noblest senators of Capua resolved to die rather than\nfall into the hands of those they had betrayed, for they feared their\nvengeance. So they met together for a last solemn feast, after which\nthey each took poison, and so escaped from their enemy.\n\nThe senators who had chosen to trust to Roman justice were loaded with\nchains and sent as prisoners to two different towns.\n\nFulvius, who longed for a sterner punishment, determined to inflict\nit himself. He followed the prisoners with a body of cavalry, and\nreached the first town early one morning. Twenty-eight of the wretched\nprisoners were at once ordered to be brought before him, that they\nmight be scourged and put to death. Then, hastening to the other town,\nhe ordered twenty-five senators to be put to death, without the trial\nthey had a right to expect.\n\nIt is told that before his vengeance was complete Fulvius received a\nletter from Rome, ordering the punishment of the senators of Capua\nto be delayed until she herself was able to judge them. But Fulvius,\nsuspecting what was in the letter, left it unread until his horrible\nwork was done.\n\nMeantime, Hannibal was looking for reinforcements from Africa, and he\nwished to secure a good harbour where they might land in safety. So\nin 210 B.C. he attacked the citadel of Tarentum, and took it, only,\nhowever, to lose it the following year, when it was retaken by Fabius.\nHannibal had now no port at which troops might land.\n\nIf he was yet further to subdue Italy he must wait until his brother\nHasdrubal could bring him fresh troops from Spain.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXV\n\nTHE DEFEAT OF HASDRUBAL\n\n\nEarly in the spring of 207 B.C. Hasdrubal was on his way from Spain to\njoin Hannibal in Italy. He had with him a large army and much money to\nenable his brother to carry on the war.\n\nHasdrubal crossed the Alps with less difficulty than Hannibal, for it\nwas springtime and the passes were not covered with newly fallen snow.\nThe native guides, too, proved friendly.\n\nHe was also greatly helped by the bridges which Hannibal had built, and\nby the cuttings he had made through the rocks. Even now, after seven\nyears, the bridges were still trustworthy, the cuttings clear.\n\nWhile he awaited his brother, Hannibal encamped near Venusia, on the\nborders of Lucania and Apulia, and here he hoped Hasdrubal would join\nhim. But the Romans were watching the brothers, and they hoped to be\nable to keep them apart.\n\nOne Roman army, under the Consul Claudius Nero, had already had\nskirmishes with the Carthaginians, and was now encamped not far from\nVenusia. As Claudius had lost fifteen hundred men in these skirmishes,\nhe did not again venture to attack the enemy.\n\nThe other Consul, Livius, was stationed near the river Sena, to stop\nHasdrubal should he attempt to march southward to join his brother.\n\nBut Hasdrubal intended to march not to Venusia, but into the Umbrian\ncountry, where he wished Hannibal to go to meet him. To let his brother\nknow his plans, he wrote a letter, and entrusting it to four soldiers,\nhe bade them deliver it to no one save to the Carthaginian general\nhimself.\n\nThe soldiers mounted their horses and rode away, promising to deliver\nthe letter to Hannibal. They knew that they were risking their lives,\nfor at any moment they might fall into the hands of the Roman soldiers,\nof whom the country through which they had to pass was full.\n\nThey reached Apulia without difficulty, but not finding Hannibal, they\nrode toward Tarentum, and were captured by a band of Roman soldiers,\nwho demanded what they were doing in that part of the country.\n\nThe soldiers\u2019 answers were not very clear, and they were threatened\nwith torture unless they frankly told the object for which they were\nriding toward Tarentum.\n\nIn their terror the men acknowledged that they were looking for\nHannibal, and that they carried with them a letter from his brother\nHasdrubal.\n\nThe soldiers were then hastily dragged before Claudius, and in a short\ntime the letter was in the Consul\u2019s hands, the letter that the men\nshould have guarded with their lives.\n\nClaudius was exultant! He knew the secret that was meant only for\nHannibal. Now at length the Carthaginians would meet the fate they\ndeserved. The Consul laid his plans with care, and carried them out\nwith complete success.\n\nA messenger was sent to Livius to warn him that Claudius intended to\njoin him with a company of his army.\n\nWhen night fell the Consul and his men stole quietly out of their camp,\nso quietly that Hannibal did not know that they had gone. Claudius\nhad left soldiers to guard the camp, so that the great general might\nsuspect nothing.\n\nAs the Consul and his soldiers passed along the road, the Italian\ntownsfolk and village folk alike, came out to welcome them. It was\nplain that they trusted that the Romans would banish the invaders who\nhad poured down into Italy from the Alps.\n\nMen left their work, women their homes, children their play--all were\neager to see the Consul pass. To show their goodwill many of them\nbrought food for the soldiers.\n\nThousands of men joined the army as volunteers, and they, and the\nregular soldiers, were so eager to reach the camp of Livius that they\nwould hardly interrupt their march to eat and drink.\n\nThe Roman camp lay to the south of the river Metaurus, and not far off\nwas the camp of Hasdrubal.\n\nClaudius had arranged to reach his colleague at night. He arrived as\nquietly as he had left his own camp, and his men were at once scattered\namong the tents in which the soldiers of Livius were already for the\nmost part asleep.\n\nAs the camp had not been enlarged, the Consuls thought that Hasdrubal\nwould not notice that the army of the enemy had been increased.\n\nBut Hasdrubal had fought with Romans in Spain, and he knew their\nsignals. So the following morning, when he heard two trumpets sound\ninstead of one, as had been the case on other days, he was aware that\nthe second Consul had joined the camp. And when the army was drawn up,\nHasdrubal would have been unobservant indeed if he had not seen that\nthe number of Roman soldiers was greater than before. How it was that\nthe camp remained unchanged may have proved a puzzle which Hasdrubal\nhad no time to solve.\n\nThe new soldiers were haggard and worn, as though they had marched far\nand fast, or as though they had been on the battlefield, and, seeing\nthis, Hasdrubal grew alarmed.\n\nHad Hannibal by some strange chance been at last defeated, and were\nthese the exhausted but triumphant troops?\n\nHad his letter failed to reach his brother? Nay, worse still, had it\nfallen into the enemy\u2019s hands?\n\nIn his uncertainty Hasdrubal determined that when night fell he would\nwithdraw his army to the other side of the river. It would be safer\nthere until he heard from Hannibal.\n\nSo when it was dark the camp was broken up, and the army set out with\nguides to ford the river.\n\nBut the guides proved faithless, and fled, leaving Hasdrubal and his\nmen to wander up and down the river bank in search of a ford. Thus much\nprecious time was wasted.\n\nWhen morning broke, Hasdrubal was still but a short distance from the\nenemy\u2019s camp, and the Romans, who were early astir, were soon able to\novertake him.\n\nHasdrubal saw that he could not avoid a battle, although he would fain\nhave done so until his troops had rested. He had not, indeed, time to\nthrow up fortifications before the enemy was upon him.\n\nBut Hasdrubal was a brave soldier, and he made up his mind to fight to\nthe death.\n\nHis army he arranged in the best possible position, and his elephants\nhe hoped would prove of great service. They, however, grew restive,\nand, as often happened, did as much harm to their friends as to their\nfoes.\n\nAfter a fierce struggle, Claudius succeeded in attacking the brave\nSpanish soldiers both in the rear and in the flank, and they, overcome\nby the numbers that attacked them, fell, after a bold and desperate\nstruggle.\n\nWhen Hasdrubal saw that the Spaniards, on whom he chiefly relied, were\nbeing slaughtered, he knew that the day was lost.\n\nFor himself, he resolved neither to leave the field, nor to be taken\nalive. Putting spurs to his horse, he galloped wildly into the midst of\nthe enemy and was slain, still grasping his sword in his hand.\n\nNot only were ten thousand of Hasdrubal\u2019s soldiers slain, but many were\ntaken prisoner. The spoil was enormous, for Hasdrubal had plundered\nthe country as he had passed through it, and he had also been carrying\nlarge sums of money to Hannibal.\n\nPerhaps it was little wonder that the Romans felt that even the awful\nbattle of Cann\u00e6 was now avenged.\n\n[Illustration: A messenger was seen spurring his horse toward the\ncity.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXVI\n\nLIVIUS AND CLAUDIUS ENJOY A TRIUMPH\n\n\nHannibal had not discovered that the Consul had left Venusia before he\nhad returned.\n\nAs soon as the battle of Metaurus was over, Claudius had marched\nback to his camp, carrying with him the head of Hasdrubal. This,\nwith cruelty unworthy of a conqueror, he ordered to be thrown into\nHannibal\u2019s camp.\n\nTwo prisoners he also set free, that they might go to the Carthaginian\ncamp and tell how their comrades had been slain.\n\nIn this terrible way Hannibal first knew what had befallen his brother\nand the army he had brought from Spain.\n\nClaudius, before he marched to the camp of Livius had sent to Rome to\ntell the Senate what he hoped to do. As the news of his hasty march\nbecame known, the greatest anxiety was felt.\n\nNo one was able to work. The Forum, indeed, was crowded with people;\nbut they assembled, not to do business, but to talk of the desperate\naction of the Consul, of the hopes and fears that clustered around his\ndeed.\n\nAfter a time the women betook themselves to the temple, and spent the\nhours in prayers to their gods, that now at length they would send\nvictory to Roman arms.\n\nAs hope was changing into fear, a messenger was seen spurring his horse\ntoward the city. When he rode in at the gates the people crowded round\nhim to try to gather his tidings.\n\nGood! It seemed that the news was good. The face, the whole bearing of\nthe messenger proclaimed it so, yet the people were afraid to believe.\nThey had grown used to such evil tidings. How could they believe all at\nonce that the gods had at length sent them victory! Yet so it was.\n\nThe messenger made his way through the crowds to the Senate-house, and\nthen for a little while the people were left to their vague hopes and\nfears.\n\nAt length the door of the Senate-house was opened, and down the steps\ninto the Forum stepped one of the senators, to tell the breathless\nmultitude that the tidings were good indeed. Hasdrubal was slain and\nhis army was destroyed.\n\nThen at last the people believed, and a great shout rent the air, a\nshout of triumph.\n\nPublic thanksgivings were at once ordained, to last for three days.\nThe people in their joy never stayed to think that Hannibal was still\nalive, and in their land unconquered.\n\nHannibal, indeed, stayed in Italy four years longer, yet he fought no\nmore great battles there. The towns, too, that he had won were, one\nafter another, gradually reconquered by Rome.\n\nAfter the defeat of Hasdrubal, Hannibal withdrew to Lacinium with his\ntroops. They remained loyal to their great leader in his misfortune as\nin his prosperity.\n\nClaudius and Livius, to whom the great victory was due, were both given\na triumph.\n\nBut as the battle had been fought in the province of which Livius had\ncharge, and as it was he who had commanded on the battlefield, he\nentered the city on a triumphal car drawn by four horses, his army\nmarching in the procession, while Claudius rode on horseback by the\nside of the car, and his army, being needed on the field, was not with\nhim.\n\nBut it was the Consul who rode on horseback at whom the people for the\nmost part gazed, and it was for him that the crowd cheered its loudest.\nFor the people knew that it was Claudius whose decision had made the\nbattle so complete a triumph.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXVII\n\nTHE CAPTURE OF NEW CARTHAGE\n\n\nFrom the time that Hannibal entered Italy, it seemed as though the\nRomans needed all their strength to meet so powerful a foe. They did,\nindeed, have as many as eight legions on the battlefield of Cann\u00e6. Yet,\nat the same time, they had sent officers and soldiers to Spain, and\nwere fighting against the Carthaginians in that country, as well as in\nItaly.\n\nPublius Scipio had, you remember, been ordered to march to Spain in\n218 B.C. to punish Hannibal for defying the demands of Rome. But as he\nfound that Hannibal was crossing the Alps, he awaited him in the valley\nof the Po, sending his brother Gn\u00e6us to Spain in his stead.\n\nIn about twelve months Publius was able to join his brother, and for\nfour years they fought together against the Carthaginians. Then in 213\nB.C. the Romans found that the enemy was making a determined effort to\npush their possessions beyond the river Ebro.\n\nSuch presumption must be punished, and Publius with an army set out to\nrepulse the enemy. But in the battle that followed he fell, mortally\nwounded. Gn\u00e6us also was slain about three weeks later.\n\nThe loss of the Scipios was a serious blow to Rome, for their influence\nin Spain had made the Roman name powerful. Nor was it easy to find\nan officer to send to Spain in the place of the brothers, for every\nsoldier wished to stay in Italy to fight against Hannibal, the arch\nenemy.\n\nAt length Cornelius, the son of Publius Scipio, offered to take up the\nwork that had fallen from his father\u2019s hands.\n\nCornelius Scipio was only twenty-four years of age, but he had already\nshown that he was brave and skilful. On the battlefield of Ticinus\nhe had by his prompt action saved his father\u2019s life, and after the\nslaughter at Cann\u00e6 he had prevented a band of young knights from\nforsaking their country.\n\nIn Rome, Scipio was a favourite with the people, partly, perhaps,\nbecause of his good looks, and partly because, although he was so\nyoung, he was grave and dignified, and his serious ways became him well.\n\nHis offer to serve in Spain was accepted, the people electing him for\nthe post with goodwill. The few who were anxious lest he was too young\nfor so great a charge were soon reassured, for his speech, when he\naddressed them, was wise as well as confident. And the trust of the\npeople was justified.\n\nScipio arrived in Spain about 210 B.C., and finding that a town,\nwhich the enemy had named New Carthage, was of great importance, he\ndetermined to attack it.\n\nAlthough the Carthaginians had three armies in Spain, each of their\ncamps was at some distance from New Carthage.\n\nSo confident, too, were the Punic generals of the strength of the town,\nthat it was guarded by a garrison of only one thousand men. As for the\ninhabitants, they knew little of the use of arms, being for the most\npart fishermen and mechanics.\n\nYet New Carthage was supremely important. She was the nearest port to\nCarthage, and it was at her harbour that reinforcements and stores from\nAfrica were landed. Here, too, the Carthaginians kept their magazines,\ntheir money, and their Spanish hostages.\n\nThe city was surrounded by high, strong walls, save at one place, where\nit was protected by an inland sea or lagoon. Here the walls were low\nand guarded less vigilantly, for the sea was believed to make the city\nsecure from attack.\n\nBut Scipio had been talking in his grave and pleasant way with the\nfishermen of New Carthage, and he had learned quite simply what he\nwished to know--that the sea was shallow enough at times to make it\npossible to reach the low and well-nigh unguarded wall.\n\nWhen Scipio, his plan determined, ordered his soldiers to march, they\nknew nothing of what their young leader meant to attempt. Only to\nL\u00e6lius, his most trusted friend, did he confide his scheme, bidding him\ntake the Roman fleet to the harbour of New Carthage on a certain day.\n\nL\u00e6lius was to join in the assault upon the city; if it failed, he was\nto be ready to carry off the troops in his ships.\n\nScipio\u2019s orders were obeyed. The fleet reached the harbour at the same\ntime that the Roman army encamped without the city walls.\n\nMago, who was in command of the garrison, was surprised when he saw\nthe Roman fleet in the harbour, the Roman army close to his gates. He\nat once ordered the walls to be manned, and about two thousand of the\ncitizens to be armed.\n\nA party of soldiers then sallied out to drive off the enemy, the armed\ncitizens joining in the attack. They were, however, beaten back by the\nRomans. In a panic the citizens crowded together in the narrow gateway,\neach trying to regain the safety of the streets. So foolish was their\nhaste, that many of them were trampled underfoot and wounded, if not\nkilled.\n\nThe Roman soldiers all but succeeded in pushing their way into the\ncity, along with the desperate citizens. They did not quite succeed,\nbut they managed to fix the scaling ladders against the walls. This\nproved, however, of little use, for the ladders, they found, were too\nshort for the height of the walls, while they suffered greatly from\nthe arrows and missiles which fell in their midst.\n\nIt was afternoon when the Romans withdrew, and the garrison believed\nthat they were safe for another day. But a few hours later the\nbesiegers again attacked the walls.\n\nThis second attack was only a ruse to distract the defenders of the\ncity from a more serious undertaking.\n\nScipio had seen that the water in the lagoon was ebbing, and would soon\nbe shallow. So he now ordered his men to step boldly into the water and\ncarry their ladders to the low and carelessly guarded wall.\n\nHis order was speedily carried out. The ladders were soon in position,\nand the next moment the Roman soldiers were climbing up into the city.\n\nMeanwhile the garrison was busy repulsing the attack upon her high and\nstrongly guarded walls.\n\nBut the Roman soldiers, having scaled their ladders, leaped into the\ncity, killing the few guards whom they encountered. Quickly they made\ntheir way toward the gate, which was being assaulted from without. When\nthey reached it they flung it open, and their comrades poured into the\ncity, the garrison was overcome, and New Carthage was in the hands of\nScipio.\n\nThe young general was modest, and refused to claim all the glory of the\nvictory. Part of it, at least, was due to Neptune, the god of the sea,\nfor he, said Scipio, had come to him as he slept and bidden him enter\nthe city by the lagoon.\n\nThere was much booty to be gathered in the conquered city, and in the\nharbour a fleet of both warships and merchant vessels was captured.\n\nBut the chief value of the victory was that the Romans had now\npossession of a town in the very centre of the enemy\u2019s country, as well\nas of its best port.\n\nIn 206 B.C. Scipio returned to Rome, able to say that he had left no\nCarthaginian soldier in Spain.\n\nBut Scipio had done more than drive the enemy out of Spain. He had\ntried to win two powerful allies for his country, in Africa, and he had\nsucceeded in gaining one.\n\nSyphax, King of Western Numidia, had been now on the side of Rome,\nnow on that of Carthage. Scipio sailed to Africa to visit Syphax, and\nbefore he left him he believed that he had secured his fidelity to Rome.\n\nBut although the king was charmed with the Roman, and said of him that\nhe was \u2018even more admirable in conversation than in war,\u2019 when Scipio\u2019s\ninfluence was removed he proved fickle as ever. In the end he went over\nto, and remained on, the side of the Carthaginians.\n\nThe ally whom Scipio gained was an African prince named Masinissa. He\nhad come to Spain with a body of Numidian cavalry, and promised that it\nshould be at the service of Scipio when he landed in Africa.\n\nFor this was now the young general\u2019s great ambition--to carry the war\nwith the Carthaginians into their own country.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXVIII\n\nSCIPIO SAILS TO AFRICA\n\n\nIt was not usual to award a triumph to a Roman citizen who had been\nneither a pr\u00e6tor nor a Consul.\n\nYet it may be that when Scipio returned to Italy in 206 B.C. he hoped\nto receive this honour, for he had served the State loyally and\nsuccessfully.\n\nThe people clamoured for the honour to be given to their favourite. So\nthe Senate assembled in the temple of Bellona, which stood outside the\nwalls of the city, to meet Scipio, and hear what he had accomplished in\nSpain.\n\nIf a triumph was to be awarded to him, he must, as was the custom,\nstay without the city gates until he entered it to celebrate the great\noccasion.\n\nIt was a noble record to which the Senate listened. Scipio had fought\nwith four generals and four armies, and had been victor in every battle\nand over each general. Nor was a single Carthaginian soldier left in\nSpain.\n\nIn spite of the splendour of his achievements a triumph was not decreed\nto the young soldier. Partly, perhaps, because among the senators were\nsome who did not care to forsake old customs, while others did not wish\nto encourage so ambitious a youth as Scipio. They did not know to what\nhis ambitions might lead, and they were afraid.\n\nBut although Scipio entered Rome as a private citizen, he did so with\nall the pomp and splendour that he could muster. And the people flocked\naround him, and cheered him, it may be, the more lustily that he had\nbeen denied the triumph which would have been his had he held the rank\nof Consul.\n\nSoon after this the election of Consuls for the year 205 B.C. took\nplace.\n\nFrom far and near the people flocked to Rome, not only to vote, but to\nsee the man who had driven the Carthaginians from Spain.\n\nIn spite of the opposition of the Senate, Scipio was one of the Consuls\nchosen. The Senate feared that he would now persist in his wish to\ncarry on the Carthaginian war in Africa. They had already done their\nutmost to discourage this, his great ambition.\n\nStill, as the colleague of Scipio had duties which would keep him in\nRome, it was plain that if one Consul was sent to a foreign province\nthat one must be Scipio.\n\nSome of the senators hesitated to let the province be Africa. It seemed\nto them too great a risk to send an army to Africa while Hannibal was\nstill in Italy. At the head of those opposed to Scipio was Fabius the\nDelayer, who was as cautious as of old.\n\nTo those who feared Hannibal\u2019s presence in Italy, Scipio explained,\nthat to carry the war to Africa would be the quickest and surest way\nto get rid of the great general. For he would certainly be recalled to\nhelp in the defence of his own country. And in this, as you will hear,\nScipio proved correct.\n\nSo determined was the new Consul to go to Africa that at length he\ndeclared that if the Senate refused to send him, he would appeal to the\npeople in a popular Assembly.\n\nWith this threat, for such it really was, the Senate was indignant. It\nknew too well what the result of an appeal to the people would be.\n\nAfter violent debates between Scipio\u2019s friends and those who were\nopposed to him, the Senate reluctantly gave the province of Sicily to\nthe young Consul. And with Sicily he was given permission to cross into\nAfrica, should he think \u2018the best interests of the State demanded it.\u2019\n\nThe permission was shorn of all graciousness, for the Senate refused\nto allow Scipio to levy troops. Only the soldiers already serving in\nSicily were put under his command.\n\nBut Scipio was not easily thwarted by difficulties. The Senate could\nnot refuse to let him enrol volunteers. And no sooner was it known that\nthe Consul wished for soldiers, than many flocked to his standard.\nFor to fight under so brave and gallant a captain as Scipio was an\nadventure all good soldiers welcomed.\n\nA year was spent in Sicily, where Scipio trained his volunteers. In\nthe spring of 204 B.C. his ambition was fulfilled, for he set sail for\nAfrica.\n\nIn his fleet the Consul had four hundred transports and forty warships,\nwhile his army was said by some to consist of twelve thousand five\nhundred men, by others, to reach any number within thirty-five thousand.\n\nThe fleet had assembled at the seaport town of Lilyb\u00e6um, and the\ncitizens were full of interest and excitement at the novel sight.\n\nA great crowd gathered in the harbour in the early morning of the\nday fixed for the departure of the fleet. Then as a herald commanded\nsilence, a sudden hush fell upon the people while the Consul offered a\nsolemn prayer to all the gods and goddesses of Rome, beseeching them to\ngrant him \u2018protection, victory, spoils, and a happy ... return, after\ninflicting on the Carthaginian people all those evils with which they\nhad threatened the Commonwealth of Rome.\u2019\n\nWhen the prayer ended, trumpets sounded, and the fleet sailed away amid\nthe cheers of the onlookers.\n\nThe Carthaginians knew that Scipio was sailing to their country with\nan army, yet they sent no fleet to stay his course. Unhindered by the\nenemy, undelayed by any storm, Scipio landed on the coast of Africa at\nthe Fair Promontory, close to the port of Utica.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXIX\n\nTHE ROMANS SET FIRE TO THE CAMP OF THE NUMIDIANS\n\n\nNo sooner did Scipio land in Africa, than he was joined by his ally\nMasinissa, with about two hundred of his famous Numidian cavalry.\n\nMasinissa had been expelled from his lands by Syphax, and he was glad\nto throw in his fortune with the Romans. To Scipio he was a valuable\nally, for he knew the war tactics and habits both of the Numidians and\nCarthaginians.\n\nThe Carthaginians had gathered a large army to oppose the invaders. It\nwas led by Hasdrubal, the son of Gisco. King Syphax with his Numidian\ntroops had joined Hasdrubal, and the two armies were encamped near\nUtica, to which town Scipio had laid siege.\n\nThe Roman general, pretending that it might be possible to arrange\nterms of peace, sent ambassadors, during a short truce, to the camp of\nSyphax. But his true reason for doing so was that they might find out\nsomething of the numbers of the enemy and of the position of its camp.\n\nAs was therefore to be expected, the negotiations were of no use, and\nwere soon broken off.\n\nThe Punic army believed that the attack on Utica would at once be\nrenewed. It did not dream that its camp was in danger.\n\nBut Masinissa knew that the camp was guarded carelessly. He also knew\nthat the tents in the camp were huts, built of wood, and covered with\nbranches of trees or with rushes. So he advised Scipio to plan a night\nattack on the camp, and to set fire to the huts.\n\nOne night Scipio resolved to do as Masinissa had suggested. He ordered\nhis men to have supper early. The bugles sounded at the hour usual for\nthe evening meal, that the enemy\u2019s attention might not be attracted by\nany departure from the daily routine. But on this night the bugle was\nnot the signal for supper, but the call to march.\n\nIt was cold and dark when, soon after midnight, the whole Roman army\ndrew near to the camp of the Carthaginians, having marched a distance\nof seven miles.\n\nMasinissa at once ordered every exit to be closely guarded, then he\nstealthily set fire to the huts on the edge of the camp.\n\nThe flames spread rapidly from one wooden hut to another until, before\nthe Carthaginians were aware, their whole camp was in a blaze.\n\nLate as it was, some of the officers were still feasting when the smoke\nand the noise of crackling wood roused them to a sense of danger.\n\nThey rushed out, still carrying in their hands the cups out of which\nthey had been drinking, to see the tents blazing fiercely.\n\nOthers sprang out of bed and hastened toward the tents, and although\nall were startled and dismayed, none of them seemed to think that an\nenemy had done this thing. They simply imagined that the fire was an\naccident, caused perhaps by some careless soldier.\n\nThe whole camp was now in confusion. Many perished in the flames, while\nmany others were trampled to death in the crowd.\n\nThose who tried to escape were seized by Masinissa and his men and were\nslain, almost before they realised that they were in the hand of the\nenemy.\n\nHasdrubal and Syphax saw that it was hopeless to try to save the camp\nor the soldiers. Accompanied by a few horsemen, they succeeded in\nslipping away unnoticed by Masinissa or his soldiers.\n\nCarthage was angry with Hasdrubal when she heard of the loss of\nher army, and condemned him to death. But he had ridden into the\nneighbouring districts, and was already enrolling volunteers, for he\nwas determined still to serve his country. In thirty days another army,\nunder the same leaders, was ready to meet the enemy.\n\nScipio, leaving troops to support the fleet, which was now blockading\nUtica, at once marched against Hasdrubal and Syphax. On the Great\nPlains a terrible battle was fought, in which the Romans were\nvictorious. Hasdrubal escaped from the field, and Syphax hastened away\nto his own kingdom of Numidia.\n\nWhen Hasdrubal at length ventured to enter Carthage, his enemies tried\nto take him prisoner. But he hid himself in the mausoleum or tomb of\nhis family. Then, determined never to be taken alive, he took poison\nand died.\n\nThe people, in their rage at being thus cheated of their victim,\ndragged Hasdrubal\u2019s body into the street and placed his head in triumph\non the top of a pole.\n\nKing Syphax was followed to Numidia by Masinissa and a detachment of\nRoman soldiers.\n\nThe king again faced his enemies, but once more he was defeated, and\nbeing captured he was taken to the Roman camp. Masinissa now recovered\nhis own dominions, as well as part of the kingdom that had belonged to\nSyphax.\n\nFrom this time the African prince grew more and more powerful. Led by\nhim, the Numidians now fought for the Romans, so that Carthage found\nherself left alone to fight against two powerful enemies.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXX\n\nHANNIBAL LEAVES ITALY\n\n\nCarthage might now have despaired, had not Hannibal been alive. His\nname, she knew well, could still inspire the Roman legions with terror,\nhis presence would, she believed, ensure their defeat. So messengers\nwere sent to Italy to bid him hasten to Carthage.\n\nThe great general left Italy sorrowfully, for the hopes with which he\nhad entered her had not been fulfilled.\n\nIn spite of all the great victories he had won, Italy had slipped from\nhis grasp. Perhaps it was true, as Maharbal had said, \u2018Hannibal knows\nhow to win victories, but not how to use them.\u2019\n\nBut if Hannibal left the country reluctantly, the people rejoiced at\nhis departure. They could never feel secure while he was in their land.\nHis name, indeed, still made the Romans tremble.\n\nBefore the great general left, he ordered bronze tablets to be made,\nand on these he ordered to be engraved the battles he had fought in\nItaly, as well as a full account of the war. These records were written\nboth in the Greek and the Punic language.\n\nA famous historian, who was a boy when Hannibal was fighting in Italy,\nsaw these tablets when he grew to be a man, and so he was able to write\na true account of the second Punic war.\n\nBut all the history that Polybius wrote was not carefully preserved. So\nthat after the battle of Cann\u00e6 we have no records save those given to\nus by Roman historians. And what they, in their pride, wrote, was not,\nmany people think, the same as Hannibal recorded on his bronze tablets.\n\nAfter the capture of King Syphax, a short truce had been arranged\nbetween the two powers, while an embassy went from Carthage to Rome to\ntry to obtain peace.\n\nBut the truce was broken by the Carthaginians, and for this the Romans\nmade them suffer heavily.\n\nSome ships, laden with provisions for the Roman army, were on their\nway from Sardinia to join Scipio\u2019s fleet, when a storm blew them on to\nan island in the Bay of Carthage. The Carthaginians seized some of the\nships, being unable to resist the temptation to get food, of which they\nhad had but little for some time.\n\nScipio was indignant at this breach of the truce, and he at once sent\nto Carthage to demand that the booty should be restored.\n\nBut there were some in Carthage who wished the war with Rome to go on,\nand they were more powerful than those who longed for peace. So the war\nparty arranged that the Roman ambassadors should be sent back by ship\nto Scipio, with a safe conduct, indeed, but without an answer to his\ndemands.\n\nThey were taken safe to within sight of their own ships, then their\nescort withdrew, while the admiral of the Punic fleet, having been\nsecretly instructed, at once tried to take the ambassadors prisoners.\n\nTwo of the crew were injured, some were even killed, while the\nambassadors escaped with difficulty.\n\nAfter so evident an insult to the messengers of Rome, Scipio at once\nprepared to carry on the war.\n\nBy the autumn of 203 B.C. Hannibal was in Carthage, and the people,\nfull of confidence in their great general, were eager that he should at\nonce take the field.\n\nBut Hannibal roughly bade the citizens \u2018attend to their own affairs,\nand leave him to choose his own time of fighting.\u2019\n\nHe then begged for an interview with Scipio, and tried to arrange\nterms of peace. But the Consul refused to have anything to do with such\nterms, saying that the truce had been broken, his envoys insulted, and\nthe Carthaginians must suffer the consequences of such deeds.\n\nScipio was indeed impatient to fight, that the war might the sooner\ncome to an end.\n\nIt was already the month of October, 202 B.C., and although the people\nof Rome had decreed that Scipio should still continue in Africa, the\nSenate was anxious that one of the new Consuls should be sent to join\nhim, and share his power.\n\nClaudius, the hero of Metaurus, was one of the new Consuls, and he was\nordered to cross to Africa with a fleet of fifty quinqueremes.\n\nScipio resented this, for if the war with Carthage ended successfully\nafter Claudius reached Africa, it was he, as Consul, who would enjoy\nthe triumph at Rome.\n\nNow the invasion of Africa had been Scipio\u2019s own scheme, and he wished\nto have the glory of its success himself alone. So before the end of\nOctober he hastened to lead his army to battle in the neighbourhood of\nZama.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXI\n\nTHE BATTLE OF ZAMA\n\n\nHannibal was not ready for battle when the Roman army drew near to him\nat Zama. He had but just determined to change his camp and move to a\nbetter position in which to face the enemy.\n\nBefore he had time to carry out his plan, the enemy was upon him, and\nhe was forced to fight in a position with which he was not satisfied.\n\nThe elephants belonging to the Punic army no longer terrified the\nRomans as they used to do, for they had grown accustomed to the animals\non many an Italian battleground.\n\nBesides, they had now learned how to elude the onslaught of the heavy\nbeasts, by simply leaving spaces between their companies, through which\nthe elephants could run without causing much damage. These spaces were\nat the beginning of the battle filled with soldiers, who irritated the\nelephants with darts and then stepped swiftly aside.\n\nBut at Zama, the elephants did not even attack the enemy. Startled\nby the noise of trumpets and the blowing of horns, they rushed back,\ninstead of forward, upon the Numidian cavalry, which was stationed on\nHannibal\u2019s left wing. Masinissa seized the opportunity, and before the\ncavalry had rallied from the shock of the elephants, he charged and put\nit to flight. The Carthaginian cavalry on Hannibal\u2019s right was at the\nsame time routed by L\u00e6lius.\n\nTwo bodies of heavily-armed troops still faced the Romans.\n\nFirst came the mercenaries hired by Hannibal. Fiercely they fought and\nwell, although they were no match for their enemy. Nor did they once\nfalter until they began to fear that the Carthaginians were failing to\nsupport them.\n\nThen they turned, stricken by sudden panic, and anxious only to force\ntheir way through those behind, who they believed had betrayed them.\n\nAs the Romans followed them in their flight, all was soon in confusion,\nthe mercenaries and Carthaginians being slain, not only by the Romans,\nbut by each other.\n\nHannibal, meanwhile, was with a band of veterans whom he had held in\nreserve.\n\nThose soldiers who had escaped from the Romans now tried to steal in\namong these veterans, but Hannibal, who had no mercy for cowards,\nordered his men to lower their spears and push them away. The desperate\nwretches then escaped from the battlefield as best they might.\n\nScipio was now ready to advance against the veterans, and here the\nstruggle was long and stern. For these Carthaginian soldiers were\ninflexible against every attack. Not one man flinched, but each stood\nsteadfastly at his post until he was killed. Only when L\u00e6lius and\nMasinissa returned from pursuing the enemy\u2019s horse and fell upon\nHannibal\u2019s rear was the battle won.\n\nThe number of the slain was terrible. Twenty thousand Carthaginians\nwere said to have fallen, and almost as many to have been taken\nprisoner, while the Romans did not lose more than fifteen thousand men.\n\nHannibal escaped to Carthage, leaving his camp to be seized by the\nenemy.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXII\n\nSCIPIO RECEIVES A TRIUMPH\n\n\nAfter the battle of Zama, in 202 B.C., the war was at an end, for the\nCarthaginians had no longer any army.\n\nThey had, indeed, no choice now, save to accept the terms Rome might\noffer, unless they were prepared to see Carthage itself besieged.\n\nSince submission was inevitable, the Carthaginians resolved to yield\nwith as good a grace as possible. So they decked one of their ships\nwith olive branches, and sent ambassadors on board to sail toward\nUtica. They hoped that the ambassadors would thus meet Scipio, who was\non his way to the town of Tunes.\n\nBut the Roman general haughtily refused to receive them until he\nreached his destination. Then his interview with the suppliants was\nbrief, his answer to their petition for merciful terms, proud.\n\n\u2018You deserve nothing at our hand but condign punishment\u2019, he told them,\n\u2018yet Rome has determined to treat you with magnanimity, on condition\nthat you receive the terms offered to you.\u2019\n\nThe crestfallen ambassadors had no retort to such imperious words, for\nthey knew that they were helpless to resist, however hard the terms\nmight prove. But the conditions, although severe, yet at least still\nleft Carthage a free nation.\n\nTo begin with, the Carthaginians were made to suffer for their rashness\nin breaking the truce.\n\nThe ships and provisions which they had taken must be restored. All\ncaptives and runaway slaves must be sent back. The elephants, without\nwhich the Carthaginians would feel uneasy on a battlefield, were\nall to be given up to the Romans, as well as the warships, save only\ntwenty. But this was not all. The conquered people must promise to wage\nno war in foreign countries; and, more bitter still, they must not even\nfight in Africa itself without first asking Rome for permission to do\nso. Masinissa was to have all his land and property given back to him.\n\nThese, with a few other conditions, completed the demands of Rome.\n\nAmong the Carthaginians there were some bold, reckless spirits who\nwould have refused to accept such terms. For these would cripple their\ncommerce, and also leave them powerless to resent the encroachments\nwhich Masinissa would certainly make upon their frontier.\n\nBut Hannibal was present at the conference that was being held, and he\ntold his rash countrymen that they should be grateful that the terms\nwere not even more severe.\n\nWhen one of the senators still urged that the Romans should be defied,\nHannibal caught his robe and pulled him to his seat while he was\nspeaking. His only apology for such conduct was to say: \u2018I have been so\nlong with my army that I have forgotten the habits of civil life.\u2019\n\nSince no other way was possible, the terms were accepted, and Scipio,\nhaving finished his work in Africa, was now ready to return to Rome.\n\nWhen he reached Italy his progress was as that of a king. In towns\nand villages he was hailed as the deliverer of Rome. Had he not\nforced Hannibal to leave Italy, and had he not even defeated the bold\nconqueror of Cann\u00e6?\n\nHis triumph was the most magnificent that had ever yet been seen.\nFor several days, too, games were held in the city, and for these\nfestivities Scipio himself supplied the money.\n\nThat his great victory might not be forgotten, Scipio was now given the\nname of the country which he had conquered, and he was henceforth known\nas Scipio Africanus.\n\n[Illustration: His progress was as that of a king.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXIII\n\nFLAMININUS IS COVERED WITH GARLANDS\n\n\nTen years before the struggle with Hannibal ended, Rome had declared\nwar against Philip, King of Macedonia. This was the beginning of a war\nthat ended with the conquest of the East.\n\nBut the Romans soon found that, with Hannibal in Italy, they would have\nneither time nor troops to spare for Macedonia. So for a time King\nPhilip was left undisturbed, although he had dared to defy the Romans,\nand in 215 B.C. to make a treaty with Hannibal. Before the battle\nof Zama too, he sent four thousand Macedonian soldiers to help the\nCarthaginians in their struggle against Rome.\n\nBut when peace was made with Carthage, the day of reckoning with King\nPhilip speedily came. A Roman army of twenty thousand men was sent\nacross the Adriatic to punish him.\n\nThe Consul Flamininus was made commander of the Roman army in Greece\nin 198 B.C., and in the autumn of the following year he met Philip at\nCynoscephal\u00e6, where a great battle was fought.\n\nIn the morning, before the struggle began, a thick mist hid the armies\nfrom one another. Flamininus, wishing to find out the position of the\nenemy, sent a detachment of cavalry and infantry to reconnoitre.\n\nSuddenly the detachment found itself face to face with the Macedonian\nreserves, which were stationed on the ridges of the hill named\nCynoscephal\u00e6, or Dogshead, as the difficult name is translated in our\nlanguage.\n\nThe Macedonians, being on a higher slope of the hill than the Romans,\nwere at first the more successful.\n\nIn their triumph at having worsted even a detachment of the Romans,\nthey sent messengers to tell King Philip of their success, and to urge\nhim to bring up the main body of his army without delay.\n\nThe king hesitated. He had not expected to meet the enemy that day, and\nhad sent off a large number of his men to forage. His army, too, was\non rough and even precipitous ground, which was quite unsuitable for\nthe movement of the phalanx, which needed a wide open space in which to\nmove.\n\nThe Macedonian phalanx was as important a part of Philip\u2019s army as\nthe elephants had been in that of Hannibal. It was formed by sixteen\nthousand men in close order, sixteen rows deep, and the men were armed\nwith long spears. These spears were held in such a way that those of\nthe first five ranks reached to the front row, so that a wall of solid\nsteel seemed to stare the enemy in the face.\n\nThe eleven ranks behind held their weapons in a slanting position over\nthe heads of those before them, and thus shielded their comrades from\nthe darts aimed at them.\n\nNow the men forming the phalanx marched so close together that they\ncould turn neither to flank nor rear, but must move straight forward.\nTheir spears, which varied from sixteen to fourteen cubits, could only\nbe used for the one forward movement.\n\nIn the days of Pyrrhus, the Romans had dreaded the attack of the\nphalanx, but now they had lost all fear of this body. They were lightly\narmed, could move swiftly, and had grown used to annoy and defeat it.\n\nOn this misty autumn morning, then, in 197 B.C., Philip reluctantly\nyielded to the wishes of his soldiers, and ordered his army to move to\nthe ground, from which the advance guard of the Romans had already been\ndriven.\n\nHere he arranged his right wing in the form of a phalanx, and himself\nled it to charge the left wing of the enemy.\n\nAs the solid mass of men moved down the slope of the hill, it gathered\nforce, and struck with such weight against the Romans that they were\nscattered.\n\nBefore, however, Philip\u2019s left wing could form, owing to its steep and\ndifficult position, Flamininus was upon it, and his men fought with\nsuch vigour and determination that the Macedonians were put to flight.\n\nThen one of the tribunes ventured on a daring deed, one which, as it\nproved successful, really settled the battle.\n\nInstead of joining the rest of the army in pursuit of the left wing of\nthe enemy, he led his men to the rear of King Philip\u2019s right wing.\n\nAll at once the king saw that something was wrong. His men, who had\nscattered the left wing of the Roman army, seemed in difficulty. They\nbegan to throw away their weapons, to fly from the field. And not only\nso, but the Romans, who shortly before had been worsted, had now once\nagain turned to face the foe.\n\nQuickly Philip climbed higher up the hill, and then he understood what\nhad happened. For he saw that his men had been attacked in the rear by\nthe Roman tribune, and that they had been seized with panic at finding\nthemselves attacked both before and behind.\n\nIt was soon plain that the battle was lost. Rallying the remnant of his\ncavalry, King Philip put spurs to his horse and fled from the fatal\nhills of Cynoscephal\u00e6.\n\nThe king foresaw that this defeat would strike a great blow at the\ninfluence of Macedonia in Greece. Henceforth Greece would be more\nlikely to appeal to Rome than to Macedonia when she was in need of help\nagainst her foes.\n\nHe therefore saw little good in prolonging a struggle which he felt to\nbe useless. So, collecting the remnant of his army, Philip withdrew to\nhis own dominions.\n\nWhen Rome heard of the victory of Cynoscephal\u00e6 she was greatly\npleased, but perhaps her people were even more delighted that after the\nvictory peace was proclaimed. They were growing weary of incessant war.\n\nFlamininus stayed in Greece during 196 B.C., to arrange terms of peace,\nwith the aid of commissioners sent from Rome. It was determined that\nhis decision should be announced at the Isthmian games, which were held\nat Corinth in the month of July.\n\nCrowds always flocked to see the games, but this year the number of\npeople was greater than ever, for the decree of Rome was awaited with\nanxiety.\n\nOn the appointed day, while the people stood idly talking to one\nanother in the Stadium or racecourse, the herald\u2019s trumpet suddenly\nrang out. When silence was secured this is what he read:--\n\n\u2018The Senate of Rome and Quinctius Flamininus, pro-Consul and Imperator,\nhaving conquered King Philip and the Macedonians, declare the following\npeoples free, without garrison or tribute, in full enjoyment of their\nrespective countries.\u2019\n\nThe list of names which followed was drowned, for the people, hearing\nthat freedom was to be granted to many of their towns, burst into loud\nshouts of joy, which could not be controlled.\n\nAt length there was a pause, and the herald again read the names of the\nfavoured towns.\n\nThen in their gratitude the people pressed around Flamininus, until\nhe was in danger of being crushed to death. Garlands and flowers were\nshowered upon him, so that he was forced to beg the people not to\nsmother him in their wild delight. But it was long before the Roman\ncould escape from the expressions of their joy.\n\nTwo years later Flamininus, having finished his work in Greece,\nprepared to return to Rome. Before he left he summoned the free states\nof Greece to meet him at Corinth, that he might bid them farewell.\n\nWisely he spoke, telling them to live in \u2018harmony and moderation.\u2019\nThen, as a farewell gift, he promised to remove the Roman garrisons\nfrom three other towns.\n\nAs at the Isthmian games in 196 B.C., so now again, the easily moved\npeople overwhelmed Flamininus with their gratitude. But when at length\nthe tumult grew less, the Roman said that there was a practical proof\nof their goodwill which he would like them to give to him.\n\nMany Romans had been taken prisoners and sold as slaves in Greece\nduring the wars with Hannibal. These he begged them to set free.\n\nThe Greeks were eager to show that their gratitude was sincere. So when\nFlamininus reached the coast of Epirus, where his fleet was lying,\nhe found a great band of Roman captives awaiting him. They had been\nransomed by the grateful citizens.\n\nIn Rome, when Flamininus celebrated his triumph, he had in his\nprocession no more splendid trophies than these prisoners, who had been\nredeemed by his unselfish thought.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXIV\n\nTHE DEATH OF HANNIBAL\n\n\nThe \u00c6tolians were once a wild and savage race who lived among the\nmountains of Greece and ate raw food. After long years, when they had\nleft many of their more savage customs behind them, they became one of\nthe most powerful peoples in Greece.\n\nIn the wars with Macedonia, of which you have just read, the \u00c6tolians,\nbelieving that they were used unfairly by King Philip, fought on the\nside of the Romans. After the battle of Cynoscephal\u00e6, they haughtily\nsaid that the victory was due to them.\n\nThey disliked Flamininus, and grumbled that they had gained nothing\nby helping him against the Macedonians. They had, so they said, but\nchanged one master for another, when Flamininus conquered Philip.\n\nIn their foolish discontent they resolved to free themselves from Roman\ninfluence, but to be able to do this they must, they knew, seek the aid\nof a foreign prince. So they turned to Antiochus III., King of Syria,\nand begged him to liberate Greece from Roman influence.\n\nAntiochus had already, in Egypt, had his ambitions frustrated by Rome,\nand knowing her strength, he hesitated to respond to the appeal of the\n\u00c6tolians.\n\nBut as he hesitated, the great Carthaginian general Hannibal arrived at\nthe court of Ephesus, and placed his sword at the service of the king.\n\nIt was now seven years since Rome had made peace with Carthage, and\nduring that time Hannibal had been working for the welfare of his\ncountry. In spite of the terms by which Rome had crippled her, his\ngenius had succeeded in making the city once again both wealthy and\nprosperous.\n\nRome began to grow jealous of the restored fortunes of the city she\nchose to consider her rival. Influenced by Cato, of whom I will tell\nyou in another chapter, she began to think that until Carthage was\ndestroyed, Rome herself would never be safe.\n\nCertainly Hannibal was a menace to Rome, so an embassy was sent to\nCarthage to demand that he should be given up.\n\nLike other reformers, Hannibal had many enemies, and he knew that he\nmust escape from Carthage if he would not fall into the hands of Rome.\nSo he fled from his own country, and after some adventures by the way,\nhe at length reached Ephesus, where he offered his services, as I told\nyou, to Antiochus.\n\nIt was perhaps the arrival of the Carthaginian that determined the king\nto join the \u00c6tolians in their defiance of Rome. But although Antiochus\nwelcomed Hannibal, it was soon evident that he did not care to follow\nthe great general\u2019s advice.\n\nHannibal, when he saw the troops of the king, knew that they were not\nfitted to cope with the well-trained legions of Rome. In his blunt\nsoldier fashion he told Antiochus so, and advised him to attack Italy\nby sea, offering to command the fleet himself.\n\nBut the king was quite sure that his soldiers were able to meet the\nRoman forces. Nor, in any case, did he wish to place Hannibal at the\nhead of his fleet, lest, should a victory be won, the glory of it\nshould be given to the Carthaginian.\n\nIt seemed as though Antiochus was jealous of his new officer.\n\nHannibal saw that the king had not cared to adopt his first plan, so he\nproposed another.\n\n\u2018Make Philip of Macedon your ally,\u2019 he said, \u2018or the Romans will\ncertainly do so.\u2019\n\nAntiochus was not inclined to follow this suggestion either, and, as\nHannibal had foreseen, the Romans secured the help of King Philip.\n\nMeanwhile, in 193 B.C., envoys from Rome arrived at the court of\nAntiochus. The king was absent, mourning the loss of a son whom, so\nran the report, he had himself poisoned from jealousy. But Hannibal\nwas there, and he and the Romans appeared to be so friendly that the\ncourtiers grew suspicious, and by their tales made the king also\nsuspect the good faith of the Carthaginian.\n\nWhen Antiochus returned to his court Hannibal did all he could to allay\nhis suspicions, telling him of the vow he had taken when a child--the\nvow of undying hatred to Rome.\n\nIt is said that one of the Roman ambassadors was Scipio Africanus, and\nthat one day as he chatted with Hannibal he asked him who he thought\nwas the greatest general that had ever lived.\n\n\u2018Alexander,\u2019 said Hannibal, meaning Alexander the Great, who died in\n323 B.C.\n\n\u2018Who next?\u2019 asked Scipio.\n\n\u2018Pyrrhus,\u2019 was the answer.\n\n\u2018Who third?\u2019 then demanded the Roman.\n\n\u2018Myself,\u2019 answered Hannibal.\n\n\u2018What should you have said, then,\u2019 asked Scipio, \u2018if you had conquered\nme?\u2019\n\n\u2018I should have said that I was greater than either Alexander or\nPyrrhus,\u2019 was the quick retort.\n\nEarly in the spring of 192 B.C. the ambassadors had an interview with\nthe king. He, however, refused to listen to their demands, which were,\nthat he should not molest the Greek towns which had appealed to Rome to\nsave them from the interference of the King of Syria.\n\nWar was now inevitable, but before it actually began his officers had\npersuaded the king not only to ignore any advice Hannibal might give,\nbut to offer him no responsible command in the campaign that was before\nthem.\n\n\u2018If you follow Hannibal\u2019s advice,\u2019 said one of the king\u2019s officers,\n\u2018the glory will all be his, and not the king\u2019s, while if he fails, the\nfleet and the army will be fatally weakened. Hannibal is but a soldier\nof fortune, and may usefully be employed as a subordinate, but in a\nposition of supremacy he would be intolerable.\u2019\n\nTo such foolish words Antiochus listened, and was so influenced by them\nthat he gave the general who had led so many armies to victory only a\nsubordinate naval command.\n\nI need not tell you of all the battles that were fought in this war,\nbut in the end the King of Syria was defeated. Peace was made, and one\nof the conditions of the Roman Senate was, that \u2018above all, Hannibal\nthe Carthaginian should be given up.\u2019\n\nSo once again the great soldier was forced to flee, or fall into the\nhands of his lifelong enemies.\n\nHe reached Crete in 190 B.C., and before long he was at the court of\nPrusias, King of Bithynia. Here he won a great victory for the king,\nwith whom he had taken service. Unfortunately his victory happened\nto be over one of the allies of Rome, and she at once demanded that\nPrusias should deliver the Carthaginian into her hands.\n\nPrusias may have been grateful to Hannibal, but he was too weak to defy\nRome, and he promised that the general should be surrendered.\n\nEscape was impossible, for the king had ordered his guards to watch\nHannibal\u2019s house before he was aware of his doom.\n\nBut death was better than to be dragged to Rome, to take part as a\nprisoner in a triumph. How the Romans would gloat over such a captive!\nThe Carthaginian determined that they should never have such a\nchance, so he took poison, which he is said to have carried about with\nhim--ever since his fortunes began to fail--concealed in a ring.\n\nThus, in 183 B.C., at the age of sixty-four, died the great warrior\nwhose name had made Rome tremble for so long.\n\nTwelve years later Antiochus was stirring up strife in Egypt, whereupon\nthe Ptolemies (Ptolemy was the name of the Macedonian Kings of Egypt)\nasked Rome to protect them from the King of Syria.\n\nSo in 168 B.C. Popilius was sent from Rome to remonstrate with\nAntiochus.\n\nFour miles from Alexandria the Roman met the king. Antiochus hoped to\ndisarm the ambassador by his courtesy, so he greeted him with his royal\nhand outstretched.\n\nBut the Roman did not seem greatly affected by such condescension. He\ntook no notice of the king, save to offer him a tablet, on which the\nSenate of Rome had engraved an order, forbidding Antiochus to threaten\nor to attack Egypt.\n\nThe king read the tablet, and although he knew that he would be forced\nto obey the mandate, pride dictated his words to Popilius.\n\n\u2018It is necessary that I should consult my council,\u2019 said the king,\n\u2018before I can send an answer to the Senate.\u2019\n\nThen Popilius quietly stooped, and with a staff which he carried he\ndrew a circle in the dust, in which the king stood enclosed.\n\n\u2018Before you step out of the circle I have drawn I must have your\nanswer, O King,\u2019 said the Roman.\n\nAntiochus seems to have been fascinated by the boldness of Popilius,\nfor without more ado he gave up the struggle.\n\nHe was rewarded by being greeted by Popilius with as great ceremony as\nthough he had just arrived, and been granted an audience with the king.\nHe was then politely asked to arrange a time to withdraw his troops to\nhis own dominions.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXV\n\nTHE HATRED OF CATO FOR CARTHAGE\n\n\nWhen Scipio sailed with his fleet from Lilyb\u00e6um, Cato was on board one\nof the ships as qu\u00e6stor, under L\u00e6lius.\n\nIt may be that his hatred of Carthage began at this time. But in any\ncase, in years to come his dislike to the city was bitter, and it grew\nto be his one desire that it should be destroyed.\n\nCato had served his country as pr\u00e6tor in Sardinia, and when he was\nConsul Spain was his province. Wherever he went he was known as a just\nand honest Roman, who had a contempt for luxury, and himself lived\nfrugally.\n\nIn 184 B.C. he was appointed Censor, and in that position he came to be\ndreaded, so severe was he in his judgments. His speech, too, was often\nbitter, and stung his hearers into indignation.\n\nScipio, the Censor disliked. For he encouraged Greek culture, and by\nhis advice many Roman youths were taught by Greek tutors, and for this\nnew learning Cato had little care.\n\nHe loved the quiet, old-fashioned ways in which his countrymen had\nbeen used to live. Cincinnatus was his ideal of a Roman citizen, and\nhe would fain have the nobles still live on their farms, plough their\nlands, and leave them only when the State demanded their service. The\nservice rendered, Cato would have liked to see them hasten back to\ntheir homes, to plough, to sow, to reap.\n\nThis was the man who, often as he spoke in the Senate, never failed to\nrefer to Carthage before he ended. \u2018Every speech which I shall make in\nthis house,\u2019 he sternly announced, \u2018shall finish with these words,\n\u201cCarthage must be destroyed.\u201d\u2019\n\nOne day as he spoke in the Senate he plucked some fresh figs from\nthe folds of his toga. Holding them out that all might see, he said:\n\u2018This fruit has been brought from Carthage. It grows but three days\u2019\nsail from Rome. I say that it is not well to have so prosperous and so\nstrong a city near to us. Carthage must be destroyed.\u2019 The reiteration\nof these words had its effect.\n\nBut a reason for proclaiming war on the Carthaginians was necessary\nbefore Rome could send her armies to destroy their city. In 149 B.C.\nshe found the pretext she wished.\n\nBy the treaty made after the battle of Zama the Carthaginians had been\nbound not to take up arms against any ally of Rome. Yet Masinissa was\nleft to harass them as he pleased, and he proved as troublesome a\nneighbour as the Carthaginians had foreseen.\n\nFor half a century Carthage was true to her bond and raised no army\neven for her own defence.\n\nIn spite of Masinissa\u2019s raids upon her territory, the city had again\nbecome rich and populous. So it was now a simple matter to form an army\nand send it against their troublesome and greedy neighbour. Their army\nwas led by a general named Hasdrubal. Rome knew all that was going on\nin Carthage, but for the time she did not interfere. She was watching\nfor the time when the city would be worn out by her struggle with\nMasinissa.\n\nIn 151 B.C. the army of Carthage took the field against her foe, and\na great battle was fought. It lasted for the whole of one day, yet\nneither side gained a decisive victory.\n\nMasinissa, although now an old man of about ninety years of age, was\nstill a clever general. Soon after the battle he succeeded in enticing\nthe enemy into a tract of desert country.\n\nHere he surrounded it with his troops, who watched so closely, that\nit was impossible for a soldier to go out to search for succour or for\nprovisions. Hunger and sickness soon compelled the Carthaginians to\nsurrender at discretion.\n\nHasdrubal and those of his men who had not perished were allowed to\nreturn to Carthage, Masinissa promising that they should go in safety.\n\nBut he did not scruple to break faith with the soldiers, who were weak\nfor want of food and unarmed, after having passed beneath the yoke.\nHis son Gulussa was allowed to surprise the miserable men as they\ncrept along toward Carthage, and scarcely one escaped to tell what had\nbefallen.\n\nMasinissa was triumphant, for now he believed that he had gained all\nAfrica for himself. The Carthaginians would certainly not be able to\ndispute his sway. He would join Numidia and Carthage, and become a\ngreat king.\n\nBut, although he might well have known better, he forgot to wonder what\nthe Romans would have to say to his plans. He was soon to learn.\n\nRome sent a peremptory order to her former ally, just when he was at\nthe zenith of his happiness. Carthage was not to be joined to Numidia;\nshe was to be left alone, for the Senate itself would now see that she\nwas destroyed.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXVI\n\nTHE STERN DECREE\n\n\nCarthage soon learned that it was with Rome, and no longer with\nMasinissa, that she had now to deal.\n\nThat she would be punished for having taken up arms against her\ntroublesome neighbour she knew. So she determined if possible to disarm\nthe anger of Rome.\n\nShe therefore condemned Hasdrubal and the leaders of the war party to\ndeath, and sent ambassadors to Rome to say that they only were guilty\nof breaking the treaty. We do not know if Hasdrubal and his fellows\nwere content to be made the scapegoat of their people.\n\nIn Rome, the ambassadors were coldly treated, and told that not only\nthe leaders, but Carthage herself, must atone for the broken treaty.\n\nMeanwhile, to the dismay of Carthage, Utica, which was strongly\nfortified and almost as rich and powerful as the capital, surrendered\nto Rome.\n\nWith Utica in their hands, the Romans had a convenient port at which to\nland their forces, and they at once declared war. The two Consuls for\nthe year 149 B.C. were sent to Sicily with a large force, and ordered\nto sail from Lilyb\u00e6um to Africa, nor were they to think that their work\nwas ended until Carthage was destroyed.\n\nWhen the Carthaginians received the declaration of war, they decided to\nsend another embassy to Rome, with an offer to surrender.\n\nIf the offer was accepted, Carthage could be treated as a town\nconquered in war. But this right was often put aside when a town\nsurrendered of its own free will. It was in the hope that Rome would\nprove merciful that Carthage now offered to submit.\n\nThe Roman Senate accepted the surrender of Carthage, demanding that\nthe city should send three hundred hostages to Sicily within thirty\ndays. Then these ominous words were added: \u2018Carthage must also obey the\nfurther commands of the Consuls.\u2019 When they had obeyed these \u2018further\ncommands,\u2019 Rome promised that the Carthaginians should be granted\nliberty, and that their possessions should not be taken away.\n\nIt was with a sinking heart that Carthage complied with the first\ncondition. Three hundred hostages were sent to Sicily within thirty\ndays. Many of them were but children, whose mothers were in despair at\nbeing separated from them.\n\nWhen the ships which were to carry the hostages away were ready to\nsail, the miserable parents gathered at the water\u2019s edge. In their\nagony, scarce knowing what they did, some of the mothers ran into the\nsea and held on to the ropes which tied the ships to the harbour.\nOthers, as the ropes were loosened and the ships began to move off,\nswam after the vessels, weeping and uttering pitiful cries that their\nchildren might be restored to them. But the ships sailed relentlessly\non their course.\n\nIn spite of the arrival of the hostages, the Consuls sailed from\nLilyb\u00e6um and landed at Utica.\n\nHere ambassadors from Carthage came to learn the meaning of the words\nthat had sounded ominous in their ears. What were the further commands\nto which they must bow?\n\n\u2018The Carthaginians must disarm,\u2019 was the sentence that fell like lead\non the hearts of the ambassadors.\n\nBut the Romans had their reason for this demand, and saw no hardship in\nit.\n\n\u2018How,\u2019 said the Consuls, \u2018could those want arms who were resolved to\nlive in peace, who were protected from their enemies by the strong\narm of Rome, and had their liberty, independence, and possessions\nguaranteed them?\u2019\n\nIt was a hard decree. Yet to appease the wrath of Rome the ambassadors\nagreed that this condition also should be fulfilled. They did not dream\nthat worse could be in store.\n\nSo one day a long procession of wagons set out from Carthage, laden\nwith suits of armour and catapults. Not catapults as you think of them,\nsmall and easily handled, but great heavy slings for hurling stones at\nthe walls of besieged cities. Two hundred thousand suits of armour were\ncarried away and two thousand catapults, and the walls of Carthage were\nleft defenceless.\n\nThe procession was a solemn one. Ambassadors, priests, members of the\nSenate, most noble citizens, all went with the wagons to the Roman camp\nto deliver their contents to those who claimed this mighty sacrifice.\n\u2018Surely now,\u2019 they said to one another, \u2018Rome will be content, and we\nshall be able to go back with glad tidings of certain peace to our\ndefenceless town.\u2019\n\nBut a still more bitter blow was to fall upon the ambassadors, a\nblow bitter as death itself. The \u2018further commands\u2019 had not yet been\nexhausted.\n\nRome now decreed that the Carthaginians should leave their town, nor\nwould they be allowed to settle within ten miles of the sea. Carthage\nherself must be destroyed.\n\nWhen the ambassadors heard this last terrible sentence, their distress\nwas profound. No humiliation was too great could they but obtain mercy.\n\nThey threw themselves at the feet of the Consuls, with tears streaming\ndown their cheeks, and with cries of anguish pleaded that they might be\nspared this last bitter ordeal.\n\nBut no cries, no tears could change the stern decree. Nor was Carthage\neven allowed again to send messengers to Rome to plead her cause before\nthe Senate.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXVII\n\nTHE CARTHAGINIANS DEFEND THEIR CITY\n\n\nThe ambassadors of Carthage had a hard task before them, a task it\nneeded all their courage to perform.\n\nSome of them, indeed, were not brave enough to face their countrymen\nwith the dire tidings of the city\u2019s doom, and these did not go back to\nCarthage.\n\nOthers begged the Consuls to send a squadron to the mouth of their\nharbour, that the citizens might see how impossible it was to defy\nRome. This the Consuls agreed to do.\n\nThen the ambassadors who had not shirked their mournful task went back\nto the city with downcast and gloomy faces. They knew that the fury of\nthe inhabitants would be roused when they heard the last cruel demand\nof Rome.\n\nEven as they entered the gates, the people thronged around them,\nand seeing their stricken faces, they clamoured to be told what had\nhappened. But the ambassadors pushed their way in silence through the\ncrowds until they reached the Senate-house. Here, in faltering tones,\nthey told the cruel sentence that had been pronounced upon their city.\n\nAs they listened, a great cry burst from the lips of the assembly, and\nwas heard by the people without. Then silence, desperate, despairing\nsilence, settled down upon the senators, until, unable longer to\nbear the suspense, the crowd thrust open the door, rushed into the\nSenate-house, and demanded to be told the truth.\n\nIt was told. Then the citizens in their anger abused the senators who\nhad first advised the city to submit to Rome, while many of them\nrushed into the streets and ill-treated every Italian whom they could\nfind. An outlet for their passion they needs must find.\n\nSome hastened to close the city gates, as though the Roman legions were\nalready marching upon them, others crowded into the temples to pray, or\nto curse the gods who had failed to save them from this great disaster.\n\nLittle by little the frenzy of the rabble died away, and then senators\nand people met, and with one voice declared that they would die in\ndefence of their city, rather than give her into the hands of their\nenemy.\n\nIt is true that they had no allies to help them, no arms, no ships. Yet\nit was better far to die within the walls of Carthage than to live in\nexile.\n\nNo sooner was their decision made than the people, knowing that there\nwas not a moment to spare, set to work.\n\nDay and night men and women toiled without ceasing, until the whole\ncity seemed turned into a huge workshop.\n\nOne hundred shields, three hundred swords, five hundred missiles, and\na large number of catapults were made each day by the untiring labours\nof the citizens. It is said that the women in their zeal cut off their\nhair and twisted it into cords for the catapults.\n\nThe slaves in the city were all set free, that they might fight the\nmore whole-heartedly in the struggle that had now begun in grim earnest.\n\nHasdrubal, who had been condemned to death in an attempt to pacify the\nRomans, but whose sentence had not been carried out, was now reinstated\nin favour, and given the chief command of the army.\n\nAlthough he had been so harshly treated by the Senate, Hasdrubal had\nbeen, all this time, working for his country, and had raised an army of\ntwenty thousand men.\n\nMeanwhile, the Consuls had yet to learn that Rome, by the severity of\nher conditions, had passed the limits of Carthaginian endurance.\n\nThey made no haste to march to the capital, deeming that it was already\ntheirs. The last thing they expected was that the citizens, who had no\narms, would offer any resistance when they appeared before her gates.\n\nBut when at length they reached the town they were speedily undeceived.\n\nArms the Carthaginians seemed to have in plenty, and as missiles were\nhurled at the Roman troops, and a heavy rain of arrows descended\nupon them, the Consuls were forced to attack the town which they had\nimagined was defenceless, and ready to receive them.\n\nTwice the Roman army was repulsed. It was plain that the city would\nhave to be besieged.\n\nFor a whole year the Consuls did their utmost to take the town, but it\ndefied all their efforts. Even on the battlefield the Roman arms had no\ngreater success than before the walls of Carthage.\n\nCato died while the city was still being bravely defended by its\ninhabitants. Masinissa who, like Cato, had been a bitter enemy of\nCarthage and the source of much of the evil that had befallen her, was\nalso dead, and still the Romans remained without the walls of the city.\n\nThe year 148 B.C. passed, and the Senate at Rome began to grow\nimpatient. It was plain that the Consuls would never be able to take\nthe city, and it determined to find a general who could, and place him\nat the head of the army.\n\nThere was, indeed, even then, a soldier serving under the Consuls who\nwas fitted to command. This was Scipio, the adopted grandson of the\ngreat Scipio Africanus.\n\nAlready the army was devoted to him, for he had shown his courage and\nskill more than once in helping the Roman legions out of difficult\npositions in which they had been placed by their incompetent leaders.\n\nBefore his death Cato had heard of the exploits of the young soldier,\nand while he scorned his commanders, he admired Scipio.\n\n\u2018He alone has the breath of life in him, the rest are but flitting\nphantoms,\u2019 said the old man, who had begun to learn Greek and to love\nHomer, from whom he was now quoting, only when he was about seventy\nyears of age.\n\nAccording to Roman law, Scipio was still too young to be elected\nConsul. Nevertheless he returned to Rome in 147 B.C., and in spite\nof his youth was chosen Consul, and given the command of the army in\nAfrica.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXVIII\n\nTHE DESTRUCTION OF CARTHAGE\n\n\nUnder the rule of the previous Consuls the discipline of the army had\nbeen slack. When Scipio returned to Africa, his first work was to\nrestore strict discipline.\n\nThe soldiers were no longer allowed to stray out of the camp when they\nchose in search of plunder; while bands of traders and a crowd of idle\nfolk who had followed the army, also in hope of plunder, were banished.\nLuxuries which had abounded in the camp were forbidden by the young\ncommander. Plain fare and regular drill soon made the army more anxious\nto meet the enemy than to plunder and waste its days in idleness.\n\nNow Carthage stood on a peninsula, a narrow isthmus joining it to the\nmainland. Beyond this isthmus lay Megara, a suburb from which Carthage\nprocured most of her provisions.\n\nWhen his army was ready for work, Scipio determined to cut Carthage off\nfrom Megara, so that she might no longer be able to get food for the\ncity.\n\nAcross the narrow isthmus the Consul therefore ordered trenches to\nbe dug, three miles in length. Along the trenches, fortifications\nand towns were speedily built, and when these were finished it was\nimpossible to get a morsel of food into the city by land.\n\nMegara was then taken, and Hasdrubal was forced to retire with his army\ninto Carthage itself, of which he was at once made governor.\n\nThe Carthaginians could now only bring food into the city by sea, and\nthis was no easy task.\n\nBut with a strong wind blowing, there were many brave sailors daring\nenough to risk being able to run past the Roman cruisers, and thus to\ncarry food into the harbour. So, although Megara was taken, the city\nwas able still to hold out against the enemy without being starved.\n\nScipio saw that he must now block the sea passage as he had already\nblocked the land, if he meant to starve the city into submission, and\nhe ordered a strong barricade to be built across the mouth of the\nharbour.\n\nThe Carthaginians mocked at the Roman soldiers as they watched them\nbringing great stones to the harbour, for they thought that the enemy\nhad undertaken a task it would never be able to complete.\n\nBut as they saw that the Romans worked night and day, and as the huge\nembankment rose before their eyes, they mocked no more. Perhaps after\nall the Romans would succeed in blocking the harbour, and if that were\ndone they must starve.\n\nSo they, too, set to work, but in secret, to make a new opening from\nthe harbour to the sea.\n\nMen and women, and even children, joined in the work, and at the same\ntime workmen in the city built a new fleet. It is true the ships had to\nbe built of old timber, or any wood that could be found, but this was\nnot enough to daunt the indomitable courage of the besieged.\n\nNoiselessly the work was done, so that Scipio knew nothing about what\nwas going on, until one day when his barricade was almost finished.\n\nThen, to his astonishment, he saw a fleet of fifty ships, which was\nplainly but just built, sail out of a newly-cut passage from the\nharbour.\n\nThe Roman was ill-pleased to be thus outwitted by his foe, yet perhaps\nhe also felt that here was a people worthy of his skill.\n\nThree days later a great battle was fought at sea. From morning until\nevening the battle raged, but neither side could claim the victory.\n\nAt length the Carthaginian fleet attempted to sail back to its harbour.\nBut the smaller vessels blocked the passage so that the large ships\nwere forced to stay without.\n\nThe Romans seized their chance, and attacked the enemy in this position.\n\nA desperate struggle followed, and the Carthaginians, who were as used\nto the sea as to the land, fought with unfailing courage. But at length\nthey were beaten, and the greater part of the new fleet was destroyed.\n\nWinter was approaching, and Scipio had at length succeeded in closing\nevery approach to the city. Neither by sea nor by land could the\nwretched people now get food.\n\nAs the weeks dragged slowly by, the misery in the besieged city grew\nterrible. Many of the citizens killed themselves rather than endure a\nday longer the pangs of hunger, while others in their desperate need\neven ate the dead bodies of their fellows. Some gave themselves up to\nthe Romans, and were then sold as slaves.\n\nIn the early spring of 146 B.C. the Carthaginians were so exhausted\nthat they had little strength left to withstand the attack which Scipio\nnow made upon the town. Yet still they would not yield.\n\nHasdrubal, seeing that the enemy could not be repulsed, ordered the\nouter harbour to be set on fire.\n\nBut as the flames leaped up, L\u00e6lius succeeded in scaling the wall, and\nentered the city with his men, unnoticed in the confusion caused by the\nfire. They soon reached the gates, and opened them to their comrades,\nand in a short time the Forum was in the hands of the Romans.\n\nFrom the Forum, three narrow streets led up to the Byrsa or Castle of\nCarthage. The houses on either side of these streets were six storeys\nhigh, and to these the inhabitants of the city rushed.\n\nAs the Romans pushed their way along the narrow streets, the\nCarthaginians flung down upon them from windows and roofs every missile\nor weapon on which they could lay their hands.\n\nAt length Scipio ordered his men to storm the houses. Then a terrible\nhand-to-hand fight began with the starving citizens.\n\nClambering on to the roofs, which were flat, the soldiers stretched\nboards or beams across from one house to another, and hurled out of the\nway those citizens who still tried to hinder their progress.\n\nFor six days and nights the desperate townsfolk continued to baffle the\nefforts of the Romans to reach their last stronghold, the Byrsa.\n\nDuring this awful struggle, Scipio himself sent forward continually new\ncompanies of men, and in his anxiety he scarcely found time to sleep or\nto eat.\n\nAt length, however, the foot of the citadel was reached, and Scipio\nordered the narrow streets to be set on fire.\n\nThen the Carthaginians knew that they could do no more, and those who\nhad taken refuge in the Byrsa surrendered, on being promised that their\nlives should be safe.\n\nFifty thousand men, women, and children, pale and haggard with all that\nthey had gone through during the long drawn out siege, left the castle\nand were carried off as prisoners.\n\nHasdrubal, who had defended the city so bravely, was still untaken.\nHe, with his wife and children, as well as about nine hundred Romans\nwho had deserted their own camp, now took refuge in the temple of\n\u00c6sculapius, and set fire to it themselves.\n\nBut Hasdrubal, feeling, it may be, that he could not help his country\nby his death, resolved to save his life.\n\nHe escaped from the burning temple, and, with an olive branch in his\nhand, threw himself at the feet of Scipio, begging for life. And the\nRoman commander granted his request.\n\nIt is told that the wife of Hasdrubal stood on the roof of the temple\nand cursed her husband as she saw him crouching at the feet of the\nconqueror.\n\nCalling aloud to him that he was a traitor and a coward, she flung\nfirst her two sons and then herself into the flames before the eyes of\nher horror-stricken husband.\n\nMeanwhile, with all speed a ship was sent to Rome, laden with the\nspoils of Carthage.\n\nGreat was the rejoicing in the city when it was known that her ancient\nrival was in ruins. Orders were at once sent to Scipio, bidding him\ncomplete his work by destroying the town.\n\nSo Carthage was given to the flames, and for seventeen days the\nfire blazed untiringly. Scipio, as he watched the doomed city,\nthought of other great countries that had been destroyed by their\nenemies--Assyria, Persia, Macedonia. In the unknown future would Rome\nfall even as these?\n\nThinking thus, Scipio murmured the lines of Homer:\n\n \u2018The day shall come when holy Troy shall fall,\n And Priam, lord of spears and Priam\u2019s folk.\u2019\n\nWhen the flames had at last died out, a plough, drawn by oxen, was\ndriven over the site of the town, and Scipio uttered a solemn curse\nagainst any one who should venture to build a new city on the ancient\nsite of Carthage.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXIX\n\nCORNELIA, THE MOTHER OF THE GRACCHI\n\n\nCornelia and her two sons, Tiberius and Gaius, are famous in the annals\nof Roman history.\n\nThe mother of the Gracchi was the daughter of the first Scipio\nAfricanus. With her father\u2019s consent, Cornelia married a young\nplebeian, named Tiberius Gracchus.\n\nHer husband died while her children were still young, and from that\ntime Cornelia lived to train and educate her boys.\n\nPrinces in foreign countries heard of the wisdom and goodness of the\nnoble matron, and journeyed to Rome to beseech her to bestow her hand\nupon them. Even King Ptolemy of Egypt wished to make her his queen.\n\nBut Cornelia steadfastly refused each suitor, that she might be free to\nwatch over her sons. From their childhood she taught them to love their\ncountry, telling them tales of those who had served Rome well, and had\neven given their lives for love of her.\n\nAnd so the lads grew up longing that they too, like the heroes of old,\nmight live and die for their country. But their mother taught them\nlessons the heroes of old had never learned, and one of these lessons\nwas to care for the poor and oppressed.\n\nOne day, while her children were still young, a lady came to visit\nCornelia. She was a rich lady, and proud of her jewels and her wealth.\n\n[Illustration: The City was given to the flames.]\n\nCornelia listened quietly as her guest told her of the precious stones\nand ornaments she possessed. When at length she grew tired of talking\nof her own beautiful things, she said she would like to see the\ntreasures of her hostess.\n\nSo Cornelia led the lady to another room. There, in bed, fast asleep,\nlay her children. Pointing to the little ones, she said to the\nbewildered visitor, \u2018These are my jewels; the only ones of which I am\nproud.\u2019\n\nTiberius was nine years older than his brother Gaius. The elder boy was\ngentle and deliberate, both in his ways and in his speech, the younger\nwas vehement and impetuous. As they grew up, the differences between\nthem grew more marked.\n\nBoth were great orators, but Tiberius spoke without gestures, and\nseldom stirred from one spot while he addressed his audience.\n\nGaius, on the other hand, was never still for a moment. His quick,\npassionate words were emphasised by his gestures, and as he talked he\nwould walk up and down, sometimes in his excitement throwing his gown\noff his shoulders.\n\nThe two brothers were known as \u2018The Gracchi.\u2019 They had a sister who\nwas named Sempronia, and she had married the younger Scipio. Tiberius\nserved under his brother-in-law in Africa, and he was the first to\nmount the wall when the suburb of Megara was attacked.\n\nIn 137 B.C., soon after he returned to Italy, he was sent to Spain to\nserve with the army there.\n\nOn his way he passed through Etruria, where the land was divided into\nlarge estates. These estates belonged to rich people, who employed\ngangs of slaves to cultivate their fields.\n\nTiberius saw the slaves at work as he journeyed through the country. He\nnoticed that they were loaded with chains and bent with the hard tasks\nthat their masters forced them to do.\n\nThe young man looked at these poor creatures with pity, for Cornelia\nhad taught her boys that slaves were human beings, and should be\ntreated justly and kindly.\n\nWhy should the land belong only to the rich? Tiberius wondered. Had\nthese very fields and estates not been won for Rome by her citizen\nsoldiers? Yet many of the soldiers were now struggling with poverty,\ninstead of owning part of the soil for which they had fought.\n\nAs he thought of the slaves, and of the unfair division of land,\nTiberius remembered that the old Licinian laws forbade any one man to\nown large tracts of land.\n\nSo he determined that when he went back to Rome he would plead with the\nSenate to enforce these old laws, that the poor might share the land\nwith the rich.\n\nAfter he had made this resolution, Gracchus went on his way with happy\nthoughts.\n\nSoon no chained slaves would be seen toiling in the fields, but citizen\nfarmers, like Cincinnatus of old, would live on their own land and\ntill their own fields. And he, Tiberius Gracchus, would have freed his\ncountry from a great evil.\n\nThe dreams of the young Roman that night were happy dreams.\n\nWhen the time came for Tiberius to return to Rome, his mind was still\nfull of reform. No sooner did he reach home, than he told to his noble\nmother his plans for helping the slaves and the poorer citizens of\nRome, and begged for her advice.\n\nCornelia was full of interest in all that her son had to tell. She was\npleased that he should wish to help the oppressed, and she knew that it\nwas she herself who had taught him to be thus pitiful.\n\n\u2018I have been called the daughter of Scipio, but in days to come I shall\nbe known as the mother of the Gracchi,\u2019 she told Tiberius, for Cornelia\nbelieved that both her boys would be honoured by the country they\nsought to serve.\n\nSo in 133 B.C. Tiberius offered himself as one of the people\u2019s\ntribunes. He was young, it was true, but already the citizens knew that\nhe was their friend, and he was elected without difficulty.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXX\n\nTIBERIUS AND HIS FRIEND OCTAVIUS\n\n\nThe Senate and the wealthy landowners were displeased that Gracchus had\nbeen chosen as one of the tribunes. They knew that he was eager for\nreforms, which they had no wish to see carried out.\n\nBut Tiberius was too wise not to try to please those in authority. So\nhis first measure was not so sweeping as his opponents had expected\nit to be. The young reformer even said, that those who would lose\ngreat estates, if the old Licinian laws were enforced, should have\ncompensation.\n\nBut although the landowners had not expected this concession, they were\nvery angry with Tiberius, and they did all that they could to make the\npeople misunderstand him. If his wishes were made laws, the lot of the\npoor would only become more difficult, they told the plebeians, who did\nnot know what to believe.\n\nThen, lest the people should begin to think that the landowners knew\nbetter than he what was for their good, Tiberius determined to tell\nthem plainly what he thought about their struggles and their poverty.\n\nIn the Assembly of the people his fervent words rang out.\n\n\u2018The wild beasts of Italy,\u2019 he said, \u2018have their caves and lairs, but\nto the men who fought and bled for Italy nothing remains except the\nopen air and the light of heaven. Bereft of home and shelter, they\nwander about with their wives and families. It is a mere mockery and\na delusion in a general to exhort his warriors before a battle by\nbidding them fight for the graves of their ancestors and for their\nhousehold altars, for not one of them owns an altar bequeathed him by\nhis father, nor the ground where his fathers are laid. They fight and\nfall that others may enjoy affluence and luxury; they are called lords\nof the earth, and have not a single clod which is their own.\u2019\n\nThese words, so full of pity for the treatment that they suffered,\ntouched the hearts of the people, and they would no longer listen to a\nword against their tribune.\n\nAmong his fellow-tribunes, Tiberius scarcely looked for support, save,\nperhaps, from his friend Octavius.\n\nAt first, indeed, Octavius refused to oppose the bill Gracchus now\nbrought forward, but in the end he yielded to the enemies of Gracchus,\nand promised to do so.\n\nThis was fatal to the success of the bill, for it was the rule that if\none tribune disapproved of a measure, the others were powerless to do\nany more in the matter. It was allowed to drop out of sight. Tiberius\nwas too much in earnest to be willing that this should happen. He met\nhis friend and begged him not to persist in opposing the bill.\n\nOctavius himself was a landowner, and Gracchus, careless, as it seemed,\nof his friend\u2019s feelings, even offered to compensate him for what he\nwould lose if the law was passed.\n\nBut Octavius was neither to be persuaded nor bribed. He refused to do\nas Tiberius wished, and so it was still impossible to pass the bill.\n\nThen Tiberius, who as tribune had exactly the same power as his friend,\nresolved to use it.\n\nHe opposed every measure brought before the State, just as Octavius\nhad opposed his bill. He also put his seal on the treasury, so that no\nmoney could be obtained, and thus it was soon impossible to carry on\npublic business.\n\nThe landowners knew that Tiberius would not rest until he had gained\nhis end. To show their distress they put on mourning, and walked up and\ndown the streets with a melancholy mien, for their estates were dear to\nthem.\n\nBut they did more than parade their grief; they called together their\nfollowers that they might be ready to resist Gracchus by force, if it\nbecame necessary. Plots, too, were laid against his life, but Tiberius\nheard of these, and from that time he carried a dagger beneath his robe.\n\nThe landowners were right in believing that Gracchus would never be\ncontent until his bill had been voted either for or against by the\npeople.\n\nNot only did the tribune intend to have the vote taken, but he was\nresolved that it should be taken without delay. For the people had\ncrowded into the city from all parts of the country to support him, and\nhe feared lest they should have to go back to their homes before their\nvote had been given.\n\nSo he made another attempt to bring his bill before the popular\nAssembly, but again Octavius interfered, while some haughty nobles led\ntheir followers into the Assembly and overturned the urns in which the\nvotes were placed.\n\nAgain Gracchus appealed to his friend, this time in the presence of the\nSenate, but once again his friend refused to yield to his entreaty.\n\nTiberius felt that he had done his utmost to win Octavius by kindness.\nHe now determined to appeal to the people to remove his friend from the\ntribuneship.\n\nThis was to go in the face of law and justice, for a magistrate when\nappointed by the people was free to do as he thought right during his\nyear of office, without interference from those who had given him\nauthority.\n\nBut the influence of Gracchus was so great that seventeen out of\nthirty-five tribes had already voted that Octavius should be deposed,\nwhen Gracchus stopped the proceedings.\n\nHe saw that he was going to win, and he wished to give Octavius the\nchance to resign of his own free will.\n\nBut when Octavius disdained to accept this suggestion, the voting was\ncontinued, and Octavius was soon declared to be no longer tribune.\n\nThe unfortunate man was then dragged from his seat by the servants of\nTiberius, and it was not without trouble that he escaped with his life\nfrom the fury of the people.\n\nNow that the obstinate tribune was out of the way, Gracchus had no\ndifficulty in passing his bill. But he was so angry with the landowners\nfor the opposition with which they had treated it, that he dropped the\nclause saying they should have compensation for their loss.\n\nTiberius, his father-in-law Appius Claudius, and his brother Gaius were\nnow appointed to survey and divide the land in accordance with the bill.\n\nSummer passed, and soon Tiberius would no longer be tribune, and his\nenemies rejoiced. For when he was once more a private citizen they\nhoped to punish him for deposing Octavius.\n\nBut Tiberius did not mean to become a private citizen at the end of his\nyear of office, if it was possible to avoid doing so.\n\nIt was true that it was against the law for a tribune to be re-elected\nfor a second year. But the people had before now ignored this law, and\nTiberius hoped that they would do so again for his sake. It may be that\nTiberius was anxious to retain his authority, lest the new land law\nshould suffer were he not able to see that it was enforced.\n\nBut the country folk had got what they wished, and would not flock to\nthe city for the coming elections in such crowds as they had done when\nthe passing of the law had depended on their presence.\n\nGracchus would have to depend, for the most part, on the city populace\nto vote for him. It was influenced, he was well aware, by the\nOptimates, that is, by the party that supported the Senate, so that\nGracchus knew that the chance of re-election was small.\n\nOn the day of the election two tribes had, however, already voted for\nGracchus, when the Optimates broke in upon the Assembly, saying that\nthe proceedings were illegal.\n\nThe other tribunes sided with the Optimates, or at least they opposed\nthe re-election of Gracchus, and, much against his will, Tiberius saw\nthe election put off until the following day.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXI\n\nTHE DEATH OF TIBERIUS GRACCHUS\n\n\nTiberius did all that was possible to influence the people in the short\ntime that was his before the votes were to be taken. He appeared before\nthem clad in mourning, and bade them guard his young son should he not\nescape from the coming contest with his life.\n\nThe citizens were easily moved, and his eloquent words and sombre garb\nappealed to their imagination. They flocked to his side, escorted him\nto his home, and promised to give him their support on the morrow.\n\nThat night Tiberius arranged to give his friends a sign--to raise his\nhand to his head--should he think it necessary to use force.\n\nEarly the next morning the people assembled on the Capitol, and\nGracchus left his house to join them, although he was warned that\ndanger would overtake him.\n\nOmens of ill were rife. As he left his house, Tiberius stumbled and\nwounded his great toe so severely that the blood dripped from his\nshoe. In spite of this accident he went on, and before long he noticed\ntwo ravens fighting on the top of a house. Gracchus was at the moment\nsurrounded by people, yet a stone struck from the building by one of\nthe ravens fell at his feet.\n\nEven the boldest of his friends was daunted by such occurrences. It was\nplain that it would be wise for him to return to his home after such\ndistinct warnings of disaster.\n\nBut Gracchus went on toward the Capitol, where he was joyfully greeted\nby his friends.\n\nThe voting began almost immediately, but again and again it was\ninterrupted by the enemies of Gracchus, until at length he determined\nto settle the matter by force.\n\nHe gave the signal he had arranged with his followers, and they flew to\nhis aid. Before long a riot had begun, and the opponents of Gracchus\nwere driven away by a fierce attack of stones and cudgels.\n\nThe Optimates were enraged by this rebuff. They declared in their anger\nthat Gracchus wished to overthrow the nobles that he might become king.\n\nThey had seen him raise his hand to his head. It was the signal he had\narranged to give his friends, but they said that it was a sign to the\npeople that he hoped to wear a crown. Some even asserted that he had\nalready been presented with a royal diadem and a purple robe.\n\nThe Consul, they agreed, ought to employ force to scatter the followers\nof Gracchus.\n\nBut Mucius Sc\u00e6vola was a wise Consul, and refused to kill a single\ncitizen without a trial.\n\n\u2018Since the Consul betrays the republic,\u2019 cried Scipio Nasica, \u2018I call\nupon those men to follow me who desire to preserve the laws of our\ncountry.\u2019 Then, drawing his toga over his head, Nasica marched against\nthe followers of Gracchus at the head of a band of senators and knights.\n\nThe people saw the officers of state marching towards them, and\nstricken with fear they fled, leaving Gracchus, whom they had promised\nto defend, alone and unprotected.\n\nTiberius hastened toward the temple of Jupiter, thinking that he would\nfind shelter there, but the priest had closed the door.\n\nAs he turned away he stumbled for the second time that day. But he\nquickly raised himself, only, however, to be struck brutally on the\nhead by one of his enemies. Before he could recover from the blow, a\nsecond stroke ended the life of the unfortunate man. Three hundred of\nhis followers were slain before the tumult ended, and the bodies of the\nvictims were thrown into the Tiber.\n\nGaius begged that he might be allowed to bury his brother, but his\nrequest was refused, and the body of Tiberius was also dragged to the\nriver and flung into the tide.\n\nTiberius had paid with his life for his reforms, but he had been\nsuccessful in wresting the land laws from the patricians, and in\nshaking the power of the Senate by his appeal to the people. Nor was\nthe law repealed after his death.\n\nThe place left empty on the committee by the murder of Tiberius was\nfilled by Publius Crassus, the father-in-law of Gaius, and the division\nof land for the good of the people was slowly carried on.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXII\n\nTHE DEATH OF GAIUS GRACCHUS\n\n\nThere were some citizens who did not fear to show their regret for the\ndeath of Tiberius Gracchus, and one of these was named Carbo.\n\nThat the populace was sorry that it had forsaken Gracchus at the\ncritical moment was proved by the sympathy it gave to Carbo, and by its\nchoice of him as their tribune in 131 B.C.\n\nCarbo determined to carry on the reforms of Tiberius Gracchus, and his\nfirst measure was to try to make it legal for a tribune to be elected\nfor two years in succession.\n\nIn the Assembly of the people Scipio Africanus opposed this, and also\ndeclared that Tiberius was put to death justly for trying to be elected\ntribune a second time.\n\nOminous mutterings were heard among the crowd at these words.\n\nBut Scipio was always masterful, and, annoyed at the interruption, he\nsternly said: \u2018Let no man speak to whom Italy is but a stepmother.\u2019\n\nHe said this to remind the people that many of them had been conquered\nby the Romans, and had not even the full rights of citizens.\n\nNot to have the full rights of citizenship was a sore point with the\nItalians, and at so bitter a taunt they grew the more threatening.\n\n\u2018Do you think,\u2019 added Scipio scornfully, as he noticed their attitude,\n\u2018do you think I fear the men whom I brought here in chains now that\nthey are set free?\u2019\n\nThe influence of Scipio was so great that Carbo\u2019s bill was rejected.\n\nIn 129 B.C. Scipio was at the height of his power, and more popular\nthan ever before. Crowds gathered to watch and admire him as he went to\nand fro from his house to the Senate.\n\nOne day as he left the Forum his progress was like a triumph. He left\nhis admirers early that evening, and took his writing tablets to his\nroom to prepare a speech which he intended to give the next day. But\nwhen morning came he was found dead in bed. At his funeral it was plain\nthat he had been respected not only by his friends but by those too who\ndid not agree with his views. His great success at Carthage was never\nforgotten, and in him Rome knew that she had lost one of her truest and\nnoblest citizens.\n\nMeanwhile, after the murder of his brother, Gaius Gracchus lived\nquietly in his own home.\n\nThe enemies of Tiberius began to hope that Gaius would prove unlike his\nbrother, and be willing to leave the laws of his country alone. But\nthey forgot that Cornelia had trained Gaius even as she had trained her\nelder son. Gaius never dreamed of letting his brother\u2019s fate keep him\nfrom serving his country. He was but waiting for the best opportunity\nto follow in his footsteps.\n\nIn 123 B.C. Gaius was elected tribune. The Optimates, it is true, did\ntheir utmost to defeat him. But, as in the time of Tiberius, the people\nflocked from all parts of Italy to vote for him.\n\nIn the place of Assembly many could find no room. But, rather than\nbe thwarted, the excited people climbed on to the roofs of the\nneighbouring buildings, and raised their voices in favour of Gaius.\n\nThe younger Gracchus was even more eloquent than his brother, and his\nquick, passionate words swayed the people this way or that, as he\nwilled.\n\nSometimes in his earnestness he lost control of his voice, and spoke\nmore loudly than was pleasant, and he had invented a curious way to\ncheck this habit.\n\nWhen he spoke in public a slave always stood near to him, a flute in\nhis hand. Should his master\u2019s voice rise, the slave would strike a few\nsoft notes on his flute, and Gaius hearing, would remember, and strive\nto regain control of his voice.\n\nAfter his election Gaius reminded the people of his brother\u2019s cruel\ndeath, and they wept. He told them that he meant to carry on the\nreforms for which Tiberius had died, and they applauded.\n\nThe first effort of the young tribune was to try to punish Octavius for\nhaving opposed his brother.\n\nHe brought forward a bill proposing that any man who had been deposed\nfrom one office should henceforth be incapable of being elected to\nanother.\n\nOctavius had been deposed, and if this bill became law he could no\nlonger hope to serve his country in a public position.\n\nBut Cornelia was wiser than her son, and knowing that such a law would\nonly anger the people, she persuaded Gaius to withdraw his bill.\n\nIn many ways Gaius tried to keep the affections of the people. He built\nbridges, and ordered milestones to be erected for their benefit. He\nbrought in laws making grain cheaper for the poor, and this greatly\nincreased his popularity. Above all, he was eager to give the full\nrights of citizenship to all Italians.\n\nThe laws passed for these and other measures were called the Sempronian\nlaws, as Sempronius was the name of the family to which the Gracchi\nbelonged.\n\nMeanwhile the Senate was growing alarmed. Gaius Gracchus promised to\ngive more trouble even than his brother had done. Reforms were being\ncarried out too rapidly to please either the Senate or the patricians.\nHis enemies resolved not to kill him as they had killed his brother,\nfor they believed that they could injure him in a more subtle way.\n\nFrom that time, if Gaius proposed a measure for the good of the people,\none of the Optimates would suggest another, that would be sure to\nplease them more than that of Gaius.\n\nDrusus was the man employed by the enemies of Gracchus to undermine his\ninfluence in this way. He was rich, and eloquent as Gaius himself, and\nlittle by little he wormed his way into the favour of the people. The\nmore Drusus grew in favour with the plebeians, the less popular became\nGaius.\n\nNow Gracchus believed that if the poor people in Italy were sent out to\nsettle in the new lands which the Romans had conquered they would soon\ngrow more prosperous than was possible at home.\n\nHis colleague had proposed to make Carthage, in Africa, one of these\nnew colonies, for a city was being built on the old site, in spite of\nthe curse that had been pronounced over it by Scipio.\n\nThe Senate agreed to make Carthage one of the new colonies, and gladly\nsent Gaius out to take charge of the scheme. He would be forgotten by\nthe people while he was away.\n\nDuring his absence, which, after all, only lasted for sixty days,\nDrusus introduced a much greater scheme for the settling of the people\nin colonies. His colonies were not to be far away, as were those of\nGracchus and his colleague, but in Italy herself. Besides, Drusus\npromised that there should be no taxes to pay in his colonies, while\nGracchus had made no such concession.\n\nIt did not matter to the people that it was unlikely, if not\nimpossible, that Drusus\u2019s plan could be carried out. That he had\nproposed it was enough. When Gracchus came back from Africa he at once\nsaw how coldly the people welcomed him, how little they trusted him.\n\nBut he determined not to be disheartened. He would yet win back the\nconfidence of the people. So he left his house on the Palatine, where\nthe nobles lived, and dwelt near the Forum, in the midst of the poorer\ncitizens of Rome.\n\nBut Gaius was too impetuous to be wise, and his next move did not win\nthe favour of the citizens, although it may have pleased the rabble.\n\nOne day he noticed that stands were being put up round the ground where\npublic games were to be held. These stands were for the rich, who could\nafford to pay for them. As they took up a great deal of room, and would\nspoil the view of many of the poorer folk, Gaius begged that they might\nbe removed. But his request was refused, and he himself was ridiculed\nby his enemies.\n\nThen Gaius took the matter into his own rash hands.\n\nThe evening before the games were to take place he ordered workmen to\npull down the stands and level the ground, so that on the morrow rich\nand poor would be forced to stand side by side if they were to see the\ngames.\n\nSoon after this the election of tribunes took place, and although Gaius\nhad done much for the sake of the people\u2019s welfare, they showed no\ngratitude. In 121 B.C. he was not again chosen as their tribune.\n\nWhat was even more serious was that the Consuls for the year, Fabius\nMaximus and Opimius, were leaders of the Optimates, so that the enemies\nof Gaius were now powerful enough to attack him publicly.\n\nFirst they worked upon the superstitious fears of the populace. They\nreminded the people that the site of Carthage had been cursed, yet here\nwere Gracchus and his friends venturing to build a new city on the very\nspot.\n\nOmens, too, had been ignored. His enemies told how the boundary stones\nof the new city and the measuring poles had been torn out of the ground\nby wild beasts and carried away. Such things, they said, must portend\nthe wrath of gods.\n\nThus they paved the way for the blow which they hoped to inflict upon\nGracchus. For they now called the tribes together and asked them to\nrepeal the law permitting the building and colonising of Carthage. The\npeople themselves had passed the law only the year before.\n\nGracchus and his friends determined to fight against the repeal of this\nlaw. But while Gracchus hoped to avoid violence, his friends were ready\nto use force to gain their ends.\n\nThe anger of both parties was roused, and lest one side should take\nadvantage of the other, both took up their position on the Capitol,\nmeaning to spend the night on the hill. But it was unlikely to be a\nquiet night. Any moment a spark might set the flames of anger alight.\n\nAs Gracchus walked up and down, speaking to one and another, the\nservant of the Consul came from the temple carrying away part of the\nsacrifice that had just been offered, and shouting in a rude manner to\nthe people to leave room for him to pass.\n\nWhen he drew near to Gracchus the people imagined that he threatened\ntheir leader.\n\nAt once the mob was in a panic. Some one cried that the life of Gaius\nwas in danger, and in a moment the insolent servant was killed.\n\nGracchus was deeply grieved that one of his party should have been so\nrash. It gave to his enemies the very opportunity which they wished.\n\nThe Senate, indeed, showed great horror at such a deed of violence, and\nordered the body of the dead man to be held up to the people. \u2018This\nis how Gracchus and his friends treat the poor,\u2019 was what the Senate\nwished the people to think. It then denounced Gaius and his party as\nenemies of the republic.\n\nAfter this both the parties left the Capitol, Gracchus and his friends\ntaking up their position on the Aventine hill early the following\nmorning.\n\nBefore he left home Gaius refused to wear armour, but put on his gown\nas though he were simply going to an Assembly of the people. He did,\nhowever, wear a short dagger beneath his tunic.\n\nAs he reached the threshold his wife rushed after him and caught him\nwith one hand, while with the other she clasped one of her children.\n\n\u2018You go now,\u2019 she said to her husband, \u2018to expose your body to the\nmurderers of Tiberius, unarmed, indeed, and rightly so, choosing rather\nto suffer the worst of injuries than do the least yourself.\u2019\n\nBut Gaius would listen to no more. Gently he withdrew himself from her\nhold, and stricken with grief, his wife fell to the ground.\n\nWhen Opimius, the Consul, heard of the gathering on the Aventine, he\ndeclared that it was an act of war to seize a position within the city\nand hold it against the Senate. He ordered it to be proclaimed that he\nwould give its weight in gold to any one who brought him the head of\nGaius Gracchus. Then, with a troop of soldiers and archers, Opimius\nprepared to march against those whom he had declared rebels.\n\nThe leader of the mob, for indeed it was little else, was Fulvius, who\nhad been both tribune and Consul.\n\nHe now sent his young son, of eighteen years of age, to propose to the\nSenate that peace should be arranged without having recourse to arms.\n\nThe lad was sent back to say that the rebels must disperse, and\nGracchus and Fulvius appear before the Senate to answer for what they\nhad done, before it was possible to think of terms.\n\nGracchus would have agreed to do this, but Fulvius refused to give way,\nand sent his son back to the Senate with other proposals.\n\nThis time the messenger was not sent back, but was kept prisoner by\nOpimius, who without further delay went forward toward the Aventine\nhill.\n\nFulvius had not courage to face the troops of the Consul, and he\nfled and hid himself in a bath, from which he was soon dragged\nignominiously, and put to death.\n\nGracchus did not attempt to lead his followers against the soldiers. He\nmay have felt it was hopeless to do so.\n\nHis friends urged him to escape, but he, it is said, first fell upon\nhis knees, and in the bitterness of his heart besought the goddess\nDiana to punish the fickle, ungrateful people of Rome by sending them\ninto unending slavery.\n\nThen he fled down the hill toward the river Tiber, followed by two of\nhis most faithful friends and a slave.\n\nOne of his friends fell and sprained his foot. He quickly rose and\nfaced the pursuers, resolved to hinder them as long as might be. But he\nwas soon put to death.\n\nAt the bridge that crossed the Tiber the other friend stopped. Here it\nwould be possible, he thought, to hold the enemy at bay for a time.\nPerhaps as he stood at his post he thought of the old Roman hero,\nHoratius Cocles, who had so nobly held the bridge against the foes of\nRome. But ere long he too was slain.\n\nThen Gaius, knowing that all hope was at an end, called for a horse.\nBut his enemies were watching, and no one dared to answer his request.\n\nYet taken alive he would never be! So with desperate speed he ran on\nuntil he reached a little grove, which was consecrated to the Furies,\nand here for a few brief moments he was hidden from his pursuers. Then\nin a stern voice he bade his slave, who was now alone with him, to kill\nhim before he was discovered by his enemies.\n\nHis slave obeyed, and, faithful to the end, slew himself as well as his\nmaster.\n\nHere in the grove his enemies found the body of Gaius Gracchus, covered\nby that of his devoted slave.\n\n[Illustration: Here it would be possible, he thought, to hold the enemy\nat bay.]\n\nThe head of the dead man was cut off, and to increase its weight was\nfilled with lead. This was done, it is told, by one who was once his\nfriend. But this we cannot easily believe. It was, however, taken to\nthe Consul, who gave for it the promised reward--its weight in gold.\n\nThe body of Gaius was then dragged through the streets, and thrown into\nthe Tiber.\n\nAnd Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi?\n\nShe bore the loss of her two sons as she had borne all the disasters of\nher life, with an undaunted spirit.\n\nHer friends marvelled to hear her speak of her sons with no outward\nsign of grief, but Cornelia was too proud of the service they had\ndone for Rome to weep. Yet she left the city and lived in retirement,\nfor, with all her fortitude, she could not bear to meet those who had\napproved of the murder of her sons.\n\nIn after years the Romans learned to be ashamed of their treatment of\nthe Gracchi, and in reverence for the noble matron who had borne them\nthey erected a bronze statue in the Forum. On it were inscribed these\nsimple words: \u2018To Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi.\u2019\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXIII\n\nTHE GOLD OF JUGURTHA\n\n\nJugurtha was king, King of Numidia. It is true that he had stolen\nhis kingdom, or at least the greater part of it, from his two young\ncousins, the grandsons of Masinissa, yet he was safely seated on the\nthrone.\n\nOne of the princes Jugurtha had murdered, the other had escaped to Rome\nand claimed her help.\n\nBut Jugurtha was rich, and he knew that at Rome gold could purchase\nwhat he wished. So now he sent large sums of money to some of the\nsenators, and these could not resist the wealth that was offered to\nthem.\n\nIn this way justice went awry, to the bewilderment of Adherbal the\nprince, for the senators who were bribed, voted that Jugurtha should\nkeep the wealthiest and strongest part of Numidia, while Adherbal might\nclaim what was left.\n\nBut even this was not enough to satisfy the ambition of the king. He\nnow wished to wrest from the prince even the small dominion that had\nbeen allotted to him.\n\nAgain and again Adherbal appealed to Rome, but her hands were filled\nwith the gold of the tyrant, and she would do nothing to help his\nvictim.\n\nAt length Jugurtha besieged his cousin in his capital town of Cirta.\n\nThe prince was not strong enough to defy his enemy, and there was no\nchoice but to surrender, and this Adherbal did, on condition that his\nlife and that of the inhabitants should be spared.\n\nBut it was vain to trust Jugurtha. He cared little for the promise he\nhad given, and no sooner had the prince left the city than his cousin\nordered that he should be put to death, while the inhabitants, Italians\nas well as Numidians, were also slain.\n\nThe treachery of Jugurtha was known in Rome, but it was ignored. How\ncould it be otherwise when those who should have rebuked and punished\nhim were spending his money.\n\nBut among the tribunes there was one man whose hands were clean, and\nhe, in the Assembly of the people, denounced the nobles for taking\nbribes and allowing Jugurtha to go on his treacherous way unchecked.\n\nSo earnest were the words of Memmius that the people were roused, and\nthe Senate dared no longer refuse to call the tyrant to account. War\nwas therefore declared against the King of Numidia in 112 B.C.\n\nBut it was useless to send an army to Africa unless the officers were\nhonourable men.\n\nBestia, the Consul, when he reached the enemy\u2019s country, did at first\nattack and capture several towns, as well as take many of Jugurtha\u2019s\nmen prisoners.\n\nThen, all at once, the activities of the Consul came to an end. He\nfought no more against the enemy. For Bestia had been offered the gold\nof Jugurtha and had accepted it, and the tyrant was again left to use\nhis power as he chose.\n\nAt home, however, Memmius did not scruple to expose the conduct of\nBestia, and to denounce it as unworthy of a Roman. His persistence won\nthe day.\n\nIn 110 B.C. Jugurtha was brought to Rome under a safe conduct, that he\nmight give evidence against those who had accepted his gold.\n\nBut even now the king still found some willing to handle his money, and\njustice was delayed, if it was not altogether turned aside.\n\nOne of the Consuls meanwhile wished to depose Jugurtha and make a young\nprince King of Numidia.\n\nWhen Jugurtha heard this he did not hesitate to order his slave to go\nat once to put his rival to death.\n\nSuch a deed was more than Rome could tolerate, and Jugurtha found it\nnecessary to escape from the city.\n\nThe Senate saw that the war in Africa must be carried on. But to do so\nwith any hope of success it was necessary to find a general who would\nscorn to take a bribe.\n\nIn the summer of 109 B.C. such a man was found in the Consul Metellus,\nwho was now sent to Numidia as commander of the army. With him, as his\nlieutenant or legate, he took Gaius Marius, of whose boyhood I must\ntell you.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXIV\n\nGAIUS MARIUS WINS THE NOTICE OF SCIPIO AFRICANUS\n\n\nGaius Marius was born in 157 B.C. His parents were humble folk, who had\nto work for their daily bread.\n\nMarius grew up knowing nothing of the indolence and luxury that\nsurrounded so many Roman youths of noble birth.\n\nHis boyhood was lived in a mountain village, where, if his training\nmade him rough and uncouth, it also taught him to endure hardness, and\nto eat and drink only what was needful for his health. It was many long\nyears before Marius knew anything of the polished manners and indulgent\nways of the city.\n\nFrom his youth Gaius Marius was bold and active. As he grew older, his\ntemper would often flash out in ungovernable passion when there was\nlittle to provoke it.\n\nThe lad first served as a soldier under the younger Scipio Africanus.\nHe was used to frugal fare, and to him the simple manner in which\nScipio insisted that his soldiers should live seemed only natural.\n\nThe young soldier\u2019s bravery gained the attention of his commander more\nthan once, and it is easy to believe that such notice awoke his pride\nand roused his ambition.\n\nOne evening, as he sat at supper, Scipio was asked where the Romans\nwould find another leader when he was no longer with them.\n\n\u2018Perhaps here,\u2019 answered Scipio, and as he spoke he touched Marius\nlightly on the shoulder.\n\nAt these words the ambition of Marius leaped to greater heights than\never before.\n\nWhen he was thirty-eight years of age he became a tribune, and he at\nonce set himself to win the favour of the people by bringing forward a\nmeasure to keep the election of magistrates free from bribery, but the\nSenate refused to allow the bill to be put to the vote.\n\nMarius, nothing daunted, threatened that the Consuls should be\nimprisoned if they did not compel the Senate to let the bill take its\ncourse. So determined was he that he gained his end. The bill came\nbefore the people, and they, well pleased that Marius had compelled the\nSenate to yield, voted for it, and the bill became law.\n\nIn 115 B.C. he became a pr\u00e6tor, and was sent to service in Spain. Here\nhe showed that he was a leader of men, for under him the Roman army\nspeedily cleared the land of the robbers that had for long infested it.\n\nAt this time those who rose to fame in Rome were almost always either\nrich or eloquent.\n\nBut Marius was poor, and he had no gift of speech, yet these things did\nnot prevent him from looking forward to the days when he, too, would be\nfamous.\n\nAnd already the people believed in him. He worked so hard and lived so\nsimply that they looked on the uncouth soldier with goodwill.\n\nA little later he married into the family of the illustrious C\u00e6sars,\nand this improved his position, and added to his growing influence in\nthe State. His wife Julia was the aunt of the great Roman, Julius C\u00e6sar.\n\nThis was the lieutenant Metellus took with him to the war against\nJugurtha.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXV\n\nGAIUS MARIUS BECOMES COMMANDER OF THE ARMY\n\n\nWhen Metellus reached Africa, he found that the discipline of the army\nwas so lax that it was unfitted to fight with any hope of success.\n\nSo he drilled and trained his men with great strictness and\npersistency, until he believed that they were again worthy to fight for\ntheir country.\n\nMeanwhile Jugurtha found that here at length was a Roman who scorned\nto touch his gold. This same Roman, too, had so disciplined his troops\nthat Jugurtha now distrusted his power to meet them. He therefore\noffered to submit, if Metellus would promise to spare his life and the\nlives of his children.\n\nBut the general paid no attention to this offer, and led his army into\nNumidia. Gaius Marius was with the Consul, in command of the cavalry.\n\nNow Marius did not love his general, and he cared less that Metellus\nshould be successful in battle than that he himself should win glory by\nhis deeds.\n\nBut already the soldiers adored Marius, for he shared their life,\ngiving up his own comfortable quarters to sleep, as did they, on a\nrough camp bed; often, too, eating their hard bread. When they found\nhim even digging in the trenches their enthusiasm knew no bounds.\n\nJugurtha, meanwhile, had encamped in a strong position, but Metellus\ndislodged him, and at length defeated him, so that he was forced to\nflee.\n\nThe king determined that he would not risk another battle, so for a\ntime he took refuge among the hills of his native land.\n\nBut even as he had bribed the Romans, so now he found that Metellus had\nwon some of his officers from their allegiance, either with gold or\nwith promises. This made him gradually suspicious of all who surrounded\nhim.\n\nGrowing more and more uneasy, Jugurtha at length marched across the\ndesert to a town named Thala. Metellus, however, hastened after him and\nbesieged the town, which after forty days was in his hands. But the\nRoman general was not satisfied, for it was Jugurtha himself whom he\nwished to capture, and the king and his children had escaped from the\ntown by night.\n\nJugurtha knew that Metellus was more than a match for him alone, but if\nhe could secure a powerful ally the Romans might yet be driven from his\nland.\n\nSo, in 108 B.C., Jugurtha persuaded his father-in-law, Bocchus, King of\nUpper Numidia, to join him, and together they marched upon Cirta, near\nwhich town the Romans were encamped.\n\nIt was here that Metellus learned that he had not been elected Consul\nfor the following year.\n\nMeanwhile, Marius had begun to show his dislike of his commander.\n\nThe general had entrusted the care of an important town in Numidia to a\nfriend of his own named Turpulius.\n\nTurpulius was honest and kind, but he was not clever, and he did not\nsee that the inhabitants of the town were taking advantage of his\nkindness.\n\nBefore he was aware, they had succeeded in betraying the town into the\nhands of Jugurtha, while he, owing to the goodwill of the townsfolk,\nwas allowed to escape uninjured.\n\nAmong the Roman officers there were some ready to blame Turpulius, not\nonly for negligence, but for actually giving the town up to Jugurtha.\n\nA council of war was held, and on this council was Marius. He attacked\nTurpulius more fiercely than any other officer, and this he did knowing\nthat he was the trusted friend of Metellus.\n\nIt was due to the influence of Marius that the other members condemned\nTurpulius, and Metellus was forced to sentence his friend to death.\n\nSoon after the unfortunate man was executed it was clearly proved that\nhe was innocent.\n\nMetellus was overpowered with grief, and his officers did what they\ncould to comfort him, all save Marius. He was heard to boast that he\nhad caused the catastrophe, and he showed no sympathy for the distress\nof his general.\n\nIt was natural that from this time Metellus should look on Marius\nwith aversion, and the two men were soon open enemies. Marius did not\ndisguise that he hoped some day to supplant the general in his command.\n\nDuring the winter of 108 B.C., Marius applied for leave, that he might\ngo home to stand for election as Consul.\n\nMetellus was indignant at what seemed to him the presumption of his\nofficer, and he refused to let him go.\n\nMarius was not disturbed by the refusal. He knew that in due time he\nwould go to Italy, and meanwhile he wrote home unfavourable reports of\nhis general, hinting, too, that if he had been in command of the army,\nJugurtha would have been captured long ago.\n\nThe soldiers, he knew well, adored him, and when they sent messages\nhome would say nothing but good of him.\n\nAfter some time had passed, Marius again asked for leave to go to Rome.\n\nThen Metellus scoffed at his desire, saying: \u2018Will you not be content\nto wait and be Consul with this little son of mine?\u2019\n\nAs the son of the general was a lad of about twenty, and as Marius was\nalready forty-nine years of age, the taunt was not easy to bear.\n\nBut at length, as Marius persisted in asking leave, Metellus was\nforced to let him go. Only a short time was now left before those who\nintended to stand for the Consulships must be in Rome.\n\nThe journey from the camp to the coast was a long one, but Marius\naccomplished it in two days and a night.\n\nIn spite of the need for haste, he waited to offer a sacrifice before\nhe sailed. And it seemed to him well that he had done so, for the\npriest bade him go his way, assured that success, greater than he had\ndreamed, would be his.\n\nSo in great good temper Marius went on board ship, and in four days\nlanded on Italian soil.\n\nIn Rome he was received with favour, and before long his ambition was\nsatisfied. He was elected Consul, and given the command of the army in\nAfrica.\n\nWhen Marius returned to take up his new position in Africa, Metellus\nhad already left the army in charge of an officer. His pride would not\nlet him stay to receive his erstwhile subordinate, who, as he said in\nanger, had now usurped his command.\n\nSoon after this Metellus sailed for Rome, with the miserable feeling\nthat he had been disgraced. He was, however, surprised by the welcome\nthe people gave to him. They had not forgotten that he had refused to\ntouch the gold of Jugurtha.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXVI\n\nTHE CAPTURE OF JUGURTHA\u2019S TREASURE TOWNS\n\n\nJugurtha and Bocchus knew that they had cause to dread the new Roman\ngeneral. Certainly he would move swiftly, so the king and his ally\nresolved to march in different directions, in the hope that one of them\nwould be able to fall upon Marius when he was least expecting an attack.\n\nBut it was Marius who in the end surprised Jugurtha, near the town of\nCirta, and after a skirmish forced him to fly.\n\nBocchus, at no time an eager ally of his son-in-law, hearing that he\nwas defeated, determined to forsake him and make peace with Rome. But\nMarius was too anxious to capture Jugurtha to pay much attention to the\nadvances of King Bocchus.\n\nAs the kings had foreseen, Marius moved swiftly. He marched first to\nCapsa, a city in which Jugurtha kept many of his royal treasures.\n\nIt was taken without much difficulty and burned, while the inhabitants\nwere either killed or sold into slavery.\n\nCity after city, fort after fort, fell into the hands of the untiring\ngeneral, until at length he reached another of the king\u2019s treasure\nforts.\n\nThe name of the fort is unknown. It was not a town, but a mere border\ncitadel in the far west of Numidia, and was built on the top of a high\nrock, which looked impossible to scale. The one way of approach to the\nfort was by a steep and narrow path.\n\nMarius besieged the fort, but it was strongly defended, and had a large\nstore of arms, as well as of food and water.\n\nIt was here that a reinforcement of Italian cavalry joined him, under\nthe command of Cornelius Sulla. As Marius had proved a thorn in the\nflesh to Metellus, so Sulla was to prove to his commander. In days to\ncome he was his rival and his most bitter enemy.\n\nMarius had at length decided to give up the siege of the border fort,\nwhen a way was found to take it.\n\nA soldier from the Roman camp was one day looking at the steep rock\nwhich sloped down from the fort, when he noticed a ledge on which there\nwere a number of snails.\n\nAs snails happened to be his favourite food, he climbed up to gather\nthem, then clambered farther in search of more.\n\nHigher and higher he mounted, until at length he found himself near the\ntop of the cliff.\n\nHe now saw that he was close to an oak tree, the root of which was\nembedded deep in a crevice.\n\nThe soldier mounted to the topmost branch, and looking over into the\nfort he saw that no sentinels were near. He had made a great discovery.\n\nDown the rock he clambered as quickly as he dared, and hastening back\nto the camp, told Marius that it was possible to scale the cliff at a\npoint where the citadel was not guarded.\n\nMarius promptly ordered some soldiers to follow the mountaineer up the\nface of the cliff.\n\nIt was no easy task, for the soldiers were cumbered with weapons,\nbut by the help of their guide they reached the top in safety. Not a\nsentinel was to be seen.\n\nMarius waited until he thought the soldiers had had time to accomplish\ntheir hazardous climb, then he ordered an attack to be made at the\nfront of the fort.\n\nThe garrison rushed to the walls to repel the assault, but in the midst\nof their struggle they were startled to hear behind them the noise of\ntrumpets, the clash of arms.\n\nThe soldiers who had scaled the rock had entered the fort, and the\ngarrison and the wretched inhabitants were seized with sudden panic at\ntheir appearance and fled.\n\nThen the Romans pursued the fugitives, cutting down all who resisted,\nand soon the citadel, which had so nearly defied them, was in their\nhands.\n\nBut Marius was not yet satisfied, for Jugurtha was still free, and he\nhad promised the Roman people that he would speedily capture or kill\nthe king.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXVII\n\nTHE CAPTURE OF JUGURTHA\n\n\nSulla, who joined Marius in Numidia, was nineteen years younger than\nhis commander.\n\nThe young officer was a patrician, while Marius was a plebeian, and he\nhad had many advantages which had been denied to Marius.\n\nBut if the Consul was envious of his subordinate\u2019s accomplishments, he\nsuccessfully hid it, and even scoffed at the attainments he did not\npossess.\n\nAs Sulla had ridden into the Roman camp the soldiers had looked at him\nwith sudden interest. He was so unlike a soldier, and indeed he had not\nthen been on a battlefield. But although he had looked to the troops\nlike a man who had spent his days in pleasure, they had noticed that\nhis blue eyes were keen, and gazed at them with fierce mastery.\n\nThat he was clever and quick was soon evident to all, and Marius\nspeedily found that he could count on Sulla\u2019s brains and on Sulla\u2019s\nstrength. As for the soldiers, they learned to respect him, although he\nwas so unlike their own rough, uneducated hero.\n\nJugurtha had meanwhile again persuaded Bocchus to join him, although to\ndo so he had been forced to promise him a large part of his kingdom.\n\nThe Roman army soon knew that Jugurtha was again supported by an ally,\nfor the two kings, each with his army, followed and harassed it as it\nmarched away from the border-fort towards Cirta.\n\nTwice, indeed, the enemy had been in front, and the Romans had found\ntheir road blocked, and twice, before they could go forward, they had\nbeen forced to fight with their foes.\n\nThe latter time it was Sulla, who, by a skilful movement, saved the\narmy from a disastrous defeat. He had proved an apt pupil in the art of\nwar.\n\nAt length, after a tedious and difficult march, Marius reached Cirta,\nwhere he meant to remain during the winter.\n\nBut the campaign of 106 B.C. had convinced him that it would be well to\ntreat with King Bocchus, if he was to redeem his promise to Rome and\ncapture or kill Jugurtha.\n\nSo when Bocchus again sent to ask Marius to enter into negotiations\nwith him, the Consul agreed to do so, and sent Sulla and his legate\nManlius to treat with him.\n\nBut Bocchus himself was so treacherous that he distrusted other people,\nand after hearing from the Consul\u2019s officers what he was willing to\ndo, he dismissed them. For he had determined to send an embassy to the\nSenate at Rome, lest it should refuse to confirm the promises of the\nConsul.\n\nThe ambassadors returned with a reassuring answer, at least King\nBocchus seemed to think it was such, although the annalists couch it\nin Rome\u2019s most arrogant manner. \u2018The Senate and the people of Rome are\nwont to remember kindness and wrong. They pardon the offence of Bocchus\nbecause he repents it, and will grant him alliance and friendship when\nhe shall have deserved them.\u2019\n\nThis sounds as though it were a reproof as well as a pardon offered to\na wilful child, and historians tell us it is not the answer that was\nactually sent to the king.\n\nHowever that may be, Bocchus now determined to cast in his fortune with\nRome, and to betray Jugurtha to his enemies.\n\nTo do this would be no easy task, for Jugurtha was sure to be on his\nguard, knowing that his father-in-law had been negotiating with Marius.\n\nSo Bocchus asked the Roman general to send Sulla again to his tent,\nthat he might ask Jugurtha to meet him. He intended to tell his victim\nthat Sulla wished to discuss with him the terms offered by Rome.\n\nSulla set off for the camp of Bocchus, escorted by a body of the best\nItalian soldiers.\n\nOn his way he was met by the son of Bocchus, with a large troop of\ncavalry. As Jugurtha and his Numidian army were not far off, Sulla knew\nthat it would be easy to take him prisoner, should Jugurtha play him\nfalse. However, the Numidians allowed him to pass unharmed, and Sulla\nwas soon seated in the tent of Bocchus.\n\nEven here he was in greater danger than he knew. For the king hesitated\nwhether, after all, he would not give Sulla to Jugurtha, rather than\nJugurtha to the Roman.\n\nBut it would have been no easy matter to play fast and loose with Rome,\nand Bocchus determined to keep to his first plan.\n\nSo he invited Jugurtha to meet Sulla in his tent, and made the king\nbelieve that Sulla was to be given into his hands.\n\nJugurtha\u2019s suspicions had been laid to rest entirely, and he came to\nthe tent of his father-in-law unarmed, with only a few servants.\n\nBut almost at once he found himself surrounded by troops, and before\nhe had recovered from his surprise, he and his son were secured. Sulla\nthen ordered them to be taken to the Roman camp and delivered to Marius.\n\nJugurtha was at last in chains, but the joy of Marius in his capture\nwas spoiled.\n\n[Illustration: Jugurtha came to the tent of his father-in-law unarmed.]\n\nIt was he, he said to himself, who had made it possible to secure the\ndangerous enemy of Rome, yet Sulla seemed to claim the glory as his\nown. Marius felt bitter as he thought of it. And as the days passed\nhis anger against Sulla grew.\n\nHe, Sulla, had dared to have a seal made, with a picture of Jugurtha\nbeing delivered into his hands stamped upon it. Nor did he scruple to\nuse the seal to stamp his letters, so that all the world might see.\n\nMoreover, those who were jealous of Marius tried to take away from his\nrenown, muttering to one another: \u2018The chief battles of the war were\nfought by Metellus, and its end is achieved by Sulla.\u2019\n\nThese things chafed the pride and ambition of Marius.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXVIII\n\nJUGURTHA IS BROUGHT TO ROME IN CHAINS\n\n\nIn 106 B.C., the same year that Jugurtha was captured, Rome was\ndisturbed by the rumour that a great army of barbarians was approaching\nItaly.\n\nThey were tall and blue-eyed, these hordes of barbarians, and were\nbelieved to come from the shores of the North Sea, where the German\nraces had their home.\n\nThe Senate sent brave generals and strong armies against these terrible\nfoes, but the barbarians scattered the Roman legions and shamed the\nbrave generals.\n\nTheir victories made the Teutones and Cimbri insolent and proud.\n\n\u2018We can destroy the Roman legions,\u2019 they said, \u2018so it will be an easy\ntask to plunder Italy, and destroy even Rome herself.\u2019\n\nThe Senate and the people grew more and more alarmed, while those who\nhad sought to belittle the fame of Marius repented. For was he not the\nonly general who could save them now?\n\nSo Marius, although he was still in Africa, was elected Consul a second\ntime.\n\nIt is true that the law forbade the election of any one who was absent\nfrom Rome. But necessity knows no law, said the Romans, and Marius was\nelected.\n\nWhen Marius was told of the honour that had been conferred upon him\nhe was well pleased. It was another step in the ambitious path he was\nascending. He at once sailed for Italy, that he might be ready to\ndefend his country from the barbarians.\n\nBy the 1st January 104 B.C. Marius had reached the gates of Rome and\ncelebrated a splendid triumph, Jugurtha and two of his sons being led\nin his procession loaded with chains.\n\nJugurtha had been a dangerous foe, and the people of Rome could\nscarcely believe, until they saw, that he was actually a captive and in\nchains.\n\nWhen the triumph was over, many of them ventured to approach him, to\nput out their hand to touch the broken-spirited king. In wanton cruelty\nthey snatched the clothing off his body, and even wrenched the gold\nrings from off his ears.\n\nBut soon he was led away and thrust into the prison at the foot of the\nCapitoline hill. His misery had confused his mind, and as he was left\nalone his foolish laughter echoed through his prison, while he cried,\n\u2018O Hercules, how cold your bath is.\u2019\n\nFor six days he endured the pangs of hunger, for his gaolers gave him\nno food, and so at last the king, shorn of his strength and power, died.\n\nAfter his triumph Marius at once set out with his army to fight against\nthe barbarians. But the Teutones and the Cimbri had turned away from\nRome, and it was a long time before Marius encountered them.\n\nHe was not, however, the kind of general to let his troops be idle. He\nkept them at work, and the discipline of the camp was strict.\n\nIf the soldiers marched, each was made to carry his own baggage, and\neach had also to cook his own food.\n\nSoon the men, if they carried their loads without grumbling, were\nnicknamed \u2018Marian mules.\u2019\n\nAnother story tells that this nickname arose in quite a different way.\n\nWhen Marius first joined the army under Scipio, the general on a\ncertain day inspected not only the arms and horses of his men, but\ntheir mules and wagons as well.\n\nBoth the horse and mule belonging to Marius were in perfect condition,\nand had evidently received more care than those of his comrades.\n\nScipio commended the beasts, and often reminded the soldiers of their\nwell-groomed appearance, until at length, half in scorn and half in\nmirth, any man in Marius\u2019s army who worked harder and more persistently\nthan his neighbour was called by his comrades \u2018a Marian mule.\u2019\n\nA year passed, and the barbarians had not yet appeared.\n\nMarius was elected Consul for the third time, for the Senate still\ndreaded the appearance of the enemy, and wished him to be in command\nwhen it did descend into Italy.\n\nAnother year passed, and still they did not come.\n\nAt the end of 103 B.C. Marius went back to Rome. It was time for the\nnew elections, and Marius pretended that he did not wish to be Consul\nagain.\n\nBut Saturninus, one of the tribunes, said that if he refused office\nwhen his country was in danger he would be a traitor.\n\nThis was strong language, but it did not displease Marius, who in\nreality would have been greatly disappointed had he not been elected.\n\nSo now he promised to accept the office if it was the wish of the\npeople that he should do so. Then for the fourth time Marius was chosen\nConsul, with Catulus as his colleague.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXIX\n\nMARIUS CONQUERS THE TEUTONES\n\n\nSoon after Marius had been chosen Consul for the fourth time, the\nTeutones, and the Ambrones, another of the fierce barbarian tribes\nwhich Rome had feared, did actually approach Italy.\n\nSo Marius marched toward the Rhone, and here, not far from the river,\nhe set up his camp. His first work was to secure a safe passage to the\nsea, so that he could be sure of getting provisions for his army.\n\nAs the mouth of the Rhone was choked with huge banks of sand and mud,\nMarius ordered his soldiers to clear the bank away, and then set them\nto work to dig a great canal.\n\nNow soldiers would usually rather fight than dig, and as the summer\npassed, and still their general did not lead them to battle, they began\nto grumble.\n\n\u2018Has Marius found us cowards,\u2019 they cried, \u2018that he should thus like\nwomen lock us up from encountering our enemies? Come on, let us show\nourselves men, and ask him if he expects others to fight for Italy.\nDoes he mean merely to employ us to dig trenches and cleanse places of\nmud ... and turn the course of the river?\u2019\n\nThese complaints reached the ear of Marius, but they did not at all\ndisplease him. He wished that his soldiers should be eager to fight,\nand bade them wait but a little longer and he would lead them against\nthe enemy.\n\nThe Teutones were encamped not far off, and they, seeing that the\nRomans did not attack them, began to wonder if these legions, of which\nthey had heard so much, were, after all, as brave as they had been\ntold. They would at least find out what the enemy was worth, and they\ndetermined themselves to attack the Roman camp.\n\nBut their attempt was discouraging. Many of them were killed and\nwounded, and this although the Romans were restrained by the orders of\ntheir general from rushing out upon the foe, and could only hurl upon\nthem any missile on which they were able to lay their hands.\n\nThe barbarians now resolved to take no more notice of the Romans. Since\nthe enemy would not fight, they determined to break up their camp,\ncross the Alps, and invade Italy, as had been their intention before\nMarius placed his army in their path.\n\nSo the vast hordes of Teutones and Ambrones began to march slowly past\nthe Roman camp. For six days, it is said, Marius refused to let his men\nstir, while the great procession filed past their tents.\n\nThe Roman soldiers were like caged lions, and when some of the\nbarbarians jeered at them as they passed, asking if they had any\nmessage for their wives in Rome, they all but broke loose.\n\nAt length the long line of the barbarian hosts came to an end, and then\nMarius broke up his camp, and to the undisguised relief of his soldiers\nmarched after the enemy.\n\nThe barbarians had encamped a few days\u2019 march from the pass into Italy,\nat a place called Aqu\u00e6 Sexti\u00e6.\n\nMarius set up his camp near to the enemy, but while he had not enough\nwater for his army, the barbarians were close to a river, and had a\nplentiful supply.\n\nWhen the Roman soldiers complained that they were thirsty, Marius\npointed to the river which flowed past the camp of the enemy.\n\n\u2018There,\u2019 said he, \u2018you may have drink if you will buy it with your\nblood.\u2019\n\n\u2018Why, then,\u2019 answered the soldiers, \u2018do you not lead us to it before\nour blood is dried up in us?\u2019\n\n\u2018Let us first fortify our camp,\u2019 replied the general, and reluctantly\nthe men began to obey.\n\nBut the servants and slaves belonging to the Roman army determined\nto get water at once for themselves and for the horses. So, carrying\npitchers in one hand, and swords and axes in the other, they went\nboldly down to the edge of the river.\n\nOn the bank sat a band of the enemy. It had been bathing, and was now\ncarelessly eating and drinking.\n\nBut seeing the Roman servants, the barbarians sprang to their feet, and\nwith loud shouts fell upon them.\n\nTheir cries and the clash of their weapons were heard in both camps,\nand, hastily arming, Romans and barbarians alike rushed to the river.\nSoon the Ambrones and the Romans were engaged in a fierce battle.\n\nBut the Ambrones were not a match for the strictly-trained soldiers of\nMarius. Numbers of them were cut to pieces, while others turned and\nfled to the wagons which surrounded their camp, hotly pursued by the\nenemy.\n\nWhen the Ambrones reached the wagons, they met with neither welcome nor\nhelp.\n\nThe women, in anger that their men had turned their back upon the foe,\nhad climbed into the wagons, carrying with them the first weapon which\nthey had been able to find. And now, shouting the wild war-cry of their\npeoples, they attacked with sword or hatchet all who came within their\nreach, were they friends or foes.\n\nThe arms of the women were bare, and as they fought they received many\nwounds. Then they tried to pull from the Romans the shields with which\nthey protected themselves.\n\nStill the battle raged, and only when night fell did the Romans retire,\nleaving the field strewn with the dead bodies of the Ambrones.\n\nBut there was no rest for the Roman soldiers that night, nor did\nthey dare to rejoice as though the barbarians were vanquished. For\nthe Teutones were not yet beaten. Even then their wild cries and\nlamentations over the dead, mingled with threats against their enemy,\nreached the ears of the Romans. In the darkness the strong soldiers\ntrembled, lest they should be attacked that night, while their camp was\ndefended by neither trench nor rampart.\n\nBut although the terrible cries never ceased, the Teutones did not\nattempt to attack their enemy.\n\nNext morning Marius saw that it would be easy to set an ambush beyond\nthe camp of the Teutones.\n\nSo he ordered Marcellus, one of his officers, to take three thousand\nmen and hide them in the thickly wooded hills behind the camp of the\nenemy. His orders were strict, that Marcellus should not stir from the\nhill until the Teutones were in the thick of the battle with the main\nbody of the Romans.\n\nThe Roman camp was on a hill, and Marius now ordered his cavalry to\nride down to the plain.\n\nBut when the Teutones saw the horsemen coming toward them, they threw\nprudence to the winds, and dashed up the side of the hill to meet the\nenemy.\n\nMarius, who had followed his cavalry with the main body of his army,\nsaw that the steepness of the ground would make the foothold of the\nTeutones uncertain and their blows less strong than they would have\nbeen on the plain.\n\nSo he bade his troops to stand and await the attack of the barbarians,\nand then, after hurling their javelins into the midst of the foe, to\nforce them steadily backward with sword and shield.\n\nMarius himself stood by the side of his men, ready to fight where the\ndanger was greatest.\n\nAgainst the solid front of the Roman army the Teutones threw themselves\nin vain. They could not break its ranks. Slowly and in disorder they\nfound themselves being pushed back toward the plain.\n\nAt length they were once more on level ground, and immediately they\nattempted to form their front ranks anew, meaning again to attack the\nenemy.\n\nSuddenly those in front heard behind them wild cries of despair. Swords\nflashed in the air, javelins seemed to fall among their ranks as\nthickly as a storm of hail.\n\nMarcellus, with his three thousand men, had dashed out of his ambush,\nand had fallen upon the rear of the Teutones.\n\nThis was more than the barbarians could bear. With the terrible enemy\nbefore and behind, they yielded to panic, broke their ranks, and fled.\n\nThe Romans followed, determined that the enemy should not escape, and\ncut down more than one hundred thousand men.\n\nFor long months the bones of the barbarians were left in the field,\nuntil at length, bleached clean, they were used by the neighbouring\nfolk to fence their vineyards.\n\nAfter this great victory, Marius chose the most splendid treasures from\nthe spoil and laid them aside, to grace his triumph when he returned to\nRome.\n\nHe then ordered the rest to be gathered into one great heap, to be\nsacrificed to the gods.\n\nAround the huge pile the soldiers were presently gathered, their arms\nin their hands, their clothes decked with garlands. In their midst\nstood Marius, wearing a robe with the purple border, and holding aloft\na lighted torch with which to set fire to the sacrifice.\n\nBut at that moment horsemen were seen in the distance spurring their\nhorses toward the assembled army.\n\nWhat tidings did they bear? No one in the great gathering stirred until\nthe horsemen rode up, and crying that Marius had been elected Consul\nfor the fifth time, handed him letters from the Senate to tell him of\nthis new honour.\n\nThe soldiers were well pleased that their general should be so\ndistinguished, and clashed their shields to show their delight, while\nthe officers crowned him with a wreath of laurel.\n\nMarius then touched the pile of treasures with his lighted torch. The\nflames leaped up, crackled, and soon the sacrifice was consumed.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XC\n\nMARIUS MOCKS THE AMBASSADORS OF THE CIMBRI\n\n\nWhile Marius was carrying all before him, his colleague Catulus was in\na sorry plight.\n\nHe had found it impossible to hold the passes of the Alps against the\nCimbri, and had been forced to descend into the plain of Northern\nItaly. Here he crossed the river Adige, and encamped on its bank.\n\nThe Cimbri never doubted that they would be able to conquer the Romans.\nAlready they were elated to find that the passes were not guarded. No\ntidings of the terrible battle of Aqu\u00e6 Sexti\u00e6 had yet come to daunt\ntheir courage.\n\nAnd so, in the sheer pride of their strength, they flung aside their\nclothing, and naked, climbed through falling snow and over ice-clad\nrocks to the top of the mountain passes. Then, turning their broad\nshields into sledges, they boldly shot down the slopes on the other\nside.\n\nWhen they reached the Adige they saw the Roman camp across the river.\nBefore attacking it they determined to dam the stream.\n\nThe Roman soldiers, as they watched the barbarians at work, were amazed\nat their strength.\n\nGiant trees were uprooted and flung into the river as though they were\nsaplings. Huge rocks, too, that seemed beyond the strength of man to\nmove, were hurled into the bed of the Adige as though they were stones.\nWho could fight with such men as these barbarians seemed to be?\n\nTo the dismay of Catulus, his army decided that they could not face\nsuch foes, and they began to steal out of the camp. It was evident\nthat soon the whole army would take to flight before it was attacked.\n\nBut the Consul could not let the soldiers so disgrace their fame.\nRather would he take upon himself the blame of having ordered a\nretreat. So, seizing the Roman eagle, he hastened with it to the front\nof his men, and himself led them away.\n\nWhen the Cimbri saw that most of the Romans had left their camp they\ncrossed the river and captured it, in spite of the brave defence of\nthose who had scorned to turn their backs upon an enemy.\n\nThe barbarians showed that they could respect courage, for they spared\nthe lives of these brave soldiers. But before they let them go they\nmade them swear upon their brazen bull to observe certain conditions.\nNow the brazen bull was to these barbarians sacred as a god.\n\nWhen, a short time after this, the Cimbri were defeated, the bull was\ncarried away with other spoil, and treasured by Catulus in memory of\nhis victory.\n\nAfter taking the Roman camp, the barbarians wandered through the plains\nof Lombardy, burning and plundering wherever they went.\n\nMarius, meanwhile, after his victory over the Teutones and Ambrones,\nwas recalled to Rome, and voted a triumph.\n\nHearing, however, that Catulus was in danger from the barbarians, he\nwould not stay to celebrate it, but hastened to join his colleague.\n\nThe two Consuls met near the river Po, and crossing the river they\nfound the Cimbri at Vercell\u00e6.\n\nHere the barbarians expected each day to be joined by the Teutones and\nAmbrones.\n\nAs they did not wish to fight until their allies arrived, they\npretended that they were anxious to make terms with Marius, and sent to\nask him to give them land for themselves and their brethren.\n\n\u2018Who are your brethren?\u2019 the Consul asked the ambassadors who stood\nbefore him.\n\n\u2018The Teutones,\u2019 answered they.\n\nThose who surrounded Marius laughed, for well they knew what had\nbefallen the Teutones.\n\n\u2018Do not trouble yourselves for your brethren,\u2019 replied Marius, taunting\nthem, \u2018for we have already provided land for them, which they shall\npossess for ever.\u2019\n\nThen the ambassadors understood that their brethren lay slain upon the\nground, and their anger rose. Fearless of danger, they hurled threats\nat the Consul, saying that the Cimbri and those Teutones who were still\nleft alive would avenge the death of their fellows.\n\n\u2018Their rulers are not far off,\u2019 cried Marius. \u2018It will be unkindly done\nof you to go away before greeting your brethren.\u2019\n\nThen the kings of the Teutones, who had been captured, were brought\nbefore the ambassadors, loaded with chains.\n\nSeeing how these mighty chiefs had been humbled, the ambassadors were\nsilent, and soon after they went back to the Cimbri to tell them what\nthey had heard and seen in the Roman camp.\n\nThe Cimbri could not restrain their rage when they knew what had\nbefallen their allies. Three days later they were on the plains of\nVercell\u00e6, impatient to avenge their defeat.\n\nMarius, too, was eager for battle. His cavalry, strong as ever, wore\nthat day strange helmets. Each one looked like the head of some strange\nbeast, while above the head waved a lofty plume, that added to the\nheight of the soldier. Their white shields gleamed in the sun, and\ntheir breastplates were of iron.\n\nThe day began in discomfort for the Cimbri. Cold and frost they could\nendure, as they had shown when they crossed the Alps, but heat soon\nmade them weak and stupid.\n\nIn vain they tried to shelter their faces with their shields. The sun\nshone in their eyes, beat upon their heads. Clouds of dust, too, were\nblowing, and hiding them from the Romans, who, not seeing the great\nnumbers arrayed against them, fought the more fearlessly.\n\nTo help them to keep their ranks unbroken, the front rows of the Cimbri\nwere fastened together by long chains, which were slipped through their\nbelts. But when the battle went against them these chains were a source\nof danger.\n\nOn this day the Cimbri were worsted, and when the Romans began to cut\nthem down, the chains made it impossible for those in the front to\nescape.\n\nThose in the rear fled to their camp. But here, as in the camp of the\nAmbrones, the women, clad in black, mounted upon the wagons and slew\ntheir own husbands, brothers, sons, if they ventured to seek refuge\nfrom the enemy.\n\nRather than fall into the hands of the Romans, many of the men and\nwomen hanged themselves, after first killing their little children.\nAlthough many of the Cimbri died in this terrible way, more than sixty\nthousand were taken prisoners.\n\nCatulus claimed the victory of Vercell\u00e6 as his, and was dissatisfied\nwith Marius, who, he said, did not wish to share the honour with any\none.\n\nHowever that may be, when the Consuls returned to Rome, Marius was\noffered two triumphs, but he would only accept one, and that one he\nshared with Catulus.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XCI\n\nMETELLUS IS DRIVEN FROM ROME\n\n\nMarius had been Consul five times already, but he was not yet content.\nHe wished to be elected for the sixth time, and he determined to do all\nhe could to gain his end.\n\nBut it was no easy task, for now that no enemy threatened Rome, she was\nready to cast Marius aside.\n\nMoreover, although on the battlefield Marius was brave above all\nothers, in the Senate or the Assembly of the people his courage\ndeserted him. He knew that he was not eloquent, and he no sooner stood\nup to speak than he grew timid and ill at ease.\n\nYet he did his best, and to the people he tried to behave more\npleasantly than he felt, and that is at no time an easy thing to do,\nnor even, it may be, a right thing to attempt. But Marius smiled when\nhe would much rather have frowned, and spoke kindly when a cross answer\nwas hidden in his heart.\n\nMetellus, from whom he had wrested the command of the army, was the man\nhe feared most, and he thought if only he could have him banished from\nRome all would be well. Although Marius at once began to plot and plan,\nit took a long time to get rid of Metellus. But this is how in the end\nhe succeeded.\n\nFirst, Marius joined Glaucia and Saturninus, who were popular with the\npeople, but too daring not to be hated by the Optimates.\n\nSaturninus had been tribune in 101 B.C., and wished to be re-elected\nfor the following year. When he found that the people had not voted for\nhim, he was so angry that he did not scruple to order his successful\nrival to be put to death.\n\nThe people, subdued by the violence of Saturninus, then gave him the\npost he coveted without more ado.\n\nGlaucia became pr\u00e6tor for the same year, while Marius achieved his\nambition, and was made Consul for the sixth time.\n\nSaturninus now brought forward a bill regarding the division of land.\nThe people would, as usual, be asked to vote for or against this bill,\nbut the tribune added an important clause to his measure, saying that\nwhatever the people voted, to that the senators must take an oath to\nagree.\n\nMarius, as Consul, pretended to be very angry with Saturninus for\nadding this clause to his bill, and he said that he, for one, would\nnever take such an oath. The senators, he added, needed to take no oath\nto make them agree to anything that was for the good of the State.\n\nThe other members, among whom was Metellus, were equally indignant,\nand swore that they would never take the oath demanded by Saturninus.\nMarius was now satisfied that he had entrapped Metellus.\n\nHe himself had promised Saturninus secretly that he would take the\noath, and as soon as the people had voted in favour of the bill he did\nso. Nor did he make any worthy excuse for breaking his word, but, as\nConsul, advised the other members of the Senate also to agree to the\nclause which before they had sworn to reject.\n\nWhen Marius took the oath the people could not control their delight,\nbut broke out into loud applause. But the nobles were angry with the\nConsul for saying one thing and doing another, yet, because they were\nafraid of the people, they took the oath, all save Metellus, who\nrefused to break his word.\n\nThis was just what Marius had hoped would happen, for he knew that\nMetellus was too upright a man to stoop to act as he and the other\nsenators had done.\n\nSaturninus now demanded that the Consul should punish Metellus for\nrefusing to confirm the vote of the people. He wished that the senator\nshould be forbidden to stay under the shelter of any roof in the city,\nthat he should be refused the use of fire or water.\n\nThe mob went even further, and would have killed Metellus had his\nfriends not defended him.\n\nBut Metellus would not allow his friends to fight, telling them that he\nwould leave the city rather than cause strife. \u2018For,\u2019 said he, \u2018either,\nwhen the position of affairs is mended and the people repent, I shall\nbe recalled, or if things remain in their present position it will be\nbest to be absent.\u2019\n\nThus Marius, with the help of Saturninus, succeeded in driving Metellus\nfrom the city. But the price he had to pay for his success was heavy.\n\nFor Saturninus and Glaucia were determined that the bills which they\nbrought forward, for the good of the people as they believed, should be\npassed. If any one ventured to oppose their measures or to become their\nrivals, they speedily perished. Saturninus hired assassins to slay such\ninsolent folk.\n\nAt length even the people grew angry with the tribune and with Glaucia,\nand threatened to put them to death, so that the two men were forced to\nflee for refuge to the Capitol.\n\nThe Senate at once condemned them and their followers as public\nenemies, and called upon the Consuls to punish them.\n\nMarius was now in a difficult position. He did not wish to punish those\nwho had helped him to banish Metellus, yet as Consul he could not\nignore the crimes that these men had committed. So at length he ordered\nthem to be arrested, but he still hoped to save their lives.\n\nSaturninus and Glaucia, however, continued to defy the Senate, until\nMarius was forced to order the water-pipes on the Capitol to be cut,\nand their thirst soon compelled the rebels to surrender.\n\nMarius sent them for safety to the Senate-house. But it was useless to\ntry to protect such evildoers. The Consul found that he was but turning\nthe people\u2019s rage against himself, without doing his friends any good.\nFor the mob broke in the door and took the tiles off the roof of the\nSenate-house, and rushing in, killed Saturninus and his friends.\n\nThe Senate not only did not punish the people for this deed, it\napproved of it.\n\nMarius had now made himself hated by the nobles, because he had taken\nthe oath he had declared he would never take, and by the people,\nbecause he had been the friend of Saturninus, and had tried to protect\nhim from the just punishment of his cruel deeds.\n\nWhen the Consul found that the people were clamouring for the return of\nMetellus, of whose honesty they had had proof, he left Rome. He could\nnot bear to see the return of his rival.\n\nHe journeyed to Asia, and here he tried to rouse Mithridates, King of\nPontus, to fight against an ally of Rome. For he thought that if war\nbroke out he would once more be called upon to deliver his country from\nher foes.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XCII\n\nSULLA ENTERS ROME WITH HIS TROOPS\n\n\nDuring the absence of Marius the influence of Sulla grew by leaps and\nbounds. It was this, it may be, that drew Marius back to Rome.\n\nHe came, hoping once again to win the goodwill of the people, and he\neven took a house near the Forum so as to be in their midst.\n\nBut the people paid little attention to the general whom in time of war\nthey had courted and admired. In time of peace they had no use for one\nwho was above all else a soldier.\n\nSulla, too, had proved himself a great general, but he, unlike Marius,\nwas an educated man and an Optimate, and was useful in time of peace as\nin time of war.\n\nThe ever-ready jealousy of Marius was roused when he noticed that Sulla\nwas now much more powerful in Rome than was he.\n\nNor were his feelings soothed when he saw on the Capitol a new statue\nof victory, which had been erected by Bocchus, King of Numidia. By the\nside of the chief figure were others in gold, representing Bocchus\ndelivering Jugurtha to Sulla.\n\nTo Sulla! Marius was very angry when he saw that. Jugurtha would never\nhave been captured but for him. It was he, Marius, who should have\nstood in the place Sulla had been given!\n\nThe old general determined to pull down the statue. But Sulla heard\nwhat Marius meant to do, and refused to allow it, so that a struggle\nbetween them was inevitable. But at this very time a new war broke\nout, and all private quarrels were laid aside.\n\nThe war that began in 89 B.C. was called the Social War. It was caused\nby the discontent of the Italian people, to whom the full rights of\nRoman citizens had not been given. Marius and Sulla both fought in this\nwar.\n\nAs of old, Marius was never to be enticed to fight against his will.\nSo slow, indeed, was he to lead his men to battle, that one of the\ngenerals on the other side doubted his courage. \u2018If you are indeed a\ngreat general, Marius,\u2019 he said, \u2018leave your camp and fight a battle.\u2019\n\nBut all Marius answered was: \u2018If you are one, make me do so against my\nwill.\u2019\n\nAlthough Marius was now sixty-six years of age, he was as good a\ncommander as ever, and won a great battle, in which six thousand of the\nenemy was slain. But at the end of a year, although the war was not yet\nover, Marius resigned his command, saying that his health was not good.\n\nSulla also gained many victories in this Social War, which came to an\nend in 88 B.C., for the Senate then granted the Italians the rights\nof citizens, and to obtain this had been the object of the war. But\nwhile all the Italian cities enjoyed new privileges, Rome was still to\ncontinue the centre of the Republic, where magistrates were elected and\nlaws were ratified.\n\nSulla returned to Rome in time to be elected Consul for the year\n88 B.C. He was also appointed by the Senate to take command of the\narmy which was now to go to Asia. For war had broken out against\nMithridates, King of Pontus.\n\nNow one of the tribunes, named Sulpicius, was not satisfied that Sulla\nshould have this honour, and he proposed that Marius should be made\npro-Consul and general of the war.\n\nMarius, you remember, had laid down his command in the Social War on\naccount of his health. So now those who wished Sulla to be commander\nof the army jeered at Marius, bidding him stay at home to tend his\nworn-out frame.\n\nMarius was too eager to oust his rival to give heed to these taunts. He\nlaid himself, indeed, open to more. For now he was to be seen out each\nday taking exercises with the youths of the city.\n\nHe had grown stout and heavy, but he soon showed that, in spite of this\nand of his infirmities, he could vault lightly enough into his saddle,\nand could claim still to be \u2018nimble,\u2019 even when he wore his armour.\n\nSulpicius now brought forward a series of laws, bribed, so said some,\nby Marius. It is certain that one of the laws proposed that Marius\nshould be commander of the war.\n\nAs these laws, if they were passed, would make the Populares, or party\nof the people, powerful, the Optimates determined to overthrow them.\nBut Sulpicius was not a man to yield without a struggle. He sent armed\nmen to attack the Consuls, for they were on the side of the Optimates.\n\nRufus, the colleague of Sulla, escaped from the city, but in the riot\nraised by the people his son was killed.\n\nSulla saved his life only by hiding in the house of Marius, where no\none dreamed of looking for him. When the riot was over, he escaped to\nthe camp at Nola.\n\nWith the Consuls absent, and the Optimates for the time cowed, the laws\nwhich had caused all this trouble were passed, and became known as the\nSulpician Laws.\n\nBy one of these laws Marius became commander of the army, and he at\nonce sent two tribunes to Nola to warn Sulla that he would soon arrive\nat the camp to take over the command.\n\nBut, as Marius might have foreseen, Sulla did not mean to submit to\nsuch a defeat.\n\nHe, Sulla, had been appointed by the Senate, while it was by violence\nthat Marius had been proclaimed commander.\n\nSulla knew that the army was devoted to him, and would do anything to\nwin his favour. So he assembled the troops, and told them the story of\nhis defeat, and how Marius was coming to lead them to Asia.\n\nThey at once broke out into loud shouts of protest, crying that none\nbut he should be their leader. If it was his will they would follow him\nto Rome and overcome his enemies. In the meantime, they would put to\ndeath the two tribunes who had been sent by Marius to the camp.\n\nThus it was that before long Sulla was marching toward Rome, at the\nhead of his troops, being joined on the way by Rufus.\n\nMarius and Sulpicius, when they heard that Sulla had appealed to the\narmy, had at once tried to raise a force to oppose him, even offering\nfreedom to the slaves if they would fight faithfully.\n\nBut their efforts were vain, and they fled from the city before Sulla\nentered it.\n\nFrom the people Sulla received but a sorry welcome, for so angry were\nthey with him for bringing his army within the walls of the city, that\nthey climbed to the roofs of the houses and flung stones and every\nmissile that they could find upon the troops. But the Senate welcomed\nthe Consuls with open arms.\n\nMarius, Sulpicius, and twelve of their followers were at once declared\npublic enemies. This meant that it was not only the right, but the\nduty, of every one to kill them.\n\nSulpicius, who had found shelter in a house in the country, was put to\ndeath by a slave.\n\nSulla gave the slave his freedom, and then, in dislike of his\ntreachery, he ordered him to be hurled from the Tarpeian Rock.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XCIII\n\nTHE FLIGHT OF MARIUS\n\n\nWhen Marius fled from Rome, he hastened to Ostia, a seaport at the\nmouth of the Tiber. So eager was he to escape that he sailed without\nwaiting for his son, young Marius, whom he had sent to procure\nprovisions.\n\nYoung Marius, meanwhile, had reached the farm where his father-in-law\nlived, and had spent the night there undisturbed.\n\nBut when morning dawned a servant rushed into the house, saying that he\nhad seen soldiers riding in the direction of the farm. The steward at\nonce ran to his barn, dragged out a wagon full of beans, and hid young\nMarius under them. Then, without any apparent haste, he yoked his oxen\nto the wagon and drove off toward the city.\n\nBefore he had driven far he passed the search party, which, unconscious\nthat it had missed its prey, went on at a sharp trot toward the farm.\nIn this way Marius reached the coast safely, and sailed to Africa.\n\nBut Marius, the father, was no sooner on board the ship, in which he\nhad so hurriedly embarked, than difficulty after difficulty beset him.\n\nBefore he had sailed far along the coast of Italy a violent storm arose\nand blew the vessel to the shore.\n\nHere Marius and his few followers were forced to land, and to wander\nabout in a desolate country in search of food and shelter.\n\nAt length they met some herdsmen, but they had neither roof nor bread\nwhich they could share with the fugitives.\n\nThe herdsmen warned them, however, that horsemen were scouring the\ncountry; so, almost fainting with hunger, they struggled on, until\nthey came to a wood, and here they hid themselves for the night.\n\nIn the morning, weak as he was, and still famished for want of food,\nMarius dragged himself along in the direction of the sea, for there lay\nhis one hope of escape.\n\nThe old soldier still carried with him a brave spirit, and he\nbelieved that he would yet overcome his misfortunes. He begged his\ncompanions not to forsake him, telling them that he would reward their\nfaithfulness. Had not the diviners assured him that he would be Consul\na seventh time?\n\nThe poor little company struggled on, encouraged, it may be, by the\npromises of Marius. They were now only about two miles from the sea,\nand not far off the coast, ships under sail were visible. Surely now\nthey would soon be safe on board one of these vessels!\n\nBut just as their hopes began to rise, the sound of horses\u2019 feet struck\nupon their ears. The sound grew nearer and nearer.\n\nIn desperate fear the wanderers, feeble as they were, began to run, and\nat length actually reached the shore, and plunging into the water, swam\ntoward the ships.\n\nMarius had to be helped by two of his followers, for he was too heavy\nto swim with ease. He was only just safe on board when a troop of\nsoldiers on horseback reached the edge of the water.\n\nThe soldiers shouted to the crew of the vessel on which Marius had\nfound refuge, bidding them either to send the fugitive back to the\nshore, or to throw him into the water.\n\nWith tears streaming down his cheeks Marius implored the sailors to\nsave him from his enemies.\n\nAt length, after thinking now that it would send the unfortunate man to\nshore, now that it would sail away with him, the crew made up its mind\nand put off to sea.\n\nBut even then the troubles of Marius were not ended.\n\nIn a very short time the sailors again changed their minds. They were,\nafter all, afraid to keep the man whom Rome had banned, so, although\nthey had not given him up to the enemy, they now determined to desert\nhim.\n\nThey therefore put in to land near a town called Minturn\u00e6, and bidding\nMarius go on shore, they told him to rest until a more favourable wind\narose.\n\nMarius had no suspicion that the sailors intended to desert him.\nPerhaps he was too bewildered with the hardships he had already endured\nto think of others that might yet befall him.\n\nBut the sailors had no sooner got rid of their unwelcome guest than\nthey sailed away, leaving Marius alone. His companions had, it seems,\ngone on board another ship.\n\nWhen at length Marius realised that the sailors had played him false,\nhe struggled to his feet and looked around. The ground was full of bogs\nand marsh, but he stumbled on, for shelter he must find. In time he\nreached the hut of an old man who worked in the fens.\n\nMarius begged the old man to hide him, and he appeared willing to do\nso, for he led the stranger to a secret place in the fens and covered\nhim with rushes.\n\nEven here, however, Marius was not safe. The horsemen succeeded in\ntracing him to the hut, and Marius could hear their loud voices as they\nthreatened to punish the old man for concealing an enemy of Rome.\n\nHe must escape, and that without delay! So, hastily stripping off his\nclothes, Marius plunged deep into the thick and muddy bog, hoping to\nfind a ditch into which he might slip and yet baffle his pursuers. But\nhis hope was vain.\n\nThe horsemen had dismounted, and were searching everywhere for their\nprey. At last one of them caught sight of the desperate man, and\ndarting into the bog, pulled Marius out, covered with mire.\n\nThus, naked and begrimed, he was carried to the magistrates at\nMinturn\u00e6.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XCIV\n\nTHE GAUL DARES NOT KILL GAIUS MARIUS\n\n\nAs you know, Marius had been proclaimed a public enemy, and it was the\nduty of any one who captured him to put him to death. The magistrates\nof Minturn\u00e6 resolved to do their duty.\n\nBut no citizen was to be found who would undertake to put Marius to\ndeath, for his fame made him still terrible in their eyes.\n\nAt length a Gaul, who had seen him as he fought with the Cimbri, was\nsent, sword in hand, to kill the prisoner.\n\nMarius had been thrust into a dimly-lighted room. As the Gaul opened\nthe door he saw nothing save two eyes which gleamed like fire. As he\nadvanced the eyes seemed to follow his every movement, until he was\nconscious of nothing save the terror of that burning gaze.\n\nThe next moment a loud voice cried: \u2018Fellow, darest thou kill Gaius\nMarius?\u2019 and in a flash the Gaul knew that in truth he dared not.\nThrowing down his sword, he rushed from the room in a frenzy of terror,\ncrying: \u2018I cannot kill Gaius Marius.\u2019 So the magistrates and citizens\nof Minturn\u00e6 had the prisoner once more on their hands.\n\nIt may be that something of the same awe that had overpowered the Gaul\ntook possession of them, for now they determined to help their prisoner\nto escape.\n\nMarius was brought out of his gloomy prison and taken once more to the\nseashore and placed on board a ship.\n\nA favourable wind carried the vessel swiftly to Africa, where Marius\nlanded, to find his son already there and awaiting him.\n\nAfter young Marius had listened to the tale of his father\u2019s\nadventures, he was sent to Hiempsal, King of Numidia, to beg for\nprotection for his father and himself.\n\nMarius, meanwhile, went to Carthage. But scarcely had he reached it\nwhen Sextilius, the Roman governor, sent an officer to bid him leave\nthe province.\n\n\u2018Sextilius forbids you to stay in this province,\u2019 said the officer. \u2018If\nyou do, he declares he will put the decree of the Senate in execution,\nand treat you as an enemy to the Romans.\u2019\n\nAfter all he had gone through, must he be persecuted still? In grief as\nwell as in anger Marius sat silent and dismayed.\n\nAt length the officer asked what answer he should take back to\nSextilius. \u2018Go tell him,\u2019 answered he, \u2018that you have seen Gaius Marius\nsitting in exile among the ruins of Carthage.\u2019\n\nMeanwhile, young Marius had reached the King of Numidia, and was\ntreated by him with kindness.\n\nBut each time that he proposed to go back to his father, Hiempsal had\nsome polite reason for not allowing him to leave his court.\n\nThe king, indeed, was hesitating as to whether or not he would send the\nexiles back to Sulla, and so win the favour of Rome.\n\nBut young Marius grew impatient of these delays, and one day he made\nhis escape and went back to his father.\n\nIt was plain that the King of Numidia could not be trusted, and that\nthere was no safety for the exiles in Africa. So father and son\nhastened to the coast, and hiring a little fishing-boat, they sailed to\nan island named Cercina, which was not far from the continent.\n\nIt was well that they had not lingered in Carthage, for soon after\nthey had embarked in their little boat, horsemen, sent by the King of\nNumidia, reached the shore, expecting to capture both Marius and his\nson.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XCV\n\nMARIUS RETURNS TO ROME\n\n\nSulla, you remember, entered the city with his troops as Marius fled\nfrom Rome. He at once revoked the laws of Sulpicius, and ruled in his\nown way.\n\nBut he was impatient to go to war against Mithridates, and so, in the\nsummer of 87 B.C., he set out with his army for Greece.\n\nNo sooner was he gone than Cinna, one of the Consuls, proposed that\nMarius and his friends should be recalled. But Octavius, his colleague,\nwas greatly opposed to this, and determined to frustrate Cinna\u2019s\nschemes.\n\nThe Consul soon gave Octavius the opportunity he wished. For when the\ncitizens assembled to vote for or against the return of the exile,\nCinna led a band of armed men to the Forum, that they might be too\nfrightened to vote save as he wished. He drove away, too, the tribunes\nwho attempted to speak against him.\n\nThis was against all laws of justice, and Octavius did not hesitate to\ngo to the Forum at the head of an armed force to punish Cinna\u2019s men.\n\nIn the struggle many of the rioters were killed, while Cinna himself\nwas forced to flee. The Senate then declared that he was no longer\nConsul, but had become a public enemy.\n\nWhen Cinna heard of the Senate\u2019s decree he was very angry, and\ndetermined to gather together troops to fight against Octavius. He was\nspeedily joined by Marius, who was no sooner told what had happened in\nRome than he hastened back to the city.\n\n[Illustration: Gaius Marius sitting in exile among the ruins of\nCarthage.]\n\nWhen he arrived Cinna received the exile with great honour, and urged\nhim to wear the robes of a pro-Consul.\n\nBut Marius pretended to be too humble to don such garments, and he\npersisted in wearing old and shabby clothes.\n\nHis hair, which had not been cut since his banishment, he left still\nuntouched, although it now reached to his shoulders, while he walked as\nthough bent with the weight of his seventy years. It did not seem, to\njudge from his pitiable appearance, as if the old man could be of much\nuse to Cinna.\n\nBut his enemies muttered that Marius was only trying in these ways to\nmake the people sorry for all he had suffered. They needed only to look\nin his face to see that he was harbouring grim thoughts of revenge on\nthose who had ever shown themselves to be his enemies.\n\nSoon Cinna had four armies ready to march on Rome. One was under\nMarius, another Cinna himself intended to lead, while two more were\nunder his legates, Sertorius and Carbo.\n\nThe city walls were in no fit state to stand an attack, for in many\nplaces they were even broken down. Octavius ordered these weak places\nto be repaired and strengthened by fortifications, while at the same\ntime he sent messengers to the lieutenants of Sulla, bidding them\nhasten to the aid of the city.\n\nTwo of these officers, Metellus and Strabo, hastened to obey Octavius.\nBut they did, perhaps, more harm than good, so many of their troops\ndeserted and joined Cinna\u2019s army.\n\nMetellus did not stay in the city long, and refused to take the command\nof the troops, as Octavius wished.\n\nStrabo did his best, for although his men were suffering from fever he\nattacked Sertorius. But the battle was undecided, and soon after this\nStrabo was killed by lightning. Octavius was thus left without the\nofficers on whose help he had relied.\n\nMarius, meanwhile, had, as it seemed, thrown off the weight of his\nyears. He was as active and as successful as in his earlier battles.\n\nOstia, the port of Rome, was taken by his troops, and this, as he meant\nit to do, kept the corn supply from reaching the city, and Rome began\nto fear that famine was before her.\n\nBefore long Cinna and Marius were able to meet on the Janiculum. Large\nnumbers of the troops under Octavius continued to desert and to join\ntheir army.\n\nThen the Senate saw that they would gain nothing by continuing to defy\nthe successful generals. So they bent their pride, and invited Cinna\nand Marius to meet them within the city.\n\nWhen the generals arrived, the Senate begged that they would spare the\nlives of the citizens, even if they saw fit to punish them.\n\nCinna did not scruple to promise that all should be as the Senate\nwished. Marius, who stood close to the chair of Octavius, said not a\nword, but his face was stern and forbidding. And again those who looked\nat him foresaw that dire punishment would overtake his enemies.\n\nMarius and his followers were still under the ban of exile, so the\nfirst thing Cinna demanded was that the sentence should be withdrawn.\n\nBut Marius was now within sight of his revenge, and he was too\nimpatient to begin his cruel work to wait for the decision of the\npeople.\n\nWhen only a few tribes had voted, he dashed into the Forum, closely\nfollowed by a band of slaves, which band he called his bodyguard.\n\nThe slaves were ruffians hired to do his bidding, and now, at a word or\nsign from their master, they began to murder the citizens. The glance\nof Marius was enough to show them whom to slay. Soon they did not even\nlook to him for a sign, but simply fell upon all whose greetings Marius\ndid not return.\n\nOctavius was cut down as he sat in his consular chair, and his head was\ntaken to Cinna.\n\nCatulus, too, who had fought side by side with Marius against the\nCimbri, was doomed, although his friends begged that his life might be\nspared. Marius answered their petitions roughly, saying only, \u2018He must\ndie.\u2019\n\nBut Catulus did not wait for the cruel sentence to be carried out.\nHe shut himself up in a room, and making a huge fire, he suffocated\nhimself.\n\nThese were days of terror in Rome, for no man knew if his life was safe.\n\nAt length even Cinna grew ashamed of the cruelty of Marius\u2019s slaves,\nand he and Sertorius put a number of the ruffians to death. After this\nthe citizens\u2019 lives were in less danger.\n\nThe time had now come to elect Consuls for the year 86 B.C. As usual\nthe people assembled, but they had no choice save to vote for Marius\nand Cinna. To do otherwise would have been to court death.\n\nThus, as Marius had believed would happen, even during the miserable\ndays of his flight, he became Consul for the seventh time. But he did\nnot live many days to enjoy the new honour, if honour it could be\ncalled, when fear alone had bestowed it upon him. Worn out with the\npassion of revenge to which he had yielded, and attacked by fever, he\ndied on the 13th January 86 B.C.\n\nCinna was now the most powerful man in Rome. He had no difficulty in\nmaking the people elect himself and Carbo Consuls for the years 85 and\n84 B.C.\n\nThere was but one name Cinna dreaded, and that was the name of Sulla.\nBut he thought that, if he proclaimed that the great general who was\nfighting for Rome in the East was a public enemy, he soon would have\nno reason to fear him. So he did this, and at the same time ordered\nSulla\u2019s house in the city to be pulled down.\n\nCinna, however, had now gone too far. Many of the Optimates, who\nbelonged to the best families in Rome, at once left the city and fled\nto Greece to the camp of Sulla. So many senators also joined the\ngeneral, that Sulla could act in the name of the Senate more truly than\ncould his rival in Rome herself. He therefore proclaimed that when the\nwar was over he would come back to Rome with his army and overthrow\nCinna and his government.\n\nThe Consuls, when they heard this, at once began to enrol troops, that\nthey might be prepared to hold the city against Sulla when he came.\n\nBut Cinna, after all, was not alive to meet his dreaded enemy. For in\n84 B.C. the soldiers of the Consul mutinied and murdered him. Sulla did\nnot return to Italy until the spring of 83 B.C.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XCVI\n\nTHE ORATOR ARISTION\n\n\nMithridates, the king against whom Sulla went to fight in 87 B.C., was\na brave and skilful commander. His kingdom, Cappadocia Pontica, was a\ndistrict on the south shore of the Black Sea.\n\nThe king who ruled before Mithridates came to the throne had tried to\nenlarge his kingdom, but more than once the Romans had thwarted his\nambitious plans.\n\nWhen Mithridates began to reign in 111 B.C., he knew that no one save\nthe Romans would be strong enough to keep him from adding to his\nkingdom.\n\nThe king proved himself so strong and so good a general that the Greek\ntowns in Asia Minor resolved to throw aside the friendship of Rome and\nally themselves with the King of Pontus. It was this revolt that Sulla,\nwith his five legions, went to Greece to subdue.\n\nIt was ungrateful of Athens to forsake Rome, for she had been treated\nmost honourably by her in the past, and still was enjoying many\nprivileges when she rebelled.\n\nBut the Athenians wished their city to be more glorious in the future\nthan she had been even in the past, and they believed that Mithridates\nwould help them to achieve this better than Rome. So an ambassador\nnamed Aristion was sent to the King of Pontus to offer him the\nfriendship of Athens.\n\nThe king received Aristion with great respect, and gave to him gifts of\ngold. Above all, when he took leave of Mithridates, he was presented\nwith a ring, on which was engraved a portrait of the king himself.\n\nWhen the ambassador returned to Athens and showed the gifts which he\nhad received, the enthusiasm of the people knew no bounds. He was\nescorted by crowds to the Peir\u00e6us, the port of Athens. Here, in the\ncitadel, he was asked to tell what had taken place at the court of the\nking.\n\nNow Aristion was a great orator, and he knew that his words would\ninfluence the people to do as he wished.\n\nSo first he reminded them of all the wrongs that Athens had suffered\nfrom the Romans, and if these wrongs were not all real, Aristion made\nthem seem so by his eloquence.\n\nThen he spoke of Mithridates, and of the king he had nothing but\ngood to tell, while the magnificence of his court, Aristion modestly\ndeclared, baffled even his powers of description.\n\nBefore Aristion had finished his oration, the magistrates of Athens had\ndetermined to proclaim their republic restored, and to form an alliance\nwith Mithridates. Aristion was appointed chief minister of war, and you\nshall hear how sadly he failed to do his duty when trouble befell the\ncity.\n\nSulla having landed with his army at Epirus, at once marched to Athens,\nfor by this time both the city and the Peir\u00e6us were strongly fortified,\nand held by Archelaus, the general of Mithridates.\n\nThe Roman commander determined to besiege the citadel, and to surround\nAthens with soldiers, to prevent the citizens from escaping, or\nprovisions from being sent to their relief.\n\nAs he had neither money nor material for the siege, Sulla robbed the\ntemples of Greece of their treasures.\n\nTimber was brought from far and near in carts drawn by mules, ten\nthousand, it is said, in number. When even this was found not to be\nenough, Sulla ordered the sacred groves to be cut down, as well as the\ntrees which surrounded the famous academy of Athens.\n\nBut, in spite of the forts he built and the trenches he dug, Sulla\ncould not take the Peir\u00e6us.\n\nAs they worked, the Roman soldiers were often interrupted by Archelaus,\nwho with his troops would sally out of the citadel to attack them.\n\nAt length Sulla was convinced that without a fleet he need not hope\nto take the citadel, for the harbour was commanded by the ships of\nMithridates.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XCVII\n\nSULLA BESIEGES ATHENS\n\n\nThe Peir\u00e6us could not, indeed, be starved into submission as long as\nthe king held the harbour, but Athens was already suffering from famine.\n\nNow the Athenians were a gay and careless people, little accustomed to\nendure hardships, yet no one grumbled at the lack of food, but each\nbore his hunger manfully, or tried to stay its pangs as best he could.\n\nSome fed on herbs, which they gathered painfully, for they had grown\nfeeble with long fasting. Others hunted for old leather shoes or pieces\nof oilskin, and when they found them, soaked them in oil, and so made a\nsorry meal.\n\nBut while the inhabitants of Athens starved, Aristion, the orator and\nminister of war, who was largely responsible for the misery of the\npeople, lived at his ease, and ate and drank as much as he pleased. Nor\ndid he feast in secret, but before the eyes of the famished folk, for\nhe was as careless of their sufferings as of his own responsibilities.\n\nAt length the senators and priests went to the tyrant, for such had\nAristion proved, and begged him to make terms with Sulla before the\ncitizens died of hunger. But Aristion did not wish his pleasures\ninterrupted by such solemn messengers. He drove them from his presence,\nbidding his servants to send a flight of arrows after the procession as\nit turned sadly away.\n\nA little later, however, he appeared to yield to the wishes of the\nsenators, and sent two or three of his gay companions to meet the Roman\ngeneral.\n\nBut they had no serious terms to propose, and were not commissioned to\naccept any. All they seemed able to do, was to talk eloquently about\ntheir ancient towns and games, until at length Sulla grew impatient and\nsaid: \u2018My good friends ... begone. I was sent by the Romans to Athens,\nnot to take lessons, but to reduce rebels to obedience.\u2019\n\nSoon after this, Sulla, by chance, found out how the city might be\ntaken.\n\nTwo old men were talking to each other of Aristion\u2019s follies, and Sulla\noverheard them blame him for leaving a certain weak part of the city\nwalls unguarded.\n\nThe Romans at once set to work to find out the weak spot in the\ndefences, and when it was found an attack was made at that point.\n\nOnly a few sentinels were on duty, and they fled at the approach of the\nenemy, so a breach was soon made, through which Sulla marched into the\ncity at the head of his troops.\n\nIn their triumph at having taken the city the soldiers ran wild,\nplundering and slaying the wretched inhabitants, many of whom killed\nthemselves rather than fall into the hands of their cruel conquerors.\n\nSulla looked on, heedless of the fate of the citizens, careless, too,\nof the destruction of the beautiful city. Only when two citizens, who\nhad refused to give up their friendship with Rome, flung themselves at\nhis feet and begged him to spare the city for the sake of her ancient\nrenown and her famous Athenians, did he yield.\n\nEven then it was with ungracious voice and sullen face that he bade his\nsoldiers desist from further plunder. Then, turning to those who had\npleaded with him to save the city, he said: \u2018I forgive the many for the\nsake of the few, the living for the dead.\u2019\n\nSoon after this the Peir\u00e6us also fell, and Sulla ordered it to be\ndestroyed, and the docks and magazines to be burnt.\n\nIn the same year as Athens and the Peir\u00e6us fell, Sulla met the troops\nof Mithridates at Ch\u00e6ronea, where a great battle was fought. Archelaus\nwas defeated, although he had nearly four times as large a force as\nSulla.\n\nGreece now began to repent of her folly in having rebelled against\nRome. Mithridates seemed unable to help them as much as Aristion and\ntheir own hopes had led them to expect. So, many of the Greek cities in\nAsia Minor left the king and submitted to the Romans.\n\nBut Mithridates determined to make one more great effort to regain his\npower. He met the Romans at Orchomenus, and here another great battle\nwas fought in the autumn of 86 B.C.\n\nAt first the Romans began to give way before the fierce attack of the\nking\u2019s troops. But Sulla saw the danger, and leaping from his horse he\nseized a standard and rushed into the thick of the fight, shouting: \u2018To\nme, O Romans, it will be glorious to fall here. As for you, when they\nask you where you betrayed your general, remember to say at Orchomenus.\u2019\n\nStung by their general\u2019s words his men rallied, and after a desperate\nstruggle the battle was won, and the power of Mithridates broken.\n\nIn 84 B.C. the king was forced to make terms with the Romans, while\nthose cities which had fought by his side had to pay enormous sums of\nmoney to Sulla.\n\nThe victorious general was now anxious to go back to Rome, to punish\nthose who had declared him a public enemy. So, in the spring of 83\nB.C., he set out for Italy with his army.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XCVIII\n\nSULLA SAVES ROME FROM THE SAMNITES\n\n\nSulla returned to Italy three years after the death of Marius. During\nthat time the popular party had been in power. But now it feared that\nits reign was nearly at an end, for Sulla was in Italy, and was coming\nto Rome, and coming not alone, but with his army.\n\nCarbo was the leader of Sulla\u2019s enemies. He had gathered together a\nlarge army, but it was scattered over Italy, under his lieutenants.\nPompey, who was soon to be known as Pompey the Great, was fighting for\nSulla, and he, with three legions, kept Carbo\u2019s forces from uniting.\nThis made Sulla\u2019s victory the easier.\n\nBut while Romans fought with Romans, a new danger threatened the\ncity. An army of Samnites, under a leader named Pontius, slipped past\nboth the army of Sulla and the scattered troops of Carbo, and marched\nstraight toward Rome.\n\nThe citizens were in despair. They remembered the Samnites who long ago\nhad entrapped their army at the pass of the Caudine Forks, and their\nleader Pontius, who had made Roman officers and soldiers pass beneath\nthe yoke, and they trembled. What if the enemy proved as powerful as of\nold?\n\nPrivate quarrels were forgotten, while all those of military age in the\ncity armed for her defence.\n\nIn their walls the people had no confidence, for here and there they\nwere broken down and unfit to stand a siege.\n\nSo out of the city to meet the terrible foe marched the valiant band\nof Romans, only to find the enemy too strong for it.\n\nWhen it was known in the city that the army so hastily enrolled had\nbeen defeated, the despair was profound. Women ran about the streets\ncrying aloud to their gods and shrieking in terror. At any moment, they\nbelieved, the Samnites might enter their city.\n\nThen, just when hope of relief was faintest, a large company of cavalry\nwas seen approaching the gates. It was the vanguard of Sulla\u2019s army,\nand he himself was close behind with the main body of his troops.\n\nFor the time a feeling of immense relief was felt in the city. At least\nthe Samnites would not enter Rome now unopposed.\n\nSulla\u2019s officers begged him to allow his troops to rest before\nattacking the enemy. But he refused, ordering the trumpets at once to\nsound for battle.\n\nCrassus commanded Sulla\u2019s right wing, and, unknown to the general, beat\nthe enemy. The left wing of the Romans was all but repulsed, when Sulla\nrode to its help, mounted on a swift white steed.\n\nHe was recognised by the Samnites, and two of them prepared to fling\ntheir darts at the great Roman general. They thought that if he were\nslain the battle would soon be at an end.\n\nBut Sulla\u2019s servant saw his master\u2019s danger, and gave his steed a\ntouch that made him start suddenly forward. The darts fell harmless\nto the ground close to the horse\u2019s tail, so that the servant had just\nsucceeded in saving his master\u2019s life.\n\nDarkness fell, and the battle was still undecided. But during the night\nmessengers from Crassus stole into Sulla\u2019s camp for provisions, and the\ngeneral heard that the enemy had been driven to Antemn\u00e6, three miles\naway, and that Pontius, the Samnite leader, had been slain. He at once\nresolved to join Crassus. In the morning the Samnites were surprised\nto find a large army ready to attack them. But their leader was dead,\nso they were afraid to fight, and three thousand offered to submit to\nSulla.\n\nThe general promised these their lives on one condition--that they\nshould attack their own comrades. This the Samnites actually agreed to\ndo, and a large number were killed in the unnatural struggle.\n\nSix thousand who survived were taken to Rome, and by Sulla\u2019s orders cut\nto pieces. The cruelty of the Roman commander seemed to increase the\nnearer he drew to Rome.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XCIX\n\nTHE PROSCRIPTIONS OF SULLA\n\n\nAfter his victory over the Samnites, Sulla met the Senate in the temple\nof Bellona, without the walls of the city.\n\nOminous thoughts stole into the minds of the senators and distracted\nthem, as the general\u2019s speech was suddenly interrupted by terrible\nshrieks as of those in agony.\n\nSulla alone remained undisturbed. But seeing that the senators were not\nlistening to his speech, he sternly bade them \u2018not to busy themselves\nwith what was doing out of doors.\u2019\n\nThe cries were those of the six thousand Samnite prisoners, who were\nbeing ruthlessly slain by Sulla\u2019s orders.\n\nAt this time, too, young Marius, who had fought against Sulla, killed\nhimself rather than fall into the hands of his father\u2019s enemy.\n\nHis head was brought to Sulla at Rome. \u2018One should be rower before one\ntakes the helm,\u2019 said the tyrant, looking with unconcern at the hideous\ntrophy. For he was angry that young Marius had been chosen Consul when\nhe was only twenty-seven years of age.\n\nThe forebodings of many were now justified, for Rome became as a city\nof the dead. Sulla had determined to kill all who had been his enemies\nwhile he was absent in Greece.\n\nDay after day the cruel slaughter went on. Forty senators and sixteen\nhundred of the citizens were condemned, and to add to the consternation\namong those who had escaped, there were others yet to be punished.\nSulla said that he could not remember their names. The suspense in the\ncity was terrible.\n\nOne senator, bolder than the others, said to Sulla: \u2018We do not ask you\nto pardon any whom you have resolved to destroy, but to free from doubt\nthose whom you are pleased to spare.\u2019\n\n\u2018I know not as yet whom I will spare,\u2019 grimly answered the general.\n\n\u2018Why, then,\u2019 persisted the senator, \u2018tell us whom you will punish.\u2019\n\nSulla promised to do this, and henceforth lists of those who were\ndoomed were hung up in the Forum. These lists were called the\n\u2018Proscriptions of Sulla.\u2019\n\nIn the first list eighty persons were proscribed, and for a moment Rome\ndreamed that there would be no more dread uncertainty, that the end of\nthe death sentences had at least come in sight.\n\nBut the horror in the city was but heightened by the proscriptions,\nwhen the first list was followed by another, and yet another.\n\nMoreover, an edict was published, saying that if any one dared to give\nshelter or food to a proscribed person he would be punished with death.\nWhile, if any one killed a person whose name was on the list of the\ncondemned, he would be rewarded. The property of those who perished was\nforfeited, and in this way Sulla and his friends soon grew rich. These\ncruel proscriptions remain for ever a blot on Sulla\u2019s fame.\n\nFor one hundred and twenty years there had been no Dictator. But now\nSulla determined to become the ruler of Rome under that name.\n\nIn other times a Dictator was elected only for six months, but Sulla\nhad no intention of abdicating in so short a time. He meant to remain\nDictator as long as he wished.\n\nThe tyrant was of course elected, for no one dared to resist his will.\nHe took the title toward the end of 82 B.C., and held it for about\nthree years.\n\nBut there was one man in Rome whose influence was fast increasing, and\nhe was not afraid of Sulla. This was Pompey.\n\nPompey had been sent to Africa by Sulla, and in forty days had defeated\nthe enemies of Rome, and restored the King of Numidia to his throne.\n\nWhen the successful general returned Sulla went out to meet him at the\nhead of a great procession, and welcomed him as Magnus, or the Great.\nAnd the name clung to him, for from that time he was known as Pompey\nthe Great.\n\nBut when Pompey claimed a triumph, Sulla was not pleased, and refused\nto grant it.\n\nPompey knew that he was liked by the people, while Sulla ruled only\nbecause he had inspired them with terror. It would not be long in the\nDictator\u2019s power to refuse his claim.\n\n\u2018More worship the rising than the setting sun,\u2019 he murmured, and those\naround him who heard these bold words were startled. Sulla, seeing\ntheir amazement, demanded what Pompey had said.\n\nOn being told, he cried out testily: \u2018Let him triumph, let him triumph.\u2019\n\nIn 79 B.C. Sulla, to the surprise and relief of Rome, laid down his\nDictatorship, and retired to a beautiful villa he had built near Cum\u00e6.\n\nHere he employed his time in entertaining men of letters and artists,\nand in writing his memoirs. He died in 78 B.C., while his memoirs were\nstill unfinished.\n\n[Illustration: Lists of those who were doomed were hung up in the\nForum.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER C\n\nTHE GLADIATORS\u2019 REVOLT\n\n\nSix years after the death of Sulla, while Pompey was in Spain, putting\ndown an insurrection, the gladiators revolted.\n\nThe gladiators were first heard of in 264 B.C., when their shows were\ngiven only at funerals. Usually they were criminals or prisoners of\nwar, who, in any case, were condemned to death. To give them arms and\nmake them fight until one or other was killed in the arena of some\ngreat building, for the amusement of a crowd of spectators, was cruel,\nbut not so cruel as what was done in later years.\n\nFor the shows of the gladiators came to please the people so well that\nthey forsook for them theatres and other places of amusement. And then\nrich citizens who wished to win the favour of the people began to keep\nbands of gladiators and train them as in a school.\n\nEach citizen who kept one of these schools vied with one another to\nfind the most powerful and muscular barbarians, for the stronger and\nbetter trained the gladiator the more exciting and pleasing to the\npeople was the show. So the unfortunate men who were forced now to\nslaughter one another for the amusement of the people were no longer\ncriminals already condemned to death.\n\nIn one of these large schools at Capua there was a great number of\nGauls and Thracians. Two hundred of these men resolved to escape, but\ntheir plot was discovered, and only about eighty succeeded in getting\naway. They first rushed into a cookshop and frightened the owner,\nuntil he let them take his knives as weapons, so only that they would\ndepart. Then, seizing a wagon-load of arms, they made Spartacus, a\nThracian, their leader, and encamped on a spur of Mount Vesuvius.\n\nOther gladiators and slaves soon joined the camp, and Rome, in fear of\nwhat these trained barbarians might do, sent out two armies against\nthem.\n\nBut Spartacus was a skilful general, and the Romans were defeated,\nwhile the army of the gladiators still increased each day.\n\nAgain the Romans sent troops against these rebels, and one of their\nleaders was slain. But Spartacus speedily avenged his comrade\u2019s death,\ndefeating the Roman army, and forcing three hundred prisoners to fight\nas gladiators at the funeral of the barbarian whom they had slain. This\nis the one cruel deed of which we are told Spartacus was guilty.\n\nAfter this the rebels moved across Italy unmolested. Spartacus wished\nto cross the Alps and go back to his native land, but his followers for\nthe most part wished to stay in Italy to fight and plunder.\n\nDuring the winter of 72 B.C. Spartacus led his troops near to the town\nof Thurii. Here his followers busied themselves forging weapons for the\ngreat adventures they meant to achieve in spring.\n\nBut before spring came, Crassus, the richest man in Rome, determined\nto subdue the rebels. He himself trained and disciplined the soldiers\nSpartacus had beaten, until they were fit to face the foe.\n\nThe rebels were now driven to the Bruttian peninsula, in the extreme\nsouth of Italy, and here Spartacus shut himself up with his followers\nin the town of Rhegium. Yet he managed to send messengers to the\npirates, who at that time roamed the seas, and often sailed along the\ncoast of Italy. With heavy bribes he tried to persuade them to take his\narmy in their vessels to Sicily.\n\nThe pirates accepted the money, but proved faithless, and sailed away\nfrom the coast without taking the gladiators on board.\n\nCrassus thought that Spartacus could not now escape. He dug trenches\nand built fortifications across the narrow neck of land that shut off\nthe Bruttian peninsula from the rest of Italy. But in spite of all that\nCrassus could do, the rebel leader, with a third part of his army,\nsucceeded in crossing the trenches and climbing the fortifications, and\nso escaping from the trap in which the Roman had hoped to capture him.\n\nThen Crassus, finding that his prey had escaped, had a moment of panic,\nlest the gladiators should march on Rome, and he asked the Senate to\nrecall Pompey from Spain, that he might be ready to help should his\nfears be realised.\n\nSoon after this, however, Crassus won a great victory over the rebels,\nkilling, it is said, twelve thousand. Out of this great number only two\nhad wounds in their back.\n\nSpartacus was still undaunted. He had withdrawn to the mountains,\nbut dashed down unexpectedly upon the Roman forces, and in his turn\ndefeated them.\n\nHis followers were so proud of this victory that they longed to face\nthe foe again, and bade their captain lead them once more to battle.\n\nSpartacus believed it would be wiser to keep to the hills and woods,\nyet he yielded to the wishes of his followers. But as he advanced\ntowards Crassus at the head of his troops, he found that another army,\nunder Lucullus, had cut him off from the sea.\n\nVictory or death was now before the rebels. Spartacus killed his horse\nas a sign that he would scorn to fly.\n\nThen, leading a desperate charge, he attempted to cut his way through\nthe Roman soldiers. But his followers proved less brave than was their\nwont, and deserted him. In this desperate plight he was struck by a\njavelin.\n\nEven then his courage did not fail. Though the pain of his wound forced\nhim to his knees, he still went on fighting, until at length he fell\nand was covered by the slain.\n\nThousands of his followers fled to the mountains. But Pompey, who was\non his way home from Spain, followed the fugitives, and killed them in\ngreat numbers. He boasted indeed, that although Crassus had beaten the\ngladiators in battle, it was he who had brought the rebellion to an end.\n\nSix thousand slaves were captured and put to a cruel death, being\ncrucified along the Appian Way.\n\nSpartacus, the barbarian, had been more merciful than the Romans showed\nthemselves to be. For in his camp were thousands of prisoners, none of\nwhom had been unkindly treated.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CI\n\nTHE PIRATES\n\n\nPompey the Great returned to Rome in 71 B.C., to celebrate his second\ntriumph, and to be elected Consul for the following year.\n\nThe people were eager to see the great general return, yet they were\nafraid as well.\n\nSuppose Pompey should do as Sulla had done, and bring his army to Rome!\nSuppose he should make himself Dictator, and destroy his enemies!\n\nBut these fears proved groundless, for no sooner had Pompey reached\nItaly than he disbanded his army, bidding his soldiers to go home until\nhe recalled them to grace his triumph.\n\nHe was at once elected Consul, while his colleague was the wealthy\nCrassus. The two Consuls did not agree well, for Pompey\u2019s sympathies\nwere, in these days, with the people, while Crassus was anxious to\nplease the Optimates.\n\nThe general who had just returned victorious endeared himself to the\npopulace in many ways, but in none, perhaps, more than by his respect\nfor their ancient customs.\n\nIt was usual for each Roman knight, after having served his appointed\ntime in the wars, to lead his horse to the Forum, and there, in the\npresence of two Censors, tell under what generals he had served and in\nwhat battles he had taken part. According to his achievements he was\nthen discharged, either with praise or blame.\n\nPompey, as Consul, might easily have ignored this custom. But to the\ndelight of the people he was one day seen among the other knights, clad\nin his Consul\u2019s robes, indeed, but leading his horse to the Forum.\n\nAs he drew near to the Censors, Pompey bade his lictors go aside, while\nhe went to stand before the judges.\n\nThe Censors were well pleased to be thus honoured by the Consul, but\nthey behaved as though he were like any other knight.\n\n\u2018Pompeius Magnus, I demand of you,\u2019 said one of the Censors, \u2018whether\nyou have served the full time in the wars that is prescribed by the\nlaw?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 answered Pompey, and his voice rang out clear in the Forum,\n\u2018Yes, I have served all, and all under myself as general.\u2019\n\nThe citizens clapped their hands and shouted with pleasure at the\nanswer of their favourite, while the Censors rose to accompany him to\nhis house.\n\nWhen his Consulship came to an end, Pompey spent two years quietly in\nhis own home, and during this time he was seldom seen in the Forum.\nThose who admired him went often to his house, where he entertained his\nguests hospitably.\n\nBut at the end of two years Pompey was again called upon to serve his\ncountry.\n\nThe pirates, who for long years had ravaged the Mediterranean, were\ntroublesome foes. Of late these sea-robbers had seemed more numerous\nthan ever, and there was no doubt of their increasing boldness.\n\nNo vessel, unless its crew was armed, need hope to escape these\ndesperate men. The coasts of Asia, Greece, Epirus, and Italy had all\nsuffered from the attack of the pirates; no temple, no property was\nsafe from their raids.\n\nTwo Roman pr\u00e6tors had been carried off by these same bold robbers, and\neven Roman ladies of high rank had been captured, and kept until a\nheavy ransom had been paid for their release. In recent days they had\neven been seen at the mouth of the Tiber, and in the harbour at Ostia\nRoman ships had been set on fire.\n\nKing Mithridates had sometimes employed these men, and encouraged them\nby gifts to plunder his enemies.\n\nThe pirates\u2019 ships were adorned with the spoils which they had stolen.\nTheir sails were of costly silk, the colour of which was a rare purple\nwhich in time to come was used only for royal robes. Their oars as they\ndipped in the water shone as silver, their masts were gilded with gold.\nAt their banquets the rough sailors sat down before dishes of silver.\n\nTo thus flaunt their booty before the eyes of those they had plundered\nwas foolish, for it roused the Italian cities, at last, to demand\nrevenge.\n\nBesides, there was cause for alarm lest the supply of grain from Africa\nand Sicily should be captured, unless the pirates were banished, and if\nthe grain supply were stopped, famine would stare Rome in the face.\n\nOne day a tribune proposed to the Senate that some one should be sent\nto the Mediterranean with absolute power to deal as he thought fit\nwith the pirates. That the pirates might be finally banished, the\nappointment was to be made for three years, and be not only over the\nsea, but fifty miles inland as well.\n\nThe Romans would give such great powers to no one but to Pompey, who\nhad already shown that he knew how to use them without crushing the\npeople.\n\nSo, amid the cheers of the citizens, Pompey was appointed to this\ngreat trust. Julius C\u00e6sar, of whom you are soon to hear, voted for the\nfavourite, perhaps to gain the goodwill of the people.\n\nWith a large fleet Pompey set out to perform the task entrusted to him,\nand his success was speedy.\n\nHe divided the sea coast into separate districts, and sent his officers\nto sweep the pirates from these regions, while he himself went in\npursuit of them to the shores of Sicily and Africa. Within the short\nspace of forty days the pirates were scattered, and west of Greece\ntheir dreaded sails were no longer to be seen.\n\nBut in the Archipelago there were many useful inlets in which the\npirates could seek shelter, and thither Pompey hastened and thoroughly\nsearched and emptied these natural hiding-places.\n\nThen the pirates assembled all that was left of their fleet at Cilicia,\nto make one last stand against the enemy. But there they were finally\ndefeated by the great Roman general.\n\nThose who were left alive after the battle surrendered, with their\nstrongholds and islands. These had been so well fortified that Pompey\nwould have found them difficult, if not impossible, to storm.\n\nMany prisoners had been taken, and these the Romans did not kill.\nPompey, indeed, spent the winter in Cilicia to look after their\nwelfare. For he founded cities in which the pirates could settle, and,\nif so they willed, work honestly to earn their livelihood.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CII\n\nPOMPEY GOES TO WAR WITH MITHRIDATES\n\n\nWhen the Romans heard that the pirates had been scattered and forced to\nsubmit to Pompey their joy knew no bounds.\n\nNo longer need they live in dread of the sudden appearance of the ships\nwith scarlet sails and silver oars along the Italian coasts, no longer\nneed they fear the sudden capture of their corn. And this was due to\nPompey! In Rome at this time no one was so popular as he.\n\nHis success determined the Senate to send him to take command of the\nwar that was going on in the East, against Mithridates.\n\nLucullus had been in the East at the head of the army for some time.\nBut the Senate refused to send him money to pay or to clothe his men,\nand they had grown rebellious, and had begun to grumble at his strict\ndiscipline. They wished Pompey the Great to come to take command of\nthem, and then they would do great deeds. So in 66 B.C. Pompey was\nappointed commander of both army and navy in the East, to the delight\nof soldiers and sailors alike.\n\nPompey himself seemed none too pleased at the honour conferred on him.\n\n\u2018Alas, what a series of labours upon labours,\u2019 he cried, frowning as\nhe spoke. \u2018If I am never to end my services as a soldier ... and live\nat home in the country with my wife, I had better have been an unknown\nman.\u2019\n\nThese were unsoldierly words, but his friends paid little attention\nto them, believing that he did not mean them seriously. And his deeds\nwere proof that he longed to win glory for himself and his country,\nalthough he never risked any great adventure on the battlefield.\n\nMithridates had little hope of withstanding Pompey, when he had barely\nbeen able to hold his own against Lucullus. However, he encamped in a\nstrong position on a hill, and hoped that this would make an attack\ndifficult, perhaps even impossible.\n\nPompey, leaving his fleet to guard the seas, marched into Pontus, but\nnot before the king had been driven from the hill on which he had\nentrenched himself, by lack of water for his army.\n\nThe Roman general had more discerning eyes than the old king. For he,\nnoticing that the plants were green and healthy, encamped on this same\nhill, and when his soldiers complained of thirst he bade them dig\nwells. As he expected, there was soon abundance of water in the camp.\n\nBut Pompey did not linger long on the hill, for he was eager to follow\nMithridates, and soon after this the king found his camp besieged so\nclosely by the Romans that it was impossible to get supplies for his\narmy. It was plain that he and his soldiers must either starve or\nescape.\n\nSo one night Mithridates ordered the sick and wounded to be killed,\nfor they would have hampered the army in its flight. The king did not\nhesitate to give such a cruel order, for he and his followers had not\nbeen taught to pity the weak and helpless.\n\nThe watch-fires were lighted at the usual time, that the suspicions of\nthe Romans might not be roused. Then when the camp seemed quiet for\nthe night, Mithridates and the main body of the army slipped out into\nthe dark, and somehow succeeded in passing unnoticed through the Roman\nlines.\n\nIn dread of pursuit, they hid themselves by day in forests, at night\nthey marched as quickly as possible toward the river Euphrates.\n\nWhen Pompey found that Mithridates had escaped, he blamed his own\ncarelessness and followed swiftly in pursuit. As he marched by day as\nwell as by night, he was soon in advance of the king. So it happened\nthat when Mithridates encamped by the banks of the river Euphrates, the\nRomans were already there, and determined that the enemy should not\nagain escape.\n\nBut the very first evening as it grew dark Pompey became restless. He\nhad set a strict watch, it was true, yet Mithridates had already shown\nhimself skilful in evading sentinels. It would be safer to attack the\ncamp without delay. Pompey summoned his officers, and arranged that the\nassault should take place at midnight.\n\nMeanwhile, Mithridates lay asleep in his tent, worn out with fatigue\nand anxiety. As he slept, his troubles slipped from his mind, and the\nold king dreamed pleasant dreams. He thought that he had reached the\nsea, and was in a ship. The winds blew soft and fair, wafting the\nvessel quietly along toward a harbour where no foes could touch him.\n\nIn his dream the king began to tell his friends how pleased he was to\nhave reached so safe a haven, when suddenly the wind rose, lashing the\nsea into fury. The king grasped a spar, but his strength failed, and he\nwas beginning to sink, when he awoke, and lo! it was a dream.\n\nAt that moment his officers rushed into his tent, to tell him that the\nRomans were preparing to attack them.\n\nSwiftly the king shook off the effects of his dream, and ordered his\ntroops to defend their camp to the last.\n\nNow, as the Romans approached the enemy, the moon rose behind them and\ncast their shadows on the ground.\n\nThe soldiers of Mithridates saw the black flitting forms and grew\nbewildered. In the indistinct light they thought the shadows were the\nreal soldiers, and they flung their darts at these imaginary foes.\n\nThen with a great shout the Romans rushed in upon the puzzled enemy,\nfear was at once added to their confusion, and in sheer panic they\nturned and fled. But more than ten thousand were killed, and their camp\nwas taken.\n\nMithridates himself once more escaped. At the head of about eight\nhundred horse he made a desperate charge through the enemy\u2019s lines, and\nthen in the darkness of the night he was seen no more.\n\nPompey did not follow the king further. But he stayed in the East to\nfight, and by his skill he won many new territories for Rome.\n\nHe even marched to Palestine, where the city of Jerusalem soon\nsurrendered to the powerful enemy that had surrounded her walls. But\nthe Jews refused to give up their temple, and for two or three months\nthey defended their holy place bravely against every attack.\n\nIn December 63 B.C., however, it was taken, and Pompey, who had entered\nmany temples and seen many pagan gods, now entered the temple of the\nJews.\n\nNor would he be content until he had penetrated into the Holy of\nHolies, where the High Priest alone might enter once every year. Here\nhe saw the golden table and the golden candlesticks, of which you\nhave read in Old Testament stories. But the Roman, although he felt\na Presence there, looked in vain for the God of the Jews, for His\ndwelling is in a house \u2018not made with hands.\u2019\n\nWhile Pompey was still in Palestine, he heard that the king whose\nrebellion had brought him to the East was dead.\n\nForsaken by his allies, deserted by the one son who was still alive,\nMithridates had cared to live no longer, and had taken poison, which he\nhad carried with him in the hilt of his sword.\n\nAfter his death there was no one to lead an army against the Romans. So\nthe rebellion in Asia came to an end, and Pompey the Great was free to\nreturn to Italy.\n\nOnce again the Roman citizens wondered what would happen when he came.\nWould his many victories have changed the conqueror into a tyrant? But\nonce again the people found that their fears were groundless. For as\nsoon as he landed in Italy Pompey disbanded his army and set out for\nRome, attended only by a few friends.\n\nWhen the Italian cities saw Pompey the Great journeying in this simple\nguise they determined to send him to Rome in more suitable fashion.\n\nSo, in happy, careless mood, the citizens crowded around him, and\nthemselves became his escort. In such multitudes did they follow him\nthat they were more in number than the troops which he had disbanded.\n\nNever was such a triumph as Pompey held! Although, indeed, he had to\nwait more than nine months before he was allowed to hold it.\n\nHis long list of victories was written on tablets that all might read.\nKings, princes, chiefs were led in chains in his procession, while the\ntemples of Rome were enriched by the treasures that he had brought from\nthe East.\n\nPlutarch, who writes the life of Pompey, says, that he seemed to have\nled the whole world captive, for his first triumph was over \u2018Africa,\nhis second over Europe, and his third over Asia.\u2019\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CIII\n\nCICERO DISCOVERS THE CATILINARIAN CONSPIRACY\n\n\nThe excitement caused by Pompey\u2019s return to Rome was soon over. Then\nthe great general found that, in spite of all that he had done for his\ncountry, and in spite of the splendour of his triumph, there were many\nin the city who did not welcome his return.\n\nHis very first request to the Senate was refused, and it may be that\nPompey thought half regretfully of his disbanded army. To it his\nslightest wish had been law. The Optimates, too, had grown used to his\nabsence, and were ready to thwart or ignore him.\n\nSo Pompey determined to join the two most powerful men in Rome at that\ntime. One of these was the wealthy Crassus, the other was Julius C\u00e6sar,\nwho was destined to become the greatest man Rome had ever known.\n\nPompey did not like Crassus, and he soon became jealous of Julius\nC\u00e6sar. But in the meantime these three men formed a secret union, for\nthey thought that then they alone would govern Rome. This union was\nafterwards called The First Triumvirate. When Pompey married Julia, the\nbeautiful daughter of C\u00e6sar, it seemed probable that the father and\nhusband would share many interests.\n\nFor a time another great man named Cicero threw in his lot with the\nthree leaders. It is of him that I wish to tell you now.\n\nCicero was a great orator and man of letters. In 63 B.C. he was chosen\nConsul. During the lifetime of Sulla, Cicero\u2019s influence was used on\nbehalf of the plebeians. But before long his reverence for the Rome\nof the past made him ready to denounce any side which threatened to\ndisregard the ancient laws.\n\nIn the end he joined the Optimates, because he believed that if they\nwould cease to live only for pleasure, and would learn to govern the\nprovinces with justice, the old order of things might be restored.\n\nBy eloquent speeches he tried to rouse the nobles to live more useful\nand upright lives. But they paid little heed to his words, partly,\nperhaps, because they did not find that his teaching rang true. For\nthey knew that he did not always act justly although he bade them do\nso, that he often used his eloquence to defend his friend or his party,\nwhen it was plain that the cause of neither was just. And so his words\nhad not the power which true words always have.\n\nTwo years before Cicero became Consul, Rome had been greatly disturbed\nby the discovery of a plot to kill the Consuls, to seize the\ngovernment, and even to burn Rome.\n\nThis plot, which was never proved, was known as The First Catilinarian\nConspiracy, for Catiline, who had belonged to Sulla\u2019s party, was said\nto have planned it.\n\nIn 63 B.C. Cicero declared that a new plot was being prepared by the\nsame leader.\n\nCatiline had gathered around him a band of the wildest of the popular\nparty. His followers hoped that Catiline would be elected Consul, and\nthat then he would reward them. One of the ways in which he could do\nthis would be by passing a law for the abolition of debts.\n\nBut Catiline was not chosen Consul, while Cicero was. It was then,\nin his rage and disappointment, that Catiline was said to have made\na deliberate plot to assassinate Cicero, to attack the houses of the\nsenators, and to burn the city. While this was being done, an invading\narmy was to march into Rome.\n\nNow there seemed reason to be alarmed, for it was known that troops\nwere assembling near F\u00e6sul\u00e6, a small town about three miles from\nFlorence. And not only so, but their captain was Manlius, an old\nofficer of Sulla. Since the terrible proscriptions, it was natural that\nany one who had been connected with Sulla was feared as well as hated.\n\nAlthough Cicero had no doubt that a plot was on foot, he could not find\nproof enough to arrest the conspirators. Yet at a meeting of Senate,\nearly in November, the Consul rose, and in a vehement speech denounced\nCatiline, who was present. The conspirator sat apart from the other\nsenators, for he knew that they were suspicious of him.\n\nWhen Cicero\u2019s speech ended, Catiline begged the Senate not to judge him\nhastily, and then he left the Assembly.\n\nThat same night the conspirator left Rome apparently for Marseilles,\nwhere, if a Roman chose to live in exile, he could escape being\nimpeached by his fellow-citizens.\n\nOn his journey, Catiline wrote a letter to a friend, begging him\nto protect his wife, and at the same time he assured him that he,\nCatiline, was innocent, \u2018save only that he wished to help his\ncountrymen who were poor and downtrodden.\u2019\n\nThe following morning Cicero made another speech against Catiline, and\nas the people clamoured to know why the conspirator had been allowed to\nescape, the Consul confessed that he had not proof sufficient to arrest\nhim.\n\nBefore long the city was startled to hear that the fugitive had not\ngone to Marseilles, but to the camp at F\u00e6sul\u00e6, where he was now in\ncommand of the army.\n\n[Illustration: The following morning Cicero made another speech against\nCatiline.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CIV\n\nTHE DEATH OF THE CONSPIRATORS\n\n\nThe Senate no sooner knew that Catiline was with the army than it\nproclaimed both him and Manlius public enemies.\n\nA messenger was sent to the camp to offer pardon to any who should\nleave it within a certain time. But no one took advantage of this\noffer, while many soldiers continued to crowd into it. Rome grew more\nand more alarmed.\n\nAntonius, the colleague of Cicero, was sent at the head of an army to\nF\u00e6sul\u00e6. As he was a friend of Catiline he pretended to be ill, and his\narmy did the conspirators no harm. Cicero himself stayed to guard the\ncity, for it was suspected that there was treachery within her walls.\n\nSoon after this the Consul unexpectedly received the proof of the\nconspirators\u2019 guilt.\n\nA Gallic tribe that had been forced to pay a heavy tax to the Romans\nnow sent envoys to Rome to beg that the tax might be removed.\n\nAs it chanced, the conspirators in the city saw the envoys, and tried\nto persuade them to hasten back to their tribe and send a troop of\ncavalry to the help of the camp at F\u00e6sul\u00e6. They were assured that if\nthey would do this Catiline would see that the money tax was removed.\n\nThe envoys promised to aid the conspirators, but they had scarcely left\nthe city when they changed their minds.\n\nCatiline\u2019s plot might fail, they said to one another, and then what\nwould happen to their tribe for sending soldiers to his aid, while, if\nthey told Cicero all that they knew, the Consul would certainly reward\nthem well? So they went back into the city and told Cicero what they\nhad been asked to do.\n\nThe Consul knew that he now possessed the proof he had so long sought\nin vain. Moreover, the whole city would rise in fury when she heard\nthat the conspirators had wished to invade Rome with the aid of Gallic\ntroops. So he promised to reward the envoys well if they would do as he\nbade them.\n\nThey were again to leave Rome, and to appear to be faithful to\nCatiline. But when they had gone a little distance they would be\narrested. Nor were they to resist overmuch, while the letters they\ncarried were to be given up after a mere show of reluctance.\n\nThe envoys agreed to do as the Consul wished, and soon the letters\nwhich betrayed the four conspirators within the city were in the hands\nof the Consul. They were at once arrested and put under guard, while\none of them, being a pr\u00e6tor, was forced to resign his office.\n\nCicero then assembled the people, and delivered his third speech\nagainst Catiline and his fellow-conspirators.\n\nWhen the people heard of the attempted league with Gaul they were\nroused to a frenzy. Their own leaders had betrayed them, and they were\nloud in their praise of Cicero for detecting the traitors\u2019 schemes.\n\nThe Consul had power to pronounce sentence of death on evil-doers, if\nit seemed necessary for the good of the State. But he did not use his\npower, begging the Senate rather to counsel him as to what sentence\nthey should suffer.\n\nMany of the senators urged that the four guilty men should be put to\ndeath, but Julius C\u00e6sar was more merciful.\n\n\u2018Their crimes,\u2019 he said, \u2018deserve the severest punishment, but when the\nexcitement is over, severity beyond the laws will be remembered, the\ncrimes forgotten.\u2019\n\nHe then proposed that the four men should be imprisoned for life, and\nthat their property should be confiscated.\n\nC\u00e6sar\u2019s words almost won the day. But Cato, the great-grandson of the\nCensor, spoke violently against mercy being shown to the conspirators.\n\nCato was one of the sternest of the Optimates, and his influence was\ngreat enough to sway the Senate. It now voted by a majority for the\ndeath of the prisoners, and the Consul at once ordered the four men to\nbe strangled.\n\nAs Cicero left the Senate-house and hastened through the crowd in the\nForum, he said to the people: \u2018They are dead.\u2019 The citizens seemed\nsatisfied that their city would now be safe, while Cato and Catulus\ncommended Cicero as the \u2018Father of his country.\u2019\n\nEarly in 62 B.C. Catiline tried to march into Gaul with the troops that\nhad remained faithful to him. But the Roman army was watching for him.\nHe was forced to fight, and nearly all his men were slain.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CV\n\nJULIUS C\u00c6SAR IS CAPTURED BY PIRATES\n\n\nJulius C\u00e6sar was born in 100 or 101 B.C., and belonged to one of the\nmost illustrious patrician families of Rome.\n\nFrom his boyhood, C\u00e6sar was a favourite with the people. They liked his\nfrank, bright ways, and then he spent money lavishly, and that was what\nthey thought the young nobles ought to do.\n\nBut they never dreamed that this youth was different from the other\npleasure-loving youths of Rome, that in his heart he hid great\nambitions, and had already, in his own way, begun to pave the way\ntoward their fulfilment.\n\nThat he was fearless and not easily turned away from his purpose he\nsoon showed. Even of Sulla in his most powerful day he felt no dread.\n\nWhen Sulla commanded that all those who were connected with the party\nof Marius by marriage should send their wives away, C\u00e6sar, who was then\nonly nineteen years of age, refused to obey. So Cornelia stayed with\nher husband in spite of the danger they both knew they would incur by\ndefying one of Sulla\u2019s commands.\n\nC\u00e6sar would indeed have lost his life, had not powerful friends begged\nSulla to be merciful, adding that it was surely not necessary to put a\nmere boy to death.\n\nBut Sulla was a reader of character, and he believed that C\u00e6sar was too\nclever not to be dangerous to the State.\n\nTo those who begged for his life, he said, \u2018You know little if you do\nnot see more than one Marius in that boy.\u2019\n\nWhen C\u00e6sar heard what Sulla had said, he escaped to the Sabine hills\nand hid himself, until Rome should become a safer city.\n\nSome time after this the young patrician was on his way to Rhodes to\nstudy rhetoric, when he was captured by pirates. For this was before\nPompey had cleared the seas of the terrible sea robbers.\n\nThe pirates did not know how great a prize they had captured when they\ntook Julius C\u00e6sar prisoner, and they demanded merely twenty talents for\nhis ransom.\n\nC\u00e6sar laughed, for he valued himself at more than that modest sum, and\noffered them fifty talents.\n\nHe then sent his followers away to raise the money, while he stayed\nalone with the pirates, save for one friend and two attendants. And\nthis he did, although he knew that they often put their prisoners to\ndeath.\n\nFor thirty-eight days he lived with them, sometimes amusing himself\nby joining in their sports, sometimes reading to them poems he had\nwritten, or rehearsing speeches he had prepared.\n\nTo these they would listen, indeed, but without giving any applause.\nThen C\u00e6sar would grow angry with them, calling them names, saying that\nwhen he was free he would crucify them.\n\nAt other times, if he wished to sleep and the pirates were making a\nnoise, he would send to bid them be quiet.\n\nThe pirates laughed at the strange ways and words of their captive,\nand paid no heed to his threats. But C\u00e6sar was in earnest when he was\nangry, and no sooner was his ransom paid and he set free, than the\nfirst thing he did was to hire ships to go in search of these very same\npirates.\n\nHe soon found and captured them, and in the end he crucified them, as\nhe had more than once threatened to do when he was their prisoner.\n\nC\u00e6sar then went to Rhodes to study rhetoric. And he profited by his\nstudies, for on his return to Rome his eloquence won him fame.\n\nAs for the citizens they still loved him, for he was kind to them and\nfeasted and spent money as before. But that he would prove a great\nsoldier, one who would astonish not only Rome, but the whole world,\nthere was nothing yet to tell.\n\nCicero, indeed, as Sulla had done before, saw that C\u00e6sar was ambitious.\nBeneath his pleasant smiles and ways, Cicero sometimes thought that the\nyoung patrician had a hidden purpose, which he would not easily lay\naside. At other times the orator thought that, after all, C\u00e6sar was a\ntrifler and nothing more. \u2018When I see his hair so carefully arranged,\u2019\nsays this wise man, \u2018and observe him adjusting it with one finger, I\ncannot imagine it should enter into such a man\u2019s thoughts to subvert\nthe Roman State.\u2019\n\nBut whatever others thought, there was no doubt that to the people\nC\u00e6sar had become an idol. And he was pleased that this should be so,\nfor he liked well to be popular and beloved.\n\nAbout the year 67 B.C., C\u00e6sar was appointed to superintend the repairs\nof the Appian Way. On these repairs he spent large sums of his own,\nand the people whispered to one another that this was done for their\nwelfare, and they smiled more warmly than ever on the young noble.\n\nBut he looked after their pleasures as well as after their more\npractical welfare. For he held a show of gladiators in which six\nhundred and forty took part, to the delight of the citizens, while the\ngames he celebrated were more magnificent than those usually seen in\nRome.\n\nThe height of his popularity in these early days was reached, however,\nwhen he restored the statues of Marius and of his triumph over Jugurtha\nand the Cimbri. These had been banished from the Capitol during the\ntime that Sulla ruled the city.\n\nIn 63 B.C. C\u00e6sar determined to put his popularity to the test. The high\npriest had died, and C\u00e6sar wished to succeed him. It was true that\nCatulus and another Roman of influence were known to expect that the\nappointment would be given to one of them. But in spite of this C\u00e6sar\ninsisted on letting the people know that he too was a candidate.\n\nCatulus, dreading a contest with one who was so popular, offered C\u00e6sar\na large sum of money if he would withdraw.\n\nBut C\u00e6sar, although he had spent all his money and was deep in debt,\nscornfully refused the offer of Catulus. \u2018I would borrow a larger sum\nto carry on the contest,\u2019 he said, with proud defiance.\n\nOn the day that the votes were to be taken, his mother accompanied him\nto the door of their house, her tears betraying her anxiety. But he, as\nhe embraced her, said, \u2018To-day you will see me either high priest or an\nexile.\u2019\n\nThe excitement ran high as the different tribes gave their votes, but\nit was C\u00e6sar, the idol of the people, who won the day.\n\nIt was what, in his proud confidence he had expected, but he was\npleased, while the people were elated.\n\nBut the nobles were exceedingly annoyed. What would the citizens do\nnext? Would they not be content until Julius C\u00e6sar reigned supreme in\nRome?\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CVI\n\nC\u00c6SAR GIVES UP HIS TRIUMPH\n\n\nThe Senate and the nobles now began to fear the ambition of C\u00e6sar.\nAnd they were glad to give him the command of the army in Spain, so\nthat he might, for a time at least, be away from Rome. They hoped that\nthe people, who were always fickle, would find a new favourite in his\nabsence, one whom they might be able to influence. Already they knew\nthat they could not move C\u00e6sar to do their will.\n\nSo in 61 B.C. C\u00e6sar went to Spain. With new duties he quickly developed\nnew powers. There was now no time spent in idle pleasures, or even on\nthe more serious joy of composing poems. His whole energy was devoted\nto his soldiers. Soon he had added to the numbers of his army, and\nmarched into districts as yet unconquered by Rome.\n\nEverywhere he went he was victorious, and when he returned to Rome it\nwas to claim a triumph.\n\nNow he had arrived before the city gates just in time for the election\nof Consuls. To stand for the Consulship it was necessary to enter\nthe city and proclaim oneself a candidate. To enjoy a triumph it was\nnecessary to stay outside the walls until the Senate has decreed that a\ntriumph was deserved.\n\nC\u00e6sar was thus in a strait, and of this his enemies were not slow to\ntake advantage. For when he asked the Senate to allow him to stand for\nthe Consulship without entering the city, it refused. And more than\nthat, it would not decide that he should enjoy a triumph until it was\ntoo late to have it and stand for the Consulship as well.\n\nWhich should he give up? C\u00e6sar himself, being wise, had no doubt. But\nthe Senate and the nobles hoped that he would choose the triumph. That\nwas a glory that would soon be forgotten, while if he became Consul he\nwould be more powerful than they cared to think.\n\nBut C\u00e6sar gave up the triumph and proclaimed himself a candidate for\nthe Consulship. And his enemies were forced to look on as he walked to\nthe assembly of the people between Pompey and Crassus, the two most\npowerful men in Rome. With their support he was elected Consul with\nunusual honours.\n\nIt was now that Pompey, Crassus, and C\u00e6sar formed the secret union\nwhich became known as The First Triumvirate.\n\nThe laws the Triumvirate brought forward were framed chiefly to please\nthe people and to win their support. One was regarding the vexed\nquestion of allotments of land for Pompey\u2019s veterans, another was about\nthe distribution of corn.\n\nWhen some of the senators and the Optimates tried to hinder these\nmeasures from becoming law, Pompey took an armed force to the Campus,\nto keep order it was said. But every one knew that the real reason was\nto make the voters afraid to oppose the Triumvirate.\n\nA year passed and C\u00e6sar\u2019s Consulship came to an end. He then demanded\nthat the Senate should give him Gaul as his province. As a rule a\nprovince was allotted to an officer for a year, but C\u00e6sar insisted that\nhe should have Gaul for five years.\n\nThe Senate, again thinking it would be well that he should be absent\nfrom Rome, granted his request. And so in 58 B.C. C\u00e6sar left Rome to\nbegin his new duties in Gaul.\n\nBut before he left the city he arranged that the chief offices of the\nState should be held by friends of his own, so that his enemies might\nnot grow too powerful during his absence.\n\nCicero had shown himself no friend to C\u00e6sar, and he was now forced\neither to leave Rome or be brought to trial for executing the four\nCatilinarian conspirators.\n\nRather than be brought to trial Cicero went into exile. But in sixteen\nmonths he was again in Rome, trying to win Pompey from his secret\nagreement with C\u00e6sar.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CVII\n\nC\u00c6SAR PRAISES HIS TENTH LEGION\n\n\nThe years which C\u00e6sar spent in Gaul were so full of hard-fought battles\nand well-earned victories, that even his love of adventure and glory\nmust surely have been satisfied.\n\nGaul at this time was divided into two parts, Cisalpine and Transalpine\nGaul.\n\nCisalpine Gaul was the name given to the Gallic settlements in northern\nItaly, and here C\u00e6sar spent only a short time.\n\nIt was in Transalpine Gaul, or Gaul beyond the Alps, that C\u00e6sar\u2019s great\nwork lay, and the countries that we now call France and Switzerland\nwere included in this part of Gaul.\n\nWhen the Roman army reached Transalpine Gaul it found that two tribes,\nthe Helvetians and the Ligurini, had burnt their villages and towns\nbecause the land around their dwellings was covered with marsh and\nforest.\n\nThey were now going to journey in search of a better country, even\nthinking that they might invade Italy and settle there.\n\nThe tribes were fierce and brave, but C\u00e6sar determined to meet them\nand keep them from setting foot in Italy. So he sent his chief officer\nagainst the Ligurini and they were defeated. But the Helvetians\nsucceeded in surprising C\u00e6sar as he was marching, and fell upon him\nbefore he had time to arrange his men in a good position.\n\nAs the Romans prepared to repulse the Gauls, C\u00e6sar\u2019s horse was brought\nto him, but he refused to mount, saying, \u2018When I have won the battle I\nwill use my horse for the chase.\u2019 He then led the charge on foot.\n\nThe struggle was fierce, for the Helvetians were fighting for all that\nthey counted most dear. But at length the Romans drove them from the\nfield and pursued them to their wagons.\n\nHere, not men alone, but women and children joined in the fight, and\nfiercely the battle raged once more. It was only after a desperate\nonslaught that the Gauls resolved to submit.\n\nMany of the Helvetians had fallen in the battle, but C\u00e6sar sent for\nthose who had escaped, and bade them go back to the country from which\nthey had come, and rebuild their towns and villages.\n\nThe conquered people had expected to be cut to pieces or to be made\nslaves for the rest of their lives, and they could scarcely believe\nwhat they heard.\n\nC\u00e6sar saw that they were bewildered, so again he told them to go and\nlive peacefully in their old homes. And this he did because he did not\nwish the Germans, who were a powerful people, to seize the district the\nHelvetians had forsaken and make it theirs.\n\nThis victory over the Helvetians made the other Gallic tribes afraid\nof C\u00e6sar. Yet perhaps, they thought, as he was so brave and strong, he\nwould be willing to protect them from Ariovistus, king of the Germans,\nwho was their most terrible foe. So some of the tribes sent messengers\nto C\u00e6sar to beg for his protection.\n\nThis C\u00e6sar promised to give them, but when he had conquered Ariovistus,\nhe determined that he would next subdue the tribes that had just\nappealed to him and make their land a province of Rome.\n\nSome of the Roman officers were very angry when they heard that C\u00e6sar\nmeant to march against the German king. They were young nobles who had\nbeen brought up in luxury and had joined the army, dreaming of the\nriches that they would gain, and the victories which would make their\nnames famous. Of the long terrible marches that would be necessary,\nof the hardships of the camp, they had not thought, and so now they\ngrumbled.\n\nAnd what was worse, they not only grumbled themselves, but they tried\nto make the soldiers dissatisfied. The example of their brave commander\nshould have shamed these cowards.\n\nC\u00e6sar was not strong, yet he was always to be found where the danger\nseemed the greatest. Nor was he ever heard to say that because his\nhealth was poor he must have more comfort than his men enjoyed.\n\nIndeed when his soldiers marched, he marched at their side, if they\nate coarse food, he made the same his daily fare, and often he would\nshare their rough camp bed. He was much more than the commander of his\nmen, he was their friend. It was he who taught them too to care for the\nwounded and the sick.\n\nOnce a fierce storm drove him to seek shelter in the cottage of a poor\nman. When he saw that there was only one room, he ordered it to be\ngiven to an officer who was ill, while he and the troops slept in a\nshed.\n\nFor deeds like this, the soldiers worshipped their brave general, and\nwere ready to follow where he chose to lead.\n\nBut the pleasure-loving officers grumbled. C\u00e6sar had no need of such\nmen in his army, and he determined to teach them a lesson.\n\nSo, first assembling the army, he sent for the discontented nobles,\nand when they came, he bade them, before all the soldiers, to go back\nto Rome, if they were afraid of difficult marches and battles with\nbarbarians.\n\n\u2018As for me,\u2019 he added, \u2018I will take only the Tenth Legion with me, and\nwith it I will conquer the barbarians, for I do not expect to find them\nmore terrible than the Cimbri whom Marius conquered, nor am I a general\ninferior to him.\u2019\n\nThe Tenth Legion was proud indeed as it listened to these words. It\nnever forgot how C\u00e6sar had boasted of its courage and had trusted\nits devotion. Some of the members of the Legion were sent to thank\nhim for the words he had spoken. And from that day, as you will\neasily understand, it fought with unfaltering zeal and such fierce\ndetermination that the enemy could seldom withstand its fury.\n\nAfter the foolish young officers had listened to C\u00e6sar\u2019s rebuke they\nwere ashamed, and begged him to allow them to march with him against\nAriovistus, that they might redeem their honour in the eyes of the army.\n\nAs for the other legions they had not waited for orders from their\nofficers, but had already begun to prepare for the march. For the\nsoldiers had never wished to desert C\u00e6sar, and now after listening to\nhis praise of the Tenth Legion, they were more than ever anxious to\nwin his approval. So it was a united army that set out on the long and\nperilous march to the camp of Ariovistus.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CVIII\n\nC\u00c6SAR WINS A GREAT VICTORY OVER THE NERVII\n\n\nAriovistus was a great warrior and he was not afraid of the Roman army,\nbut he was startled by the speed with which it reached his camp. He had\nthought that the marshlands through which it must go, and the forests\nthrough which it must penetrate, would have delayed it long on its way.\n\nBut if Ariovistus was unafraid, it was easy to see that his soldiers\nwere not over glad to see the Roman army. If they might have attacked\nthe enemy at once, they would have felt less gloomy. But there were\nsoothsayers in the camp, and these went from tent to tent, bidding the\nsoldiers wait until the new moon appeared before they fought.\n\nC\u00e6sar may have known what the soothsayers had said, but in any case,\nhe saw that the Germans were not ready to fight, so he determined to\nattack their camp.\n\nWhen the Romans began to advance, the Germans were roused to fury. They\nforgot the words of the soothsayers, or, if they remembered, they paid\nno heed to them, for they dashed furiously upon the enemy and tried to\nbreak its ranks.\n\nAgain and again they hurled themselves upon the foe, but C\u00e6sar\u2019s\nlegions stood firm, and at length they, in their turn, attacked the\nGermans with irresistible force. The Germans could not stand the\nonslaught; they broke their ranks and fled.\n\nIf they could but reach the river Rhine and cross it they would be\nsafe, but the river was about thirty-five miles away.\n\nStill that was the direction in which they fled, followed and cut down\nnot only by the Romans but by the Gauls, whose enemies they had always\nbeen.\n\nAriovistus himself was almost captured, but he at length succeeded in\ncrossing the river with a few troops, and was then soon beyond the\nreach of the Roman legions. This was C\u00e6sar\u2019s second great victory in\nGaul.\n\nThe Nervii, with whom he fought his next battle, were perhaps the most\nterrible foes he encountered during the many years he spent among the\nbarbarians.\n\nSo determined were the Nervii to fight, that they did not even wait to\nsee if the Romans meant to attack them, but assembled in great numbers\non the left bank of the river Sambre, a tributary of the Meuse.\n\nThe home of this fierce tribe was in the thick forests of their\ncountry, and here they had hidden their wives, their children, and\ntheir property, when they set out to seek for the Romans.\n\nC\u00e6sar soon reached the right bank of the Sambre, opposite the enemy,\nand ordered his men to encamp on a hill which sloped toward the river.\n\nThe Romans had put up their tents and were preparing to fortify the\ncamp, when suddenly a party of the Nervii, that had been in ambush,\ndashed upon them. Almost at once they were followed by overwhelming\nnumbers, who had crossed the river and now swarmed up the hill and\npassed into the camp.\n\nAmid the wild confusion C\u00e6sar was calm and undismayed. He ordered the\nbugle to be sounded to recall those who had gone in search of wood,\nthen speedily gathering his men together he gave the signal to advance.\n\nBravely the Tenth Legion fought that day. Once, when it was posted on\nthe hill, it saw that its beloved general was in danger, and swift as\nan arrow it sped to his side.\n\nWhen it seemed as though the battle must indeed be lost, C\u00e6sar snatched\na buckler from one of his men and himself led them on to victory. For\nseeing their general before them the soldiers fought with new and grim\ndetermination.\n\nThey could not indeed force the Nervii to flee, for the barbarians\nscorned to turn their back to an enemy, but they could cut them down as\nthey stood at bay. Out of 60,000, only 500, it is said, were left alive\nafter the terrible slaughter on the banks of the Sambre.\n\nBelgium and the whole of the north-west of France was now in the hands\nof the Romans, for one of C\u00e6sar\u2019s officers had conquered Normandy and\nBrittany.\n\nRome was jubilant with delight when she heard of C\u00e6sar\u2019s great victory\nover the Nervii. The Senate resolved to celebrate it with unusual\nfestivities. For fifteen days the city was ordered to give itself up to\nrejoicing, and the people, who adored C\u00e6sar, were able to show their\npleasure in his success. Feasts and games followed each other day after\nday, while bounteous sacrifices were offered to the gods.\n\nWinter had now come and C\u00e6sar resolved to go to Lucca, a town near to\nthe river Po. Here he was near enough to Rome to find out all that had\nbeen going on in the city during his absence.\n\nMany Romans too went to Lucca to visit the victorious general, and at\none time he entertained 200 senators.\n\nAmong his visitors in 56 B.C. came Pompey and Crassus, to renew the\nTriumvirate.\n\nIt was agreed that Pompey and Crassus should be Consuls the following\nyear, while C\u00e6sar should hold Gaul as his province for five years\nlonger, from 53 B.C. to 48 B.C.\n\nToward the end of that time he was to stand for the consulship and be\npermitted to do so, without, in the usual way, first entering the city.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CIX\n\nC\u00c6SAR INVADES BRITAIN\n\n\nIn 55 B.C. C\u00e6sar resolved to invade our own island home. He knew little\nabout Britain, save that she was on good terms with the Gauls, and\ncarried on trade with them.\n\nWhen he questioned the traders, they told him that he would find tin\nand lead in the ground, as well as precious stones scattered over the\nland.\n\nCuriosity, the desire for booty, as well as the wish to punish all who\naided the Gauls, drove C\u00e6sar to the adventure, and he ordered a fleet\nto be prepared for the great enterprise.\n\nIt was autumn when he set sail for Britain, with eighty vessels and an\narmy of 12,000 men. He had not taken a larger fleet, as he thought that\nhe would have little trouble in conquering the barbarians of the island.\n\nRumours had reached Britain of the coming of the great Roman general\nwith a fleet, and the natives crowded to the shore, eager to keep the\nstrangers from landing in their country.\n\nAs he drew near to Deal, where he hoped to land, C\u00e6sar saw that his\nships were too big to sail close in to shore, so he ordered his\nsoldiers to jump into the sea and make their way to land as well as\nthey could.\n\nThe Romans looked at the sea and their hearts misgave them, brave\nsoldiers as they were, for they were not used to the sea, nor did they\nlove it as the Britons seemed to do.\n\nThey were already in the water, some on foot, some on horses, and they\nseemed to the astonished Romans as undisturbed as though they were on\nland.\n\nAnd C\u00e6sar had bidden them jump into the sea. Still they hesitated.\n\nThen the officer who carried the eagle of the tenth legion jumped into\nthe water, crying, \u2018Leap, soldiers, unless you wish to betray your\neagle to the enemy.\u2019\n\nThe soldiers could not risk their standard being captured by the\nbarbarians, so now they hastily leaped into the water and followed\ntheir officer.\n\nThen a fierce struggle began, many of the Romans falling before the\nbattle axes of the Britains, many others slipping on the treacherous\nsand and being drowned.\n\nBut at length the Romans reached the shore, and the Briton chiefs were\nsoon forced to submit to C\u00e6sar.\n\nThe Roman general was disappointed to find little booty on the island\nwhich he had taken so much trouble to invade, and to see nothing of the\nprecious stones which he had been told were strewn in plenty on the\nground. And so he soon sailed back to Gaul.\n\nIn the following spring, however, C\u00e6sar again returned to Britain. This\ntime, instead of eighty vessels his fleet consisted of eight hundred,\nwhile his army numbered many thousands.\n\nThe Britons had again gathered in great strength to repel the invaders,\nbut when they saw so many ships they grew afraid and fled to their\nforests. So C\u00e6sar landed without difficulty at Romney marsh.\n\nAt length, led by a brave chief, called Cassivellaunus, the tribes\ndetermined to try to drive the Romans from their shore.\n\nCassivellaunus did not conquer the Romans, but he proved a brave and\nskilful commander, and constantly harassed them. At last, however, his\ncapital was taken, and he then sent messengers to treat with C\u00e6sar.\n\nC\u00e6sar received the envoys and demanded from them hostages, and the\npromise that their tribes would pay a yearly tribute to Rome.\n\nThen in September 54 B.C., when his fleet, which had been damaged by a\nstorm, was repaired, he again went back to Gaul.\n\nHere he was greeted with the sad news that his daughter Julia was dead.\n\nJulia had often smoothed away the jealousies of her husband, the\nirritations of her father, and both Pompey and C\u00e6sar mourned for her\nloss.\n\nTheir friends also were troubled. They foresaw that now the beautiful\nJulia was no longer alive, it would not be long before the two great\ngenerals quarrelled. And that was a grave thought. For the peace of\nRome depended on the friendship of Pompey and C\u00e6sar.\n\nC\u00e6sar\u2019s work in Gaul was not yet finished. In 52 B.C. the tribes in the\nsouth made one more desperate stand against the power of Rome, which\nseemed to be pressing more and more heavily upon them.\n\nThe rebellion was led by a young chief named Vercingetorix, who had\nseized the town of Gergovia, the capital of his tribe and his own\nbirthplace.\n\nC\u00e6sar, when he heard that Gergovia was in the hands of the barbarians,\nhastened to the town and at once laid siege to it. But to his surprise\nthe town withstood every effort he made to take it. For the first time\nC\u00e6sar was unable to capture a Gallic town, and not only so, but he was\nforced to raise the siege.\n\nWhen Vercingetorix saw the Romans retreating, he believed that now was\nthe time to attack them, and he led his followers against the foe.\n\nBut on the battlefield the Gauls were no match for the legions of Rome,\nand Vercingetorix was forced to flee from the field with only a remnant\nof his army.\n\nThe young Gaul succeeded in reaching the town of Alesia, which he at\nonce began to fortify.\n\nC\u00e6sar speedily followed the enemy to Alesia, and when he saw the Gauls\nwithin the walls of the town, he determined to keep them there. He at\nonce ordered his men to set to work to dig trenches, and to build forts\nround the walls, that no one might escape.\n\nBut one night, when it was dark, the young Gaul sent messengers to\nsummon the neighbouring tribes to come to his aid.\n\nThe messengers passed the enemy\u2019s lines in safety, and galloped swiftly\naway to rouse their people. In a short time a large army of 300,000 of\nthe bravest men in Gaul were marching to the aid of Vercingetorix.\n\nThus it was that one day, as the Romans worked at the trenches and the\nforts, they were unexpectedly attacked by a new Gallic army.\n\nVercingetorix seized the same moment to sally out of Alesia with his\nmen, and the Romans were caught between two foes. For four days a\nterrible struggle raged, and then, as was almost always the way, C\u00e6sar\nand his legions proved victorious.\n\nTo save his army, Vercingetorix gave himself up to the Romans, flinging\nfirst his arms and then himself at the feet of the conqueror. But C\u00e6sar\nhad no pity for the foe he had vanquished, and carried off the brave\nyoung Gaul to Rome to adorn his triumph.\n\nFor two years longer C\u00e6sar stayed in Gaul, and although he fought some\nbattles and put down some rebellions, his chief work was to pass laws\nthat would make the Gauls content to live under the protection of Rome.\n\nBy the end of the two years C\u00e6sar had shown that he was not only a\ngreat general, but that he was also a great ruler of men.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CX\n\nC\u00c6SAR CROSSES THE RUBICON\n\n\nWhile C\u00e6sar was winning glory for himself and for his country in Gaul,\nCrassus was also fighting against a foreign foe, and in 53 B.C. he was\ntricked into leading his men into an ambush and was slain. Pompey was\nthe only member of the Triumvirate in Rome.\n\nThe more the Senate approved of Pompey\u2019s rule, the more he wished that\nthere was no C\u00e6sar to come home to share his power. And however the\nSenate might receive the victorious general, Pompey knew that C\u00e6sar was\nstill remembered and adored by the people.\n\nHe himself had gradually withdrawn his sympathy from the popular party,\nand he now threw his influence wholly on the side of the Optimates, who\ndisliked C\u00e6sar, and like Pompey himself, dreaded his return.\n\nMeanwhile Rome was in need of a strong ruler, for disorder and\nlawlessness was rife within the city, and the Senate seemed unable to\nrestore order.\n\nIn the streets riots took place, which often ended in bloodshed. And\nwhile there was violence among the people, among the nobles there was\nbribery.\n\nThe Senate in despair determined to appoint only one Consul for the\nyear 52 B.C. If only one person was responsible for law and justice,\nit thought that order might be restored. The choice of the Senate\nnaturally fell upon Pompey, and through its influence he was appointed\nsole Consul. But the people were not pleased, and muttered that C\u00e6sar\nshould have been elected as the colleague of Pompey.\n\nTo avoid this, for he was determined not to share his power with C\u00e6sar,\nPompey, after ruling alone for six months, arranged that Metellus\nScipio should be chosen as second Consul.\n\nThere was no beautiful Julia now at hand to persuade Pompey to be true\nto C\u00e6sar, and from this time the Consul showed plainly that he meant\nto separate his fortunes from those of his father-in-law. And what was\nworse was that he used his power to undermine the influence of the\nabsent general to whom his faith was pledged.\n\nC\u00e6sar, who was always in touch with Rome, knew what was being done. His\nfriends, too, warned him that Pompey would soon be too strong for him\nunless he speedily returned to the city. But C\u00e6sar was not yet ready to\nleave Gaul.\n\nThe Senate soon showed how it meant to treat the absent general. It\nproposed, more than once, that C\u00e6sar should dismiss his army before\nbeing elected Consul for the year 48 B.C.\n\nPompey heard these proposals and at first said nothing, although he\nmust have remembered the arrangement he and Crassus had made with C\u00e6sar\nat Lucca.\n\nWhen the Senate repeated its wish more decidedly, he said only, that\nwhat the Senate ordered C\u00e6sar would doubtless do. But this he could\nscarcely have found it easy to believe.\n\nWhile the Senate still hesitated to order C\u00e6sar to lay down his\ncommand, Pompey fell ill. It was believed that his life was in danger,\nand throughout Italy prayers were offered for his recovery. In time\nPompey grew better, but he was deceived by the anxiety the people had\nshown, and believed their affection for him was greater than it really\nwas. He found it pleasant to think that they had forgotten C\u00e6sar and\nwere devoted to him alone.\n\nSome foolish person told him that even his soldiers were ready to\ndesert C\u00e6sar. Pompey seemed to believe this also, and remarked\ncomplacently that he, if he but stamped his foot, would find soldiers\nready to follow him from every town and village in Italy.\n\nAt length, in the autumn of 50 B.C., the Senate determined to act,\nand accordingly it sent a message to C\u00e6sar, bidding him lay down his\ncommand and dismiss his army.\n\nC\u00e6sar answered without the least hesitation, \u2018If Pompey will give up\nhis command and dismiss his army, I will do the same.\u2019 But this, as\nyou know, Pompey had not the least intention to do. The people of Rome\nbegan to tremble at the thought that civil war was drawing near. For if\nneither of the two great generals would yield, it seemed inevitable.\n\n\u2018There is no hope of peace beyond the year\u2019s end,\u2019 wrote a friend to\nCicero. \u2018Pompey is determined C\u00e6sar shall not be chosen Consul till he\nhas given up his province and army. C\u00e6sar is convinced that he cannot\nleave his army safely.\u2019\n\nIn Rome, the strife between Pompey\u2019s friends and those of C\u00e6sar grew\ndaily more bitter. At length the Senate boldly proposed that C\u00e6sar\nshould be told to give up his province on a certain day, otherwise he\nwould be denounced as a traitor.\n\nMark Antony and another tribune, both of whom were friends of C\u00e6sar,\nrose to their feet to protest against such a decree. But the Senate was\nin no mood to listen to them, and the tribunes were expelled from the\nhouse.\n\nIn the city, they soon found that their lives were not safe. So they\ndisguised themselves, dressing in old clothes that had belonged to\nslaves. Then hiring carts they lay in the foot of them, covered with\nsacking, and thus passed safely through the city gates. Still in this\nstrange garb they at length reached C\u00e6sar\u2019s camp at Ravenna.\n\nIt was at Ravenna, in January 49 B.C., that the great general was told\nof the decree of the Senate.\n\nHe had only one legion with him, but leaving orders for the others to\nfollow, he at once began to march toward the Rubicon. The Rubicon was\nthe stream which divided his province from Italy.\n\nShould he cross the stream with his army, it would be a declaration\nthat he had determined on war.\n\nSo momentous was the decision, that as C\u00e6sar drew near to the Rubicon\nhe hesitated. Looking down upon the stream, he stood for a time deep in\nthought, while his soldiers watched him anxiously from the distance.\n\nTurning at length to his officers, he said, \u2018Even now we may draw back.\u2019\n\nAt that moment, so it is said, a shepherd on the other side of the\nstream, began to pipe carelessly upon his flute.\n\nOver the stream dashed some of the soldiers, perhaps to dance to the\nshepherd\u2019s lilting measure.\n\nIt was an omen! C\u00e6sar at once made up his mind. \u2018Let us go where the\nomen of the gods and the iniquity of our enemies call us,\u2019 he cried.\n\u2018The die is cast.\u2019\n\nThen at the head of his army, on the 16th January 49 B.C., C\u00e6sar\ncrossed the Rubicon.\n\nSo important was the decision, that the words, \u2018to cross the Rubicon,\u2019\ngrew into a proverb. And still to-day, when one takes the first step\ntowards a great undertaking, one is said to have \u2018crossed the Rubicon.\u2019\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CXI\n\nC\u00c6SAR AND THE PILOT\n\n\nAs C\u00e6sar marched through Italy, town after town threw open its gates\nto welcome the general who had at last returned from Gaul, where his\nvictories had covered him with glory.\n\nWhat Pompey thought as he heard of the triumphal progress of his rival\nwe do not know. But he could not fail to see how he had been deceived\nwhen he believed that the affection of the people had been centred on\nhimself alone.\n\nNot a single battle did C\u00e6sar have to fight before he reached the gates\nof Rome. Even here he was free to enter the city, for Pompey, although\nhis army was as large as that of his rival, had fled.\n\nThe defence of the city had been left in the hands of the Consuls. But\nthey felt unable to face the general, who came with his army behind\nhim, so they also escaped from the city and joined Pompey. In their\nfear they did not even stay to open the treasury to take from it the\nmoney that would be needed to help Pompey to carry on the war.\n\nPompey meanwhile crossed the Adriatic Sea and reached Epirus. He knew\nthat in the East his name was still powerful, and would draw many brave\nwarriors to fight for him.\n\nAnd so it proved, for ere long the numbers of his army were nearly\ndoubled. But the warriors of the East, even when they were brave, had\nneither the discipline nor the experience of C\u00e6sar\u2019s faithful legions.\n\n[Illustration: Looking down upon the stream, he stood awhile deep in\nthought.]\n\nC\u00e6sar did not stay long in Rome, but after adding to his army many\nstrong soldiers from Gaul and from Germany, he went to Spain. Here he\nfound that Pompey had left officers to guard the Roman provinces, but\nhe forced them to withdraw and soon won over their troops.\n\nYet, although he was successful in this, the time he spent in Spain was\nbeset with difficulties. Often he had not food enough for his army,\nwhile he himself was in danger from ambushes and from plots that were\nmade by his enemies, to take his life.\n\nAfter securing Spain, C\u00e6sar went back to Rome, where he was at once\nmade Dictator. He only held the position for eleven days, but during\nthat time he used his power to recall the exiles whom Sulla\u2019s cruelty\nhad driven away, and to restore to them, or to their children, their\nprivileges as citizens of Rome. He also passed a law for the relief of\ndebtors, which was sure to please the people.\n\nThen having resigned his Dictatorship and been elected Consul, C\u00e6sar\nhastened to Brundisium, where he had commanded his troops to assemble.\n\nHere he found that there were not nearly enough ships to take his army\nacross to Epirus. But no obstacle could turn him from his purpose,\nwhich just then was to pursue Pompey. So he determined to sail at once\nwith seven legions, leaving the others, under Mark Antony, to follow as\nsoon as a sufficient number of ships could be found.\n\nIt was only with great difficulty that C\u00e6sar, with his seven legions,\nwas able to land, for the coast of Epirus was being closely watched by\nPompey\u2019s fleet.\n\nBut by sailing to the south he eluded its vigilance, and succeeded in\nlanding at a town called Oricum. Here, day after day, he watched for\nMark Antony, with the legions he had left behind. Months passed and\nstill he did not come. For after C\u00e6sar had landed, Pompey bade his\nfleet guard the coasts still more closely, and Antony was afraid to set\nsail.\n\nC\u00e6sar, at length, determined that he would wait no longer. He would\nhimself go back and bring his army to Oricum. So he disguised himself\nas a slave, and hiring a small boat was rowed away, although the sea\nwas covered with the ships of the enemy.\n\nNot only his enemies, but Nature herself, threatened to endanger the\nlife of the great commander. For a storm arose, and the wind blew more\nand more violently. The current too was strong against the boat, and at\nlength the pilot, thinking that it was impossible to proceed, ordered\nthe rowers to return.\n\nThen C\u00e6sar went to the pilot, and taking his hand he said, \u2018Go on, my\nfriend, and fear nothing. You carry C\u00e6sar and his fortune on your boat.\u2019\n\nC\u00e6sar! The name was as magic, and the sailors forgot their fears, and\nonce again they pulled their hardest against waves and wind. But their\nefforts were vain, while each moment the danger became greater.\n\nWhen the boat began to fill with water, even C\u00e6sar had to yield, and\nbade the sailors pull for the shore.\n\nAs he reached the land, his soldiers, who had missed him, eagerly\nhelped him from the boat, and chid him for risking his life so\nheedlessly.\n\nMoreover, it seemed that their pride was hurt, for why, they said,\nshould he go into danger for the legions who were at Brundisium? Could\nhe not trust them to gain the victories he desired?\n\nWith the spring, Antony and the legions at length arrived, and C\u00e6sar\ndetermined to force Pompey to fight without delay.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CXII\n\nTHE FLIGHT OF POMPEY\n\n\nIn the camps of both Pompey and C\u00e6sar there was great suffering. The\nchief strength of Pompey\u2019s army was its cavalry, which was 7000 strong,\nand the horses had begun to die for want of food.\n\nPompey had many officers of noble rank in his camp, and they urged him\nto fight at once, or there would be no horses left for the soldiers to\nride.\n\nBut Pompey knew that his large army was undisciplined, that many of the\nsoldiers were rebellious, and he wished to avoid a battle. He hoped\nthat the difficulty of providing food for his army would force C\u00e6sar to\nretreat.\n\nIt was indeed true that C\u00e6sar\u2019s legions were suffering from hunger,\nbut they would have died rather than let the enemy know that this was\nso. They tried their utmost to mislead them. To stay their hunger\nthey gathered a root which they found in the fields, and made it as\npalatable as they could by adding milk to it.\n\nSometimes they made the root into loaves of a kind, and some of these\nthey threw into the enemy\u2019s camp, as though to say, \u2018Whatever you may\nthink, we have food enough and to spare.\u2019\n\nNot a murmur was heard in C\u00e6sar\u2019s camp. Every man remained loyal to his\ngeneral, and cheerful, even when suffering intensely from the pangs of\nhunger.\n\nIt had been spring when Mark Antony joined C\u00e6sar. It was now nearly\nthe end of summer, and still the two armies were encamped near to each\nother, but no battle had been fought.\n\nThen, at length, it happened, that Pompey discovered a weak point in\nC\u00e6sar\u2019s lines, which he believed he could attack with success.\n\nHis army, pleased to be at last in action, advanced with alacrity as\nsoon as the order was given.\n\nAs Pompey had hoped, C\u00e6sar\u2019s troops were soon driven back toward their\ncamp in utter confusion, while the camp itself was in danger of being\ntaken.\n\nIn vain did C\u00e6sar try to rally his forces, heedless of his own danger,\nif he could but stem the flight of his men. As one strong active\nsoldier ran past, C\u00e6sar caught hold of him, to make him turn to face\nthe foe.\n\nMad with terror, and scarce knowing what he did, the fugitive raised\nhis sword. He was going to strike his general.\n\nBut, quick as lightning, C\u00e6sar\u2019s armour-bearer struck off the soldier\u2019s\narm, and his sword fell harmlessly to the ground. C\u00e6sar had narrowly\nescaped with his life.\n\nHad Pompey followed up his attack, he might have captured the camp and\nwon a decisive victory, as C\u00e6sar himself was aware. But Pompey sounded\na retreat, and the decisive battle had still to be fought.\n\nC\u00e6sar wasted no time in bemoaning the losses of the day, although he\nmust have felt that evening that his fortunes were at their lowest ebb.\n\nHe determined to march without delay into Thessaly, and so to entice\nPompey away from the sea. For then he would not be able to get\nprovisions for his army and would be forced to fight. And C\u00e6sar was\neager to meet his enemy fairly on the battlefield.\n\nWhen Pompey\u2019s officers saw that C\u00e6sar was retreating, they could\nscarcely believe their eyes, but their confidence in their own prowess\nwas confirmed.\n\nThey begged Pompey to follow, and he reluctantly yielded, but for that\nday alone. Knowing well the strength of C\u00e6sar\u2019s veterans, he had no\nwish to fight a regular battle, and so he ordered his soldiers to set\nup their camp again.\n\nThe patrician officers were exasperated with the indecision of their\ngeneral. They did not cease to taunt him for not fighting, or to urge\nhim still to follow C\u00e6sar, until at length Pompey made up his mind\nthat they should have their way and pit themselves against C\u00e6sar\u2019s\nwell-disciplined officers and troops.\n\nBoth armies accordingly reached Thessaly, although by different routes,\nand soon they were encamped on the plain of Pharsalia, where, in August\n48 B.C., a great and decisive battle was fought.\n\nPompey\u2019s confidence was placed chiefly on his splendid cavalry, and he\nbelieved that his 7000 horsemen would speedily scatter the 1000 which\nwas all that C\u00e6sar had to oppose to his great force.\n\nBut if his body of cavalry was small, C\u00e6sar had supported it well by\nhis infantry and archers.\n\nHis horsemen were, it is true, driven back before the brilliant charge\nof the enemy, but the infantry and archers attacked Pompey\u2019s cavalry so\nfuriously, that soon it was forced from the field in utter confusion.\n\nC\u00e6sar\u2019s infantry then advanced against the main body of Pompey\u2019s army.\nThe soldiers first hurled their javelins at the enemy and then closed\nin upon them, doing deadly havoc with their swords.\n\nBefore long C\u00e6sar sent a reserve troop of soldiers to their aid, and\nsoon the army of Pompey was put to flight. For the patrician officers\nhad not proved skilful on the battlefield, nor had they now any control\nover their undisciplined followers.\n\nWhen Pompey saw that his cavalry was scattered at the beginning of the\nday, he lost hope and hastened to his tent, where he sat, amid the\nconfused noise of battle, bewildered and dismayed.\n\nOnly when the victorious army began to attack the camp did he seem to\nrealise that he must bestir himself, unless he would be captured by the\nenemy.\n\n\u2018What, into my camp too,\u2019 he is said to have cried indignantly as\nhe heard the clash of arms and shouts of victory drawing nearer and\nnearer. Then swiftly laying aside his military dress, the defeated\ngeneral slipped into a simple garment, and hurrying from the tent,\nmounted a horse, and with a few followers fled toward the coast. It was\nuseless for him to think of meeting C\u00e6sar again, for his army was slain\nor scattered. So he resolved to seek shelter in Egypt.\n\nIt was a sad voyage on which Pompey embarked, for he had been\noverthrown, and that by his rival, who would reign supreme.\n\nAs the ship drew near to land, Pompey sent a messenger to Alexandria to\nbeg for shelter.\n\nThe king, Ptolemy XII., was only a boy of thirteen, but the royal\ncouncil, when it heard Pompey\u2019s request, proved cruel. It neither\nwelcomed him nor sent him elsewhere to seek for safety. At first some\nof the members spoke on his behalf, but in the end they all agreed that\nhe must die.\n\nBut they did not tell him their decision, they merely sent a boat to\nbring him to shore. In the boat was Septimius, a military tribune of\nRome, who had once served in Pompey\u2019s army.\n\nAs Pompey prepared to step into the boat his wife clung to him, and\nfilled with foreboding would hardly let him go. But he bade her and his\nfollowers farewell, and seated himself in the stern of the boat. As he\ndid so he noticed Septimius and spoke kindly to him.\n\nBut Septimius had no answer to give to his former general. He had been\nunjustly degraded by him in former days as he believed, and he still\nowed him a grudge.\n\nIn response to Pompey\u2019s words, he only nodded sullenly and with averted\nface.\n\nDid a swift dread of what lay before him flash across Pompey\u2019s mind as\nhe heard the Roman\u2019s gruff response to his greeting.\n\nHe had at least no time to brood over the future, for, now they had\nreached the shore, and as Pompey stepped out of the boat, Septimius,\nwho was behind him, drew his sword.\n\nAs Pompey felt the touch of the steel he swiftly drew his toga across\nhis face, and then, without a cry for help, he fell to the ground.\n\nWhen C\u00e6sar reached Egypt ten days later, he was shown the head of his\nrival and his signet ring. From the first sight he turned away in\nhorror, while, when he saw the ring, he wept.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CXIII\n\nCATO DIES RATHER THAN YIELD TO C\u00c6SAR\n\n\nC\u00e6sar found that a civil war was raging in Egypt, between the followers\nof the boy king and his sister Cleopatra. So the Roman general sent for\nthe brother and sister, and said that he would settle their dispute.\n\nCleopatra was beautiful and charming, and this may have helped C\u00e6sar to\ndecide that she should reign along with her brother, Ptolemy.\n\nThe brother and sister might have been content with this arrangement,\nbut the king\u2019s minister was dissatisfied, and he persuaded the army to\nside with him, and to besiege C\u00e6sar in Alexandria.\n\nBut C\u00e6sar had not enough troops to defend the city, so he sent to Asia\nfor reinforcements. While he awaited them he withdrew from Alexandria\nto Pharos, which was quite close to the city, and connected with it by\na drawbridge.\n\nKing Ptolemy, who was with C\u00e6sar, begged one day to be allowed to go to\nAlexandria, where Cleopatra\u2019s sister had now been established as queen.\n\nC\u00e6sar granted the boy\u2019s request, and he went off gleefully as if for\na holiday. But he did not go to the city. Instead he joined the army\nwhich was fighting against C\u00e6sar, and tried his boyish best to prevent\nprovisions reaching the Romans by sea.\n\nBut in March 47 B.C., the reinforcements for which C\u00e6sar had sent\narrived in Egypt.\n\nPtolemy did not hesitate to march with his troops against this new\narmy before it had joined C\u00e6sar, whereupon the Roman general hurried\nswiftly after him. He speedily took Ptolemy\u2019s camp, and the young king\nwas forced to flee. In his attempt to escape from the enemy he was\ndrowned.\n\nSoon after this Cleopatra\u2019s sister abdicated, and Cleopatra became\nqueen.\n\nC\u00e6sar\u2019s troubles in Egypt were now over and he was able to return to\nRome, where he had already been appointed Dictator for a year, and\nConsul for five years.\n\nBut although the Dictator\u2019s presence was needed in Rome, he could only\nstay three months in the city, for he was still more needed in Africa.\nFor the leaders of the Pompeian party had gathered together a new army\nand were ready to war against C\u00e6sar.\n\nAfter Julia\u2019s death, Pompey had married again, and his father-in-law,\nScipio, was at the head of the army. Pompey\u2019s two sons too, Gn\u00e6us\nand Sextus, were eager to avenge their father\u2019s death. Cato was in\npossession of Utica. It was a formidable army, and C\u00e6sar had not as\nlarge a number of men as the Pompeians. Moreover, he was hampered by\nhaving his supplies intercepted by the fleet of his enemy.\n\nUntil reinforcements arrived, C\u00e6sar therefore contented himself with\ntaking towns that did not make any serious defence. But in January 46\nB.C. his army was reinforced, and he was eager to draw Scipio into\nbattle.\n\nOne day, early in February, C\u00e6sar began to march toward the town of\nThapsus, meaning to attack it. Scipio followed him, and soon found\nhimself in such a position that he was forced to fight.\n\nThe battle was fierce, but C\u00e6sar in the end defeated Scipio with great\nloss. Leaving an officer to carry out the assault he had planned upon\nThapsus, C\u00e6sar himself then marched towards Utica, which town was held\nby Cato.\n\nNow Cato might be a philosopher, and indeed such he was, but he had not\nthe qualities of a soldier.\n\nNo sooner did he hear that C\u00e6sar was on his way to Utica, than he\ndecided that any attempt to hold the town would be useless, and he made\nnone.\n\nBut the philosopher was not afraid of death, and he determined to die\nrather than to yield to the conqueror. So he withdrew quietly to his\nown room and threw himself upon his sword. His friends, hearing him\nfall, rushed to his aid; as the wound was not fatal, it was dressed and\nbandaged.\n\nNo sooner was Cato again alone, than he dragged off the bandages and\nlet himself bleed to death.\n\nGn\u00e6us and Sextus Pompeius had gone to Spain, and Scipio escaped to a\nship and sailed away, hoping to join the lads.\n\nBut C\u00e6sar sent a vessel in pursuit of the defeated general, and Scipio,\nseeing that he must be captured, threw himself overboard and was\ndrowned.\n\nNumidia was now made a Roman province, and C\u00e6sar\u2019s work in Africa was\nended. He returned to Rome in July 46 B.C. as ruler of the great Roman\nEmpire.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CXIV\n\nC\u00c6SAR IS LOADED WITH HONOURS\n\n\nWhen C\u00e6sar reached Rome in July 46 B.C., he found that he had already\nbeen appointed Dictator for ten years.\n\nIn the Senate there was now not a member who was not eager to agree to\nhis slightest wish. Yet it was but a year or two since many of them had\nbeen ready to brand him as a traitor. But C\u00e6sar had crossed the Rubicon\nnow, and was king in all but name.\n\nThe conqueror had, however, no wish to remind those who had been his\nenemies of their unkindnesses. His return to Rome was made a joyous\nseason, and was not spoiled by the punishment of those who had been\nopposed to him, much less by their murder.\n\nIndeed, C\u00e6sar not only pardoned those who had been the friends of\nPompey, but he gave them positions of trust in the State.\n\nIf they were still half afraid of his true feelings, suspicion vanished\nwhen the Dictator ordered the statues of Pompey, which after his defeat\nhad been thrown down, to be again erected.\n\nHis faithful soldiers C\u00e6sar rewarded with gold, and to the citizens he\ngave feasts and gifts of corn as well. Games and shows also celebrated\nhis return.\n\nFrom this time his birthday was kept each year as a holiday, and to the\nmonth in which it fell was given his name, Julius, or as we say now,\nJuly.\n\nHis triumphs were the wonder of the citizens for many long days to\ncome, for he celebrated his victories over Gaul, Egypt, Pontus, and\nNumidia. Many were the strange and marvellous treasures that adorned\nthe processions.\n\nOf his war with Pompey, as it was against a Roman, nothing was said,\nnor was it celebrated in a triumph.\n\nFor six or seven months C\u00e6sar now stayed in Rome, making many good\nlaws. As of old he was loved by the people, for he proved himself still\ntheir friend, taking from the Optimates the power they often used\nharshly or carelessly and giving it to them.\n\nHis friends often begged him to have a bodyguard, for although he was\nso beloved, he still had enemies. But C\u00e6sar would take no precautions,\nsaying in answer to the fears of his friends, \u2018It is better to suffer\ndeath once, than always to live in fear of it.\u2019\n\nAbout this time the Dictator ordered Carthage and Corinth, which had\nbeen destroyed at the same time, to be rebuilt. When the cities were\nready, he sent many of his soldiers to settle in them, as well as many\nItalian citizens.\n\nThus many of those who had lived in poverty had a new chance given to\nthem, while the overcrowded towns in Italy became healthier and less\nfull of poverty. Wise men, too, came from Egypt at C\u00e6sar\u2019s command, and\namong other reforms they altered and improved the Roman Calendar.\n\nIn December 45 B.C., C\u00e6sar was again forced to leave Rome to put down a\nrebellion in the south of Spain, raised by Pompey\u2019s two sons, Gn\u00e6us and\nSextus.\n\nNow it chanced that popular as C\u00e6sar was in most countries, he was not\nso in the south of Spain. This was because he had sent to the province\na governor who, unfortunately, had treated the people badly, and for\nthis C\u00e6sar was held responsible.\n\nSo Pompey\u2019s sons had found it easy to stir up rebellion, and they had\nsoon gathered together a large army, while the Pompeian leaders who had\nescaped from Africa had joined the lads.\n\nWhen C\u00e6sar reached Spain, he found Gn\u00e6us encamped in a plain near to\nthe town of Munda.\n\nHere a great battle was fought, Roman fighting against Roman, for the\nsoldiers in Gn\u00e6us\u2019s army were nearly all veterans who had been trained\nin the legions of Rome.\n\nAt one time it seemed as though C\u00e6sar\u2019s troops were giving way. Then\nhe himself ran from rank to rank of his men, asking if they were not\nashamed to let their general be beaten by boys.\n\nUrged by C\u00e6sar\u2019s words to fresh efforts, his brave veterans fought\ndesperately until the day was theirs.\n\nGn\u00e6us fled, but a few weeks later was captured and put to death.\nSextus, however, escaped, and for many years was at the head of a fleet\nthat caused great trouble along the coast of Italy.\n\nWhen the hard-fought battle of Munda was won, C\u00e6sar said to his\nfriends, \u2018I have often fought for victory, but this is the first time I\nhave ever fought for life.\u2019\n\nAt Rome the tidings of the victory was received with an outburst of\nenthusiasm. No honour was too great for the victor. He had already been\nmade Dictator for ten years; he was now appointed Dictator for life.\n\nThe Romans could not do enough to show their affection and pride.\nHonour after honour was heaped upon the victorious general. He was made\nConsul for ten years, was given entire control of the treasury. And to\ncrown all, the title of Imperator, which carried with it the entire\ncontrol of the army, was also bestowed upon him.\n\nRome had no honour left to give now, unless she gave to her Imperator\nthe title of King.\n\nThere were already some among his friends who said that it would be\nwell that he should wear the supreme title in the provinces, if not in\nRome.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CXV\n\nTHE NOBLES PLOT AGAINST C\u00c6SAR\n\n\nSince the days of Tarquin the Proud, the people of Rome had hated the\nvery name of king. In some strange and subtle way, their love for\nC\u00e6sar and their pride in his achievements began, from this time, to be\ntouched with the suspicion that he wished to bear the title Rex, rex\nbeing the Latin word for king.\n\nSlowly but surely the thought grew. Suppose C\u00e6sar should claim the\nsupreme title and then forget his gracious ways, and become like\nTarquin of old, proud and cruel!\n\nC\u00e6sar\u2019s enemies were not slow to take advantage of the mood of the\npeople, and they did all that they could to encourage their suspicion\nand dread.\n\nHis friends, too, foolishly played into the hands of his enemies, some\nof them one day saluting him as Rex.\n\nC\u00e6sar, whether he was pleased or not, was quick to see that the people\nstanding near were angry. So he replied, as though to reprove his\nfriends, that his name, as they knew, was not Rex but C\u00e6sar.\n\nRex, as well as meaning king, was also the surname of a well-known\nRoman family.\n\nIt was all very well for C\u00e6sar to pretend that his friends had mistaken\nwho he was, but rumours were soon rife in the city--that C\u00e6sar really\nwished the title, and had not been well pleased at the evident dislike\nof the people to hear him saluted as Rex.\n\nAnd so gradually his words and movements came to be watched by his\nenemies and by the people too, always with this thought of kingship in\ntheir minds.\n\nWhen, on his return from Spain, the consuls and senators went to tell\nC\u00e6sar of the new honours that had been heaped upon him, he did not, as\nwas his custom, rise to receive them, but remained sitting.\n\nNot only the Senate, but the people, were indignant at such haughty\nbehaviour, and C\u00e6sar himself was quick to see that he had made a\nmistake.\n\nHe tried to excuse himself, saying that his health was not good, but\nfew believed that that accounted for his action.\n\nIt is said that he really was going to rise as usual, had not one of\nhis flatterers pulled him to his seat, saying, \u2018Will you not remember\nyou are C\u00e6sar, and claim the honour which is your due?\u2019\n\nSoon after this, in February 45 B.C., an ancient festival called the\nLupercalia was celebrated on the Palatine.\n\nC\u00e6sar sat, clad in a triumphal robe, in a golden chair to watch the\ngames.\n\nMark Antony was taking part in the festival, and as he ran hither and\nthither amid the merrymakers, he reached the Forum and saw C\u00e6sar seated\non the chair of gold as on a throne. He stepped before him and held out\na crown wreathed with laurel.\n\nA few persons had been placed near C\u00e6sar, with orders to applaud when\nAntony proffered the crown to the Dictator, and so some feeble cheers\nrose on the air, while the crowd looked on coldly and in silence.\n\nBut when C\u00e6sar moved the crown aside, loud cheers burst from the\nmultitude. There was no doubt that the Dictator\u2019s action had pleased\nthem.\n\nAgain Antony offered the crown, while a few persons clapped their\nhands, but when once more C\u00e6sar put it aside, cheer after cheer rent\nthe air.\n\nA third time Antony tried to force the crown upon C\u00e6sar, but the temper\nof the people had been shown too plainly, and the Dictator now bade\nthe crown to be taken to the Capitol and dedicated to Jupiter, for he\nalone was king.\n\nA few days later, those who passed the statues of C\u00e6sar found them\nadorned with crowns.\n\nThis roused the anger of two tribunes, who pulled off the crowns and\narrested those who, they believed, had first called C\u00e6sar Rex, and sent\nthem to prison.\n\nWhether C\u00e6sar really wished to be king or not, he was angry with the\ntribunes for their hasty conduct, and ordered them to be suspended from\nthe tribuneship.\n\nAs I told you, C\u00e6sar\u2019s every act was now watched with suspicion. He had\nno sons to follow him, so he began to bring his great-nephew Octavius,\nwho was eighteen years of age, to the front, and treat him as a prince\nand his heir should be treated. It seemed to the nobles that C\u00e6sar was\nacting as a king, who claimed for his heir the respect due to royalty.\n\nIn this, and many other ways, the Dictator incensed the patricians.\nLittle by little their hatred grew, until some among them began to\nthink that it would be well if C\u00e6sar were dead. For as long as he was\nalive it was not possible for them to be as powerful as they had been\nbefore he ruled in Rome.\n\nBut others, like Decimus Brutus, who was loved by C\u00e6sar and who loved\nhim, did not wish the Dictator out of the way, in order to satisfy\ntheir own ambitions. They truly believed that it would be better for\nRome not to be ruled by one man, but by the Senate and the people, as\nhad been the way of old.\n\nSo while different nobles had different reasons for plotting against\nC\u00e6sar, they all had agreed at length that C\u00e6sar must be put to death.\n\nThe chief conspirator was Cassius, who like Brutus had fought for\nPompey, and had been pardoned and even favoured by C\u00e6sar.\n\nCassius was crafty and ambitious, and his dark lean face smiled as he\nthought how soon C\u00e6sar\u2019s power would now be at an end. Brutus, too, was\none of the most active conspirators.\n\nBefore long the plot was complete, and the conspirators determined that\nit should be carried out quickly, lest it should be discovered. For\nalready more than sixty or seventy people had been told the terrible\nsecret.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CXVI\n\nTHE ASSASSINATION OF C\u00c6SAR\n\n\nAn important meeting was arranged to be held in the Senate house on the\n15th March 44 B.C. The conspirators fixed this, the Ides of March, as\nthe day on which they would assassinate the Dictator. They knew that he\nwould come to the Senate unarmed and without guards, as was his custom.\n\nOn the evening of the 14th, as C\u00e6sar sat at supper, the conversation,\nstrangely enough, was about the kind of death that one would wish to\ndie.\n\nThe Dictator glanced up from the letters he was reading and said\nabruptly, \u2018A sudden one,\u2019 and then went on with his reading.\n\nRumours of the plot may have got abroad, but whether that was so or\nnot, C\u00e6sar had for some days been told of evil omens, and had been\nwarned to beware of danger.\n\nAmong other warnings, a soothsayer had told him that evil would befal\nhim on the Ides of March. Now the Ides of March fell on the 15th of the\nmonth.\n\nThe night before the 15th, C\u00e6sar\u2019s wife, Calpurnia, tossed in her\nsleep, breaking out at length into sobs as though in great sorrow. She\nwas dreaming that she held in her arms the dead body of her husband.\n\nIn the morning she begged him with tears not to go to the Senate-house\nthat day.\n\nAt length her tears and the warnings that had reached him, made him\nfirst hesitate and then yield to her entreaties.\n\nMeanwhile the senators had assembled, among them the conspirators\narmed with daggers which were concealed in the cases of their writing\nstilus.\n\nWhen C\u00e6sar did not come they grew impatient. What had happened? Had he\nperchance discovered their treachery? The conspirators were uneasy, and\nthey found it hard to conceal their uneasiness.\n\nAt length Decimus Brutus, one of their number, offered to go to see why\nC\u00e6sar had not come, and if necessary to entice him to the Senate.\n\nDecimus found C\u00e6sar at home, cast down by evil omens and by the fears\nof Calpurnia.\n\nThen Decimus pretended to laugh at the great C\u00e6sar for being disturbed\nby such forebodings. He scoffed at the soothsayer and his prediction\nthat evil would befall C\u00e6sar on the Ides of March, he mocked at the\nstory of evil omens. \u2018Will C\u00e6sar let it be told that because of such\nthings he would not come to the Senate-house?\u2019 said the false friend.\n\nPerhaps C\u00e6sar was half ready to laugh at his own fears, but in any case\nthe words of Decimus hurt his pride, and in spite of all that Calpurnia\ncould urge, he determined to go back with Decimus to the Senate.\n\nIt was now about eleven o\u2019clock. As C\u00e6sar crossed the hall of his\nhouse, his bust fell and broke in pieces.\n\nAfterwards it was said that perhaps this was done by some friend or\nservant to warn him what would befall him should he leave the house. At\nthe time, the broken bust seemed but another of the omens of evil with\nwhich of late he had been surrounded.\n\nBut he left the house and stepped into the street. As he walked along\nhe passed the soothsayer, and with an attempt at gaiety he called to\nhim, \u2018The Ides of March have come.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 answered the wise man, \u2018they are come, but they are not past.\u2019\n\nAs was ever the way, the crowd pressed close to offer petitions to him\nas he passed along the street.\n\nOne man seemed more eager even than the others to hand a paper to the\nDictator, and when at length he succeeded, he said hurriedly, \u2018Read it\nwithout delay, C\u00e6sar, for it concerns your safety.\u2019 But the paper was\nnever read, for the Dictator handed it with others to his attendant.\n\nNo sooner had C\u00e6sar reached the Senate-house and taken his seat than\nthe conspirators crowded around him, one of them, named Cimber,\noffering him a petition.\n\nIt was one which the Dictator had already refused to grant, and he was\nannoyed at the persistence shown by Cimber.\n\nMoreover, the other conspirators joined him in his entreaties, pressing\never closer and closer around the Dictator, until only those in the\nplot were near to him.\n\nC\u00e6sar was now really angry and turned away from Cimber, again refusing\nhis request. As he did so, Cimber pulled C\u00e6sar\u2019s toga down from his\nneck. It was the signal upon which the conspirators had agreed.\n\nCasca, who was to give the first blow, thereupon drew his dagger and\nstruck C\u00e6sar on the shoulder. Either through fear or haste he did\nlittle harm by his stroke.\n\nIn a moment C\u00e6sar had sprung to his feet, and seizing hold of Casca\u2019s\nweapon, he cried, \u2018Vile Casca, what does this mean?\u2019\n\nBut immediately daggers were drawn on every side of him, and blow after\nblow descended upon his body, while angry faces looked into his.\n\nUnarmed as he was, C\u00e6sar yet struggled desperately with the assassins,\nuntil he caught sight of Decimus Brutus, whom he loved, among his\nmurderers, ready to strike.\n\nThen crying, \u2018Et tu, Brute?\u2019 \u2018Thou, too, Brutus?\u2019 he covered his face\nwith his toga and fell to the ground, his body covered with many wounds.\n\nC\u00e6sar was dead. And it is said that nature herself mourned for the\ngreat man stricken to death by those whom he had befriended. For, for\na whole year the sun shone dull and faint, while grey clouds were\nstretched across the sky like a funeral pall. C\u00e6sar was dead.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CXVII\n\nBRUTUS SPEAKS TO THE CITIZENS\n\n\nWhen the terrible deed was done, Brutus wished to tell those senators,\nwho had known nothing of the plot, why it had been necessary to murder\nthe Dictator.\n\nBut they, horrified with the murder, and dismayed that they had been\nunable to aid C\u00e6sar, were in no mood to listen to the conspirators.\nThey fled indeed from the Senate-house, not knowing what fate awaited\nthem, and too sad perhaps to greatly care.\n\nNot far from the Senate-house they met Mark Antony, C\u00e6sar\u2019s most\nfaithful friend, who had been purposely kept away from the meeting.\nThey told him what had befallen C\u00e6sar, and he and many others of\nC\u00e6sar\u2019s friends hid themselves, lest the conspirators should wish to\nmurder them also. But they need not have feared, for it was C\u00e6sar\u2019s\nlife alone that had been doomed.\n\nAs the senators had not stayed to listen to their explanations, the\nconspirators now determined to tell the people that C\u00e6sar was dead.\n\nSo they marched through the streets crying that the tyrant had been\nkilled, and bidding all those who loved the Republic to join them.\n\nBut the citizens turned away, with scarcely concealed horror, and\nhurrying into their shops and houses, shut the doors.\n\nThey had seen C\u00e6sar that very morning. It could not be true that he\nwas indeed dead, as Brutus said. In awed whispers they spoke of him to\none another, and many wept, for now they forgot their suspicions, and\nremembered only that they had loved C\u00e6sar, and that he had been their\nfriend.\n\nThe next day, when the people assembled in the Forum, Brutus spoke to\nthem. He told them, not of the dead C\u00e6sar\u2019s faults, but of the Republic\nand its needs, and the people listened in silence.\n\nBut when Brutus sat down, another of the conspirators began to speak,\naccusing C\u00e6sar of one crime after another. This was more than the\npeople could bear. The interruptions grew louder and more threatening\nevery moment, until at length the conspirators, fearing that a riot\nwould take place, fled to the Capitol for safety.\n\nOn the following morning the Senate met, and Antony, caring no longer\nto hide, was seen walking through the streets toward the Senate-house.\nThe people feared for his safety, because he had been the friend of\nC\u00e6sar, and begged him to beware, lest he too was murdered. But he\nlifted his toga that they might see that he was clad in armour.\n\nEven to meet the Senate, the conspirators did not venture to leave the\nCapitol, but they sent Cicero to be their spokesman.\n\nCicero\u2019s eloquence may have moved the senators. In any case, Mark\nAntony, who was one of the Consuls, agreed that the conspirators should\nbe received in peace.\n\nIt was also arranged that C\u00e6sar should be given a public funeral.\n\nAntony was now content. As Consul, he would speak at C\u00e6sar\u2019s funeral,\nand he did not doubt his power to rouse the passions of the people\nagainst the murderers of his friend. Cassius foresaw what Antony would\ndo, and tried to stir the fears of Brutus. But in this he failed.\n\nAs the Senate had agreed to receive the conspirators, and as the people\nwere in the meantime pacified, they now ventured to leave the Capitol,\nand even to enter the Forum.\n\nWhen the funeral day arrived, before Antony brought the body of his\nfriend into the Forum, Brutus spoke once again to the assembled\ncitizens, seeking this time to tell them why he had had anything to\ndo with the murder of C\u00e6sar whom he had loved. Here are his words, as\nShakespeare tells them to us:--\n\n \u2018Romans, countrymen, and lovers! hear me for my cause, and be\n silent that you may hear. If there be any in this assembly,\n any dear friend of C\u00e6sar\u2019s, to him I say, that Brutus\u2019 love\n to C\u00e6sar was no less than his. If then that friend demand why\n Brutus rose against C\u00e6sar, this is my answer:--Not that I loved\n C\u00e6sar less, but that I loved Rome more.\n\n \u2018As C\u00e6sar loved me, I weep for him; as he was fortunate, I\n rejoice at it; as he was valiant, I honour him: but, as he was\n ambitious, I slew him. There is tears for his love; joy for his\n fortune; honour for his valour; and death for his ambition.\u2019\n\nWith these and many other words Brutus so pleased the people, that it\ndid not seem likely that they would care to listen to what Antony had\nto say.\n\n\u2018Live Brutus, live Brutus!\u2019 shouted the crowds, well content for the\nmoment with the defence which he had made.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CXVIII\n\nMARK ANTONY SPEAKS TO THE CITIZENS\n\n\nThe people were still shouting \u2018Live Brutus!\u2019 when Mark Antony entered\nthe Forum with the dead body of C\u00e6sar.\n\nBrutus at once prepared to go, bidding the citizens listen to what Mark\nAntony had to say.\n\nThe body of C\u00e6sar, covered with a purple cloth, had now been placed\nwhere all might see.\n\nClose to Antony lay the toga which his friend had worn as he went to\nthe Senate-house on the Ides of March. It was torn and stained, where\nthe daggers had done their deadly work. It too could be seen by the\ncrowds.\n\nA wax figure of C\u00e6sar, with each wound which he had received, plainly\nmarked, was placed near the dead body.\n\nAntony, clad in robes of mourning, then began to read C\u00e6sar\u2019s will\naloud. The people listened spellbound. Was it true that C\u00e6sar had cared\nfor them so much?\n\nWhat did Antony say? That to each Roman citizen C\u00e6sar had left a sum of\nthree pounds!\n\nHis garden too, his beautiful garden! It also was left to them and to\ntheir children, to walk in when it pleased them, to be there at all\ntimes a retreat from the heat and the dust of the streets.\n\nTo some of those who had slain him too, C\u00e6sar had willed large sums\nof money. Already the people were muttering in a way to fulfil the\nforebodings of Cassius. It had certainly been unwise to leave the\npeople alone with Mark Antony.\n\nThey had forgotten that they had applauded Brutus but a few moments\nbefore. Now they were declaring that the conspirators had killed, not a\ntyrant, but a friend of the people, one who had ever served his country\nwell. The conspirators deserved to be punished for their cruel deed,\nand they would see to it that----\n\nBut hush! Antony was speaking, was trying to make himself heard. They\nmust certainly listen to what he had to say. And here are his words, as\nShakespeare tells them to us:--\n\n \u2018Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;\n I come to bury C\u00e6sar, not to praise him.\n The evil that men do lives after them;\n The good is oft interred with their bones;\n So let it be with C\u00e6sar. The noble Brutus\n Hath told you C\u00e6sar was ambitious:\n If it were so, it was a grievous fault,\n And grievously hath C\u00e6sar answer\u2019d it.\n Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest--\n For Brutus is an honourable man;\n So are they all, all honourable men--\n Come I to speak in C\u00e6sar\u2019s funeral.\n He was my friend, faithful and just to me:\n But Brutus says he was ambitious;\n And Brutus is an honourable man.\n He hath brought many captives home to Rome,\n Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill:\n Did this in C\u00e6sar seem ambitious?\n When that the poor have cried, C\u00e6sar hath wept:\n Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:\n Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;\n And Brutus is an honourable man.\n You all did see that on the Lupercal\n I thrice presented him a kingly crown,\n Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?\n Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;\n And, sure, he is an honourable man.\n I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,\n But here I am to speak what I do know.\n You all did love him once, not without cause:\n What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him?\n O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts,\n And men have lost their reason! Bear with me,\n My heart is in the coffin there with C\u00e6sar,\n And I must pause till it come back to me.\u2019\n\nAs Antony finished speaking, he turned to pull away the cloth that\ncovered C\u00e6sar\u2019s body, so that the people could see his wounds.\n\nAlready as they listened to Antony\u2019s words and looked at the wax figure\nof C\u00e6sar, with its painted wounds, the fierce anger of the people had\nbeen roused. But now, when they saw the real wounds in C\u00e6sar\u2019s own\nbody, their passion knew no bounds.\n\nThey shouted that they would be revenged on the murderers of C\u00e6sar,\nthat not one of the conspirators should live, that they would burn the\nhouses of Brutus and Cassius.\n\nBut first they would themselves make C\u00e6sar\u2019s funeral pyre. So they\nrushed into the houses and shops in the Forum, and pulled out chairs,\ntables, benches, anything on which they could lay their hands.\n\nThen they placed these together in a great heap, and when all was\nready, they laid the body of C\u00e6sar reverently on the top. A moment more\nand they had set fire to the funeral pyre with torches.\n\nAs the fire blazed, the citizens armed themselves with faggots which\nthey lighted at the flames. Then they hurried away to the houses of\nBrutus and Cassius, shouting and waving their fiery brands in a frenzy\nof rage.\n\nBut the houses they found guarded, the conspirators fled.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CXIX\n\nTHE SECOND TRIUMVIRATE\n\n\nFor a short time Brutus had seemed a hero to the citizens of Rome, but\nAntony\u2019s speech had speedily changed their feelings.\n\nIt was now Mark Antony whom they wished to rule, and with the help of\nthe people he soon made himself master of Rome.\n\nBut he was not left long to enjoy his power undisputed. For C\u00e6sar\u2019s\nheir Octavius came to Rome in the month of May, to claim his\ninheritance.\n\nOctavius was only eighteen years of age, but he had a will resolute\nbeyond his years. He had already made up his mind to punish the\nassassins of C\u00e6sar, and to make himself as powerful as might be in the\nState.\n\nAt first he threw his influence on the side of the Optimates, who were\ndoing all they could to curtail Antony\u2019s power.\n\nTo support his claim to the first place in the kingdom, Antony soon\nfound it necessary to place himself at the head of an army. He\ndetermined to besiege Decimus Brutus, who had threatened to seize the\nprovince of Cisalpine Gaul, which Antony wished for himself.\n\nOctavius also gathered together an army, with which to attack Antony.\n\nThe Senate now declared Antony a public enemy, for taking up arms. When\nOctavius attacked his camp and forced Antony to flee, the Senate was\ngreatly pleased.\n\nBut it was soon disappointed to find that Octavius would not support\nthe claim of Decimus Brutus to Cisalpine Gaul. It had forgotten, if\nit ever knew, that the young general had vowed to punish all who had\nbetrayed C\u00e6sar, and had not this man enticed the great Dictator to his\nfate?\n\nOctavius even refused to pursue Antony, but demanded that the Senate\nshould now see that he, C\u00e6sar\u2019s heir, was elected Consul.\n\nWhen the Senate hesitated, Octavius marched at the head of his army to\nRome, first sending a message to Antony to suggest that they should\nmeet and agree to lay aside their quarrel.\n\nWith his army to support him, Octavius had no difficulty in being made\nConsul, or in gaining from the Senate other powers. He then forced it\nto withdraw the decree which had made Antony a public enemy, before he\nset out to meet him and Lepidus, who was also at the head of an army.\n\nThe three commanders met on a small island in the river Po, and there\nthey formed an alliance which was known as The Second Triumvirate. They\nthen gravely divided among themselves the Roman Empire.\n\nOne of the agreements made by the three commanders was this terrible\none, that each should be free to put to death those senators or\nOptimates who had displeased them.\n\nThe murderers of C\u00e6sar were already doomed, but a list of seventeen\nnames was drawn up, and in this list was the name of the great orator\nCicero.\n\nCicero had befriended Octavius it is true, but that could not save him\nafter the Second Triumvirate had been formed. For he had drawn upon\nhimself the fierce anger of Antony, by many bitter speeches. So, one\nday, early in December 43 B.C., Cicero was seized by a band of soldiers\nand executed by the order of Antony.\n\nWhen the Triumvirate returned to Rome a reign of terror began. As in\nthe time of Sulla lists were again hung in the Forum, with the names of\nproscribed persons, until at length two or three thousand were either\nput to death or forced to flee from the city.\n\nMany of these fugitives joined Brutus and Cassius, who had escaped to\nthe East, and had each assembled a large army. Others fled to Sicily,\nwhere Sextus Pompeius was still at the head of a fleet, and threatening\nto stop the corn supply which reached Rome from Sicily, Africa and\nother countries.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CXX\n\nTHE BATTLE OF PHILIPPI\n\n\nThe Triumvirs began to rule on the 1st January 42 B.C. But neither\nAntony nor Octavius was able to stay long in Rome, for Brutus and\nCassius had still to be pursued and punished. So Antony with a large\narmy set out for Greece to fight against the conspirators, while\nOctavius, also with an army, went to Sicily to attack Sextus.\n\nLepidus was left in Rome to watch over the welfare of the city.\n\nOctavius did not conquer Sextus, but in August he left Sicily to join\nAntony in Greece. They found Brutus and Cassius, each with his army,\nencamped in a strong position at Philippi in the north of the country.\n\nThe rebels, for such Rome now called the two conspirators, were in\nno haste to fight, for they had a plentiful supply of food for their\narmies, which was constantly renewed by the fleet which they commanded.\n\nAntony and Octavius had no fleet, and their supply of provisions was\nuncertain; for it was brought to them by the country folk, who were not\nable to give them easily all that was necessary.\n\nBefore the armies met, Brutus was one night sitting alone in his tent,\nafter his soldiers had gone to their quarters.\n\nIt was late and the light was dim, for he was not working, but\nbrooding, as he had begun to do since the death of C\u00e6sar.\n\nSuddenly he felt that he was no longer alone in the tent, and looking\nup, he saw that a strange figure was standing close beside him. In\nsilence Brutus and his unknown guest gazed the one at the other, until\nat length Brutus spoke.\n\n\u2018What are you,\u2019 he demanded, \u2018of men or gods, and upon what business\ncome to me?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am your evil genius, Brutus,\u2019 a sombre voice replied, \u2018you shall see\nme at Philippi.\u2019\n\nThe words sounded almost as a threat, but Brutus answered steadily,\n\u2018Then I shall see you.\u2019\n\nAs he spoke the figure vanished. Brutus at once called his servants and\nasked them if they had heard any one enter the camp, but none of them\nhad either heard or seen the mysterious stranger.\n\nSoon after this Brutus and Cassius resolved to put their fortune to the\ntest. They hung out a scarlet coat in their camp as a signal of battle.\n\nThe soldiers of Antony were at the time busy digging trenches, which\nthey hoped would stop provisions from the sea reaching the enemy.\n\nC\u00e6sar, as Octavius was now called, was not with Antony, but being\nill, was in his camp, a short distance away. His soldiers seem not to\nhave seen the scarlet coat in the camp of the enemy, for they made no\npreparations for battle. Even when they heard shouts and the clash of\narms coming from the direction of the trenches, they paid no attention\nto the confused noises. If they had bestirred themselves, the result of\nthe battle might have been different.\n\nCassius had fallen upon Antony\u2019s men as they worked in their trenches,\nbut he had been repulsed. Then, following up their advantage, the\nsoldiers of Antony had captured his camp.\n\nMeanwhile Cassius had drawn up his soldiers behind the camp, but when\nthe enemy attacked his cavalry, it suddenly gave way and fled toward\nthe sea.\n\nWhen his infantry also began to waver, Cassius snatched an eagle from\na standard-bearer who had turned to flee, and himself thrust it in the\nground and tried to rally his men.\n\nBut his troops refused to be rallied, and in a short time Cassius found\nhimself deserted, and was forced to ride off the field with only a few\nfollowers. He halted on a hill from which he could see the battlefield.\n\nBrutus meanwhile had attacked C\u00e6sar\u2019s army, and all but captured C\u00e6sar\nhimself. For he had been carried out of the camp only a few moments\nbefore the soldiers of Brutus dashed into it.\n\nThe first thing their eyes fell upon was the litter in which C\u00e6sar had\nbeen resting. Supposing that he was still lying there, the soldiers\nhurled their darts at it, and a rumour at once arose that C\u00e6sar was\nkilled. But it was soon discovered that the general had fled, that his\nlitter was empty.\n\nAnd now a sad mistake took place. Brutus, eager to tell Cassius of his\nvictory, sent off a body of cavalry to find him and tell him the good\ntidings.\n\nCassius saw the horsemen riding across the plain, and thinking that it\nmight be the enemy in search of him, he sent one of his followers to\nreconnoitre.\n\nWhen the messenger reached the horsemen he was greeted heartily. Some\nhastily dismounted to gather around him and tell the story of their\ntriumph, others shouted or clashed their arms.\n\nCassius was watching anxiously from the distance, and he imagined that\nhis follower had been captured by the enemy. Then he thought that\nBrutus must have been defeated, perhaps even had been slain, and he\ndetermined that he himself would live no longer. Without waiting to\nlearn the truth, Cassius stole into an empty tent and stabbed himself.\n\nWhen the sad news was told to Brutus, he was greatly grieved. \u2018The\nlast of the Romans has fallen,\u2019 he cried in his sorrow, \u2018for it is not\npossible that the city should ever produce another man of so great a\nspirit.\u2019\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CXXI\n\nTHE DEATH OF BRUTUS\n\n\nThe battle of Philippi had decided nothing, as one general on each side\nhad been victorious.\n\nC\u00e6sar and Antony would willingly have fought again without delay, for\nthey were finding it always more difficult to provide food for their\narmies.\n\nBut Brutus seemed loth to take the field, and for fourteen days his\nsoldiers vainly begged him to lead them against the enemy. Their\npersistence at length forced him to yield, and he placed himself at\ntheir head and advanced against the foe.\n\nA desperate struggle followed, and while the division led by Brutus was\nagain victorious, the main body of the army was scattered and put to\nflight.\n\nAs Brutus himself fled with a few friends, a band of horsemen followed\nhim, determined if possible to capture him and bring him alive to\nAntony.\n\nWith Brutus was his comrade Lucilius, and he, seeing what the horsemen\nwished, determined that he would save his friend although he himself\nshould perish in the attempt.\n\nAs the enemy drew near, Lucilius, apparently unnoticed by Brutus,\ndropped behind, and when the horsemen seized him, he let them believe\nthat they had indeed captured Brutus. So in great good temper the\nhorsemen carried Lucilius to Antony. He, hearing that Brutus was a\nprisoner, was mightily pleased, and ordered him to be brought before\nhim.\n\nThe prisoner no sooner saw Antony than he said without any trace of\nfear, \u2018Be assured, Antony, that no enemy has taken or ever shall take\nBrutus alive.... As for me, I am come hither by a cheat that I put\nupon your soldiers, and am ready ... to suffer any severities you will\ninflict.\u2019\n\nBut Antony turned to the crestfallen horsemen and said, \u2018You have\nbrought me better booty than you sought. For indeed I am uncertain how\nI should have used Brutus if you had brought him alive, but of this I\nam sure, it is better to have such men as Lucilius our friends than our\nenemies.\u2019 From that day Antony and Lucilius were friends.\n\nBrutus meanwhile had ridden on until he reached a little stream, and\nhere, sheltered by steep cliffs he sat down to rest. His heart was sad,\nfor many of his friends were slain. He murmured the long list of their\nnames, sighing heavily as he did so.\n\nHour after hour passed, and his people grew anxious lest the enemy\nshould overtake them, and they urged Brutus to fly.\n\n\u2018Yes indeed we must fly,\u2019 answered the stricken general, \u2018but not with\nour feet, but with our hands.\u2019 Then he went aside with only his friend\nStrato, and flinging himself upon the point of his sword, he died.\n\nAntony, when he found the dead body of Brutus, ordered it to be covered\nwith a beautiful purple mantle of his own.\n\nA soldier, too full of greed to show reverence to the dead, dared to\nsteal the mantle. Antony did not rest until the thief was discovered\nand put to death.\n\n[Illustration: Here, sheltered by steep cliffs, he sat down to rest.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CXXII\n\nANTONY AND CLEOPATRA\n\n\nNow that Brutus and Cassius were both dead, there was no one to dispute\nthe division of the empire between C\u00e6sar and Antony.\n\nLepidus, although one of the Triumvirs, was not consulted when the new\narrangement was made, for he was suspected of having joined Sextus in a\nplot to overthrow C\u00e6sar.\n\nIf it proved that he had been loyal, Antony agreed to give up Africa to\nhim; if he were proved to have been disloyal he would have no share in\nthe empire.\n\nSix weeks later, in 36 B.C., Lepidus was accused again of plotting to\nslay C\u00e6sar, and from that time he no longer belonged to the Triumvirate.\n\nAfter the second battle of Philippi in 42 B.C., C\u00e6sar took Spain and\nNumidia as his share of the empire, Antony Gaul and Africa. Italy was\nto belong to both, for it was the centre of the kingdom.\n\nWhen this was settled, Antony went to Asia to put down rebellion in the\ndifferent provinces, while C\u00e6sar returned to Rome.\n\nNow Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, had sent generals and troops to help\nCassius in his war against C\u00e6sar and Antony. One of Antony\u2019s duties\nwas to demand an explanation of this act. So when he was in Tarsus in\nthe summer of 41 B.C., he summoned the queen to come and explain her\ndefiance of Rome.\n\nAt first Cleopatra paid no attention to the letter Antony sent to\nsummon her to come to Tarsus. Other letters came and apparently she\nheeded them not. But all the while she was making great preparations\nfor her journey, and at length \u2018as if in mockery of the orders she had\nreceived, she came sailing up the river Cydnus, in a barge with gilded\nstern and outspread sails of purple, while oars of silver beat time\nto the music of flutes and pipes and harps. She herself lay all along\nunder a canopy of cloth of gold, dressed as Venus in a picture, and\nbeautiful young boys, like painted Cupids, stood on each side to fan\nher. Her maids were dressed like sea nymphs and graces, some steering\nat the rudder, some working at the ropes.\u2019\n\nCrowds ran along on either bank of the river to gaze at the magnificent\nbarge. As it drew near to the city, the people left their work and play\nand ran to the harbour to see the marvellous beauty of the Queen of\nEgypt.\n\nAntony did not run to the river. He stayed where he was, sitting on the\ntribunal in the deserted market-place, but when the queen had arrived,\nhe sent a message asking her to supper. But Cleopatra refused, begging\nhim rather to come to the barge to sup with her.\n\nThen Antony, wishing to appear courteous, went to the barge, and\nCleopatra began to weave the spell that was to be his undoing.\nBewitched by her charm, he forgot Rome, his wife, his duties in the\nEast, and when she went back to Alexandria he followed her.\n\nIn Egypt he became her most favoured courtier, while, to please her, he\nlaid aside his Roman garb and dressed as did her people. For a year he\nlived thus in a mad whirl of gaiety.\n\nAnd while Antony wasted his time in Egypt, C\u00e6sar grew daily more\ntrusted and more beloved in Rome.\n\nFulvia, the wife of Antony, saw how C\u00e6sar was winning the hearts of the\npeople, and she determined that she would alienate them from him, if\nthat were possible. For then she thought that the people would turn to\nAntony again.\n\nSo she raised an army, and C\u00e6sar was forced to send his general Agrippa\nagainst her.\n\nFulvia had hoped that Antony, when he heard of her efforts, would\nhasten to support her, as he would know that it was for his sake she\nhad taken up arms.\n\nBut her husband still lingered in Egypt. It was not until the autumn\nof the year 40 B.C., that he came to Greece. Even when he did come he\nshowed no gratitude to Fulvia for what she had done; he even reproached\nher. Nevertheless he determined to carry on the quarrel that she had\nbegun.\n\nRome was in despair, for it seemed that once again their land would be\ndistracted by civil war.\n\nBut Fulvia, whose influence might have kept Antony to his purpose,\ndied, while the soldiers themselves did not wish to fight against their\nown countrymen. So Antony agreed to make terms with C\u00e6sar. In this way\nthe Peace of Brundisium was arranged, and the empire was once again\ndivided between the Triumvirs.\n\nAntony, to show that he meant to be true to the new agreement, now\nmarried Octavia, the sister of Octavius. She was a beautiful woman, and\nas wise as she was beautiful. Her love for her husband and her brother\ncaused her great suffering in the years to come. For a time, however,\nher influence helped to strengthen the bonds between the two men.\n\nSoon after the Peace of Brundisium, peace was also made with Sextus,\nC\u00e6sar and Antony going to meet him on one of his own vessels. On being\ngranted certain privileges, Sextus promised no longer to interfere with\nthe corn trade, and thus Rome was freed from a long-continued evil.\n\nAntony and Octavia then went to Greece, where Antony stayed for two\nyears. He gained little credit in his wars with the Parthians, who had\ninvaded Syria, while he behaved so treacherously in his battles against\nArmenia, that the people at home said that he had disgraced the Roman\nname.\n\nBut he grew more and more disliked in Rome because of his unkindness to\nOctavia. For after two years he sent her back to Octavius, pretending\nthat it was not safe for her to stay with him while he was engaged in\nthe Parthian War.\n\nBut she had no sooner left him than he went to Alexandria, where he\nlived as he had done before with Queen Cleopatra.\n\nThe Romans were angry with Antony for making Alexandria his\nheadquarters. They began to fear lest he should try to found a new\nempire in the East, of which this town would be the capital. And then\nin time to come the greatness of Alexandria might eclipse that of Rome.\n\nC\u00e6sar meanwhile was in Rome, doing all that he could for the welfare\nof the people. But Sextus had broken his promise, and was interfering\nagain with the corn trade, and so making the price of bread ruinous.\nThus, in spite of all C\u00e6sar\u2019s efforts, the distress of the people was\ngreat.\n\nAt length C\u00e6sar determined that Sextus should not be allowed to go on\ninjuring the corn trade, and he sent an army against him. But it was\nnot for three years that Sextus was at last defeated by Agrippa, the\ngeneral on whom C\u00e6sar relied for his victories. Sextus then fled to\nAsia, where he was at length captured and put to death.\n\nFor this and many other services rendered to the State, C\u00e6sar was\nloaded with honours by the Senate. One of these honours was, that he\nwas allowed to wear the triumphal robes when he pleased; another that\na public residence was set aside for him on the Palatine, while his\nperson was declared sacred.\n\nWhen Antony heard of all that had been bestowed upon C\u00e6sar, he thought\nthat it was time to bestir himself, unless he wished to be entirely\nforgotten by Rome.\n\nSo he sent to the Senate an account of his Acta, that is, an account\nof what he had been doing in Egypt. There was indeed little to tell,\nsave that he had been bestowing kingdoms on his and Cleopatra\u2019s\nchildren. He, however, asked the Senate to confirm his Acta. In his\nanger and jealousy against C\u00e6sar, he added that when the Triumvirate\ncame to an end in 33 B.C., he did not wish to renew it.\n\nFrom this time the quarrel between Antony and C\u00e6sar grew rapidly more\nacute, and at length it was plain that only war would determine whether\nC\u00e6sar or Antony was to rule the empire.\n\nAntony now began to gather together an army and a fleet, even preparing\nto attack the coasts of Italy. But this was more than the Senate would\nallow, and in 32 B.C., war was proclaimed against Cleopatra, who was\nsupporting Antony in his preparations, while Antony was now treated as\na public enemy.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CXXIII\n\nTHE BATTLE OF ACTIUM\n\n\nThe great battle which was to decide who was to rule over the Roman\nEmpire was fought at Actium, on the west coast of Greece, in 31 B.C.\n\nHere C\u00e6sar and Antony arrived, each with a great fleet and a great\narmy. Antony was not accustomed to fight at sea, nor were his generals\nor soldiers. Yet to please Cleopatra he had decided that the first\nbattle should be between the fleets.\n\nThe queen herself was at Actium, and had sent sixty of her own vessels\nto join Antony\u2019s fleet.\n\nSeveral skirmishes took place, in which C\u00e6sar was successful, and\nCleopatra grew impatient and anxious. Then she tried to persuade Antony\nto withdraw without risking a battle.\n\nIn Alexandria, she said, they would be safe, for her towers were\nstrong, and could be well garrisoned. If C\u00e6sar followed and attacked\nthem there they could easily defy him.\n\nTo withdraw should have been impossible to a soldier, yet so strong\nwas the influence of Cleopatra that Antony at length promised to do as\nshe wished. But for four days a gale blew so fiercely that it was not\npossible to leave Actium.\n\nEarly on the morning of the 2nd September, Cleopatra saw with delight\nthat the weather was favourable. She knew no rest until the signal was\ngiven, and Antony\u2019s fleet began slowly to sail out of the bay.\n\nC\u00e6sar saw that the enemy\u2019s fleet was moving, and he at once ordered his\nvessels to follow, and if possible to surround it.\n\nBy yielding to Cleopatra, Antony had really only provoked battle, and\nhe was now forced to give the signal to attack. Then as he knew that\nhis soldiers were uneasy at having to fight at sea, he went in a small\nboat from one ship to another and urged them to think of their large\ndecks as solid earth and to fight for victory.\n\nAntony\u2019s ships were larger than those of C\u00e6sar, and proved difficult to\nmanage when the sea was heavy, as it was that day. The smaller vessels\nof C\u00e6sar were able to move swiftly, and after hurling darts on to the\nenemy\u2019s deck, they could easily withdraw out of reach of Antony\u2019s\nmissiles. Fiercely the battle raged, but when morning had passed,\nneither side had gained the victory.\n\nCleopatra was not used to the strain of battle, and her anxiety made\nher fretful and peevish. She determined to endure the miserable\nuncertainty no longer. It was intolerable. Away from the noise and the\nconfusion, she could forget that Antony was fighting for an empire.\n\nWith no thought save the desire to escape, she gave the signal for\nretreat. Her sixty vessels at once hoisted their sails, and struggling\npast the ships that were engaged in battle, they fled for safety and\nfor home.\n\nAntony saw the ships with their sails filled, speeding away, and he\nknew that Cleopatra had deserted him.\n\nPerhaps he thought that this would seal the fate of the battle, that\nthe sight of the flying vessels would soon spread a panic through the\nentire fleet, perhaps his one desire was to follow the queen. In any\ncase, Antony sprang into a galley and set off in pursuit of Cleopatra.\n\nBut when he reached the vessel in which the queen was seated, happy now\nand at her ease, and was taken on board, the thought of his dishonour\nsuddenly took hold of him. Without a word to Cleopatra or even a\nlook in her direction, he walked to the prow of the ship, and there,\ncovering his face with his hands he bemoaned his dastardly deed. He\nthought that in the eyes of his army he was disgraced even now, and he\ndid not hide from himself that he had become unfit to be a leader of\nmen.\n\nBut the soldiers could not believe that the general who had often led\nthem to battle had fled, and they fought bravely on, thinking that at\nany moment he would be among them to lead them to victory.\n\nAnd so firm was their faith in Antony, that when the fight was over,\nthey refused, for seven days, to surrender to C\u00e6sar, lest their own\ngeneral should yet appear. The officers were less loyal than the men,\nor perhaps they knew Antony better. They did not hesitate to leave\ntheir troops and to submit to C\u00e6sar. Only then did the soldiers believe\nthat Antony had indeed gone, and they also went over to the conqueror.\n\nWhen the battle of Actium ended, C\u00e6sar had won a decisive victory. He\ndid not, however, go to Egypt until winter was over.\n\nAntony, who had resolved if it were possible to redeem his flight, at\nonce began to gather together an army ready to oppose C\u00e6sar. But at the\nsame time, both he and Cleopatra were trying to pacify the victorious\ngeneral.\n\nThe queen sent him a gift of a gold crown, and offered to abdicate if\nC\u00e6sar would allow her sons to reign. Antony also sent a gift of money,\nand begged to be allowed to live in Athens as a private citizen. If\nC\u00e6sar proved ungracious they both hoped to be able to flee beyond his\nreach.\n\nTo Antony\u2019s request C\u00e6sar paid no heed. But he encouraged Cleopatra to\nbelieve that he would do all that she wished for herself and for her\nchildren, if she would put Antony to death, or send him away from Egypt.\n\nBut even if she proved faithless to Antony and betrayed him to his\nenemy, C\u00e6sar still meant to take the queen to Rome to adorn his\ntriumph.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CXXIV\n\nANTONY AND CLEOPATRA DIE\n\n\nWhen C\u00e6sar at length came to Egypt with his army, he landed at\nPelusium. Before the soldiers had rested after the fatigue of their\njourney, Antony fell upon them and won a slight victory, which\nencouraged him to face a general battle.\n\nThe night before the battle, he feasted with his friends, in gayer mood\nthan since his flight from Actium, for now he hoped to conquer or to\ndie honourably on the battlefield.\n\nEarly in the morning he led his infantry to a position from which he\ncould see his fleet, for he believed that two battles would be fought\nthat day, one on sea and one on land.\n\nBut to his dismay, as his fleet drew near to C\u00e6sar\u2019s vessels, he saw\nthat his men saluted the enemy and then joined it. A moment later his\ncavalry also went over to C\u00e6sar\u2019s army, while his infantry was soon\nafter utterly beaten.\n\nCrushed and humiliated, Antony tried to escape on board a vessel, but\nfinding that he was watched by the enemy he stabbed himself to death.\nSuch, say the history books, was the sad end of Mark Antony, but\nPlutarch, who writes his life, tells us of his last days in another way.\n\nAfter his defeat, Plutarch says that Antony went back to Alexandria,\ncomplaining that he had been betrayed by Cleopatra into the hands of\nC\u00e6sar.\n\nHis anger against the queen was so fierce that she was afraid and\nhastened to shut herself into the mausoleum or tomb which she had built\nin preparation for her death.\n\nShe then bade servants go tell Antony that she was dead. Such tidings\nwould, she knew, speedily change his anger into sorrow.\n\nBut she had not stayed to think to what desperate step his grief\nmight drive Antony. He no sooner believed that she was dead, than he\ndetermined that he too would die.\n\n\u2018I am not troubled, Cleopatra,\u2019 he said, \u2018to be at present bereaved of\nyou, for I shall soon be with you, but it distresses me that so great\na general should be found of a tardier courage than a woman.\u2019 Then he\ncalled his servant Eros, who had sworn to put him to death when he\nshould demand it, and bade him now fulfil his promise. Silently the\nfaithful servant drew his sword, not to kill his master--that he found\nhe could not do--but to slay himself.\n\nWhen Antony saw that his servant was dead, he cried, \u2018It is well done,\nEros; you show your master how to do what you had not the heart to do\nyourself.\u2019 He then threw himself upon his sword, but the wound did not\nat once cause his death.\n\nAs Antony lay dying upon his couch, a messenger came from Cleopatra to\ntell him that she was not dead, but alive and in the mausoleum.\n\nThe dying man begged to be taken to her, and his servants carried him\nto the door of the tomb.\n\nThen the queen, looking out of her window, saw him lying below wounded\nand near to death.\n\nShe had only her two women Iras and Charmian with her, and so, instead\nof tarrying to open the heavy door with its numerous bolts, she let\ndown cords from the window.\n\nWhen these had been fastened round Antony, Cleopatra and her two women,\nslowly and painfully pulled up the wounded man and dragged him through\nthe window into the mausoleum.\n\nGently the queen laid Antony on her bed and wept over him, calling him\nher Emperor and her Lord.\n\nBut Antony, after drinking a little wine, bade her not to mourn for\nhim, for he had \u2018fallen not ignobly, a Roman by a Roman overcome.\u2019 With\nthese words upon his lips he died.\n\nWhen C\u00e6sar heard of the death of Antony, he wept, for he thought of the\nmany dangers that they had shared together, and of the friendship that\nOctavia had tried to foster between them.\n\nThen he quickly sent one of his officers named Proculeius to Cleopatra,\nbidding him see that she was safe, for he still cherished the wish to\ntake her alive to Rome, that she might adorn his triumph.\n\nWhen he reached the door of the mausoleum Proculeius found that it was\nbarred, so he took a ladder, fixed it on to the window and climbed up,\nand entered the room before the queen was aware.\n\n\u2018Miserable Cleopatra, you are taken prisoner,\u2019 cried one of her women.\n\nThen quick as lightning the queen drew a dagger which she had hidden in\nher dress, and would have stabbed herself had not Proculeius seized her\nhands, at the same time reproaching her for not trusting C\u00e6sar to prove\na generous foe.\n\nHe then took away the dagger, and shook her clothes lest she had hidden\npoison in them.\n\nA few days later, C\u00e6sar himself came to see the queen. She, grown wise\nsince the visit of Proculeius, deceived him, making him believe that\nshe had now no desire save to live. So artful was she that she told\nC\u00e6sar that she had kept some of her treasures that she might have gifts\nto bestow on Livia his wife and on Octavia his sister, when she went\nto Rome. Then C\u00e6sar left her, satisfied that she would yet adorn his\ntriumph.\n\nNow by the queen\u2019s desire, a basket of figs was brought to her from the\ncountry.\n\nThe guards stopped the countryman who brought it to the gate of the\nmausoleum, asking to see the contents of his basket.\n\nHe, pushing aside the leaves that lay on the top, showed them the figs.\nThe men admired their size, and bade him take them to the queen.\n\nBut at the foot of the basket, although the guards did not suspect it,\nthere lay concealed under the fruit, an asp, whose bite was deadly\npoison.\n\nWhen Cleopatra had the basket safe in her possession, she wrote to\nC\u00e6sar to beg that she might be buried beside Antony. Then she bade her\nwomen array her in her royal robes and set her diadems upon her head.\n\nAnd when this was done she lifted the asp from the basket and placed it\nupon her arm.\n\nNo sooner did the queen\u2019s letter reach C\u00e6sar, than he sent in great\nhaste to the mausoleum, for he feared that Cleopatra had found a way to\ndie, although she had neither poison nor a dagger in her possession.\n\nWhen C\u00e6sar\u2019s messengers reached the guards, they asked if all was well.\n\u2018All is well,\u2019 answered the soldiers, but \u2018when they had opened the\ndoor they found Cleopatra stark-dead, laid upon a bed of gold, attired\nand arrayed in her royal robes, and one of her women, called Iras,\ndead at her feet, but her other woman, called Charmian, half dead and\ntrembling, trimming the diadem which Cleopatra wore upon her head.\n\nOne of the soldiers seeing her, angrily said unto her, \u2018Is this well\ndone, Charmian?\u2019\n\n\u2018Very well,\u2019 she said again, \u2018meet for a princess descended from the\nrace of so many noble kings.\u2019 She said no more, but fell down dead,\nhard by the bed.\n\nThe queen\u2019s last request was granted, for she was buried with royal\nsplendour by the side of Antony.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CXXV\n\nTHE EMPEROR AUGUSTUS\n\n\nThe Roman Republic came to an end after the Battle of Actium.\n\nHenceforth until his death C\u00e6sar ruled over the great Roman Empire, and\nhe was now known as the Emperor Augustus. His reign began in 30 B.C.,\nand ended in 14 A.D.\n\nIf he did not add much to his great dominions, he saw to it that,\nduring his long reign of forty-four years, those within his realm were\nable to live at peace with each other and with foreign peoples. Once\nagain, and for the third time since Romulus built the city of Rome, the\ngates of the temple of Janus were closed.\n\nThe Emperor came to be adored by the people of Rome, because his rule\nwas kind and just. His magistrates were not allowed to oppress or rob\nthe poor, while his merchants\u2019 ships were able to ply their trade\nwithout fear of pirates.\n\nAt one time Augustus was away from Italy for three years. His people\nlonged for his return. Here are the very words in which the poet Horace\nexpressed their desire.\n\n\u2018O best guardian of the race of Romulus,\u2019 he wrote, \u2018return ... your\ncountry calls for you with vows and prayers ... for when you are here\nthe ox plods up and down the fields in safety; Ceres and bounteous\nblessing cheers our farms: our sailors speed o\u2019er seas infested by\nno pirate; credit is kept unspotted; crime is checked, family life\npurified, none fears the invasion of the Parthian or German ... each\nman closes a peaceful day on his native hills, trains his vines to the\nwidowed trees, and home returning, light of heart, quaffs his wine and\nblesses you as his god.\u2019\n\nWhen Augustus knew that the people really believed what the poet said\nin language more beautiful than they could frame, he must surely have\nfelt rewarded for all the labours which he had undertaken for the sake\nof his country.\n\nThe Emperor died in 14 A.D. His wife Livia was with him to the end, and\nas he kissed her for the last time he said, \u2018Good-bye, never forget our\nmarried life.\u2019 Nor was she likely to do so, for C\u00e6sar had ever loved\nher well, and treated her with respect. His adopted son, Tiberius,\nsucceeded him.\n\nThus from the single city founded by Romulus in the Palatine Hill in\n753 B.C. there grew up through struggle and victory, the mighty Empire,\nover which Augustus first ruled as Emperor. And this mighty Empire held\nwithin its bounds the whole of Europe South of Germany and the Danube,\nAsia Minor, Syria, Egypt, as well as a large part of the northern\ndistrict of Africa.\n\n\u2018Thine, Roman, be the task to rule the nations with thy sway. These\nshall be thine arts--to impose the laws of peace, to spare the humbled\nand to crush in war the proud.\u2019\n\n\n\n\nINDEX\n\n\n Actium, battle of, 418.\n\n \u00c6milius, 200.\n\n ---- Gauls defeated by, 169, 170.\n\n \u00c6neas, story of, 1, 2.\n\n \u00c6quians, the, 73, 86.\n\n Albans, the, war with Rome, 28, 31.\n\n Allia, battle of, 97.\n\n Ambrones, the, 197, 299.\n\n Amulius, King, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10.\n\n Ancus Marcius, 32, 33.\n\n Anio, battle of the, 111.\n\n Antiochus, King of Syria, 238.\n\n Appian Way, the, 130.\n\n Appius Claudius, 78, 130, 149.\n\n Ariovistus, 364, 366, 367.\n\n Aristion, the orator, 325.\n\n Ascanius, 1, 3.\n\n Augustus, Emperor, 425. _See also_ Octavius C\u00e6sar.\n\n Aulus Postumius, invocation of Castor and Pollux, 63.\n\n\n Bocchus, King, 284, 287, 290, 291.\n\n Books of the Sibyl, story of, 46.\n\n Brennus, King of the Gauls, 97, 103, 104.\n\n Brutus, and the Delphian oracle, 48, 49.\n\n ---- avenger of Lucretia\u2019s wrong, 50.\n\n ---- treachery of his sons, 52.\n\n Brutus, Decimus, 394.\n\n ---- assassination of C\u00e6sar, 399.\n\n ---- death at Philippi, 408, 411.\n\n ---- Second Triumvirate allied against, 406.\n\n\n Camillus, at battle of the Anio, 111.\n\n ---- capture of Veii by, 88.\n\n ---- destruction of Volscians\u2019 camp by, 109.\n\n ---- recalled to Rome, 101.\n\n ---- war with Falerians, 94.\n\n ---- war with the Gauls, 97, 112\u2013115.\n\n Cann\u00e6, battle of, 200.\n\n Capitol, founding of the, 36.\n\n Carthage, siege of, 246\u2013257.\n\n Carthaginian wars, 155\u2013231.\n\n Cassius, death of, 410.\n\n ---- plot against Julius C\u00e6sar, 394.\n\n Castor and Pollux, invoked by Aulus, 63.\n\n Catilinarian conspiracy, the, 350\u2013355.\n\n Cato, 243, 251.\n\n ---- death of, 387.\n\n Catulus, campaign against the Cimbri, 303.\n\n ---- death of, 323.\n\n Caudine Forks, disgrace of Romans at, 124.\n\n Celeres, the, 22, 25.\n\n Censors, the, 341.\n\n Cicero, 350, 358, 362, 406.\n\n Cimbri, conquest of the, 303.\n\n Cincinnatus, defeat of \u00c6quians by, 74, 86.\n\n Cinna, war with Octavius, 320.\n\n Claudius Nero, defeat of Hasdrubal by, 208, 213.\n\n Cleopatra, 386.\n\n ---- and Mark Antony, 413 _et seq._\n\n ---- at battle of Actium, 418.\n\n ---- death of, 421.\n\n Cl\u0153lia, story of, 60.\n\n Cl\u0153lius, \u00c6quian chief, 73.\n\n Collatinus, 49, 52.\n\n Consuls, the, 52, 84.\n\n Coriolanus, story of, 68.\n\n Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi, 258, 260, 270, 271, 277.\n\n Crassus, 332, 341.\n\n ---- defeat of the gladiators by, 338.\n\n ---- member of First Triumvirate, 361.\n\n ---- Pompey\u2019s rivalry with, 350.\n\n Curiatii, feud with Horatii, 29.\n\n Curtian Lake, the, legend of, 116.\n\n Cynoscephal\u00e6, battle of, 233.\n\n\n Decemvirs, the, 77, 85.\n\n Decius Mus, 121\u2013123.\n\n Dentatus, 139.\n\n Drusus, colonial policy of, 272.\n\n\n Ecnomus, battle of, 159.\n\n Epirots, the, war with Romans, 141.\n\n Etruscan wars, the, 31.\n\n\n Fabius, the delayer, and Minucius, 197\u2013199.\n\n ---- campaign against Hannibal, 192.\n\n ---- defeat of the Samnites, 131\u2013134.\n\n ---- his son, defeat of, 130.\n\n Falerians, war with, 94.\n\n Faustulus, 6.\n\n Flaminius, war with Philip of Macedon, 233.\n\n Fleet, the Roman, 155.\n\n Forum, the, 37, 45.\n\n\n Gabii, siege of, 43.\n\n Gaius Gracchus, 264, 268, 269, 270\u2013277.\n\n ---- Mucius, story of, 60.\n\n Gauls, the, conquest of, 168.\n\n ---- sack of Rome by, 97, 99, 113, 117.\n\n Geese, the Sacred, 99.\n\n Gladiators\u2019 revolt, the, 337.\n\n Glaucia, land reforms of, 307.\n\n Gn\u00e6us, 388, 390.\n\n Gracchi, the, 258.\n\n\n Hamilcar, 158, 159.\n\n ---- Barca, 172.\n\n Hannibal, story of, 172\u2013242.\n\n ---- death of, 238.\n\n ---- departure from Italy, 226.\n\n ---- invasion of Italy by, 176.\n\n Hasdrubal, 207, 208, 224, 225.\n\n Heraclea, battle of, 145.\n\n Horatii, the, feud with the Curiatii, 29.\n\n Horatius, story of, 57.\n\n\n Jugurtha, King of Numidia, story of, 278.\n\n Julius C\u00e6sar, 343, 354.\n\n ---- appointed ruler of Gaul, 361, 369.\n\n ---- assassination of, 396.\n\n ---- captured by pirates, 356.\n\n ---- conquest of Helvetians and Ligurini, 263.\n\n ---- conquest of the Nervii, 367.\n\n ---- crossing of the Rubicon, 374.\n\n ---- honoured in Rome, 389.\n\n ---- in Egypt, 385, 386.\n\n ---- invasion of Britain, 370.\n\n ---- member of First Triumvirate, 361.\n\n ---- nobles\u2019 plot against, 392.\n\n ---- rivalry with Pompey, 350, 375 _et seq._\n\n ---- Tenth Legion of, 363.\n\n Juno, the statue of, 92.\n\n\n Lars Porsenna, siege of Rome by, 56, 60.\n\n Latins, the, 2, 33.\n\n Lavinium, 2, 3.\n\n Licinian laws, the, 107.\n\n Lictors, the, 52.\n\n Livius, defeat of Hasdrubal by, 208, 213.\n\n Lucius Furius, 111.\n\n Lucretia, the Roman matron, 50.\n\n Lucumo and the eagle, 35.\n\n\n Macedonian Wars, the, 233.\n\n M\u00e6lius, friend of the people, 85.\n\n Manipulares, the, 9.\n\n Manlius, Father of the Commons, 102, 106.\n\n Marius, Gaius, 280, 281.\n\n ---- alliance with Cinna against Octavius, 320.\n\n ---- and the Cimbrian ambassadors, 303.\n\n ---- conquest of Teutones by, 297.\n\n ---- defeat of King Jugurtha by, 283\u2013296.\n\n ---- flight of, 315.\n\n ---- jealousy of Sulla, 311.\n\n ---- return to Rome, 320.\n\n ---- rivalry with Metellus, 307.\n\n Mark Antony, 376, 379, 381, 393, 399.\n\n ---- his Acta, 416.\n\n ---- and Cleopatra, 413 _et seq._\n\n ---- claim to Cisalpine Gaul, 405.\n\n ---- death of, 421.\n\n ---- funeral oration for C\u00e6sar, 402.\n\n ---- member of Second Triumvirate, 406.\n\n ---- war against Brutus, 408.\n\n Masinissa, 219, 223, 224, 225.\n\n ---- in Carthage, 244.\n\n Metellus, 307.\n\n Mettius, 29, 31.\n\n Minucius, 73, 75, 85, 192, 194, 197, 198, 203.\n\n Mithridates, King, 312, 325.\n\n ---- defeated by Sulla, 329.\n\n ---- Pompey\u2019s war against, 345.\n\n Mucius, Gaius, 60.\n\n\n Nervii, the, conquest by Julius C\u00e6sar, 367.\n\n Numa Pompilius, 24.\n\n Numitor, King, 4, 7, 8, 9.\n\n\n Octavius, and his friend, Tiberius, 261 _et seq._\n\n Octavius C\u00e6sar, 394.\n\n ---- Emperor of Rome, 425.\n\n ---- measures for welfare of Rome, 416.\n\n ---- member of Second Triumvirate, 406.\n\n ---- war against Antony and Cleopatra, 405, 418.\n\n Octavius, war with Brutus, 408.\n\n ---- war with Cinna, 320.\n\n Optimates, the, 264.\n\n\n Papirius Cursor, 129.\n\n Patricians, the, 66, 77.\n\n ---- Licinian laws relating to, 106, 107.\n\n Philippi, battle of, 408.\n\n Pirates, the, 341.\n\n Plebeians, the, 66, 77\u201379, 83.\n\n ---- Licinian laws relating to, 107\u2013108.\n\n Pompey, 331, 336, 340.\n\n ---- expedition to Palestine, 348.\n\n ---- his flight, 381.\n\n ---- member of First Triumvirate, 361.\n\n ---- Pirates defeated by, 341\u2013344.\n\n ---- rivalry with C\u00e6sar, 375.\n\n ---- war against Mithridates, 345.\n\n Pontius, Gaius, Samnite leader, 124, 126, 128, 129.\n\n Pr\u00e6tors, the, 108.\n\n Proculus, vision of, 23.\n\n Proscriptions of Sulla, the, 334.\n\n Punic War, the First, 155 _et seq._\n\n ---- The Second, 172 _et seq._\n\n Pyrrhus, King of the Epirots, 141.\n\n ---- at battle of Asculum, 151.\n\n ---- at battle of Heraclea, 145\u2013148.\n\n ---- defeat of, 153.\n\n ---- his elephants, 147, 150, 154.\n\n\n Quirinalia, the, 23.\n\n\n Regulus, story of, 158, 161, 165\u2013167.\n\n Regulus (son of above), war with Gauls, 169, 170.\n\n Remus, story of, 5, 7.\n\n ---- death of, 13.\n\n Roma, story of, 2.\n\n Rome, founding of, 1, 12.\n\n ---- Republic founded, 52.\n\n Romulus, story of, 5\u20137.\n\n ---- founding of Rome by, 11, 12.\n\n ---- his end, 22.\n\n ---- war with the Sabines, 14\u201321.\n\n\n Sabine War, the, 14\u201321.\n\n Samnite wars, the, 119 _et seq._\n\n Samnites, the, defeated by Sulla, 331.\n\n Saturninus, land reforms of, 307.\n\n Scipio, Cornelius, _or_ Africanus, 203.\n\n ---- death of, 270.\n\n ---- campaigns against Hannibal, 178, 183, 220.\n\n ---- and Gaius Marius, 281, 295.\n\n ---- New Carthage captured by, 215.\n\n ---- triumph of, 231.\n\n Scipio (grandson of above), 251.\n\n ---- destruction of Carthage by, 253.\n\n ---- Publius, 215.\n\n Schoolmaster of Falerii, the treacherous, 94.\n\n Sentinum, battle of, 135.\n\n Servius Tullius, story of, 38\u201342.\n\n Sextus, expedition against Rome, 63, 65.\n\n ---- Gabii taken by treachery of, 43\u201345.\n\n ---- and Lucretia, the Roman matron, 49.\n\n Silvia, story of, 4, 5, 9.\n\n Social War, the, 312.\n\n Spartacus, the Gladiator, 338.\n\n Sulla, 356.\n\n ---- campaign against King Jugurtha, 290.\n\n ---- Cinna\u2019s fear of, 323.\n\n ---- death of, 336.\n\n ---- enters Rome, 311.\n\n ---- Mithridates defeated by, 329.\n\n ---- Proscriptions of, 334.\n\n ---- rivalry with Marius, 311.\n\n ---- Samnites defeated by, 331.\n\n ---- Siege of Athens by, 328.\n\n Sulpician laws, the, 313.\n\n Sutrium, siege of, 110.\n\n Syphax, King, 219, 224.\n\n\n Tanaquil, 35, 38, 39.\n\n Tarentines, the, war with Romans, 141, 143, 144, 152.\n\n Tarpeian Rock, story of, 17.\n\n Tarquin the Proud, alliance with Lars Porsenna, 56, 61.\n\n ---- attempt to enter Rome, 56.\n\n ---- death of, 65.\n\n ---- downfall of, 48\u201351, 52\u201354.\n\n ---- Gabii taken by, 43\u201345.\n\n ---- revolt against Servius, 41, 42.\n\n Tarquinius Lucius, 34, 35.\n\n Teutones, conquered by Marius, 297.\n\n Tiberius Gracchus, and Octavius, 261.\n\n ---- death of, 266.\n\n ---- reforms of, 259\u2013268.\n\n Torquatus, 120.\n\n Trasimenus, Lake, battle of, 187.\n\n Trebio, battle of, 183.\n\n Tribunes, the, 66.\n\n Triumvirate, The First, 350, 361, 369.\n\n ---- The Second, 405.\n\n Tullia, 41, 42, 51.\n\n Tullius Hostilius, 28.\n\n ---- war with the Albans, 28.\n\n ---- war with the Etruscans, 31.\n\n\n Valerius, 50, 54, 63.\n\n Valerius, _or_ Corvus, fight with the Gaul, 118.\n\n Varro, 200, 203, 205.\n\n Veii, siege of, 88.\n\n Vercell\u00e6, battle of, 304.\n\n Vercingetorix, 372.\n\n Verginia, death of, 80.\n\n Veturia, mother of Coriolanus, 68.\n\n Volscians, the, 109.\n\n\n Xanthippus, 163, 164.\n\n\n Zama, battle of, 229.\n\n\n\nPrinted by T. and A. CONSTABLE, Printers to His Majesty at the\nEdinburgh University Press\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber\u2019s Notes\n\n\nPunctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a\npredominant preference was found in the original book; otherwise they\nwere not changed.\n\nSimple typographical errors were corrected; unbalanced quotation\nmarks were remedied when the change was obvious, and otherwise left\nunbalanced.\n\nIllustrations in this eBook have been positioned between paragraphs\nand outside quotations. In versions of this eBook that support\nhyperlinks, the page references in the List of Illustrations lead to\nthe corresponding illustrations.\n\nThe index was not checked for proper alphabetization or correct page\nreferences.","title":"The Story of Rome, From the Earliest Times to the Death of Augustus, Told to Boys and Girls","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":116976}