 Part 18 of Works of Salast. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Ann Boulet. Works of Gaius Celestius Crispus. Translated by Alfred W. Pollard. Eugirthine War, Part 9. On learning of the alliance between the kings, the general no longer offered battle rashly, or as after his many defeats of Eugirtha, he had been wont to in every position. He awaited the two kings in a fortified camp not far from Surda, thinking it would be better to fight at his convenience after learning the quality of the Mauritanians, since they had joined in the war as a new enemy. Meanwhile, he was informed by dispatches from Rome that his province had been assigned to Marius, the news of whose election to the consulship he had received previously. These events affected him more than was either right or honorable. He could neither restrain his tears nor govern his tongue. Though distinguished in other accomplishments, he bore vexation in two women as shamanor. Some construed his behavior as a mark of pride, others as the outcome of a noble spirit inflamed by insult. Many again, as caused by the feeling that the victory he had practically won was being rested from his hands. For myself, I am assured that it was rather the honor conferred upon Marius than his own wrongs which tormented him, and that he would have borne the blow more equitably if the province of which he was deprived had been assigned to any other than Marius. Burdened by this grief and thinking it foolish to charge himself with another man's work to his own peril, Metellus sent ambassadors to Bocas to desire him not to become an enemy to the Roman people without a cause. They were to urge that the king had at this time an opportunity of cementing a friendship and alliance, that this was far preferable to war, and that, despite his confidence in his resources, it was unwise to exchange the certain for the doubtful. Every war was easy to enter on, most difficult to abandon. To begin and to end it were not in the power of the same person, even a coward might do the first. The time for the second was fixed by the victor's will. Bocas, therefore, should take thought for himself and his kingdom, and should be careful not to involve his own prosperity in the ruined fortunes of Eugirtha. To this message the king returned a conciliatory answer, to the effect that he was desirous of peace, but pitied the misfortunes of Eugirtha. If the same opportunity were given to the latter, a treaty was assured. The general sent fresh messengers in reply to the proposals of Bocas, who accepted some of his terms and declined others. In this manner the time passed in the frequent interchange of messages, and the war, as Metellus wished, was prolonged without activity on either side. As I narrated above, Marius, to the great delight of the commons, had been elected consul. Previously hostile to the nobility, after his appointment by the people to the province of Numidia, he attacked them with even greater vigor and spirit, railing, now at individuals, and now at the whole body, boasting that he had won the consulship as his spoil after their defeat, and in other ways exalting himself and annoying them. Meanwhile he attached most importance to the necessary provision for the war, demanded that the strength of his legions should be raised and summon reinforcements from the tributary peoples and kings, and from the allies. He invited, moreover, all the bravest men from Latium, with most of whom he had been acquainted in the field, while a few he knew by report. His solicitations also constrained veterans who had served their time to set out under his command. The Senate, though hostile to him, did not dare to deny him on any point. The reinforcements had had voted with actual pleasure, under the idea that military service was distasteful to the commons, and that Marius would either lose the requisites of war or the favor of the crowd. This hope, however, was vain, so great a desire for accompanying Marius had seized men's minds. Everyone thought that he would be enriched with booty and return home victorious, and pondered over other like ideas in his mind. They had been, moreover, not a little excited by a speech of Marius, who, after all his demands had been voted, and his desire was now to enlist soldiers, summoned a meaning of the people in order to encourage them and at the same time to indulge in his usual invictive against the nobility. His speech was as follows. I am aware, Romans, that the qualities which men show in their behavior after election are very different from those with which they sought your suffrages, and that the energetic, humble, and unambitious character of their previous life is then changed for sloth and insolence. My views, however, are very different from theirs, for in proportion as the state as a whole exceeds the consulship and praetorship in importance, by so much ought our diligence in its government to exceed that with which we seek these offices. I am not insensible to the greatness of the burden which, by your distinguished favor, I have to bear. To prepare for war without straining the treasury, to press into servicemen whom one is unwilling to offend, to superintend every detail at home and abroad, and to do all this amid the jealousy of hostile intrigers is harder, Romans, than can be conceived. Again, if others commit an error, their ancient family, the brave deeds of their ancestors, the wealth of their kinsmen and connections, and troops of clients are all at hand to defend them. I have to place my whole hopes in my own person. I must needs protect them by my merit and integrity, for I have no other help in which I can trust. I understand, too, Romans, that the eyes of all men are upon me, and that, while inasmuch as my services advance the state, fair and honest men are in my favor. The nobility are seeking some point of attack. I must, therefore, strive with greater energy both that you may not be deceived in me and that your enemies may be disappointed. My life, from boyhood to the present day, has been such as to make me familiar with every toil and danger. Nor, Romans, do I intend, now that I have received my reward, to abandon the course of conduct which, previously to your kindness, I voluntarily pursued. Men who, in their desire for popularity, have assumed the mask of virtue, find it hard to restrain themselves when in power. I, who have passed my whole life in the most honorable pursuits, now find that uprightness has passed from habit into nature. You have commanded me to conduct the war with Eugirtha, and at this the nobility have taken deep offense. Consider, I pray you, whether it would be a change for the better were you to dispatch either on this or on any light commission, some member of that ring of nobles, some scion of an ancient house who could boast of the effigies of his many ancestors, but of never a campaign, and allow him, on an affair of this importance, to hurry and bustle about in his utter ignorance and take some man of the people to instruct him in his duty. For, I assure you, it is nothing uncommon for the man to whom you have given command to look to some others for his orders. I, myself, Romans, have known cases of consuls who, after their election, have begun to read the old chronicles and the Greek manuals of warfare. Men, these who begin at the wrong end, for though the conduct of wars follows the appointment to them in the order of time, in the order of nature and experience it precedes it, with these proud ones, Romans, compare me, the self-made man, the things of which they are want to hear or read, I have either seen or have myself performed, and the knowledge which they get from books I have acquired by active service. I leave it to you to consider whether deeds or maxims are the more important. They despise my lack of family. I, their cowardice. In my teeth men cast my fortune. In theirs, their infamous deeds. For my own part, I think that all men have one common nature, and that it is the bravest who are the noblest. If to the fathers of albinus or bestia the question could now be put whether they would prefer me or them as their descendants, what other answers think you they would return than that they wish to have the best for their children? Again, if these men are right in despising me, let them do the same to their ancestors, whose nobility, like my own, sprang from their merit. They are jealous of the dignity conferred on me. Why are they not jealous of my energy, my integrity, yes and of my dangers, since it is by these that I have gained it? Rotten with pride they pass their days as if they despise the dignities you can confer, yet they demand them with the air of men who have lived an honorable life. Surely they are deceived who thus hope to unite the two things of all others the most opposed the pleasure, namely of sloth and the rewards of merit. Again, in their speeches before yourselves or the senate, the greater part of their harangue is a eulogy of their ancestors, for they think by dwelling on their brave deeds to increase their own reputation. Yet the very reverse often is the result. For the nobler the life of their ancestors, the more shameful is their own sloth. Indeed the glory of forefathers is really to their descendants as a burning light, which allows neither their good deeds nor their bad to remain unnoticed. I confess, Romans, I have nothing of this kind, but I have something which is far nobler, the power, namely to tell of doings of my own. See then the unfairness of these men, the privileges which they claim for themselves in right of the another's merit, they do not allow me in right of my own. And this because I have no effigies of ancestors to show, and because the nobility I have is a thing of today. Yet surely to have one nobility is better than to have received and shamed it. I am aware that my enemies, should they wish to answer, will be at no loss for an eloquent and studied reply. Now, however, that I am so favored by you, they attack me on every occasion, and I have, therefore, chosen not to remain silent, lest my self-restraint should be mistaken for consciousness of guilt. For myself, indeed I say it from my heart, no speech can hurt me. Truth can speak no otherwise than favorably. Falsehood is foiled by the evidence of my life and character. They impune, however, your policy in assigning me so high an office and so weighty a task, and so I ask you again and again to consider whether you ought really to repent it. To inspire your trust I have no statues, triumphs, or consulships of my ancestors, to which to point. But if need be, I can show spears, a standard, medals, and other prizes soldiers earn, and scars dealt full upon my breast. These are my statues, these my title to nobility, and one which was not lack me as a bequest, as in the case of my enemies, but which I won for myself by my many toils and dangers. My words have no studied grace, of that I think little. Merit needs no help to display it, though my enemies must use their tricks of rhetoric to conceal their base deeds behind a mass of words. Again, I have learned no Greek. I was not anxious to gain a knowledge which had done nothing to help its teachers in pursuit of virtue. In the knowledge, however, which is far the most important for the state, I am a master. To strike the foe, to keep good watch, to fear nothing save disgrace, to bear heat and cold with equal patience, to make my bed on the ground, to undergo toil and hunger together. All this I know, and with this teaching I shall exhort my soldiers. Nor will I treat them with stringency, myself with indulgence, nor claim the glory and leave them the toil. To refrain from such conduct is to rule with efficiency and moderation. To live in luxury yourself, while you coerce your army by punishments, is to act the tyrant, not the general. By such conduct as I have praised, your ancestors won renown for themselves and the state. In reliance on their glory and nobility, they're very opposite in character. Now scorns us who emulate these men of old, and claims of you every post of honor, not for any service rendered, but simply as it's due. Truly these arrogant nobles make a deep mistake. Their ancestors left them everything that could be left wealth, pedigree, and their own glorious memory. Their merit they did not, and could not bequeath them. That alone is neither given nor received. They call me mean and unpolished, because I am no adept at tricking out a feast. Keep no actor, no cook more highly paid than my bailiff. Romans, I am proud to confess such conduct. The lesson I learnt from my father and other pious men was that graces befitted a woman, toil a man, and that the good should be always richer in glory than in wealth. Arms, not ornaments, are the true honors. Let the nobles then continue to follow the course they delight in and prize. Let them live and drink in the scenes of rivalry, where they spent their youth there. Let them pass their old age. The slaves of their belly and their lust, and the sweat and dust, and the like. Let them lead to us who find more joy in them than in the feast. But this they will not do. When they have disgraced themselves with every crime, these vilest of men come to seize the prizes of the good. In defiance of all justice, those outrageous vices, luxury and sloth, are no obstacle to the men who practice them, while they are the destruction of the guiltless state. I have answered my enemies with a brevity which suits my own character, better than such a theme as their misconduct. I will now say a few words on public affairs. In the first place, Romans, be of good heart as regards Numidia. Hitherto, Eugirtha has been protected by the avarice, unskillfulness, and arrogance of your generals. And all these you have now removed. In the second place, you have an army there, acquainted with the country. But I profess more vigorous than fortunate. For a great part of it has been wasted away by the corruption or rashness of your commanders. I ask such of you, therefore, as are of military age, to join your efforts with mine and protect the state. Let no one take alarm from the misfortunes of others, or from the arrogance of generals. I shall be with you in person on the march, and in the field, at once to consult your interests and to share your dangers. I shall treat you in all respects the same as myself. And with the help of the gods, victory, booty, renown, are all ready to our hand. Even were they doubtful or distant, it would be yet the duty of every honest man to support the state. Coward has never yet gained a man immortality, nor has any parent yet asked for his children that they might exist forever. They ask that they may live out their life in uprightness and honor. Romans, I would say more. Could words inspire the timid with courage? For the brave man I think I have said fully enough. End of Eugirthine War, Part 9 Part 19 of Works of Solace This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Anne Boulais Works of Gaius Celestius Crispus, translated by Alfred W. Pollard Eugirthine War, Part 10 After a speech of this kind, Marius, when he saw the enthusiasm of the commons aroused, hastily loaded ships with provisions, pay, arms, and other requisites, and ordered his lieutenant, Aulus Manlius, to set out in charge of them. Meanwhile, he himself loving soldiers, not according to ancient custom, from the classes, but simply as they volunteered and, for the most part, men of no fortune. Some asserted that this course was taken owing to the scarcity of respectable recruits. Others trace it to the consul's desire for popularity, in as much as it was by men of this description that his renown and dignity had been given him. While the seeker for power ever finds his readiest instrument in the needy wretch, who, in his destitution, has no home to hold dear, and thinks everything honorable that brings him gain. Marius, therefore, set out for Africa with a force slightly in excess of that decreed him, and after a few days landed at Utica. The army was delivered to him by Publius Rutilius, the lieutenant of Metellus, for the general himself had avoided the sight of Marius, lest he should see the things of which his resolution had been unable to support the mere hearing. With his legions and auxiliary cohorts at their full strength, the consul marched upon a fertile district, stalked with booty. He gave the whole of the plunder there taken to his soldiers, and then attacked some fortresses and towns which were neither well situated nor manned for defense. He also fought many petty engagements at various points. Meanwhile, his raw soldiers joined in battle without alarm, and saw that the runaways were either captured or killed, that the bravest man was the safest, and that the power of protecting his freedom, country, parents, and every other blessing, and of winning glory and wealth all lay in a man's arms. In this way, recruits and veterans were soon welded together, and all became equally courageous. On learning of the arrival of Marius, the king separated and made their way to inaccessible districts. Eugirtha had determined on this course in the hope that it might be possible to attack the enemy in detail, and that the Romans, like most other soldiers, when relieved of alarm, would grow careless and disorderly. Meanwhile, Metellus had started for Rome and was there, contrary to his expectation, received with the utmost rejoicing. Now that his unpopularity had faded away, he was equally beloved by the commons and the senate. Marius now gave his mind with energy and foresight to the position alike of his own and the enemy's army. Assertain that their respective advantages and drawbacks set spies to watch the movements of the kings, forestalled their plans and treacheries, and left nothing unlocked on his own side, or unmenaced on theirs. He had thus often attacked and routed on their march both the Galutians and Eugirtha, as they tried to plunder our allies, and, not far from Serta, had stripped the king himself of his arms. Finding, however, that these exploits served rather to gain glory than to finish the war, he determined to invest, one after another, the cities which from their garrison or situation were most adapted for helping the enemy and injuring himself. Eugirtha would thus be deprived of his strongholds should he not interfere, or, if he did, would have to fight a battle. As for Bocas, that king had sent numerous embassies to him, expressing his desire for the friendship of the Roman people, and assuring him that he need fear no attack from his quarter. Whether in this he was feigning in order to make an assault the more dangerous because unexpected, or whether it was an outcome of the fickle character which made him love to be now at peace, and now at war, has not been ascertained. The consul carried out his plans, and by marching on the fortified towns and strongholds rested them from the enemy, in some cases by force, and others by threats or promise of reward. At first he confined himself to insignificant ventures, thinking that Eugirtha would give battle in defense of his subjects. When he learned that the king was far away and engaged on other business, it seemed time to attempt greater and more difficult undertakings. In the midst of vast deserts there lay a strong and important town, Namcapsa, founded, so tradition said, by the Libyan Hercules. Eugirtha had exempted its citizens from tribute, his yoke was light, and they were, therefore, the most loyal of his subjects. Against their enemies they were protected by walls, arms, and men, and above all by their inaccessible position. With the exception of the immediate neighborhood, the whole country was desolate, untilled, without streams and made unsafe by serpents, which, like all savage creatures, become more dangerous by lack of food, while their nature, of itself a deadly one, is more quickened by thirst than by anything else. A great desire of mastering this place had seized Marius. It would be useful for the war, and at the same time the exploit appeared difficult, and Metellus, with great glory to himself, had taken the town of Thala, whose position and fortifications were very like those of Capsa, except that at Thala there were some springs not far from the walls, while the people of Capsa had only a single fount of running water, and that within the town. The rest of their supply came from rain. This inconvenience, both at Capsa and in all parts of Africa where men lived amid deserts far from the sea, was the more easily born owing to the Numidian habit of feeding chiefly on milk and game, while they avoid salt and other stimulants of the palate. Food is to them the antidote of hunger and thirst, not an object of passionate extravagance. To resume, the consul made every inquiry, and then, I suppose, placed his trust in heaven, for no forethought could enable him to make sufficient provision against such obstacles. Besides those I have mentioned, he was assailed by a scarcity of corn, for the Numidians applied themselves more to raising fodder for their cattle than crops, and by command of the king had conveyed every blade to their strongholds. It was now also the height of summer, and the country at this season was parched and barren. In spite of these difficulties, Marius made such arrangements as his means allowed with great forethought. He assigned to the auxiliary cavalry the task of conveying all the cattle that had been captured on the previous days, ordered his lieutenant, Aulus Manlius, with some like cohorts, to proceed to the town of Laris, where he had stored pay and provisions, and announced that in a few days he would come to the same place in person in the course of his pillaging. With his real object best concealed, he advanced towards the river Tenaeus. On his march he had each day equally proportioned out the flocks among his army by centuries and squadrons, and saw that leather bottles were made out of the hides. In this way he lessened the effects of the scarcity of corn, and at the same time, imperfect secrecy, made preparations, soon to be of use, while finally by the sixth day, when they reached the river, a great quantity of skins had been got ready. Marius now pitched his camp with only a slight fortification, and ordered the soldiers to take their food and be prepared to march exactly at sunset. All their baggage was to be thrown away, and they were to load themselves and their beasts with nothing but water. When at same time, he marched out of the camp, advanced throughout the night, and then came to a halt. He followed the same plan the next night, and on the third arrived, long before dawn, at some downs, distant not more than two miles from Capsa. There he concealed himself and all his forces as closely as he could. Day dawned, and the Numidians, who dreaded no attack, issued in numbers from the town, when suddenly Marius ordered all his cavalry and the swiftness of his foot soldiers to advance at full speed upon Capsa and seized the gates. He himself hurried eagerly after them, and forbade the soldiers to go after booty. The townspeople became aware of his attack and the peril of their position, their great alarm, the suddenness of the calamity, and the fact that a part of their citizens were outside the walls and in the enemy's power, all compelled them to surrender. The town was nevertheless burnt, the adult Numidians slaughtered, all the others sold, and the soil divided among the soldiers. This outrage on the laws of war was not caused by any avarice or wickedness on the part of the consul. It was due to the fact that the place, while useful to Eugirtha, was difficult for us to reach, and its inhabitants a fickle and treacherous race, restrained neither by kindness nor fear. Even before this, Marius had been regarded as a great and illustrious general. Now that he had accomplished such an exploit without loss to his soldiers, his fame rose still higher. Every error in his judgment was interpreted as a merit. The soldiers, who were mildly governed and at the same time enriched, praised him to the skies. The Numidians feared him as something more than man. And in fine all, allies and enemies alike, believed that he was either inspired or that, by the will of heaven, all things were foretold him. After the success of this undertaking, the consul marched upon other towns, captured by storm a few where the Numidians resisted, but found a greater number abandoned owing to the terror inspired by the fate of Capsa. These he destroyed with fire and filled the whole land with sorrow and bloodshed. After gaining possession of many places, and mostly without loss to his army, he applied himself to another exploit, not indeed so perilous as that of Capsa, but no less difficult to achieve. Not far from the river Muluca, which separated the kingdom of Eugirtha and Bocas, there rose amid the surrounding plain a rocky mountain, broad enough at the summit for a fort of moderate size, and reaching to an immense height. A single narrow approach was left. All the rest was as precipitous naturally as if labor and design had been employed to form it. The fact that the king's treasures were stored in this place now led Marius to concentrate all his energies on its capture. Chance, however, was more instrumental than skill in bringing about a happy result. The fort was well supplied with men in arms and had an abundance of provisions and a spring of water. The ground, too, was unsuited for the employment of ramparts, turrets, and other means of attack, and the path used by the garrison was extremely narrow, with the sheer descent on either side. Penthouses were brought up at great risk, but with no result. As soon as they had made a slight advance, they were destroyed by fire or showers of stones. The ruggedness of the ground prevented soldiers from making a stand in front of their works, and they could not even labor amid the penthouses without danger. The bravest men were wounded or killed, and their loss increased the terror of the rest. After many days had been spent in fruitless toil, Marius anxiously debated whether he should abandon the attempt, since all his efforts were in vain, or wait for the fortune whose favors he had often experienced. He had pondered his situation for many restless days and nights, when a certain Ligurian, a private in one of the auxiliary cohorts, happening to leave the camp to fetch water, at a point not far from the side of the fort, opposite to that on which the combatants were engaged, noticed some snails crawling amid the rocks, and, as he went after the first one, then another, then a large number, in his eager gathering gradually climbed nearly to the summit. He at last remarked the loneliness of his situation, and man's inborn love of the difficult made him change his purpose. It happened that, just where he was, a large home oak had sprung up amid the rocks, growing for a little way horizontally and then taking a turn, and springing aloft in the natural direction of all plants. Clinging sometimes to the branches of this tree, at others to the jutting rocks, the Ligurian made his way to the level summit of the mountain, for the attention of all the Numidians was occupied with the combatants. After satisfying himself on all points which he thought might presently be of use, he now returned by the same way, not however carelessly as he had ascended, but testing and examining every inch. He then hastily sought an interview with Marius, informed him of his adventure, and advised him to assail the fort on the side by which he had made the ascent, offering himself to act as guide on the perilous journey. Marius sent some of those about him with the Ligurian to test his assurances, and these, according to several characters, variously reported the undertaking as difficult or easy. The spirit, however, of the consul was somewhat raised. From the trumpeters and the hornblowers at his disposal, he chose five of the swiftest and sent with them four centurions as a guard. He ordered the whole force to obey the Ligurian and fix the following day for the attempt. When he saw that the appointed time had arrived and all the arrangements were complete, Marius advanced against the place. Meanwhile, the scaling party, instructed by their leader, had changed their armor and accoutrements, and had bared their heads and feet, so as more easily to see and keep their footing amid the rocks. On their backs they carried their swords and shields, but these last were of Numidian make and formed of leather, both as being lighter and making less noise when struck. The Ligurian led the way and fastened nooses around the rocks and the projecting roots of ancient trees, so as by these supports to assist the soldiers in their ascent. Some were frightened by the strange nature of the track, and these, from time to time, he helped along with his hands. Whenever the ascent was somewhat steeper, he sent them on in front, one by one, without their arms, and then followed with these himself. Where the footing seemed doubtful, he was the first to test it, and by repeatedly climbing up and down in the same way, and then suddenly standing aside, inspired the rest with boldness. After a long and exhausting climb, they at length arrived at the fort and found it undefended on this side. Its garrison, as on other days, had all gone to face the enemy. On hearing from the messengers of the success of the Ligurian, Marius, although he had kept the Numidians fully engaged in battle the whole of the day, now redoubled his exhortations to his soldiers, and himself issuing beyond the penthouses, made his men advance under cover of their lock shields, and at the same time terrified the enemy from a distance by means of his catapults, bowmen, and slingers. The Numidians on previous occasions had often overthrown or burnt the Roman penthouses, and were no longer in the habit of sheltering themselves behind their ramparts. Alike by day and night they moved to and fro before their wall, insulted the Romans, scoffed at Marius as a madman, threatened our soldiers with being made slaves to Ugartha, and displayed all the insolence of success. Meanwhile, when all both Romans and Numidians were occupied in the battle, and our men were fighting vigorously for fame and dominion, the others for their own safety, the trumpets suddenly sounded in the rear. The men and boys, who had issued forth to see the fight, were the first to fly, and they were followed by those of the defenders nearest the wall, and finally by the whole body of armed and unarmed men. On this the Romans redoubled their efforts, scattered the enemy, whom for the most part they were content only to wound, made their way over the bodies of the slain, strove in their eagerness for glory, each to be the first to reach the wall, and in not a single instance allowed plunder to delay them. Ugartha's rashness was redeemed by his fortune, and his fault redounded to his fame. End of Ugarthine War Part 10 Part 20 of Works of Salast. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Works of Gaius Salustius Crispus. Translated by Alfred W. Pollard. End of Ugarthine War Part 11 While this affair was in progress, the Quistor, Lucius Sulla, entered the camp with a large force of cavalry, which he had been left behind at Rome to Levy from Latium and the Allies. Our subject thus brings this remarkable man to our notice, and it therefore seems fitting briefly to describe his character and accomplishments, as we shall have no other opportunity of speaking on Sulla, and Lucius Cicena, who has composed the best and most painstaking treatise of any writer on this subject, seems to me hardly to have spoken his mind with freedom. Sulla then was nobly born of a patrician house and a family which the indolence of his ancestors had reduced to obscurity. He was well versed in the literatures of Greece and Rome as the most learned, a man of great aspiration, eager for pleasure, yet more eager for fame, luxurious in his leisure, yet never suffering pleasure to withdraw him from his duties, except that he might have better consulted his honour in his married life. He was eloquent, shrewd, and an obliging friend, with quite incredible skill in feigning and concealment, and of great generosity in many matters, especially with regard to money. Before his triumph in the Civil War, though the most fortunate of men, his luck never surpassed his energy, and many doubted whether he could more rightly be called the fortunate or the brave. As to his subsequent conduct, I do not know whether its narration would be a more shameful or a more disgusting task. When, as narrated above, he arrived with the cavalry in Marius's camp in Africa, Sulla was quite ignorant and unpracticed in war. In a short time, however, he became the most skillful soldier in the army. He addressed the men with kindness, granted many favours both by request and of his own accord, and was unwilling to receive those offered by others, though he returned these more readily than he did his loans. For his own part he never sought repayment, but rather was anxious to increase the number of his detours. He would talk both gravely and gaily, with the humblest, frequently visited the men at their work, on the march and on guard, and all the time refrained from the vice of the meanly ambitious, and never injured the character of the consul or any man of honour. He contented himself with allowing none to excel him in the consul or action, and with himself outstripped most competitors. By these services and accomplishments he quickly endeared himself to Marius and the soldiers. Eugirtha had lost the town of Kapsa and many other fortified important places, and with them great treasures. He now sent messengers to Bacchus, bidding him lead his forces into Numidia with all speed, as the time for battle had arrived. Learning that the king was hesitating and pondering in doubt on the respective advantages of peace and war, he again, as he had done before, bribed those about him. While, to the Mauritania, himself he promised a third part of Numidia to be surrendered on the expulsion of the Romans from Africa, or the conclusion of a peace, which should leave his dominions intact. Bacchus was enticed by the bribe, and joined Eugirtha with a great host. The two kings united their armies and attacked Marius, who was already setting out for his winter quarter, when hardly a tenth part of the day was left, thinking that the night, which was already falling, would protect them if worsted, while if victorious their knowledge of the country would prevent its hampering them. The Romans, on the other hand, they thought, would, in either event, find their difficulties increased in the darkness. The consul had no sooner been warned for many quarters of the approach of the enemy than the enemy himself was upon him, and before the army could be marshaled, or collect its baggage, indeed, before it could receive any signal or command, the Mauritanian and Caetulean cavalry, in no line or order of battle, but in troops just as chance had thrown them together, charged down upon our men. These were confused with the suddenness of the alarm, but nevertheless each remembered his courage, and either seized on his armor, or sheltered from the enemy others so engaged. Some mounted their horses and advanced against the enemy, and the fight assumed the character, rather, of a contest with brigands than a battle. Foot and horse were mingled together without standards or ranks, slaughtering others and being themselves cut down. Many who were fighting desperately against the foe in front found themselves beset in the rear. Neither valor nor armor gave any real security. Our men were outnumbered by their enemy, and surrounded on every side. And last the Romans, whose knowledge as a body of war was increased by the present mixture of veterans and recruits, formed in rings as chance or the nature of the ground threw them together, and being in this way sheltered and in good order on every side, beat off the enemy's attack. Though beset by such a calamity, Marius was neither downcast nor inclined to despond. At the head of his own troop, which he formed of brave soldiers rather than of personal friends, he ranged over the field, at one moment helped some hard-press Romans, at the next charged into the thickest of his foe. He thought for his soldiers he showed by his valor, for in the general confusion he could give them no commands. The day was now spent, and the barbarians relaxed no effort, but rather pressed on more vigorously, believing, as the kings had told them, that the night was in their favor. At this point Marius took the best course the situation allowed, and in order to provide his men with the refuge seized on two neighboring hills, the one of which, though too small for a camp, possessed a bountiful spring of water, while the other was suited to his purpose, being for the most part lofty and steep, and thus requiring little entrenching. Ordering Sulla to Bivouac near the spring with his cavalry, he himself gradually concentrated his scattered troops, whose confusion was fully equaled by that of the enemy, and led the whole force at a rapid pace to the hill. The difficult nature of the ground compelled the kings to desist from the battle. They did not, however, permit their men to retire at any distance, but encamped in loose order with their hosts surrounding the two hills. The barbarians then lit numerous fires, and throughout the greater part of the night rejoiced, according to their custom, with vaunts and shouts. Even their leaders grew insolent and behaved themselves as conquerors, merely because they had not fled. The Romans, who were themselves in darkness and on higher ground, could easily watch their behavior, and were greatly cheered by it. Marius most of all was encouraged by the inexperience the enemy betrayed, and ordered perfect silence to be kept, forbidding even the ordinary calls to be sounded at the different watches. His daylight approached, and the enemy, already wearied out, had been now for some little while overpowered by sleep. He suddenly ordered the watches, and with them the trumpeters of the Courhots, squadrons and legions, all simultaneously to sound and alarm, and the soldiers to raise a shout and sally forth from the gates. The Mauritanians and Gaetulians, suddenly roused by unfamiliar and terrifying din, could neither flee nor seize their arms, nor in fact take any action or measures for defense. To such an extent had the din and outcry, the absence of help, and the onset of our men, the confusion and padding, caused them all to be seized as with a kind of madness. To conclude, the whole army fled an utter rout. Many arms and end signs of war were captured, and more of the enemy were killed in this battle, than in all those that preceded it. Sleep, in an unwanted panic, hampered their flight. Marius now resumed his march to his quarters for the winter, which he had determined to pass in the seaports, for the sake of provisions. His victory made him neither remiss nor arrogant, and as if in the presence of the enemy, he marched with his army in a hollow square. Sulla, with the cavalry, was on the extreme right. On the left was Aulus Manlius, with the slingers and bowmen, in charge also of the Ligurian cohorts. Tribunes, with the companies of light troops, were posted in the van in rear, while deserters, the men least valued and best acquainted with the country, spied out the enemy's line of march. At the same time the consul looked to every point himself, as if none other had charge of it. Visited all the men and distributed praise and blame, as they severally deserved. He compelled the soldiers to be armed and on the alert like himself, fortified the camp with the same care he displayed on the march, drafted cohorts from the different legions to keep guard at the gates, and cavalry from the auxiliary forces to patrol before the camp, posted other troops on the rampart. The watches he went round of in person, not so much from any mistrust due to the fulfillment of his orders, as from the desire to increase the willingness of his soldiers by showing them that their general shared equally in their toil. In fact, both at this and at other periods of the Eucharthian War, Marius maintained discipline, rather by appealing to his men's sense of honor than by punishments. This conduct many traced to his desire for popularity, while some thought that he had been from boyhood so inured hardship and other miseries, but were mostly accounted that he now regarded them as pleasures. Be this as it may, the public interest was well and honorably served, as under the most tyrannical of commanders. At last, on the fourth day, not far from Serta, the scouts from all quarters presented themselves in haste, a certain sign that the enemy was at hand. Pouring in as they did from every side and with all the same intelligence, they rendered it impossible for the consul to decide how to draw up his army for the battle. He therefore made no change in his formation, but stood his ground prepared for all emergencies. He thus balked Eugirtha, who had divided his forces into four, under the idea that one or other of them must in any case take the enemy in the rear. Meanwhile, Sulla, who was the first to be attacked, cheered on his men, and at the head of the troop, formed in the closest order, while the rest of his troops kept their position, sheltering themselves from the javelins started from a distance, and cutting down any of the enemy who attacked them at closer quarters. While the cavalry was thus engaged, Bacchus, with the infantry whom his son, Valyx, had brought up, and who, owing to delay in the march, had been absent from the former battle, charged his Roman rear. Marius at this moment was occupied in the front, as there Eugirtha was attacking the strongest division. The Numidian now learnt that Bacchus had arrived, and with a few attendants wheeled round, unnoticed to the infantry. There he shouted in Latin, a tongue which he had learnt to speak in Numantia, that our soldiers were fighting in vain, as a moment before he had slain Marius with his own hand, at the same time displaying a dripping sword, which in the course of battle he had stained gallantly enough with the blood of our infantry. These words our men were panic-stricken, though rather by the hideousness of such a calamity than from belief in the news. The barbarians at once plucked up their courage and pressed the frightened Romans more fiercely. They had nearly reduced them to flight when Sulla returned from crushing the enemy against whom he had ridden, and charged the Mauritanians on their flank. Bacchus rode off immediately, but Eugirtha, in his eagerness to uphold his men, and to cling to the victory he had so nearly won, was hemmed in by the cavalry, and when all, both to his right and left, had been cut down, eluded the enemy's javelins and broke alone through their mists. Meanwhile Marius, after routing the cavalry, hastened to the assistance of his comrades, of whose straits he had just been informed. This completed the route of the enemy. A dreadful scene then ensued in the open plains. There was flight and pursuit, and slaughter and capture, horses and riders dashed to the earth, and many a wounded man with no strength to fly, or patience to lie still, struggling to rise and forthwith, painting back. As far as the eye could reach, the whole country was strewn with weapons, armor and corpses, and between them appeared the blood-stained earth. Henceforth, indisputably victorious, the council. The council now made his way to Serta, wither from the outset he had directed his march. To this place, five days after the second defeat of the barbarians, came ambassadors from Bacchus, in treating Marius and the king's name to send him two trusty envoys, as he wished to confer with both of them on his own position, and on the interests of the Roman people. Marius immediately ordered Lucius Sulla and Aulus Manlius to proceed to the king, and they, although they had come by request, nevertheless determined to address the king in order to alter his disposition of hostile, or if they found him desirous at peace, to further kindle his eagerness. Accordingly, Sulla, to whose eloquence, not to his years Manlius gave way, spoke briefly to the following effect. We greatly rejoice, King Bacchus, that heaven has warned a man of your parts at least to prefer peace to war, and by avoiding the pollution of your own nobility by association with the utter vileness of Eugirtha, to release us from the cruel necessity of bringing your mistake and his wickedness to a common punishment. From the very beginning of their empire, the Roman people had thought it better to seek friends and slaves, and has deemed it safer to rule by good will rather than compulsion. To yourself, nothing can be more convenient than our friendship. In the first place, our distance from you will make collusions almost impossible, while our good will would be as effectual as were we your neighbors. In the second, we have subjects in abundance, of friends, neither we, nor any that have ever lived have had enough. Would that you have seen the wisdom of this course from the beginning? Had you done so, you would by this time assuredly have received more favors from the Roman people than, as it is, you have suffered ills. Fortune, however, is ruler over all, and she, it seems, has seen fit that you should experience both our power and our good will. Now, therefore, that you have her permission hastened in advance on the road you have entered. You have in your power many means about weighing your errors by your services. Let this thought sink into your breast, that the Roman people was never outdone in a contest of kindness. It's power in real war you have learnt for yourself. To this speech Bacchus made a peaceful, incurdious reply, and at the same time touched briefly on his offence. He had taken up arms, he said, and no hostile spirit before the defence of his kingdom. A part of Numidia, wence as he contended, he had forcibly expelled Eugirtha, had, according to the laws of war, become his own, and it was impossible for him to allow Marius to lay at waste. He alluded also to the refusal of alliance that he had previously sent an ambassador to Rome, but expressed a wish to bury the past, and, for the present, if he had Marius's permission, to send an ambassador to the senate. Leave was granted, but Eugirtha had learnt of the embassy of Silla and Manlius, and, fearing the very projects which were actually on foot, had bribed the friends of Bacchus, and these now led the barbarian to alter his resolve. End of Eugirthian War Part XI Part XXI This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Works of Gaius Salustius Crispus Translated by Alfred W. Pollard Eugirthian War Part XII Meanwhile, Marius, after settling his army in Hutts for the winter, marched with the light cohorts and a part of the cavalry to the desert country to besiege one of the royal forts, in which Eugirtha had placed the whole of his deserters as a garrison. Bacchus, now once more, either from considering what had been the issue to him of the two battles, or by the advice of other friends whom Eugirtha had left unbribed, chose from among his intimates five of proved loyalty and great ability, and bade these proceed as ambassadors to Marius, and subsequently, if advisable, to Rome, giving them full power of treating and of concluding the war in any way they could. The ambassadors set out be times for the Roman winter quarters, but on their way were beset and plundered by Gaetulian brigands, and escaped, trembling and in sorry plight to Sulla, whom the consul, on setting out for his expedition, had left in command as Proc Praetor. Sulla received them, not as their condition warranted, as imposters and enemies, but with an elaborate and unstinted courtesy, which made the barbarians believe that the reputation of the Romans for avarice was undeserved, and that Sulla, since he showed them such generosity, was their friend. Even as late as this, many still understood nothing about bribery, and thought that no one was generous except out of a corresponding goodwill, and regarded all gifts as tokens of kindness. The ambassadors explained to the Quistor the instructions they had received from Bacchus, and at the same time begged of him his patronage and advice, magnified the king's resources, loyalty and greatness, and touched on other points which they thought likely to be of use or to conciliate. Sulla promised them everything, and instructed by them how to endrest both Marius and the senate. They remained where they were for about forty days. On returning to Serta, unsuccessfully from his enterprise, Marius was informed of the arrival of the ambassadors, and ordered them to accompany Sulla to Utica. He also summoned Lucius Bellinius, a praetor, and all persons in the country of senatorial rank, and in the presence of these received the message of Bacchus. The consul granted the ambassadors leave to proceed to Rome. Meanwhile they asked for a truce. Sulla and the majority of the consul were in favor of granting. A few voted for a more arrogant course, ignorant, we may presume, of human fortunes, which in their unstable and fluctuating nature are ever shifting to opposite poles. After obtaining all their requests, three of the Maritanians set out for Rome with Nius Octavius Russo, who, as Quistor, had brought pay money to Africa. The other two returned to the king. From these Bacchus heard with pleasure all their news, and especially of the kindness and zeal of Sulla in his service. At Rome his ambassadors, after owning that the king had erred and been led astray by the wickedness of Yergertha, and treated for an alliance of friendship and received as answer that the Senate and people of Rome are want to remember services both good and ill. To Bacchus, in so much as he repents, he will be pardoned for his fault. An alliance of friendship will be granted when he has deserved it. Immediately on learning this answer, Bacchus be sought Marius by letter to send Sulla to him, that under his guidance measures may be taken to settle the points at issue. Sulla was now dispatched with an escort of cavalry, foot soldiers, and Balearic slingers, and with these there went a force of bowmen and a cohort of Pallaginians who for the sake of expedition wore the armor of skirmishers by which they were as well protected as by any other kind against the light weapons of their enemies. When they had now been five days on the march, Volix, the son of Bacchus, suddenly appeared on the open plain and not with more than a thousand horsemen, but these by their confused and disorderly advanced seemed both to Sulla and everybody else more numerous than they really were and inspired a fear of hostilities. Each man, therefore, held himself in readiness, tested his armor and prepared his weapons for use. Some little fear was felt, but hope prevailed as was natural with conquerors when confronted with an enemy they had often defeated. Meanwhile the horsemen who had been sent to the front to Reconoiter reported, and truly, that the encounter was a peaceful one. Volix approached and addressing the Quistor and once to meet and escort him. During this in the following day the two forces mingled fearlessly together, but later on when the camp had been pitched and it was now evening, the Mauritanian suddenly hastened to Sulla with an agitated and frightened countenance and announcing that he was informed by the scouts that Ugertha was not far distant, prayed and treated him to escape secretly with himself under cover of night. Sulla haltedly replied that he had no fear of the oft-defeated Numidian and had full confidence in his men's courage. Even, he added, were certain destruction imminent, he would rather stand his ground than betray his soldiers and disgrace himself by flight in order to prolong the uncertainty of a life which soon, perchance, disease might terminate. Advised, however, by Volix to set out by night, he approved the plan and immediately ordered that when the soldiers should have finished their suppers in camp a number of fires be lighted and the departure affected in silence in the course of the first watch. Exactly at sunrise, when all were tired with their night march and Sulla was measuring out a camp, the Mauritanian cavalry reported that Ugertha was encamped in advance of them at a distance of about two miles. The news became known and now indeed our men were seized with terror, believing themselves betrayed by Volix and beset by an ambush, nor were there wanting some who demanded that he should be summarily punished and that so great a crime on his part should not be left unevented. Sulla, however, although he took the same view of the case, defended the Mauritanian from harm. He exhorted his soldiers to keep a brave heart and told them that a few men of energy had often fought with success against a host, that the less they spared themselves in the battle, the safer they would be and that no soldier who had armed his hand ought to seek for safety from his unarmed feet. While in the height of his terror, he exposed the blind and undefended side of his body to the foe. He then, after loudly invoking heaven to witness the crime and treachery of Bacchus, ordered Volix, since he was found plotting against them, to leave the camp. Volix besought him with tears not to hold such a belief. No deceit he assured him had been used. The catastrophe had been brought about by the cunning of Ugertha, whose spies had apparently acquainted him with their route. The king, however, he continued, had no large force at his disposal. He was dependent for all his hopes and resources on his father, Bacchus, and he believed would not venture on any open attack in the presence of the latter's own son. The best course, it seemed to him, that they could take was to march openly through the mist of Ugertha's camp, that he would either send his Mauritanians on front or leave them where they were and himself accompany Sulla without an escort. Under such circumstances his proposal was approved and a start was at once made. Their approach was unexpected. Ugertha waited and hesitated, and meanwhile they passed him in safety. A few days afterwards they reached their journey's end. On their arrival they found infrequent and familiar intercourse with Bacchus, a certain Numidian named Aspar, whom Ugertha, on hearing of the summons to Sulla, had dispatched as an ambassador and secret spy upon the designs of Bacchus. They found also a certain Dabbar, a son of Masugrata and of the family of Masinissa, but of low birth on his mother's side, she having been his father's concubine, who was many good qualities that made him beloved and esteemed by the Mauritanian. Bacchus had proved this Dabbar's loyalty to the Romans on many occasions and therefore chose him to convey a message to Sulla, announcing that he was ready to do whatever the Roman people wished. He further asked the general himself to fix a day, place and hour for a conference, and assured him that he had violated no single detail of their agreement and that he needn't have no fear of Ugertha's ambassador, who had been received solely to enable them to conduct their business with greater freedom, for this was the only way by which they could guard against the king's subtle attacks. I gather, however, that Bacchus was actuated rather by considerations of punic honor than by these which he professed, and was at the same time amusing both the Romans and the Numidians with the hopes of peace. He deliberated often and deeply whether he should deliver Ugertha to the Romans or Sulla to him, and while his inclination was hostile, his fears pleaded our calls. Sulla replied to his message that he would speak briefly with him in the presence of Aspar, and hold the rest of their discussions in private or with as few witnesses as possible. At the same time he instructed him what answer to return. The meeting took place in the way he wished, and Sulla announced that he had come on a mission from the consul to ask whether Bacchus intended to maintain peace or war. On this the king, according to his instructions, bade him return after ten days. He had not even yet come to any resolution, but would give him an answer on the day named. They then separated and returned each to his own camp. When the night was far advanced, Sulla was secretly summoned by Bacchus. Only trusted interpreters were admitted by either party, and besides these Dabbar, a man of high character and light by both parties, is a go-between. The king immediately began the following speech. I have never thought that it could happen that I, the greatest king in this land, and of all princes of whom I know, should owe gratitude to any private person. Indeed, Sulla, I profess that before I knew you, though I helped many at their prayer and others in my own accord, I myself needed the assistance of none. At the breach of such a custom others are want to grieve. To me it is a pleasure. I am content that it may be my lot to have needed for a moment this friendship of yours, then which my heart holds nothing dearer. In this profession it is open to you to test, take and use my arms, men, money, whatever in fact you will, and never while you live, think that my debt of gratitude to you is discharged. It will ever remain with me undiminished, and in a word, you shall never, to my knowledge, wish for anything in vain. To my thinking it is less dishonorable for a king to be surpassed in arms than in generosity. As for your Commonwealth, as a guardian of whose interest you have been sent hither, listen to the few words I have to say. I neither made war upon the Roman people, nor that I ever wish it to be made. I only used arms to protect my territory against an armed invader. This question, however, since you wish it, I pass over. As for your war with Ugertha, carry it on as long as you please. I, for my part, will not cross the river Muluka, the ancient boundary of my kingdom, and that of Mekipsa, nor will I allow Ugertha to come on this side of it. Furthermore, if you make any request which you can worthily prefer, and I accord, you shall not leave my presence unsatisfied. To this speech, Sulla replied briefly and moderately as touching himself, but spoke at length on the subject of the peace and their common interests. As the upshot he made it clear to the king that the Senate and people of Rome, in so much as they had proved their superiority in arms, would not regard his promises as any favor, that he must do something which they might see had been to their advantage rather than his own, and that this was perfectly easy for him since he had Ugertha in his power. Let him deliver Ugertha to the Romans, and their debt would be great. Their friendship and alliance, and the part of Numidia which he was at present trying to obtain, would all come to him as a matter of course. The king at first gave a firm denial, alleging that the bonds of kinship and marriage, besides a solemn treaty, prevented his compliance. He had fears too, he said, lest if he should act treacherously, he might alienate the affection of his people, who loved Ugertha and hated the Romans. At last, after many importunities, he gave way, and promised to do everything as Sulla desired. They made such arrangements as seemed expedient for counterfeiting the peace, for which the Numidian, in his weariness of war, was most desirous, and then after concerning their plot, departed their several ways. On the next day, Bacchus summoned Aspar, Ugertha's ambassador, and informed him that through Dabbar he had learnt from Sulla that the war could be brought to an end on certain conditions, and that he therefore wished him the views of the king. Aspar was overjoyed and set out for the camp of Ugertha. When he had been duly instructed, on all points by that king, after eight days he returned in haste to Bacchus, and informed him that Ugertha was anxious to comply with every demand, but had little faith in Marius, as he had often made previously fruitless treaties of peace with Roman generals. If Bacchus wished to act in the interest of both, and gain a secure peace, he could contrive a meeting of all the parties, as if for a conference on the question of peace, and should then betray Sulla to himself. When he had a man of such importance as prisoner, a treaty would soon be concluded at the bidding of the senate or people of Rome. A man of noble birth would not be left in the hands of enemies, into whose power he had fallen, by no cowardice of his own, but in the service of the state. The Mauritanian long deliberated on this proposal, and at length proposed to carry it out. Whether in this case his hesitation was real or assumed, my information does not say. The caprices of kings are as unstable as they are strong, and often clash with each other. Later on the time and place for the assembly of the conference on the subject of peace was settled, and Bacchus addressed himself now to Sulla, now to the envoy of Ugertha, treating each with courtesy, and made them both the same promise. They, on their side, were equally delighted and full of hope. On the night which preceded the day appointed for the conference, the Mauritanian is said to have first summoned his friends, and then suddenly changing his mind to have bitten them with draw, and to have long debated the problem with himself, while his countenance and glanced changed with each turn of his thought, and despite his silence laid bare the secrets of his breast. When he at last ordered Sulla to be summoned, and planned the treachery against the Numidian, according to his wish. At last day came, and it was announced to him that Ugertha was not far off. Accompanied by a few friends and by our quister, as if to pay the king the compliment of meeting him on his way, he advanced to a hillock within an easy view of the men in ambush. The Numidian, with most of his intimates, approached the same place, according to the agreement, unarmed. The signal was immediately given, and was attacked by the ambush upon either side. His companions were all cut down, and Ugertha himself was delivered in bonds to Sulla, and by him conducted to Marius. During the same period the Roman generals Quintus Caipio and Gaius Manlius were defeated in a battle against the Gauls, and all Italy trembled in the panic thus occasioned. From that day down to our own times the Romans have believed that, while their courage can surmount all else with ease, with the Gauls their contest is for preservation, not for fame. In the present crisis when it was announced that the war in Numidia was ended, and that Ugertha was being brought in chains to Rome, Marius was elected consul in his absence, and Gaul decreed to him as his province. On the 1st of January the general, who had won such renown, and was now consul for the second time, celebrated his triumph. At that crisis the hopes and the resources of the state were alike centered in him. End of Ugerthian war and end of works of Gauls Salustius Crispus translated by Alfred W. Pollard.