The Project Gutenberg EBook of Plutarch's Lives, Volume II, by Aubrey Stewart

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net


Title: Plutarch's Lives, Volume II

Author: Aubrey Stewart & George Long

Release Date: November 22, 2004 [EBook #14114]

Language: English

Character set encoding: Unicode UTF-8

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PLUTARCH'S LIVES, VOLUME II ***




Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Stephen Schulze and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team.









PLUTARCH'S LIVES

TRANSLATED FROM THE GREEK, WITH NOTES AND A LIFE OF PLUTARCH

BY

AUBREY STEWART, M.A.

_Late Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge_

AND THE LATE

GEORGE LONG, M.A.

_Formerly Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge_

IN FOUR VOLUMES

VOL. II.

LONDON

GEORGE BELL AND SONS

1899

[_Reprinted from Stereotype plates_.]



CONTENTS.

  LIFE OF PELOPIDAS                               1
  LIFE OF MARCELLUS                              34
  COMPARISON OF PELOPIDAS WITH MARCELLUS         64
  LIFE OF ARISTEIDES                             67
  LIFE OF MARCUS CATO                            98
  COMPARISON OF ARISTEIDES AND CATO             128
  LIFE OF PHILOPŒMEN                            134
  LIFE OF TITUS FLAMININUS                      154
  COMPARISON OF PHILOPŒMEN AND TITUS            177
  LIFE OF PYRRHUS                               180
  LIFE OF CAIUS MARIUS (_By G. Long_.)          221
  LIFE OF LYSANDER                              285
  LIFE OF SULLA (_By G. Long_.)                 317
  COMPARISON OF LYSANDER AND SULLA              386
  LIFE OF KIMON                                 391
  LIFE OF LUCULLUS (_By G. Long_.)              414
  COMPARISON OF KIMON AND LUCULLUS              483






PLUTARCH'S LIVES.




LIFE OF PELOPIDAS.


I. Cato the elder, speaking to some persons who were praising a man of
reckless daring and audacity in war, observed that there is a
difference between a man's setting a high value on courage, and
setting a low value on his own life--and rightly. For a daring soldier
in the army of Antigonus, but of broken and ill health, being asked by
the king the reason of his paleness, confessed that he was suffering
from some secret disorder. When then the king, anxious for him,
charged his physicians to use the greatest care in their treatment, if
a cure were possible, at length this brave fellow, being restored to
health, was no longer fond of peril and furious in battle, so that
Antigonus reproved him, and expressed surprise at the change. The man
made no secret of his reason, but answered: "My, king, you have made
me less warlike by freeing me from those miseries on account of which
I used to hold my life cheap." And the Sybarite seems to have spoken
to the same effect about the Spartans, when he said that "they do no
great thing by dying in the wars in order to escape from such labours
and such a mode of life as theirs." However, no wonder if the
Sybarites, effete with luxurious debauchery, thought men mad who
despised death for love of honour and noble emulation; whereas the
Lacedæmonians were enabled by their valour both to live and to die
with pleasure, as the elegy shows, which runs thus:

    "'Twas not that life or death itself was good,
    That these heroic spirits shed their blood:
    This was their aim, and this their latest cry,
    'Let us preserve our honour, live or die.'"

For neither is avoidance of death blameable, if a man does not cling
to his life from dishonourable motives; nor is exposure to peril
honourable, if it springs from carelessness of life. For this reason
Homer always brings the most daring and warlike heroes into battle
well and beautifully armed, and the Greek lawgivers punish the man who
throws away his shield, but not him who throws away his sword or
spear, showing that it is each man's duty to take more care that he
does not receive hurt himself, than to hurt the enemy, especially if
he be the chief of an army or city.

II. For if, as Iphikrates defined it, the light troops resemble the
hands, the cavalry the feet, the main body the breast and trunk, and
the general the head, then it would appear that he, if he runs into
danger and shows personal daring, risks not only his own life, but
that of all those whose safety depends upon him; and _vice versâ_.
Wherefore Kallikratidas, although otherwise a great man, yet did not
make a good answer to the soothsayer; for when he begged him to beware
of death, which was presaged by the sacrifices, he replied that Sparta
had more men besides himself. No doubt, in fighting either by sea or
land[1] Kallikratidas only counted for one, but as a general, he
combined in his own person the strength of all the rest, so that he by
whose death so many perished, was indeed more than one. A better
answer was that of old Antigonus, who, as he was about to begin a
sea-fight off Andros, some one having said that the enemy's fleet was
the more numerous, asked, "And for how many do you count
_me_?"--setting a high value, as is due, upon a skilful and brave
leader, whose first duty is to keep safe him who preserves all the
rest.

So Timotheus said well, when Chares was displaying to the Athenians
the wounds on his body, and his shield pierced by a dart. "Now I,"
said he, "when I was besieging Samos, was quite ashamed if an arrow
fell near me, thinking that I was exposing myself more boyishly than
was fitting for the general and leader of so important a force." In
cases where the personal risk of the general is of great moment to
his army, then he must fight and expose himself without stint, and
disregard those who say that a general should die of old age, or at
any rate, when an old man. But where the gain is small in case of
success, while failure ruins everything, no one demands that the work
of the common soldier be performed at the risk of the general's life.

These prefatory remarks occurred to me in writing the Lives of
Pelopidas and Marcellus, great men who fell in a manner scarce worthy
of themselves: for being both of them most stout in battle, and having
each illustrated his country by splendid campaigns, against, too, the
most terrible antagonists--the one, as we read, having routed
Hannibal, who before was invincible, and the other having in a pitched
battle conquered the Lacedæmonians, the ruling state by sea and
land--yet they without any consideration endangered themselves and
flung away their lives just at the time when there was special need
for such men to live and command. And on this account I have drawn a
parallel between their lives, tracing out the points of resemblance
between them.

III. The family of Pelopidas, the son of Hippokles, was an honourable
one at Thebes, as likewise was that of Epameinondas. Bred in great
affluence, and having early succeeded to a splendid inheritance, he
showed eagerness to relieve the deserving poor, that he might prove
that he had become the master, not the servant of his riches. In most
cases, Aristotle observes, men either do not use their wealth through
narrow-mindedness, or else abuse it through extravagance, and the one
class are always the slaves of their pleasures, the other of their
gains.

Now, while all other persons gratefully made use of Pelopidas's
liberality and kindness, Epameinondas alone could not be induced to
share his wealth; he thereupon shared the other's poverty, priding
himself on simplicity of dress and plainness of food, endurance of
fatigue, and thoroughness in the performance of military service; like
Kapaneus, in Euripides, who "had plenty of wealth, but was far from
proud on account of his wealth," for he felt ashamed to be seen using
more bodily luxuries than the poorest Theban citizen. Epameinondas,
whose poverty was hereditary, made it lighter and more easily borne
by the practice of philosophy, and by choosing from the beginning a
single life; while Pelopidas made a brilliant marriage and had
children born to him, yet, in spite of this, diminished his fortune by
disregard of money-making and by giving up all his time to the service
of his country. And when his friends blamed him, and said that he was
treating lightly a necessary of life, the possession of money,
"Necessary, indeed," he answered, "for Nikodemus here," pointing to a
man who was a cripple and blind.

IV. They were both alike in nobleness of spirit, save that Pelopidas
took more pleasure in bodily exercise, and Epameinondas in learning,
and that the one in his leisure time frequented the palæstra and the
hunting field, while the other would listen to and discuss philosophy.
And though they have both many titles to glory, yet judicious persons
think nothing so much to their credit as that their friendship should
have remained from beginning to end unimpaired through so many
important crises, campaigns, and administrations. For any one who
considers the administrations of Aristeides and Themistokles, and
Kimon and Perikles, and Nikias and Alkibiades, how full they were of
mutual enmity, distrust, and jealousy, and then contrasts them with
the kindness and respect shown by Pelopidas to Epameinondas, will
pronounce with truth these men to have really been colleagues in
government and war rather than those who were constantly struggling to
get the better of one another instead of the enemy. The true cause of
this was their virtue, guided by which they sought no glory or gain
for themselves from their deeds, from which envious rivalry always
results, but both, inflamed by a noble desire to see their country
reach its climax of power and renown in their own time, used one
another's successes for this purpose as if they were their own. Not
but what most people think that their closest friendship arose from
the campaign of Mantinea, which they made with a contingent sent from
Thebes to serve with the Lacedæmonians, who were then their friends
and allies. Stationed together in the ranks,[2] and fighting against
the Arcadians, when the wing of the Lacedæmonian army in which they
were gave way, and many took to flight, they closed up together and
beat off their assailants. Pelopidas, having received seven wounds in
front, fell down upon a heap of slain, friends and enemies together;
but Epameinondas, though he thought him desperately[3] hurt, ran
forward and stood in defence of his body and arms, risking his life
alone against a multitude, determined to die rather than leave
Pelopidas lying there. He too was in evil plight, with a spear wound
in the breast, and a sword-cut on the arm, when Agesipolis, the
Spartan king, came to the rescue from the other wing, and most
unexpectedly saved the lives of both.

V. After this, the Spartans behaved towards Thebes outwardly as
friends and allies, but really viewed with suspicion the spirit and
strength of that state. They especially disliked the club presided
over by Ismenias and Androkleides, of which Pelopidas was a member, as
being of democratic and revolutionary principles. Consequently Archias
and Leontidas[4] and Philippus, men of the aristocratic party, wealthy
and unscrupulous, persuaded Phœbidas, a Laconian who was passing
through the town with an armed force, to seize the Kadmeia[5] by
surprise, and, banishing the party that opposed them, establish an
aristocratic oligarchy which would be subservient to Sparta.

He was persuaded to do this, and attacked the unsuspecting Thebans
during the feast of Thesmophoria. When he gained possession of the
height, Ismenias was seized and conveyed to Lacedæmon, and there not
long afterwards made away with. Pelopidas, Pherenikus, and
Androkleides, with many others, went into exile and were outlawed by
proclamation. Epameinondas stayed at home disregarded, not being
thought to be a man of action, because of his philosophical habits,
nor a man of any power, because of his poverty.

VI. When the Lacedæmonians removed Phœbidas from his command and fined
him a hundred thousand drachmas, but nevertheless held the Kadmeia
with a garrison, all the other Greeks wondered at their inconsistency,
in punishing the doer but approving of the deed; but the Thebans, who
had lost their old constitution and were now held in bondage by the
party of Archias and Leontidas, had lost all hope of release from
their tyrants, who they perceived were merely acting as a guard to the
Spartan supremacy in Greece, and therefore could not be put a stop to,
unless their enterprise by sea and land could also be checked.
However, Leontidas and his party, learning that the exiles were living
at Athens, and were popular with the people there, and respected by
the upper classes, began to plot against them, and by sending thither
men who were unknown to the exiles, they killed Androkleides by
stratagem, but failed with the others. There came also despatches from
Lacedæmon to the Athenians, ordering them not to take them in nor to
meddle in the matter, but to banish the exiles, on the ground that
they had been proclaimed to be public enemies by their allies. But the
Athenians, who besides their natural and innate kindness were
returning a debt of gratitude to the Thebans, who had been main
instruments in the re-establishment of their government, and had
decreed that if an Athenian should march in arms against the tyrants
through Bœotia, no Bœotian should see or hear him, did the Theban
exiles no harm.

VII. Now Pelopidas, although one of the youngest of the exiles, yet
used to encourage each of them separately, and would make speeches to
them all, pointing out that it was both dishonourable and wicked for
them to endure to see their country enslaved and garrisoned by
foreigners, and, caring only to save their own lives, to shelter
themselves behind decrees of the Athenians, and to pay servile court
to the orators who had influence with the people. Rather was it, he
urged, their duty to run the greatest risk, taking pattern by the
courage and patriotism of Thrasybulus, so that, as he once, starting
from Thebes, drove out the thirty tyrants from Athens, they also in
their turn, starting from Athens, might set Thebes free. When then he
prevailed with these arguments, they sent secretly to Thebes to
communicate their determination to such of their friends as were left
there. They agreed, and Charon, who was the leading man among them,
offered his house for their reception, and Phillidas proceeded to act
as secretary to the polemarchs, Archias and Philippus. Epameinondas
had long been instilling feelings of patriotism into the youth of
Thebes; for in the gymnasia he would bid them lay hold of the
Lacedæmonians and wrestle with them, and then seeing them pluming
themselves on their success, he would upbraid them, telling them that
they ought rather to feel ashamed at being, through their own
cowardice, in bondage to men whom they so greatly excelled in
strength.

VIII. When a day was fixed on for the attempt, the exiles determined
that Pherenikus, with the main body, should remain in the Thriasian[6]
plain, while a few of the youngest men ran the risk of entering the
city; and if anything were to befall these men, the others would take
care that neither their parents nor their children should want for
necessaries. First Pelopidas volunteered for the attempt, then Mellon
and Damokleides and Theopompus, men of the first families, faithful
friends to one another, and ever rivals in glory and bravery. Having
made up a party of twelve in all, and embraced those who were to stay,
and sent a messenger before them to Charon, they set out, dressed in
short cloaks, with hounds and carrying stakes for hunting nets, so
that no one whom they met on the road might suspect them, but that
they might seem to be merely ranging about the country and hunting.
When their messenger reached Charon, and told him that they were on
their way, Charon did not, even now that the danger was close to him,
falter in his determination, but acted like an honourable man, and
received them into his house. But one Hipposthenides, not a bad man,
but one who loved his country and favoured the exiles, yet proved
wanting in that audacity which this emergency, a hazardous one indeed,
and the attempt they had in hand, required.

Apparently the importance of the issue with which he was dealing
turned him dizzy; he with difficulty grasped the idea that, trusting
in the desperate hopes of exiles, these men were in some fashion
about to attempt to overthrow the Lacedæmonian government in Thebes,
and the power of Sparta. He went quietly home, and sent one of his
friends to Mellon and Pelopidas, bidding them put off their design for
the present, to go back to Athens, and await a better opportunity.
Chlidon was the name of the messenger, and he hurriedly went to his
own house, and, leading out his horse, asked for his bridle. His wife
was at her wit's end, as she had it not to give him, but she said that
she had lent it to a neighbour. Hereupon there was a quarrel, and
words of ill omen were used, for his wife said that she wished it
might be a bad journey for him, and for those that sent him; so that
Chlidon, having wasted a great part of the day in this squabble, and
also drawing a bad augury from what had happened, gave up his journey
altogether, and betook himself to something else. So near was this
greatest and most glorious of his adventures of missing its
opportunity at its very outset.

IX. Now Pelopidas and his party changed their clothes with country
people, and separating, came into the city by different ways while it
was still daylight. There was a strong wind, and the weather was
snowy, so that they were the less noticed, as most people had betaken
themselves to their houses on account of the storm; but those who were
in the plot met them as they entered, and brought them to Charon's
house. With the exiles, they amounted to forty-eight in all.

As to their oppressors, Phillidas the secretary, who had been working
with the exiles and knew all their plans, having long before invited
Archias and his friends to a wine party to meet certain courtesans,
intended to endeavour to hand them over to their assailants in as
enervated and intoxicated a condition as possible. However before they
were very far gone in liquor a rumour was brought to their ears,
which, although true, was without confirmation and very vague, to the
effect that the exiles were concealed in the city. Though Phillidas
endeavoured to change the subject, still Archias sent one of his
servants to Charon, ordering him to come instantly. Now it was
evening, and Pelopidas and his party were preparing themselves, in the
house, and had already got their corslets on, and had girt on their
swords. Suddenly, a knock was heard at the door. One of them ran out,
and hearing the servant say that Charon had been sent for by the
polemarchs, he in great trepidation brought the news to the rest. At
once it occurred to all that the plot had been betrayed, and that they
all were lost, without even having done anything worthy of their
courage. Yet they agreed that Charon should comply with the summons
and that he should unsuspiciously present himself before the Spartan
chiefs. He was a man of courage, and slow to lose heart, but now he
was panic-stricken and terrified lest when so many brave citizens lost
their lives, some suspicion of treachery might rest on himself. So,
just when he was going, he brought his son from the women's
apartments, a boy still, but in beauty and strength surpassing all of
his own age, and handed him over to Pelopidas's party, bidding them
treat him as an enemy and show no mercy, if they should find _him_
guilty of any deceit or treachery. Many of them shed tears at the
feeling shown by Charon, and his noble spirit, and all felt shame,
that he should think any of them so base and so affected by their
present danger, as to suspect him or even to blame him, and they
begged him not to mix up his son with them, but put him out of the way
of the coming stroke, that he might be saved and escape from the
tyrants, and some day return and avenge his father and his friends.
But Charon refused to take away his son, for what life, he asked, or
what place of safety could be more honourable to him than an easy
death with his father and so many friends? After praying and embracing
them all, and bidding them be of good cheer, he went away, taking
great pains to adopt a look and tone of voice as different as possible
to that of a conspirator.

X. When he came to the door, Archias and Philippus met him and said,
"Charon, I have heard that some people have come here, and are
concealed in the city, and that some of the citizens are in league
with them." Charon was at first disconcerted, but then enquired who
these persons might be, and who they were that gave them shelter.
Seeing then that Archias knew nothing for certain, he perceived that
the news did not come from any one who knew the truth. "Take care,"
said he, "that this be not a mere idle rumour that is alarming you.
However, I will make due enquiries; for we ought not to disregard
anything." Phillidas, who was present, expressed his approval of this,
and carrying Archias back again plied him with liquor, prolonging his
debauch by holding out the expectation of the women.

Now when Charon returned to his house, he found the conspirators there
prepared to fight, not expecting to survive or to win the day, but to
die gloriously and kill as many of their enemies as possible. He told
Pelopidas's party the truth, and made up some story about Archias to
satisfy the others. This storm was just blown over when Fortune sent a
second upon them. A messenger came from Athens, from Archias the
hierophant[7] to his namesake Archias the Spartan, whose guest and
friend he was, bearing a letter which contained no vague and
conjectural suspicion, but a detailed account of all that was being
done, as was afterwards discovered. Now the messenger, when brought
before Archias who was drunk, gave him the letter, and said, "He who
sent you this letter bade you read it instantly, for he said it was
written about most serious matters." Archias laughing, said, "Serious
matters to-morrow." He took the letter and placed it under the pillow
on which he rested, and again listened to Phillidas about what they
were talking of before. This story, handed down in the form of a
proverb, is current among the Greeks even now.

XI. As the hour for the attempt seemed now to have arrived, they
sallied forth, in two bodies: the one, under Pelopidas and
Damokleides, to attack Leontidas and Hypates, who lived near one
another, while the other, under Charon and Mellon, went to Archias and
Philippus, with women's gowns over their steel corslets, and their
faces concealed by thick wreaths of fir and pine wood; and so when
first they entered the door of the dining-room they caused great
applause and disturbance, as the guests imagined that the
long-expected ladies had at length come. They looked carefully round
the party, and having ascertained who each of the guests were, they
drew their swords, and made for Archias and Philippus. When they thus
betrayed themselves, Phillidas persuaded some few of the guests to
remain quiet, but the rest, who rose and tried to assist the
polemarchs, were easily disposed of on account of their drunken
condition.

The task of Pelopidas and his party was a harder one; for they went to
attack Leontidas, a sober and brave man, and, finding his house shut
up, for he was already asleep, they knocked for some time without
rousing any one. At length the servant heard them and came and drew
back the bolt of the door; then, as soon as the leaves of the door
yielded they burst in in a body, and upsetting the servant made for
the bedchamber. Leontidas, guessing from the noise and confusion what
was going on, started up and seized his dagger, but he forgot to put
out the light, and make the men fall upon each other in the darkness.
In full view of them, in a blaze of light, he met them at his chamber
door, and with a blow of his dagger struck down Kephisodorus, the
first man who entered. As he fell dead Leontidas grappled with the
next, Pelopidas. The struggle was a fierce one and rendered difficult
by the narrow passage and the corpse of Kephisodorus lying in it, but
at length Pelopidas gained the upper hand, and having despatched him,
immediately went with his party to attack Hypates. And in the same way
they broke into his house, but he heard them sooner, and fled away to
the neighbours, but was pursued and slain.

XII. Having accomplished this, and joined Mellon's party, they sent
word to the remaining exiles in Attica, and called together the
citizens to complete their deliverance, and as they came, gave them
arms, taking down the trophies which hung in the public colonnades,
and breaking into the workshops of spear-makers and sword-cutlers. And
Epameinondas and Gorgidas, with their party, came to help them, armed;
for they had collected together no small number of the younger men and
the strongest of the elder ones. By this time the whole city was
roused, and there was great confusion, lights flitting about, and
people running to one another's houses, but the people had not yet
assembled, but being alarmed at what had happened, and knowing nothing
for certain, they waited for daylight. And here the generals of the
Lacedæmonian garrison seem to have missed an opportunity in not at
once sallying out and attacking them, for the garrison itself
consisted of 1500 men, and many people kept running to them for refuge
from the city; however, alarmed at the shouts and fires and mass of
people assembling from all parts, they remained quiet, holding the
Kadmeia only. At daybreak arrived the exiles from Attica, fully armed,
and the public assembly met. Epameinondas and Gorgidas led forward the
band of Pelopidas, surrounded by the priests, who crowned them with
wreaths, and called upon the citizens to fight for their country and
their gods. The whole assembly, with shouts and applause, rose at the
sight, and received them as their benefactors and saviours.

XIII. After this, Pelopidas, who was chosen Bœotarch,[8] with Mellon
and Charon as colleagues, at once blockaded the citadel, and made
assaults upon it on all sides, being eager to drive out the
Lacedæmonians and recover the Kadmeia before an army should come upon
them from Sparta. And so little time had he to spare, that the
garrison, when going home after their capitulation, met at Megara
Kleombrotus, marching with a great force against Thebes. Of the three
men who had been governors of Thebes, the Spartans condemned two,
Herippidas and Arkissus, to death, and the third, Lysanorides, was
heavily fined and banished.

This adventure was called by the Greeks the "sister" of that of
Thrasybulus, as it resembled it in the bravery and personal risk of
its chief actors, and was, like the other, favoured by fortune. It is
difficult to mention any other persons, who with fewer numbers and
scantier means than these, conquered men more numerous and powerful
than themselves, by sheer daring and ability, or who conferred greater
blessings on their own countries; and that which made this more
remarkable was the change which it effected. The war which destroyed
the prestige of Sparta, and put an end to her empire by sea and land,
began in that night, in which Pelopidas, without having made himself
master of any fort, stronghold, or citadel, but merely coming to a
private house with eleven others, loosed and broke to pieces, if we
may use a true metaphor, the chains of Lacedæmonian supremacy, which
seemed fixed and immovable.

XIV. Now when a great Lacedæmonian army invaded Bœotia, the Athenians
manifested great alarm. They repudiated their alliance with the
Thebans, and impeached those who had shown Bœotian sympathies; some of
these men were put to death, others fined and banished. The case of
the Thebans seemed desperate, as no one offered to help them; but
Pelopidas, who with Gorgidas was Bœotarch, contrived to alienate the
Athenians from Sparta by the following plot. Sphodrias, a Spartan, of
great renown in the wars, but somewhat flighty and prone to wild
enterprises and reckless ambition, had been left near Thespiæ with an
army, to receive and assist those Thebans[9] who were now sent into
exile because they favoured the Lacedæmonians. Pelopidas sent secretly
to this man a merchant, a friend of his own, who gave him a bribe, and
also made proposals which fascinated him more than the money, that he
should attempt some enterprise on a great scale, and surprise Peiræus
by a sudden attack when the Athenians were off their guard: for the
Lacedæmonians would be better pleased with the capture of Athens than
with anything else, and the Thebans would not assist them, for they
were at variance with them and regarded them as traitors. At length
Sphodrias was prevailed upon to agree to this, and, with his soldiery,
invaded Attica by night. He got as far as Eleusis, but there the
soldiers lost heart, and the attempt was detected. So, having involved
the Spartans in a war of no slight importance, he retired to Thespiæ.

XV. Upon this the Athenians again most eagerly allied themselves with
the Thebans, and, aspiring to supremacy at sea, sent embassies round
to the other maritime states, and brought over to their own side
those who were willing to revolt from the Spartans. Meanwhile the
Thebans, alone in their country of Bœotia, constantly skirmishing with
the Lacedæmonians, and not fighting any great battles with them, but
organising themselves with the greatest care and discipline, began to
pluck up spirit, gaining skill from practice, and becoming confident
from the result of these encounters. This was why they say that
Antalkidas the Spartan, when King Agesilaus was being carried home
wounded from Bœotia, said to him, "Indeed, you are receiving nice
lessons from the Thebans, now that you have taught them how to fight
against their will." But their real teacher was not Agesilaus, but
those who, seizing fit opportunities, and with due management,
skilfully used to let them loose upon their enemies, as men train
young mastiffs, and then when they had tasted victory and
self-confidence brought them safely back. Of these leaders Pelopidas
received the chief credit. From the year in which he was first elected
general they never ceased to re-elect him, and he was always either in
command of the Sacred Band or most commonly acting as Bœotarch until
his death. There took place also about Platæa and Thespiæ defeats and
routs of the Lacedæmonians, in which Phœbidas, who seized the Kadmeia,
perished; and Pelopidas routed a number of them near Tanagra, and slew
Panthoides the governor. Still, although these skirmishes raised the
spirits and confidence of the victors, yet they did not cast down the
pride of the vanquished; for they were not regular battles, but the
Thebans won their successes by well-timed charges and harassing the
enemy by alternate retreat and advance.

However, the affair at Tegyra, which in a manner was preliminary to
that at Leuktra, won Pelopidas a great reputation; for there was no
question of any other general having assisted in the design of the
battle, nor of the enemy being thoroughly routed. The city of
Orchomenus had taken the Spartan side, and had received two moras[10]
of Spartan troops for its protection. He always had his eye upon this
place, and watched his opportunity. Hearing that the garrison had made
an expedition into Lokris, he marched, hoping to catch Orchomenus
defenceless, taking with him the Sacred Band and a few cavalry. When
he came to the city he found that the garrison had been relieved by
fresh troops from Sparta, and so he led off his men homewards through
Tegyra, the only way that he could, by a circuitous route at the foot
of the mountains; for the river Melas, which from its very source
spreads into morasses and quagmires, made the direct way impassable.

Near the marshes stands a temple of Apollo of Tegyra and an oracle,
which is now forsaken; it has not been long so, but flourished up to
the Persian War, when Echekrates was priest. There the myths say that
the god was born; and the neighbouring mountain is called Delos, and
there the overflowings of the river Melas cease, while behind the
temple there flow two springs remarkable for the sweetness, coldness,
and volume of their waters, which we up to this day call, the one "The
Palm," and the other "The Olive," as though the goddess had not been
delivered between two trees, but two fountains. Indeed, close by is
the Ptoüm, whence they say that she was driven in terror by the sudden
apparition of a wild boar, and with regard to the legends of Tityos
and Pytho, the localities are in like manner associated with the birth
of the god. I omit the greater part of these proofs, for our ancestral
religion tells us that this god is not to be ranked among those
divinities who were born as men, like Herakles and Dionysus, and by
their merits were translated from this earthly and suffering body, but
he is one of the eternal ones who know no birth, if one may form any
conjecture upon such matters from the writings of our wisest and most
ancient writers.

XVII. At Tegyra, then, Pelopidas and the Thebans retiring from
Orchomenus met the Lacedæmonians marching back from Lokris, in the
opposite direction. When they were first descried coming out from the
narrow gorges of the hills, some one ran to Pelopidas, and cried out,
"We have fallen into the midst of the enemy!" "Why so," asked he,
"more than they into the midst of us?" He at once ordered his cavalry
to the front to charge the enemy first, and closed up his infantry,
three hundred in number, into a compact body, trusting that wherever
he attacked the enemy he should break through, although they
outnumbered him. They consisted of two moras of Lacedæmonians: now
Ephorus says that a mora consists of 500 men, but Kallisthenes says
700, and some other authorities, and amongst them Polybius, put it at
900.

Gorgoleon and Theopompus, the polemarchs in command of the Spartans,
moved confidently to the attack of the Thebans; and the onset was
directed on both sides, with great fury, specially at the persons of
the leaders. The two polemarchs dashed against Pelopidas, and both
fell; then the slaughter of their immediate followers produced a panic
in the whole force, and it gave way to the Thebans, opening a lane
through the centre as if for them to pass through. But when Pelopidas
led his men into the passage thus offered, and assailed those who
stood their ground, passing through it with great slaughter, then all
fled in hopeless rout.

The pursuit was not pressed far, for the Thebans feared the vicinity
of Orchomenus and of the Spartan reinforcement there; but as far as
winning the victory, and forcing their way through the beaten enemy,
they were completely successful; so after setting up a trophy and
spoiling the dead they returned home in high spirits. For in all the
wars which had previously taken place, both with Greeks and
barbarians, it never before had happened that Lacedæmonians should be
conquered by an inferior force, nor yet even when the numbers on each
side were equal. Wherefore they were invincible in their own
estimation, and established an ascendant over the minds of their
opponents, for they were wont to engage with men who did not
themselves think that with equal force they could be a match for the
same number of Spartans. But this battle first proved to the rest of
Greece that it is not only the Eurotas, and the country between Babuke
and Knacion[11] that nurtures brave and warlike men, but that wherever
the youth of a nation fears disgrace and is willing to risk life for
honour, and shrinks from shame more than from danger, these form the
troops most terrible to their foes.

XVIII. The Sacred Band, they say, was first formed by Gorgidas, of 300
picked men, whom the city drilled and lodged in the Kadmeia when on
service, wherefore they were called the "city" regiment; for people
then generally called the citadel the "city." Some say that this force
was composed of intimate friends, and indeed there is current a saying
of Pammenes, that Homer's Nestor is not a good general when he bids
the Greeks assemble by their tribes and clans:

     "That tribe to tribe, and clan to clan give aid,"

whereas he ought to have placed side by side men who loved each other,
for men care little in time of danger for men of the same tribe or
clan, whereas the bond of affection is one that cannot be broken, as
men will stand fast in battle from the strength of their affection for
others, and from feeling shame at showing themselves cowards before
them. Nor is this to be wondered at, seeing that men stand more in awe
of the objects of their love when they are absent than they do of
others when present, as was the case with that man who begged and
entreated one of the enemy to stab him in the breast as he lay
wounded, "in order," said he, "that my friend may not see me lying
dead with a wound in the back, and be ashamed of me." And Iolaus, the
favourite of Herakles, is said to have taken part in his labours and
to have accompanied him; and Aristotle says that even in his own time
lovers would make their vows at the tomb of Iolaus.

It is probable, therefore, that the Sacred Band was so named, because
Plato also speaks of a lover as a friend inspired from Heaven. Up to
the battle of Chæronea it is said to have continued invincible, and
when Philip stood after the battle viewing the slain, in that part of
the field where the Three Hundred lay dead in their armour, heaped
upon one another, having met the spears of his phalanx face to face,
he wondered at the sight, and learning that it was the Band of Lovers,
burst into tears, and said, "Perish those who suspect those men of
doing or enduring anything base."

XIX. As to these intimacies between friends, it was not, as the poets
say, the disaster of Laius which first introduced the custom into
Thebes, but their lawgivers, wishing to soften and improve the natural
violence and ferocity of their passions, used music largely in their
education, both in sport and earnest, giving the flute especial
honour, and by mixing the youth together in the palæstra, produced
many glorious examples of mutual affection. Rightly too did they
establish in their city that goddess who is said to be the daughter of
Ares and Aphrodite, Harmonia; since, wherever warlike power is duly
blended with eloquence and refinement, there all things tend to the
formation of a harmonious and perfect commonwealth.

Now, as to the Sacred Band, Gorgidas originally placed them in the
first rank, and so spread them all along the first line of battle, and
did not by this means render their valour so conspicuous, nor did he
use them in a mass for any attack, but their courage was weakened by
so large an infusion of inferior soldiery; but Pelopidas, after the
splendid display of their valour under his own eye at Tegyra, never
separated or scattered them, but would stand the brunt of battle,
using them as one body. For as horses driven in a chariot go faster
than those going loose, not because they more easily cleave the air
when galloping in a solid body, but because their rivalry and racing
with one another kindles, their spirit, so he imagined that brave men,
inciting each other to an emulation in adventure, would prove most
useful and forward when acting in one body.

XX. When the Lacedæmonians made peace with all the other Greeks and
attacked the Thebans alone, and Kleombrotus, their king, invaded
Bœotia with ten thousand hoplites and a thousand cavalry, the danger
was not that they should be reduced to their former condition, but
absolute destruction plainly threatened their city, and such terror
prevailed as never before had been in Bœotia. Pelopidas, when leaving
his house, as his wife wept at parting with him and begged him to be
careful of his life, answered, "My dear, this is very good advice for
private soldiers, but we who are commanders must think about saving
the lives of others." When he reached the camp, he found the Bœotarchs
differing in opinion, and he at once gave his voice for the plan of
Epameinondas, who voted for battle. He was not named Bœotarch, but he
was in command of the Sacred Band, and enjoyed great confidence, as
was only just a man should who had given such proofs of patriotism.

When, then, they had determined to face the enemy, and taken up a
position at Leuktra opposite to the Spartan army, Pelopidas saw a
vision in his sleep which greatly disturbed him. In the plain of
Leuktra there are the tombs of the daughters of Skedasus, whom they
call Leuktridæ because of the place of their burial; for there it was
that they were buried after they had been violated by some Spartan
strangers. When this base and impious deed was done, their father, as
he could get no satisfaction from the Lacedæmonians, invoked curses
upon the Spartan race, and slew himself at the tombs of his daughters.
Oracles and legends always had warned the Spartans to beware of the
vengeance of Leuktra, though most of them did not understand it, and
were not clear as to the place, since a small sea-side town in Laconia
is also called Leuktron, and there is a place of the same name near
Megalopolis in Arcadia, and, also, this crime was committed a long
time before the battle.

XXI. So now Pelopidas, when asleep in the camp, seemed to see the
maidens weeping over their tombs and invoking curses on the Spartans,
and Skedasus, who bade him sacrifice a red virgin to the maidens, if
he wished to conquer his enemies. And as this command seemed to him
shocking and impious, he started up and consulted the prophets and the
generals. Some of them forbade him to neglect or disobey the warning,
quoting the famous old instances of Menækeus the son of Kreon and
Makaria the daughter of Herakles, and, in later times, Pherekydes the
philosopher, who was killed by the Lacedæmonians, and whose skin,
according to some oracle, is still kept by their kings, and Leonidas,
who following the oracle did in some sort offer himself as a victim on
behalf of Greece; and futhermore they spoke of those persons whom
Themistokles sacrificed to Dionysus before the sea-fight at Salamis.
All these are verified by the success which followed them. And again,
Agesilaus when starting from the same place that Agamemnon did to
fight the same enemies, was asked by the god, during a vision at
Aulis, to give him his daughter as a sacrifice; but he did not give
her, but by his softheartedness ruined the expedition, which
ingloriously failed. Others spoke on the other side, urging that so
barbarous and impious a sacrifice could not be pleasing to any of the
powers above, for, they said, it is not the Typhons and giants of
legend that rule in heaven, but the father of all gods and men. To
believe that there are deities that delight in the blood and slaughter
of mankind is probably a foolish fancy; but if there be such, it is
our duty to disregard them and treat them as powerless, for these
strange and shocking desires can only take their origin and exist in
feeble and depraved minds.

XXII. While the chiefs of the army were engaged in this discussion,
and Pelopidas especially was at a loss what to do, a filly escaped
from some horses at pasture, and running through the ranks stopped
opposite them. They admired her coat shining with the brightest red,
and the mettled courage of her neigh, but Theokritus the prophet,
comprehending what was meant, called to Pelopidas: "Happy man! Here is
your victim; let us not expect any other virgin, but take the gift the
gods provide you." Hereupon they caught the filly and led it to the
tombs of the maidens. Here, after prayer, they hung garlands on the
tombs, and made the sacrifice with joy, explaining to the whole army
the vision of Pelopidas and their reasons for the sacrifice.

XXIII. In the battle, Epameinondas brought his main body slantingly
towards the left, in order that the Spartan right might be drawn as
far as possible away from the other Greeks, and that by falling
violently on Kleombrotus with his whole force on that wing, he might
overpower and crush him. The enemy, perceiving what was being done,
began to alter their own formation, extending their right, with the
intention of outflanking and enveloping Epameinondas. At this moment
Pelopidas charged with the Three Hundred in serried ranks. He caught
the Lacedæmonians in a moment of confusion, when they were not
standing ready to make an attack, for Kleombrotus had not time either
to extend his right, or to bring the troops back again and close up
the ranks. Yet the Spartans, skilled as they were to the highest
pitch in war, had been specially educated and practised in changing
their formation without disorder or confusion; each man used any other
as his right-hand or rear-rank man, and wherever danger threatened
they would meet it, forming and fighting simultaneously. But now, when
the main Theban phalanx under Epameinondas, projecting before all the
rest of the line, bore down upon them, and when Pelopidas, by a charge
of inconceivable speed and daring was already amongst their ranks,
their spirit and discipline was so shaken that the rout and slaughter
of the Spartans was such as had never been before. In this victory and
success as much glory belonged to Pelopidas, though not one of the
generals, and only in command of a few men, as to Epameinondas, who
was Bœotarch and leader of the whole force.

XXIV. In the invasion of Peloponnesus they were both Bœotarchs, and
they brought over to their side most of the nations there, for they
detached from the Lacedæmonian alliance Elis, Argos, the whole of
Arcadia, and most part of Laconia itself. It was mid-winter, a few
days only remained of the last month, and with the new year the law
was that the commands should be delivered up and new generals chosen.
Death was the penalty in case of disobedience, and all the other
Bœotarchs, fearing this law and wishing to avoid the severe weather,
wished to withdraw the army homewards, but Pelopidas first, supported
by Epameinondas, encouraged his fellow citizens, and crossed the
Eurotas. He took many of their towns and wasted all their country up
to the sea-coast, with an army of 70,000 Greeks, of whom the Thebans
formed less than a twelfth part. But the great reputation which these
men enjoyed made the rest follow them without any formal vote or
decree to do so; for the first and most fundamental law is that which
makes men in need of help follow him who can save them; and even if,
like men sailing on a calm sea or anchored close to port, they
sometimes murmur at and brave their pilot, yet in time of danger and
storm they look up to him and place all their hopes in him, so the
Argives and Eleans and Arcadians would at the council-board dispute
the Theban claims to supremacy, but in war and at critical moments
they of their own accord obeyed the Theban generals. In this campaign,
Arcadia was consolidated into one state; they also separated Messenia,
which had been annexed by the Spartans, and bringing back the
Messenian exiles established them in the old capital, Ithome. On their
homeward march through Kenchreæ they gained a victory over the
Athenians, who attempted to harass them and hinder their march through
the narrow isthmus of Corinth.

XXV. After these exploits all men were full of admiration and wonder
at their courage and success, but at home the envious feelings of
their countrymen and political opponents, which grew along with the
growth of their renown, prepared a most scurvy reception for them. On
their return they were both tried for their lives, on the ground that
whereas the law is that during the first month of the year, which they
call Boukation, the Bœotarchs must lay down their office, they had
held it for four additional months, during which they had been
settling the affairs of Messenia, Laconia, and Arcadia. Pelopidas was
tried first, and so incurred the greater danger, but both were
acquitted.

Epameinondas, who thought that true courage and magnanimity was best
shown by forbearance in political strife, bore this contemptible
attack with patience, but Pelopidas, who was of a hotter temper, and
whose friends encouraged him to revenge, chose this for its
opportunity. Menekleides the orator had been one of the conspirators
who came with Pelopidas and Mellon to Charon's house. As, after the
revolution, he did not obtain equal rights with the rest, being a man
of great ability in speaking, but reckless and ill-conditioned, he
took to using his powers to slander and assail the men in power, and
was not silenced even by the result of that trial. He got Epameinondas
turned out of his office of Bœotarch, and for a long time succeeded in
lessening his influence in the state; but Pelopidas he could not
misrepresent to the people, so he endeavoured to make a quarrel
between him and Charon. He used the usual method of detractors, who if
they themselves be inferior to the object of their spite, try at any
rate to prove that he is inferior to some one else; and having the ear
of the people, he was ever singing the praises of Charon, and uttering
panegyrics on his skill and his success. He endeavoured to set up a
memorial of the cavalry battle at Platæa, before the battle of
Leuktra, in which the Thebans under Charon were victorious, in the
following manner. Androkydes of Kyzikus had been entrusted by the
state with the task of painting a picture of some other battle, and
had been engaged on it at Thebes. When the war broke out, this
picture, nearly completed, was left in the hands of the Thebans; and
Menekleides persuaded them to put it up publicly and to write on it
the name of Charon, in order to throw the glory of Pelopidas and
Epameinondas into the shade; a silly exhibition of ill-feeling indeed,
to compare one poor skirmish, in which Gerandas, an obscure Spartan,
and some forty men fell, with the great and important services of the
others.

Pelopidas indicted this proposal as illegal, arguing that it was not
the custom of the Thebans to show honour to individuals, but to keep
alive the name of a victory for the glory of the country at large. He
bestowed unmeasured praise upon Charon throughout the trial, and
proved Menekleides to be a malignant slanderer. He was fined a large
sum, and not being able to pay it, subsequently endeavoured to bring
about a revolution in the state; by which one gains some insight into
his character.

XXVI. Alexander, the tyrant of Pheræ, was at this time at open war
with many states of Thessaly, and threatened the independence of all.
Ambassadors from these states were sent to Thebes, begging for a
military force and a general to be despatched to their assistance.
Pelopidas, since Epameinondas was busy settling the affairs of
Peloponnesus, offered himself to the Thessalians, as he could not bear
that his talents and skill should lie idle, and he thought that where
Epameinondas was, no second general could be needed. So he marched
with a sufficient army into Thessaly, took Larissa, and, when
Alexander begged for terms of peace, endeavoured to convert him into a
mild and law-abiding ruler. But he, a wild, desperate, cruel
barbarian, when he was accused of insolent and grasping practices,
and Pelopidas used harsh and angry language, went off in a rage, with
his body-guard. Pelopidas, having relieved the Thessalians from fear
of the tyrant, and reconciled them one to another, proceeded to
Macedonia. Here Ptolemy was at war with Alexander the king of
Macedonia, and each of them had sent for him to act as arbitrator and
judge between them, thinking that he would right whichever of them
should prove to have been wronged. He came, and settled their dispute,
and after bringing back the exiled party, took Philip, the king's
brother, and thirty other sons of the noblest families as hostages,
and kept them at Thebes, to show the Greeks how far the Theban policy
extended, merely through its reputation for power and for justice.

This was that Philip who afterwards endeavoured to enslave Greece; at
that time he was but a lad, and lived in the house of Pammenes. On
this account he was thought to be an imitator of Epameinondas, and
perhaps he did take to heart that great man's energy in war, which was
one of his virtues, but as to the spirit of self-restraint, justice,
magnanimity and mildness, which formed the true greatness of his
character, of this Philip neither by nature or education had the least
idea.

XXVII. After these events, the Thessalians again complained of
Alexander of Pheræ for attacking their cities, and Pelopidas and
Ismenias were sent as ambassadors to them. Pelopidas, however, brought
no army with him, as no war was expected, and was forced to make use
of the native Thessalians in this emergency. As affairs in Macedonia
had again fallen into disorder (for Ptolemy had assassinated the king,
and was in possession of the sovereignty, while the friends of the
deceased invited Pelopidas to interfere), he wished to do something;
and having no troops of his own, he hired some local mercenaries and
marched off at once against Ptolemy. When they drew near to each
other, Ptolemy by bribes induced the mercenaries to desert to himself,
but, fearing the mere name and prestige of Pelopidas, he went out to
him as though he were the more powerful of the two, and after greeting
him and begging him to be his friend, he agreed to hold the kingdom in
trust for the brothers of the deceased king, and to form a defensive
and offensive alliance with Thebes. For the fulfilment of these
conditions he gave as hostages his own son Philoxenus and fifty of his
companions, whom Pelopidas sent to Thebes, but as he was angry at the
desertion of his mercenaries, and learned that their property, wives
and children were for the most part placed in Pharsalus, so that by
capturing that place he could make them pay the penalty of their
crime, he got together a force of Thessalians and came to Pharsalus.
When he was just arrived, Alexander the tyrant appeared with his army.
Pelopidas and his friends supposed that he had come to establish his
innocence, and went to meet him, knowing him to be profligate and
bloodthirsty, yet fearing no harm, because of the name of Thebes and
their own personal prestige. But he, when he saw them approaching him
unarmed and alone, at once secured them and took Pharsalus, striking
fear and terror into all his subjects; for they expected that after an
act of such daring lawlessness he would spare no one, but treat them
as one who had made up his mind to lose his own life.

XXVIII. The Thebans when they heard of this were greatly moved, and at
once despatched an army to the rescue, but on account of some quarrel
with Epameinondas they appointed others to the command. The tyrant
took Pelopidas to Pheræ, and at first allowed any who chose to
converse with him, supposing that he would be cast down and humbled by
his misfortunes; but when the people of Pheræ came to lament over him,
Pelopidas bade them be of good courage, as now if ever the tyrant
would have to pay the penalty of his crimes: and he sent a message to
the tyrant himself, saving that he was a strange man, to torture and
murder his wretched and innocent citizens every day, and to spare him,
who he knew would be sure to wreak vengeance on him if he should
escape. The tyrant, admiring his spirit and fearlessness, said, "What!
does Pelopidas wish to die?" The other, hearing of this answered,
"Yes, that you may become even more hateful to heaven than you are
now, and so may die sooner."

Hereupon he prevented the people from having access to him, but Thêbê,
the daughter of Jason, and Alexander's wife, having heard from the
guards of Pelopidas of his daring and nobleness, desired to see the
man and converse with him. When she was come she did not, woman-like,
at once perceive the greatness of his mind in the position in which he
was, but judging from his short-cut hair, his dress and his food, that
he was treated ill and not as became such a man, she wept. Pelopidas,
not knowing at first who she was, was surprised at this, but, when he
knew her, addressed her by her father's name, for he was a companion
and friend of Jason. When she said, "I pity your wife," "So do I pity
you," answered he, "that without being a prisoner you stay with
Alexander." This speech somehow touched the lady, for she was grieved
at the ferocity and licentiousness of the tyrant, who, besides his
other atrocities, had debauched her youngest brother. She constantly
visited Pelopidas, and, talking to him of her sufferings, became
filled with courage, and with hatred of Alexander.

XXIX. The Theban generals invaded Thessaly, but through incompetence
or misfortune effected nothing, and had to retreat in disgrace. The
state fined them ten thousand drachmas, but sent Epameinondas with the
army. There was at once a great fluttering of hope among the cities of
Thessaly at the reputation of that general, and the cause of the
tyrant tottered to its fall, such fear fell upon his officers and
friends, and such a longing to subvert his government upon his
subjects, who viewed the future with hope, as now they expected to see
the tyrant meet with his deserts. However, Epameinondas, disregarding
his own glory in comparison with the safety of Pelopidas, and fearing
that if Alexander were driven to despair by seeing his kingdom falling
to pieces, he might turn upon him like a wild beast, conducted the war
remissly. By degrees and after slow preparation he surrounded the
tyrant and confined him to one spot, so as to be able to check any
attack that he might venture on, and yet not to excite his savage and
ferocious nature; for he had heard of his cruelty and disregard of
what is right, and how he would bury men alive, and dress them in the
skins of wild boars and bears and then set dogs at them and hunt them
with spears, making this his sport, and how he surrounded two
peaceful cities, Melibœa and Skottusa, with his body-guard when the
inhabitants were at their public assembly, and slew them all from the
youth upwards, and how he had consecrated and crowned the spear with
which he killed his uncle Polyphron, and used to address prayers to it
and call it the Slayer. Once when he saw a tragedian performing
Euripides' tragedy, the 'Troades,' he went suddenly out of the
theatre, and sent a message to him to be of good courage, and not act
worse for this, for he had not left the house because he disliked his
acting, but because he felt ashamed that the citizens should see him
weeping at the woes of Hekuba and Andromache, though he never had
pitied any of the people whom he had put to death himself. But he,
terrified by the prestige and reputation of Epameinondas for strategy,

     "Let fall his feathers like a craven cock,"

and quickly sent an embassy to him to make peace. Epameinondas scorned
to make a treaty of peace and friendship between the Thebans and such
a man, but agreed to an armistice for thirty days, and taking
Pelopidas and Ismenias returned home.

XXX. When the Thebans heard that ambassadors were being sent from
Athens and Sparta to the Great King to make an alliance with him, they
also sent Pelopidas, a step most advantageous to his reputation. As he
went on his journey through the Persian provinces he excited the
greatest admiration, for the fame of his victories over the
Lacedæmonians had spread trumpet-tongued through Asia, and from the
time of his first success at Leuktra it had begun to reach far and
wide, some new exploit being ever added to it, till it reached to the
furthest peoples. Next, when he reached the court, he was an object of
wonder and interest to the satraps, generals, and officers there.
"This is the man," they said, "who destroyed the Lacedæmonian dominion
over sea and land, and who reduced to the little state at the foot of
Taygetus by the Eurotas, that Sparta which a little while before went
to war under Agesilaus with the Great King himself about Susa and
Ecbatana." At this Artaxerxes himself was pleased, and admired
Pelopidas and showed him great honour, as he wished it to appear that
he was courted and sought after by the most powerful Greeks. After an
interview, in which he found that he spoke with sounder sense than the
Athenians, and greater simplicity than the Spartans, he esteemed him
still more, and after the fashion of monarchs, did not conceal his
regard, but let the other ambassadors see plainly that he was highest
in favour. Of all the Greeks he showed Antalkidas the greatest honour,
when he took off his own wreath of flowers at table and dipping it in
scent, gave it him to put on. He attempted no such refinements with
Pelopidas, but gave him presents, more splendid and valuable than was
customary, and assented to his proposals that all Greek states should
be independent, that Messenia should be reconstituted, and that the
Thebans should be accounted the king's old friends.

With these answers, and none of the presents except such as were
pledges of friendship and good will, he returned, to the great
discredit of the other ambassadors. The Athenians condemned and
executed Timagoras, and if it was for the amount of presents which he
received, rightly enough; for he not only took silver and gold, but a
costly bed and slaves to make it, as if Greeks did not know how, and
also eighty cows and their herdsmen, on the pretence of wanting cow's
milk for some weakness that he suffered from; and at last he went down
to the sea-coast carried in a palanquin, and four talents were given
by the king to his bearers--still, it does not seem to have been his
venality which especially disgusted the Athenians. At any rate,
Epikrates, called the "Bearded," once brought a motion before the
assembly that instead of electing nine archons yearly they should send
nine poor citizens as ambassadors to the Great King, that they might
be enriched by him, at which there was great laughter. But it was
because of the success of the Thebans that they were so vexed, not
reflecting on the power of Pelopidas's name, and how far it outweighed
all their rhetoric in the estimation of one who always inclined to the
stronger side.

XXXI. On his return, Pelopidas was welcomed with no little gratitude
because he had re-established Messenia, and obtained freedom for all
other Greeks. But Alexander of Pheræ had relapsed into his old
courses, and had ravaged the territory of many cities of Thessaly. The
Phthiot Achæans and Magnetes formed a league to oppose him, and
hearing of Pelopidas's return, these cities sent to Thebes begging for
a force to help them and for him as its general. The Thebans willingly
decreed this, but when all was ready and the general was about to
march, the sun was eclipsed and darkness fell upon the city.
Pelopidas, seeing that all men were disheartened at this, thought that
it was useless to force frightened men full of presage of evil, to
march with him, nor did he like to risk the lives of six thousand
citizens, but he offered his own services to the Thessalians, and took
with him three hundred horsemen, volunteers and men of other states.
With this force he started, though forbidden by the prophets and
against the will of his fellow citizens, who all held that a great
portent had been shown in heaven about some celebrated man. However,
he was all the fiercer against Alexander, remembering his own
sufferings, and hoping from his conversations with Thêbê, that by this
time his own family would have turned against him. He was also much
encouraged by the glory of the action, that, at a time when the
Lacedæmonians were sending out generals and governors to help
Dionysius the Sicilian tyrant, and when the Athenians had Alexander in
their pay, and had even set up a bronze statue of him as a public
benefactor, he might show the Greeks that it was the Thebans alone who
took up arms in defence of the oppressed, and who put an end to the
violent and illegal rule of despots in Greece.

XXXII. When he had come to Pharsalus and collected his army there, he
marched straight to attack Alexander. But he, seeing that Pelopidas's
force of Thebans was small, while he had more than double his numbers
of Thessalian hoplites, met him near the shrine of Thetis. When some
one said to Pelopidas that the tyrant was coming on with a great
force, he answered. "So much the better, for we shall conquer more."

Between the two armies, near the place called Kynoskephalæ, or the
Dog's Heads, were some high and isolated hills. Each party tried to
occupy these with their infantry, but Pelopidas, knowing his cavalry
to be numerous and good, sent it to charge that of the enemy. The
enemy's horse was routed, and pursued over the plain, but meanwhile
Alexander had secured the hills, and when the Thessalian infantry came
afterwards, and tried to force their way up the hill into that strong
position, he was able to cut down the foremost, while the rest
suffered from his missiles and could do nothing. Pelopidas now
recalled the cavalry, and sent it to attack the enemy's position in
flank, while he himself took his shield and ran to join the infantry
in their fight on the hill. Pushing his way through their ranks till
he reached the front he infused such strength and ardour into them,
that the enemy thought that they attacked with new bodies as well as
new spirit. They repulsed one or two assaults, but seeing that the
infantry resolutely came on, and also that the cavalry had returned
from its pursuit and was threatening their flank, they made an orderly
retreat. Pelopidas, when he gained the height, saw below him the whole
of the enemy not yet beaten, but confused and shaken. He stood still
and looked around him, seeking Alexander himself. When he saw him, on
the right, rallying and encouraging his mercenaries, he could no
longer restrain his rage, but kindling at the sight, and, reckless of
his own person and of his duties as a general, rushed far beyond the
rest, shouting and challenging the tyrant to fight. He would not await
the attack, but took refuge in the ranks of his body-guard. Pelopidas
attacked these troops and cut them down, wounding several mortally,
but they from a distance struck him through his armour with their
spears, till the Thessalians in great anxiety charged down the hill to
the rescue. But he had by this time fallen.

The cavalry now charged and routed the whole body, and pursuing them
to a great distance, strewed the country with corpses, for they cut
down more than three thousand of them.

XXXIII. It was no wonder that the Thebans who were there grieved at
the death of Pelopidas, and called him their father, their saviour,
their teacher in all that was best and noblest; but the Thessalians
and their allies, who decreed greater honours than had ever been shown
to any brave man, proved their gratitude to him, even more by their
sorrow. It is said that the men who were at the fight did not lay
aside their armour, nor unbridle their horses, nor even bind up their
wounds, when they heard of his death, but warm as they were from
victory, in their arms, flocked round the corpse, piling up near it,
as a trophy, the arms of their slain enemies. They cut off the manes
of their horses, and their own hair, and many went off to their tents,
lit no fire, and ate no supper, but there was such silence and
despondency in the whole camp as would have befitted men who had been
defeated and enslaved by the tyrant, not who had just won a great and
glorious victory over him.

As soon as the sad news reached the cities of Thessaly, the chief men,
youths, children and priests came forth in procession to receive his
body, and carried trophies and wreaths and golden armour in its
honour. When the body was about to be brought home, the chiefs of the
Thessalians begged the Thebans to allow them to bury him, and one of
them spoke as follows: "Allies, we beg of you a favour which will
prove to be an honour and a comfort to us in this our great
misfortune. We Thessalians shall never again escort Pelopidas, nor
render him the honours which he deserved; but if we may have his body
to touch, and ourselves adorn it and bury it, we shall then be able to
show you that we Thessalians truly feel this misfortune more than even
you Thebans. For you have only lost a good general, while we have lost
that, and our liberty too, since how can we ever have the heart to ask
you for another general, after not giving you your Pelopidas back."

This proposal the Thebans agreed to.

XXXIV. No funeral was more splendid than this, not indeed in the
estimation of those who think that splendour lies in ivory and gold
and purple, as Philistius celebrates and praises the funeral of
Dionysius, where his tyranny concluded like the pompous finale of some
great tragedy. Alexander the Great, when Hephæstion died, not only cut
off the manes of the horses and mules, but actually took down the
battlements from the walls, that cities might seem in mourning,
presenting a shorn and woeful look in contrast to their former
appearance.

But these were the commands of tyrants; they were done under
compulsion, and caused a feeling of dislike to the person honoured,
and of absolute hatred against those who enforced them, but showed no
gratitude or desire to honour the dead. They were mere displays of
barbaric pride and boastful extravagance, which wastes its superfluity
on vain and useless objects; whereas, here was a private citizen who
died in a foreign land, without his wife, his children or his friends,
and, without any one asking for it or compelling them to it, he was
escorted to his grave, buried and crowned with garlands by so many
provinces and cities, vying with one another in showing him honour,
that he seems to have enjoyed the most blessed fate possible. For as
Æsop says, the death of the fortunate is not grievous, but blessed,
since it secures their felicity, and puts it out of Fortune's power.
That Spartan spoke well, who, when Diagoras, the Olympic victor, was
looking at his sons being in their turn crowned as victors at Olympia,
with his grandchildren about him, embraced him and said, "Die,
Diagoras; for you cannot rise to Olympus and be a god there." Yet I do
not suppose that any one would compare all the Olympian and Pythian
prizes together with one of Pelopidas's achievements, of which he
performed many, and lived the most part of his life esteemed and
looked up to, and at last, in his thirteenth Bœotarchy, when fighting
gloriously against a tyrant, he died in defence of the liberties of
Thessaly.

XXXV. His death caused great sorrow to his allies, but likewise
benefited them; for the Thebans as soon as they heard of the death of
Pelopidas did not delay for a moment to avenge his fall, but hastily
marched with an army of seven thousand hoplites and seven hundred
cavalry, under Malkitus and Diogeiton, against Alexander. Finding that
he was weakened and shorn of much of his power, they compelled him to
restore to the Thessalians their cities, which he held, to liberate
the Achæans in Magnesia and Phthiotis, to withdraw his garrisons from
those countries, and to swear to the Thebans, that he would attack,
and assist them to attack, any enemy they might choose.

The Thebans were satisfied with these terms; but I will now recount
how, shortly afterwards, Heaven exacted retribution from him for the
death of Pelopidas. Thêbê his wife, as we have said before, had been
taught by Pelopidas not to fear the outward pomp and body-guard of the
tyrant, since she was within all his defences. She, dreading his
suspicious nature, and hating his cruelty, made a plot with her three
brothers, Tisiphonus, Pytholaus, and Lykophron, which she carried out
in the following manner. The night patrol of the guard watched in the
house, but their bedchamber was upstairs, and before the door there
was a dog chained as a guard, very savage with every one except
themselves and one of their servants who fed it. Now when Thêbê
determined to make the attempt, she got her brothers concealed near at
hand during the day in one of the rooms, and when she came, as usual,
alone to Alexander's chamber, she found him asleep. In a little time
she came out again, and ordered the servant to take away the dog, as
the despot wished to sleep undisturbed. Fearing that the stairs would
make a noise when the young men mounted, she covered them with wool,
and then brought up her brothers, with their swords drawn. Leaving
them outside she herself went in, and taking down the sword that hung
over his head, showed it to them as a proof that he was in their power
and asleep. The young men now were terrified, and hesitated to act;
but she reproached them bitterly, and swore that she would herself
awaken Alexander and tell him the whole plot. Between shame and terror
she got them in and placed them round the bed, herself holding the
light. One of them seized his feet, another held his head back by the
hair, and the third despatched him with a stab of his sword, a death,
perhaps, easier than he deserved. He was the first, or perhaps the
only despot ever assassinated by his own wife. His body after death
was dragged about and trodden under foot by the people of Pheræ, a
recompense which his villanies deserved.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 1: Kallikratidas, the Lacedæmonian admiral, was defeated and
slain by the Athenians at the battle of Arginusæ, B.C. 406.]

[Footnote 2: No one seems able to identify this battle. See Grote's
History, Part II., ch. lxxvii., note, s.v. Epameinondas.]

[Footnote 3: See Life of Titus Flamininus, p. 175, note.]

[Footnote 4: More usually spelt 'Leontiades.']

[Footnote 5: Kadmeia, the Acropolis of Thebes, a fortress on a lofty
rock overhanging the town.]

[Footnote 6: In Attica.]

[Footnote 7: The chief priest who presided at the Eleusinian
mysteries.]

[Footnote 8: The office of Bœotarch is described at length in Smith's
'Dictionary of Antiquities.' They seem properly to have been the
military leaders of the confederacy of the whole of the cities of
Bœotia.]

[Footnote 9: This was the case in all Greek towns, namely, there were
two parties, aristocratic and democratic. The democracy being now in
the ascendant in Thebes, the party which favoured the Spartans, the
most aristocratic state in Greece, had gone into exile.]

[Footnote 10: For the number of men in a "mora," see p. 16.]

[Footnote 11: See vol. i. Life of Lykurgus, ch. vi.]




LIFE OF MARCELLUS.


I. Poseidonius tells us that Marcus Claudius, who was five times
consul of the Roman people, was the son of Marcus, and was the first
of his family to receive the name of Marcellus, which means warlike.
Indeed, by his experience he became a thorough soldier; his body was
strong, and his arm powerful. He was fond of war, and bore himself
with a lordly arrogance in battle, though otherwise he was of a quiet
and amiable disposition, fond of Greek culture and literature, to the
extent of respecting and admiring those who knew it, though he from
his want of leisure could not make such progress as he wished. For the
Roman chiefs of that period were, if any men ever were, condemned, in
the words of Homer,

     "From youth to age, disastrous wars to wage."[12]

In their youth they fought the Carthaginians on the Sicilian coast; in
middle age they fought the Gauls in defence of Italy itself; when
advanced in years they again contended with Hannibal and the
Carthaginians, not, as common men do, obtaining any relief from
constant service because of their old age, but ever urged by their
courage and nobility of soul to accept the command in new campaigns.

II. Marcellus was practised in all forms of battle, but was especially
skilful in single combat, so that he never declined any man's
challenge, and slew all who challenged him. In Sicily he saved the
life of his brother Otacilius when in great peril, by holding his
shield over him and killing his assailants. For this conduct, young as
he was, he received crowns[13] and rewards from the generals, and as
he grew in reputation was elected _curule ædile_ by the people, and
augur by the priests. This is a kind of priestly office, to which the
law especially assigns the observance of auguries drawn from the
flight of birds. During his tenure of the office of ædile, he was
obliged, much against his will, to commence a law-suit. He had a son
of his own name, in the bloom of youth, of great beauty, and equally
with it admired by his countrymen for his modesty and education.
Capitolinus, Marcellus's colleague, a licentious and reckless man,
made disgraceful proposals to this lad. He first repelled his attacks
alone, but on a second attempt told his father, and Marcellus, being
much enraged, summoned the man before the Senate. He attempted many
quibbles and subterfuges, and appealed to the tribunes of the people
to support him, but as they refused his application he betook himself
to pleading denial of the charge. There being no witnesses of what he
had said, the Senate decided to send for the boy, and when they saw
how he blushed and wept with a modesty mingled with unquenchable rage,
they, without requiring any other proof, found Capitolinus guilty, and
condemned him to pay a fine, with which Marcellus had silver libation
vessels made, and consecrated them to the gods.

III. After twenty-two years the first Punic War came to an end, and
the Romans turned their attention to Gaulish troubles. The Insubrians,
a Celtic tribe dwelling in Italy at the foot of the Alps, powerful by
themselves, were collecting other forces, and enrolling all those
Gauls who fought for hire, called Gæsatæ.

It was a wonderful and fortunate circumstance that this Celtic war did
not break out at the same time as that with Carthage, but that the
Gauls, like the gladiator who waits to fight with the survivor of a
pair of combatants, had remained quiet during the whole of that war,
and now stepped forward and challenged the victors when they were at
leisure. Yet the war caused much terror, because it would take place
on their own frontier against their neighbour states, and because of
the ancient reputation of the Gauls, whom the Romans seem to fear more
than any other nation. They once lost their city at their hands, and
afterwards passed a law that the priests should be exempt from all
military service, except in case of another war with Gaul. Their alarm
was shown both by their preparations (for it is said that never before
or since were there so many thousand Romans under arms), and by their
extraordinary sacrifices. For though they never observe the barbarous
ceremonies of foreigners, but as far as possible are humane and like
the Greeks in their religion, on the outbreak of this war they were
compelled to follow certain prophecies in the Sibylline books, and
bury alive two Greeks, a man and a woman, and likewise two Gauls, in
the place called the Cattle Market: and in accordance with these
prophecies they still up to this day in the month of November perform
religious mysteries, which may not be seen or spoken of by either
Greeks or Gauls.

IV. At the beginning of the war the Romans were some times victorious
and sometimes defeated, without coming to any decisive action, until
the consulate of Flaminius and Furius, who led a great army against
the Insubrians. Then the river that passes through Picenum ran blood,
and it was said that three moons were seen at the city of Ariminum,
and the augurs, who watch the omens at the consular elections,
declared that the appointment of these consuls was wrong and of evil
omen for the people. Hereupon the Senate immediately sent despatches
to the camp recalling the consuls, that they might as soon as possible
return and lay down their office and so undertake nothing as consuls
against the enemy. Flaminius, when he received these despatches, did
not open them before he had routed the barbarians in battle and
overrun their country. So when he returned to Rome loaded with spoil,
the people did not go out to meet him, but, because he had not at once
obeyed his orders, and had treated them with insolent contempt, very
nearly refused him his triumph, and after the triumph reduced him to a
private station, forcing both him and his colleague to give up their
office. So much regard had the Romans for religion, that they would
not on occasions of the greatest good fortune overlook any neglect of
the prophecies and customs of their ancestors, holding it more
important for the safety of the state that their generals should
reverence the gods than that they should conquer the enemy.

V. As an example of this, Tiberius Sempronius, a man second to no one
in Rome for courage and virtue, named as his successors when consul
Scipio Nasica and Caius Marcius, and when they were actually in
possession of their provinces and armies he happened to consult a book
of sacred ritual, and found in it an old custom which he did not know
before. It was to this effect. When a consul has hired a house or tent
outside the city to watch the flight of birds, if he be obliged before
any certain omen appears, to return to the city for what cause soever,
he must give up the place which he hired and take another, and make
his observation over again from the beginning. This, it seems,
Tiberius did not know, and it was after using the same place twice
that he named these men consuls. Afterwards, having discovered his
error, he laid the matter before the Senate; and that body did not
despise this apparently slight irregularity, but sent despatches to
the men, who at once left their provinces, returned to Rome, and
resigned their office. Now this happened in later times; but in the
very times of which we write two men of the best family were deprived
of the priesthood: Cornelius Cethegus, because he handled the entrails
improperly at a sacrifice, and Quintus Sulpicius, because when he was
sacrificing, the crested hat which he wore as flamen, fell off his
head. And because, when Minucius the dictator was appointing Caius
Flaminius his master of the knights, the mouse which is called the
coffin-mouse was heard to squeak, they turned them out of their
office, and elected others. But, though so elaborately careful in
trifles, they never admitted any superstitious observance, and neither
altered nor added anything to their ancestral ritual.

VI. When Flaminius and his colleague had resigned their offices,
Marcellus was designated consul by the interreges.[14] On entering
upon his office he nominated Cnæus Cornelius as his colleague. It was
said that the Gauls were offering terms of reconciliation, and that
the Senate wished for peace with them, but that Marcellus raised the
spirit of the people and excited them to continue the war. But still a
peace was concluded; and it seems to have been the Gæsatæ who renewed
the war, by crossing the Alps and stirring up the Insubrians. Thirty
thousand in number, they joined that tribe, which was many times
larger, and in high spirits at once attacked Acerræ, a city beyond the
river Po. From that place Britomartus with ten thousand Gæsatæ
proceeded to plunder the country near the Po.

Marcellus hearing this left his colleague before Acerræ with the
infantry, heavy baggage, and one-third of the cavalry, and himself,
with the rest of the cavalry and about six hundred of the most active
foot soldiers, marched night and day till he fell in with the ten
thousand Gæsatæ at Clastidium, a Gaulish village which not long before
had been subject to the Romans. There was no time for rest or
refreshment; for his arrival was at once perceived by the enemy, and
his force despised, as he had so little infantry with him, for the
Celts thought nothing of his cavalry. Admirable horsemen and proud of
their superior skill, they also had greatly the advantage of Marcellus
in numbers, and at once, their king riding foremost, charged the
Romans with great impetuosity and terrible threats, expecting to sweep
them away. Marcellus, fearing that they might surround and outflank
his small body, spread out his cavalry, thinning and widening his
line, until he presented a front nearly equal to that of the enemy. He
was now advancing to the charge, when his horse, scared at the
terrible display of the enemy, turned short round, and forcibly
carried him back. Marcellus, fearing that this might cause
superstitious terror to the Romans, hastily wheeled his horse round on
the bridle hand, and having again directed him against the enemy, paid
his adorations to the sun, as though he had made this circle not by
chance, but of set purpose; for the Romans have this custom, of
turning round to worship the gods, and so he, as he was on the point
of joining battle, vowed that he would consecrate the finest of the
enemies' arms to Jupiter Feretrius.

VII. At this moment the king of the Gauls, seeing him, and
conjecturing from his dress that he was the Roman leader, rode out far
beyond the rest, and made directly for him, defiantly shouting a
challenge, and brandishing his spear. He was a man distinguished from
the rest of the Gauls by his tall stature and his complete armour,
which glittered like the lightning with gold and silver and all kinds
of gay devices with which it was incrusted. Marcellus, as he looked
along the enemy's line, thought that these were the finest arms, and
were those about which he had made his vow to Jupiter Feretrius. He
rushed upon the Gaul, pierced his breastplate with his spear, and by
the impetus of his horse bore him to the ground alive, and with a
second and third thrust killed him at once. Leaping from his horse and
seizing the armour of the dead man, he said, looking up to heaven,
"Jupiter Feretrius, thou that seest the great deeds of generals and
captains in war, I call thee to witness that I am the third Roman
general that has slain the enemy's general and king, by killing this
man here with my own hand: and having killed him I consecrate to thee
the first and fairest of the spoils. But do thou grant us like good
fortune in the rest of this war."

Hereupon the Roman cavalry charged, not against cavalry by itself, but
they fought against infantry and cavalry mixed together, and won a
victory of an unparalleled and wonderful kind; for never before or
since that day did such a body of horsemen rout such numbers of horse
and foot.

Having slain the greater part of them, and collected their arms and
stores, he returned to his colleague, who was with difficulty holding
his own against the Celts before the walls of the largest and most
populous of Gaulish cities. It is called Mediolanum, and is regarded
by the Cisalpine Gauls as their metropolis: consequently they fought
vigorously in its defence, and more besieged Cornelius than were
besieged by him. But when Marcellus arrived, the Gæsatæ, as soon as
they heard of the defeat and death of their king, went home.
Mediolanum fell, and the Celts of their own accord surrendered the
other cities, and threw themselves upon the mercy of the Romans. They
received moderate terms of peace.

VIII. By a decree of the Senate Marcellus alone triumphed. His
procession was glorious, as few others have been, with the splendour
and value of the booty exhibited, and the great stature of the
captives; but the strangest and most interesting sight of all was the
general himself, as he appeared carrying the suit of armour of the
Gaul to offer it to the god. He had cut and trimmed the trunk of a
tall young oak tree, and had tied and hung the spoils upon it, each
put in its proper place. When the procession began, he himself mounted
his chariot and four, and carried in state through the city, this the
most glorious of all his trophies of victory. The army marched after
him with their finest armour, singing as they went songs and pæans of
victory in honour of the gods and their leader. Thus he proceeded till
he reached the temple of Jupiter Feretrius. Here he dismounted, and
dedicated his spoils, being the third, and, up to our day, the last
who ever did so: first comes Romulus, with the spoils of Acron of
Cæninum; second, Cornelius Cossus offered the spoils of Tolumnius the
Etruscan; third, Marcellus offered these spoils of Britomartus, the
king of the Gauls; after Marcellus, no man.

The god to whom they are offered is called Jupiter Feretrius,
according to some, from the trophy being carried upon a _feretrum_, or
bier, as it is called in the Greek tongue, which then was much mixed
with the Latin; but according to others, it is an attribute of Jupiter
the Thunderer, for the Romans call striking _ferire_. Others say that
the name comes from striking the enemy; for even now in battle when
they are pursuing the enemy they keep shouting, "_Feri_," that is,
"Strike," to one another. The word for ordinary spoils is _spolia_,
but for these _spolia opima_. Yet it is said that Numa Pompilius
speaks of first, second, and third degrees of _spolia opima_, ordering
the first to be offered to Jupiter Feretrius, the second to Mars, and
the third to Quirinus; and that for the first the prize is three
hundred ases, two hundred for the second, and one hundred for the
third. But the most common story runs that those spoils alone are
_spolia opima_ which are taken at a pitched battle, and first of all,
and by the general of the one side from the general of the other. But
of these things enough.

The Roman people were so overjoyed at that victory and the end of the
war that they made from the money paid to ransom captives, a golden
statue, and sent it to Apollo at Delphi as a thank-offering, and gave
a magnificent share of the booty to their allies, and even sent many
presents to Hiero the king of Syracuse, their friend and ally.

IX. When Hannibal invaded Italy, Marcellus was sent with an army to
Sicily: but when the disaster at Cannæ took place, where many thousand
Romans perished, and only a few fugitives collected at Canusium, it
was expected that Hannibal would at once march to attack Rome, as he
had cut off the greater part of the army. Marcellus at once sent a
garrison of fifteen hundred men to guard the city, and afterwards, in
obedience to a senatus-consultum, went to Canusium, and taking command
of the fugitives collected there, led them out of their fortified
camp, to show that he would not deliver up the country to the enemy.
The Romans had lost many of their most capable leaders in the wars,
and Fabius Maximus, who had the greatest reputation, was blamed by
them for sloth and want of enterprise because of his excessive caution
in avoiding a defeat. Thinking, therefore, that he was an excellent
general for defence, not for attack, they cast their eyes upon
Marcellus, and in order to combine his vigour and daring with the
cautious and far-seeing tactics of the other, they at one time elected
them both consuls, at another made the one consul with the other
serving as proconsul. Poseidonius tells us that Fabius was called the
shield of the state, and Marcellus the sword. And Hannibal himself
said that he feared Fabius as a schoolmaster, but regarded Marcellus
as an antagonist, for the former prevented his doing any mischief,
while the latter might make him suffer some.

X. At first Hannibal's soldiers, elated with their victory, roamed
with careless confidence out of their camp and plundered the country;
where Marcellus fell upon them, and by a series of defeats
considerably weakened them. Next, he went to Naples and Nola. At
Naples he encouraged the citizens, who of their own accord wished
well to the Roman cause; but at Nola he found the city in a state of
faction, as the senate were unable to restrain the populace, who
favoured Hannibal. There was one Bandius, a man of the first nobility
of the city, and renowned for bravery. This man had fought at Cannæ
with conspicuous valour, and had slain many Carthaginians. When after
the battle he was found in a heap of slain with his body pierced with
darts, Hannibal, in admiration of his courage, not only dismissed him
without ransom, but gave him presents and made him a personal friend.
Bandius, out of gratitude, was one of the most eager partisans of
Hannibal, and, having great influence with the people, was urging them
to revolt. Marcellus thought that it would be a crime to put to death
a man of such glorious antecedents, and who had taken part in one of
the greatest struggles of the Romans; and, besides his natural
kindliness, being able by his conversation to win over any man of
noble nature, he on one occasion when greeted by Bandius inquired who
he might be, though he knew very well, but merely wanted a pretext and
opportunity for conversation with him. For, when he answered, "Lucius
Bandius," Marcellus, as though surprised and pleased, said, "Are you
indeed that Bandius, of whom all those who fought at Cannæ told us at
Rome, the only man who did not desert Paulus Æmilius the consul, but
who received upon his own body the greater part of the darts which
were aimed at him?" Bandius admitted that he was the man, and
endeavoured to speak lightly of his wounds, but Marcellus went on:
"Then, as you bear about you such marks of your devotion to our cause,
why did you not at once come to me? Do you think us slow to requite
the valour of our friends, when it is honoured even by the enemy."
Having spoken to him thus courteously, he embraced him, and presented
him with a war-horse and five hundred silver drachmas.

XI. After this Bandius became the firmest partisan and ally of
Marcellus, and a terrible denouncer and assailant of the opposite
party. This was a numerous one; and their design was, when the Romans
should march out of the town against the enemy, to attack their
baggage. Marcellus, therefore, having marshalled his troops within
the city, brought the baggage to the gates, and by proclamation
forbade the people of Nola to approach the walls. Thus no force was
visible, and he induced Hannibal to march up to the city in disorderly
array, as he supposed that within it all was confusion. Then Marcellus
ordered the gate nearest him to be thrown open, and with the best
equipped of his cavalry charged out of it and fell upon the enemy hand
to hand. Presently the infantry poured out of another gate, running
with loud shouts; and while Hannibal was dividing his forces to deal
with them a third gate opened, and from it issued the remainder of the
army, and from all sides attacked the Carthaginians, who were
bewildered at the unexpectedness of the attack, and fought without
spirit against their immediate assailants, because of the others who
they saw would soon beset them.

There first did Hannibal's troops give way before the Romans, and were
chased with great loss into their camp. It is said that more than five
thousand perished, and that no more than five hundred Romans fell. But
Livy does not consider that a great defeat took place, or that so many
of the enemy fell, but he points out that Marcellus gained much glory
by that battle, and that the Roman people took courage after their
misfortunes, thinking that it was not against an unconquerable and
invulnerable foe that they were fighting, but one who could be made to
suffer as well as themselves.

XII. For this reason, as one of the consuls was dead, the people
called for Marcellus, though he was absent, to become his successor;
and in spite of the efforts of the government they put off the day of
election until he came to Rome from the army. He was elected consul by
the votes of all the tribes, but it thundered at the time, and as the
priests declared this an unpropitious omen, but did not dare openly to
oppose his election for fear of the people, he himself voluntarily
resigned his office. But he did not avoid military service, but was
created proconsul, and returning to Nola and his army he harassed
those who had chosen the side of Hannibal. When the latter hastily
marched to the assistance of his friends, and offered to fight a
pitched battle with Marcellus, he declined; but subsequently, when the
greater part of the Carthaginian army was scattered in search of
plunder, and no longer expecting an attack, he fell upon it. He had
distributed long lances, such as are used on ship-board, among his
infantry, and instructed them to watch their opportunity and hurl
these from a distance at the Carthaginians, who had no javelin-men,
and whose heavy spears were only used to thrust with at close
quarters. In consequence, it seems, of this, all who engaged with the
Romans that day turned their backs and shamefully fled, losing five
thousand killed, six hundred prisoners; while of their elephants, four
were killed and two taken alive. And, what was of the greatest
importance of all, on the third day after the above battle, three
hundred Spanish and Numidian cavalry deserted to the Romans, a thing
which never had happened to Hannibal before, as, although his army was
composed of so many different nations, he had been able for a very
long time to inspire it with the same spirit. These men faithfully
served Marcellus and the generals who succeeded him.

XIII. Marcellus, when elected consul for the third time, sailed to
Sicily; for Hannibal's successes in the war had encouraged the
Carthaginians to recover that island, especially as Syracusan politics
were in a disturbed state in consequence of the death of the despot
Hieronymus; and on this account a Roman army under Appius had already
been sent there. When Marcellus had taken the command of this army, he
received a large accession of Roman soldiers, whose misfortune was as
follows. Of the troops who fought with Hannibal at Cannæ, some fled,
and some were taken alive, in such numbers that the Romans scarcely
thought that they had left sufficient citizens to man the city walls,
but this remnant was so full of pride and so great of soul, that,
though Hannibal offered to release the captives for a small ransom,
they would not take them, but refused by a decree of the Senate, and
endured to see some of them put to death, and others sold out of Italy
as slaves. The mass of those who had saved themselves by flight they
sent to Sicily, with orders not to set foot on the soil of Italy until
the war with Hannibal was over. So when Marcellus went to Sicily,
these men came in a body into his presence, and falling on the ground
before him besought him to permit them to serve as honourable
soldiers, promising with cries and tears that they would prove by
their actions that it was more by their bad fortune than their
cowardice that the defeat at Cannæ took place. Marcellus was touched
with compassion, and wrote to the Senate asking to be allowed to fill
up from these men the vacancies which would occur in the ranks of his
army. Much discussion followed; and at last the Senate decreed that
Rome did not require the services of cowardly citizens, but, if
Marcellus nevertheless wished to make use of them, they must not
receive any of the crowns and other rewards which are commonly
bestowed by generals as the prizes of valour. This decree vexed
Marcellus, and after the war in Sicily he returned to Rome and blamed
the Senate that, in spite of all that he had done for them, they would
not allow him to relieve so many citizens from such a miserable
position.

XIV. In Sicily, at this time, he had just cause of complaint against
Hippokrates the Syracusan general, who, favouring the Carthaginian
side, and wishing to establish himself as despot, put to death many
Romans at Leontini. Marcellus took Leontini by storm, and did no harm
to the inhabitants, but flogged and executed all the deserters whom he
found. Hippokrates first sent to Syracuse a story that Marcellus was
exterminating the people of Leontini, and when this report had thrown
the city into confusion he fell upon it and made himself master of it.
Marcellus hereupon proceeded to Syracuse with his whole army, and
encamping near the city sent ambassadors to tell them what had really
happened in Leontini. By this, however, he gained nothing, as the
Syracusans would not listen to him (for the party of Hippokrates was
in the ascendant). He now attacked the city both by sea and land,
Appius commanding the land forces, while Marcellus directed a fleet of
sixty quinqueremes[15] full of armed men and missile weapons. He
raised a vast engine upon a raft made by lashing eight ships together,
and sailed with it to attack the wall, trusting to the numbers and
excellence of his siege engines, and to his own personal prestige.
But Archimedes and his machines cared nothing for this, though he did
not speak of any of these engines as being constructed by serious
labour, but as the mere holiday sports of a geometrician. He would not
indeed have constructed them but at the earnest request of King Hiero,
who entreated him to leave the abstract for the concrete, and to bring
his ideas within the comprehension of the people by embodying them in
tangible forms.

Eudoxus and Archytas were the first who began to treat of this
renowned science of mechanics, cleverly illustrating it, and proving
such problems as were hard to understand, by means of solid and actual
instruments, as, for instance, both of them resorted to mechanical
means to find a mean proportional, which is necessary for the solution
of many other geometrical questions. This they did by the
construction, from various curves and sections, of certain instruments
called mesographs. Plato was much vexed at this, and inveighed against
them for destroying the real excellence of geometry by making it leave
the region of pure intellect and come within that of the senses, and
become mixed up with bodies which require much base servile labour. So
mechanics became separated from geometry, and, long regarded with
contempt by philosophy, was reckoned among the military arts. However
Archimedes, who was a relative and friend of Hiero, wrote that with a
given power he could move any given weight whatever, and, as it were
rejoicing in the strength of his demonstration, he is said to have
declared that if he were given another world to stand upon, he could
move this upon which we live. Hiero wondered at this, and begged him
to put this theory into practice, and show him something great moved
by a small force. Archimedes took a three-masted ship, a transport in
the king's navy, which had just been dragged up on land with great
labour and many men; in this he placed her usual complement of men and
cargo, and then sitting at some distance, without any trouble, by
gently pulling with his hand the end of a system of pullies, he
dragged it towards him with as smooth and even a motion as if it were
passing over the sea. The king wondered greatly at this, and
perceiving the value of his arts, prevailed upon Archimedes to
construct for him a number of machines, some for the attack and some
for the defence of a city, of which he himself did not make use, as he
spent most of his life in unwarlike and literary leisure, but now
these engines were ready for use in Syracuse, and also, the inventor
was present to direct their working.

XV. So when the Romans attacked by sea and land at once, the
Syracusans were at first terrified and silent, dreading that nothing
could resist such an armament. But Archimedes opened fire from his
machines, throwing upon the land forces all manner of darts and great
stones, with an incredible noise and violence, which no man could
withstand; but those upon whom they fell were struck down in heaps,
and their ranks thrown into confusion, while some of the ships were
suddenly seized by iron hooks, and by a counter-balancing weight were
drawn up and then plunged to the bottom. Others they caught by irons
like hands or claws suspended from cranes, and first pulled them up by
their bows till they stood upright upon their sterns, and then cast
down into the water, or by means of windlasses and tackles worked
inside the city, dashed them against the cliffs and rocks at the base
of the walls, with terrible destruction to their crews. Often was seen
the fearful sight of a ship lifted out of the sea into the air,
swaying and balancing about, until the men were all thrown out or
overwhelmed with stones from slings, when the empty vessel would
either be dashed against the fortifications, or dropped into the sea
by the claws being let go. The great engine which Marcellus was
bringing up on the raft, called the Harp, from some resemblance to
that instrument, was, while still at a distance, struck by a stone of
ten talents weight, and then another and another, which fell with a
terrible crash, breaking the platform on which the machine stood,
loosening its bolts, and tearing asunder the hulks which supported it.
Marcellus, despairing of success, drew off his ships as fast as
possible, and sent orders to the land forces to retreat. In a council
of war, it was determined to make another assault by night; for they
argued that the straining cords which Archimedes used to propel his
missiles required a long distance to work in, and would make the shot
fly over them at close quarters, and be practically useless, as they
required a long stroke. But he, it appears, had long before prepared
engines suited for short as well as long distances, and short darts to
use in them; and from many small loop-holes pierced through the wall
small scorpions, as they are called, stood ready to shoot the enemy,
though invisible to them.

XVI. When then they attacked, expecting that they would not be seen,
they again encountered a storm of blows from stones which fell
perpendicularly upon their heads and darts which were poured from all
parts of the wall. They were forced to retire, and when they came
within range of the larger machines missiles were showered upon them
as they retreated, destroying many men and throwing the ships into
great disorder, without their being able to retaliate. For most of the
engines on the walls had been devised by Archimedes, and the Romans
thought that they were fighting against gods and not men, as
destruction fell upon them from invisible hands.

XVII. However, Marcellus escaped unhurt, and sarcastically said to his
own engineers: "Are we to give in to this Briareus of a geometrician,
who sits at his ease by the seashore and plays at upsetting our ships,
to our lasting disgrace, and surpasses the hundred-handed giant of
fable by hurling so many weapons at us at once?" For indeed all the
other Syracusans were merely the limbs of Archimedes, and his mind
alone directed and guided everything. All other arms were laid aside
and the city trusted to his weapons solely for defence and safety. At
length Marcellus, seeing that the Romans had become so scared that if
only a rope or small beam were seen over the wall they would turn and
fly, crying out that Archimedes was bringing some engine to bear upon
them, ceased assaulting the place, and trusted to time alone to reduce
it. Yet Archimedes had so great a mind and such immense philosophic
speculations that although by inventing these engines he had acquired
the glory of a more than human intellect, he would not condescend to
leave behind him any writings upon the subject, regarding the whole
business of mechanics and the useful arts as base and vulgar, but
placed his whole study and delight in those speculations in which
absolute beauty and excellence appear unhampered by the necessities of
life, and argument is made to soar above its subject matter, since by
the latter only bulk and outward appearance, but by the other accuracy
of reasoning and wondrous power, can be attained: for it is impossible
in the whole science of geometry to find more difficult hypotheses
explained on clearer or more simple principles than in his works. Some
attribute this to his natural genius, others say that his
indefatigable industry made his work seem as though it had been done
without labour, though it cost much. For no man by himself could find
out the solution of his problems, but as he reads, he begins to think
that he could have discovered it himself, by so smooth and easy a road
does he lead one up to the point to be proved. One cannot therefore
disbelieve the stories which are told of him: how he seemed ever
bewitched by the song of some indwelling syren of his own so as to
forget to eat his food, and to neglect his person, and how, when
dragged forcibly to the baths and perfumers, he would draw geometrical
figures with the ashes on the hearth, and when his body was anointed
would trace lines on it with his finger, absolutely possessed and
inspired by the joy he felt in his art. He discovered many beautiful
problems, and is said to have begged his relatives and friends to
place upon his tomb when he died a cylinder enclosing a sphere, and to
write on it the proof of the ratio of the containing solid to the
contained.

XVIII. Such was Archimedes, who at this time rendered himself, and as
far as lay in him, the city, invincible.

During the blockade Marcellus took Megara, one of the most ancient of
the Greek cities in Sicily, and also captured Hippokrates' camp at
Acrillæ, with a destruction of more than eight thousand of his men,
attacking them just as they were planting the palisades of the
rampart. He overran a great part of Sicily, induced cities to revolt
from Carthage, and beat all forces that opposed him. As time went on,
he took prisoner one Damippus, a Spartan, as he was sailing out of
the harbour of Syracuse. The Syracusans desired to ransom this man,
and Marcellus, in the course of many negotiations and conferences
about him, noticed that a certain tower was carelessly guarded, and
that men might be introduced into it secretly, as the wall near it was
easy to climb. Having, from his frequent journeys to confer with the
besieged near this tower, gained a good idea of its height, he
prepared scaling-ladders, and waited till the Syracusans were engaged
in celebrating the feast of Artemis, and given up to drinking and
amusement. Not only did he gain the tower unobserved, but was able to
occupy the whole circuit of wall with his troops, and to break into
the Hexapylon.[16] When the Syracusans began to discover their
position and muster for their defence, he ordered trumpets to sound on
all sides, which produced great terror and tumult, as they imagined
that no part of the walls remained untaken. Yet the strongest, and
that too the largest and finest part of the city, was still left,
called Achradina, because it is fortified on the side near the outer
town, part of which is called Neapolis, and part Tyche.

XIX. These parts of the city were captured, and at daybreak Marcellus
moved down through the Hexapylon, amidst the congratulations of his
officers. It is said that when, from the high ground he surveyed that
great and fair city, he burst into tears, thinking how sadly it would
soon be changed in appearance when sacked by his soldiers. For none of
his officers dared to oppose the soldiers when they demanded the
privilege of plunder, and many encouraged them to burn and destroy.
But Marcellus would not so much as entertain the idea of this, but,
much against his will, was forced to permit them to carry off the
movable property and slaves, though he forbade them to touch freemen,
and gave strict orders that none of the citizens of Syracuse should be
slain, dishonoured, or enslaved. Yet even after moderating their
license to this extent he thought that the city was sadly ill-treated,
and even in such a moment of triumph he showed great sorrow and
sympathy for it, as he saw such great wealth and comfort swept away in
a few hours; for the treasure was said to be not less than that which
was afterwards taken in Carthage itself. The rest of the city was
taken after a short time by treachery, and the soldiers insisted upon
plundering it, with the exception of the royal treasury, which was
confiscated to the state.

Marcellus was especially grieved at the fate of Archimedes. He was
studying something by himself upon a figure which he had drawn, to
which he had so utterly given up his thoughts and his sight that he
did not notice the assault of the Romans and the capture of the city,
and when a soldier suddenly appeared before him and ordered him to
follow him into the presence of Marcellus, he refused to do so before
he had finished his problem and its solution. The man hereupon in a
rage drew his sword and killed him. Others say that the Roman fell
upon him at once with a sword to kill him, but he, seeing him, begged
him to wait for a little while, that he might not leave his theorem
imperfect, and that while he was reflecting upon it, he was slain. A
third story is that as he was carrying into Marcellus's presence his
mathematical instruments, sundials, spheres, and quadrants, by which
the eye might measure the magnitude of the sun, some soldiers met with
him, and supposing that there was gold in the boxes, slew him. But all
agree that Marcellus was much grieved, that he turned away from his
murderer as though he were an object of abhorrence to gods and men,
and that he sought out his family and treated them well.

XX. The Romans up to this time had given foreign nations great proofs
of their skill in war and their courage in battle, but had not shown
any evidences of kindness of heart, clemency, or any social virtue.
Marcellus seems to have been the first who exhibited the Romans in a
more amiable light to the Greeks. For he so dealt with his
adversaries, and treated so many individuals and cities with kindness
that even if any harsh treatment did befall Enna, or Megara, or
Syracuse, it was thought to be more by the fault of the vanquished
than of the victors. I will mention one instance out of many. There is
a city in Sicily called Engyion, of no great size, but very ancient,
and renowned for the appearance there of the goddesses called
'Mothers.' The foundation of the temple is ascribed to the Cretans,
and they used to show certain lances and helmets inscribed, some with
the name of Meriones, some of Ulixes, that is, Odysseus, which were
dedicated to these goddesses. This city was eager to espouse the
Carthaginian side, but was prevailed upon by one Nikias, the leading
man of the city, to join the Romans, by freely speaking his mind in
the public assembly and proving that his opponents did not consult the
true interests of the state. These men, fearing his power and high
reputation, determined to kidnap him, and deliver him up to the
Carthaginians. Nikias, discovering this plot, quietly took measures
for his own security, but publicly made unseemly speeches about the
"Mothers," and spoke of the received tradition of their appearance
with doubt and contempt, to the delight of his enemies, as he seemed
to be by these actions justifying the treatment which they meant to
inflict upon him. When all their preparations for seizing him were
complete there was a public assembly of the citizens, and Nikias, in
the midst of a speech upon state policy, suddenly fell to the ground,
and after a short time, as all men were, naturally, silent with
surprise, he raised his head, and turning it round he began to speak
in deep and trembling tones, which he gradually made shriller and more
intense, until, seeing the whole theatre, where the meeting was,
silent with horror, he threw off his cloak, tore his tunic, and, half
naked, rushed to the gate of the theatre, crying out that he was
pursued by the "Mothers." As no one dared to touch or stop him, from
fear of the gods, but all made way for him, he passed out of the city
gate, not omitting any of the cries and trembling of body of a person
under demoniacal possession. His wife, who was in the secret, and her
husband's confederate, first brought her children and prostrated
herself as a suppliant before the goddesses, and then under pretence
of seeking her wandering husband managed to leave the city without
opposition. Thus they safely reached Marcellus at Syracuse; and when,
after enduring many affronts and insolent proceeding from the people
of Engyion Marcellus took them all prisoners, and imprisoned them,
meaning to put them all to death, Nikias at first stood by weeping,
but at length, embracing Marcellus as a suppliant, he begged for the
lives of his countrymen, beginning with his own personal enemies,
until he relented, and set them all at liberty. Nor did he touch their
city, but gave Nikias ample lands and rich presents. This story is
told by Poseidonius the philosopher.

XXI. When the Romans recalled Marcellus, to conduct the war in their
own country, he removed most of the beautiful ornaments of the city of
Syracuse, to be admired at his triumphal procession, and to adorn
Rome. For at that time Rome neither possessed nor knew of any works of
art, nor had she any delicacy of taste in such matters. Filled with
the blood-stained arms and spoils of barbarians, and crowded with
trophies of war and memorials of triumphs, she was no pleasant or
delightful spectacle, fit to feed the eyes of unwarlike and luxurious
spectators, but, as Epameinondas called the plain of Bœotia "the Stage
of Ares," and Xenophon called Ephesus "the Workshop of War," so, in my
opinion, you might call Rome at that time, in the words of Pindar,
"the Domain of Ares, who revels in war." Wherefore Marcellus gained
the greater credit with the vulgar, because he enriched the city with
statues possessing the Hellenic grace and truth to nature, while
Fabius Maximus was more esteemed by the elders. He neither touched nor
removed anything of the kind from the city of Tarentum, which he took,
but carried off all the money and other property, and let the statues
remain, quoting the proverb: "Let us," said he, "leave the Tarentines
their angry gods." They blamed Marcellus's proceedings as being
invidious for Rome, because he had led not only men, but also gods as
captives in his triumph, and also because the people, who before this
were accustomed either to fight or to till the ground, and were
ignorant of luxury and indolent pleasures, like the Herakles of
Euripides,

     "Unpolished, rough, but skilled in useful arts,"

were made by Marcellus into idle, babbling connoisseurs of the fine
arts, and wasted the greater part of the day in talk about them. He,
however, prided himself upon this even before Greeks, saying that he
had taught the ignorant Romans to prize and admire the glories of
Greek art.

XXII. Marcellus, whose enemies opposed his claim to a triumph, on the
ground that the campaign in Sicily was not completely finished, and
that he did not deserve a third triumph, so far gave way as to lead
the greater triumphal procession as far as the Alban Mount, and only
to enter the city in the lesser form which the Greeks call _euan_, and
the Romans an _ovation_. The general conducts this, not, as in the
triumph, riding in a chariot and four with a crown of laurel, and with
trumpets sounding before him, but walking on foot in low shoes
surrounded by flute players, and crowned with myrtle, so as to look
unwarlike and joyous rather than terrible. And this is a great proof
to me that in old times it was the manner and not the importance of
the things achieved that settled the form of triumph. Those generals
who had gained their point by battle and slaughter probably made their
entry in that martial and terrible fashion, having, as is customary in
lustrations of armies, crowned the men and wreathed their arms with
abundance of laurel: whereas the generals who without an appeal to
arms had settled matters satisfactorily by negotiation and persuasive
eloquence, were given by custom this peaceful and festive entry into
the city. For the flute is a peaceful instrument, and the myrtle is
the favorite plant of Aphrodite, who above all the gods hates violence
and war. This form of triumph is called ovation, not from the cry of
"Evan," as most people think, for the other also is accompanied with
shouts and songs, but the word had been twisted by the Greeks into one
that has a meaning in their language, and also they are convinced that
some honour is paid to Dionysus in this ceremony, which God we name
Evius and Thriambos. It is curious to observe that the great Laconian
lawgiver arranged the sacrifices differently to those of Rome. In
Sparta those ex-generals who have accomplished their purpose by
persuasion or fraud sacrifice an ox, while those who have done it by
battle offer a cock. For, though warlike to excess, they thought that
a victory gained by clever negotiation was greater and more befitting
human beings than one gained by force and courage. Which is to be
preferred, I leave to my readers' consideration.

XXIII. When Marcellus entered upon his fourth consulship, his enemies
induced the Syracusans to send a deputation to Rome, to complain
loudly to the Senate of the cruel and unjust treatment which they had
received from him. Marcellus chanced to be performing some sacrifice
in the Capitol; so when the Syracusans came to the assembled Senate,
begging for a hearing that justice might be done them, the other
consul stopped them, feeling that Marcellus ought not to be attacked
in his absence. But Marcellus as soon as he heard of it, came to the
Senate-house, seated himself as consul, on the curule chair, and
despatched business; then, when this was finished, he came down and
placed himself as a private person in the place where men on their
trial usually stood, and called on the Syracusans to prove their
charges against him. They were abashed at his majestic confidence of
demeanour, and he who had been invincible in arms seemed to them yet
more terrible and unapproachable in his consular purple. Nevertheless,
encouraged by the enemies of Marcellus, they began their impeachment,
and pleaded their cause in a piteous fashion, their chief point being
that they, who were friends and allies of the Romans, had been treated
in a way in which many other generals had forborne to treat hostile
cities. Marcellus answered that they had done the Romans much harm,
for which they had received no punishment, except such as could not be
prevented in war, because victorious soldiers cannot be restrained
from sacking a town which they have won, and their city, he said, was
taken because they had refused his frequent offers of terms of
agreement. They could not urge that they had been forced into war by
their despots, for they had themselves chosen those very despots with
the intention of going to war. After both parties had been heard, the
Syracusans, according to custom, left the Senate-house. Marcellus came
out with them, leaving his colleague to preside over the assembly, and
stood outside the doors, without altering his usual demeanour, either
from fear of the result or anger against the Syracusans, but serenely
awaiting the verdict of the Senate.

When the question was voted upon, and he was announced successful, the
Syracusans prostrated themselves before him, beseeching him with
tears to put away his anger against themselves, and to show pity on
the city, which was sensible to kindness, and would be grateful to
him. Marcellus was touched by their appeal; he became reconciled to
them, and was a constant benefactor to their city. He restored them
their freedom, their laws, and what remained of their property, and
the Senate confirmed his acts. In return for this, besides many other
honours they passed a law that whenever Marcellus or any of his
descendants should land in Sicily, the Syracusans should wear garlands
of flowers and hold a festival with sacrifices to the gods.

XXIV. Next he proceeded against Hannibal; and whereas nearly all the
other consuls and generals, after the disaster at Cannæ had thought of
nothing but avoiding battles with him, and no one had dared to measure
himself with him in the field, he adopted the opposite course, arguing
that while they fancied that they were wearing out Hannibal's army
they did not perceive that Italy was being consumed by it. Fabius, he
urged, thought too much of safety, and by his policy of waiting, Rome,
already drooping under its burdens, would at the end of the war perish
as well as Hannibal. He was, he said, like those timid surgeons who
shrink from using decisive remedies, and who mistake the sinking
strength of the patient for the abatement of disease. His first act
was to take some important Samnite towns which had revolted. Here he
found great stores of corn and money, and took three thousand of
Hannibal's soldiers who were there as garrison. Next, when Hannibal
defeated and killed Cnæus Fulvius, the proconsul in Apulia, with a
loss of eleven military tribunes and the greater part of his army,
Marcellus sent despatches to Rome, bidding the citizens be of good
courage, for he was already on the march, and would abate Hannibal's
exultation. Livy tells us that these despatches when read did not
diminish the grief of the Romans, but added to their fear, as they
reflected that the risk they were about to run was so much more
serious than the defeat they had sustained, as Marcellus was superior
to Fulvius.

According to his despatch, he instantly marched against Hannibal into
Lucania, and finding him entrenched on some strong hills near the city
of Numistro, he himself encamped in the plain. On the following day he
was the first to draw out his army in battle array. Hannibal descended
from his position, and fought a great and well-contested battle, for
it began at the third hour, and was scarcely over by dark, but without
any decisive result. At daybreak he again led out his army and defied
Hannibal to fight. But Hannibal retired; and Marcellus, after
stripping the corpses of the enemy, and burying his own dead, pursued.
His skill and good fortune were greatly admired in this campaign, as
he did not fall into any of the numerous ambuscades which were
prepared for him by Hannibal, and in all his skirmishes came off
victorious. For this reason, as the comitia were impending, the Senate
thought that it would be better to call the other consul away from
Sicily than to recall Marcellus just as he was thoroughly engaged with
Hannibal. When the other consul arrived, they bade him name Quintus
Fulvius dictator. For a dictator is not chosen by the people or by the
Senate, but one of the consuls or prætors comes forward publicly and
names whom he pleases dictator. And this is the reason that the man so
named is called dictator; for _dicere_ in Latin means to _name_. But
some think that the dictator is so called because he does not require
any vote or show of hands, but on his own responsibility dictates his
orders; indeed, the orders of magistrates which are called by the
Greeks _diatagmata_, are called _edicts_ by the Romans.

XXV. When Marcellus's colleague came to Rome from Sicily, he wished to
name another person dictator, and, that he might not be forced to act
against his inclination, he sailed away by night back to Sicily. Under
these circumstances the people nominated Quintus Fulvius dictator, and
the Senate wrote to Marcellus bidding him vote for this person. He did
so, confirming the choice of the people, and was himself elected
proconsul for the following year. After a conference with Fabius
Maximus, at which it was arranged that the latter should make an
attempt on Tarentum, while Marcellus should constantly engage Hannibal
and so prevent his affording the town any assistance, he set out, and
came upon Hannibal near Canusium. Hannibal frequently shifted his
camp, and tried to avoid a battle, but Marcellus was not to be shaken
off, and at length attacked his position, and by skirmishing provoked
him to fight. Marcellus sustained his attack, and the battle was put
an end to by night. Next morning his troops were again beheld under
arms, so that Hannibal in great anxiety called together the
Carthaginians and besought them to fight as they had never done
before. "You see," said he, "that even after our great victories, we
cannot rest in peace, unless we drive away this fellow." The armies
met; and Marcellus seems to have lost the day by an unseasonable
manœuvre. His right wing was suffering, and he ordered up one of the
legions to support it; but this change produced confusion in the
ranks, and gave the victory to the enemy, with a loss of two thousand
seven hundred men to the Romans. Marcellus, after retiring to his
fortified camp, called together his soldiers, and reproached them,
saying that he saw before him the arms and bodies of many Romans, but
not one true Roman. They begged forgiveness, but he answered that he
could not forgive them when defeated, but would forgive them if
victorious. On the morrow he said that he would renew the battle, in
order that the Romans might hear of their victory before they heard of
their defeat. After these words he gave orders that the troops which
had given way should be supplied with rations of barley instead of
corn; which had such an effect upon them, that although many were
suffering from the hurts in the battle, yet, there was not one who did
not suffer more from the reproaches of Marcellus than from his wounds.

XXVI. At daybreak the scarlet robe, the well known signal of battle,
was displayed from the general's tent. The disgraced troops, at their
own request, were placed in the first rank; the rest of the army
followed under their officers. Hannibal hearing of this exclaimed:
"Hercules! What can one do with a man who knows not how to bear either
good or bad fortune. This is the only general who, when victorious
allows his foe no rest, and when defeated takes none himself. We shall
always, it seems, have to be fighting this man, who is equally excited
to attack by his confidence when victor, and his shame when
vanquished."

In the battle the men on each side were fighting on equal terms, when
Hannibal ordered his elephants to be brought into the front rank and
to attack the Roman lines. Great tumult and disturbance was produced
by this, but one of the tribunes, by name Flavius, seizing a standard,
stood his ground, and struck the first elephant with the spiked end of
the staff, till he forced him to turn back. He then attacked the next
one, and those that followed. Marcellus, seeing this, ordered his
cavalry to ride as fast as they could to the scene of the confusion
and complete the rout of the enemy. They charged briskly and pursued
the flying Carthaginians, cutting them down up to their very camp.
Great havoc was wrought by the wounded elephants among them; and in
all, over eight thousand are said to have perished. Of the Roman force
three thousand were killed, and almost all the survivors were wounded,
which circumstance enabled Hannibal to leave his camp by night
unmolested, and remove himself from the neighbourhood of Marcellus;
for Marcellus could not pursue, because of the number of wounded, but
marched in a leisurely manner towards Campania, and passed the summer
at Sinuessa, recruiting the health of his soldiers.

XXVII. Hannibal, after he had thus torn himself free from Marcellus,
sent his army to plunder Italy as recklessly as though it were
disbanded; and in Rome Marcellus was ill spoken of. His enemies
induced Publius Bibulus, a clever and violent partisan, to attack him.
This man frequently addressed assemblies of the people and urged them
to transfer the command to another general, since "Marcellus," he
said, "after a little sparring with the enemy had gone to the hot
baths to refresh himself as if after a gymnastic contest." Marcellus,
hearing of this, left the army in charge of his legates, and went to
Rome to clear his reputation from these slanders; but, in consequence
of them he found that he was to undergo a trial. A day was fixed; the
people assembled in the Circus Flaminius; Bibulus rose and impeached
him. Marcellus spoke shortly and simply in his own defence, but the
highest and noblest citizens spoke at great length in his praise,
calling on the people not to show themselves by their vote worse
judges of war than Hannibal, who was always as eager to avoid fighting
with Marcellus, as he was to fight with other generals. After these
speeches had been delivered the accuser was proved to be so far wrong
in his impeachment, that Marcellus was not only honourably acquitted,
but actually elected consul for the fifth time.

XXVIII. On assuming his office, he first put down an insurrectionary
movement in Etruria, by visiting the various towns and using
conciliatory language; after this, he wished to consecrate a temple,
which he had built out of the spoils of Sicily, to Glory and Valour,
but being prevented by the priests on the ground that two gods could
not be included in one temple, he began to build another one, being
very much vexed at the opposition he encountered, but influenced by
omens: for he was disturbed at this time by many portentous
occurrences, such as several temples being struck by lightning, and
the gold in the temple of Jupiter being gnawed by the mice. It was
also reported that an ox had spoken with a human voice, and that a
child had been born with the head of an elephant--so the priests kept
him in Rome to conduct the expiatory rites and atonements for these,
though he was fretting and eager to take the field; for no man ever
was so passionately desirous of anything as he was to measure himself
with Hannibal in battle. His one dream by night, his only talk to his
friends and colleagues, his sole prayer to the gods was that he might
meet Hannibal in a fair field. I believe that he would most willingly
have enclosed both armies within a wall or palisade, and there have
fought out the quarrel. Had it not been that he was now loaded with
honours, and had given proofs of his superiority in wisdom and conduct
to any other general, men would have said that he showed a more boyish
ambition than befitted a man of his age; for he was over sixty years
old when he entered upon his fifth consulship.

XXIX. However, when he had completed the necessary sacrifices and
purifications enjoined by the soothsayers, he took the field with his
colleague, and harassed Hannibal much in the country between the towns
of Bantia and Venusia. Hannibal declined battle, but, learning that a
force was detached from the Roman army to attack the Epizephyrian
Lokrians, he laid an ambuscade on the mountain near Petelia, and
defeated them with a loss of two thousand five hundred men. This
excited Marcellus, and he led his forces nearer to those of Hannibal.
There was between the two camps a hill of some strength as a military
post, overgrown with wood. Its sloping sides afforded a view of either
camp, and upon them appeared the sources of several mountain streams.

The Romans were surprised at Hannibal, that, having had the first
choice of so excellent a position as this, he had not occupied it, but
left it to the enemy. It seems that he indeed thought it a good place
to encamp in, but much better to lay an ambuscade in; and, wishing to
use it rather for this purpose, he filled the woods and glens with
javelin-men and spearmen, persuaded that the place itself would, from
its excellent qualities, attract the Romans into it. Nor was he
deceived in this expectation; for at once there was much talk in the
Roman army about the necessity of occupying the hill, and men pointed
out the advantages which would be gained over the enemy by encamping
on it, or if necessary, by fortifying it. Now Marcellus determined to
ride forward with a few horsemen and reconnoitre it, so he sent for a
soothsayer and offered sacrifice. When the first victim was slain, the
soothsayer showed him that the liver had no head. On sacrificing for
the second time the head appeared of unusual size, while all the other
organs were excellent, and this seemed to set at rest the fear which
had been caused by the former. Yet the soothsayers said that they were
even more disturbed and alarmed at this; for when after very bad and
menacing victims unusually excellent ones appear, the sudden change is
itself suspicious. But

     "Not fire, not walls of iron can hinder fate,"

as Pindar says. Marcellus rode forth with his colleague Crispinus and
his son, who was military tribune, in all two hundred and twenty
horsemen. Of these none were Romans; they were Etruscans, with the
exception of twenty men from Fregellæ, who had given constant proofs
of their courage and devotion to Marcellus. On the overhanging crest
of the woody hill, a man, unseen by the Romans, was watching their
army. He signalled to the men in ambush what was going on, so that
they permitted Marcellus to ride close to them, and then suddenly
burst out upon him, and surrounding his little force on all sides,
struck and threw their darts, pursued such as ran away, and fought
with those who stood their ground. These were the twenty Fregellans.
The Etruscans at the outset ran away panic-stricken; but these men
forming together defended the consuls until Crispinus, struck by two
darts, galloped away, and Marcellus was pierced through the side with
a lance. Then even the few survivors of the Fregellans left him lying
there, and snatching up his son, who was wounded, made their way back
to the camp. The loss amounted to little over forty killed, and five
lictors and eighteen horsemen taken. Crispinus, after a few days, died
of his wounds. Such a misfortune as this, losing both consuls in one
battle, never before befel the Romans.

XXX. Hannibal heard of the fate of all the rest with indifference, but
when he was told that Marcellus had fallen he himself hastened to the
place, and stood for a long time beside the corpse, admiring its
strength and beauty. He made no boastful speech, and showed no joy in
his countenance, as a man who had slain a troublesome and dangerous
enemy, but, wondering at the strangeness of his ending, he drew the
ring from the dead man's finger, and had the corpse decently attired
and burned. The relics he gathered into a silver urn, upon which he
placed a golden crown, and sent it to Marcellus's son. But on the way
some Numidians fell in with the party who were escorting the urn, and
while they tried to take it away and the others struggled to retain
it, the bones were scattered on the ground. Hannibal, on hearing of
this, said, "Nothing can be done against the will of heaven." He
ordered the Numidians to be punished, but took no further thought
about collecting or sending away the relics of Marcellus, concluding
that some god had decreed the strange death and strange lack of burial
which had befallen him. This is the story related by Cornelius Nepos
and Valerius Maximus, but Livy and Augustus Cæsar declare that the urn
was brought to his son, and that it was splendidly buried. Besides
his monuments at Rome there was a gymnasium at Katana in Sicily which
bore his name, and statues and votive tablets from the plunder of
Syracuse were set tip in Samothrace in the temple of the gods called
Kabeiri, and in Lindus (in Rhodes) in the temple of Athena.

On his statue there, according to Poseidonius, these verses are
written:

    "This monument, O stranger, doth enshrine
    Marcellus, of the famous Claudian line,
    Who seven times was consul, and in fight
    His country's foes o'erthrew and put to flight."

For the writer of this epitaph counted his two proconsulates as well
as his five consulates. His family remained one of the chief in Rome
down to the time of Marcellus, the nephew of Augustus, who was the son
of Octavia, Augustus's sister, and Caius Marcellus. He died in the
office of ædile while yet a bridegroom, having just married Augustus's
daughter Julia. In honour of his memory his mother Octavia established
a library, and Augustus built a theatre, both of which bore his name.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 12: Il. xiv. 86.]

[Footnote 13: _Civica corona_. The civic crown was made of oak leaves,
and was given only to him who had saved the life of a fellow-citizen
in war.]

[Footnote 14: Interreges were appointed when there were no consuls, to
hold comitia for the election of new ones.]

[Footnote 15: Vessels of five banks of oars.]

[Footnote 16: Hexapylon, the place with six gates.]




THE COMPARISON OF PELOPIDAS WITH MARCELLUS.


I. The particulars which we thought worth extracting from the
histories of Pelopidas and Marcellus are related above. Their
dispositions and habits were so nearly identical (for both were brave,
laborious, and high-spirited) that the only point in which they differ
appears to be that Marcellus put the inhabitants of several captured
cities to the sword, whereas Epameinondas and Pelopidas never slew any
one after they had conquered him, nor enslaved any captured city;
indeed, had they been alive, it is said that the Thebans never would
have so treated the town of Orchomenus. As to their exploits, that of
Marcellus against the Gauls was great and wonderful, when he drove
before him with his little band of horsemen so great a multitude of
horse and foot together, the like of which one cannot easily find to
have been done by any other general, and the killing of the chief of
the enemy. The same thing was attempted by Pelopidas, but the despot
was too quick for him, and he perished without succeeding in his
effort. Yet with these we may compare his deeds at Leuktra and Tegyra,
the most important and glorious of all his feats of arms, while we
have no exploit of Marcellus which corresponds to his management of
the ambuscade by which he brought back the exiled popular party to
Thebes, and destroyed the despots. Indeed, of all deeds performed by
secrecy and stratagem, this takes the van. Hannibal, no doubt, was a
terrible enemy to Rome, as were the Lacedæmonians to Thebes; yet it is
an established fact that at Tegyra and at Leuktra they gave way before
Pelopidas, whereas Marcellus, according to Polybius, never once
defeated Hannibal, but that general appears to have remained
undefeated until the time of Scipio. But we believe, following Livy,
Cæsar, Cornelius Nepos, and, among Greek historians, king Juba, that
Hannibal suffered some defeats at the hands of Marcellus; yet they
never produced any signal result, and we may suspect that the African
sometimes only pretended to have lost the day. But what Marcellus is
so justly admired for, is that after such great armies had been
routed, their generals killed, and the whole military system of Rome
thrown into confusion, he inspired his troops with a confidence that
enabled them to hold their own against the enemy. He roused his men
from their former timid and disheartened condition, making them eager
to distinguish themselves in battle, and, what is more, never to yield
the victory without a determined struggle. And all this, as far as any
single man could, was effected by Marcellus; for whereas his troops
had been accustomed to be well satisfied if they escaped with their
lives from Hannibal, he taught them to be ashamed of surviving defeat,
to blush to give way ever so little, and to grieve if they were not
victorious.

II. Since, then, Pelopidas never was defeated when he was in command,
and Marcellus gained more victories than any Roman of his time;
perhaps he who was so hard to conquer may, in consideration of his
many successes, be held equal to him who never suffered a reverse.
Moreover, the one took Syracuse, while the other failed before
Lacedæmon. But I hold it a greater feat than taking Sicily, to have
marched upon Sparta, and been the first man to cross the Eurotas,
unless indeed it should be said that the credit of this exploit
belongs more to Epameinondas than to Pelopidas, as also does the
battle of Leuktra, whereas the glory of Marcellus's achievements is
all his own. For he took Syracuse alone, and beat the Gauls without
his colleague, and, with no one to assist him, but every one hanging
back, he measured himself with Hannibal and changed the whole
complexion of the war, by being the first to introduce a daring
policy.

III. As for their deaths, I can praise neither one nor the other, but
I am grieved at the unworthy manner of their end. It is strange, that
Hannibal was never even wounded in a number of battles which it would
weary one to recount; and I admire the conduct of Chrysantas in
Xenophon's 'Cyropædia,' who, when standing with his weapon drawn,
about to strike an enemy, heard the trumpet sound the recall, and
leaving his man, quietly and orderly retreated. Yet Pelopidas may be
excused by his excitement during a battle, and his courage, which
urged him to avenge himself on the enemy, for the best thing is for
the general to be victorious and to survive, and the next, for him to
die "breathing forth his life in valour" as Euripides says. Thus his
death becomes no accident, but a premeditated act. And besides
Pelopidas's spirit, the assured victory which he saw within his grasp,
could he but kill the despot, not unreasonably made him make his
desperate attack; for it would have been hard for him to obtain
another opportunity of distinguishing himself so gloriously. But
Marcellus, without any necessity, without the excitement which
sometimes in perilous circumstances overpowers men's reason, pushed
heedlessly into danger, and died the death of a spy rather than a
general, risking his five consulships, his three triumphs, his spoils
and trophies won from kings against the worthless lives of Iberian and
Numidian mercenaries. They themselves must have felt ashamed at their
success, that the bravest, most powerful, and most celebrated of the
Romans should have fallen among a reconnoitring party of Fregellans.
Still, let not this be regarded as a reproach to these great men, but
rather a complaint addressed on their own behalf to them, especially
to that courage, to which they sacrificed all their other virtues,
disregarding their lives, as though their loss would fall upon
themselves only, and not upon their friends and native country. After
his death, Pelopidas was buried by his allies, fighting for whom he
died; but Marcellus was buried by the enemy at whose hands he fell.
The first was an enviable end, but the other is greater, as the
spectacle of an enemy honouring the valour by which he has suffered is
greater than that of a friend showing gratitude to a friend. In the
one case it is the man's glory alone that is respected, in the other,
his usefulness and value are as much thought of as his courage.




LIFE OF ARISTEIDES.


Aristeides, the son of Lysimachus, was of the tribe Antiochis, and the
township of Alopekæ. There are various reports current about his
property, some saying that he lived in poverty, and that on his death
he left two daughters, who remained a long while unmarried because of
their poverty; while this general opinion is contradicted by Demetrius
of Phalerum in his book on Sokrates, where he mentions an estate at
Phalerum which he knew had belonged to Aristeides, in which he was
buried, and also adduces other grounds for supposing him to have been
a wealthy man. First, he points out that Aristeides was Archon
Eponymus, an office for which men were chosen by lot from the richest
class, that of the Pentakosiomedimni, or citizens who possessed a
yearly income of five hundred _medimni_[17] of dry or liquid produce.
Secondly, he mentions the fact that he was ostracised: now, ostracism
never was used against poor men, but against those who descended from
great and wealthy houses, and whose pride made them feared and
disliked by their fellow citizens. Thirdly, and lastly, he writes that
Aristeides placed in the temple of Dionysus tripods dedicated to the
god by a victorious chorus, which even in my own time are still to be
seen, and which bear the inscription: "The tribe Antiochis won the
prize; Aristeides was choragus; Archestratus taught the chorus." Now
this, which seems to be the strongest argument of all, is really the
weakest. Epameinondas, whom all men know to have been born and to have
passed his life in the greatest possible poverty, and Plato the
philosopher, both exhibited excellent choruses, the former bearing the
expense of a chorus of men playing on the flute, while the latter
exhibited a _cyclic_[18] chorus of boys. Plato's expenses were borne
by Dionysius of Syracuse, and those of Epameinondas by Pelopidas and
his friends. Good men do not always refuse to receive presents from
their friends, but, though they would scorn to make money by them,
they willingly receive them to further an honourable ambition.
Panætius, moreover, proves that Demetrius is wrong in the matter of
the tripods, because from the time of the Persian war to the end of
the Peloponnesian war there are only two Aristeides recorded as
victors, neither of whom can be identified with the son of Lysimachus,
as the father of one of them was Xenophilus, and the other was a much
more modern personage, as is proved by his name being written in the
characters which came into use after the archonship of Eukleides, and
from the name of the poet or teacher of the chorus, Archestratus,
whose name we never meet with in the time of the Persian war, but who
taught several choruses (that is, wrote several successful plays)
during the Peloponnesian war. These remarks of Panætius must, however,
be received with caution. As to ostracism, any man of unusual talent,
nobility of birth, or remarkable eloquence, was liable to suffer from
it, for Damon, the tutor of Perikles, was ostracised, because he was
thought to be a man of superior intellect. Idomeneus tells us that
Aristeides obtained the office of archon, not by lot, but by the
universal voice of the people. Now, if he was archon after the battle
of Platæa, as Demetrius himself admits, it is highly probable that his
great reputation after such glorious successes may have obtained for
him an office usually reserved for men of wealth. Indeed, Demetrius
evidently tries to redeem both Aristeides and Sokrates from the
reproach of poverty, as though he imagined it to be a great
misfortune, for he tells us that Sokrates not only possessed a house,
but also seventy minæ which were borrowed by Krito.

II. Aristeides became much attached to Kleisthenes, who established
the democratic government after the expulsion of the sons of
Peisistratus; but his reverence and admiration for Lykurgus the
Lacedæmonian led him to prefer an aristocratic form of government, in
which he always met with an opponent in Themistokles, the son of
Neokles, the champion of democracy. Some say that even as children
they always took opposite sides, both in play and in serious matters,
and so betrayed their several dispositions: Themistokles being
unscrupulous, daring, and careless by what means he obtained success,
while the character of Aristeides was solid and just, incapable of
deceit or artifice even in sport. Ariston of Keos tells us that their
hatred of one another arose from a love affair. Stesilaus of Keos, the
most beautiful youth of his time, was passionately adored by both of
them with an affection which passed all bounds. Nor did they cease
their rivalry when this boy's youthful bloom had passed away, but, as
if this had merely been a preliminary trial, they each plunged into
politics with great vigour and with utterly different views.
Themistokles obtained a large following, and thus became an important
power in the state, so that, when some one said to him that he would
make a very good governor of Athens, provided he were just and
impartial with all, he answered, "Never may I bear rule if my friends
are to reap no more benefit from it than any one else."

Aristeides, on the other hand, pursued his way through political life
unattended, because, in the first place, he neither wished to do wrong
in order to please his friends, nor to vex them by refusing to gratify
their wishes; and also because he observed that many men when they
were supported by a strong party of friends were led into the
commission of wrong and illegal acts. He, therefore, conceived that a
good citizen ought to trust entirely to his own rectitude, both in
word and in deed.

III. In spite of this, however, when Themistokles was using every kind
of political manœuvre to thwart him, he was forced to retaliate by
similar measures, partly in order to defend himself, and partly to
check the power of his opponent, which depended on the favour shown
him by the people. He thought it better that he should occasionally do
the people some slight wrong than that Themistokles should obtain
unlimited power. At last, when Themistokles even proposed some useful
measure, he opposed it and threw it out. On this occasion he could not
refrain from saying, as he left the public assembly, that the
Athenians could not be saved unless they threw both himself and
Themistokles into the _barathrum_.[19] Another time he brought forward
a bill, which was vehemently debated upon, but was at length carried.
But just before the votes of the people were given, he, perceiving
from what had been said that it would prove a bad law, withdrew it.
Frequently he made use of other persons to bring forward propositions,
lest the public should suffer from the contest which would otherwise
take place between Themistokles and himself. Indeed, his evenness of
temper was the more remarkable when contrasted with the changefulness
of other politicians, for he was never unduly excited by the honours
which were bestowed upon him, and bore misfortune with a quiet
cheerfulness, thinking it to be his duty to serve his country, not
merely without being paid for it in money, but without even gaining
honour for so doing. This was the reason, I suppose, that when
Æschylus's verses on Amphiaraus wore being recited in the theatre;

    "Not just to seem, but just he loves to be;
    And deep he ploughs his noble mind with thought,
    To reap a harvest thence of great designs,"

all men turned and looked towards Aristeides, thinking that he came
nearest to this ideal virtue.

IV. He stood up vigorously for justice, not merely when it was his
interest and that of his friends, but when it was in favour of his
enemies and contrary to his own personal feelings to do so. It is said
that once when arguing a cause against one of his enemies in a court
of law, the judges refused to hear the other party speak in his own
defence, after listening to the speech of Aristeides, but were about
to condemn him unheard. At this Aristeides came forward and vigorously
supported his antagonist's claim to be allowed his legal right of
reply. Again, when acting as arbitrator between two persons, one of
them said that his adversary had done much wrong to Aristeides. "My
good man," said he, "do not tell me of this, but tell me whether he
has wronged you or not, for I am judging your cause, not my own."

When elected to administer the revenues of the state he proved that
not only his own colleagues, but those who had previously held office,
had embezzled large sums, especially Themistokles,

     "A clever man, but with an itching palm."

For this cause Themistokles, when Aristeides' accounts were audited,
prosecuted him on a charge of malversation, and, according to
Idomeneus, obtained a verdict.

However, the better class of citizens being grieved at this, not only
remitted the fine, but at once elected him to the same office. He now
pretended to regret his former rigour, and was much more remiss in
performing his duties, which rendered him very popular with those who
were in the habit of embezzling the public money, so that they were
loud in his praise, and canvassed the people on his behalf, trusting
that he might be re-elected archon. But when the voting was about to
begin, he rose and rebuked the Athenians. "When," he said, "I did you
true and honourable service, I was disgraced by you; now, when I have
permitted much of the public money to be stolen, I am thought to be an
excellent citizen. But I myself am more ashamed of the honour which
you now pay me, than I am of my former conviction, and I am sorry for
you, because among you it is esteemed more honourable to abet
evil-doers than to guard the national property."

By speaking thus and exposing the peculation which was being
practised, he closed the mouths of all those who were so loudly
commending him as an honest man, but gained the applause of all true
and honourable men.

V. When Datis was sent by Darius, nominally to punish the Athenians
for the burning of Sardis, but really to enslave the whole of Greece,
he landed at Marathon, and commenced laying waste the country. Of the
ten generals appointed by the Athenians for the conduct of the war,
Miltiades had the highest reputation, while Aristeides held the
second place. He used his influence in the council of war to support
the proposition of Miltiades to fight the enemy at once, and also, as
each general had sole command for one day, when his day came round, he
gave it to Miltiades, thus teaching his colleagues that obedience to
those who know how to command is not any disgrace, but a noble and
useful act. By this means he was enabled to put an end to the
rivalries between the generals, and to strengthen Miltiades by
concentrating in him the power which had before been passed from hand
to hand. In the battle the Athenian centre was hard pressed, as the
Persians resisted longest in that part of their line which was opposed
to the tribes Leontis and Antiochis. Here Themistokles and Aristeides
each showed conspicuous valour, fighting side by side, for the former
was of the tribe Leontis, the latter of the tribe Antiochis. After the
victory was won, and the Persians forced into their ships, they were
observed not to sail towards the Archipelago, but to be proceeding in
the direction of Athens. Fearing that they might catch the city
defenceless, the Athenians determined to hurry back with nine tribes
to protect it, and they accomplished their march in one day.
Aristeides, with his own tribe, was left to guard the prisoners and
the plunder, and well maintained his reputation. Although gold and
silver was lying about in heaps, with all kinds of rich tapestry and
other countless treasures, he would neither touch them himself nor
allow the others to do so, though some helped themselves without his
knowledge. Among these was Kallias, the torch-bearer in the Eleusinian
mysteries. One of the prisoners, taking him for a king because of his
long hair and fillet, fell on his knees before him, and having
received his hand as a pledge for his safety pointed out to him a
great store of gold concealed in a pit. Kallias now acted most cruelly
and wickedly. He took the gold, and killed the poor man for fear that
he should tell it to the others. It is said that ever afterwards the
descendants of Kallias were jeered at by the comic poets, as being of
the family of the man who found the gold in the pit.

Immediately after those events, Aristeides was chosen as Archon
Eponymus, that is, the archon who gives his name to the year.
Demetrius of Phalerum says that he filled this office shortly before
his death, and after the battle of Platæa. But in the public records
of Athens one cannot find any archon of the name of Aristeides among
the many who filled the office after Xanthippides, in whose archonship
Mardonius was defeated at Platæa, whereas the name of Aristeides does
occur next to that of Phanippus, in whose archonship the victory at
Marathon was won.

VI. Of all the virtues of Aristeides his justice was that which
chiefly commended itself to the people, being that which is of most
value in ordinary life. Hence it was that he, although a poor man of
mean birth, yet gained for himself the truly imperial title of the
Just; a title which has never been emulated by kings and despots, who
delight in being called the City-taker, the Thunderbolt, or the
Victorious, while some are known as the Eagle or the Hawk, because
apparently they prefer strength and lawless violence to justice and
goodness. Yet for all this, the gods, to whom they so presumptuously
liken themselves, excel mankind chiefly in three attributes, namely in
immortality, in power, and in goodness, whereof goodness is by far the
most glorious and divine quality. Mere empty space, and all the
elements possess immortality, while earthquakes, thunderbolts, violent
winds and rushing waters have great power, but justice and equity
belong to the gods alone, because of the reason and intelligence which
they possess. Now most men regard the gods with admiration, with fear,
and with reverence; with admiration, because they are eternal and
unchangeable; with fear, because of their power and dominion, with
reverence and love because of their justice. Yet men covet
immortality, which no flesh can attain to; and also power, which
depends mostly upon fortune; while they disregard virtue, the only
godlike attribute which it is in our power to obtain; not reflecting
that when a man is in a position of great power and authority he will
appear like a god if he acts justly, and like a wild beast if he does
not.

VII. The character of Aristeides for justice at first made him beloved
by the people, but afterwards it gained him their ill-will, chiefly
because Themistokles circulated reports that Aristeides had
practically closed the public courts of justice by the fact of all
cases being referred to him as arbitrator, and that he was virtually
king of Athens, although he had not yet surrounded himself with a
body-guard. By this time too the common people, elated with their
victory at Marathon, and thinking themselves capable of the greatest
exploits, were ill pleased at any private citizen being exalted above
the rest by his character and virtues. They flocked into the city from
all parts of the country and ostracised Aristeides, veiling their envy
of his glory under the pretence that they feared he would make himself
king. This custom of ostracism was not intended as a punishment for
crime, but was called, in order to give it a plausible title, a check
to excessive power. In reality, it was nothing more than a
safety-valve, providing a vent for the dislike felt by the people for
those whose greatness offended them. It did no irreparable injury to
those who fell under its operation, but only banished them for a space
of ten years. In later times mean and contemptible persons were
subjected to ostracism, until at last, after the ostracism of
Hyperbolus the practice was discontinued. The ostracism of Hyperbolus
is said to have been brought about in the following manner. Alkibiades
and Nikias, the two most powerful citizens in the state, were at the
head of two rival parties. The people determined to apply the
ostracism to them, and would certainly have banished one or the other
of them. They, however, came to terms with one another, combined their
several factions, and agreed to have Hyperbolus banished. The people,
enraged at this, and thinking that they had been treated with
contempt, abolished the practice of ostracism. The way in which it was
conducted was as follows. Each man took an oyster-shell, wrote upon it
the name of the citizen whom he wished to be banished, and then
carried it to a place in the market-place which was fenced off with
palings. The archons now first of all counted the whole number of
shells; for if the whole number of voters were less than six thousand,
the ostracism was null and void. After this, they counted the number
of times each name occurred, and that man against whom most votes were
recorded they sent into exile for ten years, allowing him the use of
his property during that time. Now while the shells were being written
upon, on the occasion of which we have been speaking, a very ignorant
country fellow is said to have brought his shell to Aristeides, who
was one of the bystanders, and to have asked him to write upon it the
name of Aristeides. Aristeides was surprised, and asked him whether
Aristeides had ever done him any harm. "No," answered the man, "nor do
I know him by sight, but I am tired of always hearing him called 'The
Just.'" When Aristeides heard this he made no answer, but wrote his
name on the man's shell and gave it back to him. When he was leaving
the city he raised his hands to heaven, and prayed exactly the
opposite prayer to that of Achilles, that no crisis might befall the
Athenians which would compel them to remember Aristeides.

VIII. However, three years afterwards, when Xerxes was advancing upon
Attica through Thessaly and Bœotia, the Athenians annulled their
decree, and permitted all exiles to return, being especially afraid of
Aristeides, lest he should join the enemy and lead many of the
citizens to desert with him. In this they took a very false view of
his character, for even before this decree he had never ceased to
encourage the Greeks to defend their liberty, and after his return,
when Themistokles was in sole command of the forces of Athens, he
assisted him in every way by word and deed, cheerfully raising his
bitterest enemy to the highest position in the state, because the
state was benefited thereby.

When Eurybiades and his party were meditating a retreat from Salamis,
the Persian ships put to sea at night and hemmed them in, surrounding
both the strait and the islands. No one knew that escape was
impossible, but Aristeides sailed from Ægina, passed safely through
the enemy's fleet by a miracle, and while it was still night proceeded
straight to the tent of Themistokles. Here he called him out, and when
they were alone together, he said: "We two, Themistokles, if we are
wise, must cease our vain and silly rivalry with one another, and
begin a more generous contest to preserve our country, you acting as
general and chief, while I help and advise you. Already I perceive
that you alone take a right view of the crisis, end desire to fight a
battle in the narrow waters as quickly as possible. Now, while your
allies have been opposing you, the enemy have been playing your game,
for the sea, both in our front and rear, is full of their ships, so
that the Greeks even against their will must play the man and fight;
for no way of escape is left for them." To this Themistokles answered,
"I would not willingly, Aristeides, be overcome by you in generosity
on this occasion; and I shall endeavour, in emulation of this good
beginning which you have made, to surpass it by the glory of my
exploits." At the same time he explained the trick[20] which he had
played on the barbarian, and begged Aristeides to argue with
Eurybiades, and point out how impossible it was for the Greeks to be
saved without fighting; for he thought that the opinion of Aristeides
would have more weight than his own. Consequently, when in the
assembly of the generals Kleokritus the Corinthian attacked
Themistokles, and said that even Aristeides did not approve of his
plans, because he was present and said nothing, Aristeides answered
that he would not have been silent if Themistokles had not spoken to
the purpose, but that as it was he held his peace, not for any love he
bore him, but because his counsel was the best.

IX. While the Greek admirals were engaged in these discussions,
Aristeides, perceiving that Psyttaleia, a small island in the straits
near Salamis, was full of the enemy, placed some of the boldest
Athenians on board of small boats, attacked the Persians, and slew
them to a man, except a few of the chiefs, who wore taken alive. Among
these were the three children of Sandauke the sister of the Persian
king, whom he at once sent to Themistokles, and it is said that in
accordance with some oracle they were sacrificed to Dionysus
Omestes,[21] at the instance of the prophet Euphrantides. Aristeides
now lined the shores of the islet with soldiers, ready to receive any
vessel which might be cast upon it, in order that neither any of his
friends might be lost, nor any of the enemy take refuge upon it.
Indeed, the severest encounter between the two fleets and the main
shock of the battle seems to have taken place at that spot; wherefore
the trophy that marks the victory stands on the isle of Psyttaleia.

After the battle was won, Themistokles, wishing to feel Aristeides's
opinion, said to him that they had done a good work, but that a
greater one remained, which was to shut up Asia in Europe by sailing
as quickly as possible to the Hellespont, and destroying the bridge of
boats there. Aristeides answered that he must never propose such a
plan, but must take measures to drive the Persians out of Greece as
quickly as possible, for fear that so great a multitude, shut up there
without the means of retreat, should turn to bay and attack them with
the courage of despair. Upon this, Themistokles again sent the eunuch
Arnakes, a prisoner, on a secret errand to tell the Persian king that
when all the Greeks wished to sail to the Hellespont and destroy the
bridge of boats, he had dissuaded them from doing so, wishing to save
the king's life.

X. At this Xerxes became terrified, and at once hurried back to the
Hellespont. Mardonius, with about three hundred thousand of the best
troops remained behind, and was a formidable enemy, trusting in his
land force, and sending defiant proclamations to the Greeks. "You," he
said, "with your ships have beaten landsmen that knew not how to
handle an oar; but the land of Thessaly is wide, and the plain of
Bœotia is a fair place for good horsemen and heavy armed soldiers to
fight upon."

To the Athenians he sent privately proposals from the Great King, who
offered to rebuild their city, present them with a large sum of money,
and make them lords over all Greece, if they would desist from the
war. The Lacedæmonians, hearing this, were much alarmed, and sent
ambassadors to beg the Athenians to send their wives and children to
Sparta, and offering to support their old people, as the Athenians
were in great distress for food, having lost their city and their
country. However, after listening to the Lacedæmonian ambassadors, at
the instance of Aristeides they returned a spirited answer, saying
that they could forgive their enemies, who knew no better, for
supposing that everything could be bought with money, but that they
were angry with the Lacedæmonians for only regarding the present
poverty and distress of the Athenians, and that forgetting how
bravely they had fought, they should now offer them food to bribe them
to fight for Greece. Having passed this motion Aristeides called the
ambassadors back into the assembly, and bade them tell the
Lacedæmonians that there was not as much gold in the world, either
above or under-ground, as the Athenians would require to tempt them to
betray Greece.

In answer to the herald sent from Mardonius he pointed to the sun, and
said: "As long as yonder sun shall continue its course the Athenians
will be enemies to the Persians, because of their ravaged lands and
desecrated temples." Further, he made the priests imprecate curses on
any one who had dealings with the Persians or deserted the Greek
cause.

When Mardonius invaded Attica a second time, the Athenians again took
refuge in Salamis. Aristeides was sent to Lacedæmon and upbraided the
Spartans with their slowness and indifference, for allowing the enemy
to take Athens a second time, and begged them to help what remained of
Greece. The Ephors, on hearing this, pretended to pass the rest of the
day in feasting and idleness, for it was the festival of the
Hyacinthia; but at nightfall they chose five thousand Spartans, each
attended by seven Helots, and sent them off without the knowledge of
the Athenian embassy. So when Aristeides next day resumed his
reproachful strain, they answered with mocking laughter, that he was
talking nonsense and was asleep, for that the army was by this time at
the tomb of Orestes in its march against the strangers[22] (by
strangers they meant the Persians). To this Aristeides answered that
it was a sorry jest to have deceived their friends instead of their
enemies. These particulars are related by Idomeneus, but in the decree
of Aristeides for sending ambassadors it is not his name, but those of
Kimon, Xanthippus, and Myronides that are mentioned.

XI. He was elected general with unlimited powers, and proceeded to
Platæa with eight thousand Athenians. Here he was met by Pausanias,
the commander-in-chief of the Greek forces, with the Spartan
contingent, and the rest of the Greek troops joined them there. The
Persian army was encamped along the course of the river Asopus. On
account of its enormous size it was not contained in a fortified camp,
but a quadrangular wall was constructed round the baggage and most
valuable material. Each side of this square was ten furlongs in
length.

Tisamenus of Elis, the prophet, now told Pausanias and all the Greeks
that they would win the victory if they stood on the defensive and did
not attack. Aristeides sent to Delphi, and received a response from
the oracle, that the Athenians would conquer if they prayed to Zeus,
to Hera of Kithæron, and to Pan and the nymphs Sphragitides, and if
they sacrificed to the heroes Androkrates, Leukon, Peisander,
Damokrates, Hypsion, Aktaion, and Polyïdus, and if they would fight in
their own territory, in the plain of Demeter of Eleusis and her
daughter.

This oracle greatly disturbed Aristeides. The heroes to whom he was
bidden to sacrifice are the original founders of the city of Platæa,
and the cave of the nymphs called Sphragitides, is on one of the peaks
of Kithæron, looking towards the point where the sun sets in summer.
It is said that there was formerly an oracle there, and that many of
the people became possessed, and were called "nympholeptæ." But as to
the plain of the Eleusinian Demeter, and the promise of victory to the
Athenians if they fought in their own country, this meant no less than
to recall them to Attica and forbid their taking any further part in
the war. Whilst Aristeides was thus perplexed, Arimnestus, the general
of the Platæans, saw a vision in his sleep. In his dreams he thought
that Zeus the Preserver appeared and enquired of him what the Greeks
had decided to do, and that he answered, "Lord, to-morrow we shall
lead away the army to Eleusis, and fight the Persians there, according
to the oracle." Upon this the god answered, that they had missed the
meaning of the oracle, for the places mentioned were near Platæa,
where they themselves were encamped, and if they sought they would
find them. Arimnestus, after this distinct vision, awoke. He at once
sent for the oldest and most learned of the citizens of Platæa, and
after debating the matter with them, discovered that near Hysiæ,
under Mount Kithæron, stood a very ancient temple, dedicated to the
Eleusinian Demeter and her daughter. He immediately took Aristeides
with him and proceeded to the spot, which was excellently placed for
the array of an infantry force in the presence of an overwhelming
cavalry, because the spurs of Mount Kithæron, where they run down into
the plain by the temple, render the ground impassable for cavalry.
Close by is the chapel of the hero Androkrates, in the midst of a
thick matted grove of trees. In order, however, that the oracle might
in no way be defective in its promise of victory, Arimnestus proposed,
and the Platæans decreed, that the boundary marks of their territory
on the side towards Attica should be removed, and the country given to
the Athenians, so that they might fight in their own land for Greece,
according to the oracle. This noble act of the Platæans became so
famous in later times, that, many years afterwards, Alexander the
Great himself, when he had conquered all Asia, caused the walls of
Platæa to be rebuilt, and made proclamation at the Olympian games by a
herald, "that the king bestowed this honour upon the Platæans in
memory of their magnanimous conduct in giving up their territory, and
venturing their lives on behalf of the Greeks in the Persian war."

XII. A controversy arose between the Athenians and the men of Tegea
about their respective places in the line of battle. The Tegeans
argued that if the Lacedæmonians had the right wing, they ought to be
posted on the left; and they spoke at great length about the
achievements of their ancestors, as entitling them to that honour. The
Athenians were vexed at their pretensions, but Aristeides said: "The
present time is not suitable for disputing with the Tegeans about
bravery; but to you, men of Sparta, and to the rest of the Greeks, we
say that a particular post neither confers courage nor takes it away,
but, that in whatever part of the line you may think fit to place us,
we will endeavour so to array our ranks and fight the enemy as not to
impair the honour which we have gained in former battles. We did not
come hither to quarrel with our allies, but to fight the enemy; not to
boast about our ancestors, but to fight bravely for Greece. The
coming struggle will clearly show to all the Greeks the real worth and
value of each city, each general, and each single citizen." When the
council of generals heard this speech, they allowed the claim of the
Athenians, and gave up the left wing to them.

XIII. While the cause of Greece was thus trembling in the balance, and
Athens was especially in danger, certain Athenians of noble birth, who
had lost their former wealth during the war, and with it their
influence in the city, being unable to bear to see others exalted at
their expense, met in secret in a house in Platæa and entered into a
plot to overturn the free constitution of Athens. If they could not
succeed in this, they pledged themselves to ruin, the city and betray
it to the Persians. While these men were plotting in the camp, and
bringing many over to their side, Aristeides discovered the whole
conspiracy. Afraid at such a crisis to take any decisive step, he
determined, while carefully watching the conspirators, yet not at once
to seize them all, not knowing how far he might have to proceed if he
acted according to strict justice. From all the conspirators he
arrested eight. Two of these, who would have been the first to be put
on their trial, Æschines of Lampra, and Agesias of Acharna, made their
escape out of the camp, and Aristeides pardoned the others, as he
wished to give an opportunity to those who believed themselves
unsuspected, to take courage and repent. He also hinted to them that
the war afforded them a means of clearing themselves from any
suspicion of disloyalty by fighting for their country like good men
and true.

XIV. After this, Mardonius made trial of Grecian courage, by sending
the whole of his cavalry, in which he was much the stronger, to attack
them where they were, all except the Megarians, encamped at the foot
of Mount Kithæron, in an easily-defended rocky country. These men,
three thousand in number, were encamped nearer the plain, and suffered
much from the attacks of the horsemen, who surrounded them on all
sides. They sent a messenger in great haste to Pausanias, begging him
to send assistance, as they could not by themselves resist the great
numbers of the barbarians. Pausanias, hearing this, and seeing the
camp of the Megarians overwhelmed with darts and arrows, while the
defenders were huddled together in a narrow compass, knew not what to
do. He did not venture to attack cavalry with the heavy-armed
Lacedæmonian infantry, but offered it as an opportunity for winning
praise and honour, to the generals who were with him, that they should
volunteer to go to help the Megarians in their extremity. All
hesitated, but Aristeides claimed the honour for the Athenians, and
sent the bravest of his captains, Olympiodorus, with three hundred
picked men, besides some archers. As they quickly got into array and
charged at a run, Masistius, the leader of the enemy, a man of great
bodily strength and beauty, seeing them, wheeled round his horse, and
rode to attack them. They sustained his attack and closed with his
horsemen, and a sharp struggle took place, both parties fighting as
though the issue of the war depended on their exertions. The horse of
Masistius was at length wounded by an arrow and threw his rider.
Encumbered by his armour, Masistius was too heavy for his own men to
carry him away, but also was protected by it from the stabs of the
Athenians who fell upon him, for not only his head and breast, but his
limbs also were protected by brass and iron. Some one, however, drove
the spike at the lower end of his spear through the eye-hole of the
helmet, and then the rest of the Persians abandoned the body and fled.
The Greeks discovered the importance of their exploit, not from the
number of the dead, for but few had fallen, but from the lamentations
of the enemy. They cut off their own hair, and the manes of their
horses and mules, in sign of mourning for Masistius, and filled the
whole plain with weeping and wailing, having lost a man who for
courage and high position, was second only to Mardonius himself.

XV. After this cavalry action, both the parties remained quiet for a
long time, for the soothsayers foretold victory both to the Greeks and
to the Persians if they fought in self-defence, but foretold defeat if
they attacked. At length Mardonius, as he only had provisions for a
few days longer, and as the Greek army kept growing stronger by the
continual reinforcements which it received, determined, sorely
against his will, to delay no longer, but to cross the Asopus at
daybreak and fall upon the Greeks unexpectedly. In the evening he gave
orders to his captains to this effect. About midnight a solitary
horseman rode up straight to the Greek camp. He bade the guard send
for Aristeides the Athenian, who was at once brought, when the
stranger spoke as follows:

     "I am Alexander of Macedon, and I have come hither at the
     greatest risk to myself to do you a service, for fear you should
     be taken by surprise. Mardonius will attack to-morrow, not
     because he has any new hope of success, but because he is
     destitute of provisions, although the soothsayers all forbid him
     to fight because the sacrifices and oracles are unfavourable, and
     the army is disheartened. Thus he is forced to put all on a
     venture, or else to starve if he remains quiet." When he had said
     this, Alexander begged Aristeides to keep the secret to himself,
     and communicate it to no one else. Aristeides, however, answered
     that it would not be right for him to conceal it from Pausanias,
     who was commander-in-chief. Before the battle he said that he
     would keep it secret from every one else, but that if Greece was
     victorious, all men then should know the good service so bravely
     rendered by Alexander. After these words the king of Macedon rode
     away, and Aristeides, proceeding to the tent of Pausanias, told
     him the whole matter; they then sent for the other generals, and
     ordered them to keep the troops under arms, as a battle was
     expected.

XVI. At this time, Herodotus tells us, Pausanias asked Aristeides to
remove the Athenians from the left to the right wing, so as to be
opposite to the native Persian troops, on the ground that they would
be better able to contend with them, because they understood their
mode of fighting, and were confident because they had beaten them once
before, while he with the Spartans would take the left wing of the
army, where he would be opposed to those Greeks who had taken the
Persian side. Most of the Athenian generals thought this a silly and
insolent proceeding of Pausanias, that he should leave all the other
Greeks in their place, and march them backwards and forward like
helots, only to place them opposite the bravest troops of the enemy.
Aristeides, however, said that they were entirely mistaken, for a few
days before they had been wrangling with the Tegeans for the honour of
being posted on the left wing, and had been delighted when they
obtained it; but now, when the Lacedæmonians of their own free will
yielded the right wing to them, and in some sort offered them the post
of honour in the whole army, they were not delighted at it, and did
not consider what an advantage it was to have to fight against foreign
barbarians, and not against men of their own race and nation. After
these words, the Athenians cheerfully exchanged places with the
Lacedæmonians, and much talk went on among them as each man reminded
his comrades that the Persians who would come to attack them were no
braver, nor better armed than those whom they had defeated at
Marathon, but that they had the same bows and arrows, the same
embroidered robes and gold ornaments on their effeminate bodies, while
we, they said, have arms and bodies such as we had then, and greater
confidence because of our victories. We also fight, not merely as
other Greeks do, in defence of our city and territory, but for the
trophies of Marathon and Salamis, lest the battle of Marathon should
be thought to have been won more by Miltiades and Fortune, than by the
valour of the Athenians. With such encouraging talk as this the
Athenians took up their new position; but the Thebans discovered what
had been done from deserters and told Mardonius. He at once, either
from fear of the Athenians, or from a chivalrous wish to fight the
Spartans himself, led the native Persian troops to his right wing, and
ordered the renegade Greeks to take ground opposite the Athenians.
When these changes were being observed, Pausanias returned to his
original position on the right. Mardonius then returned to the left as
before, and the day passed without an engagement. The Greeks now
determined in a council of war, to remove their camp to a place
farther away and better supplied with water, because they were
prevented from using the springs near where they were by the enemy's
great superiority in cavalry.

XVII. When night fell the generals began to lead the army to the place
selected for a new camp. The soldiers were very unwilling to follow
them thither and keep together in a body, but as soon as they quitted
their first entrenchments, most of them made for the city of Platæa;
and there was much confusion as they wandered about and pitched their
tents here and there. The Lacedæmonians, much against their will,
chanced to be left behind, and quite separated from the rest. One
Amompharetus, a spirited and daring man, who had long been eager to
fight, and chafed much at the long delays and countermarches which had
taken place, now cried aloud that this change of position was no
better than a cowardly flight. He refused to leave his post, and said
that he and his company would stand where they were, and withstand
Mardonius alone. When Pausanias came and assured him that the Greeks
in council had decided upon this measure, Amompharetus heaved up a
huge stone with both his hands and flinging it down at the feet of
Pausanias, said, "With this pebble I give my vote for battle, and for
disregarding the cowardly counsels of other Greeks." Pausanias, not
knowing what to do, sent to the Athenians, who were already on the
march, begging them to wait and support them, while he set off with
the rest of the Spartans in the direction of Platæa, hoping thus to
make Amompharetus move.

While these movements were being executed day broke, and Mardonius,
who had perceived that the Greeks were leaving their camp, at once
marched in order of battle to attack the Lacedæmonians, the Persians
shouting and clattering their arms as though they were not going to
fight, but to destroy the Greeks as they retreated, which indeed they
very nearly succeeded in doing; for Pausanias, when he saw what was
taking place, halted his own men, and placed them in battle array, but
either because of his anger at Amompharetus, or his excitement at the
suddenness of the attack, forgot to send any orders to the main body
of the Greeks.

For this reason they came up not in a regular body, but straggling,
and after the Lacedæmonians wore already engaged. Pausanias was busy
sacrificing to the gods, and as the sacrifices were unfavourable, he
ordered the Lacedæmonians to hold their shields quietly rested on the
ground at their feet and await his orders, without attempting any
resistance, while he sacrificed again. The enemy's cavalry was now
close at hand, their arrows reached the Lacedæmonians and killed
several of them. It was at this moment that Kallikrates, the tallest
and handsomest man in the whole Greek army, is said to have been
mortally wounded by an arrow. When dying, he said that he did not
lament his death, for he left his home meaning to lay down his life
for Greece, but that he was grieved that he had never exchanged blows
with the enemy before he died. At this time the Lacedæmonians were
offering no resistance to the assaults of the enemy, but were standing
still in their ranks, shot at by the arrows of the enemy, awaiting the
time when it should be the will of the gods and their general that
they should fight. Some writers tell us that while Pausanias was
offering sacrifice and prayer a little beyond the ranks, some Lydians
suddenly fell upon him, and began to plunder the sacrificial vessels,
but that Pausanias, and those with him, having no arms, drove them
away with sticks and whips; in memory of which they beat young men on
the altar at Sparta at the present day, and afterwards lead what is
called the Lydian procession.

XVIII. Pausanias was deeply grieved at what was taking place, seeing
the priests offering sacrifice after sacrifice, not one of which
pleased the gods; at last he turned his eyes towards the temple of
Hera and wept. Holding up his hands he besought Hera of Mount Kithæron
and all the other gods of the land of Platæa that if it were not the
will of the gods that the Greeks should conquer, they might at any
rate do some valorous deed before they died, and let their conquerors
know that they had fought with brave and experienced warriors. When
Pausanias prayed thus, the sacrifices at once became favourable and
the soothsayers prophesied victory. The word was given to sot
themselves in order of battle, and then at once the Lacedæmonian force
resembled some fierce beast turning to bay and setting up his
bristles, while the barbarians saw that they had to deal with men who
were prepared to fight to the death. Wherefore they set up their great
wicker shields in front of them, and from this shelter shot their
arrows at the Lacedæmonians. But the latter advanced without breaking
their ranks, overturned the line of wicker shields, and with, terrible
thrusts of their spears at the faces and breasts of the Persians, laid
many of them low by their fierce and well-disciplined charge. The
Persians too fought bravely, and resisted for a long while, laying
hold of the spears with their bare hands and breaking most of them in
that manner, fighting hand to hand, with their scimitars and axes, and
tearing the Lacedæmonians' shields out of their hands by force.

Meanwhile the Athenians had for a long time stood quietly awaiting the
Lacedæmonians. When, however, they heard the shouting and noise of the
battle, and a messenger, it is said, reached them from Pausanias, they
marched with all speed to help him. As they were hurrying over the
plain to where the shouts were heard, the Greeks who had taken the
Persian side attacked them. At first when Aristeides saw them, he ran
out far before the rest and besought them in a loud voice in the name
of the gods of Greece not to hinder the Athenians when they were going
to assist those who were venturing their lives on behalf of Greece.
But when he saw that they took no notice of his appeal, he no longer
attempted to help the Lacedæmonians, but attacked these troops, who
numbered about fifty thousand. Of these the greater part gave way at
once and retreated, because they saw their barbarian allies
retreating, but a fierce battle is said to have raged where the
Thebans were, because the best and noblest men of that state had
eagerly taken the Persian side from the beginning, while the common
people followed them, not of their free will, but being accustomed to
obey the nobles.

XIX. Thus was the battle divided into two parts. The Lacedæmonians
were the first to rout the Persians. A Spartan, named Arimnestus,
killed Mardonius by a blow on the head with a stone, as the oracle in
the temple of Amphiaraus had foretold to him. For Mardonius sent a
Lydian thither, and another man, a Karian, to the oracle in the cave
of Trophonius. This latter was spoken to in the Karian language by the
prophet, but the other slept in the sacred enclosure round the temple
of Amphiaraus, and in his dreams saw a servant of the god standing
beside him and bidding him begone. When he refused to go, the figure
cast a great stone at his head, so that he dreamed that he died of the
stroke. This is the story which is told of Mardonius. The Persian
fugitives were now driven to take shelter within their wooden
fortification. Shortly after these events took place, the Athenians
defeated the Thebans, who lost three hundred of their noblest citizens
in that battle. After this there came a messenger to them, telling
them that the Persians were being besieged in their fortified camp.
Hearing this, the Athenians allowed the renegade Greeks to escape, and
marched at once to the assault of the camp. Here they found the
Lacedæmonians, who were not pressing the enemy, because they had no
experience in sieges and attacks on fortified places. The Athenians
forced their way in and took the camp with an immense slaughter of the
enemy. It is said that out of three hundred thousand only forty
thousand under Artabazus escaped. On the side of the Greeks fell only
thirteen hundred and sixty men. Of these there were fifty-two
Athenians of the Aiantid tribe,[23] which, we are told by Kleidemus,
distinguished itself beyond all others on that day. For this reason,
the Aiantid tribe offered the sacrifice to the nymphs Sphragitides,
ordered by the oracle for the victory, at the public expense. Of the
Lacedæmonians, there fell ninety-one, and of the Tegeans sixteen. It
is hard, therefore, to understand Herodotus when he says that these
alone came to blows with the enemy, and that no other Greeks were
engaged at all; for both the number of the slain and the tombs of the
fallen prove that the victory was won by all the Greeks together. If
only three cities had fought, and the rest had done nothing, they
never would have inscribed on the altar:

    "The Greeks in battle drove the Persian forth
     By force of arms, and bravely Greece set free,
     To Zeus Protector they this altar reared,
     Where all might thank him for their victory."

This battle was fought on the day of the month Boedromion, according
to the Athenian calendar; and on the twenty-sixth of the month Panemus
according to that of the Bœotians, on which day the Hellenic meeting
still takes place at Platæa, and sacrifice is offered to Zeus, the
Protector of Liberty, in memory of this victory. The discrepancy of
the dates is no marvel, seeing that even at the present day, when
astronomy is more accurately understood, different cities still begin
and end their months on different days.

XX. After the battle, as the Athenians would not assign the prize of
valour[24] to the Lacedæmonians, nor suffer them to set up a trophy,
the common cause of Greece was within a little of being ruined by the
quarrels of the two armies, had not Aristeides by argument and
entreaty prevailed upon his colleagues, especially Leokrates and
Myronides, to submit the dispute to the decision of all the Greeks.
Upon this a council was held, at which Theogeiton of Megara said that
the prize for valour ought to be given to another city, and not either
to Athens or Sparta, if they did not wish to bring about a civil war.
To this Kleokritus of Corinth made answer. All men expected that he
would demand the honour for Corinth, which city had acquitted itself
best, next to Athens and Sparta; but he made a very excellent and
conciliatory speech, demanding that the prize should be bestowed on
the Platæans, by which means neither of the claimants would be
aggrieved. This proposal was agreed to by Aristeides on behalf of the
Athenians, and by Pausanias on behalf of the Lacedæmonians. Having
thus settled their differences, they set apart from the plunder eighty
talents for the Platæans, with which they built the temple of Athena,
and the shrine, and also decorated the temple with paintings, which
even to this present day retain their lustre. The Lacedæmonians set up
a trophy for themselves, and the Athenians another one apart. When
they enquired at Delphi what sacrifice was to be offered, the oracle
bade them set up an altar to Zeus the Protector of the Free, and not
to sacrifice upon it until they had first put out all fires throughout
the country, because it had been defiled by the presence of the
barbarian, and had then fetched a new fire pure from pollution, from
the hearth at Delphi, which is common to all Greece. The chiefs of the
Greeks at once proceeded throughout the Platæan territory, forcing
every one to extinguish his fire, even in the case of funeral piles,
while Euchidas of Platæa, who promised that he would fetch fire as
quickly as possible, proceeded to Delphi. There he purified his body,
and having been besprinkled with holy water and crowned with laurel,
took fire from the altar, set off running back to Platæa, and arrived
there about sunset, having run a distance of a hundred and twenty-five
miles in one day. He embraced his fellow citizens, handed the fire to
them, fell down, and in a few moments died. The Platæans, to show
their admiration of him, buried him in the temple of Artemis Eukleia,
with this inscription on his tomb:

"Euchidas ran to Delphi and back again in one day."

As for Eukleia, most persons believe her to be Artemis, and worship
her as that goddess; but some say that she was a daughter of Herakles
and Myrto, the daughter of Menœtius, who was the sister of Patroklus,
and who, dying a virgin, is worshipped by the Bœotians and Lokrians.
An altar and image of her stands in every market-place in these
countries, and those who are about to marry, sacrifice to her.

XXI. After this Aristeides proposed at a general assembly of all the
Greeks, that all the cities of Greece should every year send deputies
and religious representatives to the city of Platæa, and that every
fifth year Eleutheria, or a festival in honour of Freedom, should be
celebrated there. Also he proposed that there should be a general levy
throughout Greece, for the war against the Persians, of ten thousand
heavy armed troops, a thousand horse, and a hundred ships of war; and
that the Platæans should be held inviolable, and consecrated to the
service of the gods, to whom they offered sacrifice on behalf of all
Greece. These things were ratified, and the people of Platæa undertook
to make yearly sacrifices in honour of those who had fallen fighting
for Greece, and whose bodies were buried there. This they perform
even at the present day in the following fashion. On the sixteenth day
of the month Maimakterion, which in the Bœotian calendar is called
Alalkomenius, they make a procession headed by a trumpeter sounding
the charge. After him follow waggons full of myrtle and garlands of
flowers, a black bull, libations of wine and milk in jars, and
earthenware vessels full of oil and perfume. These are carried by
young men of noble birth, for no slave is allowed to take any part in
the proceedings, because the men in whose honour the sacrifice is
made, died fighting for liberty. Last of all comes the chief
magistrate of Platæa, who, during the rest of his term of office, is
not allowed to touch iron, or to wear clothes of any colour but white.
On this day, however, he wears a scarlet tunic, takes an urn[25] from
the public record office in one hand, and a sword in the other, and
proceeds through the middle of the city to the sepulchres. There he
with his own hands draws water from the well, washes the head-stones
of the graves, and anoints them with oil. After this he cuts the
throat of the bull, places his bones on a funeral pile, and with
prayer to Zeus, and Hermes who conducts men's souls into the nether
world, he calls on the brave men who died for Greece, to come to the
feast and drink the libations of blood. Next he mixes a large bowl of
wine and water, pours out a cup for himself, and says, "I drink to
those who died in defence of the freedom of Greece." This custom is
observed even to this day by the Platæans.

XXII. After the return of the Athenians to their own city, Aristeides
observed that they desired to adopt a democratic form of government.
As he considered that the people had by their bravery deserved a share
in the management of affairs, and likewise thought that it would be
hard to turn them from their purpose as they had arms in their hands,
and were confident in their strength because of the victories which
they had won, he carried a decree that every citizen should have a
share in the government, and that the archons should be chosen out of
the whole body of Athenians.

When Themistokles told the Athenian assembly that he had in his mind a
proposition most valuable to the state, which nevertheless could not
be openly discussed, the people bade Aristeides alone listen to what
it was and give his opinion upon it. Then Themistokles told
Aristeides, that he meditated burning the entire fleet of the Greeks,
as they lay drawn up on the beach, as by this means Athens would
become the greatest state in Greece, and mistress of all the others.
Aristeides, on hearing this, came forward to the assembly and said
that the proposal of Themistokles, although most advantageous, was yet
most wicked and unjust. When the people heard this, they forbade
Themistokles to prosecute his design. So highly did the Athenians
prize justice, and so well and faithfully did Aristeides serve them.

XXIII. Being sent as general, with Kimon as his colleague, to the war
with Persia, he perceived that Pausanias and the other Spartan
generals were harsh and insolent to their allies; and he himself, by
treating them with kindness and consideration, aided by the gentle and
kindly temper shown by Kimon in the campaign, gradually obtained
supreme authority over them, not having won it by arms or fleets, but
by courtesy and wise policy. The Athenians, already beloved by the
Greeks, on account of the justice of Aristeides and the kindliness of
Kimon, were much more endeared to them by the insolent brutality of
Pausanias, who always spoke roughly and angrily to the chiefs of the
various contingents of allies, and used to punish the common men by
stripes, or by forcing them to stand all day with a heavy iron anchor
on their shoulders. No one was permitted to obtain straw or forage for
their horses, or to draw water from a well before the Spartans had
helped themselves, and servants were placed with whips to drive away
any who attempted to do so. Aristeides once endeavoured to complain of
this to Pausanias, but he knitting his brows, rudely told him that he
was not at leisure, and took no notice of his words. At this the
generals and admirals of the Greek states, especially those from
Chios, Samos, and Lesbos, besought Aristeides to make himself
commander-in-chief, and rally round him all the allied cities, who had
long desired to get rid of the Spartan supremacy and to take the side
of Athens. He answered that he admitted the justice and even the
necessity of their proposals, but that they must prove themselves to
be in earnest by some act which would make it impossible for the great
body of them to draw back. Upon this, Ouliades of Samos, and Antagoras
of Chios conspired together, and off Byzantium, they ran on board of
the ship of Pausanias, which was sailing before the rest. He on seeing
this, rose up in a rage and threatened that in a short time he would
let them know that they had not endangered his ship, but their own
native cities. They in answer bade him go his way and be thankful for
the victory at Platæa won under his command, for that it was which
alone restrained the Greeks from dealing with him as he deserved.
Finally they left him, and sailed away to join the Athenian ships. On
this occasion the magnanimous conduct of the Lacedæmonians deserves
high praise. When they perceived that the heads of their generals were
being turned by the greatness of their power, they of their own accord
withdrew from the supreme power, and no longer sent any generals to
the wars, choosing rather to have moderate citizens who would abide by
their laws at home, than to bear rule over the whole of Greece.

Even while the Lacedæmonians remained in command, the Greeks paid a
certain contribution to pay the expenses of the war; and as they
wished each city to be assessed to pay a reasonable sum, they asked
the Athenians to appoint Aristeides to visit each city, learn the
extent of its territory and revenues, and fix upon the amount which
each was capable of contributing according to its means. Although he
was in possession of such a power as this--the whole of Greece having
as it were given itself up to be dealt with at his discretion--yet he
laid down his office a poorer man than when he accepted it, but having
completed his assessment to the satisfaction of all. As the ancients
used to tell of the blessedness of the golden age, even so did the
states of Greece honour the assessment made by Aristeides, calling the
time when it was made, fortunate and blessed for Greece, especially
when no long time afterwards it was doubled, and subsequently trebled.
The money which Aristeides proposed to raise amounted to four hundred
and sixty talents; to which Perikles added nearly a third part, for
Thucydides tells us that at the commencement of the Peloponnesian war,
the Athenians received six hundred talents a year from their allies.
After the death of Perikles, the popular orators gradually raised the
sum total to thirteen hundred talents. It was not so much that the
money was required for the expenses of a long and costly war, as that
these men had accustomed the people to largesses of money, dramatic
representations, and the erection of statues and temples. Themistokles
was the only man who had sneered at the great reputation which
Aristeides had won by his assessment of the Greek states, saying that
the praise which was lavished on him was not suitable to a man, but to
a chest which kept money safe. This he said as a retort to a saying of
Aristeides, who once, when Themistokles said that he thought it the
most valuable quality for a general to be able to divine beforehand
what the enemy would do, answered, "That, Themistokles, is very true,
but it is also the part of an honourable general to keep his hands
clean."

XXV. Aristeides, moreover, bound all the Greeks by an oath to keep the
league against the Persians, and himself swore on behalf of Athens,
throwing wedges of red hot iron into the sea after the oath was taken,
and praying that the gods might so deal with those that broke their
faith. But afterwards, when circumstances forced the Athenians to
govern with a stronger hand, he bade the Athenians act as they
pleased, for he would take upon himself any guilt of perjury which
they might incur. And throughout his life Theophrastus observes that
Aristeides, though scrupulously just in his dealings with his
fellow-citizens, yet sometimes in dealing with other states was guided
rather by advantage than by equity. For instance, when the Athenians
were debating a proposal of the Samians, that the treasure of the
league should be removed from Delos to Athens, a thing distinctly
contrary to the articles of the alliance, Aristeides said that it was
not just, but that it was expedient to do so. He himself, at the end
of his life, after raising his city to be the ruler of so many people,
remained in his original poverty, and took no less pride in his
poverty than in the victories which he had won. This is proved by the
following anecdote. Kallias, the torch-bearer in the Eleusinian
mysteries, a relation of his, was being prosecuted on a capital charge
by his private enemies. After speaking with great moderation upon the
subject of the indictment, they used the following argument to the
jury: "Gentlemen, you all know Aristeides the son of Lysimachus, whose
name is renowned throughout Greece. How think you that man fares at
home, when you see him appearing in public with such a worn-out cloak?
May we not suppose when we see him shivering out of doors, that he has
but little to eat at home, and is in want of common necessaries? Yet
Kallias, the richest man in Athens, allows this man, who is his own
cousin, to be in want, he and his wife and children, though he has
often benefited by him and profited by his influence with you."
Kallias, perceiving that the jury were especially wrought upon by this
appeal and that it was likely to tell against him, called Aristeides
into the court, and begged of him to bear witness to the jury that
although he had often offered him money and begged him to accept it he
had always refused, answering that he prided himself more upon his
poverty than Kallias did upon his wealth; for one may see many persons
making both a good and a bad use of riches, but it is hard to meet
with a man who bears poverty with honour. Those only should be ashamed
of poverty who are poor against their wills. When Aristeides bore
witness to the truth of this, on behalf of Kallias, there was no one
who heard him but left the court wishing rather to be poor like
Aristeides than rich like Kallias. This story is preserved by
Æschines, the companion of Sokrates.

Plato considers that this man alone, of all the great men of Athens,
is worthy of mention by him. Themistokles, and Kimon, and Perikles,
did indeed fill the city with public buildings, and money, and folly,
but Aristeides in his political acts cared for nothing but virtue.
One great proof of this is his kindly treatment of Themistokles.
Though this man was his enemy throughout, and was the cause of his
banishment by ostracism, yet when Themistokles gave him an opportunity
of revenging himself in a similar manner he never remembered the
injuries which he had received at his hands, but while Kimon, and
Alkmæon, and many others, were endeavouring to drive him into exile
and bringing all kinds of accusations against him, Aristeides alone
never did or said anything against him, and did not rejoice over the
spectacle of his enemy's ruin, just as he never envied his previous
prosperity.

XXVI. Some writers say that Aristeides died in Pontus, to which
country he had been sent on matters of state: while others say that he
died of old age at Athens, respected and honoured by all his
countrymen there. Kraterus of Macedonia tells us the following
particulars about his end. After Themistokles went into exile the
common people grew insolent and produced a numerous brood of
informers, who constantly assailed the noblest and most powerful
citizens through envy of their prosperity and influence. One of these
men, Diophantus of Amphitrope by name, obtained a verdict against
Aristeides on a charge of receiving bribes. It was stated that when he
was regulating the assessment of the Ionians he received money from
them to tax them more lightly. As he was unable to pay the fine of
fifty minæ, which the court laid upon him, he left Athens and died
somewhere in Ionia. But Kraterus offers no documentary evidence of
this, neither of the sentence of his condemnation nor the decree of
the people, although in general it is his habit to quote his authority
for statements of this kind. And almost all others who have spoken of
the harsh treatment of generals by the people mention the banishment
of Themistokles, the imprisonment of Miltiades, the fine imposed on
Perikles, and the suicide of Paches in court when sentence was
pronounced against him, but although they speak of the banishment of
Aristeides, they never allude to this trial and sentence upon him.

XXVII. Moreover, there is his tomb at Phalerum, which is said to have
been constructed at the public expense, because he did not leave
enough money to defray his funeral expenses. It is also related that
his daughters were publicly married at the charges of the state, which
provided them each with a dowry of three thousand drachmas. At the
instance of Alkibiades, his son Lysimachus was also presented with a
hundred silver mines, and as many acres of planted land, and in
addition to this, an allowance of four drachmas a day. Kallisthenes
also tells us that this Lysimachus leaving a daughter named Polykrite,
she was assigned by the Athenians the same daily allowance of food as
is bestowed upon the victors in the Olympian games. But Demetrius of
Phalerum, Hieronymus of Rhodes, Aristoxenus the musician, and
Aristotle, (if we are to believe the 'Treatise on Nobility' to be a
genuine work of his) say, that Myrto, the granddaughter of Aristeides,
lived in the house of Sokrates the philosopher, who was indeed married
to another woman, but who took her into his house because she was a
widow and destitute of the necessaries of life. These authors are
sufficiently confuted by Panætius in his writings on Sokrates.
Demetrius of Phalerum says, in his book about Sokrates, that he knew
one Lysimachus, a very poor man, who dwelt near the Temple of Iacchus
and made his living by the interpretation of dreams. Demetrius further
states that he carried a bill before the Assembly by which this man's
mother and sister were provided with a pension of three obols daily at
the public expense. Demetrius, however, when himself a legislator,
appointed that each of these women should receive a drachma instead of
three obols a day. And we need not wonder at the people taking such
care of the resident citizens, when we read that, hearing that the
granddaughter of Aristogeiton was living in poverty at Lemnos, so poor
that no one would marry her, they brought her back to Athens, gave her
in marriage to a man of high birth, and bestowed upon her a farm at
Potamus for a marriage portion. The city of Athens has shown many
instances of this kindness and goodness of heart even down to our
times, and is justly praised and admired for it.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 17: The Attic _medimnus_ contained 12 imperial gallons, or
1½ bushels.]

[Footnote 18: A circular or cyclic chorus was strictly one which
danced and sang round an altar, but especially refers to the
dithyrambic choruses appropriated to Bacchus.]

[Footnote 19: The _barathrum_ at Athens was a deep pit, with hooks on
the sides, into which criminals were cast.]

[Footnote 20: Alluding to the letter which he had sent to Xerxes. See
'Life of Themistokles.']

[Footnote 21: See 'Life of Themistokles.']

[Footnote 22: So in Latin "hostis" originally meant both a stranger
and an enemy.]

[Footnote 23: These men traced their descent to the Homeric Ajax.]

[Footnote 24: This was always given before the equal division of the
plunder took place. _Cf_. Virg. Æn. IX. 268, _sqq_.]

[Footnote 25: Whether a cinerary urn for the ashes of the dead, or a
water-pot for drawing water is meant, I am unable to determine. Clough
takes the latter meaning, which is borne out by the context. On the
other hand the Greek word is used by Plutarch ('Life of Philopœmen,'
ch. xxi) in the sense of an urn to contain the ashes of the dead.]




LIFE OF MARCUS CATO.


I. Marcus Cato is said to have been born at Tusculum, but to have been
brought up and spent his time upon a farm belonging to his father in
the Sabine territory, before he began to take part in war or politics.
We know nothing of his ancestry, except that he himself tells us that
his father, Marcus, was a good man and brave soldier, and that his
grandfather, Cato, received several military rewards for his services,
and that having had five horses killed under him, he received the
value of them from the public treasury, as an acknowledgment of his
gallantry.

It was the Roman custom to call those who had no ancestry to recommend
them, but who rose by their own merits, _new_ men. This name was
applied to Cato, who said that he was indeed new to honours and posts
of importance, but that, in respect of his brave and virtuous
ancestry, he was a man of ancient family. His third name originally
was not Cato, but Priscus, and was changed to Cato on account of his
wisdom, for in Latin _catus_ means "clever." In appearance he was
rather red-haired, and grey-eyed, peculiarities which are
ill-naturedly dwelt upon by the writer of the epigram--

    "Red-haired, grey-eyed, and savage-tusked as well,
    Porcius will find no welcome e'en in hell."

Accustomed as he was to hard exercise, temperate living, and frequent
campaigns, his body was always both healthy and strong; while he also
practised the power of speech, thinking it a necessary instrument for
a man who does not intend to live an obscure and inactive life. He
consequently improved his talents in this respect by pleading causes
in the neighbouring villages and towns, so that he was soon admitted
to be a capable speaker, and afterwards to be a good orator. From this
time all who conversed with him perceived a gravity and wisdom in his
mind which qualified him to undertake the most important duties of a
statesman. Not only was he so disinterested as to plead without
receiving money from his clients, but he also did not think the glory
which he gained in these contests to be that after which a man ought
to strive, in comparison with that which is gained in battle and
campaigns, in which he was so eager to distinguish himself that when
quite a lad his body was covered with wounds, all in front. He himself
tells us that he made his first campaign at the age of seventeen, when
Hannibal was ranging through Italy uncontrolled. In battle he was
prompt, stedfast, and undismayed, and was wont to address the enemy
with threats and rough language, and to encourage the others to do so,
as he rightly pointed out that this often cows the enemy's spirit as
effectually as blows. When on the march he used to carry his own arms,
and be followed by one servant who carried his provisions. It is said
that he never spoke harshly to this man, no matter what food he placed
before him, but that he would often help him to do his work when he
was at leisure from military duty. He drank only water when
campaigning, except that when suffering from parching thirst he would
ask for some vinegar, and sometimes when his strength fairly failed he
would drink a little wine.

II. Near his estate was a cottage which had once belonged to Manius
Curius, who three times received the honour of a triumph. Cato used
frequently to walk over and look at this cottage, and, as he observed
the smallness of the plot of ground attached to it, and the simplicity
of the dwelling itself, he would reflect upon how Curius, after having
made himself the first man in Rome, after conquering the most warlike
nations, and driving King Pyrrhus out of Italy, used to dig this
little plot of ground with his own hands, and dwelt in this little
cottage, after having thrice triumphed. It was there that the
ambassadors of the Samnites found him sitting by the hearth, cooking
turnips, and offered him much gold; but he sent them away, saying,
"that a man who was contented with such a supper, had no need of
gold, and that it was more honourable for him to conquer those who
possessed gold, than to possess it himself." Cato, after leaving the
cottage, full of these memories, returned to his own house and farm,
and after viewing its extent and the number of slaves upon it, he
increased the amount of his own daily labour, and retrenched his
superfluous expenses.

When Fabius Maximus took the city of Tarentum, Cato, who was a very
young lad at the time, was serving in his army. He became intimate
there with one Nearchus, a philosopher of the Pythagorean school, and
listened with much interest to his discourses. Hearing this man, like
Plato, describe pleasure as the greatest temptation to evil, and the
body as the chief hindrance to the soul, which can only free and
purify itself by such a course of reasoning as removes it from and
sets it above all bodily passions and feelings, he was yet more
encouraged in his love of simplicity and frugality. In other respects
he is said to have studied Hellenic literature late in life, and not
to have read Greek books till extreme old age, when he greatly
improved his style of oratory, partly by the study of Thucydides, but
chiefly by that of Demosthenes. Be this as it may, his writings are
full of Greek ideas and Greek anecdotes: and many of his apophthegms
and maxims are literally translated from the Greek.

III. The estate adjoining that of Cato belonged to one of the most
powerful and highly born patricians of Rome, Valerius Flaccus, a man
who had a keen eye for rising merit, and generously fostered it until
it received public recognition. This man heard accounts of Cato's life
from his servants, how he would proceed to the court early in the
morning, and plead the causes of all who required his services, and
then on returning to his farm would work with his servants, in winter
wearing a coarse coat without sleeves, in summer nothing but his
tunic, and how he used to sit at meals with his servants, eating the
same loaf and drinking the same wine. Many other stories of his
goodness and simplicity and sententious remarks were related to
Valerius, who became interested in his neighbour, and invited him to
dinner. They became intimate, and Valerius, observing his quiet and
ingenuous disposition, like a plant that requires careful treatment
and an extensive space in which to develop itself, encouraged and
urged him to take part in the political life of Rome. On going to Rome
he at once gained admirers and friends by his able pleadings in the
law courts, while he obtained considerable preferment by the interest
of Valerius, being appointed first military tribune, and then quæstor.
After this he became so distinguished a man as to be able to compete
with Valerius himself for the highest offices in the state, and they
were elected together, first as consuls, and afterwards as censors. Of
the older Romans, Cato attached himself particularly to Fabius
Maximus, a man of the greatest renown and power, although it was his
disposition and mode of life which Cato especially desired to imitate.
Wherefore he did not hesitate to oppose Scipio the Great, who was then
a young man, but a rival and opponent of Fabius. Cato was appointed to
act as his quæstor in the war in Africa, and on perceiving that Scipio
was living with his usual lavish expenditure, and supplying his
soldiery with extravagant pay, he sharply rebuked him, saying, "that
it was not the waste of the public money that vexed him so much as the
ruin of the old frugal habits of the soldiers, who were led to indulge
in pleasure and luxury by receiving more pay than was necessary to
supply their daily wants." When Scipio answered that he did not
require an economist for his quæstor, at a time when he was preparing
to wage war on a grand scale, and reminded him that he would have to
give an account to the Roman people of battles won, not of money
expended, Cato left the army of Scipio, which was then being assembled
in Sicily. He proceeded at once to Rome, and by adding his voice to
that of Fabius in the Senate, in blame of Scipio's unspeakable waste
of money, and his childish and unsoldierly love of the public
games[26] and the theatre, conduct more worthy of the president of a
public festival than of the commander-in-chief of an army, prevailed
upon the people to send tribunes to enquire into the charges against
him, and if they proved true, to bring him back to Rome. When they
arrived in Sicily, however, Scipio pointed out to them that the
preparations which he had made would ensure him the victory, and that
although he loved pleasant society in his hours of leisure, yet that
he had never allowed his pleasures to interfere with his serious
duties. The tribunes were perfectly satisfied with this explanation,
and Scipio sailed for Africa.

IV. Cato, however, gained considerable credit by his speeches on this
occasion, and the Romans generally called him the new Demosthenes; yet
his manner of life was more admired than his eloquence. Cleverness of
speech was a quality which nearly all the young men of the time sought
to attain, but Cato was singular in his keeping up the severe
traditions of his ancestors in labouring with his own hands, eating a
simple dinner, lighting no fire to cook his breakfast, wearing a plain
dress, living in a mean house, and neither coveting superfluities nor
courting their possessors. The Romans were at this period extending
their empire so much as to lose much of their own original simplicity
of living, as each new conquest brought them into contact with foreign
customs and new modes of life. They therefore naturally looked with
admiration upon Cato, observing that while they became enervated by
pleasures and broke down under labours, he on the other hand seemed
unaffected by either, and that too, not only while he was young and
eager for fame: but even when he was an old grey-headed man, after he
had been consul and had triumphed, he yet, like a victorious athlete,
still kept himself in training, and never relaxed his severe
discipline. He himself tells us that he never wore a garment worth
more than a hundred drachmas, that when he was general and consul he
still drank the same wine as his servants, that his dinner never cost
him more than thirty ases in the market, and that he only indulged
himself to this extent for the good of the state, that he might be
strong and able to serve his country in the field. When he was left a
piece of Babylonian tapestry he at once disposed of it; none of his
rooms were whitewashed, and he never bought a slave for more than
fifteen hundred drachmas, seeing that he required, not effeminate and
handsome servants, but hardworking and strong men, to tend his horses
and herd his cattle: and these, too, when they grew old and past work
he thought it best to sell, and not feed them at his expense when they
were useless. His rule was that nothing is cheap which one does not
want, but that superfluities are dearly purchased even if they cost
but one penny: and that it is better to buy land which can be
ploughed, or where cattle can graze, than beds of flowers which
require watering, and paths which have to be swept and kept in order.

V. These habits some ascribed to narrowness of mind, while others
thought that he carried parsimony and avarice to excess in himself in
order by his example to reform and restrain others. Be this as it may,
I for my own part consider that his conduct in treating his slaves
like beasts of burden, and selling them when old and worn out, is the
mark of an excessively harsh disposition, which disregards the claims
of our common human nature, and merely considers the question of
profit and loss. Kindness, indeed, is of wider application than mere
justice; for we naturally treat men alone according to justice and the
laws, while kindness and gratitude, as though from a plenteous spring,
often extend even to irrational animals. It is right for a good man to
feed horses which have been worn out in his service, and not merely to
train dogs when they are young, but to take care of them when they are
old. When the Athenian people built the Parthenon, they set free the
mules which had done the hardest work in drawing the stones up to the
acropolis, and let them graze where they pleased unmolested. It is
said that one of them came of its own accord to where the works were
going on, and used to walk up to the acropolis with the beasts who
were drawing up their loads, as if to encourage them and show them the
way. This mule was, by a decree of the people of Athens, maintained at
the public expense for the rest of its life. The racehorses of Kimon
also, who won an Olympic victory, are buried close to the monument of
their master. Many persons, too, have made friends and companions of
dogs, as did Xanthippus in old times, whose dog swam all the way to
Salamis beside his master's ship when the Athenians left their city,
and which he buried on the promontory which to this day is called the
Dog's Tomb.[27] We ought not to treat living things as we do our
clothes and our shoes, and throw them away after we have worn them
out; but we ought to accustom ourselves to show kindness in these
cases, if only in order to teach ourselves our duty towards one
another. For my own part I would not even sell an ox that had laboured
for me because he was old, much less would I turn an old man out of
his accustomed haunts and mode of life, which is as great an
affliction to him as sending him into a foreign land, merely that I
might gain a few miserable coins by selling one who must be as useless
to his buyer as he was to his seller.

Cato, however, as if taking a perverse pleasure in flaunting his
meannesses, relates that he left behind him in Spain the horse which
he rode when consul there, in order to save the state the cost of
carrying him over to Italy. Whether those acts of his are to be
ascribed to magnanimity or narrow-mindedness the reader must decide
for himself.

VI. He was a man of wonderful temperance, in all other respects also.
For example, when he was general, he only drew from the public stock
three Attic bushels of wheat a month for himself and his servants, and
less than three half-bushels of barley a day for his horses. When he
was Governor of Sardinia, where former governors had been in the habit
of charging their tents, bedding, and wearing-apparel to the province,
and likewise making it pay large sums for their entertainment and that
of their friends, he introduced an unheard-of system of economy. He
charged nothing to the province, and visited the various cities
without a carriage, walking on foot alone, attended by one single
public servant carrying his robe of state and the vessel to make
libations at a sacrifice. With all this he showed himself so affable
and simple to those under his rule, so severe and inexorable in the
administration of justice, and so vigilant and careful in seeing that
his orders were duly executed, that the government of Rome never was
more feared or more loved in Sardinia than when he governed that
island.

VII. His conversation seems also to have had this character, for he
was cheerful and harsh all at once, pleasant and yet severe as a
companion, fond of jokes, but morose at the same time, just as Plato
tells us that Sokrates, if judged merely from his outside, appeared to
be only a silly man with a face like a satyr, who was rude to all he
met, though his inner nature was earnest and full of thoughts that
moved his hearers to tears and touched their hearts. For this reason I
cannot understand how any persons can see a likeness between the
orations of Lysias and those of Cato; however, this point must be
decided by those who are more skilled than myself in the comparison of
oratorical styles. I shall now relate a few of his more remarkable
sayings, believing that a man's real character can be better judged of
by his words than by his looks, although some people hold the contrary
opinion.

VIII. Once when he wished to restrain the Romans from distributing a
large quantity of corn as a largesse to the people, he began his
speech: "It is difficult, my fellow-citizens, to make the stomach hear
reason, because it has no ears." When desiring to blame the
extravagance of the Romans, he said that a city could not be safe in
which a fish sold dearer than an ox. He said, too, that the Romans
were like sheep, who never form opinions of their own, but follow
where the others lead them. "Just so," said he, "when you are
assembled together you are led by men whose advice you would scorn to
take about your own private affairs." With regard to female influence
he once said, "All mankind rule their wives, we rule all mankind, and
we are ruled by our wives." This remark, however, is borrowed from
Themistokles. He one day, when his child was instigating its mother to
lay many commands upon him, said, "Wife, remember that the Athenians
rule the Greeks, I rule the Athenians, you rule me, and your child
rules you; wherefore let him not abuse his power, which, though he
knows it not, is greater than that of anyone else in Greece." Cato
also said that the Romans fixed the price, not only of different dyes,
but of different professions. "Just as the dyers," said he, "dye stuff
of whatever colour they see people pleased with, so do our young men
only study and apply themselves to those subjects which are praised
and commended by you." He used also to beg of them, if they had become
great by virtue and self-restraint, not to degenerate; and if, on the
other hand, their empire had been won by licentiousness and vice, to
reform themselves, since by the latter means they had become so great
as not to need any further assistance from them. Those who were always
seeking office, he said, were like men who could not find their way,
who always wished to walk with lictors[28] before them to show them
the road. He blamed his countrymen for often electing the same men to
public offices. "You will appear," said he, "either to think that the
office is not worth much, or else that there are not many worthy to
fill it." Alluding to one of his enemies who led a dissolute and
discreditable life, he said: "That man's mother takes it as a curse
rather than a blessing if any one hopes that her son will survive
her." When a certain man sold his ancestral estate, which was situated
by the seashore, Cato pretended to admire him, as being more powerful
than the sea itself, "for this man," said he, has "drunk up the fields
which the sea itself could not swallow." When King Eumenes came to
Rome the Senate received him with special honours, and he was much
courted and run after. Cato, however, held himself aloof and would not
go near him, and when some one said "Yet he is an excellent man, and a
good friend to Rome," he answered, "It may be so, but a king is by
nature an animal that lives on human flesh." None of those who had
borne the title of king, according to Cato, were to be compared with
Epameinondas, or Perikles, or Themistokles, or with Manius Curius or
Hamilcar Barcas. He used to say that his enemies hated him because he
began his day's work while it was still dark, and because he neglected
his own affairs to attend to those of the public. He also was wont to
say that he had rather his good actions should go unrewarded than that
his bad ones should be unpunished; and that he pardoned all who did
wrong except himself.


IX. When the Romans sent three ambassadors to Bithynia, one of whom
was crippled by the gout, another had been trepanned and had a piece
taken out of his head, and the third was thought to be a simpleton,
Cato remarked that the Romans had sent an embassy which had neither
feet, head, nor heart. When, for the sake of Polybius the historian,
Scipio entreated Cato to exert his influence on behalf of the Achæan
exiles, after a long debate in the Senate, where some advised that
they should be sent back to their own country, and some that they
should still be detained at Rome, he got up and said, "Have we nothing
better to do than to sit all day discussing whether a parcel of old
Greeks shall be buried here or in Achaia?" A few days after the Senate
had decreed the restoration of the exiles, Polybius proposed to make
another application, that they should be restored to all the offices
which they formerly held in Achaia. He asked Cato whether he thought
that he should succeed in this second appeal to the Senate; to which
Cato answered with a smile, that he was imitating Ulysses, when he
returned again into the cave of the Cyclops to fetch the hat and
girdle which he had left behind and forgotten. He said that wise men
gained more advantage from fools, than fools from wise men; for the
wise men avoid the errors of fools, but fools cannot imitate the
example of wise men. He said that he loved young men to have red
cheeks rather than pale ones, and that he did not care for a soldier
who used his hands while he marched and his feet while he fought, or
one who snored louder in bed than he shouted in battle. When
reproaching a very fat man he said, "How can this man's body be useful
to his country, when all parts between the neck and the groin are
possessed by the belly?" Once when an epicure wished to become his
friend, he said that he could not live with a man whose palate was
more sensitive than his heart. He said also that the soul of a lover
inhabits the body of his beloved. He himself tells us, that in his
whole life he repented of three things only:--First, that he had
trusted a woman with a secret. Secondly, that he had gone by water
when he might have gone by land. Thirdly, that he had passed one day
without having made his will. To an old man who was acting wrongly he
said, "My good sir, old age is ugly enough without your adding the
deformity of wickedness to it." When a certain tribune, who was
suspected of being a poisoner, was endeavouring to carry a bad law,
Cato remarked, "Young man, I do not know which is the worst for us, to
drink what you mix, or to enact what you propose." Once when he was
abused by a man of vicious life, he answered, "We are not contending
upon equal terms; you are accustomed to hearing and using bad
language, while I am both unused to hearing it and unwilling to use
it."

X. When he was elected consul, together with his friend and neighbour
Valerius Flaccus, the province which fell to his lot was that which
the Romans call Hither Spain.[29] While he was there engaged in
establishing order, partly by persuasion, and partly by force, he was
attacked by a large army of the natives, and was in danger of being
disgracefully defeated by their overwhelming numbers. Consequently he
applied for aid to the neighbouring tribe of the Celtiberians, who
demanded as the price of their assistance the sum of two hundred
talents. At this every one protested that it was unworthy of Romans to
pay barbarians for their alliance, but Cato said that he saw no evil
in the practice, since, if the Romans were victorious, they would pay
them from the spoils of the enemy, while if they were defeated there
would be no one to demand the money and no one to pay it. He won a
pitched battle on this occasion, and was very successful in his whole
campaign. Polybius indeed tells us that in one day at his command all
the cities on this side of the river Guadalquiver pulled down their
walls; and yet they were very numerous, and filled with a warlike
population. Cato himself tells us that he took more cities than he
spent days in Spain; nor is this a vain boast, if the number captured
really, as is stated, amounted to four hundred. His soldiers enriched
themselves considerably during the campaign; and at the termination of
it he distributed a pound of silver to each man, saying that it was
better that many Romans should return to Rome with silver in their
pockets than that a few should return with gold. He himself states
that he received no part of the plunder except what he ate or drank.
"I do not," said he, "blame those who endeavour to enrich themselves
by such means, but I had rather vie with the noblest in virtue than
with the richest in wealth, or with the most covetous in
covetousness." He not only kept his own hands clean, but those of his
followers also. He took five servants to the war with him. One of
these, Paccius by name, bought three boys at a sale of captives; but
when Cato heard of it, Paccius, rather than come into his presence,
hanged himself. Cato sold the boys, and paid the price into the public
treasury.

XI. While he was still in Spain, Scipio the Great, who was his
personal enemy, desiring to check his career of success, and to obtain
the management of Spanish affairs for himself, contrived to get
himself appointed to succeed Cato in his government. He at once
hurried to Spain and brought Cato's rule to an end. Cato, however, at
once marched to meet Scipio with an escort of five companies of
infantry and five hundred horsemen. On his way he conquered the tribe
of the Lacetani; and finding among them six hundred deserters from the
Roman army, he put them to death. When Scipio expressed his
dissatisfaction with this, Cato sarcastically answered, that Rome
would be greatest if those of high birth and station, and those of
plebeian origin like himself, would only contend with one another in
virtue. However, as the Senate decreed that nothing that Cato had
settled in the province should be altered or rearranged, Scipio found
that it was he rather than Cato that was disgraced, as he had to pass
his time in inglorious idleness, while Cato, after enjoying a triumph,
did not retire into a life of luxury and leisure, as is done by so
many men whose object is display rather than true virtue, after they
have risen to the highest honours in the state by being elected
consuls and enjoying the honour of a triumph. He did not impair the
glorious example which he had given, by withdrawing his attention from
the affairs of his country, but offered his services to his friends
and fellow-countrymen, both in the courts of law and in the field, as
willingly as those who have just begun their public career, and are
keenly eager to be elected to some new office in which they may win
fresh distinction.

XII. He went with the consul Tiberius Sempronius as legate, and
assisted him in regulating the country about the Danube and Thrace;
and he also served as military tribune under Manius Acilius during his
campaign in Greece against Antiochus the Great, who caused more terror
to the Romans than any one man since the time of Hannibal. Antiochus
had originally inherited nearly the whole of Asia, that is, as much as
Seleukus Nikator had possessed, and having added many warlike tribes
to his empire, was so elated by his conquests as to attack the Romans,
whom he regarded as the only nation remaining in the whole world which
was worthy to be his antagonist. He put forward as a plausible reason
for beginning the war that he intended to liberate the Greeks, who did
not require his interference, as they had just been made free and
independent by the Romans, who had delivered them from the tyranny of
Philip and the Macedonians. Antiochus crossed over into Greece, which
at once became unsettled, and a prey to hopes and fears suggested by
her political leaders. Manius at once sent ambassadors to the various
cities. Titus Flamininus, as has been related in his Life, restrained
the greater part of them from revolutionary proceedings, and kept them
to their allegiance, but Cato won over Corinth, Patræ, and Ægium. Most
of his time was spent in Athens; and there is said to be still extant
a speech which he made to the people there in Greek, in which he
speaks with admiration of the virtue of the Athenians of old, and
dwells upon his own pleasure in viewing so great and beautiful a city.
This, however, is a fabrication, for we know that he conversed with
the Athenians through an interpreter, though he was able to speak
their language, because he wished to keep to the ways of his fathers,
and administer a rebuke to those who extravagantly admired the Greeks.
Thus he laughed at Postumius Albinus, who wrote a history in Greek and
begged that his mistakes might be pardoned, saying that it would be
right to pardon them if he wrote his history by a decree of the
council of Amphiktyons. He himself says that the Athenians were
surprised it the shortness and pregnant nature of his talk; for what
he said in a few words, his interpreter translated by a great many:
and in general he concludes that the Greeks talk from the lips, and
the Romans from the heart.

XIII. When Antiochus occupied the pass of Thermopylæ with his army,
and, after adding to the natural strength of the place by artificial
defences, established himself there as if in an impregnable position,
the Romans decided that to attack him in front was altogether
impossible, but Cato, remembering how the Persians under Xerxes had
turned the Greek forces by a circuitous march over the mountains, took
a part of the force and set off by night. When they had gone for some
distance over the mountains, the prisoner who served as their guide
lost his way, and wandered about in that precipitous and pathless
wilderness so as to cause great discouragement to the soldiers. Seeing
this, Cato ordered every one to halt and await his orders, and
himself, with one companion, one Lucius Manlius, an experienced
mountaineer, laboriously and daringly plunged along through intense
darkness, for there was no moon, while the trees and rocks added to
their difficulties by preventing their seeing distinctly whither they
were going, until they came to a path, which, as they thought, led
directly down upon the camp of the enemy. Hereupon they set up marks
to guide them upon some conspicuous crags of Mount Kallidromus, and
returning to the army, led it to these marks, and started along the
paths which they had descried. But before they had proceeded far the
path ended in a precipice, at which they were both surprised and
disheartened; for they could not tell, either by sight or hearing,
that they were close to the enemy. It was now about daybreak, and they
thought that they heard voices near at hand, and soon were able to see
a Greek camp and an outpost at the foot of the precipice. Cato
hereupon halted his army, and ordered the Firmiani,[30] in whom he
reposed especial confidence, to come forward alone. When they had
assembled round him, he said, "I wish to take one of the enemy
prisoner, and learn from him of what troops this outpost is formed,
what their numbers are, how the rest of the army are placed, and what
preparations they have made to resist us. You must dash upon them as
quickly and boldly as lions do upon their defenceless prey." At these
words of Cato's the Firmiani at once rushed down and attacked the
outpost. The suddenness of their onset threw the enemy into complete
confusion, and they soon caught one of them and brought him before
Cato. Learning from this man that all the rest of the army was with
King Antiochus himself, guarding the pass of Thermopylæ, and that only
a body of six hundred picked Ætolians were watching the path over the
mountains, Cato despising so small and contemptible a force, at once
drew his sword, and led on his troops with shouts and trumpets
sounding the charge. The Ætolians, as soon as they saw the Romans
descending from the hills, fled to the main body, and filled it with
confusion and terror.

XIV. Meanwhile Manius on the lower ground had attacked the
fortifications in the pass with his entire force. Antiochus was struck
on the mouth with a stone which knocked out several of his teeth, and
the pain of his wound compelled him to wheel round his horse and
retreat. His troops nowhere withstood the Romans, but, although they
had endless means of escape by roads where they could scarcely be
followed, yet they crowded through the narrow pass with deep marshy
ground on the one hand and inaccessible rocks upon the other, and
there trampled each other to death for fear of the swords of the
Romans.

Cato never seems to have been sparing of his own praise, and thought
that great deeds required to be told in boastful language. He gives a
very pompous account of this battle, and says that all those who saw
him pursuing and cutting down the enemy felt that Cato did not owe so
much to the Romans, as the Romans owed to Cato. He also says that the
consul Manius immediately after the victory was won, enfolded him for
a long time in a close embrace, and loudly declared that neither he
nor all the Roman people could ever do as much for Cato as he had that
day done for them. He was sent immediately after the battle to bear
the news of the victory to Rome, and reached Brundusium after a
prosperous voyage.

From that place he drove in one day to Tarentum, and in four more
days reached Rome with the news, on the fifth day after his landing.
His arrival filled the whole city with feasting and rejoicing, and
made the Roman people believe that there was no nation in the world
which could resist their arms.

XV. Of Cato's warlike exploits these which we have related are the
most remarkable. In his political life he seems to have thought one of
his most important duties to be the impeachment and prosecution of
those whom he thought to be bad citizens. He himself attacked many
persons, and aided and encouraged others in doing so, a notable
example being his conduct towards Scipio in the affair of Petillius.
However, as Scipio was a man of noble birth and great spirit, he
treated the attack made upon him with contempt, and Cato, perceiving
that he could not succeed in getting him condemned to death, desisted
from annoying him. But he was active in obtaining the condemnation of
Scipio's brother Lucius, who was adjudged to pay a heavy fine, which
was beyond his means to provide, so that he had nearly been cast into
prison, but was set free by the intervention of the tribunes of the
people.

It is related of him that he once met in the forum a young man who had
just succeeded in obtaining the disfranchisement, by an action at law,
of an enemy of his father, who was dead. Cato took him by the hand and
said, "Thus ought men to honour their parents when they die, not with
the blood of lambs and kids, but with the tears and condemnation of
their enemies." He himself is said to have been the defendant in
nearly fifty actions, the last of which was tried when he was
eighty-six years of age: on which occasion he uttered that well-known
saying, that it was hard for a man who had lived in one generation to
be obliged to defend himself before another. And this was not the end
of his litigations, for four years later, when at the age of ninety,
he impeached Servius Galba. Indeed his life, like that of Nestor,
seems to havo reached over three generations. He, as had been related,
was a bitter political opponent of Scipio Africanus the Great, and he
continued his enmity to Scipio's adopted son, called Scipio the
Younger, who was really the son of Æmilius Paulus, the conqueror of
Perseus and the Macedonians.

XVI. Ten years after his consulship, Cato became a candidate for the
office of censor. This is the highest dignity to which a Roman can
aspire, and may be regarded as the goal of political life. Its powers
are very extensive, and it is especially concerned with the regulation
of public morals, and the mode of life of the citizens of Rome. The
Romans thought that none of a man's actions, his marriage, his family,
his mode of life, his very entertainments, ought to be uncontrolled,
and managed according to his own will and pleasure. They considered
that a man's true character was much more clearly shown by his private
life than by his public behaviour, and were wont to choose two
citizens, one a patrician, and the other a plebeian, whose duty it was
to watch over the morals of the people, and check any tendency to
licentiousness or extravagance. These officers they called censors,
and they had power to deprive a Roman knight of his horse, and to
expel men of loose and disorderly life from the Senate. They also took
a census of property, and kept a register of the various tribes and
classes of the citizens; and they likewise exercised various other
important powers. Cato's candidature was opposed by nearly all the
most distinguished members of the Senate, for the patricians viewed
him with especial dislike, regarding it as an insult to the nobility
that men of obscure birth should attain to the highest honours in the
state, while all those who were conscious of any private vices or
departures from the ways of their fathers, feared the severities of
one who, they knew, would be harsh and inexorable when in power.

These classes consequently combined together against Cato, and put up
no less than seven candidates to contest the censorship with him, and
endeavoured to soothe the people by holding out to them hopes of a
lenient censor, as though that were what they required. Cato on the
other hand would not relax his severity in the least, but threatened
evil doers in his speeches from the rostra, and insisted that the city
required a most searching reformation. He told the people that if they
were wise, they would choose not the most agreeable, but the most
thorough physicians to perform this operation for them, and that
these would be himself and Valerius Flaccus; for with him as a
colleague he imagined that he might make some progress in the work of
destroying, by knife and cautery, the hydra of luxury and effeminacy.
Of the other candidates he said that he saw that each one was eager to
get the office and fill it badly, because he was afraid of those who
could fill it well. The Roman people on this occasion showed itself so
truly great and worthy to be courted by great men, as not to be
alarmed at the earnest severity of Cato; but, setting aside all those
plausible candidates who promised merely to consult their pleasure,
elected Cato and Valerius censors. It seemed, indeed, as if Cato,
inatead of being a candidate for election, was already in office and
issuing his commands to the people, which were at once obeyed.

XVII. As soon as he was elected, Cato appointed his friend and
colleague, Lucius Valerius Flaccus, chief of the Senate. He expelled
several senators, amongst whom was Lucius Quintius, who had been
consul seven years before, and, which was even a greater distinction
than the consulship, was the brother of Titus Quintius Flamininus, the
conqueror of Philip. He was expelled from the Senate for the following
reason. Lucius had a favourite boy who never left his person, and
followed him even on his campaigns. This boy had more power and
received greater attention than the most trusty of his friends and
relatives. Now, when Lucius was governor of a province as proconsul,
this boy once, at a drinking party, was flattering him over his wine,
saying that "Although there was going to be a show of gladiators at
Rome, yet I did not stay to see it, but came out here to you, although
I longed to see a man killed." Lucius, to please him, answered in the
same tone, "If that be all, do not lie there and fret, for I will soon
gratify your wish." He at once ordered a condemned criminal to be
brought into the banqueting hall, and one of his servants to stand by
him with an axe, and then again asked his favourite whether he wished
to see a man struck dead. When the boy said that he did, he bade the
servant cut off the man's head. This is the account which most writers
give of the transaction, and it is that which Cicero introduces Cato
as relating in his dialogue "On Old Age;" but Livy says that the man
who was put to death was a Gaulish deserter, and that Lucius did not
employ a servant, but slew him with his own hand, and this is the
version which Cato has followed in his written account of the matter.
When Cato discussed what took place at this wine party, Lucius
endeavoured to deny it, but on being challenged to state exactly what
happened he refused to answer. He was most justly condemned to lose
his right as a senator; but afterwards, when some spectacle was being
witnessed in the theatre, he walked past the place reserved for men of
consular rank, and sat down in the humblest seat of all, which so
moved the people to compassion, that they forced him by their clamour
to resume his former seat, thus as far as they were able reversing the
sentence upon him and condoning his offence.

Cato expelled another senator, who was thought likely to be soon
elected consul, named Manilius, because he had kissed his wife in the
daytime in the presence of his daughter. He himself said that his own
wife never embraced him except when it thundered loudly, and added by
way of joke, that he was happy when Jupiter was pleased to thunder.

XVIII. His conduct in depriving of his horse Lucius Scipio, the
brother of Scipio Africanus, a man who had been decreed a triumph, was
censured, as being merely prompted by private spite; as he seemed
merely to do it in order to insult Scipio Africanus after his death.
But what caused the greatest dissatisfaction were his restrictions on
luxury. This he could not attack openly, because it had taken such
deep root among the people, but he caused all clothes, carriages,
women's ornaments, and furniture, which exceeded fifteen hundred
drachmas in value to be rated at ten times their value and taxed
accordingly, as he thought that those who possessed the most valuable
property ought to contribute most largely to the revenues of the
state. In addition to this he imposed a tax on all citizens of three
copper ases for every thousand, in order that those who were burdened
with an excessive taxation on objects of luxury, when they saw
persons of frugal and simple habits paying so small a tax on the same
income, might cease from their extravagance. This measure gained him
the hatred of those who were taxed so heavily for their luxuries, and
of those who, to avoid excessive taxation, were obliged to give up
their luxuries. Most persons are as much irritated at losing the means
of displaying their wealth as at losing their wealth itself, and it is
in superfluities, not in necessaries, that wealth can be displayed.
This is what is said to have so much surprised Ariston the
Philosopher, that men should consider those persons fortunate who
possess what is superfluous, rather than those who possess what is
necessary and useful. Skopas the Thessalian also, when one of his
friends asked him for something which was not particularly useful to
him, and added, that he did not ask for anything necessary or useful,
answered, "Indeed, it is in these useless and superfluous things that
my wealth chiefly consists." For the desire of wealth is not connected
with any of our physical necessities, and is an artificial want
arising from too much regard for the opinion of the vulgar.

XIX. Cato paid no attention to those who blamed his conduct, and
proceeded to measures of still greater severity. He cut off the
water-pipes, by which water was conveyed from the public fountains
into private houses and gardens, destroyed all houses that encroached
upon the public streets, lowered the price of contracts for public
works, and farmed out the public revenues for the highest possible
rents. All this made him still more unpopular. Titus Flamininus and
his friends attacked him, and prevailed upon the Senate to annul the
contracts which he had made for the building of temples and the
construction of public works, on the ground that they were
disadvantageous to the state. They also encouraged the boldest of the
tribunes to prosecute him before the people, and to fine him two
talents. He likewise received violent opposition in the matter of the
basilica, or public hall, which he built at the public expense in the
forum below the senate house, and which was called the Basilica
Porcia.

In spite of all this, his censorship seems to have been wonderfully
popular with the Roman people. When they placed his statue in the
Temple of Hygieia, they did not enumerate his campaigns or triumphs in
the inscription on the base, but wrote what we may translate as
follows: "This statue was erected to Cato because, when Censor,
finding the state of Rome corrupt and degenerate, he, by introducing
wise regulations and virtuous discipline, restored it."

At one time Cato affected to despise those who took pleasure in
receiving honours of this kind, and used to say that while they plumed
themselves on being represented in brass or marble, they forgot that
the fairest image was that of himself which every citizen bore in his
heart. When any one expressed surprise at his not having a statue,
when so many obscure men had obtained that honour, he answered, "I had
rather that men should ask why I have no statue, than that they should
ask why I have one." A good citizen, he said, ought not even to allow
himself to be praised, unless the state were benefited thereby. He has
glorified himself by recording that when men were detected in any
fault, they would excuse themselves by saying that they must be
pardoned if they did anything amiss, for they were not Catos: and that
those who endeavoured clumsily to imitate his proceedings were called
left-handed Catos. Also he states that the Senate looked to him in
great emergencies as men in a storm look to the pilot, and that when
he was not present, they frequently postponed their more important
business. This indeed is confirmed by other writers: for he had great
influence in Rome on account of his virtuous life, his eloquence, and
his great age.

XX. He was a good father and a good husband, and was in his private
life an economist of no ordinary kind, as he did not despise
money-making or regard it as unworthy of his abilities. For this
reason I think I ought to relate how well he managed his private
affairs. He married a wife who was well born, though not rich; for he
thought that though all classes might possess equally good sense, yet
that a woman of noble birth would be more ashamed of doing wrong, and
therefore more likely to encourage her husband to do right. He used to
say that a man who beat his wife or his children laid sacrilegious
hands on the holiest of things. He also said that he had rather be a
good husband than a great statesman, and that what he especially
admired in Sokrates the Philosopher was his patience and kindness in
bearing with his ill-tempered wife and his stupid children. When his
son was born, he thought that nothing except the most important
business of state ought to prevent his being present while his wife
washed the child and wrapped it in swaddling clothes. His wife suckled
the child herself; nay, she often gave her breast to the children of
her slaves, and so taught them to have a brotherly regard for her own
son.

As soon as he was able to learn, Cato himself taught him his letters,
although he had a clever slave named Chilon, who taught many children
to read. He himself declares that he did not wish a slave to reprove
his son or pull his ears because he was slow at learning. He taught
the boy to read, and instructed him also in the Roman law and in
bodily exercises; not confining himself to teaching him to hurl the
javelin, to fight in complete armour, and to ride, but also to use his
fists in boxing, to endure the extremes of heat and cold, and to swim
through swiftly-flowing and eddying rivers. He tells us that he
himself wrote books on history with his own hands in large letters,
that the boy might start in life with a useful knowledge of what his
forefathers had done, and he was as careful not to use an indecenr
expression before his son as he would have been before the vestal
virgins. He never bathed with him; which indeed seems to have been
customary at Rome, as even fathers-in-law scrupled to bathe naked
before their sons-in-law. In later times, however, the Romans learned
from the Greeks the habit of bathing naked, and have taught the Greeks
to do so even in the presence of women.

While Cato was engaged in this great work of forming his son's
character and completing his education he found him eager to learn,
and able to make great progress from his natural ability: but he
appeared so weak and delicate that his father was obliged to relax the
stern simplicity of his own life in his favour, and allow him some
indulgences in diet. The young man, although so weakly, yet proved
himself a good soldier in the wars, and distinfuished himself greatly
in the battle in which Æmilius Paulus defeated King Perseus.
Afterwards, upon the same day, he either had his sword struck from his
hand or let it fall from weakness, and in his grief at the loss got
together some of his friends and prevailed upon them again to charge
the enemy. With great exertions they succeeded in clearing a space,
and at length discovered his sword under a great heap of arms and
corpses of friends and foes alike which were piled upon it. Paulus,
the commander-in-chief, was much pleased with the youth's eagerness to
regain his sword, and sent a letter to Cato in which he spoke in the
highest terms of the courage and honourable feeling which he had
shown. He afterwards married Tertia, the sister of Scipio, and had the
gratification of pleasing his father as much as himself by thus
allying himself with one of the noblest families in Rome. Thus was
Cato rewarded for the care which he had bestowed upon his son's
education.

XXI. He possessed a large number of slaves, and when captives were for
sale he always purchased those who were young, and who, like colts or
puppies, could be taught and trained to their duties. None of them
ever entered any house but his own, unless sent thither by Cato or by
his wife: and if they were asked what Cato was doing, they always
answered that they did not know. His rule was, that a slave ought
either to be doing his business or to be asleep; and he greatly
preferred good sleepers, as he thought that they were more easy
tempered than wakeful persons, and also that men who had slept well
were better able to work than those who had lain awake. Knowing that
love affairs lead slaves into mischief more than anything else, he
permitted them to consort with his own female slaves at a fixed price,
but forbade them to have anything to do with other women.

Cato in his earlier days, being a poor man, and always employed in
service in the field, never complained of any thing that he ate, and
thought it most disgraceful to quarrel with his servant for not having
pleased his palate. Subsequently, however, as he became richer, he
used to invite his friends and colleagues to dinner, and after the
repast was wont to punish with the scourge those servants who had made
mistakes or cooked the food badly. He always endeavoured to establish
some quarrel amongst his slaves, so that they might plot against one
another, instead of combining against himself; and when any of them
appeared to have committed any crime deserving to be punished by
death, the offender was formally tried, and if found guilty, was put
to death in the presence of all his fellow-servants.

As Cato grew more eager to make money, he declared that farming was
more an amusement than a source of income, and preferred investing his
money in remunerative undertakings, such as marshes that required
draining, hot springs, establishments for washing and cleaning
clothes, land which would produce an income by pasturage or by the
sale of wood, and the like, which afforded him a considerable revenue,
and one which, as he said, not Jupiter himself could injure, meaning
that he was not dependent upon the weather for his income, as farmers
are. He also used to deal in marine assurance, which is thought to be
a most dangerous form of investment, which he managed in the following
manner. For the sake of security he made those who wished to borrow
money form themselves into an association of fifty persons,
representing as many ships, and held one share in the undertaking
himself, which was managed by his freedman Quintio, who himself used
to sail in the ships of the association and transact their mercantile
business.

He used to lend money to his slaves, if they desired it. They used
with the money to buy young slaves, teach them a trade at Cato's
expense for a year, and then dispose of them. Many of these Cato
retained in his own service, paying the price offered by the highest
bidder, and deducting from it the original cost of the slave. When
endeavouring to encourage his son to act in a similar manner, he used
to say that it was not the part of a man, but of a lone woman, to
diminish one's capital; and once, with an excessive exaggeration, he
said that the most glorious and godlike man was he who on his death
was found to have earned more than he inherited.

XXII. When he was an old man, Karneades the academic, and Diogenes
the stoic philosopher, came as ambassadors to Rome on the part of the
Athenians, to beg that they might not be forced to pay a fine of five
hundred talents which had been imposed upon them in consequence of an
action at law, brought against the Athenians by the people of Oropus,
before the people of Sikyon as judges, having been allowed to go
against them by default. Such of the Roman youths as had any taste for
literature frequented the society of these men, and took great
interest in hearing their discussions. They were especially delighted
with Karneades, a man of great and recognised ability, who obtained
large and enthusiastic audiences at his lectures, and filled the whole
city with his fame. Nothing was talked of except how a single Greek
with wonderful powers of eloquence and persuasion had so bewitched the
youth of Rome that they forsook all other pleasures, and plunged
wildly into philosophic speculations. The greater part of the citizens
were well pleased with this, and looked on with great satisfaction at
their sons' study of Greek literature, and their intimacy with such
celebrated men; but Cato, when the taste for philosophy first sprang
up in Rome, was vexed at it, and feared that the young men might
become more eager to gain distinction by fluent speaking than by
warlike exploits. However, when the fame of the philosophers
increased, and a distinguished man, Caius Acilius, at the general
request, translated their first lectures to the Senate, Cato decided
that the philosophers must at once be conducted with all due honours
out of the city. He came to the Senate and made a speech, in which he
blamed them for having allowed an embassy to remain so long at Rome
without accomplishing its purpose, although nothing was easier than
for it to gain its point. He called upon them therefore, to decide as
soon as possible and come to a vote upon the matter about which this
embassy was come, in order that these philosophers might return to
their schools and instruct the young men of Greece, while those of
Rome might, as before, give their attention to the laws and the
magistrates.

XXIII. Cato acted thus, not as some writers imagine, from any private
quarrel with Karneades, but because he disliked the philosophy
altogether, and from a feeling of patriotism, regarded all Greek
literature and methods of education with hatred and contempt. He used
to say that Sokrates was a wordy and dangerous man, who endeavoured in
his own way to make himself supreme in Athens, by destroying the best
of the national customs and teaching the citizens to hold opinions at
variance with the laws. He ridiculed Isokrates as a teacher of
rhetoric, saying that his disciples stayed with him so long learning
their profession, that they were only able to practice what they had
learned in the court where Minos sat as judge in the next world. In
his endeavours to dissuade his son from the study of Greek literature,
he abused the privileges of old age so far as to utter a prophecy that
the Romans would ruin their empire by too intimate an acquaintance
with the arts of Greece. Time, however, has proved this to be a mere
empty slander, seeing that since then Rome has risen to a wonderful
height of power and glory, and yet is thoroughly familiar with Greek
writings and studies. Cato not only disliked the Greek philosophers,
but also looked with suspicion on the Greek physicians who then
practised at Rome. He had heard some story about Hippokrates, who,
when the king of Persia offered him a large sum of money if he would
come to Persia, answered that he never would give his services to
barbarians who were the enemies of Greece. Cato used to say that all
Greek physicians had sworn an oath to act like Hippokrates, and warned
his son never to have any dealings with any of them. He himself had a
book full of recipes, according to which he used to physick and
regulate the diet of any who fell sick in his house, being careful
never to allow the patient to fast, but making him eat salad, with
ducks, pigeons, and hares, which he said were light food, and suitable
for sick persons, except that it often happened that those who ate of
them suffered from nightmares. He used to declare that by following
this regimen, he kept both himself and all his household in perfect
health.

XXIV. He seems to have been justly rewarded for his quackery, for he
lost both his wife and his son by sickness. He himself, however,
being of an iron constitution, made a second marriage, in spite of his
advanced age, being led into it by the following circumstances. After
the death of his wife he arranged a marriage between his son and the
daughter of Æmilius Paulus, who was the sister of Scipio. He himself
meanwhile solaced himself by an intrigue with a maid-servant who
visited him by stealth. However, in a small house with a
daughter-in-law in it this could not be kept secret; and one day when
this woman was insolently swaggering into his father's bedchamber,
young Cato was observed by the old man to glance at her with bitter
hatred and then turn away in disgust. As soon as Cato perceived that
his conduct vexed his children, he said not a word, but went into the
forum with his friends, as was his wont. Here one Salonius, who was
one of his under-secretaries, met him and began to pay his respects to
him, when Cato asked him in a loud voice whether he had provided a
husband for his daughter. On the man's replying that he had not, and
would not presume to do so without consulting him, Cato replied,
"Well, I, by Jupiter, have found a very suitable person to marry her,
unless his age be any objection: for he is very passable in all
respects except that he is very old." As Salonius upon this bade him
carry out his intention and marry the girl to whomsoever he pleased,
seeing that she was his client[31] and he was her patron, Cato without
a moment's delay told him that he wished to marry the girl himself.
This proposal at first, as might be expected, astonished the
secretary, who had thought that a man at Cato's time of life was very
unlikely to marry, and had never dreamed that his humble family would
be allied with a house which could boast of consulates and triumphs;
but as he saw that Cato was in earnest he gladly accepted his offer.
While the preparations for the marriage were in progress, young Cato,
taking his relatives with him, went and inquired of his father whether
he had reproached or annoyed him in any way, that he was putting a
mother-in-law over him. Cato at this question cried out aloud, "Hush,
my son; I approve of all that you have done, and find no fault with
you: I only desire to leave behind me more sons of my race, and more
citizens to serve the state." It is said that this remark was first
made by Peisistratus, the despot of Athens, when, although he had sons
grown up, he married Timonassa of Argos, by whom we are told that he
had two sons, Iophon and Thessalus. Cato also had a son by his second
marriage, whom he named Salonius after his mother. His eldest son died
during his prætorship. Cato often mentions him in his writings as
having been a brave and good man, but is said to have borne his loss
with philosophic resignation, and to have taken as keen an interest in
politics as before. He did not, as was afterwards done by Lucius
Lucullus or Metellus Pius, abandon public life when he grew old, and
think that it was a burden to take part in politics; still less did he
imitate Scipio Africanus, who some years before had proudly turned his
back on the people who grudged him the glory he had won, and spent the
rest of his life in ease and retirement. Some one is said to have told
Dionysius of Syracuse that an absolute monarchy is the best thing for
a man to die in, and so Cato seemed to think that political life was
the best for him to grow old in, while he amused himself in his
leisure moments by writing and farming.

XXV. He compiled works on various subjects, especially on history.
Farming he applied himself to when very young, on account of his
poverty, for he himself tells us that he had only two sources of
income, farming and frugality. In later life he derived both amusement
and instruction from watching the operations of agriculture, and he
has written a farmer's manual, in which there is even an account of
how to cook cakes and preserve fruits, so desirous was he to show a
thorough knowledge of every subject. His table was never so well
served as when he was in the country; for he used to invite all his
friends and acquaintances from the neighbourhood, and make himself
very agreeable to them, as he was a pleasant companion not only to men
of his own age, but also to the young, having in the course of his
long life seen and heard from others much that was interesting and
curious. He regarded the table as the best means of forming
friendships, and when dining used to praise the good without stint,
but never would allow the names of worthless men to be mentioned,
either by way of praise or blame, at his entertainments.

XXVI. The last of his political acts is said to have been the
destruction of Carthage. This was actually brought to pass by Scipio
the Younger, but it was chiefly owing to the counsels of Cato that the
war was begun. His reason for insisting on its destruction was this.
He was sent on a mission to Africa to investigate the grounds of a
quarrel which existed between the Carthaginians and Masinissa, the
king of the Numidians. Masinissa had always been the friend of Rome,
whereas the Carthaginians, after their defeat by Scipio, had been
subjected to hard conditions, having lost their sovereignty over the
neighbouring tribes, and having been compelled to pay a large sum as
tribute to Rome. Cato, however, found the city, not, as the Romans
imagined it to be, crushed by its recent overthrow, but full of young
men, overflowing with wealth, well provided with arms and munitions of
war, and, as may be expected, full of warlike spirit. He concluded
that it was no time for the Romans to arbitrate about the grievances
of Masinissa and his Numidians, but that, unless they at once
destroyed a city which bore them an undying hatred and which had
recovered its strength in an incredibly short space of time, they
would have as much to fear from Carthage as ever. He quickly returned
home, and pointed out to the Senate that the former defeats and
misfortunes suffered by the Carthaginians had not really broken their
strength so much as they had dissipated their overweening
self-confidence, and that in the late war they had not lost so much in
strength as they had gained in experience and skill. Their present
difference with the Numidians was, he urged, merely a prelude to an
attack upon Rome, with which city they kept up the fiction of a peace
which would soon upon a suitable opportunity be exchanged for war.

XXVII. After these words it is said that Cato threw down in the senate
house some ripe figs which he had brought on purpose; and when the
senators admired their size and beauty, he remarked that "the country
which produced this fruit is only three days' sail distant from Rome."
Another and a more violent method of forcing the Romans to attack
them was his habit, when giving his opinion on any subject whatever,
to append the words, "And I also am of opinion that Carthage must he
destroyed." On the other hand, Publius Scipio, called Nasica, used to
end all his speeches with the words, "And I further am of opinion that
Carthage should be left alone." Scipio's reason for this was that he
perceived that the lower classes in Rome, elated by success, were
becoming difficult for the Senate to manage, and practically forced
the State to adopt whatever measures they chose. He thought that to
have this fear of Carthage kept constantly hanging over them would be
a salutary check upon the insolence of the people, and he thought that
although Carthage was too weak to conquer the Romans, yet that it was
too strong to be despised by them. Cato, on the other hand, thought it
a dangerous thing that, at a time when the Romans were giddy and drunk
with power, they should leave in existence a city which always had
been important, and which now, sobered by defeat, was biding its time
and lying in wait for a favourable opportunity to avenge itself. He
argued that it was better to set the Romans free from any fear of
foreign states, in order that they might be able to devote themselves
uninterruptedly to the task of political reform.

These are said to have been Cato's reasons for urging his countrymen
to begin the third and last Punic war. He died as soon as the war was
begun, leaving a prophecy that it would be finished by a young man who
was then serving as military tribune, and who had given remarkable
proofs of courage and generalship. Cato, on hearing of his exploits is
said to have quoted Homer's line--

     "He alone has solid wisdom; all the rest are shadows vain."

This opinion Scipio soon confirmed by his actions.

Cato left one son by his second wife, who, as has been said, was named
Salonius, and one grandson, the child of his eldest son who was dead.
Salonius died during his prætorship, but his son Marcus became consul.
This man was the grandfather of Cato the Philosopher, who was one of
the foremost men of his day in courage and ability.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 26: Cf. Livy, xxix. ch. 19, _sqq_.]

[Footnote 27: See vol. i., 'Life of Themistokles,' ch. x.]

[Footnote 28: Lictors were attendants granted to Roman magistrates as
a mark of official dignity. See vol. i., 'Life of Romulus,' ch. xxvi.]

[Footnote 29: Spain was divided by the Romans into two provinces, of
which this out was that which was nearer to Rome.]

[Footnote 30: The inhabitants of the town of Firmum, in Picenum; now
_Fermo_.]

[Footnote 31: On the nature of these relations, see 'Smith's Dict. of
Ant.,' s.v.]




COMPARISON OF ARISTEIDES AND CATO.


Now that we have related all the important events of each of these
men's lives, it will be seen that the points in which they differ are
very trifling when compared with those in which they agree. If,
however, we are to take each of their qualities separately, as one
would in comparing two speeches or two pictures, we observe that they
both agree in having begun life in a humble station, and having won
political distinction and power by sheer ability and force of
character. It is true that Aristeides rose to power at a period when
Athens was poor, and when the orators and generals whom he attacked
were men whose means were little superior to his own; for the men of
greatest incomes at that time were assessed as having five hundred
bushels of wet or dry produce a year, while the next class, that of
the knights, had three hundred, and the lowest, or those who could
afford to keep a yoke of oxen, had only two hundred. Cato, on the
other hand, came from an obscure village and a rustic mode of life,
and boldly launched himself upon the turbid sea of Roman politics,
although the days of Curius, Fabricius and Atilius were long past, and
Rome was not accustomed to find her magistrates and party leaders in
labouring men fresh from the plough or the workshop, but in men of
noble birth and great wealth, who canvassed extensively, and bribed
heavily; while the populace, insolent with the consciousness of power,
were growing ripe for a revolt against the governing class.

It was a very different thing for Aristeides to have only Themistokles
for an antagonist, a man of no birth or fortune (for it is said that
he only possessed between three and five talents when he first
embarked on politics) and for Cato to contend for the mastery with
men like Scipio Africanus, Sergius Galba, and Titus Quintius
Flamininus, with nothing to help him but his eloquent voice and his
good cause.

II. Furthermore, Aristeides, both at Marathon and at Platæa, acted as
general with nine colleagues, while Cato was elected one of the two
consuls and afterwards one of the two censors, though there were many
other candidates for both offices. Aristeides never conspicuously
distinguished himself, as the credit of the victory at Marathon
belongs to Miltiades, and that of Salamis to Themistokles, while
Herodotus tells us that Pausanias obtained the most glorious success
of all at Platæa, and even the second place is disputed with
Aristeides by Sophanes, Ameinias, Kallimachus, and Kynægyrus, all of
whom won great glory in those battles. On the other hand, Cato not
only when consul gained the greatest credit, both by his wise conduct,
and his personal prowess in the Spanish war, but, when at Thermopylæ
he was acting as tribune under another person's command as consul,
contributed mainly to winning the victory by his flank movement, by
which he established himself in the rear of Antiochus while that
prince was intent upon the enemy in his front. This victory, which was
so manifestly due to Cato, had the important result of driving the
Asiatic troops out of Greece back to their own country, and so of
preparing the way for Scipio's subsequent invasion of Asia.

Neither of them were ever defeated in battle, but in political matters
Aristeides was overcome by his rival Themistokles, who drove him into
exile by ostracism, while Cato held his own against all the greatest
and most influential men in Rome to the end of his life without once
being overthrown by them. He was often impeached, and always
acquitted, while he frequently succeeded in his impeachments of
others, using, both as a bulwark to defend himself and as a weapon to
attack others, his power of speaking in public, which indeed is a
quality more to be relied upon than good fortune to protect a man from
suffering wrong. Antipater, in the account which he wrote of the
philosopher Aristotle after his death, observes that besides his
other qualities and accomplishments this man had the power of
persuasion.

III. It is generally admitted that political virtue is the highest to
which a man can aspire, and of this, most think domestic virtue to be
a very important part; for as a city is merely a collection of houses,
the public virtue of the state must be increased if it contain many
well-regulated households. Lykurgus, when he banished silver and gold
from Sparta, and gave his countrymen useless iron money, did not wish
to discourage good household management among them, but he removed the
dangerous seductions of wealth out of their reach, in order that they
all might enjoy a sufficiency of what was useful and necessary. He
saw, what no other legislator appears to have seen, that the real
danger to a commonwealth arises from the poor and desperate rather
than from the excessively rich.

Now we have seen that Cato was as well able to manage his household as
to govern the state; for he improved his fortune and became a teacher
of household management and husbandry to others, by collecting much
useful information on these matters. On the other hand, Aristeides
made his poverty a reproach to justice, which by his example was made
to seem a ruinous virtue which brought men to want, and was totally
useless to those who practised it. Yet the poet Hesiod, when
encouraging men to act justly and manage their household affairs well,
blames idleness as the origin of injustice, and the same idea is well
stated in Homer's lines:--

                       "Work was never my delight,
    Nor household cares, that breed up children bright;
    But ever loved I ships with banks of oars,
    And arrows keen, and weapons for the wars,"

where we see that the same men neglect their duties at home, and gain
their living by injustice and piracy abroad. The physicians tell us
that oil is most useful, outwardly used, and most harmful when taken
inwardly; but it is not true of the just man that he is most useful to
his friends, but useless to himself. It seems to me to be a blot on
Aristeides' fame, if it be true that he could not even provide money
for his daughters' dowry or for his own funeral expenses. The family
of Cato for four generations, supplied Rome with prætors and consuls,
for his grandchildren, and their children too, all rose to the highest
offices in the state; while the hopeless poverty of Aristeides, though
he was the foremost man of his time in Greece, reduced some of his
family to the disreputable profession of interpreting dreams, and
forced others to live on public charity, putting it quite out of their
power to emulate the glorious actions of their ancestor.

IV. Some, indeed, may dispute this; for it is true that poverty is no
disgrace in itself, but only when it is a proof of indolence,
extravagance, or folly. The poverty of a laborious, upright, temperate
statesman combines well with his other virtues, and shows true
greatness of mind: for a man whose attention is given to little
things, can never succeed in doing great ones; nor can a man help
others if he is in need of help himself. A statesman requires, not
wealth, but contentment, in order that his attention may not be
diverted from public affairs by his own cravings for useless luxuries.
God alone is entirely without wants, and we approach nearest to the
divine ideal when we can reduce our wants to the fewest possible. Just
as a healthy man requires neither excess of clothing or of food, so a
man's life and that of his family, if properly regulated, can be
maintained at a trifling cost. His income, however, must exactly tally
with his requirements; for we cannot call that man contented who earns
much, and spends little. He is a foolish man if he troubles himself to
amass what he cannot enjoy; while he must be a miserable man if he is
able to enjoy the use of wealth, and yet through meanness of spirit
forbids himself its use.

I would willingly put this question to Cato: "If we ought to enjoy our
wealth, why do you make a virtue of simplicity of living when you are
a rich man? If, on the other hand, it is a noble thing, as no doubt it
is, to eat common bread, to drink the same wine as our servants and
farm labourers do, and not to want fine clothes or comfortable houses,
then Aristeides and Epameinondus, Manius Curius and Caius Fabricius
were to be applauded for their neglect of the wealth, whose use they
rejected." Surely it was not necessary for a man who thought turnips
made a delicious meal, and who used to boil them himself while his
wife baked the bread, to write so much about how to save a penny, and
how a man might most quickly make a fortune. The great advantage of
simplicity and contentment is, that it prevents our wishing for
superfluities, or even thinking about them. Aristeides, when cited as
a witness during the trial of Kallias, is said to have observed that
those who were poor against their will, ought to be ashamed of it, but
that those who, like himself, were poor from their own choice, gloried
in their poverty. It would be absurd to suppose that the poverty of
Aristeides was not voluntary, when, without doing any criminal act, he
might by stripping the body of one dead Persian, or by plundering one
tent, have made himself a rich man. But enough of this.

V. As to their campaigns, those of Cato added but little to the
already vast empire of Rome, while Aristeides was present at Marathon,
Salamis, and Platæa, the most glorious of all Grecian victories. We
cannot compare Antiochus with Xerxes, nor the destruction of the walls
of the Spanish cities by Cato, with the tremendous slaughter of the
barbarians by the Greeks, both on sea and land. Aristeides was present
at every action of importance, although he gave up his share of glory
and rewards, even as he did with gold and silver, to those who needed
them more than himself. I cannot blame Cato for always glorifying
himself and claiming the first place for himself, although he says in
one of his books that it is absurd for a man either to praise or to
blame himself; still I think that he who does not even wish for the
praises of others, is a more perfect character than he who is always
exalting himself. An indifference to popular applause does much to
soften the bitterness of political controversy, while on the other
hand a love of distinction often leads men to be ill-natured and
spiteful to others, a fault which Aristeides entirely avoided, and to
which Cato was peculiarly liable. Aristeides saved Athens by
supporting the authority of Themistokles on several critical
occasions, and even acting as his subordinate; while Cato by his
opposition, nearly ruined Scipio's famous expedition to Carthage, in
which he defeated the hitherto invincible Hannibal. Nor did he cease
his intrigues against Scipio until by calumnious and false accusations
he drove him out of Rome, and stigmatized his brother with the
disgraceful charge of embezzling the public money.

VI. Self-denial, upon which Cato has bestowed such lavish praise, was
practised in its purest and brightest form by Aristeides, while Cato
seems to have forfeited all claim to this virtue by his unsuitable and
unseasonable second marriage. It could not be to his honour, when he
was of such a great age, to marry the daughter of his own servant, a
man who acted as a public clerk, and to bring her into the house to
act as mother-in-law to his son, who was now himself grown up and
married. Whether he acted thus from natural inclination, or to spite
his son for his behaviour about his mistress, the marriage and the
motives which led to it are equally discreditable to him. The
sarcastic explanation of it which he gave to his son is utterly
untrue; for had he wished to beget other children as noble as his son,
he ought to have married a well-born lady at once, and not to have
been satisfied with a low intrigue until it was detected, and then to
have chosen as his father-in-law, the man whom he could most easily
influence, rather than some one whose alliance would bring him honour
and advantage.




LIFE OF PHILOPŒMEN.


I. In the city of Mantinea there was a citizen named Kleander, of one
of the first families, and of great influence. Nevertheless he was so
unfortunate as to be forced to leave his native city, and take refuge
in Megalopolis, to which he was chiefly attracted by Kraugis, the
father of Philopœmen, a man eminent in every respect, and an especial
private friend of Kleander. While Kraugis lived, Kleander wanted for
nothing, and after his death endeavoured to repay the debt which he
owed him by devoting himself to the education of his orphan son, just
as Homer tells us that Achilles was nurtured by the exile Phœnix. The
child, who always was of a noble and commanding spirit, grew under his
care into a youth of great promise. As he came near to manhood Ekdemus
and Megalophanes, two citizens of Megalopolis, took charge of his
education. These men had studied in the Academy with Arkesilaus, and
more than any others brought the lessons of philosophy to bear upon
politics and the daily affairs of life. They freed their own country
of the despot Aristodemus by secretly contriving his assassination,
drove out the despot Nikokles from Sikyon, with the help of Aratus,
and, at the request of the people of Kyrene, whose state was a prey to
revolution, they went to that country and restored order and respect
for the laws. They themselves, however, reckoned their most important
work to have been the education of Philopœmen, because by bringing him
up in the precepts of true philosophy they made him a benefactor to
all Greece. And truly Greece loved him exceedingly, as the last great
man born of her old age, after so many great and famous men of former
times. A Roman speaking in his praise called him the last of the
Greeks, as though he thought that Greece had never after him produced
any son worthy of herself.

II. His appearance was not repulsive, as some think; for we can see
the statue of him which exists at Delphi at this day. The mistake of
his Megarian hostess seems to have arisen from his good-nature and
simplicity. She, when she heard that the commander-in-chief of the
Achæans was coming to her house, was in a great state of excitement
about the preparation of dinner, her husband happening to be away.
Meanwhile, Philopœmen entered, dressed in a coarse cloak, and she,
supposing him to be a servant sent on in advance, ordered him to help
her to get things ready. He at once threw off his cloak and began to
split up firewood. While he was thus engaged his friend the master of
the house came in, and seeing him, said, "What is this that you are
doing, Philopœmen?" "Why," answered he in the Doric dialect, "I am
suffering for my ugly face." Titus, also, when jesting upon his bodily
shape, said, "Philopœmen, what fine hands and legs you have; but you
have no belly," as indeed he had a very small waist. However, the jest
was directed more against his power, for though he had plenty of good
infantry and cavalry he was frequently in great distress for money to
pay them. These are the common anecdotes which are current about
Philopœmen.

III. His love of distinction was not entirely unmixed with feelings of
rivalry and passion. He desired to emulate the fame of Epameinondas,
but though he imitated that great man in energy, good sense, and
contempt of money, yet he was unable in political struggles to
maintain his calm unruffled good-nature, but was often betrayed by his
fiery temper into sallies more befitting a soldier than a statesman.
Indeed, from a child he had always been fond of war, and eagerly
devoted himself to soldier-like exercises, such as fighting in
complete armour and riding on horseback. He was thought to be a good
wrestler, and was invited by his friends to contend with them in that
sport, but he asked them whether the practice would not impair his
efficiency as a soldier, when they answered truly that the body and
the life of an athlete differs from that of a soldier in every
respect, more particularly in diet and exercise. The athlete takes
long sleep, frequent meals, regular exercise and intervals of rest,
being likely to be put out of condition by the least change of his
accustomed routine, while the life of a soldier makes him accustomed
to all kinds of change and diversity of life, especially to enduring
hunger and want of sleep. On learning this Philopœmen not only himself
avoided wrestling and ridiculed it, but when he was in command of an
army took every means in his power to bring every kind of athletic
exercise into contempt, as likely to unfit the best men's bodies for
the most important struggles in battle.

IV. On leaving his schoolmasters he took part in the incursion made by
his fellow citizens into the Laconian territory for the purpose of
plunder. In these raids it was his wont always to be first in the
attack, and last in the retreat. In time of peace he would exercise
his body, and make it both swift and strong, either by hunting or by
tilling the ground. He possessed a fine estate about twenty furlongs
from the city: to this he would walk after his morning or evening
meal, and sleep there on any bed he could find, like one of the farm
labourers. Then he would rise early, help the vine-dressers or
cattle-herds to do their work, and, returning to town, take part in
public business. The profits arising from the plunder gained in the
forays he used to spend on horses, arms, and the redeeming of
captives, while he endeavoured to increase his income by the skilful
cultivation of his farm, considering the most just way of making
money, and his strict duty to be, so to manage his fortune as to avoid
the temptation of wronging others. He used to listen to conversation
and to read treatises upon philosophy, yet not all, but only those
which he thought would teach him to be virtuous. He also devoted much
time to reading those passages of Homer which stir up and excite manly
courage, His other reading consisted chiefly of Evangelus's treatise
on military tactics, and of the history of Alexander the Great; but he
always thought that reading, unless it led to action, was a useless
waste of time. In his studies of tactics he used to disregard the
diagrams in the books and consider what could be done in the field
itself, observing the slopes and inequalities of the ground, the
direction of brooks and water-courses, and the effect which they would
have upon a body of troops advancing in line or in column. These
reflections he was wont to make during his walks, and to exercise the
minds of his companions by questions about them; for he devoted his
whole mind to the study of military matters, regarding war as the
widest arena for the display of virtue, utterly despising those who
were not soldiers, as useless members of society.

V. When he was thirty years old Kleomenes, the king of the
Lacedæmonians, made a night attack upon Megalopolis, forced his way
through the guard on the wall and reached the market-place. Philopœmen
came to the rescue, but was not able to dislodge the enemy, although
he assaulted them with the greatest spirit. However, he gained time
for the citizens to leave the town, while he bore the whole brunt of
the attack of Kleomenes, so that at last he had great difficulty in
extricating himself, as he had lost his horse and was wounded. The
citizens of Megalopolis escaped to Messene, whither Kleomenes sent to
offer them their town and territory again. Philopœmen, when he saw his
fellow-citizens eager to embrace this offer, restrained them from
accepting it by pointing out that Kleomenes did not really offer them
their city back again, but meant to get the citizens as well into his
power, in order to be able to hold it more securely for the future;
because he could not remain there guarding naked walls and empty
houses, but would be compelled to leave them and go his way. By these
arguments he withheld the Megalopolitans from coming to terms, but
gave Kleomenes a pretext for destroying a great part of the city, and
carrying away a great booty from it.

VI. When King Antigonus some time after this joined the Achæan forces
in a campaign against Kleomenes, they came upon his army
advantageously posted so as to command the defiles near Sellasia.
Philopœmen was among the cavalry that day with his fellow-citizens,
and next to him were posted the Illyrians, numerous and warlike, who
covered the flank of the allies. Their orders were to remain in
reserve until they saw a red flag raised upon a pike by king
Antigonus on the other wing. The generals of the allies attacked the
Lacedæmonians with the Illyrian troops, but Eukleides, the brother of
Kleomenes, perceiving that by this movement the foot were completely
severed from the horse, sent the swiftest of his light-armed troops to
outflank them and cut them off. When this was done, and the Illyrians
were thrown into great disorder, Philopœmen saw that the cavalry could
charge the Lacedæmonian light troops with great effect, and pointed
this out to Antigonus's generals. Meeting with a scornful refusal, as
his reputation was not yet sufficiently great to warrant his
suggesting such a manœuvre, he collected his own fellow-countrymen and
charged with them alone. At the first onset he threw the light-armed
troops into confusion, and presently routed them with great slaughter.
Wishing to encourage the allies and to come more quickly to blows with
the retreating enemy, he dismounted, and with great difficulty,
encumbered by his heavy horseman's cuirass and accoutrements, pursued
over a rough piece of ground full of water-courses and precipitous
rocks. While struggling over these obstacles he was struck through
both thighs by a javelin with a strap attached to it, a wound which
was not dangerous, though the javelin struck him with such force as to
drive the iron head quite through. This wound for the time rendered
him helpless, as it bound both his legs as if with a chain, while the
strap made it hard to pull the javelin out again through the wound. As
his friends hesitated, not knowing what to do, while the battle now at
its height, excited his courage, and made him long to take part in it,
he violently strained one leg forward and the other back, so as to
break the javelin in the middle, after which the pieces were pulled
out. Being thus set free, he drew his sword, ran through the first of
the combatants and attacked the enemy, animating all his men and
setting them on fire with emulation. After the victory was won
Antigonus enquired of the Macedonians why the cavalry had charged
without orders. They answered that they were forced to charge against
their will by a young citizen of Megalopolis, who attacked on his own
account. Antigonus smiled, and answered, "That young man acted like a
veteran commander."

VII. Philopœmen, as may be supposed, gained great glory by this
action. Antigonus was eager to obtain his services, and offered him a
command and high pay, but he excused himself, knowing that his temper
would not endure to be under the orders of another man. Still, as he
could not be idle, he sailed for Crete to serve a campaign there, in
order to gain experience of war. He spent a considerable time there,
living amongst warlike, sober, and temperate men, and returned to the
Achæans with so great a reputation that they at once put him in
command of the knights. These horsemen, he found, were in the habit of
using any chance horses they could pick up when required for a
campaign, while in many cases they did not serve in person, but sent
substitutes. They were entirely without discipline or bravery, while
all this was passed over unnoticed by their commanders, because the
knights were the most influential men among the Achæans, and were able
to promote or degrade whom they pleased. Philopœmen, however, could
not allow this state of things to continue. He went round to each of
the cities of the Achæan League, and by personally appealing to the
young men's sense of honour, by punishment where it was necessary, and
by careful training, exercises, and contests among them before as many
spectators as possible, in a short time produced great efficiency and
military spirit. He made them quick at manœuvring in squadrons, and in
wheeling round and managing their horses, which is so valuable a
quality in cavalry soldiers, and taught the whole body to move with
ease at the will of one man. Once during a severe battle with the
Eleans and Ætolians on the banks of the river Larissa, Damophantus,
the commander of the Elean horse, rode furiously to attack Philopœmen.
He awaited Damophantus's onset, and with his spear thrust him from his
saddle. When he fell the Eleans at once turned and fled, to the great
glory of Philopœmen, who had proved himself as brave as the youngest
and as skilful as the oldest soldier, equally able to fight or to
command.

VIII. The Achæan League was first organised by Aratus, who formed its
scattered and despicable cities into a noble and truly Greek
commonwealth; then, as in running streams, when first a few small
stones resist the flow of the water, soon much more is brought down by
the stream and lodged against them until a firm ground is formed; so
did the Achæans, by assisting some of the neighbouring cities and
freeing them from despots, and by uniting and incorporating others
with themselves, endeavour to combine the whole of Peloponnesus into
one single state, at a time when Greece was especially weak, having
lost all cohesion, each city relying solely on itself. While Aratus
lived they depended much on the Macedonians, courting first Ptolemy,
then Antigonus and Philip, who all were constantly interfering in the
affairs of Greece. But when Philopœmen came to command they already
felt themselves a match for the most powerful states, and no longer
paid their court to foreign patrons. Aratus, who was no soldier, had
effected most of his successes by suave diplomacy and personal
friendship with foreign princes, as we have written in his Life: but
Philopœmen, a brave and vigorous, and, what is more, an eminently
successful commander in his first essays, greatly raised the spirit
and the strength of the Achæans, by making them confident of victory
under his leadership.

IX. His first task was to alter the military equipment and arms of the
Achæans. They had hitherto used light shields, too narrow to protect
the body, and spears much smaller than the long Macedonian pike. This
light armament rendered them effective as skirmishers, but unable to
hold their own in close fighting. Their order of battle, too, was
loose and without cohesion, having neither the projecting pikes nor
the serried shields of the Macedonian phalanx, in consequence of which
they were easily thrust aside and routed. Philopœmen pointed this out
to them, and persuaded them to adopt the heavy shield and pike in
place of their light arms, to accoutre themselves with helmet,
corslet, and greaves, and to endeavour to move in a steady unbroken
mass instead of in a loose irregular skirmishing order. When he had
induced them to put on complete armour he raised their spirit by
telling them that they would be unconquerable, while he also effected
a most wholesome change in their luxurious habits of life. It was
impossible entirely to do away with their long-standing passion for
fine purple robes and tapestry, rich banquets, and furniture: but he
directed this love of finery to useful purposes, and soon brought them
all to retrench their private expenditure, and to take a pride in the
splendour of their military equipments. Their plate was sent to the
crucible, and employed to gild corslets, shields, and caparisons;
their public places were full of young men training chargers or
exercising themselves in arms, while the women were busy fitting
plumes to helmets, and ornamenting buff coats and military cloaks. The
sight of all this activity roused up their courage, and made them
eager for battle. In all other cases too much care for outward show
and display leads to effeminacy and luxury, because the pleasure which
our senses receive from these things blunt our better judgment, but in
military matters this is not so, for a splendid appearance under arms
increases men's courage; as Homer tells us that Achilles, when his new
arms were brought to him, was at once excited by a vehement desire to
make use of them. The youth, thus equipped, were incessantly exercised
and practised in their new manœuvres, which they performed with
zealous goodwill, being delighted with the close formation of the
phalanx, which seemed as though it could never be broken. They soon
began to move with ease in their heavy armour, priding themselves upon
its splendour, and longing to prove its value in battle against their
enemies. The Achæans at this time were at war with Machanidas the
despot of Lacedæmon, who had immense resources at his disposal, and
menaced the whole of Peloponnesus. As soon as news came that he had
invaded Arcadia and had reached Mantinea, Philopœmen with his army
marched rapidly to attack him. Both sides drew up their forces near
the city of Mantinea, and both brought into the field not only nearly
all their own countrymen, but also large bodies of foreign mercenary
troops. Machanidas began the battle by a charge of his mercenaries,
who routed the Tarentines and other light troops of the Achæans, but
then instead of moving at once to attack and overwhelm their main
body, hurried away in pursuit, leaving the Achæan phalanx standing
untouched. Philopœmen made light of the disaster which had happened
to the light troops, and, perceiving the fault which the enemy had
committed in leaving their heavy infantry unprotected, so that he had
an open plain over which to march against them, disregarded those
Lacedæmonians who were pursuing his own auxiliaries, and bore straight
down upon their main body, which he took in flank, without any cavalry
to protect it, or any general to give it orders, as the men did not
expect to be attacked, and imagined that the victory was already won
when they saw Machanidas so eager in the pursuit. Philopœmen broke and
routed them with great slaughter, four thousand men being said to have
perished, and then turned to encounter Machanidas, who was returning
with his mercenaries, and found his retreat cut off. A deep and wide
watercourse here divided the two leaders, the one of whom endeavoured
to pass it and escape, while the other tried to prevent this. They
looked no longer like two generals, but the despot seemed more like
some savage beast driven to bay by Philopœmen, that mighty hunter. At
length the despot spurred his horse, a fiery animal, to attempt the
leap. The horse gained the other bank with its fore feet, and was
struggling up it, when Simias and Polyænus, the constant companions
and aides-de-camp of Philopœmen, rode to attack him with levelled
lances. Philopœmen, however, came up with Machanidas before them.
Seeing that the despot's horse was rearing its head so as to protect
its master's body, he turned his own horse a little to one side, and,
seizing his lance firmly with both hands, drove it through his body
and cast him from his horse. It is in this posture that Philopœmen is
represented in the statue at Delphi, which was placed there by the
Achæans in token of their admiration of his courage and conduct on
that day.

XI. It is said that when the Greeks were assembled at the Nemean
Games, Philopœmen, who had been elected commander-in-chief for the
second time, and not long before had won his victory at Mantinea,
being at leisure during the festival displayed his phalanx to the
Greeks, with the troops drawn up in their serried array, and
manœuvring with quickness and precision. Afterwards, while the
musicians were contending for the prize in the theatre he entered it
accompanied by his young soldiers in their military cloaks and purple
uniform, all of them strong men in the prime of life, showing a modest
respect for their general, combined with a martial bearing due to
their many brave feats of arms. Just as they came into the theatre
Pylades the musician began to recite the 'Persians' of Timotheus

     "He wrought for Greece a noble work of freedom"

in a loud voice and with suitable solemnity. At this, all the
spectators turned their eyes upon Philopœmen and broke into joyous
applause, remembering the ancient glories of Greece, and feeling such
confidence in him as almost to recover the ancient spirit of their
nation.

XII. But just as horses like their accustomed rider, and if another
mounts them are scared and unmanageable, so the power of the Achæans
become feeble under any other general than Philopœmen. When they saw
him, the whole army rejoiced, and were filled with cheerful
confidence, well knowing that he was the only one of their generals
before whom the enemy always fled, terrified by his name, as, indeed,
appeared by their acts. For Philip king of Macedon, thinking that if
Philopœmen were put out of the way, the Achæans would become subject
to himself as they were before, sent men privately to Argos to
assassinate him: but his plot was disclosed, and he became an object
of universal hatred to the Greeks. The Bœotians too, when they were
besieging Megara and were expecting shortly to take it, retreated in
such hot haste that they actually left their scaling ladders planted
against the walls, in consequence of a rumour, which proved a false
one, that Philopœmen was coming to raise the siege and was close at
hand. When Nabis, who became despot over the Lacedæmonians after
Machanidas, by a sudden attack captured the town of Messene,
Philopœmen was not holding any office, but was a mere private citizen.
He could not prevail upon Lysippus, who was commander-in-chief of the
Achæans, to go to assist the Messenians, because the latter said that
the city must be lost if the enemy were inside the walls. Hereupon
Philopœmen went himself to the rescue with the men of his own city,
who did not delay for any formal vote to empower him to do so, but
followed him because he was born to command. When Nabis heard of his
approach he would not await his coming, but although he was in
possession of the city he marched out by the opposite gate with all
speed, thinking that he would be fortunate if he reached home safe, as
indeed he did. Thus was Messene delivered.

XIII. All these exploits of Philopœmen are without doubt glorious to
him; but he was much blamed for going a second time to Crete at the
request of the people of Gortyna, to act as their general, leaving his
own country to be attacked by Nabis, because he avoided the war at
home to gather unseasonable laurels abroad. Indeed, the citizens of
Megalopolis were so hard pressed at that period as to be forced to
live entirely within their walls, and grow corn in the very streets,
as they were quite cut off from their fields by the enemy, who was
encamped before the gates. Philopœmen, by his remaining beyond seas at
this time acting as general for the Cretans, gave his enemies an
opportunity of charging him with dishonourably shirking the war at
home. Some, however, said that since the Achæans had chosen other men
generals, Philopœmen, who had no office to fill, had a right to use
his leisure in acting as general to the people of Gortyna when they
begged him to do so. Indeed, his nature abhorred rest, and he desired
his courage and generalship to be in constant action, like everything
else belonging to him. This is clearly shown by his saying about king
Ptolemy. When some one praised that prince for carefully training his
army and exercising himself under arms every day, Philopœmen answered,
"Who can admire a king of Ptolemy's age who is still practising and
not performing." However, the citizens of Megalopolis were much vexed
by his conduct, which they considered to be that of a traitor, and
would have banished him had they not been restrained by the whole body
of the Achæans. They sent the general Aristænetus to Megalopolis, who,
although he was politically opposed to Philopœmen, would not allow
sentence of banishment to be passed against him. After this
Philopœmen, being treated with neglect and indifference by his
fellow-citizens, induced many of the outlying villages to rebel
against the city, telling them to say that they were not originally
made subject to it, and he himself openly took their part against his
own city when the matter was referred to the general council of the
Achæan league. But these things happened afterwards. At the time of
which we speak he carried on war in Crete with the Gortynians, not in
a simple straightforward manner, as one would expect a Peloponnesian,
and especially an Arcadian would do, but he adopted the Cretan
character, and by using all their subtle devices and ambushes against
themselves, proved that such contrivances are but child's play when
tried against a truly experienced general.

XIV. Returning to Peloponnesus with a great reputation from his Cretan
successes, he found Philip beaten by Titus Quintius, and Nabis at war
both with the Romans and the Achæans. He was at once elected general
to attack Nabis, and in a sea fight suffered the same misfortune as
Epameinondas, that is to say, he effected much less at sea than was
expected of a man of his courage and reputation.

Indeed some writers tell us that Epameinondas was unwilling that his
countrymen should taste the advantages of the sea, and fearing that,
as Plato says, they might from steady soldiers be transformed into
licentious wandering sailors, purposely returned from the coast of
Asia Minor and the islands without having effected anything.

Philopœmen, imagining that his knowledge of war on land would enable
him to fight equally well at sea, learned by experience how greatly
practice assists men's courage, and how much their strength is
increased by being trained to use it. Not only was he worsted in a
sea-fight through inexperience, but having selected an old ship, which
had once been a famous vessel, but now was forty years old, she leaked
so much as to endanger the lives of those on board. After the action,
finding that the enemy despised him, as though his ships had been
entirely driven from the sea, and that they were ostentatiously
besieging Gythium, he sailed straightway thither and found them quite
unprepared, and with their discipline relaxed in consequence of their
victory. He landed his men at night, burned the enemy's tents, and
slew many of them. A few days afterwards, being surprised by Nabis in
a mountainous spot, while all the Achæans gave themselves up for lost,
despairing of extricating themselves from such a difficult position,
Philopœmen, after a short survey of the country, proved that strategy
is the greatest of military qualities. He quietly and steadily changed
his front, manœuvred his army out of its disadvantageous position,
attacked the enemy, and completely routed them. Perceiving that the
fugitives did not make for the city, but scattered themselves all over
the country, which was hilly and wooded, full of torrents and
precipices, and impassable for cavalry, he made no pursuit, but
encamped before dark. As he conjectured that the enemy after their
rout would straggle back into the city by twos and threes under cover
of the darkness, he concealed many of the Achæans, armed with daggers,
in the rough ground near the city. By this stratagem Nabis's force
suffered great losses, for as they did not retreat in a body, but each
man as best he could, they fell into their foemen's hands at the city
gate like birds into a snare.

XV. Philopœmen gained so much glory by these exploits, and was so much
honoured by the Greeks wherever he appeared in public, that he roused
the jealousy of Flamininus, who thought that he, a consul of Rome, was
worthier of respect than a mere Arcadian, while he had moreover done
much more for Greece, having by one proclamation restored those
liberties of which Philip and his Macedonians had deprived it.
Flamininus put an end to the war with Nabis, who was shortly
afterwards assassinated by the Ætolians. As this event threw Sparta
into disorder, Philopœmen seized the opportunity, marched thither with
an army, and partly by persuasion, partly by force, prevailed upon the
city to join the Achæan league. This wonderfully raised his fame
throughout Greece, that he should have won over so famous and powerful
a city, for Sparta formed a most important member of the league. He
also gained the good will of the Lacedæmonian nobles, who hoped that
he would protect their newly-won liberty. They sold the house and
property of Nabis, and decreed that the money, amounting to a hundred
and twenty talents, should be presented to him by a deputation. On
this occasion Philopœmen showed himself to be a man of real virtue.
At the interview none of the Spartans liked to propose to him to
receive the money, but they excused themselves, and made his own
especial friend Timolaus undertake to do this. Timolaus, however, when
he reached Megalopolis, and living in the house of Philopœmen had an
opportunity of observing the noble simplicity of his character and his
lofty integrity, in the familiar intercourse of private life, dared
not mention the bribe, but gave some other excuse for his visit and
returned home. He was sent a second time, with the same result. On a
third visit he with great hesitation broached the subject. Philopœmen
listened to him without anger, and sent him back to the Spartans with
the advice that they should not corrupt their friends, whose services
they could obtain gratis, but keep their money to bribe those who
endeavoured to countermine their city in the public assembly of the
Achæan league, as, if muzzled in this way, they would cease to oppose
them. It was better, he added, to restrain the freedom of speech of
their enemies than that of their friends. So uncorrupt was he, and
inaccessible to bribes.

XVI. When Diophanes, the commander-in-chief of the Achæans,
endeavoured to punish the Lacedæmonians for a change in their policy,
and they by their resistance threw the whole of Peloponnesus into
confusion, Philopœmen tried to act as mediator, and to soothe the
anger of Diophanes, pointing out to him that at a time when the Romans
and king Antiochus with enormous forces were about to make Greece
their battle ground, a general ought to direct all his thoughts to
their movements, and to avoid any internal disturbance, willingly
accepting any apologies from those who did wrong. But as Diophanes
took no notice of him, but together with Flamininus invaded Laconia,
Philopœmen, disregarding the exact letter of the law, performed a most
spirited and noble action. He hurried to Sparta, and, though only a
private man, shut its gates in the faces of the commander-in-chief of
the Achæans and of the Roman consul, put an end to the revolutionary
movement there, and prevailed upon the city to rejoin the Achæan
league. Some time afterwards however, we are told by Polybius that
Philopœmen, when commander-in-chief, having some quarrel with the
Lacedæmonians, restored the exiles to the city, and put to death
eighty, or, according to Aristokrates, three hundred and fifty
Spartans. He also pulled down the walls of Sparta, and annexed a large
portion of its territory to Megalopolis, while he forced all those
persons who had been created citizens of Sparta under the rule of the
despots to leave the city and proceed to Achæa, except three hundred.
These, because they refused to obey him and leave Lacedæmon he sold
for slaves, and with the money, as a wanton insult, built a public
portico in Megalopolis. Moreover, in his wrath against the
Lacedæmonians, he did them a most cruel wrong, for he abolished the
Lycurgean system of education and forced them to educate their
children like those of the Achæans, because he saw that they never
would be humble-minded as long as they lived under the discipline of
Lycurgus. Thus was the haughty city of Sparta brought so low by its
misfortunes as to permit Philopœmen to cut, as it were, its very
sinews, and render it tame and crushed. Afterwards, however, the
citizens obtained permission from Rome to retire from the Achæan
confederation, upon which they restored their original constitution as
far as their great disasters permitted.

XVII. When the Romans were fighting king Antiochus in Greece,
Philopœmen was in a private station, but, seeing Antiochus lying idly
at Chalkis, wasting his time in unseasonable courtships and weddings,
while his Syrian troops, in great disorder and without officers to
control them, were scattered through the various Greek cities, living
in riotous debauchery, he was vexed at not being elected commander in
chief, and said that he envied the Romans their victory. "I," said he,
"if I had been in command, would have cut off the whole of Antiochus's
army in the taverns."

After the defeat of Antiochus the Romans began to tighten their hold
upon Greece, and to absorb the Achæan league. Many of the popular
leaders took their side, and the growing power of Rome was fated by
the divine blessing before long to become absolute in Greece.
Philopœmen, like a skilful pilot, struggling against a rough sea, was
often compelled to yield and give way for a time, yet as he was
utterly opposed to the Romans he did his best to induce the most
influential men to defend the liberties of Greece. Aristænetus of
Megapolis, a man of great influence with the Achæans, who urged them
in the public assembly not to oppose or to thwart the Romans in
anything, was listened to by Philopœmen for some time in silence,
until at length he was moved to exclaim, "My good sir, why be in such
a hurry to behold the end of Greece?" When Manius the Roman consul had
conquered Antiochus, he begged the Achæans to permit the Lacedæmonian
exiles to return. Titus Flamininus seconded this request, but
Philopœmen opposed it; not because he had any quarrel with the exiles,
but because he wished their restoration to be effected by himself and
the Achæans, of their own free will, not as a favour to Flamininus and
the Romans. Afterwards, when commander-in-chief, he himself restored
them. Thus did his high spirit make him impatient of control and
authority.

XVIII. When he was in his seventieth year, and eighth term of office
as commander-in-chief, he might reasonably expect to finish not only
his year of office, but also the rest of his life in peace; for just
as in human bodies as their strength wastes away the violence of their
diseases abates, so in the Greek states as their power failed their
quarrels gradually ceased. However some Nemesis overtook him, as it
does a too successful athlete just at the termination of his course.
It is said that when some persons in society were praising a man who
was thought to be a good general, Philopœmen said, "How can you think
that man worth consideration, who was taken by his enemy alive."

A few days after this Deinokrates of Messene, a personal enemy of
Philopœmen, and one who was generally disliked because of his wicked
and licentious life, caused Messene to revolt from the Achæan league,
and was announced to be marching upon a village named Kolonis.
Philopœmen was at this time lying ill with a fever in the city of
Argos, but on hearing this he proceeded at once to Megalopolis, a
distance of four hundred furlongs, in one day. From that city he set
out straightway with a body of cavalry, composed of the noblest
citizens, but mostly very young men, who were proud to serve as
volunteers under Philopœmen. They rode into the Messenian territory,
met Deinokrates near the hill of Evander, and put him to flight.
However as the Messenian frontier patrol of five hundred men suddenly
came up, the defeated body rallied again, and Philopœmen, fearing to
be surrounded, and wishing to be careful of the lives of his men,
retired into mountainous ground, himself protecting the rear, making
frequent charges, and drawing the whole attack of the enemy upon
himself. They did not dare to encounter him personally, but clamoured
and wheeled about at a distance. In his eagerness to save each one of
his young soldiers he ventured forward so often, to cover their
retreat, that at last he found himself alone in the midst of his
enemies. None of them dared to meet him, but pelted him with stones
and darts from a distance, so that he was with difficulty able to
guide his horse over the rocky and precipitous ground, and fatigued
the animal greatly.

His age was no hindrance to him, because of his habit of constant
exercise, but unluckily he was weak from his sickness, and wearied by
his long journey, so as to feel faint. His horse at length stumbling
threw him to the ground. He fell heavily on his head, and lay
speechless for some time, so that his enemies thought that he was
dead, and began to turn over his body and strip it. But when he raised
his head and opened his eyes they fell upon him in a body, tied his
hands behind his back, and led him away, jeering much at a man who
never even dreamed that he could have been so triumphed over by
Deinokrates.

XIX. The Messenians who were in the city, greatly excited at the news,
assembled at the gates. When they saw Philopœmen dragged along and
treated in a manner so unworthy of a man who had gained such glorious
victories, most of them felt compassion for him, and were moved to
tears as they reflected how uncertain a thing is human power. Thus
gradually they expressed aloud their kindly feeling towards him,
saying that his former benefits and the liberty which he bestowed
upon them by driving out the despot Nabis, ought to be had in
remembrance. There were some few, however, who in order to gain favour
with Deinokrates, advised him to put Philopœmen to death by torture,
pointing out that he was a dangerous enemy, and would be peculiarly
exasperated against Deinokrates if he now were to regain his freedom
after having been his captive and having been insulted by him. Finally
they put him into what was called the Treasury, a subterranean chamber
with no window or communication with the outward air, and no door
even, but closed by a great stone. There they left him, putting the
great stone over the entrance, and placing a guard of armed men round
it.

Meanwhile the Achæan horsemen rallied from their flight, and as
Philopœmen was nowhere to be seen, they thought that he must have
fallen. They remained for a long while, searching for him, and
reproaching themselves with having obtained dishonourable safety by
abandoning to the enemy their leader, who had laid down his life for
them. Afterwards they pushed forward, inquiring everywhere for him,
and at length learned that he had been captured. They at once sent the
news to the various cities of the Achæan league, who took the matter
greatly to heart, determined to demand Philopœmen publicly from the
Messenians, and prepared for a campaign on his behalf.

XX. While they were acting thus, Deinokrates feared that delay might
save Philopœmen's life. Wishing therefore to be beforehand with the
Achæans, as soon as night came on, and the greater part of the
Messenians had retired, he opened the prison and sent into it a public
slave with a draught of poison, ordering him to stand by Philopœmen
until he had drunk it. Philopœmen was lying down wrapped in his cloak,
not asleep, but full of trouble and distress of mind. When he saw the
light and the slave with the poison standing beside him, he, with
great difficulty on account of his weakness, raised himself into a
sitting posture. He then took the cup into his hand, and inquired
whether he knew anything about the knights, especially about one
Lykortas. When the slave answered that most of them had escaped, he
nodded his head, looked kindly upon him, and answered, "You tell me
good news, if we are not all unfortunate." He uttered no other word,
but drank the poison and laid down again. In his weak condition he was
unable to offer any resistance to the operations of the drug, and died
immediately.

XXI. When the Achæan cities heard of his death, they went into a
general mourning for him. The men of military age assembled at
Megalopolis without delay, chose Lykortas as their leader, invaded the
Messenian territory, and ravaged it until the Messenians came to their
senses and made terms with the Achæans. Deinokrates escaped his
merited fate by suicide, as did those who had advised that Philopœmen
should be put to death, while those who had advised that he should be
tortured were themselves reserved for a death of torture by Lykortas.
They burned his body and collected the ashes into an urn, not
carelessly, but mingling a sort of triumphal pomp with his funeral
procession. There one might see men crowned with garlands but weeping
at the same time, and leading along his enemies in chains. The urn
itself, which was scarcely to be seen for the garlands and ribbons
with which it was covered, was carried by Polybius, the son of the
Achæan commander-in-chief, accompanied by the noblest of the Achæans.
The soldiers followed in complete armour, with caparisoned horses, not
cast down, but yet too sad to feel any pride in their victory. As they
passed through the towns and villages on their way the inhabitants
came out as if to welcome him on his return from a successful
campaign, laid their hands on his urn, and joined in the procession to
Megalopolis. When here the old men, women, and children joined them, a
wail of distress ran through the whole army for the unhappy city which
was mourning for its hero, and which thought itself to have lost, by
his death, the first place in Greece. He was buried with great honour,
as we may well believe, and round his tomb the Messenian captives wore
stoned to death. Many statues were made of him, and many honours voted
to him by the Greek cities, which afterwards during that unfortunate
time for Greece when Corinth was destroyed, a Roman proposed to
destroy, accusing Philopœmen, as if he had been yet alive, of being
always an enemy to the Romans. But after Polybius had answered this
contemptible fellow, neither the consul Mummius nor his lieutenants
would suffer him to deface and take away the honours done in memory of
so famous and worthy a man, although he had frequently offered great
opposition both to Flamininus and to Manius. They distinguished
properly between honour and expediency, rightly thinking that men
should reward those who benefit them, but that the brave should always
be honoured by all brave men. Thus much have I to tell about
Philopœmen.




LIFE OF TITUS FLAMININUS.


Those who wish to know what Titus Quintius Flamininus, whom we have
selected as a parallel to Philopœmen, was like, may see his brazen
statue in Rome, which stands beside the great statue of Apollo from
Carthage, opposite to the Circus, with a Greek inscription upon it.
His temper is said to have been warm, both in love and in anger,
though he was ever moderate and placable in inflicting punishment,
while he was never weary in conferring favours, and was always eager
to help those upon whom he had bestowed some benefit, preserving and
protecting them as though they were the most precious of his
possessions. Being ambitious and eager to distinguish himself, he
wished to take the leading part in everything, and consequently
preferred those who hoped to receive to those who were able to confer
favours, because the former were his assistants and the latter his
rivals in the struggle for honour.

He received a military training, being born at a time when Rome was
engaged in most important wars, and when young men learned how to act
as officers not by theory but by actual service in the field. He first
served as military tribune under the consul Marcellus in the war with
Hannibal. Marcellus perished in an ambuscade, but Titus was made
governor of Tarentum after its recapture, and of the surrounding
territory. In this government, he won as great a reputation for
justice as for courage, so that when the Romans sent colonists to the
two cities of Narnia and Cossa, he was appointed to lead them and act
as founder of the colonies.

II. This so elated him that he at once aspired to the consulship,
passing over all the usual steps of Ædile, Tribune, or Prætor, by
which young men generally rose to that office. When the day of
election arrived, he appeared with a strong following of devoted
partisans from those two towns. When the tribunes of the people,
Fulvius and Manius, came forward and protested against a young man
taking the highest office in the state by storm, contrary to the laws,
and being as it were uninitiated in the very elements of the
constitution, the Senate referred the matter to the votes of the
people, who elected him consul together with Sextus Ælius, although he
was not yet thirty years old. In casting lots for provinces the war
with Philip of Macedon fell to his share, greatly to the advantage of
the Romans, because in that war they needed a general who would deal
with the enemy not entirely by main force, but also win them over by
persuasion and diplomacy. The kingdom of Macedonia was amply
sufficient for Philip, if he only fought once with the Romans; but to
maintain the cost of a long war, to supply his troops, and afford him
necessary resources, the co-operation of Greece was essential to him.
Unless therefore Greece could be detached from his alliance, the war
could not be decided by a single battle. Greece at this time had been
brought but little into contact with the Romans, who then for the
first time interfered in her politics. Unless, therefore, the Roman
general had been a man of high character, willing to act by diplomacy
rather than by war, and combining affability of address with a strict
sense of justice, the Greeks would have been unwilling to throw off
their allegiance to their former masters in order to place themselves
under the new and untried dominion of Rome. Of these honourable traits
in Titus's character many instances will be found in his acts.

III. He learned that his predecessors, Sulpicius[32] and Publius[33],
had both invaded Macedonia when the season was far advanced, had begun
warlike operations too late, and had failed because Philip occupied
the strong places in the country and harassed them by constant attacks
upon their communications and foraging parties. Flamininus did not
wish to follow their example, and, after wasting a year at home in
the enjoyment of the consular dignity, and in taking part in the
politics of Rome, to set out late in the year to begin his campaign,
although by this means he might have extended his command over two
years, by acting as consul in the first, and carrying on the war as
proconsul during the second. He preferred to throw the weight of his
power as consul into the conduct of the war, cared not to display the
insignia of his office at Rome, but obtained from the Senate the
appointment of his brother Lucius to the command of the fleet which
was to co-operate with him, took as the nucleus of his army three
thousand of the strongest of those veterans who under Scipio had
beaten Hasdrubal in Spain and Hannibal in Africa, and safely crossed
over with them into Epirus. Here he found Publius, with his army,
watching that of Philip, which held the passes near the river Apsus,
but unable to effect anything on account of the enemy being so
strongly posted. After taking over the army from Publius, whom he
superseded in its command, he reconnoitred the position. Its strength
is as great as that of the vale of Tempe, although it wants the lovely
meadows and groves of trees for which the latter is celebrated. The
river Apsus runs in a deep ravine between vast and lofty mountains,
like the Peneus in appearance and swiftness, and beside it, at the
foot of the mountains, runs one narrow and rocky path, along which it
is difficult for an army to proceed even if unmolested, and utterly
impossible if it be held by an enemy.

IV. Titus was advised by some to turn Philip's flank, marching through
the Dassaretid country along the Lykus, which would offer no such
difficulties; but he feared to march far from the coast lest, like his
predecessors, he should become entangled in a country which could
furnish no supplies, be unable to force Philip to fight, and be
obliged to retreat to the sea again from want of the means of
subsistence. He determined to force his way through the mountains in
front, and as these were held by Philip with his main body, the
phalanx, his flanks being secured by archers and light armed troops,
skirmishes took place between him and the Romans daily, with
considerable loss on both sides, but without any result, until some of
the natives of the country informed him of a path, neglected by the
enemy, by which they undertook to lead his army, and on the third day
at the latest to place it upon the heights. As a guarantee of their
good faith they referred the Romans to Charops, the chief of the
Epirot tribes, who was friendly to the Romans, and co-operated with
them secretly, being afraid of Philip. Titus trusting in this man's
word sent one of the military tribunes with four thousand infantry and
three hundred cavalry. They were guided by these peasants, who were
strictly guarded, and marched by night, resting by day in woods and
sheltered places: for the moon was full. Titus, after he had
despatched this force, rested his army, only skirmishing slightly with
the enemy lest they should entertain any suspicion, until the day upon
which the turning party was expected to appear on the summit of the
mountain range. On that morning he got his whole force under arms,
light and heavy armed alike, and dividing it into three parts himself
led one body in column up to the attack of the narrowest part of the
pass beside the river, while the Macedonians shot at him from above
and disputed every inequality of the ground, while on his right and
left the other detachments likewise vigorously attacked the position.
The sun rose while they were thus engaged, and a light cloud of smoke,
not distinct, but like a mountain mist, rose from the captured
heights. It was unnoticed by the enemy, being behind their backs, but
kept the Romans, while they fought, in a state of hopeful excitement
and suspense. When however it grew thicker and blacker, and rising in
a cloud proved itself without doubt to be the looked-for signal, they
rushed forward with a shout and drove the enemy into their innermost
places of refuge, while those on the rocks above echoed their warlike
clamour.

V. A headlong flight now took place, but the enemy lost only two
thousand men, for the difficulties of the ground made it hard to
pursue. The Romans, however, made themselves masters of their baggage,
tents, and slaves, and marched through Epirus in such an orderly and
well-disciplined fashion that, although the soldiers were far from
their ships, had not had their monthly allowance of provisions served
out to them, and were not often near a market, they nevertheless
abstained from plundering a country which was abounding in riches.
Indeed Titus had learned that Philip passed through Thessaly like a
fugitive, driving the inhabitants of the city to fly to the mountains
for refuge, burning the cities and giving all the property which could
not be carried away to his soldiers as plunder.

As Philip therefore had given up the country to the Romans, Titus
besought his soldiers to march through it taking as much care of it as
if it were their own. This good discipline was not long in bearing
fruit; for as soon as the Romans entered Thessaly the cities
surrendered themselves to Titus, while the Greeks beyond Thermopylæ
were excited and eager for him to come to them, and in Peloponnesus
the Achæan league threw off allegiance to Philip, and agreed to wage
war against him in conjunction with the Romans. The Opuntian Lokrians
also sent for Titus and delivered themselves up to him, although they
had been pressed by the Ætolians, who were allies of the Romans, to
allow them to take charge of their city. It is said that king Pyrrhus,
when from a mountain watch-tower he first saw the Roman army drawn up
in regular order, said:--"These barbarians have nothing barbarous in
their military discipline." And in truth all those who met Titus were
compelled to echo these words. They heard from the Macedonians that
the leader of a barbarian army was coming to destroy everything and to
reduce everyone to slavery: and then meeting a young and pleasant
looking man, who was a thorough Greek in language and address, and a
man of really noble character, they were marvellously fascinated by
him, and on leaving him filled their cities with his praises, saying
that at length they had found a champion for the liberties of Greece.
After he had proposed to Philip, as terms of peace, that he should
withdraw his garrisons and leave Greece independent, which Philip
refused to do, then even those who had previously been on the side of
Philip admitted that the Romans had not come to fight against the
Greeks, but to fight with the Greeks against the Macedonians.

VI. The whole of Greece came to terms with him without a struggle,
Thebes being the first city to send a deputation to welcome him as he
peacefully marched through Bœotia. It was Brachyllus who had kept the
Thebans loyal to Philip, but now they desired to show their admiration
and esteem for Flamininus, being, as they imagined, on terms of amity
with both parties. Titus received them with great courtesy, and walked
gently forwards with them, conversing with them and asking them
questions, until his soldiers, who were marching some distance behind,
came up with him. Then he walked into the city in the company of the
Thebans, not altogether to their satisfaction, although they did not
like to attempt to keep him out, as he was accompanied by a good many
soldiers. Yet, as if the town were not entirely at his mercy, he made
them a speech, urging them to side with the Romans, while King Attalus
spoke to the same effect, encouraging the Thebans to rally to the
Roman cause. Attalus, indeed, over-exerted himself in his speech,
considering his great age, and in consequence of a sudden dizziness or
faintness fell down in a fit. He was shortly afterwards conveyed by
sea to Asia Minor, and died there. However, the Bœotians accepted the
Roman alliance.

VII. Philip now sent an embassy to Rome; and Flamininus also sent
thither to beg the Senate to allow him to retain his office of consul,
in case they should continue the war, or if they decided otherwise, to
permit him to have the honour of concluding a peace with Philip; for
his ambitious spirit could not endure to be superseded by another
commander. His friends succeeded in obtaining the rejection of
Philip's demands, and his own continuance in office. As soon as he
received this intelligence, he started, full of hope, to attack Philip
in Thessaly, with an army of more than twenty-six thousand men, of
which the Ætolians supplied six thousand infantry and four hundred
cavalry. The army of Philip was of nearly equal numbers, and they
began to march towards one another until they both drew near the city
of Skotussa, where they determined to fight a decisive battle. When
the two armies found themselves so near each other they felt no fear,
as one might have expected, but each was confident of victory. The
Romans were eager for the honour of overcoming the Macedonians, who
had gained such glory under Alexander the Great; while the
Macedonians, admitting the Romans to be very different soldiers to the
Persians, swelled with pride at the thought that if they could conquer
them, they would prove their king Philip to be even more invincible
than Alexander himself. Titus also encouraged his soldiers to quit
them like men, pointing out that they were about to fight in Greece, a
noble theatre in which to display deeds of daring, and against worthy
antagonists; while Philip, either by chance, or not noticing what he
was doing in his haste, mounted upon a large sepulchre outside his
camp, and from it began to make the usual speech to his men to
encourage them for the coming struggle, but at length observing the
evil omen was much disheartened by it, broke off in confusion, and
would not fight that day.

VIII. On the following morning about dawn, as the night had been warm
and damp, the whole plain was covered with fog, and a thick mist
poured down from the neighbouring hills; which rendered it impossible
to distinguish any object. The parties which were sent out by each
army to reconnoitre fell in with one another and fought near the place
called Kynoskephalæ, that is, Dogs' Heads, which is so named because a
number of small hills near together have something of this appearance.
In the combat, as usually happens in such rough ground, each side
alternately had the advantage, and as each gave way they were
reinforced from the respective camps. Now the fog lifted, and the two
commanders resolved upon a general engagement. Philip's right wing, on
which the phalanx charged down-hill with all its weight, was
victorious, the Romans being unable to stand before that hedge of
spears, or break through that closely-locked array of shields. But on
the left the Macedonians were unable to maintain their line, because
of the inequalities of the ground, and Titus, seeing that his left was
hopelessly routed, rode quickly to his own right, and suddenly
attacked the enemy, who, because of the uneven nature of the ground,
were unable to form their phalanx with its deep ranks, in which lies
the peculiar strength of that order of battle, while the soldiers of
which it is composed are armed in an unwieldy fashion which renders
them helpless in a hand-to-hand fight. For the Macedonian phalanx[34]
is like some huge beast of invincible strength so long as it remains
one body, close locked together in serried ranks; but when broken up
it loses even the advantage of each individual soldier's strength,
because of the fashion in which they are armed, as they can only act
together, not separately. When this body was routed some of the Romans
pursued the fugitives, while others charged the victorious Macedonians
in flank, soon forcing them to break up their array and fly in
confusion, throwing away their arms. There fell no less than eight
thousand of them, and five thousand were taken prisoners. The Ætolian
cavalry were blamed for letting Philip escape, because they betook
themselves to plundering the camp of the Macedonians even before the
Romans ceased their pursuit, so that on their return they found that
nothing had been left for them.

IX. From this there arose quarrels between the Ætolians and the
Romans; and afterwards they exasperated Titus by taking to themselves
the credit of the victory, and being the first to spread abroad that
report among the Greeks so that they received all the honours due to
victors, and were mentioned first in all the poems and ballads
written about the battle. Of these, that which was most in vogue was
the following:--

    "Unwept, unburied, on this mountain high,
    Stranger, Thessalians thirty thousand lie;
    They fell before Ætolia's sons in war.
    And Romans, brought by Titus from afar.
    Æmathia weeps their loss. Bold Philip too,
    Flies like a deer, and knows not what to do."

This was written by Alkæus to insult Philip, exaggerating the number
of the slain; but when it came to be repeated many times and by many
men, it vexed Titus more than Philip. The latter indeed parodied it in
the following lines.

    "Unshaped, unpolished, stands a gibbet strong,
    Upon this hill to hang Alkæus on."

But Titus, who felt that the eyes of Greece were upon him, was
wonderfully vexed by these incidents. For this reason he conducted the
operations which followed without in the least degree consulting the
Ætolians. They were angry at this neglect, and when Titus began
negotiations with Philip, and received an embassy from him to treat
for peace, they spread it abroad throughout Greece that Titus was
being bribed by Philip into making peace, when he had it in his power
to utterly cut off and destroy that power which first destroyed the
independence of Greece. Philip himself however put an end to this
suspicion, by placing himself and all his resources in the hands of
Titus and the people of Rome. So now Titus brought the war to a close.
He restored Philip to his kingdom of Macedonia, but forbade him to
interfere in the affairs of Greece. He also imposed upon him a fine of
a thousand talents, took away all but ten of his ships of war, and
sent one of his two sons, Demetrius, to Rome as a hostage for the
fulfilment of these conditions. In their making terms with Philip
Titus showed himself wise and provident: for Hannibal the
Carthaginian, who was at that time an exile, was already at the court
of King Antiochus, urging him to follow up his good fortune and
increase his empire. Antiochus had already been so successful as to
have gained the surname of 'the Great,' and was now aiming at
universal dominion. He especially intended to attack the Romans, and
unless Titus had foreseen this, and granted favourable terms of peace,
Philip would have been his ally, the two most powerful kings of the
age would have been arrayed against the Romans, and a struggle no less
important than that of Rome against Hannibal would have begun. As it
was, Titus interposed this peace between the two wars, finishing the
one before he began the other; by which means he took from one of the
kings his last, and from the other his first hope.

X. The ten commissioners, whom the Senate despatched to assist Titus
in settling the affairs of Greece, advised him to leave it free and
independent, only keeping garrisons in Corinth, Chalkis, and
Demetrias, for safety against Antiochus. Upon this the Ætolians threw
off all disguise, openly urged these cities to revolt, and called upon
Titus to loose the chains of Greece, as Philip was wont to call these
three cities. They asked the Greeks whether they were pleased at their
present bonds, which were heavier, though smoother than before; and
whether they still thought Titus to be their benefactor because he had
removed the fetters from the feet of Greece and fastened them round
her throat. Titus was much grieved at these imputations, and at length
by his representations induced the Senate to desist from its design of
placing garrisons in these three cities, in order that the liberty
which he was about to bestow upon Greece might be unclogged by any
conditions.

When the Isthmian games were being celebrated, a great number of
people were assembled in the arena witnessing the gymnastic contests,
as was natural now that wars had ceased throughout Greece, and the
people could attend their national festivals in safety. Proclamation
was now suddenly made by the sound of a trumpet that every man should
keep silence; and a herald coming forward into the midst of the
assembly announced that the Senate of Rome, and Titus Quintius their
consul and general, having overcome King Philip and the Macedonians,
did now henceforth give liberty to the Corinthians, Lokrians,
Phokians, Eubœans, Achæans of Phthia, Magnetes, Thessalians, and
Perrhæbians, with exemption from garrisons and tribute, and
permission to govern themselves by their hereditary laws. At first all
did not clearly hear the proclamation, and there was a disorderly
tumult in the assembly, as men wondered at the words, asked one
another their meaning, and called upon the herald to repeat them. But
when silence had again been obtained, and the herald, exerting his
voice to the utmost, repeated the proclamation, such a shout was
raised that it was heard as far as the sea coast, and all the
spectators rose from their seats, caring nothing more for the games,
but rushing with one accord to greet, with transports of delight, the
saviour and protector of Greece. On this occasion was observed what is
often mentioned as an example of the power of human voices; some
crows, which were flying over the racecourse at that moment, fell down
among the people. The reason of this is that the air is broken and cut
asunder by the vehemence and strength of the voices, so as not to have
its natural power to support the birds, which, fell down just as if
they were flying through a place where there was no air at all; unless
indeed it was the violence of the cry that struck the birds like a
shot, and so caused them to fall down dead. It may be also that the
air is driven round in whirlpools by such shouts, as we observe
happens in violent disturbances of the sea.

XI. As for Titus, unless he had escaped betimes when the assembly
broke up and rushed towards him, it is thought that he could not have
survived the pressure of so great a multitude. The crowd surrounded
his tent, shouting and applauding until nightfall, when they
dispersed: but as they went, if they met any of their kin, their
friends, or fellow-citizens, they kissed and embraced them for joy,
and then supped and made merry together. We may well think that they
had no other talk at the table but of the great and terrible wars
which Greece had fought for her liberty, and that nevertheless she
never had obtained so perfect and delightful a state of freedom as
that which had been won for her by other men's labours, almost without
any blood of her own being spilt. It is indeed rare to find bravery
and wisdom combined in any man, but it is even rarer to find a
perfectly just man. Agesilaus and Lysander, Nikias and Alkibiades
knew well how to wage war and win battles both by land and by sea, but
they never could make their victories yield any honourable benefit to
others, or true glory to themselves. Indeed with the exception of
Marathon and Salamis, Platæa and Thermopylæ, and the campaigns of
Kimon on the Eurymedon and in Cyprus, all the other battles of Greece
have been fought against herself, to bring about her slavery, and
every trophy has been a misfortune, and a monument of shame rather
than glory, arising chiefly from the rivalry between the leading
cities. Yet a strange nation, from which it was inconceivable that
Greece should receive any benefit, with scarcely any glimmering
embers, as it were, of a common origin, had nevertheless, with great
risk and hard fighting, rescued Greece from her harsh tyrants and
oppressors.

XII. These were the thoughts which occupied men's minds: and the
events which took place were all in conformity with the proclamation.
Titus had at the same time sent Lentulus to Asia Minor to free the
Bargylians, and Stertinius to Thrace to remove the garrisons of Philip
from the towns and islands in that quarter, while Publius Villius set
sail to treat with Antiochus about the freedom of the Greeks in his
dominions. Titus himself proceeded to Chalkis, and thence he took ship
for Magnesia, where he removed the foreign garrisons from the cities
and re-established a democratic constitution in them. After this he
was elected President of the Nemean games at Argos, where he made
admirable arrangements for the conduct of the festival, and made a
herald repeat his proclamation to the Greeks assembled there. He now
made a progress through the cities of Greece, in which he established
tranquillity and good laws, encouraged them to regard each other with
good will, put an end to faction, and brought back exiles, taking no
less pride in acting as counsellor and mediator to the Greeks than he
did in having conquered the Macedonians, so that liberty seemed to be
the least of the benefits which he had bestowed on the Greeks.

It is said that when at Athens Lykurgus the orator had rescued
Xenokratos the philosopher from the tax-gatherers who were taking him
to prison for non-payment of the tax upon resident aliens, and had
them punished for their insolent conduct towards him, Xenokrates,
afterwards meeting the sons of Lykurgus, said, "My children, I am
making your father an honourable return for his kindness, he has the
praises of the whole people for what he did for me." Flamininus and
the Romans, however, not only obtained the praise of the Greeks in
return for the benefits which they had conferred upon them, but also
gained the trust and confidence of all mankind by their noble acts.
Not only cities, but even kings who had been wronged by other kings
came to them for redress, so that in a short space of time, with the
assistance, no doubt, of the divine favour, all the world became
subject to them. Flamininus especially prided himself on having
liberated the Greeks, and when he dedicated at Delphi silver shields
and his own Roman buckler, he wrote upon them the following verses:--

    "To you, the Twins, delighting in the chase,
    Great Zeus's sons, of Sparta's royal race,
    This offering gives the Roman Titus, he
    Who set the children of fair Hellas free."

He also dedicated a golden wreath to Apollo, with the inscription--

    "To thee, Latona's child, this chaplet fair
       Doth Titus, leader of Rome's army, send;
     The crown will well beseem thy glorious hair;
       Do thou the donor from all ill defend."

Indeed it was in the city of Corinth that this favour has twice been
bestowed upon the Greeks, for it was in Corinth that Titus made the
proclamation of which we have spoken, and Nero again, in our own time,
in nearly the same manner, during the Isthmian games, declared the
Greeks free and independent, except that Titus proclaimed it by means
of a herald, while Nero mounted upon a platform in the market place
and made the announcement himself. However, this took place long
afterwards.

XIII. Titus now began a war against that most hateful and lawless of
despots, Nabis of Lacedæmon, but betrayed the confidence of the
Greeks; for when he had the opportunity of destroying him he would not
do so, but made terms with him, leaving Sparta in a shameful bondage.
Either he was afraid that if the war went on for any length of time
some new commander would be sent from Rome who would gain the credit
of it, or else he was jealous of the honours which were paid to
Philopœmen, who was by far the greatest warrior in Greece at that
period, and who surpassed himself in acts of bravery and strategy
during the campaign against Nabis. The homage which was paid
Philopœmen in all public assemblies by the Achæans vexed Flamininus,
who felt angry that a mere Arcadian, who had gained some credit as a
leader in obscure border warfare, should be treated with as much
respect as the Roman consul, who was acting as the protector of all
the peoples of Greece. The excuse which Titus himself made for
terminating the war was that he saw that the despot could not be
dethroned without causing great suffering to the other Spartans.
Though the Achæans passed many decrees in his honour he cared for none
of them except one gift which they bestowed upon him, which was as
follows. Many of the Romans who had been taken prisoners in the war
with Hannibal had been sold for slaves, and were in servitude in
different countries. In Greece there were twelve hundred of them, men
who were in any case much to be pitied for their misfortune, but
especially now, when as may be supposed, they met their sons,
brothers, and relations, who were free Roman soldiers, while they
themselves were slaves. Titus, though grieved at their lot, did not
take them forcibly from their owners, but the Achæans paid a ransom of
five minæ for each man, collected them into one body, and just as
Titus was about to set sail for home, presented them to him, so that
he left the scene of his glorious labours having received an
honourable reward, and one which well befitted so great and patriotic
a man, besides being the most glorious ornament of his triumph: for
these men of their own accord, like ordinary slaves who have been
emancipated, shaved their heads, put on felt skull caps,[35] and
followed in the train at his triumph.

XIV. A more splendid spectacle was afforded by the spoils of war, the
Greek helmets, Macedonian shields, and long sarissæ, or pikes used by
the phalanx, which were carried along in the procession. There was
also no inconsiderable sum of money, for Tuditanus tells us that in
this triumph there were displayed three thousand seven hundred and
thirteen pounds of gold coin, forty-three thousand two hundred and
seventy pounds of silver coin, and fourteen thousand five hundred and
fourteen gold coins of King Philip, besides the thousand talents which
he owed. These, however, the Romans, at the instance of Flamininus,
forgave him, and released his son who had been kept as a hostage for
their payment.

XV. When Antiochus entered Greece with a large naval and military
force, many of the Greek states joined him, especially the Ætolians,
who eagerly espoused his cause because of their old quarrel with Rome.
They gave out as a pretext for beginning the war, that they intended
to restore freedom to the Greeks, who required nothing of the sort,
being free already. This, however, was merely said because it was the
most plausible excuse for their conduct, for which they could not
assign any creditable reason. The Romans were much alarmed at the
importance of this insurrection. They sent Manius Acilius as consul
and commander-in-chief to conduct the war, and dispatched Titus
Flamininus on a diplomatic mission to the cities of Greece. The mere
sight of him confirmed the wavering loyalty of some of these states,
while his personal influence induced many which had taken the first
steps towards revolt, to return to their allegiance. Some few,
however, were hopelessly lost to the Roman cause, having been
previously won over by the Ætolians; yet, vexed and exasperated as he
was by their conduct, he took care, after the victory had been won,
that even these should not be destroyed. Antiochus, it is well known,
was defeated at Thermopylæ, and at once set sail for Asia Minor, while
the consul Manius besieged some of the Ætolian strongholds himself,
and arranged for others to be taken by King Philip of Macedon. But
when the towns in Dolopia, Magnesia, and Aperantia were being
despoiled by Philip, and the consul Manius had taken Heraklea and was
besieging Naupaktus, an Ætolian fortress, Flamininus, pitying the
Greeks, left Peloponnesus and sailed to the consul at Naupaktus. At
first he reproached him with conquering Antiochus, and then allowing
Philip to reap all the advantages of his victory, and with wasting
time in besieging one city out of pique, while the Macedonians were
adding tribes and kingdoms to their empire. After this, as the
besieged, when they saw him, called upon him by name from the walls,
and stretched out their hands to him with tears and entreaties, he
made no answer to them but turned away and wept. Afterwards, however,
he reasoned with Manius, and persuaded him to put aside his
resentment, and to grant the Ætolians a truce, and time to send an
embassy to Rome to arrange reasonable terms of peace.

XVI. He was given most trouble of all by the petitions of the
Chalkidians to Manius for peace. These people were especially
obnoxious to the Romans because Antiochus, at the commencement of the
war, had married the daughter of a citizen of Chalkis. The match was
both unseasonable in point of time, and unequal in respect of age, as
he was an elderly man when he fell in love with the girl, who was the
daughter of one Kleoptolemus, and is said to have been of exceeding
beauty. This marriage caused the Chalkidians to become eager partizans
of King Antiochus, and even to offer him their city for his
headquarters during the war. After his defeat he retreated at once to
Chalkis, and then, taking his bride, his treasure, and his friends
with him, set sail for Asia. Manius at once marched upon Chalkis in a
rage, but Flaminius accompanied him, and by his entreaties at length
calmed and pacified him. The people of Chalkis, after this narrow
escape, dedicated the largest and most magnificent of all their public
buildings to Titus, the inscriptions on which may be read even at the
present day. "The people dedicate this gymnasium to Herakles and to
Titus." And on the other side of the road we read "The people dedicate
the Delphinium to Apollo and to Titus." Moreover even in our own times
a priest of Titus is chosen by show of hands, who offers sacrifice to
him. After the libations they sing a specially-written poem, too long
for quotation from which we extract the following verses:--

                   "Sing, maidens, sing,
    Of Rome's good faith that keeps its oath,
    And gentle Titus full of truth,
    Our city's saviour, Titus and Apollo sing."

XVII. He also received honours from the Greeks at large, and that
which gives reality to honours, great goodwill from all for his kindly
disposition. For though indeed he had some slight differences with
Philopœmen, and again with Diophanes when chief of the Achæan league,
he was not rancorous, and never acted under the impulse of anger, but
soon laid aside his displeasure. He was harsh to no one, but was
thought by most men to be clever and witty, and the pleasantest of
companions. When the Achæans were endeavouring to gain for themselves
the island of Zakynthus, he discouraged their enterprise by saying
that if they proceeded so far from Peloponnesus they would be in the
same danger as the tortoise when he stretches his head out beyond his
shell.

When Philip first met him to discuss terms of peace, and observed that
Titus had come with a large suite, while he was alone, Titus answered,
"You by your own act have made yourself lonely, by having killed all
your friends and relations." Once at Rome Deinokrates the Messenian
got drunk and danced in women's clothes, and on the next day begged
Titus to assist him in his design of detaching Messenia from the
Achæan league. Titus answered that he would consider the matter, but
that he wondered that a man engaged in such important designs should
sing and dance over his wine. When the ambassadors of Antiochus were
telling the Achæans the number of the king's army and were enumerating
the various forces of which it was composed under various
designations, Titus remarked that when dining with his host he had
been surprised at the variety of meats, and had expressed his wonder
as to how he had been able to obtain so many different kinds; but his
host informed him that it was all nothing more than pork disguised by
various sauces and cooked in various ways. "So now," continued he,
"men of Achæa, do not be alarmed at the power of Antiochus when you
hear these catalogues of spearmen and lance-bearers and foot-guards;
for they are all nothing more than Syrians disguised with different
kind of arms."

XVIII. After the pacification of Greece and the end of the war with
Antiochus, Flamininus was elected censor, which is the highest office
at Rome, and is as it were the goal of political life. His colleague
was Marcellus, the son of him that was five times consul. They ejected
from the Senate four men of no reputation, and admitted into it all
the candidates who were of free birth, being forced to do so by the
tribune of the people Terentius Culeo, who by his invectives against
the patricians had induced the people to pass a decree to that effect.

The two most prominent men in Rome at this time were Scipio Africanus
and Marcus Cato. Of these Titus appointed Scipio to be President of
the Senate, as being the first man in the state, but he quarrelled
with Cato for the following reason. Titus had a brother, Lucius
Flamininus, who was very unlike himself in disposition, being
licentious in his pleasures and careless of his reputation. He had a
favourite whom he always took with him even when he was in command of
an army or governor of a province. This boy once at a wine party said
that he was so greatly attached to Lucius, that he left a show of
gladiators before he had seen a man killed, to please him. Lucius,
delighted at this proof of affection, said, "That is easily remedied;
I will gratify your wish." He ordered a condemned criminal to be
brought, sent for the executioner, and bade him strike off the man's
head in the banquetting chamber. Valerius of Antium says that Lucius
did this to please a female, not a male favourite. But Livy says that
in Cato's own speech on the subject we are told that Lucius, to
gratify his favourite, slew with his own hand a Gaulish deserter who
came with his wife and children to the door, and whom he had himself
invited into the banquetting chamber. It is probable that Cato added
these particulars to exaggerate the horror of the story, for Cicero
the Orator, who gives the story in his book 'On Old Age,' and many
other writers, say that the man was not a deserter, but a criminal,
and condemned to death.

XIX. In consequence of this, Cato, when censor, removed Lucius from
the Senate, although he was of consular rank, and although his
degradation affected his brother as well as himself. Both of them now
presented themselves before the people poorly clad and in tears, and
appeared to be making a very reasonable demand in begging Cato to
state the grounds upon which he had cast such ignominy upon an
honourable family. Cato, however, not in the least affected by this,
came forward with his colleague and publicly demanded of Titus whether
he was acquainted with what happened at the banquet. When Titus
answered that he knew nothing of it, Cato related the circumstances,
challenging Lucius to contradict him if he spoke untruly. As Lucius
remained silent, the people saw that his degradation had been
deserved, and Cato retired in triumph. Titus, vexed at what had
befallen his brother, now joined the party of Cato's enemies, objected
to all purchases, lettings, and sales by the Senate of public property
which had been made by Cato, and carried his point so far as to have
them all declared void. Thus he, I cannot say justly, became the
violent opponent of a legally constituted official and an excellent
citizen, for the sake of a man who, though his brother, was a
worthless character and had only met with his deserts. Nevertheless,
on one occasion, when the Roman people were witnessing some spectacle
in the theatre, the Senate, as is customary, sitting in the best place
in great state, they were filled with compassion on seeing Lucius
Flamininus sitting on the back benches in a mean dress, and the people
became so excited that they could not restrain their cries to him to
resume his former seat, until at length he did so, and was welcomed by
the other consulars.

XX. The ambitious character of Titus gained him much glory, while he
was in the prime of life, in the wars of which we have made mention:
for after his consulship he again served in the army as military
tribune; but when he retired from public life, being an elderly man,
he often incurred the blame of his countrymen from his desire to
distinguish himself. For instance, his conduct in regard to Hannibal
made him much disliked at Rome. Hannibal after his escape from
Carthage, joined king Antiochus, but when Antiochus, after his defeat
in Phrygia, was glad to accept terms of peace from the Romans, he
again became an exile, and after many wanderings, at length settled at
the court of Prusias, king of Bithynia. Every one at Rome knew that he
was there, but no one wished to meddle with him because of his age and
weakness, as he appeared to be deserted by fortune. However, Titus was
sent to Prusias on an embassy about certain other matters, and seeing
Hannibal there took offence at his being alive, and would not accede
to the prayers and entreaties of Prusias on behalf of his suppliant.
There was, it seems, a certain oracle which ends with this verse:--

     "Libyssa's earth shall cover Hannibal."

Now Hannibal himself took this to mean Libya, and that he should be
buried at Carthage; but in Bithynia there is a shingly tract by the
seashore near which is a large village named Libyssa, in which
Hannibal was living. As he mistrusted the weakness of Prusias and
feared the Romans, he had previously to this arranged seven ways of
escape leading from his own room into different subterranean passages,
all of which led into the open air by concealed apertures. When then
he heard that Titus insisted upon his death he endeavoured to escape
by one of those passages, but finding every outlet watched by the
soldiers of Prusias he determined to die by his own hand. Some say
that he destroyed himself by winding his cloak round his neck, and
ordered a slave to place his knee in the small of his back and pull
the cloak violently until he choked; while some tell us that he
imitated Themistokles and Midas, by drinking bull's blood. Livy[36]
says that he prepared some poison which he kept by him ready for such
an emergency, and that as he was about to drink it he said:--"Let us
set the Roman people free from their terrible anxiety, since they
think it long to wait for the death of the old man whom they hate.
However, Titus will not gain a glorious victory, or one worthy of his
ancestors, who sent to bid Pyrrhus beware of poison, although he was
their enemy and actually at war with them."

XXI. Thus is Hannibal said to have perished. When the news was
brought to the Senate many thought that Titus had acted officiously
and cruelly in putting Hannibal to death, when he was living unharmed
and helpless, merely in order to obtain the credit of having killed
him. When they reflected upon the mildness and magnanimity of Scipio
Africanus they wondered yet more, for Scipio, after vanquishing the
terrible and unconquered Hannibal in Libya, did not drive him into
exile, or insist upon his countrymen delivering him up. He actually
met him on friendly terms before the battle, and when he made a treaty
with him after his victory he did not bear himself unseemly or insult
his rival's misfortune. It is related that they met again in Ephesus,
and that as they walked together Hannibal took the place of honour,
while Africanus walked contentedly beside him. Their conversation
turned upon great generals, and when Hannibal stated his opinion that
the best of generals was Alexander, next to him Pyrrhus, and next
himself, Scipio, with a quiet smile, asked him: "What would you have
said, if I had not conquered you?" "In that case, Scipio," answered
Hannibal, "I should not have reckoned myself third but first of
generals." The people remembering this cried shame upon Titus, for
having laid hands upon a man whom another had slain.[37] Some few,
however, praised the deed, thinking that Hannibal, as long as he
lived, was a fire which might easily be fanned into a destructive
conflagration. They pointed out that even when he was in the prime of
life it was not his bodily strength or personal prowess that made him
so terrible to the Romans, but his intellect and skill, together with
his inveterate hatred of Rome, none of which had been diminished by
age, but that his natural gifts remained the same, while also fortune
was wont to change, and so those who had any permanent cause of enmity
with another nation were ever encouraged by hopes of success to make
new attacks. Indeed subsequent events seemed to prove Titus right, as
Aristonikus, the son of the harp-player, in his admiration for
Eumenes, filled the whole of Asia with revolt and revolution, while
Mithridates, after his tremendous losses at the hands of Sulla and
Fimbria, again gathered together such great forces both by land and
sea to oppose Lucullus. Yet Hannibal did not fall so low as Caius
Marius. The former was to the last the friend of a king, and spent his
time in sailing in ships, riding on horseback, and in the study of how
to keep a military force efficient; whereas the Romans, who had
laughed Marius to scorn as he wandered a beggar in Africa, soon licked
the dust before him while he flogged and slaughtered them in Rome.
Thus no one of our present circumstances can be said to be either
important or trifling, great or small, in comparison with what is to
come, but we only cease to change when we cease to exist.

For this reason some say that Titus did not effect this of his own
free will, but that he was sent with Lucius Scipio as a colleague on
an embassy whose sole object was the death of Hannibal. Now, as after
these events we know of no other acts of Titus either as a warrior or
statesman, and as he died a peaceful death, it is time to begin our
comparison.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 32: Publius Sulpicius Galba.]

[Footnote 33: Publius Villius Tappulus. _Cf_. Livy xxxi. _sqq_.]

[Footnote 34: The following is the account given of the Macedonian
phalanx by Polybius:--

"It is easy then to demonstrate by many reasons, that, while the
phalanx retains its proper form and full power of action, no force is
able to stand against it in front, or to support the violence of its
attack. When the ranks are closed in order to engage, each soldier, as
he stands in his arms, occupies a space of three feet. The spears in
their most ancient form, contained seventeen cubits in length. But,
for the sake of rendering them more commodious in action, they have
since been reduced to fourteen. Of these, four cubits are contained
between the part which the soldier grasps in his hands, and the lower
end of the spear behind, which serves as a counterpoise to the part
that is extended before him; and the length of this last part from the
body of the soldier, when the spear is pushed forwards with both hands
against the enemy, is by consequence ten cubits. From hence it
follows, that when the phalanx is closed in its proper form, and every
soldier pressed within the necessary distance with respect to the man
that is before him and upon his side, the spears of the fifth rank are
extended to the length of two cubits, and those of the second, third,
and fourth to a still greater length, beyond the foremost rank. The
manner in which the men are crowded together in this method is marked
by Homer in the following lines:

    "'Shield stuck to shield, to helmet helmet join'd,
    And man to man; and at each nod that bow'd,
    High waving on their heads the glittering cones,
    Rattl'd the hair-crown'd casques, so thick they stood.'

          Homer, _Il_. xiii., 131.

"This description is not less exact than beautiful. It is manifest,
then, that five several spears, differing each from the other in the
length of two cubits, are extended before every man in the foremost
rank. And when it is considered likewise, that the phalanx is formed
by sixteen in depth, it will be easy to conceive, what must be the
weight and violence of the entire body, and how great the force of its
attack. In the ranks, indeed, that are behind the fifth, the spears
cannot reach so far as to be employed against the enemy. In these
ranks, therefore, the soldiers, instead of extending their spears
forwards, rest them upon the shoulders of the men that are before
them, with their points slanting upwards; and in this manner they form
a kind of rampart which covers their heads, and secures them against
those darts which may be carried in their flight beyond the first
ranks, and fall upon those that are behind. But when the whole body
advances to charge the enemy, even the hindmost ranks are of no small
use and moment. For as they press continually upon those that are
before them, they add by their weight alone great force to the attack,
and deprive also the foremost ranks of the power of drawing themselves
backwards or retreating. Such, then, is the disposition of the
phalanx, with regard both to the whole and the several parts. Let us
now consider the arms, and the order of battle, of the Romans; that we
may see by the comparison in what respects they are different from
those of the Macedonians.

"To each of the Roman soldiers, as he stands in arms, is allotted the
same space likewise of three feet. But as every soldier in the time of
action is constantly in motion, being forced to shift his shield
continually, that he may cover any part of his body against which a
stroke is aimed, and so vary the position of his sword, so as either
to push, or to make a falling stroke, there must also be a distance of
three feet, the least that can be allowed for performing these motions
with advantage, between each soldier and the man that stands next to
him, both upon his side and behind him. In charging, therefore,
against the phalanx, every single Roman, as he has two Macedonians
opposite to him, has also ten spears, which he is forced to encounter.
But it is not possible for a single man to cut down these spears with
his sword, before they can take their effect, against him. Nor is it
easy on the other hand to force his way through them. For the men that
are behind add no weight to the pressure, nor any strength to the
swords of those that are in the foremost rank. It will be easy,
therefore, to conceive, that, while the phalanx retains its own proper
position and strength, no troops, as I before observed, can ever
support the attack of it in front."

Polybius, Book xvii. Ex. iii. in Hampden's translation, 1773.]

[Footnote 35: The 'pileum,' a close-fitting felt cap, was given by the
Romans to slaves on the occasion of their enfranchisement, as a sign
of freedom.]

[Footnote 36: Livy xxxix, chapter 51.]

[Footnote 37: In Greek warfare, any one who killed an enemy in battle
was entitled to dispose of his body and arms as he thought fit.
Plutarch means that by the laws of war Hannibal belonged to Scipio,
and that Flamininus had no right to interfere between them.]




COMPARISON OF PHILOPŒMEN AND TITUS.


I. It would be impossible to compare Philopœmen, or many better men
than Philopœmen, with Titus, in respect of the benefits which each
conferred upon the Greeks. Philopœmen and the others were all Greeks,
who fought with other Greeks, while Titus was not a Greek, and yet
fought on behalf of the Greeks. When Philopœmen despaired of helping
his hard-pressed follow citizens and sailed to Crete, Titus was
gaining a victory in the centre of Greece, in consequence of which he
bestowed freedom on Philip himself, and on all the nations and cities
which had been subject to him. If one carefully examines the battles
fought by each commander, it will appear that Philopœmen killed more
Greeks when he was general of the Achæans than Titus killed
Macedonians when he was fighting for Greece. The faults of the one
arose from ambition, those of the other from party spirit; the latter
was easily moved to anger, the former hard to appease. Titus preserved
for Philip the semblance of royal power, and treated even the Ætolians
with indulgence, while Philopœmen in his anger detached the
confederation of villages from his native city. Moreover, Titus was
always a friend to those whom he had once befriended, while
Philopœmen's kindly feelings were easily overruled by passion. Indeed
he appears to have sacrificed his life to rage and bitter personal
rancour, by invading Messenia before anything was ready, without
showing any of the prudent caution of Titus in military matters.

II. The fame of Philopœmen's skill as a general, however, rests on a
more secure basis, the number of his battles and trophies of victory.
Flamininus decided his campaign against Philip by two battles, but
Philopœmen fought innumerable battles, and never let it be supposed
that he owed more to fortune than to skill. Moreover, Titus had at his
disposal the resources of Rome, then in the zenith of her strength,
while Philopœmen had the glory of performing his greatest exploits at
a time when Greece was in her decadence, so that his work was all his
own, while the glory of the Roman must be shared with his countrymen.
The one was the leader of good soldiers, but the other by his
leadership made good soldiers. That his conflicts were all against
Greeks was unfortunate, but gives a strong proof of his powers; for
among men who are alike in other respects, victory must be won by
sheer courage. He fought the most warlike of the Greeks, the Cretans
and the Lacedæmonians, the first of whom are the most deeply versed in
stratagem, while the latter are most renowned for bravery, and
overcame them both. In addition to this it must be remembered that
Titus found his materials ready for use, as he received the arms and
disciplined troops of his predecessor, while Philopœmen himself
introduced a new method of armament and discipline; so that the one
was obliged to discover the means of obtaining victory, while the
other had only to use them. Philopœmen too did many great feats in
hand to hand fight, whereas Titus did nothing, for which one of the
Ætolians, Archedemus, jeered at him, saying that while he himself was
running sword in hand to attack the Macedonian phalanx, Titus was
standing still and raising his hands to heaven in prayer to the gods.

III. Nevertheless Titus both as a general and an ambassador always met
with complete success, while Philopœmen acted as vigorously and
successfully on behalf of the Achæans when in a private station as
when he was their general. It was as a private citizen that he drove
Nabis out of Messene and liberated the Messenians, and as a private
citizen he shut the gates of Sparta against Diophanes the Achæan
general and Titus himself when they were on their march against it,
and so saved the Lacedæmonians from destruction. Thus, having the true
spirit of a commander, he knew when to obey and when to override the
laws, acting according to them when it was fitting to do so, but
holding him to be the true general who upheld the spirit of the laws
without being fettered by them. The kindly treatment of the Greeks by
Titus was honourable to him, but the sturdy spirit of independence
which Philopœmen showed towards the Romans was still more honourable,
because it is much easier to grant a request to suppliants, than to
irritate those who are more powerful by opposing them. Since, then, it
is difficult to distinguish their respective merits by comparison, let
us see whether we shall not decide best between them by assigning the
palm for military and soldier-like qualities to Greek, and to the
Roman that for justice and goodness of heart.




LIFE OF PYRRHUS.


I. Historians tell us that after the flood the first king of the
Thesprotians and Molossians was Phæthon, who was one of those who came
into Epirus under Pelasgus; while some say that Deukalion and Pyrrha
after founding the temple at Dodona lived there in the country of the
Molossians. In later times Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles, brought
an army thither, obtained possession of the country, and founded a
dynasty of kings, who were named after him the sons of Pyrrhus: for
Pyrrhus was his own nickname as a child, and he also gave the name of
Pyrrhus to one of his children by his wife Lanassa, the daughter of
Kleodæus, who was the son of Hyllus. From this period Achilles has
been honoured like a god in Epirus and is called Aspetus in the
dialect of the country. After the earliest kings, the dynasty sunk
into barbarism, and ceased to attract attention from its weakness and
obscurity. Of those of later days, Tharrhypas was the first of those
who made himself famous. He adopted the customs and letters of Greece,
and gave just laws to his country. Tharrhypas was the father of
Alketas, who was the father of Arybas, who married Troas and by her
became the father of Æakides. This man married Phthia the daughter of
Menon of Thessaly, who had gained great distinction in the Lamian war,
and who yielded in reputation to no one except to Leosthenes himself.
By Phthia Æakides had two daughters, Deidameia and Troas, and one son,
Pyrrhus.

II. When the Molossians revolted, drove out their king Æakides, and
invited back the children of Neoptolemus to the kingdom, the friends
of Æakides were seized and put to death, but Androkleides and Angelus
stole away Pyrrhus, who was still an infant and was being searched for
by his enemies. They took with them some wet nurses for the child and
some few other servants, but finding their flight impeded by them,
they entrusted the child to Androkleion, Hippias, and Neander, strong
and trusty young men, bidding them hurry on with what speed they
might, and get to Megara, a fort belonging to the Macedonians, while
they themselves, partly by entreaties and partly by fighting, managed
to delay the pursuers till late in the evening. The enemy, after
making their way through these men with some difficulty, pursued those
who were carrying off Pyrrhus. The sun had now set, and the fugitives
had begun to hope that they would soon be safe, when they were filled
with despair by meeting with the river which runs past the fort, a
wild torrent which they found it impossible to cross, as the stream
was swollen with recent rains, and appeared all the more terrible
because of the darkness. They decided that they never could convey the
child and his nurses across by their own exertions, but observing
several of the inhabitants standing upon the further bank they
besought them to assist their passage, and they showed Pyrrhus to
them, crying aloud and holding out their hands to entreat for help.
The men could not hear what they said because of the roaring of the
water, and much time was wasted in vain clamouring until one of the
fugitives, perceiving this, wrote with the tongue of a brooch upon a
piece of oak bark a few words explaining who the child was, and in
what danger, wrapped the piece of bark round a stone to steady its
flight, and threw it across. Some say that they fastened the bark to a
javelin and so hurled it across. When the men on the further bank read
the letter, and perceived in what imminent peril the fugitives were,
they cut down some trees, formed a raft, and so crossed over. It
chanced that the first man who crossed and received Pyrrhus into his
arms was named Achilles: the rest of the fugitives were ferried over
by his companions.

III. Having thus escaped from their pursuers they proceeded to
Glaukias, the king of the Illyrians. They found him sitting at home
with his wife, and they laid the child on the ground between them. The
king was full of thought, for he feared Kassander, the mortal enemy of
Æakides, and he remained silent for a long time. Meanwhile Pyrrhus of
his own accord crawled up to Glaukias, took hold of his cloak and then
stood up at his knees, causing the king first to smile and then to
feel pity for him, as he stood like a suppliant holding his knees and
weeping. Some say that he did not embrace Glaukias, but that he laid
hold of an altar and stood, putting his hands round it, so that
Glaukias thought that he must be acting under some divine impulse. In
consequence of this he at once gave Pyrrhus in charge to his wife,
bidding her bring him up with her own children. Shortly after, when
his enemies demanded that he should be given up, and Kassander even
offered two hundred talents, Glaukias refused to betray him, and when
he was twelve years of age he marched into Epirus with an army and
restored him to the throne.

The appearance of Pyrrhus was more calculated to strike terror into
the beholder than to impress him with an idea of the dignity which
becomes a king. He had not a number of separate teeth, but one
continuous bone in his upper jaw, with only slight lines showing the
divisions between the teeth. He was thought to be able to cure
diseases of the spleen by sacrificing a white cock, and then gently
pressing with his right foot in the region of the spleen of the
sufferer, who lay upon his back meanwhile. No man was so poor or
despised that Pyrrhus would not touch him for this disorder if
requested to do so. He also received, as a reward, the cock which was
sacrificed, and was much pleased with this present. It is said that
the great toe of that foot had some divine virtue, so that when the
rest of his body was burned after his death, it was found unhurt and
untouched by the fire. But of this hereafter.

IV. When he was about seventeen years of age, and appeared to be
firmly established upon his throne, he chanced to leave the country to
attend the wedding of one of the sons of Glaukias, with whom he had
been brought up. The Molossians now again rose in revolt, drove out
his friends, sacked the treasury, and made Neoptolemus their king.
Pyrrhus having thus lost his kingdom, and being entirely destitute,
fled for refuge to Demetrius, the son of Antigonus, who had married
his sister Deidameia. When a young girl Deidameia had been nominally
the wife of Alexander, the son of Roxana, but after the misfortunes of
that family Demetrius had married her when she came of age. In the
great battle of Ipsus, in which all the successors of Alexander the
Great took part, Pyrrhus, while yet a youth, served with the forces of
Demetrius, routed those who opposed him, and gained great distinction.
He did not desert Demetrius after his defeat, but was entrusted with
the care of those cities which Demetrius possessed in Greece, and kept
them faithful to his cause. When he made a treaty with Ptolemy,
Pyrrhus was sent to Egypt as a hostage, where he hunted and practised
gymnastics with Ptolemy, showing great bodily strength and endurance.
Observing that Berenike was the most powerful and intelligent of
Ptolemy's wives, he paid especial court to her, and, as he knew well
how to gain the favour of the powerful, though he was inclined to
domineer over his inferiors, and was temperate and well-behaved, he
was chosen out of many other noble youths to be the husband of
Antigone, one of the daughters of Berenike, whom she bore to Philip
before she married Ptolemy.

V. His influence was greatly increased by this match, and, as Antigone
proved a good wife to him and furthered his designs, he prevailed upon
his friends to supply him with money and troops, and send him upon an
expedition to recover his throne in Epirus. When he landed, many of
the people of the country were willing to accept him as their king,
because of their dislike to the ferocious and arbitrary rule of
Neoptolemus; but he, fearing that if he drove out his rival he would
apply to some of the kings,[38] made terms and friendship with him,
and agreed to share the kingdom. As time went on, however, many
encouraged him to attack Neoptolemus, and fomented suspicion between
them. Pyrrhus, however, was especially exasperated by the following
incidents. It was customary for the kings of Epirus to sacrifice to
Zeus Areios in Passaron, a place in the Molossian country, and to take
an oath to their subjects that they would govern according to the
laws, while the people on their part swore to be faithful to the
throne. These ceremonies were performed by both the kings, who, with
their friends, afterwards conversed together, giving and receiving
presents. Now Gelon, a trusty friend of Neoptolemus, after giving
Pyrrhus a friendly welcome, presented to him two yoke of oxen for the
plough. Myrtilus, the cupbearer, who was present, asked Pyrrhus for
these oxen, and as Pyrrhus did not give them to him but to some one
else, he did not conceal his annoyance, which was observed by Gelon.
He at once invited Myrtilus to dinner and proposed to him that he
should join the party of Neoptolemus and remove Pyrrhus by poison.
Myrtilus apparently acquiesced, and accepted the offer, but told the
whole intrigue to Pyrrhus, who bade him put Alexikrates, his chief
cupbearer, also in communication with Gelon, on the pretence that he
too wished to take part in the plot; for he wished as many persons
as possible to know of the attempt which was about to be made. Thus
Gelon was deceived, and in turn deceived Neoptolemus, who, imagining
his plot to be on the point of success, could not restrain his
delight, but let out the secret to his friends. On one occasion, when
in his cups, he talked freely about this matter to his sister Kadmeia,
not imagining that any one else heard him; for there was no one
present except Phænarete, the wife of Samon the king's neatherd, and
she lay upon a couch with her face towards the wall, apparently
asleep. However she heard all that passed, unsuspected, and next day
went to Antigone, the wife of Pyrrhus, and told her all that she had
heard Neoptolemus say to his sister. When Pyrrhus heard this he did
not act at once; but when next he offered sacrifice he invited
Neoptolemus to dinner and killed him, as he knew that the strongest
party in Epirus was on his side, and had often urged him to rid
himself of Neoptolemus and not be satisfied with a mere share of the
crown, but to engage in the great designs which his genius prompted.
These considerations, together with the suspicions which he had of
Neoptolemus's treachery, induced him to be beforehand with him by
putting him to death.

VI. In memory of Berenike and Ptolemy he named a boy who was now born
to him Ptolemy, and gave the name of Berenike to a city which he
founded on the peninsula of Epirus. He now began to revolve great
designs, casting his eyes especially upon the territory of his
neighbours; and he was soon enabled to interfere in the affairs of
Macedonia on the following grounds. The elder of the sons of Kassander
put his mother, Thessalonika, to death, and drove his younger brother
Alexander into exile. This prince now applied both to Demetrius and to
Pyrrhus for aid. Demetrius was engaged in other matters and was slow
to render him any assistance, but Pyrrhus offered his services,
demanding as the price of his assistance the districts called Stymphæa
and Paranæa in Macedon itself, and of the Macedonian conquests
Ambrakia, Akarnania, and Amphilochia. The youth agreed to these terms,
and Pyrrhus at once occupied those countries, which he secured by
garrisoning their fortresses, while he began to press Antipater hard
in his endeavours to gain the remainder of Macedonia for his brother.
At this time king Lysimachus, an eager partisan of Antipater, was too
much occupied with other matters to send him any material help, but,
knowing that Pyrrhus would never disoblige or thwart Ptolemy in
anything, sent a forged letter to him, in which it was stated to be
Ptolemy's desire that he should withdraw his forces on the receipt of
three hundred talents from Antipater. Pyrrhus, however, as soon as he
opened the letter saw the deceit; for it did not begin with Ptolemy's
usual greeting to him, "The father to the son wishes health" but "King
Ptolemy to king Pyrrhus wishes health." He reproached Lysimachus for
his conduct, but nevertheless made a peace, which they all met to
ratify by a solemn oath upon a sacrifice. A bull, a boar, and a ram
were brought to the altar, when suddenly the ram fell down dead. The
others laughed at this, but the soothsayer Theodotus, who was
conducting the sacrifice forbad Pyrrhus to swear, saying that Heaven
by this portended the death of one of the three kings who were there
met together. Pyrrhus therefore refused to ratify the peace.

VII. Alexander now was in a fair way to succeed, when he was joined by
Demetrius, who was evidently unwelcome, and a dangerous ally. Before
many days had passed the two princes, from mutual distrust, began to
plot against each other. Demetrius, seizing his opportunity,
assassinated the youthful Alexander, and proclaimed himself king of
Macedonia. He had before this been on bad terms with Pyrrhus, who had
made incursions into Thessaly, and the usual disease of princes,
grasping covetousness, had made them suspicious and quarrelsome
neighbours, especially since the death of Deidameia. Now, however, as
they both claimed Macedonia, they were brought into direct collision,
and Demetrius, after mating a campaign in Ætolia and leaving
Pantauchus with a large force to guard his conquests there, himself
marched against Pyrrhus. Pyrrhus, as soon as he heard of this,
proceeded to meet him, but by a mistake in the road they passed by one
another, so that Demetrius invaded Epirus and ravaged the country
there, and Pyrrhus, falling in with Pantauchus, fought a battle with
him. The struggle was a long and severe one, especially near where the
generals fought, for Pantauchus, who was admitted to be the strongest
and bravest of the generals of Demetrius, in the pride of his heart
challenged Pyrrhus to a single combat, while Pyrrhus, who yielded to
none of the kings of the age in strength and courage, and who wished
to be thought a true son of Achilles by valour as well as by descent,
rushed forward beyond the front ranks to meet Pantauchus. They fought
with spears at first, and then, drawing their swords, contended hand
to hand with equal skill and courage. Pyrrhus received one hurt, but
he wounded Pantauchus in the thigh and in the throat, and overthrew
him. Pyrrhus did not slay him, however, as he was rescued by his
friends. The Epirots, elated at their king's victory, and filled with
enthusiasm by his courage, bore everything before them, routed the
phalanx of the Macedonians, and pursued the fugitives, of whom they
slew many and took five thousand prisoners.

VIII. The Macedonians who had witnessed the exploits of Pyrrhus were
struck with admiration, and perhaps found some solace for their defeat
in the praises they bestowed on the conqueror. He was, they said,
indeed a soldier, worthy to command soldiers; the only king of the age
in whom there could be traced any likeness to the great Alexander.
Pyrrhus revived this image by the fire and vigour of his movements in
the field of battle; the rest only mimicked the hero, whose title they
assumed, in their demeanour, and in the trappings and state of
royalty.[39] We can form an opinion about his knowledge and skill in
military matters from the writings which he has left on these
subjects. It is related, moreover, that Antigonus, when asked who was
the greatest of generals, answered "Pyrrhus, if he lives to be old,"
speaking only of the generals of his own time. Hannibal, however,
considered Pyrrhus to have been the first general that ever lived for
skill and resource, placing Scipio next, and himself third, as is
written in the Life of Scipio. Indeed Pyrrhus devoted the whole of his
intellect to the art of war, regarding it as the only study fit for a
king, and holding all other occupations to be frivolous. At a wine
party he was once asked whether he thought Python or Kaphisias the
better flute player, to which he answered that Polysperchon was the
best general, as though that were the only subject on which a king
should form or express an opinion. Yet he was mild-tempered and gentle
towards his friends, full of gratitude for kindness, and eager to
repay it. He grieved greatly over the death of Æropus; not so much
because he was dead, for that, he said, was the common lot of mankind,
but because he himself had delayed repaying him a kindness until it
was too late. Debts of money, he said, can be paid to the heirs of a
creditor, but men of honour are grieved at not being able to return a
kindness during the lifetime of their benefactor. In Ambrakia once
Pyrrhus was advised to banish a man who abused him in scurrilous
terms. He answered, "I had rather he remained where he is and abused
me there, than that he should wander through all the world doing so."
Once some youths spoke ill of him over their wine, and being detected
were asked by him whether they had used such words of him. "We did, O
king," answered one of the young men, "and we should have said more
evil of you if we had had more wine." At this answer Pyrrhus laughed,
and acquitted them.

IX. After the death of Antigone he married several wives, for the sake
of advantageous political alliances. One was the daughter of
Autoleon, king of the Pæonians; another was Birkenna, daughter of
Bardyllis, king of the Illyrians, while the third, Lanassa, daughter
of Agathokles, despot of Syracuse, brought him as a dowry the city and
island of Korkyra, which had been captured by Agathokles. By Antigone
he had already one son, Ptolemy; by Lanassa he had another son,
Alexander, and Helenus, the youngest of his sons, by Birkenna. They
were all brought up to be good soldiers, being trained in arms by
Pyrrhus himself. It is said that when one of his sons, while yet a
child, asked him to which of them he would leave his kingdom, he
answered "To him whose sword is the sharpest." This saying differs but
little from that celebrated tragic curse upon the brothers who were to
"divide their heritage with whetted steel." So savage and unsocial a
quality is ambition.

X. After this battle Pyrrhus returned home, delighted at the glory
which he had acquired. When the Epirotes gave him the title of the
Eagle, he answered "I owe it to you that I am an eagle, for it is your
arms that enable me to take so high a flight." Shortly afterwards,
learning that Demetrius was dangerously ill, he suddenly invaded
Macedonia, meaning merely to make a short incursion, but he very
nearly obtained possession of the entire kingdom, as he overran the
country without opposition and marched as far as Edessa, while many of
the natives assisted him and joined his army. The danger roused
Demetrius from his sick bed, and his partisans hastily collected a
considerable force and marched to attack Pyrrhus. As he had only come
with the intention of plundering he avoided giving battle and
retreated, but on his way lost a part of his army by an attack of the
Macedonians.

Demetrius, though he had thus easily driven Pyrrhus out of his
kingdom, did not despise him. He had determined to go to war on a
great scale to recover his father's throne, with a force of a hundred
thousand men and five hundred ships of war; and he did not wish to be
thwarted in this design by Pyrrhus, or to leave him as a fierce and
dangerous neighbour for Macedonia. Consequently, as he had no leisure
to go to war with him, he wished to come to terms with him and make
peace, so that he might be at liberty to attack the other kings. These
considerations led him to conclude a truce with Pyrrhus. However, the
greatness of the force at Demetrius's disposal now led him to assume
such an arrogant tone that the other kings were alarmed and sent
letters to Pyrrhus in which they expressed their surprise that he
should overlook the magnificent opportunity which Demetrius would
offer him by engaging in a foreign war, and asked him whether, when he
was able to drive that restless intriguer out of Macedonia, he
intended not to do so, but to sit idle at home while Demetrius gained
wealth and power, until at length he would have to fight for his
hearth and home in Molossia, and that too when Demetrius had just
deprived him of Korkyra by means of his wife. For Lanassa had
quarrelled with Pyrrhus because he paid too much attention to his
barbarian wives, had retired to Korkyra, and, as she still wished to
be a queen, invited Demetrius to take possession of her person and of
the island. He at once proceeded thither, married Lanassa, and placed
a garrison in the city.

XI. Besides writing to Pyrrhus in this strain the kings themselves
contrived to find work for Demetrius, who was still engaged in
preparations for his campaign. Ptolemy sailed to Greece with a large
force and induced many of the Greek cities to revolt from Demetrius,
while Lysimachus, starting from Thrace, invaded and plundered Upper
Macedonia. At the same time Pyrrhus marched upon the city of Berœa,
truly conjecturing that Demetrius, in his haste to repel the invasion
of Upper Macedonia, would leave the lower part of the country
unprotected. That night he dreamed that he was called by Alexander the
Great, and that he at once went to him, and found him reclining on a
couch. The hero received him kindly, and promised him that he would
aid him. When Pyrrhus mustered courage to ask, "How, O king, being
yourself ill, can you assist me?" Alexander answered, "With my name,"
and mounting a Nisæan horse appeared to lead the way. This dream gave
Pyrrhus great confidence: he quickly marched over the intervening
country and took Berœa, where he fixed his headquarters, and sent out
detachments to reduce other places. Demetrius, when he heard this
news, and heard also the tumult of grief and indignation which it
excited in his camp, feared to march any closer to Lysimachus, lest if
his army came near to a king who was a Macedonian, and so
distinguished a man, the troops might transfer their allegiance to
him. He therefore resolved to retrace his steps, and attack Pyrrhus,
as being a foreigner, and an enemy of the Macedonians. However, when
he pitched his camp near Berœa, many came out from that city loudly
praising Pyrrhus, as an invincible warrior and a great man, who had
treated the vanquished with kindness and magnanimity. Some of these
were emissaries of Pyrrhus himself, disguised as Macedonians, who said
that now was the time for them to relieve themselves from the harsh
tyranny of Demetrius by adopting Pyrrhus, a popular man and a true
friend of the soldier, as their king. The greater part of Demetrius's
troops was much excited by this means, and when the two armies met
face to face, all eyes were turned in search of the hero. For a time
they could not find him, for he had taken off his helmet; but when he
had put it on again, and enabled them to recognise him by the lofty
crest, and the goat's horns at the sides, the Macedonian soldiers
quitted their ranks, and came running up to ask him, as their chief,
for the pass-word. Others, seeing that his attendants wore garlands of
oak-leaves, crowned themselves in like manner. Some already ventured
to tell Demetrius that his best course would be to give up all as
lost: and he, observing, that this advice seemed to be borne out by
the temper of his army, withdrew in terror, disguised in a mean dress,
and a broad-brimmed Macedonian hat. Pyrrhus, advancing without
striking a blow, obtained possession of his enemy's camp, and was
saluted king of the Macedonians.

XII. Lysimachus soon appeared upon the scene, pointed out that the
fall of Demetrius was as much due to his own exertions as to those of
Pyrrhus, and demanded a partition of Macedonia. To this Pyrrhus, not
yet certain of the loyalty of his new subjects, was obliged to
consent. This measure was beneficial for the moment, as it prevented
their going to war; but soon it became apparent that the partition was
a source of endless quarrels and recriminations. For when men are
ambitious to such a degree that no seas, mountains, or wildernesses,
nay not even the boundaries of Europe and Asia, will serve as barriers
to their frantic desire for more territory, it is not to be expected
that they will remain quiet when their frontiers touch one another,
but they always are at war, from the natural jealousy of their
disposition. The names of peace and war they use as mere symbols, as
it suits their convenience, and they are really better men when they
are openly at war than when they give the name of peace and friendship
to a cessation of active wickedness. The truth of this was proved by
Pyrrhus, who in order to prevent Demetrius from recovering from the
great disaster which he had sustained, espoused the cause of Greece,
and marched to Athens. Here he went up to the Acropolis and sacrificed
to the goddess Athena. On descending he thanked the Athenians for
their confidence in him, but advised them if they consulted their own
interest never to admit any king within their walls.[40] After this he
made peace with Demetrius, but shortly after he was gone to Asia,
Pyrrhus, at the instigation of Lysimachus, induced the Thessalians to
revolt and join him, and began to besiege the fortresses on the Greek
border, both because he found the Macedonians easier to manage when
they were at war than when they were idle, and also because he himself
was of a nature which could not endure inaction. Finally however
Demetrius was irretrievably ruined in Syria, and now Lysimachus,
having nothing further to fear from him, at once attacked Pyrrhus. He
fell upon him suddenly near Edessa, defeated him, and reduced the
troops under him to great distress for provisions. Next he began to
corrupt the leading Macedonians, reproaching them with having rejected
a Macedonian who had been the friend and companion of Alexander, and
chosen in his stead as their master a foreigner, and one, too, of a
race that had always been subject to the Macedonians. As many listened
to these treacherous insinuations, Pyrrhus became alarmed, and
withdrew with his Epirotes and the allied troops, thus losing
Macedonia in the same way that he had gained it. So that kings have
but little reason for reproaching the common people for changing sides
in an emergency, for in doing so they do but imitate the kings
themselves, their teachers in the art of treachery and faithlessness,
who think that those men gain the greatest advantages who take least
account of justice and honour.

XIII. Pyrrhus, now that he had lost Macedonia, might have spent his
days peacefully ruling his own subjects in Epirus; but he could not
endure repose, thinking that not to trouble others and be troubled by
them was a life of unbearable ennui, and, like Achilles in the Iliad,

      "he could not rest in indolence at home,
    He longed for battle, and the joys of war."

As he desired some new adventures he embraced the following
opportunity. The Romans were at war with the Tarentines; and as that
people were not sufficiently powerful to carry on the war, and yet
were not allowed by the audacious folly of their mob orators to make
peace, they proposed to make Pyrrhus their leader and to invite him to
be their ally in the war, because he was more at leisure than any of
the other kings, and also was the best general of them all. Of the
older and more sensible citizens some endeavoured to oppose this fatal
decision, but were overwhelmed by the clamour of the war party, while
the rest, observing this, ceased to attend the public assembly. There
was one citizen of good repute, named Meton, who, on the day when the
final decision was to be made, when the people were all assembled,
took a withered garland and a torch, like a drunkard, and reeled into
the assembly with a girl playing the flute before him. At this, as one
may expect in a disorderly popular meeting, some applauded, and some
laughed, but no one stopped him. They next bade the girl play, and
Meton come forward and dance to the music; and he made as though he
would do so. When he had obtained silence he said "Men of Tarentum,
you do well in encouraging those who wish to be merry and amuse
themselves while they may. If you are wise you will all enjoy your
freedom now, for when Pyrrhus is come to our city you will have very
different things to think of, and will live very differently." By
these words he made an impression on the mass of the Tarentine people,
and a murmur ran through the crowd that he had spoken well. But those
politicians who feared that if peace were made they should be
delivered up to the Romans, reproached the people for allowing any one
to insult them by such a disgraceful exhibition, and prevailed on them
to turn Meton out of the assembly. Thus the vote for war was passed,
and ambassadors were sent to Epirus, not from Tarentum alone, but from
the other Greek cities in Italy, carrying with them presents for
Pyrrhus, with instructions to tell him that they required a leader of
skill and renown, and that they possessed a force of Lucanians,
Messapians, Samnites and Tarentines, which amounted to twenty thousand
cavalry, and three hundred and fifty thousand infantry. This not only
excited Pyrrhus, but also made all the Epirotes eager to take part in
the campaign.

XIV. There was one Kineas, a Thessalian, who was thought to be a man
of good sense, and who, having heard Demosthenes the orator speak, was
better able than any of the speakers of his age to delight his hearers
with an imitation of the eloquence of that great master of rhetoric.
He was now in the service of Pyrrhus, and being sent about to various
cities, proved the truth of the Euripidean saw, that

                          "All can be done by words
    Which foemen wish to do with conquering swords."

Pyrrhus at any rate used to say that more cities were won for him by
Kineas with words, than be himself won by force of arms. This man,
observing that Pyrrhus was eagerly preparing for his Italian
expedition, once when he was at leisure conversed with him in the
following manner. "Pyrrhus," said he, "the Romans are said to be good
soldiers, and to rule over many warlike nations. Now, if heaven grants
us the victory over them, what use shall we make of it?"

"You ask what is self-evident," answered Pyrrhus. "If we can conquer
the Romans, there is no city, Greek or barbarian, that can resist us,
and we shall gain possession of the whole of Italy, a country whose
size, richness, and power no one knows better than yourself." Kineas
then, after waiting for a short time, said, "O king, when we have
taken Italy, what shall we do then?" Pyrrhus, not yet seeing his
drift, answered, "Close to it Sicily invites us, a noble and populous
island, and one which is very easy to conquer; for, my Kineas, now
that Agathokles is dead, there is nothing there but revolution and
faction, and the violence of party spirit." "What you say," answered
Kineas, "is very probably true. But is this conquest of Sicily to be
the extreme limit of our campaign?" "Heaven," answered Pyrrhus, "alone
can give us victory and success; but these conquests would merely
prove to us the stepping-stones to greater things. Who could refrain
from making an attempt upon Carthage and Libya when he was so close to
them, countries which were all but conquered by Agathokles when he ran
away from Syracuse with only a few ships? and if we were masters of
these countries, none of the enemies who now give themselves such airs
at our expense will dare to resist us." "Certainly not," answered
Kineas; "With such a force at our disposal we clearly could recover
Macedonia, and have the whole of Greece at our feet. And after we have
made all these conquests, what shall we do then?" Pyrrhus laughing
answered, "We will take our ease and carouse every day, and enjoy
pleasant conversation with one another." Having brought Pyrrhus to say
this, Kineas asked in reply, "But what prevents our carousing and
taking our ease now, since we have already at hand all those things
which we propose to obtain with much blood-shed, and great toils and
perils, and after suffering much ourselves and causing much suffering
to others?" By talking in this manner Kineas vexed Pyrrhus, because he
made him reflect on the pleasant home which he was leaving, but his
reasoning had no effect in turning him from his purpose.

XV. He first despatched Kineas to Tarentum with three thousand men;
next he collected from Tarentum many horse-transports, decked vessels,
and boats of all sorts, and embarked upon them twenty elephants,
twenty-three thousand cavalry, twenty-two thousand infantry, and five
hundred slingers. When all was ready he put to sea; and when half way
across a storm burst upon him from the north, which was unusual at
that season of the year. He himself, though his ship was carried away
by the tempest, yet, by the great pains and skill of the sailors and
pilots, resisted it and reached the land, with great toil to the
rowers, and beyond everyone's expectation; for the rest of the fleet
was overpowered by the gale and scattered. Some ships were driven off
the Italian coast altogether, and forced into the Libyan and Sicilian
seas, and some which could not weather the Iapygian Cape were
overtaken by night, and being dashed by a violent and boisterous sea
against that harbourless coast were utterly lost, except only the
king's ship. She was so large and strongly built as to resist the
waves as long as they broke upon her from the seaward; but when the
wind changed and blew directly off the shore, the ship, which now met
the waves directly with her head, was in great danger of going to
pieces, while to let her drive out to sea again now that it was so
rough, and the wind changed so frequently, seemed more terrible than
to remain where they were. Pyrrhus rose and leapt into the water, and
at once was eagerly followed by his friends and his body-guard. The
darkness of night and the violent recoil of the roaring waves made it
hard for them to help him, and it was not until daybreak, when the
wind abated, that he reached the land, faint and helpless in body, but
with his spirit invincible in misfortune. The Messapians, upon whose
coast he had been thrown, now assembled from the neighbouring villages
and offered their help, while some of the ships which had outlived the
storm appeared, bringing a few horsemen, about two thousand foot, and
two elephants.

XVI. With these Pyrrhus marched to Tarentum; Kineas, as soon as he
heard of his arrival, bringing out the Tarentine army to meet him.
When he reached the city he did nothing to displease the Tarentines
until his fleet returned to the coast and he had assembled the greater
part of his army. But then, as he saw that the populace, unless ruled
by a strong hand, could neither help him nor help themselves, but
intended to stay idling about their baths and entertainments at home,
while he fought their battles in the field, he closed the gymnasia
and public walks, in which the people were wont to waste their time in
empty talk about the war. He forbade all drinking, feasting, and
unseasonable revels, and forced the people to take up arms, proving
himself inexorable to every one who was on the muster-roll of
able-bodied citizens. This conduct made him much disliked, and many of
the Tarentines left the city in disgust; for they were so unused to
discipline, that they considered that not to be able to pass their
lives as they chose was no better than slavery.

When news came that Lævinus, the Roman consul, was marching to attack
him with a large force, and was plundering the country of Lucania as
he advanced, while Pyrrhus's allies had not yet arrived, he thought it
a shameful thing to allow the enemy to proceed any farther, and
marched out with his army. He sent before him a herald to the Roman
general, informing him that he was willing to act as arbitrator in the
dispute between the Romans and the Greek cities of Italy, if they
chose to terminate it peacefully. On receiving for an answer that the
Romans neither wished for Pyrrhus as an arbitrator, nor feared him as
an enemy, he marched forward, and encamped in the plain, between the
city of Pandosia and Heraklea. Learning that the Romans were close by,
and were encamping on the farther side of the river Siris[41] he rode
up to the river to view them; and when he observed their even ranks,
their orderly movements, and their well-arranged camp, he was
surprised, and said to the nearest of his friends: "These barbarians,
Megakles, have nothing barbarous in their military discipline; but we
shall soon learn what they can do." He began indeed already to feel
some uncertainty as to the issue of the campaign, and determined to
wait until his allies came up, and till then to observe the movements
of the Romans, and prevent their crossing the river. They however,
perceiving his object, at once crossed the river, the infantry at a
ford, the cavalry at many points at once, so that the Greeks feared
they might be surrounded, and drew back. Pyrrhus, perceiving this,
ordered his officers instantly to form the troops in order of battle
and wait under arms while he himself charged with the cavalry, three
thousand strong, hoping to catch the Romans in the act of crossing the
river and consequently in disorder. When he saw many shields of the
Roman infantry appearing over the river bank, and their horsemen all
ranged in order, he closed up his own ranks and charged them first
himself, a conspicuous figure in his beautiful glittering armour, and
proving by his exploits that he deserved his high reputation;
especially as, although he fought personally, and engaged in combat
with the enemy, yet he continually watched the whole battle, and
handled his troops with as much facility as though he were not in the
thick of the fight, appearing always wherever his presence was
required, and reinforcing those who seemed likely to give way. In this
battle Leonnatus the Macedonian observing one of the Italians watching
Pyrrhus and constantly following him about the field, said to him, "My
king, do you see that barbarian on the black horse with white feet? He
seems to be meditating some desperate deed. He is a man of spirit and
courage, and he never takes his eyes off you, and takes no notice of
any one else. Beware of that man." Pyrrhus answered, "Leonnatus, no
man can avoid his fate; but neither that Italian nor any one else who
attacks me will do so with impunity." While they were yet talking the
Italian levelled his lance, and urged his horse in full career against
Pyrrhus. He struck the king's horse with his spear, and at the same
instant his own horse was struck a sidelong blow by Leonnatus. Both
horses fell; Pyrrhus was saved by his friends, and the Italian
perished fighting. He was of the nation of the Frentani, Hoplacus by
name, and was the captain of a troop of horse.

XVII. This incident taught Pyrrhus to be more cautious. He observed
that his cavalry were inclined to give way, and therefore sent for his
phalanx, and arrayed it against the enemy. Then he gave his cloak and
armour to one of his companions, Megakles, and after partially
disguising himself in those of his friend, led his main body to attack
the Roman army. The Romans stoutly resisted him, and an obstinate
battle took place, for it is said that the combatants alternately
yielded and again pressed forward no less than seven distinct times.
The king's exchange of armour too, though it saved his life, yet very
nearly lost him the victory: for many attacked Megakles, and the man
who first struck him down, who was named Decius, snatched up his cloak
and helmet, and rode with them to Lævinus, displaying them and
shouting aloud that he had slain Pyrrhus. The Romans, when they saw
these spoils carried in triumph along their ranks, raised a joyful
cry, while the Greeks were correspondingly disheartened until Pyrrhus,
learning what had taken place, rode along the line with his head bare,
stretching out his hands to his soldiers and telling them that he was
safe. At length he was victorious, chiefly by means of a sudden charge
of his Thessalian horse on the Romans after they had been thrown into
disorder by the advance of the elephants. The Roman horses were
terrified at these animals, and long before they came near, ran away
with their riders in panic. The slaughter was very great: Dionysius
says that of the Romans there fell but little short of fifteen
thousand, but Hieronymus reduces this to seven thousand, while on
Pyrrhus's side there fell, according to Dionysius, thirteen thousand,
but according to Hieronymus less than four thousand. These however,
were the very flower of Pyrrhus's army; for he lost all his most
trusty officers, and his most intimate personal friends. Still, he
captured the Roman camp, which was abandoned by the enemy, induced
several of their allied cities to join him, plundered a vast extent of
country, and advanced within three hundred stades (less than forty
English miles) of Rome itself. After the battle many of the Lucanians
and Samnites came up; these allies he reproached for their dilatory
movements, but was evidently well pleased at having conquered the
great Roman army with no other forces but his own Epirotes and the
Tarentines.

XVIII. The Romans did not remove Lævinus from his office of consul,
although Caius Fabricius is reported to have said that it was not the
Epirotes who had conquered the Romans, but Pyrrhus who had conquered
Lævinus; meaning that he thought that the defeat was owing not to the
greater force but the superior generalship of the enemy. They
astonished Pyrrhus by quickly filling up their ranks with fresh
levies, and talking about the war in a spirit of fearless confidence.
He decided to try whether they were disposed to make terms with him,
as he perceived that to capture Rome and utterly subdue the Roman
people would be a work of no small difficulty, and that it would be
vain to attempt it with the force at his disposal, while after his
victory he could make peace on terms which would reflect great lustre
on himself. Kineas was sent as ambassador to conduct this negotiation.
He conversed with the leading men of Rome, and offered their wives and
children presents from the king. No one, however, would accept them,
but they all, men and women alike, replied that, if peace were
publicly concluded with the king, they would then have no objection to
regard him as a friend. And when Kineas spoke before the Senate in a
winning and persuasive manner he could not make any impression upon
his audience, although he announced to them that Pyrrhus would restore
the prisoners he had taken without any ransom, and would assist them
in subduing all Italy, while all that he asked in return was that he
should be regarded as a friend, and that the people of Tarentum should
not be molested. The common people, however, were evidently eager for
peace, in consequence of their having been defeated in one great
battle, and expecting that they would have to fight another against a
larger force, because the Italian states would join Pyrrhus. At this
crisis Appius Claudius, an illustrious man, but who had long since
been prevented by old age and blindness from taking any active part in
politics, when he heard of the proposals of Pyrrhus, and that the
question of peace or war was about to be voted upon by the Senate,
could no longer endure to remain at home, but caused his slaves to
carry him through the Forum to the Senate House in a litter. When he
reached the doors of the Senate House his sons and sons-in-law
supported him and guided him into the house, while all the assembly
observed a respectful silence.

XIX. Speaking from where he stood, he addressed them as follows:--"My
countrymen, I used to grieve at the loss of my sight, but now I am
sorry not to be deaf also, when I hear the disgraceful propositions
with which you are tarnishing the glory of Rome. What has become of
that boast which we were so fond of making before all mankind, that if
Alexander the Great had invaded Italy, and had met us when we were
young, and our fathers when they were in the prime of life, he would
not have been reputed invincible, but would either have fled or
perhaps even have fallen, and added to the glory of Rome? You now
prove that this was mere empty vapouring, by your terror of these
Chaonians and Molossians, nations who have always been a prey and a
spoil to the Macedonians, and by your fear of this Pyrrhus, who used
formerly to dance attendance on one of Alexander's bodyguards,[42] and
who has now wandered hither not so much in order to assist the Greeks
in Italy as to escape from his enemies at home, and promises to be our
friend and protector forsooth, when the army he commands did not
suffice to keep for him the least portion of that Macedonia which he
once acquired. Do not imagine that you will get rid of this man by
making a treaty with him. Rather you will encourage other Greek
princes to invade you, for they will despise you and think you an easy
prey to all men, if you let Pyrrhus go home again without paying the
penalty of his outrages upon you, nay, with the power to boast that he
has made Rome a laughing-stock for Tarentines and Samnites."

By these words Appius roused a warlike spirit in the Romans, and they
dismissed Kineas with the answer that if Pyrrhus would leave Italy
they would, if he wished, discuss the question of an alliance with
him, but that while he remained in arms in their country the Romans
would fight him to the death, however many Lævinuses he might defeat.
It is related that Kineas, during his mission to Rome, took great
interest in observing the national life of the Romans, and fully
appreciated the excellence of their political constitution, which he
learned by conversing with many of the leading men of the state. On
his return he told Pyrrhus that the Senate seemed to him like an
assembly of kings, and that as to the populace, he feared that the
Greeks might find in them a new Lernæan hydra; for twice as many
troops had been enrolled in the consul's army as he had before, and
yet there remained many more Romans capable of bearing arms.

XX. After this Caius Fabricius came to arrange terms for the exchange
of prisoners; a man whom Kineas said the Romans especially valued for
his virtue and bravery, but who was excessively poor. Pyrrhus, in
consequence of this, entertained Fabricius privately, and made him an
offer of money, not as a bribe for any act of baseness, but speaking
of it as a pledge of friendship and sincerity. As Fabricius refused
this, Pyrrhus waited till the next day, when, desirous of making an
impression on him, as he had never seen an elephant, he had his
largest elephant placed behind Fabricius during their conference,
concealed by a curtain. At a given signal, the curtain was withdrawn,
and the creature reached out his trunk over the head of Fabricius with
a harsh and terrible cry. Fabricius, however, quietly turned round,
and then said to Pyrrhus with a smile, "You could not move me by your
gold yesterday, nor can you with your beast to-day." At table that day
they conversed upon all subjects, but chiefly about Greece and Greek
philosophy. Kineas repeated the opinion of Epikurus and his school,
about the gods, and the practice of political life, and the objects at
which we should aim, how they considered pleasure to be the highest
good, and held aloof from taking any active part in politics, because
it spoiled and destroyed perfect happiness; and about how they thought
that the gods lived far removed from hopes and fears, and interest in
human affairs, in a placid state of eternal fruition.[43] While he was
speaking in this strain Fabricius burst out: "Hercules!" cried he,
"May Pyrrhus and the Samnites continue to waste their time on these
speculations, as long as they remain at war with us!" Pyrrhus, at
this, was struck by the spirit and noble disposition of Fabricius,
and longed more than ever to make Rome his friend instead of his
enemy. He begged him to arrange terms of peace, and after they were
concluded to come and live with him as the first of his friends and
officers. Fabricius is said to have quietly answered, "That, O King,
will not be to your advantage; for those who now obey you, and look up
to you, if they had any experience of me, would prefer me to you for
their king." Pyrrhus was not angry at this speech, but spoke to all
his friends about the magnanimous conduct of Fabricius, and entrusted
the prisoners to him alone, on the condition that, if the Senate
refused to make peace, they should be allowed to embrace their
friends, and spend the festival of the Saturnalia with them, and then
be sent back to him. And they were sent back after the Saturnalia, for
the Senate decreed that any of them who remained behind should be put
to death.

XXI. After this, when C. Fabricius was consul, a man came into his
camp bringing a letter from King Pyrrhus's physician, in which he
offered to poison the king, if he could be assured of a suitable
reward for his services in thus bringing the war to an end without a
blow. Fabricius, disgusted at the man's treachery, brought his
colleague to share his views, and in haste sent off a letter to
Pyrrhus, bidding him be on his guard. The letter ran as follows:
"Caius Fabricius and Quintus Æmilius, the Roman consuls, greet King
Pyrrhus. You appear to be a bad judge both of your friends and of your
enemies. You will perceive, by reading the enclosed letter which has
been sent to us, that you are fighting against good and virtuous men,
and trusting to wicked and treacherous ones. We do not give you this
information out of any love we bear you, but for fear that we might be
charged with having assassinated you and be thought to have brought
the war to a close by treachery because we could not do so by
manhood."

Pyrrhus on receiving this letter, and discovering the plot against his
life, punished his physician, and, in return for the kindness of
Fabricius and the Romans, delivered up their prisoners without ransom,
and sent Kineas a second time to arrange terms of peace. However, the
Romans refused to receive their prisoners back without ransom, being
unwilling either to receive a favour from their enemy, or to be
rewarded for having abstained from treachery towards him, but set free
an equal number of Tarentines and Samnites, and sent them to him. As
to terms of peace, they refused to entertain the question unless
Pyrrhus first placed his entire armament on board the ships in which
it came, and sailed back to Epirus with it.

As it was now necessary that Pyrrhus should fight another battle, he
advanced with his army to the city of Asculum, and attacked the
Romans. Here he was forced to fight on rough ground, near the swampy
banks of a river, where his elephants and cavalry were of no service,
and he was forced to attack with his phalanx. After a drawn battle, in
which many fell, night parted the combatants. Next day Pyrrhus
manœuvred so as to bring the Romans fairly into the plain, where his
elephants could act upon the enemy's line. He occupied the rough
ground on either side, placed many archers and slingers among his
elephants, and advanced with his phalanx in close order and
irresistible strength. The Romans, who were unable on the level ground
to practise the bush-fighting and skirmishing of the previous day,
were compelled to attack the phalanx in front. They endeavoured to
force their way through that hedge of spears before the elephants
could come up, and showed marvellous courage in hacking at the spears
with their swords, exposing themselves recklessly, careless of wounds
or death. After a long struggle, it is said that they first gave way
at the point where Pyrrhus was urging on his soldiers in person,
though the defeat was chiefly due to the weight and crushing charge of
the elephants. The Romans could not find any opportunity in this sort
of battle for the display of their courage, but thought it their duty
to stand aside and save themselves from a useless death, just as they
would have done in the case of a wave of the sea or an earthquake
coming upon them. In the flight to their camp, which was not far off,
Hieronymus says that six thousand Romans perished, and that in
Pyrrhus's commentaries his loss is stated at three thousand five
hundred and five. Dionysius, on the other hand, does not admit that
there were two battles at Asculum, or that the Romans suffered a
defeat, but tells us that they fought the whole of one day until
sunset, and then separated, Pyrrhus being wounded in the arm by a
javelin, and the Samnites having plundered his baggage. He also states
the total loss on both sides to be above fifteen thousand.[44]

The armies separated after the battle, and it is said that Pyrrhus,
when congratulated on his victory by his friends, said in reply: "If
we win one more such victory over the Romans, we shall be utterly
ruined." For a large part of the force which he had brought with him
had perished, and very nearly all his friends and officers, and there
were no more to send for at home. He saw, too, that his allies were
becoming lukewarm, while the Romans, on the other hand, filled up the
gaps with a never-ceasing stream of fresh recruits, and did not lose
confidence by their defeats, but seemed to gather fresh strength and
determination to go on with the war.

XXII. While in these difficulties he conceived fresh hopes of success,
and engaged in an enterprise in another quarter, which was likely to
interfere with the prosecution of his original design. An embassy
arrived from Sicily, offering to place the cities of Agrigentum,
Syracuse, and Leontini in his hands, and begging him to aid them in
driving out the Carthaginians from the island, and freeing it from
despots, while at the same time messengers came from Greece with the
news that Ptolemy, surnamed Keraunus, or "the thunderbolt," had
perished, with all his army, in an engagement with the Gauls, and that
now was his opportunity to offer himself to the Macedonians, who were
in great need of a king. Pyrrhus upbraided Fortune for placing so many
opportunities within his reach at the same time, and, reflecting that
he could only manage one with success, for some time remained plunged
in thought. At last, thinking that the Sicilian offer was likely to
lead to greater things, as Africa was close to that island, he decided
to accept it, and at once sent Kineas to prepare the cities for his
arrival, as was his wont in such cases. He himself, meanwhile, placed
a strong garrison in the city of Tarentum, much to the disgust of its
citizens, who asked him either to perform what he had come thither to
do, namely, to assist them in fighting against the Romans, or else to
evacuate their territory, and leave their city as he found it. In
answer to this demand he harshly bade them keep quiet, and wait till
he was at leisure to attend to their affairs, and at once set sail for
Sicily. On his arrival there he found all his hopes realised, as the
cities gladly delivered themselves into his hands. At first he
willingly acceded to their request, that he should wage war on their
behalf, and with an army of thirty thousand foot, two thousand horse,
and two hundred ships, he attacked the Carthaginians, totally defeated
them, and overran the part of Sicily which was subject to them. Eryx
was the strongest of their fortresses, and was strongly garrisoned.
Pyrrhus, learning this, determined to assault it. When his army was
ready, he came forward, in complete armour, and vowed that he would
hold public games and sacrifices in honour of Herakles, if he should
prove himself that day, before all the Sikeliot Greeks, to be a worthy
descendant of Achilles, and to deserve to command so great a force.
The trumpet then sounded the charge, the barbarians were driven from
the walls by a shower of missiles, and the scaling ladders planted
against them. Pyrrhus was the first man to mount the wall, and there
fought singly against a host, dashing some of them over the inner, and
some over the outer edge of the wall, and wielding his sword with such
terrible power that he soon stood on a pile of corpses. He himself was
quite unhurt, and terrified the enemy by his mere appearance, proving
how truly Homer has told us that of all virtues courage alone is wont
to display itself in divine transports and frenzies. After the city
was taken he made a magnificent sacrifice to the gods, and held
gymnastic contests of all kinds.

XXIII. He now turned his arms against the so-called Mamertines[45] of
Messina, who troubled the Greek cities much, and had even made some of
them tributary to themselves. They were numerous and warlike; indeed,
in Latin, their name means the "children of Mars." Pyrrhus seized and
put to death any of them whom he found exacting tribute from the
Greeks, and after defeating them in a pitched battle, took many of
their outlying forts. The Carthaginians now were inclined to come to
terms with him. They offered, if peace were concluded, to pay him
tribute, and to supply a fleet for his use. To these proposals
Pyrrhus, dissatisfied with obtaining so little, answered that he would
only make peace and friendship with them on one condition, which was
that they would evacuate Sicily altogether, and regard the African sea
as their frontier towards Greece. Elated by the greatness of the force
at his disposal, and the success which attended his enterprises, he
now aimed at the realisation of the large hopes of conquest with which
he left Greece, and meditated an attack on Libya. He had a large
fleet, but required many rowers to man it, and these he proceeded to
obtain from the allied cities, not by gentle means, but by harsh,
arbitrary, and despotic commands. Not that he was originally of a
tyrannical disposition, but his character, which at first was open,
trustful, and sociable, gradually altered for the worse, as he became
less dependent upon public opinion and more firmly fixed upon his
throne, until at length he gained the reputation of an ungrateful and
suspicious despot. The Greek cities, though with much murmuring,
submitted to this arbitrary impressment, having no other alternative;
but Pyrrhus soon proceeded to even harsher measures. Thoinon and
Sosistratus were the leading men in Syracuse. It was they who had
first invited him into Sicily, and who, when he arrived there, had
placed their own city in his hands and induced most of the other Greek
communities to join him. Pyrrhus now regarded these men with
suspicion, and knew not whether to take them with him or leave them
behind. Sosistratus, terrified at the king's evident ill-will, made
his escape, upon which Pyrrhus charged Thoinon with plotting against
him with the other, and put him to death. This caused a sudden
revulsion of feeling from him. The Greek cities began to regard him
with mortal hatred, and some of them joined the Carthaginians, whilst
others invited the Mamertines to assist them. And while Pyrrhus saw
nothing in Sicily but disaffection and insurrection against his power,
he received despatches from the Tarentines and Samnites, informing him
that they were confined to the walls of their cities, and even so
could barely defend themselves against the Romans, while their lands
were all being laid waste, and they urgently needed help. This
intelligence prevented his withdrawal from Sicily being regarded as a
flight, but in reality he had failed in his attempt to conquer that
island, and was as eager to return to Italy as a shipwrecked sailor is
to reach the shore. It is said that as he was sailing away he looked
back at Sicily and said to his friends, "What a fair field we are
leaving for the Romans and Carthaginians to fight in." This prophecy,
as he expected, was soon afterwards fulfilled.

XXIV. The barbarians[46] combined to attack him as he retreated. He
fought a battle at sea with the Carthaginian fleet during his passage
to Italy, in which he lost many ships, while the Mamertines, ten
thousand strong, had crossed into Italy before he could reach it, and
although they did not dare to fight a pitched battle, yet harassed him
by attacking him when entangled in some rough ground, and threw his
entire army into confusion. Two elephants and many of his rear-guard
perished. Pyrrhus himself was at the head of the column of march, but
at once rode to the rear and restored the fight, but was in great
danger from the brave and warlike Mamertines. He received a blow upon
his head from a sword, which forced him to retire a little way from
the battle, and greatly elated the enemy. One of them, a powerful man,
splendidly armed, ran forward far beyond the rest, and boastfully
challenged him to come forward and fight, if he were alive. At this
Pyrrhus was so exasperated that he broke forcibly away from the
officers who tried to restrain him, and, with his face covered with
blood, and a savage expression of fury on his countenance, rushed upon
the barbarian, and struck him a blow on the head which showed both the
strength of his arm and the admirable temper of his sword, for it
clave him completely asunder, so that his body fell down in two
pieces. This checked the ardour of the barbarians, who admired and
feared Pyrrhus as a superior being. He was able to march unopposed for
the rest of the way to Tarentum, to which city he brought a force of
twenty thousand infantry and three thousand cavalry. Taking with him
the best troops of the Tarentines he now marched at once to attack the
Romans, who were encamped in the territory of the Samnites.

XXV. The Samnites at this period were entirely ruined and broken in
spirit from the numerous defeats which they had sustained at the hands
of the Romans. Some dissatisfaction also was felt with Pyrrhus for
having neglected them while he was campaigning in Sicily; so that not
many of that nation joined him. Pyrrhus now divided his forces,
sending one portion into Lucania to harass the other consul and
prevent his coming to the assistance of his colleague, while he
himself led the remainder to attack Manius Curius, who was quietly
encamped near the city of Beneventum, awaiting the arrival of the
Lucanian forces. It is also said that his soothsayers told him, that
the omens were not in favour of his moving from where he was. Pyrrhus,
eager to attack him before the other consul's army joined him, made a
hurried night march with his best troops and elephants, hoping to
surprise the Roman camp. But during the march, which was long, and
through a densely-wooded country, their torches went out, the soldiers
lost their way in the darkness, and got into confusion. Day at length
appeared, and showed to the Romans Pyrrhus with his army, advancing
from the heights near their camp. The sight caused some disorder and
excitement, but as the omens were now favourable, and the emergency
required prompt action, Manius Curius led out his men, attacked the
first troops of Pyrrhus's army whom he met, routed them, and dismayed
the whole force, so that many were slain and several elephants
captured. This success emboldened Manius to begin a general action on
the more level ground, where he defeated the enemy with one wing of
his army, but on the other his troops were overpowered by the charge
of the elephants and driven back to their camp. Curius now called to
his aid the soldiers left to guard the camp, who were standing under
arms along the ramparts, and were quite fresh and unwearied. They
assailed the elephants with a shower of darts, which caused them to
turn and fly, trampling down their own men in their flight. The Romans
thus gained the victory, and at the same time the reputation of being
the first military nation in the world. For their display of valour on
this occasion led to their being thought invincible, and to their at
once gaining possession of the whole of Italy, and shortly afterwards
of Sicily also.

XXVI. Thus did Pyrrhus fail in his Italian and Sicilian expeditions,
after spending six years of constant fighting in those countries,
during which he lost a great part of his force, but always, even in
his defeats, preserved his reputation for invincible bravery, being
thought, in warlike skill and personal strength and daring, to be by
far the first prince of his age. Yet he always threw away the
advantages which he gained, in following some chimerical scheme of
further conquest, being unable to take proper measures for the present
because of his eagerness for the future. On this account Antigonus
likened him to a player who made many good throws with the dice, but
who did not know how to use them. He carried back to Epirus with him
eight thousand infantry and five hundred cavalry, and, having no
money, began to look out for a war, by which he might support his
army. Some of the Gauls now joined him, and he at once invaded
Macedonia, where Antigonus, the son of Demetrius, was now king, with
the intention of plundering the country. Soon, however, as he took
several cities, and two thousand Macedonian soldiers deserted their
colours and joined him, he began to entertain more ambitious designs,
marched against Antigonus himself, and was able to surprise his army,
near the issue of a defile, by a sudden attack in the rear.
Notwithstanding the general confusion, however, a strong body of
Gauls, who formed the rear-guard, withstood him manfully, but, after a
vigorous resistance, were nearly all cut to pieces, while the
elephants, whose retreat was cut off, were surrendered by their
leaders. After gaining such an advantage as this, Pyrrhus, trusting to
his good fortune, and without calculating the numbers opposed to him,
advanced to attack the Macedonian phalanx, which was full of disorder
and consternation at the defeat of the rear-guard. No attempt was made
by them to strike a blow. Pyrrhus stretched out his hand and called
the Macedonian officers by their names, and they at once went over to
him, and were followed by all their men. Antigonus escaped to the
sea-coast, where he still retained some cities in their obedience.

Pyrrhus, considering that his victory over the Gauls was the most
glorious part of his recent success, hung the finest of their arms and
spoils in the temple of Athene Itonis, with the following epigram.

    "These spoils doth Pyrrhus the Molossian king,
    From the brave Gauls to thee, bright goddess, bring;
    He beat Antigonus, with all his men:
    Achilles' sons are warriors now as then."

After the battle he at once recovered the cities on the seaboard. He
took Ægæ, treated the inhabitants very harshly, and left a garrison of
Celtic mercenary troops in the town. These Gauls, with the insatiate
greed for money for which that nation is noted, proceeded to break
open the sepulchres of the Macedonian kings who were buried there, in
search of plunder, and wantonly scattered their bones. Pyrrhus seemed
but little disturbed at this outrage, either because his affairs gave
him no leisure to think about it, or because he thought it dangerous
to punish his barbarian allies: but the Macedonians were deeply
grieved by it. And yet, although he was far from being firmly
established in his new kingdom, he was already forming new schemes of
conquest. In raillery he called Antigonus a shameless man because he
had not yet laid aside the royal purple for the dress of a private
man, and he eagerly accepted the invitation of Kleonymus the Spartan
to go and attack Lacedæmon. This Kleonymus was by birth the rightful
heir to the throne, but being thought to be a violent and tyrannical
person he was hated and distrusted by the Spartans, who had chosen his
nephew Areus to be their king. This was the reason of his having long
borne a grudge against his countrymen, but besides this his feelings
had been recently wounded by a family quarrel.

Kleonymus, now an elderly man, had married a beautiful wife of the
royal blood, Chilonis, the daughter of Leotychides. She fell madly in
love with Akrotatus, the son of Areus, a youth in the flower of his
age, and the dishonour of Kleonymus became notorious all over Sparta.
This private wrong, added to his previous exclusion from the throne,
so enraged him, that he invited Pyrrhus to attack Sparta, which he did
with an army of twenty-five thousand foot, two thousand horse, and
twenty-four elephants, so that it was obvious that he did not mean to
gain Sparta for Kleonymus, but to conquer the whole of Peloponnesus
for himself, although he answered some Spartan envoys who waited on
him at Megalopolis in specious language, stating that he had come with
the intention of restoring to freedom the cities which were held in
subjection by Antigonus, and actually going so far as to tell them
that, if possible, he intended to send his younger sons to Sparta to
be trained in the Laconian discipline, by which they would be able to
surpass all the other kings of their age. He put off the envoys with
these stories, and made them accompany his army, but on reaching the
Lacedæmonian territory he at once began to plunder and lay it waste.
When the envoys remonstrated with him for having invaded their country
without a declaration of war, he answered--"We know well that neither
do you Spartans tell any one beforehand what you mean to do." One of
the envoys, by name Mandrokleides, said in his broad Laconian speech,
"If you are a god, we shall not be harmed by you, for we have done no
wrong; but if you are a man, you may meet with a stronger man than
yourself."

XXVII. After this he marched upon Lacedæmon itself. Kleonymus urged
him to make an assault immediately on the evening of his arrival, but
Pyrrhus is said to have refused to do so, for fear that his soldiers
might sack and destroy the city if they took it at night, while they
might easily take it in the daytime. Indeed the Spartans were taken by
surprise, and very few were in the city, the king Areus himself being
absent in Crete on an expedition to assist the people of Gortyna. And
it was this weakness and absence of defenders that really proved the
salvation of the city, for Pyrrhus, not expecting any resistance,
pitched his camp outside the walls, while the friends and helots of
Kleonymus made ready his house and decorated it, expecting that
Pyrrhus would sup there with him. At nightfall the Lacedæmonians at
first proposed to send away the women to Crete, but they refused to
leave the city. Archidamia[47] even went to the senate-house with a
drawn sword in her hands, and on behalf of the women of Sparta
reproached the men for insulting them by supposing that they would
survive the capture of their city. After this, they determined to dig
a ditch along the side of the city nearest to Pyrrhus's camp, and to
barricade the ends of it with waggons buried up to the axles in the
ground, to resist the charge of the elephants. When this work was
begun the women and girls appeared with their tunics girt up for
work,[48] and laboured at digging the ditch together with the older
men. They bade those who were to fight on the morrow take rest, and
they themselves alone dug one-third of the entire ditch. The width of
the ditch was six cubits, its depth four cubits, and its length eight
hundred feet, as we are told by Phylarchus, though Hieronymus makes
its dimensions more moderate. At daybreak, when the enemy began to
bestir themselves, the women armed the younger men, and handed over
the ditch to them, bidding them defend it, as it would be pleasant for
them to conquer in sight of their country, and glorious to die in the
arms of their mothers and wives after having fought worthily of
Sparta. Chilonis herself had retired to her own house, and had a
halter ready about her neck, in order that if the city were taken she
might not fall into the hands of Kleonymus.

XXVIII. Pyrrhus himself led a direct attack of his infantry against
the Spartans, who were drawn up in deep order, and endeavoured to
force his way through them, and to pass the ditch, which was
difficult, because the newly dug earth afforded no secure footing to
his soldiers. Meanwhile his son Ptolemy led a chosen body of two
thousand Gauls and Chaonians round the end of the ditch, and
endeavoured to break through the barricade of waggons. These stood so
thick and so close together that they made it hard, not only for the
assailants to cross them, but even for the Lacedæmonians to reach the
point where they were menaced. However, as the Gauls began to pull the
wheels out of the earth and to drag the waggons down towards the
river, the young Akrotatus perceiving the danger, sallied out from the
city at another point with three hundred men, and got round behind
Ptolemy's force, from whom he was concealed by some hilly ground. Then
he vigorously assailed the Gauls in the rear, and forced them to face
about and defend themselves, which caused great confusion, as they
were driven among the waggons and into the ditch by the Spartans until
at last they were forced to retreat. This glorious exploit of
Akrotatus was witnessed from the city walls by the old men and all the
women. As he returned through the city to his appointed post, covered
with blood and rejoicing in his victory, the Spartan women thought
that he had grown taller and more handsome than before, and they
envied Chilonis her lover. Some of the old men even followed him,
shouting, "Go home, Akrotatus, and enjoy yourself with Chilonis: only
beget brave sons for Sparta." Where Pyrrhus fought a terrible battle
took place, and many valiant deeds were wrought. A Spartan named
Phyllius, after greatly distinguishing himself and slaying many of the
assailants, when he felt himself mortally wounded, made way for his
rear rank-man to take his place, and died inside the line of shields,
in order that his corpse might not fall into the hands of the enemy.

XXIX. The battle ceased at night, and during his sleep Pyrrhus dreamed
a dream, that he cast thunderbolts upon Lacedæmon, set it all on fire,
and rejoiced at the sight. Being awakened by his delight at this
vision, he ordered his officers to hold the troops in readiness and
related the dream to his friends, auguring from it that he should take
the city by assault. They were all of them delighted at the vision,
and certain that it portended success, except one Lysimachus, who said
that he feared that, as places struck by thunderbolts may not be
walked over, Heaven might mean to signify to Pyrrhus by this that he
never should set foot in the city. Pyrrhus however answered that this
was mere empty gossip, and that they had better take their arms in
their hands and remember that

     "The best of omens is King Pyrrhus's cause."[49]

He rose, and at daybreak led his troops again to the assault. The
Lacedæmonians defended themselves with a spirit and courage beyond
what could be expected from their small numbers. The women mingled in
the thick of the fight, supplying food, drink, and missile weapons
wherever they were needed, and carrying away the wounded. The
Macedonians endeavoured to fill up the ditch by flinging large
quantities of wood into it, covering the arms and dead bodies which
lay at the bottom. As the Lacedæmonians were resisting this attempt,
they saw Pyrrhus on horseback trying to cross the line of waggons and
the ditch, and force his way into the city. A shout was raised by the
garrison at the spot, and the women began to scream and run wildly
about. Pyrrhus had made his way through all obstacles and was about to
attack the nearest of those who disputed his passage, when his horse,
struck in the body by a Cretan javelin, reared in the death-agony, and
threw Pyrrhus to the ground. He fell on a steep bank, and his fall
caused such consternation among his followers that a timely charge of
the Spartans drove them back. Upon this he gave orders to put a stop
to the assault, for he imagined that the Lacedæmonians would soon
offer terms of surrender, as they were nearly all wounded, and had
lost many men. However, the good fortune of the city, which may have
wished to test the Spartan courage to the utmost, or to prove its own
power to save the city when all hope seemed lost, brought Ameinias the
Phokian, one of the generals of Antigonus, with a body of mercenary
troops to help the Spartans in this their darkest hour. Shortly after
they had received this reinforcement, their king, Areus, arrived from
Crete with two thousand men. The women now returned to their homes,
not thinking it to be necessary any longer for them to take an active
part in the war, while those old men too who had been forced by
necessity to take up arms, were relieved by the new comers, who took
their places in the line of battle against the enemy.

XXX. These reinforcements piqued Pyrrhus into making several more
attempts to take the city, in which however he was repulsed and
wounded. He now retired, and began to plunder the country, professing
his intention to winter there. But no man can resist his destiny.
There were in Argos two parties, one headed by Aristeas, and the other
by Aristippus. The latter was favoured by Antigonus, which induced
Aristeas to invite Pyrrhus to Argos. He was ever willing to embark on
a new enterprise, because he regarded his successes merely as
stepping-stones to greater things, and hoped to retrieve his failures
by new and more daring exploits; so that he was rendered equally
restless by victory or defeat. Accordingly he set off at once for
Argos. Areus occupied the most difficult of the passes on the road
with an ambuscade, and attacked the Gauls and Molossians who formed
the rear-guard. Pyrrhus had been warned by his soothsayers that the
livers of the victims wanted one lobe, which portended the loss of one
of his relatives, but at this crisis the disorder and confusion into
which his army was thrown by the ambush made him forget the omen, and
order his son Ptolemy to take his guards and go to the help of the
rear-guard, while he himself hurried his main body on through the
defile. When Ptolemy came up a fierce battle took place. The flower of
the Lacedæmonian army, led by Eualkus, engaged with the troops
immediately around Ptolemy, and while they fought, a Cretan named
Oryssus, a native of Aptera, running forward on the flank, struck the
young man, who was fighting bravely, with a javelin, and killed him.
His fall caused his troops to retreat, and they were hard pressed by
the Lacedæmonians, who were so excited by their victory that they were
carried by their ardour far into the plain, where their retreat was
cut off by Pyrrhus's infantry. Pyrrhus himself, who had just heard of
the death of his son, in an agony of grief now ordered the Molossian
cavalry to charge them. He was the first to ride among the
Lacedæmonians, and terribly avenged his son by cutting them down.
Pyrrhus in battle was always a terrific figure, whom none dared to
resist, but on this occasion he surpassed himself in courage and fury.
At length he rode up to Eualkus, who avoided his charge, and aimed a
blow at him with his sword which just missed Pyrrhus's bridle hand,
but cut through his reins. Pyrrhus ran him through with his spear at
the same moment, but fell from his horse, and, fighting henceforth on
foot, slew all the chosen band commanded by Eualkus. This was a severe
loss to Sparta, incurred as it was unnecessarily, after the war was
really over, from the desire of their generals to distinguish
themselves.

XXXI. Pyrrhus celebrated his son's obsequies with splendid games.[50]
His grief was partly satiated by the revenge which he had taken upon
the enemy, and he now marched towards Argos. Hearing that Antigonus
was encamped upon one of the heights near the city, he himself pitched
his camp at Nauplia. On the next day he sent a herald to Antigonus
with an insulting message, challenging him to come down upon the level
ground and fight. Antigonus answered that he should fight only when he
chose, but that if Pyrrhus was weary of his life, he could find many
other ways to die. Ambassadors from Argos also came to each of them,
begging them to withdraw their forces, and allow the city to remain
independent and friendly to both, Antigonus accepted this offer, and
handed over his son to the Argives as a hostage, while Pyrrhus agreed
to retire, but, as he gave no pledge, was viewed with greater
suspicion than before. A strange portent also happened to Pyrrhus, for
the heads of the oxen which had been sacrificed, when lying apart from
their bodies, were observed to put out their tongues and lap their own
gore; and in the city the priestess of Apollo Lykius rushed about in
frenzy, crying out that she saw the whole city full of slaughtered
corpses, and an eagle coming to the fight and then disappearing.

XXXII. During the following night, which was very dark, Pyrrhus
marched his troops up to the walls, found the gate called Diamperes
opened to him by Aristeas, and was able to march his Gaulish troops
into the city and seize the market-place unobserved: but the elephants
could not pass through the gate until their towers were taken off
their backs. The removal of these towers, in the darkness, and the
replacing them when the elephants had passed through the gate, caused
an amount of delay and confusion which at length roused the slumbering
inhabitants; they ran together to the place called "the Shield," and
the other places of strength in the city, and sent messengers to call
Antigonus to their aid. He at once marched up close to the city, and
remained there with a reserve, but sent his son and several of his
officers with a large part of his forces to assist the Argives within
their city walls. Areus the king of Sparta also arrived, with a
thousand Cretans and the swiftest footed of the Spartans. All these
troops now at once attacked the Gauls and threw them into great
disorder. As Pyrrhus, however, marched in by the street called
Kylarabis, his soldiers raised a warlike shout: and he, noticing that
the shout was echoed by the Gauls in the market-place in an undecided,
faint-hearted fashion, at once guessed that they were being hard
pressed. He instantly pressed the horsemen with him to charge, which
they did with great difficulty, as the horses kept falling into the
water-courses with which the whole city is intersected. The night was
spent in wild tumult and skirmishing in the narrow lanes, both
parties being unable to recognize or obey their leaders, and eagerly
awaiting the dawn. The first rays of light showed Pyrrhus the whole
open square called "the Shield" full of enemies, while he was even
more disturbed by the sight of a brazen statue in the market-place,
representing a wolf and a bull about to attack one another; for he
remembered an oracle which had long before foretold that he must die
when he should see a wolf fighting with a bull. The Argives say that
this statue commemorates the legend that Danaus when he first landed
in the country at Pyramia, near Thyrea, was marching towards Argos
when he saw a wolf fighting with a bull. Danaus decided that the wolf
must represent himself, because he was a stranger, and was come to
attack the people of the country, like it; and he stopped and watched
the fight. When the wolf gained the day, he offered prayer to Apollo
Lykius, made his attempt upon the throne of Argos, and was successful,
as Gelanor, who was then king, was forced into exile by a revolution.
This is the account which the Argives give of these statues.

XXXIII. This sight, and the failure of his plans, disheartened
Pyrrhus, and he began to think of retreating. As the gates were
narrow, he sent to his son Helenus, who had been left with a large
force without the city, ordering him to break down a part of the wall,
and protect the fugitives, if they were pressed by the enemy. But in
the hurry and confusion the messenger did not clearly explain his
orders, and by some mistake the young Helenus took all the remaining
elephants and the best troops, and marched through the gate with them
to help his father. Pyrrhus was already beginning to retire. As long
as he fought in the market-place, where there was ample room, he
effected his retreat in good order, and kept off the assailants by
occasional movements in advance. But when his troops began to march
down the narrow street leading to the gate, they were met face to face
by the reinforcement coming to their assistance. At this crisis some
of the soldiers refused to obey Pyrrhus's order to retreat, while
others who were willing enough to do so could not stem the tide of men
marching in from the gate. At the gate itself too the largest of the
elephants had fallen sideways and lay there bellowing, blocking up
the way for those who were trying to pass out, while one of the
elephants of the reinforcing party, called "the Conqueror," was
looking for his master, who had fallen off his back mortally wounded.
Charging violently back against the surging tide of fugitives, the
faithful beast trampled down friends and foes alike until he found his
master's body, when he seized it with his trunk and carried it upon
his tusks; and then, turning round in a frenzy of grief, overturned
and crushed every one whom he met. As the men were thus crowded
together, no one could do anything to help himself, but the whole mass
surged backwards and forwards in one solid body. The enemy who
attacked them behind did them but little hurt; they suffered chiefly
from one another, because when a man had once drawn his sword or
couched his lance he could not put it up again, and it pierced whoever
might happen to be forced against it.

XXXIV. Pyrrhus, seeing the danger with which he was menaced on every
side, took off the royal diadem from his helmet, and gave it to one of
his companions. He himself, trusting to the fact of his being on
horseback, now charged into the mass of assailants, and was struck
through his cuirass by one of them with a spear. The wound was not a
dangerous or important one, and Pyrrhus at once turned to attack the
man from whom he had received it. He was an Argive, not of noble
birth, but the son of a poor old woman, who, like the rest, was
looking on at the battle from the roof of her house. As soon as she
saw Pyrrhus attacking her son, in an ecstasy of fear and rage she took
up a tile and hurled it at Pyrrhus. It struck him on the helmet,
bruising the spine at the back of his neck, and he fell from his
horse, blinded by the stroke, at the side of the sacred enclosure of
Likymnius. Few recognized him, but one Zopyrus, who was in the service
of Antigonus, and two or three others, seized him just as he was
beginning to recover his senses, and dragged him into an archway near
at hand. When Zopyrus drew an Illyrian sword to cut off his head
Pyrrhus looked so fiercely at him that he was terrified, and bungled
in his work, but at length managed to sever his head from his body.
By this time most men had learned what had happened, and Halkyoneus,
running up, asked to see the head, that he might identify it. When he
obtained this he rode off with it to his father, and finding him
sitting amongst his friends, he threw it down at his feet. Antigonus
when he recognized it chased his son out of his presence, striking him
with his staff, and calling him accursed and barbarous, and then
covered his own face with his mantle and wept, remembering how in his
own family his grandfather Antigonus and his father Demetrius had
experienced similar reverses of fortune. He had the body and head of
Pyrrhus decently arranged on a funeral pyre and burned. Halkyoneus,
meeting Helenus in poor and threadbare clothes, embraced him kindly,
and led him to Antigonus, who said to him, "This meeting, my boy, is
better than the other; but still you do not do right in not removing
these clothes, which rather seem to disgrace us who are, as it
appears, the victors." He treated Helenus with great kindness, and
sent him back to his kingdom of Epirus loaded with presents, and also
showed great favour towards the friends of Pyrrhus, who, together with
all his army and war material, had fallen into his hands.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 38: By 'Kings' throughout this 'Life,' Plutarch refers to
the successors of Alexander the Great.]

[Footnote 39: See Thirlwall's 'History of Greece,' chap. lx.]

[Footnote 40: Plutarch's account of these transactions is hardly
intelligible. Demetrius, it appears, was about to lay siege to Athens
when Pyrrhus prevented him. See Thirlwall's History, chap. lx.]

[Footnote 41: The river Aciris, now called Agri.]

[Footnote 42: Demetrius.]

[Footnote 43: I have translated the above passages almost literally
from the Greek. Yet I am inclined to think that Arnold has penetrated
the true meaning, and shows us the reason for Fabricius's exclamation,
when he states the Epicurean philosophy, as expounded by Kineas, to be
"that war and state affairs were but toil and trouble, and that the
wise man should imitate the blissful rest of the gods, who, dwelling
in their own divinity, regarded not the vain turmoil of this lower
world."--Arnold's 'History of Rome,' vol. ii. ch. xxxvii]

[Footnote 44: See an excellent note in Arnold's 'History of Rome,'
vol. ii. ch. xxxvii.]

[Footnote 45: These were the descendants of certain Campanian
mercenaries, who had seized the city of Messina, and from it made war
upon the neighbourhood.]

[Footnote 46: "Barbarians" here as elsewhere merely means those who
were not Greeks.]

[Footnote 47: On this passage Thirlwall ('History of Greece,' chapter
lx.) has the following note: "Flathe (vol. ii. p. 94) conceives that
the waggons were placed in the ditch, which I can neither understand,
nor reconcile with Plutarch's description. Clough follows Flathe, and
says that 'the waggons were sunk in the ditch, here and there along
it.' Plutarch's description is most unfortunately brief. We do not
know to what extent Sparta had been fortified during its wars with
Kassander and Demetrius, or whether the ditch which was dug on this
occasion covered the only gap in the walls. At any rate it is hard to
understand why the Spartans, according to Clough, should dig a ditch
and then sink their waggons in it, as in that case they might as well
not have dug any ditch at all."]

[Footnote 48: The married women wore two pieces of dress, the
unmarried one only. On this occasion the married women tied their
cloaks round their waists. See the description in the 'Life of
Lykurgus.']

[Footnote 49: I have adopted Clough's excellent version of the
well-known passage in 'Iliad,' xii. 243, where Hector says that he
cares not for the flight of birds or any other omen, but that "The
best of omens is one's country's cause."]

[Footnote 50: Compare the games which Achilles, in the 'Iliad,' holds
at the funeral of Patroklus.]




LIFE OF CAIUS MARIUS.


I. I cannot mention any third name[51] of Caius Marius, any more than
of Quintus Sertorius, who held Spain, or of Lucius Mummius, who took
Corinth; for the name Achaicus was given to Mummius in commemoration
of this event, just as the name Africanus was given to Scipio, and
Macedonicus to Metellus. This seems to Poseidonius to be the strongest
refutation of the opinion of those who suppose that the third name was
the proper individual name among the Romans, such as Camillus, and
Marcellus, and Cato; for he argues, if this were so, those who had
only the two names would be really without a name. But Poseidonius
does not perceive that by this argument he on his side makes the women
to be without names: for no woman ever has the first of the three
names, which first, however, Poseidonius supposes to be the name which
marked individuals among the Romans; and of the other two names, he
supposes the one to be common and to belong to all of one kin, such as
the Pompeii and the Manlii and the Cornelii, just as the Greeks might
speak of the Herakleidæ and the Pelopidæ; but the other name he
supposes to be an appellation given as a distinctive name, either with
reference to a man's disposition or his actions, or some character and
peculiarity of his person, such as Macrinus and Torquatus and Sulla,
which may be compared with the Greek Mnemon or Grypus or Kallinikus.
However, in such matters as these the diversity in usage allows a
variety of conjectures.

II. With respect to the personal appearance of Marius, I saw a stone
statue[52] of him at Ravenna in Gaul, which was perfectly in
accordance with what is said of the roughness and harshness of his
character. He was naturally of a courageous and warlike turn, and had
more of the discipline of the camp than of the state, and accordingly
his temper was ungovernable when he was in the possession of power. It
is stated that he never studied Greek literature, and never availed
himself of the Greek language for any serious purpose, for he said it
was ridiculous to study a literature the teachers of which were the
slaves of others; and after his second triumph, when he exhibited
Greek plays[53] on the occasion of the dedication of a certain temple,
though he came to the theatre, he only sat down for a moment and then
went away. Xenokrates the philosopher was considered to be rather of a
morose temper, and Plato was in the habit of frequently saying to him,
"My good Xenokrates, sacrifice to the Graces;" in like manner, if
Marius could have been persuaded to sacrifice to the Grecian Muses and
Graces, he would never have brought a most illustrious military and
civil career to a most unseemly conclusion; through passion and
unreasonable love of power and insatiable desire of
self-aggrandizement driven to terminate his course in an old age of
cruelty and ferocity. Let this, however, be judged of by the facts as
they will presently appear.

III. Marius was the son of obscure parents, who gained their living by
the labour of their hands, and were poor. His father's name was
Marius; his mother's name was Fulcinia. It was late before he saw Rome
and became acquainted with the habits of the city, up to which time he
lived at Cirrhæato,[54] a village in the territory of Arpinum, where
his mode of life was rude, when contrasted with the polite and
artificial fashions of a city, but temperate and in accordance with
the old Roman discipline. He first served against the Celtiberians
when Scipio Africanus was besieging Numantia, and he attracted the
notice of his commander by his superiority in courage over all the
other young soldiers, and by the readiness with which he adapted
himself to the change in living which Scipio introduced among the
troops, who had been corrupted by luxurious habits and extravagance.
He is said also to have killed one of the enemy in single combat in
the presence of the general. Accordingly Marius received from Scipio
various honourable distinctions; and on one occasion, after supper,
when the conversation was about generals, and one of the company,
either because he really felt a difficulty or merely wished to flatter
Scipio, asked him where the Roman people would find such another
leader and protector when he was gone, Scipio with his hand gently
touched the shoulder of Marius, who was reclining next to him, and
said, "Perhaps here." So full of promise was the youth of Marius, and
so discerning was the judgment of Scipio.

IV. Now it is said that Marius, mainly encouraged by these words,
which he viewed as a divine intimation, entered on a political career,
and obtained the tribuneship, in which he was assisted by Cæcilius
Metellus,[55] of whose house the family of Marius had long been an
adherent. During his tribuneship Marius proposed a law on the mode of
voting, which apparently tended to deprive the nobles of their power
in the Judicia: the measure was opposed by Cotta, the consul, who
persuaded the Senate to resist the proposed law, and to summon Marius
to account for his conduct. The decree proposed by Cotta was drawn up,
and Marius appeared before the Senate; but so far from being
disconcerted, as a young man might naturally be, who without any
advantages had just stepped into public life, he already assumed the
tone which his subsequent exploits authorized, and threatened to carry
off Cotta to prison if he did not rescind the decree. Upon Cotta
turning to Metellus and asking his opinion, Metellus arose and
supported the consul; but Marius, sending for the officer who was
outside of the house, ordered him to carry off Metellus himself to
prison. Metellus appealed to the rest of the tribunes without effect,
and the Senate yielded and abandoned the decree. Marius now
triumphantly came before the popular assembly and got his law
ratified, having proved himself to be a man unassailable by fear, not
to be diverted from his purpose by any motive of personal respect, and
a formidable opponent to the Senate by his measures which were adapted
to win the public favour. But he soon gave people reason to change
their opinion; for he most resolutely opposed a measure for the
distribution of corn among the citizens, and succeeding in his
opposition, he established himself in equal credit with both parties,
as a man who would do nothing to please either, if it were contrary to
the public interest.

V. After the tribuneship he was a candidate for the greater ædileship.
Now there are two classes of ædileships: one, which derives its name
(curule[56]) from the seats with curved feet on which the ædiles sit
when they discharge their functions; the other, the inferior, is
called the plebeian ædileship. When they have chosen the higher
ædiles, they then take the vote again for the election of the others.
Now as Marius was manifestly losing in the votes for the curule
ædileship, he forthwith changed about and became a candidate for the
other ædileship. But this was viewed as an audacious and arrogant
attempt, and he failed in his election; but though he thus met with
two repulses in one day, which never happened to any man before, he
did not abate one tittle of his pretensions, for no long time after he
was a candidate for a prætorship,[57] in which he narrowly missed a
failure, being the last of all who were declared to be elected, and he
was prosecuted for bribery.[58] What gave rise to most suspicion was
the fact that a slave of Cassius Sabaco[59] was seen within the septa
mingled with the voters; for Sabaco was one of the most intimate
friends of Marius. Accordingly Sabaco was cited before the judices;
he explained the circumstance by saying that the heat had made him
very thirsty, and he called for a cup of cold water, which his slave
brought to him within the septa, and left it as soon as he had drunk
the water. Sabaco was ejected from the Senate by the next censors, and
people were of opinion that he deserved it, either because he had
given false testimony or for his intemperance. Caius Herennius also
was summoned as a witness against Marius, but he declared that it was
contrary to established usage to give testimony against a client[60]
and that patrons (for this is the name that the Romans give to
protectors) were legally excused from this duty, and that the parents
of Marius, and Marius himself, originally were clients of his house.
Though the judices accepted the excuse as valid, Marius himself
contradicted Herennius, and maintained that for the moment when he was
declared to be elected to a magistracy, he became divested of the
relation of client; which was not exactly true, for it is not every
magistracy which releases a man who has obtained it, and his family,
from the necessity of having a patron, but only those magistracies to
which the law assigns the curule seat. However, on the first days of
the trial it went hard with Marius, and the judices were strongly
against him; yet on the last day, contrary to all expectation, he was
acquitted, the votes being equal.

VI. During his prætorship Marius got only a moderate degree of credit.
But on the expiration of his office he obtained by lot the further
province of Iberia (Spain), and it is said that during his command he
cleared all the robber[61] establishments out of his government, which
was still an uncivilised country in its habits and in a savage state,
as the Iberians had not yet ceased to consider robbery as no
dishonourable occupation. Though Marius had now embarked in a public
career, he had neither wealth nor eloquence, by means of which those
who then held the chief power were used to manage the people. But the
resoluteness of his character, and his enduring perseverance in toil,
and his plain manner of living, got him the popular favour, and he
increased in estimation and influence, so as to form a matrimonial
alliance with the illustrious house of the Cæsars,[62] with Julia,
whose nephew Cæsar afterwards became the greatest of the Romans and in
some degree imitated his relation Marius, as I have told in the Life
of Cæsar. There is evidence both of the temperance of Marius and also
of his endurance, which was proved by his behaviour about a surgical
operation. Both his legs, it is said, had become varicose,[63] and as
he disliked this deformity, he resolved to put himself in the
surgeon's hands. Accordingly he presented to the surgeon one of his
legs without allowing himself to be bound; and without making a single
movement or uttering a single groan, with steady countenance and in
silence he endured excessive pain during the operation. But when the
surgeon was going to take the other leg, Marius refused to present it,
saying that he perceived the cure was not worth the pain.

VII. When Cæcilius Metellus[64] was appointed consul with the command
of the war against Jugurtha, he took Marius with him to Libya in the
capacity of legatus.[65] Here Marius signalised himself by great
exploits and brilliant success in battle, but he did not, like the
rest, seek to increase the glory of Metellus and to direct all his
efforts for the advantage of his general, but disdaining to be called
a legatus of Metellus, and considering that fortune had offered him a
most favourable opportunity and a wide theatre for action, he
displayed his courage on every occasion. Though the war was
accompanied with many hardships, he shrunk not from danger however
great, and he thought nothing too mean to be neglected, but in prudent
measures and careful foresight he surpassed all the officers of his
own rank, and he vied with the soldiers in hard living and endurance,
and thus gained their affections. For certainly there is nothing which
reconciles a man so readily to toil as to see another voluntarily
sharing it with him, for thus the compulsion seems to be taken away;
and the most agreeable sight to a Roman soldier is to see his general
in his presence eating common bread or sleeping on a coarse mat, or
taking a hand in any trench-work and fortification. Soldiers do not so
much admire a general who shares with them the honour and the spoil,
as one who participates in their toils and dangers; and they love a
general who will take a part in their labours more than one who
indulges their licence. By such conduct as this, and by gaining the
affection of the soldiers, Marius soon filled Libya and Rome with his
fame and his glory, for the soldiers wrote to their friends at home
and told them there would be no end to the war with the barbarian, no
deliverance from it, if they did not elect Marius consul.

VIII. These proceedings evidently caused great annoyance to Metellus;
but the affair of Turpillius[66] vexed him most of all. The family of
Turpillius for several generations had been connected with that of
Metellus by friendly relations, and Turpillius was then serving in the
army at the head of a body of engineers. It happened that he was
commissioned to take charge of Vaga, which was a large city. Trusting
for his security to the forbearance with which he treated the
inhabitants, and his kind and friendly intercourse with them, he was
thrown off his guard and fell into the hands of his enemies, who
admitted Jugurtha into the city. Turpillius, however, was not injured,
and the citizens obtained his release and sent him away. He was
accordingly charged with treason, and Marius, who was present at the
trial as an assessor, was violent against him and excited most of the
rest, so that Metellus was unwillingly compelled to pronounce sentence
of death against the man. Shortly after it appeared that the charge
was false, and everybody except Marius sympathised with Metellus, who
was grieved at what had taken place; but Marius exultingly claimed the
merit of the condemnation, and was shameless enough to go about saying
that he had fixed on Metellus a dæmon which would avenge the death of
the man whom it was his duty to protect. This brought Metellus and
Marius to open enmity; and it is reported that on one occasion when
Marius was present, Metellus said in an insulting way, "You, forsooth,
my good fellow, intend to leave us and make the voyage to Rome, to
offer yourself for the consulship; and you won't be content to be the
colleague of this son of mine." Now the son of Metellus[67] was at
that time a very young man. Marius however was still importunate to
obtain leave of absence; and Metellus, after devising various pretexts
for delay, at last allowed him to go, when there were only twelve days
left before the consuls would be declared. Marius accomplished the
long journey from the camp to Utica, on the coast, in two days and one
night, and offered sacrifice before he set sail. It is said that the
priest told him that the deity gave prognostications of success beyond
all measure and all expectation, and accordingly Marius set sail with
high hopes. In four days he crossed the sea with a favourable wind,
and was most joyfully received by the people, and being introduced to
the popular assembly by one of the tribunes, he began by violent abuse
of Metellus, and ended with asking for the consulship and promising
that he would either kill Jugurtha or take him alive.

IX. Being declared consul by a great majority, he immediately set
about levying soldiers in a way contrary to law and usage, by
enrolling a great number of the poorer sort and of slaves, though
former generals had never admitted men of this kind into the army, but
had given arms, as they would anything else that was a badge of
honour, only to those who had the due qualification, inasmuch as every
soldier was thus considered to pledge his property to the State. It
was not this however which made Marius most odious, but his insolent
and arrogant expressions, which gave offence to the nobles, for he
publicly said that he considered his acquisition of the consulship a
trophy gained over the effeminacy of the noble and the rich, and that
what he could proudly show to the people was his own wounds, not the
monuments of the dead or the likenesses[68] of others. And he would
often speak of the generals who had been defeated in Libya, mentioning
by name Bestia[69] and Albinus, men of illustrious descent indeed, but
unskilled in military matters, and for want of experience
unsuccessful; and he would ask his hearers whether they did not think
that the ancestors of Bestia and Albinus would rather have left
descendants like himself, for they also had gained an honourable fame;
not by noble birth, but by their virtues and their illustrious deeds.
This was not said as a mere empty boast, nor simply because he wished
to make himself odious to the nobles; but the people, who were
delighted to hear the Senate abused, and always measured the greatness
of a man's designs by the bigness of his words, encouraged him and
urged him on not to spare the nobles if he wished to please the many.

X. When Marius had crossed over to Libya, Metellus, giving way to his
jealousy, and vexed to see the crown and the triumph, when he had
already completed the war and it only remained to seize the person of
Jugurtha, taken from him by another, a man too who had raised himself
to power by ingratitude to his benefactor, would not stay to meet
Marius, but privately left the country, and Rutilius, one of his
legati, gave up the army to the new consul. But at last retribution
for his conduct overtook Marius; for he was deprived of the glory of
his victories by Sulla, just in the same way as he had deprived
Metellus of his credit: and how this happened I will state briefly,
since the particular circumstances are told more at length in the Life
of Sulla. Bocchus, who was king of the barbarians in the interior, and
the father-in-law of Jugurtha, showed no great disposition to help him
in his wars, because of the faithlessness of Jugurtha, and also
because he feared the increase of his power. But when Jugurtha, who
was now a fugitive from place to place, made Bocchus his last resource
and took refuge with him, Bocchus received his son-in-law more from a
regard to decency, as he was a suppliant, than from any goodwill, and
kept him in his hands; and while he openly interceded with Marius on
behalf of Jugurtha, and wrote to say that he would not surrender him
and assumed a high tone, he secretly entertained treacherous designs
against Jugurtha, and sent for Lucius Sulla, who was the Quæstor of
Marius, and had done some service to Bocchus during the campaign.
Sulla confidently went to Bocchus, but the barbarian, who had changed
his intentions and repented of his design, for several days wavered in
his plan, hesitating whether he should deliver up Jugurtha or keep
Sulla a prisoner: at last, however, he determined to carry into effect
his original design, and surrendered Jugurtha into the hands of Sulla.
Thus was sown the seed of that irreconcilable and violent animosity
between Marius and Sulla which nearly destroyed Rome: many claimed the
credit of this transaction for Sulla on account of their dislike of
Marius, and Sulla himself had a seal-ring made, which he used to on
which there was a representation of the surrender of Jugurtha by
Bocchus. By constantly wearing this ring Sulla irritated Marius, who
was an ambitious and quarrelsome man, and could endure no partner in
his glory. But the enemies of Marius gave Sulla most encouragement by
attributing to Metellus the credit of the first and best part of the
war, and that of the latter part and the conclusion to Sulla, their
object being to lower Marius in public estimation and to withdraw the
people from their exclusive attachment to him.

XI. But this envy and hatred and these calumnies against Marius were
dissipated and removed by the danger which threatened Italy from the
west, as soon as the State saw that she needed a great commander and
had to look about for a pilot whose skill should save her from such a
torrent of foes; for no one would allow any of the men of noble birth
or wealthy families to offer themselves at the Comitia, and Marius, in
his absence from Rome, was declared consul. It happened that the
Romans had just received intelligence of the capture of Jugurtha when
the reports about the Cimbri[70] and Teutones surprised them, and
though the rumours as to the numbers and strength of the invaders were
at first disbelieved, it afterwards appeared that they fell short of
the truth. Three hundred thousand armed fighting men were advancing,
bringing with them a much larger number of women and children, in
quest of land to support so mighty a multitude and of cities to dwell
in, after the example of the Celtæ[71] before them, who took the best
part of Italy from the Tyrrheni and kept it. As these invaders had no
intercourse with other nations, and had traversed an extensive tract
of country, it could not be ascertained who they were or where they
issued from to descend upon Gaul and Italy like a cloud. The most
probable conjecture was that they were Germanic nations belonging to
those who extended as far as the northern ocean; and this opinion was
founded on their great stature, their blue eyes, and on the fact that
the Germans designate robbers by the name of Cimbri. Others thought
that Celtica extended in a wide and extensive tract from the external
sea and the subarctic regions to the rising sun and the Lake
Mæotis,[72] where it bordered on Pontic Scythia; and it was from this
region, as they supposed, where the tribes are mingled, that these
invaders came, and that they did not advance in one expedition nor yet
uninterruptedly, but that every spring they moved forwards, fighting
their way, till in the course of time they traversed the whole
continent. Accordingly while the barbarians had several names
according to their respective tribes, they designated the whole body
by the name of Celtoscythians. But others say that the Cimmerians,
with whom the ancient Greeks were first acquainted, were no large
portion of the whole nation, but merely a tribe[73] or faction that
was driven out by the Scythians and passed into Asia from the Lake
Mæotis, under the command of Lygdamis: they further say that the chief
part of the Scythian nation and the most warlike part lived at the
very verge of the continent, on the coast of the external sea, in a
tract shaded, woody, and totally sunless, owing to the extent and
closeness of the forests, which reach into the interior as far as the
Hercynii[74]; and with respect to the heavens, their position was in
that region where the pole[75], having a great elevation owing to the
inclination of the parallels, appears to be only a short distance from
the spectator's zenith, and the days and nights are of equal length
and share the year between them, which furnished Homer[76] with the
occasion for his story of Ulysses visiting the ghosts. From these
parts then some supposed that these barbarians came against Italy, who
were originally Cimmerii, but then not inappropriately called Cimbri.
But all this is rather founded on conjecture than on sure historical
evidence. As to the numbers of the invaders, they are stated by many
authorities as above rather than below the amount that has been
mentioned. But their courage and daring made them irresistible, and in
battle they rushed forward with the rapidity and violence of fire, so
that no nations could stand their attack, but all the people that came
in their way became their prey and booty, and many powerful Roman
armies[77] with their commanders, which were stationed to protect Gaul
north of the Alps, perished ingloriously; and indeed these armies by
their unsuccessful resistance mainly contributed to direct the course
of the enemy against Rome. For when they had defeated those who
opposed them and got abundance of booty, they determined not to settle
themselves permanently anywhere till they had destroyed Rome and
ravaged Italy.

XII. Hearing this news from many quarters, the Romans called Marius
to the command; and he was elected consul the second time, though it
was contrary to a positive law for a man in his absence, and without a
certain interval of time, to be elected again, but the people would
not listen to those who made any opposition to the election. For they
considered that this would not be the first time that the law had
given way to convenience, and that the present was as good an occasion
for such an irregularity as the election of Scipio[78] as consul at a
time when they were under no apprehension about the ruin of Rome, but
merely wished to destroy Carthage. Accordingly these reasons
prevailed, and Marius, after crossing the sea with his army to Rome,
received the consulship, and celebrated his triumph on the calends of
January, which with the Romans is the beginning of the year, and
exhibited to them a sight they never expected to see, Jugurtha in
chains; for no one had ever ventured to hope that the Romans could
conquer their enemies while he was alive; so dexterous was Jugurtha in
turning all events to the best advantage, and so much courage did he
combine with great cunning. But it is said that being led in the
triumph made him lose his senses. After the triumph he was thrown into
prison, and while some were tearing his clothes from his body, others
who were anxious to secure his golden ear-rings pulled them off and
the lobe of the ear with them; in this plight being thrust down naked
into a deep hole, in his frenzy, with a grinning laugh, he cried out,
O Hercules, how cold your bath is! After struggling with famine for
six days and to the last moment clinging to the wish to preserve his
life, he paid the penalty due to his monstrous crimes. It is said that
there were carried in the triumphal procession three thousand and
seven pounds of gold, of silver uncoined five thousand seven hundred
and seventy-five, and in coined money two hundred and eighty-seven
thousand drachmæ. After the procession Marius assembled the Senate in
the Capitol, and either through inadvertence or vulgar exultation at
his good fortune he entered the place of meeting in his triumphal
dress. But observing that the Senate took offence at this, he went
out, and putting on the ordinary robe with the purple border, he
returned to the assembly.

XIII. On his expedition to meet the Cimbri, Marius continually
exercised his forces in various ways in running and in forced marches;
he also compelled every man to carry all his baggage and to prepare
his own food, in consequence of which men who were fond of toil, and
promptly and silently did what they were ordered, were called Marian
mules. Some, however, think that this name had a different origin; as
follows:--When Scipio was blockading Numantia, he wished to inspect
not only the arms and the horses, but also the mules and waggons, in
order to see in what kind of order and condition the soldiers kept
them. Marius accordingly produced his horse, which he had kept in
excellent condition with his own hand, and also a mule, which for good
appearance, docility, and strength far surpassed all the rest. The
general was much pleased with the beasts of Marius and often spoke
about them, which gave rise to the scoffing epithet of Marian mule,
when the subject of commendation was a persevering, enduring, and
labour-loving man.

XIV. Marius was favoured by a singular piece of good fortune; for
there was a reflux in the course of the barbarians, and the torrent
flowed towards Iberia before it turned to Italy, which gave Marius
time to discipline the bodies of his men and to confirm their courage;
and what was most of all, it gave the soldiers an opportunity of
knowing what kind of a man their general was. For the first impression
created by his sternness and by his inexorable severity in punishing,
was changed into an opinion of the justice and utility of his
discipline when they had been trained to avoid all cause of offence
and all breach of order; and the violence of his temper, the harshness
of his voice, and ferocious expression of his countenance, when the
soldiers became familiarised with them, appeared no longer formidable
to them, but only terrific to their enemies. But his strict justice in
all matters that came before him for judgment pleased the soldiers
most of all; and of this the following instance is mentioned, Caius
Lusius, who was a nephew of Marius, and was an officer in the army,
was in other respects a man of no bad character, but fond of beautiful
youths. This Caius conceived a passion for one of the young men who
served under him, by name Trebonius, and had often ineffectually
attempted to seduce him. At last Caius one night sent a servant with
orders to bring Trebonius; the young man came, for he could not refuse
to obey the summons, and was introduced into the tent; but when Caius
attempted to use violence towards him, he drew his sword and killed
him. Marius was not present when this happened, but on his arrival he
brought Trebonius to trial. There were many to join in supporting the
accusation, and not one to speak in his favour, but Trebouius boldly
came forward and told the whole story; and he produced witnesses who
proved that he had often resisted the importunities of Lusius, and
that though great offers had been made, he had never prostituted
himself; on which Marius, admiring his conduct, ordered a crown to be
brought, such as was conferred for noble deeds according to an old
Roman fashion, and he took it and put it on the head of Trebonius as a
fit reward for so noble an act at a time when good examples were much
needed. The news of this, reaching Rome, contributed in no small
degree to the consulship being conferred on Marius for the third time;
the barbarians also were expected about the spring of the year, and
the Romans did not wish to try the issue of a battle with them under
any other commander. However, the barbarians did not come so soon as
they were expected, and the period of the consulship of Marius again
expired. As the Comitia were at hand, and his colleague had died,
Marius came to Rome, leaving Manius Aquilius in the command of the
army. There were many candidates of great merit for the consulship,
but Lucius Saturninus, one of the tribunes, who had most influence
with the people, was gained over by Marius; and in his harangues he
advised them to elect Marius consul. Marius indeed affected to decline
the honour, and begged to be excused; he said he did not wish for it;
on which Saturninus called him a traitor to his country for refusing
the command at so critical a time. Now though it was apparent that
Saturninus was playing a part at the bidding of Marius, and in such a
way that nobody was deceived, still the many seeing that the
circumstances required a man of his energy and good fortune, voted for
the fourth consulship of Marius, and gave him for colleague Catulus
Lutatius, a man who was esteemed by the nobility and not disliked by
the people.

XV. Marius, hearing that the enemy was near, quickly crossed the Alps,
and established a fortified camp near the river Rhodanus[79] (Rhône),
which he supplied with abundance of stores, that he might not be
compelled against his judgment to fight a battle for want of
provisions. The conveyance of the necessary stores for the army, which
hitherto was tedious and expensive on the side of the sea, he rendered
easy and expeditious. The mouths of the Rhodanus, owing to the action
of the waves, received a great quantity of mud and sand, mixed with
large masses of clay, which were f