The History of Rome; Books Nine to Twenty Six - Titus Livius
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33. An audience of the senate was then granted to the Campanians.
Their speech was more calculated to excite compassion, but their case
less favourable, for neither could they deny that they deserved the
punishment they had suffered, nor were there any tyrants to whom they
could transfer their guilt. But they trusted that sufficient atonement
had been made by the death of so many of their senators by poison and
the hands of the executioner. They said, "that a few only of their
nobles remained, being such as were not induced by the consciousness
of their demerit to adopt any desperate measure respecting themselves,
and had not been condemned to death through the resentment of their
conquerors. That these implored the restoration of their liberty, and
some portion of their goods for themselves and families, being
citizens of Rome, and most of them connected with the Romans by
affinity and now too near relationship, in consequence of
intermarriages which had taken place for a long period." After this
they were removed from the senate-house, when for a short time doubts
were entertained whether it would be right or not to send for Quintus
Fulvius from Capua, (for Claudius, the proconsul, died after the
capture of that place,) that the question might be canvassed in the
presence of the general who had been concerned, as was done in the
affair between Marcellus and the Sicilians. But afterwards, when they
saw in the senate Marcus Atilius, and Caius Fulvius, the brother of
Flaccus, his lieutenant-generals, and Quintus Minucius, and Lucius
Veturius Philo, who were also his lieutenant-generals, who had been
present at every transaction; and being unwilling that Fulvius should
be recalled from Capua, or the Campanians put off, Marcus Atilius
Regulus, who possessed the greatest weight of any of those present who
had been at Capua, being asked his opinion, thus spoke: "I believe I
assisted at the council held by the consuls after the capture of
Capua, when inquiry was made whether any of the Campanians had
deserved well of our state; and it was found that two women had done
so; Vestia Oppia, a native of Atella and an inhabitant of Capua, and
Faucula Cluvia, formerly a common woman. The former had daily offered
sacrifice for the safety and success of the Roman people, and the
latter had clandestinely supplied the starving prisoners with food.
The sentiments of all the rest of the Campanians towards us had been
the same," he said, "as those of the Carthaginians; and those who had
been decapitated by Fulvius, were the most conspicuous in rank, but
not in guilt. I do not see," said he, "how the senate can decide
respecting the Campanians who are Roman citizens, without an order of
the people. And the course adopted by our ancestors, in the case of
the Satricani when they had revolted, was, that Marcus Antistius, the
plebeian tribune, should first propose and the commons make an order,
that the senate should have the power of pronouncing judgment upon the
Satricani. I therefore give it as my opinion, that application should
be made to the plebeian tribunes, that one or more of them should
propose to the people a bill, by which we may be empowered to
determine in the case of the Campanians." Lucius Atilius, plebeian
tribune, proposed to the people, on the recommendation of the senate,
a bill to the following effect: "Concerning all the Campanians,
Atellanians, Calatinians, and Sabatinians, who have surrendered
themselves to the proconsul Fulvius, and have placed themselves under
the authority and dominion of the Roman people; also concerning what
things they have surrendered, together with their persons, both lands
and city, divine or human, together with their utensils and whatsoever
else they have surrendered; concerning these things, Roman citizens, I
ask you what it is your pleasure should be done." The commons thus
ordered: "Whatsoever the senate on oath, or the majority of those
present, may determine, that we will and order."
34. The senate having taken the matter into their consideration in
conformity with this order of the people, first restored to Oppia and
Cluvia their goods and liberty; directing, that if they wished to
solicit any other rewards from the senate, they should come to Rome.
Separate decrees were passed respecting each of the Campanian
families, all of which it is not worth while to enumerate. The goods
of some were to be confiscated; themselves, their children, and their
wives were to be sold, excepting such of their daughters as had
married before they came into the power of the Roman people. Others
were ordered to be thrown into chains, and their cases to be
considered at a future time. They made the amount of income the ground
on which they decided, whether the goods of the rest of the Campanians
should be confiscated or not. They voted, that all the cattle taken
except the horses, all the slaves except adult males, and every thing
which did not belong to the soil, should be restored to the owners.
They ordered that all the Campanians, Atellanians, Calatinians, and
Sabatinians, except such as were themselves, or whose parents were,
among the enemy, should be free, with a proviso, that none of them
should become a Roman citizen or a Latin confederate; and that none of
those who had been at Capua while the gates were shut should remain in
the city or territory of Capua after a certain day. That a place
should be assigned to them to inhabit beyond the Tiber, but not
contiguous to it. That those who had neither been in Capua nor in any
Campanian city which had revolted from the Romans during the war,
should inhabit a place on this side the river Liris towards Rome; and
that those who had come over to the Romans before Hannibal arrived at
Capua, should be removed to a place on this side the Vulturnus, with a
proviso, that none of them should have either land or house within
fifteen miles of the sea. That such of them as were removed to a place
beyond the Tiber, should neither themselves nor their posterity
acquire or possess any property any where, except in the Veientian,
Sutrian, or Nepetian territories; and, except on condition, that no
one should possess a greater extent of land than fifty acres. That the
goods of all the senators, and such as had been magistrates at Capua,
Calatia, and Atella, should be sold at Capua; but that the free
persons who were decreed to be exposed to sale, should be sent to Rome
and sold there. As to the images and brazen statues, which were said
to have been taken from the enemy, whether sacred or profane, they
referred them to the college of pontiffs. They sent the Campanians
away, considerably more grieved than they were when they came, in
consequence of these decrees; and now they no longer complained of the
severity of Quintus Fulvius towards them, but of the malignity of the
gods and their own accursed fortune.
35. After the Sicilians and Campanians were dismissed, a levy was
made; and after the troops had been enlisted for the army, they then
began to consider about making up the number of rowers; but as there
was neither a sufficient supply of men for that purpose, nor any money
at that time in the treasury by which they might be purchased or paid,
the consuls issued an edict, that private persons should furnish
rowers in proportion to their income and rank, as had been done
before, with pay and provisions for thirty days. So great was the
murmuring and indignation of the people, on account of this edict,
that a leader, rather than matter, was wanting for an insurrection. It
was said, that "the consuls, after having ruined the Sicilians and
Campanians, had undertaken to destroy and lacerate the Roman commons;
that, drained as they had been for so many years by taxes, they had
nothing left but wasted and naked lands. That the enemy had burned
their houses, and the state had taken away their slaves, who were the
cultivators of their lands, at one time by purchasing them at a low
rate for soldiers, at another by commanding a supply of rowers. If any
one had any silver or brass it was taken away from him, for the
payment of rowers or for annual taxes. That no force could compel and
no command oblige them to give what they had not got. That they might
sell their goods and then vent their cruelty on their persons, which
were all that remained to them. That they had nothing even left from
which they could be redeemed." These complaints were uttered not in
secret, but publicly in the forum, and before the eyes of the consuls
themselves, by an immense crowd which surrounded them; nor could the
consuls appease them now by coercing nor by soothing them. Upon this
they said that three days should be allowed them to consider of the
matter; which interval the consuls employed in examining and planning.
The following day they assembled the senate to consider of raising a
supply of rowers; and after arguing at great length that the people's
refusal was fair, they brought their discourse to this point, that
whether it were just or unjust, this burden must be borne by private
individuals. For from what source could they procure rowers, when
there was no money in the treasury? and how, without fleets, could
Sicily be kept in subjection, or Philip be prevented from entering
Italy, or the shores of Italy be protected?
36. In this perplexing state of affairs, when all deliberation was at
a stand, and a kind of torpor had seized on men's minds, Laevinus, the
consul, observed, that "as the magistrates were more honoured than the
senators, and the senators than the people, so also ought they to be
the first in taking upon themselves every thing that was burdensome
and arduous. If you would enjoin any duty on an inferior, and would
first submit yourself and those belonging to you to the obligation,
you will find everybody else more ready to obey; nor is an expense
thought heavy, when the people see every one of their principal men
taking upon himself more than his proportion of it. Are we then
desirous that the Roman people should have and equip a fleet? that
private individuals should without repugnance furnish rowers? Let us
first execute the command ourselves. Let us, senators, bring into the
treasury to-morrow all our gold, silver, and coined brass, each
reserving rings for himself, his wife, and children, and a bulla for
his son; and he who has a wife or daughters, an ounce weight of gold
for each. Let those who have sat in a curule chair have the ornaments
of a horse, and a pound weight of silver, that they may have a
salt-cellar and a dish for the service of the gods. Let the rest of
us, senators, reserve for each father of a family, a pound weight only
of silver and five thousand coined _asses_. All the rest of our
gold, silver, and coined brass, let us immediately carry to the
triumviri for banking affairs, no decree of the senate having been
previously made; that our voluntary contributions, and our emulation
in assisting the state, may excite the minds, first, of the equestrian
order to emulate us, and after them of the rest of the community. This
is the only course which we, your consuls, after much conversation on
the subject, have been able to discover. Adopt it, then, and may the
gods prosper the measure. If the state is preserved, she can easily
secure the property of her individual members, but by betraying the
public interests you would in vain preserve your own." This
proposition was received with such entire approbation, that thanks
were spontaneously returned to the consuls. The senate was then
adjourned, when every one of the members brought his gold, silver, and
brass into the treasury, with such emulation excited, that they were
desirous that their names should appear among the first on the public
tables; so that neither the triumviri were sufficient for receiving
nor the notaries for entering them. The unanimity displayed by the
senate was imitated by the equestrian order, and that of the
equestrian order by the commons. Thus, without any edict, or coercion
of the magistrates, the state neither wanted rowers to make up the
numbers, nor money to pay them; and after every thing had been got in
readiness for the war, the consuls set out for their provinces.
37. Nor was there ever any period of the war, when both the
Carthaginians and the Romans, plunged alike in vicissitudes, were in a
state of more anxious suspense between hope and fear. For on the side
of the Romans, with respect to their provinces, their failure in Spain
on the one hand, and their successes in Sicily on the other, had
blended joy and sorrow; and in Italy, the loss of Tarentum was an
injury and a source of grief to them, while the unexpected
preservation of the citadel with the garrison was matter of joy to
them. The sudden terror and panic occasioned by the siege and attack
of Rome, was turned into joy by the capture of Capua, a few days
after. Their affairs beyond sea also were equalized by a kind of
compensation. Philip had become their enemy at a juncture somewhat
unseasonable; but then the Aetolians, and Attalus, king of Asia, were
added to their allies; fortune now, in a manner, promising to the
Romans the empire of the east. The Carthaginians also set the loss of
Capua against the capture of Tarentum; and as they considered it as
glorious to them to have reached the walls of Rome without opposition,
so they were chagrined at the failure of their attempt, and they felt
ashamed that they had been held in such contempt, that while they lay
under the walls of Rome, a Roman army was marched out for Spain at an
opposite gate. With regard also to Spain itself, the greater the
reason was to hope that the war there was terminated, and that the
Romans were driven from the country, after the destruction of two such
renowned generals and their armies, so much the greater was the
indignation felt, that the victory had been rendered void and
fruitless by Lucius Marcius, a general irregularly appointed. Thus
fortune balancing events against each other, all was suspense and
uncertainty on both sides, their hopes and their fears being as strong
as though they were now first commencing the war.
38. What grieved Hannibal more than any thing was the fact, that Capua
having been more perseveringly besieged by the Romans than defended by
him, had turned from him the regard of many of the states of Italy,
and it was not only impossible for him to retain possession of all
these by means of garrisons, unless he could make up his mind to tear
his army into a number of small portions, which at that time was most
inexpedient, but he could not, by withdrawing the garrisons, leave the
fidelity of his allies open to the influence of hope, or subject to
that of fear. His disposition, which was strongly inclined to avarice
and cruelty, induced him to plunder the places he could not keep
possession of, that they might be left for the enemy in a state of
desolation. This resolution was equally horrid in principle and in its
issue, for not only were the affections of those who suffered such
harsh treatment alienated from him, but also of the other states, for
the warning affected a greater number than did the calamity. Nor did
the Roman consul fail to sound the inclinations of the cities,
whenever any prospect of success presented itself. Dasius and Blasius
were the principal men in Salapia, Dasius was the friend of Hannibal,
Blasius, as far as he could do it with safety, promoted the Roman
interest, and, by means of secret messengers, had given Marcellus
hopes of having the place betrayed to him, but the business could not
be accomplished without the assistance of Dasius. After much and long
hesitation and even then more for the want of a better plan than from
any hope of success, he addressed himself to Dasius; but he, being
both adverse to the measure and also hostile to his rival in the
government, discovered the affair to Hannibal. Both parties were
summoned, and while Hannibal was transacting some business on his
tribunal, intending presently to take cognizance of the case of
Blasius, and the accuser and the accused were standing apart from the
crowd, which was put back, Blasius solicited Dasius on the subject of
surrendering the city; when he exclaimed, as if the case were now
clearly proved, that he was being treated with about the betrayal of
the city, even before the eyes of Hannibal. The more audacious the
proceeding was, the less probable did it appear to Hannibal and those
who were present. They considered that the charge was undoubtedly a
matter of rivalry and animosity, and that it had been brought because
it was of such a nature that, not admitting of being proved by
witnesses, it could the more easily be fabricated. Accordingly the
parties were dismissed. But Blasius, notwithstanding, desisted not
from his bold undertaking, till by continually harping upon the same
subject, and proving how conducive such a measure would be to
themselves and their country, he carried his point that the Punic
garrison, consisting of five hundred Numidians, and Salapia, should be
delivered up to Marcellus. Nor could it be betrayed without much
bloodshed, consisting of the bravest of the cavalry in the whole Punic
army. Accordingly, though the event was unexpected, and their horses
were of no use to them in the city, yet hastily taking arms, during
the confusion, they endeavoured to force their way out; and not being
able to escape, they fell fighting to the last, not more than fifty of
them falling into the hands of the enemy alive. The loss of this body
of cavalry was considerably more detrimental to Hannibal than that of
Salapia, for the Carthaginian was never afterwards superior in
cavalry, in which he had before been most effective.
39. During this time the scarcity of provisions in the citadel of
Tarentum was almost intolerable; the Roman garrison there, and Marcus
Livius, the praefect of the garrison and the citadel, placing all
their dependence in the supplies sent from Sicily; that these might
safely pass along the coast of Italy, a fleet of about twenty ships
was stationed at Rhegium. Decius Quinctius, a man of obscure birth,
but who had acquired great renown as a soldier, on account of many
acts of bravery, had charge of the fleet and the convoys. At first he
had five ships, the largest of which were two triremes, given to him
by Marcellus, but afterwards, in consequence of his spirited conduct
on many occasions, three quinqueremes were added to his number, at
last, by exacting from the allied states of Rhegium, Velia, and
Paestum, the ships they were bound to furnish according to treaty, he
made up a fleet of twenty ships, as was before stated. This fleet
setting out from Rhegium, was met at Sacriportus, about fifteen miles
from the city by Democrates, with an equal number of Tarentine ships.
It happened that the Roman was then coming with his sails up, not
expecting an approaching contest, but in the neighbourhood of Croto
and Sybaris, he had supplied his ships with rowers, and had his fleet
excellently equipped and armed for the size of his vessels, and it
also happened, that just at the time when the enemy were in sight, the
wind completely fell, so that there was sufficient time to furl their
sails, and get their rowers and soldiers in readiness for the
approaching action. Rarely elsewhere have regular fleets engaged with
so much spirit, for they fought for what was of greater importance
than the fleets themselves. The Tarentines, in order that, having
recovered their city from the Romans after the lapse of almost a
century, they might also rescue their citadel, hoping also to cut off
the supplies of their enemy, if by a naval battle they could deprive
them of the dominion of the sea. The Romans, that, by keeping
possession of the citadel, they might prove that Tarentum was lost not
by the strength and valour of their enemies, but by treachery and
stealth. Accordingly, the signal having been given on both sides, they
charged each other with the beaks of their ships, and neither did they
draw back their own, nor allow the ships of the enemy with which they
were engaged to separate from them, having thrown then grappling
irons, and thus the battle was carried on in such close quarters, that
they fought not only with missile weapons, but in a manner foot to
foot even with their swords. The prows joined together remained
stationary, while the sterns were moved round by the force of their
adversaries' oars. The ships were crowded together in so small a
compass, that scarcely one weapon fell into the sea without taking
effect. They pressed front against front like lines of troops engaging
on land, and the combatants could pass from one ship to another. But
the contest between two ships which had engaged each other in the van,
was remarkable above the rest. In the Roman ship was Quinctius
himself, in the Tarentine, Nico, surnamed Perco, who hated, and was
hated by, the Romans, not only on public grounds, but also personally,
for he belonged to that faction which had betrayed Tarentum to
Hannibal. This man transfixed Quinctius with a spear while off his
guard, and engaged at once in fighting and encouraging his men, and he
immediately fell headlong with his arms over the prow. The victorious
Tarentine promptly boarded the ship, which was all in confusion from
the loss of the commander, and when he had driven the enemy back, and
the Tarentines had got possession of the prow, the Romans, who had
formed themselves into a compact body, with difficulty defending the
stern, suddenly another trireme of the enemy appeared at the stern.
Thus the Roman ship, enclosed between the two, was captured. Upon this
a panic spread among the rest, seeing the commander's ship captured,
and flying in every direction, some were sunk in the deep and some
rowed hastily to land, where, shortly after, they became a prey to the
Thurians and Metapontines. Of the storeships which followed, laden
with provisions, a very few fell into the hands of the enemy; the
rest, shifting their sails from one side to another with the changing
winds, escaped into the open sea. An affair took place at Tarentum at
this time, which was attended with widely different success; for a
party of four thousand men had gone out to forage, and while they were
dispersed, and roaming through the country, Livius, the commander of
the citadel and the Roman garrison, who was anxious to seize every
opportunity of striking a blow, sent out of the citadel Caius Persius,
an active officer, with two thousand soldiers, who attacked them
suddenly when widely dispersed and straggling about the fields; and
after slaying them for a long time on all hands, drove the few that
remained of so many into the city, to which they fled in alarm and
confusion, and where they rushed in at the doors of the gates, which
were half-opened that the city might not be taken in the same attack.
In this manner affairs were equally balanced at Tarentum, the Romans
being victorious by land, and the Tarentines by sea. Both parties were
equally disappointed in their hope of receiving provisions after they
were within sight.
40. While these events were occurring, the consul, Laevinus, after a
great part of the year had elapsed, having arrived in Sicily, where he
had been expected by both the old and new allies, considered it his
first and principal duty to adjust the affairs of Syracuse, which were
still in a state of disorder, the peace being but recent. He then
marched his legions to Agrigentum, the seat of the remaining part of
the war, which was occupied by a strong garrison of Carthaginians; and
here fortune favoured his attempt. Hanno was commander-in-chief of
the Carthaginians, but their whole reliance was placed upon Mutines
and the Numidians. Mutines, scouring the whole of Sicily, employed
himself in carrying off spoil from the allies of the Romans; nor could
he by force or stratagem be cut off from Agrigentum, or prevented from
sallying from it whenever he pleased. The renown which he gained by
this conduct, as it began now to eclipse the fame of the
commander-in-chief, was at last converted into a source of jealousy;
so that even now his successes were not as acceptable as they ought to
have been, on account of the person who gained them. For these reasons
Hanno at last gave his commission to his own son, concluding that by
taking away his command he should also deprive him of the influence he
possessed with the Numidians. But the result was very different; for
their former attachment to him was increased by the envy incurred by
him. Nor did he brook the affront put upon him by this injurious
treatment, but immediately sent secret messengers to Laevinus, to
treat about delivering up Agrigentum. After an agreement had been
entered into by means of these persons, and the mode of carrying it
into execution concerted, the Numidians seized on a gate which leads
towards the sea, having driven the guards from it, or put them to the
sword, and then received into the city a party of Romans sent for that
purpose; and when these troops were now marching into the heart of the
city and the forum with a great noise, Hanno, concluding that it was
nothing more than a disturbance and secession of the Numidians, such
as had happened before, advanced to quell the mutiny; but observing at
a distance that the numbers were greater than those of the Numidians,
and hearing the Roman shout, which was far from being new to him, he
betook himself to flight before he came within reach of their weapons.
Passing out of the town at a gate in the opposite quarter, and taking
Epicydes to accompany him, he reached the sea with a few attendants;
and having very seasonably met with a small vessel, they abandoned to
the enemy Sicily, for which they had contended for so many years, and
crossed over into Africa. The remaining multitude of Carthaginians and
Sicilians fled with headlong haste, but as every passage by which they
could escape was blockaded up, they were cut to pieces near the gates.
On gaining possession of the town, Laevinus scourged and beheaded
those who took the lead in the affairs of Agrigentum. The rest,
together with the booty, he sold. All the money he sent to Rome.
Accounts of the sufferings of the Agrigentines spreading through all
Sicily, all the states suddenly turned to the Romans. In a short time
twenty towns were betrayed to them, and six taken by storm. As many as
forty put themselves under their protection, by voluntary surrender.
The consul having rewarded and punished the leading men of these
states, according to their several deserts, and compelled the
Sicilians, now that they had at length laid aside arms, to turn their
attention to the cultivation of their lands, in order that the island
might by its produce not only maintain its inhabitants, but, as it had
frequently done on many former occasions, add to the supplies of Rome
and Italy, he returned into Italy, taking with him a disorderly
multitude from Agathyrna. These were as many as four thousand men,
made up of a mixed assemblage of every description of persons, exiles,
bankrupts, the greater part of them felons, who had supported
themselves by rapine and robbery, both when they lived in their native
towns, under the restraint of the laws, and also after that a
coincidence in their fortunes, brought about by causes different in
each case, had congregated them at Agathyrna. These men Laevinus
thought it hardly safe to leave in the island, when an unwonted
tranquillity was growing up, as the materials of fresh disturbances;
and besides, they were likely to be useful to the Rhegians, who were
in want of a band of men habituated to robbery, for the purpose of
committing depredations upon the Bruttian territory. Thus, so far as
related to Sicily, the war was this year terminated.