(Frag. 48?)as an oracle had once come to the romans that greeks and gauls should occupy the city, two gauls and a couple of greeks, male and female, were buried alive in the forum, that in this way destiny might seem to have fulfilled itself and they be properly regarded, since buried alive, as possessing a part of the city.
After this the Sardinians, deeming it a calamity that a Roman prætor was forever set over them, made an uprising. They were again enslaved, however.
VIII, 20.—The Insubres, a Gallic tribe, having gained allies among their kinsmen beyond the Alps turned their arms against the Romans, and the latter accordingly made counter-preparations. The barbarians plundered some towns, but at last a great storm occurred in the night and they began to suspect that Heaven was against them. Consequently they lost heart and falling into a panic attempted to entrust their safety to flight. B.C. 225
(a.u. 529)Regulus pursued them and brought on an engagement with the rear guards in which he was defeated and lost his life. Æmilius occupied a hill and remained quiet. The Gauls in turn occupied another one and for several days were inactive; then the Romans through anger at what had taken place and the barbarians from arrogance born of the victory charged down from the heights and came to blows. For a long time the battle was evenly contested, but finally the Romans surrounded them with their horse, cut them down, seized their camp, and got back the spoils. After this Æmilius wrought havoc among the possessions of the Boii and Frag. 493celebrated a triumph, in which he conveyed the foremost captives clad in armor up to the capitol, making jests at their expense for having sworn not to remove their breastplates before they had mounted the capitol. The Romans now secured control of the entire territory of the Boii and for the first time crossed the Po to take the offensive against the Insubres; and they continued to ravage their country.
Meanwhile portents had occurred which threw the people of Rome into great fear. A river in Picenum ran the color of blood, in Etruria a good part of the heavens seemed to be on fire, at Ariminum a light like daylight blazed out at night, in many portions of Italy the shapes of three moons became visible in the night time, and in the Forum a vulture roosted for several days. B.C. 223
(a.u. 531)Because of these portents and inasmuch as some declared that the consuls had been illegally chosen, they summoned them home. The consuls received the letter but did not open it immediately, since they were just entering upon war: instead, they joined battle first and came out victorious. After the battle the letter was read, and Furius was for obeying without discussion; but Flaminius was elated over the victory and pointed out that it had proved their choice to be correct, and he went on with vehement assertions that it was because they were jealous of him that the influential men were even falsifying heavenly warnings. Consequently he refused to depart until he had settled the whole business in hand, and he said he would teach the people at home, too, not to be deceived by relying on birds or any other such thing. So he was anxious to remain on the ground and made repeated attempts to detain his colleague, but Furius would not heed him. But since the men who were going to be left behind with Flaminius dreaded lest in their isolation they might suffer some disaster at the hands of their opponents and begged him to stay by them for a few days, he yielded to their entreaties but did not take part in any action. Flaminius traveled about laying waste the country, subjugated a few forts, and bestowed all the spoils upon the soldiers as a means of winning their favor. At length the leaders returned home and were put on trial by the senate for their disobedience (on account of their anger towards Flaminius they subjected Furius also to disgrace); but the populace was against the senate and showed emulation in Flaminius's behalf, so that it voted them a triumph. After celebrating it they laid down their office.
B.C. 222
(a.u. 532)Other consuls, Claudius Marcellus and Gnæus Scipio, chosen in their stead, made an expedition against the Insubres, for the Romans had not complied with the latter's requests by voting for peace. Together at first they carried on the war and were in most cases victorious. Soon, learning that the allied territory was being plundered, they severed their forces. Marcellus made a quick march against those plundering the land of the allies, but did not find them on the scene; he then pursued them as they fled and when they made a stand overcame them. Scipio remained where he was and proceeded to besiege Acerræ; he took it and made it a base for the war, since it was favorably located and well walled. Starting from that point they subdued Mediolanum and another village-town. After these had been captured the rest of the Insubres also made terms with them, giving them money and a section of the land.
B.C. 221
(a.u. 533)
B.C. 220
(a.u. 534)
Frag. 51Thereafter Publius Cornelius and Marcus Minucius made a campaign to the Ister regions and brought into subjection many of the nations there, some by war and some on terms agreed upon. Lucius Veturius and Gaius Lutatius went as far as the Alps and without any fighting established Roman sovereignty over many people. The prince of the Ardiæans, however, demetrius, was, as has been stated above, hateful to the natives and injured the property of neighboring tribes; and it appeared that it was by misusing the friendship of the romans that he was able to wrong those peoples. B.C. 219
(a.u. 535)as soon as the consuls, æmilius paulus and marcus livius, heard of this they summoned him before them. when he refused compliance and actually assailed their allies, they made a campaign against issa, where he was. And having received advance information that he was lying secretly at anchor somewhere in the vicinity of the landing-places they sent a portion of their ships to the other side of the island to bring on an engagement. When the Illyrians accordingly fell upon the reconnoitering party, thinking them alone, the main body approached at leisure in their ships and after pitching camp in a suitable place repulsed the natives, who, angry at the trick, lost no time in attacking them. Demetrius made his escape to Pharos, another island, but they sailed to that, overcame resistance, and captured the city by betrayal, only to find Demetrius fled. He at this time reached Macedonia with large amounts of money and went to Philip, the king of the country. He was not surrendered by him, but on returning to the Illyrians was arrested by the Romans and was executed.
(BOOK 13, BOISSEVAIN.)
B.C. 218
(a.u. 536)VIII, 21.—In the succeeding year the Romans became openly hostile to the Carthaginians, and the war, though of far shorter duration than the previous one, proved to be both greater and more baneful in its exploits and effects. It was brought on chiefly by Hannibal, general of the Carthaginians. This Hannibal was a child of Hamilcar Barca, and from his earliest boyhood had been trained to fight against the Romans. Hamilcar said he was raising all his sons like so many whelps to fight against them, but as he saw that this one's nature was far superior to that of the rest, he made him take an oath that he would wage war upon them, and for this reason he instructed the boy in warfare above all else when only fifteen years old. On account of this youthfulness Hannibal was not able, when his father died, to succeed to the generalship. But when Hasdrubal was dead, he delayed no longer, being now twenty-six years of age, but at once took possession of the army in Spain and after being acclaimed as leader by the soldiers brought it about that his right to lead was confirmed also by those in authority at home. After effecting this he needed a plausible excuse for his enterprise against the Romans, and this he found in the Saguntines of Spain. These people, dwelling not far from the river Iber and a short distance above the sea, were dependents of the Romans, and the latter held them in honor and in the treaty with the Carthaginians had made an exception of them. For these reasons, then, Hannibal began a war with them, knowing that the Romans would either assist the Saguntines or avenge them if they suffered injury. Hence for these reasons as well as because he knew that they possessed great wealth, which he particularly needed, and for various other causes that promised him advantages against the Romans he made an attack upon the Saguntines.
Spain, in which the Saguntines dwell, and all the adjoining land is in the western part of Europe. It extends for a considerable distance along the inner sea, beside the Pillars of Hercules, and along the ocean; furthermore it occupies the upper part of the mainland for a very great distance, as far as the Pyrenees. Frag. 53this range, beginning at the sea called anciently the sea of the bebryces but later the sea of the narbonenses, reaches to the great outer sea, and confines many diverse nationalities; it also separates spain from the neighboring land of gaul. The tribes did not employ the same language nor carry on a common government. This resulted in their not having a single name. The Romans called them Hispanii, but the Greeks Iberians, from the river Iber.