The History of Rome, Books 09 to 26

by Livy

B.C. 213-212

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41]

Publius Cornelius Scipio, afterwards called Africanus, elected aedile before he had attained the age required by the law. The citadel of Tarentum, in which the Roman garrison had taken refuge, betrayed to Hannibal. Games instituted in honour of Apollo, called Apollinarian. Quintus Fulvius and Appius Claudius, consuls, defeat Hanno the Carthaginian general. Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus betrayed by a Lucanian to Mago, and slain. Centenius Penula, who had been a centurion, asks the senate for the command of an army, promising to engage and vanquish Hannibal, is cut off with eight thousand men. Cneius Fulvius engages Hannibal, and is beaten, with the loss of sixteen thousand men slain, he himself escapes with only two hundred horsemen. Quintus Fulvius and Appius Claudius, consuls, lay siege to Capua. Syracuse taken by Claudius Marcellus after a siege of three years. In the tumult occasioned by taking the city, Archimedes is killed while intently occupied on some figures which he had drawn in the sand. Publius and Cornelius Scipio, after having performed many eminent services in Spain, are slain, together with nearly the whole of their armies, eight years after their arrival in that country; and the possession of that province would have been entirely lost, but for the valour and activity of Lucius Marcius, a Roman knight, who, collecting the scattered remains of the vanquished armies, utterly defeats the enemy, storming their two camps, killing thirty-seven thousand of them, and taking eighteen hundred together with an immense booty.

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1

Hannibal passed the summer during which these events occurred in Africa and Italy, in the Tarentine territory, with the hope of having the city of the Tarentines betrayed to him. Meanwhile some inconsiderable towns belonging to them, and to the Sallentines, revolted to him. At the same time, of the twelve states of the Bruttians, which had in a former year gone over to the Carthaginians, the Consentians and Thurians returned to the protection of the Roman people. And more would have done the same, had not Titus Pomponius Veientanus, praefect of the allies, having acquired the appearance of a regular general, in consequence of several successful predatory expeditions in the Bruttian territory, got together a tumultuary band, and fought a battle with Hanno. In that battle, a great number of men, consisting, however, of a disorderly rabble of slaves and rustics, were slain or captured. The least part of the loss was, that the praefect himself was taken prisoner; for he was not only in the present instance guilty of having rashly engaged the enemy, but previously, in the capacity of farmer of the revenue, by iniquitous practices of every description, had shown himself faithless and injurious to the state, as well as the companies. Among the Lucanians, the consul, Sempronius, fought several small battles, but none worthy of being recorded, he also took several inconsiderable towns. In proportion as the war was protracted, and the sentiments no less than the circumstances of men fluctuated accordingly as events flowed prosperously or otherwise, the citizens were seized with such a passion for superstitious observances, and those for the most part introduced from foreign countries, that either the people or the gods appeared to have undergone a sudden change. And now the Roman rites were growing into disuse, not only in private, and within doors, but in public also; in the forum and Capitol there were crowds of women sacrificing, and offering up prayers to the gods, in modes unusual in that country. A low order of sacrificers and soothsayers had enslaved men's understandings, and the numbers of these were increased by the country people, whom want and terror had driven into the city, from the fields which were lain uncultivated during a protracted war, and had suffered from the incursions of the enemy, and by the profitable cheating in the ignorance of others which they carried on like an allowed and customary trade. At first, good men gave protest in private to the indignation they felt at these proceedings, but afterwards the thing came before the fathers, and formed a matter of public complaint. The aediles and triumviri, appointed for the execution of criminals, were severely reprimanded by the senate for not preventing these irregularities, but when they attempted to remove the crowd of persons thus employed from the forum, and to overthrow the preparations for their sacred rites, they narrowly escaped personal injury. It being now evident, that the evil was too powerful to be checked by inferior magistrates, the senate commissioned Marcus Atilius, the city praetor, to rid the people of these superstitions. He called an assembly, in which he read the decree of the senate, and gave notice, that all persons who had any books of divination, or forms of prayer, or any written system of sacrificing, should lay all the aforesaid books and writings before him before the calends of April; and that no person should sacrifice in any public or consecrated place according to new or foreign rites.

2

Several of the public priests too died this year: Lucius Cornelius Lentulus, chief pontiff, Caius Papirius Maso, son of Caius, a pontiff, Publius Furius Philo, an augur, and Caius Papirius Maso, son of Lucius, a decemvir for the superintendence of sacred rites. In lieu of Lentulus, Marcus Cornelius Cethegus, in lieu of Papirius Cnaeius, Servilius Caepio, were created pontiffs. Lucius Quinctius Flaminius was created augur, and Lucius Cornelius Lentulus decemvir for the superintendence of sacred rites. The time for the election of consuls was now approaching; but as it was not thought proper to call the consuls away from the war with which they were intently occupied, Tiberius Sempronius, the consul, nominated Caius Claudius Centho as dictator to hold the election. He appointed Quintus Fulvius Flaccus as his master of the horse. On the first day on which the election could be held, the dictator appointed as consuls, Quintus Fulvius Flaccus, his master of the horse, and Appius Claudius Pulcher, who had held the government of Sicily as praetor. The praetors created were Cneius Fulvius Flaccus, Caius Claudius Nero, Marcus Junius Silanus, Publius Cornelius Sulla. The election completed, the dictator retired from his office. This year, Publius Cornelius Scipio, afterwards surnamed Africanus, held the office of curule aedile, with Marcus Cornelius Cethegus; and when the tribunes of the people opposed his pretensions to the aedileship, alleging, that no notice ought to be taken of him, because he had not attained the legal age for candidateship, he observed, "if the citizens in general are desirous of appointing me aedile, I am old enough." Upon this the people ran to their respective tribes to give their votes, with feelings so strongly disposed in his favour, that the tribunes on a sudden abandoned their attempt. The largesses bestowed by the aediles were the following: the Roman games were sumptuously exhibited, considering the present state of their resources; they were repeated during one day, and a gallon of oil was given to each street. Lucius Villius Tapulus, and Marcus Fundanius Fundulus, the plebeian aediles, accused some matrons of misconduct before the people, and some of them they convicted and sent into exile. The plebeian games were repeated during two days, and a feast in honour of Jupiter was celebrated on occasion of the games.