The parents and relations of these men with difficulty obtained that ambassadors should be sent to the Roman consul. The consul, who had not yet set out for Canusium, they found at Venusia with a few half-armed troops, an object of entire commiseration to faithful, but of contempt to proud and perfidious allies, like the Campanians. The consul too increased their contempt of himself and his cause, by too much exposing and exhibiting the disastrous state of his affairs; for when the ambassadors had delivered their message, which was, that the senate and people of Capua were distressed that any adverse event should have befallen the Romans, and were promising every assistance in prosecuting the war, he observed, "In bidding us order you to furnish us with all things which are necessary for the war, Campanians, you have rather observed the customary mode of addressing allies, than spoken suitably to the present posture of our affairs; for hath anything been left us at Cannae, so that, as if we possessed that, we can desire what is wanting to be supplied by our allies? Can we order a supply of infantry, as if we had any cavalry? Can we say we are deficient in money, as if that were the only thing we wanted? Fortune has not even left us anything which we can add to. Our legions, cavalry, arms, standards, horses, men, money, provisions, all perished either in the battle, or in the two camps which were lost the following day. You must, therefore, Campanians, not assist us in the war, but almost take it upon yourselves in our stead. Call to mind how formerly at Saticula we received into our protection and defended your ancestors, when dismayed and driven within their walls; terrified not only by their Samnite but Sidicinian enemies; and how we carried on, with varying success, through a period of almost a century, a war with the Samnites, commenced on your account. Add to this, that when you gave yourselves up to us we granted you an alliance on equal terms, that we allowed you your own laws, and lastly, what before the disaster at Cannae was surely a privilege of the highest value, we bestowed the freedom of our city on a large portion of you, and held it in common with you. It is your duty, therefore, Campanians, to look upon this disaster which has been suffered as your own, and to consider that our common country must be protected. It is not a Samnite or Tuscan foe we are engaged with, so that the empire taken from us might still continue in Italy. A Carthaginian enemy draws after him from the remotest regions of the world, from the straits of the ocean and the pillars of Hercules, a body of soldiers who are not even natives of Africa, destitute of all laws, and of the condition and almost of the language of men. Savage and ferocious from nature and habit, their general has rendered them still more so, by forming bridges and works with heaps of human bodies; and, what the tongue can scarcely utter, by teaching them to live on human flesh. What man, provided he were born in any part of Italy, would not abominate the idea of seeing and having for his masters these men, nourished with such horrid food, whom even to touch were an impiety; of fetching laws from Africa and Carthage; and of suffering Italy to become a province of the Moors and Numidians? It will be highly honourable, Campanians, that the Roman empire, sinking under this disastrous defeat, should be sustained and restored by your fidelity and your strength. I conceive that thirty thousand foot and four thousand horse may be raised in Campania. You have already abundance of money and corn. If your zeal corresponds with your means, neither will Hannibal feel that he has been victorious, nor the Romans that they have been defeated."
6
After the consul had thus spoken, the ambassadors were dismissed; and as they were returning home, one of them, named Vibius Virius, observed, "that the time had arrived at which the Campanians might not only recover the territory once injuriously taken away by the Romans, but also possess themselves of the sovereignty of Italy. For they might form a treaty with Hannibal on whatever terms they pleased; and there could be no question but that after Hannibal, having put an end to the war, had himself retired victorious into Africa, and had withdrawn his troops, the sovereignty of Italy would be left to the Campanians." All assenting to Vibius, as he said this, they framed their report of the embassy so that all might conclude that the Roman power was annihilated. Immediately the commons and the major part of the senate turned their attention to revolt. The measure, however, was postponed for a few days at the instigation of the elder citizens. At last, the opinion of the majority prevailed, that the same ambassadors who had gone to the Roman consul should be sent to Hannibal. I find in certain annals, that before this embassy proceeded, and before they had determined on the measure of revolting, ambassadors were sent by the Campanians to Rome, requiring that one of the consuls should be elected from Campania if they wished assistance to the Roman cause. That from the indignation which arose, they were ordered to be removed from the senate-house, and a lictor despatched to conduct them out of the city and command them to lodge that day without the Roman frontier. But as this request is too much like that which the Latins formerly made, and as Coelius and other writers had, not without reason, made no mention of it, I have not ventured to vouch for its truth.
7
The ambassadors came to Hannibal and concluded a treaty of peace with him on the terms, "That no Carthaginian commander should have any authority over a Campanian citizen, nor any Campanian serve in war or perform any office against his will: that Capua should have her own laws and her own magistrates: that the Carthaginian should give to the Campanians three hundred captives selected by themselves, who might be exchanged for the Campanian horse who were serving in Sicily." Such were the stipulations: but in addition to them, the Campanians perpetrated the following atrocities; for the commons ordered that the prefects of the allies and other citizens of Rome should be suddenly seized, while some of them were occupied with military duties, others engaged in private business, and be shut up in the baths, as if for the purpose of keeping them in custody, where, suffocated with heat and vapour, they might expire in a horrid manner. Decius Magius, a man who wanted nothing to complete his influence except a sound mind on the part of his countrymen, had resisted to the uttermost the execution of these measures, and the sending of the embassy to Hannibal, and when he heard that a body of troops was sent by Hannibal, bringing back to their recollection, as examples, the haughty tyranny of Pyrrhus and the miserable slavery of the Tarentines, he at first openly and loudly protested that the troops should not be admitted, then he urged either that they should expel them when received, or, if they had a mind to expiate, by a bold and memorable act, the foul crime they had committed in revolting from their most ancient and intimate allies, that leaving slain the Carthaginian troops they should give themselves back to the Romans. These proceedings, having been reported to Hannibal, for they were not carried on in secret, he at first sent persons to summon Magius into his presence at his camp, then, on his vehemently refusing to come, on the ground that Hannibal had no authority over a Campanian, the Carthaginian, excited with rage, ordered that the man should be seized and dragged to him in chains, but afterwards, fearing lest while force was employed some disturbance might take place, or lest, from excitement of feeling, some undesigned collision might occur, he set out himself from the camp with a small body of troops, having sent a message before him to Marius Blosius, the praetor of Campania, to the effect, that he would be at Capua the next day. Marius calling an assembly, issued an order that they should go out and meet Hannibal in a body, accompanied by their wives and children. This was done by all, not only with obedience, but with zeal, with the full agreement of the common people, and with eagerness to see a general rendered illustrious by so many victories. Decius Magius neither went out to meet him, nor kept himself in private, by which course he might seem to indicate fear from a consciousness of demerit, he promenaded in the forum with perfect composure, attended by his son and a few dependants, while all the citizens were in a bustle to go to see and receive the Carthaginian. Hannibal, on entering the city, immediately demanded an audience of the senate; when the chief men of the Campanians, beseeching him not to transact any serious business on that day, but that he would cheerfully and willingly celebrate a day devoted to festivity in consequence of his own arrival, though naturally extremely prone to anger, yet, that he might not deny them any thing at first, he spent a great part of the day in inspecting the city.
8
He lodged at the house of the Ninii Celeres, Stenius and Pacuvius, men distinguished by their noble descent and their wealth. Thither Pacuvius Calavius, of whom mention has already been made, who was the head of the party which had drawn over the state to the Carthaginian cause, brought his son, a young man, whom he had forced from the side of Decius Magius, in conjunction with whom he had made a most determined stand for the Roman alliance in opposition to the league with the Carthaginians; nor had the leaning of the state to the other side, or his father's authority, altered his sentiments. For this youth his father procured pardon from Hannibal, more by prayers than by clearing him. Hannibal, overcome by the entreaties and tears of his father, even gave orders that he should be invited with his father to the banquet; to which entertainment he intended to admit no Campanian besides his hosts, and Jubellius Taurea, a man distinguished in war. They began to feast early in the day, and the entertainment was not conformable to the Carthaginian custom, or to military discipline, but as might be expected in a city and in a house both remarkable for luxury, was furnished with all the allurements of voluptuousness. Perolla, the son of Calavius, was the only person who could not be won either by the solicitations of the masters of the house, or those which Hannibal sometimes employed. The youth himself pleaded ill health as an apology, while his father urged as an excuse the disturbed state of his mind, which was not surprising. About sunset, Calavius, who had gone out from the banquet, was followed by his son; and when they had arrived at a retired place, (it was a garden at the back part of the house,) he said, "I have a plan to propose to you, my father, by which we shall not only obtain pardon from the Romans for our crime, in that we revolted from them to the Carthaginian, but shall be held in much higher esteem, than we Campanians ever have been." When the father inquired with surprise what that plan could be, he threw back his gown off his shoulder and exposed to view his side, which was girt with a sword. "Forthwith will I ratify the alliance with Rome with the blood of Hannibal. I was desirous that you should be informed of it first, in case you might prefer to be absent while the deed is performing."