The ambassadors, sent to Scipio by the king with these instructions, met him at Syracuse. Scipio, though disappointed in an affair which was of the greatest importance with regard to his operations in Africa, and in the sanguine expectations he had formed from it, sent the ambassadors back into Africa speedily, before their business was made known, giving them letters for the king, in which he warned him over and over again "not to violate the laws of hospitality which bound them together; the obligation of the alliance entered into with the Roman people; nor make light of justice, honour, their right hands pledged, and the gods the witnesses and arbitrators of compacts." But, as the coming of the Numidians could not be concealed, for they lounged about the city, and had frequently appeared at the pavilion; and as, if nothing were said about the object of their visit, there was danger lest the truth, from the very circumstance of its being made a secret, should spontaneously spread the more; and, in consequence, the troops become alarmed lest they should have to wage war at once with the king and the Carthaginians, Scipio endeavoured to divert their attention from the truth by preoccupying their minds with false information; and, summoning his soldiers to an assembly, said, "that it was not expedient to delay any longer. That the kings, their allies, urged them to cross over into Africa with all speed. That Masinissa himself had before come to Laelius, complaining that time was consumed in delays, and that now Syphax sent ambassadors, expressing his astonishment on the same account, namely, what could be the cause of such long delay; and requesting either that the army would now at length be transported into Africa, or, if the plan was changed, that he might be informed so that he might himself take measures for the safety of himself and his dominions. Therefore, as every thing was now ready and prepared, and as the business admitted of no further delay, he was resolved, after having removed the fleet to Lilybaeum, and collected here all his forces of foot and horse, with the blessing of the gods to pass over into Africa the first day the ships could sail." He sent a letter to Marcus Pomponius, directing him, if he thought proper, to come to Lilybaeum, that they might consult together as to what legions, in preference to any others, and how large a number of soldiers, they should convey into Africa; he also sent round to every part of the sea-coast, with directions that all the ships of burthen should be seized and collected at Lilybaeum. When all the soldiers and ships in Sicily were assembled at Lilybaeum, and neither the city could contain the multitude of men, nor the harbour the ships, so ardent was the desire possessed by all of passing over to Africa, that they did not appear as if going to wage war, but to reap the certain rewards of victory. Particularly those who remained of the soldiers who had fought at Cannae felt convinced that under Scipio, and no other general, they would be enabled, by exerting themselves in the cause of the state, to put an end to their ignominious service. Scipio was very far from feeling contempt for that description of soldiers, inasmuch as he knew that the defeat sustained at Cannae was not attributable to their cowardice, and that there were no soldiers in the Roman army who had served so long, or were so experienced not only in the various kinds of battles, but in assaulting towns also. The legions which had fought at Cannae were the fifth and sixth. After declaring that he would take these with him into Africa, he inspected them man by man; and leaving those whom he considered unfit for service, he substituted for them those whom he had brought from Sicily, filling up those legions so that each might contain six thousand two hundred infantry and three hundred horse. The horse and foot of the allies, of the Latin confederacy, he also chose out of the army of Cannae.
25
There is a wide difference among historians as to the number of men transported into Africa. In some I find ten thousand infantry and two hundred horse; in others, sixteen thousand infantry and sixteen hundred horse. In others, again, I find it stated that thirty-five thousand infantry and cavalry were put on board the fleet, making the number more than one half greater. Some have not added an account of the number; among whom, as the matter is doubtful, I should rather have myself ranked. Caelius, though he abstains from specifying the number, increases the impression of their multitude indefinitely. He says, that birds fell to the ground from the shout of the soldiers, and that so great a multitude went on board the fleet, that it seemed as if there was not a man left in Italy or Sicily. Scipio took upon himself the care of seeing that the soldiers embarked orderly and without confusion. The seamen, who were made to embark first, Caius Laelius, the admiral of the fleet, kept in order on board the ships. The task of the putting on board the provisions was assigned to Marcus Pomponius, the praetor. Food for forty-five days, of which enough for fifteen was cooked, was put on board. When they were all embarked, he sent boats round with directions that the pilots and masters, with two soldiers from each ship, should assemble in the forum to receive orders. After they had assembled, he first asked them whether they had put on board water for the men and cattle, sufficient to last as many days as the corn would. When they answered that there was water on board sufficient for five and forty days' consumption, he then charged the soldiers that, conducting themselves submissively, and keeping quiet, they would not make any noise or disturb the mariners in the execution of their duties. He informed them, that he himself and Lucius Scipio in the right wing, with twenty ships of war, and Caius Laelius, admiral of the fleet, together with Marcus Porcius Cato, who was then quaestor, with the same number of ships of war in the left wing, would protect the transports. That the ships of war should carry each a single light, the transports two each. That in the ship of the commander-in-chief there would be three lights as a distinction by night. He desired the pilots to make for Emporia, where the land is remarkably fertile; and on that account the district abounds with plenty of every thing, and the barbarous inhabitants are unwarlike, which is usually the case where the soil is rich. It was supposed that they might, therefore, be overpowered before assistance could be brought them from Carthage. After these commands were delivered, they were ordered to return to their ships, and the next day, with the blessing of the gods, on the signal being given, to set sail.
26
Many Roman fleets had set sail from Sicily, and from that very harbour. But not only during this war, nor is that surprising, (for most of the fleets went out for the purpose of getting plunder,) but even in any former war, never did a fleet on setting out exhibit so grand a spectacle. And yet, if the estimate is to be formed with reference to the magnitude of the fleet, it must be owned that two consuls with their armies had passed from thence before, and there were almost as many ships of war in those fleets as the transports with which Scipio was crossing. For, besides fifty men of war, he conveyed his army over in four hundred transports. But what made the Romans consider one war as more formidable than the other, the second than the first, was, that it was carried on in Italy, and that so many armies had been destroyed, and their commanders slain. The general, Scipio, also, who enjoyed the highest degree of renown, partly from his brave achievements, and partly from a peculiar felicity of fortune, which conducted him to the acquisition of boundless glory, attracted extraordinary regard. At the same time, the very project of passing over into the enemy's country, which had not been formed by any general before during that war, had made him an object of admiration; for he had commonly declared, that he passed over with the object of drawing Hannibal out of Italy, of removing the seat of war into Africa, and terminating it there. A crowd of persons of every description had assembled in the harbour to view the spectacle; not only the inhabitants of Lilybaeum, but all the deputies from Sicily, who had come together out of compliment to witness the departure of Scipio, and had followed Marcus Pomponius, the praetor of the province. Besides these, the legions which were to be left in Sicily had come forth to do honour to their comrades on the occasion; and not only did the fleet form a grand sight to those who viewed it from the land, but the shore also, crowded as it was all around, afforded the same to those who were sailing away.
27
As soon as day appeared, silence having been obtained by a herald, Scipio thus spoke from the ship of the commander-in-chief: "Ye gods and goddesses who preside over the seas and lands, I pray and entreat you, that whatever things have been, are now, or shall be performed during my command, may turn out prosperously to myself, the state, and commons of Rome, to the allies and the Latin confederacy, and to all who follow my party and that of the Roman people, my command and auspices, by land, by sea, and on rivers. That you would lend your favourable aid to all those measures, and promote them happily. That you would bring these and me again to our homes, safe and unhurt; victorious over our vanquished enemies, decorated with spoils, loaded with booty, and triumphant. That you would grant us the opportunity of taking revenge upon our adversaries and foes, and put it in the power of myself and the Roman people to make the Carthaginian state feel those signal severities which they endeavoured to inflict upon our state." After these prayers, he threw the raw entrails of a victim into the sea, according to custom, and, with the sound of a trumpet, gave the signal for sailing. Setting out with a favourable wind, which blew pretty strong, they were soon borne away out of sight of the land; and in the afternoon a mist came over them, so that they could with difficulty prevent the ships from running foul of each other. The wind abated when they got into the open sea. The following night the same haziness prevailed; but when the sun rose it was dispelled, and the wind blew stronger. They were now within sight of land, and, not long after, the pilot observed to Scipio, that "Africa was not more than five miles off; that he could discern the promontory of Mercury, and that if he gave orders to direct their course thither, the whole fleet would presently be in harbour." Scipio, when the land was in sight, after praying that his seeing Africa might be for the good of the state and himself, gave orders to make for another place of landing, lower down. They were borne along by the same wind; but a mist, arising nearly about the same time as on the preceding day, hid the land from them; and the wind fell as the mist grew more dense. Afterwards, the night coming on increased the confusion in every respect; they therefore cast anchor, lest the ships should either run foul of each other, or be driven on shore. At daybreak the wind, rising in the same quarter, dispelled the mist and discovered the whole coast of Africa. Scipio asked what was the name of the nearest promontory, and, on being told that it was called the cape of Pulcher, he observed, "the omen pleases me, direct your course to it." To this place the fleet ran down, and all the troops were landed. I have adopted the accounts given by a great many Greek and Latin authors, who state that the voyage was prosperous, and unattended with any cause of alarm or confusion. Caelius alone, except that he does not state that the ships were sunk in the waves, says that they were exposed to all the terrors of the heavens and the sea, and that at last the fleet was driven by tempest from Africa to the island Aegimurus, from which, with great difficulty, they got into the right course; and that, the ships almost foundering, the soldiers, without orders from their general, got into boats, just as if they had suffered shipwreck, and escaped to land without arms, and in the utmost disorder.