Marcellus, on his return to the camp, delivered an address to his soldiers so severe and acrimonious, that the words of their exasperated general were more painful to them than what they had suffered in the unsuccessful battle during the whole day. "I praise and thank the immortal gods," said he "that in such an affair the victorious enemy did not assail our very camp, when you were hurrying into the rampart and the gates with such consternation. There can be no doubt but you would have abandoned the camp with the same cowardice with which you gave up the battle. What panic was this? What terror? What sudden forgetfulness of who you are, and who the persons with whom you were fighting, took possession of your minds? Surely these are the same enemies in conquering and pursuing whom when conquered you spent the preceding summer; whom latterly you have been closely pursuing while they fled before you night and day; whom you have wearied by partial battles; whom yesterday you would not allow either to march or encamp. I pass over those things in which you might be allowed to glory; I will mention a circumstance which of itself ought to fill you with shame and remorse. Yesterday you separated from the enemy on equal terms. What alteration has last night, what on this day, produced? Have your forces been diminished by them, or theirs increased? I verily do not seem to be talking to my own troops, or to Roman soldiers. The bodies and the arms are the same. Had you possessed the same spirit, would the enemy have seen your backs? Would they have carried off a standard from any company or cohort? Hitherto he was wont to boast of having cut to pieces the Roman legions, but yesterday you gave him the glory, for the first time, of having put to flight an army." On this many soldiers began to call upon him to pardon them for that day, and entreat that he would now, whenever he pleased, make trial of the courage of his soldiers. "I will indeed make trial of you," said he, "and to-morrow I will lead you into the field, that in the character of conquerors, rather than conquered men, you may obtain the pardon you seek." To the cohorts which had lost their standards, he ordered that barley should be given. The centurions of the Campanians, whose standards were lost, he left to stand without their girdles and with their swords drawn; and gave orders that all, both horse and foot, should be ready under arms on the following day. Thus the assembly was dismissed; the soldiers confessing that they had been justly and deservedly rebuked; and that there was no one in the whole Roman army who had acquitted himself like a man, except the general, to whom they were bound to make atonement, either by their death or a glorious victory. The next day they appeared in readiness, according to the order, armed and equipped. The general praised them, and gave out, that "he should lead into the first line those who had commenced the flight on the preceding day, and those cohorts which had lost their standards. He now charged them all to fight and conquer, and exert every effort, one and all, that the intelligence of yesterday's flight might not arrive at Rome before that of this day's victory." They were then ordered to refresh themselves with food, in order that, if the fight should continue longer than might be expected, their strength might not fail. After every thing had been done and said, by which the courage of the soldiers might be roused, they advanced into the field.
14
Hannibal, on receiving intelligence of this, said, "surely the enemy we have to do with can neither bear good nor bad fortune. If he is victorious, he fiercely pursues the vanquished. If conquered, he renews the contest with the victors." He then ordered the signal to be given, and led out his forces. The battle was fought on both sides with much more spirit than the day before. The Carthaginians exerting themselves to the utmost, to keep the glory they had acquired yesterday; the Romans, to remove their disgrace. On the side of the Romans, the left wing, and the cohorts which had lost their standards, fought in the first line, and the twentieth legion was drawn up on the right wing. Lucius Cornelius Lentulus and Caius Claudius Nero, lieutenant-generals, commanded the wings, Marcellus gave vigour to the centre by his presence, as an encourager and a witness. On the part of Hannibal, the Spaniards, who were the flower of his whole army, occupied the front line. After the battle had continued doubtful for a long time, Hannibal ordered the elephants to be advanced into the front line, if by that means any confusion or panic could be created. At first, they threw the troops into confusion and broke their ranks, and treading some under foot, and dispersing others who were round them by the alarm they created, had made an opening in one part of the Roman line; and the flight would have spread more widely had not Caius Decimus Flavius, a military tribune seizing the standard of the first maniple of the spearmen ordered that maniple to follow him. He led them to the spot where the elephants, collected in a body, were creating the greatest confusion, and ordered them to discharge their javelins at them. As there was no difficulty in hitting such bulky bodies at a short distance, and where so many were crowded together, all their javelins stuck in them. But they were not all wounded, so those in whose hides the javelins stuck, as that race of animals is not to be depended on, by taking themselves to flight, drove away those also which were untouched. At that moment not only one maniple, but all the soldiers who could but overtake the body of retreating elephants, threw their javelins at them, each man exerting himself to his utmost. With so much greater impetuosity did the animals rush upon their own men, and so much greater carnage did they make amongst them than they had made amongst their enemies, in proportion as the violence with which they are impelled, and the consternation produced by them when under the influence of fear, is greater than when they are ruled by their masters seated on their backs. The Roman infantry bore their standards against the line of the enemy when thrown into disorder by the elephants which had crossed over to them, and, thus scattered and confused, led them to flight without any great opposition. Marcellus sent his cavalry after them as they fled; nor did they desist from the pursuit till they were driven in consternation to their camp. For in addition to the other causes which occasioned terror and dismay, two elephants had fallen just by the gate, and the soldiers were compelled to rush into the camp over the ditch and rampart. Here the greatest slaughter of the enemy occurred. There fell as many as eight thousand men and five elephants. Nor did the Romans gain a bloodless victory; about seventeen hundred of the two legions, and thirteen hundred of the allies were slain; a great number of the Romans and allies were wounded. The following night Hannibal decamped. The great number of the wounded prevented Marcellus from following him, as he desired.
15
TThe spies who were sent to watch his movements brought word back the next day that Hannibal was making for Bruttium. Much about the same time the Hirpinians, Lucanians, and Volcentes surrendered themselves to the consul, Quintus Fulvius, delivering up the garrisons of Hannibal which they had in their cities. They were mildly received by the consul, with only a verbal reproof for their past error. To the Bruttians also similar hopes of pardon were held out, when two brothers, Vibius and Pactius, by far the most illustrious persons of that nation, came from them to solicit the same terms of surrender which had been given to the Lucanians. Quintus Fabius, the consul, took by storm Manduria, a town in the territory of Sallentum, where as many as four thousand men were made prisoners, and much booty taken besides. Proceeding thence to Tarentum, he pitched his camp in the very mouth of the harbour: of the ships which Livius had employed for protecting convoys, some he loaded with engines and implements for attacking walls, others he furnished with machines for discharging missiles, and with stones and missiles of every kind; not only those which were impelled with oars, but the storeships also, in order that some might carry the engines and ladders to the walls, while others might wound the defenders of the walls by discharging missiles from the ships at a distance. These ships were fitted up and prepared to attack the town from the open sea; and the sea was free from the Carthaginian fleet, which had crossed over to Corcyra on account of Philip's preparing to attack the Aetolians. Meanwhile, those who were attacking Caulon, in the territory of Bruttium, fearful lest they should be overpowered, had retired on the approach of Hannibal to an eminence, secure from an immediate attack. While Fabius was besieging Tarentum, he received assistance in the accomplishment of that great object by a circumstance which in the mere mention, is unimportant. Tarentum was occupied by a garrison of Bruttians, given them by Hannibal and the commander of that garrison was desperately in love with a girl, whose brother was in the army of the consul Fabius. Being informed, by a letter from his sister, of the new acquaintance she had formed with a wealthy stranger and one so honoured among his countrymen, and conceiving a hope that the lover, by means of his sister, might be induced to any thing she pleased, he acquainted the consul with the hope he had formed. His reasoning appeared not altogether unfounded, and he was desired to go to Tarentum as a deserter and having gained the confidence of the praefect by means of his sister, he began by sounding his disposition in a covert manner, and then, having sufficiently ascertained his weakness, induced him, by the aid of female fascinations, to the betrayal of that custody of the place to which he was appointed. After the method to be pursued and the time for putting the plan into effect had been agreed upon, a soldier, who was sent out of the city by night clandestinely, through the intervals between the guards, related to the consul what had been done, and what had been agreed upon to be done. At the first watch, Fabius, on a signal given to those who were in the citadel, and those who had the custody of the harbour went himself round the harbour, and took up a position of concealment, on the side of the city which faced the east. Then the trumpets began to sound at once from the citadel, the harbour, and the ships which had been brought to the shore from the open sea, and a shout was purposely raised, accompanied with the greatest confusion, in whatever quarter there was the least danger. Meanwhile, the consul kept the men in silence. Democrates, therefore, who had formerly commanded the fleet, and happened to be in command in the quarter, seeing that all was quiet around him, while other parts of the city resounded with such a din that sometimes shout like that of a captured city was raised, and fearing loss while he hesitated, the consul should make some attack and advance his standards, led his party over to the citadel, from which the most alarming noise proceeded. Fabius, concluding that the guard was withdrawn, both from the time which had elapsed and from the silence which prevailed, for not a voice met the ear from a quarter where a little while ago the noise and bustle of men resounded, rousing and calling each other to arms, ordered the ladders to be carried to that part of the wall where the person who had contrived the plot for betraying the city, had informed him that the Bruttian cohort kept guard. The wall was first captured in that quarter, the Bruttians aiding and receiving the Romans; and here they got over into the city: after which the nearest gate was broken open in order that the troops might enter in a large body. Then raising a shout, they proceeded to the forum, where they arrived much about daybreak, without meeting a single armed man; and drew upon themselves the attention of all the troops in every quarter, which were fighting at the citadel and at the harbour.
16
A battle was fought in the entrance of the forum, with greater impetuosity than perseverance. The Tarentines were not equal to the Romans in spirit, in their arms, in tactics, in activity or strength of body. Accordingly, having just discharged their javelins, they turned their backs almost before they had joined battle, and escaped in different directions through the streets of the city, with which they were acquainted, to their own houses and those of their friends. Two of their leaders, Nico and Democrates, fell while fighting bravely. Philomenus, who was the author of the plot for betraying the city to Hannibal, rode away from the battle at full speed. Shortly after, his horse, which was loose and straying through the city, was recognised, but his body could not be found any where. It was generally believed that he had pitched headlong from his horse into an open well. Carthalo, the praefect of the Carthaginian garrison, while coming to the consul unarmed, to put him in mind of a connexion of hospitality which subsisted between their fathers, was put to death by a soldier who met him. The rest were put to the sword on all hands, armed and unarmed indiscriminately, Carthaginians and Tarentines without distinction. Many of the Bruttians also were slain either by mistake or on account of an old grudge entertained against them, or else with a view to the report that the city was betrayed; in order that Tarentum might rather appear to have been captured by force of arms. The troops then ran off in all directions from the slaughter, to plunder the city. Thirty thousand slaves are said to have been captured; an immense quantity of silver, wrought and coined; eighty-three thousand pounds of gold; of statues and pictures so many that they almost equalled the decorations of Syracuse. But Fabius, with more magnanimity than Marcellus, abstained from booty of that kind. When his secretary asked him what he wished to be done with the statues of their gods, which are of immense size and represented as fighting, each having his peculiar habit, he gave orders that their angry gods should be left in the possession of the Tarentines. After this, the wall which separated the city from the citadel was razed and demolished. While things were going on thus at Tarentum, Hannibal, to whom the troops engaged in the siege of Caulonia had surrendered themselves, hearing of the siege of Tarentum, marched with the greatest expedition both night and day; but hearing that the city was taken, as he was hastening to bring assistance to it, he exclaimed, "the Romans too have their Hannibal. We have lost Tarentum by the same arts by which we took it." However, that he might not appear to have turned his army in the manner of a fugitive, he encamped where he had halted, about five miles from the city. After staying there a few days, he retired to Metapontum, from which place he sent two Metapontines with letters from the principal men in the state to Fabius at Tarentum, to the effect, that they would accept of his promise that their past conduct should be unpunished, on condition of their betraying Metapontum together with the Carthaginian garrison into his hands. Fabius, who supposed that the communication they brought was genuine, appointed a day on which he would go to Metapontum, and gave the letters to the nobles, which were put into the hands of Hannibal. He, forsooth, delighted at the success of his stratagem, which showed that not even Fabius was proof against his cunning, planted an ambuscade not far from Metapontum. But when Fabius was taking the auspices, before he took his departure from Tarentum, the birds more than once refused approval. Also, on consulting the gods after sacrificing a victim, the aruspex forewarned him to be on his guard against hostile treachery and ambuscade. After the day fixed for his arrival had passed without his coming, the Metapontines were sent again to encourage him, delaying, but they were instantly seized, and, from apprehension of a severer mode of examination, disclosed the plot.