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In the beginning of the summer during which these events occurred, after Publius Scipio had employed the whole of the winter in Spain in regaining the affections of the barbarians, partly by presents, and partly by sending home their hostages and prisoners, Edesco, a man distinguished among the Spanish commanders, came to him. His wife and children were in the hands of the Romans; but besides this motive, he was influenced by that apparently fortuitous turn in the state of feeling which had converted the whole of Spain from the Carthaginian to the Roman cause. The same motive induced Indibilis and Mandonius, who were undoubtedly the principal men in all Spain, to desert Hasdrubal and withdraw with the whole body of their countrymen to the eminences which overhung his camp, from which they had a safe retreat along a chain of hills to the Romans. Hasdrubal, perceiving that the strength of the enemy was increasing by such large accessions, while his own was diminishing, and that events would continue to flow in the same course they had taken, unless by a bold effort he effected some alteration, resolved to come to an engagement as soon as possible. Scipio was still more eager for a battle, as well from hope which the success attending his operations had increased, as because he preferred, before the junction of the enemy's forces, to fight with one general and one army, rather than with their united troops. However, in case he should be obliged to fight with more armies than one at the same time, he had with some ingenuity augmented his forces; for seeing that there was no necessity for ships, as the whole coast of Spain was clear of Carthaginian fleets, he hauled his ships on shore at Tarraco and added his mariners to his land forces. He had plenty of arms for them, both those which had been captured at Carthage, and those which he had caused to be made after its capture, so large a number of workmen having been employed. With these forces, setting out from Tarraco at the commencement of the spring, for Laelius had now returned from Rome, without whom he wished nothing of very great importance to be attempted, Scipio marched against the enemy. Indibilis and Mandonius, with their forces, met him while on his march; passing through every place Without molestation, his allies receiving him courteously, and escorting him as he passed the boundaries of each district. Indibilis, who spoke for both, addressed him by no means stupidly and imprudently like a barbarian, but with a modest gravity, rather excusing the change as necessary, than glorying that the present opportunity had been eagerly seized as the first which had occurred. "For he well knew," he said, "that the name of a deserter was an object of execration to former allies, and of suspicion to new ones; nor did he blame the conduct of mankind in this respect, provided, however, that the cause, and not the name, occasioned the twofold hatred." He then recounted the services they had rendered the Carthaginian generals, and on the other hand their rapacity and insolence, together with the injuries of every kind committed against themselves and their countrymen. "On this account," he said, "his person only up to that time had been with them, his heart had long since been on that side where he believed that right and justice were respected. That people sought for refuge, as suppliants, even with the gods when they could not endure the oppression and injustice of men. What he had to entreat of Scipio was, that their passing over to him might neither be the occasion of a charge of fraud nor a ground for respect, but that he would estimate their services according to what sort of men he should find them to be from experience from that day." The Roman replied, that "he would do so in every particular; nor would he consider those men as deserters who did not look upon an alliance as binding where no law, divine or human, was unviolated." Their wives and children were then brought before them and restored to them; on which occasion they wept for joy. On that day they were conducted to a lodging; on the following they were received as allies, by a treaty, after which they were sent to bring up their forces. From that time they had their tents in the same camp with the Romans, until under their guidance they had reached the enemy.
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The army of Hasdrubal, which was the nearest of the Carthaginian armies, lay near the city Baecula. Before his camp he had outposts of cavalry. On these the light-armed, those who fought before the standards and those who composed the vanguard, as they came up from their march, and before they chose the ground for their camp, commenced an attack in so contemptuous a manner, that it was perfectly evident what degree of spirit each party possessed. The cavalry were driven into their camp in disorderly flight, and the Roman standards were advanced almost within their very gates. Their minds on that day having only been excited to a contest, the Romans pitched their camp. At night Hasdrubal withdrew his forces to an eminence, on the summit of which extended a level plain. There was a river on the rear, in front and on either side a kind of steep bank completely surrounded its extremity. Beneath this and lower down was another plain of gentle declivity, which was also surrounded by a similar ridge equally difficult of ascent. Into this lower plain Hasdrubal, the next day, when he saw the troops of the enemy drawn up before their camp, sent his Numidian cavalry and light-armed Baleares. Scipio riding out to the companies and battalions, pointed out to them, that "the enemy having abandoned, beforehand, all hope of being able to withstand them on level ground, had resorted to hills: where they stood in view, relying on the strength of their position, and not on their valour and arms." But the walls of Carthage, which the Roman soldiers had scaled, were still higher. That neither hills, nor a citadel, nor even the sea itself, had formed an impediment to their arms. That the heights which the enemy had occupied would only have the effect of making it necessary for them to leap down crags and precipices in their flight, but he would even cut off that kind of retreat. He accordingly gave orders to two cohorts, that one of them should occupy the entrance of the valley down which the river ran, and that the other should block up the road which led from the city into the country, over the side of the hill. He himself led the light troops, which the day before had driven in the advanced guard of the enemy, against the light-armed troops which were stationed on the lower ridge. At first they marched through rugged ground, impeded by nothing except the road; afterwards, when they came within reach of the darts, an immense quantity of weapons of every description was showered upon them; while on their part, not only the soldiers, but a multitude of servants mingled with the troops, threw stones furnished by the place, which were spread about in every part, and for the most part convenient as missiles. But though the ascent was difficult, and they were almost overwhelmed with stones and darts, yet from their practice in approaching walls and their inflexibility of mind, the foremost succeeded in getting up. These, as soon as they got upon some level ground and could stand with firm footing, compelled the enemy, who were light-armed troops adapted for skirmishing, and could defend themselves at a distance, where an elusive kind of fight is carried on by the discharge of missiles, but yet wanted steadiness for a close action, to fly from their position; and, killing a great many, drove them to the troops which stood above them on the higher eminence. Upon this Seipio, having ordered the victorious troops to mount up and attack the centre of the enemy, divided the rest of his forces with Laelius; whom he directed to go round the hill to the right till he could find a way of easier ascent, while he himself, making a small circuit to the left, charged the enemy in flank. In consequence of this their line was first thrown into confusion, while they endeavoured to wheel round and face about their ranks towards the shouts which resounded from every quarter around them. During this confusion Laelius also came up, and while the enemy were retreating, that they might not be exposed to wounds from behind, their front line became disjoined, and a space was left for the Roman centre to mount up; who, from the disadvantage of the ground, never could have done so had their ranks stood unbroken with the elephants stationed in front. While the troops of the enemy were being slain on all sides, Scipio, who with his left wing had charged the right of the enemy, was chiefly employed in attacking their naked flank. And now there was not even room to fly; for parties of the Roman troops had blocked up the roads on both sides, right and left, and the gate of the camp was closed by the flight of the general and principal officers; added to which was the fright of the elephants, who, when in consternation, were as much feared by them as the enemy were. There were, therefore, slain as many as eight thousand men.
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Hasdrubal, having seized upon the treasure before he engaged, now sent the elephants in advance, and collecting as many of the flying troops as he could, directed his course along the river Tagus to the Pyrenees. Scipio, having got possession of the enemy's camp, and giving up all the booty to the soldiers, except the persons of free condition, found, on counting the prisoners, ten thousand foot and two thousand horse. Of these, all who were Spaniards he sent home without ransom; the Africans he ordered the quaestor to sell. After this, a multitude of Spaniards, consisting of those who had surrendered to him before and those whom he had captured the preceding day, crowding around, one and all saluted him as king; when Scipio, after the herald had obtained silence, declared that "in his estimation the most honourable title was that of general, which his soldiers had conferred upon him. That the name of king, which was in other countries revered, could not be endured at Rome. That they might tacitly consider his spirit as kingly, if they thought that the highest excellence which could be attributed to the human mind, but that they must abstain from the use of the term." Even barbarians were sensible of the greatness of mind which could from such an elevation despise a name, at the greatness of which the rest of mankind were overawed. Presents were then distributed to the petty princes and leading men of the Spaniards, and out of the great quantity of horses which were captured, he desired Indibilis to select those he liked best to the number of three hundred. While the quaestor was selling the Africans, according to the command of the general, he found among them a full-grown youth remarkably handsome; and hearing that he was of royal blood, he sent him to Scipio. On being asked by Scipio "who he was, of what country, and why at that age he was in the camp?" he replied, "that he was a Numidian, that his countrymen called him Massiva; that being left an orphan by his father, he was educated by his maternal grandfather, Gala, the king of the Numidians. That he had passed over into Spain with his uncle Masinissa, who had lately come with a body of cavalry to assist the Carthaginians. That having been prohibited by Masinissa on account of his youth, he had never before been in battle. That the day on which the battle took place with the Romans, he had clandestinely taken a horse and arms, and, without the knowledge of his uncle, gone out into the field, where his horse falling forward, he was thrown headlong, and taken prisoner by the Romans." Scipio, having ordered that the Numidian should be taken care of, completed the business which remained to be done on the tribunal, and returning to his pavilion, asked him, when he had been called to him, whether he wished to return to Masinissa? Upon his replying, with tears of joy, that he did indeed desire it, he presented the youth with a gold ring, a vest with a broad purple border, a Spanish cloak with a gold clasp, and a horse completely caparisoned, and then dismissed him, ordering a party of horse to escort him as far as he chose.
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