At this time king Attalus, having fallen sick at Thebes, had been carried thence to Pergamus, died at the age of seventy-one after he had reigned forty-four years. To this man fortune had given nothing which could inspire hopes of a throne except riches. By a prudent, and, at the same time, a splendid use of these, he begat, in himself first, and then in others, an opinion, that he was not undeserving of a crown. Afterwards, having in one battle utterly defeated the Gauls, which nation was then the more terrible to Asia, as having but lately made its appearance there, he assumed the title of king, and ever after exhibited a spirit equal to the dignity of that name. He governed his subjects with the most perfect justice, and observed an unvarying fidelity towards his allies; gentle and bountiful to his friends; affectionate to his wife and four sons, who survived him; and he left his government established on such solid and firm foundations, that the possession of it descended to the third generation. While this was the posture of affairs in Asia, Greece, and Macedonia, the war with Philip being scarcely ended, and the peace certainly not yet perfected, a desperate insurrection took place in the Farther Spain. Marcus Helvius was governor of that province. He informed the senate by letter, that "two chieftains, Colca and Luscinus, were in arms; that Colca was joined by seventeen towns, and Luscinus by the powerful cities of Carmo and Bardo; and that the people of the whole sea-coast, who had not yet manifested their disposition, were ready to rise on the first motion of their neighbours." On this letter being read by Marcus Sergius, city praetor, the senate decreed, that, as soon as the election of praetors should be finished, the one to whose lot the government of Spain fell should, without delay, consult the senate respecting the commotions in that province.
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About the same time the consuls came home to Rome, and, on their holding a meeting of the senate in the temple of Bellona, and demanding a triumph, in consideration of their successes in the war, Caius Atinius Labeo, and Caius Ursanius, plebeian tribunes, insisted that "the consuls should propose their claims of a triumph separately, for they would not suffer the question to be put on both jointly, lest equal honours might be conferred where the merits were unequal." Minucius urged, that they had both been appointed to the government of one province, Italy; and that, through the course of their administration, his colleague and himself had been united in sentiments and in counsels; to which Cornelius added, that, when the Boians were passing the Po, to assist the Insubrians and Caenomanians against him, they were forced to return to defend their own country, from his colleague ravaging their towns and lands. In reply the tribunes acknowledged, that the services performed in the war by Cornelius were so great, that "no more doubt could be entertained respecting his triumph than respecting the ascribing of glory to the immortal gods." Nevertheless they insisted, that "neither he nor any other member of the community should possess such power and influence as to be able, after obtaining the honour that was due to himself, to bestow the same distinction on a colleague, who immodestly demanded what he had not deserved. The exploits of Quintus Minucius in Liguria were trifling skirmishes, scarcely deserving mention; and in Gaul he had lost great numbers of soldiers." They mentioned even military tribunes, Titus Juvencius and Cneius Labeo, of the fourth legion, the plebeian tribune's brother, who had fallen in unsuccessful conflict, together with many other brave men, both citizens and allies: and they asserted, that "pretended surrenders of a few towns and villages, fabricated for the occasion, had been made, without any pledge of fidelity being taken." These altercations between the consuls and tribunes lasted two days: at last the consuls, overcome by the obstinacy of the tribunes, proposed their claims separately.
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To Cneius Cornelius a triumph was unanimously decreed: and the inhabitants of Placentia and Cremona added to the applause bestowed on the consul, by returning him thanks, and mentioning, to his honour, that they had been delivered by him from a siege; and that very many of them, when in the hands of the enemy, had been rescued from captivity. Quintus Minucius just tried how the proposal of his claim would be received, and finding the whole senate averse from it, declared, that by the authority of his office of consul, and pursuant to the example of many illustrious men, he would triumph on the Alban mount. Caius Cornelius, being yet in office, triumphed over the Insubrian and Caenomanian Gauls. He produced a great number of military standards, and earned in the procession abundance of Gallic spoils in captured chariots. Many Gauls of distinction were led before his chariot, and along with them, some writers say, Hamilcar, the Carthaginian general. But what, more than all, attracted the eyes of the public, was a crowd of Cremonian and Placentian colonists, with caps of liberty on their heads, following his chariot. He carried in his triumph two hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred asses,[[14]] and of silver denarii, stamped with a chariot, seventy-nine thousand.[[15]] He distributed to each of his soldiers seventy asses,[[16]] to a horseman and a centurion double that sum. Quintus Minucius, consul, triumphed on the Alban mount, over the Ligurian and Boian Gauls. Although this triumph was less respectable, in regard to the place and the fame of his exploits, and because all knew the expense was not issued from the treasury; yet, in regard of the number of standards, chariots, and spoils, it was nearly equal to the other. The amount of the money also was nearly equal. Two hundred and fifty-four thousand asses[[17]] were conveyed to the treasury, and of silver denarii, stamped with a chariot, fifty-three thousand two hundred.[[18]] He likewise gave to the soldiers, horsemen, and centurions, severally, the same sums that his colleague had given.
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