He was not, however, the kind of general to let his troops be idle. He kept them at work, and the discipline of the camp was strict.
If the soldiers marched, each was made to carry his own baggage, and each had also to cook his own food.
Soon the men, if they carried their loads without grumbling, were nicknamed ‘Marian mules.’
Another story tells that this nickname arose in quite a different way.
When Marius first joined the army under Scipio, the general on a certain day inspected not only the arms and horses of his men, but their mules and wagons as well.
Both the horse and mule belonging to Marius were in perfect condition, and had evidently received more care than those of his comrades.
Scipio commended the beasts, and often reminded the soldiers of their well-groomed appearance, until at length, half in scorn and half in mirth, any man in Marius’s army who worked harder and more persistently than his neighbour was called by his comrades ‘a Marian mule.’
A year passed, and the barbarians had not yet appeared.
Marius was elected Consul for the third time, for the Senate still dreaded the appearance of the enemy, and wished him to be in command when it did descend into Italy.
Another year passed, and still they did not come.