VIII. SIXTH PERIOD, B.C. opinion, Scipio might have made use of his influence and CHAP. of circumstances to obtain royal authority, not in Rome, but in Spain, Asia, or elsewhere. Perhaps he thought such a regal or vice-regal position not incompatible with the 207-205 duties of a Roman citizen and general, much, perhaps, as the men of the house of Barcas had been de facto kings in Spain, and had yet continued to serve the Carthaginian state as dutiful subjects; but, in spite of all these considerations, the judgment of Polybius, with regard to Scipio's refusal of the royal title, must be looked upon as a sign of the times. It is the first faint shadow which coming events cast before them. The dominion of Rome over the provinces made it necessary to confer upon individuals from time to time monarchical powers; and these temporary powers were the steps to the throne of the Roman emperors. Spain was the first country that witnessed the autocratic power of Roman nobles; and it was in the family of the Scipios that this became first apparent. It grew from generation to generation, and under its weight the republic was crushed. There had been a time in Rome, and it was not far back, when not even the thought of the possibility of monarchical power could have been entertained by any one. In the Samnite wars, in the war with Pyrrhus, and in the first war with Carthage, the soul of every Roman was filled by the republican spirit alone. Another form of government than that of the free republic was inconceivable in Rome, just as it is inconceivable at the present day in Switzerland and in the United States of America. All the accusations brought by the Roman annalists against Spurius Cassius, Spurius Mælius, and Marcus Manlius, for alleged attempts to seize monarchical power, are nothing but inventions of a later period. But this period begins, as we now see, after the Hannibalian war, when a writer like Polybius could find reason to praise Scipio for refusing the royal title and for abstaining from the assumption of royal authority. In spite of the republican sentiments and the modera- Magnifition which Scipio displayed with regard to the offer of the cence and power of Scipio. IV. BOOK royal title, his conduct and demeanour showed a kind of royal bearing and of conscious superiority over his fellowcitizens. He was surrounded by something like a court on a small scale. His first confidential adviser and most trusty servant was Caius Lælius,' who was employed especially to execute delicate commissions and deliver messages in Rome, to sound Scipio's praise and to keep together his friends in the senate. Besides this diplomatic agency he was also intrusted with military duties, like Scipio's elder brother Lucius, and like Caius Marcius, the brave tribune who in the year 212 had saved the remnants of the Roman army from utter destruction. Even the proprætor Marcus Junius Silanus received orders from him as if he were an imperial legate,' whilst the commander-in-chief directed the movements of his inferiors from his head-quarters at Tarraco. Capture of The year 207 B.C., which was so decisive for the war in Italy, seems not to have been marked by any noteworthy events in Spain. After Hasdrubal had marched with his army across the Pyrenees and Alps, it appears that the Carthaginians did not feel strong enough for any offensive operations, and Scipio too was weakened, as he had sent a part of his forces for the protection of Italy. He remained stationary in Tarraco, where he had wintered, and we hear only of a march of Lælius to Bætica in the extreme south of the peninsula, where he encountered and worsted Hannibal's brother Mago, and captured a Punic general named Hanno. The only other event assigned to this year is the taking of a place called Oringis,' by Scipio's brother Lucius, on which occasion 2,000 enemies and not more than ninety Romans are said to have fallen." 1 Polybius, x. 3, § 2 : Γάϊος Λαίλιος ἀπὸ νέου μετεσχηκὼς αὐτῷ παντὸς ἔργου καὶ λόγου μεχρὶ τελευτῆς. 2 Livy (xxvi. 19) calls him Scipio's 'adiutor ad res gerendas.' Whether this place is identical with Auringis, mentioned before by Livy (xxiv. 42), and where it was situated, we do not know. Livy, xxviii. 3. CHAP. VIII. SIXTH PERIOD, B.C. Second battle of The succeeding year, 206 B.C., witnessed the total extinction of Punic dominion in Spain. Scipio had probably again reinforced his army after the battle on the Metaurus. The news of that victory produced a great effect in Spain, 207-205 and gained new allies for the Romans. Scipio marched again southwards, and met a second time at Bæcula a large Carthaginian army under Hasdrubal, the son of Bacula. Gisgo, which, after a severe struggle, he compelled to retreat into its camp, and drove further and further south shortly after.' Hereupon he returned by slow marches to Tarraco, leaving Silanus behind to pursue the broken hostile army. This army, it appears, dwindled away fast. The Spanish troops deserted and went to their respective homes, while the Punians retreated to the island town of Gades. Thus the war was brought to an end on the continent of Spain. Here, as well as in Sicily and Sardinia, the superior strength and perseverance of Rome had prevailed over the Carthaginian armies, which were apparently better led, but composed of worse materials. The contagion of defection, which in great part had Overtures caused the loss of Spain, now began to attack the native of MasiAfrican troops, which, more than any other portion of the Scipio. This second victory of Bæcula is exposed to as serious historical doubts as the first. Even the name of the locality is uncertain; for Livy (xxviii. 12) mentions the name Silipa, besides Bæcula; the manuscripts of Polybius have Elinga, which has been corrected into Ilipa; and Appian calls the place by the strange name of Karmon. Great victories make even insignificant places, such as Cannæ, celebrated; and it seems, therefore, to be rather a questionable triumph of which not even the locality is fixed and known. It can further be shown that Scipio's friends were guilty of great exaggerations. Livy, who is not generally inclined to understate the results of Roman feats of arms, says that the army of Hasdrubal was 54,000 strong, but that some writers made it 20,000 more. He does not mention Polybius; but, by chance, a fragment of this historian has been preserved (xi. 20 ff.) in which the battle is very fully related, and from which it appears that he is the authority for the greater number. This statement, accordingly, may be considered to be based on family traditions of the Scipios. Lastly, the reported issue of the battle is such that it betrays the false colouring to anyone slightly accustomed to judge such reports. The numbers of the killed and captured Carthaginians are not given; the battle is said to have been interrupted by a sudden thunderstorm, and the Carthaginians, as well as the Romans, retire into their neighbouring camp. After this, what remains of the alleged victory? nissa to BOOK Relations of Scipio with Syphax. Carthaginian armies, had hitherto been the terror of the legions. Masinissa, the brave Numidian prince, who a few years before had fought against the rebellious Syphax, and had since then rendered the most important services in Spain with his excellent cavalry, was beginning to find out, with the native shrewdness of a barbarian, that the cause of his friends and patrons was lost, and he was anxious, before it should be too late, to secure for himself a safe retreat into the camp of the conquerors. He was shut up in Gades with the remnant of the Carthaginian army, but found an opportunity of treating with Silanus,' and is even related to have had a secret interview with Scipio himself, in which the terms of an alliance between him and Rome were discussed, and his co-operation was promised in case the war should be carried into Africa. Thus the first preparations were made for the execution of the plan which Scipio was already maturing in his mind, viz., of bringing the war to a conclusion in that country, where the most deadly blows could be inflicted on Carthage. But before Masinissa's help was quite secured, Scipio endeavoured to restore and to strengthen the amicable relations which for several years had existed between Rome and Syphax, the most powerful prince of the western Numidians or Massæsylians. In the year 215 Syphax had, in the hope of aid from Rome, taken up arms against Carthage. But he seems to have been left to his own resources, and the few Roman officers whom the two Scipios had sent to him from Spain had proved unable to convert his unruly Numidians into anything like a regular and steady infantry. He was accordingly worsted and expelled from his kingdom by the Carthaginians and their allies, the Numidians, under King Gula and his son Masinissa. Under what conditions the Carthaginians 1 Livy, xxviii. 16. 2 Livy, xxviii. 35. It seems hardly probable that Scipio, merely for the purpose of conferring secretly with Masinissa, went from one end of Spain (Tarraco) to the other (Gades). The meeting of Scipio and Masinissa is probably only a poetical pendant to the meeting with Syphax, which is equally fictitious. See above, p. 315. afterwards made peace with him and allowed him to return into his country, we are not informed. We hear only that, with the subtle treachery of a barbarian, he sent an embassy to Rome in 210, to assure the senate of his friendship, whilst he was in amicable relations with Carthage. The secret intrigues carried on with him and with Masinissa are not known to us. It may be that Scipio wished to gain the friendship and alliance of both. But it was in the nature of things that neither Rome nor Carthage could be on good terms with one of the two rivals without making an enemy of the other. The two Numidian chiefs could not be on the same side, for each of them aimed at obtaining exclusive possession of the whole of Numidia. As long as Masinissa was faithful in the service of the Carthaginians, Syphax tried to keep on good terms with Rome; but as soon as he heard that Masinissa had betrayed his friends and gone over to the Romans, it was no longer possible for him to remain in a neutral or even hostile position to Carthage. If one of the two Numidian chiefs turned to the right, it was necessary for the other to turn to the left. It was therefore a vain attempt on the part of Scipio to secure the co-operation of Syphax in the war with the Carthaginians after he had detached Masinissa from their side. CHAP. VIII. SIXTH PERIOD, 207-205 B.C. Syphax. Livy gives a long and graphic description of a dangerous Alleged meeting voyage of Scipio to a Numidian port; of his meeting, by an of Scipio extraordinary coincidence, with Hasdrubal, the son of with Gisgo, in the very house and at the table of Syphax; of negotiations there conducted, on which occasion Scipio's personal qualities again drew forth the admiration of his enemies, and lastly of an alliance concluded with Syphax.' The whole of this narrative belongs, in all probability, to the domain of fiction. It looks like a rhapsody in the epic poem of the great Scipio. The facts related are nothing but. the personal adventures of a few heroes; they have not the slightest influence on the course of events, and cannot even 1 Livy, xxviii. 18. |