Florus

“ To say the truth, no country is better furnished with men, money, and arms than Syria; but it had fallen into the hands of so spiritless a monarch, that the highest praise of Antiochus was that he was conquered by the Romans. There were two persons who impelled the king to war; on the one hand Thoas, prince of Aetolia, who complained that his service in the war against Macedonia had not been sufficiently rewarded by the Romans; on the other, Hannibal, who, conquered in Africa, exiled from his country, and impatient of peace, was seeking through the whole world for an enemy to the Roman people. ”

“ But the Roman people, full of confidence from so many successes, thought it would be a noble enterprise to subdue such a desparate enemy in his own Africa. Directing their whole force, therefore, under the leadership of Scipio, unpon Africa itself, they began to imitate Hannibal, and to avenge upon Africa, the sufferings of their own Italy. What forces of Hasdrubal, (good gods!) what armies of Syphax, did that commander put to flight! ”

“ How much more nobly did a woman behave, the wife of the general, who, taking hold of her two children, threw herself from the top of her house into the midst of the flames, imitating the queen that built Carthage. How great a city was then destroyed, is shown, to say nothing of other things, by the duration of the fire, for the flames could scarcely be extinguished at the end of seventeen days; flames which the enemy themselves had raised in their houses and temples, that since the city could not be rescued from the Romans, all matter for triumph might at least be burned. ”

“ Pompey himself directed his efforts against Cilicia, the source and origin of the war. Nor did the enemy shrink from engagement with him, not, indeed, from confidence in their strength, but, as they were hard pressed, they were willing to appear daring. But they did nothing more than meet the first onset, for immediately afterwards, when they saw the beaks of our ships encircling them, they threw down their weapons and oars, and, with a general clapping of hands, which was with them a sign of supplication, intreated for quarter. Never did we obtain a victory with so litte bloodshed. ”

“ Most of the towns had revolted to the enemy, whose vigorous commander used even the strength of Italy against the Romans. However, we had now forced him out of many towns and districts. Tarentum had returned to our side; and Capua, the seat, home, and second country of Hannibal, was again in our hands; the loss of which caused the Punic leader so much affliction, that he then directed all his force against Rome.
O people worthy of the empire of the world, worthy of the favour and admiration of all, not only men but gods! ”

“ Despairing, therefore, of escape, and being driven to the utmost rage and fury, they resolved to die in the following manner. They first destroyed their captains, and then themselves and their native city, with sword and poison and a general conflagration. Peace be to the ashes of the most brave of all cities; a city, in my opinion, most happy in its very sufferings; a city which protected its allies with honour, and withstood, with its own force, and for so long a period, a people supported by the strength of the whole world. ”

“ For the Ligurians, and the Insubrian Gauls, as well as the Illyrians, began to be troublesome. Indeed, the two former nations, situate at the foot of the Alps, that is, at the very entrance to Italy, stirred up, apparently, by some deity, lest the Roman arms should contract rust and mould, and at length becoming, as it were, our daily and domestic enemies, [35] continued to exercise the young soldiery in the business of war; and the Romas whetted the sword of their valour on each of those nations as upon a whetstone. ”

“ And I know not whether it would not have been better for the Roman people to have been content with Sicily and Africa, or even to have been without them, while still enjoying the dominion of Italy, than to grow to such greatness as to be ruined by their own strength. For what else produced those intestine distractions but excessive good fortune? It was the conquest of Syria that first corrupted us; and the succession afterwards, in Asia, to the estate of the king of Pergamus. ”

“ The relics of the unhappy army, scattered wherever the hope of escape drove them, through Armenia, Cilicia, and Syria, scarcely brought home the news of the disaster.
The head of Crassus, when cut off, together with his right hand, was carried to the king, and treated by the enemy, not unjustly, with mocking insult. Molten gold was poured into his mouth, that the flesh of him whose mind had burnt with desire of gold, might, when dead and inanimate, be burnt with gold itself. ”

“ Spain never had the determination to rise in a body against us; it never thought of uniting its strength, or making an effort for empire, or combining for a general defence of its liberty; else it is so surrounded on all sides by the sea and the Pyrenees, that, by the very nature of its situation, it is secure from all atacks. But it was beset by the Romans before it knew itself, and was the only one of all their provinces that did not discover its strength till it was subdued. ”

“ Camillus, suddenly attacking them in the rear, made such a slaughter of them as to wash out all traces of the fire with an inundation of Gallic blood. But with pleasure may we give thanks to the immortal gods on the very account of this great destruction; for that fire buried the cottages of the shepherds, and that flame hid the poverty of Romulus. What, indeed, was the effect of that conflagration, but that a city, destined for the seat of men and gods, should not seem to have been destroyed or overthrown, but rather cleansed and purified? ”

“ Who, after the destruction of Carthage, would have expected any war in Africa? Yet Numidia roused herself with no small effort; and in Jugurtha there was something to be dreaded after Hannibal. This subtle prince assailed the Romans, when they were illustrious and invincible in arms, by means of his wealth; and it fortunately happened, beyond the expectation of all, that a king eminent in artifice was ensnared by artifice. ”

“ The Alban people did not long keep their faith; for being called out, according to the treaty, to assist the Romans in the war againsty Fidenae, they stood neutral betwixt the two parties, waiting for a turn of fortune. But the crafty king of the Romans, seeing his allies ready to side with the enemy, roused the courage of his army, pretending that he had ordered them so to act; hence hope arose in the breasts of our men, and fear in those of the enemy. ”

“ Such, however, was the violence of the calamity, that I must suppose it inflicted upon them, by divine Providence, for a trial of their spirit, the immortal gods desiring to know whether the conduct of the Romans would merit the empire of the world. The Galli Senones were a nation naturally fierce, and rude in manners; and, from the vastness of their bodies, and the corresponding weight of their arms, so formidable in all respects, that they seemed evidently born for the destruction of men and the depopulation of cities. ”

“ Nor had the Romans to contend only with men, but with mosters also; for a serpent of vast size, born, as it were, to avenge Africa, harassed their camp on the Bagrada. But Regulus, who overcame all obstacles, having spread the terror of his name far and wide, having killed or taken prisoners a great number of the enemy's force, and their captains themselves, and having despatched his fleet, laden with much spoil, and stored with materials for a triumph, to Rome, proceeded to besiege Carthage itself, the origin of the war, and took his position close to the gates of it. ”

“ A league had indeed been made with both those nations, but the Campanians had made theirs more binding and worth of regard, by a surrender of all that they had. The Romans accordingly took up the war against the Samnites as if on their own behalf.
The region of Campania is the finest of all countries, not only in Italy, but in the whole world. Nothing can be softer than its air; indeed it produces flowers twice a year. Nothing can be more fertile than its soil ”

“ Hardly ever did a finer or more glorious triumph enter the city; when before this time you could have seen nothing but the cattle of the Volscians, the flocks of the Sabines, the chariots of the Gauls, or the broken arms of the Samnites ”

“ Being an upright and wise man, he knew that that only was a true victory which was gained with inviolate faith and untainted honour. The people of Fidenae, not being a match for the Romans with the sword, armed themselves with torches and party-coloured fillets resembling serpents, in order to excite terror in the enemy, and marched out against them like madmen ”

“ Though Philip, therefore, was then king, the Romans seemed nevertheless to be fighting against king Alexander. The Macedonian war was greater from its name than from any regard due to the nation itself. It had its origin from a treaty of Philip, by which he had joined to himself Hannibal when he was previously triumphant in Italy. Further cause was then given for it, by an application from Athens for relief against the injuries against the king, at a time when, beyond the just rights of victory, he was wreaking his fury against their temples, altars, and the sepulchres of the dead. ”

“ Under the consul Laevinius, therefore, the Roman people, having entered the Ionian Sea for the first time, coasted along the whole of Greece with their fleet, as if in triumph; for it carried all the spoils of Sicily, Sardinia, Spain, and Africa; and a laurel that grew up [50] in the general's ship, promised certain victory. Attalus, king of Pergamus, came of his own accord to their assistance; the Rhodians, too, came, who were a naval people, and who struck terror into all parts by sea with their ships, while the consul did the same on land with his horse and foot. ”

“ They were even willing to surrender themselves, if nothing but what was endurable by men had been required of them. But as Scipio was eager for a full and absolute victory, they were brought to such despair, that, having gorged themselves, as if for a funeral banquet, with half-raw flesh and celia, [70] (a name which they give to a drink of the country made from corn,) they rushed out to battle with a determination to die. Their object was understood by our general, and to men defying death the opportunity of fighting was not granted. ”

“ He crossed the water with extraordinary expedition, for, having started from a harbour of the Morini [112] at the third watch, he reached the island before mid-day. The shores were crowded with a tumultuous assemblage of the enemy, and their chariots, as if in consternation at the sight of something strange, were hurrying backwards and forwards. Their trepidation was in consequence a victory to Caesar, who received arms and hostages from them while they were in alarm, and would have proceeded further along their coasts, had not the Ocean punished his daring fleet with a wreck. ”

“ Pyrrhus, victorius in the first battle, laid waste Campania, Liris, [25] and Fregellae, whilst all Italy was in alarm, and took a view of Rome, which was well-nigh captured, from the heights of Praeneste, filling the eyes of the trembling city, at the distance of twenty miles, with smoke and dust. The same prince being afterwards twice forced from his camp, twice wounded, and driven over sea and land into Greece, his own country, peace and quiet ensued; and so vast was the spoil from so many wealthy nations, that Rome could not contain her own victory. ”

“ A band of the youth (which, it is certain, scarcely amounted to a thousand) took their position, under the command of Manlius, in the citadel on the Capitoline mount, intreating Jupiter himself, as if present in the place, that "as they had united to defend his temple, he would support their efforts with his power." The Gauls, meantime, came up, and finding the city open, were at first apprehensive that some stratagem was intended, but soon after, preceiving nobody in it, they rushed in with shouting and impetuosity. ”

“ Nothing can be more hospitable than its shores; for on them are those noble harbours, Caieta, Misenus, and Baiae with its warm springs, as well as the lakes Lucrinus and Avernus, places of retirements as it were for the sea. [19] Here, too, are those vine-clad mountains, Gaurus, Falernus, Massicus, and Vesuvius the finest of all, the imitator of the fires of Aetna. On the sea are the cities Formiae, Cumae, Puteoli, Naples, Herculaneum, Pompeii, and, the chief of all, Capua, which was formerly one of the three greatest cities in the world, Rome and Carthage being the others. ”

“ This terror in Asia opened to the king also a passage into Europe. Accordingly, Archelaus and Neoptolemus, two of his generals, being despatched thither, the Cyclades, Delos, Euboea, (and all the islands except Rhodes, which adhered to us more firmly than ever,) with Athens, the very glory of Greece, were seized by his troops. The dread of the king even affected Italy and the city of Rome itself. Lucius Sylla, therefore, a man excellent in war, hastened to oppose him, and repelled, as with a push of the hand, the enemy who was advancing with equal impetuosity. ”

“ They had next for an assailant Mostilius Mancinus, whose troops they so dispirited, by continual slaughters, that not a man of them could endure the looks or voice of a Numantine. Yet, when they might have put all his followers to the sword, they preferred making a treaty also with him, and were content with despoiling his men of their arms. But the people of Rome, incensed at the ignominy and shame of this Numantine treaty, no less than at the Caudine treaty of former days, expiated the dishonour of their miscarriage, for the present, by the surrender of Mancinus. ”

“ The Roman people were now much keener and more ardent to revenge the fate of Regulus than to obtain victory. Under the consul Metellus, therefore, when the Carthaginians were growing insolent, and when the war had returned into Sicily, they gave the enemy such a defeat at Panormus, that they thought no more of that island. A proof of the greatness of this victory was the capture of about a hundred elephants, a vast prey, even if they had taken that number, not in war, but in hunting. ”

“ For, as it was glorious and praiseworthy to have acquired the rich and powerful provinces of Gaul, Thrace, Cilicia, and Cappadocia, as well as those of the Armenians and Britons, which, though of not much advantage, were great names to add to the splendour of the empire, so it was disgraceful and lamentable, at the same time, to have fought at home with our won citizens, with our allies, our slaves, and gladiators, while the whole senate was divided into parties. ”