Livy

“ Is it for these exploits that a triumph is asked for? Supposing no ignominious defeat had been sustained in Thrace, over what enemy would you seek triumph? Over those, I presume, whom the senate or the people of Rome had assigned to you as your enemy. On these terms a triumph was granted to L. Scipio, to Manius Acilius over Antiochus, to T. Quinctius, a little earlier, over Philip, to P. Africanus over Hannibal and Carthage and Syphax. ”

“ Our experience has taught us this - if you withstand their first rush with its wild excitement and blind fury, their limbs become powerless with sweat and fatigue, their weapons hang idly; their flabby bodies and, when their fury has spent itself, their flabby spirits, too, are prostrated by sun and dust and thirst, even though you did not lift a sword against them. We have made trial of them, not only legions against legions, but man against man. T. Manlius and M. Valerius have shown how steady Roman courage can get the better of Gaulish frenzy. ”

“ If they say that he has degenerated and become enervated by the attractions and luxuries of Asia, what risk did we run in attacking him even when we were in a bad position? If they regard him as formidable, owing to ferocity and physical strength, do you refuse a triumph for so great a victory? Envy, senators, is blind and knows no other method than that of disparaging merit and soiling its honours and rewards. ”

“ Subjection to the king was a much easier thing to bear than the ferocity of the ruthless barbarians and the terror which haunted them from one day to another, for they never knew in what direction that ferocity might sweep them like a storm upon plundering and devastating raids. They had regained their liberty through the repulse of Antiochus and their peace through the subjugation of the Gauls, and now they brought to the consul not only their congratulations and thanks but also golden crowns, each according to their ability. ”

“ All the ferocity which they brought with them has been tamed by a most fertile soil, a most genial climate and the gentle character of the people amongst whom they have settled. You, sons of Mars, believe me, will have to be on your guard against the attractions of Asia and shun them from the very first; such power have the pleasures of other lands to weaken and destroy your energies, so easily can the habits and practices of the people round you affect you. ”

“ Rome was the more ungrateful of the two, for whilst Carthage after her defeat drove the defeated Hannibal into exile, Rome would banish the victorious Scipio in the hour of her victory. Others again took the ground that no single citizen should stand on such an eminence that he could not be required to answer according to law. Nothing contributed more towards maintaining liberty for all than the power of putting the most powerful citizen on his trial. ”

“ Surrounded by the very men whom he had deprived of the right and liberty of passing sentence upon him, and dragging them after him like prisoners of war, he had celebrated a triumph over the people of Rome and had made a secession on that day from the tribunes to the Capitol. "So now," they continued, "you have the due reward of your folly; the man at whose instigation and under whose leadership you deserted us, has now deserted you. ”

“ So low is our courage falling day by day, that the man whom seventeen years ago we dared to send tribunes to Sicily to apprehend, whilst he had an army and a fleet at his command, that man we dare not now, though he is only a private citizen, fetch from his country-house to stand his trial. ”

“ Out of the 20,000 men not more than 10,000 were carrying arms, yet so great was the terror they inspired in all the nations west of the Taurus, that those who had no experience of them, as well as those who had come into contact with them, the most remote as well as their next neighbours, all alike submitted to them. They were made up of three tribes, the Tolostobogii, the Trocmi and the Tectosagi, and in the end they divided the conquered territory of Asia into three parts, each tribe retaining its own tributary cities. ”

“ At the first onset they overwhelmed many of the guards; then when the noise of the tumult and clamour reached the camp, the consul gave the signal and the Romans, seizing their weapons, poured out of all the gates to help their comrades. Only at one point was there a real fight between sword and fire; at the two others the Aetolians after attempting, rather than sustaining, a conflict retreated without effecting anything. ”

“ Shut up within their walls the only hope left to them was help from the Romans. They sent to the consul to implore his assistance; shut up in their citadel with their wives and children, they were daily looking forward to death either by sword or famine. The consul gladly seized the pretext for a march into Pamphylia, and raised the siege, granting peace to Termessus on the payment of 50 talents of silver. ”

“ The nation of the Aetolians shall uphold sincerely and honestly the majesty and dominion of the Roman people; they shall not suffer to pass through their territories or in any way assist any army which may be led against the friends and allies of Rome; they shall count the enemies of Rome as their enemies and bear arms against them and wage war against them equally with Rome ”

“ Sometimes, where it is a surface bruise rather than a deep wound, they cut the skin, and even think that in this way they win greater glory in battle. But when the head of an arrow has gone in or a leaden bullet buried itself and it tortures them with what looks like a slight wound and defies all their efforts to get rid of it, they fling themselves on the ground in shame and fury at so small an injury threatening to prove fatal. So they were lying about everywhere, and some who rushed down on their enemy were being pierced with missiles from all sides ”

“ He pointed to the bodies of the Gauls scattered over the ground and said: "If the light infantry could fight as they have done, what may I not expect from the legions, from those who are fully armed, from the valour of my bravest soldiers? Surely after the light infantry have driven the enemy in confusion into their camp, you legionaries must storm and capture it." During this halt the light infantry had been busy collecting the missiles which were lying everywhere, in order that they might have a sufficient supply, and the consul now ordered them to advance. ”

“ The fortunes of the battle changed as first one side and then the other was on favourable or unfavourable ground; as the courage of each rose or fell; as the numbers preponderated on either side, some engaged with larger, others with smaller bodies than their own. Many fell on both sides and night was already coming on when the Thracians drew off from the fight, not to escape wounds and death, but because they had as much plunder as they wanted.
41 When they had got clear of the pass, the first division of the Roman army encamped on open ground near the temple of Bendis. ”

“ Helvius promised to protect their fields from pillage and told them to go to the consul. When they had spoken in a similar strain to him, he replied: "We Romans have received no proofs of goodwill on the part of the tyrant towards us, and it is a matter of common knowledge that he is the sort of man whom we ought to think of punishing rather than treating as a friend." The envoys were greatly perturbed at these words and simply requested him to accept the golden crown and to allow the tyrant to visit him in person with liberty to speak and clear himself of suspicions. ”

“ Besides Cibyra he had the city of Sylleum and a place called Alimne, and out of these cities he promised, though somewhat doubtfully, to raise 25 talents, but only by robbing himself and his subjects. "Really," replied the consul, "this trifling is intolerable! After trying, unblushingly, to fool us through your envoys, you actually keep up the same effrontery now you are here. You say 25 talents will exhaust your government. Very well, then, unless you pay down 500 talents in three days, look out for the plunder of your fields and the investment of your city." ”

“ It would have been enough had their glory been kept untarnished for posterity, but P. Africanus had so far surpassed his father's renown that men believed him to be sprung from no human parents, but to be of divine origin. As to Lucius Scipio, whose case was before them, he would pass over all that he had done as his brother's lieutenant in Spain and Africa, and would remind them that when he was consul the senate thought him worthy of being entrusted with Asia and the war with Antiochus as his province, without having recourse to the ballot. ”

“ If any citizens belonging to the cities which are passing from under his rule are with Antiochus or within the boundaries of his realm, they shall all return to Apamea by a certain day; if any of Antiochus' subjects are with the Romans and their allies they shall be at liberty to depart or to remain. He shall restore to the Romans and their allies the slaves, whether fugitives or prisoners of war, or any free man who has been taken captive or is a deserter. He shall give up his elephants and not procure any more. ”

“ From this point he entered the territory of Sagalassus, a fertile district rich in all kinds of fruits. Its Pisidian inhabitants are by far the best soldiers in that part of the world. Their military superiority, the fruitfulness of their soil, their large population, and the situation of their exceptionally strong city make them a brave people. As no envoys appeared when the consul reached their frontiers, he sent out plundering parties into their fields. ”

“ He would not oppose the action of the praetor in recovering the sum in question from the sale of Lucius Scipio's property, but that as to L. Scipio himself, a man who had conquered the most prosperous and wealthy monarch in the world; who had carried the dominion of Rome to the utmost limits of the world; who had bound King Eumenes, the Rhodians, and so many other cities in Asia under obligations to Rome; who had led first in triumph, and then to prison, so many enemy commanders - this man he would not allow to lie in prison and in chains amongst the enemies of Rome. ”

“ Even then, after the defeat of Antiochus, they quite expected that owing to their distance from the sea the Romans would not advance so far.
17 As it was this enemy, so much dreaded by all the people in that part of the world, that was to be met in war, the consul paraded his soldiers and delivered the following speech to them: "I am quite aware, soldiers, that of all the nations of Asia the Gauls have the highest military reputation. This fierce people, after wandering and warring over almost the entire world, have taken up their abode amongst the gentlest and most peaceable race of men. ”

“ It is amongst the ten commissioners that I find my opponents, those whom our ancestors assigned to their commanders for the purpose of gathering the fruits of their victories and enhancing their glory. L. Furius and L. Aemilius forbid me to enter the triumphal chariot; they snatch the victor's wreath from my brow; these very men whom I was going to call as witnesses to what I have done, had the tribunes opposed my triumph. I envy no man his honours, senators. ”

“ The consul told them in reply that the Aetolians had frequently asked for peace, but seldom with the honest intention of keeping it. They must follow the example of Antiochus whom they had dragged into the war. He had ceded not only those few cities whose liberty had been the cause of quarrel, but the whole of Asia on this side the Taurus - a rich and fertile realm. He, the consul, would not listen to any proposals unless the Aetolians laid down their arms. They must first give up their arms and all their horses; then they must pay 1000 talents ”

“ Scipio has by the common consent of gods and men attained such a lofty position through his own acts and the honours which the Roman people have conferred upon him, that for him to stand beneath the Rostra as a defendant, and have to listen to the insults of young men, would be a greater ignominy for the people of Rome than for him. ”

“ If a man cannot submit to laws which are the same for all, no force which may be employed against him is unlawful. So the matter was discussed until the day of trial came. Never before had anyone, even Scipio himself when he was consul or censor, been surrounded by a greater concourse of people of all sorts and conditions than on the day when he was conducted into the Forum to make his defence. ”

“ The delegates who had been sent from Athens and Rhodes to support the Aetolians were already with the consul, when Amynander, who had obtained a safe-conduct, arrived in the Roman camp. He was more concerned for the city of Ambracia, where he had passed most of his years of exile, than for the Aetolians. When the consul learnt from them what had happened to the Aetolian envoys, he sent orders for them to be brought from Tyrrhenum, and on their arrival the negotiations commenced. Amynander, whose main interest was in Ambracia, did his utmost to induce the place to surrender. ”

“ But you say, 'Assuming this to be true, the Gauls once despoiled Delphi, but though it was the one oracle common to all mankind, and the central spot in the whole world, the Romans did not on that account declare or commence war against them.' I should certainly have thought that there was a considerable difference between the conditions existing when Greece and Asia had not yet passed under your suzerainty, as far as regards your interest and concern in their affairs, and the conditions prevailing now; when you have fixed the Taurus as the frontier of your dominion ”

“ Manlius had brought the war against the Gauls in Asia to a close, the other consul, M. Fulvius, now that the Aetolians were subjugated, sailed across to Cephallania, and sent round to the various cities in the island to ask them which they preferred - surrender to the Romans or the chances of war. Fear prevented them all from refusing to surrender, and they gave the hostages, which the consul demanded in proportion to their scanty resources. ”

“ These soldiers carry a shield three feet long, javelins in their right hand for use at a distance and a Spanish sword in their belts. When they have to fight at close quarters they transfer the javelins to their left hands and draw their swords. Few of the Gauls now survived, and when they found themselves worsted by the light infantry and the legions coming on, they fled in disorder back to their camp, which was full of tumult and panic, as the women and children and other noncombatants were all crowded there together. The Romans took possession of the heights from which the enemy had fled. ”