The Jugurthine War by Gaius Crispus Sallust

Chapters 77 - 114

   LXXVII. Simultaneously with the capture of Thala, deputies had come to Metellus from the town of Leptis, beseeching him to send thither a garrison and governor. According to their account, a certain Hamilcar, a man of good birth and intriguing disposition, was eager for a change in affairs, and the commands of the magistrates and the authority of the law were powerless against him; should Metellus delay, their safety, allies of Rome as they were, would be in the greatest danger. The people of Leptis, I should mention, long before this, at the very beginning of the [Jugurthine] war, had sent to the consul Bestia, and subsequently to Rome itself, to request friendship and alliance. On obtaining their prayer, they remained ever honest and loyal, and had strenuously carried out all the commands of Bestia, Albinus, and Metellus. The general, therefore, readily granted their petition, and sent to their town four cohorts of Ligurians, and Gaius Annius as governor.

   LXXVIII. Leptis was founded by Sidonians who, as I learn, were exiled on account of internal dissensions, and came to these parts by sea. It is situated between the two Syrtes, whose name was given them from their nature. These are two bays which lie almost on the verge of Africa, of unequal size but like character. Near land they are very deep; elsewhere, as it chances, in some places deep, in others, when a storm is blowing, full of shoals. When the sea gets high and struggles with the wind, the waves draw down mud, sand, and huge stones; and thus the appearance of these parts changes with every change of the wind. It is this power of suction from which they are called Syrtes. Intermarriage with the Numidians changed nothing more than the language of the people of Leptis; the greater part of their laws and civilization is Sidonian, and this they have the more easily retained owing to their distance from the king's government, for between them and the more populous part of Numidia lay many miles of desert.

   LXXIX. As the affairs of the people of Leptis have taken me into these regions, it seems not unbecoming to record a splendid and memorable deed of two Carthaginians, of which the mention of the country has reminded me. In the period when the Carthaginians were rulers over the greater part of Africa, Cyrene also was a great and wealthy city. The intervening country was sandy and monotonous, without river or mountain to mark the boundary of their dominions. This fact kept them in a desperate and prolonged war; armies and fleets had often been defeated and routed on either side, and each had considerably impaired the other's strength. At last, in the fear lest some third power should presently attack both victors and vanquished in their exhausted condition, they agreed in a time of truce that on an appoint day deputies should set out from either city, and the place where they met be held the common boundary of the two peoples. Two brothers, called the Philaeni, were sent from Carthage, and these made good speed in their journey. The progress of the Cyrenians was slower, whether through laziness or accident I have not clearly ascertained; for in these parts, storms are as wont to delay the traveller as on the sea. Gathering as it sweeps across the flat and lifeless country, the wind tosses up the sand from the soil, and this is then blown along with tremendous force, and fills the face and eyes, and hinders progress by shutting off all view. The Cyrenians saw that they were somewhat behindhand, and, in their fear of being punished on their return for their failure, accused the Carthaginians of having left home before their time, tried to upset the whole proceedings, and, in fact, showed a determination to do anything rather than come off the worst. The Carthaginians then asked them to propose any other terms so long as they were fair, and on this the Greeks gave them their choice of either being themselves buried alive at the point where they demanded that their country's boundary should be set, or allowing them to advance as far as they like on the same condition. The Philaeni approved of the terms, and sacrificed their own persons and lives to the public good. Accordingly they were buried alive. The Carthaginians dedicated altars to the brothers on the spot, and other honors were ordained to them in the city. I now return to my subject.

   LXXX. After the loss at Thala, Jugurtha thought he had no sufficient safeguard against Metellus. He set out, therefore, with a few companions, and made his way through vast deserts to the Gaetulians, a wild and uncivilized tribe, at that time ignorant of the name of Rome. Of this people he collected a host, and in a short time accustomed them to keep the ranks, follow the standards, obey commands, and behave in other respects like regular soldiers. Besides this, by means of great gifts and greater promises, he prevailed on those immediately about King Bocchus to be zealous in his service, and, with these to aid him, approached the king and induced him to take up arms against the Romans. This task was the more easily and readily accomplished, inasmuch as Bocchus, at the outset of this war, had sent an embassy to Rome to ask for a treaty of friendship. The conclusion of such a treaty, which would have been most advantageous for the war then newly begun, was prevented by the blind avarice of a clique accustomed to sell every service, whether honorable or the reverse. Bocchus, moreover, had previously married a daughter of Jugurtha, though this tie is held of slight importance among Numidians and Mauritanians, inasmuch as everyone has as many wives as he can afford, some ten, some more, and the kings a proportionately greater number. The mind is thus distracted by numbers; no wife holds the place of a partner, but all are held equally cheap.

   LXXXI. The two kings now assembled their armies at a place they had agreed on. Pledges were there given and received, and Jugurtha roused the spirit of Bocchus by an harangue. The Romans, he said, were unjust, of fathomless greed, and the common enemy of all peoples; they had the same reason for a war with Bocchus as with himself and other races--their lust, namely, for empire, which made them see an enemy in every kingdom; it was now himself who was the Roman's foe, a little before it had been the Carthaginians, then King Perses, and thereafter it would always be the richest victim they could find. After these and similar speeches, they determined on a march against the town of Cirta, as the place where Metellus had deposited his spoil, captives, and heavy baggage. Jugurtha thought that they would either be rewarded by the capture of the town, or that, should the Romans advance to its relief, a battle would be fought. In his crafty policy, the only thing for which he was eager was to lessen Bocchus' chance of peace, lest, if there should be any procrastination, he might prefer some other course to war.

   LXXXII. On learning of the alliance between the kings, the general no longer offered battle rashly, or, as after his many defeats of Jugurtha, he had been wont to do, in every position. He awaited the two kings in a fortified camp not far from Cirta, thinking it would be better to fight at his convenience after learning the quality of the Mauritanians, since they had joined in the war as a new enemy.
   Meanwhile he was informed by dispatches from Rome that his province had been assigned to Marius, the news of whose election to the consulship he had received previously. These events affected him more than was either right or honorable; he could neither restrain his tears nor govern his tongue. Though distinguished in other accomplishments, he bore vexation in too womanish a manner. Some construed his behavior as a mark of pride; others as the outcome of a noble spirit inflamed by insult; many, again, as caused by the feeling that the victory he had practically won was being wrested from his hands. For myself, I am assured that it was rather the honor conferred upon Marius than his own wrongs which tormented him, and that he would have borne the blow more equably if the province of which he was deprived had been assigned to any other than Marius.

   LXXXIII. Burdened by this grief, and thinking it foolish to charge himself with another man's work to his own peril, Metellus sent ambassadors to Bocchus to desire him not to become an enemy to the Roman people without a cause. They were to urge that the king had at this time an opportunity of cementing a friendship and alliance; that this was far preferable to war, and that, despite his confidence in his resources, it was unwise to exchange the certain for the doubtful; every war was easy to enter on, most difficult to abandon; to begin and to end it were not in the power of the same person; even a coward might do the first, the time for the second was fixed by the victor's will; Bocchus, therefore, should take thought for himself and his kingdom, and should be careful not to involve his own prosperity in the ruined fortunes of Jugurtha. To this message the king returned a conciliatory answer, to the effect that he was desirous of peace, but pitied the misfortunes of Jugurtha. If the same opportunity were given to the latter, a treaty was assured. The general sent fresh messengers in reply to the proposals of Bocchus, who accepted some of his terms, and declined others. In this manner the time passed in the frequent interchange of messages, and the war, as Metellus wished, was prolonged without activity on either side.

   LXXXIV. As I narrated above, Marius, to the great delight of the commons, had been elected consul. Previously hostile to the nobility, after his appointment by the people to the province of Numidia, he attacked them with even greater vigor and spirit, railing, now at individuals, and now at the whole body, boasting that he had won the consulship as his spoil after their defeat, and in other ways exalting himself and annoying them. Meanwhile, he attached most importance to the necessary provision for the war, demanded that the strength of his legions should be raised, and summoned reinforcements from the tributary peoples and kings, and from the allies. He invited, moreover, all the bravest men from Latium, with most of whom he had been acquainted in the field, while a few he knew by report. His solicitations also constrained veterans who had served their time to set out under his command. The Senate, though hostile to him, did not dare to deny him on any point. The reinforcements it had voted with actual pleasure, under the idea that military service was distasteful to the commons, and that Marius would lose either the requisites of war or the favor of the crowd. This hope, however, was vain, so great a desire for accompanying Marius had seized men's minds. Everyone thought that he would be enriched with booty and return home victorious, and pondered over other like ideas in his mind. They had been, moreover, not a little excited by a speech of Marius; who, after all his demands had been voted, and his desire was now to enlist soldiers, summoned a meeting of the people, in order to encourage them and at the same time to indulge in his usual invective against the nobility. His speech was as follows:--

   LXXXV. "I am aware, Romans, that the qualities which most men show in their behavior after election are very different from those with which they sought your suffrages; and that the energetic, humble, and unambitious character of their previous is then changed for sloth and insolence. My views, however, are very different from theirs; for in proportion as the state as a whole exceeds the consulship or praetorship in importance, by so much ought our diligence in its government to exceed that with which we seek these offices. I am not insensible to the greatness of the burden which, by your distinguished favor, I have to bear. To prepare for war without straining the treasury, to press into service men whom one is unwilling to offend, to superintend every detail at home and abroad, and to do all this amid the jealousy of hostile intriguers, is harder, Romans, than can be conceived. Again, if others commit an error, their ancient family, the brave deeds of their ancestors, the wealth of their kinsmen and connections, and troops of clients are all at hand to defend them. I have to place my whole hopes in my own person: I must needs protect them by my merit and integrity, for I have no other help in which I can trust. I understand, too, Romans, that the eyes of all men are upon me, and that, while, inasmuch as my services advance the state, fair and honest men are in my favor, the nobility are seeking some point of attack. I must, therefore, strive with the greater energy both that you may not be deceived in me, and that your enemies may be disappointed. My life, from boyhood to the present day, has been such as to make me familiar with every toil and danger; nor, Romans, do I intend, now that I have received my reward, to abandon the course of conduct which, previously to your kindness, I voluntarily pursued. Men who, in their desire for popularity, have assumed the mask of virtue, find it hard to restrain themselves when in power; I, who have passed my whole life in the most honorable pursuits, now find that uprightness has passed from habit into nature."
   "You have commanded me to conduct the war with Jugurtha, and at this the nobility have taken deep offense. Consider, I pray you, whether it would be a change for the better were you to dispatch either on this or on any like commission, some member of that ring of nobles, some scion of an ancient house who could boast of the effigies of his many ancestors, but of never a campaign; and allow him on an affair of this importance, to hurry and bustle about in his utter ignorance and take some man of the people to instruct him in his duty. For, I assure you, it is nothing uncommon for the man to whom you have given command to look to some other for his orders. I myself, Romans, have known cases of consuls who, after their election, have begun to read the old chronicles and the Greek manuals of warfare; men, these, who begin at the wrong end, for though th conduct of wars follows the appointment to them in order of time, in the order of nature and experience it precedes it. With these proud ones, Romans, compare me, the self-made man. The things of which they are wont to hear or read, I have either seen or have myself performed; and the knowledge which they get from books, I have acquired by active service. I leave it to you to consider whether deeds or maxims are the more important. They despise my lack of family; I their cowardice. In my teeth men cast my fortune; in theirs, their infamous deeds. For my own part I think that all men have one common nature, and that it is the bravest who are the noblest. If to the fathers of Albinus or Bestia the question could now be put whether they would prefer me or them as their descendants, what other answer think you they would return than that they wished to have the best for their children? Again, if these men are right in despising me, let them do the same to their ancestors, whose nobility, like my own, sprang from their merit. They are jealous of the dignity conferred on me; why are they not jealous of my energy, my integrity, yes, and of my dangers, since it is by these that I have gained it? Rotten with pride, they pass their days, as if they despised the dignities you can confer; yet they demand them with the air of men who have lived an honorable life. Surely they are deceived who thus hope to unite the two things of all others the most opposed--the pleasure, namely, of sloth and the rewards of merit. Again, in their speeches before yourselves or the Senate, the greater part of their harangue is a eulogy of their ancestors; for they think by dwelling on their brave deeds to increase their own reputation. Yet the very reverse often is the result, for the nobler the life of their ancestors, the more shameful is their own sloth. Indeed, the glory of forefathers is really to their descendants as a burning light, which allows neither their good deeds nor their bad to remain unnoticed. I confess, Romans, I have nothing of this kind, but I have something which is far nobler, the power, namely, to tell of doings of my own. See, then, the unfairness of these men. The privileges which they claim for themselves by right of another's merit, they do not allow me by right of my own, and this because I have no effigies of ancestors to show, and because the nobility I have is a thing of today. Yet surely to have won nobility is better than to have received and shamed it."
   "I am aware that my enemies, should they wish to answer, will be at no loss for an eloquent and studied reply. Now, however, that I am so favored by you, they attack me on every occasion; and I have, therefore, chosen not to remain silent, lest my self-restraint should be mistaken for a consciousness of guilt. For myself, indeed--I say it from my heart--no speech can hurt me; truth can speak no otherwise than favorably; falsehood is foiled by the evidence of my life and character. They impugn, however, your policy in assigning me so high an office and so weighty a task; and, so, I ask you again and again to consider whether you ought really to repent it. To inspire your trust I have no statues, triumphs, or consulships, of my ancestors, to which I point; but, if need be, I can show spears, a standard, medals, and other prizes soldiers earn, and scars dealt full upon my breast. These are my statues, these my title to nobility, and one which was not left me as a bequest, as in the case of my enemies, but which I won for myself by my many toils and dangers. My words have no studied grace; of that I think little; merit needs no help to display it, though my enemies must use their tricks of rhetoric to conceal their base deeds behind a mass of words. Again, I have learned no Greek; I was not anxious to gain a knowledge which had done nothing to help its teachers in the pursuit of virtue. In the knowledge, however, hwich is far the most important for the state, I am a master. To strike the foe, to keep good watch, to fear nothing save disgrace, to bear heat and cold with equal patience, to make my bed on the ground, to undergo toil and hunger together, all this I know, and with this teaching I shall exhort my soldiers. Nor will I treat them with stringency, myself with indulgence, nor claim the glory and leave them the toil. To refrain from such conduct is to rule with efficiency and moderation. To live in luxury youself while you coerce your army by punishments is to act the tyrant, not the general. by such conduct as I have praised your ancestors won renown for themselves and the state. In reliance on their glory a nobility, their very opposite in character, now scorns us who emulate these men of old, and claims of you every post of honor, not for any service rendered, but simply as its due. Truly these arrogant nobles make a deep mistake. Their ancestors left them everything that could be left--wealth, pedigree, and their own glorious memory. Their merit they did not, and could not bequeath them; that alone is neither given nor received. They call me mean and unpolished, because I am no adept at tricking out a feast, keep no actor, no cook more highly paid than my bailiff. Romans, I am proud to confess such conduct. The lesson I learned from my father and other pious men was that graces befitted a woman, toil a man, and that the good should be always richer in glory than in wealth; arms, not ornaments, are the true honors. Let the nobles, then, continue to follow the course they delight in and prize; let them live and drink; in the scenes of rivalry where they spent their youth there let them pass their old age, the slaves of their belly and their lust; and the sweat and dust, and the like, let them leave to us who find more joy in them than in the feast. But this they will not do. When they have disgraced themselves with every crime, these vilest of men come to seize the prizes of the good. In defiance of all justice, those outrageous vices, luxury and sloth, are no obstacle to the men who practice them, while they are the destruction of the guiltless state."
   "I have answered my enemies with a brevity which suits my own character better than such a theme as their misconduct; I will now say a few words on public affairs. In the first place, Romans, be of good heart as regards Numidia. Hitherto Jugurtha has been protected by the avarice, unskillfulness, and arrogance of your generals, and all these you have now removed. In the second place, you have an army there, acquainted with the country, but, I profess, more vigorous than fortunate; for a great part of it has been wasted away by the corruption or rashness of your commanders. I ask such of you, therefore, as are of military age to join your efforts with mine, and protect the state. Let no one take alarm from the misfortunes of others, or from the arrogance of generals. I shall be with you in person on the march, and in the field, at once to consult your interests and to share your dangers; I shall treat you in all respects the same as myself; and with the help of the gods, victory, booty, renown, are all ready to our hand. Even were they doubtful or distant, it would yet be the duty of every honest man to support the state. Cowardice never yet gained a man immortality, nor has any parent yet asked for his children that they might exist forever; they ask that may live out their life in uprightness and honor. Romans, I would say more, could words inspire the timid with courage; for the brave man I think I have said fully enough."

   LXXXVI. After a speech of this kind, Marius, when he saw the enthusiasm of the commons aroused, hastily loaded ships with provision, pay, arms, and other requisites, and ordered his lieutenant, Aulus Manlius, to set out in charge of them. Meanwhile he himself levied soldiers, not, according to ancient custom, from the classes, but simply as they volunteered, and, for the most part, men of no fortune. Some asserted that this course was taken owing to the scarcity of respectable recruits, others traced it to the consul's desire for popularity, inasmuch as it was by men of this description that his renown and dignity had been given him, while the seeker for power ever finds his readiest instrument in the needy wretch, who, in his destitution, has no home to hold dear, and thinks everything honorable that brings him gain.
   Marius, therefore, set our for Africa with a force slightly in excess of that decreed him, and after a few days landed at Utica. The army was delivered to him by Publius Rutilius, the lieutenant of Metellus; for the general himself had avoided the sight of Marius, lest he should see the things of which his resolution had been unable to support the mere hearing.

   LXXXVII. With his legions and auxiliary cohorts at their strength, the consul marched upon a fertile district, well stocked with booty. He gave the whole of the plunder there taken to his soldiers, and then attacked some fortresses and towns which were neither well situated, nor manned for defense; he also fought many petty engagements at various points. Meanwhile his raw soldiers joined in battle without alarm, and saw that the runaways were either captured or killed, that the bravest man was the safest, and that the power of protecting his freedom, country, parents, and every other blessing, and of winning glory and wealth, all lay in a man's arms. In this way, recruits and veterans were soon welded together, and all became equally courageous.
   On learning of the arrival of Marius, the kings separated, and made their way to inaccessible districts. Jugurtha had determined on this course in the hope that it might be possible to attack the enemy in detail, and that the Romans, like most other soldiers, when relieved of alarm, would grow careless and disorderly.

   LXXXVIII. Meanwhile, Metellus had started for Rome, and was there, contrary to his expectation, received with the utmost rejoicing. Now that his unpopularity had faded away, he was equally beloved by the commons and the Senate.
   Marius now gave his mind with energy and foresight to the position alike of his own and the enemy's army, ascertained their respective advantages and drawbacks, set spies to watch the movements of the kings, forestalled their plans and treacheries, and left nothing unlooked to on his own side, or unmenaced on theirs. He had thus often attacked and routed on their march both the Gaetulians and Jugurtha, as they tried to plunder our allies; and, not far from Cirta, had stripped the king himself of his arms. Finding, however, that these exploits served rather to gain glory than to finish the war, he determined to invest, one after another, the cities which from their garrison or situation were most adapted for helping the enemy and injuring himself; Jugurtha would thus be deprived of his strongholds should he not interfere; or, if he did, would have to fight a battle. As for Bocchus, that king had sent numerous embassies to him, expressing his desire for the friendship of the roman people, and assuring him that he need fear no attack from his quarter. Whether in this he was feigning in order to make an assault the more dangerous because unexpected, or whether it was an outcome of the fickle character which made him love to be now at peace, and not at war, has not been ascertained.

   LXXXIX. The consul carried out his plan, and by marching on the fortified towns and strongholds wrestled them from the enmy, in some cases by force, in others by threats or promise of reward. At first he confined himself to insignificant ventures, thinking that Jugurtha would give battle in defense of his subjects. When he learned that the king was far away and engaged on other business, it seemed time to attempt greater and more difficult undertakings.
   In the midst of vast deserts there lay a strong and important town, named Capsa, founded, so tradition said, by the Libyan Hercules. Jugurtha had exempted its citizens from tribute; his yoke was light, and they were, therefore, the most loyal of his subjects. Against their enemies they were protected by walls, arms, and men, and, above all, by their inaccessible position. With the exception of the immediate neighborhood, the whole country was desolate, untilled, without streams, and made unsafe by serpents, which, like all savage creatures, become more dangerous by lack of food, while their nature, of itself a deadly one, is more quickened by thirst than by anything else. A great desire of mastering this place had seized Marius. It would be useful for the war, and at the same time the exploit appeared difficult, and Metellus, with great glory to himself, had taken the town of Thala, whose position and fortifications were very like those of Capsa, except that at Thala there were some springs not far from the walls, while the people of Capsa had only a single fount of running water, and that within the town; the rest of their supply came from rain. This inconvenience, both at Capsa and in all parts of Africa where men lived amid deserts far from the sea, was the more easiliy borne owing to the Numidian habit of feeding chiefly on milk and game, while they avoid salt and other stimulants of the palate. Food is to them the antidote of hunger and thirst, not an object of passionate extravagance.

   XC. To resume, the consul made every inquiry, and then, I suppose, placed his trust in heaven, for no forethought could enable him to make such sufficient provision against such obstacles. Besides those I have mentioned, he was assailed by a scarcity of corn; for the Numidians apply themselves more to raising fodder for their cattle than crops, and by command of the king had conveyed every blade to their strongholds; it was now, also, the height of summer, and the country at this season was parched and barren. In spite of these difficulties, Marius made such arrangements as his means allowed with great forethought; he assigned to the auxiliary cavalry the task of conveying all the cattle that had been captured on the previous days, ordered his lieutenant, Aulus Manlius, with some light cohorts, to proceed to the town of Laris, where he had stored pay and provisions, and announced that in a few days he would come to the same place in person in the course of his pillaging. With his real object thus concealed, he advanced towards the river Tanais.

   XCI. On his march he had each day equally portioned out the flocks among his army by centuries and squadrons, and saw that leather bottles were made out of the hides. In this way he lessened the effects of the scarcity of corn, and at the same time, in perfect secrecy, made preparations, soon to be of use, while finally, by the sixth day, when they reached the river, a great quantity of skins had been got ready. Marius now pitched his camp with only a slight fortification, and ordered the soldiers to take their food and be prepared to march exactly at sunset; all their baggage was to be thrown away, and they were to load themselves and their beasts with nothing but water. When it seemed time, he marched out of the camp, advanced throughout the night, and then came to a halt. He followed the same plan the next night, and on the third arrived, long before dawn, at some downs, distant not more than two miles from Capsa; there he concealed himself and all his forces as closely as he could. Day dawned, and the Numidians, who dreaded no attack, issued in numbers from the town, when suddenly Marius ordered all his cavalry and the swiftest of his foot soldiers to advance at full speed upon Capsa, and seize the gates. He himself hurried eagerly after them, and forbade the soldiers to go after booty. The townspeople became aware of his attack and the peril of their position; their great alarm, the suddenness of the calamity, and the fact that a part of their citizens were outside the walls and in the enemy's power, all compelled them to surrender. The town was, nevertheless, burnt, the adult Numidians slaughtered, all the others sold, and the spoil divided among the soldiers. This outrage on the laws of war was not caused by any avarice or wickedness on the part of the consul; it was due to the fact that the place, while useful to Jugurtha, was difficult for us to reach, and its inhabitants a fickle and treacherous race, restrained neither by kindness nor fear.

   XCII. Even before this Marius had been regarded as a great and illustrious general; now that he had accomplished such an exploit without loss to his soldiers, his fame rose still higher. Every error in his judgment was interpreted as a merit; the soldiers, who were mildly governed and at the same time enriched, praised him to the skies; the Numidians feared him as something more than man; and, in fine, allies and enemies alike, believed that he was either inspired or that, by the will of heaven, all things were foretold him.
   After the success of this undertaking, the consul marched upon other towns, captured by storm a few where the Numidians resisted, but found a greater number abandoned owing to the terror inspired by the fate of Capsa; these he destroyed with fire, and filled the whole land with sorrow and bloodshed. After gaining possession of many places, and mostly without loss to his army, he applied himself to another exploit, not, indeed, so perilous as that of Capsa, but no less difficult to achieve.
   Not far from the river Muluccha, which separated the kingdom of Jugurtha and Bocchus, there rose amid the surrounding plain a rocky mountain, broad enough at the summit for a fort of moderate size, and reaching to an immense height. A single narrow approach was left; all the rest was as precipitous naturally as if labor and design had been employed to form it. The fact that the king's treasures were stored in this place now led Marius to concentrate all his energies on its capture. Chance, however, was more instrumental than skill in bringing about a happy result. The fort was well supplied with men and arms, and had an abundance of provisions and a spring of water; the ground, too, was unsuited for the employment of ramparts, turrets, and other means of attack; and the path used by the garrison was extremely narrow, with a sheer descent on either side. Penthouses were brought up at great risk, but with no result; as soon as they had made a slight advance, they were destroyed by fire or showers of stones. The ruggedness of the ground prevented the soldiers from making a stand in front of their works, and they could not even labor amid the penthouses without danger. The bravest men were wounded or killed, and their loss increased the terror of the rest.

   XCIII. After many days had been spent in fruitless toil, Marius anxiously debated whether he should abandon the attempt, since all his efforts were in vain, or wait for the fortune whose favors he had often experienced. He had pondered his situation for many restless days and nights, when a certain Ligurian, a private in one of the auxiliary cohorts, happening to leave the camp to fetch water, at a point not far from the side of the fort, opposite to that on which the combatants were engaged, noticed some snails crawling amid the rocks, and, as he went after first one, then another, and then a larger number, in his eager gathering gradually climbed nearly to the summit. He at last remarked the loneliness of his situation, and man's inborn love of the difficult made him change his purpose. It happened that, just where he was, a huge holm oak had sprung up amid the rocks, growing for a little way horizontally and then taking a turn, and springing aloft in the natural direction of all plants. Clinging sometimes to the branches of this tree, at others to the jutting rocks, the Ligurian made his way to the level summit of the mountain, for the attention of all the Numidians was occupied with the combatants. After satisfying himself on all points which he thought might presently be of use, he now returned by the same way; not, however, carelessly, as he had ascended, but testing and examinig every inch. He then hastily sought an interview with Marius, informed him of his adventure, and advised him to assail the fort on the side by which he had made the ascent, offering himself to act as guide on the perilous journey. Marius sent some of those about him with the Ligurian to test his assurances, and these, according to their several characters, various reported the undertaking as difficult or easy. The spirit, however, of the consul was somewhat raised. From the trumpeters and hornblowers at his disposal he chose five of the swiftest, and sent with them four centurions as a guard. He ordered the whole force to obey the Ligurian, and fixed the following day for the attempt.

   XCIV. When he saw that the appointed time had arrived, and all the arrangements were complete, Marius advanced against the place. Meanwhile the scaling party, instructed by their leader, had changed their armor and accoutrements, and had bared their heads and feet, so as more easily to see and keep their footing amid the rocks. On their backs they carried their swords and shields, but these last were of Numidian make and formed of leather, both as being lighter and making less noise when struck. The Ligurian led the way and fastened nooses round the rocks and the projecting roots of ancient trees, so as by these supports to assist the soldiers in their ascent. Some were frightened by the strange nature of the track, and these, from time to time, he helped along with his hands. Whenever the ascent was somewhat steeper, he sent them on in front, one by one, without their arms, and then followed with these himself. Where the footing seemed doubtful, he was the first to test it, and by repeatedly climbing up and down in the same way, and then suddenly standing aside, inspired the rest with boldness. After a long and exhausting climb they at length arrived at the fort, and found it undefended on this side; its garrison, as on other days, had all gone to face the enemy. On hearing from messengers of the success of the Ligurian, Marius, although he had kept the Numidians fully engaged in battle the whole of the day, now redoubled his exhortations to his soldiers, and himself issuing beyond the penthouses, made his men advance under cover of their locked shields, and at the same time terrified the enemy from a distance by means of his catapults, bowmen, and slingers. The Numidians on previous had often overthrown or burnt the Roman penthouses, and were no longer in the habit of sheltering themselves behind their ramparts. Alike by day and night they moved to and fro before their wall, insulted the Romans, scoffed at Marius as a madman, threatened our soldiers with being made slaves to Jugurtha, and displayed all the insolence of success. Meanwhile, when all, both Romans and Numidians, were occupied in the battle, and our men were fighting vigorously for fame and dominion, the others for their own safety, the trumpets suddenly sounded in the rear. The women and boys, who had issued forth to see the fight, were the first to fly, and they were followed by those of the defenders nearest the wall, and finally by the whole body of armed and unarmed men. On this the Romans redoubled their efforts, scattered the enemy, whom for the most part they were content only to wound, made their way over the bodies of the slain, strove, in their eagerness for glory, each to be the first to reach the wall, and in not a single instance allowed plunder to delay them. Marius' rashness was redeemed by his fortune, and his fault redounded to his fame.

   XCV. While this affair was in progress, the quaestor, Lucius Sulla, entered the camp with a large force of cavalry, which he had been left behind at Rome to levy from Latium and the allies. Our subject thus brings this remarkable man to our notice, and it, therefore, seems fitting briefly to describe his character and accomplishments, as we shall have no other opportunity of speaking on Sulla, and Lucius Sisenna, who has composed the best and most painstaking treatise of any writer on this subject, seems to me hardly to have spoken his mind with freedom.
   Sulla, then, was nobly born, of a patrician house, and a family which the indolence of his ancestors had reduced to obscurity. He was as well versed in the literatures of Greece and Rome as the most learned, a man of great aspiration, eager for pleasure, yet more eager for fame, luxurious i his leisure, yet never suffering pleasure to withdraw him from his duties, except that he might have better consulted his honor in his married life. He was eloquent, shrewd, and an obliging friend, with a quite incredible skill in feigning and concealment, and of great generosity in many matters, and especially with regard to money. Before his triumph in the civil war, though the most fortunate of men, his luck never surpassed his energy, and many doubted whether he could more rightly be called the fortunate or the brave. As to his subsequent conduct I do not know whether its narration would be a more shameful or a more disgusting task.

   XCVI. When, as narrated above, he arrived with the cavalry in Marius' camp in Africa, Sulla was quite ignorant and unpracticed in war. In a short time, however, he became the most skillful soldier in the army. He addressed the men with kindness, granted many favors, both by request, and of his own accord, and was unwilling to receive those offered by others, though he returned these more readily than he did his loans; for his own part he never sought repayment, but rather was anxious to increase the number of his debtors. He would talk, both gravely and gaily, with the humblest, frequently visited the men at their work, on the march, and on guard, and all the time refrained from the vice of the meanly ambitious, and never injured the character of teh consul or any man of honor; he contented himself with allowing none to excel him in counsel or action, and with himself outstripping most competitors. By these services and accomplishments he quickly endeared himself to Marius and the soldiers.

   XCVII. Jugurtha had lost the town of Capsa and many other fortified important places, and with them great treasures; he now sent messengers to Bocchus, bidding him lead his forces into Numidia with all speed, as the time for battle had arrived. Learning that the king was hesitating and pondering in doubt on the respective advantages of peace and war, he again, as he had done before, bribed those about him, while to the Mauritanian himself he promised a third part of Numidia, to be surrendered on the expulsion of the Romans from Africa or the conclusion of a peace which should leave his dominions intact. Bocchus was enticed by the bribe, and joined Jugurtha with a great host.
   The two kings united their armies and attacked Marius, who was already setting out for his winter quarter, when hardly a tenth part of the day was left, thinking that the night, which was already falling, would protect them if worsted, while, if victorious, their knowledge of the country would prevent its hampering them; the Romans, on the other hand, they thought, would in either event find their difficulties increased in the darkness. The consul had no sooner been warned from many quarters of the approach of the enemy than the enemy himself was upon him, and, before the army could be marshalled or collect its baggage; indeed, before it could receive any signal or command, thee Mauritanian and Gaetulian cavalry in no line or order of battle, but in troops, just as chance had thrown them together, charged down upon our men. These were confused with the suddenness of the alarm, but nevertheless each remembered his courage, and either seized on his armor or sheltered from the enemy others so engaged. Some mounted their horses and advanced against the enemy, and the fight assumed the character rather of a contest with brigands than a battle. Foot and horse were mingled together without standards or ranks, slaughtering others and being themselves cut down. Many who were fighing desperately against the foe in front found themselves beset in the rear. Neither valor nor armor gave any real security, our men were outnumbered by their enemy and surrounded on every side. At last the Romans [whose knowledge, as a body, of war, was increased by the present mixture of] veterans and recruits, formed in rings, as chance, or the nature of the ground threw them together, and being in this way sheltered and in good order on every side, beat off the enemy's attack.

   XCVIII. Though beset by such a calamity, Marius was neither downcast nor inclined to respond. At the head of his own troop, which he had formed of brave soldiers rather than personal friends, he ranged over the field; at one moment helped some hard-pressed Romans; at the next charged into the thickest of the foe. His thought for his soldiers he showed by his valor, for in the general confusion he could give them no commands. The day was now spent, and the barbarians relaxed no effort, but rather pressed on more vigorously, believing, as the kings had told, that night was in their favor. At this point Marius took the best course the situation allowed, and, in order to provide his men with a refuge, seized on two neighboring hills, the one of which, though too small for a camp, possessed a bountiful spring of water, while the other was suited to his purpose, being for the most part lofty and steep, and thus requiring little entrenching. Ordering Sulla to bivouac near the spring with his cavalry, he himself gradually concentrated his scattered troops, whose confusion was fully equalled by that of the enemy, and led the whole force at a rapid pace to the hill. The difficult nature of the ground compelled the kings to desist from the battle; they did not, however, permit their men to retire to any distance, but encamped in loose order with their hosts surrounding the two hills. The barbarians then lit numerous fires, and throughout the greater part of the night rejoiced, according to their custom, with taunts and shouts; even their leaders grew insolent, and behaved themselves as conquerors, merely because they had not fled. The Romans, who were themselves in darkness and on higher ground, could easily watch their behavior, and were greatly cheered by it.

   XCIX. Marius, most of all, was encouraged by the inexperience the enemy betrayed, and ordered perfect silence to be kept, forbidding even the ordinary calls to be sounded at the different watches. As daylight approached and the enemy, already wearied out, had been now for some little while overpowered by sleep, [he suddenly ordered] the watches and, with them, the trumpeters of the cohorts, squadrons, and legions, all simultaneously [to] sound an alarm, and the soldiers [to] raise a shout and sally forth from the gates. The Mauritanians and Gaetulians, suddenly roused by an unfamiliar and terrifying din, could neither flee nor seize their arms, nor, in fact, take any action or measures for defense, to such an extent had the din and outcry, the absence of help, and the onset of our men, the confusion and panic, caused them all to be seized as with a kind of madness. To conclude, the whole army fled in utter rout; many arms and ensigns of war were captured, and more of the enemy were killed in this battle than in all those that preceeded it. Sleep and an unwonted panic hampered their flight.

   C. Marius now resumed his march to his quarters for the winter, which he had determined to pass in the seaports, for the sake of provisions. His victory made him neither remiss nor arrogant, and, as if in the presence of the enemy, he marched with his army in a hollow square; Sulla, with the cavalry, was on the extreme right; on the left was Aulus Manlius, with the slingers and bowmen, in charge also of the Ligurian cohorts; tribunes, with companies of light troops, were posted in the van and rear; while deserters, the men least valued and best acquainted with the country, spied out the enemy's line of march. At the same time the consul looked to every point himself, as if none other had charge of it; visited all the men, and distributed praise and blame as they were severally deserved. He compelled the soldiers to be armed and on the alert like himself, fortified the camp with the same care he displayed on the march, drafted cohorts from the different legions to keep guard at the gates, and cavalry from the auxiliary forces to patrol before the camp, and posted other troops on the rampart; the watches he went the round of in person, not so much from any mistrust as to the fulfillment of his orders, as from the desire to increase the willingness of his soldiers by showing them that their general shared equally in their toil. In fact, both at this and other periods [of the Jugurthine war], Marius maintained discipline rather by appealing to his men's sense of honor than by punishments. This conduct many traced to his desire for popularity, while some thought that had been from boyhood so inured to hardship and other miseries, as they are mostly accounted, that he now regarded them as pleasures. Be this as it may, the public interests were as well and honorably served as under the most tyrannical of commanders.

   CI. At last, on the fourth day, not far from Cirta, the scouts from all quarters presented themselves in haste, a certain sign that the enemy was at hand. Pouring in, as they did, from every side, and all with the same intelligence, they rendered it impossible for the consul to decide how to draw up his army for the battle; he therefore made no change in his formation, but stood his ground prepared for all emergencies. He thus baulked Jugurtha, who had divided his forces into four, under the idea that one or other of them must in any case take the enemy in the rear. Meanwhile Sulla, who was the first to be attacked, cheered on his men, and at the head of a troop formed in the closest order, charged the enemy in person, while the rest of his soldiers kept their position, sheltering themselves from the javelins darted from a distance, and cutting down any of the enemy who attacked them at closer quarters. While the cavalry were thus engaged, Bocchus, with the infantry whom his son Volux had brought up, and who, owing to a delay in the march, had been absent from the former battle, charged his Roman rear. Marius at this moment was occupied in the front, as there Jugurtha was attacking with the strongest division. The Numidian now learned that Bocchus had arrived, and, with a few attendants, wheeled round, unnoticed, to the infantry. There he shouted in Latin, a tongue which he had learned to speak at Numantia, that our soldiers were fighting in vain, as a moment before he had slain Marius with his own hand, as a moment before he had slain Marius with his own hand, at the same time displaying a dripping sword, which in the course of battle he had stained gallantly enough with the blood of our infantry. On hearing his words, our men were panic-stricken, though rather by the hideousness of such a calamity than from belief in the news. The barbarians at once plucked up their courage, and pressed the frightened Romans more fiercely. They had nearly reduced them to flight, when Sulla returned from crushing the enemy against whom he had ridden, and charged the Mauritanians on their flank. Bocchus rode off immediately, but Jugurtha, in his eagerness to uphold his men and to cling to the victory he had so nearly won, was hemmed in by the cavalry, and when all, both to his right and left, had been cut down, eluded the enemy's javelins and broke alone through their midst. Meanwhile Marius, after routing the cavalry, hastened to the assistance of his comrades, of whose straits he had just been informed. This completed the rout of the enemy. A dreadful scene then ensued in the open plains; there was flight and pursuit, slaughter and capture, horses and riders dashed to earth, and many a wounded man, with no strength to fly or patience to lie still, struggling to rise and forthwith fainting back; as far as the eye could reach, the whole country was strewn with weapons, armor, and corpses, and between them appeared the blood-stained earth.

   CII. Henceforth indisputably victorious, the consul now made his way to Cirta, whither from the outset he had directed his march. To this place, five days after the second defeat of the barbarians, came ambassadors from Bocchus entreating Marius in the king's name to send him two trusty envoys, as he wished to confer with them both on his own position and on the interests of the Roman people. Marius immediately ordered Lucius Sulla and Aulus Manlius to proceed to the king, and they, although they had come by request, nevertheless determined to address the king in order to alter his disposition if hostile, or if they found him desirous of peace, to further kindle his eagerness. Accordingly, Sulla, to whose eloquence, not to his years, Manlius gave way, spoke briefly to the following effect:--
   "We greatly rejoice, King Bocchus, that heaven has warned a man of your parts at last to prefer peace to war, and, by avoiding the pollution of your own nobility by association with the utter vileness of Jugurtha, to release us from the cruel necessity of bringing your mistake and his wickedness to a common punishment. From the very beginning of their empire the Roman people has thought it better to seek friends than slaves, and has deemed it safer to rule by goodwill rather than compulsion. To yourself, nothing can be more convenient than our friendship; in the first place, our distance from you will make collisions almost impossible, while our goodwill will be as effectual as were we your neighbors; in the second, we have subjects in abundance, of friends neither we nor any that ever lived have had enough. Would that you had seen the wisdom of this course from the beginning! Had you done so, you would by this time assuredly have received more favors from the Roman people than, as it is, you have suffered ills. Fortune, however, is ruler over all, and she, it seems, has seen fit that you should experience both our power and our goodwill. Now, therefore, that you have her permission, hasten and advance on the road you have entered. You have in your power many means of outweighing your errors by your services. Let this thought sink into your breast, that the Roman people was never outdone in a contest of kindness; its power in real war you have learned for yourself."
   To this speech Bocchus made a peaceful and courteous reply, and at the same time touched briefly on his offense. He had taken up arms, he said, in no hostile spirit, but for the defense of his kingdom; a part of Numidia, whence, as he contended, he had forcibly expelled Jugurtha, had, according to the laws of war, become his own, and it was impossible for him to allow Marius to lay it waste. He alluded also to the refusal of alliance when he had previously sent an embassy to Rome, but expressed a wish to bury the past, and, for the present, if he had Marius' permission, to send an embassy to the Senate. Leave was granted; but Jugurtha had learned of the embassy of Sulla and Manlius, and, fearing the very projects which were actually on foot, had bribed the friends of Bocchus, and these now led the barbarian to alter his resolve.

   CIII. Meanwhile Marius, after settling his army in huts for the winter, marched with the light cohorts and a party of the cavalry to the desert country to besiege one of the royal forts, in which Jugurtha had placed the whole of his deserters as a garrison.
   Bocchus now once more, either from considering what had been the issue to him of the two battles, or by the advice of other friends whom Jugurtha had left unbribed, chose from among his intimates five of proved loyalty and great ability, and bade these proceed as ambassadors to Marius, and subsequently, if advisable, to Rome; giving them full power of treating and of concluding the war in any way they could. The ambassadors set ot betimes for the Roman winter quarters, but on their way were beset and plundered by Gaetulian brigands, and escaped trembling and in sorry plight to Sulla, whom the consul, on setting out for his expedition, had left in command as propraetor. Sulla received them not as their condition warranted, as imposters and enemies, but with an elaborate and unstinted courtesy, which made the barbarians believe that the reputation of the Romans for avarice was undeserved, and that Sulla, since he showed them such generosity, was their friend. Even as late as this many still understood nothing about bribery, and thought that no one was generous except outof a corresponding goodwill, and regarded all gifts as tokens of kindness. The ambassadors explained to the quaestor the instructions they had received from Bocchus, and at the same time begged of him his patronage and advice, magnified the king's resources, loyalty, and greatness, and touched on other points which they thought likely to be of use or to conciliate. Sulla promised them everything, and, instructed by him how to address both Marius and the Senate, they remained where they were for about forty days.

   CIV. On returning to Cirta, unsuccessful from his enterprise, Marius was informed of the arrival of the ambassadors, and ordered them to accompany Sulla to Utica. He also summoned Lucius Belienus, a praetor, and all persons in the country of senatorial rank, and in the presence of these received the message of Bocchus. The consul granted the ambassadors leave to proceed to Rome; meanwhile, they asked for a truce. This Sulla and the majority of the council were in favor of granting; a few voted for a more arrogant course, ignorant, we may presume, of human fortunes, which in their unstable and fluctuating nature are ever shifting to opposite poles. After obtaining all their requests, three of the Mauritanians set out for Rome with Gnaeus Octavius Ruso, who, as quaestor, had brought pay-money to Africa; the other two returned to the king. From these Bocchus heard with pleasure all their news, and especially of the kindness and zeal of Sulla in his service. At Rome, his ambassadors, after owning that the king had erred and been led away by the wickedness of Jugurtha, entreated for an alliance of friendship, and received as answer that "The Senate and people of Rome are wont to remember services both good and ill. To Bocchus, inasmuch as he repents, they accord pardon for his fault; an alliance of friendship will be granted when he has deserved it."

   CV. Immediately on learning this answer, Bocchus besought Marius by letter to send Sulla to him, that under his guidance measures might be taken to settle the points at issue. Sulla was now dispatched with an escort of cavalry, foot soldiers, and Balearic slingers, and with these there went a force of bowmen and a cohort of Paeliginians who, for the sake of expedition, wore the armor of skirmishers, by which they were as well protected as by any other kind against the [light] weapons of their enemies. When they had now been five days on the march, Volux, the son of Bocchus suddenly appeared on the open plain with not more than a thousand horsemen; but these by their confused and disorderly advance seemed both to Sulla and everyone else more numerous than they really were, and inspired a fear of hostilities. Each man, therefore, held himself in readiness, tested his armor, and prepared his weapons for use; some little fear was felt, but hope prevailed, as was natural with conquerors when confronted with an enemy they had often defeated. Meanwhile the horsemen who had been sent to the front to reconnoiter, reported, and truly, that the encounter was a peaceful one.

   CVI. Volux approached, and, addressing the quaestor, informed him that he had been sent by his father Bocchus at once to meet and escort him. During this and the following day the two forces mingled fearlessly together, but later on, when the camp had been pitched, and it was now evening, the Mauritanian suddenly hastened to Sulla with an agitated and frightened countenance, and, announcing that he was informed by the scouts that Jugurtha was not far distant, prayed and entreated him to escape secretly with himself under cover of night. Sulla haughtily replied that he had no fear of the oft-defeated Numidian, and had full confidence in his men's courage; even, he added, were certain destruction imminent, he would rather stand his ground than betray his soldiers and disgrace himself by flight in order to prolong the uncertainty of a life which soon, perchance, disease might terminate. Advised, however, by Volux to set out by night, he approved the plan, and immediately ordered that when the soldiers should have finished their suppers in camp, a number of fires be lighted, and the departure effected in silence in the course of the first watch. Exactly at sunrise, when all were tired with their night march and Sulla was measuring out a camp, the Mauritanian cavalry reported that Jugurtha was encamped in advance of them at a distance of about two miles. The news became known, and now indeed our men were seized with terror, believing themselves betrayed by Volux and beset by an ambush, nor were there wanting some who demanded that he should be summarily punished and that so great a crime on his part should not be left unavenged.

   CVII. Sulla, however, although he took the same view of the case, defended the Mauritanian from harm. He exhorted his soldiers to keep a brave heart, and told them that a few men of energy had often fought with success against a host, that the less they spared themselves in the battle the safer they would be, and that no soldier who had armed his hand ought to seek for safety from his unarmed feet, while, in the height of his terror, he exposed the blind and undefended side of his body to the foe. He then, after loudly invoking heaven to witness the crime and treachery of Bocchus, ordered Volux, since he was found plotting against them, to leave the camp. Volux besought him with tears not to hold such a belief; no deceit, he assured him, had been used; the catastrophe had been brought about by the cunning of Jugurtha, whose spies had apparently acquainted him with their route. The king, however, he continued, had no large force at his disposal, he was dependent for all his hopes and resources on his father Bocchus, and, he believed, would not venture on any open attack in the presence of the latter's own son; the best course, it seemed to him, that they could take was to march openly through the midst of Jugurtha's camp; and he would either send his Mauritanians on in front or leave them where they were, and himself accompany Sulla without any escort. Under such circumstances his proposal was approved, and a start was at once made; their approach was unexpected, Jugurtha waited and hesitated, and, meanwhile, they passed him in safety. A few days afterwards they reached their journey's end.

   CVIII. On their arrival they found in frequent and familiar intercourse with Bocchus a certain Numidian, named Aspar, whom Jugurtha, on hearing of the summons to Sulla, had dispatched as an ambassador and secret spy upon the designs of Bocchus. They found also a certain Dabar, a son of Massugrada, and of the family of Massinissa, but of low birth on his mother's side [she having been his father's concubine], whose many good qualities had made him beloved and esteemed by the Mauritanian. Bocchus had proved this Dabar's loyalty to the Romans on many occasions, and therefore chose him to convey a message to Sulla announcing that he was ready to do whatever the Roman people wished. He further asked the general himself to fix a day, place, and hour, for a conference, and assured him that he had violated no single detail of their agreement, and that he need have no fear of Jugurtha's ambassador, who had been received solely to enable them to conduct their business with greater freedom, for this was the only way by which they could guard against the king's subtle attacks. I gather, however, that Bocchus was actuated rather by considerations of "Punic honor" than by these which he professed, and was at the same time amusing both the Romans and the Numidians with the hope of peace; he deliberated often and deeply whether he should deliver Jugurtha to the Romans or Sulla to him, and while his inclination was hostile, his fears pleaded our cause.

   CIX. Sulla replied to his message that he would speak briefly with him in the presence of Aspar, and hold the rest of their discussions in private or with as few witnesses as possible; at the same time he instructed him what answer to return. The meeting took place in the way he wished, and Sulla announced that he had come on a mission from the consul to ask whether Bocchus intended to maintain peace or war. On this the king, according to his instructions, bade him return after ten days; he had even yet not come to any resolution, but would give him an answer on the day named. They then separated and returned each to his own camp. When the night was far advanced Sulla was secretly summoned by Bocchus. Only trusty interpreters were admitted by either party, and, besides these, Dabar, a man of high character and liked by both parties, as a go-between. The king immediately began the following speech:--

   CX. "I never thought that it could happen that I, the greatest king in this land, and of all princes of whom I know, should owe gratitude to any private person. Indeed, Sulla, I profess that before I knew you, though I helped many at their prayer and others of my own accord, I myself needed the assistance of none. At the breach of such a custom others are wont to grieve, to me it is a pleasure; I am content that it may be my lot to have needed for a moment this friendship of yours, than which my heart holds nothing dearer. And this profession it is open to you to test: take and use my arms, men, money, whatever in fact you will, and never, while you live, think that my debt of gratitude to you is discharged. It will ever remain with me undimished, and, in a word, you shall never to my knowledge wish for anything in vain. To my thinking, it is less dishonorable for a king to be surpassed in arms than in generosity. As for your commonwealth, as guardian of those interests you have been sent hither, listen to the few words I have to say: I neither made war upon the Roman people, nor did I ever wish it to be made; I only used arms to protect my territory against an armed invader. This question, however, since you wish it, I pass over; as for your war with Jugurtha, carry it on as long as you please. I for my part will not cross the river Muluccha, the ancient boundary of my kingdom and that of Micipsa, nor will I allow Jugurtha to come on this side of it. Furthermore, if you make any request which you worthily prefer and I accord, you shall not leave my presence unsatisfied."

   CXI. To this speech Sulla replied briefly and moderately as touching himself, but spoke at length on the subject of the peace and their common interests. As the upshot he made it clear to the king that the Senate and people of Rome, inasmuch as they had proved their superiority in arms, would not regard his promises as any favor; that he must do something which they might see had been to their advantage rather than his own, and that this was perfectly easy for him since he had Jugurtha in his power: let him deliver Jugurtha to the Romans and their debt would be great; their friendship and alliance, and the part of Numidia which he was at present trying to obtain, would all come to him as a matter of course. The king at first gave a firm denial, alleging that the bonds of kinship and marriage, besides a solemn treaty, prevented his compliance; he had fears too, he said, lest if he should act treacherously, he might alienate the affection of his people, who loved Jugurtha and hated the Romans. At last, after many importunities he gave way, and promised to do everything as Sulla desired. They made such arrangements as seemed expedient for counterfeiting the peace for which the Numidian, in his weariness of war, was most desirous, and then after concerting their plot, departed their several ways.

   CXII. On the next day Bocchus summoned Aspar, Jugurtha's ambassador, and informed him that through Dabar he had learned from Sulla that the war could be brought to an end on certain conditions, and that he therefore wished him to ascertain the views of his king. Aspar was overjoyed and set out for the camp of Jugurtha. When he had been duly instructed on all points by that king, after eight days he returned in haste to Bocchus, and informed him that Jugurtha was anxious to comply with every demand, but had little faith in Marius as he had often made previously fruitless treaties of peace with Roman generals: if Bocchus wished to act in the interests of both and gain a secure peace, he should contrive a meeting of all the parties as if for a conference on the question of peace, and should then betray Sulla to himself: when he had a man of such importance as a prisoner, a treaty would soon be concluded at the bidding of [the Senate or] people [of Rome]; a man of noble birth would not be left in the hands of enemies, into whose power he had fallen, by now cowardice of his own, but in the service of the state.

   CXIII. The Mauritanian long deliberated on this proposal, and at length promised to carry it out. Whether in this case his hesitation was real or assumed my information does not say. The caprices of kings are as unstable as they are strong, and often clash with each other. Later on, the time and place for the assembly of the conference on the subject of peace was settled, and Bocchus addressed himself now to Sulla, now to the enjoy of Jugurtha, treated each with courtesy, and made them both the same promise. They, on their side, were equally delighted and full of hope. On the night which preceded the day appointed for the conference, the Mauritanian is said to have first summoned his friends, and then, suddenly changing his mind, to have bidden them withdraw, and to have long debated the problem with himself, while his countenance and glance changed with each turn of his thought, and, despite his silence, laid bare the secrets of his breasts. At last he ordered Sulla to be summoned, and planned the treachery against the Numidian, according to his wish. At last day came, and it was announced to him that Jugurtha was not far off. Accompanied by a few friends, and by our quaestor, as if to pay the king the compliment meeting him on his way, he advanced to a hillock within easy view of the men in ambush. The Numidian, with most of his intimates, approached the same place, according to the agreement, unarmed. The signal was immediately given, and he was attacked by the ambush upon every side. His companions were all cut down; Jugurtha himself was delivered in bonds to Sulla, and by him conducted to Marius.

   CXIV. During this same period the Roman generals Quintus Caepio and Gaius Manlius were defeated in a battle against the Gauls, and all Italy trembled in the panic thus occasioned. From that day down to our own times the Romans have believed that, while their courage can surmount all else with ease, with the Gauls their contest is for preservation, not for fame. In the present crisis, when it was announced that the war in Numidia was ended, and that Jugurtha was being brought in chains to Rome, Marius was elected consul in his absence, and Gaul decreed to him as his province. On the first of January the general who had won such renown, and was now consul for the second time, celebrated his triumph. At that crisis the hopes and the resources of the state were alike centered in him.