The same year, the two Cornelii, Publius and Cneius, as affairs were now in a prosperous state in Spain, and they had recovered many ancient allies, and attached fresh ones to them, extended their views even to Africa. Syphax was a king of the Numidians, who had suddenly become hostile to the Carthaginians; to him they sent three centurions as ambassadors, to form a treaty of friendship and alliance with him; and to promise, that, if he persevered in pressing the war against the Carthaginians, he would render an acceptable service to the senate and people of Rome, and they would endeavour to requite the favour with large additions, and at a seasonable time. This embassy was gratifying to the barbarian; and when conversing with the ambassadors on the art of war he heard the observations of those experienced soldiers, by comparing his own practice with so regular a system of discipline, he became sensible of how many things he himself was ignorant. Then he entreated them to give the first proof of their being good and faithful allies, "by letting two of them carry back the result of their embassy to their generals, while one remained with him as his instructor in military science, observing that the Numidian nation were unacquainted with the method of carrying on war with foot forces, being useful only as mounted soldiers. That it was in this manner that their ancestors had carried on war even from the first origin of their nation, and to this they were habituated from their childhood. But that they had to contend with an enemy who relied upon the prowess of their infantry; with whom, if they wished to be placed upon an equality in respect of efficient strength, they must also furnish themselves with infantry. That his dominions abounded with a large quantity of men fit for the purpose, but that he was unacquainted with the art of arming, equipping, and marshalling them; that all his infantry were unwieldy and unmanageable, like a rabble collected together by chance." The ambassadors answered, that they would comply with his request for the present, on his engaging to send him back immediately, if their generals did not approve of what they had done. The name of the person who staid behind with the king was Quintus Statorius. With the two other Romans, the Numidian sent ambassadors into Spain, to receive the ratification of the alliance from the Roman generals. He gave it in charge to the same persons, forthwith to induce the Numidians, who were serving as auxiliaries among the Carthaginian troops, to go over to the other side. Statorius raised a body of infantry for the king out of the large number of young men which he found; and having formed them into companies, in close imitation of the Roman method, taught them to follow their standards and keep their ranks when being marshalled, and when performing their evolutions; and he so habituated them to military works and other military duties, that in a short time the king relied not more on his cavalry than on his infantry; and in a regular and pitched battle, fought on a level plain, he overcame his enemies, the Carthaginians. In Spain also the arrival of the king's ambassadors was of the greatest advantage to the Romans, for at the news thereof the Numidians began rapidly to pass over. Thus the Romans and Syphax were united in friendship, which the Carthaginians hearing of, immediately sent ambassadors to Gala, who reigned in another part of Numidia, over a nation called Massylians.

Gala had a son named Masinissa, seventeen years of age, but a youth of such talents, that even at that time it was evident that he would render the kingdom more extensive and powerful than when he received it. The ambassadors represented that, "since Syphax had united himself with the Romans, that by their alliance he might strengthen his hands against the kings and nations of Africa, it would be better for Gala also to unite with the Carthaginians as soon as possible, before Syphax crossed over into Spain, or the Romans into Africa; that Syphax might be overpowered, while as yet he derived nothing from his league with the Romans but the name of it." Gala, his son claiming to be intrusted with the conduct of the war, was easily prevailed upon to send an army, which, joined by the legions of the Carthaginians, totally defeated Syphax in a great battle. In this thirty thousand men are said to have been slain. Syphax, with a few horsemen, fled from the field, and took refuge among the Maurusian Numidians, a nation dwelling at the extremity of Africa, near the ocean, and over against Gades. But the barbarians flocking to his standard from all sides, in consequence of his great renown, he speedily armed a very large force. Before he passed over with these forces into Spain, which was separated only by a narrow strait, Masinissa came up with his victorious army; and here he acquired great glory in the prosecution of the war with Syphax, in which he acted alone and unsupported by any aid from the Carthaginians. In Spain nothing worth mentioning was performed, except that the Romans drew over to their side the Celtiberian youth, by giving them the same pay which they had stipulated with the Carthaginians to pay them. They also sent above three hundred Spaniards of the greatest distinction into Italy, to bring over their countrymen, who served among the auxiliary troops of Hannibal. The only memorable circumstance of this year in Spain was, that the Romans then, for the first time, employed mercenary troops in their camp, namely, the Celtiberians.

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Hannibal passed the summer during which these events occurred in Africa and Italy, in the Tarentine territory, with the hope of having the city of the Tarentines betrayed to him. Meanwhile some inconsiderable towns belonging to them, and to the Sallentines, revolted to him. At the same time, of the twelve states of the Bruttians, which had in a former year gone over to the Carthaginians, the Consentians and Thurians returned to the protection of the Roman people. And more would have done the same, had not Titus Pomponius Veientanus, praefect of the allies, having acquired the appearance of a regular general, in consequence of several successful predatory expeditions in the Bruttian territory, got together a tumultuary band, and fought a battle with Hanno. In that battle, a great number of men, consisting, however, of a disorderly rabble of slaves and rustics, were slain or captured. The least part of the loss was, that the praefect himself was taken prisoner; for he was not only in the present instance guilty of having rashly engaged the enemy, but previously, in the capacity of farmer of the revenue, by iniquitous practices of every description, had shown himself faithless and injurious to the state, as well as the companies. Among the Lucanians, the consul, Sempronius, fought several small battles, but none worthy of being recorded, he also took several inconsiderable towns. In proportion as the war was protracted, and the sentiments no less than the circumstances of men fluctuated accordingly as events flowed prosperously or otherwise, the citizens were seized with such a passion for superstitious observances, and those for the most part introduced from foreign countries, that either the people or the gods appeared to have undergone a sudden change. And now the Roman rites were growing into disuse, not only in private, and within doors, but in public also; in the forum and Capitol there were crowds of women sacrificing, and offering up prayers to the gods, in modes unusual in that country. A low order of sacrificers and soothsayers had enslaved men's understandings, and the numbers of these were increased by the country people, whom want and terror had driven into the city, from the fields which were lain uncultivated during a protracted war, and had suffered from the incursions of the enemy, and by the profitable cheating in the ignorance of others which they carried on like an allowed and customary trade. At first, good men gave protest in private to the indignation they felt at these proceedings, but afterwards the thing came before the fathers, and formed a matter of public complaint. The aediles and triumviri, appointed for the execution of criminals, were severely reprimanded by the senate for not preventing these irregularities, but when they attempted to remove the crowd of persons thus employed from the forum, and to overthrow the preparations for their sacred rites, they narrowly escaped personal injury. It being now evident, that the evil was too powerful to be checked by inferior magistrates, the senate commissioned Marcus Atilius, the city praetor, to rid the people of these superstitions. He called an assembly, in which he read the decree of the senate, and gave notice, that all persons who had any books of divination, or forms of prayer, or any written system of sacrificing, should lay all the aforesaid books and writings before him before the calends of April; and that no person should sacrifice in any public or consecrated place according to new or foreign rites.

Several of the public priests too died this year: Lucius Cornelius Lentulus, chief pontiff, Caius Papirius Maso, son of Caius, a pontiff, Publius Furius Philo, an augur, and Caius Papirius Maso, son of Lucius, a decemvir for the superintendence of sacred rites. In lieu of Lentulus, Marcus Cornelius Cethegus, in lieu of Papirius Cnaeius, Servilius Caepio, were created pontiffs. Lucius Quinctius Flaminius was created augur, and Lucius Cornelius Lentulus decemvir for the superintendence of sacred rites. The time for the election of consuls was now approaching; but as it was not thought proper to call the consuls away from the war with which they were intently occupied, Tiberius Sempronius, the consul, nominated Caius Claudius Centho as dictator to hold the election. He appointed Quintus Fulvius Flaccus as his master of the horse. On the first day on which the election could be held, the dictator appointed as consuls, Quintus Fulvius Flaccus, his master of the horse, and Appius Claudius Pulcher, who had held the government of Sicily as praetor. The praetors created were Cneius Fulvius Flaccus, Caius Claudius Nero, Marcus Junius Silanus, Publius Cornelius Sulla. The election completed, the dictator retired from his office. This year, Publius Cornelius Scipio, afterwards surnamed Africanus, held the office of curule aedile, with Marcus Cornelius Cethegus; and when the tribunes of the people opposed his pretensions to the aedileship, alleging, that no notice ought to be taken of him, because he had not attained the legal age for candidateship, he observed, "if the citizens in general are desirous of appointing me aedile, I am old enough." Upon this the people ran to their respective tribes to give their votes, with feelings so strongly disposed in his favour, that the tribunes on a sudden abandoned their attempt. The largesses bestowed by the aediles were the following: the Roman games were sumptuously exhibited, considering the present state of their resources; they were repeated during one day, and a gallon of oil was given to each street. Lucius Villius Tapulus, and Marcus Fundanius Fundulus, the plebeian aediles, accused some matrons of misconduct before the people, and some of them they convicted and sent into exile. The plebeian games were repeated during two days, and a feast in honour of Jupiter was celebrated on occasion of the games.

Quintus Fulvius Flaccus, for the third time, and Appius Claudius entered upon the office of consuls. The praetors determined their provinces by lot. Publius Cornelius Sulla received both the city and the foreign jurisdiction, formerly allotted to two persons, Cneius Fulvius Flaccus, Apulia, Caius Claudius Nero, Suessula, and Marcus Junius Silanus, Tuscany. To the consuls the conduct of the war with Hannibal was decreed with two legions each, one taking the troops of Quintus Fabius, the consul of the former year, the other those of Fulvius Centumalus. Of the praetors, Fulvius Flaccus was to have the legions which were in Luceria under Aemilius the praetor, Nero Claudius those in Picenum under Caius Terentius, each raising recruits for himself to fill up the number of his troops. To Marcus Junius the city legions of the former year were assigned, to be employed against the Tuscans. Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus and Publius Sempronius Tuditanus were continued in command in their provinces of Lucania and Gaul with the armies they had, as was also Publius Lentulus in that part of Sicily which formed the ancient Roman province. Marcus Marcellus had Syracuse, and that which was the kingdom of Hiero. Titus Otacilius was continued in the command of the fleet, Marcus Valerius in that of Greece, Quintus Mucius Scaevola in that of Sardinia. The Cornelii, Publius and Cneius, were continued in the command of Spain. In addition to the armies already existing, two legions for the service of the city were levied by the consuls, and a total of twenty-three legions was made up this year. The levy of the consuls was impeded by the conduct of Marcus Posthumius Pyrgensis, almost accompanied with a serious disturbance. Posthumius was a farmer of the revenue, who, for knavery and rapacity, practised through a course of many years, had no equal except Titus Pomponius Veientanus, who had been taken prisoner the former year by the Carthaginians under the conduct of Hanno, while carelessly ravaging the lands in Lucania. As the state had taken upon itself the risk of any loss which might arise from storms to the commodities conveyed to the armies, not only had these two men fabricated false accounts of shipwrecks, but even those which had really occurred were occasioned by their own knavery, and not by accident. Their plan was to put a few goods of little value into old and shattered vessels, which they sank in the deep, taking up the sailors in boats prepared for the purpose, and then returning falsely the cargo as many times more valuable than it was. This fraudulent practice had been pointed out to Marcus Atilius, the praetor in a former year, who had communicated it to the senate; no decree, however, had been passed censuring it, because the fathers were unwilling that any offence should be given to the order of revenue farmers while affairs were in such a state. The people were severer avengers of the fraud; and at length two tribunes of the people, Spurius and Lucius Carvilius, being moved to take some active measure, as they saw that this conduct excited universal disgust, and had become notorious, proposed that a fine of two hundred thousand asses should be imposed on Marcus Posthumius. When the day arrived for arguing the question, the people assembled in such numbers, that the area of the Capitol could scarcely contain them; and the cause having been gone through, the only hope of safety which presented itself was, that Caius Servilius Casca, a tribune of the people, a connexion and relation of Posthumius, should interpose his protest before the tribes were called to give their votes. The witnesses having been produced, the tribunes caused the people to withdraw, and the urn was brought, in order that the tribes should draw lots which should give the vote first. Meanwhile, the farmers of the revenue urged Casca to stop the proceedings for that day. The people, however, loudly opposed it; and Casca happened to be sitting on the most prominent part of the rostrum, whose mind fear and shame were jointly agitating. Seeing that no dependence was to be placed in him for protection, the farmers of the revenue, forming themselves into a wedge, rushed into the void space occasioned by the removal of the people for the purpose of causing disturbance, wrangling at the same time with the people and the tribunes. The affair had now almost proceeded to violence, when Fulvius Flaccus, the consul, addressing the tribunes, said, "Do you not see that you are degraded to the common rank, and that an insurrection will be the result, unless you speedily dismiss the assembly of the commons."

The commons being dismissed, the senate was assembled, when the consuls proposed the consideration of the interruption experienced by the assembly of the commons, in consequence of the violence and audacity of the farmers of the revenue. They said, that "Marcus Furius Camillus, whose banishment was followed by the downfall of the city, had suffered himself to be condemned by his exasperated countrymen. That before him, the decemviri, according to whose laws they lived up to the present day, and afterwards many men of the first rank in the state, had submitted to have sentence passed upon them by the people. But Posthumius Pyrgensis had wrested from the Roman people their right of suffrage, had dissolved the assembly of the commons, had set at nought the authority of the tribunes, had drawn up a body of men in battle-array against the Roman people; and seized upon a post, in order to cut off the tribunes from the commons, and prevent the tribes being called to give their votes. That the only thing which had restrained the people from bloodshed and violence, was the forbearance of the magistrates in giving way for the moment to the fury and audacity of a few individuals, and suffering themselves and the Roman people to be overcome; and that no opportunity might be afforded those who were seeking an occasion of violence, in dissolving, agreeably to the wish of the defendant himself, that assembly which he was about to interrupt by force of arms." Observations of this kind having been urged with a warmth proportioned to the atrocity of the conduct which called them forth, by all the most respectable persons, and the senate having passed a decree to the effect that the violence offered was prejudicial to the state, and a precedent of pernicious tendency, immediately the Carvilii, tribunes of the people, giving up the action for a fine, appointed a day on which Posthumius should be tried capitally, and ordered, that unless he gave bail, he should be apprehended by the beadle, and carried to prison. Posthumius gave bail, but did not appear. The tribunes then proposed to the commons, and the commons resolved, that if Marcus Posthumius did not appear before the calends of May, and if on being cited on that day he did not answer, and sufficient cause were not shown why he did not, he would be adjudged an exile, his goods would be sold, and himself interdicted from water and fire. They then proceeded to indict capitally, and demand bail of each of the persons who had been the promoters of the disorder and riot. At first they threw into prison those who did not give bail, and afterwards even such as could; upon which the greater part of them went into exile, to avoid the danger to which this proceeding exposed them.

The knavery of the revenue farmers, and their subsequent audacious conduct to screen themselves from its effects, thus terminated. An assembly was then held for the creation of a chief pontiff. The new pontiff, Marcus Cornelius Cethegus, presided. The election was contested with the greatest obstinacy by three candidates, Quintus Fulvius Flaccus, the consul, who had been twice consul before and censor, Titus Manhus Torquatus, who had himself also been distinguished by two consulships and the censorship, and Publius Licinius Ciassus, who was about to stand for the office of curule aedile. In this contest, the last-mentioned candidate, though a young man, beat the others, who were his superiors in years, and had filled offices of honour. Before him there had not been a man for a hundred and twenty years, except Publius Cornelius Calussa, who had been created chief pontiff without having sat in the curule chair. Though the consuls found great difficulty in completing the levy, for in consequence of the scarcity of young men, it was not easy to procure enough for the two purposes of forming the new city legions, and recruiting the old ones, the senate forbade them to desist from the attempt, and ordered two triumvirates to be appointed, one of which within, the other without the fiftieth mile from the city, might ascertain the utmost number of free-born men which were to be found in the villages, and market towns, and hamlets, and enlist whom they thought strong enough to bear arms, though they had not attained the military age. That the tribunes of the people, if they thought proper, should propose to the people, that such as should take the military oath being under seventeen years, should be allowed to reckon their period of service in the same manner as if they had enlisted at seventeen or older. The two triumvirates, created agreeably to this decree of the senate, enlisted free-born men throughout the country. At the same time a letter from Marcellus from Sicily, respecting the petition of the troops who served with Publius Lentulus, was read in the senate. These troops were the relics of the disaster at Cannae, and had been sent out of the way into Sicily, as has been mentioned before, on an understanding that they should not be brought home before the conclusion of the Carthaginian war.

With the permission of Lentulus, these men sent the most distinguished of the cavalry and centurions, and a select body of the legionary infantry, as ambassadors to Marcellus, to his winter quarters. Having obtained leave to speak, one of them thus addressed him: "We should have approached you, Marcus Marcellus, when consul in Italy, as soon as that decree of the senate was passed respecting us, which, though not unjust, was certainly severe, had we not hoped, that being sent into a province which was in a state of disorder in consequence of the death of its kings, to carry on an arduous war against the Sicilians and Carthaginians together, we should make atonement to the state by our blood and wounds, in the same manner as, within the memory of our fathers, those who were taken prisoners by Pyrrhus at Heraclea, made atonement by fighting against the same Pyrrhus. And yet, for what fault of ours, conscript fathers, did you then, or do you now, feel displeasure towards us; for when I look upon you, Marcus Marcellus, I seem to behold both the consuls and the whole body of the senate; and had you been our consul at Cannae, a better fate would have attended the state as well as ourselves. Permit me, I entreat you, before I complain of the hardship of our situation, to clear ourselves of the guilt with which we are charged. If it was neither by the anger of the gods, nor by fate, according to whose laws the course of human affairs is unalterably fixed, but by misconduct that we were undone at Cannae; but whose was that misconduct; the soldiers', or that of their generals? For my own part, I, as a soldier, will never say a word of my commander, particularly when I know that he received the thanks of the senate for not having despaired of the state; and who has been continued in command through every year since his flight from Cannae. We have heard that others also who survived that disaster, who were military tribunes, solicit and fill offices of honour, and have the command of provinces. Do you then, conscript fathers, pardon yourselves and your children, while you exercise severity towards such insignificant persons as we are? It was no disgrace to a consul and other leading persons in the state, to fly when no other hope remained; and did you send your soldiers into the field as persons who must of necessity die there? At the Allia nearly the whole army fled; at the Caudine Forks the troops delivered up their arms to the enemy, without even making an effort; not to mention other disgraceful defeats of our armies. Yet, so far from any mark of infamy being sought for, which might be fixed upon these troops, the city of Rome was recovered by means of those very troops who had fled to Veii from the Allia; and the Caudine legions, which had returned to Rome without their arms, being sent back armed to Samnium, brought under the yoke that very enemy who had exulted in the disgrace which, in this instance, attached to them. But is there a man who can bring a charge of cowardice or running away against the army which fought at Cannae, where more than fifty thousand men fell; from whence the consul fled with only seventy horsemen; where not a man survived, except perchance those whom the enemy left, being wearied with killing? When the proposal to ransom the prisoners was negatived, we were the objects of general commendation, because we reserved ourselves for the service of the state; because we returned to the consul to Venusia, and exhibited an appearance of a regular army. Now we are in a worse condition than those who were taken prisoners in the time of our fathers; for they only had their arms, the nature of their service, and the place where they might pitch their tents in the camp altered; all which, however, they got restored by one service rendered to the state, and by one successful battle. Not one of them was sent away into banishment; not one was deprived of the hope of completing the period of his service; in short, an enemy was assigned to them, fighting with whom they might at once terminate their life or their disgrace. We, to whom nothing can be objected, except that it is owing to us that any Roman soldier has survived the battle of Cannae, are removed far away, not only from our country and Italy, but even from an enemy; where we may grow old in exile, where we can have no hope or opportunity of obliterating our disgrace, of appeasing the indignation of our countrymen, or, in short, of obtaining an honourable death. We seek neither to have our ignominy terminated, nor our virtue rewarded, we only ask to be allowed to make trial of our courage, and to exercise our virtue. We seek for labour and danger that we may discharge the duty of men and soldiers. A war is carrying on in Sicily, now for the second year, with the utmost vigour on both sides. The Carthaginians are storming some cities, the Romans others, armies of infantry and horse are engaging in battle, at Syracuse the war is prosecuted by sea and by land. We hear distinctly the shout of the combatants, and the din of arms, while we ourselves lie inactive and unemployed, as if we had neither hands nor arms. The consul, Sempronius has now fought many pitched battles with the enemy with legions of slaves. They receive as the fruits of their exertion their liberty, and the rights of citizens. Let us at least be employed by you as slaves purchased for the service of this war, let us be allowed to combat with the enemy and acquire our freedom by fighting. Do you wish to make trial of our valour by sea, by land, in a pitched battle, or in the assault of towns? We ask as our portion all those enterprises which present the greatest difficulty and danger, that what ought to have been done at Cannae may be done as soon as possible, for the whole of our subsequent lives has been doomed to ignominy."

At the conclusion of this speech they prostrated themselves at the knees of Marcellus. Marcellus replied, that the question was neither within his authority nor his power, that he would, however, write to the senate, and be guided in every thing he did by the judgment of the fathers. This letter was brought to the new consuls, and by them read in the senate, and, on the question being put relative to this letter, they decreed, "that the senate saw no reason why the interests of the republic should be intrusted to the hands of soldiers who had deserted then comrades, in battle, at Cannae. If Marcus Marcellus, the proconsul, thought otherwise, that he should act as he deemed consistent with the good of the republic and his own honour, with this proviso, however, that none of these men should be exempt from service, nor be presented with any military reward in consideration of valour, or be conveyed back to Italy, while the enemy was in that country." After this, agreeably to the decree of the senate, and the order of the people, an election was held by the city praetor, at which five commissioners were created for the purpose of repairing the walls and turrets, and two sets of triumviri, one to search for the property belonging to the temples, and to register the offerings, the other for repairing the temples of Fortune and Mother Matuta within the Carmental gate, and also that of Hope without the gate, which had been destroyed by fire the year before. Dreadful storms occurred at this time. It rained stones for two days without intermission in the Alban mount. Many places were struck by lightning; two buildings in the Capitol, the rampart in the camp above Suessula in many places, and two of the men on guard were killed. A wall and certain towers at Cannae were not only struck with lightning, but demolished. At Reate, a vast rock was seen to fly about; the sun appeared unusually red and blood-like. On account of these prodigies there was a supplication for one day, and the consuls employed themselves for several days in sacred rites; at the same time there was a sacred rite performed through nine days. An accidental circumstance which occurred at a distance, hastened the revolt of Tarentum, which had now for a long time been the object of the hopes of Hannibal and of the suspicion of the Romans. Phileas, a native of Tarentum, who had been a long time at Rome under the pretence of an embassy, being a man of a restless mind, and ill brooking that inactive state in which he considered that his powers had been for too long a time sinking into imbecility, discovered for himself a means of access to the Tarentine hostages. They were kept in the court of the temple of Liberty, and guarded with less care, because it was neither the interest of themselves nor of their state to escape from the Romans. By corrupting two of the keepers of the temple, he was enabled to hold frequent conferences with them, at which he solicited them to come into this design; and having brought them out of their place of confinement as soon as it was dark, he became the companion of their clandestine flight, and got clear away. As soon as day dawned, the news of their escape spread through the city, and a party sent in pursuit, having seized them all at Tarracina, brought them back. They were led into the Comitium, and after being scourged with rods, with the approbation of the people, were thrown down from the rock.

The severity of this punishment exasperated the inhabitants of two of the most distinguished Greek states in Italy, not only publicly as communities, but privately as individuals, according as each was connected, either by relationship or friendship, with those who had been so disgracefully put to death. Of these about thirteen noble Tarentine youths formed a conspiracy, the chief of whom were Nico and Philemenus. Concluding that it would be right to confer with Hannibal before they took any step, they went to him, having been allowed to go out of the city by night on pretence of hunting. When they were now not far from the camp, all the rest hid themselves in a wood by the road side; but Nico and Philemenus, proceeding to the advanced guard, were seized, and at their own request brought before Hannibal. Having laid before him the motives of their plan, and the object they had in view, they received the highest commendation, and were loaded with promises; and that their countrymen might believe that they had gone out of the city to obtain plunder, they were desired to drive to the city some cattle of the Carthaginians which had been sent out to graze. A promise was given them that they might do this without danger or interruption. The booty of the young men attracted notice, and less astonishment was therefore felt that they should frequently repeat the attempt. At a second meeting with Hannibal they entered into a solemn engagement, that the Tarentines should be free, enjoying their own laws, and all their rights uninterfered with; that they should neither pay any tribute to the Carthaginians, nor receive a garrison against their will; that their present garrison should be delivered up to the Carthaginians. These points being agreed upon, Philemenus then began to repeat more frequently his customary practice of going out and returning to the city followed by his dogs, and furnished with the other requisites for hunting; for he was remarkable for his fondness of hunting; and generally bringing home something which he had captured or taken away from the enemy, who had purposely placed it in his way he presented it to the commander or the guards of the gates. They supposed that he preferred going and returning by night through fear of the enemy. After this practice had become so familiar, that at whatever time of the night he gave a signal, by whistling, the gate was opened, Hannibal thought that it was now time to put the plan in execution. He was at the distance of three days' journey, and to diminish the wonder which would be felt at his keeping his camp fixed in one and the same place so long, he feigned himself ill. Even to the Romans who formed the garrison of Tarentum, his protracted inactivity had ceased to be an object of suspicion.

But after he determined to proceed to Tarentum, selecting from his infantry and cavalry ten thousand men, whom, from activity of body, and lightness of arms, he judged best adapted for the expedition, he began his march in the fourth watch of the night; and sending in advance about eighty Numidian horsemen, ordered them to scour the country on each side of the road, and narrowly examine every place, lest any of the rustics who might have observed his army at a distance should escape; to bring back those who were got before, and kill those whom they met, that they might appear to the neighbouring inhabitants to be a plundering party, rather than a regular army. Hannibal himself, marching at a rapid pace, pitched his camp about fifteen miles from Tarentum; and without telling his soldiers even there, what was their destination, he only called them together and admonished them to march all of them in the road, and not to suffer any one to turn aside or deviate from the line; and above all, that they would be on the watch, so as to catch the word of command, and not do any thing without the order of their leaders; that in due time he would issue his commands as to what he wished to be done. About the same hour a rumour reached Tarentum, that a few Numidian horsemen were devastating the fields, and had terrified the rustics through a wide extent of country; at which intelligence the Roman praefect took no further step than to order a division of his cavalry to go out the following day at sunrise to check the depredations of the enemy; and so far was he from directing his attention to any thing else on this account, that on the contrary, this excursion of the Numidians was a proof to him that Hannibal and his army had not moved from his camp. Early in the night Hannibal put his troops in motion, and Philemenus, with his customary burden of prey taken in hunting, was his guide. The rest of the conspirators waited the accomplishment of what had been concerted; and the agreement was, that Philemenus, while bringing in his prey through the small gate by which he was accustomed to pass, should introduce some armed men, while Hannibal in another quarter approached the gate called Temenis, which faced the east, in that quarter which was towards the continent, near the tombs which were within the walls. When he drew near to the gate, Hannibal raised a fire according to agreement, which made a blaze; the same signal was returned by Nico, and the fires were extinguished on both sides. Hannibal led his troops on in silence to the gate. Nico suddenly fell upon the guards while asleep, slew them in their beds, and opened the gate. Hannibal then entered with his infantry, ordering his cavalry to stay behind, that they might be able to bring their assistance wherever it was required without obstruction. Philemenus also in another quarter approached the small gate by which he was accustomed to pass and re-pass. His voice, which was well known, for he said he could scarcely bear the weight of the huge beast he had gotten, and his signal, which had now become familiar, having roused the guard, the small gate was opened. Two youths carrying in a boar, Philemenus himself followed, with a huntsman, unencumbered, and while the attention of the guard was incautiously turned upon those who carried the boar, in consequence of its astonishing size, he transfixed him with a hunting spear. About thirty armed men then entering, slew the rest of the guards, and broke open the adjoining gate, when a body of troops, in regular array, instantly rushed in. Being conducted hence in silence to the forum, they joined Hannibal. The Carthaginian then sent the Tarentines, with two thousand Gauls formed into three divisions, in different directions through the city, with orders to occupy the most frequented streets. A confusion arising, the Romans were put to the sword on all hands. The townsmen were spared; but in order to insure this, he instructed the Tarentine youths, when they saw any of their friends at a distance, to bid them be quiet and silent, and be of good courage.

The tumult and clamour was now such as usually takes place in a captured city, but no man knew for certain what was the occasion. The Tarentines supposed that the Romans had suddenly risen to plunder the city. To the Romans it appeared, that some commotion had been set on foot by the townsmen with a treacherous design. The praefect, who was awakened at the first alarm, escaped to the port, whence getting into a boat he was conveyed round to the citadel. The sound of a trumpet also from the theatre excited alarm; for it was a Roman trumpet, prepared by the conspirators for this very purpose; and as it was blown unskilfully by a Grecian, it could not be ascertained who gave the signal, or to whom it was given. At dawn of the day, the Romans recognised the Carthaginian and Gallic arms, which removed all doubt; and the Greeks, seeing the bodies of slain Romans spread about in all directions, perceived that the city had been taken by Hannibal. When the light had increased, so that they could discriminate with greater certainty, and the Romans who survived the carnage had taken refuge in the citadel, the tumult now beginning to subside a little, Hannibal gave orders to assemble the Tarentines without their arms. All of them attended the assembly, except those who had accompanied the Romans in their retreat to the citadel, to share every fortune with them. Here Hannibal having addressed the Tarentines in terms of kindness, and appealed to the services he had rendered to those of their countrymen whom he had captured at the Trasimenus and at Cannae, and having at the same time inveighed against the haughty domination of the Romans, desired that they would every one of them retire to their respective houses, and inscribe their names upon their doors; declaring, that he should give orders that those houses which had not the names written upon them should be plundered. That if any man should write his name upon the house of a Roman, (and the Romans occupied houses by themselves,) he should treat him as an enemy. Having dismissed the assembly, and the names inscribed upon the doors having made it easy to distinguish the house of an enemy from that of a friend, on a signal given, the troops ran in every direction to plunder the lodgings of the Romans, and a considerable booty was found.

The next day he led his troops to assault the citadel; but seeing that it was protected by very high rocks towards the sea, which washed the greater part of it, and formed it into a sort of peninsula, and towards the city by a wall and ditch, and consequently that it could not be taken by assault or by works; lest the design to protect the Tarentines should detain him from the prosecution of more important objects, and lest the Romans should have the power of sallying from the citadel whenever they pleased against the Tarentines, if left without a strong protecting force, he resolved to cut off the communication between the citadel and city by a rampart; not without a hope that he might have an opportunity of fighting with the Romans, when attempting to obstruct the work; and if they should sally forth too eagerly, that by killing many of them the strength of the garrison would be so far reduced, that the Tarentines alone would be easily able to defend themselves from them. After they had begun, the Romans, suddenly throwing open the gate, rushed in upon the workmen. The guard stationed before the works allowed itself to be driven back, in order that their boldness might be increased by success, and that they might pursue them when driven back, in greater numbers, and to a greater distance. Then on a signal given, the Carthaginians, whom Hannibal kept in readiness for this purpose, sprang up on all sides; nor could the Romans sustain the attack, but were prevented from precipitate flight by the narrowness of the ground, by impediments occasioned in some places by the works already commenced, in others by the preparations for the work. Most of them were driven headlong into the ditch, and more were killed in the flight than in the battle. After this the work was commenced without any attempt to obstruct it. A large ditch was formed, within which a rampart was thrown up. He prepared also to add a wall at a small distance, and on the same side, that they might defend themselves from the Romans even without a garrison. He, however, left them a small force, at once for their protection and to assist in building the wall. The general himself, setting out with the rest of his forces, pitched his camp at the river Galaesus, five miles from the city. Returning from this position to inspect the work, which had gone on somewhat faster than he had anticipated, he conceived a hope that the citadel might even be taken by storm; for it was not protected by an elevated situation as the other parts were, but placed upon a plain, and separated from the city only by a wall and ditch. While subjected to an attack from every kind of military engine and work, a reinforcement sent from Metapontum inspired the Romans with courage to assault the works of the enemy, by a sudden attack, under cover of the night. Some of them they threw down, others they destroyed by fire, and thus there was an end to Hannibal's attempts against the citadel in that quarter. His only remaining hope was in a siege; nor did that afford a good prospect of success, because, occupying a citadel which was placed on a peninsula and commanded the entrance of the harbour, they had the sea open to them, while the city, on the contrary, was deprived of any supplies by sea: and thus the besiegers were in greater danger of want than the besieged. Hannibal assembled the chief men of the Tarentines, and laid before them all the present difficulties. He said, "That he could neither discover any method by which a citadel so well fortified could be taken, nor could he hope for any favourable result from a siege, while the enemy was master of the sea; but that if ships could be obtained, by which the introduction of supplies might be prevented, the enemy would either immediately evacuate it, or surrender themselves." The Tarentines agreed with him; but were of opinion, that "he who gave the advice ought also to assist in carrying it into execution; for if the Carthaginian ships were brought there from Sicily, they would be able to effect it; but by what means could their own ships, shut up as they were in a confined harbour, the mouth of which was in the command of the enemy, be brought out into the open sea." "They shall be brought out," said Hannibal. "Many things which are difficult in themselves, are easily effected by contrivance. You have a city situated upon a plain; you have level and sufficiently wide roads extending in every direction. By the road which runs through the midst of the city from the harbour to the sea I will convey your ships in waggons without any great difficulty, and the sea will be ours which the enemy now commands. We will invest the citadel on one side by sea, on the other by land; nay, rather, in a short time, we will take it either abandoned by the enemy, or with the enemy in it." This speech not only inspired hopes of accomplishing the object, but excited the greatest admiration of the general. Waggons were immediately collected from every quarter and joined together; machines were employed to haul the ships on shore, and the road was prepared, in order that the waggons might run more easily, and thus the difficulty of passing be diminished. Beasts of burden and men were next collected, and the work was actively commenced. After the lapse of a few days, the fleet, equipped and ready for action, sailed round the citadel, and cast anchor just before the mouth of the harbour. Such was the state of things at Tarentum, when Hannibal left it and returned to his winter quarters. Authors, however, are divided as to whether the defection of the Tarentines took place in the present or former year. The greater number, and those who, from their age, were more able to recollect these events, represent it to have occurred in the present year.