Chapter 30

A.M. 3859. A. Rom. 603.Early in the spring, Scipio attacked, at one and the same time, the harbour called Cothon, and the citadel.903Having possessed himself of the wall which surrounded this port, he threw himself into the great square of the city that was near it, from whence was an ascent to the citadel, up three streets, on each side of which were houses, from the tops whereof a shower of darts was discharged upon the Romans, who were obliged, before they could advance farther, to force the houses they came first to, and post themselves in them, in order to dislodge from thence the enemy who fought from the neighbouring houses. The combat, which was carried on from the tops, and in every part of the houses, continued six days, during which a dreadful slaughter was made. To clear the streets, and make way for the troops, the Romans dragged aside, with hooks, the bodies of such of the inhabitants as had been slain, or precipitated headlong from the houses, and threw them into pits, the greatest part of them being still alive and panting. In this toil, which lasted six days and as many nights, the soldiers were relieved from time to time by fresh ones, without which they would have been quite spent. Scipio was the only person who did not take a wink of sleep all this time; giving orders in all places, and scarce allowing himself leisure to take the least refreshment.There was every reason to believe, that the siege would last much longer, and occasion a great effusion of blood.904But on the seventh day, there appeared a company of men in the[pg 288]posture and habit of suppliants, who desired no other conditions, than that the Romans would please to spare the lives of all those who should be willing to leave the citadel: which request was granted them, only the deserters were excepted. Accordingly, there came out fifty thousand men and women, who were sent into the fields under a strong guard. The deserters, who were about nine hundred, finding they would not be allowed quarter, fortified themselves in the temple of Æsculapius, with Asdrubal, his wife, and two children; where, though their number was but small, they might have held out a long time, because the temple stood on a very high hill, upon rocks, the ascent to which was by sixty steps. But at last, exhausted by hunger and watching, oppressed with fear, and seeing their destruction at hand, they lost all patience; and abandoning the lower part of the temple, they retired to the uppermost story, resolved not to quit it but with their lives.In the mean time, Asdrubal, being desirous of saving his own life, came down privately to Scipio, carrying an olive branch in his hand, and threw himself at his feet. Scipio showed him immediately to the deserters, who, transported with rage and fury at the sight, vented millions of imprecations against him, and set fire to the temple. Whilst it was kindling, we are told, that Asdrubal's wife, dressing herself as splendidly as possible, and placing herself with her two children in sight of Scipio, addressed him with a loud voice:“I call not down,”says she,“curses upon thy head, O Roman; for thou only takest the privilege allowed by the laws of war: but may the gods of Carthage, and thou in concert with them, punish, according to his deserts, the false wretch, who has betrayed his country, his gods, his wife, his children!”Then directing herself to Asdrubal,“Perfidious wretch,”says she,“thou basest of men! this fire will presently consume both me and my children; but as to thee, unworthy general of Carthage, go—adorn the gay triumph of thy conqueror—suffer, in the sight of all Rome, the tortures thou so justly deservest!”She had no sooner pronounced these words, than, seizing her children, she cut their throats, threw them into the flames, and afterwards rushed into them herself; in which she was imitated by all the deserters.[pg 289]With regard to Scipio,905when he saw this famous city, which had been so flourishing for seven hundred years, and might have been compared to the greatest empires, on account of the extent of its dominions both by sea and land; its mighty armies; its fleets, elephants, and riches; while the Carthaginians were even superior to other nations, by their courage and greatness of soul; as, notwithstanding their being deprived of arms and ships, they had sustained, for three whole years, all the hardships and calamities of a long siege; seeing, I say, this city entirely ruined, historians relate, that he could not refuse his tears to the unhappy fate of Carthage. He reflected, that cities, nations, and empires, are liable to revolutions no less than private men; that the like sad fate had befallen Troy anciently so powerful; and, in later times, the Assyrians, Medes, and Persians, whose dominions were once of so great an extent; and very recently, the Macedonians, whose empire had been so glorious throughout the world. Full of these mournful ideas, he repeated the following verses of Homer:Ἔσσεται ἦμαρ, ὄταν ποτ᾽ ὀλώλη Ἴλιος ἱρὴ,Καὶ Πρίαμος, καὶ λαὸς εὐμμελίω Πριάμοιο.Il.δ. 164, 165.The day shall come, that great avenging day.Which Troy's proud glories in the dust shall lay,When Priam's pow'rs and Priam's self shall fall,And one prodigious ruin swallow all.Pope.thereby denouncing the future destiny of Rome, as he himself confessed to Polybius, who desired Scipio to explain himself on that occasion.Had the truth enlightened his soul, he would have discovered what we are taught in the Scriptures, that“because of unrighteous dealings, injuries, and riches got by deceit, a kingdom is translated from one people to another.”906Carthage is destroyed, because its avarice, perfidiousness, and cruelty, have attained their utmost height. The like fate will attend Rome, when its luxury, ambition, pride, and unjust usurpations, concealed beneath a specious and delusive show of justice and virtue, shall have compelled the sovereign Lord, the disposer of empires, to give the universe an important lesson in its fall.[pg 290]A.M. 3859. A. Carth. 701. A. Rom. 603. Ant. J.C. 145.Carthage being taken in this manner, Scipio gave the plunder of it (the gold, silver, statues, and other offerings which should be found in the temples, excepted) to his soldiers for some days.907He afterwards bestowed several military rewards on them, as well as on the officers, two of whom had particularly distinguished themselves,viz.Tib. Gracchus, and Caius Fannius, who first scaled the walls. After this, adorning a small ship (an excellent sailer) with the enemy's spoils, he sent it to Rome with the news of the victory.At the same time he invited the inhabitants of Sicily to come and take possession of the pictures and statues which the Carthaginians had plundered them of in the former wars.908When he restored to the citizens of Agrigentum, Phalaris's famous bull,909he told them that this bull, which was, at one and the same time, a monument of the cruelty of their ancient kings, and of the lenity of their present sovereigns, ought to make them sensible which would be most advantageous for them, to live under the yoke of Sicilians, or the government of the Romans.Having exposed to sale part of the spoils of Carthage, he commanded, on the most severe penalties, his family not to take or even buy any of them; so careful was he to remove from himself, and all belonging to him, the least suspicion of avarice.When the news of the taking of Carthage was brought to Rome, the people abandoned themselves to the most immoderate transports of joy, as if the public tranquillity had not been secured till that instant.910They revolved in their minds, all the calamities which the Carthaginians had brought upon them, in Sicily, in Spain, and even in Italy, for sixteen years together; during which, Hannibal had plundered four hundred towns, destroyed, in different engagements, three hundred thousand men, and reduced Rome itself to the utmost extremity. Amidst the remembrance of these past evils, the people in[pg 291]Rome would ask one another, whether it were really true that Carthage was in ashes. All ranks and degrees of men emulously strove who should show the greatest gratitude towards the gods; and the citizens were, for many days, employed wholly in solemn sacrifices, in public prayers, games, and spectacles.After these religious duties were ended, the senate sent ten commissioners into Africa, to regulate, in conjunction with Scipio, the fate and condition of that country for the time to come.911Their first care was, to demolish whatever was still remaining of Carthage.912Rome,913though mistress of almost the whole world, could not believe herself safe as long as even the name of Carthage was in being. So true it is, that an inveterate hatred, fomented by long and bloody wars, lasts even beyond the time when all cause of fear is removed; and does not cease, till the object that occasions it is no more. Orders were given, in the name of the Romans, that it should never be inhabited again; and dreadful imprecations were denounced against those, who, contrary to this prohibition, should attempt to rebuild any parts of it, especially those called Byrsa and Megara. In the mean time, every one who desired it, was admitted to see Carthage: Scipio being well pleased, to have people view the sad ruins of a city which had dared to contend with Rome for empire.914The commissioners decreed farther, that those cities which, during this war, had joined with the enemy, should all be rased, and their territories be given to the Roman allies; they particularly made a grant to the citizens of Utica, of the whole country lying between Carthage and Hippo. All the rest they made tributary, and reduced it into a Roman province, whither a prætor was sent annually.All matters being thus settled, Scipio returned to Rome, where he made his entry in triumph.915So magnificent a one[pg 292]had never been seen before; the whole exhibiting nothing but statues, rare, invaluable pictures, and other curiosities, which the Carthaginians had, for many years, been collecting in other countries; not to mention the money carried into the public treasury, which amounted to immense sums.Notwithstanding the great precautions which were taken to hinder Carthage from being ever rebuilt, in less than thirty years after, and even in Scipio's lifetime, one of the Gracchi, to ingratiate himself with the people, undertook to found it anew, and conducted thither a colony consisting of six thousand citizens for that purpose.916The senate, hearing that the workmen had been terrified by many unlucky omens, at the time they were tracing the limits, and laying the foundations of the new city, would have suspended the attempt; but the tribune, not being over scrupulous in religious matters, carried on the work, notwithstanding all these bad presages, and finished it in a few days. This was the first Roman colony that was ever sent out of Italy.It is probable, that only a kind of huts were built there, since we are told,917that when Marius retired hither, in his flight to Africa, he lived in a mean and poor condition amid the ruins of Carthage, consoling himself by the sight of so astonishing a spectacle; himself serving, in some measure, as a consolation to that ill-fated city.Appian relates,918that Julius Cæsar, after the death of Pompey, having crossed into Africa, saw, in a dream, an army composed of a prodigious number of soldiers, who, with tears in their eyes, called him; and that, struck with the vision, he writ down in his pocket-book the design which he formed on this occasion, of rebuilding Carthage and Corinth: but that having been murdered soon after by the conspirators, Augustus Cæsar, his adopted son, who found this memorandum among his papers, rebuilt Carthage near the spot where it stood formerly, in order that the imprecations which had been vented, at the time of its destruction, against those who should presume to rebuild it, might not fall upon him.[pg 293]I know not what foundation Appian has for this story; but we read in Strabo,919that Carthage and Corinth were rebuilt at the same time by Cæsar, to whom he gives the name of god, by which title, a little before, he had plainly intended Julius Cæsar;920and Plutarch,921in the life of that emperor, ascribes expressly to him the establishment of these two colonies; and observes, that one remarkable circumstance in these two cities is, that as both had been taken and destroyed at the same time, they likewise were at the same time rebuilt and repeopled. However this be, Strabo affirms, that in his time Carthage was as populous as any city in Africa; and it rose to be the capital of Africa, under the succeeding emperors. It existed for about seven hundred years after, in splendour, but at last was so completely destroyed by the Saracens, in the beginning of the seventh century, that neither its name, nor the least footsteps of it, are known at this time in the country.A Digression on the Manners and Character of the second Scipio Africanus.—Scipio, the destroyer of Carthage, was son to the famous Paulus Æmilius, who conquered Perseus, the last king of Macedon; and consequently grandson to that Paulus Æmilius who lost his life in the battle of Cannæ. He was adopted by the son of the great Scipio Africanus, and called Scipio Æmilianus; the names of the two families being so united, pursuant to the law of adoptions. He supported, with equal lustre, the dignity of both houses, by all the qualities that can confer honour on the sword and gown.922The whole tenour of his life, says an historian, whether with regard to his actions, his thoughts, or words, was deserving of the highest praise. He distinguished himself particularly (an eulogium that, at present, can seldom be applied to persons of the military profession) by his exquisite taste for polite literature, and all the sciences, as well as by the uncommon regard he showed to learned men. It is universally known, that he was reported to be the author of Terence's comedies, the most polite and elegant writings which the Romans could boast. We[pg 294]are told of Scipio,923that no man could blend more happily repose and action, nor employ his leisure hours with greater delicacy and taste: thus was he divided between arms and books, between the military labours of the camp, and the peaceful employment of the cabinet; in which he either exercised his body in toils of war, or his mind in the study of the sciences. By this he showed, that nothing does greater honour to a person of distinction, of what quality or profession soever he be, than the adorning his mind with knowledge. Cicero, speaking of Scipio, says,924that he always had Xenophon's works in his hands, which are so famous for the solid and excellent instructions they contain, both in regard to war and policy.He owed this exquisite taste for polite learning and the sciences, to the excellent education which Paulus Æmilius bestowed on his children.925He had put them under the ablest masters in every art; and did not spare any expense on that occasion, though his circumstances were very narrow: P. Æmilius himself was present at all their lessons, as often as the affairs of the state would permit; becoming, by this means, their chief preceptor.The intimate union between Polybius and Scipio put the finishing stroke to the exalted qualities which, by the superiority of his genius and disposition, and the excellency of his education, were already the subject of admiration.926Polybius, with a great number of Achæans, whose fidelity the Romans suspected during the war with Perseus, was detained in Rome, where his merit soon caused his company to be coveted by all persons of the highest quality in that city. Scipio, when scarce eighteen, devoted himself entirely to Polybius: and considered as the greatest felicity of his life, the opportunity he had of being instructed by so great a master, whose society he preferred to all the vain and idle amusements which are generally so alluring to young persons.Polybius's first care was to inspire Scipio with an aversion[pg 295]for those equally dangerous and ignominious pleasures, to which the Roman youth were so strongly addicted; the greatest part of them being already depraved and corrupted by the luxury and licentiousness which riches and new conquests had introduced in Rome. Scipio, during the first five years that he continued in so excellent a school, made the greatest improvement in it; and, despising the ridicule, as well as the pernicious examples, of persons of the same age with himself, he was looked upon, even at that time, as a model of discretion and wisdom.From hence, the transition was easy and natural to generosity, to a noble disregard of riches, and to a laudable use of them; all virtues so requisite in persons of illustrious birth, and which Scipio carried to the most exalted pitch, as appears from some instances of this kind related by Polybius, which are highly worthy our admiration.Æmilia,927wife of the first Scipio Africanus, and mother of him who had adopted the Scipio mentioned here by Polybius, had bequeathed, at her death, a great estate to the latter. This lady, besides the diamonds and jewels which are worn by women of her high rank, possessed a great number of gold and silver vessels used in sacrifices, together with several splendid equipages, and a considerable number of slaves of both sexes; the whole suited to the opulence of the august house into which she had married. At her death, Scipio made over all those rich possessions to Papiria his mother, who, having been divorced a considerable time before by Paulus Æmilius, and not being in circumstances to support the dignity of her birth, lived in great obscurity, and never appeared in the assemblies or public ceremonies. But when she again frequented them with a magnificent train, this noble generosity of Scipio did him great honour, especially in the minds of the ladies, who expatiated on it in all their conversations, and in a city whose inhabitants, says Polybius, were not easily prevailed upon to part with their money.Scipio was no less admired on another occasion. He was bound, in consequence of the estate that had fallen to him by the death of his grandmother, to pay, at three different times, to the two daughters of Scipio, his grandfather by adoption,[pg 296]half their portions, which amounted to 50,000 French crowns.928The time for the payment of the first sum being expired, Scipio put the whole money into the hands of a banker. Tiberius Gracchus, and Scipio Nasica, who had married the two sisters, imagining that Scipio had made a mistake, went to him, and observed, that the laws allowed him three years to pay this sum in, and at three different times. Young Scipio answered, that he knew very well what the laws directed on this occasion; that they might indeed be executed in their greatest rigour towards strangers, but that friends and relations ought to treat one another with a more generous simplicity; and therefore desired them to receive the whole sum. They were struck with such admiration at the generosity of their kinsman, that in their return home, they reproached929themselves for their narrow way of thinking, at a time when they made the greatest figure, and had the highest regard paid to them, of any family in Rome. This generous action, says Polybius, was the more admired, because no person in Rome, so far from consenting to pay 50,000 crowns before they were due, would pay even a thousand before the time for payment was elapsed.It was from the same noble spirit that, two years after, Paulus Æmilius his father being dead, he made over to his brother Fabius, who was not so wealthy as himself, the part of their father's estate, which was his (Scipio's) due, (amounting to above threescore thousand crowns,930) in order that there might not be so great a disparity between his fortune and that of his brother.This Fabius being desirous to exhibit a show of gladiators after his father's decease, in honour of his memory, (as was the custom in that age,) and not being able to defray the expenses on this occasion, which amounted to a very heavy sum, Scipio made him a present of fifteen thousand931crowns, in order to defray at least half the charges of it.The splendid presents which Scipio had made his mother Papiria, reverted to him, by law as well as equity, after her demise; and his sisters, according to the custom of those times[pg 297]had not the least claim to them. Nevertheless, Scipio thought it would have been dishonourable in him, had he taken them back again. He therefore made over to his sisters whatever he had presented to their mother, which amounted to a very considerable sum; and by this fresh proof of his glorious disregard of wealth, and the tender friendship he had for his family, acquired the applause of the whole city.These different benefactions, which amounted all together to a prodigious sum, seem to have received a brighter lustre from the age in which he bestowed them, he being still very young; and yet more from the circumstances of the time when they were presented, as well as the kind and obliging carriage he assumed on those occasions.The incidents I have here related are so repugnant to the maxims of this age, that there might be reason to fear the reader would consider them merely as the rhetorical flourishes of an historian who was prejudiced in favour of his hero; if it was not well known, that the predominant characteristic of Polybius, by whom they are related, is a sincere love for truth, and an utter aversion to adulation of every kind. In the very passage whence this relation is extracted, he has thought it necessary for him to be a little guarded, where he expatiates on the virtuous actions and rare qualities of Scipio; and he observes, that as his writings were to be perused by the Romans, who were perfectly well acquainted with all the particulars of this great man's life, he could not fail of being convicted by them, should he venture to advance any falsehood; an affront, to which it is not probable that an author, who has ever so little regard for his reputation, would expose himself, especially if no advantage was to accrue to him from it.We have already observed, that Scipio had never given into the fashionable debaucheries and excesses to which the young people at Rome so generally abandoned themselves. But he was sufficiently compensated for this self-denial of all destructive pleasures, by the vigorous health he enjoyed all the rest of his life, which enabled him to taste pleasure of a much purer and more exalted kind, and to perform the great actions that reflected so much glory upon him.Hunting, which was his darling exercise, contributed also[pg 298]very much to invigorate his constitution, and enabled him also to endure the hardest toils. Macedonia, whither he followed his father, gave him an opportunity of indulging to the utmost of his desire his passion in this respect; for the chase, which was the usual diversion of the Macedonian monarchs, having been laid aside for some years on account of the wars, Scipio found there an incredible quantity of game of every kind. Paulus Æmilius, studious of procuring his son virtuous pleasures of every kind, in order to divert his mind from those which reason prohibits, gave him full liberty to indulge himself in his favourite sport, during all the time that the Roman forces continued in that country, after the victory he had gained over Perseus. The illustrious youth employed his leisure hours in an exercise which suited so well his age and inclination; and was as successful in this innocent war against the beasts of Macedonia, as his father had been in that which he had carried on against the inhabitants of the country.It was at Scipio's return from Macedon, that he met with Polybius in Rome; and contracted the strict friendship with him, which was afterwards so beneficial to our young Roman, and did him almost as much honour in after-ages as all his conquests. We find, from history, that Polybius lived with the two brothers. One day, when himself and Scipio were alone, the latter unbosomed himself freely to him, and complained, but in the mildest and most gentle terms, that he, in their conversations at table, always directed himself to his brother Fabius, and never to him.“I am sensible,”says he,“that this indifference arises from your supposing, with all our citizens, that I am a heedless young man, and wholly averse to the taste which now prevails in Rome, because I do not devote myself to the studies of the bar, nor cultivate the graces of elocution. But how should I do this? I am told perpetually, that the Romans expect a general, and not an orator, from the house of the Scipios. I will confess to you, (pardon the sincerity with which I reveal my thoughts,) that your coldness and indifference grieve me exceedingly.”Polybius, surprised at this unexpected address, made Scipio the kindest answer; and assured the illustrious youth, that though he generally directed himself to his brother, yet this was not[pg 299]out of disrespect to him, but only because Fabius was the elder; not to mention (continued Polybius) that, knowing you possessed but one soul, I conceived that I addressed both when I spoke to either of you. He then assured Scipio, that he was entirely at his command: that with regard to the sciences, for which he discovered the happiest genius, he would have opportunities sufficient to improve himself in them, from the great number of learned Grecians who resorted daily to Rome; but that, as to the art of war, which was properly his profession, and his favourite study, he (Polybius) might be of some little service to him. He had no sooner spoke these words, than Scipio, grasping his hand in a kind of rapture:“Oh! when,”says he,“shall I see the happy day, when, disengaged from all other avocations, and living with me, you will be so much my friend, as to direct your endeavours to improve my understanding and regulate my affections? It is then I shall think myself worthy of my illustrious ancestors.”From that time Polybius, overjoyed to see so young a man breathe such noble sentiments, devoted himself particularly to our Scipio, who ever after paid him as much reverence as if he had been his father.However, Scipio did not esteem Polybius only as an excellent historian, but valued him much more, and reaped much greater advantages from him, as an able warrior and a profound politician. Accordingly, he consulted him on every occasion, and always took his advice even when he was at the head of his army; concerting in private with Polybius all the operations of the campaign, all the movements of the forces, all enterprises against the enemy, and the several measures proper for rendering them successful.In a word, it was the common report,932that our illustrious Roman did not perform any great or good action without being under some obligation to Polybius; nor even commit an error, except when he acted without consulting him.I request the reader to excuse this long digression, which may be thought foreign to my subject, as I am not writing the Roman history. However, it appeared to me so well adapted to the general design I propose to myself, in this work,viz.[pg 300]the cultivating and improving the minds of youth, that I could not forbear introducing it here, though I was sensible this is not directly its proper place. And indeed, these examples show, how important it is that young people should receive a liberal and virtuous education; and the great benefit they reap, by frequenting and corresponding early with persons of merit; for these were the foundations whereon were built the fame and glory which have rendered Scipio immortal. But above all, how noble a model for our age (in which the most inconsiderable and even trifling concerns often create feuds and animosities between brothers and sisters, and disturb the peace of families,) is the generous disinterestedness of Scipio; who, whenever he had an opportunity of serving his relations, thought lightly of bestowing the largest sums upon them! This excellent passage of Polybius had escaped me, by its not being inserted in the folio edition of his works. It belongs indeed naturally to that book, where, treating of the taste for solid glory, I mentioned the contempt in which the ancients held riches, and the excellent use they made of them. I therefore thought myself indispensably obliged to restore, on this occasion, to young students, what I could not but blame myself for omitting elsewhere.The History of the Family and Posterity of Masinissa.—I promised, after finishing what related to the republic of Carthage, to return to the family and posterity of Masinissa. This piece of history forms a considerable part of that of Africa, and therefore is not quite foreign to my subject.A.M. 3857. A. Rom. 601.From the time that Masinissa had declared for the Romans under the first Scipio, he had always adhered to that honourable alliance, with an almost unparalleled zeal and fidelity.933Finding his end approaching, he wrote to the proconsul of Africa, under whose standards the younger Scipio then fought, to desire that Roman might be sent to him; adding, that he should die with satisfaction, if he could but expire in his arms, after having made him executor to his will. But believing that he should be dead, before it could be possible for him to receive this consolation, he sent for his wife and children, and spoke to them as follows:“I know no[pg 301]other nation but the Romans, and, among this nation, no other family but that of the Scipios. I now, in my expiring moments, empower Scipio Æmilianus to dispose, in an absolute manner, of all my possessions, and to divide my kingdom among my children. I require, that whatever Scipio may decree, shall be executed as punctually as if I myself had appointed it by my will.”After saying these words, he breathed his last, being upwards of ninety years of age.This prince, during his youth, had met with strange reverses of fortune, having been dispossessed of his kingdom, obliged to fly from province to province, and a thousand times in danger of his life.934Being supported, says the historian, by the divine protection, he was afterwards favoured, till his death, with a perpetual series of prosperity, unruffled by any sinister accident: for he not only recovered his own kingdom, but added to it that of Syphax his enemy; and extending his dominions from Mauritania, as far as Cyrene, he became the most powerful prince of all Africa. He was blessed, till he left the world, with the greatest health and vigour, which doubtless was owing to his extreme temperance, and the care he had taken to inure himself to fatigue. Though ninety years of age, he performed all the exercises used by young men,935and always rode without a saddle; and Polybius observes, (a circumstance preserved by Plutarch,936) that the day after a great victory over the Carthaginians, Masinissa was seen, sitting at the door of his tent, eating a piece of brown bread.He left fifty-four sons, of whom three only were legitimate,viz.Micipsa, Gulussa, and Mastanabal.937Scipio divided the kingdom between these three, and gave considerable possessions to the rest: but the two last dying soon after, Micipsa became sole possessor of these extensive dominions. He had two sons, Adherbal and Hiempsal, and with them he educated in his palace Jugurtha his nephew, Mastanabal's son, and took[pg 302]as much care of him as he did of his own children.938This last-mentioned prince possessed several eminent qualities, which gained him universal esteem. Jugurtha, who was finely shaped, and very handsome, of the most delicate wit, and the most solid judgment, did not devote himself, as young men commonly do, to a life of luxury and pleasure. He used to exercise himself with persons of his own age, in running, riding, and throwing the javelin; and though he surpassed all his companions, there was not one of them but loved him. The chase was his only delight; but it was that of lions and other savage beasts. To finish his character, he excelled in all things, and spoke very little of himself:Plurimum facere, et mininum ipse de se loqui.Merit so conspicuous, and so generally acknowledged, began to excite some anxiety in Micipsa. He saw himself in the decline of life, and his children very young. He knew the prodigious lengths which ambition is capable of going, when a crown is in view: and that a man, with talents much inferior to those of Jugurtha, might be dazzled by so glittering a temptation, especially when united with such favourable circumstances.939In order therefore to remove a competitor so dangerous with regard to his children, he gave Jugurtha the command of the forces which he sent to the assistance of the Romans, who, at that time, were besieging Numantia, under the conduct of Scipio. Knowing Jugurtha was actuated by the most heroic bravery, he flattered himself, that he probably would rush upon danger, and lose his life. However, he was mistaken. This young prince joined to an undaunted courage, the utmost presence of mind; and, a circumstance very rarely found in persons of his age, he preserved a just medium between a timorous foresight and an impetuous rashness.940In this campaign, he won the esteem and friendship of the whole army. Scipio sent him back to his uncle with letters of recommendation, and the most advantageous testimonials[pg 303]of his conduct, after having given him very prudent advice with regard to the course which he ought to pursue; for knowing mankind so well, he, in all probability, had discovered certain sparks of ambition in that prince, which he feared would one day break out into a flame.Micipsa, pleased with the high character that was sent him of his nephew, changed his behaviour towards him, and resolved, if possible, to win his affection by kindness. Accordingly he adopted him; and by his will, made him joint-heir with his two sons. When he found his end approaching, he sent for all three, and bid them draw near his bed, where, in presence of the whole court he put Jugurtha in mind of all his kindness to him; conjuring him, in the name of the gods, to defend and protect, on all occasions, his children; who, being before related to him by the ties of blood, were now become his brethren, by his (Micipsa's) bounty. He told him,941that neither arms nor treasure constitute the strength of a kingdom, but friends, who are not won by arms nor gold, but by real services and inviolable fidelity. Now where (says he) can we find better friends than our brothers? And how can that man, who becomes an enemy to his relations, repose any confidence in, or depend on, strangers? He exhorted his sons to pay the highest reverence to Jugurtha; and to dispute no otherwise with him, than by their endeavour to equal, and, if possible, to surpass his exalted merit. He concluded with entreating them to observe for ever an inviolable attachment towards the Romans; and to consider them as their benefactor, their patron, and master. A few days after this, Micipsa expired.

A.M. 3859. A. Rom. 603.

Early in the spring, Scipio attacked, at one and the same time, the harbour called Cothon, and the citadel.903Having possessed himself of the wall which surrounded this port, he threw himself into the great square of the city that was near it, from whence was an ascent to the citadel, up three streets, on each side of which were houses, from the tops whereof a shower of darts was discharged upon the Romans, who were obliged, before they could advance farther, to force the houses they came first to, and post themselves in them, in order to dislodge from thence the enemy who fought from the neighbouring houses. The combat, which was carried on from the tops, and in every part of the houses, continued six days, during which a dreadful slaughter was made. To clear the streets, and make way for the troops, the Romans dragged aside, with hooks, the bodies of such of the inhabitants as had been slain, or precipitated headlong from the houses, and threw them into pits, the greatest part of them being still alive and panting. In this toil, which lasted six days and as many nights, the soldiers were relieved from time to time by fresh ones, without which they would have been quite spent. Scipio was the only person who did not take a wink of sleep all this time; giving orders in all places, and scarce allowing himself leisure to take the least refreshment.

There was every reason to believe, that the siege would last much longer, and occasion a great effusion of blood.904But on the seventh day, there appeared a company of men in the[pg 288]posture and habit of suppliants, who desired no other conditions, than that the Romans would please to spare the lives of all those who should be willing to leave the citadel: which request was granted them, only the deserters were excepted. Accordingly, there came out fifty thousand men and women, who were sent into the fields under a strong guard. The deserters, who were about nine hundred, finding they would not be allowed quarter, fortified themselves in the temple of Æsculapius, with Asdrubal, his wife, and two children; where, though their number was but small, they might have held out a long time, because the temple stood on a very high hill, upon rocks, the ascent to which was by sixty steps. But at last, exhausted by hunger and watching, oppressed with fear, and seeing their destruction at hand, they lost all patience; and abandoning the lower part of the temple, they retired to the uppermost story, resolved not to quit it but with their lives.

In the mean time, Asdrubal, being desirous of saving his own life, came down privately to Scipio, carrying an olive branch in his hand, and threw himself at his feet. Scipio showed him immediately to the deserters, who, transported with rage and fury at the sight, vented millions of imprecations against him, and set fire to the temple. Whilst it was kindling, we are told, that Asdrubal's wife, dressing herself as splendidly as possible, and placing herself with her two children in sight of Scipio, addressed him with a loud voice:“I call not down,”says she,“curses upon thy head, O Roman; for thou only takest the privilege allowed by the laws of war: but may the gods of Carthage, and thou in concert with them, punish, according to his deserts, the false wretch, who has betrayed his country, his gods, his wife, his children!”Then directing herself to Asdrubal,“Perfidious wretch,”says she,“thou basest of men! this fire will presently consume both me and my children; but as to thee, unworthy general of Carthage, go—adorn the gay triumph of thy conqueror—suffer, in the sight of all Rome, the tortures thou so justly deservest!”She had no sooner pronounced these words, than, seizing her children, she cut their throats, threw them into the flames, and afterwards rushed into them herself; in which she was imitated by all the deserters.

With regard to Scipio,905when he saw this famous city, which had been so flourishing for seven hundred years, and might have been compared to the greatest empires, on account of the extent of its dominions both by sea and land; its mighty armies; its fleets, elephants, and riches; while the Carthaginians were even superior to other nations, by their courage and greatness of soul; as, notwithstanding their being deprived of arms and ships, they had sustained, for three whole years, all the hardships and calamities of a long siege; seeing, I say, this city entirely ruined, historians relate, that he could not refuse his tears to the unhappy fate of Carthage. He reflected, that cities, nations, and empires, are liable to revolutions no less than private men; that the like sad fate had befallen Troy anciently so powerful; and, in later times, the Assyrians, Medes, and Persians, whose dominions were once of so great an extent; and very recently, the Macedonians, whose empire had been so glorious throughout the world. Full of these mournful ideas, he repeated the following verses of Homer:

Ἔσσεται ἦμαρ, ὄταν ποτ᾽ ὀλώλη Ἴλιος ἱρὴ,Καὶ Πρίαμος, καὶ λαὸς εὐμμελίω Πριάμοιο.Il.δ. 164, 165.The day shall come, that great avenging day.Which Troy's proud glories in the dust shall lay,When Priam's pow'rs and Priam's self shall fall,And one prodigious ruin swallow all.Pope.

Ἔσσεται ἦμαρ, ὄταν ποτ᾽ ὀλώλη Ἴλιος ἱρὴ,Καὶ Πρίαμος, καὶ λαὸς εὐμμελίω Πριάμοιο.

Ἔσσεται ἦμαρ, ὄταν ποτ᾽ ὀλώλη Ἴλιος ἱρὴ,

Καὶ Πρίαμος, καὶ λαὸς εὐμμελίω Πριάμοιο.

Il.δ. 164, 165.

The day shall come, that great avenging day.Which Troy's proud glories in the dust shall lay,When Priam's pow'rs and Priam's self shall fall,And one prodigious ruin swallow all.

The day shall come, that great avenging day.

Which Troy's proud glories in the dust shall lay,

When Priam's pow'rs and Priam's self shall fall,

And one prodigious ruin swallow all.

Pope.

thereby denouncing the future destiny of Rome, as he himself confessed to Polybius, who desired Scipio to explain himself on that occasion.

Had the truth enlightened his soul, he would have discovered what we are taught in the Scriptures, that“because of unrighteous dealings, injuries, and riches got by deceit, a kingdom is translated from one people to another.”906Carthage is destroyed, because its avarice, perfidiousness, and cruelty, have attained their utmost height. The like fate will attend Rome, when its luxury, ambition, pride, and unjust usurpations, concealed beneath a specious and delusive show of justice and virtue, shall have compelled the sovereign Lord, the disposer of empires, to give the universe an important lesson in its fall.

A.M. 3859. A. Carth. 701. A. Rom. 603. Ant. J.C. 145.

Carthage being taken in this manner, Scipio gave the plunder of it (the gold, silver, statues, and other offerings which should be found in the temples, excepted) to his soldiers for some days.907He afterwards bestowed several military rewards on them, as well as on the officers, two of whom had particularly distinguished themselves,viz.Tib. Gracchus, and Caius Fannius, who first scaled the walls. After this, adorning a small ship (an excellent sailer) with the enemy's spoils, he sent it to Rome with the news of the victory.

At the same time he invited the inhabitants of Sicily to come and take possession of the pictures and statues which the Carthaginians had plundered them of in the former wars.908When he restored to the citizens of Agrigentum, Phalaris's famous bull,909he told them that this bull, which was, at one and the same time, a monument of the cruelty of their ancient kings, and of the lenity of their present sovereigns, ought to make them sensible which would be most advantageous for them, to live under the yoke of Sicilians, or the government of the Romans.

Having exposed to sale part of the spoils of Carthage, he commanded, on the most severe penalties, his family not to take or even buy any of them; so careful was he to remove from himself, and all belonging to him, the least suspicion of avarice.

When the news of the taking of Carthage was brought to Rome, the people abandoned themselves to the most immoderate transports of joy, as if the public tranquillity had not been secured till that instant.910They revolved in their minds, all the calamities which the Carthaginians had brought upon them, in Sicily, in Spain, and even in Italy, for sixteen years together; during which, Hannibal had plundered four hundred towns, destroyed, in different engagements, three hundred thousand men, and reduced Rome itself to the utmost extremity. Amidst the remembrance of these past evils, the people in[pg 291]Rome would ask one another, whether it were really true that Carthage was in ashes. All ranks and degrees of men emulously strove who should show the greatest gratitude towards the gods; and the citizens were, for many days, employed wholly in solemn sacrifices, in public prayers, games, and spectacles.

After these religious duties were ended, the senate sent ten commissioners into Africa, to regulate, in conjunction with Scipio, the fate and condition of that country for the time to come.911Their first care was, to demolish whatever was still remaining of Carthage.912Rome,913though mistress of almost the whole world, could not believe herself safe as long as even the name of Carthage was in being. So true it is, that an inveterate hatred, fomented by long and bloody wars, lasts even beyond the time when all cause of fear is removed; and does not cease, till the object that occasions it is no more. Orders were given, in the name of the Romans, that it should never be inhabited again; and dreadful imprecations were denounced against those, who, contrary to this prohibition, should attempt to rebuild any parts of it, especially those called Byrsa and Megara. In the mean time, every one who desired it, was admitted to see Carthage: Scipio being well pleased, to have people view the sad ruins of a city which had dared to contend with Rome for empire.914The commissioners decreed farther, that those cities which, during this war, had joined with the enemy, should all be rased, and their territories be given to the Roman allies; they particularly made a grant to the citizens of Utica, of the whole country lying between Carthage and Hippo. All the rest they made tributary, and reduced it into a Roman province, whither a prætor was sent annually.

All matters being thus settled, Scipio returned to Rome, where he made his entry in triumph.915So magnificent a one[pg 292]had never been seen before; the whole exhibiting nothing but statues, rare, invaluable pictures, and other curiosities, which the Carthaginians had, for many years, been collecting in other countries; not to mention the money carried into the public treasury, which amounted to immense sums.

Notwithstanding the great precautions which were taken to hinder Carthage from being ever rebuilt, in less than thirty years after, and even in Scipio's lifetime, one of the Gracchi, to ingratiate himself with the people, undertook to found it anew, and conducted thither a colony consisting of six thousand citizens for that purpose.916The senate, hearing that the workmen had been terrified by many unlucky omens, at the time they were tracing the limits, and laying the foundations of the new city, would have suspended the attempt; but the tribune, not being over scrupulous in religious matters, carried on the work, notwithstanding all these bad presages, and finished it in a few days. This was the first Roman colony that was ever sent out of Italy.

It is probable, that only a kind of huts were built there, since we are told,917that when Marius retired hither, in his flight to Africa, he lived in a mean and poor condition amid the ruins of Carthage, consoling himself by the sight of so astonishing a spectacle; himself serving, in some measure, as a consolation to that ill-fated city.

Appian relates,918that Julius Cæsar, after the death of Pompey, having crossed into Africa, saw, in a dream, an army composed of a prodigious number of soldiers, who, with tears in their eyes, called him; and that, struck with the vision, he writ down in his pocket-book the design which he formed on this occasion, of rebuilding Carthage and Corinth: but that having been murdered soon after by the conspirators, Augustus Cæsar, his adopted son, who found this memorandum among his papers, rebuilt Carthage near the spot where it stood formerly, in order that the imprecations which had been vented, at the time of its destruction, against those who should presume to rebuild it, might not fall upon him.

I know not what foundation Appian has for this story; but we read in Strabo,919that Carthage and Corinth were rebuilt at the same time by Cæsar, to whom he gives the name of god, by which title, a little before, he had plainly intended Julius Cæsar;920and Plutarch,921in the life of that emperor, ascribes expressly to him the establishment of these two colonies; and observes, that one remarkable circumstance in these two cities is, that as both had been taken and destroyed at the same time, they likewise were at the same time rebuilt and repeopled. However this be, Strabo affirms, that in his time Carthage was as populous as any city in Africa; and it rose to be the capital of Africa, under the succeeding emperors. It existed for about seven hundred years after, in splendour, but at last was so completely destroyed by the Saracens, in the beginning of the seventh century, that neither its name, nor the least footsteps of it, are known at this time in the country.

A Digression on the Manners and Character of the second Scipio Africanus.—Scipio, the destroyer of Carthage, was son to the famous Paulus Æmilius, who conquered Perseus, the last king of Macedon; and consequently grandson to that Paulus Æmilius who lost his life in the battle of Cannæ. He was adopted by the son of the great Scipio Africanus, and called Scipio Æmilianus; the names of the two families being so united, pursuant to the law of adoptions. He supported, with equal lustre, the dignity of both houses, by all the qualities that can confer honour on the sword and gown.922The whole tenour of his life, says an historian, whether with regard to his actions, his thoughts, or words, was deserving of the highest praise. He distinguished himself particularly (an eulogium that, at present, can seldom be applied to persons of the military profession) by his exquisite taste for polite literature, and all the sciences, as well as by the uncommon regard he showed to learned men. It is universally known, that he was reported to be the author of Terence's comedies, the most polite and elegant writings which the Romans could boast. We[pg 294]are told of Scipio,923that no man could blend more happily repose and action, nor employ his leisure hours with greater delicacy and taste: thus was he divided between arms and books, between the military labours of the camp, and the peaceful employment of the cabinet; in which he either exercised his body in toils of war, or his mind in the study of the sciences. By this he showed, that nothing does greater honour to a person of distinction, of what quality or profession soever he be, than the adorning his mind with knowledge. Cicero, speaking of Scipio, says,924that he always had Xenophon's works in his hands, which are so famous for the solid and excellent instructions they contain, both in regard to war and policy.

He owed this exquisite taste for polite learning and the sciences, to the excellent education which Paulus Æmilius bestowed on his children.925He had put them under the ablest masters in every art; and did not spare any expense on that occasion, though his circumstances were very narrow: P. Æmilius himself was present at all their lessons, as often as the affairs of the state would permit; becoming, by this means, their chief preceptor.

The intimate union between Polybius and Scipio put the finishing stroke to the exalted qualities which, by the superiority of his genius and disposition, and the excellency of his education, were already the subject of admiration.926Polybius, with a great number of Achæans, whose fidelity the Romans suspected during the war with Perseus, was detained in Rome, where his merit soon caused his company to be coveted by all persons of the highest quality in that city. Scipio, when scarce eighteen, devoted himself entirely to Polybius: and considered as the greatest felicity of his life, the opportunity he had of being instructed by so great a master, whose society he preferred to all the vain and idle amusements which are generally so alluring to young persons.

Polybius's first care was to inspire Scipio with an aversion[pg 295]for those equally dangerous and ignominious pleasures, to which the Roman youth were so strongly addicted; the greatest part of them being already depraved and corrupted by the luxury and licentiousness which riches and new conquests had introduced in Rome. Scipio, during the first five years that he continued in so excellent a school, made the greatest improvement in it; and, despising the ridicule, as well as the pernicious examples, of persons of the same age with himself, he was looked upon, even at that time, as a model of discretion and wisdom.

From hence, the transition was easy and natural to generosity, to a noble disregard of riches, and to a laudable use of them; all virtues so requisite in persons of illustrious birth, and which Scipio carried to the most exalted pitch, as appears from some instances of this kind related by Polybius, which are highly worthy our admiration.

Æmilia,927wife of the first Scipio Africanus, and mother of him who had adopted the Scipio mentioned here by Polybius, had bequeathed, at her death, a great estate to the latter. This lady, besides the diamonds and jewels which are worn by women of her high rank, possessed a great number of gold and silver vessels used in sacrifices, together with several splendid equipages, and a considerable number of slaves of both sexes; the whole suited to the opulence of the august house into which she had married. At her death, Scipio made over all those rich possessions to Papiria his mother, who, having been divorced a considerable time before by Paulus Æmilius, and not being in circumstances to support the dignity of her birth, lived in great obscurity, and never appeared in the assemblies or public ceremonies. But when she again frequented them with a magnificent train, this noble generosity of Scipio did him great honour, especially in the minds of the ladies, who expatiated on it in all their conversations, and in a city whose inhabitants, says Polybius, were not easily prevailed upon to part with their money.

Scipio was no less admired on another occasion. He was bound, in consequence of the estate that had fallen to him by the death of his grandmother, to pay, at three different times, to the two daughters of Scipio, his grandfather by adoption,[pg 296]half their portions, which amounted to 50,000 French crowns.928The time for the payment of the first sum being expired, Scipio put the whole money into the hands of a banker. Tiberius Gracchus, and Scipio Nasica, who had married the two sisters, imagining that Scipio had made a mistake, went to him, and observed, that the laws allowed him three years to pay this sum in, and at three different times. Young Scipio answered, that he knew very well what the laws directed on this occasion; that they might indeed be executed in their greatest rigour towards strangers, but that friends and relations ought to treat one another with a more generous simplicity; and therefore desired them to receive the whole sum. They were struck with such admiration at the generosity of their kinsman, that in their return home, they reproached929themselves for their narrow way of thinking, at a time when they made the greatest figure, and had the highest regard paid to them, of any family in Rome. This generous action, says Polybius, was the more admired, because no person in Rome, so far from consenting to pay 50,000 crowns before they were due, would pay even a thousand before the time for payment was elapsed.

It was from the same noble spirit that, two years after, Paulus Æmilius his father being dead, he made over to his brother Fabius, who was not so wealthy as himself, the part of their father's estate, which was his (Scipio's) due, (amounting to above threescore thousand crowns,930) in order that there might not be so great a disparity between his fortune and that of his brother.

This Fabius being desirous to exhibit a show of gladiators after his father's decease, in honour of his memory, (as was the custom in that age,) and not being able to defray the expenses on this occasion, which amounted to a very heavy sum, Scipio made him a present of fifteen thousand931crowns, in order to defray at least half the charges of it.

The splendid presents which Scipio had made his mother Papiria, reverted to him, by law as well as equity, after her demise; and his sisters, according to the custom of those times[pg 297]had not the least claim to them. Nevertheless, Scipio thought it would have been dishonourable in him, had he taken them back again. He therefore made over to his sisters whatever he had presented to their mother, which amounted to a very considerable sum; and by this fresh proof of his glorious disregard of wealth, and the tender friendship he had for his family, acquired the applause of the whole city.

These different benefactions, which amounted all together to a prodigious sum, seem to have received a brighter lustre from the age in which he bestowed them, he being still very young; and yet more from the circumstances of the time when they were presented, as well as the kind and obliging carriage he assumed on those occasions.

The incidents I have here related are so repugnant to the maxims of this age, that there might be reason to fear the reader would consider them merely as the rhetorical flourishes of an historian who was prejudiced in favour of his hero; if it was not well known, that the predominant characteristic of Polybius, by whom they are related, is a sincere love for truth, and an utter aversion to adulation of every kind. In the very passage whence this relation is extracted, he has thought it necessary for him to be a little guarded, where he expatiates on the virtuous actions and rare qualities of Scipio; and he observes, that as his writings were to be perused by the Romans, who were perfectly well acquainted with all the particulars of this great man's life, he could not fail of being convicted by them, should he venture to advance any falsehood; an affront, to which it is not probable that an author, who has ever so little regard for his reputation, would expose himself, especially if no advantage was to accrue to him from it.

We have already observed, that Scipio had never given into the fashionable debaucheries and excesses to which the young people at Rome so generally abandoned themselves. But he was sufficiently compensated for this self-denial of all destructive pleasures, by the vigorous health he enjoyed all the rest of his life, which enabled him to taste pleasure of a much purer and more exalted kind, and to perform the great actions that reflected so much glory upon him.

Hunting, which was his darling exercise, contributed also[pg 298]very much to invigorate his constitution, and enabled him also to endure the hardest toils. Macedonia, whither he followed his father, gave him an opportunity of indulging to the utmost of his desire his passion in this respect; for the chase, which was the usual diversion of the Macedonian monarchs, having been laid aside for some years on account of the wars, Scipio found there an incredible quantity of game of every kind. Paulus Æmilius, studious of procuring his son virtuous pleasures of every kind, in order to divert his mind from those which reason prohibits, gave him full liberty to indulge himself in his favourite sport, during all the time that the Roman forces continued in that country, after the victory he had gained over Perseus. The illustrious youth employed his leisure hours in an exercise which suited so well his age and inclination; and was as successful in this innocent war against the beasts of Macedonia, as his father had been in that which he had carried on against the inhabitants of the country.

It was at Scipio's return from Macedon, that he met with Polybius in Rome; and contracted the strict friendship with him, which was afterwards so beneficial to our young Roman, and did him almost as much honour in after-ages as all his conquests. We find, from history, that Polybius lived with the two brothers. One day, when himself and Scipio were alone, the latter unbosomed himself freely to him, and complained, but in the mildest and most gentle terms, that he, in their conversations at table, always directed himself to his brother Fabius, and never to him.“I am sensible,”says he,“that this indifference arises from your supposing, with all our citizens, that I am a heedless young man, and wholly averse to the taste which now prevails in Rome, because I do not devote myself to the studies of the bar, nor cultivate the graces of elocution. But how should I do this? I am told perpetually, that the Romans expect a general, and not an orator, from the house of the Scipios. I will confess to you, (pardon the sincerity with which I reveal my thoughts,) that your coldness and indifference grieve me exceedingly.”Polybius, surprised at this unexpected address, made Scipio the kindest answer; and assured the illustrious youth, that though he generally directed himself to his brother, yet this was not[pg 299]out of disrespect to him, but only because Fabius was the elder; not to mention (continued Polybius) that, knowing you possessed but one soul, I conceived that I addressed both when I spoke to either of you. He then assured Scipio, that he was entirely at his command: that with regard to the sciences, for which he discovered the happiest genius, he would have opportunities sufficient to improve himself in them, from the great number of learned Grecians who resorted daily to Rome; but that, as to the art of war, which was properly his profession, and his favourite study, he (Polybius) might be of some little service to him. He had no sooner spoke these words, than Scipio, grasping his hand in a kind of rapture:“Oh! when,”says he,“shall I see the happy day, when, disengaged from all other avocations, and living with me, you will be so much my friend, as to direct your endeavours to improve my understanding and regulate my affections? It is then I shall think myself worthy of my illustrious ancestors.”From that time Polybius, overjoyed to see so young a man breathe such noble sentiments, devoted himself particularly to our Scipio, who ever after paid him as much reverence as if he had been his father.

However, Scipio did not esteem Polybius only as an excellent historian, but valued him much more, and reaped much greater advantages from him, as an able warrior and a profound politician. Accordingly, he consulted him on every occasion, and always took his advice even when he was at the head of his army; concerting in private with Polybius all the operations of the campaign, all the movements of the forces, all enterprises against the enemy, and the several measures proper for rendering them successful.

In a word, it was the common report,932that our illustrious Roman did not perform any great or good action without being under some obligation to Polybius; nor even commit an error, except when he acted without consulting him.

I request the reader to excuse this long digression, which may be thought foreign to my subject, as I am not writing the Roman history. However, it appeared to me so well adapted to the general design I propose to myself, in this work,viz.[pg 300]the cultivating and improving the minds of youth, that I could not forbear introducing it here, though I was sensible this is not directly its proper place. And indeed, these examples show, how important it is that young people should receive a liberal and virtuous education; and the great benefit they reap, by frequenting and corresponding early with persons of merit; for these were the foundations whereon were built the fame and glory which have rendered Scipio immortal. But above all, how noble a model for our age (in which the most inconsiderable and even trifling concerns often create feuds and animosities between brothers and sisters, and disturb the peace of families,) is the generous disinterestedness of Scipio; who, whenever he had an opportunity of serving his relations, thought lightly of bestowing the largest sums upon them! This excellent passage of Polybius had escaped me, by its not being inserted in the folio edition of his works. It belongs indeed naturally to that book, where, treating of the taste for solid glory, I mentioned the contempt in which the ancients held riches, and the excellent use they made of them. I therefore thought myself indispensably obliged to restore, on this occasion, to young students, what I could not but blame myself for omitting elsewhere.

The History of the Family and Posterity of Masinissa.—I promised, after finishing what related to the republic of Carthage, to return to the family and posterity of Masinissa. This piece of history forms a considerable part of that of Africa, and therefore is not quite foreign to my subject.

A.M. 3857. A. Rom. 601.

From the time that Masinissa had declared for the Romans under the first Scipio, he had always adhered to that honourable alliance, with an almost unparalleled zeal and fidelity.933Finding his end approaching, he wrote to the proconsul of Africa, under whose standards the younger Scipio then fought, to desire that Roman might be sent to him; adding, that he should die with satisfaction, if he could but expire in his arms, after having made him executor to his will. But believing that he should be dead, before it could be possible for him to receive this consolation, he sent for his wife and children, and spoke to them as follows:“I know no[pg 301]other nation but the Romans, and, among this nation, no other family but that of the Scipios. I now, in my expiring moments, empower Scipio Æmilianus to dispose, in an absolute manner, of all my possessions, and to divide my kingdom among my children. I require, that whatever Scipio may decree, shall be executed as punctually as if I myself had appointed it by my will.”After saying these words, he breathed his last, being upwards of ninety years of age.

This prince, during his youth, had met with strange reverses of fortune, having been dispossessed of his kingdom, obliged to fly from province to province, and a thousand times in danger of his life.934Being supported, says the historian, by the divine protection, he was afterwards favoured, till his death, with a perpetual series of prosperity, unruffled by any sinister accident: for he not only recovered his own kingdom, but added to it that of Syphax his enemy; and extending his dominions from Mauritania, as far as Cyrene, he became the most powerful prince of all Africa. He was blessed, till he left the world, with the greatest health and vigour, which doubtless was owing to his extreme temperance, and the care he had taken to inure himself to fatigue. Though ninety years of age, he performed all the exercises used by young men,935and always rode without a saddle; and Polybius observes, (a circumstance preserved by Plutarch,936) that the day after a great victory over the Carthaginians, Masinissa was seen, sitting at the door of his tent, eating a piece of brown bread.

He left fifty-four sons, of whom three only were legitimate,viz.Micipsa, Gulussa, and Mastanabal.937Scipio divided the kingdom between these three, and gave considerable possessions to the rest: but the two last dying soon after, Micipsa became sole possessor of these extensive dominions. He had two sons, Adherbal and Hiempsal, and with them he educated in his palace Jugurtha his nephew, Mastanabal's son, and took[pg 302]as much care of him as he did of his own children.938This last-mentioned prince possessed several eminent qualities, which gained him universal esteem. Jugurtha, who was finely shaped, and very handsome, of the most delicate wit, and the most solid judgment, did not devote himself, as young men commonly do, to a life of luxury and pleasure. He used to exercise himself with persons of his own age, in running, riding, and throwing the javelin; and though he surpassed all his companions, there was not one of them but loved him. The chase was his only delight; but it was that of lions and other savage beasts. To finish his character, he excelled in all things, and spoke very little of himself:Plurimum facere, et mininum ipse de se loqui.

Merit so conspicuous, and so generally acknowledged, began to excite some anxiety in Micipsa. He saw himself in the decline of life, and his children very young. He knew the prodigious lengths which ambition is capable of going, when a crown is in view: and that a man, with talents much inferior to those of Jugurtha, might be dazzled by so glittering a temptation, especially when united with such favourable circumstances.939In order therefore to remove a competitor so dangerous with regard to his children, he gave Jugurtha the command of the forces which he sent to the assistance of the Romans, who, at that time, were besieging Numantia, under the conduct of Scipio. Knowing Jugurtha was actuated by the most heroic bravery, he flattered himself, that he probably would rush upon danger, and lose his life. However, he was mistaken. This young prince joined to an undaunted courage, the utmost presence of mind; and, a circumstance very rarely found in persons of his age, he preserved a just medium between a timorous foresight and an impetuous rashness.940In this campaign, he won the esteem and friendship of the whole army. Scipio sent him back to his uncle with letters of recommendation, and the most advantageous testimonials[pg 303]of his conduct, after having given him very prudent advice with regard to the course which he ought to pursue; for knowing mankind so well, he, in all probability, had discovered certain sparks of ambition in that prince, which he feared would one day break out into a flame.

Micipsa, pleased with the high character that was sent him of his nephew, changed his behaviour towards him, and resolved, if possible, to win his affection by kindness. Accordingly he adopted him; and by his will, made him joint-heir with his two sons. When he found his end approaching, he sent for all three, and bid them draw near his bed, where, in presence of the whole court he put Jugurtha in mind of all his kindness to him; conjuring him, in the name of the gods, to defend and protect, on all occasions, his children; who, being before related to him by the ties of blood, were now become his brethren, by his (Micipsa's) bounty. He told him,941that neither arms nor treasure constitute the strength of a kingdom, but friends, who are not won by arms nor gold, but by real services and inviolable fidelity. Now where (says he) can we find better friends than our brothers? And how can that man, who becomes an enemy to his relations, repose any confidence in, or depend on, strangers? He exhorted his sons to pay the highest reverence to Jugurtha; and to dispute no otherwise with him, than by their endeavour to equal, and, if possible, to surpass his exalted merit. He concluded with entreating them to observe for ever an inviolable attachment towards the Romans; and to consider them as their benefactor, their patron, and master. A few days after this, Micipsa expired.

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