Having related the memorable actions of Pericles, our history nowproceeds to the life of Fabius. A son of Hercules and a nymph, ofsome woman of that country, who brought him forth on the banks ofTiber, was, it is said, the first Fabius, the founder of the numerousand distinguished family of the name. Others will have it that theywere first called Fodii, because the first of the race delighted indigging pitfalls for wild beasts, fodere being still the Latin forto dig, and fossa for a ditch, and that in process of time, by thechange of the two letters, they grew to be called Fabii. But be thesethings true or false, certain it is that this family for a long timeyielded a great number of eminent persons. Our Fabius, who was fourthin descent from that Fabius Rullus who first brought the honourablesurname of Maximus into his family, was also, by way of personal nickname,called Verrucosus, from a wart on his upper lip； and in his childhoodthey in like manner named him Ovicula, or The Lamb, on account ofhis extreme mildness of temper. His slowness in speaking, his longlabour and pains in learning, his deliberation in entering into thesports of other children, his easy submission to everybody, as ifhe had no will of his own, made those who judge superficially of him,the greater number, esteem him insensible and stupid； and few onlysaw that this tardiness proceeded from stability, and discerned thegreatness of his mind, and the lionlikeness of his temper. But assoon as he came into employments, his virtues exerted and showed themselves；his reputed want of energy then was recognized by people in generalas a freedom of passion； his slowness in words and actions, the effectof a true prudence； his want of rapidity and his sluggishness, asconstancy and firmness.

    Living in a great commonwealth, surrounded by many enemies, he sawthe wisdom of inuring his body （nature's own weapon） to warlike exercises,and disciplining his tongue for public oratory in a style conformableto his life and character. His eloquence, indeed, had not much ofpopular ornament, nor empty artifice, but there was in it great weightof sense； it was strong and sententious, much after the way of Thucydides.We have yet extant his funeral oration upon the death of his son,who died consul, which he recited before the people.

    He was five times consul, and in his first consulship had the honourof a triumph for the victory he gained over the Ligurians, whom hedefeated in a set battle, and drove them to take shelter in the Alps,from whence they never after made any inroad or depredation upon theirneighbours. After this, Hannibal came into Italy, who, at his firstentrance, having gained a great battle near the river Trebia, traversedall Tuscany with his victorious army, and, desolating the countryround about, filled Rome itself with astonishment and terror. Besidesthe more common signs of thunder and lightning then happening, thereport of several unheard of and utterly strange portents much increasedthe popular consternation. For it was said that some targets sweatedblood； that at Antium, when they reaped their corn, many of the earswere filled with blood； that it had rained red-hot stones； that theFalerians had seen the heavens open and several scrolls falling down,in one of which was plainly written, "Mars himself stirs his arms."But these prodigies had no effect upon the impetuous and fiery temperof the consul Flaminius, whose natural promptness had been much heightenedby his late unexpected victory over the Gauls, when he fought themcontrary to the order of the senate and the advice of his colleague.Fabius, on the other side, thought it not seasonable to engage withthe enemy； not that he much regarded the prodigies, which he thoughttoo strange to be easily understood, though many were alarmed by them；but in regard that the Carthaginians were but few, and in want ofmoney and supplies, he deemed it best not to meet in the field a generalwhose army had been tried in many encounters, and whose object wasa battle, but to send aid to their allies, control the movements ofthe various subject cities, and let the force and vigour of Hannibalwaste away and expire, like a flame, for want of the aliment.

    These weighty reasons did not prevail with Flaminius, who protestedhe would never suffer the advance of the enemy to the city, nor bereduced, like Camillus in former time, to fight for Rome within thewalls of Rome. Accordingly he ordered the tribunes to draw out thearmy into the field； and though he himself, leaping on horseback togo out, was no sooner mounted but the beast, without any apparentcause, fell into so violent a fit of trembling and bounding that hecast his rider headlong on the ground； he was no ways deterred, butproceeded as he had begun, and marched forward up to Hannibal, whowas posted near the Lake Thrasymene in Tuscany. At the moment of thisengagement, there happened so great an earthquake, that it destroyedseveral towns, altered the course of rivers, and carried off partsof high cliffs, yet such was the eagerness of the combatants, thatthey were entirely insensible of it.

    In this battle Flaminius fell, after many proofs of his strength andcourage, and round about him all the bravest of the army； in the whole,fifteen thousand were killed, and as many made prisoners. Hannibal,desirous to bestow funeral honours upon the body of Flaminius, madediligent search after it, but could not find it among the dead, norwas it ever known what became of it. Upon the former engagement nearTrebia, neither the general who wrote, nor the express who told thenews, used straightforward and direct terms, nor related it otherwisethan as a drawn battle, with equal loss on either side； but on thisoccasion as soon as Pomponius the praetor had the intelligence, hecaused the people to assemble, and, without disguising or dissemblingthe matter, told them plainly, "We are beaten, O Romans, in a greatbattle； the consul Flaminius is killed； think, therefore, what isto be done for your safety." Letting loose his news like a gate ofwind upon an open sea, he threw the city into utter confusion： insuch consternation, their thoughts found no support or stay. The dangerat hand at last awakened their judgments into a resolution to choosea dictator, who by the sovereign authority of his office, and by hispersonal wisdom and courage, might be able to manage the public affairs.Their choice unanimously fell upon Fabius, whose character seemedequal to the greatness of the office； whose age was so far advancedas to give him experience, without taking from him the vigour of action；his body could execute what his soul designed； and his temper wasa happy compound of confidence and cautiousness.

    Fabius, being thus installed in the office of dictator, in the firstplace gave the command of the horse to Lucius Minucius； and next askedleave of the senate for himself, that in time of battle he might serveon horseback, which by an ancient law amongst the Romans was forbidto their generals； whether it were, that, placing their greatest strengthin their foot, they would have their commanders-in-chief posted amongstthem, or else to let them know, that, how great and absolute soevertheir authority were, the people and senate were still their masters,of whom they must ask leave. Fabius, however, to make the authorityof his charge more observable, and to render the people more submissiveand obedient to him, caused himself to be accompanied with the fullbody of four-and-twenty lictors； and, when the surviving consul cameto visit him, sent him word to dismiss his lictors with their fasces,the ensigns of authority, and appear before him as a private person.

    The first solemn action of his dictatorship was very fitly a religiousone： an admonition to the people, that their late overthrow had notbefallen them through want of courage in their soldiers, but throughthe neglect of divine ceremonies in the general. He therefore exhortedthem not to fear the enemy, but by extraordinary honour to propitiatethe gods. This he did, not to fill their minds with superstition,but by religious feeling to raise their courage, and lessen theirfear of the enemy by inspiring the belief that Heaven was on theirside. With this view, the secret prophecies called the Sibylline Bookswere consulted； sundry predictions found in them were said to referto the fortunes and events of the time； but none except the consulterwas informed. Presenting himself to the people, the dictator madea vow before them to offer in sacrifice the whole product of the nextseason, all Italy over, of the cows, goats, swine, sheep, both inthe mountains and the plains； and to celebrate musical festivitieswith an expenditure of the precise sum of 333 sestertia and 333 denarii,with one-third of a denarius over. The sum total of which is, in ourmoney, 83,583 drachmas and 2 obols. What the mystery might be in thatexact number is not easy to determine, unless it were in honour ofthe perfection of the number three, as being the first of odd numbers,the first that contains in itself multiplication, with all other propertieswhatsoever belonging to numbers in general.

    In this manner Fabius, having given the people better heart for thefuture, by making them believe that the gods took their side, forhis own part placed his whole confidence in himself, believing thatthe gods bestowed victory and good fortune by the instrumentalityof valour and of prudence； and thus prepared he set forth to opposeHannibal, not with intention to fight him, but with the purpose ofwearing out and wasting the vigour of his arms by lapse of time, ofmeeting his want of resources by superior means, by large numbersthe smallness of his forces. With this design, he always encampedon the highest grounds, where the enemy's horse could have no accessto him. Still he kept pace with them； when they marched he followedthem； when they encamped he did the same, but at such a distance asnot to be compelled to an engagement and always keeping upon the hills,free from the insults of their horse； by which means he gave themno rest, but kept them in a continual alarm.

    But this his dilatory way gave occasion in his own camp for suspicionof want of courage； and this opinion prevailed yet more in Hannibal'sarmy. Hannibal was himself the only man who was not deceived, whodiscerned his skill and detected his tactics, and saw, unless he couldby art or force bring him to battle, that the Carthaginians, unableto use the arms in which they were superior, and suffering the continualdrain of lives and treasure in which they were inferior, would inthe end come to nothing. He resolved, therefore, with all the artsand subtleties of war to break his measures and to bring Fabius toan engagement, like a cunning wrestler, watching every opportunityto get good hold and close with his adversary. He at one time attacked,and sought to distract his attention, tried to draw him off in variousdirections, and endeavoured in all ways to tempt him from his safepolicy. All this artifice, though it had no effect upon the firm judgmentand conviction of the dictator, yet upon the common soldier, and evenupon the general of the horse himself, it had too great an operation：Minucius, unseasonably eager for action, bold and confident, humouredthe soldiery, and himself contributed to fill them with wild eagernessand empty hopes, which they vented in reproaches upon Fabius, callinghim Hannibal's pedagogue, since he did nothing else but follow himup and down and wait upon him. At the same time, they cried up Minuciusfor the only captain worthy to command the Romans； whose vanity andpresumption rose so high in consequence, that he insolently jestedat Fabius's encampment upon the mountains, saying that he seated themthere as on a theatre, to behold the flames and desolation of theircountry. And he would sometimes ask the friends of the general, whetherit were not his meaning, by thus leading them from mountain to mountain,to carry them at last （having no hopes on earth） up into heaven, orto hide them in the clouds from Hannibal's army？ When his friendsreported these things to the dictator, persuading him that, to avoidthe general obloquy, he should engage the enemy, his answer was, "Ishould be more faint-hearted than they make me, if, through fear ofidle reproaches, I should abandon my own convictions. It is no ingloriousthing to have fear for the safety of our country, but to be turnedfrom one's course by men's opinions, by blame, and by misrepresentation,shows a man unfit to hold an office such as this, which, by such conduct,he makes the slaves of those whose errors it is his business to control."

    An oversight of Hannibal occurred soon after. Desirous to refreshhis horse in some good pasture-grounds, and to draw off his army,he ordered his guides to conduct him to the district of Casinum. They,mistaking his bad pronunciation, led him and his army to the townof Casilinum, on the frontier of Campania which the river Lothronus,called by the Romans Vulturnus, divides in two parts. The countryaround is enclosed by mountains, with a valley opening towards thesea, in which the river overflowing forms a quantity of marsh landwith deep banks of sand, and discharges itself into the sea on a veryunsafe and rough shore. While Hannibal was proceeding hither, Fabius,by his knowledge of the roads, succeeded in making his way aroundbefore him, and despatched four thousand choice men to seize the exitfrom it and stop him up, and lodged the rest of his army upon theneighbouring hills, in the most advantageous places； at the same timedetaching a party of his lightest armed men to fall upon Hannibal'srear； which they did with such success, that they cut off eight hundredof them, and put the whole army in disorder. Hannibal, finding theerror and the danger he was fallen into, immediately crucified theguides； but considered the enemy to be so advantageously posted, thatthere was no hope of breaking through them； while his soldiers beganto be despondent and terrified, and to think themselves surroundedwith embarrassments too difficult to be surmounted.

    Thus reduced, Hannibal had recourse to stratagem； he caused two thousandhead of oxen which he had in his camp to have torches or dry fagotswell fastened to their horns, and lighting them in the beginning ofthe night, ordered the beasts to be driven on towards the heightscommanding the passages out of the valley and the enemy's posts； whenthis was done, he made his army in the dark leisurely march afterthem. The oxen at first kept a slow orderly pace, and with their lightedheads resembled an army marching by night, astonishing the shepherdsand herdsmen of the hills about. But when the fire burnt down thehorns of the beasts to the quick, they no longer observed their soberpace, but unruly and wild with their pain, ran dispersed about, tossingtheir heads and scattering the fire round about them upon each otherand setting light as they passed to the trees. This was a surprisingspectacle to the Romans on guard upon the heights. Seeing flames whichappeared to come from men advancing with torches, they were possessedwith the alarm that the enemy was approaching in various quarters,and that they were being surrounded； and, quitting their post, abandonedthe pass, and precipitately retired to their camp on the hills. Theywere no sooner gone, but the light-armed of Hannibal's men, accordingto his order, immediately seized the heights, and soon after the wholearmy, with all the baggage, came up and safely marched through thepasses.

    Fabius, before the night was over, quickly found out the trick； forsome of the beasts fell into his hands； but for fear of an ambushin the dark, he kept his men all night to their arms in the camp.As soon as it was day, he attacked the enemy in the rear, where, aftera good deal of skirmishing in the uneven ground, the disorder mighthave become general, but that Hannibal detached from his van a bodyof Spaniards, who, of themselves active and nimble, were accustomedto the climbing of mountains. These briskly attacked the Roman troops,who were in heavy armour, killed a good many, and left Fabius no longerin condition to follow the enemy. This action brought the extremeof obloquy and contempt upon the dictator； they said it was now manifestthat he was not only inferior to his adversary, as they had alwaysthought, in courage, but even in that conduct, foresight, and generalship,by which he had proposed to bring the war to an end.

    And Hannibal, to enhance their anger against him, marched with hisarmy close to the lands and possessions of Fabius, and, giving ordersto his soldiers to burn and destroy all the country about, forbadethem to do the least damage in the estates of the Roman general, andplaced guards for their security. This, when reported at Rome, hadthe effect with the people which Hannibal desired. Their tribunesraised a thousand stories against him, chiefly at the instigationof Metilius, who, not so much out of hatred to him as out of friendshipto Minucius, whose kinsman he was, thought by depressing Fabius toraise his friend. The senate on their part were also offended withhim for the bargain he had made with Hannibal about the exchange ofprisoners, the conditions of which were that, after exchange madeof man for man, if any on either side remained, they should be redeemedat the price of two hundred and fifty drachmas a head. Upon the wholeaccount, there remained two hundred and forty Romans unexchanged,and the senate now not only refused to allow money for the ransoms,but also reproached Fabius for making a contract, contrary to thehonour and interest of the commonwealth, for redeeming men whose cowardicehad put them in the hands of the enemy. Fabius heard and endured allthis with invincible patience； and, having no money by him, and onthe other side being resolved to keep his word with Hannibal and notto abandon the captives, he despatched his son to Rome to sell land,and to bring with him the price, sufficient to discharge the ransoms；which was punctually performed by his son and delivery accordinglymade to him of the prisoners, amongst whom many, when they were released,made proposals to repay the money； which Fabius in all cases declined.

    About this time, he was called to Rome by the priests, to assist,according to the duty of his office, at certain sacrifices, and wasthus forced to leave the command of the army with Minucius； but beforehe parted, not only charged him as his commander-in-chief, but besoughtand entreated him not to come, in his absence, to a battle with Hannibal.His commands, entreaties, and advice were lost upon Minucius, forhis back was no sooner turned but the new general immediately soughtoccasions to attack the enemy. And notice being brought him that Hannibalhad sent out a great part of his army to forage, he fell upon a detachmentof the remainder, doing great execution, and driving them to theirvery camp, with no little terror to the rest, who apprehended theirbreaking in upon them； and when Hannibal had recalled his scatteredforces to the camp, he, nevertheless, without any loss, made his retreat,a success which aggravated his boldness and presumption, and filledthe soldiers with rash confidence. The news spread to Rome, whereFabius, on being told it, said that what he most feared was Minucius'ssuccess； but the people, highly elated, hurried to the forum to listento an address from Metilius the tribune, in which he infinitely extolledthe valour of Minucius, and fell bitterly upon Fabius, accusing himfor want not merely of courage, but even of loyalty； and not onlyhim, but also many other eminent and considerable persons； sayingthat it was they that had brought the Carthaginians into Italy, withthe design to destroy the liberty of the people； for which end theyhad at once put the supreme authority into the hands of a single person,who by his slowness and delays might give Hannibal leisure to establishhimself in Italy, and the people of Carthage time and opportunityto supply him with fresh succours to complete his conquest.

    Fabius came forward with no intention to answer the tribune, but onlysaid, that they should expedite the sacrifices, that so he might speedilyreturn to the army to punish Minucius, who had presumed to fight contraryto his orders； words which immediately possessed the people with thebelief that Minucius stood in danger of his life. For it was in thepower of the dictator to imprison and to put to death, and they fearedthat Fabius, of a mild temper in general, would be as hard to be appeasedwhen once irritated, as he was slow to be provoked. Nobody dared toraise his voice in opposition； Metilius alone, whose office of tribunegave him security to say what he pleased （for in the time of a dictatorshipthat magistrateal one preserves his authority）, boldly applied himselfto the people in the behalf of Minucius； that they should not sufferhim to be made a sacrifice to the enmity of Fabius, nor permit himto be destroyed, like the son of Manlius Torquatus, who was beheadedby his father for a victory fought and triumphantly won against order；he exhorted them to take away from Fabius that absolute power of adictator, and to put it into more worthy hands, better able and moreinclined to use it for the public good. These impressions very muchprevailed upon the people, though not so far as wholly to dispossessFabius of the dictatorship. But they decreed that Minucius shouldhave an equal authority with the dictator in the conduct of the war；which was a thing then without precedent, though a little later itwas again practised after the disaster at Cannae； when the dictator,Marcus Junius, being with the army, they chose at Rome Fabius Buteodictator, that he might create new senators, to supply the numerousplaces of those who were killed. But as soon as, once acting in public,he had filled those vacant places with a sufficient number, he immediatelydismissed his lictors, and withdrew from all his attendance, and minglinglike a common person with the rest of the people, quietly went abouthis own affairs in the forum.

    The enemies of Fabius thought they had sufficiently humiliated andsubdued him by raising Minucius to be his equal in authority； butthey mistook the temper of the man, who looked upon their folly asnot his loss, but like Diogenes, who, being told that some personsderided him, made answer, "But I am not derided," meaning that onlythose were really insulted on whom such insults made an impression,so Fabius, with great tranquillity and unconcern, submitted to whathappened, and contributed a proof to the argument of the philosophersthat a just and good man is not capable of being dishonoured. Hisonly vexation arose from his fear lest this ill counsel, by supplyingopportunities to the diseased military ambition of his subordinate,should damage the public cause. Lest the rashness of Minucius shouldnow at once run headlong into some disaster, he returned back withall privacy and speed to the army； where he found Minucius so elevatedwith his new dignity, that, a joint-authority not contenting him,he required by turns to have the command of the army every other day.This Fabius rejected, but was contented that the army should be divided；thinking each general singly would better command his part, than partiallycommand the whole. The first and fourth legion he took for his owndivision, the second and third he delivered to Minucius； so also ofthe auxiliary forces each had an equal share.

    Minucius, thus exalted, could not contain himself from boasting ofhis success in humiliating the high and powerful office of the dictatorship.Fabius quietly reminded him that it was, in all wisdom, Hannibal,and not Fabius, whom he had to combat； but if he must needs contendwith his colleague, it had best be in diligence and care for the preservationof Rome； that it might not be said, a man so favoured by the peopleserved them worse than he who had been ill-treated and disgraced bythem.

    The young general, despising these admonitions as the false humilityof age, immediately removed with the body of his army, and encampedby himself. Hannibal, who was not ignorant of all these passages,lay watching his advantage from them. It happened that between hisarmy and that of Minucius there was a certain eminence, which seemeda very advantageous and not difficult post to encamp upon； the levelfield around it appeared, from a distance, to be all smooth and even,though it had many inconsiderable ditches and dips in it, not discernibleto the eye. Hannibal, had he pleased, could easily have possessedhimself of this ground； but he had reserved it for a bait, or train,in proper season, to draw the Romans to an engagement. Now that Minuciusand Fabius were divided, he thought the opportunity fair for his purpose；and, therefore, having in the night-time lodged a convenient numberof his men in these ditches and hollow places, early in the morninghe sent forth a small detachment, who, in the sight of Minucius, proceededto possess themselves of the rising ground. According to his expectation,Minucius swallowed the bait, and first sends out his light troops,and after them some horse, to dislodge the enemy； and, at last, whenhe saw Hannibal in person advancing to the assistance of his men,marched down with his whole army drawn up. He engaged with the troopson the eminence, and sustained their missiles； the combat for sometime was equal； but as soon as Hannibal perceived that the whole armywas now sufficiently advanced within the toils he had set for them,so that their backs were open to his men whom he had posted in thehollows, he gave the signal； upon which they rushed forth from variousquarters, and with loud cries furiously attacked Minucius in the rear.The surprise and the slaughter was great, and struck universal alarmand disorder through the whole army. Minucius himself lost all hisconfidence； he looked from officer to officer, and found all alikeunprepared to face the danger, and yielding to a flight, which, however,could not end in safety. The Numidian horsemen were already in fullvictory riding about the plain, cutting down the fugitives.

    Fabius was not ignorant of this danger of his countrymen； he foresawwhat would happen from the rashness of Minucius, and the cunning ofHannibal； and, therefore, kept his men to their arms, in readinessto wait the event； nor would he trust to the reports of others, buthe himself, in front of his camp, viewed all that passed. When, therefore,he saw the army of Minucius encompassed by the enemy, and that bytheir countenance and shifting their ground they appeared more disposedto flight than to resistance, with a great sigh, striking his handupon his thigh, he said to those about him, "O Hercules！ how muchsooner than I expected, though later than he seemed to desire, hathMinucius destroyed himself！" He then commanded the ensigns to be ledforward, and the army to follow, telling them, "We must make hasteto rescue Minucius, who is a valiant man, and a lover of his country；and if he hath been too forward to engage the enemy, at another timewe will tell him of it." Thus, at the head of his men, Fabius marchedup to the enemy, and first cleared the plain of the Numidians； andnext fell upon those who were charging the Romans in the rear, cuttingdown all that made opposition, and obliging the rest to save themselvesby a hasty retreat, lest they should be environed as the Romans hadbeen. Hannibal, seeing so sudden a change of affairs, and Fabius,beyond the force of his age, opening his way through the ranks upthe hillside, that he might join Minucius, warily forbore, soundeda retreat, and drew off his men into their camp； while the Romanson their part were no less contented to retire in safety. It is reportedthat upon this occasion Hannibal said jestingly to his friends： "Didnot I tell you, that this cloud which always hovered upon the mountainswould, at some time or other, come down with a storm upon us？"

    Fabius, after his men had picked up the spoils of the field, retiredto his own camp, without saying any harsh or reproachful thing tohis colleague； who, also, in his part, gathering his army together,spoke and said to them： "To conduct great matters and never commita fault is above the force of human nature； but to learn and improveby the faults we have committed, is that which becomes a good andsensible man. Some reasons I may have to accuse fortune, but I havemany more to thank her； for in a few hours she hath cured a long mistake,and taught me that I am not the man who should command others, buthave need of another to command me； and that we are not to contendfor victory over those to whom it is our advantage to yield. Thereforein everything else henceforth the dictator must be your commander；only in showing gratitude towards him I will still be your leader,and always be the first to obey his orders." Having said this, hecommanded the Roman eagles to move forward, and all his men to followhim to the camp of Fabius. The soldiers, then, as he entered, stoodamazed at the novelty of the sight, and were anxious and doubtfulwhat the meaning might be. When he came near the dictator's tent,Fabius went forth to meet him, on which he at once laid his standardsat his feet, calling him with a loud voice his father； while the soldierswith him saluted the soldiers here as their patrons, the term employedby freedmen to those who gave them their liberty. After silence wasobtained, Minucius said, "You have this day, O dictator, obtainedtwo victories； one by your valour and conduct over Hannibal, and anotherby your wisdom and goodness over your colleague； by one victory youpreserved, and by the other instructed us； and when we were alreadysuffering one shameful defeat from Hannibal, by another welcome onefrom you we were restored to honour and safety. I can address youby no nobler name than that of a kind father, though a father's beneficencefalls short of that I have received from you. Front a father I individuallyreceived the gift of life； to you I owe its preservation not for myselfonly, but for all these who are under me." After this, he threw himselfinto the arms of the dictator； and in the same manner the soldiersof each army embraced one another with gladness and tears of joy.

    Not long after, Fabius laid down the dictatorship, and consuls wereagain created. Those who immediately succeeded observed the same methodin managing the war, and avoided all occasions of fighting Hannibalin a pitched battle； they only succoured their allies, and preservedthe towns from falling off to the enemy. But afterwards, when TerentiusVarro, a man of obscure birth, but very popular and bold, had obtainedthe consulship, he soon made it appear that by his rashness and ignorancehe would stake the whole commonwealth on the hazard. For it was hiscustom to declaim in all assemblies, that, as long as Rome employedgenerals like Fabius, there never would be an end of the war； vauntingthat whenever he should get sight of the enemy, he would that sameday free Italy from the strangers. With these promises he so prevailed,that he raised a greater army than had ever yet been sent out of Rome.There were enlisted eighty-eight thousand fighting men； but what gaveconfidence to the populace, only terrified the wise and experienced,and none more than Fabius； since if so great a body, and the flowerof the Roman youth, should be cut off, they could not see any newresource for the safety of Rome. They addressed themselves, therefore,to the other consul, Aemilius Paulus, a man of great experience inwar, but unpopular, and fearful also of the people, who once beforeupon some impeachment had condemned him； so that he needed encouragementto withstand his colleague's temerity. Fabius told him, if he wouldprofitably serve his country, he must no less oppose Varro's ignoranteagerness than Hannibal's conscious readiness, since both alike conspiredto decide the fate of Rome by a battle. "It is more reasonable," hesaid to him, "that you should believe me than Varro, in matters relatingto Hannibal, when I tell you that if for this year you abstain fromfighting with him, either his army will perish of itself, or elsehe will be glad to depart of his own will. This evidently appears,inasmuch as, notwithstanding his victories, none of the countriesor towns of Italy come in to him, and his army is not now the thirdpart of what it was at first." To this Paulus is said to have replied,"Did I only consider myself, I should rather choose to be exposedto the weapons of Hannibal than once more to the suffrages of my fellow-citizens,who are urgent for what you disapprove； yet since the cause of Romeis at stake, I will rather seek in my conduct to please and obey Fabiusthan all the world besides."

    These good measures were defeated by the importunity of Varro； whom,when they were both come to the army, nothing would content but aseparate command, that each consul should have his day； and when histurn came, he posted his army close to Hannibal, at a village calledCannae, by the river Aufidus. It was no sooner day, but he set upthe scarlet coat flying over his tent, which was the signal of battle.This boldness of the consul, and the numerousness of his army, doubletheirs, startled the Carthaginians； but Hannibal commanded them totheir arms, and with a small train rode out to take a full prospectof the enemy as they were now forming in their ranks, from a risingground not far distant. One of his followers, called Gisco, a Carthaginianof equal rank with himself, told him that the numbers of the enemywere astonishing； to which Hannibal replied with a serious countenance,"There is one thing, Gisco, yet more astonishing, which you take nonotice of；" and when Gisco inquired what, answered, that "in all thosegreat numbers before us, there is not one man called Gisco." Thisunexpected jest of their general made all the company laugh, and asthey came down from the hill they told it to those whom they met,which caused a general laughter amongst them all, from which theywere hardly able to recover themselves. The army, seeing Hannibal'sattendants come back from viewing the enemy in such a laughing condition,concluded that it must be profound contempt of the enemy, that madetheir general at this moment indulge in such hilarity.

    According to his usual manner, Hannibal employed stratagems to advantagehimself. In the first place, he so drew up his men that the wind wasat their backs, which at that time blew with a perfect storm of violence,and, sweeping over the great plains of sand, carried before it a cloudof dust over the Carthaginian army into the faces of the Romans, whichmuch disturbed them in the fight. In the next place, all his bestmen he put into his wings； and in the body which was somewhat moreadvanced than the wings, placed the worst and the weakest of his army.He commanded those in the wings, that, when the enemy had made a thoroughcharge upon that middle advance body, which he knew would recoil,as not being able to withstand their shock, and when the Romans intheir pursuit should be far enough engaged within the two wings, theyshould, both on the right and the left, charge them in the flank,and endeavour to encompass them. This appears to have been the chiefcause of the Roman loss. Pressing upon Hannibal's front, which gaveground, they reduced the form of his army into a perfect half-moon,and gave ample opportunity to the captains of the chosen troops tocharge them right and left on their flanks, and to cut off and destroyall who did not fall back before the Carthaginian wings united intheir rear. To this general calamity, it is also said, that a strangemistake among the cavalry much contributed. For the horse of Aemiliusreceiving a hurt and throwing his master, those about him immediatelyalighted to aid the consul； and the Roman troops, seeing their commandersthus quitting their horses, took it for a sign that they should alldismount and charge the enemy on foot. At the sight of this, Hannibalwas heard to say, "This pleases me better than if they had been deliveredto me bound hand and foot." For the particulars of this engagement,we refer our reader to those authors who have written at large uponthe subject.

    The consul Varro, with a thin company, fled to Venusia； Aemilius Paulus,unable any longer to oppose the flight of his men, or the flight ofhis men, or the pursuit of the enemy, his body all covered with wounds,and his soul no less wounded with grief, sat himself down upon a stone,expecting the kindness of a despatching blow. His face was so disfigured,and all his person so stained with blood, that his very friends anddomestics passing by knew him not. At last Cornelius Lentulus, a youngman of patrician race, perceiving who he was, alighted from his horse,and, tendering it to him, desired him to get up and save a life sonecessary to the safety of the commonwealth, which, at this time,would dearly want so great a captain. But nothing could prevail uponhim to accept of the offer； he obliged young Lentulus, with tearsin his eyes, to remount his horse； then standing up, he gave him hishand, and commanded him to tell Fabius Maximus that Aemilius Paulushad followed his directions to his very last, and had not in the leastdeviated from those measures which were agreed between them； but thatit was his hard fate to be overpowered by Varro in the first place,and secondly by Hannibal. Having despatched Lentulus with this commission,he marked where the slaughter was greatest, and there threw himselfupon the swords of the enemy. In this battle it is reported that fiftythousand Romans were slain, four thousand prisoners taken in the field,and ten thousand in the camp of both consuls.

    The friends of Hannibal earnestly persuaded him to follow up his victory,and pursue the flying Romans into the very gates of Rome, assuringhim that in five days' time he might sup in the Capitol； nor is iteasy to imagine what consideration hindered him from it. It wouldseem rather than some supernatural or divine intervention caused thehesitation and timidity which he now displayed, and which made Barcas,a Carthaginian, tell him with indignation, "You know, Hannibal, howto gain a victory, but not how to use it." Yet it produced a marvellousrevolution in his affairs； he, who hitherto had not one town, market,or seaport in his possession, who had nothing for the subsistenceof his men but what he pillaged from day to day, who had no placeof retreat or basis of operation, but was roving, as it were, witha huge troop of banditti, now became master of the best provincesand towns of Italy, and of Capua itself, next to Rome the most flourishingand opulent city, all which came over to him, and submitted to hisauthority.

    It is the saying of Euripides, that "a man is in ill-case when hemust try a friend," and so neither, it would seem, is a state in agood one, when it needs an able general. And so it was with the Romans；the counsels and actions of Fabius, which, before the battle, theyhad branded as cowardice and fear, now, in the other extreme, theyaccounted to have been more than human wisdom； as though nothing buta divine power of intellect could have seen so far, and foretold contraryto the judgment of all others, a result which, even now it had arrived,was hardly credible. In him, therefore, they placed their whole remaininghopes； his wisdom was the sacred altar and temple to which they fledfor refuge, and his counsels, more than anything, preserved them fromdispersing and deserting their city, as in the time when the Gaulstook possession of Rome. He, whom they esteemed fearful and pusillanimouswhen they were, as they thought, in a prosperous condition was nowthe only man, in this general and unbounded dejection and confusion,who showed no fear, but walked the streets with an assured and serenecountenance, addressed his fellow-citizens, checked the women's lamentations,and the public gatherings of those who wanted thus to vent their sorrows.He caused the senate to meet, he heartened up the magistrates, andwas himself as the soul and life of every office.

    He placed guards at the gates of the city to stop the frightened multitudefrom flying； he regulated and confined their mournings for their slainfriends, both as to time and place； ordering that each family shouldperform such observances within private walls, and that they shouldcontinue only the space of one month, and then the whole city shouldbe purified. The feast of Ceres happening to fall within this time,it was decreed that the solemnity should be intermitted, lest thefewness, and the sorrowful countenance of those who should celebrateit, might too much expose to the people the greatness of their loss；besides that, the worship most acceptable to the gods is that whichcomes from cheerful hearts. But those rites which were proper forappeasing their anger, and procuring auspicious signs and presages,were by the direction of the augurs carefully performed. Fabius Pictor,a near kinsman to Maximus, was sent to consult the oracle of Delphi；and about the same time, two vestals having been detected to havebeen violated, the one killed herself, and the other, according tocustom, was buried alive.

    Above all, let us admire the high spirit and equanimity of this Romancommonwealth； that when the consul Varro came beaten and flying home,full of shame and humiliation, after he had so disgracefully and calamitouslymanaged their affairs, yet the whole senate and people went forthto meet him at the gates of the city, and received him with honourand respect. And, silence being commanded, the magistrates and chiefof the senate, Fabius amongst them, commended him before the people,because he did not despair of the safety of the commonwealth, afterso great a loss, but was come to take the government into his hands,to execute the laws, and aid his fellow-citizens in their prospectof future deliverance.

    When word was brought to Rome that Hannibal, after the fight, hadmarched with his army into other parts of Italy, the hearts of theRomans began to revive, and they proceeded to send out generals andarmies. The most distinguished commands were held by Fabius Maximusand Claudius Marcellus, both generals of great fame, though upon oppositegrounds. For Marcellus, as we have set forth in his life, was a manof action and high spirit, ready and bold with his own hand, and,as Homer describes his warriors, fierce, and delighting in fights.Boldness, enterprise, and dating to match those of Hannibal, constitutedhis tactics, and marked his engagements. But Fabius adhered to hisformer principles, still persuaded that, by following close and notfighting him, Hannibal and his army would at last be tried out andconsumed, like a wrestler in too high condition, whose very excessof strength makes him the more likely suddenly to give way and loseit. Posidonius tells us that the Romans called Marcellus their sword,and Fabius their buckler； and that the vigour of the one, mixed withthe steadiness of the other, made a happy compound that proved thesalvation of Rome. So that Hannibal found by experience that encounteringthe one, he met with a rapid, impetuous river, which drove him back,and still made some breach upon him； and by the other, though silentlyand quietly passing by him, he was insensibly washed away and consumed；and, at last, was brought to this, that he dreaded Marcellus whenhe was in motion, and Fabius when he sat still. During the whole courseof this war, he had still to do with one or both of these generals；for each of them was five times consul, and, as praetors or proconsulsor consuls, they had always a part in the government of the army,till, at last, Marcellus fell into the trap which Hannibal had laidfor him, and was killed in his fifth consulship. But all his craftand subtlety were unsuccessful upon Fabius, who only once was in somedanger of being caught, when counterfeit letters came to him fromthe principal inhabitants of Metapontum, with promises to deliverup their town if he would come before it with his army, and intimationsthat they should expect him. This train had almost drawn him in； heresolved to march to them with part of his army, and was divertedonly by consulting the omens of the birds, which he found to be inauspicious；and not long after it was discovered that the letters had been forgedby Hannibal, who, for his reception, had laid an ambush to entertainhim. This, perhaps, we must rather attribute to the favour of thegods than to the prudence of Fabius.

    In preserving the towns and allies from revolt by fair and gentletreatment, and in not using rigour, or showing a suspicion upon everylight suggestion, his conduct was remarkable. It is told of him, thatbeing informed of a certain Marsian, eminent for courage and goodbirth, who had been speaking underhand with some of the soldiers aboutdeserting, Fabius was so far from using severity against him, thathe called for him, and told him he was sensible of the neglect thathad been shown to his merit and good service, which, he said, wasa great fault in the commanders who reward more by favour than bydesert； "but henceforth, whenever you are aggrieved," said Fabius,"I shall consider it your fault, if you apply yourself to any onebut to me；" and when he had so spoken, he bestowed an excellent horse,and other presents upon him； and, from that time forwards, there wasnot a faithfuller and more trusty man in the whole army. With goodreason he judged, that, if those who have the government of horsesand dogs endeavour by gentle usage to cure their angry and untractabletempers, rather than by cruelty and beating, much more should thosewho haze the command of men try to bring them to order and disciplineby the mildest and fairest means, and not treat them worse than gardenersdo those wild plants, which, with care and attention, lose graduallythe savageness of their nature, and bear excellent fruit.

    At another time, some of his officers informed him that one of theirmen was very often absent from his place, and out at nights； he askedthem what kind of man he was； they all answered, that the whole armyhad not a better man, that he was a native of Lucania, and proceededto speak of several actions which they had seen him perform. Fabiusmade strict inquiry, and discovered at last that these frequent excursionswhich he ventured upon were to visit a young girl, with whom he wasin love. Upon which he gave private order to some of his men to findout the woman and secretly convey her into his own tent； and thensent for the Lucanian, and, calling him aside, told him, that he verywell knew how often he had been out away from the camp at night, whichwas a capital transgression against military discipline and the Romanlaws, but he knew also how brave he was, and the good services hehad done； therefore, in consideration of them, he was willing to forgivehim his fault； but to keep him in good order, he was resolved to placeone over him to be his keeper, who should be accountable for his goodbehaviour. Having said this, he produced the woman, and told the soldier,terrified and amazed at the adventure, "This is the person who mustanswer for you； and by your future behaviour we shall see whetheryour night rambles were on account of love, or for any other worsedesign."

    Another passage there was, something of the same kind, which gainedhim possession of Tarentum. There was a young Tarentine in the armythat had a sister in Tarentum, then in possession of the enemy, whoentirely loved her brother, and wholly depended upon him. He, beinginformed that a certain Bruttian, whom Hannibal had made a commanderof the garrison, was deeply in love with his sister, conceived hopesthat he might possibly turn it to the advantage of the Romans. Andhaving first communicated his design to Fabius, he left the army asa deserter in show, and went over to Tarentum. The first days passed,and the Bruttian abstained from visiting the sister； for neither ofthem knew that the brother had notice of the amour between them. Theyoung Tarentine, however, took an occasion to tell his sister howhe had heard that a man of station and authority had made his addressesto her, and desired her, therefore, to tell him who it was； "for,"said he, "if he be a man that has bravery and reputation, it mattersnot what countryman he is, since at this time the sword mingles allnations, and makes them equal； compulsion makes all things honourable；and in a time when right is weak, we may be thankful if might assumesa form of gentleness." Upon this the woman sends for her friend, andmakes the brother and him acquainted； and whereas she henceforth showedmore countenance to her lover than formerly, in the same degrees thather kindness increased, his friendship, also, with the brother advanced.So that at last our Tarentine thought this Bruttian officer well enoughprepared to receive the offers he had to make him, and that it wouldbe easy for a mercenary man, who was in love, to accept, upon theterms proposed, the large rewards promised by Fabius. In conclusion,the bargain was struck, and the promise made of delivering the town.This is the common tradition, though some relate the story otherwise,and say, that this woman, by whom the Bruttian was inveigled to betraythe town, was not a native of Tarentum, but a Bruttian born, and waskept by Fabius as his concubine； and being a countrywoman and an acquaintanceof the Bruttian governor, he privately sent her to him to corrupthim.

    Whilst these matters were thus in process, to draw off Hannibal fromscenting the design, Fabius sends orders to the garrison in Rhegium,that they should waste and spoil the Bruttian country, and shouldalso lay siege to Caulonia, and storm the place with all their might.These were a body of eight thousand men, the worst of the Roman army,who had most of them been runaways, and had been brought home by Marcellusfrom Sicily, in dishonour, so that the loss of them would not be anygreat grief to the Romans. Fabius, therefore, threw out these menas a bait for Hannibal, to divert him from Tarentum； who instantlycaught at it, and led his forces to Caulonia； in the meantime, Fabiussat down before Tarentum. On the sixth day of the siege, the youngTarentine slips by night out of the town, and, having carefully observedthe place where the Bruttian commander, according to agreement, wasto admit the Romans, gave an account of the whole matter to Fabius；who thought it not safe to rely wholly upon the plot, but, while proceedingwith secrecy to the post, gave order for a general assault to be madeon the other side of the town, both by land and sea. This being accordinglyexecuted, while the Tarentines hurried to defend the town on the sideattacked, Fabius received the signal from the Bruttian, scaled thewalls, and entered the town unopposed.

    Here, we must confess, ambition seems to have overcome him. To makeit appear to the world that he had taken Tarentum by force and hisown prowess, and not by treachery, he commanded his men to kill theBruttians before all others； yet he did not succeed in establishingthe impression he desired, but merely gained the character of perfidyand cruelty. Many of the Tarentines were also killed, and thirty thousandof them were sold for slaves； the army had the plunder of the town,and there was brought into the treasury three thousand talents. Whilstthey were carrying off everything else as plunder, the officer whotook the inventory asked what should be done with their gods, meaningthe pictures and statues； Fabius answered, "Let us leave their angrygods to the Tarentines." Nevertheless, he removed the colossal statueof Hercules, and had it set up in the Capitol, with one of himselfon horseback, in brass, near it； proceedings very different from thoseof Marcellus on a like occasion, and which, indeed, very much setoff in the eyes of the world his clemency and humanity, as appearsin the account of his life.

    Hannibal, it is said, was within five miles of Tarentum, when he wasinformed that the town was taken. He said openly, "Rome then has alsogot a Hannibal； as we won Tarentum, so have we lost it." And, in privatewith some of his confidants, he told them, for the first time, thathe always thought it difficult, but now he held it impossible, withthe forces he then had, to master Italy.

    Upon this success, Fabius had a triumph decreed him at Rome, muchmore splendid than his first； they looked upon him now as a championwho had learned to cope with his antagonist, and could now easilyfoil his arts and prove his best skill ineffectual. And, indeed, thearmy of Hannibal was at this time partly worn away with continualaction, and partly weakened and become dissolute with overabundanceand luxury. Marcus Livius, who was governor of Tarentum when it wasbetrayed to Hannibal, and then retired into the citadel, which hekept till the town was retaken, was annoyed at these honours and distinctions,and, on one occasion, openly declared in the senate, that by his resistance,more than by any action of Fabius, Tarentum had been recovered； onwhich Fabius laughingly replied： "You say very true, for if MarcusLivius had not lost Tarentum, Fabius Maximus had never recovered it."The people, amongst other marks of gratitude, gave his son the consulshipof the next year； shortly after whose entrance upon his office, therebeing some business on foot about provision for the war, his father,either by reason of age and infirmity, or perhaps out of design totry his son, came up to him on horseback. While he was still at adistance, the young consul observed it, and bade one of his lictorscommand his father to alight, and tell him if he had any businesswith the consul, he should come on foot. The standers-by seemed offendedat the imperiousness of the son towards a father so venerable forhis age and his authority, and turned their eyes in silence towardsFabius. He, however, instantly alighted from his horse, and with openarms came up, almost running, and embraced his son, saying, "Yes,my son, you do well, and understand well what authority you have received,and over whom you are to use it. This was the way by which we andour forefathers advanced the dignity of Rome, preferring ever herhonour and service to our own fathers and children."

    And, in fact, it is told that the great-grandfather of our Fabius,who was undoubtedly the greatest man of Rome in his time, both inreputation and authority, who had been five times consul, and hadbeen honoured with several triumphs for victories obtained by him,took pleasure in serving as lieutenant under his own son, when hewent as consul to his command. And when afterwards his son had a triumphbestowed upon him for his good service, the old man followed, on horseback,his triumphant chariot, as one of his attendants； and made it hisglory, that while he really was, and was acknowledged to be, the greatestman in Rome, and held a father's full power over his son, he yet submittedhimself to the laws and the magistrate.

    But the praises of our Fabius are not bounded here. He afterwardslost his son, and was remarkable for bearing the loss with the moderationbecoming a pious father and a wise man, and as it was the custom amongstthe Romans, upon the death of any illustrious person, to have a funeraloration recited by some of the nearest relations, he took upon himselfthat office, and delivered a speech in the forum, which he committedafterwards to writing.

    After Cornelius Scipio, who was sent into Spain, had driven the Carthaginians,defeated by him in many battles, out of the country, and had gainedover to Rome many towns and nations with large resources, he was receivedat his coming home with unexampled joy and acclamation of the people；who, to show their gratitude, elected him consul for the year ensuing.Knowing what high expectation they had of him, he thought the occupationof contesting Italy with Hannibal a mere old man's employment, andproposed no less a task to himself than to make Carthage the seatof the war, fill Africa with arms and devastation, and so oblige Hannibal,instead of invading the countries of others, to draw back and defendhis own. And to this end he proceeded to exert all the influence hehad with the people. Fabius, on the other side, opposed the undertakingwith all his might, alarming the city, and telling them that nothingbut the temerity of a hot young man could inspire them with such dangerouscounsels, and sparing no means, by word or deed, to prevent it. Heprevailed with the senate to espouse his sentiments； but the commonpeople thought that he envied the fame of Scipio, and that he wasafraid lest this young conqueror should achieve some great and nobleexploit, and have the glory, perhaps, of driving Hannibal out of Italy,or even of ending the war, which had for so many years continued andbeen protracted under his management.

    To say the truth, when Fabius first opposed this project of Scipio,he probably did it out of caution and prudence, in consideration onlyof the public safety, and of the danger which the commonwealth mightincur； but when he found Scipio every day increasing in the esteemof the people, rivalry and ambition led him further, and made himviolent and personal in his opposition. For he even applied to Crassus,the colleague of Scipio, and urged him not to yield the command toScipio, but that, if his inclinations were for it, he should himselfin person lead the army to Carthage. He also hindered the giving moneyto Scipio for the war； so that he was forced to raise it upon hisown credit and interest from the cities of Etruria, which were extremelyattached to him. On the other side, Crassus would not stir againsthim, nor remove out of Italy, being, in his own nature, averse toall contention, and also having, by his office of high priest, religiousduties to retain him. Fabius, therefore, tried other ways to opposethe design； he impeded the levies, and he declaimed, both in the senateand to the people, that Scipio was not only himself flying from Hannibal,but was also endeavouring to drain Italy of all its forces, and tospirit away the youth of the country to a foreign war, leaving behindthem their parents, wives, and children, and the city itself, a defencelessprey to the conquering and undefeated enemy at their doors. With thishe so far alarmed the people, that at last they would only allow Scipiofor the war the legions which were in Sicily, and three hundred, whomhe particularly trusted, of those men who had served with him in Spain.In these transactions, Fabius seems to have followed the dictatesof his own wary temper.

    But, after that Scipio was gone over into Africa, when news almostimmediately came to Rome of wonderful exploits and victories, of whichthe fame was confirmed by the spoils he sent home； of a Numidian kingtaken prisoner； of a vast slaughter of their men； of two camps ofthe enemy burnt and destroyed, and in them a great quantity of armsand horses； and when, hereupon, the Carthaginians were compelled tosend envoys to Hannibal to call him home, and leave his idle hopesin Italy, to defend Carthage； when, for such eminent and transcendingservices, the whole people of Rome cried up and extolled the actionsof Scipio； even then, Fabius contended that a successor should besent in his place, alleging for it only the old reason of the mutabilityof fortune, as if she would be weary of long favouring the same person.With this language many did begin to feel offended； it seemed to bemorosity and ill-will, the pusillanimity of old age, or a fear, thathad now become exaggerated, of the skill of Hannibal. Nay, when Hannibalhad put his army on shipboard, and taken his leave of Italy, Fabiusstill could not forbear to oppose and disturb the universal joy ofRome, expressing his fears and apprehensions, telling them that thecommonwealth was never in more danger than now, and that Hannibalwas a more formidable enemy under the walls of Carthage than everhe had been in Italy； that it would be fatal to Rome whenever Scipioshould encounter his victorious army, still warm with the blood ofso many Roman generals, dictators, and consuls slain. And the peoplewere, in some degree, startled with these declamations, and were broughtto believe that the further off Hannibal was, the nearer was theirdanger. Scipio, however, shortly afterwards fought Hannibal, and utterlydefeated him, humbled the pride of Carthage beneath his feet, gavehis countrymen joy and exultation beyond all their hopes, and-

    "Long shaken on the seas restored the state."

    Fabius Maximus, however, did not live to see the prosperous end ofthis war, and the final overthrow of Hannibal, nor to rejoice in there-established happiness and security of the commonwealth； for aboutthe time that Hannibal left Italy, he fell sick and died. At Thebes,Epaminondas died so poor that he was buried at the public charge；one small iron coin was all, it is said, that was found in his house.Fabius did not need this, but the people, as a mark of their affection,defrayed the expenses of his funeral by a private contribution fromeach citizen of the smallest piece of coin； thus owning him theircommon father, and making his end no less honourable than his life.

    THE END