The Jugurthine War (Sallust)

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	The Jugurthine War Author: Sallust	Translator: John Selby Watson
37	Ea tempestate Romae seditionibus tribuniciis atrociter res publica agitabatur . P . Lucullus et L . Annius tribuni plebis resistentibus collegis continuare magistratum nitebantur , quae dissensio totius anni comitia impediebat . Ea mora in spem adductus Aulus , quem pro praetore in castris relictum supra diximus , aut conficiendi belli aut terrore exercitus ab rege pecuniae capiendae milites mense Ianuario ex hibernis in expeditionem euocat , magnisque itineribus hieme aspera pervenit ad oppidum Suthul , ubi regis thesauri erant . Quod quamquam et saevitia temporis et opportunitate loci neque capi neque obsideri poterat — nam circum murum situm in praerupti montis extremo planities limosa hiemalibus aquis paludem fecerat —, tamen aut simulandi gratia , quo regi formidinem adderet , aut cupidine caecus ob thesauros oppidi potiendi vineas agere , aggerem iacere aliaque , quae incepto usui forent , properare .	The republic, at this time was grievously distracted by the contentions of the tribunes. Two of them, Publius Lucullus and Lucius Annius, were struggling against the will of their colleagues, to prolong their term of office; and this dispute put off the comitia throughout the year. In consequence of this delay, Aulus, who, as I have just said, was left as proprætor in the camp, conceiving hopes either of finishing the war, or of extorting money from Jugurtha by the terror of his army, drew out his troops in the month of January, from their winter-quarters into the field, and by forced marches, during severe weather, made his way to the town of Suthul, where Jugurtha's treasures were deposited. And though this place, both from the inclemency of the season, and from its advantageous situation, could neither be taken nor besieged; for around its walls, which were built on the edge of a steep hill, a marshy plain, flooded by the rains of winter, had been converted into a lake; yet Aulus, either as a feint to strike terror into Jugurtha, or blinded by avarice, began to move forward his vineæ, to cast up a rampart, and to hasten all necessary preparations for a siege.
38	At Iugurtha cognita uanitate atque imperitia legati subdole eius augere amentiam , missitare supplicantis legatos , ipse quasi vitabundus per saltuosa loca et tramites exercitum ductare . Denique Aulum spe pactionis perpulit , uti relicto Suthule in abditas regiones sese ueluti cedentem insequeretur : ita delicta occultiora fuere . Interea per homines callidos diu noctuque exercitum temptabat , centuriones ducesque turmarum , partim uti transfugerent , corrumpere , alii signo dato locum uti desererent . Quae postquam ex sententia instruit , intempesta nocte de improuiso multitudine Numidarum Auli castra circumvenit . milites Romani , perculsi tumultu insolito , arma capere alii , alii se abdere , pars territos confirmare , trepidare omnibus locis . vis magna hostium , caelum nocte atque nubibus obscuratum , periculum anceps ; postremo fugere an manere tutius foret , in incerto erat . Sed ex eo numero , quos paulo ante corruptos diximus , cohors una Ligurum cum duabus turmis Thracum et paucis gregariis militibus transiere ad regem , et centurio primi pili tertiae legionis per munitionem , quam uti defenderet acceperat , locum hostibus introeundi dedit , eaque Numidae cuncti irrupere . Nostri foeda fuga , plerique abiectis armis , proximum collem occupauerunt . Nox atque praeda castrorum hostis , quo minus victoria uterentur , remorata sunt . Deinde Iugurtha postero die cum Aulo in colloquio verba facit : tametsi ipsum cum exercitu fame et ferro clausum teneret , tamen se memorem humanarum rerum , si secum foedus faceret , incolumis omnis sub iugum missurum ; praeterea uti diebus decem Numidia decederet . Quae quamquam gravia et flagiti plena erant , tamen , quia mortis metu mutabantur , sicuti regi libuerat , pax convenit .	Jugurtha, seeing the proprætor's vanity and ignorance, artfully strengthened his infatuation; he sent him, from time to time, deputies with submissive messages, while he himself, as if desirous to escape, led his army away through woody defiles and cross-roads. At length he succeeded in alluring Aulus, by the prospect of a surrender on conditions, to leave Suthul, and pursue him, as if in full retreat, into the remoter parts of the country. Meanwhile, by means of skillful emissaries, he tampered night and day with our men, and prevailed on some of the officers, both of infantry and cavalry, to desert to him at once, and upon others to quit their posts at a given signal, that their defection might thus be less observed. Having prepared matters according to his wishes, he suddenly surrounded the camp of Aulus, in the dead of night, with a vast body of Numidians. The Roman soldiers were alarmed with an unusual disturbance; some of them seized their arms, others hid themselves, others encouraged those that were afraid; but consternation prevailed every where ; for the number of the enemy was great, the sky was thick with clouds and darkness, the danger was indiscernible, and it was uncertain whether it were safer to flee or to remain. Of those whom I have just mentioned as being bribed, one cohort of Ligurians, with two troops of Thracian horse, and a few common soldiers, went over to Jugurtha; and the chief centurion of the third legion allowed the enemy an entrance at the very post which he had been appointed to defend, and at which all the Numidians poured into the camp. Our men fled disgracefully, the greater part having thrown away their arms, and took possession of a neighboring hill. Night, and the spoils of the camp, prevented the enemy from making full use of this victory. On the following day, Jugurtha, coming to a conference with Aulus, told him, " that though he held him hemmed in by famine and the sword, yet that, being mindful of human vicissitudes, he would, if they would make a treaty with him, allow them to depart uninjured; only that they must pass under the yoke, and quit Numidia within ten days." These terms were severe and ignominious; but, as death was the alternative, peace was concluded as Jugurtha desired.
39	Sed ubi ea Romae comperta sunt , metus atque maeror civitatem invasere : pars dolere pro gloria imperi , pars insolita rerum bellicarum timere libertati ; Aulo omnes infesti , ac maxime qui bello saepe praeclari fuerant , quod armatus dedecore potius quam manu salutem quaesiuerat . Ob ea consul Albinus ex delicto fratris invidiam ac deinde periculum timens senatum de foedere consulebat , et tamen interim exercitui supplementum scribere , ab sociis et nomine Latino auxilia arcessere , denique omnibus modis festinare . Senatus ita , uti par fuerat , decernit suo atque populi iniussu nullum potuisse foedus fieri . Consul impeditus a tribunis plebis , ne quas parauerat copias secum portaret , paucis diebus in Africam proficiscitur ; nam omnis exercitus , uti convenerat , Numidia deductus in prouincia hiemabat . Postquam eo venit , quamquam persequi Iugurtham et mederi fraternae invidiae animo ardebat , cognitis militibus , quos praeter fugam soluto imperio licentia atque lascivia corruperat , ex copia rerum statuit sibi nihil agitandum .	When this affair was made known at Rome, consternation and dismay pervaded the city; some were concerned for the glory of the republic; others, ignorant of war, trembled for their liberty. But all were indignant at Aulus, and especially those who had been distinguished in the field, because, with arms in his hands, he had sought safety in disgrace rather than in resistance. The consul Albinus, apprehending, from the delinquency of his brother, odium and danger to himself, consulted the senate on the treaty which had been made, but, at the same time, raised recruits for the army, sent for auxiliaries to the allies and Latins, and made general preparations for war. The senate, as was just, decreed, "that no treaty could be made without their own consent and that of the people." The consul, though he was hindered by the influence of the tribunes from taking with him the force which he had raised, set out in a few days for the province of Africa, where the whole army, being withdrawn, according to the agreement, from Numidia, had gone into winter-quarters. When he arrived there, although he longed to pursue Jugurtha, and diminish the odium that had fallen on his brother, yet, when he saw the state of the troops, whom, besides the flight and relaxation of discipline, licentiousness, and debauchery had corrupted, he determined, under all the circumstances of the case, to attempt nothing.
40	Interim Romae C . Mamilius Limetanus tribunus plebis rogationem ad populum promulgat , uti quaereretur in eos , quorum consilio Iugurtha senati decreta neglegisset , quique ab eo in legationibus aut imperiis pecunias accepissent , qui elephantos quique perfugas tradidissent , item qui de pace aut bello cum hostibus pactiones fecissent . Huic rogationi partim conscii sibi , alii ex partium invidia pericula metuentes , quoniam aperte resistere non poterant , quin illa et alia talia placere sibi faterentur , occulte per amicos ac maxime per homines nominis Latini et socios Italicos impedimenta parabant . Sed plebes incredibile memoratu est quam intenta fuerit quantaque vi rogationem iusserit , magis odio nobilitatis , cui mala illa parabantur , quam cura rei publicae : tanta libido in partibus erat . Igitur ceteris metu perculsis M . Scaurus , quem legatum Bestiae fuisse supra docuimus , inter laetitiam plebis et suorum fugam , trepida etiam tum civitate , cum ex Mamilia rogatione tres quaesitores rogarentur , effecerat , uti ipse in eo numero crearetur . Sed quaestio exercita aspere violenterque ex rumore et libidine plebis : uti saepe nobilitatem , sic ea tempestate plebem ex secundis rebus insolentia ceperat .	At Rome, in the mean time, Caius Mamilius Limetanus, one of the tribunes, proposed that the people should pass a bill for instituting an inquiry into the conduct of those by whose influence Jugurtha had set at naught the decrees of the senate, as well as of those who, whether as embassadors or commanders, had received money from him, or who had restored to him his elephants and deserters, or had made any compacts with the enemy relative to peace or war. To this bill some, who were conscious of guilt, and, others, who apprehended danger from the jealousy of parties, secretly raised obstructions through the agency of friends, and especially of men among the Latins and Italian allies, since they could not openly resist it, without admitting that these and similar practices met their approbation. But as to the people, it is incredible what eagerness they displayed, and with what spirit they approved, voted, and passed the bill, though rather from hatred to the nobility, against whom these severe measures were directed, than from concern for the republic; so violent was the fury of party. While the rest of the delinquents were in trepidation, Marcus Scaurus, whom I have previously noticed as Bestia's lieutenant, contrived, amid the exultation of the populace, the dismay of his own party, and the continued agitation in the city, to have himself elected one of the three commissioners who were appointed by the bill of Mamilius to carry it into execution. But the investigation, notwithstanding, was conducted with great rigor and violence, under the influence of common rumor and popular caprice; for the insolence of success, which had often distinguished the nobility, on this occasion characterized the people.
41	Ceterum mos partium et factionum ac deinde omnium malarum artium paucis ante annis Romae ortus est otio atque abundantia earum rerum , quae prima mortales ducunt . Nam ante Carthaginem deletam populus et senatus Romanus placide modesteque inter se rem publicam tractabant , neque gloriae neque dominationis certamen inter civis erat : metus hostilis in bonis artibus civitatem retinebat . Sed ubi illa formido mentibus decessit , scilicet ea , quae res secundae amant , lascivia atque superbia incessere . Ita quod in aduersis rebus optauerant otium , postquam adepti sunt , asperius acerbiusque fuit . Namque coepere nobilitas dignitatem , populus libertatem in libidinem vertere , sibi quisque ducere trahere rapere . Ita omnia in duas partis abstracta sunt , res publica , quae media fuerat , dilacerata . Ceterum nobilitas factione magis pollebat , plebis vis soluta atque dispersa in multitudine minus poterat . Paucorum arbitrio belli domique agitabatur ; penes eosdem aerarium prouinciae magistratus gloriae triumphique erant ; populus militia atque inopia urgebatur ; praedas bellicas imperatores cum paucis diripiebant : interea parentes aut parui liberi militum , uti quisque potentiori confinis erat , sedibus pellebantur . Ita cum potentia auaritia sine modo modestiaque invadere , polluere et vastare omnia , nihil pensi neque sancti habere , quoad semet ipsa praecipitauit . Nam ubi primum ex nobilitate reperti sunt , qui veram gloriam iniustae potentiae anteponerent , moveri civitas et dissensio civilis quasi permixtio terrae oriri coepit .	The prevalence of parties among the people, and of factions in the senate, and of all evil practices attendant on them, had its origin at Rome, a few years before, during a period of tranquillity, and amid the abundance of all that mankind regarded as desirable. For, before the destruction of Carthage, the senate and people managed the affairs of the republic with mutual moderation and forbearance; there were no contests among the citizens for honor or ascendency; but the dread of an enemy kept the state in order. When that fear, however, was removed from their minds, licentiousness and pride, evils which prosperity loves to foster, immediately began to prevail; and thus peace, which they had so eagerly desired in adversity, proved, when they had obtained it, more grievous and fatal than adversity itself. The patricians carried their authority, and the people their liberty, to excess; every man took, snatched, and seized what he could. There was a complete division into two factions, and the republic was torn in pieces between them. Yet the nobility still maintained an ascendency by conspiring together; for the strength of the people, being disunited and dispersed among a multitude, was less able to exert itself. Things were accordingly directed, both at home and in the field, by the will of a small number of men, at whose disposal were the treasury, the provinces, offices, honors, and triumphs; while the people were oppressed with military service and with poverty, and the generals divided the spoils of war with a few of their friends. The parents and children of the soldiers, meantime, if they chanced to dwell near a powerful neighbor, were driven from their homes. Thus avarice, leagued with power, disturbed, violated, and wasted every thing, without moderation or restraint; disregarding alike reason and religion, and rushing headlong, as it were, to its own destruction. For whenever any arose among the nobility, who preferred true glory to unjust power, the state was immediately in a tumult, and civil discord spread with as much disturbance as attends a convulsion of the earth.
42	Nam postquam Ti . Et C . Gracchus, quorum maiores Punico atque aliis bellis multum rei publicae addiderant , vindicare plebem in libertatem et paucorum scelera patefacere coepere , nobilitas noxia atque eo perculsa modo per socios ac nomen Latinum , interdum per equites Romanos , quos spes societatis a plebe dimouerat , Gracchorum actionibus obviam ierat ; et primo Tiberium , dein paucos post annos eadem ingredientem Gaium , tribunum alterum , alterum triumuirum coloniis deducendis , cum M . Fuluio Flacco ferro necauerat . Et sane Gracchis cupidine victoriae haud satis moderatus animus fuit . Sed bono vinci satius est quam malo more iniuriam vincere . Igitur ea victoria nobilitas ex libidine sua usa multos mortalis ferro aut fuga extinxit plusque in relicuum sibi timoris quam potentiae addidit . Quae res plerumque magnas civitatis pessum dedit , dum alteri alteros vincere quouis modo et victos acerbius ulcisci volunt . Sed de studiis partium et omnis civitatis moribus si singillatim aut pro magnitudine parem disserere , tempus quam res maturius me deseret . Quam ob rem ad inceptum redeo .	Thus when Tiberius and Caius Gracchus, whose forefathers had done much to increase the power of the state in the Punic and other wars, began to vindicate the liberty of the people, and to expose the misconduct of the few, the nobility, conscious of guilt, and seized with alarm, endeavored, sometimes by means of the allies and Latins, and sometimes by means of the equestrian order, whom the hope of coalition with the patricians had detached from the people, to put a stop to the proceedings of the Gracchi; and first they killed Tiberius, and a few years after Caius, who pursued the same measures as his brother, the one when he was tribune, and the other when he was one of a triumvirate for settling colonies; and with them they cut off Marcus Fulvius Flaccus. In the Gracchi, indeed, it must be allowed that, from their ardor for victory, there was not sufficient prudence. But to a reasonable man it is more agreeable to submit to injustice than to triumph over it by improper means. The nobility, however, using their victory with wanton extravagance, exterminated numbers of men by the sword or by exile, yet rather increased, for the time to come, the dread with which they were regarded, than their real power. Such proceedings have often ruined powerful states; for of two parties, each strives to suppress the other by any means whatever, and take vengeance with undue severity on the vanquished. But were I to attempt to treat of the animosities of parties, and of the morals of the state, with minuteness of detail, and suitably to the vastness of the subject, time would fail me sooner than matter. I therefore return to my subject.
43	Post Auli foedus exercitusque nostri foedam fugam Metellus et Silanus consules designati prouincias inter se partiuerant , Metelloque Numidia evenerat , acri viro et , quamquam aduerso populi partium , fama tamen aequabili et inviolata . Is ubi primum magistratum ingressus est , alia omnia sibi cum collega ratus , ad bellum , quod gesturus erat , animum intendit . Igitur diffidens ueteri exercitui milites scribere , praesidia undique arcessere , arma tela equos et cetera instrumenta militiae parare , ad hoc commeatum affatim , denique omnia , quae in bello vario et multarum rerum egenti usui esse solent . Ceterum ad ea patranda senatus auctoritate , socii nomenque Latinum et reges ultro auxilia mittendo , postremo omnis civitas summo studio annitebatur . Itaque ex sententia omnibus rebus paratis compositisque in Numidiam proficiscitur , magna spe civium cum propter artis bonas tum maxime quod aduersum divitias invictum animum gerebat et auaritia magistratuum ante id tempus in Numidia nostrae opes contusae hostiumque auctae erant .	After the treaty of Aulus, and the disgraceful flight of our army, Quintus Metellus and Marcus Silanus, the consuls elect, divided the provinces between them; and Numidia fell to Metellus, a man of energy, and, though an opponent of the popular party, yet of a character uniformly irreproachable. He, as soon as he entered on his office, regarded all other things as common to himself and his colleague, but directed his chief attention to the war which he was to conduct. Distrusting, therefore, the old army, he began to raise new troops, to procure auxiliaries from all parts, and to provide arms, horses, and other military requisites, besides provisions in abundance, and every thing else which was likely to be of use in a war varied in its character, and demanding great resources. To assist in accomplishing these objects, the allies and Latins, by the appointment of the senate, and different princes of their own accord, sent supplies; and the whole state exerted itself in the cause with the greatest zeal. Having at length prepared and arranged every thing according to his wishes, Metellus set out for Numidia, attended with sanguine expectations on the part of his fellow-citizens, not only because of his other excellent qualities, but especially because his mind was proof against gold; for it was through the avarice of our commanders, that, down to this period, our affairs in Numidia had been ruined, and those of the enemy rendered prosperous.
44	Sed ubi in Africam venit , exercitus traditus a Sp . Albino proconsule iners inbellis , neque periculi neque laboris patiens , lingua quam manu promptior , praedator ex sociis et ipse praeda hostium , sine imperio et modestia habitus . Ita imperatori nouo plus ex malis moribus sollicitudinis quam ex copia militum auxili aut spei bonae accedebat . Statuit tamen Metellus , quamquam et aestiuorum tempus comitiorum mora imminuerat et expectatione eventus civium animos intentos putabat , non prius bellum attingere , quam maiorum disciplina milites laborare coegisset . Nam Albinus , Auli fratris exercitusque clade perculsus , postquam decreverat non egredi prouincia , quantum temporis aestiuorum in imperio fuit , plerumque milites statiuis castris habebat , nisi cum odor aut pabuli egestas locum mutare subegerat . Sed neque muniebatur , neque more militari vigiliae deducebantur ; uti cuique libebat , ab signis aberat ; lixae permixti cum militibus diu noctuque uagabantur , et palantes agros vastare , villas expugnare , pecoris et mancipiorum praedas certantes agere eaque mutare cum mercatoribus vino aduecticio et aliis talibus ; praeterea frumentum publice datum vendere , panem in dies mercari ; postremo quaecumque dici aut fingi queunt ignaviae luxuriaeque probra , ea in illo exercitu cuncta fuere et alia amplius .	When he arrived in Africa, the command of the army was resigned to him by Albinus, the proconsul; but it was an army spiritless and unwarlike; incapable of encountering either danger or fatigue; more ready with the tongue than with the sword; accustomed to plunder our allies, while itself was the prey of the enemy; unchecked by discipline, and void of all regard to its character. The new general, accordingly, felt more anxiety from the corrupt morals of the men, than confidence or hope from their numbers. He determined, however, though the delay of the comitia had shortened his summer campaign, and though he knew his countrymen to be anxious for the result of his proceedings, not to commence operations, until, by a revival of the old discipline, he had brought the soldiers to bear fatigue. For Albinus, dispirited by the disaster of his brother Aulus and his army, and having resolved not to leave the province during the portion of the summer that he was to command, had kept the soldiers, for the most part, in a stationary camp, except when stench, or want of forage, obiged them to remove. But neither had the camp been fortified, nor the watches kept, according to military usage; every one had been allowed to leave his post when he pleased. The camp-followers, mingled with the soldiers, wandered about day and night, ravaging the country, robbing the houses, and vying with each other in carrying off cattle and slaves, which they exchanged with traders for foreign wine and other luxuries; they even sold the corn, which was given them from the public store, and bought bread from day to day; and, in a word, whatever abominations, arising from idleness and licentiousness, can be expressed or imagined, and even more, were to be seen in that army.
45	Sed in ea difficultate Metellum nec minus quam in rebus hostilibus magnum et sapientem virum fuisse comperior : tanta temperantia inter ambitionem saevitiamque moderatum . Namque edicto primum adiumenta ignaviae sustulisse : ne quisquam in castris panem aut quem alium cibum coctum venderet , ne lixae exercitum insequerentur , ne miles hastatus aut gregarius in castris neue in agmine seruum aut iumentum haberet ; ceteris arte modum statuisse . Praeterea transuersis itineribus cottidie castra movere , iuxta ac si hostes adessent vallo atque fossa munire , vigilias crebras ponere et eas ipse cum legatis circumire ; item in agmine in primis modo , modo postremis , saepe in medio adesse , ne quispiam ordine egrederetur , ut cum signis frequentes incederent , miles cibum et arma portaret . Ita prohibendo a delictis magis quam vindicando exercitum brevi confirmauit .	But I am assured that Metellus, in these difficult circumstances, no less than in his operations against the enemy, proved himself a great and wise man; so just a medium did he observe between an affectation of popularity and an excessive enforcement of discipline. His first measure was to remove incentives to idleness, by a general order that no one should sell bread, or any other dressed provisions, in the camp; that no sutlers should follow the army; and that no common soldier should have a servant, or beast of burden, either in a camp or on a march. He made the strictest regulations, too, with regard to other things. He moved his camp daily, exercising the soldiers by marches across the country; he fortified it with a rampart and a trench, exactly as if the enemy had been at hand; he placed numerous sentinels by night, and went the rounds with his officers; and, when the army was on the march, he would be at one time in the front, at another in the rear, and at another in the center, to see that none quitted their ranks, that the men kept close to their standards, and that every soldier carried his provisions and his arms. Thus by preventing rather than punishing irregularities, he in a short time rendered his army effective.