The Jugurthine War (Sallust)

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	The Jugurthine War Author: Sallust	Translator: John Selby Watson
73	Igitur Metellus , ubi de casu Bomilcaris et indicio patefacto ex perfugis cognovit , rursus tamquam ad integrum bellum cuncta parat festinatque . Marium fatigantem de profectione , simul et inuitum et offensum sibi parum idoneum ratus , domum dimittit . Et Romae plebes litteris , qua de Metello ac Mario missae erant , cognitis volenti animo de ambobus acceperant . Imperatori nobilitas , quae antea decori fuit , invidiae esse ; at illi alteri generis humilitas fauorem addiderat . Ceterum in utroque magis studia partium quam bona aut mala sua moderata . Praeterea seditiosi magistratus uulgum exagitare , Metellum omnibus contionibus capitis arcessere , Mari virtutem in maius celebrare . Denique plebes sic accensa , uti opifices agrestesque omnes , quorum res fidesque in manibus sitae erant . relictis operibus frequentarent Marium et sua necessaria post illius honorem ducerent . Ita perculsa nobilitate post multas tempestates nouo homini consulatus mandatur . Et postea populus a tribuno plebis T . Manlio Mancino rogatus , quem vellet cum Iugurtha bellum gerere , frequens Marium iussit . Sed paulo ... Decreverat : ea res frustra fuit .	Metellus, hearing from some deserters of the fate of Bomilcar, and the discovery of the conspiracy, made fresh preparations for action, and with the utmost dispatch, as if entering upon an entirely new war. Marius, who was still importuning him for leave of absence, he allowed to go home; thinking that as he served with reluctance, and bore him personal enmity, he was not likely to prove a very useful officer. The common people at Rome, having learned the contents of the letters written from Africa concerning Metellus and Marius, had listened to the accounts given of both with eagerness. But the noble birth of Metellus, which had previously been a motive for paying him honor, had now become a cause of unpopularity; while the obscurity of Marius's origin had procured him favor. In regard to both, however, party feeling had more influence than the good or bad qualities of either. The factious tribunes, too, inflamed the populace, charging Metellus, in their harangues, with offenses worthy of death, and exaggerating the excellent qualities of Marius. At length the people were so excited that all the artisans and rustics, whose whole subsistence and credit depended on their labor, quitting their several employments, attended Marius in crowds, and thought less of their own wants than of his exaltation. Thus the nobility being borne down, the consulship, after the lapse of many years, was once more given to a man of humble birth. And afterward, when the people were asked by Manilius Mancinus, one of their tribunes, whom they would appoint to carry on the war against Jugurtha, they, in a full assembly, voted it to Marius. The senate had previously decreed it to Metellus; but that decree was thus rendered abortive.
74	Eodem tempore Iugurtha amissis amicis , quorum plerosque ipse necauerat , ceteri formidine pars ad Romanos , alii ad regem Bocchum profugerant , cum neque bellum geri sine administris posset et nouorum fidem in tanta perfidia ueterum experiri periculosum duceret , varius incertusque agitabat . Neque illi res neque consilium aut quisquam hominum satis placebat : itinera praefectosque in dies mutare ; modo aduersum hostis , interdum in solitudines pergere ; saepe in fuga ac post paulo in armis spem habere ; dubitare , virtuti an fidei popularium minus crederet : ita quocumque intenderat , res aduersae erant . Sed inter eas moras repente sese Metellus cum exercitu ostendit . Numidae ab Iugurtha pro tempore parati instructique , dein proelium incipitur . Qua in parte rex pugnae affuit , ibi aliquamdiu certatum , ceteri eius omnes milites primo congressu pulsi fugatique . Romani signorum et armorum aliquanto numero , hostium paucorum potiti ; nam ferme Numidis in omnibus proeliis magis pedes quam arma tuta sunt .	During this period, Jugurtha, as he was bereft of his friends (of whom he had put to death the greater number, while the rest, under the influence of terror, had fled partly to the Romans, and partly to Bocchus), as the war, too, could not be carried on without officers, and as he thought it dangerous to try the faith of new ones after such perfidy among the old, was involved in doubt and perplexity; no scheme, no counsel, no person could satisfy him; he changed his route and his captains daily; he hurried sometimes against the enemy, and some-times toward the deserts; depended at one time on flight, and at another on resistance; and was unable to decide whether he could less trust the courage or the fidelity of his subjects. Thus, in whatever direction he turned his thoughts, the prospect was equally disheartening. In the midst of his irresolution, Metellus suddenly made his appearance with his army. The Numidians were assembled and drawn up by Jugurtha, as well as time permitted; and a battle was at once commenced. Where the king commanded in person, the struggle was maintained for some time; but the rest of his force was routed and put to flight at the first onset. The Romans took a considerable number of standards and arms, but not many prisoners; for, in almost every battle, their feet afforded more security to the Numidians than their swords.
75	Ea fuga Iugurtha impensius modo rebus suis diffidens cum perfugis et parte equitatus in solitudines , dein Thalam pervenit , in oppidum magnum atque opulentum , ubi plerique thesauri filiorumque eius multus pueritiae cultus erat . Quae postquam Metello comperta sunt , quamquam inter Thalam flumenque proximum in spatio milium quinquaginta loca arida atque vasta esse cognoverat , tamen spe patrandi belli , si eius oppidi potitus foret , omnis asperitates superuadere ac naturam etiam vincere aggreditur . Igitur omnia iumenta sarcinis leuari iubet nisi frumento dierum decem , ceterum utris modo et alia aquae idonea portari . Praeterea conquirit ex agris quam plurimum potest domiti pecoris eoque imponit vasa cuiusque modi , sed pleraque lignea collecta ex tuguriis Numidarum . Ad hoc finitimis imperat , que se post regis fugam Metello dederant , quam plurimum quisque aquae portaret ; diem locumque , ubi praesto forent , praedicit ; ipse ex flumine , quam proximam oppido aquam esse supra diximus , iumenta onerat : eo modo instructus ad Thalam proficiscitur . Deinde ubi ad id loci ventum , quo Numidis praeceperat , et castra posita munitaque sunt , tanta repente caelo missa vis aquae dicitur , ut ea modo exercitui satis superque foret . Praeterea commeatus spe amplior , quia Numidae , sicuti plerique in nova deditione , officia intenderant . Ceterum milites religione pluvia magis usi , eaque res multum animis eorum addidit , nam rati sese dis immortalibus curae esse . Deinde postero die contra opinionem Iugurthae ad Thalam perveniunt . Oppidani , qui se locorum asperitate munitos crediderant , magna atque insolita re perculsi , nihilo segnius bellum parare ; idem nostri facere .	In consequence of this defeat, Jugurtha, feeling less confidence in the state of his affairs than ever, retreated with the deserters, and part of his cavalry, first into the deserts, and afterward to Thala, a large and opulent city, where lay the greater portion of his treasures, and where there was magnificent provision for the education of his children. When Metellus was informed of this, although he knew that there was, between Thala and the nearest river, a dry and desert region fifty miles broad, yet, in the hope of finishing the war if he should gain possession of the town, he resolved to surmount all difficulties, and to conquer even Nature herself. He gave orders that the beasts of burden, therefore, should be lightened of all the baggage excepting ten days' provision; and that they should be laden with skins and other utensils for holding water. He also collected from the fields as many laboring cattle as he could find, and loaded them with vessels of all sorts, but chiefly wooden, taken from the cottages of the Numidians. He directed such of the neighboring people, too, as had submitted to him after the retreat of Jugurtha, to bring him as much water as they could carry, appointing a time and a place for them to be in attendance. He then loaded his beasts from the river, which, as I have intimated, was the nearest water to the town, and, thus provided, set out for Thala. When he came to the place at which he had desired the Numidians to meet him, and had pitched and fortified his camp, so copious a fall of rain is said to have happened, as would have furnished more than sufficient water for his whole army. Provisions, too, were brought him far beyond his expectations; for the Numidians, like most people after a recent surrender, had done more than was required of them. The men, however, from a religious feeling, preferred using the rain-water; the fall of which greatly increased their courage, for they thought themselves the peculiar care of the gods. On the next day, to the surprise of Jugurtha, they arrived at Thala. The inhabitants, who thought themselves secured by the difficulties of the approach to them, were astonished at so strange and unexpected a sight, but, nevertheless, prepared for their defense. Our men showed equal alacrity on their side.
76	Sed rex , nihil iam infectum Metello credens , quippe qui omnia , arma tela , locos tempora , denique naturam ipsam ceteris imperitantem industria vicerat , cum liberis et magna parte pecuniae ex oppido noctu profugit . Neque postea in ullo loco amplius uno die aut una nocte moratus , simulabat sese negoti gratia properare , ceterum proditionem timebat , quam vitare posse celeritate putabat : nam talia consilia per otium et ex opportunitate capi . At Metellus , ubi oppidanos proelio intentos , simul oppidum et operibus et loco munitum videt , vallo fossaque moenia circumvenit . Dein duobus locis ex copia maxime idoneis vineas agere , aggerem iacere et super aggerem impositis turribus opus et administros tutari ; contra haec oppidani festinare , parare ; prorsus ab utrisque nihil relicuum fieri . Denique Romani , multo ante labore proeliisque fatigati , post dies quadraginta quam eo ventum erat , oppido modo potiti ; praeda omnis ab perfugis corrupta . Ii postquam murum arietibus feriri resque suas afflictas vident , aurum atque argentum et alia , quae prima ducuntur , domum regiam comportant . Ibi vino et epulis onerati illaque et domum et semet igni corrumpunt , et quas victi ab hostibus poenas metuerant , eas ipsi volentes pependere .	But Jugurtha himself, believing that to Metellus, who, by his exertions, had triumphed over every obstacle, over arms, deserts, seasons, and finally over Nature herself that controls all, nothing was impossible, fled with his children, and a great portion of his treasure, from the city during the night. Nor did he ever, after this time, continue more than one day or night in any place; pretending to be hurried away by business, but in reality dreading treachery, which he thought he might escape by change of residence, as schemes of such a kind are the result of leisure and opportunity. Metellus, seeing that the people of Thala were determined on resistance, and that the town was defended both by art and situation, surrounded the walls with a rampart and a trench. He then directed his machines against the most eligible points, threw up a mound, and erected towers upon it to protect the works and the workmen. The townsmen, on the other hand, were exceedingly active and diligent; and nothing was neglected on either side. At last the Romans, though exhausted with much previous fatigue and fighting, got possession, forty days after their arrival, of the town, and the town only; for all the spoil had been destroyed by the deserters; who, when they saw the walls shaken by the battering-ram, and their own situation desperate, had conveyed the gold and silver, and whatever else is esteemed valuable, to the royal palace, where, after being sated with wine and luxuries, they destroyed the treasures, the building, and themselves, by fire, and thus voluntarily submitted to the sufferings which, in case of being conquered, they dreaded at the hands of the enemy.
77	Sed pariter cum capta Thala legati ex oppido Lepti ad Metellum venerant orantes , uti praesidium praefectumque eo mitteret : Hamilcarem quendam , hominem nobilem factiosum , novis rebus studere , aduersum quem neque imperia magistratuum neque leges valerent ; ni id festinaret , in summo periculo suam salutem , illorum socios fore . Nam Leptitani iam inde a principio belli Iugurthini ad Bestiam consulem et postea Romam miserant amicitiam societatemque rogatum . Deinde ubi ea impetrata , semper boni fidelesque mansere et cuncta a Bestia , Albino Metelloque imperata naue fecerant . Itaque ab imperatore facile quae petebant adepti . Emissae eo cohortes Ligurum quattuor et C . Annius praefectus .	At the very time that Thala was taken, there came to Metellus embassadors from the city of Leptis, requesting him to send them a garrison and a governor; saying "that a certain Hamilcar, a man of rank, and of a factious disposition, against whom the magistrates and the laws were alike powerless, was trying to induce them to change sides; and that unless he attended to the matter promptly, their own safety," and the allies of Rome, would be in the utmost danger." For the people at Leptis, at the very commencement of the war with Jugurtha, had sent to the consul Bestia, and afterward to Rome, desiring to be admitted into friendship and alliance with us. Having been granted their request, they continued true and faithful adherents to us, and promptly executed all orders from Bestia, Albinus, and Metellus. They therefore readily obtained from the general the aid which they solicited; and four cohorts of Ligurians were dispatched to Leptis, with Caius Annius to be governor of the place.
78	Id oppidum ab Sidoniis conditum est , quos accepimus profugos ob discordias civilis nauibus in eos locos venisse , ceterum situm inter duas Syrtis , quibus nomen ex re inditum . Nam duo sunt sinus prope in extrema Africa , impares magnitudine , pari natura ; quorum proxima terrae praealta sunt , cetera uti fors tulit alta alia , alia in tempestate uadosa . Nam ubi mare magnum esse et saevire ventis coepit . limum harenamque et saxa ingentia fluctus trahunt : ita facies locorum cum ventis simul mutatur . Syrtes ab tractu nominatae . Eius civitatis lingua modo conuersa conubio Numidarum , legum cultusque pleraque Sidonica ; quae eo facilius retinebant , quod procul ab imperio regis aetatem agebant . Inter illos et frequentem Numidiam multi vastique loci erant .	This city was built by a party of Sidonians, who, as I have understood, being driven from their country through civil dissensions, came by sea into those parts of Africa. It is situated between the two Syrtes, which take their name from their nature. These are two gulfs almost at the extremity of Africa, of unequal size, but of similar character. Those parts of them next to the land are very deep; the other parts some-times deep and sometimes shallow, as chance may direct; for when the sea swells, and is agitated by the winds, the waves roll along with them mud, sand, and huge stones; and thus the appearance of the gulfs changes with the direction of the wind. Of this people, the language alone has been altered by their intermarriages with the Numidians; their laws and customs continue for the most part Sidonian; which they have preserved with the greater case, through living at so great a distance from the king's dominions. Between them and the populous parts of Numidia lie vast and uncultivated deserts.
79	Sed quoniam in eas regiones per Leptitanorum negotia venimus , non indignum videtur egregium atque mirabile facinus duorum Carthaginiensium memorare ; eam rem nos locus admonuit . Qua tempestate Carthaginienses pleraque Africa imperitabant , Cyrenenses quoque magni atque opulenti fuere . Ager in medio harenosus , una specie ; neque flumen neque mons erat , qui finis eorum discerneret . Quae res eos in magno diuturnoque bello inter se habuit . Postquam utrimque legiones , item classes saepe fusae fugataeque et alteri alteros aliquantum attriueret. veriti , ne mox victos victoresque defessos alius aggrederetur , per indutias sponsionem faciunt , uti certo die legati domo proficiscerentur : quo in loco inter se obvii fuissent , is communis utriusque populi finis haberetur . Igitur Carthagine duo fratres missi , quibus nomen Philaenis erat , maturauere iter pergere , Cyrenenses tardius iere . Id socordiane an casu acciderit , parum cognovi . Ceterum solet in illis locis tempestas haud secus atque in mari retinere . Nam ubi per loca aequalia et nuda gignentium ventus coortus harenam humo excitauit , ea magna vi agitata ora oculosque implere solet : ita prospectu impedito morari iter . Postquam Cyrenenses aliquanto posteriores se esse vident et ob rem corruptam domi poenas metuont , criminari Carthaginiensis ante tempus domo digressos , conturbare rem , denique omnia malle quam victi abire . Sed cum Poeni aliam condicionem , tantummodo aequam , peterent , Graeci optionem Carthaginiensium faciunt , ut vel illi , quos finis populo suo peterent , ibi viui obruerentur , vel eadem condicione sese quem in locum vellent processuros . Philaeni condicione probata seque vitamque suam rei publicae condonauere : ita viui obruti . Carthaginienses in eo loco Philaenis fratribus aras consecrauere , aliique illis domi honores instituti . Nunc ad rem redeo .	Since the affairs of Leptis have led me into these regions, it will not be foreign to my subject to relate the noble and singular act of two Carthaginians, which the place has brought to my recollection. At the time when the Carthaginians were masters of the greater part of Africa, the Cyrenians were also a great and powerful people. The territory that lay betweem them was sandy, and of a uniform appearance, without a stream or a hill to determine their respective boundaries; a circumstance which involved them in a severe and protracted war. After armies and fleets had been routed and put to flight on both sides, and each people had greatly weakened their opponents, fearing lest some third party should attack both victors and vanquished in a state of exhaustion, they came to an agreement, during a short cessation of arms, "that on a certain day deputies should leave home on either side, and that the spot where they should meet should be the common boundary between the two states." From Carthage, accordingly, were dispatched two brothers, who were named Philæni, and who traveled with great expedition. The deputies of the Cyrenians proceeded more slowly; but whether from indolence or accident I have not been informed. However, a storm of wind in these deserts will cause obstruction to passengers not less than at sea; for when a violent blast, sweeping over a level surface devoid of vegetation, raises the sand from the ground, it is driven onward with great force, and fills the mouth and eyes of the traveler, and thus, by hindering his view, retards his progress. The Cyranian deputies, finding that they had lost ground, and dreading punishment at home for their mismanagement, accused the Carthaginians of having left home before the time; quarreling about the matter, and preferring to do any thing rather than submit. The Philæni, upon this, asked them to name any other mode of settling the controversy, provided it were equitable; and the Cyrenians gave them their choice, " either that they should be buried alive in the spot which they claimed as the boundary for their people, or that they themselves, on the same conditions, should be allowed to go forward to whatever point they should think proper." The Philæni, having accepted the conditions, sacrificed themselves to the interest of their country, and were interred alive. The people of Carthage consecrated altars to the brothers on the spot; and other honors were instituted to them at home. I now return to my subject.
80	Iugurtha postquam amissa Thala nihil satis firmum contra Metellum putat , per magnas solitudines cum paucis profectus pervenit ad Gaetulos , genus hominum ferum incultumque et eo tempore ignarum nominis Romani . Eorum multitudinem in unum cogit ac paulatim consuefacit ordines habere , signa sequi , imperium obseruare , item alia militaria facere . Praeterea regis Bocchi proximos magnis muneribus et maioribus promissis ad studium sui perducit , quis adiutoribus regem aggressus impellit , uti aduersus Romanos bellum incipiat . Id ea gratia facilius proniusque fuit , quod Bocchus initio huiusce belli legatos Romam miserat foedus et amicitiam petitum , quam rem opportunissimam incepto bello pauci impediuerant caeci auaritia , quis omnia honesta atque inhonesta vendere mos erat . Et iam antea Iugurthae filia Boccho nupserat , verum ea necessitudo apud Numidas Maurosque leuis ducitur , quia singuli pro opibus quisque quam plurimas uxores , denas alii , alii pluris habent , sed reges eo amplius . Ita animus multitudine distrahitur : nulla pro socia obtinet , pariter omnes viles sunt .	After the loss of Thala, Jugurtha, thinking no place sufficiently secure against Metellus, fled with a few followers into the country of the Getulians, a people savage and uncivilized, and, at that period, unacquainted with even the name of Rome. Of these barbarians he collected a great multitude, and trained them by degrees to march in ranks, to follow standards, to obey the word of command, and to perform other military exercises. He also gained over to his interest, by large presents and larger promises, the intimate friends of king Bocchus, and working upon the king by their means, induced him to commence war against the Romans. This was the more practicable and easy, because Bocchus, at the commencement of hostilities with Jugurtha, had sent an embassy to Rome to solicit friendship and allliance; but a faction, blinded by avarice, and accustomed to sell their votes on every question honorable or dishonorable, had caused his advances to be rejected, though they were of the highest consequence to the war recently begun. A daughter of Bocchus, too, was married to Jugurtha, but such a connection, among the Numidians and Moors, is but lightly regarded; for every man has as many wives as he pleases, in proportion to his ability to maintain them; some ten, others more, but the kings most of all. Thus the affection of the husband is divided among a multitude; no one of them becomes a companion to him, but all are equally neglected.
81	Igitur in locum ambobus placitum exercitus conveniunt . Ibi fide data et accepta Iugurtha Bocchi animum oratione accendit : Romanos iniustos , profunda auaritia , communis omnium hostis esse ; eandem illos causam belli cum Boccho habere , quam secum et cum aliis gentibus , libidinem imperitandi , quis omnia regna aduersa sint ; tum sese , paulo ante Carthaginiensis , item regem Persen , post uti quisque opulentissimus videatur , ita Romanis hostem fore . His atque aliis talibus dictis ad Cirtam oppidum iter constituunt , quod Ibique Metellus praedam captiuosque et impedimenta locauerat . Ita Iugurtha ratus aut capta urbe operae pretium fore aut , si Romanus auxilio suis venisset , proelio sese certaturos . Nam callidus id modo festinabat , Bocchi pacem imminuere , ne moras agitando aliud quam bellum mallet .	The two kings, with their armies, met in a place settled by mutual agreement, where, after pledges of amity were given and received, Jugurtha inflamed the mind of Bocchus by observing " that the Romans were a lawless people, of insatiable covetousness, and the common enemies of mankind; that they had the same motive for making war on Bocchus as on himself and other nations, the lust of dominion; that all independent states were objects of hatred to them; at present, for instance, himself; a little before, the Carthaginians had been so, as well as king Perses; and that, in future, as any sovereign became conspicuous for his power, so would he assuredly be treated as an enemy by the Romans." Induced by these and similar considerations, they determined to march against Cirta, where Metellus had deposited his plunder, prisoners, and baggage. Jugurtha supposed that, if he took the city, there would be ample recompense for his exertions; or that, if the Roman general came to succor his adherents, he would have the opportunity of engaging him in the field. He also hastened this movement from policy, to lessen Bocchus's chance of peace; lest, if delay should be allowed, he should decide upon something different from war.