(M143) About the same time, Masinissa, finding his end approach, sent to desire a visit from Scipio, in order that he might invest him with full powers to dispose, as he should see proper, of his kingdom and property, in behalf of his children.(885) But, on Scipio's arrival, he found that monarch dead. Masinissa had commanded them, with his dying breath, to follow implicitly the directions of Scipio, whom he appointed to be a kind of father and guardian to them. I shall give no farther account here of the family and posterity of Masinissa, because that would interrupt too much the history of Carthage.

The high esteem which Phamaeas had entertained for Scipio induced him to forsake the Carthaginians, and go over to the Romans.(886) Accordingly, he joined them with above two thousand horse, and was afterwards of great service at the siege.

Calpurnius Piso, the consul, and L. Mancinus, his lieutenant, arrived in Africa in the beginning of the spring.(887) Nothing remarkable was transacted during this campaign. The Romans were even defeated on several occasions, and carried on the siege of Carthage but slowly. The besieged, on the contrary, had recovered their spirits. Their troops were considerably increased; they daily got new allies; and even sent an express as far as Macedonia, to the counterfeit Philip,(888) who pretended to be the son of Perseus, and was then engaged in a war with the Romans; to exhort him to carry it on with vigour, and promising to furnish him with money and ships.

This news occasioned some uneasiness at Rome.(889) The people began to doubt the success of a war, which grew daily more uncertain, and was more important, than had at first been imagined. As much as they were dissatisfied with the dilatoriness of the generals, and exclaimed against their conduct, so much did they unanimously agree in applauding young Scipio, and extolling his rare and uncommon virtues. He was come to Rome, in order to stand candidate for the edileship. The instant he appeared in the assembly, his name, his countenance, his reputation, a general persuasion that he was designed by the gods to end the third Punic war, as the first Scipio, his grandfather by adoption, had terminated the second; these several circumstances made a very strong impression on the people, and though it was contrary to law, and therefore opposed by the ancient men, instead of the edileship which(M144) he sued for, the people, disregarding for once the laws, conferred the consulship upon him, and assigned him Africa for his province, without casting lots for the provinces, as usual, and as Drusus his colleague demanded.

As soon as Scipio had completed his recruits, he set out for Sicily, and arrived soon after in Utica.(890) He came very seasonably for Mancinus, Piso's lieutenant, who had rashly fixed himself in a post where he was surrounded by the enemy; and would have been cut to pieces that very morning, had not the new consul, who, on his arrival, heard of the danger he was in, reembarked his troops in the night, and sailed with the utmost speed to his assistance.

Scipio's first care, after his arrival, was to revive discipline among the troops, which he found had been entirely neglected.(891) There was not the least regularity, subordination, or obedience. Nothing was attended to but rapine, feasting, and diversions. He drove from the camp all useless persons, settled the quality of the provisions he would have brought in by the sutlers, and allowed of none but what were plain and fit for soldiers, studiously banishing all dainties and luxuries.

After he had made these regulations, which cost him but little time and pains, because he himself first set the example, he was persuaded that those under him were soldiers, and thereupon he prepared to carry on the siege with vigour. Having ordered his troops to provide themselves with axes, levers, and scaling-ladders, he led them in the dead of the night, and without the least noise, to a district of the city, called Megara; when ordering them to give a sudden and general shout, he attacked it with great vigour. The enemy, who did not expect to be attacked in the night, were at first in the utmost terror; however, they defended themselves so courageously, that Scipio could not scale the walls. But perceiving a tower that was forsaken, and which stood without the city, very near the walls, he detached thither a party of intrepid and resolute soldiers, who, by the help of pontons,(892) got from the tower on the walls, and from thence into Megara, the gates of which they broke down. Scipio entered it immediately after, and drove the enemies out of that post; who, terrified at this unexpected assault, and imagining that the whole city was taken, fled into the citadel, whither they were followed even by those forces that were encamped without the city, who abandoned their camp to the Romans, and thought it necessary for them to fly to a place of security.

Before I proceed further, it will be proper to give some account of the situation and dimensions of Carthage, which, in the beginning of the war against the Romans, contained seven hundred thousand inhabitants.(893) It stood at the bottom of a gulf, surrounded by the sea, and in the form of a peninsula, whose neck, that is, the isthmus which joined it to the continent, was twenty-five stadia, or a league and a quarter in breadth. The peninsula was three hundred and sixty stadia, or eighteen leagues round. On the west side there projected from it a long neck of land, half a stadium, or twelve fathoms broad; which, advancing into the sea, divided it from a morass, and was fenced on all sides with rocks and a single wall. On the south side, towards the continent, where stood the citadel called Byrsa, the city was surrounded with a triple wall, thirty cubits high, exclusive of the parapets and towers, with which it was flanked all round at equal distances, each interval being fourscore fathoms. Every tower was four stories high, and the stalls but two; they were arched, and in the lower part were walls to hold three hundred elephants with their fodder, and over these were stables for four thousand horses, and lofts for their food. There likewise was room enough to lodge twenty thousand foot, and four thousand horse. All these were contained within the walls alone. In one place only the walls were weak and low; and that was a neglected angle, which began at the neck of land above-mentioned, and extended as far as the harbours, which were on the west side. Of these there were two, which communicated with each other, but had only one entrance, seventy feet broad, shut up with chains. The first was appropriated for the merchants, and had several distinct habitations for the seamen. The second, or inner harbour, was for the ships of war, in the midst of which stood an island called Cothon, lined, as the harbour was, with large quays, in which were distinct receptacles(894) for sheltering from the weather two hundred and twenty ships; over these were magazines or storehouses, wherein was lodged whatever is necessary for arming and equipping fleets. The entrance into each of these receptacles was adorned with two marble pillars of the Ionic order. So that both the harbour and the island represented on each side two magnificent galleries. In this island was the admiral's palace; and, as it stood opposite to the mouth of the harbour, he could from thence discover whatever was doing at sea, though no one, from thence, could see what was transacting in the inward part of the harbour. The merchants, in like manner, had no prospect of the men of war; the two ports being separated by a double wall, each having its particular gate, that led to the city, without passing through the other harbour. So that Carthage may be divided into three parts:(895) the harbour, which was double, and called sometimes Cothon, from the little island of that name: the citadel, named Byrsa: the city properly so called, where the inhabitants dwelt, which lay round the citadel, and was called Megara.

At daybreak,(896) Asdrubal(897) perceiving the ignominious defeat of his troops, in order that he might be revenged on the Romans, and, at the same time, deprive the inhabitants of all hopes of accommodation and pardon, brought all the Roman prisoners he had taken, upon the walls, in sight of the whole army. There he put them to the most exquisite torture; putting out their eyes, cutting off their noses, ears, and fingers; tearing their skin from their body with iron rakes or harrows, and then threw them headlong from the top of the battlements. So inhuman a treatment filled the Carthaginians with horror: however, he did not spare even them; but murdered many senators who had ventured to oppose his tyranny.

Scipio,(898) finding himself absolute master of the isthmus, burnt the camp, which the enemy had deserted, and built a new one for his troops. It was of a square form, surrounded with large and deep intrenchments, and fenced with strong palisades. On the side which faced the Carthaginians, he built a wall twelve feet high, flanked at proper distances with towers and redoubts; and on the middle tower, he erected a very high wooden fort, from whence could be seen whatever was doing in the city. This wall was equal to the whole breadth of the isthmus, that is, twenty-five stadia.(899) The enemy, who were within bow-shot of it, employed their utmost efforts to put a stop to this work; but, as the whole army were employed upon it day and night, without intermission, it was finished in twenty-four days. Scipio reaped a double advantage from this work: first, his forces were lodged more safely and commodiously than before: secondly, he cut off all provisions from the besieged, to whom none could now be brought but by sea; which was attended with many difficulties, both because the sea is frequently very tempestuous in that place, and because the Roman fleet kept a strict guard. This proved one of the chief causes of the famine which raged soon after in the city. Besides, Asdrubal distributed the corn that was brought, only among the thirty thousand men who served under him, caring very little what became of the rest of the inhabitants.

To distress them still more by the want of provisions, Scipio attempted to stop up the mouth of the haven by a mole, beginning at the above-mentioned neck of land, which was near the harbour.(900) The besieged, at first, looked upon this attempt as ridiculous, and accordingly they insulted the workmen: but, at last, seeing them make an astonishing progress every day, they began to be afraid; and to take such measures as might, if possible, render the attempt unsuccessful. Every one, to the women and children, fell to work, but so privately, that all that Scipio could learn from the prisoners, was, that they had heard a great noise in the harbour, but did not know the occasion of it. At last, all things being ready, the Carthaginians opened, on a sudden, a new outlet on the other side of the haven; and appeared at sea with a numerous fleet, which they had just then built with the old materials found in their magazines. It is generally allowed, that had they attacked the Roman fleet directly, they must infallibly have taken it; because, as no such attempt was expected, and every man was elsewhere employed, the Carthaginians would have found it without rowers, soldiers, or officers. But the ruin of Carthage, says the historian, was decreed. Having therefore only offered a kind of insult or bravado to the Romans, they returned into the harbour.

Two days after, they brought forward their ships, with a resolution to fight in good earnest, and found the enemy ready for them.(901) This battle was to determine the fate of both parties. The conflict was long and obstinate, each exerting themselves to the utmost; the one to save their country, now reduced to the last extremity, and the other to complete their victory. During the fight, the Carthaginian brigantines running along under the large Roman ships, broke to pieces sometimes their sterns, and at other times their rudders and oars; and, when briskly attacked, retreated with surprising swiftness, and returned immediately to the charge. At last, after the two armies had fought with equal success till sunset, the Carthaginians thought proper to retire; not that they believed themselves overcome, but in order to begin the fight again on the morrow. Part of their ships, not being able to run swiftly enough into the harbour, because the mouth of it was too narrow, took shelter under a very spacious terrace, which had been thrown up against the walls to unload goods, on the side of which a small rampart had been raised during this war, to prevent the enemy from possessing themselves of it. Here the fight was again renewed with more vigour than ever, and lasted till late at night. The Carthaginians suffered very much, and the few ships which got off, sailed for refuge to the city. Morning being come, Scipio attacked the terrace, and carried it, though with great difficulty; after which he made a lodgement there, and fortified himself on it, and built a brick-wall close to those of the city, and of the same height. When it was finished, he commanded four thousand men to get on the top of it, and to discharge from it a perpetual shower of darts and arrows upon the enemy, which did great execution; because, as the two walls were of equal height, almost every dart took effect. Thus ended this campaign.

During the winter quarters, Scipio endeavoured to overpower the enemy's troops without the city,(902) who very much harassed the convoys that brought his provisions, and protected such as were sent to the besieged. For this purpose he attacked a neighbouring fort, called Nepheris, where they used to shelter themselves. In the last action, above seventy thousand of the enemy, as well soldiers as peasants, who had been enlisted, were cut to pieces; and the fort was carried with great difficulty, after sustaining a siege of two and twenty days. The seizure of this fort was followed by the surrender of almost all the strong-holds in Africa; and contributed very much to the taking of Carthage itself, into which, from that time, it was almost impossible to bring any provisions.

(M145) Early in the spring, Scipio attacked, at one and the same time, the harbour called Cothon, and the citadel.(903) Having possessed himself of the wall which surrounded this port, he threw himself into the great square of the city that was near it, from whence was an ascent to the citadel, up three streets, on each side of which were houses, from the tops whereof a shower of darts was discharged upon the Romans, who were obliged, before they could advance farther, to force the houses they came first to, and post themselves in them, in order to dislodge from thence the enemy who fought from the neighbouring houses. The combat, which was carried on from the tops, and in every part of the houses, continued six days, during which a dreadful slaughter was made. To clear the streets, and make way for the troops, the Romans dragged aside, with hooks, the bodies of such of the inhabitants as had been slain, or precipitated headlong from the houses, and threw them into pits, the greatest part of them being still alive and panting. In this toil, which lasted six days and as many nights, the soldiers were relieved from time to time by fresh ones, without which they would have been quite spent. Scipio was the only person who did not take a wink of sleep all this time; giving orders in all places, and scarce allowing himself leisure to take the least refreshment.

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

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

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

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

Il. δ. 164, 165.

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

POPE.

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

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

(M146) Carthage being taken in this manner, Scipio gave the plunder of it (the gold, silver, statues, and other offerings which should be found in the temples, excepted) to his soldiers for some days.(907) He afterwards bestowed several military rewards on them, as well as on the officers, two of whom had particularly distinguished themselves, viz. Tib. Gracchus, and Caius Fannius, who first scaled the walls. After this, adorning a small ship (an excellent sailer) with the enemy's spoils, he sent it to Rome with the news of the victory.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Scipio was no less admired on another occasion. He was bound, in consequence of the estate that had fallen to him by the death of his grandmother, to pay, at three different times, to the two daughters of Scipio, his grandfather by adoption, half their portions, which amounted to 50,000 French crowns.(928) The time for the payment of the first sum being expired, Scipio put the whole money into the hands of a banker. Tiberius Gracchus, and Scipio Nasica, who had married the two sisters, imagining that Scipio had made a mistake, went to him, and observed, that the laws allowed him three years to pay this sum in, and at three different times. Young Scipio answered, that he knew very well what the laws directed on this occasion; that they might indeed be executed in their greatest rigour towards strangers, but that friends and relations ought to treat one another with a more generous simplicity; and therefore desired them to receive the whole sum. They were struck with such admiration at the generosity of their kinsman, that in their return home, they reproached(929) themselves for their narrow way of thinking, at a time when they made the greatest figure, and had the highest regard paid to them, of any family in Rome. This generous action, says Polybius, was the more admired, because no person in Rome, so far from consenting to pay 50,000 crowns before they were due, would pay even a thousand before the time for payment was elapsed.

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

This Fabius being desirous to exhibit a show of gladiators after his father's decease, in honour of his memory, (as was the custom in that age,) and not being able to defray the expenses on this occasion, which amounted to a very heavy sum, Scipio made him a present of fifteen thousand(931) crowns, in order to defray at least half the charges of it.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(M147) From the time that Masinissa had declared for the Romans under the first Scipio, he had always adhered to that honourable alliance, with an almost unparalleled zeal and fidelity.(933) Finding his end approaching, he wrote to the proconsul of Africa, under whose standards the younger Scipio then fought, to desire that Roman might be sent to him; adding, that he should die with satisfaction, if he could but expire in his arms, after having made him executor to his will. But believing that he should be dead, before it could be possible for him to receive this consolation, he sent for his wife and children, and spoke to them as follows: "I know no other nation but the Romans, and, among this nation, no other family but that of the Scipios. I now, in my expiring moments, empower Scipio AEmilianus to dispose, in an absolute manner, of all my possessions, and to divide my kingdom among my children. I require, that whatever Scipio may decree, shall be executed as punctually as if I myself had appointed it by my will." After saying these words, he breathed his last, being upwards of ninety years of age.

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

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

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

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

(M148) Jugurtha soon threw off the mask, and began by ridding himself of Hiempsal, who had expressed himself to him with great freedom, and therefore he caused him to be murdered. This bloody action proved but too evidently to Adherbal what he himself might naturally fear.(M149) Numidia is now divided, and sides severally with the two brothers. Mighty armies are raised by each party. Adherbal, after losing the greatest part of his fortresses, is vanquished in battle, and forced to make Rome his asylum. However, this gave Jugurtha no very great uneasiness, as he knew that money was all-powerful in that city. He therefore sent deputies thither, with orders for them to bribe the chief senators. In the first audience to which they were introduced, Adherbal represented the unhappy condition to which he was reduced, the injustice and barbarity of Jugurtha, the murder of his brother, the loss of almost all his fortresses; but the circumstance on which he laid the greatest stress was, the commands of his dying father, viz. to put his whole confidence in the Romans; declaring, that the friendship of this people would be a stronger support both to himself and his kingdom, than all the troops and treasures in the universe. His speech was of a great length, and extremely pathetic. Jugurtha's deputies made only the following answer: that Hiempsal had been killed by the Numidians, because of his great cruelty; that Adherbal was the aggressor, and yet, after having been vanquished, was come to make complaints, because he had not committed all the excesses he desired; that their sovereign entreated the senate to form a judgment of his behaviour and conduct in Africa, from that he had shown at Numantia; and to lay a greater stress on his actions, than on the accusations of his enemies. But these ambassadors had secretly employed an eloquence much more prevalent than that of words, which had not proved ineffectual. The whole assembly was for Jugurtha, a few senators excepted, who were not so void of honour as to be corrupted by money. The senate came to this resolution, that commissioners should be sent from Rome, to divide the provinces equally upon the spot between the two brothers. The reader will naturally suppose, that Jugurtha was not sparing of his treasure on this occasion; the division was made to his advantage; and yet a specious appearance of equity was preserved.

This first success of Jugurtha augmented his courage, and increased his boldness. Accordingly, he attacked his brother by open force; and whilst the latter loses his time in sending deputations to the Romans, he storms several fortresses, carries on his conquests; and, after defeating Adherbal, besieges him in Cirtha, the capital of his kingdom. During this interval ambassadors arrived from Rome, with orders, in the name of the senate and people, to the two kings, to lay down their arms, and cease all hostilities. Jugurtha, after protesting that he would obey, with the most profound reverence and submission, the commands of the Roman people, added, that he did not believe it was their intention to hinder him from defending his own life against the treacherous snares which his brother had laid for it. He concluded with saying, that he would send ambassadors forthwith to Rome, to inform the senate of his conduct. By this vague answer he eluded their orders, and would not even permit the deputies to wait upon Adherbal.

Though the latter was so closely blocked up in his capital, he yet(942) found means to send to Rome, to implore the assistance of the Romans against his brother, who had besieged him five months, and intended to take away his life. Some senators were of opinion, that war ought to be proclaimed immediately against Jugurtha; but still his influence prevailed, and the Romans only ordered an embassy to be sent, composed of senators of the highest distinction, among whom was AEmilius Scaurus, a factious man, who had a great ascendant over the nobility, and concealed the blackest vices under the specious appearance of virtue. Jugurtha was terrified at first; but he again found an opportunity to elude their demands, and accordingly sent them back without coming to any conclusion. Upon this, Adherbal, who had lost all hopes, surrendered upon condition of having his life spared; nevertheless, he was immediately murdered with a great number of Numidians.

But though the greatest part of the people at Rome were struck with horror at this news, Jugurtha's money again obtained him defenders in the senate. However, C. Memmius, the tribune of the people, an active man, and one who hated the nobility, prevailed with the people not to suffer so horrid (M150) a crime to go unpunished; and, accordingly, war being proclaimed against Jugurtha, Calpurnius Bestia, the consul, was appointed to carry it on.(943) He was endued with excellent qualities, but they were all depraved and rendered useless by his avarice. Scaurus set out with him. They at first took several towns; but Jugurtha's bribes checked the progress of these conquests; and Scaurus(944) himself, who till now had expressed the strongest animosity against this prince, could not resist so powerful an attack. A treaty was therefore concluded; Jugurtha feigned to submit to the Romans, and thirty elephants, some horses, with a very inconsiderable sum of money, were delivered to the quaestor.

But now the indignation of the people in general at Rome displayed itself in the strongest manner. Memmius the tribune inflamed them by his speeches. He caused Cassius, who was praetor, to be appointed to attend Jugurtha; and to engage him to come to Rome, under the guarantee of the Romans, in order that an inquiry might be made in his presence, who those persons were that had taken bribes. Accordingly, Jugurtha was forced to come to Rome. The sight of him raised the anger of the people still higher; but a tribune having been bribed, he prolonged the session, and at last dissolved it. A Numidian prince, grandson of Masinissa, called Massiva, being at that time in the city, was advised to solicit for Jugurtha's kingdom; which coming to the ears of the latter, he caused him to be assassinated in the midst of Rome. The murderer was seized, and delivered up to the civil magistrate, and Jugurtha was commanded to depart Italy. Upon leaving the city, he cast back his eyes several times towards it, and said, "Rome would sell itself could it meet with a purchaser; and were one to be found, it were inevitably ruined."(945)

And now the war broke out anew. At first the indolence, or perhaps connivance, of Albinus the consul, made it go on very slowly; but afterwards, when he returned to Rome to hold the public assemblies,(946) the Roman army, by the unskilfulness of his brother Aulus, having marched into a defile from whence there was no getting out, surrendered ignominiously to the enemy, who forced the Romans to submit to the ceremony of passing under the yoke, and made them engage to leave Numidia in ten days.

The reader will naturally imagine in what light so shameful a peace, concluded without the authority of the people, was considered at Rome. They could not flatter themselves with the hope of being successful in this war, till the conduct of it was given to L. Metellus the consul.(947) To all the rest of the virtues which constitute the great captain, he added a perfect disregard of wealth; a quality most essentially requisite against such an enemy as Jugurtha, who hitherto had always been victorious, rather by money than his sword. But the African monarch found Metellus as invincible in this, as in all other respects. He therefore was forced to venture his life, and exert his utmost bravery, through the defect of an expedient which now began to fail him. Accordingly, he signalized himself in a surprising manner; and showed in this campaign, all that could be expected from the courage, abilities, and attention of an illustrious general, to whom despair adds new vigour, and suggests new lights: he was, however, unsuccessful, because opposed by a consul, who did not suffer the most inconsiderable error to escape him, nor ever let slip an opportunity of taking advantage of the enemy.

Jugurtha's greatest concern was, how to secure himself from traitors. From the time he had been told that Bomilcar, in whom he reposed the utmost confidence, had a design upon his life, he enjoyed no peace. He did not believe himself safe any where; but all things, by day as well as by night, the citizen as well as the foreigner, were suspected by him; and the blackest terrors sat for ever brooding over his mind. He never got a wink of sleep, except by stealth; and often changed his bed in a manner unbecoming his rank. Starting sometimes from his slumbers, he would snatch his sword, and utter loud cries; so strongly was he haunted by fear, which almost drove him to frenzy.

Marius was Metellus's lieutenant. His boundless ambition induced him to endeavour to lessen his general's character secretly in the minds of his soldiers; and becoming soon his professed enemy and slanderer, he at last, by the most grovelling and perfidious arts, prevailed so far as to supplant Metellus, and get himself nominated in his room, to carry on the war against Jugurtha.(948) With what strength of mind soever Metellus might be endued on other occasions, he was totally dejected by this unforeseen blow, which even forced tears from his eyes, and compelled him to utter such expressions as were altogether unworthy so great a man. There was something very dark and vile in Marius's conduct, that displays ambition in its native and genuine colours, and shows that it extinguishes, in those who abandon themselves to it, all sense of honour and integrity.(M151) Metellus, having anxiously endeavoured to avoid a man whose sight he could not bear, arrived in Rome, and was received there with universal acclamations. A triumph was decreed him, and the surname of Numidicus conferred upon him.

I thought it would be proper to reserve for the Roman history, a particular account of the events that happened in Africa, under Metellus and Marius, all which are very circumstantially described by Sallust, in his admirable history of Jugurtha. I therefore hasten to the conclusion of this war.

Jugurtha being greatly distressed in his affairs, had recourse to Bocchus king of Mauritania, whose daughter he had married. This country extends from Numidia, as far as beyond the shores of the Mediterranean opposite to Spain.(949) The Roman name was scarce known in it, and the people were absolutely unknown to the Romans. Jugurtha insinuated to his father-in-law, that should he suffer Numidia to be conquered, his kingdom would doubtless be involved in its ruin; especially as the Romans, who were sworn enemies to monarchy, seemed to have vowed the destruction of all the thrones in the universe. He, therefore, prevailed with Bocchus to enter into a league with him; and accordingly received, on different occasions, very considerable succours from that king.

This confederacy, which was cemented on either side by no other tie than that of interest, had never been strong; and a last defeat which Jugurtha met with, broke at once all the bands of it. Bocchus now meditated the dark design of delivering up his son-in-law to the Romans. For this purpose he had desired Marius to send him a trusty person. Sylla, who was an officer of uncommon merit, and served under him as quaestor, was thought every way qualified for this negotiation. He was not afraid to put himself into the hands of the barbarian king; and accordingly set out for his court. Being arrived, Bocchus, who, like the rest of his countrymen, did not pride himself on sincerity, and was for ever projecting new designs, debated within himself, whether it would not be his interest to deliver up Sylla to Jugurtha. He was a long time fluctuating in this uncertainty, and conflicting with a contrariety of sentiments: and the sudden changes which displayed themselves in his countenance, in his air, and in his whole person, showed evidently how strongly his mind was affected. At length, returning to his first design, he made his terms with Sylla, and delivered up Jugurtha into his hands, who was sent immediately to Marius.

Sylla, says Plutarch,(950)(951) acted, on this occasion, like a young man fired with a strong thirst of glory, the sweets of which he had just begun to taste. Instead of ascribing to the general under whom he fought all the honour of this event, as his duty required, and which ought to be an inviolable maxim, he reserved the greatest part of it to himself, and had a ring made, which he always wore, wherein he was represented receiving Jugurtha from the hands of Bocchus; and this ring he used ever after as his signet. But Marius was so highly exasperated at this kind of insult, that he could never forgive him; and this circumstance gave rise to the implacable hatred between these two Romans, which afterwards broke out with so much fury, and cost the republic so much blood.

(M152) Marius entered Rome in triumph,(952) exhibiting such a spectacle to the Romans, as they could scarce believe they saw, when it passed before their eyes; I mean, Jugurtha in chains; that so formidable an enemy, during whose life they had not dared to flatter themselves with the hopes of being able to put an end to this war; so well was his courage sustained by stratagem and artifice, and his genius so fruitful in finding new expedients, even when his affairs were most desperate. We are told, that Jugurtha ran distracted, as he was walking in the triumph; that after the ceremony was ended, he was thrown into prison; and that the lictors were so eager to seize his robe, that they rent it in several pieces, and tore away the tips of his ears, to get the rich jewels with which they were adorned. In this condition he was cast, quite naked, and in the utmost terrors, into a deep dungeon, where he spent six days in struggling with hunger and the fear of death, retaining a strong desire of life to his last gasp; an end, continues Plutarch, worthy of his wicked deeds, Jugurtha having been always of opinion, that the greatest crimes might be committed to satiate his ambition; ingratitude, perfidy, black treachery, and inhuman barbarity.

Juba, king of Mauritania, reflected so much honour on polite literature and the sciences, that I could not, without impropriety, omit him in the history of the family of Masinissa, to whom his father, who also was named Juba, was great grandson, and grandson of Gulussa. The elder Juba signalized himself in the war between Caesar and Pompey, by his inviolable attachment to the party of the latter.(M153) He slew himself after the battle of Thapsus, in which his forces and those of Scipio were entirely defeated. Juba, his son, then a child, was delivered up to the conqueror, and was one of the most conspicuous ornaments of his triumph. It appears from history, that a noble education was bestowed upon Juba in Rome, where he imbibed such a variety of knowledge, as afterwards equalled him to the most learned among(M154) the Grecians. He did not leave that city till he went to take possession of his father's dominions. Augustus restored them to him, when, by the death of Mark Antony, the provinces of the empire were absolutely at his disposal. Juba, by the lenity of his government, gained the hearts of all his subjects; who, out of a grateful sense of the felicity they had enjoyed during his reign, ranked him in the number of their gods. Pausanias speaks of a statue which the Athenians erected in his honour. It was, indeed just, that a city, which had been consecrated in all ages to the Muses, should give public testimonies of its esteem for a king who made so bright a figure among the learned. Suidas ascribes(953) several works to this prince, of which only the fragments are now extant. He had written the history of Arabia; the antiquities of Assyria, and those of the Romans; the history of theatres, of painting and painters; of the nature and properties of different animals, of grammar, and similar subjects; a catalogue of all which is given in Abbe Sevin's short dissertation on the life and works of the younger Juba,(954) whence I have extracted these few particulars.



BOOK THE THIRD. THE HISTORY OF THE ASSYRIANS.



Chapter I. The First Empire of the Assyrians.

SECT. I. DURATION OF THAT EMPIRE.—The Assyrian empire was undoubtedly one of the most powerful in the world. With respect to its duration, two opinions have chiefly prevailed. Some authors, as Ctesias, whose opinion is followed by Justin, give it a duration of thirteen hundred years: others reduce it to five hundred and twenty, of which number is Herodotus. The diminution, or probably the interruption of power, which happened in this vast empire, might possibly give occasion to this difference of opinions, and may perhaps serve in some measure to reconcile them.

The history of those early times is so obscure, the monuments which convey it down to us so contrary to each other, and the systems of the moderns(955) upon that matter so different, that it is difficult to lay down any opinion about it, as certain and incontestable. But where certainty is not to be had, I suppose a reasonable person will be satisfied with probability; and, in my opinion, a man can hardly be deceived, if he makes the Assyrian empire equal in antiquity with the city of Babylon, its capital. Now we learn from the holy Scripture, that this was built by Nimrod, who certainly was a great conqueror, and in all probability the first and most ancient of all those who have ever aspired after that denomination.

The Babylonians, as Callisthenes, a philosopher in Alexander's retinue, wrote to Aristotle,(956) reckoned themselves to be at least of 1903 years' standing, when that prince entered triumphant into Babylon; which makes their origin reach back to the year of the world 1771, that is to say, 115 years after the deluge. This computation comes within a few years of the time in which we suppose Nimrod to have founded that city. Indeed, this testimony of Callisthenes, as it does not agree with any other accounts of that empire, is not esteemed authentic by the learned; but the conformity we find between it and the holy Scriptures should make us regard it.

Upon these grounds, I think we may allow Nimrod to have been the founder of the first Assyrian empire, which subsisted with more or less extent and glory upwards of 1450 years,(957) from the time of Nimrod to that of Sardanapalus, the last king, that is to say, from the year of the world 1800 to the year 3257.

(M155) NIMROD. He is the same with Belus,(958) who was afterwards worshipped as a god under that appellation.

He was the son of Chus, grandson of Ham, and great grandson of Noah. He was, says the Scripture, "a mighty hunter before the Lord."(959) In applying himself to this laborious and dangerous exercise, he had two things in view; the first was, to gain the people's affection by delivering them from the fury and dread of wild beasts; the next was, to train up numbers of young people by this exercise of hunting to endure labour and hardship, to form them to the use of arms, to inure them to a kind of discipline and obedience, that at a proper time, after they had been accustomed to his orders and seasoned in arms, he might make use of them for other purposes more serious than hunting.

In ancient history we find some footsteps remaining of this artifice of Nimrod, whom the writers have confounded with Ninus, his son: for Diodorus has these words:(960) "Ninus, the most ancient of the Assyrian kings mentioned in history, performed great actions. Being naturally of a warlike disposition, and ambitious of the glory that results from valour, he armed a considerable number of young men, that were brave and vigorous like himself; trained them up a long time in laborious exercises and hardships, and by that means accustomed them to bear the fatigues of war patiently, and to face dangers with courage and intrepidity."

What the same author adds,(961) that Ninus entered into an alliance with the king of the Arabs, and joined forces with him, is a piece of ancient tradition, which informs us, that the sons of Chus, and by consequence, the brothers of Nimrod, all settled themselves in Arabia, along the Persian gulf, from Havilah to the Ocean; and lived near enough to their brother to lend him succours, or to receive them from him. And what the same historian further says of Ninus, that he was the first king of the Assyrians, agrees exactly with what the Scripture says of Nimrod, "that he began to be mighty upon the earth;" that is, he procured himself settlements, built cities, subdued his neighbours, united different people under one and the same authority, by the band of the same polity and the same laws, and formed them into one state; which, for those early times, was of a considerable extent, though bounded by the rivers Euphrates and Tigris; and which, in succeeding ages, made new acquisitions by degrees, and at length extended its conquests very far.

"The capital city of his kingdom," says the Scripture,(962) "was Babylon." Most of the profane historians ascribe the founding of Babylon to Semiramis,(963) others to Belus. It is evident, that both the one and the other are mistaken, if they speak of the first founder of that city; for it owes its beginning neither to Semiramis nor to Nimrod, but to the foolish vanity of those persons mentioned in Scripture,(964) who desired to build a tower and a city, that should render their memory immortal.

Josephus relates,(965) upon the testimony of a Sibyl, (who must have been very ancient, and whose fictions cannot be imputed to the indiscreet zeal of any Christians,) that the gods threw down the tower by an impetuous wind, or a violent hurricane. Had this been the case, Nimrod's temerity must have been still greater, to rebuild a city and a tower which God himself had overthrown with such marks of his displeasure. But the Scripture says no such thing; and it is very probable, the building remained in the condition it was, when God put an end to the work by the confusion of languages; and that the tower consecrated to Belus, which is described by Herodotus,(966) was this very tower, which the sons of men pretended to raise to the clouds.

It is further probable, that this ridiculous design having been defeated by such an astonishing prodigy, as none could be the author of but God himself, every body abandoned the place, which had given Him offence; and that Nimrod was the first who encompassed it afterwards with walls, settled therein his friends and confederates, and subdued those that lived round about it, beginning his empire in that place, but not confining it to so narrow a compass: Fuit principium regni ejus Babylon. The other cities, which the Scripture speaks of in the same place, were in the land of Shinar, which was certainly the province of which Babylon became the metropolis.

From this country he went into that which has the name of Assyria, and there built Nineveh: De terra illa egressus est Assur, et aedificavit Nineven.(967) This is the sense in which many learned men understand the word Assur, looking upon it as the name of a province, and not of the first man who possessed it, as if it were, egressus est in Assur, in Assyriam. And this seems to be the most natural construction, for many reasons not necessary to be recited in this place. The country of Assyria is described, in one of the prophets,(968) by the particular character of being the land of Nimrod: Et pascent terram Assur in gladio, et terram, Nimrod in lanceis ejus; et liberabit ab Assur, cum venerit in terram nostram. It derived its name from Assur the son of Shem, who, without doubt, had settled himself and family there, and was probably driven out, or brought under subjection, by the usurper Nimrod.

This conqueror having possessed himself of the provinces of Assur,(969) did not ravage them like a tyrant, but filled them with cities, and made himself as much beloved by his new subjects as he was by his old ones; so that the historians,(970) who have not examined into the bottom of this affair, have thought that he made use of the Assyrians to conquer the Babylonians. Among other cities, he built one more large and magnificent than the rest, which he called Nineveh, from the name of his son Ninus, in order to immortalize his memory. The son, in his turn, out of veneration for his father, was willing that they who had served him as their king should adore him as their god, and induce other nations to render him the same worship. For it appears evident, that Nimrod is the famous Belus of the Babylonians, the first king whom the people deified for his great actions, and who showed others the way to that sort of immortality which human acquirements are supposed capable of bestowing.

I intend to speak of the mighty strength and greatness of the cities of Babylon and Nineveh, under the kings to whom their building is ascribed by profane authors, because the Scripture says little or nothing on that subject. This silence of Scripture, so little satisfactory to our curiosity, may become an instructive lesson to our piety. The holy penman has placed Nimrod and Abraham, as it were, in one view before us; and seems to have put them so near together on purpose, that we should see an example in the former of what is admired and coveted by men, and in the latter of what is acceptable and well-pleasing to God. These two persons,(971) so unlike one another, are the first two and chief citizens of two different cities, built on different motives, and with different principles; the one, self-love, and a desire of temporal advantages, carried even to the contemning of the Deity; the other, the love of God, even to the contemning of one's self.

(M156) NINUS. I have already observed, that most of the profane authors look upon him as the first founder of the Assyrian empire, and for that reason ascribe to him a great part of his father Nimrod's or Belus's actions.

Having a design to enlarge his conquests, the first thing he did was to prepare troops and officers capable of promoting his designs.(972) And having received powerful succours from the Arabians his neighbours, he took the field, and in the space of seventeen years conquered a vast extent of country, from Egypt as far as India and Bactriana, which he did not then venture to attack.

At his return, before he entered upon any new conquests, he conceived the design of immortalizing his name by the building of a city answerable to the greatness of his power; he called it Nineveh, and built it on the eastern banks of the Tigris.(973) Possibly he did no more than finish the work his father had begun. His design, says Diodorus, was to make Nineveh the largest and noblest city in the world, and to put it out of the power of those that came after him ever to build or hope to build such another. Nor was he deceived in his view; for never did any city come up to the greatness and magnificence of this: it was one hundred and fifty stadia (or eighteen miles three quarters) in length, and ninety stadia (or eleven miles and one quarter) in breadth; and consequently was an oblong square. Its circumference was four hundred and eighty stadia, or sixty miles. For this reason we find it said in the prophet Jonah, "That Nineveh was an exceeding great city, of three days' journey;"(974) which is to be understood of the whole circuit, or compass of the city.(975) The walls of it were a hundred feet high, and of so considerable a thickness, that three chariots might go abreast upon them with ease. They were fortified, and adorned with fifteen hundred towers two hundred feet high.

After he had finished this prodigious work, he resumed his expedition against the Bactrians. His army, according to the relation of Ctesias, consisted of seventeen hundred thousand foot, two hundred thousand horse, and about sixteen thousand chariots armed with scythes. Diodorus adds, that this ought not to appear incredible, since, not to mention the innumerable armies of Darius and Xerxes, the city of Syracuse alone, in the time of Dionysius the Tyrant, furnished one hundred and twenty thousand foot and twelve thousand horse, besides four hundred vessels well equipped and provided. And a little before Hannibal's time, Italy, including the citizens and allies, was able to send into the field near a million of men. Ninus made himself master of a great number of cities, and at last laid siege to Bactria, the capital of the country. Here he would probably have seen all his attempts miscarry, had it not been for the diligence and assistance of Semiramis, wife to one of his chief officers, a woman of an uncommon courage, and peculiarly exempt from the weakness of her sex. She was born at Ascalon, a city of Syria. I think it needless to recite the account Diodorus gives of her birth, and of the miraculous manner of her being nursed and brought up by pigeons, since that historian himself looks upon it only as a fabulous story. It was Semiramis that directed Ninus how to attack the citadel, and by her means he took it, and thus became master of the city, in which he found an immense treasure. The husband of Semiramis having killed himself, to prevent the effects of the king's threats and indignation, who had conceived a violent passion for his wife, Ninus married her.

After his return to Nineveh, he had a son by her, whom he called Ninyas. Not long after this he died, and left the queen the government of the kingdom. She, in honour of his memory, erected a magnificent monument, which remained a long time after the ruin of Nineveh.

I find no appearance of truth in what some authors relate concerning the manner of Semiramis's coming to the throne.(976) According to them, having secured the chief men of the state, and attached them to her interest by her benefactions and promises, she solicited the king with great importunity to put the sovereign power into her hands for the space of five days. He yielded to her entreaties, and all the provinces of the empire were commanded to obey Semiramis. These orders were executed but too exactly for the unfortunate Ninus, who was put to death, either immediately or after some years' imprisonment.

(M157) SEMIRAMIS. This princess applied all her thoughts to immortalize her name, and to cover the meanness of her extraction by the greatness of her enterprises.(977) She proposed to herself to surpass all her predecessors in magnificence, and to that end she undertook the building of the mighty Babylon,(978) in which work she employed two millions of men, which were collected out of all the provinces of her vast empire. Some of her successors endeavoured to adorn that city with new works and embellishments. I shall here speak of them all together, in order to give the reader a more clear and distinct idea of that stupendous city.

The principal works which rendered Babylon so famous, are the walls of the city; the quays and the bridge; the lake, banks, and canals, made for the draining of the river; the palaces, hanging gardens, and the temple of Belus; works of such a surprising magnificence, as is scarce to be comprehended. Dr. Prideaux having treated this subject with great extent and learning, I have only to copy, or rather abridge him.

I. The Walls.—Babylon stood on a large plain, in a very fat and rich soil.(979) The Avails were every way prodigious. They were in thickness eighty-seven feet, in height three hundred and fifty, and in compass four hundred and eighty furlongs, which make sixty of our miles. These walls were drawn round the city in the form of an exact square, each side of which was one hundred and twenty furlongs,(980) or fifteen miles, in length, and all built of large bricks cemented together with bitumen, a glutinous slime arising out of the earth in that country, which binds much stronger and firmer than mortar, and soon grows much harder than the bricks or stones themselves which it cements together.

These walls were surrounded on the outside with a vast ditch, full of water, and lined with bricks on both sides. The earth that was dug out of it made the bricks wherewith the walls were built; and therefore, from the vast height and breadth of the walls may be inferred the greatness of the ditch.

In every side of this great square were twenty-five gates, that is, a hundred in all, which were all made of solid brass; and hence it is, that when God promises to Cyrus the conquest of Babylon, he tells him,(981) that he would break in pieces before him the gates of brass. Between every two of these gates were three towers, and four more at the four corners of this great square, and three between each of these corners and the next gate on either side; every one of these towers was ten feet higher than the walls. But this is to be understood only of those parts of the wall where there was need of towers.

From the twenty-five gates in each side of this great square went twenty-five streets, in straight lines to the gates, which were directly over-against them, in the opposite side; so that the whole number of the streets was fifty, each fifteen miles long, whereof twenty-five went one way, and twenty-five the other, directly crossing each other at right angles. And besides these, there were also four half streets, which had houses only on one side, and the wall on the other; these went round the four sides of the city next the walls, and were each of them two hundred feet broad; the rest were about a hundred and fifty. By these streets thus crossing each other, the whole city was cut out into six hundred and seventy-six squares, each of which was four furlongs and a half on every side, that is, two miles and a quarter in circumference. Round these squares, on every side towards the street, stood the houses (which were not contiguous, but had void spaces between them,) all built three or four stories high, and beautified with all manner of ornaments towards the streets.(982) The space within in the middle of each square, was likewise all void ground, employed for yards, gardens, and other such uses; so that Babylon was greater in appearance than reality, near one half of the city being taken up in gardens and other cultivated lands, as we are told by Q. Curtius.

II. The Quays and Bridge.—A branch of the river Euphrates ran quite cross the city, from the north to the south side;(983) on each side of the river was a quay, and a high wall built of brick and bitumen, of the same thickness as the walls that went round the city. In these walls, over-against every street that led to the river, were gates of brass, and from them descents by steps to the river, for the conveniency of the inhabitants, who used to pass over from one side to the other in boats, having no other way of crossing the river before the building of the bridge. The brazen gates were always open in the daytime, and shut in the night.

The bridge was not inferior to any of the other buildings, either in beauty or magnificence; it was a furlong in length,(984) and thirty feet in breadth, built with wonderful art, to supply the defect of a foundation in the bottom of the river, which was all sandy. The arches were made of huge stones, fastened together with chains of iron and melted lead. Before they began to build the bridge, they turned the course of the river, and laid its channel dry, having another view in so doing, besides that of laying the foundations more commodiously, as I shall explain hereafter. And as every thing was prepared beforehand, both the bridge and the quays, which I have already described, were built in that interval.

III. _The Lake, Ditches, and Canals, made for the draining _ of the River._—These works, objects of admiration for the skilful in all ages, were still more useful than magnificent.(985) In the beginning of the summer, on the sun's melting the snow on the mountains of Armenia, there arises a vast increase of waters, which, running into the Euphrates in the months of June, July, and August, makes it overflow its banks, and occasion such another inundation as the Nile does in Egypt. To prevent the damage which both the city and country received from these inundations, at a very considerable distance above the town two artificial canals were cut, which turned the course of these waters into the Tigris, before they reached Babylon.(986) And to secure the country yet more from the danger of inundations, and to keep the river within its channel, they raised prodigious banks on both sides the river, built with brick cemented with bitumen, which began at the head of the artificial canals, and extended below the city.(987)

To facilitate the making of these works, it was necessary to turn the course of the river, for which purpose, to the west of Babylon, was dug a prodigious artificial lake, forty miles square,(988) one hundred and sixty in compass, and thirty-five feet deep, according to Herodotus, and seventy-five, according to Megasthenes. Into this lake was the whole river turned, by an artificial canal cut from the west side of it, till the whole work was finished, when it was made to flow in its former channel. But that the Euphrates, in the time of its increase, might not overflow the city, through the gates on its sides, this lake, with the canal from the river, was still preserved. The water received into the lake at the time of these overflowings was kept there all the year, as in a common reservoir, for the benefit of the country, to be let out by sluices, at convenient times for the watering of the lands below it. The lake, therefore, was equally useful in defending the country from inundations, and making it fertile. I relate the wonders of Babylon as they are delivered down to us by the ancients; but there are some of them which are scarce to be comprehended or believed, of which number is the vast extent of the lake which I have just described.

Berosus, Megasthenes, and Abydenus, quoted by Josephus and Eusebius, make Nebuchadnezzar the author of most of these works; but Herodotus ascribes the bridge, the two quays of the river, and the lake, to Nitocris, the daughter-in-law of that monarch. Perhaps Nitocris might finish what her father left imperfect at his death, on which account that historian might give her the honour of the whole undertaking.

IV. The Palaces, and Hanging Gardens.(989)—At the two ends of the bridge were two palaces, which had a communication with each other by a vault, built under the channel of the river, at the time of its being dry. The old palace, which stood on the east side of the river, was thirty furlongs (or three miles and three quarters) in compass; near which stood the temple of Belus, of which we shall soon speak. The new palace, which stood on the west side of the river, opposite to the other, was sixty furlongs (or seven miles and a half) in compass. It was surrounded with three walls, one within another, with considerable spaces between them. These walls, as also those of the other palace, were embellished with an infinite variety of sculptures, representing all kinds of animals, to the life. Amongst the rest was a curious hunting-piece, in which Semiramis on horseback was throwing her javelin at a leopard, and her husband Ninus piercing a lion.

In this last palace, were the hanging gardens, so celebrated among the Greeks.(990) They contained a square of four hundred feet on every side, and were carried up in the manner of several large terraces, one above another, till the height equalled that of the walls of the city. The ascent was from terrace to terrace, by stairs ten feet wide. The whole pile was sustained by vast arches, raised upon other arches, one above another, and strengthened by a wall, surrounding it on every side, of twenty-two feet in thickness. On the top of the arches were first laid large flat stones, sixteen feet long, and four broad; over these was a layer of reeds, mixed with a great quantity of bitumen, upon which were two rows of bricks, closely cemented together with plaster. The whole was covered with thick sheets of lead, upon which lay the mould of the garden. And all this floorage was contrived to keep the moisture of the mould from running away through the arches. The earth laid hereon was so deep, that the greatest trees might take root in it; and with such the terraces were covered, as well as with all other plants and flowers, that were proper to adorn a pleasure-garden. In the upper terrace there was an engine, or kind of pump, by which water was drawn up out of the river, and from thence the whole garden was watered. In the spaces between the several arches, upon which this whole structure rested, were large and magnificent apartments, that were very light, and had the advantage of a beautiful prospect.

Amytis, the wife of Nebuchadnezzar, having been bred in Media, (for she was the daughter of Astyages, the king of that country,) had been much delighted with the mountains and woody parts of that country.(991) And as she desired to have something like it in Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, to gratify her, caused this prodigious edifice to be erected: Diodoras gives much the same account of the matter, but without naming the persons.

V. The Temple of Belus.(992)—Another of the great works at Babylon was the temple of Belus, which stood, as I have mentioned already, near the old palace. It was most remarkable for a prodigious tower, that stood in the middle of it. At the foundation, according to Herodotus, it was a square of a furlong on each side, that is, half a mile in the whole compass, and (according to Strabo) it was also a furlong in height. It consisted of eight towers, built one above the other, decreasing regularly to the top, for which reason Strabo calls the whole a pyramid. It is not only asserted, but proved, that this tower much exceeded the greatest of the pyramids of Egypt in height. Therefore we have good reason to believe, as Bochart asserts,(993) that this is the very same tower which was built there at the confusion of languages; and the rather, because it is attested by several profane authors, that this tower was all built of bricks and bitumen, as the Scriptures tell us the tower of Babel was. The ascent to the top was by stairs on the outside round it; that is, perhaps, there was an easy sloping ascent in the side of the outer wall, which, turning by very slow degrees in a spiral line eight times round the tower from the bottom to the top, had the same appearance as if there had been eight towers placed upon one another. In these different stories were many large rooms, with arched roofs supported by pillars. Over the whole, on the top of the tower, was an observatory, by the benefit of which the Babylonians became more expert in astronomy than all other nations, and made, in a short time, the great progress in it ascribed to them in history.

But the chief use to which this tower was designed, was the worship of the god Belus or Baal, as also that of several other deities; for which reason there was a multitude of chapels in different parts of the tower. The riches of this temple in statues, tables, censers, cups, and other sacred vessels, all of massy gold, were immense. Among other images, there was one forty feet high, which weighed a thousand Babylonish talents. The Babylonish talent, according to Pollux in his Onomasticon, contained seven thousand Attic drachmas, and consequently was a sixth part more than the Attic talent, which contains but six thousand drachmas.

According to the calculation which Diodorus makes of the riches contained in this temple, the sum total amounts to six thousand three hundred Babylonish talents of gold.

The sixth part of six thousand three hundred is one thousand and fifty; consequently six thousand three hundred Babylonish talents of gold are equivalent to seven thousand three hundred and fifty Attic talents of gold.

Now seven thousand three hundred and fifty Attic talents of silver are worth upwards of two millions and one hundred thousand pounds sterling. The proportion between gold and silver among the ancients we reckon as ten to one; therefore seven thousand three hundred and fifty Attic talents of gold amount to above one and twenty millions sterling.

This temple stood till the time of Xerxes;(994) but he, on his return from his Grecian expedition, demolished it entirely, after having first plundered it of all its immense riches. Alexander, on his return to Babylon from his Indian expedition, purposed to have rebuilt it; and in order thereto, set ten thousand men to work, to rid the place of its rubbish; but, after they had laboured herein two months, Alexander died, and that put an end to the undertaking.