Chapter X: Part 10

[129] His other subjects would be deterred from obeying him--_Reliquos popularis metus invaderet parendi sibi._ "Fear of obeying him should take possession of his other subjects."

[130] That it was a venal city, etc.--_Urbem venalem,_ etc. I consider, with Cortias, that this is the proper way of taking these words. Some would render them _O venal city,_ etc., because Livy, Epit. lxiv., has _O urbem venalem,_ but this seems to require that the verb should be in the second person; and it is probable that in Livy we should either eject the O or read _inveneris._ Florus, iii. 1, gives the words in the same way as Sallust.

[131] XXXVI. As propraetor--_Pro praetore._ With the power of lieutenant-general.

[132] XXXVII. Throughout the year--_Totius anni._ That is, all that remained of the year.

[133] On the edge of a steep hill--_In praerupti montis extremo. "In extremo_ a scholiast rightly interprets _in margine_," Gerlach. Cortius, whom Langius follows, considers that _in extremo_ means _at the bottom_; a notion which Kritzius justly condemns; for, as Gerlach asks, what would that have to do withthe strength of the place? Muller would have us believe that _in extremo_ means _at the top_; but if Sallust had meant to say that the city was at the top, he would hardly have chosen the word _extremus_ for the purpose. Doubtless, as Gerlach observes, the city was on the top of the hill, which was broad enough to hold it; but the words _in extremo_ signify that the walls were even with the side of the hill. Of the site of the town of Suthul no traces are now to be found.

[134] Vineae--Defenses made of hurdles or other wood, and often covered with raw hides, to defend the soldiers who worked the battering-ram. The word that comes nearest to _vineae_ in our language is _mantelets_. Before this word, in many editions, occurs the phrase _ob thesauros oppidi potiundi_, which Cortius, whom I follow, omits.

[135] XXXIII. That their defection might thus be less observed--_Ita delicta occultiora fore._ Cortius transferred these words to this place from the end of the preceding sentence; Kritzius and Dietsch have restored them to their former place. Gerlach thinks them an intruded gloss.

[136] The chief centurion--_Centurio primi pili._There were sixty centurions in a Roman legion; the one here meant was the first, or oldest, centurion of the Triarii, or Pilani.

[137] As death was the alternative--_Quia mortis metu mutabant. Neither manuscripts nor critics are agreed about this passage. Cortius, from a suggestion of Palmerius, adopted _mutabant_; most other editors have _mutabantur_; but both are to be taken in the same sense; for _mutabant_ is equivalent to _mutabant se_. Cortius's interpretation appears the most eligible: "Permutabantur cum metuendâ morte," i.e. there were those conditions on one side, and death on the other, and if they did not accept the conditions, they must die. Kritzius fancifully and strangely interprets, _propter mortis metum se mutabant, i.e., alia videbantur atque erant_, or the acceptance of the terms appeared excusable to the soldiers, because they were threatened with death if they did not accept them. It is worth while to notice the variety of readings exhibited in the manuscripts collated by Cortius: ten exhibit _mutabantur_; three, _minitabantur_; three, _multabantur_; three, _tenebantur_; one, _tenebatur_; one, _cogebantur_; one, _cogebatur_; one, _angustiabantur_; one, _urgebantur_; and one _mortis metuebant pericula_. There is also, he adds, in some copies, _mutabant_, which the Bipont editors and Müller absurdly adopted.

[138] XXXIX. Under all the circumstances of the case--_Ex copiâ rerum._ From the number of things which he had to consider.

[139] XL. The Latins and Italian allies--_Per homines nominis Latini, et socios Italicos._ "The right of voting was not extended to all the Latin people till A.U.C. 664, and the Italian allies did not obtain it till some years afterward." _Kritzius._ So that at this period, which was twenty years earlier, their influence could only be employed in an underhand way. Compare c.42.

[140] Marcus Scaurus--See c. 15. That he was appointed on this occasion, is an evident proof of his commanding influence.

[141] But the investigation, notwithstanding, was conducted, etc.--_Sed quaes tuo exercita_, etc. Scaurus, it is probable, did what he could to mitigate the violence of the proceedings. Cicero, however, says that Caius Gallus _sacerdos_, with four _consulares_, Bestia, Caius Cato, Albinus, and Opimius, were condemned and exiled by this law of Mamilius. See Brut., c. 34.

[142] XLI. Took, snatched, and seized--Ducere, _trahere, rapere_. "_Ducere_ conveys the notion of cunning and fraud; _trahere_ of some degree of force; _rapere_ of open violence." _Muller_. The words chiefly refer to offices in the state, as is apparent from what follows.

[141] The parents and children of the soldiers, etc.--

Quid quod usque proximos
Revellis agri terminos, et ultra
Limites clientium
Salis avarus? Pellitur paternos
In sinu ferens deos
Et uxor et vir, sordidosque natos.

_Hor. Od.,_ ii. 18.

What can this impious av'rice stay?
Their sacred landmarks torn away.
You plunge into your neighbor's grounds,
And overleap your client's bounds,
Helpless the wife and husband flee,
And in their arms, expell'd by thee,
Their household gods, adored in vain,
Their infants, too, a sordid train.

[144] Among the nobility--_Ex nobilitate._ Cortius injudiciously omits those words. The reference is to the Gracchi.

[145] By means of the allies and Latins--See on, c. 40.

[146] But to a reasonable man it is more agreeable to submit, etc.--_Sed bono vinci satius est, quam malo more injuriam vincere. Bono,_ sc. _viro_. "That is, if the nobility had been truly worthy characters, they would rather have yielded to the Gracchi, than have revenged any wrong that they had received from them in an unprincipled manner." _Dietsch._ Thus this is a reflection on the nobles; in which notion of the passage Allen concurs with Dietsch. Others, as Cortius, think it a reflection on the too great violence of the Gracchi. The brevity with which Sallust had expressed himself makes it difficult to decide. Kritzius, who thinks that the remark is in praise of the Gracchi, supplies the ellipse thus: "Sane concedi debet Gracchis non satis moderatum animum fuiase; _quae res ipsis adeo interitum attulit_; sed _sic quoque egregii viri putandi sunt; nam_ bono vinci," etc. Langius and Burnouf join _bono_ with _more_, but do not differ much in their interpretations of the passage from that given by Dietsch.

[147] XLIII. Of a character uniformly irreproachable--_Famâ tamen aequabili et inviolatâ. Aequabilis_ is uniform, always the same, keeping an even tenor.

[148] Regarded all things as common to himself and his colleague--_Ali omnia sibi cum collegâ ratus._ "Other matters, unconnected with the war against Jugurtha, he thought that he would have to manage in conjunction with his colleague, and that, consequently, he might give but partial attention to them; but that the war in Numidia was committed to his sole care." _Cortius._ Other interpretations of these words have been suggested; but they are fanciful and unworthy of notice.

[149] Princes--_Reges._ Who these were, the commentators have not attempted to conjecture.

[150] XLIV. By Spurius Albinus, the proconsul.--_A Spurio Albino proconsule_. This is the general reading. Cortius has, _Spurii Albini pro consule_, with which we may understand _agentis_ or _imperantis_, but can hardly believe it to be what Sallust wrote. Kritzius reads, _Spurii Albini proconsulis_.

[151] In a stationary camp--_Stativis castris_. In contradistinction to that which the soldiers formed at the end of a day's march.

[152] But neither had the camp been fortified, etc.--_Sed neque muniebantur ea_ (se. castra), _neque more militari vigiliae deducebantur_. "The words _sed neque muniebantur ea_ are wanting in almost all the manuscripts, as well as in all the editions, except that of Cyprianus Popma." _Kritzius_. Gerlach, however, had, previously to Kritz, inserted them in his text though in brackets; for he supposed them to be a mere conjecture of some scribe, who was not satisfied with a single _neque_. But they have been found in a codex of Fronto, by Angelo Mai, and have accordingly been received as genuine by Kritz and Dietsch. Potter and Burnouf have omitted the _ea_, thinking, I suppose, that in such a position it could hardly be Sallust's; but the verb requires a nominative case to prevent it from being referred to the following _vigiliae_.

[153] Foreign wine--_Vino advectitio_ Imported. Africa does not abound in wine.

[154] XLV. With regard to other things--Caeteris. Cortius, whom Gerlach follows, considers this word as referring to the men or officers; but Kritzius and Dietsch, with better judgment, understand _rebus_.

[155] Numerous sentinels--_Vigilias crebras_. At short intervals, says Kritzius, from each other.

[156] XLVI. Villages--_Mapalibus_. See c. xviii. The word is here used for a collection of huts, a village.

[157] Here the consul, to try the disposition of the inhabitants, and, should they allow him, to take advantage of the situation of the place, etc.--_Huc consul, simul tentandi gratiâ, et si paterentur, opportuniatis loci, praesidium imponit._ This is a _locus veratissimus_, about which no editor has satisfied himself. I have deserted Cortius and followed Dietsch, who seems to have settled the passage, on the basis of Havercamp's text, with more judgment than any other commentator. Cortius read, _Huc consul simul tentandi gratiâ, si paterent opportunitates loci_, etc., taking _opportuniatates_ in the sense of _munitiones_, "defenses;" but would Sallust have said _that Metellus put a garrison in the place, to try if its defenses would be open to him?_ Havercamp's reading is, _simul tentan si gratiâ, et si paterentur opportunitates loci_, etc. Palmerius conjectured _simul tentandi gratiâ, si paterentur; et opportunitate loci,_ which Gerlach and Kritsius adopt, except that they change the place of the _et_, and put it before _si_. Allen thinks that he has amended the passage by reading _Huc consul, simul si paterentur tentandi, et opportunitatis loci, gratiâ;_ but this conjecture is liable to similar objection with that of Cortius. Other varieties of reading it is needless to notice. But it is observable that four manuscripts, as Kritzius remarks, have _propter opportunitates,_ which led me long ago to suppose that the true reading must be _simul tentandi gratiâ, simul propter opportunitates loci. Simul propter_ might easily have been corrupted into _si paterentur_.

[158] Frequent arrival of supplies--_Commeatum._ "Frumenti et omnium rerum quarum in bello usus est, largam copiam." _Kritzius_. I follow the text of Cortius (retaining the words _juvaturum ecercitum_) which Kritzius sufficiently justifies. There is a variety of readings, but all much the same in sense.

[159] Extraordinary earnestness--_Impensius modo._ Cortius and Kritzius interpret this _modo_ as the ablative case of _modus; i. e. quam modus erat,_ or _supra modum;_ but Dietsch and Burnouf question the propriety of this interpretation, and consider the _modo_ to be the same as that in _tantummodo, dummodo,_ etc. The same expression occurs again in c. 75.

[160] XLVIII. Running parallel with the stream--_Tractu pari._ It may be well to illustrate this and the following chapter by a copy of the lines which Cortius has drawn, "to excite," as he says, "the imagination of his readers:"

River Muthul, flowing from the south
--------------------------------------------------
I Hill on
North I which
<----------- I I Jugurtha
I I posted
I I himself
--------------------------------------------------
Range of hills, parallel I with the Muthul
I
I Route of Metellus
I

[161] XLIX. In a transverse direction--_Transverso itinere_. It lay on the flank of the Romans as they marched toward the river, _in dextero latere_, c.49, fin.

[162] Well acquainted with the country--_Prudentes._ "Periti loci et regionis." _Cortius._Or it may mean knowing what they were to do, while the enemy would be _imperiti,_ surprised and perplexed.

[163] Would crown--_Confirmaturum_. Would establish, settle, put the last hand to them.

[164] Was seen--_Conspicitur._ This is the reading adopted by Cortius, Müller, and Allen, as being that of all the manuscripts. Havercamp, Kritzius, and Dietsch admitted into their texts, on the sole authority of Donatus ad Ter. Eun. ii. 3, _conspicatur_, i.e. (Metellus) _catches sight_ of the enemy. The latter reading, perhaps, makes a better connection.

[165] Rendering it uncertain--_Incerti._ Presenting such an appearance that a spectator could not be certain what they were.

[166] He drew up these in the right wing--in three lines--_In dextero latere triplicibus subsidiis aciem instruxit._ In the other passages in which Sallust has the word _subsidia_ (Cat. c. 59), he uses it for _the lines behind the front._ Thus he says of Catiline, _Octo cohortes in fronte constituit; reliqua signa in subsidiis arctiùs collocat;_ and of Petreius, _Cohortes veteranas--in fronte; post eas reliquum exercitum in subsidiis locat._ But whether he uses the word in the same sense here; whether we might, as Cortius thinks (whom Gerlach and Dietsch follow), call the division of Metellus's troops _quadruple_ instead of _triple,_ or whether he arranged them as De Brosses and others suppose, in the usual disposition of Hastati, Principes, and Triarii, who shall place beyond dispute? The probability, however, if Sallust is consistent with himself in his use of the word, lies with Cortius. Gerlach refers to Caesar, De Bell, Civ., iii. 89: "_Celeriter ex tertiâ acie singulas cohortes detraxit, atque ex his quartam instituit;_ but this does not illustrate Sallust's use of the word _subsidia_: Caesar forms a fourth _acies_; Metellus draws up one _acies_ triplicibus subsidia".

[167] With the front changed into a flank--_Transversis principiis._ He made the whole army wheel to the left, so that what was their front line, or _principia,_ as they faced the enemy on the hill, became their flank as they marched from the mountain toward the river.

[168] L. Behind the front line--_Post principia._ The _principia_ are the same as those mentioned in the preceding note, that is, the front line when the army faced that of Jugurtha on the hill, but which presented its flank to the enemy when the army was on its march. So that Marius commanded in the center ("in medio agmine," says Dietsch), while Metellus took the lead with the cavalry of the left wing. See the following note.

[169] Cavalry on the left wing--which, on the march, had become the van--_Sinistrae ulae equitibus--qui in agmine principes facti erant._ When Metellus halted (c. 49, fin.), and drew up his troops fronting the hill on which Jugurtha was posted, he placed all his cavalry in the wings; consequently, when the army wheeled to the left, and marched forward, the cavalry of the left wing became the van.

[170] LI. Of the whole struggle--_Totius negotii._ That is, on the side of the Romans.

[171] LII. The enemy's ignorance of the country--_Regio hostibus ignara. Ignara_ for _ignota;_ a country unknown to the enemy.

[172] LIII. Fatigued and exhausted--_Fessi lassique._ I am once more obliged to desert Cortius, who reads _laetique_. The sense, as Kritzius and Dietsch observe, shows that _laeti_ can not be the reading, for there must evidently be a complete antithesis between the two parts of the sentence; an antithesis which would be destroyed by the introduction of _laeti_. Gerlach, though he retains _laeti_ in his text, condemns it in his notes.

[173] LIV. Which could only be conducted, etc.--_Quod, nisi ex illius lubidine, geri non posset._ Cortius omits the _non_ before _posset_, but almost every other editor, except Allen, has retained it, from a conviction of necessity.

[174] Under these circumstances, however--_Ex copiâ tamen._ With _copiâ_ we must understand _consiliorum_ or _rerum,_ as at the end of c. 39. All the manuscripts, except two, have _inopiâ_, which editors have justly rejected as inconsistent with the sense.

[175] LV. A thanksgiving--_Supplicia._ The same as _supplicatio,_ on which the reader may consult Adam's Rom. Ant., or Dr. Smith's Dictionary.

[176] LVI. Dared not be guilty of treachery--_Fallere nequibant._ "Through dread of the severest punishments if they should fall into the hands of the Romans. Valerius Maximus, ii. 7, speaks of deserters having been deprived of their hands by Quintus Fabius Maximus; of others who were crucified or beheaded by the elder Africanus; of others who were thrown to wild beasts by Africanus the younger; and of others who were sentenced by Paulus Aemilius to be trampled to death by elephants. Hence it appears that the punishment of deserters was left to the pleasure of the general." _Burnouf_.

[177] Sicca--It stood on the banks of the Bagradas, at some distance from the coast, and contained a celebrated Temple of Venus. Val. Max., ii. 6. D'Anville thinks it the same as the modern _Kef._

[178] LVII. Javelins--_Pila._ This _pilum_ may have been, as Müller suggests, similar to the _falarica_ which Livy (xxi. 8) says that the Saguntines used against their besiegers. _Falarica erat Saguntinis, missile telum hastili abiegno--id, sicut in pilo, quadratum stuppa circumligabant, linebantque pice:--quod cum medium accensum mitteretur_, etc. Of Sallust's other words, in the latter part of this sentence, the sense is clear, but the readings of different editors are extremely various. Cortius and Gerlach have _sudes, pila praeterea picem sulphure et taedâ mixtam ardentia mittere:_ but it can scarcely be believed that Sallust wrote _picem--taedâ mixtam._ Havercamp gives _pice et sulphure taedam mixtam ardentia mittere,_ which has been adopted by Kritzius and Dietsch, except that they have changed _ardentia,_ on the authority of some of the manuscripts, into _ardenti_.

[179] LIX. And thus, with the aid of the light-armed foot, almost succeeded in giving the enemy a defeat--_Ita expeditis peditibus suis hostes paene victos dare._ Cortius, Kritzius, and Allen, concur in regarding _expeditis peditibus_ as an ablative of the instrument, i.e. as equivalent to _per expeditos pedites_ and _victos dare_ as nothing more than _vincere._ This appears to be the right mode of explanation; but most of the translators, French as well as English, have taken _expeditis peditibus_ as a dative, and given to the passage the sense that "the cavalry delivered up the enemy, when nearly conquered, to be dispatched by the light-armed foot."

[180] LX. Attacks, or preparations for defense, were made in all quarters--_Oppugnare aut parare omnibus locis._ There is much discussion among the critics whether these verbs are to be referred to the besiegers or the besieged. Cortius and Gerlach attribute _oppugnare_ to the Romans, and _parare_ to the men of Zama; a distinction which Kritzius justly condemns. There can be little doubt that they are spoken of both parties equally.

[181] LXI. The rest of his forces--in that part of our province nearest to Numidia--_Caeterum exercitum in provinciam, quae proxima est Numidiae, hiemandi gratiâ collocat._ "The words _quae proxima est Numidiae_ Cortius would eject as superfluous and spurious. But it is to be understood that Metellus did not distribute his troops through the whole of the province, but in that part which is nearest to Numidia, in order that they might be easily assembled in case of an attack of the enemy or any other emergency. There is, therefore, no need to read with the Bipont edition and Müller, _qua proxima,_ etc. though this is in itself not a bad conjecture." _Kritzius_.

[182] LXII. Was summoned to appear in person at Tisidium, etc. --_Cum ipse ad imperandum Tisidium vocaretur._ The gerund is used, as grammarians say, in a passive sense. "The town of Tisidium is nowhere else mentioned. Strabo (xvii. 3, p. 488, Ed. Tauch.) speaks of a place named [Greek: _Tisiaioi_], which was utterly destroyed, and not a vestige of it left." _Gerlach_.

[183] LXIII. Sacrificing to the gods--_Per hostias dis supplicante._ Supplicating or worshiping the gods with sacrifices, and trying to learn their intentions as to the future by inspection of the entrails. "Marius was either a sincere believer in the absurd superstitions and dreams of the soothsayers, or pretended to be so, from a knowledge of the nature of mankind, who are eager to listen to wonders, and are ore willing to be deceived than to be taught." _Burnouf._ See Plutarch, Life of Marius. He could interpret omens for himself, according to Valerius Maximus, i. 5.

[184] The people--disposed of, etc.--_Etiam tum alios magistratus plebes, consulatum nobilitas, inter se per manus tradebat._ The commentators have seen the necessity of understanding a verb with _plebes._ Kritzius suggests _habebat;_ Gerlach _grebat_ or _accipiebat_.

[185] A disgrace to it--_Pollutus._ He was considered, as it were, unclean. See Cat., c. 23, _fin_.

[186] LXIV. As soon as the public business would allow him--_Ubi primum potuisset per negotia publica._ As soon as he could through (regard to) the public business.

[187] With his own son--_Cum filio suo._ With the son of Metellus. He tells Marius that it would be soon enough for him to stand for the consulship in twenty-three years' time, the legitimate age for the consulship being forty-three.

[188] In the camp with his father--_Contubernio patris._ He was among the young noblemen in the consul's retinue, who were sent out to see military service under him. This was customary. See Cic. Pro Cael. Pro Planc. 11.

[189] LXV. Which was as weak as his body--_Ob morbos--parum valido._ Sallust had already expressed this a few lines above.

[190] Merchants--_Negotiatores._ "Every one knows that Romans of equestrian dignity were accustomed to trade in the provinces." _Burnouf_.

[191] With the most honorable demonstrations in his favor --_Honestissimâ suffragatione._ "_Suffragatio_ was the zealous recommendation of those who solicited the votes of their fellow-citizens in favor of some candidate. See Festus, s.v. _Suffragatores,_ p. 266, Lindem." _Dietsch._ It was honorable, in the case of Marius, as it was without bribery, and seemed to have the good of the republic in view.

[192] The Mamilian law--See c. 40.

[193] LXVI. Advantageous positions--_Suos locos._ Places favorable for his views. See Kritzius on c. 54.

[194] LXVII. Were in trepidation. At the citadel, etc.--I have translated this passage in conformity with the texts of Gerlach, Kritzius, Dietsch, Müller, and Allen, who put a point between _trepidare_ and _ad arcem_. Cortina, Havercamp, and Burnouf have _trepidare ad arcem_, without any point. Which method gives the better sense, any reader can judge.

[195] On the roofs of the houses--_Pro tectis aedificiorum_. In front of the roofs of the houses; that is, at the parapets. "In prima tectorum parte." _Kritzius_. The roofs were flat.

[196] Worthless and infamous character--_Improbus intestabilisque_. These words are taken from the twelve tables of the Roman law: See Aul. Gell. vi. 7, xv. 3. Horace, in allusion to them, has _intestabilis et sacer_, Sat. ii. 3.181, _Intestabilis_ signified a person to be of so infamous a character that he was not allowed to give evidence in a court of justice.

[197] LXVIII. Averse to further exertion--_Tum abnuentes omnia_. Most of the translators have understood by these words that the troops refused to obey orders; but Sallust's meaning is only that they expressed, by looks and gestures, their unwillingness to proceed.

[198] LXIX As a native of Latium--_Nam is civis ex Latio erat_. "As he was a Latin, he was not protected by the Porcian law (see Cat., c. 51), though how far this law had power in the camp, is not agreed." _Allen_. Gerlach thinks that it had the same power in the camp as elsewhere, with reference to Roman citizens. But Roman citizenship was not extended to the Latins till the end of the Social War, A.U.C. 662. Plutarch, however, in his Life of Caius Gracchus (c. 9), speaks of Livius Drusus having been abetted by the patricians in proposing a law for exempting the Latin soldiers from being flogged, about thirty years earlier; and it seems to have been passed, but, from this passage of Sallust, appears not to have remained in force. Lipsius touches on this obscure point in his _Militia Romana_, v. 18, but settles nothing. Plutarch, in his Life of Marius, c. 8, says that Turpilius was an old retainer of the family of Metellus, whom he attended, in this war, as _prafectus fabrûm_, or master of the artificers; that, being afterward appointed governor of Vacea, he exercised his office with great justice and humanity, that his life was spared by Jugurtha at the solicitation of the inhabitants; that, when he was brought to trial, Metellus thought him innocent, and that he would not have been condemned but for the malice of Marius, who exasperated the other members of the council against him. He adds, that after his death, his innocence became apparent, and that Marius boasted of having planted in the breast of Metellus an avenging fury, that would not fail to torment him for having put to death the innocent friend of his family. Hence Sir Henry Steuart has accused Sallust of wilfully misrepresenting the character of Turpilius, as well as the whole transaction. But as much credit is surely due to Sallust as to Plutarch.

[199] LXX. To which Jugurtha--was unable to attend--_Quae Jugartha, fesso, aut majoribus astricto, superaverant_. "Which had remained to (or been too much for) Jugurtha, when weary, or engaged in more important affairs."

[200] Among the winter-quarters of the Romans--_Inter hiberna Romanorum_.It is stated in c. 61, as Kritzius observes, that Metellus, when he put his army into winter-quarters, had, at the same time, placed garrisons in such of Jugurtha's towns as had revolted to him. The forces of the Romans being thus dispersed, Nabdalsa might justly be said to have his army _inter hiberna_, "_among_ their winter-quarters."

[201] LXXI. Behind his head--_Super caput_. On the back of the bolster that supported his head; part of which might be higher than the head itself.

[202] LXXIIL The factious tribunes--_Seditiosi magistratus_.

[203] After the lapse of many years--_Post multas tempestates_. Apparently the period since A.U.C. 611, when Quintus Pompeius, who, as Cicero says (in Verr. ii. 5), was _humile atque obscuro loco natus_, obtained the consulship; that is, a term of forty-three or forty-four years.

[204] That decree was thus rendered abortive--_Ea res frustra fuit_. By a _lex Sempronia_, a law of Caius Gracchus, it was enacted that the senate should fix the provinces for the future consuls before the _comitia_ for electing them were held. But from Jug. c. 26, it appears that the consuls might settle by lot, or by agreement between themselves, which of those two provinces each of them should take. How far the senate were allowed or accustomed in general, to interfere in the arrangement, it is not easy to discover: but on this occasion they had taken on themselves to pass a resolution in favor of the patrician. Lest similar scenes, however, to those of the Sempronian times should be enacted, they yielded the point to the people.

[205] LXXV. Thala--The river on which this town stood is not named by Sallust, but it appears to have been the Bagrada. It seems to have been nearly destroyed by the Romans, after the defeat of Juba, in the time of Julius Caesar; though Tacitus, Ann. iii. 21, mentions it as having afforded a refuge to the Romans in the insurrection of the Numidian chief, Tacfarinas. D'Anville and Dr. Shaw, _Travels in Bombay_, vol. i. pt. 2, ch. 5, think it the same with Telepte, now _Ferre-anah_; but this is very doubtful. See Cellar. iv. 5. It was in ruins in the time of Strabo.

[206] Had done more than was required of them--_Officia intenderant._ "Auxit _intenditque_ saevitiam exacerbatus indicio filii sui Drusi" Suet. Tib. 62.

[207] LXXVI. Nor did he ever--continue, etc.--_Neque postea--moratus, simulabat_, etc.--Most editors take _moratus_ for _morans_; Allen places a colon after it, as if it were for _moratus est_.

[208] And erected towns upon it to protect, etc.--_Et super aggerem impositis turribus epus et administros tutari_. "And protected the work and the workmen with towers placed on the mound." _Impositis turribus_ is not the ablative absolute, but the ablative of the instrument.

[209] LXXVII. Leptis--Leptis Major, now _Lebida_. In c. 19, Leptis Minor is meant.

[210] Their own safety--_Suam salutem_: i.e. the safety of the people of Leptis.

[211] LXXVIII. Which take their name from their nature--_Quibus nomen ex re inditum._ From [Greek: _surein_], _to draw,_ because the stones and sand were drawn to and fro by the force of the wind and tide. But it has been suggested that this etymology is probably false; it is less likely that their name should be from the Greek than from the Arabic, in which _sert_ signifies a desert tract or region, a term still applied to the desert country bordering on the Syrtea. See Ritter, Allgem. vergleich, Geog. vol. i. p. 929. The words which, in Havercamp, close this description of the Syrtes, "Syrtes ab tractu nominatae", and which Gruter and Putschius suspected not to be Sallust's, Cortius omitted; and his example has been followed by Muller and Burnouf; Gerlach, Kritzius, and Dietsch, have retained them. Gerlach, however, thinks them a gloss, though they are found in every manuscript but one.

[212] Almost at the extremity of Africa--_Prope in extremâ Africâ._ "By _extremâ Africâ_ Gerlach rightly understands the eastern part of Africa, bordering on Egypt, and at a great distance from Numidia." _Kritzius_.

[213] The language alone--_Lingua modò_.

[214] From the king's dominions--_Ab imperio regis._ "Understand Masinissa's, Micipsa's, or Jugurtha's." _Burnouf_.

[215] LXXIX. Philaeni--The account of these Carthaginian brothers with a Greek name, _philainoi, praise-loving_, is probably a fable. Cortius thinks that the inhabitants, observing two mounds rising above the surrounding level, fancied they must have been raised, not by nature, but by human labor, and invented a story to account for their existence. "The altars," according to Mr. Rennell (Geog. of Herod., p. 640), "were situated about seven ninths of the way from Carthage to Cyrene; and the deception," he adds, "would have been too gross, had it been pretended that the Carthaginian party had traveled seven parts in nine, while the Cyrenians had traveled no more than two such parts of the way." Pliny (II. N. v. 4) says that the altars were of sand; Strabo (lib. iii.) says that in his time they had vanished. Pomponius Mela and Valerius Maximus repeat the story, but without adding any thing to render it more probable.

[216] Devoid of vegetation--_Nuda gignentium_. So c. 93, _cunota gignentium natura_. Kritzius justly observes that _gignentia_ is not to be taken in the sense of _genita_, as Cortius and others interpret, but in its own active sense; the ground was bare _of all that was productive_, or _of whatever generates any thing_. This interpretation is suggested by Perizonius ad Sanctu Minerv. i. 15.

[217] Sacrificed themselves--_Seque vitamque--condonavere_. "Nihil aliud est quàm _vitam suam_, sc.[Greek: _eu dia dyoin_]." _Allen_.

[218] LXXX. Sell--honorable or dishonorable--_Omnia honesta atque inhonesta vendere_. See Cat. c. 30. They had been bribed by Jugurtha to use their influence against Bocchus.

[219] A daughter of Bocchus, too, was married to Jugurtha--_Jugurthae filia Bocchi nupserat_. Several manuscripts and old editions have _Boccho_, making Bocchus the son-in-law of Jugurtha. But Plutarch (Vit. Mar. c. 10, Sull. c. 8) and Florus (iii. 1) agree in speaking of him as Jugurtha's father-in-law. Bocchus was doubtless an older man than Jugurtha, having a grown up son, Volux, c. 105. Castilioneus and Cortius, therefore, saw the necessity of reading _Bocchi_, and, other editors have followed them, except Gerlach, "who," says Kritzius, "has given _Bocchi_ in his larger, and _Boccho_ in his smaller and more recent edition, in order that readers using both may have an opportunity of making a choice."

[220] No one of them becomes a companion to him--_Nulla pro sociâ obtinet The use of _obtinet_ absolutely, or with the word dependent on it understood, prevails chiefly among the later Latin writers. Livy, however, has _fama obtinuit_, xxi. 46. "The _tyro_ is to be reminded," says Dietsch, "that _obtinet_ is not the same as _habetar_, but is always for _locum obtinet_."

[221] LXXXI. The two kings, with their armies--The text has only _exercitus_.

[222] To lessen Bocchus's chance of peace--_Bocchi pacem imminuere_. He wished to engage Bocchus in some act of hostility against the Romans, so as to render any coalition between them impossible.

[223] LXXXII. Should have learned something of the Moors --_Cognitis Mauris, i.e._ after knowing something of the Moors, _and not before_. _Cognitis militibus_ is used in the same way in c. 39; and Dietsch says that _amicitia Jugurthae parum cognita_ is for _nondum cognita_, c. 14.

[224] LXXXIV. Discharged veterans--_Homines emeritis stipendiis._ Soldiers who had completed their term of service.

[225] Means of warfare--_Usum belli._ That is _ea quae belli usus posceret_, troops and supplies.

[226] Cherished the fancy--_Animis trahebant. "Trahere animo_ is always to revolve in the mind, not to let the thought of a thing escape from the mind." _Kritzius_.

[227] LXXXV. Its interests ought to be managed, etc.--_Majore curâ illam administrari quàm haec peti debere._ Cortius injudiciously omits the word _illam_. No one has followed him but Allen.

[228] Hostile--_Occursantis._ Thwarting, opposing.

[229] That you may not be deceived in me--_Ut neque vos capiamini._ "This verb is undoubtedly used in this passage for _decipere_. Compare Tibull. Eleg. iii. 6, 45: _Nec vos aut capiant pendentia brachia collo, Aut fallat blandâ sordida tingua prece._ Cic. Acad. iv. 20: _Sapientis vim maximam esse cavere, ne capiatur._" Gerlach.

[230] To secure their election--_Per ambitionem. Ambire_ is to canvass for votes; to court the favor of the people.

[231] Of yonder crowd of nobles--_ex illo globo nobilitatis. Illo,_ [Greek: _deiktikos_].

[232] I know some--who after they have been elected, etc.--"At whom Marina directs this observation, it is impossible to tell. Gerlach referring to Cic. Quest. Acad. ii. 1, 2, thinks that Lucullus is meant. But if he supposes that Lucullus was present _to the mind of Marius_ when he spoke, he is egregiously deceived, for Marius was forty years antecedent to Lucullus. It is possible, however, that _Sallust_, thinking of Lucullus when he wrote Marius's speech, may have fallen into an anachronism, and have attributed to Marius, whose character he had assumed, an observation which might justly have been made in his own day." _Kritzius_.

[233] Persons who invert the order of things--_Homines Praeposteri._ Men who do that last which should be done first.

[234] For though to discharge the duties of the office, etc.--_Nam gerere, quam fieri, tempore posterius, re atque usu prius est._ With _gerere_ is to be understood _consulatum_; with _fieri, consulem._ This is imitated from Demosthenes, Olynth. iii.: [Greek: _To gar prattein ton legein kai cheirotonein, usteron on tae taxei, proteron tae dynamei kai kreitton esti_.] "Acting is posterior in order to speaking and voting, but prior and superior in effect."

[235] With those haughty nobles--_Cum illorum superbui. Virtus Scipiades et mitis sapientia Laeli._

[236] My condition _Mihi fortuna_. "That is, my lot, or condition, in which I was born, in which I had no hand in producing." _Dietsch_.

[237] The circumstance of birth, etc. _Naturam unam et communem omnium existumo_. "Nascendi sortem" is the explanation which Dietsch gives to _naturam_. One man is _born_ as well as another, but the difference between men is made by their different modes of action; a difference which the nobles falsely suppose to proceed from fortune. "Voltaire, Mohammed, Act.I., sce. iv., has expressed the sentiment of Sallust exactly:

Les mortels sont égaux, ce n'est point la naissance,
C'est la seule vertu qui fait leur différence." _Burnouf._

[238] And could it be inquired of the fathers, etc.--_Ac, si jam ex patribus Alibini aut Bestiae quaeri posset_, etc. _Patres_, in this passage, is not, as Anthon imagines, the same as _majores_; as is apparent from the word _gigni_. The fathers of Albinus and Bestia were probably dead at the time that Marius spoke. The passage which Anthon quotes from Plutarch to illustrate _patres_, is not applicable, for the word there is [Greek: _pragonoi: Epunthaneto ton paronton, ei mae kai tous ekeinon oiontai progonous auto mallon an emxasthai paraplaesious ekgonous apolitein, ate dae maed autous di eugeneian, all ap aretaes kai kalon ergon endoxous genomenous_.] Vit. Mar. c. 9. "He would then ask the people whether they did not think that the ancestors of those men would have wished rather to leave a posterity like him, since they themselves had not risen to glory by their high birth, but by their virtue and heroic achievements?" _Langhorne_.

[239] Abstinence--_Innocentiae_. Abstinence from all vicious indulgence.

[240] Honorable exertion--_Virtutis_. See notes on Cat. c. 1, and Jug. c. 1.

[241] They occupy the greatest part of their orations in extolling their ancestors--_Plerâque oratione majores suos extollunt._ "They extol their ancestors in the greatest part of their speech."

[242] The glory of ancestors sheds a light on their posterity, Juvenal, viii.138:

Incipit ipsorum contra te stare parentum
Nobilitas, claramque facem praeferre pudendis.

Thy fathers' virtues, clear and bright, display
Thy shameful deeds, as with the light of day.

[243] I feel assured--_Ex animi sententiâ_. "It was a common form of strong asseveration." _Gerlach._

[244] Spears--_Hastas_. "A _hasta pura_, that is a spear without iron, was anciently the reward of a soldier the first time that he conquered in battle, Serv. ad Virg. Aen. vi. 760; it was afterward given to one who had struck down an enemy in a sally or skirmish, Lips. ad Polyb. de Milit. Rom. v.17." _Burnouf_.

[245] A banner--_Vexillum_. "Standards were also military rewards. Vopiscus relates that ten _hastae purae_, and four standards of two colors, were presented to Aurelian. Suetonius (Aug. 25) says that Agrippa was presented by Augustus, after his naval victory, with a standard of the color of the sea. These standards therefore, were not, as Badius Ascensius thinks, always taken from the enemy; though this was sometimes the case, as appears from Sil. Ital. x.v. 261:

Tunc hasta viris, tunc martia cuique
Vexilla, ut meritum, et praedae libamina, dantur." _Burnouf_.

[246] Caparisons--_Phaleras_. "Sil. Ital. xv. 255:

_Phaleris_ hic pectora fulget:
Hic _torque_ aurato circumdat bellica collae.

Juvenal, xv. 60:

Ut laeti _phaleris_ omnes et _torquibus_ omnes.

These passages show that _phalerae_, a name for the ornaments of horses, were also decorations of men; but they differed from the _torques_, or collars, in this respect, that the _phalerae_ hung down over the breast, and the _torques_ only encircled the neck. See Lips. ad Polyb. de Milit. Rom. v. 17." _Burnouf_.

[247] Valor--_Virtutem._ "The Greeks, those illustrious instructors of the world, had not been able to preserve their liberty; their learning therefore had not added to their valor. _Virtus_, in this passage, is evidently _fortitudo bellica_, which, in the opinion of Marius, was _the only virtue_." Burnouf. See Plutarch, Vit. Mar. c. 2.

[248] To be vigilant at my post--_Praesidia agitare_. Or "to keep guard at my post." "_Praesidia agitare_ signifies nothing more than to protect a party of foragers or the baggage, or to keep guard round a besieged city." _Vortius_.

[249] Keep no actor--_Histrionem nullum--habeo_. "Luxuriae peregrinae origo ab exercitu Asiatico (Manlii sc. Vulsonis, A.U.C. 563) invecta in urbem est.----Tum psaltriae sambucistriaeque et convivalia _ludionum_ obiectamenta, addita epulis." Liv. xxxix. 6. "By this army returning from Asia was the origin of foreign luxury imported into the city.----At entertainments--were introduced players on the harp and timbrel, with _buffoons_ for the diversion of the guests." _Baker_. Professor Anthon, who quotes this passage, says that _histrio_ "here denotes a buffoon kept for the amusement of the company." But such is not the meaning of the word _histrio_. It signifies one who in some way _acted_, either by dancing and gesticulation, or by reciting, perhaps to the music of the _sambucistriae or other minstrels. See Smith's Dict. of Gr. and Rom. Ant. Art. _Histrio_, sect. 2. Scheller's Lex. sub. vv. _Histrio, Ludio_, and _Salto_. The emperors had whole companies of actors, _histriones aulici_, for their private amusement. Suetonius says of Augustus (c. 74) that at feasts he introduced _acroamata et histriones_. See also Spartian. _Had_. c. 19; Jul.Capitol. _Verus_, c.8.

[250] My cook--_Coquum_. Livy, in the passage just cited from him, adds _tum coquus villisimum antiquis mancipium, et estimatione et usu in pretio esse; ut quod ministerium fuerat, ars haberi coepta_. "The cook, whom the ancients considered as the meanest of their slaves both in estimation and use, became highly valuable." _Baker_.

[251] Avarice, inexperience, and arrogance--_Avaritiam, imperitiam, superbiam_. "The President De Brosses and Dotteville have observed, that Marius, in these words, makes an allusion to the characters of all the generals that had preceded him, noticing at once the avarice of Calpurnius, the inexperience of Albinus, and the pride of Metellus." _Le Brun_.

[252] For no man, by slothful timidity, has escaped the lot of mortals--_Etenim ignavia nemo immortalis factus. The English translators have rendered this phrase as if they supposed the sense to be, "No man has gained immortal renown by inaction." But this is not the signification. What Marius means, is, that _no man, however cautiously and timidly he may avoid danger, has prolonged his life to immortality_. Taken in this sense, the words have their proper connection with what immediately follows: _neque quisquam parens liberis, uti aeterni forent, optavit_. The sentiment is the same as in the verse of Horace: _Mors et fugacem persequitur virum_; or in these lines of Tyrtaeus:

[Greek: Ou gar kos thanaton ge psygein eimarmenon estin
Andr', oud' haen progonon hae genos athanaton
Pollaki daeiotaeta phygon kai doupon akonton
Erchetai, en d' oiko moira kichen thanaton.]

To none, 'mong men, escape from death is giv'n,
Though sprung from deathless habitants of heav'n:
Him that has fled the battle's threatening sound,
The silent foot of fate at home has found.

The French translator, Le Brun, has given the right sense: "Jamais la lacheté n'a préservé de la mort;" and Dureau Delamalle: "Pour être un làche, on n'en serait pas plus immortel." _Ignavia_ is properly _inaction_; but here signifies _a timid shrinking from danger_.

[253] Nor has any parent wished for his children, etc.--[Greek: _Ou gar athanatous sphisi paidas euchontai genesthai, all' agathous kai eukleeis_.] "Men do not pray that they may have children that will never die, but such as will be good and honorable." Plato, Menex. 20. "This speech, differing from the other speeches in Sallust both in words and thoughts, conveys a clear notion of that fierce and objurgatory eloquence which was natural to the rude manners and bold character of Marius. It is a speech which can not be called polished and modulated, but must rather be termed rough and ungraceful. The phraseology is of an antique cast, and some of the wordscoarse.----But it is animated and fervid, rushing on like a torrent; and by language of such a character and structure, the nature and manners of Marius are excellently represented." _Gerlach_.

[254] LXXXVI. Not after the ancient method, or from the classes--_Non more majorum, neque ex classibus_. By the regulation of Servius Tullius, who divided the Roman people into six classes, the highest class consisting of the wealthiest, and the others decreasing downward in regular gradation, none of the sixth class, who were not considered as having any fortune, but were _capite censi_, "rated by the head," were allowed to enlist in the army. The enlistment of the lower order, commenced, it is said, by Marius, tended to debase the army, and to render it a fitter tool for the purposes of unprincipled commanders. See Aul. Gell., xvi. 10.

[255] Desire to pay court--_Per ambitionem_.

[256] LXXXVII. Having filled up his legions, etc. Their numbers had been thinned in actions with the enemy, and Metellus perhaps took home some part of the army which did not return to it.

[257] Their country and parents, etc--_Patriam parentesque_, etc. Sallust means to say that the soldiers would see such to be the general effect and result of vigorous warfare; not that they had any country or parents to protect in Numidia. But the observation has very much of the rhetorician in it.

[258] LXXXVIII. From our allies--_Ex sociis nostris_. The people of the province.

[259] Obliged the king himself--to take flight without his arms _Ipsumque regem--armis exuerat_. He attacked Jugurtha so suddenly and vigorously that he was compelled to flee, leaving his arms behind him.

[260]: LXXXIX. The Libyan Hercules--_Hercules Libys_. "He is one of the forty and more whom Varro mentions, and who, it is probable, were leaders of trading expeditions or colonies. See _supra_, c. 18. A Libyan Hercules is mentioned by Solinus xxvii." _Bernouf_.

[261] Marius conceived a strong desire--_Marium maxima cupido invaserat_. "A strong desire had seized Marius."

[262] Wild beasts' flesh--_Ferinâ carne_. Almost all our translators have rendered this "venison." But the Africans lived on the flesh of whatever beasts they took in the chase.

[263] XC. The consul, etc.--Here is a long and awkward parenthesis. I have adhered to the construction of the original. The "yet," _tamen_, that follows the parenthesis, refers to the matter included in it.

[264] He consigned to the care, etc.--_Equitibus auxiliariis agendum attribuit_. "He gave to be driven by the auxiliary cavalry."

[265] The town of Lares--_Oppidum Laris_. Cortius seems to have been right in pronouncing _Laris_ to be an accusative plural. Gerlach observes that Lares occurs in the Itinerary of Antonius and in St. Augustine, Adv. Donatist., vi. 28.

[266] XCI. After marching the whole night.--He seems to have marched in the night for the sake of coolness.

[267] XCII. All his undertakings, etc.--_Omnia non bene consulta in virtutem trahebantur_. "All that he did rashly was attributed to his _consciousness of_ extraordinary power." If they could not praise his prudence, they praised his resolution and energy.

[268] Difficult of execution--_Difficilem_. There seemed to be as many impediments to success as in the affair at Capsa, though the undertaking was not of so perilous a nature.

[269] In the midst of a plain--_Inter caeteram planitiem_. By _caeteram_ he signifies that _the rest_ of the ground, except the part on which the fort stood, was plain and level.

[270] Directed his utmost efforts to take--_Summâ vi capere intendit_. It is to be observed that _summâ vi_ refers to _intendit_, not to _capere_. _Summâ ope_ animum _intendit ut caperet_.

[271] Among the vineae--_Inter vineas_. "_Inter_, for which Müller, from a conjecture of Glareanus, substituted _intra_ is supported by all the manuscripts, and ought not to be altered, although _intra_ would have been more exact, as the signification of _inter_ is of greater extent, and includes that of _intra_. _Inter_ is used when a thing is inclosed on each side; _intra_, when it is inclosed on all sides. If the soldiers, therefore, are considered as surrounded with the _vineae_, they should be described as _intra vineas_; but as there is no reason why they may not also be contemplated as being inclosed only laterally by the _vineae_, the phrase _inter vineas_ may surely in that case be applied to them. Gronovius and Drakenborch ad Liv., i. 10, have observed how often these propositions are interchanged when referred to _time_." Kritzius. On _vineae_, see c. 76.

[272] XCIII. A certain Ligurian--in the auxiliary cohorts--The Ligurians were not numbered among the Italians or _socii_ in the Roman army, but attached to it only as auxiliaries.

[273] A desire--of seeing what he had never seen--_More humani ingenii, cupido ignara visundi invadit_. This is the reading of Cortius, to which Muller and Allen adhere. Gerlach inserted in his text, _More humani ingeni, cupidio difficilia faciundi animum vortit_; which Kritzius, Orelli, and Dietsch, have adopted, and which Cortius acknowledged to be the reading of the generality of the manuscripts, except that they vary as to the last two words, some having _animad vortit_. The sense of this reading will be, "the desire of doing something difficult, which is natural to the human mind, drew off his thoughts from gathering snails, and led him to contemplate something of a more arduous character." But the reading of Cortius gives so much better a sense to the passage, that I have thought proper to follow it. Burnouf, with Havercamp and the editions antecedent to Cortius, reads _more humanae cupidinis ignara visundi animum vortit_, of which the first five words are taken from a quotation of Aulus Gellius, ix. 12, who, however, may have transcribed them from some other part of Sallust's works, now lost.

[274] Horizontally--_Prona_. This word here signifies _forward_, not _downward_, as Anthon and others interpret, for trees growing out of a rock or bank will not take a _descending_ direction.

[275] As nature directs all vegetables--_Quò cuncta gignentium natura fert_. It is to be observed that the construction is _natura fert cuncta gignentium_, for _cuncta gignentia_. On _gignentia_, i.e. vegetable, or _whatever produces any thing_, see c. 79, and Cat., c. 53.

[276] Four centurions for a guard--_Praesidio qui forent, quatuor centuriones_. It is a question among the commentators whether the centurions were attended by their centuries or not; Cortius thinks that they were not, as ten men were sufficient to cause an alarm in the fortress, which was all that Marius desired. But that Cortius is in the wrong, and that there were common soldiers with the centurions, appears from the following considerations: 1. Marius would hardly have sent, or Sallust have spoken of, _four_ men as a guard to _six_. 2. Why should centurions only have been selected, and not common soldiers as well as their officers? 3. An expression in the following chapter, _laqueis--quibus allevati milites facilius escenderent_, seems to prove that there were others present besides the centurions and the trumpeters. The word _milites_ is indeed wanting in the text of Cortius, but appears to have been omitted by him merely to favor his own notion as to the absence of soldiers, for he left it out, as Kritzius says, _summâ libidine, ne uno quidem codice assentiente_, "purely of his own will, and without the authority of a single manuscript." Taking a fair view of the passage, we seem necessarily led to believe that the centurions were attended by a portion, if not the whole, of their companies. See the following note.

[277] XCIV. Those who commanded the centuries--_Illi qui centuriis praeerant_. This is the reading of several manuscripts, and of almost all the editions before that of Kritzius, and may be tolerated if we suppose that the centurions were attended by their men, and that Sallust, in speaking of the change of dress, meant _to include the men_, although he specifies only the officers. Yet it is difficult to conceive why Sallust should have used such a periphrase for _centuriones_. Seven of the manuscripts, however, have _qui adsensuri erant_, which Kritzius and Dietsch have adopted. Two have _qui ex centuriis praeerant_. Allen, not unhappily, conjectures, _qui praesidio erant_. Cortius suspected the phrase, _qui centuriis praeerant_, and thought it a transformation of the words _qui adscensuris praeerat_, which somebody had written in the margin as an explanation of the following word _duce_, and which were afterward altered and thrust into the text.

[278] Progress--might be less impeded--_Nisus--faciliùs foret_. The adverb for the adjective. So in the speech of Adherbal, c. 14, _ut tutius essem_.

[279] Unsafe--_Dubia nisu_. "Not to be depended upon for support." _Nisu_ is the old dative for _nisui_.

[280] Causing a testudo to be formed--_Testudine actâ_. The soldiers placed their shields over their heads, and joined them close together, forming a defense like the shell of a tortoise.

[281] XCV. For I shall in no other place allude to his affairs--_Neque enim allo loco de Sullae rebus dicturi sumus._ "These words show that Sallust, at this time, had not thought of writing _Histories_, but that he turned his attention to that pursuit after he had finished the Jugurthine war. For that he spoke of Sylla in his large history is apparent from several extant fragments of it, and from Plutarch, who quotes Sallust, Vit. Syll., c. 3." _Kritzius._

[282] Lucius Sisenna--He wrote a history of the civil wars between Sylla and Marius, Vell. Paterc. ii. 9. Cicero alludes to his style as being jejune and puerile, Brut., c. 64, De Legg. i. 2. About a undred and fifty fragments of his history remain.