Chapter XI: Part 11

[283] Except that he might have acted more for his honor with regard to his wife--_Nisi quod de uxore potuit honestius consuli._ As these words are vague and indeterminate, it is not agreed among the critics and translators to what part of Sylla's life Sallust refers. I suppose, with Rupertus, Aldus, Manutius, Crispinus, and De Brosses, that the allusion is to his connection with Valeria, of which the history is given by Plutarch in his life of Sylla, which the English reader may take in Langhorne's translation: "A few months after Metella's death, he presented the people with a show of gladiators; and as, at that time, men and women had no separate places, but sat promiscuously in the theater, a woman of great beauty, and of one of the best families, happened to sit near Sylla. She was the daughter of Messala, and sister to the orator Hortensius; her name was Valeria; and she had lately been divorced from her husband. This woman, coming behind Sylla, touched him, and took off a little of the nap of his robe, and then returned to her place. Sylla looked at her, quite amazed at her familiarity, when she said, 'Wonder not, my lord, at what I have done; I had only a mind to share a little in your good fortune.' Sylla was far from being displeased; on the contrary, it appeared that he was flattered very agreeably, for he sent to ask her name, and to inquire into her family and character. Then followed an interchange of amorous regards and smiles, which ended in a contract and marriage. The lady, perhaps, was not to blame. But Sylla, though he got a woman of reputation, and great accomplishments, yet came into the match upon wrong principles. Like a youth, he was caught with soft looks and languishing airs, things that are wont to excite the lowest of the passions." Others have thought that Sallust refers to Sylla's conduct on the death of his wife Metella, above mentioned, to whom, as she happened to fall sick when he was giving an entertainment to the people, and as the priest forbade him to have his house defiled with death on the occasion, he unfeelingly sent a bill of divorce, ordering her to be carried out of the house while the breath was in her. Cortius, Kritz, and Langius. think that the allusion is to Sylla'a general faithlessness to his wives, for he had several; as if Sallust had used the singular for the plural, _uxore_ for _uxoribus_, or _reuxoriâ_; but if Sallust meant to allude to more than one wife, why should he have restricted himself to the singular?

[284] Lived on the easiest terms with his friends--_Facilis amicitiâ_ The critics are in doubt about the sense of this phrase. I have given that which Dietsch prefers, who says that a man _facilis amicitiâ_ is "one who easily grants his friends all that they desire, exacts little from them, and is no severe censor of their morals." Cortius explains it _facilis ad amicitiam_, and Facciolati, in his Lexicon, _facilè sibi amicos parans_, but these interpretations, as Kritzius observes, are hardly suitable to the ablative case.

[285] Most fortunate--_Felicissumo_. Alluding, perhaps, to the title of Felix, which he assumed after his great victory over Marius.

[286] His desert--_Industriam_. That is, the efforts which he made to attain distinction.

[287] XCVII. When scarcely a tenth part of the day remained--_Vix decimâ parte die reliquâ._ A remarkably exact specification of the time.

[288] From various quarters--_Ex multis._ From his scouts, who came in from all sides.

[289] The Roman veterans, who were necessarily well experienced in war,--The reading of Cortius is, _Romani veteres, novique, et ob ea scientes belli;_ which he explains by supposing that the new recruits _were joined with_ the veterans, and that both united were consequently well skilled in war, citing, in support of his supposition, a passage in c. 87: _Sic brevi spatio_ novi veteresqua _coaluere, et virtus omnium aequalis facta._ And Ascensius had previously given a similar explanation, _quod etiam veterani adessent._ But many later critics have not been induced to believe that Cortius's reading will bear any such interpretation; and accordingly Kritzius, Dietsch, and Orelli, have ejected _novique_; as indeed Ciaeconius and Ursinus had long before recommended. Muller, Burnouf, and Allen, retain it, adopting Cortius's interpretation. Gerlach also retains it, but not without hesitation. But it is very remarkable that it occurs in all the manuscripts but one, which has _Romani veteres boni scientes erant ut quos locus,_ etc.

[290] _Neque minus hostibus conturbatis_. If the enemy had not been in as much disorder as himself, Marius would hardly have been able to effect his retreat.

[291] _Pleno gradu_.--"By the _militaris gradus_ twenty miles were completed in five hours of a summer day; by the _plénusus_, which is quicker, twenty-four miles were traversed in the same time." Veget. i.9.

[292] XCIX. When the watches were changed--_Per vigilias: i. e. at the end of each watch, when the guards were relieved. "The nights, by the aid of a clepsydra, were divided into four watches, the termination of each being marked by the blast of a trumpet or horn. See Viget. in. 8: _A tubicine omnes vigiliae committuntur; et finitis horis a cornicine revocantur_." Kritzius He also refers to Liv. vii. 35; Lucan. viii. 24; Tacit. Hist. v. 22.

[293] Auxiliary cohorts--_Cohortium_. I have added the word _auxiliary_. That they were the cohorts of the auxiliaries or allies is apparent, as the word _legionum_ follows. Kritzius indeed thinks otherwise, supposing that the cohorts had particular trumpeters, distinct from those of the whole legion. But for this notion there seems to be no sufficient ground. Sallust speaks of the _cohortes sociorum_, c. 58, and _cohortes Ligurum_, c. 100.

[294] Sally forth from the camp--_Portis erumpere_. Sallust uses the common phrase for issuing from the camp. It can hardly be supposed, that the Romans had formed a regular camp with gates during the short time that they had been upon the hill, especially as they had fled to it in great disorder.

[295] Stupor--_Vecordia_. A feeling that deprived them of all sense.

[296] C. in form of a square--_Quadrato agmine_. "A hollow square, with the baggage in the center; see Serv. ad Verg. Aen. xii.121. ... Such an _agmen_ Sallust, in c. 46, calls _munitum_, as it was prepared to defend itself against the enemy, from whatever quarter they might approach." _Kritzius_.

[297] Might be endured by them with cheerfulness _Volentibus esset._ A Greek phrase, _Boulomenois eiae._

[298] Dread of shame--_Pudore._ Inducing each to have a regard to his character.

[299] CI. Trusting that one of them, assuredly, etc.--_Ratua es omnibus aque aliquos ab tergo hostibus ventures. By aequo Sallust_ signifies that each of the four bodies would have an equal chance of coming on the rear of the Romans.

[300] In person and with his officers--_Ipse aliique._ "The _alii_, are the _praefecti equitum,_ officers of the cavalry." _Kritzius._

[301] Wheeled secretly about, with a few of his followers, to the infantry--_Clam--ad pedites convertit_. What infantry are meant, the commentators can not agree, nor is there any thing in the narrative on which a satisfactory decision can be founded. As the arrival of Bocchus is mentioned immediately before, Cortius supposes that the infantry of Bocchus are signified; and it may be so; but to whatever party the words wore addressed, they were intended to be heard by the Romans, or for what purpose were they spoken in Latin? Jugurtha may have spoken the words in both languages, and this, from what follows, would appear to have been the case, for both sides understood him. _Quod ubi milites_ (evidently the Roman soldiers) _accepere--simul barbari animos tollere_, etc. The _clam_ signifies that Jugurtha turned about, or wheeled off, so as to escape the notice of Marius, with whom he had been contending.

[302] By vigorously cutting down our infantry--_Satis impigre occiso pedite nostro_. "A ces mots il leur montra son épée teinte du sang des notres, dont il venait, en effet, de faire une assez cruelle boucherie." _De Brosses_. Of the other French translators, Beauzée and Le Brun render the passage in a similar way; Dotteville and Durean Delamalle, as well as all our English translators, take _pedite_ as signifying _only one soldier_. Sir Henry Steuart even specifies that it was "a legionary soldier." The commentators, I should suppose, have all regarded the word as having a plural signification; none of them, except Burnouf, who expresses a needless doubt, say any thing on the point.

[303] The spectacle on the open plains was then frightful--_Tum spectaculum horribile campis patentibus_, etc. The idea of this passage was probably taken, as Ciacconius intimates, from a description in Xenophon, Agesil. ii. 12, 14, part of which is quoted by Longinus, Sect. 19, as an example of the effect produced by the omission of conjunctions: [Greek: _Kai symbalontes tas aspidas eothounto, emachonto, apekteinon, apethnaeskon Epei ge maen elaexen hae machae, paraen dae theasasthai entha synepeson allaelois, taen men gaen aimati pe, ormenaen, nekrous de peimenous philious kai polemious met allaelon, aspidas de diatethrummenas, dorata syntethrausmena, egchoipidia gumna kouleon ta men chamai, ta d'en somasi, ta d'eti meta cheiras_.] "Closing their shields together, they pushed, they fought, ... But when the battle was over, you might have seen, where they had fought, the ground clotted with blood, the corpses of friends and enemies mingled together, and pierced shields, broken lances, and swords without their sheaths, strewed on the ground, sticking in the dead bodies, or still remaining in the hands that had wielded them when alive." Tacitus, Agric. c. 37. has copied this description of Sallust, as all the commentators have remarked: _Tum vero patentibus locis grande et atrox spectaculum. Sequi, vulnerare, capere, atque eosdem, oblatis aliis, trucidare.... Passim, arma et corpora, et laceri artus, et cruenta humus_. "The sight on the open field was then striking and horrible; they pursued, they inflicted wounds, they took ... Every where were seen arms and corpses, mangled limbs, and the ground stained with blood."

[304] Besides, the Roman people, even from the very infancy--The reading of this passage, before the edition of Cortius, was this: _Ad hoc, populo Romano jam a principio inopi melius visum amicos, quam servos, quaerere_. Gruter proposed to read _Ad hoc populo Romano inopi melius est visum_, etc., whence Cortius made _Ad hoc, populo Romano jam inopi visum_, etc. But the Bipont editors, observing that _inopi_ was not quite consistent with _quaerere servos_, altered the passage to _Ad hoc, populo Romano jam à principio reipublicae melius visum_, etc., which seems to be the best emendation that has been proposed, and which I have accordingly followed. Kritzius and Dietsch adopt it, except that they omit _reipublicae_, and put nothing in the place of _inopi_. Gerlach retains _inopi_, on the principle of "quo insolentius, eo verius," and it may, after all, be genuine. Cortius omitted _melius_ on no authority but his own.

[305] Out of which he had forcibly driven Jugurtha--_Unde ut Jugurtham expulerit [expulerat]_ There is here some obscurity. The manuscripts vary between _expulerit_ and _expulerat_. Cortius, and Gerlaen in his second edition, adopt _expulerat_, which they of necessity refer to Marius; but to make Bocchus speak thus, is, as Kritzius says, to make him speak very foolishly and arrogantly. Kritzius himself, accordingly, adopts _expulerit_, and supposes that Bocchus invents a falsehood, in the belief that the Romans wouldhave no means of detecting it. But Bocchus may have spoken truth, referring, as Müller suggests, to some previous transactions between him and Jugurtha, to which Sallust does not elsewhere allude.

[306] In ill plight--_Sine decore_.

[307] For interested bounty--_Largitio_. "The word signifies liberal treatment of others with a view to our own interest; without any real goodwill." _Müller_. "He intends a severe stricture on his own age, and the manners of the Romans." _Dietsch_.

[308] About forty days. Waiting, apparently, for the return of Marius.

[309] CIV. Having failed in the object, etc.--_Infecto, quo intenderat, negotio._ Though this is the reading of most of the manuscripts, Kritzius, Müller, and Dietach, read _confecto_, as if Marius could not have failed in his attempt.

[310] Are always verging to opposite extremes.--_Semper in adversa mutant_. Rose renders this "are always changing, and constantly for the worse;" and most other translators have given something similar. But this is absurd; for every one sees that all changes in human affairs are not for the worse. _Adversa_ is evidently to be taken in the sense which I have given.

[311] CV. At his discretion--_Arbitratu_. Kritzius observes that this word comprehends the notion of plenary powers to treat and decide: _der mit unbeschränkter Vollmacht unterhandeln könnte_.

[312] Presenting--_Intendere_. The critics are in doubt to what to refer this word; some have thought of understanding _animum_; Cortius, Wasse, and Müller, think it is meant only of the bows of the archers; Kritzius, Burnouf, and Allen, refer it, apparently with better judgment, to the _arma_ and _tela_ in general.

[313] CVI. To dispatch their supper--_Coenatos esse_. "The perfect is not without its force; it signifies that Sylla wished his orders to be performed with the greatest expedition." _Kritzius_. He orders them _to have done_ supper.

[314] CVII. And blind parts of his body--_Caecum corpus_. Imitated from Xenephon, Cyrop. iii. 3, 45: [Greek: _Moron gar to kratein boulomenous, ta tuphla, tou somatos, kai aopla, tauta enantia tattein tois polemiois pheugontas_.] "It is folly for those that desire to conquer to turn the blind, unarmed, and handless parts of the body, to the enemy in flight."

[315] At being an instrument of his father's hostility--_Quoniam hostilia faceret_. "Since he wished to deceive the Romans by pretended friendship." _Müller_.

[316] CVIII. Of the family of Masinissa--_Ex gente Masinissae._ Massugrada was the son of Masinissa by a concubine.

[317] Faithful--_Fidum_. After this word, in the editions of Cortius, Kritzius, Gerlach, Allen, and Dietsch, follows _Romanis_ or _esse Romanis_. These critics defend _Romanis_ on the plea that a dative is necessary after _fidum_, and that it was of importance, as Castilioneus observes that Dabar should be well disposed toward the Romans, and not have been corrupted, like many other courtiers of Bocchus, by the bribes of Jugurtha. Glarcanus, Badius Ascensius, the Bipont editors, and Burnouf, with, most of the translators, omit _Romanis_, and I have thought proper to imitate their example.

[318] Place, day, and hour--_Diem, locum, tempus._ Not only the day, but the time of the day.

[319] That he kept all points, which he had settled with him before, inviolate--_Consulta sese omnia cum illo integra habere_. Kritzius justly observes that most editors, in interpreting this passage, have erroneously given to _consulta_ the sense of _consulenda_; and that the sense is, "that all that he had arranged with Sylla before, remained unaltered, and that he was not drawn from his resolutions by the influence of Jugurtha."

[320] And that he was not to fear the presence of Jugurtha's embassador, as any restraint, etc.--_Neu Jugurthae legatum pertimesceret, quo res communis licentius gereretur_. There is some difficulty in this passage. Burnouf makes the nearest approach to a satisfactory explanation of it. "Sylla," says he, "was not to fear the envoy of Jugurtha, _quo_, on which account (equivalent to _eoque_, and on that account, _i. e._ on account of his freedom from apprehension) their common interests would be more freely arranged." Yet it appears from what follows that fear of Jugurtha's envoy _could not be dismissed_, and that there could be no freedom of discussion in his presence, as Sylla was to say but little before him, and to speak more at large at a private meeting. These considerations have induced Kritzius to suppose that the word _remoto_, or something similar, has been lost after _quo_. The Bipont editors inserted _cautum esse_ before _quo_, which is without authority, and does not at all assist the sense.

[321] African duplicity--_Punica fide_. "_Punica fides_ was a well-known proverbial expression for treachery and deceit. The origin of it is perhaps attributable not so much to fact, as to the implacable hatred of the Romans toward the Carthaginians." _Burnouf_.

[322] CIX. What answer should be returned by Bocchus--That is, in the presence of Aspar.

[323] Both then retired to their respective camps--_Deinde ambo in sua castra digressi_. Both, _i. e._ Bocchus and Sylla, not Aspar and Sylla, as Cortius imagines.

[324] CX. It will be a pleasure to me--_Fuerit mihi_. Some editions, as that of Langius, the Bipont, and Burnouf's, have _fuerit mihi pretium_. Something of the kind seems to be wanting. "Res in bonis numeranda fuerit mihi." _Burnouf_. Allen, who omits _pretium_, interprets, "Grata mihi egestas sit, quae ad tuam, amicitiam coufugiat;" but who can deduce this sense from the passage, unless he have _pretium_, or something similar, in his mind?

[325] CXI. That part of Numidia which he claimed--_Numidiae partem quam nunc peteret_. See the second note on c. 102. Bocchus continues, in his speech in the preceding chapter, to signify that a part of Numidia belonged to him.

[326] The ties of blood--_Cognationem_. To this blood-relationship between him and Jugurtha no allusion is elsewhere made.

[327] His resolution gave way--_Lenitur_. Cortius whom Gerlach and Müller follow, reads _leniter_, but, with Kritzius and Gerlach, I prefer the verb to the adverb; which, however, is found in the greater number of the manuscripts.

[328] CXII. Interests of both--_Ambobus_. Both himself and Jugurtha.

[329] CXIV. At that time--_ Eâ tempestate_. "In many manuscripts is found _ex eâ tempestate_, by which the sense is wholly perverted. Sallust signifies that Marius did not continue always deserving of such honor; for, as is said in c. 63, 'he was afterward carried headlong by ambition.'" _Kritzius_.