Plutarch's Lives Volume II Part 8

But t.i.tus, who felt that the eyes of Greece were upon him, was wonderfully vexed by these incidents. For this reason he conducted the operations which followed without in the least degree consulting the aetolians. They were angry at this neglect, and when t.i.tus began negotiations with Philip, and received an emba.s.sy from him to treat for peace, they spread it abroad throughout Greece that t.i.tus was being bribed by Philip into making peace, when he had it in his power to utterly cut off and destroy that power which first destroyed the independence of Greece. Philip himself however put an end to this suspicion, by placing himself and all his resources in the hands of t.i.tus and the people of Rome. So now t.i.tus brought the war to a close.

He restored Philip to his kingdom of Macedonia, but forbade him to interfere in the affairs of Greece. He also imposed upon him a fine of a thousand talents, took away all but ten of his s.h.i.+ps of war, and sent one of his two sons, Demetrius, to Rome as a hostage for the fulfilment of these conditions. In their making terms with Philip t.i.tus showed himself wise and provident: for Hannibal the Carthaginian, who was at that time an exile, was already at the court of King Antiochus, urging him to follow up his good fortune and increase his empire. Antiochus had already been so successful as to have gained the surname of 'the Great,' and was now aiming at universal dominion. He especially intended to attack the Romans, and unless t.i.tus had foreseen this, and granted favourable terms of peace, Philip would have been his ally, the two most powerful kings of the age would have been arrayed against the Romans, and a struggle no less important than that of Rome against Hannibal would have begun. As it was, t.i.tus interposed this peace between the two wars, finis.h.i.+ng the one before he began the other; by which means he took from one of the kings his last, and from the other his first hope.

X. The ten commissioners, whom the Senate despatched to a.s.sist t.i.tus in settling the affairs of Greece, advised him to leave it free and independent, only keeping garrisons in Corinth, Chalkis, and Demetrias, for safety against Antiochus. Upon this the aetolians threw off all disguise, openly urged these cities to revolt, and called upon t.i.tus to loose the chains of Greece, as Philip was wont to call these three cities. They asked the Greeks whether they were pleased at their present bonds, which were heavier, though smoother than before; and whether they still thought t.i.tus to be their benefactor because he had removed the fetters from the feet of Greece and fastened them round her throat. t.i.tus was much grieved at these imputations, and at length by his representations induced the Senate to desist from its design of placing garrisons in these three cities, in order that the liberty which he was about to bestow upon Greece might be unclogged by any conditions.

When the Isthmian games were being celebrated, a great number of people were a.s.sembled in the arena witnessing the gymnastic contests, as was natural now that wars had ceased throughout Greece, and the people could attend their national festivals in safety. Proclamation was now suddenly made by the sound of a trumpet that every man should keep silence; and a herald coming forward into the midst of the a.s.sembly announced that the Senate of Rome, and t.i.tus Quintius their consul and general, having overcome King Philip and the Macedonians, did now henceforth give liberty to the Corinthians, Lokrians, Phokians, Eubans, Achaeans of Phthia, Magnetes, Thessalians, and Perrhaebians, with exemption from garrisons and tribute, and permission to govern themselves by their hereditary laws. At first all did not clearly hear the proclamation, and there was a disorderly tumult in the a.s.sembly, as men wondered at the words, asked one another their meaning, and called upon the herald to repeat them. But when silence had again been obtained, and the herald, exerting his voice to the utmost, repeated the proclamation, such a shout was raised that it was heard as far as the sea coast, and all the spectators rose from their seats, caring nothing more for the games, but rus.h.i.+ng with one accord to greet, with transports of delight, the saviour and protector of Greece. On this occasion was observed what is often mentioned as an example of the power of human voices; some crows, which were flying over the racecourse at that moment, fell down among the people. The reason of this is that the air is broken and cut asunder by the vehemence and strength of the voices, so as not to have its natural power to support the birds, which, fell down just as if they were flying through a place where there was no air at all; unless indeed it was the violence of the cry that struck the birds like a shot, and so caused them to fall down dead. It may be also that the air is driven round in whirlpools by such shouts, as we observe happens in violent disturbances of the sea.

XI. As for t.i.tus, unless he had escaped betimes when the a.s.sembly broke up and rushed towards him, it is thought that he could not have survived the pressure of so great a mult.i.tude. The crowd surrounded his tent, shouting and applauding until nightfall, when they dispersed: but as they went, if they met any of their kin, their friends, or fellow-citizens, they kissed and embraced them for joy, and then supped and made merry together. We may well think that they had no other talk at the table but of the great and terrible wars which Greece had fought for her liberty, and that nevertheless she never had obtained so perfect and delightful a state of freedom as that which had been won for her by other men's labours, almost without any blood of her own being spilt. It is indeed rare to find bravery and wisdom combined in any man, but it is even rarer to find a perfectly just man. Agesilaus and Lysander, Nikias and Alkibiades knew well how to wage war and win battles both by land and by sea, but they never could make their victories yield any honourable benefit to others, or true glory to themselves. Indeed with the exception of Marathon and Salamis, Plataea and Thermopylae, and the campaigns of Kimon on the Eurymedon and in Cyprus, all the other battles of Greece have been fought against herself, to bring about her slavery, and every trophy has been a misfortune, and a monument of shame rather than glory, arising chiefly from the rivalry between the leading cities. Yet a strange nation, from which it was inconceivable that Greece should receive any benefit, with scarcely any glimmering embers, as it were, of a common origin, had nevertheless, with great risk and hard fighting, rescued Greece from her harsh tyrants and oppressors.

XII. These were the thoughts which occupied men's minds: and the events which took place were all in conformity with the proclamation.

t.i.tus had at the same time sent Lentulus to Asia Minor to free the Bargylians, and Stertinius to Thrace to remove the garrisons of Philip from the towns and islands in that quarter, while Publius Villius set sail to treat with Antiochus about the freedom of the Greeks in his dominions. t.i.tus himself proceeded to Chalkis, and thence he took s.h.i.+p for Magnesia, where he removed the foreign garrisons from the cities and re-established a democratic const.i.tution in them. After this he was elected President of the Nemean games at Argos, where he made admirable arrangements for the conduct of the festival, and made a herald repeat his proclamation to the Greeks a.s.sembled there. He now made a progress through the cities of Greece, in which he established tranquillity and good laws, encouraged them to regard each other with good will, put an end to faction, and brought back exiles, taking no less pride in acting as counsellor and mediator to the Greeks than he did in having conquered the Macedonians, so that liberty seemed to be the least of the benefits which he had bestowed on the Greeks.

It is said that when at Athens Lykurgus the orator had rescued Xenokratos the philosopher from the tax-gatherers who were taking him to prison for non-payment of the tax upon resident aliens, and had them punished for their insolent conduct towards him, Xenokrates, afterwards meeting the sons of Lykurgus, said, "My children, I am making your father an honourable return for his kindness, he has the praises of the whole people for what he did for me." Flamininus and the Romans, however, not only obtained the praise of the Greeks in return for the benefits which they had conferred upon them, but also gained the trust and confidence of all mankind by their n.o.ble acts.

Not only cities, but even kings who had been wronged by other kings came to them for redress, so that in a short s.p.a.ce of time, with the a.s.sistance, no doubt, of the divine favour, all the world became subject to them. Flamininus especially prided himself on having liberated the Greeks, and when he dedicated at Delphi silver s.h.i.+elds and his own Roman buckler, he wrote upon them the following verses:--

"To you, the Twins, delighting in the chase, Great Zeus's sons, of Sparta's royal race, This offering gives the Roman t.i.tus, he Who set the children of fair h.e.l.las free."

He also dedicated a golden wreath to Apollo, with the inscription--

"To thee, Latona's child, this chaplet fair Doth t.i.tus, leader of Rome's army, send; The crown will well beseem thy glorious hair; Do thou the donor from all ill defend."

Indeed it was in the city of Corinth that this favour has twice been bestowed upon the Greeks, for it was in Corinth that t.i.tus made the proclamation of which we have spoken, and Nero again, in our own time, in nearly the same manner, during the Isthmian games, declared the Greeks free and independent, except that t.i.tus proclaimed it by means of a herald, while Nero mounted upon a platform in the market place and made the announcement himself. However, this took place long afterwards.

XIII. t.i.tus now began a war against that most hateful and lawless of despots, Nabis of Lacedaemon, but betrayed the confidence of the Greeks; for when he had the opportunity of destroying him he would not do so, but made terms with him, leaving Sparta in a shameful bondage.

Either he was afraid that if the war went on for any length of time some new commander would be sent from Rome who would gain the credit of it, or else he was jealous of the honours which were paid to Philopmen, who was by far the greatest warrior in Greece at that period, and who surpa.s.sed himself in acts of bravery and strategy during the campaign against Nabis. The homage which was paid Philopmen in all public a.s.semblies by the Achaeans vexed Flamininus, who felt angry that a mere Arcadian, who had gained some credit as a leader in obscure border warfare, should be treated with as much respect as the Roman consul, who was acting as the protector of all the peoples of Greece. The excuse which t.i.tus himself made for terminating the war was that he saw that the despot could not be dethroned without causing great suffering to the other Spartans.

Though the Achaeans pa.s.sed many decrees in his honour he cared for none of them except one gift which they bestowed upon him, which was as follows. Many of the Romans who had been taken prisoners in the war with Hannibal had been sold for slaves, and were in servitude in different countries. In Greece there were twelve hundred of them, men who were in any case much to be pitied for their misfortune, but especially now, when as may be supposed, they met their sons, brothers, and relations, who were free Roman soldiers, while they themselves were slaves. t.i.tus, though grieved at their lot, did not take them forcibly from their owners, but the Achaeans paid a ransom of five minae for each man, collected them into one body, and just as t.i.tus was about to set sail for home, presented them to him, so that he left the scene of his glorious labours having received an honourable reward, and one which well befitted so great and patriotic a man, besides being the most glorious ornament of his triumph: for these men of their own accord, like ordinary slaves who have been emanc.i.p.ated, shaved their heads, put on felt skull caps,[35] and followed in the train at his triumph.

XIV. A more splendid spectacle was afforded by the spoils of war, the Greek helmets, Macedonian s.h.i.+elds, and long sarissae, or pikes used by the phalanx, which were carried along in the procession. There was also no inconsiderable sum of money, for Tudita.n.u.s tells us that in this triumph there were displayed three thousand seven hundred and thirteen pounds of gold coin, forty-three thousand two hundred and seventy pounds of silver coin, and fourteen thousand five hundred and fourteen gold coins of King Philip, besides the thousand talents which he owed. These, however, the Romans, at the instance of Flamininus, forgave him, and released his son who had been kept as a hostage for their payment.

XV. When Antiochus entered Greece with a large naval and military force, many of the Greek states joined him, especially the aetolians, who eagerly espoused his cause because of their old quarrel with Rome.

They gave out as a pretext for beginning the war, that they intended to restore freedom to the Greeks, who required nothing of the sort, being free already. This, however, was merely said because it was the most plausible excuse for their conduct, for which they could not a.s.sign any creditable reason. The Romans were much alarmed at the importance of this insurrection. They sent Manius Acilius as consul and commander-in-chief to conduct the war, and dispatched t.i.tus Flamininus on a diplomatic mission to the cities of Greece. The mere sight of him confirmed the wavering loyalty of some of these states, while his personal influence induced many which had taken the first steps towards revolt, to return to their allegiance. Some few, however, were hopelessly lost to the Roman cause, having been previously won over by the aetolians; yet, vexed and exasperated as he was by their conduct, he took care, after the victory had been won, that even these should not be destroyed. Antiochus, it is well known, was defeated at Thermopylae, and at once set sail for Asia Minor, while the consul Manius besieged some of the aetolian strongholds himself, and arranged for others to be taken by King Philip of Macedon. But when the towns in Dolopia, Magnesia, and Aperantia were being despoiled by Philip, and the consul Manius had taken Heraklea and was besieging Naupaktus, an aetolian fortress, Flamininus, pitying the Greeks, left Peloponnesus and sailed to the consul at Naupaktus. At first he reproached him with conquering Antiochus, and then allowing Philip to reap all the advantages of his victory, and with wasting time in besieging one city out of pique, while the Macedonians were adding tribes and kingdoms to their empire. After this, as the besieged, when they saw him, called upon him by name from the walls, and stretched out their hands to him with tears and entreaties, he made no answer to them but turned away and wept. Afterwards, however, he reasoned with Manius, and persuaded him to put aside his resentment, and to grant the aetolians a truce, and time to send an emba.s.sy to Rome to arrange reasonable terms of peace.

XVI. He was given most trouble of all by the pet.i.tions of the Chalkidians to Manius for peace. These people were especially obnoxious to the Romans because Antiochus, at the commencement of the war, had married the daughter of a citizen of Chalkis. The match was both unseasonable in point of time, and unequal in respect of age, as he was an elderly man when he fell in love with the girl, who was the daughter of one Kleoptolemus, and is said to have been of exceeding beauty. This marriage caused the Chalkidians to become eager partizans of King Antiochus, and even to offer him their city for his headquarters during the war. After his defeat he retreated at once to Chalkis, and then, taking his bride, his treasure, and his friends with him, set sail for Asia. Manius at once marched upon Chalkis in a rage, but Flaminius accompanied him, and by his entreaties at length calmed and pacified him. The people of Chalkis, after this narrow escape, dedicated the largest and most magnificent of all their public buildings to t.i.tus, the inscriptions on which may be read even at the present day. "The people dedicate this gymnasium to Herakles and to t.i.tus." And on the other side of the road we read "The people dedicate the Delphinium to Apollo and to t.i.tus." Moreover even in our own times a priest of t.i.tus is chosen by show of hands, who offers sacrifice to him. After the libations they sing a specially-written poem, too long for quotation from which we extract the following verses:--

"Sing, maidens, sing, Of Rome's good faith that keeps its oath, And gentle t.i.tus full of truth, Our city's saviour, t.i.tus and Apollo sing."

XVII. He also received honours from the Greeks at large, and that which gives reality to honours, great goodwill from all for his kindly disposition. For though indeed he had some slight differences with Philopmen, and again with Diophanes when chief of the Achaean league, he was not rancorous, and never acted under the impulse of anger, but soon laid aside his displeasure. He was harsh to no one, but was thought by most men to be clever and witty, and the pleasantest of companions. When the Achaeans were endeavouring to gain for themselves the island of Zakynthus, he discouraged their enterprise by saying that if they proceeded so far from Peloponnesus they would be in the same danger as the tortoise when he stretches his head out beyond his sh.e.l.l.

When Philip first met him to discuss terms of peace, and observed that t.i.tus had come with a large suite, while he was alone, t.i.tus answered, "You by your own act have made yourself lonely, by having killed all your friends and relations." Once at Rome Deinokrates the Messenian got drunk and danced in women's clothes, and on the next day begged t.i.tus to a.s.sist him in his design of detaching Messenia from the Achaean league. t.i.tus answered that he would consider the matter, but that he wondered that a man engaged in such important designs should sing and dance over his wine. When the amba.s.sadors of Antiochus were telling the Achaeans the number of the king's army and were enumerating the various forces of which it was composed under various designations, t.i.tus remarked that when dining with his host he had been surprised at the variety of meats, and had expressed his wonder as to how he had been able to obtain so many different kinds; but his host informed him that it was all nothing more than pork disguised by various sauces and cooked in various ways. "So now," continued he, "men of Achaea, do not be alarmed at the power of Antiochus when you hear these catalogues of spearmen and lance-bearers and foot-guards; for they are all nothing more than Syrians disguised with different kind of arms."

XVIII. After the pacification of Greece and the end of the war with Antiochus, Flamininus was elected censor, which is the highest office at Rome, and is as it were the goal of political life. His colleague was Marcellus, the son of him that was five times consul. They ejected from the Senate four men of no reputation, and admitted into it all the candidates who were of free birth, being forced to do so by the tribune of the people Terentius Culeo, who by his invectives against the patricians had induced the people to pa.s.s a decree to that effect.

The two most prominent men in Rome at this time were Scipio Africa.n.u.s and Marcus Cato. Of these t.i.tus appointed Scipio to be President of the Senate, as being the first man in the state, but he quarrelled with Cato for the following reason. t.i.tus had a brother, Lucius Flamininus, who was very unlike himself in disposition, being licentious in his pleasures and careless of his reputation. He had a favourite whom he always took with him even when he was in command of an army or governor of a province. This boy once at a wine party said that he was so greatly attached to Lucius, that he left a show of gladiators before he had seen a man killed, to please him. Lucius, delighted at this proof of affection, said, "That is easily remedied; I will gratify your wish." He ordered a condemned criminal to be brought, sent for the executioner, and bade him strike off the man's head in the banquetting chamber. Valerius of Antium says that Lucius did this to please a female, not a male favourite. But Livy says that in Cato's own speech on the subject we are told that Lucius, to gratify his favourite, slew with his own hand a Gaulish deserter who came with his wife and children to the door, and whom he had himself invited into the banquetting chamber. It is probable that Cato added these particulars to exaggerate the horror of the story, for Cicero the Orator, who gives the story in his book 'On Old Age,' and many other writers, say that the man was not a deserter, but a criminal, and condemned to death.

XIX. In consequence of this, Cato, when censor, removed Lucius from the Senate, although he was of consular rank, and although his degradation affected his brother as well as himself. Both of them now presented themselves before the people poorly clad and in tears, and appeared to be making a very reasonable demand in begging Cato to state the grounds upon which he had cast such ignominy upon an honourable family. Cato, however, not in the least affected by this, came forward with his colleague and publicly demanded of t.i.tus whether he was acquainted with what happened at the banquet. When t.i.tus answered that he knew nothing of it, Cato related the circ.u.mstances, challenging Lucius to contradict him if he spoke untruly. As Lucius remained silent, the people saw that his degradation had been deserved, and Cato retired in triumph. t.i.tus, vexed at what had befallen his brother, now joined the party of Cato's enemies, objected to all purchases, lettings, and sales by the Senate of public property which had been made by Cato, and carried his point so far as to have them all declared void. Thus he, I cannot say justly, became the violent opponent of a legally const.i.tuted official and an excellent citizen, for the sake of a man who, though his brother, was a worthless character and had only met with his deserts. Nevertheless, on one occasion, when the Roman people were witnessing some spectacle in the theatre, the Senate, as is customary, sitting in the best place in great state, they were filled with compa.s.sion on seeing Lucius Flamininus sitting on the back benches in a mean dress, and the people became so excited that they could not restrain their cries to him to resume his former seat, until at length he did so, and was welcomed by the other consulars.

XX. The ambitious character of t.i.tus gained him much glory, while he was in the prime of life, in the wars of which we have made mention: for after his consuls.h.i.+p he again served in the army as military tribune; but when he retired from public life, being an elderly man, he often incurred the blame of his countrymen from his desire to distinguish himself. For instance, his conduct in regard to Hannibal made him much disliked at Rome. Hannibal after his escape from Carthage, joined king Antiochus, but when Antiochus, after his defeat in Phrygia, was glad to accept terms of peace from the Romans, he again became an exile, and after many wanderings, at length settled at the court of Prusias, king of Bithynia. Every one at Rome knew that he was there, but no one wished to meddle with him because of his age and weakness, as he appeared to be deserted by fortune. However, t.i.tus was sent to Prusias on an emba.s.sy about certain other matters, and seeing Hannibal there took offence at his being alive, and would not accede to the prayers and entreaties of Prusias on behalf of his suppliant.

There was, it seems, a certain oracle which ends with this verse:--

"Libyssa's earth shall cover Hannibal."

Now Hannibal himself took this to mean Libya, and that he should be buried at Carthage; but in Bithynia there is a s.h.i.+ngly tract by the seash.o.r.e near which is a large village named Libyssa, in which Hannibal was living. As he mistrusted the weakness of Prusias and feared the Romans, he had previously to this arranged seven ways of escape leading from his own room into different subterranean pa.s.sages, all of which led into the open air by concealed apertures. When then he heard that t.i.tus insisted upon his death he endeavoured to escape by one of those pa.s.sages, but finding every outlet watched by the soldiers of Prusias he determined to die by his own hand. Some say that he destroyed himself by winding his cloak round his neck, and ordered a slave to place his knee in the small of his back and pull the cloak violently until he choked; while some tell us that he imitated Themistokles and Midas, by drinking bull's blood. Livy[36]

says that he prepared some poison which he kept by him ready for such an emergency, and that as he was about to drink it he said:--"Let us set the Roman people free from their terrible anxiety, since they think it long to wait for the death of the old man whom they hate.

However, t.i.tus will not gain a glorious victory, or one worthy of his ancestors, who sent to bid Pyrrhus beware of poison, although he was their enemy and actually at war with them."

XXI. Thus is Hannibal said to have perished. When the news was brought to the Senate many thought that t.i.tus had acted officiously and cruelly in putting Hannibal to death, when he was living unharmed and helpless, merely in order to obtain the credit of having killed him. When they reflected upon the mildness and magnanimity of Scipio Africa.n.u.s they wondered yet more, for Scipio, after vanquis.h.i.+ng the terrible and unconquered Hannibal in Libya, did not drive him into exile, or insist upon his countrymen delivering him up. He actually met him on friendly terms before the battle, and when he made a treaty with him after his victory he did not bear himself unseemly or insult his rival's misfortune. It is related that they met again in Ephesus, and that as they walked together Hannibal took the place of honour, while Africa.n.u.s walked contentedly beside him. Their conversation turned upon great generals, and when Hannibal stated his opinion that the best of generals was Alexander, next to him Pyrrhus, and next himself, Scipio, with a quiet smile, asked him: "What would you have said, if I had not conquered you?" "In that case, Scipio," answered Hannibal, "I should not have reckoned myself third but first of generals." The people remembering this cried shame upon t.i.tus, for having laid hands upon a man whom another had slain.[37] Some few, however, praised the deed, thinking that Hannibal, as long as he lived, was a fire which might easily be fanned into a destructive conflagration. They pointed out that even when he was in the prime of life it was not his bodily strength or personal prowess that made him so terrible to the Romans, but his intellect and skill, together with his inveterate hatred of Rome, none of which had been diminished by age, but that his natural gifts remained the same, while also fortune was wont to change, and so those who had any permanent cause of enmity with another nation were ever encouraged by hopes of success to make new attacks. Indeed subsequent events seemed to prove t.i.tus right, as Aristonikus, the son of the harp-player, in his admiration for Eumenes, filled the whole of Asia with revolt and revolution, while Mithridates, after his tremendous losses at the hands of Sulla and Fimbria, again gathered together such great forces both by land and sea to oppose Lucullus. Yet Hannibal did not fall so low as Caius Marius. The former was to the last the friend of a king, and spent his time in sailing in s.h.i.+ps, riding on horseback, and in the study of how to keep a military force efficient; whereas the Romans, who had laughed Marius to scorn as he wandered a beggar in Africa, soon licked the dust before him while he flogged and slaughtered them in Rome.

Thus no one of our present circ.u.mstances can be said to be either important or trifling, great or small, in comparison with what is to come, but we only cease to change when we cease to exist.

For this reason some say that t.i.tus did not effect this of his own free will, but that he was sent with Lucius Scipio as a colleague on an emba.s.sy whose sole object was the death of Hannibal. Now, as after these events we know of no other acts of t.i.tus either as a warrior or statesman, and as he died a peaceful death, it is time to begin our comparison.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 32: Publius Sulpicius Galba.]

[Footnote 33: Publius Villius Tappulus. _Cf_. Livy x.x.xi. _sqq_.]

[Footnote 34: The following is the account given of the Macedonian phalanx by Polybius:--

"It is easy then to demonstrate by many reasons, that, while the phalanx retains its proper form and full power of action, no force is able to stand against it in front, or to support the violence of its attack. When the ranks are closed in order to engage, each soldier, as he stands in his arms, occupies a s.p.a.ce of three feet. The spears in their most ancient form, contained seventeen cubits in length. But, for the sake of rendering them more commodious in action, they have since been reduced to fourteen. Of these, four cubits are contained between the part which the soldier grasps in his hands, and the lower end of the spear behind, which serves as a counterpoise to the part that is extended before him; and the length of this last part from the body of the soldier, when the spear is pushed forwards with both hands against the enemy, is by consequence ten cubits. From hence it follows, that when the phalanx is closed in its proper form, and every soldier pressed within the necessary distance with respect to the man that is before him and upon his side, the spears of the fifth rank are extended to the length of two cubits, and those of the second, third, and fourth to a still greater length, beyond the foremost rank. The manner in which the men are crowded together in this method is marked by Homer in the following lines:

"'s.h.i.+eld stuck to s.h.i.+eld, to helmet helmet join'd, And man to man; and at each nod that bow'd, High waving on their heads the glittering cones, Rattl'd the hair-crown'd casques, so thick they stood.'

Homer, _Il_. xiii., 131.

"This description is not less exact than beautiful. It is manifest, then, that five several spears, differing each from the other in the length of two cubits, are extended before every man in the foremost rank. And when it is considered likewise, that the phalanx is formed by sixteen in depth, it will be easy to conceive, what must be the weight and violence of the entire body, and how great the force of its attack. In the ranks, indeed, that are behind the fifth, the spears cannot reach so far as to be employed against the enemy. In these ranks, therefore, the soldiers, instead of extending their spears forwards, rest them upon the shoulders of the men that are before them, with their points slanting upwards; and in this manner they form a kind of rampart which covers their heads, and secures them against those darts which may be carried in their flight beyond the first ranks, and fall upon those that are behind. But when the whole body advances to charge the enemy, even the hindmost ranks are of no small use and moment. For as they press continually upon those that are before them, they add by their weight alone great force to the attack, and deprive also the foremost ranks of the power of drawing themselves backwards or retreating. Such, then, is the disposition of the phalanx, with regard both to the whole and the several parts. Let us now consider the arms, and the order of battle, of the Romans; that we may see by the comparison in what respects they are different from those of the Macedonians.

"To each of the Roman soldiers, as he stands in arms, is allotted the same s.p.a.ce likewise of three feet. But as every soldier in the time of action is constantly in motion, being forced to s.h.i.+ft his s.h.i.+eld continually, that he may cover any part of his body against which a stroke is aimed, and so vary the position of his sword, so as either to push, or to make a falling stroke, there must also be a distance of three feet, the least that can be allowed for performing these motions with advantage, between each soldier and the man that stands next to him, both upon his side and behind him. In charging, therefore, against the phalanx, every single Roman, as he has two Macedonians opposite to him, has also ten spears, which he is forced to encounter.

But it is not possible for a single man to cut down these spears with his sword, before they can take their effect, against him. Nor is it easy on the other hand to force his way through them. For the men that are behind add no weight to the pressure, nor any strength to the swords of those that are in the foremost rank. It will be easy, therefore, to conceive, that, while the phalanx retains its own proper position and strength, no troops, as I before observed, can ever support the attack of it in front."

Polybius, Book xvii. Ex. iii. in Hampden's translation, 1773.]

[Footnote 35: The 'pileum,' a close-fitting felt cap, was given by the Romans to slaves on the occasion of their enfranchis.e.m.e.nt, as a sign of freedom.]

[Footnote 36: Livy x.x.xix, chapter 51.]

[Footnote 37: In Greek warfare, any one who killed an enemy in battle was ent.i.tled to dispose of his body and arms as he thought fit.

Plutarch means that by the laws of war Hannibal belonged to Scipio, and that Flamininus had no right to interfere between them.]

COMPARISON OF PHILOPMEN AND t.i.tUS.

I. It would be impossible to compare Philopmen, or many better men than Philopmen, with t.i.tus, in respect of the benefits which each conferred upon the Greeks. Philopmen and the others were all Greeks, who fought with other Greeks, while t.i.tus was not a Greek, and yet fought on behalf of the Greeks. When Philopmen despaired of helping his hard-pressed follow citizens and sailed to Crete, t.i.tus was gaining a victory in the centre of Greece, in consequence of which he bestowed freedom on Philip himself, and on all the nations and cities which had been subject to him. If one carefully examines the battles fought by each commander, it will appear that Philopmen killed more Greeks when he was general of the Achaeans than t.i.tus killed Macedonians when he was fighting for Greece. The faults of the one arose from ambition, those of the other from party spirit; the latter was easily moved to anger, the former hard to appease. t.i.tus preserved for Philip the semblance of royal power, and treated even the aetolians with indulgence, while Philopmen in his anger detached the confederation of villages from his native city. Moreover, t.i.tus was always a friend to those whom he had once befriended, while Philopmen's kindly feelings were easily overruled by pa.s.sion. Indeed he appears to have sacrificed his life to rage and bitter personal rancour, by invading Messenia before anything was ready, without showing any of the prudent caution of t.i.tus in military matters.

II. The fame of Philopmen's skill as a general, however, rests on a more secure basis, the number of his battles and trophies of victory.

Flamininus decided his campaign against Philip by two battles, but Philopmen fought innumerable battles, and never let it be supposed that he owed more to fortune than to skill. Moreover, t.i.tus had at his disposal the resources of Rome, then in the zenith of her strength, while Philopmen had the glory of performing his greatest exploits at a time when Greece was in her decadence, so that his work was all his own, while the glory of the Roman must be shared with his countrymen.

The one was the leader of good soldiers, but the other by his leaders.h.i.+p made good soldiers. That his conflicts were all against Greeks was unfortunate, but gives a strong proof of his powers; for among men who are alike in other respects, victory must be won by sheer courage. He fought the most warlike of the Greeks, the Cretans and the Lacedaemonians, the first of whom are the most deeply versed in stratagem, while the latter are most renowned for bravery, and overcame them both. In addition to this it must be remembered that t.i.tus found his materials ready for use, as he received the arms and disciplined troops of his predecessor, while Philopmen himself introduced a new method of armament and discipline; so that the one was obliged to discover the means of obtaining victory, while the other had only to use them. Philopmen too did many great feats in hand to hand fight, whereas t.i.tus did nothing, for which one of the aetolians, Archedemus, jeered at him, saying that while he himself was running sword in hand to attack the Macedonian phalanx, t.i.tus was standing still and raising his hands to heaven in prayer to the G.o.ds.