Plutarch's Lives Volume II Part 12

This news encouraged him a little, and he was emboldened to move from the island to the neighbourhood of Carthage. At this time the governor of Libya was s.e.xtilius, a Roman, who had neither received injury nor favour from Marius, and it was expected that he would help him, at least as far as feelings of compa.s.sion move a man. But no sooner had Marius landed with a few of his party, than an officer met him, and standing right in front of him said, "The Governor s.e.xtilius forbids you, Marius, to set foot on Libya, and he says that if you do, he will support the decree of the Senate by treating you as an enemy." On hearing this, grief and indignation deprived Marius of utterance, and he was a long time silent, looking fixedly at the officer. Upon the officer asking Marius what he had to say, what reply he had for the governor, he answered with a deep groan, "Tell him you have seen Caius Marius a fugitive sitting on the ruins of Carthage": a reply in which he not unaptly compared the fate of that city and his own changed fortunes. In the meantime, Iampsas, the king of the Numidians, being unresolved which way to act, treated young Marius and his companions with respect, but still detained them on some new pretext whenever they wished to leave; and it was evident that he had no fair object in view in thus deferring their departure. However, an incident happened of no uncommon kind, which brought about their deliverance. The younger Marius was handsome, and one of the king's concubines was grieved to see him in a condition unbefitting his station; and this feeling of compa.s.sion was a beginning and motive towards love. At first, however, Marius rejected the woman's proposals, but seeing that there were no other means of escape, and that her conduct proceeded from more serious motives than mere pa.s.sion, he accepted her proffered favours, and with her aid stole away with his friends and made his escape to his father. After embracing one another, they went along the sh.o.r.e, where they saw some scorpions fighting, which Marius considered to be a bad omen. Accordingly they forthwith embarked in a fis.h.i.+ng boat, and pa.s.sed over to the island Cercina, which was no great distance from the mainland; and it happened that they had only just set sail, when some hors.e.m.e.n despatched by the king were seen riding to the spot where they embarked. Marius thus escaped a danger equal to any that ever threatened him.

XLI. News reached Rome that Sulla was encountering the generals of Mithridates in Botia, while the consuls were quarrelling and taking up arms. A battle was fought, in which Octavius[133] got the victory and ejected Cinna, who was attempting to govern by violent means, and he put in Cinna's place as consul Cornelius Merula; but Cinna collected troops in Italy and made war against Octavius. On hearing this, Marius determined to set sail immediately, which he did with some Moorish cavalry that he took from Africa, and some few Italians who had fled there, but the number of both together did not exceed a thousand. Coming to sh.o.r.e at Telamo[134] in Tyrrhenia, and landing there, Marius proclaimed freedom to the slaves; and as the freemen who were employed in agriculture there, and in pasturing cattle, flocked to the sea, attracted by his fame, Marius persuaded the most vigorous of them to join him, and in a few days he had collected a considerable force and manned forty s.h.i.+ps. Knowing that Octavius was an honourable man and wished to direct the administration in the justest way, but that Cinna was disliked by Sulla and opposed to the existing const.i.tution, he determined to join him with his force. Accordingly he sent to Cinna and proffered to obey him as consul in everything. Cinna accepted the proposal, and naming Marius proconsul, sent him fasces and the other insigna of the office. Marius, however, observing that such things were not suited to his fortunes, clad in a mean dress, with his hair uncut from the day that he had been an exile, and now above seventy years of age, advanced with slow steps, wis.h.i.+ng to make himself an object of compa.s.sion; but there was mingled with his abject mien more than his usual terrific expression of countenance, and through his downcast looks he showed that his pa.s.sion, so far from being humbled, was infuriated by his reverses of fortune.

XLII. As soon as he had embraced Cinna and greeted the soldiers, Marius commenced active operations and gave a great turn to affairs.

First of all, by attacking the corn-vessels[135] with his s.h.i.+ps and plundering the merchants, he made himself master of the supplies. He next sailed to the maritime cities, which he took; and, finally, Ostia being treacherously surrendered to him, he made plunder of the property that he found there and put to death many of the people, and by blocking up the river he completely cut off his enemies from all supplies by sea. He now moved on with his army towards Rome and occupied the Janiculus. Octavius damaged his own cause, not so much from want of skill as through his scrupulous observance of the law, to which he unwisely sacrificed the public interests; for though many persons advised him to invite the slaves to join him by promising their freedom, he refused to make them members of the State from which he was endeavouring to exclude Marius in obedience to the law. On the arrival at Rome of Metellus,[136] the son of Metellus who had commanded in Libya, and had been banished from the city through the intrigues of Marius, the soldiers deserted Octavius and came to Metellus, entreating him to take the command and save the city; they said, if they had an experienced and active commander, they would fight well and get the victory. But Metellus expressed great dissatisfaction at their conduct, and bade them go to the consul, upon which they pa.s.sed over to the enemy. Metellus also in despair left the city. But Octavius was persuaded by Chaldaeans[137] and certain diviners and interpreters of the Sibylline books to stay in Rome by the a.s.surance that all would turn out well. Octavius, who in all other matters had as solid a judgment as any Roman, and most carefully maintained the consular dignity free from all undue influence according to the usage of his country and the laws, as if they were unchangeable rules, nevertheless showed great weakness in keeping company with impostors and diviners, rather than with men versed in political and military matters. Now Octavius was dragged down from the Rostra before Marius entered the city, by some persons who where sent forward, and murdered; and it is said that a Chaldaean writing was found in his bosom after he was killed. It seemed to be a very inexplicable circ.u.mstance, that of two ill.u.s.trious commanders, Marius owed his success to not disregarding divination, and Octavius thereby lost his life.

XLIII. Matters being in this state, the Senate met and sent a deputation to Cinna and Marius to invite them into the city and to entreat them to spare the citizens. Cinna, as consul, sitting on his chair of office, gave audience to the commissioners and returned a kind answer: Marius stood by the consul's chair without speaking a word, but indicating by the unchanging heaviness of his brow and his gloomy look that he intended to fill Rome with slaughter. After the audience was over, they marched to the city. Cinna entered accompanied by his guards, but Marius halting at the gates angrily affected to have some scruples about entering. He said he was an exile and was excluded from his country by a law, and if anybody wanted to have him in the city, they must go to the vote again and undo the vote by which he was banished, just as if he were a man who respected the laws and were returning from exile to a free state. Accordingly he summoned the people to the Forum, but before three or four of the tribes had voted, throwing off the mask and setting aside all the talk about being legally recalled, he entered with some guards selected from the slaves who had flocked to him, and who were called Bardiaei. These fellows killed many persons by his express orders and many on the mere signal of his nod; and at last meeting with Ancharius, a senator who had filled the office of praetor, they struck him down with their daggers in the presence of Marius, when they saw that Marius did not salute him. After this whenever he did not salute a man or return his salute, this was a signal for them to ma.s.sacre him forthwith in the streets, in consequence of which even the friends of Marius were filled with consternation and horror when they approached him. The slaughter was now great, and Cinna's appet.i.te was dulled and he was satisfied with blood; but Marius daily went on with his pa.s.sion at the highest pitch and thirsting for vengeance, through the whole list of those whom suspected in any degree. And every road and every city was filled with the pursuers, hunting out those who attempted to escape and conceal themselves, and the ties of hospitality and friends.h.i.+p were proved to be no security in misfortune, for they were very few who did not betray those who sought refuge with them. This rendered the conduct of the slaves of Cornutus the more worthy of praise and admiration, for they concealed their master at home, and hanging up by the neck the dead body of some obscure person, and putting a gold ring on his finger, they showed him to the guards of Marius, and then wrapping up the body as if it were their master's, they interred it. The device went unsuspected, and Cornutus being thus secreted by his slaves, made his escape to Gaul.

XLIV. The orator Marcus Antonius[138] found a faithful friend, but still he did not escape. This man, though poor, and of the lower cla.s.s, received in his house one of the most ill.u.s.trious of the Romans, and wis.h.i.+ng to entertain him as well as he could, he sent a slave to one of the neighbouring wine-shops to get some wine. As the slave was more curious than usual in tasting it, and told the man to give him some better wine, the merchant asked what could he the reason that he did not buy the new wine, as usual, and the ordinary wine, but wanted some of good quality and high price. The slave replied in his simplicity, as he was speaking to an old acquaintance, that his master was entertaining Marcus Antonius, who was concealed at his house. The wine-dealer, a faithless and unprincipled wretch, as soon as the slave left him, hurried off to Marius, who was at supper, and having gained admission, told him that he would betray Marcus Antonius to him. On hearing this, Marius is said to have uttered a loud shout and to have clapped his hands with delight; and he was near getting up and going to the place himself, but his friends stopped him, and he despatched Annius with some soldiers, with orders to bring him the head of Antonius immediately. On reaching the house, Annius waited at the door, and the soldiers mounting the stairs entered the room, but on seeing Antonius, every man began to urge some of his companions and push him forward to do the deed instead of himself. And so powerful were the charm and persuasion of his eloquence, when Antonius began to speak and pray for his life, that not a man of them could venture to lay hands on him or look him in the face, but they all bent their heads down and shed tears. As this caused some delay, Annius went upstairs, where he saw Antonius speaking and the soldiers awed and completely softened by his eloquence; on which he abused them, and running up to Antonius, cut off his head with his own hand. The friends of Catulus Lutatius, who had been joint consul with Marius and with him had triumphed over the Cimbri, interceded for him with Marius, and begged for his life; but the only answer they got was, "He must die!" and accordingly Catulus shut himself up in a room, and lighting a quant.i.ty of charcoal, suffocated himself. Headless trunks thrown into the streets and trampled underfoot excited no feeling of compa.s.sion, but only a universal shudder and alarm. But the people were most provoked by the licence of the Bardiaei, who murdered fathers of families in their houses, defiled their children, and violated their wives; and they went on plundering and committing violence, till Cinna and Sertorius combining, attacked them when they were asleep in the camp, and transfixed them with spears.

XLV. In the meantime, as if the wind was beginning to turn, reports reached Rome from all quarters that Sulla had finished the war with Mithridates, and recovered the provinces, and was sailing against the city with a large force. This intelligence caused a brief cessation and pause to unspeakable calamities, for Marius and his faction were in expectation of the immediate arrival of their enemies. Now being elected consul[139] for the seventh time, on the very Calends of January, which is the beginning of the year, Marius caused one s.e.xtus Lucinus[140] to be thrown down the Tarpeian rock, which appeared to be a presage of the great misfortunes that were again to befal the partisans of Marius and the State. But Marius was now worn out with labour, and, as it were, drowned with cares, and cowed in his spirit; and the experience of past dangers and toil made him tremble at the thoughts of a new war, and fresh struggles and alarms, and he could not sustain himself when he reflected that now he would have to hazard a contest, not with Octavius or Merula at the head of a tumultuous crowd and seditious rabble, but that Sulla was advancing--Sulla, who had once driven him from Rome, and had now confined Mithridates within the limits of his kingdom of Pontus. With his mind crushed by such reflections, and placing before his eyes his long wanderings and escapes and dangers in his flight by sea and by land, he fell into a state of deep despair, and was troubled with nightly alarms and terrific dreams in which he thought he heard a voice continually calling out,

"Dreadful is the lion's lair Though he is no longer there."

As he greatly dreaded wakeful nights, he gave himself up to drinking and intoxication at unseasonable hours and to a degree unsuited to his age, in order to procure sleep, as if he could thus elude his cares.

At last when a man arrived with news from the sea, fresh terrors seized him, partly from fear of the future and partly from feeling the burden and the weariness of the present state of affairs; and while he was in this condition, a slight disturbance sufficed to bring on a kind of pleurisy, as the philosopher Poseidonius[141] relates, who also says that he had an interview and talked with him on the subject of his emba.s.sy, while Marius was sick. But one Caius Piso,[142] an historian, says that Marius, while walking about with some friends after supper, fell to talking of the incidents of his life, beginning with his boyhood, and after enumerating his many vicissitudes of fortune, he said that no man of sense ought to trust fortune after such reverses; upon which he took leave of his friends, and keeping his bed for seven successive days, thus died. Some say that his ambitious character was most completely disclosed during his illness by his falling into the extravagant delusion that he was conducting the war against Mithridates, and he would then put his body into all kinds of att.i.tudes and movements, as he used to do in battle, and accompany them with loud shouts and frequent cheers. So strong and unconquerable a desire to be engaged in that war had his ambitious and jealous character instilled into him; and therefore, though he had lived to be seventy years of age, and was the first Roman who had been seven times consul and had made himself a family, and wealth enough for several kings, he still bewailed his fortune, and complained of dying before he had attained the fulness and completion of his desires.

XLVI. Now Plato, being at the point of death, felicitated himself on his daemon[143] and his fortune, first that he was born a human being, then that he was a Greek, and neither a barbarian nor an irrational animal; and besides all this, that his birth had fallen on the time when Socrates lived. And indeed it is said that Antipater[144] of Tarsus, in like manner, just before his death, when recapitulating the happiness that he had enjoyed, did not forget his prosperous voyage from Rome to Athens, inasmuch as he considered every gift of favourable fortune as a thing to be thankful for, and preserved it to the last in his memory, which is to man the best storehouse of good things. But those who have no memory and no sense, let the things that happen ooze away imperceptibly in the course of time; and consequently, as they hold nothing and keep nothing, being always empty of all goodness, but full of expectation, they look to the future and throw away the present. And yet fortune may hinder the future, but the present cannot be taken from a man; nevertheless, such men reject that which fortune now gives, as something foreign, and dream of that which is uncertain: and it is natural that they should; for before reason and education have enabled them to put a foundation and bas.e.m.e.nt under external goods, they get and they heap them together, and are never able to fill the insatiate appet.i.te of their soul. Now Marius[145] died, having held for seventeen days his seventh consuls.h.i.+p. And immediately there were great rejoicings in Rome, and good hope that there was a release from a cruel tyranny; but in a few days men found that they had exchanged an old master for a young one who was in the fulness of his vigour; such cruelty and severity did the son of Marius exhibit in putting to death the n.o.blest and best citizens. He gained the reputation of a man of courage, and one who loved danger in his wars against his enemies, and was named a son of Mars: but his acts speedily showed his real character, and he received instead the name of a son of Venus. Finally, being shut up in Praeneste by Sulla, and having in vain tried all ways of saving his life, he killed himself when he saw that the city was captured and all escape was hopeless.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 51: When Plutarch wrote, the system of naming persons among the Romans had undergone some changes, or at least the old fas.h.i.+on was not strictly observed, and this will explain his remark at the end of the chapter. A Roman had usually three names, as Caius Julius Caesar.

The first name, which was called the Praenomen, denoted the individual: the most common names of this cla.s.s were Quintus, Caius, Marcus, Lucius, and so on. The second name denoted the gens, and was called the Gentile name, as Cornelius, Julius, Licinius, Mucius, Semp.r.o.nius, and so on. The same gens often contained different families; thus there were Licinii Cra.s.si, Licinii Luculli, and so on. This third name was called the Cognomen, and was given to the founder of the family or to some member of the gens in respect of some personal peculiarity or other accidental circ.u.mstance, as Scipio, Cicero, Cra.s.sus, Lucullus, Gracchus. A fourth name, or Agnomen, was sometimes added, as in the case of Publius Cornelius Scipio, the elder, who received the name of Africa.n.u.s from his conquest of Africa. This agnomen might be the third name, when there was no cognomen, as in the case of Lucius Mummius, who received the name of Achaicus because he overthrew the Achaean League in that war, of which the concluding event was the destruction of Corinth, which belonged to the League. Poseidonius means that the praenomen (Quintus, Marcus, &c.) was more used in speaking of or to an individual; but in Plutarch's time the cognomen or agnomen was most used. We speak of the three Caesars, Vespasia.n.u.s and his two sons t.i.tus and Domitia.n.u.s, yet the gentile name of all of them was Flavius. The complete names of the first two were t.i.tus Flavius Vespasia.n.u.s, and of the third t.i.tus Flavius Domitia.n.u.s.

Women had usually one name, derived from their gens; thus all the women of the Cornelii, Julii, Licinii, were called Cornelia, Julia, Licinia; and if there were several daughters in a family, they were distinguished by the names First, Second, and so on. If there were two daughters only, they were called respectively Major and Minor. Sulla called one of his daughters Fausta. (See Cicero, _Ad Div._ viii. 7, Paula Valeria; and the note of P. Manutius.)]

[Footnote 52: Some understand the word ([Greek: eikon] e????) to mean a bust here. The word is used in both senses, and also to signify a picture. When the statue of Tiberius Gracchus the father is spoken of (Caius Gracchus, c. 10), Plutarch uses a different word ([Greek: andrias] ??d??a?). Plutarch speaks of Ravenna as in Gaul, which he calls Galatia; but though Ravenna was within the limits of Cisalpine Gaul, the name of Italy had been extended to the whole Peninsula south of the Alps about B.C. 44.]

[Footnote 53: Literally "shows:" they might be plays or they might be other amus.e.m.e.nts.]

[Footnote 54: This is probably a corrupt name. The territory of Arpinum, now Arpino, was in the Volscian mountains. Arpinum was also the birth-place of Cicero. Juvenal in his rhetorical fas.h.i.+on (_Sat_.

viii. 245) represents the young Marius as earning his bread by working at the plough as a servant and afterwards entering the army as a common soldier.]

[Footnote 55: Lucius Aurelius Cotta and Lucius Caecilius Metellus were consuls B.C. 119, in which year Marius was tribune. The law which Marius proposed had for its object to make the Pontes narrower. The Pontes were the pa.s.sages through which the voters went into the Septa or inclosures where they voted. After pa.s.sing through the pontes they received the voting tablets at the entrance of the septa. The object of the law of Marius was to diminish the crowd and pressure by letting fewer persons come in at a time. Cicero speaks of this law of Marius (_De Legibus_, iii. 17). As the law had reference to elections and its object was among other things to prevent bribery, Plutarch's remark is unintelligible: the text is corrupt, or he has made a mistake.]

[Footnote 56: The higher magistrates of Rome, the curule aediles, praetors, consuls, censors, and dictator had a chair of office called a Sella Curulis, or Curule seat, which Plutarch correctly describes as a chair with curved feet (See the cut in Smith's _Dictionary of Antiquities_, "Sella Curulis"). The name Curule is derived from Currus, a chariot, as the old writers say, and as is proved by the expression Curulis Triumphus, a Curule Triumph, which is opposed to an Ovatio, in which the triumphing general went on foot in the procession.

The Plebeian aediles were first elected B.C. 494, at the same time as the Plebeian tribunes. They had various functions, such as the general superintendence of buildings, the supply of water, the care of the streets and pavements, and other like matters. Their duties mainly belonged to the department of police, under which was included the superintendence of the markets, and of buying and selling. The Plebeian aediles were originally two in number.

The Curule aediles were first elected B.C. 365 and only from the Patricians, but afterwards the office was accessible to the Plebeians.

The functions of the Plebeian aediles seem to have been performed by all the aediles indifferently after B.C. 368, though the Curule aediles alone had the power of making Edicts (edicta), which power was founded on their general superintendence of all buying and selling, and many of their rules had reference to the buying and selling of slaves (_Dig._ 21, t.i.t. 1). The Curule aediles only had the superintendence of some of the greater festivals, on which occasions they went to great expense to gratify the people and buy popularity as a means of further promotion. (See Sulla, c. 5.)]

[Footnote 57: At this time there were six Praetors. The Praetor Urba.n.u.s or City Praetor was sometimes simply called Praetor and had the chief administration of justice in Rome. The Praetor Peregrinus also resided in Rome and had the superintendence in matters in dispute between Roman citizens and aliens (peregrini). The other Praetors had provinces allotted to them to administer; and after the expiration of their year of office, the praetors generally received the administration of a Province with the t.i.tle of Propraetor. It appears (c. 5) that Marius either stayed at Rome during his praetors.h.i.+p or had some Province in Italy. As to the meaning of the Roman word Province, see Caius Gracchus, c. 19, note.]

[Footnote 58: Bribery at elections among the Romans was called Ambitus, which literally signifies "a going about;" it then came to signify canva.s.sing, solicitation, the giving and promising of money for votes, and all the means for accomplis.h.i.+ng this end, in which the recurrence of elections at Rome annually made candidates very expert.

The first law specially directed against the giving of money (largitiones) was the Lex Cornelia Baebia, B.C. 182; and there were many subsequent enactments, but all failed to accomplish their object.

The Lex Baebia incapacitated him who gave a bribe to obtain office from filling any office for ten years.]

[Footnote 59: His alleged intemperance consisted in not being able to endure thirst on such an occasion. His real offence was his conduct which made him suspected of acting as an agent of Marius in the election. It was one of the duties of the Censors, when revising the lists of Equites and Senators, to erase the names of those whom they considered unworthy of the rank, and this without giving any reason for it.]

[Footnote 60: The words Patron and Client are now used by us, but, like many other Roman terms, not in the original or proper sense.

Dominus and Servus, Master and Slave, were terms placed in opposition to one another, like Patron and Client, Patronus and Cliens. A master who manumitted his slave became his Patronus, a kind of father (for Patronus is derived from Pater, father): the slave was called the Patron's Libertus, freedman; and all Liberti were included in the cla.s.s Libertini. Libertinus is another example of a word which we use (libertine), though not in the Roman sense. But the old Roman relation of Patron and Client was not this. Originally the heads of distinguished families had a number of retainers or followers who were called their Clients, a word which perhaps originally meant those who were bound to hear and to obey a common head. It was a tradition that when Atta Claudius, the head of the great Claudian Gens, who were Sabines, was admitted among the Roman Patricians, he brought with him a large body of clients to whom land was given north of the Anio, now the Teverone. (Livius, 2, c. 16; Suetonius, _Tiberius_, c. 1.) The precise relation of the early clients to their leaders is one of the most difficult questions in Roman History, and much too extensive to be discussed here. It was the Patron's duty to protect his clients and to give them his aid and advice in all matters that required it: the clients owed to the Patron respect and obedience and many duties which are tolerably well ascertained. Long after the strictness of the old relation had been relaxed, the name continued and some of the duties, as we see in this sentence of Marius, where the Patron claimed to be exempted from giving evidence against his client. In the last periods of the Republic and under the Empire, Patron was sometimes simply used as Protector, adviser, defender, and Client to express one who looked up to another as his friend and adviser, particularly in all matters where his legal rights were concerned. Great men under the later Republic sometimes became the Patrons of particular states or cities, and looked after their interests at Rome. We have adopted the word Client in the sense of one who goes to an attorney or solicitor for his legal advice, but with us the client pays for the advice, and the attorney is not called his patron. A modern patron is one who patronises, protects, gives his countenance to an individual, or to some a.s.sociation of individuals, but frequently he merely gives his countenance or his name, that being as much as can be asked from him or as much as he will give.

The Clients must be distinguished from the Plebs in the early history of Rome, though there can be no doubt that part of the Plebeian body was gradually formed out of clients.]

[Footnote 61: Robbery and piracy were in like manner reckoned honourable occupations by the old Greeks (Thucydides, i. 5). These old robbers made no distinction between robbery and war: plunder was their object, and labour they hated. So says Herodotus (v. 6). A Thracian considered it a disgrace to till the ground; to live by plunder was the mark of a gentleman. When people can live by plunder, there must be somebody worth plundering. One object of modern civilisation is to protect him who labours from the aggression of him who does not.]

[Footnote 62: This fact renders it doubtful if Marius was of such mean birth as it is said. He married Julia, the sister of C. Julius Caesar.

This Caesar was the father of C. Julius Caesar, the dictator, who was consequently the nephew of Caius Marius.]

[Footnote 63: See _Penny Cyclopaedia_, "Veins, Diseases of." Cicero (_Tusculan. Quaest._ 2. c. 22) alludes to this story of the surgical operation. He uses the word Varices.]

[Footnote 64: Q. Caecilius Metellus was consul B.C. 109 with M. Junius Sila.n.u.s. He obtained the Agnomen of Numidicus for his services in the Jugurthine war.]

[Footnote 65: Legatus is a participle from the verb Lego, which signifies to a.s.sign anything to a person to do; hence legatus is one to whom something is delegated. The Roman word Legatus had various senses. Here the word legatus, which is the word that Plutarch intends, is a superior officer who holds command under a Consul, Praetor, Proconsul, Propraetor.]

[Footnote 66: The story of Turpillius is told by Sall.u.s.tius (_Jugurthine War_, 66), who speaks of his execution, but says nothing of his innocence being afterwards established. The Romans had in their armies a body of engineers called Fabri, and the director of the body was called Praefectus Fabrorum. Vaga, which Sall.u.s.tius calls Vacoa, was one of the chief towns in Numidia.]

[Footnote 67: Sall.u.s.tius, who tells the same story pretty nearly in the same way (_Jugurth. War_, c. 64), says that the son of Metellus was about twenty. The insult was not one to be forgiven by a man like Marius, to be told that it would be soon enough for him to be consul three-and-twenty years hence. This son is Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius who afterwards fought against Sertorius in Spain.]

[Footnote 68: The Latin word which Plutarch has translated is Imagines. These Imagines were busts of wax, marble, or metal, which the Romans of family placed in the entrance of their houses. They corresponded to a set of family portraits, but they were the portraits of men who had enjoyed the high offices of the State. These Imagines were carried in procession at funerals. Polybius (vi. 53) has a discourse on this subject, which is worth reading. Marius, who was a Novus h.o.m.o, a new man, had no family busts to show.]

[Footnote 69: Lucius Calpurnius Bestia was consul B.C. 111, and Spurius Postumius Albinus B.C. 110. They successively conducted the war against Jugurtha without success. Sall.u.s.tius (_Jugurth. War_, c.

85) has put a long speech in the mouth of Marius on this occasion, which Plutarch appears to have used.]

[Footnote 70: Though much has been said on the subject, there is nothing worth adding to what Plutarch tells. He gives the various opinions that he had collected.]

[Footnote 71: This pa.s.sage of the Celtic Galli into Italy is mentioned by Livius (5, c. 34) and referred by him to the reign of Tarquinius Priscus. This is the first invasion of Italy from the French side of the Alps that is recorded, and it has often been repeated.]

[Footnote 72: The modern Sea of Azoff.]

[Footnote 73: The Greek is [Greek: phuge] f???, which hardly admits of explanation, though Coraes has explained it. I have followed Kaltwa.s.ser in adopting Reiske's conjecture of [Greek: phule] f???.]

[Footnote 74: It is stated by Mannert (_Geographie der Griechen und Romer_, Pt. iii. 410), that the term Hercynian forest was not always used by the ancients to denote the same wooded tract. At this time a great part of Germany was probably covered with forest. Caesar (_Gallic War_, vi. 24) describes it as extending from the country of the Helvetii (who lived near the lake of Geneva) apparently in a general east or north-east direction, but his description is not clear. He says that the forest had been traversed in its length for sixty days without an end being come to.]

[Footnote 75: Plutarch's description is literally translated; it shows that there was a confused notion of the long days and nights in the arctic regions. Herodotus (iv. 25) and Tacitus in his _Agricola_ have some vague talk of the like kind.]

[Footnote 76: The pa.s.sage in Homer is in the 11th Book, v. 14, &c.

This Book is ent.i.tled Necyia [Greek: nekyia] ?????a, which is the word that Plutarch uses; it literally signifies an offering or sacrifice by which the shades of the dead are called up from the lower world to answer questions that are put to them.]

[Footnote 77: In B.C. 113 the Romans first heard of the approach of the Cimbri and Teutones. Cn. Papirius Carbo, one of the consuls of this year, was defeated by them in Illyric.u.m (part of Stiria), but they did not cross the Alps. In B.C. 109 the consul M. Junius Sila.n.u.s was defeated by the Cimbri, who demanded of the Roman Senate lands to settle in: the demand was refused. In B.C. 107 the consul L. Ca.s.sius Longinus fell in battle against the Galli Tigurini, who inhabited a part of Switzerland, and his army was sent under the yoke. This was while his colleague Marius was carrying on the campaign against Jugurtha in Africa. In B.C. 105 Cn. Manlius Maximus, the consul, and Q. Servilius Caepio, proconsul, who had been consul in B.C. 106, were defeated by the Cimbri with immense slaughter, and lost both their camps. The name of Manlius is written Mallius in the Fasti Consulares, ed. Baiter.]

[Footnote 78: Scipio Africa.n.u.s the younger was elected consul B.C. 147 when he was thirty-seven years of age, the law as to age being for that occasion not enforced. There was an old Plebiscitum (law pa.s.sed in the Comitia Tributa) which enacted that no man should hold the same magistracy without an interval of ten full years. (Livius. 7, c. 42; 10, c. 13). The first instance of the law being suspended was in the case of Q. Fabius Maximus. One of Sulla's laws re-enacted or confirmed the old law.]

[Footnote 79: This ca.n.a.l of Marius is mentioned by Strabo (p. 183) and other ancient writers. The eastern branch of the Rhone runs from Arelate (Arles) to the sea, and the ca.n.a.l of Marius probably commenced in this branch about twenty Roman miles below Arles (which did not then exist), and entered the sea between the mouth of this branch and Maritima, now Martigues. The length of the ca.n.a.l of Marius might be about twelve Roman miles. Ma.r.s.eilles is east of Martigues. (D'Anville.

_Notice de la Gaule Ancienne_.)]

[Footnote 80: The movements of the barbarians are not clearly stated.

It appears from what follows that the Cimbri entered Italy on the north-east over the Noric Alps, for their march brought them to the banks of the Adige. Florus says that they came by the defiles of Tridentum (Trento). The Teutones, if they marched through the Ligurian country along the sea to meet Marius, who was near Ma.r.s.eilles, must have come along the Riviera of Genoa.]