Marcellus

The beast dashed into the one behind him and threw the whole onset into confusion. Observing this, Marcellus ordered his cavalry to charge at full speed upon the disordered mass and throw the enemy still more into confusion. The horsemen made a brilliant charge and cut the Carthaginians down as far as to their camp, and the greatest slaughter among them was caused by their killed and wounded elephants.[*](Five were killed, according to Livy, xxvii. 14. )

For more than eight thousand are said to have been slain; and on the Roman side three thousand were killed, and almost all were wounded. This gave Hannibal opportunity to break camp quietly in the night and move to a great distance from Marcellus. For Marcellus was unable to pursue him, owing to the multitude of his wounded, but withdrew by easy marches into Campania, and spent the summer at Sinuessa recuperating his soldiers.

But Hannibal, now that he had torn himself away from Marcellus, made free use of his army, and going fearlessly round about, wasted all Italy with fire. Meantime, at Rome, Marcellus was in ill repute, and his enemies incited Publicius Bibulus, one of the tribunes of the people, a powerful speaker and a man of violence, to bring a denunciation against him.

This man held frequent assemblies of the people and tried to persuade them to put the forces of Marcellus in charge of another general, since Marcellus, as he said, after giving himself a little exercise in the war, has withdrawn from it as from a palaestra, and betaken himself to warm baths for refreshment. On learning of this, Marcellus left his legates in charge of his army, while he himself went up to Rome to make answer to the accusations against him.

There he found an impeachment prepared against him which was drawn from these accusations. Accordingly, on a day set for the trial, when the people had come together in the Flaminian circus, Bibulus rose up and denounced him. Then Marcellus spoke briefly and simply in his own defence, and the leading and most reputable citizens, with great boldness of speech and in glowing terms, exhorted the people not to show themselves worse judges than the enemy by convicting Marcellus of cowardice, whom alone of their leaders Hannibal avoided, and continually contrived not to fight with him, that he might fight with the rest.

When these speeches were ended, the accuser was so far disappointed in his hope of obtaining the verdict that Marcellus was not only acquitted of the charges against him, but actually appointed consul for the fifth time.[*](For 208 B.C. Cf. Livy, xxvii. 20. )

After assuming his office, he first quelled a great agitation for revolt in Etruria, and visited and pacified the cities there; next, he desired to dedicate to Honour and Virtue a temple that he had built out of his Sicilian spoils, hut was prevented by the priests, who would not consent that two deities should occupy one temple; he therefore began to build another temple adjoining the first, although he resented the priests’ opposition and regarded it as ominous.

And indeed many other portents disturbed him: sundry temples were struck by lightning, and in that of Jupiter, mice had gnawed the gold; it was reported also that an ox had uttered human speech, and that a boy had been born with an elephant’s head; moreover, in their expiatory rites and sacrifices, the seers received bad omens, and therefore detained him at Rome, though he was all on fire and impatient to be gone.[*](Cf. Livy, xxvii. 11; 25. ) For no man ever had such a passion for any thing as he had for fighting a decisive battle with Hannibal.

This was his dream at night, his one subject for deliberation with friends and colleagues, his one appeal to the gods, namely, that he might find Hannibal drawn up to meet him. And I think he would have been most pleased to have the struggle decided with both armies enclosed by a single wall or rampart; and if he had not been full already of abundant honour, and if he had not given abundant proof that he could be compared with any general whomsoever in solidity of judgement, I should have said that he had fallen a victim to a youthful ambition that ill became such a great age as his. For he had passed his sixtieth year when he entered upon his fifth consulship.[*](In 208 B.C.)