Crassus, who always wished for an independent command, never obtained one except in the servile war, and then only because all the other generals, Pompeius, Metellus, and Lucullus, were absent. Yet at that time Crassus was at the height of his power and reputation: but his friends seem to have thought him, as the comic poet has it, "Most excellent, save in the battle-field."
And in his case also, the Romans gained no advantage from his ambitious desire of command. The Athenians sent Nikias to Sicily against his will, and Crassus led the Romans to Parthia against their will. Nikias suffered by the actions of the Athenians, while Rome suffered by the actions of Crassus.
IV. However, in their last moments we incline rather to praise Nikias than to blame Crassus. Nikias, a skilful and experienced commander, did not share the rash hopes of his countrymen, but never thought that Sicily could be conquered, and dissuaded them from making the attempt.
Crassus, on the other hand, urged the Romans to undertake the war with Parthia, representing the conquest of that country as an easy operation, which he nevertheless failed to effect. His ambition was vast. Cæsar had conquered the Gauls, Germans, Britons, and all the west of Europe, and Crassus wished in his turn to march eastward as far as the Indian Ocean, and to conquer all those regions of Asia which Pompeius and Lucullus, two great men and actuated by a like desire for conquest, had previously aspired to subdue. Yet they also met with a like opposition. When Pompeius was given an unlimited command in the East, the appointment was opposed by the Senate, and when Cæsar routed thirty thousand Germans, Cato proposed that he should be delivered up to the vanquished, and that thus the anger of the gods should be turned away from the city upon the author of so great a crime as he had committed by breaking his word. Yet the Romans slighted Cato's proposals and held a solemn thanksgiving for fifteen days to show their joy at the news. How many days then must we imagine they would have spent in rejoicing if Crassus had sent despatches announcing the capture of Babylon, and then had reduced Media, Persia, Hyrkania, Susa, and Bactria to the condition of Roman provinces. "If a man must do wrong," as Euripides says of those who cannot live in peace, and be contented when they are well off, they should do it on a grand scale like this, not capture contemptible places like Skandeia or Mende, or chase the people of Ægina, like birds who have been turned out of their nests. If we are to do an injustice, let us not do it in a miserable pettifogging way, but imitate such great examples as Crassus and Alexander the Great. Those who praise the one of these great men, and blame the other, do so only because they are unable to see any other distinction between them except that the one failed and the other succeeded.
V. When acting as general, Nikias did many great exploits, for he was many times victorious, all but took Syracuse, and ought not justly to bear the blame of the whole Sicilian disaster, because of his disease, and the ill will which some bore him at Athens. Crassus on the other hand committed so many mistakes as to put it out of the power of fortune to aid him, so that one wonders not so much that his folly was overcome by the Parthians as that it could overcome the good fortune of the Romans. Now as the one never disregarded religious observances and omens, the other despised them all, and yet both alike perished, it is hard to say what inference we ought to draw, as to which acted most wisely, yet we must incline rather to the side of him who followed the established rule in such matters rather than that of him who insolently discarded all such observances. In his death Crassus is more to be commended, because he yielded himself against his will in consequence of the entreaties of his friends, and was most treacherously deceived by the enemy, while Nikias delivered himself up to his enemies through a base and cowardly desire to save his life, and thus made his end more infamous.
FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 100: I cannot find that Nikias took any part in the massacre of the people of Melos in 416 B.C.]
LIFE OF SERTORIUS.
I. It is perhaps not a matter of surprise, if in the lapse of time, which is unlimited, while fortune[101] is continually changing her course, spontaneity should often result in the same incidents; for, if the number of elemental things is not limited, fortune has in the abundance of material a bountiful supply of sameness of results; and, if things are implicated in a dependence upon definite numbers, it is of necessity that the same things must often happen, being effected by the same means. Now, as some are pleased to collect, by inquiry and hearsay, from among the things which accidentally happen, such as bear some likeness to the works of calculation and forethought: such, for instance, as that there were two celebrated Atteis,[102] the one a Syrian and the other an Arcadian, and that both were killed by a wild boar; that there were two Actæons, one of whom was torn in pieces by his dogs and the other by his lovers; that there were two Scipios,[103] by one of whom the Carthaginians were first conquered, and by the other were cut up root and branch; that Troy was taken by Hercules, on account of the horses of Laomedon, and by Agamemnon by means of the wooden horse, as it is called, and was taken a third time by Charidemus, by reason of the Ilians not being able to close the gates quick enough, owing to a horse having got between them; that there are two cities which have the same name with the most fragrant of plants, Ios[104] and Smyrna, and that Homer was born in one of them and died in the other: I may be allowed to add to these instances, that the most warlike of commanders and those who have accomplished most by a union of daring and cunning, have been one-eyed men, Philippus,[105] Antigonus, Annibal, and the subject of this Life--Sertorius; he whom one may affirm to have been more continent as to women than Philip, more true to his friends than Antigonus, more merciful to his enemies than Annibal,[106] inferior in understanding to none of them, but in fortune inferior to all; and, though he always found Fortune more hard to deal with than his open enemies, yet he proved himself her equal by opposing the experience of Metellus, the daring of Pompeius, the fortune of Sulla, and the power of the whole Roman state; a fugitive and a stranger putting himself at the head of barbarians. Of all the Greeks, Eumenes[107] of Kardia presents the nearest resemblance to him. Both of them were men qualified to command; both were warlike, and yet full of stratagem; both became exiles from their native land and the commanders of foreign troops; and both had the same violent and unjust fortune in their end, for both of them were the objects of conspiracy, and were cut off by the hands of those with whom they were victorious over their enemies.
II. Quintus Sertorius belonged to a family not among the meanest in Nussa,[108] a Sabine city. He was carefully brought up by a widowed mother, for he had lost his father, and he appears to have been exceedingly attached to her. His mother's name, they say, was Rhea. He had a competent practical education in the courts of justice, and, as a young man, he attained some influence in the city by his eloquence.
But his reputation and success in war diverted all his ambition in that direction.
III. Now, first of all, after the Cimbri and Teutones had invaded Gaul, he was serving under Cæpio[109] at the time when the Romans were defeated and put to flight; and, though he lost his horse and was wounded in the body, he crossed the Rhone swimming in his cuirass and with his shield against the powerful stream--so strong was his body and disciplined by exercise. On a second occasion, when the same barbarians were advancing with many thousand men and dreadful threats, so that for a Roman to stand to his ranks at such a time, and to obey his general, was a great matter, Marius had the command, and Sertorius undertook to be a spy upon the enemy. Putting on a Celtic dress, and making himself master of the most ordinary expressions of the language, for the purpose of conversation when occasion might offer, he mingled with the barbarians, and, either by his own eyes or by inquiry, learning all that was important to know, he returned to Marius. For this he obtained the prize of merit; and in the rest of the campaign, having given many proofs of his judgment and daring, he was honoured and trusted by his general. After the close of the war with the Cimbri and Teutones, he was sent as tribune by Didius[110] the prætor to Iberia, and he wintered in Castlo,[111] a city of the Celtiberi. The soldiers, being in the midst of abundance, lost all discipline, and were generally drunk, which brought them into contempt with the barbarians, who, by night, sent for aid from their neighbours the Gyrisœni, and, coming on the soldiers in their lodgings, began to slaughter them. Sertorius with a few others stole out, and, collecting the soldiers who made their escape, surrounded the city. Finding the gates open through which the barbarians had secretly entered, he did not make the same mistake that they did, but he set a watch there, and, hemming in the city on all sides, he massacred every man who was of age to bear arms. When the massacre was over, he ordered all his soldiers to lay down their own armour and dress, and, putting on those of the barbarians, to follow him to the city from which the men came who had fallen on them in the night. The barbarians were deceived by the armour, and he found the gates open, and a number of men expecting to meet friends and fellow-citizens, returning from a successful expedition. Accordingly, most of them were killed by the Romans near the gates, and the rest surrendered and were sold as slaves.
IV. This made the name of Sertorius known in Iberia; and as soon as he returned to Rome he was appointed quæstor in Gaul upon the Padus at a critical time; for the Marsic[112] war was threatening. Being commissioned to levy troops and procure arms, he applied so much zeal and expedition to the work, compared with the tardiness and indolence of the other young men, that he got the reputation of being a man likely to run an active career. Yet he remitted nothing of the daring of a soldier after he was promoted to the rank of commander; but he exhibited wonderful feats of courage, and exposed himself without any reserve to danger, whereby he lost one of his eyes through a wound.
But he always prided himself on this. He used to say that others did not always carry about with them the proofs of their valour, but put them aside, at times, as chains and spears, and crowns, while the proofs of his valour always abided with him, and those who saw what he had lost saw at the same time the evidences of his courage. The people also showed him appropriate marks of respect; for, on his entering the theatre, they received him with clapping of hands and expressions of their good wishes--testimonials which even those who were far advanced in age, and high in rank, could with difficulty obtain. However, when he was a candidate for the tribuneship, Sulla raised a party against him, and he failed; and this was, apparently, the reason why he hated Sulla. But when Marius was overpowered by Sulla and fled from Rome, and Sulla had set out to fight with Mithridates, and the consul Octavius adhered to the party of Sulla, while his colleague Cinna, who aimed at a revolution, revived the drooping faction of Marius, Sertorius attached himself to Cinna, especially as he saw that Octavius was deficient in activity, and he distrusted the friends of Marius. A great battle was fought in the Forum between the consuls, in which Octavius got the victory, and Cinna and Sertorius took to flight, having lost nearly ten thousand men. However, they persuaded most of the troops, which were still scattered about Italy, to come over to their side, and they were soon a match for Octavius.
V. When Marius had returned from Libya, and was proposing to join Cinna, himself in a mere private capacity and Cinna as consul, all the rest thought it politic to receive him; but Sertorius was against it: whether it was because he thought that Cinna would pay less respect to him when a general of higher reputation was present, or because he feared the ferocious temper of Marius, and that he would put all in confusion in his passion, which knew no bounds, transgressing the limits of justice in the midst of victory. However this may be, Sertorius observed that there remained little for them to do, as they were now triumphant; but if they received the proposal of Marius, he would appropriate to himself all the glory and all the troops, being a man who could endure no partner in power, and who was devoid of good faith. Cinna replied that what Sertorius suggested was true, but he felt ashamed and had a difficulty about refusing to receive Marius, after having invited him to join their party; whereupon Sertorius rejoined: "For my part, I thought that Marius had come to Italy on his own adventure, and I was merely considering what was best; but it was not honourable in you to make the thing a matter of deliberation at all after the arrival of the man whom you had thought proper to invite, but you ought to have employed him and received him; for a promise leaves no room for any further consideration." Accordingly Cinna sent for Marius, and the forces being distributed among them, the three had the command. The war being finished, Cinna and Marius were filled with violence and bitterness, so that they made the evils of war as precious gold to the Romans, compared with the new state of affairs. Sertorius alone is said to have put no person to death to gratify his vengeance, nor to have abused his power; but he was much annoyed at the conduct of Marius, and he moderated Cinna by private interviews and entreaties. At last, the slaves whom Marius had used as allies in war, and kept as guards to protect his tyranny, becoming formidable and wealthy, partly from the grants of Marius and his direct permission; partly from their violent and outrageous treatment of their masters, whom they butchered, and then lay with their masters' wives, and violated their children, Sertorius unable to endure any longer, speared the whole of them in their camp, to the number of four thousand.[113] VI. But when Marius[114] had died, and Cinna shortly after was cut off, and the younger Marius, contrary to the wish of Sertorius, and by illegal means, obtained the consulship, and the Carbos and the Norbani and Scipios were unsuccessfully contending against Sulla on his march to Rome, and affairs were being ruined, partly through the cowardice and laziness of the commanders, and partly through treachery; and there was no use in his staying to see things still go on badly, owing to the want of judgment in those who had more power than himself; and finally, when Sulla, after encamping near Scipio, and holding out friendly proposals, as if peace was going to be made, had corrupted the army, though Sertorius had warned Scipio of this, and given his advice, but without effect--altogether despairing about the city, Sertorius set out for Iberia, in order that if he should anticipate his enemies in strengthening his power there, he might offer protection to such of his friends as were unfortunate at Rome. Sertorius, having fallen in with bad weather in the mountainous parts, was required by the barbarians to pay them a tribute, and to purchase a free passage. His companions were much incensed at this, and declared it to be a great degradation for a Roman proconsul[115] to pay a tribute to wretched barbarians; but Sertorius cared little for what they considered disgrace, and he said that he was buying time, the rarest of things for a man who was aiming at great objects: and so he pacified the barbarians with money, and hurrying into Iberia, got possession of the country. He there found nations strong in numbers and fighting men, but owing to the greediness and tyranny of the governors who had from time to time been sent among them, ill-disposed to the Roman administration in general; however, he regained the good will of the chiefs by his personal intercourse with them, and the favour of the mass by remission of taxes. But he got most popularity by relieving the people from having soldiers quartered on them; for he compelled the soldiers to fix their winter tents in the suburbs of the towns, and he was the first to set the example. However, Sertorius did not depend altogether on the attachment of the barbarians, but he armed all the Roman settlers in Iberia who were able to bear arms, and by commencing the construction of all kinds of military engines and building ships he kept the cities in check; showing himself mild in all the affairs of civil administration, but formidable by his preparations against the enemy.
VII. Hearing that Sulla was master of Rome,[116] and that the party of Marius and Carbo was on the wane, and being in immediate expectation of an army coming to fight against him under some commander, he sent Julius Salinator to occupy the passes of the Pyrenees, with six thousand heavy armed soldiers. Shortly after this, Caius Annius[117] was sent from Rome by Sulla; but, seeing that the position of Julius could not be attacked, he was perplexed, and seated himself at the base of the mountains. But one Calpurnius, named Lanarius, assassinated Julius, on which the soldiers left the summits of the Pyrenees, and Annius, crossing the mountains, advanced with a large force and drove all before him. Sertorius, being unable to oppose him, fled with three thousand men to New Carthage,[118] and there embarking and crossing the sea, landed in Mauritania, in Libya. His soldiers, while getting water without due precautions, were fallen upon by the barbarians, and many of them were killed, upon which Sertorius sailed again for Iberia. He was, however, driven off the coast, and, being joined by some Cilician piratical vessels,[119] he attacked the island of Pityussa,[120] and landing there drove out the garrison of Annius. Annius soon arrived with a large fleet and five thousand heavy armed men, and Sertorius ventured on a naval battle with him, though his vessels were light and built for quick sailing and not for fighting; but the sea was disturbed by a strong west wind, which drove most of the vessels of Sertorius upon the reefs, owing to their lightness, and Sertorius, with a few ships, could not get out to sea by reason of the wind, nor land on account of the enemy, and being tossed about for ten days, with the wind and a violent sea against him, he held out with great difficulty.
VIII. As the wind abated he set sail, and put in at some scattered islands, which had no water. Leaving them, and passing through the Straits of Gades,[121] he touched at those parts of Iberia on the right which lie out of the strait, a little beyond the mouths of the Bætis,[122] which flows into the Atlantic Sea,[123] and has given name to those parts of Iberia which lie about it. There he fell in with some sailors, who had returned from a voyage to the Atlantic[124] Islands, which are two in number, separated by a very narrow channel, and ten thousand stadia from the coast of Libya, and are called the islands of the Happy. These islands have only moderate rains, but generally they enjoy gentle breezes, which bring dews; they have a rich and fertile soil, adapted for arable cultivation and planting; they also produce fruit spontaneously, sufficient in quantity and quality to maintain, without labour and trouble, a population at their ease. The air of the island is agreeable, owing to the temperature of the seasons, and the slightness of the changes; for the winds which blow from our part of the world from the north and east, owing to the great distance, fall upon a boundless space, and are dispersed and fail before they reach these islands; but the winds which blow round them from the ocean, the south and west, bring soft rains at intervals, from the sea, but in general they gently cool the island with moist clear weather, and nourish the plants; so that a firm persuasion has reached the barbarians that here are the Elysian Plains and the abode of the Happy which Homer[125] has celebrated in song.
IX. Sertorius, hearing this description, was seized with a strong desire to dwell in the islands, and to live in quiet, free from tyranny and never-ending wars. The Cilicians, who did not want peace and leisure, but wealth and spoil, observing this inclination, sailed off to Africa, to restore Ascalis, the son of Iphtha, to the Moorish kingdom.[126] Sertorius, however, did not despond, but he determined to help those who were fighting against Ascalis, in order that his companions, by getting some renewal of hope and opportunity for other deeds, might not disperse through their difficulties. The Moors were well pleased at his arrival, and Sertorius setting himself to work defeated Ascalis, and besieged him. Sulla sent Paccianus to help Ascalis, but Sertorius engaging him with his forces killed Paccianus, and after his victory brought over the army and took Tigennis, to which Ascalis and his brother had fled. It is here that the Libyans say Antæus[127] is buried. Sertorius dug into the mound, as he did not believe what the barbarians said, so enormous was the size. But, finding the body there, sixty cubits in length, as they say, he was confounded, and, after making a sacrifice, he piled up the earth, and added to the repute and fame of the monument. The people of Tigennis have a mythus, that, on the death of Antæus his wife Tinge cohabited with Hercules, that Sophax was the issue of their connexion, and became king of the country, and named a city after his mother; they further say that Sophax had a son, Diodorus, whom many of the Libyan nations submitted to, as he had a Greek army of Olbiani and Mycenæi, who were settled in those parts by Hercules. But this may be considered as so much flattery to Juba,[128] of all kings the most devoted to historical inquiry; for they say that Juba's ancestors were the descendants of Diodorus and Sophax. Sertorius, now completely victorious, did no wrong to those who were his suppliants and trusted to him, but he restored to them both property and cities and the administration, receiving only what was fair and just for them to offer.
X. While Sertorius was considering where he should betake himself to, the Lusitani sent ambassadors to invite him to be their leader; for they were much in want of a commander of great reputation and experience, to oppose the formidable power of the Romans, and Sertorius was the only man whom they would trust, as they knew his character from those who had been about him. Now it is said that Sertorius was a man who never yielded either to pleasure or to fear, and while he was naturally unmoved by danger, he could bear prosperity with moderation; in the open field he was equal to any general of his time in enterprise, and as to all military matters that required stealthy manœuvres, the taking advantage of strong positions and rapid movements, and also craft and deception, he was in the moment of need most cunning in device. In rewarding courage he was bountiful, and in punishing for offences he was merciful. And yet, in the last part of his life, his cruel and vindictive treatment of the hostages may be alleged as a proof that his temper was not naturally humane, but that he put on the appearance of mildness through calculation and as a matter of necessity, But it is my opinion that no fortune can ever change to the opposite character a virtue which is genuine and founded on principle; still it is not impossible that good intentions and good natural dispositions, when impaired by great misfortunes[129] contrary to desert, may together with the dæmon change their habit; and this I think was the case with Sertorius when fortune began to fail him; for as his circumstances became unfavourable, he became harsh to those who had done him wrong.
XI. However, he then set sail from Libya, at the invitation of the Lusitanians,[130] and got them into fighting condition, being immediately made commander with full powers, and he subjected the neighbouring parts of Iberia, most of which, indeed, voluntarily joined him, chiefly by reason of his mild treatment and his activity; but in some cases he availed himself of cunning to beguile and win over the people, the chief of which was in the affair of the deer, which was after this fashion: Spanos, a native, and one of those who lived on their lands, fell in with a deer[131] which had just brought forth a young one and was flying from the hunters; he missed taking the deer, but he followed the fawn, being struck with its unusual colour (it was completely white), and caught it. It happened that Sertorius was staying in those parts, and when people brought him as presents anything that they had got in hunting, or from their farms, he would readily receive it and make a liberal return to those who showed him such attentions.
Accordingly the man brought the fawn and gave it to Sertorius, who accepted the present. At first he took no particular pleasure in the animal, but in course of time, when he had made it so tame and familiar that it would come to him when he called it, accompany him in his walks, and cared not for a crowd and all the noise of the army, by degrees he began to give the thing a supernatural character, saying that the fawn was a gift from Artemis (Diana), and he gave out as a token of this that the fawn showed him many hidden things; for he knew that it is the nature of barbarians to be easily accessible to superstition. He also resorted to such tricks as these: whenever he had got secret information that the enemy had invaded any part of the country, or were attempting to draw any city away from him, he would pretend that the deer had spoken to him in his sleep, and bid him keep his troops in readiness; and, on the other hand, when he heard that his generals had got a victory, he would keep the messenger concealed, and bring forward the deer crowned with chaplets, as is usual on the occasion of good news, and tell his men to rejoice and sacrifice to the gods, as they would hear of some good luck.
XII. By these means he tamed the people, and had them more manageable for all purposes, as they believed they were led, not by the counsels of a foreigner, but by a deity, and facts also confirmed them in this opinion, inasmuch as the power of Sertorius increased beyond all expectation; for with the two thousand six hundred men whom he called Romans, and four thousand Lusitanian targetiers, and seven hundred horsemen, whom he joined to a motley band of seven hundred Libyans, who crossed over with him to Lusitania, he fought with four Roman generals, who had under them one hundred and twenty thousand foot soldiers, six thousand horsemen, two thousand bowmen and slingers, and cities innumerable, while he had only twenty cities in all under him.
But though so feeble and insignificant at first, he not only subdued great nations, and took many cities, but of the generals who were opposed to him he defeated Cotta[132] in a naval engagement in the channel near Mellaria;[133] he put to flight Fufidius,[134] the governor of Bætica, on the banks of the Bætis, with the slaughter of two thousand of his Roman soldiers; Lucius Domitius,[135] proconsul of the other Iberia,[136] was defeated by his quæstor; Thoranius, another of the commanders of Metellus, who was sent with a force, he destroyed; and on Metellus[137] himself, the greatest man among the Romans in his day, and of the highest repute, he inflicted several discomfitures, and brought him to such straits, that Lucius Manlius[138] came from Narbo,[139] in Gaul, to his relief, and Pompeius Magnus[140] was hastily despatched from Rome with an army; for Metellus was perplexed at having to deal with a daring man, who evaded all fighting in the open field, and could adapt himself to any circumstances by reason of the light and easy equipment and activity of his Iberian army; he who had been disciplined in regular battles fought by men in full armour and commanded a heavy immovable mass of men, who were excellently trained to thrust against their enemies, when they came to close quarters, and to strike them down, but unable to traverse mountains, to be kept always on the alert by the continual pursuing and retreating of light active men, and to endure hunger like them, and to live under the open sky without fire or tent.
XIII. Besides this, Metellus was now growing old, and after so many great battles was somewhat inclined to an easy and luxurious mode of life; and he was opposed to Sertorius, a man full of the vigour of mature age, whose body was wonderfully furnished with strength, activity, and power of endurance. He was never intoxicated with drink, even in his seasons of relaxation, and he was accustomed to bear great toil, long marches, and continued watchfulness, content with a little food of the meanest quality; and, inasmuch as he was always rambling about and hunting, when he had leisure, he became intimately acquainted with all the spots, both impracticable and practicable, which gave chance of escape if he had to fly, or opportunity of hemming in an enemy if he was in pursuit. Consequently, it happened that Metellus, being prevented from fighting, was damaged as much as men who are beaten in battle, and Sertorius by flying had all the advantage of the pursuer. He used to cut off the supplies of water, and check the foraging; and when Metellus was advancing Sertorius would get out of his way, and when he was encamped he would not let him rest; when Metellus was occupied with a siege, Sertorius would all at once show himself, and put Metellus in his turn in a state of blockade, owing to the want of the necessary supplies, so that the soldiers were quite wearied; and when Sertorius challenged Metellus to a single combat, the men cried out and bid him fight, as it would be a match between a general and a general, and a Roman and a Roman; and when Metellus declined, they jeered him. But he laughed at them, and he did right; for a general, as Theophrastus[141] said, should die the death of a general, not that of a common targetier. Metellus perceiving that the Langobritæ[142] assisted Sertorius in no small degree, and that their town could easily be taken, as it was ill supplied with water, for they had only one well in the city, and any one who blockaded the place would be master of the streams in the suburbs and near the walls, he advanced against the city, expecting to finish the siege in two days, as there was no water; and accordingly his soldiers received orders to take provisions with them for five days only. But Sertorius quickly coming to their aid, gave orders to fill two thousand skins with water, and he offered for each skin a considerable sum of money. Many Iberians and Moors volunteered for the service, and, selecting the men who were strong and light-footed, he sent them through the mountain parts, with orders, when they had delivered the skins to the people in the city, to bring out of the town all the useless people, that the water might last the longer for those who defended the place. When the news reached Metellus he was much annoyed, for his soldiers had already consumed their provisions; but he sent Aquinius,[143] at the head of six thousand men, to forage.
Sertorius got notice of this, and laid an ambush on the road of three thousand men who starting up out of a bushy ravine, fell on Aquinius as he was returning. Sertorius attacked in front and put the Romans to flight, killing some and taking others prisoners. Aquinius returned with the loss of both his armour and horse, and Metellus made a disgraceful retreat amidst the jeers of the Iberians.
XIV. By such acts as these Sertorius gained the admiration and love of the barbarians; and, by introducing among them the Roman armour, and discipline, and signals, he took away the frantic and brutal part of their courage, and transformed them from a huge band of robbers into an efficient regular army. Besides, he employed gold and silver unsparingly for the decoration of their helmets, and he ornamented their shields, and accustomed them to the use of flowered cloaks and tunics, and, by supplying them with money for such purposes, and entering into a kind of honourable rivalry with them, he made himself popular. But they were most gained by what he did for their children.
The youths of noblest birth he collected from the several nations at Osca,[144] a large city, and set over them teachers of Greek and Roman learning; and thus he really had them as hostages under the show of educating them, as if he intended to give them a share in the government and the administration when they attained to man's estate.
The fathers were wonderfully pleased at seeing their children dressed in robes with purple borders, and going so orderly to the schools of Sertorius, who paid for their education, and often had examinations into their proficiency, and gave rewards to the deserving, and presented them with golden ornaments for the neck, which the Romans call "bullæ."[145] It was an Iberian usage for those whose station was about the commander to die with him when he fell in battle, which the barbarians in those parts express by a term equivalent to the Greek "devotion."[146] Now only a few shield-bearers and companions followed the rest of the commanders; but many thousands followed Sertorius, and were devoted to die with him. It is said that, when the army of Sertorius was routed near a certain city and the enemy was pressing on them, the Iberians, careless about themselves, saved Sertorius, and, raising him on their shoulders, every one vying with the rest helped him to the walls; and when their general was secure they then betook themselves to flight, each as well as he could.
XV. Sertorius was not beloved by the Iberians only, but also by the soldiers of Italy, who served with him. When Perpenna Vento,[147] who belonged to the same party as Sertorius, had arrived in Iberia with much money and a large force, and had determined to carry on war against Metellus on his own account, his soldiers were dissatisfied, and there was much talk in the camp about Sertorius, to the great annoyance of Perpenna, who was proud of his noble family and his wealth. However, when the soldiers heard that Pompeius was crossing the Pyrenees, taking their arms and pulling up the standards, they assailed Perpenna with loud cries, and bade him lead them to