The Historians' History of the World 05 [The Roman Republic]

The Romans seemed unable to make head against the insurgents, till, in 101 B.C., M. Aquillius, the colleague of Marius in his fifth consulship, took the command. Meanwhile, Tryphon had died, and Athenion had become chief of the insurgents. Aquillius brought them to an engagement, in which he encountered the brave Athenion hand to hand. The consul was severely wounded, but the slave leader was killed. Aquillius remained as proconsul in Sicily for another year, in the course of which time he crushed the last embers of the war. After the fall of Athenion, the insurgents dwindled away to a band of one thousand desperate men commanded by one Satyrus, who at length surrendered to Aquillius, and were by him sent to Rome to serve as gladiators. The story of their end is very touching. Being brought out into the arena to fight with wild beasts, they slew one another at the foot of the altars which stood there; and Satyrus, being left alone, fell upon his own sword.

It is manifest, from the humanity and discipline observed by these unhappy men in their power, that their chiefs must have been originally men of station and education, reduced to slavery by the horrid practice of ancient warfare. The story of their death presents a picture not flattering to Roman civilisation.

Strict measures were adopted in Sicily to prevent a recurrence of these perils. It was made a standing order, confirmed by every successive prætor, that no slave should have a weapon in his possession. Nor was the ordinance suffered to remain a dead letter. Soon after, the prætor L. Domitius received a fine boar as a present. He inquired who had killed it. Finding that it was a slave employed as a shepherd, he summoned the man to his presence. The poor fellow came with alacrity, expecting a reward. The prætor asked him with what he had killed the animal; and finding that it was with a hunting-spear, he ordered the unfortunate wretch to be crucified. Such were the laws by which the masters of the world were obliged to maintain their power.b

FOOTNOTES

[82] [To this famous speech the historian Florusg retorts: “But if it had been purchasable, it had a purchaser in him, and since he did not escape, it will appear certain that it is not destined to perish.”]

[83] [Such is the story as told by Plutarch (Life of Marius). Ihnee (v, 109), commenting on “the nonsense and lies that disfigure this campaign,” which, he thinks, are traceable to Lutatius Catulus, and not to Sulla’s Memoirs, says: “It is difficult to conceive how such stuff could find its way into serious books of history.” To which it may be replied that if all “such stuff” were eliminated, the story of ancient history would take on quite too sober an aspect,—losing picturesqueness without always gaining authenticity. Strange things are done by men in real life; and the critic who rejects a tale simply because it tells of illogical actions is on very dangerous ground. Moreover, it will be noted that the most iconoclastic critics often give their sanction to incidents quite as improbable as others which they reject. Every intelligent reader is competent to draw his own conclusions as to the probabilities involved in these picturesque tales; but one cannot too often be reminded that pure invention is the rarest of human accomplishments. It is easy to pervert or exaggerate; but it is extremely difficult to create a truly novel situation, or to invent for mankind more incongruous actions than are spontaneously blundered into in actual life. It may well be doubted, then, that any Roman would ever have linked the Cimbrian warriors together in imagination unless those warriors had done something suggestive of this strange expedient. But, on the other hand, when we are told, e.g., that after the “greater part of the Cimbrians were killed,” 60,000 survived to be sold into slavery, the scepticism which is disposed to make the mental reservation of a cipher or two may perhaps be pardoned.]

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