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Show The Hf Booke ofvbefirst part Cuar.z$at, of vnqueftionable truth, That when aProconfull wasto be chofen for Spaine,there durft not any Captaine ofthe principal! Citizens offer himfelfe as Petitioner, for that honourable, but dangerous charge ; That the people of Rome were muchaftonithed thereat ; That whenthe day of Election came,all the Princes ofthe Citie ftood looking one atother in the face, notone of themhauing the heart,to aduenture himfelfein fach a defperate feruice ; and finally,Fhat this P. Cornelius Scipio, being then about foure and tiwentie yeeres of age,getting yp on an high place where he might be feen ofall the mul. titude,requefted, and obtained, that the Office might be conferred vpon him. If this weretrue, then were all the victories of L.Martius no better than'dreames : andeither very vnreafonable was the feare of all the Roman Captains,who durft not follow clay. dius Nero,that not long before was gone into Spain Propretor; orvery bad intelligence i they had out ofthe Prouince, which A/drabalthe Carthaginian, as we heard tuen now, was ready to abandon. But vponthefe incoherences, which finde in the two partiall Roman Hiftorians, I doe notwillingly infift. P.Scipio was {ent Proconfull into Spaine ; and with him was ioyned 4. fumias Syllanns, as Prépretor,and his Coadiutor. They carried with them ‘tenne thoufand foot, and a thoufand horfe,in thirty Quinguereme Gallies. With thefe they landed at Emporiz; and marched from thence to Tartacon alongftthe Sea-coaft.Atthe fame of Scipio's arriuall, itis faid,that Embaffages came to him apace from all quarters ofthe Prouince : which he entertained with fuch'a maieftie,as breda wonderfull opinion of him. Asforthee- Cwar3.§in. ofthe Hiftorie of the World, Scipio. This temperate eftimation of his new profeffed friendthip, was indeed no vafure token, thatit fhould belong-lafting, Butif the Ilergetes had long erethis( as wee haue heard before)forfakenthe Carthaginian party, and ftoutly held tliemfeluesas friends to Cu.Scipza , then could nothing haue bin deuifed morevaine,than this Oration of Indibjfstheir King , excufing,as new, his taking part withthe fame, when hee fhould haue rather craued pardonfor his breach of alliance, formerly contra@ted withthe Father and the Vncle. Moft likely, thereforeit is,that howfoeuer the two elder Scipio's had gotten fome few places among thefe their Neighbours, & heldthem by ftrength; yet were the Romansnetier mafters of the Countrie,tillthis worthy Commander, by recoucrifig their Hoftages from the Carthaginians,and by his great munificence in fending them home,won vnto himfelfe the aflured loue and affiftance of thefe Princes. The Carthaginian Getierals, when they heard of this loffe, were very forry : yet neuertheleffe they feta goodface ow the matter; faying, That a young man,hauing ftolnea Townebyfur- prife, wastoo farre tranfported, and ouer-ioyed, but that fhortly they would meet with him, and‘put himin minde of his Father and Vacle ; which would alterhis moode,and bring him to a more conuenient temper. NowifT fhould here interpofe mine owne conie@ure; I fhould be boldto fay, That the Carthaginians were ar this time bufie,in fetting forth towardItaly ; and that Scipio, to divert them, vader-tooke new Carthage,ashis Father and Vncle, vpon the like occa20 fion,fate downe before Ibera. And inthis re{pe&t I would fuppofe,that it had not been nemies, they were greatly affraid of him :'and fo much thegreater was their feare, by 20 muchamiffe, if the paffage ouer the Lake had beene vndifconered, and the Towne held howmuchthe leffe they couild giue any reafon of it. If we mutt beleeue this, thenmuft outfome longer while. For howfoeuer'that particular Action wasthe more fortunate; incomming to fuch goodiffue vpon thefirft day: yet inthe generality ofthe bufineffe, between Romeand Carthage, it was moreto be withed, that 4/drua/{hould be ftayed wenecdsbeleeite,thattheir feare was enenas greatas could be : ‘for very little canfe there was,to be terrified with the fame offo young aman, whichhad as yer performed nothing. Allthe Winter following ( or,as fomethinke, all the next yeare) hee didne- thing :but {pent thetime perhaps, as his foregoers had done; in treating with the Spaniards.His firft enterprize was againft new Carthage: vpon whiclr he came vnexpetted, With fiue and twenty thoufand foot, and twothoufand flue hundred horfe; his Sea for- ces coafting hin,and moderatingtheir'courfe in fuch wife, that they arrined theretogether with him, ‘Heaffailed the Towne' ‘by Land and'Sea; and wonneitbyaffault the firft day. The Carthaginians loft it, by theit too much confidence'vpon the ftrength of. it: which canfed them to man it more fletiderly, thati was requifite. Yet it might have beene well enough defended,if fome Fifher-men of'Tarraconhad not difcouered vate from going into Italy, than that halfe of Spaine fhould be taken from him. Whereas therefore he had nothing leftto doe,that fhould hinderhis iourney; Mago,and 4/drabal; thefonne of Ge/co, weréthought futhcientto hold Scipio worke, in that lingring warre oftaking and retaking Townes, whileftthe maine of the Carthaginian forces,vnder A/= arubalthe fon of Amtilcar;went toa greater enterprife : euen to fight intryall ofthe Empite. Butthe Roman Hiftorianstell this after another fafhion ; andiay, That 4/drubad Was beaten into Italy : whither he ran for feare, as thinking himfelfeill affured of the Spaniards,as long as they right but heare the nameofScipio. Scipio, fay they;comming Vpont4/ar#bal , his Vantcurters charged fo luftily the Carthaginian horfe, that they S¢ipio, a fecret paflage vnto the walles - whereof the'Town{menthemfelues wereeither fgaorant,orthought(at leaft )thar their enemies'could haue nonoti¢e. This Citie of dratiethem into their Trenchesi and madeit apparant, euen by that {mall peece of ferhice how fallof {piritthe Roman Amie was,and how deiected the Enemie.: 4/drubal thetefore by night retyred out of thateuen ground,and occupied an Hill, compaffed on mi-Tland, betweene an Hauenanda great'Lake. All the Wefterne fide ofthe walls, and fomewhat ofthe North,was fenced with this Lake: whichthe Fither-menof Tatracon three fides with the River, very fteepe ofafcent,and noteafie ofacceffe on the forefides new Carthage,tefembled theold and great Carthage in fituation ; ftanding vpon adehad founded;andfinding fomepart thereofa fhelfe, whereon at low water men might paffe knee-deep,or(at moft)wading vp to the Nauill, Scipio thruft therinto fome Com- peaks ofhis men; whorecouered the top of the walles without refiftance : the place 4 cing left without guard, as able to defend it felfe bythe natural! ftrength. Thefe fal- ling fuddenly vpon the backes ofthe Caithaginians within the Citie, eafily forced 4 an gaue free entranceto the Roman'Army, What booty was found withinthe Owne, Linie himfelfe cannotcertainly affirme; but is faineto fay, That fome Roman Hiftorianstold lies without meafure,in way ofamplification. Bythat final! proportion of riches,which was afterward catried by Scipio into the Roman Treafury,we may cafily Boast great a vanity it Was to fay; Thatall the wealth ofAftick & Spaine, W# caped vpin that one'Towneé, Buttherein were beftowedall the S panifh Hoftages: (oF at leaft oftheadieyning Prouinces)whom Seipio intreated with fingiilar courtefie;*. fforing them vnte their kindred and friends, in fuch gracious manner, as doubled the ' thankes due to fo greata benefit.Hereupona Pritice of the Celtiberians, and two pety Kings ofthe Ilergetes & Lacctani, neereft Neighbouisto Tarracon, and dwelliog °° theNorth-fide ofTbenus,forfook the Carthaginian party, & ioyned with the Romans The {peech of/#dibilis,King ofthe Tletgetes;is much commended + forthat he did vahnt himifeife,as Comonllyfiigitines vfe,ofthe pleafure which he did vnto the Romans, Imteuolting from their enemiessbut rather excufed this his changing fide,as being ther. tocompelled by iniuties ofthe Carthaginians, & inuited by the honourable ars by which himfelfe got vp,and wasto be followedby the Romans.Onthetop ofit there Was a Plaine; whercon he ftrongly encamped himfelfe : and in the mid-way, betweene 40 thetop and root ofthe Hill,was alfo another Plaine;into which he defcended,more vps On brauery,that he mightnot feemetohide himfelfe within the Trenches, than forthat hedutft aduenture his Army tothe hazzard ofabattaile,for which this was no equall Sround. But fuch aduantage ofplace could notfaue himfrom the Romans. They» clis ted vp the Hill to him ; they récouered euen footing with him; drouehim out of this lower Plaine,vpinto his Campe on the Hilltop: whither althoughthe afcent were vety difficulr; and his Elephants beftowedin the fmootheft places to hinder their approach; yetcompafling about,and feeking paflage where it was hardeftto be found;but much Moteftrongly breaking their way, where the Carthaginians: had got vp before them, they draue both Men'and Elephants head-long,Lknownor whither: foritis faidy that Jotherewasind way to fie Outof fucha battaile, wherein hee had loft eight:thoufand men, M/lrubal is {aid to haue efcapedyand gathering togetherhis difperfed troupes, to haue marchéd towardsthe Pyrenees,haning fentaway hisElephants cre the fight began. Neuertheleffe,a#ago,and Afdrubal che fonne ofGefco,are reportedafterthis,to haue confulted.with him about this Warresiand finally ro haue concluded, that: goe hee ncedes muft,were it butto cartyall thé Spaniards as faras might be, from the name of Sespio, owlikely this wasto hauebintrue, it fhall appeareat his combing into Italy ; whence thefe incoherent relations ofthe Spanithaffaires,hauctoo long detained:vs. §. XIL |
