the rulers, of the Commonwealth. His bribes, unspared, yet not misplaced, were quite as efficacious against them as their arms had been against their former foes; and though the rich and the noble were arraigned in Rome for having yielded, Jugurtha, who came, under promise of safe-conduct, to give his tes timony against them, could exclaim that the city was sure to perish as soon as it found a purchaser.23 After many shameful reverses, in consequence of the baits which the Numidian still threw before his pursuers, the command of the army sent out against him was given to Quintus Cæcilius Metellus, then just elected Consul,24 than whom there was none among the aristocracy more distinguished for integrity, the quality most wanting to the successful prosecution of the war. It is an indication of the military repute in which Marius was held, that Metellus chose him, at such a crisis, for his lieutenant. The appointment may also prove that the breach between the Metelli and their early favorite, perhaps between him and the whole aristocracy, had been repaired, not, indeed, in consequence of his marriage so much as because the indifference of the people had left him less dangerous in aspect towards the upper classes. However this may have been, Marius appears to have gone forth from Rome with ardent resolution, for his own sake or for that of the Commonwealth, to assist Metellus

23 Liv., Epit. LXIV. Sall., probably the cousin of him who Jug., 35. aided Marius in obtaining the tribuneship.

24 A. C. 109. The war had begun in 111. This Metellus was

in bringing the war with the wily and the daring Numidian to an instant close.

But though Metellus kept his command for two years and gained some great victories, the enemy was far from being subdued. The same protection he had found in the corruptibility of the Romans was now afforded him by the dissensions existing between their leaders; and when Marius succeeded, after long and bitter controversy with his general, in returning home, to sue for the consulship and the command of the war, in which he had gained greater renown amongst the soldiers than his superior, the opposition of the aristocracy and the lukewarmness of the people were alike overborne by the promises he made, that he would "either kill Jugurtha or take him prisoner." 25 It was the unwillingness of all classes to hear more of a contest too long protracted, that smoothed the way of the soldier and the unpopular magistrate to the highest office in their gift; and if somewhat too much stress appear to be laid upon Marius's illreport as a citizen, in comparison with his goodreport as a soldier, it must be remembered that in this is our best means of judging, not only him, but his fellow-countrymen, under the natural influences of all their warfare.

In regard to merely military qualities, the great soldier was much the same in one as in another cen

25 Plut., Mar., 8. This was at the end of A. C. 108. "Irrupit magis in curiam quam venit." Val. Max., VI. 9. 14. "Perculsa nobili

tate, post multas tempestates, novo homini consulatus mandatur." Sall., Jug., 73.

tury of the Commonwealth, at least from the period in which the legion was introduced as the common mould of Roman discipline; and though the armies were differently recruited, almost from year to year, the requisites and the tactics of their leaders did not essentially vary from the days of Valerius Corvus to those of Cæsar. But the towering zeal for the public service by which the hero of the earlier ages was inspired dwindled, as we have already had occasion to observe, often to the party spirit, and sometimes to the self-conceitedness, of those who won their triumphs on the later battle-fields; and so wide is the separation in this view between the generals of various periods, that the connected analysis of the motives with which they went to war would guide us far❤ through the labyrinth of Roman history. For, from first to last, as scarcely need be said, the mighty in war were the mighty also in peace at Rome.

The time has come when much of the restraint hitherto imposed upon the ambition of the military chieftain was shaken off; and from the election of Caius Marius to the consulship we shall behold repeated scenes in which such conduct as that of Scipio will lead to far more general sorrows than the exile of the single offender.

"I know," as Marius is reported to have said before the people, soon after his election, "I know that the eyes of all are turned upon me. The good and the just are on my side, for my services are plain to them; but the nobility wait a chance of attacking me; and I have the more to do, that ye may not be

injured, and that they may seek in vain to injure me. But compare me, Romans, compare me, the new man, with the arrogance in them. What they are wont to hear or read, I have seen or done; what they have learned in books, I have learned in war. Think now, yourselves, whether deeds or words be of greater value. These men, I tell you, despise my want of birth; I despise their want of soul. They upbraid me with my rank; I upbraid them with their shame. They envy me, too, my honors; but let them likewise envy me my labors, my virtues, and my perils, since it is through these that I have risen to honor. I have no images, no triumphs, no ancestral consulships to parade before you; but if need be, I can show you spears, banners, trappings, and other rewards I have gained in service, besides my wounds. Such are my images, such is my nobility, not, indeed, bequeathed like the heritage of my foes, but won through suffering and danger. I cannot speak in highflown words. But I can wound an enemy or mount a guard; I can face every thing but evil report; and I can bear summer and winter, fatigue and want, with equal fortitude. . . . . And now that I have said this," he continued, “let me say something concerning the Commonwealth."

.....

If the character attributed to Marius in the foregoing pages has been sketched with any sort of distinctness, the reader will not be surprised by the spirit of the preceding language, or by the patriotism in the concluding part of the harangue. But to understand his tone "concerning the Commonwealth," he must

be seen as he stood, a man of fifty years, rugged in feature and in tongue, proud in himself and bitter against his adversaries, with scarce a friendly feeling towards any but his warmest partisans or bravest fellow-soldiers. "Concerning the Commonwealth, then," he added, "be of good cheer about Numidia. Ye yourselves have put to rout the avarice, the ignorance, and the haughtiness, in which Jugurtha has hitherto found protection amongst you. And now do ye, who are of age, give me your aid, and I will be, not only your leader, but your comrade. I would say more, if words could add valor to the timid; but I think I have said more than enough for the brave." "26 The liberty of the Commonwealth, to which this kind of support alone was promised by its Consul, is to be computed according to the general principles already alleged in introducing the successor of the Gracchi.

With new forces, principally raised from the lowest and the poorest classes, besides whom there were few Romans or even Italians to enter upon military service, Marius hastened to Numidia, where he took the army of Metellus under his command, and immediately began his operations against the enemy. The Numidians feared him as more than mortal,27 says the historian; and in presence of their dread, the confidence of his own soldiers, with whom he shared both toils and prizes,29 as he had promised, like a

26 See the whole speech as reported or composed by Sallust in his Jug., 85, and compare Plut., Mar.,

9.

VOL. II.

36

27 Sall., Jug., 92.

28 Ibid., 87. See the description of Marius as the general, Capp. 87, 100.