29.24
Furnished with these instructions the
king's envoys repaired to Syracuse to interview Scipio. He recognised that
he was deprived of the valuable support which he had hoped for in his
African campaign, but he decided to send the envoys back at once before
their mission became generally known. He gave them a letter for the king in
which he reminded him of the personal ties between them, and the alliance he
had formed with Rome, and solemnly warned him against breaking those ties
or violating the solemn engagements he had undertaken, and so offending
the gods who had witnessed and would avenge them. The visit of the
Numidians could not, however, be kept secret, for they strolled about the
city and were seen at headquarters, and there was a danger of the real object
of their visit becoming all the more widely known through the efforts made
to conceal it, and of the army being discouraged at the prospect of having to
fight the king and the Carthaginians at the same time. To prevent this Scipio
determined to keep them from the truth by preoccupying their minds with
falsehood. The troops were summoned to assembly and Scipio told them
that there must be no further delay. The friendly princes were urging him to
start for Africa as soon as possible; Masinissa himself had already gone to
Laelius to complain of the way in which time was being wasted, and now
Syphax had sent envoys to express his surprise at the delay and to demand
that the army should be sent to Africa or, if there was a change of plan, that
he should be informed of it in order that he might take measures to safeguard
himself and his kingdom. As therefore all the preparations were completed
and circumstances did not admit of any further delay, it was his intention to
order the fleet to Lilybaeum, to muster the whole of his infantry and cavalry
there and on the very first day which promised a favourable voyage set sail,
with the blessing of heaven, for Africa. He then wrote to M. Pomponius
requesting him, if he thought it advisable, to come to Lilybaeum that they
might consult together as to what legions should be selected and what ought
to be the total strength of the invading force. Orders were also sent all round
the coast for every transport vessel to be requisitioned and brought to
Lilybaeum. When the whole of the military and naval forces in Sicily were
assembled there, the town could not afford accommodation for all the men,
nor could the harbour hold all the ships, and such enthusiasm prevailed in all
ranks that it seemed as though instead of marching to war they were to reap
the fruits of a victory already won. This was particularly the case with the
survivors of Cannae, who felt quite certain that under no other leader would
they be able to do such service for the commonwealth as would put an end
to their ignominious condition. Scipio was far from despising these men, he
was quite aware that the defeat at Cannae was not brought about by any
cowardice on their part, and he knew, too, that there were no soldiers in the
Roman army who had had such a long experience in every kind of fighting,
and in the conduct of sieges. They formed the fifth and sixth legions. After
announcing to them that he would take them with him to Africa, he
inspected them man by man, and those whom he did not consider suitable he
left behind, replacing them from the men whom he had brought from Italy. In
this way he brought up the strength of each legion to 6200 men and 300
cavalry. He selected the Latin contingent also, both horse and foot, out of
the army of Cannae.