22.58
After
his great success at Cannae, Hannibal made his arrangements more as though
his victory were a complete and decisive one than as if the war were still
going on. The prisoners were brought before him and separated into two
groups; the allies were treated as they had been at the Trebia and at
Trasumennus, after some kind words they were dismissed without ransom;
the Romans, too, were treated as they had never been before, for when they
appeared before him he addressed them in quite a friendly way. He had no
deadly feud, he told them, with Rome, all he was fighting for was his
country's honour as a sovereign power. His fathers had yielded to Roman
courage, his one object now was that the Romans should yield to his good
fortune and courage. He now gave the prisoners permission to ransom
themselves; each horseman at 500 "chariot pieces" and each foot-soldier at
300, and the slaves at 100 per head. This was somewhat more than the
cavalry had agreed to when they surrendered, but they were only too glad to
accept any terms. It was settled that they should elect ten of their number to
go to the senate at Rome, and the only guarantee required was that they
should take an oath to return. They were accompanied by Carthalo, a
Carthaginian noble, who was to sound the feelings of the senators, and if
they were inclined towards peace he was to propose terms. When the
delegates had left the camp, one of them, a man of an utterly un-Roman
temper, returned to the camp, as if he had forgotten something, and in this
way hoped to free himself from his oath. He rejoined his comrades before
nightfall. When it was announced that the party were on their way to Rome a
lictor was despatched to meet Carthalo and order him in the name of the
Dictator to quit the territory of Rome before night.
