29.1
On his arrival in Sicily
Scipio organised the volunteers into maniples and centuries, and selected
three hundred of the most robust and active whom he kept about his person.
They did not carry arms, and did not know why they were unarmed, and why
they were not included in the centuries. Then he picked out of the whole
military population of Sicily three hundred of the noblest and wealthiest and
formed them into a cavalry corps to take with him into Africa. He fixed a
day on which they were to present themselves fully equipped with horses and
arms. The prospect of a campaign far from home with its many toils and
great dangers both by land and sea appalled the young fellows as well as
their parents and relations. When the appointed day arrived they all appeared
fully armed and accounted. Scipio then told them that it had come to his
knowledge that some of the Sicilian cavalry were looking forward with
dread to their expedition as one full of difficulties and hardships. If any of
them felt like that he would rather that they owned it at once than that the
republic should have reluctant and inefficient soldiers who were always
grumbling. They should speak out their mind, he would listen to them
without any feeling of resentment. One of them ventured to say that if he
were free to choose he would rather not go, whereupon Scipio replied:
"Since, young man, you have not concealed your real sentiments I will
provide a substitute for you; you will give up to him your horse and your
arms and other military outfit and take him with you at once to train him and
instruct him in the management of a horse and the use of arms." The man
was delighted to get off on these terms and Scipio handed over to him one of
the three hundred whom he was keeping unarmed. When the others saw the
trooper exempted in this way with the commander's approval they, every one
of them, excused themselves and accepted a substitute. By this means the
Romans replaced the three hundred Sicilian cavalry without any expense to
the State. The Sicilians had all the care of their training, for the general's
orders were that any one who did not carry this out would have to go on
active service himself. It is said that this turned out a splendid squadron of
cavalry and did good work for the republic in many battles.
Then he inspected the legions and picked out the men who had seen
most service, particularly those who had been under Marcellus, as he
considered that these had been trained in the best school, and after their
protracted investment of Syracuse were thoroughly familiar with the
methods of attacking fortified places. In fact Scipio was not contemplating
any small operations, he had already fixed his mind on the capture and
destruction of Carthage. He then distributed his army amongst the fortified
towns and ordered the Sicilians to supply corn, thus husbanding what had
been brought from Italy. The old ships were refitted and C. Laelius was sent
with them to plunder the African coast; the new ones he beached at
Panormus, as owing to their hasty construction they had been built of
unseasoned wood and he wished them to be on dry land through the winter.
When his preparations for war were completed, Scipio visited Syracuse. This
city had not yet recovered its tranquillity after the violent convulsions of the
war. Certain men of Italian nationality had seized the property of some
Syracusans at the time of the capture, and though the senate had ordered its
restitution they still retained it. After making fruitless efforts to recover it,
the Greeks came to Scipio for redress. He felt that confidence in the honesty
of the government was of the very first importance, and by issuing a
proclamation and pronouncing judgment against those who persisted in
keeping possession he succeeded in restoring their property to the
Syracusans. This action on his part was gratefully appreciated not only by
the owners themselves but by all the cities of Sicily, and they exerted
themselves more than ever to assist him.
During this summer an extensive war broke out in Spain at the
instigation of Indibilis, whose sole motive was his intense admiration for
Scipio which made him think lightly of other commanders. The people
looked upon him as the only general the Romans had left to them, all the
others having been killed by Hannibal. Indibilis told the Spaniards that it was
owing to this there was no one else who could be sent to Spain after the two
Scipios were killed, and when the war began to press more heavily on Italy
he was recalled home as the only man who could oppose Hannibal. The
Roman generals in Spain were nothing but names and the veteran army had
been withdrawn; now there was confusion everywhere, and an untrained
mob of raw recruits. Never again would Spain have such a chance of
recovering its liberty. Up to that time it had been in bondage to either the
Romans or the Carthaginians, nor always to one alone, occasionally to both
at the same time. The Carthaginians had been expelled by the Romans, the
Romans could be expelled by the Spaniards if they were unanimous, and then
with their country freed for ever from foreign domination they could return
to the traditions and rites of their forefathers. By arguments of this kind he
succeeded in rousing his own people and their neighbours, the Ausetani.
Other tribes round joined them and in a few days 30,000 infantry and about
4000 cavalry mustered in the Sedetanian territory, the appointed rendezvous.