32.3
After
despatching the necessary business in Rome the consuls left for their
respective provinces. On his arrival in Macedonia, P. Villius was confronted
by a serious mutiny amongst the troops, which had not been checked at the
beginning, though they had for some time been seething with irritation.
These were the 2000 who, after Hannibal's final defeat had been transferred
from Africa to Sicily and then in less than a year to Macedonia. They were
regarded as volunteers but they maintained that they had been taken there
without their consent, they had been placed on board by the tribunes in spite
of their protests. But in any case, whether their service was compulsory or
voluntary they claimed that they had served their time and that it was only
right that they should be discharged. They had not seen Italy for many years,
they had spent the best years of their life under arms in Sicily and Africa and
Macedonia, and now they were worn out with their toils and hardships, their
many wounds had drained their blood. The consul told them that if they
asked for their release in a proper way there was reasonable ground for
granting it, but that did not justify them nor would anything else justify them
in breaking out into mutiny. If therefore they were willing to remain with the
standards and obey orders he would write to the senate about disbanding
them. They would be much more likely to attain their object by moderation
than by contumacy.
