SECTION II. It is a vain attempt To bind th' ambitious and unjust by treaties; They blush not in the face of heaven to break them. 2. Quag'mire, s. a bog, a deep miry place. 4. Cim'brian, s. a native of Cimbria, now Denmark. Presump'tion, s. great boldness. 6. Præ'tor, s. the governor of a province. 9. Inhos'pitable, a. unkind to strangers, unfriendly. 12. Obnox'ious, a. offensive, disagreeable. 13. Propi'tiate, v. to soften, to subdue. 14. Sa'tiated, v. satisfied, glutted. Ab'rogated, v. repealed, annulled. 19. Suspen'sion, s. a cessation, or laying aside for a time. 1. SYLLA now finding himself master of the city, began by modelling the laws so as to favour his outrages; while Ma'rius, driven out of Rome, and declared a public enemy, at the age of seventy, was obliged to save himself, unattended and on foot, from the pursuit of those who sought his life'. 2. After having wandered for some time in this deplorable condition, he found every day his dangers increase, and his pursuers making nearer advances. In this distress he concealed himself in the marshes of Mintur"næ2, where he continued a night up to the chin in a quagmire. 3. At break of day he left this dismal place, and made towards the sea-side, in hopes of finding a ship to facilitate his escape; but being known and discovered by 1 Sulpicius, the colleague of Ma'rius, being betrayed by one of his slaves, had his head struck off, and fixed on a stake over against the rostra. The treacherous slave was rewarded with his freedom and a sum of money, and then thrown headlong from the Tarpe'ian rock. (Valerius Maximus.) 2 A town of Campa'nia, between Sinues'sa and For'miæ. (Strabo.) some of the inhabitants, he was conducted to a neighbouring town, with a halter round his neck, without clothes, and covered with mud; and in this condition was sent to prison. 4. The governor of the place, willing to conform to the orders of the senate, soon after sent a Cim'brian slave to dispatch him; but the barbarian no sooner entered the dungeon for this purpose than he stopped short, intimidated by the dreadful visage and awful voice of the fallen general, who sternly demanded if he had the presumption to kill Cai'us Ma'rius? The slave, unable to reply, threw down his sword, and rushing back from the prison, cried out, that he found it impossible to kill him! 5. The governor, considering the fear of the slave as an omen in the unhappy exile's favour, gave him his freedom; and, commending him to his fortune, provided him with a ship to convey him from Italy. 6. He was forced by a tempest on the coast of Sicily. A Roman quæstor, who happened to be there, resolved to seize him; and he lost sixteen of his crew, who were killed in their endeavours to cover his retreat to the ship. He afterwards landed in Africa, near Carthage, and, overwhelmed with melancholy, sat himself down amongst the ruins of that desolate place. He soon, however, had orders from the prætor to retire. 7. Ma'rius, who remembered his having once served this very man in necessity, could not suppress his indignation at finding ingratitude every where; and, preparing to obey, bid the messenger tell his master, that he had seen Ma'rius sitting among the ruins of Carthage; intimating the greatness of his fall, by the desolation that was around him. 8. He once more embarked, and not knowing where to land without encountering an enemy, he spent the winter at sea, expecting every hour the return of a messenger from his son, whom he had sent to solicit protection from the African prince Mandras'tal. 9. After long expectation, instead of the messenger, his son himself arrived, having escaped from the inhospitable court of that monarch, where he had been kept, not as a friend, but as a prisoner, and had returned just time enough to prevent his father from sharing the same fate. 10. In this situation they were informed that Cinna, one of their party who had remained at Rome, had put himself at the head of a large army, collected out of the Italian states, who had espoused his cause. Nor was it long before they joined their forces at the gates of Rome. Sylla was at that time absent conducting the war against Mithridates. 11. Cinna marched into the city; but Ma'rius stopped, and refused to enter, alleging, that having been banished by a public decree, it was necessary to have another to authorize his return'. It was thus that he desired to give his meditated cruelties the appearance of justice; and while he was about to destroy thousands, to pretend an implicit veneration for the laws. 12. An assembly of the people being called, they began to reverse his banishment; but they had scarcely gone through three of the tribes, when, incapable of restraining his desire of revenge, he entered the city at the head of his guards, and massacred all who had been obnoxious to him, without remorse or pity. 13. Several who sought to propitiate the tyrant's rage, were murdered by his command in his presence: many even of those who had never offended him were put to death; and, at last, even his own officers never approached him but with terror. 14. Having in this manner satiated his revenge, he next abrogated all the laws which were enacted by 1 With an affectation of the greatest humility he wore only an old and tattered dress, suffering his hair and beard to continue rough and uncombed; and walked with a slow pace, like a man oppressed with his misfortunes; but under the disguise of that mournful countenance, something so fierce appeared in his looks, that he inspired terror rather than compassion. (Plutarch in Mario.) 2 He gave his guards an order, that whoever came to salute him, and was not answered with the like civility, should be immediately massacred. (Plut. in Mario.) Many who came to make their court to the tyrant were thus cut in pieces. 15. his rival, and then made himself consul with Cinna. Thus gratified in his two favourite passions, vengeance and ambition, having once saved his country, and now deluged it with blood; at last, as if willing to crown the pile of slaughter which he had made, with his own body, he died the month after, not without suspicion of having hastened his end. 16. In the mean time these accounts were brought to Sylla, who had been sent against Mithrida'tes, and who was performing many signal exploits against him; hastily concluding a peace, therefore, he returned home to take vengeance on his enemies at Rome. 17. Nothing could intimidate Cinna from attempting to repel his opponent'. Being joined by Car'bo, (now elected in the room of Vale'rius, who had been slain) together with young Ma'rius, who inherited all the abilities and the ambition of his father, he determined to send over part of the forces he had raised in Dalma'tia to oppose Sylla before he entered Italy. Some troops were accordingly embarked; but being dispersed by a storm, the others that had not yet put to sea, absolutely refused to go. 18. Upon this, Cinna, quite furious at their disobedience, rushed forward to persuade them to their duty. In the mean time one of the most mutinous of the soldiers being struck by an officer, returned the blow, and was apprehended for his crime. This ill-timed severity produced a tumult and a mutiny through the whole army; and, while Cinna did all he could to appease it, he was run through the body by one of the crowd. 19. Scipio, the consul, who commanded against Sylla, was soon after allured by proposals for a treaty; but a suspension of arms being agreed upon, Sylla's soldiers went into the opposite camp, displaying those riches which they 1 To strengthen his interest, he married his daughter Cornelia about this time to Julius Cæsar, whose abilities were conspicuous even in his youth. had acquired in their expeditions, and offering to participate with their fellow-citizens, in case they changed their party. 20. In consequence of this the whole army declared unanimously for Sylla; and Scip'io scarcely knew that he was forsaken and deposed, till he was informed of it by a party of the enemy, who, entering his tent, made him and his son prisoners. 21. In this manner both factions, exasperated to the highest degree, and expecting no mercy on either part, gave vent to their fury in several engagements. The forces on the side of young Ma'rius, who now succeeded his father in command, were the most numerous, but those of Sylla better united, and more under subordination. 22. Carbo, who commanded for Ma'rius in the field, sent eight legions to Prænes'te, to relieve his colleague, but they were met by Pompey, afterwards surnamed the Great, in a defile, who slew many of them, and dispersed the rest. Carbo soon after engaged Metellus, but was overcome, with the loss of ten thousand slain, and six thousand taken prisoners'. 23. In consequence, Urba'nus, one of the consuls, killed himself, and Carbo fled to Africa, where, after wandering a long time, he was at last delivered up to Pompey, who, to please Sylla, ordered him to be beheaded 2. 24. Sylla, now become undisputed master of his country, entered Rome at the head of his army. Happy, had he supported in peace the glory which he had acquired in war ; or, had he ceased to live when he ceased to conquer ! 25. Eight thousand men, who had escaped the general carnage, surrendered themselves to the conqueror; he ordered them to be put into the Villa Pub'lica, a large 1 The news of this defeat so exasperated young Ma'rius, that he sent orders to Ju'nius Bru'tus, then prætor at Rome, to put all Sylla's friends to death. (Appian.) This order was executed with the utmost cruelty, and probably contributed to those dreadful scenes of carnage which soon after followed. 2 Young Ma'rius destroyed himself. and his head was afterwards, by Sylla's order, exposed in the forum |