Plutarch: Lives of the noble Grecians and Romans
who praise Alexander's enterprise and blame that of Crassus,
judge of the beginning unfairly by the results.
In actual service, Nicias did much that deserves high praise.
He frequently defeated the enemy in battle, and was on the very
point of capturing Syracuse; nor should he bear the whole blame
of the disaster, which may fairly be ascribed in part to his
want of health and to the jealousy entertained of him at home.
Crassus, on the other hand, committed so many errors as not to
leave fortune room to show him favor. It is no surprise to find
such imbecility fall a victim to the power of Parthia; the only
wonder is to see it prevailing over the wonted good-fortune of
Rome. One scrupulously observed, the other entirely slighted
the arts of divination; and as both equally perished, it is
difficult to see what inference we should draw. Yet the fault
of over-caution, supported by old and general opinion, better
deserves forgiveness than that of self-willed and lawless
transgression.
In his death, however, Crassus has the advantage, as he did not
surrender himself, nor submit to bondage, or let himself be
taken in by trickery, but was the victim only of the entreaties
of his friends and the perfidy of his enemies; whereas Nicias
enhanced the shame of his death by yielding himself up in the
hope of a disgraceful and inglorious escape.
SERTORIUS
It is no great wonder if in long process of time, while fortune
takes her course hither and thither, numerous coincidences
should spontaneously occur. If the number and variety of
subjects to be wrought upon be infinite, it is all the more
easy for fortune, with such an abundance of material, to effect
this similarity of results. Or if, on the other hand, events
are limited to the combinations of some finite number, then of
necessity the same must often recur, and in the same sequence.
There are people who take a pleasure in making collections of
all such fortuitous occurrences that they have heard or read
of, as look like works of a rational power and design; they
observe, for example, that two eminent persons, whose names
were Attis, the one a Syrian, the other of Arcadia, were both
slain by a wild boar; that of two whose names were Actaeon, the
one was torn in pieces by his dogs, the other by his lovers;
that of two famous Scipios, the one overthrew the Carthaginians
in war, the other totally ruined and destroyed them; the city
of Troy was the first time taken by Hercules for the horses
promised him by Laomedon, the second time by Agamemnon, by
means of the celebrated great wooden horse, and the third time
by Charidemus, by occasion of a horse falling down at the gate,
which hindered the Trojans, so that they could not shut them
soon enough; and of two cities which take their names from the
most agreeable odoriferous plants, Ios and Smyrna, the one from
a violet, the other from myrrh, the poet Homer is reported to
have been born in the one, and to have died in the other. And
so to these instances let us further add, that the most warlike
commanders, and most remarkable for exploits of skillful
stratagem, have had but one eye; as Philip, Antigonus,
Hannibal, and Sertorius, whose life and actions we describe at
present; of whom, indeed, we might truly say, that he was more
continent than Philip, more faithful to his friend than
Antigonus, and more merciful to his enemies than Hannibal; and
that for prudence and judgment he gave place to none of them,
but in fortune was inferior to them all. Yet though he had
continually in her a far more difficult adversary to contend
against than his open enemies, he nevertheless maintained his
ground, with the military skill of Metellus, the boldness of
Pompey, the success of Sylla, and the power of the Roman
people, all to be encountered by one who was a banished man and
a stranger at the head of a body of barbarians. Among Greek
commanders, Eumenes of Cardia may be best compared with him;
they were both of them men born for command, for warfare, and
for stratagem; both banished from their countries, and holding
command over strangers; both had fortune for their adversary,
in their last days so harshly so, that they were both betrayed
and murdered by those who served them, and with whom they had
formerly overcome their enemies.
Quintus Sertorius was of a noble family, born in the city of
Nursia, in the country of the Sabines; his father died when he
was young, and he was carefully and decently educated by his
mother, whose name was Rhea, and whom he appears to have
extremely loved and honored. He paid some attention to the
study of oratory and pleading in his youth, and acquired some
reputation and influence in Rome by his eloquence; but the
splendor of his actions in arms, and his successful
achievements in the wars, drew off his ambition in that
direction.
At his first beginning, he served under Caepio, when the Cimbri
and Teutones invaded Gaul; where the Romans fighting
unsuccessfully, and being put to flight, he was wounded in many
parts of his body, and lost his horse, yet, nevertheless, swam
across the river Rhone in his armor, with his breastplate and
shield, bearing himself up against the violence of the current;
so strong and so well inured to hardship was his body.
The second time that the Cimbri and Teutones came down with
some hundreds of thousands, threatening death and destruction
to all, when it was no small piece of service for a Roman
soldier to keep his ranks and obey his commander, Sertorius
undertook, while Marius led the army, to spy out the enemy's
camp. Procuring a Celtic dress, and acquainting himself with
the ordinary expressions of their language requisite for common
intercourse, he threw himself in amongst the barbarians; where
having carefully seen with his own eyes, or having been fully
informed by persons upon the place of all their most important
concerns, he returned to Marius, from whose hands he received
the rewards of valor; and afterwards giving frequent proofs
both of conduct and courage in all the following war, he was
advanced to places of honor and trust under his general. After
the wars with the Cimbri and Teutones, he was sent into Spain,
having the command of a thousand men under Didius, the Roman
general, and wintered in the country of the Celtiberians, in
the city of Castulo, where the soldiers enjoying great plenty,
and growing insolent, and continually drinking, the inhabitants
despised them and sent for aid by night to the Gyrisoenians,
their near neighbors, who fell upon the Romans in their
lodgings and slew a great number of them. Sertorius, with a
few of his soldiers, made his way out, and rallying together
the rest who escaped, he marched round about the walls, and
finding the gate open, by which the Gyrisoenians had made their
secret entrance, he gave not them the same opportunity, but
placing a guard at the gate, and seizing upon all quarters of
the city, he slew all who were of age to bear arms, and then
ordering his soldiers to lay aside their weapons and put off
their own clothes, and put on the accoutrements of the
barbarians, he commanded them to follow him to the city, from
whence the men came who had made this night attack upon the
Romans. And thus deceiving the Gyrisoenians with the sight of
their own armor, he found the gates of their city open, and
took a great number prisoners, who came out thinking to meet
their friends and fellow-citizens come home from a successful
expedition. Most of them were thus slain by the Romans at
their own gates, and the rest within yielded up themselves and
were sold for slaves.
This action made Sertorius highly renowned throughout all
Spain, and as soon as he returned to Rome he was appointed
quaestor of Cisalpine Gaul, at a very seasonable moment for his
country, the Marsian war being on the point of breaking out.
Sertorius was ordered to raise soldiers and provide arms, which
he performed with a diligence and alacrity, so contrasting with
the feebleness and slothfulness of other officers of his age,
that he got the repute of a man whose life would be one of
action. Nor did he relinquish the part of a soldier, now that
he had arrived at the dignity of a commander, but performed
wonders with his own hands, and never sparing himself, but
exposing his body freely in all conflicts, he lost one of his
eyes. This he always esteemed an honor to him; observing that
others do not continually carry about with them the marks and
testimonies of their valor, but must often lay aside their
chains of gold, their spears and crowns; whereas his ensigns of
honor, and the manifestations of his courage always remained
with him, and those who beheld his misfortune, must at the same
time recognize his merits. The people also paid him the
respect he deserved, and when he came into the theater,
received him with plaudits and joyful acclamations, an honor
rarely bestowed even on persons of advanced standing and
established reputation. Yet, notwithstanding this popularity,
when he stood to be tribune of the people, he was disappointed,
and lost the place, being opposed by the party of Sylla, which
seems to have been the principal cause of his subsequent enmity
to Sylla.
After that Marius was overcome by Sylla and fled into Africa,
and Sylla had left Italy to go to the wars against Mithridates,
and of the two consuls Octavius and Cinna, Octavius remained
steadfast to the policy of Sylla, but Cinna, desirous of a new
revolution, attempted to recall the lost interest of Marius,
Sertorius joined Cinna's party, more particularly as he saw
that Octavius was not very capable, and was also suspicious of
anyone that was a friend to Marius. When a great battle was
fought between the two consuls in the forum, Octavius overcame,
and Cinna and Sertorius, having lost not less than ten
thousand men, left the city, and gaining over most part of the
troops who were dispersed about and remained still in many
parts of Italy, they in a short time mustered up a force
against Octavius sufficient to give him battle again, and
Marius, also, now coming by sea out of Africa, proffered
himself to serve under Cinna, as a private soldier under his
consul and commander.
Most were for the immediate reception of Marius, but Sertorius
openly declared against it, whether he thought that Cinna would
not now pay as much attention to himself, when a man of higher
military repute was present, or feared that the violence of
Marius would bring all things to confusion, by his boundless
wrath and vengeance after victory. He insisted upon it with
Cinna that they were already victorious, that there remained
little to be done, and that, if they admitted Marius, he would
deprive them of the glory and advantage of the war, as there
was no man less easy to deal with, or less to be trusted in, as
a partner in power. Cinna answered, that Sertorius rightly
judged the affair, but that he himself was at a loss, and
ashamed, and knew not how to reject him, after he had sent for
him to share in his fortunes. To which Sertorius immediately
replied, that he had thought that Marius came into Italy of his
own accord, and therefore had deliberated as to what might be
most expedient, but that Cinna ought not so much as to have
questioned whether he should accept him whom he had already
invited, but should have honorably received and employed him,
for his word once past left no room for debate. Thus Marius
being sent for by Cinna, and their forces being divided into
three parts, under Cinna, Marius, and Sertorius, the war was
brought to a successful conclusion; but those about Cinna and
Marius committing all manner of insolence and cruelty, made the
Romans think the evils of war a golden time in comparison. On