The historie of tvvo the moste noble capitaines of the worlde, Anniball and Scipio of theyr dyuers battailes and victories, excedyng profitable to reade, gathered and translated into Englishe, out of Titus Liuius, and other authoures, by Antonye Cope esquier.

¶ Howe both the armies of Rome and Carthage approched, and the oration that P. C. Scipio the consul made to ••ncou∣rage his men to fyght. Capit. x. (Book 10)

AT Anniballes commynge to those parties, he found moch for his purpose, the Taurines and Insubres warryng one agaynste the other, but he coulde not arme his hoste to helpe the one parte, for their bodies were so wery of labour, theyr clothes so foule and fylthy, that some de∣syred to rest after theyr trauaile, some sought for vitayles af∣ter theyr hunger, some taried to chaunge their apparayle and make cleane theyr garmentes: they were so soore handled in passynge the mountaynes. Which thyng P. Cornelius Sci∣pio the consull perceyued well, and that caused hym to make the more spede with his army to the ryuer of Padus, that he myght fight with them er they were refreshed of theyr great labour, or could haue time to furnishe their army. Scipio had receiued of Manlius and Attilius, an host of newe souldiors, not moch exercised in warres, and such as were straungers to him. Whan he was come to Placentia, Annibal was remoued and had taken and destroied the chiefe citie of the Taurines, bycause they wold not willyngly yelde them: and had wonne to his amitie all the dwellers about Padus, had not the com∣ming of the consull feared them. By that tyme that Anniball was a litel remoued from the Taurines, the two hostes were almost mette, and also the capitaynes. And as nother of them was as than knowen to the other, so they were stryken with a certayne admiration the one of the other. For Anniball, by the wynning of Sagunt was drad of the Romayns: and like wyse he supposed Scipio to be of no lesse fame and worthy∣nesse, for that he was chosen of the Romayns to be capytayn agaynst hym. Than Scipio passed ouer Padus, and remoued his campe to a ryuer called Ticinus: Where before he wold gyue battayle, to exhorte and encourage his men, this he be∣gan his oration vnto them.

¶ If I had (louyng souldiours) the same armye, that I had in Fraunce with me, I wolde not speake vnto you that, which I intende at this present tyme to say. For what shuld it nede to stere and incourage those horsemen, whyche at the ryuer

of Rhodanus soo valyantly ouerthrewe theyr ennemies: or those legions, with whom I folowed this our fugitiue enne∣mye. Nowe for bycause that hoste was sent by the senate of Rome into Spayne, there to make warre vnder my brother Cneius Scipio, to the intent you shulde haue bothe a consull and capitayne agaynste Anniball and the Carthaginenses, I wyllyngly toke vpon me this warre. A newe capitayn to new souldiours shuld vse fewe wordes. Notwithstandyng lest ye shulde be ignorant in this kind of warre, and not knowe with whome ye shall fyght: ye shall vnderstand, that with these ye shall haue a do, whom in your laste warres, ye subdued bothe by lande and sea, of whom ye toke truage perforce the space of twenty yeres: from whom also you wonne Sardinia and Sicilia as a prey of warre. Therfore in this battayle ye must haue the same hartes and myndes, that is wont to be in con∣querours: and in your ennemies muste nedes be suche hartes as happen to men ouercome. And they do not now gyue ba∣tayle of theyr owne hardynesse and courage, but bicause they can not chose: onelesse you thynke, that they, which hauyng theyr hole army freshe and lusty, withdrewe them and durste not encounter with vs in battayle beyonde the mountaynes, and whyche loste two partes bothe of horsemen and foote∣men in passynge ouer the same mountaynes: shulde haue nowe more hope and trust than before. And those fewe that be left of them, haue loste both hartes and strength: so that they are nowe ymages, yea rather shadowes of men, than men in dede beinge clonged together with hunger and colde, feynte and febled emonge the rocky hylles. Besydes this, theyr sy∣newes and veynes are shronke togyther with colde of the snowe, theyr membres wythered with froste and yse, theyr harnies shaken, rusty, and brokē, theyr horses feble and lame. With these enemies you must fyght, ye they ar the leuynges of your ennemies, and not your ennemies. And I feare no∣thynge more, than before you shall fyght with your foos, it shalbe thought, that the mountayns haue fyrst ouercome thē, and taken the honour from vs. But so it is perchance neces∣sary and mete, that the goddis without mans helpe, and with∣out battayle, shulde ouercome them, that are truce breakers. And we that be violated and disceyued, shulde next after the goddis (as theyr mynisters) bryng them to vtter confusyon.

Peraduenture many of you wyl suppose, that I speake these wordes proudly and hyghly, onely for your exhortation and comfort, and that I shulde thynke otherwise my selfe: Ther∣fore ye shall vnderstand, that I was sent into Spayn to myne owne prouince, whether I was nowe going with myne host, where I shulde haue vsed bothe the felowshyp and counsayle of my brother in all peryls and ieopardies, and shoulde haue fought rather with Hasdrubal being lesse of power, than with Hanniball: and so shuld I haue had lesse to do. Not withstan∣dyng whan I arriued with my shyppes beyonde the costeo of Fraunce, landyng I hearde great bruite of Anniball, and sen∣dyng a certayne horsemen before, pitched my tentes at Rho∣danus: and there my company ouerthrewe and put to flyghte those, with whom it was theyr chaunce to mete in battayle. Than bycause I could not with footemen ouertake myne en∣nemy, whiche fled before me, I returned to my shippes, and with as good spede as I could make, sayling a great compasse about, arriued here, to mete hym in the front of the mountai∣nes, to the intent to gyue hym battayle: And to proue whe∣ther the earthe hath brought forthe sodainly, within the space of these .xx. yeres, other Carthaginenses, than were wonte to be bredde there or no. For if these be of the kynd of them, that warred at the yles of Egates, I remembre welle, that they were sold from Erix for .xviii. d. a pece come who wold. Also I longe to proue, whether this Anniball be the folower of Hercules in his iourney, as he sayth that he is, orels a tri∣butary, a stipendary, and a seruaunt to the people of Rome, left by his father. We haue to shewe the bandes of truce, wri¦ten with the hande of his father Amilcar: who beinge com∣maunded by our capitayne, withdrewe his garrison from the citie of Erix, who lamentyng and frowning receiued the gre∣uous lawes made agaynst the Carthaginenses subdued, who couenanted with the Romayns to depart from Sicilia and to pay tribute. Therfore souldiours, I wolde haue you fyghte not onely with so good a courage as ye were wonte agaynste other ennemies, but also with suche an indignation and disple∣sure, as though you sawe your seruantes armed to fyght a∣gaynst you. We myght if we had wolde, whan they were in∣closed at Erix, with very hunger (the hardest and soorest pu∣nyshement amonge men) haue destroyed them. We might al∣labours

so (yf we had wolde) haue sayled with our victorious N••uye into Affrica, and it: short space with out battaile, vtterly haue destroyed Carthage. We pardoned theym, we made peace with them after they were subdued, and toke theym into our protection and defence whan they were sore greued with the warres of Affrike. And for these our benefites shewed vnto them, folowinge this furious yonge man, they come to con∣quere our countrey. And wolde to god this battayle nowe were for honour, and not for the healthe and safetie of vs all. We fyght not nowe for the possession of Sicilia and Sardi∣nia, for whiche we stro••e in tymes paste: but nowe we muste fyght for Italy. Nor there is none other armye behynde vs, which wil withstande them if we be ouerthrowen: Nother be there any mo mountaines, ouer which whiles they were pas∣syng, men might prouide newe succours. Here we must resist them euē as we shuld fight before the walles of Rome. Eue∣ry man must thinke that he with his armour couereth not and defendeth only his own body, but also his wife and small chil∣dren. Nor let no man care only for his owne house and family but let him likewise haue in minde, that the senate and people of Rome beholdeth this our conflict and battayle, and vppon our fortune at this present tyme dependeth the prosperitie o•• the citie and hole empyre of Rome.