De Bello Catilinario et Jugurthino
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Caius Sallustii Crispi (Sallustius) >> De Bello Catilinario et Jugurthino
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26. Ea postquam Cirtae audita sunt, Italici, quorum virtute moenia
defensabantur, confisi deditione facta propter magnitudinem populi Romani
inviolatos sese fore, Adherbali suadent, uti seque et oppidum Jugurthae
tradat, tantum ab eo vitam paciscatur, de ceteris senatui curae fore. At
ille, tametsi omnia potiora fide Jugurthae rebatur,[162] tamen quia penes
eosdem, si adversaretur, cogendi potestas erat, ita, uti censuerant
Italici, deditionem facit. Jugurtha in primis Adherbalem excruciatum
necat, deinde omnes puberes Numidas atque negotiatores promiscue, uti
quisque armatis obvius fuerat, interficit.
[162] 'Although he considered everything else to be of more weight than
the faithfulness (promise) of Jugurtha.' The conquest of Cirta, and
the putting to death of Adherbal, belong to the year B. C. 112.
27. Quod postquam Romae cognitum est, et res in senatu agitari coepta,
iidem illi ministri regis interpellando[163] ac saepe gratia, interdum
jurgiis trahendo tempus, atrocitatem facti leniebant. Ac ni G. Memmius,
tribunus plebis designatus, vir acer et infestus potentiae nobilitatis,
populum Romanum edocuisset id agi, ut per paucos factiosos Jugurthae
scelus condonaretur, profecto omnis invidia prolatandis consultationibus
dilapsa foret: tanta vis gratiae atque pecuniae regis erat. Sed ubi
senatus delicti conscientia populum timet, lege Sempronia[164] provinciae
futuris consulibus Numidia atque Italia decretae; consules declarati P.
Scipio Nasica, L. Bestia Calpurnius; Calpurnio Numidia, Scipioni Italia
obvenit;[165] deinde exercitus, qui in Africam portaretur, scribitur;
stipendium aliaque, quae bello usui forent, decernuntur.
[163] _Interpellando_, 'by interrupting the speakers, and introducing
other topics.'
[164] By this law of the tribune G. Sempronius Gracchus, in the year
B. C. 122, it had been ordained that every year previous to the
election of the consuls for the next year, the senate should
determine those provinces which should be assigned to the consuls
about to be elected, after the expiration of the year of their
office. As two provinces were thus fixed upon, the consuls afterwards
determined by lot which should have the one, and which the other. The
object of this law was to prevent intrigues in the senate, which
would be carried on by the ruling consuls if they had to choose their
own provinces.
[165] _Obvenit_, 'fell to the lot.' Whenever Italy is called a province,
it is implied that the consul undertaking its administration was to
remain at Rome, and was to be ready for any other war which might
break out. For in the first place, there were now no wars in Italy,
and in the second place, Italy was not a province in the ordinary
sense of the term. The consuls here mentioned entered upon their
office on the 1st January, B. C. 111.
28. At Jugurtha, contra spem nuntio accepto, quippe cui Romae omnia venum
ire[166] in animo haeserat, filium et cum eo duos familiares ad senatum
legatos mittit, hisque ut illis, quos Hiempsale interfecto miserat,
praecipit, omnes mortales pecunia aggrediantur. Qui postquam Romam
adventabant,[167] senatus a Bestia consultus est, placeretne legatos
Jugurthae recipi moenibus; iique decrevere, nisi regnum ipsumque deditum
venissent, uti in diebus proximis decem[168] Italia decederent. Consul
Numidis ex senati decreto nuntiari jubet; ita infectis rebus illi domum
discedunt. Interim Calpurnius, parato exercitu, legat[169] sibi homines
nobiles, factiosos, quorum auctoritate, quae deliquisset, munita fore
sperabat; in quis fuit Scaurus, cujus de natura et habitu supra[170]
memoravimus. Nam in consule nostro multae bonaeque artes animi et
corporis erant, quas omnes avaritia praepediebat; patiens laborum, acri
ingenio, satis providens, belli haud ignarus, firmissimus contra pericula
et insidias. Sed legiones per Italiam Rhegium atque inde Siciliam,[171]
porro ex Sicilia in Africam transvectae. Igitur Calpurnius initio,
paratis commeatibus, acriter Numidiam ingressus est, multosque mortales
et urbes aliquot pugnando cepit.
[166] _Venum eo_, or contracted _veneo_, infinitive _venire_, 'to go to
be sold,' or 'to be sold;' the passive of _vendo_ (I sell) is not in
use. Zumpt, S 187.
[167] _Adventabant_, with the accusative, see Zumpt, S 489.
[168] _In diebus_, &c.; for _in_, with words denoting time, see Zumpt,
S 479. _Deditum_ is a supine.
[169] _Legare_ properly signifies 'to despatch,' and 'to add to;' whence
the word _legatus_ means both 'an ambassador,' and 'a person added
to an officer,' who, when necessary, supplies his place. See _Catil._
chap. 59. It was the business of the senate to supply such legates
to a magistrate (_senatus legat aliquem alicui_), but as this was
commonly done on the proposal or recommendation of the magistrate
himself, we also read _legat sibi_, 'he chooses some one to be his
legate.'
[170] _Supra_. See chap. 15.
[171] Respecting the omission of _in_ before _Siciliam_, see Zumpt,
S 398, note 1.
29. Sed ubi Jugurtha per legatos pecunia temptare bellique quod
administrabat asperitatem ostendere coepit, animus aeger avaritia[172]
facile conversus est. Ceterum socius et administer omnium consiliorum
assumitur Scaurus, qui tametsi a principio,[173] plerisque ex factione
ejus corruptis, acerrime regem impugnaverat, tamen magnitudine pecuniae a
bono honestoque in pravum abstractus est. Sed Jugurtha primo tantummodo
belli moram redimebat, existimans sese aliquid interim Romae pretio aut
gratia effecturum; postea vero quam participem negotii Scaurum accepit,
in maximam spem adductus recuperandae pacis, statuit cum eis de omnibus
pactionibus praesens agere. Ceterum interea fidei causa mittitur a
consule Sextius quaestor in oppidum Jugurthae Vagam,[174] cujus rei
species erat acceptio frumenti, quod Calpurnius palam legatis
imperaverat, quoniam deditionis mora induciae agitabantur.[175] Igitur
rex, uti constituerat, in castra venit, ac pauca praesenti consilio
locutus de invidia facti sui atque uti in deditionem acciperetur, reliqua
cum Bestia et Scauro secreta[176] transigit, dein postero die, quasi per
saturam sententiis exquisitis,[177] in deditionem accipitur. Sed uti pro
consilio[178] imperatum erat, elephanti triginta, pecus atque equi multi
cum parvo argenti pondere quaestori traduntur. Calpurnius Romam ad
magistratus rogandos[179] proficiscitur. In Numidia et exercitu nostro
pax agitabatur.
[172] _Aeger avaritia_, 'sick with avarice;' a very appropriate
expression, describing moral defects as a disease.
[173] _A principio_; that is, _in principio_. See Zumpt, S 304. The
faction of Scaurus is that of the nobility or aristocracy.
[174] _Vaga_, a considerable town in Numidia, to the south-east of Cirta.
[175] 'A truce was observed on account of (or during) the delay of the
surrender,' which Jugurtha had promised, but which could not yet be
carried into effect.
[176] _Secreta_ refers to _reliqua_, so that the other negotiations were
secret, whereas the proposal to surrender had been made in presence
of the war council. It would have been more in accordance with
ordinary usage to employ the adverb _secreto_ belonging to the verb.
[177] The opinions of the persons invited to the war council were asked
only _en masse (per saturam)_. The Latin expression is taken from
_lanx satura_, a dish offered as a sacrifice to the gods, and
containing different kinds of fruit. Its figurative application to
other mixtures is here indicated by _quasi_.
[178] _Pro consilio_; that is, _in consilio_. See Zumpt, S 311.
[179] To cause the magistrates for the year B.C. 110 to be elected.
The president in the elective assembly _rogat populum_ (requests the
people) to appoint new officers; hence _rogare_, the usual term.
30. Postquam res in Africa gestas quoque modo actae forent fama
divulgavit, Romae per omnes locos et conventus de facto consulis agitari.
Apud plebem gravis invidia, patres solliciti erant; probarentne tantum
flagitium, an decretum consulis subverterent, parum constabat.[180] Ac
maxime eos potentia Scauri, quod is auctor et socius Bestiae ferebatur, a
vero bonoque impediebat. At G. Memmius, cujus de libertate ingenii et
odio potentiae nobilitatis supra diximus, inter dubitationem et moras
senatus contionibus populum ad vindicandum hortari, monere, ne rem
publicam, ne libertatem suam desererent, multa superba et crudelia
facinora nobilitatis ostendere; prorsus intentus omni modo plebis animum
accendebat. Sed quoniam ea tempestate Romae Memmii facundia clara
pollensque fuit, decere existimavi unam ex tam multis orationem ejus
perscribere, ac potissimum ea dicam, quae in contione post reditum
Bestiae hujuscemodi verbis disseruit.
[180] _Parum constabat_, 'was not firmly determined upon;' namely, _iis,
patribus_--that is, they had not yet made up their minds.
31. 'Multa me dehortantur a vobis,[181] Quirites, ni studium rei publicae
omnia superet, opes factionis, vestra patientia, jus nullum, ac maxime,
quod innocentiae plus periculi quam honoris est. Nam illa quidem piget
dicere, his annis XV.[182] quam ludibrio fueritis superbiae paucorum,
quam foede quamque inulti perierint vestri defensores, ut vobis animus ab
ignavia[183] atque socordia corruptus sit, qui ne nunc quidem, obnoxiis
inimicis,[184] exsurgitis, atque etiamnunc timetis eos, quibus decet
terrori esse. Sed quamquam haec talia sunt, tamen obviam ire factionis
potentiae animus subigit.[185] Certe ego libertatem, quae mihi a parente
meo tradita est, experiar; verum id frustra an ob rem[186] faciam, in
vestra manu situm est, Quirites. Neque ego vos hortor, quod saepe majores
vestri fecere, uti contra injurias armati eatis. Nihil vi, nihil
secessione opus est: necesse est suomet ipsi more praecipites eant.[187]
Occisso Ti. Graccho, quem regnum parare ajebant, in plebem Romanam
quaestiones habitae sunt. Post G. Gracchi et M. Fulvi caedem item vestri
ordinis multi mortales in carcere necati sunt; utriusque cladis non lex,
verum libido eorum finem fecit. Sed sane fuerit regni paratio plebi sua
restituere; quicquid sine sanguine civium ulcisci nequitur, jure factum
sit.[188] Superioribus annis taciti indignabamini aerarium expilari,
reges et populos liberos paucis nobilibus vectigal pendere, penes eosdem
et summam gloriam et maximas divitias esse; tamen haec talia facinora
impune suscepisse parum habuere.[189] Itaque postremo leges, majestas
vestra, divina et humana omnia hostibus tradita sunt. Neque eos, qui ea
fecere, pudet aut poenitet, sed incedunt per ora vestra[190] magnifici,
sacerdotia et consulatus, pars triumphos suos ostentantes, perinde quasi
ea honori non praedae habeant. Servi aera parati injusta imperia
dominorum non perferunt; vos, Quirites, imperio nati, aequo animo
servitutem toleratis? At qui sunt hi qui rem publicam oocupavere? Homines
sceleratissimi, cruentis manibus, immani avaritia, nocentissimi iidemque
superbissimi, quibus fides, decus, pietas, postremo honesta atque
inhonesta omnia quaestui sunt. Pars eorum occidisse tribunos plebis, alii
quaestiones injustas, plerique caedem in vos fecisse, pro munimento
habent.[191] Ita quam quisque pessime fecit, tam maxime[192] tutus est:
metum a scelere suo ad ignaviam vestram transtulere;[193] quos omnes
eadem cupere, eadem odisse, eadem metuere in unum coegit.[194] Sed haec
inter bonos amicitia, inter malos factio est. Quodsi tam vos libertatis
curam haberetis, quam illi ad dominationem accensi sunt, profecto neque
res publica, sicuti nunc, vastaretur, et beneficia vestra[195] penes
optimos, non audacissimos, forent. Majores vestri parandi juris et
majestatis constituendae gratia bis per secessionem armati Aventinum
occupavere,[196] vos pro libertate, quam ab illis accepistis, non summa
ope nitemini?[197] atque eo vehementius, quo majus dedecus est parta
amittere quam omnino non paravisse. Dicet aliquis: Quid igitur censes?
Vindicandum in eos,[198] qui hosti prodidere rem publicam? Non manu neque
vi, quod magis vos fecisse quam illis accidisse indignum est, verum
quaestionibus[199] et indicio ipsius Jugurthae, qut si dediticius est,
profecto jussis vestris obediens erit; sin ea contemnit, scilicet
existimabitis, qualis illa pax aut deditio sit, ex qua ad Jugurtham
scelerum impunitas, ad paucos potentes maximae divitiae, in rem publicam
damna atque dedecora pervenerint. Nisi forte[200] nondum etiam vos
dominationis eorum satietas tenet, et illa quam haec tempora magis
placent, quum regna, provinciae, leges, jura, judicia, bella atque paces,
postremo divina et humana omnia penes paucos erant; vos autem, hoc est,
populus Romanus, invicti ab hostibus, imperatores omnium gentium, satis
habebatis animam retinere; nam servitutem quidem quis vestrum recusare
audebat? Atque ego, tametsi viro flagitiosissimum existimo impune
injuriam accepisse, tamen vos hominibus sceleratissimis ignoscere,
quoniam cives sunt, aequo animo paterer, ni misericordia in perniciem
casura esset. Nam et illis, quantum importunitatis habent,[201] parum est
impune male fecisse, nisi deinde faciundi licentia eripitur, et vobis
aeterna sollicitudo remanebit, quum intellegetis aut serviundum esse aut
permanus libertatem retinendam. Nam fidei quidem aut concordiae quae spes
est? Dominari illi volunt, vos liberi esse, facere illi injurias, vos
prohibere; postremo sociis vestris veluti hostibus, hostibus pro sociis
utuntur. Potestne in tam diversis mentibus pax aut amicitia esse? Quare
moneo hortorque vos, ne tantum scelus impunitum omittatis. Non peculatus
aerarii factus est, neque per vim sociis ereptae pecuniae, quae quamquam
gravia sunt, tamen consuetudine jam pro nihilo habentur: hosti acerrimo
prodita senatus auctoritas, proditum imperium vestrum, domi militiaeque
res publica venalis fuit. Quae nisi quaesita erunt, nisi vindicatum in
noxios, quid erit reliquum, nisi ut illis, qui ea fecere, obedientes
vivamus? Nam impune quaelibet facere, id est regem[202] esse. Neque ego
vos, Quirites, hortor, ut malitis cives vestros perperam quam recte
fecisse, sed ne ignoscendo malis bonos perditum eatis.[203] Ad hoc in re
publica multo praestat beneficii quam maleficii immemorem esse;[204]
bonus tantummodo segnior fit, ubi neglegas, at malus improbior. Ad hoc si
injuriae non sint, haud saepe auxilii egeas.'
[181] _Dehortantur a vobis_--that is, _ad causam vestram suscipiendam_,
'many things dissuade me to undertake your cause.' According to
the context, the expression might, or rather should be, _multa me
dehortantur, ni superaret_; but the present represents the act of
_superare_ as an actual fact, and is at the same time more
impressive.
[182] The number XV., which is found in all good manuscripts, points
to the year B. C. 125, in which the aristocracy gained a decisive
victory through the praetor L. Opimius, who destroyed the town of
Fregellae, and thereby crushed the first attempt of the Italian
allies (_socii_) to obtain the Roman franchise. It may be supposed
that this attempt of the allies was even then supported by the Roman
plebs, as was the case afterwards in the time of Marius.
[183] _Ab ignavia_ is to be taken in the sense of 'in consequence of,' or
'on account of your cowardice.' See Zumpt, S 305.
[184] 'When your political enemies (in consequence of the crime which
they have committed) are deserving of punishment, and in your hands.'
[185] _Animus subigit_. 'My feelings compel me to stand out against
the faction (of the optimates), in spite of your lukewarmness.'
[186] _Ob rem_, 'effectually,' 'with success.'
[187] 'They must ruin themselves.'
[188] 'I will grant that everything has been done with justice, which
cannot be punished without again shedding the blood of citizens;'
that is, the cruelties then committed by the optimates in crushing
Tib. and G. Gracchus may be considered as legitimate, since the
perpetrators cannot be punished without fresh executions. _Ulciscor_,
usually a deponent, is here used in a passive sense, just as the
participle _ultus_ is sometimes used in the sense of _vindicatus_.
For the same reason, the passive form _nequitur_ has been chosen;
respecting which, see Zumpt, S 216.
[189] _Parum habuere_, 'they considered it too little' (this is the
meaning of _parum_): it was not enough for them that they had
committed such disgraceful acts.
[190] _Incedere per ora hominum_, 'to walk in the eyes' or 'in the sight
of men.'
[191] 'The cruelties committed against the defenders of the plebs, serve
them as a bulwark;' that is, make them only the more audacious.
[192] About _quam maxime--tam maxime_, expressing a proportionate
increase, see Zumpt, S 725.
[193] A complicated expression--'they have transferred their fear, which
they ought to have on account of their crime, to your cowardice;'
that is, to you who are cowards, or whom they consider as cowards.
[194] _In unum coegit_; that is, _conjunxit, copulavit_. The infinitives
here are the subjects of the sentence: the same fear and the same
greediness have united all your opponents into one league. Compare
_Cat._ 20: _idem velle atque idem nolle, ea demum firma amicitia
est_.
[195] _Benejicia vestra_; that is, _honores, magistratus, imperia_.
[196] The speaker refers to the two most important secessions of the
Roman plebs--the one in which they obtained their tribunes in B.C.
510, and the other, which was undertaken in B.C. 449. to restore
the consulate and the tribuneship after the overthrow of the
tyrannical rule of the decemvirs. Both led to the establishment of a
legitimate state of things (_jus_), and the latter, in particular, to
the establishment of the decisive authority of the people against the
magistrates and the patricians. This sovereignty of the Roman
people was termed _majestas_. These secessions, according to the
statements of the ancients, were made to the Mons Sacer, and not
to the Aventine; but Sallust here follows other ancient authorities;
and it is probable enough that the plebs may have occupied both
hills.
[197] Respecting the form of this sentence, see Zumpt, S 781. The answer
to this question is contained in the clause _atque eo vehementius_,
to which we must supply _nitendum vobis est_. _Atque_ introduces the
answer with emphasis.
[198] _Vindicare_ is construed with _in_ and the accusative, as well as
_vindicare scelus in aliquo_ and _vindicare aliquam rem_. _Vindicare
in aliquem_, 'to use force against a person for the purpose of taking
revenge.' _Vindicare sibi rem_, 'to claim a thing for one's self,' or
'to appropriate a thing.'
[199] _Quaestio_, 'a judicial inquiry into a crime,' 'a criminal trial.'
[200] _Nisi forte_ supposes, with a strong irony, a case which cannot be
conceived. See Zumpt, S 526.
[201] _Quantum importunitatis habent_, 'according to the high degree of
impudence and arrogance which they possess.' Sallust might have said,
_quae eorum importunitas est_, or _pro eorum importunitate_. See
Zumpt, S 705.
[202] _Rex_, according to Roman notions, always contains the idea of an
absolute ruler, and is therefore frequently used in the sense of 'a
tyrant.' The idea of a constitutional or limited monarchy was not
known in antiquity, except perhaps at Sparta.
[203] _Perditum eatis_; that is, _perdatis_. See Zumpt, S 669.
[204] Practically, it is quite correct, that in the administration of a
state it is more necessary to punish criminals than to reward good
services; for it is impossible that all good citizens should be
rewarded with external distinctions; but if a criminal remains
unpunished, he does harm by his example, and undermines the organism
of the state.
32. Haec atque alia hujuscemodi saepe dicundo Memmius populo persuadet,
uti L. Cassius, qui tum praetor erat, ad Jugurtham mitteretur eumque
interposita fide publica Romam duceret, quo facilius indicio regis Scauri
et reliquorum, quos pecuniae captae arcessebant,[205] delicta
patefierent. Dum haec Romae geruntur, qui in Numidia relicti a Bestia
exercitui praeerant, secuti morem imperatoris sui plurima et
flagitiosissima facinora fecere. Fuere, qui auro corrupti elephantos
Jugurthae traderent; alii perfugas vendere, pars ex pacatis praedas
agebant; tanta vis avaritiae in animos eorum veluti tabes invaserat. At
Cassius, perlata rogatione[206] a G. Memmio ac perculsa omni nobilitate,
ad Jugurtham proficiscitur eique timido et ex conscientia diffidenti
rebus suis persuadet, quoniam se populo Romano dedisset, ne vim quam
misericordiam ejus experiri mallet. Privatim praeterea fidem suam
interponit, quam ille non minoris quam publicam ducebat; talis ea
tempestate fama de Cassio erat.
[205] _Arcessere_, 'to summon before a court of justice,' governs the
genitive of the thing for which a person is summoned.
[206] _Rogatio_, 'a proposal to the people,' because, in making a
proposal, as well as at elections of magistrates, the people were
requested (_rogabatur_) to pass a resolution.
33. Igitur Jugurtha contra decus regium cultu quam maxime miserabili cum
Cassio Romam venit. Ac tametsi in ipso magna vis animi erat, confirmatus
ab omnibus, quorum potentia aut scelere cuncta ea gesserat, quae supra
diximus, G. Baebium tribunum plebis magna mercede parat, cujus impudentia
contra jus et injurias omnes munitus foret. At G. Memmius, advocata
contione, quamquam regi infesta plebes erat, et pars in vincula duci
jubebat, pars, ni socios sceleris sui aperiret, more majorum de hoste
supplicium sumi; dignitati quam irae magis consulens, sedare motus et
animos eorum mollire, postremo confirmare, fidem publicam per sese[207]
inviolatam fore. Post, ubi silentium coepit, producto Jugurtha, verba
facit; Romae Numidiaeque[208] facinora ejus memorat, scelera in patrem
fratresque ostendit. Quibus juvantibus quibusque ministris ea egerit,
quamquam intellegat populus Romanus, tamen velle manifesta magis ex illo
habere. Si verum aperiat, in fide et clementia populi Romani magnam spem
illi sitam; sin reticeat, non sociis saluti fore,[209] sed se suasque
spes corrupturum.
[207] _Per sese_, 'as far as lay in him,' 'as much as he could,' as in
the phrase _per me licet_.
[208] Respecting _Romae Numidiaeque_, where _Numidiae_ by a kind of
attraction takes the same case as _Romae_, instead of _in Numidia_,
see Zumpt, S 398, note 1.
[209] 'He (Jugurtha) would not, indeed, thereby be a safety to his
accomplices, but destroy his own hope (of obtaining pardon).'
34. Deinde, ubi Memmius dicundi finem fecit et Jugurtha respondere jussus
est, G. Baebius, tribunus plebis, quem pecunia corruptum supra diximus,
regem tacere jubet, ac tametsi multitudo, quae in contione aderat,
vehementer accensa, terrebat eum clamore, vultu, saepe impetu atque aliis
omnibus, quae ira fieri amat,[210] vicit tamen impudentia. Ita populus
ludibrio habitus ex contione discedit: Jugurthae Bestiaeque et ceteris,
quos illa quaestio exagitabat, animi augescunt.[211]
[210] The words _quae ira fieri amat_ are very surprising, but were
regarded by the ancients themselves as a Graecism of Sallust, from
whom Quinctilian quotes the words _quae vulgus amat fieri_, which
occurred in a work of Sallust that is lost. In both cases, we must
construe _ira (vulgus) amat_ with an accusative with the infinitive
after it: 'anger likes that this or that should happen.'
[211] _Animus augescit_, 'courage grows' or 'increases.' For the plural
_animi_, see Zumpt, S 92.
35. Erat ea tempestate Romae Numida quidam, nomine Massiva, Gulussae
filius, Masinissae nepos; qui, quia in dissensione regum Jugurthae
adversus fuerat, dedita Cirta et Adherbale interfecto, profugus ex Africa
abierat. Huic Sp. Albinus, qui proximo anno post Bestiam cum Q. Minucio
Rufo consulatum gerebat,[212] persuadet, quoniam ex stirpe Masinissae
sit, Jugurthamque ob scelera invidia cum metu urgueat,[213] regnum
Numidiae ab senatu petat. Avidus consul belli gerundi moveri quam
senescere omnia malebat; ipsi provincia Numidia, Minucio Macedonia
evenerat. Quae postquam Massiva agitare coepit, neque Jugurthae in amicis
satis praesidii est, quod eorum alium conscientia, alium mala fama et
timor impediebat, Bomilcari, proximo ac maxime fido sibi, imperat,
pretio, sicuti multa confecerat, insidiatores Massivae paret, ac
maxime[214] occulte, sin id parum procedat, quovis modo Numidam
interficiat. Bomilcar mature regis mandata exequitur, et per homines
talis negotii artifices itinera egressusque ejus, postremo loca atque
tempora cuncta explorat, deinde, ubi res postulabat, insidias tendit.
Igitur unus ex eo numero, qui ad caedem parati erant, paulo inconsultius
Massivam aggreditur; illum obtruncat, sed ipse deprehensus, multis
hortantibus et in primis Albino consule, indicium profitetur.[215] Fit
reus magis ex aequo bonoque quam ex jure gentium Bomilcar, comes ejus,
qui Romam fide publica venerat. At Jugurtha manifestus[216] tanti
sceleris non prius omisit contra verum niti, quam animum advertit,[217]
supra gratiam atque pecuniam suam invidiam facti esse. Igitur, quamquam
in priore actione ex amicis quinquaginta vades dederat,[218] regno magis
quam vadibus consulens, clam in Numidiam Bomilcarem dimittit, veritus ne
reliquos populares metus invaderet parendi sibi, si de illo supplicium
sumptum foret. Et ipse paucis diebus[219] eodem profectus est, jussus a
senatu Italia decedere. Sed postquam Roma egressus est, fertur saepe eo
tacitus respiciens postremo dixisse: 'urbem venalem et mature perituram,
si emptorem invenerit.'
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