2. The Grass Crown

by Colleen McCullough

  4

  The month which Silo and Mutilus had allowed for mobilization was ample. Yet at the end of it, not one Italian army marched. There were two reasons. One, Mutilus could see; the other drove him to the brink of despair. Dickering with the leaders of Etruria and Umbria proceeded at a snail's pace, and nobody in the war council or the grand council wanted to start aggression before they had an idea what the results might be; that, Mutilus could see. But there was also a curious reluctance to be the first to march not from fear, rather from an ingrained, centuries-old awe of Rome; and that, Mutilus deplored. "Let us wait until Rome makes the first move," said Silo in the war council. "Let us wait until Rome makes the first move," said Lucius Fraucus in the grand council. When he learned that the Marsi had delivered a declaration of war to the Senate, Mutilus had been furious, thinking that Rome would mobilize at once. But Silo had remained unrepentant. "It's the proper thing to do," he maintained. "There are laws governing war, just as there are laws governing every aspect of men's conduct. Rome cannot say she wasn't warned." And, following that, nothing Mutilus could say or do served to budge his fellow Italian leaders from their decision that Rome must be seen to be the first aggressor. "If we marched now, we'd murder them!" Mutilus cried in the war council, even as his deputy Gaius Trebatius was saying the same thing in the grand council. "Surely you can see that the more time we give Rome to ready herself, the less likely we are to win this conflict! The fact that no one in Rome is taking any notice of us is our greatest advantage! We must march! We must march tomorrow! If we delay, we'll lose!" But all the others solemnly shook their heads save Marius Egnatius, Mutilus's fellow Samnite on the war council; even Silo refused, though he admitted the logic of it. "It wouldn't be right" was the answer the Samnites kept getting, no matter how they pressed. The massacre at Asculum Picentum made no impression either; Gaius Vidacilius of the Picentes refused to send a garrison force to the city to fend off Roman reprisals Roman reprisals, he said, were proving long in coming, and might not come at all. "We must march!" moaned Mutilus again and again. "The farmers are all saying it won't be much of a winter, so there's no reason to delay until spring! We must march!" But no one wanted to march, and no one did march.

  Thus it was that the first stirrings of revolt occurred among the Samnites. No one on either side considered Asculum Picentum evidence of revolt; the town had simply been tried beyond its endurance, and retaliated. Whereas, having simmered for generations, the huge Samnite population in Campania, inextricably mixed with Romans and Latins, began spontaneously to boil. Servius Sulpicius Galba brought the first concrete news of it to Rome when he arrived, disheveled and minus his escort, during the month of February. The new senior consul, Lucius Julius Caesar, summoned the Senate at once to listen to Galba's report. "I've been a prisoner in Nola for six weeks," said Galba to a quiet House. "I had just sent off my note informing you that I was on my way home when I arrived in Nola. I hadn't originally intended to visit Nola, but since I was in the vicinity and Nola does have a large Samnite population, I decided at the last moment to go there. I stayed with an old lady who was my mother's best friend a Roman, of course. And she informed me that there were peculiar things happening in Nola all of a sudden, it was impossible for Romans and Latins to obtain service, goods in the market, even food! Her servants were obliged to take a cart to Acerrae for staples. When I moved through the town with my lictors and troopers I was booed and hissed continuously yet it was never possible to see which men or women were responsible." Galba moved unhappily, aware that the tale of his adventures was not an inspiring one. "During the night after I arrived in Nola, the Samnites shut the city gates and took the place over completely. Every Roman and Latin was taken prisoner and held under restraint in their houses. Including my lictors, my troopers, and my clerks. I found myself locked into my hostess's house, with a Samnite guard at front door and back gate. And there I remained until three days ago, when my hostess managed to lure the guards at the back gate away for long enough to enable me to slip out. Dressed as a Samnite merchant, I escaped through the city gates before the hunt got up." Scaurus leaned forward. "Did you see anyone of authority during your time as a prisoner, Servius Sulpicius?" "No one," said Galba. "I had some conversation with the men on guard at the front door, that's all." "What did they have to say?" "Only that Samnium was in revolt, Marcus Aemilius. I had no way to ascertain the truth of this, so when I did manage to escape I wasted a whole day hiding from anyone I saw in the distance who looked like a Samnite. It was only when I reached Capua that I found no one knew of this revolt, at least in that part of Campania. In fact, it seems no one knew what was going on in Nola! During the day the Samnite Nolans kept one gate open and pretended nothing was wrong. So when I told those in Capua what had happened to me, they were amazed. And alarmed, I add! The duumviri of Capua have asked me to forward instructions to them from the Senate." "Were you fed during your captivity? What about your hostess? Was she permitted to shop in Acerrae?" asked Scaurus. "Of food, there was little. My hostess was allowed to shop in Nola, but only for limited provisions at extortionate prices. No one Latin or Roman was allowed out of the town," said Galba. This time the Senate was full; if the court of Varius had done nothing else, it had succeeded in uniting senatorial ranks and driven the Senate to hunger for something dramatic enough to remove emphasis from the Varian Commission. "May I speak?" asked Gaius Marius. "If no one senior to you wants to speak," said the junior consul, Publius Rutilius Lupus, coldly; he held the fasces during February, and was no partisan of Marius's. No one asked to speak ahead of Marius. "If Nola has imprisoned its Roman and Latin citizens under circumstances of privation, then there can be no doubt of it Nola is in revolt against Rome. Consider for a moment: in June of last year the Senate delegated two of its praetors to enquire into what our esteemed consular Quintus Lutatius called 'the Italian question.' Nearly three months ago the praetor Quintus Servilius was murdered in Asculum Picentum, along with every Roman citizen in the town. Nearly two months ago the praetor Servius Sulpicius was captured and imprisoned in Nola, along with every Roman citizen in the town. "Two praetors, one north and one south, and two atrocious incidents, one north and one south. The whole of Italy even in its most backward parts! knows and understands the significance, the importance, of the Roman praetor. Yet, Conscript Fathers, in the one case, murder was done. In the other case, a long-term detention was enforced. That we do not know the ultimate outcome of Servius Sulpicius's detention is purely due to the lucky circumstance of his escaping. However, it would appear to me that Servius Sulpicius too would have died. Two praetors of Rome, each with a proconsular imperium! Attacked, it would seem, without fear of reprisal. And what does that tell me? Just one thing, my fellow senators! It tells me that Asculum Picentum and Nola were emboldened to do what they did feeling secure against reprisals! In other words, both Asculum Picentum and Nola are expecting a state of war to exist between Rome and their parts of Italy before Rome can retaliate." The House was sitting up straight now, and hanging on Marius's every word. Pausing, he looked from one face to another, searching for particular men; Lucius Cornelius Sulla, for instance, whose eyes were glistening; and Quintus Lutatius Catulus Caesar, whose face registered a curious awe. "I have been guilty of the same crime as the rest of you, Conscript Fathers. After Marcus Livius Drusus died I had no one to tell me there would be war. I began to think him wrong. When nothing more transpired after the march of the Marsian Silo upon Rome, I too began to deem it yet one more trick to gain the citizenship. When the Marsian delegate gave our Princeps Senatus a declaration of war, I dismissed it because it came from only one Italian nation, though eight nations were represented in the delegation. And I admit it freely! I could not believe in my heart that any Italian nation in this day and age would actually go to war against us." He paced up the floor until he stood in front of the closed doors, where he could see the entire House. "What Servius Sulpicius has told us today changes everything, and sheds new light upon the events at
Asculum Picentum as well. Asculum is a town of the Picentes. Nola is a town of the Campanian Samnites. Neither is a Roman or a Latin colony. I think we must now assume that the Marsi, the Picentes, and the Samnites are leagued together against Rome. It may be that all eight nations who sent us that deputation some time ago are party to this league. It may be, I think, that in giving our Leader of the House a formal declaration of war, the Marsi were warning us of that event. Whereas the other seven nations did not care enough about us to warn us. Marcus Livius Drusus said time and time again that the Italian Allies were on the brink of war. I now believe him except that I think the Italian Allies have stepped over the brink." "You do genuinely believe a state of war exists?" asked Ahenobarbus Pontifex Maximus. "I do, Gnaeus Domitius." "Continue, Gaius Marius," said Scaurus. "I would like to hear you out before I speak." "I have little else to say, Marcus Aemilius. Except that we must mobilize, and very quickly. That we must endeavor to find out the extent of the league against us. That we must move whatever troops we have under arms to protect our roads and our access to Campania. That we must discover how the Latins feel about us, and how our colony towns in hostile regions are going to fare if war does commence. As you know, I have huge lands in Etruria, as does Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius, and some others among the various Caecilii. Quintus Servilius Caepio has equally large amounts of land in Umbria. And Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo and Quintus Pompeius Rufus dominate northern Picenum. For that reason, I think we might hold Etruria, Umbria, and northern Picenum in our camp if we move immediately to negotiate with their local leaders. In the matter of northern Picenum, however, their local leaders are sitting here in the House today." Marius inclined his head toward Scaurus Princeps Senatus. "It goes without saying that I personally am Rome's to command." Scaurus rose to his feet. "I agree absolutely with everything Gaius Marius has said, Conscript Fathers. We cannot afford to waste time. And though I am aware that this is the month of February, I move that the fasces be taken off the junior consul and given to the senior consul. It is the senior consul who must lead us in all matters as serious as this." Rutilius Lupus sat up indignantly, but his popularity within the House was small; though he insisted upon a formal division, it went against him by a large majority. He was forced, fuming, to yield the place of first prominence to Lucius Julius Caesar, the senior consul. Lupus's friend Caepio was present, but his two other friends Philippus and Quintus Varius were not. A delighted Lucius Julius Caesar soon demonstrated that the trust of the Leader of the House was not misplaced; within the space of that same day, the major decisions were taken. Both the consuls would take the field, leaving the urban praetor, Lucius Cornelius Cinna, to govern Rome. The provinces were got out of the way first, as this new crisis could not but alter the dispositions made earlier. As already arranged, Sentius would stay in Macedonia, and the Spanish governors too remained undisturbed. Lucius Lucilius would go to govern Asia Province. But, to give King Mithridates no opportunities while Rome was embroiled in a domestic furor, Publius Servilius Vatia was now sent to Cilicia to make sure that part of Anatolia stayed quiet. And most important of all the consular Gaius Coelius Caldus was given a special governorship, Gaul-across-the-Alps and Italian Gaul combined. "For it is clear," said Lucius Julius Caesar, "that if Italy is in revolt, we will not find sufficient fresh troops among those in the peninsula who remain faithful to us. Italian Gaul has many Latin and a few Roman colonies. Gaius Coelius will quarter himself in Italian Gaul and recruit and train soldiers for us." "If I might suggest," rumbled Gaius Marius, "I would like to see the quaestor Quintus Sertorius go with Gaius Coelius. His duties are fiscal this year, and he is not yet a member of the Senate. But, as I'm sure all of us present here know, Quintus Sertorius is a true Military Man. Let him have his experience of the fiscus in as military a fashion as he can." "Agreed," said Lucius Caesar instantly. There were of course enormous financial problems to struggle with. The Treasury was solvent and had resources beyond normal demand to hand, but "If this war is wider than we currently think, or more protracted than we currently think, we will need more money than we have," said Lucius Caesar. "I would rather we acted now than later. I suggest that we reimpose direct taxation upon all Roman citizens and holders of the Latin Rights." That, of course, provoked furious opposition from many quarters of the House, but Antonius Orator delivered a very fine speech, as did Scaurus Princeps Senatus, and in the end the measure was agreed to. The tributum had never been levied constantly, only in times of need; after the conquest of Perseus of Macedonia by the great Aemilius Paullus, it had been abolished and replaced by a tributum levied upon non-Romans. "If we are required to keep more than six legions in the field, our foreign income will not be enough," said the chief tribune of the Treasury. “The entire burden of arming them, feeding them, paying them, and keeping them in the field will now fall upon Rome and Rome's Treasury." "Goodbye, Italian Allies!'' said Catulus Caesar savagely. "Given that we might have to keep say, ten to fifteen legions in the field what should the tributum be fixed at?'' asked Lucius Caesar, disliking this part of his command. The chief tribune of the Treasury and his clerical cohort went into a huddle which lasted for some time, then: "One percent of a man's census worth" was the answer. "The Head Count get out of it as usual!" shouted Caepio. "The Head Count," said Marius with heavy irony, "are likely to be doing most of the fighting, Quintus Servilius!" "While we are on financial matters," said Lucius Julius Caesar, ignoring this exchange, "we had best depute some of our more senior members to look after army supplies, particularly in the matter of armor and weapons. Normally the praefectus fabrum takes care of these things, but at this moment we have no real idea of how our legions will be distributed nor how many we're likely to need. I think it necessary that the Senate look after army supplies, at least for the present. We have four veteran legions under arms in Capua, and two more legions being recruited and trained there. All were destined for service in the provinces, but that is now out of the question. Whatever troops the provinces have at the moment will have to suffice." "Lucius Julius," said Caepio, "this is absolutely ridiculous! On no more evidence than two incidents in two cities, we're sitting here reimposing the tributum, talking about putting fifteen legions into the field, deputing senators to organize the buying of thousands upon thousands of mail-shirts and swords and all the rest, sending men to govern provinces we don't even officially call provinces next, you'll be proposing to call up every male Roman or Latin citizen under thirty-five!" "I will indeed," said Lucius Caesar cordially. "However, my dear Quintus Servilius, you won't have to worry you're well over thirty-five." He paused, then added, "In years, at least." "It seems to me," said Catulus Caesar haughtily, "that Quintus Servilius might I say only, might! have a point. Surely we should content ourselves with what men we have under the eagles at the moment, and make further preparations as we go and as the evidence of a massive insurrection materializes or does not." "When our soldiers are needed, Quintus Lutatius, they must be fit to fight as well as outfitted to fight!'' said Scaurus testily. "They must be already trained." He turned his head to the man who sat on his right. "Gaius Marius, how long does it take to turn a raw recruit into a good soldier?" "Fit to send into battle one hundred days. At which point no man is a good soldier, Marcus Aemilius. It takes his first battle to make that of him," said Marius. "Can it be done in less than one hundred days?" "It can if you have good raw material and better than average training centurions." "Then we'd best find better than average training centurions," said Scaurus grimly. '' I suggest we get back to the matter in hand,'' said Lucius Caesar firmly. "We were talking about a senatorial praefectus fabrum to organize the equipping and outfitting of the legions we do not as yet possess. It would seem to me that we should nominate several names for the most senior job, then let the man elected choose his own staff senatorial staff, I mean. I suggest we nominate only men who, for one reason or another, are not suited for the field. May I hear some names, please?" The job went to the son of Gaius Cassius's senior legate, who had died
at Burdigala in the German ambush Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus. A victim of that strange disease which preyed upon children in summer, Piso had a badly wasted left leg, which negated military service. Married to the daughter of Publius Rutilius Rufus, now in exile in Smyrna, Piso was an intelligent man who had suffered greatly due to the premature death of his father, especially where money was concerned. At the news that he was to be in charge of all military purchasing, and could select his own staff, his eyes glistened. If he couldn't do a good job for Rome and fill his own empty purse at one and the same time, then he deserved to dwindle into obscurity! But, sitting smiling quietly, he was sure that he was equal to both tasks. "Now we come to the commands and the dispositions," said Lucius Caesar; he was beginning to tire, but had no intention of concluding the meeting before this last subject was aired. "How do we best organize ourselves?" he asked. By rights he should have addressed that question directly to Gaius Marius. But he was no admirer of Marius, and felt, besides, that between his stroke and his age Marius was not the man he used to be. Marius had also taken the floor first; he had had his say, surely. Lucius Caesar's eyes roamed over the faces of the men on the tiers of either side, looking, wondering; and so, having asked how they might best organize themselves, he then put a second query too quickly on the heels of the first to permit Marius's answering. "Lucius Cornelius cognominated Sulla, I would like to hear your opinion," said the senior consul, careful to speak clearly; the urban praetor was also a Lucius Cornelius, cognominated Cinna. To be thus singled out startled Sulla, but he was ready to answer nonetheless. "If our enemies are the eight nations who sent that deputation to see us, then the chances are that we'll be assailed on two fronts from the east along the Via Salaria and the Via Valeria with its two branches and to our south, where Samnite influence crosses all the way from the Adriatic to the Tuscan at Crater Bay. To take the south first, if the Apuli, the Lucani, and the Venusini join the Samnites, the Hirpini, and the Frentani, then the south becomes a definite and ominous theater of war by itself. We can call the second theater of war by either of two names a northern theater, meaning territories to the north and east of Rome, or a central theater, meaning territories to the north and east of Rome. The Marsi, the Paeligni, the Marrucini, the Vestini, and the Picentes are the nations involved in this central or northern theater. You will note that for the present moment I do not bring Etruria, Umbria, or northern Picenum into the discussion." Sulla drew a breath, hurried on while it all glowed like crystal in his mind. "In the south, our enemies will do their utmost to cut us off from Brundisium, Tarentum, and Rhegium. In the center or north, our enemies will attempt to cut us off from Italian Gaul, certainly along the Via Flaminia, possibly also the Via Cassia. If they should succeed, then our only access to Italian Gaul would be along the Via Aurelia and the Via Aemilia Scauri to Dertona, and thence to Placentia." Lucius Caesar interrupted. "Step down to the floor, Lucius Cornelius cognominated Sulla.'' Down Sulla came, with a ghost of a wink for Marius; it gave him little joy to be filching this analysis from the Old Master. That he did so at all was a complicated matter a combination of bitter resentment that Marius still had his son, umbrage that when he came back from Cilicia no one in the House including Marius had invited him to make a full report on his activities in the East, and a lightning understanding of the fact that if he spoke well at this moment, he would go very far, very fast. Too bad, Gaius Marius, he thought. I don't want to hurt you, but I'd do it every time anyway. "I think," he went on from the floor, "that we'll need both consuls in the field, just as Lucius Julius suggested. One consul will have to go south because of Capua, which is vital to us. If we should lose Capua, then we lose our best training facilities as well as a town superbly experienced in aiding soldier-training and soldier-supplying. There will, of course, have to be a consular chief of training and recruiting in Capua itself, aside from the consul commanding in the field. Whoever the consul is to go south will have to take everything the Samnites and their allies throw at him. What the Samnites will attempt to do is to drive west through their old haunts around Acerrae and Nola toward the seaports on the south side of Crater Bay. Stabiae, Salernum, Surrentum, Pompeii, and Herculaneum. If they can capture any or all of those, then they have port facilities on the Tuscan Sea better by far than any ports on the Adriatic north of Brundisium. And they will have cut us off from the far south." Sulla was not a great speaker, for his training in rhetoric had been minimal, and his career in the House mostly spent out of it in one war or another. But this wasn't oratory. All this needed was good plain speaking. "The northern or central theater is more difficult. We must presume that all the lands between northern Picenum and Apulia including the Apennine highlands are in enemy hands. Here, the Apennines themselves are our greatest obstacle. If we are to hold on to Etruria and Umbria, then we must make a good showing against these Italian peoples from the very start of our campaign. If we do not, Etruria and Umbria will go over to the enemy, we will lose our roads and Italian Gaul. One consul will have to command in this theater." "Surely we should have one overall commander," said Scaurus. "We cannot, Princeps Senatus. Our own lands separate the two theaters I have described," said Sulla firmly. "Latium is long and runs into northern Campania, which is the half of Campania we're more likely to find loyal to us. I doubt southern Campania will be loyal if the insurgents win any battles at all, it's too riddled with Samnites and Hirpini. Look at Nola, already. East of Latium, the Apennines are impossible, and we have the Pomptine Marshes besides. One overall commander would have to shuttle desperately between two widely separated areas of conflict, and he couldn't do it quickly enough to keep a proper eye on both. Truly, we will be fighting on two separate fronts! If not three. The south can possibly be run as one campaign because the Apennines are at their lowest where Samnium, Apulia, and Campania join. However, in the northern or central theater it's highly likely there will be both a northern and a central theater. Thank the Apennines for this, as they are at their highest. The lands of the Marsi, the Paeligni, and possibly the Marrucini form a separate theater from the Picentes and the Vestini. I don't see how we can contain all the Italians by fighting purely in the center. It's probably going to be necessary to send an army into the rebellious parts of Picenum through Umbria and northern Picenum, bringing it down on the Adriatic side of the mountains. In the meantime, we'll have to drive east of Rome into the lands of the Marsi and Paeligni." Sulla paused; he couldn't help it, yet he hated himself for this weakness. How was Gaius Marius feeling? If he didn't like what Sulla was saying, then here was his opportunity to say so. And Gaius Marius spoke. Sulla tensed. "Please go on, Lucius Cornelius," the Old Master said. "So far, I couldn't do better myself." His pale eyes flashed, a faint smile grew at the corners of Sulla's mouth, then vanished. He shrugged. "I think that's all, really. And bear in mind that it's predicated on an insurrection involving at least eight Italian nations. I don't think it's my duty to indicate who goes where. However, I would say that I feel those who are sent to the north-central theater in particular ought to have many clients in the area. If, for instance, Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo were to maneuver in Picenum, he already has a base of power there, and thousands of clients. The same might be said of Quintus Pompeius Rufus, though on a lesser scale, 1 know. In Etruria, Gaius Marius is a great landowner, again with thousands of clients. As is true of the Caecilii Metelli. In Umbria, Quintus Servilius Caepio reigns supreme. If these men were connected to the northern or central theater, it would be a help." Sulla bowed his head to Lucius Julius Caesar in the chair, and returned to his place amid murmurs of (he thought, anyway) admiration. He had been asked for his opinion ahead of anyone else in the House, and that, on such an occasion, was a huge leap into prominence. Unbelievable! Oh, was it possible he was on his way at last? “We must all thank Lucius Cornelius Sulla for that very crisp and thoughtful statement of the facts," said Lucius Caesar, smiling at Sulla in a way that promised further distinction. "For myself, I agree with him. But how says the House? Does anyone
have other or different ideas?" It appeared no one had. Scaurus Princeps Senatus cleared his throat gruffly. “You must make your dispositions, Lucius Julius," he said. "If it does not displease the Conscript Fathers, I would only say that I myself would prefer to remain in Rome." "I think you will be needed in Rome, with both her consuls out of the city," said Lucius Caesar graciously. "The Leader of the House will prove immensely valuable to our good urban praetor, Lucius Cornelius cognominated Cinna." He glanced sideways at his colleague, Lupus. "Publius Rutilius Lupus, would you be willing to take the burden of command to the north and center of Rome?" he asked. "As senior consul, I think it essential that I command in the theater containing Capua." Lupus glowed, swelled. "I will assume the burden with great pleasure, Lucius Julius." "Then, if the House has no objections, I will command in Campania. As my chief legate, I choose Lucius Cornelius cognominated Sulla. To command in Capua itself and supervise all activity there, I appoint the consular Quintus Lutatius Catulus Caesar. 'As my other senior legates I will have Publius Licinius Crassus, Titus Didius, and Servius Sulpicius Galba," said Lucius Caesar. "My colleague Publius Rutilius Lupus, whom will you have?" "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Sextus Julius Caesar, Quintus Servilius Caepio, and Lucius Porcius Cato Licinianus," said Lupus loudly. There was a sudden silence, not broken for what seemed an enormous length of time. Someone must break it! thought Sulla, and opened his mouth without meaning to, without wanting to. "What about Gaius Marius?" he asked harshly. Lucius Caesar blinked. "I must confess that I didn't choose Gaius Marius because, bearing in mind what you said, Lucius Sulla, I thought naturally that Publius Rutilius my colleague would want Gaius Marius!" "Well, I don't want him!" said Lupus. "I'm not going to have him foisted on me, either! Let him stay in Rome with all the others of his age and infirmity. He's too old and sick for war." At which point Sextus Julius Caesar rose to his feet. "May I speak, senior consul?" he asked. "Please do, Sextus Julius." "I am not old," said Sextus Caesar huskily, "but I am a sick man, as everyone in this House knows. I wheeze. I have had more than adequate military experience in my younger days, mostly with Gaius Marius in Africa and in the Gauls against the Germans. I also served at Arausio, where my malady undoubtedly saved my life. However, with winter coming on, I will prove of little use in an Apennine campaign. I am older, and my chest is weak. I will of course do my duty. I am a Roman of a great family. But in all of this, no one has yet mentioned cavalry. We will need cavalry. I would like to ask this House to excuse me duty as a commander in the field among the mountains. Instead, let me gather a fleet of transports and spend the colder months gathering cavalry from Numidia, from Gaul-across-the-Alps, and from Thrace. I can also enlist Roman citizens living abroad in our infantry. It is a job I feel myself fitted for. And then when I return, I will gladly take on any field command you might care to suggest." He cleared his throat, began slightly to wheeze. "To take my place as a legate, I would ask the House to consider Gaius Marius." "Hoh! Brothers-in-law!" cried Lupus, jumping to his feet. "It won't work, Sextus Julius, it won't work! After listening to you for years, it seems to me that yours is a most convenient ailment! It comes and it goes on order! I can do it too listen!" Lupus began to draw in noisy breaths. "You may have grown tired of hearing me wheeze, Publius Lupus, but you haven't listened," said Sextus Caesar gently. "I don't make a noise when I inhale. I make it when I exhale." "I don't care when you make your wretched noises!" shouted Lupus. "You're not avoiding your duty with me, any more than I'll take Gaius Marius in your place!" "One moment, if you please," said Scaurus Princeps Senatus, rising to his feet. "I have something to say about this." He looked at Lupus on the dais with much the same expression on his face as he had worn when Varius accused him of treason. "You are not one of my best-loved people, Publius Lupus! In fact, it pains me deeply that you happen to have the same name as my dear friend, Publius Rutilius cognominated Rufus. Well, you may be relations, but there's absolutely no relationship between you! Rufus the Red was one of this House's chief adornments, very sorely missed. Lupus the Wolf is one of this House's most pernicious ulcers, very sore!" "You're insulting me!" gasped Lupus. "You can't! I'm consul!" "I am the Leader of the House, Publius Wolf Man, and I think at my age I have proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that I can do what I like because when I do something, Publius Wolf Man, I have good reason and Rome's best interests at heart! Now, you miserable little worm, sit there and pull your head in! And I do not mean that part of your anatomy attached to your neck! Who do you think you are? You're only sitting in that particular chair because you had enough money to bribe the electorate!" Purple with rage, Lupus opened his mouth. "Don't do it, Lupus!" Scaurus snarled. "Sit there, be quiet!" Scaurus turned then to Gaius Marius, who sat absolutely straight on his stool; how he felt about his name's being omitted no one present could tell. "Here is a very great man," said Scaurus. "Only the gods know how many times in my life I have cursed him! Only the gods know how many times in my life I have wished he never existed! Only the gods know how many times in my life I have been his worst enemy! But as time drips away faster and faster and wears my life ever thinner, ever frailer, I find myself remembering with affection fewer and fewer men. It is not merely a factor concerned with the increasing imminence of death and dying. It is an accumulation of experience which tells me who is worth remembering with affection and who is not. Some of the men I have loved most, I feel nothing for now. Some of the men I have hated most, I feel everything for now." Knowing very well that Marius was now looking at him with a twinkle in his eyes, Scaurus carefully avoided looking back; if he did, he knew he'd dissolve into fits of laughter, and this speech was coming from his very spirit as well as his heart. An acute sense of humor could be a wretched nuisance! "Gaius Marius and I have been through a whole world together," he said, staring at the livid Lupus. "He and I have sat side by side in this House and glared at each other for more years than you, Wolf Man, have worn an adult's toga! We have fought and brawled, we have pushed and pulled. But we have fought together against the enemies of the Republic too. We have gazed down together upon the bodies of men who would have ruined Rome. We have stood shoulder to shoulder. We have laughed together and we have wept together. I say again! Here is a very great man. A very great Roman." Now Scaurus walked down the floor to the doors, and stood in front of them. "Like Gaius Marius, like Lucius Julius, like Lucius Cornelius Sulla, I am today convinced we face a terrible war. Yesterday I was not convinced. Why the change? Who knows, save the gods? When the established order of things tells us that matters are a certain way because they have been that same certain way for a very long time, we find it hard to alter what we feel, and our feelings cloud our intellects. But then in the smallest scrap of time the scales fall from our eyes, and we see clearly. That has happened to me today. It happened to Gaius Marius today. Probably it happened to most of us here in the House today. A thousand little signs are suddenly visible that yesterday we could not see. "I elected to remain in Rome because I know I will be of best use to Rome within her body politic. But that is not true of Gaius Marius. Whether like me! you have disagreed with him far more often than you have agreed with him, or whether like Sextus Julius! you are tied to him by the double bond of fondness as well as marriage, all of you must admit as I admit! that in Gaius Marius we have a military talent of an excellence and a breadth of experience far greater than the rest of us put together. I would not care if Gaius Marius was ninety years old and had had three strokes! I would still be standing here saying what I am saying now if the man can put words and ideas together the way he does, then we must use him where he shines the brightest in the field! Confront your bigotry, Conscript Fathers! Gaius Marius is the same age as I am myself, a mere sixty-seven years, and the single stroke he suffered occurred ten years ago. As your Princeps Senatus, I say to you adamantly, Gaius Marius must serve as chief legate to Publius Lupus, and put his multiple talents to best use." No one spoke. No one, it seemed, breathed, even Sextus Caesar. Scaurus sat down beside Marius, with Catulus Caesar on his o
ther side. Lucius Caesar looked at the three of them, then up along the same row toward the doors, where Sulla sat. His eyes met Sulla's; Lucius Caesar became conscious of an accelerated heartbeat. What did Sulla's eyes say? So many things it was not possible to tell. "Publius Rutilius Lupus, I offer you the opportunity to accept voluntarily Gaius Marius as your senior legate. If you refuse, then I will put the matter to the House in a division." "All right, all right!" cried Lupus. "But not as my sole senior legate! Let him share the post with Quintus Servilius Caepio!" Marius threw back his head and roared with laughter. "Done!" he shouted. "The October Horse harnessed to a nag!"