Now there was with him in the army a man
in other respects contemptible enough and of no note, but of the
family of the Africani, and his name was Scipio Sallutio;[563] and as
Caesar heard that the enemy relied on a certain old oracular answer,
that it was always the privilege of the family of the Scipios to
conquer in Libya, either to show his contempt of Scipio as a general
by a kind of joke, or because he really wished to have the benefit of
the omen himself (it is difficult to say which), he used to place this
Sallutio in the front of the battles as if he were the leader of the
army; for Caesar was often compelled to engage with the enemy and to
seek a battle, there being neither sufficient supply of corn for the
men nor fodder for the animals, but they were compelled to take the
sea-weed after washing off the salt and mixing a little grass with it
by way of sweetening it, and so to feed their horses. For the
Numidians, by continually showing themselves in great numbers and
suddenly appearing, kept possession of the country; and on one
occasion while the horsemen of Caesar were amusing themselves with a
Libyan, who was exhibiting to them his skill in dancing and playing on
a flute at the same time in a surprising manner, and the men, pleased
with the sight, were sitting on the ground and the boys holding their
horses, the enemy suddenly coming round and falling upon them killed
some, and entered the camp together with the rest, who fled in
disorderly haste.
Pages:
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644