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The Noble Character of Caius Fabricius from the life of Pyrrhus
Caius Fabricius, a man of highest consideration among the Romans
as an honest man and a good soldier, but extremely poor, went upon
an embassy to Pyrrhus to treat about prisoners that had been
taken. Pyrrhus received him with much kindness, and privately
would have persuaded him to accept of his gold, not for any evil
purpose, but as a mark of respect and hospitable kindness. Upon
Fabricius's refusal, he pressed him no further, but the next day,
having a mind to discompose him, as he had never seen an elephant
before, he commanded one of the largest, completely armed, to be
placed behind the hangings, as they were talking together. This
being done, at a given signal the hanging was drawn aside, and the
elephant, raising his trunk over the head of Fabricius, made a
horrid and ugly noise. He gently turned about and, smiling, said
to Pyrrhus, "neither your money yesterday, nor this beast today
make any impression upon me." At supper, amongst all sorts of
things that were discoursed of, but more particularly Greece and
the philosophers there, Cineas, by accident, had occasion to speak
of Epicurus, and explained the opinions his followers hold about
the gods and the commonwealth, and the object of life, who place
the chief happiness of man in pleasure, and decline public affairs
as an injury and disturbance of a happy life, and remove the gods
afar off both from kindness or anger, or any concern for us at
all, to a life wholly without business and flowing in pleasures.
Before he had done speaking, Fabricius cried out to Pyrrhus, "O
Hercules! may Pyrrhus and the Samnites entertain themselves with
this sort of opinions as long as they are at war with us."
Pyrrhus, admiring the wisdom and gravity of the man, was the more
transported with desire to make friendship instead of war with the
city, and entreated him, personally, after the peace should be
concluded, to accept of living with him as the chief of his
ministers and generals. Fabricius answered quietly, "Sir, this
will not be for your advantage, for they who now honor and admire
you, when they have had experience of me, will rather choose to be
governed by me, than by you." And Pyrrhus received his answer
without any resentment or tyrannic passion; nay, among his friends
he highly commended the great mind of Fabricius, and intrusted the
prisoners to him alone, on condition that if the senate should not
vote a peace, after they had conversed with their friends and
celebrated the festival of Saturn, they should be remanded. And,
accordingly, they were sent back after the holidays; death being
decreed for any that stayed behind.
After this, when Fabricius had taken the consulate, a person came
with a letter to the camp written by the king's principal
physician, offering to take Pyrrhus off by poison, and so end the
war without further hazard to the Romans, if he might have a
reward proportional to his service. Fabricius, despising the
villany of the man, and disposing the other consul to the same
opinion, sent despatches immediately to Pyrrhus to caution him
against the treason. His letter was to this effect: "Caius
Fabricius and Quintus Aemilius, consuls of the Romans, to Pyrrhus
the king, health. You seem to have made a bad judgement both of
your friends and your enemies; you will understand by reading this
letter sent to us, that you are at war with honest men, and trust
villains and knaves. Nor do we disclose this out of any favor to
you, but lest your ruin might bring a reproach upon us, as if we
had ended the war by treachery because not able to do it by
force." When Pyrrhus had read the letter, and made inquiry into
the treason, he punished the physician, and as an acknowledgement
to the Romans sent to Rome the prisoners without ransom. But they,
regarding it as at once too great a kindness from an enemy, and
too great a reward for not doing a mean act to accept their
prisoners so, released in return an equal number of the Tarentines
and Samnites, but would admit of no debate of alliance or peace
until Pyrrhus had removed his arms and forces out of Italy, and
sailed back to Epirus with the same ships that brought him over.
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