| Plutarch's Parallel Lives | |
| The Boys' and Girls' Plutarch | |
|
From the Life of Sertorius the Roman who endeavored to establish a
separate government for himself in Spain
Sertorius was highly honored for his introducing discipline and
good order among the Spaniards, for he altered their furious and
savage manner of fighting, and brought them to make use of the
Roman armor, taught them to keep their ranks, and observe signals
and watchwords; and out of a confused horde of thieves and
robbers, he constituted a regular, well-disciplined army. He
bestowed silver and gold upon them liberally to gild and adorn
their helmets, he had their shields worked with various figures
and designs, he brought them into the mode of wearing flowered and
embroidered cloaks and coats, and by supplying money for these
purposes, and joining with them in all improvements, he won the
hearts of all. That, however, which delighted them most, was the
care that he took of their children. He sent for all the boys of
noblest parentage out of all their tribes, and placed them in the
great city of Osca, where he appointed masters to instruct them in
the Grecian and Roman learning, that when they came to be men,
they might, as he professed, be fitted to share with him in
authority, and in conducting the government, although under this
pretext he really made them hostages. However, their fathers were
wonderfully pleased to see their children going daily to the
schools in good order, handsomely dressed in gowns edged with
purple, and that Sertorius paid for their lessons, examined them
often, distributed rewards to the most deserving, and gave them
the golden bosses to hang around their necks, which the Romans
called "bullae."
All the cities on this side of the river Ebro finally united their
forces under his command, and his army grew very great, for they
flocked together and flowed in upon him from all quarters. But
when they continually cried out to attack the enemy, and were
impatient of delay, their inexperienced, disorderly rashness
caused Sertorius much trouble, who at first strove to restrain
them with reason and good counsel, but when he perceived them
refractory and unseasonably violent, he gave way to their
impetuous desires, and permitted them to engage with the enemy, in
such a way that they might be repulsed, yet not totally routed,
and so become more obedient to his commands for the future. This
happening as he had anticipated, he soon rescued them, and brought
them safe into his camp. And after a few days, being willing to
encourage them again, when he had called all his army together, he
caused two horses to be brought into the field, one an old,
feeble, lean animal, the other a lusty, strong horse, with a
remarkably thick and long tail. Near the lean one he placed a
tall, strong man, and near the strong, young horse a weak,
despicable-looking fellow; and at a given signal the strong man
took hold of the weak horse's tail with both his hands, and drew
it to him with his whole force, as if he would pull it off; the
other, the weak man, in the meantime, set to work to pluck off
hair by hair the great horse's tail. And when the strong man had
given trouble enough to himself in vain, and sufficient diversion
to the company, and had abandoned his attempt, whilst the weak,
pitiful fellow in a short time and with little pains had left not
a hair on the great horse's tail, Sertorius arose and said to his
army, "You see, fellow-soldiers, that perseverance is more
prevailing than violence, and that many things which cannot be
overcome when they are together, yield readily when taken little
by little. Assiduity and persistence are irresistible, and in time
overthrow and destroy the greatest powers. Time being the
favorable friend and assistant of those who use their judgment to
await his occasions, and the destructive enemy of those who are
unseasonably urging and pressing forward."
Of all his remarkable exploits, none raised greater admiration
than that which he put in practice against the Characitanians.
These are a people beyond the river Tagus, who inhabit neither
cities nor towns, but live in a vast, high hill, within the deep
dens and caves of the rocks, the mouths of which all open towards
the north. The country below is of a soil resembling a light clay,
so loose as easily to break into powder, and is not firm enough to
bear any one that treads upon it, and if you touch it in the
least, it flies about like ashes or unslaked lime. In any danger
of war, these people enter their caves, and carrying in their
booty and prey along with them, stay quietly within, secure from
every attack. And when Sertorius, leaving Metellus some distance
off, had placed his camp near this hill, they slighted and
despised him, imagining that he retired into these parts to escape
being overthrown by the Romans. And whether out of anger and
resentment, or out of his unwillingness to be thought to fly from
his enemies, early in the morning he rode up to view the situation
of the place. But finding there was no way to come at it, as he
rode about, threatening them in vain and disconcerted, he took
notice that the wind raised the dust and carried it up towards the
caves of the Characitanians, and the northerly wind, which some
call Caecias, prevailing most in those parts, coming up out of
moist plains or mountains covered with snow, at this particular
time, in the heat of summer, being further supplied and increased
by the melting of the ice in the northern regions, blew a
delightful, fresh gale, cooling and refreshing the Characitanians
and their cattle all the day long. Sertorius, considering well all
circumstances in which either the information of the inhabitants,
or his own experience had instructed him, commanded his soldiers
to shovel up a great quantity of this light, dusty earth, to heap
it together, and make a mound of it over against the hill in which
these barbarous people lived, who, imagining that all this
preparation was for raising a mound to get at them, only mocked
and laughed at it. However, he continued the work till the
evening, and brought his soldiers back into their camp. The next
morning a gentle breeze at first arose, and moved the lightest
parts of the earth, and dispersed it about as the chaff before the
wind; but when the sun got higher, and the strong, northerly wind
had covered the hills with the dust, the soldiers came and turned
this mound of earth over and over, and broke the hard clods in
pieces, whilst others on horseback rode through it backward and
forward, and raised a cloud of dust into the air; then with the
wind the whole of it was carried away and blown into the dwellings
of the Characitanians, all lying open to the north. And there
being no other vent or breathing-place than that through which the
Caecias rushed in upon them, it quickly blinded their eyes, and
filled their lungs, and all but choked them, whilst they strove to
draw in the rough air mingled with dust and powdered earth. Nor
were they able, with all they could do, to hold out more than two
days, but surrendered on the third, adding, by their defeat, not
so much to the power of Sertorius, as to his renown, in proving
that he was able to conquer places by art, which were impregnable
by the force of arms.
Return to
©2013 About.com. All rights reserved. | |
