14.
Masgaba was answered, that “his father, Masinissa, acted as became a prince of a benevolent and grateful disposition; to such a degree that, by acknowledging the kindness of his friends, he added value and dignity to it.
[2]
The Roman people had been assisted by him in the Carthaginian war with exertions at once faithful and brave; by the favour of the Roman people he had obtained his kingdom, and had afterwards, in the successive wars with the three kings, discharged with his usual readiness every duty. That it was not surprising, that a king who had so intimately blended his own interests, and those of his kingdom, with the interests of the Romans, should be delighted at the victory of the Roman people.
[3]
That he should return thanks to the immortal gods for the victory of the Roman people, before the tutelary deities of his family; that his son could return thanks in his stead at Rome; as he had already said enough in the way of congratulation, both in his own name and in his father's. But that the senate were of opinion, that his leaving his own kingdom, and going out of Africa, besides being inconvenient to himself, was detrimental to the Roman people.” On Masgaba making a request that Hanno, son of Hamilcar, might be brought to Rome as a hostage in the place of some other, the senate replied, that they could not reasonably require hostages from the Carthaginians, at the choice of any other person.
[4]
The quaestor was ordered, by a vote of the senate, to purchase presents for the young prince to the value of one hundred pounds' weight of silver, to accompany him to Puteoli, to defray all his expenses while he staid in Italy, and to hire two ships to carry him and the retinue of the king to Africa; [p. 2131]clothes were given to every one of his attendants, both freemen and slaves.
[5]
Soon after this a letter was brought concerning Masinissa's other son, Misagenes, stating that, after the conquest of Perseus, he was sent by Lucius Paullus, with his horsemen, to Africa; and that while he was on his voyage in the Adriatic Sea, his fleet was dispersed, and himself, in a bad state of health, driven into Brundusium with only three ships. Lucius Stertinius, the quaestor, was sent to him to Brundusium, with presents of the same kind as those given to his brother at Rome, and he was ordered to provide lodgings for the prince and his retinue, and1 [p. 2132]
1 Crevier supplement: [6] “every thing necessary for his health and convenience; and that the expenses of himself and his en- tire retinue should be paid liberally; that he should look out for ships by which the prince might pass over into Africa with ease and safety. The quaestor was ordered to give to each of the horsemen a pound of silver, and five hundred sesterces. The assemblies, for the election of consuls for the ensuing year, were held by Caius Licinius the consul. Quintus Aelius Paetus, Marcus Junius Pennus, were appointed consuls. Then Quintus Cassius Longinus, Manius Juventius Thalna, Ti- berius Claudius Nero, Aulus Manlius Torquatus, Cneius Fulvius Gillo, C. Licinius [7??] Nerva, were made praetors. In the same year the censors, Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus and Caius Claudius Pulcher, at length united in passing [8??] a decree on a matter, which had been for a long time discussed among themselves in different disputes. Gracchus, when the freed- men, after being repeatedly confined within the four city tribes, had once more spread themselves through them all, wished to pluck up by the root the evil which was alway send- ing fresh shoots, and to exclude from enrolment all who had ever been slaves. Claudius struggled energetically against him, and made frequent references to the institutions of their ancestors, who had often tried to restrain the freed-men, but never to totally exclude them from the rights of citizens. He said that some relaxation of the former strictness had been conceded even by the censors, Caius Flaminius and Lucius Aemilius. And [9??] indeed, although even at that time those dregs of the people had spread themselves through all the tribes, and it appeared requisite to reduce them again within what might be considered their original settlement, still at the time some important concessions were made to several of that rank.
”
Livy. History of Rome by Titus Livius, books thirty-seven to the end, with the epitomes and fragments of the lost books. literally translated, with notes and illustrations, by. William A. McDevitte. York Street, Covent Garden, London. Henry G. Bohn. John Child and son, printers, Bungay. 1850. 4.
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