🔺 THE FATE OF ROMAN PRISONERS OF WAR “Their general Hannibal, whose greatest virtue consisted in cruelty, made a bridge over the river Vergellus with the bodies of the Romans, and thereby led over his army, so that the Earth might experience the wickedness of the Carthaginian soldiers, just as Neptune had beheld the barbarity of their sailors. Those of our men who were taken as captive, he wore out with heavy burdens and long marches, and then left them on the road, with the lower part of their feet cut off. Those whom he took into his camp, picking out the nearest of kin that he could find, he compelled to fight in pairs, and did not relent in his thirst for blood until just one of them was left as victor.” (Hannibal 247-183/ 181 BC: Carthaginian general. Invaded Italy via the Alps, won key battles against Rome (Cannae), but ultimately lost at Zama and died in exile. Renowned military strategist). Valerius Maximus

🔘 FLAMINIUS RIDICULES THE SYRIANS “When Antiochus the king, with a great force, arrived in Greece, and all were terror-stricken at the great numbers of the men and their armament, Flamininus told a story for the benefit of the Achaeans as follows: He said that he was in Chalcis dining with a friend, and was amazed at the great number of the meats served. But his friend said that these were all pork, differing only in their seasoning and the way they were cooked. "So then," he said, "do not you, either, be amazed at the king's forces when you hear the names: 'pikemen,' 'panoplied,' 'foot-guards,' 'archers with two horses.' For all these are but Syrians differing from one another only in their paraphernalia." Plutarch, Sayings Of The Romans

🔵 CIRCUS AND AMPITHEATRE SPECTACLES “He also gave the Romans their pleasures, and noted ones, too, and he bestowed largesses also. He celebrated a triumph over the Germans and the Blemmyae, and caused companies from all nations, each of them containing up to fifty men, to be led before his triumphal procession. He gave in the Circus a most magnificent wild-beast hunt, at which all things were to be the spoils of the people. Now the manner of this spectacle was as follows: great trees, torn up with the roots by the soldiers, were set up on a platform of beams of wide extent, on which earth was then thrown, and in this way the whole Circus, planted to look like a forest, seemed, thanks to this new verdure, to be putting forth leaves. Then through all the entrances were brought in one thousand ostriches, one thousand stags and one thousand wild-boars, then deer, ibexes, wild sheep, and other grass-eating beasts, as many as could be reared or captured. The populace was then let in, and each man seized what he wished. Another day he brought out in the Amphitheatre at a single performance one hundred maned lions, which woke the thunder with their roaring. All of these were slaughtered as they came out of the doors of their dens, and being killed in this way they afforded no great spectacle. For there was none of that rush on the part of the beasts which takes place when they are let loose from cages. Besides, many, unwilling to charge, were despatched with arrows. Then he brought out one hundred leopards from Libya, then one hundred from Syria, then one hundred lionesses and at the same time three hundred bears; all of which beasts, it is clear, made a spectacle more vast than enjoyable. He presented, besides, three hundred pairs of gladiators, among whom fought many of the Blemmyae, who had been led in his triumph, besides many Germans and Sarmatians also and even some Isaurian brigands” Historia Augusta

🟣 ROMAN VS GREEK CITIES “So much, then, for the blessings with which nature supplies the city; but the Romans have added still others, which are the result of their foresight; for if the Greeks had the repute of aiming most happily in the founding of cities, in that they aimed at beauty, strength of position, harbours, and productive soil, the Romans had the best foresight in those matters which the Greeks made but little account of, such as the construction of roads and aqueducts, and of sewers that could wash out the filth of the city into the Tiber. Moreover, they have so constructed also the roads which run throughout the country, by adding both cuts through hills and embankments across valleys, that their wagons can carry boat-loads; and the sewers, vaulted with close-fitting stones, have in some places left room enough for wagons loaded with hay to pass through them. And water is brought into the city through the aqueducts in such quantities that veritable rivers flow through the city and the sewers; and almost every house has cisterns, and service-pipes, and copious fountains — with which Marcus Agrippa concerned himself most, though he also adorned the city with many other structures. In a word, the early Romans made but little account of the beauty of Rome, because they were occupied with other, greater and more necessary, matters; whereas the later Romans, and particularly those of to‑day and in my time, have not fallen short in this respect either — indeed, they have filled the city with many beautiful structures.” Strabo

⚪️ LACK OF SOLDIERS “About the time that Marius in a great battle defeated Bocchus and Jugurtha, the African kings, and slew many thousands of the Africans, and afterwards captured Jugurtha himself - who was delivered up to him by Bocchus, in order to gain the favour of the Romans and pardon for having made war upon them - the Romans themselves were in difficulty, by reason of the great losses they had suffered in the fighting against the Cimbrians in Gaul. And moreover, at the very same time men arrived from Sicily, reporting that many thousands of slaves there had risen in revolt. Therefore the whole Roman state was in such straits, that they knew not which way to turn; after losing sixty thousand allied troops in Gaul, in the war against the Cimbrians, they did not enough soldiers to send out another army.” Diodorus Siculus

By the age of 33, Alexander had conquered just the known world, by the age of 33, Jesus had conquered the entire world.

🟢 HUMAN SHIELDS “When the consul Aemilius Paulus was leading his army along a narrow road near the coast in Lucania, and the fleet of the Tarentines, lying in wait for him, had attacked his troops by means of scorpions, he placed prisoners as a screen to his line of march. Not wishing to harm these, the enemy ceased their attacks.” Frontinus: The Strategemata

“If the truth kills them, let them die”.

⚫️ MOTIVATION FOR THE DALMATIAN REVOLT “In the meantime Bato sent his son Sceuas to Tiberius, promising to surrender both himself and all his followers if he obtained pardon. And when he later received a pledge, he came by night to Tiberius' camp and on the following day was led before him as he sat on a tribunal. Bato asked nothing for himself, even holding his head forward to await the stroke, but in behalf of the others he made a long defence. Finally, upon being asked by Tiberius why his people had taken it into their heads to revolt and to war against the Romans so long, he replied: "You Romans are to blame for this; for you send as guardians of your flocks, not dogs or shepherds, but wolves." Cassius Dio

🟡 DIPLOMACY BY OTHER MEANS “Once a great number of the Senones, a Celtic tribe, aided the Etruscans in war against the Romans. The latter sent ambassadors to the towns of the Senones and complained that, while they were under treaty stipulations, they were furnishing mercenaries to fight against the Romans. Although they bore the caduceus, and wore the garments of their office, Britomaris cut them in pieces and flung the parts away, alleging that his own father had been slain by the Romans while he was waging war in Etruria. The consul Cornelius, learning of this abominable deed while he was on the march, abandoned his campaign against the Etruscans, dashed with great rapidity by way of the Sabine country and Picenum against the towns of the Senones, and devastated them with fire and sword. He carried their women and children into slavery, and killed all the adult youth except a son of Britomaris, whom he reserved for awful torture, and led in his triumph. When the Senones who were in Etruria heard of this calamity, they joined with the Etruscans and marched against Rome. After various mishaps these Senones, having no homes to return to, and being in a state of frenzy over their misfortunes, fell upon Domitius [the other consul], by whom most of them were destroyed. The rest slew themselves in despair. Such was the punishment meted out to the Senones for their crime against the ambassadors.” Appian, the foreign war

“At any rate, Pyrrhus used to say that more cities had been won for him by the eloquence of Cineas than by his own arms; and he continued to hold Cineas in especial honour and to demand his services. It was this Cineas, then, who, seeing that Pyrrhus was eagerly preparing an expedition at this time to Italy, and finding him at leisure for the moment, drew him into the following discourse. “The Romans, O Pyrrhus, are said to be good fighters, and to be rulers of many warlike nations; if, then, Heaven should permit us to conquer these men, how should we use our victory?” And Pyrrhus said: “Thy question, O Cineas, really needs no answer; the Romans once conquered, there is neither barbarian nor Greek city there which is a match for us, but we shall at once possess all Italy, the great size and richness and importance of which no man should know better than thyself.” After a little pause, then, Cineas said: “And after taking Italy, O King, what are we to do?” And Pyrrhus, not yet perceiving his intention, replied: “Sicily is near, and holds out her hands to us, an island abounding in wealth and men, and very easy to capture, for all is faction there, her cities have no government, and demagogues are rampant now that Agathocles is gone.” “What thou sayest,” replied Cineas, “is probably true; but will our expedition stop with the taking of Sicily?” “Heaven grant us,” said Pyrrhus, “victory and success so far; and we will make these contests but the preliminaries of great enterprises. For who could keep his hands off Libya, or Carthage, when that city got within his reach, a city which Agathocles, slipping stealthily out of Syracuse and crossing the sea with a few ships, narrowly missed taking? And when we have become masters here, no one of the enemies who now treat us with scorn will offer further resistance; there is no need of saying that.” “None whatever,” said Cineas, “for it is plain that with so great a power we shall be able to recover Macedonia and rule Greece securely. But when we have got everything subject to us, what are we going to do?” Then Pyrrhus smiled upon him and said: “We shall be much at ease, and we’ll drink bumpers, my good man, every day, and we’ll gladden one another’s hearts with confidential talks.” And now that Cineas had brought Pyrrhus to this point in the argument, he said: “Then what stands in our way now if we want to drink bumpers and while away the time with one another? Surely this privilege is ours already, and we have at hand, without taking any trouble, those things to which we hope to attain by bloodshed and great toils and perils, after doing much harm to others and suffering much ourselves.” “By this reasoning of Cineas Pyrrhus was more troubled than he was converted; he saw plainly what great happiness he was leaving behind him, but was unable to renounce his hopes of what he eagerly desired.”

🟤 ABOUT GENERALSHIP “It is said that at one of their meetings in the gymnasium Scipio and Hannibal had a conversation on the subject of generalship, in the presence of a number of bystanders, and that Scipio asked Hannibal whom he considered the greatest general, to which the latter replied, "Alexander of Macedon." To this Scipio assented since he also yielded the first place to Alexander. Then he asked Hannibal whom he placed next, and he replied, "Pyrrhus of Epirus," because he considered boldness the first qualification of a general; "for it would not be possible," he said, "to find two kings more enterprising than these." Scipio was rather nettled by this, but nevertheless he asked Hannibal to whom he would give the third place, expecting that at least the third would be assigned to him; but Hannibal replied, "To myself; for when I was a young man I conquered Spain and crossed the Alps with an army, the first after Hercules. I invaded Italy and struck terror into all of you, laid waste 400 of your towns, and often put your city in extreme peril, all this time receiving neither money nor reënforcements from Carthage." As Scipio saw that he was likely to prolong his self-laudation he said, laughing, "Where would you place yourself, Hannibal, if you had not been defeated by me?" Hannibal, now perceiving his jealousy, replied, "In that case I should have put myself before Alexander." Thus Hannibal continued his self-laudation, but flattered Scipio in a delicate manner by suggesting that he had conquered one who was the superior of Alexander.” Livy

Thank you Lord for 2025. Please keep me safe in 2026. Not mine, but thy will be done. Amen.

🔶 JUGURTHA “As soon as Jugurtha grew up, endowed as he was with physical strength, a handsome person, but above all with a vigorous intellect, he did not allow himself to be spoiled by luxury or idleness, but following the custom of that nation, he rode, he hurled the javelin, he contended with his fellows in foot-races; and although he surpassed them all in renown, he nevertheless won the love of all. Besides this, he devoted much time to the chase, he was the first or among the first to strike down the lion and other wild beasts, he distinguished himself greatly, but spoke little of his own exploits.” Sallust

🔺 WOMEN “At this time the wives were so bold as to surround the house of the Bruti, who were prepared to intercede against the repeal of the Oppian Law, which the women wanted to be removed - because it did not permit them to wear a coloured garments, nor to own above half an ounce of gold, nor to ride in a carriage to any place within a mile from the city, unless it was for sacrifices. And they obtained that the law, which had been kept for more than twenty years, should be abolished. For the men of that age did not foresee where the persistent desire for novel adornments was heading, nor how far the women's boldness would tend, once they had vanquished the law. For if they could have foreseen the contrivances of female cunning, that brings in something of extravagant novelty every day, they would have stopped the progress of luxury at its very beginning.” (The Oppian Law was repealed in 195 BC. The law had been in place for twenty years prior to its abolishment). Valerius Maximus

🔘 NO SOUP FOR YOU “The Senate voted that he (the elder Scipio) should receive a sum of money from the treasury, but the treasurers were not willing to open it on that day; whereupon he said that he would open it himself, for the reason it was kept closed, he declared, was because he had filled it with so much money.” Plutarch, Sayings Of The Romans