snares for the Consul in his own house; to beset the tribunal of the city Prætor; to invest the Senate with armed ruffians, and prepare fire-balls and torches for burning the city. In short, let every man's sentiments. with regard to the public be inscribed on his forehead.

This I engage for and promise, Conscript Fathers, that by the diligence of the Consuls, the weight of your authority, the courage and firmness of the Roman people, and the unanimity of all honest men, Catiline being driven from the city, you shall behold all his treason detected, exposed, crushed, and punished.

With these omens, Catiline, of prosperity to the Republic, but of destruction to thyself and of all those who have joined themselves with thee in all kinds of parricide, go thy way to this impious and abominable war.

Meanwhile, thou, Jupiter, whose religion was established with the foundations of this city, whom we truly call Stator, the stay and the prop of this empire, wilt drive this man and his accomplices from thy altars and thy temples, from the houses and walls of the city, and from the lives and fortunes of us all. Thou wilt destroy with eternal punishments, both living and dead, all the haters of good men, the enemies of their country, the plunderers of Italy, now confederated in this detestable league and partnership of villany.

THE LAW OF VIRTUE.

Harper's Trans.

THE law of virtue is the same in God and man, and in no other disposition. This virtue is nothing else than a nature perfect in itself, and wrought up to the most consummate excellence. Because of this similitude, what connection can there be which concerns us more nearly, and is more certain ?

CICERO

7. ROMAN LIBERTY IN PERIL.

THE warfare between Rome and Carthage, her chief rival for supremacy along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, was one of the most brilliant in history; and the careers of the rival generals are fully illustrated by selections from their appeals to their troops and their mutual correspondHannibal crossed the Alps and threatened Rome.

ence.

PUBLIUS SCIPIO TO THE ROMAN ARMY.

(B. C. 216.)

NOT because of their courage, O soldiers, but because an engagement is now inevitable, do the enemy prepare for battle. Two thirds of their infantry and cavalry have been lost in the passage of the Alps. Those who survive hardly equal in numbers those who have perished. Should any one say, "Though few, they are stout and irresistible," I reply, Not so! They are the veriest shadows of men; wretches, emaciated by hunger and benumbed with cold; bruised and enfeebled among the rocks and crags; their joints frost-bitten, their sinews stiffened by the snow, their armor battered and shattered, their horses lame and powerless. Such is the cavalry, such the infantry, against which you have to contend; not enemies, but remnants and shreds of enemies. And I fear nothing more than that when you have fought Hannibal, the Alps may seem to have been beforehand, and to have robbed you of the renown of a victory. But perhaps it was fitting that the gods themselves, irrespective of human aid, should commence and carry forward a war against a leader and a people who violate the faith of treaties; and that we, who, next to the gods, have been most injured, should complete the contest thus commenced and nearly finished.

I would, therefore, have you fight, O soldiers, not only with that spirit with which you are wont to encounter

other enemies, but with a certain indignation and resentment, such as you might experience if you should see your slaves suddenly taking up arms against you. We might have slain these Carthaginians when they were shut up in Eryx by hunger, the most dreadful of human tortures. We might have carried our victorious fleet to Africa, and in a few days destroyed Carthage without opposition. We, yielded to their prayer for pardon; we released them from the blockade; we made peace with those whom we had conquered; and we afterwards held them under our protection when they were borne down. by the African war. In return for these benefits they come, under the lead of hot-brained youth, to lay waste our country. Ah, would that the contest on your side were now for glory, and not for safety! It is not for the possession of Sicily and Sardinia, but for Italy, that you must fight, nor is there another army behind, which, should we fail to conquer, can resist the enemy; nor are there other Alps, during the passage of which, fresh forces may be procured. Here, soldiers, here we must make our stand! Here we must fight, as if we fought before the walls of Rome!

Let every man bear in mind that it is not only his own person, but his wife and children he must now defend. Now let the thought of them alone possess his mind! Let him remember that the Roman Senate, the Roman people, are looking with anxious eyes to our exertions; and that, as our valor and our strength shall be this day, such will be the fortune of Rome, such the welfare, nay, the very existence of our country!

Trans. from Livy.

SELF-RESPECT.

I CAN afford to despise critics so long as I am conscious that I exercise supreme unselfishness in all my dealings. with God and man.

САТО

8. CARTHAGE IN PERIL.

THE adventures of Hannibal, extending through the islands of the Mediterranean Sea as well as through Spain, are full of thrilling interest. Although he was not sufficiently supported by the authorities of Carthage to perfect his triumphs, his genius and courage have made him one of the most conspicuous and successful military leaders of human history.

HANNIBAL'S ADDRESS TO HIS ARMY.

(B. C. 216.)

HERE, soldiers, you must either conquer or die. On the right and on the left, two seas enclose you; and you have no ships to flee to for escape. The river Po around you, larger and more imperious than the Rhone; the Alps behind, scarcely passed by you when fresh and vigorous, hem you in. Fortune has granted you the termination of your labors. Here she will bestow a reward worthy of the service you have undergone. All the spoil that Rome has amassed by so many triumphs will be yours. Think not that in proportion as this war is great in name, the victory will be difficult.

From the Pillars of Hercules, from the ocean, from the remotest limits of the world, over mountains and rivers, you have advanced victorious, and through the fiercest nations of Spain and Gaul. And with whom are you now to fight? With a raw army, which this very summer was beaten, conquered, and surrounded, an army unknown to their leader, and he to them. Shall I compare myself, almost born and certainly bred in the tent of my father, that illustrious commander, — myself, who was the pupil of you all, before I became your commander, to this six months general? Or shall I compare his army with mine?

On whatsoever side I turn my eyes, I behold all full of confidence, courage, and strength, — a veteran infantry; a most gallant cavalry; you, our allies, most faithful and

valiant; you, Carthaginians, whom not only your country's cause, but the justest anger, impel to battle. The valor, the confidence of invaders, are ever greater than those of the defensive party. As the assailants in this war, we pour down with hostile standards upon Italy. We bring the war. Suffering, indignity, and injury fire our minds. First, they demanded me, your leader, for punishment; and then all of you who had laid siege to Saguntum. And had we been given up, they would have visited us with the severest tortures. Cruel and haughty nation; Everything must be yours, and at your disposal. You are to prescribe to us with whom we shall make war! with whom, peace. You are to shut us up by boundaries of mountains and rivers which we must not pass. But you, you are not to observe the limits you yourselves have appointed. "Pass not the Iberus!" What next? Saguntum is on the Iberus. You must not move a step in that direction.

Is it a small thing that you have deprived us of our most ancient provinces, Sicily and Sardinia? Will you take Spain also? Should we yield Spain, you will cross over into Africa. Will cross," did I say? They have sent the two Consuls of this year, one to Africa, and the other to Spain.

Soldiers there is nothing left us in any quarter but what we can vindicate with our swords! Let those be cowards who have something to look back upon; whom, flying through safe and unmolested roads, their own country will receive. There is a necessity for us to be brave. There is no alternative. but victory or death; and if it must be death, who would not rather encounter it in battle than in flight? The immortal gods could give no stronger incentive to victory! Let but these truths be fixed in your minds; and once I again proclaim, you are Trans. from Livy.

conquerors.