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57At first they experienced a slight delay, due to a dispute between Varus and Scipio about the leadership, inasmuch as the former had held sway for a longer time in these regions, and Juba also, elated by his victory, demanded that he should have first place because of it. 2But Scipio and Cato, who far excelled them all in rank and in shrewdness respectively, reached an agreement and won the rest over to it, persuading them to entrust everything to Scipio. For Cato, who might have commanded on equal terms with him, or even alone, refused, 3first, because he thought it a most injurious course in such circumstances, and second, because he was inferior to the other in official rank. He saw that in military matters even more than elsewhere it was very important that the commander should have some legal precedence over the others, and therefore he willingly yielded him the command and furthermore delivered to him the armies that he had brought there. 4After this Cato interceded on behalf of Utica, which was suspected of favouring Caesar’s cause and had come near being destroyed by the others on this account, and thus he received it to guard, and the whole country and sea in that vicinity were entrusted to his protection. The other districts were governed by Scipio as commander-in -chief. 5His very name was a source of strength to all those who sided with him, since by some strange, unreasonable hope they believed that no Scipio could meet with misfortune in Africa.
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