« Sal. Jug. 80 | Sal. Jug. 81 | Sal. Jug. 82 | About This Work »
81Now the armies met in a place mutually agreed upon. There, after an exchange of pledges, Jugurtha strove to inflame the heart of Bocchus by a speech. The Romans, he said, were unjust, of boundless greed, and the common foes of all mankind. They had the same motive for a war with Bocchus as for one with himself and other nations, namely, the lust for dominion, and their hatred of all monarchies. Just now Jugurtha was their enemy, a short time before it had been the Carthaginians and King Perses; in the future it would be whoever seemed to them most powerful. 2After he had spoken these and similar words, the kings directed their march towards the town of Cirta, because there Metellus had placed his booty, his prisoners and his baggage. 3Hence Jugurtha thought that if the city could be taken, it would be worth the effort, while if the Roman leader came to the help of his countrymen, there would be a battle. 4And as a matter of fact, there was nothing about which the wily king was in such haste as to involve Bocchus in war, for fear that delay might lead him to choose another course.
« Sal. Jug. 80 | Sal. Jug. 81 | Sal. Jug. 82 | About This Work »