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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter six of Paris by Jacob Abbot. This LibriVox recording
is in the public domain recording by Dion Jine's Salt
Lake City, Utah Negotiations b c. Two eighty two, two
seventy nine. The result of the battle on the banks
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of the Cirrus, decisive and complete as the victory was
on the part of the Greeks, produced of course a
very profound sensation at Rome. Instead, however, of discouraging and
disheartening the Roman senate and people, it only aroused them
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to fresh energy and determination. The victory was considered as
wholly due to the extraordinary military energy and skill of Paris,
and not to any superiority of the Greek troops over
those of the Romans incurridge in discipline or in efficiency
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in the field. In fact, it was as saying at
Rome at the time, that it was Levenus that had
been conquered by Paris in the battle, and not the
Romans by the Greeks. The Roman government accordingly began immediately
to enlist new recruits and to make preparations for a
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new campaign more ample and complete, and on a far
greater scale than before. Pearis was much surprised when he
heard these things, he had supposed that the Romans would
have been disheartened by the defeat which they had sustained,
and would now think only of proposals and negotiations for peace.
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He seems to have been but very imperfectly informed in
respect to the condition of the Roman commonwealth at this period,
and to the degree of power to which it had attained.
He supposed that after suffering so signal and decisive a defeat,
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the Romans would regard themselves as conquered, and that nothing
remained to them now but to consider how they could
make the best terms with their conqueror. The Roman troops
had indeed withdrawn from the neighborhood of the place where
the battle had been fought, and had left Pearis to
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take possession of the ground without molestation. Pearis was even
allowed to advance some considerable distance toward Rome, but he
soon learned that, notwithstanding their temporary reverses, his enemies had
not the most remote intention of submitting to him, but
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were making preparations to take the field again with a
greater force than ever. Under these circumstances, Peirus was for
a time somewhat at a loss what to do. Should
he follow up his victory and advance boldly toward the capital,
with a view of overcoming the Roman power entirely, or
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should he be satisfied with the advantage which he had
already gained, and be content for the present with being
master of Western Italy. After much hesitation, he concluded on
the latter course. He accordingly suspended his hostile operations and
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prepared to send an ambassador to Rome to propose peace.
Sineus was, of course the ambassador commissioned to act on
this occasion. Sineus accordingly proceeded to Rome. He was accompanied
by a train of attendance suitable to his reigank as
a royal ambassador, and he took book with him a
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great number of costly presents, to be offered to the
leading men in Rome. By way, it would seem of
facilitating his negotiations. The nature of the means which he
thus appears to have relied upon in his embassy to
Rome may perhaps indicate the secret of his success in
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the diplomatic duties which he had performed in Greece and
in Asia, where he had acquired so much distinction for
his dexterity in negotiating treaties favorable to the interests of
his master. However this may be, Sinius found that the
policy which he contemplated would not answer in Rome. Soon
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after his arrival in the city, and in an early
stage of the negotiations, he began to offer his presence
to the public men with whom he had to deal.
They refused to accept them. The Roman senators to whom
the gifts were offered returned them all, saying that in
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case a treaty should be concluded and peace made between
the two nations, they should then have no objections to
an interchange of such civilities. But while the negotiations were pending,
they conceived it improper for them to receive any such offerings.
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It may perhaps be taken as an additional proof of
the nature of the influences which Sineus was accustomed to
rely upon in his diplomatic undertakings, that he offered many
of his gifts on this occasion to the ladies of
the Roman senators, as well as to the senators themselves.
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But the wives were found as incorruptible as the husband's.
The gifts were all alike returned. Not discouraged by the
failure of this attempt, Sineus obtained permission of the Roman
Senate to appear before them and to address them on
the subject of the views which Paris entertained in respect
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to the basis of the peace which he proposed. On
the appointed day, Sineus went to the Senate chamber, and
there made a long and very able and eloquent address
in the presence of the Senate and of the principal
inhabitants of the city. He was very much impressed on
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this occasion with the spectacle which the August Assembly presented
to his view. He said afterward, in fact, that the
Roman Senate seemed to him like a congress of kings,
so dignified and imposing was the appearance of the body,
and so impressive was the air of calmness and gravity
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which reigned in their deliberations. Sineus made a very able
and effective speech. He explained the views and proposals of Pearis,
presenting them in a light as favorable and attractive as possible.
Pearis was willing, he said, to make peace on equal terms.
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He proposed that he should give up all his prisoners
without ransom, and that the Romans should give up theirs.
He would then form an alliance with the Romans and
aid them in the future conquests that they meditated. All
he asked was that he might have the sanction of
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the Roman government to his retaining Tarentum and the countries
connected with and dependent upon it, and that in maintaining
his dominion over these lands, he might look upon the
Roman people as his allies and friends. After Sinius had
concluded his speech and had withdrawn from the Senate chamber,
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a debate arose among the senators on the propositions which
he had made to them. There was a difference of opinion.
Some were for rejecting the proposals at once, others thought
that they ought to be accepted. Those who were inclined
to peace urged the wisdom of acceding to Paris's proposals
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by representing the great danger of continuing the war. We
have already said they lost one great and decisive battle,
and in case of the renewal of the struggle, we
must expect to find our enemy still more formidable than
he was before. For many of the Italian nations of
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the eastern coast have joined his standard since hearing of
the victory which he has obtained, and more are coming in.
His strength, in fact, is growing greater and greater every day,
and it is better for us to make peace with
him now on the honorable terms which he proposes to us,
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rather than to risk another battle, which may lead to
the most disastrous consequences. In the midst of this discussion,
an aged senator, who had been for a long time
incapacitated by his years and infirmities from appearing in his seat,
was seen coming to the Assembly, supported and led by
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his sons and sons in law, who were making way
for him in the passages and conducting him. In his
name was aps Claudius. He was blind and almost helpless
through age and infirmity. He had heard in his chamber
of the irresolution of the Senate in respect to the
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further prosecution of the war with Paris, and had caused
himself to be taken from his bed and borne through
the streets by servants on a chair to the Senate House,
that he might there once more raise his voice to save,
if possible, the honor and dignity of his country. As
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he entered the chamber, he became at once the object
of universal attention. As soon as he reached his seat.
A respectful silence began to prevail throughout the assembly, all
listening to hear what he had to say. He expressed
himself as follows, Senators of Rome. I am blind, and
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I have been accustomed to consider my blindness as a calamity.
But now I could wish that I had been deaf
as well as blind, and then I might never have
heard of the disgrace which seems to impend over my country.
Where are now the boastings that we made when Alexander
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the Great commenced his career, that if he had turned
his arms toward Italy and Rome instead of Persia and
the East, we would never have submitted to him that
he never would have gained the renown of being invincible
if he had only attacked us, But would, on the
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other hand, if he invaded our dominions only have contributed
to the glory of the Roman name by his flight
or his fall. These boats we made so loudly that
the echo of them spread throughout the world. And yet
now here is an obscure adventurer who has landed on
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our shores as an enemy and an invader. And because
he has met with a partial and temporary success. You
are debating whether you shall not make an ignominious peace
with him and allow him to remain. How vain and
foolish does all our boastful defiance of Alexander appear when
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we now tremble at the name of Paris, a man
who has been all his life a follower and dependent
of one of Alexander's inferior generals, a man who has
scarcely been able to maintain himself in his own dominions,
who could not retain even a small and insignificant part
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of Macedon which he had conquered, but was driven ignominiously
from it, And who comes into Italy now rather as
a refugee than a conqueror, an adventurer who seeks power
here because he cannot sustain himself at home. I warn
you not to expect that you can gain anything by
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making such a peace with him as he proposes. Such
a piece makes no atonement for the past, and it
offers no security for the future. On the contrary, it
will open the door to other invaders, who will come,
encouraged by Paris's success and emboldened by the contempt which
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they will feel for you. In allowing yourselves to be
thus braved and insulted with impunity. The effect of this
speech on the Senate was to produce a unanimous determination
to carry on the war. Sinius was accordingly dismissed with
this answer, that the Romans would listen to no propositions
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for peace while Pieris remained in Italy. If he would
withdraw from the country altogether and retire to his own
proper dominions, they would then listen to any proposals that
he might make for a treaty of alliance and amity.
So long, however, as he remained on Italian ground, they
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would make no terms with him, whatever, though he should
gain a thousand victories, but would wage war upon him
to the last extremity. Sinius returned to the camp of
Pearis bearing this reply. He communicated also to Pearis a
great deal of information in respect to the government and
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the people of Rome, the extent of the population and
the wealth and resources of the city. For while he
had been engaged in conducting his negotiations, he had made
every exertion to obtain intelligence on all these points, and
he had been a very attentive and sagacious observer of
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all that he had seen. The account which he gave
was very little calculated to encourage Pearis in his future
hopes and expectations. The people of Rome, Sineus said, were
more numerous than he had before supposed. They had now
already on foot an army twice as large as the
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one which Pearis had defeated, and multitudes besides were still
left in the city of a suitable age for enlisting,
sufficient to form even larger armies. Still, the prospect, in
a word, was very far from such as to promise
Peeris an easy victory. Of course, both parties began now
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to prepare vigorously for war. Before hostilities were resumed, however,
the Romans sent a messenger to the camp of Paris
to negotiate an exchange of prisoners. The name of this
ambassador was Fabricius. Fabricius, as Peeris was informed by Sinius,
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was very highly esteemed at Rome for his integrity and
for his military abilities, But he was without property, being
dependent wholly on his pay as an officer of the army.
Peirus received Fabricius in the most respectful manner, and treated
him with every mark of consideration and honor. He moreover
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offered him privately a large sum of money in gold.
He told Fabricius that in asking his acceptance of such
a gift, he did not do it for any base purpose,
but intended it only as a token of friendship and hospitality. Fabricius, however,
refused to accept the present, and Pirus pressed him no further.
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The next day, Pirus formed a plan for giving his
guest a little surprise. He supposed that he had never
seen an elephant, and he accordingly directed that one of
the largest of these animals should be placed secretly behind
a curtain in an apartment meant where Fabricius was to
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be received. The elephant was covered with his armor and
splendidly caparisoned. After Fabricius had come in, and while he
was sitting in the apartment wholly unconscious of what was
before him. All at once the curtain was raised and
the elephant was suddenly brought to view. And at the
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same instant, the huge animal, raising his trunk, flourished it
in a threatening manner over Fabricius's head, making at the
same time a frightful cry, such as he had been
trained to utter for the purpose of striking terror into
the enemy. In charging upon them on the field of battle. Fabricius,
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instead of appearing terrified or even astonished at the spectacle,
sat quietly in his seat, to all appearance entirely unmoved, and,
turning to Paris with an air of the utmost composure,
said coolly, you see that you make no impression upon me,
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either by your gold yesterday or by your beast to day.
Pearus was not at all displeased with this answer, blunt
as it may seem. On the contrary, he seems to
have been very deeply impressed with a sense of the
stern and incorruptible virtue of Fabricius's character, and he felt
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a strong desire to obtain the services of such an
officer in his own court and army. He accordingly made
new proposals to Fabricius, urging him to use his influence
to induce the Romans to make peace, and then to
go with him to Epirus and enter into his service there.
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If you will do so, said Peirus, I will make
you the chief of my generals and my own most
intimate friend and companion, and you shall enjoy abundant honors
and rewards. No, replied Fabricius, I cannot accept those offers,
Nor is it for your interest that I should accept them,
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For were I to go with you to Epirus, your people,
as soon as they came to know me well, would
lose all their respect for you, and would wish to
have me instead of you for their king. We are,
perhaps to understand this rejoinder as well as the one
which Fabricius made to Paris in respect to the elephant,
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as intended in a somewhat jocose and playful sense, since
if we suppose them to have been gravely and seriously uttered,
they would indicate a spirit of vanity and of empty boasting,
which would seem to be wholly inconsistent with what we
know of Fabricius's character. However this may be, Pyrrus was
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pleased with both, and the more that he saw and
learned of the Romans, the more desirous he became of
terminating the war and forming an alliance with them. But
the Romans firmly persisted in refusing to treat with him
except on the condition of his withdrawing first entirely from Italy,
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and this was a condition with which he deemed it
impossible to comply. It would be equivalent, in fact, to
an acknowledgment that he had been entirely defeated. Accordingly, both
sides began again to prepare vigorously for war. The Romans
marched southward from the city with a large army under
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the command of their two consuls. The names of the
consuls at this time were Sulpicius, Saverio, and Deseus. These
generals advanced into Apulia, a country on the western coast
of Italy, north of Tarentum. Here they encamped on a
plain at the foot of the Apennines, near a place
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called Asculum. There was a stream in front of their camp,
and the mountains were behind it. The stream was large
and deep, and of course it greatly protected their position.
On hearing of the approach of the Romans, Pirrus himself
took the field at the head of all his forces
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and advanced to meet them. He came to the plain
on which the Roman army was encamped, and posted himself
on the opposite bank of the stream. The armies were
thus placed in close vicinity to each other, being separated
only by the stream. The question was which should attempt
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to cross the stream and make the attack upon the other.
They remained in this position for a considerable time, neither
party venturing to attempt the passage. While things were in
this condition, the troops on each side waiting for an
opportunity of attacking their enemies, and probably without any fear
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whatever of the physical dangers which they were to encounter
in the conflict. The feeling of composure and confidence among
the men in Paris's army was greatly disturbed by a
singular superstition. It was rumored in the army that Diseus Muss,
the Roman commander, was endowed with a species of magical
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and supernatural power which would, under certain circumstances, be fatal
to all who opposed him. And though the Greeks seemed
to have no fear of the material steal of the
Roman legions, this mysterious and divine virtue, which they imagined
to reside in the commander, struck them with an invincible terror.
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The story was that the supernatural power in question originated
in one of the ancestors of the present, Deseus, a
brave Roman general who lived and flourished in the century
preceding the time of Paris. His name, too was Deseus Muss.
In the early part of his life, when he was
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a subordinate officer. He was the means of saving the
whole army from most imminent danger, by taking possession of
an eminence among the mountains with the companies that were
under his command, and holding it against the enemy until
the Roman troops could be drawn out of a dangerous
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defile where they would otherwise have been overwhelmed and destroyed.
He was greatly honored for this exploit. The consul, who
commanded on the occasion rewarded him with a golden crown,
a hundred oxen, and a magnificent white bull with gilded horns.
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The common soldiers, too, held a grand festival and celebration
in honor of him, in which they crowned him with
a wreath made of dried grasses on the field, according
to an ancient custom which prevailed among the Romans, of
rewarding in this way any man who should be the
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means of saving an army. Of course, such an event
as saving an army was of very rare occurrence, and
accordingly the crowning of a soldier by his comrades on
the field was a very distinguished honor. Although the decoration
itself was made of materials so insignificant and worthless. Deseus
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rose rapidly after this time, from rank to rank, until
at length he was chosen consul. In the course of
his consulship, he took the field with one of his colleagues,
whose name was Torcatis, at the head of a large
army in the prosecution of a very important war in
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the interior of the country. The time arrived at length
for a decisive battle to be fought. Both armies were
drawn up on the field, the preparations were all made,
and the battle was to be fought on the following day.
In the night, however, a vision appeared to each consul,
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informing him that it had been decreed by fate that
a general on one side and the army on the
other were to be destroyed on the following day, and
that consequently, either of the consuls, by sacrificing himself, might
secure the destruction of the enemy. On the other hand,
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if they were to take measures to save themselves, the
general on the other side would be killed, and on
their side the army would be defeated and cut to pieces.
The two consuls, on conferring together upon the following morning,
immediately decided that either one or the other of them
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should die in order to secure victory to the arms
of their country, and the question at once arose what
method they should adopt to determine which of them should
be the sacrifice. At length it was agreed that they
should go into battle as usual, each in command of
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his own wing of the army, and that the one
whose wing should first begin to give way, should offer
himself as the victim. The arrangements were made accordingly, and
the result proved that Deseus was the one on whom
the dire duty of self immolation was to devolve. The
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wing under his command began to give way, he immediately
resolved to fulfill his vow. He summoned the High Priest.
He clothed himself in the garb of a victim about
to be offered in sacrifice. Then, with his military cloak
wrapped about his head, and standing upon a spear that
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had been previously laid down upon the ground, he repeated
in the proper form words by which he devoted himself
and the army of the enemy to the God of Death,
And then finally mounted upon his horse and drove furiously
in among the thickest of the enemy of course, he
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was at once thrust through with a hundred spears and javelins,
and immediately afterward the army of the enemy gave way
on all hands, and the Romans swept the field completely victorious.
The power which was in this instance supernaturally granted to
Deseus to secure the victory to the Roman arms by
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sacrificing his own life on the field of battle. Afterward descended.
It was supposed as an inheritance from father to son.
Deseus Muss, the commander opposed to Paris, was the grandson
of his namesake referred to above, and now it was
rumored among the Greeks that he intended, as soon as
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the army came into action, to make the destruction of
his enemies shore by sacrificing himself as his grandfather had done.
The soldiers of Pirus were willing to meet any of
the ordinary and natural chances and hazards of war, But
where the awful and irresistible decrees of the spiritual world
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were to be against them, it is not strange that
they dreaded the encounter. Under these circumstances. Pearis sent a
party of messengers to the Roman camp to say to
Deseus that if in the approaching battle he attempted to
resort to any such acts of necromancy to secure the
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victory to the Roman side, he would find himself wholly
unsuccessful in the attempt, for the Greek soldiers had all
been instructed not to kill him if he should throw
himself among them, but to take him alive and bring
him a prisoner to Paris's camp, and that then, after
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the battle was over, he should be subjected, they declared,
to the most cruel and ignominious punishments as a magician
and an impostor. Deseus sent backward in reply that per
had no occasion to give himself any uneasiness in respect
to the course which the Roman general would pursue in
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the approaching battle. The measure that he had referred to
was one to which the Romans were not accustomed to resort,
except in emergencies of the most extreme and dangerous character.
And Paris ought not to flatter himself with the idea
that the Romans regarded his invasion as of sufficient consequence
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to require them to have recourse to any unusual means
of defense. They were fully convinced of their ability to
meet and conquer him by ordinary modes of warfare. To
prove that they were honest in this opinion, they offered
to waive the advantage which the river afforded them as
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a means of defense, and allow Pearis to cross it
without Molistia, with a view to fighting the battle afterward
upon the open field, or they would themselves cross the
river and fight the battle on Pearis's side of it,
whichever Pearis himself preferred. They asked for no advantage, but
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were willing to meet their adversaries on equal terms and
abide by the result. Pearis could not, with honor decline
to accept this challenge. He decided to remain where he
was and allow the Romans to cross the stream. This
they accordingly did, and when all the troops had effected
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the passage, they were drawn up in battle array on
the plain. Pearis marshaled his forces also, and both parties
prepared for the contest. The Romans stood most in awe
of the elephants, and they resorted to some peculiar and
extraordinary means of resisting them. Prepared a great number of chariots,
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each of which was armed with a long pointed spear
projecting forward in such a manner that when the chariots
should be driven on toward the elephants, these spears or
beaks should pierce the bodies of the beasts and destroy them.
The chariots two were filled with men, who were all
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provided with fire brands, which they were to throw at
the elephants and frighten them as they came on. These
chariots were all carefully posted in front of that part
of Peiris's army where the elephants were stationed, and the
charioteers were strictly ordered not to move until they should
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see the elephants advancing. The battle, as might have been
expected from the circumstances which preceded it and from the
character of the combatants, was fought with the most furious
and persevering desperation. It continued through the whole day, and
in the various parts of the field, and during the
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different hours of the day. The advantage was sometimes strongly
on one side and sometimes on the other, so that
it was wholly uncertain for a long time what the
ultimate result would be. The elephant succeeded in getting round
the chariots which had been posted to intercept them, and
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effected a great destruction of the Roman troops. On the
other hand, a detachment of the Roman army made their
way to the camp of Puris and attacked it desperately.
Pearis withdrew a part of his forces to protect his camp,
and that turned the tide against him on the field.
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By means of the most herculean exertions, Paris rallied his
men and restored their confidence, and then for a time
the fortune of war seemed to incline in his favor.
On the course of the day, Deseus was killed, and
the whole command of the Roman army then devolved upon Sopicius.
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His colleague Pearrus himself was seriously wounded. When at last
the sun went down and the approaching darkness of the
night prevented a continuance of the combat, both parties drew
off such as remained alive of their respective armies, leaving
the field covered with the dead and dying. One of
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Pierus's generals congratulated him on his victory. Yes, said Pearis,
another such victory, and I shall be undone. In fact,
after trying their strength against each other in this battle,
neither parties seemed to be in haste to bring on
another contest. They both drew away to places of security
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and began to send for rehonn enforcements and to take
measures to strengthen themselves for future operations. They remained in
this state of inaction until at length the season passed away,
and they then went into winter quarters, each watching the other,
but postponing by common consent all active hostilities until spring.
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In the spring, they took the field again, and the
two armies approached each other once more. The Roman army
had now two new commanders, one of whom was the
celebrated Fabricius, whom Pieris had negotiated with on former occasions.
The two commanders were thus well acquainted with each other,
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and though as public men they were enemies, in private
and personally they were very good friends. Pieris had a
physician in his service named Nicius. This man conceived the
design of offering to the Romans to poison his master
on occasion of receiving a suitable reward. He accordingly wrote
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a letter to Fabricius making the proposal. Fabricius immediately communicated
the letter to his colleague, and they both concurred in
the decision to inform Pirus himself of the offer which
had been made them, and put him on his guard
against the domestic traitor. They accordingly sent him the letter
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which they had received, accompanied by one from themselves of
the following tenor Caius Fabricius and Quintus Aemilius to King Pirus, greeting,
you seem to be as unfortunate in the choice of
your friends as you are in that of your enemies.
The letter which we send herewith will satisfy you that
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those around you on whom you rely are wholly unworthy
of your confidence. You are betrayed. Your very physician, the
man who ought to be most faithful to you, offers
to poison you. We give you this information not out
of any particular friendship for you, but because we do
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not wish to be suspected of conniving at an assassination,
a crime which we detest and abhor. Besides, we do
not wish to be deprived of the opportunity of showing
the world that we are able to meet and conquer
you in open war. Pearis was very much struck with
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what he considered the extraordinary generosity of his enemies. He
immediately collected together all the prisoners that he had taken
from the Romans, and sent them home to the Roman
camp as a token of acknowledgment and gratitude on his
part for the high and honorable course of action which
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his adversaries had adopted. They, however, roman like, would not
accept such a token without making a corresponding return, and
they accordingly sent home to Paris a body of Greek
prisoners equal in number and rank to those whom Pearis
had set free. All these things tended to increase the
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disinclination of Pearis to press the further prosecution of the war.
He became more and more desirous every day to make
peace with the Romans, preferring very much that such a
people should be his allies rather than his enemies. They, however,
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firmly and pertinaciously refused to treat with him on any terms, unless,
as a preliminary step, he would go back to his
own dominions. This he thought he could not do with honor.
He was accordingly much perplexed, and began earnestly to wish
that something would occur to furnish him with a plausible
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pretext for retiring from Italy. End of chapter six