The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-07-11

years tho army that invaded Italy. This
single circumstance. contrasted as 1t was with
the short and divided commands intrusted to
Roman Gonerals, told strongly In favor OF a
Carthaginian army; in fact, Hannibal would
scarcely have won his most decisive victories
had he been opposed by q single General, even
OF inferior powers, but Of long experience.
~.
OF the First Punio War and of Hamilcar. 1t is
noteworthy that, in this long contest. Rome did
not produce n single great man; her Govern
ment made very grave mistakes; the Senate,
engaged for tho first Time In a trying foreign
war, conducted to q considerable extent at sea,
was frequently wanting In the energy which
was its normal characteristic. Had the descent
on Africa which failed under Resulus been per
sisted in. Carthage might have met tho fate 10
which she was to succumb q century later. and
Rome would not have known the dark days
of T"hrasimonus and of Canine. On the part
OF Rome, tho war was sometimes Ill.
planned amt badly directed: 1t was the height
OF folly 10 intrust grent fleets to inexperienced
landsmen and thereby to court n series of i'm.
mense disasters. These considerations vanish.
however, before the magnificent spectacle of tho
heroic determination of the Roman people,
which secured victory in spite OF the faults of its
Government. Carthage, on the other hand. al
ready showed that she was no match for her
young rival. Her inherent weakness on land
was instantly made manifest when an enemy set
! foot on her coast, while in spite OF her natural
and overwhelming superiority at sea she vas
defeated even on that element by Rome. Never
theless. n man of genius appeared In the midst
OF her citizens, and, had she made an earnest
effort to support Hamilcar, the First Punic
War would have had n different end. In a
~footnotc Mr.. Morris quotes the words in
which Mommscn c%ulogizcs Hamilcar's diplo-
macy, after the great military skill displayed by
him in Sicily had failed to save that island from
the Romans. THUS. at length" says Momm.
sen, they came to terms. Tho unconquered
General OF n vanquished nation descended from
the mountains which he had defended SO long
and delivered to the new masters Of the island
the fortresscs which the Phenicians had held In
their uninterrupted possession for at least four
hundred years. and upon whose walls all as
saults OF the Hellenes had recoiled unsuccess-
full" 1t is well known that after the close of
the First Punic War Hamilcar put an end
to tho revolt OF tho unpaid merccnaries
which brought Carthage to the verge OF ruin.
the revolt descr. bed by Flaubert in " Salammb6."
Even then. tremendous as was their debt to
Hamilcar, the mercantile noblcssc of Carthage
censpired against him, hoping thus to please the
Roman Senate. The common people OF Carthage,
on the other hand. )rrupt and venal as they
usually were. recognized that hamilcar had
saved the State, and that he alone could avert
impending danger. So it came about that the
unpatriotic peace party was swept aside by a
strong patriotic movement, and Hamilcar was
placed at tho head Of all the forces Of the Com.
monwealth on land or at sea, or, in Roman
phrase, was made n dictator. responsible to no
higher authority. He forthwith addressed himself
to tho task ofmaking his country once more ready
to confront an enemy whose deadly designs were
but too evident. Hamilcar hated Rome with the
intensity ofSemitic hate, but he was cautious and
knew how to conceal his purpose. Rome. now
mistress OF Sicily. kept close watch on Carthage:
from that point Of vantage, she might pounce
down on her foe and overwhelm the Phenician
empire. should warlike preparations be made on
the northern coast of Africa. Carthage, how
ever. had settlements In Spain and the far west;
in those distant regions she might elude tho
eyes OF Rome, regain much OF the power she had
lost, and. above all. form a great army and feet.
with which, when the hour came. abe might
strike. The country of Hamilcar, in n word.
was to be rehabilltated by his efforts made
beyond tho Pillars Of Hercules. He set forth on
his mission a few months after the instruction
of the mercenaries had ceased. He took with
him Hannibal, his frst-born son. having made
the boy, then In his tenth year, vow vengeance
on Rome before the PhGnician gods; Hasdrubal
and Mage, Two OF his younger sons, were in their
fathers train, as well as q son-in-law, also
named Hasdrubal, a man of remarkable abilities.
The course pursued by the expedition showed
how weak Carthage had become at sea; instead
OF being borne along the African coast by q
fleet 1t was obliged to mako Its way by land.
During the nine years OF life that remained to
Hamilcar, he succeeded in carrying out the first
part of his design and In preparing the way for
Its complete fulfllment. In other words,
he did for Hannibal what Philip had done for
Alexander. He found the Carthaginian settle
ments nero seats of trade; no made them out
posts Of a fast-growing empire; and, by a policy
of blended Cancellation and force. he turned
Iberian chiefs into docile vassals. reduced whole
provinces to loyal submission, and extended his
dominions to the line OF the Ebro. At the same
time he took care to evolve what WAS his great
object, a fleet and an army; warships were con.
structed from the Spanish forests; thousands of
the Iberians ranged themselves around him; even
tribes Of the distant Gauls were drawn to his
camp. BY these means a formidable army.
trained to service in the field BY long experience
and equipped and disciplined by a great leader
OF men, was in a few years assembled. Mean
while. Hamilcar, knowing what the character
OF the home Government was, supplied it's
wants or its greed out Of the resources no had
collected, he contrived even to secure its safety,
for he put down another attempt at rebellion.
The record OF much that he accomplished is lost;
but a deadly enemy of Carthage. the older Cato,
10 known to have exclaimed. after a journey
through Spain, that mo king was tho peer OF
Hamilcar Barca." The father OF Hannibal died
q warriors death. but his son.in-law. Hasdrubal,
to whom he bequeathed his task, trod worthily
in his footsteps until, ten years later, he was as
sassinated In the prime OF manhood.
III.
He had a successor greater than himself. ono
Of the gigantic figures that wax large only with
the lapse OF time. Hannibal had served under
his father and under Hasdrubal from his teens;