be sentenced to die, he offered to give Pompey all the letters he had found belonging to Sertorius, on condition of his life being spared. These letters would have been of great consequence to Pompey, as they would have shown him who, amongst the chief of his fellow-citizens at Rome, were the friends of Sertorius; but he was far too highminded to take advantage of such meanness, and burnt the letters without looking at them, and ordered Perperna instantly to be executed. The war in Spain was then ended.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

SERVILE WAR UNDER SPARTACUS,
ENDED BY CRASSUS AND POMPEY, B. C. 71.

B. C. 71.

AFTER conquering Sertorius and Perperna, Pompey was called upon to subdue a very different enemy, an army of rebellious gladiators and slaves.

Gladiators, as we have heard before, were persons forced to fight with each other, as a public show to amuse the people. They were generally prisoners taken in war, and bought by masters who trained them in schools, and then made them exhibit at the public games. These amusements were cruel and disgraceful, and one of the chief causes of the great wickedness of the Romans. They became hard-hearted in consequence, and found delight in the sufferings of their fellow creatures. When a gladiator was vanquished, he raised his finger to ask for pity, and if the spectators approved of his bravery, they turned down their thumbs, and he was spared; but if they turned

them up, the unfortunate man was killed. Sometimes the gladiators were bound by an oath to their master to fight till they died. They were rewarded by a crown of palm leaves, or by money; and now and then they were allowed not to fight any more.

The insurrection which Pompey was obliged to subdue began at Capua, where there was a school of these gladiators, who were kept very strictly. Seventy of them escaped from their masters, put themselves under the command of one of their companions, named Spartacus, a very clever, brave man, and established themselves upon a high mountain, where they were well able to defend themselves. They then invited as many other gladiators and slaves to join them as chose to do so, and in a short time they had collected a really large army, as many as ten thousand in number. When the insurrection had increased to such a great pitch, the Roman senate began to be alarmed. The consuls were sent against them, but they were defeated; and Spartacus and his slaves marched through the country, their numbers increasing as they went on, plundering and destroying, and taking revenge for the cruelties which had been shown them, till they came to the foot of the Alps. The senators then fixed upon another general to oppose them; Crassus, who had been one of Sylla's favourite officers. Crassus was a man more famous for his immense riches than for being particularly clever or having much energy; Spartacus on the contrary had great talent and spirit; and the senate knew this and resolved, as the war in Spain was at that time ended, to give the command of their armies, as soon as they possibly could, to Pompey.

Before, however, they could do so, Crassus had

gained a great victory over the gladiators. Spartacus had a foreboding before this battle began that he should lose it; and he ordered his favourite horse to be brought to him, and slew it, saying, "If I should win this day, I shall have a great many better horses; if I lose it, I shall have no need of it." The battle lasted long. Spartacus was wounded in the leg, yet still he fought on his knees, holding his sword and buckler. At last he fell lifeless upon the bodies of those whom he had slain. Forty thousand of his men were killed on the spot. The rest fled, but before they could reach a place of safety they were met by Pompey, who was coming to take the command from Crassus. He cut them all to pieces, and afterwards sent this boasting message to the senate: "Crassus has overcome the gladiators in a pitched battle, but I have plucked up the war by the roots." This battle was fought in the year B. C. 71.

Crassus was very nearly becoming the enemy of Pompey for life in consequence of this boast; but he was pacified by Pompey's begging that he might be made consul. Still they were not heartily friends, and each tried to gain the love and admiration of the people for himself. Pompey endeavoured to win their favour by giving them power; and Crassus, who was immensely rich, by feasting them. It is said that he entertained them in public at ten thousand tables, and distributed corn enough amongst the poor to maintain their families for months. Pompey, however, had much the better chance of the two, for being famed as a general he soon had another opportunity of becoming famous in a war against the pirates who infested the Mediterranean Sea. These pirates were not common sea robbers, as their name seems to mean; many of them were persons who

had once been well off, but who had been ruined from different causes. Having lost every thing, they lived by plunder, and as their numbers increased they became so powerful that even kings asked for their assistance in their wars. They had at one time a thousand galleys or light vessels in their service, and in these they sailed about the coast, landing wherever they wished, and taking whatever they chose. Sometimes they carried off prisoners; and if any of them happened to be Romans they would pretend to treat them very respect fully, and then, leading them to the side of the vessels, would push them overboard, saying, they would not by any means keep a free-born Roman a prisoner. But what was almost worse than anything, these pirates robbed the vessels in which provisions were carried backwards and forwards; and as the Romans had their corn from Sicily, they were in danger of famine in consequence. It was the fear of this which made them determine at last to set themselves in earnest to conquer the pirates; and Pompey, being the first general in the state, was appointed to the command. We must remember that in former times, the same persons constantly commanded both by land and sea.

It is generally agreed, that Pompey's conduct on this occasion is very deserving of praise. He had enormous power given him, for he was permitted to rule over all the coasts of the Mediterranean, and several miles inland; he was also allowed to raise as many seamen and soldiers as he thought fit, and to take as much money as he liked out of the public treasury, and this authority was to last for three years. Of course, if he had wished it, he might easily at that time have endeavoured to make himself lord over all the Roman dominions; instead of which he did his duty so

thoroughly, that in four months' time the whole of the pirate ships were taken or sunk, all the men belonging to them were either killed or made prisoners, or obliged to submit to the Romans, and the coasts of the Mediterranean were entirely freed from these terrible robbers. Many of the pirates were sent by Pompey to settle in different places, or, as it is called, to become colonists; and in this way they had a hope of again living respectably and honourably.

CHAPTER XXXV.

THIRD MITHRIDATIC WAR.

POMPEY APPOINTED TO CONDUCT IT, B. C. 66.

WE must now go back to the history B. C. 66. of the war with Mithridates, king of Pontus, which broke out, as we have heard, in the time of Sertorius. Lucullus, a man famous for his love of luxury and splendour, was employed for some time as the chief general, and managed the war so well that Mithridates was obliged to flee from his dominions, and take refuge with his son-in-law Tigranes, king of Armenia.

The Romans tried to persuade Tigranes to give up Mithridates to them, but this he would not consent to do; and being a very powerful prince, he was enabled to help his father-in-law for some time. Before Lucullus could subdue both these monarchs he was called back to Rome, and a consul was sent to take his place, who was not at all equal to him. The Roman senate, therefore, soon made another change, and gave the whole command to Pompey. This command was not to be the same as was generally given to a general; it was to be