"Some authors affirm, that Scipio was joined in this embassy; and they even relate the conversation which that general had with Hannibal. They tell us, that the Roman having asked him, who, in his opinion, was the greatest captain that had ever lived; he answered, Alexander the Great, because, with a handful of Macedonians, he had defeated numberless armies, and carried his conquests into countries so very remote, that it seemed scarce possible for any man only to travel so far. Being afterwards asked, to whom he gave the second rank; he answered, to Pyrrhus: for this king, says Hannibal, first understood the art of pitching a camp to advantage; no commander had ever made a more judicious choice of his posts, was better skilled in drawing up of his forces, or was more happy in winning the affection of foreign soldiers; insomuch that even the people of Italy were more desirous to have him for their governor than the Romans themselves, though they had so long been subject to them. Scipio proceeding, asked him next, whom he looked upon as a third captain; on which decision Hannibal made no scruple to give the preference to himself. Here Scipio could not forbear laughing: "But what would you have said, continued Scipio, had you conquered me ?" "I would, replied Hannibal, have ranked myself above Alexander, Pyrrhus, and all the generals the world ever produced." Scipia was not insensible of so refined and delicate a flattery, which he no ways expected; and which, by giving him no rival, seemed to insinuate, that no captain was worthy of being put in comparison with him.

» Liv. l. xxxv. n. 14. Plut. in vit. Flamin. &c.

The answer, as told by Plutarch, is less witty, and not so probable. In this author, Hannibal gives Pyrrhus the first place, Scipio the second, and himself

the third.

P Hannibal, sensible of the coldness with which Antiochus received him, ever since his conferences with Villius or Scipio, took no notice of it for some time, and seemed insensible of it. But at last he thought it advisable to come to an eclaircissement with the king, and to open his mind freely to him. "The hatred,"

says he, "which I bear to the Romans, is known to the whole world. I bound myself to it by an oath, from my most tender infancy. It was this hatred that made me draw the sword against Rome during thirty six years. It was that, even in times of peace, drove me from my native country, and forced me to seek an asylum in your dominions. For ever guided and fired by the same passion, should my hopes be eluded, I will fly to every part of the globe, and rouse up all nations against the Romans. I hate them, will hate them eternally, and know that they bear me no less animosity. So long as you shall continue in the resolution to take up arms against that people, you may rank Hannibal in the number of your best friends: but if other counsels incline to peace, I declare to you, once for all, address yourself to others for counsel, and not to me." Such a speech, which came from his heart, and expressed the greatest sincerity, struck the king, and seemed to remove all his suspicions; so that he now resolved to give Hannibal the command of part of his fleet.

But what havoc is not flattery capable of making in courts and in the minds of princes? Antiochus was

• Plut, in Pyrrho, p. 687. P Ibid. n. 19. 9 Liv. 1. xxxv. n. 42, 43.

told, "that it was imprudent in him to put so much confidence in Hannibal, an exile, a Carthaginian, whose fortune or genius might suggest, in one day, a thousand different projects to him: that beside, this very fame which Hannibal had acquired in war, and which he considered as his peculiar inheritance, was too great for a man who fought only under the ensigns of another: that none but the king ought to be the general and conductor of the war; and that it was incumbent on him to draw upon himself only the eyes and attention of all men ; whereas, should Hannibal be employed, he, a foreigner, would have the glory of all victories ascribed to him." "No minds," says Livy, on this occasion, "are more susceptible of envy, than those whose merit is below their birth and dignity; such persons always abhorring virtue and worth in others, for this reason only, because they are strange and foreign to themselves." This observation was fully verified on this occasion. Antiochus had been taken on his weak side; a low and sordid jealousy, which is the defect and characteristic of little minds, extinguished every generous sentiment in that monarch. Hannibal was now slighted and laid aside; however, the latter was greatly revenged on Antiochus, by the ill success this prince met with; and showed how unfortunate that king is whose soul is accessible to envy, and ears open to the poisonous insinuations of flatterers.

• In a council held some time after, to which Hannibal, for form's sake, was admitted, he, when it came to his turn to speak, endeavoured chiefly to prove, that

Nulla ingenia tam prona ad invidiam sunt, quam eorum qui genus ac fortunam suam animis non æquam: Quia virtutem et bonum alienum oderunt. Methinks it is better to read, ut bonum alienum.

Liv. 1. xxxvi, n. 7.

Philip of Macedon ought, on any terms, to be invited into the alliance of Antiochus, which was not so difficult as might be imagined. "With regard," says Hannibal, "to the operation of the war, I adhere immoveably to my first opinion; and had my counsels been listened to before, Tuscany and Liguria would now be all in a flame, and Hannibal (a name that strikes terror into the Romans) in Italy. Though I should not be very well skilled as to other matters, yet the good and ill success I have met with, must necessarily have taught me sufficiently how to carry on a war against the Romans. I have nothing now in my power but to give you my counsel, and offer you my service. May the gods give success to all your undertakings." Hannibal's speech was received with applause, but not one of his counsels were put in execution.

t

Antiochus, imposed upon and lulled asleep by his flatterers, remained quiet at Ephesus, after the Romans had drove him out of Greece; not once imagining that they would ever invade his dominions. Hannibal, who was now restored to favour, was for ever assuring him that the war would soon be removed into Asia, and that he would soon see the enemy at his gates: that he must resolve either to abdicate his throne, or oppose vigorously a people who grasped at the empire of the world. This discourse waked in some little measure the king out of his lethargy, and prompted him to make some weak efforts. But as his conduct was unsteady, after sustaining a great many considerable losses, he was forced to terminate the war by an ignominious peace; one of the articles of which, was,

that he should deliver up Hannibal to the Romans However, the latter did not give him an opportunity to put it in execution, retiring to the island of Crete, to consider there what course it would be best for him to take.

He

"The riches he had brought along with him, of which the people of the island got some notice, had like to have proved his ruin. Hannibal was never wanting in stratagems, and he had occasion to employ them now, to save both himself and his treasure. filled several vessels with molten lead, which he just covered over with gold and silver. These he deposited in the temple of Diana, in presence of several Cretans, to whose honesty, he said, he confided all his treasure. A strong guard was then posted on the temple, and Hannibal left at full liberty, from'a supposition that his riches were secured. But he had concealed them in

hollow statues of brass,

which he always carried along

with him. " And then, embracing a favourable opportunity he had to make his escape, he fled to the court of Prusias king of Bithynia.

It appears from history that he made some stay in the court of this prince, who soon engaged in war with Eumenes king of Pergamus, a professed friend to the Romans. By means of Hannibal, the troops of king Prusias gained several victories both by land and sea.

* He employed a stratagem of an extraordinary kind in a sea fight. The enemy's fleet, consisting of more

" Corn. Nep. in Annib. c. 9, 10. Justin. I. xxxii. c. 4.

These statues were thrown out by him, in a place of public resort, as things of little value. Corn. Nep.

w A. M. 3820. A. Rom. 564. Corn. Nep. in Annib. c. 10, 11. Justin. 1. xxxii. c. 4.

* Justin. 1. xxxii. c. 4. Corn. Nep. in vit. Annib.