ས

Ptolemy, by Philip and Antiochus, the wicked carts by which thofe Princes attempted to share between themselves the dominions of the infant King; and the manner in which the former of them invaded Egypt, Samos, and Caria, and the latter Cole-Syria, and Phoenicia. We then fhall make a recapitulation of all that was tranfacted by the Carthaginians and Romans, in Spain, Sicily, and Africa: and from thence hall again remove the Hiftory to Greece, now became the fcene of new 'diforders. And hav-~ ing first run through the naval battles of Attalus and the Rhodians, againft King Philip, we shall next describe the war that followed, between the Romans and this Prince; together with the caufes, circumftances, and conclufion of it. After thefe events, we fhall relate in what manner the Etolians, urged by their refentment, called Antiochus from Afia, and gave occafion to the war between the Achæans and the Romans. And having explained the causes of that war, and seen the entrance of Antiochus into Europe, we fhall then thew the manner in which he fled back again into Greece; and afterwards, when he had fuffered an entire defeat, was forced to abandon all the country on this fide of Mount Taurus. Next will follow, the victories by which the Romans gave an effectual check to the infolence of the Gauls; fecured to themfelves the fovereignty of the citerior Afia; and delivered the people of that country from being again expofed to the violence and favage fury of thofe Barbarians. We fhall then give fome account of the misfortunes in which the Etolians and Cephallenians were involved; and of the war which Eumenes fuftained against Prufias, and the Gauls of Greece: together with that of Ariarathes against Pharnaces. And after fome difcourfe concerning the union, and form of government, of the confederate cities of Peloponnefus, which will be attended alfo with fome remarks upon the growth, and flourishing condition of the Republic of the Rhodians, we fhall, in the last placé, take a fhort view of all that has been before related; and conclude the whole with the expedition of Antiochus Epi- " phanes into Egypt, and the war with Perfeus, which was followed by the entire fubverfion of the Macedonian Em

Pire,'

Such was the plan of that noble pile, whofe ruins we are now contemplating; the deftruction of which we can never fufficiently lament. But our Hiftorian did not content himfelf with a bare recital of these facts: confidering, that this alone was not fufficient to give his readers a perfect idea ́

of the nations conquering, or conquered, he not only en- a riched his work with occafional reflections, but added likewife a diftinct enquiry into the lives, characters, and defigns of the principal men that were concerned in the tranfactions of those times: For,' fays he, it ought never to be sup

pofed, either by thofe who prefide in tates, or those who are willing to decide with truth concerning the manner in which they are administered, that the fole end of making war is victory."

Thus much, we imagine, will be fufficient to give our Readers a general idea of this hiftory. We fhall, therefore, pafs on to the celebrated battle of Canne, and there fix our attention; it being the moft ftriking object which this Author has prefented to our view.

It being Varro's turn to command, this General put áll the troops in motion by break of day. He ordered thofe of the greater camp to pafs the river; and as they gained the other fide, drew them up in order of battle; joining alfo to ⚫ them, in the fame line, the troops of the little camp. Their • faces were all turned towards the fouth. He placed the Ro"man cavalry on the right wing, clofe upon the river: and next to these the infantry, extending in one fingle line." But the Cohorts were drawn up behind each other in much clofer order than was usual among the Romans; and their files fo doubled, as to give the whole line a greater depth. The cavalry of the allies clofed the line upon the left.

And < at some distance, in the front of the whole army, stood the light-armed troops. The whole number of the forces, with the allies included, were eighty thousand foot; and fome⚫ what more than fix thousand horfe.

Dank

At the fame time Annibal, having first fent over the Balearic flingers, and the light-armed troops, to take their poft in front, paffed the river in two places with the reft of the army, and ranged them in order of battle. The Spanish and Gallic horfe were pofted on the left, clofe upon the ⚫ of the river, and oppofite to the Roman cavalry. Next to thefe, upon the fame line, he placed, firft, one half of the heavy-armed Africans; then the Gauls and Spaniards; after thefe, the reft of the Africans; and clofed his whole line upon the right with the Numidian cavalry. When he had thus ranged all his forces in one fingle line, he advanced towards the enemy, being followed only by the Gauls and Spaniards of the center. Thus he detached these troops from the line in which they had ftood together with the reft; and as he advanced, he formed them alfo into the figure

• of

were

of a crescent ; at the fame time Spreading wide their ranks, and leaving to this figure but a very inconfiderable depth. His intention was to begin the action with the Gauls and, • Spaniards; and to fupport it afterwards by the Africans, who were armed after the Roman manner, from the spoils that had been taken in the former battles. The Gauls and Spaniards wore the fame kind of buckler; but their fwords < were different. For those of the latter formed as wel well ⚫ to push with as to ftrike; whereas the Gauls could only ufe. their fwords to make a falling ftroke, and at a certain dif· tance. These These troops were ranged together in alternate cohorts and as the Gauls were naked, and the Spaniards all cloathed with vefts of linen, bordered with purple, after the fashion of their country, their appearance was both ftrange and terrible. The Carthaginian cavalry amounted in the whole to about ten thousand: and the number of their infantry was fomewhat more than forty thoufand, with the Gauls included. The right of the Roman army was • conducted by Æmilius; the left by Varro; and the center by. Regulus and Servilius, the confuls of the former year. On the fide of the Carthaginians, Afdrubal had the care of the left; Hanno, of the right; and Annibal himfelf, with his. brother Mago, commanded in the center. Both armies 6 were alike fecure from being incommoded by the rifing fun; for the one was turned towards the fouth, as we have already mentioned, and the other towards the north. The action was begun by the light-armed troops, that were pofted before the armies. In the first conflict, the 'fuccefs was on both fides equal. But when the Spanish and

Turned towards,] If the tranflator had been a military man, he would have faid faced, or fronted, to the fouth; and alfo a little above, inftead of Spreading wide their ranks, he would have wrote opening their files. In the room of, pitched battle, he always fays, Jet battle. Mr. Hampton's un-military expreffions are very frequent throughout the whole work. Now though it may be urged, that the generality of his readers are as little acquainted with military terms as himself, yet there is an indifpenfible propriety in the use of technical words, to which every Author should conform, who treats of thofe arts and fciences to which they are appropriated: particularly when, as in this case, those terms are as intelligible to all readers as any other. A man who takes upon himself to defcribe a battle, ought undoubtedly to write like a foldier. We should have been lefs inclined to this piece of criticifm, had not our Tranflator, in his Preface, thought fit to laugh at M. Folard, for afferting, that none but a foldier could defcribe a battle properly.

"Gallic cavalry, advancing from the left wing of the Cartha→→ ginians, approached near the Romans, the conteft that enfued between them was then, indeed, most warm and vehem? "ment; and fuch as refembled rather the combats of Barba rians, than a battle fought by disciplined and experienced troops. For, inftead of falling back, and returning again often to the charge, as the custom was in fuch engagements, they were now fcarcely joined, when, leaping from their horfes, each man feized his enemy. But after fome time, the victory turned wholly to the fide of the Carthaginians. The greater part of the Romans were deftroyed in the place, after a most brave and obftinate contention: and the > reft being closely followed t, as they fled along the river, 6 were all flaughtered likewife, without being able to obtain any mercy.. Oitir!!f 3, 9,

About the fame time when this combat was decided, the light-armed troops on both fides retired back again to their refpective armies, and the heavy infantry advanced to action. The Gauls and Spaniards ftood for fome time firm against the enemy. But being at last forced to yield to the weight of the Roman legions, they retreated backwards, and thus opened the figure of the crefcent, in which they had been formed. The Romans followed with alacrity and eager ? < nefs, and without much difficulty forced their way through ⚫ the ranks of the enemy, which were loofe and thin; where « as themselves, on the contrary, had drawn away many cohorts from the wings, to ftrengthen their center, in which, at this time, all the ftrefs of the battle lay. For the action was not begun by the whole line at once, but fingly by the * center: becaufe the Gauls and Spaniards, as they formed themselves into the figure of a crefcent, had advanced far > beyond the wings of their own army, and offered only the convex of of the crefcent to the enemy. The Romans there fore, ftill pushing forwards, through the middle of thefe ranks, which ftill gave way before them, were at laft fo far • advanced within the center, that they faw on either fide the heavy-armed Africans ftand ready to enclose them. Nor did thefe troops long neglect the occafion, which of itself moft clearly pointed out the measures that were now proper⚫ to be taken. For turning fuddenly, the one part of them * from the right to the left, and the other from the left to the ༣ *ན 1:29: * In the place.] Armies do not fight in a place, but upon a field. Troops never follow, but purfue.

‡ Turning] Inftead of facing.

right, they fell with fury upon both the flanks of the Ro mans. And thus the event happened which Annibal had • chiefly in view. For this General had foreseen, that the • Romans, in pursuing the Gauls and Spaniards, muft at last ⚫ inevitably be enclosed between the Africans. By this means

they were now forced to break their phalanx; and to defend ⚫ themselves, either fingly, or in feparate parties, against the • enemies that were attacking them in flank, won A3W 1953 Æmilius, who at firft was poffed on the right, and had efcaped from the general flaughter of the Roman cavalry, • perceiving that the fortune of the battle was now to be decided by the infantry alone, and being earnestly folicitous, that his actions fhould in no respect fall fhort of those af • furances which he had given when he harangued the army, < drove his horfe into the very middle of the combatants; • killing and difperfing every thing in his way, and employing all his efforts to animate the foldiers that were near ⚫ him. Annibal did the fame on his part: for he had re• mained still in the center, from the beginning of the engagement.

A

The Numidians of the right wing had charged the caval ry of the allies upon the left. And though, by reason of ⚫ their peculiar way of fighting, no great lofs was fuftained on either fide; yet as they ftill, from time to time, returned ⚫ again to the attack, they by that means held their troops fo constantly employed, that they had no leifure to affift the reft. But when the cavalry of the left, that was led by Af drubal, and which now had finished the deftruction of al• most all the Roman cavalry that fled along the river, came • round and joined the Numidians, the cavalry of the allies ? were at once seized with terror, and not waiting to receive the charge, immediately turned their backs and fled. Upon ⚫ this occafion, Afdrubal bethought himself of an expedient which, indeed, denoted his great prudence, and his fkill in war Obferving, that the Numidians were confiderable in ⚫ their numbers; and knowing alfo, that these troops were then most terrible, whenever they were engaged against a flying enemy; he ordered them to puffue thofe that fled; ⚫ and at the fame time led his own cavalry to the affistance of ⚫ the African infantry. He fell upon the Roman legions in ? their rear; and having divided his cavalry into little troops, fent them into the midft of the action, in many different parts at once. By this wife meafure, he gave new ftrength ⚫ and courage to the Africans while the Romans, on the contrary, began to lofe all hope.It was at this time that edgiz • Æmi

4