Hannibal's Greatness
And so, though Hannibal's claims to be reckoned a
note
great general are manifold, there is none more conspicuous than
this, that though engaged for a great length of time in an
enemy's country, and though he experienced a great variety of
fortune, he again and again inflicted a disaster on his opponents
in minor encounters, but never suffered one himself, in spite of
the number and severity of the contests which he conducted:
and the reason, we may suppose was, that he took great care
of his personal safety. And very properly so: for if the leader
escapes uninjured and safe, though a decisive defeat may
have been sustained, fortune offers many opportunities for
retrieving disasters; but if he has fallen, the pilot as it were of
the ship, even should fortune give the victory to the army,
no real advantage is gained; because all the hopes of the
soldiers depend upon their leaders. So much for those who
fall into such errors from foolish vanity, childish parade,
ignorance, or contempt. For it is ever one or the other of
these that is at the bottom of such disasters. . . .
They suddenly let down the portcullis,
which they had raised somewhat by pulleys,
and thus closed up the gateway. Then they
took the men and crucified them before the
walls. . . .
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