his troops to provide themselves with axes, levers, and scaling ladders, he led them, in the dead of the night, and without the least noise, to a district of the city, called Megara; when ordering them to give a sudden and general shout, he attacked it with great vigour. The enemy, who did not expect to be attacked in the night, were at first in the utmost terror; however, they defended themselves so courageously, that Scipio could not scale the walls. But perceiving a tower that was forsaken, and which stood without the city, very near the walls, he detached thither a party of intrepid soldiers, who, by the help of *pontons, got from the tower on the walls, and from thence into Megara, the gates of which they broke down. Scipio entered it immediately after, and drove the enemies out of that post; who, terrified at this unexpected assault, and imagining that the whole city was taken, fled into the citadel, whither they were followed even by those forces that were encamped without the city, who abandoned their camp to the Romans, and thought it necessary for them to fly to a place of security.

Before I proceed further, it will be proper to give some account of the situation and dimensions of Carthage, which, in the beginning of the war against the Romans, contained seven hundred thousand in-habitants. It stood at the bottom of a gulf, surrounded by the sea, and in the form of a peninsula, whose neck, that is, the isthmus which joined it to the continent, was twenty-five stadia, or a league and a quarter in breadth. The peninsula was three hundred and sixty stadia, or eighteen leagues round. On the west side there projected from it a long neck of land, half a stadium, or twelve fathoms broad; which, advancing into the sea, divided it from a morass, and was fenced on all sides with rocks and a single wall. On the south side, towards the continent, where stood the citadel called Byrsa, the city

was surrounded with a triple wall, thirty cubits high, exclusive of the parapets and towers, with which it was flanked all round at equal distances, each interval being fourscore fathoms. Every tower was four stories high, and the walls but two; they were arched, and in the lower part were stalls to hold three hundred elephants with their fodder, and over these were stables for four thousand horses, and lofts for their food. There likewise was room enough to lodge twenty thousand foot, and four thousand horse. All these were contained within the walls alone. In one place only the walls were weak and low; and that was a neglected angle, which began at the neck of land above mentioned, and extended as far as the harbours, which were on the west side. Of these there were two, which communicated with each other, and had but one entrance, seventy feet broad, shut up with chains. The first was appropriated for the merchants, and had several distinct habitations for the seamen. The second, or inner harbour, was for the ships of war, in the midst of which stood an island called Cothon, lined, as the harbour was, with large quays, in which were distinct receptacles* for sheltering from the weather two hundred and twenty ships; over these were magazines or store-houses, wherein was lodged whatever is necessary for arming and equipping fleets. The entrance into each of these receptacles was adorned with two marble pillars of the Ionick order: So that both the harbour and the island represented on each side two magnificent galleries. In this island was the admiral's palace; and as it stood opposite to the mouth of the harbour, he could from thence discover whatever was doing at sea, though no one, from thence, could see what was transacting in the inward part of the harbour. The merchants, in like manner, had no prospect of the men of war; the two ports being separated by a double wall, each

*Niwaoixes, Strabo.

23

having its particular gate, that led to the city, without passing through the other harbour. So that Carthage may be divided into three parts: The harbour, which was double, and called sometimes Cothon, from the little island of that name: The citadel, named Byrsa: The city properly so called, where the inhabitants dwelt, which lay round the citadel, and was called Megara.

At daybreak, Asdrubal* perceiving the ignominious defeat of his troops, in order that he might be revenged on the Romans, and, at the same time, deprive the inhabitants of all hopes of accommodation and pardon, brought all the Roman prisoners he had taken, upon the walls, in sight of the whole army. There he put them to the most exquisite torture; putting out their eyes, cutting off their noses, ears, and fingers; tearing their skin to pieces with iron rakes or harrows, and then threw them headlong from the top of the battlements. So inhuman a treatment filled the Carthaginians with horror: however, he did not spare even them; but murdered many senators who had been so brave as to oppose his tyranny.

-Scipio, finding himself absolute master of the Isthmus, burnt the camp, which the enemy had deserted, and built a new one for his troops. It was in a square form, surrounded with large and deep intrenchments, and fenced with strong palisades. On the side which faced the Carthaginians, he built a wall twelve feet high, flanked at proper distances with towers and redoubts; and, on the middle tower, he erected a very high wooden fort, from whence could be seen whatever was doing in the city. This wall was equal to the whole breadth of the Isthmus, that is, twenty-five stadia. † The enemy, who were

P Boch. in Phal. p. 512. 9 Appian. p. 72.

• Page 73.

It was he who at first commanded without the city, but having caused the other Asdrubal, Masinissa's grandson, to be put to death, he got the command of the troops within the walls. + Four miles and three quarters,

within bow shot of it, employed their utmost ef
forts to put a stop to this work; but, as the whole
army worked at it day and night, without intermis-
'sion, it was finished in twenty-four days. Scipio
reaped a double advantage from this work: First,
his forces were lodged more safely and commodi-
ously than before: Secondly, he cut off all provisions
from the besieged, to whom none could be brought
but by sea; which was attended with many difficul-
ties, both because the sea is frequently very tempes-
tuous in that place, and because the Roman fleet
kept a strict guard. This proved one of the chief
causes of the famine which raged soon after in the
city. Besides, Asdrubal distributed the corn that was
brought, only among the thirty thousand men who
'served under him, caring very little what became of
the rest of the inhabitants.

To distress them still more, by the want of provisions, Scipio attempted to stop up the mouth of the haven, by a mole, beginning at the abovementioned neck of land, which was near the harbour. The besieged looked, at first, upon this attempt as ridiculous, and accordingly they insulted the workmen: but, at last, seeing them make an astonishing progress every day, they began to be afraid; and to take such measures as might, if possible, render the attempt unsuccessful. Every one, to the women and children, fell to work, but so privately, that all Scipio 'could learn from the prisoners, was, that they had heard a great noise in the harbour, but did not know the cause or occasion of it. At last, all things being ready, the Carthaginians opened, on a sudden, a new outlet, on the other side of the haven; and appeared at sea with a numerous fleet, which they had then built with the old materials found in their magazines. It is generally allowed, that had they attacked the Roman fleet directly, they must infallibly have taken it; because, as no such attempt was ex

25

pected, and every man was elsewhere employed, the Carthaginians would have found it without rowers, soldiers, or officers. But the ruin of Carthage, says the historian, was decreed. Having therefore only offered a kind of insult or bravado to the Romans, they returned into the harbour.

Two days after, they brought forward their ships, with a resolution to fight in good earnest, and found the enemy ready for them. This battle was to determine the fate of both parties. It lasted a long time, each exerting themselves to the utmost; the one to save their country reduced to the last extremity, and the other to complete their victory. During the fight, the Carthaginian brigantines running along under the large Roman ships, broke to pieces sometimes their sterns, and at other times their rudders and oars; and, when briskly attacked, retreated with surprising swiftness, and returned immediately to the charge. At last, after the two armies had fought with equal success till sun-set, the Carthaginians thought proper to retire; not that they believed themselves overcome, but in order to begin the fight again on the morrow. Part of their ships, not being able to run swiftly enough into the harbour, because the mouth of it was too narrow, took shelter under a very spacious terrace, which had been thrown up against the walls to unload goods, on the side of which a small rampart had been raised during this war, to prevent the enemy from possessing themselves of it. Here the fight was again renewed with more vigour than ever, and lasted till late at night. The Carthaginians suffered very much, and the few ships which got off, sailed for refuge to the city. Morning being come, Scipio attacked the terrace, and carried it, though with great difficulty; after which he made a lodgement there, and fortified himself on it, and built a brick wall close to those of the city, and of the same height.

t Appian. p. 75.