ithdrawn, Caius Laelius, leaving the council, went up to the tribunal
of Scipio and informed him, "that the contest was proceeding without
bounds or moderation, and that they had almost come to blows. But
still, though no violence should take place, that the proceedings
formed a most hateful precedent, for that the honours due to valour
were being sought by fraud and perjury. That on one side stood the
legionary troops, on the other the marines, ready to swear by all the
gods what they wished, rather than what they knew, to be true, and to
involve in the guilt of perjury not only themselves and their own
persons, but the military standards, the eagles, and their solemn oath
of allegiance. That he laid these matters before him, in accordance
with the opinion of Publius Cornelius and Marcus Sempronius." Scipio,
after highly praising Laelius, summoned an assembly, and then
declared, "that he had ascertained satisfactorily that Quintus
Trebellius and Sextus Digitius had mounted the wall at the same time,
and that he presented them both with mural crowns in consideration of
their valour." He then gave presents to the rest, according to the
merit and valour of each. Above all he honoured Caius Laelius, the
admiral of the fleet, by the placing him upon an equality with
himself, and bestowing upon him every kind of commendation, and also
by presenting him with a golden crown and thirty oxen.

49. He then ordered the Spanish hostages to be summoned. What the
number of these was I feel reluctant to state, because in some authors
I find that it was about three hundred, in others seven hundred and
twenty-five. There is the same difference between authors with regard
to the other particulars. One writes that the Punic garrison consisted
of ten thousand, another of seven, a third of not more than two
thousand. In some you may find that ten thousand persons were
captured, in others above twenty-five thousand. I should have stated
the number of scorpions captured, both of the greater and smaller
size, at sixty, if I had followed the Greek author, Silenus, if
Valerius Antius, of the larger at six thousand, of the smaller at
thirteen, so great is the extent of falsehood. Nor are they agreed
even respecting the commanders, most say that Laelius commanded the
fleet, but some say Marcus Junius Silanus. Valerius Antius says, that
Arines commanded the Punic garrison, and was given up to the Romans;
other writers say it was Mago. They are not