all, the supreme
command was vested in Publius Scipio, then a very young man, and
Appius Claudius. To these, while deliberating with a few others on the
crisis of their affairs, Publius Furius Philus, the son of a man of
consular dignity, brings intelligence, "That it was in vain that they
cherished hopes which could never be realized: that the state was
despaired of, and lamented as lost. That certain noble youths, the
chief of whom was Lucius Caecilius Metellus, turned their attention to
the sea and ships, in order that, abandoning Italy, they might escape
to some king." When this calamity, which was not only dreadful in
itself, but new, and in addition to the numerous disasters they had
sustained, had struck them motionless with astonishment and stupor;
and while those who were present gave it as their opinion that a
council should be called to deliberate upon it, young Scipio, the
destined general of this war, asserts, "That it is not a proper
subject for deliberation: that courage and action, and not
deliberation, were necessary in so great a calamity. That those who
wished the safety of the state would attend him forthwith in arms;
that in no place was the camp of the enemy more truly, than where such
designs were meditated." He immediately proceeds, attended by a few,
to the lodging of Metellus; and finding there the council of youths of
which he had been apprized, he drew his sword over the heads of them,
deliberating, and said, "With sincerity of soul I swear that neither
will I myself desert the cause of the Roman republic, nor will I
suffer any other citizen of Rome to desert it. If knowingly I violate
my oath, then, O Jupiter, supremely great and good, mayest thou visit
my house, my family, and my fortune with perdition the most horrible!
I require you, Lucius Caecilius, and the rest of you who are present,
to take this oath; and let the man who shall not take it be assured,
that this sword is drawn against him." Terrified, as though they were
beholding the victorious Hannibal, they all take the oath, and deliver
themselves to Scipio to be kept in custody.

54. During the time in which these things were going on at Canusium,
as many as four thousand foot and horse, who had been dispersed
through the country in the flight, came to Venusia, to the consul.
These the Venusini distributed throughout their families, to be kindly
entertained and taken care of; and also gave to each horseman a gown,
a tunic, and t