what most I fear is that the world will refuse us the glory of the
victory, and say that it was the Alps that conquered Hannibal, and not
the Roman army.

"Easy as the victory is to be, however, we must remember that there is
a great deal at stake in the contest. It is not merely for glory that
we are now about to contend. If Hannibal conquers, he will march to
Rome, and our wives, our children, and all that we hold dear will be
at his mercy. Remember this, and go into the battle feeling that the
fate of Rome itself is depending upon the result."

An oration is attributed to Hannibal, too, on the occasion of this
battle. He showed, however, his characteristic ingenuity and spirit of
contrivance in the way in which he managed to attract strong attention
to what he was going to say, by the manner in which he introduced it.
He formed his army into a circle, as if to witness a spectacle. He
then brought in to the center of this circle a number of prisoners
that he had taken among the Alps--perhaps they were the hostages which
had been delivered to him, as related in the preceding chapter.
Whoever they were, however, whether hostages or captives taken in the
battles which had been fought in the defiles, Hannibal had brought
them with his army down into Italy, and now introducing them into the
center of the circle which the army formed, he threw down before them
such arms as they were accustomed to use in their native mountains,
and asked them whether they would be willing to take those weapons and
fight each other, on condition that each one who killed his antagonist
should be restored to his liberty, and have a horse and armor given
him, so that he could return home with honor. The barbarous monsters
said readily that they would, and seized the arms with the greatest
avidity. Two or three pairs of combatants were allowed to fight. One
of each pair was killed, and the other set at liberty according to the
promise of Hannibal. The combats excited the greatest interest, and
awakened the strongest enthusiasm among the soldiers who witnessed
them. When this effect had been sufficiently produced, the rest of the
prisoners were sent away, and Hannibal addressed the vast ring of
soldiery as follows:

"I have intended, soldiers, in what you have now seen, not merely to
amuse you, but to give you a picture of your own situation. You are
hemmed in on the right and left by two seas, and you have not so much
as a single ship upon eit