Plutarch’s Life of Fabius

By Brian Sanders

- The Fabians claim descent from Hercules. (p235)

- The name “Fabius” may come from “Fodius”, a person who liked to dig “pitfalls for wild beasts”. (p235)

- Quintus Fabius Maximus belonged to the fourth generation of Fabians after the first Maximus. (p235)

- Plutarch attributes many of Fabius’ traits to his “constancy and firmness”. (p235)

- “His eloquence, indeed, had not much of popular ornament, nor empty artifice, but there was in it great weight of sense.” (p235)

- Fabius was rewarded a triumph for his victories over the Ligurians in his first consulship. (p235)

- When Hannibal first invaded Italy, Fabius wanted to support the allies “and let the force and vigour of Hannibal waste away, like a flame” but consul Flaminius disagreed and was defeated and killed by Hannibal at Lake Thrasymene. (p236)

- The defeat at Thrasymene inspired the Romans to choose a dictator, and they unanimously picked Fabius for the job. (p237)

- “[H]is temper was a happy compound of confidence and cautiousness.” (p237)

- Fabius chose Lucius Minucius as his Master of the Horse. (p237)

- His first act as dictator was to admonish Romans for not properly honoring the gods, as he believed that this was the cause of their misfortunes. (p237)

- “[H]e set forth to oppose Hannibal, not with intention to fight him, but with the purpose of wearing out and wasting the vigour of his arms by lapse of time”. (p238)

- “[H]is dilatory way gave occasion in his own camp for want of courage” (p238) and he was called “Hannibal’s pedagogue” by the soldiers. (p239)

- Hannibal realized the dangers posed by Fabius’ tactics and unsuccessfully tried to draw Fabius into engagement. (p238)

- Minucius was growing tired of Fabius’ strategy. (p238-9)

- Fabius trapped Hannibal’s forces in the valley around the town of Casilinum by holding the pass and high ground. (p239)

- Hannibal used cattle with flaming horns to drive the Romans from their advantageous positions, then marched out of the valley through the abandoned pass. (p240)

- Fabius attacked the rear of the Carthaginian army and nearly scattered them all, but his failure caused a total lack of Roman confidence in him. (p240)

- To make matters worse, Hannibal burned all the land around Fabius’ property but spared Fabius’ own. (p240-1)

- Fabius spent his own money on ransoming Roman prisoners and declined repayment from those prisoners. (p241)

- He had to leave Minucius in command of the army while he returned to Rome for certain religious obligations, and he commanded Minucius to avoid engaging Hannibal. (p241)

- Minucius immediately attacked a small detachment of Hannibal’s army, the Carthaginians retreated without losses, and the Roman soldiers were filled “with rash confidence”. (p241)

- The people declared that Minucius’ power should be equal to that of Fabius, and the army was split in half for each of them to have a command. (p242)

- Minucius and his forces were easily defeated by Hannibal and Fabius had to intercede with his forces to prevent a full slaughter. (p243-4)

- Thus Minucius realized that Fabius was a more suitable commander and re-submitted to his authority: “You have this day, O dictator, obtained two victories”. (p244-5)

- The consuls that replaced Fabius followed his tactics until Varro became consul. (p245)

- Varro declaimed that “as long as Rome employed generals like Fabius, there never would be an end of the war”. He wanted to attack Hannibal at his first chance. (p245)

- Fabius counseled against Varro’s strategy, but Varro led his massive forces to disaster at Cannae. There Aemilius Paulus was killed while Varro escaped to Venusia. (p246-7)

- Many towns, including Capua, went over to Hannibal’s side after Cannae. (p248)

- The Senate now believed Fabius to possess divine intellect and foresight, and he was the only man that the Romans could turn to in that time of need. (p248)

- Fabius turned the Romans’ mourning around by placing limits upon it and observing the normal religious feasts. (p249)

- Rome received Varro’s return happily, and Fabius appreciated that Varro did not despair after his absolute defeat. (p249)

- Fabius again received a command as consul beside Marcellus, and he again followed his usual strategy. “’Romans called Marcellus their sword, and Fabius their buckler’” (~Posidonius, p249)

- Hannibal “dreaded Marcellus when he was in motion, and Fabius when he sat still.” (p250)

- Marcellus was eventually killed by Hannibal, and Fabius’ interpretation of the omens was the only thing that saved him from an ambush near Metapontum. (p250)

- Fabius did an excellent job of keeping his soldiers and allies from deserting. (p250)

- He retook Tarentum through bribery and deceit. He then ordered the deaths of the Bruttians that had held Tarentum, which made him appear cruel to his allies and enemies. He also sold 30,000 Tarentines into slavery, plundered the town, and took the giant statue of Hercules which he put up in the Capitol next to his own statue. (p252-3)

- Fabius received his second triumph for his victory at Tarentum and his son won the consulship the next year. (p253)

- The populace felt Fabius to be envious of Publius Cornelius Scipio’s fame after Scipio’s victories in Spain. (p254)

- Fabius died at about the same time as Hannibal left Italy to return to Africa and engage Scipio. (p256)

- His powers of foresight obviously failed when it came to Scipio’s success in Africa. (p257)

Scipio in Plutarch

By Brian Sanders

From Plutarch’s Life of Aemilius Paulus:

- “[A]lthough his [Scipio’s] own interest was great, yet made use of the favour and love of the people.” (p381)

- “Scipio always had the good-will of the people, because he was constantly heaping favours on them”. (p382)

From Plutarch’s Life of Marcus Cato:

- Fabius was a role model to Cato, thus Cato opposed Scipio in the debate of 205 BCE. (p459)

- Cato served as a quaestor under Scipio’s command, and he believed that throught all his gifts Scipio was “corrupting the frugality of the soldiers, by giving them the means to abandon themselves to unnecessary pleasures and luxuries.” (p459)

- Cato and Fabius accused Scipio of “childishly loitering away his time in wrestling matches and comedies, as if he were not to make war, but holiday”. (p459)

- In response Scipio proved that he was “living pleasantly with his friends, when there was nothing else to do”. (p460)

From Plutarch’s Philopoemen and Flaminius Compared:

- Later, the Senate would admire Scipio for his “clemency and magnanimity…Such conduct was much admired in Scipio”. (p516)

From Plutarch’s Caius Marius:

- Caius Marius “first served as a soldier in the war against the Celtiberians, when Scipio Africanus besieged Numantia”. (p550)

- Scipio designated Marius as a possible heir to his military prowess, which inspired Marius to a political career. (p550)

- “[S]o discerning was Scipio to detect the distant future in the present first beginnings.” (p550)