The Murder of Gesco
It was now the turn of Autaritus the
Gaul. "Your only
hope," he said, "of safety is to reject all hopes which rest on
the Carthaginians. So long as any man clings to the idea of
indulgence at their hands, he cannot possibly be a genuine
ally of yours. Never trust, never listen, never attend to anyone, unless he recommend unrelenting hostility and implacable
hatred towards the Carthaginians: all who speak on the other
side regard as traitors and enemies." After this preface, he
gave it as his advice that they should put to death with torture
both Gesco and those who had been seized with him, as well
as the Carthaginian prisoners of war who had been captured
since. Now this Autaritus was the most effective speaker of
any, because he could make himself understood to a large
number of those present at a meeting. For, owing to his
length of service, he knew how to speak Phoenician; and
Phoenician was the language in which the largest number of
men, thanks to the length of the late war, could listen to
with satisfaction. Accordingly his speech was received with
acclamation, and he stood down amidst loud applause. But
when many came forward from the several nationalities at
the same time; and, moved by Gesco's former kindnesses to
themselves, would have deprecated at least the infliction of
torture, not a word of what they said was understood: partly
because many were speaking at the same time, and partly
because each spoke in his own language.
But when at
length it was disclosed that what they meant was to dissuade
the infliction of torture, upon one of those present shouting
out "Throw!" they promptly stoned to death all who had
come forward to speak; and their relations
buried their bodies, which were crushed into
shapeless masses as though by the feet of elephants. Still they at
least were buried. But the followers of Spendius now seized
Gesco and his fellow prisoners, numbering about seven
hundred, led them outside the stockade, and having made
them march a short distance from the camp, first cut off their
hands, beginning with Gesco, the man whom a short while
before they had selected out of all
Carthage as their benefactor
and had chosen as arbitrator in their controversy. When they
had cut off their hands, they proceeded to lop off the extremities of the unhappy men, and having thus mutilated
them and broken their legs, they threw them still alive into a
trench.
