The consul Varro, with a thin company, fled to Venusia; Aemilius Paulus,
unable any longer to oppose the flight of his men, or the pursuit of
the enemy, all wounded, in both soul and body, sat on a stone, thinking
someone would kill him, when a man recognized him and begged him to come
back to Rome. Paulus refused and the man took a message to Fabius
saying Paulus had done all he asked. Paulus then threw himself on the
place where the slaughter was thickest.
When Varro came back to Rome, the people did not chide him but respected
him. They then elected Fabius for a dictator, they seeing that his
tactics were best against Hannibal. He cheered the people and did not
neglect the special sacrifices to the gods. He placed guards at the gate
to keep the people from running away.
When Plutarch wrote that "Paulus then threw himself on the place where
the slaughter was thickest." shows that Paulus was a weak man by nature,
not wanting to face the people, he killed himself!
more next week,
Bell
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