THE POOR HATED OLD MAN. 137 



regard her from a different point of view. In order 

 to obtain peace, she had given up her colonies abroad, 

 her provinces at home, her vessels and elephants of 

 war. The empire was reduced to a municipality. 

 Nothing was left but the city and a piece of ground. 

 The merchant princes took off their crowns and went 

 back into the glass and purple business. It was only 

 as a town of manufacture and trade that Carthage con- 

 tinued to exist, and as such her existence was of un- 

 mixed service to the world. 



Hannibal was made prime minister, and at once set 

 to work to reform the constitution. The aristocratic 

 party informed the Romans that he was secretly 

 stirring up the people to war. The Romans demanded 

 that he should be surrendered ; he escaped to the 

 court of Antiochus, the Greek king in Asia Minor, 

 and there he did attempt to raise war against Rome. 

 The senate were justified in expelling him from 

 Carthage, for he was really a dangerous man. But 

 the persecution to which he was afterwards subjected 

 was not very creditable to their good fame. Driven 

 from place to place, he at last took refuge in Bithynia, 

 on the desolate shores of the Black Sea ; and a Roman 

 consul, who wished to obtain some notoriety by taking 

 home the great Carthaginian as a show, commanded 

 the prince, under whose protection he was living, to 

 give him up. When Hannibal heard of this, he took 

 poison, saying, " Let me deliver the Romans from 

 their cares and anxieties since they think it too 

 tedious and too dangerous to wait for the death of a 

 poor hated old man." The news of this occurrence 

 excited anger in Rome ; but it was the presage of a 

 greater crime, which was soon to be committed in the 

 Roman name. 



