398 
SPAIN. 
the city, Metellus continued a long time before it without 
making any impression. At last, his provisions being almost 
spent, he sent out Aquinus at the head of 6000 men to pro¬ 
cure a new supply; but Sertorius falling unexpectedly upon 
them, cut in pieces or took the whole detachment; the com¬ 
mander, himself being the only man who escaped to carry 
the news of the disaster; upon which Metellus was obliged 
to raise the siege with disgrace. 
Sertorius, having gained some intervals of ease, in conse¬ 
quence of the many advantages he had obtained over the 
Romans, began to civilize his new subjects. Their savage 
and furious manner of fighting he changed for the regular 
order and discipline of a well-formed army; he bestowed 
liberally upon them gold and silver to adorn their arms, and 
by conversing familiarly with them, prevailed with them to 
lay aside their own dress for the Roman toga. He sent for 
all the children of the principal people, and placed them in 
the great city of Osca, now Huesca, in the kingdom of 
Arragon, where he appointed them masters to instruct them 
in the Roman and Greek learning, that they might, as he pre¬ 
tended, be capable of sharing with him the government of 
the republic. Thus he made them really hostages for the 
good behaviour of their parents; however, the latter were 
greatly pleased with the care he took of their children, and 
all Lusitania were in the highest degree attached to their new 
sovereign. This attachment he took care to heighten by the 
power of superstition; for having procured a young hind of 
a milk-white colour, he made it so tame that it followed him 
wherever he went; and Sertorius gave out to the ignorant 
multitude, that this hind was inspired by Diana, and re¬ 
vealed to him the designs of his enemies, of which he always 
took care to be well informed by the great numbers of spies 
whom he employed. 
While Sertorius was thus employed in establishing his 
authority, the republic of Rome, alarmed at his success, 
resolved to crush him at all events. Sylla was now dead, 
and all the eminent generals in Rome solicited this honour¬ 
able though dangerous employment After much debate, a 
decree was passed in favour of Pompey the Great, but with¬ 
out recalling Metellus. In the mean time, the troops of one 
Perpenna, or Perperna, had abandoned him, and taken the 
oath of allegiance to Sertorius. This was a most signal ad¬ 
vantage to Sertorius; for Perpenna commanded an army of 
33,000 men, and had come into Spain with a design to settle 
there as Sertorius had done; but as he was descended from 
one of the first families of Rome, he thought it below his 
dignity to serve under any general, however eminent he 
might be. However, the troops of Perperna were of a dif¬ 
ferent opinion; and therefore declaring that they would 
serve none but a general who could defend himself, they, to 
a man, joined Sertorius; upon which, Perperna consented 
to serve also as a subaltern. 
On the arrival of Pompey in Spain, several of the 
cities which had hitherto continued faithful to Sertorius 
began to waver; upon which the latter resolved, by some 
signal exploit, to convince them that Pompey could no more 
screen them from his resentment than Metellus. With this 
view he laid siege to Lauron, now Lirias, a place of con* 
siderable strength. Pompey, not doubting but he should 
be able to raise the siege, marched quite up to the enemy’s 
lines, and found means to inform the garrison that those 
who besieged them were themselves besieged, and would 
soon be obliged to retire with loss and disgrace. On hear¬ 
ing this message, “ I will teach Sylla’s disciple (said 
Sertorius), that it is the duty of a general to look behind as 
well as before him.” Having thus spoken, he sent orders 
to a detachment of 6000 men, who lay concealed among 
the mountains, to come down and fall upon his rear if he 
should offer to force the lines. Pompey, surprised at their 
sudden appearance, durst not stir out of his camp; and in 
the mean time the besieged, despairing of relief, sur¬ 
rendered at discretion ; upon which Sertorius granted 
them their lives and liberty, but reduced their city to 
ashes. / 
While Sertorius was thus successfully contending with 
Pompey, his questor Hirtuleius was entirely defeated by 
Metellus, with the loss of 40,000 men; upon which Ser¬ 
torius advanced with the utmost expedition to the banks of 
the Sucro in Tarraconian Spain, with a design to attack 
Pompey before he could be joined by Metellus. Pompey, 
on his part, did not decline the combat; but fearing that 
Metellus might share the glory of the victory, advanced with 
the greatest expedition. Sertorius put off the battle till 
towards the evening; Pompey, though he knew that the 
night would prove disadvantageous to him, whether van¬ 
quished or victorious, because his troops were unacquainted 
with the country, resolved to venture an engagement, espe¬ 
cially as he feared that Metellus might arrive in the mean 
time, and rob him of part of the glory of conquering so 
great a commander. Pompey, who commanded his own 
right wing, soon obliged Perperna, who commanded Ser- 
torius’s left, to give way. Hereupon Sertorius himself, 
taking upon him the command of that wing, brought back 
the fugitives to the charge, and obliged Pompey to fly in his 
turn. In his flight he was overtaken by a gigantic African, 
who had already lifted up his hand to discharge a blow at him 
with his broad sword, but Pompey prevented him by cutting 
off his right hand at one blow. As he still continued his flight, 
he was wounded and thrown from his horse; so that he 
certainly would have been taken prisoner, had not the 
Africans who pursued him quarrelled about the rich furniture 
of his horse. This gave an opportunity to the general to 
make his escape; so that at length he reached his camp with 
much difficulty. But in the mean time Afranius, who com¬ 
manded the left wing of the Roman army, had entirely 
defeated the wing which Sertorius had left, and even pursued 
them so close that he entered the camp along with them. 
Sertorius, returning suddenly, found the Romans busy in 
plundering the tents; when taking advantage of their situa¬ 
tion, he drove them out with great slaughter, and retook 
their camp. Next day he offered battle a second time to 
Pompey; but Metellus then coming up with all his forces, 
he thought proper to decline an engagement with both 
commanders. In a few days, however, Pompey and Me¬ 
tellus agreed to attack the camp of Sertorius. The event 
was similar to that of the former battle; Metellus defeated 
Perperna, and Sertorius routed Pompey. Being then in¬ 
formed of Perperna’s misfortune, he hastened to his relief; 
rallied the fugitives, and repulsed Metellus in his turn, 
wounded him w'ith his lance, and would certainly have 
killed him, had not the Romans, ashamed to leave their 
general in distress, hastened to his assistance, and renewed 
the fight with great fury. At last Sertorius was obliged to 
quit the field, and retire to the mountains. Pompey and 
Metellus hastened to besiege him; but while they were 
forming their camp, Sertorius broke through their lines, and 
escaped in Lusitania. Here he soon raised such a powerful 
army, that the Roman generals, with their united forces, 
did not think proper to venture an engagement with him. 
They could not, however, resist the perpetual attacks of 
Sertorius, who now drove them from place to place, till he 
obliged them to separate; the oue went into Gaul, and the 
other to the foot of the Pyrenees. 
Thus did this celebrated commander triumph over all the 
power of the Romans; and there is little doubt but he 
would have continued to make head against all the other 
generals whom the republic could have sent, had he not 
been assassinated at an entertainment by the infamous 
treachery of Perperna, in 73 B. C. after he had made head 
against the Roman forces for almost 10 years. Pompey was 
no sooner informed of his death, than, w'ithout waiting for 
any new succours, he marched against the traitor, whom he 
easily defeated and took prisoner; and having caused him 
to be executed, thus put an end, with very little glory, to a 
most dangerous w'ar. 
Many of the Spanish nalions, however, still continued to 
bear the Roman yoke with great impatience; and as the 
civil wars which took place first between Julius Caesar and 
Pompey, and afterwards between Octavianus and Antony, 
tff.erted the attention of the republic from Spain, by the 
time 
