Publius Cornelius, son of Publius who had fallen in Spain, who was
about twenty-four years of age, declaring himself a candidate, took
his station on an eminence from which he could be seen by all. The
eyes of the whole assembly were directed towards him, and by
acclamations and expressions of approbation, a prosperous and happy
command were at once augured to him. Orders were then given that they
should proceed to vote, when not only every century, but every
individual to a man, decided that Publius Scipio should be invested
with the command in Spain. But after the business had been concluded,
and the ardour and impetuosity of their zeal had subsided, a sudden
silence ensued, and a secret reflection on what they had done, whether
their partiality had not got the better of their judgment? They
chiefly regretted his youth, but some were terrified at the fortune
which attended his house and his name, for while the two families to
which he belonged were in mourning, he was going into a province where
he must carry on his operations between the tombs of his father and
his uncle.

19. Perceiving the solicitude and anxiety which people felt, after
performing the business with so much ardour, he summoned an assembly,
in which he discoursed in so noble and high minded a manner, on his
years, the command intrusted to him, and the war which he had to carry
on, as to rekindle and renew the ardour which had subsided, and
inspire the people with more confident hopes than the reliance placed
on human professions, or reasoning on the promising appearance of
affairs, usually engenders. For Scipio was not only deserving of
admiration for his real virtues, but also for his peculiar address in
displaying them, to which he had been formed from his earliest
years;--effecting many things with the multitude, either by feigning
nocturnal visions or as with a mind divinely inspired; whether it was
that he was himself, too, endued with a superstitious turn of mind, or
that they might execute his commands and adopt his plans without
hesitation, as if they proceeded from the responses of an oracle. With
the intention of preparing men's minds for this from the beginning, he
never at any time from his first assumption of the manly gown
transacted any business, public or private, without first going to the
Capitol, entering the temple, and taking his seat there; where he
generally passed a considerable time in secret and alone. This
practice, which