hen at last a thrill of
genuine anger went through Rome. The honour of the State had been
sorely wounded, but gold had been thus far a pleasant salve. Now,
however, the equites were touched in their hearts at the fate probably
of some of their own kinsmen, and almost certainly in an even more
sensitive part--their purses. For no doubt there were commercial
relations between the Italian community at Cirta and the Roman
merchants, and here their gains were confiscated at one stroke by a
savage. The senators, on the other hand, who had taken Numidian money,
tried to quash discussion, and would have succeeded if the tribune,
Caius Memmius, had not overawed them by his harangues. [Sidenote: War
declared. Bestia sails to Africa.] Fresh envoys, who had been sent by
Jugurtha with a fresh bribery fund, were ordered to leave Italy in ten
days; and Bestia sailed for Africa, taking with him as his second
in command Scaurus, who felt, no doubt, that a patriot was at last
rewarded. [Sidenote: Jugurtha bribes the generals.] There was some
fighting, and then the money from which Roman virtue had shrunk in
Italy could be resisted no longer. The itching palm of Scaurus was at
length filled as full as he thought mere decency demanded. Bestia
was also gratified, Jugurtha's submission was accepted, hostilities
ceased, and the consul sailed home to superintend the next year's
elections.

[Sidenote: Harangues of the tribune Memmius.] But Memmius, justly
incensed, now took a bolder tone. We cannot tell how far Sallust
reports what he really said, or how far he drew on his own invention.
But if he has given us Memmius's own words, they must have rung in the
ears of many an honest Roman like the trumpet-notes of that still more
eloquent tribune whose body, ten years before, had been hurled
into the Tiber. For he cast in the teeth of his audience their
pusillanimity in suffering their champions to be murdered, and
allowing so worthless a crew to lord it over them. It had been
shameful enough that they had witnessed in silence the plunder of the
treasury, the monopoly of all high office, and kings and free states
cringing to a handful of nobles; but now a worse thing had been done,
and the honour of the Republic trafficked away. And the men who had
done this felt neither shame nor sorrow, but strutted about with a
parade of triumphs, consulships, and priesthoods, as if they were men
of honour and not thieves. After these and similar home-thrusts,