that honour until the expiration of their
office."

40. To this the consul answered, that "neither had the province of
Liguria fallen to his lot, nor had he waged war with the Ligurians,
nor did he demand a triumph over them. He confidently hoped, that in
a short time Quintus Minucius, after completing their reduction, would
demand and obtain a well-deserved triumph. For his part, he demanded a
triumph over the Boian Gauls, whom he had conquered in battle and had
driven out of their camp; of whose whole nation he had received an
absolute submission within two days after the fight; and from whom
he had brought home hostages to secure peace in future. But there
was another circumstance, of much greater magnitude: he had slain in
battle so great a number of Gauls, that no commander, before him, ever
met in the field so many thousands, at least of the Boians. Out of
fifty thousand men, more than one-half were killed, and many thousands
made prisoners; so that the Boians had now remaining only old men
and boys. Could it, then, be a matter of surprise to any one, that a
victorious army, which had not left one enemy in the province, should
come to Rome to attend the triumph of their consul? And if the senate
should choose to employ the services of these troops in another
province also, which of the two kinds of treatment could it be
supposed would make them enter on a new course of danger and another
laborious enterprise with the greater alacrity; the paying them the
reward of their former toils and dangers without defalcation; or, the
sending them away, with the prospect, instead of the reality, when
they had once been disappointed in their first expectation? As to
what concerned himself personally, he had acquired a stock of glory
sufficient for his whole life, on that day, when the senate adjudged
him to be the best man (in the state), and commissioned him to give a
reception to the Idaean Mother. With this inscription (though neither
consulship nor triumph were added) the statue of Publius Scipio Nasica
would be sufficiently honoured and dignified." The unanimous senate
not only gave their vote for the triumph, but by their influence
prevailed on the tribune to desist from his protest. Publius
Cornelius, the consul, triumphed over the Boians. In this procession
he carried, on Gallic waggons, arms, standards, and spoils of all
sorts; the brazen utensils of the Gauls; and, together with the
prisoners of distinction, he led