Chapter 95

During the progress of this affair, Lucius Sylla, Marius's quæstor, arrived in the camp with a numerous body of cavalry, which he had been left at Rome to raise among the Latins and allies.

Of so eminent a man, since my subject brings him to my notice, I think it proper to give a brief account of the character and manners; for I shall in no other place allude to his affairs; and Lucius Sisenna, who has treated that subject the most ably and accurately of all writers, seems to me to have spoken with too little freedom. Sylla, then, was of patrician descent, but of a family almost sunk in obscurity by the degeneracy of his forefathers. He was skilled, equally and profoundly, in Greek and Roman literature. He was a man of large mind, fond of pleasure, but fonder of glory. His leisure was spent in luxurious gratifications, but pleasure never kept him from his duties, except that he might have acted more for his honor with regard to his wife. He was eloquent and subtle, and lived on the easiest terms with his friends. His depth of thought in disguising his intentions, was incredible; he was liberal of most things, but especially of money. And though he was the most fortunate of all men before his victory in the civil war, yet his fortune was never beyond his desert; and many have expressed a doubt whether his success or his merit were the greater. As to his subsequent acts, I know not whether more of shame or of regret must be felt at the recital of them.