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haud secus ac, fractae rector si forte carinae
litoribus solus vacuis ex aequore sospes
adnatet, incerti trepidant, tendantne negentne
iactato dextras, ipsamque odere salutem
unius amissa superantis puppe magistri.
118
Pun. 10.608-12
So, when the captain of a wrecked ship is saved from the sea and
swims ashore alone, men are at a loss and uncertain whether to
welcome the sea-tossed man or to disown him; they cannot bear that
the captain only should be saved when his ship is lost.
Duff, 1989, 95.
Despite the shocking news, some took a more positive view. Fabius Maximus urged the
Senate and people to go out and welcome Varro, to pity his misfortune, to blame
themselves (for electing him to office), and to rejoice that Hannibal did not have the
satisfaction of killing both consuls (Pun. 10.615-625). 292 Varro himself weeps, ashamed
to look at anyone, his lictors are silent, not making their customary shouts to clear the
way for the consul. Varro found it hard to believe that the people and Senate were there
to thank him, not to demand the return of their lost brothers and sons (Pun. 10.630-39).
Silius Italicus comments that surrender was held worse than any crime (Pun. 10.653-6).
Livy illustrates the mixed emotions but does not assign a conciliatory role to Fabius
Maximus. At first both consuls were criticised for not doing enough to save the army
and for putting themselves first, one for his flight and the other for choosing to die
(Livy, 22.50.3). Nonetheless, by the time Varro returns to Rome, he is welcomed and
formally thanked in the Senate for not despairing of the state: et gratiae actae quod de
re publica non desperasset (Livy, 22.61.14). Livy closes the book with an interesting
comparison between the welcome given to Varro at Rome against the likelihood of
punishment for Hannibal if he had returned to Carthage in the wake of such a defeat: 293
qui si Carthaginiensium ductor fuisset, nihil recusandum supplicii foret (Livy,
22.61.15). This comparison is one of the closest connections drawn between Varro and
Hannibal, although even here Hannibal is not directly named.
The mellower attitude toward the two consuls endures as evidenced by Florus who
wrote that both deserved praise: Paulus, who was ashamed to survive, and Varro, who
refused to despair (1.22.17). Of the extant texts, only the Punica turns to the rapturous
reception at Carthage to the news of Hannibal‟s victory. Hannibal is ranked with the
292 Also Plutarch, Fab. Max. 18.
293 The Carthaginians had a reputation for crucifying generals who lose, e.g. Hanno, the loser at the
Aegates in 241. Also Val. Max. 2.7. ext. 1. Foster, 1949, 408, n2.