Book 2
28
In the army of Varus was Sex. Quintilius Varus, who, as explained above, had been at Corfinium. Dismissed by Caesar, he had come to Africa, and Curio had brought across the legions which Caesar had at an earlier period recovered from Corfinium, without altering the establishment of officers and men, though a few centurions were changed. Having this excuse for appealing to them, Quintilius began to go the round of Curio’s force and beseech the soldiers not to lay aside their early memory of the oath that they had sworn before Domitius and before himself as quaestor, nor bear arms against those who had experienced the same fortune and suffered the same hardships in the siege, nor fight for those by whom they were insultingly styled deserters. To this he adds a few words to arouse hope of bounty—such rewards as they were bound to expect from his liberality if they should follow himself and Attius. On the delivery of this speech no sign is made either way by Curio’s army, and so each commander leads back his forces.
