Book 29
1
Then he inspected the legions and picked out the men who had seen most service, particularly those who had been under Marcellus, as he considered that these had been trained in the best school, and after their protracted investment of Syracuse were thoroughly familiar with the methods of attacking fortified places. In fact Scipio was not contemplating any small operations, he had already fixed his mind on the capture and destruction of Carthage. He then distributed his army amongst the fortified towns and ordered the Sicilians to supply corn, thus husbanding what had been brought from Italy. The old ships were refitted and C. Laelius was sent with them to plunder the African coast; the new ones he beached at Panormus, as owing to their hasty construction they had been built of unseasoned wood and he wished them to be on dry land through the winter. When his preparations for war were completed, Scipio visited Syracuse. This city had not yet recovered its tranquillity after the violent convulsions of the war. Certain men of Italian nationality had seized the property of some Syracusans at the time of the capture, and though the senate had ordered its restitution they still retained it. After making fruitless efforts to recover it, the Greeks came to Scipio for redress. He felt that confidence in the honesty of the government was of the very first importance, and by issuing a proclamation and pronouncing judgment against those who persisted in keeping possession he succeeded in restoring their property to the Syracusans. This action on his part was gratefully appreciated not only by the owners themselves but by all the cities of Sicily, and they exerted themselves more than ever to assist him.
