The Barbarians, however, were growing impatient; murmuring arose, and
every one apostrophized him. Hanno gesticulated with his spatula; and
those who wished the others to be quiet shouted still more loudly,
thereby adding to the din.
Suddenly a man of mean appearance bounded to Hanno's feet, snatched up
a herald's trumpet, blew it, and Spendius (for it was he) announced that
he was going to say something of importance. At this declaration, which
was rapidly uttered in five different languages, Greek, Latin, Gallic,
Libyan and Balearic, the captains, half laughing and half surprised,
replied: "Speak! Speak!"
Spendius hesitated; he trembled; at last, addressing the Libyans who
were the most numerous, he said to them:
"You have all heard this man's horrible threats!"
Hanno made no exclamation, therefore he did not understand Libyan; and,
to carry on the experiment, Spendius repeated the same phrase in the
other Barbarian dialects.
They looked at one another in astonishment; then, as by a tacit
agreement, and believing perhaps that they had understood, they bent
their heads in token of assent.
Then Spendius began in vehement tones:
"He said first that all the Gods of the other nations were but dreams
besides the Gods of Carthage! He called you cowards, thieves, liars,
dogs, and the sons of dogs! But for you (he said that!) the Republic
would not be forced to pay excessive tribute to the Romans; and through
your excesses you have drained it of perfumes, aromatics, slaves,
and silphium, for you are in league with the nomads on the Cyrenian
frontier! But the guilty shall be punished! He read the enumeration of
their torments; they shall be made to work at the paving of the streets,
at the equipment of the vessels, at the adornment of the Syssitia, while
the rest shall be sent to scrape the earth in the mines in the country
of the Cantabrians.
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