<head>Mutiny in the Roman Army</head>When a sedition broke out among some of the soldiers in the Roman camp, Scipio, though he had by this time gained considerable practical experience, never found himself in such difficulty and perplexity.
And this was only to be expected. For just as in the case of our bodies external causes of injury, such as cold, extreme heat, fatigue, and wounds, can be guarded against before they happen and easily remedied when they do happen, but growths and abscesses which originate in the body itself can with difficulty be foreseen and with difficulty be cured when they happen,
we should assume the same to be true of a state or an army.
As for plots and wars from outside, it is easy, if we are on the watch, to prepare to meet them and to find a remedy,
but in the case of intestine opposition, sedition, and disturbance it is a difficult task to hit on a remedy, a task requiring great adroitness and exceptional sagacity.
There is one rule, however, which in my opinion is equally applicable to armies, cities, and to the body, and that is never to allow any of them to remain long indolent and inactive and especially when they enjoy prosperity and plenty.
Scipio, as I have said, was exceptionally painstaking and at the same time very sagacious and practical, and he now summoned the tribunes and laid before them the following plan for relieving the present situation.
He said they should undertake to pay the men their arrears, and in order to secure credence for this promise, collect at once publicly and energetically the contributions formerly imposed on the cities for the maintenance of the whole army, making it evident that the measure was taken to adjust the irregularity of payment.
He begged the same officers to return to their troops and urge them to retrieve their error and present themselves before him to receive their pay either singly or in a body.
When this had been done he said it would be time to consult what further action the circumstances demanded.
Walbank Commentary