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Thus also the durations of wars are determined by Him as He may see
meet, according to His righteous will, and pleasure, and mercy, to
afflict or to console the human race, so that they are sometimes of
longer, sometimes of shorter duration. The war of the Pirates and
the third Punic war were terminated with incredible celerity, Also
the war of the fugitive gladiators, though in it many Roman generals
and the consuls were defeated, and Italy was terribly wasted and
ravaged, was nevertheless ended in the third year, having itself
been, during its continuance, the end of much. The Picentes, the
Marsi, and the Peligni, not distant but Italian nations, after a
long and most loyal servitude under the Roman yoke, attempted to raise
their heads into liberty, though many nations had now been subjected to
the Roman power, and Carthage had been overthrown. In this Italian
war the Romans were very often defeated, and two consuls perished,
besides other noble senators; nevertheless this calamity was not
protracted over a long space of time, for the fifth year put an end to
it. But the second Punic war, lasting for the space of eighteen
years, and occasioning the greatest disasters and calamities to the
republic, wore out and well-nigh consumed the strength of the
Romans; for in two battles about seventy thousand Romans fell. The
first Punic war was terminated after having been waged for
three-and-twenty years. The Mithridatic war was waged for forty
years. And that no one may think that in the early and much belauded
times of the Romans they were far braver and more able to bring wars to
a speedy termination, the Samnite war was protracted for nearly fifty
years; and in this war the Romans were so beaten that they were even
put under the yoke. But because they did not love glory for the sake
of justice, but seemed rather to have loved justice for the sake of
glory, they broke the peace and the treaty which had been concluded.
These things I mention, because many, ignorant of past things, and
some also dissimulating what they know, if in Christian times they see
any war protracted a little longer than they expected, straightway make
a fierce and insolent attack on our religion, exclaiming that, but for
it, the deities would have been supplicated still, according to
ancient rites; and then, by that bravery of the Romans, which, with
the help of Mars and Bellona, speedily brought to an end such great
wars, this war also would be speedily terminated. Let them,
therefore, who have read history recollect what long-continued wars,
having various issues and en-tailing woeful slaughter, were waged by
the ancient Romans, in accordance with the general truth that the
earth, like the tempestuous deep, is subject to agitations from
tempests, tempests of such evils, in various degrees, and let them
sometimes confess what they do not like to own, and not, by madly
speaking against God, destroy themselves and deceive the ignorant.
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