About the same time Spartacus a Thracian by Nation, who had formerly born Arms in the Roman Militia, and was now a Captive in Capua to serve as a Gladiator, persuaded about seventy of his Comrades to fight rather for their own liberty, than to please the spectators, and breaking Prison he gave them such Arms as he took from Passengers, and went and posted himself on Mount Vesuvius. Store of fugitive Slaves, and likewise some free people of the Country flocking to him upon the news of his Revolt, he received them, and began to make Incursions and Robberies in the Neighbouring Places, he made Oenomaus and Crixus two Gladiators his Lieutenants, and because he equally divided the Prey among his Companions, in a short time he gathered together so great Forces, that first Varinius Glaber and then P. Valerius being sent against him not with formed Bodies, but such men as they could get together as they passed along, were beaten: for the Roman People esteemed these only a concourse of Thieves, and not worth the name of a War. Spartacus in the Fight took Varinius’s Horse, and there mist little but that the Gladiator had taken the Pretor. After these Victories such multitudes came in to him, that he soon beheld seventy thousand Men under his Command. He then set himself to provide Arms, and to make great Preparations; so that the Consuls were sent against him with two Legions, one of which engaging with Crixus near Mount Gorganus, the Gladiator was killed with thirty thousand of his Men, scarce a third part of his Army escaping: Spartacus having taken his March by the Aventine to gain the Alpes, and thence pass into Gaul, one of the Consuls got before him to stop his passage, and the other Consul followed him at the Heels. He fell upon them one after the other, and made them give ground, and indeed put them to flight, in which the Vanquisher having taken three hundred Roman Prisoners, he cut their Throats, and offered them in Sacrifice to Crixus’s Ghost, his forces being afterwards swelled to sixscore thousand Men, he marched directly towards the City, and to make the quicker way, caused all the Baggages to be burnt, his Prisoners murdered, and his Beasts of Loading slain. Upon the way several Runaways offered themselves to him, but he would accept of none. And when the Consuls to stop his March, engaged him once more in the Country of Picene, he defeated them with a great loss of their Men. However, he changed his design of going to the City, because he found himself too weak, his Army not being sufficiently furnished with all things necessary for War: for he was not aided by any Commonalty; and all his forces were composed of fugitive Slaves and Runnagate People. He went therefore and seised upon the Mountains, and likewise of the City of Turine, and caused Proclamation to be made, that he forbid all sorts of Merchants to bring any Gold or Silver into the Camp, and all Soldiers to keep any: so with what they had they bought Iron and Copper, without doing any wrong to those which brought it; and by this means they got together abundance of Materials, with which they fixed themselves up Arms of all sorts. Mean while they went dayly out a skirmishing, and having once more encountred the Romans, gained the Victory, together with a good store of Spoil and Booty. It was now three years that this formidable War had lasted, which only for having contemned it at first, because of the meanness of the Authors of it, was so prodigiously augmented, and withal the ancient Roman Valour was so bastardised, that when the Assembly was held for naming of Praetors, there was none found that demanded that Dignity, till Licinius Crassus a man of Quality, and mighty rich, resolved to accept of the Pretorship offered; and with six other Legions marched against Spartacus, there were joyned to him the other two Legions which the Consuls had, but he first decimated them as a punishment of those shameful losses they had suffered: though some say, that going to assault the Enemies with all the Legions together, and being beaten by their fault, he then decimated them without considering the great number of Men, amounting to no less than four thousand by which he weakened his Army. However it were, after having managed so his Affairs, that his own men were more afraid of him, than of the Enemy: ten thousand of Spartacus’s Army being encamped severally, he fell suddenly upon them, and made so great a slaughter, that scarce a third part escaped into the Gross, commanded by their Captain. Soon after he undertook Spartacus himself, defeated him, and drove him to the Sea side, where, as he laid a design to get over into Sicily, to hinder him, he shut him up with a Circumvallation he drew round his Camp, with a Ditch and Palisade. Spartacus seeing himself invested, endeavoured to break his way out, to get into the Country of the Samnites, but Crassus made him turn in again, after having killed him six thousand Men in a Morning, and as many in the Evening, with the loss of only three of his own, and seven wounded, so much did the recent memory of their chastisement contribute to the Victory. After which Spartacus, who expected some Horse which were to come to him from elsewhere, durst no more engage with all his Forces, but contented himself to incommode the Besiegers with frequent sallies, which he made sometimes on one side, and sometimes on another, and with throwing flaming Faggots into the Ditch, to burn the Palisade, and hinder the Work. Mean while he caused one of the Roman Prisoners to be hanged up in the middle of the Place between his Camp and Crassus’s Trenches, to let his men know what they were to trust to, if they did not gain the Victory. The news of this cruelty coming to the City, moved their spirits to indignation, that a War should last so long against Gladiators. So that judging the Remains of it were not despiseable, they gave order to Pompey, newly returned from Spain, to go thither. But Crassus fearing lest Pompey should carry away all the Glory of the end of this War, did all that he could possible to draw Spartacus quickly to a Fight. On the other side, Spartacus, who thought it not convenient to stay Pompey’s coming, lent to demand peace from Crassus, which being refused him as a thing unworthy the Grandeur of Rome, and some Horse being come to him, he resolved to try the fortune of a Battel, and having with all his Army forced the Circumvallation, he took his way towards Brundusium, pursued by Crassus: but when he understood that Lucullus returning to Rome after his Victory against Mithridates, was landed, he lost all hopes of Retreat, and drew his Forces (which were yet numerous) into Battalia. The Fight was very fierce, Crassus having to deal with so many thousand desperate people, till such time as Spartacus wounded in the Thigh with a Javelin; fell upon his Knees, where still he defended himself for a while, covered with his Buckler, but at last was killed with all that were fighting about him, all the rest were presently routed, and there was so great a Butchery, that the dead could hardly be counted, nor could they find the body of Spartacus. The Romans lost scarce a thousand men. Those that remained of Spartacus’s Men fled to the Mountains, whither Crassus having followed them, to give the last stroke to the Victory, they formed of what were left forty Battalions, and in that posture yet defended themselves valiantly, till they were all killed, save six thousand, who were afterwards hanged along the way between Capua and Rome. Crassus having done all this in six months, thought now he yielded nothing to Pompey in Glory, and kept his Army as well as he. They both demanded the Consulate, Crassus having passed the charge of Pretor according to Sylla’s Law, whereas Pompey had neither been Pretor nor so much as Questor, and not above four and thirty years old, but he promised the Tribunes to re-establish their ancient power. Thus these two Generals designed Consuls, did not dismiss their Armies, but kept them near the City, and shewed their reasons for it, Pompey that he waited for Metellus, who ought to triumph at his return from Spain; and Crassus that Pompey ought first to dismiss his Forces. Now the people seeing this difference tended to new Dissentions, and that the City was besieged by two Armies, besought the Consuls who were eminently seated in the view of all in the great place, to be reconciled, at first both the one and the other rejected their Prayers; but when the Divines told them that the City was threatened with great miseries if the Consuls did not agree, the people weeping, and casting themselves upon their Knees, renewed the same entreaties, for they had not yet lost the memory of those miseries caused by the Dissentions of Sylla and Marius. Hereupon Crassus beginning first to be moved, rises from his Seat, and goes to present his hand to his Colleague, as a sign of reconciliation: the other rising likewise went to meet him, and having joyned hands, all the people made acclamations of joy, wishing them all happiness; so that before the Assembly broke up, both Consuls dismissed their Armies. Thus was the Common-wealth happily delivered from the fear of a Civil War. And this happened sixty years after the death of Tiberius Gracchus the first mover of Seditions.