An open field in Zama, near Carthage.Enter Hannibal and Scipio the Younger, followed by their banners. The banners stand aside and Scipio the Younger and Hannibal face each other, and are apparently stupefied in amazement. Hannibal begins.
Hannibal: Scipio
the Younger, I am honoured and most pleased, that I have the occasion to stand
close to thee and give thee audience. Thou art full of youthful vigour, much
like that I didst posses long before this day, and yet so noble that tales of
thy valour precede thee.
Scipio the
Younger: The pleasure and honour, if there is any, is mine alone. Thou doth
flatter me by thy comparisons, but thou art the senior, so, Prithee speakst thy
mind free.
Hannibal: Aye,
but a better and an abler Roman general I have not met, who hath, with his own
two hands taken control o’th’course of war. War, aye, so full of surprises it
is. No mortal, can nor shouldst try to decipher the codes that dictate it
unpredictable tides; for they are as full of deceit as some crafty painter’s
work, who wouldst hide the devil i’th’details. Indeed war is an ocean wither
tales of joy and sorrow are sung with equal passion by the ship’s crew! The ravages
of war do affect both the victor and the vanquished withal. Thy victories mayst
be great, so great that scholars may study it at a later date; but alas, none
can however, with swelling joy contemplate the splendour of that victory, but
push on with a solemn vow to achieve final victory.
Fortune is like
the most promiscuous whore, whose support wavers and flutters as does the flag
i’th’winds. Such is the work of fortune, at a stroke all successes of a man’s
lifelong quest, is erased whilst his rivals, in that little while, gaineth
clear vantage. Scipio, thou art young, and therefore know not how the subtle
and swift hand of fate deal the a sweeping blow and steal all thy successes.
Thy young life mayst not recall such treacherous tales, yet warn thee I must,
for ‘twas not long before, I was in thy place, able to exhort the Romans to
peace on my own terms. Yet thou didst resist, and fortune smiled on thee to
propel thee forth. Now hither, in this shore of the relentless river of time, I
doth stand before thee and beg thee, to consider thy next steps very clearly.
Art thou sure of thy victory?
Thou doth hold
the same power in thy gripe, as I did after Cannae, Prithee, mayst still swing
for thy worst. We shallst accept thy demands withal. It seemeth Providence,
doth decide, that Carthage shouldst hold sway only over their home, whilst, all
other lands shallst be governed by the Roman laws. We wouldst thus, to follow
this sacred decree, and surrender Sicily, Sardinia and Hispania, and all other
islands that doth lie between our kingdoms. I request, thee, noble and
honourable as thou art; thou shallst not wrongly judge, and rightly thou
shallst accept these humble terms.
Scipio the
Younger: Honourable and noble though thou may be; yet I must say well informed
in the state of affairs thou art not! Thou speakst as if thou were’t choosing
to surrender those lands to impede our march thither! Well I’ll have thee known,
that, we the Romans have already acquired those lands and art gathered hither
not to take them from thee but to save thy city from our wrath. I am indeed
truly honoured by these kind words and thy gracious presence but to bare facts
I must plunge. The reason behind this dialogue was the most unfortunate of
incidents. When true talks of peace were afoot, calamity didst strike a Roman galley.
The citizens of
Carthage, out of wanton greed, looted and plundered, and dismantled every part
o’th’ship, and every such part didst fall to their greedy hands. Indeed if that
be forgiven, who ever, other than thee or thy people, are responsible for this
outrageous war that doth claim a thousand lives a year? Rebellions spark,
whither brother ‘gainst brother rise didst with ravenous swords rise to drain
each other’s blood; beautiful fields were waylaid, which in time gave way to
barren ruin. Honourable and noble Hannibal, if thou wishest at this instant to
end this bloodshed, then I recommend that other than thy lands elsewhere, on
behalf of the Republic of Rome, I propose a tax of five thousand euobic talents
of silver, to be paid in fifty annual instalments, upon thy state, as
punishment for their unlawful acts. Honourable and noble Hannibal, these are
our terms, and since thou hath shown the greatest pains in counselling me in
the vagaries of war I shallst forever be grateful to thee; but true honour may
lie in ending of deaths. So what say you?
Hannibal: Though
art valiant in thought and speech as thou art in action. However, a tax in
these trying times with only Africa as our foraging ground may be difficult to
get. Thy demands seem misconstrued for they seem excessive and too unfair. So
let us, as good and worthy warriors part, to win the day, to the best
o’th’abilities, we must execute our art.
Scipio the
Younger: ‘Tis sad that thou doth not compromise. Well ‘tis then war! So on that
note we must move on.
[Exeunt
Hannibal’s military camp, near Zama.Enter a few veteran troops, then Enter Hannibal.
Hannibal: Cheer
up thy sprites, for we shallst get our long awaited chance after Cannae to
redeem ourselves in the battlefields. Rise, rise to the distant drums that
beat, awaken and shake off thy slumber, for we must draw the battle lines once
again, to teach these fools valuable lessons. Forget not, how we did achieve
victories galore in the foreign lands, where we were always outnumbered. Rack
thy brains to usher in those hard times where astute and brilliant Roman
generals, with our guile, were ambushed and killed. Bring to thy mind those
armies that we didst cut down; and time again beckons us. No matter how large
the force, time and again we gained resounding victory. So gentlemen, with
these thoughts and a gallant mood, on the morrow we shallst march to meet our
foe in armed conflict. Glory to Carthage!
Others: Glory to
Carthage! Glory to Hannibal! We follow thee to victory!
[Exeunt
Roman military camp, near Zama.Enter Roman troops, led by Scipio the Younger.
Scipio the
Younger: Citizens of Rome, we who have suffered during this most wanted war,
shallst on the morrow, seize this moment and signal its final chapter. Our
adversary may be strong, yet remember, that we are stronger and more
determined. Our powers of conquest have us the masters of Sicily and Hispania,
and as the new day dawns, Africa shallst be added as well. Aye, from this
moment on, we shallst set sails and tirelessly march, to bring dissident
kingdoms, conniving states and maligned tribes under our belt of rule. The
battle about to commence, shallst to the world, in a blaze of glory, anoint us
as their sole masters. Enliven thy selves, for thou art Romans every each one
of yea; aye are both its faculties and its genius’. Forever may, the Sun in the
zenith stay for our everlasting empire to thrive. Eternal, imperial Rome!
Others: Rome!
Rome! All hail Rome!
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