SPARTACUS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 123, 18 February 1919, Page 5

SPARTACUS

HISTORY WITH A MODERN APPLICATION THE RED FLAG IN ANCIENT ROME Since the cessation of the long-drawn-out agony of lhe great war and the subsequent (light of the whilom admiral of the Atlantic to tho sanctuary of Holland, political saviours of variegated types have come to light in Huiiland, among them being a baud of ultra redftiiggers styling themselves the League of Spartacus, a title which carries us back to the time when ancient Rome, as a republic, was entering tho last stage of its decline and fall (.writes T.F.M., in the- Melbourne "Argus"). That is riot to say that Eonian society in the years immediately preceding the advent of the triumvirate—Caesar, Poinpey, and Crnssus—was in a .state of. decadence and de-. cay, like (he Roman society of (he fourth and fifth centuries A.D. In the last days of. the republic there was no lack of. military sjiirit, nor was there any lack of activity in literature, in commerce, and in the various lines of Soman money-making. There was, however, a deplorable lack of "patriotism" and public spirit. Politicians, business men, and militarists were all alike dominated by what might be described as Sinn Feiuisui. In other words, they were all seeking their own personal advantage, unhampered by any regard for the constitution they lived unde-r or the' common good. Loud-voiced agitators and political adventurers, sprang up in every quarter, and readily found .plenty of followers among the discontented masses around them. Strength was added to the forces of anarchy .by.the numerous conflicts between, rival factions, which- tended to loosen the framework of society and to suppress the principles of justice and of respect for law and order and the golden rule. Gladiatorial combats held the first rank among the popular amusements, and these barbarous-displays entailed the ne: cessity of maintaining establishments for the safe custody and training of the slaves, captives, and criminals, who were destined to kill, or be' killed, for the pleasure of the. sovereign people. In (he year 73 B.C; a number of these involuntary, fighters was. being muintaind at Capua by a wealthy patrician named Batiatus, nnd among them was Spartacus; under whose leadership 78 of his fellow-captives broke loose from their ,prison-house and raised the standard of revolt. Weak, though it was at the outset, the insurrection rapidly assumed so formidable a character that three years were needed for its suppression, and, indeed, at one stage it appeored to be not merely an insurrection, but a successful revolution. Spartacus was. a Thracian. by birth, who, while serving in the Roman army among Thracian auxiliaries, had deserted and joined a band of brigands in the mountains of Italy. There he was captured and consigned to the custody of the Cnnunn patrician before-mentioned to bo trained us'a gladiator. It would appear that he was possessed of great physical strength and courage, and likewise, endowed with" no little ability asa military leader, yet the movement he instigated, 'when the best has been said about it, was nothing more than a rising r?" robbers, a character it maintained iintil its extinction. At the outset Spartncus may have been,actuated by a sincere desire to benefit his fellow-slaves, but he speedily found that ho had set evil forces in motion which he was powerless to control. A great part of centrai and southern Italy was then held by wealthy 'squatters," whoso flocks were tended by slaves willing enough to join up with Spnrtaeus, and thus find opportunity f robbing and murdering their obnoxious musters'. For a timo ihuv mot wi-;h great' *:uccoss. Following tho outbreak at Capua, the rebels found temporary- refuse h the crater of Vesuvius—at that ti;'<c supposed to be estinct —and a hastily collected force of 30(10 Roman fr<;cj>s attempted to starve them out. but, oi-spite their small number and defective armament, Spartacus and his gang lchl : y scrambled down tho steep declivities of .the . mountain anc drove the β-iuinna to iiiglif. Tho victory was the means of bringing a vast number of recruits to the rebel standard, and tho extent of the ravages they perpetrated may be guessed from thi well-known line of Horace, in which he promised his friends a jar of wine "if he could find one that had escaped the' clutches of roaming Spartacus." A great part of rural Italy was ruthlessly devastated, and many cities were sacked, the inhabitants of which had to suffer all the atrocities which tho bandits of nneiont days, like tho Huns of modern days, could inflict upon defenceless men, women, and children. Tho struggle between the Roman legions and the rebels soon came to assume the nature of a massacre rather than a war. Every rebel captured was promptly crucified, and, on the other hand, such Romans as were made prisoners were compelled, with sarcastic retaliation, to slaughter one another in gladiatorial combats. But Spartacus himself seems to. havo nurtured no illusions as to the outcome of the rebellion. The dissensions and jealousies which were at work in ■ his camp revealed to him his real weakness. It was borne in upon him that he was not really the leader of his forces, but that his forces were leading him -on to his and their own destruction. His original plan of compaign was to fight his way to the north of Italy and .break through the barrier of the Alps, so that hi-j followers, who were mostly aliens, might betake themselves to their nv#ve homes in Gaul, Thrace, and elsewhere. But his followers thought that, to the victors belonged the spoils; Intoxicated by their victories, they saw the wealth of all Italy gleaming before their eyes, so tho advice of their chief was treated with derision. Against his better judgment Spartacus was persuaded to continue the campaign in Italy, yet, although he defeated the Romans in battle after battle, he failed to counteract the insane ideas and hist for plunder thnt permeated his own ranks. In their anxiety to bring about the deposition of the only man amongst them with any real capacity for leadership, the more rabid section of. the banditti, though they failed to have Spartacus "booted out," succeeded in causing what might bo termed a serious party split. Several minor factions broke adrift from the main body, and these were speedily annihilated in detail by the consular forces, which next began to close in steadily upon the "dinkums" who had remained faithful to Spartacus. Thftt warrior fully realised the .gravity of the situation', and decided to transport his discouraged and disorganised remnant to Sicily. . , AVith intent to secure a passage across the Straits of Messina, he entered into n treaty with a squadron of pirates, who, as it' tua-ned out, had as much regard as had the modern Hud for the sanctity of a treaty. They took the money Spartacus had agreed to pay, and then set sail without the men. With tho Republican triops clos-e at hand, Spartacus and his followers seemed lo be caught ilia trap, but cleverly breaking through the cordmi, they hastily moved northwards, and for a rime it appealed as if the Eternal City woe to become their prey. But apparently their hearts failed thorn. Instead of assailing Borne, -S'partacus again essayed to reach the coast in the hope of making his escape across the Adriatic. But again he was foiled. Brought to bay by the more numerous and bete- equipped Republican troops -under Crassus, he \vas slain' along with'the major part of his following in tho fierce battle that ensued. A number managed fo break through and retreat towards tlw Alps, but had the misfortune to encounter Pompey (the Great), then on his way back from spam. He slaughtered the rebels to (ho ln«t man, while tho prisoners captuired in the battle itself, numbering some 50(10, were hanged by the victors along the highway from Home to Canwi. Such was the inglorious-end of the Spartoctis revolt in the year 7! 8.C., ami tho news reaching us by cable m this ypar A.D. Mil. indicates that a somewhat similar Nemesis is dogfiig the heels of the revolutionaries in Hunlaml, who consider that tho name, • Spartacns eive ,i true indienljon of their aswrations. Of course these fanatics endeavour to hide their real object, yet a discerning public can easily perceive that, like their brethren, the Bolshevists, the Syndicalists, and the One Big Unionists, the most ardent desire of the Spartncus doctrinaires is to enrich themselves nt the eypens>of their neighbour.