26. Such is the nature of oratory and so great is its power that it led
even them to change, causing courage and hatred to take the place
respectively of the fear inspired by Pyrrhus and the estrangements his
gifts had wrought. (Mai, ib.)

27. ¶Every force which, contrary to expectation, is humbled in spirit,
suffers a loss also in strength. (Mai, p.177.)

[Sidenote: B.C. 279 (_a.u._ 475)] 28. ¶Pyrrhus sent to Decius, telling
him that he would not succeed in accomplishing this even if he wished it
[i. e., to die without being seized] and threatened besides that if he
were taken alive he should perish miserably. To this the consuls
answered that they were in no need of having recourse to such a
proceeding as the one to which he alluded, since they were sure to
conquer him in other ways. (Mai, ib. Zonaras, 8, 5.)

[Sidenote: B.C. 278 (_a.u._ 476)] 29. He did not know how he would
repulse the one of them [Footnote: "They" are C. Fabricius Luscinus and
Q. Aemilius Papus, Roman consuls.] first, nor how he should repel them
both, and was in perplexity. To divide the army, which was smaller than
that of his opponents, was something he feared to do, yet to allow one
of them to ravage the country with impunity seemed to him almost out of
the question. (Mai, p.177.)

[Sidenote: B.C. 277 (_a.u._ 477)] 30. However, he behaved in general
toward them with great circumspection, and awarded greater credit for
his safety to the fact that no one, even if he wished, could harm him,
than to the probability that no one would have desired to inflict an
injury. It was for this reason, too, that he expelled and slew many who
held office and many who called him in to help in their disputes. This