remark about the death of Tiberius Gracchus gave dire offence to the
popular party, and a few days later he was found dead in his bed,
probably "a victim of political assassination."

Africánus was a man of refinement and culture, a warm friend of
scholars, a patron of the Greek historian POLYBIUS, and of the poets
LUCILIUS and TERENCE. He was opposed to the tendency of his age
towards luxury and extravagance. He was an orator, as well as a
general. The one blot on his career is the terrible destruction of
Carthage, which he possibly might have averted had he shown firm
opposition to it.

SCIPIO NASÍCA, who led the mob against Tiberius, was compelled, though
Pontifex Maximus, to leave the city, and died an exile in Asia.




CHAPTER XXII.

EXTERNAL HISTORY.--PERGAMUM.--JUGURTHINE WAR (118-104).


Pergamum was an ancient city of Mysia on the Caícus, fifteen miles
from the sea. It first became important after the death of Alexander.
Its first king, Attalus I. (241-197), added a large territory to the
city. He was an ally of the Romans, and his successors remained their
firm friends. The city became one of the most prosperous and famous in
Asia Minor, noted for its architectural monuments, its fine library,
and its schools. Attalus III., at his death in 133, bequeathed to Rome