but whose was that misconduct; the soldiers’, or that of their generals?  For my own part, I, as a soldier, will never say a word of my commander, particularly when I know that he received the thanks of the senate for not having despaired of the state; and who has been continued in command through every year since his flight from Cannae.  We have heard that others also who survived that disaster, who were military tribunes, solicit and fill offices of honour, and have the command of provinces.  Do you then, conscript fathers, pardon yourselves and your children, while you exercise severity towards such insignificant persons as we are?  It was no disgrace to a consul and other leading persons in the state, to fly when no other hope remained; and did you send your soldiers into the field as persons who must of necessity die there?  At the Allia nearly the whole army fled; at the Caudine Forks the troops delivered up their arms to the enemy, without even making an effort; not to mention other disgraceful defeats of our armies.  Yet, so far from any mark of infamy being sought for, which might be fixed upon these troops, the city of Rome was recovered by means of those very troops who had fled to Veii from the Allia; and the Caudine legions, which had returned to Rome without their arms, being sent back armed to Samnium, brought under the yoke that very enemy who had exulted in the disgrace which, in this instance, attached to them.  But is there a man who can bring a charge of cowardice or running away against the army which fought at Cannae, where more than fifty thousand men fell; from whence the consul fled with only seventy horsemen; where not a man survived, except perchance those whom the enemy left, being wearied with killing?  When the proposal to ransom the prisoners was negatived, we were the objects of general commendation, because we reserved ourselves for the service of the state; because we returned to the consul to Venusia, and exhibited an appearance of a regular army.  Now we are in a worse condition than those who were taken prisoners in the time of our fathers; for they only had their arms, the nature of their service, and the place where they might pitch their tents in the camp altered; all which, however, they got restored by one service rendered to the state, and by one successful battle.  Not one of them was sent away into banishment; not one was deprived of the hope of completing the period of his service; in short, an enemy was assigned to them, fighting with whom they might at once terminate their life or their disgrace.  We, to whom nothing can be objected, except that it is owing to us that any Roman soldier has survived the battle of Cannae, are removed far away, not only from our country and Italy, but even from an enemy; where we may grow old in exile, where we can have no hope or opportunity of obliterating our disgrace, of appeasing the indignation of our countrymen, or, in short, of obtaining an honourable death.  We seek neither to have our ignominy terminated,