FABIUS PICTOR, the father of Roman history, was descended from M. Fabius Ambustus the consul. In the in-
terval between the first and second Punic wars we find him taking an active part in the subjugation of the Gauls in the north of Italy (225 B.C.); and after the battle of Cannæ (216 B.C.), he was employed by the Romans to proceed to Delphi, in order to consult the oracle of Apollo. In his capacity of historian he is worthy of note as the first of the Roman annalists who set the example of writing the history of his country in prose. The rude muse of Nævius had already celebrated in verse the glory acquired by the Roman arms in the first Punic war, and Ennius had clothed the annals of his adopted country in the language of poetry. But till the time of Fabius Pictor, no one had appeared to chronicle in simple prose the res gestæ of Rome and the Romans. The sources from which he derived the materials for his history were the oral traditions current among the people, and the annals of the priests; and though his style seems to have partaken much of the dry and jejune character of these chronicles, it is highly praised by Livy (who borrowed very largely from Fabius), as well as by Cicero, Pliny, and many other writers. Polybius has expressed a doubt respecting their credibility, but apparently without sufficient reason. That he should have copied from a Greek writer, Diocles of Alexandria, as Dionysius hints, carries with it its own refutation; but it is a curious fact that he wrote his annals in the Greek as well as Latin language. To what period he brought down his history we are unable to determine. Livy speaks of his death 169 B.C. (Molleri Diss. de Q. Fabio Pictore, Altorf. 1689; Lachman, De Fontib. Livii; Fabric. Bibl. Lat.)
Q. FABII MAXIMUS VERRUCOSUS, one of the most distinguished Romans of the republic. He first makes his appearance in history as the conqueror of the Ligurians, who had long braved the power of Rome; and though we have no account of his proceedings from this period down to the beginning of the second Punic war, he must have no doubt taken a prominent part in public affairs, as he was then appointed to head the embassy (219 B.C.) sent to Carthage to inquire whether that state approved of Hannibal's conduct in attacking Saguntum. The answer proved unsatisfactory; when Fabius, assuming the haughty dignity of a Roman senator, and folding up his cloak so as to form a cavity, thus addressed the nobles of Carthage: "Hic vobis bellum et pacem portamus; utrum placet sumite." Being answered that he might give which he pleased, he indignantly exclaimed, "Then I give you war;" and the deputies returned to Rome to state the result of their mission. The disastrous campaign on the Trebia, and the defeat on the banks of the Thrasymene Lake, warned the Romans that their successful resistance to Hannibal, and even their existence, depended on the wisdom of the general to whom they entrusted their troops. Everything pointed out Fabius as the person on whom the fate of Rome ought to be allowed to depend. The senate appointed him dictator; and the fearless character of Minucius probably induced Fabius to make him master of the horse, or second in command; and his conduct in that office did not eventually disappoint the expectations of his countrymen. The grand object of his policy was to weary out and exhaust the army of Hannibal, without the risk of a general engagement; and so closely did he adhere to the plan which he had laid down for himself, that he received from this circumstance the name of Cunctator. His slow and cautious policy by no means suited the ardent spirit of the Romans, and more particularly that of Minucius, his master of the horse, who began to ridicule the proceedings of Fabius, and, when he was absent at Rome, took the
Fable. opportunity of attacking the enemy, and came off victorious in a small skirmish. This tended only more strongly to confirm the opponents of Fabius in their opinion; and Varro was bold enough to propose that Minucius should be made equal in command with Fabius. The result was exactly such as might have been anticipated. Minucius engaged in battle with Hannibal, and his army was on the verge of ruin when the opportune arrival of Fabius changed the aspect of affairs. Minucius seems to have had the moral courage to confess his folly, and cheerfully to submit to the orders of Fabius. At the end of six months he resigned his dictatorship.
But it was not long before Rome was again obliged to have recourse to the experience of Fabius. After the defeat at Cannæ (216 B.C.), he was appointed, along with Marcellus, to the command of the armies; Fabius being called the shield, and Marcellus the sword, of the republic. He laid siege to the important city of Capua; and when Hannibal marched towards Rome, threatening the city itself, Fabius remained firmly at his post, trusting in the known bravery of his fellow-citizens. Again, in his fifth consulship, we find him taking the city of Tarentum; and when it was proposed, towards the conclusion of the war, that Scipio should pass into Africa, Fabius was decidedly opposed to the scheme. But he did not live to witness the final success of Scipio, having died at an advanced age, 203 B.C. For the details of his public life see art. ROMAN HISTORY.