SCIPIO ÆMILIUS AFRICANUS MINOR, Publius Cornelius, was the son of Æmilius Paulus, conqueror of Macedonia, and was adopted by Scipio, son of the elder Africanus, whose mother was a sister of L. Æmilius Paulus. He was born in 185 B.C., and while still a youth he accompanied his father to Greece, and fought under him at the battle of Pydna, B.C. 168. It was in Greece, most probably, he became acquainted with the historian Polybius, who, on coming to Rome, directed his literary studies, and introduced him to the art and the literature of Greece. Polybius accompanied him in all his campaigns, and disclosed to him during the leisure hours of his military duties, the treasures of Grecian thought and the wealth of Grecian learning. Nor did Scipio the younger neglect the literature or the manners of Rome, while he eagerly pursued those of her great eastern rival. He was a friend of the poets Lucilius and Terence; and his affection for the younger Lælius was as remarkable as that of Africanus for the elder Lælius, and has been immortalized by Cicero in his Lælius sive de Amicitia. Like the elder Scipio, he cultivated Greek letters, and understood the elegancies of Greek taste, without setting aside the stern Roman virtues, or emasculating his mind by the warm blandishments of a more refined civilization. The younger Scipio began his public career in 151 B.C., by coming forward when it was quite the fashion to stand back, and offering himself to serve in dreaded Spain in whatever capacity the consuls might choose to employ him. He was appointed military tribune, under the consulship of Lucullus, and gave signal proofs of his personal courage during the adventures of this Spanish campaign. He slew in single strife a Spanish giant of great strength, and was the first to mount the walls at the storming of Intercaia. His courage and his integrity reminded the barbarians of him whose name he bore, and he awakened an enthusiasm in the breasts of the rude savages, equalled only by that paid to his grandfather Africanus.
On the breaking out of the third Punic War in 149 B.C., Scipio was called to Africa, which he had already visited, under Lucullus, for a supply of elephants. Here he repaired the blunders of the consul Manilius, gained the confidence of Masinissa, and what he probably valued more than any of the more noisy demonstrations, the "stern" Cato said of him, in the words of Homer (Od. x., 495), "He alone has wisdom, the rest are empty shadows." On Scipio's withdrawal from Africa, when Piso took the command, he was followed to Rome by the wishes of the soldiery, that he might become their commander. To this dignity he was raised sooner perhaps than he expected. In 147 B.C. he was chosen consul, though not yet of the legal age, and was assigned Africa, the most difficult province of Rome, to govern. The details of the third Punic War will be found in the article ROMAN HISTORY, where will be found recorded the bloody capture of the splendid African city. The Carthaginians defended their city till the spring of 146 B.C., when they could no longer withstand the stern energy of the Roman legions. They advanced with thundering tramp, and at every street, and at every house of Carthage, they found the bloodiest work to do. The sight moved the Roman general to tears, and he is said to have given scope to his feelings in the almost prophetic words of Homer, recorded in the well-known lines of the Iliad (vi. 448)—
"Εἰς τὸν ἄνδρα, τὸ δὲ σὲν ἔστιν Δαναῖς,
Καὶ Πύρηναι καὶ Λαῖς ἰσχυρὰν Πρίδαναν.
The victor returned to Rome, where he was welcomed with a splendid triumph, and he now won the surname of Africanus, which he had only before received by inheritance from the conqueror of Hannibal. In no long time the ungrateful Romans had him brought to his trial before the tribune of the plebs, on the charge of majestas, or of contemning the sovereignty of the people. Scipio was acquitted, and the speech delivered by him on this occasion was long considered a masterpiece. He strove to check the Roman appetite for foreign conquest, and showed a high contempt for the pomp and luxury indulged in by his contemporaries. He was chosen consul in 134 B.C., and was assigned the province of Spain, which had long been considered invincible by any but a Scipio. After spending some time in remodelling the discipline of the army, he laid siege to Numantia, which displayed a most heroic resistance. (See NUMANTIA.) The taking of this town gained for him the surname of Numantinus. During his absence in Spain, his brother-in-law, Tiberius Gracchus, was suddenly put to death. Scipio did not, however, sympathise with his reforms, and is said to have exclaimed, on hearing of his death, in the words of Homer (Od. i., 47), "So perish all who do the like again." Scipio did not disguise his sentiments even on his return to Rome, and "down with the tyrant," was soon heard from the fickle mob who not long before had hailed him as the liberator of Rome. This flame was fanned by C. Papirius Carbo, the tribune, who could not tolerate the shadow of his presence, with his thirst for Greek letters and for Greek philosophy, and what was still more offensive, by his fondness for public display. Scipio was in truth a sort of Roman Tory, strongly addicted to letters, which he cultivated with great success, much given to military display, which bordered on parade, and earnestly opposed to nearly all popular measures. He paid too dear a price for his peculiarities. Returning home from the senate-house, he retired to his study, to compose a speech in his own defence against the following day. Next morning the cry went through Rome that Scipio Africanus Numantinus was dead, B.C. 129. The general opinion was that he was murdered, but by whose hand never was known. Popular suspicion generally rested on the tribune, Papirius Carbo; and he is expressly alluded to as the murderer by Cicero.
The few fragments of the speeches of Scipio the younger have been collected by Meyer in Orat. Roman. Fragm. pp. 176-193. His character has been drawn in very pleasing colours by Cicero, in his Republica. His life and death have been noticed with ability by Nitzsch, Scheu, Gerlach, and Zimmerman.
A good account of the Scipio family is given in the Real-Encyclopädie der classischen Alterthumswissenschaft. The Scipios, as was usual among Roman families of distinction, possessed a burial-place used for family purposes. This tomb was discovered in 1780, near the Porta Capena, and adds a very interesting detail to the collection of discoveries relating to the republican period of Rome. A full account of the tomb is given by Visconti in his Monumenti degli Scipioni, and the inscriptions are given by Orelli.