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8.1
When messengers from Setia and Norba arrived in Rome with complaints of
a defeat they had suffered at the hands of the revolted Privernates, the
consulship was held by C. Plautius (for the second time) and L. Aemilius
Mamercus. News was also brought that an army of Volscians led by the people
of Antium had concentrated at Satricum. Both wars fell to Plautius. He
marched first to Privernum and at once engaged the enemy who were defeated
without much trouble The town was captured and then given back to the Privernates
after a strong garrison had been placed in it; two-thirds of their territory
were confiscated. Then the victorious army was led against the Antiates
at Satricum. There a battle was fought with terrible bloodshed on both
sides, and whilst the result was still uncertain night separated the combatants.
The Romans were in no way discouraged by the indecisiveness of the conflict,
and prepared for battle the next day. The Volscians, after reckoning up
their losses in the battles, were by no means eager to run any further
risk; looking upon themselves as defeated, they made a hurried departure
to Antium in the night, leaving their wounded and a part of their baggage
behind. An immense quantity of arms was found both amongst the dead on
the field and in the camp. These the consul said he was offering to Lua
Mater. He then ravaged the enemy's territories down to the sea-board. When
the other consul entered the Sabellian territory, he found that the Samnites
had no camp, no legions confronting him. Whilst he was laying waste their
fields with fire and sword, envoys came to him to ask for peace and he
referred them to the senate. After permission had been given them to state
their case, they laid aside their truculent manner and requested that peace
might be granted them and also the right of making war against the Sidicines.
They considered that they were the more justified in making this request
because they had formed friendly relations with Rome when their affairs
were prosperous, not as in the case of the Campanians when they were in
adversity, and they were taking up arms against the Sidicines, who had
always been their enemies and never friends of Rome, who had not, like
the Samnites, sought its friendship in a time of peace, nor like the Campanians,
asked for its help in a time of war, and who were not under the protection
and suzerainty of Rome.
8.2
The praetor, T. Aemilius, put these demands to the senate, and they decided
that the former treaty should be renewed with them. The reply given then
by the praetor was to the effect that it was no fault of the Roman people
that the friendship with them had not remained unbroken, and there was
no objection to its being re-established since they themselves were weary
of a war brought on them by their own fault. As to the Sidicines there
was nothing to prevent the Samnites from being free to make either peace
or war. After the treaty was made the Roman army was at once withdrawn.
The men had received a year's pay and three months' rations, for which
the consul had stipulated, that he might allow time for an armistice until
the envoys returned. The Samnites advanced against the Sidicines with the
same troops that they had employed in the war with Rome, and they were
very hopeful of effecting an early capture of the city. Then at last the
Sidicines took steps to make a surrender of themselves to Rome. The senate
rejected it as being made too late and forced from them by extreme necessity.
They then made it to the Latins who were already in arms on their own account.
Even the Campanians did not refuse to take part in the hostile movement,
so much keener was their sense of the injuries inflicted by the Samnites
than of the kindness shown them by Rome. One immense army, composed of
these many nationalities and under Latin leadership, invaded the Samnite
country and inflicted more disasters by ravages than by actual fighting.
Although the Latins proved superior in the various encounters, they were
not loath to retire from the enemy's territory lest they might have to
fight too often. This allowed the Samnites time to send envoys to Rome.
When they were admitted to an audience they complained to the senate that
they were suffering more now that they were in treaty with them than they
had before, when they were enemies; they very humbly requested them to
be satisfied with having snatched from them the victory they had won over
the Campanians and the Sidicines, and not permit them, in addition, to
be conquered by these most cowardly people. If the Latins and Campanians
were really under the suzerainty of Rome they should exert their authority
to keep them off the Samnite land, if they renounced that suzerainty they
should coerce them by force. They received an ambiguous reply, for the
senate shrank from acknowledging that the Latins no longer recognised their
authority, and on the other hand they were afraid, if they reprimanded
them, that they might alienate them altogether. The circumstances of the
Campanians were quite different; they were bound not by treaty but by the
terms of surrender, and they must keep quiet whether they would or no.
There was nothing in their treaty with the Latins which prevented them
from making war with whom they pleased.
8.3
With this reply the Samnites were dismissed, quite uncertain as to what
the Romans were going to do. But its effect was to completely estrange
the Campanians, who now feared the worst, and it made the Latins more determined
than ever, since the Romans refused any further concessions. Under the
pretext of making preparations for a Samnite war, they held frequent meetings
of their national council, and in all the consultations of their leaders
they hatched plans in secret for war with Rome. The Campanians also took
part in this movement against their preservers. But in spite of the careful
secrecy with which everything was being conducted-for they wanted the Samnites
to be dislodged from their rear before the Romans made any movement-some
who had friends and relatives in Rome sent hints about the league which
was being formed. The consuls were ordered to resign before the expiry
of their year of office in order that the new consuls might be elected
at an earlier date in view of such a formidable war. There were religious
difficulties in the way of the elections being held by those whose tenure
of office had been curtailed, and so an interregnum commenced. There were
two interreges, M. Valerius and M. Fabius. The latter elected T. Manlius
Torquatus (for the third time) and P. Decius Mus as consuls. It was in
this year (341 B.C.), it appears, that Alexander, King of Epirus, landed
in Italy, and there is no doubt that had he been fairly successful at first
that war would have extended to Rome. This, too, was about the time of
the achievements of Alexander the Great, the son of this man's sister,
who, after proving himself invincible in another region of the globe, was
cut off, whilst a young man, by disease. Although there could be no doubt
as to the revolt of their allies-the Latin league-still, as though they
were concerned for the Samnites and not for themselves, the Romans invited
the ten chiefs of the league to Rome to give them instructions as to what
they wanted. Latium at that time had two praetors, L. Annius of Setia and
L. Numisius of Cerceii, both belonging to the Roman colonists. Through
these men not only had Signia and Velitrae, themselves Roman colonies,
but the Volsci also been instigated to take up arms. It was decided that
they should be particularly invited by name. No one had the slightest doubt
as to the reason for this invitation. A meeting of their council was accordingly
held prior to their departure; they informed those present that they had
been asked by the senate to go to Rome, and they requested them to decide
as to what reply they should give with reference to the matters which they
had reason to suppose would be discussed.
8.4
After various opinions had been expressed, Annius spoke as follows: "Although
it was I who put the question to you as to what answer should be given,
I still think that it is of more importance to the interests of the State
to decide what must be done rather than what must be said. When our plans
are developed it will be easy enough to fit words to facts. If even now
we are capable of submitting to servitude under the shadowy pretext of
a treaty on equal terms, what is to prevent us from deserting the Sidicines
and receiving our orders not only from the Romans but even from the Samnites,
and giving as our reply that we are ready to lay down our arms at the beck
and call of the Romans? But if your hearts are at last touched by any yearning
for independence; if a treaty, an alliance, an equality of rights really
exists; if we are at liberty to boast of the fact that the Romans are of
the same stock as ourselves, though once we were ashamed of it; if our
army, which when united with theirs doubles their strength, and which the
consuls will not dispense with when conducting wars which concern them
alone-if, I say, that army is really an army of their allies, then why
are we not on an equal footing in all respects? Why is not one consul elected
from the Latins? Those who possess half the strength, do they possess half
the government? This is not in itself too much honour for us, seeing that
we acknowledge Rome to be the head of Latium, but we have made it appear
so by our prolonged forbearance.
"But if ever you longed for an opportunity of taking your place in the
government and of making use of your liberty, now is the time; this is
the opportunity which has been given you by your own courage and the goodness
of the gods. You tried their patience by refusing to supply troops. Who
doubts that they were intensely irritated when we broke through a custom
more than two centuries old? Still they put up with the annoyance. We waged
war with the Paelignians on our own account; they who before did not allow
us the right to defend our own frontiers did not intervene. They heard
that the Sidicines were received into our protection, that the Campanians
had revolted from them to us, that we were preparing an army to act against
the Samnites with whom they had a treaty, they never moved out of their
City. What was this extraordinary self-restraint due to but to a consciousness
of our strength and of theirs? I have it on good authority that when the
Samnites were laying their complaints about us they received a reply from
the Roman senate, from which it was quite evident that they themselves
do not now claim that Latium is under the authority of Rome. Make your
rights effective by insisting on what they are tacitly conceding to you.
If any one is afraid of saying this, I declare my readiness to say it not
only in the ears of the Roman people and their senate but in the audience
of Jupiter himself who dwells in the Capitol, and to tell them that if
they wish us to remain in alliance with them they must accept one consul
from us and half their senate." His speech was followed by a universal
shout of approval, and he was empowered to do and to say whatever he deemed
to be in furtherance of the interests of the State of Latium and of his
own honour.
8.5
On their arrival in Rome, the senate assembled in the Capitol and granted
them an audience. T. Manlius, the consul, acting on the instructions of
the senate, recommended them not to make war upon the Samnites, with whom
the Romans had a treaty, on which Annius, as though he were a conquerer
who had captured the Capitol by arms instead of an ambassador protected
by the law of nations, said: "It is about time, Titus Manlius and senators,
that you gave up treating us as though you were our suzerains, when you
see the State of Latium raised by the bounty of the gods to a most flourishing
position, both in population and in military power, the Samnites defeated,
the Sidicines and Campanians in alliance with us, even the Volscians now
making common cause with us, whilst your own colonies actually prefer the
government of Latium to that of Rome. But since you cannot bring your minds
to abandon your impudent claims to sovereignty, we will go so far, in recognising
that we are kindred nations, as to offer peace upon the conditions of equal
rights for both, since it has pleased the gods to grant equal strength
to both; though we are quite able to assert the independence of Latium
by force of arms. One consul must be elected from Rome, the other from
Latium; the senate must contain an equal number of members from both nations;
there must be one nation, one republic. And in order that there may be
one seat of government and one name for all, since one side or the other
must make some concession, let us, if this City really takes precedence,
be all called Romans."
It so happened that the Romans had in their consul T. Manlius, a man
who was quite as proud and passionate as Annius. He was so enraged as to
declare that if the senate were visited by such madness as to accept these
conditions from a man from Setia, he would come with his sword drawn into
the Senate-house and kill every Latin he found there. Then turning to the
image of Jupiter, he exclaimed: "Hear, O Jupiter, these abominable words!
Hear them, O Justice and Right! Thou, Jupiter, as though thou hadst been
conquered and made captive, art to see in thy temple foreign consuls and
a foreign senate! Were these the terms of the treaty, Latins, which Tullus,
the King of Rome, made with your fathers of Alba, or which L. Tarquin made
with you afterwards? Have you forgotten the battle at Lake Regillus? Are
you so utterly oblivious of your defeats in the old days and of our kindness
towards you?" This outburst was followed by the indignant protest of the
senate, and it is recorded that whilst on all hands appeals were being
made to the gods, whom the consuls were continually invoking as the guardians
of treaties, the voice of Annius was heard pouring contempt upon the divine
majesty of the Jupiter of Rome. At all events when, in a storm of passion
he was flinging himself out of the vestibule of the temple, he slipped
down the steps and struck his head so heavily against the bottom step that
he became unconscious. The authorities are not agreed as to whether he
was actually killed, and I leave the question undecided, as also the statement
that during the appeals to the gods to avenge the breach of treaties, a
storm burst from the sky with a terrific roar; for they may either be true
or simply invented as an appropriate representation of the wrath of the
gods. Torquatus was sent by the senate to conduct the envoys away and when
he saw Annius lying on the ground he exclaimed, loud enough to be heard
by the senators and populace alike: 'It is well. The gods have commenced
a just and righteous war! There is a divine power at work; thou, O Great
Jupiter, art here! Not in vain have we consecrated this to be shine abode,
O Father of gods and men! Why do you hesitate, Quirites, and you, senators,
to take up arms when the gods are your leaders? I will lay the legions
of the Latins low, just as you see their envoy lying here." The consul's
words were received by the people with loud applause and raised them to
such a pitch of excitement that when the envoys took their departure they
owed their safety more to the care of the magistrates who, on the consul's
order, accompanied them to protect them from the attacks of the angry people
than to any respect felt for the law of nations.
War having been decided upon by senate as much as people, the consuls
enrolled two armies and proceeded through the territories of the Marsi
and Paeligni, where they were joined by an army of Samnites. They fixed
their camp at Capua, where the Latins and their allies had assembled. It
is said that whilst they were there each consul had the same vision in
the quiet of the night. A Form greater and more awful than any human form
appeared to them and announced that the commander of the one army and the
army itself on the other side were destined as a sacrifice to the Dii Manes
and to Mother Earth. In whichever army the commander should have devoted
the legions of his enemies and himself as well to those deities, that army,
that people would have the victory. When the consuls compared these visions
of the night together, they decided that victims should be slain to avert
the wrath of the gods, and further, that if, on inspection, they should
portend the same as the vision had announced, one of the two consuls should
fulfil his destiny. When the answers of the soothsayers after they had
inspected the victims, proved to correspond with their own secret belief
in the vision, they called up the superior officers and told them to explain
publicly to the soldiers what the gods had decreed, in order that the voluntary
death of a consul might not create a panic in the army. They arranged with
each other that when either division began to give way, the consul in command
of it should devote himself on behalf of the Roman people and the Quirites."
The council of war also decided that if ever any war had been conducted
with the strict enforcement of orders, on this occasion certainly, military
discipline should be brought back to the ancient standard. Their anxiety
was increased by the fact that it was against the Latins that they had
to fight, a people resembling them in language, manners, arms, and especially
in their military organisation. They had been colleagues and comrades,
as soldiers, centurions, and tribunes, often stationed together in the
same posts and side by side in the same maniples. That this might not prove
a source of error and confusion, orders were given that no one was to leave
his post to fight with the enemy.
8.7
Amongst the troop commanders, who had been sent out everywhere to reconnoitre,
there happened to be T. Manlius, the consul's son. He had ridden out with
his men by the enemy's camp and was hardly a stone's-throw from their nearest
post, where the Tusculan cavalry were stationed, when Geminus Maecius,
who was in command, a man of high reputation amongst his own people, recognised
the Roman cavalry and the consul's son at their head, for they were all-especially
the men of distinction-known to each other. Accosting Manlius he said:
"Are you going to conduct the war against the Latins and their allies with
that single troop of yours? What will the consuls, what will their two
armies be doing in the meantime?" "They will be here in good time, Manlius
replied, "and so will Jupiter, the Great and Powerful, the witness of your
breach of faith. If we fought at Lake Regillus till you had quite enough,
certainly we shall succeed here also in preventing you from finding too
much pleasure in meeting us in battle." In reply, Geminus rode forward
a short distance and said: "Are you willing, before the day comes when
you are to set your armies in motion for so great an effort, to have a
meeting with me that the result of our single combat may show how much
a Latin horseman is superior to a Roman?" Either urged on by anger or feeling
ashamed to decline the contest, or dragged on by the irresistible power
of destiny, the high-spirited youth forgot the consul's edict and the obedience
due to a father and rushed headlong into a contest in which victory or
defeat were alike fatal. The rest of the cavalry retired to remain spectators
of the fray; the two combatants selected a clear space over which they
charged each other at full gallop with levelled spears. Manlius' lance
passed above his adversary's helmet, Maecius' across the neck of the other's
horse. They wheeled their horses round, and Manlius standing in his stirrups
was the first to get in a second stroke; he thrust his lance between the
horse's ears. Feeling the wound the horse reared, shook its head violently,
and threw its rider off. Whilst he was trying to rise after his heavy fall
by supporting himself with his lance and shield, Manlius drove his lance
right through his body and pinned him to the earth. After despoiling the
body he returned to his men, and amidst their exulting shouts entered the
camp and went straight to his father at the headquarters' tent, not in
the least realising the nature of his deed or its possible consequences,
whether praise or punishment. "That all may say, my father," he said, "that
I am a true scion of your blood, I bring to you these equestrian spoils
taken from a dead enemy who challenged me to single combat." On hearing
this the consul turned away from his son and ordered the trumpet to sound
the Assembly.
The soldiers mustered in large numbers and the consul began: "Since
you, T. Manlius, have shown no regard for either the authority of a consul
or the obedience due to a father, and in defiance of our edict have left
your post to fight against the enemy, and have done your best to destroy
the military discipline through which the Roman State has stood till now
unshaken, and have forced upon me the necessity of forgetting either my
duty to the republic or my duty to myself and my children, it is better
that we should suffer the consequences of our offence ourselves than that
the State should expiate our crime by inflicting great injury upon itself.
We shall be a melancholy example, but one that will be profitable to the
young men of the future. My natural love of my children and that proof
of courage which from a false sense of honour you have given, move me to
take your part, but since either the consuls authority must be vindicated
by your death or for ever abrogated by letting you go unpunished, I would
believe that even you yourself, if there is a drop of my blood in your
veins, will not shrink from restoring by your punishment the military discipline
which has been weakened by your misconduct. Go, lictor, bind him to the
stake." All were paralysed by such a ruthless order; they felt as if the
axe was directed against each of them; fear rather than discipline keep
them motionless. For some moments they stood transfixed in silence, then
suddenly, when they saw the blood pouring from his severed neck, their
voices rose in unrestrained and angry complaint; they spared neither laments
nor curses. The body of the youth covered with his spoils was cremated
on a pyre erected outside the rampart, with all the funeral honours that
the soldiers' devotion could pay. "Manlian orders" were not only regarded
with horror for the time, but were looked upon as setting a frightful precedent
for the future.
8.8
The terrible severity of the punishment, however, made the soldiers more
obedient to their general, and not only did it lead to greater attention
being paid to the pickets and sentry duties and the ordering of the outposts,
but when they went into battle for the final contest, this severity proved
to be of the greatest service. The battle was exactly like one fought in
a civil war; there was nothing in the Latin army different from the Roman
except their courage. At first the Romans used the large round shield called
the clipeus, afterwards, when the soldiers received pay, the smaller oblong
shield called the scutum was adopted. The phalanx formation, similar to
the Macedonian of the earlier days, was abandoned in favour of the distribution
into companies (manipuli); the rear portion being broken up into smaller
divisions. The foremost line consisted of the hastati, formed into fifteen
companies, drawn up at a short distance from each other. These were called
the light-armed companies, as whilst one-third carried a long spear (hasta)
and short iron javelins, the remainder carried shields. This front line
consisted of youths in the first bloom of manhood just old enough for service.
Behind them were stationed an equal number of companies, called principes,
made up of men in the full vigour of life, all carrying shields and furnished
with superior weapons. This body of thirty companies were called the antepilani.
Behind them were the standards under which were stationed fifteen companies,
which were divided into three sections called vexillae, the first section
in each was called the pilus, and they consisted of 180 men to every standard
(vexillum). The first vexillum was followed by the triarii, veterans of
proved courage; the second by the rorarii, or "skirmishers," younger men
and less distinguished; the third by the accensi, who were least to be
depended upon, and were therefore placed in the rearmost line.
When the battle formation of the army was completed, the hastati were
the first to engage. If they failed to repulse the enemy, they slowly retired
through the intervals between the companies of the principes who then took
up the fight, the hastati following in their rear. The triarii, meantime,
were resting on one knee under their standards, their shields over their
shoulders and their spears planted on the ground with the points upwards,
giving them the appearance of a bristling palisade. If the principes were
also unsuccessful, they slowly retired to the triarii, which has given
rise to the proverbial saying, when people are in great difficulty "matters
have come down to the triarii." When the triarii had admitted the hastati
and principes through the intervals separating their companies they rose
from their kneeling posture and instantly closing their companies up they
blocked all passage through them and in one compact mass fell on the enemy
as the last hope of the army. The enemy who had followed up the others
as though they had defeated them, saw with dread a now and larger army
rising apparently out of the earth. There were generally four legions enrolled,
consisting each of 5000 men, and 300 cavalry were assigned to each legion.
A force of equal size used to be supplied by the Latins, now, however,
they were hostile to Rome. The two armies were drawn up in the same formation,
and they knew that if the maniples kept their order they would have to
fight, not only vexilla with vexilla, hastati with hastati, principes with
principes, but even centurion with centurion. There were amongst the triarii
two centurions, one in each army-the Roman, possessing but little bodily
strength but an energetic and experienced soldier, the Latin, a man of
enormous strength and a splendid fighter-very well known to each other
because they had always served in the same company. The Roman, distrusting
his own strength, had obtained the consuls' permission before leaving Rome
to choose his own sub-centurion to protect him from the man who was destined
to be his enemy. This youth, finding himself face to face with the Latin
centurion, gained a victory over him.
8.9
The battle took place near the base of Mount Vesuvius, where the road led
to Veseris. Before leading out their armies to battle the consuls offered
sacrifice. The haruspex, whose duty it was to inspect the different organs
in the victims, pointed out to Decius a prophetic intimation of his death,
in all other respects the signs were favourable. Manlius' sacrifice was
entirely satisfactory. "It is well," said Decius, "if my colleague has
obtained favourable signs." They moved forward to battle in the formation
I have already described, Manlius in command of the right division, Decius
of the left. At first both armies fought with equal strength and equal
determination. After a time the Roman hastati on the left, unable to withstand
the insistency of the Latins, retired behind the principes. During the
temporary confusion created by this movement, Decius exclaimed in a loud
voice to M. Valerius: "Valerius, we need the help of the gods! Let the
Pontifex Maximus dictate to me the words in which I am to devote myself
for the legions." The Pontifex bade him veil his head in his toga praetexta,
and rest his hand, covered with the toga, against his chin, then standing
upon a spear to say these words: "Janus, Jupiter, Father Mars, Quirinus,
Bellona, Lares, ye Novensiles and Indigetes, deities to whom belongs the
power over us and over our foes, and ye, too, Divine Manes, I pray to you,
I do you reverence, I crave your grace and favour that you will bless the
Roman People, the Quirites, with power and victory, and visit the enemies
of the Roman People, the Quirites, with fear and dread and death. In like
manner as I have uttered this prayer so do I now on behalf of the commonwealth
of the Quirites, on behalf of the army, the legions, the auxiliaries of
the Roman People, the Quirites, devote the legions and auxiliaries of the
enemy, together with myself to the Divine Manes and to Earth." After this
prayer he ordered the lictors to go to T. Manlius and at once announce
to his colleague that he had devoted himself on behalf of the army. He
then girded himself with the Gabinian cincture, and in full armour leaped
upon his horse and dashed into the middle of the enemy. To those who watched
him in both armies, he appeared something awful and superhuman, as though
sent from heaven to expiate and appease all the anger of the gods and to
avert destruction from his people and bring it on their enemies. All the
dread and terror which he carried with him threw the front ranks of the
Latins into confusion which soon spread throughout the entire army. This
was most evident, for wherever his horse carried him they were paralysed
as though struck by some death-dealing star; but when he fell, overwhelmed
with darts, the Latin cohorts, in a state of perfect consternation, fled
from the spot and left a large space clear. The Romans, on the other hand,
freed from all religious fears, pressed forward as though the signal was
then first given and commenced a great battle. Even the rorarii rushed
forward between the companies of antepilani and added strength to the hastati
and principes, whilst the triarii, kneeling on their right knee, waited
for the consul's signal to rise
8.10
When Manlius heard the fate of his colleague, he honoured his glorious
death with tears no less than with the due meed of praise. Meantime the
battle proceeded, and in some quarters the weight of numbers was giving
the advantage to the Latins. For some time Manlius was in doubt whether
the moment had not come for calling up the triarii, but judging it better
for them to be kept fresh till the final crisis of the battle, he gave
orders for the accensi at the extreme rear to advance to the front. When
they came up, the Latins, taking them for the opposing triarii, instantly
called up their own. In the desperate struggle they had tired themselves
out and broken or blunted their spears, but as they were still driving
the enemy back by main force, they imagined that the battle was decided
and that they had reached their last line. Then it was that the consul
said to his triarii: "Rise up now, fresh and vigorous against a wearied
foe; think of your country and your parents and wives and children; think
of your consul lying there dead that ye might win the victory!" They rose
up fresh and resplendent in their armour, as though a new army had suddenly
sprung up, and after letting the antepilani retire through them they raised
their battle-shout. The front ranks of the Latins were thrown into disorder,
the Romans thrust their spears into their faces, and in this way killed
the main support of their army. They went on without being touched through
the remaining companies as though through a crowd of unarmed men, and they
marked their advance with such a slaughter that they left hardly a fourth
part of the enemy. The Samnites, too, who were drawn up close to the lowest
spurs of the mountain, were threatening the Latins on their flank, and
so adding to their demoralisation.
The chief credit for that successful battle was given by all, Romans
and allies alike, to the two consuls-one of whom had diverted on to himself
alone all the dangers that threatened from the gods supernal and the gods
infernal, whilst the other had shown such consummate generalship in the
battle itself that the Roman and Latin historians who have left an account
of it, are quite agreed that whichever side had had T. Manlius as their
commander must have won the victory. After their flight the Latins took
refuge in Menturnae. Their camp was captured after the battle, and many
were killed there, mostly Campanians. The body of Decius was not found
that day, as night overtook those who were searching for it, the next day
it was discovered, buried beneath a heap of javelins and with an immense
number of the enemy lying round it. His obsequies were conducted by his
colleague in a manner befitting that glorious death. I ought to add here
that a consul or Dictator or praetor, when he devotes the legions of the
enemy, need not necessarily devote himself but may select any one he chooses
out of a legion that has been regularly enrolled. If the man who has been
so devoted is killed, all is considered to have been duly performed. If
he is not killed, an image of the man, seven feet high at least, must be
buried in the earth, and a victim slain as an expiatory sacrifice; on the
spot, where such an image has been buried, no Roman magistrate must ever
set his foot. If, as in the case of Decius, the commander devotes himself
but survives the battle, he can no longer discharge any religious function,
either on his own account or on behalf of the State. He has the right to
devote his arms, either by offering a sacrifice or otherwise, to Vulcan
or to any other deity. The spear on which the consul stands, when repeating
the formula of devotion, must not pass into the enemy's hands; should this
happen a suovetaurilia must be offered as a propitiation to Mars.
8.11
Although the memory of every traditional custom relating to either human
or divine things has been lost through our abandonment of the old religion
of our fathers in favour of foreign novelties, I thought it not alien from
my subject to record these regulations in the very words in which they
have been handed down. In some authors I find it stated that it was only
after the battle was over that the Samnites who had been waiting to see
the result came to support the Romans. Assistance was also coming to the
Latins from Lanuvium whilst time was being wasted in deliberation, but
whilst they were starting and a part of their column was already on the
march, news came of the defeat of the Latins. They faced about and re-entered
their city, and it is stated that Milionius, their praetor, remarked that
for that very short march they would have to pay a heavy price to Rome.
Those of the Latins who survived the battle retreated by many different
routes, and gradually assembled in the city of Vescia. Here the leaders
met to discuss the situation, and Numisius assured them that both armies
had really experienced the same fortune and an equal amount of bloodshed;
the Romans enjoyed no more than the name of victory, in every other respect
they were as good as defeated. The headquarters of both consuls were polluted
with blood; the one had murdered his son, the other had devoted himself
to death; their whole army was massacred, their hastati and principes killed;
the companies both in front of and behind the standards had suffered enormous
losses; the triarii in the end saved the situation. The Latin troops, it
was true, were equally cut up, but Latium and the Volsci could supply reinforcements
more quickly than Rome. If, therefore, they approved, he would at once
call out the fighting men from the Latin and Volscian peoples and march
back with an army to Capua, and would take the Romans unawares; a battle
was the last thing they were expecting. He despatched misleading letters
throughout Latium and the Volscian country, those who had not been engaged
in the battle being the more ready to believe what he said, and a hastily
levied body of militia, drawn from all quarters, was got together. This
army was met by the consul at Trifanum, a place between Sinuessa and Menturnae.
Without waiting even to choose the sites for their camps, the two armies
piled their baggage, fought and finished the war, for the Latins were so
utterly worsted that when the consul with his victorious army was preparing
to ravage their territory, they made a complete surrender and the Campanians
followed their example. Latium and Capua were deprived of their territory.
The Latin territory, including that of Privernum, together with the Falernian,
which had belonged to the Campanians as far as the Volturnus, was distributed
amongst the Roman plebs. They received two jugera a head in the Latin territory,
their allotment being made up by three-quarters of a jugerum in the Privernate
district; in the Falernian district they received three entire jugera,
the additional quarter being allowed owing to the distance. The Laurentes,
amongst the Latins and the aristocracy of the Campanians, were not thus
penalised because they had not revolted. An order was made for the treaty
with the Laurentes to be renewed, and it has since been renewed annually
on the tenth day after the Latin Festival. The Roman franchise was conferred
on the aristocracy of Campania, and a brazen tablet recording the fact
was fastened up in Rome in the temple of Castor, and the people of Campania
were ordered to pay them each-they numbered 1600 in all-the sum of 450
denarii annually.
8.12
The war having been thus brought to a close, and rewards and punishments
having been meted out to each according to their deserts, T. Manlius returned
to Rome. There seems good reason for believing that only the older men
went out to meet him on his arrival, the younger part of the population
showed their aversion and detestation for him not only then but all through
his life. The Antiates made incursions into the territories of Ostia, Ardea,
and Solonia. Manlius' health prevented him from prosecuting this war, so
he nominated L. Papirius Crassus as Dictator, and he named L. Papirius
Cursor as his Master of the Horse. No important action was taken by the
Dictator against the Antiates, though he had a permanent camp in their
country for some months. This year had been signalised by victories over
many powerful nations, and still more by the noble death of one consul,
and the stern, never-to-be-forgotten exercise of authority on the part
of the other. It was followed by the consulship of Titus Aemilius Mamercinus
and Q. Publilius Philo. They did not meet with similar materials out of
which to build a reputation, nor did they study the interests of their
country so much as their own or those of the political factions in the
republic. The Latins resumed hostilities to recover the domain they had
lost, but were routed in the Fenectane plains and driven out of their camp.
There Publilius, who had achieved this success, received into surrender
the Latin cities who had lost their men there, whilst Aemilius led his
army to Pedum. This place was defended by a combined force from Tibur,
Praeneste, and Velitrae, and help was also sent from Lanuvium and Antium.
In the various battles the Romans had the advantage, but at the city itself,
and at the camp of the allied forces which adjoined the city, their work
had to be done all over again. The consul suddenly abandoned the war before
it was brought to a close, because he heard that a triumph had been decreed
to his colleague, and he actually returned to Rome to demand a triumph
before he had won a victory. The senate were disgusted at this selfish
conduct, and made him understand that he would have no triumph till Pedum
had either been taken or surrendered. This produced a complete estrangement
between Aemilius and the senate, and he thenceforth administered his consulship
in the spirit and temper of a seditious tribune. As long as he was consul
he perpetually traduced the senate to the people, without any opposition
from his colleague, who himself also belonged to the plebs. Material for
his charges was afforded by the dishonest allocation of the Latin and Falernian
domain amongst the plebs, and after the senate, desirous of restricting
the consuls' authority, had issued an order for the nomination of a Dictator
to act against the Latins, Aemilius, whose turn it then was to have the
fasces, nominated his own colleague, who named Junius Brutus as his Master
of the Horse. He made his Dictatorship popular by delivering incriminatory
harangues against the senate and also by carrying three measures which
were directed against the nobility and were most advantageous to the plebs.
One was that the decisions of the plebs should be binding on all the Quirites;
the second, that measures which were brought before the Assembly of centuries
should be sanctioned by the patricians before being finally put to the
vote; the third, that since it had come about that both censors could legally
be appointed from the plebs, one should in any case be always chosen from
that order. The patricians considered that the consuls and the Dictator
had done more to injure the State by their domestic policy than to strengthen
its power by their successes in the field.
8.13
The consuls for the next year were L. Furius Camillus and C. Maenius. In
order to bring more discredit upon Aemilius for his neglect of his military
duties the previous year, the senate insisted that no expenditure of arms
and men must be spared in order to reduce and destroy Pedum. The new consuls
were peremptorily ordered to lay aside everything else and march at once.
The state of affairs in Latium was such that they would neither maintain
peace nor undertake war. For war their resources were utterly inadequate,
and they were smarting too keenly under the loss of their territory to
think of peace. They decided, therefore, on a middle course, namely, to
confine themselves to their towns, and if they were informed of any town
being attacked, to send assistance to it from the whole of Latium. The
people of Tibur and Praeneste, who were the nearest, reached Pedum, but
the troops from Aricium, Lanuvium, and Veliternae, in conjunction with
the Volscians of Antium, were suddenly attacked and routed by Maenius at
the river Astura. Camillus engaged the Tiburtines who were much the strongest
force, and, though with greater difficulty, achieved a similar success.
During the battle the townsmen made a sudden sortie, but Camillus, directing
a part of his army against them, not only drove them back within their
walls, but stormed and captured the town, after routing the troops sent
to their assistance, all in one day. After this successful attack on one
city, they decided to make a greater and bolder effort and to lead their
victorious army on to the complete subjugation of Latium. They did not
rest until, by capturing or accepting the surrender of one city after another,
they had effected their purpose. Garrisons were placed in the captured
towns, after which they returned to Rome to enjoy a triumph which was by
universal consent accorded to them. An additional honour was paid to the
two consuls in the erection of their equestrian statues in the Forum, a
rare incident in that age.
Before the consular elections for the following year were held, Camillus
brought before the senate the question of the future settlement of Latium.
"Senators," he said, "our military operations in Latium have by the gracious
favour of the gods and the bravery of our troops been brought to successful
close. The hostile armies were cut down at Pedum and the Astura, all the
Latin towns and the Volscian Antium have either been stormed or have surrendered
and are now held by your garrisons. We are growing weary of their constant
renewal of hostilities, it is for you to consult as to the best means of
binding them to a perpetual peace. The immortal gods have made you so completely
masters of the situation that they have put it into your hands to decide
whether there shall be hence-forth a Latium or not. So far, then, as the
Latins are concerned, you can secure for yourselves a lasting peace by
either cruelty or kindness. Do you wish to adopt ruthless measures against
a people that have surrendered and been defeated? It is open to you to
wipe out the whole Latin nation and create desolation and solitude in that
country which has furnished you with a splendid army of allies which you
have employed in many great wars. Or do you wish to follow the example
of your ancestors and make Rome greater by conferring her citizenship on
those whom she has defeated? The materials for her expansion to a glorious
height are here at hand. That is assuredly the most firmly-based empire,
whose subjects take a delight in rendering it their obedience. But whatever
decision you come to, you must make haste about it. You are keeping so
many peoples in suspense, with their minds distracted between hope and
fear, that you are bound to relieve yourselves as soon as possible from
your anxiety about them, and by exercising either punishment or kindness
to pre-occupy minds which a state of strained expectancy has deprived of
the power of thought. Our task has been to put you in a position to take
the whole question into consultation, your task is to decree what is best
for yourselves and for the republic."
8.14
The leaders of the senate applauded the way in which the consul had introduced
the motion, but as the circumstances differed in different cases they thought
that each case ought to be decided upon its merits, and with the view of
facilitating discussion they requested the consul to put the name of each
place separately. Lanuvium received the full citizenship and the restitution
of her sacred things, with the proviso that the temple and grove of Juno
Sospita should belong in common to the Roman people and the citizens living
at Lanuvium. Aricium, Nomentum, and Pedum obtained the same political rights
as Lanuvium. Tusculum retained the citizenship which it had had before,
and the responsibility for the part it took in the war was removed from
the State as a whole and fastened on a few individuals. The Veliternians,
who had been Roman citizens from old times, were in consequence of their
numerous revolts severely dealt with; their walls were thrown down, their
senate deported and ordered to live on the other side of the Tiber; if
any of them were caught on this side of the river, he was to be fined 1000
ases, and the man who caught him was not to release him from confinement
till the money was paid. Colonists were sent on to the land they had possessed,
and their numbers made Velitrae look as populous as formerly. Antium also
was assigned to a fresh body of colonists, but the Antiates were permitted
to enrol themselves as colonists if they chose; their warships were taken
away, and they were forbidden to possess any more; they were admitted to
citizenship. Tibur and Praeneste had their domains confiscated, not owing
to the part which they, in common with the rest of Latium, had taken in
the war, but because, jealous of the Roman power, they had joined arms
with the barbarous nation of the Gauls. The rest of the Latin cities were
deprived of the rights of intermarriage, free trade, and common councils
with each other. Capua, as a reward for the refusal of its aristocracy
to join the Latins, were allowed to enjoy the private rights of Roman citizens,
as were also Fundi and Formiae, because they had always allowed a free
passage through their territory. It was decided that Cumae and Suessula
should enjoy the same rights as Capua. Some of the ships of Antium were
taken into the Roman docks, others were burnt and their beaks (rostra)
were fastened on the front of a raised gallery which was constructed at
the end of the Forum, and which from this circumstance was called the Rostra.
8.15
C. Sulpicius Longus and P. Aelius Paetus were the new consuls. The blessings
of peace were now enjoyed everywhere, a peace maintained not more by the
power of Rome than by the influence she had acquired through her considerate
treatment of her vanquished enemies, when a war broke out between the Sidicines
and the Auruncans. After their surrender had been accepted by the consul
Manlius, the Auruncans had kept quiet, which gave them a stronger claim
to the help of Rome. The senate decided that assistance should be afforded
them, but before the consuls started, a report was brought that the Auruncans
had been afraid to remain in their town and had fled with their wives and
children to Suessa-now called Aurunca-which they had fortified, and that
their city with its ancient walls had been destroyed by the Sidicines.
The senate were angry with the consuls, through whose delay their allies
had been betrayed, and ordered a Dictator to be nominated. C. Claudius
Regillensis was nominated accordingly, and he named as his Master of the
Horse C. Claudius Hortator. There was some difficulty about the religious
sanction of the Dictator's appointment, and as the augurs pronounced that
there was an irregularity in his election, both the Dictator and the Master
of the Horse resigned. This year Minucia, a Vestal, incurred suspicion
through an improper love of dress, and subsequently was accused of unchastity
on the evidence of a slave. She had received orders from the pontiffs to
take no part in the sacred rights and not to manumit any of her slaves.
She was tried and found guilty, and was buried alive near the Colline Gate
to the right of the high road in the Campus Sceleratus (the "accursed field"),
which, I believe, derives its name from this incident. In this year also
Q. Publilius Philo was elected as the first plebeian praetor against the
opposition of the consul Sulpicius; the senate, after failing to keep the
highest posts in their own hands, showed less interest in retaining the
praetorship.
8.16
The consuls for the following year were L. Papirius Crassus and Caeso Duillius.
There was war with the Ausonians; the fact that it was against a new enemy
rather than a formidable one made it noticeable. This people inhabited
the city of Cales, and had joined arms with their neighbours, the Sidicines.
The combined army of the two cities was routed in a quite insignificant
engagement; the proximity of their cities made them all the sooner seek
a safety in flight which they did not find in fighting. The senate were
none the less anxious about the war, in view of the fact that the Sidicines
had so frequently either taken the aggressive themselves or assisted others
to do so, or had been the cause of hostilities. They did their utmost,
therefore, to secure the election of M. Valerius Corvus, the greatest commander
of his day, as consul for the fourth time. M. Atilius Regulus was assigned
to him as his colleague. To avoid any chance of mistake, the consuls requested
that this war might be assigned to Corvus without deciding it by lot. After
taking over the victorious army from the previous consuls, he marched to
Cales, where the war had originated. The enemy were dispirited through
the remembrance of the former conflict, and he routed them at the very
first attack. He then advanced to an assault upon their walls. Such was
the eagerness of the soldiers that they were anxious to bring up the scaling
ladders and mount the walls forthwith, but Corvus perceived the difficulty
of the task and preferred to gain his object by submitting his men to the
labours of a regular siege rather than by exposing them to unnecessary
risks. So he constructed an agger and brought up the vineae and the turrets
close to the walls, but a fortunate circumstance rendered them unnecessary.
M. Fabius, a Roman prisoner, succeeded in eluding his guards on a festival,
and after breaking his chains fastened a rope from a battlement of the
wall and let himself down amongst the Roman works. He induced the commander
to attack the enemy while they were sleeping off the effects of their wine
and feasting, and the Ausonians were captured, together with their city,
with no more trouble than they had previously been routed in the open field.
The booty seized was enormous, and after a garrison was placed in Cales
the legions were marched back to Rome. The senate passed a resolution allowing
the consul to celebrate a triumph, and in order that Atilius might have
a chance of distinguishing himself, both the consuls were ordered to march
against the Sidicines. Before starting they nominated, on the resolution
of the senate, L. Aemilius Mamercinus as Dictator, for the purpose of conducting
the elections; he named Q. Publilius Philo as his Master of the Horse.
The consuls elected were T. Veturius and Spurius Postumius. Although there
was still war with the Sidicines, they brought forward a proposal to send
a colony to Cales in order to anticipate the wishes of the plebs by a voluntary
act of kindness. The senate passed a resolution that 2500 names should
be enrolled, and the three commissioners appointed to settle the colonists
and allocate the holdings were Caeso Duillius, T. Quinctius, and M. Fabius.
8.17
The new consuls, after taking over the army from their predecessors, entered
the enemy's territory and carried their depredations up to the walls of
their city. The Sidicines had got together an immense army, and were evidently
prepared to fight desperately for their last hope; there was also a report
that Samnium was being roused into hostilities. A Dictator was accordingly
nominated by the consuls on the resolution of the senate-P. Cornelius Rufinus;
the Master of the Horse was M. Antonius. Subsequently a religious difficulty
arose through an informality in their nomination, and they resigned their
posts. In consequence of a pestilence which followed, it seemed as though
all the auspices were tainted by that informality, and matters reverted
to an interregnum. There were five interreges and under the last one, M.
Valerius Corvus, the consuls elected were C. Cornelius (for the second
time) and Cn. Domitius. Matters were now quiet, but a rumour of a Gaulish
war created as much alarm as an actual invasion, and it was decided that
a Dictator should be appointed. M. Papirius Crassus was nominated, his
Master of the Horse being P. Valerius Publicola. Whilst they were raising
a stronger levy than was usual in wars near at hand, the reconnoitring
parties that had been sent out reported that all was quiet amongst the
Gauls. For the last two years there had been suspicions of a movement in
Samnium in favour of a change of policy, and as a measure of precaution
the Roman army was not withdrawn from the Sidicine territory. The landing
of Alexander of Epirus near Paestum led the Samnites to make common cause
with the Lucanians, but their united forces were defeated by turn in a
pitched battle. He then established friendly relations with Rome, but it
is very doubtful how far he would have maintained them had his other enterprises
been equally successful. In this year a census was taken, the censors being
Q. Publilius Philo and Sp. Postumius. The new citizens were assessed and
formed into two additional tribes, the Maecian and the Scaptian. L. Papirius,
the praetor, secured the passage of a law by which the rights of citizenship
without the franchise were conferred on the inhabitants of Acerrae. These
were the military and civil transactions for the year.
8.18
M. Claudius Marcellus and T. Valerius were the new consuls. I find in the
annals Flaccus and Potitus variously given as the consul's cognomen, but
the question is of small importance. This year gained an evil notoriety,
either through the unhealthy weather or through human guilt. I would gladly
believe-and the authorities are not unanimous on the point-that it is a
false story which states that those whose deaths made the year notorious
for pestilence were really carried off by poison. I shall, however, relate
the matter as it has been handed down to avoid any appearance of impugning
the credit of our authorities. The foremost men in the State were being
attacked by the same malady, and in almost every case with the same fatal
results. A maid-servant went to Q. Fabius Maximus, one of the curule aediles,
and promised to reveal the cause of the public mischief if the government
would guarantee her against any danger in which her discovery might involve
her. Fabius at once brought the matter to the notice of the consuls and
they referred it to the senate, who authorised the promise of immunity
to be given. She then disclosed the fact that the State was suffering through
the crimes of certain women; those poisons were concocted by Roman matrons,
and if they would follow her at once she promised that they should catch
the poisoners in the act. They followed their informant and actually found
some women compounding poisonous drugs and some poisons already made up.
These latter were brought into the Forum, and as many as twenty matrons,
at whose houses they had been seized, were brought up by the magistrates'
officers. Two of them, Cornelia and Sergia, both members of patrician houses,
contended that the drugs were medicinal preparations. The maid-servant,
when confronted with them, told them to drink some that they might prove
she had given false evidence. They were allowed time to consult as to what
they would do, and the bystanders were ordered to retire that they might
take counsel with the other matrons. They all consented to drink the drugs,
and after doing so fell victims to their own criminal designs. Their attendants
were instantly arrested, and denounced a large number of matrons as being
guilty of the same offence, out of whom a hundred and seventy were found
guilty. Up to that time there had never been a charge of poison investigated
in Rome. The whole incident was regarded as a portent, and thought to be
an act of madness rather than deliberate wickedness. In consequence of
the universal alarm created, it was decided to follow the precedent recorded
in the annals. During the secessions of the plebs in the old days a nail
had been driven in by the Dictator, and by this act of expiation men's
minds, disordered by civil strife, had been restored to sanity. A resolution
was passed accordingly, that a Dictator should be appointed to drive in
the nail. Cnaeus Quinctilius was appointed and named L. Valerius as his
Master of the Horse. After the nail was driven in they resigned office.
8.19
L. Papirius Crassus and L. Plautius Venox were thereupon elected consuls,
the former for the second time. At the beginning of the year deputations
came from Fabrateria and Luca, places belonging to the Volscians, with
a request to be received into the protection of Rome, whose overlordship
they would faithfully and loyally acknowledge if they would undertake to
defend them from the Samnites. The senate acceded to their request, and
sent to warn the Samnites against violating the territory of these two
cities. The Samnites took the warning, not because they were anxious for
peace, but because they were not yet ready for war. This year a war commenced
with Privernum and its ally, Fundi; their commander was a Fundan, Vitrubius
Baccus, a man of great distinction not only in his own city but even in
Rome, where he had a house on the Palatine, which was afterwards destroyed
and the site sold, the place being thenceforth known as the Bacci Prata.
Whilst he was spreading devastation far and wide through the districts
of Setia, Norba, and Cora, L. Papirius advanced against him and took up
a position not far from his camp. Vitrubius had neither the prudence to
remain within his lines in presence of an enemy stronger than himself nor
the courage to fight at a distance from his camp. He gave battle whilst
his men were hardly clear of their camp, and thinking more of retreating
back to it than of the battle or the enemy, was with very little effort
put to a decisive defeat. Owing to the proximity of the camp retreat was
easy, and he had not much difficulty in protecting his men from serious
loss; hardly any were killed in the actual battle, and only a few in the
rear of the crowded fugitives as they were rushing into their camp. As
soon as it grew dark they abandoned it for Privernum, trusting to stone
walls for protection rather than to the rampart round their camp.
The other consul, Plautius, after ravaging the fields in all directions
and carrying off the plunder, led his army into the territory of Fundi.
As he was crossing their frontier the senate of Fundi met him and explained
that they had not come to intercede for Vitrubius and those who had belonged
to his party, but for the people of Fundi. They pointed out that Vitrubius
himself had cleared them from all responsibility by seeking shelter in
Privernum and not in Fundi, though it was his city. At Privernum, therefore,
the enemies of Rome were to be looked for and punished, for they had been
faithless both to Fundi and Rome. The men of Fundi wished for peace; their
sympathies were wholly Roman, and they retained a grateful sense of the
boon they received when the rights of citizenship were conferred upon them.
They besought the consul to abstain from making war upon an unoffending
people; their lands, their city, their own persons and the persons of their
wives and children were and would continue to be at the disposal of Rome.
The consul commended them for their loyalty and sent despatches to Rome
to inform the senate that the Fundans were firm in their allegiance, after
which he marched to Privernum. Claudius gives a different account. According
to him the consul first proceeded against the ringleaders of the revolt,
of whom three hundred and fifty were sent in chains to Rome. He adds that
the senate refused to receive the surrender because they considered that
the Fundans were anxious to escape with the punishment of poor and obscure
individuals.
8.20
Whilst Privernum was invested by two consular armies, one of the consuls
was recalled home to conduct the elections. It was in this year that the
carceres were erected in the Circus Maximus. The trouble of the war with
Privernum was not yet over when a most alarming report of a sudden movement
amongst the Gauls reached the senate. Such reports were not often treated
lightly. The new consuls, L. Aemilius Mamercinus and C Plautius, were immediately
ordered to arrange their respective commands on the very day they assumed
office, namely July 1. The Gaulish war fell to Mamercinus, and he allowed
none of those who were called up for service to claim exemption. It is
even asserted that the mob of mechanics and artizans, a class utterly unfit
for warfare, were called out. An immense army was concentrated at Veii
to check the advance of the Gauls. It was thought better not to march any
further in case the enemy took some other route to the City. After a thorough
reconnaissance had been made, it was ascertained after a few days that
all was quiet as far as the Gauls were concerned, and the whole force was
thereupon marched to Privernum. From this point there is a twofold story.
Some state that the city was stormed and Vitrubius taken alive; other authorities
aver that before the final assault the townsmen came out with a caduceus
and surrendered to the consul, whilst Vitrubius was given up by his own
men. The senate, when consulted as to the fate of Vitrubius and the Privernates,
instructed the consul to demolish the walls of Privernum and station a
strong garrison there, and then to celebrate his triumph. Vitrubius was
to be kept in prison until the consul returned and then to be scourged
and beheaded; his house on the Palatine was to be razed and his goods devoted
to Semo Sancus. The money realised by their sale was melted down into brazen
orbs which were deposited in the chapel of Sancus opposite the temple of
Quirinus. With regard to the senate of Privernum, it was decreed that every
senator who had remained in that city after its revolt from Rome should
be deported beyond the Tiber on the same conditions as those of Velitrae.
After his triumph, when Vitrubius and his accomplices had been put to death,
the consul thought that as the senate was satisfied with the punishment
of the guilty, he might safely refer to the matter of the Privernates.
He addressed the House in the following terms: "Since the authors of the
revolt, senators, have been visited by the immortal gods and by you with
the punishment they deserved, what is your pleasure with regard to the
innocent population? Although it is my duty to ask for opinions rather
than to give them, I should like to say that in view of the fact that the
Privernates are neighbours of the Samnites, with whom peaceful relations
are now upon a most uncertain footing, I am anxious that as few grounds
of complaint as possible should exist between us and them."
The question was not an easy one to settle, for the senators, were governed
largely by their temperaments and some advised a harsh, others a gentler
course. The general divergence of opinion was widened by one of the Privernate
envoys who was thinking more of the state of things in which he had been
born than of his present plight. One of the senators who was advocating
sterner measures asked him what punishment he thought his countrymen deserved.
He replied: "The punishment which those deserve who assert their liberty."
The consul saw that this spirited reply only exasperated those who were
already adverse to the cause of the Privernates, and he tried to get a
softer answer by a more considerate question. "Well," he said, "if we spare
you now, what sort of a peace may we hope to have with you for the time
to come?" "A real and lasting one," was the reply, "if its terms be good,
but if they are bad, one that will soon be broken." On hearing this, some
of the senators exclaimed that he was using open threats, and that it was
by such language that even those states which had been pacified were incited
to renew hostilities. The better part of the senate, however, put a more
favourable construction on his reply, and declared that it was an utterance
worthy of a man and a man who loved liberty. Was it, they asked, to be
supposed that any people or for that matter, any individual would remain
longer than he could help under conditions which made him discontented?
Peace would only be faithfully kept where those who accepted it did so
voluntarily; they could not hope that it would be faithfully kept where
they sought to reduce men to servitude. The senate was brought to adopt
this view mainly by the consul himself who kept repeating to the consulars-the
men who had to state their opinions first-in a tone loud enough for many
to hear, "Men whose first and last thought is their liberty deserve to
become Romans." Thus they gained their cause in the senate, and the proposal
to confer full citizenship on the Privernates was submitted to the people.
8.22
The new consuls were P. Plautius Proculus and P Cornelius Scapula. The
year was not remarkable for anything at home or abroad beyond the fact
that a colony was sent to Fregellae which was in the territory of Sidicum
and had afterwards belonged to the Volscians. There was also a distribution
of meat made to the people by M. Flavius on the occasion of his mother's
funeral. There were many who looked upon this as the payment of a bribe
to the people under the pretext of honouring his mother's memory. He had
been prosecuted by the aediles on the charge of seducing a married woman,
and had been acquitted, and this was considered in the light of a dole
given in return for the favour shown him at the trial. It proved also to
be the means of his gaining office, for at the next election he was made
a tribune of the plebs in his absence and over the heads of competitors
who had personally canvassed. Palaeopolis was a city not far from the present
site of Neapolis. The two cities formed one community. The original inhabitants
came from Cumae; Cumae traced its origin to Chalcis in Euboea. The fleet
in which they had sailed from home gave them the mastery of the coastal
district which they now occupy, and after landing in the islands of Aenaria
and Pithecusae they ventured to transfer their settlements to the mainland.
This community, relying on their own strength and on the lax observance
of treaty obligations which the Samnites were showing towards the Romans,
or possibly trusting to the effect of the pestilence which they had heard
was now attacking the City, committed many acts of aggression against the
Romans who were living in Campania and the Falernian country. In consequence
of this, the consuls, L. Cornelius Lentulus and Q. Publilius Philo, sent
the fetials to Palaeopolis to demand redress. On hearing that the Greeks,
a people valiant in words rather than in deeds, had sent a defiant reply,
the people, with the sanction of the senate, ordered war to be made on
Palaeopolis. The consuls arranged their respective commands; the Greeks
were left for Publilius to deal with; Cornelius, with a second army, was
to check any movement on the part of the Samnites. As, however, he received
intelligence that they intended to advance into Campania in anticipation
of a rising there, he thought it best to form a standing camp there.
8.23
Both consuls sent word to the senate that there were very slender hopes
of the Samnites remaining at peace. Publilius informed them that 2000 troops
from Nola and 4000 Samnites had been admitted into Palaeopolis, more under
pressure from Nola than from any great desire for their presence on the
part of the Greeks; Cornelius sent the additional information that orders
for a general levy had been issued throughout Samnium, and attempts were
being openly made to induce the neighbouring communities of Privernum,
Fundi, and Formiae to rise. Under these circumstances it was decided to
send ambassadors to the Samnites before actually commencing war. The Samnites
sent an insolent reply. They accused the Romans of wanton aggression, and
absolutely denied the charges made against themselves; they declared that
the assistance which the Greeks had received was not furnished by their
government, nor had they tampered with Fundi and Formiae, for they had
no reason to distrust their own strength if it came to war. Moreover, it
was impossible to disguise the deep irritation which the Samnite nation
felt at the conduct of the Roman people in restoring Fregellae after they
had taken it from the Volscians and destroyed it, and placing a colony
on Samnite territory which the colonists called Fregellae. If this insult
and injury were not removed by those responsible for it, they would themselves
exert all their strength to get rid of it. The Roman ambassadors invited
them to submit the questions at issue to arbitration before their common
friends, but the Samnites replied: "Why should we beat about the bush?
No diplomacy, no arbitration can adjust our quarrel; arms and the fortune
of war can alone decide the issue. We must meet in Campania." To which
the Roman replied: "Roman soldiers will march not whither the enemy summons
them, but whither their commander leads them."
Publilius meantime had taken up a suitable position between Palaeopolis
and Neapolis in order to prevent them from rendering each other the mutual
assistance they had hitherto given. The time for the elections was close
at hand, and it would have been most inexpedient for the public interest
to recall Publilius, as he was ready to attack the place and in daily expectation
of effecting its capture. An arrangement was accordingly made with the
tribunes of the plebs to propose to the people that at the expiration of
his term of office Publilius should continue to act as proconsul till the
war with the Greeks was brought to a close. The same step was taken with
regard to Cornelius, who had already entered Samnium, and written instructions
were sent to him to nominate a Dictator to hold the elections. He nominated
M. Claudius Marcellus, and Sp. Postumius was named by him Master of the
Horse. The elections, however, were not held by that Dictator, doubts having
been raised as to whether the proper formalities had been observed in his
nomination. The augurs, when consulted, declared that they had not been
duly observed. The tribunes characterised their action as dishonest and
iniquitous. "How," they asked, "could they know that there was any irregularity?
The consul rose at midnight to nominate the Dictator; he had made no communication
to any one either officially or privately about the matter; there was no
one living who could say that he had seen or heard anything which would
vitiate the auspices; the augurs sitting quietly in Rome could not possibly
divine what difficulty the consul may have met with in the camp. Who was
there who could not see that the irregularity which the augurs had discovered
lay in the fact that the Dictator was a plebeian?" These and other objections
were raised by the tribunes. Matters, however, reverted to an interregnum,
and owing to the repeated adjournment of the elections on one pretext after
another, there were no fewer than fourteen interregna. At last L. Aemilius,
the fourteenth interrex, declared C. Poetilius and L. Papirius Mugilanus
duly elected. In other lists I find Cursor.
8.24
The foundation of Alexandria in Egypt is stated to have taken place this
year (327 B.C.), and also the assassination of Alexander of Epirus at the
hands of a Lucanian refugee, an event which fulfilled the oracular prediction
of the Dodonean Jupiter. When he was invited by the Tarentines into Italy,
he received a warning to beware of the water of Acheron and the city of
Pandosia; for it was there that the limits of his destiny were fixed. This
made him cross over into Italy all the sooner, that he might be as far
as possible from the city of Pandosia in Epirus and the river Acheron,
which flows from Molossis into the Infernal Marshes and finally empties
itself into the Thesprotian Gulf. But, as often happens, in trying to avoid
his fate he rushed upon it. He won many victories over the nationalities
of Southern Italy, inflicting numerous defeats upon the legions of Bruttium
and Lucania, capturing the city of Heraclea, a colony of settlers from
Tarentum, taking Potentia from the Lucanians, Sipontum from the Apulians,
Consentia and Terina from the Bruttii and other cities belonging to the
Messapians and Lucanians. He sent three hundred noble families to Epirus
to be detained there as hostages. The circumstances under which he met
his death were these. He had taken up a permanent position on three hills
not far from the city of Pandosia which is close to the frontiers of the
Lucanians and Bruttii. From this point he made incursions into every part
of the enemy's territory, and on these expeditions he had as a bodyguard
some two hundred Lucanian refugees, in whose fidelity he placed confidence,
but who, like most of their countrymen, were given to changing their minds
as their fortunes changed. Continuous rains had inundated the whole country
and prevented the three divisions of the army from mutually supporting
each other, the level ground between the hills being impassable. While
they were in this condition two out of the three divisions were suddenly
attacked in the king's absence and overwhelmed. After annihilating them
the enemy invested the third hill, where the king was present in person.
The Lucanian refugees managed to communicate with their countrymen, and
promised, if a safe return were guaranteed to them, to place the king in
their hands alive or dead. Alexander, with a picked body of troops, cut
his way, with splendid courage, through the enemy, and meeting the Lucanian
general slew him after a hand to hand fight. Then getting together those
of his men who were scattered in flight, he rode towards the ruins of a
bridge which had been carried away by the floods and came to a river. Whilst
his men were fording it with very uncertain footing, a soldier, almost
spent by his exertions and his fears, cursed the river for its unlucky
name, and said, "Rightly art thou called Acheros!" When these words fell
on his ear the king at once recalled to mind the oracular warning, and
stopped, doubtful whether to cross or not. Sotimus, one of his personal
attendants, asked him why he hesitated at such a critical moment and drew
his attention to the suspicious movements of the Lucanian refugees who
were evidently meditating treachery. The king looked back and saw them
coming on in a compact body; he at once drew his sword and spurred his
horse through the middle of the river. He had already reached the shallow
water on the other side when one of the refugees some distance away transfixed
him with a javelin. He fell from his horse, and his lifeless body with
the weapon sticking in it was carried down by the current to that part
of the bank where the enemy were stationed. There it was horribly mutilated.
After cutting it through the middle they sent one half to Consentia and
kept the other to make sport of. Whilst they were pelting it at a distance
with darts and stones a solitary woman ventured among the rabble who were
showing such incredible brutality and implored them to desist. She told
them amid her tears that her husband and children were held prisoners by
the enemy and she hoped to ransom them with the king's body however much
it might have been disfigured. This put an end to the outrages. What was
left of the limbs was cremated at Consentia by the reverential care of
this one woman, and the bones were sent back to Metapontum; from there
they were carried to Cleopatra, the king's wife, and Olympias, his sister,
the latter of whom was the mother, the former the sister of Alexander the
Great. I thought it well to give this brief account of the tragic end of
Alexander of Epirus, for although Fortune kept him from hostilities with
Rome, the wars he waged in Italy entitle him to a place in this history.
8.25
A laetisternium took place this year (326 B.C.), the fifth since the foundation
of the City, and the same deities were propitiated in this as in the former
one. The new consuls, acting on the orders of the people, sent heralds
to deliver a formal declaration of war to the Samnites, and made all their
preparations on a much greater scale for this war than for the one against
the Greeks. New and unexpected succours were forthcoming, for the Lucanians
and Apulians, with whom Rome had up to that time established no relations,
came forward with offers to make an alliance and promised armed assistance;
a friendly alliance was formed with them. Meantime the operations in Samnium
were attended with success, the towns of Allifae, Callifae, and Rufrium
passed into the hands of the Romans, and ever since the consuls had entered
the country the rest of the territory was ravaged far and wide. Whilst
this war was commencing thus favourably, the other war against the Greeks
was approaching its close. Not only were the two towns Palaeopolis and
Neapolis cut off from all communication with each other by the enemy's
lines, but the townsfolk within the walls were practically prisoners to
their own defenders, and were suffering more from them than from anything
which the outside enemy could do; their wives and children were exposed
to such extreme indignities as are only inflicted when cities are stormed
and sacked. A report reached them that succours were coming from Tarentum
and from the Samnites. They considered that they had more Samnites than
they wanted already within their walls, but the force from Tarentum composed
of Greeks, they were prepared to welcome, being Greeks themselves, and
through their means they hoped to resist the Samnites and the Nolans no
less than the Romans. At last, surrender to the Romans seemed the less
of the two evils. Charilaus and Nymphius, the leading men in the city,
arranged with one another the respective parts they were to play. One was
to desert to the Roman commander, the other to remain in the city and prepare
it for the successful execution of their plot. Charilaus was the one who
went to Publilius Philo. After expressing the hope that all might turn
out for the good and happiness of Palaeopolis and Rome, he went on to say
that he had decided to deliver up the fortifications. Whether in doing
this he should be found to have preserved his country or betrayed it depended
upon the Roman sense of honour. For himself he made no terms and asked
for no conditions, but for his countrymen he begged rather than stipulated
that if his design succeeded the people of Rome should take into consideration
the eagerness with which they sought to renew the old friendly relations,
and the risk attending their action rather than their folly and recklessness
in breaking the old ties of duty. The Roman commander gave his approval
to the proposed scheme and furnished him with 3000 men to seize that part
of the city which was in the occupation of the Samnites. L. Quinctius,
a military tribune, was in command of this force.
8.26
Nymphius at the same time approached the Samnite praetor and persuaded
him, now that the whole of the Roman fighting force was either round Palaeopolis
or engaged in Samnium, to allow him to sail round with the fleet to the
Roman seaboard and ravage not only the coastal districts but even the country
close to the city. But to ensure secrecy he pointed out that it would be
necessary to start by night, and that the ships should be at once launched.
To expedite matters the whole of the Samnite troops, with the exception
of those who were mounting guard in the city, were sent down to the shore.
Here they were so crowded as to impede one another's movements and the
confusion was heightened by the darkness and the contradictory orders which
Nymphius was giving in order to gain time. Meantime Charilaus had been
admitted by his confederates into the city. When the Romans had completely
occupied the highest parts of the city, he ordered them to raise a shout,
on which the Greeks, acting on the instructions of their leaders kept quiet.
The Nolans escaped at the other end of the city and took the road to Nola.
The Samnites, shut out as they were from the city, had less difficulty
in getting away, but when once out of danger they found themselves in a
much more sorry flight. They had no arms, there was nothing they possessed
which was not left behind with the enemy; they returned home stripped and
destitute, an object of derision not only to foreigners but even to their
own countrymen. I am quite aware that there is another view of this transaction,
according to which it was the Samnites who surrendered, but in the above
account I have followed the authorities whom I consider most worthy of
credit. Neapolis became subsequently the chief seat of the Greek population,
and the fact of a treaty being made with that city renders it all the more
probable that the re-establishment of friendly relations was due to them.
As it was generally believed that the enemy had been forced by the siege
to come to terms, a triumph was decreed to Publilius. Two circumstances
happened in connection with his consulship which had never happened before-a
prolongation of command and a triumph after he had laid down his command.
8.27
This was followed almost immediately by a war with the Greeks on the eastern
coast. The Tarentines had encouraged the people of Palaeopolis through
their long resistance with vain hopes of succour, and when they heard that
the Romans had got possession of the place they severely blamed the Palaeopolitans
for leaving them in the lurch, as though they were quite guiltless of having
behaved in a similar manner themselves. They were furious with the Romans,
especially after they found that the Lucanians and Apulians had established
friendly relations with them-for it was in this year that the alliance
had been formed-and they realised that they would be the next to be involved.
They saw that it must soon become a question of either fighting Rome or
submitting to her, and that their whole future in fact depended upon the
result of the Samnite war. That nation stood out alone, and even their
strength was inadequate for the struggle, now that the Lucanians had abandoned
them. They believed, however, that these could still be brought back and
induced to desert the Roman alliance, if sufficient skill were shown in
sowing the seeds of discord between them. These arguments found general
acceptance among a people who were fickle and restless, and some young
Lucanians, distinguished for their unscrupulousness rather than for their
sense of honour, were bribed to make themselves tools of the war party.
After scourging one another with rods they presented themselves with their
backs exposed, in the popular Assembly, and loudly complained that after
they had ventured inside the Roman camp, they had been scourged by the
consul's orders and were within an ace of losing their heads. The affair
had an ugly look, and the visible evidence removed any suspicion of fraud.
The Assembly became greatly excited, and amidst loud shouts insisted upon
the magistrates convening the senate. When it assembled the senators were
surrounded by a crowd of spectators who clamoured for war with Rome, whilst
others went off into the country to rouse the peasantry to arms. Even the
coolest heads were carried away by the tumult of popular feeling; a decree
was passed that a fresh alliance should be made with the Samnites, and
negotiations were opened with them accordingly. The Samnites did not feel
much confidence in this sudden and apparently groundless change of policy,
and the Lucanians were obliged to give hostages and allow the Samnites
to garrison their fortified places. Blinded by the imposition that had
been practiced on them and by their furious resentment at it, they made
no difficulty about accepting these terms. Shortly afterwards, when the
authors of the false charges had removed to Tarentum, they began to see
how they had been hoodwinked, but it was then too late, events were no
longer in their power, and nothing remained but unavailing repentance.
8.28
This year (326 B.C.) was marked by the dawn, as it were, of a new era of
liberty for the plebs; creditors were no longer allowed to attach the persons
of their debtors. This change in the law was brought about by a signal
instance of lust and cruelty upon the part of a moneylender. L. Papirius
was the man in question. C. Publilius had pledged his person to him for
a debt which his father had contracted. The youth and beauty of the debtor
which ought to have called forth feelings of compassion only acted as incentives
to lust and insult. Finding that his infamous proposals only filled the
youth with horror and loathing, the man reminded him that he was absolutely
in his power and sought to terrify him by threats. As these failed to crush
the boy's noble instincts, he ordered him to be stripped and beaten. Mangled
and bleeding the boy rushed into the street and loudly complained of the
usurer's lust and brutality. A vast crowd gathered, and on learning what
had happened became furious at the outrage offered to one of such tender
years, reminding them as it did of the conditions under which they and
their children were living. They ran into the Forum and from there in a
compact body to the Senate-house. In face of this sudden outbreak the consuls
felt it necessary to convene a meeting of the senate at once, and as the
members entered the House the crowd exhibited the lacerated back of the
youth and flung themselves at the feet of the senators as they passed in
one by one. The strongest bond and support of credit was there and then
overthrown through the mad excesses of one individual. The consuls were
instructed by the senate to lay before the people a proposal "that no man
be kept in irons or in the stocks, except such as have been guilty of some
crime, and then only till they have worked out their sentence; and, further,
that the goods and not the person of the debtor shall be the security for
the debt." So the nexi were released, and it was forbidden for any to become
nexi in the future.
8.29
The Samnite war, the sudden dejection of the Lucanians, and the fact that
the Tarentines had been the instigators were quite sufficient in themselves
to cause the senators anxiety. Fresh trouble, however, arose this year
through the action of the Vestinians, who made common cause with the Samnites.
The matter had been a good deal discussed, though it had not yet occupied
the attention of the government. In the following year, however, the new
consuls, L. Furius Camillus and Junius Brutus Scaeva, made it the very
first question to bring before the senate. Though the subject was no new
one, yet it was felt to be so serious that the senators shrank from either
taking it up or refusing to deal with it. They were afraid that if they
left that nation unpunished, the neighbouring states might be encouraged
to make a similar display of wanton arrogance, while to punish them by
force of arms might lead others to fear similar treatment and arouse feelings
of resentment. In fact, the whole of these nations-the Marsi, the Paeligni,
and the Marrucini-were quite as warlike as the Samnites, and in case the
Vestinians were attacked would have to be reckoned with as enemies. The
victory, however, rested with that party in the senate who seemed at the
time to possess more daring than prudence, but the result showed that Fortune
favours the bold. The people, with the sanction of the senate, resolved
on war with the Vestinians. The conduct of that war fell by lot to Brutus,
the war in Samnium to Camillus. Armies were marched into both countries,
and by carefully watching the frontiers the enemy were prevented from effecting
a junction. The consul who had the heavier task, L. Furius, was overtaken
by a serious illness and was obliged to resign his command. He was ordered
to nominate a Dictator to carry on the campaign, and he nominated L. Papirius
Cursor, the foremost soldier of his day, Q. Fabius Maximus Rullianus being
appointed Master of the Horse. The two distinguished themselves by their
conduct in the field, but they made themselves still more famous by the
conflict which broke out between them, and which almost led to fatal consequences.
The other consul, Brutus, carried on an active campaign amongst the Vestinians
without meeting with a single reverse. He ravaged the fields and burnt
the farm buildings and crops of enemy, and at last drove him reluctantly
into action. A pitched battle was fought, and he inflicted such a defeat
on the Vestinians, though with heavy loss on his own side also, that they
fled to their camp, but not feeling sufficiently protected by fosse and
rampart they dispersed in scattered parties to their towns, trusting to
their strong positions and stone walls for their defence. Brutus now commenced
an attack upon their towns. The first to be taken was Cutina, which he
carried by escalade, after a hot assault by his men, who were eager to
avenge the heavy losses they had sustained in the previous battle. This
was followed by the capture of Cingilia. He gave the spoil of both cities
to his troops as a reward for their having surmounted the walls and gates
of the enemy.
8.30
The advance into Samnium was made under doubtful auspices. This circumstance
did not portend the result of the campaign, for that was quite favourable,
but it did forshadow the insane passion which the commanders displayed.
Papirius was warned by the pullarius that it would be necessary to take
the auspices afresh. On his departure for Rome for this purpose, he strictly
charged the Master of the Horse to keep within his lines and not to engage
the enemy. After he had gone Q. Fabius learnt from his scouts that the
enemy were showing as much carelessness as if there were not a single Roman
in Samnium. Whether it was that his youthful temper resented everything
being dependent on the Dictator, or whether he was tempted by the chance
offered him of a brilliant success, at any rate, after making the necessary
preparations and dispositions he advanced as far as Inbrinium-for so is
the district called-and fought a battle with the Samnites. Such was the
fortune of the fight that had the Dictator himself been present he could
have done nothing to make the success more complete. The general did not
disappoint his men, nor did the men disappoint their general. The cavalry
made repeated charges but failed to break through the massed force opposed
to them, and acting on the advice of L. Cominius, a military tribune, they
removed the bits from their horses and spurred them on so furiously that
nothing could withstand them. Riding down men and armour they spread carnage
far and wide. The infantry followed them and completed the disorder of
the enemy. It is said that they lost 20,000 men that day. Some authorities
whom I have consulted state that there were two battles fought in the Dictator's
absence, and each was a brilliant success. In the oldest writers, however,
only one battle is mentioned, and some annalists omit the incident altogether.
In consequence of the vast number slain, a large amount of spoil in
the shape of armour and weapons was picked up on the battle-field, and
the Master of the Horse had this collected into a huge heap and burnt.
His object may have been to discharge a vow to some deity. But if we are
to trust the authority of Fabius, he did this to prevent the Dictator from
reaping the fruits of his glory, or carrying the spoils in his triumph
and afterwards placing his name upon them. The fact also of his sending
the despatches announcing his victory to the senate and not to the Dictator
would seem to show that he was by no means anxious to allow him any share
in the credit of it. At all events the Dictator took it in that light,
and whilst everybody else was jubilant at the victory which had been won,
he wore an expression of gloom and wrath. He abruptly dismissed the senate
and hurried from the Senate-house, repeatedly exclaiming that the authority
and dignity of the Dictator would be as completely overthrown by the Master
of the Horse as the Samnite legions had been if this contempt of his orders
were to remain unpunished. In this angry and menacing mood, he started
with all possible speed for the camp. He was unable, however, to reach
it before news arrived of his approach, for messengers had started from
the City in advance of him, bringing word that the Dictator was coming
bent on vengeance, and almost every other word he uttered was in praise
of T. Manlius.
8.31
Fabius immediately summoned his troops to assembly, and appealed to them
to show the same courage with which they had defended the republic from
a brave and determined foe in protecting from the unrestrained ferocity
of the Dictator the man under whose auspices and generalship they had been
victorious. He was coming, maddened by jealousy, exasperated at another
man's merits and good fortune, furious because the republic had triumphed
in his absence. If it were in his power to change the fortune of the day,
he would rather that victory rested with the Samnites than with the Romans.
He kept talking about the contempt of orders as though the reason why he
forbade all fighting were not precisely the same as that which makes him
vexed now that we have fought. Then, prompted by jealousy, he wanted to
suppress the merits of others and deprive of their arms men who were most
eager to use them, so as to prevent their being employed in his absence;
now he is exasperated and furious because the soldiers were not crippled
or defenceless though L. Papirius was not with them, and because Q. Fabius
considered himself Master of the Horse and not the lacquey of the Dictator.
What would he have done if, as often happens amid the chances of war, the
battle had gone against us, seeing that now, after the enemy has been thoroughly
defeated and a victory won for the republic which even under his unrivalled
generalship could not have been more complete, he is actually menacing
the Master of the Horse with punishment! He would, were it in his power,
treat all with equal severity, not only the Master of Horse but the military
tribunes, the centurions, the men of the rank and file. Jealousy, like
lightning, strikes the summits, and because he cannot reach all he has
selected one man as his victim whom he regards as the chief conspirator-your
general. If he should succeed in crushing him and quenching the splendour
of his success, he will treat this army as a victor treats the vanquished
and with the same ruthlessness which he has been allowed to practice on
the Master of the Horse. In defending his cause they will be defending
the liberty of all. If the Dictator sees that the army is as united in
guarding its victory as it was in fighting for it, and that one man's safety
is the common concern of all, he will bring himself to a calmer frame of
mind. His closing words were: " I entrust my fortunes and my life to your
fidelity and courage." His words were greeted with universal shouts of
approval. They told him not to be dismayed or depressed, no man should
harm him while the legions of Rome were alive.
8.32
Not long after this the Dictator appeared, and at once ordered the trumpet
to sound the Assembly. When silence was restored an usher summoned Q. Fabius,
the Master of the Horse. He advanced and stood immediately below the Dictator's
tribunal. The Dictator began: "Quintus Fabius, inasmuch as the Dictator
possesses supreme authority, to which the consuls who exercise the old
kingly power, and the praetors who are elected under the same auspices
as the consuls alike submit, I ask you whether or not you think it right
and fitting that the Master of the Horse should bow to that authority?
Further, I ask you whether as I was aware that I had left the City under
doubtful auspices I ought to have jeopardised the safety of the republic
in the face of this religious difficulty, or whether I ought to have taken
the auspices afresh and so avoided any action till the pleasure of the
gods was known? I should also like to know whether, if a religious impediment
prevents the Dictator from acting, the Master of the Horse is at liberty
to consider himself free and unhampered by such impediment? But why am
I putting these questions? Surely, if I had gone away without leaving any
orders, you ought to have used your judgment in interpreting my wishes
and acted accordingly. Answer me this, rather: Did I forbid you to take
any action in my absence? Did I forbid you to engage the enemy? In contempt
of my orders, whilst the auspices were still indecisive and the sanctions
of religion withheld, you dared to give battle, in defiance of all the
military custom and discipline of our ancestors, in defiance of the will
of the gods. Answer the questions put to you, but beware of uttering a
single
word about anything else. Lictor, stand by him!"
Fabius found it far from easy to reply to each question in detail, and
protested against the same man being both accuser and judge in a matter
of life and death. He exclaimed that it would be easier to deprive him
of his life than of the glory he had won, and went on to exculpate himself
and bring charges against the Dictator. Papirius in a fresh outburst of
rage ordered the Master of the Horse to be stripped and the rods and axes
to be got ready. Fabius appealed to the soldiers for help, and as the lictors
began to tear off his clothes, he retreated behind the triarii who were
now raising a tumult. Their shouts were taken up through the whole concourse,
threats and entreaties were heard everywhere. Those nearest the tribunal,
who could be recognised as being within view of the Dictator implored him
to spare the Master of the Horse and not with him to condemn the whole
army; those furthest off and the men who had closed round Fabius reviled
the Dictator as unfeeling and merciless. Matters were rapidly approaching
a mutiny. Even those on the tribunal did not remain quiet; the staff officers
who were standing round the Dictator's chair begged him to adjourn the
proceedings to the following day to allow his anger to cool and give time
for quiet consideration. They urged that the youthful spirit of Fabius
had been sufficiently chastened and his victory sufficiently sullied; they
begged him not to push his punishment to extremities or to brand with ignominy
not only a youth of exceptional merit but also his distinguished father
and the whole Fabian house. When they found their arguments and entreaties
alike unavailing, they asked him to look at the angry multitude in front.
To add fire to men whose tempers were already inflamed and to provide the
materials for a mutiny was, they said, unworthy of a man of his age and
experience. If a mutiny did occur, no one would throw the blame of it upon
Q. Fabius, who was only deprecating punishment; the sole responsibility
would lie on the Dictator for having in his blind passion provoked the
multitude to a deplorable struggle with him. And as a final argument they
declared that to prevent him from supposing that they were actuated by
any personal feeling in favour of Fabius, they were prepared to state on
oath that they considered the infliction of punishment on Fabius under
present circumstances to be detrimental to the interests of the State.
8.33
These remonstrances only irritated the Dictator against them instead of
making him more peaceably disposed towards Fabius, and he ordered them
to leave the tribunal. In vain the ushers demanded silence, neither the
Dictator's voice nor those of his officers could be heard owing to the
noise and uproar; at last night put an end to the conflict as though it
had been a battle. The Master of the Horse was ordered to appear on the
following day. As, however, everybody assured him that Papirius was so
upset and embittered by the resistance he had met with that he would be
more furious than ever, Fabius left the camp secretly and reached Rome
in the night. On the advice of his father, M. Fabius, who had been thrice
consul as well as Dictator a meeting of the senate was at once summoned.
Whilst his son was describing to the senators the violence and injustice
of the Dictator, suddenly the noise of the lictors clearing the way in
front of the Senate-house was heard and the Dictator himself appeared,
having followed him up with some light cavalry as soon as he heard that
he had quitted the camp. Then the contention began again, and Papirius
ordered Fabius to be arrested. Though not only the leaders of the senate
but the whole House sought to deprecate his wrath, he remained unmoved
and persisted in his purpose. Then M. Fabius, the father, said: "Since
neither the authority of the senate nor the years which I, whom you are
preparing to bereave of a son have reached, nor the noble birth and personal
merits of the Master of the Horse whom you yourself appointed, and entreaties
such as have often mitigated the fierceness of human foes and pacified
the anger of offended deities-since none of these move you-I claim the
intervention of the tribunes of the plebs and appeal to the people. As
you are seeking to escape from the judgment which the army has passed upon
you and which the senate is passing now, I summon you before the one judge
who has at all events more power and authority than your Dictatorship.
I shall see whether you will submit to an appeal to which a Roman king-Tullus
Hotilius-submitted." He at once left the Senate-house for the Assembly.
Thither the Dictator also proceeded with a small party, whilst the Master
of the Horse was accompanied by all the leaders of the senate in a body.
They had both taken their places on the rostra when Papirius ordered Fabius
to be removed to the space below. His father followed him and turned to
Papirius with the remark, "You do well to order us to be removed to a position
from which we can speak as private citizens."
For some time regular debate was out of the question, nothing was heard
but mutual altercations. At last the loud and indignant tones of the elder
Fabius rose above the hubbub as he expatiated on the tyranny and brutality
of Papirius. He himself, he said, had been Dictator, and not a single person,
not a single plebeian, whether centurion or private soldier, had ever suffered
any wrong from him. But Papirius would wrest victory and triumph from a
Roman commander just as he would from hostile generals. What a difference
there was between the moderation shown by the men of old and this new fashion
of ruthless severity! The Dictator, Quinctius Cincinnatus, rescued the
consul, L. Minucius, from a blockade, and the only punishment he inflicted
was to leave him as second in command of the army. L. Furius, after expressing
his contempt for the age and authority of M. F. Camillus, incurred a most
disgraceful defeat, but Camillus not only checked his anger for the moment
and refrained from putting in his despatches to the people, or rather to
the senate, anything reflecting on his colleague, but on his return to
Rome, after the senate had allowed him to choose from the consular tribunes
one to be associated with him in his command, he actually chose L. Furius.
Why, even the people themselves, who hold in their hands the sovereign
power, have never allowed their feelings to carry them beyond the imposition
of a fine even where armies have been lost through the foolhardiness or
ignorance of their generals. Never up to this day has a commander-in-chief
been tried for his life because he was defeated. But now generals who have
won victories and earned the most splendid triumphs are threatened with
the rods and axes, a treatment which the laws of war forbid even to the
vanquished. What, he asked, would his son have suffered if he had met with
defeat, been routed and stripped of his camp? Could that man's rage and
violence go beyond scourging and killing? It was owing to Q. Fabius that
the State was offering up joyous and grateful thanksgivings for victory;
it was on his account that the sacred fanes stood open and prayers and
libations were being offered at the altars, and the smoke of sacrifice
was ascending. How fitting it was that this very man should be stripped
and torn with rods before the eyes of the Roman people, in sight of the
Capitol and the Citadel, in sight of the gods whom he invoked in two battles
nor invoked in vain! What would be the feelings of the army who had won
their victories under his auspices and generalship? What grief would there
be in the Roman camp, what exultation among the enemy! The old man wept
bitterly as he uttered these protests and expostulations, ever and anon
throwing his arms round his son and appealing for help to gods and men.
8.34
He had on his side the support of the august and venerable senate, the
sympathy of the people, the protection of the tribunes, and the remembrance
of the absent army. On the other side were pleaded the unquestioned sovereign
power of the Roman people and all the traditions of military discipline,
the Dictator's edict which had ever been regarded as possessing divine
sanction, and the example of Manlius who had sacrificed his affection for
his son to the interests of the State. Brutus too, urged the Dictator,
the founder of Roman freedom, had done this before in the case of his two
children. Now fathers were indulgent, and aged men, easy-going in matters
that do not touch themselves, were spoiling the young men, teaching them
to despise authority and treating military discipline as of little importance.
He declared his intention of adhering to his purpose, he would not abate
a single jot of the punishment due to the man who had fought in defiance
of his injunctions' while the auspices were doubtful and the religious
sanction withheld. Whether the supreme authority of the Dictator was to
remain unimpaired did not depend on him; he, L. Papirius, would do nothing
to weaken its power. He sincerely hoped that the tribunes would not use
their authority, itself inviolable, to violate by their interference the
sovereignty of the Roman government, and that the people to whom the appeal
had been made would not extinguish in his case especially Dictator and
Dictatorship alike. "If it did, it will not be L. Papirius but the tribunes,
the corrupt judgment of the people that posterity will accuse and accuse
in vain. When the bond of military discipline has once been broken no soldier
will obey his centurion, no centurion his military tribune, no military
tribune his general, no Master of the Horse the Dictator. No one will have
any reverence or respect for either men or gods, no observance will be
shown to the orders of commanders or the auspices under which they acted.
Without obtaining leave of absence soldiers will roam at will through friendly
or hostile country; in total disregard of their military oath they will
abandon their standards when and where they chose, they will refuse to
assemble when ordered, they will fight regardless of day or night, whether
the ground were favourable or unfavourable, whether their commander has
given orders or not, keeping no formation, no order. Military service,
instead of being the solemn and sacred thing it is, will resemble wild
and disorderly brigandage. Expose yourselves, tribunes, to all future ages
as the authors of these evils! Make yourselves personally responsible for
the criminal recklessness of Q. Fabius!"
8.35
The tribunes were dismayed and felt more anxiety now about their own position
than about the man who had sought their protection. They were relieved
from their heavy responsibility by the action of the people; the whole
Assembly appealed to the Dictator and besought him with earnest entreaties
that he would for their sakes forego inflicting punishment on the Master
of the Horse. When the tribunes saw the turn matters had taken they added
their entreaties also, and implored the Dictator to make allowance for
human frailty and to pardon Q. Fabius for an error natural to youth, for
he had already suffered punishment enough. And now the youth himself, and
even his father, abandoning all further contention, fell on their knees
and sought to turn aside the Dictator's anger. At last, when silence was
restored, the Dictator spoke. "This, Quirites," he said, "is as it should
be. Military discipline has conquered, the supreme authority of government
has prevailed; it was a question whether either would survive this day's
proceedings. Q. Fabius is not acquitted of guilt in having fought against
his commander's orders, but though condemned as guilty he is restored as
a free gift to the people of Rome, to the authority of the tribunes, who
protected him not by exercising their legal powers but by their intercession.
Live, Q. Fabius; happier now in the unanimous desire of your fellow-citizens
to defend you than in the hour of exultation after your victory! Live,
though you dared to do what even your father, had he been in the place
of Papirius, could not have pardoned! As for me, you shall be restored
to favour whenever you please. But to the Roman people to whom you owe
your life you can make no better return than to show that you have this
day learnt the lesson of submission to lawful commands in peace and in
war." After announcing that he would no longer detain the Master of the
Horse he left the rostra. The joyful senate, the still more joyful people,
flocked round the Dictator and the Master of the Horse, and congratulated
them on the result and then escorted them to their homes. It was felt that
military authority had been strengthened no less by the peril in which
Q. Fabius had been placed than by the terrible punishment of young Manlius.
It so happened that on each occasion on which the Dictator was absent from
the army, the Samnites showed increased activity. M. Valerius, however,
the second in command, who was in charge of the camp, had the example of
Q. Fabius before his eyes and dreaded the stern Dictator's anger more than
an attack from the enemy. A foraging party were ambushed and cut to pieces,
and it was commonly believed that they could have been relieved from the
camp had not the commanding officer been deterred by the peremptory orders
he had received. This incident still further embittered the feelings of
the soldiers who were already incensed against the Dictator owing to his
implacable attitude towards Fabius and then to his having pardoned him
at the request of the people after having refused to do so on their intercession.
8.36
After placing L. Papirius Crassus in command of the City and prohibiting
Q. Fabius from any action in his capacity of Master of the Horse, the Dictator
returned to the camp. His arrival was not viewed with much pleasure by
his own men, nor did it create any alarm amongst the enemy. For the very
next day, either unaware of his presence or regarding it of small importance
whether he were present or absent, they marched towards the camp in order
of battle. And yet so much depended upon that one man, L. Papirius, such
care did he show in choosing his ground and posting his reserves, so far
did he strengthen his force in every way that military skill could suggest,
that if the general's tactics had been backed up by the goodwill of the
troops it was considered absolutely certain that the Samnite war would
that day have been brought to a close. As it was, the soldiers showed no
energy; they deliberately threw the victory away that their commander's
reputation might be damaged. The Samnites lost a larger proportion of killed,
the Romans had more wounded. The quick eye of the general saw what prevented
his success, and he realised that he must curb his temper and soften his
sternness by greater affability. He went round the camp accompanied by
his staff and visited the wounded, putting his head inside their tents
and asking them how they were getting on, and commending them individually
by name to the care of his staff officers, the military tribunes, and prefects.
In adopting this course, which naturally tended to make him popular, he
showed so much tact that the feelings of the men were much sooner won over
to their commander now that their bodies were being properly looked after.
Nothing conduced more to their recovery than the gratitude they felt for
his attention. When the health of the army was completely restored he gave
battle to the enemy, both he and his men feeling quite confident of victory,
and he so completely defeated and routed the Samnites that this was the
last occasion on which they ventured on a regular engagement with the Dictator.
After this the victorious army advanced in every direction where there
was any prospect of plunder, but wherever they marched they found no armed
force; they were nowhere openly attacked or surprised from ambush. They
showed all the greater alertness because the Dictator had issued an order
that the whole of the spoil was to be given to the soldiers; the chance
of private gain stimulated their warlike spirit quite as much as the consciousness
that they were avenging the wrongs of their country. Cowed by these defeats,
the Samnites made overtures for peace and gave the Dictator an undertaking
to supply each of the soldiers with a set of garments and a year's pay.
On his referring them to the senate they replied that they would follow
him to Rome and trust their cause solely to his honour and rectitude. The
army was thereupon withdrawn from Samnium.
8.37
The Dictator made a triumphal entry into the City, and as he wished to
lay down his office, he received instructions from the senate before doing
so to conduct the consular elections. The new consuls were C. Sulpicius
Longus (for the second time) and Q. Aemilius Cerretanus. The Samnites did
not succeed in obtaining a permanent peace, as they could not agree on
the conditions; they took back with them a truce for one year. But even
this was soon broken, for when they heard that Papirius had resigned they
were eager to renew hostilities. The new consuls-some authorities give
Aulus instead of Aemilius for the second consul-had on their hands a fresh
enemy, the Apulians, in addition to the revolt of the Samnites. Armies
were despatched against both; the Samnites were allotted to Sulpicius,
the Apulians to Aemilius. Some writers assert that it was not against the
Apulians that the campaign was undertaken, but for the protection of their
allies against the wanton aggressions of the Samnites. The circumstances
of that people, however, who were hardly able to defend themselves, make
it more probable that they had not attacked the Apulians but that both
nations were united in hostilities against Rome. Nothing noteworthy took
place; the districts of both Samnium and Apulia were laid waste, but neither
in the one nor the other was the enemy met with. At Rome the citizens were
one night suddenly aroused from sleep by an alarm so serious that the Capitol,
the Citadel, the walls, and gates were filled with troops. The whole population
was called to arms, but when it grew light neither the author nor the cause
of the excitement was discovered. In this year M. Flavius, a tribune of
the plebs, brought before the people a proposal to take measures against
the Tusculans, "by whose counsel and assistance the peoples of Velitrae
and Privernum had made war against the people of Rome." The people of Tusculum
came to Rome with their wives and children in mourning garb, like men awaiting
trial, and went from tribe to tribe prostrating themselves before the tribesmen.
The compassion which their attitude called out went further to procure
their pardon than their attempts to exculpate themselves. All the tribes,
with the exception of the Pollian tribe, vetoed the proposal. That tribe
voted for a proposal that all the adult males should be scourged and beheaded,
and their wives and children sold into slavery. Even as late as the last
generation the Tusculans retained the memory of that cruel sentence, and
their resentment against its authors showed itself in the fact that the
Papirian tribe (in which the Tusculans were afterwards incorporated) hardly
ever voted for any candidate belonging to the Pollian tribe.
8.38
Q. Fabius and L. Fulvius were the consuls for the following year. The war
in Samnium was threatening to take a more serious turn, as it was stated
that mercenary troops had been hired from the neighbouring states. The
apprehensions created led to the nomination of A. Cornelius Arvina as Dictator,
with M. Fabius Ambustus as Master of the Horse. These commanders carried
out the enrolment with unusual strictness, and led an exceptionally fine
army into Samnium. But although they were on hostile territory, they exercised
as little caution in choosing the site for their camp as though the enemy
had been at a great distance. Suddenly the Samnite legions advanced with
such boldness that they encamped with their rampart close to the Roman
outposts. The approach of night prevented them from making an immediate
attack; they disclosed their intention as soon as it grew light the next
morning. The Dictator saw that a battle was nearer than he expected, and
he determined to abandon a position which would hamper the courage of his
men. Leaving a number of watch-fires alight to deceive the enemy, he silently
withdrew his troops, but owing to the proximity of the camps his movement
was not unobserved. The Samnite cavalry immediately followed on his heels
but refrained from actual attack till it grew lighter, nor did the infantry
emerge from their camp before daybreak. As soon as they could see, the
cavalry began to harass the Roman rear, and by pressing upon them where
difficult ground had to be crossed, considerably delayed their advance.
Meantime the infantry had come up, and now the entire force of the Samnites
was pressing on the rear of the column.
As the Dictator saw that no further advance was possible without heavy
loss, he ordered the ground he was holding to be measured out for a camp.
But as the enemy's cavalry was gradually enveloping them, it was impossible
to procure wood for the stockade or to commence their entrenchment. Finding
that to go forward and to remain where he was were equally out of the question,
the Dictator ordered the baggage to be removed from the column and collected
and the line of battle formed. The enemy formed also into line, equally
matched in courage and in strength. Their confidence was increased by their
attributing the retirement of the Romans to fear and not, as was actually
the case, to the disadvantageous position of their camp. This made the
fight for some considerable time an even one, though the Samnites had long
been unaccustomed to stand the battle-shout of the Romans. We read that
actually from nine o'clock till two in the afternoon the contest was maintained
so equally on both sides that the shout which was raised at the first onset
was never repeated, the standards neither advanced nor retreated, in no
direction was there any giving way. They fought, each man keeping his ground,
pressing forward with their shields, neither looking back nor pausing for
breath. Their noise and tumult never grew weaker, the fighting went on
perfectly steadily, and it looked as if it would only be terminated by
the complete exhaustion of the combatants or the approach of night. By
this time the men were beginning to lose their strength and the sword its
vigour, whilst the generals were baffled. A troop of Samnite cavalry, who
had ridden some distance round the Roman rear, discovered that their baggage
was lying at a distance from the combatants without any guard or protection
of any kind. On learning this the whole of the cavalry rode up to it eager
to secure the plunder. A messenger in hot haste reported this to the Dictator,
who remarked: "All right, let them encumber themselves with spoil." Then
the soldiers one after another began to exclaim that their belongings were
being plundered and carried off. The Dictator sent for the Master of the
Horse. "Do you see," he said, "M. Fabius, that the enemy's cavalry have
left the fight? They are hampering and impeding themselves with our baggage.
Attack them whilst they are scattered, as plundering parties always are;
you will find very few of them in the saddle, very few with swords in their
hands. Cut them down whilst they are loading their horses with spoil, with
no weapons to defend themselves, and make it a bloody spoil for them! I
will look after the infantry battle, the glory of the cavalry victory shall
be yours."
8.39
The cavalry force, riding in perfect order, charged the enemy whilst scattered
and hampered by their plunder and filled the whole place with carnage.
Incapable of either resistance or flight they were cut down amongst the
packages which they had thrown away and over which their startled horses
were
stumbling. After almost annihilating the enemy's cavalry, M. Fabius led
his cavalry by a short circuit round the main battle and attacked the Samnite
infantry from behind. The fresh shouting which arose in that direction
threw them into a panic, and when the Dictator saw the men in front looking
round, the standards getting into confusion, and the whole line wavering,
he called upon his men and encouraged them to fresh efforts; he appealed
to the military tribunes and first centurions by name to join him in renewing
the fight. They again raised the battle-shout and pressed forward, and
wherever they advanced they saw more and more demoralisation amongst the
enemy. The cavalry were now within view of those in front, and Cornelius,
turning round to his maniples, indicated as well as he could by voice and
hand that he recognised the standards and bucklers of his own cavalry.
No sooner did they see and hear them than, forgetting the toil and travail
they had endured for almost a whole day, forgetting their wounds, and as
eager as though they had just emerged fresh from their camp after receiving
the signal for battle, they flung themselves on the enemy. The Samnites
could no longer bear up against the terrible onset of the cavalry behind
them and the fierce charge of the infantry in front. A large number were
killed between the two, many were scattered in flight. The infantry accounted
for those who were hemmed in and stood their ground, the cavalry created
slaughter among the fugitives; amongst those killed was their commander-in-chief.
This battle completely broke down the resistance; so much so that in
all their councils peace was advocated. It could not, they said, be a matter
of surprise that they met with no success in an unblest war, undertaken
in defiance of treaty obligations, where the gods were more justly incensed
against them than men. That war would have to be expiated and atoned for
at a great cost. The only question was whether they should pay the penalty
by sacrificing the few who were guilty or shedding the innocent blood of
all. Some even went so far as to name the instigators of the war. One name,
especially, was generally denounced, that of Brutulus Papius. He was an
aristocrat and possessed great influence, and there was not a shadow of
doubt that it was he who had brought about the breach of the recent truce.
The praetors found themselves compelled to submit a decree which the council
passed, ordering Brutulus Papius to be surrendered and all the prisoners
and booty taken from the Romans to be sent with him to Rome, and further
that the redress which the fetials had demanded in accordance with treaty-rights
should be made as law and justice demanded. Brutulus escaped the ignominy
and punishment which awaited him by a voluntary death, but the decree was
carried out; the fetials were sent to Rome with the dead body, and all
his property was surrendered with him. None of this, however, was accepted
by the Romans beyond the prisoners and whatever articles amongst the spoil
were identified by the owners; so far as anything else was concerned, the
surrender was fruitless. The senate decreed a triumph for the Dictator.
8.40
Some authorities state that this war was managed by the consuls and it
was they who celebrated the triumph over the Samnites, and further that
Fabius invaded Apulia and brought away great quantities of spoil. There
is no discrepancy as to A. Cornelius having been Dictator that year, the
only doubt is whether he was appointed to conduct the war, or whether,
owing to the serious illness of L. Plautius, the praetor, he was appointed
to give the signal for starting the chariot races, and after discharging
this not very noteworthy function resigned office. It is difficult to decide
which account or which authority to prefer. I believe that the true history
has been falsified by funeral orations and lying inscriptions on the family
busts, since each family appropriates to itself an imaginary record of
noble deeds and official distinctions. It is at all events owing to this
cause that so much confusion has been introduced into the records of private
careers and public events. There is no writer of those times now extant
who was contemporary with the events he relates and whose authority, therefore,
can be depended upon.
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