THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY
FOUNDED BY JAMES LOEB, T.L.D.
EDITED BY
tT. E. PAGE, C.H., LITT.D.
E. CAPPS, PH.D., LL.D. W. H. D. ROUSE, litt.d.
LIVY
II
BOOKS III AND IV
LIVY
WITH AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY
B. O. FOSTER, Ph.D.
OF STANFORD UNIVERSITY
IN THIRTEEN VOLUMES
II
BOOKS III AND IV
LONDON
WILLIAM HEINEMANN LTD
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS
MCMXXXIX
First printed, 1922.
Eeiisei and reprinted, 1939.
Printed in Great Britain.
TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE
The Latin text of Vols. II. to IV. (comprising
Books III -X.) has been set up, like that of Vol. I.,
from tlie latest revisions of the Weissenborn-Mueller
edition with German notes, except that the Periochae
have been reprinted from the text of Rossbach
(1910). But the spelling is that adopted by Pro-
fessors Conway and Walters in their critical edition
of Books I.-V. and Books VI.-X. (Oxford, 1914 and
1919), which is the source also of most of the rather
numerous readings which differ from those of the
Weissenborn-Mueller text, and has furnished besides
the materials from which the textual notes have
been drawn up. I have aimed to record every
instance where the reading printed does not rest on
the authority of one or more of the good MSS,, and
to indicate the provenience of the emendation. In
addition to the symbols used by the Oxford editors,
I have employed O to designate such of the good
MSS. as are not cited specifically for some other
reading, and s to designate one or more of the late
MSS. or early printed texts.
Besides the translations mentioned in the preface
to Vol. I. (those of Philemon Holland, George
V
PREFACE
Baker, and Canon Roberts) I have had by me the
anonymous version printed in London in 1686, in
folio, "for Awnsham Churchill at the Black Swan
in Ave-Mary Lane, near Paternoster Row."
I am also indebted to the following editions of
parts of Livy : Book III. by P. Thoresby Jones,
Oxford, 19U; IV. by H. M. Stephenson, Cam-
bridge, 1890 ; V. by Leonard Whibley, Cambridge,
1910; V.-VII. by Chier and Matheson, Oxford,
1904; VI. by F.'h. Marshall, Cambridge, 1908;
IX. by W, B. Anderson, Cambridge, 1909, and by
T. Nicklin, Oxford, 1910. The commentaries of
Weissenbom-Mueller and Luterbacher have, of
coursCj been constantly consulted.
B. O. F.
In the second impression of this volume a number
of misprints and one or two errors of translation have
been corrected. I wish to thank Prof. G. R. Noyes of
the University of California, and Mr. O. J. S. Satchel
of the Boys' High School, Kimberley, South Africa,
for the notes of errata with which they very kindly
furnished me.
August. 1939.
VI
CONTENTS
PAGE
translator's preface V
BOOK III 1
SUMMARY OF BOOK III 250
BOOK IV 257
SUMMARY OF BOOK IV . 458
INDEX . . 461
MAP OF CENTRAL ITALY At end
THE MANUSCRIPTS
V = Veronensis, 4th century.
F = Floriacensis^ 9th century.
P = Parisiensis, 10th century.
E = Einsiedlensis^ 10th century.
H = Harleianus prior^ 10th century.
T = Thuaneus^ 10th century.
B = Bambergensis, 10th or 11th century.
M= Mediceus, 10th or 11th century.
Vorm. = Vormatiensis (as reported by Rhenanus).
R = RomanuSj 11th century.
U = UpsaliensiSj 11th century.
D = Dominicanus, 11th or 12th century.
L = Leidensis, 12th century.
A = Aginnensis, 13 th century.
a = later part of A, 14th century.
F7'ag. Haverk. = Fragmentum Haverkampianum (cf.
Conway and Walters, vol. i., Praef. ix.^).
M^, APj etc., denote corrections made by the
original scribe or a later corrector.
When it is impossible to identify the
corrector ]\P is employed.
O = sucli of the above MSS. as contain the
passage in question and are not otherwise
reported.
S = one or more of the late MSS. or early
printed texts.
IX
ABBREVIATIONS
Aid. (or ed. Aid) = the Aldine edition, Venice, 1518.
Cassiod. = Cassiodorius.
Class. Quart. = The Classical Quarterly , London, 1907 ff.
C.I.L. = Corpus Inscriptionum Lai'marum, vol. i.^ Berlin,
LS93-5.
Diod. = Diodorus Siculus.
Dion. Hal. = Dionysius of Halicarnassus.
LIVY
FROM THE FOUNDING OF THE CITY
BOOK III
VOL. 11.
T. LIVI
AB URBE CONDITA
LIBER III
I. Antio capto T. Aemilius et Q. Fabius consules
fiunt. Hie erat Fabius^ qui uiius exstinctae ad
Cremeram genti superfiierat. lam piiore consulatu
2 Aemilius dandi agri plebi fuerat auctor ; itaque
secundo quoque consulatu eius et agrarii se in spem
legis erexerant. et tribuni, rem contra consules saepe.
temptatam adiutore utique console obtineri posse
rati^ suscipiunt ; et consul manebat in sententia sua.
3 Possessores et magna pars patrum^ tribuniciis se
iactare actionibus principem civitatis et largiendo
de alieno popularem fieri querentes^ totius invidiam
4 rei a tribunis in consulem averterant. Atrox certa-
men aderat^ ni Fabius consilio neutri parti acerbo
^ fabius J- : Fabius Quinctius n.
LIVY
FROM THE FOUNDING OF THE CITY
BOOK III
I. After the capture of Antium, Titus Aemilius and
Quintus Fabius were elected consuls. This was that
Fabius who had been the sole survivor of his family
destroyed at the Cremera.^ In his former consulship
Aemilius had already supported the assignment of
land to the plebs. Consequently, when he entered a
second time upon the office, not only had the agrarians
begun to have hopes of a law, but the tribunes,
who had often tried to carry the measure against
the opposition of the consuls, now took it up in the
belief that with the co-operation of a consul it
could certainly be made good ; and the consul
continued of the same mind. The possessors of the
land, comprising a large proportion of the patricians,
complained that the head of the state was openly
supporting tribunician policies and making himself
popular by a generosity exhibited at other men's ex-
pense ; they thus diverted the resentment awakened
by the whole affair from the tribunes to the consul.
A bitter struggle was impending, when Fabius, by a
proposal which neither side found injurious, set the
I See II. 1. 11.
3
B 2
4(57
LIVY
rem expedisset : T. Quincti ^ ductu et aiispicio agri
5 captum - priore anno aliquantiim a \'olscis esse ; An-
tium^ opportunam^ et maritimam urbem^ coloniam
deduci posse ; ita sine querellis possessoruni plebem
in agros ituram, civitatein in concordia fore. Haec
6 sententia accepta est. Triumviros agro dando creat
7 T. Quinctium A, Verginium P. Furium. lussi nomina
dare qui agrum accipere vellent. Fecit statim_, ut fit^
fastidium copia. adeoque pauci nomina dedere ut
ad explendum numerum coloni Volsci adderentur ;
cetera multitudo poscere Romae agrum malle quam
8 alibi accipere. Aequi a Q. Fabio — is eo cum exer-
citu venerat — pacem petiere^ inritamque eam ipsi
subita incursione in agrum Latinum fecere.
II. Q. Servilius ^ insequenti anno — is enim cum Sp.
Postumio consul fuit — in Aequos missus in Latino
agro stativa habuit.^ Quies necessaria morbo im-
2 plicitum exercitum tenuit. Extractum in tertium
annum bellum est Q. Fabio et T. Quinctio consuli-
bus. Fabio extra ordinem, quia is victor pacem
3 Acquis dederat^ ea provincia data. Qui baud dubia
spe profectus famam nominis sui pacaturam Aequos,
legatos in concilium gentis missos nuntiare iussit
Q. Fabium consulem dicere se ex Acquis pacem
1 T. Quincti Br: L. Quincti {or Quinti) n.
" captum Cohei : capti CI.
^ opportunam Madvig : propinquam opportunam Ci.
* Q. Servilius - : Quintius {or Quinctius) Seruilius Cl.
^ stativa habuit FOE- : statiua habuit castra MUIWL^:
statiua abiit ; castra F.
BOOK III. I. 4-II. 3
matter right. Under the leadership and auspices of b.c. 467
Titus Quinctius^ as he pointed out, a considerable
territory had been conquered the year before from the
Volsci ; Antium, a well-situated maritime city, could
be made the seat of a colony ; in this way the
])lebs would obtain farms without causing the land-
holders to complain, and the state would be at
harmony. This suggestion was adopted. As com-
missioners for distributing the land Fabius appointed
Titus Quinctius, Aulus Verginius, and Publius Furius,
and it was ordered that those who wished to receive
grants should give in their names. There at once
appeared the fastidiousness which usually attends
abundance, and so few persons enrolled that Volscian
colonists were added to fill out the number ; the
rest of the populace preferred demanding land at
Rome to receiving it elsewhere. The Aequi begged
Quintus Fabius, who had invaded their country, to
grant them peace ; and broke it themselves by a
sudden raid on Latin territory,
II. Quintus Servilius, being sent against the Aequi ^^•
in the following year — when he and Spurius Postumius
were consuls — made a permanent camp in the Latin
country, where the army was attacked by a pestilence
which deprived it of the power to act. The war
dragged on into its third year, the consulship of
Quintus Fabius and Titus Quinctius. To Fabius
was given the command against the Aequi, without
the customary drawing of lots, since he had been
victorious over them and had granted them peace.
Setting out in the full expectation that the glory
of his name would bring the enemy to terms, he
sent envoys to their national council and bade them
announce that Quintus Fabius the consul said that
LIVY
Romam tulisse^ ab Roma Acquis bellum adferre
eadera dextera armata quam pacatam illis antea
4 dederat. Quorum id perfidia et periurio fiat deos
nunc testes esse, mox fore ul tores. Se tamen,
utcumque sit, etiam nunc paenitere sua sponte Aequos
6 quam pati hostilia raalle. Si paeniteat, tutum re-
ceptum ad expertam clementiam fore : sin periurio
gaudeant, dis magis iratis quam hostibus gesturos
6 bellum. Haec dicta adeo nihil moverunt quemquam
ut legati prope violati sint exercitusque in Algid um
7 adversus Roraanos missus. Quae ubi Romam sunt
nuntiata, indignitas rei magis quam periculum con-
sulem altcrum ab urbe excivit. Ita duo consulares
exercitus ad hostem accessere acie instructa ut con-
8 festim dimicarent. Sed cum forte baud multum
diei superesset, unus ab statione hostium exclamat :
9 '^ Ostentare hoc est, Romani, non gerere bellum. In
noctem imminentem aciem instruitis ; longiore luce
ad id certamen quod instat nobis opus est. Crastino
die oriente sole redite in aciem ; erit copia pugnandi ;
10 ne timete." His vocibus inritatus miles in diem
posterum in castra reducitur, longam venire noctem
ratus quae moram certamini faceret. Turn quidem
corpora cibo somnoque curant ; ubi inluxit postero
6
BOOK III. II. 3-IO
he had brought peace from the Aequi to Rome, and
was then bringing war from Rome to the Aequi in
the same right liand, now armed, whicli he had
formerly given them in friendship. Whose faith-
lessness and perjury were responsible for this, the
gods were even then witnesses, and would presently
punish the offenders. Yet however that might
be, he would himself prefer that the Aequi should
even now freely repent, instead of suffering the
penalties of war. If they did so, they could count
on a safe refuge in the clemency they had already
proved ; but if they rejoiced in perjury, it was rather
with the angry gods than with their enemies that
they would be at war. So far were these words
from having the slightest effect on anyone, that the
envoys narrowly escaped violation, and an army
was dispatched to Algidus against the Romans.
On the arrival of this news at Rome, the insult,
rather than the danger, brought the other consul
out from the City. And so two consular armies
approached the enemy, drawn up in line of battle,
that they might instantly engage them. But since
it happened to be near the end of the day, a man
called out to them from an outpost of the enemy,
"This, Romans, is making a parade of war, not
waging it. When night is about to fall, you draw
up your battle-line; we need more hours of daylight
for the straggle which is close at hand. To-morrow
at sunrise form your battle-line again ; there will be
op[)ortunity for fighting, never fear!" Galled by
these words the troops were led back to their camp
to await the morrow ; the night would be a long one,
they felt, that must intervene before the combat.
Meanwhile they refreshed themselves with food and
LIVY
die^ prior aliquanto constitit Romana acies ; tandem
11 et Aequi processere. Proelium fit utrimque ve-
hemenSj quod et Romaniis ira odioque pugnabat et
Aeqiios conscientia contracti culpa periculi et
desperatio futurae sibi postea fidei ultima audere
12 et experiri cogebat. Xon tamen sustinuere aciem
Romanam Aequi ; pulsique cum in fines sues se
recepissent, nihilo inclinatioribus ad pacem animis
ferox multitiido increpare duces^ quod in aciem, qua
pugnandi arte Romanus excellat^ commissa res sit ;
13 Aequos populationibus incursionibusque meliores
esse, et multas passim manus quam magnam molem
unius exercitus rectius bella gerere.
III. Relicto itaque castris praesidio egressi tanto
cum tumultu invasere fines Romanes ut ad urbem
2 quoque terrorem pertulerint. Necopinata etiam res
plus trepidationis fecit, quod nihil minus quam ne
victus ac prope in castris obsessus hostis memor
3 populationis esset timeri poterat, agrestesque pavidi
incidentes portis non populationem nee praedonum
parvas manus, sed omnia vano augentes timore
exercitus et legiones adesse hostium et infesto
4 agmine ruere ad urbem clamabant. Ab his proximi ^
audita incerta eoque vaniora ferre ad alios. Cursus
* proximi ^ : proxume MRD : proxime VL : proximura
(-umum H) n.
8
BOOK III. II. lo-iii. 4
sleep. When it grew light next morning, the Roman
army took the field, some time before the enemy. At
last the Aequi too came out. The battle raged
fiercely on both sides, for the Romans fought with
exasperation and hatred, wliile the Aequi were con-
scious that the danger in wliicli they were involved
was due to their own fault, and this, with their
despair of ever being trusted again, incited them to
the last degree of daring and exertion. Neverthe-
less they were unable to withstand the attack of
the Romans. And yet, when they had been de-
feated and had fallen back to their own territory,
the warlike soldiers, their spirit as little inclined to
peace as ever, complained against their generals for
having staked the cause on a pitched battle, a
species of fighting in which the Romans excelled ;
the Aequi, they said, were better at pillaging and
raiding, and a number of scattered bands could
make war more effectively than the great mass of
a single army.
III. Leaving a garrison, therefore, in their camp,
they crossed the Roman border in so headlong an
incursion as to carry terror even to the City.
Moreover, the unexpectedness of the inroad added
to the alarm, for nothing could have been appre-
hended less than that an enemy who was defeated
and almost shut up in his camp should be thinking
of a raid ; and the country people who in their
fright came tumbling in through the gates told not
of pillaging nor of small bands of raiders, but, exag-
gerating everything in their senseless fear, cried out
that whole armies of the enemy were close at hand
and rushing on the City in a serritd column. The very
vagueness of these rumours led to further exaggera-
B.O.
46G-4Cii
LIVY
claraorque vocantium ad arma baud multum a pavore
5 captae urbis abesse. Forte ab Algido Quinctius
consul redierat Romam. Id remedium timori fuit ;
tumultuque sedato victos timeri increpans bostes
6 praesidia portis imposuit. Vocato dein senatu cum
ex auctoritate patrum iustitio indicto profectus ad
tutandos fines esset Q. Servilio praefecto urbis relicto,
7 bostem in agris non invenit. Ab altero consule res
gesta egregie est ; qui, qua venturum bostem sciebat,
gravem praeda eoque impeditiore agmine incedentem
8 adgressus funestam populationem fecit. Pauci hosti-
um evasere ex insidiis ; praeda omnis recepta est.
Sic finem iustitio, quod quadriduum fuit, reditus
Quincti consuHs in urbem fecit.
9 Census deinde actus et conditum ab Quinctio
lustrum. Censa civium capita centum quattuor milia
septingenta ^ quattuordecim dicuntur praeter orbos
10 orbasque. In Acquis nihil deinde memorabile actum.
In oppida sua se recepere, uri sua popularique passi.
Consul, cum aliquotiens per omnem hostium agrum
infesto agmine populabundus isset, cum ingenti
laude praedaque Romam rediit.
IV. Consules inde A. Postumius ^ Albus Sp.
1 septingenta Weissenbom{cf. Pcriocha) : ace n : et cc RL :
et cc {u"ith suprascript ti) D.
2 A. Postumius ii? Pu^hiiis (cf. C.I.L. i^, p. 103; : an
Postumius M : Postumius £1.
1 The iustitium also involved the closing of shops and a
general suspension of business.
lo
BOOK III. III. 4-iv. I
tion as the bystanders passed them on to others. B.a
The running and shouting of men as they called '^^^'^^^
"To arms ! " was almost like the panic in a captured
city. It chanced that the consul Quinctius had
returned from Algidus to Rome. This circumstance
allayed men's fears, and when the confusion had
been stilled, he indignantly reminded them that
the enemy they dreaded had been conquered, and
posted watches at the gates. He then convened
the senate, and in accordance with a resolution which
the Fathers i)assed, proclaimed a suspension of the
courts.! After that he set out to defend the frontier,
lea\ing Quintus Servilius as prefect of the City, but
did not meet with the enemy in the field. The other
consul campaigned with great success. Knowing
where the enemy would come, he fell upon them
when they were weighed down with the booty which
incumbered their advancing column, and caused
them bitterly to rue their pillaging. But few of
them escaped the ambush, and the spoils were all
recovered. So the suspension of the courts, which
had lasted four days, was lifted on the return of the
consul Quinctius to the City.
The census was then taken and Quinctius solemn-
ized the concluding purification. There are said to
have been registered 104,714 citizens, besides orphans
and widows. In the Aecjuian country there was no
memorable action after that ; the people retired to
their towns, and jiermitted their farms to be burnt
and ravaged. The consul made a number of forays
with his army throughout the enemy's territory, and
returned to Rome with great renown and huge
s])oils.
IV. The next consuls were Aulus Postumius b.c. 4C4
LIVY
i.u.c. Fiirius Fusus.i Furios Fusios ^ scripsere quidam ;
id admoneo^ ne quis immutationem viroram ipsorum
2 esse quae nominum est putet. Haud dubium erat
quin cum Aequis alter consulum bellum gereret.
Itaque Aequi ab Ecetranis Volscis praesidium
petiere ; quo cupide oblato — adeo civitates hae ^
perpetuo in Romanes odio certavere — bellum summa
3 viparabatur. Sentiunt Hernici et praedicunt Romanis
Ficetranum ad Aequos descisse. Suspecta et colonia
Antium fuit, quod magna vis hominum inde^ cum
oppidum captum esset^ confugisset ad Aequos ; isque
miles per bellum Aequicum vel acerrimus fuit.
4 Compulsis deinde in oppida Aequis ea multitude
dilapsa cum Antium redisset, sua sponte iam infidos
5 colonos Romanis abalienavit. Necdum matura re
cum defectionem parari delatum ad senatum esset^
datum negotium est consulibus ut principibus coloniae
0 Romam excitis quaererent quid rei esset. Qui cum
haud gravate \ enissent^ introducti a consulibus ad
senatum ita responderunt ad interrogata, ut magis
suspecti quam venerant dimitterentur.
7 -Bellum inde haud dubium haberi. Sp. Furius, con-
sulum alter, cui ea provincia evenerat, profectus in
Aequos Hernicorum in agro populabundum hostem
invenit ignarusque multitudinis, quia nusquam uni-
1 Fu?us Sigonias [C.I.L. i^, p. 116j : Fuscus Cl.
2 Furios Fusios ,- : Furios {or -us) Fusios Fabios n.
^ liae 0 : haec H : eae VL'^ : ae or aee or se [omitted by
V) n.
^ Fuslus is in fact only an earlier form of Fur his. By
800 B.C. intervocalic 5 had developed into r. Livy is puzzled
by the same thing in chap. viii.
12
BOOK III. IV. 1-7
Albus and Spiirius Furius Fusus. (Some writers b.oAU
spell the name Fusius instead of Furius, which I
note lest anybody should regard as a substitution of
one man for another what is really only a matter of
names.)^ There was no doubt but that one consul
would make war on the Aequi, and these accordingly
appealed to the Ecetranian Volsci for help. It was
eagerly granted them — such was the rivalry between
these nations in inveterate hatred of Rome — and the
most vigorous preparations were made for war. The
Hernici perceived, and warned the Romans, that
Ecetra had gone over to the Aequi. Suspicion
already rested on the colony of Antium, on the
ground that a large body of men, escaping from the
place at the time of its capture, had taken refuge
with the Aequi ; and in fact they fought with the
greatest spirit all through the Aequian war ; after-
wards, when the Aequi had been shut up in their
towns, this company dispersed, returned to Antium,
and won over the colonists, who were even then at
heart disloyal to the Romans. The plot was not yet
ripe when their proposed defection was reported to
the senate, and the consuls were instructed to
summon the leaders of the colony to Rome and
inquire what was going on. These men made no
objection to coming, but on being introduced into
the senate by the consuls returned such answers to
the questions they were asked that they were under
a stronger suspicion when dismissed than they had
been on their arrival.
War was from that moment regarded as certain.
Spurius Furius, one of the consuls, having received
that command, set out against the Aequi. In the
country of the Hernici he found the enemy engaged
13
LIVY
versa conspecta fuerat, imparera copiis exercitum
8 temere pugnae commisit. Primo concursu pulsus
se intra castra recepit. Neque is finis periculi fuit ;
namque et proxima nocte et postero die tanta vi
castra sunt circumsessa atque oppugnata ut ne
9 lumtius quidem inde mitti Romam posset. Her-
nici et male pugnatum et consulem exercitumque
obsideri nuntiaverunt tantumque terrorem inciissere
patribus ut^ quae forma senatus consulti ultimae
semper necessitatis habita est, Postumio, alteri con-
sulum, negotium daretur videret ne quid res publica
10 detrimenti caperet. Ipsum consulem Romae manere
ad conscribendos omnes qui arma ferre possent opti-
mum visum est : pro consule T. Quinctium subsidio
1 1 castris cum sociali exercitu mitti ; ad eum ex})lendum
Latini Hernicique et colonia Antium dare Quinctio
subitarios milites — ita turn repentina auxilia appella-
bant — iussi.
y. Multi per eos dies motus multique impetus
bine atque illinc facti, quia superante multitudine
hostes carpere multifariam vires Romanas, ut non
2 suffecturas ad omnia, adgressi sunt ; simul castra
oppugnabantur, simul pars exercitus ad populandum
agrum Romanum missa urbemque ipsam^ si qua
3 fortuna daret, temptandam. L. Valerius ad praesi-
dium urbis relictus, consul Postumius ad arcendas
1 The ultirnum senatus consuUiim conferred dictatorial
powers on the consul, and amounted to declaring a state of
martial law.
BOOK III. IV. 7-v. 3
in marauding, and being ignorant of their strength, b.c. 464
because they had never all been seen together, rashly
offered battle with an army which was no match for
theirs in numbers. At the first attack he was
repulsed and withdrew into his camp. Nor did this
end his danger^ for both that night and the following
day his camp was so vigorously hemmed in and
assaulted tiiat not even a messenger could be got
off to Rome. The Hernici reported the defeat and
blockade of the consul and his army, striking such
terror into the hearts of the senators that they passed
a decree which has always been held to signify the
direst necessity : that Postumius, the other consul,
should be commissioned to see to it that the republic
took no hurt,^ It was deemed wisest that the consul
himself should remain in Rome, to enroll all who
were capable of bearing arms ; and that a proconsul,
Titus Quinctius, should be sent, with an army of the
allies, to relieve the camp. In order to fill out this
army the Latins and the Hernici and the colony of
Antium were commanded to furnish Quinctius with
" emergency-men," as they used then to term
hastily-levied auxiliaries.
V. There was much manoeuvring during tiie days
that followed, and many attacks were delivered in
one place or another, for the enemy, having a pre-
ponderance of numbers, set about harassing the
Roman forces in many places, with the expectation
that they would prove unequal to all the demands
that were made upon them ; at the same time that
they were besieging the camp, a part of their army
was sent to devastate the Roman fields and to attack
the City itself, should an opportunity offer. Lucius
Valerius was left to defend the City, while the consul
IS
LIVY
4 populationes finiiim missus. Nihil remissum ab uUa
parte curae aut laboris ; vigiliae in urbe, stationes
ante portas, praesidiaque in muris disposita^ et quod
necesse erat in tanto tumultu^ iustitium per aliquot
6 dies servatum. Interim in castris Furius consul cum
primo quietus obsidionem passus esset^ in incautum
hostem decumana porta erupit, et cum persequi
possetj metu substitit, ne qua ex parte altera in castra
6 vis fieret. Furium iegatum — frater idem consulis
erat — longius extulit cursus ; nee suos ille redeuntes
persequendi studio neque hostium ab tergo incursum
vidit. Ita exclusus multis saepe frustra conatibus
captis ut viam sibi ad castra faceret^ acriter dimicans
7 cecidit^ et consul nuntio circumventi fratris conversus
ad pugnam^ dum ^ se temere magis quam satis caute
in mediam dimicationem infert^ volnere accepto aegre
ab circumstantibus ereptus et suorum animos turbavit
8 et ferociores hostes fecit: qui caede legati et con-
sulis volnere accensi nulla deinde vi sustineri potuere,
ut- compulsi in castra Romani rursus obsiderentur
nee spe nee viribus pares ; venissetque in periculum
summa rerum, ni T. Quinctius peregrinis copiis,
9 Latino^ Hernicoque exercitu^ subvenisset. Is in-
1 pugnam, dum - : pugnandiun n.
2 \\l Conu-caj and JF alters: cum n.
^ Latino Madcig: cum Latino 0..
^ The ;;(>/•/« decurnana was normally in the west wall,
in these wars usually farthest from the enemy, hence its use
in this surprise attack.
i6
BOOK III. V. 3-9
Postumius was sent out to protect the frontier from b.c. 464
pillage. There was no relaxation anywhere of
vigilance or effort ; watches were set in the City,
outposts were established before the gates, and
troops were posted on the walls ; and, as was neces-
sary in the midst of such confusion, the courts were
suspended for several days. In camp meanwhile the
consul Furius, having begun by submitting tamely
to the blockade, caught the Aequi off their guard,
and made a sortie by the decuman gate.^ He might
have pursued the enemy, but stopped for fear the
camp might be assailed from the opposite quarter.
The lieutenant Furius, a brother of the consul, was
carried a good way off by his charge, nor did he
observe, in the ardour of pursuit, either that his
friends were retiring or that the enemy were moving
up to attack him in the rear. His retreat was thus
cut off, and after repeated but unsuccessful attempts
to force his way back to the camp, he perished,
fighting bravely. The consul too, upon learning
that his brother was surrounded, set his face towards
the battle and plunged into the midst of the mellay,
with more rashness than prudence ; for he received
a wound, and was barely rescued by the men about
him. This misfortune dismayed his own troops and
quickened the courage of the enemy, who were so
inspirited by the death of the lieutenant and the
wounding of the consul that from that moment no
force could withstand them, and the Romans were
driven into their camp and again besieged, being no
match for their oj)ponents either in confidence or
strength. The very existence of the army would
have been imperilled, had not Titus Quinctius come
up with the foreign troops, the Latins and Hernici.
17
VOL. II. C
A.r.c.
290
LIVY
tentos in castra Romana Aequos legatique caput
ferociter ostentantes ab tergo adortus simul ad
signum a se procul editum ex castris eruptione facta
10 magnam vim hostium circumvenit. Minor caedis,
fuga efFusior Aeqiiorum in agro fuit Romano^ in quos
palatos praedam agentes Postumius aliquot locis,
quibus opportuna imposuerat praesidia^ impetum
dedit. Hi vagi dissipate agmine fugientes in Quinc-
tium victorem cum saucio ^ consule revertentem in-
11 cidere. Tum consularis exercitus egregie ^ consulis
volnuSj legati et cohortium ultus est caedem. Magnae
clades ultro citroque illis diebus et inlatae et ac-
12 ceptae. Difficile ad fidem est in tam antiqua re
quot pugnaverint ceciderintve exacto adfirmare nu-
mero ; audet tamen Antias Valerius concipere sum-
13 mas : Romanes cecidisse in Hernico agro quinque
milia octingentos : ex praedatoribus Aequorum qui
populabundi in finibus Romanis vagabantur ab A.
Postumio consule duo milia et quadringentos caesos :
ceteram multitudinem praedam agentem^ quae in-
cident in Quinctium^ nequaquam pari defunctam
esse caede : interfecta inde quattuor milia et, exse-
quendo subtiliter numerum, ducentos ait et triginta.
14 Ut Romam reditum est,^ iustitium remissum.*
Caelum visum est ardere plurimo igni, portentaque
^ cum saucio L^- : a saucio 0 : cum 'or tum) a saucio {or
sautio) n.
2 egregie Conuay. egregiae M : egregia pugna n.
3 reditum est et Conicay and IFalters : reditum est fl.
* remissum Grater : remissum est fi.
l8
BOOK III. V. 9-14
He found the Aequi intent on the Roman camp, and b.o. 464
truculently displaying the head of the lieutenant.
Attacking them in the rear, while the besieged, in
answer to a signal he had given them from afar,
were making a sally from the camp, he intercepted a
large body of them. There was less carnage but a
more headlong rout in the case of the Aequi who
were in Roman territory. These men were dispersed
and collecting booty when they were attacked by
Postumius at several points where he had opportunely
stationed troops. The pillagers, fleeing in a dis-
ordered crowd, fell in with Quinctius, who was return-
ing from his victory with the wounded consul ;
whereupon the consular army splendidly avenged the
consul's wound and the slaughter of the lieutenant
and his cohorts. Heavy losses were inflicted and
sustained on both sides at that time. It is hard to
make a trustworthy statement, in a matter of such
antiquity, as to just how many fought and how
many fell ; yet Valerius Antias ventures to specify
the totals, saying that the Romans lost five thousand
eight hundred in the country of the Hernici ; that
of the Aequian marauders who were roaming about
and pillaging within the Roman borders two thousand
four hundred were slain by Aulus Postumius, the
consul ; and that the rest of the expedition, which
stumbled upon Quinctius as they were driving off
their booty, got off by no means so lightly, for
their killed amounted, so he says, with minute
particularity, to four thousand two hundred and
thirty.
When the army had returned to Rome, and the
suspension of the courts was ended, the heavens
were seen to blaze with numerous fires, and other
19
c 2
LIVY
alia aut obversata oculis aut vanas exterritis ostenta-
vere species. His avertendis terroribus in triduum
feriae indictae^ per quas omnia delubra pacem deum
exposcentium virorum miilierumque turba imple-
15 bantiir. Coliortes inde Latinae Hernicaeque ab
senatu gratiis ob impigram militiam actis remissae
domos. Antiates mille milites^ quia serum auxilium
post proelium venerant^ prope cum ignominia dimissi.
^"I. Comitia inde habita ; creati consules L.
Aebutius P. Servilius. Kal. Sextilibus^ ut tunc
2 principium anni agebatur^ consulatum ineunt. Grave
tempus et forte annus pestilens erat urbi agrisque
nee horainibus magis quam pecori ; et auxere vim
morbi terrore populationis pecoribus agrestibusque
3 in urbem acceptis. Ea conluvio ^ mixtorum omnis
generis animantium et odore insolito urbanos et
agrestem confertum in arta tecta aestu ac vigiliis
angebat, ministeriaque in vicem ac contagio ipsa
4 volgabant morbos. Vix instantes sustinentibus clades
repente legati Hernici nuntiant in agro suo Aequos
Volscosque coniunctis copiis castra posuisse^ inde
5 exercitu ingenti fines suos depopulari. Praeterquam
quod infrequens senatus indicio erat sociis adflictam
civitatem pestilentia esse^ maestum etiam responsum
^ conluvio ,- : couluuione H.
^ The official year began at various times in different
periods, until, in 153 B.C., the 1st of January was adopted.
20
BOOK III. V. T4-VI. 5
portents either were actually seen or were due to b.c, 464
the illusions of the terror-stricken observers. To
avert these alarms a three days' season of prayer
was ordered, and during this period all the shrines
were crowded with a throng of men and women
beseeching the pardon of the gods. After that the
cohorts of the Latins and the Hernici were thanked
by the senate for their energetic service and sent
home. A thousand men from Antium who had
come too late to help, when the battle was over,
were dismissed, almost in disgrace.
VI. The elections were then held, and Lucius ^-c- 'i<53
Aebutius and Publius Servilius were chosen consuls.
On the first of August, then the beginning of the
year, they entered office.^ It was the sickly season,
and chanced to be a year of pestilence both in the
City and in the country, for beasts as well as men ;
and the people increased the virulence of the disease,
in their dread of pillage, by receiving flocks and
country-folk into the City. This conflux of all kinds
of living things distressed the citizens with its strange
smells, while the country-people, being packed into
narrow quarters, suffered greatly from the heat and
want of sleep ; and the exchange of ministrations
and mere contact spread the infection. The Romans
could scarce endure the calamities which pressed
hard upon them, when suddenly envoys from the
Hernici appeared, announcing that the Aequi and
the Volsci had joined forces and established a camp
in their territory, from which base they w ere devasta-
ting their land with an enormous army. Not only
did the reduced numbers of the senate show their
allies that the nation was prostrated by the pesti-
lence, but they also returned a melancholy answer to
LIVY
tulere, ut per se ipsi Hernici cum Latinis res suas
tutarentur : urbem Romaiiam subita deum ira morbo
popular! ; si qua eius mali quies veniat, ut anno ante,
6 ut sem})er alias, sociis opem laturos. Discessere socii
pro tristi nuntio tristiorem domum reportantes/
quippe quibus per se sustinendum bellum erat. quod
7 vix Romanis fulti viribus sustinuissent. Xon diutius
se in Hernico hostis continuit ; pergit inde infestus
in agros Romanos etiam sine belli iniuria vastatos.
Ubi cum obvius nemo ne inermis quidem fieret perque
omnia non praesidiis modo deserta sed etiam cultu
agresti transirent, pervenere ad tertium lapidem
Gabina via.
S Mortuus Aebutius erat Romanus consul ; collega
eius Servilius exigua in spe trahebat animam ; adfecti
plerique principum, patrum maior pars, militaris fere
aetas omnis, ut non modo ad expeditiones, quas in
tanto tumultu res poscebat, sed vix ad quietas
9 stationes viribus sufficerent. Munus vigiliarum sena-
tores, qui per aetatem ac valetudinem poterant, per
se ipsi obibant ; circumitio ac cura aedilium plebi
erat ; ad eos summa rerum ac maiestas consularis
imperii venerat.
^ reportantes V: referentes CI.
^ The plebeian aedileship had been created at the same
time as the plebeian tribuneship, but was not mentioned by
Livy at ii. xxxiii. 2.
22
BOOK III. VI. 5-9
their suit, that the Hernici, namely, with the help
of the Latins, must defend their own possessions ;
for the City of Rome, in a sudden visitation of divine
displeasure, was being ravaged by disease ; if there
should come any respite from their suffering, they
would hel{) their friends, as they had done the year
before and on every other occasion. The allies
departed, bearing home, in return for their sad
tidings, a reply that was even sadder, since it meant
that their people must sustain by themselves a war
which they could hardly have sustained with the
powerful assistance of the Romans. No longer did
the enemy confine themselves to the country of the
Hernici ; they proceeded thence to invade the
Roman fields, which had been made desolate even
without the violence of war. Encountering no one
there, not even an unarmed man, and passing through
a country wholly destitute not only of defenders but
also of cultivation, they came to the third milestone
on the Gabinian Way.
Death had taken Aebutius, the Roman consul ;
for his colleague Servilius there was little hope,
though he still breathed ; the disease had attacked
most of the leading men, the greater part of the
senators, and almost all of military age, so that their
numbers were not only insufficient for the expedi-
tions which so alarming a situation called for, but
were almost too small for mounting guard. The
watchmen's duty was performed by those of the
senators themselves whose years and strength
admitted of it ; the rounds were made and the
watches supervised by the })lebeian aediles;^ into
their hands had passed the supreme control, and the
majesty of consular authority.
23
LIVY
VII. Deserta omnia, sine capite, sine viribus, di
praesides ac fortuna urbis tutata est, quae Volscis
Aequisque praedonum potius mentem quam hostium
2 dedit ; adeo enim nullam spem non potiundi modo,
sed ne adeundi qiiidem Romana moenia animus ^
eorum cepit tectaque prociil visa atqiie imminentes
3 tumuli avertere mentes eorum, ut totis passim castris
fremitu orto,quid in vasto ac deserto agro inter tabem
pecoram hominumque desides sine praeda tempus
tererent, cum integra loca, Tusculanum agrum opi-
mum copiis, petere possent,signa repente convellerent
transversisque itineribus per Labicanos ^ agros in Tus-
culanos coUes transirent. Eo vis omnis tempestas-
4 que belli conversa est. Interim Hernici Latinique,
pudore etiam, non misericordia solum moti, si nee
obstitissent communibus hostibus infesto agmine
Romanam urbem petentibus nee opem ullam obsessis
sociis ferrent, coniuncto exercitu Romam pergunt.
5 Ubi cum hostes non invenissent, secuti famam ac
vestigia obvii fiunt descendentibus ab Tusculana ^ in
Albanam vallem. Ibi haudquaquam aequo proelio
pugnatum est, fidesque sua sociis parum felix in
praesentia fuit.
6 Haud minor Romae fit morbo strages quam (quanta
ferro sociorum facta erat. Consul qui unus supererat
moritur ; mortui et alii clari viri, M. Valerius,* T.
^ animus r : animos H.
* Labicanos V : lauicanos H.
3 Tusculana VMHL'i L : Tusculano FFUBOD\
* M. Valerius n : M'. Valerius [identifying him with the
M'. Valerius of ii. xxx. 5, and (?) iii. xxv. 2) Fighius,
24
* BOOK III. VII. 1-6
VII. In this helpless plii^ht, without a leader and b.c. 463
without strength^ the commonwealth was saved by
its tutelary gods and the good fortune of the City,
which inspired the Volsci and Aequi with the
spirit of plunderers rather than of soldiers. For
they were so far from entertaining any hope of
approaching, not to speak of capturing, the walls of
Rome, and the distant sight of her roofs and beetling
hills so damped their ardour, that the entire army
began to murmur, and to ask why they should waste
their time in desolate and abandoned fields, where
bodies of beasts and men lay rotting and there was
no booty, when they might be invading an unspoiled
country, the land of Tusculum, abounding in wealth ;
so they suddenly pulled up their standards, and
passed by cross-roads through the Labican fields to
the hills of Tusculum, and on that point all the
impetus and fury of the war converged. Mean-
while the Hernici and Latins, moved not by pity
alone but by shame, if they should fail to oppose
the common enemy, advancing in force against the
City of Rome, and should bring no assistance to
their besieged allies, united their armies and pro-
ceeded to the City. Failing to find the enemy
there, but following the report and traces of
his march, they met him as he was coming down
from the Tusculan valley into that of Alba. There
they engaged the invaders on far from equal terms,
and their loyalty to their friends was for the moment
not attended with success.
In Rome the ravages of the disease were no less
fatal than those of the sword had been amongst her
allies. The surviving consul died ; and death took
other famous men, the augurs Marcus Valerius and
25
LIVY
Verginius Rutulus ^ augures, Ser. Sulpicius curio
7 maximus ; et per ignota capita late vagata est vis
morbi. Inopsque senatus auxilii humani ad deos
populum ac vota vertit. lussi cum coniugibus ac
liberis supplicatum ire pacemque exposcere deum,
8 ad id quod sua quemque mala cogebant auctoritate
publica evocati omnia delubra implant. Stratae passim
matres crinibus templa verrentes veniam irarum
caelestium finemque pesti exposcunt.
yilL Inde paulatim seu pace deum impetrata
seu graviore tempore anni iam circumacto defuncta
2 morbis corpora salubriora esse incipere ; versisque
animis iam ad publicam curam^ cum aliquot interregna
exissentj P. Valerius Publicola tertio die quam inter-
regnum inierat consules creat L. Lucretium Tricipi-
tinum et T. Veturium Geminum, sive ille Vetusius
3 fuit. Ante diem tertium idus Sextiles consulatum
ineunt iam satis valida civitate ut non solum arcere
4 bellum sed ultro etiam inferre posset. Igitur nun-
tiantibus Hernicis in fines suos transcendisse hostes
impigre promissum auxilium. Duo consulares exercitus
scripti. Veturius missus in Volscos ad bellum ultro
5 inferendum : Tricipitinus populationibus arcendis
sociorum agro oppositus non ultra quam in Hernicos
procedit. Veturius primo proelio hostes fundit fu-
6 gatque : Lucretium, dum in Hernicis sedet, prae-
^ Rutulus Conway: Rutilus Sigonius : Rutilius CI.
1 Each of the thirtj- wards, or curiae (an account of their
origin is given at i. xiii. 6), had a priest called a curio, to
pre:^ide over its religious ceremonies. These thirty curiones
were themselves under the presidency of a curio maximus.
2 See note on chap. iv. § 1.
26
BOOK III. VII. 6-viii. 6
Titus Verginius Rutulus, and the head curio,^ Servius b.c. 46S
Sulpicius ; as for the base rabble, the violence of the
plague stalked at large amongst them ; until the
senate, finding no help in man, sent the people to
the gods in prayer, commanding them to take their
wives and children and supplicate Heaven for for-
giveness. Thus summoned by the state's authority
to do what each was impelled to by his own distress,
they crowded all the shrines. Everywhere were
prostrate matrons, sweeping the floors of the temples
with their hair, while they besought the angry gods
to grant them pardon and end the pestilence.
VIII. After that, little by little, whether it was b.c. 462
that the gods had been persuaded to forgive or that
the sickly season was now past, those whose disease
had run its course began to regain their health ;
and men's thoughts now turned to the common-
wealth. Several interregna had expired, when
Publius Valerius Publicola, three days after being
made interrex, declared the election to the consul-
ship of Lucius Lucretius Tricipitinus and Titus
Veturius Geminus — or Vetus'us, if that was his
name.2 On the 11th of August they took office, the
nation being by that time so strong that it was able
not only to defend itself, but even to assume the
offensive. Accordingly, when the Hernici reported
that the enemy had crossed their borders, they were
promptly offered assistance. Two consular armies
were enlisted ; Veturius was sent to carry the war
into the country of the Volsci ; while Tricipitinus,
having been appointed to secure the territory of the
allies from inroads, proceeded no further than the
land of the Hernici. Veturius in his first battle
defeated and routed his opponents ; Lucretius, while
27
LIVY
doniim airmen fefellit supra montes Praenestinos
ductum, inde demissum ^ in campos. Vastavere agros
Praenestinum Gabinumque ; ex Gabino in Tuscu-
7 lanos flexere colles ; urbi quoque Romae ingens
praebitus teiTor_, magis in re subita quam quod ad
arcendam vim parum virium esset. Q. Fabius prae-
erat urbi. Is armata iuventute dispositisque praesidiis
8 tuta omnia ac tranquilla fecit. Itaque hostes praeda
ex proximis locis rapta adpropinquare urbi non ausi,
cum circumacto agmine redirent quanto longius ab
urbe hostium abscederent eo solutiore cura_, in Lucre-
tium incidunt consulem, iam ante exploratis itineribus
9 suis instructum et ad certamen intentum. Igitur
praeparatis animis repentino pavore perculsos adorti
aliquanto pauciores multitudinem ingentem fundunt
fugantque et compulses in cavas valles^ cum exitus
10 baud in facili essent, circumveniunt. Ibi Volscum
nomen prope deletum est. Tredecim milia quad-
ringentos septuaginta cecidisse in acie ac fuga^ mille
septingentos quinquaginta vivos captos^ signa viginti
septem militaria relata in quibusdam annalibus in-
venio ; ubi etsi adiectum aliquid numero sit^ magna
1 1 certe caedes fuit. Mctor consul ingenti praeda potitus
^ demissum U: missum VII: dimissum n
28
BOOK III. VIII. 6-II
encamped among the Hernici, was eluded by a ^.c. 462
company of raiders, who marched over the moun-
tains of Praeneste and thence down into the cam-
pagna ; there they laid waste the Praenestine and
Gabinian fields ; and from the latter district turned
towards the hills about Tusculum. The City of
Rome itself received a great fright, more on account
of the surprise than from any lack of resources for
defence. Quintus Fabius was in charge of the City.
Arming the young men and disposing his defences,
he made everything secure and tranquil. And so
the enemy, having laid hold of the plunder in
their immediate neighbourhood, did not venture to
approach Rome, but making a detour, set out towards
home. The farther they got from the hostile City
the less was their anxiety, till they came unex-
pectedly upon Lucretius the consul, who having
already marked their line of march, had drawn up
his troops and was eager to fight. The spirits of
the Romans were therefore prepared for their task,
while the enemy were stricken with a sudden panic
on being attacked, though by somewhat inferior
numbers. The Romans completely routed the great
multitude, and driving them into deep valleys, from
which escape was difficult, surrounded them. There
the Volscian name was almost blotted out. Thirteen
thousand four hundred and seventy fell in the
battle and the flight, seventeen hundred and fifty
were taken alive, and twenty-seven military standards
were brought in, as I find recorded in certain annals ;
and though there may be some exaggeration of the
numbers, it was beyond question a great slaughter.
The victorious consul, in possession of enormous
spoils, returned to the permanent camp he had
29
LIVY
A.n.c, eodem in stativa rediit. Turn consules castra coniun-
-^^ gunt^ et Volsci Aequique adflictas vires suas in unum
contulere. Tertia ilia pu_2rna eo anno fuit. Eadem
fortuna victoriam dedit ; fusis hostibus etiam castra
capta.
IX. Sic res Romana in antiquum statum rediit,
secundaeque belli res extemplo urbanos motus ex-
2 citaverunt. C. Terentilius Harsa tribunus plebis eo
anno fuit. Is consulibus absentibus ratus locum tri-
buniciis actionibus datum^ per aliquot dies patrum
superbiam ad plebem criminatus, maxime in consu-
lare imperium tamquam nimium nee tolerabile liberae
3 civitati invehebatur. Nomine enim tantum minus
invidiosum, re ipsa prope atrocius quam regium esse ;
4 quippe duos pro uno dominos acceptos, immoderata,
infinita potestate, qui soluti atque effrenati ipsi omnis
metus legum omniaque supplicia verterent in plebem.
5 Quae ne aeterna illis licentia sit^ legem se promulga-
turum ut quinque viri creentur legibus de imperio
consulari scribendis ; quod populus in se ius dederit,
eo consulem usurum ; non ipsos libidinem ac licen-
6 tiam suam pro lege habituros. Qua promulgata lege
cum timerent patres ne absentibus consulibus iugum
acciperentj^ senatus a praefecto urbis Q. Fabio
vocatur. qui adeo atrociter in rogationem latoremque
^ acciperent J/^j- : acciperet CI.
^ Terentilius probably aimed at restricting the power of
the patricians by a codification of all the laws, not merely
those, as Livy seems to think, which limited the authority
of the consuls. The Fasti refer to the similar board actually
created ten years later, as decemviri consv.lari imperio Icyihus
scribundis ("decemvirs with consular authority for writing
the laws"), and Livy has perhaps misunderstood some such
phrase in the annalist he was here following.
30
BOOK III. VIII. ii-ix. 6
occupied before. Then the consuls encamped to- b.c. 462
gather, and the Volsci and Aequi united their
shattered forces. The ensuing battle was the third
of that year. Fortune bestowed the victory where
she had done before ; the enemy were routed, and
even lost their camji.
IX. Rome was thus restored to her former con-
dition, and the success of the campaign at once
occasioned disturbances in the City. Gaius Teren-
tilius Harsa was tribune of the plebs that year.
Thinking that the absence of the consuls afforded
the tribunes an opportunity for action, he employed
some days in complaining to the people of the pride
of the patricians, and inveiglied especially against
the authority of the consuls, as a thing excessive
and intolerable in a free state. For it was only in
name, he said, that it was less hateful than that
of a king ; in reality it was almost cruder, since in
place of one master they had now got two, who
possessed an unregulated and unlimited power, and
while free themselves and without restraint, brought
to bear all the terrors of the law and all its punish-
ments upon the plebs. That they might not for
ever have this licence, he was about to propose a
law providing for the appointment of five men to
write out the statutes pertaining to the consular
power ; ^ such authority over them as the people
had granted the consuls they should enjoy, but they
should not make a law of their own whims and
caprices. When this measure had been promulgated,
the Fathers were alarmed lest they might be humbled,
in the absence of the consuls ; the prefect of the
City, Quintus Fabius, convened the senate, and
attacked the measure and its author himself with
31
LIVY
ipsum est invectus ut nihil^ si ambo consules infesti
circunistarent tribuniim^ relictum minarum atque
7 terroris sit : insidiatum eum et tempore capto adortum
8 rem publicam. Si quern similem eius priore anno
inter morbum bellumque irati di tribunum dedissent,
non potuisse sisti. Mortuis duobus consulibus. iacente
aegra civitate^ in conluvione omnium rerum. ad tol-
lendum rei publicae consulare imperium laturum
leges fuisse^ ducem Volscis Aequisque ad oppugnan-
9 dam urbem futurum. Quid tandem? Illi non licere,
si quid consules superbe in aliquem civium aut
crudeliter fecerint^ diem dicere^ accusare iis ipsis
10 iudicibus quorum in aliquem saevitum sit? Nonillum^
consulare imperium, sed tribuniciam potestatem in-
visam intolerandamque facere ; quam placatam ^ re-
conciliatamque patribus de integro in antiqua redigi
mala. Neque ilium se deprecari^ quo minus pergat
11 ut coeperit; ^' Vos " inquit Fabius^ ^^ ceteri tribuni,
oramus, ut primum omnium cogitetis potestatem
istam ad singulorum auxilium^ non ad perniciem
universorum comparatam esse; tribunos plebis vos
12 creatos, non hostes patribus. Nobis miserum_, invi-
diosum vobis est desertam rem publicam invadi.
Non ius vestrum^ sed invidiam minueritis. Agite cum
collega ut rem integram in adventum consulum
* ilium - : illud CI. * placatam M : pacatain D.,
32
BOOK III. IX. 6-12
such bitterness that if both the consuls had been b.c. 462
present to outface the tribune there was nothing
they could have added to his threats and denuncia-
tions. Terentilius, he said, had laid an ambush and
watching his opportunity had attacked the state.
If the angry gods had given them a tribune like
him the year before, when they were suffering from
war and disease, it would have been impossible to
save the situation. Finding both consuls dead, the
citizens plague-stricken, and confusion everywhere,
he would have proposed a law to do away with
consular government, and would have led the Volsci
and the Aequi to besiege the City. Pray what did
he desire.'' Was he not at liberty, if the consuls
had committed any act of pride or cruelty against
a citizen, to call them into court and accuse them
where the judges would be the very men against one
of wdiom the injury had been done? It was not the
authority of the consul but the power of the tribune
that he was making hateful and intolerable ; this
power had been reconciled and brought into harmony
Avith the senate, but was now being degraded again to
its former evil state. Yet he would not supplicate
Terentilius to abandon the course on which he had
embarked. "It is you other tribunes," he cried,
" whom we beg to reflect, as a matter of the last
importance, that your power was obtained for the
purpose of assisting individuals, not for the destruc-
tion of us all ; that you were elected tribunes of the
plebs, not enemies of the senate. To us it is a
source of sorrow, to you of odium, that the state
should be attacked in the absence of its defenders.
You will be diminishing, not your authority, but
your unpopularity, if you plead with your colleague
33
VOL. II, D
A.r.c.
292
LIVY
differat. Ne Aequi quidem ac Volsci morbo absumptis
priore anno consulibus crudeli superboque nobis bello
13 institere." Agunt cum Terentilio ^ tribuni^ dilataque
in speciem actione^ re ipsa sublata^ consules extemplo
arcessiti.
X. Lucretius cum ingenti praeda^ maiore multo
gloria rediit. Et auget gloriam adveniens exposita
omni in campo Martio praeda^ ut suum quisque per
triduum cognitum abduceret. Reliqua vendita, quibus
2 domini non exstitere. Debebatur omnium consensu
consuli triumphus^. sed dilata res est tribuno de lege
3 agente ; id antiquius consuli fuit. lactata per aliquot
dies cum in senatu res^ tum apud populum est. Cessit
ad ultimum maiestati consulis tribunus et destitit.
Tum imperatori exercituique honos suus redditus ;
4 triumphavit de Volscis Aequisque^ triumphantem
secutae suae legiones. Alteri consuli datum, ut ovans
sine militibus urbem iniret.
5 Anno deinde insequenti lex Terentilia ^ ab toto
relata coUegio novos adgressa consules est ; erant
6 consules P. Volumnius Ser. Sulpicius. Eo anno
caelum ardere visum, terra ingenti concussa motu
est. Bovem locutam, cui rei priore anno fides non
fuerat, creditum. Inter alia prodigia et carne pluit,
^ Terentilio F. Xiebahr : terentilio {or terr-) H.
' Terentilia edd. {from c7iaj9.ix) : terentilia H: tarentilla U.
^ The ovation was a lesser triumph, granted for a com-
paratively easy or bloodless victory.
34
BOOK III. IX. I2-X. 6
to postpone the question, as it stands, until the b.c. 462
arrival of the consuls. Even the Aequi and the
Volsci, when disease last year had carried olf the
consuls, refrained from pressing a cruel and pitiless
war against us." The tribunes pleaded with Teren-
tilius, and the measure having been ostensibly post-
poned, but in reality killed, the consuls were
immediately summoned.
X. Lucretius returned with vast spoils and far b.c. 461
greater glory ; and this he increased, on his arrival,
by exposing all the booty in the Cam{)us Martins,
where it lay for three days, that every man might
identify and carry off what belonged to him. The
other things, for which no owner appeared, were
sold. That the consul had earned a triumph all
agreed ; but the matter was put off, for the tribune
was urging his law, and this was a question of more
importance in the eyes of Lucretius. The measure
was debated several days, not only in the senate
but before the people. Finally the tribune gave
way to the majesty of the consul and desisted. The
general and his army then received their meed of
honour; Lucretius triumphed over the Volsci and
the Aequi, and his own legions followed the triumphal
chariot. The other consul was permitted to enter
the City in an ovation,^ without soldiers.
In the following year the Terentilian law was
brought up again by the entire college and menaced
the new consuls, to wit, Publius Volumnius and
Servius Sulpicius. This year the heavens were seen
to blaze, and the earth was shaken with a prodigious
quake. That a cow had spoken — a thing which had
found no credence the year before — was now believed.
Among other portents there was even a rain of flesh,
35
D 2
LIVY
quem imbrem ingens numerus avium intervolitando
rapuisse fertur ; quod intercidit, sparsum ita iacuisse
7 per aliquot dies, ut niliil odor mutaret. Libri per
duumviros sacroruin aditi : pericula a conventu alieni-
genarum praedicta. ne qui in loca summa urbis impetus
caedesque inde fierent ; inter cetera monitum ut
seditionibus abstineretur. Id factum ad impediendam
legem tribuni criminabantur, ingensque aderat certa-
8 men. Ecce^ ut idem in singulos annos orbis volveretur,
Hernici nuntiant Volscos et Aequos, etsi abscisae ^
res sint; reficere exercitus ; Aiitii summam rei positam,
Ecetrae - Antiates colonos palam concilia facere ; id
9 caput, eas vires belli esse. Ut haec dicta in senatu
sunt, dilectus edicitur. Consules belli administra-
tionem inter se dispertiri iussi, alteri ut Volsci, alteri
10 ut Aequi provincia esset. Tribuni coram in foro perso-
nare fabulam compositam Volsci belli, Hernicos ad
partes paratos. lam ne virtute quidem premi liberta-
11 tem populi Romani, sed arte eludi.^ Quia occidione
prope occisos Volscos et Aequos movere sua sponte
arma posse iam fides abierit, novos hostes quaeri ;
12 coloniam fidam, propinquam infamem fieri. Bellum
innoxiis Antiatibus indici, geri cum plebe Romana,
1 aljscisaeH: accieae Weissenhorn-Mudler [after Rhenanus),
2 j-xetrae Vorm. ? : eceterae {or similar corruptions) Ci.
3 cludi D ? r : bidi n.
36
BOOK III. X. 6-12
which is said to have been intercepted by vast numbers b.c. 461
of birds flying round in the midst of it ; what fell to
the ground lay scattered about for several days, but
without making any stench. The two commissioners
for sacred rites consulted the Sibylline Books, where
it was predicted that there was danger to come from
a concourse of foreigners, lest they attack the
highest places of the City, and blood be shed ;
amongst other things was a warning to avoid
factions. The tribunes charged them with trying
to hinder their law, and a violent struggle was
impending ; when lo ! — that the same cycle of
events might recur each year — the Hernici an-
nounced that the Volsci and the Aequi, despite the
losses they had sustained, were again fitting out
their armies ; that Antium was the centre of the
enterprise ; that at Ecetra Antian colonists were
holding public meetings ; and that the Antiates were
the head and sinews of the war. After listening to
this report, the senate decreed a levy, and directed
the consuls to divide between them the direction of
the war, so that one might operate against the Volsci,
the other against the Aequi. The tribunes openly
and loudly protested in the Forum that the Volscian
war was a prearranged farce, and that the nobles had
employed the Hernici to act a part in it : they no
longer used manhood even, to suppress the liberty
of the Roman People, but cajoled and tricked them.
Inasmuch as the almost total destruction of the Volsci
and Aequi made it incredible that they should be
going to war on their own initiative, new enemies
were trumped up, and a loyal and neighbouring
colony was traduced. It was against the innocent
Antiates that war was being declared ; it was being
37
LIVY
quam oneratam armis ex urbe praecipiti agmine
acturi essent, exsilio et relegatione civium ulciscentes
13 tribunes. Sic — ne quid aliud actum putent — victam
legem esse, nisi, dum in integro res sit, dum domi,
dum togati sint, caveant ne possessione urbis pellan-
14 tur, ne iugum accipiant. Si animus sit, non defore
auxilium ; consentire omnes tribunes. Nullum ter-
rorem externum, nullum periculum esse ; cavisse deos
priore anno ut tuto libertas defendi posset. Haec
tribuni.
XI. At ex parte altera consules in conspectu eorum
positis sellis dilectum habebant. Eo decurrunt tribuni
contionemque secum traliunt. Citati pauci velut rei
2 experiundae causa, et statim vis coorta. Quemcumque
lictor iussu consulis prendisset, tribunus mitti iubebat ;
neque suum cuique ius modum faciebat, sed virium
spes, et manu obtinendum erat, quod intenderes.
3 Quem ad modum se tribuni gessissent in pro-
hibendo dilectu, sic patres se ^ in lege, quae per
omnes comitiales dies ferebatur, impedienda gere-
4 bant. Initium erat rixae, cum discedere populum
iussissent tribuni, quod patres se submoveri baud
sinebant. Nee fere seniores rei intererant, quippe
^ patres se Luterhacher (patress D) : patres n.
* There was required to be an interval of twenty-four daj-s
{frinum nundinum) lietween meetings of the comitia.
* For the purpose of forming by centuries, in order to vote.
38
BOOK III. X. I2-XI. 4
waged against the Roman plebeians, wliom the b.o. 461
consuls would load with arms and lead out of the
City in hot haste, exiling and banishing citizens to
avenge themselves upon the tribunes. By these
means — and they need not think that anything else
had been intended — the law was already defeated,
unless, while the situation was still intact, while
they were at home, while they still wore the toga,
they should guard themselves against expulsion from
the City and submitting to the yoke. If they proved
courageous, help would not be wanting ; the tribunes
were all of one mind. There was no fear of foreign
foes, no danger ; the gods had seen to it the previous
year that they might defend their liberties in safety.
To this purport the tribunes.
XI. But the consuls, on the other hand, had placed
their chairs in full sight of the tribunes, and began
to hold the levy. The tribunes hastened to the
place, drawing the people after them. A few were
cited, as if by way of a test, and immediately a riot
began. As often as a lictor arrested a man on the
consul's order, a tribune would command that he be
released ; in every case it was not a man's right that
determined his conduct, but the confidence he had
in his strength ; and one had to make good by force
what one meant to do.
Precisely as the tribunes had borne themselves in
preventing the levy, so did the senators in blocking
the law, which was brought forward every day the
comitia could be held.^ The quarrel broke out when
the tribunes had ordered the people to separate,^
since the patricians would not permit themselves to
be removed. And yet the older nobles for the most
part took no share in an affair which was not to be
39
LIVY
quae non consilio regenda^ sed permissa temeritati
6 audaciaeque esset.^ Multum et consules se abstine-
baiit, ne cui in conluvioiie rerum maiestatem suam
contumeliae ofFerrent.
6 Caeso erat Quinctius, ferox iuvenis^ qua nobilitate
gentis qua corporis ^lagnitudine et viiibus. Ad ea
munera data a dis et ipse addiderat multa belli decora
facuiidiamque in foro^ ut nemo^ non lingua non manu,
7 promptior in civitate haberetur. Hie cum in medio
patrum agmine constitisset eminens inter alios, velut
omnes dictaturas consulatusque gerens in voce ac
viribus suis, unus impetus tribunicios popularesque
8 procellas sustinebat. Hoc duce sae})e pulsi foro tri-
buni, fusa ac fugata plebes est ; qui obvius fuerat,
mulcatus nudatusque abibat, ut satis appareret, si sic
9 agi liceret, victam legem esse. Tum prope iam per-
culsis aliis tribunis A. Verginius ex collegio unus
Caesoni capitis diem dicit. Atrox ingenium accenderat
eo facto magis quam conterruerat ; eo acrius obstare
legi, agitare plebem, tribunos velut iusto persequi
lu bello. Accusator pati reum ruere invidiaeque flam-
mam ac materiam criminibus suis suggerere ; legem
interim non tam ad spem perferendi quam ad laces-
1 1 sendam Caesonis temeritatem ferre. Ibi multa ^ saepe
^ esset F^Ii^ - : essent n.
2 ibi multa n : multa ibi F.
^ A capital charge if proven carried with it loss of caput,
i.e. "the full legal status of a Roman citizen." (See
Greenidge, Roman PuUic Life, p. 31.) From chap. xii. § 6,
it appears that a sentence of banishment rather than death
was anticipated in the piesent instance.
40
BOOK III. XI. 4-1 1
guided by wisdom, but had been committed to rash- b.c. 461
ness and impudence. To a considerable extent the
consuls too kept aloof, lest they should expose their
dignity to some affront in the general confusion.
There was a young man, Caeso Quinctius, embold-
ened not only by his noble birth but also by his
great stature and physical strength ; and to these
gifts of the gods he had himself added many honours
in the field, and also forensic eloquence, so that no
citizen was held to be readier, whether with tongue
or with hand. When this man had taken his place in
the midst of the band of senators, towering above
his fellows as though wielding all the might of
dictators and consuls in his voice and strength of
body, he would sustain unaided the attacks of the
tribunes and the fury of the rabble. His leader-
ship often drove the tribunes from the Forum and
ignominiously routed the plebeians ; the man who
crossed his path came off bruised and stri})})ed ; so
tliat it was clear that if things were allowed to go
on in this way the law was beaten. Finally, when
the other tribunes had already been pretty well
cowed, one of their college named Aulus Verginius
summoned Caeso to stand trial on a capital charge. ^
The man's fierce nature was rather aroused by
this than terrified ; and he continued all the more
bitterly to resist the law, to harry the plebs, and
to assail the tribunes as if in actual warfare. The
accuser permitted the defendant to storm, and to
fan the flames of popular resentment, while furnish-
ing fresh materials for the charges which he
intended to bring against him ; meanwhile he
continued to urge the law, not so much from any
hope of carrying it as to provoke Caeso to reckless-
41
LIVY
ab iuventiite inconsulte dicta factaqne in unius
12 Caesonis suspectum incidunt ingenium. Tamen legi
resistebatur. Et A. Verginius identidem plebi :
" Ecquid sentitis iam vos, Qiiirites, Caesonem simul
civem et legem quam cupitis habere non posse ?
13 QQamquam quid ego legem loquor? Libertati obstat ;
omnes Tarquinios superbia exsuperat. Exspectate,
dum consul aut dictator fiat^ qiiem privatum viribus
et audacia regnantem videtis." Adsentiebantur multi
pulsatos se querentes, et tribunum ad rem peragendam
ultro incitabant.
XII. Jam aderat iudicio dies apparebatque volgo
homines in damnatione Caesonis libertatem agi
credere. Tum demum coactus cum multa indignitate
prensabat singulos. Sequebantur necessarii, principes
2 civitatis. T. Qiiinctius Capitolinus^ qui ter consul
fuerat, cum multa referret sua familiaeque decora^
3 adfirmabat neque in Quinctia gente neque in civitate
Romana tantam indolem tam maturae virtutis un-
quam exstitisse ; suum primum militem fuisse, se
4 saepe vidente pugnasse in hostem ; Sp. Furius,
missum ab Quinctio Capitolino sibi eum in dubiis
suis rebus venisse subsidio ; neminem unum esse cuius
42
BOOK III. XI. II XII. 4
ness. In these circumstances it was Caeso alone, b.c. 461
as being a suspected character, who got all the
blame for many a rash word and act whicli pro-
ceeded from the young aristocrats. Nevertheless
the law continued to meet resistance. And Aulus
Verginius kept saying to the plebeians : " I suppose
you see now, Quirites, that you cannot at the same
time have Caeso for a fellow-citizen and obtain the
law you desire ? And yet why do I say law ? It
is Jiherly he is thwarting ; in all the Tarquinian
house was no such arrogance. Wait till this man
becomes consul or dictator, whom you see lording
it over us while a private citizen, by virtue of his
strength and impudence ! " There were many who
agreed with him ; they complained of the beatings
they had received, and freely urged the tribune to
see the business through.
XII. The day of the trial now drew near, and it
was clearly the general opinion that liberty depended
on Caeso's condemnation. Then at last he was
obliged, though greatly disdaining such a course, to
sue for the support of individuals. He was accom-
panied by his friends, the chief men of the state.
Titus Quinctius Capitolinus, who had thrice been
consul, rehearsed the many honours which had come
to himself and his family, and declared that neither
in the Quinctian clan nor in the Roman state had
there ever been such native qualities, so early ripen-
ing into manly worth ; Caeso had been his best
soldier, and had often fought under his own eyes.
Spurius Furius testified that Caeso had been sent to
him by Quinctius CapitoHnus, and had come to his
aid when he was in a dangerous plight; that there
was no single person whose services he considered to
43
LIVY
5 magis opera putet rem restitutam. L. Lucretius/
consul anni prioris, recenti gloria nitens, suas laudes
participare cum Caesone, memorare pugnas, referre
egregia facinora, nunc in expeditlonibus nunc in acie
G suadere et monere iuvenem egregium, instruct um
naturae fortunaeque omnibus bonis^ maximum momen-
tum rerum eius civitatis, in quamcumque venisset,
7 suum quam alieiuim raallent civem esse. Quod
offendat in eo, fervorem et audaciam, aetatem cottidie
magis auferre ; quod desideretur, consilium, id in dies
crescere. Senescentibus vitiis, maturescente virtute
8 sinerent tantura virum senem in civitate fieri. Pater
inter hos L. Quinctius, cui Ciiicinnato cognomen
eratj non iterando laudes, ne cumularet invidiam, sed
veniam errori atque adulescentiae petendo, sibi, qui
non dicto, non facto quemquam offendisset, ut con-
9 donarent filium orabat. Sed alii aversabantur preces
aut verecundia aut metu ; alii se suosque mulcatos
querentes atroci responso iudicium suum praeferebant.
XIII. Premebat reum praeter volgatam invidiam
crimen unum, quod M. Volscius Fictor, qui ante
aliquot annos tribunus plcbis fuerat, testis exstiterat
2 se, baud multo post quam pestilentia in urbe fuerat,
^ L. Lucretius V {cf. viii. 2) : p. lucretius ri : p. f. lucretius
44
BOOK 111. XII. 4-X111. 2
have been more effectual in saving the day. Lucius b.c. 461
Lucretius^ the consul of the year before, in the
splendour of his new-won renown, shared his glory
with Caeso, told of the young man's combats, and
recounted his wonderful exploits on raids or in the
field of battle ; he earnestly advised the people to
prefer that a distinguished youth, endowed with
every advantage of nature and of fortune, and sure
to be an important factor in the affairs of any state
which he might join, should rather be their own than
the citizen of another nation. Those qualities in him
which gave offence, impetuosity and rashness, were
diminishing each day, as he grew older : that in
which he was deficient, namely prudence, was daily
increasing. They should suffer a man of his great-
ness— his worth maturing as he outlived his faults —
to grow old in the possession of his citizenship.
The young man's father, Lucius Quinctius, sur-
named Cincinnatus, was among his advocates. He
did not dwell on Caeso's praises, lest he should add
to his unpopularity ; but, craving indulgence for his
errors and his youth, he begged them to acquit the
son as a favour to the father, who had offended no
man either in word or deed. But some turned away
from the petitioner, through either embarrassment
or fear ; while others complained of the injuries
which Caeso had inflicted on themselves or their
friends, and showed by their harsh replies how
they meant to vote.
XIII. There was one charge, besides the general
dislike of him, which bore hard upon the accused.
Marcus Volscius Fictor, who had been a tribune of
the plebs a few years before, had certified that
shortly after the epidemic had been in the City he
45
LIVY
in iuventutem ^ grassantem in Subura incidisse. Ibi
rixam natam esse, fratremque suum maiorem iiatu,
necdum ex morbo satis validum, pugno ictum ab
3 Caesone cecidisse ; semianimem inter manus domum
ablatum mortuumque inde arbitrari, nee sibi rem ex-
sequi tam atrocem per consules su])eriorum annorum
licuisse. Haec Volscio clamitante adeo concitati homi-
nes sunt ut baud multum afuerit quin impetu populi
4 Caeso interiret. Verginius arripi iubet bominem et
in vincula duci. Patricii vi contra vim resistunt.
T. Quinctius clamitat, cui rei capitalis dies dicta sit
et de quo futurum propediem iudicium, eum indem-
5 natum indicta causa non debere violari. Tribunus
supplicium negat sumpturum se de indemnato ; ser-
vaturum tamen in vinculis esse ad iudicii diem ut,
qui hominem necaverit, de eo suppUcii sumendi copia
6 populo Romano fiat. Appellati tribuni medio decreto
ius auxilii sui expediunt : in vincla conici vetant ; sisti
reum, pecuniamque ni sistatur populo promitti placere
7 pronuntiant. Summam pecuniae quantam aequum
esset promitti, veniebat in dubium; id ad senatura
reicitur. Reus, dum consulerentur patres, retentus
8 in publico est. Vades dari ^ ])lacuit ; unum vadem
tribus milibus aeris obligarunt ; ^ quot darentur per-
^ in iuventutem V: iuuentutem n.
' dari Madvig : dare n.
' obligarunt CI : obligarent PF'i UB : obligauerunt J/.
^ A populous street lying in the hollow between the
Quirinal and the Viminal on the one hand, and the
Esquiline on the other.
2 The tribunes had been created to protect plebeians
against the oppression of the nobles, but there were several
other occasions when patricians did not disdain to avail
themselves of their help. See il Ivi. 5 ; ix. xxvi. 16.
46
BOOK HI. XIII. 2-8
had fallen in with a band of youn<r men swaggering b.c. 4gi
through the Subura.^ There a brawl had arisen,
and his elder brother, who had not yet fully re-
covered from the disease, had been felled by a
blow from Caeso's fist ; he had been picked up half-
alive and carried home, and his death, Volscius
considered, had resulted from this hurt ; yet under
the consuls of previous years he had been unable
to avenge that wicked crime. As Volscius shouted
out this story, men became so excited that Caeso
had nearly perished by the fury of the people.
Verginius gave orders to seize the fellow and throw
him into prison. The patricians resisted force with
force. Titus Quinctius cried out that a man who
had been charged with a capital crime and whose
day of trial was at hand ought not to suffer violence,
uncondemned and unheard. The tribune answered
that he did not propose to punish him uncondemned,
but that he should keep him in prison notwithstand-
ing, till the day of trial, that the Roman People
might have it in their power to punish a homicide.
The other tribunes, on being appealed to,^ asserted
by a compromise their prerogative of protection :
they forbade the imprisonment of the accused, but
declared it to be their pleasure that he be produced
for trial, and that money be pledged to the people
in the event of a failure to produce him. How great
a sum was proper to be guaranteed was a doubtful
point ; it was referred to the senate, and Caeso
was detained in custody till the Fathers could be
consulted. They voted that sureties should be
furnished, and fixed the responsibility of one surety
at 3,000 asses ; how many sureties should be given
they left the tribunes to determine. They decided
47
LIVY
missum tribunis est. Decern finierunt. Tot vadibus
accusator vadatus est reum. Hie primus vades publico^
dedit. Dimissus e foro nocte proxima in Tuscos in
9 exsilium abiit. ludicii die cum excusaretur solum
vertisse exsilii causa^ nihilo minus A'erginio comitia
habente collegae appellati dimisere concilium.
10 Pecunia a patre exacta crudeliter, ut divenditis
omnibus bonis aliquamdiu trans Tiberim veluti
relegatus devio ^ quodam tugurio viveret.
XIV. Hoc indicium et promulgata lex exercuit
2 civitatem : ab externis armis otium fuit. Cum velut
victores tribuni perculsis patribus Caesonis exsilio
prope perlatam esse crederent legem et^ quod ad
seniores patrum pertineret^ cessissent possessione
3 rei publicae^ iuniores^ id maxime quod Caesonis soda-
licium 3 fuit^ auxere iras in plebem. non minuerunt
animos ; sed ibi plurimum profectum est^ quod modo
4 quodam temperavere impetus suos. Cum primo post
Caesonis exsilium lex coepta ferri est, instructi para-
tique cum ingenti clientium exercitu sic tribunos,
ubi primum submoventes praebuere causam, adorti
^ publico Gronovius : publicos n.
2 devio V {conj. by Campamis and Ehcnanus before the discovery
of this MS.) : deuo [or de ullo) n.
3 sodalicium V : sodalium n.
1 Verginius wished to try Caeso in absentia, but his
colleagues, by adjourning the meeting, acquiesced in the
view that a defendant had the right to avoid conviction
by going into voluntary exile. In similar cases the tribes
subsequently passed a resolution the effect of which was to
give to this voluntary exile the binding force of a legal
sentence (xxxv. iv. 9 ; xxvi. iii. 12).
48
BOOK III. XIII. S-xiv. 4
on ten^ and with this number of sureties the b.o. 461
accuser admitted the accused to bail. Caeso was the
first that ever gave sureties to the people. Being
allowed to leave the Forum, he departed that night
and went into exile amongst the Etruscans. On
the day of trial, when it was pleaded that he had
gone into voluntary exile, Verginius nevertheless
attempted to hold the comitia, but an appeal was
taken to his colleagues, who dismissed the assembly. ^
The money was exacted from Caeso's father without
pity, so that he was obliged to sell all that he had
and live for some time on the other side of the
Tiber,^ like one banished, in a certain lonely hovel.
XIV. This trial and the promulgation of the law ^
kept the citizens in a turmoil : from foreign wars
there was a respite. The tribunes, assuming that
the rebuff sustained by the patricians in Caeso's
exile had given themselves the victory, believed
the law to be as good as passed ; and so far as the
older senators were concerned, they had indeed
relinquished their grasp upon the government ; but
the juniors, especially those who had been of Caeso's
fellowship, grew more bitter against the plebs,
and their courage ran as high as ever. Yet they
greatly promoted their cause by tempering their
fury with a kind of moderation. At the first attempt
after Caeso's exile to pass the law, they were organ-
ized and ready, and fell upon the tribunes with a
great army of clients, as soon as the tribunes gave
them an excuse by attempting to remove them ; in
such wise that no single patrician came off with any
* The Trastevere was not incorporated in the City till
Augustus made of it his fourteenth region.
^ The Terentilian Law. See chap. ix.
49
LIVY
sunt ut nemo unus inde praecipuum quicquam gloriae
domum invidiaeve ferret, mille pro uno Caesones
5 exstitisse plebes quereretur. Mediis diebus quibus
tribuni de lege non agerent^ niliil eisdem illis placidius
aut quietius erat. Benigne salutare, adloqui plebis
homineSj domum invitare, adesse in foro, tribunos
ipsos cetera pati sine interpellatione concilia habere,
numquam uUi neque publice neque privatim truces
esse, nisi cum de lege agi coeptum esset ; alibi popu-
laris iuventus erat. Ne voce quidem incommodi,
nedum ut ulla vis fieret, paulatim permulcendo tract-
andoque mansuefecerant plebem. His per totum
6 annum artibus lex elusa est. Xec cetera modo tri-
buni tranquillo peregere, sed refecti quoque in
insequentem annum. ^
XV. Accipiunt civitatem placidiorem consules C.
Claudius Appi filius et P. Valerius Publicola. Nihil
novi novus annus attulerat ; legis ferendae aut acci-
2 piendae cura civitatem tenebat. Quantum iuniores
patrum plebi se magis insinuabant, eo acrius contra
tribuni tendebant ut plebi suspectos eos criminando
3 facerent : coniurationem factara ; Caesonem Romae
esse ; interficieudorum tribunorum, trucidandae ple-
^ nee cetera, et<!. The MSS. put this sentence after iuuen-
tus erat. The transposition is due to Conway ai\d Walters.
50
BOOK III. XIV. 4-xv. 3
conspicuous share of glory or unpopularity, and the b.c. igi
plebeians complained that a thousand Caesos had
sprung up in the place of one. During the inter-
vening days on which the tribunes took no action
about the law, nothing could have been more peace-
able or quiet than these same youths. They would
salute plebeians courteously, converse with them,
invite them to their houses, assist them in the
courts, and permit the tribunes themselves to hold
their other assemblies without interruption. They
never displayed arrogance towards any one, either
openly or in private, except when the law came up ;
at other times they were democratic. By avoiding
so much as an offensive word, to say nothing of any
sort of violence, they managed little by little, with
gentleness and tact, to disarm the hostility of the
plebs. By such arts the law was evaded for an
entire year. And yet not only did the tribunes
carry through their other measures without opposi-
tion, but they were even re-elected for the following
twelvemonth.
XV. The state was less distracted when the con- b.c. 4ao
suls Gaius Claudius, the son of Appius, and Publius
Valerius Publicola assumed control. No new diffi-
culty had come in with the new year ; anxiety to
pass the law on the one side, and on the other
the dread of having to accept it, occupied the
thoughts of the citizens. The more the younger
patricians tried to ingratiate themselves with the
plebs, the more sharply were they opposed by the
tribunes, who endeavoured by bringing charges
against their adversaries to make the plebeians
suspect them : A conspiracy had been formed ; Caeso
was in Rome ; plans had been laid to kill the tri-
51
E 2
LIVY
bis consilia inita ; id negotii datum ab senioribus
patrum ut iuventus tribuniciam potestatem e re
publica tolleret formaque eadem civitatis esset quae
4 ante Sacrum montem occupatum fuerat. Et a Volscis
et Acquis statum iam ac prope sollemne in singulos
annos bellum timebatur, propiusque aliud novum
5 malum necopinato exortum. Exsules servique, ad
duo milia ^ hominum et quingenti^ duce Ap. Her-
donio Sabino nocte Capitolium atque arcem occu-
G pavere. Confestim in arce facta caedes eorum qui
coniurare et simul capere arma noluerant : alii inter
tumultum jM-aecipites pavore in forum devolant.
Alternae voces ^'^Ad arma I " et '"^ Hostes in urbe
7 sunt" audiebantur. Consules et armare plebem et
inermem pati timebant incerti quod malum re-
pentinum^ externum an intestinum, ab odio plebis
an ab servili fraude^ urbem invasisset. Sedabant
tumultuSj sedando interdum movebant ; nee enim
poterat pavida et consternata multitudo regi imperio.
8 Dant tamen arma^ non volgo. tantum ut incerto
hoste praesidium satis fidum ad omnia esset. Solliciti
reliquum noctis incertique qui homines, quantus
numerus hostium esset, in stationibus disponendis
ad opportuna omnis urbis loca egere. Lux deinde
9 aperuit bellum ducemque belli. Servos ad liberta-
^ duo milia 5- : oo oo milia H: ccc milia 0: cccc milia
r-FUBD^ (c/. Dion, Hal. x. xiv. 1).
^ Livy implies that Coriolanus and Caeeo -were not the only
citizens who had been compelled to leave Rome during the
quarrels between senate and plebs.
52
BOOK III. XV. 3-9
biines and massacre the plebs ; the elder patricians b.c. 460
had intrusted the younger men with the task of
abohshing the tribunician power from tlie com-
monwealth, that the state might have the same
aspect it had worn before the occupation of the
Sacred Mount. Also men feared the Volsci and
Aequi, whose attack was by this time almost a
regular and stated custom of annual recurrence; and
a new and unexpected danger sprang up nearer home.
Exiles ^ and slaves to the number of twenty-five
hundred, led by Appius Herdonius, the Sabine,
came by night and seized the Capitol and the
Citadel. They at once put to the sword those in
the Citadel who refused to conspire and take up
arms with them. Some escaped in the confusion
and ran down terror-stricken into the Forum. Al-
ternating cries were heard, " To arms ! " and "^ The
enemy is in the City ! " The consuls were afraid
either to arm the plebs or to leave them unarmed,
not knowing whence this sudden attack upon the
City had come, whether from without or from within,
from the hatred of the plebs or the treachery of
slaves. They tried to still the uproar, and some-
times by their efforts made it the greater ; for the
trembling, panic-stricken multitude could not be con-
trolled by authority. Nevertheless they gave out
arms, not to everybody, but only so far as to insure,
in the uncertainty regarding their foe, that there
should be a fairly dependable defence for any emer-
gency. Filled with concern, and wondering who
their enemy was and what his numbers, they em-
ployed the rest of the night iti disposing pickets at
suitable points throughout the City. Then came
daylight and disclosed the nature of the war and its
53
LIVY
tern A p. Herdonius ex Capitolio vocabat : se miser-
rimi cuiusque suscepisse causam, ut exsules iniuria
pulsos in patriam reduceret et servitiis grave iugum
demeret. Id malle populo Romano auctore fieri : si
ibi spes non sitj se Volseos et Aequos et omnia
extrema temptaturum et concitaturum.
XVI. Dilucere res magis })atribus atqiie consuli-
bus. Praeter ea tamen quae denuntiabantur, ne
Veientium neii Sabinorum id consilium esset timere,
2 et, cum tantum in urbe hostium esset, mox Sabinae
Etruscaeque legiones ex composite adessent, turn
aeterni hostes, \'olsci et Aequi, non ad populandos,
ut ante, fines sed ad urbem ut ex parte captam
3 venirent. Multi et varii timores ; inter ceteros
erainebat terror servilis, ne suus cuique domi hostis
esset, cui nee credere nee non credendo, ne infestior
4 fieret, fidem abrogare satis erat tutum ; vixque Con-
cordia sisti videbatur posse. Tantum superantibus
aliis ac mergentibus malis nemo tribunos aut })lebem
timebat ; mansuetum id malum et per aliorum quie-
tem malorum semper exoriens tum quiesse ^ pere-
5 grino terrore sopitum videbatur. At ^ id prope unum
^ turn fjuiesse S'cheUer : turaque esse n. ^ at Ug-: ad n.
1 Caeso had taken refuge with the Etruscans (chap. xiii.
§8).
54
BOOK 111. XV. 9-xvi. 5
leader. From the Capitol Herdonius was calling the b.c. 460
slaves to freedom ; he had undertaken, he said, the
cause of all the wretched, that he might bring back
to their native land the exiles who had been wrong-
fully expelled, and release the slaves from their
heavy yoke ; he had rather this were done with the
approval of the Roman people : if there were no
hope in that quarter, he would call in the Volsci
and the Aequi and leave no desperate measure
unat tempted.
XVI. The situation became clearer to the senators
and the consuls. Still, besides the dangers with
which they were publicly threatened, they were
afraid that this might be a ruse of the Veientes or
the Sabines, and that while there were so many
enemies within the City, Sabine and Etruscan levies
might i)resently combine for an invasion ; ^ or again
that their perpetual foes, the Volsci and Aequi,
might come, not as before to lay waste their fields,
but to the City, which they would regard as already
partly captured. Men's fears were many and various ;
above all the rest stood out their dread of the slaves.
Everybody suspected that he had an enemy in his
own household, whom it was safe neither to trust,
nor, from want of confidence, to refuse to trust, lest
his hostility should be intensified ; and it seemed
hardly possible that even co-operation between the
classes should arrest the danger. So greatly did
other evils overtop and threaten to engulf them
that no one feared the tribunes or the plebeians ;
that seemed a milder mischief, and springing up, as
it always did, when other troubles were quieted,
appeared now to have been lulled to sleep by the
foreign peril. But in fact it bore down almost
55
LIVY
maxime inclinatis rebus incubuit. Tantus enim tri-
bunos furor tenuit ut non bellum sed vanam imagi-
nem belli ad avertendos ab legis cura plebis animos
Capitolium insedisse contenderent ; patriciorum hos-
pites clieutesque si perlata lege frustra tumultuatos
esse se sentiant, maiore quam venerint silentio
6 abituros. Concilium inde legi ^ perfereiidae habere
avocato ^ populo ab armis. Senatum interim consules
habent alio se maiore ab tribunis metu ostendente,
quam quem nocturnus hostis intulerat.
XVII. Postquam arma poni et discedere homines
ab stationibus nuntiatum est, P. Valerius collega
senatum retinente se ex curia prori])it;, inde in tem-
2 plum ad tribunes venit. "Quid hoc rei est" inquit,
" tribuni ? Ap. Herdonii ductu et auspicio rem })ub-
licam eversuri estis ? Tam felix vobis corrumpendis
fuit qui servitia non commovit auctor ? Cum hostes
supra caput sint, discedi ab armis legesque ferri
3 placet ? " Inde ad multitudinem oratione versa : ^' Si
vos urbis, Quirites,^ si vestri nulla cura tangit, at vos
veremini deos vestros ab hostibus captos. luppiter
optimus maximus, luno regina et Minerva, alii di
deaeque obsidentur ; castra servorum publicos vestros
4 penates tenent ; haec vobis forma sanae civitatis
videtur ? Tantum hostium non solum intra muros est
^ legi n : legis 0. ^ avocato ,- F^U^ : aduocato n.
^ urbis, Quirites Sabellicus : urbisque CI.
^ The word templum means any place marked off with
augural rites. The templum meant here is the Comitium.
^6
BOOK III. XVI. 5-xvii. 4
more heavily than anything else upon their sinkinc; b.c. ^60
fortunes. For so frenzied were the tribunes that
they asserted it was no war which had taken pos-
session of the Capitol^ but an idle mimicry of war,
got up to divert the minds of the plebeians from
thinking about the law ; the patricians' friends and
retainers would depart, when the passing of the law
showed them how useless had been their insurrection,
even more silently than they had come. 'J'liey then
convened an assembly to carry the measure through,
having called the people away from their service as
soldiers. Meantime the consuls were holding a
meeting of the senate, where more fear of the
tribunes was manifested than the night-attack of
the enemy had caused.
XVII. On being informed that the men were
laying down their arms and quitting their posts,
Publius Valerius left his colleague to keep the
senate together, and hurrying from the Curia sought
out the tribunes in their meeting-place. ^ " What
means this, tribunes?" he exclaimed, ^^ Are you
going to overturn the state under the leadership
and auspices of Aj^pius Herdonius ? Has he who
could not arouse the slaves been so successful in
corrupting you ? With the enemy over your heads
can you choose to quit your arms and legislate .'' "
Then, turning to the crowd, he continued : '^ If you
feel no concern, Quirites, for your City, or for your-
selves, yet fear your gods, whom the enemy hold
captive. Jupiter Optimus Maximus, Queen Juno,
and Minerva, and the other gods and goddesses, are
beleaguered ; a camp of slaves is in possession of the
tutelary deities of your country ; does this seem to
you a healthy polity } All these foes are not merely
57
V
LIVY
sed in arce supra forum curiamque ; comitia interim
in foro sunt_, senatus in curia est ; velut cum otium
suj:)erat^ senator sententiam dicit^ alii Quirites suffra-
5 gium ineunt. Non quidquid patrum plebisque est,
consules, tribunes, deos hominesque omnes armatos
opem ferre, in Capitolium currere, liberare ac pacare
augustissimam illam domum lovis optimi maximi de-
6 cuit ? Romule pater, tu mentem tuam, qua quondam
arcem ab his iisdem Sabinis auro captani recepisti, da
stirpi tuae; iube banc ingredi viam, quam tu dux,quam
tuus ingressus exercitus est I Primus en ego consul,
quantum mortalis deum possum, te ac tua vestigia
sequar." Ultimum orationis fuit : se arma capere,
ocare omnes Quirites ad arma. Si qui impediat,
iam se consularis imperii, iam tribuniciae potestatis
sacratarumque legum oblitum, quisquis ille sit, ubi-
cumque sit, in Capitolio, in foro, pro hoste habit urum.
8 luberent tribuni,quoniam in Ap, Herdonium vetarent,
in P. Valerium consulem sumi arma ; ausurum se in
tribunis, quod princeps familiae suae ausus in regibus
9 esset. Vim ultimam apparebat futuram spectacu-
loque seditionem Romanam hostibus fore. Nee lex
tamen ferri nee ire in Capitolium consul potuit.
Xox certamina coe})ta oppressit. Tribuni cessere
10 nocti, timentes consulum arma. Amotis inde sedi-
^ PuVilius Valerius, son of Volesu.s (ii. Iviii. G), afterwards
called Publicola (ii. viii. 1).
S8
BOOK III. XVII. 4-IO
within our walls, but in the Citadel, above the b.o. 4G0
Forum and the Curia ; the people meanwhile are
assembled in the Forum, and in the Curia sits the
senate ; as when peace reigns supreme, the senator
gives voice to his opinion, the other Quirites vote.
Should not every patrician and plebeian, the consuls,
the tribunes, gods, and men, all have drawn the
sword and helped ; have rushed upon the Capitol ;
have brought liberty and peace to that most august
house of Jupiter Optimus Maximus? Father Romulus,
grant thou to thy descendants that spirit in which
thou didst aforetime regain thy Citadel from these
same Sabines, when they had captured it with gold ;
bid them advance by that road where thou didst
lead, and thy army followed. Lo, I the consul will
be the first, so far as mortal can emulate a god, to
follow in thy footsteps ! " He ended by announcing
that he drew his sword and called to arms all the
Quirites ; if any hindered, he should no longer re-
member consular authority, nor tribunician power,
nor the guarantees of sanctity ; whoever the man,
wherever he might be, — on the Capitol, in the Forum,
— he should hold him a public enemy. Since the
tribunes forbade them to arm against Appius
Herdonius, let them order an attack on Publius
Valerius the consul ; he would not fear to deal with
tribunes as the founder of his family ^ had dealt
with kings. It was evident that there would soon
be an appeal to force, and that the enemy would be
afforded the spectacle of mutiny among the Romans.
Yet it was equally impossible for the law to be
carried and for the consul to go up into the Capitol.
Night put an end to the struggle. The tribunes
retired as darkness fell, fearing the armed strength
59
LIVY
tionis auctoribus patres circumire plebem inseren-
tesque se in circulos sermones tempori aptos serere,
admonere ut viderent in quod discrimen rem publi-
1 1 cam adducercnt : non inter patres ac ])lebem certamen
esse, sed simul patres plebemque, arcem urbis, templa
deorum, penates publicos privatosque hostibus dedi.
12 Dum liaec in foro sedandae discordiae causa aguntur,
consules interim, ne Sabini neve Veiens ^ hostis
moveretur, circa portas murosque discesserant.
XVIII. Eadem nocte et Tusculum de arce capta
Capitolioque occupato et alio turl3atae urbis statu
2 nuntii veniunt. L. Mamilius Tusculi tum dictator
erat. Is confestim convocato senatu atque intro-
3 ductis nuntiis magno opere censet ne exspectent dum
ab Roma legati auxilium petentes veniant ; pericu-
lum ipsum discrimenque ac sociales deos fidemque
foederum id poscere. Demerendi - beneficio tarn
potentem, tarn propinquam civitatem numquam
4 parem occasionem daturos deos. Placet ferri aux-
ilium ; iuventus conscribitur, arma dantur. Romam
prima luce venientes procul speciem hostium prae-
buere ; Aequi aut Volsci venire visi sunt ; deinde
ubi vanus terror abiit, accepti in urbem agmine in
1 neve Veiens MHR : ne iieiens PFL'ODL : ne ueniens
FIB.
2 demerendi ,- : demereno (or de inerendo) H : deniorendo B.
6o
BOOK III. XVII. lo-xviii. 4
of the consuls. When the instigators of insurrection
were once out of the way^ the Fathers went about
among the plebs, and mingling with the different
groups^ talked to them in a strain adapted to the
crisis. They warned them to have a care into what
straits they brought the nation : It was not between
patricians and plebeians that the conflict lay ; patri-
cians and plebeians alike^ the Citadel of the City,
the temples of the gods, and the guardian deities of
the state and of private citizens, were being sur-
rendered to enemies. Such were the means employed
in the Forum to allay dissension. Meanwhile the
consuls, lest Sabine or Veientine enemies might be
afoot, had set out to make the round of the gates
and walls.
X VIII. That same night Tusculum received tidings
of the ca})ture of the Citadel, the seizure of the
Capitol, and the general disorder in the City. Lucius
Mamilius was then dictator at Tusculum. He at
once convoked the senate ; and having introduced
the messengers, expressed an earnest conviction that
they ought not to wait till ambassadors should come
from Rome requesting help ; her perilous and
critical situation spoke for itself — the gods of their
alliance and the obligations of their treaty called on
them to act. Heaven would never bestow on them
an equal opportunity to earn the gratitude of so
powerful and so near a state, by doing it a service.
The senate resolved to help. The young men were
enrolled, and arms were issued. As they marched
towards Rome in the early dawn, the Tusculans, who
were seen a long way off, were taken for enemies ;
it looked like an invasion of the Aequi or the Volsci.
When the alarm ])roved groundless, they were
6i
LIVY
5 forum descendant. Ibi iam P. \'alerius relicto ad
6 portarum praesidia collega instruebat aciem. Aucto-
ritas viri moverat adfirmantis Capitolio reciperato et
urbe pacata si edoceri se sissent,^ quae fraus ab tri-
bunis occulta in lege ferretur, memorem se maiorum
suorum, memorem cognominis quo populi colendi
velut hereditaria cura sibi a maioribus tradita esset,
7 concilium plebis non impediturum. Hunc ducem
secuti nequiquam reclamantibus tribunis in clivum
Capitolinum erigunt aciem. Adiungitur et Tusculana
legio. Certare socii civesque^ utri reciperatae arcis
suura decus facerent ; dux uterque suos adhortatur.
8 Trepidare turn hostes, nee ulli satis rei praeterquara
loco fidere ; trepidantibus inferunt signa Roraani
sociique^ iam in vestibulum perruperant templi^ cum
P. Valerius inter primores pugnam ciens interficitur.
9 P. Volumnius consularis vidit cadentem. Is dato
negotio suis ut corpus obtegerent^ ipse in locum
vicemque consulis provolat. Prae ardore impetuque
tantae rei sensus non pervenit ad militem ; })rius
10 vicit quam se pugnare sine duce sentiret. Multi
exsulum caede sua foedavere templa_,2 multi vivi
captij Herdonius interfectus. Ita Capitolium reci-
^ si edoceri se sissent Ehenanus : si se doceri sensissent n :
si se doceri siuissent f^'^r.
2 teinpla F: templum (templi DL) n.
62
BOOK III. XVIII. 4-10
received into the City, and marched in column down b.c.460
into the Forum. There they found PubHus Valerius,
who had left his colleague to })rotect the gates and
was marshalling his army. The personal inHuence
of the man had prevailed. He had assured the
people that when the Capitol should be won back
and peace restored in the City, if they would permit
him to point out to them the mischief which lurked
in the law the tribunes were proposing, he would
remember his forefathers and the surname with
which he had, as it were, inherited from those
forefathers the charge of caring for the people, nor
would he interfere with the council of the i)lebs.
Following him as their leader, despite the idle efforts
of the tribunes to restrain them, tliey advanced up
the Clivus Capitolinus, accompanied by the troops
from Tusculum. It was a contest between the allies
and the citizens, which should obtain the honour of
recovering the Citadel. The leader of each party
urged on his followers. The enemy now began to
quake with fear, having no great confidence in any-
thing but their position. As they stood there quak-
ing, the Romans and their allies assailed them. They
had already burst into the vestibule of the temple,
when Publius Valerius was killed, as he Avas directing
the attack in the van. Publius Volumnius, a former
consul, saw him fall. Charging his men to cover up
the body, he threw^ himself into the consul's place.
In the ardour and enthusiasm of the soldiers so
important an event passed unnoticed ; and they had
won the victory before they realized that they were
fighting without their leader. Many of the exiles
stained the temples with their blood ; many were
taken alive ; Herdonius was slain. Thus the Capitol
63
LIVY
peratum. De captivis, iit quisque liber aut servus
esset, suae fortunae a quoque sumptum supplicium
est ; Tusculanis gratiae actae ; Capitolium piirgatura
.1 atque lustratum. In consulis domiim plebes quad-
rantes ut funere ampliore efferretur^ iactasse fertur.
XIX. Pace parta instare turn tribuni patribus ut
P. V'aleri fidem exsolverent^ instare C. Claudio,^ ut
collegae deos manes fraude liberaret, agi de lege
sineret. Consul antequam collegam sibi subrogasset
2 negare passurum agi de lege. Hae tenuere conten-
tiones usque ad comitia consulis subrogandi. De-
cembri mense summo patrum studio L. Quinctius
Cincinnatus^ pater Caesonis, consul creatur, qui
3 magistratum statim occiperet. Perculsa erat plebes
consulem habitura iratum. potentem favore patrum,
virtute sua, tribus liberis, quorum nemo Caesoni
cedebat magnitudine animi, consilium et modum
4 adhibendo ubi res posceret priores erant. Is ut
magistratum iniit, adsiduis contionibus pro tribunali
non in plebe coercenda quan* senatu castigando
vehementior fuit, cuius ordinis languore perpetui
iam tribuni plebis, non ut in re publica populi
Romani sed ut in perdita domo lingua criminibusque
1 efiferretur I"^ {over erasure) : referretur RDL : ferretur
(amplio referretur TT) n.
2 C. Claudio H. J. Mueller : Claudio n.
1 Cf. the stories told of his fatlier (ii. xvi. 2), and of
Menenius Agrippa (ii. xxxiii. 11).
64
BOOK III. XVIII. lo-xix. 4
was regained. I'he captives^ according as they were
free or slave, paid the penalty appropriate in each
case to their condition ; the Tusculans were thanked ;
the Caj)itol was purged and ceremonially purified.
It is said that the plebeians flung their coppers into
the consul's house, that he might be given a grander
funeral.^
XIX. When peace had been established, the
tribunes began to urge the patricians to fulfil the
promise made by Publius Valerius ; and to urge
Gaius Claudius to absolve the manes of his colleague
from deceit, and allow the law to be discussed. The
consul refused to permit discussion of the law,
until he should have accomplished the election of a
colleague. These disputes continued up to the time
when the comitia met to fill the vacant consulate. In
December, thanks to extraordinary zeal on the part
of the patricians, Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus,
Caeso's father, was declared consul, to enter upon
the office at once. The plebs were filled with dis-
may at the prospect of a consul incensed against
themselves and strong in the favour of the senate,
his own worth, and his three sons, none of whom
was inferior to Caeso in courage, while they surpassed
him in using wisdom and restraint when the need
arose. Cincinnatus, having taken up the magistracy,
harangued the people incessantly from the tribunal ;
yet was no more vehement in repressing the plebs
than in castigating the senate. It was owing, he
declared, to the apathy of that order that the tribunes
of the plebs, whose tenure was now become per-
manent, exercised such a tyranny of speech and
accusation as might be expected in a disordered
household, but not in the public afi^airs of the Roman
65
VOL. II. F
LIVY
5 regnarent. Cum Caesone filio suo virtutem^ con-
stantiani^ omnia iuventutis belli domique decora
pulsa ex urbe Romana et fugata esse ; loquaces,
seditiosos, semina discordiarmii, iterum ac tertium tri-
6 bunos })essimis artibus regia licentia vivere. " Aulus "
inquit ''ille Verginius^ quia in Capitolio non fuit^
minus supplicii quam Ap. Herdonius meruit? Plus
liercule aliquanto, qui vere rem aestimare velit.
HerdoniuSj si nihil aliud^ hostem se fatendo prope
denuntiavit ut arma caperetis : hie negando bellum^
esse arma vobis ademit nudosque servis vestris et
7 exsulibus obiecit. Et vos — C. Claudi pace et P.
Valeri mortui loquar — prius in clivum Capitolinum
sit^na intulistis quam lios hostes de foro tolleretis?
Pudet deorum liominumque. Cum hostes in arce,
in Capitolio essent, exsulum et servorum dux pro-
fanatis omnibus in cella lovis optimi maximi habi-
tirct, Tusculi ante quam Romae sumpta sunt arma ;
8 in dubio fuit, utrum L. Mamilius, Tusculanus dux,
an P. Valerius et C. Claudius consules Romanam
arcem liberarent ; et qui ante Latinos ne pro se
quidem ipsis, cum in finibus hostem haberent, attin-
gere arma passi sumus, nunc, nisi Latini sua sponte
9 arma sumpsissent, capti et deleti eramus. Hoc est,
tribuni, auxilium plebi ferre, inermem earn hosti
trucidandam obicere ? Scilicet, si quis vobis humil-
1 bellum Madvig : bella Ci.
66
BOOK III. XIX. 4-9
People. With his son Ccaeso, manhood, steadfast- bc. 460
ness, and all the qualities which honour youth in
war and in civil life had been driven from Rome and
put to rout. Garrulous, seditious, sowers of discord,
obtaining office — by the most wicked practices — for
a second and even a third term, the tribunes led as
lawless a life as kings. " Did Aulus Verginius," he
cried, " because he was not in the Ca{)itol, deserve
less punishment than Appius Herdonius ? Nay,
somewhat more, if one were disposed to be fair.
Herdonius had one thing to his credit : by professing
himself an enemy, he as good as warned you to arm ;
the other, denying the existence of a war, took away
your arms and exposed you unprotected to your
slaves and exiles. And did you — without offence to
Gains Claudius and the dead Publius V^alerius be it
said, — did you carry your standards against the
Capitoline Hill before clearing these enemies out of
the Forum ? I am ashamed in the sight of gods and
men. When foes were in the Citadel, foes in the
Capitol, when the captain of slaves and exiles, profan-
ing everything, was quartered in the very shrine of
Jupiter Optimus Maximus, it was Tusculum — not
Rome — where the first sword was drawn. It was a
question whether Lucius Mamilius, the Tusculan
general, or Publius Valerius and Gains Claudius, the
consuls, would free the Roman Citadel ; and we who
until then did not allow the Latins to touch their
weapons, even in their own defence, though they had
an enemy within their borders, had now, unless the
Latins had armed of their own free will, been taken
captive and destroyed. Is this, tribunes, what you
mean by helping the plebs, — to deliver them over
unarmed to be slaughtered by the enemy ? W'hy,
67
F 2
LIVY
limus homo de vestra plebe, quam partem velut
ahruptam a cctero populo vestram patriam peculi-
aremque rem publicam fecistis^ si quis ex his domum
suam obsessam^ a familia armata nuntiaret, ferendura
10 auxiHum putaretis : luppiter optimus maximus exsu-
lum atque servorum saeptus armis nulla humana ope
dignus erat r Et hi postulant ut sacrosancti liabe-
antur, quibus ipsi di neque sacri neque sancti sunt ?
11 At enim divinis humanisque obruti sceleribus legem
vos hoc anno perlaturos dictitatis. Tum hercule illo
die quo ego consul sum creatus^ male gesta res
publica est, peius multo, quam cum P. Valerius
12 consul periit, — si tuleritis. lam primum omnium"
inquit; " Quirites, in Volscos et Aequos mihi atque
collegae legiones ducere in animo est. Nescio quo
fato magis bellantes quam pacati propitios habemus
deos. Quantum periculum ab illis populis fuerit,
si Capitolium ab exsulibus obsessum scissent,
suspicari de praeterito quam re ipsa experiri est
melius."
XX. Moverat plebem oratio consulis ; erecti patres
restitiitam credebant rem publicam. Consul alter,
comes animosior quam auctor, suscepisse collegam
priorem actiones ^ tarn graves ^ facile passus, in ptra-
gendis consularis otiicii partem ad se vindicabat.
2 Tum tribuni, eludentes velut vana dicta persequi
^ oljscssam CI : oppi-cp.-ani V. ^ actiones , : actionem n.
' graves ,- : grauis H.
68
BOOK 111. XIX. 9-xx. 2
if the humblest man belonging to your plebs, a part bc. 46o
of the people which you liave sundered, as it were,
from the rest and made a country of your own and
a state apart, — if one of these, I say, had announced
that his slaves had armed and seized his house, you
would have thought yourselves bound to help him ;
was Jupiter Optimus Maximus, beset by the swords
of exiles and slaves, too mean to merit any man's
assistance? And do these tribunes demand that
they be held sacred and inviolable, in whose eyes the
ver}^ gods are neither the one nor the other ? So !
VV^eighed down with crimes against gods and men you
assert that you will carry through your law this year !
Then, by Heaven, it was an evil day for the nation
when I was chosen consul, far more evil than when
Publius V^alerius the consul fell, — if indeed you carry
it! First of all then, Quirites," he concluded,"!
and my colleague are resolved to lead the legions
against the Volsci and the Aequi. We are somehow
fiited to enjoy the favour of the gods in larger
measure when warring than when at peace. How
dangerous these peoples would have been, had they
known that the Capitol was seized by exiles, we may
more profitably conjecture from tiie })ast than ascer-
tain by trying it."
XX. The consul's speech had moved the plebs,
and the senators took courage, believing that the
state was on its feet again. The other consul, more
spirited in co-operation than invention, had been
quite willing that his colleague should take the lead
in initiating such weighty measures ; but in carrying
them out he claimed for himself a share of the
duties of the consulship, 'i'hen the tribunes, jeer-
ing at what they termed the idle words of Cincin-
69
LIVY
quaerendo quonam modo exercitum educturi coii-
sules essent quos dilectuni habere nemo passurus
3 sit.^ ''^ Nobis vero " incjuit Quinctius ^^ nihil dilectu
opus est, cum, quo tempore P. V^alerius ad recipi-
unduin Capitolium arma })lebi dedit, omnes in verba
iuraverint conventuros se iussu consulis nee iniussu
4 abituros. Edicimus itaque, omnes qui in verba
iurastis crastina die armati ad lacum Regillum ad-
sitis." Cavillari tum tribuni et populum exsolvere
rehgione ^■elle : ]M-ivatum eo tempore Quinctium
5 fuisse cum saci-aniento adacti sint. Sed nondum
liaec quae nunc tenet saeculum neglegentia deum
venerat, nee interpretando sibi quisque ius iurandum
et leges aptas facicbat, sed suos potius mores ad ea
C accommodabat. Igitur tribuni, ut impediendae rei
nulla spes erat, de proferendo exitu^ agere, eo
magis, quod et augures iussos adesse ad Regillum
lacum fama exierat, locumque inaugurari ubi auspi-
cato cum populo agi posset, ut quidquid Romae vi
tribunicia rogatum esset id comitiis ibi abrogaretur :
7 omnes id iussuros quod consules velint ; ^ neque
enim provocationem esse longius ab urtte mille pas-
suum, et tribunos, si eo veniant, in alia turba
8 (^uiritium subiectos fore consulari imperio. Terre-
bant haec ; sed ille maximus terror animos agitabat,
1 sit PFUBO: esset MJIRDL.
2 de proferendo exitu Perizonius : de proferendo exercitu fi.
^ velint /': vellent CI.
BOOK III. XX. 2-8
natus, proceeded to inquire how the consuls were b.c. 460
going to lead out an army, when no one would
permit them to hold a levy. " But we have no
need of a levy/' said Quinctius, "for when Publius
Valerius gave arms to the people for the recovery of
the Capitol, they all made oath that they would
assemble at the bidding of the consul and not
depart without his order. We therefore connnand
that all you who took the oath report to-morrow,
armed, at Lake Regillus." Whereupon the tribunes,
seeking to release the people from their obligation,
resorted to a quibble : Quinctius had been a private
citizen at the time when they bound themselves by
the oath. But there had not yet come about that
contempt for the gods which possesses the present
generation ; nor did everybody seek to construe
oaths and laws to suit himself, but rather shaped
his own practices by them. Accordingly the tri-
bunes, as there was no prospect of thwarting the
design, concerned themselves with retarding the
departure ; the more so since a story was about that
the augurs had been commanded to present tliem-
selves at Lake Regillus, there to inaugurate a place
where the auspices could be taken and matters
brought before the people, to the end that whatever
had been enacted at Rome — thanks to the violence
of the tribunes — might there be repealed by the
comitia ; everybody, they said, would vote as the
consuls wished ; for there was no ap{)eal when one
was more than a mile from the City, and the
tribunes, if they should come there, would be sub-
jected, amongst the rank and file of the citizens,
to the consular authority. These were terrifying
rumours, but far the greatest terror that })reyed
71
LIVY
quod saepius Quinctius dictitabat se consilium comitia
non habiturum ; non ita civitatem aegram esse ut
consuetis remediis sisti possit;^ dictatore opus esse
rei publicae, ut qui se moverit ad sollicitandum
statum civitatis sentiat sine provocatione dictaturam
esse.
XXI. Senatus in Capitolio erat ; eo tribuni cum
perturbata plebe veniunt. Multitudo clamore in-
genti nunc consulum^ nunc patrum fidem implorant
nee ante moverunt de sententia consulem quam
tribuni se in auctoritate patrum futuros esse poUiciti
2 sunt. Tunc referente consule de tribunorum et
})lebis postulatis senatus consulta fiunt ut^ neque
tribuni legem eo anno ferrent neque consules ab
urbe exercitum educerent; in reliquum magistratus
continuari et eosdem ^ tribunos refici iudicare sena-
3 turn contra rem publicam esse. Consules fuere in
patrum potestate : tribuni reclamantibus consulibus
refecti. Patres quoque, ne quid cederent plebi, et
ipsi L. Quinctium consulem reficiebant. Nulla toto
4 anno vehementior actio consulis fuit. ^' Mirer" in-
quit, ^^si vana vestra, patres conscripti, auctoritas ad
plebem est.- Vos elevatis earn; quippe qui quia*
plebs senatus consultum continuandis^ magistratibus
5 solvit, ipsi quoque solutum voltis, ne temeritati
^ possit ,- : posset H. ^ fiunt ut T: fiunt n.
' eosdem V- : eos n.
* qui quia Madvig : quia quia V: quia n.
^ conlinuandis Maiciy : in continuandis H.
72
BOOK III. XX. 8-xxi. 5
upon their spirits was this, that Quinctius repeatedly b.c 460
declared that he would hold no consular election ;
the disease of the commonwealth was not one that
could be cured by ordinary remedies ; the nation
needed a dictator, that whoever went about to
disturb the state might learn that the dictatorship
knew no appeal.
XXI. The senate was in the Capitol. Thither
came the tribunes with the troubled plebs. The
multitude loudly besought protection, now of the
consuls, now of the senators. Yet they could not
move the consul from his purpose, until the tribunes
had promised that they would submit to the
authority of the Fathers. The consul then brought
up the demands of the tribunes and the plebs, and
the senate resolved that neither should the tribunes
proceed with the law that year, nor the consuls lead
the army out of the City ; that as regarded the
future, it was the sense of the senate that for
magistrates to succeed themselves and for the same
tribunes to be re-elected was contrary to the general
welfare. The consuls acquiesced in the authority
of the Fathers; the tribunes, in spite of the protests
of the consuls, were returned to office. Then the
patricians also, that they might yield in no respect
to the plebs, would themselves have re-elected
Lucius Quinctius consul. At no time during the
entire year did the consul express himself with
greater vehemence. "Can I wonder," he cried, "if
your influence with the people, Conscript Fathers,
is unavailing.'* You yourselves impair it, when,
because the people have disregarded the senate's
resolution regarding successive terms, you desire to
disregard it yourselves, that you may not lag behind
73
LIVY
multitudinis cedatis, tamquam id sit plus posse in
civitate plus levitatis ac licentiae Inhere. Levius
enim vaniusque profecto est sua decreta et consulta
6 tollere quam aliorum. Imitamini^ patres conscriptij
turbam inconsultam, et qui exemplo aliis esse de-
betis aliorum exemplo peccate ^ potius quam alii
vestro recte faciant^ dum ego iie imiter tribunos nee
me contra senatus consultum consulem renuntiari
7 patiar. Te vero, C. Claudi, adhortor, ut et ipse
populum Romanum hac licentia arceas et de me hoc
tibi persuadeas, me ita accepturum ut non honorem
meum a te impeditum, sed gloriam spreti honoris
auctam^ invidiam quae ^ ex continuato eo impenderet
8 levatam putem." Communiter inde edicunt ne quis
L. Quinctium consulem faceret ; si quis fecisset^ se
id suffragium non observaturos. XXII. Consules
creati Q. Fabius ^'il)ulanus tertium et L. Cornelius
Maluginensis. Census actus eo anno : lustrum
propter Capitolium captum, consulem occisum condi
religiosum t'uit.
2 Q. Fabio L. Cornelio consulibus principio anni
statim res turbulentae. Instigabant plebem tribuni ;
bellum ingens a Volscis et Aequis Latini atque
Hernici nuntiabant : iam Antii Volscorum legiones
esse. Et ipsam coloniam ingens metus erat defec-
1 peccate KlocTc : peccatis £1.
* invidiam quae VII: inuuidiamque quae Cl : inuuidiam
quaeque D': L.
74
BOOK III. XXI. 5-xxii. 2
tlie multitude in rashness; as if to be more in- b.c.430
constant and more lawless were to possess more
power in the state. For surely it is more fickle and
light-minded to nullity one's own decrees and resolu-
tions, than those of others. Pattern yourselves,
Conscript Fathers, after the thoughtless crowd ; and
do you, who ought to set others an exam})le, err
rather by the example of those others, than permit
them to follow yours and do right. But I, with
your leave, will not imitate the tribunes, nor suffer
myself to be named consul against the senate's
resolution. As for you, Gaius Claudius, I urge that
you too restrain the Roman People from this law-
lessness ; and for my own i)art be assured I shall
not feel that your action has stood in the way of my
election, but that my renown has gained by my
refusal of the office, and that the odium which
threatened me from its continuation has been re-
moved." They then united in an edict that no one
should vote for Lucius Quinctius for consul ; if any
man should do so they would disregard his vote.
XXII. The consuls elected were Qiiintus Fabius b.c. 4f.9
Vibulanus (for the third time) and Lucius Cornelius
Maluginensis. The census was taken that year, but
there were scruples against performing the lustral
sacrifice, on account of the seizure of the Capitol
and the slaying of the consul.
The consulship of Quintus Fabius and Lucius
Cornelius was a stormy one from the very beginning
of the year. The tribunes egged on the plebs ; the
Latins and the Hernici reported that a great attack
was being launched by the Volsci and the 7\equi,
and that Volscian levies were already at Antium.
There was much ap})rehension too lest the colony
75
LIVY
turam ; aegreque inipetratum a tribunis ut bellum
3 praeverti sinerent. Consules inde partiti provincias :
Fabio ut legiones Antium duceret datum, Cornelio^
ut Romae praesidio esset, ne qua pars hostium, qui
4 Acquis mos erat, ad populandum veniret. Hernici
et Latini iussi milites dare ex foedere, duaeque
partes sociorum in exercitu, tertia civium fuit. Post-
quam ad diem praestitutum veuerunt socii, consul
extra portam Capenam castra locat. Inde lustrato
exercitu Antium profectus baud procul oppido sta-
5 tivisque bostium consedit. Ubi cum \^olsci, quia
nondum ab Acquis venisset exercitus^ dimicare non
ausi, quern ad modum quieti vallo se tutarentur,
pararent, postero die Fabius non permixtam unara
sociorum civiumque sed trium populorum tres sepa-
ratim acies circa vallum bostium instruxit ; ipse erat
6 medius cum legionibus Romanis. Inde signum ob-
servare iussit^ ut pariter et socii rem inciperent
referrentque pedem, si receptui cecinisset. Equites
7 item suae cuique parti post principia collocat. Ita
trifariam adortus castra circumvenit et, cum undique
instaret, non sustinentcs impetum Volscos vallo
deturbat. Transgressus inde inunitiones pavidam
turham inclinatamque in partem unam castris ex-
8 pellit. Inde effuse fugientes eques, cui superare
1 Cornelio - : Cornelias H.
^ i. e. over their law.
76
BOOK III. xxn. 2-8
itself should revolt ; and the tribunes were hardly b.c. 459
prevailed upon to allow the war to have precedence. ^
Then the consuls divided the commands, appointing
Fabius to take the legions to Antium, and Cornelius
to defend Rome, lest some part of the enemy, in
accordance with the Aequian custom, should make
a foray. The Hernici and the Latins were bidden
to furnish soldiers, as by treaty bound ; two-thirds
of the army were allies, one third citizens. When
the allies had reported on the ap{)ointed day, the
consul encamped outside the Porta Capena. Thence,
after purifying the army, he set out for Antium,
and took up a position at no great distance from the
town and the standing camp of the enemy. There
the Volsci, not daring to give battle — for the Aequian
army had not yet come up — sought to protect them-
selves, without fighting, behind their ram})art. The
next day Fabius, instead of mingling allies and citizens
in one line of battle, drew uj) the three nations in
three separate armies, about the enemy's works,
taking the centre himself with the Roman legions.
He then commanded them all to wait for the signal,
that the allies might act with the citizens in begin-
ning the figlit, and in retreating, if he should sound
the recall. He also stationed the cavalry belonging
to each division behind its first line. Advancing
thus in three sections he surrounded the camp, and
attacking sharply on every side, dislodged the
Volsci, who were unable to sustain his charge, from
their intrenchments. Passing over these, he drove
the frightened rabble before him in one direction
and cleared the camp of them. As they dispersed
in flight, the cavalry, who had found it difficult to
surmount the rampart and had hitherto been mere
77
LIVY
vallum baud facile fuerat^ cum ad id spectator
pugnae adstitisset, libero campo adeptus parte vic-
9 toriae friiitur territos caedeiido. Magna et in castris
et extra munimcnta caedes fugientium fuit^ sed
praeda maior, quia vix arma secura efFerre hostis
potuit. Deletusque exercitus foret^ ni fugientis
silvae texissent.
XXIII. Dum ad Antium haec geruntur, interim
Aequi robore iuventutis praemisso arcem Tusculanam
improvise nocte capiunt ; reliquo exercitu baud pro-
cul moenibus Tusculi considunt ut distenderent host-
2 ium copias. Haec celeriter Romam^ ab Roma in castra
Antium perlata movent Romanos baud secus quam
si Capitolium captura nuntiaretur ; adeo et recens
erat Tusculanorum meritum et similitude ipsa peri-
3 culi reposcere datum auxilium videbatur. Fabius
omissis omnibus praedam ex castris raptim Antium
convehit ; ibi medico praesidie relicte citatum agmen
Tusculum rapit. Nihil praeter arma et quod cocti^
ad manum fuit cibi ferre militi licuit ; commeatum
4 ab Roma consul Cornelius subvehit. Aliquot menses
Tusculi bellatum. Parte exercitus consul castra
Aequorum oppugnabat^ partem Tusculanis dederat
ad arcem reciperandam. Vi nunquam eo subiri ^
^ cocti D^ {or D^) r : coacti H.
2 subiri U [confirming Gronovius) : subire H.
^ The sokliers ordiuarilv carried a ration of corn.
78
BOOK III. xxn. 8-xxiii. 4
spectators of the battle, having now a clear field b.c. 459
before them })layed their part in the victory by
cutting off the fugitives. Great was the slaughter
inflicted on the enemy as they attempted to escape,
both in the camp and outside the works ; but the
booty was still greater, since they had barely been
able to carry away their arms. If the forests had
not covered the flight, their army would have been
utterly destroyed.
XXI II. While this battle was being fought near
Antium, the Aequi had sent forward the flower of
their troops, and by a surprise attack at night, had
captured th.e Tusculan citadel. The rest of their
army they stationed at a short distance from the
walls of the town, in order to induce the enemy to
extend his forces. The news of these events being
speedily carried to Rome and thence to the camp at
Antium, had the same efl^ect upon the Romans as if
it had been announced that the Capitol was taken, —
so fresh in their recollection was the service done
them by the Tusculans, and so strongly did the
similarity of the risk which their allies now ran
seem to call for repayment of the assistance they
had given. Letting everything else go, Fabius
quickly conveyed the plunder of the camp to Antium,
and leaving there a moderate garrison, hastened by
forced marches to Tusculum. The soldiers were
allowed to take nothing but their arms and such
bread as happened to be at hand ; ^ supplies were
sent them from Rome by the consul Cornelius. The
fighting at Tusculum lasted for some months. With
a part of his army the consul laid siege to the camp
of the Aequi; a part he had given to the Tusculans
to use in recovering the citadel. The place could
79
LIVY
*295^* 5 potuit ; fames postremo inde detraxit ^ hostem. Qua ^
postquam ventum ad extremiim est, inermes nudique
omnes sub iugum ah Tusculanis missi. Hos ignomi-
niosa fuga domum se recipientes Romanus consul in
6 Algido consecutus ad unum omnes occidit. Victor
ad Columen — id loco nomen est — exercitu reducto*
castra locat. Et alter consul, postquam moenibus
iam Romanis pulso hoste periculum esse desierat,
7 et ipse ab Roma profectus. Ita bifariam consules
ingressi hostium fines ingenti certamine hinc Vols-
cos, hinc Aequos populantur. Eodera anno descisse
Antiates apud plerosque auctores invenio ; L. Cor-
nelium consulem id bellum gessisse oppidumque
cepisse. Certum adfirmare, quia nulla apud vetus-
tiores scriptores eius rei mentio est, non ausim.
XXIV. Hoc bello perfecto tribunicium dorai
bellum patres territat. Clamant fraude fieri, quod
foris teneatur exercitus ; frustrationem cam legis
tollendae esse ; se nihilo minus rem susceptam
2 peracturos. Obtinuit tamen L. Lucretius,* praefectus
urbis, ut actiones tribuniciae in adventum consulum
3 differrentur. Erat et nova exorta causa motus.
A. Cornelius et Q. Servilius quaestores M. Volscio,
quod falsus baud dubie testis in Caesonem exstitisset,
^ detraxit n : traxit UH. * qua J/? Gronovius: quo Ci.
3 reducto V {confirming Rahenius ami Crevier) : relicto fl.
* L. Lucretius V x p. 1. lucretius M: p. lucretius fl.
* Unidentified. Dion. Hal., x. xxi., calls the town
Algidum.
So
BOOK III. xxiii. 4-xxiv. 3
never be entered by assault ; but the enemy were b.c. 459
finall}' driven out by hunger. Having thus reduced
them to extremities, the Tusculans took away their
arms, and stripping them to the tunic, sent them
under the yoke. As they were ignominiously Heeing
homeward, the Roman consul overtook them on
Mount Algidus, and slew tliem, every man. The
victor led his army back to Columen — this is the
name of a place ^ — and went into camp. The
other consul too, now that the defeat of the enemy
had removed all danger from the walls of Rome,
set out himself from the City. Thus at two points
the consuls invaded the enemy's borders, and with
keen rivalry devastated the lands of the Volsci on
the one hand, and those of the Aequi on the other.
I find in a good many writers that the Antiates
revolted that same year ; and that Lucius Cornelius
the consul conducted the war and took the town.
I should not venture to affirm it for a certainty,
since there is no mention of the matter in the older
historians.
XXI V^ This war was no sooner finished, than the
patricians were alarmed by one waged against them
at home, by the tribunes, who cried out that the
army was dishonestly kept afield — a trick intended
to frustrate the passage of the law ; which, notwith-
standing, they had undertaken and proposed to carry
through. Still, Lucius Lucretius, the prefect of the
City, obtained the postponement of any action by
the tribunes until the consuls should have come.
There had also arisen a new cause for disquiet.
Aulus Cornelius and Quintus Servilius, the quaestors,
had summoned Marcus Volscius to trial, on the
charge that he had been guilty of undoubted perjury
8i
VOL. II. G
LiVY
4 diem dixerant. Multis enim emanabat indiciis ncque
fratrem V^olsci ex quo semel fuerit aeger unquam
non modo visum in publico sed ne adsurrexisse
quidem ex morbo, multorumque tabe mensum mor-
5 tuum, nee iis ^ temporibus in quae testis crimen
coniecisset Caesonem Romae visum, adfirmantibus
qui una meruerant secum eum turn frequentem ad
signa sine ullo commeatu fuisse. Nisi ita esset,
6 multi privatim ferebant Volscio iudicem. Cum ad
iudicium ire non auderet, omnes eae res ^ in unum
congruentes baud magis dubiam damnationem A'olsci
7 quam Caesonis Volscio teste fuerat ^ faciebant. In
mora tribuni erant, qui comitia quaestores habere de
reo, nisi prius habita de lege assent, passuros nega-
bant. Ita extracta utraque res in consulura adventum
8 est. Qui ubi triumphantes victore cum exercitu
urbem inierunt, quia silentium de lege erat, per-
9 culsos magna pars credebant tribunes. At illi —
etenim extremum anni iam erat, — quartum adfec-
tantes tribunatum, in comitiorum disceptationem ab
lege certamen averterant. Et cum consules nihilo
minus adversus continuationem tribunatus quam si
lex minuendae suae maiestatis causa promulgata
ferretur tetendissent, victoria certaminis penes tri-
bunes fuit.
10 Eodem anno Acquis pax est petentibus data.
^ nee iis Madvig : nee bis Ci : ne his //.
* eae res F^L^r : ease res M: eas res O..
3 fuerat I^OL^r : fuerant n.
^ Livy seems here to have accepted the account of the
Lite annalists -which he had suspected in chap, xxiii. 7.
An extant inscription iC.I.L. xv. 44 commemorating the
triumpli of Fabius over the Aequi and Volsci and tliat of
Cornelius over the Antiates shows that his suspicion was
unfounded.
82
BOOK 111. XXIV. 3-IO
against Caeso. For it was becoming generally known, b.c. 459
from many witnesses, first, that the brother ot"\ olsciiis
after having once fallen ill had not only never
appeared in public, but had not even got up from
his sick-bed, where he had died of a wasting disease
which lasted many months; and secondly, that
within the period to which Volscius, in his testimony,
had referred the crime, Caeso had not been seen in
Rome ; for those who had served with him affirmed
that he had often during that time been in their
company at the front, without taking any furlough.
To prove this contention, many persons offered
Volscius to refer the question of fact to a private
arbitrator. Since he did not dare proceed to arbitra-
tion, all these things, pointing in one direction, made
the condemnation of Volscius as certain as that of
Caeso had been made by Volscius's evidence. The
tribunes delayed matters by refusing to allow the
quaestors to hold an assembly for his trial until one
should first have been held to consider the law. So
both affairs dragged on till the arrival of the consuls.
When they had entered the City in triumph ^ with
their victorious army, nothing was said about the
law, and many people thought the tribunes had
been daunted. But the tribunes were seeking a
fourth term of office — for the end of the year was
now at hand — and had diverted their efforts from
the law to the contest for the election. And though
the consuls strove quite as vehemently against the
re-election of the incumbents to the tribuneship, as
if a law were being urged which had been pro-
mulgated to curtail their own majesty, the contest
resulted in victory for the tribunes.
That same year the Aequi sought and obtained
83
G 2
LIVY
Census^ res priore anno incohata, perficitur ; idque
lustrum ab origine urbis decimum conditum ferunt.
Censa ^ civium capita centum septendecim milia 2
11 trecenta undeviginti.^ Consulum magna domi belli-
que eo anno gloria fuit, quod et foris pacem peperere,
et domi etsi non concors, minus tamen quam alias
infesta civitas fuit.
XXV. L. Minucius inde et C. Nautius* consules
facti duas residuas anni prioris causas exceperunt.
2 Endem modo consules legem^ tribuni iudicium de
Volscio impediebant ; sed in quaestoribus novis maior
vis, maior auctoritas erat. Cum M. V^alerio, Mani ^
fllio, Volesi nepotc quaestor erat T. Quinctius Capito-
3 bnus, qui ter consul fuerat. Is, quoniam neque
Quinctiae familiae Caeso neque rei publicae maximus
iuvenum restitui posset, falsum testem qui dicendae
causae innoxio potestatem ademisset, iusto ac pio
4 bello persequebatur. Cum Verginius maxime ex
tribunis de lege ageret, duum mensum spatium
consulibus datum est ad inspiciendam legem ut cum
edocuissent populum quid fraudisoccultae ferretur,
sinerent deinde sufTragium inire. Hoc intervalli
5 datum res tranquillas in urbe fecit. Nee diuturnam
quietem Aequi dederunt, qui rupto foedere quod
^ ferunt. Censa-: fuerunt censa n : fiieranfc censa Z).
2 centum septendecim milia {i.e. CXV''I1) MPFUB:
CXIIII 0: CXXXII H: CXXXII CXVIl RLx CXXXII
CCCXVIII D.
3 trecenta undeviginti {i.e. CCCXVIIII MO: CCCXVIII
TFllBH : nsi Ififorc^ the nwahers are covjiated in EDL (CXVII
CCCXVIIII IJ).
* C. Xautius GJarcanus and Sigonius {cf. Dion. Hal.
X. xxii. 1; Diod. xi. Ixxxviii. 1; C.I.L. i', j^. 104: L.
Nautius n.
^ Mani Sigonius {cf. 11. xxx. 5 and (?) iii. vii. 6) : Valerii n.
84
BOOK III. XXIV. lo-xxv. 5
peace. The census, which had been begun the year b.c. 459
before, was com})leted ; and this, they say, was the
tenth lustral sacrifice performed since the founding
of the City. There were enrolled 117,319 citizens.
Tiiis year the consuls won great renown, at liome
and in the field ; not only had they brought about
peace with otlier nations, but at home also, though
the state was not yet harmonious, yet it was less
troubled than at other times.
XXV. Lucius Minucius and Gaius Nautius were n.c. 453
chosen to be the next consuls, and inherited the two
causes left over from the preceding year. As before,
the consuls obstructed the passage of the law, and
the tribunes the trial of Volscius ; but the new
quaestors were men of superior force and influence.
Marcus Valerius, son of Manius, and grandson of
\"olesus, shared the magistracy with Titus Quinctius
Capitolinus, who had thrice been consul, Caj)itolinus,
since it was beyond his })Ower to restore Caeso to
the Quinctian family and the greatest of her young
men to the state,^ waged war, as justice and loyalty
demanded, on the false witness who had deprived
an innocent man of the power to plead his cause.
Verginius was the most active amongst the tribunes
in working for the law. The consuls were allowed
two months' time to inspect the measure, that having
explained to the people what hidden mischief was
being proposed they might then permit them to
vote. The granting of this breathing-space brought
tranquillity to the City. But the Aequi did not
suffer it to remain long at rest ; breaking the treaty
* Livy here assumes that Caeso is dead, and possibly thinks
of him as having perished with Herdonius.
LIVY
ictum erat priore anno cum Rumanis iniperiuni ad
Gracchum Cloelium deferunt ; is turn longe prin-
6 ceps in Acquis erat. Graccho duce in Labicanum ^
agrum^ inde in Tusculanum hostili populatione
veniunt plenique praedae in Algido castra locant.
In ea castra Q. Fabius, P. Volumnius^ A. Postumius
legati ab Roma venerunt questum iniurias ct ex
7 foedere ^ res rej:)etitum. Eos Aequorum imperator
quae mandata habeant ab senatu Romano ad quer-
cum iubet dicere ; se alia interim acturum. Quercus,
ingens arbor^ praetorio imminebat, cuius umbra opaca
8 sedes erat. Turn ex legatis unus abiens '*' et haec "
inquit, " sacrata quercus et quidquid deorum est
audiant foedus a vobis ruptum^ nostrisque et nunc
querellis adsint et mox armis^ cum deorum homi-
9 numque simul violata iura exsequemur." Romam
ut^ rediere legati, senatus iussit alterum consulem
contra Gracchum in Algidum exercitum ducere,
alteri pojuilationem fmium Aequorum provinciam
dedit. Tribuni suo more impedire dilectum et
forsitan ad ultimum im])edissent ; sed novus subito
additus terror est.
XXVJ. Ms Sabinorum ingens prope ad moenia
urbis infesta populatione venit ; foedati agri, terror
iniectus urbi est. Tum ])lebs benigne arma cepit ;
reclamantibus frustra tribunis magni duo exercitus
^ Labicanum Clucerius arvd Grater (cf. chap. vii. § 3) :
lariuuinuni d.
2 ex foedere - : ex eo foedere Ci.
3 Romam ut V''.}J-: Romam CI.
86
BOOK III. XXV. 5-xxvr. i
which they had made with the Romans the year
before, tliey intrusted the command of their forces
to Cloelius Gracchus, at that time by far the most
eminent man in their state. Under tliis man's
leadership tliey invaded the territory of Labicum,
and from there the territory of Tuscuhnn, with fire
and sword, and, loaded with booty, pitched their
camp on Alojdus. To this camp came Quintus
Fabius, Publius Vokimnius, and Aulus Postumius,
envoys from Rome, to complain of the wrongs done
and demand restitution, as provided in the treaty.
The Aequian general bade them recite the message
of the Roman senate to the oak, saying that he
would meantime attend to other matters, (Tiie oak,
a mighty tree, overhung head-quarters and with its
dense shade afforded a cool resting place.) There-
upon one of the envoys said, as he departed, " Let
both this sacred oak and whatever gods there are hear
that the treaty has been broken by you ; and let them
attend now to our complaints and presently support
our arms, when we shall avenge the simultaneous
violation of the rights of gods and men." On the
return of the envoys to Rome, the senate ordered
one consul to lead an army to Algidus, against
Gracchus, and to the other assigned the task of devas-
tating the territories of the Aequi, The tribunes
sought in their usual fashion to prevent the levy,
and might ])erhaps have held out against it to the
end ; but suddenly a fresh alarm supervened,
XXVI. A great body of Sabines made a hostile
incursion almost to the walls of Rome, wasting the
fields and terrifying the citizens. Thereu})on the
plebeians wilHngly enlisted, and despite the unavail-
ing protests of the tribunes, two large armies were
87
LIVY
2 scripti. Alterum Xautius contra Sabinos duxit cas-
trisque ad Eretum positis, per expeditiones parvas^
plerumque iiocturnis incursionibus, tantam vastita-
tern in Sabino agro reddidit ut comparati ad earn
3 prope intacti bello fines Romani viderentur. Mi-
niicio neque fortuna ncc vis animi eadem in ge-
rendo negotio fuit ; nam cum liaud procul ab lioste
castra posuisset, nulla magnopere clade accepta
4 castris se pavidus tenebat. Quod ubi senserant
hostes, crevit ex metu alieno, ut fit^ audacia, et nocte
adorti castra postquam parum vis aperta profecerat,
munitiones postero die circumdant. Quae prius-
quam undique vallo obiectae elauderent exitus quin-
que equites inter stationes hostium emissi Homam
6 pertulere consulem exercitumque obsideri. Nihil
tam inopinatum nee tam insperatum accidere potuit.
Itaque tantus pavor^ tanta trepidatio fuit quanta si
6 urbem, non castra hostes obsiderent. Nautium
consulem arcessunt. In quo cum parum praesidii
videretur dictatoremque dici placeret qui rem per-
culsam restitueretj L. Quinctius Cincinnatus con-
sensu omnium dicitur.
7 Operae pretium est audire qui omnia prae divitiis
humana spernunt neque honori magno locum neque
virtuti putant esse, nisi ubi effuse^ afluant^ opes.
8 Spes unica imperii })opuli Romani L. Quinctius
^ effuse Vonn'i FB : effusae H.
2 afluanti/: affluant fl : effluantD?: afluentP: affluent
PFfUB.
88
BOOK III. XXVI. 1-8
enrolled. One of these Nautius led against the b.c. 458
Sabines. Pitching his camp at Eretum, he sent out
little expeditions, chiefly nocturnal raiding parties,
and so liberally repaid on their own fields the
depredations of the Sabines, that the Roman terri-
tories in comparison seemed scarcely to have been
touched by war. Minucius had neither the same
good fortune nor equal spirit in conducting his
campaign ; for he encam})ed not far from the enemy,
and without having suffered any considerable defeat,
kept timidly within his breastworks. When the
enemy perceived this, their audacity was heightened,
as is usually the case, by their opponents' fear, and
they attacked the camp by night. Failing to accom-
plish anything by open force, they next day sur-
rounded the })lace with earthworks ; but before
these could be thrown up on every side of the
camp and so shut off" all egress, five horsemen were
sent out through the enemy's outposts and carried
to Rome the news that the consul and his army
were beleaguered. Nothing more surprising or un-
looked-for could have happened. And so the alarm
and consternation were as great as if it had been
the City, not the camp, which the enemy were
investing. They sent for the consul Nautius ; but
deeming him unequal to their defence, and resolving
to have a dictator to restore their shattered fortunes,
they agreed unanimously on the nomination of Lucius
Quinctius Cincinnatus.
What followed merits the attention of those who
despise all human qualities in comparison with
riches, and think there is no room for great honours
or for worth but amidst a profusion of wealth. The
sole hope of the empire of the Roman People, Lucius
89
L1\'Y
trans Tiberim^ contra eum ipsum locum ubi nunc
navalia sunt, quattuor iugerum colebat agrum, quae
9 prata Quinctia vocantur. Ibi ab legatis — seu fossam
fodiens palae ^ innixus seu cum araret, operi certe,
id quod constat, agresti intentus — salute data in
vicem redditaque rogatus ut, quod bene verteret
ipsi reique publicae, togatus mandata senatus au-
diret, admiratus rogitansque '•' satin salve r " ^ togam
propere e tugurio proferre uxorem Raciliam iubet.
10 Qua simul absterso pulvere ac sudore velatus pro-
cessit, dictatorem eum legati gratulantes consalu-
tant, in urbem vocant, qui terror sit in exercitu
11 exponunt. Navis Quinctio publice parata fuit, trans-
vectiimque tres obviam egressi filii excipiunt, inde
alii propinqui atque amici, tum patrum maior pars.
Ea frequentia stipatus antecedentibus lictoribus de-
12 ductus est domum. Et plebis concursus ingens fuit ;
sed ea nequaquam tam laeta Quinctium vidit, et
imperium ^ nimium et virum ipso * imperio vehe-
mentiorem rata. Et ilia quidem nocte nihil praeter-
quam vigilatum est in urbe.
XXVII. Postero die dictator cum ante lucem in for-
um venisset, magistrum equitum dicit L. Tarquitium,^
patriciae gentis^ sed qui.^ cum stipendia pedibus
^ palae Sahellicus: paleae V : palo H: paulo 0.
^ satin salve VP: satisne salva essent omnia £1.
^ imperium Walters : imperi {or -ii) Cl.
* virum ipso ChrUt r: uirum in ipso Cl.
^ Tarquitium Sigonius [C.I.L. \^, p. 16) : Tarquinium n.
^ qui Conway: qui cum V Vonn. Ii':: qui tum Cl : tum
qui //.
^ Strictly speaking, a trifle less than three acres, since the
iugerui/L contained only 28,800 square feet.
90
BOOK III. XXVI. 8-xxvii. I
Quinctius, cultivated a field of some four acres ^ across b.c. 45S
the Tiber, now known as the Quinctian Meadows,
directly opposite the place where the dockyards are
at present. There he was found by the re})resenta-
tives of the state. Whether bending over his spade
as he dug* a ditch, or ploughing, he was, at all events,
as everybody agrees, intent upon some rustic task.
After they had exchanged greetings with him, they
asked him to put on his toga, to hear (and might
good come of it to himself and the republic I) the
mandates of tlie senate. In amazement he cried, " Is
all well?" and bade his wife Racilia quickly fetch
out his toga from the hut. When he had put it on,
after wiping off the dust and sweat, and came forth
to the envoys, they hailed him Dictator, congratu-
lated him, and summoned him to the City, explain-
ing the alarming situation of the army. A boat was
waiting for him, provided by the state ; and as he
reached the other side his three sons came out to
receive him ; after them came his other kinsmen
and friends ; and after them the greater part of the
senate. Attended by this throng and preceded by
his lictors he was escorted to his house. The
plebeians too were gathered in great numbers ; but
they were by no means so rejoiced at the sight of
Quinctius, because they thought that not only was his
authority excessive, but that the man was even more
dangerous than the authority itself. That night
nothing more was done than to keep a watch in
the City.
XXVII. On the following day the dictator, coming
before dawn into the Forum, named as his master of
the horse Lucius Tarquitiiis, a man of patrician birth,
but one who had served as a foot-soldier because of
9'
i.U.C
LIVY
projiter paupertatem fecissetj bello tainen primus
2 longe Romanae iuventutis habitus esset. Cum
magistro equitum in contionem venit, iustitium
edicit, claudi tabernas tota urbe iubet, vetat quem-
3 quam privatae quicquam rei agere. Tum, quicum-
que aetate militari essent, armati cum cil)ariis in
dies quinque coctis vallisque duodenis ante solis
4 occasum Martio in campo adessent ; quibus aetas
ad militandum gravior esset, vicino militi, dum is
arma pararet vallumque peteret, cibaria coquere
5 iussit. Sic iuventus discurrit ad vallum petendum.
Sumpsere unde cuique proximum fuit ; prohibitus
nemo est ; impigreque omnes ad edictum dictatnris
6 praesto fuere. Inde composite agmine non itineri
magis apti quam proelio, si res ita tulisset, legiones
ipse dictator, magister equitum suos equites ducit.
In utroque agmine quas tempus ipsum poscebat
7 adhortationes erant : adderent gradum ; maturato
opus esse ut nocte ad hostem })erveniri^ posset;
consulem exercitumque Romanum obsideri, tertium
diem iam clausos esse ; quid quaeque nox aut dies
ferat, incertum esse ; puncto saepe temporis maxi-
8 marum rerura momenta verti. ." Adcelera signiferl"
^''Sequere miles!" inter se quoque gratificantes
ducibus clamabant. Media nocte in Algldum j)er-
veniunt et, ut sensere se iam prope hostes esse,
signa constituunt.
^ perveiiiri J^,- : peruenire H : peruenere B : wanting in V,
1 The Roman soldier usually carried three or four stakes,
to use in making a palisade.
92
BOOK III. XXVII. 1-8
poverty, though in war he had been esteemed by b c. 453
far the best of the Roman youth. With his master
of the liorse Lucius appeared before the people ; pro-
claimed a suspension of the courts ; ordered the
shops to be closed all over the City ; and forbade
anybody to engage in any private business. He
then commanded all those who were of military
age to come armed, before sunset, to the Campus
Martius, bringing each enough bread to last five
days, and twelve stakes ; ^ those who were too old
for war he ordered to prepare food for their neigh-
bours who were soldiers, while the latter were
getting their arms in order and looking for stakes.
So the young men ran this way and that in search
of stakes, and everyone took them from the nearest
source, nor was anyone interfered with ; and all
presented themselves promptly as the dictator had
commanded. Then, having drawn up their column
so as to be ready for fighting as well as for march-
ing, if need were, the dictator himself led the
legions, the master of the horse his cavalry. In
each division were spoken such words of encourage-
ment as the occasion called for : Let them mend
their pace ; there was need of speed, that they
might reach the enemy's camp in the night ; a consul
and a Roman army were being besieged, and it
was now the third day of their investment ; what
each night or day might bring forth was uncertain ;
a single instant was often the turning-point of a
great event. The soldiers also, in complaisance to
their commanders, cried out to one another, " Make
haste, standard-bearer ! " " Follow me, men ! " At
midnight they came to Algidus, and perceiving that
they were now close to the enemy, halted.
93
LIVY
XXVIII. Ibi dictator quantum nocte prospici
poterat equo circumvectus contemplatusque qui trac-
tus castrorum quaeque forma esset^ tribunis militum
imperavit^ ut sarcinas in unum conici iubeant, mi-
litem cum armis valloque redire in ordines suos.
2 Facta quae imperavit. Tum_, quo fuerant ordine in
via, exercitum omnem longo agmine circumdat
hostium castris et ubi signum datum sit clamorem
omnes tollere iubet, clamore sublato ante se quem-
3 que ducere fossam et iacere ^ vallum. Edito im-
perio signum secutum est. lussa miles exsequitur;
clamor hostes circumsonat ; superat inde castra
4 hostium et in castra consulis venit ; alibi pavorem,
alibi gaudium ingens facit. Romani civilem esse
clamorem atque auxilium adesse inter se gratulantes
ultro ex stationibus ac vigiliis territant hostem.
5 Consul differendum negat; illo clamore non ad-
ventum modo significari, sed rem ab suis coeptam ;
mirumque esse ni iam exteriore parte castra hostium
6 oppugnentur. Itaque arma suos capere et se sub-
sequi iubet. Nocte initum proelium est ; legionibus
dictatoris clamore significant ab ea quoque parte
7 rem in discrimine esse. Jam se ad prohibenda
circumdari opera Aequi parabant cum ab interiore
hoste proelio coe})to, ne per media sua castra fieret
eruptio, a munientibus ad pugnantes introrsum versi
1 iacere HRDL^ : facere PFUBO.
94
BOOK III. xxviii. 1-7
XXVIII. Then the dictator^ having ridden about no. 458
and observed, as well as he could for the night, the
extent of the camp and its shape, directed the
military tribunes to make the soldiers throw down
their packs in one place, and return, with arms
and stakes, to their j)roper ranks. They did as
he commanded. Then, keeping the order of the
march, he led out the whole army in a long column
and surrounded the enemy's camp, commanding that
at a given signal the troops should all raise a shout,
and that after shouting every man should dig a
trench in front of his own position and erect a
palisade. The signal followed close on the announce-
ment. The men did as they had been bidden.
Their cheer resounded on all sides of the enemy,
and passing over their camp, penetrated that of the
consul ; in the one it insi)ired panic, in the other
great rejoicing. The Romans, congratulating one
another that it was their fellow-citizens who shouted,
and that help was at hand, on tlieir own part began
to threaten the enemy with attacks from their pickets
and outposts. The consul said that they ought to
act without delay ; the shout not only signified that
their friends were come, but that they had begun
to fight ; and it would be surprising if they were
not already assailing the enemy's camp from with-
out. He accordingly bade his men stand to arms
and follow him. It was night when they entered
the battle ; with a cheer they gave the legions of
the dictator to know that on their side as well the
issue had been joined. The Aequi were already pre-
paring to resist the work of circumvallation, when
the attack was begun upon their inner line. Lest
a sortie should be made through the midst of their
95
A.U.C.
LIVY
vacuam noctem operi dedere ; pup^natumque cum
8 consule ad lucem est. Luce prima iam circumvallati
ab dictatore erant et vix adversus unum exercitum
pugnam sustinebant. Tuni a Quinctiano exercitu^
qui confestim a })erfecto opere ad arma rediit^ iii-
vaditur vallum. Hie instabat nova puf^na : ilia nihil
9 remiserat prior. Tum ancipiti malo urgente a proe-
lio ad j)reces versi hinc dictatorem, hinc consulem
orare^ ne in occidione victoriam ponerent, ut inermes
se inde abire sinerent Ab consule ad dictatorem
10 ire iussi ; is ^ ignominiam infensus addidit ; Grac-
chum Cloelium ducem principesque alios vinctos ad
se adduci iubet. ojipido Corbione decedi. Sanguinis
se Aequorum non egere ; licere abire; sed^ ut
exprimatur tandem confessio subactam domitamque
11 esse gentem, sub iugum abituros. Tribus hastis
iu-^nmi fit humi fixis duabus superque eas transversa
una deligata. Sub hoc iugum ^ dictator Aequos
misit.
XXIX. Castris hostium receptis plenis omnium
rerum — nudos enim emiserat — praedam omnem suo
2 tantum militi dedit ; consularem exercitum ipsumque
^ iussi ; is Ruperti : iussis fl.
2 iugum Duker : iugo Ci.
96
BOOK III. XXVIII. 7-xxix. 2
camp, they turned their backs on those who were b.c. 458
entrenching, and faced the attacking forces ; and,
leaving the others free to work all night, they
fought till break of day with the soldiers of the
consul. At early dawn they had already been shut
in by the dictator's rampart, and were scarcely
maintaining the battle against one army. Then
the troops of Quinctius, who had at once, on com-
pleting the works, resumed their weapons, assailed
the rampart of the Aequi. Here was a new battle on
their hands, and the other not yet in the least
abated. At this, hard-driven by a double danger,
they turned from fighting to entreaties, and on the
one hand implored the dictator, on the other the
consul, not to make the victory a massacre, but to
take their arms and let them go. The consul
referred them to the dictator, who in his anger
added ignominy to their surrender. He commanded
that Cloelius Gracchus, their commander, and the
other captains, be brought to him in chains, and
that the town of Corbio be evacuated. He said
that he did not require the blood of the Aequi ;
they might go ; but, that they might at last be
forced to confess that their nation had been defeated
and subdued, they should pass beneath the yoke
as they departed. A yoke was fashioned of three
spears, two being fixed in the ground and the third
laid across them and made fast. Under this yoke
the dictator sent the Aequi.
XXIX. Having taken possession of the enemy's
camp, which abounded in all sorts of supplies —
for he had sent them out with nothing but their
tunics — he gave all the booty to his own troops
exclusively, rebuking the consular army and the
97
VOL. II. H
LIVY
consulem increpans^ '^'^Carebis " inquit^praedae parte,
miles, ex eo lioste cui prope praedae fuisti ; et tu,
L. Minuci, donee consularem animum incipias habere,
3 legatus his legionibus praeeris." Ita se Minucius
abdicat consulatu iussusque ad exercitum manet.
Sed adeo turn imperio meliori animus mansuete
oboediens erat ut beneficii magis quam ignominiae
hie exercitus memor et coronam auream dictatori
libram pondo deereverit et proficiscentem eum
4 patronum salutaverit. Romae a Q. Fabio praefecto
urbis senatus habitus triumphantem Quinctium quo
veniebat agmine urbem ingredi iussit. Ducti ante
currum hostium duces, mihtaria signa praelata, secu-
5 tus exercitus praeda onustus. Epulae instructae
dicuntur fuisse ante omnium domus, epulantesque
cum carmine triumphali et ^ sollemnibus iocis comi-
6 santium modo currum secuti sunt. Eo die L. MamiHo
Tusculano adprobantibus cunctis civitas data est.
Confestim se dictator magistratu abdicasset, ni
comitia M. Volsci, falsi testis, tenuissent. Ea ne im-
7 pedirent tribuni dictatoris obstitit metus. Volscius
damnatus Lanuvium in exsilium ^ abiit. Quinctius
sexto decimo die dictatura in sex menses accepta se
abdicavit. Per eos dies consul Nautius ad Eretum
cum Sabinis egregie pugnat ; ad vastatos agros ea
1 et Vn^: ex n.
' in exsilium r : exsilium H : exsulatum -.
^ Livy thinks of Cineiimatus as removing (or perhaps only
suspending; Minucius from the consulship, in virtue of his
superior authority. In 509 B.C. (ii. ii. 7 ff.) Lucius Tarquinius
had been compelled to resign by his colleague Brutus and other
leading nien.
2 The first recorded instance of the bestowal of citizenship
in requital of service done the state.
98
BOOK III. XXIX. 2-7
consul himself in these terms : " You shall have no b.c. 458
share, soldiers, in the spoils of that enemy to whom
you almost fell a spoil ; and you, Lucius Minucius,
until you begin to have the spirit of a consul, shall
command these legions as my lieutenant." So Minu-
cius abdicated the consulship, and remained, as he
was ordered to do, with the army.i But so tame and
submissive was the temper of this army now towards a
better commander, that, considering rather the benefit
they had received at his hands than the humiliation,
they voted the dictator a golden chaplet of a pound
in weight, and when he departed, saluted him as
their protector. At Rome the senate, being con-
vened by Quintus Fabius, the prefect of the City,
commanded Quinctius to enter the gates in triumph,
with the troops that accompanied him. Before his
chariot were led the generals of the enemy ; the
military standards were borne on ahead; after them
came the soldiers, laden with booty. It is said that
tables were spread before all the houses, and the
troops, feasting asthey marched, with songs of triumph
and the customary jokes, followed the chariot like
revellers. On that day Lucius Mamilius the Tusculan
was granted citizenship, with the approval of all. 2
Cincinnatus would at once have resigned his office,
had not the trial of Marcus Volscius, the false witness,
caused him to delay. The awe in which the tribunes
held the dictator prevented them from interfering
with the trial. \^olscius was condemned and went
into exile at Lanuvium. On the sixteenth day
Quinctius surrendered the dictatorship which he
had received for six months. During that period
the consul Nautius fought a successful engagement
at Eretum with the Sabines, who in addition to the
99
H 2
LIVV
quoquc clades accessit Sabinis. Minucio Fabius ^
8 successor in Algidum missus. Extremo anno agita-
tum de lege ab tribunis est ; sed quia duo exercitus
aberantj ne quid ferretur ad populum patres teuuere ;
plebes vicit ut quintum eosdem tribunos crearet.^
9 Lupos visos in Capitolio ferunt a canibus fugatos ;
ob id prodigium lustratum Capilolium esse. Haec
eo anno gesta,
XXX. Sequuntur consules Q. Minucius M. Hora-
tius 2 Pulvillus. Cuius initio anni cum foris otium
esset, domi seditiones iidem tribuni, eadem lex
2 faciebat; ulteriusque ventum foret — adeo exarserant
animis — ni velut dedita opera nocturno impetu
Aequorum Corbione amissum praesidium nuntiatum
3 esset. Senatum consules vocant ; iubentur subitarium
scribere exercitum atque in Algidum ducere. Inde
posito legis certamine nova de dilectu contentio
4 orta ; vincebaturque consulare imperium tribunicio
auxilio cum alius additur terror, Sabinum exercitum
praedatum descendisse in agros Romanos, inde ad
5 urbem venire. Is metus perculit ut scribi militem
tribuni sinerent, non sine pactione tamen ut quoniam
ipsi quinquennium elusi essent parvumque id plebi
praesidium foret, decern deinde tribuni plebis crearen-
1 Fabius - : Fabius Quinctius {or Quintiusy n : Fabius
Quiiitus 0.
^ crearet V : crearent H.
^ M. Horatius CI (Dlod. xi. xci. 1): C. Horatius Glarcanus
and Sigoiiius [C.l.L. i^ ;;. 104 ; Lion. Eal. x. xxvi. 1).
^ They had not been able to pass the Lex Tercntilia.
lOO
BOOK III. XXIX. 7-xxx. 5
devastation of their fields now suffered this new b.c. 458
disaster. Fabius was sent to Mount Algidus to
succeed Minucius. At the close of the year there
was some agitation for the law on the part of the
tribunes ; but since two armies were abroad^ the
senators insisted that no proposal should be laid
before the people ; the plebs were successful in
electing the same tribunes for the fifth time. It
is said that wolves were seen on the Capitol^ pursued
by dogs ; because of which prodigy the Capitol was
purified. Such w^ere the events of this year.
XXX. The next consuls were Quintus Minucius b.c. 457
and Marcus Horatius Pulvillus, At the beginning
of the year, though foreign relations were peaceful,
at home there were dissensions, inspired by the
same tribunes and the same law ; and they would
have proceeded to even greater lengths— so inflamed
were men's passions — had it not been announced, as
if designedly, that the garrison at Corbio had perished
in a night-attack made by the Aequi. The consuls
convoked the senate, and were directed to make
H summary levy and lead the army to Mount Algidus.
From that moment the quarrel over the law was laid
aside, and a fresh dispute arose, concerning the levy;
in this consular authority was in a fair way to be
defeated, by the help of the tribunes, when a new
alarm was reported : that a Sabine army bent on
])illage had descended upon the Roman fields, and
was thence approaching the City. This was such
staggering news that the tribunes permitted the
enrolment of troops ; yet not without having ob-
tained an agreement that since they had themselves
been baffled for five years,^and the existing tribunate
was an insutlicient protection to the plebs, ten tribunes
lOI
LIVY
G tar. Expressit hoc necessitas patribus ; id modo ex-
cepere ne postea eosdem tribunos viderent. Tribunicia
comitia, ne id quoque post bellum ut cetera vanum
7 esset, extemplo habita. Tricensimo sexto anno a
primis tribuni plebis decern creati sunt, bini ex
singulis classibus, itaque cautum est ut postea creaven-
8 tur. Dilectu deinde habito Minucius contra Sabinos
profectus non invenit hostem. Horatius, cum iam
Aequi Corbione interfecto praesidio Ortonam etiam
cepissent, in Algido pugnat ; multos mortalis occidit ;
fugat hostem non ex Algido modo, sed a Corbione
Ortonaque. Corbionem etiam diruit propter proditum
praesidium.
XXXI. Deinde M. Valerius, Sp. Verginius con-
sules facti. Domi forisque otium fuit ; annona
propter aquarum intemperiem laboratum est. De
Aventino publicando lata lex est. Tribuni plebis
2 iidem refecti. Hi sequente anno T. Romilio C. V^eturio
consulibus legem omnibus contionibus suis cele-
brabant : ^ pudere se numeri sui nequiquam aucti, si
ea res aeque suo biennio iaceret ac toto superiore
3 liistro iacuisset. Cum maxime haec agerent, trepidi
nuntii ab Tusculo veniunt Aequos in agro Tusculano
esse. Fecit pudorem recens eius populi meritum
1 celebrabant VHRDL;- : celebrant H.
1 The lowest class, paying no trihiUum, had no representa-
tion.
BOOK 111. XXX. 5-xxxi. 3
should in future be elected. To this the patricians b.c. 457
were compelled to agree, only stipulating that they
should not thereafter see the same men tribunes.
The tribunician election was held immediately, lest
when the Avar was over this promise too might be
broken, as the others had been. In the thirty-sixth
year from the first plebeian tribunes ten men were
elected, two from each class,^ and it was enacted
that they should be chosen thus thereafter. The
levy was then held, and Minucius marched against
the Sabines, but did not find the enemy. Horatius,
after the Aequi, having put the garrison at Corbio to
the sword, had also captured Ortona, fought a battle
with them on Mount Algidus, killed many men, and
drove oft" the enemy, not only from Algidus, but from
Corbio and Ortona. Corbio he razed because of its
betrayal of the garrison.
XXXI. Marcus Valerius and Spurius Verginius b.c
succeeded to the consulship. Affairs were quiet ^^*^"*^^
both at home and abroad ; but there was a shortage
in the corn-supply, due to excessive rains. A law
was passed opening up the Aventine to settlement.
The same tribunes of the plebs were returned ; and
in the following year, when Titus Romilius and
Gaius Veturiuswere consuls, they took occasion to urge
the law in all their speeches : They were ashamed,
they said, of the futile increase in their numbers, if
this measure was to lie disregarded during their own
two years of office, precisely as it had done through-
out the five preceding years. Just when this agita-
tion was at its height, there came a disquieting report
from Tusculum that the Aequi were in Tusculan
territory. Men were ashamed, in view of the recent
service of that nation, to delay in sending aid. Both
103
LIVY
morandi auxilii. Ambo consules cum exercitu missi
4 hostem in sua sede, in Algido^ inveniunt. Ibi pug-
natum. Supra septem milia hostium caesa, alii
fugati ; praeda parta ingens. Earn propter inopiani
aerarii consules vendiderunt. Invidiae tamen res ad
exercitum fuit eademque tribunis materiam crimi-
5 nandi ad plebem consules praebuit. Itaque ergo^ ut
magistratu abiere Sp. Tar})eio ^ A. Aternio ^ consuli-
bus, dies dicta est, Romilio ab C. Calvio Cicerone
tribuno plebis, Veturio ab L. Alieno aedile plebis.
C Uterque magna patrum indignatione danmatus,
Romilius decern milibus aeris, Veturius quindecim.
Nee haec priorum calamitas consulum segniores novos
fecerat consules ; et se damnari posse aiebant, et
7 plebem et tribunos legem ferre non posse. Turn
abiecta lege, quae promulgata consenuerat, tribuni
lenius agere cum patribus : finem tandem certa-
minum facerent ; si plebeiae leges displicerent, at
illi communiter legum latores et ex plebe et ex
patribus, qui utrisque utilia ferrent quaeque aequan-
8 dae libertatis essent sinerent creari. Rem non asperna-
bantur patres : laturum ^ leges neminem nisi ex
patribus aiebant. Cum de legibus conveniret, de
^ Sp. Tarpeio r : spurio p. tarpeio CI: p. tarpeio U:
spuerio p. tarpio B.
2 A. Aternio Pighius iC.I.L. i-. j5. 10-1, : a. aeternio [or et-
Ci : a. ethernio U : aeternio D.
2 laturum Klod: : daturum .0.
^ See chap. ix. § 5 and note. Apparently the codification
contemplated b}' Terentilius was to have been in the hands
of a pleljeian board.
104
BOOK in. XXXI. 3-8
consuls were dispatched with can army ; and finding
the enemy on tlieir usual ground, Mount Algidus,
they there engaged them. Above seven thousand of
the enemy were slain ; the rest were put to fliglit ;
and immense spoils were taken. These the consuls
sold, owing to the impoverished condition of the
treasury. Nevertheless, their action made them
unpopular with the army, and it also furnished the
tribunes with an occasion for impeaching the con-
suls before the plebs. Accordingly when they laid
doAvn their office and Spurius Tarpeius and Aulus
Aeternius became consuls, they were brought to
trial ; Romilius by Gaius Calvius Cicero, a plebeian
tribune, V^eturius by Lucius Alienus, an aedile of the
plebs. Both were condemned, greatly to the indigna-
tion of the patricians ; Romilius was fined 10,000
asses, Veturius 15,000. And yet this disaster to
their predecessors did not diminish the energy ot
the new consuls ; they said that it was possible that
they should themselves be condemned, but that it
was not possible that the plebs and the tribunes
should carry their law. Then the tribunes, discard-
ing the law, M'hich, in the time it had been before
the people, had lost its vitality, began to treat more
moderately with the patricians : Let them at last put
an end, they said, to these disputes ; if the plebeian
measure were not agreeable to them, let them permit
framers of laws to be appointed jointly from both
the plebs and the nobility, that they might propose
measures which should be advantageous to both
sides, and secure equal liberty.^ Tlie patricians did
not reject the principle ; but they declared that no
one should propose laws unless he were a patrician.
Since they were agreed in regard to the laws, and
B.C.
456-454
LIVY
latere tantum discreparet^ missi legati Athenas Sp.
Postumius Albus A. Manlius P. Sulpicius Camerinus
iussique inclitas leges Solonis describere et aliarum
Graeciae civitatium instituta mores iuraque noscere.
XXXII. Ab externis bellis quietus annus fuit,
quietior insequens P. Curiatio ^ et Sex. Quinctilio
consulibus perpetuo silentio tribunorum, quod primo
legatorum qui Athenas ierant legumque pere-
2 grinarum exspectatio praebuit, dein duo simul mala
ingentia exorta^ fames pestilentiaque^ foeda homini,
foeda pecori. Vastati agri sunt, urbs adsiduis ex-
hausta funeribus ; multae et clarae lugubres domus.
3 Flamen Quirinalis Ser. Cornelius mortuus, augur C.
Horatius Pulvillus ; ^ in cuius locum C. Veturium eo
cupidius quia damnatus a plebe erat, augures legere.
4 Mortuus consul Quinctilius, quattuor tribuni plebi.
Multiplici clade foedatus annus; ab hoste otium
fuit.
5 Inde consules C. Menenius P. Sestius ^ Capitolinus.
Neque eo anno quicquam belli externi fuit : domi
6 motus orti. lam redierant legati cum Atticis legibus.
Eo intentius instabant tribuni ut tandem scriben-
darum legum initium fieret. Placet creari decem-
viros sine provocatione, et ne quis eo anno alius
7 magistratus esset. Admiscerenturne plebeii/ con-
1 Curiatio g- {cf. chap, xxxiii. § 3 and C.I.L. i^, p. 104):
curatio (curacio H : curario U) Cl.
2 Pulvillus 5" : pulvilius D..
3 Sestius Sigoyiiiis (cf. chap, xxxiii. § 4 and C.I.L. i^,
p. 104) : sextius (textius P : sextilius JJ) H.
^ plebeii it?r : plebi n.
io6
B.C.
453-453
BOOK III. XXXI. 8-xxxii. 7
only differed about the mover, they sent Spurius bc.
Postumius Albus, Aulus Manlius, and Publius "^^^"^^^
Sulpicius Camerinus on a mission to Athens, with
orders to copy the famous laws of Solon, and
acquaint themselves with the institutions, customs,
and laws of the other Greek states.
XXXII. No foreign wars disturbed the quiet of
that year; but even more quiet was the year that
followed, when Publius Curiatius and Sextus Quincti-
lius were consuls, for the tribunes preserved an
unbroken silence. This was due in the first place
to their waiting for the commissioners who had gone
to Athens, and for the foreign laws ; in the second
place two terrible misfortunes had come at the same
time, famine and pestilence, baneful alike to men
and beasts. The fields were left untenanted ; the
City was emptied by incessant funerals ; many dis-
tinguished families were in mourning. The flam&n
of Quirinus, Servius Cornelius, died, and the augur
Gaius Horatius Pulvillus, in whose place the augurs
elected Gaius Veturius, the more eagerly because
of his condemnation by the plebs. Death took the
consul Quinctilius, and four tribunes of the plebs.
The numerous losses made it a gloomy year ; but
Rome's enemies did not molest her.
The next consuls were Gaius Menenius and Pub-
lius Sestius Capitolinus. In this year likewise there
was no foreign war, but disturbances arose at home.
The commissioners had now returned with the laws
of Athens. The tribunes were therefore the more
insistent that a beginning should be made at last
towards codification. It was resolved to appoint
decemvirs, subject to no appeal, and to have no other
magistrates for that year. Whether plebeians should
107
LIVY
troversia aliquamdiu fuit ; postremo concessum patri-
bus, modo ne lex Icilia ^ de Aventino aliaeque sacratae
leges abrogarentur.
XXXIII. Anno trecentensimo ^ altero quam con-
dita Roma erat iterum mutatur forma civitatis, ab
consulibus ad decemviros^ qiiem ad modum ab regibus
ante ad consoles venerat. translate imperio. Minus
2 insignis. quia non diuturna, mutatio fuit. Laeta enim
principia magistratus eius nimis luxuriavere ; eo
citius lapsa res est repetitumque duobus uti man-
3 daretur consul am nomen imperiumque. Decemviri
creati Ap. Claudius T. Genucius P. Sestius ^ L.
\'eturius C. lulius A. Manlius P. Sulpicius P. Curia-
4 tius T. Romilius * Sp. Postumius. Claudio et
Genucio, quia designati consules in eum annum
fuerant, pro honore honos redditus, et Sestio, alteri
consulum prioris anni^ quod eam rem collega invito
5 ad patres rettulerat. His proximi habiti legati tres
qui Athenas ierant, simul ut pro legatione tarn
longinqua praemio esset honos, simul peritos legum
peregrinarum ad condenda nova iura usui fore
6 credebant. Supplevere ceteri numerum. Graves
quoque aetate electos novissimis suflragiis ferunt,
quo minus ferociter aliorum scitis adversarentur.
7 Regimen totius magistratus penes Appium erat
^ leilia Glareanus q- : acilia (or other corruptions) fi.
2 trecentensimo Conicay and Walters : trecentesimo H.
' Sestius icf. chap, xxxii. § 5; : Sextius ,0.
* Romilius D (cf. chap. xxxi. § 2 and Dion. Hal. x. Ivi. 2) :
Romulius Romolius) n,
^ The reference is especially to the law establishing the
tribunate (II. xxxiii. 1). The violation of a sa<rr«^rt Ze./; entailed
outlawry on the oifender.
2 A circumstance which Livy did not notice in chap, xxxii.
Io8
BOOK III. x.wii. 7 xxxiir. 7
be permitted a share in the work was for some time b.c.
disputed ; in the end they yielded to the patricians,
only bargaining that the Icilian law about the Aven-
tine and the other sacred laws ^ should not be
abrogated.
XXXI 1 1. In the three hundred and second year d.c.451
from the founding of Rome the form of the polity
was changed again, with the transfer of supreme
authority from consuls to decemvirs, even as before
it had passed from kings to consuls. It was not so
remarkable a change, because it did not last long.
For the luxuriant beginnings of this magistracy took
on too rank a growth ; and in consequence it soon
died down, and the custom was resumed of entrust-
ing to two men the name and authority of consuls.
The decemvirs chosen were Appius Claudius, Titus
Genucius, Publius Sestius, Lucius ^^eturius, Gaius
Julius, Aulus Manlius, Publius Sulpicius, Publius
Curiatius, Titus Romilius, and Spurius Postumius.
To Claudius and Genucius, the consuls-elect for that
year, the new office was given in compensation for
the other ; and to Sestius, one of the consuls of the
year before, because he had brought the measure
before the senate against his colleague's will.- Next
to these were honoured the three envoys who had
gone to Athens, not only that the office might serve
to reward them for so distant a mission, but also in
the belief that their knowledge of foreign laws would
be useful in compiling a new code. The other four
filled up the number. It is said that old men were
chosen for the last places, that they might make a
less vigorous opposition to the measures proposed by
the rest. The guiding hand in the whole magis-
tracy was that of Appius, thanks to the favour of the
109
LIVY
favore ^ plebis ; adeoqiie novum sibi ingenium in-
ducrat ut plebicola repente omiiisque aurae popularis
captator evaderet pro truci saevoque insectatore
8 plebis. Decimo die ius populo singuli reddebant.
Eo die penes praefectum iuris fasces duodecim erant:
collegis novem singuli accensi apparebant. Et in
unica concordia inter ipsos, qui consensus privatis
interdum inutilis est^- summa adversus alios aequitas
9 erat. Moderationis eorum argumentum exemplo
unius rei notasse satis erit. Cum sine provocatione
creati essent^ defosso cadavere domi apud P. Sestium,^
10 patriciae gentis virum, invento prolatoque in con-
tionem, in re iuxta manifesta atque atroci C. Julius
decemvir diem Sestio * dixit et accusator ad populum
exstitit, cuius rei iudex legitiraus erat, decessitque
iure^ suOj ut demptum de vi magistratus populi
libertati adiceret.
XXXI\\ Cum promptum hoc ius velut ex oraculo
incorruptum pariter ab iis summi infimicjue ferrent,
turn legibus condendis opera dabatur ; ingentique
hominum exspectatione propositis decern tabulis
2 populum ad contionem advocaverunt, et quod bonum,
^ favore F^ marg. F^OI?L^^ : pauore fi : auore P : pauore
P^ : p. 1. auore B.
2 est Doeriiig : esset n.
^ P. Sestium ^ {chap, xxsii. § 5) : p. sextium n :
sextium Vorm. M.
* Sestio PFUHL : festio J/: sextio BOD.
^ iure ^ : ex lure H.
^ This sentence and the reference to Claudius's years and
honours in chap, xxxiii. § 3 seem inapplicable to a young man.
BOOK 111. xxxiii. 7-XXXIV. 2
plebs ; and so novel a character had he assumed, b.c, 45J
that from being a harsh and cruel persecutor of the
plebs, he came out all at once as the people's friend,
and caught at every breath of popularity.^ Sitting
each one day in ten they administered justice to the
people. On that day he who presided in court had
twelve fasces ; ^ his nine colleagues were each
attended by a single orderly. And while they
maintained an unparalleled harmony amongst them-
selves— a unanimity sometimes prejudicial to the
governed, — they treated others with the utmost
fairness. As proof of their moderation, it will suffice
to note a single example. Though they had been
chosen to a magistracy from which there was no
appeal, yet when a corpse was found buried in the
house of Publius Sestius, a patrician, and produced
before the assembly, and the man's guilt was as clear
as it was heinous, Gaius Julius the decemvir sum-
moned Sestius to trial, and appeared before the
people to prosecute a man of whose guilt he was the
lawful judge, surrendering his own prerogative that
he might add to the liberty of the people what he
subtracted from the power of the magistracy.
XXX IV. While this prompt justice, as pure as
though derived from an oracle, was being meted out
impartially by the decemvirs to the highest and the
lowest, they were also busily engaged in framing
laws. Men's expectations were running high, when
they set up ten tables, and summoning the people
and it is probable that the decemvir was, in reality, the
consul of 471 B.C. (see ir. Ivi. 5), not the nephew of C.
Claudius, as Livy thought (chap. xxxv. § 9), which would
make him the son of the consul of 471.
^ " Fasces" is here equivalent to " lictors."
Ill
LIVY
faustum felixque rei publicae ipsis liberisque eorum
3 esset, ire et legere leges propositas iussere. Se,
quantum decern liominum ingeniis provider! potuerit,
omnibus^ summis infimisque, iura aequasse ; plus
4 pollere multorum ingenia consiliaque. Versarent in
animis secum unamquamque rem, agitarent deinde
sermonibus, atque in medium quid in quaque re plus
5 minusve esset conferrent. Eas leges habiturum
populum Romanum quas consensus omnium non
6 iussisse latas magis quam tulisse videri posset. Cum
ad rumores hominum de unoquoque legum capite
editos 1 satis correctae viderentur, centuriatis comitiis
decem tabularum leges perlatae sunt, qui nunc ^
quoque, in hoc immenso aliarum super alias acerva-
tarum legum cumulo, fons omnis publici privatique
7 est iuris. Volgatur deinde rumor duas deesse tabulas
quibus adiectis absolvi posse velut corpus omnis
Romani iuris. Ea cxspectatio, cum dies comitiorum
adpropinquaret, desiderium decemviros iterum cre-
8 audi fecit. lam plebs. praeterquam quod consulum
nonien baud secus quam regum perosa erat, ne tribu-
nicium quidem auxilium cedentibus in vicem appel-
latione ^ decemviris quaerebat.
XXXV. Postquam vero comitia decemviris creandis
2 in trinum nundinum indicta sunt, tanta exarsit am-
^ editos DuTcer : edito n.
^ qui nunc VD'i r : quae (or que) nunc Ci : nunc P.
^ appellationen : appeilationem i?Z/' : appellation! Z)/-aA;e?i-
borch.
■^ This sentence supports Monirasen's view that the new
legislation was intended originally \.o suhsiiiutr for tribunician
intercession a limitation of the consular power by written
law.
BOOK III. XXXIV, 2-xxxv. 2
to assemble, commanded them — with a prayer that b.c. 451
the result might be prosperous, favourable, and
fortunate, for the commonwealth, for themselves,
and for their children— to go and read the proposed
statutes. They themselves, they said, so far as the
capacities of ten men could forecast the event, had
equalized the rights of all, both high and low ; but
there was greater efficacy in the capacities and
counsels of many. Let them consider each single
point in their own minds, then discuss it with their
fellows, and lastly state in public what excess or
shortcoming there was in the several articles ; the
Roman People should have only such laws as their
unanimity might fairly be considered not only to
have passed, but to have proposed. When it appeared
that the laws had been sufficiently amended, in the
light of the opinions that men expressed concerning
each separate section, the centuriate comitia met
and adopted the Laws of the Ten Tables ; which
even now, in this great welter of statutes piled one
upon another, are the fountain-head of all public
and private law. Afterwards the opinion was general
that there lacked two tables, by the addition of
which a corpus, so to speak, of all the Roman law
could be rounded out. The hope of filling this
lack made people desirous, when election day
drew near, of choosing decemvirs again. The plebs,
besides the fact that they hated the name of
consul quite as much as that of king, had already
ceased to require even the help of the tribunes,
since the decemvirs yielded to one another when an
appeal was taken. 1
XXXV. But when the comitia for the election of
decemvirs had been announced to take place in four-
113
VOL. II. I
LIVY
bitio ut primores qiioque civitalis — metu^ credo, ne
tanti possessio imperii vacuo ab se relicto loco haud
satis dignis pateret — prensarent homines^ honorem
summa ope a se impugnatum ab ea plebe cum qua
3 contenderant ^ suppliciter petentes. Demissa ^ lam
in discrimen dignitas ea aetate iisque honoribus actis
stimulabat Ap. Claudium. Nescires utrum inter de-
4 cemviros an inter candidates numerares. Propior
interdum petendo quam gerendo magistratui erat.
Criminari optimates, extollere candidatorum levis-
simum quemque luimillimumque^ ipse medius inter
5 tribunicios, Duillios ^ Iciliosque,^ in foro volitare^ per
illos se plebi venditare^ donee coUegae quoque^ qui
unice illi dediti fuerant ad id tempus^ coniecere in
6 eum oculos^ mirantes quid sibi vellet : apparere nihil
sinceri esse ; profecto haud gratuitam in tanta super-
bia comitatem fore : nimium in ordinem se ipsum
cogere et volgiri cum privatis non tam properantis
abire magistratu quam viam ad continuandum magis-
7 tratum quaerentis esse. Propalam obviam ire cupidi-
tati parum ausi obsecundando mollire impetum
adgrediuntur. Comitiorum illi habendorum, quando
8 minimus natu sit^ munus consensu iniungunt. Ars
haec erat^ ne semet ipse creare posset, quod praeter
tribunos plebi — et id ipsum pessimo exemplo — nemo
^ contenderant /l 2 f- : contenderent H.
* demissa ^ : dimissa (dimissa B) Cl.
^ Duillius F^ Madvig (ir. Iviii. 2): duellios n.
* Icilios que R : silicisosque (silitiosque Oj n.
^ A nundinum contained 8 days. The name (novem =
nine) came from the Roman way of counting the Sunday,
as it were, with the old week, as well as the new.
114
BOOK 111. XXXV. 2-8
and-twenty days,^ there was a great outburst of b.c. 451
canvassing ; even the chief men in the state — from
fear, I doubt not, that if they left the field tliis
great power might fall into unworthy hands —
soHcited men's votes and humbly begged for an
office which they had themselves opposed with
all their influence, from those plebeians with whom
they had contended. The risk of losing his
position, at his time of life, and after holding the
offices he had held, acted as a spur to Appius Claudius.
One would not have known whether to reckon him
among the decemvirs or the candidates. He was at
times more like one who sought a magistracy than
like one who exercised it. He vilified the nobles;
praised all the most insignificant and low-born
candidates ; and surrounding himself with former
tribunes, like Duillius and Icilius, bustled about the
Forum, and through them recommended himself to
the plebs ; till even his colleagues, who had been
singularly devoted to him until then, looked askance
at him and wondered what this could mean. It was
evident there could be nothing genuine about it; so
proud a man would certainly not be affable for
nothing ; excessive self-abasement and mingling with
private citizens were not so much the marks of one
who was in haste to retire from office as of one who
sought the means of re-election. Open opposition
to his desires being more than they dared venture,
they endeavoured by a show of complaisance to
lessen its intensity ; and unanimously appointed him,
as their youngest colleague, to preside at the election.
This was a trick, that he might be unable to declare
himself elected, a thing which none but tribunes of
the plebs (and even there the precedent was most
1 1^
LIVY
unquam fecisset. Ille enimvero, quod bene vertat,
9 habiturum se comitia professus^ impedimentum pro
occasione arripuit. deiectisque honore per coitionem ^
duobus Quinctiis^ Capitolino et Cincinnato^ et patruo
suo C. Claudio^ constantissimo viro in optimatium
causa^ et aliis eiusdem fastigii civibus, nequaquam
10 splendore vitae pares decemviros create se in primis,
quod baud secus factum improbabant boni quam
11 nemo facere ausurum crediderat. Creati cum eo
M. CorneHus Maluginensis M. Sergius L. Minucius
Q. Fabius Vibulanus Q. Poetelius "^ T. Antonius
Merenda K. Duillius ^ Sp. Oppius Cornicen M'.
Rabuleius.
XXX\'I. Ille finis Appio alienae personae ferendae
fuit. Suo iam inde vivere ingenio coepit novosque
collegas^ iam priusquam inirent magistratum^ in suos
2 mores formare. Cottidie coibant remotis arbitris ;
inde impotentibus instructi consiliis, quae secreto ab
aliis coquebant^ iam baud dissimulando superbiam,
rari aditus^ conloquentibus difficiles, ad idus Maias
^ coitionem Sigonius : contionem (contentionem J/) n.
2 Poetelius Sigonius {O.I.L. i^, pp. 126, 130) : poetilius CI.
2 K. Duillius - (cf. II. Iviii. 2 ; liG/i, Hal. x. Iviii. 4) :
c. duillius M : c. duilius 0, : eduilius JiD.
^ Coitio is an understanding between two candidates
whereby the stronger transfers a part of his support to the
weaker, in order to defeat a third candidate.
Ii6
BOOK III. XXXV. 8-xxxvi, 2
vicious) had ever done. But A})pius, strange as it b.c. 45i
may seem, having promised, with a prayer for
Heaven's blessing, to convene the comitia, turned
the obstacle into an op})ortunity. He effected by
collusion ^ the defeat of the two Quinctii, Capitolinus
and Cincinnatus, of his uncle Gaius Claudius, a
steadfast champion of the aristocratic cause, and of
other citizens of the same exalted rank ; and declared
the election of decemvirs who were no match for
these men in excellence. His own name he announced
among the first, a thing which good citizens con-
demned with as perfect unanimity, now it was done,
as they had before believed he would not dare to do
it. With him were elected Marcus Cornelius Malugi-
nensis, Marcus Sergius, Lucius Minucius, Quintus
Fabius Vibulanus, Quintus Poetelius, Titus Antonius
Merenda, Caeso Duillius, Spurius Oppius Cornicen,
Manius Rabuleius.^
XXXVI, Appius now threw off* the mask he had b.c, 450
been wearing, and began from that moment to live
as his true nature prompted him. His new colleagues
too he commenced, even before they entered upon
office, to fashion after his own character. Every
day they met together without witnesses. The
tyrannical designs which they there adopted they
matured in secret. They now no longer sought to
conceal their pride ; they were difficult of access,
and surly towards those who sought to speak with
them. Thus they carried matters until the Ides of
2 Dion. Hal. xi. xxiii, says that Poetelius, Duillius, and
Oppius were plebeians, as were probably Antonius and
Rabuleius as well. But Livy tells us (iv. iii. 17) that
they were all patricians.
117
LIVY
3 rem perduxere. Idus turn Maiae sollemnes ineundis
magistratibus erant. Inito igitur magistratu ^ primum
honoris diem denuntiatione ingentis terroris insignem
fecere. Nam cum ita priores decemviri servassent ut
unus fasces haberet et hoc insigne regium in orbera,
suam cuiiisqiie vicem, per omnes iret, subito omnes
4 cum duodenis fascibus prodiere. Centum viginti
lictores forum impleverant et cum fascibus secures
inligatas praeferebant ; nee attinuisse demi securem,
cum sine provocatione creati assent, interpreta-
5 bantur. Decem regum species erat multiplicatusque
terror non infimis solum sed primoribus patrum, ratis
caedis causam ac principium quaeri, ut si quis
memorem hbertatis vocem aut in senatu aut in
populo 2 misisset statim virgae securesque etiam ad
6 ceterorum metum expedirentur. Nam praeterquam
quod in populo nihil erat praesidii sublata pro-
vocatione, intercessionem quoque consensu sustu-
lerant, cum priores decemviri appellatione coUegae
corrigi reddita ab se iura tulissent et quaedam, quae
sui iudicji videri possent, ad poj)ulum reiecissent.
7 Aliquamdiu aequatus inter omnes terror fuit ; paulatim
totus vertere in plebem coepit. Abstinebatur a patri-
bus; in humiliores libidinose crudeliterque consule-
1 Inito igitur magistratu Madvig ' after Diilcer) : initio igitur
magistratus n.
2 in populo ,- ; in populum H.
I Mav 15th.
BOOK in. XXXVI. 2-7
Mc'iy,^ at that time the traditional date for begin-
ning a term of office. So then, when they had
taken up their duties, they signahzed the first day
of their administration by a terrible threat. For
whereas the former decemvirs had kept to the rule
that only one should have the fasces, and that this
regal emblem should pass from one to another in
rotation, so that each should have his turn, they
suddenly appeared in public, every man with his
twelve fasces. A hundred and twenty lictors crowded
the Forum, and before them, bound up in the rods,
they carried axes. And indeed the decemvirs ex-
plained that there had been no reason for removing
the axe, since the office to which they had been
chosen was without appeal. They seemed like ten
kings ; and the terror they inspired, not only in the
humblest citizens but in the leaders of the senate,
was intensified by the belief that the decemvirs were
merely seeking a pretext and an opening for blood-
shed, so that if anybody should pronounce a word in
praise of liberty, either in the senate or before the
people, the rods and axes might instantly be made
ready, were it only to frighten the rest. For besides
that there was no help in the people, the right of
appeal having been taken away, they had further
agreed not to interfere with each other's decisions ;
whereas their predecessors had allowed their judg-
ments to be revised upon appeal to one of their
colleagues ; and certain cases which might have been
held to be within their own competence they had
referred to the people. For a brief period the terror
was shared equally by all ; but little by little its full
force began to fall upon the plebs. The patricians
were left unmolested ; humbler folk were dealt with
IT9
LIVY
batur. Hominum. non causarum toti erant^ ut apud
8 quos gratia vim aequi haberet. ludicia domi con-
flabant, pronuntiabant in foro. Si quis coUegam
appellasset^ ab eo ad quem venerat ita discedebat ut
9 paeniteret non prioris decreto stetisse. Opinio etiam
sine auctore exierat non in praesentis modo temporis
eos iniuriam conspirasse, sed foedus clandestinum
inter ipsos iure iurando ictum. ne comitia haberent
perpetuoque decemviratu possessum semel obtinerent
imperium.
XXXVII. Circumspectare turn patriciorum voltus
plebeii et inde libertatis captare auram unde servi-
tutem timendo in eum statum rem publicam ad-
2 duxerant. Primores patrum odisse decemviros^ odisse
plebem ; nee probare quae fierent^ et credere baud
indignis accidere ; avide ruendo ad libertatem in
3 servitutem elapsos iuvare nolle, cumulari ^ quoque
iniurias, ut taedio praesentium consules duo tandem
4 et status pristinus rerum in desiderium veniant. lam
et processerat pars maior anni et duae tabulae legum
ad prioris anni decem tabulas erant adiectae, nee
quicquam iam supererat^ si eae quoque leges centuri-
atis comitiis perlatae essent, cur eo magistratu rei
5 publicae opus esset. Exspectabant quam mox con-
sulibus creandis comitia edicerentur. Id modo
^ :umulari Madvig : curnulare 'cumm. H) CI.
120
BOOK III. XXXVI. 7-XXXV11. 5
arbitrarily and cruelly. It was all a question of persons, b.c. 450
not of causes^ with the decemvirs, since influence held
with them the place of right. They concocted their
judgments in private, and pronounced them in the
Forum. If anybody sought redress Irom another
decemvir, he came away regretting that he had not
accepted the decision of the first. Moreover a
report had got out, though it was not vouched for,
that they had not only conspired for present wrong-
doing but had ratified with an oath a secret agree-
ment amongst themselves not to call an election,
but by means of a perpetual decemvirate to hold
the power they had once for all acquired.
XXXVII. The plebeians then fell to searching the b.c. uo
countenances of the patricians, and would catch at
the breath of freedom in that quarter where they
had so feared enslavement as to have reduced the
state to its present plight. The leading senators
hated the decemvirs and hated the plebs. They
could not approve of the things that were being
done ; still they believed them to be not undeserved.
They had no desire to help those who in their greedy
rush for liberty had fallen upon servitude, preferring
that their wrongs should even be multiplied, that
disgust at their actual situation might in the end
arouse a longing for the two consuls and the former
status of affairs. And now the greater part of the
year had passed, and the two tables of laws had been
added to the ten of the year before ; nor was there
any further business to make the decemvirate
necessary to the republic, so soon as those statutes too
should have been enacted in the centuriate assembly.
People were anxiously looking forward to the time
when the comitia for the election of consuls should
121
LIVY
plebes ^ agitabat, quonam modo tribuniciam potes-
tatem, munimentura libertati^ rem intermissam^ re-
pararent ; cuin interim mentio comitiorum nulla
6 fieri. Et decemviri, qui primo tribunicios homines,
quia id populare habebatur, circum se ostentaverant
plebi, patriciis iuvenibus saepserant latera. Eorum
7 catervae tribunalia obsederant. Hi ferre agere plebem
plebisque res, cum fortuna, quidquid ^ cupitum foret,
8 potentioris esset. Et iam ne tergo quidem abstine-
batur ; virgis caedi, alii securi subici ; et ne gratuita
criidelitas esset, bonorum donatio sequi domini sup-
plicium. Hac mercede iuventus nobilis corrupta non
modo non ire obviam iniuriae, sed propalam licentiam
suam malle quam omnium liber tatem.
XXXVI II. Idus Maiae venere. Nullis subrogatis
magistratibus privati pro decemviris neque animis ad
imperium inhibendum imminutis neque ad speciem
honoris insignibus prodeunt. Id vero regnum baud
2 dubie videri. Deploratur in perpetuum libertas, nee
vindex quisquam exsistit aut futurus videtur. Nee
ipsi solum desponderant animos, sed contemni coepti
erant a finitimis populis, imperiumque ibi esse ubi
3 non esset libertas indignabantur. Sabini magna
manu incursionem in agrum Romanum fecere ; lateque
1 plebes HL"^ : plebs 0 : plebe PE^.DL: plebem F-FUBU^.
- quidquid DuAfr: qua quidquid (qui quicquid iT) n.
1 Rome enjoyed no hegemony over Sabines and Aequians
at tliis time, though Livy evidently thinks she did.
122
BOOK III. xxxvir. 5-xxxviii. 3
be announced. The plebeians felt only one con- b.c. 4 19
cern : how were they ever goinjj^ to restore the
tribunician power (their bulwark of liberty) which
had been suspended ? Meanwhile there was no
mention of an election. And the decemvirs^ who
had at first exhibited themselves to the plebs in the
society of former tribunes, because this had been
thought a recommendation to the people, had now
assumed a retinue of young patricians. Their bands
blocked the tribunals. They bullied the plebs and
plundered their possessions ; for success attended
the strong, no matter what they coveted. And now
they ceased even to respect a man's person ; some
they scourged with rods, others they made to feel
the axe ; and, that cruelty might not go unrequited,
they bestowed the victim's property upon his slayer.
Corrupted by these wages, the young nobles not
only made no stand against wrong-doing, but frankly
showed that they preferred licence for themselves to
liberty for all.
XXXVIII. The Ides of May came. Without caus-
ing any magistrates to be elected, the decemvirs,
now private citizens, appeared in public with no
abatement either of the spirit with which they
exercised their power or the insignia which pro-
claimed their office. But this was unmistakable
tyranny. Men mourned for liberty as for ever lost ;
nor did any one arise, or seem likely to do so, in its
defence. And not only had the people themselves
lost heart ; but they had begun to be desi)ised by
the neighbouring nations, who could ill brook the
existence of imperial power where there was no
liberty.! xhe Sabines made an incursion with a
large force into Roman territory, whicli they every-
123
LIVY
Kx.c. populati. cum hominum atque pecudum inulti praedas
egissent, recepto ad Eretum ^ quod passim vagatum
erat agmine castra locant^ spem in discordia Romana
4 ponentes : earn impedimentum dilectui fore. Non
nuntii solum sed per urbem agrestium fuga trepida-
tionem iniecit. Decemviri consultant quid opus facto
sit, destituti inter patrum et plebis odia. Addit^ ter-
5 rorem insuper alium fortuna. Aequi alia ex parte
castra in Algido locant depopulanturque inde excur-
sionibus Tusculanum agrum. Legati ea^ ab Tusculo
6 praesidium orantes nuntiant. Is pavor perculit de-
cemviros ut senatum simul duobus circumstantibus
urbem bellis consulerent. Citari iubent in curiam
patres baud ignari quanta invidiae immineret tem-
7 pestas : omnes vastati agri periculorumque imminen-
tium causas in se congesturos, temptationemque eam
fore abolendi sibi magistratus, ni consensu resisterent
imperioque inhibendo acriter in paucos praeferocis
8 animi conatus aliorum comprimerent. Postquam
audita vox in foro est praeconis patres in curiam
ad decemviros vocantis, velut nova res, quia inter-
miserant iam diu morem consulendi senatus, mira-
bundam plebem convertit, quidnam incidisset, cur ex
9 tanto intervallo rem desuetam usurparent; hostibus
1 ad Eretum - : ad fretura CI : ac eretum J/? : ad efretum
PFU.
2 additn: addidit VHRDL.
2 legati ea V : legatie Jj i : legali n.
124
BOOK III. XXXVIII. 3-9
where laid waste. Having safely driven off their b.c. 449
booty, comprising men and beasts, they withdrew
their army, which had ranged far and wide, to
Eretum. There they established a camp, ho})ing
tliat the want of harmony at Rome would interfere
with the levying of troops. Not only the messengers
who came, but the flight of the country-people, who
thronged the City, inspired a feeling of dismay.
The decemvirs considered what they had best do ;
for they were left in the lurch by the hatred of the
patricians on the one side and of the plebs on theotlier.
Moreover Fortune sent an additioiiJil alarm. The
Aequi came from another quarter and encamped on
Algidus, and from there raided the lands of Tusculum.
Tusculan envoys brought tidings of these acts, and be-
sought protection. The fright which this occasioned
drove the decemvirs, now that the City was hemmed
in between two simultaneous wars, to consult the
senate. They ordered the Fathers to be summoned
to the Curia, though they were not ignorant how
great a storm of unpopularity was brewing : the
devastation of the land and the dangers which
impended would be laid by everybody at their
doors ; and this would lead to an attempt being
made to abolish their magistracy, unless they pre-
sented a united resistance, and by sharply exercising
their power upon the few really daring spirits, put a
stop to the efforts of the rest. When the crier's
voice was heard in the Forum, calling the senators
to meet the decemvirs in tiie Curia, it was like an
innovation, so long had they disregarded the custom
of consulting the senate, and it aroused the attention
of the plebs, who wondered what in the world could
have happened, that after so long an interval they
125
LIVY
A.u.c. belloque gratiam habendaii)^ quod solitum quicquam
liberae civitati ^ fieret. Circumspectare omnibus fori
10 partibus senatorem raroque usquam noscitare; curiam
inde ac sobtudinem circa decemviros intueri, cum et
ipsi- consensu invisum imperium et plel^s. quia privatis
ius non esset vocandi senatum^ non convenire patres
interpretarentur : iam caput fieri Hbertatem repeten-
tium, si se plebs comitem senatui det, et quem ad
modum patres vocati non coeant in senatum, sic plebs
11 abnuat dilectuni. Haec fremunt plebes. Patrum
baud fere quisquam in foro, in urbe rari erant. Indig-
nitate rerum cesserant in agros, suarumque rerum
erant amissa pubbca^ tantum ab iniuria se abesse
rati, quantum a coetu congressuque impotentium
12 dominorum se amovissent. Postquam citati non con-
veniebantj dimissi circa domos apparitores simul ad
pignera capienda sciscitandumque num consulto
detrectarent referunt senatum in agris esse. Laetius
id decemviris accidit quam si praesentes detrectare
13 inq^erium referrent. lubent acciri omnes^ sena-
tumque in diem posterum edicunt ; qui aHquanto
^ civitati Drahrahorch {confirmed by l^ : ciuitatis a.
ipsi il : ipsis M : ipsi suum Conway and Walters.
126
BOOK III. XXXVIII. 9-13
should be reviving a forgotten usage ; the enemy and b.o. 449
the war deserved men's gratitude, if anything what-
ever was being done which was usual in a free state.
Men looked about in every corner of the Forum to
discover a senator, and seldom recognized one any-
where ; then their glances rested on the Curia and
the decemvirs sitting there alone. Meantime the
decemvirs themselves explained the Fathers' failure
to assemble as owing to the universal detestation of
their rule ; the commons as due to their having no
authority, being private citizens, to convoke the
senate : a beginning, it seemed, was already being
made towards the recovery of freedom, if the plebs
would join with the senate ; and if, even as the
P'athers were refusing, when summoned, to attend
the session, so they, for their part, would reject the
levy. Such were the murmurs of the plebs.
Of senators there was scarce one in the Forum, and
there were but few in the City. In their resentment
at the situation they had witlidrawn to their farms
and were absorbed in their private affairs, disregard-
ing those of the nation ; for they felt that they were
secure from insult only so far as they removed them-
selves from contact and association with their tyran-
nical masters. When on being cited they failed to
appear, officers were sent round to their houses, for
the double purpose of exacting fines and of ascer-
taining whether their recalcitrancy were deliberate.
They reported that the senators were in the country.
This was more pleasing to the decemvirs than if
they had announced that the Fathers were in town
and repudiated their authority. They commanded
them all to be summoned, and proclaimed a meeting
of the senate for the following day. This session
127
LIVY
spe ipsorum frequentior convenit. Quo facto proditani
a patribus plebs libertatem rata, quod iis qui iam
magistratu abissent privatisque, si vis abesset, tam-
quam iure cogentibus senatus paruisset.
XXXIX. Sed magis oboedienter ventum in curiam^
qiiam obnoxie dictas sententias accepimus. L. Va.-
lerium Potitum proditum memoriae est post rela-
tionem Ap. Claudi^ priusquam ordine sententiae
rogarentui\ postulando ut de re publicaliceret dicere,
prohibentibus minaciter decemviris proditurum se ad
plebem denuntiantem turaultum excivisse. Nee minus
ferociter M. Horatium Barbatum isse in certamen,
decem Tarquinios appellantem admonenteraque Va-
leriis et Horatiis ducibus pulsos reges. Nee nominis
homines tum pertaesum esse, quippe quo lovem
appellari fas sit; quo Romulum, conditorem urbis,
deincepsque reges/^ quod sacris etiam ut sollemne
retentum sit : superbiam violentiamque tum perosos
regis. Quae si in rege tum ^ aut in filio regis ferenda
non fuerint, quern eadem* laturum in tot privatis ?
Viderent ne vetando in curia libere homines loqui
extra curiam etiam moverent vocem ; neque se videre
^ in curiam Madvig : in curiam est (esse M) H.
^ reges Madvig : reges appellatos n.
^ rege tum Walters : rege tum eodem H.
* quem eadem laturum Waltirs \ quem laturum 0.: qua
laturiam R : quam laturiam DL.
^ Livy did not mention Horatius in his account of the ex-
pulsion of the kings, but he is named by Dion. Hal. iv.
Ixxxv. Here ]>ivy and Dion. Hal. (xi. v.), are in agreement,
and are perhaps following the account of Licinius Macer.
2 See II. ii. 1.
BOOK III. XXXVIII. 13-XXXIX. 6
was somewhat better attended than they had them- b.o. 449
selves expected. Whereupon the plebs concluded
that liberty had been betrayed by the senators, since
those who had already gone out of office and were
mere private citizens, save for the force they exer-
cised, were obeyed by them as though they had the
authority to command.
XXXIX. But their obedience in coming to the
senate-house was greater, we are told, than their
submissiveness in the expression of their views.
It is related that Lucius Valerius Potitus, after
Appius Claudius had proposed his motion and before
the senators were called upon in order for their
opinions, demanded leave to speak on the state of
the nation ; and when the decemvirs tried with
threats to prevent his doing so, stirred up a violent
commotion by declaring that he would go before the
plebs. With equal spirit, it is said, did Marcus
Horatius Barbatus enter the dispute, calling them
ten Tarquinii, and warning them that the Valerii
and the Horatii had been leaders in the expulsion of
the kings. ^ Nor was it the name, said he, which
had then disgusted men, since by this name Juj)iter
was duly called ; and Romulus, the founder of the
City : and the successive kings ; and it had even
been retained for religious rites as a solemn title."
No, it was the pride and violence of the king which
men had hated in those days ; and if these qualities
had then been intolerable in a king, or the son of a
king, who would endure them in so many private
citizens ? Let them beware lest by denying men
freedom of speech in the Curia they should set them
a-talking outside the Curia as well. He could not
see, he continued, how, as a private citizen, he was
129
VOL. II. K
LIVY
qui ^ sibi minus private ad contionem populum vocare
7 quam illis senatum cogere liceat. Ubi vellent ex-
perirentur quanto fortior dolor in libertate ^ sua
vindicanda quam cupiditas in iniusta dominatione
8 esset. De bello Sabino eos referre^ tamquam maius
ullum populo Romano bellum sit quam cum iis ^ qui
legum ferendarum causa creati nihil iuris in civitate
reliquerint, qui comitia^ qui annuos magistratus^ qui
vicissitudinem imperitandi^ quod unum exaequandae
sit libertatis^ sustulerint ; qui privati fasces et regium
9 imperium habeant. Fuisse regibus exactis patricios
magistratuSj creates postea post secessionem plebis
plebeios ; cuius illi partis assent, rogitare. Populares ?
Quid enim eos per populum egiss? ? Optimates ? Qui
anno iam prope senatum non habuerint, nunc ^ ita
10 habeantj ut de re publica loqui prohibeant ? Ne
nimium in metu alieno spei ponerent ; graviora
quae patiantur videri iam hominibus quam quae
metuant.
XL. Haec vociferante Horatio cum decemviri nee
irae nee ignoscendi modum reperirent nee quo evasura
2 res esset cernerent, C. Claudi, qui patruus Appi de-
cemviri erat, oratio fuit precibus quam iurgio similior/
orantis per sui fratris parentisque eius manes ut
1 qui UOR''- : quin Ci.
2 in libertate y^^/yj,- : libertate n.
3 iis ,- : is MPO : his n.
* nunc Scheller : tunc D..
5 similior B} Asccixsius : similis Ci.
130
BOOK III. xxxix. 6-XL. 2
less entitled to assemble the people for a speech
than they were to convene the senate. When they
liked they might learn by making the experiment
how much stronger indignation was in the vindica-
tion of a man's own liberty than was ambition in
defence of unjust power. The decemvirs talked of
a Sabine war, as if any war were more important to
the Roman People than war with those who, though
they had been appointed to propose statutes, had left
no law in the state ; who had done away with
elections, with annual magistracies, with the succes-
sion of new governors — the only means of equalizing
liberty ; — and who, though private citizens, had the
rods and the power of kings. Following the expulsion
of the kings there had been patrician magistrates ;
later, after the secession of the plebs, plebeian
magistrates had been elected. Of what party, he
asked, were they? Of the popular party? Pray
what had they done through the agency of the
people ? Of the aristocratic party ? When they
had held no meeting of the senate for close upon a
year, and were now so conducting it as to suppress
discussion of the national welfare ? Let them not
trust too much to other men's fears ; the things men
were enduring now seemed more grievous to them
than the things they feared.
XL. While Horatius was thus declaiming, the
decemvirs were at a loss to know how far they could
afford either to resent or to overlook it ; nor could
they make out what the upshot was likely to be.
But Gains Claudius, the uncle of Appius the decemvir,
made a speech, approaching more nearly to entreaty
than expostulation, in which he implored him in the
name of his own brother's and his father's departed
131
K 2
LIVY
3 civilis potius societatis, in qua natus esset^ quam
foederis nefarie icti cum collegis meminisset. Multo
id magis se illius causa orare quam rei publicae ;
4 quippe rem pul)licam^ si a volentibus nequeat; ab
invitis ius expetituram ; sed ex magno certamine
magnas excitari ferme iras ; earum eventum se hor-
5 rere. Cum aliud praeterquam de quo rettulissent
decemviri dicere })rohiberent; Claudium interpellandi
verecundia fuit. Sentent4am igitur peregit nullum
6 placere senatus consultum fieri. Omnesque ita acci-
j)iebant. privatos eos a Claudio iudicatos ; multique
7 ex consularibus verbo adsensi sunt. Alia sententia,
asperior in speciem, vim minorem aliquanto habuit,
quae patricios coire ad prodendum interregem iube-
bat. Censendo enim quodcumque ^ magistratus esse
qui senatum haberent iudicabant^quos privatos fecerat *
8 auctor nullius senatus consulti faciendi. Ita labente
iam causa decemvirorum L. Cornelius Maluginensis_,
M. Corneli decemviri frater^ cum ex consulari])us ad
ultimum dicendi locum consulto servatus esset^ simu-
lando curam belli fratrem collegasque eius tuebatur,
9 quonam fato incidisset mirari se dictitans ut de-
cemviros, qui decemviratum petissent — aut soli ii aut-
10 maxima — oppugnarent ; aut quid ita^ cum per tot
^ quodcumque Madvig : quoscumque (quiscunque F) H.
2 aut soli ii aut Conicay : aut soli aut ii Crevier : aut solii
aut hi ^ : aut socii aut ii {or hi; n.
BOOK III. XL. 3-IO
spirits to remember rather the civil society in which
he had been born than the wicked compact he had
entered into with his colleagues. This he begged
much more for Appius's own sake than for the sake of
the nation ; indeed the nation would demand its
rights in spite of the decemvirs, if they did not
accord them voluntarily; but a great struggle
usually aroused great passions, and he shuddered
to think what these might lead to. Although the
decemvirs wished to prevent discussion of anything
but the subject they had introduced, they were
ashamed to interrupt Claudius, who accordingly
brought his speech to a conclusion, with the proposal
that the senate should take no action. Everybody
accepted this as meaning that Claudius held the
decemvirs to be private citizens ; and many of con-
sular rank signified their approval, without discussion.
Another motion, ostensibly harsher, but in reality
somewhat less drastic, directed the patricians to
assemble and proclaim an interrex. For by passing
any measure whatsoever they declared those who
presided over the senate to be magistrates ; whereas
they had been rated as mere citizens by him who
advised the senate against ado})ting any resolution.
Thus the cause of the decemvirs was already
collapsing, when Lucius Cornelius Maluginensis,
brother of Marcus Cornelius the decemvir, who
had purposely been reserved to be the last speaker
among the ex-consuls, defended his brother and his
brother's colleagues by feigning anxiety about the
war. He said he wondered by what fatality it had
come about that the decemvirs were being attacked
solely, or at least chiefly, by those who had sought
election to that office ; or why it was that during
^33
LIVY
menses vacua civitate nemo iustine magistratus sum-
mae rerum praeessent controversiam fecerit^^ nunc
demum cum hostes prope ad portas sint, civiles dis-
cordias serant, nisi quod in turbido minus perspicuum
11 fore putent quid agatur. Ceterum — nonne enim ^
maiore cura occupatis animis verum esse praeiudicium
rei tantae auferri ? — sibi placere de eo quod Valerius
Horatiusque ante idus Maias decemviros abisse
magistratu ^ insimulent^ bellis quae immineant per-
fectis. re publica in tranquillum redacta, senatu
12 disceptante agi, et iam nunc ita se parare Ap.
Claudium ut comitiorum quae decemviris creandis
decemvir ipse habueiit sciat sibi rationem reddendam
esse utrum in unum annum creati sint^ an donee
13 leges quae deessent perferrentur. In praesentia
omnia praeter bellum omilti placere; cuius si falso
famam volgatam, vanaque non nuntios solum sed
Tusculanorum etiam legatos adtulisse putent, spe-
culatores mittendos censere qui certius explorata
14 referant ; sin fides et nuntiis et legatis habeatur,
dilectum primo quoque tem})ore haberi et decemviros
quo cuique eorum videatur exercitus ducere nee rem
aliam praeverti.
XLI. In banc sententiam ut discederetur iuniores
^ fecerit F'^U : fecerint (fecerunt 0) CI.
'^ nonne enim JVaUers : neminem (nemini se J/?) n.
" magistratu F^ {or F^j D'X : magistratum Cl.
^ Apparently the decemvirs were technically within their
rights in clainiing that they held office until the tables were
ratified by popular vote.
BOOK III. XL. lo-xLi. I
the many montlis in Mhich the state had been at b.c. 449
peace nobody had raised the question whether regu-
lar magistrates were at the head of affairs, and only
now_, when the enemy were ahnost at their gates,
were men sowing poHtical dissension ; unless it was
because they thought that in troubled waters it
would be harder to discern what was going on.
For the rest, was it not right that when men's
attention was taken up with the larger concern, all
prejudgment of so important a matter should be
eliminated ? He therefore proposed, concerning the
charge brought by Valerius and Horatius that the
official term of the decemvirs had expired on the day
before the Ides of May, that they should first con-
clude the impending wars and restore the state's
tranquillity, and then refer the question to the senate
for settlement ; and that Appius Claudius should
at once make up his mind to recognize that he must
explain, regarding the comitia which he had held
for the election of decemvirs — being one himself —
whether they v/ere chosen for one } ear or until the
missing laws should be enacted.^ For the present
he thought they should pay no attention to anything
but the war. If the current rumours about it seemed
to them to be false, and if they supposed that not
only the couriers but the Tusculan envoys also had
brought them idle stories, he suggested that they
send out scouts to investigate and return with more
certain information. But if they trusted both
couriers and envoys, a levy should be held at the
earliest possible moment; and the decemvirs sliould
lead the armies whither it seemed good to each of
tliem, giving precedence to no other business.
XLI. The younger senators were about to force
135
LIVY
patrum evincebant. Ferocioresque iterum coorti Va-
lerius Horatiusque vociferari ut de re publica liceret
dicere ; dicturos ad populum, si in senatu per factionem
lion liceat ; neque enim sibi privates aut in curia aut
in contione posse obstare^ neque se imaginariis fasci-
2 bus eorum cessuros esse. Turn Appius, iam prope
esse ratus ut ni violentiae eorum pari resisteretur
3 audacia victum imperium esset, •*■ Xon erit melius "
inquit, "^^nisi de quo consulimus vocem misisse/' et
ad Valerium, negantem se privato reticere, lictorem
4 accedere iussit. Iam Quiritium fidem implorante
Valerio a curiae limine^ L. Cornelius complexus
Appium, non cui ^ simulabat consulendo^ diremit
certamen ; factaque per Cornelium Valerio dicendi
gratia quae vellet, cum libertas non ultra vocem ex-
5 cessisset^ decemviri propositum tenuere. Consulares
quoque ac seniores ab residuo tribuniciae potestatis
odiOj cuius desiderium plebi multo acrius quam con-
sularis imperii rebantur esse^ prope malebant post-
modo ipsos decemviros voluntate abire magistratu
6 quam invidia eorum exsurgere rursus plebem : si
leniter ducta res sine populari strepitu ad consules
redisset, aut bell is interpositis aut moderatione con-
sul um in imperiis exercendis posse in oblivionem
tribunorum plebem adduci.
* non cui Vorm.t {RJicnanus) : non quid cui M : non quid
{qd. 0) D. : non quod i'r.
^ He pretended concern for Valerius, but was really
prompted by a wish to further the ends of Appius, by
preventing an undesirable test of men's temper.
136
BOOK III. xLi. 1-6
this motion through on a division, when Valerius and
Horatius, in a second and more impassioned out-
burst, demanded that they be permitted to speak
about the state of the nation. They would address
the people, they said, if they were restrained b}^ a
faction from speaking in the senate ; for neither could
private citizens prevent them, whether in the senate-
house or in an assembly, nor would they yield to the
emblems of a fictitious authority. Thereupon Appius,
thinking the moment was at hand when, unless he
opposed their violence with equal boldness, his
authority was doomed, cried out, "It will be safer
not to utter a word excei)t on the subject of de-
bate ! " And when Valerius asserted that he would
not be silenced by a mere citizen, he sent a lictor to
arrest him. Valerius was imploring the citizens for
help, from the threshold of the Curia, when Lucius
Cornelius, throwing his arms about Appius, and
feigning to be concerned for the other man,^ stopped
the quarrel. At his request Valerius was permitted
to say what he wished. But liberty went no further
than speech ; the decemvirs made good their design.
Even the ex-consuls and the elder senators, in con-
sequence of their lingering hatred of the tribunician
power, which they thought the plebs regretted much
more keenly than they did the authority of the con-
suls, almost preferred that at some later time the de-
cemvirs should voluntarily abdicate than that hatred
of them should lead to another rising of the plebs.
If gentle measures should restore the government to
the consuls, without any popular outcry, they might,
either through the intervention of wars, or through
the moderation of the consuls in the exercise of their
power, bring the plebeians to forget the tribunes.
137
LIVY
7 Sileiitio patrum edicitur dilectus. luniores^ cum
sine provocatione im})eriuin esset^ ad nomina re-
spondent. Legionibus scriptis inter se decemviri
comparant,^ quos ire ad bellum^ quos praeesse exer-
8 citibus oporteret. Principes inter decemviros erant
Q. Fabius et Ap. Claudius. Bellum domi maius
quam foris apparebat. Appi violentiam aptiorem
rati ad comprimendos urbanos motus ; in Fabio minus
in bono constans potius quam ^ navum in malitia
9 ingenium esse. Hunc enim virum, egregium olim
domi militiaeque, decemviratus coUegaeque ita mu-
taverant^ ut Appi quam sui similis mallet esse. Huic
bellum in Sabinis M'. Rabuleio ^ et Q. Poetelio *
10 additis collegis mandatum. M. Cornelius in Algidum
missus cum L. Minucio et T. Antonio et K. Duillio
et M. Sergio. 5 Sp. Oppium Ap. Claudio adiutorem
ad urbem tuendam aequo omnium decemvirorum
imperio decernunt.
XLII. Xihilo militiae quam domi melius res
2 publica administrata est. Ilia modo in ducibus culpa
quod ut odio essent civibus fecerant ; alia omnis
penes milites noxia erat^ qui ne quid ductu atque
auspicio decemvirorum prospere usquam gereretur
vinci se per suum atque illorum dedecus patiebantur.
3 Fusi et ab Sabinis ad Eretum ^ et in Algido ab Acquis
^ comparant Cobd : comparabant Ci.
2 constans potius quam //. J. Mueller : constans quam H.
3 M'. Rabuleio R Sigonius (cf. chap. xxxv. § 11 ; Lion. Hal.
X Iviii. 4j : lu. rabulleio (-bule- D) fl.
* Poetelio Sigonius {cf. chop. xxxv. §11): poetilio CI:
poetioli B : petilio F^ (petelio F':).
^ M. Sergio - (cf. chap. xxxv. § 11) : 1. sergio CI : Sergio U.
^ lOretum -: fretuni CI.
138
BOOK III. xLi. 7-xLii. 3
The senators permitted in silence the proclamation
of a levy. The young men answered to their names,
since the authority of the decemvirs was without
appeal. When the legions were enrolled, the de-
cemvirs settled among themselves who ought to go
to the front and who command the armies. Chief
among the ten were Quintus Fa bins and Appius
Claudius. The war at home seemed more important
than that abroad. The violence of Ap])ius was, they
thought, more adapted to quell disturbances in the
City ; while Fabius was of a character deficient in
steady rectitude rather than actively bad. For this
man, once pre-emhient in civil and in military affairs,
had been so altered by the decemvirate and by his
colleagues that he chose rather to be like Appius
than like himself. To him was intrusted the war
in the Sabine country, and Manius Rabuleius and
Quintus Poetelius were given him as colleagues.
Marcus Cornelius was sent to Mount Algidus, with
Lucius Minucius, Titus Antonius, Caeso Duillius, and
Marcus Sergius. Spurius Oppius they assigned to
Appius Claudius, to help him in looking out for the
City ; and they gave them the same powers as had
been exercised by the entire board.
XLI I. The business of the nation was managed
no better in the field than at home. The only fault
of the generals was that they had made the citizens
detest them ; the rest of the blame belonged to the
soldiers, who, that nothing might anywhere prosper
under the command and auspices of the decemvirs,
permitted themselves to be beaten, to their own dis-
grace and that of their commanders. Their armies
were routed, both by the Sabines near Eretum,
and on Algidus by the Aequi. From Eretum they
139
LIVY
exercitus erant. Ab Ereto ^ per silentium noctis pro-
fugi pro})ius urbem^ inter Fidenas Crustumeriamque,
4 loco edito castra communierant ; persecutis hostibus
nusquam se aequo certamine committentes.natura loci
5 ac vallo. non virtute aut armis tutabantur. Maius fiagi-
tiam in Algido, maior etiam clades accepta; castra qiio-
que amissa erant, exutusque omnibus utensilibus miles
Tusculum se, fide misericordiaque victurus hospitum,
6 quae tamen non fefellerunt, contulerat.^ Romam
tanti erant terrores allati ut posito iam decemvirali
odio patres vigilias in urbe habendas censerent, omnes
qui per aetatem arma ferre possent custodire moenia
7 ac pro portis stationes agere iuberent, arma Tusculum
ac ^ supplementum decernerent decemvirosque ab
arce Tusculi degressos in castris militem habere ;
castra alia a Fidenis in Sabinum agrum transferrin
belloque ultro inferendo deterreri hostes a consilio
urbis oppugnandae.
XLII I. Ad clades ab hostibus acce})tas duo nefanda
2 facinora decemviri belli domique adiciunt. L. Siccium
in Sabinis, per invidiam decemviralem tribunorum
creandorum secessionisque mentiones ad volgus mili-
tum sermonibus occultis serentem, prospeculatum ad
3 locum castris capiendum mittunt. Datur negotium
militibus quos miserant expeditionis eius comites ut
^ Ereto Mr : efi eto (or freto) CI.
2 contulerat Ur : contulerant {urniting in V) CI.
3 ac FM : ad Ci.
^ Surnamed Dentatus, and known, according to Aulus
Gellius (II. xi.) as the Roman Achilles. Dion. Hal. (xi.
XXV. f.) tells the story at greater length and somewhat
differently.
140
BOOK III. xLii. 3 xuii. 3
fled in the silence of the nighty and intrenclied
themselves near the City, between Fidenae and
Crustumeria, on elevated ground. When the enemy
followed them up, they nowhere ventured to fight
in the open field, but defended themselves by the
position and their rampart, not by bravery and
arms. The disgrace on Algidus was worse, and
a worse disaster was sustained ; even the camp was
lost, and stripped of all their baggage, the soldiers
fled to Tusculum, to subsist by the loyalty and
compassion of their hosts, — which nevertheless did
not fail them. To Rome came such alarming reports
that the patricians, laying aside now their hatred of
the decemvirs, voted to establish watches in the
City, and commanded all who were of an age to
bear arms to guard the walls and do outpost duty
before the gates. They decreed that arms should
be dispatched to Tusculum, and reinforcements, and
that the decemvirs should descend from the Tusculan
citadel and hold their troops in camp ; that the other
camp should be transferred from Fidenae to Sabine
territory, so that by taking the offensive they might
frighten the enemy into abandoning his design to
besiege the City.
XLIII. To the disaster suflfered at the hands of
the enemy the decemvirs added two shameful crimes,
one committed in the field, the other at home. Lucius
Siccius ^ was serving in the Sabine campaign. Taking
advantage of the hatred entertained for the decemvirs,
he would scatter hints, in secret conversations with
the common soldiers, that they should elect tribunes
and secede. So the generals sent him to look out a
place for an encampment ; and instructed the men
whom they assigned to share his expedition to set
141
Livy
4 eum opportuno adorti loco interficerent. Haud in-
ultum interfecere ; nam circa repugnantem aliquot
insidiatores cecidere^ cum ipse se praevalidus pari
5 viribus animo circumventus tutaretur. Nuntiant in
castra ceteri praecipitatum in insidias esse ; Siccium
egregie pugnantem militesque quosdam cum eo
6 amissos. Primo fides nuntiantibus fuit ; profecta
deinde cohorsad sepeliendos qui ceciderant decemvi-
rorum perraissu^postquam nullum spoliatum ibi corpus
Sicciumque in medio iacentem armatum ^ omnibus in
eum versis corporibus videre, hostium neque corpus
ullum nee vestigia abeuntium, profecto ab suis inter-
7 fectum memorantes rettulere corpus. Invidiaeque
plena castra erant^, et Romam ferri protinus Siccium
placebatj ni decemviri funus militare ei publica in-
pensa facere maturassent. Sepultus ingenti militum
maestitia, pessima decemvirorum in volgus fama est.
XLIV. Sequitur aliud in urbe nefas ab libidine
ortum^ haud minus foedo eventu quam quod per
stuprum caedemque Lucretiae urbe regnoque Tar-
quinios expulerat, ut non finis solum idem decemviris
qui regibus sed causa etiam eadem imperii amittendi
2 esset. Ap. Claudium virginis plebeiae stuprandae
libido cepit. Pater virginis, L. VerginiuSj honestum
1 armutum F: armatumque n.
142
BOOK III. XLIII. 3-ALlV. 2
upon him when they liad got to a suital)le spot,
and kill him. He died not unavenged. For he
laid about him, and several of the assassins fell,
for he was very strong, and though surrounded,
defended himself with a courage equal to his
strength. The others reported at the camp that
they had fallen into an ambuscade, and that
Siccius had perished, fighting valiantly, and with
him certain soldiers. At first their report Mas
believed ; afterwards a cohort set out, by permission
of the decemvirs, to bury the slain ; and finding that
none of the bodies there had been despoiled, and that
Siccius lay armed in the midst, with all the bodies
facing him, while the enemy had left no dead nor
any indication of having withdrawn, they brought
back the corpse, and declared that Siccius had
certainly been murdered by his own men. The
camp was ablaze with indignation, and it was re-
solved that Siccius should be carried to Rome forth-
with ; but the decemvirs made haste to give him a
military funeral at the public cost. The soldiers
sorrowed greatly at his burial, and the worst reports
were current about the decemvirs.
XLIV. This outrage was followed by another,
committed in Rome, which was inspired by lust and
was no less shocking in its consequences than that
which had led, through the rape and the death of
Lucretia, to the expulsion of the Tarquinii from
the City and from their throne ; thus not only did
the same end befall the decemvirs as had befallen
the kings, but the same cause deprived them of
their power. Appius Claudius was seized with the
desire to debauch a certain maiden belonging to
the plebs. The girl's father, Lucius Verginius, a
M3
LIVY
ordinem in Algido ducebat^ vir exempli recti domi
militiaeque, Perinde uxor instituta fuerat liberique
3 instituebantur. Desponderat filiam L. Icilio tribu-
niciOj viro acri et pro causa plebis expertae virtutis.
4 Hanc virginem adultam forma excellentem Appius
amore amens pretio ac spe perlicere adortus,
postquam omnia pudore saepta animadvertit/ ad
5 crudelem superbamque vim animum convertit. M.
Chiudio clienti negotium dedit ut virginem in servi-
tutem adsereret neque cederet secundum libertatem
postulaiitibus vindicias^ quod pater puellae abesset
6 locum iniuriae esse ratus. ^'irgini venienti in forum
— ibi namque in tabernaculis litterarum ludi erant —
minister decemviri libidinis manum iniecit, serva sua ^
natam servamque appellans, sequique se iubebat:^
7 cunctantem vi abstracturum. Pavida puella stupente
ad clamorem nutricis fidem Quiritium implorantis fit
concursus. Vergini patris sponsique Icili populare
nomen celebrabatur.^ Xotos gratia eorum, turbam
8 indignitas rei virgin! conciliat. lam a vi tuta erat^
cum adsertor nihil opus esse multitudine concitata
ait ; se iure grassari, non vi. Vocat puellam in ius.
* animadvertit V : animaduerterat n.
2 serva sua VD^ : seruam suain n.
3 sequique se iubebat Gronov. : esse sequique se iubebat
n : sequi iubebat V~ : esse sequique seuiebat DL.
* celebrabatur n : celebratur ORDL : celebratum V.
144
BOOK III. xLiv. 2-8
centurion of rank, Mas serving on Algidiis, a man
of exemplary life at home and in the army. His
wife had been brought up in the same principles,
and his children were being trained in them. He
had betrothed his daughter to the former tribune
Lucius Icilius, an active man of proven courage in
the cause of the plebeians. She was a grown girl,
remarkably beautiful, and Appius, crazed with love,
attempted to seduce her with money and promises.
But finding that her modesty was proof against
everything, he resolved on a course of cruel and
tyrannical violence. He commissioned Marcus
Claudius, his client, to claim the girl as his slave,
and not to yield to those who demanded her
liberation, thinking that the absence of the maiden's
father afforded an oj)})ortunity for the wrong. As
Verginia was entering the Forum — for there, in
booths, were the elementary schools — the minister
of the decemvir's lust laid his hand upon her, and
calling her the daughter of his bond-woman and
herself a slave, commanded her to follow him, and
threatened to drag her off by force if she lumg
back. Terror made the maiden speechless, but the
cries of her nurse imploring help of the Quirites
quickly brought a crowd about them. The names
of Verginius her father and of her betrothed Icilius
were known and popular. Their acquaintance were
led to support the girl out of regard for them ; the
crowd was influenced by the shamelessness of the
attempt. She was already safe from violence, when
the claimant protested that there was no occasion
for the people to become excited ; he was proceeding
lawfully, not by force. He then summoned the girl
to court. She was advised by her supporters to
M5
VOL. II. L
LIVY
9 Auctoribus qui aderant ut se(|ueretur. ad tribunal
Appi perventum est. Notam iudici fabulam petitor,
quippe apud ipsum auctorem argumenti, peragit :
puellam domi suae iiatam furtoque inde in domum
10 Vergini translatam suppositam ei esse ; id se indicio
compertum adferre probaturumque vel ipso Verginio
iudice, ad quem maior pars iniuriae eius pertineat ;
11 interim dominura sequi ancillam aequum esse. Advo-
cati puellae; cum Verginium rei publicae causa
dixissent abesse^ biduo adfuturum si nuntiatum ei
12 sit, iniquum esse absentem de liberis dimicare,
postulant ut rem integram in patris adventum
differat, \ege ab ipso lata vindicias det secundum
libertatem, neu patiatur virginem adultam famae
prius quam libertatis periculum adire.
XLV. Appius decreto praefatur^^ quam libertati
faverit earn ipsam legem declarare quam ^'ergini
2 amici postulationi suae praetendant ; ceterum ita
in ea firmura libertati fore praesidium si nee causis
nee personis variet ; in aliis ^ enim qui adserantur in
1 praefatur F : praefatus n.
2 in aliis Karsten : in iis ^ : in his H.
^ Dion. Hal. XL. iv.) mentions Icilius and Xumitorius
as offering to be Verginia's vindices, i. e. to put in a claim
to interim custody of the girl, till the suit determining her
status should be decided.
146
BOOK III. xLiv. 9-\Lv. 2
follow him, and they went before the tribunal of b.o 449
Appius. The plaintiff acted out a comedy familiar
to the judge, since it was he and no other who had
invented the plot : The girl had been born, said
Marcus, in his house, and had thence been stealthily
conveyed to the home of Verginius and palmed off
upon him as his own ; he had good evidence for
what he said, and would prove it even though
Verginius himself were judge, who was more
wronged than he was ; meanwhile it was right that
the hand-maid should follow her master. The friends
of the girl said that Verginius was absent on the
service of the state ; he would be at hand in two
days' time if he were given notice of the matter ; it
was unjust that a man should be involved in litigation
about his children when away from home ; they
therefore requested Appius to leave the case open
until the father arrived, and in accordance with the
law he had himself proposed, grant the custody of
the girl to the defendants,^ nor suffer a grown
maiden's honour to be jeopardized before her
freedom should be adjudicated.
XLV. Appius prefaced his decision by saying that
it was evident how much he favoured liberty from
that very law which the friends of Verginius made
the pretext for their claim ; but the law would afford
liberty a sure protection only if it varied neither
with causes nor wilh persons; for in the case ot
others who were claimed as free, the demand was
legal, since any one might bring an action : in the case
of one who was under the authority of a father there
was no one else to whom the master ought to yield
the custody ; accordingly he decreed that the father
should be summoned, and that meanwhile the
147
L 2
LIVY
libertatem quia quivis lege agere possit, id iuris
esse : in ea quae in })atris manu sit neminem esse
3 alium cui dominus possessione cedat. Placere itaqiie
patrem arcessiri, interea iuris sui iacturam adser-
torem non facere quin ducat puellam sistendamque
in adventum eius qui pater dicatur promittat.
4 Adversus iniuriam decreticum multi magis fremerent
quam quisquam unus recusare auderet, P. Numitorius,
5 puellae avus/ et sponsus Icilius interveniunt ; da-
taque inter turbam via, cum multitude Icili maxime
interventu resisti posse Appio crederet, lictor
decresse ait vociferantemque Icilium submovet.
6 Placidum quoque ingenium tarn atrox iniuria ac-
cendisset. " Ferro hinc tibi submovendus sum, A]ipi "
inquit, ""ut taciturn feras quod celari vis. Virginem
ego banc sum ducturus nuptamque pudicam babi-
7 turus. Proinde omnes collegarum quoque lictores
convoca ; expediri virgas et secures iube ; non
8 manebit extra domum patris sponsa Icili. Non, si
tribunicium auxilium et provocationem plebi Ro-
manae, duas arces libertatis tuendae, ademistis,
ideo in liberos quoque nostros coniugesque regnum
9 vestrae libidini datum est. Saevite in tergum et in
cervices nostras : pudicitia saltern in tuto sit. Huic
si vis adferetur, ego praesentium Quiritium pro
sponsa, Verginius militum pro unica filia, omnes
^ avus Ci : auunculus j- {cf. Dion. Hal. xi. xxviii. 7).
^ Appius argued that Verginia was either the slave of his
client or under her father's control, and in neither case free,
so that an action for recovering her freedom did not lie, and
it was merely a question of title between Verginius and Marcus
Claudius.
148
BOOK III. XLV. 2-9
claimant should not relinquish his right, but should ^•^- ^^^
take the girl in charge and guarantee that she
should be })roduced at the coming of him who was
called her father.^
Against the injustice of the decree, though many
murmured their disapproval, there was not a single
man who dared to stand out ; when Publius Numitorius,
the girl's great-uncle,^ and her lover Icilius, arrived
on the scene. When a path had been opened for
them through the throng, since the crowd believed
that the intervention of Icilius would be particularly
effectual in resisting Appius, the lictor cried that
the case had been decided, and as Icilius began to
protest, attempted to thrust him aside. Even a
placid nature would have been incensed by so violent
an insult. " You must use iron to rid yourself of
me, Appius," he cried, "that you may carry through
in silence what you desire should be concealed.
This maiden I am going to wed ; and I intend that
my bride shall be chaste. So call together all your
colleagues' lictors too ; bid them make ready rods
and axes : the promised wife of Icilius shall not pass
the night outside her father's house. No ! If you
liave taken from the Roman plebs the assistance of
the tribunes and the right of appeal, two citadels
for the defence of liberty, it has not therefore been
granted to your lust to lord it over our children and
our wives as well ! Vent your rage upon our backs
and our necks : let our chastity at least be safe. If
that shall be assailed, I will call on the Quirites
here present to protect my bride, Verginius will
^ Some take avus literally, as "grandfather." See chap,
liv. 11, note.
149
LIVY
deorum hominumque implorabimus fidem^ neque tu
istud unquam decretum sine caede nostra referes.
10 Postulo^ -'^ppij etiam atque etiam consideres quo
11 progrediare. Verginius viderit de filia ubi venerit
quid agat ; hoc tantum sciat, sibi si huius vindiciis
cesserit condicionem filiae quaerendam esse. Me
vindicantem sponsam in libertatem vita eitius
deseret quam fides."
XLVI. Concitata multitudo erat certamenque
instare videbatur. Lictores Icilium circumsteterant ;
nee ultra minas tamen processum est, cum Appius
2 non Verginiam defendi ab Icilio^ sed inquietum
liominem et tribiinatum etiam nunc spirantem
3 locum seditionis quaerere diceret. Non praebi-
turum se illi eo die materiam ; sed ut iam sciret
non id petulantiae suae sed Verginio absenti et
patrio nomini et libertati datum, ius eo die se non
dicturum neque decretum interpositurum : a M.
Claudio petiturum, ut decederet iure suo vindi-
4 carique puellam in posterum diem pateretur ; quod
nisi pater postero die adfuisset^ denuntiare se Icilio
similibusque Icili, neque legi suae latorem neque
decemviro constantiam defore. Xec se utique col-
legarum lictores convocaturum ad coercendos se-
ditionis auctores : contentum se suis lictoribus fore.
5 Cum dilatum tempus iniuriae esset secessissentque
1^0
BOOK III. XLV. 9-xLvi. 5
invoke the lielp of the soldiers in behalf of his only ^ ^- ^^^
daughter, and all of us will implore the protection
of gods and men ; nor shall you ever repeat that
decree of yours without shedding our blood. I
ask you, Appius, to consider earnestly whither you
are going. Let Vergiiiius decide what to do about
his daughter, when he comes ; but of one thing he
may rest assured : if he yields to this man's claim,
he will have to seek a husband for her. As for
me, in defence of the freedom of my bride I will
sooner die than prove disloyal."
XLVI. The crowd was deeply moved and a con-
flict appeared to be imminent. The lictors had
surrounded Icilius, but had nevertheless gone no
further than to threaten him, since Appius declared
that it was not a question of Verginia's defence by
Icilius, but of a turbulent fellow, who even now
breathed the spirit of the tribunate, seeking an
opportunity to stir up strife. He would furnish him
no excuse for it that day ; but that he might know
now that the concession had not been made to his
own wantonness but to the absent Verginius, to the
name of father, and to liberty, he would not pro-
nounce judgment that day nor deliver a decision ;
lie would request Marcus Claudius to waive his right
and suffer the girl to remain at large until the morrow ;
but unless the father should appear the next day, he
gave notice to Icilius and to those like Icilius that
the proposer of his law would not fail to support
it, nor the decemvir be wanting in firmness ; and in
any case he should not call together his colleagues'
lictors to repress the instigators of sedition, but
rest content with his own.
The time for accomplishing the wrong having
151
LIVY
advocati puellae^ placuit omnium primum fratrem
Icili filiumque Xumitori, impigros iuvenes, pergere
inde recta ad portam^ et quantum adcelerari posset
6 Verginium acciri e castris : in eo verti puellae
salutem^ si postero die vindex iniuriae ad tempus
praesto esset. lussi pergunt citatisque equis nun-
7 tium ad patrem perferunt. Cum instaret adsertor
puellae ut vindicaret sponsoresque daret^ atque id
ijjsum agi diceret Icilius, sedulo tempus terens dum
praeciperent iter nuntii ^ missi in castra^ manus
tollere undique multitude et se quisque paratum
8 ad spondendum Icilio ostendere. Atque ille lacrima-
bundus •'' Gratum est " inquit ; "crastina die vestra
opera utar ; sponsorum nunc satis est." Ita vindi-
9 catur Verginia spondentibus propinquis. Appius
})aulisper moratus ne eius rei causa sedisse videretur,
postquam omissis rebus aliis prae cura unius nemo
adibat^. domum se recepit collegisque in castra scribit,
ne Verginio commeatum dent atque etiam in cu-
.0 stodia habeant. Improbum consilium serum^ ut
debuit^ fuit^ et iam commeatu sumpto profectus
\^erginius prima vigilia erat, cum postero die mane
de retinendo eo nequiquam litterae redduntur.
XL VI I. At in urbe prima luce cum civitas in foro
1 iter nuntii Vorm':D^r\ internuntii n.
BOOK III. XLvi. 5-XLvii. I
been postponed, the f^irl's supporters went apart by b.c. 449
themselves^ and decided that ^rst of all the brother
of Icilius and the son of Niimitorius, active young
men, should proceed straight to the City gate and
make all possible haste to the camp, to summon
Verginius ; for the maiden's safety turned on her
protector's being at hand in time. They set out the
moment they got their orders, and galloping their
horses, carried the message through to the father.
When the claimant of the girl pressed Icilius to
furnish the sureties required of her guarantor^ and
Icilius said that it was precisely that which he was
considering (though he was doing his best to con-
sume time, that the messengers who had been
dispatched to the camp might get a start on the
way), the people began on every side to raise their
hands, and every man of them to indicate his readi-
ness to go bail for Icilius. And Icilius said, with
tears in his eyes, " I am grateful to you ; to-morrow
I will use your services ; of sureties I now have
enough." So Verginia was surrendered, on the
security of her kinsmen. Appius waited a little
while, that he might not appear to have sat for
this case only, and when nobody applied to him —
for all other matters were forgotten in men's concern
over this, — he went to his house and wrote to his
colleagues in camp that they should grant no fur-
lough to Verginius, and should even detain him
in custody. His base design was too late, as it
deserved to be ; Verginius had already got his leave,
and had set out in the fore-part of the night, nor
was it until early the next morning that the letters
for detaining him were delivered, to no purpose.
XLVH. But in the City, as the citizens at break
LIVY
exspectatione erecta staret, Verginius sordidatus
filiam secum obsoleta veste comitantibus aliquot
matronis cum ingenti advocatione in forum deducit.
2 Circumire ibi et prensare homines coepit et non
orare solum precariam opem^ sed pro debita petere :
Se pro liberis coram ac coniugibus cottidie in acie
stare^ nee alium virum esse cuius strenue ac fortiter^
facta in bello plura memorari possent ; quid prodesse
si, incolumi urbe, quae capta ultima timeantur liberis
3 suis sint patienda ? Haec prope contionabundus
circumibat homines. Similia his ab Icilio iacta-
4 b mtur. Comitatus muliebris plus tacito fleta quam
ulla vox movebat. Adversus quae omnia obstinato
animo Appius — tanta vis amentiae verius quam
amoris mentem turbaverat — in tribunal escendit,^
et ultro querente j)auca petitore quod ius sibi ^ pridie
per ambitionem dictum non esset, priusquam aut
ille postulatum perageret aut Verginio respondendi
5 daretur locus, Appius interfatur. Quem decreto
sermonem praetenderit, forsan aliquem verum
auctores antiqui tradiderint : quia nusquam uUum
in tanta foeditate decreti veri similem invenio, id
quod constat nudum videtur proponendum, decresse
^ fortiter Dmijat : ferociter H.
2 escendit MP : ascendit fl.
^ ius sibi iJ^g- : sibi H.
154
BOOK III. XLvii. 1-5
of day were standing in the Forum, agog with b.c.449
expectation, Verginius, dressed in sordid clothes
and leading his daughter, who was also meanly
clad and was attended by a number of matrons,
came down into the market-place with a vast throng
of su})porters. He then began to go about and
canvass people, and not merely to ask their aid as a
favour, but to claim it as his due, saying that he
stood daily in the battle-line in defence of their
children and their wives ; that there was no man •
of whom more strenuous and courageous deeds in
war could be related — to what end, if despite the
safety of the City those outrages which were dreaded
as the worst that could follow a city's capture must
be suffered by their children ? Pleading thus, as
if in a kind of public appeal, he went about
amongst the people. Similar appeals were thrown
out by Icilius ; but the women who attended them
were more moving, as they wept in silence, than
any words. In the face of all these things Appius
hardened his heart — so violent was the madness, as
it may more truly be called than love, that had
overthrown his reason — and mounted the tribunal.
The plaintiff* was actually uttering a few words
of complaint, on the score of having been balked
of his rights the day before through partiality,
when, before he could finish his demand, or Verginius
be given an opportunity to answer, Appius inter-
rupted him. The discourse with which he led up
to his decree may perhaps be truthfully represented
in some one of the old accounts, but since I can
nowhere discover one that is plausible, in view of
the enormity of the decision, it seems my duty to
set forth the naked fact, u})on which all agree, that
155
lAVY
6 vindicias secundum servitutem. Primo stupor omnes
admiratione rei tamatrocis defixit ; silentium indeali-
quamdiutenuit. Dein cum M. Claudius circumstantibus
matronis iret ad prehendendam virginem, lamenta-
bilisque eum mulierum comploratio excepisset, Ver-
7 ginius intentans in Appium manus, "Icilio" inquit,
'' Appi, non tibi filiam despondi et ad nuptias, non
ad stuprum educavi. Placet pecudum ferarumque ritu
promisee in concubitus ruere ? Passurine haec isti sint,
nescio: non spero esse passuros illos,qui arma habent."
8 Cum repelleretur adsertor virginis a globo
mulierum circumstantiumque advocatorum, silent-
ium factum per praeconem. XLVIII. Decemvir
alienatus ad libidinem animo negat ex hes-
terno ^ tantum convicio Icili violentiaque Vergini,
cuius testem populum Romanum habeat, sed certis
quoque indiciis compertum se habere nocte tota
coetus in urbe factos esse ad movendam seditionem.
2 Itaque se baud insciumeius dimicationis cum armatis
descendisse, non ut quemquam quietum violaret, sed
ut turbantes civitatis otium pro maiestate imperii
3 coerceret. '• Proinde quiesse erit melius. I," inquit^^
'' lictor, submove turbam et da viam domino ad
^ ex hestemo Vorm.^. ex haesterno M: ex sterno P :
esterno U : hesterno F^OD* : externo BHRDL.
- i. inquit Il'^lJ'-^ : ii inquit EDL : iuquit inquid B) CI.
BOOK III. XLvii. 5-XLviii. 3
he adjudged \^ergiiiia to him who claimed her as his
slave. At first everybody was rooted to the spot in
amazement at so outrageous a proceeding, and for
a little while after the silence was unbroken. Then,
when Marcus Claudius was making his way through
the group of matrons to lay hold upon the girl, and
had been greeted by the women with wails and
lamentations, Verginius shook his fist at Appius and
cried, " It was to Icilius, Appius, not to you that
I betrothed my daughter ; and it was for wedlock,
not dishonour, that I brought her up. Would you
have men imitate the beasts of the field and the
forest in promiscuous gratification of their lust ?
Whether these people propose to tolerate such con-
duct I do not know : I cannot believe that those
who have arms will endure it."
The claimant of the maiden was being forced
back by the ring of women and supporters who
surrounded her, when silence was commanded by a
herald; (XLVIII.) and the decemvir, crazed with
lust, declared that he knew, not only from the
abusive words uttered by Icilius the day before and
the violence of Verginius, which he could prove by
the testimony of the Roman People, but also from
definite information, that all through the night
meetings had been held in the City to promote
sedition. Accordingly, having been aware of the
approaching struggle, he had come down into the
Forum with armed men, not that he might do
violence to any peaceable citizen, but to coerce,
conformably to the dignity of his office, those who
would disturb the nation's peace. " You will
therefore," he cried, "best be quiet! Go, lictor,
remove the mob and open a way for the master
X57
LIVY
prehendendiim mancipium." Cum haec intonuisset
plenus irae, multitudo ipsa se sua sponte dimovit
4 desertaque praeda iniuriae puella stabat. Turn
Vergiiiius ubi nihil usquam auxilii vidit, " Quaeso "
inquit, " Appi^ primum ignosce patrio dolori, si quo ^
inclementius in te sum invectus ; deinde sinas hie
coram virgine nutricem percontari quid hoc rei sit,
ut si falso pater dictus sum aequiore bine animo
5 discedam." Data venia seducit filiam ac nutricem
prope Cloacinae ad tabernas quibus nunc novis est
nomen atque ibi ab lanio cultro arrepto, " Hoc te uno
quo possum " ait '^ modo, filia^ in libertatem vindico."
Pectus deinde puellae transfigit respectansque ad
tribunal "Te" inquit^ "Appi, tuumque caput sanguine
6 hoc consecro." Clamore ad tarn atrox facinus orto
excitus Appius comprehendi Verginium iubet. Ille
ferro quacumque ibat viam facere, donee multitudine
etiam prosequentium tuente ad portam perrexit.
7 Icilius Numitoriusque exsangue corpus sublatum
ostentant populo ; scelus Appi^ puellae infelicem
8 formam, necessitatem patris deplorant. Sequentes
clamitant matronae : eamne liberorum procreandorum
condicionem, ea pudicitiae praemia esse ? — cetera
quae in tali re muliebris dolor, quo est maestior
imbecillo animo, eo miserabilia magis querentibus
1 si quo Weissenhorn (cf. iv. i. 5): si quod (q(t^)n: si
quot r^ljL : si quid j- : si Alschefski.
«58
BOOK III. xLviii. 3-8
to seize his slave ! " Wlien he had wrathfully b.o. 449
thundered out these words, the crowd parted
spontaneously and left the girl standing there, a
prey to villainy. Then Verginius, seeing no help
anywhere, said, " I ask you, Aj)pius, first to pardon
a father's grief if I have somewhat harshly inveighed
against you ; and then to suffer me to question the
nurse here, in the maiden's presence, what all this
means, tliat if I have been falsely called a father,
I may go away with a less troubled spirit." Per-
mission being granted, he led his daughter and
the nurse apart, to the booths near the shrine of
Cloacina, now known as the "New Booths," and
there, snatching a knife from a butcher, he exclaimed,
" Thus, my daughter, in the only way I can, do I assert
your freedom ! " He then stabbed her to the heart,
and, looking back to the tribunal, cried, " 'Tis you,
Appius, and your life I devote to destruction with
this blood ! " The shout which broke forth at the
dreadful deed roused Appius, and he ordered
Verginius to be seized. But Verginius made a
passage for himself with his knife wherever he
came, and Avas also protected by a crowd of men
who attached themselves to him, and so reached
the City gate. Icilius and Numitorius lifted up
the lifeless body and showed it to the people, bewail-
ing the crime of Appius, the girl's unhappy beauty,
and the necessity that had constrained her father.
After them came the matrons crying aloud, "Was
it on these terms that children were brought into
the world? Were these the rewards of chastity?"
— with such other com|)laints as are prompted at
a time like this by a woman's anguish, and are so
much the more pitiful as their lack of self-control
159
LIVY
^OA-^' 9 subicit. Mrorum et maxime Icili vox tota tribuniciae
600
potestatis ac provocationis ad populum ereptae
publicarumque indignationum erat.
XLIX. Concitatur multitude partim atrocitate
sceleris, partim spe per occasionem repetendae
2 libertatis. Appius nunc vocari Icilium^ nunc re-
tractantem arripi. postremo, cum locus adeundi
apparitoribus non daretur^ ipse cum agmine patrici-
orum iuvenum per turbam vadens in vincula duel
3 iubet. lam circa Icilium non solum multitude sed
duces quoque multitudinis erant, L. Valerius et M.
Horatius, qui repulso lictore; si iure ageret. vindicare
se a privato Icilium aiebant ; si vim adferre con-
4 aretur^ ibi quoque baud ^ impares fore. Hinc atrox
rixa oritur. \'alerium Horatiumque lictor decem\iri
invadit : franguntur a multitudine fasces. In
contionem Appius escendit : ^ sequuntur Horatius
Valeriusque. Eos contio audit : decemviro ob-
5 strepitur. lam pro imperio Valerius discedere a
privato lictores iubebat^ cum fractis animis Appius
vitae metuens in domum se propinquam foro insciis
6 adversariis capite obvoluto recipit. Sp. OppiuS; ut
auxilio collegae esset^ in forum ex altera parte
^ hand r?J/- : se haud n,
- esceinlit PJP : aescendit M : ascendit H.
^ Livy doubtless means the crime of Appius rather than
the justifiable though shocking deed of Verginius (see chap.
xlviii. § 7, and chap. 1. § 5).
l6o
BOOK III. xLviii. 8-xLix. 6
makes them the more give way to grief. The men,
and especially Icilius, spoke only of the tribunician
power; of the right of appeal to the people which
had been taken from them ; and of their resentment
at the nation's wrongs.
XLIX. The wildest excitement prevailed amongst
the people, occasioned in part by the atrocity of the
crime,^ in part by the hope of improving the oppor-
tunity to regain their liberty. Appius first com-
manded that Icilius be smiimoned ; then, on his
resisting, that he be arrested ; and at last, when the
crowd would not allow his attendants to approach
the man, he headed a band of patrician youths in
person, and advancing through the mob, bade them
drag his enemy off to })rison. By this time Icilius
was supported not only by the populace but by the
leaders of the populace as well, Lucius Valerius and
Marcus Horatius, who, forcing the lictor back, de-
clared that if Appius proceeded legally, they would
protect Icilius from the prosecution of a mere citizen;
if he sought to make use of violence, there too they
would be a match for him. This led to a desperate
struggle. The decemvir's lictor now made a rush at
Valerius and Horatius ; his rods were broken by the
mob. Appius mounted the platform ; Horatius and
Valerius followed him. To them the crowd listened ;
the decemvir's voice they drowned with noise. And
now, as though vested with authority, Valerius was
commanding the lictors to withdraw from one who
was a private citizen ; when Appius, broken in spirit
and fearing for his life, covered up his head and
sought refuge in a house near the Forum, unobserved
by his opponents. Spurius Oppius, wishing to assist
his colleague, burst into the Forum from the other
i6i
VOL. II. M
LIVY
inriimpit. \'idet imperium vi victum. Agitatus
deinde consiliis ad quae ^ ex omni parte adsentiendo
nmltis auctoribus trepidaverat, senatum postremo
7 vocari iussit. Ea res, quod magnae parti patrum
displicere acta decemvirorum videbantur. spe })er
senatum finiendae potestatis eius multitudinem se-
8 davit. Senatus nee plebem inritandam censuit et
multo magis providendum ne quid Verginii adventus
in exercitu motus faceret.
L. Itaque missi iuniores patrum in castra, quae
turn in monte ^'ecilio erant, nuntiant decemviris
2 ut omni ope ab seditione milites contineant. Ibi
Verginius maiorem quam reliquerat in urbe motum
3 excivit. Nam praeterquam quod agmine prope
quadringentorum hominum veniens, qui ab urbe
indignitate rei accensi comites ei se dederant, con-
spectus est, strictum etiam telum respersusque ipse
cruore tota in se castra convertit. Et togae multi-
fariam in castris visae maioris aliquanto quam erat
4 speciem urbanae multitudinis fecerant. Quaeren-
tibus quid rei esset flens diu vocem non misit ;
tandem, ut iam ex trepidatione concurrcntium turba
constitit ac silentium fuit, ordine cuncta, ut gesta
5 erant, exposuit. Supinas deinde tendens manus
^ ad quae Stroth : atque Ci.
162
BOOK III. XLix. 6-L. 5
quarter. He saw that authority had been overcome
by force. Distracted then by the suggestions which
came from every side, and timidly agreeing first
with one and then with another of his many
advisers, he ended by ordering the senate to be
summoned. This course, inasmuch as a great pro-
portion of the patricians api)eared to disapprove of
the decemvirs' acts, afforded hopes that the senators
would end their power, and so quieted the multitude.
The senate decided that the plebs must not be
provoked, and that it was even more necessary to
see to it that the arrival of Verginius in the army
should not occasion any turbulence.
L. Accordingly certain of the younger senators
were dispatched to the camp, which was then on
Mount Vecilius, and carried word to the decemvirs
that they must employ all their resources to keep
the troops from mutiny. There Verginius aroused a
greater commotion than he had left in Rome. For
besides that he was seen approaching attended by a
body of nearl}^ four hundred men, who had joined
him when he left the City, in their anger and resent-
ment at the affliir, the weapon in his hand and the
gore with which he was spattered drew the attention
of the entire camp upon him. Then too the
appearance of togas in the camp, in many places,
produced the effect of a greater company of
civilians than were actually there. Being asked
what the matter was, Verginius wept, and for a long
time answered never a word ; at length, when the
bustle and confusion of the gathering had subsided
and silence had ensued, he gave an orderly account
of all that had taken place. Then, lifting up his
hands in an attitude of prayer, and addressing the
H 2
LIVY
commilitones appellans orabat ne quod scelus Ap.
Claudi esset sibi attribuerent neu se ut parricidam
6 liberum aversarentur. Sibi vitam filiae sua ^ cariorem
fuisse^ si liberae ac pudicae ^ vivere licitum fuisset :
cum velut servam ad stuprum rapi videret^ morte
amitti melius ratum quam contumelia liberos^ miseri-
7 cordia se in speciem crudelitatis lapsum. Nee se
superstitem filiae futurum fuisse, nisi spem ulcis-
cendae mortis eius in auxilio commilitonum habuisset.
Illis quoque enim filias sorores coniugesque esse, nee
cum filia sua libidinem Ap. Claudi exstinctam esse,
8 sed quo impunitior sit, eo effrenatiorem fore. Aliena
calamitate documentum datum illis cavendae similis
iniuriae. Quod ad se attineat, uxorem sibi fato
ereptam, filiam, quia non ultra pudica victura fuerit,
9 miseram sed honestam mortem occubuisse ; non esse
iam Appi libidini locum in domo sua : ab alia vio-
lentiaeius eodem se animo suum corpus vindicaturum
quo vindicaverit filiae : ceteri sibi ac liberis suis
10 consulerent. Haec Verginio vociferanti succlamabat
multitude nee illius dolori nee suae libertati se
defuturos. Et immixti turbae militum togati, eadem ^
ilia querendo docendoque quanto visa quam audita
indigniora potuerint videri, simul profligatam iam
^ sua f : suae fi.
2 liberae ac pudicae j-: libera ac pudicae Fg-i libere ac
plaice n.
3 eadem j- : cum eadem li : simul eadem Zingerle.
164
BOOK III. L. 5-IO
crowd as his fellow-soldiers^ he besought them not b.c. 449
to attribute to him the crime of which Appius
Claudius stood guilty, nor to repudiate him as one
who had murdered his child. To him the life of his
daughter had been dearer than his own, if she had
been permitted to live j)ure and chaste ; when he
saw her being carried off like a slave to be dis-
honoured, thinking it better to lose his children by-
death than by outrage, he had been impelled by pity
to an act of seeming cruelty ; nor would he have
survived his daughter, had he not hoped to avenge
her death by the help of his fellow-soldiers. They
too had daughters, sisters, and wives ; the lust of
Appius Claudius had not been extinguished with
the life of Verginia, but its lawlessness would be
proportioned to its impunity. In the calamity of
another they had been given a warning to be on
their guard against similar wrongs. So far as he
was concerned, his wife had been taken from him in
the course of nature, his daughter, because she could
no longer have lived chaste, had died a pitiful but
an honourable death ; for the lust of Appius there
was now no longer in his house any scope ; from
other forms which his violence might take he would
defend his own person with no less spirit than he
had shown in defence of his daughter ; the others
must look out for themselves and for their own
children. As Verginius spoke these words in a loud
voice, the multitude signified with responsive shouts
that they would not forget his sufferings nor fail to
vindicate their liberty. And the civilians, mingling
with the crowd, re})eated the same comphiints and
told them how much more shameful the thing would
have appeared if they could have seen it instead of
165
LIVY
11 rem nuntiando Romae esse, insecutis ^ qui Appium
])rope interemptum in exsilium abisse dicerent. per-
pulerunt ut ad arma conclamaretur vellerentque
12 signa et Romam proficiscerentur. Decemviri simul
iis quae videbant iisque quae acta Romae audierant
perturbati, alius in aliam partem castrorum ad se-
dandos motus discurrunt. Et leniter^ agentibus
responsum non redditur : imperium si quis inhiberet,
13 et viros et armatos se esse respondetur. Eunt agmine
ad urbem et Aventinum insidunt, ut quisque occur-
rerat plebem ad repetendam libertatem creandosque
14 tribunes plebis adhortantes. Alia vox nulla violenta
audita est. Senatum Sp. Oppius habet. Nihil placet
aspere agi ; quippe ab ipsis datum locum seditioni ^
15 esse. Mittuntur tres legati consulares, Sp. Tarpeius
C. lulius P. Sulpicius, qui quaererent senatus verbis,
cuius iussu castra deseruissent aut quid sibi vellent
qui armati Aventinum obsedissent belloque averse ab
16 hostibus patriam suam cepissent. Non defuit quod
responderetur : deerat qui daret responsum nullo-
dum certo duce nee satis audentibus singulis invidiae
se offerre. Id modo a multitudine conclamatum est
ut L. Valerium et M. Horatium ad se mitterent : liis^
se daturos responsum.
^ insecutis Walttrs {after Alschefski) : insecutosque H:
insecutique r.
2 Et leniter - : et leuiter n : Sed leniter Madvig.
^ seditioni T'Olareanus: seditionis H.
* his MHRDL : iis PFBO.
^ Viz. by the senate and decemvirs.
i66
BOOK III. L. 11-16
hearing about it ; at the same time they reported
that the decemvirate was already overthrown at
Rome ; and on the arrival of later tidings, to the
effect that Appius had almost lost his life and had gone
into e-Kile, they induced the troops to raise the cry
" To arms ! " and to pluck up their standards and set
out for Rome. The decemvirs, troubled alike by what
they saw and by what they heard had taken place in
Rome, rushed through the camp, one this way, an-
other that, to still the rising. And so long as they
mildly remonstrated, they got no answer ; but if one
of them tried to use his authority, they told him that
they were men, and armed. They marched in column
to the City and took possession of the Aventine,
urging the plebeians, as often as they fell in with
one, to make an effort to regain their liberty and
to elect plebeian tribunes. Save this, no violent
proposals were heard. The senate was convened
by Spurius Oppius. It was resolved that no harsh
action should be taken, seeing that occasion for
the mutiny had been given by themselves.^ Three
delegates of consular rank, Spurius Tarpeius, Gaius
Julius, and Publius Sulpicius, were dispatched in
the name of the senate to inquire by whose orders
the men had deserted the camp, and what they
meant, who with arms had seized the Aventine, and,
abandoning the enemy, had captured their native
City. The men were at no loss for an answer :
what they lacked was some one to make it, since
they had as yet no definite leader, nor did indi-
viduals quite dare to single themselves out for
enmity. But the crowd called out in unison that
they should send them Lucius Valerius and Marcus
Horatius, to whom they would intrust their reply.
167
LIVY
LI. Dimissis legatis admonet milites Verginius in
re non maxima paulo ante trepidatum esse quia sine
capite multitude fuerit^ responsumque quamquam
non inutiliter^ fortuito tamen magis consensu quam
2 communi consilio esse. Placere decern creari qui
summae rei ^ praeessent militarique honore tribunos
3 militum appellari.^ Cum ad eum ipsum primum is
honos deferretiir, " Melioribus meis vestrisque rebus
4 reservate " inquit "ista de me iudicia ; nee mihi
filia inulta ^ honorem ullum iucundum esse patitur,
nee in perturbata re publica eos utile est praeesse
5 vobis qui proximi invidiae sint. Si quis usus mei
6 est, nihilo minor ex privato capietur." Ita decem
numero tribunos militares creant.
7 Neque in Sabinis quievit exercitus. Ibi quoque
auctore Icilio Numitorioque secessio ab decemviris
facta est, non minore motu animorum Sicci caedis
memoria renovata quam quern nova fama de virgine
8 adeo foede ad libidinem petita accenderat. Icilius
ubi audivit tribunos militum in Aventino creates, ne
comitiorum militarium praerogativam urbana comitia
9 iisdem tribunis plebis creandis sequerentur, peritus
rerum popularium imminensque ei ^ potestati et ipse,
^ rei -: ..i V : reip {i.e. rei publicae; n.
^ appellari ^: appellare [wanting in V) n,
3 inulta V: inuita H.
* imminensque ei Rhenanus : imminensque (inm -B) et Ci :
imminensque OH.
^ Comitia is here used untechnically of the extemporized
election called by Verginius.
i68
BOOK III. LI. 1-9
LI. After the delegates had been dismissed, b.c. 449
Verginius reminded the soldiers that they had been
thrown into confusion a few minutes before, over a
matter of no very great importance, because the
multitude had been without a head ; and although
a very good answer had been returned, yet this
had been due rather to their happening to feel alike
about the matter than to a concerted plan. He
recommended that ten men should be chosen to
have supreme command, and that they should be
styled, by a military title, tribunes of the soldiers.
When they would have tendered Verginius himself
the first appointment to this office, he replied,
" Reserve your good opinion of me till my own
affairs and yours are in a better plight; to me no
honour can be agreeable while my daughter is
unavenged ; nor is it well for you, with the state
in such confusion, to be led by those who are most
exposed to hatred. If I can render any service, it
shall not be less because I am a private citizen."
So they chose ten military tribunes.
Nor was the army in the Sabine country inactive.
There too, at the instigation of Icilius and Numi-
torius, a secession from the decemvirate was brought
about ; men's anger on being reminded of the
murder of Siccius being no less violent than that
which was kindled in them by the new story of the
maiden whose dishonour had been so foully sought.
Icilius, on hearing that military tribunes had been
elected on the Aventine, feared lest the City comitia
might take their cue from the comitia of the soldiers ^
and elect the same men to be tribunes of the
plebs, for he was experienced in the ways of the
people ; aiid having designs upon that office himself.
169
Livy
priusquam iretur ad urbem, pari potestate eundem
10 numerum ab suis creandum curat. Porta Collina
urbem intravere sub signis, mediaque urbe agmine
in Aventinum pergunt. Ibi coniuncti alteri exercitui
viginti tribunis militum negotium dederunt ut ex
suo numero duos crearent qui summae rerum prae-
essent. M. Oppium Sex. Manilium creant.
11 Patres solliciti de summa rerum cum senatus
cottidie esset iurgiis saepius terunt tempus quam
12 consiliis. Sicci caedes decemviris et Apjiiana bbido
et dedecora militiae obiciebantur. Placebat Valerium
Horatiumque ire in Aventinum. Illi negabant se
aliter ituros quam si decemviri deponerent insignia
13 magistratus eius quo anno iam ante abissent. Decem-
viri querentes se in ordinem cogi non ante quam
perlatis legibus quarum causa creati essent deposi-
turos imperium se aiebant.
LII. Per M. Duillium,i qui tribunus plebis fuerat,
certior facta plebs contentionibus adsiduis nihil
transigi, in Sacrum montem ex Aventino transit
2 adfirmante Duillio - non prius quam deseri urbem
videant curam in animos patrum descensuram ; ad-
moiiiturum Sacrum montem constantiae plebis,
sciturosque sine re-tituta potestate tribunicia^ redigi
^ Duillium F'^-: duiliuni H: diluluum B: diluiuuni B^.
' Duillio i^O,- : duellio Vorm : duilio FUIi i c. duilio
MF'.BHDL.
^ iriljuiiieia inserted hy Gronovius.
170
BOOK III. LI. 9-Lii. 2
he saw to it, before they marclied to the City, that b.c. 449
the same number of men, vested with equal power,
were chosen by his own army. Tliey entered Rome
under their standards, by the Colline Gate, and
marched right through the midst of the City to the
Aventine. There they joined the other army, and
directed the twenty miHtary tribunes to appoint
two of their number to exercise supreme command.
Marcus Oppius and Sextus ManiHus were appointed.
The Fathers were alarmed about the state ; but,
though the senate held daily sessions, they spent
more time in recriminations than in deliberating.
Siccius's murder was cast in the teeth of the de-
cemvirs, as well as the lust of Appius, and their
disgraces in the field. It was decided that Valerius
and Horatius should go to the Aventine. They agreed
to go only on condition that the decemvirs would
put off the insignia of that magistracy which they
had already ceased to hold the year before. The
decemvirs, complaining that they were being de-
prived of their office, asserted that they would not
lay down their authority until after the enactment
of the laws which had been the reason of their
appointment.
LI I. Having learned from Marcus Duillius, who
had been a plebeian tribune, that nothing was
coming of the endless bickerings of the senate, the
commons quitted the Aventine for the Sacred
Mount, since Duillius assured them that not until
the patricians beheld the City deserted would they
feel any real concern ; the Sacred Mount would
remind them of the firmness of the plebs, and they
would know whether it were possible or not that
affairs should be reduced to harmony without the
171
LIVY
3 in concordiam resne queant.^ Via Xomentana, cui
turn Ficolensi ^ nomen fuit^ profecti castra in monte
Sacro locavere modestiam patrum suorum nihil vio-
lando imitati. Secuta exercitum plebs nullo qui per
4 aetatem ire posset retractante. Prosequuntur con-
iuges liberique, cuinam se relinqiierent in ea urbe
in qua nee pudicitia nee libertas sancta esset mise-
rabiliter rogitantes.
5 Cum vasta Romae omnia insueta solitudo fecisset,
in foro praeter paucos seniorum nemo esset, vocatis
utique in senatum patribus desertum apparuisset
forum, plures^ iam quam Horatius ac Valerius
6 vociferabantur : " Quid exspectabitis, patres con-
scripti ? Si decemviri finem pertinaciae non faciunt,
ruere ac deflagrare omnia passuri estis ? Quod autem
istud imperium est, decemviri, quod amplexi te-
7 netis : Tectis ac parietibus iura dicturi estis ? Xon
pudet lictorum vestrorum maiorem prope numerum
in foro conspici quam togatorum aliorum ? * Quid si
hostes ad urbem veniant facturi estis ? Quid si plebs
mox, ubi parum secessione moveamur, armata veniat ?
8 Occasune urbis voltis finire imperium r Atqui aut
plebs non est habenda aut habendi sunt tribuni
plebis. Xos citius caruerimus patriciis magistratibus
9 quam illi plebeiis. Novam inexpertamque eam po-
testatem eripuere patribus nostris ; ne nunc dulce-
1 resne queant Harant : res nequeant H.
' Ficolensi 0 : ficulensi - {f^f. i. xxxviii. 4) : figulensi n :
ficrulensi figulensi M \ fingulensi 11.
3 plures r : pluresque Vi.
* aliorum f : aliorumque fi.
172
BOOK III. Lii. 2-9
restoration of the tribuiiician power. Marching out b.c. iia
by the Via Nomentana, then called Ficulensis, they
pitched their camp on the Sacred Mounts having
imitated the good behaviour of their fathers and
made no depredations. Following the army came
the plebeian civilians ; nor did any one who was of
an age to go hold back. They were attended a
little way forth by their vav^es and children, who
inquired pathetically to whose protection they were
leaving them^ in that City where neither chastity
nor liberty was sacred.
Now that all Rome was desolate with an unwonted
loneliness^ and there was nobody in the Forum but
a few old men, and it appeared, particularly when
the Fathers had been summoned to the senate-house,
quite deserted, there were many others besides
Horatius and Valerius who remonstrated. " What
will you wait for, Conscript Fathers ? " they cried
out. " If the decemvirs persist in their obstinacy,
will you suffer everything to go to wrack and ruin ?
Pray what is that authority, decemvirs, to which you
cling with such tenacity ? Is it to roofs and walls you
will render judgment? Are you not ashamed that
your lictors should be seen in the Forum in almost
larger numbers than the other citizens ? What do
you mean to do if the enemy should come to the
City.^ What if, by and bye, the plebs, finding us
unmoved by their secession, come with sword in
hand } Do you wish the downfall of the City to be
the end of your rule ? And yet, either we must have
no plebs, or we must have plebeian tribunes. We
will sooner dispense with patrician magistrates than
they with plebeian. It was a new and untried power
when they extorted it from our fathers : now
173
LIVY
dine semel capti ferant desiderium, cum praesertim
nee nos temperemus imperils, quo minus illi auxilii
10 egeant." Cum liaec ex omni parte iaetarentur, victi
consensu decemviri futures se, quando ita videatur^
11 in potestate patrum adfirmant. Id modo simul orant
ac monent, ut ipsis ab invidia caveatur nee suo
sanguine ad supplicia patrum plebem adsuefaciant.
LIII. Turn Valerius Horatiusque missi ad plebem
condicionibus quibus videretur revocandam compo-
nendasque res, decemviris quoque ab ira et impetu
2 multitudinis praecavere iubentur. Profecti gaudio
ingenti plebis in castra accipiuntur, quippe liberato-
res liaud dubie et motus initio et exitu rei, Ob haec
3 iis ^ advenientibus gratiae actae ; Icilius pro multi-
tudine verba facit. Idem, cum de condicionibus
ageretur, quaerentibus legatis quae postulata plebis
essent, composite iam ante adventum legatorum con-
silio ea postulavit ut appareret in aequitate rerum
4 phis quam in armis reponi spei. Potestatem enim
tribuniciam provocationemque repetebant, quae ante
decemviros creatos auxilia plebis fuerant, et ne cui
fraudi esset concisse milites aut plebem ad repe-
^ haec iis j- : haec his n : haec IWL.
174
BOOK III. Lii. 9-Liii. 4
that they have once been captivated by its charm, b.c. 449
they would be even less willing to forgo it, especially
when we on our side do not so temper the exercise
of our authority that they stand in no need of help."
As these reproaches were flung at them from every
quarter, the decemvirs were overborne by the con-
sensus of opinion and gave assurances that they
would submit, since it was thought best, to the
authority of the senate. They had but this one
request to make — which Avas also a warning, — that
their persons might be protected from men's hate,
and that their blood might not be the means of
accustoming the plebs to punish senators.
LI II. Valerius and Horatius were then sent to
bring back the plebs and adjust all differences, on
such terms as might seem good to them ; and they
were also instructed to secure the decemvirs
against the anger and violence of the people. Having
proceeded to the camp, they were received with
great rejoicings by the plebs, as undoubted champions
of liberty both in the beginning of the disturbance
and in the sequel. In recognition of this they were
thanked on their arrival, Icilius speaking on behalf
of the multitude. And it was Icilius too who, when
terms were discussed and the conmiissioners inquired
what the plebeians demanded, made such requests,
in pursuance of an understanding already reached
before the arrival of the envoys, that it was apparent
they based their hope more on equity than on arms.
For the recovery of the tribunician power and the
appeal were the things they sought — things which
liad been the help of the plebs before the election of
decemvirs ; — and that it should not be held against
any man that he had incited the soldiers or the people
175
A.IT.O.
305
LIVY
5 tendam per secessionem libertatem. De decemvi-
rorum modo supplicio atrox postulatum fuit ; dedi
quippe eos aequum censebant vivosque igni concre-
6 matures minabantur. Legati ad ea : " Quae consilii
fuerunt adeo aequa postulastis ut ultro vobis de-
ferenda fuerint ; liber tati enim ea praesidia petitis,
7 non licentiae ad impugnandos alios. Irae vestrae
magis ignoscendum quam indulgendum est^ quippe
qui crudelitatis odio in crudelitatem ruitis et prius
paene quam ipsi liberi sitis dominari lam in adver-
8 sarios voltis. Numquamne quiescet^ civitas nostra
a suppliciis aut patrum in plebem Romanam aut
9 plebis in patres? Scuto vobis magis quam gladio
opus est. Satis superque humili^ est^ qui iure aequo
in civitate vivit nee inferendo iniuriam nee patiendo.
10 Etiam si quando metuendos vos praebituri estis^ cum
reciperatis magistratibus legibusque vestris iudicia
penes vos erunt de capite nostro fortunisque^tunc ut
quaeque causa erit statuetis : nunc libertatem repeti
satis est."
LIV. Facerent ut vellent permittentibus cunctis
mox redituros se legati rebus perfectis adfirmant.
2 Profecti cum mandata plebis patribus exposuissent,
alii decemviri, quando quidem praeter spem ip-
sorum supplicii sui nulla mentio fieret, baud quicquam
1 quiescet R^^ : quiesctt M : quiescit n.
" humili PB'! : humilis n.
176
BOOK III. Liii. 4-Liv. 2
to recover their liberties by secession. Only in regard b.c. 449
to the punishment of the decemvirs was their de-
mand a harsh one ; for they thought it just that the
decemvirs should be delivered up to them, and
threatened to burn them alive. To these proposals
the commissioners replied: "The demands which
have been prompted by your judgment are so right
that they ought to have been accorded you volun-
tarily ; for you seek in them guarantees of liberty,
not of a licence to make attacks on others. But your
anger calls for pardon rather than indulgence, seeing
that hatred of cruelty is driving you headlong into
cruelty, and almost before you are free yourselves
you are wishing to lord it over your adversaries.
Will the time never come when our state shall rest
from punishments visited either by the ])atricians
on the Roman plebs or by the plebs on the patricians ?
A shield is what you need more than a sword. It
is enough and more than enough for a lowly citizen
when he lives in the enjoyment of equal rights in
the state, neither inflicting an injury nor receiving
one. Even if you are one day to make yourselves
dreaded, when you have got back your magistrates
and laws and possess authority to put us on trial for
our lives and fortunes, you shall then give judgment
in accord with the merits of each particular case :
for the present it is enough to regain your liberty."
LIV. When the people all consented that they
should do as they saw fit, the envoys assured them
that they would settle matters and presently retm-n.
So they departed and explained to the Fathers the
demands of the plebs. The other decemvirs, when
they found that, contrary to their expectation, no
mention was made of any punishment of themselves,
177
VOL. II. N
LIVY
3 abnuere : Appius truci ingenio et invidia praecipua
odium in se aliorum suo in eos metiens odio, " Haud
4 ignaro " inquit " imminet fortuna. Mdeo donee
arma adversariis tradantur differri adversus nos cer-
tamen. Dandus invidiae est sanguis. Nihil ne ego
quidem moror quo minus decemviratu abeam."
5 Factum senatus consultum ut decemviri se primo
quoque tempore magistratu abdicarent^ Q. Furius
pontifex maximus tribunos plebis crearet^ et ne cui
fraudi esset secessio militum plebisque.
6 His senatus consultis perfectis dimisso senatu
decemviri prodeunt in contionem abdicantque se
magistratu ingenti hominum laetitia. Nuntiantur
7 haec plebi. Legatos quidquid in urbe hominum
supererat prosequitur. Huic multitudini laeta alia
turba ex castris occurrit. Congratulantur libertatem
8 concordiamque civitati restitutam. Legati pro con-
tione : " Quod bonum faustum felixque sit vobis
reique publicae^ redite in patriam ad penates,
coniuges liberosque vestros ; sed qua hie modestia
fuistis^ ubi nuUius ager in tot rerum usu necessario
tantae multitudini est violatus, eam modestiam ferte
in urbem. In Aventinum ite, unde profecti estis.
9 Ibi felici loco^ ubi prima initia incohastis libertatis
vestrae; tribunos plebi creabitis. Praesto erit pontifex
^ Asconius (ed. Clark, p. 77 j commenting on Cicero's speech
Pro Corndio de Maiestate (which states that the plebs on this
occasion "elected ten plebeian tribunes, through the in-
strumentality of the pontifex, because there was no magis-
trate"; gives the name of ihepontifex maximus a,% M. Papirius.
This is the first time that Livy has mentioned the pontifex
maximus. thus implying the existence of a college of pontiflFs.
See IV. xliv.
17S
BOOK 111. Liv. 2-9
made no objection to anything : Appius, hard-hearted, b.c.449
knowing himself peculiarly unpopular, and measur-
ing other men's hatred of himself by his own of
them, exclaimed, " I am not unaware of the lot
which threatens me. I perceive that the attack
upon us is only being postponed till arms are handed
over to our adversaries. Hatred must have its
offering of blood. I too am willing to relinquish
the decemvirate." A decree was passed by the
senate that the decemvirs should abdicate the magis-
tracy at the earliest possible moment ; that Quintus
Furius, the Pontifex Maximus/ should hold an
election of plebeian tribunes ; and that no one should
be made to suffer for the secession of the soldiers
and the plebs.
Having so decreed the senate adjourned and the
decemvirs went before the people and laid down
their office, to the great delight of all. These events
were reported to the plebs, the envoys being accom-
panied by all the people left in the City. The
multitude was met by another joyful throng from
the camp, and they exchanged congratulations on
the restoration of freedom and harmony to the state.
The commissioners addressed the people as follows :
"Prosperity, favour, and good fortune to you and
the Republic! Return to your native City, to your'
homes, to your wives, and your children ; but let the
self-restraint you have shown here, where no man's
farm has been violated, though so many things were
useful and necessary to so great a multitude, be pre-
served w hen you return to the City. Go to the Aven-
tine, whence you set out. There in the auspicious
place where you first laid the foundations of your
liberty, you shall choose tribunes of the plebs. The
179
N 2
LIVY
10 maxiraus qui comitia habeat." Ingens adsensus
alacritasque cuncta adprobantium fuit. Convellunt
inde signa profectique Romain certant cum obviis
gaudio. Armati per urbem silentio in Aventinum
11 perveniunt. Ibi extemplo pontifice maximo comitia
habente tribunes plebis creaverunt, omnium primum
L. Verginium.^ inde L. Icilium et P. Xumitorium,
avunculum \'erginiae/- auctores secessionist tum
12 C. Sicinium, progeniem eius, quem primum tribunum
plebis creatum in Sacro monte proditum memoriae
est. et M. Duillium^ qui tribunatum insignem ante
decemviros creatos gesserat nee in decemviraHbus
13 certaminibus plebi defuerat. Spe deinde magis
quam mentis electi M. Titinius M. Pomponius
14 C. Apronius Ap. Villius C. Oppius. Tribunatu inito
L. Icilius extemplo plebem rogavit et plebs scivit
ne cui fraudi esset secessio ab decemviris facta.
15 Confestim de consulibus creandis cum provocatione
M. Duillius rogationem pertulit. Ea omnia in pratis
Flaminiis concilio plebis acta, quern nunc circum
Flaminium appellant.
LV. Per interregem deinde consules creati L.
Valerius M. Horatius. qui extemplo magistratum
occepcrunt. Quorum consulatus popularis sine ulla
2 patrum iniuria nee sine offensione fuit ; quidquid
1 L. Verginium *S'i5ro7zins (iii. xliv. 2 and Iviii. 5): aulum
uerginium Ci.
' Verginiae D? Sahdlicus {c\\b.^. xlvi. §5) : uergini (or ii)n.
1 AvunculiLS means properly "uncle," but sometimes
"great-uncle," as I have here translated it, taking it to refer
to the P. Numitorius who in chap. xlv. § 4 is called 'piicUae
avus.
i8o
BOOK III. Liv. 9-Lv. 2
Pontifex Maximus will be at hand to hold the
election." With loud applause and great alacrity
the people showed their approval of all that had
been said. They pulled up their standards from the
place and set out for Rome, vying with those whom
they met in joyful demonstrations. Armed, they
proceeded in silence through the City to the Av^en-
tine. There the Pontifex Maximus at once held the
comitia, and they elected tribunes of the plebs ; first
of all Lucius Verginius ; then Lucius Icilius and
Publius Numitorius, Verginia's great-uncle/ the in-
stigators of the secession ; then Gains Sicinius, son
of the man who is related to have been the first
plebeian tribune chosen on the Sacred Mount; and
Marcus Duillius, who had filled the tribuneship with
distinction before the decemvirs were appointed,
and had not failed the plebs in their contentions
with the decemvirs. Then, more by reason of their
promise than for any deserts of theirs, they elected
Marcus Titinius, Marcus Pomponius, Gaius Apronius,
Appius Villius, and Gaius Oppius. As soon as they
had taken office, Lucius Icilius proposed to the
people, and they so voted, that no man should suffer
for the secession from the decemvirs. Immediately
a bill that consuls should be elected subject to
appeal was offered by Marcus Duillius and was
carried. These matters were all transacted by the
council of the plebs, in the Flaminian Meadows,
which men now call the Flaminian Circus.
LV. Then, through an interrex, they elected to
the consulship Lucius Valerius and Marcus Horatius,
who at once assumed office. Their administration
was favourable to the people, without in any way
wronging the patricians, though not without offending
LIVY
enim libertati plebis caveretur, id suis decedere
3 opibus credebant. Omnium primum, cum velut in
controverso iure esset tenerenturne patres plebi
scitis, legem centuriatis comitiis tulere ut quod
tributim plebes iussisset populum teneret ; qua lege
tribuniciis rogationibus telum acerrimum datura est.
4 Aliam deinde consularem legem de provocatione,
unicum praesidium libertatis, decemvirali potestate
eversam^ non restituunt modo^ sed etiam in posterum
5 muniunt sanciendo novam legem, ne quis ullum
magistratum sine pro\ ocatione crearet ; qui creasset,
eum ius fasque esset occidi, neve ea caedes capi talis
G noxae haberetur. Et cum plebem bine provocatione
bine tribunicio auxilio satis firmassent, ipsis quoque
tribunis, ut sacrosancti viderentur, cuius rei prope
iam memoria aboleverat^ relatis quibusdam ex magno
7 intervallo caerimoniis renovarunt, et cum religione
inviulatos eos tum lege etiam fecerunt, sanciendo ut
qui tribunis plebis aedilibus iudicibus decemviris
nocuisset, eius caput lovi sacrum esset, familia ad
8 aedem Cereris Liberi Liberaeque venum iret. Hac
lege iuris ^ interpretes negant quemquam sacro-
^ lege iuris ^P or M^ : iuris lege Cl : iuris legem RDL.
^ i. e. the plebeian aediles, two in number, elected by the
plebeians to assist the tribunes, as the quaestors did the
consuls, and take charge of the archives of the plebs, kept in
the temple of Ceres ''see 13;.
* These de-cemviri stlitihtis iudicandis judged cases involv-
ing liberty or citizenship.
182
BOOK III. Lv. 2-8
them ; for whatever was done to protect the b.c. 449
liberty of the plebs they regarded as a diminution
of their own strength. To begin with^ since it
was virtually an undecided question whether the
patricians were legally bound by plebiscites_, they
carried a statute in the centuriate comitia enacting
that what the plebs should order in the tribal
organization should be binding on the people— a
law which provided the rogations of the tribunes
with a very sharp weapon. Next they not only
restored a consular law about the appeal, the unique
defence of liberty, which had been overthrown by
the decemviral power, but they also safeguarded
it for the future by the solemn enactment of a new
law, that no one should declare the election of any
magistrate without appeal, and that he who should
so declare might be put to death without offence to
law or religion, and that such a homicide should not
be held a capital crime. And having sufficiently
strengthened the plebs, by means of the appeal on
the one hand and the help of the tribunes on the
other, they revived, in the interest of the tribunes
themselves, the principle of their sacrosanctity
(which was a thing that had now come to be well-
nigh forgotten) by restoring certain long-neglected
ceremonies; and they rendered those magistrates
inviolate, not merely on the score of religion but
also by a statute, solemnly enacting that he who
should hurt the tribunes of the plebs, the aediles,i
or the decemviral judges* should forfeit his head
to Jupiter, and that his possessions should be
sold at the temple of Ceres, Liber, and Libera.
Expounders of the law deny that any one is sacro-
sanct by virtue of this statute, but maintain that
183
LIVY
sanctum esse, sed eum qui eorum cui ^ nocuerit, lovi
9 sacrum ^ sanciri ; itaque aedilem prendi ducique
a maioribus magistratibus^ quod etsi non iure fiat
• — noceri enim ei cui hac lege non liceat — tamen
argumentum esse non haberi pro sacro sanctoque ^
10 aedilem ; tribunes vetere * iure iurando plebis^ cum
primum earn potestatem creavit, sacrosanctos esse.
11 Fuere qui interpretarentur eadem hac Horatia lege
consulibus quoque et praetoribus^ quia eisdem auspi-
ciis quibus consules crearentur, cautum esse : iudicem
12 enim consulem appellari. Quae refellitur inter-
pretation quod iis temporibus nondum consulem
13 iudicem sed praetorem appellari mos fuerit. Hae
consulares leges fuere. Institutum etiam ab iisdem
consulibus ut senatus consulta in aedem Cereris ad
aediles plebis deferrentur, quae antca arbitrio con-
14 sulum supprimebantur vitiabanturque. M. Duillius
deinde tribunus plebis plebem rogavit plebesque
scivit qui plebem sine tribunis reliquisset, quique
magistratum sine provocatione creasset, tergo ac
15 capite puniretur. Haec omnia ut invitis, ita non
^ cui ;- : cuiquam cui FB : quecui P: cuiquem MF^ :
cuiquam UD*' : quern n.
- lovi sacrum II. J. Mueller : id {or id ad) sacrum n.
^ sacro sanctoque MIIDL : sacrosancto D.,
* vetere r : ueteres Cl.
^ The legal experts seem to liave held that there was a
distinction between the status of the tribunes and that of
the aediles based on the belief that the former had been
given sacrosanditns at the time their office and that of the
aediles was established, and that any violation of their
persons automatically made the violator an outlaw {sacer) ;
;84
BOOK III. Lv. 8-15
the man who has injured any of these officials is b.c. 449
solemnly forfeited to Jupiter ; hence the aedile
may be arrested and imprisoned by the greater
magistrates, an act which, though it be unlawful —
for he is thereby injured who, according to this
statute, may not be injured, — is nevertheless a proof
that the aedile is not regarded as sacrosanct ;
whereas the tribunes are sacrosanct in consequence
of the ancient oath taken by the plebs, when they
first created this magistracy.^ There were some
who taught that by this same Horatian law the
consuls also were protected, and the praetors, inas-
much as they were created under the same auspices
as the consuls; for the consul was called '^ judge."
But this interpretation is refuted by the fact that
it was not yet tlie custom in those days for the
consul to be called '^ judge," but "praetor." Such
were the consular laws. The practice was also
instituted by the same consuls that the decrees of
the senate should be delivered to the aediles of
the plebs at the temple of Ceres. Up to that time
they were wont to be suppressed or falsified, at
the pleasure of the consuls. Marcus Duillius, the
tribune of the plebs, then proposed to the plebs,
and they so decreed, that whosoever should leave
the plebs without tribunes and whosoever should
declare the election of a magistrate without appeal
should be scourged and beheaded. All tliese
measures, though they were passed against the will
of the patricians, were yet not opposed by them.
whereas it was necessary for an aedile to bring suit against
the higher magistrate and convict him of the violation,
before the man became sacer.
18s
adversantibus patriciis transacta^ quia nondum in
quemquam unum saeviebatur.
LVI. Fundata deinde et potestate tribunicia et
plebis libertate turn tribuni adgredi singulos tutum
maturumque iam rati accusatorem primum Verginium
2 et Appium reum deligunt. Cum diem Appio Ver-
ginius dixisset et Appius stipatus patriciis iuvenibus
in forum descendisset^ redintegrata extemplo est
omnibus memoria foedissimae potestatis, cum ipsum
3 satellitesque eius vidissent. Tum Verginius '' Oratio "
inquit, "rebus dubiis inventa est; itaque neque ego
accusando apud vos eum tempus teram a cuius
crudelitate vosmet ipsi armis vindicastis, nee istum
ad cetera scelera impudentiam in defendendo se
4 adicere patiar. Omnium igitur tibi, Ap. Claudi, quae
impie nefarieque per biennium alia super alia es
ausus, gratiam facio ; unius tantum criminis nisi
iudicem dices, te ab libertate in servitutem contra
ieges vindicias non dedisse, in vincla te duci iubebo."
5 Nee in tribunicio auxilio Appius nee in iudicio populi
uUam spem habebat ; tamen ^ et tribunes appellavit
et^ nuUo morante arreptus a viatore, " Provoco "
6 inquit. Audita vox una vindex libertatis^ ex eo
^ tamen Madvig : attamen H.
^ Verginius did not mean to deprive Appius of the right
to speak eventually in liis own defence, as we see in chap.
Ivii. § 6, but merely to abridge the preliminar}' hearing. He
therefore proposed a sponsio {cf. chap. xxiv. § 5) to determine
the guilt or iniiocence of Appius on one essential point.
1 86
BOOK III. Lv. 15-LV1. 6
since^ so far, no one person had been singled out b.c. 449
for attack.
LVI . Then, when the tribunician power and the
Hberty of the plebs were firmly established, the
tribunes, believing that it was now safe to proceed
against individuals and that the time was ripe for
doing so, selected \^erginius to bring the first
accusation and Appius to be defendant. When
Verginius had cited Appius to appear, and the
latter, attended by a crowd of young patricians,
had come down into the Forum, there was instantly
revived in the minds of all the recollection of that
most wicked power, as soon as they caught sight
of the man himself and his satellites. Then
Verginius said, " Oratory was invented for doubtful
matters ; and so I shall neither waste time in
arraigning before you the man from whose cruelty
you freed yourselves with arms, nor shall I suffer
him to add to his other crimes the impudence of
defending himself.^ I therefore pardon you, Appius
Claudius, all the impious and wicked deeds which
you dared, during two years, to heap one ui)on
another ; on one charge only, unless you shall name a
referee to establish your innocence of having illegally
assigned custody of a free person to him who claimed
her as his slave, I shall order you to be taken to
prison." Neither in the protection of the tribunes nor
in the decision of the people had Appius anything to
hope ; yet he called upon the tribunes, and when
none of them would stay proceedings, and he had
been arrested by an officer, he cried, "1 appeal."
The sound of this word, the one safeguard of
liberty, coming from that mouth by which, shortly
before, a free person had been given into the
187
LIVY
missa ore quo vindiciae nuper ab libertate dictae
7 erant^ silentium fecit. Et dum pro se quisque deos
tandem esse et non neglegere humana fremunt, et
superbiae crudelitatique etsi seras, non leves tamen
8 venire poenas — provocare qui provocationem sustu-
lisset^ et implorare praesidium populi qui omnia iura
populi obtrisset, rapique in vinda egentem iure liber-
tatis, qui liberum corpus in servitutem addixisset, —
ipsius Appi inter contionis murmur fidem populi
9 Romani implorantis vox audiebatur. Maiorum merita
in rem publicam domi mllitiaeque commemorabat,
suum infelix erga plebem Romanam studium, quo
aequandarum legum causa cum maxima ofFensione
patrum consulatu abisset^ suas leges^ quibus manenti-
10 bus lator earum in vincla ducatur. Ceterum sua
propria bona malaque^ cum causae dicendae data
facultas sit, tum se experturum ; in praesentia se
communi iure civitatis civem Roraanum die dicta
postulare ut dicere liceat, ut iudicium populi Romani
experiri. Non ita se invidiam pertimuisse ut nihil in
aequitate et misericordia civium suorum spei habeat.
11 Quod si indicta causa in vincla ducatur, iterum se
tribunos plebei appellare, et monere ne imitentur
1 The Twelve Tables.
i88
BOOK III. Lvi. 6-1 1
custody of one who claimed lier as a slave, pro- b.c. 449
duced a hush. And while the people muttered,
each man to himself, that there were gods
after all, who did not neglect the affairs of
men ; and that pride and cruelty were receiving
their punishment, which though late was never-
theless not light — that he was appealing who had
nullified appeal ; that he was imploring the pro-
tection of the people who had trodden all the rights
of the people under foot ; that he was being carried
oft" to prison, deprived of his right to liberty, who
had condemned the person of a free citizen to
slavery — the voice of Appius himself was heard
amidst the murmurs of the assembly, beseeching
the Roman People to protect him. He reminded
them of the services his forefathers had rendered
the state in peace and in war ; of his own un-
fortunate affection for the Roman plebs, in conse-
quence of which he had given up his consulship —
in order to make the laws equal for all — with great
offence to the patricians ; — of the laws he had himself
drawn up,i which were still standing while their
author was being dragged off" to prison. For the rest,
when he should be given an opportunity to plead his
cause, he would try what would come of his own
peculiar services and shortcomings ; at present he
asked that, in accordance with the common right
of citizenship, he be permitted, being a Roman
citizen and under accusation, to speak, and to be
judged by the Roman People. He did not so fear
men's malice as to have no hope in the justice and
pity of his fellow citizens. But if he was to be im-
prisoned, his cause unheard, he appealed once more
to the tribunes of the plebs, and warned them not to
189
LIVY
12 quos oderint. Quod si tribuni eodem foedere obli-
gatos se fateantur tollendae appellationis ^ in quod ^
conspirasse decemviros criminati sint, at ^ se provo-
care ad populum^, implorare leges de provocatione et
13 consulares et tribunicias, eo ipso anno latas. Quern
enim provocaturum, si hoc indemnato indicta causa
non liceat r Cui plebeio et humili praesidium in
legibus fore^ si Ap. Claudio non sit ? Se documento
futurum utrum novis legibus dominatio an libertas
firmata sit. et appellatio provocatioque adversus
iniuriam magistratuum ostentata tantum inanibus
litteris an vere data sit.
LVII. Contra ea Verginius unum Ap. Claudium
et legum expertem et civilis et humani foederis esse
2 aiebat : respicerent tribunal homines^ castellum
omnium scelerum, ubi decemvir ille perpetuus, bonis,
tergo, sanguini civium infestus, virgas securesque
omnibus minitans, deorum liominumque contemptor,
3 carnificibus, non lictoribus stipatus, iam ab rapinis et
caedibus animo ad libidinem verso virginem in-
genuam in oculis populi Romani, velut bello captam,
ab complexu patris abreptam ministro cubiculi sui
4 clienti dono dederit ; ubi crudeli decreto nefandisque
vindiciis dextram patris in filiam armaverit ; ubi
tollentis corpus semianime virginis sponsum avum-
^ appellationis F : appellationis causa (causam RDL) n.
* in quod Crevicr g- : in quam D, : in qua BDx : inquam
in qua J/.
^ at lac. Gra/wvius : ait .1.
190
BOOK III. Lvi. ii-Lvii. 4
imitate those whom they hated. And if the tribunes n.c.ud
should confess that they were bound by tlie same
agreement which they charged the decemvirs with
having entered into^ not to liear an appeal, he still
appealed to the people, and invoked the laws, both
consular and tribunician, which had been enacted
concerning appeals that very year. For who, he
asked, should make an appeal, if a man who had
not been condemned, whose cause had not been
heard, might not do so ? What humble plebeian
would find protection in the laws, if they afforded
none to Appius Claudius? His own case would
show whether the new statutes had established
tyranny or freedom, and whether the appeal to the
tribunes and that to the people against the injustice
of magistrates had been merely a parade of meaning-
less forms, or had been really granted.
LVII. Against this plea Verginius asserted that'
Appius Claudius alone was beyond the pale of the
laws and of the rights of citizens and men. He bade ■
his hearers look on the tribunal, the stronghold of all
crimes, where that man, as perpetual decemvir,
deadly foe to their fortunes, their persons, and their
lives, threatening them all with rods and axes, des-
pising gods and men, backed by executioners instead
of lictors, had began to turn his thoughts from rapine
and murder to lust ; and, in full sight of the Roman
People, had torn a free maiden from her father's
arms, as though she had been a captive taken in
war, and bestowed her as a gift upon his pimp and
client ;— the tribunal where, by his tyrannical decree
and wicked judgments, he had armed a father's
right hand against his daughter ; where, as they
were lifting up the body of the dying girl, he had
191
LIVY
que ^ in carcerem duci iusserit^ stupro interpellato
magis quam caede motus. Et illi carcerem aedifica-
tum esse quod domicilium plebis Romanae vocare
5 sit solitus. Proinde ut ille iterum ac saepius provocet,
sic se iterum ac saepius iudicem illi ferre ni vindicias
ab libertate in servitutem dederit ; si ad iudicem
6 non eat; pro damnato in vincla duci iubere. Ut baud
quoquam improbante sic magno motu animorura,
cum tanti viri sup{)licio suamet plebi iam nimia
libertas videretur, in carcerem est coniectus. Tribu-
nus ei diem prodixit.
7 Inter haec ab Latinis et Hernicis legati gratulatum
de Concordia patrum ac plebis Romam venerunt,
donumque ob earn lovi optumo maximo coronam
auream in Capitolium tulere parvi ponderis^ prout
res baud opulentae erant colebanturque religiones
8 pie magis quam magnifice. lisdem auctoribus cog-
nitum est Aequos Volscosque summa vi bellum
9 apparare. Itaque partiri provincias consules iussi.
Horatio Sabini, Valeric Aequi evenere. Cum ad ea
bella dilectum edixissent^, favore plebis non iuniores
^ avumque n ; auunculumque Sahdlicus [cf. note on chap.
xlv. § 4).
^ And the Volsci, apparently, see chap. Ix. § 1.
192
BOOK III. Lvii. 4-9
ordered her betrothed and lier uncle to be haled to b.o. 449
prison — more moved by the disappointing of his
pleasure than by her death. For Appius too had
been built that prison which he was wont to call
the home of the Roman plebs. Accordingly, though
he should again and repeatedly appeal, he would
himself again and repeatedly challenge him to prove
before a referee that he had not adjudged a free
citizen to the custody of one who claimed her as a
slave. Should he refuse to go before a referee, he
bade him be led to gaol, as one found guilty.
Though none raised his voice in disapproval, there
were yet profound misgivings on the part of the
plebs when he was cast into prison, since they saw
in the punishment of so great a man a sign that
their own liberty was already grown excessive.
The tribune appointed a day for the continuance
of the trial.
Meanwhile from the Latins and the Hernici
came envoys to congratulate the Romans upon the
harmony subsisting between the patricians and the
})lebs ; and to commemorate it they brought a
gift for Jupiter Optimus Maximus, to the Ca})itol.
This was a golden crown, of no great weight,
for their states were not rich, and they observed
the worship of the gods with piety rather than
magnificence. From these same envoys came the
information that the Aequi and the Volsci were
making strenuous preparations for war. The con-
suls were therefore bidden to divide the commands
between them. To Horatius fell the campaign
against the Sabines ; to Valerius that against the
Aequi. ^ When they had proclaimed a levy for
these wars, the plebs showed so much good-will
193
VOL. II. O
LIVY
modo sed emeritis etiani stipendiis pars magna
voluntariorum ad nomina danda praesto fuere, eoque
non copia modo sed genere etiam militunij veteranis
10 admixtis^ fimiior exercitus fuit. Priusquam urbe
egrederentur, leges decemvirales^ quibus tabulis
duodecim est nomen^ in aes incisas in publico pro-
posuerunt. Sunt qui iussu tribunorum aediles functos
eo ministerio scribant.
LVIII. C. Claudius^ qui perosus decemvirorum
scelera et ante omnes fratris filii superbiae infestus
Regillum, antiquam in patriam^ se contulerat^ is
magno iam natu, cum ad pericula eius deprecanda
redisset cuius vitia fugerat, sordidatus cum gentilibus
clientibusque in foro prensabat singulos orabatque
2 ne Claudiae genti earn inustam maculam vellent ut
carcere et vinculis viderentur digni. \'irum ^ liono-
ratissimae imaginis futurum ad posteros, legum
latorem conditoremque Romani iuris^ iacere vinctum
3 inter fures nocturnos ac latrones. Averterent ab
ira parumper ad cognitionem cogitationemque
animoSj et potius unum tot Claudiis deprecantibus
condonarent quam propter unius odium multorum
4 preces aspernarentur. Se quoque id generi ac no-
mini dare nee cum eo in gratiam redisse cuius
adversae fortunae velit succursum. Virtute liber-
^ virum O'^iV^ verum 0..
194
BOOK 111. Lvii. 9-Lviii. 4
that not only the juniors but also a great number b.c. 449
of volunteers who had served their time presented
themselves for enrolment, with the result that not
alone in numbers but in the quality of the troops
as well, owing to the admixture of veterans, the
army was stronger than usual. Before they left
the City, the consuls had the decemviral laws, which
are known as the Twelve Tables, engraved on
bronze, and set thein up in a public place. Some
authors say that the aediles, acting under orders
from the tribunes, performed this service.
LVII I. Gaius Claudius, who loathed the wicked-
ness of the decemvirs and was particularly offended
by his nephew's insolence, had retired to Regillus,
the ancient seat of his family. He was advanced
in years, but he returned to Rome to beg for the
pardon of the man whose vices he had fled. In
sordid garments, accompanied by his clansmen and
clients, he went about the Forum, soliciting the
support of one citizen after another, beseeching them
that they would not seek to brand the Claudian race
with the shame of being held to merit imprisonment
and chains. A man whose portrait-mask would be
held in the highest honour by coming generations,
the framer of statutes and the founder of Roman law,
lay in prison among night-prowling thieves and ban-
ditti. Let them turn their minds from wrath, for a
moment, to consider and reflect upon the matter ;
and let them sooner forgive one man, at the en-
treaty of so many Claudii, than scorn, in their hatred
of one, the prayers of many. He was doing this, he
said, out of regard to his family and his name ; nor
had there been any reconciliation between him and
the man whose adversity he sought to succour. By
195
o2
LIVY
tatem reciperatam esse : dementia concordiam
5 ordinum stabiliri posse. Erant quos moveret sua
magis pietate quam eius pro quo agebat causa;
sed Verginius sui potius ut raisererentur orabat
filiaeque, nee gentis Claudiae regnum in plebem
sortitae sed necessariorum \'erginiae trium tribuno-
rum preces audirent^, qui ad auxiliuni plebis creati
6 ipsi plebis fidem atque auxilium implorarent. lusti-
ores hae lacrimae videbantur. Itaque spe incisa^
priusquam prodicta dies adesset, Appius mortem
sibi conscivit.
7 Subinde arreptus a P. Xumitorio Sp. Oppius,
proximus invidiae^ quod in urbe fuerat cum iniustae
8 vindiciae a coUega dicerentur. Plus tamen facta
iniuria Oppio quam non prohibita invidiae fecit.
Testis productus. qui se})tem et viginti enumeratis
stipendiis octiens extra ordinem donatus donaque ea
gerens in conspectu populi, scissa veste tergum
laceratum virgis ostendit^ nihilum deprecans quin si
quam suam noxam reus dicere posset^ privatus
9 iterum in se saeviret. Oppius quoque ductus in
vincula est^ et ante iudicii diem finem ibi vitae fecit.
Bona Claudi Oppique tribuni publicavere. CoUegae
196
BOOK III. Lviii. 4-9
courage they had got back their Hberty ; by showing b.c. 449
mercy they had it in their power to estabUsh
harmony between the orders. Tlicre were some
whom he moved, more by his family loyalty than
by the cause of the man for whom he pleaded. But
Verginius begged them rather to pity himself and
his daughter, and to hearken, not to the entreaties
of the Claudian family, whose province it was to
tyrannize over the plebs, but instead to those of
Verginia's relations, the three plebeian tribunes,
who had been appointed to help the plebs but were
themselves imploring the plebs to protect and comfort
them. Men found more reason in his tears. And
so Appius, cut off from hope, did not wait for the
appointed day to come, but killed himself.
Immediately thereafter Publius Numitorius caused
the arrest of Spurius Oppius, who stood next in
point of unpopularity, because he had been in the
City when the unjust verdict was pronounced by
his colleague. Yet a wrong which Oppius com-
mitted was more responsible for men's bitterness
towards him than the one which he ftiiled to pre-
vent. A witness was produced who, after enumer-
ating his twenty-seven campaigns, during which he
had eight times received sj)ecial decorations, which
he wore in full sight of the people, tore open his
tunic and exhibited his back, scored by the rods,
professing that if the defendant could name any
crime of which he had been guilty, he would suffer
him without complaining, private citizen though he
was, to vent his rage upon him a second time.
Oppius too was led to prison, and before the day
of trial he there put an end to his life. Tlie
property of Claudius and that of Oppius was con-
197
.r.c.
305
LIVY
eorum exsilii causa solum verterunt ; bona publicata
10 sunt. Et M. Claudius^, adsertor Verginiae, die dicta
damnatus, ipso remittente Verginio ultimam poenam
11 dimissus Tibur exsulatum abiit, manesque Verginiae,
mortuae quam vivae felicioris/ per tot domos ad
petendas poenas vagati nullo relicto sonte tandem
quieverunt.
LIX. Ingens metus incesserat patres^ voltusque
lam iidem^ tribunorum erant qui decemvirorum
fuerant, cum M. Duillius tribunus plebis inhibito
2 salubriter modo nimiae potestati '^ Et libertatis "
inquit, '' nostrae et poenarum ex inimicis satis est ;
itaque hoc anno nee diem dici cuiquam nee in vincla
3 duci quemquam sum passurus. Nam neque vetera ^
peceata repeti iam oblitterata placet^ cum ^ nova
expiata sint decemvirorum suppliciis, et nihil ad-
missum iri^ quod vim tribuniciam desideret spondet
perpetua consulum amborum in libertate vestra
4 tuenda cura." Ea primum moderatio tribuni metum
patribus dempsit^ eademque auxit consulum invidiam,
quod adeo toti plebis fuissent ut patrum salutis
libertatisque prior plebeio magistratui quam patricio
cura fuissetj et ante inimicos satietas poenarum
1 felicioris Gulielmus f. feliciore.'? D..
2 iidem Z>V : idem ^ : inde n : indies B : indie Ij":L :
iam die A.
3 Vetera D*;- : tira ( = vestra) n.
* placet, cum - { lihe/ianus) : placet et cum Form. M -.
placet cum et n : placet cum etiam 5-.
198
BOOK III. Lviii. 9-Lix. 4
fiscated by the tribunes. Their colleagues in the n.o.uo
decemvirate went into exile, and their possessions
were forfeited. Marcus Claudius also, the claimant
of Verginia, was cited and condemned, but at the
instance of Verginius himself the extreme penalty
was remitted ; and being allowed to depart, he went
into exile at Tibur. And so the manes of VerHnia,
who was more fortunate after her death than she
had been while alive, after ranging through so many
liouses in quest of vengeance, were finally at peace ;
for no guilty man remained.
LIX. A great fear had come over the patricians,
and the bearing of the tribunes was now just what
that of the decemvirs had been, when Marcus
Duillius, a tribune of the plebs, placed a salutary
check upon their excessive power. "Our own
liberty," he declared, "and the exaction of penalties
from our enemies have gone far enough ; I shall
therefore this year allow no one to be arraigned or
thrown into gaol. For on the one hand it is not
good to rake up old offences, already blotted out
of memory, now that recent crimes have been
expiated by the punishment of the decemvirs ; and
on the other hand we have a guarantee that no
wrong will be attempted that could call for the
intervention of tribunician authority, in view of the
unceasing care both consuls take to protect your
liberty." It was this moderation on the tribune's
part which first relieved the patricians of their fear.
It also increased their dislike of the consuls, since
the latter had been so wholly devoted to the ])lebs
that the safety and independence of the patricians
had been dearer to a plebeian magistracy than to
their own, and their opponents had grown sated
199
LIVY
suarum cepisset quam obviam itnros licentiae eorum
5 consules appareret. Multique erant qui mollius con-
sultum dicerentj quod legum ab iis latarum patres
auctores fuissent^ neque erat dubium quin turbato
rei puljlicae statu tempori succubuissent.
LX. C-onsules rebus urbanis compositis fundatoque
plebis statu in provincias diversi abiere. ^'alerius ad-
versus coniunctos iam in Algido exercitus Aequorum
2 Volscorumque sustinuit consilio bellum ; quod si
extemplo rem fortunae commisisset, baud scio an,
qui turn anirai ab decemvirorum infelicibus auspiciis
Romanis hostibusque erant, maLmo detriniento cer-
3 tamen staturum fuerit. Castris mille passuum ab
lioste positis copias continebat.^ Hostes medium
inter bina castra spatium acie instructa complebant,
provocantibusque ad proelium responsum Romanus
4 nemo reddebat. Tandem ffitigati stando ac nequi-
quam exspectando certamen Aequi Volscique, post-
quam concessum propemodum de victoria credebant,
pars in Hernicos, pars in Latinos praedatum abeunt ;
relinquitur magis castris praesidium quam satis
5 virium ad certamen. Quod ubi consul sensit_, red-
dit inlatum antea terrorem instructaque acie ultro
6 hustem lacessit. Ubi ilb conscientia quid abesset
1 coniinebat ^^.-iV •■ continebant fl.
200
BOOK III. Lix. 4-Lx. 6
with punishing them before the consuls evinced any b.c. 449
intention of o})i)Osing their Hcence. And there were
many who said that the senate had shown a want
of resolution in having voted for the measures pro-
posed by the consuls ; and indeed there was no
doubt that in the troubled state of public affairs
they had yielded to the times.
LX. The consuls, having set affairs in order in
the City and establislied the position of the plebs,
departed to their respective commands. Valerius,
facing the armies of the Aequi and Volsci, which
had already eff"ected a junction on Mount Algidus,
deliberately postponed engaging them ; had he
risked an immediate decision, it is likely — such
was the difference in spirit between the Romans
and the enemy^ in consequence of the godless
dealings of the decemvirs — that the struggle would
have cost him a severe defeat. He established his
camp a mile from the enemy and kept his men
within the works. The enemy repeatedly drew up
their troops in fighting order on the ground between
the camps, and challenged the Romans to come
out and engage them ; but no one answered them.
At length, weary with standing and waiting, to no
purpose, for the battle, the Aequi and Volsci con-
cluded that the Romans had virtually yielded them
the victory; and marched off" to pillage, some against
the Hernici, others against the Latins, leaving be-
hind what was rather a garrison for the camp than
a sufficient force for giving battle. On perceiving
this the consul repaid the fear he had previously
been made to feel, and forming a line of battle,
himself provoked the enemy. Since they declined
the combat, conscious of their want of strength, the
201
LIVY
virium detractavere pugnam, crevit extemplo Ro-
manis animus^ et pro victis habebant paventes intra
7 vallum. Cum per totum diem stetissent intenti
ad certamen^ nocti cessere. Et Romani quidem pleiii
spei corpora curabant : haudquaquara pari hostes
animo nuntios passim trepidi ad revocandos prae-
datores dimittunt. Recurritur ex proximis locis :
8 ulteriores non inventi. Ubi inluxit^ egreditur castris
Romanus vallum invasurus ni copia pugnae fieret.
Et postquam multa iam dies erat neque movebatur
quicquam ab hoste, iubet signa inferri consul ;
motaque acie indignatio Aequos et Volscos inces-
sitj si victores exercitus vallum potius quam virtus
et anna tegerent. Igitur et ipsi efflagitatum ab du-
9 cibus signum pugnae accepere. lamque pars egres-
sa portis erat, deincepsque alii servabant ordinem
in suum quisque locum descendentes, cum consul
Romanus, priusquam totis viribus fulta constaret
10 liostium acies, intulit signa ; adortusque nee omnes
dum eductos, nee qui erant, satis explicatis ordi-
nibus, prope fluctuantem turbam trepidantium hue
atque illuc circumspectantiumque se ac suos, addito
turbatis mentibus clamore atque impetu invadit.
11 Rettulere primo pedem hostes; deinde, cum animos
202
BOOK III. L.Y. 6-1 1
Romans felt an immediate access of courage, and
regarded tlieir opponents, cowering behind the
palisade, as beaten men. After standing in Hne
all day intent on figliting, the Romans withdrew at
nightfall. And they, on their side, were full of
hope, as they ate their evening meal ; but the
enemy's spirits were by no means so high, and
they sent out couriers far and wide, in great alarm,
to recall the marauders. The nearest of these
hastened back ; but those who were farther afield
could not be found. As soon as it was light, the
Romans sallied from their camp, intending to assault
the rampart, unless the enemy gave battle. So,
when the day was now far spent and the enemy
made no move, the consul ordered an advance.
The Roman line having got in motion, the Aequi
and Volsci were ashamed that their victorious armies
should depend for protection upon stockades, instead
of valour and the sword. Accordingly they too
demanded of their leaders, and received, the signal
to attack. A part had already passed out through
the gates and the rest were following in good order,
each man coming out into his proper place ; when
the Roman consul, not waiting till the enemy's line
should be strongly posted in full force, advanced
to the charge. The attack, which he delivered
before their troops had all been brought out, and
when those who had been were insufficiently de-
ployed, found little more than a surging mob of men,
who as they hurried this way and that cast anxious
looks at one another and wished for their missing
friends. The shouting and the fury of the onset
increased their agitation, and at first they fell back ;
then, when they had collected their wits and on
203
LIVY
collegissent et undique duces victisne cessuri essent
increparcntj restituitur pugna.
LXI. Consul ex altera parte Romanos meminisse
iubebat illo die primum liberos pro libera urbe
Romana pugnare : sibimet ipsis victuros, non ut
2 decemvirorum victores praemium essent. Non
Appio duce rem geri, sed consule Valerio, ab li-
beratoribus populi Romani orto^ liberatore ipso.
Ostenderent prioribus proeliis per duces, non per
3 milites stetisse ne vincerent ; turpe esse contra cives
plus animi habuisse quam contra hostes, et domi
4 quam foris servitutem magis timuisse. Unam Ver-
giniam fuisse cuius pudicitiae in pace periculum
esset, unum Appiura civem periculosae libidinis;
at si fortuna belli inclinet, omnium liberis ab tot
5 milibus hostium periculum fore; nolle ominari quae
nee Iu])piter nee Mars pater passuri sint iis auspiciis
conditae urbi accidere. Aventini Sacrique montis
admonebat, ut ubi libertas parta esset paucis ante
6 mensibuS; eo imperium inlibatum referrent, osten-
derentque eandem indolem militibus Romanis post
exactos decemviros esse quae ante creatos fuerit,
nee aequatis legibus imminutam virtutem po])uli
7 Romani esse. Haec ubi inter signa })edituin dicta
204
BOOK III. Lx. ii-Lxi. 7
every side heard their officers wrathfully demanding n.o, 449
if they meant to yield to troops whom they had
beaten, they rallied and held their own.
LXI. The consul^ on the other side, bade the
Romans remember that on that day they were for
the first time fighting as free men for a free
Rome. They would be conquering for themselves,
not that they might become the spoil of decemvirs
in the hour of victory. It was no Appius who was
commanding them, but the consul Valerius, descen-
dant of liberators of the Roman People, and himself
their liberator. Let them show that in previous
battles it had been the fault of the generals, not of
the soldiers, that they had failed to win. It would
be disgraceful to have shown more courage in facing
their fellow citizens than in facing the enemy, and
to have been more fearful of enslavement at home
than abroad. No one's chastity but Verginia's had
been in danger while they were at peace, no citizen
but Appius had been possessed of a dangerous lust;
but if the fortune of war turned against them, the
children of all of them would be in danger from all
those thousands of enemies ; yet he would not utter
an omen which neither Ju})iter nor Mars their Father
would suffer to come home to a City founded with
such auspices. He reminded them of the Aventine
and the Sacred Mount, that they might bring back
an undiminished power to the spot where liberty had
a few months before been won, and might show
that the nature of Rome's soldiers was the same
after the expulsion of the decemvirs that it had
been before they were elected, and that equality
before the law had not lessened the courage of the.
Roman People. Having pronounced these words
205
A.r.c.
305
LIVY
dedit, avolat delude ad equites ; ^'^ Agite. iuvenes "
iiiqiiit^ ''praestate virtute peditem ut honore atque
8 ordine praestatis. Primo concursu pedes movit
hosteni. pulsum vos immissis eqiiis exigite e campo.
Non sustinebunt impetiim^ et nunc cunctantur magis
9 qiiam resistunt." Concitant equos permittuntque in
ho->tem pedestri iam turbatum pugna et perruptis
ordinibus elati ad novissimam aciem^ pars libero
spatio circiimvecti iam fugam undique capessentes
plerosque a castris avertunt praeterequitantesque
10 absterrent. Peditum acies et consul ipse visque
omnis belli fertur in castra, captisque cum ingenti
caede maiore praeda potitur.
11 Huius pugnae fama perlata non in urbem modo
sed in Sabinos ad alterum exercitum, in urbe lae-
titia ^ celebrata est; in castris animos militum ad
12 aemulandum decus accendit. Iam Horatius eos
excursionibus 2 proeliisque levibus ^ experiundo ad-
suefecerat sibi potius fidere quam meminisse igno-
miniae decemvirorum ductu acceptae, parvaque cer-
13 tamina in summam totius profecerant spei. Nee
cessabant Sabini^ feroces ab re priore anno bene
gesta;, lacessere atque instare, rogitantes quid latro-
cinii modo procursantes pauci recurrentesque tere-
^ laetitia T: laetitia modo n.
2 excursionibus V: excursionibus suflficiendo H: ex in-
cursionibus sufficiendo n.
3 levibus Vf. lenibus n : lenius PFUB.
2o6
BOOK III. Lxi. 7-13
amid the standards of the infantry, he hastened to nc. 449
the cavalry. " Come, young men," he cried, '' surpass
the foot-soldiers in daring as you do in honour and
in rank ! At the first encounter the infantry have
forced the enemy back ; now that they are repulsed,
do you give rein to yqur horses and drive them from
the field. They will not sustain the shock ; even
now they are rather hesitating than resisting."
Clap})ing spurs to their horses they charged the
enemy, already disordered by the infantry-attack,
and penetrating his lines, dashed through to the
rear ; while another division made a detour over
unoccupied ground, and finding the enemy every-
where in flight turned most of them back from their
camp and frightened them off by riding across their
course. The infantry and the consul himself swept
on into the camp in the full tide of battle, and took
possession of it. The enemy's losses in men were
great, but in booty were even greater.
The report of this battle having been brought not
only to Rome but also to the Sabine country and the
other army, was celebrated in the City with rejoic-
ings, and in the camp inspired the soldiers with a
desire to emulate the glorious achievement. Horatius
had already accustomed them, by practice in raids
and skirmishes, to be self-reliant, instead of dwelling
on the disgrace they had incurred under the leader-
ship of the decemvirs ; and small engagements had
encouraged the highest hopes of the general outcome.
Nor were the Sabines backward — emboldened as
they were by their victory of the year before— with
challenges and threats. Why, they asked, did the
Romans waste their time advancing swiftly in small
companies, like brigands, and as hurriedly retreating ;
207
LIVY
rent tempus et in multa proelia parvaque carperent
14 summam unius belli? Quin illi congrederentur acie
inclinandamque semel fortunae rem darent ?
LXII. Ad id quod sua sponte satis conlectum
animoruni erat indignitate etiam Romani accende-
bantur : iam alter um exercitum victorem in urbem
rediturum, sibi ultro per contumelias hostem in-
sultare ; quando autem se, si turn non sint, pares
2 hostibus fore? Ubi haec fremere militem in castris
consul sensit. contione advocata "Quern ad modum"
inquit, "in Algido res gesta sit, arbitror vos, milites,
audisse. Qualem liberi populi exercitum decuit
esse^ talis fuit. Consilio ^ collegae, virtute militum
3 victoria parta est. Quod ad me attinet, id consilii
animique habiturus sum quod vos mihi feceritis.-
Et train bellum salubriter et mature perfici potest.
4 Si trahendum est, ego ut in dies spes virtusque
vestra crescat, eadem qua institui disci plina efficiam :
si iam satis animi est decernique placet, agitedum
clamorem qualem in acie sublaturi estis tollite hie
5 indicem voluntatis virtutisque vestrae." Postquam
ingenti alacritate clamor est sublatus, quod bene
vertat gesturum se illis morem posteroque die in
aciem deducturum adfirmat. Reliquum diei appa-
randis armis consumptum est.
1 consilio P^A-^: Gy consulto II: consilio consulto ML:
consul consilto P : consilto FB : consulto H : . . . F.
2 mihi feceritis Crevier: . . hi f . . eritis s V:
milites geritis Form MA^ : tegeritis II: mihi tegaritis fece-
ritis 0: mihi tegeritis PL: mihi .... feceritis P: mihi
etfeceritis P^FUBD^ : michi .... geritis D.
2o8
BOOK III. Lxi. 13-LX11. 5
thus dissipating in many little combats the issues of b,c. 449
one pitched battle ? VVJiy did they not attack in
line and suffer fortune to decide the matter once for
all?
LXI I. Besides the fact that they had of them-
selves accumulated a good store of confidence, the
Romans were also kindled with indignation. Tlie
other army, they said, would presently be returning
victorious to the City ; they themselves were actually
being insulted and reviled by the enemy ; but when
should they be a match for him, if they were not at
that moment ? When the consul became aware how
the soldiers were murmuring in the camp, he called
them together. ^^ Soldiers," said he, '* you have
heard, I suppose, how matters have gone on Algidus.
The army has proved to be such as it was fitting that
the army of a free people should be. By my col-
league's strategy and the bravery of his men a
victory has been won. As for me, my strategy and
my courage will be what you make them yourselves.
It is within our power either to prolong the war with
advantage or to bring it to a speedy and successful
end. If it is to be prolonged, I shall seek to in-
crease your hopes and courage from day to day by
the same course of training I have begun ; if your
spirits are already high enough and you wish the
war to be decided, come, give a shout here in the
camp, to show your good-will and your courage, like
the cheer you will raise in the battle ! " The shout
was given witli great alacrity, and the consul pro-
mised, invoking good fortune on the enterprise, that
he would do as they wished and lead them forth to
battle on the morrow. The rest of the day they
spent in making ready their arms.
209
VOL. II. P
LIVY
6 Postero die simul instrui Romanam aciem Sabini
videre et ipsi^ iam pridem avidi certaminis, pro-
cedunt. Proelium fuit^ quale inter fidentes sibimet
ambo exercitus, veteris perpetuaeque alterum gloriae^
7 alterum nuper nova victoria elatum. Consilio etiam
Sabini vires adiuvere ; nam cum aequassent aciem,
duo extra ordinem milia quae in sinistrum cornu
Romanorum in ipso certamine impressionem facerent
8 tenuere. Quae ubi inlatis ex transverso signis
degravabant prope circumventum cornu, equites
duarum legionum sescenti^ fere ex equis desiliunt
cedentibusque iam suis provolant in primum simul-
que et hosti se opponunt et aequato primum peri-
culo, pudore deinde animos peditum accendunt ;
9 verecundiae erat equitem sue alienoque Marte
pugnare, peditem ne ad pedes quidem degresso
equiti parem esse.
LXIII. Vadunt igitur in proelium ab sua parte
omissum et locum ex quo cesserant repetunt ; mo-
mentoque non restituta modo pugna, sed inclinatur
2 etiam Sabinis cornu. Eques inter ordines peditum
tectus se ad equos recipit. Transvolat inde in
partem alteram suis victoriae nuntius ; simul et in
^ sesceuti j-: sescentis Vi ac {or ac or aC) i.e. DC Q.
2IO
BOOK III. Lxii. 6-Lxiii. 2
Next day, as soon as the Sabines saw the Romans b.c. 449
forming, they came out themselves, for they had
long been eager to fight. It was a battle such as
takes place when both armies are confident ; for the
glory of the one was ancient and unbroken, and the
other was exalted by its recent unaccustomed victory.
Moreover the Sabines employed a stratagem to in-
crease their strength ; for when they had marshalled
a front of equal extent with the Roman, they held
two thousand men in reserve to hurl against their
opponent's left, as soon as the battle should be under
way. These troops, attacking in Hank, had almost
encompassed that wing, and were beginning to over-
power it ; when the cavalry of the two legions,
numbering about six liundred, leaped down from
their horses and rushed to the front, where their
comrades w^ere already giving ground. There they
made a stand against the foe and at the same time
roused the courage of the infantry, first by sharing
the danger on equal terms, and then by causing
them to feel ashamed. They felt humiliated that
the cavalry should be fighting in their own fashion
and in that of infantry too, and that the infantry
should not be as good as the horsemen, even when
these were dismounted.
LXII I. They therefore renewed the battle which
on their flank had been given up, and advanced again
into the position from which they had retreated,
and in a trice the fighting was not merely even, but
the Sabine wing had begun to yield. The horsemen,
under cover of the ranks of infantry, regained their
mounts. Then they galloped across to the other
wing, announcing the victory to their friends ; and
at the same time they made a charge against the
p 2
i.r.c.
305
LIVY
hostes iam pavidos, quippe fuso suae partis validiore
cornu^impetum facit. Non aliorum eo proelio virtus
3 magis enituit. Consul providere omnia, laudare
fortijs, increpare sicubi segnior pugna esset. Casti-
gati fortium statim virorum opera edebant,, tantum-
que hos pudor quantum alios laudes excitabant.
4 Redintegrato clamore undique omnes conisi hostem
avertunt, nee deinde Romana vis sustineri potuit.
Sabini fusi passim per agros castra hosti ad praedam
relinquunt. Ibi non sociorum sicut in Algido res,
sed suas Romanus populationibus agrorum amissas
recipit.
5 Gemina victoria duobus bifariam proeliis parta
maligne senatus in unum diem supplicationes con-
sulum nomine decrevit. Populus iniussu et altero
die frequens lit supplicatum ; ^ et haec vaga popu-
larisque supplicatio studiis prope celebratior fuit.
6 Consules ex composito eodem biduo ad urbem acces-
sere senatumque in Martium campum evocavere.
Lbi cum de rebus ab se gestis agerent, questi
primores patrum senatum inter milites dedita opera
7 terroris causa haberi. Itaque inde consules, ne crimi-
nationi locus esset, in prata Flaminia, ubi nunc aedes
Aj)ollinis est — iam tum Apollinare appellabant, —
^ supplicatum ^ : supplicatumque est n : supplicatumque
e D.
212
BOOK III. Lxiii. 2-7
enemy, who were already panic-stricken, as they
might well be when the stronger of their wings had
been defeated. No other troops showed more con-
spicuous courage in that battle. The consul looked
out for every contingency, commended the brave,
and upbraided any who fought listlessly. Being re-
buked they would at once begin to acquit themselves
like men, — shame proving as powerful an incentive to
them as praise to the others. With a fresh cheer all
along the line the Romans made a concerted effort
and drove the enemy back, and from that moment
there was no resisting the violence of their onset.
The Sabines fled in confusion through the fields and
left their camp to be plundered by their foes. There
the Romans won back not the possessions of their
allies, as on Algidus, but their own which had earlier
been lost to them through the raids on their lands.
Though a double victory had been gained in two
separate battles, the senate was so mean as to decree
thanksgivings in the name of the consuls for one
day only. The people went unbidden on tlie second
day also in great numbers, to offer up thanks to the
gods; and this unorganized and popular supplication
was attended with an enthusiasm which almost ex-
ceeded that of the other. The consuls had arranged
to approach the City within a day of one another, and
summoned the senate out into the Campus Martins.
While they were there holding forth on the subject
of their victories, complaints were made by leading
senators that the senate was being held in the
midst of the army on purpose to inspire fear. And
so the consuls, to allow no room for the accusation,
adjourned the senate from that place to the
Flaminian Meadows, where the temple of Apollo
213
LIVY
8 avocavere senatuni. L'bi cum ingenti consensu
patrum neo^aretur triumphus^ L. Icilius tribunus
plebis tulit ad populuni de triumpho consulum
9 multis dissuasum prodeuntibus^, maxime C. Claudio
vociferante de patribus, non de hostibus consules
triumphare velle, gratiamque pro })rivato merito in
tribunum, non pro virtute honorem })eti. Numquam
ante de triumpho })er populum actum ; semper aesti-
mationem arbitriumque eius honoris penes senatum
10 fuisse ; ne reges quidem maiestatem summi ordinis
imminuisse ; ne ita omnia tribuni potestatis suae
implerent, ut nullum publicum consilium sinerent
esse ; ita demum liberam civitatem fore, ita aequatas
leges, si sua quisque iura ordo, suam maiestatem
11 teneat. In eandem sententiam niulta et a ceteris
senioribus patrum cum essent dicta, omnes tribus
eam rogationem acceperunt. Tum primum sine
auctoritate senatus po})uli iussu triumphatum est.
LXIV. Haec victoria tribunorum pleljisque prope
in baud salubrem luxuriam vertit conspiratione inter
tribunos facta ut iidem tribuni reficerentur, et quo
sua minus cupiditas emineret, consules quoque con-
2 tinuarent magistratum. Consensum patrum causa-
bantur, quo per contumeliam consulum iura tri-
3 bunorum plebis labefactata^ essent. Quid futurum
^ labefactata LA^- : labe factata A; labefacta tum V :
labefactor F -. laVjcfacta (lebe- B) 0,.
^ It was not the last time, however [cf. vii. xvii. 9).
Sometimes the consul triumphed without the authorization
of either senate or plebs (x. xxxvii. 8), in which case the
ceremony took place on the Alban Mount ; sometimes by
virtue of a plebiscite confirmed by resolution of the senate
(IV. XX. IV But unless granted by the senate the triumph
was paid fur by the victorious consul, instead of Ijy the state.
214
BOOK III. Lxiii. 7-L\iv. 3
is now, and which was called even then Apollo's b.c.419
Precinct. When the Fathers, meeting there, re-
fused with great unanimity to grant a triumpli,
Lucius Icilius the plebeian tribune laid the issue
before the jieople. Many came forward to dissuade
them, and Gaius Claudius was particularly vehement.
It was a triumph, he said, over the patricians, not
Rome's enemies, which the consuls desired ; they
were seeking a favour in return for personal services
they had done the tribune, not an honour in re-
quital of valour. Never before had a triumph been
voted by the people ; the decision whether this
honour had been deserved had always rested with
the senate ; not even the kings had infringed the
majesty of the highest order in the state ; let not
the tribunes so dominate all things as not to suffer
the existence of any public council ; if each order
retained its own rights and its own dignity, then,
and only then, would the state be free and the laws
equal for all. After many speeches had been made
to the same purpose by the other older members of
the senate, all the tribes voted in favour of the
motion. Then, for the first time, a triumph which
lacked the authorization of the senate was cele-
brated at the bidding of the people.^
LXIV. This victory of the tribunes and the
commons had nearly resulted in a dangerous abuse ;
for the tribunes conspired together to obtain their
re-election, and, that their own ambition might be
less conspicuous, to procure as well the return to
office of the consuls. Their pretext was the solid-
arity of the patricians, which had operated, by
injurious treatment of the consuls, to break down
the authority of the tribunes of the plebs. What
215
LIVY
nondum firmatis legibus, si novos tribunes per
factionis suae ^ consules adorti essent ? Non enim
semper Valerios Horatiosque consules fore, qui liber-
4 tati plebis suas opes postferrent. Forte quadam
utili ad tempus iit comitiis praeesset potissimum
M. Duillio sorte evenit, viro prudenti et ex continua-
tione magistratus invidiam imminentem cer.ienti.
5 Qui cum ex veteribus tribunis negaret se ullius
rationem habiturum, pugnarentque collegae ut
libenas tribus in sufFragium mitteret aut concederet
sortem comitiorum collegis, habituris e lege potius
6 coniitia quam ex voluntate patrum, iniecta conten-
tione Duillius consules ad subsellia accitos cum
interrogasset quid de comitiis consularibus in
animo haberent, respondissentque se novos con-
sules creaturos, auctores populares sententiae baud
popularis ^ nactus in contionem cum iis processit.
7 Ubi cum consules producti ad populum inter-
rogatique, si eos populus Romanus, memor libertatis
per illos receptae domi, memor militiae rerum ^
gestarum, consules iterum faceret, quidnam facturi
8 essent, nihil sententiae suae mutassent, conlaudatis
consulibus quod perseverarent ad ultimum dissimiles
decemvirorum esse, comitia habuit ; et quinque
tribunis plebi creatis cum prae studiis aperte peten-
1 factionis suae Madcig M"'. : factionis sua V : factiones
suas n.
^ populares sententiae haud popularis Stroth : popularis
sententiae haud popularis - : popularis sententiae hand popu-
lar! F : popularis sententiae haud populares n {but fur hand
F has auc, BL aut .
' militiae reruni Lie. Grunoviiis: militiae quae rerum F ;
militiae rerumque n.
2l6
BOOK III. Lxiv. 3-8
would happen if, ere tlie laws were fiimly estab- b.c. 419
lished, the new tribunes should be assailed through
the agency of consuls belonging to the patricians'
own party? For there would not always be consuls
like Valerius and Horatius, who preferred the liberty
of the plebs to their own interests. By a fortunate
chance in this emergency the superintendence of
the elections fell by lot to none other than Marcus
Duillius, a far-seeing man who perceived that the
re-election of the magistrates would be fraught
with odium. But when he asserted that he would
not consider the candidacy of any of the former
tribunes, his colleagues vehemently insisted that
he should receive the suffrages of the tribes without
restriction, or else resign the presidency of the
election to his fellow-tribunes, who would conduct
the voting in accordance with the law rather than
the desires of the patricians. A controversy having
thus arisen, Duillius summoned the consuls before
the benches of the tribunes and asked them what
course they meant to pursue in the consular elec-
tions ; and finding, by their replying that they
should have new consuls chosen, that he had got
in them popular supporters of his unpopular policy,
he went with them before the assembly. When
the consuls, on being there brought forth to the
people and asked what they would do if the Roman
People, mindful of their help in the recovery of
liberty at home and remembering their military
successes, should again elect them to office, declined
to alter their determination, Duillius first praised
the consuls for persisting to the end in their
unlikeness to the decemvirs, and then held the
election. And after five tribunes had been chosen
LIVY
tium novem tribunorum alii candidati tribus non
explerent, concilium dimisit nee deinde comitiorum
9 causa habuit. Satisfactum legi aiebat, quae numero
nusquam praefinito tribuni modo ut relinquerentur
sanciret^ et ab lis qui creati essent cooptari collegas
10 iuberet ; recitabatque rocrationis carmen, in quo sic
erat : ^ •' Si tribunos plebei decern rogabo ; si qui vos
minus hodie decern tribunos plebei feceritis.^ tum ut
ii ^ quos lii sibi collegas cooptassint^ legitimi eadem
lege tribuni plebei sint ut illi quos hodie tribunos
11 plebei feceritis." Duillius cum ad ultimum per-
severasset negando quindecim tribunos plebei rem
publicam habere posse^ victa collegarum cupiditate
pariter patribus plebeique accept us magistratu abiit.
LXV, No\ i tribuni plebis in cooptandis collegis
patrum voluntatem foverunt ; duos etiam patricios
consularesque, Sp. Tarpeium et A. Aternium,^ co-
2 optavere. Consules creati Sp. Herminius T. Verginius
Caelimontanus, nihil magnopere ad patrum aut plebis
3 causam inclinati^ otium domi ac foris habuere. L.
^ sic erat : "Si Foster : sic erat H. J. Mudhyr : sic esset : "Si
Comray and Walters : est Madvig : si Cl.
2 feceritis V''. : fecerint iis {or his or ii or ut or hi) Ci.
3 tum ut ii IVeissenhoni : tum uti n.
* cooptassint Pi,henanus : cooptassent V : cooptassent ut
illi a : coaptassent ut illi U.
^ A. Aternium D't Alscliefski [chop. xxxi. § 5) : a. aeteinum
a : a. aetheriiium U\ a. aeternum II \ a. eternium BIJ^A.
^ More accurately " fourteen," since the reference is to the
five whose election Duillius recognized, together with the
nine incumV^enls who claimed re-election.
2l8
BOOK III. Lxiv. 8-Lxv. 3
and no other candidates obtained a majority of the b.c. ua
tribes^ on account of the eagerness with which the
nine incumbents openly sought re-election, he dis-
missed the assembly, nor did he afterwards convene
it for an election. He declared that the law had
been satisfied, which, without anywhere prescribing
the number, provided only that the tribunate should
not be left vacant ; and directed that those who had
been elected should co-opt colleagues. He recited
too the formula of the announcement, in which the
following words occurred : " If I shall call for your
suffrages for ten tribunes of the plebs ; if for any
reason you shall elect to-day less than ten tribunes
of the plebs, then let those whom the elected
tribunes co-opt as their colleagues be as legally
tribunes of the plebs as those whom you shall this
day have chosen to that office." Having persevered
to the end in denying that the state could have
fifteen plebeian tribunes,^ and having defeated the
cupidity of his colleagues, Duillius laid down his
magistracy, approved by patricians and plebs alike.
LXV. The new tribunes of the plebs consulted b.c.
the wishes of the nobles in the co-optation of col-
leagues ; they even chose two who were j)atricians
and ex-consuls, Spurius Tarpeiusand Aulus Aternius,^
The new consuls, Spurius Herminius and Titus
Verginius Caelimontanus, being specially devoted
neither to the cause of the patricians nor to that
of the plebs, enjoyed a peaceful year both at home
2 I'he lex sacrata (ii. xxxiii. 1) denied patricians access to
the tribunate, but apparently there was at this time a dis-
position to wink at their co-optation. Tarpeius and Aternius
had been consuls in 454 B.C.
219
LIVY
Trebonius tribunus plebis, infestus patribus quod se
ab iis ^ in cooptandis tribunis fraude captum pro-
ditumque a collegis aiebat, rogationem tulit ut qui
4 plebem Romanam tribiinos plebi rogaret, is usque eo
rogaret dum decern tribunos plebi faceret ; insec-
tandisque patribus^ unde Aspero etiara inditum est
co:;^nomen, tribunatum gessit.
5 Inde M. Geganius Macerinus - et C. lulius con-
sules facti contentiones tribunorum adversus nobiliura
iuventutem ortas sine insectatione potestatis eius
6 conservata maiestate patrum sedavere. Plebem
decreto ad bellum Volscorum et Aequorum dilectu
sustinendo rem ab seditionibus eontinuere^ urbano
otio foris quoque omnia tranquilla esse adfirmantes,
7 per discordias civiles externos toUere animos. Cura
pacis concordiae quoque intestinae causa fuit. Sed
alter semper ordo gravis alterius modestiae erat ;
quiescenti plebi ab iunioribus patrum iniuriae fieri
8 coeptae. Ubi tribuni auxilio humilioribus essent,
in primis parura proderat; deinde ne ipsi quide^n
inviolati erant, utique postremis mensibus, cum et
per coitiones potentiorum iniuria fieret et vis potes-
tatis omnis aliquanto posteriore anni parte languidior
9 ferme esset. lamque plebs ita in tribunatu ponere
1 ab iis r? : ab hiis A : ab his H.
2 Macerinus Siuonias (iv. viii. 1 ; iv. xvii. 7) : macrinus
UO : m. acrinus MFFB : m. agrinus HRDLA.
^ Wheu they co-opted patricians.
220
BOOK III. Lxv. 3-9
and abroad. Lucius Trebonius, a tribune of the com- bc.
mons, being angry with the patricians, because, as
he said, he had been defrauded by them in the
co-optation of the tribunes and had been betrayed
by his colleagues,^ proposed a law that he who called
upon tlie Roman plebs to elect tribunes should con-
tinue to call upon them until he should effect the
election of ten ; and he so baited the nobles during
his year of office as even to gain the surname of
Asper, or "the Truculent."
Next, Marcus Geganius Macerinus and Gaius
Julius became consuls, and assuaged the strife of
the tribunes with the young nobles, without censur-
ing those magistrates or sacrificing the dignity of
the patricians. They withheld the })lebs from sedi-
tion by suspending a levy which had been decreed
with a view to making war on the Volsci and the
Aequi, averring that so long as the City was quiet
their foreign relations were likewise entirely peace-
ful ; that it was discord in Rome which made other
nations take heart. The pains they were at to
maintain peace were also ])roductive of internal
harmony. But the one order was always taking
advantage of the moderation of the other; the
])lebs were tranquil, but the younger patricians
began to insult them. When the tribunes attempted
to assist the lowly, at first their services were of
little effect; and later they did not even escape
violence themselves, especially in the last months
of their term, since not only were wrongs com-
mitted through cabals of the more powerful, but
the effectiveness of every magistrate rather lan-
guished, as a rule, in the latter part of the year.
By this time the j)lebs had ceased to count upon
221
LIVY
aliqiiid spei. si similes Icilio tribunes haberet : nomina
10 tautum se biennio habuisse. Seniores contra patrum,
ut nimis feroces suos credere iuvenes esse, ita malle,
si modus excedendus esset, suis quam adversariis
11 superesse animos. Adeo moderatio tuendae liber-
tatis, dam aequari velle simulando ita se quisque
extollit ut deprimat alium^ in difficili est, cavendoque
ne metuant, homines metuendos ultro se efficiunt, et
iniuriam a nobis repulsam, tamquam aut facere aut
pati necesse sit, iniunfjimus aliis.
LXVl. T. Quinctius Capitolinus quartiira et
Agrippa Furius consules inde facti nee seditionem
domi nee foris bellum acceperunt ; sed imminebat
2 utrumque. lam non ultra ^ discordia civium reprimi
poterat et tribunis et plebe incitata in patres, cum
dies alicui nobilium dicta novis semper certaminibus
3 contiones turbaret. Ad quarum primum strepitum
velut signo accepto arma cepere Aequi ac Volsci,
simul quod persuaserant iis duces, cupidi praedarum,
biennio ante dilectum indictum haberi non potuisse
abnuente iam plebe imperium ; eo adversus se non
4 esse - missos exercitus. Uissolvi licentia militandi
^ nou ultra n : nee ultra F,
* esse n : nosse V,
222
BOOK III. Lxv. 9-Lxvi. 4
the tribunate, unless they could have tribunes like n.c.
Icilius ; for two years they had had mere names. ^^"^^
The elder patricians, for their part, though they
thought their young men too headstrong, yet
preferred, if moderation must be left behind, that
the excess of spirits should be on their side rather
than with their adversaries. So difficult is it to be
moderate in the defence of liberty, since everyone,
while pretending to seek fair-play, so raises him-
self as to press another down ; while insuring them-
selves against fear, men actually render themselves
fearful to others ; and having defended ourselves
from an injury, we proceed — as though it were
necessary either to do or suffer wrong — to intlict
injury upon our neighbour.
LXVI. Titus Quinctius Capitolinus (for the fourth b.c. 446
time) and Agrip})a Furius were then made consuls.
They experienced neither domestic sedition nor
foreign war, but were threatened with both. The
strife between citizens could now no longer be
repressed, since tribunes and plebs alike were in-
flamed against the patricians, and the trial of one
or another of the nobles was continually embroiling
the assemblies in new quarrels. At the first dis-
turbance in these meetings the Aequi and Volsci
took up arms, as though they had received a signal,
and also because their leaders, being eager for
plunder, had convinced them that the Romans had
found it impossible, the year before, to carry out
the levy which they had proclaimed, since the plebs
were no longer amenable to authority ; and that
this had been the reason why armies were not
dispatched against themselves. Lawlessness was
breaking down their martial traditions, nor was
223
LIVY
A.C.0 morem, nee pro communi iam patria Romam esse.
Quidquid irarum simultatiumqiie cum externis fuerit
in ipsos verti. Occaecatos lupos intestina rabie
6 opprimendi occasionem esse. Coniimctis exercitibus
Latinuni primum agrum perpopulati sunt; deinde
postquam ibi nemo vindex occurrebat, tum vero
exsultantibus belli auctoribus ad moenia ipsa Romae
populabundi regione portae Esquilinae accessere
vastationem agrorum per contumeliam urbi osten-
6 tantes. Unde postquam inulti praedam prae se
agentes retro ad Corbionem agmine iere, Quinctius
consul ad contionem populum vocavit.
LXVII. Ibi in hanc sententiam locutum accipio :
" Etsi mihi nullius noxae conscius, Quirites, sum,
tamen cum pudore summo in contionem in con-
spectum vestrum ^ processi. Hoc vos scire, hoc
})Osteris memoriae traditum iri, Aequos et Volscos,
vix Hernicis modo pares, T. Quinctio quartum con-
sule ad moenia urbis Romae impune armatos venisse !
2 Hanc ego ignominiam, quamquam iam diu ita vivitur
ut - nihil boni divinet animus, si huic potissimum
imminere anno scissem, vel exsilio vel morte, si alia
3 fnga honoris non esset. vitassem. Ergo si viri arma
ilia habuissent quae in ])ortis fuere nostris, capi Roma
me consule potuit. Satis honorum, satis superque
^ in contionem in conspectum vestrum Walt<:rs : in con-
tionem {or cone-) vestram n : in conspectnm ves . . . m V.
* vivitur ut Karslen : uiuitur is status rerum est ut cf. note
of Crniiray and Walters) D..
^ Alluding to the wolf that suckled Romulus and Remus.
224
BOOK III. Lxvi. 4-Lxvii. 3
Rome any longer a united nation ; all the hostility b.c. 446
and quarrelsomeness they had formerly entertained
towards other nations was now being turned against
themselves ; the wolves ^ were blinded with mad
rage at one another, and there was now an oppor-
tunity to destroy them. Combining their armies,
they first desolated the country of the Latins,
and then, when it appeared that there was no
one in that region to punish them, they carried
their marauding, amidst the triumphant rejoicings
of the advocates of war, to the very walls of Rome,
in the direction of the Esquiline Gate, where they
insolently exhibited to the inhabitants of the City
the devastation of their lands. After they had
withdrawn unmolested, and driving their booty
before them had marched to Corbio, the consul
Quinctius summoned the people to an assembly.
LXVI I. There he spoke, as I understand, to the
following effect : " Although I am conscious, Quirites,
of no wrong-doing, nevertheless it is with great
shame that I have come to this assembly to confront
you. To think that you know, to think that future
generations will be told, that the Aequi and the
Volsci, but now scarce a match for the Hernici, have
in the fourth consulship of Titus Quinctius approached
the walls of the City of Rome — with impunity, and
armed ! We have now for a long time been living
under such conditions that my mind could foresee
nothing good ; yet had I known that such a disgrace
was in store for this year, of all others, I should have
shunned it even at the cost of exile or of death, in
default of other means of escaping office. So ! Had
they been men whose swords were there at our gates,
Rome might have been captured in my consulship !
225
VOL. II. Q
LIVY
4 vitae erat ; mori consulem tertium oportuit. Quern
tandem ignavissimi hostium contempsere ? Nos con-
sules an vos, Quirites .' Si culpa in nobis est, auferte
imperium indignis. et si id parum est, insuper poenas
5 expetite : si in \k)bis^ nemo deorum nee hominum
sit qui vestra puniat peccata, Quirites : vosmet tan-
tum eonim paeniteat. Non illi vestram ignaviam
contempsere nee suae virtuti confisi sunt ; quippe
totiens fusi fugatique, castris exuti, agro multati, sub
6 iugum missi et se et vos novere : discordia ordinum
et ^ venenum urbis huius, patrum ac plebis certa-
mina, dum nee nobis imperii nee vobis libertatis
est modus, dum taedet vos patriciorum, nos - plebei-
7 orum magistratuum. sustulere illis ^ animos. Pro
deum fidem quid vobis voltis ? Tribunos plebis con-
cupistis ; concordiae causa concessimus. Decemviros
desiderastis ; creari passi suraus. Decemvirorum vos
8 pertaesum est ; coegimus abire magistratu. Manente
in eosdem privatos ira vestra mori atque exsulare
nobilissimos viros honoratissimosque passi sumus.
9 Tribunos plebis creare iterum voluistis ; creastis ;
consules facere vestrarum partium ; etsi patribus
videbamus iniquum, patricium quoque magistratum
plebi donum fieri vidimus.* Auxilium tribunicium,
^ et Madvig VDt : est Ci. ^ nos Grater V : hos n.
3 illis Clericiis : illi r..
* vidimus Welz : quidem Cl : quid » , V.
226
BOOK III. Lxvii. 3 9
I had enjoyed honours enough, I had had enough, b.c. 446
and more than enough, of life ; death should have
come to me in my third consulship. For whom, pray,
did the most dastardly of our enemies feel such con-
tempt ? For us, the consuls, or for you, Quirites }
If the fault is ours, deprive us of authority we do not
merit ; and if that is not enough, then j)unish us
to boot : if yours, may neither god nor man seek
to punish your sins, Quirites ; only may you your-
selves repent of them ! It was not cowardice in you
that they despised, nor was it their own courage in
which they put their trust; in truth they have been
too often beaten and routed, despoiled of their
camps, stripped of their lands, and sent under the
yoke, not to know both themselves and you : it was
the discord betwixt the classes, and the quarrels —
poison of this City — between the patricians and the
plebs that roused their hopes, as they beheld our
greed for power and yours for liberty ; your disgust
at the patrician magistracies and ours at the plebeian.
In Heaven's name what would you have ? You con-
ceived a longing for tribunes of the plebs ; for the
sake of harmony we granted them. You desired
decemvirs ; we allowed them to be elected. You
grew exceedingly weary of the decemvirs ; we com-
pelled them to abdicate. When your resentment
against them persisted in their retirement to private
life, we permitted men of the highest birth and the
most distinguished careers to suffer death and exile.
Again you desired to choose tribunes of the plebs,
and chose them ; to appoint consuls of your own
faction, and though we saw that this was unfair to
the patricians, we beheld even the patrician magis-
tracy presented to the plebs. That you should
227
LIVY
provocationem ad populum^. scita plebis iniuncta
patribus^ sub titulo aequandarum le^um nostra iura
10 oppressa tulimus et ferimus. Qui finis erit discordi-
arum r Ecquando ^ unam urbem habere^ ecquando
communem banc esse patriam bcebit ? Victi nos
1 1 aequiore animo quiescimus quam vos victores. Satisne
est nobis vos metuendos esse ? Adversus nos Aven-
tinum capitur, adversus nos Sacer occupatur mons ;
Esquilias vidimus ab hoste prope captas^ et scan-
dentem in aggerem ^'o]scum. Hostem - nemo
submovit : in nos viri, in nos armati estis.
LXVIII. ^* Agitedum^ ubi hie curiam circumsede-
ritis et forum infestum feceritis et carcerem imple-
veritis principibus^ iisdem istis ferocibus animis
2 egredimini extra portam Esquilinam^ aut si ne hoc
quidem audetis, ex muris visite agros vestros ferro
ignique vastatos. praedam abigi, fumare incensa
3 passim tecta. At enim communis res per haec loco
est peiore ; ager uritur, urbs obsidetur, belli gloria
penes hostes est. Quid tandem ? Privatae res
vestrae quo statu sunt ? lam unicuique ex agris
4 sua damna nuntiabuntur. Quid est tandem domi
^ ecquando - : et quando n {so also at the second occurrence
of the expression, hut there F ^05 ecquando).
^ Volscum. Ho'^i^m. Madvig' s punctuation.
228
BOOK III. Lxvii. 9-LXV111. 4
enjoy the support of tribunes and the right of appeal ^c. 446
to the people ; that the decrees of the plebs should
be made binding upon the patricians ; that on the
pretext of equalizing the laws our rights should be
trodden under foot — all this we have endured and
are now enduring. What end will there be to our
dissensions? Will a time ever come when we can
have a united City ? Will a time ever come when
this can be our common country ? We, the beaten
party, accept the situation with more equanimity
than do you, the victors. Is it not enough that we
must fear you ? It was against us that the Aventine
was taken ; against us that the Sacred Mount was
occupied ; we have seen the Esquiline almost cap-
tured by the enemy, and the Volscian mounting our
rampart. The enemy found none to drive him back ;
against us you show your manhood ; against us you
have drawn the sword.
LXVIIl. "Come now, when you have laid siege
to the senate-house here, and rendered the Forum
unsafe, and filled the gaol with our leading men,
go out in that same valorous spirit beyond the
Esquiline Gate ; or if your courage is not equal
even to that, behold from the walls how your fields
have been laid waste with fire and sword, how your
cattle are being driven off', while far and wide
the smoke is rising from burning buildings, ' But,'
you may say, ' it is the community that suffers by
these things : the fields are burned ; the City is
besieged ; the glory of the war rests with the
enemy.' How now } In what plight are your private
interests } Every man of you will presently be
getting from the country a report of his personal
losses. Pray w^hat resources do you command for
229
LIVY
unde ea expleatis? Tribuni vobis amissa reddent
ac restituent ? Vocis verhorumque quantum voletis
ingerent et criminum in principes et legum aliarum
super alias et contionum ; sed ex illis contionibus
nunquam vestrum quisquam re, fortuna domum
5 auctior rediit. Ecquis rettulit aliquid ad coniugem
ac liberos praeter odia ofFensiones simultates pul)licas
privatasque ? A quibus semper non vestra virtute
6 innocentiaque, sed auxilio alieno tuti sitis. At her-
cules cum stipendia nobis consulibus, non tribunis
ducibuSj et in castris_, non in foro faciebatis, et in
acie vestrum clamorem hostes, non in contione patres
Romani horrebant, praeda parta^ agro ex hoste
capto, pleni fortunarum gloriaeque simul publicae
simul privatae triumphantes domum ad penates
redibatis : nunc oneratum vestris fortunis hostem
7 abire sinitis. Haerete adfixi contionibus et in foro
vivite : sequetur ^ vos necessitas militandi quam
fugitis. Grave erat in Aequos et Volscos proficisci :
ante portas est bellum. Si inde non pellitur^ iam
intra moenia erit et arcem et Capitolium scandet et
8 in domos vestras vos persequetur. Biennio ante
senatus dilectum haberi et educi exercitum in
Algidum iussit : sedemus desides domi mulierum
ritu inter nos altercantes^ praesenti pace laeti nee
^ sequetur V: sequitur H.
230
BOOK III. Lxviii. 4-8
supplying the want of these things ? Shall the b.c. 446
tribunes restore and make good to you your losses ?
Resounding words they will pour forth to your
hearts' content^ and accusations against prominent
men, and laws one after another, and assemblies ;
but from those assemblies there was never one of
you returned home the better off in circumstances or
in fortune. Has ever one of you carried aught back
to wife and children but animosities, complaints, and
quarrels, both public and private.^ — from which you
always fly for refuge, not to your own bravery and
innocence, but to the help of others. But, by Her-
cules ! when you used to serve under us, the consuls,
instead of under tribunes, and in camp instead of in
the Forum ; when your shout was raised in the battle-
line, not the assembly, and caused not the Roman
nobles but the enemy to shudder ; — in those days,
I say, you were wont to capture booty, to strip the
enemy of his lands, and crowned with success and
glory — for the state no less than for yourselves — to
return in triumph to your homes and your household
gods ; now you suffer the foe to load himself with
your riches and depart. Hold fast to your assemblies
and live your lives in the Forum ; you shall still be
pursued by the necessity of that service which you
seek to evade. It was hard to march against the
Aequi and Volsci ; the war is before your gates. If
it is not driven back, it will soon be wMtlnn the walls
and will scale Citadel and Capitol and pursue you into
your homes. Last year the senate commanded that
an army should be levied and led out to Algidus :
we are still sitting idly at home, scolding each other
like so many women, rejoicing in the temporary
peace, and not perceiving that we shall soon be
231
LIVY
cernentes ex otio illo brevi multiplex bellum reditu-
9 rum. His ego gratiora dictu alia esse scio ; sed me
vera pro gratis loqui^ etsi meum ingenium non
moneret, necessitas cogit. Vellem equidem vobis
placere, Quirites ; sed multo malo vos salvos esse,
10 qualicumque erga me animo futuri estis. Natura
hoc ita coraparatum est ut qui apud multitudinem
sua causa loquitur gratior eo sit cuius mens nihil
praeter publicum commodum videt ; nisi forte adsen-
tatores publicos, plebicolas istos, qui vos nee in
armis nee in otio esse sinunt, vestra vos causa incitare
11 et stimulare putatis. Concitati aut honori aut
quaestui illis estis, et quia in concordia ordinum
nullos se usquam esse vident, malae rei se quam
12 nullius duces ^ esse volunt. Quarum rerum si vos
taedium tandem capere potest et })atrum vestrosque
antiques mores voltis pro his novis sumere, nulla
13 supplicia recuso, nisi paucis diebus hos populatores
agrorum nostrorum fusos fugatosque castris exuero
et a portis nostris moenibusque ad illorum urbes
hunc belli terrorem quo nunc vos attoniti estis
transtulero."
LXIX. Raro alias tribuni popularis oratio acceptior
2 plebi quam tunc severissimi consulis fuit. luventus
quoque, quae inter tales metus detractationem
militiae telum acerrimum adversujs patres habere
^ duces Karsten : turbarum ac seditionum duces n.
232
BOOK III. LXVIII. 8-LXIX. 2
paying for this brief repose with a war many times b.c. 446
as great. I know that there are other things more
pleasant to hear ; but even if my character did not
prompt me to say what is true in preference to what
is agreeable^ necessity compels me. I could wish to
give you pleasure, Quirites, but I had far sooner you
should be saved, no matter what your feeling towards
me is going to be. It has been ordained by nature
that he who addresses a crowd for his own selfish
ends should be more acceptable to it than he whose
mind regards nothing but the general welfare ; unless
perhaps you suppose that it is for your sakes that
the public flatterers — I mean your courtiers of the
plebs, who will suffer you neither to be at war nor to
keep the peace — are exciting you and urging you
on. Once thoroughly aroused you are a source of
political advancement or of profit to them ; and
because they see that so long as the orders are
harmonious they themselves count for nothing
anywhere, they had rather lead an evil cause
than none. If you are capable at last of feeling
a disgust for these things, and are willing to resume
your fathers' and your own old-fashioned manners,
in place of these new-fangled ones, I give you leave
to punish me as you like, if within a few days I have
not defeated and routed these devastators of our
fields, stripped them of their camp, and shifted this
alarm of war which now dismays you from our gates
and walls to the cities of our enemies."
LXIX. Rarely has the speech of a popular tribune
been more agreeable to the plebs than w^as at that
time this speech by the sternest of consuls. Even
the young men, who amid such alarms were wont
to regard a refusal to enlist as their sharpest weapon
233
LIVY
solita erat, arma et bellum spectabat. Et agrestium
fuga spoliatique in agris et volnerati, foediora iis
quae subiciebantur oculis nuntiantes, totam urbem
3 ira implevere. In senatum ubi ventum est^ ibi vero
in Quinctium omnes versi ut unum vindicem maies-
tatis Romanae intueri^ et primores patrum dignam
dicere contionem imperio consulari, dignam tot
consulatibus ante actis^ dignam vita omni, plena ^
4 honorum saepe gestorum^ saepius meritorum. Alios
consules aut per proditionem dignitatis patrum plebi
adulatos aut acerbe tuendo iura ordinis asperiorem
domando multitudinem fecisse : T. Quinctium oratio-
nem memorem maiestatis patrum concordiaeque
5 ordinum et temporum in priniis liabuisse. Orare
eum coUegamque ut capesserent rem publicam ;
orare tribunos ut uno animo cum consulibus bellum
ab urbe ac moenibus propulsari vellent plebemque
oboedientem in re tarn trepida patribus praeberent ;
appellare tribunos communem patriam auxiliumque
eorum iraplorare vastatis agris, urbe prope oppugnata.
6 Consensu omnium dilectus decernitur habeturque.
Cum consules in contione pronuntiassent tempus
non esse causas cognoscendi ; omnes iuniores postero
^ plena Cl : plena m MRDL.
234
BOOK III. Lxix. 2-6
against the nobles, began to look forward to war b.c. 446
and arms. And the flight of the country-people
and the presence of those who had been plundered
while on their farms and wounded, and who re-
ported worse outrages than those Mhich met the
eyes of the citizens, filled all Rome with resentment.
When the senate had met, then in truth all turned
to Quinctius, whom they looked on as the sole
champion of Roman majesty. The foremost senators
declared that his speech had been worthy of the
consular authority, worthy of the many consulships
he had held in the past, worthy of his whole life,
crowded as it had been with honours which, often
as he had received them, he had still oftener de-
served. Other consuls had either flattered the plebs
by betraying the dignity of the patricians, or by
harshly inforcing the rights of their order had ex-
asperated the populace while seeking to subjugate
them ; Titus Quinctius had spoken without forget-
ting the dignity of the patricians, or the harmony
of the orders, or— what was particularly important —
the existing crisis. They begged him and his col-
league to undertake the guidance of the state ;
they besought the tribunes to unite with the con-
suls in a single-minded effort to repel their enemies
from the walls of the City, and to cause the plebs
to yield obedience to the patricians in so alarming a
situation ; the appeal to the tribunes came, they
said, from their common country, which implored
their assistance for its wasted fields and its well-
nigh beleaguered City. By general consent a levy
was proclaimed and held. The consuls announced
in the assembly that there was no time to consider
excuses; that all the juniors should present them-
235
LIVY
7 die prima luce in campo Martio adessent ; cognos-
cendis causis eorum qui nomina non dedissent bello
perfecto se daturos tempus ; pro desertore futurum
cuius non probassent eausam ; — omnis iuventus adfuit
8 poster© die. Cohortes sibi quaeque centuriones
legerunt.binisenatores singulis cohortibus praepositi.
Haec omnia adeo mature perfecta accepimus ut signa
eo ipso die a quaestoribus ex aerario prompta delata-
que in campum quarta diet hora mota ex campo sint
exercitusque novus paucis cohortibus veterum mili-
tum voluntate sequentibus manserit ad decimum
9 lapidem. Insequens dies hostem in conspectum
dedit, castraque ad Corbionem castris sunt coniuncta.
10 Tertio die, cum ira Romanos, illos, cum totiens
rebellassent, conscientia culpae ac desperatio inri-
taret, mora dimicandi nulla est facta.
LXX. In exercitu Romano cum duo consules
essent potestate pari, quod saluberrimum in adminis-
tratione magnarum rerum est, summa imperii con-
cedente Agrippa penes collegam erat ; et praelatus
ille facilitati ^ summittentis se comiter respondebat
communicando consilia laudesque et aequando im-
2 parem sibi. In acie Quinctius dextrum cornu,
Agrippa sinistrum tenuit ; Sp. Postumio Albo legato
^ facilitati Tj- : facilitate n.
^ On the Latin Way.
236
BOOK III. LXIX. 6-LXX. 2
selves at dawn of the following day in the Campus c.c. 446
Martins ; that they would take time when the war
was over to listen to the excuses of those who had
failed to hand in their names ; and that any man
whose excuse they did not approve w ould be treated
as a deserter. Next day the entire body of young
men appeared. The cohorts each chose their own
centurions, and two senators were put in command
of every cohort. We are told that all these measures
were carried out so promptly that the standards
were fetched from the treasury by the quaestors
that very day, and being carried to the Campus
Martius, headed the line of march from the muster-
ing ground at ten o'clock in the morning ; and the
newly recruited army, with the voluntary escort of a
lew cohorts of veterans, encamped over night at the
tenth mile-stone.^ The following day brought the
enemy into view, and the Roman camp was estab-
lished close to theirs, near Corbio. On the third
day, the Romans being urged on by indignation, and
the enemy, who had so often revolted, by the con-
sciousness of their guilt and by despair, no attempt
was made to delay the battle.
LXX. Although the two consuls were of equal
authority in the Roman army, yet they made an
arrangement which is extremely advantageous in
the administration of important measures, by which
Agrippa yielded the supreme command to his col-
league. The latter, thus preferred, responded court-
eously to the ready self-effacement of the other by
admitting him to a share in his plans and his
achievements, and treating him as an equal, despite
his inferiority. In the battle-line Quinctius held the
right wing, Agrippa the left; to Spurius Postumius
237
LIVY
datur media acies tuenda, legatum alterum P. Sul-
3 picium equitibus praeficiunt. Pedites ab dextro
cornu egregie pugnavere haud segniter resistentibus
4 \'olscis. P. Sulpicius per mediam hostium aciem
cum equitatu perrupit. Unde cum eadem reverti
posset ad suos priusquam hostis turbatos ordines
reficeret, terga impugnare hostium satius visum est ;
momeiitoque temporis in aversam incursando aciem
aiicipiti terrore dissipasset hostes^ ni suo proprio
eum proelio equites \'olscorum et Aequorum ex-
5 ceptum aliquamdiu tenuissent. Ibi vero Sulpicius
negare cunctandi tempus esse, circumventos inter-
clusosque ab suis vociferans^ ni equestre proelium
6 conixi omni vi perficerent. Nee fugare equitem
integrum satis esse : conficerent equos virosque, ne
quis reveheretur inde ad proelium aut integraret
pugnam ; non posse illos resistere sibi^ quibus ^ con-
7 ferta peditum acies cessisset. Haud surdis auribus
dicta. Impressione una totum equitatum fudere,
magnam vim ex equis praecipitavere, ipsos equosque
8 spiculis confodere. Is finis pugnae equestris fuit.
Tunc adorti peditum aciem nuntios ad consules rei
gestae mittunt, ubi iam inclinabatur hostium acies.
Xuntius deinde et vincentibus Romanis animos auxit
^ sibi, quibus CI: quibus sibi JIPFU'B: quibus Conway {in
noie).
^ Livy is thinking chiefly of Quinctius. From § 10 it
a]. pears that Agi'ippa's victory came later.
238
BOOK III. Lxx. 2-8
Albus, the lieutenant, they gave the centre in b.c. 446
charge ; and the other lieutenant, Publius Sulpicius,
they put in command of the horse. The infantry
on the right fought brilliantly, and were vigorously
resisted by the Volsci. Publius Sulpicius broke
through the enemy's centre with his cavalry. He
might have returned to the Roman side the way he
went, before the enemy could re-form their broken
ranks ; but it seemed better to assail them in the
rear. It would have been but the work of a
moment to charge them from behind and throw
them into confusion between the two attacks ; but
the Volscian and Aequian cavalry met him with his
own kind of troops and held him in check for some
little while. Thereupon Sulpicius cried out that
there was no time for hesitation ; they were sur-
rounded and cut off from their fellows, unless they
put forth all their might and disposed of the
enemy's cavalry. Nor was it enough to rout them
and let them get safely off; they must destroy
them, horse and man, that none might ride back
into the battle or renew the fight. It would be
impossible, he said, for their cavalry to resist his
men, when the close ranks of their infantry had
given way before them. His words did not fall
upon deaf ears. With a single rush the Romans
routed the entire body of cavalry. Hurling great
numbers of them from their horses, they transfixed
men and steeds with their javelins. This ended
the cavalry-battle. Then they fell upon the hostile
infantry, and sent off gallopers to announce their
success to the consuls, where the enemy's line was
already beginning to give way.^ The tidings at once
aroused fresh ardour in the conquering Romans and
239
LIVY
A.u.c. 9 et referentes gradum perculit Aequos. In media
primum acie vinci coepti, qua permissus equitatus
10 turbaverat ordines ; sinistrum deinde cornu ab
Quinctio consule pelli coeptum ; in dextro plurimum
laboris fiiit. Ibi Agrippa^ aetata viribusque ferox,
cum omni parte pugnae melius rem geri quam apud
se videretj arrepta ^ signa ab signiferis ipse inferre,
quaedam iacere etiam in confertos hostes coepit;
1 1 cuius ignominiae metu concitati milites invasere
hostem. Ita aequata ex omni parte victoria est
Nuntius tum a Quinctio venit victorem iam se im-
minere hostium castris ; nolle inrumpere antequam
12 sciat debellatum et in sinistro cornu esse : si iam
fudisset hosteS; conferret ad se signa^ ut simul omnis
13 exercitus praeda potiretur. Victor Agrippa cum
mutua gratulatione ad victorem coUegam castraque
hostium venit. Ibi paucis defendentibus momentoque
fusis sine certamine in munitiones inrumpunt^ prae-
daque ingenti compotem exercitum suis etiam rebus
reciperatis quae populatione agrorum amissae erant
14 reducunt. Triumphum nee ipsos postulasse nee
delatum iis ab senatu accipio, nee traditur causa
^ arrepta Duker : accepta Xl.
240
BOOK III. Lxx. 8-14
filled the faltering Aequi with confusion. It was b.c. 446
in the centre that their defeat began, where the
attack of the troopers had thrown their ranks into
disorder ; then the left wing began to fall back be-
fore the consul Quinctius. The Romans experienced
most difficulty on the right ; there Agrippa, young,
active, and courageous, perceiving that the battle
was everywhere going better than on his own front,
snatched the standards from the men who bore
them, and began to carry them forward himself,
and even to fling some of them into the press of
the enemy. The disgrace with which his soldiers
were thus threatened spurred them to the attack,
and the victory was extended to every part of the
line. A message then came from Quinctius, saying
that he had beaten the enemy and was already
threatening their camp, but did not wish to storm
it until he knew that the fight had been decided
on the left wing also ; if Agrippa had already
defeated his opponents, let him bring up his troops,
that the entire army might enter together into
possession of the spoils. The victorious Agrippa
accordingly joined his victorious colleague, with
mutual congratulations, in front of the enemy's
camp. Its handful of defenders was speedily put
to flight, and the Romans burst into the en-
trenchments without encountering resistance. The
consuls led their army back to the City laden
with a vast quantity of booty, as well as with the
goods which they had lost by the pillage of their
fields but had now recovered. I do not find
either that the consuls themselves asked for a
triumph or that one was offered them by the
senate ; nor is there any record of the reason why
241
VOL. II. R
LIVY
*308^* ^^ spreti aut non sperati honoris. Ego quantum in
tanto intervallo temporum conicio, cum Valerio
atque Horatio consulibus^ qui praeter Volscos et
Aequos Sabini etiam belli perfecti gloriam pepere-
rantj negatus ab senatu triumplms esset^ verecundiae
fuit pro parte dimidia rerum consulibus petere
triumphum^ ne etiamsi impetrassent magis bominum
ratio quam meritorum habita videretur.
LXXI. Victoriam honestam ex liostibus^ partam
turpe domi de finibus sociorum iudicium populi
2 deforraavit. Aricini atque Ardeates de ambiguo
agro cum saepe bello certassent, multis in vicem
cladibus fessi iudicem populum Romanum cepere.
3 Cum ad causam orandam venissent^ concilio populi
a magistratibus dato magna contentione actum,
lamque editis testibus cum tribus vocari et populum
inire suffragium oporteret^ consurgit P. Scaptius de
plebe magno natu et ''^Si licet" inquit^ " consules,
de re publica dicere, errare ego populum in hac
4 causa non patiar." Cum ut vanum eum negarent
consules audiendum esse vociferantemque i)rodi
publicam causam submoveri iussissent^ tribunos appel-
5 lat. Tribuni^ ut fere semper reguntur a multitudine
^ ex hostibus D. : omitted in HRDLA.
242
BOOK III. Lxx. 14-LXX1. 5
they despised the honour or did not hope for it. b.c.446
The best conjecture I myself can offer, after so
long an interval of time, is this : since the consuls
V^alerius and Horatius, who besides beating the
Volsci and Aequi had also attained renown by bring-
ing the Sabine war to a successful conclusion, had
been refused a triumph by the senate, they were
ashamed to ask for that distinction in recompense
of an achievement only half as great, lest even
if it should be granted, it might seem that account
had been taken rather of persons than of deserts.
LXXI. The glory of defeating the enemy was
sullied by a shameful judgment given by the people
in Rome regarding the boundaries of her allies.
The men of Aricia and those of Ardea had often
gone to w^ar over a territory which both cities
claimed. Exhausted by the many defeats which
each had experienced, they referred their quarrel
to the Roman People for decision. When they had
come to plead their cause, and a popular assembly
had been granted them by the magistrates, they
argued their respective claims with great vehemence.
The testimony Iiad already been taken, and the
time had come for the tribes to be summoned and
the people to give their votes, when Publius
Scaptius, an aged plebeian, arose and said : " If
I am permitted, consuls, to speak concerning the
nation's interests, I will not suffer the people to
go wrong in this matter." The consuls declared
that he was an untrustworthy fellow and ought
not to be listened to, and when he protested noisily
that the public cause was being betrayed, they
ordered him to be removed ; whereat he appealed
to the tribunes. The tribunes, as almost always
243
R 2
LIVY
magis quam regunt. dedere cupidae audiendi plebi
6 ut quae vellet Scaptius diceret. I hi infit annum se
tertium et octogensimum agere et in eo agro de quo
agitur militasse, non iuvenem, vicesima iam stipendia
merentem,, cum ad Coriolos sit bellatum. Eo rem
se vetustate oblitteratam^ ceterum suae memoriae
7 infixam adferre, agrum de quo ambigitur finium
Coriolanorum fuisse captisque Coriolis iure belli
publicum populi Romani factum. Mirari se quonam
ore ^ Ardeates Aricinique, cuius agri ius nunquam
usurpaverint incolumi Coriolana re, eum se a populo
Romano^ quem pro domino iudicem fecerint, inter-
S cepturos sperent. Sibi exiguum vitae tempus
superesse ; non potuisse se tamen inducere in ani-
mum quin^ quem agrum miles pro parte virili manu
cepisset, eum senex quoque voce^ qua una posset,
vindicaret. Magnopere se suadere populo. ne inutili
pudore suam ipse causam damnaret.
LXXII. Consules, cum Scaptium non silentio
modo, sed cum adsensu etiam audiri animadvertissent,
deos hominesque testantes flagitium ingens fieri
2 patrum primores arcessunt. Cum iis circumire
tribus^2 orare ne pessimum facinus peiore exemplo
^ ore Ml D^t Klock : in more D : more n.
^ tribus Perizonius : tribimos Ci.
244
BOOK 111. LXXI. 5-LXXII. 2
happens, were swayed by the crowd, instead of ^.o. 446
swaying it, and, to please the greedy ears of the
plebs, gave Scaptiiis leave to say what he wished.
He therefore began, and said that he was eighty-
two years old and had fought in the army, in that
district which was under discussion, not as a youth,
but as one already in his twentieth year of service
at the time of the campaign before Corioli. Hence
it came that he was telling them of a matter for-
gotten with the lapse of years, but fixed in his own
memory, namely that the disputed land had been
a part of the territory of Corioli, and had conse-
quently, on the capture of that town, become, by
right of conquest, the property of the Roman
People. He marvelled, he said, at the effrontery
with which the men of Ardea and Aricia hoped
to deprive the Roman People — whom they had
made the judge, in place of being the owner — of
a territory over which they had never exercised
any authority so long as the state of Corioli was
intact. He had himself but a little while to live ;
yet he had not been able to convince himself that,
having as a soldier done his part to conquer the
land, he should not defend it, even in his old age,
with the only weapon left him, to wit his voice.
He earnestly counselled the people not to condemn
their own cause from an unreasonable motive of
propriety.
LXXn. When the consuls had perceived that
Scaptius was listened to not only in silence but
actually with approval, they called on gods and men
to witness that a great outrage was being perpetrated,
and sent for the leaders of the senate. With them
they went about among the tribes and implored
245
LIVY
A.D.o. admitterent iudices in siiam rem litem vertendo.
3u8
cum praesertim etiam si fas sit curam emolumenti
sui iudici esse, nequaquam tantum agro intercipiendo
adquiratur, quantum amittatur alienandis iniuria so-
3 ciorum animis. Nam famae quidem ac fidei damna
maiora esse quam quae aestimari possent. Hoc legates
referre domum, hoc volgari, hoc socios audire, hoc
4 hostes, quo cum dolore hos, quo cum gaudio illos !
Scaptione^ hoc, contionali seni, adsignaturos putarent
finitimos populos ? Clarum hac fore imagine Scap-
tium ; sed ^ populum Romanum quadruplatoris at
5 interceptoris litis alienae personam laturum. Quem
enim hoc privatae rei iudicem fecisse ut sibi con-
troversiosam adiudicaret rem ? Scaptium ipsum id
quidem, etsi praemortui iam sit pudoris, non fac-
6 turum. Haec consules, haec patres vociferantur ;
sed plus cupiditas et auctor cupiditatis Scaptius valet.
Vocatae tribus iudicaverunt agrum publicum populi
7 Romani esse. Xec abnuitur ita fuisse, si ad iudices
alios itum foret ; nunc baud sane quicquam bono
^ Scaptione FJ^A^ {or A^) : scaptioni P.: sp cationi D :
spacioni A.
2 Scaptium ; sed Alschefslci : scaptium esse n.
246
BOOK III. Lxxii. 2 7
them not to be guilty of an act which, utterly wrong b.c.416
in itself, would establish a precedent that was even
worse, by diverting to their own possession, as judges,
the property in dispute ; and that too when, even if
it were right that a judge should be concerned for
his own advantage, they would by no means gain so
much by the seizure of the land as they would lose
by the wrongful estrangement of their allies. For
reputation at least and trustworthiress were things
the loss of which was beyond all reckoning. Was
this to be the report carried heme by the envoys ?
Was this to be noised abroad and come to the ears
of allies and enemies ? What grief it would cause
the former, and what joy the latter ! Did they
suppose that Scaptius, a meddling old hanger-on of
assemblies, would be held responsible for this by
the neighbouring nations } It would be a famous
thing for Scaptius to have inscribed beneath his
portrait, but the Roman People would be playing a
role of chicanery and of usurpation of the claims of
others. For what umpire in a private suit would
have thought of awarding to himself the object of
litigation ? Even Scaptius, though he had already
outlived all sense of shame, would not do that.
These arguments were loudly urged both by the
consuls and by the Fathers ; but they were less con-
vincing than men's cupidity, or than Scaptius, who
had aroused it. The tribes, being called upon to
vote, decided the territory to be public land belong-
ing to the Roman People. Nor is it denied that
such would have been the verdict if recourse had
been had to another court ; but in the circumstances
the excellence of the cause did not in the slightest
degree extenuate the disgrace of the judgment,
247
LIVY
A.u.c. causae levatur dedecus indicii ; idque non Aricinis
308
Ardeatibusque quam patribus Romanis foedius atque
acerbius visum. Reliqiium anrii quietum ab urbanis
motibus et ab externis maiisit.
248
BOOK III. Lxxii. 7
which seemed no less scandalous and harsh to the b.o 446
Roman senators than to the men of Aricia and
Ardea, The remainder of the year passed with-
out disturbances in either domestic or foreign
relations.
249
LIBRI III PERIOCHA
Seditioxes de agrariis legibus fuere. Capitolium ab
exulibus et servis occupatum caesis his receptum est.
Census bis actus est. Priore lustro censa sunt civium
capita VIII milia nccxiiii praeter orbos orbasque, sequenti
cxvii milia ccxviiii. Cum adversus Aequos male gesta
res esset_, L. Quintius Cincinnatus dictator factus^ cum
rure intentus operi rustico esset^ ad id bellum gerendum
arcessitus est Is victos hostes sub iugum misit. Tri-
buuorum plebis numerus ampliatus est^ ut essent x,
tricesimo sexto anno a ^ primis tribunis plebis. Petitis
per legatos et adlatis Atticis legibus ad constituendas eas
proponendasque x viri pro consulibus sine ullis aliis
magistratibus creati altero et trecentesimo - anno quam
Roma condita erat, et ut a regibus ad consules, ita a
consulibus ad x viros imperium translatum. Hi x tabulis
legum positis cum modeste se in eo honore gessissent et
ob id in alterum quoque annum eundem esse magistratum
placuisset^ duabus tabulis ^ ad x adiectis cum complura
inpotenter fecissent^ magistratum noluerunt deponere et
in tertium annum retinuerunt^ donee inviso eorum imperio
finem adtulit libido Appi Claudi. Qui cum in amorem
Virginiae virginis incidisset^ summisso, qui earn in servi-
tutem peteret, necessitatem patri eius ^^i^ginio inposuit.
Rapto ex taberna proxima cultro iiliam occidit, cum aliter
effici non posset ne in potestatem stuprum iulaturi veniret.
Hoc tarn magnae iniuriae exemplo pleps concitata montem
1 a omitted in the MSS.
2 altero et trecentesimo Aid. : nono trigesimo MSS.
^ placuisset, duabus tabulis Siganius : omitted in MSS.
250
SUMMARY OF BOOK III
There were quarrels about land-laws. The Capitol
was seized by exiles and slaves ; who were slain and
the Capitol recovered. The census was taken twice. By
tlie earlier enumeration there were returned 8714 ^ citizens,
besides male and female wards ; by the second 117,219.
After a defeat had been sustained at the hands of the
Aequi, Lucius Quintius Cincinnatus^ being appointed
dictator, was summoned to the control of the war Avhile
engag-ed in working on his farm. He defeated the enemy
and sent them under tlie yoke. The number of tribunes
was increased to ten in the 36th year from the election
of the first ones. After the laws of Athens had been
searched out and brought to Rome by envoys, decemvirs
with consular powers were chosen, without any other
magistrates, to draw up and publish them. It was in
the 302nd year after the founding of Rome that the power
was transferred from consuls to decemvirs, as it had
formerly been from kings to consuls. When the decemvirs
had posted up ten tables of laws, after such moderation in
the conduct of their office that it had been voted to con-
tinue the same magistracy for another year, they added
two tables to the ten ; and after many insolent acts
refused to lay down tlieir authority, but retained it for
a third year, till the lust of Appius Claudius put an end to
their hated dominion. Having fallen in love with the
maiden Verginia, he suborned an agent to claim her as
his slave, and obliged her father Verginius to act. Seizing
a knife from the nearest stall, he slew his daugliter, since
there was no other way to keep her from falling into
the hands of the man who meditated her dishonour.
By this great wrong the plebeians were roused to action,
^ Livy III. iii. 9 gives the numbers as 104,714. Apparently
there has been a mistake in copying the Periochae due to the
confusion of ciiii and viii.
LIVY
Aventinum occupavit coegitque x viros abdicare se magi-
stratu. Ex quibus Appius^ qui praecipuam poenam
meruerat, in carcerem coniectus est ; ceteri in exilium
acti. Res praeterea contra Sabinos et Vulscos prospere
gestas continet et parum honestum populi Romani
iudicium^ qui iudex inter Ardeates et Aricinos sumptus
agrum de quo ambigebatur sibi adiudicavit.
252
SUMMARY OF BOOK 111
and occupying- the Aventine, forced the decemvirs to
abdicate. Of these, Appius, who had been most guilty,
was flung into prison ; the rest were exiled. The book
contains also successful campaigns against the Sabines
and the Volsci, and a discreditable judgment rendered
by the Roman People, who, being chosen umpire between
the Ardeates and the Aricini, awarded to themselves the
territory iu dispute.
253
BOOK IV
LIBER IV
Ax.c. I. Hos secuti M. Genucius et C. Curtius^ consules.
Fuit annus dorai forisque infestus. Nam 2 principio
et de conubio patrum et plebis C. Canuleius tribunus
2 plebis rogationem promulgavit, qua contaminari
sanguinem suum patres confundique iura gentium
rebantur^ et mentio primo sensim inlata a tribunis,
ut alterum ex plebe consulem liceret fieri, eo
processit deinde ut rogationem novem tribuni pro-
3 mulgarent, ut populo potestas esset, seu de plebe
seu de patribus vellet, consules faciendi ; id vero si
fieretj non volgari modo cum infimis, sed prorsus
auferri a primoribus ad plebem summum imperium
4 credebant. Laeti ergo audiere patres Ardeatium
populum ob iniuriam agri abiudicati descisse, et
Veientes depopulatos extrema agri Romani, et
N'olscos Aequosqiie ob communitara Verruginem
fremere ; adeo vel infelix bellum ignominiosae paci
5 praeferebant. His itaque in maius etiam acceptis,
ut inter strepitum tot bellorum conticiscerent
actiones tribuniciae, dilectus haberi, bellum armaque
^ C. Curtius Sigonius [cf. C.I.L. \-, p. 108 ; Diod. xii.
xxxi. 1 — who however gives the prmnomen as "Aypi-mrav ; —
Varro, L.L. v, loO] '■ p. curatius n.
^ Nam Conivay and Walters : nam anni ani B, animi
FU) n : anni nam M.
^ This is Livv's first mention of Verrugo, wliich was
situated on a steep hill in the Trerus valley.
256
BOOK IV
I. Marcus Genucius and Gaius Curtius succeeded bo 445
these men as consuls. It was a year of quarrels both
at home and abroad. For at its commencement
Gaius Canuleius^ a tribune of the plebs, proposed a
bill regarding the intermarriage of patricians and
plebeians which the patricians looked upon as in-
volving the debasement of their blood and the sub-
version of the principles inhering in the gentes, or
families ; and a suggestion, cautiously put forward at
first by the tribunes, that it should be lawful for one
of the consuls to be chosen from the plebs, was after-
wards carried so far that nine tribunes proposed a
bill giving the people power to choose consuls as
they might see fit, from either the plebs or the
patriciate. To carry out this last proposal would be,
in the estimation of the patricians, not merely to
give a share of the supreme authority to the lowest
of the citizens, but actually to take it away from the
nobles and bestow it on the plebs. The Fathers *
therefore rejoiced to hear that the people of Ardea
had revolted because of the unjust decision which
deprived them of their land ; that the men of Veil
had ravaged the Roman frontier ; and that the Volsci
and Aequi were murmuring at the fortification of
Verrugo ; ^ so decidedly did they prefer even an un-
fortunate war to an ignominious peace. Accordingly
they made the most of these threats, that the pro-
posals of the tribunes might be silenced amidst the
257
VOL. II. S
LIVY
k.v.c. vi summa apparari iubent^ si quo intentius possit,
6 quam T. Quinctio consule ap[)aratum sit. Turn C.
Cauuleius pauca in senatu vociferatus : nequiquam
territando consules avertere plebem a cura novarum
legum ; nunquam eos se vivo dilectum habituros,
antequam ea quae promulgata ab se collegisque
assent plebes scivisset/ confestim ad contionem
advocavit.
II. Eodem tempore et consules senatum in tri-
bunum et tribunus populura in consules incitabat.
Negabant consules lam ultra ferri posse furores
tribunicios ; ventum iam ad finem esse ; domi plus
belli concitari quam foris. Id adeo non plebis quam
patrum neque tribunorum magis quam consulum
2 culpa accidere. Cuius rei praemium sit in civitate
eam maximis semper auctibus crescere ; sic pace
3 bonos, sic bello fieri. Maximum Romae praemium
seditionum esse ; ideo - singulis universisque semper
4 honor! fuisse. Reminiscerentur quam maiestatem
senatus ipsi a patribus accepissent, quam liberis
tradituri essent, vel ^ quem ad modum plebs gloriari
posset auctiorem amplioremque se esse.* Finera
ergo non fieri nee futuram donee quam felices se-
ditiones tam honorati seditionum auctores essent.
5 Quas quantasque res C. Canuleium adgressum I Con-
luvionem gentium, perturbationem auspiciorum
^ scivisset r : sciuisset et H.
2 ideo i^? JVeissenhorn : id et Q.
^ vel Conxcay and Walters : ut H.
* se esse j- (se est D) : esse fi.
258
BOOK IV. I. 5-II. 5
din or so many wars; and ordered levies to be held b.o.uj
and military preparations to be made with the
utmost energy^ and if possible, even more strenuously
than had been done when Titus Quinctius was consul.
Thereupon Gaius Canuleius curtly proclaimed in the
senate that it was in vain the consuls sought to
frighten the plebs out of their concern for the new
laws ; and, declaring that they should never hold
the levy, while he lived, until the ])lebs had voted
on the measures which he and his colleagues had
brought forward, at once convened an assembly.
II. At one and the same time the consuls were
inciting the senate against the tribune, and the
tribune was arousing the people against the consuls.
The consuls declared that the frenzy of the tribunes
could no longer be endured ; the end had now been
reached, and there was more war being stirred up
at home than abroad. This state of things was, to
be sure, as much the fault of the senators as of the
plebs, and the consuls were as guilty as the tribunes.
That tendency which a state rewarded always at-
tained the greatest growth ; it was thus that good
men were produced, both in peace and in war. In
Rome the greatest reward was given to sedition, which
had, therefore, ever been held in honour by all and
sundry. Let them recall the majesty of the senate
Avhen they had taken it over from their fathers, and
think what it was likely to be when they passed it
on to their sons, and how the plebs could glory in
the increase of their strength and consequence.
There was no end in sight, nor would be, so long as
the fomenters of insurrection were honoured in
proportion to the success of their projects. What
tremendous schemes had Gaius Canuleius set on
foot ! He was aiming to contaminate the geiites and
259
a 9
LIVY
A.u.c. publicorum privatorumque adferre, ne quid sinceri,
ne quid incontaminati sit^ ut discrimine omni sublato
6 nee se quisquam nee suos noverit. Quam enim aliam
vim conubia promiscua habere nisi ut ferarum prope
ritu volgentur concubitus plebis patrumque ? Ut
qui natus sit ignoret, cuius sanguinis, quorum sac-
rorum sit ; dimidius patrum sit, dimidius plebis, ne
7 secum quidem ipse concors. Parum id videri, quod
omnia divina humanaque turbentur ; iam ad con-
sulatum volgi turbatores accingi. Et primo ut
alter consul ex plebe fieret, id modo sermonibus
temptasse ; nunc rogari ut seu ex patribus seu ex
plebe velit populus consules creet. Et creaturos
baud dubie ex plebe seditiosissimum quemque ;
8 Canuleios igitur Iciliosque consules fore. Ne id
luppiter optimus maximus sineret regiae maiestatis
imperium eo recidere ; et se miliens morituros
potius quam ut tantum dedecoris admitti patiantur.
9 Certum habere maiores quoque, si divinassent con-
cedendo omnia non mitiorem in se plebem, sed
asperiorem alia ex aliis iniquiora postulando cum
prima impetrasset futuram, primo quamlibet dimi-
cationem subituros fuisse potius quam eas leges
10 sibi imponi paterentur. Quia tum concessum sit
11 de tribunis, iterum concessum esse; finem non
^ The right to ascertain the will of the gods by auspices
was claimed as an exclusively patrician prerogative. C/.
chap. vi. § I.
' This is inaccurate. We see from chap. i. § 2 that the
suggestion was that one of the consuls might be (not should
be) a plebeian.
260
BOOK IV. II. 5-II
throw the auspices, both public and private, into b.o. 4i:
confusion, that nothing might be pure, nothing
unpolluted ; so that, when all distinctions had been
obliterated, no man might recognise either himself
or his kindred.^ For what else, they asked, was the
object of promiscuous marriages, if not that plebeians
and patricians might mingle together almost like
the beasts ? The son of such a marriage would be
ignorant to what blood and to what worship he
belonged ; he would pertain half to the patricians,
half to the plebs, and be at strife even with himself.
It was not enough for the disturbers of the rabble
to play havoc with all divine and human institutions :
tliey must now aim at the consulship. And whereas
they had at first merely suggested in conversations
that one of the two consuls should be chosen from
the plebeians, ^ they were now proposing a law that
the people should elect consuls at its pleasure from
patriciate or plebs. Its choice would without doubt
always fall upon plebeians of the most revolutionary
sort, and the result would be that they w^ould have
consuls of the type of Canuleius and Icilius. They
called on Jupiter Optimus Maximus to forbid that a
power regal in its majesty should sink so low. For
their })arts, they would sooner die a thousand deaths
than suffer so shameful a thing to be done. They
felt certain that their forefathers too, had they
divined that all sorts of concessions would make the
commons not more tractable but more exacting, and
that the granting of their first demands would lead
to others, ever more unjust, would rather have faced
any conflict whatsoever than have permitted such
laws to be imposed upon them. Because they had
yielded then, in the matter of the tribunes, they had
261
LIVY
fieri posse si in ^ eadem civitate tribuni - plel^is
et patres essent ; ^ aut hunc ordinem aut ilium
magistratum tollendum esse, potiusque sero quam
nuiiquam obviam eundum audaciae temerita-
12 tique. Illiiie ut impune primo discordias serentes
concitent finitima bella, deinde adversus ea, quae
concitaverint,. armari civitatem defendiqiie pro-
hibeant, et cum hostes tantum non arcessierint,
exercitus conscribi adversus hostes non patiantur,
13 sed audeat Canuleius in senatu proloqui se, nisi suas
leges tamquam victoris patres accipi sinant, dilectum
haberi prohibiturum r Quid esse aliud quam minari
se proditurum patriam, oppugnari atque capi pas-
surum I Quid eam vocem animorum non plebi
Romanae, sed ^'olscis et Aequis et Veientibus alla-
14 turam 1 Xonne Canuleio duce se speraturos Capi-
tolium atque arcem scandere posse? Nisi ^ patribus
tribuni cum iure ac maiestate adempta animos etiam
eripuerint^ consules paratos esse duces prius adversus
scelus civium quam adversus hostium arma.
III. Cum mixime haec in senatu agerentur, Ca-
nuleius pro legibus suis et adversus consules ita
2 disseruit : '' Quanto opere vos, Quirites, contem-
nerent patres. quam indignos ducerent qui una
secum urbe intra eadem moenia viveretis, saepe
^ posse si in Conicay : posse sin F : posse iin M : posse in Q.
2 tribuni PFBD : tribunos F^UOH : tf MLA.
' essent Conway : ee ML : esse Ci.
* nisi Luterhacher : si H : ni Madcig.
262
BOOK IV. II. ii-iii. 2
yielded a second time ; it was impossible there b.c. 445
should be any settlement of the trouble, if in one
and the same state there were both plebeian tribunes
and patricians ; one thing or the other must go, —
the patriciate or the tribunate. It was better late
than never to oppose their rashness and temerity.
Were they to be suffered with impunity first to sow
discord and stir up neighbouring wars, and then to
prevent the state from arming and defending itself
against the wars they had raised themselves? When
they had all but invited in the enemy, should they
refuse to allow the enrolment of armies to oppose
that enemy; while Canuleius had the hardihood to
announce in the senate that unless the Fathers per-
mitted his laws to be received, as though he were a
conqueror, he would forbid the levy ? What else
was this than a threat that he would betray his
native City to attack and capture ? How must that
speech encourage, not the Roman plebs, but the
Volsci, the Aequi, and the Veientes ! Would they
not hope that, led by Canuleius, they would be able
to scale the Capitol and the Citadel ? Unless the
tribunes had robbed the patricians of their courage
when they took away their rights and their dignity,
the consuls were prepared to lead them against
criminal citizens sooner than against armed enemies.
III. At the very time wlien these opinions were
finding expression in the senate, Canuleius held
forth in this fashion in behalf of his laws and in
opposition to the consuls : " How greatly the patri-
cians despised you, Quirites, how unfit they deemed
you to live in the City, within the same walls as
themselves, I think I have often observed before,
l)ut never more clearly than at this very moment,
263
LIVY
equidem et ante videor animadvertisse, nunc tamen
maxime quod adeo atroces in has rogationes nostras
3 coorti sunt, quibus quid aliud quam admonemus
cives nos eorum esse, et si non easdem opes habere,
4 eandem tamen patriam incolere ? Altera conubium
petimus, quod finitimis externisque dari solet — nos
quidem civitatem, quae plus quam conubium est,
5 hostibus etiam victis dedimus ; — altera nihil novi
ferimus, sed id quod populi est repetimus atque
usurpamus, ut quibus velit populus Romanus honores
6 mandet. Quid tandem est cur caelum ac terras
misceant, cur in me impetus modo paene in senatu
sit factus, negent se manibus temperaturos vio-
7 laturosque denuntient sacrosanctam potestatem ? Si
populo Romano liberum suffragium datur, ut quibus
velit consulatum mandet, et non praeciditur spes
plebeio quoque, si dignus summo honore erit, api-
scendi summi honoris, stare urbs haec non poterit ?
De imperio actum est ? Et perinde hoc valet,
plebeiusne consul fiat, tamquam servum aut liber-
8 tinum aliquis consulem futurum dicat ? Ecquid ^
sentitis in quanto contemptu vivatis ? Lucis vobis
huius partem, si liceat, adimant ; quod spiratis, quod
vocem mittitis, quod formas hominum habetis, indig-
9 nantur ; quin etiam, si dis placet, nefas aiunt esse
consulem plebeium fieri. Obsecro vos, si non ad
^ Ecquid M : et cjuid n.
264
BOOK IV. III. 2-9
when they are rallying so fiercely against these b.c 445
proposals of ours. Yet what else do we intend by
them than to remind our fellow citizens that we are
of them^ and that, though we possess not the same
wealthy still we dwell in the same City they inhabit?
In the one bill we seek the right of intermarriage,
which is customarily granted to neighbours and
foreigners — indeed we have granted citizenship,
which is more than intermarriage, even to defeated
enemies ; — in the other we propose no innovation,
but reclaim and seek to exercise a popular right, to
wit that the Roman People shall confer office upon
whom it will. What reason is there, pray, why they
should confound heaven and earth ; why they should
almost have attacked me just now in the senate ;
why they should declare that they will place no
restraint on force, and should threaten to violate
our sacrosanct authority? If the Roman People is
granted a free vote, that so it may commit the
consulship to what hands it likes, if even the plebeian
is not cut off from the hope of gaining the highest
honours — if he shall be deserving of the highest
honours — will this City of ours be unable to endure ?
Is her dominion at an end ? When we raise the
question of making a plebeian consul, is it the same
as if we were to say that a slave or a freedman
should attain that office? Have you any conception
of the contempt in which you are held ? They
would take from you, were it possible, a part of this
daylight. That you breathe, that you speak, that
you have the shape of men, fills them with resent-
ment. Nay, they assert, if you please, that it is
sinning against Heaven to elect a plebeian consul.
Tell me, if we are not admitted to consult the
265
LIVY
^•^;^- fastoSj noil ad commentarios pontificum admittimur^
ne ea quidem scimus quae omnes peregrin! etiam
sciunt_, consules in locum regum successisse nee aut
iuris aut maiestatis quicquam habere quod non in
10 regibus ante fuerit .' En unquam ^ creditis fando
auditum esse Xumam Pompilium^ non modo non
patricium sed ne civem quidem Romanum, ex Sabino
agro accitum^ populi iussu, patribus auctoribus^
11 Romae regnasse ? L. deinde Tarquinium^ non
Romanae modo, sed ne Italicae quidem gentis,
Demarati Corinthii filium, incolam ab 7'arquiniis,
12 vivis liberis Anci, regem factum? Ser. TuUium
post hunc, captiva Corniculana natura, patre nullo,
matre serva, ingenio virtute regnum tenuisse ? Quid
enim de T. Tatio Sabino dicam, quem ipse Romulus,
13 parens urbis, in societatem regni accepit ? Ergo
dum nullum fastiditur genus in quo eniteret virtus,
crevit imperium Romanum. Paeniteat nunc vos
plebeii consulis, cum maiores nostri advenas reges
non fastidierint et ne regibus quidem exactis clausa
14 urbs fuerit peregrinae virtuti ? Claudiam certe
gentem post reges exactos ex Sabinis non in civi-
tatem modo accepimus sed etiam in patriciorum
^ En unquam MA'^ (or A^) : en umquam 0 : enim quam
PB : en inquam F^F^U \ ennumquam ELLA: nunquam
Karsten : et unquam Ft
* auctoribus - : omitted hi/ n.
^ Lies fasti were the days on which it was lawful to pro-
nounce judgment. Fasti often means, as here, the calendar
kept by the pontiffs on which such days were marked. It
was not until 304 B.C., when Cn. Flavius posted a list of
them in the Forum (rx. xlvi. 5), that the plebeians could
know with certainty when they fell.
266
BOOK IV. III. 9-14
Fasti 1 or the Commentaries of the PoiitiflTs, '-^ are we b.c 445
therefore ignorant of what all men, even foreigners,
know, viz. that the consuls succeeded to the place
of the kings, and possess no jot nor tittle of right or
dignity that belonged not to the kings before ?
Come ! Would you believe the story was ever heard
how Numa Pompilius — not only no patrician, but
not even a Roman citizen— was sent for from the
country of the Sabines, and reigned at Rome, by
command of the people and with the senators'
consent.? And again, how Lucius Tarquinius, who
was not even of Italian stock — not to mention
Roman — being the son of Demaratus of Corinth, and
an immigrant from Tarquinii, was made king, while
the sons of Ancus were still living ? And how after
him Servius Tullius, son of a captive woman from
Corniculum, who had nobody for his father and a
bond-woman for his mother, held the royal power by
his innate ability and worth ? For why should I
speak of Titus Tatius the Sabine, with whom Romulus
himself, the Father of the City, shared his sover-
eignty? Well then, so long as men despised no
family that could produce conspicuous excellence,
the dominion of Rome increased. And are you now
to scorn a plebeian consul, when our ancestors were
not above accepting alien kings, and M'hen the City
was not closed against the meritorious foreigner,
even after the expulsion of the kings? The Claudian
family at least we not only received from the Sabine
country, after the kings had been driven out, and
gave them citizenship, but even admitted them to
the number of patricians. Shall the son of a stranger
2 Minutes of the proceedings of the pontifical college.
Tiiey probably furnished guidance regarding ceremonies.
267
LIVY
i.u.c. 15 niimerum. Ex peregrinone patricius, deinde consul
fiat, civis Romanus si sit ex plebe, praecisa consulatus
16 spes erit? Utrum tandem non credimus fieri posse
ut vir fortis ac strenuus, pace belloque bonus, ex
plebe sit, Nuniae, L. Tarquinio, Ser. Tullio similis,
17 an, ne si sit quidem, ad gubernacula rei publicae
accedere eum patiemur, potiusque decemviris, tae-
terrimis mortalium, qui tamen ^ omnes ex patribus
erant, quam optimis regum, novis hominibus, similes
consules sumus habituri ?
IV. ^^ At enim nemo post reges exactos de plebe
consul fuit. Quid postea ? Xullane res nova institui
debet, et quod nondum est factum — multa enim
nondum sunt facta in novo populo, — ea ne si utilia
2 quidem sint fieri oportet .' Pontifices, augures
Romulo regnante nulli erant ; ab Numa Pompilio
creati sunt. Census in civitate et discriptio ^ cen-
turiarum classiumque non erat ; ab Ser. Tullio est
3 facta. Consules nunquani fuerant ; ^ regibus exactis
creati sunt. Dictatoris nee imperium nee nomen
fuerat : apud patres esse coepit. Tribuni plebi,
aediles, quaestores nulli erant; institutum est, ut
fierent. Decemviros legibus scribendis intra decem
hos annos et creavimus et e re publica sustulimus.
4 Quis dubitat quin in aeternum urbe condita, in
immensum crescente nova imperia, sacerdotia, iura
5 gentium hominumque instituantur ? Hoc ipsum, ne
^ tamen ;- : turn n.
* discriptio R. J. Mueller : descriptio n.
3 fuerant - : f uerunt n.
268
BOOK IV. III. 14-1V. 5
become patrician and then consul^ but a Roman b.c, 445
citizen, if plebeian, be cut off from all hope of the
consulship.^ Do we not believe it possible that a
bold and strenuous man, serviceable both in peace
and in war, should come from the plebs, — a man like
Numa, Lucius Tarquinius, or Servius Tullius .'* Or
shall we refuse, even if such an one appear, to let
him approach the helm of state ? Must we rather
look forward to consuls like the decemvirs, the
vilest of mortals, who nevertheless were all of
patrician birth, than to such as shall resemble the
best of the kings, new men though they were.^
IV. " ' But,' you will say, ' from the time the kings
were expelled no plebeian has ever been consul.'
Well, what then } Must no new institution be
adopted } Ought that which has not yet been done
— and in a new nation many things have not yet
been done — never to be put in practice, even if it be
expedient .^ There were neither pontiffs nor augurs
in the reign of Romulus ; Numa Pompilius created
them. There was no census in the state, no regis-
tration of centuries and classes ; Servius Tullius made
one. There had never been any consuls ; when the
kings had been banished, consuls were elected.
Neither the power nor the name of dictator had
ever been known ; in the time of our fathers they
began. Plebeian tribunes, aediles, and quaestors,
there were none ; men decided to have them.
Within the past ten years we have elected decemvirs
for drawing up the laws, and removed them from the
commonwealth. Who can question that in a city
founded for eternity and of incalculable growth, new
powers, priesthoods, and rights of families and
individuals, must be established } Was not this very
269
LIVY
A.r.c. conubium patribus cum plebe esset^ non decemviri
^-^ tulerunt paucis his annis pessimo publico^^ cmn
summa iniuria plebis r An esse uUa maior aut in-
signitior contumelia potest quam partem civitatis
6 velut contaminatam indignam coniibio haberi ? Quid
est aliud quam exsilium intra eadem moenia^ quam
relegationem pati ? Ne adfinitatibus, ne propin-
quitatibus immisceamur cavent^- ne societur sanguis.
7 Quid ? Hoc si polluit nobilitatem istam vestram,
quam plerique oriundi ex Albanis et Sabinis non
genere nee sanguine sed per cooptationem in patres
habetis, aut ab regibus lecti aut post reges exactos
iussu populi^ sinceram servare privatis consiliis non
poteratis, nee ducendo ex plebe neque vestras filias
8 sororesque ecnubere ^ sinendo e patribus? Nemo
plebeius patriciae virgini vim adferret ; patriciorum
ista libido est ; nemo invitum pactionem nuptialem
9 quemquam facere coegisset. Verum enimvero lege
id prohiberi et conubium tolli patrum ac plebis, id
demum contumeliosum plebi est. Cur enim non
fertis,^ ne sit conubium divitibus ac pauperibus ?
10 Quod privatorum consiliorum ubique sem})er fuit,
ut in quam cuique feminae convenisset domum
nuberet, ex qua pactus esset vir domo in matri-
monium duceret, id vos sub legis superbissimae
vincula conicitis, qua dirimatis societatem civilem
^ pessimo publico Klock : pessimo exemplo publico VMA^:
pessimo exemplo n (publico added in marg. of P, by secoiul
hand).
2 cavent.-: caueant n : caueamurZ*: caueantur ^.
3 ecnubere M : enubere ^ : et nubere (uubere U) H.
* cur enim non fertis Madvig : cur enim non confertis Cl :
cur ent n confertis FB', curent non confertis P: cur non
confertis U,
270
BOOK IV. IV. 5-IO
provision, that patricians and plebeians might not b.o. 445
intermarry, enacted by the decemvirs a few years
since, with the worst effect on the community and
the gravest injustice to the j)lebs ? Or can there be
any greater or more signal insult than to hold a
portion of the state unworthy of intermarriage, as
though it were defiled ? What else is this but to
suffer exile within the same walls and banishment ?
They guard against having us for coiniections or
relations, against the mingling of our blood with
theirs. VVhy, if this pollutes that fine nobility of
yours — which many of you, being of Alban or of
Sabine origin, possess not by virtue of race or blood,
but through co-optation into the patriciate, having
been chosen either by the kings, or, after their
expulsion, by decree of the people — could you not
keep it pure by your own private counsels, neither
taking wives from the plebs nor permitting your
daughters and sisters to marry out of the patriciate ?
Xo plebeian would offer violence to a patrician
maiden : that is a patrician vice. No one would
have compelled anybody to enter a compact of
marriage against his will. But let me tell you that
in the statutory prohibition and annulment of inter-
marriage between patricians and plebeians we have
indeed at last an insult to the plebs. Why, pray, do
you not bring in a law that there shall be no inter-
marrying of rich and poor .^ That which has always
and everywhere been a matter of private policy, that
a woman might marry into whatever family it had
been arranged, that a man might take a wife from
that house where he had engaged himself, you
would subject to the restraint of a most arrogant
law, that thereby you might break up our civil
271
LIVY
i.r.c. 11 duasque ex una civitate ^ faciatis. Cur non sancitis
ne vicinus patricio sit plebeius nee 2 eodem itinera
eat. ne idem convivium ineat, ne in foro eodem
consistat ? Quid enim in re est aliud^ si plebeiam
patricius duxerit^ si patriciam plebeius .' Quid iuris
tandem mutatur ? Nempe patrem sequuntur liberi.
12 Nee quod nos ex conubio vestro petamus quicquam
est^ praeterquam ut hominum^ ut civium numero
simus, nee vos^ nisi in contumeliam ignominiamque
nostram certare iuvat^ quod contendatis quicquam
est.
V. '' Denique utrum tandem populi Romani an
vestrum summum iraperium est? Regibus exactis
utrum vobis dominatio an omnibus aequa libertas
2 parta est? Oportet licere populo Romano^ si velit,
iubere legem ; an^ ut quaeque rogatio promulgata
erit, vos dilectum pro poena decernetis, et, simul
ego tribunus vocare tribus in suffragium coepero,
tu statim consul sacramento iuniores adiges et in
castra educes et minaberis plebi, minaberis tribuno ?
3 Quid si non quantum istae minae adversus plebis
consensum valerent^ bis iam experti essetis ? Scilicet
quia nobis ^ consultum volebatis^ certamine absti-
nuistis ; an ideo non est dimicatum, quod quae pars
4 firmior eadem modestior fuit ? Nee nunc erit
certamen, Quirites ; animos vestros illi temptabunt
6 semper, vires non experientur. Itaque ad bella
* ci\itate Ci : ciuitates MA^. * nee n : ne Ur.
^ noLis ^ : uoLis Ci.
^ In the plebeian secessions of 494 and 449 B.C.
272
BOOK IV. IV. lo-v. 5
society and make two states out of one. Why do b.c. 445
you not enact that a plebeian shall not live near a
patrician^ nor go on the same road ? That he shall
not enter the same festive company ? That he shall
not stand by his side in the same Forum? For
what real difference does it make if a patrician takes
a plebeian wife^ or a plebeian a patrician ? What
right, pray, is invaded ? The children of course take
the father's rank. There is nothing we are seeking
to gain from marriage with you, except that we
should be accounted men and citizens. Neither
have you any reason to oppose us, unless you
delight in vying with each other how you may
outrage and humiliate us.
V. " Finally I would ask, is it you, or the Roman
People, who have supreme authority ? Did the
banishment of the kings bring you dominion, or to
all men equal liberty? Ought the Roman People to
be permitted, if it so desire, to enact a law ; or shall
you, as each proposal is brought up, proclaim a levy
by way of penalty, and so soon as I, the tribune,
begin to summon the tribes to vote, shall you, the
consul, at once administer the oath to those of military
age and march them out to camp, with threats against
the plebs and with threats against the tribune ? How
would it be if you had not twice ^ already j)roved how
little those threats of yours are worth against the
unanimous will of the plebs ? I suppose it was con-
sideration for our good that made you refrain from
fighting ? Or was this rather the reason there was
no strife, because the stronger side was also the
more moderate .'' Neither will there be any struggle
now, Quirites; they will always test your courage;
but will never put your strength to the proof. And
273
VOL. II. T
LIVY
ista^ seu falsa seu vera sunt, consules, parata vobis
plebes est, si conubiis redditis unam banc civitatem
tandem facitis ; si coalescere, si iungi miscerique
vobis privatis necessitudinibus possunt ; si spes, si
aditus ad honores viris strenuis et fortibus datur;
si in consortio, si in societate rei publicae esse, si,
quod aequae libertatis est, in vicem annuis magis-
6 tratibus parere atque imperitare licet. Si haec
impediet aliquis, ferte sermonibus et multiplicate
fama bella ; nemo est nomen daturas, nemo arma
capturus, nemo dimicaturus pro superbis dominis,
cum quibus nee in re publica honorum nee in privata
conubii societas est."
VI. Cum in contionem consules processissent et
res a perpetuis orationibus in altercationem vertisset,
interroganti tribuno cur plebeium consulem fieri
2 non oporteret, ut fortasse vere, sic parum utiliter
in praesens Curtius ^ respondit, " Quod nemo
plebeius auspicia haberet, ideoque decemviros conu-
bium diremisse ne incerta prole auspicia turba-
3 rentur." Plebes ad id maxime indignatione exarsit,
quod auspicari, tamquam invisi dis immortalibus,
negarentur posse ; nee ante finis contentionum fuit,
cum et tribunum acerrimum auctorem plebes nacta
esset et ipsa cum eo pertinacia certaret, quam
^ Curtius Walters', certamen H.
2 74
BOOK IV. V. 5-vi. 3
so the commons are ready, consuls, for those warsBc. 44i:
you deal in, be they feigned or genuine, if you give
them back their right of intermarriage, and make
this a single state at last; if you enable them to
coalesce, to unite, to merge with you in domestic
alliances ; if the hope of attaining honours is held
out to strenuous men and brave ; if they are granted
a share in the partnership of government ; if, in the
enjoyment of equal liberty, they are allowed to
govern and obey in turn, with the annual change of
magistrates. If anyone shall prevent these reforms,
you may talk of wars, and multiply them in the
telling; but nobody will give in his name, nobody
will take up arms, nobody will fight for haughty
masters with whom he has no association in the
honours of the state nor in the marriages of private
life."
V^I. When the consuls had come forth to the
people and set speeches had given place to wrangling,
the tribune demanded what reason there was why
a plebeian should not be chosen consul ; to whom
Curtius replied, with truth perhaps, yet, in the
circumstances, to little purpose, "because no plebeian
has the auspices, and that is the reason the decem-
virs have forbidden intermarriages, lest the auspices
should be confounded by the uncertain standing
of those born of them." At this the plebs fairly
blazed with indignation, because it was declared
that they could not take auspices, as though they
were hated by the immortal gods ; nor was the con-
troversy ended — for the })lebeians had got a most
energetic champion in their tribune, and rivalled
him themselves in determination, — until at last the
patricians were beaten, and allowed the law regard-
275
T 2
LIVY
victi tandem patres ut de conubio ferretur con-
4 cessere,^ ita maxime rati contentionem de plebeiis
consulibus tribunos aut totam deposituros aut post
bellum dilaturos esse, contentamque interim co-
nubio plebem paratam dilectui fore.
5 Cum Canuleius victoria de patribus et plebis
favore ingens esset, accensi alii tribuni ad certamen
pro rogatione sua summa vi pugnant et crescente
6 in dies fama belli dilectum impediunt. Consules,
cum per senatum intercedentibus tribunis nihil agi
posset, concilia ^ principum domi habebant. Appare-
bat aut hostibus aut civibus de victoria concedendum
7 esse. Soli ex consularibus Valerius atque Horatius
non iutererant consiliis. C. Claudi sententia con-
sules armabat in tribunos ; Quinctiorum, Cincin-
natique et Capitolini, sententiae abhorrebant a caede
violandisque quos foedere icto cum plebe sacro-
8 sanctos accepissent. Per haec consilia eo deducta
est res ut tribunos militum consulari potestate pro-
misee 2 ex patribus ac plebe creari sinerent, de
consulibus creandis nihil mutaretur ; eoque contenti
9 tribuni, contenta plebs fuit. Comitia tribunis con-
^ concessere Ehenanus'. consensere concessere V.'. con-
senserere concessere M: consensere D..
* concilia Gronov : consilia Cl.
3 promisee Conway : proiniscue UOIIA : promiscuae Cl.
^ The first recorded instance of the tribunician veto being
exercised upon a decree of the senate.
* Leaders of that element in the senate which stood for a
policy of conciliation, and authors of the Valerio-Horatian
la\vs^(iii. IL-lv.).
276
BOOK IV. VI. 3-9
ing intermarriage to be passed, chiefly because they b.c. 445
thought that so the tribunes would either wholly
give over their contention for plebeian consuls or
would postpone it until after the war, and that the
plebs meantime, contented with the right to inter-
marry, would be ready to submit to the levy.
But since Canuleiiis was grown so great through
his victory over the patricians and the favour of the
plebs, the other tribunes were encouraged to take
up the quarrel ; and they fought for their measure
with the utmost violence, hindering the levy, though
the rumours of war increased from day to day. The
consuls, since they were powerless to do anything
through the senate when the tribunes interposed
their veto,i held councils of their leading men in
private. It was clear that they must submit to be
conquered either by the enemy or by their fellow
citizens. Of all the consulars only Valerius and
Horatius ^ took no part in their deliberations. Gaius
Claudius spoke in favour of arming the consuls
against the tribunes ; the Quinctii, both Cincinnatus
and Capitolinus, were opposed to bloodshed and to
injuring those whom they had acknowledged by a
solemn treaty with the plebs to be inviolable. The
upshot of these consultations was this, that they
permitted military tribunes with consular authority
to be chosen indifferently from the patriciate and
the plebs,^ but made no change in the election of
consuls. With this decision both tribunes and
commons were content. An election was called, for
^ The oflBce thus instituted (very probably by a special
law, cf. chap. xxxv. § 10) was not finally given up till 367 b.c.
During this period consuls were chosen twenty-two times
and tribunes fifty-one times.
277
LIVY
sulari potestate tribus creandis indicuntur. Quibus
indictis extemplo quicumque aliquid seditiose dixerat
aut fecerat unquam,^ maxime tribunicii, et prensare
homines et concursare toto foro candidati coepere,
10 ut patricios desperatio primo inritata plebe api-
scendi honoris, deinde indignatio, si cum his ge-
rendus esset honos, deterreret. Postremo coacti
tamen a primoribus petiere, ne cessisse possessione
11 rei publicae viderentur. Eventus eorum comitiorum
docuit alios animos in contentione libertatis digni-
tatisque, alios secundum deposita certamina incor-
rupto iudicio esse ; tribunos enim omnes patricios
creavit populus, contentus eo quod ratio habita
12 plebeiorum esset. Hanc modestiam aequitatemque
et altitudinem animi ubi nunc in uno inveneris, quae
tum populi universi fuit ?
VII. Anno trecentesimo decimo quam urbs Roma
condita erat primum tribuni militum pro consulibus
magistratum ineunt, A. Sempronius Atratinus L.
Atilius T. Cloelius,^ quorum in magistratu con-
2 cordia domi pacem etiam foris praebuit. Sunt qui
propter adiectum Aequorum Volscorumque bello et
Ardeatium defectioni Veiens bellum, quia duo con-
sules obire tot simul bella nequirent, tribunos mili-
tum tres creatos dicant, sine mentione promulgatae
^ unquam Crevier: hunc quam H,
2 Cloelius Sigonius {Dion. Hal. xr. Ixi. 3) : caecilius (ar
cecilius) Ci : caelius [or celius) ADL.
^ Other Atilii were plebeians (see e. g. Liv. v. xiii. 3),
hence Niebuhr conjectured that Livy was in error in stating
that the three tribunes were all patricians.
278
BOOK IV. VI. 9-vii. 2
choosing three tribunes with consuhir powers. No b.o. 445
sooner was it proclaimed than everybody who had
ever spoken or acted in a seditious manner, especially
those who had been tribunes, fell to canvassing
voters and bustling about all over the Forum in the
white robes of candidates ; so that the patricians, what
with despair of obtaining office now that the plebs
were so wrought up, and what with scorn if they
must share its administration with these fellows,
were deterred from standing. At last, however, they
were compelled by their leaders to compete, lest
they might seem to have surrendered the control of
the commonwealth. The outcome of this election
showed how different are men's minds when struggling
for liberty and station from what they are when
they have laid aside their animosities and their
judgment is unbiassed; for the people chose all the
tribunes from among the patricians, quite satisfied
that plebeians should have been allowed to stand.
Where shall you now find in one single man that
moderation, fairness, and loftiness of mind, which at
that time characterized the entire people ?
VII. In the year three hundred and ten from b.o. 444
the founding of Rome, military tribunes for the first
time took office in place of consuls. Their names
were Aulus Sempronius Atratinus, Lucius Atilius,^
and Titus Cloelius. During their administration
domestic harmony insured peace abroad, as well.
(Some say that on account of a war with Veii, which
broke out in addition to the war with the Aequi
and Volsci and the revolt of the men of Ardea, two
consuls were unable to cope with so many wars at
once, and therefore three military tribunes were
created. These writers say nothing of the pro-
279
LIVY
legis de consulibus creandis ex plebe, et imperio
3 et insignibus consularibus iisos. Non tamen pro fir-
mato iam stetit magistratus eius ius^ quia tertio mense
quam inierunt, augurum decreto perinde ac vitio
creati, honore abiere^ quod C. Curtius,^ qui comitiis
eoriim praefuerat, parura recte tabernaculum cepisset.
4 Legati ab Ardea Romam veneruiit, ita de iniuria
querentes ut si demeretur ea in foedere atque
5 amicitia mansuros restitute agro appareret. Ab
senatu responsum est iudicium populi rescindi ab
senatu non posse, praeterquam quod nuUo nee
exemplo nee iure fieret, concordiae etiam ordinum
6 causa : si Ardeates sua tempora exspectare velint
arbitriumque senatui levandae iniuriae suae permit-
tant, fore ut postmodo gaudeant se irae moderatos,
sciantque patribus aeque curae fuisse ne qua iniuria
7 in eos oreretur ac ne orta diuturna esset. Ita legati
cum se rem integram relaturos dixissent^ comiter
dimissi.
Patricii, cum sine curuli magistratu res publica
esset, coiere et interregem creavere. Contentio
consulesne an tribuni militum crearentur in inter-
^ C. Curtius Sigonius {cf. chap. i. § 1) : centum curiatius
MA^ : c. curiatius (c. curatius V) fl.
^ The lictors, with their rods and axes.
^ The tahernacnlu77i was a tent erecteJ on the templum, or
place marked out for the augural ceremony. Through an
aperture in its roof the sky was watched for the flight
of birds. An}' flaw in the procedure would vitiate the
subsequent election.
280
BOOK IV. VII. 2-7
mulgation of a law about the election of consuls b.o iu
from the plebs, but record that the three tribunes
enjoyed the authority and insignia ^ of consuls.)
Still, the power of that magistracy was not yet
upon a firm footing, for three months after they
had taken up their office they laid it down, the
augurs having decreed that there had been a flaw
in their election, because Gaius Curtius, who had
presided over the assembly, had not properly selected
the ground for the tent.^
Ambassadors from Ardea came to Rome, com-
plaining of the injustice done them, and with such
fairness that it was evident that if they were
granted redress, through the restoration of their
land, they would abide by the treaty and remain
friendly. The senate replied that the judgment
of the people could not be rescinded by them, not
only because they had no precedent or authority
for such action, but also because they had regard
to the harmony between the orders. If the Ardeates
would bide their time and leave the senate to
decide upon a remedy for the injury done them,
the day would come when they would be glad that
they had controlled their anger, and they would
learn tliat the senators had been equally concerned
that no wrong should be done them and that
what had been done should be speedily redressed.
So the ambassadors, having said that they would
refer the whole matter to their people, were
courteously dismissed.
The patricians, since the state was without any
curule magistrate, met and chose an interrex. A
dispute whether consuls or military tribunes should
be appointed kept the state in an interregnum for
281
LIVY
^^^ 8 regno rem dies comj)lures teniiit. Interrex ac
310 senatus consulum comitia, tribuni plebis et plebs
tribunorum militum ut habeantur tendunt. Vice-
runt patres, quia et plebs. patriciis seu hunc seu ilium
9 delatura honorem^ frustra certare supersedit, et
principes })lebis ea comitia malebant quibus non
haberetur ratio sua, quam quibus ut indigni prae-
terirentur. Tribuni quoque plebi certamen sine
effectu in beneficio apud primores patrum reliquere.
10 T. Quinctius Barbatus interrex consules creat L.
Papirium Mugillanum,^ L. Sempronium Atratinum.
His consulibus cum Ardeatibus foedus renovatum
est ; idque monumenti est consules eos illo anno
fuisse, qui neque in annalibus priscis neque in libris
11 magistratuum inveniuntur. Credo quod tribuni
militum initio anni fuerunt, eo perinde ac si totum
annum in imperio fuerint, suffectos iis consules
12 praetermissos. Nomina- consulum horum Licinius
Macer auctor est et in foedere Ardeatino et in
linteis libris ad Monetae inventa. Et foris, cum tot
terrores a finitimis ostentati essent, et domi otium
fuit.
^^c VIII. Hunc annum, seu tribunos modo seu tribunis
3ii sufFectos consules quoque habuit, sequitur annus
^ Mugillauum - Sigordas [cf. C.I.L. i*, p. 112 ; Dion. Hal.
XI. Ixii. '2] : nmgilanum Ci.
2 suffectos iis consules praetermissos. Xomina Mudoigi
Buffectis (suffecti U) iis (his 0) consulibus praetermissa
nomina Cl.
^ Perhaps the Annahs Maximi.
' Liv}- perhaps has in mind libri consulares, or lists of
consuls.
282
BOOK IV. VII. 7-viii. I
several days. The interrex and the senate held out b.c. 444
for the election of consuls ; the plebeian tribunes
and the plebs were for military tribunes. Victory
rested with the senators, not only because the plebs
gave up the idle contest whether they should confer
this honour or that upon the patricians, but also
because the leaders of the plebs preferred an election
in which they would not be reckoned candidates to
one in which they would be passed over as un-
worthy. The tribunes, too, of the plebs relinquished
the unavailing contest in favour of the leaders of the
patricians. Titus Quinctius Barbatus, as interrex,
declared the election of Lucius Papirius Mugillanus
and Lucius Sempronius Atratinus. In their consul-
ship the treaty with the Ardeates was renewed ; and
in this lies the proof that these men were consuls
that year, although their names are found neither in
the ancient annals ^ nor in the lists of magistrates ; ^
I suppose that, because there were military tribunes
in the beginning of the year, the consuls who were
elected in their place were passed over as if the
tribunes had been in power throughout the year.
Licinius Macer testifies that the names of these
consuls were given both in the treaty with Ardea
and in the Linen Rolls in the temple of Moneta.^
Things were quiet both abroad and at home, despite
the numerous alarms which neighbouring states had
caused.
VIII. This year, whether it had tribunes only or b.o. 443
tribunes succeeded by consuls, was followed by one
3 The temple of Juno Moneta was erected on the Capitoline
Hill in 344 e.g. (vn. xxviii. 6). The Linen Rolls which
Livy tells us were preserved there contained chronological
lists of magistrates.
283
LIVY
A.u.c baud dubiis consulibus, M. Geffanio Macerino iterum
311
2 T. Quinctio Capitolino quiiitum.^ Idem hie annus
censurae initium fuit^ rei a parva origine ortae, quae
deinde tanto incremento aucta est ut morum dis-
ciplinaeque Romanae penes eain regimen, senatui ^
equitumque centuriis decoris dedecorisque discrimen
sub dicione eius magistratus, ius publicorum ^ priva-
torumque locorum, vectigalia populi Romani sub
3 nutu atque arbitrio eius ^ essent. Ortum autem
initium est rei, quod in populo per multos annos
incenso neque difFerri census poterat neque consuli-
bus, cum tot populorum bella imminerent, operae
4 erat id negotium agere. Mentio inlata ad senatum ^
est rem operosam ac minime consularem suo proprio
magistratu egere, cui scribarum ministerium custo-
diaeque tabularum ^ cura, cui arbitrium formulae
5 censendi subiceretur. Et patres quamquam rem
parvam, tamen quo plures patricii magistratus in re
publica essent, laeti accepere, id quod evenit, futu-
rum, credo, etiam rati, ut mox opes eorum qui
praeessent ipsi honori ius maiestatemque adicerent ;
6 et tribuni, id quod tunc erat, magis necessarii ' quam
speciosi ministerii procurationem intuentes, ne in
^ quintum Gronovius : quintum consule (consulem 0) CI.
2 senatui J/. Mueller : senatu Cl.
2 publicorum J/: publicorum ius n.
* arbitrio eius Luterhacher : arbitrio n.
^ ad senatum F^AlschefsH : ab senatum MPB: ab senatu H.
^ tabularum Crevier: et tabularum D.: et tabularis J/?
' necessarii J/a<? I- /y: necessarium n.
284
BOOK IV. VIII. 1-6
which had consuls about whom there is no question, b.o. 44*
These were Marcus Geganius Macerinus, for the
second time_, and Titus Quinctius Capitolinus, for
the fifth time. This same year saw the adoption
of the censorship^ an institution which originated
in a small way but afterwards grew to such dimen-
sions that it was invested with the regulation of the
morals and discipline of the Romans. The distribu-
tion of honour and ignominy amongst the senate and
the centuries of the knights was controlled by this
magistracy, while jurisdiction over public and private
sites, together with the revenues of the Roman
People, were entirely subject to its discretion.
What first gave rise to the office was this : the
people had not been rated for many years and the
census could not be postponed ; yet the consuls,
Avhen so many nations threatened war, had no time
for this work. The subject was brought up in the
senate, where it was held that the task, which was
a laborious one and beneath the dignity of a consul,
required its own proper magistrates, who should
have a staff of clerks, assume the custody of the
records, and regulate the form of the census. The
senators, though it was a small matter, nevertheless
gladly welcomed the suggestion, in order that
there might be more patrician magistracies in the
administration of the state. They thought even
then, I imagine, as afterwards proved to be the
case, that it would not be long before the con-
sequence of those who held the office would lend
authority and dignity to the office itself. The
tribunes also, regarding it as a necessary rather
than a showy service, as in those days it actually
was, did not hold out against the plan, lest they
28s
LIVY
A.r.c. parvis quoque rebus incommode adversarentur, baud
7 sane tetendere. Cum a primoribus civitatis spretus
honor esset, Pajnrium Semproniumque, quorum de
consulatu dubitatur,^ ut eomagistratu parum solidum
consulatum explerent^ censui agendo populus suffra-
giis praefecit. Censores al) re appellati sunt.
IX. Dum haec Romae geruntur^ legati ab Ardea
veniunt pro veterrima societate renovataque ^ foedere
recenti auxilium prope eversae urbi implorantes.
2 Frui namque pace optimo consilio cum populo
Romano servata per intestina arma non licuit ;
quorum causa atque initium traditur ex certamine
3 factionum ortum, quae fuerunt eruntque phiribus
populis exitio ^ quam bella externa^ quam fames
morbive^ quaeque alia in deum iras velut ultima
4 publicorum malorum vertunt. Virginem plebeii
generis maxime forma notam duo ^ petiere iuvenes,
alter virgin! genere par^ tutoribus fretus, qui et ipsi
eiusdera corporis erant, nobilis alter, nulla re praeter-
0 quam forma captus. Adiuvabant eum optumatium
studia, per quae in domum quoque puellae certamen
partium penetravit. Xobilis superior iudicio matris
esse, quae quam splendidissimis nuptiis iungi puellam
volebat : tutores in ea quoque re partium meraores
G ad suum tendere. Cum res peragi intra parietes
^ dubitatur - : dubitur //: dubitabatur n.
2 renovataque Comcay : renouatoque Cl.
2 exitio Wesenherg : magia exitio Cl.
* notani duo KiM : notam Ci.
^ i e. the aristocratic party.
286
BOOK IV. VIII. 6-i\. 6
might seem to be vexatiously obstinate even in b.c. 443
trifles. The principal men in the state scorned the
office, and the taking of the census was, by the
votes of the people, committed to Papirius and
Sempronius (whose consulship is questioned), tl at
they might round out their incomplete year of
office with this magistracy. They were called
censors from their function.
IX. While these things were going on in Rome,
there came envoys from Ardea begging the Romans
in the name of their ancient alliance, renewed by
the recent treaty, to send help to their city, which
was on the brink of ruin. For the enjoyment of
})eace, which they had most wisely preserved with
the Roman People, had been denied them, owing
to civil war. This is said to have had its cause
and origin in the rivalry of factions, which have
been and will be fraught with destruction to more
nations than foreign wars, or famine and pestilence,
or whatsoever other scourges men attribute, as the
most desperate national calamities, to the wrath of
Heaven. A maiden of plebeian family who was
famous for her beauty had two youthful suitors.
One was of her own class and relied on the approval
of her guardians, who were themselves of the same
standing. The other was a noble, captivated solely
by her good looks, who was supported by the favour
of the optimates,^ which resulted in the introduction
of party strife into the household of the girl herself.
The noble was preferred by the mother, who wished
her daughter to make as grand a match as possible.
The guardians, mindful even in a matter like this
of political interests, held out for their fellow
plebeian. When the dispute could not be settled
287
LIVY
A..U.C. nequissetj ventum in ius est. Postulatu audito matris
tutorumque magistratus secundum parentis arbitrium
7 dant ius nuptiarum. Sed vis potentior fuit ; namque
tutores^ inter suae partis homines de iniuria decreti
palam in foro contionati^ manu facta virginem ex
8 domo matris rapiunt ; adversus quos infestior coorta
optumatium acies sequitur accensum iniuria iuvenem.
Fit proelium atrox. Pulsa plebs^, nihil Romanae plebi
simiHsj armata ex urbe profecta colle quodam capto
in agros optumatium cum ferro ignique excursiones
9 facit ; urbem quoque omni ^ etiam expertium ^ ante
certaminis multitudine opificum ad spem praedae
10 evocata obsidere parat ; nee ulla species cladesque
belU abest velut contacta civitate rabie duorum
iuvenum funestas nuptias ex occasu patriae peten-
11 tium. Parum parti utrique domi armorum bellique
est visum ; optumates Romanos ad auxilium urbis
obsessae, plebs ad expugnandam secum Ardeam
12 Volscos excivere. Priores Volsci duce Aequo CluiHo^
Ardeam venere et moenibus hostium vallum obiecere.
13 Quod ubi Romam est nuntiatum^ extemplo M.
Geganius consul cum exercitu profectus tria milia
passu um ab hoste locum castris cepit praecipitique
^ omni Morsladt : omuis CI.
2 expertium Walters : expertein H.
3 Cluilio J-: ciuilio VD^A^ {or A^) : ciuili n.
1 The injustice probably lay in the disregard of the
guardians' traditional right to dispose of the hand of their
ward. The mother herself would be a ward.
2 This looks as though tlie Volscian party were free
lances, since a regular army would hardly have been led
by an Aequian.
288
BOOK IV. IX. 6-13
privately^ a suit was instituted. After listening to the b.c. 443
pleas of the mother and the guardians, the magis-
trates decreed that the mother should have power
to decide as she saw fit about the marriage. But
violence was stronger than they ; for the guardians,
after openly addressing a crowd of their own party
in the market-place, on the injustice ^ of the de-
cision, collected a party and carried the girl off
from her mother's house. To confront them an
even more warlike band of nobles gathered, under
the leadership of the injured and indignant youth,
and a desperate battle followed. The plebs were
routed, but, unlike the Roman plebs, having armed
and withdrawn from their city and encamped upon
a certain hill, they sallied forth, sword and torch in
hand, to sack the farms of the nobles. They even
prepared to besiege the city itself, for the entire
body of artizans, even those who had hitherto had no
part in the quarrel, had been called out by the hope
of plunder ; nor was there wanting any form of the
horrors of war, as though the nation had been infected
with the madness of the two young men who sought
a fatal marriage in the ruin of their country.
Neither side saw that there had been enough of war
and arms at home ; the optimates called upon the
Romans to relieve their beleaguered city ; the
plebeians sent for the Volsci to help them capture
Ardea. The Volsci, with the Aequian Cluilius for
their leader,^ were the first to reach Ardea, and
threw up intrenchments against the walls of their
enemies. When the news was brought to Rome,
Marcus Geganius the consul immediately set out
with an army. When three miles from the enemy
he chose a place for his camp ; and as the day was
289
VOL. II. u
LIVY
A.r.c. iam die curare corpora milites iubet. Quarta deinde
vigilia signa profert^ coeptumque opus adeo adpro-
peratum est ut sole orto Volsci firmiore se muni-
mento ab Romanis circumvallatos quam a se urbem
14 viderent ; et alia parte consul muro Ardeae bracchium
iniunxerat, qua ex oppido sui commeare possent.
X. Volscus imperator, qui ad earn diem non com-
meatu praeparato sed ex populatione agrorum rapto
in diem frumento aluisset militem^ postquam saeptus
vallo repente inops omnium rerum erat, ad conlo-
quium consule evocato. si solvendae obsidionis causa
venerit Romanus^ abducturum se inde Volscos ait.
2 Adversus ea consul victis condiciones accipiendas
esse, non ferendas respondit, neque ut venerint ad
oppugnandos socios populi Romani suo arbitrio, ita
3 abituros Volscos esse. Dedi imperatorem, arma poni
iubetj et fatentes victos se esse ^ imperio parere ;
aliter tam abeuntibus quam manentibus se hostem
infensum victoriam potius ex Volscis quam pacem
4 infidam Romam relaturum. Volsci exiguam spem in
armis alia undique abscisa cum temptassent, praeter
cetera adversa loco quoque iniquo ad pugnam con-
^ et fatentes victos se esse Walters', fatentes uictos se
esse et n.
^ Apparently the Volsci had not succeeded in drawing
their lines completely round the city.
290
BOOK IV. IX. 13-X. 4
now fast drawing to a close, ordered his soldiers b.c. 443
to refresh themselves. Then in the fourth watch
he marched out, and commencing a contravallation,
made such speed that at sunrise the Volsci per-
ceived that they were more securely hemmed in
by the Romans than was the city by themselves ;
and on one side the consul had thrown out a
work to join the walls of Ardea, in order that his
friends in the town might be enabled to come and
go.i
X. The Volscian commander, who had maintained
his men up to that time not out of a store provided
in advance, but with corn taken from day to day in
pillaging the country-side, was no sooner shut in by
the rampart than he found himself all at once
destitute of everything. He therefore invited the
consul to a parley, and said that if the Roman
general had come for the purpose of raising the
siege, he would lead the Volscians off. The consul
replied that it was for the conquered to accept
terms, not to make them ; the Volsci had consulted
their own pleasure in coming to attack the allies of
the Roman People ; it would be otherwise with their
departure. He ordered them to surrender their
general, to lay down their arms, and, confessing
themselves defeated, to yield to his authority ; if
they did not, he would be their determined enemy,
whether they attempted to go or to stay, and would
rather bring back to Rome a victory over the Volsci
than a treacherous peace with them. The Volsci,
testing the small hope that arms held out to them
— for all other hope had been cut off — fought, not to
speak of other disadvantages, in a position that was
unfavourable for battle and still more unfavourable
291
u 2
Ill
LIVY
r.c. gressi, iniquiore ad fugam, cum ab omni parte
caederentur, ad preces a certamine versi, dedito
imperatore traditisque armis sub iugum missi cum
singulis vestimentis ignominiae cladisque pleni dimit-
5 tuntur ; et cum baud procul urbe Tusculo conse-
dissent_, vetere Tusculanorum odio inermes oppressi
6 dederunt poeiias vix nuntiis caedis reHctis. Romanus
Ardeae turbatas seditione res principibus eius motus
securi percussis bonisque eorum in publicum Ardea-
tium redactis composuit ; demptamque iniuriam
iudicii tanto beneficio populi Romani Ardeates crede-
bant ; senatui superesse aliquid ad delendum publicae
7 avaritiaemonumentum videbatur. Consul triumphans
in urbem redit Cluilio ^ duce Volscorum ante currum
ducto praelatisque spoliis quibus dearmatura exer-
citum hostium sub iugum miserat.
8 Aequavit, quod baud facile est, Quinctius consul
togatus armati gloriam collegae, quia concordiae
pacisque domesticae ^ curam iura infimis summisque
moderando ita tenuit ut eum et patres severum con-
9 sulem et plebs satis comem crediderint. Et ad-
versus tri])unos auctoritate plura quam certamine
tenuit ; qninque consulatus eodem tenore gesti
vitaque omnis consulariter acta verendum paene
^ Cluilio Fascosanus: cimlio MOHDLA : ciuili Ft PFUB.
2 doinesticao Jac. Gronov. : domesticam Ci.
^ Whereby certain land over which Ardea and Aricia were
in litigation was awarded by the Roman People to them-
selves. See III. Ixxi. and iv. i. 4.
292
BOOK IV. X 4-9
for flight ; and being cut to pieces on every side, b.c. 443
left off fighting and fell to entreaties ; and after
giving up their general and handing over their
weapons, were sent under the yoke, with a single
garment each, and so dismissed, overwhelmed with
shame and disaster. But on their encamping not
far from the city of Tusculum, the Tusculans, upon
an old grudge, attacked them in their defenceless
state, and exacted so heavy a penalty that they
scarce left any to report the massacre. The
Roman commander, finding Ardea distracted by
sedition, composed its troubles by beheading the
ringleaders of the revolt and confiscating their
property to the public treasury of the Ardeates.
The townsmen thought that the great service which
the Roman People had thus rendered them had can-
celled the injustice of the judgment,^ but the
Roman senate felt that something still remained
to do in order to wipe out that reminder of the
national greed. The consul returned to the City and
triumphed, making Cluilius, the leader of the Volsci,
walk before his chariot, and displaying the spoils
which he had taken from the hostile army, before
sending them under the yoke.
It is no easy thing to do, but the consul Quinctius
equalled in civil life the fame of his armed colleague ;
for so well did he maintain domestic peace and
concord, by tempering the law to high and low,
that the Fathers regarded him as a strict consul,
and the plebs as mild enough. He held his
own, too, with the tribunes, more by his personal
influence than by contending with them. Five
consulships administered on the self-same principles,
and a life which had been throughout of consular
293
LIVY
ipsum magis quam honorem faciebant. Eo tribuno-
rum militarium nulla mentio his consulibus fuit.
XL Consules creantur ^ M. Fabius Vibulanus,
2 Postumus Aebutius Cornicen. Fabius et Aebutius
consules, quo maiori gloriae rerum domi forisque
gestarum succedere se cernebant, maxime autem
memorabilem annum apud finitimos socios hostesque
esse, quod Ardeatibus in re praecipiti tanta foret
3 cura subventum, eo impensius, ut delerent prorsus
ex animis hominum infamiam iudicii, senatus con-
sultum fecerunt ut, quoniam civitas Ardeatium
intestino tumultu redacta ad paucos esset, coloni eo
4 praesidii causa adversus Volscos scriberentur. Hoc
palam relatum in tabulas, ut plebem tribunosque
falleret iudicii rescindendi consilium initum ; con-
senserant autem ut multo maiore parte Rutulorum
colonorum quam Romanorum scripta nee ager ullus
divideretur nisi is, qui interceptus iudicio infaml
erat. nee ulli prius Romano ibi quam omnibus Rutu-
5 lis divisus esset, gleba ulla agri adsignaretur. Sic
ager ad Ardeates rediit. Triumviri ad coloniam
Ardeam deducendam creati Agrippa Menenius T.
6 Cloelius ^ Siculus, M. Aebutius Helva; qui praeter
minime populare ministerium, agro adsignando sociis
quem populus Romanus suum iudicasset cum plebem
^ creantiu^ V : creant H {which give the names following
in Vr-e ace, u-hilc F has the nora.).
2 Cloelius r: cluilius VMPFB : ciuilius OIID^LA: ciuiuus
D: duilius UP.
1 As a senatus consultuvi, to be submitted to the people for
ratification.
294
BOOK IV. X. 9-xi. 6
dignity, made the man liimself almost more revered b.o.443
than his office. Hence there was no talk of military
tribunes while these men were consuls.
XI. Marcus Fabius Vibulanus and Postumus b.c.442
Aebutius Cornicen were elected to the consulship.
These men, perceiving that they succeeded to a
period of great renown for civil and military
achievements, and that nothing made the year so
memorable in the eyes of neighbouring peoples,
both allies and enemies, as the earnestness with
which the Romans had come to the assistance of the
Ardeates in their dangerous crisis, were the more
concerned to erase completely from men's minds
the disgrace of the judgment. They accordingly
caused the senate to decree that inasmuch as the
citizens of Ardea had been reduced by domestic
troubles to a small number, colonists should be
enrolled to defend that city against the Volsci.
This was the form in which the decree Mas drawn
up and published,^ that the plebs and the tribunes
might not perceive that a plan was on foot for
rescinding the judgment ; but the senators had
privately agreed that they would enrol as colonists
a much larger proportion of Rutulians than Romans,
and that no land should be parcelled out except that
which had been sequestered by the infamous decision,
nor a single clod assigned there to any Roman until
all the Rutulians had been provided for. Thus the
land reverted to the Ardeates. As triumvirs for
establishing the colony at Ardea they appointed
Agrippa Menenius, Titus Cloelius Siculus, Marcus
Aebutius Helva. These men not only had a far from
popular service to perform, and offended the plebs by
assigning to the allies land which the Roman People
295
LIVY
offendissent. ne primoribus quidem patriim satis
7 acceptij quod nihil gratiae cuiusquam dederant, vexa-
tiones ad populum iam die dicta ab tribunis^ re-
manendo ^ in colonia, quam testem integritatis
iustitiaeque habebant, vitavere.
XII. Pax domi forisque fuit et hoc et insequente
anno C, Furio Paculo - et M. Papirio Crasso consuli-
2 bus. Ludi ab deceniviris per secessionem plebis a
patribus ex senatus consulto voti eo anno facti sunt.
3 Causa seditionum nequiquam a Poetelio ^ quaesita,
qui tribunus plebis iterum ea ipsa denuntiando factus
4 neque ut de agris dividendis plebi referrent consules
ad senatum pervincere potuit^ et cum magno certa-
mine obtinuisset ut consulerentur patres^ consulum
an tribunorum placeret comitia haberi, consules
5 creari iussi sunt ; ludibrioque erant minae tribuni
denuntiantis se dilectum impediturum^ cum quietis
finitimis neque bello neque belli apparatu opus
esset.
6 Sequitur banc tranquillitatem rerum annus Proculo
Geganio Macerino L. Menenio Lanato consulibus
multiplici clade ac periculo insignis, seditionibus^
fame, regno prope per largitionis dulcedinem in
7 cervices accepto ; unum afuit bellum externum ; quo
si adgravatae res essent_, vix ope deorum omnium
1 remanendo F: coloni adscripti remanendo (adscribiti
M ; colonis D ; coloni adscripta F) n.
2 Paculo Conway : pacilio n.
3 Voe\.eWo Sigonius [C.I.L. \^, 'p. 126;: pootilio (poetirio
M ; potilio F ; petilio BOA) .a,
296
BOOK IV. XI. 6-xii. 7
had adjudged to be its own ; but failed to satisfy even b.o. 442
the great patricians, because they had done nothing
to conciHate any man's goodwill. They there-
fore avoided vexatious attacks before the people —
where the tribunes had already summoned them for
trial — by remaining in the colony, which bore witness
to their integrity and justice.
XII. There was peace at home and abroad during "c-
this and the following year, when Gains Furius
Paculus and Marcus Papirius Crassus were consuls.
The games which the decemvirs had vowed in
pursuance of a decree of the senate, during the
secession of the plebs from the patricians, were
that year celebrated. Occasion for dissension was
sought in vain by Poetelius, who though he had got
himself elected plebeian tribune for the second time,
by proclaiming that he would carry through these
very measures, was unsuccessful in forcing the
consuls to lay before the senate a proposal for as-
signing land to the plebs ; and when, after a hard
struggle, he obtained a vote of the senate to deter-
mine whether consuls or tribunes should be elected,
the decision was for consuls. Men only laughed
when the tribune threatened to hold up the levy,
for the neighbouring peoples were quiet, and war
and warlike preparations were alike uncalled for.
To this tranquil period succeeded the consulship
of Proculus Geganius Macerinus and Lucius Menenius
Lanatus, a year conspicuous for numerous deaths and
dangers, for seditions, famine, and for the yoke of
sovereignty, to which, won over by largesses, men
almost bowed their necks. The one thing lacking
was foreign war, and if that had been added to their
burden they could hardly have held out, though all
297
LIVY
resist! potuisset. Coepere a fame mala, seu adversus
annus frugibus fuit. seu dulcedine contionum et
urbis deserto agrorum cultu ; nam utrumque traditur.
Et patres plebem desidem et tribuni plebis nunc
fraudem nunc neglegentiam consulum accusabant.
8 Postremo perpulere plebem haud adversante senatu
ut L. Minucius praefectus annonae crearetur, felicior
in eo magistratu ad custodiam libertatis futurus quam
ad curationem ministerii sui, quamquam postremo
annonae quoque levatae haud immeritam et gratiam
9 et gloriam tulit. Qui cum multis circa finitimos
populos legationibus terra marique nequiquam missis,
nisi quod ex Etruria haud ita multum frumenti
advectum est, nullum momentum annonae fecisset,
10 et revolutus ad dispensationem inopiae, profiteri
cogendo frumentum et vendere quod usui menstruo
sujieresset, fraudandoque parte diurni cibi servitia,
criminando inde et obiciendo irae populi frumen-
tarios, acerba inquisitione aperiret magis quam
11 levaret ino})iam, multi ex plebe, spe amissa, potius
quam ut cruciarentur trahendo animam, capitibus
obvolutis se in Tiberim praecipitaverunt.
XIII, Tum Sp. Maelius ex equestri ordine, ut illis
temporibus praedives, rem utilem jiessimo exemplo
2 peiore consilio est adgressus. Frumento namque ex
1 As the ancients usually did when conscious that they
were about to die. Cf. the story of Caesar's death in
Suetonius {lulius, Ixxxii).
2 The ordo equestcr here means the eighteen centuries of
cavalry, and must not be confused with the later ordo eqiiester,
consisting of all citizens below senatorial rank, whose
property v/as assessed at 400,000 sesterces. Maelius was a
plebeian rqucs.
298
BOOK IV. XII. 7-xiii. 2
the gods had raided them. The troubles began with b.o.
a dreadful famine, whether because the season was ^^^"**^
unfavourable for crops, or that the attraction of
assemblies and city-life had left the fields unculti-
vated ; for both explanations have been given. The
patricians accused the plebeians of idleness, and the
tribunes of the plebs accused the consuls now of
dishonesty, now of carelessness. In the end they
brought the plebs, with no opposition on the senate's
part, to elect Lucius Minucius prefect of the corn-
supply. He was destined, while filling this magis-
tracy, to be more successful in safe-guarding liberty
than in discharging the duties of his office, although
in the end he also earned and received both gratitude
and glory for relieving the scarcity. For although
he had dispatched to neighbouring peoples many
embassies by land and sea without result — save that
a little corn was brought in from Etruria- — he found
that he had not materially improved the supply. He
then fell back upon the plan of distributing the short-
age. He forced men to declare their stocks of corn
and to sell the surplus above the requirements of a
month ; he deprived the slaves of a portion of their
daily ration ; he brought charges against the dealers
and exposed them to the anger of the people ; and
by this bitter inquisition rather revealed than al-
leviated the scarcity, so that many of the plebeians
lost hope, and sooner than suffer torment by prolong-
ing their existence, covered up their heads ^ and
threw themselves into the Tiber.
XIII. Then Spurius Maelius, of the equestrian
order,^ a man for those times very rich, undertook
to do a useful thing in a way that set a very bad
example and had a motive still worse. For having
299
440-439
LIVY
Etruria privata pecunia per hospitum clientiumqiie
ministeria coempto^ quae, credo, ipsa res ad levan-
dam publica cura annonam impedimento fuerat,
3 largitiones frumenti facere instituit ; plebemqiie hoc
munere delenitam, quacumqiie incederet, conspec-
tus elatusque supra modum hominis privati, secum
trahere, baud dubium consulatum favore ac s{^
4 despondentem. Ipse, ut est bumanus animus in-
satiabibs eo quod fortuna spondet, ad altiora et non
concessa tendere, et quoniam consulatus quoque
eripiendus invitis patribus esset, de regno agitare :
id unum dignum tanto apparatu consiborum et
certamine, quod ingens exsudandum esset, praemium
5 fore. lam comitia consularia instabant ; quae res
eum necdum compositis niaturisve satis consibis
6 oppressit. Consul sextum creatus T. Quinctius
Capitobnus, minirae op})ortunus vir novanti res ;
collega additur ei Agrippa Menenius, cui Lanato
7 erat cognomen ; et L. Minucius praefectus annonae
seu refectus seu, quoad res posceret, in incertum
creatus ; nihil enim constat, nisi in libros linteos
utroque anno relatum inter magistratus praefecti
8 nomen. Hie Minucius eandem publice ^ cura-
tionem agens quam Maelius privatim agendam
susceperat, cum in utraque domo genus iden
hominum versaretur, rem compertam ad senatum
^ eandera ^uhlice Florebelhis : eandem reip. {or reip) H:
eandem rep. M : ead . . reip. F".
^ i.e. corn-dealers.
300
BOOK IV. XIII. 2-8
bought up corn in Etruria with his own money, b.c.
through the agency of friends and clients there — ^^0-439
which very circumstance had hindered, I can well
believe, the public efforts to bring down prices — he
set about distributing it gratis. The plebeians were
captivated by this munificence ; wherever he went,
conspicuous and important beyond the measure of a
private citizen, they followed in his train ; and the
devotion and hope he inspired in them gave him no
uncertain assurance of the consulship. He himself,
so insatiable of fortune's promises is the heart of
man, began to cherish a loftier and less allowable
ambition ; and since even the consulship would have
to be wrested from unwilling nobles, considered how
he might be king : nothing else, he felt, would ade-
quately reward him for his elaborate schemes and
the toil and moil of the great struggle he must make.
The consular election was now at hand, and found
him with his plans not yet fully ripened. For the
sixth time Titus Quinctius Capitolinus was chosen
consul, a most unsuitable man for the purposes of a
would-be revolutionary. For colleague he was given
Agrippa Menenius, surnamed Lanatus ; and Lucius
Minucius either was reappointed prefect of the corn-
su})ply or had been named for an indefinite period,
so long as the situation should require ; for authorities
do not agree, but the name of the prefect is entered
in the Linen Rolls among the magistrates for both
years. This Minucius was discharging the same
function in his public capacity which Maelius had
undertaken to perform as a private citizen, and the
same sort of men ^ were coming and going in both
their houses. Thus Minucius discovered the affair
and reported to the senate that weapons were
301
LIVY
A.u.c._ 9 defert : tela in domurn Maeli ^ conferri^ euraque
contiones domi habere^ ac non dubia regni consilia
esse. Tempus agendae rei nondum stare : cetera
iam convenisse : et tribunes mercede emptos ad
prodendam libertatera et partita ducibus multitudinis
ministeria esse. Serius se paene quam tutum fuerit,
ne cuius incerti vanique auctor esset^ ea deferre.
10 Quae postquam sunt audita^ cum - undique primores
patrum et prioris anni consules increparent quod eas
largitiones coetusque plebis in privata domo passi
essent fieri^ et novos consules quod exspectassent
donee a praefecto annonae tanta res ad senatum
deferretur, quae consulem non auctorem solum
1 1 desideraret sed etiam vindicem ; tum Quinctius
consules immerito increpari ait,, qui constricti legibus
de provocatione ad dissolvendum imperium latis^
nequaquam tantum virium in magistratu ad eam
rem pro atrocitate vindicandam quantum animi
haberent. Opus esse non forti solum viro, sed
12 etiam libero exsolutoque legum vinclis. Itaque se
dictatorem L. Quinctium dicturum ; ibi animum
parem tantae potestati esse. Adprobantibus cunctis
primo Quinctius abnuere et quid sibi vellent rogitare^
qui se aetate exacta tantae dimicationi obicerent.
13 Dein cum undique plus in illo senili animo non
consilii modo^ sed etiam virtutis esse quam in omnibus
aliis dicerent laudibusque baud immeritis onerarent,
2
^ Maeli Convay and Walters : maelii [or meliij D. : maeuii V»
cum A Ischefski : et n.
BOOK IV. XIII. S-13
being collected at the house of Maelius^ that he b.g.
was haranguing people there, and that they were ^^^~*^^
certainly contriving a kingdom ; the time for exe-
cuting the plot was not yet fixed ; all else had been
agreed upon : the tribunes had been bribed to betray
liberty, and the leaders of the mob had been assigned
their parts. He said that he had withheld his report
of these things almost longer than was safe, that
he might not become voucher for anything of an
uncertain or trivial nature. On hearing this the leaders
of the senate loudly blamed the consuls of the year
before because they had suffered these donations and
plebeian gatherings to take place in a private house,
and the new consuls because they had waited till
information of so grave a crime was laid before the
senate by the prefect of the corn-supply, though it
wanted a consul not only to report it but to punish
it ; but Quinctius said that the consuls were blamed
unjustly, for, constrained by the laws of appeal,
which had been enacted in order to break down
their authority, they had by no means so much
power in their office as they had will to punish so
heinous an offence in the way it deserved. There
was need, he continued, of a man, and one who
was not only brave, but free and unfettered by the
laws. He would therefore name Lucius Quinctius
dictator ; there was a spirit whose stature was equal
to that great power. Despite the universal ap-
proval of this step, Quinctius at first refused, and
asked what they meant by exposing him at the end
of his life to so fierce a struggle. Then, when men
called out on every side that there was not only
more wisdom but more courage in that old man's
heart than in all the rest and loaded him with not
LIVY
A.u.c.^ 14 et consul nihil remitteret, precatus tandem deos
immortales Cincinnatus ne senectus sua in tarn
trepidis rebus damno dedecorive rei publicae esset,
dictator a consule dicitur. Ipse deinde C. Servilium
Ahalam magistrum equituiii dicit.
Ax.c Xn'. Postero die dispositis praesidiis cum in forum
descendisset conversaque in eum plebs novitate rei
ac miraculo esset, et Maeliani atque ipse dux eorum
2 in se intentam vim tanti imperii cernerent^ expertes
consiliorum regni qui tumultus^ quod bellum repens
aut dictatoriam maiestatem aut Quinctium post
octogesimum annum rectorem rei publicae quaesisset
3 rogitarent, missus ab dictatore Servilius magister
equitum ad Maelium '• \'ocat te " inquit, "dictator."
Cum pavidus ille quid vellet quaereret Serviliusque
causam dicendam esse proponeret crimenque a
4 Miniicio delatum ad senatum diluendum^ tunc
Maelius recipere se in catervam suorum^ et primum
circumspectans tergiversari. postremo cum apparitor
iussu magistri equitum duceret^ ereptus a circum-
stantibus fugiensque fidem plebis Romanae implorare,
5 et opprimi se consensu patrum dicere, quod plebi
benigne fecisset ; orare ut opem sibi ultimo in dis-
crimine ferrent neve ante oculos suos trucidari
304
BOOK IV. XIII. 13-XIV. 5
unitierited compliments^ and when the consul would b.o.
not recede from his purpose, at length Cincinnatus
uttered a prayer to the immortal gods that they
would not suffer his old age to bring harm or shame
to the republic in so perilous a case, and was pro-
nounced dictator by the consul. He then himself
named Gaius Servilius Ahala his master of the horse.
XIV. The next day, after disposing guards at b.o. 430
several points he went down into the Forum, where
the novel and surprising sight drew upon him the
attention of the plebs. The followers of Maelius
and their leader himself perceived that it was against
them that the force of that high authority was
aimed ; while those who knew nothing of the plans
for setting up a king asked what outbreak or what
sudden war had called for the majesty of a dictator
or for Quinctius (now past his eightieth year) to
direct the state. Then Servilius, the master of the
horse, being sent by the dictator to Maelius, said :
"^The dictator summons you." When Maelius,
trembling, asked what he wanted, Servilius replied
that he must stand his trial and clear himself of a
charge which Minucius had lodged against him with
the senate. Then Maelius drew back into the crowd
of his retainers, and at first, glancing this way and
that, attempted to avoid the issue ; but finally, when
the attendant, being so commanded by the master
of the horse, would have led him away, he was
torn from his grasp by the bystanders and fled,
calling on the Roman plebs to protect him, declaring
tliat he was overthrown by a plot of the patricians
because he had acted kindly by the commons, and
begging them to help him in his extremity and not
permit him to be murdered before their eyes. While
305
VOL. II. X
LIVV
A.r^c. 6 sincrent. Haec eum vociferantem adsecutus AHala
Servilius obtruncat, respersusque cruore,^ stipatus
caterva patricioriim iuvenum, dictatori rcnuntiat
vocatum ad eum Maelium repulso apparitore con-
citantem multitudinem poenam meritam habere.
7 Turn dictator ^' Macte virtute " inquit, ^^ C. Servili,
esto liberata re publica."
XV. Tumultuantem deinde multitudinem incerta
existimatione facti ad contionem vocari iussit et
Maelium iure caesum pronuntiavit etiam si regiii
crimine insons fuerit^ qui vocatus a magistro equitum
2 ad dictatorem non venisset. Se ad causam cognos-
cendam consedisse, qua cognita habiturum fuisse
Maelium similem causae fortunam ; vim parantem
3 ne iudicio se committeret, vi coercitum esse. Nee
cum eo tamquam cum cive agendum fuisse, qui natus
in libero populo inter iura legesque, ex qua urbe
reges exactos sciret eodemque anno sororis filios
regis et liberos consulis, liberatoris patriae, propter
pactionem indicatam recipiendorum in urbem regum
4 a patre securi esse percussos, ex qua Collatinum
Tarquinium consulem nominis odio abdicare se
magistratu atque exsulare iussum, in qua de Sp.
Cassio post aliquot annos propter consilia inita de
^ cruore V: cruore obtruncati n.
1 This is inexact ; from I. Ivi. 7 we learn tliat it was Brutus,
the father of the young men in question, who was nephew to
the king, on the mother's side.
2 See II. xli.
306
BOOK IV. XIV. 5^xv. 4
he was screaming out these appeals, Servihus Ahala b.o. 43£
overtook and slew him ; then, bespattered with his
blood and guarded by a company of young nobles,
he returned to the dictator and re})orted that
Maelius, having been summoned to aj)pear before
him, had repulsed the attendant and was rousing up
the populace when he received the punishment he
had deserved. Whereat the dictator exclaimed,
" Well done, Gaius Servilius ; you have delivered the
commonwealth ! "
XV. Then, as the crowd was in a turmoil, not
knowing what to think of the deed, he bade convoke
them to an assembly. There he asserted that Maelius
had been justly slain, even though he had been
innocent of plotting to make iiimself king, since he
had been cited before the dictator by the master of
the horse and had not obeyed. He himself, he said,
had sat to hear the cause, and if the hearing had
been concluded Maelius would have prospered as his
cause deserved ; but, planning violence to avoid
undergoing trial, he had been repressed by violence.
Neither would it have been right to deal with Maelius
as with a citizen. The man had been born amongst
a free people enjoying rights and laws, in a City from
which he knew that the kings had been banished,
and how in that very year the king's nephews,^ sons
of the consul who had freed his country, had, on the
exposure of a compact they had made to bring the
princes back to Rome, been beheaded by their father's
orders. He knew that in this City the consul
Tarquinius Collatiniis had been commanded, out of
hatred for the name he bore, to lay down his office
and go into exile ; that here, some years after,
Spurius Cassius ^ had been punished for aiming at
307
X 2
LIVY
regno supplicium sumptum^ in qua nuper decemviros
boniSj exsiliOj capite miiltatos ob superbiam regiam,
5 in ea Sp. Maelius spem regni conceperit. Et
quis homo ? Quamquam nullam nobilitatem, nullos
honoreSj nulla merita cuiquam ad dominationem
pandere viam ; sed tamen Claudios, Cassios con-
sulatibus^. decemviratibus^. suis maiorumque honori-
bus, s])lendore familiarum sustulisse animos quo
6 nefas fuerit : Sp. Maelium^ cui tribunatus plebis
magis optandus quam sperandus fuerit^ frumentarium
divitem, bilibris farris sperasse libertatem se civium
suorum emisse^ ciboque obiciendo ratum victorem
finitimorum omnium populum in servitutem perlici
7 posse, ut quem senatorem concoquere civitas vix
posset regem ferret, Romuli conditoris, ab dis orti,^
recepti ad deos, insignia atque imperium habentem.
Non pro scelere id magis quam pro monstro haben-
8 dum, nee satis esse sanguine eius expiatum, nisi
tecta parietesque intra quae tantum amentiae con-
ceptum esset dissiparentur bonaque contacta pretiis
regni mercandi publicarentur. lubere itaque quaes-
tores vendere ea bona atque in publicum redigere.
XVI. Domum deinde, ut moninnento area esset
oppressae nefariae spei, dirui extemplo iussit. Id
*■ ab dis {spelled, as often, diis) orti fl : ab diis sorti MPH :
ad diis B.
1 Tlie reference is to Appius Claudius the decemvir.
308
BOOK IV. XV. 4-xvi. I
royalty; that here, but lately, the decemvirs liadB.c. 439
been visited with confiscation, banishment, and
death, because of kingly arrogance. Yet in this
same City a Spurius Maelius had conceived the hope
of reigning. And who was this fellow ? To be
sure, no nobility, no honours, no merits, opened wide
the road to tyranny for any man ; nevertheless the
Claudii ^ and Cassii had been encouraged by consul-
ships and decemvirates, by their own honours and
those of their forefathers, and by the splendour of
their families, to aim at forbidden heights ; Spurius
Maelius, a rich corn-dealer, a man who might have
desired but ought scarcely to have hoped to become
a plebeian tribune, had flattered himself that for a
couple of pounds of spelt he had purchased the
liberty of his fellow citizens ; he had imagined that
by flinging food to them he could entice into slavery
a people who had conquered all their neiglibours,
so that a state which could scarce have stomached
him as a senator would endure him for its king,
having the insignia and authority of Romulus its
founder, who was descended from the gods and
had returned to them. This ought to be regarded
as a thing no less monstrous than wicked ; nor was
his blood sufficient expiation, unless the roof and
walls within which such madness had been con-
ceived should be demolished, and the goods which
had been tainted with the offer of them as the
price to buy a tyranny be confiscated ; he therefore
bade the quaestors sell those goods and place the
proceeds in the public treasury.
XVI. Quinctius then commanded the man's house b.o. t38
to be pulled down, that the bare site might com-
memorate the frustration of his wicked purpose. The
309
LIVY
2 Aequimaelium appellatum est. L. Minucius bove et
statua aurata ^ extra portam Trigeminam est donatus
ne plebe quidem invita quia frumentum Maelianum
3 assibus in modios aestimatum plebi di visit. Huiic
Minucium apud quosdam auctores transisse a patri-
bus ad plebem undecimumque tribunum plebis
cooptatum seditionem motam ex Maeliana caede
4 sedasse invenio ; ceterum vix credibile est numerum
tribunorum patres augeri passes, idque potissimum
exemplum a patricio homine introductum, nee deinde
id plebem - concessum semel obtinuisse aut certe
temptasse. Sed ante omnia refelbt falsum imaginis
titulum paucis ante annis lege cautum ne tribunis
5 collegam cooptare liceret. Q. Caecilius, Q. Junius,
Sex. Titinius soli ex collegio tribunorum neque
tulerant de honoribus Minuci legem et criminari
nunc Minucium nunc Servilium apud plebem queri-
6 que indignam necem Maeli non destiterant. Pervi-
cerunt igitur ut tribunorum militum potius quam
consulum comitia haberentur, baud dubii quin sex
locis — tot enim iam creari licebat — et plebeii aliqui
profitendo se ultores fore Maelianae caedis, crea-
7 rentur. Plebs, quamquam agitata multis eo anno et
variis motibus erat, nee pluris quam tres tribunes
^ bove et statua aurata Conicay (in not^., but cites against his
covj. XL. xxxiv. 5) : boue aurato (aturato M) D..
^ plebem ^ : plebi n.
^ Tlie Aequimaelium was in the Vicus lugaiius, below the
Capitol. Cicero derives the name from aequus " just," because
Maelius was justly punished [de Domo, 101); Varro from
aequus "level" {L.L. V. 157).
2 The Lex Trebonia of 448 B.C. (in. Ixv. 4) required the
election officials to continue the voting until ten tribunes had
been chosen, but said nothing about the co-optation of an
eleventh.
310
BOOK IV. XVI. 1-7
place was named Aequimaelium.^ Lucius Minucius b.c.438
was presented with an ox and a gilded statue outside
the Porta Trigemina, without opposition even on the
part of the plebs, since Minucius divided the corn of
Maelius among them at the price of one as the peck.
I find it stated by some historians that this Minucius
went over from the patricians to the plebeians, and
being co-opted an eleventh tribune of the plebs,
allayed the rebellious feeling which arose from the
killing of Maelius ; but it is hardly credible that the
patricians should have permitted the number of
tribunes to be increased, and that this precedent, of
all others, should have been introduced by a patri-
cian ; or that the plebs, having once obtained this
concession, should not have held fast to it, or at
lef\st have tried to do so. But what proves more con-
clusively than anything the falsity of the inscription
on his portrait is this, that it was enacted by law
a few years before that the tribunes might not
co-opt a colleague. 2 Quintus Caecilius, Quintus
Junius, and Sextus Titinius were the only members
of the college of tribunes who had not supported the
law conferring honours on Minucius, and had never
ceased to accuse now Minucius, now Servilius, before
the plebs, and to complain of the unmerited death
of Maelius. So they forced through a measure
providing that military tribunes should be elected
instead of consuls, not doubting that for some of
the six places — for this was now the number that
might be filled — plebeians would be chosen, if they
would promise to avenge the death of Maelius.
The plebeians, though they had been aroused that
year by many different commotions, elected no more
than three tribunes with consular powers, and among
311
LIVY
consular! potestate creavit et in his L. Quinctium,
Cincinnati filium, ex cuius dictaturae invidia tumultus
8 quaerebatur. Praelatus suffragiis Quinctio Mamercus
AemiliuSj vir summae dignitatis; L. lulium tertium
creant.
XVII. In horum magistratu Fidenae, colonia
Romana. ad Lartem Tolumnium^ ac Veientes de-
2 fecere. Maius additum defectioni scelus : C. Fulci-
nium Cloelium Tullum Sp, Antium ^ L. Roscium,
legates RomanoSj causam novi consilii quaerentes,
3 iussu Tolumni interfecerunt. Levant quidam regis
facinus : in tesserarum prospero iactu vocem eius
ambiguam^ ut occidi iussisse videretur. a Fidenatibus
exceptam causam mortis legatis fuisse^ — rem incredi-
4 bilem, interventu Fidenatium^ novorum sociorum^
consulentium de caede ruptura ius gentium, non
aversum ab intentione lusus animum nee deinde
5 in errorem versum facinus. Propius est fidem
obstringi Fidenatium populum ne respicere spem
ullam ab Romanis posset conscientia tanti sceleris
6 voluisse. Legatorum qui Fidenis caesi erant statuae
publice in Rostris positae sunt. Cum Veientibus
Fidenatibusque, praeterquam finitimis populis, ab
causa etiam tarn nefanda bellum exorsis atrox
dimicatio instabat.
^ Tolumnium E. J. Mueller : Tolumnium Veientium (uenien-
tium B) regem n.
'^ Sp. Antium (espantium M ; spuantium V) 0. : Sp. Xautium
Momriisen [cf. T'lin. N.H. xxxiv. vi. 23).
^ A slight anachronism, as the speaker's platform in the
Forum was not called Rostra till 338 B.C., when (jaius
Menenius decorated it with the rostra (beaks) of the ships
taken at Antium (viii. xiv. 12).
BOOK IV. XVI. 7-xvii. 6
these Lucius Quinctius, son of Cincinnatus, from b.c. 488
whose dictatorship men were trying to derive the
odium for inspiring a mutiny. Aemilius Mamercus,
a man of the highest standing, was ahead of
Quinctius in the voting; Lucius JuHus was elected
third.
XVn. During the term of these magistrates, b.c. 437
Fidenae, a Roman colony, revolted to Lars Tolumnius
and the Veientes. To tlieir defection they added a
worse crime, for when Gaius Fulcinius, Cloelius
Tullus, Spurius Antius, and Lucius Roscius, Roman
envoys, came to inquire the reason of this new policy,
at the command of Tolunmius they put them to
death. Some persons seek to palliate the king's
act, saying that an ambiguous expression of his upon
a lucky throw of dice, which made him seem to
order them to kill the envoys, was heard by the
Fidenates and was responsible for the men's death.
But it is quite incredible that the king on being
interrupted by the Fidenates, his new allies, come
to consult him about a murder that would violate the
law of nations, should not have withdrawn his atten-
tion from the game, and that the attribution of the
crime to a mistake did not come later. It is easier
to believe that he wished the people of Fidenae
to be involved by the consciousness of so heinous a
deed, that it might be impossible for them to hope
for any reconciliation with tlie Romans. The envoys
who had been slain at Fidenae were honoured, at
the public cost, with statues on the Rostra, ^ With
the Veientes and Fidenates, not only because they
were neighbouring peoples, but also in consequence
of the nefarious act with which they had begun the
war, a bitter struggle now impended,
3^3
LIVY
7 Itaque ad curam summae rerum quieta plebe
tribunisque eius nihil controversiae fuit quin con-
sules crearentur M. Geganius xMacerinus tertium
8 et L. Sergius Fidenas. A bello credo quod deinde
gessit appellatum ; hie enim primus cis Anienem
cum rege Veientium secundo proelio conflixit, nee
incruentam victoriam rettulit. Maior itaque ex
civibus amissis dolor quam laetitia fusis hostibus
fuit, et senatus ut in trepidis rebus dictatorem dici
9 Mamercum Aemilium iussit. Is magistrum equitum
ex coUegio prioris anni^ quo simul tribuni militum
consulari potestate fuerant, L. Quinetium Cincin-
10 natum, dignum parente iuvenem, dixit. Ad dilec-
tum a consulibus habitum centuriones veteres belli
periti adieeti et numerus amissorum proxima pugna
expletus. Legatos T. Quinetium ^ Capitolinum et
11 M. Fabium Vibulanum sequi se dictator iussit. Cum
potestas maior tum vir quoque potestati par hostes
ex agro Romano trans Anienem submovere ; collesque
inter Fidenas atque Anienem ceperunt referentes
castra, nee ante in campos degressi ^ sunt quam
12 legiones Faliseorum auxilio ^ venerunt. Tum demum
castra Etruseorum pro moenibus Fidenarum posita.
Et dictator Roinanus baud procul inde ad confluentes
consedit in utriusque ripis amnis^ qua sequi muni-
*■ T. Quinetium ff. J. Mueller : quinetium X : quintium V:
quintum n.
2 degressi Si'joniiis: digressi n.
3 Faliseorum auxilio Kiehl : Faliseorum auxiliorum F:
auxilio Faliseorum CI.
BOOK IV. XVII. 7-12
Accordingly, out of regard for the general welfare, b.c. 437
the plebeians and their tribunes kept quiet, and
raised no opposition to the election as consuls of
Marcus Geganius Macerinus (for the third time) and
Lucius Sergius Fidenas. I suppose that the name
was given him from the war which he then waged ;
for he was the first who fought a successful battle
on this side the Anio with the king of the Veientes ;
but he gained no bloodless victory, and so there
was more grief for the citizens who were lost than
rejoicing over the defeat of the enemy; and the
senate, as is usual in an alarming situation, com-
manded the appointment of a dictator, Mamercus
Aemilius. He named as his master of the horse a
man who had been his colleague the year before, when
they had both been military tribunes with consular
authority, namely Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, a
young man worthy of his ftither. To the troops
which the consuls levied were added veteran cen-
turions experienced in war, and the losses of the last
battle were made good. The dictator bade Titus
Quinctius Capitolinus and Marcus Fabius Vibulanus
follow him as his lieutenants. The high authority
of the dictatorship, in the hands of one who was
equal to it, drove the enemy out of Roman territory
and across the Anio. They withdrew their camp
and pitched upon the hills between Fidenae and the
Anio ; nor did they descend into the plains until the
forces of the Faliscans had come to their support.
Then, and not till then, did the Etruscans encamp
before the walls of Fidenae. The Roman dictator
likewise went into camp not far off, on the banks of
both rivers, at their confluence, and threw up a
rampart between liis army and the enemy, where he
315
v.u.c.
317
LIVY
mento poterat vallo interposito. Postero die in
aciem eduxit.
XVII I. Inter hostes variae fuere sententiae.
FaliscuSj procul ab domo militiam aegre patiens
satisque fidens sibi^ poscere pugnam : Veienti Fiden-
2 atiqiie plus spei in trahendo bello esse. Tolumnius,
qiiamquam suorum magis placebant consilia, ne lon-
ginquam militiam non paterentiir Falisci, postero
3 die se pugnaturum edicit. Dictatori ac Romanis,
quod detractasset pugnam hostis^ animi accessere ;
posteroque die iam militibus castra urbemque se
opj^ugnaturos frementibus ni copia pugnae fiat,
utrimque acies inter bina castra in medium campi
4 procedunt. Veiens multitudine abundans, qui inter
dimicationem castra Romana adgrederentur post
montes circummisit. Trium populorum exercitus
ita stetit instructus ut dextrum cornu Veientes,
sinistrum Falisci tenerent, medii Fidenates essent.
5 Dictator dextro cornu adversus Faliscos, sinistro
contra Veientem Capitolinus Quinctius intulit signa ;
ante mediam aciem cum equitatu magister equitum
6 processit. Parumper silentium et quies fuit nee
EtrusciSj nisi cogerentur, pugnam inituris et dic-
tatore arcem Romanam respectante, ut ex ea ab ^
auguribus, simul aves rite admisissent, ex composito
7 tolleretur signum. Quod simul - conspexit, primos
^ ex ea ab AlsclirfsTci; ex (auguribus) fl: ex (auribus) M.
2 simul c- : simul ubi Cl.
^ i.e. where the distance from bank to bank was not too
great.
2 Their city Falerii (now Civita Castellana) was about
twentv-five miles north of Rome.
316
BOOK IV. XVII. I2-XVIII. 7
was able to span the interval with intrencliments.^ b.c. 437
Next day he formed up in line of battle.
XVIII. The enemy were of several minds. The
Faliscans, chafing under service performed away
from home^ and fairly self-confident^ demanded
battle : the Veientes and Fidenates anticipated
greater success from a prolongation of the war.
Tolumnius^ though the views of his own followers
were more agreeable to him, announced that he
would fight on the following day, lest the Faliscans
might not tolerate a protracted campaign. The
dictator and the Romans were encouraged at the
enemy's reluctance ; and the next day, on the
soldiers threatening that they would at once attack
the camp and the city, unless the enemy came to an
engagement, both armies marched out in line of
battle into the plain between the two camps. The
Veientes, having men to spare, dispatched a party
round the mountains to assail the camp of the
Romans during the engagement. The army of the
three nations was so drawn up that the Veientes
held the right wing, the Faliscans the left, and the
Fidenates formed the centre. The dictator advanced
on the right, against the Faliscans, and Quinctius
Capitolinus on the left, to meet the \^eientes ; while
the master of the horse, with the cavalry, led the
attack on the centre. For a brief moment all was
hushed and still ; since the Etruscans were resolved
not to begin fighting unless they were forced, and
the dictator kept looking back to the Citadel of
Rome, that the augurs might thence make him a
signal, as they had arranged to do, the moment the
omens were propitious. As soon as he descried the
signal, he first sent his cavalry against the enemy,
317
LIVY
equites clamore sublato in hostem eniisit ; secuta
8 peditum acies ingeiiti vi conflixit. Nulla parte
legiones Etruscae sustinuere impetum Romanorum ;
eques maxime resistebat ; equitumque longe for-
tissimus ipse rex ab omni parte effuse sequentibus
obequitans Romanis trahebat certamen.
XIX. Erat turn inter equites tribunus militum
A. Cornelius Cossus^ eximia pulchritudine corporis^
animo ac viribus par memorque generis, quod
amplissimum acceptum maius auctiusque reliquit
2 posteris. Is cum ad impetum Tolumni, quacumque
se intendisset. trepidantes Romanas videret turmas,
insignemque eum regie habitu volitantem tota acie
3 cognosset, " Hicine est " inquit, " ruptor foederis
humani violatorque gentium iuris ? lam ego banc
mactatam victimam, si modo sancti quicquam in
terris esse di volunt, legatorum manibus dabo."
4 Calcaribus subditis infesta cuspide in unum fertur
hostem ; quem cum ictum equo deiecisset, confestim
o et ipse hasta innixus se in pedes exce})it. Adsur-
gentem ibi regem umbone resupinat repetitumque
saepius cuspide ad terram adfixit. Tum exsangui
detracta spolia caputque abscisum victor spiculo
gerens terrore caesi regis hostes fundit.^ Ita equi-
^ f undit Ci : fudit MDA^ : perfudit Mo/hig.
318
BOOK IV. XVIII. 7-xix. 5
cheering as they charged ; and the infantry followed b.c. 437
with a furious attack. At no point could the
Etruscan legions withstand the onset of the Romans ;
their horse made the chief resistance, and of all
their horse by far the bravest was the king himself,
who rode against the Romans, as they scattered in
every direction for the pursuit, and prolonged the
struggle.
XIX. There was at that time among the cavalry-
men a tribune of the soldiers named Aulus Cornelius
Cossus, a man of strikingly handsome person and no
less distinguished for courage and strength. Proud
of his name, which was very famous when it came
to him, he left to his descendants one still greater
and more glorious. This man, seeing how Tolumnius,
wherever he charged, brought confusion to the Roman
squadrons, and recognizing him, conspicuous in his
royal dress, as he galloped swiftly up and down the
line, exclaimed, " Is this the breaker of human
leagues, the violater of the law of nations ? I
will speedily offer him up as a sacrificial victim,
if only it is the will of Heaven that there
should be aught sacred on this earth, to the manes
of the envoys!" Clapping spurs to his charger
and levelling his spear, he made for his one enemy.
Having struck and unhorsed his man, he himself
leaped quickly to the ground by the help of his
lance, and as the king struggled to his feet flung him
back with the boss of his shield, and plunging the
spear again and again into his body, pinned him to
earth. Then stripping the spoils from the corpse and
cutting off" the head, he bore it victoriously on the
I)oint of his spear and drove the enemy before him,
panic-stricken at the sight of their slain king. Thus
LIVY
turn quoque fiisa acies^ quae una fecerat anceps
6 certamen. Dictator legionibus fugatis instat et ad
castra compulses caedit. Fidenatium j)lurimilocorum
notitia effugere in montes. Cossus Tiberim cum
equitatu transvectus ex agro Veientano ingentem
7 detulit praedara ad urbem. Inter proelium et ad
castra Romana pugnatum est adversus partem copi-
arum ab Tolumnio^ ut ante dictum est, ad castra
8 missam. Fabius \'ibulanus corona primum vallum
defendit; intentos deinde hostes in vallum, egressus
dextra principal! cum triariis, repente invadit. Quo
pavore iniecto caedes minor, quia pauciores erant,
fuga non minus trepida quam in acie fuit.
XX. Omnibus locis re bene gesta dictator senatus
consulto iussuque populi triumphans in urbem re-
2 diit. Longe maximum triumphi spectaculum fuit
Cossus spolia opima regis interfecti gerens. In
eum milites carmina incondita aequantes eum Ro-
3 mulo canere. Spolia in aede lovis Feretri prope
Romuli spolia quae, prima opima appellata, sola ea
tempestate erant, cum sollemni dedicatione dono
fixit ; averteratque in se a curru dictatoris civium
ora et celebritatis eius diei fructum prope solus
^ A Roman camp was divided by the Via Principalis, which
ran from one side to the other, with a gate at each end of it,
called respectively Porta Principalis dextra, and P. P. sinistra.
2 The triarii were experienced troops, a body of which made
a part of each legion. They were usually, as here, kept in
reserve until a crisis called for their employment {rf.
VIII. viii.).
320
BOOK IV. XIX. 5-xx. 3
even the cavalry was routed, which alone had made b.c. 437
the issue of the contest doubtful. The dictator
pressed on after the flying legions, and pursuing
them to their camp cut them to pieces. Large
numbers of the Fidenates escaped, thanks to their
knowledge of the ground, into the mountains.
Cossus crossed the Tiber with his cavalry, and from
the fields of the Veientes brought a vast quantity of
booty back to town. During the battle there was
also fighting at the Roman camp with a part of the
forces of Tolumnius which he had dispatched against
it, as has been said before. Fabius Vibulanus first
manned the rampart with a cordon of defenders ; and
then, when the attention of the enemy was fixed on
the wall, sallied out of the Porta Principalis, on the
right,^ with his reserves,^ and fell suddenly upon
them. In consequence of the panic thus occasioned,
though the slaughter was less, because fewer were
engaged, yet the rout was quite as complete as in
the battle-line.
XX. Having been everywhere victorious, the
dictator, as decreed by the senate and ratified by
the people, returned to the City in triumphal pro-
cession. By far the greatest spectacle in the triumph
was Cossus, bearing the spoils of honour of the slain
king, while the soldiers sang rude verses about him,
comparing him to Romulus. The spoils he fastened
up as an offering, with solemn dedication, in the
temple of Jupiter Feretrius, near the spoils of
Romulus, which had been the first to be called
opima, and were at that time the only ones. Cossus
had drawn the gaze of the citizens away from the
car of the dictator upon himself, and the honours of
that crowded festival were virtually his alone. The
321
VOL. 11. Y
LIVY
A.u.c. 4 tulerat. Dictator coronam auream^ libram pondo,
^^' ex publica })ecunia populi iussu in Capitolio lovi
donum posuit.
5 Omnes ante me auctores secutus, A. Cornelium
Cossum tribunum militum secunda spolia opima
6 lovis Feretrii templo intulisse ex{)osui ; ceterum,
praeterquam quod ea rite opima spolia habentur
quae dux duel detraxit^, nee ducem novimus nisi
cuius auspicio bellum geritur, titulus ipse spoliis
inscriptus illos meque arguit consulem ea Cossum
7 cepisse. Hoc ego cum Augustum Caesarem, tem-
plorum omnium conditorem aut restitutorem, in-
gressum aedem Feretri lovis^. quam vetustate di-
lapsam refecit, se ipsum in thorace linteo scriptum
legisse audissem, prope sacrilegium ratus sum Cosso ^
spoliorum suorum Caesarem, ipsius templi auctorem,
8 subtrahere testem. Quis ^ ea in re sit error, quod
tam veteres annales quodque magistratuum libri, quos
linteos in aede repositos Monetae Macer Licinius
cit^t identidem auctores, septimo ^ post demum
anno cum T. Quinctio Poeno A. Cornelium Cossum
consulem habeant, existimatio communis omnibus
9 est. Nam etiam illud accedit, ne tam clara pugna
in eum annum transferri posset, quod imbelle trien-
nium ferme pestilentia inopiaque frugum circa A.
Cornelium consulem fuit, adeo ut quidam annales
^ Cosso ^ : Cossum fl.
^ quis Gronovius : qui si H.
^ septimo H : none r Sigonius : decimo Glarcanus : un-
deciino Conicay and Walters {in note).
^ Xepos tells us {Att. xx. 3) that the restoration of this
temple was undertaken at the suggestion of Atticus. It was
therefore probably done not later than 32 B.C., the year in
which Atticus died.
322
BOOK IV. XX.
3-9
dictator^ at the people's behest, presented to Jupiter B.a437
on the Capitol a golden chaplet of a pound in weight,
from the public treasury.
Following all previous historians, I have stated
that Aulus Cornelius Cossus was a military tribune
when he brought the second spoils of honour to the
temple of Jupiter Feretrius. But besides that only
those are properly held to be ''^ spoils of honour"
which one commander has taken from another com-
mander, and that we know no '^ commander " but him
under whose auspices the war is waged, the very
words inscribed upon the spoils disprove their account
and mine, and show that it was as consul that Cossus
captured them. Having heard from the lips of
Augustus Caesar, the founder or renewer of all the
temples, that he had entered the shrine of Jupiter
Feretrius, which he repaired when it had crumbled
with age, and had himself read the inscription on
the linen breast-plate, I have thought it would be
almost sacrilege to rob Cossus of such a witness to
his spoils as Caesar, the restorer of that very temple.^
Where the error in regard to this matter lies, in
consequence of which such ancient annals and also
the books of the magistrates, written on linen and
deposited in the temple of Moneta, which Licinius
Macer cites from time to time as his authority, only
give Aulus Cornelius Cossus as consul (with Titus
Quinctius Poenus) seven years later, is a matter
on which everybody is entitled to his opinion.
For there is this further reason why so famous
a battle could not be transferred to the later year,
that the consulship of Cossus fell within a period
of about three years when there were no wars,
owing to a pestilence and a dearth of crops, so that
323
Y 2
LIVY
A.u.c. velut funesti nihil praeter nomina consulum sug-
^^' 10 gerant. Tertius ab consulatu Cossi annus tribunum
eum militum consulari potestate habet, eodem anno
magistrum equitum ; quo in imperio alteram in-
11 signem edidit pugnam equestrem. Ea libera con-
iectura est, sed, ut ego arbitror, vana ; aversari
enim ^ omnes opiniones licet, cum auctor pugnae
recentibus spoliis in sacra sede positis, lovem prope
ipsura, cui vota erant, Romulumque intuens, baud
spernendos falsi tituli testes, se A. Cornelium
Cossum consulem scripserit.
A.c.c. XXI. M. Cornelio Maluijinense L. Papirio Crasso
18-319 ^
consulibus exercitus in agrum Veientem ac Faliscum
2 ducti, praedae abactae hominum pecorumque; hostis
in agris nusquam inventus neque pugnandi copia
facta ; urbes tamen non oppugnatae, quia pestilentia
3 populum invasit. Et seditiones domi quaesitae sunt
nee motae tamen ab Sp. Maelio tribune plebis, qui
favore nominis moturum se aliquid ratus et Minucio
diem dixerat et rogationem de publicandis bonis
4 Servili Ahalae tulerat, falsis criminibus a Minucio
circumventum Maelium arguens, Servilio caedem
civis indemnati obiciens. Quae vaniora ad popu-
5 lum ipso auctore fuere. Ceterum magis vis morbi
ingravescens curae erat terroresque ac prodigia,
^ vana ; aversari enim JTagner and Madvig : uana (una
FB) uersare in Cl.
^ It is possible that this paragraph was inserted b}- Livy,
without altering the context, some time after the original
publication of Books I-V. This would account for the
appearance in the preceding paragraph of the version which
Li\-y now rejects, and also for its reappearance in chap, xxxii.
Cf. Niebuhr, Rom. Gtsch. ii. 517.
324
BOOK IV. XX. 9 -XXI. 5
certain annals, as though death-registers, offer noth- b.o. 437
ing but the names of the consuls. The third year
after Cossus's consulship saw him military tribune
with consular powers, and in the same year he was
master of the horse, in which office he fought
another famous cavalry-engagement. Here is free-
dom for conjecture, but in my opinion it is idle ; for
one may brush aside all theories when the man who
fought the battle, after placing the newly-won spoils
in their sacred resting-place, testified in the presence
of Jupiter himself, to whom he had vowed them,
and of Romulus — witnesses not to be held lightly
by a forger — that he was Aulus Cornelius Cossus,
consul. 1
XXI. When Marcus Cornelius Maluginensis and .ogi^'os
Lucius Papirius Crassus were consuls, armies invaded
the country of the Veientes and the Faliscans and
drove off booty consisting of men and flocks ; they
nowhere encountered their enemies in the fields nor
met with any opportunity to give them battle ; still,
they besieged no cities, for a pestilence attacked the
people. And seditions were attempted at home, but
not brought about, by Spurius Maelius, tribune of the
plebs, who, imagining that the popularity of his name
would enable him to stir up trouble, had appointed
a day for the prosecution of Minucius, and had also
proposed a law for confiscating the goods of Servilius
Ahala, maintaining that Maelius had been circum-
vented by Minucius with false accusations, and
flinging it up to Servilius that he had killed a citizen
who had not been condemned. These charges were
even less regarded by the people than was their
author. But the increasing virulence of the disease
gave concern, and so did certain alarms and prodigies;
325
LIVY
A.u.c. maxime quod crebris motibus terrae ruere in agris
518-319 nuntiabantur tecta. Obsecratio itaque a populo
duumviris praeeuntibus est facta.
6 Pestilentior inde annus C. lulio iterum et L.
Verginio consulibus tantum metus et vastitatis ^ in
urbe agrisque fecit, ut non modo praedandi causa
quisquam ex agro Romano exiret bellive inferendi
7 memoria patribus aut plebi esset, sed ultro Fidenates,
qui se primo aut montibus aut muds tenuerant,
populabundi descenderent in agrum Romanum.
8 Deinde Veientium exercitu accito — nam Falisci
perpelli ad instaurandum bellum neque clade Ro-
manorum neque sociorum precibus potuere — duo
populi transiere Anienem atque baud procul Collina
porta signa habuere. Trepidatum itaque non in
9 agris magis quam in urbe est. Tubus consul in
aggere murisque explicat copias, a Verginio senatus
10 in aede Quirini consuHtur. Dictatorem dici Q.
Servilium '^ placet, cui Frisco alii, alii Structo fuisse
cognomen tradunt. Verginius dum collegam con-
suleret moratus, permittente eo nocte dictatorem
dixit. Is sibi magistrum equitum Postumum ^
Aebutium Helvam* dicit.
XXII. Dictator omnes luce prima extra portam
Collinam adesse iubet. Quibuscumque vires suppe-
2 tebant ad arma ferenda praesto fuere. Signa ex
^ metus et vastitatis Conway and Walters : metum uas-
titatis 'uastatis R) Ci.
^ Q. Servilium U- Sigonius {cf. chap. xxvi. § 7 : chap. xlvi.
§4; C I.L. i^, p. 17): a. seruilium ^seruilius M) Ci.
2 Postumum Sigonius [cf. chap. xi. § 1) : postumium .0.
* Helvam A- - : heluam heluium J/: heluium Ci.
^ i.e. duumviri sacrorum, in charge of the Sibylline books,
326
BOOK IV. XXI. 5-xxii. 2
in particular that it was frequently announced that s.a
farm-buildings had been thrown down by earth-
quakes. A supplication was therefore offered up by
the people under the direction of the duumviri.^
The pestilence was worse next year, when Gaius
Julius (for the secoiid time) and Lucius Verginius
were the consuls, and caused such fears and ravages
in the City and the country that not only did no one
go out beyond the Roman marches to pillage, nor
either patricians or plebs have any thought of waging
war, but the men of Fidenae, who at first had kept
to their mountains or their city walls, actually came
down into Roman territory, bent on plunder. Then,
when they had called in an army from Veil — for the
Faliscans could not be driven into renewing the war
either by the calamity of the Romans or the
entreaties of their allies, — the two peoples crossed
the Anio and set up their standards not far from the
Colline Gate. The consternation in the City was
therefore no less than in the fields ; the consul
Julius disposed his troops on the rampart and walls,
and Verginius took counsel with the senate in the
temple of Quirinus. It was resolved that Quintus
Servilius, whose surname some give as Priscus, others
as Structus, should be appointed dictator. V^erginius
delayed till he could consult his colleague ; then,
with his consent, he that night named the dictator,
who appointed as his master of the horse Postumus
Aebutius Helva.
XXII. The dictator commanded everybody to be
outside the Colline Gate at break of day. All those
who were able to bear arms were at hand. The
from which they derived the form of prayer used in this
service.
327
LIVY
aerario prompta feruntur ad dictatorem. Quae cum
agerenturj hostes in loca altiora concessere. Eo
dictator agmine infesto subit^ nee procul Nomento
signis conlatis fudit Etruscas legiones ; compulit
3 inde in urbem Fidenas valloque circumdedit ; sed
neque scalis capi poterat urbs alta et munita neque
in obsidione vis ulla erat^ quia frumentura non ne-
cessitati modo satis sed copiae quoque abunde ex
4 ante convecto sufficiebat. Ita expugnandi pariter
cogendique ad deditionem spe amissa^ dictator in
locis propter propinquitatem notis ab aversa ^ parte
urbiSj maxime neglecta quia suapte natura tutissima
5 eratj agere in arcem cuniculum instituit. Ipse diver-
sissimis locis subeundo ad moenia quadrifariam diviso
exercitu qui alii aliis succederent ad pugnam^ con-
tinenti die ac nocte proelio ab sensu operis hostes
6 avertebat, donee perfosso monte ^ erecta in arcem
via est^intentisque Etruscis ad vanas a certo periculo
minas clamor supra caput hostilis captam urbem
ostendit.
7 Eo anno C. Furius Paculus^ et M. Geganius
Macerinus censores villam publicam in campo Martio
probaverunt, ibique primum census populi est actus.
^ aversa r : aduersa n.
* monte L : a castris monte (a mo . . . J^} n.
' Paculus Conivay: Pacilus Sigonius: p. acilius MPUOHD'^
{or D) LA^ : pacilius Bl Al : wanting in V.
328
BOOK IV. XXII. 2-7
standards were taken out of the treasury and brought b.o
to the dictator. While this was going on, the enemy ^3c-<i35
withdrew to a more elevated position. Thither the
dictator marched under arms, and not far from
Nomentum joined battle with the Etruscan forces
and put them to rout. From there he drove them
into the city of Fidenae, which he surrounded with
a rampart ; but could not capture it with scaling-
ladders, since it was a lofty, well-fortified town, nor
accomplish anything by blockade, for they not only
had corn enough for their necessities, but in fact were
lavishly supplied with it from stores which they had
collected in advance. In despair therefore alike of
storming the place and of forcing it to surrender,
the dictator, operating in a region which was familiar
from its nearness to Rome, began, on the farthest
side of the city, which was least guarded because
its peculiar character made it the safest of all, to
drive a mine into the citadel. He himself, advancing
against the city from widely separated points — with
his army in four divisions, that they might relieve
one another in the attack — by fighting continuously
day and night distracted the enemy's attention from
the work, until a tunnel had been dug through the
hill and a passage-way constructed up into the
citadel ; when the Etruscans, intent on groundless
alarms and unmindful of their real danger, were
apprised by the shouts of the enemy above their
heads that their city had been taken.
In that year Gaius Furius Paculus and Marcus
Geganius Macerinus the censors approved a public
building erected in the Campus Martius, and the
census of the people was taken there for the first
time.
329
LIVY
XXIII. Eosdem consules insequenti anno refectos,
lulium tertium, Verginium iterum^ apud Macrum
2 Licinium invenio : Valerius Antias atque Q. Tubero
M. Manlium et Q. Sulpicium consules in eum annum
edunt. Ceterum in tarn discrepanti editione et Tu-
bero et Macer libros linteos auctores profitentur ;
neuter tribunes militum eo anno fuisse traditum a
3 scriptoribus antiquis dissimulat. Licinio libros baud
dubie sequi linteos placet : ^ Tubero incertus veri
est. Sit inter- cetera vetustate cooperta ^ hoc quo-
que in incerto positum.
4 Trepidatum in Etruria est post Fidenas captas non
Veientibus solum exterritis metu similis excidii, sed
etiam Faliscis memoria initi primo cum lis belli,
5 quamquam rebellantibus non adfuerant. Igitur cum
duae civitates legatis circa duodecim populos missis
impetrassent ut ad Voltumnae fanum indiceretur
omni Etruriae concilium, velut magno inde tumultu
imminente senatus Mam. Aemilium dictatorem iterum
6 diei iussit. Ab eo A. Postumius Tubertus magister
equitum est dictus ; bellumque tanto maiore quam
proximo conatu apparatum est quanto plus erat ab
omni Etruria periculi quam ab duobus populis fuerat.
^ placet Murdits : placet et Cl • placuit V.
' Sit inter Muretus : . . t inter V : set inter ^ : sed intern.
^ cooperta Mommsen: conperta VM\ incomperta (incon-
perta AP) H.
^ It is typical of Livy's indifference to documents that he
should not have taken the trouble to consult the Linen
Rolls himself. As to the fact, Diodorus Siculus, xii. 53,
gives Marcus Manlius, Quintus Sulpicius, and Servius
Cornelius Cossus as military tribunes for the year 320 B)«.,«%.U
and the statement of Antias and Tubero may have arisen
from the loss of the third name, and the consequent assump-
tion that consuls were in office.
BOOK IV. XXIII. 1-6
XXIII. That the same consuls were re-elected b.c. 434
the following year (Julius for a third and Verginius
for a second term) I find stated by Licinius Macer :
Valerius Antias and Quintus Tubero give Marcus
Manlius and Quintus Sulpicius as the consuls for
that year. For the rest, in spite of the great dis-
crepancy in their statements, both Tubero and
Macer cite the authority of the Linen Rolls ; neither
writer dissembles the fact that the elder historians
had recorded that there were military tribunes for
that year. Licinius sees fit to follow without
hesitation the Linen Rolls : Tubero is uncertain
where the truth lies. With all the other matters
which are shrouded in antiquity this question too
may be left undecided. ^
There was great alarm in Etruria in consequence
of the capture of Fidenae. Not only were the people
of Veii terrified by the fear of a similar disaster, but
the Faliscans too remembered that they had com-
menced the war in alliance with the Fidenates,
although they had not supported them in their
revolt. Accordingly when the two states, sending
envoys round amongst the twelve cities, had obtained
their consent to have a council proclaimed for all
Etruria at the shrine of Voltumna, the senate, feeling
that they were threatened with a great outbreak in
that quarter, ordered that Mamercus Aemilius be
again named dictator. By him Aulus Postumius
Tubertus was appointed master of the horse, and
preparations for war were set about as much more
energetically than on the last occasion, as the danger
from all Etruria was greater than it had been from
two cities.
331
A.U.C.
320
LIVY
XXIV. Ea res aliquanto exspectatione omnium
2 tranquillior fuit. Itaque cum renuntiatum a mer-
catoribus esset negata Veientibus auxilia^ iussosque
suo consilio bellum initum suis viribus exsequi nee
adversarum rerum quaerere socios. cum quibus spem
3 integram communicati non sint/ turn dictator^ ne
nequiquam creatus esset^ materia quaerendae bello
gloriae adempta^ in pace aliquid operis edere quod
monumentum esset dictaturae cupiens^ censuram
minuere parat seu nimiam potestatem ratus seu non
tam magnitudine honoris quam diuturnitate offensus.
4 Contione itaque advocata rem publicam foris geren-
dam ait tutaque omnia praestanda deos immortales
suscepisse : se^ quod intra muros agendum esset,
libertati populi Romani consulturum ; maximam
autem eius custodiam esse si magna imperia diuturna
non essent et temporis modus imponeretur quibus
5 iuris imponi non posset ; alios magistratus annuos
esse, quinquennalem censuram ; grave ^ esse iisdem
per tot annos magna parte vitae obnoxios vivere ;
se legem laturum, ne plus quam annua ac semestris
6 censura esset. Consensu ingenti populi legem pos-
tero die pertulit et ^' Ut re ipsa" inquit ^-'sciatis,
Quirites, quam mihi diuturna non placeant imperia,
^ communicati non sint D, : communicanti non sint DLH:
communicari non sirint Jac. Gronov : communicare noluerint
H. J. Mueller.
2 grave Dt (;■: grauem fl : v:antivg in V.
* This implies that the meetings of the league were made
occasions for fairs. Cp, the fair at the shrine of Feronia,
I. XXX. 5.
BOOK IV. XXIV. 1-6
XXIV. This affair ended a good deal more quietly b.c.434
than anybody had anticipated. It was reported by
merchants ^ that the Veientes had been refused
assistance and had been told that having embarked
on the war at their own discretion they must prose-
cute it with their own forces nor seek the alliance of
those in their adversity with whom they had not
shared the prospect of success. Whereupon the
dictator, that his appointment might not have been
for nothing, was desirous^ being deprived of the
means of winning military renown^ of accomplishing
some peaceful achievement to signalize his dictator-
ship. He therefore laid his plans to weaken the
censorship^ either thinking its powers excessive, or
troubled less by the greatness of the office than by
its long duration. So, calling an assembly, he said
that the immortal gods had undertaken to manage
the foreign relations of the state and to make every-
thing safe : he himself would do what needed to be
done within the City, and would defend the liberty
of the Roman People. Now the greatest safeguard
was that great powers should not be long-continued,
but that a limit of time should be imposed on them,
since no limit of jurisdiction could be. Other magis-
tracies were tenable for one year, the censorship for
five. It was a serious matter for the same man to
have authority over people for so many years, in a
great part of their affairs. He announced that he
should propose a law that the censorship might not
last longer than a year and a half. With vast
enthusiasm on the part of the people the law was
next day enacted, and Mamercus exclaimed, "That
you may have positive proof, Quirites, how little
I approve prolonged authority, I lay down my
333
LIVY
7 dictatura me abdico." Deposito suo magistratu,
imposito fine alteri. cum gratulatione ac favore in-
genti populi domum est reductus. Censores aegre
passi Mamercum quod magistratum populi Romani
minuisset tribu inoverunt octiplicatoque censu aera-
8 rium fecerunt. Quam rem ipsum ingenti animo
tulisse ferunt causam potius ignominiae intuentem
quam ignominiam ; primores patrum, quamquam de-
minutum censurae ius noluissent, exemplo acerbi-
tatis censoriae ofFensos, quippe cum se quisque diutius
ac saepius subiectum censoribus fore cerneret quam
9 censuram gesturum : populi certe tanta indigiiatio
coorta dicitur ut vis a censoribus nullius auctoritate
praeterquam ipsius Mamerci deterreri quiverit.
XX\'. Tribuiii plebi adsiduis contentionibus pro-
hibendo consularia comitia cum res prope ad interreg-
num perducta esset^ evicere tandem ut tribuni
2 militum consulari potestate crearentur. Victoriae
praeraium quod petebatur, ut plebeius crearetur,
nullum 1 fuit ; omnes patricii creati sunt, M. Fabius
3 \*ibulanus M. Folius L. Sergius Fidenas. Pestilentia
eo anno aliarum rerum otium praebuit. Aedis
Apollini pro valetudine populi vota est. Multa
duumviri ex libris placandae deum irae averten-
^ nullum A^ or A"^ r : nullus CI.
^ The aerarii were the lowest class of citizens. They could
neither vote nor hold oflBce ; were not eligible for service in
the legion ; and shared in the burdens of the state only by
the payment of taxes — aes — assessed by the censors, instead
of being determined by the citizen's sworn declaration, as
was the case with members of the five classes.
2 Jlz. the Sibylline Books.
334
BOOK IV. XXIV. 6-xxv. 3
dictatorship." Thus, having resigned his own magis- b.c. 433
tracy and assigned a limit for the other, he was escorted
to his home by the people, with striking manifesta-
tions of rejoicing and good-will. Ihe censors, in
their indignation that Mamercus had abridged a
magistracy of the Roman People, removed him from
his tribe, and assessing him at eight times his former
tax, disfranchised him.^ This they say Mamercus
bore with great fortitude, having regard rather to
the cause of his humiliation than to the humiliation
itself. The leading patricians, though they had
opposed the curtailment of the jurisdiction of the
censorship, were offended by this example of
censorial ruthlessness, since each of them perceived
that he should be subjected to the censor for a
longer period and more frequently than he should
hold the censor's office. The people at any rate are
said to have been so enraged that no man's influence
but that of Mamercus himself could have shielded
the censors from their violence.
XXV. The tribunes of the plebs by persistent bo.
opposition prevented the consular elections from 4^3-43:^
taking place. At last, when matters had been
brought almost to an interregnum, they succeeded
in their contention that military tribunes with
consular powers should be chosen. Though they
hoped their victory would be rewarded by the
choice of a plebeian, they were disappointed : all
those who were elected were patricians, Marcus
Fabius Vibulanus, Marcus Folius, Lucius Sergius
Fidenas. An epidemic that year afforded a respite
from other troubles. A temple was vowed to Apollo
in behalf of the people's health. The duumviri did
many things by direction of the Books ^ for the
335
LIVY
Lu.c. 4 daeque a populo pestis causa fecere ; magna tamen
clades in urbe agrisque promiscuai hominum peco-
rumque pernicie accepta. Famem quoque ex pesti-
lentia morbo implicitis - cultoribus agrorum timentes
in Etruriam Fomptinumque agrum et Cumas^ pos-
tremo in Siciliam quoque frumenti causa misere.
5 Consularium comitiorura nulla mentio habita est ;
tribuni militum consulari potestate omnes patricii
creati sunt,, L. Pinarius Mamercus L. Furius Me-
dullinus Sp. Postumius Albus.
6 Eo anno vis morbi levata neque a penuria fru-
menti, quia ante provisum erat;, periculum fuit.
7 Consilia ad movenda bella in Volscorum Aequo-
rumque conciliis et in Etruria ad fanum Voltumnae
8 agitata. Ibi prolatae in annum res, decretoque
cautum ne quod ante concilium fieret, nequiquam
Veiente populo querente eandem qua Fidenae deletae
sint imminere Veils fortunam.
9 Interim Romae principes plebis, iam diu nequi-
quam imminentes spei maioris honoris dum foris
otium esset, coetus indicere in domos tribunorum
10 plebis ; ibi secreta consilia agitare ; queri se a ])lebe
adeo spretoSj ut cum per tot annos tribuni militum
consulari potestate creentur, nuUi unquam plebeio
11 ad eum honorem aditus fuerit. Multum providisse
^ pvomhcna, Gronoviiis : promiscuae VPOHR: promiscuen.
* quoque ex pestilentia morbo implicitis V (inp.) : wanting
in a.
BOOK IV. XXV. 3-1 1
purpose of appeasing the angry gods and averting ac.
the plague from the people. Nevertheless the ^^^'^^^
losses were severe, both in the City and the country,
and men and cattle were stricken without distinc-
tion. They even feared that famine would succeed
the epidemic, since the ffirniers were down with the
disease. They therefore sent to Etruria and the
Pomptine district, and to Cumae, and finally to
Sicily itself, for corn. Nothing was said about
consular elections ; military tribunes with consular
authority were chosen as follows : Lucius Pinarius
Mamercus, Lucius Furius Medullinus, Spurius
Postumius Albus — all patricians.
This year the violence of the disease was mitigated,
and there was no risk of a dearth of corn, since
precautions had been taken in advance. Schemes
for instigating war were discussed in the councils
of the Volsci and Aequi, and in Etruria at the
shrine of Voltumna. There the enterprise was put
over for a year, and it was decreed that no council
should convene before that date, though the Veientes
complained — without effect — that Veii was threatened
with the same destruction as had overtaken Fidenae.
Meanwhile in Rome the leaders of the plebs, who
had now for a long time, while there was peace
with other nations, been thwarted in their hopes
of attaining to greater honours, began to appoint
meetings at the houses of the plebeian tribunes.
There they considered their plans in secret ; they
complained that they were held in such contempt
by the plebs that although military tribunes with
consular powers had been elected for so many years,
no plebeian had ever been admitted to that office.
Their ancestors had shown great foresight in pro-
337
vol.. II. z
LIVY
suos maioreS; qui caverint ne cui patricio plebeii
magistratus paterent ; aut patricios habendos fuisse
tribunes plebi ; adeo se suis etiam sordere nee a
12 plebe minus quam a patribus contemni. Alii pur-
gare plebem, culpam in patres vertere : eorum am-
bitione artibusque fieri ut obsaeptum plebi sit ad
honorem iter ; si plebi respirare ab eorum mixtis
precibus minisque liceat. memorem eam suorum ini-
turam sufFragia esse et parto auxilio imperium quo-
13 que adscituram. Placet tollendae ambitionis causa
tribunes legem promulgare ne cui album in vesti-
mentum addere petitionis causa liceret. Parva nunc
res et vix serio agenda videri possit, quae tunc
14 ingenti certamine patres ac plebem accendit. Vicere
tamen tribuni ut legem perferrent ; apparebatque
inritatis animis plebem ad suos studia inclinaturam.
Quae ne libera essent^ senatus consultum factum
est ut consularia comitia haberentur.
XXVI. Tumultus causa fuit^ quem ab Acquis et
2 ^'olscis Latini atque Hernici nuntiarant. T. Quinc-
tius L. f. Cincinnatus— eidem et Poeno cognomen
3 additur — et Cn.^ lulius Mento consules facti. Nee
ultra terror belli est dilatus. Lege sacrata^ quae
^ et Cn. -: et gneus d g. nus M: et gneneiis 0 : et
genucius cn V [which omits Mento) : et C. Sigrmius {from
Jjiod. Sic. XII. xxxviii. 1).
* Auzihum alludes to the plebeian tribunate, imperium to
the military tribunate with consular powers.
' 5^^. the plebeian tribunes.
3 The otfice-seeker pipe-clayed his toga ; hence caivlidatus,
"candidate."'
* Whoever offended against such a law was forfeited {sacei)
to the gods.
338
BOOK IV. xxv. ii-xxvi. 3
vidinff that no patrician should be eligible for the b.c.
. . 433-i32
plebeian magistracies ; otherwise they would have
been obliged to have patricians as tribunes of the
plebs, so contemptible did they appear, even to
their own class, being no less despised by the
commons than by the nobles. Others exonerated
the plebs and threw the blame upon the patricians :
it was owing to their artful canvassing that the
})lebeians found the road to office blocked ; if the
plebs might have a breathing-spell from the mingled
prayers and menaces of the nobles, they would
think of their friends when they went to vote, and
to the protection they had already won would add
authority.! It was resolved in order to do away with
canvassing, that the tribunes ^ should propose a law
forbidding anyone to whiten his toga, for the
purpose of announcing himself a candidate.^ This
may now appear a trivial thing and one scarcely
to be considered seriously, but at that time it kindled
a furious struggle between the patricians and the
plebs. Yet the tribunes prevailed and carried their
law ; and it was clear that the plebeians in their
irritated mood would support the men of their
own order. That they might not be at liberty to
do so, the senate decreed that consuls should be
elected.
XXVI. The reason alleged was a sudden outbreak b.o.431
of hostilities on the part of the Aequi and Volsci,
w^hich the Latins and the Hernici had reported.
Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus, son of Lucius — the
same who is given the added surname Poenus, —
and Gnaeus Julius Mento were made consuls. Nor
was the fear of war deferred. After a levy, held
under a lex sacrata * which was their most effective
339
z 2
LIVY
maxima apud eos vis cogendae militiae erat^ dilectu
habito utrimque validi exercitus profecti in Algidum
4 con\ enere, ibique seorsum Aequi, seorsum Volsci
castra communivere, intentiorque quam unquam
ante muniendi exercendique militem cura ducibus
5 erat. Eo plus nuntii terroris Romara attulere.
Senatui dictatorem dici placuit^ quia etsi saepe victi
populi maiore tamen conatu quam alias unquam
rebellarant. et aliquantum Romanae iuventutis morbo
6 absumptum erat. Ante omnia pravitas consulum
discordiaque inter ipsos et certamina in consiliis
omnibus terrebant. Sunt qui male pugnatum ab
his consulibus in Algido auctores sint eamque causam
7 dictatoris creandi fuisse. Illud satis constat ad alia
discordes in uno adversus patrum voluntatem con-
sensisse ne dicerent dictatorem^ donee cum alia aliis
terribiliora adferrentur nee in auctoritate senatus
consules essent^ Q. Servilius Priscus, summis hono-
8 ribus egregie usus. '^ Vos " inquit^ "tribuni plebis,
quoniam ad extrema ventum est^ senatus appellat
ut in tanto discrimine rei publicae dictatorem dicere
9 consules pro potestate vestra cogatis." Qua voce
audita occasionem oblatam rati tribuni augendae
potestatis secedunt proque collegio pronuntiant pla-
cere consules senatui dicto audientes esse ; si adversus
340
BOOK IV. XXVI. 3-9
means of collecting soldiers, strong armies marched b.o.431
out from both nations and met on Algidus, where
the Aequi encamped in one place and the Volsci in
another, and their generals took more pains than
ever before to intrench, and to drill their men. For
this reason the report occasioned the more dismay in
Rome. The senate resolved that a dictator should be
appointed, since, though often beaten, those nations
had renewed the war with greater efforts than at
any previous time, and a considerable proportion of
the young Romans had been carried off by the
plague. Above all, men were frightened by the
wrong-headedness of the consuls, their want of
harmony between themselves, and their opposition
to each other in all their j)lans. Some writers say
that these consuls were defeated on Algidus, and
that this Mas the reason of the dictator's being
named. Thus nmch is clear : though they might
differ in other matters, they were agreed on one
thing, to oppose the wishes of the Fathers for the
appointment of a dictator ; until, as the reports
grew more and more alarming, and the consuls
refused to be guided by the senate, Quintus
Servilius Priscus, a man who had filled with dis-
tinction tlie highest offices, cried out, "To you,
tribunes of the plebs, since matters have come to
an extremity, the senate appeals, that in this great
national crisis you may compel the consuls, by virtue
of your authority, to name a dictator." Hearing
this the tribunes felt that an opportunity had
come for increasing their power ; they conferred
apart, and then announced, in behalf of the
college, that they were resolved that the consuls
should obey the senate ; if they persisted further
341
LIVY
Ax.c. consensum amplissimi ordinis ultra tendaiit. in vincla
323 '■
10 se duci eos iussuros. Consules ab tribunis quam ab
senatu vinci maluerunt, proditum a patribus summi
imperii ius datumque sub iugum tribuniciae potestati
consulatum memorantes, si quidem cogi aliquid pro
potestate ab tribuno consules et — quo quid ulterius
privato timendum foret ? — in vincla etiam duci
1 1 possent. Sors, ut dictatorem diceret — nam ne id
quidem inter collegas convenerat — T. Quinctio
evenit. Is A. Postuniium Tubertum_, socerum suum,
severissimi imperii virum, dictatorem dixit ; ab eo
12 L. lulius magister equitum est dictus. Dilectus
simul edicitiir et iustitium^ neque aliud tota urbe
agi quam bellum apparari. Cognitio vacantium
militiae munere post bellum ditfertur ; ita dubii
quoque inclinant ad nomina danda. Et Hernicis
Latinisque milites imperati ; utrimque enixe oboe-
ditum dictatori est.
XXVI I. Haec omnia celeritate ingenti acta ; re-
lictoque Cn. lulio consule ad praesidium urbis et
L. lulio magistro equitum ad subita belli ministerial
ne qua res qua eguissent in castris moraretur^ dic-
^ For fear that— their claims being then disallowed— they
would be treated as deserters.
342
BOOK IV. XXVI. 9-xx\ii. i
to oppose the unanimous opinion of that most b.c. 431
honourable order, they should command them to
be put in prison. The consuls preferred to be
defeated by the tribunes rather than by the senate.
They declared that the senators had betrayed the
rights of the highest office in the state and had
ignominiously surrendered the consulship to the
tribunician power, since apparently it was possible
for the consuls to be subjected to the official
compulsion of a tribune, and even — what could
a private citizen fear more than that ? — be carried
off to gaol. It was determined by lot — for the
colleagues had not been able to agree even
about this — that Titus Quinctius should name the
dictator. He appointed Aulus Postumius Tubertus,
his father-in-law, a man of the sternest authority ;
and by him Lucius Julius was chosen master of the
horse. At the same time a levy was proclaimed
and a cessation of legal business, and it was ordered
that nothing else should be done in all the City
but prepare for war. The examination of those
who claimed exemption from military service was
put over till after the war, and so even those whose
cases w^ere uncertain were disposed to give in their
names.^ Men were required also of the Hernici
and the Latins, and in both instances the dictator
was zealously obeyed.
XX Vn. These measures were all carried out with
great dispatch. Gnaeus Julius the consul was left
behind to protect the city ; and Lucius Julius, the
master of the horse, to meet the sudden demands
which arise in war, that the troops might not be
hampered in camp by the want of anything that
they might need. The dictator, repeating the words
343
LIVY
tator praeeunte A. Cornelio pontifice maximo ludos
2 magnos tumultus causa vovit, profectusque ab urbe
diviso cum Quinctio consule exercitu ad hostes per-
3 venit. Sicut bina castra hostium parvo inter se
spatio distantia viderant^,^ ipsi quoque mille ferme
passus ab hoste dictator Tusculo^ consul Lanuvio
4 propiorem locum castris ceperunt. Ita quattuor ex-
ercitus totidem munimenta planitiem in medio non
parvis modo excursionibus ad proelia, sed vel ad
explicandas utrimque acies satis patentem habebant.
5 Nee ex quo castris castra conlata sunt cessatum a
levibus proeliis est, facile patiente dictatore confer-
endo vires spem universae victoriae temptato pau-
6 latim eventu certaminum suos praecipere. Itaque
hostes nulla in proelio iusto relicta spe, noctu adorti
castra consulis rem in casum ancipitis eventus com-
mittunt. Clamor subito ortus non consulis modo
vigiles, exercitum deinde omnem, sed dictatorem
7 quoque ex somno excivit. Ubi praesenti ope res
egebant, consul nee animo defecit nee consilio : pars
militum portarum stationes firmant,- pars corona
8 vallum cingunt. In alteris apud dictatorem castris
quo minus tumultus est, eo plus animadvertitur quid
opus facto sit. Missum extemplo ad castra subsidium,
cui Sp. Postumius Albus legatus praeficitur : ipse
^ viderant H: uideret V: uiderunt g- : videre, ita Madvig.
■ firmant 5- : firmat H.
* Not to be confounded with the annual Ludi Magni estab-
lished by A. Postumius after his victory at Lake Regillus,
499 B.C. The present reference is to votive games to be
given, in the event of victory, as payment in full for the
assistance of the gods,
344
BOOK IV. XXVII. 1-8
after Aulus Cornelius the pontifex maximus, vowed
to celebrate great games ^ if he succeeded in
quelling the outbreak^ and, dividing his army with
the consul Quinctius, set out from Rome and
came to the enemy. Seeing that the opposing
forces occupied two camps with a little space
between, the Roman generals followed their ex-
ample and encamped about a mile from the enemy,
the dictator nearer to Tusculum and the consul to
Lanuvium. Thus the four armies in their four in-
trenchments had in their midst a field of sufficient
extent not merely for small preliminary skirmishes
but even for drawing up lines of battle on both sides.
Nor from the moment the Romans had pitched their
camp near that of the enemy did they once cease
skirmishing ; and the dictator was well content that
his men should match their strength against their
adversaries, and by trying the outcome of these con-
tests come, little by little, to count upon a general
victory. The enemy in consequence abandoned all
hope of success in a regular battle and attacked the
consul's camp at night, committing their cause to
the hazard of a dangerous enterprise. The shout
which suddenly broke out aroused not only the
consul's sentries and after them his entire army, but
the dictator as well. When circumstances required
instant action, the consul proved to be wanting
neither in resolution nor in judgment. With a part
of his soldiers he reinforced the guards at the gates ;
with a part he lined the palisade. In the other camp,
with the dictator, there was less confusion and a
correspondingly clearer perception what was needful
to be done. Reinforcements were immediately sent
to the consul's camp, under Spurius Postumius Albus
345
LIVY
^.JJ-c. parte copiarum parvo circuitu locum maxime secre-
tum ab tumultu petit unde ex necopiiiato aversum^
9 hostem invadat. Q. Sulpicium legatum praeficit
castris; M. Fabio legato adsignat equites^ nee ante
lucemmovere iiibet manum inter nocturnes tumiiltus
moderatu difficilem. Omnia, quae vel alius im-
perator prudens et impiger in tali re praeciperet
10 ageretque, praecipit ordine atque agit ; illud eximium
consilii animique specimen et neutiquam volgatae
laudis^ quod ultro ad oppugnanda castra hostium,
unde maiore agmine profectos ^ exploratum fuerat,
11 M. Geganium cum coliortibus delectis misit. Qui
postquam intentos homines in eventum periculi
alieni pro se incautos neglectis vigiliis stationibusque
est adortus, prius paene cepit castra quam oppugnari
12 hostes satis scirent. Inde fumo, ut convenerat,
datum signum ubi conspectum ab dictatore est,
exclamat capta hostium castra nuntiarique passim
iubet.
XXVIII. Et iam lucescebat omniaque sub oculis
erant. Et Fabius cum equitatu impetum dederat et
consul eruptionem e castris in trepidos iam hostes fece-
2 rat ; dictator autem parte altera subsidia et secundam
aversuni A^ ,- ; aduersum (-s J/) H.
profectos ,- : profectus CI.
346
BOOK IV. XXVII. 8-xxviii. 2
the lieutenant : the dictator himself, taking a part of B.c.431
his forces, marched by a slight detour to a place
absolutely screened from the fighting, that he might
thence strike the enemy unawares as he faced the
other way. The lieutenant Quintus Sulpicius he
put in charge of the camp ; to the lieutenant
Marcus Fabius he assigned the cavalry, but ordered
him not to move his command till daybreak, as
it would be hard to control in the confusion
of the night. Everything that any wise and active
general could have commanded and carried out in
such a situation was duly commanded and carried
out by him; but an unusual proof of judgment and
daring and one which reflects no ordinary credit
upon him was this, that he actually attacked the
enemy's camp (from which, as he ascertained, they
had marched out with more than half their troops),
dispatching Marcus Geganius with some chosen
cohorts on that service. This officer found his foes
absorbed in the issue of the dangerous work under-
taken by their fellows, and with no thought for
themselves, neglecting their sentinels and outguards ;
he attacked them, captured their camp almost before
they fully realized that they were assailed, and sent
up a prearranged signal of smoke, on seeing which
the dictator cried out that the enemy's camp was
taken and bade spread the news.
XXVIII. By this time the day was breaking and
everything could be seen. Fabius had delivered a
charge with his cavalry ; the consul had made a sally
from the camp against the enemy, who m ere already
w^avering; while the dictator, on the other side of
the field, attacking the supports and the second line,
had fallen upon the foe from every side, as they
347
LIVY
aciem adortus circumagenti se ^ ad dissonos clamores
ac subitos tumultus hosti undique obiecerat victorem
3 peditem equitemque. Circumventi igitur iam in
medio ad unum omnes poenas rebellionis dedissent^
ni Vettius Messius ex Volscis, nobilior vir factis
quam genere^ iam orbem volventes suos increpans
4 clara voce " Hie praebituri " inquit^ " vos telis hostium
estis indefensi^ inulti ? Quid igitur arma habetis aut
quid ultro bellum intulistis^ in otio tumultuosi, in
bello segnes ? Quid hie stantibus spei est ? An deum
aliquem protecturum vos rapturumque hine putatis?
5 Ferro via facienda est. Hac, qua me praegressum
videritis, agite^ qui visuri domos parentes coniuges
liberos estis, ite mecum I Xon murus nee vallum
sed armati armatis obstant. Virtu te pares, necessi-
tate, quae ultimum ac maximum telum est, superiores
6 estis." Haec locutum exsequentemque dicta red-
integrato clamore secuti dant impressionem qua
Postumius Albus cohortes obiecerat ; et moverunt
victorem, donee dictator pedem iam referentibus
7 suis advenit, eoque omne proelium versum est. Uni
viro Messio fortuna hostium innititur. Multautrim-
que volnera, multa passim caedes est. Iam ne duces
8 quidem Romani incruenti pugnant. Unus Postumius
ictus saxo perfracto capite acie excessit, non dicta-
^ circumagenti se -: circumagenti A- [or A^): circum-
agentes 0. : agentes J/.
348
BOOK IV. xxviii. 2-8
wheeled about to meet the wild shouts and sudden B.0.431
onsets, with his victorious foot and horse. Accord-
ingly, being now hemmed in on every side, the
enemy would have suffered to a man the penalty of
their rebellion^ had not Vettius Messius, a Volscian
more distinguished by his deeds than by his birth,
called out in a clear voice to his men^ w^ho were
already crowding together in a circle, "Are you
going to offer yourselves up here to the weapons ot
the enemy, defenceless and unavenged ? To what
end then are you armed, or why without provocation
did you make war, turbulent in peace and sluggards
in the field.'' What hope is there while you stand
here ? Do you think that some god will protect you
and deliver you from this plight ? It is your swords
must make a way for you ! Come, where you see
me go before, there you must follow, if you would
look on homes, parents, wives and children ! It is
not a wall or rampart that blocks your path, but
armed men like yourselves. In courage you are
their equals ; in necessity, which is the last and
chiefest weapon, you are the better men." So he
spoke, and acted on the word. Renewing their
shouts they followed after, and hurled themselves
against the Romans where the cohorts of Postumius
Albus had confronted them. And they forced the
victors to give ground, until the dictator came up, as
his men were already falling back, and the fighting
all centred on that spot. On one single warrior,
Messius, hung the fortunes of the enemy. Many
were the wounds on either side, and great was the
slaughter everywhere. Now even the Roman leaders
were bleeding as they fought. Only Postumius left
the battle, struck by a stone that broke his head.
349
LIVY
torem umerus volneratus, non Fabium prope adfixum
equo femur noii bracchiuni abscisum consulem ex
tarn ancipiti proelio submovit.
XXIX. Messium impetus per stratos caede hostes
cum globo fortissimorum iuvenum extulit ad castra
Volscorum. quae nondum capta erant. Eodem omiiis
2 acies inclinatur. Consul effusos usque ad vallum
persecutus ipsa castra vaHumque adfrreditur; eodem
3 et dictator alia parte copias admovet. Non segnior
oppugnatio est quam pugna fuerat. Consulem sig-
num quoque intra vallum iniecisse ferunt, quo milites
acrius subirent. repetendoque signo primam impres-
sionem factam. Et dictator proruto vallo iam in
4 castra proelium intulerat. Tum abici passim arma
ac dedi hostes coepti, castrisque et his captis hostes
praeter senatores omnes venum dati sunt. Praedae
pars sua cognoscentibus Latinis atque Hernicis
reddita^ partem sub hasta dictator vendidit ; prae-
positoque consule castris ipse triumphans invectus
5 urbcm dictatura se abdicavit. Egregiae dictaturae
tristem memoriam faciunt^ qui filium ab A. Postumio,
quod occasione bene pugnandi captus iniussu de-
cesserit ^ praesidio, victorem securi percussum tra-
6 dunt. Nee libet credere, et licet in variis opinioni-
^ decesserit Gronovius : discesserit (-ceserit A) CI.
BOOK IV. XXVIII. 8-xxix. 6
A wounded shoulder could not drive the dictator b.c.431
from so critical a fight ; nor would Fabius retire for
a thigh almost pinned to his horse ; nor the consul
for an arm that was hewn away.
XXIX. Messius pressed on with a band of
courageous youths over the slain bodies of his
enemies^ and reached the Volscian camp, which had
not yet been taken ; and on that point the entire
battle converged. The consul, after pursuing his
op})onents clear up to the rampart, assailed the camp
itself and the palisade ; and thither from another
part of the field the dictator brought up his troops.
The assault was no less vigorous than the battle had
been. They say that the consul even cast his
standard into the stockade, to make his men the
more eager in the charge, and that in seeking to
recover it they made the first breach. The dictator
too had breached the rampart and had already carried
the fighting into the camp. Then the enemy began
on every hand to throw down their arms and surrender.
Finally the camp itself was captured, and the enemy
were all sold into slavery, except the senators. A
})ortion of the booty was restored to the Latins and
the Hernici, on their identifying it as their own ; a
part was sold at auction by the dictator ; who then
left the consul in command of the camp and returning
himself in triumph to the City laid down his office.
The memory of the noble dictatorship assumes a
sombre hue in a tradition that Aulus Postumius' son,
who, tempted by an opportunity of fighting to
advantage, had left his post unbidden, was in the
hour of his victory beheaded by his father's orders.
One is loath to believe this story, and the diversity
of opinion allows one to reject it. It is an indication
351
LIVY
bus ; et argumento est, quod imperia Manliana,^ non
Postumiana appellata sunt,^ cum ^ qui prior auctor
tarn sae\ i exempli foret^ occupaturus insignem titu-
lum crudelitatis fuerit. Imperioso quoque Manlio
cognomen inditum ; Postumius nulla tristi nota est
insignitus.
7 Cn. lulius* consul aedem A})ollinis absente collega
sine sorte dedicavit. Aegre id passus Quinctius cum
dimisso exercitu in urbem redisset, nequiquam in
senatu est conquestus.
8 Insigni magnis rebus anno additur nihil tum ad
rem Romanam pertinere visum, quod Carthagini-
enses, tanti hostes futuri, tum primum per seditiones
Siculorum ad partis alterius auxilium in Siciliam
exercitum traiecere.
XXX. Agitatum in urbe ab tribunis plebis ut
tribuni militum consulari potestate crearentur nee
obtineri potuit. Consules fiunt L. Papirius Crassus
L. lulius. Aequorum legati foedus ab senatu cum
petissent et pro foedere deditio ostentaretur, indutias
2 annorum octo impetraverunt : Volscorum res super
acceptam in Algido cladem pertinaci certamine inter
pacis bellique auctores in iurgia et seditiones versa :
3 undique otium fuit Romanis. Legem de multarum
^ Manliana Vorm. : Malliana H. ^ sunt - : sint H.
* cum Hhenanus : quera n.
* Cn. lulius n, : cn. c. iulius DLA : C. lulius Sigonius
{cf. chap. xxvi. § 2 and note).
^ Alluding to the story told at viii. vii. 1.
* A mistake. The Carthaginians had obtained a foothold
in Sicily long before this time, and (according to Herodotus,
vii. 1G6), were defeated in a great naval battle by the
Sicilians on the same da}- that Salamis was fought (480 B.C.).
^ The same who had been consul in 435 ? Livy usually
notes the second election to a consulship with the word
352
BOOK IV. XXIX. 6-xxx. 3
of its falsity that we speak of Manlian,^ not Postumian b.c. 431
discipline, whereas he who had first established so
rigorous a precedent would himself have received
that notorious stigma of cruelty. Besides, Manlius
was given the surname hnperi.osus — ^'^the Despotic "
— while Postumius received no such grim distinction.
Gnaeus Julius the consul dedicated the temple of
Apollo in the absence of his colleague, without draw-
ing lots. Quinctius resented this, when he had
dismissed his army and returned to the City; but
his complaint of it in the senate was without effect.
To the history of a year famous for its great
events, is appended a statement — as though the inci-
dent was then regarded as of no importance to the
Roman state — that the Carthaginians, destined to be
such mighty enemies, then for the first time sent
over an army into Sicily to assist one of the factions
in the domestic quarrels of the Sicilians.^
XXX. An effort was made in the City by the .J^-^-^
tribunes of the plebs to procure the election of mili-
tary tribunes with consular powers, but it was
unsuccessful. Lucius Papirius Crassus^ and Lucius
Julius were chosen consuls. The Aequi, through
their envoys, sought a treaty from the senate.
Instead of granting a treaty, the senate suggested that
they surrender; but they asked and obtained a truce
for eight years. The Volscian commonwealth, in
addition to the disaster it had suffered on Algidus,
had become involved in quarrels and seditions, in
consequence of an obstinate struggle between the
advocates of peace and those of war. The Romans
everywhere enjoyed peace. A law concerning the
itcrum. Diodorus, xii. 72, gives our consul's name as
Gaius.
353
VOL. II. A A
LI\ Y
aestimatione pergratam populo cum ab tribunis
parari consules unius ex collegio proditione excepis-
sent, ipsi j)raeoccupaverunt ferre.
4 Consules L. Sergius Fidenas iterum Hostius ^
Lucretius Tricipitinus. Nihil dignum dictu actum
his consulibus. Secuti eos consules A. Cornelius
5 Cossus T. Quinctius Poenus iterum. Veientes in
agrum Romanum excursiones fecerunt. Fama fuit
quosdam ex Fidenatium iuventute participes eius
populationis fuisse, cognitioque eius rei L. Sergio et
6 Q. Servilio et Mam. Aemilio permissa. Quidam
Ostiam relegati, quod cur per eos dies a Fidenis
afuissent parum constabat. Colonorum additus
numerus agerque iis bello interemptorum adsignatus.
7 Siccitate eo anno plurimum laboratum est, nee
caelestes modo defuerunt aquae sed terra quoque
ingenito umore egens vix ad perennes sufFecit amnes.
8 Defectus alibi aquarum circa torridos fontes rivosque
stragem siti pecorum morientum dedit ; scabie alia
absumpta ; volgatique contactu in homines morbi.
Et primo in agrestes ingruerant servitiaque ; urbs
9 deinde impletur. Nee corpora modo adfecta tabo,
sed animos quoque multiplex religio et pleraque
externa invasit^ novos ritus sacrificandi vaticinando
^ Hostius n (i. xii. 2) : Hostus Sigonius [C.I.L. i^, p. 111).
' All earlier law {3fenenia Sextia, 452 B.C.) had fixed the
limit of fines "which magistrates might impose on their own
responsibility at two sheep for poor men and thirty oxen for
rich men. The present law {Fapiria Ixilia) provided for a
uniform money equivalent for these fines, viz. twenty and
three thousand asses respectively.
354
BOOK IV. XXX. 3-9
valuation of fines was most welcome to the people, b.c.
Having learned through the treachery of a member ^^^^^^T
of the college that the tribunes were drawing one up,
the consuls anticipated their action and themselves
proposed it.^
The next consuls were Lucius Sergius Fidenas
(for the second time) and Hostius Lucretius Tricipi-
tinus. Nothing noteworthy was done this year.
They were succeeded in the consulship by Aulus
Cornelius Cossus and Titus Quinctius Foenus, who
was elected for the second time. The Veientes
made inroads into Roman territory. It was rumoured
that certain young men of Fidenae had shared in the
pillaging. The investigation of this report was
intrusted to Lucius Sergius, Quintus Servilius, and
Mamercus Aemilius ; and certain men were banished
to Ostia, because it was not clear why they had been
away from Fidenae during those days. A number
of settlers were added to the colony, and land was
assigned them which had belonged to men who had
fallen in the war. A drought that year caused great
suffering. Not only did the skies provide too little
rain, but the earth as well was deficient in native
moisture and could hardly supply the perennial
streams. In some cases the failure of the sources
caused the dry springs and brooks to be lined with
cattle perishing of thirst ; others were carried off by
a mange, and their diseases were by contact commu-
nicated to mankind. At first they attacked country
people and slaves ; then the City was infected. And
not only were men's bodies smitten by the plague,
but a horde of superstitions, mostly foreign, took
possession of their minds, as the class of men who
find their profit in superstition-ridden souls intro-
355
LIVY
inferentibus in domos, quibus quaestui sunt capti
10 siiperstitione animi, donee publicus iam pudor ad
primores eivitatis pervenit eernentes in omnibus
vicis sacellisque peregrina atque insolita piaeula
11 paeis deum exposeendae. Datum inde negotium
aedilibus ut animadverterent ne qui nisi Romani
di neu quo alio more quam patrio colerentur.
12 Irae adversus Veientes in insequentem annum, C.
Servilium Ahalam L. Papirium Mugillanum ^ consules,
13 dilatae sunt. Tunc quoque ne confestim bellum
indiceretur neve exercitus mitterentur religio
obstitit ; fetiales prius mittendos ad res repetendas
14 censuere. Cum Veientibus nuper acie dimicatum ad
Nomentum et Fidenas fuerat, indutiaeque inde, non
pax facta, quarum et dies exierat et ante diem
rebellaverant ; missi tamen fetiales ; nee eorum, cum
more patrum iurati repeterent res, verba sunt audita.
15 Controversia inde fuit utrum populi iussu indiceretur
bellum an satis esset senatus consultum. Pervicere
tribuni, denuntiando impedituros se dilectum, ut
Quinctius consul de bello ad populum ferret.
16 Omnes centuriae iussere. In eo quoque plebs
superior fuit, quod tenuit ne consules in proximum
annum crearentur.
XXXI. Tribuni militum consulari potestate quat-
tuor creati sunt, T. Quinctius Poenus ex consulatu
2 C. Furius M. Postumius A. Cornelius Cossus. Ex
^ Mugillanum Drakenborch : mugilanum n : mugillano OH:
mugilano -.
^ For the procedure of the fetials see I. xxxii.
^ If the war was a new war it must be sanctioned b}" vote
of the people ; if merely a continuation of the old war this
was unnecessarv.
356
BOOK IV. XXX. 9-xxxi. 2
duced strange sacrificial rites into their homes, bc
pretending to be seers ; until the public shame
finally reached the leading citizens, as they beheld
in every street and chapel outlandish and unfamiliar
sacrifices being offered up to appease Heaven's
anger. The aediles were then commissioned to
see to it that none but Roman gods should be wor-
shipped, nor in any but the ancestral way.
Revenge on the men of Veii was postponed till
the following year, when Gaius Servilius Ahala and
Lucius Papirius Mugillanus were consuls. Even
then a religious scruple prevented the immediate
declaration of war and dispatch of armies ; they
resolved that fetials must first be sent to require
restitution. Not long before there had been a battle
with the Veientes near Nomentum and Fidenae, and
this had been followed not by peace but by a truce.
Its time had now run out, and indeed the enemy
had begun to fight again before its expiration ;
nevertheless fetials were sent ; yet their words, when
they sought reparation after taking the customary
oath,^ were not attended to. A dispute then
arose whether war should be declared by command
of the people, or whether a senatorial decree was
enough. 2 The tribunes prevailed, by threatening to
hinder the levy, and forced the consul Quinctius to
refer the question of war to the people. All the
centuries voted for it. In this respect also the plebs
had the better, that they made good their wish that
consuls should not be elected for the following year.
XXXI. Four military tribunes with consular powers b.o. 426
were elected, Titus Quinctius Poenus, who had just
been consul, Gaius Furius, Marcus Postumius, and
Aulus Cornelius Cossus. Of these, Cossus had charge
357
LIVY
his Cossus praefuit urbi^ tres dilectu habito profecti
sunt Veios documentoque fuere quam plurium im-
perium bello inutile esset. Tendendo ad sua quisque
consilia, cum aliud alii videretur, aperuerunt ad
3 occasionem locum hosti ; incertam namque aciem,
signum aliis dari^ receptui aliis cani iubentibus,
invasere opportune Veientes. Castra propinqua
4 turbatos ac terga dantes accepere ; plus itaque
ignominiae quam cladis est acceptum. Maesta
civitas fuit vinci insueta ; odisse tribunes^ poscere
dictatorem : in eo verti spes civitatis. Et cum ibi
quoque religio obstaret ne non posset nisi ab consule
dici dictator, augures consulti earn religionem
5 exemere. A. Cornelius dictatorem Mam. Aemilium ^
dixit et ipse ab eo magister equitum est dictus ; adeo,
simul fortuna civitatis virtute vera eguit, nihil
censoria animadversio effecit quo minus regimen
rerum ex notata indigne domo peteretur.
6 Veientes re secunda elati missis circum Etruriae
populos legatis iactando tres duces Romanos ab se
uno proelio fusos, cum tamen nullam publici consilii
societatem movissent, voluntarios undique ad spem
7 praedae adsciverunt. Uni Fidenatium populo rebel-
lare placuit ; et tamquam nisi ab scelere bellum
ordiri nefas esset, sicut legatorum ante, ita turn
^ Mam. Aemilium j- [cf. cha'p. xxiii. § 5) : m.{(yi' m) aemilium
fl : martium aemilium £".
^ See chap. xxiv.
BOOK IV. XXXI. 2-7
of the City ; the three others held a levy and march- b.c.426
ing against \"eii gave a demonstration how unprofit-
able it was in war to parcel out authority. By
pursuing each his own counsels, one having this
opinion, another that, they gave the enemy room to
take them at a disadvantage ; for their army was
confused when some bade sound the charge, while
others commanded the recall ; and at this favourable
moment the Veientes fell upon them. The camp,
which was close by, received the demoralized and
fleeing men, and so they suffered more disgrace than
actual harm. The nation was filled with grief, for
it was not used to being conquered ; disgusted with
the tribunes, people demanded a dictator : therein,
they said, lay the hope of the state. And when
they seemed likely to be thwarted in that also, by a
scrupulous feeling that no one but a consul could
name a dictator, the augurs were consulted and re-
moved the impediment. Aulus Cornelius named as
dictator Mamercus Aemilius and was himself ap-
pointed by Mamercus master of the horse, so true is
it that wlien the fortune of the state required real
worth, the animadversion of the censor could by no
means prevent men's seeking a director of their affairs
in a house undeservedly stigmatized.^
The Veientes, elated by their success, dispatched
envoys round about to the peoples of Etruria, boasting
that they had routed three Roman commanders in
one fight. Nevertheless they obtained no general
support from the league, though they attracted
volunteers from all quarters by the prospect of
booty. Only the people of Fidenae voted to renew
the war ; and, as though it were forbidden to com-
mence war without a crime, as before in the blood
359
LIVY
novorum colonorum caede imbutis armis Veientibus
8 sese coniungunt. Consultare inde principes duorum
populorum Veios an Fidenas sedem belli caperent.
Fideiiae visae opportuniores ; itaque traiecto Tiberi
9 \'eientes Fidenas transtulerunt bellum. Romae
terror ingens erat. Accito exercitu a Veils, eoque
ipso ab re male gesta perculso castra locantur ante
portam CoUinam^ et in muris armati dispositi, et
iustitium in foro tabernaeque clausae fiuntque
omnia castris quam urbi similiora (XXXIl), cum
trepidam civitatem praeconibus per vicos dimissis
2 dictator ad contionem advocatam increpuit quod
animos ex tam levibus momentis fortunae suspensos
gererent ut parva iactura accepta, quae ipsa non
virtute bostium nee ignavia Romani exercitus sed
discordia imperatorum accepta sit, \'eientem hostem
sexiens victui ])ertimescant Fidenasque prope saepius
3 captas quam oppugnatas. Eosdem et Romanes et
bostes esse qui per tot saecula fuerint ; eosdem
animos, easdem corporis vires, eadem arma gerere ;
se quoque eundem dictatorem Mam.^ Aemilium esse
qui antea Veientium Fidenatiumque adiunctis
4 Faliscis ad Xomentum exercitus fuderit, et magi-
^ Mam. -: m (or m) H: inarcium E.
360
BOOK IV. XXXI. 7-xxxii. 4
of the ambassadors, so now they imbued their swords b.c. 426
ill that of the new settlers, and joined the men of
Veii. Consultations followed between the leaders
of the two nations whether they should take Veii
or Fidenae for the headquarters of their campiign.
Fidenae seemed the fitter ; and accordingly the
Veientes crossed the Tiber and transferred the war
to Fidenae. At Rome there was a wild alarm. Tiie
troops were recalled from Veii, though even their
spirits were much daunted in consequence of their
failure, and encamped before the Colline Gate.
Armed men were disposed along the walls, a cessa-
tion of the courts was proclaimed in the Forum, the
shops were closed, and everything assumed more
the look of a camp than of a city. XXXII. The
dictator, sending heralds this way and that through
the streets, summoned the frightened citizens to
an assembly, where he rebuked them for possessing
hearts so easily dismayed by trivial fluctuations of
fortune that on sustaining a slight reverse — and
that not due to the valour of the enemy or the
cowardice of the Roman army, but to a disagree-
ment among their generals — they were seized with
dread of the Veientine enemy whom they had
six times defeated, and of Fidenae which they
had captured almost more often than they had
attacked it. Both the Romans and their enemies
were the same as they had been for so many
generations ; they had the same courage, the same
bodily vigour, the same weapons ; he was himself
the same dictator Mamercus Aemilius who had
formerly put to flight the armies of the Veientes and
the Fidenates, with the Faliscans added, before
Nomentum ; and, as master of the liorse, Aulus
361
LIVY
strum equitum A. Cornelium eundem in acie fore
qui priore bello tribunus militum, Larte Tolumnio
rege Veientium in conspectu duorum exercituum
occiso_, spolia opima lovis Feretri templo intulerit.
5 Proinde meniores secum triumphos, secum spolia,
secum victoriam esse, cum hostibus seel us legatorum
contra ius gentium interfectorum, caedem in pace
Fidenatium colonorum, indutias ruptas, septimam
6 infelicem defectionem, amia caperent. Simul castra
castris coniunxissent, satis confidere nee scelera-
tissimis hostibus diuturnum ex ignominia exercitus
Romani gaudium fore, et populum Romanum intellec-
7 turum quanto melius de re publica meriti sint qui se
dictatorem tertium dixerint quam qui ^ ob ereptum^
censurae regnura labem secundae dictaturae suae
8 imposuerint. Votis deinde nuncupatis profectus
mille et quingentos passus citra Fidenas castra locat,
9 dextra montibus, laeva Tiberi amne saeptus. T.
Quinctium Poenum legatum occupare montes iubet
occultumque id iugum capere quod ab tergo hostibus
foret.
10 Ipse postero die cum Etrusci pleni animorum ab
pristini ^ diei meliore occasione quam pugna in aciem
processissent, cunctatus parumper, dum speculatores
referrent Quinctium evasisse in iugum propinquum
^ quam qui Tan. Faher : quam eos qui n.
2 ab pristini - : ac pristini fi.
362
BOOK IV. XXXII. 4-IO
Cornelius would be the same man in battle that b.c. 426
lie had shown himself in the former war, when as
military tribune he had slain Lars Tolumnius, king
of the Veientes^in full sight of both armies, and had
borne the spoils of honour to the temple of Jupiter
Feretrius. Let them remember then that theirs
were the triumphs, theirs the spoils, theirs the
victory ; while their enemies were stained with the
crime of putting envoys to death against the law
of nations, with the slaughter in time of peace of
settlers at Fidenae, with the broken truce, with
rebelling unsuccessfully for the seventh time. Let
them think of these things and arm. When once
they should have pitched their camp near the camp
of the enemy, he was very confident the dastardly
foe would not long rejoice over the humiliation of
a Roman army ; but that the Roman People would
perceive how much better those men had served
the state who had named him for the third time
dictator, than had those who, because he had torn
from the censorship its tyrannical powers, had fixed
a stigma upon his second dictatorship. Then, having
offered vows to the gods, he marched out and en-
camped a mile and a half this side of Fidenae,
protected on his right by mountains, on his left
by the river Tiber. His lieutenant Titus Quinctius
Poenus he commanded to secure the mountains and
secretly to occupy the ridge which lay to the
enemy's rear.
On the morrow, when the Etruscans, in high
feather at what, on the previous day, had been
more good luck than good fighting, sallied forth to
offer battle, the dictator delayed a little, till his
scouts should report that Quinctius had come out
363
LIVY
arci Fidenarum, signa profert peditumque aciem
11 instructam pleno gradu in hostem inducit ; magistro
equitum praecipit ne iniussu pugnam incipiat : se
cum opus sit equestri auxilio signum daturum ; turn
ut memor regiae pugnae, memor opimi doni Romu-
12 lique ac lovis Feretri rem gereret. Legiones impetu
ingenti confligunt. Roinanus odio accensus impium
Fidenatem^ praedonem Veientem, ruptores induti-
arum^ cruentos legatorum infanda caede^ respersos
sanguine colonorum suorum^ perfidos socios^ imbelles
hostes compellans, factis simul dictisque odium
explet.
XXX III. Concusserat prime statim congressu
hostem. cum repente patefactis Fidenarum portis
nova erumpit acies inaudita ante id tempus invisi-
2 tataque. Ignibus armata ingens multitudo faci-
busque ardentibus tota conlucens velut fanatico
instincta furore ^ cursu in hostem ruit^ formaque
3 insoUtae pugnae Romanos parumper exterruit. Tum
dictator magistro equitum equitibusque, tum ex
montibus Quinctio accito proelium ciens ipse in
sinistrum cornu^ quod, incendio simiHus quam
proelio, territum cesserat flammis, accurrit claraque
4 voce ^^ Fumone victi " inquit, '-'velut examen apum
^ fanatico instincta furore H. J. Mueller (furore instincta
CornelisstcH) : fanatico instincta fi.
364
BOOK IV. xxxii. lo-xxxiii. 4
on the ridge near the citadel of Fidenae ; and then b.c. 426
forming his infantry in line of battle led them at
the double against the enemy. He directed the
master of the horse not to begin to fight until he
got his orders : when he required the help of the
cavalry, he would himself give the signal ; let him
then bear himself as one mindful of his battle with
a king, of his glorious offering, of Romulus and
Jupiter Feretrius. The armies came together with
great fury. The Romans were consumed with
hatred. "Traitors" was the name they gave the
Fidenates, and "brigands" the men of Veii ; they
called them breakers of truces, stained with the
horrid murder of ambassadors, sprinkled with the
gore of their own settlers, faithless allies and
cowardly enemies ; and fed their rage at once with
deeds and with words.
XXXIII. They had shaken the enemy's resist-
ance at the very first onset, when suddenly the
gates of Fidenae were flung open and a strange
kind of army, never seen before or heard of, came
pouring out. Fire was the weapon of that vast
multitude, and blazing torches threw a glare upon
the entire throng when, as though inspired with
a wild insanity, they rushed headlong on their
enemy. For an instant the strangeness of this
kind of battle dismayed the Romans. Then the
dictator, calling up the master of the horse and
his cavalry, sending for Quinctius to come down
from the mountains, and urging on the fight himself,
hurried to the left wing, which, as though it found
itself in a conflagration rather than a line of battle,
had shrunk back in terror from the flames, and in
a loud voice cried out : " Will you quit your post,
LIVY
loco vestro exacti inermi cedetis hosti ? Xon ferro
exstinguetis ^ ignes r Non faces has ipsas pro se
quisqucj si igni_, non telis pugnandum est^ ereptas
5 ultro inferetis ? Agite^ nominis Romaui ac virtutis
patrum vestraeque memores vertite incendium hoc
in hostiura urbem et suis flammis delete Fidenas,
quas vestris beneficiis placare non potuistis. Lega-
torum hoc vos vestrorum colonorumque sanguis
6 vastatique fines monent." Ad imperiuni dictatoris
mota cuncta acies. Faces partim emissae excipi-
untur^ partim vi eripiuntur : utraque acies armatur
7 igni. Magister equitum et ipse novat pugnam
equestrem. Frenos ut detrahant equis imperat et
ipse princeps calcaribus subditis evectus effreno
equo in medios ignes infertur, et alii concitati equi
S libero cursu ferunt equitem in hostem. Piilvis
elatus mixtusque fumo lucem ex oculis virorum
equorumque aufert. Ea^ quae militem terruerat
species nihil terruit equos. Ruinae igitur similem
9 stragem eques quacumque pervaserat dedit. Clamor
deinde accidit novus ; qui cum utramque mira-
bundam in se aciem vertisset, dictator exclaniat
Quinctium legatum et suos ab tergo hostem adortos ;
10 ipse redintegrate claraore infert acrius signa. Cum
^ exstinguetis j-: exstinguitis (extinguitis EA) n.
366
BOOK IV. xAxiii. 4-IO
subdued with smoke like a swarm of bees, and yield b.c.426
to an unarmed foe? Will you not extinguish fire
with the sword ? Will you not seize these self-same
brands, and each for himself — if we must fight with
fire, not with javelins — attack them with their own
weapons? Come, call to mind the Roman name,
your fathers' valour and your own ; turn this blaze
upon the enemy's city and destroy Fidenae with
its own flames, since your kindness was power-
less to gain its friendship ! The blood of your
envoys and your colonists and your devastated
borders exhort you to do as I say." At the
dictator's command the whole array was set in
motion. Here they caught up torches which
had been flung away ; there they wrested them
violently from their bearers : both sides were armed
with fire. The master of the horse on his part
invented a new kind of cavalry-fighting. Com-
manding his men to pull ofl^ the bridles from their
horses, he led the way, and setting spurs to his
own, was carried by the unbridled charger into the
midst of the flames. The other horses too were
urged on and bore their riders at full tilt against
the enemy; while the dust that rose and mingled
with the smoke darkened the eyes both of the men
and of their mounts. But the sight which had
frightened the infantry had no terror for the horses,
and the cavalry overthrew their enemies in heaps
wherever they advanced. Then a new shout was
heard. Both armies in astonishment looked that
way ; and when the dictator called out that Quinctius
the lieutenant and his followers had assailed the
enemy in the rear, the cheering was renewed, and
he pressed home his own attack more sharply.
367
LIVY
A.u.c duae acies, duo diversa proelia circumventos Etruscos
328
et a fronte et ab tergo urgerent neque in castra retro
neque in montes^. unde se novus hostis obiecerat^ iter
fugae esset^ et equitem passim liberis frenis distulis-
sent equi, Veientium maxima pars Tiberim effusi
petunt, Fidenatium qui supersunt ad urbem Fidenas
11 tendunt. Infert pavidos fuga in mediam caedem ;
obtruncantur in ripis ; alios in aquam compulses
gurgites ferunt ; etiam peritos nandi lassitudo et
volnera et pavor degravant ; pauci ex multis tranant.
12 Alterum agmen fertur per castra in urbem. Eodem
et Romanos sequentes impetus rapit, Quinctium
maxime et cum eo degressos modo de montibus,
recentissimum ad laborem militem, quia ultimo proe-
lio advenerat.
XXXIV. Hi postquam mixti hostibus portam
intravere^ in muros evadunt suisque capti oppidi
2 signum ex muro tollunt. Quod ubi dictator con-
spexit — iam enim et ipse in deserta hostium castra
penetraverat, — cupientem militem discurrere ad
praedam spe iniecta maioris in urbe praedae ad
portam ducit receptusque intra muros in arcem,
3 quo ruere fugientium turbam videbat, pergit. Nee
368
BOOK IV. XXXIII. lo-xxxiv. 3
NoAV that two battle-fronts and two distinct attacks b.c.426
hemmed in the Etruscans and forced them back
from front and rear ; and there was no way for
them to flee, either back into their camp or into
the mountains, whence a new foe had appeared to
block their path ; and the horses, with loose reins,
had borne their riders far and wide ; — the Veientes
for the most part ran in disorder to the Tiber, while
those of the Fidenates who survived turned towards
the city of Fidenae. In their panic they fled into
the middle of the carnage. Some were cut down
on the banks of the river ; others, forced into the
water, were swept away by the current; even
experienced swimmers were borne down by weari-
ness and wounds and fear ; only a few out of the
many swam across. The other party was carried
on through the camp to the city. Thither the
Romans too pushed forward in the impetuosity of
the pursuit — especially Quinctius, and with him
those who had just come down from the hills and
were the freshest soldiers for the work, having
arrived at the close of the battle.
XXXIV. After these troops, mingling with the
enemy, had entered the gate, they made their way
on to the wall, where they raised a signal to show
their friends that the town was taken. When the
dictator saw it — for by this time he had himself
penetrated to the deserted camp of the enemy, — he
cliecked his soldiers, who were eager to scatter in
search of booty, by encouraging the hope that they
would find larger spoils in the city ; and, leading
them to the gate, was received within the walls
and marched directly to the citadel, whither he saw
that the throng of fugitives was rushing. Nor was
369
VOL. II. B B
328
LIVY
v.o. minor caedes in urbe quam in proelio fuit, donee
abiectis armis nihil praeter vitam petentes dictatori
4 deduntur. Urbs eastraqiie diripiuntur. Postero die
singulis captivis ab equite ac ^ centurionibus ^ sorte
ductis, et quorum eximia virtus fuerat^ binis^ aliis
sub eorona venundatis exercitum victorem opulent-
umque praeda triumphans dictator Romam reduxit ;
5 iussoque magistro equitum abdicare se magistratu
ipse deinde abdicat die sexto decimo reddito in pace
imperio, quod in bello trepidisque rebus acceperat.
f5 Classi quoque ad Fidenas pugnatum cum Veientibus
quidam in annales rettulere, rem aeque difficilem
atque incredibilem nee nunc lato satis ad hoc amne
7 et turn aliquanto, ut a veteribus accepimus, artiore,
nisi in traiectu forte fluminis prohibendo aliquarum
navium concursum in maius^ ut fit^ celebrantes
navalis victoriae vanum titulum appetivere.
XXXV. Insequens annus tribunos militares con-
sulari potestate habuit A. Sempronium Atratinum
L. Quinctium Cincinnatum L. Furium MeduUinum
2 L. Horatium Barbatum. V^eientibus annorum viginti
indutiae datae et Acquis triennii, cum plurium
annorum petissent ; et a seditionibus urbanis otium
fuit.
3 Annum insequentem neque bello foris neque domi
seditione insi^^nem ludi bello voti celebrem et
•&'
^ equite ac - : equite {or aeq-) ad H : equitum P i equi.... V :
acquitem ad JD.
2 centurionibus JFeissenbo}'n : ceniuvionis V: centurionem
{-e M-'.L-) n.
^ sc. under the portrait of Aemilius. Livy is thinking of
the partiality characteristic of such family records.
BOOK IV. xxxiv. 3-xxxv. 3
the slaughter in the city less than it had been InB.o. 426
the battle, until they threw away their arms, and
asking nothing but their lives, surrendered to the
dictator. The city and the camp were sacked.
Next day the cavalrymen and centurions drew lots
for a single captive each, while those who had shown
conspicuous bravery received two. The rest were sold
at auction^ and the dictator marched his victorious
army, enriched with plunder, back to Rome, and
triumphed. After commanding his master of the
horse to lay down his office, he himself abdicated,
giving up in peace on the sixteenth day the supreme
authority he had received in time of war and danger.
Certain annalists have recorded that there was a
naval battle also with the Veientes, near Fidenae,
a thing equally difficult and incredible ; for even
to-day the river is not wide enough for that, and
in those times it was somewhat narrower, as we
learn from the old writers ; unless possibly there
were a few ships assembled to dispute the passage
of the river and this was exaggerated, as so often
happens, by those who added to the inscription^ the
false claim of a naval victory.
XXXV. The next year there were military b.c.
tribunes with consular powers, namely Aulus Sem- ^^5-424
pronius Atratinus, Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus,
Lucius Furius Medullinus, Lucius Horatius Barba-
tus. The Veientes were granted a truce of twenty
years, and the Aequi one of three, though they had
asked for a longer one. There was a respite also
from civil disturbances.
The following year was noteworthy neither for
foreign war nor dissension at home, but gained
celebrity from the games which had been vowed
371
B B 2
LIVY
tribunorum militum apparatu et finitimorum con-
4 cursu fecere. Tribuni consulari potestate erant
Ap. Claudius 1 Crassus Sp. Nautius "^ Rutulus^ L.
Sergius ■^ Fidenas Sex. lulius lulus. ^ Spectaculum
comitate etiam hospituin. ad quam publice con-
5 senserant^^ advenis gratius fuit. Post ludos contiones
seditiosae tribunorum plebi fuerunt^ obiurgantium
multitudinem quod admiratione eorum quos odisset
6 stupens, in aeterno se ipsa teneret servitio, et non
modo ad spem consulatus in partem revocandam
adspirare non auderet, sed ne in tribunis quidem mili-
tum creandis, quae communia essent comitia patrum
7 ac plebis, aut sui aut suorum meminisset. Desineret
ergo mirari cur nemo de commodis plebis ageret ;
eo impend! laborem ac periculum unde emolumentum
atque honos speretur ; nihil non adgressuros homines
8 si magna conatis magna ])raemia proponantur ; ut
quidem aliquis tribunus plebis ruat caecus in certa-
mina periculo ingenti^ fructu nullo, ex quibus pro
certo liabeat patres_, adversus quos tenderet^'^ bello
inexpiabili se persecuturos^ apud plebem^ pro qua
dimicaverit, nihilo se honoratiorem fore, neque
9 sperandum neque postulandum esse. Magnos ani-
mos magnis honoribus fieri. Neminem se plebeium
^ Ap. Claudius Glareaaus 'chap, xxxvi. § 5) : Claudius Ci.
2 Xautius r {chap. xliv. § 13, and, § 6 infra) : naeuius n.
3 Pvutulus Comcay [after Sigonius, cf. ill. vii. 6, and C.I.L
i^, p. 114j: rutilius (ritilius E) n.
* L. Sergius Sigonius [chap. xxv. 2 ; xlv. 5 ; Liod. xii. 82) :
titus (o'/'t) sergius (-as E) Ci.
' lulus Sigonius (cf. Fasti Cap., e.g. C.I.L. '\^,p. 103):
tuUus MPUE: tullius HDL A: omitted in V.
* publice consenserant Gronovius : consenserant consilio
publico consensu uenerant M: publico consensu uenerant n.
' tenderet d : tenders I^ {over erasure) : tetenderit Madvig.
372
BOOK IV. XXXV. 4-9
during the war and were splendidly carried out by
the military tribunes and attended by a great con-
course of neighbouring peoples. The tribunes with
consular authority were Appius Claudius Crassus,
Spurius Nautius Rutulus, Lucius Sergius Fidenas,
and Sextus Julius lulus. The spectacle was rendered
the more agreeable to the visitors by the courtesy
which their hosts had united in a resolution to extend
to them. After the games seditious speeches were
made by the plebeian tribunes, who berated the
populace because, in their besotted admiration of
the men they hated, they kept themselves in per-
petual servitude, and not only dared not aspire
to claim participation in the consulship, but even
in the matter of choosing military tribunes — an
election open alike to patricians and plebeians —
took no thought either for themselves or for
their friends. Let them cease therefore to wonder
why no one busied himself for the good of the
plebs ; toil was bestowed and danger risked, they said,
in causes which held out hopes of emolument and
honour ; there was nothing men would not attempt
if those who made great efforts were afforded the
prospect of great rewards ; but that some one plebeian
tribune should rush blindly into a struggle where
the risk was enormous and the reward was nothing,
and in consequence of which he might be certain
that the patricians, against whom he would be
striving, would pursue him with relentless animosity,
and that the plebs, for whom he would have fought,
would not add the least tittle to his honours, was a
thing to be neither expected nor demanded. Great
hearts were begotten of great honours. No plebeian
would despise himself when plebeians should cease
373
LIVY
uc. contempturum, ubi contemni desissent. Experi-
undam rem denique in uno aut altero esse sitne
aliqui plebeius ferendo magno honori, an portento
simile miraculoque sit fortem ac strenuum virum
10 aliquem exsistere ortum ex plebe, Summa vi ex-
pugnatum esse ut tribuni militum consulari potestate
et ex plebe crearentur. Petisse viros domi militi-
aeque spectatos ; primis annis suggillatos, repulsos,
risui patribus fuisse ; desisse postremo praebere ad
11 contumeliam os. Nee se videre cur non lex qiioqiie
abrogetur^ qua id liceat quod nunquam futurum
sit; minorem qui})pe ruborem fore in iuris iniquitate
quam si per indignitatem ipsorum praetereantur.
XXXVI. Huius generis orationes cum adsensu
auditae incitavere quosdam ad petendum tribunatum
militum, alium alia de commodis plebis laturum se
2 in magistratu profitentem. Agri publici dividendi
coloniarumque deducendarum ostentatae spes et
vectigali possessoribus agrorum impositoinstipendium
3 militum erogandi aeris. Captatum deinde tempus ab
tribuiiis militum, quo per discessum hominum ab
urbe, cum patres clandestina denuntiatione revocati
ad diem certam essent, senatus consultum fieret ab-
4 sentibus tribunis plebi ut quoniam Volscos in Herni-
corum agros praedatum exisse fama esset, ad rem
inspiciendam tribuni militum proficiscerentur consula-
^ The first attempt to tax the patricians enjoying the use
of the public land for the purpose of paying the soldiers,
who had alwavs been required to serve gratis. See chap,
lix. § 11.
374
BOOK IV. XXXV. 9-xxxvi. 4
to be despised. It was high time they made trial in b.c.
one or two cases, to see whether there were some *25-424
plebeian fit to hold high office, or whether it were
almost a portent and a miracle that there should
exist any brave and energetic man of plebeian origin.
By exerting their utmost force they had carried the
point that military tribunes with consular powers
might be chosen even from the plebs. Men whose
worth had been proven at home and in the field had
stood for the office ; during the first years they had
been buffeted about, rejected, and laughed at by
the patricians ; finally, they had ceased to expose
themselves to insult. They could see no reason,
they said, why they should not even repeal a statute
which authorized something that would never come ;
there would surely be less shame in the injustice of
the law than in being passed over on account of
their own unworthiness.
XXXVI. Speeches of this sort, being listened to
with approval, incited certain men to stand for the
military tribuneship, with the promise that they
would propose in their term of office such and such
measures of advantage to the plebs. Hopes were
held out of dividing up the public domain and
planting colonies, and of levying a tax on the occu-
pants of the land and distributing the money as pay
for the soldiers.^ The military tribunes then
watched for an opportunity when people were out
of town, and recalling the senators by a secret noti-
fication, got the senate to pass a resolution, in the
absence of the tribunes of the plebs, that since the
Volsci were rumoured to have made a plundering
expedition into the country of the Hernici, the
tribunes of the soldiers should go and investigate
375
LIVY
5 riaqiie comitia haberentur. Profecti Ap. Claudium^
filium decemviri, praefectum urbis relinquunt, im-
pigrum iuvenem et lam inde ab incunabulisimbutum
odio tribunorum plebisque. Tribuni plebi nee cum
absentibus iis, qui senatus consultum fecerant. iiec
cum Appio. transacta re quod contenderent, fuit.
XXXVII. Creati consules sunt C. Sempronius Atra-
tinus Q. Fabius Vibulanus.
Peregrina res, sed memoria digna traditur eo
anno facta, Volturnum, Etruscorum urbem, quae
nunc Capua est, ab Samnitibus captam Capu-
amque ab duce eorum Capye ^ vel, quod propius
2 vero est, a campestri agro appellatam. Cepere
autem prius bello fatigatis Etruscis in societatem
urbis agrorumque accepti, deinde festo die graves
somno epulisque incolas veteres novi coloni nocturna
caede adorti.
3 His rebus actis consules ii quos diximus idibus
Decembribus magistratum occepere.^ lam non
4 solum qui ad id missi erant rettulerant imminere
Volscum bellum, sed legati quoque ab Latinis et
Hernicis nuntiabant non ante unquam Volscos nee
ducibus legendis nee exercitui scribendo intentiores
5 fuisse ; volgo fremere aut in perpetuum arma bel-
lumque oblivioni danda iiigumque accipiendum, aut
iis cum quibus de imperio certetur nee virtute nee
^ Cap3-e Vorm. : capue A'^ niarg. : capio Ci.
^ occepere - (c/. i. vii. 6) : accepere Ci : ceperunt H,
^ The, name is now connected with Greek ktittos "orchard'
or "garden" not as Livy thought; with campus " plain."
- Tlie events described in cliap. xxx\'i.
BOOK IV. xxxvi. 4-xxxvii. 5
the affair, and that a consular election should be b.o.
held. The tribunes set out, leaving Appius Claudius, ^^5-424
the decemvir's son, as prefect of the City. He was
an energetic young man and imbued from his very
cradle with hatred of the tribunes and the plebs.
The plebeian tribunes had no ground of contention
either with the absent officials who had obtained
the resolution of the senate, or with Appius, now
that the thing was done. XXXVII. Gaius Sem- b.c. 423
pronius Atratinus and Quintus Fabius Vibulanus
were elected consuls.
A foreign episode, but worth relating, is ascribed
to this year, viz. that Voltm-num, the Etruscan city
which is now Capua, was taken by the Samnites,
and named Capua from their leader Capys, or, as is
more probable, from its champaign country.^ Now
they captured it after being admitted by the Etrus-
cans— who were w^orn out with fighting — to a share
in the city and its fields ; then, on a holiday, when
the old settlers were heavy with sleep and feasting,
the newcomers fell upon them in the night and slew
them.
In the train of these events,- the consuls whom I
have named took up their duties, on the 13th of
December. By this time not only had those who
had been dispatched for this purpose reported that a
Volscian invasion was imminent, but envoys from
the Latins, and the Hernici as well, announced that
never before had the Volscians been more energetic,
whether in selecting generals or in levying an army ;
that everywhere men were muttering that they
must either give up for ever all thoughts of arms
and war, and submit to the yoke, or must not lag
behind those with whom they were contending for
377
LIVY
A.u.c. patientia nee disciplina rei militaris cedendum esse.
6 Haud vana attiilere ; sed nee perinde patres moti
suntj et C. Sempronius^ cui ea provincia sorti evenit^
tamquam constantissimae rei fortunae fretus^ quod
victoris populi adversus victos dux esset, omnia
7 teraere ac neglegenter egit, adeo ut disciplinae
Romanae plus in Volsco exercitu quam in Romano
esset. Ergo fortuna^ ut saepe alias, virtutem est
8 secuta. Primo proelio, quod ab Sempronio incaute
inconsulteque commissum est. non subsidiis firmata
9 acie, non equite apte locato concursum est. Clamor
indicium primum fuit quo^ res inclinatura esset,
excitatior crebriorque ab hoste sublatus : ab Romanis
dissonus, impar, segnius saepe iteratus prodidit ^
10 pavorem animorum. Eo ferocior inlatus hostis urgere
scutis, micare gladiis. Altera ex parte nutant
circumspectantibus galeae, et incerti trepidant
1 1 applicantque se turbae ; signa nunc resistentia
deseruntur ab antesignanis, nunc inter suos mani-
pulos recipiuntur. Nondum fuga certa, nondum
victoria erat ; tegi magis Romanus quam pugnare ;
Volscus inferre signa, urgere aciem, plus caedis
hostium videre quam fugae.
1 quo Frag. Haverk.^ (c/. chap, xxxiii. § 12 and XXV.
xxi. 4) : qua H: quam PULL.
' prodidit Gruter : incerto clamore prodidit Ci.
378
BOOK IV. xxxvii. 5-1 1
supremacy, either in courage or in endurance or in b.c. 423
military discipline. Their tidings were true, but
they caused no answerable activity among the
senators ; and Gains Sempronius, to whom the
command had been assigned by lot, trusting to
fortune as though it were the most constant tiling
in the world, because he had commanded the victori-
ous nation against the people they had defeated,
conducted everything so carelessly and rashly that
Roman discipline was more in evidence in the
Volscian army than in the Roman. Accordingly
Fortune, as on many another occasion, waited on
desert. In the first battle, which Sempronius
entered without caution or deliberation, his line
was not strengthened with reserves nor was his
cavalry skilfully posted, when the fighting began.
The battle-cries were the first intimation how the
affair was likely to go ; for the enemy's was louder
and fuller, that of the Romans dissonant and uneven
and, dragging more with each repetition, betrayed
the faintness of their hearts. This caused the
enemy to charge the more boldly, thrusting with
shields and making play with swords. On the
Roman side helmets nodded, as their wearers looked
this way and that for help, and irresolute soldiers
made falteringly for the nearest group ; at one
moment the standards would be left behind by
the retreat of the front-rankers, at the next they
would be falling back among their proper maniples.
It was not yet a definite flight, not yet a victory ;
the Romans sought rather to protect tiiemselves
than to fight; the Volscians advanced and bore
hard against the Roman line, but saw more of
their enemies killed than running away.
379
LIVY
XXX VII I. lam omnibus locis ceditur nequiquam
Sempronio consule obiurgante atque hortante. Nihil
2 nee imperium nee maiestas valebat, dataque mox
terga hostibus forent^ ni Sex. Tempanius, decurio
equitum, labante ^ iam re praesenti animo sub-
venisset. Qui cum magna voce exclamasset ut
equites qui salvam rem publicam vellent esse ex
3 equis desilirent, omnium turmarum equitibus velut
ad consulis imperium motis. " Nisi haec " inquit,
^^parmata- coliors sistit impetum hostium, actum de
imperio est. Sequimini pro vexillo cuspidem meam ;
ostendite Romanis Volscisque neque equitibus
vobis ullos equites nee peditibus esse pedites pares."
4 Cum clamore comprobata adhortatio esset^ vadit alte
cuspidem gerens. Quacumque incedunt, vi viam
faciunt ; eo se inferunt obiectis parmis ubi suorum
5 pUirimum laborem vident. Restituitur omnibus
locis pugna^ in quae eos impetus tulit ; nee dubium
erat quin, si tam pauci simul obire omnia possent,
terga daturi hostes fuerint.
XXXIX. Et cum iam parte nulla sustinerentur,
dat signum Volscus imperator ut parmatis^ novae
cohorti hostium, locus detur, donee impetu inlati
2 ab suis excludantur. Quod ubi est factum, inter-
clusi equites nee perrumpere eadem qua transierant
^ labante Gronovius : labente n.
- parmata Scheelius : armata n.
^ The dccurioii commanded a decuria (ten men). There
were three drcuriae in a turma, or squadron, and ten turmae
in the three centuries of horse whicli accompanied a legion.
^ The parma ("buckler" or "target"; was the trooper's
shield, much smaller than the scutum of the foot-soldier.
^ The vexillum, a small red flag, was used as a cavalry
ensign.
380
BOOK IV. XXXVIII. i-xxxix. 2
XXXVIII. But now the Romans were everywhere b.o. 423
falUni? back^ and it was in vain that Sempronius the
consul upbraided or encouraged them. There was
no virtue either in his authority or in his dignity ;
and his men would presently have shown the enemy
their backs, had not a cavalry decurion ^ named
Sextus Tempanius, just as the situation was becoming
desperate, come with prompt courage to the rescue.
In a loud voice he cried out that the horsemen who
wished to save the state should leap down from their
horses, and when the troopers in every squadron had
bestirred themselves as if at the command of the con-
sul, he added: "Unless this bucklered 2 cohort stops
the enemy's rush it is all over with our supremacy.
Follow my spear as your guidon ; ^ show Romans and
Volscians that when you are mounted no cavalry are
your equals, nor any infantry, when you fight on
foot ! " When a cheer had shown their approval ot
this exhortation, he advanced with uplifted spear.
Wherever they went they forced a passage ; holding
their targets up before them, they charged where
they saw the distress of their friends was greatest.
The fortune of the day was restored at every point
where their onset carried them ; nor was there any
doubt that if those few men could have been present
everywhere at the same time the enemy would have
turned tail.
XXXIX. When the Volscian general saw that
their attack could not anywhere be stopped, he
ordered his troops to give ground to the men with
bucklers, the enemy's new cohort, until, carried
forward in their rush, they should be cut off from
their friends. On this being done, the horsemen
were intercepted, and were unable to break through in
^8i
LIVY
posse, ibi maxime confertis hostibus qua viam
fecerantj et consul legionesque Romanae cum quod
3 tegumen modo omnis exercitus fuerat nusquam
viderent, ne tot fortissimos viros interclusos oppri-
•i meret hostis, tendunt in quemcumque casum. Di-
versi Volsci hinc consulem ac legiones sustinerC;
altera fronte instare Tempanio atque equitibus ; qui
cum saepe conati nequissent perrumpere ad suos,
tumulo quodam occupato in orbem se tutabantur,
nequaquam inulti ; nee pugnae finis ante noctem
5 fuit. Consul quoque nusquam remisso certamine
6 dum quicquam superfuit lucis, hostem tenuit. Nox
incertos diremit ; tantusque ab imprudentia eventus
utraque castra tenuit pavor ut relictis sauciis et
magna parte impedimentorum ambo pro victis exer-
7 citus se in monies proximos reciperent. Tumulus
tamen circumsessus ultra mediam noctem est. Quo
cum circumsedentibus nuntiatum esset castra deserta
esse, victos rati suos et ipsi, qua quemque in te-
8 nebris pavor tulit fugerunt. Tempanius m.etu in-
sidiarum suos ad lucem tenuit. Degressus ^ deinde
ipse cum paucis speculatum cum ab sauciis hostibus
sciscitando comperisset castra Volscorum deserta
esse, laetus ab tumulo suos devocat et in castra
* degressus Sigonius : digressus (-os P) H.
382
BOOK IV. XXXIX. 2-8
the same way as they had got over, since their enemies b.o. 423
were most thickly crowded together where they had
made their path. When the consul and the Roman
legions could nowhere see the soldiers who a moment
before had been a shield to the entire army, they
jiressed forward to save at any cost so many heroic
men from being surrounded and borne down by the
enemy. The Volscians, facing two ways, sustained
on one side the onset of the consul and the legions,
and on the other front pressed home their attack
upon Tempanius and his troopers ; who, having
failed, in spite of many attempts, to force their way
through to their friends, had seized a certain mound
and, forming a circle, were defending themselves,
not without taking vengeance on their assailants.
The battle did not end till nightfall. Neither did
the consul relax his efforts anywhere, but kept the
enemy engaged as long as there was any light.
Darkness put a stop to the indecisive struggle, and
the terror in each camp was such, in consequence
of men's ignorance of the outcome, that both armies,
abandoning their wounded and a good part of their
baggage, retreated to the nearest hills, as though
defeated. Nevertheless the mound was besieged
till after midnight. But when word was brought to
the besiegers that their camp was abandoned, they
too supposed that their side had been defeated, and
every man fled where his panic led him in the dark-
ness. Tempanius feared an ambush and kept his
soldiers close till daylight. Then, descending with
a few followers to reconnoitre, he discovered by
questioning some wounded enemies that the camp
of the Volscians was deserted, whereupon he joj'^fully
called his men down from the hill and made his way
3^3
LIVY
'J Romana penetrat. Ubi cum vasta desertaque omnia
atque eandem quam apud hostes foeditatem invenis-
set^ priusquam Volscos cognitus error reduceret,
quibus poterat sauciis ductis secum, ignarus quam
regionem consul petisset_, ad urbem proximis iti-
neribus pergit
XL. lam eo fama pugnae adversae castrorumque
deseitorum perlata erat^ et ante omnia deplorati erant
equites non privato magis quam publico luctu, Fabi-
2 usque consul terrore urbi quoque iniecto stationem
ante portas agebat^ cum equites procul visi non sine
terrore ab dubiis quinam essent, mox cogniti tan tarn
ex metu laetitiam fecere iit clamor urbem pervaderet
3 gratulantium salvos victoresque redisse equites^ et
ex maestis paulo ante domibus quae conclamaverant
suos. procurreretur in vias. pavidaeque matres ac
coniuges oblitae prae gaudio decoris obviam agmini
occurrerent, in suos quaeque simul corpore atque
4 animo vix prae gaudio compotes effusae. Tribunis
plebi qui M. Postumio et T. Quinctio diem dixerant,
quod ad Veios eorum opera male pugnatum esset,
occasio visa est per recens odium Semproni consulis
5 renovandae in eos invidiae. Itaque advocata con-
384
BOOK IV. XXXIX. 8-xL. 5
into the Roman camp. There he found everything b.c. 423
abandoned and forlorn and the same desolation he
had met with on the ground of the enemy ; and,
before the Volsci could learn of their blunder and
return, he carried with him such of the wounded as
he was able, and not knowing what way the consul
had gone, took the nearest road to the City.
XL. Thither the rumour of an unsuccessful engage-
ment and the abandonment of the camp had already
made its way, and more than all the rest the horse-
men had been mourned, with public as well as
private lamentations. The consul Fabius was keep-
ing watch before the gates — for the panic had
permeated even the City — when cavalry w^ere espied
a long way off, and caused no little trepidation,
since men knew not who they could be. But being
soon after recognized, they turned the people's fear
to such rejoicing that the City was filled with the
noise of congratulations on the safe and victorious
return of the horse ; and from the houses wliich a
little while before had been filled with sadness and
had bewailed their sons as dead, the inhabitants ran
out into the street, and trembling mothers and Mives,
heedless of decorum in their happiness, hurried to
meet the troops, and flung themselves with utter
abandonment into the arms of their loved ones, being
scarcely able to control themselves for joy. The
plebeian tribunes, who had set a day for the trial
of Marcus Postumius and Titus Quinctius, because
of their responsibility for the reverse at Veii, thought
a favourable opportunity was afforded by the odium
recently incurred by the consul Sempronius for
renewing men's displeasure with them. So, having
called a meeting, they loudly declared that the state
385
VOL. II. C C
LIVY
tione cum proditam Veils rem ])ublicam esse ab
ducibus, proditura deinde, quia illis impune fuerit,
in Volscis ab consule exercitum, traditos ad caedem
fortissimos equites, deserta foede castra vociferati
6 essent^ C. lunius/ unus ex tribunis, Tempanium
equitem vocari iussit coramque ei " Sex. Tempani "
inquit, ^^quaero de te^ arbitrerisne C. Sempronium
consulem aut in tempore pugnam inisse aut firmasse
subsidiis aciem aut ullo boni consulis functum officio,
7 et tune ipse victis legionibus Romanis tuo consilio
equitem ad pedes deduxeris restituerisque pugnam ;
excluso deinde ab acie nostra tibi atque equitibus
num aut consul ipse subvenerit aut miserit prae-
8 sidium ; postero denique die ecquid praesidii usquam
habueris, an tu cohorsque in castra vestra virtute
perruperitis ; ecquem in castris consulem, ecquem
exercitum inveneritis, an deserta castra, relictos
9 saucios milites. Haec pro virtute tua fideque, qua
una hoc bello res publica stetit, dicenda tibi sunt
hodie ; denique ubi C. Sempronius, ubi legiones
nostrae sint ; desertus sis an deserueris consulem
exercitumque ; victi denique siraus an vicerimus."
XLI. Adversus haec Tempani oratio incompta fu-
isse dicitur, ceterum militariter gravis, non suis vana
2 laudibus, non crimine alieno laeta. Quanta pru-
dentia rei bellicae in C. Sempronio esset, non militis
^ Junius ,- {cf. Mommscn, Eomische Furschungen, i. 115):
iulius n.
386
BOOK IV. XL. 5-xLi. 2
had been betrayed at Veil by its generals ; and that co. 423
then, because they had gone scot free, the army fight-
ing with the Volsci had been betrayed by the consul,
their heroic cavalry given over to slaughter, and the
camp basely abandoned. Then Gains Junius, one of
the tribunes, commanded the cavalryman Tempanius
to be called, and turning to him spoke as follows :
^"^Sextus Tempanius, I ask you whether you think
that Gains Sempronius the consul either joined
battle at a suitable moment, or strengthened his line
with supports, or performed any of the duties of a
good consul; and whether you yourself, when the
Roman legions had been beaten, dismounted the
cavalry of your own motion and restored the fortunes
of the battle ; then, when you and your troopers had
been cut off from our line, if either the consul him-
self came to your rescue or sent supports ; further-
more, whether you had any help anywhere next day,
or you and your cohort forced a way to the cam]) by
your own valour ; whether you found any consul in
the camp and any army, or a deserted camp and
wounded and forsaken soldiers. In the name of
your courage and your loyalty, which alone have
preserved the republic in this war, you must now
answer these questions ; finally you must tell us
where Gaius Sempronius and our legions are ; Avh ether
you were abandoned, or yourself abandoned the
consul and the army ; — in one word, whether we
have been defeated or victorious."
XLI. To these questions Tempanius is said to have b.c. 422
replied in homely terms but with a soldierly dignity,
in which was neither self-praise nor self-complacent
criticism of others. Touching the degree of skill in
military matters possessed by Gaius Sempronius, it
387
c c 2
LIVY
de imperatore existimationem esse, sed popiili Ro-
mani fuisse, cum eum comitiis consulem legeret.
3 Itaqiie ne ab se imperatoria consilia neu consulares
artes exquirerent, quae pensitanda magnis quoque^
animis atque ingeniis essent ; sed quod viderit
4 referre posse. Vidisse autem se, priusquam ab acie
intercluderetur, consulem in prima acie pugnantem,
adhortantem, inter signa Romana telaque hostium
5 versantem. Postea se a conspectu suorum ablatum
ex strepitu tamen et clamore sensisse usque ad
noctem extractum certamen, nee ad tumulum quern
ipse tenuerat prae multitudine hostium credere
6 perrumpi potuisse. Exercitus ubi esset se nescire ;
arbitrari, velut ipse in re trepida loci praesidio se
suosque sit tutatus, sic consulem servandi exercitus
7 causa loca tutiora castris cepisse ; nee Volscorum
meliores res esse credere quam populi Romani ;
fortunam noctemque omnia erroris mutui implesse.
Precantemque deinde, ne se fessum labore ac vol-
neribus tenerent, cum ingenti laude non virtutis
8 magis quam moderationis dimissum. Cum liaec
agerentur, iam consul via Labicana ^ ad fanum
Quietis erat. Eo missa plaustra iumentaque alia
ab urbe exercitum adfectum proelio ac via nocturna
^ magnis quoque H. J. Mueller : quoque magnis H.
* Labicana editors {coiiformahly to the evidence of Ci in most
places) : lauicana Cl.
^ i. e. Sleep or Repose.
388
BOOK IV. xLi. 2-8
was not for a soldier, he said, to appraise a general : B.c.42i
that had been the Roman People's business when
it elected Sempronius consul at the comitia. It was
not, therefore, to him that they must address inquiries
concerning the strategy of commanders and the
qualifications of consuls ; even the weighing of such
abilities demanded great mental and intellectual
powers. But that which he had seen he was able
to report ; and he had seen the consul, before he
had himself been cut off from the main army, fighting
in the front line, encouraging his men, and moving
about amidst the standards of the Romans and the
enemy's missiles. He had afterwards been carried
out of sight of his friends ; but still, from the din and
shouting, he had made out that the struggle had been
prolonged till nightfall, and he did not believe that
it had been possible to break through to the hillock
which he himself had held, in view of the enemy's
numbers. Where the army was, he did not know ;
he supposed that, just as he himself had protected
himself and his men by taking up a strong position,
so likewise the consul, in order to save his army, had
occupied a place of greater security than the camp.
And he did not believe that the Volsci were any
better off than the Roman People ; chance and dark-
ness had at every point confused both armies. On
his going on to beg that they would not detain him,
exhausted by toil and wounds, it is said that he was
dismissed with the highest praise, no less for his
moderation than for his bravery. Meanwhile the
consul had already reached the shrine of Quies ^ on
the Labican road. Thither wagons and beasts of
burden were dispatched from the City, and brought
the soldiers back, weary from fighting and the night-
389
LIVY
A.c.c, 9 excepere. Paulo post in urbem est ingressus con-
^""^ sul^ non ab se magis enixe amovens culpam quam
10 Tempanium mentis laudibus ferens. Maestae civi-
tati ab re male gesta et iratae ducibus M. Postumius
reus obiectus, qui tribunus militum pro consule ad
Veios fueratj decem milibus aeris gravis damnatur.
11 T. Quinctium coUegam eius, quia et in Volscis con-
sul auspicio dictatoris Postumi Tuberti et ad Fidenas
legatus dictatoris alterius Mam. Aemili res prospere
gesserat, totam culpam eius temporis in praedam-
natum collegam transferentem omnes tribus absol-
12 verunt. Profuisse ei Cincinnati patris memoria
dicitur, venerabilis viri^ et exactae iam aetatis
Capitolinus Quinctius suppliciter orans ne se brevi
reliquo vitae spatio tarn tristem nuntium ferre ad
Cincinnatum paterentur.
XLII. Plebs tribunos plebi absentes Sex. Tempani-
um M. Asellium ^ Ti. Antistium Ti. Spurillium ^ fecit,
quos et pro centurionibus sibi praefecerant Tempanio
2 auctore equites. Senatus, cum odio Semproni con-
sulare nomen ofFenderet, tribunos militum consulari
})otestate creari iussit. Creati sunt L. Manlius ^
Capitolinus Q. Antonius Merenda L. Papirius Mu-
3 gillanus.* Principio statim aimi L. Hortensius
^ M. Asellium Mr'nims'^n : a. selliuiu n.
2 Ti. Antistium, Ti. Spurillium Mommsen: et antistium et
spurillium (sparillium //) Ci.
^ Manlius -: manilius H.
* Mugillanus ^* 0/' £^ .- : mugilanus U '. mugilianus n.
^ Aes ^ra i-e (" heavy bronze"') is used to distinguish the
original as- Jihralis (i. e. of a pound in weight) from the reduced
as of a later time.
2 Wlien they had dismounted to fight as infantry ; see
chap, xxxix.
BOOK IV. xLi. S-xLii. 3
march. A little later the consul entered the City, b.c. 42
and showed no less concern to extol Tempanius with
well-merited praise than to clear himself of blame.
Wliile the citizens were grieving over their defeat,
and were filled with resentment against their
commanders, Marcus Postumius, who had been
mlHtary tribune with consular authority at Veii,
was brought before them for trial and condemned
to pay a fine of ten thousand pounds of bronze.^
Titus Quinctius his colleague, having been victorious
both in the Volscian country, when consul under the
auspices of the dictator Postumius Tubertus, and at
Fidenae, as lieutenant to the other dictator, Mamer-
cus Aemilius, shifted all the blame for the present
campaign upon his colleague who had already been
condemned, and was acquitted by all the tribes. It
is said that the memory of his father Cincinnatus,
whom the people venerated, was a help to liim, and
also the fact that Quinctius Capitolinus, now well-
stricken in years, supplicated and implored them not
to suffer him, who had but a little time to live, to be
the bearer of such sad news to Cincinnatus.
XLII. The plebs elected in their absence Sextus
Tempanius, Marcus Asellius, Tiberius Antistius, and
Tiberius Spurillius to be plebeian tribunes. These
were men whom the cavalry had also chosen, at the
instance of Tempanius, to act as centurions over
them. 2 The senate, feeling that the hatred of Sem-
pronius made the title of consul offensive, ordered
the election of military tribunes with consular powers.
The successful candidates were Lucius Manlius Capi-
tolinus, Quintus Antonius Merenda, Lucius Papirius
Mugillanus. At the very beginning of the year
Lucius Hortensius, tribune of the plebs, brought an
391
LIVY
tribunus plebis C. Sempronio, consul! anni prions,
diem dixit. Quem cum quattuor collegae inspectante
populo Romano orarent ne imperatorem suum in-
noxium, in quo nihil praeter fortunam reprehendi
4 posset, vexaret, aegre Hortensius pati, temptationem
earn credens esse perseverantiae suae nee precibus
tribunorum, quae in speciem modo iactentur^ sed
5 auxilio confidere reum. Itaque modo ad eum con-
versusj ubi illi patricii spiritus, ubi subnixus et fidens
innocentiae animus esset quaerebat ; sub tribunicia
6 umbra consularem virum delituisse ? modo ad col-
legas : " Vos autem, si reum perago, quid acturi estis ?
an erepturi ius populo et eversuri tribuniciam potes-
7 tatem r " Cum illi et de Sempronio et de omnibus
summam populi Romani potestatem esse dicerent
nee se iudicium populi tollere aut velie aut posse,
sed si preces suae pro imperatore, qui sibi parentis
8 esset loco, non valuissent, se vestem cum eo muta-
turos, tum Hortensius " Non videbit " inquit, " plebs
Romana sordidatos tribunos suos. C. Sempronium
nihil moror, quando hoc est in imperio consecutus,
9 ut tam carus esset militibus." Nee pietas quattuor
tribunorum quam Hortensi tam placabile ad iustas
preces ingenium pariter plebi patribusque gratius
fuit.
10 Non diutius fortuna Acquis indulsit, qui ambi-
^ Liv\' perhaps begins at this point to follow another
annalist, who had described a successful campaign of the
Aequi not noticed by his authority for what has just pre-
ceded.
392
BOOK IV. xLii. 3-To
action against Gains Sempronius^ consul of the year bc. 422
before. The tribune's four colleagues besought him
in full sight of the Roman People not to persecute
their general, in whom nothing could be reckoned
amiss save his ill-fortune ; but this Hortensius would
not brook, regarding it as a test of his perseverance
and persuaded that the defendant was relying not
on the entreaties of the tribunes, which were thrown
out merely to })reserve appearances, but on their
veto. And so, turning now to Sempronius, he de-
manded to be told where the well-known patrician
spirit was, and where the courage that placed its
confident reliance upon innocence ; was it in the
shadow of the tribunate that a former consul had
found a hiding-place? And again, addressing his
colleagues, he asked, " But what do you mean to do,
if I persist in prosecuting the defendant ? Will you
rob the people of their rights and overthrow the
authority of the tribunes ? " When they replied that
the authority of the Roman People was supreme over
Sempronius and all other men, and that they neither
desired nor were able to annul the people's judg-
ment ; but that if their entreaties in behalf of their
commander, who stood in the relation of a parent to
them, should prove ineffectual, they would put on
mourning with him, then Hortensius declared, " The
Roman plebs shall not see its tribunes clad in mourn-
ing. Gaius Sempronius may go free, for me, since
his command has gained him this, to be so beloved
by his soldiers." Nor was the loyalty of the four
tribunes more pleasing to both plebs and senators
than was the disposition of Hortensius to yield so
readily to reasonable entreaties.
Fortune now ceased to favour the Aequi,i who had
393
LIVY
guam victoriam Volscorum })ro sua amplexi fuerant.
XLIII. Proximo anno Num.^ Fabio Vibiilano T.
Quinctio Capitolini filio Capitolino consulibus ductu
Fabii, cui sorte ea provincia evenerat, nihil dignum
2 memoratu actum. Cum trepidam tantum osten-
dissent aciem Aequi, turpi fuga funduntur liaud
magno consulis decore. Itaque triumphus negatus,
ceterum ob Sempronianae cladis levatam ignominiam
ut ovans urbem intraret concessum est.
3 Quemadmodum bellum minore quam timuerant
dimicatione erat perfectum^ sic in urbe ex tranquillo
necopinata moles discordiarum inter plebem ac
patres exorta est, coepta ab duplicando quaestorum
4 numero. Quam rem — praeter duos urbanos ut
crearentur alii quaestores duo qui ^ consulibus ad
ministeria belli praesto essent — a consulibus relatam
cum et patres summa ope adprobassent,^ tribuni
plebi certamen intulerunt ut pars quaestorum — nam
ad id tempus ^ patricii creati erant — ex plebe fieret.
5 Ad versus quam actionem primo et consules et patres
summa ope adnisi sunt ; concedendo deinde ut,
quemadmodum in tribunis consulari potestate cre-
andis, sic ^ in quaestoribus liberum esset arbitrium
populi, cum parum proficerent, totam rem de augendo
6 quaestorum numero omittunt. Excipiunt omissam
tribuni, aliaeque subinde^ inter quas et agrariae legis,
^ Num. Sigonius {C.I.L. i-, p. 112j : en. m ELBA-, cil.
MPUE.
'^ ut crearentur alii quaestores duo qui Conway and Walters :
quaestores duo qui H.
•'' adprobassent ireissenhorn : adprobassent a consulibus n.
* ad id tempus A^ r: id tempus H.
* sic Conu-ay and Walters', usi sunt adaeque (ad eq A) n.
394
BOOK IV. xLii. lo-xLiii. 6
accepted the dubious victory of the Volsci as their b.c. 422
own, XLIII. The next year Numerius Fabius Vibu- b.c. 421
lanus and Titus Qiiinctius Capitolinus, the son of
Capitolinus^ were consuls. Under the leadership of
Fabius, to whom this command had been assigned by
lot, nothing worthy of relation was accomplished.
The Aequi had scarce made an irresolute show of
battle when they were routed and driven disgrace-
fully from the field, and the consul got no credit by
the affair. He was accordingly denied a triumph ;
but because he had relieved the ignominy incurred
by Sempronius's defeat, he was allowed to enter the
City in an ovation.
But while the war had been concluded with less
of a struggle than men had feared, in the City
tranquillity gave place to unexpected and serious
quarrels, which broke out between the })lebs and
the senators, and began over the duplication of the
number of quaestors. This measure- — that l^esides
the two city quaestors two others should be elected
to assist the consuls in the administration of wars —
was jM-oposed by the consuls and received the hearty
approval of the senate, but the tribunes of the plebs
made a fight to have half of the quaestors — hitherto
patricians had been chosen — taken from the plebs.
Against this provision both consuls and senators at
first exerted themselves with all their might; after-
wards they were ready to concede that, just as in
the case of tribunes with consular powers, so likewise
with the quaestors, the people should be unrestricted
in their choice ; but making no headway with this
offer, they dropped the whole question of enlarging
the number of quaestors. It was then taken up
where they had left it by the tribunes ; and other
395
LIVY
A.u.c. seditiosae actiones exsistunt. Propter quos motus
cum senatus consules quam tribunes creari mallet,
neque posset per intercessiones tribunicias senatus
7 consultum fieri, res publica a consulibus ad in-
terregnum, neque id ipsum — nam coire patricios
tribuni prohibebant — sine certamine ingenti, redit.
8 Cum pars maior insequentis anni per novos tribunos
plebi et aliquot interreges certaminibus extracta
esset modo prohibentibus tribunis patricios coire ad
prodendum interregem, modo interregem interpel-
9 lantibus, ne senatus consultum de comitiis con-
sularibus faceret, postremo L. Papirius Mugillanus
proditus interrex castigando nunc patres, nunc
tribunos plebi desertam omissamque ab hominibus
rem publicam, deorum providentia curaque exceptam
memorabat Veientibus indatiis et cunctatione
10 Aequorum stare. Unde si quid increpet terroris,
sine })atricio magistratu placere rem publicam
opprimi ? Xon exereitum, non ducem scribendo
exercitui esse ? An bello intestino bellum externum
11 propulsaturos ? Quae si in unum conveniant, vix
deorum opibus quin obruatur Romana res resisti
posse. Quin illi remittendo de summa quisque iuris
12 mediis consiliis ^ copularent concordiam, patres
patiendo tribunos militum pro consulibus fieri, tribuni
^ mediis consiliis Walters (in note): mediis fl.
BOOK IV. xLiii. 6-12
revolutionary schemes came to the fore in quick b.c. 421
succession, among them one for enacting an agrarian
law. When the senate, because of these disturb-
ances, preferred that consuls be elected rather than
tribunes, yet was unable to pass a resolution on
account of tribunician vetoes, the government passed
from the consuls to an interrex ; nor was even this
accomplished without a violent struggle, for the
tribunes tried to prevent the patricians from holding
a meeting. The greater part of the ensuing year
dragged on with contests between the new tribunes
and several interreges. At one time the tribunes
would keej) the patricians from meeting to appoint
an interrex ; at another time they would interpose
their veto against the interrex, that the senate might
not pass a resolution to hold the consular elections.
Finally Lucius Papirius Mugillanus was named inter-
rex, and upbraiding now the senators, now the tribunes
of the plebs, reminded them how the state, abandoned
and forsaken by men, had been protected by the
providential care of Heaven, and existed by the grace
of the Veientine truce and the dilatory policy of the
Aequi. If an alarm should break out in that quarter,
was it their pleasure that the republic should be
caught without a patrician magistrate ? that there
should be no army, no general to enrol an army ?
Or did they expect to beat off a foreign foe with a
civil war? But if both should come at once, the
help of the gods themselves would scarce suffice to
stay the destruction of the Roman commonwealth.
Why would they not every man abate somewhat of
his full rights and compromise harmoniously on a
middle course, the Fathers consenting that military
tribunes should be chosen instead of consuls, the
397
LIVY
plebi non intercedendo quo minus quattuor quaestores
promisee de plebe ac patribus libero suffragio populi
fierent ?
XLIV. Tribunicia primum comitia sunt habita.
Creati tribuni consulari potestate omnes patricii^ L.
Quinctius Cincinnatus tertium ^ L. Furius ^ Me-
dullinus iterum M. Manlius ^ A. Sempronius Atratinus.
2 Hoc tribuno comitia quaestorum habente petenti-
busque inter aliquot plebeios filio A. Antisti^ tribuni
plebis et fratre alterius tribuni plebis Sex. Pompili,
nee potestas nee suffragatio horum valuit quin quorum
patres avosque consules viderant eos nobilitate prae-
3 ferrent. Furere omnes tribuni plebi, ante omnes
Pompilius Antistiusque, repulsa suorum accensi.
4 Quidnam id rei esset .' ^ Non suis beneficiis, non
patrum iniuriis^ non denique ius usurpandi^ libidine,
cum lieeat quod ante non lieuerit, si non tribunum
militarem^ ne quaestorem quidem quemquam ex plebe
5 factum ! Non valuisse patris pro filio, fratris pro fratre
preces, tribunorum plebis, potestatis sacrosanctae ad
auxilium libertatis creatae. Fraudem profecto in re
esse, et A. Sempronium comitiis plus artis adhibuisse
quam fidei. Eius iniuria queri suos honore deiectos.
^ tertium - : tertio {or -cio) Cl.
2 L. Furiiis Sigonius [chap. xxv. § 5, and chap. xxv. § 1,
and C.I.T.. i^, p. 112) : sextus {or sex.) furius n.
2 Manlius - {CI.L. ibid.) : mallius H.
* A. Antisti Lukrho-^hcr : antisti {or -ii) Q.'. antistiit i>.
® esset - : esset quod D..
® ius usurpandi Karsttn : usurpandi Ci.
BOOK IV. xLiii. I2-XLIV. 5
tribunes interposing no veto to })revent four quaestors b.c. 421
being taken promiscuously from plebeians and patri-
cians by free election of the people ?
XLIV. The election of tribunes was held first, .^fr^-^
„,, , , - , , 420-419
1 he tribunes with consular powers who were chosen
were all patricians^ namely Lucius Quinctius Cincin-
natus (for the third time), Lucius Furius MeduUinus
(for the second time), Marcus Manlius, and Auius
Sempronius Atratinus. The last-named held the
election for quaestors. Among the several plebeians
who sought the place were the son of a plebeian
tribune, named Aulus Antistius, and the brother of
another, Sextus Pompilius. Yet neither the authority
nor the support of these men could prevent the
people from giving the preference, because of their
noble birth, to men whose fathers and grandfathers
they had seen consuls. This made all the tribunes
furious, but more than all the rest Pompilius and
Antistius, who were incensed at the defeat of their
kinsmen. What in the world, they asked, was the
meaning of this.^ Had neither their own services
nor the wrongs which the patricians had inflicted,
nor even the pleasure of exercising a right- — since
what had before been unlawful was now permitted —
availed to elect a single quaestor from the plebs, let
alone a military tribune f Of no avail had been a
father's entreaties for his son, a brother's for his
brother, not though they had been tribunes of the
plebs, and invested with an inviolable office, created
for the protection of liberty. There was fraud in the
matter, beyond question, and Aulus Sempronius had
employed more artifice than honesty in the election.
It was by his wrong-doing, they complained, that
their relations had been defeated for office. And so,
399
LIVY
A.u.c. 6 Itaque cum in ipsum et innocentia tiitum et magis-
tratu^ in quo tunc erat, impetus fieri non posset,
flexere iras in C. Sempronium, patruelem Atratini,
eique ob ignominiam Volsci belli adiutore collega M.
7 Canuleio diem dixere. Subinde ab iisdem tribunis
mentio in senatu de agris dividendis inlata est, cui
actioni semper acerrime C. Sempronius restiterat,
ratis/ id quod erat, aut deposita causa leviorem
futurum apud patres reum aut perseverantem sub
8 iudicii tempus plebem ofFensurum. Adversae in-
vidiae obici maluit et suae nocere causae quam
9 publicae deesse ; stetitque in eadem sententia ne
qua largitio, cessura in trium gratiam tribunorum,
fieret ; nee turn agrum plebi, sed sibi invidiam
quaeri ; se quoque subiturum eam tempestatem forti
animo ; nee senatui tanti se civem aut quemquam
alium debere esse, ut in parcendo uni malum publicum
10 fiat. Nibilo deraissiore animo, cum dies venit, causa
ipse '-^ pro se dicta, nequiquam omnia expertis patribus
ut mitigarent plebem, quindecim milibus aeris
daranatur.
11 Eodem anno Postumia virgo Vestalis de incestu
causam dixit crimine innoxia, ab suspicione ^ propter
* ratis r : ratus H.
2 causa ipse A^ (or A^) ^: causa ipsa U: causa ipsa ipse
PEHDLA : causa ipse sa ipse 31.
' ab suspicione Gronoxius : ob suspicionem (-tionem ED) n.
400
BOOK IV. xLiv. 6-1 1
since they could not attack the man himself, secure b.c.
as he was not only in his innocence but in the magis- 420-4i£
tracy which he was filling, they turned their anger
upon Gaius Sempronius, the cousin of Atratinus;
and prosecuted him, with the co-operation of their
colleague Marcus Canuleius, on the score of the
humiliation suffered in the Volscian war. The same
tribunes frequently mentioned in the senate the
division of the public lands, a measure which Gaius
Sempronius had always stoutly resisted, for they
reckoned' — and rightly- — that either he would aban-
don the cause and his defence would become a matter
of less concern to the patricians, or that persevering
in his attitude he would give offence, up to the
moment of his trial, to the plebeians. He chose to
face the storm of unpopularity and to injure his own
cause rather than be found wanting in that of the
nation ; and he held fast to the same opinion, that
there should be no largess, for that would redound
to the advantage of the three tribunes. It was not
land for the plebs they were then looking for, he
declared, but hatred for himself; he was as ready as
another to confront that tempest with a courageous
heart ; nor ought the senate to set so high a value
upon himself or any other citizen that their tender-
ness for him should bring about a general disaster.
His spirit was not a whit less firm when the day of
trial came. He pleaded his own cause ; the senators
exerted in vain every means of mollifying the plebs ;
and he was condemned to pay a fine of fifteen
thousand asses.
The same year a Vestal virgin named Postumia
was put on trial for unchastity. She was innocent of
the charge, though open to suspicion because of her
401
VOL. II. D D
336
LIVY
cultum amoeniorem ingeniumque liberius quam
12 virginem decet parum abhorrens. Earn ^ ampliatam,
deinde absolutam pro collegii sententia pontifex
maximus abstinere iocis colique sancte potius quam
scite iussit, Eodem anno a Campanis Cumae^ quam
Graeci tum urbem tenebant. capiuntur.
13 Insequens annus tribunos militum consular!
potestate habuit Agrippam Menenium Lanatum P.
Lucretium Tricipitinum Sp. Nautium Rutulum ^
A.c.c. (XLV.), annus felicitate populi Romani periculo potius
ingenti quam clade insignis. Servitia urbem ut
incenderent distantibus Iocis coniurarunt^ populoque
ad opem passim ferendam tectis intento ut arcem
2 Capitoliumque armati occuparent. Avertit nefanda
consilia luppiter, indicioque duorum comprehensi
sontes poenas dederunt. Indicibus dena milia gravis
aeris, quae tum divitiae habebantur^ ex aerario
numerata et libertas praemium fuit.
3 Bellum inde ab Acquis reparari coeptum ; et novos
hostes Labicanos^ consilia cum veteribus iungere haud
4 incertis auctoribus Romam est allatum. Aequorum
iam velut anniversariis armis adsueverat civitas : La-
bicos legati missi cum responsa inde rettulissent
dubia, quibus nee tum bellum parari nee diuturnam
pacem fore appareret^ Tusculanis negotium datum
adverterent animos ne quid novi tumultus Labicis
oreretur.
^ earn J/* : earn am M : faniam [omitted by P) n.
* Rutulum Comray {cf. chap. xxxv. § 4): rutilium 31 A^:
O'li'i itted hy CL
' Labicanos .... Labicis .... Labicanos .... Labi-
canis as Ci reads at it. xxxix. 4 and s-jveral other places [in § 4
Labicos MFJlL) : lauicanos, etc. il.
402
BOOK IV. xLiv. ii-xLv. 4
pretty clothes and the unmaidenly freedom of her bc.
wit. After she had been remanded and then ac- ^-^"^^^
quitted, the pontifex maximus, in the name of the
college, commanded her to abstain from jests, and to
dress rather with regard to sanctity than coquetry.
In this same year Cumae, a city which the Greeks
then held, was captured by the Campanians.
The ensuing year had as military tribunes with
consular powers Agrippa Menenius Lanatus, Publius
Lucretius Tricipitinus, and Spurius Nautilus Rutulus.
XLV. It was a year remarkable, thanks to the good n.o. 4i8
fortune of the Roman People, for a great danger but
not a disaster. The slaves conspired to set fire to
the City at points remote from one another, and,
while the people should be busy everywhere with
rescuing their houses, to seize the Citadel and the
Capitol with an armed force. Jupiter brought their
wicked schemes to naught, and on the evidence of two
of their number the guilty were arrested and punished.
Each informant was rewarded from the public
treasury with ten thousand pounds of bronze — which
passed for wealth in those days — and with freedom.
The Aequi then began to prepare again for war;
and word was brought to Rome on good authorit}^ that
new enemies, the Labicani, were making common
cause with the old ones. As for the Aequi, the
citizens had by now grown accustomed to war with
them, as to an annual occurrence ; but they dis-
patched envoys to Labici, and having got them
back with an ambiguous answer, from which it
appeared that though war was not as yet being
organized, yet peace would not long continue, they
commissioned the Tusculans to watch that no fresh
outbreak should occur at that place.
403
D D 2
LIVY
5 Ad insequentis anni tribunos railitum consular!
potestate inito magistratu legati ab Tusculo venerunt,
L. Sergium Fideiiatem M. Papirium Mugillanum^
C. Servilium Prisci filium, quo dictatore Fidenae
6 captae fuerant. Nuntiabant legati Labicanos arma
cepisse et cum Aequorum exercitu depopulatos agrum
7 Tusculanum castra in Algido posuisse. Turn Labi-
canis bellum indicium ; factoque senatus consulto ut
duo ex tribunis ad bellum proficiscerentur, unus res
Romae curaret, certamen subito inter tribunos ex-
ortum ; se quisque belli ducem potiorem ferre^ curam
8 urbis ut ingratam ignobilemque aspernari. Cum
parum decorum inter coUegas certamen mirabundi
patres conspicerent^ Q. Servilius "Quando nee ordinis
huius ulla" inquit, ^'^ nee rei publicae est verecundia,
patria raaiestas altercationem istam dirimet. Filius
meus extra sortem urbi praeerit. Bellum utinam
qui adpetunt consideratius concordiusque quam
cupiunt gerant."
XLVI. Dilectum haberi non ex toto passim populo
placuit ; decern tribus sorte ductae sunt. Ex iis
scriptos iuniores duo tribuni ad bellum duxere.
2 Coepta inter eos in urbe certamina cupiditate eadem
imperii multo impensius in castris accendi ; nihil
sentire idem^ pro sententia pugnare ; sua consilia
3 velle, sua imperia sola rata esse ; contemnere in
1 Mugillanum Sigonius : mugilanum Q..
404
BOOK IV. xLv. 5-xLvi. 3
To the military tribunes with consular authority b.c.418
who held office the ensuing year^ Lucius Sergius
Fidenas, Marcus Papirius Mugillanus, and Gaius
Servilius^ son of the Priscus who as dictator had
captured Fidenae, there came^ just as they had
entered on their magistracy, ambassadors from Tus-
culum, who announced that the Labicani had armed
and, after devastating the Tusculan countryside in
company with an Aequian army, had encamped on
Algidus. Thereupon war was declared against the
Labicani, and the senate resolved that two of the
tribunes should proceed to the front, while one
attended to matters in Rome. At this a dispute
immediately broke out amongst the tribunes, each
of whom boasted of his superiority as a general and
spurned the care of the City as a thankless and
ignoble task. While the astonished senators watched
this unseemly rivalry amongst the colleagues, Quintus
Servilius exclaimed, " Since you have no respect for
this order nor for the republic, a father's authority
shall end your quarrel. My son shall preside over
the City, without recourse to lots. I only hope
that those who are eager to make the campaign
may conduct it with more consideration and har-
mony than they display in seeking it."
XLVL It was determined not to make a general
levy on the entire people, but ten tribes were chosen
by lot. From these the two tribunes enrolled the
men of military age and led them to war. The
bickerings which had commenced between them in
the City grew much hotter in the camp, from the
same eagerness to command ; they could not agree
on anything ; each strove for his own opinion ; each
desired his own plans and his own orders to be the
405
LIVY
vicem et contemni. donee eastigantibus legatis tan-
dem ita comparatum est ut alternis diebus summam
4 imperii haberent. Quae cum allata Romam assent,
dicitur Q. Servilius, aetate et usu doctus precatus
ab dis ^ immortalibus ne discordia tribunorum dam-
nosior rei publicae esset quam ad \'eios fuisset, et
velut liaud dubia clade imminente institisse filio ut
5 milites scriberet et arma pararet. Nee falsus vates
fuit. Nam ductu L. Sergi, cuius dies imperii erat,
loco iniquo sub hostium castris, cum, quia simulate
metu receperat se hostis ad vallum, spes vana ex-
pugnandi castra eo traxisset, repentino impetu Ae-
quorum per supinam vallem fusi sunt, multique in
raina maiore quam fuga oppressi obtruncatique.
6 Castraque eo die aegre retenta, postero die circum-
fusis iam magna ex parte hostibus per aversam
portam fuga turpi deseruntur. Duces legatique et
quod circa signa roboris de exercitu fuit Tusculum
7 petiere : palati alii peragros passim multis itineribus
maioris quam accepta erat cladis nuntii Romam con-
8 tenderunt. Minus trepidationis fuit, quod eventus
timori liominum congruens fuerat, et quod subsidia
quae respicerent in re trepida praeparata erant ab
^ dis Conway and Jf'alters : diis n.
406
BOOK IV. xLvi. s-8
only valid ones; each despised the other and wasB.c.ns
in turn despised by him, until at last^ reproved by
their lieutenants^ they arranged to exercise the
supreme command on alternate days. When the
report of this reached Rome^ it is said that Quintus
Servilius, taught by years and experience, besought
the immortal gods that the strife between the
tribunes might not result more disastrously to the
republic than had been the case at Veii^ and as
though certain defeat w^ere imminent, urged his son
to enlist soldiers and make ready arms. Nor was
he a false prophet. For under the leadership of
Lucius Sergius, whose day it was to command, the
Romans found themselves in an unfavourable position
close to the enemy's camp, whither they had been
drawn, when the Aequi feigned fear and retired to
their rampart, by the vain hope of capturing it ;
and there they were suddenly attacked by the Aequi
and driven pellmell down a sloping valley, where
many of them, as they rather tumbled down than
retreated, were overtaken and put to the sword.
That day they defended their camp with difficulty,
and on the next, when the enemy had almost sur-
rounded it, they abandoned it by a disgraceful
flight through the opposite gate. The generals and
their lieutenants and such of the army's strength
as kept to the standards made for Tusculum : the
others, scattering through the fields, this way and
that, hastened to Rome by divers roads and reported
a much heavier defeat than had been sustained.
There was the less dismay for the reason that the
event had tallied with men's apprehensions, and
because reserves which they could look to in the
hour of danger had been made ready by the tribune
407
LIVY
A.U.C. 9 tribuno militum. lussuque eiusdem per minores
336
magistratus sedato in urbe tumultu speculatores
propere missi nuntiavere Tusculi duces exercitumque
10 esse, hostem castra loco non movisse. Et, quod
plurimum animorum fecit, dictator ex senatus con-
sulto dictus Q. Servilius^ Priscus, vir cuius provi-
dentiam in re publica cum multis aliis tempestatibus
ante experta civitas erat turn eventu eius belli, quod
uni certamen tribunorum suspectum ante rem male
11 gestam fuerat. Magistro equitum create a quo ipse
tribuno militum dictator erat dictus, filio suo — ut
tradidere quidam ; nam alii Ahalam Servilium magis-
12 trum equitum eo anno fuisse scribunt, — novo exercitu
profectus ad bellum accitis qui Tusculi erant, duo
milia passuum ab hoste locum castris cepit.
Au.o. XLVII. Transierat ex re bene gesta superbia
neglegentiaque ad Aequos quae in Romanis ducibus
2 fuerat. Itaque primo statim proelio cum dictator
equitatu immisso antesignanos hostium turbasset,
legionum inde signa inferri propere iussit signi-
3 ferumque ex suis unum cunctantem occidit. Tantus
ardor ad dimicandum fuit ut impetum Aequi non
tulerint, victique acie cum fuga effusa petissent castra,
brevior tempore et certamine minor ^ castrorum op-
4 pugnatio fuit quam proelium fuerat. Captis direptis-
que castris cum praedam dictator militi concessisset
. ^ Servilius A"^ j- : sulpicius (-tius JjL) CI.
* brevior tempore et certamine minor E"^ D] ^•. breuior et
certamine et tempore H^ ? : breuiore tempore et certamine
minor H.
408
BOOK IV. xLvi. 8-xLvii. 4
of the soldiers. It was by his orders too that the b.c.418
lesser magistrates had quieted the confusion in the
City, when the scouts whom he had hurriedly sent
out reported that the generals and the army were
at Tusculunij and that the enemy had not broken
camp. And — what raised men's courage most —
Quintus Servilius Priscus was in consequence of a
senatorial decree named dictator — a man whose
clear vision in public affairs the state had proved
on many previous occasions, but particularly in the
outcome of this war, because he alone had viewed
the quarrel of the tribunes with anxiety, before
their defeat. Having appointed his son, by whom,
when military tribune, he had himself been pro-
nounced dictator, to be master of the horse, — as
some authorities have recorded ; for others write
that Servilius Ahala was master of the horse that
year, — he set out with a fresh army for the war,
sent for the troops which were at Tusculum, and
fixed his camp two miles from the enemy.
XLVII. In consequence of their success, the Aequi b.c.
had taken over the arrogance and carelessness which
the Roman generals had shown, and the result was
seen in the very first battle. When the dictator
had attacked with his cavalry and had thrown the
enemy's front ranks into confusion, he ordered the
legions to advance rapidly, and when one of his
standard-bearers hesitated, cut him down. So eager
for combat were the troops, that the Aequi could not
stop their rush, and when, defeated in the field,
they had witlidrawn to their camp in a disordered
flight, it was stormed with less expenditure of time
and effort than the battle itself had cost. Having
captured and sacked the camp, the dictator relin-
409
LIVY
secutiqae fug-ientem ex castris hostem equites re-
nuntiassent omnes Labicanos victos_, magnam partem
5 Aequorum Labicos confugisse. postero die ad Labicos
ductus exercitus oppidumque corona circumdata scalis
6 captum ac direptum est. Dictator exercitu victore
Romam reducto die octavo quam creatus erat magis-
tratu se abdicavit ; et opportune senatus priusquam
ab tribunis plebi agrariae seditiones mentione inlata
de agro Labicano dividendo fierent, censuit frequens
7 coloniam Labicos deducendam. Coloni ab urbe mille
et quingenti missi bina iugera acceperunt.^
Captis Labicis deinde ^ tribunis militum consular!
potestate Agrippa Menenio Lanato et C. Servilio^
8 Structo et P. Lucretio Tricipitino, iterum omnibus
hiSj et Sp. Rutilio Crasso, et insequente anno A.
Sempronio Atratino tertium, et duobus iterum,
M. Papirio Mugillano*et Sp. Nautio Rutulo^ bien-
nium tranquillae externae res, discordia domi ex
agrariis legibus fuit.
XL^'III. Turbatores volgi erant Sp. Maecilius
quartum et M. Metilius^ tertium'' tribuni plebis,
2 ambo absentes creati. Ei ^ cum rogationem pro-
mulgassent ut ager ex hostibus captus viritim divide-
retur, magnaeque partis nobilium eo plebi scito
^ acceperunt A- r : acceperant (accepant A) CI.
2 deinde L. Mueller : ac deinde n.
■* C. Servib'o Glareanus (cf. iv. xlv. 5 and Diod. xtii. vii.
1) : 1. seruilio Ci : seruilio J/ : omitted hy E {which also ornits
Structo).
* Mugillano (as at iv. vii. 10) : mugilano H.
• Rutulo {as at ill. vii. 6) : rutilio (rutulio P) n.
^ M. Metilius Alschefski: metilius {or -cilius) n.
' quartum . , . tertium r : quarto . . . tertio {or -cio) H.
8 ei Z* ? Madvig : et n.
^ The iugeruni wa^ about five-eighths of an acre.
410
BOOK IV. xLvii. 4-xLviii. 2
quished the plunder to his soldiers ; and the cavalry, b.c.
which had pursued the enemy as they fled from their ^^'^'^^^
encampment, came back with the report that all the
Labicani, after their defeat, and a great part of
the Aequi, had taken refuge in Labici. Next day
the army marched to Labici and, drawing a cordon
about the town, stormed it with ladders and ])lun-
dered it. Leading his victorious army back to
Rome, the dictator resigned his office eight days
after his appointment ; and the senate seized the
opportunity, before the tribunes of the plebs could
stir up agrarian troubles by proposing a division of
the Labican territory, to resolve, in a largely-attended
meeting, that a colony should be planted in Labici.
Fifteen hundred colonists were sent from the City,
and each received two iugera.^
The year that followed the capture of Labici,
having as military tribunes with consular powers
Agrippa Menenius Lanatus, Gaius Servilius Structus,
and Publius Lucretius Tricipitinus (all these for
the second time), together with Spurius Rutilius
Crassus ; and the succeedhig year, with Aulus Sem-
pronius Atratinus (for his third term) and Marcus
Papirius Mugillanus and Spurius Nautilus Rutulus
(for their second) were a period of tranquillity in
foreign relations but of civil discord arising out of
agrarian laws.
XLVIIL Those who stirred up the people were
Spurius Maecilius, tribune of the plebs for the fourth
time, and Marcus Metilius, for the third, both having
been elected in their absence. On their proposing
a law^ that the land w^hich had been captured from
enemies should be divided up among the citizens, a
plebiscite which would mean the confiscation of the
411
LIVY
3 publicarentur fortunae — nee enim ferme quicquam
agri, ut ill urbe alieno solo posita, non armis partum
erat, nee quod venisset adsignatumve publice esset
4 praeterquam plebs habebat^ — atrox plebi patribiisque
propositum videbatur certamen. Nee tribuni mili-
tum nunc in senatu^, nune eoneiliis^ privatis principum
5 cogendis viam consilii inveniebant^ cum Ap. Claudius,
nepos eius qui decemvir legibus scribendis fuerat,
6 minimus natu ex patrum concilio, dicitur dixisse
vetus se ae familiare consilium domo adferre ; pro-
avum enim suum Ap. Claudium ostendisse patribus
viam unam dissolvendae tribuniciae potestatis per
7 collegarum intercessionem. Facile homines novos
auctoritate principum de sententia deduci, si tem-
porum interdum potius quam maiestatis memor ad-
8 hibeatur oratio. Pro fortuna illis animos esse ; ubi
videant collegas principes agendae rei gratiam omnem
ad plebem praeoccupasse nee locum in ea relictum sibi,
9 baud gravate adclinaturos se ad causam senatus, per
quam cum universo ordini, tum ^ primoribus se patrum
10 concilient. Adprobantibus cunctis et ante omnes
Q. Servilio Prisco, quod non degenerasset ab stirpe
^ conciliis Crevier : in conciliis g- : in consiliis H.
2 cum universo ordini, turn 7'a?i. Faber : cumiuerso (?)
ordine tum D : uniuerso ordine cum H.
^ Really his great-great-grandfather {ahavus).
2 The term novus homo was usually applied to a man who
was tlie first of liis family to hold a curule office (curule
aedileship, praetorship, consulship).
412
BOOK IV. xLviii. 2-IO
fortunes of a great part of the nobles — for there b.o.
was scarcely any land, as might be expected in the ^^^"^^®
case of a city situated on alien soil, which had not
been gained by force of arms ; nor was much, if
any, of that which had been sold or assigned by the
state held by other than plebeians, — it appeared
that a desperate struggle was at hand between the
plebs and the patricians. The military tribunes had
hit upon no plan of action either in the senate or in
the private conferences which they held with the
leading men, when Appius Claudius, grandson of
him who had been decemvir for drawing up the laws,
himself the youngest of the council of senators,
announced — so the story goes — that he was bringing
them from his house an old family device ; for
it had been his great-grandfather ^ Appius Claudius
who had pointed out to the senators that the only
way to break the power of the tribunes lay through
the veto of their colleagues. It was not difficult
for the leading men of the state to induce upstart
politicians^ to change their minds, if they would
but suit their discourse meantime rather to the
exigencies of the crisis than to their lofty station.
The sentiments of such fellows varied with their
fortunes : when they saw that their colleagues, by
taking the lead in the management of affairs, had
appropriated all the favour of the populace in
advance and had left no room there for themselves,
they would incline without reluctance to the cause
of the senate, by supporting which they might gain
the goodwill not only of the order as a whole, but
also of the foremost senators. When they had all
expressed their approval, and especially Quintus
Servilius Priscus, who praised the young man as
413
LIVY
A.u.c. Claudia conlaudante iuvenem, neeotiuni datur ut
137-338 ^
quos quisque posset ex collegio tribunorum ad inter-
11 cessionem perlicerent. Misso senatu prensantur ab
principibus tribuni. Suadendo monendo pollicendo-
que. gratam id singulis privatim, gratum universo
senatui fore, sex ad intercessionem comparavere.
12 Posteroque die cum ex composite relatum ad senatum
esset de seditione quam Maecilius Metiliusque largi-
13 tione pessimi exempli concirent^ eae orationes a
primoribus patrum liabitae sunt ut pro se quisque
iam nee consilium sibi suppetere diceret nee se ullam
opem cernere aliam usquam praeterquam in tri-
bunicio auxilio ; in eius potestatis fidem circum-
ventam rem publicam^ tamquam privatum inopem,
1-i confugere ; praeclarum ipsis potestatique esse non
ad vexandum senatum discordiamque ordinum mo-
vendam plus in tribunatu virium esse quam ad re-
15 sistendum improbis coUegis. Fremitus deinde universi
senatus ortus, cum ex omnibus partibus curiae tribuni
appellarentur. Turn silentio facto ii qui praeparati
erant gratia principum, quam rogationem a collegis
promulgatam senatus censeatdissolvendaereipublicae
esse, ei se intercessuros ostendunt. Gratiae inter-
16 cessoribus ab senatu actae. Latores rogationis con-
414
BOOK IV. xLviii. 10-16
one who bad not degenerated from the Claudian b.o.
stock, everybody was given the task of inducing ^^'^-^^^
such of the tribunician college as he could to inter-
pose their vetoes. The senate adjourned and the
leading members began to canvass the tribunes.
By arguments in which they mingled warnings with
the promise that their action Avould earn the tribunes
the personal gratitude of individuals, as well as that
of the senate as a body, they got six men to promise
their opposition. Next day when the senate, in
accordance with a preconcerted plan, had taken up
the question of the sedition which Maecilius and
IVIetilius were beginning by proposing a donation of
the most objectionable type, the principal senators
made speeches in which each took occasion to say
that he could think of nothing to suggest and saw
no help for the situation anywhere save in the
assistance of the tribunes ; this was the power to
whose protection the harassed republic, like a private
citizen in distress, now fled for succour ; it was a
glorious thing both for the men themselves and for
their office that the tribunate possessed no less
strength for the resistance of its wicked colleagues
than for troubling the senate and promoting discord
between the orders. Loud shouts were then heard
from the entire senate and appeals were addressed
to the tribunes from every part of the Curia. Then,
after silence had been obtained, those who had
been won over by the favour of the chief senators
declared their readiness to veto the measure wliich
their colleagues had proposed but the senate deemed
subversive of the republic. The thanks of the
senate were voted the protesters. The authors of
the bill convened an assembly, and accusing their
415
LIVY
tione advocata proditores plebis commodorum ac
servos consularium appellantes aliaque truci oratione
in collegas invecti actionem deposuere.
XLIX. Duo bella insequens annus habuisset, quo
P. Cornelius Cossus C. Valerius Potitiis Q. Quinctius
Cincinnatus Num. Fabius ^ Vibulanus tribuni militum
2 consulari potestate fuerunt^ ni Veiens bellum religio
principum distulisset, quorum agros Tiberis super
3 ripas eff'usus maxime ruinis villarum vastavit. Simul
Aequos triennio ante accepta clades prohibuit Bo-
4 lanis,2 suae gentis populo, praesidium ferre. Ex-
cursiones inde in confinem agrum Labicanum ^ factae
5 erant novisque colonis bellum inlatum. Quam noxam
cum se consensu omnium Aequorum defensuros
sperassentj deserti ab suis ne memorabili quidem
bello, per obsidionem levemque unam pugnam et
6 oppidum et fines amisere. Temptatum ab L. Decio ^
tribuno plebis, ut rogationem ferret qua Bolas quo-
que, sicut Labicos, coloni mitterentur, per inter-
cessionem collegarum, qui nullum plebi scitum nisi ex
auctoritate senatus passuros se perferri ostenderunt,
discussum est.
7 Bolis insequente anno receptis Aequi coloniaque
eo deducta novis viribus oppidum firmarunt, tribunis
militum Romae consulari potestate Cn. GDrnelio
Cosso L. Valerio Potito Q. Fabio Vibulano iterum
* Num. Fabius Sigonius {cf. iv. xliii. 1) : marcus (or m) CI.
2 Bolanis Sigonius and Cluverius : uolanis D, : uolentes U
(the same correction throughout the chap.).
' Labicanum o^ at chap. xlv. § 3 : lauic- D. {so lauicos
infra).
* L. Decio c- : 1. quintio decio U: 1. sextio A^ : 1. dexio
MHDLA : 1. q. dexio PE.
416
BOOK IV. xLviii. 16-XLIX. 7
colleagues of beine traitors to the interests of the b.o
plebs and slaves of the consulars^ and in other ways
bitterly denouncing them, withdrew their measure.
XLIX. There would have been two wars in the .j?-^/..
ensuing year, in which Publius Cornelius Cossus,
Gaius Valerius Potitus, Quintus Quinctius Cincin-
natus, and Numerius Fabius Vibulanus were military
tribunes with consular powers, had not the war with
Veii been delayed, thanks to the superstition of the
Veientine leaders, whose farms an overflow of the
Tiber had laid w^aste, chiefly by ruining the farm-
houses. At the same time the Aequi were deterred
by the defeat they had suffered three years before
from marching to the assistance of the Bolani, a tribe
of their own race. These people had made incursions
into the neighbouring territory of Labici and attacked
the new settlers. The consequences of this outrage
they had hoped to avoid by means of the co-operation
of all the Aequi ; but, having been abandoned by
their friends, they lost their town and their lands, in
a war which does not even merit description, as the
result of a siege and a single skirmish. An attempt
on the part of Lucius Decius, a plebeian tribune, to
carry a law providing that colonists should be sent to
Bolae too, as well as to Labici, was frustrated through
the intervention of his colleagues, who intimated that
they would permit no plebiscite to pass unless it had
the warrant of the senate.
Bolae was retaken the next year, and the Aequi
planted a colony there and strengthened the town
with new defenders. Rome now had the following
military tribunes with consular powers, Gnaeus
Cornelius Cossus, Lucius Valerius Potitus, Quintus
Fabius Vibulanus (for the second time), and Marcus
417
VOL. II. E E
LIVY
A.u.c. 8 M. Postumio Reffillensi.^ Huic bellum adversus
Aequos permissum est^ pravae mentis hominij quara
9 tamen victoria magis quam bellum ostendit. Nam
exercitu impigre scripto ductoque ad Bolas cum levi-
bus proeliis Aequorum animos fregisset^ postremo in
oppidum inrupit. Deinde ab hostibus in cives certa-
men vertit et cum inter oppugnationem praedam
militis fore edixisset, capto oppido fidem mutavit.
10 Eam magis adducor ut credam irae causam exercitui
fuisse quam quod in urbe nuper direpta coloniaque
nova minus praedicatione tribuni praedae fuerit.
11 Auxit eam iram, postquam ab coUegis arcessitus
propter seditiones tribunicias in urbem revertitj
audita vox eius in contione stolida ac prope vecors,
qua M. Sextio ^ tribuno plebis legem agrariam ferenti,
simul Bolas quoque ut mitterentur coloni laturum
se dicenti — dignum^ enim esse qui annis cepissent,
eorum urbem agrumque Bolanum esse — " Malum
quidem militibus meis " inquit^ "nisi quieverint."
Quod auditum non contionem magis quam mox
12 patres offendit. Et tribunus plebis, vir acer nee
infacundus, nactus inter adversarios superbum inge-
nium immodicamque linguam, quam inritando agi-
tandoque in eas impelleret voces quae invidiae non
1 Regillensi Sigonius {C.I.L. i\ p. 444, note): regiliensi
n : re giliensi M : rei giliensi J/^ : religiensi UHA.
2 qua M. Sextio U'- j- : quam sextio Ci: q) Sextio Hi
q. Sextio EK
^ dignum Tan. Faher : dignos n.
418
BOOK IV. xLix. 7-12
Postumius Regillensis. To this last was intrusted b.o
the campaign against the Aequi. He was a wrong- 4i5-4ii
headed man, yet he showed it more in the hour of
victory than during the campaign. For he was
energetic in raising an army and leading it to Bolae,
where_, after breaking the spirit of the Aequi in some
trifling engagements, he finally forced an entrance
into the town. He then diverted the quarrel from
the enemy to his fellow-citizens ; and though he had
proclaimed at the time of the attack that the booty
should belong to the soldiers, when he had taken
the town he l)roke his j^romise. This, I am inclined
to believe, was the cause of the army's resentment,
rather than the fact that in a recently-plundered
city inhabited by new settlers, there was less booty
than the tribune had predicted. The ill-feeling was
increased, when, being sent for by his colleagues
on account of tribunician disturbances, he had
returned to the City, by a stupid and almost insane
remark he was heard to make in an assembly, where
Marcus Sextius, a plebeian tribune, in introducing
an agrarian measure, announced that he should
propose also that colonists be dispatched to Bolae —
for it was proper, he said, that the city and lands of
the Bolani should belong to those who had captured
them in war. " Woe to my soldiers," exclaimed
Postumius, " unless they hold their peace ! " — a
saying which presently, on being reported to the
senators, offended them no less than it had the
assembly. And the tribune of the plebs, a keen and
not uneloquent man, having got for one of his
adversaries a man of haughty spirit and unbridled
tongue, whom he could irritate and provoke to say
things that would not only make himself disliked
419
LIVY
ipsi tantum sed causae atque universo ordini essent^
neminem ex collegio tribunorum militum saepius
13 quam Postumium in disceptationem trahebat. Turn
vero secundum tam saevura atque inhumanum dictum
^•Auditis" inquit, " QuiriteSj sicut servis malum
U minantem militibus r Tamen haec belua dignior
vobis tanto honore videbitur quam qui vos urbe
agrisque donates in colonias mittunt, qui sedem
senectuti vestrae prospiciunt. qui pro vestris com-
modis adversus tam crudeles superbosque adversaries
15 depucrnant ? Incipite deinde mirari cur pauci iam
vestram suscipiant causam. Quid ut a vobis sperent ?
An honores, quos adversariis vestris potius quam po-
16 jjuli Romani propugnatoribus datis ? Ingemuistis
modo voce huius audita. Quid id refert ? Jam si
sufFragium detur. hunc qui malum vobis minatur iis
qui agros sedesque ac fortunas stabilire volunt
praeferetis."
L. Perlata haec vox Postumi ad milites multo in
castris maiorem indignationem movit : praedaene
interceptorem fraudatoremque etiam malum minari
2 militibus ? Itaque cum fremitus aperte esset, et
quaestor P. Sestius ^ eadem violentia coerceri putaret
seditionem posse qua mota erat^. misso ad vociferantem
quendam militem lictore cum inde clamor et iurgium
oreretur^ saxo ictus turba excedit^ insuper increpante
3 qui volneraverat. habere quaestorem quod imperator
^ Seslius Sigonius {as at in. xxxii. 4j : sextius ^Sexius H) n.
420
BOOK IV. xLix. I2-L. 3
but his cause and the entire senate as well, made a b.c.
point of involving Postumius in a dispute more often ^^^'^^^
than any other member of the college of military
tribunes. On this particular occasion, after that
savage and brutal threat, he cried, " Do you hear
him, Quirites, threatening his soldiers with punish-
ment like slaves ? Shall this wild beast seem to you,
notwithstanding, more deserving of so great an office
than those who would present you with a city and
with lands, and send you out to colonies ; who would
})rovide a home for your old age ; who fight for your
interests against these cruel and insolent adversaries ?
And does it surprise you that so few espouse your
cause ? What are they to expect of you ? Those
offices which you give by preference to your oppo-
nents, rather than to the champions of the Roman
People? You groaned just now when you heard his
remark. What of it? If you should be asked to
vote this very moment, you would elect this man
who threatens you with chastisement in preference
to those who wish to secure you lands and houses
and fortunes."
L. When this saying of Postumius reached the b.c. 414
troops, it stirred up much greater indignation in the
camp : did the man who had fraudulently cut off
his soldiers from their spoils also threaten them with
punishment ? And while they murmured openly, the
quaestor Publius Sestius, thinking that the mutiny
could be quelled with the same violence which
had occasioned it, sent a lictor to arrest a certain
brawling soldier ; whereupon shouts and objurgations
broke forth, and Sestius was hit with a stone and
retreated from the scuffle, while the man who had
w^ounded him thundered after him that the quaestor
421
LIVY
4 esset militibus minatus. Ad hunc tumultum accitus
Postumius asperiora omnia fecit acerbis quaestionibus,
crudelibus suppliciis. Postremo cum modum irae
nullum faceret, ad vociferationem eorum quos necari
sub crate iusserat concursu facto, ipse ad interpel-
5 lantes ^ poenam vecors de tribunali decurrit. Ibi
cum submoventes passim lictores centurionesque
vexarent turbam, eo indignatio erupit ut tribunus
militum ab exercitu suo lapidibus cooperiretur.
6 Quod tarn atrox facinus postquam est Romam imntia-
tum, tribunis militum de morte collegae per senatum
quaestiones decernentibus tribuni plebis intercede-
7 bant. Sed ea contentio ex certamine alio pendebat,
quod cura incesserat patres ne metu quaestionum
plebs iraque tribunos militum ex plebe crearet, tende-
8 bantque summa ope ut consules crearentur. Cum
senatus consultum fieri tribuni plebis non paterentur,
iidem intercederent consularibus comitiis, res ad
interregnum rediit. Victoria deinde penes patres
fuit.
LI. Q. Fabio Vibulano interrege comitia habente
consules creati sunt A. Cornelius Cossus L. Fiirius^
2 Medullinus. His consulibus principio anni senatus
consultum factum est, ut de quaestione Postumianae
caedis tribuni primo quoque tempore ad plebem
^ interpellantes Gronovius : interpellandis M : interpel-
lantis n.
* L. Furius - : Furius H.
^ See the account, in i. li. 9, of the execution of Herdonius.
Here water is not mentioned, and the victim was probably
placed on the ground and crushed beneath the stones which
were heaped upon the hurdle.
2 Providing for the investigation of the murder of Postumius.
422
BOOK IV. L. 3-Li. 2
had got what the general had threatened to give his b.c. 414
men. Being summoned to deal with this disturbance,
Postumius aggravated everything by his harsh inqui-
sitions and savage punishments. Finally his anger
got beyond all bounds, and when the shout of those
whom he had ordered to be put to death under a
hurdle 1 had caused a crowd to gather, he ran down
in a frenzy of passion from his tribunal to those who
would have interrupted the execution. There, when
the lictors and centurions assailed the mob and tried
to drive them back, on this side and on that, resent-
ment ran so high that a military tribune was over-
whelmed with a volley of stones from his own soldiers.
This dreadful deed having been announced in Rome,
the tribunes of the soldiers wished to institute a
senatorial inquiry into tlie death of their colleague,
but the plebeian tribunes interposed their vetoes.
The dispute was closely connected with another
struggle. The senators had become apprehensive
lest the plebs, what with their fear of investigations
and their indignation, should elect military tribunes
from their own class ; they therefore used all their
efforts to have consuls chosen. Since the plebeian
tribunes would not allow the resolution of the senate ^
to go through, and also vetoed the election of consuls,
the state reverted to an interregnum. The victory
then rested with the senators.
LI. Quintus Fabius Vibulanus, acting as interrex, b.c. 413
held an election, and Aulus Cornelius Cossus and
Lucius Furius Medullinus were chosen consuls. In
their consulship, early in the year, a senatorial
resolution was passed that the tribunes should bring
the investigation of Postumius's murder before the
plebs at the earliest possible moment, and that the
423
LIVY
ferrent plebesque praeficeret quaestioni quem vellet.
A plebe consensu ^ consulibus negotium mandatur ;
3 qui summa moderatione ac lenitate per paucorum
supplicium^quos sibimet ipsos conscisse mortem satis
creditum est, transacta re, nequivere tamen consequi,
4 ut non aegerrime id plebs ferret : iacere tam diu
inritas actiones quae de suis commodis ferrentur,
cum interim de sanguine ac supplicio suo latam
legem confestim exerceri et tantam vim habere.
5 Aptissimum tempus fuerat vindicatis seditionibus
delenimentum animis Bolani ^ agri divisionem obici,
quo facto minuissent desiderium agrariae legis quae
possesso ^ per iniuriam agro publico patres pellebat ;
6 tunc haec ipsa indignitas angebat animos : non in
retinendis modo publicis agris quos vi ^ teneret per-
tinacem nobilitatem esse, sed ne vacuum quidem
agrum nuper ex hostibus captum plebi dividere,
mox paucis, ut cetera, futurum praedae.
7 Eodem anno adversus Volscos populantes Herni-
corum fines legiones ductae a Furio consule cum
hostem ibi non invenissent, Ferentiium, quo magna
8 multitudo Volscorum se contulerat, cepere. Minus
praedae quam speraverant fuit, quod Volsci, post-
quam spes tuendi exigua erat, sublatis rebus nocte
^ consensu Crevier : populi consensu fl.
* Bolani E"! (iv. xlix. 3; : uolani (uolam A) n.
^ possesso A^ or A^ c- : possessio H: posset sio {or possit
Bio) E.
* quos vi - : quos ut H.
424
BOOK IV. Li. 2-8
plebs should appoint -whomsoever they wished to b.c. 413
have charge of the inquiry. The plebs unanimously
referred the matter to the consuls. They accom-
plished their task with the utmost moderation and
leniency^ punishing a few only, — and these are
generally believed to have committed suicide ; — yet
they were unable to prevent the transaction from
being bitterly resented by the plebs, who complained
that the measures which liad been proposed in their
interests lay all this while neglected, whereas the
law that was passed concerning their punishment
and their lives was carried out at once, and most
effectually. It would have been a very suitable
occasion, now that the mutiny had been avenged,
to appease their anger by offering to divide the Bolan
territory. Had the senators done this, they would
have lessened men's desire for the agrarian law
which was meant to expel the patricians from their
wrongful occupation of the public domain. As it
was, a sense of injury was aroused by the very
circumstance that the nobility not only persisted in
retaining the public lands, which they held by force,
but would not even divide among the plebeians the
unoccupied ground which had recently been taken
from the enemy and would soon, they thought,
become, like all the rest, the booty of a few.
The same year the V^olsci laid waste the borders
of the Hernici, and the legions were led out to meet
them by the consul Furius. Not finding the enemy
there, they captured Ferentinum, to which a great
number of Volsci had retired. There was less
plunder there than they had expected, because the
Volsci, having small hopes of defending the town,
removed their possessions by night and abandoned
425
LIVY
oppidum reliquerunt; postero die prope desertum
capitur. Hernicis ipsum agerque^ dono datus.
LI I. Annum modestia tribunorum quietum ex-
cepit tribunus plebis L. Icilius ^ Q. Fabio Ambusto
2 C. Furio Paculo ^ consulibus. Is cum principio
statim anni, velut pensum nominis familiaeque,
3 seditiones agrariis legibus promulgandis cieret,
pestilentia coorta, minacior tamen quam perniciosior,
cogitationes hominum a foro certaminibusque pub-
licis ad domum curamque corporum nutriendorum
avertit ; minusque earn damnosam fuisse, quam
4 seditio futura fuerit credunt. Defuncta civitate
plurimorum morbis, perpaucis funeribus, pestilentem
annum inojiia frugum neglecto cultu agrovum, ut
plerumque fit^ excepit, M. Papirio Atratino C. Xautio
5 Piutulo* consulibus. lam fames quam pestilentia
tristior erat^ ni dimissis circa omnes populos legatis
qui Etruscum mare quique Tiberim accolunt ad
frumentum mercandum, annonae foret subventum.
G Superbe ab Samnitibus qui Capuam habebant Cu-
masque legati prohibit! commercio sunt, contra ea
benigne ab Siculorum tyrannis adiuti ; maximos
commeatus summo Etruriae studio Tiberis devexit.
7 Solitudinem in civitate aegra expert! consules sunt,
cum in legationes non plus singulis senatoribus
^ ipsum agerque IVeissenhorn : ipse agen^ue M : ipse
agar Cl.
- L. Icilius r : lucilius fi: icilius U: lucius E.
3 I'aculo Conicay i^f. chap. xii. § 1): Pacilo Sigonius:
pactilo n : pactilio MU : patilo A : paculio A^ [or A^).
* Rutulo cf. chap, xlvii. § 8 : rutilio n : rutulio FFB.
^ Livy probably has Dionysius I. in mind ; though in
reality it was several years later when he became tyrant of
Sj'racuse.
426
BOOK IV. LI. 8-Lii. 7
it; next day, when it was taken, it was practically b-c.i13
deserted. The town itself and its territory were
given to the Hernici.
LII. After this year, which the moderation of the b.c.
tribunes had made a quiet one, came the plebeian ^^-'^^^
tribuneship of Lucius Icilius^ when Quintus Fabius
Ambustus and Gaius Furius Paculus were consuls.
While Icilius, at the very outset of the year, was
endeavouring to stir up sedition by the promulgation
of agrarian laws, as if it had been the appointed task
of his name and family, a pestilence broke out, which,
though it was more threatening than fatal, diverted
men's thoughts from the Forum and political conflicts
to their homes and the care of the sick, and is thought
to have been less hurtful than the sedition would
have been. The state had escaped with very few
deaths, considering the great number of those who
had fallen ill, when the year of pestilence was suc-
ceeded, in the consulship of Marcus Papirius Atratinus
and Gains Nautilus Rntulus, by a scarcity of corn,
owing to the neglect of tillage usual at such times.
Indeed the famine would have been more banefid
than the disease, had they not supplemented the
supply of corn by dispatching emissaries to all the
peoples round about who dwelt on the Tuscan sea or
by the Tiber, to purchase it. The Samnites who
held Capua and Cumae insolently refused to permit
the envoys to trade with them, but the Sicilian
tyrants,^ on the contrary, lent them generous assist-
ance ; and the largest supplies of all were brought
down the Tiber, with the hearty goodwill of the
Etruscans. The consuls experienced a lack of men
in the afflicted City, and, being unable to find more
than one senator for an embassy, were obliged to add
427
LIVY
invenientes coacti sunt binos equites adicere.
8 Praeterquam ab morbo annonaque nihil eo biennio
intestini externive incommodi fuit. At ubi eae
sollicitudines discessere, omnia quibus turbari solita
erat ci vitas, domi discordia, foris bellum exortum.
LJII. M. Aemilio C. Valerio Potito consulibus
bellum Aequi parabant, \'olscis, quamquam non pub-
lico consilio capessentibus arma, voluntariis mercede
2 secutis militiam. Ad quorum famam hostium — iam
enim in Latinum Hernicumque transcenderant agrum
— dilectum habentem Valerium consulem M. Mene-
nius tribunus plebis, legis agrariae lator, cum im-
pediret auxilioque tribuni nemo invitus sacramento
3 diceret, repente nuntiatur arcem Carventanam ab
4 hostibus occupatam esse. Ea ignominia accepta
cum apud patres invidiae Menenio fuit, turn ceteris
tribunis, iam ante praeparatis intercessoribus legis
agrariae, praebuit iustiorem causam resistendi col-
5 legae. Itaque cum res diu ducta per altercationem
esset, consulibus deos hominesque testantibus quid-
quid ab hostibus cladis ignominiaeque aut iam accep-
tum essetaut immineret culpam penes Meneniumfore,
6 qui dilectum impediret, Menenio contra vociferante,
si iniusti domini possessione agri publici cederent,
7 se moram dilectui non facere, decreto interposito
novem tribuni sustulerunt certamen pronuntiave-
428
BOOK IV. Lii. 7-Liii. 7
two knights to each. With the exception of the b.c.
disease and the shortage of corn, there was no internal ^^-'^^^
or foreign trouble during tiiese two years. But no
sooner had these anxieties departed, than there came
an outbreak of all the ills which were wont to harass
the state, domestic quarrels and war abroad.
LIII. In the consulship of Marcus Aemilius and B.a4io
Gaius Valerius Potitus the Aequi prepared to go to
war, and tlie Volsci, though they did not take up arms
as a nation, made the campaign as volunteers serving
for pay. When, on the rumour of tlieir advance, —
for they had already crossed over into Latin and
Hernican territory, — Valerius the consul was raising
troops, and Marcus Menenius, tribune of the plebs
and proposer of an agrarian law, was obstructing the
levy, and everybody who did not wish to go was
availing himself of the tribune's protection and re-
fusing the oath, on a sudden came the news that
the citadel of Carventum had been seized by the
enemy. This humiliation not only gave the patricians
the means of stirring up feeling against Menenius,
but supplied the rest of the tribunes, who had ah*eady
been persuaded to veto the agrarian law, with a more
justifiable pretext for resisting their colleague. The
dispute was long drawn out. The consuls called
gods and men to witness that the responsibility for
whatever defeat or disgrace had already been or
threatened to be visited on them by the enemy would
rest with Menenius, because of his interference with
the levy ; Menenius, on the other hand, protested
loudly that if the occupants of the public domain
would surrender their illegal possession of it, he was
prepared to withdraw his opposition to the muster.
At this juncture nine tribunes interposed a resolution
429
LIVY
A.r.c. runtque ex collegii sententia C. Valerio consul! se^
damnum aliamque coercitionem adversus interces-
sionem collegae dilectus causa detractantibus mili-
8 tiam inliibenti,. auxilio futures esse. Hoc decreto
consul armatus cum paucis appellantibus tribunum
coUum torsisset, metu ceteri sacramento dixere.
9 Ductus exercitus ad Carventanam arcem, quamquam
invisus infestusque consul! erat^ imp!gre pr!mo
statlm adventu deiectls qu! !n praesidlo erant arcem
recip!t ; praedatores ex praesidio per neglegentlam
10 dilapsi occasionem aperuere ad !nvadendum. Prae-
dae ex adsiduis populationibus^ quod omnia !n locum
tutum congesta erant_, fuit aliquantum. Venditum sub
hasta consul in aerarium redigere quaestores iussit,
turn praedicans particlpem praedae fore exercitum^
11 cum m!l!t!am non abnulsset. Auctae !nde plebls
ac milltum !n consulem irae. Itaque cum ex senatus
consulto urbem ovans introiret^ alternis incondlt!
versus mllitari Hcentia lactatij quibus consul in-
12 crepitus, Meneni celebre nomen laudibus fuit, cum
ad omnem mentionem tribuni favor circumstantis
popul! plausuque et adsensu cum vocibus militum
13 certaret. Plusque ea res quam prope soUemnis
militum lascivia in consulem curae patribus iniecit ;
et tamquam baud dubius inter tribunes militum
430
BOOK IV. Liii. 7-13
which ended the contention. They proclaimed in b.c. 410
the name of the college that they would support the
consul Gaius \"alerius if, in enforcing the levy, he
resorted, despite the veto of their colleague, to fines
and other forms of coercion against those who re-
fused to serve. Armed with this decree, the consul
caused the few who appealed to the tribune to be
haled before him ; the rest were cowed into taking the
oath. The army marched to the citadel of Carven-
tum ; and although the soldiers were hated by the
consul and returned his hostility, yet the moment they
came to the place, they manfully drove out the
garrison and recovered the stronghold, which had
been laid open to attack by the negligence that had
permitted men to slip away from the garrison in
quest of booty. There was a considerable accumula-
tion of spoils from this constant raiding, because
everything had been heaped up there for safety.
All this the consul ordered the quaestors to sell at
auction and place the proceeds in the public treasury,
giving out word that the army should share in the
plunder only when the men had not refused to serve.
This increased the enmity of plebs and soldiers
towards the consul. And so when he entered the
City in an ovation, as the senate had decreed, the sol-
diers, with military freedom, shouted out rude verses
now abusing the consul and now praising Menenius,
while at every mention of the tribune's name the
enthusiasm of the attendant populace vied with the
voices of the men in cheers and applause. This cir-
cumstance caused the patricians more anxiety than
the sauciness of the soldiers towards the consul, which
was virtually an established custom ; and as though
they made no question that Menenius would be
chosen for one of the military tribunes, if he were
431
Livy
A.r.c. honos Meneni, si peteret. consularibus comitiis est
exclusus.
4.f.c. LI\'. Creati consules sunt Cn. Cornelius Cossus
2 L. Furius MeduUinus iterum. Xon alias aegrius
plebs tulit tribunicia comitia sibi non commissa.
Eum dolorem quaestoriis comitiis simul ostendit
et ulta est tunc primum plebeiis quaestoribus creatis,
3 ita ut in quattuor creandis uni patricio K. Fabio ^
Ambusto relinqueretur locus, tres plebei Q. Silius P.
Aelius P. Pupius clarissimarum familiarum iuvenibus
4 praeferrentur. Auctores fuisse tarn liberi populo suf-
fragii Icilios accipio, ex familia infestissima patribus
tres in eum annum tribunes plebis creates, multarum
magnarumque rerum molem avidissimo ad ea populo
5 ostentantes, cum adfirmassent nihil se moturos si
ne quaestoriis quidem comitiis, quae sola promiscua
plebei patribusque reliquisset senatus, satis animi
populo esset ad id quod tarn diu vellent et per
6 leges liceret. Pro ingenti itaque victoria id fuit
plebi, quaesturamque cam non honoris ipsius fine
aestimabant, sed patefactus ad consulatum ac trium-
7 phos locus novis hominibus videbatur. Patres contra
non pro communicatis sed pro amissis honoribus
I K. Fabio Pighius (cf. iv. Ixi. 4 ; v. x. 1 ; v. xxiv. 1):
c. fabio fl : claudio fabio E.
BOOK IV. Liii. 13-LIV. 7
a candidate, they held a consular election and so b.c. 410
excluded him.
LIV. The consuls elected were Gnaeus Cornelius b.c. 408
Cossus and (for the second time) Lucius Furius
Medullinus. Never before had the plebs felt so
aggrieved that they were not allowed to choose
military tribunes. They showed their disappoint-
ment, and likewise avenged it, at the election
of quaestors, when plebeians were for the first time
chosen to that office ; though among the four to be
elected room was made for one patrician, Caeso Fabius
Ambustus. Three plebeians, Quintus Silius, Publius
Aelius, and Publius Pupius, were preferred before
young men of the most distinguished families. I find
that those who encouraged the people to make so
free with their votes were the Icilii. Three members
of that family, a family most hostile to the patricians,
had been made plebeian tribunes for that year, in
consequence of the many great hopes they had
held out to the populace, always more than eager
to accept such promises. These men had de-
clared that they would make no move in their
behalf, if even in the election of quaestors — the
only election which the senate had left open to both
classes — the people could not find sufficient resolution
to accomplish what they had so long wished to do
and the laws permitted. And so the plebs felt that
they had won a great victory, not estimating the
significance of that quaestorship by the limits of the
office itself, but feeling that the way to consulships
and triumphs was thrown open to new men. The
patricians, on the other hand, were as angry as though
they had not merely shared their offices with the
plebs but had lost them. They said that if such
433
^'OL. II. F F
LIVY
fremere ; negare, si ea ita sint, liberos tollendos
esse, qui pulsi maiorum loco cernentesque alios in
possessione dignitatis suae, salii flaminesque nusquam
alio quam ad sacrificandum pro populo sine imperils
8 ac potestatibus relinquantur. Inritatis utriusque
partis animis cum et spiritus plebs sumpsisset et tres
ad popularem causam celeberrimi nominis haberet
duces, patres omnia quaestoriis comitiis ubi utrum-
que plebi liceret similia fore cernentes, tendere ad
consulum comitia quae nondum promiscua essent :
9 Icilii contra tribunos militum creandos dicere^ et
tandem aliquando impertiendos plebi honores.
LV. Sed nulla erat consularis actio quam impedi-
endo id quod petebant exprimerent, cum mira op-
portunitate \'olscos et Aequos praedatum extra fines
exisse in agrum Latinum Hernicumque adfertur.
2 Ad quod bellum ubi ex senatus consulto consules
dilectum habere occipiunt, obstare tunc enixe tribuni
sibi plebique eam fortunam oblatam memorantes.
3 Tres erant et omnes acerrimi viri generosique iam,
ut inter plebeios. Duo singuli singulos sibi consules
adservandos adsidua opera desumunt ; uni contioni-
bus data nunc detinenda, nunc concienda plebs.
^ dicere Aldus : dicerent n.
* The salii were a ver} ancient college of priests whose
name was derived from a weapon-dance which figured in
their ritual. The f.amen (' kindler') was the special priest of
soine god, thus the Flamen Lialis was attached to the cult of
Jupiter, the Flamen Martialis to that of Mars, etc.
434
BOOK IV. Liv. 7-Lv. 3
things were to be, it was wrong for them to rear b.c. 409
children, who after being driven out from the places
of their forefathers would behold others in possession
of their honours, and would be left, without power
or authority, to serve no other purpose than to offer
up sacrifices, as salii and flamens,^ for the people.
The feelings of both sides were overwrought. The
plebs had plucked up courage and they had three
very distinguished leaders for the popular cause. The
patricians, perceiving that every election where the
plebs were free to choose either sort of candidate
would be like that of the quaestors, strove to bring
about a consular election, which was not yet open to
both orders. The Icilii, on the contrary, maintained
that military tribunes should be chosen ; it was high
time, they said, that the plebs were given their share
of honours.
LV. But the consuls had no measure on foot
which the tribunes could oppose and so wring from
them what they wanted, when, by a wonderful piece
of luck, the Volsci and Aequi were reported to have
crossed the border and raided the lands of the Latins
and the Hernici. As the consuls, in order to meet
this invasion, were commencing to raise an army, in
pursuance of a resolution of the senate, the tribunes
obstructed the levy with all their might, declaring
that the incident had been a fortunate one for the
plebeians and themselves. There were three of
them, and they were all very active and belonged to
a family which might now be called noble, considering
that they were plebeians. Two of them assumed the
task of keeping constant watch on the consuls, each
taking one of them ; to the third was given the duty
of haranguing the plebs, for the purpose, now of re-
435
F F 2
LIVY
A-u.c 4 Xec dilectum consules iiec comitia quae petebant
tribuni expediebant. Inclinante deinde se fortuna
ad causam plebis nuntii veniunt arcem Carventanam
dilapsis ad praedam militibus qui in praesidio erant,
Aequos interfectis paucis custodibus arcis invasisse ;
alios recurrentes in arcem^ alios 2)alantes in agris
6 caesos. Ea adversa civitati ^ res vires tribuniciae
actioni adiecit. Nequiquam enim temptati ut turn
denique desisterent impediendo bello^ postquam non
cessere nee publicae tempestati nee suae invidiae,
pervincunt ut senatus consultum fiat de tribunis
6 militum creandis^ certo tamen pacto ne cuius ratio
haberetur qui eo anno tribunus plebis esset, neve
7 quis reficeretur in annum tribunus plebis^ baud dubie
Icilios denotante senatu, quos mercedem seditiosi
tribunatus petere consulatum insimulabant. Turn
dilectus haberi bellumque omnium ordinum consensu
8 apparari coeptum. Consules ambo profecti sint ad
arcem Carventanam^ an alter ad comitia habenda
substiterit, incertum diversi auctores faciunt ; ilia
pro certo habenda^ in quibus non dissentiunt, ab
arce Carventana, cum diu nequiquam oppugnata
esset, recessum, Verruginem in \'olscis eodem exer-
^ civitati lA^ : ciuitatis H: ciuitas Dt.
^ Livy here employs "'consulship " as a convenient, if not
quite accurate, substitute for "consular tribuneship."
^ See IV. i. 4. Livy has not mentioned the previous loss of
Verrugo to the Volsci.
BOOK IV. Lv. 4-8
straining, now of urging them on. The consuls could b.o. 409
neither bring about the levy, nor the tribunes the
election, they desired. Then, as fortune was inclining
to the cause of the plebs, came couriers who reported
that while the soldiers who were in garrison at the
citadel of Carventum had dispersed to plunder, the
Aequi had come, and killing the few guards, had
rushed the place. Some of the soldiers had been
cut down as they were hurrying back to the
fortress, others as they roamed the fields. This
national reverse added strength to the contention
of the tribunes. It was in vain they were impor-
tuned to cease at last their opposition to the
war. They yielded neither to the public need nor
to men's hatred of themselves, and carried their
point — that the senate should pass a decree for the
election of military tribunes. It was, however, ex-
pressly provided that no one should be accepted as a
candidate who had that year been tribune of the
plebs, and that no tribune of the Plebs should be
re-elected. It is evident that the senate wished to
stigmatize the Icilii, whom they charged with seeking
the consulship 1 as a reward for their seditious conduct
while tribunes. The levy was then begun and pre-
paration made for war, with the consent of all the
orders. Whether both consuls marched to the citadel
of Carventum, or one stayed behind to hold an elec-
tion, is uncertain in view of the contradictory accounts
of the authorities. Thus much is clear (for in this
they do not differ), that the Romans, after a long
and futile siege, retired from the citadel of Carven-
tum and recaptured Verrugo,^ in the Volscian
country, with the same army, which spread great
437
LIVY
citu receptam, populationesque et pracdas et in
Acquis et in Volsco agro ingentes factas.
LVI. Romae sicut plebis victoria fuit in eo ut
quae mallent comitia haberent^ita eventu comitiorum
2 patres vicere ; namque tribuni militum consulari
potestate contra spem omnium tres patricii creati
sunt^ C. lulius lulus ^ P. Cornelius Cossus C. Servilius
3 Ahala. Artem adhibitam ferunt a patriciis, cuius
cos Icilii turn quoque insimulabant, quod turbam
indignorum candidatorum intermiscendo dignis tae-
dio sordium in quibusdam insignium populum a
plebeiis avertissent.
4 Volscos deinde et Aequos, seu Carventana arx
retenta in spem seu Verrugine amissum praesidium
ad iram cum impulisset, fama adfertur summa vi ad
5 bellum coortos ; caput rerum Antiates esse ; eorum
legates utriusque gentis populos circumisse casti-
gantes ^ ignaviam^ quod abditi intra muros popula-
bundos in agris vagari Romanos priore anno et
6 opprimi Verruginis praesidium passi essent. lam
non exercitus modo armatos sed colonias etiam in
suos finis mitti ; nee ipsos modo Romanos sua divisa
habere, sed Ferentinum etiam de se captum Her-
7 nicis donasse. Ad haec cum inflammarentur animi,
ut ad quosque ventum erat, numerus iuniorum con-
scribebatur. Ita omnium populorum iuventus Antium
contracta ; ibi castris positis hostem opperiebantur.
1 lulus Sigonius {C.I.L. i^, p. 114) : tullius MHDL: tullus
FFUBEa : oinittcd, together with the f ollov: ing P., hy V.
2 castigantes «{- : castigantis V : castigante?que Ci.
BOOK IV. Lv. 8-Lvi. 7
devastation both among the Aequi and in the b.c. 409
territory of the Volsci, and gathered enormous spoils.
LVl. At Rome, though the plebeians were so far b.c, 408
victorious as to have the election they preferred, yet
in the outcome of the election the patricians won the
day. For the military tribunes with consular authority
were all three, contrary to the universal expectation,
chosen from the patricians, viz., Gains Julius lulus,
Publius Cornelius Cossus, and Gains Servilius Ahala.
The patricians are said to have employed a ruse
(and the Icilii taxed them with it at the time), in
that they mixed a rabble of unworthy competitors
with the deserving, and the disgust which the
notorious turjntude of certain of them provoked
turned the people against the plebeian candidates.
Then came a rumour that the Volsci and Aequi,
whether encouraged by their defence of the citadel
of Carventum or angered by the loss of the garrison
at Verrugo, had risen in prodigious strength ; that
the Antiates were the head and front of the war ; that
their envoys had gone about among the tribes of both
races, upbraiding their cowardice in having hidden
behind their walls the year before and allowed the
Romans to pillage their lands and overwhelm the
garrison at Verrugo. They would {)resently be send-
ing out, not merely armed expeditions across their
borders, but colonies too ; and not only, they said,
had the Romans divided up their possessions amongst
themselves, but they had even taken Ferentinum
from them and bestowed it on the Hernici. These
words aroused indignation, and a number of young
men were enlisted wherever the envoys went. So
the forces of all the tribes drew together at Antium,
wliere they eiicamped and waited for the enemy.
439
8 Quae ubi tumultu maiore etiam quam res erat
nuntiantur Romam^ serxatus extemplo, quod in rebus
trepidis ultimum consilium erat^ dictatorem dici
9 iussit. Quam rem aegre passos lulium Corneli-
umque ferunt magnoque certamine animorum rem
10 actam, cum primores patrum nequiquam conquesti
non esse in auctoritate senatus tribunos militum
postremo etiam tribunos plebi appellarent et con-
sulibus quoque ab ea potestate vim super tali re
iiihibitam referrent, tribuni plebi laeti discordia
1 1 patrum nihil esse in se iis ^ auxilii dicerent, quibus
non civiumj non denique hominum numero essent :
12 si quando promiscui ^ honores, communicata res
publica esset, tum se animadversuros ne qua superbia
13 magistratuum inrita senatus consulta essent : interim
patricii soluti legum magistratuumque viverent ^
verecundia, per se quoque^ tribuni^ agerent.
LVII. Haec contentio minima idoneo tempore,
2 cum tantum belli in manibus esset, occupaverat
cogitationes hominum, donee ubi diu alternis lulius
Corneliusque cum ad id bcllum ipsi satis idonei
duces essent, non esse aequum mandatum sibi a
3 populo eripi honorem disseruere, tum Ahala Servilius
tribunus militum tacuisse se tam diu ait, non quia
incertus sententiae fuerit — quem enim bonum civem
secernere sua a publicis consilia? — sed quia maluerit
^ in se iis Gronovius: in iis H: in liiis Va: in his UE:
unus B.
2 promiscui VUEL^a: promisciiP: promisci H.
3 viverent Conway and Walters: uia... V: omitted by n.
* per se quoque H: pro se quoque H: space of 5 letters
in V.
^ tribuni Conway and Walters : tribuni tum potestatem
H\ tribuniciam (or -tiam) potestatem fl: tribunitiam potes-
tatemque Frag. Haxerk. : potestatemquae tribuniciam V.
440
BOOK IV. Lvi. 8-Lvii. 3
When these things had been reported at Rome, b.o. 408
amid excitement even greater than the situation
warranted, the senate at once had recourse to its
final counsel in emergencies, and ordered the appoint-
ment of a dictator. It is said that Julius and Corne-
lius resented this, and that a very bitter discussion
took place. In vain the leading senators complained
that the military tribunes were not amenable to
senatorial control, and eventually appealed to the
tribunes of the plebs and reminded them that their
authority had in a similar case operated to restrain
the consuls. But the tribunes of the plebs were
delighted with the want of harmony amongst the
senators. They could give no assistance, they said,
to men who did not regard them as citizens, or even
as human beings. If some day offices were thrown
open to all, and they were given a share in the
government, they would then see to it that no proud
magistrate thwarted the decrees of the senate.
Meanwhile let the patricians live with no regard for
laws and magistracies, and let the tribunes act as
they saw fit.
LVI I. This quarrel, so inopportune at a time when b.o. 407
a great war was in hand, had quite taken possession
of men's thoughts, and for a long time Julius and
Cornelius — first one and then the other — had argued
that, since they were themselves quite capable of
directing that campaign, it was unfair that they
should be summarily deprived of the office which
the people had intrusted to them ; when Servilius
Ahala arose and said that he had been so long silent
not because of any doubt as to his oi)inion — for
what good citizen considered his own interests apart
from those of the nation ? — but because he had
441
LIVY
collegas sua sponte cedere auctoritati senatus quam
tribuniciam potestatem ad versus se implorari pate-
4 rentur. Turn quoque si res sineret, libenter se
daturum tempus iis fuisse ad receptum nimis perti-
nacis sententiae ; sed cum belli necessitates non
exspectent humana consilia^ potiorem sibi collegarum
5 gratia rem publicara fore, et si maneat in sententia
senatus, dictatorem nocte proxima dicturum ac, si
quis intercedat senatus consulto, auctoritate se fore
6 contentum. Quo fricto cum baud immeritam laudem
gratiamque apud omnis tulisset, dictatore P. Cornelio
dicto ipse ab eo magister equitum creatus^ ex-
emplo fuit collegas eumque intuentibus, quam gratia
atque honos opportuniora interdum non cupien-
7 tilms essent. Bellum baud memorabile fuit. Uno
atque eo facili proelio caesi ad Antium hostes ; victor
exercitus depopulatus Volscum agrum ; castellum ad
lacum Fucinum vi expugnatum, atque in eo tria
niilia hominum capta ceteris Volscis intra moenia
8 compulsis nee defendentibus agros. Dictator bello
ita gesto ut tantum non defuisse fortunae videretur,
felicitate quam gloria maior in urbem rediit magis-
9 tratuque se abdicavit. Tribuni militum mentione
nulla comitiorum consularium habita — credo ob iram
dictatoris creati— tribunorum militum comitia edixe-
10 runt. Tum vero gravior cura patribus incessit, quippe
^ creatus L>^r : creatus est Cl: creatus et U: est creatus a.
442
BOOK IV. Lvii. 3-IO
wished that his colleagues should of their own free b.o. 407
will give in to the senators' authority^ instead of
suffering the power of the tribunes to be invoked
against them. Even then, if the circumstances
allowed of it, he would gladly, he said, have given
them time to retreat from their too obstinate con-
tention ; but since war's necessity did not wait upon
man's deliberations, he should place the public
welfare above the favour of his colleagues ; and if
the senate held to its opinion, he should name a
dictator that night, contenting himself, if any one
vetoed the senate's resolution, with the expression
of its wishes. Having by this course gained the
well-merited praise and friendly support of all, he
named as dictator Publius Cornelius, by whom he was
himself appointed master of the horse, thus showing
such persons as considered the case of his colleagues
and himself that favour and high office sometimes
come more easily when men do not covet them.
The war was no way noteworthy. In a single
battle, and an easy one, they defeated the enemy at
Antium. The victorious army laid waste the Volscian
country and took by storm a fortress at Lake Fucinus,
where three thousand men were taken prisoners,
the rest being driven within their city-walls, leav-
ing their fields defenceless. The dictator, after
so conducting the campaign that he seemed barely
to have taken advantage of his luck, returned to the
City, with more good fortune than renown, and
resigned his magistracy. The tribunes of the soldiers,
without saying a word about electing consuls,
— I suppose because of their indignation at the
appointment of a dictator, — proclaimed an election
of military tribunes. At that the patricians were
443
LIVY
A.u.c. 1 1 cum prodi causam ab suis cernerent. Itaque sicut
priore anno per indignissimos ex plebeiis candidates
omnium, etiam dignorum, taedium fecerant, sic tum
primoribus patrum splendore gratiaque ad petendum
praeparatis omnia loca obtinuere, ne cui plebeio
12 aditus asset. Quattuor creati sunt, omnes iam functi
eo honore. L, Furius Medullinus C. Valerius Potitus
Num.1 Fabius \'ii)ulanus C, Servilius Ahala, hie re-
fectus continuato honore cum ob alias virtutes, tum
ob recentem favorem unica moderatione partum.
A.r.c LVIII. Eo anno, quia tempus indutiarum cum
Veienti populo exierat, per legatos fetialesque res
repeti coeptae. Quibus venientibus ad finem legatio
2 Veientium obvia - fuit. Petiere ne priusquam ipsi
senatura Romanum adissent Veios iretur. Ab
senatu impetratum, quia discordia intestina labora-
rent Veientes, ne res ab iis repeterentur ; tantum
afuit ut ex incommodo alieno sua occasio peteretur.
3 Et in Volscis accepta clades amisso Verrugine
praesidio ; ubi tantum in tempore fuit momenti ut
cum precantibus opem militibus, qui ibi a Volscis
obsidebantur, succurri si maturatum esset potuisset,
1 Num. Sigonius [C.I.L. i^, ^.114 has N. Fabius) : en {or
cx\ or c n) Ci.
' obvia a^: obuiam H: obuia. [icith space for ont letter,
which has been obliterated) J',
444
BOOK IV. Lvii. lo-Lviii. 3
more concerned than ever, as they might well bes.o. 407
when they saw their cause betrayed by their own
fellows. Accordingly, just as in the preceding year
they had used the least worthy of the plebeian
competitors to arouse a dislike of them all, even
the deserving, so at this time, by setting up as
candidates the senators of the greatest splendour
and popularity, they secured all the places, in order
that no plebeian might be chosen. Four men were
elected, all of whom had held that office before.
They were Lucius Furius Medullinus, Gaius Valerius
Potitus, Numerius Fabius Vibulanus, and Gaius
Servilius Ahala. This last was continued in office
partly for his other good qualities, partly because of
the approval he had just gained by his singular
moderation.
LVIII. In that year, since the term of the truce b.o 406
with Veii had run out, steps were taken to demand
restitution, through ambassadors and fetials. Arriving
at the frontier, these men were met by an embassy
of the Veientes, who asked them not to proceed to
Veii until they themselves should have gone before
the Roman senate. The senate, considering that
the Veientes were in the throes of civil discord,
agreed not to demand a settlement of them ; so far
were Ihey from taking advantage of another people's
difficulties. And in the Volscian country the
Romans suffered a disaster, in the loss of their
garrison at Verrugo. On that occasion the element
of time was of such moment that, although the
troops who were being besieged there by the Volsci
appealed for help and might have been relieved if
their friends had made haste, yet the army dispatched
for that purpose only arrived in season to surprise
445
LIVY
ad id venerit exercitiis subsidio missus ut ab recenti
caede palati ad praedandum hostes opprimerentur.
4 Tarditatis causa non in senatu ^ magis fuit quam
tribunis. qui, quia summa vi restari nuntiabatur,^
parum cogitaverunt nulla virtute superari humanarum
5 virium modum. Fortissimi milites non tamen nee
vivi nee post mortem inulti fuere.
6 Insequenti anno P. et Cn. Corneliis Cossis Xum.^
Fabio Ambusto L. Valerio Potito tribunis militum
eonsulari potestate \'eiens bellum motum ob super-
bum responsum Veientis senatus, qui legatis
7 repetentibus res_, ni facesserent propere urbe
finibusque. daturos quod Lars Tolumnius dedisset
8 responderi iussit. Id patres aegre passi decrevere
ut tribuni militum de bello indieendo Veientibus
9 primo quoque die ad populum ferrent. Quod ubi
primo promulgatum est, fremere iuventus nondum
debellatum cum Volscis esse ; modo duo praesidia
occidione occisa^cetera cum* periculo retineri; nullum
10 annum esse quo non acie dimicetur ; et tamquam
paeniteat laboris, novum bellum cum finitimo populo
et potentissimo parari qui omnem Etruriam sit conci-
taturus.
11 Haec sua sponte agitata insuper tribuni plebis
12 accendunt. Maximum bellum patribus cum plebe
esse dictitant ; eam de industria vexandam militia
^ non in senatu Weissenhorn : in senatu ri : in senatum DL.
^ res^tari nuntiabatur Mommscn : restari nuntiabantur {or
nunc-)n: res stare nunciabantur L^ : resistere nuntia-
bantur a.
' Num Sigonius : cn. n : Gneo a : cum F^ {over erasure).
* cetera cum Schenkl : et cum J^Ma : . cum OBD : cum H:
alia cum Madvig.
* i. e. death ;see chap, xviij.
446
BOOK IV. Lviii. 3-12
the enemy as they were dispersed in quest of booty, b.o. 406
just after putting the garrison to the sword. The
delay was due quite as much to the tribunes as to
the senate, for they got reports that the garrison was
making a strenuous resistance and failed to consider
that no valour can transcend tlie limits of human
endurance. But the heroic soldiers were not un-
avenged, living or dead.
The following year, when Publius and Gnaeus Cor-
nelius Cossus, Numerius Fabius Ambustus, and Lucius
Valerius Potitus were consular tribunes, war broke
out with Veii on account of the insolent reply of the
Veientine senate, who, when envoys demanded
restitution of them, bade them be answered that
unless they got quickly out from their city and their
borders, they would give them what Lars Tolumnius
had given the others.^ This angered the Fathers, and
they decreed that the military tribunes sliould
propose to the people a declaration of war on the
V^eientes at the earliest possible day. As soon as
this was promulgated, the young men protested
loudly that the Volscian war was not yet brought to
a conclusion ; two garrisons had just been destroyed,
and the other outposts were being held at great
risk ; not a year went by Avithout a pitched battle ;
and as though they had not troubles enough, a new
war was being started with a neighbouring and very
powerful people, who were sure to raise all Etruria
against them.
This smouldering discontent was fanned into a
blaze by the plebeian tribunes. They persistently
declared that it was the plebs with whom the
senators were chiefly at war ; them they deliberately
plagued with campaigning and exposed to be
447
Livy
A.u.o. trucidandamqiie hostibus obici ; earn procul urbe
haberi atque ablcgari, ne domi per otium memor
libertatis coloniarumque aut agri public! aut suffragii
13 libere ferendi consilia agitet. Prensantesque veter-
anos stipendia cuiusque et volnera ac cicatrices
numerabant^ quid iam integri esset ^ in corpore loci
ad nova volnera accipienda, quid super sanguinis,
14 quod dari pro re publica posset rogitantes. Haec
cum in sermonibus contionibusque interdum agitantes
avertissent plebem ab suscipiendo bello, profertur
tempus ferundae legis quam si subiecta invidiae esset
antiquari apparebat.
LIX. Interim tribunos militum in Volscum agrum
ducere exercitum placuit ; Cn. Cornelius unus Romae
2 relictus. Tres tribuni, postquam nullo loco castra
Volscorum esse nee commissuros se proelio apparuit_,
3 tripertito ad devastandos fines discessere. Valerius
Antium petit, Cornelius Ecetras ; ^ quacumque in-
cessere, late populati sunt tecta agrosque, ut
distinerent Volscos ; Fabius, quod maxime petebatur,
ad Anxur^ oppugnandum sine ulla populatione
4 accessit. Anxur* fuit, quae nunc Tarracinae sunt,
6 urbs prona in paludes. Ab ea parte Fabius
oppugnationem ostendit. Circummissae quattuor
^ esset r : esse n.
2 Ecetras c- : ecetrara a' : egitras PFUBL^ : egitrans Ma : et
girus H : et giras OEL : alteras et V.
3 ad Aiixur r : ad ancxyr HDL : ad ancxir OE : ad anxyr
D' : ad anxir F^FUa : ad ancx}' M : ad anxi P: ad anxie B :
u-aniing in V.
* Anxur $- : anxvr ML^ : ancxyr HD : ancxir OELa : anxir
B : anxii PFU : anxia V.
448
BOOK IV. Lviii. 12-Lix 5
slaughtered by the enemy ; them they kept at a b.o. 406
distance from the City, and assigned to foreign
service^ lest they might have thoughts, if they
remained peaceably at home, of liberty and colonies,
and might agitate for public lands or the free use
of their votes. And laying hold of veteran soldiers,
they enumerated the campaigns of each and his
wounds and scars ; asking where one could now find
a whole place on their bodies to receive fresh wounds,
or what blood they had left to shed for their country.
When the tribunes by repeating these arguments
in their talk and in their speeches had produced
in the plebs a reluctance to undertake the war, the
authors of the bill put off the time for voting on
it, since it was clear that if subjected to the storm of
disapproval it would fail to pass.
LIX. Meantime it was determined that the mili-
tary tribunes should lead the army into the country
of the Volsci ; only Gnaeus Cornelius was left in
Rome. The three tribunes, on its appearing that
the Volsci had no camp anywhere and did not
propose to risk a battle, divided their army into
three and advanced in different directions to lay
waste the country. Valerius marched upon Antium,
Cornelius against Ecetrae, and wherever they went
they plundered farms and buildings far and wide,
to divide the forces of the Volsci ; Fabius led his
troops to Anxur, the principal object of their attack,
and laid siege to it, without doing any pillaging.
Anxur, the Tarracinae of our day,^ was a city
which sloped down towards the marshes. On this
side Fabius threatened an assault, while four cohorts
^ Anxur was likely the Volscian name. The present form
of the name is Terracina.
449
VOL. II. G O
LIVY
A.u.c. cohortes cum C. Servilio Ahala cum imminentem
urbi collem cepissent^ ex loco altiore^ qua nullum
erat praesidium. ingenti clamore ac tumultu moenia
6 invasere. Ad quern tumultum obstupefacti qui
adversus Fabium urbem infimam tuebantur locum
dedere scalas admovendi ; plenaque hostium cuncta
erant^ et immitis diu caedes pariter fugientium ac
resistentium^ armatorum atque inermium fuit.
7 Cogebantur itaque victi, quia cedentibus spei nihil
erat, pugnam inire, cum pronuntiatum repente, ne
quis praeter armatos ^ violaretur, reliquam omnem
8 multitudinem voluntariam exuit armis ; quorum ad
duo milia et quingenti vivi capiuntur. A cetera praeda
Fabius militem abstinuit, dcnec collegae venirent,
9 ab illis quoque exercitibus captum Anxur dictitans
esse, qui ceteros Volscos a praesidio eius loci
10 avertissent. Qui ubi venerunt, oppidum vetere
fortuna opulentum tres exercitus diripuere ; eaque
primum benignitas imperatorum plebem patribus
11 conciliavit. Additum deinde omnium maxima
tempestivo principum in multitudinem ^ munere, ut
ante mentionem ullam plebis tribunorumve decer-
neret senatus ut stipendium miles de publico
acciperet, cum ante id teinpus de suo quisque functus
eo munere esset.
LX. Nihil acceptum unquam a plebe tanto gaudio
^ armatos ar : armatiis Ci.
2 in multitudinem L*'a^ Rhcnanus: in multitudine n.
450
BOOK IV. Lix. 5-Lx. I
inarched round under Gaius Servilius Aliala, and b.c. 406
seizing the hill which overhangs the city, assailed
the walls from this superior position, where there
was no force to oppose them, with great noise and
confusion. Hearing the din, the soldiers who were
defending the lowest part of the town against F'abius
were bewildered, and permitted him to bring up
scaling-ladders ; and soon the whole place was alive
with enemies, who for a long time gave no quarter,
slaughtering without distinction those who fled and
those who resisted, the armed and the unarmed.
And so the vanquished, since they could hope for
no mercy if they yielded, were compelled to fight ;
when suddenly the command was given that none
should be hurt but those who carried weapons.
Thereupon, all the survivors voluntarily laid down
their arms, and about twenty-five hundred of them
were taken alive. Fabius made his soldiers leave
the rest of the spoils until his colleagues could come
up, saying that their armies had helped to capture
Anxur by diverting the rest of the Volsci from the
defence of that place. When they arrived, the three
armies sacked the town, which long years of pros-
perity had filled with riches. It was this generous
treatment on the part of their commanders which
first reconciled the plebs to the patricians. In
addition to this the senate then granted the people
the most seasonable boon which has ever been
bestowed on them by the chiefs of the state, when
tliey decreed, without waiting for any suggestion by
the plebs or their tribunes, that the soldiers should
be paid from the public treasury, whereas till then
every man had served at his own costs.
LX. Nothing, it is said, was ever welcomed by
451
G G 2
LIVY
i.u.c. traditur. Concursum itaque ad curiam esse prensa-
tasque exeuntium manus et patres vere appellatos^
efFectum esse fatentibus ut nemo pro tam munifica
patria, donee quicquam virium superesset^ corpori
2 aut sanguini suo parceret. Cum commoditas iuvaret
rem familiarem saltem adquiescere eo tempore quo
corpus addictum atque operatum rei publicae esset,
turn quod ultro sibi oblatum esset^ non a tribunis
plebis unquam agitatum^ non suis sermonibus
efflagitatum^ id efficiebat multiplex gaudium cumu-
3 latioremque gratiam rei. Tribuni plebis, communis
ordinum laetitiae concordiaeque soli expertes, negare
tam id laetum patribus civibus universis ^ nee
prosperum fore quam ipsi crederent. Consilium
specie prima melius fuisse quam usu appariturum.
4 Unde enim eam pecuniam confici posse nisi tributo
populo indicto r Ex alieno igitur aliis largitos.
Neque id etiamsi ceteri ferant passuros eoS; quibus
iam emerita stipendia essent, meliore condicione alios
militare quam ipsi militassent, et eosdem in sua
5 stipendia impensas fecisse et in aliorum facere. His
vocibus moverunt partem plebis. Postremo indicto
iara tributo edixerunt etiam tribuni auxilio se
futuros si quis in militare stipendium tributum non
^ patribus nee jjrosperum civibus universis Conway:
patribus uniuersis nee prosperum Xi : partibus uniuersia nee
prosperum U,
BOOK IV. LX. 1-5
the plebs with such rejoicing. Crowds gathered at b.c. 4U6
the Curia and men grasped the hands of tlie senators
as they came out, saying that they were rightly
called Fathers, and confessing that they had brought
it to pass that no one, so long as he retained a particle
of strength, would grudge his life's blood to so
generous a country. Not only were they pleased at
the advantage that their property would at least not
diminish while their bodies were impressed for the
service of the state, but the voluntary character of
the offer, which had never been mooted by plebeian
tribunes nor extorted by any words of their own,
multiplied their satisfaction and increased their grati-
tude. The tribunes of the plebs were the only persons
who did not partake in the general joy and good-
feeling of botii orders. They said that the measure
would neither be so agreeable to the Fathers nor so
favourable to the whole body of the citizens as the
latter believed; it was a plan which at first sight had
promised to be better than experience would prove
it. For where, they asked, could the money be got
together, save by imposing a tribute on the people ?
The senators had therefore been generous at other
men's expense ; and even though everyone else
should submit to it, those who had already earned
their discharge would not endure that others should
serve on better terms than they had themselves en-
joyed, and that the same men who had paid their
own expenses should also contribute to the expenses
of others. By these arguments they influenced a
part of the plebs. Finally, when the assessment had
already been proclaimed, the tribunes even announced
that they would protect anybody who should refuse
to contribute to a tax for paying the soldiers. The
453
LIVY
6 contulisset. Patres bene coeptam rem perseveranler
tueri ; conferre ipsi primi, et quia nondum argentum
signatum erat, aes grave plaustris quidam ad
aerarium convehentes speciosam etiam conlationem
7 faciebant. Cum senatus summa fide ex censu
contulisset^ primores plebis. nobilium amici, ex
8 composite conferre incipiunt. Quos cum et a patri-
bus conlaudari et a militari aetate tamquam bonos
cives conspici volgus hominum vidit, repente spreto
tribunicio auxilio certamen conferendi est ortum.
9 Et lege perlata de indicendo Veientibus bello
exercitum magna ex parte voluntarium novi tribuni
militum consulari potestate Veios duxere.
LXI. Fuere autem tribuni T. Quinctius Capito-
linus Q. Quinctius Cincinnatus C. lulius lulus ^ iterum
A. Manlius L. Furius Medullinus tertium M'.
2 Aemilius Mamercus. Ab iis primum circumsessi
Veii sunt. Sub cuius initium obsidionis cum
Etruscorum concilium ad fanum\'oltumnae frequenter
habitum esset, parum constitit bellone publico gentis
3 universae tuendi Veientes essent. Ea oppugnatio
segnior insequenti anno fuit^ parte tribunorum
exercitusque ad Volscum avocata bellum.
4 Tribunos militum consulari potestate is annus
habuit C. Valerium Potitum tertium M'. Sergium
Fidenatem P. Cornelium Maluginensem Cn. Corne-
lium Cossum C. Fabium Ambustum Sp. Nautium
1 lulius lulus Sigonius {C.I.L. i^, j). 114): iulius tullus n.
^ The elder Plinj'^ {K H. xxxiii. 42j says that the Romans
did not use coined silver until the defeat of King Pyrrhus
(275 B.C.)
454
BOOK IV. Lx. 5-Lxi. 4
Fathers had made a good beginning and persevered b.c. 406
in supporting it. They were themselves the first to
contribute, and since there was as yet no silver coin-
age,i some of them brought uncoined bronze in
waggons to the treasury, and even made a display of
their contributing. After the senators had paid
most faithfully, according to their rating, the chief
men of the plebs, friends of the nobles, began, as
had been agreed, to bring in their quota. When the
crowd saw that these men were applauded by the
patricians and were looked upon as good citizens by
those of military age, they quickly rejected the pro-
tection of the tribunes and vied with one another
who should be the first to pay. And on the law
being passed declaring war on the Veientes, an army
consisting in great part of volunteers marched, under
command of tlie new military tribunes, upon that city.
LXI. Now the tribunes were Titus Quinctius b.c.
Capitolinus, Quintus Quinctius Cincinnatus, Gaius
Julius lulus (for the second time), Aulus Manlius,
Lucius Furius Medullinus (for the third time), and
Manius Aemilius Mamercus. By them Veii was for
the first time besieged. Shortly after this siege
began, the Etruscans held a numerously attended
council at the shrine of Voltumna, but could reach
no decision as to whether the entire nation should
go to war in defence of the Veientes. The siege
languished during the year that followed, for some
of the tribunes and a part of the army were called
away to fight the Volsci.
The military tribunes with consular powers for
this year were Gaius Valerius Potitus (for the third
time), Manius Sergius Fidenas, Publius Cornelius
Maluginensis, Gnaeus Cornelius Cossus, Gaius Fabius
Ambustus, and (for the second time) Spurius Nautius
455
LIVY
A.c.c. 6 Rutulum^ iteinim. Cum Volscis inter Ferentinum
49-3o0 Q atque Ecetram- signis conlatis dimicatum ; Romanis
secunda fortuna piignae fuit. Artena inde, Vols-
corum oppidum, ab tribunis obsideri coepta. Inde
inter eruptionem temptatam compulso in urbem
hoste occasio data est Romanis inrumpendi, praeter-
que 2 arcem cetera capta ; in arcem munitam natura
globus armatorum concessit ; infra arcem caesi
7 captique multi mortales. Arx deinde obsidebatur ;
nee aut vi capi poterat^ quia pro spatio loci satis
praesidii liabebat^ aut spem dabat deditionis omni
publico frumento priusquam urbs caperetur in arcem
8 convecto ; taedioque recessum inde foret^ ni servus
arcem Romanis prodidisset. Ab eo milites per locum
arduum accepti cepere ; a quibus cum custodes
trucidarentur, cetera multitudo repentino pavore
9 oppressa in deditionem venit. Diruta et arce et
urbe Artena, reductae legiones ex Volscis, omnisque
10 vis Romana V^eios conversa est. Proditori praeter
libertatem duarum familiarum bona in praemium
data ; Servius Romanus vocitatus. Sunt qui Artenam
11 Veientium, non Volscorum, fuisse credant. Praebet
errorem quod eiusdem nominis urbs inter Caere
atque Veios fuit; sed earn reges Romani delevere,
Caeretumque, non V'eientium fuerat ; altera haec
nomine eodem in Volsco agro fuit, cuius excidium
est dictum.
^ Rutulum as at chap. xxxv. § 4 : rutilura L: riitilium n.
2 Ecetram a^ : eceteram Ha : et ceteram B : e cetere L.
* praeterque j- : praeterquam H : propterquam B.
* Later it was the custom to give a slave thus manumitted
by the state the name of the officiating magistrate.
* Livy does not mention the incident in Book I.
BOOK IV. Lxi. 4-1 1
Rutulus. A pitched battle was fought with the b.c.
Volsci between Ferentinum and Ecetra, in which ^'^^~'^^^
fortune favoured the Romans. The tribunes then
laid siege to Artena, a Volscian town. While at-
tempting a sortie the enemy were driven back into
the city and afforded the Romans an opportunity of
forcing an entrance, so that the whole place, except
the citadel, was captured ; to this fortress, which was
naturally strong, a band of armed men retired; below
the citadel a large number were killed or taken
prisoner. The citadel was then besieged, but could
neither be taken by assault, having a sufficient garri-
son in proportion to its area, nor appeared likely to
surrender, for the whole public store of grain had
been conveyed into the fortress before the capture
of the town. The Romans would have withdrawn,
discouraged, had not a slave betraj-ed the place into
their hands. This man admitted some soldiers by
way of a steep approach, and they captured it and
slew the sentries; whereupon the rest of the garrison
was seized with a sudden panic and surrendered.
After demolishing the citadel and the town of Artena,
the legions were withdrawn from the Volsci and all
the might of Rome was brought to bear upon Veii.
The traitor was given the property of two families as
a reward, besides his liberty, and was named Servius
Romanus.i There are those who think that Artena
had belonged to the Veientes, not to the Volsci.
Their mistake is due to the fact that there was a city
of the same name between Caere and Veii ; but this
place was destroyed by the Roman kings,^ and it had
been a dependency of Caere, not of Veii ; the other
town of the same name, whose overthrow I have just
related, was in Volscian territory.
457
LIBRI IV PERIOCHA
Lex de conubio patruni et plebis a tribunis contenti-
oiie magna patribus repugnantibus perlata est. Tribuni
i^ ^ plebis. Aliquot annos res populi R. domi mili-
tiaeque per boc genus niagistratus administratae sunt.
Item censores tunc primum creati sunt. Ager Ardeatibus ^
populi iudicio ablatus missis in eum colonis restitutus est.
Cum fame populus R. laboraret^ Sp. Maelius eques R.
i'rumentum populo sua inpensa largitus est et ob hoc
factum conciliata sibi plebe regnum adfectans a C.^
Servilio Ahala magistro equitum iussu Quinti Cincinnati
dictatoris occisus est ; L. Minucius -^ index bove aurata
donatus est. Legatis Romanorum a Fidcnatibus occisis,
quoniam ob rem p. morte occubuerant, statuae in rostris
positae sunt. Cossus Cornelius tribunus militum occiso
Tolumnio, V^eientum rege, opima spolia secunda ret-
tulit. Mam. Aemilius ^ dictator censurae bonorem, qui
antea per quinquennium gerebatur, anni et sex mensum
spatio linit ; ob eam rem a censoribus notatus est.
Fidenae in potestatem redactae eoque ^ coloni missi sunt ;
quibus occisis Fidenates cum defecissent, ab Mam. Aemilio ^
dictatore victi sunt et Fidenae captae. Coniuratio
servorum oppressa est. Postumius tribunus militum
propter crudelitatem ab exercitu occisus est. Stipendium
ex aerario tum primum militibus datum est. Res prae-
terea gestas adversus Vulscos et Fidenates et Faliscos'
continet.
* Ardeatibus Delrius : ardeatinus {or ardeatiuis) MSS.
2 a C. edd. : ex (or et) MSS.
^ L. Minucius editio 'princeps'. T. minucius {or minutius)
MSS.
* Mam. Aemilius DmA^ew&orcA : m. aemilius J/iS.S'.
^ eo({ue editio princeps : ea.qne MSS.
® Mam Aemilio Drakeiiborch : m. aemilio {or simjjly emilio)
MSS.
' Faliscos edd. : labs cos {or labascos or babscos) MSS.
458
SUMMARY OF BOOK IV
A LAW about the marriage of patricians and plebeians
was carried by the tribunes^ after a violent stnigg-le,
against the opposition of the patricians. The tribunes
. . .^ of the plebs. For some years the affairs of the Roman
People at home and in the field were administered through
this kind of magistracy. Likewise censors were then
elected for the first time. The land taken from the
Ardeates by the decision of the people was restored and
colonists were sent out to it. When the Roman People
was in sore straits on account of a famine, Spurius Maelius,
a Roman knight_, distributed corn to the people at liis own
expense. Having by this act gained the favour of the
plebs, he aimed at royal power and was killed by Gains
Servilius Ahala, the master of the horse, at the command
of the dictator Quintus^ Cincinnatus ; Lucius Minucius
gav^e evidence against him and was presented with a gilded
ox. When the envoys of the Romans had been slain by
the Fidenates, because they had fallen in the service of the
state, statues were erected' to them on the rostra. Corne-
lius Cossus, the military tribune, killed Tolumnius, king of
the Veientes, and returned with tlie second spoils of lionour.
Mamercus Aemilius, the dictator, limited the office of
censor, which was wont to be held for five years, to the
period of eighteen months ; for this he was stigmatized by
the senators. Fidenae was subjugated and colonists were
sent thither ; the Fidenates, having slain these men and re-
volted, were defeated by Mamercus Aemilius the dictator,
and Fidenae was captured. A conspiracy of the slaves
was suppressed. Postumius, the military tribune, was for
his cruelty put to death by his army. Pay from the public
treasury was then for the first time given the soldiers. It
contains also campaigns waged against the Volsci and the
Fidenates and the Faliscans.
1 The institution of military tribunes was evidently recorded
in the words that have been lost.
- A mistake for Quinctius.
459
INDEX OF NAMES
{The References are to Pages.)
AebuttoS, L., 20, 22; Postmnus
Aebutius Cornicen. 294; M.
Aebutius Helva, 294; Postuinus
Aebutius Helva, 326
Aelius, P., 432
Aemilius, T., 2 (bis) ; Aemilius Mamer-
cus, 312, 314, 330, 334, 354, 358,
360, 390, 428, 458 (fiis); M*.
Aemilius Mamercus, 454
Aequi, 4 et passim ; Aequicum bellum,
12
Acquimaelium, 310
Aerrippa, see Furius and Menenius
Albaui, 270; Albana vallis, 24
Algidus, 6, 10, 80, 86 {bis), 92, 100
{bis), 104, 124, 138, 140, 144, 200.
208, 212, 230, 340 {bis), 352, 404
Alienus, L., 104
Ancus, 266
Anio, 314, 326
Antiates, see Antium
Antistius, Ti., 390 ; A., 398
Antium, 2, 12 {bis), 36, 74, 76 {bis),
78 {tcr), 438, 442, 448; Antiates,
20, 36, 80, 438; Antiates coloui, 36
Antiu=, Sp., 312
Antonius Merenda, T., 116, 138 ; Q.,
390
Anxur, 448 {bis), 450
Apollo, 212, 334, 352; Apollinare,
212
Appius, see Claudius
Apronius, 0., 180
Ardea, 280, 286, 288, 290, 292;
Ardeates, 242, 248, 252, 256, 278,
280, 282, 292 {bis), 294 {bis);
Ardeatinum foedus, 282
Aricini, 242, 248, 252
Artena, 456 {ter)
Asellius, M., 390
Aternius, A., 104, 218
Athenae, 106 {bis), 108; Atticae
leges, 106, 250
Atilius, L., 278
Atticae leges, see Athenae
Augustus Caesar, 322 {bis)
Aventinus, 102, 108, 166 {bis), 168.
170, 178, 180, 204, 228, 2o2
BOLAE, 416, 418; Bolani, 416;
Bolanus ager, 418, 424
CAEQLIUS, Q., 310
Caere, 456
Caesar Augustus, 322
Calvius Cicero, C, 104
Campani, 402
Canuleius, C, 256, 258 {bis), 262
{ter), 276; Canuleius, M., 400;
Canuleii, 260
Capena porta, 76
Capitolium, 52, 54, 56, 58 {ter), 60,
62 {bis), 64, 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 100
{bis), 192, 230, 250, 262, 322, 402;
Capitolinus Clivus, 62, 66
Capua, 376 {bis), 426
Capys, 376
Carventana arx, 428, 430, 406 {ter),
438
Cassius, Sp., 306 ; Cassii, 308
Ceres, 182, 184
Claudius, C, 50, 64, 66 {bis), 74, 116,
130, 194, 276; Appius Claudius,
108 {ter), 114, 116, 128, 130, 132
{bis), 134, 136, 138 {bis), 142, 144,
146 {bis), 148 {bis), 150 {bis), 152,
154 {bis), 156 {bis), 158 {quater),
160 {ter), 164 {ter), 166, 178, 186
{quinquies), 188, 190, 196 {bis),
204 {bis), 250, 252 ; Appius Claudius
(son of decemvir), 376; Appius
Claudius (grandson of decemvir),
412 {bis); Claudius, M. (client of
decemvir), 144, 150, 156, 198;
Claudius, 0., 214; Appius Claudius
Crassus, 372; Glaudii, 194, 308;
461
INDEX OF NAMES
Claudiasens, 191,196,266; Claudia
stirps, 4:i4
Cloacina, 158
Cloelius Gracchus, 86 iter), 96;
Cloelius Siculus, T., 278, 294;
CloeUus Tullus, 312
CluiUus Aequus, 288, 292
CoUatinus, Tarquinius. 306
CoUina porta, 170, 326 (bis), 360
Columen. 80
Corbio, 96, 100, 102 (bis), 224, 236
Ck)rioli, 244 (bis) ; Coriolana res, 244 ;
Goriolani fines, 244
Cornelius, A., 80; Cornelius, il. (the
decemvir). 132 ; Cornelius Malu-
Ermensi?, L., 74 (bis), 76, 78, 80,
132, 136 (bis): ComeUus Cossus,
A., 318, 320. 322 (quater), 324 (bis).
344, 354, 356, 358 (bis), 362, 458;
Cornelius Cossus, Cn. Cson of Aulus,
grandson of Marcus), 416, 432, 446,
448 (bis), 454; Cornelius Cossu?, P.
(military tribune, 415 B.C.), 416,
438, 440; Cornelius Cossus, A.
(brother of last-named?), 422;
ComeUus Cossus, P. (younger
brother of first A . Cornelius Cossus ?),
442, 446; Cornelius, Ser., 106;
Cornelius Maluginensis, il., 116,
138, 324; ComeUus Maluginensis,
P., 454
Comiculana captiva, 266
Cremera, 2
Crustumeria, 140
Cumae, 336, 402, 426
Curiatius, P., 106. 108
CJurtius, C, 256, 274, 280
Dequs, L., 416
Demaratus, 266
DuiUius, K., 116, 138; M.. 170 (bis),
180. 184. 198, 216 (bis), 218;
Duiilii, 114
ECETRA, 36, 448 (Ecetrae), 456;
Ecetranus, 12; Ecetrani (see
Tolsci), 12
Eretum, 88, 98, 124, 138, 140
Esquiliae, 228 ; Esquilina porta, 228
Etraria, 300, 330 (bi^), 336 (bis), 358,
426; Etrasci, 314, 316, 328. 362,
368, 376 (few), 454; Etruscae
leeiones, 54, 328; Etruscum mare,
426
Fabics Tibulakts, Q. (consul 287
B.C. and decemvir), 2 (bis), 4 (quater),
28, 30. 32. 74 (bis), 76 (bis), 78, 86,
98, 100, 116, 138 ; Fabius Yibulanus.
M., 294. 314, 320, 334, 346 (bis);
Fabius Yibulanus, Q. (brother of M.).
376, 416, 422; Fabius Yibulanus,
Xum., 394, 416, 444, 448, 450
(bis): Fabius Ambustus, Q. (son
of M.). 426; Fabius Ambustus, K.,
432 ; Fabius Ambustus, Num., 446,
448 ; Fabias Ambustus, C. 454
Faliscus, 316: Falisci, 314, 316 (ter),
326, 330, 360, 458; FaUscus ager,
324
Ferentinum, 424. 438, 456
Ficulensis via. 172
Fidenae. 140 (bis), 312, 314, 328, 330.
336, 354, 356, 360 (bis), 362, 364
(bis), 366, 368, 370, 390, 404, 458
(bis); Fidenas, 316, 364; Fidenates,
312 (quater), 316, 320, 354, 358,
360, 362, 368, 458
Flaminia prata, 180, 212; Flaminius
circus. 180
FoUus, M., 334
Fucinus lacus, 442
Fulcinius, C, 312
Furius, P., 4; Furias Fusus, Sp., 10,
12, 16 (bis), 42; Fnrius, Q., 178;
Furius Agrippa, 222, 236 (bis),
240 (bis); Furius Paculus, C. 296,
328. 356, 426; Furius Medollinus,
L., 336, 370, 398, 422, 424, 432,
444, 454 ; Furii (Fasii), 12
Fusu, see Furii.
Gabintjs ager, 28 (bis)
Geeanius Macerinus, M., 220, 284,
288, 314, 328, 346: Geganius
Macerinus, Proculus, 296
G^nucius, T., 108 (bis), 256
Graecia, 106; Graeci, 402
Herdoxius. Ap., 52 (bis).
62. C6 (bis)
Herminius, Sp., 218
Hemici, 12 (bis) et passim. ;
cohortes, 20 ; Hemicus
428. 434
Horatius Pulvillus, C, 106
Pulvillus, M., 100, 102;
Barbatus, M., 128, 130,
160 (ter), 166, 170, 172,
192, 206, 242, 276;
54, 56, 58,
Hemicae
ager, 18,
Horatius
Horatius
134, 136,
174, 180,
Horatius
462
INDEX OF NAMES
Barbafcus, L., 370; Horatii, 128,
216 ; Horatia lex, 181
Hortensius, L., 390, 392
ICILIUS, L., 144 (bis), 148 (_ter), 152,
154, 156 (bis), 158, 160 (quater),
168 (bis), 174, 180 (bis), 214, 222,
426; IcUii, 114, 260, 432, 438;
Icilia lex, 108
Italica gens, 266
lulius, C, 108, 110, 166, 220, 326;
Iiilius, L., 312, 330, 342, 352;
lulius Mento, Cn., 338, 342, 352;
lulius lulus. Sex., 372 ; lulius
lulus, C, 438, 440, 454
lunius, Q., 310; 0., 386
luno, 56
luppiter, 56, 58, 128, 182, 184, 192,
204, 402; luppiter Feretrius, 320,
322 (bis), 324, 362, 364
Labici, 402 (bis); Labicani, 402, 404
(bis), 410 (ter), 416 ; Labicana via,
388; Labicanus ager, 86, 416;
Labicani agri, 24
Lanuvium, 98, 344
Latini, 74 et passim ; Latinae cohortes,
20 ; Latinus ager, 4, 428, 434
Liber, 182
Libera, 182
Licinius Macer, 282, 322, 330 (ter)
Lucretius Tricipittnus, L., 26 (ter),
28, 34, 44, 80; Lucretius Tricipi-
tinus, Hostius, 354; P., 402, 410;
Lucretia, 142
Maecilius, Sp., 410, 414
Maelius, Sp., 298, 300, 302, 304, 306
(UT), 308 (bis), Sp., 324 (bis), 458;
Maeliam, 304; Maeliana Caedes,
310 (bis)
Mamercus Aemilius, see Aemilius
Mamilius, L., 60, 66, 98
Manilius, Sex., 170
Manlius, A., 106, 108, 330, 352, 398,
4-3 1; Manliana imperia, 352 ; Man-
lius Capitolinus, L., 390
Mars, 204, 210; Martius campus, 34,
92, 212, 236, 328
Meneiiias, C, 106 ; Menenius Lanatus,
Agrippa, 294, 300, 402, 410; Mene-
nius Lanatus, L., 296 ; Menenius,
M., 428 (quater), 430, 432
Messius, Vettius, 348 (bis), 350
Metilius, M., 410, 414
Minerva, 56
Minucius, L., 84, 98, 116, 138, 298,
300 (bis), 310 (quater), 324, 458;
Minucius, Q., 100 (bis), 102
Moneta, 282, 322
Nautius, C, 84, 88 (bis), 98 ; Nautius
Rutulus, Sp., 372, 402, 410, 454;
Nautius Rutulus, C, 426
JSTomentum, 356, 360; Nomentana
via, 172
Nunia Pompilius, 266, 268 (bis)
Kuinitorius P., 148, 152, 158, 168,
180, 196
OPPIUS CORNICEN, Sp., 116, 138, 160,
166, 196 (quater); Oppius, M., 170;
C, 180
Ortoua, 102
Ostia, 354
Papirius Crassus, M., 296; L., 324,
352; Papirius Mugillanus, L., 282,
286, 356, 390, 396, 404, 410;
Papirius Atratinus, M., 426
Pinarius Mamercus, L., 336
Poetelius, Q., 116, 138, 296
Pompilius, Sex., 398 (bis)
Pomponius, M., 180
Pomptinus ager, 336
Postumius Albus, A., 10, 14 (bis), 18
(bis), 86; Postumius Albus, Sp., 4,
106, 236, 336, 344, 348 (bis); Postu-
mius Tubertus, A., 330, 342, 350,
352, 390; Postumius Regillensis,
M., 356, 384, 390, 418, 420 (bis),
422, 458; Postumia Vestalis, 400;
PDStumiana caedes, 422; imperia,
352
Praenestinus ager, 28; Praenestini
montes, 28
Pupius, P., 432
QUIES, 388
Quinctilius, Sex., 106
Quinctius Capitolinus Barbatus, T.,
4, 10 (ter), 14 (bis), 16, 18, (bis) 42
(bis), 46, 70 (bis), 72, 84, 90 (bis),
98 (bis), 116, 222, 224, 234, 236,
240 (bis), 258, 276, 282, 284, 292,
300, 314, 316, 390; Quinctius,
Caeso, 40 (bis), 42 (ter), 44, 46 (bis),
48 (ter), 50, 64 (bis), 66, 80, 82, 84;
Quinctius Gincinnatus, L., 44, 64,
72, 74, 88 (bis), 116, 250, 276, 302
463
INDEX OF NAMES
(bis), 304 (bis), 312, 314, 390 (bis),
398, 458 (Quintns Gincianatus) ;
Quinctianus esercitus, 96 : Quinc-
tius, L. (son of Cincmnatu~;. 312,
370; Quinctius Cincinnatus Poenus,
T. (son of Cincinnatus), 322. 338,
342, 344, 352, 354, 356 (bis), 362
(bis), 364, 366, 368, 384, 39u (bis),
Quinctius Cincinnatus, Q. (son of
Cincinnatus), 416, 454; Quinctius
Capitolinus, T. (son of Capitolinus),
394, 454; Quinctia familia, 84;
gens, 42 ; prata, 90
Quirinus, 326 ; Quirinalis flamen, 106
Quirites, 42, 56, 58 (bis), 68, 70, 136,
144. 148, 224, 226 (bis), 262, 272,
332, 420
Rabuleics, il'., 116, 138
Racilia, 90
Regillus, 194
Eoma, 6 et passim ; Romani, 6 et
passim
RomilJus, T., 102. 104 (bis)
Romulus, 58, 128, 266, 268, 308, 320,
364
Roscius, L., 312
Rostra, 312
Rutilius Crassus, Sp., 410
RutuU, 294 (bis)
SabIM, 54, 58, 60, 86, 98, 100, 102,
122, 138 (?>w), 142, 168, 192, 206
(bis), 210 (ter), 212, 242, 252, 206,
270 j Sabmus ager, 140, 266;
Sabinum bellum, 130; Sabinus
exercitus, 100; Sabinae legiones,
54
Sacer mons, 52, 170 (bis), 172, 180,
204, 228
Samnites, 376, 426
Scaptius, P., 242, 244, 246 (suaier)
Sempronius, C. (uncle of next man),
400; Sempronius Atratinas, A.,
278, 370, 39S. 410; L., 282, 286;
C. (son of L.), 376, 378 (bis), 380,
384, 386 (quater), 390, 392 (ter);
Semproniana clades, 394
Sergius,M.,116,138; Sergius Pidenas,
L., 314, 334, 354 (bis), 372, 404,
406 ; Sergius Fidenas, M',, 454
ServiUus, Q., 4, 10, 22, 80; Servilius
Ahala, C, 304 (bis), 306 (bis), 310,
324, 356, 408 ; C. (not the same as
last man), 438, 440, 444. 450, 458 ;
Servilius Prlscus (or Structus), Q..
326, 340, 354, 404, 406, 408, 412;
Servilius, C. (son of Priscus), 404;
Ser\-ilius Structus, C. (same ss last
man ?), 410
Servius Romanus, 456
Sestius Capitolina-. P., 106, 108
(bis), 110 (bis), 420
Sextius, M., 418
Siccius, L., 140. 142 (ter), 168
SiciUa, 336, 352
Sicinius, C, 180
Siculi, 352, 426
SiUus, Q., 432
Solon, 106
SpurilLias, Ti., 390
Subura, 46
Sulpicius, Ser., 26, 34; Sulpicius
Camerinus, P., 106, 108, 166, 238
(ter); Sulpicius, Q., 330, 346
Tarpeius, Sp., 104, 166, 218
Tarquinius, L., 268, 268; Collatinus,
see Collatinus; Tarquinii (family),
42, 128, 142 ; Tarquinii (city), 266
Tarquitius, L., 90
Tarracinae (see Anxur), 448
Tatius, T., 266
Tempanius, Sex., 380, 382 (bis), 386
(ter), 390 (bis)
Terentilia lex, 34
Terentilius Harsa, C, 30, 34
Tiberis, 48, 90, 298, 320, 360, 368,
416, 426 (bis)
Titinius, M., 180; Sex., 310
Tolumnius, Lars, 312 (bis), 316, 318,
362, 446, 458
Trebonius Asper, L., 218
Tri^emina porta, 310
Tubero, Q., 33'J (ter)
Tullius. Ser., 266, 268 (bis)
Tusci, 48
Tu-sculum, 60 (bis), 06, 78 (ter), 102.
124, 140 (ter), 292, 344, 404, 406,
408 (bis); Tusculani, 64, 78 (bis),
80, 134, 292, 402 ; Tasculanus ager,
24, 86, 102, 124; Tusculana arx,
78 : legio, 62 ; vallis, 24 ; Tusculani
colles, 24, 28 ; Tusculanus dux, 66
Valerius Volesus, 84; Valerius, L.,
14; M., 24: M',,84; M., 84, 102;
Valerius Publicola, P., 26, 50, 56,
58, 62 (bis), 64, 66, 68, 70 ; Valerius
Potitus, L. (son of P. Valerius),
464
INDEX OF NAMES
128, 134, 136 (quater), 160 (quater),
166, 170, 172, 174, 180, 192, 200,
204, 242; C, 416, 428, 430, 444,
454, L. (son of L.), 416, 446, 448;
Valerius Antias, 18, 330; Valerii,
128, 216
Vecilius mons, 162
Veii, 336, 360, 384, 386, 390 (bis),
406, 444, 454, 456 (bis); Veiens,
316 (bis); Veientes, 54, 256, 262,
312, 314, 316, 326, 330, 332, 354,
356 (bis), 358, 360 (ter), 362 368,
370 (bis), 396, 444 (bis), 446, 454,
456 (bis), 458; Veiens agar, 324;
Veientanus ager, 320; Veiens
bellum, 278, 416, 446; hostis, 60,
360; multitudo 316; populus, 336,
444; praedo, 364; senatus, 446
Versrinius, A., 4, 40, 42, 46, 48, 66,
84; Sp., 102; Verginius Rutulus,
T., 24, 26; Verginius, L., 142, 144,
146 (quater), 150 (bis), 152 (ter),
154 (bis), 156 (bis), 158 (bis), 162
(ter), 164, 168, 180, 186 (bis), 190,
196, 198, 250 (Virginius); Verginia
(d. of L.), 150, 152, 180, 196, 198
(&w), 204, 250 (Virginia); Verginius
Caelimontanus, T., 218; Verginius,
L. (cos. 435 B.C.), 326 (bis), 330
Verrugo, 256, 436, 438 (bis), 444
Veturius Geminus, T., 26 (ter); C,
102, 104, 106; L., 108
Vetusius, see Veturius
Villius, Ap., 180
Volscus, 378 ; Volsci, 4 (bis) et passim ;
Volsci Ecetrani, 12; Volscum bel-
lum, 376, 454; Volscus exercitus,
378; in^perator, 380; Volscum
nomen, 28
Volscius Fictor, M., 44, 46, 80, 82
(bis), 84, 98
Voltumna, 330, 336, 454
Voltumum, 376
Volumnius, P., 34, 62, 86
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