"Well then," said he, "you have abundance of wood, go back and level

the rampart." They accordingly returned to the camp and there

levelling the rampart threw the soldiers who had remained in it, and

Appius himself, into the greatest fright, until with eager joy each

called out to the rest, that, "they acted by order of the consul,

Quintus Fabius." Next day the camp was moved from thence, and the

praetor, Appius, was dismissed to Rome. From that time the Romans had

no fixed post, the consul affirming, that it was prejudicial to an

army to lie in one spot, and that by frequent marches, and changing

places, it was rendered more healthy, and more capable of brisk

exertions, and marches were made as long as the winter, which was not

yet ended, permitted. Then, in the beginning of spring, leaving the

second legion near Clusium, which they formerly called the Camertian,

and giving the command of the camp to Lucius Scipio, as propraetor, he

returned to Rome, in order to adjust measures for carrying on the war,

either led thereto by his own judgment, because the war seemed to him

more serious than he had believed, from report, or, being summoned by

a decree of the senate, for writers give both accounts. Some choose to

have it believed, that he was forced back by the praetor, Appius

Claudius, who, both in the senate, and before the people, exaggerated,

as he was wont in all his letters, the danger of the Etrurian war,

contending, that "one general, or one army, would not be sufficient to

oppose four nations. That whether these directed the whole of their

combined force against him alone, or acted separately in different

parts, there was reason to fear, that he would be unable to provide

against every emergency. That he had left there but two Roman legions;

and that the foot and horse, who came with Fabius, did not amount to

five thousand. It was, therefore, his opinion, that the consul,

Publius Decius should, without delay, set out to his colleague in

Etruria, and that the province of Samnium should be given to Lucius

Volumnius. But if the consul preferred going to his own province, that

then Volumnius should march a full consular army into Etruria, to join

the other consul." When the advice of the praetor influenced a great

part of the members, they say that Publius Decius recommended that

every thing should be kept undetermined, and open for Quintus Fabius;

until he should either come to Rome, if he could do so without

prejudice to the public, or send some of his lieutenants, from whom

the senate might learn the real state of the war in Etruria; and with

what number of troops, and by how many generals, it should be carried

on.

26. Fabius, as soon as he returned to Rome, qualified his discourses,

both in the senate and when brought before the people, in such a

manner as to appear neither to exaggerate or lessen, any particular

relating to the war; and to show, that, in agreeing to another general

being joined with him, he rather indulged the apprehensions of others,

than guarded against any danger to himself, or the public. "But if

they chose," he said, "to give him an assistant in the war, and

associate in command, how could he overlook Publius Decius the consul,

whom he had tried during so many associations in office? There was no

man living whom he would rather wish to be joined in commission with

him: with Publius Decius he should have forces sufficient, and never

too many enemies. If, however, his colleague preferred any other

employment, let them then give him Lucius Volumnius as an assistant."

The disposal of every particular was left entirely to Fabius by the

people and the senate, and even by his colleague. And when Decius

declared that he was ready to go either to Etruria or Samnium, such

general congratulation and satisfaction took place, that victory was

anticipated, and it seemed as if a triumph, not a war, had been

decreed to the consuls. I find in some writers, that Fabius and

Decius, immediately on their entering into office, set out together

for Etruria, without any mention of the casting of lots for the

provinces, or of the disputes which I have related. Others, not

satisfied with relating those disputes, have added charges of

misconduct, laid by Appius before the people against Fabius, when

absent; and a stubborn opposition, maintained by the praetor against

the consul, when present; and also another contention between the

colleagues, Decius insisting that each consul should attend to the

care of his own separate province. Certainty, however, begins to

appear from the time when both consuls set out for the campaign. Now,

before the consuls arrived in Etruria, the Senonian Gauls came in a

vast body to Clusium, to attack the Roman legion and the camp. Scipio,

who commanded the camp, wishing to remedy the deficiency of his

numbers by an advantage in the ground, led his men up a hill, which

stood between the camp and the city but having, in his haste,

neglected to examine the place, he reached near the summit, which he

found already possessed by the enemy, who had ascended on the other

side. The legion was consequently attacked on the rear, and surrounded

in the middle, when the enemy pressed it on all sides. Some writers

say, that the whole were cut off, so that not one survived to give an

account of it, and that no information of the misfortune reached the

consuls, who were, at the time, not far from Clusium, until the Gallic

horsemen came within sight, carrying the heads of the slain, some

hanging before their horses' breasts, others on the points of their

spears, and expressing their triumph in songs according to their

custom. Others affirm, that the defeat was by Umbrians, not Gauls, and

that the loss sustained was not so great. That a party of foragers,

under Lucius Manlius Torquatus, lieutenant-general, being surrounded,

Scipio, the propraetor, brought up relief from the camp, and the

battle being renewed, that the Umbrians, lately victorious, were

defeated, and the prisoners and spoil retaken. But it is more probable

that this blow was suffered from a Gallic than an Umbrian enemy,

because during that year, as was often the case at other times, the

danger principally apprehended by the public, was that of a Gallic

tumult, for which reason, notwithstanding that both the consuls had

marched against the enemy, with four legions, and a large body of

Roman cavalry, joined by a thousand chosen horsemen of Campania,

supplied on the occasion, and a body of the allies and Latin

confederates, superior in number to the Romans, two other armies were

posted near the city, on the side facing Etruria, one in the

Faliscian, the other in the Vatican territory. Cneius Fulvius and

Lucius Postumius Megellus, both propraetors, were ordered to keep the

troops stationed in those places.

27. The consuls, having crossed the Apennines, came up with the enemy

in the territory of Sentinum, their camp was pitched there at the

distance of about four miles. Several councils were then held by the

enemy, and their plan of operations was thus settled: that they should

not encamp together, nor go out together to battle; the Gauls were

united to the Samnites, the Umbrians to the Etrurians. The day of

battle was fixed. The part of maintaining the fight was committed to

the Samnites and Gauls; and the Etrurians and Umbrians were ordered to

attack the Roman camp during the heat of the engagement. This plan was

frustrated by three Clusian deserters, who came over by night to

Fabius, and after disclosing the above designs, were sent back with

presents, in order that they might discover, and bring intelligence

of, any new scheme which should be determined on. The consuls then

wrote to Flavius and Postumius to move their armies, the one from the

Faliscian, the other from the Vatican country, towards Clusium; and to

ruin the enemy's territory by every means in their power. The news of

these depredations drew the Etrurians from Sentinum to protect their

own region. The consuls, in their absence, practised every means to

bring on an engagement. For two days they endeavoured, by several

attacks, to provoke the enemy to fight; in which time, however,

nothing worth mention was performed. A few fell on each side, but

still the minds [of the Romans] were irritated to wish for a general

engagement; yet nothing decisive was hazarded. On the third day, both

parties marched out their whole force to the field: here, while the

armies stood in order of battle, a hind, chased by a wolf from the

mountains, ran through the plain between the two lines: there the

animals taking different directions, the hind bent its course towards

the Gauls, the wolf towards the Romans: way was made between the ranks

for the wolf, the Gauls slew the hind with their javelins; on which

one of the Roman soldiers in the van said, "To that side, where you

see an animal, sacred to Diana, lying prostrate, flight and slaughter

are directed; on this side the victorious wolf of Mars, safe and

untouched, reminds us of our founder, and of our descent from that

deity." The Gauls were posted on the right wing, the Samnites on the

left: against the latter, Fabius drew up, as his right wing, the first

and third legions: against the Gauls, Decius formed the left wing of

the fifth and sixth. The second and fourth were employed in the war in

Samnium, under the proconsul, Lucius Volumnius. In the first encounter

the action was supported with strength so equal on both sides, that

had the Etrurians and Umbrians been present, either in the field or at

the camp, in whichever place they might have employed their force, the

Romans must have been defeated.

28. However, although the victory was still undecided, fortune not

having declared in favour of either party, yet the course of the fight

was by no means similar on both right and left wings. The Romans,

under Fabius, rather repelled than offered assault, and the contest

was protracted until very late in the day, for their general knew very

well, that both Samnites and Gauls were furious in the first onset, so

that, to withstand them would be sufficient. It was known, too, that

in a protracted contest the spirits of the Samnites gradually flagged,

and even the bodies of the Gauls, remarkably ill able to bear labour

and heat, became quite relaxed, and although, in their first efforts,

they were more than men, yet in their last they were less than women.

He, therefore, reserved the strength of his men as unimpaired as

possible, until the time when the enemy were the more likely to be

worsted. Decius, more impetuous, as being in the prime of life and

full flow of spirits, exerted whatever force he had to the utmost in

the first encounter, and thinking the infantry not sufficiently

energetic, brought up the cavalry to the fight. Putting himself at the

head of a troop of young horsemen of distinguished bravery, he

besought those youths, the flower of the army, to charge the enemy

with him, [telling them] "they would reap a double share of glory, if

the victory should commence on the left wing, and through their

means." Twice they compelled the Gallic cavalry to give way. At the

second charge, when they advanced farther and were briskly engaged in

the midst of the enemy's squadrons, by a method of fighting new to

them, they were thrown into dismay. A number of the enemy, mounted on

chariots and cars, made towards them with such a prodigious clatter

from the trampling of the cattle and rolling of wheels, as affrighted

the horses of the Romans, unaccustomed to such tumultuous operations.

By this means the victorious cavalry were dispersed, through a panic,

and men and horses, in their headlong flight, were tumbled

promiscuously on the ground. Hence also the battalions of the legions

were thrown into disorder, through the impetuosity of the horses, and

of the carriages which they dragged through the ranks, many of the

soldiers in the van were trodden or bruised to death, while the Gallic

line, as soon as they saw their enemy in confusion, pursued the

advantage, nor allowed them time to take breath or recover themselves.

Decius, calling aloud, "Whither were they flying, or what hope could

they have in running away?" strove to stop them as they turned their

backs, but finding that he could not, by any efforts, prevail on them

to keep their posts, so thoroughly were they dismayed, he called on

his father, Publius Decius, by name. He said, "Why do I any longer

defer the fate entailed on my family? It is destined to our race, that

we should serve as expiatory victims to avert the public danger. I

will now offer the legions of the enemy, together with myself, to be

immolated to Earth, and the infernal gods." Having thus said, he

commanded Marcus Livius, a pontiff, whom, at his coming out to the

field, he had charged not to stir from him, to dictate the form of

words in which he was to devote himself, and the legions of the enemy,

for the army of the Roman people, the Quirites. He was accordingly

devoted with the same imprecations, and in the same habit, in which

his father, Publius Decius, had ordered himself to be devoted at the

Veseris in the Latin war. When, immediately after the solemn

imprecation, he added, that "he drove before him dismay and flight,

slaughter and blood, and the wrath of the gods celestial and infernal,

that, with the contagious influence of the furies, the ministers of

death, he would infect the standards, the weapons, and the armour of

the enemy, and that the same spot should be that of his perdition, and

that of the Gauls and Samnites." After uttering these execrations on

himself and the foe, he spurred forward his horse, where he saw the

line of the Gauls thickest, and, rushing upon the enemy's weapons, met

his death.

29. Thenceforward the battle seemed to be fought with a degree of

force scarcely human. The Romans, on the loss of their general, a

circumstance which, on other occasions, is wont to inspire terror,

stopped their flight, and were anxious to begin the combat afresh. The

Gauls, and especially the multitude which encircled the consul's body,

as if deprived of reason, cast their javelins at random without

execution, some became so stupid as not to think of either fighting or

flying, while on the other side, Livius, the pontiff, to whom Decius

had transferred his lictors, with orders to act as propraetor, cried

out aloud, that "the Romans were victorious, being saved by the death

of their consul. That the Gauls and Samnites were now the victims of

mother Earth and the infernal gods. That Decius was summoning and

dragging to himself the army devoted along with him, and that, among

the enemy, all was full of dismay, and the vengeance of all the

furies." While the soldiers were busy in restoring the fight, Lucius

Cornelius Scipio and Caius Marcius, with some reserved troops from the

rear, who had been sent by Quintus Fabius, the consul, to the support

of his colleague, came up. There the fate of Decius is ascertained, a

powerful stimulus to brave every danger in the cause of the public.

Wherefore, when the Gauls stood in close order, with their shields

formed into a fence before them, and but little prospect of success

appeared from a close fight, the javelins, which lay scattered between

the two lines, were, therefore, by order of the lieutenants-general,

gathered up from the ground, and thrown against the enemy's shields,

and as most of them pierced the fence, the long pointed ones even into

their bodies, their compact band was overthrown in such a manner, that

a great many, who were unhurt, yet fell as if thunderstruck. Such were

the changes of fortune on the left wing of the Romans; on the right,

Fabius had at first protracted the time, as we mentioned above, in

slow operations, then, as soon as he perceived that neither the shout,

nor the efforts of the enemy, nor the weapons which they threw,

retained their former force, having ordered the commanders of the

cavalry to lead round their squadrons to the flank of the Samnites, so

that, on receiving the signal, they should charge them in flank, with

all possible violence, he commanded, at the same time, his infantry to

advance leisurely, and drive the enemy from their ground. When he saw

that they were unable to make resistance, and that their exhaustion

was certain, drawing together all his reserves, whom he had kept fresh

for that occasion, he made a brisk push with the legions, and gave the

cavalry the signal to charge. The Samnites could not support the

shock, but fled precipitately to their camp, passing by the line of

the Gauls, and leaving their allies to fight by themselves. These

stood in close order under cover of their shields. Fabius, therefore,

having heard of the death of his colleague, ordered the squadron of

Campanian cavalry, in number about five hundred, to fall back from the

ranks, and riding round, to attack the rear of the Gallic line, then

the chief strength of the third legion to follow, with directions that

wherever they should see the enemy's troops disordered by the charge,

to follow the blow, and cut them to pieces, when in a state of

consternation. After vowing a temple and the spoils of the enemy to

Jupiter the Victorious, he proceeded to the camp of the Samnites,

whither all their forces were hurrying in confusion. The gates not

affording entrance to such very great numbers, those who were

necessarily excluded, attempted resistance just at the foot of the

rampart, and here fell Gellius Egnatius, the Samnite general. These,

however, were soon driven within the rampart; the camp was taken after

a slight resistance; and at the same time the Gauls were attacked on

the rear, and overpowered. There were slain of the enemy on that day

twenty-five thousand: eight thousand were taken prisoners. Nor was the

victory an unbloody one; for, of the army of Publius Decius, the

killed amounted to seven thousand; of the army of Fabius, to one

thousand two hundred. Fabius, after sending persons to search for the

body of his colleague, had the spoils of the enemy collected into a

heap, and burned them as an offering to Jupiter the Victorious. The

consul's body could not be found that day, being hid under a heap of

slaughtered Gauls: on the following, it was discovered and brought to

the camp, amidst abundance of tears shed by the soldiers. Fabius,

discarding all concern about any other business, solemnized the

obsequies of his colleague in the most honourable manner, passing on

him the high encomiums which he had justly merited.

30. During the same period, matters were managed successfully by

Cneius Fulvius, propraetor, he having, besides the immense losses

occasioned to the enemy by the devastation of their lands, fought a

battle with extraordinary success, in which there were above three

thousand of the Perusians and Clusians slain, and twenty military

standards taken. The Samnites, in their flight, passing through the

Pelignian territory, were attacked on all sides by the Pelignians;

and, out of five thousand, one thousand were killed. The glory of the

day on which they fought at Sentinum was great, even when truly

estimated; but some have gone beyond credibility by their

exaggerations, who assert in their writings, that there were in the

army of the enemy forty thousand three hundred and thirty foot, six

thousand horse, and one thousand chariots, that is, including the

Etrurians and Umbrians, who [they affirm] were present in the

engagement: and, to magnify likewise the number of Roman forces, they

add to the consuls another general, Lucius Volumnius, proconsul, and

his army to the legions of the consul. In the greater number of

annals, that victory is ascribed entirely to the two consuls.

Volumnius was employed in the mean time in Samnium; he drove the army

of the Samnites to Mount Tifernus, and, not deterred by the difficulty

of the ground, routed and dispersed them. Quintus Fabius, leaving

Decius's army in Etruria, and leading off his own legions to the city,

triumphed over the Gauls, Etrurians, and Samnites: the soldiers

attended him in his triumph. The victory of Quintus Fabius was not

more highly celebrated, in their coarse military verses, than the

illustrious death of Publius Decius; and the memory of the father was

recalled, whose fame had been equalled by the praiseworthy conduct of

the son, in respect of the issue which resulted both to himself and to

the public. Out of the spoil, donations were made to the soldiers of

eighty-two _asses_ [Footnote: _5s. 31d._] to each, with

cloaks and vests; rewards for service, in that age, by no means

contemptible.

31. Notwithstanding these successes, peace was not yet established,

either among the Samnites or Etrurians: for the latter, at the

instigation of the Perusians, resumed their arms, after his army had

been withdrawn by the consul; and the Samnites made predatory

incursions on the territories of Vescia and Formiae; and also on the

other side, on those of Aesernia, and the parts adjacent to the river

Vulturnus. Against these was sent the praetor Appius Claudius, with

the army formerly commanded by Decius. In Etruria, Fabius, on the

revival of hostilities, slew four thousand five hundred of the

Perusians, and took prisoners one thousand seven hundred and forty,

who were ransomed at the rate of three hundred and ten _asses_

[Footnote: £1.] each. All the rest of the spoil was bestowed on the

soldiers. The legions of the Samnites, though pursued, some by the

praetor Appius Claudius, the others by Lucius Volumnius, proconsul,

formed a junction in the country of the Stellatians. Here sat down the

whole body of the Samnites; and Appius and Volumnius, with their

forces united in one camp. A battle was fought with the most rancorous

animosity, one party being spurred on by rage against men who had so

often renewed their attacks on them, and the other now fighting in

support of their last remaining hope. Accordingly, there were slain,

of the Samnites, sixteen thousand three hundred, and two thousand and

seven hundred made prisoners: of the Roman army fell two thousand and

seven hundred. This year, so successful in the operations of war, was

filled with distress at home, arising from a pestilence, and with

anxiety, occasioned by prodigies: for accounts were received that, in

many places, showers of earth had fallen; and that very many persons,

in the army of Appius Claudius, had been struck by lightning; in

consequence of which, the books were consulted. At this time, Quintus

Fabius Gurges, the consul's son, having prosecuted some matrons before

the people on a charge of adultery, built, with the money accruing

from the fines which they were condemned to pay, the temple of Venus,

which stands near the circus. Still we have the wars of the Samnites

on our hands, notwithstanding that the relation of them has already

extended, in one continued course, through four volumes of our

history, and through a period of forty-six years, from the consulate

of Marcus Valerius and Aulus Cornelius, who first carried the Roman

arms into Samnium. And, not to recite the long train of disasters

sustained by both nations, and the toils which they underwent, by

which, however, their stubborn breasts could not be subdued; even in

the course of the last year, the Samnites, with their own forces

separately, and also in conjunction with those of other nations, had

been defeated by four several armies, and four generals of the Romans,

in the territory of Sentinum, in that of the Pelignians, at Tifernum,

and in the plains of the Stellatians; had lost the general of the

highest character in their nation; and, now, saw their allies in the

war, the Etrurians, the Umbrians, and the Gauls, in the same situation

with themselves; but, although they could now no longer stand, either

by their own or by foreign resources, yet did they not desist from the

prosecution of hostilities. So far were they from being weary of

defending liberty, even though unsuccessfully: and they preferred

being defeated to not aspiring after victory. Who does not find his

patience tired, either in writing, or reading, of wars of such

continuance; and which yet exhausted not the resolution of the parties

concerned?

32. Quintus Fabius and Publius Decius were succeeded in the consulship

by Lucius Postumius Megellus and Marcus Atilius Regulus. The province

of Samnium was decreed to both in conjunction; because intelligence

had been received that the enemy had embodied three armies; with one

that Etruria was to be recovered; with another the ravages in Campania

were to be repeated; and the third was intended for the defence of

their frontiers. Sickness detained Postumius at Rome, but Atilius set

out immediately, with design to surprise the enemy in Samnium, before

they should have advanced beyond their own borders; for such had been

the directions of the senate. The Romans met the enemy, as if by

mutual appointment, at a spot where, while they could be hindered, not

only from ravaging, but even from entering the Samnite territory, they

could likewise hinder the Samnites from continuing their progress into

the countries which were quiet, and the lands of the allies of the

Roman people. While their camps lay opposite to each other, the

Samnites attempted an enterprise, which the Romans, so often their

conquerors, would scarcely have ventured to undertake; such is the

rashness inspired by extreme despair: this was to make an assault on

the Roman camp. And although this attempt, so daring, succeeded not in

its full extent, yet it was not without effect. There was a fog, which

continued through a great part of the day, so thick as to exclude the

light of the sun, and to prevent not only the view of any thing beyond

the rampart, but scarcely the sight of each other, when they should

meet. Depending on this, as a covering to the design, when the sun was

scarcely yet risen, and the light which he did afford was obscured by

the fog, the Samnites came up to an advanced guard of the Romans at

one of the gates, who were standing carelessly on their post. In the

sudden surprise, these had neither courage nor strength to make

resistance: an assault was then made, through the Decuman gate, in the

rear of the camp: the quaestor's quarters in consequence were taken,

and the quaestor, Lucius Opimius Pansa, was there slain; on this a

general alarm was given to take up arms.

33. The consul, being roused by the tumult, ordered two cohorts of the

allies, a Lucanian and Suessanian, which happened to be nearest, to

defend the head-quarters, and led the companies of the legions down

the principal street. These ran into the ranks, scarcely taking time

to furnish themselves with arms; and, as they distinguished the enemy

by their shout rather than by sight, could form no judgment how great

their number might be: thus, ignorant of the circumstances of their

situation, they at first drew back, and admitted the enemy into the

heart of the camp. Then when the consul cried out, asking them,

whether they intended to let themselves be beaten out beyond the

rampart, and then to return again to storm their own camp, they raised

the shout, and uniting their efforts, stood their ground; then made

advances, pushed closely on the enemy, and having forced them to give

way, drove them back, without suffering their first terror to abate.

They soon beat them out beyond the gate and the rampart, but not

daring to pursue them, because the darkness of the weather made them

apprehend an ambush, and content with having cleared the camp, they

retired within the rampart, having killed about three hundred of the

enemy. Of the Romans, including the first advanced guard and the

watchmen, and those who were surprised at the quaestor's quarters, two

hundred and thirty perished. This not unsuccessful piece of boldness

raised the spirits of the Samnites so high, that they not only did not

suffer the Romans to march forward into their country, but even to

procure forage from their lands; and the foragers were obliged to go

back into the quiet country of Sora. News of these events being

conveyed to Rome, with circumstances of alarm magnified beyond the

truth, obliged Lucius Postumius, the consul, though scarcely recovered

from his illness, to set out for the army. However, before his

departure, having issued a proclamation that his troops should

assemble at Sora, he dedicated the temple of Victory, for the building

of which he had provided, when curule aedile, out of the money arising

from fines; and, joining the army, he advanced from Sora towards

Samnium, to the camp of his colleague. The Samnites, despairing of

being able to make head against the two armies, retreated from thence,

on which the consuls, separating, proceeded by different routes to lay

waste the enemy's lands and besiege their towns.

34. Postumius attempted to make himself master of Milionia, at first

by storm and an assault; but these not succeeding, he carried his

approaches to the walls, and thus gained an entrance into the place.

The fight was continued in all parts of the city from the fourth hour

until near the eighth, the result being a long time uncertain: the

Romans at last gained possession of the town. Three thousand two

hundred of the Samnites were killed, four thousand seven hundred

taken, besides the other booty. From thence the legions were conducted

to Ferentinum, out of which the inhabitants had, during the night,

retired in silence through the opposite gate, with all their effects

which could be either carried or driven. The consul, on his arrival,

approached the walls with the same order and circumspection, as if he

were to meet an opposition here equal to what he had experienced at

Milionia. Then, perceiving a dead silence in the city, and neither

arms nor men on the towers and ramparts, he restrains the soldiers,

who were eager to mount the deserted fortifications, lest they might

fall into a snare. He ordered two divisions of the confederate Latin

horse to ride round the walls, and explore every particular. These

horsemen observed one gate, and, at a little distance, another on the

same side, standing wide open, and on the roads leading from these

every mark of the enemy having fled by night. They then rode up

leisurely to the gates, from whence, with perfect safety, they took a

clear view through straight streets quite across the city. They report

to the consul, that the city was abandoned by the enemy, as was plain

from the solitude, the recent tracks on their retreat, and the things

which, in the confusion of the night, they had left scattered up and

down. On hearing this, the consul led round the army to that side of

the city which had been examined, and making the troops halt at a

little distance from the gate, gave orders that five horsemen should

ride into the city; and when they should have advanced a good way into

it, then, if they saw all things safe, three should remain there, and

the other two return to him with intelligence. These returned and

said, that they had proceeded to a part of the town from which they

had a view on every side, and that nothing but silence and solitude

reigned through the whole extent of it. The consul immediately led

some light-armed cohorts into the city; ordering the rest to fortify

a camp in the mean time. The soldiers who entered the town, breaking

open the doors, found only a few persons, disabled by age or sickness;

and such effects left behind as could not, without difficulty, be

removed. These were seized as plunder: and it was discovered from the

prisoners, that several cities in that quarter had, in pursuance of a

concerted plan, resolved on flight; that their towns-people had gone

off at the first watch, and they believed that the same solitude they

should find in the other places. The accounts of the prisoners proved

well-founded, and the consul took possession of the forsaken towns.

35. The war was by no means so easy with the other consul, Marcus

Atilius. As he was marching his legions towards Luceria, to which he

was informed that the Samnites had laid siege, the enemy met him on

the border of the Lucerian territory. Rage supplied them, on this

occasion, with strength to equal his: the battle was stubbornly

contested, and the victory doubtful; in the issue, however, more

calamitous on the side of the Romans, both because they were

unaccustomed to defeat, and that, on leaving the field, they felt more

sensibly, than during the heat of the action, how much more wounds and

bloodshed had been on their side. In consequence of this, such dismay

spread through the camp, as, had it seized them during the engagement,

a signal defeat would have been the result. Even as the matter stood,

they spent the night in great anxiety; expecting, every instant, that

the Samnites would assault the camp; or that, at the first light, they

should be obliged to stand a battle with a victorious enemy. On the

side of the enemy, however, although there was less loss, yet there

was not greater courage. As soon as day appeared, they wished to

retire without any more fighting; but there was only one road, and

that leading close by the post of their enemy; on their taking which,

they seemed as if advancing directly to attack the camp. The consul,

therefore, ordered his men to take arms, and to follow him outside the

rampart, giving directions to the lieutenants-general, tribunes, and

the praefects of the allies, in what manner he would have each of them

act. They all assured him that "they would do every thing in their

power, but that the soldiers were quite dejected; that, from their own

wounds, and the groans of the dying, they had passed the whole night

without sleep; that if the enemy had approached the camp before day,

so great were the fears of the troops, that they would certainly have

deserted their standards." "Even at present they were restrained from

flight merely by shame; and, in other respects, were little better

than vanquished men." This account made the consul judge it necessary

to go himself among the soldiers, and speak to them; and, as he came

up to each, he rebuked them for their backwardness in taking arms,

asking, "Why they loitered, and declined the fight? If they did not

choose to go out of the camp, the enemy would come into it; and they

must fight in defence of their tents, if they would not in defence of

the rampart. Men who have arms in their hands, and contend with their

foe, have always a chance for victory; but the man who waits naked and

unarmed for his enemy, must suffer either death or slavery." To these

reprimands and rebukes they answered, that "they were exhausted by the

fatigue of the battle of yesterday; and had no strength, nor even

blood remaining; and besides, the enemy appeared more numerous than

they were the day before." The hostile army, in the mean time, drew

near; so that, seeing every thing more distinctly as the distance grew

less, they asserted that the Samnites carried with them pallisades for

a rampart, and evidently intended to draw lines of circumvallation

round the camp. On this the consul exclaimed, with great earnestness,

against submitting to such an ignominious insult, and from so

dastardly a foe. "Shall we even be blockaded," said he, "in our camp,

and die, with ignominy, by famine, rather than bravely by the sword,

if it must be so? May the gods be propitious! and let every one act in

the manner which he thinks becomes him. The consul Marcus Atilius,

should no other accompany him, will go out, even alone, to face the

enemy; and will fall in the middle of the Samnite battalions, rather

than see the Roman camp enclosed by their trenches." The

lieutenants-general, tribunes, every troop of the cavalry, and the

principal centurions, expressed their approbation of what the consul

said; and the soldiers at length, overcome by shame, took up their

arms, but in a spiritless manner; and in the same spiritless manner,

marched out of the camp. In a long train, and that not every where

connected, melancholy, and seemingly subdued, they proceeded towards

the enemy, whose hopes and courage, were not more steady than theirs.

As soon therefore as the Roman standards were beheld, a murmur spread

from front to rear of the Samnites, that, as they had feared, "the

Romans were coming out to oppose their march; that there was no road

open, through which they could even fly thence; in that spot they must

fall, or else cut down the enemy's ranks, and make their way over

their bodies."

36. They then threw the baggage in a heap in the centre, and, with

their arms prepared for battle, formed their line, each falling into

his post. There was now but a small interval between the two armies,

and both stood, waiting until the shout and onset should be begun by

their adversary. Neither party had any inclination to fight, and they

would have separated, and taken different roads, unhurt and untouched,

but that each had a dread of being harassed, in retreat, by the other.

Notwithstanding this shyness and reluctance, an engagement unavoidably

began, but spiritless, and with a shout which discovered neither

resolution nor steadiness; nor did any move a foot from his post. The

Roman consul, then, in order to infuse life into the action, ordered a

few troops of cavalry to advance out of the line and charge: most of

whom being thrown from their horses and the rest put in disorder,

several parties ran forward, both from the Samnite line, to cut off

those who had fallen, and from the Roman, to protect their friends. In

consequence the battle became a little more brisk, but the Samnites

had come forward with more briskness, and also in greater numbers, and

the disordered cavalry, with their affrighted horses, trod down their

own party who came to their relief. Flight commencing in this quarter,

caused the whole Roman line to turn their backs. And now the Samnites

had no employment for their arms but against the rear of a flying

enemy, when the consul, galloping on before his men to the gate of the

camp, posted there a body of cavalry, with orders to treat as an enemy

any person who should make towards the rampart, whether Roman or

Samnite; and, placing himself in the way of his men, as they pressed

in disorder towards the camp, denounced threats to the same purport:

"Whither are you going, soldiers?" said he; "here also you will find

both men and arms; nor, while your consul lives, shall you pass the

rampart, unless victorious. Choose therefore which you will prefer,

fighting against your own countrymen, or the enemy." While the consul

was thus speaking the cavalry gathered round, with the points of their

spears presented, and ordered the infantry to return to the fight. Not

only his own brave spirit, but fortune likewise aided the consul, for

the Samnites did not push their advantage; so that he had time to

wheel round his battalions, and to change his front from the camp

towards the enemy. The men then began to encourage each other to

return to the battle, while the centurions snatched the ensigns from

the standard-bearers and bore them forward, pointing out to the

soldiers the enemy, coming on in a hurry, few in number, and with

their ranks disordered. At the same time the consul, with his hands

lifted up towards heaven, and raising his voice so as to be heard at a

distance, vowed a temple to Jupiter Stator, if the Roman army should

rally from flight, and, renewing the battle, cut down and defeat the

Samnites. All divisions of the army, now, united their efforts to

restore the fight; officers, soldiers, the whole force, both of

cavalry and infantry; even the powers of heaven seemed to have looked,

with favour, on the Roman cause; so speedily was a thorough change

effected in the fortune of the day, the enemy being repulsed from the

camp, and, in a short time, driven back to the spot where the battle

had commenced. Here they stopped, being obstructed by the heap of

baggage, lying in their way, where they had thrown it together; and

then, to prevent the plundering of their effects, formed round them a

circle of troops. On this, the infantry assailed them vigorously in

front, while the cavalry, wheeling, fell on their rear: and, being

thus enclosed between the two, they were all either slain, or taken

prisoners. The number of the prisoners was seven thousand two hundred,

who were all sent under the yoke; the killed amounted to four thousand

eight hundred. The victory did not prove a joyous one, even on the

side of the Romans: when the consul took an account of the loss

sustained in the two days, the number returned, of soldiers lost, was

seven thousand three hundred. During these transactions in Apulia, the

Samnites with the other army having attempted to seize on Iteramna, a

Roman colony situated on the Latin road, did not however obtain the

town; whence, after ravaging the country, as they were driving off

spoil, consisting of men and cattle, together with the colonists whom

they had taken, they met the consul returning victorious from Luceria,

and not only lost their booty, but marching in disorder, in a long

train, and heavily encumbered, were themselves cut to pieces. The

consul, by proclamation, summoned the owners to Interamna, to claim

and receive again their property, and leaving his army there, went to

Rome to hold the elections. On his applying for a triumph, that honour

was refused him, because he had lost so many thousands of his

soldiers; and also, because he had sent the prisoners under the yoke

without imposing any conditions.

37. The other consul, Postumius, because there was no employment for

his arms in Samnium, having led over his forces into Etruria, first

laid waste the lands of the Volsinians; and afterwards, on their

marching out to protect their country, gained a decisive victory over

them, at a small distance from their own walls. Two thousand two

hundred of the Etrurians were slain; the proximity of their city

protected the rest. The army was then led into the territory of

Rusella, and there, not only were the lands wasted, but the town

itself taken. More than two thousand men were made prisoners, and

somewhat less than that number killed on the walls. But a peace,

effected that year in Etruria, was still more important and honourable

than the war had been. Three very powerful cities, the chief ones of

Etruria, (Volsinii, Perusia, and Arretium,) sued for peace; and having

stipulated with the consul to furnish clothing and corn for his army,

on condition of being permitted to send deputies to Rome, they

obtained a truce for forty years, and a fine was imposed on each state

of five hundred thousand _asses_,[Footnote: £1614. _11s

8d_] to be immediately paid. When the consul demanded a triumph

from the senate, in consideration of these services, rather to comply

with the general practice, than in hope of succeeding; and when he saw

that one party, his own personal enemies, another party, the friends

of his colleague, refused him the triumph, the latter to console a

similar refusal, some on the plea that he had been rather tardy in

taking his departure from the city; others, that he had passed from

Samnium into Etruria without orders from the senate; he said,

"Conscript fathers, I shall not be so far mindful of your dignity, as

to forget that I am consul. By the same right of office by which I

conducted the war, I shall now have a triumph, when this war has been

brought to a happy conclusion, Samnium and Etruria being subdued, and

victory and peace procured. With these words he left the senate." On

this arose a contention between the plebeian tribunes; some of them

declaring that they would protest against his triumphing in a manner

unprecedented; others, that they would support his pretensions, in

opposition to their colleagues. The affair came at length to be

discussed before the people, and the consul being summoned to attend,

when he represented, that Marcus Horatius and Lucius Valerius, when

consuls, and lately Caius Marcus Rutilus, father of the present

censor, had triumphed, not by direction of the senate, but by that of

the people; he then added that "he would in like manner have laid his

request before the public, had he not known that some plebeian

tribunes, the abject slaves of the nobles, would have obstructed the

law. That the universal approbation and will of the people were and

should be with him equivalent to any order whatsoever." Accordingly,

on the day following, by the support of three plebeian tribunes, in

opposition to the protest of the other seven, and the declared

judgment of the senate, he triumphed; and the people paid every honour

to the day. The historical accounts regarding this year are by no

means consistent; Claudius asserts, that Postumius, after having taken

several cities in Samnium, was defeated and put to flight in Apulia;

and that, being wounded himself, he was driven, with a few attendants,

into Luceria. That the war in Etruria was conducted by Atilius, and

that it was he who triumphed. Fabius writes, that the two consuls

acted in conjunction, both in Samnium and at Luceria; that an army was

led over into Etruria, but by which of the consuls he has not

mentioned; that at Luceria, great numbers were slain on both sides;

and that in that battle, the temple of Jupiter Stator was vowed, the

same vow having been formerly made by Romulus, but the fane only, that

is, the area appropriated for the temple, had been yet consecrated.

However, in this year, the state having been twice bound by the same

vow, it became a matter of religious obligation that the senate should

order the temple to be erected.

38. In the next year, we find a consul, distinguished by the united

splendour of his own and his father's glory, Lucius Papirius Cursor,

as also a war of vast importance, and a victory of such consequence,

as no man, excepting Lucius Papirius, the consul's father, had ever

before obtained over the Samnites. It happened too that these had,

with the same care and pains as on the former occasion, decorated

their soldiers with the richest suits of splendid armour; and they

had, likewise, called in to their aid the power of the gods, having,

as it were, initiated the soldiers, by administering the military

oath, with the solemn ceremonies practised in ancient times, and

levied troops in every part of Samnium, under an ordinance entirely

new, that "if any of the younger inhabitants should not attend the

meeting, according to the general's proclamation, or shall depart

without permission, his head should be devoted to Jupiter." Orders

being then issued, for all to assemble at Aquilonia, the whole

strength of Samnium came together, amounting to forty thousand men.

There a piece of ground, in the middle of the camp, was enclosed with

hurdles and boards, and covered overhead with linen cloth, the sides

being all of an equal length, about two hundred feet. In this place

sacrifices were performed, according to directions read out of an old

linen book, the priest being a very old man, called Ovius Paccius, who

affirmed, that he took these ceremonials from the ancient ritual of

the Samnites, being the same which their ancestors used, when they had

formed the secret design of wresting Capua from the Etrurians. When

the sacrifices were finished, the general ordered a beadle to summon

every one of those who were most highly distinguished by their birth

or conduct: these were introduced singly. Besides the other

exhibitions of the solemnity, calculated to impress the mind with

religious awe, there were, in the middle of the covered enclosure,

altars erected, about which lay the victims slain, and the centurions

stood around with their swords drawn. The soldier was led up to the

altars, rather like a victim, than a performer in the ceremony, and

was bound by an oath not to divulge what he should see and hear in

that place. He was then compelled to swear, in a dreadful kind of

form, containing execrations on his own person, on his family and

race, if he did not go to battle, whithersoever the commanders should

lead; and, if either he himself fled from the field, or, in case he

should see any other flying, did not immediately kill him. At first

some, refusing to take the oath, were put to death round the altars,

and lying among the carcasses of the victims, served afterwards as a

warning to others not to refuse it. When those of the first rank in

the Samnite nation had been bound under these solemnities, the general

nominated ten, whom he desired to choose each a man, and so to proceed

until they should have called up the number of sixteen thousand. This

body, from the covering of the enclosure wherein the nobility had been

thus devoted, was called the linen legion. They were furnished with

splendid armour and plumed helmets, to distinguish them above the

rest. They had another body of forces, amounting to somewhat more than

twenty thousand, not inferior to the linen legion, either in personal

appearance, or renown in war, or their equipment. This number,

composing the main strength of the nation, sat down at Aquilonia.

39. On the other side, the consuls set out from the city. First,

Spurius Carvilius, to whom had been decreed the veteran legions, which

Marcus Atilius, the consul of the preceding year, had left in the

territory of Interamna, marched at their head into Samnium; and, while

the enemy were busied in their superstitious rites, and holding their

secret meeting, he took by storm the town of Amiternum. Here were

slain about two thousand eight hundred men; and four thousand two

hundred and seventy were made prisoners. Papirius, with a new army,

which he raised in pursuance of a decree of the senate, made himself

master of the city of Duronia. He took fewer prisoners than his

colleague; but slew much greater numbers. Rich booty was acquired in

both places. The consuls then, overrunning Samnium, and wasting the

province of Atinum with particular severity, arrived, Carvilius at

Cominium, and Papirius at Aquilonia, where the main force of the

Samnites were posted. Here, for some time, there was neither a

cessation of action, nor any vigorous effort. The day was generally

spent in provoking the enemy when quiet, and retiring when they

offered resistance; in menacing, rather than making an attack. By

which practice of beginning, and then desisting, even those trifling

skirmishes were continually left without a decision. The other Roman

camp was twenty miles distant, and the advice of his absent colleague

was appealed to on every thing which he undertook, while Carvilius, on

his part, directed a greater share of his attention to Aquilonia,

where the state of affairs was more critical and important, than to

Cominium, which he himself was besieging. When Papirius had fully

adjusted every measure, preparatory to an engagement, he despatched a

message to his colleague, that "he intended, if the auspices

permitted, to fight the enemy on the day following; and that it would

be necessary that he (Carvilius) should at the same time make an

assault on Cominium, with his utmost force, that the Samnites there

might have no leisure to send any succour to Aquilonia." The messenger

had the day for the performance of his journey, and he returned in the

night, with an answer to the consul, that his colleague approved of

the plan. Papirius, on sending off the messenger, had instantly called

an assembly, where he descanted, at large, on the nature of the war in

general, and on the present mode of equipment adopted by the enemy,

which served for empty parade, rather than for any thing effectual

towards insuring success; for "plumes," he said, "made no wounds; that

a Roman javelin would make its way through shields, however painted

and gilt; and that the army, refulgent from the whiteness of their

tunics, would soon be besmeared with blood, when matters came to be

managed with the sword. His father had formerly cut off, to a man, a

gold and silver army of the Samnites; and such accoutrements had made

a more respectable figure, as spoils, in the hands of the conquering

foe, than as arms in those of the wearers. Perhaps it was allotted, by

destiny, to his name and family, that they should be opposed in

command against the most powerful efforts of the Samnites; and should

bring home spoils, of such beauty, as to serve for ornaments to the

public places. The immortal gods were certainly on his side, on

account of the leagues so often solicited and so often broken.

Besides, if a judgment might be formed of the sentiments of the

deities, they never were more hostile to any army, than to that which,

smeared with the blood of human beings mixed with that of cattle in

their abominable sacrifice, doomed to the twofold resentment of the

gods, dreading on the one hand the divinities, witnesses of the

treaties concluded with the Romans, on the other hand the imprecations

expressed in the oath sworn in contradiction to those treaties, swore

with reluctance, abhorred the oath, and feared at once the gods, their

countrymen, and their enemies."

40. When the consul had recounted these particulars, ascertained from

the information of the deserters, to the soldiers already enraged of

themselves, they then, filled with confidence in both divine and human

aid, with one universal shout, demanded the battle; were dissatisfied

at the action being deferred to the following day; they are impatient

under the intended delay of a day and a night. Papirius, at the third

watch, having received his colleague's letter, arose in silence, and

sent the keeper of the chickens to take the auspices. There was no one

description of men in the camp who felt not earnest wishes for the

fight: the highest and the lowest were equally eager; the general

watching the ardour of the soldiers, and the soldiers that of the

general. This universal zeal spread even to those employed in taking

the auspices; for the chickens having refused to feed, the auspex

ventured to misrepresent the omen, and reported to the consul that

they had fed voraciously.[Footnote: When the auspices were to be

taken from the chickens, the keeper threw some of them food upon the

ground, in their sight, and opened the door of then coop. If they did

not come out; if they came out slowly; if they refused to feed, or ate

in a careless manner, the omen was considered as bad. On the contrary,

if they rushed out hastily and ate greedily, so that some of the food

fell from their mouths on the ground, this was considered as an omen

of the best import; it was called _tripudium solistinum_,

originally, _terripavium_, from _terra_, and _pavire_, to

strike.] The consul, highly pleased, and giving notice that the

auspices were excellent, and that they were to act under the direction

of the gods, displayed the signal for battle. Just as he was going out

to the field, he happened to receive intelligence from a deserter,

that twenty cohorts of Samnites, consisting of about four hundred

each, had marched towards Cominium. Lest his colleague should be

ignorant of this, he instantly despatched a messenger to him, and then

ordered the troops to advance with speed, having already assigned to

each division of the army its proper post, and appointed general

officers to command them. The command of the right wing he gave to

Lucius Volumnius, that of the left to Lucius Scipio, that of the

cavalry to the other lieutenants-general, Caius Caedicius and Caius

Trebonius. He ordered Spurius Nautius to take off the panniers from

the mules, and to lead them round quickly, together with his auxiliary

cohorts, to a rising ground in view; and there to show himself during

the heat of the engagement, and to raise as much dust as possible.

While the general was employed in making these dispositions, a dispute

arose among the keepers of the chickens, about the auspices of the

day, which was overheard by some Roman horsemen, who, deeming it a

matter not to be slighted, informed Spurius Papirius, the consul's

nephew, that there was a doubt about the auspices. The youth, born in

an age when that sort of learning which inculcates contempt of the

gods was yet unknown, examined into the affair, that he might not

carry an uncertain report to the consul; and then acquainted him with

it. His answer was, "I very much applaud your conduct and zeal.

However, the person who officiates in taking the auspices, if he makes

a false report, draws on his own head the evil portended; but to the

Roman people and their army, the favourable omen reported to me is an

excellent auspice." He then commanded the centurions to place the

keepers of the chickens in the front of the line. The Samnites

likewise brought forward their standards; their main body followed,

armed and decorated in such a manner, that the enemy afforded a

magnificent show. Before the shout was raised, or the battle begun,

the auspex, wounded by a random cast of a javelin, fell before the

standards; which being told to the consul, he said, "The gods are

present in the battle; the guilty has met his punishment." While the

consul uttered these words, a crow, in front of him, cawed with a

clear voice; at which augury, the consul being rejoiced, and

affirming, that never had the gods interposed in a more striking

manner in human affairs, ordered the charge to be sounded and the

shout to be raised.

41. A furious conflict now ensued, but with very unequal spirit [in

the combatants]. Anger, hope, and ardour for conquest, hurried on the

Romans to battle, thirsting for their enemy's blood; while the

Samnites, for the most part reluctantly, as if compelled by necessity

and religious dread, rather stood on their defence, than made an

attack. Nor would they, familiarized as they were to defeats, through

a course of so many years, have withstood the first shout and shock of

the Romans, had not another fear, operating still more powerfully in

their breasts, restrained them from flying. For they had before their

eyes the whole scene exhibited at the secret sacrifice, the armed

priests, the promiscuous carnage of men and cattle, the altars

besmeared with the blood of victims and of their murdered countrymen,

the dreadful curses, and the direful form of imprecation, drawn up for

calling down perdition on their family and race. Prevented by these

shackles from running away, they stood, more afraid of then countrymen

than of the enemy. The Romans pushed on both the wings, and in the

centre, and made great havoc among them, stupified as they were,

through their fears of the gods and of men. A faint resistance is now

made, as by men whom fear alone prevented from running away. The

slaughter had now almost reached to their standards, when, on one

side, appeared a cloud of dust, as if raised by the marching of a

numerous army: it was Spurius Nautius, (some say Octavius Metius,)

commander of the auxiliary cohorts: for these raised a greater

quantity of dust than was proportioned to the number of men, the

servants of the camp, mounted on the mules, trailing boughs of trees,

full of leaves, along the ground. Through the light thus obscured,

arms and standards were seen in front; behind, a higher and denser

cloud of dust presented the appearance of horsemen bringing up the

rear. This effectually deceived, not only the Samnites, but the Romans

themselves: and the consul confirmed the mistake, by calling out among

the foremost battalions, so that his voice reached also the enemy,

that "Cominium was taken, and that his victorious colleague was

approaching," bidding his men "now make haste to complete the defeat

of the enemy, before the glory should fall to the share of the other

army." This he said as he sat on horseback, and then ordered the

tribunes and centurions to open passages for the horse. He had given

previous directions to Trebonius and Caedicius, that, when they should

see him waving the point of his spear aloft, they should incite the

cavalry to charge the enemy with all possible violence. Every

particular, as previously concerted, was executed with the utmost

exactness. The passages were opened between the ranks, the cavalry

darted through, and, with the points of their spears presented, rushed

into the midst of the enemy's battalions, breaking down the ranks

wherever they charged. Voluminius and Scipio seconded the blow, and

taking advantage of the enemy's disorder, made a terrible slaughter.

Thus attacked, the cohorts, called _linteatae_, regardless of all

restraints from either gods or men, quitted their posts in confusion,

the sworn and the unsworn all fled alike, no longer dreading aught but

the enemies. The body of their infantry which survived the battle,

were driven into the camp at Aquilonia. The nobility and cavalry

directed their flight to Bovianum. The horse were pursued by the Roman

horse, the infantry by their infantry, while the wings proceeded by

different roads; the right, to the camp of the Samnites; the left to

the city. Volumnius succeeded first in gaining possession of the camp.

At the city, Scipio met a stouter resistance; not because the

conquered troops there had gained courage, but because walls were a

better defence against armed men than a rampart. From these they

repelled the enemy with stones. Scipio, considering that unless the

business were effected during their first panic, and before they could

recover their spirits, the attack of so strong a town would be very

tedious, asked his soldiers "if they could endure, without shame, that

the other wing should already have taken the camp, and that they,

after all their success, should be repulsed from the gates of the

city?" Then, all of them loudly declaring their determination to the

contrary, he himself advanced, the foremost, to the gate, with his

shield raised over his head: the rest, following under the like cover

of their shields conjoined, burst into the city, and dispersing the

Samnites who were near the gate, took possession of the walls, but

they ventured not to push forward into the interior of the city in

consequence of the smallness of their number.

42. Of these transactions the consul was for some time ignorant; and

was busily employed in calling home his troops, for the sun was now

hastening to set, and the approach of night rendered every place

suspicious and dangerous, even to victorious troops. Having rode

forward a considerable way, he saw on the right the camp taken, and

heard on the left a shouting in the city, with a confused noise of

fighting, and cries of terror. This happened while the fight was going

on at the gate. When, on riding up nearer, he saw his own men on the

walls, and so much progress already made in the business, pleased at

having gained, through the precipitate conduct of a few, an

opportunity of striking an important blow, he ordered the troops, whom

he had sent back to the camp, to be called out, and to march to the

attack of the city: these, having made good their entrance on the

nearest side, proceeded no farther, because night approached. Before

morning, however, the town was abandoned by the enemy. There were

slain of the Samnites on that day, at Aquilonia, thirty thousand three

hundred and forty; taken, three thousand eight hundred and seventy,

with ninety-seven military standards. One circumstance, respecting

Papirius, is particularly mentioned by historians: that, hardly ever

was any general seen in the field with a more cheerful countenance;

whether this was owing to his natural temper or to his confidence of

success. From the same firmness of mind it proceeded, that he did not

suffer himself to be diverted from the war by the dispute about the

auspices; and that, in the heat of the battle, when it was customary

to vow temples to the immortal gods, he vowed to Jupiter the

victorious, that if he should defeat the legions of the enemy, he

would, before he tasted of any generous liquor, make a libation to him

of a cup of wine and honey. This kind of vow proved acceptable to the

gods, and they conducted the auspices to a fortunate issue.

43. Matters were conducted with the same success by the other consul

at Cominium: leading up his forces to the walls, at the first dawn, he

invested the city on every side, and posted strong guards opposite to

the gates to prevent any sally being made. Just as he was giving the

signal, the alarming message from his colleague, touching the march of

the twenty Samnite cohorts, not only caused him to delay the assault,

but obliged him to call off a part of his troops, when they were

formed and ready to begin the attack. He ordered Decius Brutus Scaeva,

a lieutenant-general, with the first legion, ten auxiliary cohorts,

and the cavalry, to go and oppose the said detachment; and in whatever

place he should meet the foe, there to stop and detain them, and even

to engage in battle, should opportunity offer for it; at all events

not to suffer those troops to approach Cominium. He then commanded the

scaling ladders to be brought up to the walls, on every side of the

city; and, under a fence of closed shields, advanced to the gates.

Thus, at the same moment, the gates were broken open, and the assault

made on every part of the walls. Though the Samnites, before they saw

the assailants on the works, had possessed courage enough to oppose

their approaches to the city, yet now, when the action was no longer

carried on at a distance, nor with missile weapons, but in close

fight; and when those, who had with difficulty gained the walls,

having overcome the disadvantage of ground, which, they principally

dreaded, fought with ease on equal ground, against an enemy inferior

in strength, they all forsook the towers and walls, and being driven

to the forum, they tried there for a short time, as a last effort, to

retrieve the fortune of the fight; but soon throwing down their arms,

surrendered to the consul, to the number of eleven thousand four

hundred; four thousand three hundred and eighty were slain. Such was

the course of events at Cominium, such at Aquilonia. In the middle

space between the two cities, where a third battle had been expected,

the enemy were not found; for, when they were within seven miles of

Cominium, they were recalled by their countrymen, and had no part in

either battle. At night-fall, when they were now within sight of their

camp, and also of Aquilonia, shouts from both places reaching them

with equal force induced them to halt; then, on the side of the camp,

which had been set on fire by the Romans, the wide-spreading flames

indicating with more certainty the disaster [which had happened],

prevented their proceeding any farther. In that same spot, stretched

on the ground at random under their arms, they passed the whole night

in great inquietude, at one time wishing for, at another dreading the

light. At the first dawn, while they were still undetermined to what

quarter they should direct their march, they were obliged to betake

themselves hastily to flight, being descried by the cavalry; who

having gone in pursuit of the Samnites, that left the town in the

night, saw the multitude unprotected either by a rampart or advanced

guard. This party had likewise been perceived from the walls of

Aquilonia, and the legionary cohorts now joined in the pursuit. The

foot were unable to overtake them, but about two hundred and eighty of

their rear guard were cut off by the cavalry. In their consternation

they left behind them a great quantity of arms and eighteen military

standards: they reached Bovianum with the rest of their party in

safety, as far as could be expected after so disorderly a rout.

44. The joy of both Roman armies was enhanced by the success achieved

on the other side. Each consul, with the approbation of his colleague,

gave to his soldiers the plunder of the town which he had taken; and,

when the houses were cleared, set them on fire. Thus, on the same day,

Aquilonia and Cominium were both reduced to ashes. The consuls then

united their camps, where mutual congratulations took place between

them and between their soldiers. Here, in the view of the two armies,

Carvilius bestowed on his men commendations and presents according to

the desert of each; and Papirius likewise, whose troops had been

engaged in a variety of actions, in the field, in the assault of the

camp, and in that of the city, presented Spurius Nautius, Spurius

Papirius, his nephew, four centurions, and a company of the spearmen,

with bracelets and crowns of gold:--to Nautius, on account of his

behaviour at the head of his detachment, when he had terrified the

enemy with the appearance as of a numerous army; to young Papirius, on

account of his zealous exertions with the cavalry, both in the battle

and in harassing the Samnites in their flight by night, when they

withdrew privately from Aquilonia; and to the centurions and company

of soldiers, because they were the first who gained possession of the

gate and wall of that town. All the horsemen he presented with gorgets

and bracelets of silver, on account of their distinguished conduct on

many occasions. As the time was now come for withdrawing the army out

of Samnium, the expediency was considered, as to whether they should

withdraw both, or at least one. It was concluded, that the lower the

strength of the Samnites was reduced, the greater perseverance and

vigour ought to be used in prosecuting the war, so that Samnium might

be given up to the succeeding consuls perfectly subjected. As there

was now no army of the enemy which could be supposed capable of

disputing the field, there remained one mode of operations, the

besieging of the cities; by the destruction of which, they might be

enabled to enrich their soldiers with the spoil; and, at the same

time, utterly to destroy the enemy, reduced to the necessity of

fighting, their all being at stake. The consuls, therefore, after

despatching letters to the senate and people of Rome, containing

accounts of the services which they had performed, led away their

legions to different quarters; Papirius going to attack Saepioura,

Carvilius to Volana.

45. The letters of the consuls were heard with extraordinary

exultation, both in the senate-house and in the assembly of the

people; and, in a thanksgiving of four days' continuance, the public

rejoicings were celebrated with zeal by individuals. These successes

were not only important in themselves to the Roman people, but

peculiarly seasonable; for it happened, that at the same time

intelligence was brought that the Etrurians were again in arms. The

reflection naturally occurred to people's minds, how it would have

been possible, in case any misfortune had happened in Samnium, to have

withstood the power of Etruria; which, being encouraged by the

conspiracy of the Samnites, and seeing both the consuls, and the whole

force of the Romans, employed against them, had made use of that

juncture, in which the Romans had so much business on their hands, for

reviving hostilities. Ambassadors from the allies, being introduced to

the senate by the praetor Marcus Atilius, complained that their

countries were wasted with fire and sword by the neighbouring

Etrurians, because they had refused to revolt from the Romans; and

they besought the conscript fathers to protect them from the violence

and injustice of their common enemy. The ambassadors were answered,

that "the senate would take care that the allies should not repent

their fidelity." That the "Etrurians should shortly be in the same

situation with the Samnites." Notwithstanding which, the business

respecting Etruria would have been prosecuted with less vigour, had

not information been received, that the Faliscians likewise, who had

for many years lived in friendship with Rome, had united their arms

with those of the Etrurians. The consideration of the near vicinity of

that nation quickened the attention of the senate; insomuch that they

passed a decree that heralds should be sent to demand satisfaction:

which being refused, war was declared against the Faliscians by

direction of the senate, and order of the people; and the consuls were

desired to determine, by lots, which of them should lead an army from

Samnium into Etruria. Carvilius had, in the mean time, taken from the

Samnites Volana, Palumbinum, and Herculaneum; Volana after a siege of

a few days, Palumbinum the same day on which he approached the walls.

At Herculaneum, it is true, the consul had two regular engagements

without any decisive advantage on either side, and with greater loss

on his side than on that of the enemy; but afterwards, encamping on

the spot, he shut them up within their works. The town was besieged

and taken. In these three towns were taken or slain ten thousand men,

of whom the prisoners composed somewhat the greater part. On the

consuls casting lots for the provinces, Etruria fell to Carvilius, to

the great satisfaction of the soldiers, who could no longer bear the

intensity of the cold in Samnium. Papirius was opposed at Saepinum

with a more powerful force: he had to fight often in pitched battles,

often on a march, and often under the walls of the city, against the

eruptions of the enemy; and could neither besiege, nor engage them on

equal terms; for the Samnites not only protected themselves by walls,

but likewise protected their walls with numbers of men and arms. At

length, after a great deal of fighting, he forced them to submit to a

regular siege. This he carried on with vigour, and made himself master

of the city by means of his works, and by storm. The rage of the

soldiers on this occasion caused the greatest slaughter in the taking

of the town; seven thousand four hundred fell by the sword; the number

of the prisoners did not amount to three thousand. The spoil, of which

the quantity was very great, the whole substance of the Samnites being

collected in a few cities, was given up to the soldiers.

46. The snow had now entirely covered the face of the country, and

they could no longer dispense with the shelter of houses: the consul

therefore led home his troops from Samnium. While he was on his way to

Rome, a triumph was decreed him with universal consent; and

accordingly he triumphed while in office, and with extraordinary

splendour, considering the circumstances of those times. The cavalry

and infantry marched in the procession, adorned with presents. Great

numbers of civic, vallar, and mural crowns were seen.[Footnote:

These marks of honour were bestowed for having saved the lives of

citizens, or for having been the first to mount walls or ramparts.]

The spoils of the Samnites were inspected with much curiosity, and

compared, in respect of magnificence and beauty, with those taken by

his father, which were well known, from being frequently exhibited as

ornaments of the public places. Several prisoners of distinction,

renowned for their own exploits and those of their ancestors, were led

in the cavalcade. There were carried in the train two millions and

thirty-three thousand _asses_ in weight.[Footnote: £4940 13s.

6d.] This money was said to be produced by the sale of the prisoners.

Of silver, taken in the cities, one thousand three hundred and thirty

pounds. All the silver and brass were lodged in the treasury, no share

of this part of the spoil being given to the soldiers. The ill humour

in the commons was further exasperated, because the tax for the

payment of the army was collected by contribution; whereas, said they,

if the vain parade of conveying the produce of the spoil to the

treasury had been disregarded, donations might have been made to the

soldiers out of the spoil, and the pay of the army also supplied out

of that fund. The temple of Quirinus, vowed by his father when

dictator, (for that he himself had vowed it in the heat of battle, I

do not find in any ancient writer, nor indeed could he in so short a

time have finished the building of it,) the son, in the office of

consul, dedicated and adorned with military spoils. And of these, so

great was the abundance, that not only that temple and the forum were

decorated with them, but some were also distributed among the allies

and colonies in the neighbourhood, to serve as ornaments to their

temples and public places. Immediately after his triumph, he led his

army into winter quarters in the territory of Vescia; because that

country was harassed by the Samnites. Meanwhile, in Etruria, the

consul Carvilius having set about laying siege to Troilium, suffered

four hundred and seventy of the richest inhabitants to depart; they

had paid a large sum of money for permission to leave the place: the

town, with the remaining multitude, he took by storm. He afterwards

reduced, by force, five forts strongly situated, wherein were slain

two thousand four hundred of the enemy, and not quite two thousand

made prisoners. To the Faliscians, who sued for peace, he granted a

truce for a year, on condition of their furnishing a hundred thousand

_asses_ in weight,[Footnote: £322 18s. 4d.] and that year's pay

for his army. This business completed, he returned home to a triumph,

which, though it was less illustrious than that of his colleague, in

respect of his share in the defeat of the Samnites, was yet raised to

an equality with it, by his having put a termination to the war in

Etruria. He carried into the treasury three hundred and ninety

thousand _asses_ in weight.[Footnote: £1259 7s. 6d.] Out of the

remainder of the money accruing to the public from the spoils, he

contracted for the building of a temple to Fors Fortuna, near to that

dedicated to the same goddess by king Servius Tullius; and gave to the

soldiers, out of the spoil, one hundred and two asses[3] each, and

double that sum to the centurions and horsemen, who received this

donative the more gratefully, on account of the parsimony of his

colleague.

47. The favour of the consul saved from a trial, before the people,

Postumius; who, on a prosecution being commenced against him by Marcus

Scantius, plebeian tribune, evaded, as was said, the jurisdiction of

the people, by procuring the commission of lieutenant-general, so the

indictment against him could only be held out as a threat, and not put

in force. The The year having now elapsed, new plebeian tribunes had

come unto office; and for these, in consequence of some irregularity

on their appointments, others had been, within five days after,

substituted in their room. The lustrum was closed this year by the

censors Publius Cornelius Arvina and Caius Marcius Rutilus. The number

of citizens rated was two hundred and sixty-two thousand three hundred

and twenty-two. These were the twenty-sixth pair of censors since the

first institution of that office; and this the nineteenth lustrum. In

this year, persons who had been presented with crowns, in

consideration of meritorious behaviour in war, first began to wear

them at the exhibition of the Roman games. Then, for the first time,

palms were conferred on the victors according to a custom introduced

from Greece. In the same year the paving of the road from the temple

of Mars to Bovillae was completed by the curule aediles, who exhibited

those games out of fines levied on the farmers of the pastures. Lucius

Papirius presided at the consular election, and returned consuls

Quintus Fabius Gurges, son of Maximus, and Decius Junius Brutus

Scaeva. Papirius himself was made praetor. This year, prosperous in

many particulars, was scarcely sufficient to afford consolation for

one calamity, a pestilence, which afflicted both the city and country:

the mortality was prodigious. To discover what end, or what remedy,

was appointed by the gods for that calamity, the books were consulted:

in the books it was found that Aesculapius must be brought to Rome

from Epidaurus. Nor were any steps taken that year in that matter,

because the consuls were fully occupied in the war, except that a

supplication was performed to Aesculapius for one day.

[Here ten books of the original are lost, making a chasm of

seventy-five years. The translator's object being to publish the work

of Livy only, he has not thought it his duty to attempt to supply this

deficiency, either by a compilation of his own, or by transcribing or

translating those of others. The leader, however, who may be desirous

of knowing the events which took place during this interval, will find

as complete a detail of them as can now be given, in Hooke's or

Rollin's Roman History. The contents of the lost books have been

preserved, and are as follows--]