_(Of the World, 3670--Of Rome, 370.)_
The city being [1]destroyed by the Gauls, the Romans had [2]thoughts
of [3]leaving it, and [4]removing to [5]Veii; but were [6]dissuaded
from that [7]design by [8]Camillus; [9]whilst [10]Marcus Manlius (who
[11]obtained the [12]surname of [13]Capitolinus for his [14]noble
[15]defence of the [16]Capitol) [17]endeavoured by [18]ambition and
[19]popular [20]favour [21]to possess himself of the [22]supreme
[23]power, he was [24]thrown from the [25]Tarpeian rock, which he had
[26]defended, in the year 370.
In the year 377, there was a [27]strong [28]contest [29]between the
[30]nobility and the [31]people. [32]C. Licinius Stolo and [33]L.
Sextius, [34]tribunes of [35]the people, [36]proposed a [37]law
for [38]choosing [39]one of the consuls out [40]of the people.
They [41]carried their point at last, in the year 387, and in the
[42]following year [43]L. Sextius was elected consul.
[44]After this, the Romans had [45]war with the [46]Tiburtes, the
[47]Tarquinenses, and [48]Falisci; and again with the [49]Gauls, who
being [50]drawn up [51]in order of [52]battle, one of them [53]sent a
[54]challenge to the Romans, and was [55]slain by [56]one M. Valerius,
a [57]tribune of the [58]soldiers, by the [59]assistance of a [60]crow,
who [61]from thence had the [62]surname of [63]Corvinus.
[64]But of all their [65]wars, none was more [66]troublesome and
[67]lasting than that [68]against the [69]Samnites; which the Romans
[70]undertook the year of the city 411, at the [71]request of the
[72]Campani. It [73]lasted [74]seventy years; [75]though they were
[76]several times [77]beaten, as in the year 413, in which the
[78]Latins [79]rose up in arms [80]against the Romans, but were the
year after [81]conquered by the [82]consuls Torquatus and Decius;
the [83]former of whom [84]beheaded his own [85]son for [86]fighting
[87]without his [88]order; the [89]other [90]devoted himself to
[91]destruction for the [92]army; after which the [93]enemies
[94]submitted, but [95]soon after [96]rebelling again, they were [97]at
last [98]entirely [99]reduced in the year 416.
[100]About this time the [101]Gauls [102]made a [103]peace with the
Romans, which they [104]kept [105]thirty years. But in 450, the
[106]Cisalpine, [107]together with the [108]Transalpine [109]Gauls,
and the [110]Tuscans, [111]laid waste the [112]Roman [113]territories.
The Cisalpine [114]returning [115]home [116]loaded with [117]spoils,
[118]fell out together about them. [119]Four years after that, having
[120]joined the [121]Samnites and [122]Tuscans, they fell [123]upon the
Roman [124]army [125]commanded by [126]L. Scipio, the [127]proprætor,
in which [128]battle, [129]P. Decius [130]the consul [131]devoted
himself.
[132]Ten years after this, the [133]Galli Senones being [134]invited
by the [135]Lucani, [136]Brutii, Samnites, and Tuscans, [137]besieged
[138]Aretium, and having [139]vanquished [140]L. Cæcilius the
[141]prætor, [142]killed 13,000 Romans; which [143]overthrow the
consul Dolobella [144]revenged upon them [145]soon after; for having
[146]routed the [147]Gauls, and [148]taken their city of Sena,
[149]he sent a [150]colony there. The [151]Boii being [152]moved at
the [153]hard [154]fate of the [155]Senones, [156]entered into an
[157]alliance with the [158]Tuscans, and [159]engaged the Romans
at the [160]lake of [161]Vadimon; in which [162]battle [163]almost
[164]all the Tuscans were [165]slain, and very [166]few of the Boii
[167]escaped. This [168]happened in the year of the city 471; but in
the [169]following year the Boii were [170]entirely [171]reduced, which
was [172]about three years [173]before [174]Pyrrhus, [175]came into
[176]Italy.
The [177]Palæpolitani [178]likewise, [179]where [180]now [181]Naples
is, [182]venturing to make war upon the Romans, were [183]subdued the
third year [184]after, [185]that is to say, in the year of the city
428, by [186]Publius the proconsul.
The [187]twelve [188]nations of the Tuscans, [189]rising for the
[190]utter ruin [191]of the Roman name in the year of the city 442,
were [192]routed in a great [193]battle by Fabius the [194]consul,
in the [195]year 444, in which were [196]slain, or [197]taken of the
[198]enemy, to the [199]number of 60,000.
In the year 472, the [200]Tarentines, [201]brought the [202]Romans
against them [203]by plundering their [204]fleet, and [205]assailing
their [206]ambassadors, who [207]came to [208]complain of the
[209]injury. They, [210]together with the [211]Samnites, and
[212]Salentines, were [213]defeated by L. [214]Æmilius Barbula.
[215]Terrified at this [216]ill fortune, they [217]sent for
[218]Pyrrhus to their [219]assistance; who, in the year of the
city 474, having [220]brought over an [221]army into [222]Italy,
[223]waged against the Romans [224]a war which [225]lasted six
years. In the [226]first [227]encounter the Romans, [228]headed by
[229]Lævinus, being [230]conquered, not so much by the [231]strength
of the [232]enemy, as by the [233]strange [234]shape of the
[235]elephants, [236]yielded up the [237]day: Pyrrhus [238]dismissed
all the [239]prisoners [240]without [241]ransom. [242]Soon after,
having [243]made some [244]fruitless [245]overtures of [246]peace
by his [247]ambassador [248]Cyneas ([249]for [250]Appius Claudius
[251]obstructed it), he [252]engaged the Romans [253]twice: the
[254]victory [255]both times being [256]dubious. He was [257]then
[258]invited by the [259]Syracusans [260]into Sicily against
[261]the Carthaginians; [262]where [263]matters [264]not succeeding
[265]according to his [266]desires, he [267]returned into [268]Italy
in the year 479; and being [269]defeated, [270]forced out of his
[271]camp, and [272]beaten from [273]Tarentum, he returned into
[274]Epirus.