THE DEVOTION OF DECIUS.
B.C. 357
Other tribes of the Gauls did not fail to come again and make fresh
inroads on the valleys of the Tiber and Anio. Whenever they came,
instead of choosing men from the tribes to form an army, as in a war
with their neighbors, all the fighting men of the nation turned out to
oppose them, generally under a Dictator.
In one of these wars the Gauls came within three miles of Rome, and the
two hosts were encamped on the banks of the Anio, with a bridge between
them. Along this bridge strutted an enormous Gallic chief, much taller
than any of the Romans, boasting himself, and calling on any one of them
to come out and fight with him. Again it was a Manlius who
distinguished himself. Titus, a young man of that family, begged the
Dictator's permission to accept the challenge, and, having gained it, he
changed his round knight's shield for the square one of the foot
soldiers, and with his short sword came forward on the bridge. The Gaul
made a sweep at him with his broadsword, but, slipping within the guard,
Manlius stabbed the giant in two places, and as he fell cut off his
head, and took the torc, or broad twisted gold collar that was the mark
of all Gallic chieftains. Thence the brave youth was called Titus
Manlius Torquatus--a surname to make up for that of Capitolinus, which
had never been used again.
[Illustration: THE APENNINES.]
The next time the Gauls came, Marcus Valerius, a descendant of the old
hero Publicola, was consul, and gained a great victory. It was said that
in the midst of the fight a monstrous raven appeared flying over his
head, resting now and then on his helmet, but generally pecking at the
eyes of the Gauls and flapping its wings in their faces, so that they
fled discomfited. Thence he was called Corvus or Corvinus. The Gauls
never again came in such force, but a new enemy came against them,
namely, the Samnites, a people who dwelt to the south of them. They were
of Italian blood, mountaineers of the Southern Apennines, not unlike
the Romans in habits, language, and training, and the staunchest enemies
they had yet encountered. The war began from an entreaty from the people
of Campania to the Romans to defend them from the attacks of the
Samnites. For the Campanians, living in the rich plains, whose name is
still unchanged, were an idle, languid people, whom the stout men of
Samnium could easily overcome. The Romans took their part, and Valerius
Corvus gained a victory at Mount Gaurus; but the other consul, Cornelius
Cossus, fell into danger, having marched foolishly into a forest, shut
in by mountains, and with only one way out through a deep valley, which
was guarded by the Samnites. In this almost hopeless danger one of the
military tribunes, Publius Decius Mus, discovered a little hill above
the enemy's camp, and asked leave to lead a small body of men to seize
it, since he would be likely thus to draw off the Samnites, and while
they were destroying him, as he fully expected, the Romans could get out
of the valley. Hidden by the wood, he gained the hill, and there the
Samnites saw him, to their great amazement; and while they were
considering whether to attack him, the other Romans were able to march
out of the valley. Finding he was not attacked, Decius set guards, and,
when night came on, marched down again as quietly as possible to join
the army, who were now on the other side of the Samnite camp. Through
the midst of this he and his little camp went without alarm, until,
about half-way across, one Roman struck his foot against a shield. The
noise awoke the Samnites, but Decius caused his men to give a great
shout, and this, in the darkness, so confused the enemy that they missed
the little body of Romans, who safely gained their own camp. Decius cut
short the thanks and joy of the consul by advising him to fall at once
on the Samnite camp in its dismay, and this was done; the Samnites were
entirely routed, 30,000 killed, and their camp taken. Decius received
for his reward a hundred oxen, a white bull with gilded horns, and three
crowns--one of gold for courage, one of oak for having saved the lives
of his fellow-citizens, and one of grass for having taken the enemy's
camp--while all his men were for life to receive a double allowance of
corn. Decius offered up the white bull in sacrifice to Mars, and gave
the oxen to the companions of his glory.
Afterwards Valerius routed the Samnites again, and his troops brought in
120 standards and 40,000 shields which they had picked up, having been
thrown away by the enemy in their flight.
Peace was made for the time; but the Latins, now in alliance with Rome,
began to make war on the Samnites. They complained, and the Romans
feeling bound to take their part, a great Latin war began. Manlius
Torquatus and Decius Mus, the two greatest heroes of Rome, were consuls.
As the Latins and Romans were alike in dress, arms, and language, in
order to prevent taking friend for foe, strict orders were given that no
one should attack a Latin without orders, or go out of his rank, on pain
of death. A Latin champion came out boasting, as the two armies lay
beneath Mount Vesuvius, then a fair vine-clad hill showing no flame.
Young Manlius remembering his father's fame, darted out, fought hand to
hand with the Latin, slew him, and brought home his spoils to his
father's feet. He had forgotten that his father had only fought after
permission was given. The elder Manlius received him with stern grief.
He had broken the law of discipline, and he must die. His head was
struck off amid the grief and anger of the army. The battle was bravely
fought, but it went against the Romans at first. Then Decius,
recollecting a vision which had declared that a consul must devote
himself for his country, called on Valerius, the Pontifex Maximus, to
dedicate him. He took off his armor, put on his purple toga, covered his
head with a veil, and standing on a spear, repeated the words of
consecration after Valerius, then mounted his horse and rode in among
the Latins. They at first made way, but presently closed in and
overpowered him with a shower of darts; and thus he gave for his country
the life he had once offered for it.
The victory was won, and was so followed up that the Latins were forced
to yield to Rome. Some of the cities retained their own laws and
magistrates, but others had Romans with their families settled in them,
and were called colonies, while the Latin people themselves became Roman
citizens in everything but the power of becoming magistrates or voting
for them, being, in fact, very much what the earliest plebeians had been
before they acquired any rights.