Chapter VI: Book X (2)

18. While things went on thus in Samnium, whoever it was that had the command and auspices, powerful combination, composed of many states, was formed in Etruria against the Romans, the chief promoter of which was Gellius Egnatius, a Samnite. Almost all the Etrurians had united in this war. The neighbouring states of Umbria were drawn in, as it were, by the contagion; and auxiliaries were procured from the Gauls for hire: all their several numbers assembled at the camp of the Samnites. When intelligence of this sudden commotion was received at Rome, after the consul, Lucius Volumnius, had already set out for Samnium, with the second and third legions, and fifteen thousand of the allies; it was, therefore, resolved, that Appius Claudius should, at the very earliest opportunity, go into Etruria. Two Roman legions followed him, the first and fourth, and twelve thousand allies; their camp was pitched at a small distance from the enemy. However, advantage was gained by his early arrival in this particular, that the awe of the Roman name kept in check some states of Etruria which were disposed to war, rather than from any judicious or successful enterprise achieved under the guidance of the consul. Several battles were fought, at times and places unfavourable, and increasing confidence rendered the enemy daily more formidable; so that matters came nearly to such a state, as that neither could the soldiers rely much on their leader, nor the leader on his soldiers. It appears in three several histories, that a letter was sent by the consul to call his colleague from Samnium. But I will not affirm what requires stronger proof, as that point was a matter of dispute between these two consuls of the Roman people, a second time associated in the same office; Appius denying that the letter was sent, and Volumnius affirming that he was called thither by a letter from Appius. Volumnius had, by this time, taken three forts in Samnium, in which three thousand of the enemy had been slain, and about half that number made prisoners; and, a sedition having been raised among the Lucanians by the plebeians and the more indigent of the people, he had, to the great satisfaction of the nobles, quelled it by sending thither Quintus Fabius, proconsul, with his own veteran army. He left to Decius the ravaging of the enemy's country; and proceeded with his troops into Etruria to his colleague; where, on his arrival, the whole army received him with joy. Appius, if he did not write the letter, being conscious of this, had, in my opinion, just ground of displeasure; but if he had actually stood in need of assistance, his disowning it, as he did, arose from an illiberal and ungrateful mind. For, on going out to receive him, when they had scarcely exchanged salutations, he said, "Is all well, Lucius Volumnius? How stand affairs in Samnium? What motive induced you to remove out of your province?" Volumnius answered, that "affairs in Samnium were in a prosperous state; and that he had come thither in compliance with the request in his letter. But, if that were a forged letter, and that there was no occasion for him in Etruria, he would instantly face about, and depart." "You may depart." replied the other; "no one detains you: for it is a perfect inconsistency, that when, perhaps, you are scarcely equal to the management of your own war, you should vaunt of coming hither to succour others." To this Volumnius rejoined, "May Hercules direct all for the best; for his part, he was better pleased that he had taken useless trouble, than that any conjuncture should have arisen which had made one consular army insufficient for Etruria."

19. As the consuls were parting, the lieutenants-general and tribunes of Appius's army gathered round them. Some entreated their own general that he would not reject the voluntary offer of his colleague's assistance, which ought to have been solicited in the first instance: the greater number used their endeavours to stop Volumnius, beseeching him "not, through a peevish dispute with his colleague, to abandon the interest of the commonwealth; and represented to him, that in case any misfortune should happen, the blame would fall on the person who forsook the other, not on the one forsaken; that the state of affairs was such, that the credit and discredit of every success and failure in Etruria would be attributed to Lucius Volumnius: for no one would inquire, what were the words of Appius, but what the situation of the army. Appius indeed had dismissed him, but the commonwealth, and the army, required his stay. Let him only make trial of the inclinations of the soldiers." By such admonitions and entreaties they, in a manner, dragged the consuls, who almost resisted, to an assembly. There, longer discourses were made to the same purport, as had passed before in the presence of a few. And when Volumnius, who had the advantage of the argument, showed himself not deficient in oratory, in despite of the extraordinary eloquence of his colleague; Appius observed with a sneer, that "they ought to acknowledge themselves indebted to him, in having a consul who possessed eloquence also, instead of being dumb and speechless, when in their former consulate, particularly during the first months, he was not able so much as to open his lips; but now, in his harangues, even aspired after popularity." Volumnius replied, "How much more earnestly do I wish, that you had learned from me to act with spirit, than I from you to speak with elegance: that now he made a final proposal, which would determine, not which is the better orator, for that is not what the public wants, but which is the better commander. The provinces are Etruria and Samnium: that he might select which he preferred; that he, with his own army, will undertake to manage the business either in Etruria or in Samnium." The soldiers then, with loud clamours, requested that they would, in conjunction, carry on the war in Etruria; when Volumnius perceiving that it was the general wish, said, "Since I have been mistaken in apprehending my colleague's meaning, I will take care that there shall be no room for mistake with respect to the purport of your wishes. Signify by a shout whether you choose that I should stay or depart." On this, a shout was raised, so loud, that it brought the enemy out of their camp: they snatched up their arms, and marched down in order of battle. Volumnius likewise ordered the signal to be sounded, and the standard to be advanced from the camp. It is said that Appius hesitated, perceiving that, whether he fought or remained inactive, his colleague would have the victory; and that, afterwards, dreading lest his own legions also should follow Volumnius, he also gave the signal, at the earnest desire of his men. On neither side were the forces drawn up to advantage; for, on the one, Gellius Egnatius, the Samnite general, had gone out to forage with a few cohorts, and his men entered on the fight as the violence of their passions prompted, rather than under any directions or orders. On the other, the Roman armies neither marched out together, nor had time sufficient to form: Volumnius began to engage before Appius came up to the enemy, consequently the engagement commenced, their front in the battle being uneven; and by some accidental interchange of their usual opponents, the Etrurians fought against Volumnius; and the Samnites, after delaying some time on account of the absence of their general, against Appius. We are told that Appius, during the heat of the fight, raising his hands toward heaven, so as to be seen in the foremost ranks, prayed thus, "Bellona, if thou grantest us the victory this day, I vow to thee a temple." And that after this vow, as if inspirited by the goddess, he displayed a degree of courage equal to that of his colleague and of the troops. The generals performed every duty, and each of their armies exerted, with emulation, its utmost vigour, lest victory should commence on the other side. They therefore routed and put to flight the enemy, who were ill able to withstand a force so much superior to any with which they had been accustomed to contend: then pressing them as they gave ground, and pursuing them closely as they fled, they drove them into their camp. There, by the interposition of Gellius and his Samnite cohorts, the fight was renewed for a little time. But these being likewise soon dispersed, the camp was now stormed by the conquerors; and whilst Volumnius, in person, led his troops against one of the gates, Appius, frequently invoking Bellona the victorious, inflamed the courage of his men, they broke in through the rampart and trenches. The camp was taken and plundered, and an abundance of spoil was found, and given up to the soldiers. Of the enemy seven thousand three hundred were slain; and two thousand one hundred and twenty taken.

20. While both the consuls, with the whole force of the Romans, pointed their exertions principally against the war in Etruria, a new army which arose in Samnium, with design to ravage the frontiers of the Roman empire, passed over through the country of the Vescians, into the Campanian and Falernian territories, and committed great depredations. Volumnius, as he was hastening back to Samnium, by forced marches, because the term for which Fabius and Decius had been continued in command was nearly expired, heard of this army of Samnites, and of the mischief which they had done in Campania; determining, therefore, to afford protection to the allies, he altered his route towards that quarter. When he arrived in the district of Gales, he found marks of their recent ravages; and the people of Gales informed him that the enemy carried with them such a quantity of spoil, that they could scarcely observe any order in their march: and that the commanders then directed publicly that the troops should go immediately to Samnium, and having deposited the booty there, that they should return to the business of the expedition, as they must not commit to the hazard of an engagement an army so heavily laden. Notwithstanding that this account carried every appearance of truth, he yet thought it necessary to obtain more certain information; accordingly he despatched some horsemen, to seize on some of the straggling marauders; from these he learned, on inquiry, that the enemy lay at the river Vulturnus; that they intended to remove thence at the third watch; and that their route was towards Samnium. On receiving this intelligence, which could be depended upon, he set out, and sat down at such a distance from the enemy, that his approach could not be discovered by his being too near them, and, at the same time, that he might surprise them, as they should be coming out of their camp. A long time before day, he drew nigh to their post, and sent persons, who understood the Oscan language, to discover how they were employed: these, mixing with the enemy, which they could easily do during the confusion in the night, found that the standards had gone out thinly attended; that the booty, and those appointed to guard it, were then setting out, a contemptible train; each busied about his own affairs, without any concert with the rest, or much regard to orders. This was judged the fittest time for the attack, and daylight was now approaching; he gave orders to sound the charge, and fell on the enemy as they were marching out. The Samnites being embarrassed with the spoil, and very few armed, some quickened their pace, and drove the prey before them; others halted, deliberating whether it would be safer to advance, or to return again to the camp; and while they hesitated, they were overtaken and cut off. The Romans had by this time passed over the rampart, and filled the camp with slaughter and confusion: the Samnite army, in addition to the disorder caused by the enemy, had their disorder increased by a sudden insurrection of their prisoners; some of whom, getting loose, set the rest at liberty, while others snatched the arms which were tied up among the baggage, and being intermixed with the troops, raised a tumult more terrible than the battle itself. They then performed a memorable exploit: for making an attack on Statius Minacius, the general, as he was passing between the ranks and encouraging his men; then, dispersing the horsemen who attended him, they gathered round himself, and dragged him, sitting on his horse, a prisoner to the Roman consul. By this movement the foremost battalions of the Samnites were brought back, and the battle, which seemed to have been already decided, was renewed: but they could not support it long. Six thousand of them were slain, and two thousand five hundred taken, among whom were four military tribunes, together with thirty standards, and, what gave the conquerors greater joy than all, seven thousand four hundred prisoners were recovered. The spoil which had been taken from the allies was immense, and the owners were summoned by a proclamation, to claim and receive then property. On the day appointed, all the effects, the owners of which did not appear, were given to the soldiers, who were obliged to sell them, in order that they might have nothing to think of but their duty.

21. The depredations, committed on the lands of Campania, had occasioned a violent alarm at Rome, and it happened, that about the same time intelligence was brought from Litruria, that, after the departure of Volumnius's army, all that country had risen up in arms, and that Gellius Egnatius, the leader of the Samnites, was causing the Umbrians to join in the insurrection, and tempting the Gauls with high offers. Terrified at this news, the senate ordered the courts of justice to be shut, and a levy to be made of men of every description. Accordingly not only free-born men and the younger sort were obliged to enlist, but cohorts were formed of the elder citizens, and the sons of freed-men were incorporated in the centuries. Plans were formed for the defence of the city, and the praetor, Publius Sempronius, was invested with the chief command. However, the senate was exonerated of one half of their anxiety, by a letter from the consul, Lucius Volumnius informing them that the army, which had ravaged Campania, had been defeated and dispersed whereupon, they decreed a public thanksgiving for this success, in the name of the consul. The courts were opened, after having been shut eighteen days, and the thanksgiving was performed with much joy. They then turned their thoughts to devising measures for the future security of the country depopulated by the Samnites, and, with this view, it was resolved, that two colonies should be settled on the frontiers of the Vescian and Falernian territories, one at the mouth of the river Liris, which has received the name of Minturnae, the other in the Vescian forest, which borders on the Falernian territory, where, it is said, stood Sinope, a city of Grecians, called thenceforth by the Roman colonists Sinuessa. The plebeian tribunes were charged to procure an order of the commons, commanding Publius Sempronius, the praetor, to create triumphs for conducting the colonies to those places. But persons were not readily found to give in their names, because they considered that they were being sent into what was almost a perpetual advanced guard in a hostile country, not as a provision from concord between consuls, and the evils arising from their disagreement in the conduct of military affairs; at the same time remarking, "how near the extremity of danger matters had been brought, by the late dispute between his colleague and himself." He warmly recommended to Decius and Fabius to "live together with one mind and one spirit." Observed that "they were men qualified by nature for military command: great in action, but unpractised in the strife of words and eloquence; their talents were such as eminently became consuls. As to the artful and the ingenious lawyers and orators, such as Appius Claudius, they ought to be kept at home to preside in the city and the forum; and to be appointed praetors for the administration of justice." In these proceedings that day was spent, and, on the following, the elections both of consuls and praetor were held, and were guided by the recommendations suggested by the consul. Quintus Fabius and Publius Decius were chosen consuls; Appius Claudius, praetor; all of them absent; and, by a decree of the senate, followed by an order of the commons, Lucius Volumnius was continued in the command for another year.

23. During that year many prodigies happened. For the purpose of averting which, the senate decreed a supplication for two days: the wine and frankincense for the sacrifices were furnished at the expense of the public; and numerous crowds of men and women attended the performance. This supplication was rendered remarkable by a quarrel, which broke out among the matrons in the chapel of patrician chastity, which stands in the cattle market, near the round temple of Hercules. Virginia, daughter of Aulus, a patrician, but married to Volumnius the consul, a plebeian, was, because she had married out of the patricians, excluded by the matrons from sharing in the sacred rites: a short altercation ensued, which was afterwards, through the intemperance of passion incident to the sex, kindled into a flame of contention. Virginia boasted with truth that she had a right to enter the temple of patrician chastity, as being of patrician birth, and chaste in her character, and, besides, the wife of one husband, to whom she was betrothed a virgin, and had no reason to be dissatisfied either with her husband, or his exploits or honours: to her high-spirited words, she added importance by an extraordinary act. In the long street where she resided, she enclosed with a partition a part of the house, of a size sufficient for a small chapel, and there erected an altar. Then calling together the plebeian matrons, and complaining of the injurious behaviour of the patrician ladies, she said, "This altar I dedicate to plebeian chastity, and exhort you, that the same degree of emulation which prevails among the men of this state, on the point of valour, may be maintained by the women on the point of chastity; and that you contribute your best care, that this altar may have the credit of being attended with a greater degree of sanctity, and by chaster women, than the other, if possible." Solemn rites were performed at this altar under the same regulations, nearly, with those at the more ancient one; no person being allowed the privilege of taking part in the sacrifices, except a woman of approved chastity, and who was the wife of one husband. This institution, being afterwards debased by [the admission of] vicious characters, and not only by matrons, but women of every description, sunk at last into oblivion. During this year the Ogulnii, Cneius and Quintus, being curule aediles, carried on prosecutions against several usurers; whose property being fined, out of the produce, which was deposited in the treasury, they ordered brazen thresholds for the Capitol, utensils of plate for three tables in the chapel of Jupiter, a statue of Jupiter in a chariot drawn by four horses placed on the roof, and images of the founders of the city in their infant state under the teats of the wolf, at the Ruminal fig-tree. They also paved with square stones the roads from the Capuan gate to the temple of Mars. By the plebeian aediles likewise, Lucius Aelius Paetus and Caius Fulvius Corvus, out of money levied as fines on farmers of the public pastures, whom they had convicted of malpractices, games were exhibited, and golden bowls were placed in the temple of Ceres.

24. Then came into the consulship Quintus Fabius a fifth time, and Publius Decius a fourth. They had been colleagues from the censorship, and twice in the consulship, and were celebrated not more for their glorious achievements, splendid as these were, than for the unanimity which had ever subsisted between them. The continuance of this feeling I am inclined to think was interrupted by a jarring between the [opposite] orders rather than between themselves, the patricians endeavouring that Fabius should have Etruria for his province, without casting lots, and the plebeians insisting that Decius should bring the matter to the decision of lots. There was certainly a contention in the senate, and the interest of Fabius being superior there, the business was brought before the people. Here, between military men who laid greater stress on deeds than on words, the debate was short. Fabius said, "that it was unreasonable, after he had planted a tree, another should gather the fruit of it. He had opened the Ciminian forest, and made a way for the Roman arms, through passes until then impracticable. Why had they disturbed him, at that time of his life, if they intended to give the management of the war to another?" Then, in the way of a gentle reproof, he observed, that "instead of an associate in command, he had chosen an adversary; and that Decius thought it too much that their unanimity should last through three consulates." Declaring, in fine, that "he desired nothing further, than that, if they thought him qualified for the command in the province, they should send him thither. He had submitted to the judgment of the senate, and would now be governed by the authority of the people." Publius Decius complained of injustice in the senate; and asserted, that "the patricians had laboured, as long as possible, to exclude the plebeians from all access to the higher honours; and since merit, by its own intrinsic power, had prevailed so far, as that it should not, in any rank of men, be precluded from the attainment of honours, expedients were sought how not only the suffrages of the people, but even the decisions of fortune may be rendered ineffectual, and be converted to the aggrandizement of a few. All the consuls before him had disposed of the provinces by lots; now, the senate bestowed a province on Fabius without lots. If this was meant as a mark of honour, the merits of Fabius were so great towards the commonwealth, and towards himself in particular, that he would gladly second the advancement of his reputation, provided only its splendour could be increased without reflecting dishonour on himself. But who did not see, that, when a war of difficulty and danger, and out of the ordinary course, was committed to only that one consul, the other would be considered as useless and insignificant. Fabius gloried in his exploits performed in Etruria: Publius Decius wished for a like subject of glory, and perhaps would utterly extinguish that fire, which the other left smothered, in such a manner that it often broke out anew, in sudden conflagrations. In fine, honours and rewards he would concede to his colleague, out of respect to his age and dignified character: but when danger, when a vigorous struggle with an enemy was before them, he never did, nor ever would, willingly, give place. With respect to the present dispute, this much he would gain at all events, that a business, appertaining to the jurisdiction of the people, should be determined by an order of that people, and not complimented away by the senate. He prayed Jupiter, supremely good and great, and all the immortal gods, not to grant him an equal chance with his colleague, unless they intended to grant him equal ability and success, in the management of the war. It was certainly in its nature reasonable, in the example salutary, and concerned the reputation of the Roman people, that the consuls should be men of such abilities, that under either of them a war with Etruria could be well managed." Fabius, after requesting of the people nothing else than that, before the tribes were called in to give their votes, they would hear the letters of the praetor Appius Claudius, written from Etruria, withdrew from the Comitium, and with no less unanimity of the people than of the senate, the province of Etruria was decreed to him without having recourse to lots.

25. Immediately almost all the younger citizens flocked together to the consul, and readily gave in their names; so strong was their desire of serving under such a commander. Seeing so great a multitude collected round him, he said, "My intention is to enlist only four thousand foot and six hundred horse: such of you as give in your names to-day and to-morrow, I will carry with me. I am more solicitous to bring home all my soldiers rich, than to employ a great multitude." Accordingly, with a competent number of men, who possessed greater hopes and confidence because a numerous army had not been required, he marched to the town of Aharna, from which the enemy were not far distant, and proceeded to the camp of the praetor Appius. When within a few miles of it, he was met by some soldiers, sent to cut wood, attended by a guard. Observing the lictors preceding him, and learning that he was Fabius the consul, they were filled with joy and alacrity; they expressed their thanks to the gods, and to the Roman people, for having sent them such a commander. Then as they gathered round to pay their respects, Fabius inquired whither they were going, and on their answering they were going to provide wood, "What do you tell me," said he, "have you not a rampart, raised about your camp?" When to this they replied, "they had a double rampart, and a trench, and, notwithstanding, were in great apprehension."

"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.