Plutarch: Lives of the noble Grecians and Romans
forty thousand foot), but most of them raw soldiers, and such as had
never handled a weapon before. Besides, they had wholly neglected all
religious usages, had not obtained favorable sacrifices, nor made
inquiries of the prophets, natural in danger and before battle. No less
did the multitude of commanders distract and confound their proceedings;
frequently before, upon less occasions, they had chosen a single leader,
with the title of dictator, being sensible of what great importance it
is in critical times to have the soldiers united under one general with
the entire and absolute control placed in his hands. Add to all, the
remembrance of Camillus's treatment, which made it now seem a dangerous
thing for officers to command without humoring their soldiers. In this
condition they left the city, and encamped by the river Allia, about ten
miles from Rome, and not far from the place where it falls into the
Tiber; and here the Gauls came upon them, and, after a disgraceful
resistance, devoid of order and discipline, they were miserably
defeated. The left wing was immediately driven into the river, and
there destroyed; the right had less damage by declining the shock, and
from the low grounds getting to the tops of the hills, from whence most
of them afterwards dropped into the city; the rest, as many as escaped,
the enemy being weary of the slaughter, stole by night to Veii, giving
up Rome and all that was in it for lost.
This battle was fought about the summer solstice, the moon being at
full, the very same day in which the sad disaster of the Fabii had
happened, when three hundred of that name were at one time cut off by
the Tuscans. But from this second loss and defeat the day got the name
of Alliensis, from the river Allia, and still retains it. The question
of unlucky days, whether we should consider any to be so, and whether
Heraclitus did well in upbraiding Hesiod for distinguishing them into
fortunate and unfortunate, as ignorant that the nature of every day is
the same, I have examined in another place; but upon occasion of the
present subject, I think it will not be amiss to annex a few examples
relating to this matter. On the fifth of their month Hippodromius,
which corresponds to the Athenian Hecatombaeon, the Boeotians gained two
signal victories, the one at Leuctra, the other at Ceressus, about three
hundred years before, when they overcame Lattamyas and the Thessalians,
both which asserted the liberty of Greece. Again, on the sixth of
Boedromion, the Persians were worsted by the Greeks at Marathon; on the
third, at Plataea, as also at Mycale; on the twenty-fifth, at Arbela.
The Athenians, about the full moon in Boedromion, gained their sea-
victory at Naxos under the conduct of Chabrias; on the twentieth, at
Salamis, as we have shown in our treatise on Days. Thargelion was a
very unfortunate month to the barbarians, for in it Alexander overcame
Darius's generals on the Granicus; and the Carthaginians, on the twenty-
fourth, were beaten by Timoleon in Sicily, on which same day and month
Troy seems to have been taken, as Ephorus, Callisthenes, Damastes, and
Phylarchus state. On the other hand, the month Metagitnion, which in
Boeotia is called Panemus, was not very lucky to the Greeks; for on its
seventh day they were defeated by Antipater, at the battle in Cranon,
and utterly ruined; and before, at Chaeronea, were defeated by Philip;
and on the very same day, same month, and same year, those that went
with Archidamus into Italy were there cut off by the barbarians. The
Carthaginians also observe the twenty-first of the same month, as
bringing with it the largest number and the severest of their losses. I
am not ignorant, that, about the Feast of Mysteries, Thebes was
destroyed the second time by Alexander; and after that, upon the very
twentieth of Boedromion, on which day they lead forth the mystic
Iacchus, the Athenians received a garrison of the Macedonians. On the
selfsame day the Romans lost their army under Caepio by the Cimbrians,
and in a subsequent year, under the conduct of Lucullus, overcame the
Armenians and Tigranes. King Attalus and Pompey died both on their
birthdays. One could reckon up several that have had variety of fortune
on the same day. This day, meantime, is one of the unfortunate ones to
the Romans, and for its sake two others in every month; fear and
superstition, as the custom of it is, more and more prevailing. But I
have discussed this more accurately in my Roman Questions.
And now, after the battle, had the Gauls immediately pursued those that
fled, there had been no remedy but Rome must have wholly been ruined,
and all those who remained in it utterly destroyed; such was the terror
that those who escaped the battle brought with them into the city, and
with such distraction and confusion were themselves in turn infected.
But the Gauls, not imagining their victory to be so considerable, and
overtaken with the present joy, fell to feasting and dividing the spoil,
by which means they gave leisure to those who were for leaving the city
to make their escape, and to those that remained, to anticipate and
prepare for their coming. For they who resolved to stay at Rome,
abandoning the rest of the city, betook themselves to the Capitol, which
they fortified with the help of missiles and new works. One of their
principal cares was of their holy things, most of which they conveyed
into the Capitol. But the consecrated fire the vestal virgins took, and
fled with it, as likewise their other sacred things. Some write that
they have nothing in their charge but the ever-living fire which Numa
had ordained to be worshipped as the principle of all things; for fire
is the most active thing in nature, and all production is either motion,
or attended with motion; all the other parts of matter, so long as they
are without warmth, lie sluggish and dead, and require the accession of
a sort of soul or vitality in the principle of heat; and upon that
accession, in whatever way, immediately receive a capacity either of
acting or being acted upon. And thus Numa, a man curious in such
things, and whose wisdom made it thought that he conversed with the
Muses, consecrated fire, and ordained it to be kept ever burning, as an
image of that eternal power which orders and actuates all things.
Others say that this fire was kept burning in front of the holy things,
as in Greece, for purification, and that there were other things hid in
the most secret part of the temple, which were kept from the view of
all, except those virgins whom they call vestals. The most common
opinion was, that the image of Pallas, brought into Italy by Aeneas, was
laid up there; others say that the Samothracian images lay there,
telling a story how that Dardanus carried them to Troy, and, when he had
built the city, celebrated those rites, and dedicated those images
there; that after Troy was taken, Aeneas stole them away, and kept them
till his coming into Italy. But they who profess to know more of the
matter affirm that there are two barrels, not of any great size, one of
which stands open and has nothing in it, the other full and sealed up;
but that neither of them may be seen but by the most holy virgins.
Others think that they who say this are misled by the fact that the
virgins put most of their holy things into two barrels at this time of
the Gaulish invasion, and hid them underground in the temple of
Quirinus; and that from hence that place to this day bears the name of
Barrels.
However it be, taking the most precious and important things they had,
they fled away with them, shaping their course along the river side,
where Lucius Albinius, a simple citizen of Rome, who among others was
making his escape, overtook them, having his wife, children, and goods
in a cart; and, seeing the virgins dragging along in their arms the holy
things of the gods, in a helpless and weary condition, he caused his
wife and children to get down, and, taking out his goods, put the
virgins in the cart, that they might make their escape to some of the
Greek cities. This devout act of Albinius, and the respect he showed
thus signally to the gods at a time of such extremity, deserved not to
be passed over in silence. But the priests that belonged to other gods,
and the most elderly of the senators, men who had been consuls and had
enjoyed triumphs, could not endure to leave the city; but, putting on
their sacred and splendid robes, Fabius the high-priest performing the
office, they made their prayers to the gods, and, devoting themselves,
as it were, for their country, sat themselves down in their ivory
chairs in the forum, and in that posture expected the event.
On the third day after the battle, Brennus appeared with his army at the
city, and, finding the gates wide open and no guards upon the walls,
first began to suspect it was some design or stratagem, never dreaming
that the Romans were in so desperate a condition. But when he found it
to be so indeed, he entered at the Colline gate, and took Rome, in the
three hundred and sixtieth year, or a little more, after it was built;
if, indeed, it can be supposed probable that an exact chronological
statement has been preserved of events which were themselves the cause
of chronological difficulties about things of later date; of the
calamity itself, however, and of the fact of the capture, some faint
rumors seem to have passed at the time into Greece. Heraclides
Ponticus, who lived not long after these times, in his book upon the
Soul, relates that a certain report came from the west, that an army,
proceeding from the Hyperboreans, had taken a Greek city called Rome,
seated somewhere upon the great sea. But I do not wonder that so
fabulous and high-flown an author as Heraclides should embellish the
truth of the story with expressions about Hyperboreans and the great
sea. Aristotle the philosopher appears to have heard a correct
statement of the taking of the city by the Gauls, but he calls its
deliverer Lucius; whereas Camillus's surname was not Lucius, but Marcus.
But this is a matter of conjecture.
Brennus, having taken possession of Rome, set a strong guard about the
Capitol, and, going himself down into the forum, was there struck with
amazement at the sight of so many men sitting in that order and silence,
observing that they neither rose at his coming, nor so much as changed
color or countenance, but remained without fear or concern, leaning upon
their staves, and sitting quietly, looking at each other. The Gauls,
for a great while, stood wondering at the strangeness of the sight not
daring to approach or touch them, taking them for an assembly of
superior beings. But when one, bolder than the rest, drew near to
Marcus Papirius, and, putting forth his hand, gently touched his chin
and stroked his long beard, Papirius with his staff struck him a severe
blow on the head; upon which the barbarian drew his sword and slew him.
This was the introduction to the slaughter; for the rest, following his
example, set upon them all and killed them, and dispatched all others
that came in their way; and so went on to the sacking and pillaging the
houses, which they continued for many days ensuing. Afterwards, they
burnt them down to the ground and demolished them, being incensed at
those who kept the Capitol, because they would not yield to summons;
but, on the contrary, when assailed, had repelled them, with some loss,
from their defenses. This provoked them to ruin the whole city, and to
put to the sword all that came to their hands, young and old, men,
women, and children.
And now, the siege of the Capitol having lasted a good while, the Gauls
began to be in want of provision; and dividing their forces, part of