The History of Rome, Books 01 to 08
of the patricians, and not the Gallic war, keeps us exiled from the
city, from our homes, I beg that you consider what I may say here, as
addressed not by soldiers to their general, but to the patricians by the
commons, who tell you that as ye have your separate plans, so will they
have theirs. Who in the name of goodness can be angry that we (consider
ourselves) your soldiers, not your slaves? as men who have been sent to
war, not into exile? as men who, if any one give the signal, and lead
them out into the field, will fight as becomes men and Romans? as men
who, if there be no need of arms, would spend their idle time in Rome
rather than in a camp? Consider these observations as addressed to the
patricians. As your soldiers, we entreat you, general, to afford us an
opportunity of fighting. We both desire to conquer, and also to conquer
with you for our leader; to confer on you the distinguished laurel, with
you to enter the city in triumph; following your car with
congratulations and rejoicings, to approach the temple of Jupiter
supremely great and good." The entreaties of the multitude followed the
speech of Tullius; and from every side they cried out, that he would
give the signal, that he would order them to take arms.
14. The dictator, though he saw that a good result was brought about by
a precedent not to be approved of, yet took on himself to do what the
soldiers wished, and inquires of Tullius privately, what the nature of
this transaction was, or on what precedent it was done? Tullius
earnestly entreated the dictator "not to believe him forgetful of
military discipline, of himself, nor of the respect due to his general;
that he had not declined to put himself at the head of the excited
multitude, who generally were like to their instigators, lest any other
person might step forward, such an excited multitude were wont to elect.
That for his own part he would do nothing without the orders of his
general; that he also however must carefully see, that he keep the army
in obedience. That minds so excited could not be put off: that they
would choose for themselves time and place, if they were not granted by
the general." While they are conversing in this way, it so happened,
that as a Gaul was driving away some cattle feeding on the outside of
the rampart two Roman soldiers took them from him. Stones were thrown at
them by the Gauls, then a shout was raised at the next Roman post, and
several ran forward on both sides. And now matters were not far from a
regular engagement, had not the contest been quickly stopped by the
centurions. By this event the testimony of Tullius was certainly
confirmed with the dictator; and the matter not admitting of further
delay, a proclamation is issued that they were to fight on the day
following. The dictator however, as one who went into the field relying
more on the courage of his men than on their numerical strength, began
to look about and consider how he might by some artifice strike terror
into the enemy. With a sagacious mind he devises a new project, which
many generals both of our own and of foreign countries have since
adopted, some indeed in our own times. He orders the panniers to be
taken from the mules, and two side-cloths only being left, he mounts the
muleteers on them, equipped with arms partly belonging to the prisoners,
and some to the sick. About a thousand of these being equipped, he mixes
with them one hundred horsemen, and orders them to go up during the
night into the mountains over the camp and to conceal themselves in the
woods, and not to stir from thence, till they should receive a signal
from him. As soon as day dawned, he himself began to extend his line
along the bottom of the mountain, for the express purpose that the enemy
should face the mountains. The measures for infusing groundless terror
being now completed, which terror indeed proved almost more serviceable
than real strength, the leaders of the Gauls first believed that the
Romans would not come down to the plain: then when they saw them begin
on a sudden to descend, they also, on their part eager for the fight,
rush forward to the encounter; and the battle commenced before the
signal could be given by the leaders.
15. The Gauls attacked the right wing with greater fierceness, nor could
they have been withstood, had not the dictator happened to be on the
spot, rebuking Sextus Tullius by name, and asking him, "Was it in this
way he had engaged that the soldiers would fight? Where now were the
shouts of those demanding their arms? where the threats that they would
commence the fight without the orders of their general? Behold the
general himself calling them with a loud voice to battle, and advancing
in arms before the front of the line. Would any of those now follow him,
who were just now to have led the way; fierce in the camp, but cowards
in the field?" What they heard was all true; wherefore shame applied
such strong incentives, that they rushed upon the weapons of the enemy,
their attention being turned away from the thought of danger. This
onset, which was almost frantic at first, threw the enemy into disorder;
then the cavalry charging them whilst thus disordered, made them turn
their backs. The dictator himself, when he saw their line wavering in
one direction, carries round some troops to the left wing, where he saw
a crowd of the enemy collected, and gave to those who were on the
mountain the signal which had been agreed on. When a new shout arose
from that quarter also, and they seemed to make their way in an oblique
direction, down the mountain to the camp of the Gauls; then through fear
lest they should be cut off from it, the fight was given up, and they
were carried towards the camp with precipitate speed. Where when Marcus
Valerius, master of the horse, who, after having routed their left wing,
was riding towards the enemies' entrenchment, met them, they turn their
flight to the mountains and woods: and the greater part of them were
there intercepted by the fallacious show of horsemen, and the muleteers,
and of those whom panic had carried into the woods, a dreadful slaughter
took place after the battle was ended. Nor did any one since Camillus
obtain a more complete triumph over the Gauls than Caius Sulpicius. A
considerable weight of gold taken from the Gallic spoils, which he
enclosed in hewn stone, he consecrated in the Capitol. The same year the
consuls also were engaged in fighting with various success. For the
Hernicians were vanquished and subdued by Cneius Plautius. His colleague
Fabius fought against the Tarquinians without caution or prudence; nor
was the loss sustained in the field so much [a subject of regret] as
that the Tarquinians put to death three hundred and seven Roman
soldiers, their prisoners, by which barbarous mode of punishment the
disgrace of the Roman people was rendered considerably more remarkable.
To this disaster moreover was added, the laying waste of the Roman
territory, which the Privernatians, and afterwards the people of
Velitræ, committed by a sudden incursion. The same year two tribes, the
Pomptine and Publilian, were added. The votive games, which Marcus
Furius in his dictatorship had vowed, were performed; and a proposition
was then for the first time made to the people regarding bribery at
elections by Caius Pætilius, tribune of the commons, with the
approbation of the senate; and by that bill they thought that the
ambition of new men in particular, who had been accustomed to go around
the markets and places of meeting, was checked.
16. Not equally pleasing to the patricians on the following year was a
law passed in the consulship of Caius Marcius and Cneius Manlius, by
Marcus Duilius and Lucius Mænius, tribunes of the commons, regarding the
interest of money at twelve per cent., and the people received and
passed it with much more eagerness. In addition to the new wars
determined on the preceding year, a new enemy arose in the Faliscians,
in consequence of a double charge; both that their youth had taken up
arms in conjunction with the Tarquinians, and because they had refused
to restore to the demand of the Roman heralds those who had fled to
Falerii, after the unsuccessful battle. That province fell to the lot of
Cneius Manlius, Marcius led the army into the Privernatian territory,
which, from the long continuance of peace, was in a flourishing
condition; and he enriched the soldiers with abundance of spoil. To the
great quantity of effects he added an act of munificence; for, by
setting aside nothing for public use, he favoured the soldier in his
endeavours to accumulate private property. When the Privernatians had
taken their post in a well-fortified camp under their own walls, having
summoned the soldiers to an assembly, he says to them, "I now give to
you the camp and city of the enemy for plunder, if you promise me that
you will exert yourselves bravely in the field, and that you are not
better prepared for plunder than for fighting." With loud shouts they
call for the signal, and elated and buoyed up with certain confidence,
they proceed to the battle. Then, in front of the line, Sextus Tullius,
whom we have already mentioned, exclaims, "Behold, general," says he,
"how your army are performing their promises to you;" and laying aside
his javelin, he attacks the enemy sword in hand. The whole van follow
Tullius, and at the first onset put the enemy to flight; then pursuing
them, when routed, to the town, when they were just applying the scaling
ladders to the walls, they received the city on a surrender. A triumph
was had over the Privernatians. Nothing worth mentioning was achieved by
the other consul, except that he, by an unusual precedent, holding an
assembly of the tribes in the camp at Sutrium, he passed a law regarding
the twentieth part of the value of those set free by manumission. As by
this law no small revenue was added to the treasury, now low, the senate
gave it their sanction. But the tribunes of the commons, influenced not
so much by the law as by the precedent, passed a law, making it a
capital offence for any one in future to summon an assembly of the
people at a distance from the city; for if that were allowed, there was
nothing, no matter how destructive to the people, that might not he done
by soldiers, who had sworn allegiance to their consul. The same year
Caius Licinius Stolo was condemned in a fine of ten thousand _asses_, on
his own law, by Marcus Popillius Lænas, because he possessed in
conjunction with his son a thousand acres of land, and because he had
attempted to evade the law by emancipating his son.
17. The next two consuls, Marcus Fabius Ambustus a second time, and
Marcus Popillius Lænas a second time, had two wars on their hands. The
one with the Tiburtians was easy, which Licinius managed, who drove the
enemy into their city, and laid waste their lands. The Faliscians and
Tarquinians routed the other consul in the commencement of the fight.
From these parties the utmost terror was raised, in consequence of their
priests, who, by carrying before them lighted torches and the figures of
serpents, and advancing with the gait of furies, disconcerted the Roman
soldiers by their extraordinary appearance; and then indeed they ran
back to their entrenchments, in all the hurry of trepidation, as if
frenzied or thunderstruck; and then when the consul, and
lieutenant-generals, and tribunes began to ridicule and chide them for
being frightened like children at mere sights, shame suddenly changed
their minds; and they rushed, as if blindfold, on those very objects
from which they had fled. Having, therefore, dissipated the idle
contrivance of the enemy, having attacked those who were in arms, they
drove their whole line before them, and having got possession of the