53.2. What followed within the stockade was a massacre rather than a battle. The sounds of confusion in the camp penetrated even to the city, and the frightened inhabitants ran hastily to their weapons, as though Veii had been surprised.
53.2. intra uallum deinde caedes magis quam proelium esse. tumultus e castris et in urbem penetrat; tamquam Ueiis captis, ita pauidi Ueientes ad arma currunt. pars Sabinis eunt subsidio, pars Romanos toto impetu intentos in castra adoriuntur.
53.3. Some went to the rescue of the Sabines, others assailed the Romans, who were wholly preoccupied with the camp. For a moment the Romans were disconcerted and thrown into disorder; then they, too, faced both ways and made a stand, and the horse which the consul sent into the fight dispersed and routed the Etruscans.
53.3. paulisper auersi turbatique sunt; deinde et ipsi utroque uersis signis resistunt, et eques ab consule immissus Tuscos fundit fugatque, eademque hora duo exercitus, duae potentissimae et maxime finitimae gentes superatae sunt.
53.4. In one and the same hour two armies, two of the greatest and most powerful neighbouring nations, were defeated. While these victories were being won at Veii, the Volsci and the Aequi had encamped on Latin soil, and had laid waste the country. These the Latins, acting independently, with the assistance of the Hernici, but without either general or aid from Rome, despoiled of their camp.
53.4. dum haec ad Ueios geruntur, Uolsci Aequique in Latino agro posuerant castra populatique fines erant. eos per se ipsi Latini adsumptis Hernicis, sine Romano aut duce aut auxilio castris exuerunt;
53.5. Immense booty, in addition to property of their own which they recovered, fell into their hands. Nevertheless a consul, Gaius Nautius, was sent from Rome against the Volsci. The precedent, I suppose, of allies waging wars, without a Roman commander and army, by means of their own forces and their own strategy, was not welcome.
53.5. ingenti praeda praeter suas reciperatas res potiti sunt. missus tamen ab Roma consul in Uolscos C. Nautius; mos, credo, non placebat, sine Romano duce exercituque socios propriis uiribus consiliisque bella gerere.
53.6. There was no species of disaster or indignity which was not visited upon the Volsci, yet they could not be forced into giving battle.
53.6. nullum genus calamitatis contumeliaeque non editum in Uolscos est, nec tamen perpelli potuere ut acie dimicarent.
54.1. Lucius Furius and Gaius Manlius were the next consuls. To Manlius fell the command against the Veientes. But there was no war; a truce for forty years was granted, at their solicitation, and corn and a money-indemnity were exacted of them.
54.1. L. Furius inde et C. Manlius consules. Manlio Ueientes prouincia euenit; non tamen bellatum; indutiae in annos quadraginta petentibus datae frumento stipendioque imperato.
54.2. The foreign peace was immediately succeeded by quarrels at home. The land-law with which the tribunes goaded the plebs excited them to the pitch of madness. The consuls, not a jot intimidated by the condemnation of Menenius, not a jot by the danger of Servilius, resisted the measure with the utmost violence.
54.2. paci externae confestim continuatur discordia domi. agrariae legis tribuniciis stimulis plebs furebat. consules, nihil Meneni damnatione, nihil periculo deterriti Seruili, summa ui resistunt. abeuntes magistratu Cn. Genucius tribunus plebis arripuit.
54.3. As their term expired, Gnaeus Genucius, a plebeian tribune, haled them to trial. Lucius Aemilius and Opiter Verginius entered upon the consulship. Vopiscus Julius I find given as consul in certain annals, instead of Verginius. This year —whoever its consuls were —Furius and Manlius went about among the people as men accused, in garments of mourning, seeking out the younger patricians, as well as the plebeians.
54.3. L. Aemilius et Opiter Uerginius consulatum ineunt; Uopiscum Iulium pro Uerginio in quibusdam annalibus consulem inuenio. hoc anno, quoscumque consules habuit, rei ad populum Furius et Manlius circumeunt sordidati non plebem magis quam iuniores patrum.
54.4. They advised them, they warned them to forbear from office-holding and the administration of the public business; as for the consular fasces, the purple-bordered toga, and the curule chair, —these they should regard in no other light than as the pageantry of burial; for splendid insignia, like the fillets placed on victims, doomed the wearer to death.
54.4. suadent monent honoribus et administratione rei publicae abstineant; consulares uero fasces, praetextam, curulemque sellam nihil aliud quam pompam funeris putent; claris insignibus uelut infulis uelatos ad mortem destinari.
54.5. But if the consulship was so alluring to them, let them recognize at once that it had been fettered and enslaved by the might of the tribunes; that the consul, as though an attendant upon those officials, must be subject in all he did to their beck and call;
54.5. quod si consulatus tanta dulcedo sit, iam nunc ita in animum inducant consulatum captum et oppressum ab tribunicia potestate esse; consuli, uelut apparitori tribunicio, omnia ad nutum imperiumque tribuni agenda esse;
54.6. if he should bestir himself, if he should show consideration for the patricians, if he should believe that the state comprised any other element than the plebs —let him call to mind the exile of Gnaeus Marcius, the condemnation of Menenius and his death.
54.6. si se commouerit, si respexerit patres, si aliud quam plebem esse in re publica crediderit, exsilium Cn. Marci, Meneni damnationem et mortem sibi proponat ante oculos.
54.7. Fired by these speeches, the senators began to hold councils, no longer publicly, but in private, where the people could not learn their plans. In these deliberations there was but one guiding principle, that by fair means or foul the defendants must be got off. The more truculent a suggestion was, the greater was the favour it evoked, and an agent was not wanting for the most daring crime.
54.7. his accensi uocibus patres consilia inde non publica sed in priuato seductaque a plurium conscientia habuere, ubi cum id modo constaret, iure an iniuria, eripiendos esse reos, atrocissima quaeque maxime placebat sententia, nec auctor quamuis audaci facinori deerat.
54.8. Well then, on the day of the trial the plebeians were in the Forum, on tiptoe with expectation. At first they were filled with amazement because the tribune did not come down; then, when at length his delay began to look suspicious, they supposed he had been frightened away by the nobles, and fell to complaining of his desertion and betrayal of the people's cause; finally, those who had presented themselves at the tribune's vestibule brought back word that he had been found dead in his house.
54.8. igitur iudicii die, cum plebs in foro erecta expectatione staret, mirari primo quod non descenderet tribunus; dein cum iam mora suspectior fieret, deterritum a primoribus credere et desertam ac proditam causam publicam queri;
54.9. When this report had spread through all the gathering, the crowd, like an army which takes to flight at the fall of its general, melted away on every side. The tribunes were particularly dismayed, for the death of their colleague warned them how utterly ineffectual to protect them were the laws that proclaimed their sanctity.
54.9. tandem qui obuersati uestibulo tribuni fuerant nuntiant domi mortuum esse inuentum. quod ubi in totam contionem pertulit rumor, sicut acies funditur duce occiso, ita dilapsi passim alii alio. praecipuus pauor tribunos inuaserat, quam nihil auxilii sacratae leges haberent morte collegae monitos.
54.10. Nor did the senators place a proper restraint upon their satisfaction; so far, indeed, was anyone from repenting of the guilty deed that even the innocent desired to be thought its authors, and men openly asserted that chastisement must be employed to curb the power of the tribunes.
54.10. nec patres satis moderate ferre laetitiam, adeoque neminem noxiae paenitebat, ut etiam insontes fecisse uideri uellent, palamque ferretur malo domandam tribuniciam potestatem.
55.1. Immediately following this pernicious victory a levy was proclaimed, which the timorousness of the tribunes allowed the consuls to push through without ever a veto.
55.1. sub hac pessimi exempli uictoria dilectus edicitur, pauentibusque tribunis sine intercessione ulla consules rem peragunt.
55.2. But this time the commons were fairly roused to anger, more by the silence of the tribunes than by the consuls' power. They declared that it was all up with their liberty; that men had gone back to their old ways; that with Genucius the tribunician power had suffered death and burial.
55.2. tum uero irasci plebs tribunorum magis silentio quam consulum imperio, et dicere actum esse de libertate sua; rursus ad antiqua reditum; cum Genucio una mortuam ac sepultam tribuniciam potestatem. aliud agendum ac cogitandum quomodo resistatur patribus;
55.3. They must adopt another course and other plans to resist the patricians; but the only way was this: that the plebs should undertake their own defence, since they had no one else to help them. Twenty-four lictors were all the retinue of the consuls, and even these were plebeians. Nothing was more contemptible or weaker, if there were any to contemn; it was every man's own imagination that made them great and awe-inspiring.
55.3. id autem unum consilium esse ut se ipsa plebs, quando aliud nihil auxilii habeat, defendat. quattuor et uiginti lictores apparere consulibus et eos ipsos plebis homines; nihil contemptius neque infirmius, si sint qui contemnant; sibi quemque ea magna atque horrenda facere.
55.4. They had incited one another with arguments of this sort when the consuls sent a lictor to arrest Volero Publilius, a plebeian, who, on the ground that he had been a centurion, denied their right to make him a common soldier. Volero called upon the tribunes.
55.4. his uocibus alii alios cum incitassent, ad Uoleronem Publilium de plebe hominem quia, quod ordines duxisset, negaret se militem fieri debere, lictor missus est a consulibus. Uolero appellat tribunos.
55.5. When no one came to aid him, the consuls gave orders to strip the man and get out the rods. “I appeal,” cried Volero, “to the people, since the tribunes would rather a Roman citizen should be scourged with rods before their eyes than themselves be murdered in their beds by you.” But the more boldly he shouted the more roughly the lictor fell to tearing off his clothes and stripping him.
55.5. cum auxilio nemo esset, consules spoliari hominem et uirgas expediri iubent. 'prouoco' inquit, 'ad populum' Uolero, 'quoniam tribuni ciuem Romanum in conspectu suo uirgis caedi malunt quam ipsi in lecto suo a uobis trucidari.' quo ferocius clamitabat, eo infestius circumscindere et spoliare lictor.
55.6. Then Volero, who was himself a powerful man and was helped by those he had called to his assistance, beat off the lictor and, choosing the place where the uproar of his sympathisers was the angriest, plunged into the thick of the crowd, calling out, “I appeal, and implore the protection of the plebs; help, citizens!”
55.6. tum Uolero et praeualens ipse et adiuuantibus aduocatis repulso lictore, ubi indignantium pro se acerrimus erat clamor, eo se in turbam confertissimam recipit clamitans: 'prouoco et fidem plebis imploro.
55.7. “help, fellow-soldiers! It is useless for you to wait for the tribunes, who themselves stand in need of aid from you.”
55.7. adeste, ciues; adeste, commilitones; nihil est quod expectetis tribunos quibus ipsis uestro auxilio opus est.'
55.8. In their excitement men made ready as if to fight a battle, and it was evident that anything might happen, that nobody would respect any right, whether public or private. The consuls, exposed to this furious tempest, were quickly convinced of the insecurity of majesty when unaccompanied with force.
55.8. concitati homines ueluti ad proelium se expediunt, apparebatque omne discrimen adesse; nihil cuiquam sanctum, non publici fore, non priuati iuris.
55.9. The lictors were roughly handled and their rods were broken, while the consuls themselves were driven out of the Forum into the Curia, with no means of knowing how far Volero might use his victory.
55.9. huic tantae tempestati cum se consules obtulissent, facile experti sunt parum tutam maiestatem sine uiribus esse. uiolatis lictoribus, fascibus fractis, e foro in curiam compelluntur, incerti quatenus Uolero exerceret uictoriam.
55.10. Afterwards, when the uproar began to die away, they summoned the Fathers into the senate-house and complained of the insults they had suffered, the violence of the plebs, and Volero's outrageous conduct.
55.10. conticescente deinde tumultu cum in senatum uocari iussissent, queruntur iniurias suas, uim plebis, Uoleronis audaciam.
55.11. Though many daring opinions were expressed, the wishes of the older men prevailed, who had no mind to a conflict between an angry senate and a reckless plebs.
55.11. multis ferociter dictis sententiis, uicere seniores quibus ira patrum aduersus temeritatem plebis certari non placuit.
56.1. Volero, having been taken into favour by the plebs, was at the next election made plebeian tribune for that year which had Lucius Pinarius and Publius Furius for consuls.
56.1. Uoleronem amplexa fauore plebs proximis comitiis tribunum plebi creat in eum annum qui L. Pinarium P. Furium consules habuit.
56.2. And contrary to the expectation of all, who believed that he would employ his tribuneship in persecuting the consuls of the preceding year, he set the general welfare above his private grievance, and without attacking the consuls by so much as a word, brought a bill before the people providing that plebeian magistrates should be chosen in the tribal assembly.
56.2. contraque omnium opinionem, qui eum uexandis prioris anni consulibus permissurum tribunatum credebant, post publicam causam priuato dolore habito, ne uerbo quidem uiolatis consulibus, rogationem tulit ad populum ut plebeii magistratus tributis comitiis fierent.
56.3. It was no trivial matter which he proposed under this form, which at first sight appeared so harmless, but one that completely deprived the patricians of the power of using their clients' votes to select what tribunes they liked.
56.3. haud parua res sub titulo prima specie minime atroci ferebatur, sed quae patriciis omnem potestatem per clientium suffragia creandi quos uellent tribunos auferret.
56.4. This measure was extremely welcome to the plebs; the Fathers opposed it with all their might, yet the only effectual resistance —to wit, a veto by some member of the tribunician college —neither consuls nor nobles were sufficiently influential to command. Nevertheless the legislation, which its very importance rendered difficult, was drawn out by party strife to the end of the year.
56.4. huic actioni gratissimae plebi cum summa ui resisterent patres, nec quae una uis ad resistendum erat, ut intercederet aliquis ex collegio, auctoritate aut consulum aut principum adduci posset, res tamen suo ipsa molimine grauis certaminibus in annum extrahitur.
56.5. The plebs re-elected Volero tribune: the senators, thinking the quarrel was sure to proceed to extremities, made Appius Claudius, son of Appius, consul, a man whose unpopularity with the plebs and hostility towards them went back to the struggles between their fathers. For colleague they gave him Titus Quinctius.
56.5. plebs Uoleronem tribunum reficit: patres, ad ultimum dimicationis rati rem uenturam, Ap. Claudium Appi filium, iam inde a paternis certaminibus inuisum infestumque plebi, consulem faciunt. collega ei T. Quinctius datur.
56.6. The new year was no sooner begun than discussion of the law took precedence of everything else, and it was urged not only by its author, Volero, but by his colleague Laetorius as well, whose advocacy of it was at once fresher and more acrimonious.
56.6. principio statim anni nihil prius quam de lege agebatur. sed ut inuentor legis Uolero, sic Laetorius, collega eius, auctor cum recentior tum acrior erat.
56.7. He was emboldened by the great reputation he enjoyed as a soldier, since no one of that generation surpassed him in physical prowess. While Volero spoke of nothing but the law, and forbore to inveigh against the consuls' persons, Laetorius launched out into an arraignment of Appius and his family, as most cruel and arrogant towards the Roman plebs. But when he strove to show that the patricians had elected, not a consul, but an executioner, to harass and torture the plebeians, the inexperienced tongue of the soldier was inadequate to express his audacity and spirit.
56.7. ferocem faciebat belli gloria ingens, quod aetatis eius haud quisquam manu promptior erat. is, cum Uolero nihil praeterquam de lege loqueretur, insectatione abstinens consulum, ipse incusationem Appi familiaeque superbissimae ac crudelissimae in plebem Romanam exorsus, cum a patribus non consulem, sed carnificem ad uexandam et lacerandam plebem creatum esse contenderet, rudis in militari homine lingua non suppetebat libertati animoque.
56.9. Accordingly when words began to fail him he cried, “Since speech is not so easy for me, Quirites, as it is to make good what I have spoken, be at hand tomorrow. I will either die here in your sight or carry through the law.”
56.9. itaque deficiente oratione, 'quando quidem non facile loquor' inquit, 'Quirites, quam quod locutus sum praesto, crastino die adeste; ego hic aut in conspectu uestro moriar aut perferam legem'.
56.10. The tribunes were the first on the scene next day, and possessed themselves of the rostra; the consuls and nobles took their stand in the assembly, with the purpose of obstructing the passage of the law. Laetorius ordered the removal of all but those who were voting.
56.10. occupant tribuni templum postero die; consules nobilitasque ad impediendam legem in contione consistunt. summoueri Laetorius iubet, praeterquam qui suffragium ineant.
56.11. The youthful nobles stayed where they were and would not give way at the officer's behest. Then certain of them were ordered by Laetorius to be seized.
56.11. adulescentes nobiles stabant nihil cedentes uiatori. tum ex his prendi quosdam Laetorius iubet. consul Appius negare ius esse tribuno in quemquam nisi in plebeium;
56.12. The consul Appius declared that the tribune had no authority over anybody but a plebeian, seeing that he was not a magistrate of the people, but of the plebs; and even if he were, he could not, consistently with the custom of the Fathers, command the removal of anyone, by virtue of his authority, since the formula ran thus: “If it seems good to you, depart, Quirites.” It was an easy matter to throw Laetorius into a passion by these contemptuous remarks about his rights.
56.12. non enim populi sed plebis eum magistratum esse; nec illam ipsam submouere pro imperio posse more maiorum, quia ita dicatur: 'si uobis uidetur, discedite, Quirites.' facile contemptim de iure disserendo perturbare Laetorium poterat.
56.13. It was therefore in a blaze of anger that the tribune dispatched his attendant to the consul;
56.13. ardens igitur ira tribunus uiatorem mittit ad consulem, consul lictorem ad tribunum, priuatum esse clamitans, sine imperio, sine magistratu;
56.14. while the consul sent his lictor to the tribune, crying out that Laetorius was a private citizen, without power, and no magistrate; and the tribune would have been mishandled, had not the whole assembly rallied fiercely to his support against the consul, while men rushed into the Forum from all over the City, in an excited throng.
56.14. uiolatusque esset tribunus, ni et contio omnis atrox coorta pro tribuno in consulem esset, et concursus hominum in forum ex tota urbe concitatae multitudinis fieret. sustinebat tamen Appius pertinacia tantam tempestatem, certatumque haud incruento proelio foret, ni Quinctius, consul alter, consularibus negotio dato ut collegam ui, si aliter non possent, de foro abducerent, ipse nunc plebem saeuientem precibus lenisset, nunc orasset tribunos ut concilium dimitterent;
56.15. Still, Appius was obstinately holding out, despite the fury of the tempest, and a sanguinary battle would have ensued, if Quinctius, the other consul, had not entrusted the senators of consular rank with the task of getting his colleague out of the Forum, by force, if they could not achieve it otherwise; while he himself now appealed to the raging populace with soothing entreaties, and now besought the tribunes to dismiss the council. Let them give their anger time: time would not rob them of their power, but would add wisdom to their strength; the Fathers would be subject to the people, and the consul to the Fathers. It was hard for Quinctius to still the plebs; much harder for the senators to quiet the other consul. At length the council of the plebs was adjourned, and the consuls convened the senate.
56.15. darent irae spatium; non uim suam illis tempus adempturum, sed consilium uiribus additurum; et patres in populi et consulem in patrum fore potestate. aegre sedata ab Quinctio plebs, multo aegrius consul alter a patribus. dimisso tandem concilio plebis senatum consules habent.
57.2. At this meeting alternating hope and fear gave rise to conflicting opinions. But in proportion as their passions cooled with the lapse of time and gave way to deliberation, their minds more and more revolted from the struggle; insomuch that they passed a vote of thanks to Quinctius, because it was due to him that the quarrel had been abated.
57.2. ubi cum timor atque ira in uicem sententias uariassent, quo magis spatio interposito ab impetu ad consultandum auocabantur, eo plus abhorrebant a certatione animi, adeo ut Quinctio gratias agerent quod eius opera mitigata discordia esset.
57.3. They desired Appius to be content that the majesty of the consul should be no greater than was compatible with harmony in the state, pointing out that while tribunes and consuls were each striving to carry things his own way there was no strength left in the nation at large, and the commonwealth was torn and mangled, the question being rather in whose power it was than how it might be safe.
57.3. ab Appio petitur ut tantam consularem maiestatem esse uellet quanta esse in concordi ciuitate posset; dum tribunique et consules ad se quisque omnia trahant, nihil relictum esse uirium in medio; distractam laceratamque rem publicam; magis quorum in manu sit quam ut incolumis sit quaeri.
57.4. Appius, on the other hand, called gods and men to witness that the state was being betrayed through cowardice, and abandoned; that it was not the consul who was failing the senate, but the senate the consul; that harder terms were being accepted than had been accepted on the Sacred Mount. Nevertheless he was borne down by the senate's unanimity and held his peace. The law was passed without opposition.
57.4. Appius contra testari deos atque homines rem publicam prodi per metum ac deseri; non consulem senatui sed senatum consuli deesse; grauiores accipi leges quam in Sacro monte acceptae sint. uictus tamen patrum consensu quieuit; lex silentio perfertur.
58.1. Then for the first time tribunes were elected in the tribal assembly. That their number was also increased by three, as if there had been only two before, is stated by Piso.
58.1. tum primum tributis comitiis creati tribuni sunt. numero etiam additos tres, perinde ac duo antea fuerint, Piso auctor est.
58.2. He also gives the names of the tribunes: Gnaeus Siccius, Lucius Numitorius, Marcus Duillius, Spurius Icilius, Lucius Maecilius. While Rome was thus distracted, the Volsci and the Aequi began war.
58.2. nominat quoque tribunos, Cn. Siccium, L. Numitorium, M. Duillium, Sp. Icilium, L. Maecilium.
58.3. They had laid waste the fields in order that the plebeians, if they should secede, might find a refuge with them. Then, when the matter was settled, they withdrew their camp. Appius Claudius was sent against the Volsci; to Quinctius fell the command against the Aequi.
58.3. Uolscum Aequicumque inter seditionem Romanam est bellum coortum. uastauerant agros ut si qua secessio plebis fieret ad se receptum haberet; compositis deinde rebus castra retro mouere.
58.4. In his conduct in the field Appius displayed the same violence that he had shown in Rome, and it now had freer play because it was not hampered by the tribunes. He hated the plebs with a hatred that surpassed his father's: What?
58.4. Ap. Claudius in Uolscos missus, Quinctio Aequi prouincia euenit. eadem in militia saeuitia Appi quae domi esse, liberior quod sine tribuniciis uinculis erat.
58.5. Had he been beaten by them? Was it in his consulship, who had been chosen as pre-eminently fitted to resist the tribunician power, that a law had been passed which former consuls had prevented, with less effort and by no means so much hope of success on the part of the patricians?
58.5. odisse plebem plus quam paterno odio: se uictum ab ea; se unico consule electo aduersus tribuniciam potestatem perlatam legem esse, quam minore conatu, nequaquam tanta patrum spe, priores impedierint consules.
58.6. His wrath and indignation at this thought drove his fierce spirit to torment the army with a savage exercise of authority. Yet he was unable by any violence to subdue them, so deeply had their spirits drunk of opposition.
58.6. haec ira indignatioque ferocem animum ad uexandum saeuo imperio exercitum stimulabat. nec ulla ui domari poterat;
58.7. Sloth, idleness, neglect, and obstinacy were in all they did. Neither shame nor fear restrained them. If he wished the column to advance more rapidly they deliberately retarded their pace; if he stood by to encourage their work, they would all relax the industry they had manifested of their own accord.
58.7. tantum certamen animis imbiberant. segniter, otiose, neglegenter, contumaciter omnia agere; nec pudor nec metus coercebat. si citius agi uellet agmen, tardius sedulo incedere; si adhortator operis adesset, omnes sua sponte motam remittere industriam;
58.8. In his presence they sunk their gaze; as he passed by they cursed him under their breath; till that proud spirit, which the hatred of the plebs had never broken, was at times disturbed.
58.8. praesenti uoltus demittere, tacite praetereuntem exsecrari, ut inuictus ille odio plebeio animus interdum moueretur.
58.9. After exhausting every species of severity without effect, he would have no more to do with the men; the centurions, he said, had corrupted the army, and he sometimes sneeringly dubbed them “tribunes of the plebs” and “Voleros.”
58.9. omni nequiquam acerbitate prompta, nihil iam cum militibus agere; a centurionibus corruptum exercitum dicere; tribunos plebei cauillans interdum et Uolerones uocare.
59.1. Every one of these circumstances was known to the Volsci, and they pressed their enemy the harder, hoping that the Roman army would exhibit the same spirited opposition to Appius which it had evinced towards the consul Fabius.
59.1. nihil eorum Uolsci nesciebant, instabantque eo magis, sperantes idem certamen animorum aduersus Appium habiturum exercitum Romanum quod aduersus Fabium consulem habuisset.
59.2. But Appius found his men far more unruly than had Fabius; for not only were they unwilling to conquer, as the Fabian army had been, but they wished to be conquered. Being drawn out into battle-order, they basely fled and sought their camp; nor did they make a stand until they saw the Volsci advancing against their fortifications and inflicting a disgraceful slaughter upon their rearguard.
59.2. ceterum multo Appio quam Fabio uiolentior fuit; non enim uincere tantum noluit, ut Fabianus exercitus, sed uinci uoluit. productus in aciem turpi fuga petit castra, nec ante restitit quam signa inferentem Uolscum munimentis uidit foedamque extremi agminis caedem.
59.3. This compelled them to exert themselves and fight, with the result that the enemy was dislodged from the stockade in the moment of victory. Yet it was evident enough that the capture of their camp was the only thing at which the Roman soldiers balked, and that elsewhere they rejoiced at their own defeat and ignominy.
59.3. tum expressa uis ad pugnandum, ut uictor iam a uallo submoueretur hostis, satis tamen appareret capi tantum castra militem Romanum noluisse, alioqui gaudere sua clade atque ignominia.
59.4. These things in no wise daunted the haughty spirit of Appius. But when he would have gone further and have vented his rage upon the army, and was issuing orders for an assembly, the lieutenants and tribunes gathered hurriedly about him and warned him upon no account to seek a test of his authority, when its effectiveness all depended on the goodwill of those obeying it.
59.4. quibus nihil infractus ferox Appi animus cum insuper saeuire uellet contionemque aduocaret, concurrunt ad eum legati tribunique, monentes ne utique experiri uellet imperium, cuius uis omnis in consensu oboedientium esset;
59.5. The men, they reported, were saying that they would not go to be harangued, and everywhere voices were overheard demanding that the camp be removed from Volscian territory. The victorious enemy had a little while before been almost in their gates and on their wall, and a great disaster was not merely to be apprehended, but was openly hovering before their eyes.
59.5. negare uolgo milites se ad contionem ituros passimque exaudiri uoces postulantium ut castra ex Uolsco agro moueantur; hostem uictorem paulo ante prope in portis ac uallo fuisse, ingentisque mali non suspicionem modo sed apertam speciem obuersari ante oculos.
59.6. Giving way at last, since the soldiers were gaining nothing but a postponement of their punishment, he relinquished the idea of an assembly, and commanded a march for the following day. At daybreak he caused the signal for departure to be sounded on the trumpet.
59.6. uictus tandem, quando quidem nihil praeter tempus noxae lucrarentur, remissa contione iter in insequentem diem pronuntiari cum iussisset, prima luce classico signum profectionis dedit.
59.7. At the very instant when the column was getting clear of the camp, the Volsci, as though set in motion by the same signal, fell upon their rear. Thence the confusion spread to the van, and the panic so disordered the standards and the ranks that it was impossible either to hear commands or to form a line.
59.7. cum maxime agmen e castris explicaretur, Uolsci, ut eodem signo excitati, nouissimos adoriuntur. a quibus perlatus ad primos tumultus eo pauore signaque et ordines turbauit ut neque imperia exaudiri neque instrui acies posset.
59.8. Nobody thought of anything but flight, and so demoralised was the rout, as the men escaped over fallen bodies and discarded weapons, that the enemy sooner ceased to pursue than the Romans to flee.
59.8. nemo ullius nisi fugae memor. ita effuso agmine per stragem corporum armorumque euasere ut prius hostis desisteret sequi quam Romanus fugere.
59.9. When at last the soldiers had been collected from their scattered flight, the consul, who had followed his men in a vain attempt to call them back, pitched his camp on friendly soil. Then he summoned an assembly and soundly rated them, not without reason, as an army which had been false to military discipline and had deserted its standards. Asking them all in turn where their arms and where their standards were, he caused the unarmed soldiers and the standard-bearers who had lost their standards, and in addition to these the centurions and the recipients of a double ration who had quitted their ranks, to be scourged with rods and beheaded; of the remaining number every tenth man was selected by lot for punishment.
59.9. tandem conlectis ex dissipato cursu militibus consul, cum reuocando nequiquam suos persecutus esset, in pacato agro castra posuit; aduocataque contione inuectus haud falso in proditorem exercitum militaris disciplinae, desertorem signorum, ubi signa, ubi arma essent singulos rogitans, inermes milites, signo amisso signiferos, ad hoc centuriones duplicariosque qui reliquerant ordines, uirgis caesos securi percussit: cetera multitudo sorte decimus quisque ad supplicium lecti.
60.1. To contrast with all this, in the Aequian campaign there subsisted between consul and soldiers an emulation of goodwill and kindness. Not only was it natural to Quinctius to be more gentle, but the unfortunate harshness of his colleague had given him the more reason to be content with his own disposition.
60.1. contra ea in Aequis inter consulem ac milites comitate ac beneficiis certatum est. et natura Quinctius erat lenior, et saeuitia infelix collegae quo is magis gauderet ingenio suo effecerat.
60.2. Against this complete harmony between commander and army the Aequi ventured no opposition, but suffered their enemies to devastate their fields at will; and in fact no previous war had ever yielded a larger booty from that country.
60.2. huic tantae concordiae ducis exercitusque non ausi offerre se Aequi, uagari populabundum hostem per agros passi; nec ullo ante bello latius inde acta est praeda.
60.3. This was all given to the troops, and to the spoils were added encomiums, which are no less efficacious than rewards in rejoicing a soldier's heart. Not only their leader, but for their leader's sake the Fathers, too, were looked upon with greater kindness by the army when they returned. They declared that to them the senate had given a parent, to the other army a tyrant.
60.3. ea omnis militi data est. addebantur et laudes, quibus haud minus quam praemio gaudent militum animi. cum duci, tum propter ducem patribus quoque placatior exercitus rediit, sibi parentem, alteri exercitui dominum datum ab senatu memorans.
60.4. Varying fortune in war, grievous discord at home and in the field, had characterized the year just ended; but it was chiefly distinguished by the tribal assembly, a matter more important because the men had won a victory in the struggle which they had undertaken than in its practical results;
60.4. uaria fortuna belli, atroci discordia domi forique annum exactum insignem maxime comitia tributa efficiunt, res maior uictoria suscepti certaminis quam usu.
60.5. for the loss of dignity to the assembly itself, caused by the removal from it of the patricians, was greater than the gain in strength by the plebeians or the loss of it by the Fathers.
60.5. plus enim dignitatis comitiis ipsis detractum est patres ex concilio submouendo, quam uirium aut plebi additum est aut demptum patribus.
61.1. A stormier year succeeded, under the consuls Lucius Valerius and Titus Aemilius, partly owing to strife between the classes about the land-law, partly to the trial of Appius Claudius.
61.1. turbulentior inde annus excepit L. Ualerio T. Aemilio consulibus, cum propter certamina ordinum de lege agraria tum propter iudicium Ap. Claudi, cui acerrimo aduersario legis causamque possessorum publici agri tamquam tertio consuli sustinenti M.
61.2. He was the bitterest opponent of the law, and was upholding the claim of those who had possession of the public domain as if he had been a third consul, when Marcus Duillius and Gnaeus Siccius lodged an accusation against him. Never before had a defendant whom the plebs so detested been brought to trial before the people, burdened as he was with men's hatred, both of himself and of his father.
61.2. Duillius et Cn. Siccius diem dixere. nunquam ante tam inuisus plebi reus ad iudicium uocatus populi est, plenus suarum, plenus paternarum irarum.
61.4. The patricians, for their part, had not lightly put forth such exertions in behalf of any man. They felt that the champion of the senate and the guardian of their own dignity, who had stood firm against all sorts of tribunician and plebeian outbreaks, though he had possibly gone too far in the heat of the struggle, was being exposed to the angry commons.
61.4. patres quoque non temere pro ullo aeque adnisi sunt: propugnatorem senatus maiestatisque uindicem suae, ad omnes tribunicios plebeiosque oppositum tumultus, modum dumtaxat in certamine egressum, iratae obici plebi.
61.5. Alone amongst the Fathers, Appius Claudius himself regarded tribunes, plebs, and his own trial with perfect unconcern. He was not one whom the threats of the plebeians or the entreaties of the senate could ever prevail upon, I do not say to put on mourning, or to seek men out with appeals for mercy, but even to soften and subdue in a slight degree the accustomed sharpness of his tongue, though it was before the people he must plead.
61.5. unus e patribus ipse Ap. Claudius et tribunos et plebem et suum iudicium pro nihilo habebat. illum non minae plebis, non senatus preces perpellere unquam potuere, non modo ut uestem mutaret aut supplex prensaret homines, sed ne ut ex consueta quidem asperitate orationis, cum ad populum agenda causa esset, aliquid leniret atque submitteret.
61.6. There was the same expression on his countenance, the same arrogance in his glance, the same fire in his speech; so markedly, in fact, that a great part of the plebs feared Appius no less when a defendant than they had feared him as consul.
61.6. idem habitus oris, eadem contumacia in uoltu, idem in oratione spiritus erat, adeo ut magna pars plebis Appium non minus reum timeret quam consulem timuerat.
61.7. Once only did he plead his cause, in the tone he had been wont to use on all occasions, namely, that of a prosecutor; and so completely did his firmness overwhelm the tribunes and the commons that they themselves voluntarily adjourned the trial to a later day, and then allowed the affair to drag.
61.7. semel causam dixit, quo semper agere omnia solitus erat, accusatorio spiritu, adeoque constantia sua et tribunos obstupefecit et plebem ut diem ipsi sua uoluntate prodicerent, trahi deinde rem sinerent.
61.8. The interval was not very long, but before the appointed day came round Appius fell sick and died.
61.8. haud ita multum interim temporis fuit; ante tamen quam prodicta dies ueniret, morbo moritur.
61.9. When his eulogy was being pronounced, the tribunes of the plebs attempted to interfere, but the plebs were not willing that the funeral-day of so great a man should be defrauded of the customary honours. They listened to his praises with as great goodwill, now he was dead, as they had heard the living man accused, and attended his burial in crowds.
61.9. cuius laudationem cum tribunus plebis impedire conaretur, plebs fraudari sollemni honore supremum diem tanti uiri noluit, et laudationem tam aequis auribus mortui audiuit quam uiui accusationem audierat et exsequias frequens celebrauit.
62.1. The same year Valerius the consul, having marched with an army against the Aequi, was unable to entice the enemy into a battle, and directed an assault upon their camp. This was foiled by an awful storm that descended upon them with hail and claps of thunder.
62.1. eodem anno Ualerius consul cum exercitu in Aequos profectus, cum hostem ad proelium elicere non posset, castra oppugnare est adortus. prohibuit foeda tempestas cum grandine ac tonitribus caelo deiecta.
62.2. Their amazement was soon increased, on the signal for retreat being given, by the reappearance of so tranquil and cloudless a sky, that, as though some god had defended the camp, they scrupled to attack it a second time, and directed all their hostility towards devastating the fields.
62.2. admirationem deinde auxit signo receptui dato adeo tranquilla serenitas reddita ut uelut numine aliquo defensa castra oppugnare iterum religio fuerit.
62.3. The other consul, Aemilius, conducted a campaign in the Sabine country. There, too, the enemy kept within his walls, and the Romans laid waste his fields.
62.3. omnis ira belli ad populationem agri uertit. alter consul Aemilius in Sabinis bellum gessit. et ibi, quia hostis moenibus se tenebat, uastati agri sunt.
62.4. Afterwards, by setting fire not only to farmhouses but even to the villages, where the people lived close together, they aroused the Sabines, who, having met the pillagers and fought a drawn battle with them, next day withdrew their camp to a safer position.
62.4. incendiis deinde non uillarum modo sed etiam uicorum quibus frequenter habitabatur Sabini exciti cum praedatoribus occurrissent, ancipiti proelio digressi postero die rettulere castra in tutiora loca.
62.5. This seemed to the consul a sufficient pretext for leaving the enemy, as conquered, and he retired ere the campaign had fairly begun.
62.5. id satis consuli uisum cur pro uicto relinqueret hostem, integro inde decedens bello.
63.1. While these wars were going on and there was still discord at home, Titus Numicius Priscus and Aulus Verginius were elected consuls.
63.1. inter haec bella manente discordia domi, consules T. Numicius Priscus A. Uerginius facti.
63.2. It was clear that the plebs would endure no further postponement of the land-law, and were preparing to use violent measures, when the approach of a Volscian army was announced by the smoke which rose from burning farmhouses and by the flight of the country people. By this circumstance the insurrection, which was already matured and on the point of breaking out, was repressed.
63.2. non ultra uidebatur latura plebes dilationem agrariae legis, ultimaque uis parabatur, cum Uolscos adesse fumo ex incendiis uillarum fugaque agrestium cognitum est. ea res maturam iam seditionem ac prope erumpentem repressit.
63.3. The consuls, being at once commanded to do so by the senate, led the young men out of the City to the war, a policy which diminished the restlessness of the plebeians who were left behind.
63.3. consules coacti extemplo ab senatu ad bellum educta ex urbe iuuentute tranquilliorem ceteram plebem fecerunt. et hostes quidem nihil aliud quam perfusis uano timore Romanis citato agmine abeunt:
63.5. As for the enemy, they did no more than cause the Romans a needless panic, and hastily retreated. Numicius marched to Antium against the Volsci, Verginius against the Aequi. In the Aequian campaign an ambush nearly resulted in a severe defeat for the Romans, but the courage of the soldiers restored the day, which the carelessness of the consul had almost lost.
63.5. Numicius Antium aduersus Uolscos, Uerginius contra Aequos profectus. ibi ex insidiis prope magna accepta clade uirtus militum rem prolapsam neglegentia consulis restituit.
63.6. The Volscian expedition was better directed: the enemy were routed in the first engagement and driven in flight to Antium, a very opulent city for those days. This place the consul did not venture to assail, but he captured from the Antiates another town, named Caeno, of far less wealth.
63.6. melius in Uolscis imperatum est; fusi primo proelio hostes fugaque in urbem Antium, ut tum res erant opulentissimam, acti. quam consul oppugnare non ausus Caenonem, aliud oppidum nequaquam tam opulentum, ab Antiatibus cepit.
63.7. While the Aequi and Volsci kept the Roman armies busy, the Sabines advanced clear to the gates of the City on a plundering raid. A few days after this they themselves had to confront two armies, for both the consuls indignantly invaded their borders, and they suffered greater losses than they had themselves inflicted.
63.7. dum Aequi Uolscique Romanos exercitus tenent, Sabini usque ad portas urbis populantes incessere. deinde ipsi paucis post diebus ab duobus exercitibus, utroque per iram consule ingresso in fines, plus cladium quam intulerant acceperunt.
64.1. Towards the close of the year there was a brief season of peace, but, as always on other occasions, a peace distracted by the strife of patricians and plebeians.
64.1. extremo anno pacis aliquid fuit, sed, ut semper alias, sollicitae [pacis] certamine patrum et plebis.
64.2. The angry plebs refused to take part in the consular elections: by the votes of the patricians and their clients Titus Quinctius and Quintus Servilius were chosen consuls. They experienced a year like the preceding one: dissensions, to begin with, then a foreign war and tranquillity.
64.2. irata plebs interesse consularibus comitiis noluit; per patres clientesque patrum consules creati T. Quinctius Q. Seruilius. similem annum priori [consules] habent, seditiosa initia, bello deinde externo tranquilla.
64.3. The Sabines executed a rapid march across the Crustuminian plains, bringing fire and sword to the country about the river Anio. When almost at the Colline Gate and the City walls they were beaten back, yet they carried off immense spoils of men and cattle.
64.3. Sabini Crustuminos campos citato agmine transgressi cum caedes et incendia circum Anienem flumen fecissent, a porta prope Collina moenibusque pulsi ingentes tamen praedas hominum pecorumque egere.
64.4. Servilius the consul pursued them with an army, and though he could not overtake the column itself on ground which was suitable for offering battle, he devastated the country so extensively as to leave nothing untouched by the ravages of war, and returned with many times the plunder which the Romans had lost.
64.4. quos Seruilius consul infesto exercitu insecutus ipsum quidem agmen adipisci aequis locis non potuit, populationem adeo effuse fecit, ut nihil bello intactum relinquerent multiplicique capta praeda rediret.
64.5. Operations in the Volscian country, too, were very successful, thanks both to the general and to his soldiers. First, there was a pitched battle in the open field, with enormous numbers killed and wounded on both sides.
64.5. et in Uolscis res publica egregie gesta cum ducis tum militum opera. primum aequo campo signis conlatis pugnatum, ingenti caede utrimque, plurimo sanguine;
64.6. The Romans indeed, whose fewness made them feel their loss more sensibly, would have fallen back, had it not been for a salutary falsehood told by the consul, who shouted that the enemy were running away on the other wing, and so aroused the spirits of his troops.
64.6. et Romani, quia paucitas damno sentiendo propior erat, gradum rettulissent, ni salubri mendacio consul fugere hostes ab cornu altero clamitans concitasset aciem. impetu facto dum se putant uincere uicere.
64.7. The Romans charged and, believing themselves to be conquering, they conquered. The consul feared lest by pressing the enemy too hard he might cause a renewal of the struggle.
64.7. consul metuens ne nimis instando renouaret certamen, signum receptui dedit.
64.8. He therefore gave the signal for the recall. For a few days both sides rested, as if they had tacitly agreed on a truce. Meanwhile a great force of men came in from all their tribes to the camp of the Volsci and Aequi.
64.8. intercessere pauci dies, uelut tacitis indutiis utrimque quiete sumpta, per quos ingens uis hominum ex omnibus Uolscis Aequisque populis in castra uenit, haud dubitans si senserint Romanos nocte abituros.
64.9. They made no question but that the Romans, if they had perceived them, would retreat in the night, and accordingly at about the third watch they came to attack the camp. Quinctius stilled the tumult which the sudden alarm had raised, and bidding the soldiers remain quietly in their tents, led out a cohort of Hernici to an outpost, and mounting trumpeters and buglers upon horses, ordered them to blow their instruments in front of the rampart and keep the enemy in suspense till daybreak.
64.9. itaque tertia fere uigilia ad castra oppugnanda ueniunt. Quinctius sedato tumultu quem terror subitus exciuerat, cum manere in tentoriis quietum militem iussisset, Hernicorum cohortem in stationem educit, cornicines tubicinesque in equos impositos canere ante uallum iubet sollicitumque hostem ad lucem tenere.
64.11. For the remainder of the night all was so peaceful in camp that the Romans were even able to sleep. But the Volsci, beholding armed foot-soldiers, whom they supposed to be more numerous than they were, and to be Romans; and hearing the stamping and neighing of the horses, which were infuriated not only at finding unaccustomed riders on their backs, but also by the blare of the trumpets, were kept on the alert in anticipation of an attack.
64.11. reliquum noctis adeo tranquilla omnia in castris fuere ut somni quoque Romanis copia esset. Uolscos species armatorum peditum, quos et plures esse et Romanos putabant, fremitus hinnitusque equorum, qui et insueto sedente equite et insuper aures agitante sonitu saeuiebant, intentos uelut ad impetum hostium tenuit.
65.1. As soon as it was light, the Romans, who were fresh and had enjoyed a good sleep, were led out into line of battle.
65.1. ubi inluxit, Romanus integer satiatusque somno productus in aciem fessum stando et uigiliis Uolscum primo impetu perculit;
65.2. The Volsci, weary from standing and from loss of sleep, were driven back at the first assault; though it was rather a retreat than a rout, for behind them were hills, to which, under cover of the first line, they withdrew safely and in good order. The consul ordered a halt when his army reached rising ground. The infantry could hardly be restrained, noisily demanding permission to press on after the fleeing enemy.
65.2. quamquam cessere magis quam pulsi hostes sunt, quia ab tergo erant cliui in quos post principia integris ordinibus tutus receptus fuit. consul ubi ad iniquum locum uentum est, sistit aciem. miles aegre teneri, clamare et poscere ut perculsis instare liceat.
65.3. Still more ardent were the cavalry. They swarmed about the general, and shouted that they were going on before the standards. While the consul was hesitating, feeling certain of the valour of his troops but doubtful of the ground, the men cried out that they were going, and instantly made good their word. Planting their spears in the ground, that they might be the lighter for the ascent, they went up at a run.
65.3. ferocius agunt equites; circumfusi duci uociferantur se ante signa ituros. dum cunctatur consul uirtute militum fretus, loco parum fidens, conclamant se ituros clamoremque res est secuta. fixis in terram pilis quo leuiores ardua euaderent, cursu subeunt.
65.4. The Volsci, having discharged their javelins at the first onset, picked up the stones which lay about under their feet, and flung them at their enemies as they mounted. Confused by this rain of missiles from above, the left wing of the Romans was nearly overwhelmed, and had already begun to retreat, when the consul, reproaching them at once with rashness and with cowardice, succeeded in shaming them out of their fear.
65.4. Uolscus effusis ad primum impetum missilibus telis, saxa obiacentia pedibus ingerit in subeuntes, turbatosque ictibus crebris urget ex superiore loco. sic prope oneratum est sinistrum Romanis cornu, ni referentibus iam gradum consul increpando simul temeritatem, simul ignauiam, pudore metum excussisset.
65.5. First they made a resolute stand; then, after holding their ground and returning blow for blow, they even dared to press forward and, renewing their cheers, set their line in motion; then with another rush they struggled upward and scaled the height; and they were just emerging upon the summit of the ridge, when the enemy turned and fled.
65.5. restitere primo obstinatis animis; deinde ut obtinentes locum uim <pro ui> referebant, audent ultro gradum inferre et clamore renouato commouent aciem; tum rursus impetu capto enituntur atque exsuperant iniquitatem loci.
65.6. Running at full speed, and almost in one body, the pursued and the pursuers reached the Volscian camp, which was captured in the panic. Those of the Volsci who succeeded in escaping made for Antium, and to Antium marched the Roman army also.
65.6. iam prope erat ut in summum cliui iugum euaderent cum terga hostes dedere, effusoque cursu paene agmine uno fugientes sequentesque castris incidere. in eo pauore castra capiuntur: qui Uolscorum effugere potuerunt, Antium petunt.
65.7. After a blockade of a few days the place surrendered; the besiegers had not delivered any new attack, but the Volsci had lost heart from the moment of their unsuccessful battle and the capture of their camp.
65.7. Antium et Romanus exercitus ductus. paucos circumsessum dies deditur, nulla oppugnantium noua ui, sed quod iam inde ab infelici pugna castrisque amissis ceciderant animi.