25.8. There the enterprise was put over for a year, and it was decreed that no council should convene before that date, though the Veientes complained —without effect —that Veii was threatened with the same destruction as had overtaken Fidenae.
25.8. prolatae in annum res, decretoque cautum ne quod ante concilium fieret, nequiquam Veiente populo querente eandem qua Fidenae deletae sint imminere Veiis fortunam.
25.9. Meanwhile in Rome the leaders of the plebs, who had now for a long time, while there was peace with other nations, been thwarted in their hopes of attaining to greater honours, began to appoint meetings at the houses of the plebeian tribunes.
25.9. Romae principes plebis, iam diu nequiquam imminentes spei maioris honoris dum foris otium esset, coetus indicere in domos tribunorum plebis;
25.10. There they considered their plans in secret; they complained that they were held in such contempt by the plebs that although military tribunes with consular powers had been elected for so many years, no plebeian had ever been admitted to that office.
25.10. ibi secreta consilia agitare; queri se a plebe adeo spretos, ut cum per tot annos tribuni militum consulari potestate creentur, nulli unquam plebeio ad eum honorem aditus fuerit.
25.11. Their ancestors had shown great foresight in providing that no patrician should be eligible for the plebeian magistracies; otherwise they would have been obliged to have patricians as tribunes of the plebs, so contemptible did they appear, even to their own class, being no less despised by the commons than by the nobles.
25.11. providisse suos maiores, qui caverint ne cui patricio plebeii magistratus paterent; aut patricios habendos fuisse tribunos plebi; adeo se suis etiam sordere nec a plebe minus quam a patribus contemni.
25.12. Others exonerated the plebs and threw the blame upon the patricians: it was owing to their artful canvassing that the plebeians found the road to office blocked; if the plebs might have a breathing-spell from the mingled prayers and menaces of the nobles, they would think of their friends when they went to vote, and to the protection they had already won would add authority.
25.12. purgare plebem, culpam in patres vertere: eorum ambitione artibusque fieri ut obsaeptum plebi sit ad honorem iter; si plebi respirare ab eorum mixtis precibus minisque liceat, memorem eam suorum inituram suffragia esse et parto auxilio imperium quoque adscituram.
25.13. It was resolved in order to do away with canvassing, that the tribunes should propose a law forbidding anyone to whiten his toga, for the purpose of announcing himself a candidate. This may now appear a trivial thing and one scarcely to be considered seriously, but at that time it kindled a furious struggle between the patricians and the plebs.
25.13. tollendae ambitionis causa tribunos legem promulgare ne cui album in vestimentum addere petitionis causa liceret. nunc res et vix serio agenda videri possit, quae tunc ingenti certamine patres ac plebem accendit.
25.14. Yet the tribunes prevailed and carried their law; and it was clear that the plebeians in their irritated mood would support the men of their own order. That they might not be at liberty to do so, the senate decreed that consuls should be elected.
25.14. tamen tribuni ut legem perferrent; apparebatque inritatis animis plebem ad suos studia inclinaturam. ne libera essent, senatus consultum factum est ut consularia comitia haberentur.
26.1. The reason alleged was a sudden outbreak B..431 of hostilities on the part of the Aequi and Volsci, which the Latins and the Hernici had reported.
26.1. causa fuit, quem ab Aequis et Volscis Latini atque Hernici nuntiarant.
26.2. Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus, son of Lucius —the same who is given the added surname Poenus, — and Gnaeus Julius Mento were made consuls. Nor was the fear of war deferred.
26.2. T. Quinctius L. f. Cincinnatus—eidem et Poeno cognomen additur—et Cn. Iulius Mento consules facti.
26.3. After a levy, held under a lex sacrata which was their most effective means of collecting soldiers, strong armies marched out from both nations and met on Algidus, where the Aequi encamped in one place and the Volsci in another, and their generals took more pains than ever before to intrench, and to drill their men. For this reason the report occasioned the more dismay in Rome.
26.3. ultra terror belli est dilatus. sacrata, quae maxima apud eos vis cogendae militiae erat, dilectu habito utrimque utrimnque validi exercitus profecti in Algidum convenere, ibique seorsum Aequi, seorsum Volsci castra communivere, intentiorque quam unquam ante muniendi exercendique militem cura ducibus erat.
26.5. The senate resolved that a dictator should be appointed, since, though often beaten, those nations had renewed the war with greater efforts than at any previous time, and a considerable proportion of the young Romans had been carried off by the plague.
26.5. plus nuntii terroris Romam attulere. dictatorem dici placuit, quia etsi saepe victi populi maiore tamen conatu quam alias unquam rebellarant, et aliquantum Romanae iuventutis morbo absumptum erat.
26.6. Above all, men were frightened by the wrong-headedness of the consuls, their want of harmony between themselves, and their opposition to each other in all their plans. Some writers say that these consuls were defeated on Algidus, and that this was the reason of the dictator's being named.
26.6. omnia pravitas consulum discordiaque inter ipsos et certamina in consiliis omnibus terrebant. qui male pugnatum ab his consulibus in Algido auctores sint eamque causam dictatoris creandi fuisse.
26.7. Thus much is clear: though they might differ in other matters, they were agreed on one thing, to oppose the wishes of the Fathers for the appointment of a dictator; until, as the reports grew more and more alarming, and the consuls refused to be guided by the senate, Quintus Servilius Priscus, a man who had filled with distinction the highest offices, cried out, “To you, tribunes of the plebs, since matters ” “have come to an extremity, the senate appeals, that in this great national crisis you may compel the consuls, by virtue of your authority, to name a dictator.”
26.7. satis constat ad alia discordes in uno adversus patrum voluntatem consensisse ne dicerent dictatorem, donec donee cum alia aliis terribiliora adferrentur nec in auctoritate senatus consules essent, Q. Servilius Priscus, summis honoribus egregie usus, Vos inquit, tribuni plebis, quoniam ad extrema ventum est, senatus appellat ut in tanto discrimine rei publicae dictatorem dicere consules pro potestate vestra cogatis.
26.9. Hearing this the tribunes felt that an opportunity had come for increasing their power; they conferred apart, and then announced, in behalf of the college, that they were resolved that the consuls should obey the senate; if they persisted further to oppose the unanimous opinion of that most honourable order, they should command them to be put in prison. The consuls preferred to be defeated by the tribunes rather than by the senate.
26.9. voce audita occasionem oblatam rati tribuni augendae potestatis secedunt proque collegio pronuntiant placere consules senatui dicto audientes esse; si adversus consensum amplissimi ordinis ultra tendant, in vincla se duci eos iussuros.
26.10. They declared that the senators had betrayed the rights of the highest office in the state and had ignominiously surrendered the consulship to the tribunician power, since apparently it was possible for the consuls to be subjected to the official compulsion of a tribune, and even —what could a private citizen fear more than that? —be carried off to gaol.
26.10. ab tribunis quam ab senatu vinci maluerunt, proditum a patribus summi imperii ius datumque sub iugum tribuniciae potestati consulatum memorantes, si quidem cogi aliquid pro potestate ab tribuno consules et—quo quid ulterius private timendum foret?—in vincla etiam duci possent.
26.11. It was determined by lot —for the colleagues had not been able to agree even about this —that Titus Quinctius should name the dictator. He appointed Aulus Postumius Tubertus, his father-in-law, a man of the sternest authority; and by him Lucius Julius was chosen master of the horse. At the same time a levy was proclaimed and a cessation of legal business, and it was ordered that nothing else should be done in all the City but prepare for war.
26.11. , ut dictatorem diceret—nam ne id quidem inter collegas convenerat — T. Quinctio evenit. A. Postumium Tubertum, socerum suum, severissimi imperii virum, dictatorem dixit; ab eo L. Iulius magister equitum est dictus.
26.12. The examination of those who claimed exemption from military service was put over till after the war, and so even those whose cases were uncertain were disposed to give in their names. Men were required also of the Hernici and the Latins, and in both instances the dictator was zealously obeyed.
26.12. simul edicitur et iustitium, neque aliud tota urbe agi quam bellum apparari. vacantium militiae munere post bellum differtur; ita dubii quoque inclinant ad nomina danda. Hernicis Latinisque milites imperati; utrimque enixe oboeditum dictatori est.
27.1. These measures were all carried out with great dispatch. Gnaeus Julius the consul was left behind to protect the city; and Lucius Julius, the master of the horse, to meet the sudden demands which arise in war, that the troops might not be hampered in camp by the want of anything that they might need. The dictator, repeating the words after Aulus Cornelius the pontifex maximus, vowed to celebrate great games if he succeeded in quelling the outbreak, and, dividing his army with the consul Quinctius, set out from Rome and came to the enemy.
27.1. omnia celeritate ingenti acta; relictoque Cn. Iulio consule ad praesidium urbis et L. iulio lulio magistro equitum ad subita belli ministeria, ne qua res qua eguissent in castris moraretur, dictator praeeunte A. Cornelio pontifice maximo ludos magnos tumultus causa vovit, profectusque ab urbe diviso cum Quinctio consule exercitu ad hostes pervenit.
27.3. Seeing that the opposing forces occupied two camps with a little space between, the Roman generals followed their example and encamped about a mile from the enemy, the dictator nearer to Tusculum and the consul to Lanuvium.
27.3. bina castra hostium parvo inter se spatio distantia viderant, ipsi quoque mille ferme passus ab hoste dictator Tusculo, consul Lanuvio propiorem locum castris ceperunt.
27.4. Thus the four armies in their four intrenchments had in their midst a field of sufficient extent not merely for small preliminary skirmishes but even for drawing up lines of battle on both sides.
27.4. quattuor exercitus totidem munimenta planitiem in medio non parvis modo excursionibus ad proelia, sed vel ad explicandas utrimque acies satis patentem habebant.
27.5. Nor from the moment the Romans had pitched their camp near that of the enemy did they once cease skirmishing; and the dictator was well content that his men should match their strength against their adversaries, and by trying the outcome of these contests come, little by little, to count upon a general victory.
27.5. ex quo castris castra conlata sunt cessatum a levibus proeliis est, facile patiente dictatore conferendo vires spem universae victoriae temptato paulatim eventu certaminum suos praecipere.
27.6. The enemy in consequence abandoned all hope of success in a regular battle and attacked the consul's camp at night, committing their cause to the hazard of a dangerous enterprise. The shout which suddenly broke out aroused not only the consul's sentries and after them his entire army, but the dictator as well.
27.6. hostes nulla in proelio iusto relicta spe, noctu adorti castra consulis rem in casum ancipitis eventus committunt. subito ortus non consulis modo vigiles, exercitum deinde omnem, sed dictatorem quoque ex somno excivit.
27.7. When circumstances required instant action, the consul proved to be wanting neither in resolution nor in judgment. With a part of his soldiers he reinforced the guards at the gates; with a part he lined the palisade. In the other camp, with the dictator, there was less confusion and a correspondingly clearer perception what was needful to be done. Reinforcements were immediately sent to the consul's camp, under Spurius Postumius Albus the lieutenant: the dictator himself, taking a part of his forces, marched by a slight detour to a place absolutely screened from the fighting, that he might thence strike the enemy unawares as he faced the other way.
27.7. praesenti ope res egebant, consul nec animo defecit nec consilio: pars militum portarum stationes firmant, pars corona 8 vallum cingunt. alteris apud dictatorem castris quo minus tumultus est, eo plus animadvertitur quid opus facto sit. extemplo ad castra subsidium, cui Sp. Postumius Albus legatus praeficitur: ipse parte copiarum parvo circuitu locum maxime secretum ab tumultu petit unde ex necopinato aversum hostem invadat. Q. Sulpicium legatum praeficit castris; M. Fabio legato adsignat equites, nec ante lucem movere iubet manum inter nocturnos tumultus moderatu difficilem., quae vel alius imperator prudens et impiger in tali re praeciperet ageretque, praecipit ordine atque agit;
27.9. The lieutenant Quintus Sulpicius he put in charge of the camp; to the lieutenant Marcus Fabius he assigned the cavalry, but ordered him not to move his command till daybreak, as it would be hard to control in the confusion of the night.
27.9. illud eximium consilii animique specimen et neutiquam volgatae laudis, quod ultro ad oppugnanda castra hostium, unde maiore agmine profectos exploratum fuerat, M. Geganium cum cohortibus delectis misit.
27.10. Everything that any wise and active general could have commanded and carried out in such a situation was duly commanded and carried out by him; but an unusual proof of judgment and daring and one which reflects no ordinary credit upon him was this, that he actually attacked the enemy's camp (from which, as he ascertained, they had marched out with more than half their troops), dispatching Marcus Geganius with some chosen cohorts on that service.
27.10. postquam intentos homines in eventum periculi alieni pro se incautos neglectis vigiliis stationibusque est adortus, prius paene cepit castra quam oppugnari hostes satis scirent.
27.11. This officer found his foes absorbed in the issue of the dangerous work undertaken by their fellows, and with no thought for themselves, neglecting their sentinels and outguards; he attacked them, captured their camp almost before they fully realized that they were assailed, and sent up a prearranged signal of smoke, on seeing which the dictator cried out that the enemy's camp was taken and bade spread the news. By this time the day was breaking and everything could be seen. Fabius had delivered a charge with his cavalry; the consul had made a sally from the camp against the enemy, who were already wavering;
27.11. fumo, ut convenerat, datum signum ubi conspectum ab dictatore est, exclamat capta hostium castra nuntiarique passim iubet. iam lucescebat omniaque sub oculis erant. Fabius cum equitatu impetum dederat et consul eruptionem e castris in trepidos iam hostes fecerat;
28.2. while the dictator, on the other side of the field, attacking the supports and the second line, had fallen upon the foe from every side, as they wheeled about to meet the wild shouts and sudden onsets, with his victorious foot and horse.
28.2. dictator autem parte altera subsidia et secundam aciem adortus circumagenti se ad dissonos clamores ac subitos tumultus hosti undique obiecerat victorem peditem equitemque.
28.3. Accordingly, being now hemmed in on every side, the enemy would have suffered to a man the penalty of their rebellion, had not Vettius Messius, a Volscian more distinguished by his deeds than by his birth, called out in a clear voice to his men, who were already crowding together in a circle, “Are you going to offer yourselves up here to the weapons of the enemy, defenceless and unavenged?”
28.3. igitur iam in medio ad unum omnes poenas rebellionis dedissent, ni Vettius Messius ex Volscis, nobilior vir factis quam genere, iam orbem volventes suos increpans clara voce Hic praebituri inquit, vos telis hostium estis indefensi, inulti?
28.4. “To what end then are you armed, or why without provocation did you make war, turbulent in peace and sluggards in the field? What hope is there while you stand here? Do you think that some god will protect you and deliver you from this plight?”
28.4. igitur arma habetis aut quid ultro bellum intulistis, in otio tumultuosi, in bello segnes? hic stantibus spei est? An deum aliquem protecturum vos rapturumque hinc putatis? via facienda est.
28.5. “It is your swords must make a way for you! Come, where you see me go before, there you must follow, if you would look on homes, parents, wives and children! It is not a wall or rampart that blocks your path, but armed men like yourselves. In courage you are their equals; in necessity, which is the last and chiefest weapon, you are the better men.”
28.5. , qua me praegressum videritis, agite, qui visuri domos parentes coniuges liberos estis, ite mecum! murus nec vallum sed armati armatis obstant. pares, necessitate, quae ultimum ac maximum telum est, superiores estis.
28.6. So he spoke, and acted on the word. Renewing their shouts they followed after, and hurled themselves against the Romans where the cohorts of Postumius Albus had confronted them. And they forced the victors to give ground, until the dictator came up, as his men were already falling back, and the fighting all centred on that spot.
28.6. locutum exsequentemque dicta redintegrato clamore secuti dant impressionem qua Postumius Albus cohortes obiecerat; et moverunt victorem, donec done dictator pedem iam referentibus suis advenit, eoque omne proelium versum est.
28.7. On one single warrior, Messius, hung the fortunes of the enemy. Many were the wounds on either side, and great was the slaughter everywhere. Now even the Roman leaders were bleeding as they fought.
28.7. viro Messio fortuna hostium innititur. utrimque volnera, multa passim caedes est. ne duces quidem Romani incruenti pugnant.
28.8. Only Postumius left the battle, struck by a stone that broke his head. A wounded shoulder could not drive the dictator from so critical a fight; nor would Fabius retire for a thigh almost pinned to his horse; nor the consul for an arm that was hewn away.
28.8. Postumius ictus saxo perfracto capite acie excessit, non dictatorem umerus volneratus, non Fabium prope adfixum equo femur, non bracchium bracehium abscisum consulem ex tam ancipiti proelio submovit.
29.1. Messius pressed on with a band of courageous youths over the slain bodies of his enemies, and reached the Volscian camp, which had not yet been taken; and on that point the entire battle converged.
29.1. impetus per stratos caede hostes cum globo fortissimorum iuvenum extulit ad castra Volscorum, quae nondum capta erant. omnis acies inclinatur.
29.2. The consul, after pursuing his opponents clear up to the rampart, assailed the camp itself and the palisade; and thither from another part of the field the dictator brought up his troops.
29.2. effusos usque ad vallum persecutus ipsa castra vallumque adgreditur; eodem et dictator alia parte copias admovet.
29.3. The assault was no less vigorous than the battle had been. They say that the consul even cast his standard into the stockade, to make his men the more eager in the charge, and that in seeking to recover it they made the first breach. The dictator too had breached the rampart and had already carried the fighting into the camp.
29.3. segnior oppugnatio est quam pugna fuerat. signum quoque intra vallum iniecisse ferunt, quo milites acrius subirent, repetendoque signo primam impressionem factam. dictator proruto vallo iam in castra proelium intulerat.
29.4. Then the enemy began on every hand to throw down their arms and surrender. Finally the camp itself was captured, and the enemy were all sold into slavery, except the senators. A portion of the booty was restored to the Latins and the Hernici, on their identifying it as their own; a part was sold at auction by the dictator; who then left the consul in command of the camp and returning himself in triumph to the City laid down his office.
29.4. abici passim arma ac dedi hostes coepti, castrisque et his captis hostes praeter senatores omnes venum dati sunt. pars sua cognoscentibus Latinis atque Hernicis reddita, partem sub hasta dictator vendidit; praepositoque consule castris ipse triumphans invectus urbem dictatura se abdicavit.
29.5. The memory of the noble dictatorship assumes a sombre hue in a tradition that Aulus Postumius' son, who, tempted by an opportunity of fighting to advantage, had left his post unbidden, was in the hour of his victory beheaded by his father's orders.
29.5. dictaturae tristem memoriam faciunt, qui filium ab A. Postumio, quod occasione bene pugnandi captus iniussu decesserit praesidio, victorem securi percussum tradunt.
29.6. One is loath to believe this story, and the diversity of opinion allows one to reject it. It is an indication of its falsity that we speak of Manlian, not Postumian discipline, whereas he who had first established so rigorous a precedent would himself have received that notorious stigma of cruelty. Besides, Manlius was given the surname Imperiosus — “the Despotic” —while Postumius received no such grim distinction.
29.6. libet credere, et licet in variis opinionibus; et argumento est, quod imperia Manliana, non Postumiana appellata sunt, cum qui prior auctor tam saevi exempli foret, occupaturus insignem titulum crudelitatis fuerit. quoque Manlio cognomen inditum; Postumius nulla tristi nota est insignitus.
29.7. Gnaeus Julius the consul dedicated the temple of Apollo in the absence of his colleague, without drawing lots. Quinctius resented this, when he had dismissed his army and returned to the City; but his complaint of it in the senate was without effect.
29.7. Cn. Julius consul aedem Apollinis absente collega sine sorte dedicavit. id passus Quinctius cum dimisso exercitu in urbem redisset, nequiquam in senatu est conquestus.
29.8. To the history of a year famous for its great events, is appended a statement —as though the incident was then regarded as of no importance to the Roman state-that the Carthaginians, destined to be such mighty enemies, then for the first time sent over an army into Sicily to assist one of the factions in the domestic quarrels of the Sicilians.
29.8. magnis rebus anno additur nihil tum ad rem Romanam pertinere visum, quod Carthaginienses, tanti hostes futuri, tum primum per seditiones Siculorum ad partis alterius auxilium in Siciliam exercitum traiecere.
30.1. An effort was made in the City by the B.C. tribunes of the plebs to procure the election of military tribunes with consular powers, but it was unsuccessful. Lucius Papirius Crassus and Lucius Julius were chosen consuls. The Aequi, through their envoys, sought a treaty from the senate.
30.1. in urbe ab tribunis plebis ut tribuni militum consulari potestate crearentur nec obtineri potuit. fiunt L. Papirius Crassus L. Iulius. Aequorum legati foedus ab senatu cum petissent et pro foedere deditio ostentaretur, indutias annorum octo impetraverunt:
30.2. Instead of granting a treaty, the senate suggested that they surrender; but they asked and obtained a truce for eight years. The Volscian commonwealth, in addition to the disaster it had suffered on Algidus, had become involved in quarrels and seditions, in consequence of an obstinate struggle between the advocates of peace and those of war.
30.2. Volscorum res super acceptam in Algido cladem pertinaci certamine inter pacis bellique auctores in iurgia et seditiones versa: undique otium fuit Romanis.
30.3. The Romans everywhere enjoyed peace. A law concerning the valuation of fines was most welcome to the people.
30.3. de multarum aestimatione pergratam populo cum ab tribunis parari consules unius ex collegio proditione excepissent, ipsi praeoccupaverunt ferre.
30.4. Having learned through the treachery of a member of the college that the tribunes were drawing one up, the consuls anticipated their action and themselves proposed it. The next consuls were Lucius Sergius Fidenas (for the second time) and Hostius Lucretius Tricipitinus.
30.4. L. Sergius Fidenas iterum Hostius Lucretius Tricipitinus. dignum dictu actum his consulibus. eos consules A. Cornelius Cossus T. Quinctius Poenus iterum.
30.5. Nothing noteworthy was done this year. They were succeeded in the consulship by Aulus Cornelius Cossus and Titus Quinctius Poenus, who was elected for the second time.
30.5. Veientes in agrum Romanum excursiones fecerunt. fuit quosdam ex Fidenatium iuventute participes eius populationis fuisse, cognitioque eius rei L. Sergio et Q. Servilio et Mam.
30.6. The Veientes made inroads into Roman territory. It was rumoured that certain young men of Fidenae had shared in the pillaging. The investigation of this report was intrusted to Lucius Sergius, Quintus Servilius, and Mamercus Aemilius; and certain men were banished to Ostia, because it was not clear why they had been away from Fidenae during those days.
30.6. Aemilio permissa. Ostiam relegati, quod cur per eos dies a Fidenis afuissent parum constabat. additus numerus agerque iis bello interemptorum adsignatus.
30.7. A number of settlers were added to the colony, and land was assigned them which had belonged to men who had fallen in the war. A drought that year caused great suffering. Not only did the skies provide too little rain, but the earth as well was deficient in native moisture and could hardly supply the perennial streams.
30.7. eo anno plurimum laboratum est, nec caelestes modo defuerunt aquae sed terra quoque ingenito umore egens vix ad perennes suffecit amnes alibi aquarum circa torridos fontes rivosque stragem siti pecorum morientium morientum dedit; scabie alia absumpta; volgatique contactu in homines morbi. primo in agrestes ingruerant servitiaque; urbs deinde impletur.
30.9. In some cases the failure of the sources caused the dry springs and brooks to be lined with cattle perishing of thirst; others were carried off by a mange, and their diseases were by contact communicated to mankind. At first they attacked country people and slaves; then the City was infected. And not only were men's bodies smitten by the plague, but a horde of superstitions, mostly foreign, took possession of their minds, as the class of men who find their profit in superstition-ridden souls introduced strange sacrificial rites into their homes, pretending to be seers;
30.9. corpora modo adfecta tabo, sed animos quoque multiplex religio et pleraque externa invasit irvasit, novos ritus sacrificandi vaticinando inferentibus in domos, quibus quaestui sunt capti superstitione animi, donec publicus iam pudor ad primores civitatis pervenit cernentes in omnibus vicis sacellisque peregrina atque insolita piacula pacis deum exposcendae.
30.11. until the public shame finally reached the leading citizens, as they beheld in every street and chapel outlandish and unfamiliar sacrifices being offered up to appease Heaven's anger.
30.11. inde negotium aedilibus ut animadverterent ne qui nisi Romani di neu quo alio more quam patrio colerentur.
30.12. The aediles were then commissioned to see to it that none but Roman gods should be worshipped, nor in any but the ancestral way. Revenge on the men of Veii was postponed till the following year, when Gaius Servilius Ahala and Lucius Papirius Mugillanus were consuls.
30.12. adversus Veientes in insequentem annum, C. Servilium Ahalam L. Papirium Mugillanum consules, dilatae sunt.
30.13. Even then a religious scruple prevented the immediate declaration of war and dispatch of armies; they resolved that fetials must first be sent to require restitution.
30.13. quoque ne confestim bellum indiceretur neve exercitus mitterentur religio obstitit; fetiales prius mittendos ad res repetendas censuere.
30.14. Not long before there had been a battle with the Veientes near Nomentum and Fidenae, and this had been followed not by peace but by a truce. Its time had now run out, and indeed the enemy had begun to fight again before its expiration; nevertheless fetials were sent; yet their words, when they sought reparation after taking the customary oath, were not attended to.
30.14. Veientibus nuper acie dimicatum ad Nomentum et Fidenas fuerat, indutiaeque inde, non pax facta, quarum et dies exierat et ante diem rebellaverant; missi tamen fetiales; nec eorum, cum more patrum iurati repeterent res, verba sunt audita.
30.15. A dispute then arose whether war should be declared by command of the people, or whether a senatorial decree was enough. The tribunes prevailed, by threatening to hinder the levy, and forced the consul Quinctius to refer the question of war to the people.
30.15. inde fuit utrum populi iussu indiceretur bellum an satis esset senatus consultum. tribuni, denuntiando impedituros se dilectum, ut Quinctius consul de bello ad populum ferret. centuriae iussere.
30.16. All the centuries voted for it. In this respect also the plebs had the better, that they made good their wish that consuls should not be elected for the following year.
30.16. eo quoque plebs superior fuit, quod tenuit ne consules in proximum annum crearentur.
31.1. Four military tribunes with consular powers were elected, Titus Quinctius Poenus, who had just been consul, Gaius Furius, Marcus Postumius, and Aulus Cornelius Cossus.
31.1. militum consulari potestate quattuor creati sunt, T. Quinctius Poenus ex consulatu C. Furius M. Postumius A. Cornelius Cossus.
31.2. Of these, Cossus had charge of the City; the three others held a levy and marching against Veii gave a demonstration how unprofitable it was in war to parcel out authority. By pursuing each his own counsels, one having this opinion, another that, they gave the enemy room to take them at a disadvantage;
31.2. his Cossus praefuit urbi, tres dilectu habito profecti sunt Veios documentoque fuere quam plurium imperium bello inutile esset. ad sua quisque consilia, cum aliud alii videretur, aperuerunt ad occasionem locum hosti;
31.3. for their army was confused when some bade sound the charge, while others commanded the recall; and at this favourable moment the Veientes fell upon them. The camp, which was close by, received the demoralized and fleeing men, and so they suffered more disgrace than actual harm.
31.3. incertam namque aciem, signum aliis dari, receptui aliis cani iubentibus, invasere opportune Veientes. propinqua turbatos ac terga dantes accepere;
31.4. The nation was filled with grief, for it was not used to being conquered; disgusted with the tribunes, people demanded a dictator: therein, they said, lay the hope of the state. And when they seemed likely to be thwarted in that also, by a scrupulous feeling that no one but a consul could name a dictator, the augurs were consulted and removed the impediment.
31.4. plus itaque ignominiae quam cladis est acceptum. civitas fuit vinci insueta; odisse tribunos, poscere dictatorem: in eo verti spes civitatis. cum ibi quoque religio obstaret ne non posset nisi ab consule dici dictator, augures consulti eam religionem exemere.
31.5. Aulus Cornelius named as dictator Mamercus Aemilius and was himself appointed by Mamercus master of the horse, so true is it that when the fortune of the state required real worth, the animadversion of the censor could by no means prevent men's seeking a director of their affairs in a house undeservedly stigmatized.
31.5. A. Cornelius dictatorem Mam. Aemilium dixit et ipse ab eo magister equitum est dictus; adeo, simul fortuna civitatis virtute vera eguit, nihil censoria animadversio effecit quo minus regimen rerum ex notata indigne domo peteretur.
31.6. The Veientes, elated by their success, dispatched envoys round about to the peoples of Etruria, boasting that they had routed three Roman commanders in one fight. Nevertheless they obtained no general support from the league, though they attracted volunteers from all quarters by the prospect of booty.
31.6. Veientes re secunda elati missis circum Etruriae populos legatis iactando tres duces Romanos ab se uno proelio fusos, cum tamen nullam publici consilii societatem movissent, voluntarios undique ad spem praedae adsciverunt.
31.7. Only the people of Fidenae voted to renew the war; and, as though it were forbidden to commence war without a crime, as before in the blood of the ambassadors, so now they imbued their swords in that of the new settlers, and joined the men of Veii.
31.7. Fidenatium populo rebellare placuit; et tamquam nisi ab scelere bellum ordiri nefas esset, sicut legatorum ante, ita tum novorum colonorum caede imbutis armis Veientibus sese coniungunt.
31.8. Consultations followed between the leaders of the two nations whether they should take Veii or Fidenae for the headquarters of their campaign. Fidenae seemed the fitter; and accordingly the Veientes crossed the Tiber and transferred the war to Fidenae.
31.8. inde principes duorum populorum Veios an Fidenas sedem belli caperent. Fidenae visae opportuniores; itaque traiecto Tiberi Veientes Fidenas transtulerunt bellum.
31.9. At Rome there was a wild alarm. The troops were recalled from Veii, though even their spirits were much daunted in consequence of their failure, and encamped before the Colline Gate. Armed men were disposed along the walls, a cessation of the courts was proclaimed in the Forum, the shops were closed, and everything assumed more the look of a camp than of a city. The dictator, sending heralds this way and that through the streets, summoned the frightened citizens to an assembly, where he rebuked them for possessing hearts so easily dismayed by trivial fluctuations of fortune that on sustaining a slight reverse —and that not due to the valour of the enemy or the cowardice of the Roman army, but to a disagreement among their generals —they were seized with dread of the Veientine enemy whom they had six times defeated, and of Fidenae which they had captured almost more often than they had attacked it.
31.9. Romae terror ingens erat. exercitu a Veiis, eoque ipso ab re male gesta perculso castra locantur ante portam Collinam, et in muris armati dispositi, et iustitium in foro tabernaeque clausae fiuntque omnia castris quam urbi similiora, cum trepidam civitatem praeconibus per vicos dimissis dictator ad contionem advocatam increpuit quod animos ex tam levibus momentis fortunae suspensos gererent ut parva iactura accepta, quae ipsa non virtute hostium nec ignavia Romani exercitus sed discordia imperatorum accepta sit, Veientem hostem sexiens victum pertimescant Fidenasque prope saepius captas quam oppugnatas.
32.3. Both the Romans and their enemies were the same as they had been for so many generations; they had the same courage, the same bodily vigour, the same weapons; he was himself the same dictator Mamercus Aemilius who had formerly put to flight the armies of the Veientes and the Fidenates, with the Faliscans added, before Nomentum;
32.3. et Romanos et hostes esse qui per tot saecula fuerint; eosdem animos, easdem corporis vires, eadem arma gerere; se quoque eundem dictatorem Mam. Aemilium esse qui antea Veientium Fidenatiumque adiunctis Faliscis ad Nomentum exercitus fuderit, et magistrum equitum A.
32.4. and, as master of the horse, Aulus Cornelius would be the same man in battle that he had shown himself in the former war, when as military tribune he had slain Lars Tolumnius, king of the Veientes, in full sight of both armies, and had borne the spoils of honour to the temple of Jupiter Feretrius.
32.4. Cornelium eundem in acie fore qui priore bello tribunus militum, Larte Tolumnio rege Veientium in conspectu duorum exercituum occiso, spolia opima Iovis Feretri templo intulerit.
32.5. Let them remember then that theirs were the triumphs, theirs the spoils, theirs the victory; while their enemies were stained with the crime of putting envoys to death against the law of nations, with the slaughter in time of peace of settlers at Fidenae, with the broken truce, with rebelling unsuccessfully for the seventh time.
32.5. memores secum triumphos, secum spolia, secum victoriam esse, cum hostibus scelus legatorum contra ius gentium interfectorum, caedem in pace Fidenatium colonorum, indutias ruptas, septimam infelicem defectionem, arma caperent.
32.6. Let them think of these things and arm. When once they should have pitched their camp near the camp of the enemy, he was very confident the dastardly foe would not long rejoice over the humiliation of a Roman army; but that the Roman People would perceive how much better those men had served the state who had named him for the third time dictator, than had those who, because he had torn from the censorship its tyrannical powers, had fixed a stigma upon his second dictatorship.
32.6. castra castris coniunxissent, satis confidere nec sceleratissimis hostibus diuturnum ex ignominia exercitus Romani gaudium fore, et populum Romanum intellecturum quanto melius de re publica meriti sint qui se dictatorem tertium dixerint quam qui ob ereptum censurae regnum labem secundae dictaturae suae imposuerint.
32.8. Then, having offered vows to the gods, he marched out and encamped a mile and a half this side of Fidenae, protected on his right by mountains, on his left by the river Tiber.
32.8. deinde nuncupatis profectus mille et quingentos passus citra Fidenas castra locat, dextra montibus, laeva Tiberi amne saeptus.
32.9. His lieutenant Titus Quinctius Poenus he commanded to secure the mountains and secretly to occupy the ridge which lay to the enemy's rear.
32.9. T. Quinctium Poenum legatum occupare montes iubet occultumque id iugum capere quod ab tergo hostibus foret.
32.10. On the morrow, when the Etruscans, in high feather at what, on the previous day, had been more good luck than good fighting, sallied forth to offer battle, the dictator delayed a little, till his scouts should report that Quinctius had come out on the ridge near the citadel of Fidenae; and then forming his infantry in line of battle led them at the double against the enemy.
32.10. postero die cum Etrusci pleni animorum ab pristini diei meliore occasione quam pugna in aciem processissent, cunctatus parumper, dum speculatores referrent Quinctium evasisse in iugum propinquum arci Fidenarum, signa profert peditumque aciem instructam pleno gradu in hostem inducit;
32.11. He directed the master of the horse not to begin to fight until he got his orders: when he required the help of the cavalry, he would himself give the signal; let him then bear himself as one mindful of his battle with a king, of his glorious offering, of Romulus and Jupiter Feretrius. The armies came together with great fury. The Romans were consumed with hatred.
32.11. magistro equitum praecipit ne iniussu pugnam incipiat: se cum opus sit equestri auxilio signum daturum; tum ut memor regiae pugnae, memor mernor opimi doni Romulique ac Iovis Feretri rem gereret.
32.12. “Traitors” was the name they gave the Fidenates, and “brigands” the men of Veii; they called them breakers of truces, stained with the horrid murder of ambassadors, sprinkled with the gore of their own settlers, faithless allies and cowardly enemies; and fed their rage at once with deeds and with words.
32.12. impetu ingenti confligunt. Romanus odio accensus impium Fidenatem, praedonem Veientem, ruptores indutiarum, cruentos legatorum infanda caede, respersos sanguine colonorum suorum, perfidos socios, imbelles hostes compellans, factis simul dictisque odium explet.
33.1. They had shaken the enemy's resistance at the very first onset, when suddenly the gates of Fidenae were flung open and a strange kind of army, never seen before or heard of, came pouring out.
33.1. primo statim congressu hostem, cum repente patefactis Fidenarum portis nova erumpit acies inaudita ante id tempus invisitataque.
33.2. Fire was the weapon of that vast multitude, and blazing torches threw a glare upon the entire throng when, as though inspired with a wild insanity, they rushed headlong on their enemy.
33.2. armata ingens multitudo facibusque ardentibus tota conlucens velut fanatico instincta furore cursu in hostem ruit, formaque insolitae pugnae Romanos parumper exterruit.
33.3. For an instant the strangeness of this kind of battle dismayed the Romans. Then the dictator, calling up the master of the horse and his cavalry, sending for Quinctius to come down from the mountains, and urging on the fight himself, hurried to the left wing, which, as though it found itself in a conflagration rather than a line of battle, had shrunk back in terror from the flames, and in a loud voice cried out:
33.3. dictator magistro equitum equitibusque, tum ex montibus Quinctio accito proelium ciens ipse in sinistrum cornu, quod, incendio similius quam proelio, territum cesserat flammis, accurrit claraque voce Fumone victi inquit, velut examen apum loco vestro exacti inermi cedetis hosti?
33.4. “Will you quit your post, subdued with smoke like a swarm of bees, and yield to an unarmed foe? Will you not extinguish fire with the sword?”
33.4. ferro exstinguetis ignes? faces has ipsas pro se quisque, si igni, non telis pugnandum est, ereptas ultro inferetis?
33.5. “Will you not seize these self-same brands, and each for himself —if we must fight with fire, not with javelins —attack them with their own weapons? Come, call to mind the Roman name, your fathers' valour and your own; turn this blaze upon the enemy's city and destroy Fidenae with its own flames, since your kindness was powerless to gain its friendship! The blood of your envoys and your colonists and your devastated borders exhort you to do as I say.”
33.5. , nominis Romani ac virtutis patrum vestraeque memores vertite incendium hoc in hostium urbem et suis flammis delete Fidenas, quas vestris beneficiis placare non potuistis. hoc vos vestrorum colonorumque sanguis vastatique fines monent.
33.6. At the dictator's command the whole array was set in motion. Here they caught up torches which had been flung away; there they wrested them violently from their bearers: both sides were armed with fire. The master of the horse on his part invented a new kind of cavalry-fighting. Commanding his men to pull off the bridles from their horses, he led the way, and setting spurs to his own, was carried by the unbridled charger into the midst of the flames.
33.6. imperium dictatoris mota cuncta acies. partim emissae excipiuntur, partim vi eripiuntur: utraque acies armatur igni. equitum et ipse novat pugnam equestrem. ut detrahant equis imperat et ipse princeps calcaribus subditis evectus effreno equo in medios ignes infertur, et alii concitati equi libero cursu ferunt equitem in hostem.
33.8. The other horses too were urged on and bore their riders at full tilt against the enemy; while the dust that rose and mingled with the smoke darkened the eyes both of the men and of their mounts.
33.8. elatus mixtusque fumo lucem ex oculis virorum equorumque aufert., quae militem terruerat species nihil terruit equos. igitur similem stragem eques quacumque pervaserat dedit.
33.9. But the sight which had frightened the infantry had no terror for the horses, and the cavalry overthrew their enemies in heaps wherever they advanced. Then a new shout was heard. Both armies in astonishment looked that way; and when the dictator called out that Quinctius the lieutenant and his followers had assailed the enemy in the rear, the cheering was renewed, and he pressed home his own attack more sharply.
33.9. deinde accidit novus; qui cum utramque mirabundam in se aciem vertisset, dictator exclamat Quinctium legatum et suos ab tergo hostem hosted adortos; ipse redintegrato clamore infert acrius signa.
33.10. Now that two battle-fronts and two distinct attacks hemmed in the Etruscans and forced them back from front and rear; and there was no way for them to flee, either back into their camp or into the mountains, whence a new foe had appeared to block their path; and the horses, with loose reins, had borne their riders far and wide; —the Veientes for the most part ran in disorder to the Tiber, while those of the Fidenates who survived turned towards the city of Fidenae.
33.10. duae acies, duo diversa proelia circumventos Etruscos et a fronte et ab tergo urgerent neque in castra retro neque in montes, unde se novus hostis obiecerat, iter fugae esset, et equitem passim liberis frenis distulissent equi, Veientium maxima pars Tiberim effusi petunt, Fidenatium qui supersunt ad urbem Fidenas tendunt.
33.11. In their panic they fled into the middle of the carnage. Some were cut down on the banks of the river; others, forced into the water, were swept away by the current; even experienced swimmers were borne down by weariness and wounds and fear; only a few out of the many swam across.
33.11. pavidos fuga in mediam caedem; obtruncantur in ripis; alios in aquam compulsos gurgites ferunt; etiam peritos nandi lassitudo et volnera et pavor degravant; pauci ex multis tranant. agmen fertur per castra in urbem.
33.12. The other party was carried on through the camp to the city. Thither the Romans too pushed forward in the impetuosity of the pursuit —especially Quinctius, and with him those who had just come down from the hills and were the freshest soldiers for the work, having arrived at the close of the battle.
33.12. et Romanos sequentes impetus rapit, Quinctium maxime et cum eo degressos modo de montibus, recentissimum ad laborem militem, quia ultimo proelio advenerat.
34.1. After these troops, mingling with the enemy, had entered the gate, they made their way on to the wall, where they raised a signal to show their friends that the town was taken.
34.1. postquam mixti hostibus portam intravere, in muros evadunt suisque capti oppidi signum ex muro tollunt.
34.2. When the dictator saw it —for by this time he had himself penetrated to the deserted camp of the enemy, —he checked his soldiers, who were eager to scatter in search of booty, by encouraging the hope that they would find larger spoils in the city;
34.2. ubi dictator conspexit—iam enim et ipse in deserta hostium castra penetraverat,—cupientem militem discurrere ad praedam spe iniecta maioris in urbe praedae ad portam ducit receptusque intra muros in arcem, quo ruere fugientium turbam videbat, pergit.
34.3. and, leading them to the gate, was received within the walls and marched directly to the citadel, whither he saw that the throng of fugitives was rushing Nor was the slaughter in the city less than it had been in the battle, until they threw away their arms, and asking nothing but their lives, surrendered to the dictator.
34.3. minor caedes in urbe quam in proelio fuit, donec abiectis armis nihil praeter vitam petentes dictatori deduntur.
34.4. The city and the camp were sacked. Next day the cavalrymen and centurions drew lots for a single captive each, while those who had shown conspicuous bravery received two. The rest were sold at auction, and the dictator marched his victorious army, enriched with plunder, back to Rome, and triumphed.
34.4. castraque diripiuntur. die singulis captivis ab equite ac centurionibus sorte ductis, et quorum eximia virtus fuerat, binis, aliis sub corona venumdatis venundatis exercitum victorem opulentumque praeda triumphans dictator Romam reduxit;
34.5. After commanding his master of the horse to lay down his office, he himself abdicated, giving up in peace on the sixteenth day the supreme authority he had received in time of war and danger.
34.5. iussoque magistro equitum abdicare se magistratu ipse deinde abdicat die sexto decimo reddito in pace imperio, quod in bello trepidisque rebus acceperat.
34.6. Certain annalists have recorded that there was a naval battle also with the Veientes, near Fidenae, a thing equally difficult and incredible; for even to-day the river is not wide enough for that, and in those times it was somewhat narrower, as we learn from the old writers; unless possibly there were a few ships assembled to dispute the passage of the river and this was exaggerated, as so often happens, by those who added to the inscription the false claim of a naval victory.
34.6. quoque ad Fidenas pugnatum cum Veientibus quidam in annales rettulere, rem aeque difficilem atque incredibilem nec nunc lato satis ad hoc amne et tum aliquanto, ut a veteribus accepimus, artiore, nisi in traiectu forte fluminis prohibendo aliquarum navium concursum in maius, ut fit, celebrantes navalis victoriae vanum titulum appetivere.
35.1. The next year there were military tribunes with consular powers, namely Aulus Sempronius Atratinus, Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, Lucius Furius Medullinus, Lucius Horatius Barbatus.
35.1. annus tribunos militares consulari potestate habuit A. Sempronium Atratinum L. Quinctium Cincinnatum L. Furium Medullinum L. Horatium Barbatum.
35.2. The Veientes were granted a truce of twenty years, and the Aequi one of three, though they had asked for a longer one. There was a respite also from civil disturbances.
35.2. Veientibus annorum viginti indutiae datae et Aequis triennii, cum plurium annorum petissent; et a seditionibus urbanis otium fuit.
35.3. The following year was noteworthy neither for foreign war nor dissension at home, but gained celebrity from the games which had been vowed during the war and were splendidly carried out by the military tribunes and attended by a great concourse of neighbouring peoples.
35.3. insequentem neque bello foris neque domi seditione insignem ludi bello voti celebrem et tribunorum militum apparatu et finitimorum concursu fecere.
35.4. The tribunes with consular authority were Appius Claudius Crassus, Spurius Nautius Rutulus, Lucius Sergius Fidenas, and Sextus Julius Iulus. The spectacle was rendered the more agreeable to the visitors by the courtesy which their hosts had united in a resolution to extend to them.
35.4. consulari potestate erant Ap. Claudius Crassus Sp. Nautius Rutulus L. Sergius Fidenas Sex. Julius Iulus. comitate etiam hospitum, ad quam publice consenserant, advenis gratius fuit.
35.5. After the games seditious speeches were made by the plebeian tribunes, who berated the populace because, in their besotted admiration of the men they hated, they kept themselves in perpetual servitude, and not only dared not aspire to claim participation in the consulship, but even in the matter of choosing military tribunes —an election open alike to patricians and plebeians —took no thought either for themselves or for their friends.
35.5. ludos contiones seditiosae tribunorum plebi fuerunt, obiurgantium multitudinem quod admiratione eorum quos odisset stupens, in aeterno se ipsa teneret servitio, et non modo ad spem consulatus in partem revocandam adspirare non auderet, sed ne in tribunis quidem militum creandis, quae communia essent comitia patrum ac plebis, aut sui aut suorum meminisset.
35.7. Let them cease therefore to wonder why no one busied himself for the good of the plebs; toil was bestowed and danger risked, they said, in causes which held out hopes of emolument and honour; there was nothing men would not attempt if those who made great efforts were afforded the prospect of great rewards;
35.7. ergo mirari cur nemo de commodis plebis ageret; eo impendi laborem ac periculum unde emolumentum atque honos speretur; nihil non adgressuros homines si magna conatis magna praemia proponantur;
35.8. but that some one plebeian tribune should rush blindly into a struggle where the risk was enormous and the reward was nothing, and in consequence of which he might be certain that the patricians, against whom he would be striving, would pursue him with relentless animosity, and that the plebs, for whom he would have fought, would not add the least tittle to his honours, was a thing to be neither expected nor demanded. Great hearts were begotten of great honours.
35.8. ut quidem aliquis tribunus plebis ruat caecus in certamina periculo ingenti, fructu nullo, ex quibus pro certo habeat patres, adversus quos tendered, bello inexpiabili se persecuturos, apud plebem, pro qua dimicaverit, nihilo se honoratiorem fore, neque sperandum neque postulandum esse.
35.9. No plebeian would despise himself when plebeians should cease to be despised. It was high time they made trial in one or two cases, to see whether there were some plebeian fit to hold high office, or whether it were almost a portent and a miracle that there should exist any brave and energetic man of plebeian origin.
35.9. animos magnis honoribus fieri. se plebeium contempturum, ubi contemni desissent. rem denique in uno aut altero esse sitne aliqui plebeius ferendo magno honori, an portento simile miraculoque sit fortem ac strenuum virum aliquem exsistere ortum ex plebe.
35.10. By exerting their utmost force they had carried the point that military tribunes with consular powers might be chosen even from the plebs. Men whose worth had been proven at home and in the field had stood for the office; during the first years they had been buffeted about, rejected, and laughed at by the patricians; finally, they had ceased to expose themselves to insult.
35.10. vi expugnatum esse ut tribuni militum consulari potestate et ex plebe crearentur. viros domi militiaeque spectatos; primis annis suggillatos, repulsos, risui patribus fuisse; desisse postremo praebere ad contumeliam os.
35.11. They could see no reason, they said, why they should not even repeal a statute which authorized something that would never come; there would surely be less shame in the injustice of the law than in being passed over on account of their own unworthiness.
35.11. se videre cur non lex quoque abrogetur, qua id liceat quod nunquam futurum sit; minorem quippe ruborem fore in iuris iniquitate quam si per indignitatem ipsorum praetereantur.
36.1. Speeches of this sort, being listened to with approval, incited certain men to stand for the military tribuneship, with the promise that they would propose in their term of office such and such measures of advantage to the plebs.
36.1. generis orationes cum adsensu auditae incitavere quosdam ad petendum tribunatum militum, alium alia de commodis plebis laturum se in magistratu profitentem.
36.2. Hopes were held out of dividing up the public domain and planting colonies, and of levying a tax on the occupants of the land and distributing the money as pay for the soldiers.
36.2. publici dividendi coloniarumque deducendarum ostentatae spes et vectigali possessoribus agrorum imposito in stipendium militum erogandi aeris.
36.3. The military tribunes then watched for an opportunity when people were out of town, and recalling the senators by a secret notification, got the senate to pass a resolution, in the absence of the tribunes of the plebs, that since the Volsci were rumoured to have made a plundering expedition into the country of the Hernici, the tribunes of the soldiers should go and investigate the affair, and that a consular election should be held.
36.3. deinde tempus ab tribunis militum, quo per discessum hominum ab urbe, cum patres clandestina denuntiatione revocati ad diem certam essent, senatus consultum fieret absentibus tribunis plebi ut quoniam Volscos in Hernicorum agros praedatum exisse fama esset, ad rem inspiciendam tribuni militum proficiscerentur consulariaque comitia haberentur.
36.5. The tribunes set out, leaving Appius Claudius, the decemvir's son, as prefect of the City. He was an energetic young man and imbued from his very cradle with hatred of the tribunes and the plebs. The plebeian tribunes had no ground of contention either with the absent officials who had obtained the resolution of the senate, or with Appius, now that the thing was done.
36.5. Ap. Claudium, filium decemviri, praefectum urbis relinquunt, impigrum iuvenem et iam inde ab incunabulis imbutum odio tribunorum plebisque. plebi nec cum absentibus iis, qui senatus consultum fecerant, nec cum Appio, transacta re quod contenderent, fuit.
37.1. Gaius Sempronius Atratinus and Quintus Fabius Vibulanus were elected consuls. A foreign episode, but worth relating, is ascribed to this year, viz. that Volturnum, the Etruscan city which is now Capua, was taken by the Samnites, and named Capua from their leader Capys, or, as is more probable, from its champaign country.
37.1. consules sunt C. Sempronius Atratinus Q. Fabius Vibulanus. res, sed memoria digna traditur eo anno facta, Volturnum, Etruscorum urbem, quae nunc Capua est, ab Samnitibus captam Capuamque ab duce eorum Capye vel, quod propius vero est, a campestri agro appellatam.
37.2. Now they captured it after being admitted by the Etruscans —who were worn out with fighting —to a share in the city and its fields; then, on a holiday, when the old settlers were heavy with sleep and feasting, the newcomers fell upon them in the night and slew them.
37.2. autem prius bello fatigatis Etruscis in societatem urbis agrorumque accepti, deinde festo die graves somno epulisque incolas veteres novi coloni nocturna caede adorti.
37.3. In the train of these events, the consuls whom I have named took up their duties, on the 13th of December. By this time not only had those who had been dispatched for this purpose reported that a Volscian invasion was imminent, but envoys from the Latins, and the Hernici as well, announced that never before had the Volscians been more energetic, whether in selecting generals or in levying an army;
37.3. rebus actis consules ii quos diximus idibus Decembribus magistratum occepere. non solum qui ad id missi erant rettulerant imminere Volscum bellum, sed legati quoque ab Latinis et Hernicis nuntiabant non ante unquam Volscos nec ducibus legendis nec exercitui scribendo intentiores fuisse;
37.5. that everywhere men were muttering that they must either give up for ever all thoughts of arms and war, and submit to the yoke, or must not lag behind those with whom they were contending for supremacy, either in courage or in endurance or in military discipline.
37.5. volgo fremere aut in perpetuum arma bellumque oblivioni danda iugumque accipiendum, aut iis cum quibus de imperio certetur nec virtute nec patientia nec disciplina rei militaris cedendum esse.