49.10. This, I am inclined to believe, was the cause of the army's resentment, rather than the fact that in a recently-plundered city inhabited by new settlers, there was less booty than the tribune had predicted.
49.10. magis adducor ut credam irae causam exercitui fuisse quam quod in urbe nuper direpta coloniaque nova minus praedicatione tribuni praedae fuerit.
49.11. The ill-feeling was increased, when, being sent for by his colleagues on account of tribunician disturbances, he had returned to the City, by a stupid and almost insane remark he was heard to make in an assembly, where Marcus Sextius, a plebeian tribune, in introducing an agrarian measure, announced that he should propose also that colonists be dispatched to Bolae —for it was proper, he said, that the city and lands of the Bolani should belong to those who had captured them in war. “Woe to my soldiers,” exclaimed Postumius, “unless they hold their peace!”
49.11. eam earn iram, postquam ab collegis arcessitus propter seditiones tribunicias in urbem revertit, audita vox eius in contione stolida ac prope vecors, qua M. Sextio tribuno plebis legem agrariam ferenti, simul Bolas quoque ut mitterentur coloni laturum se dicenti—dignum enim esse qui armis cepissent, eorum urbem agrumque Bolanum esse— quidem militibus meis inquit, nisi quieverint. auditum non contionem magis quam mox patres offendit.
49.12. —a saying which presently, on being reported to the senators, offended them no less than it had the assembly. And the tribune of the plebs, a keen and not uneloquent man, having got for one of his adversaries a man of haughty spirit and unbridled tongue, whom he could irritate and provoke to say things that would not only make himself disliked but his cause and the entire senate as well, made a point of involving Postumius in a dispute more often than any other member of the college of military tribunes.
49.12. tribunus plebis, vir acer nec infacundus, nactus inter adversarios superbum ingenium immodicamque linguam, quam inritando agitandoque in eas impelleret voces quae invidiae non ipsi tantum sed causae atque universe ordini essent, neminem ex collegio tribunorum militum saepius quam Postumium in disceptationem trahebat.
49.13. On this particular occasion, after that savage and brutal threat, he cried, “Do you hear him, Quirites, threatening his soldiers with punishment like slaves?”
49.13. vero secundum tam saevum atque inhumanum dictum inquit, Quirites, sicut servis malum minantem militibus?
49.14. “Shall this wild beast seem to you, notwithstanding, more deserving of so great an office than those who would present you with a city and with lands, and send you out to colonies; who would provide a home for your old age; who fight for your interests against these cruel and insolent adversaries?”
49.14. haec belua dignior vobis tanto honore videbitur quam qui vos urbe agrisque donatos in colonias mittunt, qui sedem senectuti vestrae prospiciunt, qui pro vestris commodis adversus tam crudeles superbosque adversarios adversaries depugnant?
49.15. “And does it surprise you that so few espouse your cause? What are they to expect of you? Those offices which you give by preference to your opponents, rather than to the champions of the Roman People?”
49.15. deinde mirari cur pauci iam vestram suscipiant causam. ut a vobis sperent? An honores, quos adversariis vestris potius quam populi Romani propugnatoribus datis?
49.16. “You groaned just now when you heard his remark. What of it? If you should be asked to vote this very moment, you would elect this man who threatens you with chastisement in preference to those who wish to secure you lands and houses and fortunes.”
49.16. modo voce huius audita. id refert? si suffragium detur, hunc qui malum vobis minatur iis qui agros sedesque ac fortunas stabilire volunt praeferetis.
50.1. When this saying of Postumius reached the troops, it stirred up much greater indignation in the camp: did the man who had fraudulently cut off his soldiers from their spoils also threaten them with punishment?
50.1. haec vox Postumi ad milites multo in castris maiorem indignationem movit: praedaene interceptorem fraudatoremque etiam malum minari militibus?
50.2. And while they murmured openly, the quaestor Publius Sestius, thinking that the mutiny could be quelled with the same violence which had occasioned it, sent a lictor to arrest a certain brawling soldier; whereupon shouts and objurgations broke forth, and Sestius was hit with a stone and retreated from the scuffle, while the man who had wounded him thundered after him that the quaestor had got what the general had threatened to give his men.
50.2. cum fremitus aperte esset, et quaestor P. Sestius eadem violentia coerceri putaret seditionem posse qua mota erat, misso ad vociferantem quendam militem lictore cum inde clamor et iurgium oreretur, saxo ictus turba excedit, insuper increpante qui volneraverat, habere quaestorem quod imperator esset militibus minatus.
50.4. Being summoned to deal with this disturbance, Postumius aggravated everything by his harsh inquisitions and savage punishments. Finally his anger got beyond all bounds, and when the shout of those whom he had ordered to be put to death under a hurdle had caused a crowd to gather, he ran down in a frenzy of passion from his tribunal to those who would have interrupted the execution.
50.4. hunc tumultum accitus Postumius asperiora omnia fecit acerbis quaestionibus, crudelibus suppliciis. cum modum irae nullum faceret, ad vociferationem eorum quos necari sub crate iusserat concursu facto, ipse ad interpellantes poenam vecors de tribunali decurrit.
50.5. There, when the lictors and centurions assailed the mob and tried to drive them back, on this side and on that, resentment ran so high that a military tribune was overwhelmed with a volley of stones from his own soldiers.
50.5. cum submoventes passim lictores centurionesque vexarent turbam, eo indignatio erupit ut tribunus militum ab exercitu suo lapidibus cooperiretur.
50.6. This dreadful deed having been announced in Rome, the tribunes of the soldiers wished to institute a senatorial inquiry into the death of their colleague, but the plebeian tribunes interposed their vetoes.
50.6. tam atrox facinus postquam est Romam nuntiatum, tribunis militum de morte collegae per senatum quaestiones decernentibus tribuni plebis intercedebant.
50.7. The dispute was closely connected with another struggle. The senators had become apprehensive lest the plebs, what with their fear of investigations and their indignation, should elect military tribunes from their own class; they therefore used all their efforts to have consuls chosen.
50.7. ea contentio ex certamine alio pendebat, quod cura incesserat patres ne metu quaestionum plebs iraque tribunos militum ex plebe crearet, tendebantque summa ope ut consules crearentur.
50.8. Since the plebeian tribunes would not allow the resolution of the senate to go through, and also vetoed the election of consuls, the state reverted to an interregnum. The victory then rested with the senators.
50.8. senatus consultum fieri tribuni plebis non paterentur, iidem intercederent consularibus comitiis, res ad interregnum rediit. deinde penes patres fuit.
51.1. Quintus Fabius Vibulanus, acting as interrex, held an election, and Aulus Cornelius Cossus and Lucius Furius Medullinus were chosen consuls.
51.1. Q. Fabio Vibulano interrege comitia habente consules creati sunt A. Cornelius Cossus L. Furius Medullinus.
51.2. In their consulship, early in the year, a senatorial resolution was passed that the tribunes should bring the investigation of Postumius's murder before the plebs at the earliest possible moment, and that the plebs should appoint whomsoever they wished to have charge of the inquiry.
51.2. consulibus principio anni senatus consultum factum est, ut de quaestione Postumianae caedis tribuni primo quoque tempore ad plebem ferrent plebesque praeficeret quaestioni quem vellet. plebe consensu consulibus negotium mandatur;
51.3. The plebs unanimously referred the matter to the consuls. They accomplished their task with the utmost moderation and leniency, punishing a few only, —and these are generally believed to have committed suicide; —yet they were unable to prevent the transaction from being bitterly resented by the plebs, who complained that the measures which had been proposed in their interests lay all this while neglected, whereas the law that was passed concerning their punishment and their lives was carried out at once, and most effectually.
51.3. qui summa moderatione ac lenitate per paucorum supplicium, quos sibimet ipsos conscisse mortem satis creditum est, transacta re, nequivere tamen consequi, ut non aegerrime id plebs ferret:
51.4. It would have been a very suitable occasion, now that the mutiny had been avenged, to appease their anger by offering to divide the Bolan territory.
51.4. iacere tam diu inritas actiones quae de suis commodis ferrentur, cum interim de sanguine ac supplicio suo latam legem confestim exerceri et tantam vim habere.
51.5. Had the senators done this, they would have lessened men's desire for the agrarian law which was meant to expel the patricians from their wrongful occupation of the public domain.
51.5. tempus fuerat vindicatis seditionibus delenimentum animis Bolani agri divisionem obici, quo facto minuissent desiderium agrariae legis quae possesso per iniuriam agro publico patres pellebat; tunc tune haec ipsa indignitas angebat animos:
51.6. As it was, a sense of injury was aroused by the very circumstance that the nobility not only persisted in retaining the public lands, which they held by force, but would not even divide among the plebeians the unoccupied ground which had recently been taken from the enemy and would soon, they thought, become, like all the rest, the booty of a few.
51.6. non in retinendis modo publicis agris quos vi teneret pertinacem nobilitatem esse, sed ne vacuum quidem agrum nuper ex hostibus captum plebi dividere, mox paucis, ut cetera, futurum praedae.
51.7. The same year the Volsci laid waste the borders of the Hernici, and the legions were led out to meet them by the consul Furius. Not finding the enemy there, they captured Ferentinum, to which a great number of Volsci had retired.
51.7. anno adversus Volscos populantes Hernicorum fines legiones ductae a Furio consule cum hostem ibi non invenissent, Ferentinum, quo magna multitudo multitude Volscorum se contulerat, cepere.
51.8. There was less plunder there than they had expected, because the Volsci, having small hopes of defending the town, removed their possessions by night and abandoned it; next day, when it was taken, it was practically deserted. The town itself and its territory were given to the Hernici.
51.8. praedae quam speraverant fuit, quod Volsci, postquam spes tuendi exigua erat, sublatis rebus nocte oppidum reliquerunt; postero die prope desertum capitur. Hernicis ipsum agerque dono datus.
52.1. After this year, which the moderation of the tribunes had made a quiet one, came the plebeian tribuneship of Lucius Icilius, when Quintus Fabius Ambustus and Gaius Furius Paculus were consuls.
52.1. modestia tribunorum quietum excepit tribunus plebis L. Icilius Q. Fabio Ambusto C. Furio Paculo consulibus.
52.2. While Icilius, at the very outset of the year, was endeavouring to stir up sedition by the promulgation of agrarian laws, as if it had been the appointed task of his name and family, a pestilence broke out, which, though it was more threatening than fatal, diverted men's thoughts from the Forum and political conflicts to their homes and the care of the sick, and is thought to have been less hurtful than the sedition would have been.
52.2. cum principio statim anni, velut pensum nominis familiaeque, seditiones agrariis legibus promulgandis cieret, pestilentia coorta, minacior tamen quam perniciosior, cogitationes hominum a foro certaminibusque publicis ad domum curamque corporum nutriendorum avertit; minusque eam damnosam fuisse, quam seditio futura fuerit credunt.
52.4. The state had escaped with very few deaths, considering the great number of those who had fallen ill, when the year of pestilence was succeeded, in the consulship of Marcus Papirius Atratinus and Gaius Nautius Rutulus, by a scarcity of corn, owing to the neglect of tillage usual at such times.
52.4. civitate plurimorum morbis, perpaucis funeribus, pestilentem annum inopia frugum neglecto cultu agrorum, ut plerumque fit, excepit, M. Papirio Atratino C. Nautio Rutulo consulibus.
52.5. Indeed the famine would have been more baneful than the disease, had they not supplemented the supply of corn by dispatching emissaries to all the peoples round about who dwelt on the Tuscan sea or by the Tiber, to purchase it.
52.5. fames quam pestilentia tristior erat, ni dimissis circa omnes populos legatis qui Etruscum mare quique Tiberim accolunt ad frumentum mercandum, annonae foret subventum.
52.6. The Samnites who held Capua and Cumae insolently refused to permit the envoys to trade with them, but the Sicilian tyrants, on the contrary, lent them generous assistance; and the largest supplies of all were brought down the Tiber, with the hearty goodwill of the Etruscans.
52.6. ab Samnitibus qui Capuam habebant Cumasque legati prohibiti commercio sunt, contra ea benigne ab Siculorum tyrannis adiuti; maximos commeatus summo Etruriae studio Tiberis devexit.
52.7. The consuls experienced a lack of men in the afflicted City, and, being unable to find more than one senator for an embassy, were obliged to add two knights to each.
52.7. in civitate aegra experti consules sunt, cum in legationes non plus singulis senatoribus invenientes coacti sunt binos equites adicere.
52.8. With the exception of the disease and the shortage of corn, there was no internal or foreign trouble during these two years. But no sooner had these anxieties departed, than there came an outbreak of all the ills which were wont to harass the state, domestic quarrels and war abroad.
52.8. ab morbo annonaque nihil eo biennio intestini externive incommodi fuit. ubi eae sollicitudines discessere, omnia quibus turbari solita erat civitas, domi discordia, foris bellum exortum.
53.1. In the consulship of Marcus Aemilius and Gaius Valerius Potitus the Aequi prepared to go to war, and the Volsci, though they did not take up arms as a nation, made the campaign as volunteers serving for pay.
53.1. M. Aemilio C. Valerio Potito consulibus bellum Aequi parabant, Volscis, quamquam non publico consilio capessentibus arma, voluntariis mercede secutis militiam.
53.2. When, on the rumour of their advance, — for they had already crossed over into Latin and Hernican territory, —Valerius the consul was raising troops, and Marcus Menenius, tribune of the plebs and proposer of an agrarian law, was obstructing the levy, and everybody who did not wish to go was availing himself of the tribune's protection and refusing the oath, on a sudden came the news that the citadel of Carventum had been seized by the enemy.
53.2. quorum famam hostium—iam enim in Latinum Hernicumque transcenderant agrum —dilectum habentem Valerium consulem M. Menenius tribunus plebis, legis agrariae lator, cum impediret auxilioque tribuni nemo invitus sacramento diceret, repente nuntiatur arcem Carventanam ab hostibus occupatam esse.
53.4. This humiliation not only gave the patricians the means of stirring up feeling against Menenius, but supplied the rest of the tribunes, who had already been persuaded to veto the agrarian law, with a more justifiable pretext for resisting their colleague.
53.4. ignominia accepta cum apud patres invidiae Menenio fuit, tum ceteris tribunis, iam ante praeparatis intercessoribus legis agrariae, praebuit iustiorem causam resistendi collegae.
53.5. The dispute was long drawn out. The consuls called gods and men to witness that the responsibility for whatever defeat or disgrace had already been or threatened to be visited on them by the enemy would rest with Menenius, because of his interference with the levy; Menenius, on the other hand, protested loudly that if the occupants of the public domain would surrender their illegal possession of it, he was prepared to withdraw his opposition to the muster. At this juncture nine tribunes interposed a resolution which ended the contention.
53.5. cum res diu ducta per altercationem esset, consulibus deos hominesque testantibus quidquid ab hostibus cladis ignominiaequeaut iam acceptum esset aut immineret culpam penes Menenium fore, qui dilectum impediret, Menenio contra vociferante, si iniusti domini possessione agri publici cederent, se moram dilectui non facere,
53.7. They proclaimed in the name of the college that they would support the consul Gaius Valerius if, in enforcing the levy, he resorted, despite the veto of their colleague, to fines and other forms of coercion against those who refused to serve.
53.7. decreto interposito novem tribuni sustulerunt certamen pronuntiaveruntque ex collegii sententia C. Valerio consuli se, damnum aliamque coercitionem adversus intercessionem collegae dilectus causa detractantibus militiam inhibenti, auxilio futuros esse.
53.8. Armed with this decree, the consul caused the few who appealed to the tribune to be haled before him; the rest were cowed into taking the oath.
53.8. decreto consul armatus cum paucis appellantibus tribunum collum torsisset, metu ceteri sacramento dixere.
53.9. The army marched to the citadel of Carventum; and although the soldiers were hated by the consul and returned his hostility, yet the moment they came to the place, they manfully drove out the garrison and recovered the stronghold, which had been laid open to attack by the negligence that had permitted men to slip away from the garrison in quest of booty.
53.9. exercitus ad Carventanam arcem, quamquam invisus infestusque consuli erat, impigre primo statim adventu deiectis qui in praesidio erant arcem recipit; praedatores ex praesidio per neglegentiam dilapsi occasionem aperuere ad invadendum.
53.10. There was a considerable accumulation of spoils from this constant raiding, because everything had been heaped up there for safety. All this the consul ordered the quaestors to sell at auction and place the proceeds in the public treasury, giving out word that the army should share in the plunder only when the men had not refused to serve.
53.10. ex adsiduis populationibus, quod omnia in locum tutum congesta erant, fuit aliquantum. sub hasta consul in aerarium redigere quaestores iussit, tum praedicans participem praedae fore exercitum, cum militiam non abnuisset.
53.11. This increased the enmity of plebs and soldiers towards the consul. And so when he entered the City in an ovation, as the senate had decreed, the soldiers, with military freedom, shouted out rude verses now abusing the consul and now praising Menenius, while at every mention of the tribune's name the enthusiasm of the attendant populace vied with the voices of the men in cheers and applause.
53.11. inde plebis ac militum in consulem irae. cum ex senatus consulto urbem ovans introiret, alternis inconditi versus militari licentia iactati, quibus consul increpitus, Meneni celebre nomen laudibus fuit, cum ad omnem mentionem tribuni favor circumstantis populi plausuque et adsensu cum vocibus militum certaret.
53.13. This circumstance caused the patricians more anxiety than the sauciness of the soldiers towards the consul, which was virtually an established custom; and as though they made no question that Menenius would be chosen for one of the military tribunes, if he were a candidate, they held a consular election and so excluded him.
53.13. ea res quam prope sollemnis militum lascivia in consulem curae patribus iniecit; et tamquam haud dubius inter tribunos militum honos Meneni, si peteret, consularibus comitiis est exclusus.
54.1. The consuls elected were Gnaeus Cornelius Cossus and (for the second time) Lucius Furius Medullinus.
54.1. consules sunt Cn. Cornelius Cossus L. Furius Medullinus iterum alias aegrius plebs tulit tribunicia comitia sibi non commissa.
54.2. Never before had the plebs felt so aggrieved that they were not allowed to choose military tribunes. They showed their disappointment, and likewise avenged it, at the election of quaestors, when plebeians were for the first time chosen to that office; though among the four to be elected room was made for one patrician, Caeso Fabius Ambustus.
54.2. dolorem quaestoriis comitiis simul ostendit et ulta est tunc tune primum plebeiis quaestoribus creatis, ita ut in quattuor creandis uni patricio K.
54.3. Three plebeians, Quintus Silius, Publius Aelius, and Publius Pupius, were preferred before young men of the most distinguished families. I find that those who encouraged the people to make so free with their votes were the Icilii.
54.3. Fabio Ambusto relinqueretur locus, tres plebei Q. Silius P. Aelius P. Pupius clarissimarum familiarum iuvenibus praeferrentur.
54.4. Three members of that family, a family most hostile to the patricians, had been made plebeian tribunes for that year, in consequence of the many great hopes they had held out to the populace, always more than eager to accept such promises. These men had declared that they would make no move in their behalf, if even in the election of quaestors —the only election which the senate had left open to both classes —the people could not find sufficient resolution to accomplish what they had so long wished to do and the laws permitted.
54.4. fuisse tam liberi populo suffragii Icilios accipio, ex familia infestissima patribus tres in eum annum tribunos plebis creatos, multarum magnarumque rerum molem avidissimo ad ea populo ostentantes, cum adfirmassent nihil se moturos si ne quaestoriis quidem comitiis, quae sola promiscua plebei patribusque reliquisset senatus, satis animi populo esset ad id quod tam diu vellent et per leges liceret.
54.6. And so the plebs felt that they had won a great victory, not estimating the significance of that quaestorship by the limits of the office itself, but feeling that the way to consulships and triumphs was thrown open to new men.
54.6. ingenti itaque victoria id fuit plebi, quaesturamque eam earn non honoris ipsius fine aestimabant, sed patefactus ad consulatum ac triumphos locus novis hominibus videbatur.
54.7. The patricians, on the other hand, were as angry as though they had not merely shared their offices with the plebs but had lost them. They said that if such things were to be, it was wrong for them to rear children, who after being driven out from the places of their forefathers would behold others in possession of their honours, and would be left, without power or authority, to serve no other purpose than to offer up sacrifices, as salii and flamens, for the people.
54.7. contra non pro communicatis sed pro amissis honoribus fremere; negare, si ea ita sint, liberos tollendos esse, qui pulsi maiorum loco cernentesque alios in possessione dignitatis suae, salii flaminesque nusquam alio quam ad sacrificandum pro populo sine imperiis imperils ac potestatibus relinquantur.
54.8. The feelings of both sides were overwrought. The plebs had plucked up courage and they had three very distinguished leaders for the popular cause. The patricians, perceiving that every election where the plebs were free to choose either sort of candidate would be like that of the quaestors, strove to bring about a consular election, which was not yet open to both orders.
54.8. utriusque partis animis cum et spiritus plebs sumpsisset et tres ad popularem causam celeberrimi nominis haberet duces, patres omnia quaestoriis comitiis ubi utrumque plebi liceret similia fore cernentes, tendere ad consulum comitia quae nondum promiscua essent:
54.9. The Icilii, on the contrary, maintained that military tribunes should be chosen; it was high time, they said, that the plebs were given their share of honours.
54.9. Icilii contra tribunos militum creandos dicere et tandem aliquando impertiendos plebi honores.
55.1. But the consuls had no measure on foot which the tribunes could oppose and so wring from them what they wanted, when, by a wonderful piece of luck, the Volsci and Aequi were reported to have crossed the border and raided the lands of the Latins and the Hernici.
55.1. nulla erat consularis actio quam impediendo id quod petebant exprimerent, cum mira opportunitate Volscos et Aequos praedatum extra fines exisse in agrum Latinum Hernicumque adfertur.
55.2. As the consuls, in order to meet this invasion, were commencing to raise an army, in pursuance of a resolution of the senate, the tribunes obstructed the levy with all their might, declaring that the incident had been a fortunate one for the plebeians and themselves.
55.2. quod bellum ubi ex senatus consulto consules dilectum habere occipiunt, obstare tunc tune enixe tribuni sibi plebique eam fortunam oblatam memorantes.
55.3. There were three of them, and they were all very active and belonged to a family which might now be called noble, considering that they were plebeians.
55.3. erant et omnes acerrimi viri generosique iam, ut inter plebeios. singuli singulos sibi consules adservandos adsidua opera desumunt; uni contionibus data nunc detinenda, nunc concienda plebs.
55.4. Two of them assumed the task of keeping constant watch on the consuls, each taking one of them; to the third was given the duty of haranguing the plebs, for the purpose, now of restraining, now of urging them on. The consuls could neither bring about the levy, nor the tribunes the election, they desired. Then, as fortune was inclining to the cause of the plebs, came couriers who reported that while the soldiers who were in garrison at the citadel of Carventum had dispersed to plunder, the Aequi had come, and killing the few guards, had rushed the place.
55.4. dilectum consules nec comitia quae petebant tribuni expediebant. deinde se fortuna ad causam plebis nuntii veniunt arcem Carventanam dilapsis ad praedam militibus qui in praesidio erant, Aequos interfectis paucis custodibus arcis invasisse; alios recurrentes in arcem, alios palantes in agris caesos.
55.5. Some of the soldiers had been cut down as they were hurrying back to the fortress, others as they roamed the fields. This national reverse added strength to the contention of the tribunes. It was in vain they were importuned to cease at last their opposition to the war. They yielded neither to the public need nor to men's hatred of themselves, and carried their point —that the senate should pass a decree for the election of military tribunes. It was, however, expressly provided that no one should be accepted as a candidate who had that year been tribune of the plebs, and that no tribune of the Plebs should be re-elected.
55.5. adversa civitati res vires tribuniciae actioni adiecit. enim temptati ut tum denique desisterent impediendo bello, postquam non cessere nec publicae tempestati nec suae invidiae, pervincunt ut senatus consultum fiat de tribunis militum creandis, certo tamen pacto ne cuius ratio haberetur qui eo anno tribunus plebis esset, neve quis reficeretur in annum tribunus plebis,
55.7. It is evident that the senate wished to stigmatize the Icilii, whom they charged with seeking the consulship as a reward for their seditious conduct while tribunes.
55.7. haud dubie Icilios denotante senatu, quos mercedem seditiosi tribunatus petere consulatum insimulabant. dilectus haberi bellumque omnium ordinum consensu apparari coeptum.
55.8. The levy was then begun and preparation made for war, with the consent of all the orders. Whether both consuls marched to the citadel of Carventum, or one stayed behind to hold an election, is uncertain in view of the contradictory accounts of the authorities. Thus much is clear (for in this they do not differ), that the Romans, after a long and futile siege, retired from the citadel of Carventum and recaptured Verrugo, in the Volscian country, with the same army, which spread great devastation both among the Aequi and in the territory of the Volsci, and gathered enormous spoils.
55.8. ambo profecti sint ad arcem Carventanam, an alter ad comitia habenda substiterit, incertum diversi auctores faciunt; illa pro certo habenda, in quibus non dissentiunt, ab arce Carventana, cum diu nequiquam oppugnata esset, recessum, Verruginem in Volscis eodem exercitu receptam, populationesque et praedas et in Aequis et in Volsco agro ingentes factas.
56.1. At Rome, though the plebeians were so far victorious as to have the election they preferred, yet in the outcome of the election the patricians won the day.
56.1. Romae sicut plebis victoria fuit in eo ut quae mallent comitia haberent, ita eventu comitiorum patres vicere;
56.2. For the military tribunes with consular authority were all three, contrary to the universal expectation, chosen from the patricians, viz., Gaius Julius Iulus, Publius Cornelius Cossus, and Gaius Servilius Ahala.
56.2. namque tribuni militum consulari potestate contra spem omnium tres patricii creati sunt, C. iulius lulius Iulus P. Cornelius Cossus C. Servilius Ahala.
56.3. The patricians are said to have employed a ruse (and the Icilii taxed them with it at the time), in that they mixed a rabble of unworthy competitors with the deserving, and the disgust which the notorious turpitude of certain of them provoked turned the people against the plebeian candidates.
56.3. adhibitam ferunt a patriciis, cuius eos Icilii tum quoque insimulabant, quod turbam indignorum candidatorum intermiscendo dignis taedio sordium in quibusdam insignium populum a plebeiis avertissent.
56.4. Then came a rumour that the Volsci and Aequi, whether encouraged by their defence of the citadel of Carventum or angered by the loss of the garrison at Verrugo, had risen in prodigious strength;
56.4. Volscos deinde et Aequos, seu Carventana arx retenta in spem seu Verrugine amissum praesidium ad iram cum impulisset, fama adfertur summa vi ad bellum coortos;
56.5. that the Antiates were the head and front of the war; that their envoys had gone about among the tribes of both races, upbraiding their cowardice in having hidden behind their walls the year before and allowed the Romans to pillage their lands and overwhelm the garrison at Verrugo.
56.5. caput rerum Antiates esse; eorum legatos utriusque gentis populos circumisse castigantes ignaviam, quod abditi intra muros populabundos in agris vagari Romanos priore anno et opprimi Verruginis praesidium passi essent.
56.6. They would presently be sending out, not merely armed expeditions across their borders, but colonies too; and not only, they said, had the Romans divided up their possessions amongst themselves, but they had even taken Ferentinum from them and bestowed it on the Hernici.
56.6. non exercitus modo armatos sed colonias etiam in suos finis mitti; nec ipsos modo Romanos sua divisa habere, sed Ferentinum etiam de se captum Hernicis donasse.
56.7. These words aroused indignation, and a number of young men were enlisted wherever the envoys went. So the forces of all the tribes drew together at Antium, where they encamped and waited for the enemy.
56.7. haec cum inflammarentur animi, ut ad quosque ventum erat, numerus numerous iuniorum conscribebatur. omnium populorum iuventus Antium contracta; ibi castris positis hostem opperiebantur.
56.8. When these things had been reported at Rome, amid excitement even greater than the situation warranted, the senate at once had recourse to its final counsel in emergencies, and ordered the appointment of a dictator.
56.8. ubi tumultu maiore etiam quam res erat nuntiantur Romam, senatus extemplo, quod in rebus trepidis ultimum consilium erat, dictatorem dici iussit.
56.9. It is said that Julius and Cornelius resented this, and that a very bitter discussion took place. In vain the leading senators complained that the military tribunes were not amenable to senatorial control, and eventually appealed to the tribunes of the plebs and reminded them that their authority had in a similar case operated to restrain the consuls. But the tribunes of the plebs were delighted with the want of harmony amongst the senators.
56.9. rem aegre passos Iulium Corneliumque ferunt magnoque certamine animorum rem actam, cum primores patrum nequiquam conquesti non esse in auctoritate senatus tribunos militum postremo etiam tribunos plebi appellarent et consulibus quoque ab ea potestate vim super tali re inhibitam referrent, tribuni plebi laeti discordia patrum nihil esse in se iis auxilii dicerent,
56.11. They could give no assistance, they said, to men who did not regard them as citizens, or even as human beings. If some day offices were thrown open to all, and they were given a share in the government, they would then see to it that no proud magistrate thwarted the decrees of the senate.
56.11. quibus non civium, non denique hominum numero essent: si quando promiscui honores, communicata res publica esset, tum se animadversuros ne qua superbia magistratuum inrita senatus consulta essent:
56.13. Meanwhile let the patricians live with no regard for laws and magistracies, and let the tribunes act as they saw fit.
56.13. interim patricii soluti legum magistratuumque viverent verecundia, per se quoque tribuni agerent.
57.1. This quarrel, so inopportune at a time when a great war was in hand, had quite taken possession of men's thoughts, and for a long time Julius and Cornelius —first one and then the other —had argued that, since they were themselves quite capable of directing that campaign, it was unfair that they should be summarily deprived of the office which the people had intrusted to them;
57.1. contentio minime idoneo tempore, cum tantum belli in manibus esset, occupaverat cogitationes hominum, donec ubi diu alternis iulius lulius Corneliusque cum ad id bellum ipsi satis idonei duces essent, non esse aequum mandatum sibi a populo eripi honorem disseruere,
57.3. when Servilius Ahala arose and said that he had been so long silent not because of any doubt as to his opinion —for what good citizen considered his own interests apart from those of the nation? —but because he had wished that his colleagues should of their own free will give in to the senators' authority, instead of suffering the power of the tribunes to be invoked against them.
57.3. tum Ahala Servilius tribunus militum tacuisse se tam diu ait, non quia incertus sententiae fuerit—quem enim bonum civem secernere sua a publicis consilia?—sed quia maluerit collegas sua sponte cedere auctoritati senatus quam tribuniciam potestatem adversus se implorari paterentur.
57.4. Even then, if the circumstances allowed of it, he would gladly, he said, have given them time to retreat from their too obstinate contention; but since war's necessity did not wait upon man's deliberations, he should place the public welfare above the favour of his colleagues; and if the senate held to its opinion, he should name a dictator that night, contenting himself, if any one vetoed the senate's resolution, with the expression of its wishes.
57.4. quoque si res sineret, libenter se daturum tempus iis fuisse ad receptum nimis pertinacis sententiae; sed cum belli necessitates non exspectent humana consilia, potiorem sibi collegarum gratia rem publicam fore, et si maneat in sententia senatus, dictatorem nocte proxima dicturum ac, si quis intercedat senatus consulto, auctoritate se fore contentum.
57.6. Having by this course gained the well-merited praise and friendly support of all, he named as dictator Publius Cornelius, by whom he was himself appointed master of the horse, thus showing such persons as considered the case of his colleagues and himself that favour and high office sometimes come more easily when men do not covet them.
57.6. facto cum haud immeritam laudem gratiamque apud omnis tulisset, dictatore P. Cornelio dicto ipse ab eo magister equitum creatus exemplo fuit collegas eumque intuentibus, quam gratia atque honos opportuniora interdum non cupientibus essent.
57.7. The war was no way noteworthy. In a single battle, and an easy one, they defeated the enemy at Antium. The victorious army laid waste the Volscian country and took by storm a fortress at Lake Fucinus, where three thousand men were taken prisoners, the rest being driven within their city-walls, leaving their fields defenceless.
57.7. haud memorabile fuit. atque eo facili proelio caesi ad Antium hostes; victor exercitus depopulatus Volscum agrum; castellum ad lacum Fucinum vi expugnatum, atque in eo tria milia hominum capta ceteris Volscis intra moenia compulsis nec defendentibus agros.
57.8. The dictator, after so conducting the campaign that he seemed barely to have taken advantage of his luck, returned to the City, with more good fortune than renown, and resigned his magistracy.
57.8. Dictator bello ita gesto ut tantum non defuisse fortunae videretur, felicitate quam gloria maior in urbem rediit magistratuque se abdicavit.
57.9. The tribunes of the soldiers, without saying a word about electing consuls, —I suppose because of their indignation at the appointment of a dictator, —proclaimed an election of military tribunes.
57.9. militum mentione nulla comitiorum consularium habita—credo ob iram dictatoris creati—tribunorum militum comitia edixerunt.
57.10. At that the patricians were more concerned than ever, as they might well be when they saw their cause betrayed by their own fellows.
57.10. vero gravior cura patribus incessit, quippe cum prodi causam ab suis cernerent.
57.11. Accordingly, just as in the preceding year they had used the least worthy of the plebeian competitors to arouse a dislike of them all, even the deserving, so at this time, by setting up as candidates the senators of the greatest splendour and popularity, they secured all the places, in order that no plebeian might be chosen.
57.11. sicut priore anno per indignissimos ex plebeiis candidatos omnium, etiam dignorum, taedium fecerant, sic tum primoribus patrum splendore gratiaque ad petendum praeparatis omnia loca obtinuere, ne cui plebeio aditus esset.
57.12. Four men were elected, all of whom had held that office before. They were Lucius Furius Medullinus, Gaius Valerius Potitus, Numerius Fabius Vibulanus, and Gaius Servilius Ahala. This last was continued in office partly for his other good qualities, partly because of the approval he had just gained by his singular moderation.
57.12. creati sunt, omnes iam functi eo honore, L. Furius Medullinus C. Valerius Potitus Num. Fabius Vibulanus C. Servilius Ahala, hic hie re fectus continuato honore cum ob alias virtutes, tum ob recentem favorem unica moderatione partum.
58.1. In that year, since the term of the truce with Veii had run out, steps were taken to demand restitution, through ambassadors and fetials.
58.1. anno, quia tempus indutiarum cum Veienti populo exierat, per legatos fetialesque res repeti coeptae. venientibus ad finem legatio Veientium obvia fuit.
58.2. Arriving at the frontier, these men were met by an embassy of the Veientes, who asked them not to proceed to Veii until they themselves should have gone before the Roman senate. The senate, considering that the Veientes were in the throes of civil discord, agreed not to demand a settlement of them; so far were they from taking advantage of another people's difficulties.
58.2. ne priusquam ipsi senatum Romanum adissent Veios iretur. Ab senatu impetratum, quia discordia intestina laborarent Veientes, ne res ab iis repeterentur; tantum afuit ut ex incommodo alieno sua occasio peteretur.
58.3. And in the Volscian country the Romans suffered a disaster, in the loss of their garrison at Verrugo. On that occasion the element of time was of such moment that, although the troops who were being besieged there by the Volsci appealed for help and might have been relieved if their friends had made haste, yet the army dispatched for that purpose only arrived in season to surprise the enemy as they were dispersed in quest of booty, just after putting the garrison to the sword.
58.3. in Volscis accepta clades amisso Verrugine praesidio; ubi tantum in tempore fuit momenti ut cum precantibus opem militibus, qui ibi a Volscis obsidebantur, succurri si maturatum esset potuisset, ad id venerit exercitus subsidio missus ut ab recenti caede palati ad praedandum hostes opprimerentur.
58.4. The delay was due quite as much to the tribunes as to the senate, for they got reports that the garrison was making a strenuous resistance and failed to consider that no valour can transcend the limits of human endurance.
58.4. causa non in senatu magis fuit quam tribunis, qui, quia summa vi restari nuntiabatur, parum cogitaverunt nulla virtute superari humanarum virium modum.
58.5. But the heroic soldiers were not unavenged, living or dead.
58.5. milites non tamen nec vivi nec post mortem inulti fuere.
58.6. The following year, when Publius and Gnaeus Cornelius Cossus, Numerius Fabius Ambustus, and Lucius Valerius Potitus were consular tribunes, war broke out with Veii on account of the insolent reply of the Veientine senate, who, when envoys demanded restitution of them, bade them be answered that unless they got quickly out from their city and their borders, they would give them what Lars Tolumnius had given the others.
58.6. anno P. et Cn. Corneliis Cossis Num. Fabio Ambusto L. Valerio Potito tribunis militum consulari potestate Veiens bellum motum ob superbum responsum Veientis senatus, qui legatis repetentibus res, ni facesserent propere urbe finibusque, daturos quod Lars Tolumnius dedisset responderi iussit.
58.8. This angered the Fathers, and they decreed that the military tribunes should propose to the people a declaration of war on the Veientes at the earliest possible day.
58.8. patres aegre passi decrevere ut tribuni militum de bello indicendo Veientibus primo quoque die ad populum ferrent.
58.9. As soon as this was promulgated, the young men protested loudly that the Volscian war was not yet brought to a conclusion; two garrisons had just been destroyed, and the other outposts were being held at great risk; not a year went by without a pitched battle;
58.9. ubi primo promulgatum est, fremere iuventus nondum debellatum cum Volscis esse; modo duo praesidia occidione occisa, cetera cum periculo retineri; nullum annum esse quo non acie dimicetur;
58.10. and as though they had not troubles enough, a new war was being started with a neighbouring and very powerful people, who were sure to raise all Etruria against them. This smouldering discontent was fanned into a blaze by the plebeian tribunes.
58.10. et tamquam paeniteat laboris, novum bellum cum finitimo populo et potentissimo parari qui omnem Etruriam sit concitaturus.
58.11. They persistently declared that it was the plebs with whom the senators were chiefly at war;
58.11. sua sponte agitata insuper tribuni plebis accendunt.
58.12. them they deliberately plagued with campaigning and exposed to be slaughtered by the enemy; them they kept at a distance from the City, and assigned to foreign service, lest they might have thoughts, if they remained peaceably at home, of liberty and colonies, and might agitate for public lands or the free use of their votes.
58.12. bellum patribus cum plebe esse dictitant; eam de industria vexandam militia trucidandamque hostibus obici; eam earn procul urbe haberi atque ablegari, ne domi per otium memor libertatis coloniarumque aut agri publici public aut suffragii libere ferendi consilia agitet.
58.13. And laying hold of veteran soldiers, they enumerated the campaigns of each and his wounds and scars; asking where one could now find a whole place on their bodies to receive fresh wounds, or what blood they had left to shed for their country.
58.13. veteranos stipendia cuiusque et volnera ac cicatrices numerabant, quid iam integri esset in corpore loci ad nova volnera accipienda, quid super sanguinis, quod dari pro re publica posset rogitantes.
58.14. When the tribunes by repeating these arguments in their talk and in their speeches had produced in the plebs a reluctance to undertake the war, the authors of the bill put off the time for voting on it, since it was clear that if subjected to the storm of disapproval it would fail to pass.
58.14. cum in sermonibus contionibusque interdum agitantes avertissent plebem ab suscipiendo bello, profertur tempus ferundae legis quam si subiecta invidiae esset antiquari apparebat.
59.1. Meantime it was determined that the military tribunes should lead the army into the country of the Volsci; only Gnaeus Cornelius was left in Rome.
59.1. tribunos militum in Volscum agrum ducere exercitum placuit; Cn. Cornelius unus Romae relictus.
59.2. The three tribunes, on its appearing that the Volsci had no camp anywhere and did not propose to risk a battle, divided their army into three and advanced in different directions to lay waste the country.
59.2. tribuni, postquam nullo loco castra Volscorum esse nec commissuros se proelio apparuit, tripertito ad devastandos fines discessere.
59.3. Valerius marched upon Antium, Cornelius against Ecetrae, and wherever they went they plundered farms and buildings far and wide, to divide the forces of the Volsci; Fabius led his troops to Anxur, the principal object of their attack, and laid siege to it, without doing any pillaging.
59.3. Valerius Antium petit, Cornelius Ecetras; quacumque incessere, late populati sunt tecta agrosque, ut distinerent Volscos; Fabius, quod maxime petebatur, ad Anxur oppugnandum sine ulla populatione accessit.
59.4. Anxur, the Tarracinae of our day, was a city which sloped down towards the marshes.
59.4. Anxur fuit, quae nunc Tarracinae sunt, urbs prona in paludes.
59.5. On this side Fabius threatened an assault, while four cohorts marched round under Gaius Servilius Ahala, and seizing the hill which overhangs the city, assailed the walls from this superior position, where there was no force to oppose them, with great noise and confusion.
59.5. Ab ea parte Fabius oppugnationem ostendit. quattuor cohortes cum C. Servilio Ahala cum imminentem urbi collem cepissent, ex loco altiore, qua nullum erat praesidium, ingenti clamore ac tumultu moenia invasere.
59.6. Hearing the din, the soldiers who were defending the lowest part of the town against Fabius were bewildered, and permitted him to bring up scaling-ladders; and soon the whole place was alive with enemies, who for a long time gave no quarter, slaughtering without distinction those who fled and those who resisted, the armed and the unarmed. And so the vanquished, since they could hope for no mercy if they yielded, were compelled to fight; when suddenly the command was given that none should be hurt but those who carried weapons. Thereupon, all the survivors voluntarily laid down their arms, and about twenty-five hundred of them were taken alive.
59.6. quem tumultum obstupefacti qui adversus Fabium urbem infimam tuebantur locum dedere scalas admovendi; plenaque hostium cuncta erant, et immitis diu caedes pariter fugientium ac resistentium, armatorum atque inermium fuit. itaque victi, quia cedentibus spei nihil erat, pugnam inire, cum pronuntiatum repente, ne quis praeter armatos violaretur, reliquam omnem multitudinem voluntariam exuit armis;
59.8. Fabius made his soldiers leave the rest of the spoils until his colleagues could come up, saying that their armies had helped to capture Anxur by diverting the rest of the Volsci from the defence of that place.
59.8. quorum ad duo milia et quingenti vivi capiuntur. cetera praeda Fabius militem abstinuit, donec denec collegae venirent, ab illis quoque exercitibus captum Anxur dictitans esse, qui ceteros Volscos a praesidio eius loci avertissent.
59.10. When they arrived, the three armies sacked the town, which long years of prosperity had filled with riches. It was this generous treatment on the part of their commanders which first reconciled the plebs to the patricians.
59.10. ubi venerunt, oppidum vetere fortuna opulentum tres exercitus diripuere; eaque primum benignitas imperatorum plebem patribus conciliavit.
59.11. In addition to this the senate then granted the people the most seasonable boon which has ever been bestowed on them by the chiefs of the state, when they decreed, without waiting for any suggestion by the plebs or their tribunes, that the soldiers should be paid from the public treasury, whereas till then every man had served at his own costs.
59.11. deinde omnium maxime tempestivo principum in multitudinem munere, ut ante mentionem ullam plebis tribunorumve decerneret senatus ut stipendium miles de publico acciperet, cum ante id tempus de suo quisque functus eo munere esset.
60.1. Nothing, it is said, was ever welcomed by the plebs with such rejoicing. Crowds gathered at B.C. 406 the Curia and men grasped the hands of the senators as they came out, saying that they were rightly called Fathers, and confessing that they had brought it to pass that no one, so long as he retained a particle of strength, would grudge his life's blood to so generous a country.
60.1. acceptum unquam a plebe tanto gaudio traditur. itaque ad curiam esse prensatasque exeuntium manus et patres vere appellatos, effectum esse fatentibus ut nemo pro tam munifica patria, donec quicquam virium superesset, corpori aut sanguini suo parceret.
60.2. Not only were they pleased at the advantage that their property would at least not diminish while their bodies were impressed for the service of the state, but the voluntary character of the offer, which had never been mooted by plebeian tribunes nor extorted by any words of their own, multiplied their satisfaction and increased their gratitude.
60.2. commoditas iuvaret rem familiarem saltem adquiescere eo tempore quo corpus addictum atque operatum rei publicae esset, tum quod ultro sibi oblatum esset, non a tribunis plebis unquam agitatum, non suis sermonibus efflagitatum, id efficiebat multiplex gaudium cumulatioremque gratiam rei.
60.3. The tribunes of the plebs were the only persons who did not partake in the general joy and good feeling of both orders. They said that the measure would neither be so agreeable to the Fathers nor so favourable to the whole body of the citizens as the latter believed; it was a plan which at first sight had promised to be better than experience would prove it.
60.3. plebis, communis ordinum laetitiae concordiaeque soli expertes, negare tam id laetum patribus civibus universis nec prosperum fore quam ipsi crederent. specie prima melius fuisse quam usu appariturum.
60.4. For where, they asked, could the money be got together, save by imposing a tribute on the people? The senators had therefore been generous at other men's expense; and even though everyone else should submit to it, those who had already earned their discharge would not endure that others should serve on better terms than they had themselves enjoyed, and that the same men who had paid their own expenses should also contribute to the expenses of others.
60.4. enim eam pecuniam confici posse nisi tributo populo indicto? alieno igitur aliis largitos. id etiamsi ceteri ferant passuros eos, quibus iam emerita stipendia essent, meliore condicione alios militare quam ipsi militassent, et eosdem in sua stipendia impensas fecisse et in aliorum facere.
60.5. By these arguments they influenced a part of the plebs. Finally, when the assessment had already been proclaimed, the tribunes even announced that they would protect anybody who should refuse to contribute to a tax for paying the soldiers.
60.5. vocibus moverunt partem plebis. indicto iam tributo edixerunt etiam tribuni auxilio se futuros si quis in militare stipendium tributum non contulisset.
60.6. The Fathers had made a good beginning and persevered in supporting it. They were themselves the first to contribute, and since there was as yet no silver coinage, some of them brought uncoined bronze in waggons to the treasury, and even made a display of their contributing.
60.6. bene coeptam rem perseveranter tueri; conferre ipsi primi, et quia nondum argentum signatum erat, aes grave plaustris quidam ad aerarium convehentes speciosam etiam conlationem faciebant.
60.7. After the senators had paid most faithfully, according to their rating, the chief men of the plebs, friends of the nobles, began, as had been agreed, to bring in their quota.
60.7. senatus summa fide ex censu contulisset, primores plebis, nobilium amici, ex composito conferre incipiunt.
60.8. When the crowd saw that these men were applauded by the patricians and were looked upon as good citizens by those of military age, they quickly rejected the protection of the tribunes and vied with one another who should be the first to pay.
60.8. cum et a patribus conlaudari et a militari aetate tamquam bonos cives conspici volgus hominum vidit, repente spreto tribunicio auxilio certamen conferendi est ortum.
60.9. And on the law being passed declaring war on the Veientes, an army consisting in great part of volunteers marched, under command of the new military tribunes, upon that city.
60.9. lege perlata de indicendo Veientibus bello exercitum magna ex parte voluntarium novi tribuni militum consulari potestate Veios duxere.
61.1. Now the tribunes were Titus Quinctius Capitolinus, Quintus Quinctius Cincinnatus, Gaius Julius Iulus (for the second time), Aulus Manlius, Lucius Furius Medullinus (for the third time), and Manius Aemilius Mamercus.
61.1. autem tribuni T. Quinctius Capitolinus Q. Quinctius Cincinnatus C. Iulius Iulus iterum A. Manlius L. Furius Medullinus tertium M'. Aemilius Mamercus.
61.2. By them Veii was for the first time besieged. Shortly after this siege began, the Etruscans held a numerously attended council at the shrine of Voltumna, but could reach no decision as to whether the entire nation should go to war in defence of the Veientes.
61.2. Ab iis primum circumsessi Veii sunt. cuius initium obsidionis cum Etruscorum concilium ad fanum Voltumnae frequenter habitum esset, parum constitit bellone publico gentis universae tuendi Veientes essent.
61.3. The siege languished during the year that followed, for some of the tribunes and a part of the army were called away to fight the Volsci.
61.3. oppugnatio segnior insequenti anno fuit, parte tribunorum exercitusque ad Volscum avocata bellum.
61.4. The military tribunes with consular powers for this year were Gaius Valerius Potitus (for the third time), Manius Sergius Fidenas, Publius Cornelius Maluginensis, Gnaeus Cornelius Cossus, Gaius Fabius Ambustus, and (for the second time) Spurius Nautius Rutulus.
61.4. militum consulari potestate is annus habuit C. Valerium Potitum tertium M'. Sergium Fidenatem P. Cornelium Maluginensem Cn. Cornelium Cossum C. Fabium Ambustum Sp. Nautium Rutulum iterum.
61.5. A pitched battle was fought with the Volsci between Ferentinum and Ecetra, in which fortune favoured the Romans. The tribunes then laid siege to Artena, a Volscian town.
61.5. Volscis inter Ferentinum atque Ecetram signis conlatis dimicatum;
61.6. While attempting a sortie the enemy were driven back into the city and afforded the Romans an opportunity of forcing an entrance, so that the whole place, except the citadel, was captured; to this fortress, which was naturally strong, a band of armed men retired; below the citadel a large number were killed or taken prisoner.
61.6. Romanis secunda fortuna pugnae fuit. Artena inde, Volscorum oppidum, ab tribunis obsideri coepta. inter eruptionem temptatam compulso in urbem hoste occasio data est Romanis inrumpendi, praeterque arcem cetera capta; in arcem munitam natura globus armatorum concessit; infra arcem caesi captique multi mortales.
61.7. The citadel was then besieged, but could neither be taken by assault, having a sufficient garrison in proportion to its area, nor appeared likely to surrender, for the whole public store of grain had been conveyed into the fortress before the capture of the town. The Romans would have withdrawn, discouraged, had not a slave betrayed the place into their hands.
61.7. deinde obsidebatur; nec aut vi capi poterat, quia pro spatio loci satis praesidii habebat, aut spem dabat deditionis omni publico frumento priusquam urbs caperetur in arcem convecto;
61.8. This man admitted some soldiers by way of a steep approach, and they captured it and slew the sentries; whereupon the rest of the garrison was seized with a sudden panic and surrendered.
61.8. taedioque recessum inde foret, ni servus arcem Romanis prodidisset. Ab eo milites per locum arduum accepti cepere; a quibus cum custodes trucidarentur, cetera multitudo multitude repentino pavore oppressa in deditionem venit.
61.9. After demolishing the citadel and the town of Artena, the legions were withdrawn from the Volsci and all the might of Rome was brought to bear upon Veii.
61.9. et arce et urbe Artena, reductae legiones ex Volscis, omnisque vis Romana Veios conversa est.
61.10. The traitor was given the property of two families as a reward, besides his liberty, and was named Servius Romanus. There are those who think that Artena had belonged to the Veientes, not to the Volsci.
61.10. praeter libertatem duarum familiarum bona in praemium data; Servius Romanus vocitatus. qui Artenam Veientium, non Volscorum, fuisse credant.
61.11. Their mistake is due to the fact that there was a city of the same name between Caere and Veii; but this place was destroyed by the Roman kings, and it had been a dependency of Caere, not of Veii; the other town of the same name, whose overthrow I have just related, was in Volscian territory. Peace was now established elsewhere, but Romans and Veientes were at war, and their rage and animosity were such that the end was clearly at hand for those that should be vanquished. Each people held an election very different from that of the other.
61.11. errorem quod eiusdem nominis urbs inter Caere atque Veios fuit; sed eam earn reges Romani delevere, Caeretumque, non Veientium fuerat; altera haec nomine eodem in Volsco agro fuit, cuius excidium est dictum.