11.3. that things had come to such a pass, that they must perforce have either patricians or the satellites of patricians for tribunes of the plebs; their sacred laws were being taken away, the tribunician power wrested from them.
11.3. id fraude patriciorum, scelere ac proditione collegarum factum factumn arguere.
11.4. This was done, he declared, by the knavery of the patricians, the rascality and the treason of his colleagues. Men were burning with resentment, not only against the patricians, but also against the tribunes of the plebs, both those who had been co-opted and those who had co-opted them, when three of the college, Publius Curatius, Marcus Metilius, and Marcus Minucius, being alarmed at their own situation, I fell violently upon Sergius and Verginius, the military tribunes of the previous year, and by appointing them a day for trial turned against them the anger and displeasure which the plebs had evinced towards themselves.
11.4. arderent invidia non patres modo sed etiam tribuni plebis, cooptati pariter et qui cooptaverant, tum ex collegio tres, P. Curatius M. Metilius M. Minucius, trepidi rerum suarum, in Sergium Verginiumque, prioris anni tribunos tribunes militares, incurrunt; in eos ab se iram plebis invidiamque die dicta avertunt.
11.5. They reminded their hearers, that those who were aggrieved by the levy, or the tax, or the protracted service and the long duration of the war, those who sorrowed for the calamity that befell at Veii, those whose houses were in mourning for the loss of sons, brothers, kinsmen or connexions, —that all those now had the right and the power, thanks to the speakers, of avenging the nation's grief and their own private sorrow on the two culprits; for of all their sufferings Sergius and Verginius were the cause;
11.5. dilectus, quibus tributum, quibus diutina militia longinquitasque belli sit gravis, qui clade accepta ad Veios doleant, qui amissis liberis fratribus, propinquis adfinibus, lugubres domos habeant, his publici privatique doloris exsequendi ius potestatemque ex duobus noxiis capitibus datam ab se memorant. namque malorum in Sergio Verginioque causas esse; nec id accusatores magis arguere quam fateri reos, qui noxii ambo alter in alterum alterumn causam conferant, fugam Sergi Verginius, Sergius proditionem increpans Vergini.
11.7. and this their accusers were not more forward to maintain than the defendants to confess, who, equally guilty, threw the blame on one another, Verginius taxing Sergius with his flight, while Sergius complained of Verginius's treachery.
11.7. adeo incredibilem amentiam fuisse ut multo veri similius sit compecto eam ear rem et communi fraude patriciorum actam.
11.8. Their madness had been so incredible, that it was much more probable that they had done the thing upon agreement, with the collusion of the senators;
11.8. his et prius datum locum Veientibus ad incendenda opera belli trahendi causa, et nunc proditum exercitum, tradita Faliscis Romana castra.
11.9. who having before given opportunity to the Veientes to set fire to their works, in order to prolong the war, had now betrayed the army and delivered up a Roman camp to the Faliscans.
11.9. fieri ut consenescat ad Veios iuventus nec de agris nec de aliis commodis plebis ferre ad populum tribuni frequentiaque urbana celebrare actiones et resistere conspirationi patriciorum possint.
11.10. They were doing everything to wear out the young men before Veii, and prevent the tribunes from bringing before the people the question of land and other advantages to the plebs, and from pushing their measures in well-attended assemblies and thwarting the conspiracy of the patricians. Judgment was already given against the accused both by the senate and by the Roman People, and also by their own college; for the senate had by its decree removed them from authority, and when they refused to abdicate their office, their colleagues had coerced them by threatening to appoint a dictator, and the Roman People had elected tribunes to assume their duties, not on the thirteenth of December, the usual date, but immediately, on October the first, believing that the state could endure no longer if the incumbents should remain in place;
11.10. iam de reis et ab senatu et ab populo Romano et ab ipsorum collegio factum esse; nam —et senatus consulto eos ab re publica remotos esse, et recusantes abdicare se magistratu dictatoris—metu ab collegis coercitos esse, et populum Romanum tribunos creasse qui non idibus Decembribus, die sollemni, sed extemplo kalendis Octobribus magistratum occiperent, quia stare diutius res publica his manentibus in magistratu non posset;
11.12. yet, in spite of all, these men, stigmatized and fore-judged by so many adverse verdicts, presented themselves for trial by the people, and fancied that they were quit and sufficiently mulcted because they were made private citizens two months before their time;
11.12. et tamen eos, tot iudiciis confossos praedamnatosque venire ad populi iudicium et existimare defunctos se esse satisque poenarum dedisse quod duobus mensibus citius privati facti sint, neque intellegere nocendi sibi diutius tum potestatem ereptam esse, non poenam inrogatam;
11.13. not perceiving that they had then merely been deprived of the power to do further mischief, not punished, since their colleagues, too, were turned out of office, though they had certainly done no wrong.
11.13. quippe et collegis abrogatum imperium, qui certe nihil deliquissent.
11.14. Let the Quirites call back the spirit they had shown when the recent calamity had occurred, when they had beheld the flight and confusion of their troops, as they stumbled, wounded and dismayed, through the City gates, accusing neither fortune nor any of the gods, but these their leaders.
11.14. repeterent animos Quirites quos recenti clade accepta habuissent, cum fuga trepidum, plenum volnerum ac pavoris incidentem portis exercitum viderint non fortunam aut quemquam deorum, sed hos duces accusantem.
11.15. They were sure that there was not a man present in the assembly who had not on that day cursed and execrated the lives, the houses, and the fortunes of Lucius Verginius and Manius Sergius.
11.15. certo se habere neminem in contione stare qui illo die non caput domum fortunasque L. Vergini ac M.' Sergi sit exsecratus detestatusque.
11.16. It was not reasonable that their hearers, having a legal and moral right in the matter, should not use their power against those upon whom each one of them had invoked the wrath of Heaven. The gods themselves never laid hands upon the guilty; it was enough if they armed with an opportunity for vengeance those who had been wronged. Incited by these speeches, the plebs condemned the accused to pay each a fine of 10,000 pounds of bronze. It was in vain that Sergius blamed Fortune and the common chance of war, while Verginius begged that he might not be more unlucky at home than he had been in the campaign.
11.16. convenire quibus iratos quisque deos precatus sit in iis sua potestate, cum liceat et oporteat, non uti. deos ipsos admovere nocentibus manus; satis esse si occasione ulciscendi laesos arment. orationibus incitata plebs denis milibus aeris gravis reos condemnat, nequiquam Sergio Martem communem belli fortunamque accusante, Verginio deprecante ne infelicior domi quam militiae esset. hos versa ira populi cooptationis tribunorum fraudisque contra legem Treboniam factae memoriam obscuram fecit.
12.3. On them the wrath of the people was poured out, and the co-optation of the tribunes and the evasion of the Trebonian law were almost forgotten. The victorious tribunes, that the plebs might have an immediate reward for its judgment, proposed a land-law and forbade the gathering of the war-tax, notwithstanding that pay was needed for so many armies, whose campaigning, though successful, yet failed to realize the desired end in any war.
12.3. tribuni, ut praesentem mercedem iudicii plebes haberet, legem agrariam promulgant tributumque conferri prohibent, cum tot exercitibus stipendio opus esset resque militiae ita prospere gererentur ut nullo bello veniretur ad exitum spei. Veiis castra quae amissa erant reciperata castellis praesidiisque firmantur; praeerant tribuni militum M.' Aemilius et K. Fabius.
12.5. Thus, at Veii, they recovered the lost camp and strengthened it with fortresses and garrisons, led by the military tribunes Manius Aemilius and Caeso Fabius; Marcus Furius in the Faliscan country, and Gnaeus Cornelius in the territory of Capena, meeting no enemies afield, drove off booty, and burning farmhouses and crops, laid waste the land, but the towns they neither assaulted nor besieged;
12.5. M. Furio in Faliscis, a Cn. Cornelio in Capenate agro hostes nulli extra moenia inventi; praedae actae incendiisque villarum ac frugum vastati fines; oppida nec oppugnata nec obsessa sunt.
12.6. in the Volscian country, however, after ravaging the fields, they made a futile attack on Anxur, which was seated on an eminence, and finding force to be unavailing, began to invest it with a stockade and trench, under Valerius Potitus, who had got the command against the Volsci.
12.6. in Volscis depopulato agro Anxur nequiquam oppugnatum loco alto situm et, postquam vis inrita erat, vallo fossaque obsideri coeptum. Valerio Potito Volsci provincia evenerat.
12.7. While military affairs were in this posture, a quarrel that broke out at home aroused more energy than went to their making of wars; and since the tax could not be taken up, on account of the tribunes, and the generals were sent no money, while the soldiers were clamouring for their pay, the camp, too, was like to have been disrupted by the contagion of mutiny in the City.
12.7. statu militarium rerum seditio intestina maiore mole coorta quam bella tractabantur; et cum tributum conferri per tribunos tribunes non posset nec stipendium imperatoribus mitteretur aeraque militaria flagitaret miles, haud procul erat quin castra quoque urbanae seditionis contagione turbarentur.
12.8. In the midst of this hostility which the plebs felt towards the patricians, though the plebeian tribunes said that the time was now come to establish liberty, and to transfer the highest office from such as Sergius and Verginius to stout and courageous commoners, yet they got no further than the election of one plebeian (by way of asserting their right), namely, Publius Licinius Calvus, to be military tribune with consular powers;
12.8. has iras plebis in patres cum tribuni plebi nunc illud tempus esse dicerent stabiliendae libertatis et ab Sergiis Verginiisque ad plebeios viros fortes ac strenuos transferendi summi honoris, non tamen ultra processum est quam ut unus ex plebe, usurpandi iuris causa, P. Licinius Calvus tribunus militum consulari potestate crearetur;
12.10. the others chosen were patricians: Publius Manlius, Lucius Titinius, Publius Maelius, Lucius Furius Medullinus, Lucius Publilius Volscus.
12.10. ceteri patricii creati, P. Manlius L. Titinius P. Maelius L. Furius Medullinus L. Publilius Volscus.
12.11. The plebeians themselves were amazed that they had gained so important a point, and not alone the man who had been chosen, one that had held no offices before, but was only a senator of long standing, now well on in years.
12.11. plebes mirabatur se tantam rem obtinuisse, non is modo qui creatus erat, vir nullis ante honoribus usus, vetus tantum senator et aetate iam gravis;
12.12. There is no unanimity of opinion why he was selected as the first and fittest to taste of the new honours. Some think it was the favour of his cousin Gnaeus Cornelius, who as tribune of the soldiers the year before had granted triple pay to the cavalrymen, ' that got him his promotion to so great an office; others, that he himself made a timely speech on the harmony of the orders, which pleased both patricians and plebeians.
12.12. nec satis constat cur primus ac potissimus ad novum delibandum honorem sit habitus. Cn. Corneli fratris, qui tribunus militum priore anno fuerat triplexque stipendium equitibus dederat, gratia extractum ad tantum honorem credunt, alii orationem ipsum tempestivam de concordia ordinum patribus plebique gratam habuisse.
12.13. Overjoyed at their victory in this election, the tribunes of the plebs withdrew that opposition to the tax which was the greatest obstacle to the business of the state, and it was obediently paid in and dispatched to the army. Anxur of the Volsci was speedily recaptured, a holiday having relaxed the vigilance of their guard. This year was remarkable for so cold and snowy a winter, that the roads were blocked and the Tiber became unnavigable. The price of corn, owing to the supply which they had brought in before, did not go up. Publius Licinius had obtained his magistracy without any disorders, rejoicing the commons more than he offended the patricians, and in the same spirit he conducted it; the people therefore became desirous of returning plebeians at the next election of consular tribunes.
12.13. victoria comitiorum exsultantes tribuni plebis, quod maxime rem publicam impediebat de tributo remiserunt. oboedienter missumque ad exercitum est. Anxur in Volscis brevi receptum est neglectis die festo custodiis urbis. annus hieme gelida ac nivosa fuit, adeo ut viae clausae, Tiberis innavigabilis fuerit. ex ante convecta copia nihil mutavit. quia P. Licinius, ut ceperat haud tumultuose magistratum maiore gaudio plebis quam indignatione patrum, ita etiam gessit, dulcedo invasit proximis comitiis tribunorum militum plebeios creandi.
13.3. Marcus Veturius was the sole patrician candidate to get in; all the other military tribunes with consular authority were commoners, as the result of an all but unanimous vote of the centuries. Their names were Marcus Pomponius, Gnaeus Duillius, Volero Publilius, Gnaeus Genucius, Lucius Atilius The severe winter was succeeded, whether in consequence of the sudden change from such inclement weather to the opposite extreme, or for some other reason, by a summer that was noxious and baleful to all living creatures.
13.3. M. Veturius ex patriciis candidatis locum tenuit: plebeios alios tribunos militum consulari potestate omnes fere centuriae dixere, M. Pomponium Cn. Duillium Voleronem Publilium Cn. Genucium L. Atilium. hiemem, sive ex intemperie caeli raptim mutatione in contrarium facta sive alia qua de causa, gravis pestilensque omnibus animalibus aestas excepit.
13.5. Unable to discover what caused the incurable ravages of this distemper, or would put an end to them, the senate voted to consult the Sibylline Books.
13.5. insanabili pernicie quando nec causa nec finis inveniebatur, libri Sibyllini ex senatus consulto aditi sunt.
13.6. The duumvirs in charge of the sacred rites then celebrated the first lectisternium ever held in Rome, and for the space of eight days sacrificed to Apollo, to Latona and Diana, to Hercules, to Mercury and to Neptune, spreading three couches for them with all the splendour then attainable.
13.6. sacris faciundis lectisternio tunc primum in urbe Romana facto per dies octo Apollinem Latonamque et Dianam, Herculem Mercurium atque Neptunum tribus quam amplissime tum tur apparari poterat stratis lectis placavere.
13.7. They also observed the rite in their homes. All through the City, they say, doors stood wide open, all kinds of viands were set out for general consumption, all comers were welcomed, whether known or not, and men even exchanged kind and courteous words with personal enemies; there was a truce to quarrelling and litigation;
13.7. quoque id sacrum celebratum est. urbe patentibus ianuis promiscuoque usu rerum omnium in propatulo posito, notos ignotosque passim advenas in hospitium ductos ferunt et cum inimicis quoque benigne ac comiter sermones habitos, iurgiis ac litibus temperatum;
13.8. even prisoners were loosed from their chains for those days, and they scrupled thenceforth to imprison men whom the gods had thus befriended. Meantime alarms were multiplied at Veii, where three wars were rolled into one.
13.8. vinctis quoque dempta in eos dies vincula; religioni deinde fuisse quibus eam earn opem di tulissent vinciri.
13.9. For, precisely as before, the Capenates and the Faliscans came suddenly to raise the siege, and the Romans fought about their works against three armies, which attacked them on both sides. What helped them most, was the recollection how Sergius and Verginius had been condemned.
13.9. ad Veios terror multiplex fuit tribus in unum bellis conlatis. eodem quo antea modo circa munimenta cum repente Capenates Faliscique subsidio venissent, adversus tres exercitus ancipiti proelio pugnatum est.
13.10. And so from the principal camp, where the delay had occurred on the former occasion, troops were dispatched by a short circuit and fell upon the Capenates in the rear, as they faced the rampart of the Romans.
13.10. omnia adiuvit memoria damnationis Sergi ac Vergini. e maioribus castris, unde antea cessatum fuerat, brevi spatio circumductae copiae Capenates in vallum Romanum versos ab tergo adgrediuntur; inde pugna coepta et Faliscis intulit terrorem, trepidantesque eruptio ex castris opportune facta avertit.
13.11. Beginning there, the battle carried terror even among the Faliscans, who were wavering, when a timely sally from the camp put them to flight. Then, as they retreated, the victors pursued them with great slaughter; and not long after a party that was raiding the territory of the Capenates happened to fall in with them and destroyed such as had survived the battle.
13.11. deinde insecuti victores ingentem ediderunt caedem. ita multo post iam forte oblati populatores Capenatis agri reliquias pugnae absumpsere.
13.13. Of the Veientes likewise, many, as they fled back to the town, were slain before the gates, when their friends, fearing lest the Romans should burst in along with them, had closed the portals, and barred out the hindmost of their own people. Such were the events of this year. And now the time drew near for choosing military tribunes and the Fathers were almost more concerned about the election than about the war, perceiving that the highest authority had been not merely shared with the plebs, but well-nigh lost to themselves. They therefore arranged that their most distinguished members should stand, —men whom they believed the electors would be ashamed to pass over, —and at the same time they themselves, as if they had all been candidates, left no stone unturned, and called to their aid not only men, but the gods as well, by raising a religious scruple anent the election held two -years before.
13.13. Veientium refugientes in urbem multi ante portas caesi, dum prae metu, ne simul Romanus inrumperet, obiectis foribus extremos suorum exclusere. eo anno acta. iam comitia tribunorum militum aderant, quorum prope maior patribus quam belli cura erat, quippe non communicatum modo cum plebe sed prope amissum cernentibus summum imperium. clarissimis viris ex composito praeparatis ad petendum quos praetereundi verecundiam crederent fore, nihilo minus ipsi, perinde ac si omnes candidati essent, cuncta experientes non homines modo sed deos etiam exciebant, in religionem vertentes comitia biennio habita:
14.3. In the year before the last, they said, there had been an intolerable winter, like a warning from Heaven. Last year had come not prodigies but actual realities: a pestilence had descended upon the fields and the City, clearly proceeding from the anger of the gods, whom they must propitiate in order to avert the plague, as the fateful Books had indicated; it had seemed to the gods an affront that an election held under their auspices should prostitute honours and confound family distinctions.
14.3. priore anno intolerandam hiemem prodigiisque divinis similem coortam, proximo non prodigia, sed iam eventus: pestilentiam agris urbique inlatam haud dubia ira deum, quos pestis eius arcendae causa placandos esse in libris fatalibus inventum sit; comitiis auspicato quae fierent indignum dis visum honores volgari discriminaque gentium confundi. maiestate petentium, religione etiam attoniti homines patricios omnes, partem magnam honoratissimum quemque, tribunos militum consulari potestate creavere, L. Valerium Potitum quintum M. Valerium Maximum M. Furium Camillum iterum L. Furium Medullinum Medullinuim tertium Q. Servilium Fidenatem iterum Q. Sulpicium Camerinum iterum.
14.5. The people were awed not only by the dignity of the candidates, but by the fear of Heaven, and to be military tribunes with consular powers chose all patricians, and chiefly the most illustrious among them, as follows: Lucius Valerius Potitus (for the fifth time), Marcus Valerius Maximus, Marcus Furius Camillus (for the second time), Lucius Furius Medullinus (for the third), Q. Servilius Fidenas (for the second), Quintus Sulpicius Camerinus (for the second). These tribunes achieved absolutely nothing noteworthy at Veii, but employed all their strength in pillaging. The two chief commanders, Potitus and Camillus, —one at Falerii, the other at Capena, —carried off huge spoils and left nothing untouched that iron or fire could destroy. Meanwhile many portents were reported, most of which, because they had only one witness each to vouch for them, obtained no credence and were slighted; and, besides, when the Etruscans, whose services they employed to avert evil omens, were at war with them, they had no soothsayers. One thing occasioned universal anxiety, namely that the lake in the Alban Wood, without any rains or other cause to make it less than a miracle, rose to an unwonted height.
14.5. tribunis ad Veios nihil admodum memorabile actum est; tota vis in populationibus fuit. summi imperatores, Potitus a Faleriis, Camillus a Capena praedas ingentes egere nulla incolumi relicta re cui ferro aut igni noceri posset. interim multa nuntiari, quorum pleraque, et quia singuli auctores erant, parum credita spretaque, et quia hostibus Etruscis, per quos ea procurarent, haruspices non erant: in unum omnium curae versae sunt, quod lacus in Albano nemore sine ullis caelestibus aquis causave qua alia quae rem miraculo eximeret, in altitudinem insolitam crevit.
15.3. To inquire what the gods could possibly foretell by that prodigy, envoys were sent to the Delphic oracle.
15.3. eo di portenderent prodigio missi sciscitatum oratores ad Delphicum oraculum.
15.4. But a nearer interpreter of the fates presented himself, an old man of Veii, who, while the Roman and Etruscan soldiers were scoffing at one another as they stood guard at the outposts, declared in a prophetic strain that until the water should be drawn off from the Alban Lake the Romans never could take Veii.
15.4. propior interpres fatis oblatus senior quidam Veiens, qui inter cavillantes in stationibus ac custodiis milites Romanos Etruscosque vaticinantis in modum cecinit priusquam ex lacu Albano aqua emissa foret nunquam potiturum Veiis Romanum.
15.5. At first they made light of this as an idle taunt; then they began to talk it over; presently one of the Roman outpost inquired of the townsman nearest him (for owing to the long continuance of the war they had now got into the way of conversing together) who that man was who threw out mysterious hints regarding the Alban Lake. When he heard that he was a soothsayer, being himself not without a touch of superstition, he alleged a desire to consult him about the averting of a domestic portent, if he could spare the time, and so enticed the seer to a conference.
15.5. primo velut temere iactum sperni, agitari deinde sermonibus coeptum est, donec done unus ex statione Romana percontatus proximum oppidanorum iam per longinquitatem belli commercio sermonum facto, quisnam is esset qui per ambages de lacn Albano iaceret, postquam audivit haruspicem esse, vir haud intacti religione animi, causatus de privati portenti procuratione si operae illi esset consulere velle, ad conloquium vatem elicuit.
15.7. And when they had walked a little way apart from the friends of both, unarmed and fearing nothing, the stalwart young Roman laid hold of the feeble old man in the sight of them all, and despite an unavailing hubbub raised by the Etruscans, bore him off to his own fellows.
15.7. progressi ambo a suis longius essent inermes sine ullo metu, praevalens iuvenis Romanus senem infirmum in conspectu omnium raptum nequiquam tumultuantibus Etruscis ad suos transtulit.
15.8. There they had him before the general, who sent him on to Rome, to the senate. When the Fathers questioned him what it was he had meant about the Alban Lake, he answered that the gods must surely have been incensed at the people of Veii on the day when they put it into his:
15.8. cum perductus ad imperatorem, inde Romam ad senatum missus esset, sciscitantibus quidnam id esset quod de lacu Albano docuisset, respondit profecto iratos deos Veienti populo illo fuisse die quo sibi eam mentem obiecissent ut excidium patriae fatale proderet.
15.10. mind to reveal the destruction destined to befall his native city; and so what he had then uttered under divine inspiration, he could not now unsay and recall; and perhaps in concealing what the immortal gods wished to be published guilt was incurred no less than by disclosing what should be hid.
15.10. quae tum tun cecinerit divino spiritu instinctus, ea se nec ut indicta sint revocare posse et tacendo forsitan quae di immortales volgari velint haud minus quam celanda effando nefas contrahi.
15.11. Thus then it was written in the books of fate, thus handed down in the lore of the Etruscans, that when the Alban water should overflow, if then the Romans should duly draw it off, they would be given the victory over the Veientes; until that should come, to pass, the gods would not abandon the walls of Veii.
15.11. igitur libris fatalibus, sic disciplina Etrusca traditum esse, quando aqua Albana abundasset, tum si eam ear Romanus rite emisisset victoriam de Veientibus dari; antequam id fiat deos moenia Veientium deserturos non esse.
15.12. He then went on to explain the appointed method of draining it. But the senators, making slight account of his authority, as not sufficiently trustworthy in so grave a matter, determined to wait for their deputies with the response of the Pythian oracle. But before these envoys could return from Delphi or an expiation be devised for the Alban portent, new military tribunes with consular authority came in; these were Lucius Julius Iulus, Lucius Furius Medullinus (for the fourth time), Lucius Sergius Fidenas, Aulus Postumius Regillensis, Publius Cornelius Maluginensis, and Aulus Manlius. In that year a new enemy arose in the Tarquinienses, who seeing the Romans beset with many wars at once, —against the Volsci, who were laying siege to the garrison at Anxur, against the Aequi, who were attacking the Roman colony at Labici, and also against the men of Veii, of Falerii, and of Capena, — and perceiving that affairs within the City were no less troubled, owing to contentions betwixt the patricians and the plebs, believed that in these circumstances they had an opportunity to do the Romans a hurt, and sent out light-armed detachments to raid their territory; for they thought that either the Romans would put up with the wrong, to avoid the burden of another war, or would take the field with a small and therefore inadequate army.
15.12. inde quae sollemnis derivatio esset. auctorem levem nec satis fidum super tanta re patres rati decrevere legatos sortesque oraculi Pythici exspectandas. a Delphis oratores redirent Albanive prodigii piacula invenirentur, novi tribuni militum consulari potestate L. Iulius Iulus L. Furius Medullinus quartum L. Sergius Fidenas A. Postumius Regillensis P. Cornelius Maluginensis A. Manlius magistratum inierunt. anno Tarquinienses novi hostes exorti. quia multis simul bellis, Volscorum Volscorurn ad Anxur, ubi praesidium obsidebatur, Aequorum ad Labicos, qui Romanam ibi coloniam oppugnabant, ad hoc Veientique et Falisco et Capenati bello occupatos videbant Romanos, nec intra muros quietiora negotia esse certaminibus patrum ac plebis, inter haec locum iniuriae rati esse praedatum in agrum agrurn Romanum cohortes expeditas mittunt: aut enim passuros inultam eam ear iniuriam Romanos, ne novo bello se onerarent, aut exiguo eoque parum valido exercitu persecuturos.
16.4. The indignation of the Romans was greater than their concern for the damage wrought by the Tarquinienses; so they neither made strenuous efforts to prepare, nor deferred taking action to a distant date.
16.4. Romanis indignitas maior quam cura populationis Tarquiniensium fuit; eo nec magno conatu suscepta nec in longum dilata res est.
16.5. Aulus Postumius and Lucius Iulus, without holding a regular levy —for this the plebeian tribunes hindered —but with a company consisting almost solely of volunteers whom they had induced to join by their exhortations, marched out by cross-country ways through the territory of Caere, and surprised the Tarquinienses as they were returning from their depradations laden with booty.
16.5. A. Postumius et L. Iulius non iusto dilectu—etenim ab tribunis plebis impediebantur—sed prope voluntariorum quos adhortando incitaverant coacta manu per agrum Caeretem obliquis tramitibus egressi redeuntes a populationibus gravesque praeda Tarquinienses oppressere.
16.6. Many men they slew, all they stripped of their baggage; and having recovered the spoils of their own fields, returned to Rome.
16.6. mortales obtruncant, omnes exuunt impedimentis, et receptis agrorum suorum spoliis Romam revertuntur.
16.7. Two days were allowed the owners to identify their property; on the third all that had not been recognized —chiefly things belonging to the enemy themselves —was sold under the spear and the proceeds divided amongst the soldiers.
16.7. ad recognoscendas res datum dominis; tertio incognita —erant autem ea pleraque hostium ipsorum—sub hasta veniere, quodque inde redactum militibus est divisum.
16.8. The other campaigns, especially the one at Veii, were indecisive. And now the Romans, despairing of human aid, were looking to destiny and the gods, when the deputies returned from Delphi, bringing the oracle's response, which corresponded with the utterance of the captive seer:
16.8. bella maximeque Veiens incerti exitus erant. Romani desperata ope humana fata et deos spectabant, cum legati ab Delphis venerunt sortem oraculi adferentes congruentem response captivi vatis:
16.9. “Roman, see that thou suffer not the Alban water to be confined within the lake, nor to fret its own channel to the sea; thou shalt draw it forth and water the fields withal, and spread it abroad till it be lost in rivulets;”
16.9. , aquam Albanam cave lacu contineri, cave in mare manare suo flumine sinas; emissam per agros rigabis dissipatamque rivis exstingues;
16.10. “after that press boldly on against the walls of the foe, and know that over that city which thou dost beleaguer for so many years, the fates now disclosed have given thee the victory.”
16.10. tum tu insiste audax hostium muris, memor quam per tot annos obsides urbem ex ea tibi his quae nunc panduntur fatis victoriam datam.
16.11. “When thou hast ended the war with conquest, bring to my temple an ample gift, and repeat and accomplish in customary wise the ancestral rites thou hast neglected.” The captive soothsayer began from that moment to be held in great repute, and the military tribunes, Cornelius and Postumius, set out to employ him about the expiation of the Alban prodigy and the due appeasement of the gods. At length it was discovered wherein the gods taxed them with neglecting ceremonies or omitting a festival: it was assuredly nothing else than that magistrates in whose election there had been a flaw had improperly proclaimed the Latin games and the sacrifice on the Alban Mount; only one atonement for these errors was open to them, to make the tribunes of the soldiers resign their office, to take the auspices afresh, and to begin an interregnum.
16.11. perfecto donum amplum victor ad mea templa portato, sacraque patria, quorum omissa cura est, instaurata ut adsolet facito. inde haberi captivus vates coeptus, eumque adhibere tribuni militum Cornelius Postumiusque ad prodigii Albani procurationem ac deos rite placandos coepere; inventumque tandem est ubi neglectas caerimonias intermissumve sollemne di arguerent: nihil profecto aliud esse quam magistratus vitio creatos Latinas sacrumque in Albano monte non rite concepisse; unam expiationem eorum esse ut tribuni militum abdicarent se magistratu, auspicia de integro repeterentur, et interregnum iniretur.
17.4. By decree of the senate these things were done. There were three successive interreges, Lucius Valerius, Quintus Servilius Fidenas, Marcus Furius Camillus, In the meantime there were continuous disturbances, and the plebeian tribunes blocked the election, until it had first been agreed that the majority of the military tribunes should be chosen out of the commons.
17.4. ita facta sunt ex senatus consulto. tres deinceps fuere, L. Valerius Q. Servilius Fidenas M. Furius Camillus. desitum interim turbari, comitia interpellantibus tribunis plebis donec convenisset prius ut maior pars tribunorum militum ex plebe crearetur.
17.6. While this was going on, the Etruscans met in council at the Fane of Voltumna; where the Capenates and Faliscans proposed that all the nations of Etruria should unite in a common resolution 'and design to raise the siege of Veii. The council made answer that they had before refused the Veientes this request, on the ground that they had no right to ask help from those whom they had not cared to look to for advice in so weighty a matter.
17.6. dum aguntur, concilia Etruriae ad fanum Voltumnae habita, postulantibusque Capenatibus ac Faliscis ut Veios communi animo consilioque omnes Etruriae populi ex obsidione eriperent, responsum est antea se id Veientibus negasse quia unde consilium non petissent super tanta re auxilium petere non deberent;
17.8. Just then, however, the plight of their country itself denied the petition. There was now in the greatest part of Etruria a strange race, new settlers, with whom they were neither securely at peace nor yet certain to have war.
17.8. nunc iam pro se fortunam suam illis negare. iam in parte Etruriae gentem invisitatam, novos accolas esse, cum quibus nec pax satis fida nec bellum pro certo sit.
17.9. Nevertheless, out of regard for the blood and the name and the present perils of their kinsmen, they would grant that if any of their young men wished to serve in that war, they might do so without let or hindrance.
17.9. tamen nominique et praesentibus periculis consanguineorum id dari ut si qui iuventutis suae voluntate ad id bellum eant non impediant.
17.10. Of such recruits it was said at Rome that a great number had come in; and so domestic differences began to subside, as generally happens, in the face of a common danger. It occasioned the Fathers no displeasure when the prerogative centuries chose Publius Licinius Calvus tribune of the soldiers, without his seeking office; he was a man whose moderation had been proven in his former term, but was now become superannuated. It was clear that all who had been his colleagues in that same year would also be returned, one after the other, to wit: Lucius Titinius, Publius Maenius, Gnaeus Genucius, Lucius Atilius.
17.10. magnum advenisse hostium numerum fama Romae erat; eoque mitescere discordiae intestinae metu communi, ut fit, coepere. invitis patribus P. Licinium Calvum praerogativae tribunum militum non petentem creant, moderationis expertae in priore magistratu virum, ceterum iam tum exactae aetatis; omnesque deinceps ex collegio eiusdem anni refici apparebat, L. Titinium P. Maenium Cn. Genucium L. Atilium. priusquam renuntiarentur iure vocatis tribubus, permissu interregis P. Licinius Calvus ita verba fecit:
18.3. But before they were declared to the duly assembled tribes, Licinius spoke as follows, having obtained permission of the interrex: “It is an omen of harmony, as I perceive, Quirites, a thing most needful at this juncture, that you seek for the ensuing year, when in your voting you remember our former magistracy;”
18.3. concordiae, Quirites, rei maxime in hoc tempus utili, memoria nostri magistratus vos his comitiis petere in insequentem annum video;
18.4. “but whereas in my colleagues you are choosing again the same men, and all the better for experience, in me you see no longer the same Publius Licinius, of whom but the shadow and the name are left.”
18.4. sed collegas eosdem reficitis, etiam usu meliores factos, me iam non eundem sed umbram nomenque P. Licini relictum videtis. corporis adfectae, sensus oculorum atque aurium hebetes, memoria labat, vigor animi obtunsus.
18.5. “My strength of body is decayed, my sight and hearing dulled, memory fails me, and the vigour of my mind is impaired. Here,” he cried, laying hold of his son, “here is a young man, the effigy and likeness of him you formerly chose for military tribune first of all plebeians.”
18.5. vobis inquit iuvenem, filium tenens, effigiem atque imaginem eius quem vos antea tribunum militum ex plebe primum fecistis. ego institutum disciplina mea vicarium pro me rei publicae do dicoque vosque quaeso, Quirites, delatum mihi ultro honorem huic petenti meisque pro eo adiectis precibus mandetis.
18.6. “Him have I bred up in my own principles, and in my stead I give and dedicate him to the state, and I pray you, Quirites, who without my seeking have offered me the office, that you grant it to him, who seeks it, and to the prayers I have added in his behalf.” The father was granted his request, and the son, Publius Licinius, was declared military tribune with consular powers, together with those I have named above. Titinius and Genucius, tribunes of the soldiers, having marched against the Faliscans and Capenates, brought more spirit than generalship to their conduct of the war, and plunged into an ambush.
18.6. id petenti patri, filiusque eius P. Licinius tribunus militum consulari potestate cum iis quos supra scripsimus declaratus. Titinius Genuciusque tribuni militum profecti adversus Faliscos Capenatesque, dum bellum maiore animo gerunt quam consilio, praecipitavere se in insidias.
18.8. Genucius, atoning for his rashness by an honourable death, fell fighting among the foremost, in front of the standards; Titinius rallied his men, who had been thrown into great confusion, on a little eminence, and made a stand, yet he would not risk an engagement on level ground.
18.8. Genucius morte honesta temeritatem luens ante signa inter primores cecidit; Titinius in editum tumulum ex multa trepidatione militibus collectis aciem restituit, nec se tamen aequo loco hosti commisit.
18.9. The disgrace outweighed the defeat, which had almost proved disastrous, so great was the panic which it caused, not only in Rome, where a greatly exaggerated report of the affair had been received, but also in the camp before Veii.
18.9. ignominiae erat quam cladis acceptum, quae prope in cladem ingentem vertit; tantum inde terroris non Romae modo, quo multiplex fama pervenerat, sed in castris quoque fuit ad Veios.
18.10. There the soldiers could hardly be restrained from flight, for a rumour had run through the camp that the victorious Capenates and Faliscans, having slaughtered the Roman commanders and their army, were close at hand, with all the manhood of Etruria.
18.10. ibi miles retentus a fuga est cum pervasisset castra rumor ducibus exercituque caeso victorem Capenatem ac Faliscum Etruriaeque omnem iuventutem haud procul inde abesse.
18.11. Accounts even more alarming had been credited at Rome: that the camp at Veii was already under attack; that already a division of the enemy was marching to assail the City. There was a rush to the walls, and the women, drawn from their houses by the general consternation, betook themselves to prayer in the temples, and besought the gods to ward off destruction from the houses and shrines of the City and from the walls of Rome, and to turn that panic against Veii, if the sacred rites had been duly renewed and the portents expiated. And now the games and the Latin Festival had been repeated, now the water had been let out from the Alban Lake upon the fields, and the doom of Veii drew on apace.
18.11. tumultuosiora Romae, iam castra ad Veios oppugnari, iam partem hostium tendere ad urbem agmine infesto, crediderant; concursumque in muros est et matronarum, quas ex domo conciverat publicus pavor, obsecrationes in templis factae, precibusque ab dis petitum, ut exitium ab urbis tectis templisque ac moenibus Romanis arcerent Veiosque eum averterent terrorem, si sacra renovata rite, si procurata prodigia essent.
19.2. Accordingly the commander destined to destroy that city and to save his country, Marcus Furius Camillus, was appointed dictator, and named Publius Cornelius Scipio as his master of the horse.
19.2. ludi Latinaeque instaurata erant, iam ex lacu Albano aqua emissa in agros, Veiosque fata adpetebant. fatalis dux ad excidium illius urbis servandaeque patriae, M. Furius Camillus, dictator dictus magistrum equitum P. Cornelium Scipionem dixit.
19.3. The change in the command at once made a change in all things else; there was new hope and a new spirit, and even the fortune of the City seemed to be renewed.
19.3. repente mutaverat imperator mutatus; alia spes, alius animus hominum, fortuna quoque alia urbis videri.
19.4. The dictator's first act was to visit military punishment upon those who had fled from Veil in the panic there, and to teach his men that the enemy was not the worst thing they had to fear.
19.4. primum in eos qui a Veiis in illo pavore fugerant more militari animadvertit, effecitque ne hostis maxime timendus militi esset. indicto dilectu in diem certam ipse interim Veios ad confirmandos militum animos intercurrit;
19.5. He then fixed the levy for a certain day, and in the interval hastened to Veii to encourage his soldiers; thence he returned to Rome to enroll the new army, and found no one who refused to serve.
19.5. inde Romam ad scribendum novum exercitum redit nullo detractante militiam. etiam iuventus, Latini Hernicique, operam suam pollicentes ad id bellum venere;
19.6. Even foreign troops, Latins and Hernicans, came with promises to help in this war, and the dictator thanked them in the senate. All things being now in readiness for the campaign, Camillus vowed, in pursuance of a senatorial decree, to celebrate the great games, if he should capture Veii, and to restore and dedicate anew the temple of Mater Matuta, which in time gone by had been consecrated by King Servius Tullius.
19.6. quibus cum gratias in senatu egisset dictator, satis iam omnibus ad id bellum paratis ludos magnos ex senatus consulto vovit Veiis captis se facturum aedemque Matutae Matris refectam dedicaturum, iam ante ab rege Ser. dedicatam.
19.7. Marching out from the City, where he left a greater feeling of suspense than of confidence, he first engaged the Faliscans and Capenates, in the Nepesine country.
19.7. cum exercitu ab urbe exspectatione hominum maiore quam spe in agro primum Nepesino cum Faliscis et Capenatibus signa confert.
19.8. There all his measures, being executed with consummate skill and prudence, were attended, as generally happens, with good fortune. Not only did he rout the enemy in battle, but he also deprived them of their camp and got possession of enormous booty, the chief part of which was made over to the quaestor, and no great quantity given to the soldiers.
19.8. ibi summa ratione consilioque acta fortuna etiam, ut fit, secuta est. proelio tantum fudit hostes, sed castris quoque exuit ingentique praeda est potitus; cuius pars maxima ad quaestorem redacta est, haud baud ita multum militi datum.
19.9. He then led his army to Veii, where he increased the number of redoubts, and withdrawing the troops from the skirmishes which frequently took place, on the spur of the moment, in the space between the town wall and the stockade, by an edict forbidding any man to fight without orders, he employed them in digging.
19.9. ad Veios exercitus ductus, densioraque castella facta et a procursationibus, quae multae temere inter murum ac vallum fiebant, edicto ne quis iniussu pugnaret, ad opus milites traducti.
19.10. Of all the works, much the greatest and most laborious was a mine they began to drive into the enemy's citadel. That this work might not be interrupted nor the same men become exhausted by perpetually toiling under ground, he divided the workers into six parties and assigned them six-hour shifts in rotation; night and day the work went on unceasingly, till they had made a way into the citadel. The dictator saw that victory was at last within his grasp, and that a city of great wealth was on the point of being taken, with booty more than if all previous wars had been put together.
19.10. fuit omnium longe maximum ac laboriosissimum cuniculus in arcem hostium agi coeptus. ne intermitteretur opus neu sub terra continuus labor eosdem conficeret, in partes sex munitorum numerum divisit; senae horae in orbem operi attributae sunt; nocte ac die nunquam ante omissum quam in arcem viam facerent.
20.2. Lest, therefore, he might incur either the resentment of the soldiers, in consequence of a niggardly division of the spoils, or the ill-will of the Fathers, if he were lavish in sharing them out, he wrote to the senate, that thanks to the favour of the immortal gods, his own direction, and the patient efforts of his troops, Veii would presently be in the power of the Roman People, and asked what disposition they proposed making of the plunder.
20.2. cum iam in manibus videret victoriam esse, urbem opulentissimam capi, tantumque praedae fore quantum non omnibus in unum conlatis ante bellis fuisset, ne quam inde aut militum iram ex malignitate praedae partitae aut invidiam apud patres ex prodiga largitione caperet, litteras ad senatum misit, deum immortalium benignitate suis consiliis patientia militum Veios iam fore in potestate populi Romani;
20.4. The senate was divided between two opinions; the aged Publius Licinius, who was the first, they say, that his son called upon to speak, advised making public proclamation that the people decreed that whoso desired a share in the spoils should proceed to the camp at Veii;
20.4. quid de praeda faciendum censerent? senatum distinebant sententiae, senis P. Licini, quem primum dixisse a filio interrogatum ferunt, edici palam placere populo ut qui particeps esse praedae vellet in castra Veios iret, altera Ap.
20.5. the other plan was that of Appius Claudius, who declared that such largess was without example, reckless, unfair, and ill-advised; if they were persuaded once for all that it was wicked that money captured from the enemy should lie in the treasury, which had been exhausted by the wars, he urged them to pay the soldiers out of it, that the plebs might have so much the less war-tax to contribute; this was a boon of which all families alike would feel the benefit, nor would the hands of idle city-folk, greedy of pillage, pluck away the rewards of valiant fighting men —since it commonly turned out that in proportion as a man was prone to seek a leading share of toil and danger, he was slow in plundering.
20.5. Claudi, qui largitionem novam prodigam inaequalem inconsultam arguens, si semel nefas ducerent captam ex hostibus in aerario exhausto bellis pecuniam esse, auctor erat stipendii ex ea pecunia militi numerandi ut eo minus tributi plebes conferret; eius enim doni societatem sensuras aequaliter omnium domos, non avidas in direptiones manus otiosorum urbanorum praerepturas fortium bellatorum praemia esse, cum ita ferme eveniat ut segnior sit praedator, ut quisque laboris periculique praecipuam petere partem soleat.
20.7. Licinius argued, on the other hand, that this money would breed endless suspicion and hate, and would furnish grounds for accusations before the plebs, and so for agitation and revolutionary laws;
20.7. Licinius contra suspectam et invisam semper eam pecuniam fore aiebat causasque criminum ad plebem, seditionum inde ac legum novarum praebituram;
20.8. it was better, therefore, to win over by this gift the sympathies of the commons, to succour them, exhausted and impoverished as they were by so' many years' taxation, and to let them enjoy the spoils and fruits of that war in which they had well-nigh grown old men; there would in every instance be more satisfaction and pleasure in what a man took with his own hand from the enemy and brought home, than if he received many times its value at the discretion of another;
20.8. satius igitur esse reconciliari eo dono plebis animos, exhaustis atque exinanitis tributo tot annorum succurri, et sentire praedae fructum ex eo bello in quo prope consenuerint. id fore laetiusque quod quisque sua manu ex hoste captum domum rettulerit quam si multiplex alterius arbitrio accipiat. dictatorem fugere invidiam ex eo criminaque;
20.9. the dictator himself would fain avoid the enmity and charges arising from this business, and therefore had handed it over to the senate; the senate, likewise, in its turn, should refer the question to the plebs, and let every man keep what the fortune of war might give him.
20.9. eo delegasse ad senatum; senatum quoque debere reiectam rem ad se permittere plebi ac pati habere quod cuique fors belli dederit.
20.10. This policy seemed the safer, since it would make the senate popular. Accordingly, proclamation was made that all who liked might go to the dictator in camp, to share in the plunder of Veii. A vast throng went out, and filled the camp. Then the dictator, after taking the auspices, came forth and commanded the troops to arm.
20.10. tutior visa sententia est quae popularem senatum faceret. itaque est ad praedam Veientem quibus videretur in castra ad dictatorem proficiscerentur.
21.2. “Under thy leadership,” he cried, “Pythian Apollo, and inspired by thy will, I advance to destroy the city of Veii, and to thee I promise a tithe of its spoils.”
21.2. profecta multitudo replevit castra. dictator auspicato egressus cum edixisset ut arma milites caperent, ductu inquit, Pythice Apollo, tuoque numine instinctus pergo ad delendam urbem Veios tibique hinc decimam partem praedae voveo.
21.3. “At the same time I beseech thee, Queen Juno, that dwellest now in Veii, to come with us, when we have gotten the victory, to our City —soon to be thine, too —that a temple meet for thy majesty may there receive thee.”
21.3. simul, Iuno regina, quae nunc Veios colis, precor, ut nos victores in nostram tuamque mox futuram urbem sequare, ubi te dignum amplitudine tua templum accipiat.
21.4. These prayers uttered, he set forward with overwhelming numbers to assault the town on every side, that the inhabitants might not perceive the danger pressing upon them from the mine.
21.4. precatus superante multitudine ab omnibus locis urbem adgreditur, quo minor ab cuniculo ingruentis periculi sensus esset.
21.5. The Veientes, unconscious that they were already given up by their own soothsayers, and by foreign oracles, that some of the gods had already been invited to share in their despoiling, while others having been entreated to quit their city were beginning to look to new homes in the temples of their enemies, and that this was the last day they were themselves to live, feared nothing less than that their defences were undermined and their citadel already filled with foemen, and, each for himself, took up arms and ran out to the ramparts;
21.5. Veientes ignari se iam a suis vatibus, iam ab externis oraculis proditos, iam in partem praedae suae vocatos deos, alios votis ex urbe sua evocatos hostium templa novasque sedes spectare, seque ultimum illum diem agere, nihil minus timentes quam subrutis cuniculo moenibus arcem iam plenam hostium esse, in muros pro se quisque armati discurrunt,
21.7. marvelling what it meant that whereas for so many days not a Roman had stirred from his post, they should now, as though they had suddenly gone mad, be rushing blindly against the walls.
21.7. mirantes quidnam id esset quod, cum tot per dies nemo se ab stationibus Romanus movisset, tum velut repentino icti furore improvidi currerent ad muros.
21.8. At this point men introduce a tale, how, as the King of the Veientes was sacrificing, the Roman soldiers in the mine overheard the soothsayer declare that to him who should cut up the inwards of that victim would be given the victory, and were moved to open the mine and seize the entrails, which they bore off to the dictator.
21.8. huic loco fabula: immolante rege Veientium vocem haruspicis, dicentis qui eius hostiae exta prosecuisset ei victoriam dari, exauditam in cuniculo movisse Romanos milites ut adaperto cuniculo exta raperent et ad dictatorem ferrent.
21.9. But in matters of so great antiquity I should be content if things probable were to be received as true: this story, more fit to be displayed on the stage, that delights in wonders, than to be believed, it is worth while neither to affirm nor to refute.
21.9. in rebus tam antiquis si quae similia veri sint pro veris accipiantur, satis habeam: haec ad ostentationem scaenae gaudentis miraculis aptiora quam ad fidem neque adfirmare neque refellere est operae pretium.
21.10. The mine, which was then filled with picked troops, suddenly discharged its armed men into the temple of Juno, on the Veientine citadel; some of them assailed the backs of their enemies, who were on the walls; others wrenched off the bars that made fast the gates; others, when the women and slaves cast down stones and tiles from roofs, fetched fire against them.
21.10. delectis militibus eo tempore plenus in aedem Iunonis, quae in Veientana arce erat, armatos repente edidit, et pars aversos in muris invadunt hostes, pars claustra portarum revellunt, pars cum ex tectis saxa tegulaeque a mulieribus ac servitiis iacerentur, inferunt ignes.