21.11. The air resounded with shouts; discordant threats of the attackers and despairing shrieks of the defenders were blended with the wailing of women and children.
21.11. omnia variis terrentium ac paventium vocibus mixto mulierum ac puerorum ploratu complet.
21.12. In a moment the armed soldiers were everywhere hurled from the walls, and the gates thrown open. A part of the Romans poured through them in a body, others scaled the deserted walls; the city was overrun with enemies; the battle raged in every quarter;
21.12. temporis deiectis ex muro undique armatis patefactisque portis cum alii agmine inruerent, alii desertos scanderent muros, urbs hostibus impletur; omnibus locis pugnatur;
21.13. then, when there had already been great carnage, the fighting began to flag, and the dictator bade the heralds proclaim that those without arms should be spared. This ended the slaughter.
21.13. deinde multa iam edita caede senescit pugna, et dictator praecones edicere iubet ut ab inermi abstineatur.
21.14. The unarmed began to give themselves up, and the Romans scattered, with the dictator's permission, in quest of booty. When this was brought before him, and he saw that it was considerably larger and comprised effects of greater value than he had hoped or thought, it is said that he raised his hands to heaven and prayed that if any god or man deemed his good fortune and that of the Roman People to be excessive, it might be granted him to appease that envy with the least harm to his own private interests and to the public welfare of the Roman People.
21.14. finis sanguinis fuit. inde inermes coepti, et ad praedam miles permissu dictatoris discurrit. cum ante oculos eius aliquantum spe atque opinione maior maiorisque pretii rerum ferretur, dicitur manus ad caelum tollens precatus esse ut si cui deorum hominumque nimia sua fortuna populique Romani videretur, ut eam invidiam lenire quam minimo suo privato incommodo publicoque populi Romani liceret.
21.16. As he turned, while making this prayer, tradition states that he slipped and fell, and that this omen was seen (when men came later to gather its meaning from the event) to point to the condemnation of Camillus himself, and in the second place, to the capture of Rome, a disaster which befell a few years afterwards.
21.16. se inter hanc venerationem traditur memoriae prolapsum cecidisse; idque omen pertinuisse postea eventu rem coniectantibus visum ad damnationem ipsius Camilli, captae deinde urbis Romanae, quod post paucos accidit annos, cladem.
21.17. So that day was spent in the slaughter of enemies and the sack of a most opulent city. On the following day the dictator sold the free-born inhabitants into slavery. This was the only money that went into the state treasury, but the commons were angry about it; as for the booty they brought back themselves, they gave the credit not to their commander, who had referred to the Fathers, that they might support his niggardliness, a matter which had lain within his own discretion, nor yet to the senators, but- to the house of the Licinii, whose son had brought to a vote in the senate that popular measure which his father had proposed.
21.17. ille dies caede hostium ac direptione urbis opulentissimae est consumptus. die libera corpora dictator sub corona vendidit. sola pecunia in publicum redigitur, haud sine ira plebis; et quod rettulere secum praedae, nec duci, qui ad senatum, malignitatis auctores quaerendo, rem arbitrii sui reiecisset, nec senatui, sed Liciniae familiae, ex qua filius ad senatum rettulisset, pater tam popularis sententiae auctor fuisset, acceptum referebant.
22.3. When the wealth that belonged to men had now been carried away out of Veii, they began to remove the possessions of the gods and the gods themselves, but more in the manner of worshippers than of pillagers.
22.3. iam humanae opes egestae a Veiis essent, amoliri tum deum dona ipsosque deos, sed colentium magis quam rapientium modo, coepere.
22.4. For out of all the army youths were chosen, and made to cleanse their bodies and to put on white garments, and to them the duty was assigned of conveying Queen Juno to Rome. Reverently entering her temple, they scrupled at first to approach her with their hands, because this image was one that according to Etruscan practice none but a priest of a certain family was wont to touch; when one of them, whether divinely inspired or out of youthful jocularity, asked, “Wilt thou go, Juno, to Rome?” —whereat the others all cried out that the goddess had nodded assent.
22.4. delecti ex omni exercitu iuvenes pure lautis corporibus, candida veste, quibus deportanda Romam regina Iuno adsignata erat, venerabundi templum iniere primo religiose admoventes manus, quod id signum more Etrusco nisi certae gentis sacerdos attractare non esset solitus. cum quidam seu spiritu divino tactus seu iuvenali ioco, Romam ire, Iuno? dixisset, adnuisse ceteri deam conclamaverunt.
22.6. It was afterwards added to the story that she had also been heard to say that she was willing. At all events we are told that she was moved from her place with contrivances of little power, as though she accompanied them voluntarily, and was lightly and easily transferred and carried safe and sound to the Aventine, the eternal home to which the prayers of the Roman dictator had called her; and there Camillus afterwards dedicated to her the temple which he himself had vowed.
22.6. fabulae adiectum est vocem quoque dicentis velle auditam; motam certe sede sua parvi molimenti adminiculis sequentis modo accepimus levem ac facilem tralatu fuisse, integramque in Aventinum, aeternam sedem suam quo vota Romani dictatoris vocaverant, perlatam, ubi templum ei postea idem qui voverat Camillus dedicavit.
22.8. Such was the fall of Veii, the wealthiest city of the Etruscan race, which gave evidence of its greatness even in its final overthrow; since after a blockade of ten continuous summers and winters, during which time it had inflicted considerably heavier losses than it had sustained, it yet was ultimately taken, when at last even destiny fought against it, by siege-works and not by force. When word came to Rome that Veii was taken, although the portents had been averted and the answers of the soothsayers and the Pythian oracle were known; and though they had done all that human wisdom could do to help, in choosing Marcus Furius Camillus, greatest of all generals, to lead them;
22.8. Veiorum occasus fuit, urbis opulentissimae Etrusci nominis, magnitudinem suam vel ultima clade indicantis, quod decem aestates hiemesque continuas circumsessa cum plus aliquanto cladium intulisset quam accepisset, postremo iam fato quoque urgente, operibus tamen, non vi expugnata est.
23.2. nevertheless, because they had warred there so many years with varying fortune and had suffered many a reverse, their joy, as though unexpected, knew no bounds; and ere the senate could act, the temples were all thronged with Roman matrons giving thanks to the gods. The senate decreed supplications for four days, a longer period than in any former war.
23.2. Romam ut nuntiatum est Veios captos, quamquam et prodigia procurata fuerant et vatum responsa et Pythicae sortes notae, et quantum humanis adiuvari consiliis potuerat res ducem M. Furium maximum imperatorum omnium legerant, tamen, quia tot annis varie ibi bellatum erat multaeque clades acceptae, velut ex insperato immensum gaudium fuit, et priusquam senatus decerneret plena omnia templa Romanarum matrum grates dis agentium erant. in quadriduum, quot dierum nullo ante bello, supplicationes decernit.
23.4. Moreover, as the dictator drew near, all sorts and conditions of men ran forth to meet him in such numbers as had never welcomed a general before, and the triumph far exceeded the measure of honour usual on that day.
23.4. quoque dictatoris omnibus ordinibus obviam effusis celebratior quam ullius unquam antea fuit, triumphusque omnem consuetum honorandi diei illius, modum aliquantum excessit.
23.5. He was himself the most conspicuous object in it, as he rode into the City on a chariot drawn by white horses; an act which struck men as being not only undemocratic, but irreverent, for they were troubled at the thought that in respect to his steeds the dictator was made equal to Jupiter and the sun-god;
23.5. conspectus ipse est curru equis albis iuncto urbem invectus; parumque id non civile modo sed humanum etiam visum.
23.6. and the triumph, chiefly for this one reason, was more brilliant than popular. He then let the contract for the temple of Queen Juno on the Aventine, and dedicated one to Mater Matuta; and having fulfilled these obligations to gods and men, laid down the dictatorship.
23.6. Iovis Solisque equis aequiperatum dictatorem in religionem etiam trahebant, triumphusque ob eam unam maxime rem clarior quam gratior fuit. Iunoni reginae templum in Aventino locavit dedicavitque Matutae Matris; atque his divinis humanisque rebus gestis dictatura se abdicavit.
23.8. The next thing to be discussed was the gift to Apollo, to whom Camillus said that he had solemnly promised a tenth part of the spoils. The pontiffs ruled that the people must discharge this obligation, but it was not easy to devise a method for compelling them to return the booty, that out of it the due proportion might be set apart for the sacred object.
23.8. deinde de Apollinis dono coeptum. se decimam vovisse praedae partem cum diceret Camillus, pontifices solvendum religione populum censerent, haud facile inibatur ratio iubendi referre praedam populum, ut ex ea pars debita in sacrum secerneretur.
23.10. They finally resorted to what seemed the least oppressive plan, namely, that whosoever wished to acquit himself and his household of obligation on the score of the vow, should appraise his own share of the spoils, and pay in a tenth part of its value to the public treasury, to the end that it might be converted into an offering of gold befitting the grandeur of the temple and the power of the god and corresponding to the majesty of the Roman People.
23.10. eo quod lenissimum videbatur decursum est, ut qui se domumque religione exsolvere vellet, cum sibimet ipse praedam aestimasset suam, decimae pretium partis in publicum deferret, ut ex eo donum aureum, dignum amplitudine templi ac numine dei, ex dignitate populi Romani fieret.
23.11. This contribution still further alienated the affections of the commons from Camillus.
23.11. quoque conlatio plebis animos a Camillo alienavit.
23.12. In the midst of these affairs came envoys from the Volsci and the Aequi seeking peace, and their suit was granted, more that the state, worn out with so long a war, might be at rest, than because the petitioners deserved it. The year which followed the capture of Veii had six consular tribunes, to wit, the two Publii Cornelii, Cossus and Scipio, Marcus Valerius Maximus (for the second time), Caeso Fabius Ambustus (for the third), Lucius Furius Medullinus (for the fifth), Quintus Servilius (for the third). To the Cornelii was allotted the Faliscan war, to Valerius and Servilius the war with Capena. They attempted no cities, either by assault or by siege, but wasted the countryside and despoiled the farmers of their possessions, leaving not one fruit-tree in the land nor any productive plant. This devastation overcame the resistance of the Capenates; they begged for peace and it was granted.
23.12. haec pacificatum legati a Volscis et Aequis venerunt, impetrataque pax, magis ut fessa tam diutino bello adquiesceret civitas quam quod digni peterent. Veiis captis sex tribunos militum consulari potestate insequens annus habuit, duos P. Cornelios, Cossum et Scipionem, M. Valerium Maximum iterum K. Fabium Ambustum tertium L. Furium Medullinum quintum Q. Servilium tertium. Faliscum bellum, Valerio ac Servilio Capenas sorte evenit. iis non urbes vi aut operibus temptatae, sed ager est depopulatus praedaeque rerum agrestium actae; nulla felix arbor, nihil frugiferum in agro relictum.
24.3. In the Faliscan country the war went on. At Rome, meanwhile, there were disturbances of many sorts, to quiet which the senate had voted to plant a colony on the Volscian frontier, and to enroll for that destination three thousand Roman citizens, to each of whom a board of three, appointed for the purpose, had proposed to assign three iugera and seven-twelfths.
24.3. clades Capenatem populum subegit; pax petentibus data; in Faliscis bellum restabat. Romae interim multiplex seditio erat, cuius leniendae causa coloniam in Volscos, quo tria milia civium Romanorum scriberentur, deducendam censuerant, triumvirique ad id creati terna iugera et septunces viritim diviserant.
24.5. This donation men were disposed to spurn, regarding it as a sop intended to divert their hopes from greater things: for why should the plebs be banished to the Volscian country, when the fair city of Veii and the Veientine lands (more fertile and extensive than those of Rome) were there in plain sight?
24.5. largitio sperni coepta, quia spei maioris avertendae solacium obiectum censebant: cur enim relegari plebem in Volscos, cum pulcherrima urbs Veii agerque Veientanus in conspectu sit, uberior ampliorque Romano agro?
24.6. The city, too, they preferred to the City of Rome, whether for situation, or for the splendour of its public and private buildings and its places.
24.6. quoque urbi Romae vel situ vel magnificentia publicorum privatorumque tectorum ac locorum praeponebant.
24.7. Nay, they even mooted the plan which certainly had a great following later, when the Gauls had captured Rome, of migrating to Veii.
24.7. illa quoque actio movebatur, quae post captam utique Romam a Gallis celebratior fuit, transmigrandi Veios.
24.8. For the rest, they intended that half of the plebs and half of the senate should dwell in Veii, regarding it as possible for the Roman people to inhabit two cities with a common polity.
24.8. partem plebis, partem senatus destinabant ad habitandos Veios, duasque urbes communi rei re publica incoli a populo Romano posse.
24.9. This proposal the patricians opposed with such vehemence as to declare that they would sooner die in the sight of the Roman People than suffer anything of the sort to come to a vote; for when there was already so much dissension in a single city, what would it be in two?
24.9. quae cum optimates ita tenderent ut morituros se citius dicerent in conspectu populi Romani quam quicquam earum rerum rogaretur; quippe nunc in una urbe tantum dissensionum esse:
24.10. Was it possible that any man should prefer a vanquished to a victorious city, and suffer Veii captured to enjoy a greater fortune than Veii free?
24.10. quid in duabus fore? victamne ut quisquam victrici patriae praeferret sineretque maiorem fortunam captis esse Veiis, quam incolumibus fuerit? se relinqui a civibus in patria posse:
24.11. In fine, it was conceivable that they should be left behind in their native city by their fellow Romans; but to forsake their country and their fellow-citizens no violence should ever force them; they had no mind to follow Titus Sicinius —the tribune of the plebs who had proposed the bill —to Veii, as their founder, abandoning the god Romulus, the son of a god, the Father and Author of the Roman City. These differences gave rise to disgraceful contentions —for the Fathers had won over some of the plebeian tribunes to their opinion —and the only thing that compelled the plebs to stay their hands was this, that as often as they raised a shout, in order to begin a riot, the leaders of the senate were the first to confront the mob, bidding them visit blows, wounds, and death on them.
24.11. ut relinquant patriam atque cives nullam vim unquam subacturam, et T. Sicinium—is enim ex tribunis plebis rogationis eius lator erat—conditorem Veios sequantur relicto deo Romulo, dei filio, parente et auctore urbis Romae. cum foedis certaminibus agerentur— nam partem tribunorum plebi patres in suam sententiam traxerant, —nulla res alia manibus temperare plebem cogebat quam quod, ubi rixae committendae causa clamor ortus esset, principes senatus primi turbae offerentes se peti feririque atque occidi iubebant.
25.3. The grey hairs of these men, their distinctions, and their honours, they shrank from outraging, and shame thwarted their rage in all similar attempts. Camillus harangued the people constantly, and in all places.
25.3. horum aetatibus dignitatibusque et honoribus violandis dum abstinebatur, et ad reliquos similes conatus verecundia irae obstabat.
25.4. It was no wonder, he said, that the citizens had gone mad, since, bound though they were to carry out their vow, they were more concerned about everything else than about the discharge of their obligation.
25.4. Camillus identidem omnibus locis contionabatur: haud mirum id quidem esse, furere civitatem, quae damnata voti omnium rerum potiorem curam quam religione se exsolvendi habeat.
25.5. He would say nothing of their penny contribution —a truer name for it than tithe —since in this regard each man had bound himself as an individual, and the state was freed;
25.5. de conlatione dicere, stipis verius quam decumae, quando ea se quisque privatim obligaverit, liberatus sit populus.
25.6. but there was one thing his conscience would not suffer him to pass over in silence; to wit, that the tithe should be defined as consisting of that part only of the booty which was movable; and that nothing should be said of the captured city and its territory, which were likewise included in the vow.
25.6. illud se tacere suam conscientiam non pati quod ex ea tantum praeda quae rerum moventium sit decuma designetur: urbis atque agri capti, quae et ipsa voto contineatur, mentionem nullam fieri.
25.7. Unable to agree on this point, the senate referred it to the pontiffs, who decided, after consulting with Camillus, that so far as these things had belonged to the Veientes before the vow was made, and had subsequently come into the possession of the Roman People, a tithe thereof was sacred to Apollo. Thus the city and the land came into the estimate.
25.7. ea disceptatio, anceps senatui visa, delegata ad pontifices esset, adhibito Camillo visum collegio, quod eius ante conceptum votum Veientium fuisset et post votum in potestatem populi Romani venisset, eius partem decimam Apollini sacram esse. in aestimationem urbs agerque venit.
25.8. Money was drawn from the treasury, and the tribunes of the soldiers with consular rank were directed to purchase gold with it; and there being not enough of this metal, the matrons held meetings to consider the need, and binding themselves by a common resolution to supply the tribunes with gold, brought in all their ornaments to the treasury.
25.8. ex aerario prompta, et tribunis militum consularibus ut aurum ex ea coemerent negotium datum. cum copia non esset, matronae coetibus ad eam rem consultandam habitis communi decreto pollicitae tribunis militum aurum, et omnia ornamenta sua in aerarium detulerunt.
25.9. No act was ever more acceptable to the senate, and to honour the matrons for their generosity, it is said to have voted that they might drive in four-wheeled carriages to festivals and games, and in two-wheeled cars on holy and working days.
25.9. ea res ut quae maxime senatui unquam fuit; honoremque ob eam munificentiam ferunt matronis habitum ut pilento ad sacra ludosque, carpentis festo profestoque uterentur.
25.10. When the gold received from each had been appraised, in order that the moneys might be repaid, it was determined to make a golden bowl and carry it to Delphi as an offering to Apollo.
25.10. ab singulis auri accepto aestimatoque ut pecuniae solverentur, crateram auream fieri placuit quae donum Apollini Delphos portaretur.
25.11. No sooner had they eased their minds of the vow, than the tribunes of the commons began again their agitation, inflaming the populace against all the nobles, but especially against Camillus, whom they charged with having reduced to naught the spoils of Veii, by devoting them to the state and to religion.
25.11. ab religione animos remiserunt, integrant seditionem tribuni plebis; incitatur multitudo multitude in omnes principes, ante alios in Camillum;
25.12. If any of the leaders were absent, they were fiercely denounced; being present they outfaced their angry critics and shamed them into silence.
25.12. eum praedam Veientanam publicando sacrandoque ad nihilum redegisse. ferociter increpant; praesentium, cum se ultro iratis offerrent, verecundiam habent.
25.13. As soon as the people saw that the question would be carried over from that year, they worked for the re-election of the tribunes of the plebs who were backing the measure; and the patricians exerted themselves to do the same for its opponents. So, for the most part, the same tribunes were returned to office. At the voting for military tribunes, the senators with much ado obtained the election of Marcus Furius Camillus. The need of a commander for the wars was their pretext, but what they really wanted was a man who would combat the lavishness of the tribunes.
25.13. extrahi rem ex eo anno viderunt, tribunos plebis latores legis in annum eosdem reficiunt; et patres hoc idem de intercessoribus legis adnisi. tribuni plebis magna ex parte iidem refecti.
26.2. With Camillus were elected to that office, Lucius Furius Medullinus (for the sixth time), Gaius Aemilius, Lucius Valerius Publicola, Spurius Postumius, and (for the second time) Publius Cornelius. At the outset of the year the tribunes of the commons made no move, until Marcus Furius Camillus should march against the Faliscans, for to him this war had been committed. Then came delays, and men's enthusiasm waned, while Camillus, the opponent whom they chiefly feared, won fresh renown in the Faliscan country.
26.2. tribunorum militum patres summa ope evicerunt ut M. Furius Camillus crearetur. bella simulabant parari ducem; sed largitioni tribuniciae adversarius quaerebatur. Camillo creati tribuni militum consulari potestate L. Furius Medullinus sextum C. Aemilius L. Valerius Publicola Sp. Postumius P. Cornelius iterum. anni tribuni plebis nihil moverunt, donec M. Furius Camillus in Faliscos, cui id bellum mandatum erat proficisceretur. deinde elanguit res, et Camillo, quem adversarium maxime metuebant, gloria in Faliscis crevit.
26.4. For though at first the enemy kept within their walls, deeming this their safest course, he compelled them, by ravaging their fields and burning their farm-houses, to come out of their city.
26.4. cum primo moenibus se hostes tenerent tutissimum id rati, populatione agrorum atque incendiis villarum coegit eos egredi urbe.
26.5. Still, they were afraid to advance very far, and pitched their camp about a mile from the town, trusting that it was quite safe, without other reason than the difficulty of approaching it; for the ground about it was rough and broken, and the roads were either narrow or steep.
26.5. timor longius progredi prohibuit; mille fere passuum ab oppido castra locant nulla re alia fidentes ea satis tuta esse quam difficultate aditus, asperis confragosisque circa et partim artis partim arduis viis.
26.6. But Camillus, employing a prisoner taken in that very region for his guide, broke camp in the dead of night, and showed himself at earliest dawn in a considerably superior position. The Romans, divided into three shifts, began to build a rampart, the soldiers who were not working standing by in readiness to fight.
26.6. Camillus captivum indidem ex agris secutus ducem castris multa nocte motis prima luce aliquanto superioribus locis se ostendit.
26.7. There, when the enemy sought to hinder the work, he defeated and routed them; and so great was the panic that came over the Faliscans, that they fled in disorder past their camp, which was the nearer refuge, and made for the town; and many were slain or wounded, before, in their terror, they could rush in through the gates.
26.7. Romani muniebant, alius exercitus proelio intentus stabat. impedire opus conatos hostes fundit fugatque; tantumque inde pavoris Faliscis iniectum est ut effusa fuga castra sua quae propiora erant praelati urbem peterent.
26.8. The camp was taken, and the booty was paid over to the quaestors. This incensed the troops, but they were overborne by the strictness of the discipline, and admired, while they detested, their general's probity.
26.8. caesi volneratique priusquam paventes portis inciderent. capta; praeda ad quaestores redacta cum magna militum ira; sed severitate imperii victi eandem virtutem et oderant et mirabantur.
26.9. Then came a blockade of the town, and the construction of siege works; and sometimes, when opportunity offered, the townsfolk would raid the Roman outposts and skirmishes would ensue.
26.9. inde urbis et munitiones, et interdum per occasionem impetus oppidanorum in Romanas stationes proeliaque parva fieri, et teri tempus neutro inclinata spe, cum frumentum copiaeque aliae ex ante convecto largius obsessis quam obsidentibus suppeterent.
26.10. Time wore on, without bringing hope to either side; the besieged had corn and other supplies, which they had laid up beforehand in greater abundance than the besiegers; and it began to seem as though the struggle would be as long drawn out as at Veii, had not Fortune, at one stroke, given the Roman general an opportunity to display the magnanimity already familiar from his exploits in war, and an early victory. It was customary amongst the Faliscans to employ the same person as teacher and attendant of their children, and they used to intrust a number of lads at the same time to the care of one man, a practice which still obtains in Greece. The children of the chief men, as is commonly the case, were under the tuition of one who was regarded as their foremost scholar. This man had in time of peace got into the way of leading the boys out in front of the city for play and exercise, and during the war made no change in his routine, but would draw them sometimes a shorter, sometimes a longer distance from the gate, with this and that game and story, until being farther away one day than usual, he seized the opportunity to bring them amongst the enemy's outposts, and then into the Roman camp, to the headquarters of Camillus. He then followed up his villainous act with an even more villainous speech, saying that he had given Falerii into the hands of the Romans, having delivered up to them the children of those whose fathers were in power there.
26.10. aeque diuturnus futurus labor ac Veiis fuisset, ni fortuna imperatori Romano simul et cognitae rebus bellicis virtutis specimen et maturam victoriam dedisset. erat Faliscis eodem magistro liberorum et comite uti, simulque plures pueri, quod hodie quoque in Graecia manet, unius curae demandabantur. liberos, sicut fere fit, qui scientia videbatur praecellere erudiebat. cum in pace instituisset pueros ante urbem lusus exercendique causa producere, nihil eo more per belli tempus intermisso, modo brevioribus modo longioribus spatiis trahendo eos a porta lusu sermonibusque variatis, longius solito ubi res dedit progressus inter stationes eos hostium castraque inde Romana in praetorium ad Camillum perduxit. scelesto facinori scelestiorem sermonem addit, Falerios se in manus Romanis tradidisse, quando eos pueros quorum parentes capita ibi rerum sint in potestatem dediderit. ubi Camillus audivit, ad similem inquit tui nec populum nec imperatorem scelestus ipse cum scelesto munere venisti.
27.6. On hearing this Camillus answered: “Neither the people nor the captain to whom you are come, you scoundrel, with your scoundrel's gift, is like yourself. Between us and the Faliscans is no fellowship founded on men's covenants; but the fellowship which nature has implanted in both sides is there and will abide.”
27.6. cum Faliscis quae pacto fit humano societas non est: quam ingeneravit natura utrisque est eritque. et belli sicut pacis iura, iusteque ea non minus quam fortiter didicimus gerere.
27.7. “There are rights of war as well as of peace, and we have learnt to use them justly no less than bravely. We bear no weapons against those tender years which find mercy even in the storming of a city, but against those who are armed themselves, who, without wrong or provocation at our hands, attacked the Roman camp at Veii.”
27.7. habemus non adversus eam aetatem cui etiam captis urbibus parcitur, sed adversus armatos et ipsos, qui nec laesi nec lacessiti a nobis castra Romana ad Veios oppugnarunt.
27.8. “Those people you have done your best to conquer by an unheard-of crime. I shall conquer them, as I conquered Veii, in the Roman way, by dint of courage, toil, and arms.”
27.8. tu quantum in te fuit novo scelere vicisti: ego Romanis artibus, virtute opere armis, sicut Veios vincam.
27.9. He then had the fellow stripped, his hands bound behind his back, and gave him up to the boys to lead back to Falerii, providing them with rods to scourge the traitor as they drove him into town.
27.9. deinde eum manibus post tergum inligatis reducendum Falerios pueris tradidit, virgasque eis quibus proditorem agerent in urbem verberantes dedit.
27.10. To behold this spectacle, there was at first a great gathering together of the people, and presently the magistrates called a meeting of the senate about the strange affair, and men underwent such a revulsion of feeling, that those who a short time before, in the fury of their hate and resentment would almost have preferred the doom of Veii to the peace of Capena, were now calling for peace, with the voice of an entire city.
27.10. quod spectaculum concursu populi primum facto, deinde a magistratibus de re nova vocato senatu tanta mutatio animis est iniecta ut qui modo efferati odio iraque Veientium exitum paene quam Capenatium pacem mallent, apud eos pacem universa posceret civitas.
27.11. The honesty of the Romans, and the justice of their general, were praised in market-place and senate-house, and, with the consent of all, envoys proceeded to Camillus in his camp, and thence, by his permission, to the Roman senate, to surrender Falerii.
27.11. Romana, iustitia imperatoris in foro et curia celebrantur; consensuque omnium legati ad Camillum in castra, atque inde permissu Camilli Romam ad senatum, qui dederent Falerios proficiscuntur.
27.12. Being introduced into the Curia they are said to have spoken as follows: “Conscript Fathers, you and your general have won a victory over us which no one, whether God or man, could begrudge you, and we give ourselves into your hands, believing (than which nothing can be more honourable to a victor) that we shall be better off under your government than under our own laws.”
27.12. ad senatum ita locuti traduntur: conscripti, victoria cui nec deus nec homo quisquam invideat victi a vobis et imperatore vestro dedimus nos vobis, rati, quo nihil victori pulchrius est, melius nos sub imperio vestro quam legibus nostris victuros.
27.13. “The outcome of this war has afforded the human race two wholesome precedents: you have set fair-dealing in war above immediate victory; and we, challenged by your fair-dealing, have freely granted you that victory.”
27.13. huius belli duo salutaria exempla prodita humano generi sunt: vos fidem in bello quam praesentem victoriam maluistis; nos fide provocati victoriam ultro detulimus.
27.14. “We are under your sway; send men to receive our arms and hostages, and our city, the gates of which stand open.”
27.14. dicione vestra sumus; mittite qui arma, qui obsides, qui urbem patentibus portis accipiant.
27.15. “Neither shall you be disappointed in our fidelity nor we in your rule.” Camillus was thanked both by his enemies and by his fellow citizens. The Faliscans were commanded to pay the soldiers for that year, that the Roman People might be exempted from the war tax. Peace being granted, the Roman army was led home. Camillus, having returned to the City distinguished by a far better kind of glory than when he had entered it in triumph drawn by white horses —for he had conquered his enemies by justice and fair-dealing —uttered no reproaches, but the senators were ill-at-ease till they should free him, without delay, from the obligation of his vow.
27.15. vos fidei nostrae nec nos imperii vestri paenitebit. Camillo et ab hostibus et a civibus gratiae actae. Faliscis in stipendium militum eius anni, ut populus Romanus tributo vacaret, pecunia imperata. data exercitus Romam reductus.
28.2. And so, to carry the golden bowl as a gift to Apollo at Delphi, they appointed Lucius Valerius, Lucius Sergius, and Aulus Manlius, who, being dispatched in a single warship, were captured by Liparaean pirates not far from the Sicilian Straits and carried to Liparae. It was the manner of that people to divide up the booty which they had obtained by a kind of public piracy, but it chanced that year that one Timasitheus was chief magistrate, a man more resembling the Romans than his own countrymen;
28.2. Camillus, meliore multo laude quam cum triumphantem albi per urbem vexerant equi insignis, iustitia fideque hostibus victis cum in urbem redisset, taciti eius verecundiam non tulit senatus quin sine mora voti liberaretur; crateramque auream donum Apollini Delphos legati qui ferrent, L. Valerius L. Sergius A. Manlius, missi longa una nave haud baud procul freto Siculo a piratis Liparensium excepti devehuntur Liparas. erat civitatis velut publico latrocinio partam praedam dividere. eo anno in summo magistratu erat Timasitheus quidam, Romanis vir similior quam suis;
28.4. who, himself revering the title of the envoys and their gift, as well as the god to whom it was being sent and the cause of the oblation, imbued also the people, who are almost always like their ruler, with a due sense of religious awe; and after entertaining the ambassadors in the guest-house of the state, even sent ships to convoy them to Delphi, and thence brought them safely back to Rome.
28.4. qui legatorum nomen donumque et deum cui mitteretur et doni causam veritus ipse multitudinem quoque, quae semper ferme regenti est similis, religionis iustae implevit adductosque in publicum hospitium legatos cum praesidio etiam navium Delphos prosecutus, Romam inde sospites restituit.
28.5. A covenant of hospitality was made with him by decree of the senate, and gifts were presented him in the name of the state. The same year there was a war with the Aequi, of so varied fortune that it was not clear, either at the front itself or in Rome, whether the upshot had been victory or defeat.
28.5. cum eo senatus consulto est factum donaque publice data. anno in Aequis varie bellatum, adeo ut in incerto fuerit et apud ipsos exercitus et Romae vicissent victine essent.
28.6. The Roman generals were two of the military tribunes, Gaius Aemilius and Spurius Postumius. At first they exercised the command conjointly; afterwards, when they had routed the enemy in battle, they arranged that Aemilius should hold Verrugo with a garrison, while Postumius should lay waste the country.
28.6. Romani fuere ex tribunis militum C. Aemilius Sp. Postumius. rem communiter gesserunt; fusis inde acie hostibus Aemilium praesidio Verruginem obtinere placuit, Postumium fines vastare.
28.7. As he was leading his troops in irregular formation, somewhat carelessly in consequence of his success, the Aequi fell upon them and throwing them into confusion drove them to the nearest hills, whence the panic spread even to Verrugo, to the other army.
28.7. eum incomposito agmine neglegentius ab re bene gesta euntem adorti Aequi terrore iniecto in proximos compulere tumulos; pavorque inde Verruginem etiam ad praesidium alterum est perlatus.
28.8. Postumius having rallied his men in a position of safety, called them together and chid them for their alarm and flight, telling them they had been discomfited by the most craven and fugitive of foes. Whereat the army cried out as one man, that they deserved his reproaches, and confessed the enormity of their misconduct, but promised that they would themselves mend it, and that their enemies' joy should be short-lived.
28.8. Postumius suis in tutum receptis cum contione advocata terrorem increparet ac fugam, fusos esse ab ignavissimo ac fugacissimo hoste, conclamat universus exercitus merito se ea audire et fateri admissum flagitium, sed eosdem correcturos esse neque diuturnum id gaudium hostibus fore.
28.9. Demanding to be led forthwith against the camp of the Aequi — which was in full sight in the plain where they had pitched it —they professed themselves willing to undergo any punishment if they should not have stormed it before nightfall.
28.9. ut confestim inde ad castra hostium duceret—et in conspectu erant posita in plano— nihil poenae recusabant ni ea ante noctem expugnassent.
28.10. Postumius commended them and bade them sup and be ready at the fourth watch. The enemy, too, that they might cut off any retreat by night along the road to Verrugo, from the hill where the Romans lay, were afield and met them, and the battle began before daylight, but there was a moon all night.
28.10. corpora curare paratosque esse quarta vigilia iubet. hostes nocturnam fugam ex tumulo Romanorum ut ab ea via quae ferebat Verruginem excluderent, fuere obvii, proeliumque ante lucem—sed luna pernox erat—commissum est. incertius diurno proelium fuit;
28.11. They could see to fight as well as in the daytime; but the shouts were heard in Verrugo, the soldiers believed the Roman camp was being attacked, and so great was their consternation that, despite the efforts of Aemilius to check them and despite his appeals, they fled in a scattered rout to Tusculum.
28.11. sed clamor Verruginem perlatus, cum castra Romana crederent oppugnari, tantum iniecit pavoris ut nequiquam retinente atque obsecrante Aemilio Tusculum palati fugerent.
28.12. From thence a rumour was carried to Rome that Postumius and the army were destroyed. But Postumius, as soon as the first rays of light had removed all fear of ambuscades in case of a wide-spread pursuit, rode down the line, reminding his men of the promises they had given him, and inspired such ardour that the Aequi could no longer withstand their charge, and were slaughtered while they fled (as happens when rage is more concerned than valour), till their army was clean destroyed;
28.12. fama Romam perlata est Postumium exercitumque occisum., ubi prima lux metum insidiarum effuse sequentibus sustulit, cum perequitasset aciem promissa repetens, tantum iniecit ardoris ut non ultra sustinuerint impetum Aequi.
28.13. and the gloomy tidings from Tusculum which had thrown the City into a needless fright, were succeeded by a laurel-wreathed letter from Postumius, announcing the victory of the Roman People and the annihilation of the Aequian army. The measures introduced by the tribunes of the plebs being still undecided, the commons strove to prolong the tenure of the supporters of the bill, and the patricians to re-elect the tribunes who had vetoed it;
28.13. inde fugientium, qualis ubi ira magis quam virtute res geritur, ad perniciem hostium facta est; tristemque ab Tusculo nuntium nequiquam exterrita civitate litterae a Postumio laureatae sequuntur, victoriam populi Romani esse, Aequorum exercitum deletum.
29.2. but in the election of their own magistrates the plebeians proved the stronger, a disappointment which the Fathers avenged by passing a resolution in the senate providing for the election of consuls —a magistracy odious to the plebs. There had been no consuls for fifteen years, when they elected Lucius Lucretius Flavus, and Servius Sulpicius Camerinus.
29.2. plebis actiones quia nondum invenerant finem, et plebs continuare latoribus legis tribunatum et patres reficere intercessores legis adnisi sunt; sed plus suis comitiis plebs valuit. dolorem ulti patres sunt senatus consulto facto ut consules, invisus plebi magistratus, crearentur. post quintum decimum creati consules L. Lucretius Flavus Ser.
29.3. In the beginning of this year, the tribunes united in a spirited attempt —for none of the college was disposed to object —to carry the bill; and the consuls, for that very reason, were quite as active in opposing them. While the whole body politic was absorbed in this one concern, Vitellia, a Roman colony, was captured by the Aequi, in whose territory it was situated.
29.3. Sulpicius Camerinus. huius anni ferociter, quia nemo ex collegio intercessurus erat, coortis ad perferendam legem tribunis plebis nec segnius ob id ipsum consulibus resistentibus omnique civitate in unam eam curam conversa Vitelliam coloniam Romanam in suo agro Aequi expugnant.
29.4. The greatest part of the settlers escaped, for the place was taken by treachery at night and their flight through the opposite quarter of the town was unopposed, and made their way to Rome in safety.
29.4. pars maxima incolumis, quia nocte proditione oppidum captum liberam per aversa urbis fugam dederat, Romam perfugere.
29.5. To Lucius Lucretius the consul fell the command in this affair. Marching out with his army, he defeated the enemy in a battle and returned victorious to the City, where he found a far more serious struggle impending.
29.5. L. Lucretio consuli ea provincia evenit. cum exercitu profectus acie hostes vicit, victorque Romam ad maius aliquanto certamen redit.
29.6. A day of trial had been appointed for the plebeian tribunes of two years before, namely Aulus Verginius and Quintus Pomponius, to defend whom the senate, as the patricians all agreed, was in honour bound; for no man brought any charge against their lives or the conduct of their office, except their having, out of complaisance to the Fathers, opposed the tribunician law.
29.6. dicta erat tribunis plebis biennii superioris A. Verginio et Q. Pomponio, quos defendi patrum consensu ad fidem senatus pertinebat; neque enim eos aut vitae ullo crimine alio aut gesti magistratus quisquam arguebat praeterquam quod gratificantes patribus rogationi tribuniciae intercessissent.
29.7. But the influence of the senators was out-weighed by the resentment of the plebs, and a shameful precedent was set, when the innocent men were condemned each to pay a fine of 10,000 asses.
29.7. tamen gratiam senatus plebis ira, et pessimo exemplo innoxii denis milibus gravis aeris condemnati sunt.
29.8. This roused the indignation of the senate. Camillus frankly denounced the depravity of the commons, who having turned against their own representatives, failed to perceive that they had by their wicked judgment of the tribunes done away with the veto, and that in doing away with the veto they had overthrown the tribunician power.
29.8. aegre passi patres. Camillus palam sceleris plebem arguere, quae iam in suos versa non intellegeret se pravo iudicio de tribunis intercessionem sustulisse, intercessione sublata tribuniciam potestatem evertisse;
29.9. For if they supposed that the unbridled licence of that office would be tolerated by the Fathers, they were mistaken; if tribunician violence could not be resisted by the help of tribunes, the senators must find some other weapon.
29.9. nam quod illi sperarent effrenatam licentiam eius magistratus patres laturos, falli eos. tribunicia vis tribunicio auxilio repelli nequeat, aliud telum patres inventuros esse.
29.10. He rebuked the consuls also, because they had, without protesting, allowed those tribunes who had followed the guidance of the senate to suffer for their reliance on the guarantee of state protection. By such sentiments, publicly expressed in speeches, he angered the people more and more from day to day. As to the senate, he ceased not to encourage it in opposing the law: they must go down into the Forum, when the day should arrive for voting on it, in no other spirit than that of men who realized that they had to fight for hearth and home, for the temples of their gods, and for the soil of their birth. So far, indeed, as the question touched his private interest, it would actually be an honour to him, if it were not sinful to be thinking of his own renown while his country was struggling for life, that the city he had, won should be thronged with people; that he should daily be reminded of his glory, and have before his eyes the town which had figured in his triumph; that all men should tread in the footsteps of his fame.
29.10. increpabat quod fide publica decipi tribunos eos taciti tulissent qui senatus auctoritatem secuti essent. propalam contionabundus in dies magis augebat iras hominum. vero incitare adversus legem haud baud desistebat: ne aliter descenderent in forum, cum dies ferendae legis venisset, quam ut qui meminissent sibi pro aris focisque et deum templis ac solo in quo nati essent dimicandum fore. quod ad se privatim attineat, si suae gloriae sibi inter dimicationem patriae meminisse sit fas, sibi amplum quoque esse urbem ab se captam frequentari, cottidie se frui monumento gloriae suae et ante oculos habere urbem latam in triumpho suo, insistere omnes vestigiis laudum suarum;
30.3. But he thought it an offence against Heaven that a city deserted and forsaken by the immortal gods should be inhabited, and that the Roman People should dwell on conquered soil, exchanging their victorious City for a vanquished one.
30.3. sed nefas ducere desertam ac relictam ab dis immortalibus incoli urbem, et in captivo solo habitare populum Romanum et victrice patria victam mutari.
30.4. These earnest words of their leading member so stirred the senators, old men as well as young, that on the day the law was proposed they formed in a body and came into the Forum, where they dispersed among the tribes, and canvassing every man his own tribesmen, began with tears to beseech them, that they would not forsake that City for which both they and their fathers had fought with the greatest courage and good fortune.
30.4. adhortationibus principis concitati patres, senes iuvenesque, cum ferretur lex agmine facto in forum venerunt, dissipatique per tribus suos quisque tribules prensantes orare cum lacrimis coepere ne eam earn patriam pro qua fortissime felicissimeque ipsi ac patres eorum dimicassent desererent, Capitolium, aedem Vestae, cetera circa templa deorum ostentantes;
30.6. They pointed to the Capitol, to the shrine of Vesta, and to the other temples standing all about them; they begged them not to drive the Roman People, an exile, and a wanderer from its native land and its household gods, to the city of its enemies, nor to carry things so far that it would be better that Veii had not been taken, so that Rome might not be deserted.
30.6. ne exsulem, extorrem populum Romanum ab solo patrio ac dis penatibus in hostium urbem agerent, eoque rem adducerent ut melius fuerit non capi Veios, ne Roma desereretur.
30.7. Since the patricians used not force but entreaties, and in their entreaties made many a reference to the gods, the greater part felt the prick of conscience, and the law was rejected by one more tribe than voted in its favour.
30.7. non vi agebant sed precibus et inter preces multa deorum mentio erat, religiosum parti maximae fuit, et legem una plures tribus antiquarunt quam iusserunt.
30.8. And so greatly did this victory rejoice the Fathers, that next day, at the instance of the consuls, a decree was passed by the senate, that seven iugera of the Veientine land should be apportioned to every plebeian, and not alone to the heads of families, but so as to reckon in all the free-born members of the household, that with such a prospect before them men might be willing to rear children. Appeased by this largess, the plebs made no objection to an assembly for the election of consuls, and the choice fell on Lucius Valerius Potitus and Marcus Manlius, afterwards surnamed Capitolinus.
30.8. ea victoria laeta patribus fuit ut postero die referentibus consulibus senatus consultum fieret ut agri Veientani septena iugera plebi dividerentur, nec patribus familiae tantum, sed ut omnium in domo liberorum capitum ratio haberetur, vellentque in eam earn spem liberos tollere.
31.2. These consuls celebrated the Great Games, which Marcus Furius the dictator had vowed in the war with Veii. This year saw also the dedication of a temple to Queen Juno, vowed by the same dictator in the same war; and tradition relates that the ceremony was attended by throngs of enthusiastic matrons.
31.2. munere delenita plebe nihil certatum est quo minus consularia comitia haberentur. consules L. Valerius Potitus M. Manlius, cui Capitolino postea fuit cognomen. consules magnos ludos fecere, quos M. Furius dictator voverat Veienti bello. anno aedes Iunonis reginae ab eodem dictatore eodemque bello vota dedicatur, celebratamque dedicationem ingenti matronarum studio tradunt.
31.4. A campaign in no way memorable was fought with the Aequi on Mount Algidus, the enemy being routed before they had well begun to fight. Valerius was the more persistent in cutting them down as they fled, and to him was decreed a triumph; Manlius was allowed to enter the City in an ovation.
31.4. haud baud memorabile in Algido cum Aequis gestum est, fusis hostibus prius paene quam manus consererent. Valerio, quod perseverantior iis caedendis in fuga fuit, triumphus, Manlio ut ovans ingrederetur urbem, decretum est.
31.5. In this year also a new war broke out, namely with the people of Volsinii. Owing to a famine and pestilence which arose in the Roman territories on account of drought and excessive heat, it was impossible to send an army against them; and in consequence of this the Volsinienses, having added the Sappinates to their forces, were puffed up with pride and made an incursion themselves into the fields of the Romans.
31.5. anno novum bellum cum Volsiniensibus exortum; quo propter famem pestilentiamque in agro Romano ex siccitate caloribusque nimiis ortam exercitus duci nequivit. quae Volsinienses Sappinatibus adiunctis superbia inflati ultro agros Romanos incursavere;
31.6. War was then declared against both nations. Gaius Julius, the censor, died, and Marcus Cornelius was substituted in his place, a circumstance which was afterwards thought to have offended the gods, because in this lustrum Rome was captured;
31.6. bellum inde duobus populis indictum. C. Iulius censor decessit; in eius locum M. Cornelius suffectus, quae res postea religioni fuit quia eo lustro Roma est capta; nec deinde unquam in demortui deortui locum censor sufficitur.
31.7. nor from that day has a censor ever been appointed in the room of one who has died.
31.7. morbo implicitis placuit per interregnum renovari auspicia.
31.8. The consuls, too, caught the plague, and it was voted that fresh auspices should be obtained by means of an interregnum. Accordingly, when the consuls, in obedience to the senate's decree, had abdicated, Marcus Furius Camillus was appointed interrex, and named as his successor Publius Cornelius Scipio, who, in turn, named Lucius Valerius Potitus interrex;
31.8. cum ex senatus consulto consules magistratu se abdicassent, interrex creatur M. Furius Camillus, qui P. Cornelium Scipionem, is deinde L. Valerium Potitum interregem prodidit.
31.9. under whom they elected six military tribunes of consular rank, so that even if any of them should fall ill the state might still have magistrates. On the first day of July they entered office, to wit, Lucius Lucretius, Servius Sulpicius, Marcus Aemilius, Lucius Furius Medullinus (for the seventh time), Furius Agrippa, and (for the second time) Gaius Aemilius.
31.9. eo creati sex tribuni militum consulari potestate ut, etiam si cui eorum incommoda valetudo fuisset, copia magistra tuum rei publicae esset.
32.2. Of these, Lucius Lucretius and Gaius Aemilius were assigned the war with Volsinii as their province, while the Sappinates fell to Agrippa Furius and Servius Sulpicius. The Volsinienses were encountered first, in a campaign of great magnitude in respect to the enemy's numbers, though the engagement with them was no very sharp affair. Their line broke at the first assault, and in the rout eight thousand soldiers were cut off by the cavalry, and laying down their arms, surrendered.
32.2. Quinctilibus magistratum occepere L. Lucretius Ser. Sulpicius M. Aemilius L. Furius Medullinus septimum Agrippa Furius C. Aemilius iterum. his L. Lucretio et C. Aemilio Volsinienses provincia evenit, Sappinates Agrippae Furio et Ser. Sulpicio. Prius cum Volsiniensibus pugnatum est. numero hostium ingens, certamine haud sane asperum fuit. primo prinmo concursu acies; in fugam versa milia octo armatorum ab equitibus interclusa positis armis in deditionem venerunt.
32.4. When the Sappinates heard of this campaign, they refused to risk a battle, but retired within their walls and prepared to defend themselves.
32.4. belli fama effecit, ne se pugnae committerent Sappinates; moenibus armati se tutabantur. Romani praedas passim et ex Sappinati agro et ex Volsiniensi nullo eam ear vim arcente egerunt;
32.5. The Romans plundered right and left, both the lands of Sappinum and those of Volsinii, without finding any to resist their force, until the Volsinienses wearied of the war; and upon their agreeing to restore the goods of the Roman People and furnish pay for the army for that campaign, they were granted a truce of twenty years.
32.5. donec Volsiniensibus fessis bello ea condicione ut res populo Romano redderent stipendiumque eius anni exercitui praestarent, in viginti annos indutiae datae.
32.6. The same year Marcus Caedicius, a plebeian, reported to the tribunes, that in the Nova Via, where the chapel now stands above the temple of Vesta, he had heard in the silence of the night a voice more distinct than a man's, which bade him tell the magistrates that the Gauls were approaching.
32.6. anno M. Caedicius de plebe nuntiavit tribunis se in Nova via, ubi nunc sacellum est supra aedem Vestae, vocem noctis silentio audisse clariorem humana, quae magistratibus dici iuberet Gallos adventare.
32.7. This portent was neglected, as often happens, because of the informant's humble station, and because that race was remote and therefore not well known. And not only did they reject the warnings of Heaven, as their doom drew nearer, but they even sent away from the City the only human assistance present with them, in the person of Marcus Furius.
32.7. , ut fit, propter auctoris humilitatem spretum et quod longinqua eoque ignotior gens erat. deorum modo monita ingruente fato spreta, sed humanam quoque opem, quae una erat, M. Furium ab urbe amovere.
32.8. He had been indicted by Lucius Apuleius, tribune of the plebs, on account of the spoils of Veii, just at the time of losing his youthful son. Summoning to his house his fellow tribesmen and his clients (who formed a good part of the plebs), he sounded their feelings, and having been answered that they would make up such an amount as he might be fined, but that they could not acquit him, he departed into exile, beseeching the immortal gods that if he were an innocent man to whom that wrong was done they would speedily make his thankless fellow citizens wish to have him back.
32.8. die dicta ab L. Apuleio tribuno plebis propter praedam Veientanam, filio quoque adulescente per idem tempus orbatus cum accitis domum tribulibus clientibusque, quae magna pars plebis erat, percontatus animos eorum responsum tulisset se conlaturos quanti damnatus esset, absolvere eum non posse, in exsilium abiit, precatus ab dis immortalibus si innoxio sibi ea iniuria fieret, primo quoque tempore desiderium sui civitati ingratae facerent.