45.2. They had not left the city very far behind them, when they came to the camp of the Gauls, unguarded, just as he had prophesied, and open on every side, and, giving a loud cheer, rushed upon it. There was no resistance anywhere: the whole place was a shambles, where unarmed men, relaxed in sleep, were slaughtered. Those, however, who were farthest off were frightened from the places where they lay, and ignorant of the nature of the attack or its source, fled panic-stricken, and some ran unawares straight into the enemy. The most of them were carried into the territory of Antium, where they wandered about until the townspeople sallied out and cut them off.
45.2. Aequis iniquisque persuasum erat tantum bello virum neminem usquam ea tempestate esse. dimissa corpora curant intenti quam mox signum daretur. dato primae silentio noctis ad portas Camillo praesto fuere. haud procul urbe, sicut praedictum erat, castra Gallorum intuta neglectaque ab omni parte nacti cum ingenti clamore invadunt. proelium, omnibus locis caedes est; nuda corpora et soluta somno trucidantur. tamen pavor cubilibus suis excitos, quae aut unde vis esset ignaros, in fugam et quosdam in hostem ipsum improvidos tulit. pars in agrum Antiatem delati incursione ab oppidanis in palatos facta circumveniuntur.
45.4. A similar overthrow was experienced, in the region of Veii, by the Etruscans. So far were they from pitying a City that had been their neighbour for close upon four hundred years, and was now overwhelmed by an enemy never seen or heard of before, that they chose that time to make incursions into the lands of the Romans; and laden with spoils, even meditated an attack on Veii and its garrison, the last hope of the Roman name.
45.4. in agro Veienti Tuscorum facta strages est, qui urbis iam prope quadringentesimum annum vicinae, oppressae ab hoste invisitato, inaudito, adeo nihil miseriti sunt ut in agrum Romanum eo tempore incursiones facerent plenique praedae Veios etiam praesidiumque, spem ultimam Romani nominis, in animo habuerint oppugnare.
45.5. The Roman soldiers had seen them, as they ranged through the fields and afterwards, gathering in a body, drove the booty off before them, and could descry their camp, which was pitched not far from Veii.
45.5. eos milites Romani vagantes per agros et congregato agmine praedam prae se agentis, et castra cernebant haud procul Veiis posita.
45.6. This made them at first to compassionate themselves; then they were seized with resentment, which soon gave way to rage: were even the Etruscans, whom they had saved from the Gauls by incurring war themselves, to make sport of their calamities?
45.6. primum miseratio sui, deinde indignitas atque ex ea ira animos cepit: Etruscisne etiam, a quibus bellum Gallicum in se avertissent, ludibrio esse clades suas?
45.7. They could hardly curb an impulse to assail them on the instant; but being restrained by the centurion Quintus Caedicius, whom they had chosen to be their commander, they postponed the affair till dark.
45.7. temperavere animis quin extemplo impetum facerent; compressi a Q. Caedicio centurione, quem sibimet ipsi praefecerant, rem in noctem sustinuere.
45.8. The only thing wanting was a leader like Camillus; in all else the order followed was the same, and the same success was achieved. Indeed, under the guidance of captives who had survived the nocturnal massacre, they set out on the following night and came to another band of Etruscans, at the salt-works, whom they surprised and defeated with even greater carnage; and so, rejoicing in their double victory, returned to Veii. At Rome meanwhile the siege was for the most part languishing and all was quiet on both sides, the Gauls being solely concerned with preventing the escape of any enemy through their lines, when suddenly a young Roman attracted the wondering admiration of fellow citizens and foes.
45.8. par Camillo defuit auctor: cetera eodem ordine eodemque fortunae eventu gesta. etiam ducibus captivis, qui caedi nocturnae superfuerant, ad aliam manum Tuscorum ad salinas profecti nocte insequenti ex improviso maiorem caedem edidere, duplicique victoria ovantes Veios redeunt.
46.2. There was an annual sacrifice to be made on the Quirinal Hill by the family of the Fabii. To celebrate it Gaius Fabius Dorsuo, in the Gabinian cincture, with the sacred vessels in his hands, descended from the Capitol, passed out through the midst of the enemy's pickets, and regardless of any words or threats, proceeded to the Quirinal, where he duly accomplished all the rites.
46.2. Romae interim plerumque obsidio segnis et utrimque silentium esse ad id tantum intentis Gallis ne quis hostium evadere inter stationes posset, cum repente iuvenis Romanus admiratione in se cives hostesque convertit. erat statum in Quirinali colle genti Fabiae. id faciendum C. Fabius Dorsuo Gabino cinctu incinctus sacra manibus gerens cum de Capitolio descendisset, per medias hostium stationes egressus nihil ad vocem cuiusquam terroremve motus in Quirinalem collem pervenit;
46.3. He then returned by the same way, with the like resolute countenance and gait, in the full assurance of the favour of the gods whose service not even the fear of death could cause him to neglect, and rejoined his friends on the Capitol, leaving the Gauls dumbfounded by his astonishing audacity, or perhaps even moved by religious awe, a sentiment to which that race is far from indifferent.
46.3. ibique omnibus sollemniter peractis eadem revertens similiter constanti vultu graduque, satis sperans propitios esse deos quorum cultum ne mortis quidem metu prohibitus deseruisset, in Capitolium ad suos rediit seu attonitis Gallis miraculo audaciae seu religione etiam motis, cuius haudquaquam neglegens gens est.
46.4. At Veii, all this while, they were gathering from day to day, not courage merely, but strength as well. Not only were Romans coming in from the country-side, —men who had been wanderers since the defeat, or the capture of the City, —but volunteers were also pouring in from Latium, that they might share in the spoils.
46.4. Veiis interim non animi tantum in dies sed etiam vires crescebant. Romanis solum eo convenientibus ex agris qui aut proelio adverso aut clade captae urbis palati fuerant, sed etiam ex Latio voluntariis confluentibus ut in parte praedae essent, maturum iam videbatur repeti patriam eripique ex hostium manibus;
46.5. It seemed therefore that the time was now ripe to return to their native City and wrest it from the hands of the enemy; but their strong body lacked a head. The place itself reminded men of Camillus, and there were many of the soldiers who had fought successfully under his leadership and auspices. Moreover, Caedicius declared that he would suffer neither god nor man to put an end to his authority, but, remembering his station, would himself demand the appointment of a general.
46.5. sed corpori valido caput deerat. ipse admonebat Camilli, et magna pars militum erat qui ductu auspicioque eius res prospere gesserant; et Caedicius negare se commissurum cur sibi aut deorum aut hominum quisquam imperium finiret potius quam ipse memor ordinis sui posceret imperatorem.
46.7. With the consent of all they resolved to send for Camillus from Ardea, but not till the senate at Rome had been consulted; so modest were they in their conduct of everything, preserving the proper distinctions even in their well-nigh desperate case. It was necessary at enormous risk to pass the enemy's outposts.
46.7. omnium placuit ab Ardea Camillum acciri, sed antea consulto senatu, qui Romae esset: adeo regebat omnia pudor, discriminaque rerum prope perditis rebus servabant.
46.8. This an active youth named Pontius Cominus undertook to do, and supporting himself on a strip of cork, floated down the Tiber to the City.
46.8. periculo transeundum per hostium custodias erat. eam rem Pontius Cominus, impiger iuvenis, operam pollicitus incubans cortici secundo Tiberi ad urbem defertur.
46.9. Once there, he passed by the shortest way from the bank up a cliff so steep that the enemy had neglected to guard it, to the Capitol, and being brought before the magistrates delivered to them the message from the army.
46.9. qua proximum fuit a ripa, per praeruptum eoque neglectum hostium custodiae saxum in Capitolium evadit, et ad magistratus ductus mandata exercitus edit.
46.10. Then, on the senate's resolving that the curiate comitia should recall Camillus from exile, and that, even as the people commanded he should straightway be appointed dictator, and the soldiers have the general they desired, the messenger returned by the same route and came in haste to Veii;
46.10. inde senatus consulto uti comitiis curiatis revocatus de exsilio iussu populi Camillus dictator extemplo diceretur militesque haberent imperatorem quem vellent, eadem degressus nuntius Veios contendit;
46.11. whence envoys were despatched to Ardea for Camillus, and fetched him to Veii; or rather —as I prefer to believe that he did not quit Ardea until he had learnt that the law was passed, since he could not change his residence without the People's command, nor take the auspices in the army till he had been appointed dictator-the curiate law was passed and Camillus declared dictator, in his absence. While this was going on at Veii, the Citadel of Rome and the Capitol were in very great danger.
46.11. missique Ardeam legati ad Camillum Veios eum perduxere, seu— quod magis credere libet non prius profectum ab Ardea quam compererit legem latam, quod nec iniussu populi mutari finibus posset nec nisi dictator dictus auspicia in exercitu habere—lex curiata lata est dictatorque absens dictus.
47.2. For the Gauls had noticed the tracks of a man, where the messenger from Veii had got through, or perhaps had observed for themselves that the cliff near the shrine of Carmentis afforded an easy ascent. So on a starlit night they first sent forward an unarmed man to try the way; then handing up their weapons when there was a steep place, and supporting themselves by their fellows or affording support in their turn, they pulled one another up, as the ground required, and reached- the summit, in such silence that not only the sentries but even the dogs —creatures easily troubled by noises in the night —were not aroused.
47.2. haec Veiis agebantur, interim arx Romae Capitoliumque in ingenti periculo fuit. Galli seu vestigio notato humano, qua nuntius a Veiis pervenerat, seu sua sponte animadverso ad Carmentis saxo ascensu aequo, nocte sublustri cum primo inermem qui temptaret viam praemisissent, tradentes inde arma ubi quid iniqui esset, alterni innixi sublevantesque in vicem et trahentes alii alios, prout postularet locus, tanto silentio in summum evasere ut non custodes solum fallerent, sed ne canes quidem, sollicitum animal ad nocturnos strepitus, excitarent.
47.4. But they could not elude the vigilance of the geese, which, being sacred to Juno, had, notwithstanding the dearth of provisions, not been killed. This was the salvation of them all; for the geese with their gabbling and clapping of their wings woke Marcus Manlius, —consul of three years before and a distinguished soldier, —who, catching up his weapons and at the same time calling the rest to arms, strode past his bewildered comrades to a Gaul who had already got a foothold on the crest and dislodged him with a blow from the boss of his shield.
47.4. non fefellere quibus sacris Iunonis in summa inopia cibi tamen abstinebatur. res saluti fuit; namque clangore eorum alarumque crepitu excitus M. Manlius qui triennio ante consul fuerat, vir bello egregius, armis arreptis simul ad arma ceteros ciens vadit, et dum ceteri trepidant, Gallum qui iam in summos constiterat umbone ictum deturbat.
47.5. As he slipped and fell, he overturned those who were next to him, and the others in alarm let go their weapons and grasping the rocks to which they had been clinging, were slain by Manlius.
47.5. casus prolapsi cum proximos sterneret, trepidantes alios armisque omissis saxa quibus adhaerebant manibus amplexos trucidat. et alii congregati telis missilibusque saxis proturbare hostes, ruinaque tota prolapsa acies in praeceps deferri.
47.6. And by now the rest had come together and were assailing the invaders with javelins and stones, and presently the whole company lost their footing and were flung down headlong to destruction.
47.6. deinde tumultu reliquum noctis, quantum in turbatis mentibus poterat, cum praeteritum quoque periculum sollicitaret, quieti datum est.
47.7. Then after the din was hushed, the rest of the night —so far as their excitement would permit, when even a past peril made them nervous —was given up to sleep. At dawn the trumpet summoned the soldiers to assemble before the tribunes. Good conduct and bad had both to be requited.
47.7. orta vocatis classico ad concilium militibus ad tribunos, cum et recte et perperam facto pretium deberetur, Manlius primum ob virtutem laudatus donatusque non ab tribunis solum militum sed consensu etiam militari;
47.8. First Manlius was praised for his courage and presented with gifts, not only by the tribunes of the soldiers, but by agreement amongst the troops, who brought each half a pound of spelt and a gill of wine to his house, which stood in the Citadel. It is a little thing to tell, but the scarcity made it a great token of affection, since everyone robbed himself of his own sustenance and bestowed what he had subtracted from his physical necessities to do honour to one man.
47.8. cui universi selibras farris et quartarios vini ad aedes eius, quae in arce erant, contulerunt,—rem dictu parvam, ceterum inopia fecerat eam earn argumentum ingens caritatis, cum se quisque victu suo fraudans detractum corpori atque usibus necessariis ad honorem unius viri conferret.
47.9. Then the watchmen of the cliff which the enemy had scaled without being discovered were called up. Quintus Sulpicius, the tribune, announced his intention to punish them all in the military fashion; but deterred by the cries of the soldiers, who united in throwing the blame upon a single sentinel, he spared the others. This man was guilty beyond a doubt, and was flung from the rock with the approval of all.
47.9. vigiles eius loci qua fefellerat adscendens hostis citati; et cum in omnes more militari se animadversurum Q. Sulpicius tribunus militum pronuntiasset, consentiente clamore militum in unum vigilem conicientium culpam deterritus, a ceteris abstinuit, reum haud dubium eius noxae adprobantibus cunctis de saxo deiecit.
47.11. From that time the guards on both sides were more alert: the Gauls, because it had been put about that messengers were passing between Veii and Rome, the Romans, from their recollection of the peril of the night. But worse than all the evils of the blockade and the war was the famine with which both armies were afflicted.
47.11. intentiores utrimque custodiae esse, et apud Gallos, quia volgatum erat inter Veios Romamque nuntios commeare, et apud Romanos ab nocturni periculi memoria.
48.2. The Gauls suffered also from a pestilence, being encamped between hills on low ground, parched and heated by the conflagration, where the air was filled with ashes, as well as dust, whenever a breeze sprang up.
48.2. ante omnia obsidionis bellique mala fames utrumque exercitum urgebat, Gallos pestilentia etiam, cum loco iacente inter tumulos castra habentes, tum ab incendiis torrido et vaporis pleno cineremque non pulverem modo ferente cum quid venti motum esset.
48.3. These annoyances were intolerable to a race accustomed to damp and cold, and when, distressed by the suffocating heat, they began to sicken of diseases that spread as though the victims had been cattle, they were soon too slothful to bury their dead singly, and piling the bodies up in promiscuous heaps, they burned them, causing the place to be known from that circumstance as the Gallic Pyres.
48.3. intolerantissima gens umorique ac frigori adsueta cum aestu et angore anguore vexata volgatis velut in pecua morbis morerentur, iam pigritia singulos sepeliendi promisce acervatos cumulos hominum urebant; bustorumque inde Gallicorum nomine insignem locum fecere.
48.4. A truce was afterwards made with the Romans, and the commanders allowed their soldiers to talk together. Since in these conversations the Gauls used frequently to taunt their enemies with their famished state, and call on them to yield to that necessity and surrender, the Romans are said, in order to do away with this opinion, to have cast bread down from the Capitol in many places, into the outposts of the enemy.
48.4. deinde cum Romanis factae et conloquia permissu imperatorum habita; in quibus cum identidem Galli famem obicerent eaque necessitate ad deditionem vocarent, dicitur avertendae eius opinionis causa multis locis panis de Capitolio iactatus esse in hostium stationes.
48.5. Yet at last they could neither dissemble their hunger nor endure it any longer. The dictator was now holding a levy of his own at Ardea, and having ordered the master of the horse, Lucius Valerius, to bring up his army from Veii, was mustering and drilling a force with which he might cope with the Gauls on equal terms. But the army on the Capitol was worn out with picket duty and mounting guard; and though they had got the better of all human ills, yet was there one, and that was famine, which nature would not suffer to be overcome.
48.5. iam neque dissimulari neque ferri ultra fames poterat. dum dictator dilectum per se Ardeae habet, magistrum equitum L. Valerium a—Veiis adducere exercitum iubet, parat instruitque quibus haud impar adoriatur hostes, interim Capitolinus exercitus stationibus vigiliisque fessus superatis tamen humanis omnibus malis cum famem unam natura vinci non sineret, diem de die prospectans ecquod auxilium ab dictatore appareret,
48.7. Day after day they looked out to see if any relief from the dictator was at hand; but at last even hope, as well as food, beginning to fail them, and their bodies growing almost too weak to sustain their armour when they went out on picket duty, they declared that they must either surrender or ransom themselves, on whatever conditions they could make; for the Gauls were hinting very plainly that no great price would be required to induce them to raise the siege.
48.7. postremo spe quoque iam non solum cibo deficiente et cum stationes procederent prope obruentibus infirmum corpus armis, vel dedi vel redimi se quacumque pactione possent iussit, iactantibus non obscure Gallis haud magna mercede se adduci posse ut obsidionem relinquant.
48.8. Thereupon the senate met, and instructed the tribunes of the soldiers to arrange the terms. Then, at a conference between Quintus Sulpicius the tribune and the Gallic chieftain Brennus, the affair was settled, and a thousand pounds of gold was agreed on as the price of a people that was destined presently to rule the nations.
48.8. senatus habitus tribunisque militum negotium datum ut paciscerentur. inter Q. Sulpicium tribunum militum et Brennum regulum Gallorum conloquio transacta res est, et mille pondo auri pretium populi gentibus mox imperaturi factum. foedissimae per se adiecta indignitas est:
48.9. The transaction was a foul disgrace in itself, but an insult was added thereto: the weights brought by the Gauls were dishonest, and on the tribune's objecting, the insolent Gaul added his sword to the weight, and a saying intolerable to Roman ears was heard, —Woe to the conquered! But neither gods nor men would suffer the Romans to live ransomed. For, by some chance, before the infamous payment had been consummated, and when the gold had not yet, owing to the dispute, been all weighed out, the dictator appeared and commanded the gold to be cleared away and the Gauls to leave. They objected vehemently, and insisted on the compact; but Camillus denied the validity of that compact which, subsequently to his own appointment as dictator, an inferior magistrate had made without his authorization, and warned them to prepare for battle.
48.9. pondera ab Gallis allata iniqua, et tribuno recusante additus ab insolente Gallo ponderi gladius, auditaque intoleranda Romanis vox, Vae victis. diique et homines prohibuere redemptos vivere Romanos. forte quadam, priusquam infanda merces perficeretur, per altercationem nondum omni auro adpenso, dictator intervenit auferrique aurum de medio et Gallos summoveri iubet. illi renitentes pactos dicerent sese, negat eam earn pactionem ratam esse quae, postquam ipse dictator creatus esset, iniussu suo ab inferioris iuris magistratu facta esset, denuntiatque Gallis ut se ad proelium expediant.
49.3. His own men he ordered to throw their packs in a heap, make ready their weapons, and win their country back with iron instead of gold; having before their eyes the temples of the gods, their wives and their children, the soil of their native land, with the hideous marks of war upon it, and all that religion called upon them to defend, recover, or avenge.
49.3. in acervum conicere sarcinas et arma aptare ferroque non auro reciperare patriam iubet, in conspectu habentes fana deum et coniuges et liberos et solum patriae deforme belli malis et omnia quae defendi repetique et ulcisci fas sit.
49.4. He then drew up his line, as well as the ground permitted, on the naturally uneven surface of the half-ruined City, and saw to it that his soldiers had every advantage in choice of position and in preparation which the art of war suggested.
49.4. deinde aciem, ut loci natura patiebatur, in semirutae solo urbis et natura inaequali, et omnia quae arte belli secunda suis eligi praepararive poterant providit.
49.5. The Gauls were taken aback; they armed, and, with more rage than judgment, charged the Romans. But now fortune had turned; now the might of Heaven and human wisdom were engaged in the cause of Rome. Accordingly, at the first shock the Gauls were routed with as little effort as they had themselves put forth to conquer on the Allia.
49.5. Galli nova re trepidi arma capiunt iraque magis quam consilio in Romanos incurrunt. verterat fortuna, iam deorum opes humanaque consilia rem Romanam adiuvabant. primo concursu haud maiore momento fusi Galli sunt quam ad Alliam vicerant.
49.6. They afterwards fought a second, more regular engagement, eight miles out on the Gabinian Way, where they had rallied from their flight, and again the generalship and auspices of Camillus overcame them. Here the carnage was universal; their camp was taken; and not a man survived to tell of the disaster.
49.6. altero deinde proelio ad octavum lapidem Gabina via, quo se ex fuga contulerant, eiusdem ductu auspicioque Camilli vincuntur. caedes omnia obtinuit; castra capiuntur et ne nuntius quidem cladis relictus.
49.7. The dictator, having recovered his country from her enemies, returned in triumph to the city; and between the rough jests uttered by the soldiers, was hailed in no unmeaning terms of praise as a Romulus and Father of his Country and a second Founder of the City.
49.7. reciperata ex hostibus patria triumphans in urbem redit, interque iocos militares, quos inconditos iaciunt, Romulus ac parens patriae conditorque alter urbis haud vanis laudibus appellabatur.
49.8. His native City, which he had saved in war, he then indubitably saved a second time, now that peace was won, by preventing the migration to Veil: though the tribunes were more zealous for the plan than ever, now that the City lay in ashes, and the plebs were of themselves more inclined to favour it. This was the reason of his not resigning the dictatorship after his triumph, for the senate besought him not to desert the state in its hour of uncertainty. His first act, in conformity with his scrupulous attention to religion, was to lay before the senate such matters as pertained to the immortal gods, and to obtain the passage of a decree that all shrines, in so far as they had been in the enemy's possession, should be restored, their boundaries established, and rites of purification celebrated, and that the duumvirs should search the Books for the proper rites;
49.8. deinde bello patriam iterum in pace haud dubie servavit cum prohibuit migrari Veios, et tribunis rem intentius agentibus post incensam urbem et per se inclinata magis plebe ad id consilium; eaque causa fuit non abdicandae post triumphum dictaturae senatu obsecrante ne rem publicam in incerto relinqueret statu. primum, ut erat diligentissimus religionum cultor, quae ad deos immortales pertinebant rettulit et senatus consultum facit: fana omnia, quoad ea hostis possedisset, restituerentur terminarentur expiarenturque, expiatioque eorum in libris per duumviros quaereretur;
50.3. that a covenant of hospitality should be entered into by the state with the people of Caere, because they had received the holy things of the Roman People and its priests, and thanks to their good offices worship of the immortal gods had not been interrupted;
50.3. cum Caeritibus hospitium publice fieret quod sacra populi Romani ac sacerdotes recepissent, beneficioque eius populi non intermissus honos deorum immortalium esset;
50.4. that Capitoline Games should be held, because Jupiter Optimus Maximus had protected his own abode and the Citadel of the Roman People in its time of danger; and that Marcus Furius the dictator should to that end constitute a board consisting of men who lived on the Capitol and the Citadel.
50.4. ludi Capitolini fierent, quod Iuppiter optimus maximus suam sedem atque arcem populi Romani in re trepida tutatus esset; collegiumque ad eam rem M. Furius dictator constitueret ex iis qui in Capitolio atque arce habitarent.
50.5. A proposal was made, too, for propitiating the voice which was heard in the night to foretell disaster before the Gallic War, and was disregarded, and a temple was ordered to be built in the Nova Via to Aius Locutius.
50.5. etiam vocis nocturnae quae nuntia cladis ante bellum Gallicum audita neglectaque esset mentio inlata, iussumque templum in Nova via Aio Locutio fieri.
50.6. The gold which had been carried away from the Gauls and that which had been collected from other temples during the alarm and carried into the shrine of Jupiter, since there was no clear recollection where it ought to be returned, was all adjudged to be sacred and ordered to be deposited under the throne of Jupiter.
50.6. quod Gallis ereptum erat quodque ex aliis templis inter trepidationem in Iovis cellam conlatum, cum quo referri oporteret confusa memoria esset, sacrum omne iudicatum et sub Iovis sella poni iussum.
50.7. Even before this the scrupulousness of the citizens had been apparent in this connexion, for when the gold in the public coffers was insufficient to make up to the Gauls the stipulated sum, they had accepted what the matrons got together, that they might not touch the sacred gold. For this a vote of thanks was given to the matrons, and they were granted the honour of having eulogies pronounced at their funerals, as in the case of the men.
50.7. ante in eo religio civitatis apparuerat quod cum in publico deesset aurum, ex quo summa pactae mercedis Gallis confieret, a matronis conlatum acceperant ut sacro auro abstineretur. gratiae actae honosque additus ut earum sicut virorum post mortem sollemnis laudatio esset.
50.8. After these measures, which related to the gods and lay within the competence of the senate, had been enacted, then, and only then, heeding the importunity of the tribunes, who were urging the plebs unceasingly to quit their ruins and emigrate to a city ready to their hand at Veii, Camillus went up into the assembly, attended by the entire senate, and discoursed as follows: "So painful to me, Quirites, are these controversies with the tribunes of the plebs, that my most bitter exile knew no other solace but this, all the time that I lived at Ardea, that I was far away from these contentions. And they are likewise the cause that though you had a thousand times recalled me by resolution of the senate and the people's vote, I intended never to return.
50.8. peractis, quae ad deos pertinebant quaeque per senatum agi poterant, tum demum agitantibus tribunis plebem adsiduis contionibus, ut relictis ruinis in urbem paratam Veios transmigrarent, in contionem universo senatu prosequente escendit atque ita verba fecit:
51.2. Nor have I now been induced to do so by any change in my desires, but by the alteration in your fortunes. For the issue was this, that my countrymen should abide in their own home, not that I, at any or all costs, should be with my countrymen. Even now I would gladly stop and hold my peace, were not this too the quarrel of my country; whom to fail while life endures is in other men disgraceful, but in Camillus impious.
51.2. " mihi acerbae sunt, Quirites, contentiones cum tribunis plebis, ut nec tristissimi exsilii solacium aliud habuerim, quoad Ardeae vixi, quam quod procul ab his certaminibus eram, et ob eadem haec non si miliens senatus consulto populique pophlique iussu revocaretis, rediturus unquam fuerim. nunc me ut redirem mea voluntas mutata sed vestra fortuna perpulit; quippe ut in sua sede maneret patria, id agebatur, non ut ego utique in patria essem. nunc quiescerem ac tacerem libenter, nisi haec quoque pro patria dimicatio esset; cui deesse, quoad vita suppetat, aliis turpe, Camillo etiam nefas est.
51.3. For why did we seek to win her back, why rescue her, when besieged, from the hands of the enemy, if, now that she is recovered, we voluntarily abandon her? And although, while the Gauls were victorious and in possession of the entire City, the Capitol nevertheless and the Citadel were held by the gods and men of Rome, shall we now, when the Romans are victorious and the City is regained, desert even Citadel and Capitol? Shall our prosperity make Rome more desolate than our adversity has done?
51.3. enim repetiimus, quid obsessam ex hostium manibus eripuimus, si reciperatam ipsi deserimus? cum victoribus Gallis capta tota urbe Capitolium tamen atque arcem dique et homines Romani tenuerint, victoribus Romanis reciperata urbe arx quoque et Capitolium deseretur, et plus vastitatis huic urbi secunda nostra fortuna faciet quam adversa fecit?
51.4. Indeed, if we had no religious rites established with the founding of the City and by tradition handed down, yet so manifest has at this time the divine purpose been in the affairs of Rome, that I for one should suppose it no longer possible for men to neglect the worship of the gods.
51.4. si nobis cum urbe simul positae traditaeque per manus religiones nullae essent, tamen tam evidens numen hac tempestate rebus adfuit Romanis ut omnem neglegentiam divini cultus exemptam hominibus putem.
51.5. For consider these past few years in order, with their successes and reverses; you will find that all things turned out well when we obeyed the gods, and ill when we spurned them.
51.5. enim horum deinceps annorum vel secundas res vel adversas; invenietis omnia prospera evenisse sequentibus deos, adversa spernentibus.
51.6. First of all, the war with Veii. How many years we fought, and with what painful exertion! And the end came not, until, admonished by Heaven, we drew the water off from the Alban Lake.
51.6. omnium primum Veiens bellum—per quot annos quanto labore gestum!—non ante cepit finem quam monitu deorum aqua ex lacu Albano emissa est.
51.7. What, I beseech you, of this strange disaster that lately overwhelmed our City? Did it come before we disregarded the voice from Heaven that announced the approach of the Gauls? before the law of nations was violated by our envoys? before we, that ought to have punished their fault, had passed it by, with the same indifference towards the gods?
51.7. haec tandem urbis nostrae clades nova? ante exorta est quam spreta vox caelo emissa de adventu Gallorum, quam gentium ius ab legatis nostris violatum, quam a nobis, cum vindicari deberet, eadem neglegentia deorum praetermissum?
51.8. Therefore were we conquered, led captive, and put to ransom; and suffered such punishments at the hands of gods and men as to be a warning to all the world.
51.8. victi captique ac redempti tantum poenarum dis hominibusque dedimus ut terrarum orbi documento essemus.
51.9. Adversity then turned our thoughts upon religion. We fled for refuge to the Capitol and its gods, to the seat of Jupiter Optimus Maximus; of our holy things, some, in the ruin of our fortunes, we concealed in the earth, others we removed to neighbouring cities out of sight of our enemies; in the worship of the gods, albeit forsaken of gods and men, yet were we unceasing.
51.9. deinde res admonuerunt religionum. in Capitolium ad deos, ad sedem Iovis optimi maximi; sacra in ruina rerum nostrarum alia terra celavimus, alia avecta in finitimas urbes amovimus ab hostium oculis; deorum cultum deserti ab dis hominibusque tamen non intermisimus.
51.10. Therefore have they given us our native land again, and victory, and our ancient renown in war that we had forfeited; and against our enemies, who, blinded with greed, broke treaty and troth in the weighing of the gold, have they turned dismay and rout and slaughter. "As you consider these momentous effects upon the affairs of men, of serving the deity and of neglecting him, do you begin, Quirites, to perceive how, though yet scarce clear of the wreckage of our former guilt and calamity, we are headed towards a grievous sin?
51.10. igitur patriam et victoriam et antiquum belli decus amissum; et in hostes qui caeci avaritia in pondere auri foedus ac fidem fefellerunt verterunt terrorem fugamque et caedem.
52.2. We have a City founded with due observance of auspice and augury; no corner of it is not permeated by ideas of religion and the gods; for our annual sacrifices, the days are no more fixed than are the places where they may be performed.
52.2. " culti neglectique numinis tanta momenta in rebus humanis cernentes ecquid sentitis, Quirites, quantum vixdum e naufragiis prioris culpae cladisque emergentes paremus nefas? auspicato inauguratoque conditam habemus; nullus locus in ea non religionum deorumque est plenus; sacrificiis sollemnibus non dies magis stati quam loca sunt, in quibus fiant.
52.3. Do you intend, Quirites, to abandon all these gods, both of state and of family? How squares your conduct with that of the noble young man Gaius Fabius in the recent siege, which the enemy beheld with no less astonishment and admiration than yourselves, when he descended from the Citadel through the missiles of the Gauls and offered the annual sacrifice of the Fabian clan on the Quirinal Hill?
52.3. omnes deos publicos privatosque, Quirites, deserturi estis? par vestrum factum ei est, quod in obsidione nuper in egregio adulescente C. Fabio non minore hostium admiratione quam vestra conspectum est, cum inter Gallica tela degressus ex arce sollemne Fabiae gentis in colle Quirinali obiit?
52.4. What? Would you suffer no interruption, even in war, of family rites, but desert the national worship and the gods of Rome in time of peace? Would you have the pontiffs and the flamens less careful of the ceremonies of the state religion than a private citizen has been of the anniversary of his clan? Perhaps someone may say that we shall either do these things at Veii, or thence dispatch our priests to Rome to do them;
52.4. An gentilicia sacra ne in bello quidem intermitti, publica sacra et Romanos deos etiam in pace deseri placet, et pontifices flaminesque neglegentiores publicarum religionum esse quam privatus in sollemni gentis fuerit? aliquis dicat aut Veiis ea nos facturos aut huc inde missuros sacerdotes nostros qui faciant; quorum neutrum fieri salvis caerimoniis potest.
52.6. but of these courses neither can be followed without violation of the sacred usages.
52.6. ne omnia generatim sacra omnesque percenseam deos, in Iovis epulo num alibi quam in Capitolio pulvinar suscipi potest?
52.7. For, not to enumerate all the kinds of rites and all the gods, is it possible at the feast of Jupiter that the couch should be spread elsewhere than in the Capitol? Why need I speak of Vesta's eternal fires, and the image which is preserved as a pledge of empire in her temple? or of your sacred shields, O Mars Gradivus and Quirinus our Father?
52.7. de aeternis Vestae ignibus signoque quod imperii pignus custodia eius templi tenetur loquar? de ancilibus vestris, Mars Gradive tuque, Quirine pater? omnia in profano deseri placet sacra aequalia urbi, quaedam vetustiora origine urbis?
52.8. All these holy things would you leave behind on unconsecrated ground —things coeval with the City, and some more ancient than its origin? "And mark what a difference between us and our forefathers! They handed down to us certain rites to be solemnized on the Alban Mount and in Lavinium. But if we scrupled to transfer sacred rites from hostile cities to ourselves in Rome, can we shift them without sin from Rome to Veii, city of our enemies?
52.8. " videte quid inter nos ac maiores intersit. sacra quaedam in monte Albano Laviniique nobis facienda tradiderunt. An ex hostium urbibus Romam ad nos transferri sacra religiosum fuit, hinc sine piaculo in hostium urbem Veios transferemus?
52.9. Recollect, I beg you, how often sacrifices are renewed because some point of antique ritual has been, through carelessness or accident, omitted. What was it, a while ago, after the portent of the Alban Lake, that brought relief to the commonwealth —then in the throes of war with Veii —if not a renewal of the sacred rites and auspices?
52.9. , agite dum, quotiens sacra instaurentur, quia aliquid ex patio ritu neglegentia casuve praetermissum est. quae res post prodigium Albani lacus nisi instauratio sacrorum auspiciorumque renovatio adfectae Veienti bello rei publicae remedio fuit?
52.10. But, more than that, like men mindful of their old religious fervour, we have both brought in foreign deities to Rome and established new ones. Queen Juno was lately conveyed from Veii and enshrined on the Aventine, and how notable was that day, for the zeal of the matrons and the throng! We have ordered a temple to be built for Aius Locutius because of the voice from heaven, clearly heard in the Nova Via.
52.10. etiam, tamquam veterum religionum memores,et peregrinos deos transtulimus Romam et instituimus novos. Iuno regina transvecta a Veiis nuper in Aventino quam insigni ob excellens matronarum studium celebrique dedicata est die! Aio Locutio templum propter caelestem vocem exauditam in Nova via iussimus fieri; Capitolinos ludos sollemnibus aliis addidimus collegiumque ad id novum auctore senatu condidimus;
52.12. We have added Capitoline Games to the other annual festivals, and by authority of the senate have established a new college for this purpose. Was there any of these things we needed to have undertaken, if we meant to retire from Rome along with the Gauls; if we remained not voluntarily in the Capitol, through so many months of siege, but constrained by fear of the enemy?
52.12. quid horum opus fuit suscipi, si una cum Gallis urbem Romanam relicturi fuimus, si non voluntate mansimus in Capitolio per tot menses obsidionis, sed ab hostibus metu retenti sumus?
52.13. We talk of sacred rites and temples; pray, what about the priests? Do you never think what a sacrilege you are about? The Vestals surely have but that one dwelling-place, from which nothing ever caused them to remove but the capture of the City; the Flamen Dialis may not lie for a single night outside the City, without sin. Will you make these priests Veientine instead of Roman? Shall thy Virgins forsake thee, Vesta, and the Flamen, as he dwells abroad, bring, night after night, such guilt upon himself and the republic?
52.13. sacris loquimur et de templis; quid tandem de sacerdotibus? in mentem venit quantum piaculi committatur? nempe una illa sedes est, ex qua eas nihil unquam praeterquam urbs capta movit; flamini Diali noctem unam manere extra urbem nefas est; hos Veientis pro Romanis facturi estis sacerdotes, et Vestales tuae te deserent, Vesta, et flamen peregre habitando in singulas noctes tantum sibi reique publicae piaculi contrahet?
52.15. What about the other matters nearly all of which we transact, after taking auspices, within the pomerium? To what oblivion and neglect do we consign them?
52.15. alia quae auspicato agimus omnia fere intra pomerium, cui oblivioni aut cui neglegentiae damus?
52.16. The curiate comitia which deals with the business of war, the centuriate comitia, where you elect the consuls and military tribunes —where can these be held, with due observance of the auspices, save in the customary places?
52.16. curiata, quae rem militarem continent, comitia centuriata, quibus consules tribunosque militaris creatis, ubi auspicato, nisi ubi adsolent, fieri possunt?
52.17. Shall we transfer them to Veii? Or shall the people, for the sake of the comitia assemble with enormous inconvenience in this City, forsaken of god and man? "'But,' you will say, 'while it is obvious that everything will be polluted beyond all possibility of purification, yet the situation itself compels us to leave a City which fires and falling buildings have made a wilderness, and emigrate to Veii, where everything is untouched, nor vex the helpless commons with building here.' But that this is rather a pretext than a true reason is, I think, apparent to you, Quirites, without my saying so; for you remember how, before the coming of the Gauls, when our roof-trees, public and private, were unharmed and our City stood uninjured, that this same proposal was urged, of migrating to Veii.
52.17. haec transferemus? An comitiorum causa populus tanto incommodo in desertam hanc ab dis hominibusque urbem conveniet? " enim apparet quidem pollui omnia nec ullis piaculis expiari posse, sed res ipsa cogit vastam incendiis ruinisque relinquere urbem et ad integra omnia Veios migrare nec hic aedificando inopem plebem vexare. hanc autem iactari magis causam quam veram esse, ut ego non dicam, apparere vobis, Quirites, puto, qui meministis ante Gallorum adventum salvis tectis publicis privatisque, stante incolumi urbe, hanc eandem rem actam esse ut Veios transmigraremus.
53.3. And consider, tribunes, how wide is the difference between my view and yours. You think that even if then it ought not to have been done, yet now at any rate it ought; I on the contrary —and be not astonished at this, till you have heard what my meaning is, —even if it had been right to migrate then, with the City all intact, should not think it right to abandon these ruins now.
53.3. videte quantum inter meam sententiam vestramque intersit, tribuni., etiamsi tunc faciendum non fuerit, nunc utique faciendum putatis: ego contra—nec id mirati sitis priusquam quale sit audieritis—etiamsi tum migrandum fuisset incolumi tota urbe, nunc has ruinas relinquendas non censerem.
53.4. For then our victory would have been a reason for migrating to a captured city —a reason glorious to ourselves and our posterity; but now such a removal is for us a wretched and humiliating course, and a glory to the Gauls.
53.4. tum causa nobis in urbem captam migrandi victoria esset, gloriosa nobis ac posteris nostris; nunc haec migratio nobis misera ac turpis, Gallis gloriosa est.
53.5. For we shall not seem to have left our country as victors, but to have lost it as men vanquished. It will be thought that the rout on the Allia, the capture of the City, the blockade of the Capitol, have compelled us to forsake our family gods, and sentence ourselves to banishment and exile from that place which we were powerless to defend.
53.5. enim reliquisse victores sed amisisse victi patriam videbimur: hoc ad Alliam fuga, hoc capta urbs, hoc circumsessum Capitolium necessitatis imposuisse, ut desereremus penates nostros exsiliumque ac fugam nobis ex eo loco conscisceremus quem tueri non possemus. Galli evertere potuerunt Romam, Romani restituere non videbuntur potuisse?
53.6. Have Gauls then been able to cast Rome down; and must Romans appear unable to have raised her up? What remains, if they should presently come with fresh forces —for all agree that their numbers are scarce to be believed, — and should wish to dwell in this City which they have captured and you have abandoned, but that you should suffer them?
53.6. restat nisi ut, si iam novis copiis veniant—constat enim vix credibilem multitudinem esse—et habitare in capta ab se, deserta a vobis hac urbe velint, sinatis?
53.7. What if not the Gauls but your ancient foes the Volsci and Aequi should migrate to Rome? Should you like them to be Romans, and yourselves Veientes? Or should you not prefer this to be your wilderness, rather than the city of your enemies? For my part I do not see what could be more abominable. Are you ready to stomach these outrages, these infamies, because it irks you to build?
53.7. ? si non Galli hoc sed veteres hostes vestri, Aequi Volscive, faciant ut commigrent Romam, velitisne illos Romanos, vos Veientes esse? An non malitis hanc solitudinem vestram quam urbem hostium esse? equidem video quid magis nefas sit. scelera, quia piget aedificare, haec dedecora pati parati estis?
53.8. If in all the City no house could be put up better or bigger than is the famous Hut of our Founder, would it not be better to live in huts, as shepherds and rustics do, amongst our sacred monuments and our household gods, than to go forth as a nation into exile?
53.8. tota urbe nullum melius ampliusve tectum fieri possit quam casa illa conditoris est nostri, non in casis ritu pastorum agrestiumque habitare est satius inter sacra penatesque nostros quam exsulatum publice ire?
53.9. Our ancestors refugees and herdsmen, at a time when there was nothing in this region but forests and marshes, built quickly a new City; and are we loath, though Capitol and Citadel are untouched and the temples of the gods are standing, to rebuild what has been destroyed by fire? And what each would have done for himself, if his house had been burned, shall we refuse to do together after this common conflagration? “Or suppose that by crime or chance a fire should break out at Veii, and that the wind should spread the flames, as may easily happen, until they consume a great part of the city; are we to quit it, and seek out Fidenae, or Gabii, or any other town you like, and migrate thither?”
53.9. nostri, convenae pastoresque, cum in his locis nihil praeter silvas paludesque esset, novam urbem tam brevi aedificarunt: nos Capitolio atque arce incolumi, stantibus templis deorum aedificare incensa piget? quod singuli facturi fuimus, si aedes nostrae deflagrassent, hoc in publico incendio universi recusamus facere?
54.2. “Have the soil of our native City and this land which we call our mother so slight a hold on us?” “Is our love of country confined to buildings and rafters? And in truth I will confess to you —though: like not to recall the wrong you did me —that as often, during my absence, as I thought of my native place, all these objects came into my mind: the hills and the fields and the Tiber and the region familiar to my eyes, and this sky beneath which I had been born and reared. And I wish these things may rather move you now with love, Quirites, to make you abide in your own home, than afterwards, when you have left it, torment you with vain regrets.”
54.2. tandem? fraude, si casu Veiis incendium ortum sit, ventoque, ut fieri potest, diffusa flamma magnam partem urbis absumat, Fidenas inde aut Gabios aliamve quam urbem quaesituri sumus quo transmigremus? nihil tenet solum patriae nec haec terra quam matrem appellamus, sed in superficie tignisque caritas nobis patriae pendet? quidem—fatebor vobis, etsi minus iniuriae vestrae meminisse iuvat—cum abessem, quotienscumque patria in mentem veniret, haec omnia occurrebant, colles campique et Tiberis et adsueta oculis regio et hoc caelum sub quo natus educatusque essem; quae vos, Quirites, nunc moveant potius caritate sua ut maneatis in sede vestra, quam postea, cum reliqueritis eam, macerent desiderio.
54.4. “Not without cause did gods and men select this place for establishing our City —with its healthful hills; its convenient river, by which crops may be floated down from the midland regions and foreign commodities brought up; its sea, near enough for use, yet not exposing us, by too great propinquity, to peril from foreign fleets; a situation in the heart of Italy —a spot, in short, of a nature uniquely adapted for the expansion of a city.”
54.4. sine causa di hominesque hunc urbi condendae locum elegerunt, saluberrimos colles, flumen opportunum, quo ex mediterraneis locis fruges devehantur, quo maritimi commeatus accipiantur, mare vicinum ad commoditates nec expositum nimia propinquitate ad pericula classium externarum, regionem Italiae mediam, ad incrementum urbis natum unice locum.
54.5. “This is proved by the very greatness of so new a place. It is now, Quirites, in its three hundred and sixty-fifth year. Amongst all these ancient nations you have for so long a time been waging wars; and all this while — to say nothing of single cities —neither the Volsci joined with the Aequi, and all their powerful towns, nor all Etruria, with its enormous strength on land and water, and its occupancy of the entire breadth of Italy from sea to sea, has been a match for you in war.”
54.5. est ipsa magnitudo tam novae urbis. sexagesimus sexagensimus quintus annus urbis, Quirites, agitur; inter tot veterrimos populos tam diu bella geritis, cum interea, ne singulas loquar urbes, non coniuncti cum Aequis Volsci, tot tam valida oppida, non universa Etruria tantum terra marique pollens atque inter duo maria latitudinem obtinens Italiae bello vobis par est.
54.6. “Since this is so, what a plague is the reason why you that have experienced these things should experiment with others? Granting that your valour may go elsewhere, yet surely the fortune of this place could not be taken along!”
54.6. cum ita sit, quae, malum, ratio est haec expertis alia experiri, cum, iam ut virtus vestra transire alio possit, fortuna certe loci huius transferri non possit?
54.7. “Here is the Capitol, where men were told, when of old they discovered there a human head, that in that place should be the head of the world and the seat of empire; here, when the Capitol was being cleared with augural rites, Juvent as and Terminus, to the vast joy of your fathers, refused to be removed; here are Vesta's fires, here the shields that were sent down from heaven, here are all the gods propitious, if you remain.” The speech of Camillus is said to have moved them, particularly where he touched upon religion; but the doubtful issue was resolved by a word that was let fall in the nick of time. It was while the senate, a little later, was deliberating about these matters in the Curia Hostilia; some cohorts returning from guard-duty were marching through the Forum, and as they came to the Comitium a centurion cried out, “Standard-bearer, fix your ensign; here will be our best place to remain.”
54.7. Capitolium est, ubi quondam capite humano invento responsum est eo loco caput rerum summamque imperii fore; hic cum augurato liberaretur Capitolium, Iuventas Terminusque maximo gaudio patrum vestrorum moveri se non passi; hic Vestae ignes, hic ancilia caelo demissa, hic omnes propitii manentibus vobis di.
55.2. Hearing this sentence the senators came out from the Curia and shouted their acceptance of the omen, and the commons gathering round them signified approval. The bill was then rejected, and people began in a random fashion to rebuild the City. The state supplied tiles, and granted everybody the right to quarry stone and to hew timber where he liked, after giving security for the completion of the structures within that year.
55.2. eos Camillus cum alia oratione tum ea quae ad religiones pertinebat maxime dicitur; sed rem dubiam decrevit vox opportune emissa, quod cum senatus post paulo de his rebus in curia Hostilia haberetur cohortesque ex praesidiis revertentes forte agmine forum transirent, centurio in comitio exclamavit:, statue signum; hic manebimus optime. voce audita et senatus accipere se omen ex curia egressus conclamavit et plebs circumfusa adprobavit. deinde lege promiscue promisee urbs aedificari coepta. publice praebita est; saxi materiaeque caedendae, unde quisque vellet ius factum praedibus acceptis eo anno aedificia perfecturos.
55.4. In their haste men were careless about making straight the streets, and paying no attention to their own and others' rights, built on the vacant spaces.
55.4. curam exemit vicos dirigendi, dum omisso sui alienique discrimine in vacuo aedificant.
55.5. This is the reason that the ancient sewers, which were at first conducted through the public ways, at present frequently run under private dwellings, and the appearance of the City is like one where the ground has been appropriated rather than divided.
55.5. est causa ut veteres cloacae, primo per publicum ductae, nunc privata passim subeant tecta, formaque urbis sit occupatae magis quam divisae similis.