1.1. This year will stand out as the one in which a “new man” held the consulship, and also for the establishment of two new magistracies, the praetorship and the curule aedileship. These dignities the patricians had devised for themselves, to compensate them for the second consulship, which they had granted to the commons.
1.1. annus hic erit insignis noui hominis consulatu, insignis nouis duobus magistratibus, praetura et curuli aedilitate; hos sibi patricii quaesiuere honores pro concesso plebi altero consulatu.
1.2. The plebs bestowed their consulship on Lucius Sextius, by whose law it had been won. The patricians, through their influence in the Campus Martius, obtained the praetorship for Spurius Furius Camillus, the son of Marcus, and the aedileship for Gnaeus Quinctius Capitolinus and Publius Cornelius Scipio, who belonged to their own houses.
1.2. plebes consulatum L. Sextio, cuius lege partus erat, dedit: patres praeturam Sp. Furio M. filio Camillo, aedilitatem Cn. Quinctio Capitolino et P. Cornelio Scipioni, suarum gentium uiris, gratia campestri ceperunt. L. Sextio collega ex patribus datus L. Aemilius Mamercus.
1.3. Lucius Aemilius Mamercus was chosen from the patricians as colleague of Lucius Sextius. Early in the year there was some talk about the Gauls —who having at first scattered through Apulia were now rumoured to be gathering —and about a defection on the part of the Hernici.
1.3. principio anni et de Gallis, quos primo palatos per Apuliam congregari iam fama erat, et de Hernicorum defectione agitata mentio.
1.4. The patricians purposely deferred all action, in order that the plebeian consul might have no hand in anything; it seemed from the general hush and lack of bustle as though a cessation of the courts had been proclaimed; save that the tribunes would not suffer it to pass in silence that the nobles, in return for one plebeian consul, had got three patrician magistrates for themselves, who wore the purple-bordered toga and sat, like consuls, in curule chairs, while the praetor even dealt out justice —having been elected as a colleague to the consuls and under the same auspices.
1.4. cum de industria omnia, ne quid per plebeium consulem ageretur, proferrentur, silentium omnium rerum ac iustitio simile otium fuit, nisi quod non patientibus tacitum tribunis quod pro consule uno plebeio tres patricios magistratus curulibus sellis praetextatos tamquam consules sedentes nobilitas sibi sumpsisset,
1.6. In consequence of this criticism the senate was ashamed to order that the curule aediles be chosen from the patricians. At first it was arranged to take them from the plebs in alternate years: later the election was thrown open without distinction. Then came the consulship of Lucius Genucius and Quintus Servilius. There was neither party strife nor war to disturb the peace, but lest there should ever be freedom from fear and danger, a great pestilence broke out.
1.6. praetorem quidem etiam iura reddentem et collegam consulibus atque iisdem auspiciis creatum, uerecundia inde imposita est senatui ex patribus iubendi aediles curules creari. primo ut alternis annis ex plebe fierent conuenerat: postea promiscuum fuit. inde L. Genucio et Q. Seruilio consulibus et ab seditione et a bello quietis rebus, ne quando a metu ac periculis uacarent, pestilentia ingens orta.
1.8. It is stated that a censor, a curule aedile, and three plebeian tribunes died, with a correspondingly large number from the rest of the population. But what chiefly made this pestilence noteworthy was the death of Marcus Furius, who, though ripe in years, was bitterly regretted.
1.8. censorem, aedilem curulem, tres tribunos plebis mortuos ferunt, pro portione et ex multitudine alia multa funera fuisse; maximeque eam pestilentiam insignem mors quam matura tam acerba M. Furi fecit.
1.9. For he was truly a man of singular excellence whether in good or evil fortune; foremost in peace and in war before his banishment, and in exile even more distinguished, whether one thinks of the yearning of his countrymen who called on him in his absence to save their captured City, or of the success with which on being restored to his country he restored the country itself at the same time;
1.9. fuit enim uere uir unicus in omni fortuna, princeps pace belloque priusquam exsulatum iret, clarior in exsilio, uel desiderio ciuitatis quae capta absentis implorauit opem uel felicitate qua restitutus in patriam secum patriam ipsam restituit;
1.10. after this for five and twenty years —for he survived so long —he maintained his glorious reputation, and was deemed worthy of being named next after Romulus, as Rome's second Founder.
1.10. par deinde per quinque et uiginti annos—tot enim postea uixit— titulo tantae gloriae fuit dignusque habitus quem secundum a Romulo conditorem urbis Romanae ferrent.
2.1. The pestilence lasted during both this and the following year, the consulship of Gaius Sulpicius Peticus and Gaius Licinius Stolo. In the latter year nothing memorable occurred, except that with the object of appeasing the divine displeasure they made a lectisternium, or banquet to the gods, being the third in the history of the City;
2.1. et hoc et insequenti anno C. Sulpicio Petico C. Licinio Stolone consulibus pestilentia fuit. eo nihil dignum memoria actum, nisi quod pacis deum exposcendae causa tertio tum post conditam urbem lectisternium fuit;
2.3. and when neither human wisdom nor the help of Heaven was found to mitigate the scourge, men gave way to superstitious fears, and, amongst other efforts to disarm the wrath of the gods, are said also to have instituted scenic entertainments.
2.3. et cum uis morbi nec humanis consiliis nec ope diuina leuaretur, uictis superstitione animis ludi quoque scenici—noua res bellicoso populo, nam circi modo spectaculum fuerat—inter alia caelestis irae placamina instituti dicuntur;
2.4. This was a new departure for a warlike people, whose only exhibitions had been those of the circus; but indeed it began in a small way, as most things do, and even so was imported from abroad. Without any singing, without imitating the action of singers, players who had been brought in from Etruria danced to the strains of the flautist and performed not ungraceful evolutions in the Tuscan fashion.
2.4. ceterum parua quoque, ut ferme principia omnia, et ea ipsa peregrina res fuit. sine carmine ullo, sine imitandorum carminum actu ludiones ex Etruria acciti, ad tibicinis modos saltantes, haud indecoros motus more Tusco dabant.
2.5. Next the young Romans began to imitate them, at the same time exchanging jests in uncouth verses, and bringing their movements into a certain harmony with the words.
2.5. imitari deinde eos iuuentus, simul inconditis inter se iocularia fundentes uersibus, coepere; nec absoni a uoce motus erant.
2.6. And so the amusement was adopted, and frequent use kept it alive. The native professional actors were called histriones, from ister, the Tuscan word for player; they no longer —as before —alternately threw off rude lines hastily improvised, like the Fescennines, but performed medleys, full of musical measures, to melodies which were now written out to go with the flute, and with appropriate gesticulation.
2.6. accepta itaque res saepiusque usurpando excitata. uernaculis artificibus, quia ister Tusco uerbo ludio uocabatur, nomen histrionibus inditum;
2.7. Livius was the first, some years later, to abandon 364 saturae and compose a play with a plot. Like everyone else in those days, he acted his own pieces; and the story goes that when his voice, owing to the frequent demands made upon it, had lost its freshness, he asked and obtained the indulgence to let a boy stand before the flautist to sing the monody, while he acted it himself, with a vivacity of gesture that gained considerably from his not having to use his voice.
2.7. qui non, sicut ante, Fescennino uersu similem incompositum temere ac rudem alternis iaciebant sed impletas modis saturas descripto iam ad tibicinem cantu motuque congruenti peragebant. Liuius post aliquot annis, qui ab saturis ausus est primus argumento fabulam serere, idem scilicet—id quod omnes tum erant—suorum carminum actor, dicitur, cum saepius reuocatus uocem obtudisset, uenia petita puerum ad canendum ante tibicinem cum statuisset, canticum egisse aliquanto magis uigente motu quia nihil uocis usus impediebat.
2.10. From that time on actors began to use singers to accompany their gesticulation, reserving only the dialogue parts for their own delivery. When this type of performance had begun to wean the drama from laughter and informal jest, and the play had gradually developed into art, the young men abandoned the acting of comedies to professionals and revived the ancient practice of fashioning their nonsense into verses and letting fly with them at one another; this was the source of the after-plays which came later to be called exodia, and were usually combined with Atellan farces.
2.10. inde ad manum cantari histrionibus coeptum diuerbiaque tantum ipsorum uoci relicta. postquam lege hac fabularum ab risu ac soluto ioco res auocabatur et ludus in artem paulatim uerterat, iuuentus histrionibus fabellarum actu relicto ipsa inter se more antiquo ridicula intexta uersibus iactitare coepit; unde exodia postea appellata consertaque fabellis potissimum Atellanis sunt;
2.12. The Atellan was a species of comedy acquired from the Oscans, and the young men kept it for themselves and would not allow it to be polluted by the professional actors; that is why it is a fixed tradition that performers of Atellan plays are not disfranchised, but serve in the army as though they had no connexion with the stage.
2.12. quod genus ludorum ab Oscis acceptum tenuit iuuentus nec ab histrionibus pollui passa est; eo institutum manet, ut actores Atellanarum nec tribu moueantur et stipendia, tamquam expertes artis ludicrae, faciant.
2.13. Amongst the humble origins of other institutions it has seemed worth while to set down the early history of the play, that it might be seen how sober were the beginnings of an art that has nowadays reached a point where opulent kingdoms could hardly support its mad extravagance.
2.13. inter aliarum parua principia rerum ludorum quoque prima origo ponenda uisa est, ut appareret quam ab sano initio res in hanc uix opulentis regnis tolerabilem insaniam uenerit.
3.1. However, the plays thus for the first time introduced by way of expiation neither freed men's minds of religious fears nor their bodies of disease.
3.1. nec tamen ludorum primum initium procurandis religionibus datum aut religione animos aut corpora morbis leuauit;
3.2. Indeed, it fell out quite otherwise; for the games were in full swing when an inundation of the Tiber flooded the circus and put a stop to them, an accident which —as though the gods had already turned away, rejecting the proffered appeasement of their anger —filled the people with fear.
3.2. quin etiam, cum medios forte ludos circus Tiberi superfuso inrigatus impedisset, id uero, uelut auersis iam dis aspernantibusque placamina irae, terrorem ingentem fecit.
3.3. And so when Gnaeus Genucius and Lucius Aemilius Mamercus (for the second time) were consuls, and men's minds were more troubled by the search for means of propitiation than were their bodies by disease, it is said that the elders recollected that a pestilence had once been allayed by the dictator's driving a nail.
3.3. itaque Cn. Genucio L. Aemilio Mamerco iterum consulibus, cum piaculorum magis conquisitio animos quam corpora morbi adficerent, repetitum ex seniorum memoria dicitur pestilentiam quondam clauo ab dictatore fixo sedatam.
3.4. Induced thereto by this superstition, the senate ordered the appointment of a dictator to drive the nail.
3.4. ea religione adductus senatus dictatorem claui figendi causa dici iussit; dictus L. Manlius Imperiosus L. Pinarium magistrum equitum dixit.
3.5. Lucius Manlius Imperiosus was appointed, and named Lucius Pinarius master of the horse. There is an ancient law, recorded in archaic words and letters, that the chief magistrate shall on the thirteenth of September drive a nail; the tablet was formerly affixed to the right side of the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, where Minerva's chapel is.
3.5. lex uetusta est, priscis litteris uerbisque scripta, ut qui praetor maximus sit idibus Septembribus clauum pangat; fixa fuit dextro lateri aedis Iouis optimi maximi, ex qua parte Mineruae templum est.
3.6. This nail served, they say, in those days of little writing, to mark the number of years, and the law was confided to the chapel of Minerva, for the reason that number was an invention of that goddess. (Cincius, a careful student of such memorials, asserts that at Volsinii, too, nails may be seen in the temple of Nortia, an Etruscan goddess, driven in to indicate the number of years.)
3.6. eum clauum, quia rarae per ea tempora litterae erant, notam numeri annorum fuisse ferunt eoque Mineruae templo dicatam legem quia numerus Mineruae inuentum sit.—Uolsiniis quoque clauos indices numeri annorum fixos in templo Nortiae, Etruscae deae, comparere diligens talium monumentorum auctor Cincius adfirmat.—
3.8. Marcus Horatius the consul dedicated the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus in accordance with this law, in the year after the expulsion of the kings; later the ceremony of driving the nail was transferred from consuls to dictators, because theirs was the higher authority. Then, after the custom had been allowed to lapse, it was thought to be of sufficient importance to warrant the appointment of a dictator for that very purpose.
3.8. M. Horatius consul †ex lege templum† Iouis optimi maximi dedicauit anno post reges exactos; a consulibus postea ad dictatores, quia maius imperium erat, sollemne claui figendi translatum est. intermisso deinde more digna etiam per se uisa res propter quam dictator crearetur.
3.9. It was for this reason that Manlius was designated, who, however, as though appointed to wage war and not to discharge a religious obligation, aspired to conduct the war with the Hernici, and hunted down the men of military age in a rigorous levy; but in the upshot, opposed by the united efforts of all the tribunes of the plebs, he yielded either to force or to a sense of shame, and resigned his dictatorship.
3.9. qua de causa creatus L. Manlius, perinde ac rei gerendae ac non soluendae religionis gratia creatus esset, bellum Hernicum adfectans dilectu acerbo iuuentutem agitauit; tandemque omnibus in eum tribunis plebis coortis seu ui seu uerecundia uictus dictatura abiit.
4.1. Nevertheless, at the beginning of the ensuing year —the consulship of Quintus Servilius Ahala and Lucius Genucius —Manlius was put upon his trial by Marcus Pomponius, a tribune of the plebs.
4.1. neque eo minus principio insequentis anni, Q. Seruilio Ahala L. Genucio consulibus, dies Manlio dicitur a M. Pomponio tribuno plebis.
4.2. The people hated him for the severity of his levy, in which they had endured not only fines but bodily distress, some having suffered stripes for failure to respond to their names and others having been dragged off to prison; but more than all else they hated the man's cruel disposition and his surname, Imperiosus, which offended a free state and had been assumed in ostentation of the truculence which he used as freely with his nearest friends and his own family as with strangers.
4.2. acerbitas in dilectu, non damno modo ciuium sed etiam laceratione corporum lata, partim uirgis caesis qui ad nomina non respondissent, partim in uincula ductis, inuisa erat, et ante omnia inuisum ipsum ingenium atrox cognomenque Imperiosi, graue liberae ciuitati, ab ostentatione saeuitiae adscitum quam non magis in alienis quam in proximis ac sanguine ipse suo exerceret.
4.4. Amongst other charges the tribune cited the man's behaviour to his son: the youth, he said, had been found guilty of no misconduct, yet Manlius had excluded him from the City, from his home and household gods, from the Forum, the light of day, and the fellowship of his young friends, consigning him to slavish drudgery in a kind of gaol or work-house, where a youth of distinguished birth and the son of a dictator might learn by his daily wretchedness how truly “imperious” was the father that had begot him.
4.4. criminique ei tribunus inter cetera dabat quod filium iuuenem nullius probri compertum, extorrem urbe, domo, penatibus, foro, luce, congressu aequalium prohibitum, in opus seruile, prope in carcerem atque in ergastulum dederit, ubi summo loco natus dictatorius iuuenis cotidiana miseria disceret uere imperioso patre se natum esse. at quam ob noxam?
4.6. Yes, but what was the young man's fault? Why, he had been a little slow of speech —unready with his tongue! But ought not his father to have healed and mended this infirmity of nature —if he had a particle of humanity about him —instead of chastising it and by persecution making it conspicuous? Why even the dumb brutes, if one of their young is unfortunate, do none the less cherish it and foster it.
4.6. quia infacundior sit et lingua impromptus; quod naturae damnum utrum nutriendum patri, si quicquam in eo humani esset, an castigandum ac uexatione insigne faciendum fuisse? ne mutas quidem bestias minus alere ac fouere si quid ex progenie sua parum prosperum sit;
4.7. But Lucius Manlius was aggravating his son's evil plight by evil treatment, and was doubling the burden on his heavy wits; and any spark of native talent that might be there he was quenching in the rustic life and clownish bringing up amongst the dumb brutes where he kept him.
4.7. at hercule L. Manlium malum malo augere filii et tarditatem ingenii insuper premere et, si quid in eo exiguum naturalis uigoris sit, id exstinguere uita agresti et rustico cultu inter pecudes habendo.
5.1. Everyone was incensed by these charges, except the young man himself. He, on the contrary, was vexed to be the cause of additional dislike and accusation of his father; and that all gods and men might know that he had rather help his father than his father's enemies, he conceived a plan, in keeping to be sure with his rude and uncouth spirit, which, though it set no pattern of civic conduct, was yet praiseworthy for its filial piety.
5.1. omnium potius his criminationibus quam ipsius iuuenis inritatus est animus; quin contra se quoque parenti causam inuidiae atque criminum esse aegre passus, ut omnes di hominesque scirent se parenti opem latam quam inimicis eius malle, capit consilium rudis quidem atque agrestis animi et quamquam non ciuilis exempli, tamen pietate laudabile.
5.3. Without anybody's knowledge, he girded himself with a knife in the early morning, and coming to the City, made his way at once from the gate to the house of Marcus Pomponius, the tribune. There he told the porter that he must see his master instantly, and bade him say that it was Titus Manlius, the son of Lucius.
5.3. inscientibus cunctis cultro succinctus mane in urbem atque a porta domum confestim ad M. Pomponium tribunum pergit; ianitori opus esse sibi domino eius conuento extemplo ait; nuntiaret T. Manlium L. filium esse.
5.4. Being presently admitted —for it seemed likely that he was moved with wrath against his father, or was bringing some fresh charge or plan of action —he received and returned the salutation of his host, and then announced that there were matters of which he wished to speak to him without witnesses.
5.4. mox introductus —etenim percitum ira in patrem spes erat aut criminis aliquid noui aut consilii ad rem agendam deferre—salute accepta redditaque esse ait quae cum eo agere arbitris remotis uelit.
5.5. When they had all been sent away, he drew his knife, and standing over the tribune's couch with his weapon ready, he threatened that unless the man should swear, in the terms he himself should dictate, never to hold a council of the plebs for the purpose of accusing his father, he would immediately stab him.
5.5. procul inde omnibus abire iussis cultrum stringit et super lectum stans ferro intento, nisi in quae ipse concepisset uerba iuraret se patris eius accusandi causa concilium plebis nunquam habiturum, se eum extemplo transfixurum minatur.
5.6. The frightened tribune, seeing the blade flash in his face, and perceiving himself to be alone and unarmed, and the other to be a stalwart youth, and, what was no less terrifying, foolhardy by reason of his strength, took the oath that was required of him, and afterwards publicly declared that he had been compelled by force to relinquish his undertaking.
5.6. pauidus tribunus, quippe qui ferrum ante oculos micare, se solum inermem, illum praeualidum iuuenem et, quod haud minus timendum erat, stolide ferocem uiribus suis cerneret, adiurat in quae adactus est uerba; et prae se deinde tulit ea ui subactum se incepto destitisse.
5.7. And the plebs, however much they would have liked to be given the opportunity to cast their votes in the case of so cruel and insolent a defendant, were yet not displeased that a son had dared such a deed in defence of his parent; and they praised it all the more, because the father's shocking harshness had made no difference in the son's filial devotion.
5.7. nec, perinde ut maluisset plebes sibi suffragii ferendi de tam crudeli et superbo reo potestatem fieri, ita aegre habuit filium id pro parente ausum; eoque id laudabilius erat quod animum eius tanta acerbitas patria nihil a pietate auertisset.
5.8. And so not only was the arraignment of the father dismissed, but the youth himself gained distinction from the affair; for in the election of military tribunes for the legions, which had that year for the first time been resolved upon —until then the generals themselves had nominated them, as they do to-day those who are known as Rufuli —he was chosen second of the six, though neither at home nor in the field had he done aught to merit popularity, and no wonder, since his youth had been passed in the country, remote from the gatherings of men.
5.8. itaque non patri modo remissa causae dictio est sed ipsi etiam adulescenti ea res honori fuit et, cum eo anno primum placuisset tribunos militum ad legiones suffragio fieri—nam [et] antea, sicut nunc quos Rufulos uocant, imperatores ipsi faciebant—, secundum in sex locis tenuit nullis domi militiaeque ad conciliandam gratiam meritis ut qui rure et procul coetu hominum iuuentam egisset.
6.1. That same year, whether owing to an earthquake or to some other violent force, it is said that the ground gave way, at about the middle of the Forum, and, sinking to an immeasurable depth, left a prodigious chasm.
6.1. eodem anno, seu motu terrae seu qua ui alia, forum medium ferme specu uasto conlapsum in immensam altitudinem dicitur;
6.2. This gulf could not be filled with the earth which everyone brought and cast into it, until admonished by the gods, they began to inquire what it was that constituted the chief strength of the Roman People;
6.2. neque eam uoraginem coniectu terrae, cum pro se quisque gereret, expleri potuisse, priusquam deum monitu quaeri coeptum quo plurimum populus Romanus posset;
6.3. for this the soothsayers declared that they must offer up, as a sacrifice to that spot, if they wished the Roman Republic to endure. Thereupon Marcus Curtius, a young soldier of great prowess, rebuked them, so the story runs, for questioning whether any blessing were more Roman than arms and valour.
6.3. id enim illi loco dicandum uates canebant, si rem publicam Romanam perpetuam esse uellent. tum M. Curtium, iuuenem bello egregium, castigasse ferunt dubitantes an ullum magis Romanum bonum quam arma uirtusque esset;
6.4. A hush ensued, as he turned to the temples of the immortal gods which rise above the Forum, and to the Capitol, and stretching forth his hands, now to heaven, and now to the yawning chasm and to the gods below, devoted himself to death.
6.4. silentio facto templa deorum immortalium, quae foro imminent, Capitoliumque intuentem et manus nunc in caelum, nunc in patentes terrae hiatus ad deos manes porrigentem, se deuouisse;
6.5. After which, mounted on a horse caparisoned with all possible splendour, he plunged fully armed into the gulf; and crowds of men and women threw offerings and fruits in after him. It was he, they say, and not Curtius Mettius, the soldier of Titus Tatius in days of old, who gave his name to the Curtian Lake.
6.5. equo deinde quam poterat maxime exornato insidentem, armatum se in specum immisisse; donaque ac fruges super eum a multitudine uirorum ac mulierum congestas lacumque Curtium non ab antiquo illo T. Tati milite Curtio Mettio sed ab hoc appellatum.
6.6. Diligence would not be wanting, were there any path which could lead the inquirer to the truth; as it is, one must hold by the tradition, where antiquity will not allow us to be certain; and the name of the pool is better known from this more recent legend.
6.6. cura non deesset, si qua ad uerum uia inquirentem ferret: nunc fama rerum standum est, ubi certam derogat uetustas fidem; et lacus nomen ab hac recentiore insignitius fabula est.
6.7. After the expiation of this great portent, the senate dealt in the same year with the question of the Hernici, and having dispatched fetials to demand reparations, without avail, resolved to submit to the people for their approval, at the earliest possible day, a declaration of war against that nation. In a crowded assembly the people voted for war, and the consul Lucius Genucius was by lot intrusted with the conduct of it.
6.7. post tanti prodigii procurationem eodem anno de Hernicis consultus senatus, cum fetiales ad res repetendas nequiquam misisset, primo quoque die ferendum ad populum de bello indicendo Hernicis censuit populusque id bellum frequens iussit.
6.8. The citizens were in a fever of suspense, since he would be the first plebeian consul to conduct a war under his own auspices, and they would judge by the sequel whether they had done well or ill to throw these honours open.
6.8. L. Genucio consuli ea prouincia sorte euenit. in exspectatione ciuitas erat, quod primus ille de plebe consul bellum suis auspiciis gesturus esset, perinde ut euenisset res, ita communicatos honores pro bene aut secus consulto habitura.
6.9. It so happened that Genucius, marching in great force against the enemy, plunged into an ambuscade. The legions, in a sudden panic, were put to flight, and the consul was surrounded and slain by men who knew not whom they had taken.
6.9. forte ita tulit casus, ut Genucius ad hostes magno conatu profectus in insidias praecipitaret <et> legionibus necopinato pauore fusis consul circumuentus ab insciis quem intercepissent occideretur.
6.10. When the news reached Rome, the patricians, by no means so cast down by the general disaster as elated at the unlucky generalship of the plebeian consul, filled the City with their taunts. Let them go and choose consuls from the plebs! Let them transfer the auspices to those who might not have them without sin!
6.10. quod ubi est Romam nuntiatum, nequaquam tantum publica calamitate maesti patres, quantum feroces infelici consulis plebeii ductu, fremunt omnibus locis: irent crearent consules ex plebe, transferrent auspicia quo nefas esset;
6.11. They had been able by a plebiscite to expel the patricians from their rightful honours: had their unsanctioned law prevailed also against the immortal gods? The gods themselves had vindicated their divine authority and their auspices; for these had no sooner been touched by one who had no legal or religious warranty for so doing, than the army and its general had been annihilated, as a lesson never again to overturn the rights of the patrician families in conducting an election. Such words as these resounded through the Curia and the Forum.
6.11. potuisse patres plebi scito pelli honoribus suis: num etiam in deos immortales inauspicatam legem ualuisse? uindicasse ipsos suum numen, sua auspicia, quae ut primum contacta sint ab eo a quo nec ius nec fas fuerit, deletum cum duce exercitum documento fuisse ne deinde turbato gentium iure comitia haberentur.
6.12. Appius Claudius had urged the rejection of the law, and this now gave his words the greater weight, as he denounced the outcome of a policy which he himself had censured. Him, therefore, the consul Servilius, with the approval of the patricians, appointed dictator. An enrolment was proclaimed, and the courts were suspended.
6.12. his uocibus curia et forum personat. Ap. Claudium, quia dissuaserat legem, maiore nunc auctoritate euentum reprehensi ab se consilii incusantem, dictatorem consensu patriciorum Seruilius consul dicit, dilectusque et iustitium indictum.
7.1. But before the dictator and his new levies were got to the country of the Hernici, the lieutenant Gaius Sulpicius, profiting by a favourable opportunity, had fought a brilliant engagement.
7.1. priusquam dictator legionesque nouae in Hernicos uenirent, ductu C. Sulpici legati res per occasionem gesta egregie est.
7.2. The Hernici, whom the consul's death had made contemptuous, approached the Roman camp with every expectation of taking it by storm; but the soldiers, heartened by their general and bursting with anger and resentment, made a sortie, and so far were the Hernici from attacking the stockade, as they had hoped to do, that they actually fell back in confusion from the ground.
7.2. in Hernicos morte consulis contemptim ad castra Romana cum haud dubia expugnandi spe succedentes, hortante legato et plenis irae atque indignitatis militum animis eruptio est facta. multum ab spe adeundi ualli res Hernicis afuit; adeo turbatis inde ordinibus abscessere.
7.3. Then came the dictator, and the new army was joined to the old and the forces doubled. Calling the men together, Appius lauded the lieutenant and his soldiers, by whose bravery the camp had been defended; thus at the same stroke he encouraged those who heard themselves deservedly commended, and stimulated the others to emulation of their conduct.
7.3. dictatoris deinde aduentu nouus ueteri exercitus iungitur et copiae duplicantur; et pro contione dictator laudibus legati militumque, quorum uirtute castra defensa erant, simul audientibus laudes meritas tollit animos, simul ceteros ad aemulandas uirtutes acuit.
7.4. Nor were the enemy less energetic in making ready for the war; mindful of the glory they had won before, and aware that the forces of their adversaries had been augmented, they also strengthened theirs. All who bore the name of Hernici and were of military age were called upon, and eight cohorts were formed, each numbering four hundred of their best men.
7.4. neque segnius ad hostes bellum apparatur, qui et parti ante decoris memores neque ignari auctarum uirium hostis suas quoque uires augent. omne Hernicum nomen, omnis militaris aetas excitur; quadringenariae octo cohortes, lecta robora uirorum, scribuntur.
7.5. This choice flower of their manhood they inspired with additional hope and courage by a decree which allowed them double pay. They were exempted, also, from military tasks, in order that, being reserved for the one labour of fighting, they might be sensible of an obligation to exert themselves beyond the capacity of ordinary men.
7.5. hunc eximium florem iuuentutis, eo etiam quod ut duplex acciperent stipendium decreuerant, spei animorumque impleuere; immunes quoque operum militarium erant, ut in unum pugnae laborem reseruati plus sibi quam pro uirili parte adnitendum scirent;
7.6. Finally, they were assigned a post in the battle outside the line, to make their bravery the more conspicuous. A plain extending for two miles separated the Roman camp from the Hernici. In the middle of this plain, at a spot almost equidistant from both camps, the battle was fought.
7.6. extra ordinem etiam in acie locati quo conspectior uirtus esset. duum milium planities castra Romana ab Hernicis dirimebat; ibi pari ferme utrimque spatio in medio pugnatum est.
7.7. At first the event of the struggle was in doubt and nothing came of the oft-repeated attempts of the Roman horse to break the enemy's line.
7.7. primo stetit ambigua spe pugna nequiquam saepe conatis equitibus Romanis impetu turbare hostium aciem.
7.8. Finding their charges ineffectual, despite their efforts, they consulted the dictator and with his permission left their horses, and, rushing to the front with a mighty cheer, inaugurated a new kind of fighting.
7.8. postquam equestris pugna effectu quam conatibus uanior erat, consulto prius dictatore equites, permissu deinde eius relictis equis, clamore ingenti prouolant ante signa et nouam integrant pugnam;
7.9. There would have been no stopping them, had it not been for the special cohorts, who flung themselves across their path with a vigour and gallantry equal to their own.
7.9. neque sustineri poterant, ni extraordinariae cohortes pari corporum animorumque robore se obiecissent.
8.1. The struggle then lay between the best men of both nations, and whatever losses the chance of war inflicted on either side were serious out of all proportion to their number. The common herd of soldiers, as though they had made over the battle to their betters, rested their future on the bravery of others. Many on both sides were slain and more were wounded.
8.1. tunc inter primores duorum populorum res geritur; quidquid hinc aut illinc communis Mars belli aufert, multiplex quam pro numero damnum est. uolgus aliud armatorum, uelut delegata primoribus pugna, euentum suum in uirtute aliena ponit. multi utrimque cadunt, plures uolnera accipiunt;
8.2. At length the knights began to rail at one another. What else, they asked, was there to do, if they had neither beaten the enemy when mounted, nor were able to accomplish anything on foot? What third kind of battle were they waiting for? What good had they done by dashing boldly out in front of the line and fighting in a place that belonged to others? Stirred by these mutual reproaches, they advanced with renewed cheering, and first they made the enemy yield, then forced them back, and finally routed them in no uncertain fashion.
8.2. tandem equites alius alium increpantes, quid deinde restaret quaerendo, si neque ex equis pepulissent hostem neque pedites quicquam momenti facerent? quam tertiam exspectarent pugnam? quid ante signa feroces prosiluissent et alieno pugnarent loco?—his inter se uocibus concitati clamore renouato inferunt pedem et primum gradu mouerunt hostem, deinde pepulerunt, postremo iam haud dubie auertunt;
8.4. What it was that turned the scale, where forces were so evenly matched, would be hard to say, unless the fortune regularly attendant on each nation had the power to quicken or to daunt their resolution.
8.4. neque, tam uires pares quae superauerit res facile dictu est, nisi quod perpetua fortuna utriusque populi et extollere animos et minuere potuit.
8.5. The Romans chased the fleeing Hernici clear to their camp, which, owing to the lateness of the hour, they refrained from attacking; —the dictator had been unable to give the battle-signal before noon, having failed for a long time to obtain favourable omens, for which reason the struggle had been protracted until night.
8.5. usque ad castra fugientes Hernicos Romanus sequitur: castrorum oppugnatione, quia serum erat diei, abstinuere;—diu non perlitatum tenuerat dictatorem, ne ante meridiem signum dare posset; eo in noctem tractum erat certamen.—postero die deserta fuga castra Hernicorum et saucii relicti quidam inuenti;
8.6. —On the following day the camp was discovered to have been deserted by the fleeing Hernici, and a few of their wounded were found, whom they had left behind. The column of fugitives was passing the walls of Signia, when the townsfolk espied their thinly attended ensigns, and falling upon them, scattered them in headlong flight across the country.
8.6. agmenque fugientium ab Signinis, cum praeter moenia eorum infrequentia conspecta signa essent, fusum ac per agros trepida fuga palatum est.
8.7. Yet the Romans got no bloodless victory: they lost a fourth part of their foot, and a number of Roman horsemen fell, which was no less grave a loss.
8.7. nec Romanis incruenta uictoria fuit: quarta pars militum amissa et, ubi haud minus iacturae fuit, aliquot equites Romani cecidere.
9.1. Next year the consuls Gaius Sulpicius and Gaius Licinius Calvus led an army against the Hernici, and not finding the enemy abroad, captured their city of Ferentinum by assault. As they were returning thence, the men of Tibur closed their gates against them.
9.1. insequenti anno cum C. Sulpicius et C. Licinius Caluus consules in Hernicos exercitum duxissent neque inuentis in agro hostibus Ferentinum urbem eorum ui cepissent, reuertentibus inde eis Tiburtes portas clausere.
9.2. Many complaints had before this been bandied back and forth between the two peoples, but this new offence made the Romans finally determine that after sending the fetials to demand redress they would declare war on the Tiburtine people.
9.2. ea ultima fuit causa, cum multae ante querimoniae ultro citroque iactatae essent, cur per fetiales rebus repetitis bellum Tiburti populo indiceretur.
9.3. It is well established that Titus Quinctius Poenus was dictator that year and that Servius Cornelius Maluginensis was master of the horse.
9.3. dictatorem T. Quinctium Poenum eo anno fuisse satis constat et magistrum equitum Ser. Cornelium Maluginensem.
9.4. Licinius Macer states that the appointment was for the purpose of holding an election and was made by Licinius the consul, who, because his colleague was in haste to hold the election before the campaign, so that he might succeed himself in the consulship, felt obliged to thwart his evil designs.
9.4. Macer Licinius comitiorum habendorum causa et ab Licinio consule dictum scribit, quia collega comitia bello praeferre festinante ut continuaret consulatum, obuiam eundum prauae cupiditati fuerit.
9.5. But the praise which he seeks to bestow on his own family makes the testimony of Licinius less weighty, and since I find no mention of the circumstance in the older annals, I am more disposed to think that it was a Gallic war which occasioned the appointment of a dictator.
9.5. quaesita ea propriae familiae laus leuiorem auctorem Licinium facit: cum mentionem eius rei in uetustioribus annalibus nullam inueniam, magis ut belli Gallici causa dictatorem creatum arbitrer inclinat animus.
9.6. In any case, this was the year in which the Gauls encamped at the third milestone on the Salarian road, beyond the bridge over the Anio. The dictator having, by reason of the Gallic rising, proclaimed a suspension of the courts, administered the oath to all of military age. Then marching out of the City with a great army he pitched his camp on the hither bank of the stream.
9.6. eo certe anno Galli ad tertium lapidem Salaria uia trans pontem Anienis castra habuere. dictator cum tumultus Gallici causa iustitium edixisset, omnes iuniores sacramento adegit ingentique exercitu ab urbe profectus in citeriore ripa Anienis castra posuit.
9.7. The bridge lay between, and neither side would break it down, lest it be regarded as a sign of fear. There were frequent skirmishes for the possession of the bridge, and yet, so evenly matched were their forces, it could not be determined who were masters of it.
9.7. pons in medio erat, neutris rumpentibus ne timoris indicium esset. proelia de occupando ponte crebra erant, nec qui potirentur incertis uiribus satis discerni poterat.
9.8. Then a Gaul of extraordinary size advanced upon the empty bridge, and making his voice as loud as possible, cried out, “Let him whom Rome now reckons her bravest man come out and fight, that we two may show by the outcome which people is the superior in war.”
9.8. tum eximia corporis magnitudine in uacuum pontem Gallus processit et quantum maxima uoce potuit 'quem nunc' inquit 'Roma uirum fortissimum habet, procedat agedum ad pugnam, ut noster duorum euentus ostendat utra gens bello sit melior.'
10.1. The young Roman nobles were for a long time silent. Ashamed to decline the challenge, they were loath to volunteer for a service of transcendent peril.
10.1. diu inter primores iuuenum Romanorum silentium fuit, cum et abnuere certamen uererentur et praecipuam sortem periculi petere nollent;
10.2. Then Titus Manlius, the son of Lucius, who had rescued his father from the persecution of the tribune, left his station and went to the dictator. “Without your orders, General,” he said, “I would fain never leave my place to fight, not though I saw that victory was assured;”
10.2. tum T. Manlius L. filius, qui patrem a uexatione tribunicia uindicauerat, ex statione ad dictatorem pergit; 'iniussu tuo' inquit, 'imperator, extra ordinem nunquam pugnauerim, non si certam uictoriam uideam:
10.3. “but if you permit me, I would show that beast who dances out so boldly before the standards of the enemy, that I come of the family that hurled the column of Gauls from the Tarpeian Rock.” To whom the dictator made answer, “Success attend your valour, Titus Manlius, and your loyalty to father and to country!”
10.3. si tu permittis, uolo ego illi beluae ostendere, quando adeo ferox praesultat hostium signis, me ex ea familia ortum quae Gallorum agmen ex rupe Tarpeia deiecit.'
10.4. “Go, and with Heaven's help make good the unconquerable Roman name.” The young man's friends then armed him; he assumed the shield of a foot-soldier, and to his side he buckled a Spanish sword, convenient for close fighting. Armed and accoutred, they led him forth to the Gaul, who in his stupid glee —for the ancients have thought even this worth mentioning —thrust his tongue out in derision. They then retired to their station, and the two armed men were left by themselves in the midst, like gladiators more than soldiers, and by no means evenly matched, to judge from outward show. One had a body extraordinary for its size, and resplendent in a coat of shifting hues and armour painted and chased with gold: the other was of a middling stature for a soldier, and his arms were but indifferent to look at, being suitable but not ornate.
10.4. tum dictator 'macte uirtute' inquit 'ac pietate in patrem patriamque, T. Manli, esto. perge et nomen Romanum inuictum iuuantibus dis praesta.' armant inde iuuenem aequales; pedestre scutum capit, Hispano cingitur gladio ad propiorem habili pugnam. armatum adornatumque aduersus Gallum stolide laetum et—quoniam id quoque memoria dignum antiquis uisum est—linguam etiam ab inrisu exserentem producunt.
10.6. He neither sang nor danced about with idle flourishes of his weapons, but his bosom swelled with courage and silent wrath, and all his ferocity was reserved for the crisis of the combat.
10.6. recipiunt inde se ad stationem; et duo in medio armati spectaculi magis more quam lege belli destituuntur, nequaquam uisu ac specie aestimantibus pares.
10.7. When they had taken their ground between the two embattled armies, while the hearts of the surrounding multitude were suspended betwixt hope and fear, the Gaul, whose huge bulk towered above the other, advanced his shield with the left arm, to parry the attack of his oncoming enemy, and delivered a slashing stroke with his sword, that made a mighty clatter but did
10.7. corpus alteri magnitudine eximium, uersicolori ueste pictisque et auro caelatis refulgens armis; media in altero militaris statura modicaque in armis habilibus magis quam decoris species; non cantus, non exsultatio armorumque agitatio uana sed pectus animorum iraeque tacitae plenum; omnem ferociam in discrimen ipsum certaminis distulerat.
10.9. no harm. The Roman, with the point of his weapon raised, struck up his adversary's shield with a blow from his own against its lower edge; and slipping in between the man's sword and his body, so close that no part of his own person was exposed, he gave one thrust and then immediately another, and gashing the groin and belly of his enemy brought him headlong to the ground, where he lay stretched out over a monstrous space.
10.9. ubi constitere inter duas acies tot circa mortalium animis spe metuque pendentibus, Gallus uelut moles superne imminens proiecto laeua scuto in aduenientis arma hostis uanum caesim cum ingenti sonitu ensem deiecit;
10.10. To the body of his fallen foe he offered no other indignity than to despoil it of one thing —a chain which, spattered with blood, he cast round his own neck. The Gauls were transfixed with fear and wonder, while the Romans, quitting their station, ran eagerly to meet their champion and brought him with praise and gratulation to the dictator.
10.10. Romanus mucrone subrecto, cum scuto scutum imum perculisset totoque corpore interior periculo uolneris factus insinuasset se inter corpus armaque, uno alteroque subinde ictu uentrem atque inguina hausit et in spatium ingens ruentem porrexit hostem. iacentis inde corpus ab omni alia uexatione intactum uno torque spoliauit, quem respersum cruore collo circumdedit suo.
10.12. Amidst the rude banter thrown out by the soldiers in a kind of verse, was heard the appellation of Torquatus, and thereafter this was given currency as an honoured surname, used even by descendants of the family.
10.12. defixerat pauor cum admiratione Gallos: Romani alacres ab statione obuiam militi suo progressi, gratulantes laudantesque ad dictatorem perducunt.
10.13. The dictator gave him, besides, a golden chaplet, and loudly extolled that fight of his in a public speech. And in fact the combat was of so great consequence to the issue of the whole war, that the army of the Gauls withdrew in trepidation from their camp on the succeeding night and crossed over into the territory of Tibur. There they formed a military alliance with the Tiburtes, and having been liberally assisted by them with provisions, they soon departed and went into Campania.
10.13. inter carminum prope modo incondita quaedam militariter ioculantes Torquati cognomen auditum; celebratum deinde posteris etiam familiae honori fuit. dictator coronam auream addidit donum mirisque pro contione eam pugnam laudibus tulit. et hercule tanti ea ad uniuersi belli euentum momenti dimicatio fuit, ut Gallorum exercitus proxima nocte relictis trepide castris in Tiburtem agrum atque inde societate belli facta commeatuque benigne ab Tiburtibus adiutus mox in Campaniam transierit.
11.2. This was the reason why in the following year the consul Gaius Poetelius Balbus, when his colleague Marcus Fabius Ambustus had been appointed to the campaign with the Hernici, was commanded by the people to march against the men of Tibur.
11.2. ea fuit causa cur proximo anno C. Poetelius Balbus consul, cum collegae eius M. Fabio Ambusto Hernici prouincia euenisset, aduersus Tiburtes iussu populi exercitum duceret.
11.3. To aid their allies, the Gauls returned from Campania, and the cruel devastations which ensued in the districts of Labici, Tusculum, and Alba were clearly instigated and directed by the Tiburtes.
11.3. ad quorum auxilium cum Galli ex Campania redissent, foedae populationes in Labicano Tusculanoque et Albano agro haud dubie Tiburtibus ducibus sunt factae;
11.4. Against the Tiburtine foe the state was satisfied to be commanded by a consul; but the Gallic invasion required the appointment of a dictator. The choice fell on Quintus Servilius Ahala, who designated Titus Quinctius master of the horse, and, instructed by the senate, made a vow to celebrate the great games, in the event of a successful termination of the war.
11.4. et, cum aduersus Tiburtem hostem duce consule contenta res publica esset, Gallicus tumultus dictatorem creari coegit. creatus Q. Seruilius Ahala T. Quinctium magistrum equitum dixit et ex auctoritate patrum, si prospere id bellum euenisset, ludos magnos uouit.
11.5. Directing the consular army to remain where they were, in order to confine the Tiburtes to their own field of action, the dictator administered the oath to all the young men, none of whom endeavoured to avoid the service.
11.5. dictator ad continendos proprio bello Tiburtes consulari exercitu iusso manere, omnes iuniores nullo detractante militiam sacramento adegit.
11.6. The battle was fought not far from the Colline Gate. The Romans put forth all their strength in full sight of their parents and their wives and children. These are powerful incentives to courage even when unseen, but being then in full view, set the soldiers on fire with a sense of honour and compassion.
11.6. pugnatum haud procul porta Collina est totius uiribus urbis in conspectu parentum coniugumque ac liberorum; quae magna etiam absentibus hortamenta animi tum subiecta oculis simul uerecundia misericordiaque militem accendebant.
11.7. The slaughter was great on both sides, but at last the Gallic army was driven off. In their flight they turned towards Tibur, as though it had been the stronghold of the Gallic war; as they straggled on, they encountered the consul Poetelius, not far from the town, and when the Tiburtes came out to their assistance they were beaten back through the gates along with the Gauls.
11.7. magna utrimque edita caede auertitur tandem acies Gallorum. fuga Tibur sicut arcem belli Gallici petunt; palati a consule Poetelio haud procul Tibure excepti, egressis ad opem ferendam Tiburtibus, simul cum iis intra portas compelluntur.
11.8. The affair was admirably handled by the consul as well as by the dictator. And the other consul Fabius defeated the Hernici —at first in little skirmishes, but ultimately in one remarkable battle, in which the enemy attacked with all their forces.
11.8. egregie cum ab dictatore tum ab consule res gesta est. et consul alter Fabius proeliis primum paruis, postremo una insigni pugna, cum hostes totis adorti copiis essent, Hernicos deuincit.
11.9. The dictator, having handsomely lauded the consuls in the senate and before the people, even giving them the credit for his own achievements, resigned his office. Poetelius celebrated a double triumph over the Gauls and the Tiburtes: it was thought enough for Fabius that he should enter the City in an ovation. The Tiburtes ridiculed the triumph of Poetelius. Where was it, they asked, that he had fought a battle with them?
11.9. dictator consulibus in senatu et apud populum magnifice conlaudatis et suarum quoque rerum illis remisso honore dictatura se abdicauit. Poetelius de Gallis Tiburtibusque geminum triumphum egit: Fabio satis uisum ut ouans urbem iniret.
11.10. A handful of people had gone outside the gates to look on at the flight and panic of the Gauls, and finding that they too were attacked and that all who came in the way of the Romans were cut down without discrimination, had retired within their walls; this was the great achievement that the Romans had deemed worthy of a triumph!
11.10. inridere Poeteli triumphum Tiburtes: ubi enim eum secum acie conflixisse? spectatores paucos fugae trepidationisque Gallorum extra portas egressos, postquam in se quoque fieri impetum uiderint et sine discrimine obuios caedi, recepisse se intra urbem;
11.11. That they might not regard it as too wonderful and great a thing to cause a flurry at their enemy's gates, they should themselves behold a greater panic in front of their own walls.
11.11. eam rem triumpho dignam uisam Romanis. ne nimis mirum magnumque censerent tumultum exciere in hostium portis, maiorem ipsos trepidationem ante moenia sua uisuros.
12.1. Accordingly, in the following year, when Marcus Popilius Laenas and Gnaeus Manlius were consuls, a hostile expedition set out from Tibur and arrived in the first silence of the night, at the walls of Rome.
12.1. itaque insequenti anno M. Popilio Laenate Cn. Manlio consulibus primo silentio noctis ab Tibure agmine infesto profecti ad urbem Romam uenerunt.
12.2. It was terrifying to be suddenly waked out of sleep by a surprise and a night alarm; moreover many of the people knew not who their enemies were nor whence they had come; nevertheless the call to arms was quickly given, and watches were set at the gates and the walls were manned.
12.2. terrorem repente ex somno excitatis subita res et nocturnus pauor praebuit, ad hoc multorum inscitia, qui aut unde hostes aduenissent;
12.3. And when the first light showed the enemy before the City to be in no great force, and only the men of Tibur, the consuls sallied out at two gates and assailed them on both flanks as they were now drawing near the walls.
12.3. conclamatum tamen celeriter ad arma est et portae stationibus murique praesidiis firmati. et ubi prima lux mediocrem multitudinem ante moenia neque alium quam Tiburtem hostem ostendit, duabus portis egressi consules utrimque aciem subeuntium iam muros adgrediuntur;
12.4. It was evident that in coming they had relied more on opportunity than on courage, for they scarcely withstood the first shock of the Roman onset. In fact their expedition was confessedly a good thing for the Romans, and the fear occasioned by so near an enemy repressed a quarrel that was already in the air, between the patricians and the plebs.
12.4. apparuitque occasione magis quam uirtute fretos uenisse: adeo uix primum impetum Romanorum sustinuere. quin etiam bono fuisse Romanis aduentum eorum constabat orientemque iam seditionem inter patres et plebem metu tam propinqui belli compressam. alius aduentus hostium fuit [proximo bello] agris [quam] terribilior [urbi]:
12.6. Another hostile incursion was more terrifying to the countryside. The Tarquinienses, bent on plundering, ranged over the Roman territory, particularly that part which adjoins Etruria; and demands for reparation proving futile, the new consuls, Gaius Fabius and Gaius Plautius, declared war against them, as commanded by the people. This campaign fell to Fabius, that against the Hernici to Plautius.
12.6. populabundi Tarquinienses fines Romanos, maxime qua ex parte Etruriam adiacent, peragrauere rebusque nequiquam repetitis noui consules C. Fabius et C. Plautius iussu populi bellum indixere; Fabioque ea prouincia, Plautio Hernici euenere.
12.7. Rumours of a Gallic war began also to be rife. But with many perils, there was this consolation, that they had granted peace to the Latins, at their desire, and had received a large force of soldiers from them, under the terms of an ancient treaty which the Latins had for many years disregarded.
12.7. Gallici quoque belli fama increbrescebat. sed inter multos terrores solacio fuit pax Latinis petentibus data et magna uis militum ab his ex foedere uetusto, quod multis intermiserant annis, accepta.
12.8. Thus strengthened, the Romans heard soon after with small concern that the Gauls had come to Praeneste and had then pitched their camp in the vicinity of Pedum.
12.8. quo praesidio cum fulta res Romana esset, leuius fuit quod Gallos mox Praeneste uenisse atque inde circa Pedum consedisse auditum est.
12.9. They resolved on making Gaius Sulpicius dictator, and sent for Gaius Plautius the consul to appoint him; Marcus Valerius was named as his master of the horse. These two marched against the Gauls, with the choicest troops from both the consular armies.
12.9. dictatorem dici C. Sulpicium placuit; consul ad id accitus C. Plautius dixit; magister equitum dictatori additus M. Ualerius. hi robora militum ex duobus consularibus exercitibus electa aduersus Gallos duxerunt.
12.10. The war was considerably more protracted than was pleasing to either side. At first only the Gauls had been eager for battle; but later the Romans far exceeded the Gauls in the ardour with which they would run to arm themselves and fight. Yet the dictator was by no means willing, being under no compulsion, to hazard his fortune against an enemy whom each day made less formidable, as he lingered on in an unfriendly country, without a magazine of food, and without adequate defences —an enemy, too, whose strength and courage lay wholly in attacking, and languished as soon as there came a slight delay.
12.10. lentius id aliquanto bellum quam parti utrique placebat fuit. cum primo Galli tantum auidi certaminis fuissent, deinde Romanus miles ruendo in arma ac dimicationem aliquantum Gallicam ferociam uinceret, dictatori neutiquam placebat, quando nulla cogeret res, fortunae se committere aduersus hostem, quem tempus deteriorem in dies faceret, locis alienis sine praeparato commeatu, sine firmo munimento morantem, ad hoc iis corporibus animisque quorum omnis in impetu uis esset, parua eadem languesceret mora.
12.12. Upon these considerations the dictator spun out the war and threatened to punish anyone severely who should fight the enemy without his orders. The soldiers were mortified at this. At first they grumbled among themselves about the dictator, when on picket-duty or watching in the night, and sometimes railed at the senators collectively for not having given the consuls charge of the war; a fine general they had chosen, a unique commander, who thought that without his lifting a finger victory would fly down from heaven into his lap!
12.12. his consiliis dictator bellum trahebat grauemque edixerat poenam, si quis iniussu in hostem pugnasset. milites aegre id patientes primo in stationibus uigiliisque inter se dictatorem sermonibus carpere, interdum patres communiter increpare quod non iussissent per consules geri bellum:
12.13. But they presently began to utter these same sentiments quite openly and in the light of day, and even bolder things than these: they would not wait, they declared, for the general's orders, but would either fight or go in a body to Rome.
12.13. electum esse eximium imperatorem, unicum ducem, qui nihil agenti sibi de caelo deuolaturam in sinum uictoriam censeat. eadem deinde haec interdiu propalam ac ferociora his iactare: se iniussu imperatoris aut dimicaturos aut agmine Romam ituros.