10.8. the officer, awed by the dignity of Postumius, would have left him loosely bound, “, draw the thong tight,” he exclaimed, “that the surrender may be duly carried out.”, on arriving at the assembly of the Samnites and the tribune of Pontius, Aulus Cornelius Arvina the fetial spoke as follows:
10.8. ubi in coetum Samnitium et ad tribunal ventum Ponti est, A. Cornelius Arvina fetialis ita verba fecit:
10.9. " these men, unbidden by the Roman People of the Quirites, have guaranteed that a treaty should be ratified, and by so doing have committed an injury; to the end that the Roman People may be absolved of heinous guilt, I deliver up these men to you.
10.9. hisce homines iniussu populi Romani Quiritium foedus ictum iri spoponderunt atque ob eam rem noxam nocuerunt, ob eam rem quo populus Romanus scelere impio sit solutus hosce homines vobis dedo.
10.10. the fetial spoke these words, Postumius thrust his knee into the other's thigh, with all the force he could summon up, and proclaimed in a loud voice that he was a Samnite citizen, who had maltreated the envoy in violation of the law of nations, whereby the Romans would make war with the better right.
10.10. dicenti fetiali Postumius genu femur quanta maxime poterat vi perculit et clara voce ait se Samnitem civem esse, illum legatum a se contra ius gentium violatum: eo iustius bellum gesturos. Pontius ego istam deditionem accipiam inquit, "nec Samnites ratam habebunt.
11.2. said Pontius, "I will not receive this surrender, nor will the Samnites hold it valid. you, Spurius Postumius, if you believe in the existence of the gods, why not either reject the whole negotiation or abide by your agreement? The Samnite People is entitled to all whom it had in its power, or to peace in place of them.
11.2. tu, Spuri Postumi, si deos esse censes, aut omnia inrita facis aut pacto stas? Samniti populo omnes quos in potestate habuit aut pro iis pax debetur.
11.3. why do I appeal to you, who yield yourself a prisoner as honourably as you can? appeal to the Roman People; if they repent them of the pledge that was given at the Caudine Forks, let them replace their legions in the defile where they were surrounded.
11.3. quid ego te appello, qui te captum victori cum qua potes fide restituis? Romanum appello; quem si sponsionis ad furculas Caudinas factae paenitet, restituat legiones intra saltum quo saeptae fuerunt.
11.4. no one deceive anybody; let as though it had not happened; let them resume the arms they laid down in accordance with the compact; let them go back to their camp; whatever they had on the day before the conference, let them have again; then let them vote for war and warlike measures, then let them reject the guarantee and the peace!
11.4. quemquam deceperit; omnia pro infecto sint; recipiant arma, quae per pactionem tradiderunt; redeant in castra sua; quidquid pridie habuerunt quam in conloquium est ventum habeant: tum bellum et fortia consilia placeant, tum sponsio et pax repudietur.
11.5. us fight it out in those circumstances, and in those positions, which were ours before peace was mentioned; let the Roman People not blame the pledge given by the consuls, nor let us blame the honour of the Roman People.
11.5. fortuna, iis locis, quae ante pacis mentionem habuimus, geramus bellum, nec populus Romanus consulum sponsionem nec nos fidem populi Romani accusemus.
11.6. you never, when you have been beaten, lack excuses for not holding to your covenants? gave hostages to Porsinna —and withdrew them by a trick. ransomed your City from the Gauls with gold —and cut them down as they were receiving the gold. pledged us peace, on condition that we gave you back your captured legions —and you nullify the peace. always you contrive to give the fraud some colour of legality.
11.6. causa defiet cur victi pacto non stetis? Porsinnae dedistis: furto eos subduxistis; auro civitatem a Gallis redemistis: inter accipiendum aurum caesi sunt;
11.7. the Roman People not approve the preservation of its legions by a disgraceful peace? it keep its peace, and give back the captured legions to the victor; that would be conduct worthy of its promise, its covenants, its fetial ceremonies.
11.7. pacem nobiscum pepigistis, ut legiones vobis captas restitueremus: eam earn pacem inritam facitis. semper aliquam fraudi speciem iuris imponitis.
11.8. you, on your side, should have what you aimed at in your compact, the safety of these many citizens, but that I should not have the peace I stipulated for, when I released them, —is this the judgment which you, Aulus Cornelius, and you, fetials, render to the nations?
11.8. probat populus Romanus ignominiosa pace legiones servatas? sibi habeat, legiones captas victori restituat; hoc fide, hoc foederibus, hoc fetialibus caerimoniis dignum erat.
11.9. “for me, I will none of these whom you pretend to be surrendering, nor do I deem them to be surrendered, neither do I stand in the way of their returning, despite the wrath of all the gods, whose divinity they have made a mock, to the City which is committed by their ” “guarantee., go to war, since Spurius Postumius has just now jostled the envoy with his knee!
11.9. quidem tu quod petisti per pactionem habeas tot cives incolumes, ego pacem quam hos tibi remittendo pactus sum non habeam, hoc tu, A. Corneli, hoc vos, fetiales, iuris gentibus dicitis?
11.10. shall the gods believe that Postumius is a Samnite —not a Roman —citizen, and that a Roman envoy has been maltreated by a Samnite, and that you, in consequence of this, have justly made war on ” “us!
11.10. vero istos quos dedi simulatis nec accipio nec dedi arbitror, nec moror quo minus in civitatem obligatam sponsione commissa iratis omnibus dis, quorum eluditur numen, redeant.
11.11. it not shame you to bring forth into the light of day these mockeries of religion, and, old men and consulars as you are, to devise such quibbles to evade your promise as were scarce worthy of ” “children?, lictor, strike their fetters from the Romans; let no man hinder them from departing when they list.”
11.11. bellum, quando Sp. Postumius modo legatum genu perculit. di credent Samnitem civem Postumium, non civem Romanum esse, et a Samnite legatum Romanum violatum: eo vobis iustum in nos factum esse bellum.
11.12. the guarantors, released it may be from the nation's pledge, but at all events from their own, returned from Caudium, inviolate, to the Roman camp. The Samnites now perceived that instead of their domineering peace they were confronted with the renewal of a most bitter war, and not only imagined but almost saw all the consequences which afterwards proceeded from it. late and all in vain did they praise the alternative policies suggested by the aged Pontius, between which they had fallen, and exchanged a victory already in their possession for an uncertain peace; they had let slip the opportunity both of doing good and of doing harm, and were going to fight with men whom they might permanently have removed from their path, as enemies, or have made their permanent friends.
11.12. ludibria religionum non pudere in lucem proferre et vix pueris dignas ambages senes ac consulares fallendae fidei exquirere! I, lictor, deme vincla Romanis; moratus sit nemo, quo minus ubi visum fuerit abeant. illi quidem, forsitan et publica, sua certe liberata fide ab Caudio in castra Romana inviolati redierunt. Samnitibus pro superba pace infestissimum cernentibus renatum bellum, omnia quae deinde evenerunt non in animis solum sed prope in oculis esse; et sero ac nequiquam laudare senis Ponti utraque consilia, inter quae se media lapsos via victoriae possessionem pace incerta mutasse; et beneficii et maleficii occasione amissa pugnaturos cum eis quos potuerint in perpetuum vel inimicos tollere vel amicos facere.
12.3. though there had so far been no battle since the Caudine Peace to give an advantage to either side, yet such a change of feeling had come about that Postumius enjoyed more fame among the Romans for his surrender than did Pontius among the Samnites for his bloodless victory;
12.3. nullodum certamine inclinatis viribus post Caudinam pacem animi nutaverant, ut clariorem clarioreml inter Romanos deditio Postumium quam Pontium incruenta victoria inter Samnites faceret, et geri posse bellum Romani pro victoria certa haberent, Samnites simul rebellasse et vicisse crederent Romanum.
12.4. and while the Romans regarded their being able to make war as certain victory, the Samnites felt that the Romans had at one and the same moment renewed the war and won it.
12.4. haec Satricani ad Samnites defecerunt, et Fregellae colonia necopinato adventu Samnitium— fuisse et Satricanos cum iis satis constat—nocte occupata est. inde mutuus utrosque usque ad lucem quietos tenuit;
12.5. the Satricans revolted to the Samnites, and the colony of Fregellae, in a surprise attack by the Samnites —accompanied, it would seem, by people from Satricum —was seized during the night.
12.5. lux pugnae initium fuit, quam aliquamdiu aequam et quia pro aris ac focis dimicabatur et quia ex tectis adiuvabat imbellis multitudo tamen Fregellani sustinuerunt.
12.6. fear then caused both sides to remain quiet until the morning, when the light ushered in a battle which for a long time was equally sustained —for the townsfolk were fighting for their hearths and altars and a throng of those unfit for arms gave them assistance from the housetops, —still, the people of Fregellae held their own, until presently a ruse decided the victory; for they permitted a herald to be heard, who promised safety to any who laid down his arms.
12.6. deinde rem inclinavit, quod vocem audiri praeconis passi sunt, incolumem abiturum qui arma posuisset. spes remisit a certamine animos, et passim arma iactari coepta. pars armata per aversam portam erupit, tutiorque eis audacia fuit quam incautus ad credendum ceteris pavor, quos circumdatos igni nequiquam deos fidemque invocantes Samnites concremaverunt.
12.8. The hope of this relaxed the tension of their courage and on every side they began throwing their arms away. The more determined portion of them retained their weapons and burst out by the opposite gate, and their boldness stood them in better stead than did their too credulous timidity the others; for these the Samnites compassed about with fire, and, despite their appeals to Heaven and to the promise of their captors, burnt them alive.
12.8. inter se partiti provincias, Papirius in Apuliam ad Luceriam pergit, ubi equites Romani obsides ad Caudium dati custodiebantur, Publilius in Samnio substitit adversus Caudinas legiones.
12.9. The consuls having divided the provinces between them, Papirius took his way into Apulia towards Luceria, where the Roman knights given up at Caudium for hostages were being guarded, while Publilius stopped behind in Samnium to oppose the Caudine legions.
12.9. ea res Samnitium animos, quod nec ad Luceriam ire, ne ab tergo instaret hostis, nec manere, ne Luceria interim amitteretur, satis audebant.
12.10. plan distracted the minds of the Samnites, since they neither dared move towards Luceria, lest they should bring the enemy down upon their rear, nor remain where they were, for fear that Luceria would meanwhile be lost. The best course seemed to be to entrust their cause to Fortune and fight it out with Publilius. accordingly formed up in line of battle.
12.10. visum est committere rem fortunae et transigere cum Publilio certamen; itaque in aciem copias educunt. quos Publilius consul cum dimicaturus esset, prius adloquendos milites ratus contionem advocari iussit. sicut ingenti alacritate ad praetorium concursum est, ita prae clamore poscentium pugnam nulla adhortatio imperatoris audita est:
13.2. Publilius the consul was ready to engage them, but thinking it best to encourage his soldiers first, he bade summon them to an assembly. though they came running to the praetorium with vast alacrity, yet the outcry of those who demanded battle was so loud that the general's exhortation could not be heard; still, every man's own heart, remembering the late humiliation, was there to exhort him. they went forward into battle, urging on their standard —bearers; and, that there might be no delay in coming to grips while they were discharging their javelins and drawing their swords, they threw away their javelins, as if a signal had been given them, and, sword in hand, pushed forward at the double against the enemy.
13.2. suus cuique animus memor ignominiae adhortator aderat. igitur in proelium urgentes signiferos, et ne mora in concursu pilis emittendis stringendisque inde gladiis esset, pila velut dato ad id signo abiciunt strictisque gladiis cursu in hostem feruntur. illic imperatoriae artis ordinibus aut subsidiis locandis fuit: omnia ira militaris prope vesano impetu egit.
13.4. tactical skill was there employed in ranging centuries or reserves: the wrath of the soldiers swept everything along in its mad rush. so not only were the Samnites routed, but not daring to interrupt their flight even at their camp, they dispersed and struck out for Apulia; yet they afterwards rallied again and came to Luceria in one body.
13.4. non fusi modo hostes sunt, sed ne castris quidem suis fugam impedire ausi Apuliam dissipati petiere; Luceriam tamen coacto rursus in unum agmine est perventum.
13.5. The same fury that took the Romans through their enemy's battle —line, carried them also into his camp. was more bloodshed and carnage there than in the battle, and the greater part of the booty was destroyed in anger.
13.5. Romanos ira eadem quae per mediam aciem hostium tulerat et in castra pertulit. plus quam in acie sanguinis ac caedis factum praedaeque pars maior ira corrupta.
13.6. The other army, under the consul Papirius, marching along the coast as far as Arpi, had found all peaceably disposed, more because of the wrongs done by the Samnites and the hatred they had engendered than owing to any favour shown by the Roman People. the Samnites, who in those days dwelt in villages among the mountains, used to ravage the regions of the plain and coast, despising their cultivators, who were of a softer character, and one that —as often happens —resembled their country, while they themselves were rude highlanders.
13.6. alter cum curn Papirio consule locis maritimis pervenerat Arpos per omnia pacata Samnitium magis iniuriis et odio quam beneficio ullo populi Romani; nam Samnites, ea tempestate in montibus vicatim habitantes, campestria et maritima loca contempto cultorum molliore atque, ut evenit fere, locis simili genere ipsi montani atque agrestes depopulabantur.
13.8. this district had been faithful to the Samnites, it would either have been impossible for a Roman army to have got as far as Arpi, or the utterly barren nature of the intervening country would have destroyed them, cut off as they would have been from their supplies.
13.8. regio si fida Samnitibus fuisset, aut pervenire Arpos exercitus Romanus nequisset, aut interiecta penuria rerum omnium exclusos a commeatibus absumpsisset.
13.9. as it was, when they had proceeded to the vicinity of Luceria, besiegers and besieged suffered alike from scarcity of food: everything was carried up from Arpi for the Romans, but so precarious were their supplies, that while the foot —soldiers were busy with outpost —duty, guard —mounting, and entrenching, the cavalry brought up corn for them from Arpi in leather pouches, and, now and then, encountering the enemy, were forced to throw off the corn from their horses and fight; the besieged, until the arrival of the other consul with his victorious army, had got in their provisions —and auxiliary forces too —from the mountains of the Samnites.
13.9. quoque profectos inde ad Luceriam, iuxta obsidentes obsessosque, inopia vexavit. ab Arpis Romanis suppeditabantur, ceterum adeo exigue ut militi occupato stationibus vigiliisque et opere eques folliculis in castra ab Arpis frumentum veheret, interdum occursu hostium cogeretur abiecto ex equo frumento pugnare. priusquam alter consul victore exercitu advenit, et commeatus ex montibus Samnitium invecti erant et auxilia intromissa.
13.11. The coming of Publilius tightened up the lines; for, turning the siege over to his colleague, he was free to range the country —side, where he made things difficult for the supply —trains of the enemy.
13.11. omnia adventus Publili fecit, qui obsidione delegata in curam collegae vacuus per agros cuncta infesta commeatibus hostium fecerat.
13.12. The Samnites, therefore, who were encamped about Luceria, in despair of being able to endure the scarcity, if the siege continued, were obliged to gather up their forces from every quarter and give battle to Papirius. this juncture, while both sides were making ready for the struggle, came ambassadors from Tarentum, admonishing both Samnites and Romans to desist from war. party should oppose the cessation of hostilities, against that they proposed to fight in behalf of the other. listening to these envoys, Papirius, as though moved by what they said, replied that he would consult his colleague. sent for Publilius, he employed every moment of the interval in making his preparations, and when he had conferred with him about a matter which admitted of no doubt, displayed the battle —signal.
13.12. cum spes nulla esset diutius obsessos inopiam laturos, coacti Samnites, qui ad Luceriam castra habebant, undique contractis viribus signa cum Papirio conferre. id tempus parantibus utrisque se ad proelium legati Tarentini interveniunt denuntiantes Samnitibus Romanisque ut bellum omitterent: per utros stetisset quo minus discederetur ab armis, adversus eos se pro alteris pugnaturos. legatione Papirius audita perinde ac motus dictis eorum cum collega se communicaturum respondit; accitoque eo, cum tempus omne in apparatu pugnae consumpsisset, conlocutus de re haud baud dubia signum pugnae proposuit.
14.3. The consuls were busy with matters pertaining to gods and to men, as they are wont to to be on the eve of an engagement, when the envoys from Tarentum approached them to receive their answer;
14.3. divina humanaque quae adsolent cum acie dimicandum est consulibus Tarentini legati occursare responsum exspectantes; quibus Papirius ait:
14.4. to whom Papirius replied, “Tarentines, the keeper of the chickens reports that the signs are favourable; the sacrifice too has been exceedingly auspicious; as you see, the gods are with us at our going into action.”
14.4. secunda esse, Tarentini, pullarius nuntiat; litatum praeterea est egregie; auctoribus dis, ut videtis, ad rem gerendam proficiscimur.
14.5. then commanded to advance the standards, and marshalled his troops, with exclamations on the folly of a nation which, powerless to manage its own affairs, because of domestic strife and discord, presumed to lay down the limits of peace and war for others.
14.5. inde ferre iussit et copias eduxit, vanissimam increpans gentem quae, suarum impotens rerum prae domesticis seditionibus discordiisque, aliis modum pacis ac belli facere aequum censeret.
14.6. The Samnites, on their side, having dismissed from their minds every anxiety regarding the war, either because they sincerely wished for peace, or because it was expedient for them to pretend that they wished it, in order to gain the support of the Tarentines, when they beheld the Romans suddenly arrayed for battle, cried out that they would abide by the will of the Tarentines and would neither take the field nor advance beyond the rampart;
14.6. Samnites ex parte altera, cum omnem curam belli remisissent, quia aut pacem vere cupiebant aut expediebat simulare, ut Tarentinos sibi conciliarent, cum instructos repente ad pugnam Romanos conspexissent, vociferari se in auctoritate Tarentinorum manere nec descendere in aciem nec extra vallum arma ferre; deceptos potius quodcumque casus ferat passuros quam ut sprevisse pacis auctores Tarentinos videantur.
14.8. they had been deceived, but they chose rather to endure whatever Fortune might have in store for them than be thought to have spurned the peaceful advice of the Tarentines.
14.8. se omen consules aiunt et eam precari mentem hostibus ut ne vallum quidem defendant.
14.9. The consuls declared that they embraced the omen, praying that the enemy might be so minded as not even to defend his rampart. themselves, dividing their troops between them, marched up to the earthworks of the Samnites, and attacked them at once from every side. began to fill the trenches, others to pull up the palings and fling them into the trenches; besides their native courage they were goaded on by anger at the disgrace that rankled in their hearts.
14.9. inter se partitis copiis succedunt hostium munimentis et simul undique adorti, cum pars fossas explerent, pars vellerent vallum atque in fossas proruerent nec virtus modo insita sed ira etiam exulceratos ignominia stimularet animos, castra invasere;
14.10. their way into the camp, while every man repeated that here were no Forks, no Caudium, no trackless passes, where guile had arrogantly triumphed over error, but Roman manhood, which neither rampart nor trenches could keep out, they cut down without distinction those who resisted and those who fled, the armed and the unarmed, slaves and freemen, adults and children, men and beasts; nor would anything living have survived, had not the consuls bade sound the recall and expelled the bloodthirsty soldiers from the enemy's camp with commands and threats.
14.10. et pro se quisque, non haec Furculas nec Caudium nec saltus invios esse, ubi errorem fraus superbe vicisset, sed Romanam virtutem, quam nec nee vallum nec fossae arcerent memorantes, caedunt pariter resistentes fusosque, inermes atque armatos, servos liberos, puberes impubes, homines iumentaque; nec ullum superfuisset animal, ni consules receptui signum dedissent avidosque caedis milites e castris hostium imperio ac minis expulissent.
14.13. The men were incensed at the interruption of their sweet revenge, and accordingly the consuls at once addressed them and explained that they had neither yielded nor meant to yield to any of the soldiers in hatred of the enemy;
14.13. apud infensos ob interpellatam dulcedinem irae confestim oratio habita est, ut doceretur miles minime cuiquam militum consules odio in hostes cessisse aut cessuros;
14.14. on the contrary, they would have led the way, as in war, so in the exaction of endless vengeance, had their indignation not been checked by thoughts of the six hundred knights who were being held as hostages in Luceria; but they feared that the enemy, if they despaired of quarter, might be driven blindly to put their prisoners to death, choosing to slay before they were slain themselves.
14.14. quin duces sicut belli ita insatiabilis supplicii futuros fuisse, ni respectus equitum sescentorum qui Luceriae obsides tenerentur praepedisset animos, ne desperata venia hostes caecos in supplicia eorum ageret, perdere prius quam perire optantes.
14.16. These arguments the men applauded, and rejoiced that their wrath had been restrained; they confessed that it was better that they should suffer anything than betray the lives of so many distinguished young Romans.
14.16. ea milites laetarique obviam itum irae suae esse ac fateri omnia patienda potius quam proderetur salus tot principum Romanae iuventutis. contione consilium habitum omnibusne copiis Luceriam premerent an altero exercitu et duce Apuli circa, gens dubiae ad id voluntatis, temptarentur.
15.2. The assembly was dismissed, and a council of war was held to determine whether they should press the siege with all their forces, or should employ one army and its general to test the dispositions of the Apulians around them —a people whose sympathies were still in doubt. The consul Publilius set out on a march through Apulia and in a single expedition either subjugated, or by granting terms, received into alliance, a goodly number of states. Papirius, too, who had remained behind at Luceria to conduct the siege, soon found the outcome answerable to his hopes; for all the roads by which supplies were wont to be brought in from Samnium were blocked, and the Samnite garrison were reduced by hunger to send a deputation to the Roman consul with an offer to release the horsemen who were the cause of the war, on condition that he would raise the siege.
15.2. Publilius consul ad peragrandam profectus Apuliam aliquot expeditione una populos aut vi subegit aut condicionibus in societatem accepit. Papirio quoque, qui obsessor Luceriae restiterat, brevi ad spem eventus respondit. insessis omnibus viis per quas commeatus ex Samnio subvehebantur, fame domiti Samnites qui Luceriae in praesidio erant legatos misere ad consulem Romanum, ut receptis equitibus qui causa belli essent absisteret obsidione.
15.4. Papirius replied that they ought to have gone to Pontius, the son of Herennius, at whose instance they had sent the Romans under the yoke, to find out what the vanquished deserved to suffer;
15.4. Papirius ita respondit: debuisse eos Pontium Herenni filium, quo auctore Romanos sub iugum misissent, consulere quid victis patiendum censeret;
15.5. however, since they preferred that their enemies should decide on a just penalty for them, rather than propose one for themselves, he bade them take word to Luceria that they should leave their arms, packs, sumpter animals, and all the noncombatants, within the walls;
15.5. ceterum quoniam ab hostibus in se aequa statui quam in se ipsi ferre maluerint, nuntiare Luceriam iussit, arma sarcinas iumenta multitudinem omnem imbellem intra moenia relinquerent;
15.6. the soldiers he intended to send under the yoke, clad only in their tunics, inflicting on them no new disgrace, but requiting that which had first been put upon the Romans.
15.6. militem se cum singulis vestimentis sub iugum missurum, ulciscentem inlatam, non novam inferentem inferenter ignominiam.
15.7. made no objection, and seven thousand men were sent under the yoke. spoils were captured in Luceria, and all the standards and arms which had been lost at Caudium were retaken, and, to cap the climax of their joy, the horsemen were recovered whom the Samnites had assigned, as pledges of peace, to be guarded at Luceria.
15.7. recusatum. milia militum sub iugum missa, praedaque ingens Luceriae capta receptis omnibus signis armisque quae ad Caudium amissa erant, et quod omnia superabat gaudia, equitibus reciperatis quos pignora pacis custodiendos Luceriam Samnites dederant.
15.8. is scarce any other Roman victory more glorious for its sudden reversal of fortune, especially if it is true, as I find in certain annals, that Pontius the son of Herennius, the Samnite general —in —chief, was sent with the rest under the yoke, to expiate the humiliation of the consuls.
15.8. ferme alia mutatione subita rerum clarior victoria populi Romani est, si quidem etiam, quod quibusdam in annalibus invenio, Pontius Herenni filius, Samnitium imperator, ut expiaret consulum ignominiam, sub iugum cum ceteris est missus.
15.9. that as it may, I am not greatly surprised that there should be some doubt as to the general of the enemy who was surrendered and disgraced; the amazing thing is the uncertainty whether it was Lucius Cornelius, as dictator —with Lucius Papirius Cursor, as master of the horse —who won these victories at Caudium and subsequently at Luceria, and, because of the signal vengeance that he exacted for Rome's shame, enjoyed a triumph which I should be inclined to rate as the best —deserved of all down to that time, next after that of Furius Camillus; or whether that honour belongs to the consuls —and particularly to Papirius.
15.9. id minus miror obscurum esse de hostium duce dedito missoque; id magis mirabile est ambigi, Luciusne Cornelius dictator cum L. Papirio Cursore magistro equitum eas res ad Caudium atque inde Luceriam gesserit ultorque unicus Romanae ignominiae haud sciam an iustissimo triumpho ad eam aetatem secundum Furium Camillum triumphaverit, an consulum—Papirique praecipuum—id decus sit.
15.11. doubt is attended with another —whether at the ensuing election Papirius Cursor was retained in office in recognition of his victory at Luceria, being returned for a third time to the consulship, together with Quintus Aulius Cerretanus —then chosen for the second time —or whether it was Lucius Papirius Mugillanus, and the mistake was a matter of the surname.
15.11. hunc errorem alius error, Cursorne Papirius proximis comitiis cum Q. Aulio Cerretano iterum ob rem bene gestam Luceriae continuato magistratu consul tertium creatus sit an L. Papirius Mugillanus et in cognomine erratum sit. iam inde per consules reliqua belli perfecta. Aulius cum Ferentanis uno secundo proelio debellavit urbemque ipsam, quo se fusa contulerat acies, obsidibus imperatis in deditionem accepit.
16.2. is agreed that from this point onwards the war was brought to a conclusion by the consuls. Aulius finished in one successful battle the campaign against the Ferentani, and having exacted hostages, received the surrender of the city itself, in which their defeated army had taken refuge. no less good fortune the other consul overcame the Satricans, who —though Roman citizens —had revolted, after the Caudine misfortune, to the Samnites, of whom they had admitted a garrison into their city. when the Roman army had drawn near the walls of Satricum, the townspeople sent ambassadors to sue humbly for peace; but the consul returned them a harsh answer: that unless they put to death the Samnite garrison or delivered it up, they must come back to him no more —a saying which struck more terror into their hearts than the threatened assault.
16.2. fortuna consul alter cum Satricanis, qui cives Romani post Caudinam cladem ad Samnites defecerant praesidiumque eorum in urbem acceperant, rem gessit. cum ad moenia Satrici admotus esset exercitus legatisque missis ad pacem cum precibus petendam triste responsum ab consule redditum esset, nisi praesidio Samnitium interfecto aut tradito ne ad se remearent, plus ea voce quam armis inlatis terroris colonis iniectum.
16.4. so the envoys persisted in demanding of the consul how he supposed that they, being few and weak, could force so strong and well —armed a garrison. he bade them seek advice from those same men at whose instigation they had received the garrison into their city; and after they had with no small difficulty persuaded him to suffer them to consult their senate in the matter and report to him its decision, they went back to their people.
16.4. subinde exsequuntur quaerendo a consule legati quonam se pacto paucos et infirmos crederet praesidio tam valido et armato vim allaturos. iisdem consilium petere iussi, quibus auctoribus praesidium in urbem accepissent, discedunt aegreque impetrato ut de ea re consuli senatum responsaque ad se referri sineret ad suos redeunt.
16.6. factions kept the senate divided: one of these had for leaders the men who had inspired the revolt from Rome, the other was composed of loyal citizens; both, however, were equally anxious to accommodate the consul, so that they might be granted peace.
16.6. factiones senatum distinebant, una cuius principes erant defectionis a populo Romano auctores, altera fidelium civium; certatum ab utrisque tamen est ut ad reconciliandam pacem consuli opera navaretur.
16.7. party, seeing that the Samnite garrison was intending to escape on the following night —for they had made no preparations for enduring a siege —deemed it sufficient to let the consul know at what hour and by what gate the enemy meant to leave, and what road he planned to take.
16.7. altera, cum praesidium Samnitium, quia nihil satis praeparati erat ad obsidionem tolerandam, excessurum proxima nocte esset, enuntiare consuli satis habuit, qua noctis hora quaque porta et quam in viam egressurus hostis foret;
16.8. The others, who had opposed going over to the Samnites, that same night also opened a gate to the consul, and without letting the Samnites know, admitted his soldiers into the city.
16.8. altera, quibus invitis descitum ad Samnites erat, eadem nocte portam etiam consuli aperuerunt armatosque clam hoste in urbem acceperunt.
16.9. consequence of this double betrayal, the Samnite garrison was surprised and overpowered by an ambush laid in the woods about their road, while a shout went up in the city, which was filled with enemies., in one crowded hour, the Samnites were slain and the Satricans captured, and all things brought under the power of the consul; who conducted an investigation, and, having ascertained who were responsible for the defection, had the guilty parties scourged and beheaded; after which he imposed a strong garrison upon the Satricans and deprived them of their arms.
16.9. duplici proditione et praesidium Samnitium insessis circa viam silvestribus locis necopinato oppressum est, et ab urbe plena hostium clamor sublatus; momentoque unius horae caesus Samnis, Satricanus captus, et omnia in potestate consulis erant. quaestione habita quorum opera defectio esset facta, quos sontes comperit virgis caesos securi percussit praesidioque valido imposito arma Satricanis ademit.
16.11. Papirius Cursor then departed for Rome to celebrate his triumph, as those writers state who name him as the commander who recovered Luceria and sent the Samnites under the yoke.
16.11. ad triumphum decessisse Romam Papirium Cursorem scribunt, qui eo duce Luceriam receptam Samnitesque sub iugum missos auctores sunt.
16.12. question, he was a man deserving of all praise as a soldier, excelling, as he did, not only in the vigour of his spirit, but in physical strength. possessed remarkable fleetness of foot, which was even the source of his surname.
16.12. fuit vir haud dubie dignus omni bellica laude, non animi solum vigore sed etiam corporis viribus excellens.
16.13. is said that he vanquished all his mates at running, whether owing to the strength of his legs or to much exercise; that he had also the greatest capacity for food and wine; and that no general was harder on his men, whether horse or foot, for his own constitution could never be overcome by
16.13. pedum pernicitas inerat, quae cognomen etiam dedit; victoremque cursu omnium aetatis suae fuisse ferunt, seu crurum vi seu exercitatione multa; cibi vinique eundem capacissimum; nec cum ullo asperiorem, quia ipse invicti ad laborem corporis esset, fuisse militiam pediti pariter equitique;
16.15. toil. is related how his cavalrymen ventured once to ask him if in view of their good conduct he would not excuse them from some portion of their duties; to whom he answered, “you may not say that I have excused you nothing, I freely excuse you from the duty of rubbing your backs when you ” “dismount.”
16.15. equites etiam aliquando ausos ab eo petere ut sibi pro re bene gesta laxaret aliquid laboris; quibus ille nihil remissum dicatis, remitto, inquit, ne utique dorsum demulceatis, cum ex equis descendetis.
16.16. the man possessed a power of command which was equally effective with citizens and allies. Praenestine praetor had, through timidity, been somewhat slow in bringing his men up from the supports to the fighting line. Papirius strolled over to the praetor's tent and having bidden them call him out, commanded a lictor to prepare his axe. this the praetor stood aghast, but Papirius said to the lictor, “, cut out this root; it is a nuisance to those who walk.” then fined the man and let him go, half —dead with the fear of capital punishment.
16.16. vis erat in eo viro imperii ingens pariter in socios civesque. Praenestinus praetor per timorem segnius ex subsidiis suos duxerat in primam aciem; quem cum inambulans ante tabernaculum vocari iussisset, lictorem expedire securem iussit, ad quam vocem exanimi stante Praenestino:, lictor, excide radicem hanc inquit incommodam ambulantibus, perfusumque ultimi supplicii metu multa dicta dimisit.
16.19. can be no doubt that in his generation, than which none was ever more fruitful of great qualities, there was no single man who did more to uphold the Roman State. people regard him as one who might have been a match in generalship for Alexander the Great, if the latter, after subjugating Asia, had turned his arms against Europe.
16.19. dubie illa aetate, qua nulla virtutum feracior fuit, nemo unus erat vir quo magis innixa res Romana staret. eum parem destinant animis magno Alexandro ducem, si arma Asia perdomita in Europam vertisset. minus quaesitum a principio huius operis videri potest quam ut plus iusto ab rerum ordine declinarem varietatibusque distinguendo opere et legentibus velut deverticula amoena et requiem, animo meo quaererem;
17.2. can be thought to have been more remote from my intention, since I first set about this task, than to depart unduly from the order of events, and to aim, by the introduction of ornamental digressions, at providing as it were agreeable bypaths for the reader, and mental relaxation for myself. the mention of so great a prince and captain evokes certain thoughts which I have often silently pondered in my mind, and disposes me to enquire how the Roman State would have fared in a war with Alexander.
17.2. tamen tanti regis ac ducis mentio, quibus saepe tacitus cogitationibus volutavi animum, eas evocat in medium, ut quaerere libeat quinam eventus Romanis rebus, si cum Alexandro foret bellatum bellatumn, futurus fuerit.
17.3. appears that in war the factors of chief importance are the numbers and valour of the soldiers, the abilities of the commanders, and Fortune, which, powerful in all the affairs of men, is especially so in war.
17.3. in bello pollere videntur militum copia et virtus, ingenia imperatorum, fortuna per omnia humana, maxime in res bellicas potens:
17.4. These factors, whether viewed separately or conjointly, afford a ready assurance, that, even as against other princes and nations, so also against this one the might of Rome would have proved invincible.
17.4. ea et singula intuenti et universa, sicut ab aliis regibus gentibusque ita ab hoc quoque, facile praestant invictum Romanum imperium.
17.5. of all —to begin by comparing commanders —I do not deny that Alexander was a remarkable general; still, his fame was enhanced by the fact that he was a sole commander, and the further fact that he died young, in the flood —tide of success, when as yet he had experienced no other lot.
17.5. primum, ut ordiar ab ducibus comparandis, haud baud equidem abnuo egregium ducem fuisse Alexandrum; sed clariorem tamen eum facit quod unus fuit, quod adulescens in incremento rerum, nondum alteram fortunam expertus, decessit.
17.6. to speak of other distinguished kings and generals, illustrious proofs of human vicissitude, what else was it but length of days that exposed Cyrus, whom the Greeks exalt so high in their panegyrics, to the fickleness of Fortune?
17.6. alios reges claros ducesque omittam, magna exempla casuum humanorum, Cyrum, quem maxime Graeci laudibus celebrant, quid nisi longa vita, sicut Magnum modo Pompeium, vertenti praebuit fortunae?
17.7. the same thing was lately seen in the case of Pompey the Great. I repeat the names of the Roman generals, not all nor of every age, but those very ones with whom, as consuls or as dictators, Alexander would have had to fight —Marcus Valerius Corvus, Gaius Marcius Rutulus, Gaius Sulpicius, Titus Manlius Torquatus, Quintus Publilius Philo, Lucius Papirius Cursor, Quintus Fabius Maximus, the two Decii, Lucius Volumnius, Manius Curius?
17.7. duces Romanos, nec omnes omnium aetatium, sed ipsos eos cum quibus consulibus aut dictatoribus Alexandro fuit bellandum, M. Valerium Corvum C. Marcium Rutulum C. Sulpicium T. Manlium Torquatum Q. Publilium Philonem L. Papirium Cursorem Q. Fabium Maximum duos Decios L. Volumnium M'. Curium? ingentes sequuntur viri, si Punicum Romano praevertisset bellum seniorque in Italiam traiecisset.
17.9. these come some extraordinary men, if he had turned his attention to war with Carthage first and later with Rome, and had crossed into Italy when somewhat old.
17.9. in quolibet cum indoles eadem quae in Alexandro erat animi ingeniique; tum disciplina militaris, iam inde ab initiis urbis tradita per manus, in artis perpetuis praeceptis ordinatae modum venerat.
17.10. one of these was as highly endowed with courage and talents as was Alexander; and military training, handed down from the very beginning of the City, had taken on the character of a profession, built up on comprehensive principles.
17.10. reges gesserant bella, ita deinde exactores regum Iunii Valeriique, ita deinceps Fabii Quinctii Cornelii, ita Furius Camillus, quem iuvenes ii quibus cum Alexandro dimicandum erat senem viderant.
17.11. the kings had warred; so after them the expellers of the kings, the Junii and the Valerii, and so in succession the Fabii, Quinctii, Cornelii, and Furius Camillus, whom in his old age those had seen, as youths, who would have had to fight with Alexander.
17.11. opera pugnando obeunti Alexandro—nam ea quoque haud baud minus clarum eum faciunt—cessisset videlicet in acie oblatus par Manlius Torquatus aut Valerius Corvus, insignes ante milites quam duces, cessissent Decii, devotis corporibus in hostem ruentes, cessisset Papirius Cursor illo corporis robore, illo animi!
17.12. in the performance of a soldier's work in battle —for which Alexander was no less distinguished —Manlius Torquatus or Valerius Corvus would, forsooth, have yielded to him, had they met him in a hand —to —hand encounter, famous though they were as soldiers before ever they won renown as captains! The Decii, of course, would have yielded to him, who hurled their devoted bodies upon the foe! Papirius Cursor would have yielded, with that wondrous strength of body and of spirit! The counsels of a single youth would no doubt have got the better of that senate —not to speak of individual members —which was called an assembly of kings by him who before all others had a true conception of the Roman Senate!
17.12. esset consiliis iuvenis unius, ne singulos nominem, senatus ille, quem qui ex regibus constare dixit unus veram speciem Romani senatus cepit! vero erat periculum, ne sollertius quam quilibet unus ex his quos nominavi castris locum caperet, commeatus expediret, ab insidiis praecaveret, tempus pugnae deligeret, aciem instrueret, subsidiis firmaret! cum Dareo rem esse dixisset, quem mulierum ac spadonum agmen trahentem, inter purpuram atque aurum oneratum oneratutm fortunae apparatibus suae, praedam verius quam hostem, nihil aliud quam bene ausus vana contemnere incruentus devicit.
17.15. I suppose there was the danger that Alexander would display more skill than any of these whom I have named, in selecting a place for a camp, in organizing his service of supply, in guarding against ambuscades, in choosing a time for battle, in marshalling his troops, in providing strong reserves! would have said it was no Darius whom he had to deal with, trailing women and eunuchs after him, and weighed down with the gold and purple trappings of his station. he found a booty rather than an enemy, and conquered without bloodshed, merely by daring to despise vain shows. different from India, through which he progressed at the head of a rout of drunken revellers, would Italy have appeared to him, as he gazed on the passes of Apulia and the Lucanian mountains, and the still fresh traces of that family disaster wherein his uncle, King Alexander of Epirus, had lost his life.
17.15. alius Italiae quam Indiae, per quam temulento agmine comisabundus incessit, visus illi habitus esset, saltus Apuliae ac montes Lucanos cernenti et vestigia recentia domesticae cladis ubi avunculus eius nuper, Epiri rex Alexander, absumptus erat. loquimur de Alexandro nondum merso secundis rebus, quarum nemo intolerantior fuit.
18.2. we are speaking of an Alexander not yet overwhelmed with prosperity, which none has ever been less able to bear. viewing him in the light of his new fortune and of the new character —if I may use the expression —which he had assumed as conqueror, he would evidently have come to Italy more like Darius than like Alexander, at the head of an army that had forgotten Macedonia and was already adopting the degenerate customs of the Persians.
18.2. si ex habitu novae fortunae novique, ut ita dicam, ingenii quod sibi victor induerat spectetur, Dareo magis similis quam Alexandro in Italiam venisset et exercitum Macedoniae oblitum degenerantemque iam in Persarum mores adduxisset.
18.4. am loath, in writing of so great a prince, to remind the reader of the ostentatious alteration in his dress, and of his desire that men should prostrate themselves in adulation, a thing which even conquered Macedonians would have found oppressive, much more then those who had been victorious;
18.4. in tanto rege piget superbam mutationem vestis et desideratas humi iacentium adulationes, etiam victis Macedonibus graves, nedum victoribus, et foeda supplicia et inter vinum et epulas caedes amicorum et vanitatem ementiendae stirpis.
18.5. of his cruel punishments and the murder of his friends as they drank and feasted; of the boastful lie about his origin. if his love of wine had every day grown stronger? and his truculent and fiery anger?
18.5. si vini amor in dies fieret acrior? si trux ac praefervida ira?—Nec quicquam dubium inter scriptores refero—, nullane haec damna imperatoriis virtutibus ducimus?
18.6. mention only things which historians regard as certain. we deem such vices to be no detraction from a general's good qualities? there was forsooth the danger —as the silliest of the Greeks, who exalt the reputation even of the Parthians against the Romans, are fond of alleging —that the Roman People would have been unable to withstand the majesty of Alexander's name, though I think that they had not so much as heard of him; and that out of all the Roman nobles not one would have dared to lift up his voice against him, although in Athens, a city crushed by the arms of Macedonia, at the very moment when men had before their eyes the reeking ruins of the
18.6. vero periculum erat, quod levissimi ex Graecis, qui Parthorum quoque contra nomen Romanum gloriae favent, dictitare solent, ne maiestatem nominis Alexandri, quem ne fama quidem illis notum arbitror fuisse, sustinere non potuerit populus Romanus; et adversus quem Athenis, in civitate fracta Macedonum armis, cernentes tum maxime prope fumantes Thebarum ruinas, contionari libere ausi sunt homines—id quod ex monumentis orationum patet—adversus eum nemo ex tot proceribus Romanis vocem liberam missurus fuerit!
18.8. neighbouring Thebes, they dared inveigh against him freely, as witness the records of their speeches.
18.8. magnitudo magnitude hominis concipiatur animo; unius tamen ea magnitudo hominis erit collecta paulo plus decem annorum felicitate;
18.9. imposing the greatness of the man may appear to us, still this greatness will be that of one man only, and the fruits of little more than ten years of success. who magnify it for this reason, that the Roman People, albeit never in any war, have yet suffered defeat in a number of battles, whereas Alexander's fortune was never aught but prosperous in any battle, fail to perceive that they are comparing the achievements of a man —and a young man too —with those of a people that was now in its four hundredth year of warfare.
18.9. quam qui eo extollunt quod populus Romanus etsi nullo bello multis tamen proeliis victus sit, Alexandro nullius pugnae non secunda fortuna fuerit, non intellegunt se hominis res gestas, et eius iuvenis, cum populi iam quadringentesimum bellantis annum rebus conferre. si, cum ex hac parte saecula plura numerentur quam ex illa anni, plus in tam longo spatio quam in aetate tredecim annorum fortuna variaverit?
18.11. it occasion us surprise if, seeing that upon the one side are counted more generations than are years upon the other, fortune should have varied more in that long time than in a life of thirteen years? not compare a man's fortune with a man's, and a general's with a general's? How many Roman generals could I name who never suffered a reverse in battle! our annals and lists of magistrates you may run through pages of consuls and dictators of whom it never on any day repented the Roman People, whether of their generalship or fortune.
18.11. tu hominis cum homine et ducis cum duce fortunam confers? Romanos duces nominem quibus nunquam adversa fortuna pugnae fuit! in annalibus magistratuumque fastis percurrere licet consulum dictatorumque quorum nec virtutis nec fortunae ullo die populum Romanum paenituit.
18.13. what makes them more wonderful than Alexander or any king is this: some were dictators of ten or twenty days, and none held the consulship above a year;
18.13. quo sint mirabiliores quam Alexander aut quisquam rex, denos vicenosque dies quidam dictaturam, nemo plus quam annum consulatum gessit;
18.14. their levies were obstructed by the tribunes of the plebs; they were late in going to war, and were called back early to conduct elections;
18.14. ab tribunis plebis dilectus impediti sunt; post tempus ad bella ierunt, ante tempus comitiorum causa revocati sunt; in ipso conatu rerum circumegit se annus;
18.15. in the midst of their undertakings the year rolled round; now the rashness, now the frowardness of a colleague occasioned them losses or difficulties; they succeeded to affairs which others had mismanaged, they received an army of raw recruits, or one badly disciplined.
18.15. collegae nunc temeritas nunc pravitas impedimento aut damno fuit; male gestis rebus alterius successum est; tironem aut mala disciplina institutum exercitum acceperunt.
18.16. consider kings: not only are they free from all impediments, but they are lords of time and circumstance, and in their counsels carry all things with them, instead of following in their train.
18.16. hercule reges non liberi solum impedimentis omnibus sed domini rerum temporumque trahunt consiliis cuncta, non sequuntur.
18.17. then, an undefeated Alexander would have warred against undefeated generals, and would have brought the same pledges of Fortune to the crisis.
18.17. ergo Alexander cum invictis ducibus bella gessisset et eadem fortunae pignora in discrimen detulisset;
18.18. , he would have run a greater risk than they, inasmuch as the Macedonians would have had but a single Alexander, not only exposed to many dangers, but incurring them voluntarily, while there would have been many Romans a match for Alexander, whether for glory or for the greatness of their deeds, of whom each several one would have lived and died as his own fate commanded, without endangering the State.
18.18. immo etiam eo plus periculi subisset quod Macedones unum Alexandrum habuissent, multis casibus non solum obnoxium sed etiam offerentem se, Romani multi fuissent Alexandro vel gloria vel rerum magnitudine pares, quorum suo quisque fato sine publico discrimine viveret morereturque. ut copiae copiis comparentur vel numero vel militum genere vel multitudine auxiliorum. eius aetatis lustris ducena quinquagena milia capitum.
19.2. remains to compare the forces on both sides, whether for numbers, or types of soldiers, or size of their contingents of auxiliaries. The quinquennial enumerations of that period put the population at 250,000. And so at the time when all the Latin allies were in revolt it was the custom to enroll ten legions, by a levy which was virtually limited to the City. those years frequently four and five armies at a time would take the field, in Etruria, in Umbria (where they also fought the Gauls), in Samnium, and in Lucania.
19.2. in omni defectione sociorum Latini nominis urbano prope dilectu decem scribebantur legiones; quaterni quinique exercitus saepe per eos annos in Etruria, in Umbria Vmbria Gallis hostibus adiunctis, in Samnio, in Lucanis gerebant bellum.
19.4. on Alexander would have found all Latium, with the Sabines, the Volsci and the Aequi, all Campania, and a portion of Umbria and Etruria, the Picentes and the Marsi and Paeligni, the Vestini and the Apulians, together with the whole coast of the Lower Sea, held by the Greeks, from Thurii as far as Naples and Cumae, and thence all the way to Antium and Ostia —all these, I say, he would have found either powerful friends of the Romans or their defeated enemies.
19.4. Latium deinde omne cum Sabinis et Volscis et Aequis et omni Campania et parte Umbriae Vmbriae Etruriaeque et Picentibus et Marsis Paelignisque ac Vestinis atque Apulis, adiuncta omni ora Graecorum inferi maris a Thuriis Neapolim et Cumas et inde Antio atque Ostiis tenus aut socios validos Romanis aut fractos bello invenisset hostes.
19.5. himself would have crossed the sea with veteran Macedonians to the number of not more than thirty thousand foot and four thousand horse —mostly Thessalians —for this was his main strength. to these he had added Persians and Indians and other nations, he would have found them a greater burden to have dragged about than a help.
19.5. traiecisset mare cum veteranis Macedonibus, non plus triginta milibus hominum et quattuor milibus equitum, maxime Thessalorum; hoc enim roboris erat. Indos aliasque si adiunxisset gentes, impedimentum maius quam auxilium traheret.
19.6. to this, that the Romans would have had recruits ready to call upon, but Alexander, as happened afterwards to Hannibal, would have found his army wear away, while he warred in a foreign land. men would have been armed with targets and spears: the Romans with an oblong shield, affording more protection to the body, and the Roman javelin, which strikes, on being thrown, with a much harder impact than the lance. armies were formed of heavy troops, keeping to their ranks; but their phalanx was immobile and consisted of soldiers of a single type; the Roman line was opener and comprised more separate units; it was easy to divide, wherever necessary, and easy to unite., what soldier can match the Roman in entrenching? is better at enduring toil? Alexander would, if beaten in a single battle, have been beaten in the war; but what battle could have overthrown the Romans, whom Caudium could not overthrow, nor Cannae?
19.6. , quod Romanis ad manum domi supplementum esset, Alexandro, quod postea Hannibali accidit, alieno in agro bellanti exercitus consenuisset. clipei essent illis sarisaeque: Romano scutum, maius corpori tegumentum, et pilum, haud paulo quam hasta vehementius ictu missuque telum. uterque miles, ordines servans; sed illa phalanx immobilis et unius generis, Romana acies distinctior, ex pluribus partibus constans, facilis partienti, quacumque opus esset, facilis iungenti. iam lam in opere quis par Romano miles, quis ad tolerandum laborem melior? proelio victus Alexander bello victus esset: Romanum, quem Caudium, quem Cannae non fregerunt, quae fregisset acies? ille saepe, etiam si prima prospere evenissent, Persas et Indos et imbellem Asiam quaesisset et cum feminis sibi bellum fuisse dixisset, quod Epiri regem Alexandrum mortifero volnere ictum dixisse ferunt, sortem bellorum in Asia gestorum ab hoc ipso iuvene cum sua conferentem.