20.11. The Samnite column, besides being charged by the enemy, had also been disordered by a sudden outbreak of the prisoners, some of whom, being loose, were releasing those who were bound, while others were catching up the weapons tied up in the soldiers' packs, and, mixed up with the column as they were, caused a hurly —burly that was more terrifying than the battle itself.
20.11. Samnitium agmen praeterquam hostili tumultu tunultu, captivorum etiam repentina defectione turbatum erat, qui partim ipsi soluti vinctos solvebant, partim arma in sarcinis deligata rapiebant tumultumque proelio ipso terribiliorem intermixti agmini praebebant. deinde edidere facinus;
20.13. presently performed a remarkable exploit; for as Staius Minatius, the Samnite general, was riding along the ranks and encouraging them, they made a rush at him, and scattering the horsemen who were with him, surrounded him, and hurried him off a prisoner, horse and all, to the Roman consul.
20.13. nam Staium Minatium ducem adeuntem ordines hortantemque invadunt; dissipatis inde equitibus qui cum eo aderant ipsum circumsistunt insidentemque equo captum ad consulem Romanum rapiunt.
20.14. tumult had the effect of bringing back the vanguard of the Samnites, who renewed the battle, which had been almost finished.
20.14. eo tumultu prima signa Samnitium, proeliumque iam profligatum integratum est; nec diutius sustineri potuit.
20.15. prolonged resistance was impossible. The slain amounted to six thousand men, and twenty —five hundred were captured —among them four military tribunes —as well as thirty standards. caused most joy among the victors was the recovery of seven thousand four hundred prisoners and a vast quantity of spoils belonging to the allies. The owners were summoned by proclamation to identify and recover their property on an appointed day.
20.15. ad sex milia hominum, duo milia et quingenti capti—in eis tribuni militum quattuor— signa militaria triginta, et quod laetissimum victoribus fuit, captivorum recepta septem milia et quadringenti, et praeda ingens sociorum; accitique edicto domini ad res suas noscendas recipiendasque praestituta die.
20.16. things for which no owner appeared were made over to the soldiers, and they were compelled to sell their booty, that they might have no concern in anything but fighting.
20.16. rerum non exstitit dominus, militi concessae, coactique vendere praedam, ne alibi quam in armis animum haberent. Magnum ea populatio Campani agri tumultum Romae praebuerat;
21.2. raid upon the Campanian countryside had occasioned a great alarm in Rome; and just at that time, as it happened, there came news out of Etruria, that after the withdrawal of the army of Volumnius the Etruscans had been induced to arm, that Gellius Egnatius, the Samnite general, and the Umbrians were being invited to join in the revolt, and that the Gauls were being tempted with great sums of money.
21.2. et per eos forte dies ex Etruria allatum erat post deductum inde Volumnianum exercitum Etruriam concitam in arma, et Gellium Egnatium, Samnitium ducem, et Umbros ad defectionem vocari et Gallos pretio ingenti sollicitari.
21.3. by these reports, the senate ordered that a cessation of the courts should be proclaimed, and that a levy should be held of every sort of men.
21.3. nuntiis senatus conterritus iustitium indici, dilectum omnis generis hominum haberi iussit.
21.4. only was the oath administered to free citizens of military age, but cohorts were also formed out of older men, and freedmen were mustered into centuries.
21.4. ingenui modo aut iuniores sacramento adacti sed seniorum etiam cohortes factae libertinique centuriati; et defendendae urbis consilia agitabantur summaeque rerum praetor P. Sempronius praeerat.
21.5. were discussed for defending the City, and the supreme command was given to the praetor, Publius Sempronius. the senators were relieved of a part of their anxiety by a dispatch from Lucius Volumnius, the consul, apprising them of the slaughter and dispersion of the army that had ravaged Campania.
21.5. parte curae exonerarunt senatum L. Volumni consulis litterae, quibus caesos fusosque populatores Campaniae cognitum est.
21.6. accordingly voted a thanksgiving for the victory, in the consul's name, and reopened the courts, which had been closed for eighteen days.
21.6. et supplicationes ob rem bene gestam consulis nomine decernunt et iustitium remittitur quod fuerat dies duodeviginti; supplicatioque perlaeta fuit.
21.7. The thanksgiving was a very joyful one. next considered how they might protect the region devastated by the Samnites, and resolved to plant two colonies in the Vescinian and Falernian country, one, which was named Minturnae, at the mouth of the river Liris, the other in the Vescinian forest, hard by the Falernian district, where the Greek city of Sinope is said to have stood, thereafter called Sinuessa by the Roman settlers.
21.7. de praesidio regionis depopulatae ab Samnitibus agitari coeptum; itaque placuit ut duae coloniae circa Vescinum et Falernum agrum deducerentur, una ad ostium Liris fluvii, quae Minturnae appellata, altera in saltu Vescino Falernum contingente agrum, ubi Sinope dicitur Graeca urbs fuisse, Sinuessa deinde ab colonis Romanis appellata.
21.9. The tribunes of the plebs were assigned the task of obtaining a plebiscite directing Publius Sempronius the praetor to appoint three commissioners to conduct the colonists to these places;
21.9. plebis negotium datum est, ut plebei scito iuberetur P. Sempronius praetor triumviros in ea loca colonis deducendis creare.
21.10. yet it was not easy to find men who would enroll, since they regarded themselves as sent, not to settle on the land, but to serve almost as a perpetual outpost in a hostile territory.
21.10. qui nomina darent facile inveniebantur, quia in stationem se prope perpetuam infestae regionis, non in agros mitti rebantur.
21.11. The senate's attention was diverted from these cares by the growing seriousness of the war in Etruria, and by a succession of dispatches from Appius, in which he warned them not to make light of the disturbance in that region.
21.11. ab eis curis senatum Etruriae ingravescens bellum et crebrae litterae Appi monentis ne regionis eius motum neglegerent:
21.12. races, he said, were uniting their arms, the Etruscans, Samnites, Umbrians, and Gauls; and they had already divided their camp into two, one place not being able to hold so great a multitude.
21.12. quattuor gentes conferre arma, Etruscos Samnites Umbros Gallos; iam castra bifariam facta esse, quia unus locus capere tantam multitudinem non possit.
21.13. these reasons and because of the elections —the time for which was rapidly approaching —the consul Lucius Volumnius was recalled to Rome. summoning the centuries to vote, he brought the people together in an assembly, and discoursed at length of the magnitude of the war in Etruria:
21.13. haec et—iam appetebat tempus—comitiorum causa L. Volumnius consul Romam revocatus; qui priusquam ad suffragium centurias vocaret, in contionem advocato populo multa de magnitudine belli Etrusci disseruit:
21.14. even earlier, when he himself and his colleague had campaigned there together, the war had been so great that one general and one army could not have conducted it; but it was said that the Umbrians had since then been added to the enemy's forces, as well as a huge army of Gauls;
21.14. iam tum cum ipse ibi cum collega rem pariter gesserit, fuisse tantum bellum ut nec duce uno nec exercitu geri potuerit; accessisse postea dici Umbros et ingentem exercitum Gallorum;
21.15. they should remember that on that day they were choosing consuls to oppose four peoples; for his own part, were he not confident that the Roman People would unanimously choose for consul the man who was then looked upon as unquestionably the first of all commanders, he would at once have named him dictator.
21.15. adversus quattuor populos duces consules illo die deligi meminissent., nisi confideret eum consensu populi Romani consulem declaratum iri qui haud dubie tum primus omnium ductor habeatur, dictatorem fuisse extemplo dicturum. dubium erat quin Fabius quintum omnium consensu destinaretur; eumque et praerogativae et primo vocatae omnes centuriae consulem cum L. Volumnio dicebant.
22.2. one doubted that Fabius would by the common voice of all be for the fifth time elected; and in fact the prerogative centuries and all those which were summoned first were naming him consul, together with Lucius Volumnius. Fabius then made a speech, to the same purport as he had done two years before; but, overborne by the general agreement, he ended by requesting that he might have for colleague Publius Decius, who would be a prop to his old age. the censorship and the two consulships which he had shared with Decius, he had found that nothing more tended to the preservation of the commonwealth than the harmony of colleagues. a new partner in authority he could now hardly hope to adapt an old man's mind: with one whose character he knew, it would be easier to share his counsels.
22.2. Fabi oratio fuit qualis biennio ante; deinde, ut vincebatur consensu, versa postremo ad collegam P. Decium poscendum: id senectuti suae adminiculum fore. duobusque consulatibus simul gestis expertum se nihil concordi collegio firmius ad rem publicam tuendam esse. imperii socio vix iam adsuescere senilem animum posse;
22.4. plea was seconded by the consul, who bestowed well —merited praise on Publius Decius, and recalling the advantages that accrued from harmony betwixt the consuls to the administration of military measures and the harm that resulted from their discord, reminded his hearers how dire had been the danger occasioned lately by the strife between himself and his colleague.
22.4. cum moribus notis facilius se communicaturum consilia. orationi eius consul cum meritis P. Deci laudibus, tum quae ex concordia consulum bona quaeque ex discordia mala in administratione rerum militarium evenirent memorando, quamque prope ultimum discrimen suis et collegae certaminibus nuper ventum foret, admonendo;
22.6. Decius and Fabius, he said, were of one heart and one mind, and were, besides, men born for war, great in their deeds, but unskilled in the strife of words and of the tongue.
22.6. Decium Fabiumque uno animo, una mente vivere; esse praeterea viros natos militiae, factis magnos, ad verborum linguaeque certamina rudes. ingenia consularia esse:
22.7. were talents meet for the consul's office. shrewd and clever men, masters of the law and of eloquence, like Appius Claudius, should be had to preside over the City and the Forum, and should be elected praetors to administer justice.
22.7. callidos sollertesque, iuris atque eloquentiae consultos, qualis Ap. Claudius esset, urbi ac foro praesides habendos praetoresque ad reddenda iura creandos esse.
22.8. these transactions the day was taken up. the following day, by the direction of the consul, elections were held both of consuls and of praetors. Quintus Fabius and Publius Decius were chosen consuls and Appius Claudius praetor —all three being absent —and the senate passed a decree, which the people ratified, prolonging for a year the command of Lucius Volumnius.
22.8. agendis dies est consumptus. ad praescriptum consulis et consularia et praetoria comitia habita. creati Q. Fabius et P. Decius, Ap. Claudius praetor, omnes absentes; et L. Volumnio ex senatus consulto et scito plebis prorogatum in annum imperium est. anno prodigia multa fuerunt, quorum averruncandorum causa supplicationes in biduum senatus decrevit;
23.2. that year were many portents, to avert which the senate decreed supplications for two days. and incense were provided by the state, and the people went in throngs to offer their prayers -both men and women.
23.2. publice vinum ac tus praebitum; supplicatum iere frequentes viri feminaeque.
23.3. The supplication was rendered memorable by a quarrel that broke out among the matrons in the chapel of Patrician Modesty, which stands in the Cattle Market, by the round temple of Hercules. Verginia, Aulus's daughter, a patrician wedded to a commoner, Lucius Volumnius the consul, had been excluded by the matrons from their ceremonies, on the ground that she had married out of the patriciate.
23.3. supplicationem fecit certamen in sacello Pudicitiae Patriciae, quae in foro Bovario est ad aedem rotundam Herculis, inter matronas ortum.
23.4. led to a short dispute, which the hot anger of the sex soon kindled to a blaze of passionate contention. Verginia boasted, and with reason, that she had entered the temple of Patrician Modesty both a patrician and a modest woman, as having been wedded to the one man to whom she had been given as a maiden, and was neither ashamed of her husband nor of his honours and his victories.
23.4. , Auli filiam, patriciam plebeio nuptam, L. Volumnio consuli, matronae, quod e patribus enupsisset, sacris arcuerant. altercatio inde ex iracundia muliebri in contentionem animorum exarsit, cum se Verginia et patriciam et pudicam in Patriciae Pudicitiae templum ingressam et uni nuptam ad quem virgo deducta sit, nec se viri honorumve eius ac rerum gestarum paenitere, ex vero gloriaretur.
23.5. then added a noble deed to her proud words. the Vicus Longus, where she lived, she shut off a part of her mansion, large enough for a shrine of moderate size, and, erecting there an altar, called together the plebeian matrons, and after complaining of the injurious behaviour of the patrician ladies, said, “dedicate this altar to Plebeian ” “Modesty; and I urge you, that even as the men of our state contend for the meed of valour, so the matrons may vie for that of modesty, that this altar may be said to be cherished —if it be possible —more reverently than that, and by more modest ” “women.”
23.5. deinde egregio magnifica verba adauxit: in vico Longo, ubi habitabat, ex parte aedium quod satis esset loci modico sacello exclusit, aramque ibi posuit et convocatis plebeiis matronis conquesta iniuriam patriciarum ego aram inquit Pudicitiae Plebeiae dedico vosque hortor, ut quod certamen virtutis viros in hac civitate tenet,
23.8. altar, too, was served with almost the same ritual as that more ancient one, so that no matron but one of proven modesty, who had been wedded to one man alone, should have the right to sacrifice.
23.8. hoc pudicitiae inter matronas sit detisque operam ut haec ara quam illa, si quid potest, sanctius et a castioribus coli dicatur.
23.9. the cult was degraded by polluted worshippers, not matrons only but women of every station, and passed finally into oblivion.
23.9. ferme ritu et haec ara quo illa antiquior culta est, ut nulla nisi spectatae pudicitiae matrona et quae uni viro nupta fuisset ius sacrificandi haberet.
23.10. that same year Gnaeus and Quintus Ogulnius the curule aediles brought a number of usurers to trial, and, confiscating their possessions, employed the share which came into the public treasury to put brazen thresholds in the Capitol, and silver vessels for the three tables in the shrine of Jupiter, and a statue of the god in a four —horse chariot on the roof, and at the fig —tree Ruminalis a representation of the infant Founders of the City being suckled by the wolf. also made a paved walk of squared stone from the Porta Capena to the temple of Mars. the plebeian aediles Lucius Aelius Paetus and Gaius Fulvius Curvus, likewise with the money from fines, which they exacted from convicted graziers, held games and provided golden bowls for the temple of Ceres.
23.10. dein religio a pollutis, nec matronis solum sed omnis ordinis feminis, postremo in oblivionem venit. anno Cn. et Q. Ogulnii aediles curules aliquot feneratoribus diem dixerunt; quorum bonis multatis ex eo quod in publicum redactum est aenea in Capitolio limina et trium mensarum argentea vasa in cella Iovis Iovemque in culmine cum quadrigis et ad ficum Ruminalem simulacra infantium conditorum urbis sub uberibus lupae posuerunt semitamque saxo quadrato a Capena porta ad Martis straverunt. ab aedilibus plebeiis L. Aelio Paeto et C. Fulvio Curvo ex multaticia item pecunia, quam exegerunt pecuariis damnatis, ludi facti pateraeque aureae ad Cereris positae. Q. inde Fabius quintum et P. Decius quartum consulatum ineunt, tribus consulatibus censuraque collegae nec gloria magis rerum, quae ingens erat, quam concordia inter se clari.
24.2. that Quintus Fabius (for the fifth time) and Publius Decius (for the fourth) began their consulship, having thrice been colleagues in that office and once in the censorship, and being not more distinguished for the renown, great though that was, of their achievements than for their harmonious co —operation. , however, was not destined to be permanent, though its interruption was due, I think, more to rivalry between the orders than to their own; for the patricians strove that Fabius should have the command in Etruria without drawing lots, and the plebeians insisted that Decius should demand that method of determining the question.
24.2. ne perpetua esset, ordinum magis quam ipsorum inter se certamen intervenisse reor, patriciis tendentibus ut Fabius Etruriam extra ordinem provinciam haberet, plebeis auctoribus Decio ut ad sortem rem vocaret.
24.4. all events there was a contention in the senate, and Fabius proving to be the stronger there, the case was carried before the people. the assembly the speeches were short, as befitted soldiers and men who trusted more to deeds than to words.
24.4. certe contentio in senatu et postquam ibi Fabius plus poterat, revocata res ad populum est. contione, ut inter militares viros et factis potius quam dictis fretos, pauca verba habita.
24.5. Fabius argued that when one man had planted a tree, it was unfair that another should gather the fruit that dropped from it; it was he that had opened up the Ciminian Forest and had made a path for Roman arms through remote and desert tracts.
24.5. Fabius, quam arborem consevisset, sub ea legere alium fructum indignum esse dicere; se aperuisse Ciminiam silvam viamque per devios saltus Romano bello fecisse.
24.6. , pray, had they troubled him, old as he was, if they had meant to wage the war with another general? was only too clear, he said — taking gradually a more reproachful tone —that he had selected an adversary, not a partner in command, and that Decius had begrudged the friendly spirit in which they had administered three offices together.
24.6. se id aetatis sollicitassent, si alio duce gesturi bellum essent? adversarium se, non socium imperii legisse sensim exprobrat et invidisse Decium concordibus collegiis tribus. se tendere nihil ultra quam ut, si dignum provincia ducerent, in eam mitterent: in senatus arbitrio se fuisse et in potestate populi futurum. P. Decius senatus iniuriam querebatur: quoad potuerint, patres adnisos ne plebeiis aditus ad magnos honores esset;
24.8. , he asked no more than that if they thought him worthy of the command they should give it to him; he had submitted to the decision of the senate and would obey the people. Publius Decius complained of the senate's injustice: as long as they were able, the Fathers had striven to deny the plebeians access to great honours; and since native worth had of its own strength won the right to be recognized in any class of men, they were seeking to make of none effect not only the suffrages of, the people but also the awards of Fortune, and to subject them to the control of a few.
24.8. postquam ipsa virtus pervicerit ne in ullo genere hominum inhonorata esset, quaeri quemadmodum inrita sint non suffragia modo populi sed arbitria etiam fortunae et in paucorum potestatem vertantur. ante se consules sortitos provincias esse: nunc extra sortem Fabio senatum provinciam dare, —si honoris eius causa, ita eum de se deque re publica meritum esse ut faveat Q.
24.11. the consuls who had preceded him had drawn lots for their commands, but the senate was now conferring a command on Fabius without the lot. they were doing this to honour him, he would say that the man had deserved so well both of himself and of the state that he stood ready to promote the glory of Fabius, provided only that its lustre were not purchased with insult to himself. who could doubt, when there was one difficult, dangerous war, and this was entrusted without lots to one of the consuls, that the other was regarded as superfluous and useless?
24.11. Fabi gloriae quae modo non sua contumelia splendeat. autem dubium esse, ubi unum bellum sit asperum ac difficile, cum id alteri extra sortem mandetur, quin alter consul pro supervacaneo atque inutili habeatur?
24.13. Fabius gloried in his Etruscan victories: Publius Decius would fain glory too. perhaps that fire which Fabius had left covered up, but so that it was continually breaking out into new flames, might be by him extinguished.
24.13. Fabium rebus in Etruria gestis: velle et P. Decium gloriari. forsitan, quem ille obrutum ignem reliquerit, ita ut totiens novum ex improviso incendium daret, eum se exstincturum.
24.14. short he was willing, for the reverence he bore his colleague's years and dignity, to yield to him honours and rewards; but when peril, when strife, was set before them —he yielded not, of his own consent —nor ever would.
24.14. se collegae honores praemiaque concessurum verecundia aetatis eius maiestatisque; cum periculum, cum dimicatio proposita sit, neque cedere sua sponte neque cessurum;
24.15. if he got nothing else by this contest, one thing at any rate he would get —that what belonged to the people should be disposed of by the people, not bestowed by the Fathers as a favour.
24.15. et si nihil aliud ex eo certamine tulerit, illud certe laturum ut quod populi sit populus iubeat potius quam patres gratificentur.
24.16. Jupiter Optimus Maximus and the immortal gods he prayed that they would grant him an equal chance in the lot with his colleague only if they were ready to grant him the same courage and the same good fortune in the administration of the war.
24.16. optimum maximum deosque immortales se precari ut ita sortem aequam sibi cum collega dent si eandem virtutem felicitatemque in bello administrando daturi sint.
24.17. least it was a thing in its nature reasonable, in its example salutary, and material to the reputation of the Roman People, that the consuls should be such that the Etruscan war could be managed aright under the leadership of either one of them.
24.17. et id natura aequum et exemplo utile esse et ad famam populi Romani pertinere, eos consules esse quorum utrolibet duce bellum Etruscum geri recte possit.
24.18. Fabius only prayed the Roman people to listen, before the tribes were called to vote, to a dispatch of Appius Claudius the praetor that had been brought in from Etruria. then left the comitium, and the people then, as unanimously as the senate had done, decreed that Fabius should have the command in Etruria without drawing lots.
24.18. Fabius nihil aliud precatus populum Romanum quam ut, priusquam intro vocarentur ad suffragium tribus, Ap. Claudi praetoris allatas ex Etruria litteras audirent, comitio abiit. minore populi consensu quam senatus provincia Etruria extra sortem Fabio decreta est. inde ad consulem factus omnium ferme iuniorum et pro se quisque nomina dabant; tanta cupido erat sub eo duce stipendia faciendi.
25.2. all the younger men now flocked about the consul, and each gave in his name, so eager were they to serve under such a captain. by this throng he said, “have in mind to enrol no more than four thousand foot and six hundred horse; I will take with me those of you who give in your names to —day and to —morrow.”
25.2. circumfusus turba milia inquit peditum et sescentos equites dumtaxat scribere in animo est; hodierno et crastino die qui nomina dederitis mecum ducam.
25.3. “I am more concerned to bring all my men back with their purses filled than to wage war with many soldiers.”
25.3. mihi curae est ut omnes locupletes reducam quam ut multis rem geram militibus.
25.4. out with a fit army, which was all the more confident and hopeful because he had not desired a great host, he took his way towards the town of Aharna, from which the enemy were not far distant, to the camp of Appius the praetor.
25.4. apto exercitu et eo plus fiduciae ac spei gerente quod non desiderata multitudo erat, ad oppidum Aharnam, unde haud procul hostes erant, ad castra Appi praetoris pergit.
25.5. few miles this side the camp he encountered some men who had come out with an armed escort to gather wood. These people, seeing the lictors in the van and learning that Fabius was consul, with lively manifestations of satisfaction gave thanks to the gods and to the Roman People for having sent him to be their general.
25.5. citra milibus lignatores ei cum praesidio occurrunt; qui ut lictores praegredi viderunt Fabiumque esse consulem accepere, laeti atque alacres dis populoque Romano grates agunt quod eum sibi imperatorem misissent.
25.6. , as they trooped about him and hailed him consul, Fabius asked whither they were bound, and they answered that they were come out to get wood.
25.6. deinde cum consulem salutarent, quaerit Fabius quo pergerent, respondentibusque lignatum se ire, tandem? inquit, num castra vallata non habetis?
25.7. “it possible,” he cried, “that you have no rampart round your camp?” and, on their shouting back that they had a double rampart and a trench and yet were in mortal fear, “you have quite wood enough,” said he; “go back and pull up your stockade.”
25.7. hoc cum succlamatum esset duplici quidem vallo et fossa et tamen in ingenti metu esse, igitur inquit adfatim lignorum; redite et vellite vallum.
25.8. Returning to camp they began pulling up the palings, to the terror of their comrades who had stayed behind, as well as of Appius himself, till the news was spread, as each talked with his neighbours, that they were acting under orders of the consul Quintus Fabius.
25.8. in castra terroremque ibi vellentes vallum et iis qui in castris remanserant militibus et ipsi Appio fecerunt;
25.9. the morrow the camp was removed and the praetor Appius was sent away to Rome. the Romans had no permanent camp anywhere. was of no use, Fabius maintained, for the army to sit down in one place: by marching and shifting its position it grew more mobile and more healthy.
25.9. tum pro se quisque alii aliis dicere consulis se Q. Fabi facere iussu. inde die castra mota et Appius praetor Romam dimissus. nusquam stativa Romanis fuere. utile esse uno loco sedere exercitum; itineribus ac mutatione locorum mobiliorem ac salubriorem esse. autem itinera, quanta fieri' sinebat hiemps hauddum exacta.
25.11. The marches, of course, were such as could be made at a season when winter was not yet over. the early spring, leaving the second legion in the neighbourhood of Clusium —which they used of old to call Camars —and putting Lucius Scipio, as propraetor, in charge of the camp, Fabius himself returned to Rome to consult about the war, either voluntarily, because he had a task in prospect that was greater than he had believed the reports to signify, or, it may be, summoned by the senate; for both accounts are vouched for.
25.11. inde primo relicta secunda legione ad Clusium, quod Camars olim appellabant, praepositoque castris L. Scipione pro praetore Romam ipse ad consultandum de bello rediit, sive ipse sponte sua, quia bellum ei maius in conspectu erat quam quantum esse famae crediderat sive senatus consulto accitus; nam in utrumque auctores sunt.
25.13. would have it appear that he was compelled to return by Appius Claudius the praetor, who continued to exaggerate the perils of the Etruscan war in the senate and before the people, as he had done persistently in his dispatches.
25.13. Ap. Claudio praetore retractum quidam videri volunt, cum in senatu et apud populum, id quod per litteras adsidue fecerat, terrorem belli Etrusci augeret: non suffecturum ducem unum nec exercitum unum adversus quattuor populos;
25.14. was not enough, he said, to have one commander and one army against four nations: the danger was —whether they united to overwhelm him or campaigned separately —that one man would be incapable of meeting simultaneously all emergencies.
25.14. periculum esse, sive iuncti unum premant sive diversi gerant bellum, ne ad omnia simul obire unus non possit.
25.15. himself had left on the ground two Roman legions, and less than five thousand infantry and cavalry had come with Fabius. was his opinion that Publius Decius the consul should march at the very earliest moment to Etruria, to join his colleague, and that Lucius Volumnius should be given the command in Samnium; or, if the consul preferred to go out to his own province, that Volumnius should set out for Etruria with a regular consular army.
25.15. se ibi legiones Romanas reliquisse et minus quinque milia peditum equitumque cum Fabio venisse. placere P. Decium consulem primo quoque tempore in Etruriam ad collegam proficisci, L. Volumnio Samnium provinciam dari; si consul malit in suam provinciam ire, Volumnium in Etruriam ad consulem cum exercitu iusto consulari proficisci.
25.17. The majority were moved by the praetor's speech, but Publius Decius —so they say —advised that all be left to the free and unhampered judgment of Quintus Fabius, until Fabius should either come to Rome himself —if this were compatible with public policy —or send some one of his lieutenants, to inform the senate how great a war was on foot in Etruria, and with what forces, commanded by how many generals, it ought to be conducted.
25.17. magnam partem moveret oratio praetoris, P. Decium censuisse ferunt ut omnia integra ac libera Q. Fabio servarentur, donec vel ipse, si per commodum rei publicae posset, Romam venisset vel aliquem ex legatis misisset, a quo disceret senatus quantum in Etruria belli esset quantisque administrandum copiis et quot per duces esset. Fabius, ut Romam rediit, et in senatu et productus ad populum mediam orationem habuit, ut nec augere nec minuere videretur belli famam magisque in altero adsumendo duce aliorum indulgere timori quam suo aut rei publicae periculo consulere.
26.2. Fabius, when he returned to Rome, both in the senate and afterwards in speaking to the people, steered a middle course, that he might appear neither to exaggerate the current reports about the war nor minimize them, and in accepting an additional commander to be rather consulting the fears of others than guarding against a danger to himself or the republic. the rest, if they chose to give him a helper in the war and a partner in authority, how —he asked —could he possibly forget Publius Decius the consul, whom he had proved so often when they had been colleagues? was no one living with whom he would sooner share his commission; he should have troops enough, if Decius were with him, and his enemies would never be too numerous.
26.2. si sibi adiutorem belli sociumque imperii darent, quonam modo se oblivisci P. Deci consulis per tot collegia experti posse? omnium secum coniungi malle; et copiarum satis sibi cum P. Decio et nunquam nimium hostium fore; sin collega quid aliud mallet, at sibi L. Volumnium darent adiutorem.
26.4. if his colleague preferred some other arrangement, let them give him Lucius Volumnius to be his coadjutor. The decision in regard to everything was left by the people and the senate, and by his colleague himself, entirely to Fabius; and when Publius Decius had made known his readiness to set out either for Samnium or Etruria, there were such rejoicings and congratulations that men tasted the sweets of victory in anticipation, and it seemed as though the consuls had been voted a triumph and not a war.
26.4. rerum arbitrium et a populo et a senatu et ab ipso collega Fabio permissum est; et cum P. Decius se vel in Samnium vel in Etruriam proficisci paratum esse ostendisset, tanta laetitia ac gratulatio fuit ut praeciperetur victoria animis triumphusque non bellum decretum consulibus videretur.
26.5. find in some historians that Fabius and Decius set out for Etruria at the very beginning of their consulship, and they make no mention of the casting of lots for provinces or of the disputes betwixt the colleagues which I have described.
26.5. apud quosdam extemplo consulatu inito profectos in Etruriam Fabium Deciumque sine ulla mentione sortis provinciarum certaminumque inter collegas quae exposui.
26.6. the other hand, even these disputes have not been enough for some, but they have added invectives pronounced by Appius before the people against the absent Fabius, and stubborn opposition on the praetor's part to the consul who was present, and another quarrel between the colleagues, when Decius urged that each should attend to his allotted province.
26.6. quibus ne haec quidem certamina exponere satis fuit; adiecerunt et Appi criminationes de Fabio absente ad populum et pertinaciam adversus praesentem consulem praetoris contentionemque aliam inter collegas, tendente Decio ut suae quisque provinciae sortem tueretur.
26.7. The authorities begin to be in agreement from the moment that both consuls set out for the seat of war. before the consuls could reach Etruria, the Senonian Gauls were come with a great multitude to Clusium, to besiege the Roman legion in camp there. Scipio, who was in command, thought it necessary that he should gain the advantage of position to eke out the smallness of his numbers, and marched his troops up a hill situated between the city and his camp;
26.7. res incipit ex eo tempore quo profecti ambo consules ad bellum sunt. antequam consules in Etruriam pervenirent, Senones Galli multitudine ingenti ad Clusium venerunt legionem Romanam castraque oppugnaturi. Scipio, qui castris praeerat, loco adiuvandam paucitatem suorum militum ratus, in collem qui inter urbem et castra erat aciem erexit.
26.9. but, as happens in sudden emergencies, he had sent no scouts ahead of him, and led his men up to a ridge which was held by the enemy, who had approached it from another direction.
26.9. , ut in re subita, parum explorato itinere ad iugum perrexit quod hostes ceperant parte alia adgressi. caesa ab tergo legio atque in medio, cum hostis undique urgeret, circumventa.
26.10. the legion was attacked in the rear and found itself surrounded, with the enemy assailing it from every quarter. writers say that the legion was even annihilated there, so that none survived to bear away the tidings, and that the consuls, who were not far from Clusium, got no report of the disaster till some Gallic horsemen came in sight, with heads hanging at their horses' breasts or fixed on their lances, and singing their customary song of triumph.
26.10. quoque ibi legionem, ita ut nuntius non superesset, quidam auctores sunt, nec ante ad consules, qui iam haud procul a Clusio aberant, famam eius cladis perlatam quam in conspectu fuere Gallorum equites, pectoribus equorum suspensa gestantes capita et lanceis infixa ovantesque moris sui carmine.
26.12. allege that they were not Gauls but Umbrians, and that the reverse experienced was not so great. foragers, according to their account, under Lucius Manlius Torquatus, a lieutenant, had been cut off and Scipio the propraetor sallied forth from the camp to their relief, and renewing the battle defeated the victorious Umbrians and took from them their prisoners and their booty.
26.12. qui Umbros fuisse non Gallos tradant, nec tantum cladis acceptum et circumventis pabulatoribus cum L. Manlio Torquato legato Scipionem propraetorem subsidium e castris tulisse victoresque Umbros redintegrato proelio victos esse captivosque eis ac praedam ademptam. vero est a Gallo hoste quam Umbro eam cladem acceptam, quod cum saepe alias tum eo anno Gallici tumultus praecipuus terror civitatem tenuit.
26.14. is more probable that the discomfiture was incurred at the hands of a Gallic than of an Umbrian enemy, since apprehensions of a Gallic rising, which had often at other times troubled the Romans, were in that year particularly alarming. so, not only did both consuls go out to war, having four legions and a strong body of Roman cavalry, together with a thousand picked horse from Campania —furnished for this campaign —and an army of allies and Latins that outnumbered the Romans;
26.14. praeterquam quod ambo consules profecti ad bellum erant cum quattuor legionibus et magno equitatu Romano Campanisque mille equitibus delectis, ad id bellum missis, et sociorum nominisque Latini maiore exercitu quam Romano, alii duo exercitus haud procul urbe Etruriae oppositi, unus in Falisco alter in Vaticano agro.
26.15. but two other armies were posted over against Etruria, not far from the City, one in the Faliscan district and the other in the Vatican. Gnaeus Fulvius and Lucius Postumius Megellus —propraetors both —were ordered to maintain a standing camp there.
26.15. Cn. Fulvius et L. Postumius Megellus propraetores ambo, stativa in eis locis habere iussi. ad hostes transgressos Appenninum in agrum Sentinatem pervenerunt. quattuor milium ferme intervallo castra posita.
27.2. The consuls came up with the enemy —who had crossed the Apennines —in the territory round Sentinum, and went into camp about four miles off. were then held amongst the enemy and they decided not to unite all their forces in one camp nor to give battle all together; to the Samnites were joined the Gauls and to the Etruscans the men of Umbria.
27.2. hostes deinde consultationes habitae atque ita convenit ne unis castris miscerentur omnes neve in aciem descenderent simul;
27.3. day was designated for the battle, and the Samnites and Gauls were appointed to make the attack; in the midst of the engagement the Etruscans and the Umbrians were to assault the Roman camp.
27.3. Samnitibus Galli, Etruscis Umbri adiecti. indicta pugnae; Samniti Gallisque delegata pugna; inter ipsum certamen certarnen Etrusci Umbrique iussi castra Romana oppugnare.
27.4. These plans were upset by three Clusinian deserters who came over secretly in the night to Fabius, and having informed him of the enemy's designs were rewarded and sent back again, so that from time to time, as each new step should be decided on, they might find it out and report upon it.
27.4. consilia turbarunt transfugae Clusini tres clam nocte ad Fabium consulem transgressi, qui editis hostium consiliis dimissi cum donis, ut subinde ut quaeque res nova decreta esset exploratam perferrent.
27.5. The consuls wrote to Fulvius and Postumius to march from their respective posts in the Faliscan and Vatican districts to Clusium, and lay waste the territories of the enemy with the utmost rigour.
27.5. Fulvio ut ex Falisco, Postumio ut ex Vaticano exercitum ad Clusium admoveant summaque vi fines hostium depopulentur scribunt.
27.6. The reports of this devastation drew off the Etruscans from the region of Sentinum to the defence of their own frontiers.
27.6. populationis fama Etruscos ex agro Sentinate ad suos fines tuendos movit. inde consules, ut absentibus iis pugnaretur.
27.7. the consuls strove to bring about an engagement in their absence. the space of two days they harassed the enemy, but in these two days there was nothing done worth telling: a few were slain on either side and spirits were whetted for a downright battle, but the main issue was not brought to a decision.
27.7. biduum lacessiere proelio hostem; biduo nihil dignum dictu actum: pauci utrimque cecidere magisque inritati sunt ad iustum certamen animi quam ad discrimen summa rerum adducta. die descensum in campum omnibus copiis est.
27.8. the third day the opposing armies descended in full strength into the field. they stood arrayed for battle, a hind, pursued by a wolf that had chased it down from the mountains, fled across the plain and ran between the two lines. then turned in opposite directions, the hind towards the Gauls, the wolf towards the Romans. the wolf a passage was opened between the ranks, but the hind was killed by the Gauls.
27.8. instructae acies starent, cerva fugiens lupum e montibus exacta per campos inter duas acies decurrit; inde diversae ferae, cerva ad Gallos, lupus ad Romanos cursum deflexit. data inter ordines via;
27.9. one of the front —rankers on the Roman side called out, “way flight and slaughter have shaped their course, where you see the beast lie slain that is sacred to Diana; on this side the wolf of Mars, unhurt and sound, has reminded us of the Martian race and of our Founder.”
27.9. cervam Galli confixere. ex antesignanis Romanus miles fuga inquit et caedes vertit, ubi sacram Dianae feram iacentem videtis; hinc hine victor Martius lupus, integer et intactus, gentis nos Martiae et conditoris nostri admonuit.
27.10. the right wing stood the Gauls, on the left the Samnites. the Samnites, Quintus Fabius drew up the first and third legions, to form the Roman right, while Decius marshalled the fifth and sixth on the Roman left, against the Gauls.
27.10. cornu Galli, sinistro Samnites constiterunt. Samnites Q. Fabius primam ac tertiam legionem pro dextro cornu, adversus Gallos pro sinistro Decius quintam et sextam instruxit;
27.11. The second and the fourth were campaigning in Samnium under Lucius Volumnius the proconsul. the first shock the strength put forth on both sides was so equal that if the Etruscans and the Umbrians had been present either in the battle or at the camp, in whichever quarter they had thrown their weight the Romans must have suffered a disaster.
27.11. secunda et quarta cum L. Volumnio proconsule in Samnio gerebant bellum. concursu adeo aequis viribus gesta res est ut si adfuissent Etrusci et Umbri, aut in acie aut in castris, quocumque se inclinassent accipienda clades fuerit. quamquam communis adhuc Mars belli erat necdum discrimen Fortuna fecerat qua datura vires esset, haudquaquam similis pugna in dextro laevoque cornu erat.
28.2. , though so far it was a doubtful battle and Fortune had given no indication where she intended to bestow her might, the fighting was very different on the right wing from what it was on the left. The Romans with Fabius were rather defending themselves than attacking, and were trying to prolong the struggle to as late an hour in the day as possible.
28.2. Romani apud Fabium arcebant magis quam inferebant pugnam extrahebaturque in quam maxime serum diei certamen, quia ita persuasum erat duci, et Samnites et Gallos primo impetu feroces esse, quos sustinere satis sit;
28.3. was because their general was persuaded that both Samnites and Gauls fought fiercely at the outset of an engagement, but only needed to be withstood; when a struggle was prolonged, little by little the spirits of the Samnites flagged, while the physical prowess of the Gauls, who could least of all men put up with heat and labour, ebbed away, and, whereas in the early stages of their battles they were more than men, they ended with being less than women.
28.3. longiore certamine sensim residere Samnitium animos, Gallorum quidem etiam corpora intolerantissima laboris atque aestus fluere primaque eorum proelia plus quam virorum, postrema minus quam feminarum esse.
28.5. until the time should come when the enemy were wont to fail, he was keeping his men as fresh as he could contrive to do.
28.5. id tempus igitur quo vinci solebat hostis, quam integerrimas vires militi servabat.
28.6. Decius, with the greater impetuosity of his youth and spirits, expended all the strength he could muster in the first encounter. because the fighting of the infantry seemed to languish, he called on the cavalry to attack, and attaching himself to the bravest squadron of troopers besought the youthful nobles to join him in a charge., he said, would be a double share of glory, if victory should come first to the left wing and to the cavalry. they drove the Gallic cavalry back.
28.6. Decius et aetate et vigore animi quantumcumque virium habuit certamine primo effudit. quia lentior videbatur pedestris pugna, equitatum in pugnam concitat et ipse fortissimae iuvenum turmae immixtus orat proceres iuventutis in hostem ut secum impetum faciant: duplicem illorum gloriam fore si ab laevo cornu et ab equite victoria incipiat.
28.8. The second time they were carried on for a considerable distance and soon found themselves in the midst of the companies of infantry, when they were subjected to a new and terrifying kind of assault;
28.8. avertere Gallicum equitatum; iterum longius evectos et iam inter media peditum agmina proelium cientes novum pugnae conterruit genus:
28.9. for, standing erect in chariots and waggons, armed enemies came rushing upon them with a mighty clattering of hoofs and wheels, frightening the horses of the Romans with the unfamiliar din.
28.9. essedis carrisque superstans armatus hostis ingenti sonitu equorum rotarumque advenit et insolitos eius tumultus Romanorum conterruit equos.
28.10. the victorious cavalry were scattered, as if by a panic fit of madness, and, suddenly fleeing, were overthrown, both horse and rider. them the disorder was communicated to the standards of the legions, and many of the first line were trodden underfoot, as horses and chariots swept through their ranks.
28.10. victorem equitatum velut lymphaticus pavor dissipat; sternit inde ruentes equos virosque improvida fuga.
28.11. sooner did the Gallic infantry perceive the confusion of their enemies than they charged, without leaving them a moment to recover or regain their breath.
28.11. hinc etiam signa legionum legionunl multique impetu equorum ac vehiculorum raptorum per agmen obtriti antesignani; et insecuta, simul territos hostes vidit, Gallica acies nullum spatium respirandi recipiendique se dedit.
28.12. Decius cried out to them to tell him whither they were fleeing, or what hope they had in flight; he endeavoured to stop them as they broke and ran, and to call them back; then, his exertions proving powerless to stay their rout, he cried aloud on the name of his father Publius Decius. “,” he asked, “do I seek any longer to postpone the doom of our house?”
28.12. Decius, quo fugerent quamve in fuga spem haberent; obsistere cedentibus ac revocare fusos; deinde, ut nulla vi perculsos sustinere poterat, patrem P.
28.13. “is the privilege of our family that we should be sacrificed to avert the nation's perils. will I offer up the legions of the enemy, to be slain with myself as victims to Earth and the Manes.”
28.13. Decium nomine compellans ultra moror inquit familiare fatum? hoc nostro generi est ut luendis periculis publicis piacula simus. ego mecum hostium legiones mactandas Telluri ac dis Manibus dabo.
28.14. going down into the field of battle he had ordered Marcus Livius the pontifex not to leave his side. now commanded this man to recite before him the words with which he proposed to devote himself and the enemy's legions in behalf of the army of the Roman People, the Quirites.
28.14. locutus M. Livium pontificem, quem descendens in aciem digredi vetuerat ab se, praeire iussit verba quibus se legionesque hostium pro exercitu populi Romani Quiritium devoveret.
28.15. was then devoted with the same form of prayer and in the same habit his father, Publius Decius, had commanded to be used, when he was devoted at the Veseris, in the Latin war; and having added to the usual prayers that he was driving before him fear and panic, blood and carnage, and the wrath of gods celestial and gods infernal, and should
28.15. inde eadem precatione eodemque habitu quo pater P. Decius ad Veserim bello Latino se iusserat devoveri, cum secundum sollemnes precationes adiecisset prae se agere sese formidinem ac fugam caedemque ac cruorem,
28.17. blight with a curse the standards, weapons and armour of the enemy, and that one and the same place should witness his own destruction and that of the Gauls and Samnites, —having uttered, I say, these imprecations upon himself and the enemy, he spurred his charger against the Gallic lines, where he saw that they were thickest, and hurling himself against the weapons of the enemy met his death.
28.17. caelestium inferorum iras, contacturum funebribus diris signa tela arma hostium, locumque eundem suae pestis ac Gallorum ac Samnitium fore, —haec exsecratus in se hostesque, qua confertissimam cernebat Gallorum aciem concitat equum inferensque se ipse infestis telis est interfectus. humanae inde opis videri pugna potuit. Romani duce amisso, quae res terrori alias esse solet, sistere fugam ac novam de integro velle instaurare pugnam:
29.2. that moment the battle seemed scarce to depend on human efforts. The Romans, after losing their general —an occurrence that is wont to inspire terror —fled no longer, but sought to redeem the field; the Gauls, and especially the press about the body of the consul, as though deprived of reason, were darting their javelins at random and without effect, while some were in a daze, and could neither fight nor run away.
29.2. Galli, et maxime globus circumstans consulis corpus, velut alienata mente vana in cassum iactare tela; torpere quidam et nec pugnae meminisse nec fugae.
29.3. in the other army the pontifex Livius, to whom Decius had handed over his lictors, bidding him act as propraetor, cried aloud that the Romans had won the victory, being quit of all danger by the consul's doom.
29.3. ex parte altera pontifex Livius, cui lictores Decius tradiderat iusseratque pro praetore esse, vociferari vicisse Romanos defunctos consulis fato;
29.4. The Gauls, he said, and the Samnites were made over to Mother Earth and to the Manes; Decius was haling after him their devoted host and calling it to join him, and with the enemy all was madness and despair.
29.4. Gallos Samnitesque Telluris matris ac deorum Manium esse; rapere ad se ac vocare Decium devotam secum aciem furiarumque ac formidinis plena omnia ad hostes esse.
29.5. the Romans were restoring the battle, up came Lucius Cornelius Scipio and Gaius Marcius, whom Quintus Fabius the consul had ordered to take reserves from the rearmost line and go to his colleague's support. they learned of Decius's death, a great incentive to dare everything for the republic.
29.5. deinde his restituentibus pugnam L. Cornelius Scipio et C. Marcius cum subsidiis ex novissima acie iussu Q. Fabi consulis ad praesidium collegae missi. auditur P. Deci eventus, ingens hortamen ad omnia pro re publica audenda.