Titus Livy - Rome and Italy: Books VI-X of the History of Rome from its Foundation

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Rome, Romans: passim

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Senate, Roman: passim

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1. The history of the Romans from the foundation of the City to its capture, wars abroad and dissensions at home, I have set out in five books, covering matters which were obscure both through their great antiquity, like objects dimly perceived in the far distance, and because in those days there were few written records, the only reliable means of preserving a memory of past events. A further reason was the loss of most of such accounts as were preserved in the commentaries of the pontiffs and other public and private records when the City was destroyed by fire. From now on a clearer and more reliable account can be given of the Citys civil and military history, after it made a second start, reborn as it were from its old roots with increased vigour and productivity.

Now it stood at first by leaning on the same support which had raised it up, that is, on its leading citizen Marcus Furius (Camillus), who was only allowed to resign his dictatorship when the official year was ended.unremitting toil and labour to restore the City; meanwhile Quintus Fabius had no sooner resigned office than he was indicted by the peoples tribune Gnaeus Marcius, on the charge of having contravened the law of nations by fighting against the Gauls, to whom he had been sent as an envoy. He escaped trial by a death so timely that the majority believed it was self-inflicted. The interregnum began, with Publius Cornelius Scipio as interrex, followed by Marcus Furius Camillus, who held the election for military tribunes with consular authority of Lucius Valerius Publicola (for the second time), Lucius Verginius, Publius Cornelius, Aulus Manlius, Lucius Aemilius and Lucius Postumius.

Immediately on entering office after the interregnum, these men consulted the Senate before anything else on matters of religious observance. One of their first decrees was for a search to be made for all that could be found of the treaties and laws: that is, the Twelve Tables and certain laws of the kings. To some of these even the common people were given access, but those which applied to sacred rites the pontiffs suppressed, largely so that they could keep the minds of the populace under control through religious awe. They then went on to deliberate about days of ill omen. The 18th July, which was notorious for a double disaster, the slaughter of the Fabii at the Cremera and the shocking defeat at the Allia which led to the destruction of the City, they named the Day of the Allia after the latter disaster, and decreed that it should be marked by a cessation of all business, whether public or private. Because the military tribune Sulpicius had apparently not obtained favourable omens before offering sacrifice on 16 July and two days later had exposed the Roman army to the enemy without gaining the gods favour, some think that it was also decreed that religious rites should not be held on the days following the Ides, and that subsequently it became the tradition for the same scruple to extend to the days following the Kalends and Nones as well.

2. But the Romans were not left in peace for long to discuss he held a levy of the younger men, and even included many of their elders who were still sufficiently strong and active; he administered the oath of allegiance and enrolled them into centuries.

When the army was enlisted and armed he divided it into three. One division he posted in the Veientine region to confront Etruria, and a second he ordered to encamp in front of the City, under the command of the military tribune Aulus Manlius; the division sent against the Etruscans was commanded by the tribune Lucius Aemilius. The third division he led himself against the Volscians, and set out to attack their camp not far from Lanuvium, at a place called near the Mecius. He then pursued the fugitives, laid waste all the Volscian territory, and forced the Volscians to surrender at last, after seventy years of warfare. After his victory Camillus moved on from the Volscians to the Aequi, who were also making preparations for war, and surprised their army near Bolae, capturing not only their camp but their city too at the first attack.

3. While things went well in the region where Camillus was commander for Rome, elsewhere great danger threatened. Nearly the whole of Etruria was in arms and allies of the Roman people in Sutrium were under siege. Envoys from the town had appeared before the Senate begging for help in their plight, and had obtained a decree that the dictator should bring the Sutrines aid as soon as possible. But the state of the besieged could not wait for the realization of this hope: the citizens were few in number and exhausted by labour, guard duty and wounds, which always bore hard on the same people, so that they had made terms and handed over their town to the enemy. They were actually leaving their homes in a wretched procession, unarmed, each with a single garment, when Camillus arrived with a Roman army. The miserable people flung themselves at his feet; the leading men addressed him in words wrung from them by the cruellest necessity, accompanied by the sobs of the women and children whom they were dragging along to share their exile. Camillus told the Sutrines to spare their lamentations, for it was to the Etruscans he was bringing sorrow and tears. He then gave orders for army packs to be set down, the Sutrines to wait there with the small guard he left them, and the soldiers to arm and follow him. With his army thus unencumbered he set out for Sutrium and found everything there as he expected, with the usual lax discipline following a success: no pickets outside the walls, gates open, the victors dispersed and busy taking plunder from their enemies homes. For the second time then on the same day, Sutrium was captured; the Etruscans in their hour of victory were cut down everywhere by a new foe, with no time to collect and join their forces or to arm. They made for the gates, to see if they could escape into the fields, but found them shut, for that had been the first order of the dictator. Then some seized their arms, others whom the sudden attack had found already armed called on their fellows to begin a battle, and this would have been hotly fought in their desperation if heralds had not been sent through the town to order arms to be laid down, the unarmed to be given quarter, and none but those still carrying weapons to suffer injury. At this, even those who had been desperately determined to fight to the death, now that they were offered hope of life, threw down their swords everywhere and gave themselves up unarmed, as fortune had made this the safer course. The great crowd was divided up under guard-parties, and before nightfall the town was handed back to the Sutrines, undamaged and free from any ill effect of war, since it had been surrendered under terms.

4. Camillus returned to the City in triumph for his victories in three concurrent wars. to have stood in the chapel of Jupiter at the feet of Juno.

That year those of the Veientes, Capenates and Falisci who had gone over to Rome in the course of the wars were admitted to citizenship, and land was allotted to these new citizens. A decree of the Senate was also passed to recall from Veii people who had been too idle to build at Rome and had gone off to Veii and occupied vacant houses there. At first there was grumbling, and the order was flouted, but when a date was fixed and loss of civic rights was threatened for those who had not returned to Rome, their united defiance changed to individual obedience, everyone having fears for himself. The population of Rome increased and everywhere at once buildings sprang up; the State helped with the cost, and the aediles put on pressure as if the work were a public concern, while the individual citizens hurried on to finish their building, fired by their wish to be making use of it. Within the year the new City was standing.