University of Virginia Library

41.18

The enemy had not forgotten that it was C. Claudius who had defeated and routed them at the Scultenna, and they prepared to defend themselves against a force of which they had had so unhappy an experience more by the strength of their position than by their arms. With this object they occupied two mountain heights, Letum and Ballista, and enclosed them with a wall. Some who were too late in getting away from their fields were caught and 1500 of them perished; the rest kept to the mountains. But they were not too much cowed to forget their native savagery, and they glutted their cruelty upon what they had taken at Mutina. The prisoners were put to death amid horrible tortures; the cattle were killed in their temples as an act of butchery rather than of sacrifice. When they were satiated with the slaughter of living things they turned to the destruction of inanimate objects and dashed against the walls vessels of every description, though made for use more than for ornament. Q. Petilius did not want the war to be brought to a close while he was absent and sent written instructions to C. Claudius to come to him in Gaul with his army, saying that he should expect him at the Campi Macri. On receiving the despatch C. Claudius left Liguria and handed over his army to the consul at the Campi Macri. A few days later the other consul, C. Valerius, arrived. Here, before the two armies separated, a lustration was completed for them both. As the consuls had settled not to make a combined attack on the enemy, they drew lots to decide in which direction each should advance. It was generally understood that Valerius cast his lot under proper auspices. In the case of Petilius the augurs declared afterwards that he had been at fault, for after the lottery had been taken into the sacred enclosure he remained outside, whereas he ought to have gone in himself .

Then they started for their respective positions. Petilius fixed his camp fronting the twin heights of Ballista and Letum, which are connected by a continuous ridge. Writers say that whilst he was addressing words of encouragement to his troops, he made the ominous prediction that he would take Letum on that day; the double meaning of the word did not occur to him. He then advanced up the mountain in two divisions. The division which he personally commanded mounted with great spirit, but the enemy forced the other division back, and to restore the battle the consul rode forward and rallied his men. Whilst exposing himself somewhat incautiously in front of the standards, he was struck by a missile and fell. The enemy were not aware of the general's death, and a few of his men who had witnessed it carefully concealed the body, as they felt sure that the victory turned on that. The rest of the troops -infantry and cavalry alike -drove the enemy out of his positions and took the mountain heights without their general; 5000 Ligurians were killed; out of the Roman army 52 fell. In addition to his ill-omened words, to which his death gave a clear significance, it was gathered from what the "pullarius" said that the auspices had been unfavourable and that the consul was not unaware of this.

. . . . . . . . Those skilled in divine and human law said that since the two duly elected consuls for the year had died, one through sickness, the other by the sword, the "consul suffectus" could not rightly hold the election.

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