43.15
In
addition to the troops which had to be raised as reinforcements, four legions
were enrolled by the praetor C. Sulpicius and the enrolment was completed
within eleven days. The consuls now balloted for their provinces; the
praetors had already done so, on account of the jurisdiction. The civic
jurisdiction fell to C. Sulpicius, the alien to C. Decimius, Spain to M.
Claudius Marcellus, Sicily to Ser. Cornelius Lentulus, Sardinia to P. Fonteius
Capito, the command of the fleet to C. Marcius Figulus. Of the two consular
provinces, Italy fell to Cn. Servilius and Macedonia to Q. Marcius, and he
started as soon as the Latin Festival was over. On Caepio's consulting the
senate as to which two out of the four newly-raised legions he should take
with him into Gaul, the senate decreed that C. Sulpicius and M. Claudius
should give the consul what legions they thought fit out of those they had
raised. The consul was highly indignant at being thus subjected to the will of
the praetors, and after dismissing the senate stood at the praetors' tribunal
and demanded that in accordance with the senate's resolution they should
give him two legions. The praetors left the consul at liberty to select them.
The censors next revised the roll of the senate. They chose M. Aemilius
Lepidus as leader of the House, and they were the third censors who did so.
Seven names were removed from the roll. In revising the assessment of the
citizens they discovered from the returns how many men from the army in
Macedonia were absent from the standards and they compelled them to
return to duty. They investigated the grounds of dismissal and in all cases
where there did not appear so far any just reason for it they required the
following question to be answered on oath: "Will you pledge yourself
without reserve or evasion to return to Macedonia in obedience to the edict
of the censors, C. Claudius and Tiberius Sempronius?"
