Livy's History of Rome: Book 41
Perseus and the States of Greece
41.1
. . . It was said that
he called to arms the fighting men whom his father had kept in peace, and
that he was very popular with them, as they were eager for plunder. The
consul held a council of war to discuss the Histrian campaign. Some thought
it ought to be undertaken at once before the enemy had time to get his forces
together; others considered that the senate ought first to be consulted. The
opinion in favour of prompt action prevailed. From Aquileia, the consul
advanced to the Timavus Lake close to the sea. C. Furius, one of the two
naval commanders, sailed there with ten ships. He and his colleague were to
act against the Illyrian fleet and protect the coasts of the Upper Sea with
twenty ships. Their joint command pivoted on Ancona; L. Cornelius had the
defence of the coast to the right as far as Tarentum, and C. Furius to the left
as far as Aquileia. The ten ships under Furius had been sent to the nearest
harbour on Histrian territory, together with cargo ships and a large amount
of supplies. The consul followed them with the legions and fixed his camp
about five miles from the sea. A busy market soon sprang up in the harbour,
and all supplies were carried up from the sea to the camp. To render this
more secure, pickets were posted on every side of the camp. On the side
facing Histria the emergency cohort from Placentia was posted permanently;
M. Aebutius, one of the military tribunes, was ordered to take two maniples
from the second legion to the river bank between the camp and the sea to
protect the watering-parties; two other military tribunes, L. and C. Aelius,
took the third legion along the road leading to Aquileia to protect the
foraging and wood-cutting troops. In that direction lay the camp of the
Gauls about a mile distant. and in their chief's absence Catemelus was in
command. They did not number more than 3000 armed men.
41.2
As soon
as the Roman army began to move towards the Timavus, the Histri took up
a position in concealment behind a hill and followed it while on the march,
carefully watching for every opportunity; nothing that happened on sea or
land escaped their notice. When they saw that only weak pickets were
posted in front of the camp and that between the camp and the sea there was
a crowd of unarmed traders busy with their traffic and without any
protection either on the land side or towards the sea, they made a
simultaneous attack on the pickets, the Placentian cohort and the maniples of
the second legion. Their movements were at first concealed by an early
morning fog. As this began to disperse under the warm rays of the sun, the
sunshine struggling fitfully through made everything, as it generally does,
look larger to the beholder. In this way the Romans were deceived, as the
hostile army appeared larger than it really was. The men from both the
pickets fled in a great tumult to the camp. The terror they spread here was
greater than the alarm in which they had fled, for they could not explain why
they had fled, nor could they give any answer to those who questioned them.
Shouts were heard from the gates, as there were no outposts there to make
any resistance, and the crowding together of the soldiers, who were falling
over each other in the fog, made it impossible to know whether the enemy
were inside the camp or not. One voice was heard amongst the cries, calling
"To the sea!" and this chance cry started by one individual resounded
everywhere throughout the camp. They began to run down to the sea, as
though acting under orders; at first in small bodies, some with arms, most of
them without; then in larger numbers, till at last nearly every man had gone,
including the consul himself. He was quite powerless to rally the fugitives;
his commands, his authority, his expostulations were all fruitless. The only
officer who remained was M. Licinius Strabo, a military tribune attached to
the second legion, who had left him with three maniples in their flight. The
Histri made their attack on the empty camp, and after finding no armed
resistance, came upon him as he was forming and encouraging his men in the
headquarters tent. The fight was a more stubborn one than might have been
expected from the fewness of the defenders, and did not come to an end until
the tribune and all round him had fallen. After overturning the headquarters
tent and plundering everything in it, the enemy went on to the quaestor's
tent, the forum, and the via quintana. Here they found an abundant supply of
everything laid out in readiness, and in the quaestor's tent couches arranged
for a meal. The chieftain lay down and began to feast himself; soon all the
others, oblivious of any armed enemy, did the same, and being unused to
such good fare, loaded themselves greedily with wine and food.
41.3
Things
wore a very different aspect among the Romans. There was confusion both
on land and sea. The marines struck their tents and hurriedly carried back on
board the stores which had been landed on the beach; the soldiers rushed in
panic to the boats at the water's edge; some of the sailors, afraid of their
boats being overcrowded, tried to stop the crowd; others pushed their boats
off into deep water. This resulted in a struggle, and soon a regular fight
began between the soldiers and the sailors -with bloodshed on both sides -until at the consul's orders the fleet was withdrawn to some distance from
the land. Then he began to separate those who had arms from those who
were without any. There were hardly 1200 out of the whole number who
were still armed; very few of the cavalry were found to have brought away
their horses with them; the rest were a disorderly mob like so many sutlers
and camp-followers, certain to fall a prey to the enemy, if the enemy had had
any idea of fighting. At last, word was sent to recall the third legion and the
Gaulish contingent, and the troops posted round the camp began to come in
determined to recover the camp and remove the stain of disgrace. The
military tribunes of the third legion ordered the loads of wood and fodder to
be thrown off the baggage animals, and commanded the centurions to place
the older men in couples on the mules which had been relieved of their loads,
and the cavalry were each to take one of the younger men with them on their
horses. They told their men that it would be a most glorious thing for their
legion if, by their own valour, they recovered the camp which had been lost
through the faintheartedness of the second legion. And it easily could be
recovered if the barbarians were suddenly surprised in the midst of their
plundering; the camp could be recaptured just as it had been captured. His
words of encouragement were listened to eagerly by the soldiers, the
standards rapidly went forward, and the legionaries followed without a
moment's delay. The first, however, to approach the rampart were the consul
and the troops he was bringing from the sea. The first tribune of the second
legion, with the view of encouraging his men, pointed out to them that if the
barbarians had intended to hold the camp by the same arms by which they
had taken it, they would, first of all, have followed up their enemy in his
flight from his camp to the sea, and then they would have stationed pickets
in front of their rampart. They were in all probability lying sunk in wine and
slumber.
41.4
He
thereupon ordered his standard-bearer, A. Baeculonius, a man noted for his
courage, to go forward with his standard. Baeculonius replied that if they
would follow him and his standard they would help him to do so all the more
quickly. He then flung the standard with all his might over the rampart and
was the first to pass through the camp gate. On another side of the camp the
two Aelii, Titus and Caius, came up with the cavalry of the third legion.
They were almost immediately followed by the men mounted on the baggage
animals, and then the consul with the whole of the army. A few of the Histri
who had taken only a moderate amount of wine were careful to escape; for
the rest, sleep was prolonged into death, and the Romans recovered all their
property intact. save the wine and food which had been consumed. Even the
sick who had been left in the camp, finding their comrades inside the
rampart, seized their arms and inflicted great slaughter. A cavalryman, C.
Popilius Sabellus, distinguished himself especially in this way. He had been
left behind with a wounded foot and he slew by far the greatest number of
the enemy. As many as 8000 of the Histri were killed, not one prisoner was
taken, rage and shame made the Romans indifferent to booty. The King of
the Histri, however, drunk as he was, was carried off hurriedly from the table
and lifted by his men on to a horse and so escaped. Two hundred and
thirty-seven of the victors perished; more fell in the morning rout than in the
recapture of the camp.
41.5
Cn. and
L. Gavilius Novellus were coming with supplies from Aquileia, and unaware
of what had happened, very nearly entered the camp while it was in the
possession of the Histrians. They left their goods and fled back to Aquileia,
spreading alarm and tumult not only in that city, but in Rome itself. Reports
reached the City, true so far as they told of the capture of the camp by the
enemy and the flight of the defenders, but rumours also filled the City to the
effect that all was lost and the entire army annihilated. As usual in times of
tumult and alarm, an extraordinary levy was ordered in the City and
throughout the length and breadth of Italy. Two legions of Roman citizens
were called up, and from the Latin allies 10,000 infantry with a complement
of 500 cavalry were raised. The consul, M. Junius, was ordered to go to
Gaul and requisition from the communities in that province as many soldiers
as they could each supply. It was decreed that the praetor Tiberius Claudius
should give notice to the men of the fourth legion, the 5000 allied troops and
the 250 cavalry to muster at Pisae, and that he should be responsible for the
defence of that province in the consul's absence. M. Titinius received
instructions to order the first legion and the same number of allied infantry to
assemble at Ariminum. Nero, wearing his paludamentum, left for Pisae;
Titinius, after sending C. Cassius, one of the military tribunes, to take
command of the legion at Ariminum, arrived at Aquileia. There he was
informed that the army was safe, and at once sent a despatch to Rome to
allay the tumult and alarm. He then sent back the contingents which he had
requisitioned in Gaul and went to rejoin his colleague. There was great
rejoicing in Rome at the unlooked-for news, all enrolment of troops was
suspended and those who had already taken the military oath were released
from its obligations. The army at Ariminum which had been suffering from
the pestilence was disbanded and sent home. The Histrians were encamped
in great strength not far from the consul's camp, and when they heard that
the other consul had arrived with a fresh army they everywhere dispersed to
their cities. The consuls took the legions back to Aquileia for their winter
quarters.
41.6
After the
Histrian disturbance had at last quieted down, the senate passed a resolution
that the consuls should arrange which of them was to come to Rome for the
election. Two tribunes of the plebs, Licinius Nerva and C. Papirius Turdus,
attacked Manlius in his absence and brought forward a motion that he should
not retain his command after the Ides of March -the consuls had already had
their administrations extended for a year -in order that he might be brought
to trial immediately on quitting office. Their colleague, Q. Aelius, opposed
the motion and after long and violent disputes prevented it from being
carried. On their return from Spain, Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus and L.
Postumius Albinus were received by the senate in the temple of Bellona.
They gave a report of their administration and asked that honours should be
paid to the immortal gods. News came from T. Aebutius, commanding in
Sardinia, of a serious disturbance in that island. The Ilienses, in conjunction
with the Balari, had invaded the province which was at peace, and owing to
the weakened condition of the army, a large number of men having been
carried off by the pestilence, no resistance could be offered. Envoys from
Sardinia came with the same tale; they implored the senate to send assistance
to the cities at all events; it was too late to save the fields.
It was left to the consuls to decide what reply should be given to
these envoys and to deal with the whole state of things in Sardinia. An
equally tragic story was told by the Lycians, who had come to complain of
the cruel tyranny of the Rhodians, under whose government they had been
placed by L. Cornelius Scipio. They had been formerly under Antiochus and
they assured the senate that their subjection under the king was glorious
liberty compared with their present condition. It was not political oppression
only under which they were suffering, but absolute slavery; they, their wives
and children were the victims of violence; their oppressors vented their rage
on their persons and their backs, their good name was besmirched and
dishonoured, their condition rendered detestable in order that their tyrants
might openly assert a legal right over them and reduce them to the status of
slaves bought with money. Moved by this recital, the senate gave the Lycians
a letter to hand to the Rhodians, intimating that it was not the pleasure of the
senate that either the Lycians or any other men born free should be handed
over as slaves to the Rhodians or any one else. The Lycians possessed the
same rights under the suzerainty and protection of Rhodes that friendly
states possessed under the suzerainty of Rome.
41.7
The two
commanders in Spain now celebrated their triumph; first, Sempronius
Gracchus for his victory over the Celtiberi and their allies, and on the
following day L. Postumius over the Lusitanians and the adjacent tribes. In
Gracchus' procession were borne 40,000 pounds of silver, in that of
Postumius 20,000. Each of the legionaries received 25 denarii, the
centurions twice and the cavalry three times as much, and the allied troops
received the same. The consul, M. Junius, came about this time to Rome for
the elections. Two tribunes of the plebs, Papirius and Licinius, put a
multitude of questions to him in the senate about what had happened in
Histria, and then they brought him before the Assembly. The consul
explained that he had not been in that province more than eleven days and
he, like them, only knew by report what had happened in his absence. Then
they asked "why in that case A. Manlius had not come to Rome, rather than
Junius, that he might explain to the people of Rome why he had left the
province of Gaul, which had been allotted to him, for Histria. When did the
senate make a decree or the Assembly an order for that war? 'Well,' you may
say, 'granting that the war was undertaken on his personal responsibility, still
it was conducted with courage and prudence.' On the contrary it is
impossible to say whether its inception is the more flagitious or its conduct
the more reckless. Two pickets were surprised by the Histrians, a Roman
camp was taken and what troops were in the camp were cut to pieces; all the
rest threw away their arms and fled in disorder to the sea and the ships, the
consul himself above all. He will have to account for all this as an ordinary
citizen, since he will not do so as consul."
41.8
Then
came the elections. The new consuls were C. Claudius Pulcher and Ti.
Sempronius Gracchus, and the new praetors, P. Aelius Tubero (for the
second time), C. Quinctius Flamininus, C. Numisius, L. Mummius, Cnaeus
Cornelius Scipio and C. Valerius Laevinus. Tubero received the civic
jurisdiction, Quinctius the alien. Sicily fell to Numisius, and Sardinia to
Mummius; the latter, however, owing to the magnitude of the war, was
made a consular province. Gaul was divided into two provinces and allotted
to Scipio and Laevinus. On the Ides of March, when Sempronius and
Claudius entered upon office, the provinces of Sardinia and Histria and the
instigators of war in those provinces were only informally discussed. On the
following day, the Sardinian deputation, who had been referred to the new
consuls, and L. Minucius Thermus, who had been second in command with
the consul Manlius in Histria, appeared before the senate, and after the
information they gave, the senate realised what a state of war existed in
those provinces. Delegates from the Latin allies, after numberless appeals to
the censors and the late consuls, were at length admitted to an audience of
the senate, and their statement made a great impression. The gist of their
complaint was that their citizens who were on the Roman register had
migrated in great numbers to the City, and if this were allowed it would
come to pass in a very few lustra that the towns and fields would be deserted
and incapable of furnishing any men for the army. The Samnites and Paeligni
stated that 4000 families had gone from them to Fregellae, but they were not
diminishing their contingents, nor were the Fregellans increasing theirs. The
practice of individuals changing their citizenship led to two kinds of fraud.
The law allowed those amongst the Latin allies who chose, to become
Roman citizens if they left male progeny behind in the old home. This law
was abused to the injury of the allies and of the Roman people. For in order
to avoid any male descendants being left at home, they gave their children as
slaves to some Roman or other, on condition that they should be
manumitted, and as freedmen become citizens, whilst on the other hand
those who had no male descendants became Roman citizens. Subsequently,
even this legal presence was brushed aside. In defiance of law and without
any male descendants they migrated to Rome and were placed on the City
register. The delegates asked that this might be stopped for the future, and
that those who had migrated should be ordered to return to their homes.
They asked further that a law might be passed making it illegal for any
person to adopt or manumit any one with the view of changing his
citizenship, and also require those who had become Roman citizens by this
means to renounce their citizenship. The senate granted these requests.
41.9
The
senate then decreed that the provinces which were in a state of war -Sardinia and Histria -should be assigned to the consuls. Two legions were
ordered to be raised for Sardinia, each consisting of 5200 infantry and 300
cavalry; the Latin allies were to supply 12,000 infantry and 600 cavalry. In
case the consul wished to take ships from the dockyard, ten quinqueremes
were placed at his disposal. The same strength of infantry and cavalry was
decreed for Histria as for Sardinia. The consuls also received instructions to
despatch a force of one legion with its complement of cavalry and 5000
infantry and 250 cavalry from the allies to M. Titinius in Spain. Before the
consuls balloted for their provinces various portents were reported. A stone
fell from the sky into the grove of Mars in the Crustumerian district; on
Roman land a boy was born without all his limbs, and a four-footed snake
was seen; at Capua numerous buildings in the forum were struck by
lightning; at Puteoli two shops had been set on fire by a similar stroke. While
these were being reported, a wolf entered the City by the Colline Gate in
broad daylight and was chased till it escaped through the Esquiline Gate,
amidst great excitement on the part of its pursuers. In consequence of these
portents the consuls sacrificed full-grown victims, and there were special
intercessions at all the shrines for one day. When the religious rites had been
duly performed the consuls drew for their provinces. Histria fell to Claudius,
Sardinia to Sempronius. Then, in accordance with the resolution of the
senate, the consul C. Claudius carried a measure in which it was ordered that
those of the Latin allies who themselves or whose ancestors had been
registered among the Latin allies during the censorship of M. Claudius and
T. Quinctius or subsequently, should all return to their cities before
November 1. The praetor L. Mummius was charged to enquire into the cases
of those who had not returned by that date. In addition to this new law, and
the consul's edict enforcing it, a resolution was passed by the senate ordering
that whenever any one of them was manumitted and publicly declared to be
free, the dictator, consul, interrex, censor or praetor for the time being
should put the manumitter on his oath that he was not doing it for the
purpose of altering his citizenship; in case he refused to take the oath the
senate would declare the manumission invalid. This resolution was to guide
all future proceedings.
41.10
M.
Junius and A. Manlius, the ex-consuls who had been in winter quarters at
Aquileia, led their army into Histria at the commencement of spring. They
carried their ravages far and wide, and the Histrians were animated much
more by indignation and rage at the loss of their property than by any certain
hope that they would be strong enough to meet two consular armies. From
all the tribes their fighting men collected into a hastily levied tumultuary
force, and they displayed much more impetuosity in beginning a battle than
steadfastness in keeping it up. Four thousand of them fell on the field; the
rest abandoned all resistance and dispersed to their cities. From these cities
delegates were sent to the Roman camp to sue for peace, and on being
required to give hostages they sent them. When this became known in Rome
through despatches from the proconsuls, C. Claudius, fearing lest this
success should rob him of his province and his army, went off post-haste to
his province without offering the customary prayers, unattended by his
lictors and in the dead of night, his colleague being the only one who was
aware of his intention. His conduct after his arrival was more ill-advised even
than the way in which he had started for his province. Addressing the
assembled troops, he taunted Manlius with his flight from the camp, to the
intense annoyance of the soldiers, since it was they who began the flight, and
then he attacked M. Junius for associating himself with his colleague's
disgrace, and ended by ordering them both to quit the province. They
promised that they would obey his order as soon as he had made his
departure from the City in the traditional way, after the customary prayers in
the Capitol, and attended by his lictors in their official dress. Claudius, beside
himself with rage, called the official who was acting as quaestor to Manlius
to bring fetters, and threatened to send both Manlius and Junius in chains to
Rome. This officer also ignored the consul's authority, and their
determination not to obey was strengthened by the way the army supported
their commanders and resented the conduct of Claudius. At last the consul,
overborne by the insults and jeers of individual soldiers, and the ridicule (for
they actually laughed at him) of the whole army, returned to Aquileia in the
same vessel in which he had come. From there he sent word to his colleague
to warn that portion of the new levies which had been raised for service in
Histria to assemble at Aquileia, so that nothing might detain him in Rome or
prevent him from leaving the City, with due formalities, offering the
customary prayers and wearing the paludamentum. His colleague carried out
his instructions and ordered the troops to assemble at an early date at
Aquileia. Claudius almost overtook his letter. On his arrival he convened the
Assembly and laid before it the case of Manlius and Junius. His stay in Rome
only lasted three days, and then, in full state with lictors and paludamentum,
after offering up prayers in the Capitol, he departed for his province with
quite as much precipitancy as before.
41.11
A few
days before his arrival Junius and Manlius began a determined attack on the
town of Nesactium, to which place the chiefs of the Histri, with their king,
Aepulo, had retired. Claudius brought up the two newly-raised legions, and
after disbanding the old army with its generals, invested the town and
proceeded to attack it with the vineae. There was a river flowing past the
town which impeded the assailants and furnished water to the Histrians.
After many days' work he diverted this river into a new channel, and the
cutting off of their water-supply as though by a miracle greatly alarmed the
natives. Even then they had no thought of suing for peace; they made up
their minds to murder their women and children, and that this horrid deed
might be a spectacle to the enemy, they butchered them openly on the walls
and then flung them down. Amidst the shrieks of the women and children
and the unspeakable horrors of the massacre, the Romans surmounted the
walls and entered the town. When the king heard the terrified cries of those
who fled, and understood from the tumult that the place was taken, he
stabbed himself that he might not be taken alive. The rest were either killed
or made prisoners. This was followed by the storming and destruction of two
other towns, Mutila and Faveria. The booty, considering the poverty of the
natives, surpassed expectations, and the whole of it was given to the
soldiers; 5632 persons were sold as slaves. The prime instigators of the war
were scourged and beheaded. The extermination of these three towns and
the death of the king led to peace throughout Histria; all the tribes made
their submission and gave hostages.
41.12
Just
after the Histrian war had come to an end the Ligurians began to hold
councils of war. Tiberius Claudius, who had been praetor the previous year
and was now acting as proconsul, was in command of Pisae with one legion
He reported the movement in Liguria to the senate, and they decided to send
his despatch on to C. Claudius, for the other consul had landed in Sardinia,
and they authorised him to transfer his army, if he thought it advisable now
that Histria was quiet, to Liguria. After receiving the consul's report of his
operations in Histria a two days' thanksgiving was decreed. The other
consul, Tiberius Sempronius, was equally successful in Sardinia. He marched
into the Ilian country, and finding a large body of Balari had come to the
assistance of the Ilians, he fought a pitched battle with the two tribes. The
enemy were routed, put to flight and driven out of their camp, 12,000 men
being killed. The consul ordered all the arms to be collected on the following
day and thrown into one heap. He then burnt them as an offering to Vulcan.
The victorious army retired into winter quarters in the friendly cities. On
receipt of Tiberius Claudius' despatch and the instructions of the senate,
Caius Claudius led his legions into Liguria. The enemy had come down into
the plains and was encamped by the river Scultenna. A battle took place
there; 15,000 were killed and over 700 were made prisoners, either on the
battlefield or in the camp -for this was stormed -and 51 military standards
taken. The Ligurians who survived this slaughter fled to the mountains, and
no resistance was met with anywhere by the consul as he traversed the level
country plundering and devastating their fields. After winning victories over
two nations and reducing two provinces to submission during his year of
office -a thing which very few have done -Claudius returned to Rome.
41.13
Some
portents were reported this year. Near Crustumerium an osprey cut a sacred
stone with its beak; in Campania a heifer spoke; a brazen image of a cow in
Syracuse was mounted by a bull which had strayed from the herd. Special
intercessions were offered on the spot at Crustumerium, and the heifer in
Campania was to be kept at the public cost. The portent at Syracuse was
expiated by sacrifices to the deities who were named by the haruspices. One
of the pontiffs, M. Claudius Marcellus, died this year. He had been consul
and also censor. His son, M. Marcellus, was appointed pontiff in his place.
Two thousand Roman citizens were settled as colonists at Luna under the
supervision of P. Aelius, M. Aemilius Lepidus and Cnaeus Sicinius. Fifty-one
and a half jugera were allotted to each colonist. The land had been taken
from the Ligurians; it had previously been in the possession of the Etruscans.
41.14
After
his return to the City the consul C. Claudius made his report to the senate of
his victories in Histria and Liguria, and at his request, a triumph was decreed
to him. Whilst still in office he celebrated a double triumph over the two
nations. In the procession were carried 307,000 denarii and 85,702
"victoriati." To each legionary were given fifteen denarii, double the amount
to the centurions, and treble to the cavalry. The allied troops received only
half as much, and by way of showing their anger, they followed the victor's
chariot in silence. Whilst the new consuls were each sacrificing an ox to
Jupiter on the day of their entering upon office, the victim which Q. Petilius
was sacrificing was defective; there was no head to the liver visible. He
reported this to the senate, and they ordered him to go on sacrificing until
the victim gave a favourable omen. The provinces were then discussed, and
the senate decreed that Pisae and Liguria should be the consular provinces,
and the one to whom the ballot gave Pisae was ordered to return and hold
the elections when the time for them arrived. They further decreed that the
consuls should raise two new legions and 300 cavalry with each, and from
the Latin allies 10,000 infantry and 600 cavalry. Ti. Claudius retained his
command till the new consul arrived in his province.
41.15
While
this business was being transacted in the senate, Cnaeus Cornelius was called
out by an apparitor, and left the House. On his return he was visibly
perturbed, and explained that the liver of the ox which he had sacrificed had
disappeared. When the victimarius reported this to him he did not believe it,
and he ordered the water in which the entrails were being boiled to be
poured out from the cauldron. He saw every other portion of the victim
complete, but in some unaccountable way the liver had been consumed. The
senators were much alarmed at this ominous incident, and their alarm was
intensified by the other consul's statement that after the appearance of the
defective liver he had sacrificed three oxen in succession without getting any
favourable indication. The senate ordered them both to go on sacrificing
until the omens were favourable. It is said that favourable omens were at last
observed in the case of all the other deities, but not in the case of Salus, to
whom Petilius was sacrificing.
The consuls and praetors now balloted for their provinces. Pisae fell
to Cnaeus Cornelius, Liguria to Petilius, the City jurisdiction to L. Papirius
Maso, the alien to M. Aburius. M. Cornelius Scipio Maluginensis had
Further Spain, and L. Aquilius Gallus received Sardinia. Two asked to be
excused from going to their provinces. M. Popilius alleged as a reason for
his not going to Sardinia that Gracchus was pacifying that province and that
the praetor T. Aebutius was, by direction of the senate, helping him in this
task. It was, he said, most inconvenient for a line of policy to be interrupted
when its success mainly depends upon its continuance in the same hands.
During the transfer of authority and the time required by the new man to
learn the condition of affairs before taking any action, many an opportunity
of achieving success is lost. The senate allowed his excuse. P. Licinius
Crassus, to whom Hither Spain had fallen, alleged that he was prevented by
his religious duties. However, he was ordered either to go or to take an oath
before the Assembly that he was prevented by his religious duties. When the
case of P. Licinius had been settled in this way, M. Cornelius Scipio asked
them to accept his oath also, that he might not have to go to Further Spain.
These two praetors both took the same oath. M. Titinius and T. Fonteius,
who were in charge of that province as proconsuls, were ordered to remain
in Spain with the same authority as before and reinforcements were to be
sent to them -3000 Roman citizens and 200 cavalry, with 5000 infantry and
300 cavalry from the allies.
41.16
The
Latin Festival took place on March 5, and something occurred to mar its
celebrations; the magistrate of Lanuvium omitted to pray over one of the
victims for "the Roman people of the Quirites." This irregularity was
reported to the senate and by them referred to the college of pontiffs. The
pontiffs decided that the Latin Festival not having been properly and duly
celebrated must be observed anew, and that the people of Lanuvium, whose
fault made the renewal necessary, should provide the victims. A fresh
misfortune increased the general uneasiness. The consul Cn. Cornelius,
whilst returning from the Alban Mount, fell from his horse and was partially
crippled. He went to the Baths of Cumae, but became gradually worse and
died at Cumae. The body was brought to Rome and received a magnificent
funeral. He had also been a pontiff. Orders were given to the consul Q.
Petilius to hold an election -as soon as he obtained favourable omens from
the sacrifices -to provide him with a colleague and also to proclaim the
Latin Festival. He fixed the election for the 3rd and the Latin Festival for the
11th of August.
Whilst men's minds were thus filled with religious fears, fresh
portents were announced. At Tusculum a burning brand was seen in the sky;
at Gabii the temple of Apollo and several private buildings were struck by
lightning, as also were the wall and one of the gates at Graviscae. The senate
ordered such measures to be taken as the pontiffs should direct. During this
time, whilst the two consuls were pre-occupied with matters of religion, and
then the death of one of them and the duty thrown upon the other of electing
his successor, and also of presiding at the Latin Festival, created further
delay, C. Claudius brought his army up to Mutina, which the Ligurians had
taken the year before. After a three days' assault he recaptured the place and
restored it to the colonists; 8000 Ligurians were killed inside the walls. He
promptly sent a despatch to Rome in which he gave an account of his
operations and boasted that owing to his good fortune and ability there was
no longer any enemy to Rome on this side the Alps, and that a considerable
quantity of land had been acquired which could be distributed amongst many
thousands of colonists.
41.17
After
many successful actions Ti. Sempronius finally subjugated Sardinia; 15,000
natives were killed and all the revolting tribes were forced into submission.
Those who had before paid the tax had now to pay double; the rest paid in
corn. After peace was established in the province and hostages taken from all
parts of the island -230 in all -a deputation was sent to Rome to announce
the subjection of the island and to ask the senate that honours should be paid
to the immortal gods for the success achieved under the leadership and
auspices of Ti. Sempronius, and that he himself might be allowed to bring
away his army with him when he left the province. The senate received the
deputation with their report in the temple of Apollo and decreed a two days'
thanksgiving; the consuls were also ordered to offer forty sacrifices of the
larger victims. Ti. Sempronius was to remain in the province with his army
as proconsul. The election to fill the vacancy in the consulship took place on
the appointed day, August 3. C. Valerius Laevinus was chosen as colleague
to Q. Petilius and was to enter upon his consulship at once. He had long
been anxious to obtain a province and most opportunely for his wishes a
despatch reached Rome saying that the Ligurians had begun another war. On
receipt of this intelligence the senate ordered his immediate departure, and
he left the City, wearing the paludamentum, on August 5. The third legion
was ordered to join C. Claudius in Gaul and the fleet commanders were
instructed to proceed to Pisae, making a circuit of the Ligurian littoral and
creating alarm in the coastal districts. Q. Petilius had previously fixed the
date for the muster of the army at Pisae. C. Claudius, on hearing that the
Ligurians were renewing hostilities, raised an emergency force in addition to
the troops he had with him, and marched to the frontiers of Liguria.
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.
. . . . . . . .
41.19
. . .
On this side the Apennines there had been the Garuli, the Lapicini and the
Hergates; on the other side the Briniates. P. Mucius made war on those who
had ravaged Luna and Pisae, and after completely subjugating them deprived
them of their arms. For these successes in Gaul and Liguria under the
leadership and auspices of the two consuls, the senate decreed a three days'
thanksgiving and sacrifices of forty victims. The disturbances in Gaul and
Liguria which had broken out at the beginning of the year had been quelled
without any great difficulty, and now the public anxiety was directed to the
danger of a war with Macedonia, as Perseus was trying to involve the
Dardani and the Bastarnae in a conflict. The commissioners who had been
sent to Macedonia to investigate the position there had now returned and
reported that there was a state of war in Dardania. Envoys from Perseus
arrived at the same time and they declared, on his behalf, that the Bastarnae
had not been approached by him nor had they done anything at his
instigation. The senate did not clear him from the charges brought against
him, nor did they press them; they only ordered a warning to be given him
that he must be very careful to hold sacred the treaty which he could regard
as existing between him and Rome.
When the Dardani found that the Bastarnae were not evacuating
their territory as they had hoped, but were becoming every day more
aggressive and were receiving assistance from their Thracian neighbours and
from the Scordisci, they thought that they ought to attempt some active
measures, however hazardous. The whole of their armed force assembled at
a town near the camp of the Bastarnae. It was winter and they chose that
season on the chance of the Thracians and the Scordisci going back to their
own country. It fell out as they expected, and when they learnt that the
Bastarnae were left to themselves they divided their forces; one division was
to make a frontal attack, the other fetching a circuit was to take the enemy in
the rear. The fighting began, however, before they could get round the
enemy, and the Dardani were defeated and driven into a city some twelve
miles distant from the camp of the Bastarnae. The victors followed them
closely and invested the place, feeling pretty confident that they would
capture the place the next day either by surrender or by storm. Meanwhile
the other division, unaware of the disaster which had overtaken their
comrades, seized the camp of the Bastarnae which had been left unguarded.
. . . . . . . .
41.20
. . .
Seated in Roman fashion on an ivory chair he used to administer justice and
settle the most trifling disputes. Roaming through every phase of life, he was
so far from remaining constant to any one form of it, that neither he himself
nor any one else was at all clear as to his real character. He did not speak to
his friends; he had a pleasant smile for those who were hardly known to him;
he made himself and others ridiculous by his misplaced liberality. To some
who were of high rank and set great value upon themselves he used to give
childish presents of cakes and toys; others who expected nothing he
enriched. Some people thought that he was at a loss to know what he meant
by his actions; some said he was only playing the fool; some declared that he
was undoubtedly mad. In two matters of great importance and redounding to
his honour he showed a truly kingly spirit -his munificence to cities and his
care for divine worship. He promised to build a wall round Megalopolis and
gave the greater part of the money for it. At Tegea he began the construction
of a magnificent marble theatre. At Cyzicus he furnished vessels of gold for
one table in the Prytaneum, the central hall of the city, where those to whom
the privilege has been granted dine at the public cost. In the case of the
Rhodians he did not make them any single gift of surpassing value, but he
gave them all sorts of things to suit their various requirements. The splendid
munificence which he showed towards the gods is attested by the temple of
Jupiter Olympius at Athens, the only one in the world which has been begun
on a scale proportionate to the greatness of the deity. Delos he adorned with
splendid altars and a great array of statues. At Antioch he projected a
magnificent temple to Jupiter Capitolinus, of which not only the ceiling was
to be overlaid with gold, but the whole of the walls were to be covered with
gold leaf. Many public edifices in other places he promised to build, but the
shortness of his reign prevented him from fulfilling his promises. In the
magnificence of public exhibitions of every kind he surpassed all former
monarchs; they were with only one exception given by Greek performers,
the one exception being a gladiatorial contest exhibited in Roman fashion,
which frightened the spectators, who were unused to such sights, more than
it pleased them. By frequently giving these exhibitions, in which the
gladiators sometimes only wounded one another, and at other times fought
to the death, he familiarised the eyes of his people to them and they learnt to
enjoy them. In this way he created amongst most of the younger men a
passion for arms, and whilst at first he used to hire gladiators from Rome at
a great cost, now from his own.
. . . . . .
41.21
. . .
Scipio, the alien jurisdiction. The province of Sardinia had fallen to M.
Atilius, but he was ordered to sail to Corsica with the new legion which the
consuls had raised -5000 infantry and 300 cavalry. Whilst he was engaged in
that war, Cornelius' command in Sardinia was extended. To Cnaeus Servilius
in Further Spain and P. Furius Philus in Hither Spain were voted 3000
Roman infantry and 150 cavalry, and of Latin allied troops 5000 infantry and
300 cavalry. Lucius Claudius received no reinforcements for Sicily. In
addition to these troops the consuls were required to raise two fresh legions
in full strength, both of infantry and cavalry, and also 10,000 infantry and
600 cavalry from the Latin allies. The work of enrolment was all the more
difficult for the consuls, because the pestilence which the year before had
attacked the cattle had now turned into an epidemic, and those who fell
victims to it seldom survived the seventh day; those who did survive were
subject to a long and tedious illness, which generally took the form of a
quartidian ague. The deaths occurred chiefly amongst the slaves and their
unburied bodies lay scattered in all the streets, and not even in the case of the
free population could the funeral rites be carried out decently The corpses
lay untouched by dog and vulture and slowly rotted away, and it was
generally observed that neither in this nor in the previous year had a vulture
been anywhere seen.
Several members of the sacerdotal colleges died from the epidemic
-the pontiff Cn. Servilius Caepio, father of the praetor; Tiberius Sempronius
Longus, a Keeper of the Sacred Books; P. Aelius Paetus, the augur; Tiberius
Sempronius Gracchus; C. Atellus Mamilius, the chief curio; and the pontiff
M. Sempronius Tuditanus. C. Sulpicius Galba was elected pontiff in place of
Caepio . . . in place of Tuditanus. The new augurs were T. Veturius
Gracchus Sempronianus in place of Gracchus, and Q. Aelius Paetus in place
of P. Aelius. C. Sempronius Longus was appointed a Keeper of the Sacred
Books, and C. Scribonius Curio was made chief curio. As the pestilence
continued unabated the senate decided that the Keepers should consult the
Sacred Books. In accordance with their decree there were special
intercessions for one day, and the people, gathered together in the Forum,
made a solemn vow, in words dictated by Marcius Philippus, that if disease
and pestilence were banished from Roman soil they would keep two days as
solemn holy days and days of special intercession. In the district of Veii a
boy was born with two heads; at Sinuessa a child with only one hand; at
Ariminum a girl was born with teeth; a rainbow spanned the temple of
Saturn in the Forum in broad daylight and under a cloudless sky, three suns
shone at the same time, and in the same night many meteors glided through
the sky. The people of Caene declared that a crested snake covered with
golden spots had appeared in the town, and it was generally believed that an
ox had spoken in the Capuan district.
41.22
The
commission who had gone to Carthage, after interviewing Masinissa,
returned on June 7. They had been more accurately informed as to what was
going on in Carthage by the king than by the Carthaginians themselves. It
was an ascertained fact, so they asserted, that envoys from Perseus had gone
to Carthage, and that the senate there had given them audience at a
nocturnal session in the temple of Aesculapius. Masinissa had stated that
envoys had been sent from Carthage to Macedonia, and this the
Carthaginians did not directly deny. The Roman senate decided that they too
must send envoys to Macedonia. Three were sent -C. Laelius, M. Valerius
Messala, and Sextus Digitius. A certain section of the Dolopes refused to
obey Perseus' orders and appealed from him to the Romans to settle the
differences between them. He advanced against them with an army and
reduced the whole nation to complete submission. Then he crossed Mount
Oeta and went up to Delphi to consult the oracle about religious matters
which were disquieting his mind. His sudden appearance in the middle of
Greece created general alarm, not only amongst the neighbouring States, but
in Asia as well, where information of what was happening was hurriedly sent
to Eumenes. Perseus did not stay more than three days at Delphi, and
passing through Phthiotis, Achaia and Thessaly, returned to his kingdom
without damaging or injuring the districts through which he passed. Nor did
he consider it sufficient to conciliate those States through which his route
lay; he sent either letters or envoys to the different Greek peoples, asking
them to dismiss from their minds the hostile feelings which had existed
between them and his father. They were not, he urged, so bitter that they
could not, and ought not, to be put an end to in his case. As far as he was
concerned there was nothing to disturb their relations or to prevent the
growth of an honest and sincere friendship. With the Achaeans, especially,
he was anxious to find some way of ingratiating himself.
41.23
This
nation and the Athenians alone out of all Greece had pushed their animosity
so far as to forbid the Macedonians to enter their country. Macedonia had, in
consequence, become a refuge for all the runaway slaves from Achaia, for as
the Achaeans had closed their frontiers against Macedonia, they could not
themselves venture into that kingdom. When Perseus got to know this, he
had the runaways arrested and sent a letter . . . "They, too, however, must
think out the best means of preventing the flight of slaves in the future." The
letter was read at a meeting of their council by Xenophanes, their
captain-general, who was anxious to make private interest with the king.
Most of those present thought it written in a fair and generous spirit,
especially those who were to recover the runaway slaves whom they had
given up for lost. Amongst those who believed that the safety of the nation
depended upon their keeping their treaty with Rome intact was Callicrates.
He made the following speech to the council: "Some look upon this question
as of small and trifling importance; I regard it as the greatest and most
serious of all under discussion, and, more than that, I consider that it has in
one way been decided. For although we have excluded the kings of
Macedonia and the Macedonians themselves from our territories, and that
decree is still in force forbidding us to admit the envoys and communications
of their kings, through which the feelings of some amongst us might be
wrongly influenced, nevertheless, we are now listening to the king as though
he were addressing us whilst absent, and we are actually giving our approval
to his speech. Wild animals mostly reject and shun the food which is placed
to deceive them, but we in our blindness are caught by the idle show of a
petty boon, and in the hope of recovering some miserable slaves of very little
value we are allowing our own liberty to be tampered with and undermined.
Who does not see that a way is being sought to lead us to an alliance with
the king, and therefore to a breach of the treaty with Rome, with which all
our interests are bound up? Unless, indeed, anyone doubts that a war
between Perseus and the Romans is inevitable, and that what was expected
during Philip's lifetime and interrupted by his death will take place now that
he is dead. Philip, as you know, had two sons, Demetrius and Perseus.
Demetrius far surpassed his brother in birth on the mother's side, in courage,
in ability, in popularity with his countrymen. But Philip had destined the
crown as a reward for hatred of the Romans, and he put Demetrius to death
for no other offence than his friendship with Rome. Perseus, he knew, would
inherit a war with Rome almost before he inherited the crown, and he made
him king. What else has he been doing since his father's death but making
preparations for war? In the first place he sent the Bastarnae into Dardania
creating universal alarm. If they had made their home in that country, Greece
would have found them more troublesome neighbours than the Gauls were in
Asia. Though his expectations here were frustrated, he did not give up all
thoughts of war; rather, to say the truth, he has now commenced war and
subjugated the Dolopes by force of arms, and refused to listen to their
proposal to refer their differences to the arbitration of Rome. Then he
crossed Mount Oeta and, in order to make a sudden appearance in the heart
of Greece, went up to Delphi. What do you imagine was his object in thus
exercising a right-of-way where none existed? Then he traversed Thessaly.
His doing so without inflicting injury on any of those he hated I regard with
all the more apprehension as an attempt to win them over. And now he has
sent a letter to us with what looks like an act of generosity, and advises us to
consider how for the future we may dispense with that generosity, namely,
by rescinding the decree by which the Macedonians are kept out of the
Peloponnese. This, too, in order that we may once more see the king's
ambassadors and the renewal of hospitable relations with his chief men.
Before long we shall have the Macedonian armies and the king himself
entering the Peloponnese by way of Delphi -narrow is the strait that
separates us! -and, finally, we shall find ourselves in the ranks of the
Macedonians whenever they take up arms against Rome. I give it as my
opinion that we make no fresh decree, but let everything remain just as it is,
until it becomes absolutely certain whether these fears of mine are
groundless or justified. If the peace between Macedonia and Rome remains
unbroken, let there be friendly intercourse between us. For the present it
seems to me premature and dangerous to think of altering our policy."
41.24
He
was followed by Archo, the brother of Xenarchus, who spoke as follows:
"Callicrates has made it difficult for me and for all who disagree with him to
reply. By taking up the defence of our alliance with Rome and asserting that
it is attacked and opposed when nobody is either attacking or opposing it, he
has made anyone who does not agree with him appear as though he were
speaking against the Romans. To begin with, he knows and proclaims every
secret transaction, just as if instead of being here amongst us he had come
straight from the Roman senate-house or from the king's privy council. He
even divines what would have happened had Philip lived; why under the
circumstances Perseus was heir to the crown; what preparations the
Macedonians are making; what designs the Romans are entertaining. But we,
who do not know the cause of the circumstances of Demetrius' death, nor
what Philip would have done had he lived, are bound to frame our policy in
accordance with open and notorious facts.
"Now we know that on receiving the crown Perseus was
recognised as king by the Roman people; we hear that Roman ambassadors
visited the king and were graciously received by him. In my judgment, this
points to peace and not to war, nor can the Romans possibly be offended if,
as we followed their lead in war, so now we follow them as the authors of
peace. I do not see why we alone in all the world should wage a relentless
war against the kingdom of Macedonia. Are we so near it as to be open to
attack? Are we like the Dolopes, who are the weakest of all the nations that
he has subdued? No, quite the contrary. Whether it is through our own
strength or through the favour of heaven or owing to the distance which
separates us, in any case we are safe. But suppose we lay as open to invasion
as the Thessalians and the Aetolians, have we no more interest with the
Romans, no stronger claim upon them than the Aetolians, who were not long
ago in arms against them, while we have always been their friends and allies?
Whatever reciprocal rights exist between the Macedonians and the Aetolians,
Thessalians and Epirotes, in fact the whole of Greece, let us also enjoy. Why
does this abominable interference with the common rights of humanity exist
for us alone? Granting that Philip did something which caused us to make
this decree against him when he was in arms and engaged in war, what has
Perseus, new to the throne, guiltless of any wrong towards us, effacing by
his kindness the enmity aroused against his father -what has Perseus done to
make us, alone of all nations, his enemies? I might also urge this point, that
the services which the former kings of Macedonia have rendered us have
been so great that the injury which Philip has done to us, however great it
was, should be forgotten, especially now that he is dead. You know that
when the Roman fleet was lying at Cenchreae and the consul with his army
was at Elatia, we were assembled in council to decide whether we should
follow Philip or the Romans, and the discussion lasted three days. Even if the
pressure of immediate danger in no way alienated our feelings from the
Romans, there must have been something at least to make our deliberations
so lengthy, and this was our long-standing union of interests with Macedonia
and the great services which her kings have for many years rendered to us.
Let these same motives weigh with us now, not to make us especially his
friends, but to prevent us from being especially his enemies. Do not let us
make a presence, Callicrates, of seriously discussing a proposal which
nobody has brought forward. No one suggests that we should form fresh
alliances or draw up a new treaty so as to fetter ourselves with obligations
thoughtlessly incurred. Let there be free intercourse between us, a mutual
recognition of reciprocal rights; let us not, by closing our own frontiers, shut
ourselves off at the same time from the king's dominions; let it not be
possible for our runaway slaves to find shelter anywhere. What is there in all
this that conflicts with the terms of our treaty with Rome? Why do we make
so much of a little matter and throw suspicion upon what is simple and
straightforward ? Why do we raise such troubles out of nothing? Why do we
make others mistrusted and suspected in order that we ourselves may be free
to flatter the Romans? If there is to be war, even Perseus himself entertains
no doubt as to our taking the side of Rome. As long as there is peace, let all
hostile feelings be suppressed, even if they are not dispelled." Those who had
approved of the king's letter were in full agreement with this speech. The
leaders were indignant at Perseus not thinking the matter important enough
for formal negotiation and making his demand in the few lines of a letter.
The discussion was adjourned and no decree was made. Subsequently
envoys were sent by the king whilst the council was in session at
Megalopolis, and those who feared a breach with Rome took steps to
prevent their admission to the council.
41.25
While
this was going on the Aetolians turned their rage against themselves, and it
seemed as though the massacres on both sides would result in the total
destruction of the nation. At last both factions, weary of slaughter, sent
missions to Rome and approached each other in the hope of re-establishing
peace and concord. But these negotiations were rendered fruitless by a fresh
outrage which roused all the old passions. The refugees from Hypata,
comprising eighty illustrious citizens, who belonged to the party of
Proxenus, had been assured of their restoration to their native country under
the pledged word of Eupolemus, the chief magistrate. As they were
returning home the whole population, including Eupolemus himself, came
out to meet them; he gave them a kind greeting and the right hand of
friendship. But as they were entering the gates they were all put to death in
spite of their appeals to the gods, as witnesses of the pledges given by
Eupolemus. After this the war blazed up more fiercely than ever. C. Valerius
Laevinus, Ap. Claudius Pulcher, C. Memmius, M. Popilius and L. Canuleius
had been sent by the senate to arbitrate between the contending parties. The
delegates from both sides appeared before them at Delphi and a keen debate
took place, in which Proxenus was considered to have spoken by far the
most convincingly and most eloquently. A few days later he was poisoned by
his wife Orthobula. She was convicted of the crime and sent into exile. The
same madness of party faction was rife among the Cretans. When Q.
Minucius, who had been sent with ten ships to settle their disputes, arrived
off the island they entertained hopes of peace. There was only a six months'
truce, however; after that a still more bitter conflict was kindled. The
Lycians were being harassed at this time by the Rhodians. But it is not worth
while to narrate in detail these wars which foreign nations waged with each
other. The task before me is sufficiently and more than sufficiently heavy of
describing the doings of the Romans.
41.26
In
Spain the Celtiberi who, after their defeat, had submitted to Ti. Gracchus,
remained quiet during M. Titinius' administration. On the arrival of Appius
Claudius they resumed hostilities and began by a sudden attack on the
Roman camp. The day had hardly dawned when the sentinels on the rampart
and the men on outpost duty at the gates caught sight of the enemy
advancing in the distance and gave the alarm. Appius Claudius hoisted the
signal for action and after addressing a few words to the soldiers made a
simultaneous sortie from three gates. The Celtiberi met them as they
emerged and for a short time the fighting was equal on both sides, because
owing to the confined space the Romans could not all get into action. As
soon as they got clear of the rampart they followed those in front of them in
a compact mass in order to be able to deploy into line and extend their front
to the same length as that of the enemy by whom they were being
surrounded. Then they made a sudden charge which the Celtiberi could not
withstand. In less than two hours they were defeated; 15,000 were either
killed or taken prisoners; 32 standards were captured. The camp was
stormed the same day and the war brought to an end. The survivors from the
battle dispersed to their various towns. After that they submitted quietly to
the authority of Rome.
41.27
Q.
Fulvius Flaccus and A. Postumius Albinus were elected censors this year and
revised the roll of the senate. M. Aemilius Lepidus, the Pontifex Maximus,
was chosen as leader of the House. Nine names were struck off the roll, the
most important being those of M. Cornelius, Maluginensis, who had
commanded as praetor in Spain two years before, L. Cornelius Scipio, who
was at the time exercising the civic and alien jurisdictions, and L. Fulvius the
censor's brother, and according to Valerius Antias, co-proprietor with him of
the family estate. After the usual prayers and vows the consuls left for their
provinces. M. Aemilius was charged by the senate with the task of
suppressing the outbreak of the Petavines in Venetia, amongst whom, as
their own envoys reported, the strife of rival factions had led to civil wars.
The commissioners who had gone to Aetolia to put down similar
disturbances brought back word that the frenzy of the nation could not be
restrained. The consul's arrival was the salvation of the Petavines, and as he
had nothing else to do in his province he returned to Rome.
These censors were the first to make contracts for paving the
streets of the City with flints and the roads outside with gravel, and
footpaths raised at the sides, and also for the construction of bridges at
various points. They furnished the praetors and aediles with a stage, placed
the barriers in the Circus and provided egg-shaped balls to mark the number
of laps, turning-posts on the course and iron doors for the cages through
which the animals were sent into the arena. They also undertook the paving
of the ascent from the Forum to the Capitol with flint and the construction of
a colonnade from the temple of Saturn to the Capitol, and then on to the
senaculum, and beyond that to the senate-house. The market-place outside
the Porta Trigemina was paved with stone slabs and enclosed by a
palisading; they also repaired the Aemilian colonnade and made a flight of
stone steps on the slope leading from the Tiber. Inside the same gate they
paved the colonnade leading to the Aventine with flint and made a road from
the temple of Venus by the Clivus Publicius. These censors also signed
contracts for the erection of walls at Calatia and Auximium, and the money
which they received from the sale of portions of the State domain was spent
in building shops round the forums in both these places. Postumius gave out
that without the orders of the Roman senate or people he would not spend
their money, so Fulvius Flaccus, acting alone, built a temple to Jupiter at
Pisaurum and at Fundi and brought water to Placentia. He also paved a
street at Pisaurum with flint. At Sinuessa he added some suburban residences
with aviaries, constructed sewers, enclosed the place with a wall, built
colonnades and shops all round the forum, setting up three statues of Janus
there. These works contracted for by one of the censors were greatly
appreciated by the members of the colony. The censors were strict and
painstaking in the regulation of morals; several of the equites were deprived
of their horses.
41.28
Towards the close of the year there were
thanksgivings for one day for the successes gained in Spain under the
auspices and generalship of Appius Claudius, and twenty of the larger
victims were offered in sacrifice. The next day special intercessions were
offered up at the temples of Ceres, Liber and Libera, owing to a report
which had come in of a violent earthquake in the Sabine country which had
laid many buildings in ruins. On Appius Claudius' return from Spain the
senate decreed that he should enter the City in ovation. The consular
elections were now approaching and there was keen competition owing to
the large number of candidates. L. Postumius Albinus and M. Popilius
Laenas were elected. The new praetors were N. Fabius Buteo, M. Matienus,
C. Cicereius, M. Furius Crassipes for the second time, A. Atilius Serranus
for the second time, and C. Cluvius Saxula also for the second time. When
the elections were over, Ap. Claudius celebrated his triumph over the
Celtiberi by entering the City in ovation, and he brought into the treasury
10,000 pounds of silver and 5000 pounds of gold. Cnaeus Cornelius was
inaugurated as Flamen Dialis.
During the year a tablet was placed in the temple of Mater Matuta
with this inscription: "Under the auspices and command of the consul
Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, the legions of the army of Rome have
subjugated Sardinia. In that province there have been 80,000 natives either
killed or made prisoners. He was most happy in his administrations; he
liberated the allies of Rome; he restored the revenues and brought his army
safely home laden with enormous booty. For the second time he entered
Rome in triumph. Because of this he has given this tablet as an offering to
Jove." There was a representation of the island and pictures of the battles on
the tablet. Several gladiatorial exhibitions were given this year, most of them
on a small scale; the one given by T. Flamininus far surpassed the rest. On
the occasion of his father's death he exhibited this spectacle for four days,
and accompanied it with a distribution of meat, a funeral feast, and scenic
plays. But even in this magnificent exhibition the total number of men who
fought was only seventy-four.
End of Book 41