would hold a meeting of the commons for the purpose of prosecuting his father." The tribune alarmed, (for he saw the steel glittering before his eyes, himself alone and unarmed; the other a young man, and very powerful, and what was no less terrifying, savagely ferocious in his bodily strength,) swears in the terms in which he was obliged; and afterwards acknowledged that forced by this proceeding he gave up his undertaking. Nor though the commons would have preferred that an opportunity was afforded them of passing sentence on so cruel and tyrannical a culprit, they were not much displeased that the son had dared to act so in behalf of his father; and that was the more commendable in this, that such great severity on the part of the father had not weaned his mind from his filial affection. Wherefore the pleading of his cause was not only dispensed with for the father, but the matter even became a source of honour to the young man; and when it had been determined on that year for the first time that tribunes of the soldiers for the legions should be appointed by suffrage, (for before that the commanders themselves used to appoint them, as they now do those whom they call Rufuli,) he obtained the second place among six, without any merit of a civil or military nature to conciliate public favour; as he had spent his youth in the country and at a distance from all intercourse with the world.
6
On the same year the middle of the forum is said to have fallen in to an immense depth, forming a sort of vast cave, either by reason of an earthquake, or some other violent cause; nor could that gulf be filled up by throwing earth into it, every one exerting himself to the utmost, until by the admonition of the gods an inquiry began to be instituted, as to what constituted the chief strength of the Roman people? for the soothsayers declare that must be devoted to that place, if they desired the Roman state to be perpetual. Then they tell us that Marcus Curtius, a youth distinguished in war, reproved them for hesitating, whether there was any greater Roman good than arms and valour. Silence being made, looking to the temples of the immortal gods, which command a view of the forum, and towards the Capitol, and extending his hands at one time towards heaven, at another towards the infernal gods, through the gaping aperture of the earth, he devoted himself: then, mounted on a horse accoutred in the most gorgeous style possible, he plunged in full armour into the opening, and offerings and the fruits of the earth were thrown in over him by the multitude of men and women, and the lake was called Curtian not from Curtius Mettus, the ancient soldier of Titus Tatius, but from this circumstance. If any way would lead one's inquiry to the truth, industry would not be wanting: now, when length of time precludes all certainty of evidence, we must stand by the rumour of tradition; and the name of the lake must be accounted for from this more recent story. After due attention being paid to so great a prodigy, the senate, during the same year, being consulted regarding the Hernicians, (after having sent heralds to demand restitution in vain,) voted, that a motion be submitted on the earliest day to the people on the subject of declaring war against the Hernicians, and the people, in full assembly, ordered it. That province fell by lot to the consul Lucius Genucius. The state was in anxious suspense, because he was the first plebeian consul that was about to conduct a war under his own auspices, being sure to judge of the good or bad policy of establishing a community of honours, according as the matter should turn out. Chance so arranged it that Genucius, marching against the enemy with a considerable force, fell into an ambush; the legions being routed by reason of a sudden panic, the consul was slain after being surrounded by persons who knew not whom they had slain. When this news was brought to Rome, the patricians, by no means so grieved for the public disaster, as elated at the unsuccessful guidance of the plebeian consul, every where exclaim, "They might now go, and elect consuls from the commons, they might transfer the auspices where it was impious to do so. The patricians might by a vote of the people be driven from their own exclusive honour: whether had this inauspicious law availed also against the immortal gods? They had vindicated their authority, their auspices; which as soon as ever they were defiled by one by whom it was contrary to human and divine law that they should have been, the destruction of the army with its leader was a warning, that elections should hereafter be conducted in utter violation of the rights of birth." The senate-house and the forum resound with expressions such as these. Appius Claudius, because he had dissuaded the law, and now with greater authority blamed the issue of a measure which had been found fault with by himself, the consul Servilius appoints dictator by the general wish of the patricians, and a levy and cessation of business are procaimed.
7
Before the dictator and the new legions could arrive among the Hernicians, matters were conducted with great success under the direction of Caius Sulpicius the lieutenant-general, making use of a favourable opportunity. On the Hernicians, who after the death of the consul came up contemptuously to the Roman camp with the certainty of taking it, a sally was made by the exhortations of the consul, the minds of the soldiers also being full of rage and indignation. The Hernicians were much disappointed in their hopes of approaching the rampart; in such complete confusion did they retire from thence. Then on the arrival of the dictator the new army is joined to the old, the forces are doubled; and the dictator in a public assembly, by bestowing praises on the lieutenant-general and the soldiers by whose valour the camp had been defended, at the same time raises the spirits of those who heard their own deserved praises, and at the same time stimulates the others to rival such valour. With no less vigour are the military preparations made on the part of the enemy, who, mindful of the honour previously acquired, and not ignorant that the enemy had increased their strength, augment their forces also. The entire Hernician race, all of military age, are called out. Eight cohorts, each consisting of four hundred men, the chosen strength of their people, are levied. This, the select flower of their youth, they filled with hope and courage by their having decreed that they should receive double pay. They were exempt also from military work, that, being reserved for the single labour of fighting, they might feel that they should make exertions more than are made by ordinary men. They are placed in an extraordinary position in the field, that their valour might be the more conspicuous. A plain two miles in breadth separated the Roman camp from the Hernicians; in the middle of this, the spaces being about equal on both sides, they came to an engagement. At first the fight was kept up with doubtful hope; the Roman cavalry having repeatedly essayed to no purpose to break the enemy's line by their charge. When their fighting as cavalry was less marked by success than by great efforts, the cavalry, having first consulted the dictator, and then obtained his permission, leaving their horses behind, rush forward in front of the line, with a loud shout, and recommence the battle after a new style; nor could they be resisted, had not the extraordinary cohorts, possessing equal vigour both of body and spirit, thrown themselves in their way.
8
Then the contest is carried on between the leading men of the two states. Whatever the common fortune of war carried off from either side, the loss was many times greater than can be estimated by the numbers: the rest, an armed populace, as if they had delegated the fight to the leading men, rest the issue of their own success on the bravery of others. Many fall on both sides; more are wounded. At length the horsemen, chiding each other, asking, "what now remained," if neither when mounted they had made an impression on the enemy, nor as infantry did they achieve any thing of moment; what third mode of fighting did they wait for? Why had they so fiercely rushed forward before the line, and fought in a post not belonging to them? Aroused by these mutual chidings, they raise the shout anew, and press forward; and first they made the enemy shrink, then made them give way, and at length fairly made them turn their backs. Nor is it easy to say what circumstance obtained the advantage against strength so well matched; except that the constant fortune of both people might have raised or depressed their spirits. The Romans pursued the Hernicians in their flight to their camp; they refrained from attacking the camp, because it was late. The fact of not having finished the sacrifices with success detained the dictator, so that he could not give the signal before noon, and hence the contest was protracted till night. Next day the camp of the Hernicians was deserted, and some wounded men were found left behind, and the main body of the fugitives was routed by the Signians, as their standards were seen passing by their walls but thinly attended, and dispersed over the country in precipitate flight. Nor was the victory an unbloody one to the Romans; a fourth part of
