392 



ROMAN EMPIRE. 



Roman 

 Empire. 



Camillus 

 relieves Su- 



triimi. 



Defeats the 

 An dates, 



and suc- 

 cours Ne- 

 pet and Su- 



triuni. 



Manlius 

 Capitol in us 

 aspires to 

 the So- 

 vereignty. 



dictator ordered a detachmentto proceed with firebrands 

 to the windward side to set it on fire, while with the 

 main body he obtained possession of it, and leaving his 

 son in it to guard the prisoners, he made himself mas- 

 ter of Bola, the capital of the Equi. He then carried 

 his arms against the Volsci, whom he speedily subdued. 



The town of Sutrium, in alliance with the Romans, 

 having been invested with a powerful Hetrurian army, 

 Camillus set out for its relief; but the want of provi- 

 sions forced them to surrender before his arrival. The 

 inhabitants, deprived of every thing, had set out in 

 quest of new habitations, and fortunately fell in with 

 Camillus's army. The dictator encouraged them to re- 

 turn ; and arriving at Sutrium when the Hetrurians 

 were engrossed with the plunder of the city, he put 

 them to the sword, and restored the city to its rightful 

 owners. After these brilliant exploits, Camillus entered 

 Home in triumph, and resigned the dictatorship. 



During the subsequent administration of the six mi- 

 litary tribunes, new works were added to the part 

 of the capitol which had been scaled by the Gauls ; the 

 territory of the Equi was laid waste ; and the two cities 

 of Cortuosa and Contenebra were taken from the He- 

 trurians, and demolished. 



The approach of a new war induced the people to 

 elect Camillus one of the military tribunes. The rest 

 of his colleagues agreed to give him the sole direction 

 of affairs in time of war ; so that without the name he 

 possessed the powers of a dictator. His first enter- 

 prise was against the combined armies of the Antiates, 

 the Latins, and the Hernici ; but his troops showing 

 an unwillingness to engage an enemy so superior in 

 numbers, Camillus mounted his horse, encouraged all 

 the ranks of his army, and dismounting and seizing 

 the nearest standard-bearer by the hand, he called upon 

 the soldiers to advance. He was immediately followed 

 by his troops with a great shout, and having thrown a 

 standard among the enemy's battalions, the soldiers 

 struggled to regain it, and speedily broke the ranks 

 which opposed them. The Antiates were completely 

 routed. The Latins and Hernici returned home, and 

 the Volsci retreated into Satricum. Camillus invested 

 this city, and, having taken it by assault, he forced the 

 Volsci to surrender at discretion. 



Camillus was now called upon to succour the allied 

 cities of Nepet and Sutrium against the Hetrurian 

 power. Sutrium had nearly yielded to the besiegers 

 when Camillus arrived. Dividing his army into two 

 bodies, he ordered Valerius to march round the walls 

 as if he meant to scale them, while he himself should 

 charge the Hetrurians in the rear, and shut them up 

 between the besieged and his own forces. The He- 

 trurians, seeing these plans, sought for safety in a dis- 

 orderly flight, and left great numbers on the field who 

 had fallen by the swords of the Romans. The city 

 of Nepet, which had surrendered to the enemy, was 

 also taken by assault, and the Hetrurians put to the 

 sword. 



The splendid successes of Camillus eclipsed the 

 military glory of all his contemporaries. Marius Man- 

 lius who had saved Rome by his bravery in the capi- 

 tol, began to envy the fame of Camillus, and to aban 

 don himself to those ambitious views which the cir- 

 cumstances of the times had induced him to subdue. 

 His bravery had made him respected by all ranks, but 

 it was through the affections and support of the people 

 that he looked for the fulfilment of his plans. Pro- 

 fuse in the distribution of his money he soon acquired 

 popularity among the needy, and availing himself of 



3 



every opportunity of defending the rights of the peo- 

 ple, and of calumniating the conduct of the patricians, 

 he acquired great influence over the Roman populace. 

 The military tribunes did not fail to see through the 

 schemes of Manlius. It was now obvious to all that 

 he aspired to the sovereignty of Rome, and being ac- 

 cused of this crime, he was found guilty, and thrown 

 headlong from the capitol. 



Having now subdued the nations which had so often 

 threatened to destroy them, the Romans during the 

 consulship of Valerius Corvus and Cornelius, turned 

 their arms against the Samnites, a nation which inha- 

 bited a part of southern Italy which now belongs to 

 the Neapolitan territory. Valerius Corvus was sent to 

 relieve Capua, the principal town of Campania, while 

 Cornelius led the Roman army to Samnicum. The 

 Samnites, though the bravest of the enemies of Rome, 

 were compelled to fly after many well-fought battles. 

 Valerius was less successful than his colleague. Hav- 

 ing inconsiderately led his troops into a defile, he was 

 saved by the tribune Decius, who posted himself on a 

 hill which commanded the enemy. This skilful ma 

 noeuvre placed the Samnites between two enemie?, 

 and they were defeated with the loss of more than 

 30,000 men. 



During the consulship of Manlius, a war broke out 

 between the Romans and the Latins. The similarity 

 between the arms and the language of the two people, 

 rendered it necessary to prevent any confusion in the 

 time of action. Orders were therefore issued by Man- 

 lius, that death should be inflicted on any soldier who 

 should leave his ranks. When the armies were drawn 

 out for battle, Metius, the commander of the Latin 

 cavalry, advanced from the lines, and challenged to 

 single combat any of the Roman knights. Indignant 

 at the insult thus offered to his country, the consul's 

 son, Titus Manlius, forgetting the stern order of the 

 general, accepted the challenge and slew his adversary. 

 Manlius sternly ordered his son to be beheaded, but 

 his body, adorned with the spoils of Metius, was buried 

 by the soldiers with military honours. The battle 

 now began between the two armies, Manlius com- 

 manded the right, and Decius the left of the Romans. 

 The augurs had foretold that if any part of the Roman 

 army should be in distress, the commander of it should 

 devote himself for his country. Accordingly when 

 the Roman left began to give way, Decius determined 

 to sacrifice himself to the Gods. After some idle cere- 

 monies, he mounted his horse and carrying consterna- 

 tion and death wherever he appeared, he at last fell 

 covered with glory. The Romans were inspirited 

 while the Latins were disheartened by this act of 

 magnanimous devotion. The ranks of the Latins be- 

 gan to give way, a total rout ensued; and the Romans 

 pressing the victory with ardour, made such a carnage 

 among the Latins that scarcely a fourth of the army 

 survived the defeat. The vanquished Latins sued for 

 peace, and some time afterwards entirely submitted 

 themselves to the Roman sway. 



The Samnites having been refused a peace from the 

 Roman senate, Pontius their general resolved to obtain 

 it by a stratagem. Occupying the defile of Claudium 

 and defending all its outlets, he dressed ten of his sol- 

 diers as shepherds, who were instructed to throw them- 

 selves in the way of the Romans. The consul himself 

 fell in with the shepherds, and having learned from 

 them that Pontius's army had gone to besiege Luceria 

 a town of Apulia, he marched straight through the de- 

 files, and never suspected the stratagem till he found 



Roman 

 Empire. 



384 B. C. 



War 



against the 

 Samnites. 



War 



against the 

 Latins. 



Heroism of 

 Titus Man- 

 lius. 

 362 B. C. 



