[13.1] The consul, after he had averted the danger, returned once more to the assistance of those who were in the plain. This battle is said to have been greater than any the Romans had previously fought as regards not only the numbers of the combatants, but also the time it lasted and its sudden turns of fortune. For of the Romans themselves from the city the flower and choice of their youth consisted of about 20,000 foot and some 1200 horse attached to the four legions, while from their colonies and allies there was another force equally large. [2] As for the duration of the battle, it began a little before noon and lasted till sunset. Its fortunes continued for a long time shifting to and fro with alternating victories and defeats. A consul was slain, as well as a legate who had himself been twice consul, and many other commanders, tribunes and centurions — more indeed than in any previous battle. But the victory in the struggle seemed to rest with the Romans, for this one reason alone, that the Tyrrhenians left their camp the following night and withdrew. [3] The next day the Romans turned to plundering the camp which had been abandoned by the Tyrrhenians, and having buried the dead, returned to their own camp. There, having called an assembly of the soldiers, they distributed the rewards of valour to those who had distinguished themselves in the battle, as follows: first, to Caeso Fabius, the consul’s brother, who had performed great and remarkable exploits; next, to Siccius, who had brought about the recovery of their camp; and third, to Marcus Flavoleius, the commander of the legion, on account of both the oath he had taken and the prowess he had shown in the midst of danger. [4] After attending to these things they remained a few days in the camp; then, when none of the enemy came out to fight against them, they returned home. Though all in the city wished to honour the surviving consul with the victor’s reward of a triumph because of a most glorious outcome to a very great battle, the consul declined the favour they offered, saying that it was neither right nor lawful for him to ride in procession and wear a crown of laurel after the death of his brother and the loss of his colleague. But after putting away the standards and dismissing the soldiers to their homes he resigned the consulship when two months still remained to complete his year’s term, since he was no longer capable of performing the duties of the office. For he was still suffering from a horrible wound and obliged to keep his bed.
[14.1] The senate chose interreges to preside at the election of magistrates, and the second interrex having assembled the centuries in the Field, Caeso Fabius, the one who had been awarded the prize for valour in the battle, and brother to the man who had abdicated his magistracy, was chosen consul for the third time, and with him Titus Verginius. These, having drawn lots for the armies, took the field, Fabius to war against the Aequians, who were plundering the fields of the Latins, and Verginius against the Veientes. [2] The Aequians, when they learned that an army was going to come against them, hastily evacuated the enemy’s country and returned to their own cities; and after that they permitted their own territory to be ravaged, so the consul possessed himself at the first blow of large amounts of money, many slaves, and much booty of other sorts. As for the Veientes, they at first remained within their walls; but as soon as they thought they had a favourable opportunity, they fell upon the enemy as they were dispersed over the plains and occupied in seizing booty. [3] And attacking them with a large army in good order, they not only took away their booty, but also killed or put to flight all who engaged them. Indeed, if Titus Siccius, who was legate at the time, had not come to their relief with a body of foot and horse in good order and held the foe in check, nothing could have prevented the army from being utterly destroyed. But when he got in the enemy’s way, the rest of the troops, who had been scattered one here and one there, succeeded in getting together before it was too late; and being now all united, they occupied a hill late in the afternoon and remained there the following night. [4] The Veientes, elated by their success, encamped near the hill and sent for their forces in the city, imagining that they had shut up the Romans in a place where they could not get any provisions, and that they would soon force them to deliver up their arms to them. And when a multitude of their men had arrived, there were now two armies posted on the two sides of the hill that could be assailed, as well as many smaller detachments to guard the less vulnerable positions; and every place was full of armed men.
[5] The other consul, Fabius, learning from a letter that came from his colleague that the troops shut up on the hill were in the direst straits and would be in danger of being reduced by famine unless someone came to their relief, broke camp and marched in haste against the Veientes. Indeed, if he had been one day later in completing his march, he would have been of no help, but would have found the army there destroyed. For the men holding the hill, distressed by the lack of provisions, had sallied out, ready to choose the most honourable death; and having engaged the enemy, they were then fighting, though the bodies of most of them were weakened by hunger, thirst, want of sleep, and every other hardship. [6] But after a short time, when the army of Fabius, which was very large and drawn up in order of battle, was seen approaching, it brought confidence to their own men and fear to the enemy; and the Tyrrhenians, believing themselves no longer to be strong enough to engaged in battle with a valiant and fresh army, abandoned their camps and withdrew. When the two armies of the Romans had come together, they made a large camp in a strong position near the city; then, after remaining there many days and plundering the best part of the territory of the Veientes, the generals led the army home. [7] When the Veientes heard that the forces of the Romans had been discharged from the standards, taking the light-armed youth, not only their own which they had already assembled, but also that of their neighbours which was then present, they made an incursion into the plains bordering upon their own territory, which were full of corn, cattle and men, and plundered them. For the husbandmen had come down from the strongholds to get feed for their cattle and to till their lands, relying upon the protection of their army, which then lay encamped between them and the enemy; and after this army had retired, they had made no hasten to move back, as they did not expect the Veientes, after having suffered so many defeats, to make a return attack so promptly against the foes. [8] This irruption of the Veientes into the Romans’ country, though brief in point of the time it lasted, was very serious with respect to the amount of territory they overran; and it caused the Romans unusual vexation, mingled with shame, since it extended as far as the river Tiber and Mount Janiculum, which is not twenty stades from Rome. For there was no force then under the standards to stop the enemy’s further progress; at any rate, the army of the Veientes had gone before the Romans could assemble and be assigned to centuries.
[15.1] When the senate was later called together by the consuls and had deliberated in what manner the war should be carried on against the Veientes, the opinion which prevailed was to maintain a standing army upon the frontiers, which should keep guard over the Roman territory, camp ing in the open and always remaining under arms. But the expense of maintaining the garrisons, which would be very great, grieved them, since the public treasury was exhausted as a result of the continual campaigns, and their private fortunes had prove unequal to the burden of the war-taxes. And they were grieved still more by the problem of enlisting the garrisons which were to be sent out, how that could be accomplished, there being little probability that a few men would, willingly at least, serve as a bulwark in defence of all and submit to hardships, not in successive shifts, but continuously. [2] While the senate was troubled on both these accounts, the two Fabii assembled all the members of their clan, and having consulted with them, promised the senate that they themselves would voluntarily undertake this risk in defence of all the citizens, taking along with them their clients and friends, and would at their own expense continue in arms as long as the war should last. [3] All admired them for their noble devotion and placed their hopes of victory in this single undertaking; and while they were being acclaimed and their names were on the lips of all, they took their arms
and marched forth, accompanied by vows and sacrifices. Their leader was Marcus Fabius, the man who had been consul the preceding year and had conquered the Tyrrhenians in the late battle; those he took with him were about four thousand in number, the greater part of them being clients and friends, while of the Fabian clan there were three hundred and six men. They were followed a little later by the Roman army under the command of Caeso Fabius, one of the consuls.
[4] When they came near the river Cremera, which is not far from the city of the Veientes, they built upon a steep and craggy hill a fortress to command their territory, as large as could be garrisoned by an army of such size, surrounding it with a double ditch and erecting frequent towers; and the fortress was named Cremera, after the river. Since many hands were employed at this work and consul himself assisted them, it was completed sooner than might have been expected. [5] After that the consul marched out with the army and went past the city to the other side of the territory of the Veientes, the side facing toward the rest of Tyrrhenia, where the Veientes kept their herds, not expecting that a Roman army would ever come there; and having possessed himself of much booty, he returned home to the newly erected fortress. This quarry afforded him great satisfaction for two reasons — first, because he had so promptly retaliated upon the enemy, and again, because it would furnish abundant supplies to the garrison of the stronghold. For he neither turned over any part of the spoils to the treasury nor distributed any to the soldiers, but presented all the cattle, the beasts of burden, the yokes of oxen, the iron, and the other implements of husbandry to the patrols of the country. [6] After accomplishing this he led the army home. The Veientes found themselves in very dire straits after the erection of the frontier stronghold, since they could no longer either till their land in safety or receive the provisions that were imported from abroad. [7] For the Fabii had divided their army into four bodies, with one of which they guarded the stronghold, while with the other three they continually pillaged the enemy’s country; and often, when the Veientes openly attacked them with a considerable force or endeavoured to entice them into places beset with ambuscades, the Fabii had the advantage in both situations, and after killing many of them, would retire safely to their stronghold. Consequently the enemy no longer dared to engage them, but remained shut up within their walls for the most part, and only ventured out by stealth. Thus ended that winter.
[16.1] The next year, when Lucius Aemilius and Gaius Servilius had assumed the consulship, the Romans were informed that the Volscians and the Aequians had entered into an agreement to lead out armies against them at the same time, and that they would soon make an irruption into their territory. And this information was true. At all events, sooner than anyone was expecting, both nations with their armies were ravaging the parts of the Roman territory that adjoined their own, in the belief that the Romans would not be able to cope with the Tyrrhenian war and at the same time to withstand their own attack. [2] And again other messengers came reporting that all Tyrrhenia had become hostile to them and was prepared to send joint reinforcements to the Veientes. For the latter, finding themselves unable to destroy the fortress by themselves alone, had turned to them for help, reminding them of their kinship and friendship, and enumerating the many wars they had waged in common. In view of all this, they asked them to assist them in their war against the Romans, since they were now serving as a bulwark for all Tyrrhenia and stemming the torrent of war which was rushing from Rome upon all the peoples of their race. The Tyrrhenians were persuaded, and promised to send them as large a force of auxiliaries as they asked for.
[3] The senate, being informed of this, resolved to send three armies into the field; and the levies were speedily raised. Lucius Aemilius was sent against the Tyrrhenians; and taking part in the expedition with him was Caeso Fabius, the man who had recently resigned the consulship, having now asked leave of the senate to join his kinsmen on the Cremera whom his brother had led out to garrison that place, and to take part in the same contests as they; and invested with the proconsular power, he set out with his followers. [4] Gaius Servilius, the other consul, marched against the Volscians, and Servius Furius, the proconsul, against the Aequians. Each of them was at the head of two legions of Romans and an equally strong force of Latins, Hernicans and the other allies. In the case of the proconsul Servius the war went according to his wish and was soon over. For in a single battle he routed the Aequians, and that without any trouble, having terrified the enemy at the first onset; and thereafter he laid waste their country, as the people had taken refuge in their forts. [5] But Servilius, one of the consuls, having rushed into battle in a precipitate and headstrong fashion, found himself greatly disappointed in his expectations, with the result that after losing many brave men he was forced to give up engaging in pitched battles with them any longer, but remaining in his camp, to carry through the war by means of skirmishes and engagements of the light-armed troops.
[6] Lucius Aemilius, who had been sent against the Tyrrhenians, finding that the Veientes had taken the field before their city together with a large number of auxiliaries of the same race, set to work without further delay; and letting only a single day pass after making camp, he led out his forces to battle, in which the Veientes joined with great confidence. When the contest continued doubtful, he took the horse and charged the right wing of the enemy; then, after throwing that into confusion, he proceeded to the other wing, fighting on horseback where the ground would permit, and where it would not, dismounting and fighting on foot. When both of the enemy’s wings were in distress, those in the centre could no longer hold out either, but were thrust back by the Roman foot; and after that they all fled to their camp. [7] Aemilius followed them in their flight with his army in good order and killed many of them. When he came near their camp, he attacked it with relays of fresh troops, remaining there all that day and the following night; and the next day, when the enemy were spent with weariness, wounds and want of sleep, he made himself master of the camp. The Tyrrhenians, when they saw the Romans already mounting the palisades, left their camp and fled, some to the city and some to the neighbouring hills. [8] That day the consul remained in the enemy’s camp; and on the next day he rewarded with the most magnificent presents those who had distinguished themselves in the battle, and gave to the soldiers all the beasts of burden and slaves that had been left behind in the camp, together with the tents, which were full of many valuables. And the Roman army found itself in greater opulence than after any former battle. For the Tyrrhenians were a people of dainty and expensive tastes, both at home and in the field carrying about with them, besides the necessities, costly and artistic articles of all kinds designed for pleasure and luxury.
[17.1] In the course of the following days the Veientes, yielding at last to their misfortunes, sent their oldest citizens to the consul with the tokens of suppliants to treat for peace. These men, resorting to lamentations and entreaties and with many tears rehearsing every argument calculated to arouse compassion, endeavoured to persuade the consul to let them send ambassadors to Rome to treat with the senate for a termination of the war, and until the ambassadors should return with the senate’s answer, to do no injury to their country. In order to obtain these concessions, they promised to supply the Roman army with corn for two months and with money for their pay for six months, as the victor commanded. [2] And the consul, after receiving what they brought and distributing it among his men, made the truce with them. The senate, having heard the ambassadors and received the letter of the consul, in which he earnestly recommended and urged putting an end to the war with the Tyrrhenians as soon as possible, passed a decree to grant peace as the enemy desired; as to the terms on which the peace should be made, they left them for the consul Lucius Aemilius to determine in such manner as he should think best. [3] The consul, having received this answer, concluded a peace with the Veientes that was more equitable than advantageous to the conquerors; for he neither took far from them any part of their territory, nor imposed on t
hem any further fine of money, nor compelled them to give hostages as security for the performance of their agreement. [4] This action brought upon him great odium and was the reason for his not receiving from the senate the rewards due for his success; for when he requested the customary triumph, they opposed it, censuring his arbitrary behaviour in the matter of the treaty, in that he had concluded it without their concurrence. But lest he should take this action as an insult and evidence of their anger, they ordered him to march with his army against the Volscians in order to bear aid to his colleague, on the chance that if he succeeded in the war there — for he was a man of great bravery — he might blot out the resentment for his former errors. But Aemilius, angry at this slight upon his honour, inveighed violently against the senate in the popular assembly, accusing them of being displeased that the war against the Tyrrhenians was ended, He declared that they were doing this with treacherous intent and through contempt of the poor, lest these, when freed from foreign wars, should demand the performance of the promises concerning the allotment of land with which they had been cajoled by them for so many years already. [5] After he had in his ungovernable resentment poured forth these and many similar reproaches against the patricians, he not only dismissed from the standards the army that had served under him, but also sent for the forces that were tarrying in the country of the Aequians under Furius the proconsul and dismissed them to their homes. Thereby he once more gave the tribunes a considerable warrant for accusing the senators in the meetings of the assembly and sowing dissension between the poor and the rich.
Delphi Complete Works of Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Illustrated) (Delphi Ancient Classics Book 79) Page 84