Abridgement of Roman History. Eutropius

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In the three hundred and second year from the founding of the city, the consular government ceased; and, instead of two consuls, ten magistrates were appointed to hold the supreme authority, under the title of decemviri. These during the first year conducted themselves with honour; but in the second, one of them, Appius Claudius, proceeded to offer violence to the maiden daughter of a certain Virginius, who was at that time filling an honourable post on military service against the Latins on Mount Algidus; but the father slew her with his own hand, that she might not suffer violation from the decemvir, and, returning to the army, raised an insurrection among the soldiers. Their power was in consequence taken from the decemviri, and they themselves received sentences of condemnation.^[5]

      XIX

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      In the three hundred and fifteenth year from the founding of the city, the Fidenates rebelled against the Romans. The Vejentes and their king Tolumnius gave them assistance. These two states are so near to Rome, that Fidenae is only seven, Veii only eighteen miles distant. The Volsci also joined them; but they were defeated by Marcus Aemilius the dictator, and Lucius Quintius Cincinnatus the master of the horse, and lost also their king. Fidenae was taken, and utterly destroyed.

      XX

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      Twenty years afterwards, the people of Veii resumed hostilities. Furius Camillus was sent as dictator against them, who first defeated them in battle, and then, after a long siege, took their city, the oldest and richest in Italy. He next took Falisci, a city of no less note. But popular odium was excited against him, on the ground that he had made an unfair division of the booty, and he was condemned on that charge and banished.

Soon after the Galli Senones marched towards Rome; and, pursuing the Romans, whom they defeated at the river Allia, eleven miles from the city, possessed themselves of the city itself, no part of which could be defended against them, except the Capitol. After they had besieged it a long time, and the Romans were suffering from famine, Camillus, who was in exile in a neighbouring city, attacked the Gauls unexpectedly, and gave them a severe defeat. Afterwards,^[6] on receiving a sumin gold, to desist from the siege of the Capitol, they retreated; Camillus, however, pursued them, and routed them with such a slaughter, that he recovered both the gold which had been given to them, and all the military standards which they had taken. Thus he entered the city for the third time in triumph, and received the appellation of a second Romulus, as if he also had been a founder of the city.

      Footnotes

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      1 ↑ The words ut, qui plurimum minimumque, tradunt, which occur in all editions before the date, are not translated; for nothing satisfactory has yet been said as to their grammatical construction. Madame Dacier suggested that we should supply ut eos praeteream qui. But praeteream is not to the purpose. Hausius's explanation is ut ego inter eos tradam qui plurimum minimumque tradunt. The Berlin edition of 1791 interprets better: ut medium inter eos qui----tradunt, ego tradam. There is no doubt that Eutropius meant that he would take a middle point between those who give the highest and those who give the lowest date; but the words to be supplied for the construction seem not to have been yet discovered. Perhaps the sense is "as those say who give the highest and lowest dates, and take a middle point between them," something equivalent to the words in italics being intended to bo understood. The same words occur in b. x. c. 18, with the construction equally uncertain.

      2 ↑ Parens et ipse Tarquinii. This passage perplexed the commentators, until it was discovered that parens was used by writers of the lower ages for cognatus; for which sense of the word Tzschucke refers to Lampridius in Alex. c. 67, and to Casaubon on Capitolinus in M. Philosoph, c. 5. See Scheller's Lexicon, s.v. "Parens".

      3 ↑ Ut collatis e populo nummis, sumptum habuerit sepulturae. "He had the expense of his funeral from money contributed by the people".

      4 ↑ 479 B.C.

      5 ↑ Damnati sunt. Appius and Oppius, before the day for their trial came, committed suicide. Their colleagues went into banishment voluntarily, as appears from Livy. Claudius was sentenced to death, but allowed to go into exile through the intercession of Virginius. See Liv. iii. 58.

      6 ↑ Postea tamen. The word tamen, which disturbs the drift of the passage, is not translated. The text seems hardly sound. Livy tells the story differently.

      Book II

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      Military tribunes created instead of consuls; Camillus overcomes the Volsci, Aequi, and Sutrini, Cincinnatus the Praenestini, I, II ----Consular government restored, III.----Death and eulogy of Camillus, IV.----Flight of the Gauls, V ----The census, VI.----Combat of Valerius Corvus with a Gaul, VII.----The Latin war, VIII.----Various defeats of the Samnites, IX.----The Gauls, Etrurians, and Samnites defeated, X.----The war with Pyrrhus, XI.-XIV.----Ptolemy, king of Egypt, sends ambassadors to Rome, XV.----The Picenians and Sallentines subdued, XVI. XVII.----Another census: the first Punic war, XVIII.----XXVIII.

      I

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      In the three hundred and sixty-fifth year after the foundation of the city, and the first after its capture by the Gauls, the form of government was changed; and, instead of two consuls, military tribunes, invested with consular power, were created. From this time the power of Rome began to increase; for that very year Camillus reduced the state of the Volsci, which had persisted to make war for seventy years; also the cities of the Aequi and Sutrini; and, overthrowing their armies, took possession of them all; and thus enjoyed three triumphs at the same time.

      II

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      Titus Quintius Cincinnatus, also, having pursued the Praenestini, who had advanced in a hostile manner to the very gates of Rome, defeated them on the river Allia, annexing eight cities that were under their dominion to the Roman empire; and, attacking Praeneste itself, forced it to surrender; all which acts were accomplished by him in the space of twenty days; and a triumph was decreed him.

      III

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      But the office of military tribunes did not last long; for, after a short time, it was enacted that no more should be created; and four years passed in the state in such a manner that none of the superior magistrates were appointed. The military tribunes, however, were re-instated in their office with consular authority, and continued for three years, when consuls were again elected.

      IV