"Nay," said the Romans, "by what right do ye ask land from them that possess it, and threaten war to them that refuse? And what concern have ye, being Gauls, with the men of Etruria?" To this the Gauls made reply in haughty words: "Our right we carry on the points of our swords, for to the brave all things belong."
Thus there was great anger stirred up on both sides; and they made ready for battle. And now (for so the destiny of the city of Rome would have it) the amba.s.sadors, setting the law of nations at nought, went into the battle. Nor was this hidden from the Gauls, for not only were the three conspicuous for strength and courage, but one of them, Quintus by name, spurring out before the line, slew a chieftain of the Gauls that had fallen upon the standards of the Etrurians, running him through with his spear. And the Gauls knew him for one of the amba.s.sadors, while he spoiled the body of the arms. Straightway the report of this thing was spread through the whole army, and the signal was given to retreat, for they thought no more of the Clusines, but would have vengeance on the Romans. Some indeed would have had the host march straightway; but the elders prevailed, advising that amba.s.sadors should be sent complaining of the wrong done, and demanding that the Fabii should be given up to them for punishment. So amba.s.sadors were sent, and when these had set forth the matter, the Senate was much displeased with the Fabii, and confessed that the Gauls demanded only that which was within their right. Nevertheless, because the Fabii were men of high degree, favour prevailed against justice. But lest they should be blamed if any misfortune followed, the Senators referred the decision of the matter to an a.s.sembly of the people; in which a.s.sembly favour and wealth availed so much that the Fabii were not only let go unpunished, but were even chosen with three others to be tribunes of the soldiers for the year to come. When the amba.s.sadors of the Gauls knew what had been done, they were greatly wroth, and returned to their countrymen, having first proclaimed war against Rome. And now, though so great a peril was at hand, none at Rome thought or cared. And indeed it is always thus that they that are doomed to perish have their eyes blinded against that which is coming upon them. For though the Romans had been wont to use all means of help against enemies near at hand, and to appoint a dictator in times of need, yet now, having to deal with an enemy of whom they had had before no experience or knowledge, they neglected all these things. They whose rashness had brought about the war, having the charge of the thing committed to them, used no more diligence in the levying of an army than if they were dealing with one of the nations round about, but made light of the matter. In the meanwhile the Gauls, when they heard that the very men that had set at nought the law of nations had been promoted to great honour, were filled with fury, and forthwith s.n.a.t.c.hing up their standards, marched towards Rome with all speed. And when the inhabitants of the country were terrified at their coming, the dwellers in the cities running to arms, and the countryfolk leaving their homes, the Gauls cried out to them that they were bound for Rome.
Nevertheless the report of their coming went before them, messengers from Clusium and from other states hastening to Rome, from whose reports, as also from the great speed of the enemy, there arose great fear among the Romans. These levied an army with all haste and marched forth, meeting the Gauls at the river Allia, where, flowing down from the mountains of Crustumeria in a very deep channel, it is joined to the Tiber, about eleven miles from Rome. There they found the whole country, both in front and on either side, occupied by great mult.i.tudes of Gauls, and in an uproar with the loud singing and shouting with which this nation is wont to terrify its enemies.
And now the tribunes of the soldiers, having neither pitched a camp nor made a rampart to be a defence if they should be driven back, nor taken any account of omens, nor offered sacrifice (for they were careless alike of G.o.ds and of men), drew up their army in array, extending their line lest they should be surrounded by the mult.i.tude of the enemy. But even then, though they so weakened the middle part that their ranks scarce held together, they could not make their front equal to the front of the enemy. There was a little hill on the right hand, and this they occupied with a reserve. Against this reserve Brennus, the king of the Gauls, made his first attack; for seeing that the Romans were few in number, he judged that they must excel in skill, and that the hill had been thus occupied to the end that the Gauls might be a.s.sailed from behind while they were fighting with the legions in front. He judged, therefore, that if he could thrust down them that were on this hill his army might easily deal with the Romans on the plain, seeing that they far exceeded them in number. So true is it that on this day the barbarians were superior not in fortune only but also in judgment and skill. As for the Romans, neither the captains nor the soldiers were in anywise worthy of their name. Their souls were wholly possessed with terror, so that, forgetting everything, they fled to Veii, that had belonged to their enemies, and this though the Tiber was in their way, rather than to Rome, to their wives and children. The reserves were defended for a while by the ground whereon they stood, but the rest of the army turned their backs forthwith and fled so soon as they heard the battle shout of the Gauls. For they sought not to come to blows with them, nor even set up a shout in answer; but without making trial of the enemy, nor so much as daring to look at him, fled with all haste. In the battle, indeed, none were slain; but there was great slaughter among the rereward when these were crowded together in such haste and confusion that they hindered one another. Many also were slain on the bank of the Tiber, whither the whole of the left wing of the host had fled, first throwing away their arms; and many also were swallowed up by the river, either not knowing how to swim or from lack of strength, being overburdened by the weight of their coats of mail and other armour.
Nevertheless the greater part of the men escaped safe to Veii; but none went from this place to the help of Rome, nor did they so much as send tidings of the battle. As for them that had been set on the right wing, these all went to Rome; and when they were come thither, delayed not even to shut the gate of the city, but fled straightway into the citadel. This battle was fought on the eighteenth day of the month Quintilis; nor was it ever lawful in Rome thereafter to do any public business on that day.
The Gauls were beyond measure astonished that they had vanquished their enemy so easily and in so short a s.p.a.ce of time. At the first they stood still in fear, not knowing what had taken place; afterwards they began to fear some stratagem; at last they buried the dead bodies of the slain, and piled together the arms in heaps according to their custom.
And now, not perceiving in any place the sign of an enemy, they began to march forward, and came to Rome a little before sunset. But when the hors.e.m.e.n whom they had sent on before brought back tidings that the gates were open, with none to defend them and no soldiers upon the walls, they were not less astonished than before, and came to a halt, fearing lest, in the darkness of the night and in a place whereof they knew nothing, they might fall into some peril. They took up a station, therefore, between Rome and the river Anio, sending scouts about the walls and the gates of the city who should learn what the enemy purposed to do in the great extremity whereunto they had been brought.
CHAPTER XIV. ~~ THE STORY OF ROME AND THE GAULS (continued).
Meanwhile the city was full of weeping and wailing, for none thought that they who had fled to Veii were yet alive, or that any had been saved from the battle, save such as were already come back to Rome. But when tidings were brought that the Gauls were close at hand, sorrow gave place to fear. And now the Gauls were seen to move backwards and forwards before the walls, and there was heard the sound of shouting and of the barbarous music that this people use. And still the inhabitants expected till an attack should be made upon the city. At first they thought that this would be done at the first coming of the enemy; but afterwards believed that it would be delayed until nightfall, that the terror might be increased by the darkness. Nevertheless all men bore themselves bravely, and altogether unlike to them who had turned their backs in such shameful fashion at the river Allia. For since there was no hope that the city should be defended by the small number that yet remained, it was resolved that all the young men that could bear arms, together with such of the Senators as had strength sufficient for war, should go up with their wives and children to the Citadel and the Capitol, where stores of arms and corn having been collected, they might defend the G.o.ds of Rome and the honour of the State. Also it was determined that the priests of Quirinus, and the virgins of Vesta with him, should carry away far from peril of fire and sword all that appertained to the G.o.ds, that their worship might not be interrupted so long as any should be left to perform it. For they said, "If the citadel and the Capitol, wherein are the dwellings of the G.o.ds, and the Senate, which is the council of the State, and the youth that are of an age to carry arms, survive the destruction that hangs over the city, it is but a small matter that the aged should perish." And that the common people might bear their fate with the more willingness, the old men of the n.o.bles that had been honoured in former days with triumphs and consulships affirmed that they would meet death together with the rest; neither would they burden the scanty stores of the fighting men with bodies that had no longer the strength to carry arms.
When the old men had thus comforted one another they addressed themselves to encourage the young. These they accompanied to the Capitol, commending to their valour and strength all that now was left of the greatness of Rome. And now when they who were resolved that they would not survive the capture and destruction of the city had departed, the women ran to and fro asking of their husbands and of their sons what they should do. But of these many were suffered to follow their husbands and kinsfolk into the Capitol, none forbidding, though none called them, for that which would have profited the besieged, by diminishing the number of the useless, seemed to be barbarous and cruel. As for the rest of the people, for whom there was neither room in so small a hill nor food in so scanty a provision of corn, these went forth from the city, as it were in a great host, towards the hill Janiculum.
Thence some scattered themselves over the country, and some made their way to the neighbouring cities; but there was no leader or common purpose, and each concerned himself with his own affairs only, for of the State all despaired. Meanwhile the priests of Quirinus and the virgins of Vesta, taking no thought for their own affairs, took counsel together which of the sacred things they should carry away with them and which they should leave behind, for they had not strength sufficient for the carrying of all; also in what place they might most safely leave them. It seemed good to them to put such things as it was needful to leave behind in a cask and to bury them in the ground within the chapel that was hard by the dwelling-house of the priests of Quirinus. The rest they, carried, dividing the burden of them among themselves, and went by the way that leads to the mount Janiculum, over the wooden bridge. And while they were mounting the hill, one Lucius Albinius, a man of the Commons, saw them, who was carrying his wife and children in a cart amongst the crowd that was leaving the city as having no strength for arms. This Albinius forgot not even in such peril the reverence due to religion, and thinking it shame that the priests with the holy things should go afoot while he and his were carried, bade his wife and children come down from the cart, and putting therein the virgins, with the sacred things, carried them to Caere, whither it had been their purpose to go.
Meanwhile at Rome all things had been set in order, as far as might be, for the defending of the Citadel; and the old men, going back to their homes, sat awaiting the coming of the Gauls with minds wholly fixed on death. And such among them as had borne the more honourable magistracies, because they would die having on them the emblems of their old glory, put on them the splendid robes which they wear who draw the ropes of the chariots of the G.o.ds, or ride in triumph, and so sat down in their ivory chairs before their houses. Some say that, following a form of words which Marcus Folius the chief priest repeated, they devoted themselves to death for their country and for the citizens of Rome.
The next day the Gauls entered the city by the Colline Gate without any anger or fury, for such as had been stirred by the battle had abated during the night; and indeed they had met with no peril in the field, nor did they now take the city by storm. So they came to the marketplace and thence looked about them on the Citadel, which alone in the city still preserved some semblance of war, and on the temples of the G.o.ds.
Here they left a guard of no great strength, lest haply some attack should be made upon them from the Capitol, while they were scattered; and the rest scattered themselves to gather spoil, some seeking it in the dwellings that were nigh at hand, and some in such as were more distant, thinking that they would find these rather untouched and abounding with riches. Thence again, terrified by the silence of the place, and fearing lest some stratagem of the enemy might be concealed thereby, they returned to the market-place and to the parts adjacent thereto. Here finding that the palaces of the n.o.bles were open, and the houses of the common folk barred, they were slower to enter the open than the shut, for they beheld with no small reverence the men that sat each in the porch of his house, noting how great was the splendour of their apparel and their ornaments, and that the majesty of their countenances was rather that of G.o.ds than of men. So they stood marvelling at them as though they had been images of the G.o.ds, till a certain Marcus Papirius, one of the priests, smote a Gaul on the head with his ivory staff, the man having stroked his beard, which it was then the custom to wear of a great length. The barbarian in a rage slew him, and all the others also were slain where they sat. The n.o.bles having thus perished, all others that were found in the city were slaughtered in like manner, the houses were plundered, and being emptied of their goods were set on fire.
[Ill.u.s.tration: The Gauls and the Senators 254]
For a while no small part of the city was spared, for the leaders of the Gauls said, "It may be that the hearts of them that keep the Citadel will be turned to surrender by the loss of their own homes." These indeed were full of grief and anger, seeing the streets of the city full of the enemy, and beholding new destructions every hour. Never indeed were men besieged in such evil plight, for they were shut out from their country, and saw all their possessions in the power of the enemy. For all this their courage failed not for one hour, though all about them was laid even with the ground by fire and sword, but were obstinate to keep the hill which was now the sole abiding-place of freedom. As for their troubles they took no account of them, nor had any hope save only in the swords which they carried in their hands.
The Gauls having spent their fury on the dwellings in the city, seeing that the spirit of the Romans was in no wise subdued, but was steadfastly set against surrender, resolved to make an a.s.sault on the Citadel. Therefore, at dawn of day, after signal had been given, they drew up their whole army in the marketplace; and then, setting up a shout and locking shields over their heads in the fashion that is called the "tortoise," they began to climb the hill. On the other hand the Romans did nothing rashly or in a hurry; but strengthening the guards at every point of attack, set their main body where the Gauls were coming; and these they suffered to climb the slope, judging that the higher they should have mounted the more easily would they be driven down. But when they were come to the middle of the hill, then the Romans ran down upon them, and made a great slaughter among them, driving them over the steep, so that never again, either with a part of their force or with the whole thereof, did they make trial of this manner of fighting. They set themselves, therefore, to take the Citadel by blockade. But for this they had made no preparation, having burned all the provision of food that was in the houses of the city, while that which was in the field had by this time been carried into Veii; wherefore, dividing their forces, they set some to keep watch on the Citadel, and some they sent to gather spoil in the country round about.
Now they that were sent to gather spoil came by chance to Ardea, in which city Camillus dwelt, grieving for his country rather than for himself, and marvelling what had befallen the men who with him had conquered Veii and Falerii. And now, hearing that the Gauls were near at hand, and that the men of Ardea, being in no small fear, were taking counsel about the matter, he came forward in the a.s.sembly and spake thus: "Men of Ardea, ye have now opportunity to repay the benefits which ye have received from the Roman people, concerning which benefits, how many and how great they be, there is no need that I remind you. And ye have opportunity also to win for yourselves great renown. These Gauls that are coming against you are great in stature rather than in strength, and make a terrible show in battle, but yet are not hard to withstand. For consider what has befallen Rome, They took the city when all the gates lay open; but now the Citadel, though it is kept by a small company, they are not able to take. Wearied already of besieging it, they are scattering themselves over the face of the land to gather spoil. Their manner is to gorge themselves with meat and great draughts of wine, and at nightfall to throw themselves on the ground like beasts, without defence or outposts or guards. And now by reason of their late victory they are careless even beyond their wont. If then ye would keep your city safe, and would not have this whole land become a part of Gaul, take all of you your arms at the first watch of the night. Follow me, and if I deliver them not in your hands, fast bound with sleep, to be slaughtered as cattle, then banish me even as the Romans banished me."
Now all that heard him knew that there was no man so great in war as he.
Therefore, when the a.s.sembly was dismissed, they refreshed themselves and waited eagerly till he should give the signal. And when they heard it, they hastened to the gate of the city to meet Camillus; nor had they gone far from the city when they found the camp of Gauls was, as Camillus foretold, altogether without guards; and setting up a shout they fell upon it. No fighting was there, but only a great slaughter, for the men were naked and overpowered with sleep. Some also that were in the furthest part of the camp, being awakened by the uproar, and not knowing what had happened, fell into the hands of the enemy; and many going forth to plunder the lands of the men of Antium fell upon a company of the townsfolk, and were surrounded and slain.
Meanwhile the Gauls watched the Citadel at Rome, that none should go forth between the posts. And now there was done by a Roman youth a thing which both friends and foes greatly admired. The house of the Fabii had a yearly sacrifice on the Hill of Quirinus. A certain Quintus Fabius Dorso, therefore, that he might duly perform this sacrifice, came down from the Capitol, clad in the vestment that is used for such purpose, and carrying the holy things in his hands, and so came to the Hill of Quirinus, pa.s.sing through the midst of the guards of the enemy, and heeding not their speech or threatening. There he duly performed all the ceremony, and, coming back by the same way, with look and step composed as before, returned to his friends in the Capitol, having a good hope that the G.o.ds, whose service he had not neglected for any extremity of fear, looked upon him with favour. As for the Gauls, they did him no harm, either for wonder at his boldness, or for religion"s sake, for which indeed this people had no small regard.
Meanwhile they that were at Veii gathered daily both courage and strength, for not only did the Romans that had escaped from the battle or fled from the city a.s.semble themselves there, but volunteers also from Latium flocked thither, hoping to share in the spoil of the enemy.
And now it seemed high time that they should deliver their country out of the hand of the Gauls; only, though the body was strong, there yet lacked a head. Then, because the place wherein they were reminded them of Camillus, and because many of the soldiers had had him for their captain in time past, they all agreed that he should be sent for from Ardea. But first they would consult the Senate at Rome, so careful were they of law, not forgetting for all their extremity of peril that which was right to be done. Now there was no small danger in pa.s.sing through the posts of the enemy. This a certain Cominius, a young man and of great activity, undertook to do; and he, supporting himself on corks, was carried down the Tiber as far as the city. There, climbing the side that was nearest to the river, where the rock was steep, and for that cause left unguarded by the Gauls, he climbed into the Capitol; and then, being brought before the magistrates, delivered to them the message of the army. Then the Senate pa.s.sed a decree that Camillus, having been first in due form released from exile, should be Dictator, so that the soldiers might have him for captain whom they desired. With this decree the messenger returned to Veii by the same way by which he came, and messengers went to fetch Camillus from Ardea.
While these things were being done at Veii, the Citadel of Rome had been in great peril, for the Gauls either had seen the footmarks where the messenger from Veii had climbed into the Capitol, or had observed for themselves that there was an easy ascent by the rock of Carmentis. On a moonlight night, therefore, having first sent a man unarmed to make trial of the ascent, they set out. Their arms they handed one to the other, and when there was any hindrance in the way they supported or drew up each other, and so climbed to the top, and this so silently that they did not even wake the dogs, though these animals are very watchful for any noise that may take place in the night. But they escaped not the notice of the geese, for there were geese in the Capitol, and these, being sacred to Juno, they had not eaten, though being sorely in need of food. And this regard for holy things was their salvation. For a certain Marcus Manlius, being awoke by their cries and by the flapping of their wings, hasted forth, catching up his arms, and calling all the rest to do likewise. And they indeed were at first in great confusion, but Manlius drave the boss of his shield against a Gaul, for one was now standing on the very top of the hill. And the man fell and overthrew them that stood close at hand; and when the others in great fear dropped their arms and laid hold of the rocks, he fell upon them and slew them. By this time others also had rallied to him, and these, throwing javelins and stones upon the Gauls, beat them down, so that the whole company were overthrown and fell headlong down the steep. The rest of that night they slept, so far as they could for remembrance of the great peril from which they had been delivered; and at dawn all the soldiers were summoned to an a.s.sembly by sound of the bugle, it being needful to give due recompense both to that which had been well and that which had been ill done. First Manlius received both praises and gifts for his valour, and this not only from the captains, but from the common consent of the soldiers, every man carrying to his house, which was in the Capitol, half a pound of corn and half a pint of wine, a gift which seems indeed very small in the telling, but yet was a great proof of affection, the great scarcity of all things which prevailed at the time being considered, since all subtracted something from their necessary food to give it to this one man. After this the guards that had been set to watch the place by which the enemy had climbed up the hill were summoned to the a.s.sembly. Of these, though Sulpicius, tribune of the soldiers, had affirmed that he would deal with all of them according to military custom, only one was punished, all agreeing to throw the chief blame on him, and he, being beyond all doubt guilty in the matter, was by common consent cast down from the rock. After this the watch was kept more diligently on both sides, for the Gauls knew that messengers had gone to and fro between Veii and Rome, and the Romans remembered from how great a peril they had escaped.
Beyond all other evils of war famine troubled both armies. The Gauls were vexed with pestilence also, having their camp in low ground that lay among hills, and was scorched with the burning of the houses. If there was anything of wind also, this brought with it not dust only but ashes. All these things and the heat of the year the Gauls, who are accustomed to wet and cold, were little able to endure, so that they died, as it were, in herds; so that their fellows, wearied of burying the dead one by one, made great heaps of their carcases and burned them with fire. And now a truce was made with the Romans, and conferences held. In this the Gauls spake much of the famine as being good cause of surrender; whereupon, it is said, the Romans threw loaves of bread among their posts, as if to show them that there was no scarcity among them.
Nevertheless their hunger was such that now it could neither be hidden nor endured. Wherefore, while Camillus levied an army at Ardea, the garrison of the Capitol, worn out with watching, and yet able to endure all other ills save hunger only, seeing that the help they looked for came not, and that when the guards went forth to their watch they could scarce for weakness stand up under their arms, were resolute that they should either surrender or ransom themselves on such terms as might be had. And this they did the more readily because the Gauls had made it plain that they might be persuaded by no great sum of money to give up the siege. The Senate, therefore, was called together, and the matter was entrusted to the tribunes of the soldiers. After this a conference was held between Sulpicius and Brennus, king of the Gauls, by whom it was agreed that a thousand pounds" weight of gold should be the ransom of a people that was thereafter to rule the world; a shameful thing, made yet more shameful by insult. For the Gauls bringing false weights which the tribune refused, King Brennus threw his sword into the scale that held the weights, saying at the same time words that no Roman could endure: "Woe to the vanquished!"
But both G.o.ds and men forbad that Rome should be ransomed in this fashion. For before the payment was made, the whole quant.i.ty of gold not having been weighed by reason of this dispute, the Dictator coming up commanded that the gold should be taken away, and bade the Gauls depart.
These indeed made opposition, affirming that the covenant had been made and must be performed; to which Camillus made answer that it had been made without his permission by a lower magistrate he being at the time Dictator, and he warned the Gauls to make them ready forthwith to battle. To his own men he gave command that they should throw their baggage into a heap and gird on their arms. "Ransom your country,"
said he, "with steel rather than with gold, having before your eyes the temples of the G.o.ds, your wives, your children, and all which ye most desire." After this he drew up in line of battle, as well as the place permitted, being covered with the ruins of the city. The Gauls, troubled by these things, which had happened beyond all their expectations, took up their arms and ran upon the Romans with much rage but little skill.
And now (such change was there in fortune) they were put to flight no less easily than they had put the Romans to flight at Allia. There was yet another battle between the Gauls and the Romans; and this was fought at the eighth milestone on the road to Gabii, for to this place they had fled from Rome. Here there was slaughter without end. The camp of the Gauls was taken, and all perished, so that not so much as one was left to carry home the tidings. Then Camillus returned in triumph to Rome, being greeted by the soldiers in their rude fashion as a second Romulus, the true father and founder of his country.
Having now saved Rome by war, he saved it beyond all doubt in peace also, for he forbade the people to depart from the city and take up their dwelling at Veii, which counsel was urged more diligently by the tribunes now that the city had been burned by fire, the commons being not a little inclined thereto. But Camillus, that he might the more effectually hinder it, resigned not his office of dictator, according to custom, after his triumph, but still kept it till all these things were brought to an end.
First, being always careful of things that concerned the G.o.ds, he proposed that all the temples should be duly restored and purified; that the people of Caere should be admitted to the friendship of the Roman people, because they had given shelter to the priests and the virgins and the sacred things, and that games should be held in honour of Jupiter of the Capitol as having delivered the city from the enemy. The gold that had been taken from the Gauls, with that which had been taken from the temples, no one knowing to whom or to what place it appertained, was to be laid beneath the throne of Jupiter. To the matrons public thanks were given, with this honour, that they should be praised with funeral orations in like manner with men. Then he spake about the counsel of departing to Veii, showing them many causes why they should refuse it, and this above all others, that it was not lawful to worship the G.o.ds of their country in any other place but only in Rome. But that which prevailed with them more than all the speech of Camillus was a word spoken by chance. While the Senate debated the matter in the Hall of Hostilius, certain cohorts that were returning from keeping the guards pa.s.sed through the market-place, whereupon a centurion cried out, "Standard-bearer, set up thy standard. We shall best remain in this place." And when the Senate heard these words they exclaimed with one voice, "We accept the omen;" and the mult.i.tude of the people that stood around approved.
CHAPTER XV. ~~ THE STORY OF MANLIUS OF THE TWISTED CHAIN.
There dwelt in Rome a certain Lucius Manlius, of the kindred of that Manlius that thrust down the Gauls from the Capitol, and men gave him the surname of Imperious by reason of the haughtiness of his temper.
This Manlius was made dictator for this one purpose, that he might drive a nail into the wall of the temple of Jupiter. For it had been a custom in old time that whoever was chief magistrate at Rome should drive a nail in this place on the fifteenth day of the month September, to the end that the number of the year might thus be marked, there being in those days but small use of letters and figures; and this nail was driven into the wall that looks towards the temple of Minerva, because Minerva is the G.o.ddess of numbers. But in the days of Manlius this custom had been long since forgotten; and when it chanced that a pestilence came upon the city and nothing else availed to stay it (for besides other things stage players were brought from Etruria to make a show that might appease the anger of the G.o.ds), certain old men remembered that in former years such plagues had been stayed by the appointing of a dictator to drive in a nail. This Manlius then was thus appointed; but when he had done his office he conceived the purpose of carrying on war against the Hernici, and would have levied an army but that the tribunes of the Commons hindered him.
In the beginning of the next year one of the tribunes, Pomponius by name, brought Manlius to trial, bringing sundry accusations against him.
For in the levy that he sought to make he had dealt cruelly with them that answered not to their names, causing some to be beaten with rods and casting others into prison. His surname also was proof sufficient that he was of such a temper as could not be endured in a free state.
"And this temper," said the tribune, "he had shown not to strangers only, but even to those that are of his own blood. His own son, a young man uncondemned of any crime, he has banished from the city and from his home, forbidding him to have any converse with his fellows, and compelling him to work after the fashion of a slave. And for what fault in the young man, think ye, that he hath done this thing? Because he is not eloquent or ready of speech. But should not a father, if there be any natural kindness in him, seek to apply remedies to such defects rather than to punish them? Even the brute beasts, if their offspring chance to be ill-shaped, are the more careful to nourish and cherish it.
But this Manlius has rather increased the affliction of his son, and made his wits yet slower than they were, extinguishing such natural power as he may have by causing him to dwell among the beasts of the field."
This accusation stirred great anger against the father in all men save only in the son himself. For when the young man knew that an accusation had been made against his father on his account he was much troubled.
And that both G.o.ds and men might know that he desired to give help to his father rather than to the enemies of his father, he conceived a plan which indeed ill became a citizen and one who would be obedient to the laws, yet still was to be commended for its piety. Girding himself with a knife he came, none knowing his purpose, early in the morning to the city, and went straightway from the gate to the house of Pomponius the tribune. Then he said to the porter, "I must needs speak forthwith with your master. Tell him that t.i.tus Manlius, son of Lucius Manlius, seeks him." The tribune, thinking that the young man had come full of anger against his father, to bring, it might be, some new accusation, commanded that he should be brought into his chamber. When they had greeted one another Manlius said, "I have somewhat to say to thee which thou must hear alone." So the tribune bade all that were present withdraw themselves. This being done Manlius drew his dagger, and standing over the bed, threatened that he would run him through therewith unless he should swear in words that he would himself dictate that he would never hold a meeting of the Commons before which to bring his father to judgment. The tribune, fearing the steel which glittered before his eyes, and knowing that the young man was not only of exceeding strength but also of a very fierce and savage temper, and being himself without arms, sware as he was bidden, and afterwards told what had taken place, showing that he had given up his purpose under compulsion. The people took it ill that they could not sit in judgment on a man of so cruel a temper; nevertheless they commended the son for his piety; and all the more because the harshness of his father had not extinguished in him his natural affection. The father indeed escaped not, being brought to trial, and the son reaped from the matter this reward, that in the following year, when the people for the first time, for so it chanced to happen, chose their tribune in the army, he was so chosen, having the second place among six; and this though he had done nothing either at home or abroad which might commend him to their favour.
In the year following there was a war with the Gauls, who had pitched their camp three miles only from Rome on the other side of the river Anio. A certain Quinctius Pennus, being made dictator, gathered a great army and encamped on the near side of the river. Now between the two armies there was a bridge, which neither the one nor the other would break down, lest they should seem to fear the enemy. For this bridge many battles were fought; and it could not be told, so equal was the strength on either side, to whom it belonged. At a certain day there came forth a Gaul of exceeding great stature and stood upon the bridge, crying with a loud voice, "Hear now, ye men of Rome, let the bravest man that ye have among you come forth, and let him fight with me; and according as I shall prevail over him, or he prevail over me, so shall we know whether Gauls or Romans are the better in war."
For a long time there was silence among the Roman people, for they were ashamed to refuse the battle, yet were loath to take the very first place in this great peril. Then t.i.tus Manlius, the son of Lucius, came forth, and said to the Dictator, "I would never fight out of my due place in the host without thy bidding, not even though I should see victory clearly a.s.sured. But now, if thou wilt suffer me, I would gladly show to that brute beast that shows himself so confidently before the standards of the enemy that I am of the name of Manlius and of the kindred of him that drave down the Gauls from the Capitol." To him the Dictator made answer, "Thou doest well, Manlius, with thy valour and thy piety, both towards thy country and thy father. Go thou and show, the G.o.ds helping thee, that a Roman cannot be conquered." Then his comrades armed the youth, giving him the long shield of a foot soldier and a Spanish sword, which, for its shortness, was well suited for fighting in close combat. Then they led him forward against the Gaul; and even noted how, for scorn of his enemy, the barbarian thrust out his tongue. So the two stood together between the armies, being ill matched, if one would judge by the appearance. The Gaul, indeed, was of exceedingly great stature, and was clad in a garment of many colours, and his arms were painted and inlaid with gold. As for the Roman, he was of the middle stature, such as is commonly to be seen among soldiers, his bearing being without pride, and his arms fitted for use rather than for show.
He used no song of defiance, nor leaping from the ground, nor idle shaking of his arms; but kept his courage and wrath silent within his heart, nor showed his fierceness till the combat itself should need it. So they stood, and the two armies regarded them with hope and fear.
First the Gaul, being like to some great ma.s.s that was ready to crush everything under it, thrusting forward his shield on his left arm, dealt a great blow on the armour of Manlius with his sword, striking with the edge (for the swords of the Gauls had no points), but harming him not, though the sound of it was great. But the Roman, first thrusting aside the shield of the enemy with his own shield, ran in close upon him, so that the man could not strike him--his sword being over long--and so driving his sword pointwise from beneath, smote him twice in the belly and in the groin, so that he fell his whole length upon the ground. And as he lay, he stripped from his body, to which he did no other harm, a chain of twisted gold that the man wore, and threw it, covered with blood as it was, about his own neck. Meanwhile the Gauls stood still for fear and wonder; but the Romans running forth with joy from their ranks to meet their champion, so led him to the Dictator. From this deed t.i.tus Manlius was called "Manlius of the Twisted Chain;" and this name he handed down to his descendants after him.
About twenty years after this deed there was a great war between the Romans and the Latins (for the Latins demanded that one consul should always be of their nation, and, this being denied to them, made war against Rome) and this same Manlius was consul. Now it was needful that there should be discipline of the strictest sort in the army; and also, because the Latins spake the same tongue as did the Romans, and had their arms and all other things that appertained to war the same, the Consuls issued a decree that no man should fight with the enemy, save only at his post in the army.
Now it chanced that t.i.tus Manlius, son of the Consul, being captain of a squadron of hors.e.m.e.n, rode so far with his squadron (the hors.e.m.e.n being sent out in all directions to spy out the country) that he was scarce the length of a spear"s throw from the camp of the enemy, at a certain part where the hors.e.m.e.n of Tusculum had their station. The leader of these hors.e.m.e.n was Metius, a certain man of n.o.ble birth and renowned among his countrymen for his valour. This Metius, seeing the Roman hors.e.m.e.n, and Manlius the Consul"s son riding in the front, and knowing him who he was (for indeed all the men of note in the two armies were known to each other), cried out, "Are ye minded, ye men of Rome, being but one squadron, to do battle with the Latins and their allies? What are the Consuls doing, and their two armies?" To this Manlius made answer, "They will come in due time; aye, one that is mightier than they, even Jupiter, will come also: Jupiter, who is witness to the treaties which ye have broken. If at the Lake Regillus we fought with you till ye were weary, so here also we will give you such entertainment as ye shall little like." Then said Metius, "Art thou willing, then, in the meanwhile, while the day on which ye will make so mighty a stir is yet coming, to fight here with me, that from the issue of our meeting all men may know by how much a Latin horseman is better than a horseman of the Romans?" Thereupon anger, or shame that he should seem to shrink from such combat, or, it may be, the will of fate, that none may escape, stirred the young man"s haughty spirit, so that, taking no account of his father"s commands or of the decree of the Consuls, he thrust himself headlong into a combat in which it mattered but little whether he was vanquished or no. The other hors.e.m.e.n removed themselves far off to look at the combat, leaving a s.p.a.ce of clear ground for the two, who, driving their horses over the plain, met in the midst with their spears levelled. The spear of Metius crossed the horse"s neck of Manlius, and the spear of Manlius pa.s.sed above the head of the Latin. After this they wheeled their horses about, and Manlius, rising first to deal a second blow, smote the horse of the Latin between the ears; and when the horse felt the wound he reared himself upon his hind legs and shook off his rider; and when the man, sorely shaken by so grievous a fall, would have raised himself by help of his shield and spear, the Roman smote him with his spear in the throat, so that the point came out through his ribs, making him fast to the earth. Then Manlius gathered the spoils from the dead man, and rode back to the camp, his squadron following him with great joy. Being come to the camp, he went to the general"s tent, knowing not what fate awaited him or whether he had earned praise or punishment. Then he said to his father, "I desired that all men should know that I am truly thy son; and therefore, having been challenged to combat, I fought, and now bring back these spoils from the enemy whom I slew." But the Consul, so soon as he heard these words, turning his face from his son, commanded that the bugle should be sounded and the soldiers called to an a.s.sembly. And when the men had come together in great numbers, he said, "t.i.tus Manlius, thou hast had no respect to the authority of the Consuls or to the dignity of thy father, and, disobeying our decree, hast fought with the enemy elsewhere than in thy place, loosening thereby, so far as in thee lay, that military discipline by which up to this time the commonwealth of Rome hath stood and been established. And me thou hast brought into these straits, that I must forget either the commonwealth or myself and my own kindred.
Rather, therefore, will we suffer ourselves for our own fault than suffer the commonwealth to suffer for us at so great a loss to itself.
Truly we two shall be a warning, sad indeed yet wholesome, to our youth in time to come. As for myself, I am truly troubled, not only by that love for my children which is natural to all men, but also by the valour which, led astray by a false appearance of glory, thou hast shown this day. Nevertheless, seeing that the Consuls" power must either be established for ever by thy death or abolished for ever by thy escape, I judge that thou thyself also, if there is aught of my blood in thee, wilt not refuse to die, and so establish again that military discipline which thou hast weakened by thy misdoing. Go, lictor, bind him to the stake."
All that were present in the a.s.sembly stood stricken with terror at so cruel a command, and stood silent, but rather from fear than from obedience, each seeming to see the axe made ready against himself. Thus were they overwhelmed with astonishment, and stood holding their peace.
But when the young man"s head was smitten off and the blood was seen to pour forth, then, recovering themselves, they cried aloud and spared neither lamentations nor curses. Afterwards for the young man they made a soldiers funeral with all the zeal that they could show, covering his body with the spoils of war and burning it on a pile in a place without the rampart of the camp. From that day, when men would speak of some savage command or exercising of power, they are wont to call it a "Manlian rule." As for t.i.tus Manlius the father, when he came back in triumph to Rome (for the Romans were victorious in the war, as will be told hereafter) the elders only went forth to meet him; the young men, both then and ever afterwards, so long as he lived, turned from him with hatred and curses.
CHAPTER XVI. ~~ STORIES OF CERTAIN GREAT ROMANS.
In the three hundred and ninety-third year after the building of the city there was seen suddenly to open in the market-place a great gulf of a deepness that no man could measure. And this gulf could not be filled up though all the people brought earth and stones and the like to cast into it. But at the last there was sent a message from the G.o.ds that the Romans must enquire what was that by which more than all things the State was made strong. "For," said the soothsayer, "this thing must be dedicated to the G.o.ds in this place if the commonwealth of Rome is to stand fast for ever." And while they doubted, one Marcus Curtius, a youth that had won great renown in war, rebuked them saying, "Can ye doubt that Rome hath nothing better than arms and valour?" Then all the people stood silent; and Curtius, first beholding the temples of the immortal G.o.ds that hung over the market-place and the Capitol, and afterwards stretching forth his hands both to heaven above and to this gulf that opened its mouth to the very pit, as it were, of h.e.l.l, devoted himself for his country; and so, being clothed in armour and with arms in his hand, and having his horse arrayed as sumptuously as might be, he leapt into the gulf; and the mult.i.tude, both of men and women, threw in gifts and offerings of the fruits of the earth, and afterwards the earth closed together.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Curtius leaping into the chasm 288]
About the s.p.a.ce of thirteen years after these things there was again war with the Gauls; and when the Romans had levied a great army of ten legions of men, Camillus the Consul (being son to that Camillus that the city in time past) marched therewith into the Latin plain, and pitched his camp near to the marshes by the sea, over against the camp of the Gauls.
And while the two armies lay quiet, a Gaul of great stature, and having splendid arms, came forth, who, striking his shield with his spear, by way of token that he would have silence, challenged by the mouth of an interpreter any one that would of the men of Rome to do battle with him. Thereupon a certain Marcus Valerius, thinking that he might win for himself like renown with Manlius, that was surnamed of the Twisted Chain, came forth fully armed into the s.p.a.ce between the two armies, having first obtained permission of the Consul. When these two were about to join battle, a crow lighted suddenly upon the helmet of Valerius, with his face towards the Gaul. And Valerius received it with joy as an augury sent from heaven, crying out, "May the G.o.d or G.o.ddess that hath sent this bird of good omen to me be favourable to me and succour me." Then, marvellous to relate, the bird not only remained steadfast in the place whereupon it had lighted, but as soon as the two began to fight together, raised itself upon its wings, and wounded with its beak and claws the face and eyes of the enemy, so that, terrified by so marvellous a thing, he was easily slain by Valerius. Now, up to this time the foremost lines of both armies had remained quiet; but when Valerius began to strip the spoils from the body of the dead man, the Gauls ran forward to hinder him. Then with yet greater speed ran the Romans to his help; and there was a great fight about the dead body. And Camillus seeing that the men were confident by reason not only of the valour of Valerius, but also of the manifest favour of the G.o.ds, he cried aloud, "Soldiers, do as Valerius hath done, and slay mult.i.tudes of Gauls as he hath slain their champion." Thus was there won a great victory over the Gauls, for though some of them fought valiantly, the greater part fled before even the Romans had come within a spear"s cast of them. As for Valerius, he was made Consul in the year following, though he was but twenty and three years of age (It was not lawful in those days that a man should be Consul till he was forty and two years of age); and he and his posterity after him had for themselves the surname of Corvus, which is, being interpreted, a crow. In the four hundred and twelfth year after the building of the city there was war between the Romans and the Samnites, in which war, when the one Consul, Valerius, had won a great victory, the other, Cornelius, was well-nigh destroyed together with his army. For, leading his soldiers into a certain narrow pa.s.s, he did not perceive that it was surrounded on all sides by the enemy, and that these were also on the higher ground above him. And while he doubted what he should do (for it was no longer possible that he should return by the same way by which he came), a certain Decius Mus, being a tribune of the soldiers, perceived a hill above the camp of the enemy, and that this hill might easily be climbed by soldiers lightly armed. Thereupon he said to the Consul, "Cornelius, seest thou that hill? Thereby we may save ourselves if we only make haste and occupy it; for the Samnites are blind that they have not occupied it before. Give me only the front rank and the spearmen of one legion; and when with these I shall have climbed to the top, do thou move forward with the legions, fearing nothing, for the Samnites cannot follow thee, having to pa.s.s this hill. As for us, the fortune of the Roman people or our own valour will deliver us." And when he had said this, leading his men by secret paths, he climbed to the top of the hill, the Samnites not perceiving what he did. And while these doubted what they should do for wonder and fear, the Consul escaped with his army. As to Decius also, they knew not whether they should surround the hill on all sides, and so shut him in, or, leaving a way open, should attack him when he should have come down to the plain. And while they doubted, darkness came upon them.