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adorns himself with his father’s torc? Or have you become strong and courageous against the Galatians, mortal men, but fear us Latins? Why then do you think yourselves worthy to rule us? Why do you give orders to us as to your inferiors?” He became senseless with anger, and willingly forgot the order, and fighting in single combat he was victorious, and with great pride brought the spoils to his father. And he, assembling the army, said, “Nobly, my son, have you fought, and for this I will crown you; but because you did not observe the command, although compelled to obey both as a son and as a soldier, for this I will execute justice upon you, so that you may receive both the prize for valor and the penalty for disobedience.” Having said this, he at once placed the crown on his head and cut that very head off. Then a dream, appearing alike to both consuls in the same night, seemed to say that they would prevail over their enemies, if one of the consuls would devote himself. In the daytime, therefore, having related the dream to each other, they agreed that it was divine, and they confessed that they ought to obey it. And they disputed with each other, not as to who might be saved, 2.166 but as to who might rather devote himself; and they pleaded their case before the chief men of the camp. And finally it pleased them that one should be drawn up on the right wing, and the other on the left, and whichever of those wings should be weakened, the one stationed over it should die. And so great was their ambition concerning the devotion that each of the consuls prayed to be defeated, so that he might attain the devotion and the glory from it. And engaging with the Latins they fought on equal terms for a long time, then the wing under Decius yielded a little to the Latins. When Decius perceived this, he devoted himself; and taking off his armor, he put on the purple-bordered robe. And some say that he leaped upon a horse and rode into the enemy and was killed by them, but others that he was slain by a fellow-citizen and soldier. At any rate, when Decius died, the victory fell clearly to the Romans, and all the Latins were routed, not entirely, however, because of the death of Decius; for how could anyone believe that from one man’s death of such a kind, so great a multitude of people, some were destroyed, and others were saved and won a conspicuous victory? The Latins, then, were thus defeated, but Torquatus, having killed his son and his colleague having died, nevertheless celebrated the triumph. Then again they subdued the Latins themselves when they revolted, and they subjected other nations in battle, sometimes using consuls, sometimes dictators. One of these was also Lucius Papirius, who was also named Cursor because of his physique, for he was a very swift runner, and because of his practice of running. And after this, the dictator Papirius was sent out against the Samnites with Fabius 2.167 Rullus, master of the horse, and having defeated them, he forced them to come to terms on whatever conditions he wished. But when he laid down his command, they revolted again. And being warred against again by the dictator Cornelius Aulus and being defeated, they sent envoys to those in Rome, sending them as many prisoners as they had, and attributing the cause of the war to Rutulus, a powerful man among them; whose bones, since he had anticipated them by taking his own life, they scattered. They did not, however, obtain peace, being untrustworthy, but a war without truce was voted against them, although they had received the prisoners. Therefore the Romans, being overconfident and hoping to capture them all with a single shout, fell into a terrible disaster. For the Samnites, being greatly afraid and considering it a misfortune not to have made a treaty, and fighting as desperate men, and having laid an ambush in a certain rather hollow and narrow place, they both captured the camp and took the Romans prisoner in a body and made them all pass under the yoke—what the yoke was has already been related by me somewhere above—they killed no one, however, but they took away their weapons and their horses and everything else they had except for a single cloak, and they let them go naked on the conditions that they leave their country and be allies to them on equal terms.

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σεμνύνει τῷ στρεπτῷ τοῦ πατρός; η πρὸς μὲν Γαλάτας ἀνθρώπους φθόρους ερρωσθε καὶ ἀνδρίζεσθε, τοὺς δὲ δὴ Λατίνους ἡμᾶς φοβεῖσθε; τί ουν αρχειν ἡμῶν ἀξιοῦτε; τί δ' ὡς χείροσιν ὑμῶν ἐπιτάσσετε;" εκφρων ἐγένετο ὑπὸ τοῦ θυμοῦ, καὶ τῆς παραγγέλσεως ἑκὼν ἐπελάθετο, καὶ μονομαχήσας ἐνίκησε, καὶ τὰ σκῦλα μέγα φρονῶν ἐκόμισε τῷ πατρί. καὶ ος ἀθροίσας τὸ στράτευμα "γενναίως μέν" εφη "ω παῖ, ἐμαχέσω, καὶ διὰ τοῦτό σε στεφανώσω· οτι δὲ τὸ προσταχθὲν οὐ παρετήρησας, καίτοι καὶ ὡς υἱὸς πειθαρχεῖν καὶ ὡς στρατιώτης ἀναγκαζόμενος, διὰ τοῦτό σε δικαιώσω, ινα καὶ τὸ τῆς ἀριστείας αθλον καὶ τὸ τῆς ἀνηκουστίας τίμημα λήψῃ." ταῦτ' εἰπὼν αμα τόν τε στέφανον τῇ κεφαλῇ αὐτοῦ ἐπέθετο καὶ αὐτὴν ἐκείνην ἀπέτεμεν. Ειτα οναρ ἀμφοῖν τοῖς ὑπάτοις ἐν τῇ αὐτῇ νυκτὶ ὁμοίως φανὲν εδοξε λέγειν τῶν ἐναντίων κρατήσειν, αν ὁ ετερος τῶν ὑπάτων ἑαυτὸν ἐπιδῷ. μεθ' ἡμέραν ουν ἀλλήλοις διηγησάμενοι τὸ οναρ συνέθεντο θεῖον ειναι, καὶ πεισθῆναι δεῖν αὐτῷ ὡμολόγησαν. καὶ ἠμφισβήτησαν δὲ πρὸς ἀλλήλους, οὐχ ος αν σωθείη, 2.166 ἀλλ' ος αν μᾶλλον ἑαυτὸν ἐπιδῷ· καὶ παρὰ τοῖς πρώτοις τοῦ στρατοπέδου ἐδικαιολογήσαντο. καὶ τέλος ηρεσε σφίσι τὸν μὲν ἐπὶ τοῦ δεξιοῦ κέρως, τὸν δὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ λαιοῦ παρατάξασθαι, καὶ ὁπότερον αν ἐκείνων ἐλαττωθῇ, τὸν ἐπ' αὐτῷ τεταγμένον ἀποθανεῖν. τοσαύτη δ' ην φιλοτιμία αὐτοῖς περὶ τὴν ἐπίδοσιν ὡς ευχεσθαι εκαστον τῶν ὑπάτων ἡττηθῆναι, ινα τύχῃ τῆς ἐπιδόσεως καὶ τῆς εὐκλείας τῆς ἐξ αὐτῆς. συμβαλόντες δὲ τοῖς Λατίνοις μέχρι μὲν πολλοῦ ἰσοπαλῶς ἠγωνίσαντο, ειτα τὸ κατὰ τὸν ∆έκιον κέρας μικρόν τι τοῖς Λατίνοις ἐνέκλινεν. ο γνοὺς ὁ ∆έκιος ἑαυτὸν ἐπιδέδωκε· καὶ τὰ οπλα ἐκδὺς τὴν ἐσθῆτα ἐνέδυ τὴν περιπόρφυρον. καὶ οἱ μὲν ουτω φασὶν ἐφ' ιππον ἀναπηδῆσαι αὐτὸν καὶ εἰσελάσαι πρὸς τοὺς πολεμίους καὶ ὑπ' ἐκείνων ἀποθανεῖν, οἱ δὲ ὑπὸ συστρᾳτιώτου πολιτικοῦ σφαγῆναι. τέως δὲ τελευτήσαντος τοῦ ∆εκίου τοῖς ̔Ρωμαίοις ἡ νίκη καθαρῶς συνηνέχθη, καὶ οἱ Λατῖνοι πάντες ἐτράπησαν, οὐ πάντως δὲ διὰ τὸν θάνατον τοῦ ∆εκίου· πῶς γὰρ αν τις πιστεύσειεν ἐξ ἑνὸς ἀνδρὸς τοιᾶσδε τελευτῆς τοσοῦτον πλῆθος ἀνθρώπων τὸ μὲν φθαρῆναι, τὸ δὲ σωθῆναι καὶ νικῆσαι περιφανῶς; οἱ μὲν ουν Λατῖνοι ουτως ηττηντο, ὁ δέ γε Τουρκουάτος καὶ τὸν υἱὸν ἀποκτείνας καὶ τοῦ συνάρχοντος τεθνηκότος ἑώρτασεν ομως τὰ ἐπινίκια. Ειτ' αυθις αὐτούς τε τοὺς Λατίνους ἐπαναστάντας κατεπολέμησαν, καὶ ετερα εθνη μάχαις ὑπέταξαν, ποτὲ μὲν ὑπάτοις κεχρημένοι, ποτὲ δὲ δικτάτωρσιν. ων εις ην καὶ Λούκιος Παπείριος ὁ καὶ Κούρσωρ ὀνομαζόμενος διά τε τὴν εξιν, ην γὰρ δρομικώτατος, καὶ διὰ τὴν ασκησιν τοῦ δρόμου. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα δικτάτωρ ὁ Παπείριος ἐπὶ τοὺς Σαυνίτας ἐξεπέμφθη μετὰ Φαβίου 2.167 ̔Ρούλλου ἱππάρχου, καὶ ἡττήσας αὐτοὺς ἠνάγκασεν ἐπὶ συνθήκαις συμβῆναι αις ἐκεῖνος ἐβούλετο. ἀποθεμένου δὲ τὴν ἡγεμονίαν αὐτοῦ ἐπανέστησαν αυθις. ὑπὸ δὲ Κορνηλίου Αυλου δικτάτωρος καὶ πάλιν πολεμηθέντες καὶ ἡττηθέντες διεκηρυκεύσαντο πρὸς τοὺς ἐν τῇ ̔Ρώμῃ, τοὺς αἰχμαλώτους τε οσους ειχον πέμψαντες αὐτοῖς, καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν τοῦ πολέμου ̔Ρουτούλῳ, ἀνδρὶ δυνατῷ παρ' αὐτοῖς, ἐπιγράφοντες· ου τὰ ὀστᾶ, ἐπεὶ φθάσας ἐκεῖνος διεχειρίσατο ἑαυτόν, διέρριψαν. οὐ μέντοι καὶ ετυχον τῆς εἰρήνης ὡς απιστοι, ἀλλ' ασπονδον σφίσιν ἐψηφίσαντο πόλεμον, καίτοι τοὺς αἰχμαλώτους λαβόντες. ὑπεραυχήσαντες ουν οἱ ̔Ρωμαῖοι καὶ αὐτοβοεὶ πάντας αὐτοὺς αἱρήσειν ἐλπίσαντες, δεινῷ παθήματι περιέπεσον. ὑπερδείσαντες γὰρ οἱ Σαυνῖται καὶ ἐν συμφορᾷ ποιούμενοι τὸ μὴ σπείσασθαι, καὶ ὡς ἀπεγνωσμένοι μαχόμενοι, καὶ λοχήσαντες εν τινι χώρᾳ κοιλοτέρᾳ καὶ στενῇ, τό τε στρατόπεδον ειλον καὶ τοὺς ̔Ρωμαίους ἐζώγρησαν πανσυδὶ καὶ πάντας ὑπήγαγον ὑπὸ τὸν ζυγόν, τί δ' ην τὸ τοῦ ζυγοῦ ηδη μοι ανωθί που ἱστόρηται, οὐδένα μέντοι ἀπέκτειναν, ἀλλὰ τά τε οπλα καὶ τοὺς ιππους καὶ τὰ αλλα οσα ειχον πλὴν ἑνὸς ἱματίου ἀφείλοντο, καὶ γυμνοὺς σφᾶς ἀφῆκαν ἐπὶ συνθήκαις τοῦ τὴν χώραν αὐτῶν ἐκλιπεῖν καὶ συμμάχους σφίσιν ἀπὸ τῆς ισης ειναι.