Ab urbe condita

The consul issued a notice summoning the owners of the plundered property to Interamna to identify and recover what belonged to them, and leaving his army there, started for Rome to conduct the elections.

He requested to be allowed a triumph, but this honour was refused him on the ground that he had lost so many thousands of men, and also because he had sent his prisoners under the yoke without its having been made a condition of their surrender. [*](It would appear from this that the enemy when arranging the terms of surrender must expressly declare their consent to being thus treated. This condition was imposed by Pontius on the occasion of the Caudine disaster and accepted by the Romans (Book Ix. chap. iv.; see also chap. xlii. in the same book).)

The other consul, Postumius, finding nothing for his troops to do amongst the Samnites, led them into Etruria and began to lay waste the district of Volsinia.

The townsmen came out to defend their borders and a battle ensued not far from their walls ; 2800 of the Etruscans were killed, the rest were saved by the proximity of their city.

He then passed over into the Rusellan territory; there, not only were the fields harried, but the town itself was successfully assaulted. More than 2000 were made prisoners, and under 2000 killed in the storming of the place. The peace which ensued this year in Etruria was more important and redounded more to the honour of Rome than even the war which led to it.

Three very powerful cities, the chief cities in Etruria, Vulsinii, Perusia, and Arretium, sued for peace, and after agreeing to supply the troops with clothing and corn, they obtained the consul's consent to send spokesmen to Rome, with the result that they obtained a forty years' truce.

Each of the cities was at once to pay an indemnity of 500,000 ases. For these services the consul asked the senate to decree him a triumph.

The request was made more as a matter of form, to comply with the established custom, than from any hope of obtaining it . He saw that some who were his personal enemies and others who were friends of his colleague refused his request on various grounds, some alleging that he had been

too late in taking the field, others that he had transferred his army from Samnium to Etruria without any orders from the senate, whilst a third party were actuated by a desire to solace Atilius for the refusal which he had met with.

In face of this opposition he simply said: “Senators, I am not so mindful of your authority as to forget that I am consul. By the same right and authority by which I have conducted wars, now that these wars have been brought to a successful close, Samnium and Etruria subdued, victory and peace secured, I shall celebrate my triumph.” And with that he left the senate.