The town of Sutrium, in alliance with the Romans, having been invested with a powerful Hetrurian army, Camillus set out for its relief; but the want of provi sions forced them to surrender before his arrival. The inhabitants, deprived of every thing, had set out in quest of new habitations, and fortunately fell in with Camillus's army. The dictator encouraged them to return; and arriving at Saturium when the lletrurians were engrossed with the plunder of the city, he put them to the sword, and restored the city to its rightful owners. After these brilliant exploits, Cainillus en tered Rome in triumph, and resigned the dictator ship.
During the subsequent administration of the six military tribunes, new works were added to the part of the capitol which had been scaled by the Gauls; the uerritory of the Equi was laid waste; and the two cities of Cortuosa and Contenebra were taken from the Hetrurians, and demolished.
The approach of a new war induced the people to elect Camillus one of the military tribunes. The rest of his colleagues agreed to give him the sole direction of affairs in time of war; so that without the name he possessed the powers of a dictator. His first enter prise was against the combined armies of the Antiates, the Latins, and the Hernici; but his troops showing an unwillingness to engage an enemy so superior in numbers, Camillus mounted his horse, encouraged all the ranks of his army, and dismounting and seizing the nearest standard-bearer by the hand, he called upon the soldiers to advance. He was immediately followed by his troops with a great shout, and having thrown a standard among the enemy's battalions, the soldiers struggled to regain it, and speedily broke the ranks which opposed them. The Antiates were completely routed. The Latins and Hernici returned home, and the Volsci retreated into Satricum. Camillus invest ed this city, and, having taken it by assault, he forced the Volsci to surrender at discretion.
Camillus was now called upon to succour the allied cities of Nepet and Sutrium against the Hetrurian power. Sutrium had nearly yielded to the besiegers when Camillus arrived. Dividing his army into two bodies, he ordered Valerius to march round the walls as if he meant to scale them, while he himself should charge the Hetrurians in the rear, and shut them up between the besieged and his own forces. The He trurians, seeing these plans, sought for safety in a dis orderly flight, and left great numbers on the field who had fallen by the swords of the Romans. The city of Nepet, which had surrendered to the enemy, was also taken by assault, and the Hetrurians put to the sword.
The splendid successes of Camillus eclipsed the mi litary glory of all his contemporaries. Marius Man lius who had saved Rome by his bravery in the capi tol, began to envy the fame of Camillus, and to aban don himself to those ambitious views which the circumstances of the times had induced him to subdue. His bravery had made him respected by all ranks, but it was through the affections and support of the people that he looked for the fulfilment of his plans. Pro
fuse in the distribution of his money he soon acquired popularity among the needy, and availing himself of every opportunity of defending the rights of the peo ple, and of calumniating the conduct of the patricians, he acquired great influence over the Roman populace. The military tribunes (lid not fail to see through the schemes of Manlius. It was now obvious to all that he aspired to the sovereignty of Rome, and being ac cused of his crime, lie was found guilty, and thrown headlong from the capitol.
Having now subdued the nations which had so often threatened to destroy them, the Romans during the consulship of Valerius Corvus and Cornelius, turned their arms against the Samnites, a nation which inha bited a part of southern Italy which now belongs to the Neapolitan territory. Valerius Corvus was sent to relieve Capua, the principal town of Campania, while Cornelius led the Roman army to Samnicum. The Samnites, though the bravest of the enemies of Rome, were compelled to fly after many well-fought battles. Valerius was less successful than his colleague. Hav ing inconsiderately led his troops into a defile, he was saved by the tribune Decius, who posted himself on a hill which commanded the enemy. This skilful ma nceuvre placed the Samnites between two enemies, and they were defeated with the loss of more than 30,000 men.
During the consulship of Manlius, a war broke out between the Romans and the Latins. The similarity between the arms and the language of the two people, rendered it necessary to prevent any confusion in the time of action. Orders were therefore issued by Man lius, that death should be inflicted on any soldier who should leave his ranks. When the armies were drawn out for battle, Metius, the commander of the Latin cavalry, advanced from the lines, and challenged to single combat any of the Roman knights. Indignant at the insult thus offered to his country, the consul's son, Titus Manlius, forgetting the stern order of the general, accepted the challenge and slew his adver sary. Manlius sternly ordered his son to be beheaded, but his body, adorned with the spoils of Metius, was buried by the soldiers with military honours. The battle now began between the two armies,Manlius com manded the right, and Decius the left of the Romans. The augurs had foretold that if any part of the Roman army should be in distress, the commander of it should devote himself for his country. Accordingly when the Roman left began to give way, Dccius determined to sacrifice himself to the gods. After some idle ceremonies, he mounted his horse and carrying con sternation and death wherever he appeared, he at last fell covered with glory. The Romans were inspirited while the Latins were disheartened by this act of magnanimous devotion. The ranks of the Latins began to give way, a total rout ensued; and the Ro mans pressing the victory with ardour, made such a carnage among the Latins that scarcely a fourth of the army survived the defeat. The vanquished Latins sued for peace, and some time afterwards entirely submitted themselves to the Roman sway.