The Samnite army had come to them completely provided with arms and a war chest, and were ready to follow them at once, even if they led them to an attack on Rome itself.
While they were thus busy with their intrigues in Etruria the warfare which the Romans were carrying on in Samnium was terribly destructive. When P. Decius had ascertained through his scouts the departure of the Samnite army he summoned a council of war.
“Why,” he asked, “are we roaming through the country districts, making war only upon the villages? Why are we not attacking the walled cities? There is no army to defend them, the army has abandoned its country and gone into voluntary exile.”
His proposal was unanimously adopted and he led them to the attack of Murgantia, a powerfully fortified city. Such was the eagerness of the soldiers, due partly to the affection they felt for their commander and partly to the expectation of a larger amount of plunder than they were securing in the country districts, that they stormed and captured the city in a single day.
Two thousand one hundred combatants were cut off and made prisoners and an enormous quantity of plunder was seized.
To avoid loading the army with a lot of heavy baggage Decius called his men together and addressed them thus: “Are you going to content yourselves with this one victory and this spoil? Raise your hopes and expectations to the height of your courage. All the cities of the Samnites and all the wealth left in them are yours now that their legions, routed in so many battles, have at last been driven by you beyond their frontiers.
Sell what you now hold and attract traders by the hope of profit to follow our armies; I shall frequently supply you with things for sale.
Let us go on to the city of Romulea where still greater spoil awaits you but not greater exertions.” The booty was then sold and the men, urging on their commander, marched to Romulea. Here, too, no siege works were constructed, no artillery employed, the moment the standards were brought up to the walls no resistance on the part of the defenders could keep the men back; they planted their scalingladders just where they happened to be, and swarmed on to the walls.
The town was taken and sacked, 2300 were killed, 6ooo taken prisoners, and a vast amount of plunder secured, which the troops, as before, were
obliged to dispose of to the traders. The next place to be attacked was Ferentinum, and though no rest was allowed the men, they marched thither in the highest spirits.
Here, however, they had more trouble and more risk. The position had been made as strong as possible by nature and by art, and the walls were defended with the utmost energy, but a soldiery habituated to plunder overcame all obstacles.
As many as 3000 of the enemy were killed round the walls; the plunder was given to the troops. In some annalists the greater part of the credit of these captures is given to Maximus; Decius they say took Murgantia, Ferentinum and Romulea being captured by Fabius.
Some again claim this honour for the new consuls, while a few restrict it to L. Volumnius, to whom they say Samnium was assigned as his sphere of action.
Whilst
The chief organiser was Gellius Egnatius, a Samnite. Almost all the Tuscan cantons had decided on war, the contagion had infected the nearest cantons in Umbria, and the Gauls were being solicited to help as mercenaries.
All these were concentrating at the Samnite camp. When the news of this sudden rising reached Rome, L. Volumnius had already left for Samnium with the second and third legions and 15,000 allied troops; it was therefore decided that Appius Claudius should at the earliest possible moment enter Etruria. Two Roman legions followed him, the first and fourth, and 12,000 allies.
He fixed his camp not far from the enemy.
The advantage gained by his prompt arrival did not, however, show itself in anywise or fortunate generalship on his part so much as the check imposed by the fear of Rome upon some of the Etrurian cantons which were meditating war. Several engage- ments took place in unfavourable positions and at unfortunate times, and the more the enemy's hopes of success, the more formidable he became.
Matters almost reached the point when the soldiers distrusted their general and the general had no confidence in his soldiers. I find it stated by some annalists that he sent a letter to his colleague summoning him from Samnium, but I cannot assert this as a fact since this very circumstance became a subject of dispute between the two consuls, who were now in office together for the second time;
Appius denying that he had sent any letter and Volumnius insisting that he had been summoned by a letter from Appius