Ab urbe condita

These were the occurrences of the year. And now the time for the election of consular tribunes was approaching. The senate was almost more anxious about this than about the war, for they recognised that they were not simply sharing the supreme power with the plebs, but had almost completely lost it.

An understanding was come to by which their most distinguished members were to come forward as candidates; they believed that for very shame they would not be passed over. Besides this, they resorted to every expedient, just as if they were every one of them candidates, and called to their aid not men alone, but even the gods. They made a religious question of the last two elections.

In the former year, they said, an intolerably severe winter had occurred which seemed to be a divine warning; in the last year they had not warnings only but the judgments themselves.

The pestilence which had visited the country districts and the City was undoubtedly a mark of the divine displeasure, for it had been found in the Books of Fate that to avert that scourge the gods must be appeased.

The auspices were taken before an election, and the gods deemed it an insult that the highest offices should be made common and the distinction of classes thrown into confusion. Men were awestruck not only by the dignity and rank of the candidates, but by the religious aspect of the question, and they elected all the consular tribunes from the patricians, the great majority being all men of high distinction.

Those elected were L. Valerius Potitus —for the fifth time —M. Valerius Maximus, M. Furius Camillus —for the second time —L. Furius Medullinus —for the third time —Q. Servilius Fidenates —for the second time —and Q. Sulpicius Camerinus —for the second time. During their year of office nothing of any importance was done at Veii; their whole activity was confined to raids.

Two of the commanders-in-chief carried off an enormous quantity of plunder —Potitus from Falerii and Camillus from Capenae. They left nothing behind which fire or sword could destroy.

During[*](The Rise of the Alban Lake.) this period many portents were announced, but as they rested on the testimony of single individuals, and there were no soothsayers to consult as to how to expiate them, owing to the hostile attitude of the Etruscans, these reports were generally disbelieved and disregarded. One incident, however, caused universal anxiety.

The Alban Lake rose to an unusual height, without any rainfall or other cause which could prevent the phenomenon from appearing supernatural. Envoys were sent to the oracle of Delphi to ascertain why the gods sent the portent.

But an explanation was afforded nearer at hand.

An aged Veientine was impelled by destiny to announce, amidst the jeers of the Roman and Etruscan outposts, in prophetic strain, that the Romans would never get possession of Veii until the water had been drawn off from the Alban Lake. This was at first treated as a wild utterance, but afterwards it began to be talked about.

Owing to the length of the war, there were frequent conversations between the troops on both sides, and a Roman on outpost duty asked one of the townsmen who was nearest to him who the man was who was throwing out such dark hints about the Alban Lake.

When he heard that he was a soothsayer, being himself a man not devoid of religious fears, he invited the prophet to an interview on the pretext of wishing to consult him, if he had time, about a portent which demanded his own personal expiation.