Ab urbe condita

When, however, notice was given of the election of censors, C. Marcius Rutilus, who had been the first Dictator nominated from the plebs, announced that he was a candidate for the censorship.

This upset the good feeling between the two orders. He took this step at what looked like an unfavourable moment because both consuls happened to be patricians, and they declared that they would allow no vote for him.

But he resolutely held to his purpose, and the tribunes, anxious to recover the rights of the plebs which were lost in the consular elections, assisted him to the utmost of their power. There was no dignity which the greatness of his character was unequal to supporting, and the plebs were desirous of being called to share the censorship by the same man who had opened up the path to the dictatorship.

There was no division of opinion shown in the elections, Marcius was unanimously elected censor, together with Manlius Gnaeus. This year also saw M. Fabius as Dictator, not from any apprehension of war but to prevent the Licinian Law from being observed in the consular elections.

The Dictatorship, however, did not make the combined efforts of the senate more influential in the election of consuls than it had been in the election of censors.

M.[*](Defeat of the Gauls.) Popilius Laenas was the consul elected from the plebs, L. Cornelius Scipio the one from the patricians.

Fortune conferred the greater distinction upon the plebeian consul, for upon the receipt of information that an immense army of Gauls had encamped in the territory of Latium, the conduct of tbat war, owing to Scipio's serious illness at the time, was entrusted by special arrangement to Popilius.

He promptly raised an army, and ordered all who were liable for active service to meet under arms outside the Capene Gate at the temple of Mars; the quaestors were ordered to carry the standards from the treasury to the same place.

After bringing up four legions to full strength, he handed over the rest of the troops to P. Valerius Publicola, the praetor, and advised the senate to raise a second army to protect the republic against any emergency. When all preparations were completed and everything in readiness, he advanced towards the enemy.

With the view of ascertaining their strength before testing it in a decisive action, he seized some rising ground as near to the camp of the Gauls as possible and began to construct the rampart.

When the Gauls saw the Roman standards in the distance they formed their line, prepared, with their usual impulsiveness and instinctive love of fighting, to engage at once. Observing, however, that the Romans did not come down into the plain and were trusting to the protection of their position and their rampart, they imagined that they were smitten with fear, and at the same time would be more open to attack whilst they were occupied in the work of entrenchment. So raising a wild shout they advanced to the attack.

The triarii, who formed the working party, were not interrupted, for they were screened by the hastati and principes [*](for the explanation of these terms see Book VIII. chap. viii.) who were posted in front and who began the fighting.

Their steady courage was aided by the fact that they were on higher ground, for the pila and hastae were not thrown ineffectively as often happens on level ground, but being carried forward by their weight they reached their mark.