Ab urbe condita

hopeless if the two consular armies formed a junction; they decided, therefore, to attack Marcius while he was on the march before he had time to deploy his men . The soldiers' kits were hurriedly thrown together in the centre, and the fighting

line was formed as well as the time allowed. The noise of the battle-shout rolling across and then the sight of the cloud of dust in the distance

created great excitement in the standing camp of Cornelius. He at once ordered the men to arm for battle, and led them hurriedly out of the camp into line. It would, he exclaimed, be a scandalous disgrace if they allowed the other army to win a victory which both ought to share, and failed to maintain their claim to the

glory of a war which was especially their own. He then made a flank attack, and breaking through

the enemy's centre pushed on to their camp, which was denuded of defenders, and burnt it As soon as Marcius' troops caught sight of the flames, and the enemy looking behind them saw them too, the Samnites took to flight in all directions, but no place

afforded them a safe refuge, death awaited them everywhere. After 30,000 of the enemy had

been killed the consuls gave the signal to retire. They were recalling and collecting the troops together amidst mutual congratulations when suddenly fresh cohorts of the enemy were seen in the distance, consisting of recruits who had been sent up as reinforcements. This renewed the carnage, for, without any orders from the consuls or any signal given, the victorious Romans attacked them, exclaiming as they charged that the Samnite

recruits would have to pay dearly for their training. The consuls did not check the ardour of their men, for they knew well that raw soldiers would not even attempt to fight

when the veterans around them were in disorderly flight. Nor were they mistaken; all the Samnite forces,

veterans and recruits alike, fled to the nearest mountains. The Romans went up after them, no place afforded safety to the beaten foe, they were routed from the heights they had occupied, and at last with one voice they all begged for peace. They were ordered to supply corn for three months, a year's pay, and a tunic for each soldier, and envoys were

despatched to the senate to obtain terms of peace. Cornelius was left in Samnium; Marcius entered the City in triumphal procession alter his subjugation of the Hernicans. An equestrian statue was decreed to him which was erected in

the Forum in front of the Temple of Castor.[*](The temple of Castor and Pollux was built on the very spot on which the two brothers had been miraculously seen watering their horses at the spring of Juturna to announce the great victory at Lake Regillus.) Three of the Hernican communities —Aletrium, Verulae, and Ferentinum —had their municipal independence restored to them as they preferred that to the Roman franchise, and the right of intermarriage with each other was granted them, a privilege which for a considerable period they

were the only communities amongst the Hernicans to enjoy. The Anagnians and the others who had taken up arms against Rome were

admitted to the status of citizenship without the franchise, they were deprived of their municipal self-government and the right of intermarriage with each other, and their magistrates were forbidden

to exercise any functions except those connected with religion. In this year the censor C. Junius Bubulcus signed a contract for the building of the temple to Salus which he had vowed when engaged as consul in the Samnite war. He and his colleague, M. Valerius Maximus, also undertook the construction of roads

through the country districts out of the public funds. The treaty with the Carthaginians was renewed for the third time this year and munificent presents were made to the plenipotentiaries who had come over for the purpose.