One of the latter was Lucius Papirius, also called Cursor from his physical condition (he was a very fleet runner) and on account of his practicing running. After this Papirius as dictator with Fabius Rullus as master of the horse was sent out against the Samnites and by defeating them compelled them to agree to such terms as he wished. But when he had resigned his leadership they again arose in arms. They were attacked anew by the dictator Aulus Cornelius, [Sidenote: FRAG. 33^3] AND BEING DEFEATED MADE PROPOSALS OF PEACE TO THE MEN AT ROME. THEY SENT THEM ALL THE CAPTIVES THAT THEY HAD, AND ASCRIBED THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE WAR TO RUTULUS, A MAN OF INFLUENCE AMONG THEM. HIS BONES, SINCE HE ANTICIPATED THEM IN COMMITTING SUICIDE, THEY SCATTERED ABROAD. YET THEY DID NOT OBTAIN THEIR PEACE, BEING ACCOUNTED UNTRUSTWORTHY; BUT THE VICTORS, THOUGH ACCEPTING THE PRISONERS, VOTED FOR RELENTLESS WAR AGAINST THEM. [Sidenote: FRAG. 33^4] THE ROMANS, THEN, EXPECTING IN THEIR EXTREME ARROGANCE THAT THEY SHOULD CAPTURE THEM ALL AT THE FIRST BLOW, SUCCUMBED TO A TERRIBLE DISASTER. THE SAMNITES, BEING BADLY FRIGHTENED AND THINKING THE REFUSAL TO MAKE PEACE A CALAMITY, FOUGHT WITH DESPERATION; AND BY PLANTING AN AMBUSCADE IN A NARROW SPOT RATHER CLOSELY HEMMED IN BY HILLS THEY BOTH CAPTURED THE CAMP AND SEIZED ALIVE THE WHOLE FORCE OF THE ROMANS, ALL OF WHOM THEY SENT UNDER THE YOKE.--What the operation of the yoke was has already been described by me above.[13]--However, they killed not a man but took away their arms and horses and everything else they had save one garment, and released them thus stripped of possessions under an agreement that they should leave Samnite territory and be their allies on an equal footing. In order to insure the articles of the agreement being ratified also by the senate, they retained six hundred of the knights to serve as hostages. [Footnote 13: Near the end of VII, 17.]