XVIII. At Rome the Senate was called together, and many blamed Fabius, while those priests who are called Feciales urged the Senate in the name of religion to throw the whole blame of what had happened upon one guilty head, and, by delivering him up, to clear the rest of the city from sharing his guilt. These Feciales were instituted by the mildest and justest of the kings of Rome, Numa Pompilius, to be guardians of peace, and examiners of the reasons which justify a nation in going to war. However the Senate referred the matter to the people, and when the priests repeated their charges against Fabius before them, the people so despised and slighted religion as to appoint Fabius and his brothers military tribunes. The Gauls, when they heard this, were enraged, and hurried on, disregarding everything but speed. The nations through which they passed, terrified at their glancing arms and their strength and courage, thought that their land was indeed lost and that their cities would at once be taken, but to their wonder and delight the Gauls did them no hurt, and took nothing from their fields, but marched close by their cities, calling out that they were marching against Rome, and were at war with the Romans only, and held all other men to be their friends. To meet this impetuous rush, the military tribunes led out the Romans, who, in numbers indeed were quite a match for the Gauls, for they amounted to no less than forty thousand heavy-armed men, but for the most part untrained and serving for the first time. Besides this disadvantage, they neglected the duties of religion, for they neither made the usual sacrifices nor consulted the soothsayers. Confusion also was produced by the number of commanders, though frequently before this, in much less important campaigns, they had chosen single generals, whom they called dictators, as they knew that nothing is so important at a dangerous crisis as that all should unanimously and in good order obey the commands of one irresponsible chief. And the unfair treatment which Camillus had received now bore disastrous fruits, for no man dared to use authority except to flatter and gain the favour of the people. They proceeded about eleven miles from the city, and halted for the night on the banks of the river Allia, which joins the Tiber not far from where their camp was pitched. Here the barbarians appeared, and, after an unskilfully managed battle, the want of discipline of the Romans caused their ruin. The Gauls drove the left wing into the river and destroyed it, but the right of the army, which took refuge in the hills to avoid the enemy's charge on level ground, suffered less, and most of them reached the city safely. The rest, who survived after the enemy were weary of slaughter, took refuge at Veii, imagining that all was over with Rome.