The historians' history of the world in twenty-five volumes, volume 05 : $b the Roman Republic
History
The historians' history of the world in twenty-five volumes, volume 05 : $b the Roman Republic
World history
But in the moment of triumph news came that Etruria was in arms. The
Etruscans hoped by a brave effort to recover the territory which the
Romans had for the second time appropriated. A force was sent against
them; but so completely was it routed on the nones of July, that this
day was noted in the Calendar as the Poplifugia. Siege was then laid
to Sutrium by the victors, and it fell. But the prompt dictator, on
the first alarm, marched his troops straight from Bola to the point of
danger; and on the very day on which Sutrium had yielded to the foe, it
was again taken by the Roman general. Thus Camillus again appears as the
saviour of Rome. He enjoyed a threefold triumph over the Volscians, the
Æquians, and the Etrurians.
It was two years after, that the Etruscan territory, now effectually
conquered, was formed into four tribes. By the addition of these new
tribes, the first that had been added since this very territory had
been wrested from Rome by Porsenna, the whole number was raised to
twenty-five. The late assault of the Etruscans, perhaps, suggested
the wisdom of making the free inhabitants of this district citizens
of Rome. Men who had lately been subject to the oppressive government
of a civic oligarchy, being now mingled with Roman plebeians who had
received allotments in the district, and seeing the comparative freedom
of all Roman burgesses, were sure to fight for Rome rather than join in
an insurrection against her. Here was the beginning of that sagacious
policy, which for a time led political enfranchisement hand in hand with
conquest. Thirty years later (358 B.C.) the senate pursued the same
course with respect to the Pontine district and other lowlands which
had been recovered from the grasp of the Volscians. A settlement of
poor plebeians, which was attempted in 387 B.C., failed; the emigrants
were cut off by the Volscian hills-men. But the territory being now
formed into two tribes, so as to make the whole number twenty-seven, the
inhabitants had an interest in repressing predatory inroads.
[Sidenote: [387-354 B.C.]]
Soon after followed the struggle for the Licinian laws; and during this
period the annals are altogether silent on the subject of wars.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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