11 These and other unfavourable occurrences in Macedon were learned from Sextus Digitius, a military tribune, who came to Rome to perform a sacrifice. The senate being apprehensive on account of these advices of some greater disgrace ensuing, deputed Marcus Fulvius Flaccus and Marcus Caninius Rebilus to go to Macedon, and bring certain information of what was going on there; at the same time ordering that the consul, Aulus Hostilius, should summon the assembly for the election of consuls, and arrange that it might be held in the month of January, and should come home to the city as soon as possible. In the mean time instructions were given to the prætor, Marcus Recius, to call home to Rome, by proclamation, all the senators from every part of Italy, except such as were absent on public business; and it was resolved that none of those who were in Rome should go further than one mile from the city. All this was done pursuant to the votes of the senate. The election of consuls was held on the fifth day before the calends of February. Quintus Marcius Philippus a second time, and Cneius Servilius Cæpio, were elected consuls. Three days after, Caius Decimius, Marcus Claudius Marcellus, Caius Sulpicius Gallus, Caius Marcius Figulus, Servius Cornelius Lentulus, and Publius Fonteius Capito, were chosen prætors. Four other provinces in addition to the two in the city were assigned to the prætors elect; these provinces were Spain, Sardinia, Sicily, and the fleet. Towards the end of February the deputies returned from Macedon, and gave an account of the successful enterprises of Perseus during the preceding summer, and of the great fears which had taken possession of the allies of the Roman people, on account of so many cities being reduced under the king’s power. They reported, that “the consul’s troops were very thin, in consequence of leave of absence being granted to great numbers, with the view of gaining popularity; the blame of which the consul laid upon the military tribunes, and they, on the other hand, on the consul.” The senate understood them to make little of the disgrace sustained through the rashness of Claudius, since they represented “that very few soldiers of Italian extraction were lost, the greatest part being the soldiers raised in that country by an irregular levy.” The consuls elect received orders, immediately on entering into office, to propose the affairs of Macedon to the consideration of the senate; and Italy and Macedon were appointed their provinces. An intercalation was made in the calendar of this year, intercalary calends being reckoned on the third day after the feast of Terminus. There died of the priests during this year, Lucius Flaminius, augur, and two pontiffs, Lucius Furius Philus, and Caius Livius Salinator. In the room of Furius, the pontiffs chose Titus Manlius Torquatus, and in that of Livius, Marcus Servilius.
12 In the beginning of the ensuing year, when the new consuls, Quintus Marcius and Cneius Servilius, had proposed the distribution of the provinces for consideration, the senate voted that they should, without delay, either settle between themselves about Macedon and Italy, or cast lots for them; and that, before the lot should decide this matter, and while the destination of each was uncertain, lest interest might have any influence, the supplies of men, which the exigency required for each province, should be ordered. Six thousand Roman foot and six thousand of the Latin allies, two hundred and fifty Roman horse and three hundred of the allies, were voted for Macedon. The old soldiers were to be discharged, so that there should be in each Roman legion no more than six thousand foot and three hundred horse. The number of Roman citizens, which the other consul was to enlist for a reinforcement, was not precisely determined; there was only this limitation mentioned, that he should raise two legions, each of them to contain five thousand two hundred foot and three hundred horse. A larger number of Latin infantry was decreed to him than to his colleague; no less than ten thousand foot, with six hundred horse. An order was given for raising four other legions, to serve wherever occasion might require. The consuls were not allowed the appointment of the military tribunes; the people elected them. The confederates of the Latin nation were ordered to furnish sixteen thousand foot and one thousand horse. This force was intended only to be kept in readiness, to march out should any exigency demand it. Macedon gave the senate most anxiety; they ordered, that one thousand Roman citizens, of the rank of freed-men, should be enlisted in Italy, as seamen, to man the fleet, and the same number in Sicily; and instructions were given the prætor, to whose lot the government of the latter province fell, to the effect that he should take care to carry these over to Macedon, to whatever place the fleet should be stationed at. Three thousand Roman foot and three hundred horse were voted to recruit the army in Spain. Then also the number of men in each legion was limited to five thousand foot and three hundred and thirty horse. Besides these, the prætor, to whose lot Spain should fall, was ordered to levy from the allies four thousand foot and three hundred horse.
13 I am well aware, that, through the same disregard of religion, owing to which the men of the present day generally believe that the gods never give portents of any future events, no prodigies are now either reported to government, or recorded in histories. But for my part, while I am writing the transactions of ancient times, my sentiments, I know not how, become antique; and a kind of religious awe prevents me from considering events, which the men of those days, renowned for wisdom, judged deserving of the attention of the state and of public expiation, unworthy of being recorded in my history. From Anagnia two prodigies were reported this year: that a blazing torch was seen in the air; and that a cow spoke, and was maintained at the public expense. About the same time, at Minturnæ, the sky appeared as in a blaze of fire. At Reate, a shower of stones fell. At Cumæ, the image of Apollo, in the citadel, shed tears during three days and three nights. In the city of Rome, two of the keepers of the temples made strange announcements, one that in the temple of Fortune, a snake, with a mane like that of a horse, had been seen by many; the other, that, in the temple of Fortuna Primigenia on the hill, a palm sprung up in the court, and that a shower of blood fell in the middle of the day. Two prodigies were not attended to: one, because it happened in a place belonging to a private person; Titus Marcius Figulus having reported, that a palm sprung up in the inner court of his house; the other, because it occurred in a foreign place, Fregellæ,—where, in the house of Lucius Arreus, a spear which he had bought for his son, who was a soldier, burned, as was said, for more than two hours, and notwithstanding the fire consumed none of it. The Sibylline books were consulted by the decemvirs on account of the public prodigies. They directed that the consuls should sacrifice forty of the larger victims to the deities, whom they pointed out; that a supplication should be performed; and that all the magistrates should sacrifice victims of the larger kinds in all the temples, and the people wear garlands. All these acts were performed according to the injunctions of the decemvirs.
14 Then the elections were held for the creation of censors. Several of the first men in the state, including Caius Valerius Lævinus, Lucius Postumius Albinus, Publius Mucius Scævola, Marcus Junius Brutus, Caius Claudius Pulcher, and Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, were candidates for this office. The Roman people appointed the two last censors. As, on account of the Macedonian war, greater attention was paid to holding the levy than usual, the consuls made a complaint to the senate against the plebeians, that even the younger men did not obey their summons. But, in opposition to them, Caius Sulpicius and Marcus Claudius, tribunes of the people, pleaded in favour of the plebeians; asserting, that “the levying of soldiers was a difficult task, not to the consuls in general, but to such consuls as affected popularity; that no man was made a soldier by them against his inclination; and that the conscript fathers might be convinced of the truth of this, the prætors, who in their office had less power and authority, would, if it seemed good to the senate, complete the levy.” That business was accordingly committed to the care of the prætors by an unanimous vote of the senate, not without great murmuring on the part of the consuls. The censors, in order to forward it, published, in a general assembly, the following notice: that “they would make it a rule in conducting the survey, that, besides the common oath taken by all citizens, the younger part should swear in this manner, when challenged,—You are younger than forty-six years, and you shall attend at the levy, pursuant to the edict of Caius Claudius and Tiberius Sempronius, censors; and you shall attend at the levy, as often as there shall be a levy held by any magistrate during the aforesaid censors’ continuance in office, if you shall not have been already enlisted.” Also as there was a report, that many men belonging to the legions in Macedon were absent from the army on furloughs, which did not limit the time, and were granted by the commanders to ingratiate themselves with the soldiers, they issued a proclamation concerning all who had been draughted for Macedon in the consulate of Publius Ælius and Caius Popilius, or since that period; that “such as were in Italy should, after being first registered by them in the survey, repair within thirty days to the province in which they served; and that, if any were under the power of a father or grandfather, the names of such should be notified to them. That they would also make inquiry into the cases of the soldiers who had been discharged; and that they would order those, whose discharge should appear to have been obtained through favour, before the regular number of campaigns were served, to be enlisted again.” In consequence of this proclamation, and letters from the censors being dispersed through the market-towns and villages, such multitudes of young men flocked to Rome, that the extraordinary crowd was even inconvenient to the city. Besides enrolling those whom it was necessary to send as a reinforcement for the armies, four legions were raised by the prætor, Caius Sulpicius, and the levies were completed within eleven days.
15 The consuls then cast lots for their provinces; the prætors, on account of the civil jurisdiction, had determined theirs earlier in the season. The civil jurisdiction had fallen to Caius Sulpicius; the foreign, to Caius Decimius; Marcus Claudius Marcellus had obtained by lot Spain; Servius Cornelius Lentulus, Sicily; Publius Fonteius Capito, Sardinia; and Caius Marcius Figulus had received the command of the fleet. In the arrangement of the consular provinces, Italy fell to Cneius Servilius, and Macedon to Quintus Marcius; and the latter set out as soon as the Latin festival could be celebrated. Cæpio then desired the senate to direct which two of the new legions he should take with him into Gaul; when they ordered, that the prætors Caius Sulpicius and Marcus Claudius should give the consul such of the legions, which they had raised, as they should think fit. The latter, highly offended at a consul being subjected to the will of prætors, adjourned the senate; and standing at the tribunal of the prætors, demanded, that pursuant to the decree, they should assign him two legions; but the prætors left the consul to his own discretion in selecting them. The censors then called over the list of the senate. Marcus Æmilius Lepidus was now, by the third censors, chosen prince of the senate. Seven were expelled that body. In making the survey of the people, they discovered from the rolls how many of the soldiers belonging to the army in Macedonia were absent, and obliged them all to return to that province. They inquired into the cases of the men who had been discharged; and, when any of their discharges appeared irregular in respect of time, they put the following oath to them: “Do you truly swear, that you will, without deceit or evasion, return into the province of Macedon, according to the edict of the censors, Caius Claudius and Tiberius Sempronius?”
16 In the review of the knights their censorship was very severe and harsh: they deprived many of their horses; and after giving offence to the equestrian order in this matter, they inflamed the general displeasure to a higher degree by an edict, in which they ordered, that “no person who had farmed the public revenues or taxes from the censors Quintus Fulvius and Aulus Postumius, should attend their sale, or have any partnership or connexion in the contracts then to be made.” When the former tax-contractors could not prevail on the senate, by their frequent complaints, to check the power of the censors, at length they found a patron of their cause in Publius Rutilius, a plebeian tribune, who was incensed against the censors in consequence of a dispute about a private concern. They had ordered a client of his, a freed-man, to throw down a wall, which stood opposite to a public building in the Sacred Street, because it was built on ground belonging to the public. The tribunes were appealed to by the citizen. When none of them would interfere, except Rutilius, the censors were sent to seize the property of the citizen, and imposed a fine on him in a public assembly. When the present dispute broke out, and the old revenue-farmers had recourse to the tribunes, a bill was suddenly promulgated under the name of one of the tribunes, that “with regard to the public revenues and taxes, which Caius Claudius and Tiberius Sempronius should have hired out, all contracts made by them should be null and void: that they should all be let anew, and that every person, without distinction, should be at liberty to bid for and take them.” The tribune appointed the day for an assembly to vote on this bill. When the day came, and the censors stood forth to argue against the order, there was deep silence while Gracchus addressed them: when the voice of Claudius was drowned in the murmurs, he directed the crier to cause silence, that he might be heard. When this was done, the tribune, complaining that the assembly which he had summoned was taken out of his rule, and that he was reduced to a private capacity, retired from the Capitol, where the assembly met. Next day he raised a violent commotion. In the first place, he declared the property of Tiberius Gracchus forfeited to the gods, because he, by fining and seizing the goods of a person who had appealed to a tribune, and by refusing to admit the tribune’s right of protesting, had reduced him to a private capacity. He instituted a criminal process against Caius Claudius because he had summoned the assembly away from him, and declared his intention of prosecuting both the censors for treason; and he demanded of Caius Sulpicius, the city prætor, that he would fix a day for an assembly to try them. As the censors offered no objection to the people passing their sentence on them as soon as they pleased, their trial for treason was fixed to come the eighth and seventh days before the calends of October. The censors went up immediately to the temple of Liberty, where they sealed the books of the public accounts, shut up the office, and dismissed the clerks; affirming, that they would do no kind of public business until the sentence of the people was passed on them. Claudius was first brought to trial; and after eight out of the eighteen centuries of knights, and many others of the first class, had given sentence against him, the principal men in the state, immediately taking off their gold rings, in the sight of the people, put on mourning, in order that they might suppliantly solicit the commons in his favour. Yet, it is said, that Gracchus was the chief means of making a change in their sentiments; for when shouts arose from the commons on all sides that Gracchus was in no danger, he took a formal oath, that if his colleague were condemned, he would be his companion in exile, without waiting for their judgment concerning himself. After all, the case of the accused was so near being desperate, that the votes of eight centuries only were wanting to condemn him. When Claudius was acquitted, the tribune said, that he would not delay Gracchus.
17 This year, when the ambassadors of the Aquileians demanded that the number of the colonists should be increased, one thousand five hundred families were enrolled by a decree of the senate; and Titus Annius Luscus, Publius Decius Subulo, and Marcus Cornelius Cethegus, were appointed commissioners to conduct them. During the same year, Caius Popilius and Cneius Octavius, who had been sent ambassadors into Greece, read, first at Thebes, and afterwards carried about to all the other states of Peloponnesus, a decree, ordering, that “no person should furnish the Roman magistrates with any thing for the use of the war, except what the senate should determine.” This afforded the allies a pleasing confidence, with regard to the future also, that they would be relieved from the heavy burdens and expenses, by which they were exhausted, in consequence of the various demands of those magistrates. In the council of Achaia, held at Ægium, the ambassadors spoke, and were heard with sentiments of mutual esteem and affection; and then, leaving that faithful nation in confident assurance of lasting prosperity, they crossed over to Ætolia. No civil war had yet broke out in that country; but all places were full of suspicion and mutual recrimination. The ambassadors having demanded hostages on account of these disputes, set out from this place to Acarnania, without putting an end to the evil. The Acarnanians gave to the ambassadors an audience of their general council at Thyrium. Here, too, there was a struggle between opposite factions; some of the nobles required that garrisons might be placed in their cities, to protect them against the madness of those who were endeavouring to bring the nation over to the Macedonians; and others objected to the measure, lest peaceful and allied cities should receive such an insult, as was usually offered only to towns taken in war, or engaged in hostilities. Their objection was reckoned reasonable. The ambassadors returned to Larissa, to Hostilius, for by him they had been sent. He kept Octavius with him, and sent Popilius, with about a thousand soldiers, into winter quarters at Ambracia.
18 Perseus did not venture, at the commencement of winter, to go out of the limits of Macedon, lest the Romans might make an irruption into the kingdom by some unguarded quarter; but on the approach of the winter solstice, when the depth of the snow renders the mountains between it and Thessaly impassable, he thought the season favourable for crushing the hopes and spirits of his neighbours, lest any danger should be lurking there, while his attention was turned to the Romans; since Cotys afforded him security in the direction of Thrace, and Cephalus, by his sudden revolt from the Romans, freed him from uneasiness on the side of Epirus, and his late expedition had subdued the Dardanians, he considered that Macedon was only exposed on the side next to Illyria, the Illyrians themselves being in motion, and having offered a free passage to the Romans: hoping, however, that if he reduced the nearest tribes of Illyrians, Gentius himself, who had long been wavering, might be brought into alliance with him, he set out at the head of ten thousand foot, the greater part of whom were soldiers of the phalanx, two thousand light infantry, and five hundred horse, and proceeded to Stubera. Having there supplied himself with corn sufficient for many days, and ordered every requisite for besieging towns to be sent after him, he encamped on the third day before Uscana, the largest city in the Penestian country. Before he employed force, he sent emissaries to sound the dispositions, sometimes of the commanders of the garrison, sometimes of the inhabitants; for, besides some troops of Illyrians, there was a Roman garrison in the place. When his emissaries brought back no friendly message, he resolved to attack the town, and made an attempt to take it by a line of circumvallation formed of troops; but though his men, relieving one another, continued without intermission, either by day or night, some to apply ladders to the walls, others to attempt to set fire to the gates, yet the defenders of the city sustained that shock, for they had hopes that the Macedonians would not be able to endure any longer the severity of the winter in the open field; and besides, that the king would not have so long a respite from the war with Rome, that he would be able to stay there. But, when they saw the machines in motion, and towers erected, their resolution was overcome; for, besides that they were unequal to a contest with his force, they had not a sufficient store of corn, or any other necessary, as they had not expected a siege. Therefore when they had no hopes of being able to hold out, Caius Carvilius Spoletinus and Caius Afranius were sent by the Roman garrison to request from Perseus, first, to allow the troops to march out with their arms, and to carry their effects with them; and then, if they could not obtain that, to receive his promise of their lives and liberty. The king promised more generously than he performed; for, after desiring them to march out with their effects, the first thing he did was to take away their arms. As soon as they left the city, both the cohort of Illyrians, five hundred in number, and the inhabitants of Uscana, immediately surrendered themselves and the city.
19 Perseus, placing a garrison in Uscana, carried away to Stubera the whole multitude of prisoners, almost equal to his army in number. He then distributed the Romans, who amounted to four thousand, besides officers, among several cities, to be kept in custody; and, having sold the Uscanians and Illyrians, led back his army to Penestia, to reduce the city of Oæneus: the town is advantageously situated in other respects, and besides, in that direction there is a passage into the country of the Labeatians, where Gentius was king. As he passed by a fort, named Draudacum, which was full of men, one of the persons, well acquainted with the country, told him that “there was no use in taking Oæneus unless he had Draudacum in his power; for the latter was situated more advantageously in every respect.” When his army was brought against it, the garrison surrendered unanimously and at once. Encouraged by the surrender of this place, which was earlier than he hoped, and perceiving what terrors his march diffused, by taking advantage of the like fears, he reduced eleven other forts to submission. Against a very few he had occasion to use force; the rest submitted voluntarily; among whom one thousand five hundred Roman soldiers were taken, who had been divided among the Roman garrisons. Carvilius Spoletinus was very serviceable to him in his conferences with the garrison, by declaring that no severity had been shown to his own party. At length he arrived at Oæneus, which could not be taken without a regular siege. The town possessed a much greater number of young men than the others, and was strong in its fortifications. It was enclosed on one side by a river called Artatus, and on another by a very high mountain of difficult access; these circumstances gave the inhabitants courage to make resistance. Perseus, having drawn lines of circumvallation, began, on the higher ground, to raise a mound, which he intended should exceed the wall in height. By the time that this work was completed, the besieged, in their many actions, when sallying out to defend their works, or to obstruct those of the enemy, had lost great numbers by various chances; while the survivors were rendered useless by wounds, and by continual labour both in the day and night. As soon as the mound was brought close to the wall, the royal cohort (the men of which are called Nicators) rushed from it into the town, while an assault was made by scalade in many places at once. All the males, who had reached the age of puberty, were put to the sword, their wives and children were thrown into confinement, and every thing else was given as booty to the soldiers. Returning thence victorious to Stubera, he sent, as ambassadors to Gentius,—Pleuratus, an Illyrian, who lived in exile at his court, and Adæus, a Macedonian, from Berœa. He gave them instructions to represent his exploits against the Romans and Dardanians during the preceding summer and winter, and to add the recent operations of his winter campaign in Illyria, and to exhort Gentius to unite with him and the Macedonians in a treaty of friendship.