§10.21.1magnum ea populatio Campani agri tumultum Romae praebuerat; §10.21.2et per eos forte dies ex Etruria adlatum erat post deductum inde Volumnianum exercitum Etruriam concitam in arma, et Gellium Egnatium, Samnitium ducem, et Umbros ad defectionem vocare et Gallos pretio ingenti sollicitare.
That plundering of the Campanian territory had caused a great panic at Rome; and during those very days, by chance, news was brought from Etruria that, after the army of Volumnius had been withdrawn from there, Etruria had been aroused to arms, and that Gellius Egnatius, the leader of the Samnites, was calling the Umbrians to revolt and soliciting the Gauls with a huge bribe.
§10.21.3his nuntiis senatus conterritus iustitium indici, dilectum omnis generis hominum haberi iussit.
Terrified by these reports, the senate ordered a suspension of public business to be proclaimed, and a levy of every class of men to be held.
§10.21.4nec ingenui modo aut iuniores sacramento adacti sed seniorum etiam cohortes factae libertinique centuriati.
And not only were freeborn or younger men bound by the oath, but cohorts of older men were also formed, and freedmen were enrolled in centuries.
et defendendae urbis consilia agitabantur summaeque rerum praetor P. Sempronius praeerat.
Plans for defending the city were actively discussed, and the praetor Publius Sempronius was in charge of the supreme administration of affairs.
§10.21.5ceterum parte curae exonerarunt senatum L. Volumni consulis litterae, quibus caesos fusosque populatores Campaniae cognitum est.
However, a letter from the consul Lucius Volumnius relieved the senate of a part of its anxiety, by which it was learned that the plunderers of Campania had been slaughtered and routed.
§10.21.6itaque et supplicationes ob rem bene gestam consulis nomine decernunt, et iustitium remittitur, quod fuerat dies duodeviginti, supplicatioque perlaeta fuit.
Therefore, they both decreed a public thanksgiving in the name of the consul for the successful action, and the suspension of business was ended, which had lasted eighteen days; and the thanksgiving was a very joyful one.
§10.21.7tum de praesidio regionis depopulatae ab Samnitibus agitari coeptum; itaque placuit, ut duae coloniae circa Vescinum et Falernum agrum deducerentur, una ad ostium Liris fluvii, §10.21.8quae Minturnae appellata, altera in saltum Vescinum Falernum contingentem agrum, ubi Sinope dicitur Graeca urbs fuisse, Sinuessa deinde ab colonis Romanis appellata.
Then discussions began concerning the protection of the territory ravaged by the Samnites; and so it was resolved that two colonies should be established around the Vescinian and Falernian territory, one at the mouth of the river Liris, which was named Minturnae, the other in the Vescinian pass bordering the Falernian territory, where a Greek city called Sinope is said to have stood, afterwards named Sinuessa by the Roman colonists.
§10.21.9tribunis plebis negotium datum est, ut plebei scito iuberetur P. Sempronius praetor triumviros in ea loca colonis deducendis creare.
A charge was given to the tribunes of the plebs that it should be ordered by a decree of the plebs that the praetor Publius Sempronius appoint three commissioners for leading the colonists to those places.
nec qui nomina darent facile inveniebantur, §10.21.10quia in stationem se prope perpetuam infestae regionis, non in agros mitti rebantur.
Nor were men easily found who would give their names, because they thought they were being sent to an almost permanent outpost in a hostile region, not to farm lands.
§10.21.11Avertit ab eis curis senatum Etruriae ingravescens bellum et crebrae litterae Appi monentis, ne regionis eius motum neglegerent: §10.21.12quattuor gentes conferre arma, Etruscos, Samnites, Umbros, Gallos; iam castra bifariam facta esse, quia unus locus capere tantam multitudinem non possit.
The worsening war in Etruria and the frequent letters of Appius, warning them not to neglect the movement in that region, diverted the senate from these anxieties: namely, that four nations were joining forces, the Etruscans, Samnites, Umbrians, and Gauls; and that their camp had already been pitched in two separate places, because a single site could not contain so great a multitude.
§10.21.13ob haec — et iam appetebat tempus comitiorum — L. Volumnius consul Romam revocatus; qui priusquam ad suffragium centurias vocaret, in contionem advocato populo multa de magnitudine belli Etrusci disseruit: §10.21.14iam turn, cum ipse ibi cum collega rem pariter gesserit, fuisse tantum bellum, ut nec duce uno nec exercitu geri potuerit; accessisse postea dici Umbros et ingentem exercitum Gallorum.
On account of these matters—and the time for the elections was already drawing near—the consul Lucius Volumnius was recalled to Rome; before calling the centuries to vote, he summoned the people to an assembly and spoke at length about the magnitude of the Etruscan war: even then, when he himself had conducted operations there on equal terms with his colleague, the war had been so great that it could not be carried on by a single general or a single army; and that now it was reported that the Umbrians and a huge army of Gauls had joined in addition.
§10.21.15adversus quattuor populos duces consules illo die deligi meminissent.
They should remember that on that day, consuls were being chosen as leaders against four nations.
se, nisi confideret eum consensu populi Romani consulem declaratum iri, qui haud dubie tum primus omnium ductor habeatur, dictatorem fuisse extemplo dicturum.
For his part, unless he were confident that he would be declared consul by the consensus of the Roman people who was then undoubtedly held to be the foremost leader of all, he would have immediately named a dictator.