§24.9.1cum T. Otacilius ferociter eum continuare consulatum velle vociferaretur atque obstreperet, lictores ad eum accedere consul iussit et, §24.9.2quia in urbem non inierat protinus in campum ex itinere profectus, admonuit cum securibus sibi fasces praeferri.
When Titus Otacilius fiercely vociferated that he wished to continue his consulship and made a clamor against him, the consul ordered the lictors to approach him and, since he had not entered the city but had proceeded straight from his journey into the Field, reminded him that the fasces with axes were being carried before him.
§24.9.3interim praerogativa suffragium init, creatique in ea consules Q. Fabius Maximus quartum M. Marcellus tertium.
In the meantime, the prerogative century entered upon the voting, and Q. Fabius Maximus for the fourth time and M. Marcellus for the third time were elected consuls in it.
eosdem consules ceterae centuriae sine variatione ulla dixerunt.
The other centuries declared the same consuls without any variation.
§24.9.4et praetor unus refectus Q. Fulvius Flaccus, novi alii creati, T. Otacilius Crassus iterum, Q. Fabius consulis filius, qui tum aedilis curulis erat, P. Cornelius Lentulus.
And one praetor, Q. Fulvius Flaccus, was re-elected; others, who were new, were created: T. Otacilius Crassus for the second time, Q. Fabius, the son of the consul, who was then curule aedile, and P. Cornelius Lentulus.
§24.9.5comitiis praetorum perfectis senatus consultum factum, ut Q. Fulvio extra ordinem urbana provincia esset, isque potissimum consulibus ad bellum profectis urbi praeesset.
When the election of the praetors was completed, a decree of the senate was made that Q. Fulvius should have the city province extraordinarily, and that he especially should command the city when the consuls had set out for the war.
— §24.9.6aquae magnae bis eo anno fuerunt, Tiberisque agros inundavit cum magna strage tectorum pecorumque et hominum pernicie.
There were two great floods in that year, and the Tiber inundated the fields, with a great destruction of buildings and cattle, and the loss of human lives.
§24.9.7quinto anno secundi Punici belli Q. Fabius Maximus quartum M. Claudius Marcellus tertium consulatum ineuntes plus solito converterant in se civitatis animos; multis enim annis tale consulum par non fuerat.
In the fifth year of the Second Punic War, Q. Fabius Maximus entering upon his fourth consulship and M. Claudius Marcellus upon his third, had drawn the attention of the state upon themselves more than usual; for in many years there had not been such a pair of consuls.
§24.9.8referebant senes sic Maximum Rullum cum P. Decio ad bellum Gallicum, sic postea Papirium Carviliumque adversus Samnites Bruttiosque et Lucanum cum Tarentino populum consules declaratos.
Old men related that thus Maximus Rullus with P. Decius had been declared consuls for the Gallic war, and thus afterwards Papirius and Carvilius against the Samnites, Bruttians, and Lucanians, along with the people of Tarentum.
§24.9.9absens Marcellus consul creatus, cum ad exercitum esset; praesenti Fabio atque ipso comitia habente consulatus continuatus.
Marcellus was elected consul in his absence, while he was with the army; for Fabius, who was present and holding the election himself, the consulship was continued.
§24.9.10tempus ac necessitas belli ac discrimen summae rerum faciebant, ne quis aut in eam rem exemplum exquireret aut suspectum cupiditatis imperii consulem haberet; quin laudabant potius magnitudinem animi, §24.9.11quod cum summo imperatore esse opus rei publicae sciret seque eum haud dubie esse, minoris invidiam suam, si qua ex ea re oreretur, quam utilitatem rei publicae fecisset.
The season and the necessity of the war, and the critical danger of the state made it so that no one should either search for a precedent in that matter, or hold the consul suspected of a desire for power; on the contrary, they rather praised his greatness of soul, because, since he knew that there was need for the state to have a supreme commander, and that he himself was undoubtedly that man, he had valued his own unpopularity, if any should arise from that matter, less than the utility of the commonwealth.