§7.12.1itaque insequenti anno M. Popilio Laenate Cn. Manlio consulibus primo silentio noctis ab Tibure agmine infesto profecti ad urbem Romam venerunt.
And so in the following year, when Marcus Popilius Laenas and Gnaeus Manlius were consuls, having set out from Tibur in a hostile army at the first silence of the night, they came to the city of Rome.
§7.12.2terrorem repente ex somno excitatis subita res et nocturnus pavor praebuit, ad hoc multorum inscitia, qui aut unde hostes advenissent;
The sudden event and the night-time panic brought terror to those who were suddenly roused from sleep, and in addition to this, the ignorance of many, as to who the enemy were or from where they had come.
§7.12.3conclamatum tamen celeriter ad arma est, et portae stationibus murique praesidiis firmati; et ubi prima lux mediocrem multitudinem ante moenia neque alium quam Tiburtem hostem ostendit, duabus portis egressi consules utrimque aciem subeuntium iam muros adgrediuntur,
Nevertheless, a cry to arms was quickly raised, and the gates were secured with guards and the walls with garrisons; and when the first light showed a moderate multitude before the walls and no other enemy than the Tiburtines, the consuls, having gone out by two gates, attacked from both sides the line of those who were already approaching the walls.
§7.12.4apparuitque occasione magis quam virtute fretos venisse; adeo vix primum impetum Romanorum sustinuere.
And it became clear that they had come relying on opportunity rather than on courage; so barely did they withstand the first onset of the Romans.
quin etiam bono fuisse Romanis adventum eorum constabat, orientemque iam seditionem inter patres et plebem metu tam propinqui belli conpressam.
Indeed, it was established that their coming was even of advantage to the Romans, and that the sedition already arising between the patricians and the plebeians was suppressed by the fear of so near a war.
§7.12.5alius adventus hostium fuit proximo anno agris terribilior quam urbi: §7.12.6populabundi Tarquinienses fines Romanos, maxime qua ex parte Etruriae adiacent, peragravere; rebusque nequiquam repetitis novi consules iis C. Fabius et C. Plautius iussu populi bellum indixere; Fabioque ea provincia, Plautio Hernici evenere.
The arrival of another enemy in the following year was more terrible to the fields than to the city: the Tarquinienses, intent on plunder, traversed the Roman territory, especially on the side where it adjoins Etruria; and since redress was demanded in vain, the new consuls, Gaius Fabius and Gaius Plautius, by order of the people, declared war against them; and that province fell to Fabius, while the Hernici fell to Plautius.
Gallici quoque belli fama increbrescebat.
The rumor of a Gallic war was also growing frequent.
§7.12.7sed inter multos terrores solacio fuit pax Latinis petentibus data, et magna vis militum ab iis ex foedere vetusto, quod multis intermiserant annis, accepta.
But amid many terrors, it was a consolation that peace was granted to the Latins at their request, and a large force of soldiers was received from them according to an ancient treaty, which they had discontinued for many years.
§7.12.8quo praesidio cum fulta res Romana esset, levius fuit, quod Gallos mox Praeneste venisse atque inde circa Pedum consedisse auditum est.
Since the Roman power was supported by this defense, it was a lighter matter that it was soon heard that the Gauls had come to Praeneste and from there had settled around Pedum.
§7.12.9dictatorem dici C. Sulpicium placuit; consul ad id accitus C. Plautius dixit; magister equitum dictatori additus M. Valerius.
It was decided that Gaius Sulpicius should be named dictator; the consul Gaius Plautius, summoned for this purpose, named him; Marcus Valerius was added to the dictator as master of the horse.
hi robora militum ex duobus consularibus exercitibus electa adversus Gallos duxerunt.
These led the elite of the soldiers, chosen from the two consular armies, against the Gauls.
§7.12.10lentius id aliquanto bellum, quam parti utrique placebat, fuit.
That war was somewhat slower than was pleasing to either party.
cum primo Galli tantum avidi certaminis fuissent, deinde Romanus miles ruendo in arma ac dimicationem aliquantum Gallicam ferociam vinceret, dictatori neutiquam placebat, §7.12.11quando nulla cogeret res, fortunae se committere adversus hostem, quem tempus deteriorem in dies faceret, locis alienis sine praeparato commeatu, sine firmo munimento morantem, ad hoc iis corporibus animisque, quorum omnis in impetu vis esset, parva eadem languesceret mora.
While at first only the Gauls had been eager for a fight, and then the Roman soldier, by rushing to arms and combat, somewhat overcame the Gallic ferocity, it was by no means pleasing to the dictator, when no circumstance compelled it, to commit himself to fortune against an enemy whom time was making worse day by day, lingering as they were in unfamiliar places without prepared provisions, without a strong fortification, and moreover, with bodies and minds whose whole strength was in their onset, which same strength would languion with a small delay.
§7.12.12his consiliis dictator bellum trahebat gravemque edixerat poenam, si quis iniussu in hostem pugnasset.
With these designs, the dictator was dragging out the war and had proclaimed a heavy penalty if anyone should fight against the enemy without orders.
milites aegre id patientes primo in stationibus vigiliisque inter se dictatorem sermonibus carpere, interdum patres communiter increpare, quod non iussissent per consules geri bellum: §7.12.13electum esse eximium imperatorem, unicum ducem, qui nihil agenti sibi de caelo devolaturam in sinum victoriam censeat.
The soldiers, bearing this with difficulty, at first began to criticize the dictator among themselves in their stations and watches, and sometimes to rail against the patricians in common, because they had not ordered the war to be conducted by the consuls: that an extraordinary commander, a unique leader, had been chosen, who thinks that victory will fly down from heaven into his lap while he does nothing.
eadem deinde haec interdiu propalam ac ferociora his iactare: se iniussu imperatoris aut dimicaturos aut agmine Romam ituros; §7.12.14inmiscerique militibus centuriones, nec in circulis modo fremere, sed iam in principiis ac praetorio in unum sermones confundi, atque in contionis magnitudinem crescere turba et vociferari ex omnibus locis, ut extemplo ad dictatorem iretur; verba pro exercitu faceret Sex. Tullius, ut virtute eius dignum esset.
Then, by day, they openly tossed about these same things and even wilder words: that they would either fight without the commander's order or go to Rome in a body; and the centurions mingled with the soldiers, and they did not only mutter in small circles, but now in the headquarters and the general's tent their talk was mingled into one, and the crowd grew to the size of an assembly and shouted from all places that they should go immediately to the dictator; that Sextus Tullius should speak for the army, as was worthy of his courage.