The Dawn of the Roman Empire: Books 31-40 (Oxford World's Classics) by J. C. Yardley & Waldemar Heckel

Author:J. C. Yardley & Waldemar Heckel [Yardley, J. C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Published: 2009-07-29T23:00:00+00:00

Sicily was allocated a single legion and the fleet then stationed in the province, and orders were given for the new praetor to requisition from the Sicilians two tithes of grain, one of which he was to dispatch to Asia, and the other to Aetolia. Orders were given for the same quantity to be levied from the Sardinians, the grain to be shipped to the same armies as that from Sicily. To supplement his forces for service in Spain, Lucius Baebius was given 1,000 Roman infantry and 50 cavalry, together with 6,000 infantry and 200 cavalry of the Latin League. For Hither Spain Plautius Hypsaeus was granted 1,000 Roman infantry, and 2,000 infantry and 200 cavalry of the allies and the Latin League. The two Spains were each to have a legion plus the aforementioned additional forces. †Of the previous year’s magistrates, Gaius Laelius saw his imperium extended for a year, and he retained his army;† Publius Iunius, propraetor in Etruria, †also had his imperium† prolonged a year and he kept the army that was in the province, as did Marcus Tuccius, propraetor in Bruttium and Apulia.

51. Before the praetors could leave for their provinces, a disagreement arose between the pontifex maximus, Publius Licinius, and the flamen Quirinalis, Quintus Fabius, of the kind that arose in our fathers’ time between Lucius Metellus and Aulus Postumius Albinus. Metellus, in his capacity as pontifex maximus, had detained Albinus, who was consul, to perform religious ceremonies just when he was setting off for Sicily to join the fleet with his colleague, Gaius Lutatius; and on this occasion the praetor Fabius was held back from his journey to Sardinia by Publius Licinius. Both in the Senate and before the people the dispute raged with acrimonious debates: authority was applied on this side and that, bonds taken, fines issued, applications made to tribunes, and then appeals to the people. Eventually religious feeling won the day, with the flamen being ordered to obey the pontiff and the fine on the latter cancelled by order of the people. Angry at seeing his province taken from him, Fabius attempted to resign from his office, but the Senators exercised their authority to deny him this, decreeing that he should accept jurisdiction over foreigners. After this the levies were conducted in a matter of days, few soldiers needing to be raised, and the consuls and praetors left for their provinces.

Idle and groundless gossip circulated after this about the campaign in Asia, but this was followed a few days later by some reliable news in a letter brought to Rome from the commander-in-chief. The great elation that this occasioned was not because of the recent crisis—the Romans had ceased to fear <Antiochus> after his defeat in Aetolia—but rather because of the king’s reputation of old, for when the Romans entered the war he had seemed a fearsome enemy, both for his own strength and because he had Hannibal directing his campaign. Even so they did not vote for any change with

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