United at home, the Romans were now prepared to carry on their foreign wars with more vigour; and their conquests of the Samnites and Latins made them the virtual masters of Italy. But the years which immediately followed the Licinian laws were times of great suffering. A pestilence raged in Rome, which carried off many of the most distinguished men, and among others the aged Camillus (B. C. 362). The Tiber overflowed its banks, the city was shaken by earthquakes, and a yawning chasm opened in the forum. The soothsayers declared that the gulf could never be filled up except by throwing into it that which Rome held most valuable. The tale runs that, when every one was doubting what the gods could mean, a noble youth named M. Curtius came forward, and, declaring that Rome possessed nothing so valuable as her brave citizens, mounted his steed and leaped into the abyss in full armour, whereupon the earth closed over him. This event is assigned to the year 362 B. C.
During the next few years the Gauls renewed their inroads, of which we have already spoken, and in the course of which Manlius Torquatus and Valerius Corvus gained such glory. The Romans steadily extended their dominion over the southern part of Etruria and the country of the Volscians, and the alliance with the Latins was renewed. Fifty years had elapsed since the capture of the city by the
Gauls, and Rome was now strong enough to enter into a contest with the most formidable enemy which her arms had yet encountered. The SAMNITES were at the height of their power, and the contest between them and the Romans was virtually for the supremacy of Italy. The Samnites, as we have already seen, were a people of Sabine origin, and had emigrated to the country which they inhabited at a comparatively late period. They consisted of four different tribes or cantons, the Pentri, Hirpini, Caraceni, and Caudini, of whom the two former were the most important. They inhabited that part of the Apennines which lies between Campania and Lucania, but they were not contented with their mountain-homes, and overran the rich plains which lay at their feet. They became the masters of Campania and Lucania, and spread themselves almost to the southern extremity of Italy. But the Samnites of Campania and Lucania had in course of time broken off all connection with the parent nation, and sometimes were engaged in hostilities with the latter. It was a contest of this kind that led to the war between the Romans and the Samnites of the Apennines. On the borders of Campania and Samnium dwelt a people, called the Sidicini, who had hitherto preserved their independence. Being attacked by the Samnites, this people implored the assistance of the Campanians, which was readily granted. Thereupon the Samnites turned their arms against the Campanians, and, after occupying Mount Tifata, which overlooks the city of Capua, they descended into the plain, and defeated the Campanians in a pitched battle at the very gates of Capua. The Campanians, being shut up within the city, now applied for assistance to Rome, and offered to place Capua in their hands. The Romans had only a few years previously concluded an alliance with the Samnites; but the bait of the richest city and the most fertile soil in Italy was irresistible, and they resolved to comply with the request. Thus began the Samnite Wars, which, with a few intervals of peace, lasted 53 years.
World History
