Latin Texts & Translations

ch. 209.20M. Foslius Flaccina and L. Plautius Venox were the next consuls. In this year several communities amongst the Samnites made overtures for a fresh treaty. These deputa- tions, when admitted to an audience, prostrated themselves on the ground, and their humble attitude influenced the senate in their favour. Their prayers, however, were by no means so efficacious with the Assembly, to which they had been referred by the senate. Their request for a treaty was refused, but after they had spent several days in appealing to individual citizens, they succeeded in obtaining a two years' truce. In Apulia, too, the people of Teanum and Canusium, tired of the constant ravages which they had suffered, gave hostages and surrendered to the consul, L. Plautius.

It was in this year also that prefects were first appointed for Capua and a code of laws given to that city by the praetor, L. Furius. Both these boons were granted in response to a request from the Campanians themselves as a remedy for the deplorable state of things brought about by civic discord.

Two new tribes were formed, the Ufentine and the Falernian. As the power of Apulia was declining, the people of Teate ^[Note] came to the new consuls, C. Junius Bubulcus and Q. Aemilius Barbula, to negotiate for a treaty. They gave a formal under- taking that throughout Apulia peace would be maintained towards Rome, and the confident assurances they gave led to a treaty being granted, not, however, as between two independent states; they were to acknowledge the suzerainty of Rome. After the subjugation of Apulia—for Forentum, also a place of con- siderable strength, had been captured by Junius—an advance was made into Lucania, and the consul, Aemilius, surprised and captured the city of Nerulum.

The order introduced into Capua by the adoption of Roman institutions had become generally known amongst the states in alliance with Rome, and the Antiates asked for the same privilege, as they were without a fixed code of laws or any regular magis- trates of their own. The patrons of the colony ^[Note] were commissioned by the senate to draw out a system of jurisprudence. Not only the arms of Rome but her laws were spreading far and wide.