Apuleius' harsh criticism of Camillus, who had achieved great military success, had caused an uproar among the senators.
The gentle and good-natured Camillus would calmly accept criticism and blame from time to time. But at this moment, he gazed at Apuleius with a flash of anger, for this man had falsely accused him of taking the spoils of war for himself a dozen years earlier, which eventually forced him to leave Rome after getting tried.
Apuleius met Camillus' fierce gaze without avoiding it. Over the years, with one victory after another, Camillus' prestige grew so much that it made things difficult for him. Whenever he walked around the city, he often saw people pointing at him and occasionally heard them curse, “That is the man who falsely accused Camillus; may Jupiter condemn him!” And the only reason he could remain firmly in the Senate even under these circumstances was that some of the big shots didn't want to see Camillus' prestige rise, and some of the senators were jealous of his merits, so they needed someone to oppose him.
But knowing his value, Apuleius didn’t conceal his hostility toward Camillus.
“I have never heard anything so absurd!” The military tribune Pantheus stood up and loudly defended his former superior, saying, “How can you blame Camillus for that defeat?! If you want to blame someone, blame us for not informing Camillus of the Theonian army's arrival in time! Blame it on the fact that no one expected the Theonian army, which had just arrived in Volsci, to take military action!
Anyone with experience in commanding a battle should know full well that Camillus made no mistakes in his command in that battle and that any Roman general in that situation would have chosen to save the Roman citizens and allied soldiers who were in danger! Camillus' only shortcoming was that he didn’t anticipate the Theonian army to be powerful! But how could we know about that if we had never dealt with the Theonians before?!”
“Hmph, so we could only blame Theonia for being too powerful?!” Apuleius sneered.
“The rumours that the Kingdom of Theonia has the most powerful army on land do not seem to be a mere boast. With the mere arrival of their army, they had already inflicted a series of defeats on us, and this must be a cause for concern! This is not the time to discuss who's right and who's wrong in this battle, but rather to discuss how to deal with the threat of Theonia, which we need to address urgently!” Ambustus said with a grave expression on his face.
“You are right! And don't forget Theonia still has a powerful fleet constantly threatening our allies and colonial cities by the sea.” Then the veteran senator Lucretius supported Camillus, saying, “Camillus has made a calm judgement and was absolutely right to choose a timely retreat! The safety of Rome and her allies is far more important than acquiring a few more Volscian lands!”
With the successive support of two important senators, it wouldn't be easy for others to blame Camillus again. Thus they no longer mention the failure of this battle and the failure of Quintus' siege again.
“Fellow senators and newcomers.” Paulus, the military tribune and rotating speaker of this meeting, finally began to speak, bringing the issue to the forefront of this meeting, “The Kingdom of Theonia in southern Italia has gone to war with us, Rome, and from the looks of it, Theonia has a powerful army and fleet that poses a great threat to us! The previous battle occurred only in the Volscian region, but the ensuing battles will probably extend to our allies and even to Rome. Do any of you have good suggestions to avoid such a terrible situation?”
“As I said before, we shouldn't have let ourselves be fooled by the Carthaginians into provoking the Theonians, which was detrimental to Rome's development, and now the facts speak for themselves!” The high priest Flagius stood up and then suggested worriedly, “To prevent Theonia's further encroachment, we should immediately end our war with the Volsci, sign a truce with them, return the Volscian territories we have occupied, and at the same time send someone to make peace with Theonia. Rome has no past enmity with Theonia, and with the current drought in their kingdom, they will be happy to end this war, which is meaningless to them once they have lost the reason for it!”
“The high priest is right!” Some senators agreed with Flagius' proposal, which is rare as Roman senators have always been aggressive and unwilling to compromise. And that had also proven how much pressure Theonia had put on Rome.
Had anyone else said that Quintus, who hated surrender and compromise, would have cursed, but Flagius' full name was Flagius Iulus (Julus)*. Their direct ancestor was Iulus(Ascanius), the first king of Alba Longa (once the centre of the Latin region and the motherland of Romulus, the founder of Rome). The Iulus clan would then move to Rome after the fall of Alba Longa. And because of their noble lineage and descent from the gods, their clan members often served as high priests and advocates for the gods and goddesses. (The gens Julia(Julians), one of the most prominent patrician families in ancient Rome, to which Julius Caesar belonged, claimed to have been descended from Iulus.)
Although the high priest had no real power, it was an honourable position. As such, the people respected Flagius quite well, and it was in recognition of his influence that Quintus' tone softened, “High Priest, I trust you have not forgotten the resolution passed by the Senate only a few days ago that Velitrae, Antium and Satricum would become colonial cities, with a portion of their lands allocated to the landless citizens. Now that you want us to return the occupied land to the Volscians, do you think the plebeians, who are already ready to move to those colonial cities, would agree?! Surely you don't want to see those plebeians start another riot!
Besides, these Volscians have always been the mortal enemies of our Rome. Now that we have almost destroyed them this time, and with them finally receiving help from the Theonians, would they be content with a truce with our Rome?! I fear they must be hoping that, with the help of the Theonian armies, they will take the opportunity to destroy our Rome so that we will no longer threaten Volsci!”
“I agree with Quintus!” Pantheus loudly expressed his support, “Since the founding of Rome, there has never been a precedent for Rome choosing to compromise and surrender when we are only faced with the enemy's threat, and we must make no exception in our case! We have faced much stronger forces in the past, but we have fought and come out stronger! And today, as long as we Romans remain united and continue to fight against Theonia, I believe the final victory will still belong to Rome!”
“Pantheus is right! Rome will never compromise and surrender!…” The younger senators responded loudly to Pantheus' words. Some senators didn't speak, but their eyes flashed with the intent to fight.
Flagius' expression changed to one of displeasure as he grunted, “The Carthaginians tricked us into going to war with Theonia with the promise that they would wage war against Theonia in Sicily, but did they?! With its equally powerful navy, Carthage is hiding in its ports and hasn't launched an attack against the Theonian fleet! Everyone, we must be careful not to let Rome become the sword in the Carthaginians' hands, to be cut full of scratch and even broken, only to end up with nothing!”
“Flagius' is right!” Another senator, Publius Cornelius Scipio* loudly reminded, “Though we Romans do not refuse to fight, we must not become fools to be used by others. The Carthaginians want to use us against the Theonians, but we must not be so stupid as to let them command us completely without any contribution on their part! So we must urge them to send troops immediately and tell them clearly that they must not only attack the Theonian territories in Sicily but also defeat their fleet and protect our coasts in Latium. Otherwise, we, Romans, will be forced to call a truce with the Theonians!”
The senators all understood what Scipio was saying, which they all agreed with, and soon came to a consensus: As soon as the meeting was over, Paulus would go to the Carthaginian envoy in the city and, in a threatening tone, urge Carthage to send troops as soon as possible!
Suddenly Potitus, sitting on an ivory chair, said unhurriedly, “Camillus, as the greatest general in Rome, and having fought the Theonians many times… From your past habits, I believe you have seriously thought about how you will fight the Theonians next. Can you tell us a little bit about that?”
As soon as Potitus said this, all the senators simultaneously looked at Camillus and pricked up their ears. Although some were jealous of Camillus' reputation, no one could deny his military talent. Not only had he won many wars and saved Rome on several occasions, but the military reforms he had introduced had made it easier for other Roman generals to command their armies, leading to more victories. It is why Camillus was Rome's greatest asset, and everyone could not help but think of him in times of crisis.
Camillus didn't refuse, as he had long wanted to discuss how to deal with the next crisis with the Senators out of concern for Rome. So, at this moment, he pondered for a while and then faced the senators. He first thanked them for forgiving his failure in the previous battle and then solemnly said, “First of all, we must be deeply aware that Theonia is the strongest and most dangerous enemy we have ever faced.
