w disheartened men.

The very fact of his commencing the attack dashed the courage of the
Gauls; next, the attacks of the light troops, before they had got into
their wonted array and divided themselves into regiments, produced
disorder. When at last Camillus led on the heavy-armed troops, the Gauls
ran to meet them brandishing their swords, but the Romans with their
pikes advanced and met them, receiving their sword-cuts on their armour,
which soon made the Gaulish swords bend double, as they were made of
soft iron hammered out thin, while the shields of the Gauls were
pierced and weighed down by the pikes that stuck in them. They therefore
dropped their own arms, and endeavoured to seize the pikes and turn them
against their enemies. But the Romans, seeing them now defenceless,
began to use their swords, and slew many of the first ranks, while the
rest took to flight all over the flat country; for Camillus had taken
care to guard the hills and rough ground, while the Gauls knew that
they, in their over-confidence, had been at no pains to fortify their
camp, and that the Romans could easily take it.

This battle is said to have been fought thirteen years after the capture
of Rome, and in consequence of it the Romans conceived a contempt for
these barbarians, whom they had before greatly dreaded, and even
believed that their former victories over the Gauls were due to their
being weakened by pestilence, and to fortunate circumstances, rather
than to their own valour. This raised so great a terror of them, that a
law was passed which relieved the priests from military service except
in case of a Gaulish invasion.

XLII. This was the last of Camillus's military exploits, though during
this campaign he took the city of Velitrae, which yielded to him without
a battle. But his greatest political struggle was yet to come, for it
was harder to deal with the people now that they were elated with
victory. They insisted that the existing constitution should be
annulled, and that one of the two consuls should be chosen from among
them. They were opposed by the Senate, which would not permit Camillus
to lay down his office, as the patricians imagined that with the help of
his great power they could more easily defend their privileges. One day,
however, as Camillus was sitting publicly doing business in the Forum, a
viator or servant sent by the tribunes of the people bade him follow
him, and even laid his hand upon him as if to a