when he heard of it, said that with Minucius he
feared success more than failure; but the populace were delighted, and
joyfully collected in the Forum, where Metilius the tribune ascended the
rostra, and made a speech glorifying Minucius, and accusing Fabius not
merely of remissness or cowardice, but of actual treachery, accusing
also the other leading men of the city of having brought on the war from
the very beginning in order to destroy the constitution; and he also
charged them with having placed the city in the hands of one man as
dictator, who by his dilatory proceedings would give Hannibal time to
establish himself firmly and to obtain reinforcements from Africa to
enable him to conquer Italy.

IX. When Fabius addressed the people, he did not deign to make any
defence against the accusations of the tribune, but said that he should
accomplish his sacrifices and sacred duties as quickly as possible, in
order to return to the army and punish Minucius for having fought a
battle against his orders. At this a great clamour was raised by the
people, who feared for their favourite Minucius, for a dictator has
power to imprison any man, and even to put him to death; and they
thought that Fabius, a mild-tempered man now at last stirred up to
wrath, would be harsh and inexorable. All refrained from speaking, but
Metilius, having nothing to fear because of the privileges of his office
of tribune (for that is the only office which does not lose its
prerogatives on the election of a dictator, but remains untouched though
all the rest are annulled), made a violent appeal to the people, begging
them not to give up Minucius, nor allow him to be treated as Manlius
Torquatus treated his son, who had him beheaded, although he had fought
most bravely and gained a crown of laurel for his victory. He asked them
to remove Fabius from his dictatorship, and to bestow it upon one who
was able and willing to save the country. Excited as they were by these
words, they yet did not venture upon removing Fabius from his post, in
spite of their feeling against him, but they decreed that Minucius
should conduct the war, having equal powers with the dictator, a thing
never before done in Rome, but which occurred shortly afterwards, after
the disaster at Cannae, when Marcus Junius was dictator in the camp,
and, as many members of the Senate had perished in the battle, they
chose another dictator, Fabius Buteo. However, he, after enrolling the
new s