ed his dream to the senators, and they were
wondering who the bad and unacceptable dancer could be who had led the
procession, some of them remembered the slave who had been flogged
through the market-place and there put to death. At the instance of the
priests, the master of the slave was punished for his cruelty, and the
procession and ceremonies were performed anew in honour of the gods.
Hence we may see how wisely Numa arranged this, among other matters of
ceremonial. Whenever the magistrates or priests were engaged in any
religious rite, a herald walked before them crying in a loud voice "_Hoc
age_." The meaning of the phrase is, "Do this," meaning to tell the
people to apply their minds entirely to the religious ceremony, and not
to allow any thought of worldly things to distract their attention,
because men as a rule only attend to such matters by putting a certain
constraint on their thoughts.

It is the custom in Rome to begin a sacrifice, a procession, or a
spectacle, over again, not only when anything of this kind happens, but
for any trifling reason. Thus, if one of the horses drawing the sacred
car called Thensa stumbles, or the charioteer takes the reins in his
left hand, they have decreed that the procession must begin again. In
later times they have been known to perform one sacrifice thirty times,
because every time some slight omission or mistake took place.

XXVI. Meanwhile Marcius and Tullus in Antium held private conferences
with the chief men of the Volscians, and advised them to begin the war
while Rome was divided by its domestic quarrels. They discountenanced
this proposal, because a truce and cessation of hostilities for two
years had been agreed upon: but the Romans themselves gave them a
pretext for breaking the truce, by a proclamation which was made at the
public games, that all Volscians should quit the city before sunset.
Some say this was effected by a stratagem of Marcius, who sent a false
accusation against the Volscians to the magistrates at Rome, saying that
during the public games they meant to attack the Romans and burn the
city. This proclamation made them yet bitterer enemies to the Romans
than before; and Tullus, wishing to bring the business to a climax,
induced his countrymen to send ambassadors to Rome to demand back the
cities and territory which the Romans had taken from the Volscians in
the late war. The Romans were very indignant when they heard these
demands, and made a