Camillus
Frieze-Dennison Vergil
- a cognomen of several persons in the gens Furia; the most distinguished of whom was M. Furius Camillus, who conquered Veii, and freed Rome from the Gauls, Liv. 5, 19, 2 sq.; Cic. Rep. 1, 3, 6.
Κάμιλλος, a Gallic chief. [Brutus, No. 17.]
the name of a patrician family of the Furia gens.
1. M. Furius Camillus, was, according to Livy (5.1), elected consular tribune for the first time in B. C. 403. In this year Livy mentions eight consular tribunes, a number which does not occur any where else; and we know from Plutarch (Plut. Cam. 2), that Camillus was invested with the censorship before he had held any other office. From these circumstances it has justly been inferred, that the censorship of Camillus and his colleague Postumius must be assigned to the year B. C. 403, and that Livy, in his list of the consular tribunes of that year, includes the two censors. (Comp. V. Max. 1.9.1.) Therefore, what is commonly called the second, third, &c., consular tribunate of Camillus, must be regarded as the first, second, &c. The first belongs to B. C. 401; and the only thing that is mentioned of him during this year is, that he marched into the country of the Faliscans, and, not meeting any enemy in the open field, ravaged the country. His second consular tribunate falls in the year B. C. 398, in the course of which he acquired great booty at Capena; and as the consular tribunes were obliged by a decree of the senate to lay down their office before the end of the year, Q. Servilius Fidenas and Camillus were successively appointed interreges.
In B. C. 396, when the Veientines, Faliscans, and Fidenates again revolted, Camillus was made dictator for the purpose of carrying on the war against them, and he appointed P. Cornelius Scipio his magister equitum. After defeating the Faliscans and Fidenates, and taking their camp, he marched against Veii, and succeeded in reducing the town, in the tenth year of the war. Here he acquired immense booty, and had the statue of Juno Regina removed to Rome, where it was set up in a special temple on the Aventine, which was consecrated in B. C. 391, the year in which he celerated the great games he had vowed. On his return from Veii, he entered Rome in triumph, riding in a chariot drawn by white horses. In B. C. 394 he was elected consular tribune for the third time, and reduced the Faliscans. The story of the schoolmaster who attempted to betray the town of Falerii to Camillus, belongs to this campaign. Camillus had him chained and sent back to his fellow-citizens, who were so much affected by the justice of the Roman general, that they surrendered to the Romans. (Liv. 5.27; comp. V. Max. 6.5.1, who calls Camillus consul on this occasion, although, according to the express testimony of Plutarch, he was never invested with the consulship.)
In B. C. 391, Camillus was chosen interrex to take the auspices, as the other magistrates were attacked by an epidemic then raging at Rome, by which he also lost a son. In this year he was accused by the tribune of the plebs, L. Appuleius, with having made an unfair distribution of the booty of Veii; and, seeing that his condemnation was unavoidable, he went into exile, praying to the gods that, if he was wronged, his ungrateful country might soon be in a condition to stand in need of him. During his absence he was condemned to pay a fine of 15,000 heavy asses. The time for which he had prayed soon came; for the Gauls advanced through Etruria towards Rome, and the city, with the exception of the capitol, was taken by the barbarians, and reduced to ashes. In this distress, Camillus, who was living in exile at Ardea, was recalled by a lex curiata, and while yet absent was appointed dictator a second time, B. C. 390. He made L. Valerius Potitus his magister equitum, assembled the scattered Roman forces, consisting partly of fugitives and partly of those who had survived the day on the Allia, and marched towards Rome. Here he took the Gauls by surprise, and defeated them completely. He then entered the city in triumph, saluted by his fellowcitizens as alter Romulus, pater patriae, and conditor alter urbis. His first care was to have the temples restored, and then to rebuild the city. The people, who were at first inclined to quit their destroyed homes and emigrate to Veii, were prevailed upon to give up this plan, and then Camillus laid down his dictatorship.
In B. C. 389 Camillus was made interrex a second time for the purpose of electing the consular tribunes; and, as in the same year the neighbouring tribes rose against Rome, hoping to conquer the weakened city without any difficulty, Camillus was again appointed dictator, and he made C. Servilius Ahala his magister equitum. He first defeated the Volscians, and took their camp; and they were now compelled to submit to Rome after a contest of seventy years. The Aequians were also conquered near Bola, and their capital was taken in the first attack. Sutrium, which had been occupied by Etruscans, fell in like manner. After the conquest of these three nations, Camillus returned to Rome in triumph.
In B. C. 386 Camillus was elected consular tribune for the fourth time, and, after having declined the dictatorship which was offered him, he defeated the Antiates and Etruscans. In B. C. 384 he was consular tribune for the fifth, and in 381 for the sixth time. In the latter year he conquered the revolted Volscians and the Praenestines. During the war against the Volscians L. Furius Medullinus was appointed as his colleague. The latter disapproved of the cautious slowness of Camillus, and, without his consent, he led his troops against the enemy, who by a feigned flight drew him into a perilous situation and put him to flight. But Camillus now appeared, compelled the fugitives to stand, led them back to battle, and gained a complete victory. Hereupon Camillus received orders to make war upon the Tusculans for having assisted the Volscians; and, notwithstanding the former conduct of Medullinus, Camillus again chose him as his colleague, to afford him an opportunity of wiping off his disgrace. This generosity and moderation deserved and excited general admiration.
In B. C. 368, when the patricians were resolved to make a last effort against the rogations of C. Licinius Stolo, the senate appointed Camillus, a faithful supporter of the patricians, dictator for the fourth time. His magister equitum was L. Aemilius Mamercinus. But Camillus, who probably saw that it was hopeless to resist any further the demands of the plebeians, resigned the office soon after, and P. Manlius was appointed in his stead. In the following year, B. C. 367, when a fresh war with the Gauls broke out, Camillus, who was now nearly eighty years old, was called to the dictatorship for the fifth time. His magister equitum was T. Quinctius Pennus. He gained a great victory, for which he was rewarded with a triumph. Two years later, B. C. 365, he died of the plague. Camillus is the great hero of his time, and stands forth as a resolute champion of his own order until he became convinced that further opposition was of no avail. His history, as related in Plutarch and Livy, is not without a considerable admixture of legendary and traditional fable, and requires a careful critical sifting. (Plut. Life of Camillus; Liv. 5.10, 12, 14, 17, 19, &c., 31, 32, 46, 49-55, 6.1-4, 6, &c., 18, &c., 22, &c., 38, 42, 7.1; Diod. 14.93; Eutrop. 1.20; V. Max. 4.1.2; Gellius, 17.21; Cic. pro Dom. 32, de Re Publ. 1.3, Tuscul. 1.37, Fragm. p. 462; Ascon. pro Scaur. p. 30, ed. Orelli.)
2. Sp. Furius Camillus, a son of No.
1. When the praetorship was instituted in B. C. 367, Camillus was one of the two who were first invested with it. (Liv. 7.1; Suid. s. v. Πραίτωρ.)
3. L. Furius Camillus, M. F., a son of No.
1. In B. C. 350, when one of the consuls was ill, and the other, Popillius Laenas, returned from the Gallic war with a severe wound, L. Furius Camillus was appointed dictator to hold the comitia, and P. Cornelius Scipio became his magister equitum. Camillus, who was as much a patrician in his feelings and sentiments as his father, did not accept the names of any plebeians who offered themselves as candidates for the consulship, and thus caused the consulship to be given to patricians only. The senate, delighted with this, exerted all its influence in raising him to the consulship in B. C. 349. He then nominated Appius Claudius Crassus as his colleague, who however died during the preparations for the Gallic war. Camillus, who now remained sole consul, caused the command against the Gauls to be given to himself extra sortem. Two legions were left behind for the protection of the city, and eight others were divided between him and the praetor L. Pinarius, whom he sent to protect the coast against some Greek pirates, who in that year infested the coast of Latium. Camillus routed the Gauls in the Pomptine district, and compelled them to seek refuge in Apulia. This battle against the Gauls is famous in Roman story for the single combat of M. Valerius Corvus with a bold and presumptuous Gaul. After the battle, Camillus honoured the gallantry of Valerius with a present of ten oxen and a golden crown. Camillus then joined the praetor Pinarius on the coast; but nothing of any importance was accomplished against the Greeks, who soon after disappeared. (Liv. 7.24_26; Cic. De Senect. 12; Gel. 9.11.)
4. L. Furius Sp. F. M. N. Camillus, son of No. 2, consul in B. C. 338, together with C. Maenius. He fought in this year successfully against the Tiburtines, and took their town Tibur. The two consuls united completed the subjugation of Latium; they were rewarded with a triumph, and equestrian statues, then a rare distinction, were erected to them in the forum. Camillus further distinguished himself by advising his countrymen to treat the Latins with mildness. In B. C. 325 he was elected consul a second time, together with D. Junius Brutus Scaeva. In this year war was declared against the Vestinians, and Camillus obtained Samnium for his province; but while he was engaged in the war, he was attacked by a severe illness, and was ordered to nominate L. Papirius Cursor dictator to continue the war. (Liv. 8.13, 16, &c., 29; Plin. Nat. 33.5.)
5. M. Furius Camillus, consul in A. D. 8 (Fast. Cap.), and proconsul of Africa in the reign of Tiberius, defeated in A. D. 17, the Numidian Tacfarinas, together with a great number of Numidians and Mauretanians. It is expressly stated, that after the lapse of several centuries, he was the first who revived the military fame of the Furii Camilli. The senate, with the consent of Tiberius, honoured him with the insignia of a triumph, a distinction which he was allowed to enjoy with impunity on account of his unassuming character. (Tac. Ann. 2.52, 3.20.)
6. M. Furius Camillus, surnamed Scribonianus, was consul in the reign of Tiberius, A. D. 32, together with Cn. Domitius. At the beginning of the reign of Claudius he was legate of Dalmatia, and revolted with his legions, probably in the hope of raising himself to the throne. But he was conquered on the fifth day after the beginning of the insurrection, A. D. 42, sent into exile and died in A. D. 53, either of an illness, or, as was commonly reported, by poison. (Tac. Ann. 6.1, 12.52, Hist. 1.89, 2.75; Suet. Cl. 13.)
7. Furius Camillus, likewise surnamed Scribonianus, was sent into exile by the emperor Claudius, together with his mother Junia, A. D. 53, for having consulted the Chaldaeans about the time when Claudius was to die. (Tac. Ann. 12.52, Hist. 2.75.) [L.S]
a Roman jurist, and a particular friend of Cicero, who had a high opinion of his worldly prudence and judgment, and often consulted him on matters of business and law. At Cicero's table he was a frequent guest, and was remarkable for his love of news, and extreme personal neatness. His name often occurs in the letters of Cicero (Cic. Att. 5.8, 6.1, 5, 11.16, 23, 13.6, 33, ad Fam. 9.20, 14.5, 14), from one of which (ad Fam. 5.20) it appears, that Camillus was consulted by Cicero upon a matter connected with the jus praediatorium, which was a branch of the revenue law of Rome, and was so difficult and intricate that some jurists specially devoted themselves to its study. (Dict. of Ant. s. v. Praes.) [J.T.G]
A celebrated Roman, called the second Romulus, from his services to his country. After filling various important stations, and, among other achievements, taking the city of Veii, which had for the space of ten years resisted the Roman arms, he encountered at last the displeasure of his countrymen, and was accused of having embezzled some of the plunder of this place. Being well aware how the matter would terminate, Camillus went into voluntary exile, although his friends offered to pay the sum demanded of him. During this period of separation from his country, Rome, with the exception of the Capitol, was taken by the Gauls under Brennus (q.v.). Camillus, though an exile, was invited by the fugitive Romans at Veii to take command of them, but refused to act until the wishes of the Romans besieged in the Capitol were known. These unanimously revoked the sentence of banishment, and elected him dictator. The noble-minded Roman forgot their previous ingratitude, and marched to the relief of his country; which he delivered, after it had been for some time in the possession of the enemy. The Roman account says that Camillus, at the head of an army of forty thousand men, hastened to Rome, where he found the garrison of the Capitol on the point of purchasing peace from the invaders. “With iron, and not with gold,” exclaimed Camillus, “Rome buys her freedom.” An attack was instantly made upon the Gauls, a victory obtained, and the foe left their camp by night. On the morrow Camillus overtook them, and they met with a total overthrow. His triumphal entry into Rome was made amid the acclamations of thousands, who greeted him with the name of Romulus, Father of his Country, and Second Founder of the City. After performing another equally important service, in prevailing upon his countrymen to rebuild their city and not return to Veii, and after gaining victories over the Aequi, Volsci, Etrurians, and Latins, he died in the eighty-ninth year of his age, having been five times dictator, once censor, three times interrex, twice military tribune, and having obtained four triumphs ( Camill.; Liv.v. 46 foll.; Flor.i. 13; Verg. Aen. vi. 825). We have touched on merely a few of the events connected with the history of Camillus, in consequence of the strong suspicion which attaches itself to the greater part of the narrative. In no instance, perhaps, have the family memorials of the Roman aristocracy more completely usurped the place of true history than in the case of Camillus. The part relative to the overthrow of the Gauls appears to be pure fiction. See Mommsen, Hist. of Rome, bk. ii. ch. 4.