courage, thought that their land was indeed lost and that their cities
would at once be taken, but to their wonder and delight the Gauls did
them no hurt, and took nothing from their fields, but marched close by
their cities, calling out that they were marching against Rome, and were
at war with the Romans only, and held all other men to be their friends.
To meet this impetuous rush, the military tribunes led out the Romans,
who, in numbers indeed were quite a match for the Gauls, for they
amounted to no less than forty thousand heavy-armed men, but for the
most part untrained and serving for the first time.

Besides this disadvantage, they neglected the duties of religion, for
they neither made the usual sacrifices nor consulted the soothsayers.
Confusion also was produced by the number of commanders, though
frequently before this, in much less important campaigns, they had
chosen single generals, whom they called dictators, as they knew that
nothing is so important at a dangerous crisis as that all should
unanimously and in good order obey the commands of one irresponsible
chief. And the unfair treatment which Camillus had received now bore
disastrous fruits, for no man dared to use authority except to flatter
and gain the favour of the people.

They proceeded about eleven miles from the city, and halted for the
night on the banks of the river Allia, which joins the Tiber not far
from where their camp was pitched. Here the barbarians appeared, and,
after an unskilfully managed battle, the want of discipline of the
Romans caused their ruin. The Gauls drove the left wing into the river
and destroyed it, but the right of the army, which took refuge in the
hills to avoid the enemy's charge on level ground, suffered less, and
most of them reached the city safely. The rest, who survived after the
enemy were weary of slaughter, took refuge at Veii, imagining that all