Titus Livius (Livy), The History of Rome, Book 25
Frank Gardener Moore, Professor Emeritus in Columbia University, Ed.

¹ it was said, a man whose exile would have been followed by the ruin of the city, had allowed himself to be condemned by the angry citizens; [2] that before his time the decemvirs, under whose laws they were then still living, and later many leading men in the state, had submitted to the judgment of the people in their cases; that Postumius of Pyrgi had wrested the vote from the Roman people, had brought to naught an assembly of the plebs, reduced the tribunes to the ranks, drawn up a battle-line against the Roman people, had taken his position, to separate the tribunes from the people and to prevent the tribes from being summoned to vote. [3] Nothing had restrained men from slaughter and battle but the forbearance of the magistrates in yielding for the moment to the mad audacity of a few men, and in allowing themselves and the Roman people to be worsted, also in that, as regards the voting, which the defendant would have prevented by force of arms, they had of their own accord suspended it, to avoid giving excuse to those eager for the fray. [4] These words were interpreted by all the best citizens as deserved by an outrageous occurrence, and the senate declared that this violence had been employed against the state, setting a dangerous precedent. Thereupon the Carvilii, tribunes of the people, in place of the procedure to fix the amount of the fine, at once named a day for Postumius' appearance on a capital charge, and ordered that if he did not furnish sureties he should be seized by an attendant and taken to prison. Postumius furnished sureties, but did not appear. [5] [p. 355]The tribunes put the question to the plebs and the² plebs ordained that, if Marcus Postumius should not appear before the first of May, and on being summoned on that day should not reply nor be excused, it should be understood that he was in exile, and be decided that his property should be sold and himself refused water and fire. The tribunes then began to name a day for the appearance on a capital charge of each of those who had been instigators of riot and sedition, and to demand sureties from them. [6] At first they threw into prison those who did not give security, and then even those who were able to do so. Avoiding this danger many went into exile.

V. Such was the outcome of dishonesty on the part of the publicans and of audacity seeking to cover dishonesty. Next was held an election for the choice of a pontifex maximus. This election was conducted by a new pontiff, Marcus Cornelius Cethegus. [7] Three men canvassed with great rivalry: Quintus Fulvius Flaccus, the consul, who had been consul twice before and also censor, and Titus Manlius Torquatus, likewise distinguished by two consulships and a censorship, and Publius Licinius Crassus, who was only about to be a candidate for a curule aedileship. This young man defeated in that contest old men who had held high offices. [8] Before him for a hundred and twenty years no one who had not occupied a curule chair had been elected pontifex maximus, except Publius Cornelius Calussa.

The consuls were finding it difficult to complete the levy, since the scant supply of young men was hardly sufficient for the two purposes, enrollment of new legions for the city and replacements for the old ones. [9] The senate accordingly forbade them to give [p. 357]up the attempt and ordered the appointment of two³ commissions of three officials each, to inspect in rural districts, market-towns and local centres⁴ all possible freeborn men within fifty miles, the other beyond that distance, and any that seemed to them strong enough to bear arms, even if not yet of military age, they were to recruit. [10] The tribunes of the plebs, if they should see fit, were to bring before the people a bill that, in the case of those who had taken the military oath at less than seventeen years, their campaigns should run just as if they had been recruited at seventeen years or older. In accordance with this decree of the senate two commissions of three members each were appointed and they conducted the search for freeborn men in the country.

[11] At the same time a letter from Marcus Marcellus in Sicily was read in the senate concerning demands of the soldiers serving under Publius Lentulus. This army was the remnant of the disaster at Cannae, and, as has been said above, was relegated to Sicily, not to be brought back to Italy before the end of the Punic War.⁵