He, fearing to have a contest on the matter, kept
putting off the people and inventing reasons for delay, so as to prevent
the law being brought forward to be voted upon. This increased his
unpopularity; but the greatest and most obvious reason for the dislike
which the people bore him arose from his demand for the tenth part of
the spoils; very naturally, though perhaps he scarcely deserved it. On
his way to Veii it seems he had made a vow, that if he took the city he
would dedicate the tenth part of the spoil to Apollo. But when the city
was taken and plundered, he either was unwilling to interfere with his
countrymen, or else forgot his vow, and allowed them to enrich
themselves with the booty. Afterwards, when he had laid down his
dictatorship, he brought the matter before the Senate, and the
soothsayers declared that the victims for sacrifice showed, when
inspected, that the gods were angry and must be propitiated.
VIII. The Senate decreed, not that the plunder should be given up, for
that would have been scarcely possible to carry out, but that those who
had taken any should be put on their oath, and contribute a tenth part
of its value. This measure bore very hardly upon the soldiers, poor
hard-working men, who were now compelled to repay so large a proportion
of what they had earned and spent. Camillus was clamorously assailed by
them, and, having no better excuse to put forward, made the
extraordinary statement that he had forgotten his vow when the city was
plundered.
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