Marcus
Furius Camillus: The Life of Rome's Second Founder
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Camillus
served as a censor, was elected to six consular tribuneships,
appointed dictator five times, and enjoyed four triumphs. He toppled
mighty Veii, ejected the Senones from Rome following its sacking, and
helped orchestrate a grand compromise between the patricians and
plebeians. The Romans even considered him Rome's second founder - a
proud appellation for any Roman - and revered him for being an
exemplar of Roman virtue. Interestingly, he never held the
consulship. Plutarch stated that Camillus had avoided it on purpose,
and for good reason. The office was often at the heart of
controversy, given that patricians dominated it for most of Camillus'
life. The appointment of a dictator was an emergency measure taken
only in the direst of situations and the fact that Camillus was
repeatedly appointed speaks of a period when the young Republic was
surrounded by enemies and still fighting for survival. Without
Camillus' efforts the city may never have fulfilled its great
destiny. Marc Hyden sifts the fragmentary and contradictory sources
and, while acknowledging that much legend and exaggeration quickly
accrued around Camillus' name, presents the story of this remarkable
life as the ancient Romans knew it.
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