II.  Marcellus was practised in all forms of battle, but was especially skilful in single combat, so that he never declined any man’s challenge, and slew all who challenged him.  In Sicily he saved the life of his brother Otacilius when in great peril, by holding his shield over him and killing his assailants.  For this conduct, young as he was, he received crowns[13] and rewards from the generals, and as he grew in reputation was elected curule aedile by the people, and augur by the priests.  This is a kind of priestly office, to which the law especially assigns the observance of auguries drawn from the flight of birds.  During his tenure of the office of aedile, he was obliged, much against his will, to commence a law-suit.  He had a son of his own name, in the bloom of youth, of great beauty, and equally with it admired by his countrymen for his modesty and education.  Capitolinus, Marcellus’s colleague, a licentious and reckless man, made disgraceful proposals to this lad.  He first repelled his attacks alone, but on a second attempt told his father, and Marcellus, being much enraged, summoned the man before the Senate.  He attempted many quibbles and subterfuges, and appealed to the tribunes of the people to support him, but as they refused his application he betook himself to pleading denial of the charge.  There being no witnesses of what he had said, the Senate decided to send for the boy, and when they saw how he blushed and wept with a modesty mingled with unquenchable rage, they, without requiring any other proof, found Capitolinus guilty, and condemned him to pay a fine, with which Marcellus had silver libation vessels made, and consecrated them to the gods.

III.  After twenty-two years the first Punic War came to an end, and the Romans turned their attention to Gaulish troubles.  The Insubrians, a Celtic tribe dwelling in Italy at the foot of the Alps, powerful by themselves, were collecting other forces, and enrolling all those Gauls who fought for hire, called Gaesatae.

It was a wonderful and fortunate circumstance that this Celtic war did not break out at the same time as that with Carthage, but that the Gauls, like the gladiator who waits to fight with the survivor of a pair of combatants, had remained quiet during the whole of that war, and now stepped forward and challenged the victors when they were at leisure.  Yet the war caused much terror, because it would take place on their own frontier against their neighbour states, and because of the ancient reputation of the Gauls, whom the Romans seem to fear more than any other nation.  They once lost their city at their hands, and afterwards passed a law that the priests should be exempt from all military service, except in case of another war with Gaul.  Their alarm was shown both by their preparations (for it is said that never before or since were there so many thousand Romans under arms), and by their extraordinary sacrifices.  For though they never observe the barbarous ceremonies of foreigners,