Book 23
31
The first day the senate met for business at the Capitol they passed a decree that the war-tax for that year should be doubled, and that half the whole amount should be collected at once to furnish pay for all the soldiers, except those who had been present at Cannae. As regarded the armies they decreed that Ti. Sempronius should fix a day on which the two City legions were to muster at Cales, and that they should march from there to Claudius' camp above Suessula. The legions there, mostly made up from the army which fought at Cannae, were to be transferred by App. Claudius Pulcher to Sicily and the legions in Sicily were to be brought to Rome. M. Claudius Marcellus was sent to take command of the army which had been ordered to assemble at Cales and he received orders to conduct it to Claudius' camp. Ti. Maecilius Croto was sent by App. Claudius to take over the old army and conduct it to Sicily. At first people waited in silent expectation for the consul to hold an Assembly for the election of a colleague, but when they saw that M. Marcellus, whom they particularly wished to have as consul this year after his brilliant success as praetor, was kept out of the way, murmurs began to be heard in the Senate-house. When the consul became aware of this he said, "It is to the interest of the State, senators, that M. Claudius has gone into Campania to effect the exchange of armies, and it is equally to the interest of the State that notice of election should not be given until he has discharged the commission entrusted to him and returned home, so that you may have for your consul the man whom the circumstances of the republic call for and whom you most of all wish for." After this nothing more was said about the election till Marcellus returned.
