helped him in his
adversity. Hence Milo's exertions to bring him back from banishment and
hence the quarrel with Clodius. The two men had their bands of hired, or
rather purchased, ruffians about the city, and came into frequent
collisions. Each indicted the other for murderous assault. Each publicly
declared that he should take the earliest chance of putting his I enemy
to death. What was probably a chance collision brought matters to a
crisis.

On the twentieth of January Milo left Rome to pay a visit to Lanuvium, a
Latin town on the Appian road, and about fifteen miles south of Rome. It
was a small town, much decayed from the old days when its revolt
against Rome was thought to be a thing worth recording; but it
contained one of the most famous temples of Italy, the dwelling of Juno
the Preserver, whose image, in its goat-skin robe, its quaint, turned-up
shoes, with spear in one hand and small shield in the other, had a
peculiar sacredness. Milo was a native of the place, and its dictator;
and it was his duty on this occasion to nominate the chief priest of the
temple. He had been at a meeting of the Senate in the morning, and had
remained till the close of the sitting. Returning home he had changed
his dress and shoes, waited a while, as men have to wait, says Cicero,
while his wife was getting ready, and then started. He traveled in a
carriage his wife and a friend. Several maid-servants and a troop of
singing boys belonging to his wife followed. Much was made of this great
retinue of women and boys, as proving that Milo had no intention when he
started of coming to blows with his great enemy. But he had also with
him a number of armed slaves and several gladiators, among whom were two
famous masters of their art. He had traveled about ten miles when he met
Clodius, who had been delivering an address to the town council of
Aricia, another Latin town, nearer to the capital than Lanuvium, and was
now returning to Rome. He was on horseback, contrary to his usual
custom, which was to use a carriage, and he had with him thirty slaves
armed with swords. No person of distinction thought of traveling without
such attendants.

The two men passed each other, but Milo's gladiators fell out with the
slaves of Clodius. Clodius rode back and accosted the aggressors in a
threatening manner. One of the gladiators replied by wounding him in the
shoulder with his sword. A number of Milo's slaves hastened back to
assist their comra