nd himself leaped upon his
horse's back. The horse for no visible reason shied in violent terror,
and Flaminius was thrown headlong to the ground. He did not, however,
alter his determination, but marched to meet Hannibal, and drew up his
forces for battle near the lake Thrasymenus, in Etruria. When the armies
met, an earthquake took place which destroyed cities, changed the
courses of rivers, and cast down the crests of precipices; but in spite
of its violence, no one of the combatants perceived it. Flaminius
himself, after many feats of strength and courage, fell dead, and around
him lay the bravest Romans. The rest fled, and the slaughter was so
great that fifteen thousand were killed, and as many more taken
prisoners. Hannibal generously desired to bury the body of Flaminius
with military honours, to show his esteem for the consul's bravery; but
it could not be found among the slain, and no one knew how it
disappeared.

The defeat at the Trebia had not been clearly explained either by the
general who wrote the despatch, or by the messenger who carried it, as
they falsely represented it to have been a drawn battle; but as soon as
the praetor Pomponius heard the news of this second misfortune, he
assembled the people in the Forum, and said, without any roundabout
apologies whatever, "Romans, we have lost a great battle, the army is
destroyed, and the consul Flaminius has fallen. Now, therefore, take
counsel for your own safety." These words produced the same impression
on the people that a gust of wind does upon the sea. No one could calmly
reflect after such a sudden downfall of their hopes. All, however,
agreed that the State required one irresponsible ruler, which the Romans
call a dictatorship, and a man who would fulfil this office with
fearless energy. Such a man, they felt, was Fabius Maximus, who was
sufficiently qualified for the office by his abilities and the respect
which his countrymen bore him, and was moreover at that time of life
when the strength of the body is fully capable of carrying out the ideas
of the mind, but when courage is somewhat tempered by discretion.

IV. As soon as the people had passed their decree, Fabius was appointed
dictator,[A] and appointed Marcus Minucius his master of the horse.
First, however, he begged of the Senate to allow him the use of a horse
during his campaigns. There was an ancient law forbidding this practice,
either because the main strength of the army was though