Where the
animal halted the band settled itself. Many peoples of Italy, it was
said, had originated in these colonies of emigrants and still
preserved the name of the animal which had led their ancestors. Such
were, the Hirpines (people of the wolf), the Picentines (people of the
woodpecker), and the Samnites whose capital was named Bovianum (city
of the ox).
=The Samnites.=--The Samnites were the most powerful of all. Settled
in the Abruzzi, a paradise for brigands, they descended into the
fertile plains of Naples and of Apulia and put Etruscan and Greek
towns to ransom.
The Samnites fought against the Romans for two centuries; although
always beaten because they had no central administration and no
discipline they yet reopened the war. Their last fight was heroic. An
old man brought to the chiefs of the army a sacred book written on
linen. They formed in the interior of the camp a wall of linen, raised
an altar in the midst of it, and around this stood soldiers with
unsheathed swords. One by one the bravest of the warriors entered the
precinct. They swore not to flee before the enemy and to kill the
fugitives.
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