44 There was no successor to Rutilius in the consulship for the remainder of the year, as Sextus Caesar did not have leisure to go to the city and hold the comitia. The Senate appointed C. Marius and Q. Caepio to command the forces of Rutilius in the field. The opposing general, Q. Popaedius,º fled as a pretended deserter to this Caepio. He brought with him and gave as a pledge two slave babies, clad with the purple-bordered garments of free-born children, pretending that they were his own sons. As further confirmation of his good faith he brought masses of lead plated with gold and silver. He urged Caepio to follow him in all haste with his army and capture the hostile army while destitute of a leader, and Caepio was deceived and followed him. When they had arrived at a place where the ambush had been laid, Popaedius ran up to the top of a hill as though he were searching for the enemy, and gave his own men a signal. The latter sprang out of their concealment and cut Caepio and most of his force in pieces; so the Senate joined the rest of Caepio's army to that of Marius.

45 While Sextus Caesar was passing through a rocky defile with 30,000 foot and 5000 horse Marius Egnatius suddenly fell upon him and drove him back into it. He retired, borne on a litter, as he was ill, to a certain stream where there was only one bridge and there he lost the greater part of his force and the arms of the survivors, only escaping to Teanum with difficulty, where he armed the remainder of his men as best he could. Reinforcements were sent to him speedily and he marched to the relief of Acerrae, which was still besieged by Papius.

There, though their camps were pitched opposite each other, neither dared to attack the other, 46 but Cornelius Sulla and Gaius Marius defeated the Marsians, who had attacked them. They pursued the enemy vigorously as far as the walls enclosing their vineyards. The Marsians scaled these walls with heavy loss, but Marius and Sulla did not deem it wise to follow them farther. Cornelius Sulla was encamped on the other side of these enclosures, and when he knew what had happened he came out to meet the Marsians, as they tried to escape, and he also killed a great number. More than 6000 Marsians were slain that day, and the arms of a still greater number were captured by the Romans.

The Marsians were rendered as furious as wild beasts by this disaster. They armed their forces again and prepared to march against the enemy, but did not dare to take the offensive or the begin a battle. They are a very warlike race, and it is said that no triumph was ever awarded for a victory over them except for this single disaster. There had been up to this time a saying, "No triumph over Marsians or without Marsians."

47 Near Mount Falernus, Vidacilius, T. Lafrenius and P. Vettius united their forces and defeated Gnaeus Pompeius, pursuing him to the city of Firmum. Then they went their several ways, and Lafrenius besieged Pompeius, who had shut himself up in Firmum. The latter at once armed his remaining forces, but did not come to an engagement; when, however, he learned that another army was approaching, he sent Sulpicius round to take Lafrenius in the rear while he made a sally in front. Battle was joined and both sides were in much distress, when Sulpicius set fire to the enemy's camp. When the latter saw this they fled to Asculum in disorder and without a general, for Lafrenius had fallen in the battle. Pompeius then advanced and laid siege to Asculum.

48 Asculum was the native town of Vidacilius, and as he feared for its safety he hastened to its relief with eight cohorts. He sent word beforehand to the inhabitants that when they should see him advancing at a distance they should make a sally against the besiegers, so that the enemy should be attacked on both sides at once. The inhabitants were afraid to do so; nevertheless Vidacilius forced his way into the city through the midst of the enemy with what followers he could get, and upbraided the citizens for their cowardice and disobedience. As he despaired of saving the city he first put to death all of his enemies who had been at variance with him before and who, out of jealousy, had prevented the people from obeying his recent orders. Then he erected a funeral pile in the temple and placed a couch upon it, and held a feast with his friends, and while the drinking-bout was at its height he swallowed poison, threw himself on the pile, and ordered his friends to set fire to it. Thus perished Vidacilius, a man who considered it glorious to die for his country, Sextus Caesar was invested with the consular power by the Senate after his term of office had expired. He attacked 20,000 of the enemy while they were changing camping-places, killed about 8000 of them, and captured the arms of a much larger number. He died of disease while pushing the long siege of Asculum; the Senate appointed Gaius Baebius his successor.

49 While these events were transpiring on the Adriatic side of Italy, the inhabitants of Etruria and Umbria and other neighbouring peoples on the other side of Rome heard of them and all were excited to revolt. The Senate, fearing lest they should be surrounded by war, and unable to protect themselves, garrisoned the sea-coast from Cumae to the city with freedmen, who were then for the first time enrolled in the army on account of the scarcity of soldiers. The Senate also voted that those Italians who had adhered to their alliance should be admitted to citizenship, which was the one thing they all desired most. They sent this decree around among the Etruscans, who gladly accepted the citizenship. By this favour the Senate made the faithful more faithful, confirmed the wavering, and mollified their enemies by the hope of similar treatment. The Romans did not enroll the new citizens in the thirty-five existing tribes, lest they should outvote the old ones in the elections, but incorporated them in ten new tribes, which voted last. So it often happened that their vote was useless, since a majority was obtained from the thirty-five tribes that voted first. This fact was either not noticed by the Italians at the time or they were satisfied with what they had gained, but it was observed later and became the source of a new conflict.

50 The insurgents along the Adriatic coast, before they learned of the change of sentiment among the Etruscans, sent 15,000 men to their assistance by a long and difficult road. Gnaeus Pompeius, who was now consul, fell upon them and killed 5000 of them. The rest made their way homeward through a trackless region, in a severe winter; and half of them after subsisting on acorns perished.​ The same winter Porcius Cato, the colleague of Pompeius, was killed while fighting with the marsians. While Sulla was encamped near the Pompaean hills Lucius Cluentius pitched his camp in a contemptuous manner at a distance of only three stades from him. Sulla did not tolerate this insolence, but attacked Cluentius without waiting for his own foragers to come in. He was worsted and put to flight, but when he was reinforced by his foragers he turned and defeated Cluentius. The latter then moved his camp to a greater distance. Having received certain Gallic reinforcements he again drew near to Sulla and just as the two armies were coming to an engagement a Gaul of enormous size advanced and challenged any Roman to single combat. A Maurusian soldier of short stature accepted the challenge and killed him, whereupon the Gauls became panic-stricken and fled. Cluentius' line of battle was thus broken and the remainder of his troops did not stand their ground, but fled in disorder to Nola. Sulla followed them and killed 3000 in the pursuit, and as the inhabitants of Nola received them by only one gate, lest the enemy should rush in with them, he killed about 20,000 more outside the walls and among them Cluentius himself, who fell fighting bravely.

Then Sulla moved against another tribe, the Hirpini, and attacked the town of Aeculanum. The inhabitants, who expected aid from the Lucanians that very day, asked Sulla to give them time for consideration. He understood the trick and gave them one hour, and meanwhile piled fagots around their walls, which were made of wood, and at the expiration of the hour set them on fire. They were terrified and surrendered the town. Sulla plundered it because it had not been delivered up voluntarily but under necessity. He spared the other towns that gave themselves up, and in this way the entire population of the Hirpini was brought under subjection. Then Sulla moved against the Samnites, not where Mutilus, the Samnite general, guarded the roads, but by another circuitous route where his coming was not expected. He fell upon them suddenly, killed many, and scattered the rest in disorderly flight. Mutilus was wounded and took refuge with a few followers in Aesernia. Sulla destroyed his camp and moved against Bovanum, where the common council of the rebels was held. The city had three citadels. While the inhabitants were intently watching Sulla from one of these citadels, he ordered a detachment to capture whichever of the other two they could, and then to make a signal by means of smoke. When the smoke was seen he made an attack in front and, after a severe fight of three hours, took the city.

52 These were the successes of Sulla during that summer. When winter came he returned to Rome to stand for the consulship, but Gnaeus Pompeius brought the Marsians, the Marrucini, and the Vestini under subjection. Gaius Cosconius, another Roman par, advanced against Salapia and burned it. He received the surrender of Cannae and laid siege to Canusium; then he had a severe fight with the Samnites, who came to its relief, and after great slaughter on both sides Cosconius was beaten and retreated to Cannae. A river separated the two armies, and Trebatius sent word to Cosconius either to come over to his side and fight him, or to withdraw and let him cross. Cosconius withdrew, and while Trebatius was crossing attacked him and got the better of him, and, while he was escaping toward the stream, killed 15,000 of his men. The remainder took refuge with Trebatius in Canusium. Cosconius overran the territory of Larinum, Venusia, and Asculum, and invaded that of the Poediculi, and within two days received their surrender.

53 Caecilius Metellus, his successor in the praetorship, attacked the Apulians and overcame them in battle. Popaedius, one of the rebel generals, here lost his life, and the survivors joined Metellus in detachments. Such was the course of events throughout Italy as regards the Social War, which had raged with violence thus far, until the whole of Italy came into the Roman state except, for the present, the Lucanians and the Samnites, who also seem to have obtained what they desired somewhat later. Each body of allies was enrolled in tribes of its own, like those who had been admitted to citizenship before, so that they might not, by being mingled with the old citizens, vote them down in the elections by force of numbers.

54 About the same time dissensions arose in the city between debtors and creditors,​ since the latter exacted the money due to them with interest, although an old law distinctly forbade lending on interest and imposed a penalty upon any one doing so. It seems that the ancient Romans, like the Greeks, abhorred the taking of interest on loans as something knavish, and hard on the poor, and leading to contention and enmity; and by the same kind of reasoning the Persians considered lending as having itself a tendency to deceit and lying. But, since time had sanctioned the practice of taking interest, the creditors demanded it according to custom. The debtors, on the other hand, put off their payments on the plea of war and civil commotion. Some indeed threatened to exact the legal penalty from the interest-takers.

The praetor Asellio, who had charge of these matters, as he was not able to compose their differences by persuasion, allowed them to proceed against each other in the courts, thus bringing the deadlock due to the conflict of law and custom before the judges. The lenders, exasperated that the now obsolete law was being revived, killed the praetor in the following manner. He was offering sacrifice to Castor and Pollux in the forum, with a crowd standing around as was usual at such a ceremony. In the first place somebody threw a stone at him, on which he dropped the libation-bowl and ran toward the temple of Vesta. They then got ahead of him and prevented him from reaching the temple, and after he had fled into a tavern they cut his throat. Many of his pursuers, thinking that he had taken refuge with the Vestal virgins, ran in there, where it was not lawful for men to go. Thus was Asellio, while serving as praetor, and pouring out libation, and wearing the sacred gilded vestments customary in such ceremonies, slain at the second hour of the day in the centre of the forum, in the midst of the sacrifice. The Senate offered a reward of money to any free citizen, freedom to any slave, impunity to any accomplice, who should give testimony leading to the conviction of the murders of Asellio, but nobody gave any information. The money-lenders covered up everything.