Camillus   

moderation is best, and to avoid all extremes.
Camillus, however, whether puffed up with the greatness of his achievement
in conquering a city that was the rival of Rome, and had held out
a ten years' siege, or exalted with the felicitations of those that
were about him, assumed to himself more than became a civil and legal
magistrate; among other things, in the pride and haughtiness of his
triumph, driving through Rome in a chariot drawn with four white horses,
which no general either before or since ever did; for the Romans consider
such a mode of conveyance to be sacred and specially set apart to
the king, and father of the gods. This alienated the hearts of his
fellow-citizens, who were not accustomed to such pomp and display.
The second pique they had against him was his opposing the law by
which the city was to be divided; for the tribunes of the people brought
forward a motion that the people and senate should be divided into
two parts, one of which should remain at home, the other as the lot
should decide, remove to the new-taken city. By which means they should
not only have much more room, but, by the advantage of two great and
magnificent cities, be better able to maintain their territories and
their fortunes in general. The people, therefore, who were numerous
and indigent, greedily embraced it, and crowded continually to the
forum, with tumultuous demands to have it put to the vote. But the
senate and the noblest citizens, judging the proceedings of the tribunes
to tend rather to a destruction than a division of Rome, greatly averse
to it, went to Camillus for assistance, who, fearing the result if
it came to a direct contest, contrived to occupy the people with other
business, and so staved it off. He thus became unpopular. But the
greatest and most apparent cause of their dislike against him arose
from the tenths of the spoil; the multitude having here, if not a
just, yet a plausible case against him. For it seems, as he went to
the siege of Veii, he had vowed to Apollo that if he took the city
he would dedicate to him the tenth of the spoil. The city being taken
and sacked, whether he was loth to trouble the soldiers at that time,
or that through the multitude of business he had forgotten his vow,
he suffered them to enjoy that part of the spoils also. Some time
afterwards, when his authority was laid down, he brought the matter
before the senate, and the priests, at the same time, reported, out
of the sacrifices, that there were intimations of divine anger, requiring
propitiations and offerings. The senate decreed the obligations to
be in force.
But seeing it was difficult for every one to produce the very same
things they had taken, to be divided anew, they ordained that every
one upon oath should bring into the public the tenth part of his gains.
This occasioned many annoyances and hardships to the soldiers, who
were poor men, and had endured much in the war, and now were forced,
out of what they had gained and spent, to bring in so great a proportion.
Camillus, being assaulted by their clamour and tumults, for want of
a better excuse, betook himself to the poorest of defences, confessing
he had forgotten his vow; they in turn complained that he had vowed
the tenth of the enemy's goods, and now levied it out of the tenth
of the citizens'. Nevertheless, every one having brought in his due
proportion, it was decreed that out of it a bowl of massy gold should
be made, and sent to Delphi. And when there was great scarcity of
gold in the city, and the magistrates were considering where to get
it, the Roman ladies, meeting together and consulting among themselves,
out of the golden ornaments they wore contributed as much as went
to the making of the offering, which in weight came to eight talents
of gold. The senate, to give them the honour they had deserved, ordained
that funeral orations should be used at the obsequies of women as
well as men, it having never before been a custom that any women after
death should receive any public eulogy. Choosing out, therefore, three
of the noblest citizens as a deputation, they sent them in a vessel
of war, well manned and sumptuously adorned. Storm and calm at sea
may both, they say, alike be dangerous; as they at this time experienced,
being brought almost to the very brink of destruction, and, beyond