Hereupon the Boii, seeing the Senones expelled from their territory, and fearing a like fate for themselves and their own land, implored the aid of the Etruscans and marched out in full force.
The united armies gave battle to the Romans near Lake Vadimon,
and in this battle most of the Etruscans were cut to pieces while only quite a few of the Boii escaped.
But, notwithstanding, in the very next year these two peoples once more combined and arming their young men, even the mere striplings, again encountered the Romans in a pitched battle.
They were utterly defeated and it was only now that their courage at length gave way and that they sent an embassy to sue for terms and made a treaty with the Romans.
This took place three years before the crossing of Pyrrhus to <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Italy&groupId=656&placeId=1199">Italy</a> and five years before the destruction of the Gauls at <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Delphi&groupId=534&placeId=363">Delphi</a>;
for it really seems that at this time Fortune afflicted all Gauls alike with a sort of epidemic of war.
From all these struggles the Romans gained two great advantages. In the first place, having become accustomed to be cut up by Gauls, they could neither undergo nor expect any more terrible experience,
and next, owing to this, when they met Pyrrhus they had become perfectly trained athletes in war,
so that they were able to daunt the courage of the Gauls before it was too late, and henceforth could give their whole mind first to the fight with Pyrrhus for <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Italy&groupId=656&placeId=1199">Italy</a> and afterwards to the maintenance of the contest with <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Carthage&groupId=441&placeId=820">Carthage</a> for the possession of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Sicily&groupId=973&placeId=1724">Sicily</a>.
Walbank Commentary