1 B.C. 200
2 See xiv. 7 above and the note.
3 The narrative continues from xxii. 3 above.
4 We do not know what effect the senatorial decree reported in xi. 1 above had on the imperium of Furius. Normally, he would have become a subordinate of Aurelius, and as such he would have no authority to fight without explicit orders from the consul and would be ineligible for a triumph. This is Aurelius' position. Furius seems to argue that his own imperium authorized him to act independently of the consul, and both of these claims are maintained in the debate that follows. The complicated legal question of the military status of Furius with respect to Aurelius is probably insoluble. The whole story of Furius' victory (xxi. 1-xxii. 3 above) and his triumph (xlvii. 6-xlix. 3 below) is rejected by some scholars as an anticipation of the events related in xxxii. 30, but their reasons seem inadequate.
5 Magistrates and others possessing the imperium were not permitted to cross the pomerium, the religious boundary of Rome. The temple of Bellona was outside this limit, and the senate often met there under circumstances like these.
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