[9,15] Συναχθείσης δὲ μετὰ τοῦτο τῆς βουλῆς ὑπὸ τῶν ὑπάτων καὶ σκέψεως γενομένης, τίνα χρὴ πολεμεῖν τοῖς Οὐιεντανοῖς τρόπον, ἡ νικῶσα ἦν γνώμη, στράτευμα συνεστηκὸς ἔχειν ἐπὶ τοῖς ὁρίοις, ὃ διὰ φυλακῆς ἕξει τὴν χώραν θυραυλοῦν καὶ αἰεὶ μένον ἐν τοῖς ὅπλοις. ἐλύπει δ´ αὐτοὺς ἥ τ´ εἰς τοὺς φρουροὺς δαπάνη πολλὴ σφόδρα ἐσομένη, τοῦ τε κοινοῦ ταμιείου διὰ τὰς συνεχεῖς στρατείας ἐξαναλωμένου καὶ τῶν ἰδίων βίων ἀπειρηκότων ταῖς εἰσφοραῖς· καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον ἡ τῶν ἀποσταλησομένων φρουρῶν καταγραφὴ τίνα τρόπον ἂν γένοιτο, ὡς οὐκ ἂν ἑκουσίων γέ τινων προκειμένων ἁπάντων, καὶ μὴ ἐκ διαδοχῆς, ἀλλὰ συνεχῶς ταλαιπωρεῖν ὑποστησομένων. ἀδημονούσης δ´ αὐτῆς ἐπ´ ἀμφοτέροις τούτοις συγκαλέσαντες οἱ δύο Φάβιοι τοὺς μετέχοντας τοῦ σφετέρου γένους καὶ βουλευσάμενοι μετ´ αὐτῶν ὑπέσχοντο τῇ βουλῇ τοῦτο τὸ κινδύνευμα αὐτοὶ περὶ πάντων ἑκόντες ὑπομενεῖν, πελάτας τε τοὺς ἑαυτῶν ἐπαγόμενοι καὶ φίλους καὶ τέλεσι τοῖς ἰδίοις, ὅσον ἂν χρόνον ὁ πόλεμος διαμένῃ, στρατευόμενοι. ἀγασθέντων δ´ αὐτοὺς ἁπάντων τοῦ γενναίου τῆς προθυμίας καὶ τὸ νικᾶν παρ´ ἓν τοῦτο τὸ ἔργον τιθεμένων, κλεινοὶ καὶ περιβόητοι καθ´ ὅλην τὴν πόλιν ὄντες ἐξῄεσαν ἀναλαβόντες τὰ ὅπλα σὺν εὐχαῖς καὶ θυσίαις. ἡγεῖτο δ´ αὐτῶν Μάρκος Φάβιος ὁ τῷ παρελθόντι ὑπατεύσας ἔτει καὶ νικήσας τοὺς Τυρρηνοὺς τῇ μάχῃ, τετρακισχιλίους μάλιστα ἐπαγόμενος, ὧν τὸ μὲν πλεῖον πελατῶν τε καὶ ἑταίρων ἦν, ἐκ δὲ τοῦ Φαβίων γένους ἓξ καὶ τριακόσιοι ἄνδρες. εἵπετο δ´ αὐτοῖς μετ´ οὐ πολὺ καὶ ἡ Ῥωμαίων δύναμις, ἧς ἡγεῖτο Καίσων Φάβιος ὁ ἕτερος τῶν ὑπάτων. γενόμενοι δὲ ποταμοῦ Κρεμέρας πλησίον, ὃς οὐ μακρὰν ἀπέχει τῆς Οὐιεντανῶν πόλεως, ὑπὲρ ὄχθου τινὸς ἀποτόμου καὶ περιρρῶγος ἐπετείχιζον αὐτοῖς φρούριον ἱκανὸν φυλάττεσθαι τοσαύτῃ στρατιᾷ τάφρους τ´ ὀρυξάμενοι περὶ αὐτὸ διπλᾶς καὶ πύργους ἐγείραντες πυκνούς· καὶ ὠνομάσθη τὸ φρούριον ἐπὶ τοῦ ποταμοῦ Κρεμέρα. οἷα δὲ πολυχειρίας τ´ ἐργαζομένης καὶ ὑπάτου συλλαμβάνοντος, θᾶττον ἢ κατὰ δόξαν ἐτελέσθη τὸ ἔργον. καὶ μετὰ τοῦτ´ ἐξαγαγὼν τὴν δύναμιν παρήλασεν ἐπὶ θάτερα {τὰ} μέρη τῆς Οὐιεντανῶν χώρας τὰ πρὸς τὴν ἄλλην ἐστραμμένα Τυρρηνίαν, ἔνθα ἦν τοῖς Οὐιεντανοῖς τὰ βοσκήματα, οὐδέποτε στρατὸν ἥξειν Ῥωμαίων ἐκεῖ προσδεχομένοις. περιβαλόμενος δὲ πολλὴν λείαν ἀπῆγεν ἐπὶ τὸ νεόκτιστον φρούριον, χαίρων ἐπὶ τῇ ἄγρᾳ κατ´ ἀμφότερα, τῆς τ´ οὐ διὰ μακροῦ τῶν πολεμίων τιμωρίας ἕνεκα, καὶ ὅτι τοῖς φρουροῖς τοῦ χωρίου πολλὴν ἔμελλε παρέξειν εὐπορίαν. οὐδὲν γὰρ οὔτ´ εἰς τὸ δημόσιον ἀνήνεγκεν, οὔτε τοῖς στρατευομένοις {ἰδιώταις} ἀπένειμεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρόβατα καὶ ὑποζύγια καὶ ζεύγη βοεικὰ καὶ σίδηρον καὶ τἆλλα, ὅσα εἰς γεωργίαν ἐπιτήδεια ἦν, τοῖς περιπόλοις τῆς χώρας ἐχαρίσατο. ταῦτα διαπραξάμενος ἀπῆγεν ἐπ´ οἴκου τὴν στρατιάν. τοῖς δὲ Οὐιεντανοῖς μετὰ τὸν ἐπιτειχισμὸν τοῦ χωρίου κακῶς πάνυ τὰ πράγματ´ εἶχεν, οὔτε τὴν γῆν ἔτι δυναμένοις ἀσφαλῶς γεωργεῖν οὔτε τὰς ἔξωθεν εἰσαγομένας ἀγορὰς δέχεσθαι. νείμαντες γὰρ εἰς τέτταρα μέρη τὴν στρατιὰν οἱ Φάβιοι, τῷ μὲν ἑνὶ διεφύλαττον τὸ χωρίον, τοῖς δὲ τρισὶ τὴν χώραν τῶν πολεμίων ἄγοντές τε καὶ φέροντες ἀεὶ διετέλουν· καὶ πολλάκις τῶν Οὐιεντανῶν ἐκ τοῦ φανεροῦ τ´ αὐτοῖς ἐπιθεμένων χειρὶ οὐκ ὀλίγῃ καὶ εἰς χωρία ἐνέδραις κατεχόμενα ὑπαγομένων, περιῆσαν ἀμφοτέρως καὶ πολλοὺς νεκροὺς ποιήσαντες ἀσφαλῶς ἀπῄεσαν εἰς τὸ χωρίον. ὥστ´ οὐδ´ ὁμόσε χωρεῖν αὐτοῖς ἔτι οἱ πολέμιοι ἐτόλμων, ἀλλὰ τειχήρεις μένοντες τὰ πολλὰ καὶ κλέπτοντες τὰς ἐξόδους διετέλουν, καὶ ὁ μὲν χειμὼν ἐκεῖνος οὕτως ἐτελεύτα.

[9,15] When the senate was later called together by the consuls and had deliberated in what manner the war should be carried on against the Veientes, the opinion which prevailed was to maintain a standing army upon the frontiers, which should keep guard over the Roman territory, camp ing in the open and always remaining under arms. But the expense of maintaining the garrisons, which would be very great, grieved them, since the public treasury was exhausted as a result of the continual campaigns, and their private fortunes had prove unequal to the burden of the war- taxes. And they were grieved still more by the problem of enlisting the garrisons which were to be sent out, how that could be accomplished, there being little probability that a few men would, willingly at least, serve as a bulwark in defence of all and submit to hardships, not in successive shifts, but continuously.While the senate was troubled on both these accounts, the two Fabii assembled all the members of their clan, and having consulted with them, promised the senate that they themselves would voluntarily undertake this risk in defence of all the citizens, taking along with them their clients and friends, and would at their own expense continue in arms as long as the war should last. All admired them for their noble devotion and placed their hopes of victory in this single undertaking; and while they (p339) were being acclaimed and their names were on the lips of all, they took their arms and marched forth, accompanied by vows and sacrifices. Their leader was Marcus Fabius, the man who had been consul the preceding year and had conquered the Tyrrhenians in the late battle; those he took with him were about four thousand in number, the greater part of them being clients and friends, while of the Fabian clan there were three hundred and six men. They were followed a little later by the Roman army under the command of Caeso Fabius, one of the consuls. When they came near the river Cremera, which is not far from the city of the Veientes, they built upon a steep and craggy hill a fortress to command their territory, as large as could be garrisoned by an army of such size, surrounding it with a double ditch and erecting frequent towers; and the fortress was named Cremera, after the river. Since many hands were employed at this work and consul himself assisted them, it was completed sooner than might have been expected.After that the consul marched out with the army and went past the city to the other side of the territory of the Veientes, the side facing toward the rest of Tyrrhenia, where the Veientes kept their herds, not expecting that a Roman army would ever come there; and having possessed himself of much booty, he returned home to the newly erected fortress. This quarry afforded him great satisfaction for two reasons — first, because he had so promptly retaliated upon the enemy, and again, because it would furnish abundant supplies to the garrison of the stronghold. For he neither turned over any part of (p341) the spoils to the treasury nor distributed any to the soldiers, but presented all the cattle, the beasts of burden, the yokes of oxen, the iron, and the other implements of husbandry to the patrols of the country.After accomplishing this he led the army home. The Veientes found themselves in very dire straits after the erection of the frontier stronghold, since they could no longer either till their land in safety or receive the provisions that were imported from abroad. For the Fabii had divided their army into four bodies, with one of which they guarded the stronghold, while with the other three they continually pillaged the enemy's country; and often, when the Veientes openly attacked them with a considerable force or endeavoured to entice them into places beset with ambuscades, the Fabii had the advantage in both situations, and after killing many of them, would retire safely to their stronghold. Consequently the enemy no longer dared to engage them, but remained shut up within their walls for the most part, and only ventured out by stealth. Thus ended that winter.