[9,18] Μετὰ δὲ τούτους παραλαμβάνουσι τὴν ὑπατείαν Γάιος Ὁράτιος καὶ Τῖτος Μενήνιος ἐπὶ τῆς ἑβδομηκοστῆς καὶ ἕκτης ὀλυμπιάδος, ἣν ἐνίκα στάδιον Σκάμανδρος Μιτυληναῖος ἄρχοντος Ἀθήνησι Φαίδωνος. τούτοις κατ´ ἀρχὰς μὲν ὁ πολιτικὸς θόρυβος ἐμποδὼν ἐγένετο πράττειν τὰ κοινὰ ἠρεθισμένου τοῦ δήμου καὶ οὐδὲν ἐῶντος ἕτερον ἐπιτελεῖσθαι τῶν κοινῶν, ἕως ἂν μερίσηται τὴν δημοσίαν γῆν, χρόνῳ δ´ ὕστερον εἶξε τὰ παρακινοῦντα καὶ ταραττόμενα τῇ ἀνάγκῃ συγχωρήσαντα καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς στρατείας ἑκούσια ἦλθε. Τυρρηνῶν γὰρ αἱ μὴ μετασχοῦσαι τῆς εἰρήνης ἕνδεκα πόλεις ἀγορὰν ποιησάμεναι κοινὴν κατηγόρουν τοῦ Οὐιεντανῶν ἔθνους, ὅτι τὸν πρὸς Ῥωμαίους πόλεμον οὐ μετὰ κοινῆς γνώμης κατελύσαντο, καὶ δυεῖν θάτερον αὐτοὺς ἠξίουν πράττειν, ἢ λύειν τὰ πρὸς Ῥωμαίους ὁμολογηθέντα ἢ πολεμεῖν σφίσι μετ´ ἐκείνων. οἱ δὲ Οὐιεντανοὶ τῆς μὲν εἰρήνης τὴν ἀνάγκην ᾐτιῶντο, ὅπως δ´ ἂν αὐτὴν καταλύσαιντο εὐπρεπῶς εἰς κοινὸν ἐτίθεσαν σκοπεῖν. ἔπειτα ὑποτίθεταί τις αὐτοῖς ἔγκλημα ποιησαμένοις τὸν ἐπιτειχισμὸν τῆς Κρεμέρας καὶ τὸ μὴ ἀπανίστασθαι τοὺς φρουροὺς ἀπ´ αὐτῆς, λόγῳ μὲν πρῶτον ἀξιοῦν αὐτοὺς ἐκλιπεῖν τὸ χωρίον, ἐὰν δὲ μὴ πείθωσι, πολιορκεῖν τὸ φρούριον, καὶ ταύτην ἀρχὴν ποιήσασθαι τοῦ πολέμου. ταῦτα συνθέμενοι ἀπηλλάττοντο ἐκ τοῦ συλλόγου· καὶ μετ´ οὐ πολὺ Οὐιεντανοὶ μὲν ἀποστείλαντες πρεσβείαν ὡς τοὺς Φαβίους ἀπῄτουν παρ´ αὐτῶν τὸ φρούριον, Τυρρηνία δὲ πᾶσα ἦν ἐν τοῖς ὅπλοις. ταῦτα Ῥωμαῖοι αἰσθόμενοι Φαβίων αὐτοῖς ἐπιστειλάντων ἔγνωσαν ἀμφοτέρους ἐκπορεύεσθαι τοὺς ὑπάτους ἐπὶ τὸν πόλεμον, τόν τ´ ἀπὸ Τυρρηνίας ἐπαγόμενον σφίσι καὶ τὸν ἔτι πρὸς Οὐολούσκους συνεστῶτα. Ὁράτιος μὲν οὖν ἄγων δύο τάγματα καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ἄλλων συμμάχων τοὺς ἱκανοὺς ἐξήγαγε τὴν δύναμιν ἐπὶ Οὐολούσκους. Μενήνιος δὲ τοσαύτην στρατιὰν ἑτέραν ἄγων ἐπὶ Τυρρηνοὺς ἔμελλε ποιεῖσθαι τὴν ἔξοδον. παρασκευαζομένου δ´ αὐτοῦ καὶ τρίβοντος τὸν χρόνον ἔφθη τὸ ἐν Κρεμέρᾳ φρούριον ἐξαιρεθὲν ὑπὸ τῶν πολεμίων, καὶ τὸ Φαβίων γένος ἅπαν ἀπολόμενον. περὶ δὲ τῆς κατασχούσης τοὺς ἄνδρας συμφορᾶς διττὸς φέρεται λόγος, ὁ μὲν ἧττον πιθανός, ὁ δὲ μᾶλλον τῆς ἀληθείας ἁπτόμενος. θήσω δ´ αὐτοὺς ἀμφοτέρους, ὡς παρέλαβον.

[9,18] These consuls were succeeded by Gaius Horatius and Titus Menenius in the seventy-sixth Olympiad (the one at which Scamander of Mitylene won the foot- race), when Phaedo was archon at Athens. The new consuls were at first hindered from transacting the public business by the domestic disturbance, the populace being exasperated and not permitting any other public business to be carried on (p353) until they should divide up among themselves the public land; but after a time the seditious and turbulent elements yielded to necessity and came in voluntarily to be enlisted.For the eleven cities of the Tyrrhenians which had had no part in the peace, holding a general assembly, inveighed against the Veientes for having put an end to the war with the Romans without the general consent of the nation, and demanded that they do one of two things — either break the compact they had made with the Romans, or join with the Romans in making war upon the rest of the Tyrrhenians. But the Veientes laid the blame for the peace upon necessity, and proposed that the assembly consider how they might break it with decency. Upon this someone suggested to them that they should make formal complaint of the erection of the frontier stronghold on the Cremera and of the failure of its garrison to withdraw from there, and then should first make an oral demand that they evacuate the place, and, if they refused, should lay siege to the fortress and make this action the beginning of the war.Having agreed on this course, they left the assembly; and not long afterwards the Veientes sent ambassadors to the Fabii to demand from them the fortress, and all Tyrrhenia was in arms. The Romans, learning of these things through letters from the Fabii, resolved that both the consuls should take the field, one to command in the war that was coming upon them from Tyrrhenia and the other to prosecute the war which was still going on with the Volscians.Horatius, accordingly, marched against the Volscians with two legions and an adequate force of the allies, and Menenius was (p355) preparing to set out against the Tyrrhenians with another force of equal size; but while he was making his preparations and losing time, the fortress on the Cremera was destroyed by the enemy and the entire Fabian clan perished. Concerning the disaster that befell these men two accounts are current, one less probable and the other coming nearer to the truth. I shall give them both as I have received them.