[9,23] Οἱ γοῦν Τυρρηνοὶ τούς τ´ ἄνδρας διαφθείραντες καὶ τὸ ἐν τῇ Κρεμέρᾳ φρούριον παραλαβόντες ἐπὶ τὴν ἄλλην στρατιὰν τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἦγον τὰς δυνάμεις. ἔτυχε δ´ οὐ μακρὰν κατεστρατοπεδευκὼς ὁ ἕτερος τῶν ὑπάτων Μενήνιος οὐκ ἐν ἀσφαλεῖ χωρίῳ· καὶ ὅτε ἡ Φαβίων συγγένεια καὶ τὸ πελατικὸν αὐτῶν ἀπώλλυντο, τριάκοντά που σταδίους ἀπεῖχεν ἀφ´ οὗ τὸ πάθος ἐγένετο τόπου, δόξαν τ´ οὐκ ὀλίγοις παρέσχε, γνοὺς ἐν οἵοις κακοῖς ἦσαν οἱ Φάβιοι, μηδεμίαν αὐτῶν ποιήσασθαι φροντίδα τῆς τ´ ἀρετῆς καὶ δόξης τοῖς ἀνδράσι φθονῶν. τοιγαροῦν μετὰ ταῦθ´ ὑπαχθεὶς ὑπὸ τῶν δημάρχων εἰς δίκην ἐπὶ ταύτῃ μάλιστα τῇ αἰτίᾳ ἑάλω. σφόδρα γὰρ ἐπένθησεν ἡ Ῥωμαίων πόλις ἀνδρῶν τοσούτων καὶ τοιούτων ἀρετὰς ἀποκειραμένη, καὶ πρὸς ἅπαν τὸ δόξαν αὐτοῖς αἴτιον γεγονέναι τῆς τοιαύτης συμφορᾶς πικρῶς καὶ ἀπαραιτήτως εἶχεν· τὴν δ´ ἡμέραν ἐκείνην, ἐν ᾗ τὸ πάθος ἐγένετο, μέλαινάν τε καὶ ἀποφράδα τίθεται, καὶ οὐδενὸς ἂν ἔργου ἐν ταύτῃ χρηστοῦ ἄρξαιτο, τὴν τότε συμβᾶσαν αὐτῇ τύχην ὀττευομένη. ὡς δὲ πλησίον ἐγένοντο τῶν Ῥωμαίων οἱ Τυρρηνοί, συνιδόντες αὐτῶν τὸ στρατόπεδον - ἦν δ´ ὑπὸ λαγόνι κείμενον ὄρους - τῆς τ´ ἀπειρίας τοῦ στρατηγοῦ κατεφρόνησαν, καὶ τὸ δοθὲν ὑπὸ τῆς τύχης πλεονέκτημα ἀγαπητῶς ἔλαβον. καὶ αὐτίκα τοὺς ἱππεῖς ἀναλαβόντες κατὰ τὴν ἑτέραν πλευρὰν τοῦ λόφου οὐδενὸς κωλύοντος ἀνέβησαν ἐπὶ τὴν κορυφήν. καταλαβόμενοι δὲ τὸν ὑπὲρ κεφαλῆς τῶν Ῥωμαίων κόρυμβον ἔθεντο ἐν τούτῳ τὰ ὅπλα, καὶ τὴν ἄλλην δύναμιν ἀσφαλῶς ἀναβιβάσαντες ὑψηλῷ χάρακι καὶ βαθείᾳ τάφρῳ τὴν παρεμβολὴν ὠχυρώσαντο. εἰ μὲν οὖν συνιδὼν ὁ Μενήνιος, οἷον ἔδωκε πλεονέκτημα τοῖς πολεμίοις, μετέγνω τε τὴν ἁμαρτάδα καὶ εἰς ἀσφαλέστερον ἀπήγαγε χωρίον τὴν στρατιάν, σοφὸς ἂν ἦν, νῦν δὲ δι´ αἰσχύνης λαμβάνων τὸ δοκεῖν ἡμαρτηκέναι καὶ τὸ αὔθαδες πρὸς τοὺς μεταδιδάσκοντας φυλάττων, {μετὰ} αἰσχύνης ἄξιον πτῶμα ἔπεσεν. οἷα γὰρ ἐξ ὑπερδεξίων αὐτοῦ τόπων οἱ πολέμιοι τὰς ἐξόδους ἑκάστοτε ποιούμενοι πολλὰ ἐπλεονέκτουν, ἀγοράς τ´ αὐτῶν ἀγομένας ὑπὸ τῶν ἐμπόρων ἁρπάζοντες, καὶ τοῖς ἐπὶ χιλὸν ἢ ὕδωρ ἐκπορευομένοις ἐπιτιθέμενοι· καὶ περιειστήκει τῷ μὲν ὑπάτῳ μήτε καιροῦ εἶναι κυρίῳ, ἐν ᾧ τὸν ἀγῶνα ἔμελλε ποιεῖσθαι, μήτε τόπου, ἃ δοκεῖ μεγάλα εἶναι κατηγορήματα ἡγεμόνων στρατηγίας ἀπείρων· τοῖς δὲ Τυρρηνοῖς ἀμφότερα, ὡς ἐβούλοντο, εἶχε ταῦτα. καὶ οὐδὲ τότ´ ἀπαναστῆσαι τὴν στρατιὰν ὁ Μενήνιος ὑπέμεινεν, ἀλλ´ ἐξαγαγὼν παρέταξεν ὡς εἰς μάχην, καταφρονήσας τῶν τὰ συμφέροντα ὑποτιθεμένων. καὶ οἱ Τυρρηνοὶ τὴν ἄνοιαν τοῦ στρατηγοῦ μέγα εὐτύχημα ἡγησάμενοι κατέβαινον ἐκ τοῦ χάρακος οὐκ ἐλάττους ἢ διπλάσιοι τῶν πολεμίων ὄντες. ὡς δὲ συνέπεσον ἀλλήλοις, φόνος ἐγίγνετο τῶν Ῥωμαίων πολὺς οὐ δυναμένων ἐν τῇ τάξει μένειν. ἐξεώθουν γὰρ αὐτοὺς οἱ Τυρρηνοὶ τοῦ τε χωρίου τὴν φύσιν ἔχοντες σύμμαχον καὶ τῶν ἐφεστηκότων κατόπιν - ἐτάξαντο γὰρ ἐπὶ βάθος - ἐμπτώσει πολλῇ συνεργούμενοι. πεσόντων δὲ τῶν ἐπιφανεστάτων λοχαγῶν, ἡ λοιπὴ τῶν Ῥωμαίων δύναμις ἐγκλίνασα ἔφευγεν ἐπὶ τὸν χάρακα· οἱ δ´ ἠκολούθουν, καὶ τάς τε σημαίας αὐτῶν ἀφαιροῦνται καὶ τοὺς τραυματίας συλλαμβάνουσι καὶ τῶν νεκρῶν γίνονται κύριοι. καὶ κατακλείσαντες αὐτοὺς εἰς πολιορκίαν καὶ δι´ ὅλης τῆς λοιπῆς ἡμέρας προσβολὰς ποιησάμενοι πολλὰς καὶ οὐδὲ τὴν νύκτα ἀφέντες αἱροῦσι τὸν χάρακα ἐκλιπόντων αὐτὸν τῶν ἔνδον, καὶ γίνονται πολλῶν σωμάτων τε καὶ χρημάτων ἐγκρατεῖς· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἀποσκευάσασθαι δύναμιν ἔσχον οἱ φεύγοντες, ἀλλ´ ἀγαπητῶς αὐτὰ τὰ σώματα διέσωσαν, οὐδὲ τὰ ὅπλα πολλοὶ φυλάττοντες.

[9,23] After the Tyrrhenians, then, had destroyed the Fabii and taken the fortress on the Cremera, they led their forces against the other army of the Romans. It chanced that Menenius, one of the consuls, lay encamped not far away in an insecure position; and when the Fabian clan and their clients perished, he was only some thirty stades from the place where the disaster occurred — a circumstance which gave many people reason to believe that, though aware of the dire straits of the Fabii, he had shown no concern for them because of the envy he felt of their valour and reputation. Accordingly, when he was later brought to trial by the tribunes, this was the chief ground for his condemnation. For the people of Rome deeply mourned their having shorn themselves of the valour of so many and so brave men and were severe and inexorable toward all whom they suspected of having been responsible for so great a calamity; and they regard the day on (p369) which the disaster occurred as black and inauspicious and will begin no useful labour on it, looking upon the disaster which then occurred on that day as a bad omen. When the Tyrrhenians came near the Romans and observed the situation of their camp, which lay under a flank of a hill, they felt contempt for the inexperience of the general and gladly grasped the advantage presented to them by Fortune. They at once marched up the opposite side of the hill with their horse and gained the summit without opposition. Then, having possessed themselves of the height above the Romans, they made camp there, brought up the rest of their army in safety, and fortified the camp with a high palisade and a deep ditch.Now if Menenius, when he perceived what an advantage he had given the enemy, had repented of his error and removed his army to a safer position, he would have been wise; but as it was, being ashamed to be thought to have made a mistake, and maintaining an obstinate front toward those who advised him to change his plans, he came a merited fall which brought disgrace as well.For as the enemy were constantly sending out detachments from places that commanded his camp, they had many advantages, not only seizing the provisions which the merchants were bringing to the Romans, but also attacking his men as they went out for forage or for water; and it had come to the point where the consul did not have it in his power to choose either the time or the place of combat — which seems to be strong evidence of the inexperience of a general — whereas the Tyrrhenians could do both as they wished.And not even then (p371) could Menenius bring himself to move his army away from there; but leading out the troops, he drew them up ready for battle, scorning all who offered salutary advice. The Tyrrhenians, looking upon the folly of the general as a piece of great good fortune, came down from their camp with numbers fully twice those of their foe.When they engaged, there was a great slaughter of the Romans, who were unable to keep their ranks. For they were forced back by the Tyrrhenians, who not only had the terrain as an ally, but were also helped by the vigorous pressure of those who stood behind them, their army being drawn up with deep files. When the most prominent centurions had fallen, the rest of the Roman army gave way and fled to the camp; and the enemy pursued them, took away their standards, seized their wounded, and got possession of their dead. Then style shut them up in their camp and besieged them; and delivering numerous attacks during all the rest of the day, without desisting even at night, they captured the camp, which the Romans had abandoned, and took many prisoners and a great quantity of booty; for those who fled had not been able to pack up their belongings, but were glad to escape with their bare lives, many not keeping even their arms.