[9,5] Οἱ δὲ μετὰ τούτους ἀποδειχθέντες ὕπατοι, Γνάϊος Μάλλιος καὶ Μάρκος Φάβιος τὸ δεύτερον ἄρχειν αἱρεθείς, ψήφισμα τῆς βουλῆς ποιησαμένης στρατὸν ἐξάγειν ἐπὶ τὴν Οὐιεντανῶν πόλιν, ὅσον ἂν πλεῖστον δυνηθῶσι, προὔθηκαν ἡμέραν, ἐν ᾗ τὸν κατάλογον ἔμελλον ποιήσεσθαι τῆς στρατιᾶς. γινομένου δ´ αὐτοῖς ἐμποδὼν ἐπὶ κωλύσει τῆς καταγραφῆς ἑνὸς τῶν δημάρχων, Τεβερίου Ποντοφικίου καὶ τὸ περὶ τῆς κληρουχίας ψήφισμα ἀνακαλουμένου, θεραπεύσαντες τῶν συναρχόντων αὐτοῦ τινας, ὥσπερ ἐποίησαν οἱ πρὸ αὐτῶν ὕπατοι, διέστησαν τὸ ἀρχεῖον· καὶ μετὰ τοῦτ´ ἔπραττον ἐπὶ πολλῆς ἐξουσίας τὰ δόξαντα τῇ βουλῇ. γενομένης δὲ τῆς καταγραφῆς ἐν ὀλίγαις ἡμέραις ἐξῄεσαν ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους, δύο μὲν ἑκάτερος ἄγων Ῥωμαίων τάγματα τῶν ἐξ αὐτῆς καταγραφέντων τῆς πόλεως, οὐκ ἐλάττω δὲ ταύτης χεῖρα τὴν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀποίκων τε καὶ ὑπηκόων ἀποσταλεῖσαν. ἀφίκετο δ´ αὐτοῖς παρὰ τοῦ Λατίνων τε καὶ Ἑρνίκων ἔθνους διπλάσιον τοῦ κληθέντος ἐπικουρικόν. οὐ μὴν ἐχρήσαντό γε παντί· πολλὴν δὲ χάριν αὐτοῖς εἰδέναι φήσαντες τῆς προθυμίας ἀπέλυσαν τῆς ἀποσταλείσης δυνάμεως τὴν ἡμίσειαν. ἔταξαν δὲ καὶ πρὸ τῆς πόλεως τρίτον ἐκ δυεῖν ταγμάτων τῶν ἐν ἀκμῇ στρατόν, φύλακα τῆς χώρας ἐσόμενον, εἴ τις ἑτέρα δύναμις πολεμίων ἐκ τοῦ ἀδοκήτου φανείη· τοὺς δ´ ὑπὲρ τὸν στρατιωτικὸν κατάλογον, οἷς ἔτι δύναμις ἦν ὅπλων χρήσεως, ἐν τῇ πόλει κατέλιπον ἄκρας τε καὶ τείχη φυλάξοντας. ἀγαγόντες δὲ πλησίον τῆς Οὐιεντανῶν πόλεως τὰς δυνάμεις κατεστρατοπέδευσαν ἐπὶ λόφοις δυσὶν οὐ μακρὰν ἀφεστηκόσιν ἀπ´ ἀλλήλων. ἦν δὲ καὶ ἡ τῶν πολεμίων δύναμις ἐξεστρατευμένη πρὸ τῆς πόλεως πολλή τε καὶ ἀγαθή. συνεληλύθεσαν γὰρ ἐξ ἁπάσης Τυρρηνίας οἱ δυνατώτατοι τοὺς ἑαυτῶν πενέστας ἐπαγόμενοι, καὶ ἐγένετο τοῦ Ῥωμαικοῦ στρατοῦ μεῖζον τὸ Τυρρηνικὸν οὐκ ὀλίγῳ. τοῖς δ´ ὑπάτοις τό τε πλῆθος ὁρῶσι τῶν πολεμίων καὶ τὴν λαμπρότητα τῶν ὅπλων πολὺ δέος ἐνέπεσε, μή ποτ´ οὐχ ἱκανοὶ γένωνται στασιαζούσῃ δυνάμει τῇ σφετέρᾳ πρὸς ὁμονοοῦσαν τὴν τῶν πολεμίων ἀντιταξάμενοι ὑπερβαλέσθαι· ἐδόκει τ´ αὐτοῖς ὀχυρωσαμένοις τὰ στρατόπεδα τρίβειν τὸν πόλεμον ἐκδεχομένοις, εἴ τινα δώσει πλεονεξίας ἀφορμὴν αὐτοῖς τὸ τῶν πολεμίων θράσος ἀλογίστῳ καταφρονήσει ἐπαρθέν. ἀκροβολισμοὶ δὴ μετὰ τοῦτο συνεχεῖς ἐγίνοντο καὶ ψιλῶν συμπλοκαὶ βραχεῖαι, μέγα δ´ ἢ λαμπρὸν ἔργον οὐδέν.

[9,5] The succeeding consuls, Gnaeus Manlius and Marcus Fabius (the latter chosen for the second time), in pursuance of a decree of the senate ordering them to march against the Veientes with as large an army as they could raise, appointed a day for levying the troops. When Tiberius Pontificius, one of the tribunes, opposed them by forbidding the levy and called upon them to carry out the decree relating to the allotment of land, they courted some of his colleagues, as their predecessors had done, and thus divided the college of tribunes, after which they proceeded to carry out the will of the senate with full liberty. The levy being completed in a few days, the consuls took the field against the enemy, each of them having with him two legions of Romans raised in the city itself a force no less numerous sent by their colonies and subjects. Indeed, there came to them from the Latin and the Hernican nations double the number of auxiliaries they had called for; they did not, however, make use of this entire force, by stating that they were very grateful for their zeal, they dismissed one half of the army that had been sent. They also drew up before the city a third army, (p301) consisting of two legions of the younger men, to serve as a garrison for the country in case any other hostile force should unexpectedly make its appearance; the men who were above the military age but still had strength sufficient to bear arms they left in the city to guard the citadels and the walls. When the consuls had led their forces close to the city of Veii, they encamped on two hills not far apart. The enemy's army, which was both large and valiant, had also taken the field and lay encamped before the city. For the most influential men from all Tyrrhenia had joined them with their dependents, with the result that the Tyrrhenians' army was not a little larger than that of the Romans. When the consuls saw the numbers of the enemy and the lustre of their arms, great fear came upon them lest, with their own forces rent by faction, they might not be able to prevail when arrayed against the harmonious forces of the enemy; and they determined to fortify their camps and to prolong the war in the hope that the boldness of the enemy, encouraged by an ill-advised contempt for them, might afford them some opportunity of acting with advantage. After this there were continual skirmishes and brief clashes of the light-armed troops, but no important or signal action.