[9,60] Ἦσαν δ´ ὑπ´ αὐτῶν ἀποδειχθέντες ὕπατοι Σπόριος Ποστόμιος Ἀλβῖνος καὶ Κόιντος Σερουίλιος Πρίσκος τὸ δεύτερον. ἐπὶ τούτων ἔδοξαν Αἰκανοὶ παραβαίνειν τὰς πρὸς Ῥωμαίους νεωστὶ γενομένας ὁμολογίας ἀπὸ τοιαύτης αἰτίας· Ἀντιατῶν ὅσοι μὲν εἶχον ἐφέστια καὶ κλήρους ἔμειναν ἐν τῇ γῇ, τά τ´ ἀπομερισθέντα σφίσι καὶ τὰ ὑπὸ τῶν κληρούχων ἀφορισθέντα κτήματα γεωργοῦντες ἐπὶ ῥηταῖς τισι καὶ τεταγμέναις μοίραις, ἃς ἐκ τῶν καρπῶν αὐτοῖς ἐτέλουν· οἷς δ´ οὐδὲν τούτων ἦν, ἐξέλιπον τὴν πόλιν, καὶ ὑποδεχομένων αὐτοὺς προθύμως τῶν Αἰκανῶν ἐκεῖθεν ὁρμώμενοι τοὺς Λατίνων ἀγροὺς ἐλῄστευον. ἐκ δὲ τούτου καὶ τῶν Αἰκανῶν ὅσοι τολμηροί τε καὶ ἄποροι ἦσαν συνελάμβανον αὐτοῖς τῶν λῃστηρίων. ταῦτα Λατίνων ἀποδυρομένων ἐπὶ τῆς βουλῆς καὶ ἀξιούντων ἢ στρατιὰν πέμπειν ἢ συγχωρῆσαι σφίσιν αὐτοῖς τοὺς ἄρξαντας πολέμου ἀμύνασθαι, μαθόντες οἱ σύνεδροι στρατιὰν μὲν οὔτ´ αὐτοὶ ἐψηφίσαντο πέμπειν οὔτε Λατίνοις ἐπέτρεψαν ἐξάγειν, πρεσβευτὰς δ´ ἑλόμενοι τρεῖς, ὧν ἡγεῖτο Κόιντος Φάβιος ὁ τὰς πρὸς τὸ ἔθνος συνθήκας ποιησάμενος, ἀπέστειλαν ἐντολὰς αὐτοῖς δόντες πυνθάνεσθαι παρὰ τῶν ἡγουμένων τοῦ ἔθνους, πότερα κοινῇ γνώμῃ τὰ λῃστήρια ἐξαποστέλλουσιν εἴς τε τὴν τῶν συμμάχων καὶ εἰς τὴν τῶν Ῥωμαίων γῆν - ἐγένοντο γάρ τινες καὶ εἰς αὐτὴν καταδρομαὶ τῶν φυγάδων - ἢ τῶν πραττομένων οὐδενός ἐστι τὸ κοινὸν αἴτιον· καὶ ἐὰν φῶσιν ἰδιωτῶν ἔργα εἶναι μὴ ἐπιτρέψαντος τοῦ δήμου, τά θ´ ἡρπασμένα ἀπαιτεῖν καὶ τοὺς ἐργασαμένους τἀδικήματα ἐκδότους {αἰτεῖν}. ἀφικομένων δὲ τῶν πρεσβευτῶν ἀκούσαντες τοὺς λόγους οἱ Αἰκανοὶ πλαγίας αὐτοῖς ἔδοσαν ἀποκρίσεις, τὸ μὲν ἔργον οὐκ ἀπὸ κοινῆς λέγοντες γνώμης γεγονέναι, τοὺς δὲ δράσαντας οὐκ ἀξιοῦντες ἐκδιδόναι, πόλιν τ´ ἀπολωλεκότας καὶ ἀλήτας γεγονότας σφῶν τ´ ἐν τῇ πενίᾳ ἱκέτας. ἐφ´ οἷς ὁ Φάβιος ἀγανακτῶν καὶ τὰς ψευσθείσας πρὸς αὐτῶν ὁμολογίας ἀνακαλούμενος, ὡς εἶδεν εἰρωνευομένους τοὺς Αἰκανοὺς καὶ εἰς βουλὴν χρόνον αἰτουμένους ξενισμοῦ τε χάριν ἐπικατέχοντας αὐτόν, ὑπέμεινέ τε κατοπτεῦσαι τὰ ἐν τῇ πόλει πράγματα βουλόμενος· καὶ διεξιὼν ἅπαντα τόπον κατὰ πρόφασιν θεωρίας δημόσιόν τε καὶ ἱερόν, τά τ´ ἐργαστήρια πλήρη ὁρῶν ἅπαντα πολεμικῶν ὅπλων, τῶν μὲν ἤδη συντετελεσμένων, τῶν δ´ ἔτι ἐν χερσὶν ὄντων, ἔγνω τὴν διάνοιαν αὐτῶν. καὶ ἀφικόμενος εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην ἀπήγγειλε πρὸς τὴν βουλήν, ἅ τ´ ἤκουσε καὶ ἃ εἶδε. κἀκείνη οὐδὲν ἔτι ἐνδοιάσασα τοὺς εἰρηνοδίκας ἐψηφίσατο πέμπειν καταγγελοῦντας Αἰκανοῖς τὸν πόλεμον, ἐὰν μὴ τούς τ´ Ἀντιατῶν φυγάδας ἀπελάσωσιν ἐκ τῆς πόλεως καὶ δίκας τοῖς ἠδικημένοις ὑπόσχωνται. οἱ δ´ Αἰκανοὶ θρασυτέρας πρὸς τοὺς ἄνδρας ἐποιήσαντο τὰς ἀποκρίσεις, καὶ τὸν πόλεμον οὐκ ἀκούσιοι δέχεσθαι ὡμολόγησαν. ἀλλὰ γὰρ οὐκ ἐξεγένετο Ῥωμαίοις στρατιὰν ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ ἐνιαυτῷ ἐπ´ αὐτοὺς ἀποστεῖλαι, εἴτε τοῦ δαιμονίου κωλύοντος, εἴτε διὰ τὰς νόσους, αἳ κατέσχον τὴν πληθὺν ἐπὶ πολὺ μέρος τοῦ ἔτους· ἀλλὰ φυλακῆς ἕνεκα τῶν συμμάχων ὀλίγη τις ἐξελθοῦσα δύναμις, ἧς ἡγεῖτο Κόιντος Σερουίλιος ἅτερος τῶν ὑπάτων, ἐν τοῖς Λατίνων ὅροις διέτριψεν. ἐν δὲ τῇ πόλει τὸν νεὼν τοῦ Πιστίου Διὸς Σπόριος Ποστόμιος ὁ συνύπατος αὐτοῦ καθιέρωσε μηνὸς Ἰουνίου ταῖς καλουμέναις Νώναις ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἐνυαλίου λόφου, κατασκευασθέντα μὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ τελευταίου βασιλέως Ταρκυνίου, τῆς δὲ νομιζομένης παρὰ Ῥωμαίοις ἀνιερώσεως οὐ τυχόντα ὑπ´ ἐκείνου. τότε δὲ τῇ βουλῇ δόξαν ὁ Ποστόμιος ἔλαβεν αὐτοῦ τὴν ἐπιγραφήν. ἄλλο δ´ οὐδὲν ἐπὶ τῶν ὑπάτων τούτων λόγου ἄξιον ἐπράχθη.

[9,60] The consuls named by them were Spurius Postumius Albinus and Quintus Servilius Priscus, the latter for the second time. In their consulship the Aequians were held to be violating the agreements lately made with the Romans, and this for the following reason.All the Antiates who possessed homes and allotments of land remained in the country cultivating not only the lands assigned to them but also those which had been taken from them by the colonists, tilling the latter on the basis of certain fixed shares which they paid to the colonists out of the produce. But those who had no such possessions left the city, and being heartily welcomed by the Aequians, were using their country as a base from which to ravage the fields of the Latins. As a consequence, such of the Aequians too as were bold and needy joined with them in their raids.When the Latins complained before the senate of their situation and asked them either to send an army to their relief or to permit them to take vengeance themselves on those who had begun the war, the senators, on hearing their complaint, neither voted to send an army themselves nor permitted the Latins to lead out theirs, but choosing three ambassadors, of whom Quintus (p127) Fabius, who had concluded the treaty with the Aequian nation, was the leader, they sent them out with instructions to inquire of the leaders of the nation whether it was by general consent that they were sending out these bands of brigands into the territory of the allies and also into that of the Romans — for there had been some raids into the latter too by the fugitive Antiates — or whether the state had no hand in any of the things that were going on; and if they should say that the acts complained of were the work of private persons without the consent of the people, they were to demand restitution of the stolen property and ask for the surrender of those who had committed the wrongs.Upon the arrival of the ambassadors the Aequians, having heard their demands, gave them an evasive answer, saying, indeed, that the plundering had not been done by public consent, yet refusing to deliver up the perpetrators, who, after losing their own city and becoming wanderers, had in their destitution become suppliants of the Aequians.Fabius resented this and appealed to the treaty which they had violated; but seeing that the Aequians were dissembling, asking time for deliberation and seeking to detain him under the pretence of hospitality, he remained there in order to spy upon what was going on in the city. And visiting every place, both profane and sacred, on the pretext of seeing the sights, and observing the shops full of weapons of war, some already completed and (p129 )others still in the making, he perceived their intention.And returning to Rome, he reported to the senate what he had heard and what he had seen. The senate, without hesitating any longer, voted to send the fetiales to declare war against the Aequians unless they expelled the Antiate fugitives from the city and promised satisfaction to the injured. The Aequians gave a rather bold answer to the fetiales and admitted that they not unwillingly accepted war. But the Romans were unable to send an army against them that year, either because Heaven forbade it or because of the maladies with which the population was afflicted during a great part of the year; however, for the protection of their allies a small army marched forth under Quintus Servilius, one of the consuls, and remained on the frontiers of the Latins. At Rome his colleague, Spurius Postumius, consecrated the temple of Dius Fidius upon the Quirinal hill on the day called the nones of June. This temple had been built by Tarquinius, the last king, but had not received at his hands the dedication custom among the Romans. At this time by order of the senate the name of Postumius was inscribed on the temple. Nothing else worth relating happened during that consulship.