[9,71] Ἀφικόμενοί τε μέχρι Τύσκλου πόλεως, μαθόντες
τὸν περίβολον τῆς Ῥώμης ὅλον πληθύοντα
ὅπλων, καὶ πρὸ τῶν πυλῶν τέτταρας ἐξεστρατευμένας
σπείρας, ἀνδρῶν ἑξακοσίων ἑκάστην, τῆς μὲν ἐπὶ τὴν
Ῥώμην ὁδοῦ ἀπετράποντο, τὴν δ´ ὑπὸ τῇ πόλει χώραν,
ἣν ἐν τῇ προτέρᾳ παρέλιπον εἰσβολῇ, ἐγκαθεζόμενοι
ἐδῄουν. ἐπιφανέντος δ´ αὐτοῖς θατέρου τῶν ὑπάτων
Λευκίου Λοκρητίου καὶ θεμένου τὴν παρεμβολὴν οὐ
πρόσω καλὸν ὑπολαβόντες εἶναι καιρόν, πρὶν ἐλθεῖν
τῷ Λοκρητίῳ τὴν ἑτέραν Ῥωμαίων δύναμιν σύμμαχον,
ἧς Οὐετούριος ἡγεῖτο, συνάψαι μάχην, θέμενοι τὰς
ἀποσκευὰς ἐπὶ λόφου τινὸς καὶ δύο σπείρας ἐπ´ αὐταῖς
καταλιπόντες, οἱ λοιποὶ προῆλθον εἰς τὸ πεδίον·
καὶ συμβαλόντες τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις ἄνδρες ἀγαθοὶ κατὰ
τὸν ἀγῶνα ἐγίνοντο μέχρι πολλοῦ. μαθόντες δ´ ἐκ
τῶν κατὰ νώτου φρουρῶν τινες καταβαίνουσαν ὑπὲρ
ὄχθου στρατιὰν ὑπέλαβον ἥκειν τὸν ἕτερον τῶν ὑπάτων
ἄγοντα τὴν σὺν αὐτῷ δύναμιν, καὶ δείσαντες, μὴ
κυκλωθεῖεν ὑπ´ ἀμφοῖν, οὐκέτι διέμειναν, ἀλλ´ εἰς
φυγὴν τρέπονται. ἐν τούτῳ τῷ ἀγῶνι οἵ θ´ ἡγεμόνες
αὐτῶν ἀμφότεροι γενναίων ἀνδρῶν ἔργα ἀποδειξάμενοι
πίπτουσι, καὶ ἄλλοι πολλοὶ μαχόμενοι περὶ αὐτοὺς
ἀγαθοί· οἱ δὲ φυγόντες ἐκ τῆς μάχης εἰς τὰς ἑαυτῶν
ἕκαστοι πατρίδας σκεδασθέντες ἀνεχώρησαν. ἐκ δὲ
τούτου πολλὴν ἄδειαν λαβὼν ὁ Λοκρήτιος ἔφθειρε τὴν
Αἰκανῶν γῆν, καὶ Οὐετούριος τὴν Οὐολούσκων, ἕως
ὁ τῶν ἀρχαιρεσίων ἐπέστη καιρός. τότε δ´ ἀναστήσαντες
τὰς δυνάμεις ἀπῆγον ἐπ´ οἴκου καὶ κατήγαγον
ἀμφότεροι τοὺς ἐπινικίους θριάμβους· Λοκρήτιος μέν,
ἐπὶ τοῦ τεθρίππου παρεμβεβηκώς, Οὐετούριος δὲ πεζὸς
εἰσελαύνων. δύο γὰρ οὗτοι θρίαμβοι δίδονται τοῖς
ἡγεμόσιν ὑπὸ τῆς βουλῆς, ὥσπερ ἔφην, τὰ μὲν ἄλλα
ἔχοντες ἴσα, τῷ δὲ τὸν μὲν ἱππικὸν εἶναι, τὸν δὲ πεζικόν,
διαφέροντες.
| [9,71] Having got as far as the city of Tusculum and learning that the whole circuit of
Rome was lined with armed men and that four cohorts of six hundred men each were
encamped before the gates, they abandoned their march on Rome; and encamping,
they laid waste the district close to the city, which they had left untouched on their
former incursion.But when one of the consuls, Lucius Lucretius, appeared and
made camp not far from them, they thought this an excellent opportunity to join
battle before the other army of the Romans, commanded by Veturius, should come to
the assistance of Lucretius; and placing their baggage on a certain hill and leaving two
cohorts to defend it, the rest advanced into the plain. Then they engaged the Romans
and acquitted themselves bravely in the conflict for a long time; but some of them,
being informed by the guards in the rear that an army was coming down over a hill,
assumed that the other consul had arrived with the forces under his command, and
fearing to be hemmed in between the two armies, they no longer stood their ground,
but turned to flight. In this ancient both their generals fell after performing the deeds
of valiant men, and likewise many other brave men fighting at their side. Those who
escaped from the battle scattered and every man retired to his own (p161) city.As a
result of this victory Lucretius laid waste the country of the Aequians in great
security, and Veturius that of the Volscians, till the time for the elections was at hand.
Then both of them, breaking camp, returned to Rome with their armies and
celebrated the triumphs awarded for victories, Lucretius entering the city in a chariot
drawn by four horses and Veturius on foot. For these two triumphs are granted to
generals by the senate, as I have stated; they are equal in other respects, but differ in
this, that one is celebrated in a chariot and the other on foot.
|