[3,22] Μετὰ δὲ τὴν μάχην τῶν τριδύμων Ῥωμαῖοι μὲν οἱ τότε ὄντες ἐπὶ στρατοπέδου ταφὰς ποιησάμενοι λαμπρὰς τῶν ἀποθανόντων ἐν οἷς ἔπεσον χωρίοις καὶ θύσαντες τἀπινίκια τοῖς θεοῖς ἐν εὐπαθείαις ἦσαν, Ἀλβανοὶ δὲ ἀχθόμενοι {ἐπὶ} τοῖς συμβεβηκόσι καὶ τὸν ἡγεμόνα δι´ αἰτίας ἔχοντες, ὡς κακῶς ἐστρατηγηκότα, ἄσιτοί τε οἱ πολλοὶ καὶ ἀθεράπευτοι τὴν ἑσπέραν ἐκείνην διετέλεσαν. τῇ δ´ ἑξῆς ἡμέρᾳ καλέσας αὐτοὺς ὁ τῶν Ῥωμαίων βασιλεὺς εἰς ἐκκλησίαν καὶ πολλὰ παραμυθησάμενος, ὡς οὔτε ἄσχημον ἐπιτάξων αὐτοῖς οὐθὲν οὔτε χαλεπὸν οὔθ´ ὃ μὴ συγγενέσι πρέπει, τῇ δὲ αὐτῇ γνώμῃ περὶ ἀμφοτέρων τῶν πόλεων τὰ κράτιστα καὶ συμφορώτατα συμβουλεύσων, καὶ τὸν ἄρχοντά τε αὐτῶν Φουφέττιον ἐπὶ τῆς αὐτῆς ἀρχῆς κατασχὼν ἄλλο τε οὐδὲν τῶν πολιτικῶν μεθαρμοσάμενος οὐδὲ κινήσας ἀπῆγεν ἐπ´ οἴκου τὴν δύναμιν. καταγαγόντι δὲ αὐτῷ τὸν ψηφισθέντα ὑπὸ τῆς βουλῆς θρίαμβον καὶ τὰ πολιτικὰ πράττειν ἀρξαμένῳ προσέρχονται τῶν πολιτῶν ἄνδρες οὐκ ἀφανεῖς τὸν Ὁράτιον ἄγοντες ὑπὸ δίκην, ὡς οὐ καθαρὸν αἵματος ἐμφυλίου διὰ τὸν τῆς ἀδελφῆς φόνον· καὶ καταστάντες μακρὰν διεξῆλθον δημηγορίαν τοὺς νόμους παρεχόμενοι τοὺς οὐκ ἐῶντας ἄκριτον ἀποκτείνειν οὐθένα καὶ τὰ παρὰ τῶν θεῶν ἁπάντων μηνίματα ταῖς μὴ κολαζούσαις πόλεσι τοὺς ἐναγεῖς διεξιόντες. ὁ δὲ πατὴρ ἀπελογεῖτο περὶ τοῦ μειρακίου κατηγορῶν τῆς θυγατρὸς καὶ τιμωρίαν οὐ φόνον εἶναι τὸ πραχθὲν λέγων δικαστήν τε αὑτὸν ἀξιῶν εἶναι τῶν ἰδίων κακῶν ἀμφοτέρων γενόμενον πατέρα. συχνῶν δὲ λόγων ῥηθέντων ὑφ´ ἑκατέρων πολλὴ τὸν βασιλέα κατεῖχεν ἀμηχανία, τί τέλος ἐξενέγκῃ περὶ τῆς δίκης. οὔτε γὰρ ἀπολῦσαι τοῦ φόνου τὸν ὁμολογοῦντα τὴν ἀδελφὴν ἀνῃρηκέναι πρὸ δίκης καὶ ταῦτα ἐφ´ οἷς οὐ συνεχώρουν ἀποκτείνειν οἱ νόμοι καλῶς ἔχειν ὑπελάμβανεν, ἵνα μὴ τὴν ἀρὰν καὶ τὸ ἄγος ἀπὸ τοῦ δεδρακότος εἰς τὸν ἴδιον οἶκον εἰσενέγκηται, οὔτε ὡς ἀνδροφόνον ἀποκτεῖναι τὸν ὑπὲρ τῆς πατρίδος ἑλόμενον προκινδυνεῦσαι καὶ τοσαύτης αὐτῇ δυναστείας γενόμενον αἴτιον ἄλλως τε καὶ τοῦ πατρὸς ἀπολύοντος αὐτὸν τῆς αἰτίας, ᾧ τὴν περὶ τῆς θυγατρὸς ὀργὴν ἥ τε φύσις ἀπεδίδου πρώτῳ καὶ ὁ νόμος. ἀπορούμενος δὲ τί χρήσεται τοῖς πράγμασι τελευτῶν κράτιστον εἶναι διέγνω τῷ δήμῳ τὴν διάγνωσιν ἐπιτρέπειν. γενόμενος δὲ θανατηφόρου κρίσεως τότε πρῶτον ὁ Ῥωμαίων δῆμος κύριος τῇ γνώμῃ τοῦ πατρὸς προσέθετο καὶ ἀπολύει τοῦ φόνου τὸν ἄνδρα· οὐ μὴν ὅ γε βασιλεὺς ἀποχρῆν ἔλεγε τοῖς βουλομένοις τὰ πρὸς τοὺς θεοὺς ὅσια φυλάττειν τὴν ὑπ´ ἀνθρώπων συντελεσθεῖσαν ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ κρίσιν, ἀλλὰ μεταπεμψάμενος τοὺς ἱεροφάντας ἐκέλευσεν ἐξιλάσασθαι θεούς τε καὶ δαίμονας καὶ καθῆραι τὸν ἄνδρα οἷς νόμος τοὺς ἀκουσίους φόνους ἁγνίζεσθαι καθαρμοῖς. κἀκεῖνοι βωμοὺς ἱδρυσάμενοι δύο τὸν μὲν Ἥρας, ἣ λέλογχεν ἐπισκοπεῖν ἀδελφάς, τὸν δ´ ἕτερον ἐπιχωρίου θεοῦ τινος ἢ δαίμονος Ἰανοῦ λεγομένου κατὰ τὴν ἐπιχώριον γλῶτταν, ἐπωνύμου δὲ Κορατίων τῶν ἀναιρεθέντων ἀνεψιῶν ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀνδρός, καὶ θυσίας τινὰς ἐπ´ αὐτοῖς ποιήσαντες τοῖς τε ἄλλοις καθαρμοῖς ἐχρήσαντο καὶ τελευτῶντες ὑπήγαγον τὸν Ὁράτιον ὑπὸ ζυγόν. ἔστι δὲ Ῥωμαίοις νόμιμον, ὅταν πολεμίων παραδιδόντων τὰ ὅπλα γένωνται κύριοι, δύο καταπήττειν ξύλα ὀρθὰ καὶ τρίτον ἐφαρμόττειν αὐτοῖς ἄνωθεν πλάγιον, ἔπειθ´ ὑπάγειν τοὺς αἰχμαλώτους ὑπὸ ταῦτα καὶ διελθόντας ἀπολύειν ἐλευθέρους ἐπὶ τὰ σφέτερα. τοῦτο καλεῖται παρ´ αὐτοῖς ζυγόν, ᾧ καὶ οἱ τότε καθαίροντες τὸν ἄνδρα τελευταίῳ τῶν περὶ τοὺς καθαρμοὺς νομίμων ἐχρήσαντο. ἐν ᾧ δὲ τῆς πόλεως χωρίῳ τὸν ἁγνισμὸν ἐποιήσαντο πάντες Ῥωμαῖοι νομίζουσιν ἱερόν· ἔστι δ´ ἐν τῷ στενωπῷ τῷ φέροντι ἀπὸ Καρίνης κάτω τοῖς ἐπὶ τὸν Κύπριον ἐρχομένοις στενωπόν, ἔνθα οἵ τε βωμοὶ μένουσιν οἱ τότε ἱδρυθέντες καὶ ξύλον ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν τέταται δυσὶ τοῖς ἄντικρυς ἀλλήλων τοίχοις ἐνηρμοσμένον, ὃ γίνεται τοῖς ἐξιοῦσιν ὑπὲρ κεφαλῆς καλούμενον τῇ Ῥωμαϊκῇ διαλέκτῳ ξύλον ἀδελφῆς. τοῦτο μὲν δὴ τὸ χωρίον τῆς συμφορᾶς τοῦ ἀνδρὸς μνημεῖον ἐν τῇ πόλει φυλάττεται θυσίαις γεραιρόμενον ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων καθ´ ἕκαστον ἐνιαυτόν, ἕτερον δὲ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἣν ἐπεδείξατο κατὰ τὴν μάχην μαρτύριον ἡ γωνιαία στυλὶς ἡ τῆς ἑτέρας παστάδος ἄρχουσα ἐν ἀγορᾷ, ἐφ´ ἧς ἔκειτο τὰ σκῦλα τῶν Ἀλβανῶν τριδύμων. τὰ μὲν οὖν ὅπλα ἠφάνισται διὰ μῆκος χρόνου, τὴν δ´ ἐπίκλησιν ἡ στυλὶς ἔτι φυλάττει τὴν αὐτὴν Ὁρατία καλουμένη πίλα. ἔστι δὲ καὶ νόμος παρ´ αὐτοῖς δι´ ἐκεῖνο κυρωθεὶς τὸ πάθος, ᾧ καὶ εἰς ἐμὲ χρῶνται, τιμὴν καὶ δόξαν ἀθάνατον τοῖς ἀνδράσιν ἐκείνοις περιτιθεὶς ὁ κελεύων, οἷς ἂν γένωνται τρίδυμοι παῖδες ἐκ τοῦ δημοσίου τὰς τροφὰς τῶν παίδων χορηγεῖσθαι μέχρις ἥβης. τὰ μὲν δὴ περὶ τὴν Ὁρατίων οἰκίαν γενόμενα θαυμαστὰς καὶ παραδόξους περιπετείας λαβόντα τοιούτου τέλους ἔτυχεν.

[3,22] After the combat between the triplets, the Romans who were then in the camp buried the slain brothers in a splendid manner in the places where they had fallen, and having offered to the gods the customary sacrifices for victory, were passing their time in rejoicings. On the other side, the Albans were grieving over what had happened and blaming their leader for bad generalship; and the greatest part of them spent that night without food and without any other care for their bodies. The next day the king of the Romans called them to an assembly and consoled them with many assurances that he would lay no command upon them that was either dishonourable, grievous or unbecoming to kinsmen, but that with impartial judgment he would take thought for what was best and most advantageous for both cities; and having continued Fufetius, their ruler, in the same office and made no other change in the government, he led his army home. After he had celebrated the triumph which the (p89) senate had decreed for him and had entered upon the administration of civil affairs, some citizens of importance came to him bringing Horatius for trial, on the ground that because of his slaying of his sister he was not free of the guilt of shedding a kinsman's blood; and being given a hearing, they argued at length, citing the laws which forbade the slaying of anyone without a trial, and recounting instances of the anger of all the gods against the cities which neglected to punish those who were polluted. But the father spoke in defence of the youth and blamed his daughter, declaring that the act was a punishment, not a murder, and claiming that he himself was the proper judge of the calamities of his own family, since he was the father of both. And a great deal having been said on both sides, the king was in great perplexity what decision to pronounce in the cause. For he did not think it seemly either to acquit any person of murder who confessed he had put his sister to death before a trial — and that, too, for an act which the laws did not concede to be a capital offence — lest by so doing he should transfer the curse and pollution from the criminal to his own household, or to punish as a murderer any person who had chosen to risk his life for his country and had brought her so great power, especially as he was acquitted of blame by his father, to whom before all others both nature and the law gave the right of taking vengeance in the case of his daughter. Not knowing, therefore, how to deal with the situation, he at last decided it was best to leave the decision to the people. (p91) And the Roman people, becoming upon this occasion judges for the first time in a cause of a capital nature, sided with the opinion of the father and acquitted Horatius of the murder. Nevertheless, the king did not believe that the judgment thus passed upon Horatius by men was a sufficient atonement to satisfy those who desired to observe due reverence toward the gods; but sending for the pontiffs, he ordered them to appease the gods and other divinities and to purify Horatius with those lustrations with which it was customary for involuntary homicides to be expiated. The pontifs erected two altars, one to Juno, to whom the care of sisters is allotted, and the other to a certain god or lesser divinity of the country called in their language Janus, to whom was now added the name Curiatius, derived from that of the cousins who had been slain by Horatius; and after they had offered certain sacrifices upon these altars, they finally, among other expiations, led Horatius under the yoke. It is customary among the Romans, when enemies deliver up their arms and submit to their power, to fix two pieces of wood upright in the ground and fasten a third to the top of them transversely, then to lead the captives under this structure, and after they have passed through, to grant them their liberty and leave to return home. This they call a yoke; and it was the last of the customary expiatory ceremonies used upon this occasion by those who purified Horatius. The place in the city where they performed this expiation is regarded by all the Romans (p93) as sacred; it is in the street that leads down from the Carinae as one goes towards Cuprius Street. Here the altars then erected still remain, and over them extends a beam which is fixed in each of the opposite walls; the beam lies over the heads of those who go out of this street and is called in the Roman tongue "the Sister's Beam." This place, then, is still preserved in the city as a monument to this man's misfortune and honoured by the Romans with sacrifices every year. Another memorial of the bravery he displayed in the combat is the small corner pillar standing at the entrance to one of the two porticos in the Forum, upon which were placed the spoils of the three Alban brothers. The arms, it is true, have disappeared because of the lapse of time, but the pillar still preserves its name and is called pila Horatia or "the Horatian Pillar." The Romans also have a law, enacted in consequence of this episode and observed even to this day, which confers immortal honour and glory upon these men; it provides that the parents of triplets shall receive from the public treasury the cost of rearing them until they are green. With this, the incidents relating to the family of the Horatii, which showed some remarkable and unexpected reversals of fortune, came to an end.