[4,26] Γνοὺς δὲ ταῦτα τοὺς κρατίστους ἄνδρας ἐξ ἑκάστης πόλεως συνεκάλει περὶ μεγάλων καὶ κοινῶν φήσας πραγμάτων συμβούλους αὐτοὺς συγκαλεῖν. ἐπεὶ δὲ συνῆλθον, συναγαγὼν τήν τε Ῥωμαίων βουλὴν καὶ τοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν πόλεων ἥκοντας λόγον διεξῆλθε παρακλητικὸν ὁμονοίας, διδάσκων ὡς καλὸν μὲν χρῆμα πολλαὶ πόλεις μιᾷ γνώμῃ χρώμεναι, αἰσχρὰ δ´ ὄψις συγγενῶν ἀλλήλαις διαφερομένων· αἴτιόν τ´ ἰσχύος μὲν ταῖς ἀσθενέσιν ἀποφαίνων ὁμοφροσύνην, ταπεινότητος δὲ καὶ ἀσθενείας καὶ ταῖς πάνυ ἰσχυραῖς ἀλληλοφθορίαν. ταῦτα διεξελθὼν ἐδίδασκεν αὐτούς, ὡς χρὴ Λατίνους μὲν τῶν προσοίκων ἄρχειν καὶ τὰ δίκαια τάττειν Ἕλληνας ὄντας βαρβάροις· Ῥωμαίους δὲ τὴν ἁπάντων Λατίνων ἔχειν προστασίαν μεγέθει τε πόλεως προὔχοντας καὶ πραγμάτων ὄγκῳ καὶ τῇ προνοίᾳ τοῦ δαιμονίου κρείττονι κεχρημένους ἐκείνων, δι´ ἣν εἰς τοσαύτην ἐπιφάνειαν προῆλθον. τοιαῦτα διεξελθὼν συνεβούλευεν αὐτοῖς ἱερὸν ἄσυλον ἀπὸ κοινῶν ἀναλωμάτων ἐν Ῥώμῃ κατασκευάσασθαι, ἐν ᾧ θύσουσί θ´ αἱ πόλεις συνερχόμεναι καθ´ ἕκαστον ἐνιαυτὸν ἰδίας τε καὶ κοινὰς θυσίας καὶ πανηγύρεις ἄξουσιν, ἐν οἷς ἂν ὁρίσωσι χρόνοις, καί, εἴ τι γένοιτο πρόσκρουσμα αὐταῖς πρὸς ἀλλήλας, ἐκ τῶν ἱερῶν τοῦτο διαλύσονται, ταῖς ἄλλαις πόλεσιν ἐπιτρέψασαι τὰ ἐγκλήματα διαγνῶναι. διεξιὼν ταῦτα τε καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα ἕξουσιν ἀγαθὰ βουλευτήριον ἐγκαταστησάμενοι πάντας ἔπεισε τοὺς ἐν τῷ συνεδρίῳ παρόντας· καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο κατεσκεύασεν ἐξ ὧν ἅπασαι συνήνεγκαν αἱ πόλεις χρημάτων τὸν τῆς Ἀρτέμιδος νεών, τὸν ἐπὶ τοῦ μεγίστου τῶν ἐν τῇ Ῥώμῃ λόφων ἱδρυμένον Αὐεντίνου· καὶ τοὺς νόμους συνέγραψε ταῖς πόλεσι πρὸς ἀλλήλας καὶ τἆλλα τὰ περὶ τὴν ἑορτὴν καὶ πανήγυριν, ὃν ἐπιτελεσθήσεται τρόπον, ἔταξεν. ἵνα δὲ μηδεὶς χρόνος αὐτοὺς ἀφανίσῃ, στήλην κατασκευάσας χαλκῆν ἔγραψεν ἐν ταύτῃ τά τε δόξαντα τοῖς συνέδροις καὶ τὰς μετεχούσας τῆς συνόδου πόλεις. αὕτη διέμεινεν ἡ στήλη μέχρι τῆς ἐμῆς ἡλικίας ἐν τῷ τῆς Ἀρτέμιδος ἱερῷ κειμένη γραμμάτων ἔχουσα χαρακτῆρας {Ἑλληνικῶν}, οἷς τὸ παλαιὸν ἡ Ἑλλὰς ἐχρῆτο. ὃ καὶ αὐτὸ ποιήσαιτ´ ἄν τις οὐ μικρὸν τεκμήριον τοῦ μὴ βαρβάρους εἶναι τοὺς οἰκίσαντας τὴν Ῥώμην. οὐ γὰρ ἂν Ἑλληνικοῖς ἐχρῶντο γράμμασιν ὄντες βάρβαροι. Πολιτικαὶ μὲν δὴ πράξεις τοῦ βασιλέως τούτου σὺν ἄλλαις πολλαῖς ἐλάττοσί τε καὶ ἀμαυροτέραις αἱ μέγισται καὶ λαμπρόταται αὗται μνημονεύονται, πολεμικαὶ δ´ αἱ πρὸς ἓν τὸ Τυρρηνῶν ἔθνος γενόμεναι, περὶ ὧν μέλλω νῦν διεξιέναι.

[4,26] After he had taken this resolution he called together the most important men of every city, stating that he was summoning them to take counsel with him about matters of great consequence and of mutual concern. When they had assembled, he caused the Roman senate and these men who came from the cities to meet together, and made a long speech exhorting them to concord, pointing out what a fine thing it is when a number of states agree together and what a disgraceful sight when kinsmen are at variance, and declaring that concord is a source of strength to weak states, while mutual slaughter reduces and weakens even the strongest. After this he went on to show them that the Latins ought to have the command over their neighbours and, being Greeks, ought to give laws to barbarians, and that the Romans ought to have the leadership of all the Latins, not only because they excelled in the size of their city and the greatness of their achievements, but also because they, more than the others, had enjoyed the favour of divine providence and in consequence had attained to so (p357) great eminence. Having said this, he advised them to build a temple of refuge at Rome at their joint expense, to which the cities should repair every year and offer up sacrifices both individually and in common, and also celebrate festivals at such times as they should appoint; and if any difference should arise between these cities, they should terminate it over the sacrifices, submitting their complaints to the rest of the cities for decision. By enlarging upon these and the many other advantages they would reap from the appointment of a general council, he prevailed on all who were present at the session to give their consent. And later, with the money contributed by all the cities, he built the temple of Diana, which stands upon the Aventine, the largest of all the hills in Rome; and he drew up laws relating to the mutual rights of the cities and prescribed the manner in which everything else that concerned the festival and the general assembly should be performed. And to the end that no lapse of time should obliterate these laws, he erected a bronze pillar upon which he engraved both the decrees of the council and the names of the cities which had taken part in it. This pillar still existed down to my time in the temple of Diana, with the inscription in the characters that were anciently used in Greece. This alone would serve as no slight proof that the founders of Rome were not barbarians; for if they had been, they would not have used Greek characters. These (p359) are the most important and most conspicuous administrative measures that are recorded of this king, besides many others of less note and certainty. His military operations were directed against one nation only, that of the Tyrrhenians; of these I shall now give an account.