[4,3] Ἃ δὲ πρὸ τοῦ βασιλεῦσαι διεπράξατο λόγου ἄξια, ἐξ ὧν Ταρκύνιός τ´ αὐτὸν ἠγάσθη καὶ ὁ Ῥωμαίων δῆμος τῆς μετὰ βασιλέα τιμῆς ἠξίου, τοιάδε. ἀντίπαις μὲν ὢν ἔτι τῇ πρώτῃ στρατείᾳ, ἣν ἐπὶ Τυρρηνοὺς Ταρκύνιος ἐστράτευσεν, ἐν τοῖς ἱππεῦσι τεταγμένος οὕτως ἔδοξεν ἀγωνίσασθαι καλῶς, ὥστε περιβόητος εὐθὺ γενέσθαι καὶ τἀριστεῖα πρῶτος ἁπάντων λαβεῖν· ἔπειθ´ ἑτέρας γενομένης ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ἔθνος στρατείας καὶ μάχης καρτερᾶς περὶ πόλιν Ἤρητον ἀνδρειότατος ἁπάντων φανεὶς στεφάνοις αὖθις ἀριστείοις ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως ἐκοσμεῖτο. ἔτη δὲ γεγονὼς εἴκοσι μάλιστα τῆς συμμαχικῆς στρατηγὸς ἀπεδείχθη δυνάμεως, ἣν Λατῖνοι ἔπεμψαν, καὶ συγκατεκτήσατο βασιλεῖ Ταρκυνίῳ τὴν τῶν Τυρρηνῶν ἀρχήν· ἔν τε τῷ πρὸς Σαβίνους πολέμῳ τῷ πρώτῳ συστάντι τῶν ἱππέων ἀποδειχθεὶς ἡγεμὼν ἐτρέψατο τοὺς τῶν πολεμίων ἱππεῖς καὶ μέχρι πόλεως Ἀντέμνης ἐλάσας τἀριστεῖα καὶ ἐκ ταύτης τῆς μάχης ἔλαβεν· ἑτέρας τε πολλὰς πρὸς τὸ αὐτὸ ἔθνος ἀγωνισάμενος μάχας τοτὲ μὲν ἱππέων ἡγούμενος, τοτὲ δὲ πεζῶν ἐν ἁπάσαις ἐφάνη ψυχὴν ἄριστος καὶ πρῶτος ἐστεφανοῦτο τῶν ἄλλων. καὶ ἐπειδὴ παρέστη Ῥωμαίοις εἰς ὑπόταξίν τε καὶ παράδοσιν τῶν πόλεων τὸ ἔθνος, αἰτιώτατος εἶναι δόξας Ταρκυνίῳ καὶ ταύτης τῆς δυναστείας τοῖς ἐπινικίοις στεφάνοις ἀνεδεῖτο ὑπ´ αὐτοῦ. ἦν δὲ καὶ φρονῆσαι τὰ πολιτικὰ συνετώτατος καὶ λόγῳ τὰ βουλευθέντα ἐξενεγκεῖν οὐδενὸς χείρων ἁπάσαις θ´ ἁρμόσαι ταῖς τύχαις καὶ παντὶ συνεξομοιωθῆναι προσώπῳ δυνατώτατος. καὶ διὰ ταῦτα Ῥωμαῖοι μὲν αὐτὸν ἐκ τοῦ δήμου μεταγαγεῖν ἠξίωσαν εἰς τοὺς πατρικίους ψῆφον ἐπενέγκαντες, ὥσπερ Ταρκύνιόν τε πρότερον καὶ ἔτι πρὸ τούτου Νόμαν Πομπίλιον· ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς κηδεστὴν ἐποιήσατο τὴν ἑτέραν τῶν θυγατέρων ἐγγυήσας, καὶ πάνθ´ ὅσα διὰ νόσους ἢ διὰ γῆρας ἀδύνατος ἦν ἐπιτελεῖν, δι´ ἑαυτοῦ τούτῳ πράττειν ἐπέσκηπτεν, οὐ μόνον τὸν ἴδιον οἶκον ἐπιτρέπων, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ κοινὰ τῆς πόλεως διοικεῖν ἀξιῶν. ἐν οἷς ἅπασιν ἐξητάσθη πιστὸς καὶ δίκαιος, καὶ οὐδὲν ᾤοντο διαφέρειν οἱ δημόται Ταρκύνιον ἐπιμελεῖσθαι τῶν κοινῶν ἢ Τύλλιον· οὕτως ἐξεθεραπεύθησαν ὑπ´ αὐτοῦ ταῖς εὐεργεσίαις.

[4,3] The memorable actions he performed before becoming king, in consideration of which Tarquinius admired him and the Roman people honoured him next to the king, are these: When, scarcely more than a boy as yet, he was serving in the cavalry in the first campaign that Tarquinius undertook against the Tyrrhenians, he was thought to have fought so splendidly that he straightway became famous and received the prize of valour ahead of all others. Afterwards, when another expedition was undertaken against the same nation and a sharp battle was fought near the city of Eretum, he showed himself the bravest of all and was again crowned by the king as first in valour. And when he was about twenty years old he was appointed to command the auxiliary forces sent by the Latins, and assisted King Tarquinius in obtaining the sovereignty over the Tyrrhenians. In the first war that arose against the Sabines, being general of the horse, he put to flight that of the enemy, pursuing them as far as the city of Antemnae, and again received the prize of valour because of this battle. He also took part in many other engagements against the same nation, sometimes commanding the horse and sometimes the foot, in all of which he showed himself a man of the greatest courage and was always the first to be crowned ahead of the others. And when that nation came to surrender themselves and deliver up their cities to the Romans, he was regarded by Tarquinius as the chief cause of his gaining this dominion also, and was crowned by him with the victor's crown. Moreover, he not only (p273) had the shrewdest understanding of public affairs, but was inferior to none in his ability to express his plans; and he possessed in an eminent degree the power of accommodating himself to every circumstance of fortune and to every kind of person. Because of these accomplishments the Romans thought proper to transfer him by their votes from the plebeian to the patrician order, an honour they had previously conferred on Tarquinius, and, still earlier, on Numa Pompilius. The king also made him his son-in-law, giving him one of his two daughters in marriage, and whatever business his infirmities or his age rendered him incapable of performing by himself, he ordered Tullius to transact, not only entrusting to him the private interests of his own family, but also asking him to manage the public business of the commonwealth. In all these employments he was found faithful and just, and the people felt that it made no difference whether it was Tarquinius or Tullius who looked after the public affairs, so effectually had he won them to himself by the services he had rendered to them.