[4,30] Τοιαῦτα τῆς Τυλλίας λεγούσης ἄσμενος δέχεται τὰς αἱρέσεις ὁ Ταρκύνιος, καὶ αὐτίκα δοὺς αὐτῇ πίστεις καὶ λαβὼν τὰ προτέλεια τῶν ἀνοσίων γάμων διαπραξάμενος ἀπέρχεται. διελθόντος δ´ οὐ πολλοῦ μετὰ ταῦτα χρόνου τοῖς αὐτοῖς πάθεσιν ἀποθνήσκουσιν ἥ τε πρεσβυτέρα τῶν Τυλλίου θυγατέρων καὶ ὁ νεώτερος τῶν Ταρκυνίων. ἐνταῦθα πάλιν ἀναγκάζομαι μεμνῆσθαι Φαβίου καὶ τὸ ῥᾴθυμον αὐτοῦ περὶ τὴν ἐξέτασιν τῶν χρόνων ἐλέγχειν. ἐπὶ γὰρ τῆς Ἀρροῦντος τελευτῆς γενόμενος οὐ καθ´ ἓν ἁμαρτάνει μόνον, ὃ καὶ πρότερον ἔφην, ὅτι γέγραφεν υἱὸν εἶναι Ταρκυνίου τὸν Ἀρροῦντα· ἀλλὰ καὶ καθ´ ἕτερον, ὅτι φησὶν ἀποθανόντα ὑπὸ τῆς μητρὸς Τανακυλλίδος τεθάφθαι, ἣν ἀμήχανον ἦν ἔτι καὶ κατ´ ἐκείνους περιεῖναι τοὺς χρόνους. ἐδείχθη γὰρ ἐν ἀρχαῖς ἑβδομηκοστὸν ἔχουσα καὶ πέμπτον ἔτος ἡ Τανακυλλίς, ὅτε βασιλεὺς Ταρκύνιος ἐτελεύτα· προστεθέντων δὴ τοῖς ἑβδομήκοντα καὶ πέντε ἔτεσιν ἑτέρων τετταράκοντα ἐτῶν· ἐν γὰρ ταῖς ἐνιαυσίοις ἀναγραφαῖς κατὰ τὸν τετταρακοστὸν ἐνιαυτὸν τῆς Τυλλίου ἀρχῆς τὸν Ἀρροῦντα τετελευτηκότα παρειλήφαμεν· ἐτῶν ἡ Τανακυλλὶς ἔσται πεντεκαίδεκα πρὸς τοῖς ἑκατόν. οὕτως ὀλίγον ἐστὶν ἐν ταῖς ἱστορίαις αὐτοῦ τὸ περὶ τὴν ἐξέτασιν τῆς ἀληθείας ταλαίπωρον. Μετὰ τοῦτο τὸ ἔργον οὐδὲν ἔτι διαμελλήσας ὁ Ταρκύνιος ἐπάγεται γυναῖκα τὴν Τυλλίαν οὔτε τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῆς βεβαιοῦντος τὸν γάμον οὔτε τῆς μητρὸς συνευδοκούσης, ἀλλ´ αὐτὴν παρ´ ἑαυτῆς λαβών. ὡς δὲ συνεκεράσθησαν αἱ ἀνόσιοι καὶ ἀνδροφόνοι φύσεις, ἐκβαλεῖν ἐκ τῆς βασιλείας τὸν Τύλλιον, εἰ μὴ βούλοιτο ἑκὼν παραδοῦναι τὴν ἀρχήν, ἐμηχανῶντο ἑταιρίας τε συνάγοντες καὶ τῶν πατρικίων τοὺς ἀλλοτρίως ἔχοντας πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα καὶ τὰ δημοτικὰ πολιτεύματα παρακαλοῦντες ἔκ τε τοῦ δημοτικοῦ πλήθους τοὺς ἀπορωτάτους, οἷς οὐδενὸς τῶν δικαίων φροντὶς ἦν, χρήμασιν ἐξωνούμενοι καὶ οὐδὲ ἀφανῶς ἕκαστα τούτων πράττοντες. ταῦτα δ´ ὁρῶν ὁ Τύλλιος ἤχθετο μὲν καὶ περὶ ἑαυτοῦ δεδιώς, εἴ τι πείσεται προκαταληφθείς· ἠγανάκτει δ´ οὐχ ἥκιστα, εἰ θυγατρὶ καὶ γαμβρῷ πολεμεῖν ἀναγκασθήσεται καὶ τιμωρίας ὡς παρ´ ἐχθρῶν λαμβάνειν, πολλάκις μετὰ τῶν φίλων προκαλούμενος εἰς λόγους τὸν Ταρκύνιον, καὶ τὰ μὲν ἐγκαλῶν, τὰ δὲ νουθετῶν, τὰ δὲ πείθων μηδὲν εἰς ἑαυτὸν ἐξαμαρτάνειν· ὡς δ´ οὐ προσεῖχεν αὐτῷ τὴν διάνοιαν, ἀλλ´ ἐπὶ τῆς βουλῆς ἔφη τὰ δίκαια πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐρεῖν, συγκαλέσας τὸ συνέδριον· Ἄνδρες, ἔφη, βουλευταί, Ταρκύνιος ἑταιρίας ἐπ´ ἐμὲ συνάγων καὶ προθυμούμενος ἐκβαλεῖν με τῆς ἀρχῆς καταφανὴς γέγονέ μοι. βούλομαι δὲ πάντων ὑμῶν παρόντων μαθεῖν παρ´ αὐτοῦ, τί πεπονθὼς ἰδίᾳ κακὸν ἢ τί τὴν πόλιν ὁρῶν ἀδικουμένην ὑπ´ ἐμοῦ ταῦτ´ ἐπ´ ἐμοὶ μηχανᾶται. ἀπόκριναι δή, Ταρκύνιε, μηδὲν ἀποκρυψάμενος, τί μου κατηγορεῖν ἔχεις, ἐπειδὴ τούτους ἠξίους ἀκοῦσαι.

[4,30] Such were Tullia's words, and Tarquinius, gladly agreeing to the course she proposed, immediately exchanged pledges with her, and then, after celebrating the rites preliminary to their unholy nuptials, he departed. Not long after this the elder daughter of Tullius and the year Tarquinius died the same kind of death. Here again, I find myself obliged to make mention of Fabius and to show him guilty of negligence in his investigation of the chronology of events. For when he comes to the death of Arruns he commits not only one error, as I said before, in stating that he was the son of Tarquinius, but also another in saying that after his death he was buried by his mother Tanaquil, who could not possibly have been alive at that time. For it was shown in the beginning that when Tarquinius died Tanaquil was seventy- five years of age; (p373) and if to the seventy-five years forty more are added (for we find in the annals that Arruns died in the fortieth year of the reign of Tullius), Tanaquil must have been one hundred and fifteen years old. So little evidence of a laborious inquiry after truth do we find in that author's history. After this deed of theirs Tarquinius married Tullia without any further delay, though the marriage had neither the sanction of her father nor the approval of her mother, but he took her of her own gift. As soon as these impious and bloodthirsty natures were commingled they began plotting to drive Tullius from the throne if he would not willingly resign his power. They got together bands of their adherents, appealed to such of the patricians as were ill-disposed towards the king and his popular institutions, and bribed the poorest among the plebeians who had no regard for justice; and all this they did without any secrecy. Tullius, seeing what was afoot, was not only disturbed because of his fears for his own safety, if he should be caught unprepared and come to some harm, but was especially grieved at the thought that he should be forced to take up arms against his own daughter and his son-in-law and to punish them as enemies. Accordingly, he repeatedly invited Tarquinius and his friends to confer with him, and sought, with by reproaches, now by admonitions, and again by arguments, to prevent him from doing him any wrong. (p375) When Tarquinius gave no heed to what he said but declared he would plead his cause before the senate, Tullius called the senators together and said to them: "Senators, it has become clear to me that Tarquinius is gathering bands of conspirators against me and is anxious to drive me from power. I desire to learn from him, therefore, in the presence of you all, what wrong he has personally received from me or what injury he has seen the commonwealth suffer at my hands, that he should be forming these plots against me. Answer me, then, Tarquinius, concealing nothing, and say what you have to accuse me of, since you have asked that these men should hear you."