[5,16] Ἤδη δὲ περὶ καταφορὰν ὄντος ἡλίου πρὸς τοὺς ἑαυτῶν ἀνέστρεψαν ἑκάτεροι χάρακας, οὐ τοσοῦτον ἐπὶ τῇ νίκῃ χαίροντες, ὅσον ἐπὶ τῷ πλήθει τῶν ἀπολωλότων ἀχθόμενοι καί, εἰ δεήσειεν αὐτοῖς ἑτέρας μάχης, οὐχ ἱκανοὺς ἡγούμενοι τὸν ἀγῶνα ἄρασθαι τοὺς περιλειπομένους σφῶν τραυματίας τοὺς πολλοὺς ὄντας. πλείων δ´ ἦν περὶ τοὺς Ῥωμαίους ἀθυμία καὶ ἀπόγνωσις τῶν πραγμάτων διὰ τὸν τοῦ ἡγεμόνος θάνατον· καὶ λογισμὸς εἰσῄει πολλοῖς, ὡς ἄμεινον εἴη σφίσιν ἐκλιπεῖν τὸν χάρακα πρὶν ἡμέραν γενέσθαι. τοιαῦτα δ´ αὐτῶν διανοουμένων καὶ διαλεγομένων πρὸς ἀλλήλους περὶ τὴν πρώτην που μάλιστα φυλακὴν ἐκ τοῦ δρυμοῦ, παρ´ ὃν ἐστρατοπεδεύσαντο, φωνή τις ἠκούσθη ταῖς δυνάμεσιν ἀμφοτέραις γεγονυῖα, ὥσθ´ ἅπαντας αὐτοὺς ἀκούειν εἴτε τοῦ κατέχοντος τὸ τέμενος ἥρωος εἴτε τοῦ καλουμένου Φαύνου. τούτῳ γὰρ ἀνατιθέασι τῷ δαίμονι Ῥωμαῖοι τὰ πανικὰ καὶ ὅσα φάσματα μορφὰς ἄλλοτε ἀλλοίας ἴσχοντα εἰς ὄψιν ἀνθρώπων ἔρχεται δείματα φέροντα, ἢ φωναὶ δαιμόνιοι ταράττουσι τὰς ἀκοὰς τούτου φασὶν εἶναι τοῦ θεοῦ τὸ ἔργον. ἡ δὲ τοῦ δαιμονίου φωνὴ θαρρεῖν παρεκελεύετο τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις ὡς νενικηκόσιν, ἑνὶ πλείους εἶναι τοὺς τῶν πολεμίων ἀποφαίνουσα νεκρούς. ταύτῃ λέγουσι τῇ φωνῇ τὸν Οὐαλέριον ἐπαρθέντα νυκτὸς ἔτι πολλῆς ἐπὶ τὸν χάρακα τῶν Τυρρηνῶν ὤσασθαι καὶ πολλοὺς μὲν ἀποκτείναντα ἐξ αὐτῶν, τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς ἐκβαλόντα κρατῆσαι τοῦ στρατοπέδου.

[5,16] The sun being now near setting, both armies retired to their camps, not so much elated by their victory as grieved at the numbers they had lost, and believing that, if it should be necessary for them to have another battle, those of them now left would be insufficient to carry on the struggle, the major part of them being wounded. But there was greater dejection and despair of their cause on the side of the Romans because of the death of their leader; and the thought occurred to many of them that it would be better for them to quit their camp before break of day. While they were considering these things and discussing them among themselves, about the time of the first watch a voice was heard from the grove near which they were encamped, calling aloud to both armies in such a manner as to be heard by all of them; it may have been the voice of the hero to whom the precinct was consecrated, or it may have been that of Faunus, as he is called. For the Romans attribute panics to this divinity; and whatever apparitions come to men's sight, now in one shape and now in another, inspiring terror, or whatever supernatural voices come to their ears to disturb them are the work, they say, of this god. The voice of the divinity exhorted the Romans to be of good courage, as having gained the victory, and declared that the enemy's dead exceeded theirs by one man. They say that Valerius, encouraged by this voice, pushed on to the Tyrrhenians' entrenchments while it was still the dead of night, and having slain many of (p53) them and driven the rest out of the camp, made himself master of it.