[5,2] Ὡς δὲ κατεστήσαντο ταῦτα, δείσαντες, ὡς ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ, μὴ δόξα τοῖς πολλοῖς ἐγγένηται περὶ τῆς καινῆς πολιτείας οὐκ ἀληθής, ὅτι δύο βασιλεῖς κύριοι γεγόνασι τῆς πόλεως ἀνθ´ ἑνὸς ἑκατέρου τῶν ὑπάτων τοὺς δώδεκα πελέκεις ἔχοντος, ὥσπερ εἶχον οἱ βασιλεῖς, ἔκριναν τό τε δέος ἀφελέσθαι τῶν πολιτῶν καὶ τῆς ἐξουσίας μειῶσαι τὸν φθόνον, τοῦ μὲν ἑτέρου τῶν ὑπάτων τοὺς δώδεκα κατατάξαντες προηγεῖσθαι πελέκεις, τοῦ δ´ ἑτέρου δώδεκα ὑπηρέτας ῥάβδους ἔχοντας μόνον, ὡς δέ τινες ἱστοροῦσι, καὶ κορύνας, γίνεσθαι δὲ τῶν πελέκεων τὴν παράληψιν ἐκ περιτροπῆς ἕνα μῆνα κατέχοντος αὐτοὺς ἑκατέρου παραλλάξ. τοῦτο δὴ τὸ πολίτευμα καταστησάμενοι καὶ ἄλλα τούτοις παραπλήσια οὐκ ὀλίγα πρόθυμον ἐποίησαν εἰς τὴν διαμονὴν τῶν πραγμάτων τὸν δημότην καὶ ταπεινὸν ὄχλον καὶ γὰρ τοὺς νόμους τοὺς περὶ τῶν συμβολαίων τοὺς ὑπὸ Τυλλίου γραφέντας φιλανθρώπους καὶ δημοτικοὺς εἶναι δοκοῦντας, οὓς ἅπαντας κατέλυσε Ταρκύνιος, ἀνενεώσαντο καὶ τὰς θυσίας τάς τε κατὰ πόλιν καὶ τὰς ἐπὶ τῶν ἀγρῶν, ἃς ἐποιοῦντο κοινῶς συνιόντες οἱ δημόται τε καὶ οἱ φυλέται, πάλιν προσέταξαν ἐπιτελεῖσθαι, ὡς ἐπὶ Τυλλίου συνετελοῦντο· ἐκκλησιάζειν τ´ αὐτοῖς ἀπέδοσαν ὑπὲρ τῶν μεγίστων καὶ ψῆφον ἐπιφέρειν καὶ τἆλλα πράττειν, ὅσα κατὰ τοὺς προτέρους ἐθισμοὺς ἔπραττον. τοῖς μὲν οὖν πολλοῖς καθ´ ἡδονὴν τὰ γινόμενα ὑπ´ αὐτῶν ἦν ἐκ πολυχρονίου δουλείας εἰς ἀνέλπιστον ἀφιγμένοις ἐλευθερίαν, εὑρέθησαν δέ τινες ἐξ αὐτῶν ὅμως, οἷς πόθος ἦν τῶν ἐν τυραννίδι κακῶν δι´ εὐήθειαν ἢ διὰ πλεονεξίαν, ἄνδρες οὐκ ἀφανεῖς, οἳ συνώμοσαν ἐπὶ προδοσίᾳ τῆς πόλεως Ταρκύνιόν τε καταδέξασθαι συνθέμενοι καὶ τοὺς ὑπάτους ἀποκτεῖναι. ἡγεμόνες δ´ αὐτῶν οἵτινες ἐγένοντο καὶ δι´ οἵας ἐξηλέγχθησαν ἀνελπίστου συντυχίας καίτοι πάντας ἀνθρώπους λεληθέναι δοκοῦντες, μικρὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν γενομένων ἀναλαβὼν λέξω.

[5,2] After the consuls had settled these matters, fearing, as I suspect, that the masses might gain a false impression of their new form of government and (p7) imagine that two kings had become masters of the state instead of one, since each of the consuls had the twelve axes, like the kings, they resolved to quiet the fears of the citizens and to lessen the hatred of their power by ordering that one of the consuls should be preceded by the twelve axes and the other by twelve lictors with rods only, or, as some relate, with clubsa also, and that they should receive the axes in rotation, each consul possessing them in turn one month. By this and not a few other measures of like nature they caused the plebeians and the lower class to be eager for a continuance of the existing order. For they restored the laws introduced by Tullius concerning contracts, which seemed to be humane and democratic, but had all been abrogated by Tarquinius; and they restored to the people the right of holding assemblies concerning affairs of the greatest moment, of giving their votes, and of doing all the other things they had been wont to do according to former custom. These acts of the consuls pleased the masses, who had come out of long slavery into unexpected liberty; nevertheless, there were found among them some, and these no obscure persons, who from either simplicity or greed longed for the evils existing under a tyranny, and these formed a (p9) conspiracy to betray the city, agreeing together, not only to restore Tarquinius, but also to kill the consuls. Who the heads of this conspiracy and by what unexpected good fortune they were detected, though they imagined they had escaped the notice of everybody, shall now be related, after I have first gone back and mentioned a few things that happened earlier.