[5,26] Μετὰ γὰρ τὴν μάχην ἐκείνην ὁ μὲν Τυρρηνῶν βασιλεὺς ἐν τῷ πλησίον ὄρει καταστρατοπεδευσάμενος, ὅθεν τὴν Ῥωμαίων φρουρὰν ἐξέβαλε, τῆς ἐπέκεινα τοῦ Τεβέριος ποταμοῦ χώρας ἁπάσης ἐκράτει. οἱ δὲ Ταρκυνίου παῖδες καὶ ὁ κηδεστὴς αὐτοῦ Μαμίλιος σχεδίαις τε καὶ σκάφαις διαβιβάσαντες τὰς ἑαυτῶν δυνάμεις ἐπὶ θάτερα μέρη τοῦ ποταμοῦ τὰ πρὸς τὴν Ῥώμην φέροντα ἐν ἐχυρῷ τίθενται χωρίῳ τὸν χάρακα· ὅθεν ὁρμώμενοι τῶν τε Ῥωμαίων ἐδῄουν τὴν γῆν καὶ τὰς αὐλὰς κατέσκαπτον καὶ τοῖς ἐπὶ νομὰς ἐξιοῦσιν ἐκ τῶν ἐρυμάτων βοσκήμασιν ἐπετίθεντο. κρατουμένης δὲ τῆς ὑπαίθρου πάσης ὑπὸ τῶν πολεμίων, καὶ οὔτ´ ἐκ γῆς εἰσκομιζομένων εἰς τὴν πόλιν τῶν ἀγορῶν οὔτε μὴν διὰ τοῦ ποταμοῦ καταγομένων ὅτι μὴ σπανίων, ταχεῖα τῶν ἀναγκαίων σπάνις ἐγένετο μυριάσι πολλαῖς τὰ παρασκευασθέντα οὐ πολλὰ ὄντα δαπανώσαις. καὶ μετὰ τοῦθ´ οἱ θεράποντες πολλοὶ καταλιπόντες τοὺς δεσπότας ηὐτομόλουν ὁσημέραι, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ δημοτικοῦ πλήθους οἱ πονηρότατοι πρὸς τοὺς Τυρρηνοὺς ἀφίσταντο· ταῦθ´ ὁρῶσι τοῖς ὑπάτοις ἔδοξε Λατίνων μὲν δεῖσθαι τῶν ἔτι αἰδουμένων τὸ συγγενὲς καὶ μένειν δοκούντων ἐν τῇ φιλίᾳ συμμαχίας σφίσι πέμψαι διὰ ταχέων, εἰς δὲ τὴν Καμπανίδα Κύμην καὶ τὰς ἐν τῷ Πωμεντίνῳ πεδίῳ πόλεις ἀποστεῖλαι πρέσβεις ἀξιώσοντας αὐτὰς σίτου σφίσιν ἐξαγωγὴν ἐπιτρέψαι. Λατῖνοι μὲν οὖν διεκρούσαντο τὴν ἐπικουρίαν, ὡς οὐχ ὅσιον αὐτοῖς ὂν οὔτε Ταρκυνίοις πολεμεῖν οὔτε Ῥωμαίοις, ἐπειδὴ κοινῇ συνέθεντο πρὸς ἀμφοτέρους τὰ περὶ τῆς φιλίας ὅρκια· ἐκ δὲ τοῦ Πωμεντίνου πεδίου Λάρκιός τε καὶ Ἑρμίνιος οἱ πεμφθέντες ἐπὶ τὴν παρακομιδὴν τοῦ σίτου πρέσβεις πολλὰς γεμίσαντες σκάφας παντοίας τροφῆς ἀπὸ θαλάττης ἀνὰ τὸν ποταμὸν ἐν νυκτὶ ἀσελήνῳ λαθόντες τοὺς πολεμίους διεκόμισαν. ταχὺ δὲ καὶ ταύτης ἐξαναλωθείσης τῆς ἀγορᾶς καὶ τῆς αὐτῆς κατασχούσης τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἀπορίας μαθὼν παρὰ τῶν αὐτομόλων ὁ Τυρρηνός, ὅτι κάμνουσιν ὑπὸ τοῦ λιμοῦ οἱ ἔνδον, ἐπεκηρυκεύσατο πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἐπιτάττων δέχεσθαι Ταρκύνιον, εἰ βούλονται πολέμου τε καὶ λιμοῦ ἀπηλλάχθαι.

[5,26] (p77) After the battle that has been described the king of the Tyrrhenians, encamping on the neighbouring hill, from whence he had driven the garrison of Rome, was master of all the country on that side of the river Tiber. The sons of Tarquinius and his son-in-law, Mamilius, having transported their forces in rafts and boats to the other, or Roman, side of the river, encamped in a strong position. And making excursions from there, they laid waste the territory of the Romans, demolished their farm houses, and attacked their herds of cattle when they went out of the strongholds to pasture. All the open country being in the power of the enemy and no food supplies being brought into the city by land and but small quantities even by the river, a scarcity of provisions was speedily felt as the many thousands of people consumed the stores previously laid in, which were inconsiderable. Thereupon the slaves, leaving their masters, deserted in large numbers daily, and the worst element among the common people went over to the tyrants. The consuls, seeing these things, resolved to ask those of the Latins who still respected the tie of kinship and seemed to be continuing in their friendship to send troops promptly to their assistance; and also resolved to send ambassadors both to Cumae in Campania and to the cities in the Pomptine plain to ask leave to import grain from there. The Latins, for their part, refused to send the desired assistance, on the ground that it was not right for them to make war against either the Tarquinii or the Romans, since they had made their treaty of (p79) friendship jointly with both of them. But Larcius and Herminius, the ambassadors who had been sent to convey the grain from the Pomptine plain, filled a great many boats with all sorts of provisions and brought them from the sea up the river on a moonless night, escaping the notice of the enemy. When these supplies also had soon been consumed and the people were oppressed by the same scarcity as before, the Tyrrhenian, learning from the deserters that the inhabitants were suffering from famine, sent a herald to them commanding them to receive Tarquinius if they desired to be rid of both war and famine.