[5,32] Ἀφικομένης δὲ τῆς πρεσβείας εἰς Ῥώμην ἡ βουλὴ μὲν ἐψηφίσατο Ποπλικόλᾳ θατέρῳ τῶν ὑπάτων πεισθεῖσα πάντα συγχωρεῖν, ὅσα ὁ Τυρρηνὸς ἠξίου, κάμνειν τὸν δημότην καὶ ἄπορον ὄχλον οἰομένη τῇ σπάνει τῶν ἐπιτηδείων, καὶ ἀγαπητῶς δέξεσθαι τὴν τοῦ πολέμου λύσιν, ἐφ´ οἷς ἂν γένηται δικαίοις. ὁ δὲ δῆμος τὰ μὲν ἄλλα τοῦ προβουλεύματος ἐψηφίσατο κύρια εἶναι, τὴν δ´ ἀπόδοσιν τῶν χρημάτων οὐκ ἠνέσχετο, ἀλλὰ τἀναντία ἔγνω, μήτ´ ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων μήτ´ ἐκ τῶν κοινῶν τοῖς τυράννοις μηδὲν ἀποδιδόναι, πρεσβευτὰς δὲ περὶ τούτων πρὸς βασιλέα Πορσίναν ἀποστεῖλαι, οἵτινες ἀξιώσουσιν αὐτὸν τὰ μὲν ὅμηρα καὶ τὴν χώραν παραλαβεῖν, περὶ δὲ τῶν χρημάτων αὐτὸν δικαστὴν γενόμενον Ταρκυνίοις τε καὶ Ῥωμαίοις, ὅταν ἀμφοτέρων ἀκούσῃ κρῖναι τὰ δίκαια μήτε χάριτι μήτ´ ἔχθρᾳ παραχθέντα. ἀπῄεσαν οἱ Τυρρηνοὶ τὰς ἀποκρίσεις ταύτας πρὸς βασιλέα κομίζοντες καὶ σὺν αὐτοῖς οἱ κατασταθέντες ὑπὸ τοῦ δήμου πρέσβεις ἄγοντες ἐκ τῶν πρώτων οἰκιῶν εἴκοσι παῖδας, οὓς ἔδει περὶ τῆς πατρίδος ὁμηρεῦσαι, τῶν ὑπάτων πρώτων τὰ τέκνα ἐπιδόντων, Μάρκου μὲν Ὁρατίου τὸν υἱόν, Ποπλίου δὲ Οὐαλερίου τὴν θυγατέρα γάμων ἔχουσαν ὥραν. ἀφικομένων δὲ τούτων ἐπὶ τὸ στρατόπεδον ἥσθη τε ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ πολλὰ τοὺς Ῥωμαίους ἐπαινέσας ἀνοχὰς σπένδεται πρὸς αὐτοὺς εἰς ὡρισμένον τινὰ ἡμερῶν ἀριθμὸν καὶ τὴν δίκην αὐτὸς ἀναδέχεται δικάζειν. Ταρκύνιοι δ´ ἤχθοντο μὲν ἀπὸ μειζόνων ἐκπεσόντες ἐλπίδων, ἃς εἶχον ἐπὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ, καταχθῆναι δόξαντες ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν ὑπ´ ἐκείνου, στέργειν δὲ τὰ παρόντα ἠναγκάζοντο καὶ τὰ δεδομένα δέχεσθαι. ἀφικομένων δ´ εἰς τὸν ὁρισθέντα χρόνον ἐκ τῆς πόλεως τῶν ἀπολογησομένων τὴν δίκην καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς βουλῆς τῶν πρεσβυτάτων, καθίσας ἐπὶ τοῦ βήματος ὁ βασιλεὺς μετὰ τῶν φίλων καὶ τὸν υἱὸν συνδικάζειν κελεύσας ἀπέδωκεν αὐτοῖς λόγον.

[5,32] When the embassy came to Rome, the senate, by the advice of Publicola, one of the consuls, voted to grant everything that the Tyrrhenian demanded, believing that the crowd of plebeians and poor people, oppressed by the scarcity of provisions, (p93) would cheerfully accept the termination of the war upon any terms whatever. But the people, though they ratified every other article of the senate's decree, would not hear of restoring the property. On the contrary, they voted that no resolution should be made to the tyrants either from private sources or from the public funds, and that ambassadors should be sent to King Porsena concerning these matters, to ask him to accept the hostages and the territory he demanded, but as regarded the property, that he himself, acting as judge between the Tarquinii and the Romans, should determine, after hearing both sides, what was just, being influenced by neither favour nor enmity. The Tyrrhenians returned to the king with this answer, and with them the ambassadors appointed by the people, taking with them twenty children of the leading families to serve as hostages for their country; the consuls had been the first to give their children for that purpose, Marcus Horatius delivering his son to them and Publius Valerius his daughter, who had reached the age for marriage. When these arrived at the camp, the king was pleased, and heartily commending the Romans, have made a truce with them for a specified number of days and undertook to act as judge of the controversy himself. But the Tarquinii were aggrieved at finding themselves disappointed of the greater hopes they had been placing in the king, having expected to be restored by him to the sovereignty; however, they were obliged to be content with the present state of things and to accept the terms that were offered. And when the (p95) men who were sent to defend the cause of the commonwealth, - - - and the oldest of the senators had come from the city at the appointed time, the king seated himself upon the tribunal with his friends, and ordering his son to sit as judge with him, he gave them leave to speak.