[5,42] Οὔπω μέσαι νύκτες ἦσαν, καὶ ὁ τῶν Σαβίνων ἡγεμὼν ἀναστήσας τοῦ στρατοῦ τὸ κράτιστον μέρος ἦγεν ἐπὶ τὸν χάρακα σιωπᾶν ἅπασι παραγγείλας καὶ μὴ ποιεῖν ψόφον τῶν ὅπλων, ἵνα μὴ γνοῖεν ἥκοντας αὐτοὺς οἱ πολέμιοι, πρὶν ἐπὶ τῷ ἐρύματι γένωνται. ὡς δὲ πλησίον ἐγένοντο τοῦ χάρακος οἱ πρῶτοι πορευόμενοι καὶ οὔτε φέγγη λαμπτήρων ἑώρων οὔτε φωνὰς φυλάκων κατήκουον, πολλὴν μωρίαν τῶν Ῥωμαίων καταγνόντες ὡς ἀφεικότων ἐρήμους τὰς φυλακὰς καὶ ἐντὸς {τοῦ} χάρακος καθευδόντων, ἐνεπίμπλασαν ὕλης τὰς τάφρους κατὰ πολλὰ μέρη καὶ διέβαινον οὐδενὸς σφίσιν ἐμποδὼν γινομένου. παρεκάθηντο δὲ μεταξὺ τῶν τάφρων καὶ τῶν περισταυρωμάτων οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι κατὰ σπείρας ἀφανεῖς διὰ τὸ σκότος, καὶ τοὺς διαβαίνοντας αὐτῶν, ὅτε γένοιντο ἐν χερσίν, ἐφόνευον. μέχρι μὲν οὖν τινος ἐλάνθανε τοὺς ὑστέρους προσιόντας ὁ τῶν προηγουμένων ὄλεθρος· ἐπεὶ δὲ φῶς ἐγένετο σελήνης ἀνισχούσης οἱ πλησιάζοντες τῇ τάφρῳ σωρούς θ´ ὁρῶντες οἰκείων νεκρῶν παρ´ αὐτῇ καὶ στίφη πολεμίων καρτερὰ ὁμόσε χωροῦντα, ῥίψαντες τὰ ὅπλα τρέπονται πρὸς φυγήν. οἱ δὲ Ῥωμαῖοι μέγα ἀναβοήσαντες· ἦν δὲ τοῦτο σύνθημα τοῖς ἐπὶ τῆς ἑτέρας παρεμβολῆς· ἐκτρέχουσιν ἐπ´ αὐτοὺς ἅπαντες ἀθρόοι. καὶ ὁ Λουκρήτιος ὡς ἤκουσε τῆς κραυγῆς τοὺς ἱππεῖς προαποστείλας διερευνησομένους, μή τις ἐγκάθηται πολεμίων λόχος, ὀλίγον ὕστερον ἠκολούθει τοὺς ἀκμαιοτάτους τῶν πεζῶν ἐπαγόμενος. καὶ κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν χρόνον οἵ θ´ ἱππεῖς τοῖς ἐκ τῆς Φιδήνης λοχῶσι περιτυχόντες τρέπουσιν εἰς φυγὴν καὶ οἱ πεζοὶ τοὺς ἐπὶ τὴν παρεμβολὴν σφῶν ἀφικομένους κτείνοντες ἐδίωκον οὔτε ὅπλα οὔτε κόσμον σώζοντας. ἐν ταύταις ταῖς μάχαις Σαβίνων τε καὶ τῶν συμμάχων ἀπέθανον μὲν ἀμφὶ τοὺς μυρίους καὶ τρισχιλίους καὶ πεντακοσίους, αἰχμάλωτοι δ´ ἐλήφθησαν τετρακισχίλιοι καὶ διακόσιοι· καὶ ὁ μὲν χάραξ αὐθημερὸν ἑάλω.

[5,42] It was not yet midnight when the Sabine general roused up the flower of his army and led them to the enemy's camp, after ordering them all to keep silence and to make no noise with their arms, that the enemy might not be apprised of their approach till they arrived at the entrenchments. When those in front drew near the camp and neither saw the lights of watch-fires nor heard the voices of sentinels, they thought the Romans guilty of great folly in leaving their sentry-posts unguarded and sleeping inside their camp; and they proceeded to fill up the ditches in many places with brushwood and to cross over without opposition. But the Romans were lying in wait by companies between the ditches and the palisades, being unperceived by reason of the darkness; and they kept killing those of the enemy who crossed over, as soon as they came within reach. For some time the destruction of those who led the way was not perceived by their companions in the rear; but when it became light, upon the rising of the moon, and those who approached the ditch saw not only heaps of their own men lying dead near it but also strong bodies of the enemy advancing to attack them, they threw down their arms and fled. Thereupon the Romans, giving a great shout, which (p125) was the signal to those in the other camp, rushed out upon them in a body. Lucretius, hearing the shout, sent the horse ahead to reconnoitre, lest there might be an ambuscade of the enemy, and he himself followed presently with the flower of the foot. And at one and the same time the horse, meeting with those from Fidenae who were lying in ambush, put them to flight, and the foot pursued and slew those who had come to their camp but were now keeping neither their arms nor their ranks. In these actions about 13,500 of the Sabines and their allies were slain and 4200 were made prisoners; and their camp was taken the same day.