[5,43] Ἡ δὲ Φιδήνη πολιορκηθεῖσα οὐ πολλαῖς ἡμέραις, καθ´ ὃ μάλιστα δυσάλωτος εἶναι μέρος ἐδόκει καὶ ὑπ´ ὀλίγων ἐφυλάσσετο, κατὰ τοῦτ´ ἐλήφθη. οὐ μὴν ἀνδραποδισμοῦ γ´ ἢ κατασκαφῆς ἐπειράθη φόνος τ´ ἀνθρώπων οὐ πολὺς ἐγένετο μετὰ τὴν ἅλωσιν· ἀποχρῶσα γὰρ ἐφάνη ζημία τοῖς ὑπάτοις πόλεως ὁμοεθνοῦς ἁμαρτούσης ἁρπαγὴ χρημάτων τε καὶ ἀνδραπόδων καὶ ὁ τῶν κατὰ τὴν μάχην ἀπολομένων ὄλεθρος· τοῦ δὲ μὴ προχείρως ἔτι τοὺς ἑαλωκότας ἐπὶ τὰ ὅπλα χωρῆσαι φυλακὴ γενήσεσθαι μετρία καὶ συνήθης Ῥωμαίοις, ἡ τῶν αἰτίων τῆς ἀποστάσεως κόλασις. συγκαλέσαντες δὴ Φιδηναίων τοὺς ἁλόντας εἰς τὴν ἀγορὰν καὶ πολλὰ τῆς ἀνοίας αὐτῶν κατηγορήσαντες ἀξίους τ´ εἶναι φήσαντες ἅπαντας ἡβηδὸν ἀπολωλέναι μήτε ταῖς εὐεργεσίαις χάριν εἰδότας μήτε τοῖς κακοῖς σωφρονιζομένους, ῥάβδοις αἰκισάμενοι τοὺς ἐπιφανεστάτους ἁπάντων ὁρώντων ἀπέκτειναν· τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς εἴασαν οἰκεῖν ὡς πρότερον ᾤκουν φρουροὺς συγκατοικίσαντες αὐτοῖς, ὅσους ἔκρινεν ἡ βουλή, καὶ τῆς χώρας ἀφελόμενοί τινα μοῖραν τοῖς φρουροῖς ἔδωκαν. ταῦτα διαπραξάμενοι τὴν δύναμιν ἀπῆγον ἐκ τῆς τῶν πολεμίων καὶ τὸν ὑπὸ τῆς βουλῆς ψηφισθέντα θρίαμβον κατήγαγον. ταῦτα μὲν ἐπὶ τῆς τούτων ὑπατείας ἐπράχθη.

[5,43] Fidenae after a few days' siege was taken in that very part which was thought to be the most difficult of capture and was for that reason guarded by only a few men. Nevertheless, the inhabitants were not made slaves nor was the city demolished; nor were many people put to death after the city was taken. For the consuls thought that the seizing of their goods and their slaves and the loss of their men who had perished in the battle was a sufficient punishment for an erring city belonging to the same race, and that to prevent the captured from lightly resorting to arms again, a moderate precaution and one customary with the Romans would be to punish the authors of the revolt. Having, therefore, assembled all the captured Fidenates in the forum and inveighed strongly against their folly, declaring that all of them, from youths to old men, deserved to be put to death, since they neither showed gratitude for the favours they received nor (p127) were chastened by their misfortunes, they ordered the most prominent of them to be scourged with rods and put to death in the sight of all; but the rest they permitted to live in the city as before, though they left a garrison, as large as the senate decided upon, to live in their midst; and taking away part of their land, they gave it to this garrison. After they had settled these matters, they returned home with the army from the enemy's country and celebrated the triumph which the senate had voted to them. These were the achievements of their consulship.