[5,51] Μετὰ τοῦτον Ἀρικηνοί τε λόγον αἰτησάμενοι κατηγόρουν τῶν Ῥωμαίων, ὅτι τὸν Τυρρηνικὸν πόλεμον ἐπήγαγον σφίσιν ὄντες συγγενεῖς καὶ παρέσχον ὅσον ἐφ´ ἑαυτοῖς ἁπάσας τὰς Λατίνων πόλεις ὑπὸ Τυρρηνῶν τὴν ἐλευθερίαν ἀφαιρεθῆναι· καὶ Ταρκύνιος ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀνανεούμενος τὰς γενομένας αὐτῷ πρὸς τὸ κοινὸν τῶν πόλεων συνθήκας περὶ φιλίας τε καὶ συμμαχίας, ἠξίου τὰς πόλεις ἐμπεδοῦν τοὺς ὅρκους, κατάγειν δ´ αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρχήν· Καμαριναίων τε καὶ Φιδηναίων φυγάδες, οἱ μὲν τὴν ἅλωσιν καὶ τὴν φυγὴν τῆς πατρίδος, οἱ δὲ τὸν ἀνδραποδισμὸν καὶ τὴν κατασκαφὴν ὀδυρόμενοι, παρεκάλουν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸν πόλεμον. τελευταῖος δὲ πάντων ὁ Ταρκυνίου κηδεστὴς Μαμίλιος μέγιστον ἐν τοῖς τότε χρόνοις παρὰ τοῖς Λατίνοις δυνάμενος ἀναστὰς μακρὰν κατὰ τῆς πόλεως διεξῆλθε δημηγορίαν. ἀπολογουμένου δὲ πρὸς ἅπαντα τοῦ Οὐαλερίου καὶ δοκοῦντος περιεῖναι τοῖς δικαίοις, ἐκείνην μὲν τὴν ἡμέραν εἰς τὰ κατηγορήματα καὶ τὰς ἀπολογίας ἀναλώσαντες οὐδὲν ἐπέθηκαν τῇ βουλῇ τέλος· τῇ δὲ κατόπιν οὐκέτι τοὺς πρεσβευτὰς τῶν Ῥωμαίων οἱ πρόεδροι προαγαγόντες ἐπὶ τὸν σύλλογον, ἀλλὰ Ταρκυνίῳ τε καὶ Μαμιλίῳ καὶ Ἀρικηνοῖς καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις τοῖς βουλομένοις τῆς πόλεως κατηγορεῖν ἀποδόντες λόγον, ἐπειδὴ πάντων διήκουσαν ψηφίζονται λελύσθαι τὰς σπονδὰς ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων, καὶ τοῖς περὶ Οὐαλέριον πρέσβεσιν ἀπόκρισιν ἔδωκαν, ὅτι τὸ συγγενὲς ἐκείνων τοῖς ἀδικήμασι λελυκότων βουλεύσονται κατὰ σχολὴν ὅντινα τρόπον αὐτοὺς ἀμύνεσθαι χρή. Ἐν ᾧ δὲ ταῦτ´ ἐπράττετο χρόνῳ, συνωμοσία κατὰ τῆς πόλεως ἐγένετο δούλων συχνῶν συνειπαμένων τάς τ´ ἄκρας καταλαβέσθαι καὶ κατὰ πολλοὺς ἐμπρῆσαι τόπους τὴν πόλιν. μηνύσεως δὲ γενομένης ὑπὸ τῶν συνειδότων αἱ πύλαι τ´ ὑπὸ τῶν ὑπάτων εὐθὺς ἐκλείοντο, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐρύματα τῆς πόλεως ὑπὸ τῶν ἱππέων κατείληπτο· καὶ αὐτίκα οἱ μὲν ἐκ τῶν οἰκιῶν συλληφθέντες, οἱ δ´ ἐκ τῶν ἀγρῶν ἀναχθέντες, ὅσους ἀπέφαινον οἱ μηνυταὶ μετασχεῖν τῆς συνωμοσίας, μάστιξι καὶ βασάνοις αἰκισθέντες ἀνεσκολοπίσθησαν ἅπαντες. ταῦτ´ ἐπὶ τούτων ἐπράχθη τῶν ὑπάτων.

[5,51] Following him, the Aricians, having asked leave to speak, accused the Romans of having, though kinsmen, brought upon them the Tyrrhenian war and of having caused all the Latin cities, as far as lay in their power, to be deprived of their liberty by the Tyrrhenians. And King Tarquinius, renewing the treaty of friendship and alliance that he had made with the general council of their cities, asked those cities to fulfil their oaths and restore him to the sovereignty. The exiles also from Fidenae and Cameria, the former lamenting the taking of their city and their own banishment from it, and the latter the enslaving of their countrymen and the razing of their city, exhorted them to declare war. Last of all, Tarquinius' son-in-law, Mamilius, a man most powerful at that time among the Latins, rose up and inveighed against the Romans in a long speech. And, Valerius answering all his accusations and seeming to have the advantage in the justice of his cause, the deputies spent that day in hearing the accusations and the defences without reaching any conclusion to their deliberations. But on the following day the presidents would no longer admit the Roman ambassadors to the assembly, but gave a hearing to Tarquinius, Mamilius, the Arician, and all the others who wished to make charges against the Romans, and after hearing them all through, they voted that the treaty had been dissolved by the Romans, and gave this answer to the embassy of Valerius: that inasmuch as the Romans had by their acts of injustice (p153) dissolved the ties of kinship between them, they would consider at leisure in what manner they ought to punish them. 3While this was going on, a conspiracy was formed against the state, numerous slaves having agreed together to seize the heights and to set fire to the city in many places. But, information being given by their accomplices, the gates were immediately closed by the consuls and all the strong places in the city were occupied by the knights. And straightway all those whom the informers declared to have been concerned in the conspiracy were either seized in their houses or brought in from the country, and after being scourged and tortured they were all crucified. These were the events of this consulship.