[5,52] Σερουιλίου δὲ Σολπικίου Καμερινοῦ καὶ Μανίου Τυλλίου Λόγγου τὴν ἀρχὴν παραλαβόντων Φιδηναίων τινὲς παρὰ Ταρκυνίων στρατιώτας μεταπεμψάμενοι τὴν ἄκραν καταλαμβάνονται, καὶ τῶν μὴ ταὐτὰ προαιρουμένων οὓς μὲν διαφθείραντες, οὓς δ´ ἐξελάσαντες, ἀφιστᾶσιν αὖθις ἀπὸ Ῥωμαίων τὴν πόλιν· πρεσβείας τε Ῥωμαικῆς ἀφικομένης ὥρμησαν μὲν ὡς πολεμίοις χρήσασθαι τοῖς ἀνδράσι, κωλυθέντες δ´ ὑπὸ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων ἐξέβαλον αὐτοὺς {ἀπὸ} τῆς πόλεως, οὔτε δοῦναι λόγον ἀξιώσαντες οὔτε λαβεῖν. ταῦθ´ ἡ βουλὴ τῶν Ῥωμαίων μαθοῦσα πρὸς μὲν τὸ κοινὸν τῶν Λατίνων οὔπω τὸν πόλεμον ἐκφέρειν πρόθυμος ἦν, πυνθανομένη μὴ πᾶσιν εἶναι τὰ ψηφισθέντα ὑπὸ τῶν προβούλων κατὰ νοῦν, ἀλλ´ ἐν ἑκάστῃ πόλει τοὺς δημοτικοὺς ἀναδύεσθαι τὸν πόλεμον, καὶ πλείους εἶναι τοὺς ἀξιοῦντας μένειν τὰς σπονδὰς τῶν διαλελύσθαι λεγόντων· ἐπὶ δὲ τοὺς ἐν Φιδήνῃ τὸν ἕτερον ἐψηφίσαντο τῶν ὑπάτων Μάνιον Τύλλιον ἀποστεῖλαι στρατιὰν ἄγοντα πολλήν· ὃς ἐπειδὴ τὴν χώραν αὐτῶν ἐδῄωσε κατὰ πολλὴν ἄδειαν οὐδενὸς ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς ἀμυνομένου, πλησίον τοῦ τείχους καταστρατοπεδευσάμενος ἐφύλαττε μήτ´ ἀγορὰς εἰσάγεσθαι τοῖς ἔνδον μήτε ὅπλα μήτε ἄλλην βοήθειαν μηδεμίαν. Φιδηναῖοι μὲν δὴ τειχήρεις ἐγένοντο καὶ πρὸς τὰς Λατίνων ἐπρεσβεύοντο πόλεις δεόμενοι ταχείας συμμαχίας· οἱ δὲ προεστηκότες τῶν Λατίνων, ἀγορὰν ποιησάμενοι τῶν πόλεων, Ταρκυνίοις τε αὖθις ἀποδόντες λόγον καὶ τοῖς παρὰ τῶν πολιορκουμένων ἥκουσιν, ἐκάλουν τοὺς συνέδρους εἰς ἀπόφασιν γνώμης, τίνα χρὴ πολεμεῖν Ῥωμαίοις τρόπον, ἀπὸ τῶν πρεσβυτάτων τε καὶ ἐπιφανεστάτων ἀρξάμενοι. πολλῶν δὲ ῥηθέντων λόγων καὶ περὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ πολέμου πρῶτον, εἰ δέοι αὐτὸν ἐπικυρῶσαι, οἱ μὲν ταραχωδέστεροι τῶν συνέδρων τὸν βασιλέα κατάγειν ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἠξίουν καὶ Φιδηναίοις βοηθεῖν παρῄνουν· ἐν ἡγεμονίαις μὲν βουλόμενοι γενέσθαι στρατιωτικαῖς καὶ πραγμάτων ἐφάψασθαι μεγάλων, μάλιστα δ´ οἱ δυναστείας καὶ τυραννίδος ἐν ταῖς ἑαυτῶν πατρίσιν ἐρῶντες, ἣν συγκατασκευάσειν αὐτοῖς Ταρκυνίους ἐπείθοντο τὴν Ῥωμαίων ἀρχὴν ἀνακτησαμένους. οἱ δ´ εὐπορώτατοί τε καὶ ἐπιεικέστατοι μένειν ἐν ταῖς σπονδαῖς ἠξίουν τὰς πόλεις καὶ μὴ προχείρως ἐπὶ τὰ ὅπλα χωρεῖν· καὶ ἦσαν οὗτοι τῷ πλήθει πιθανώτατοι. ἐξωθούμενοι δὴ πρὸς τῶν παραινούντων τὴν εἰρήνην ἄγειν οἱ τὸν πόλεμον ἐπισπεύδοντες, τοῦτό γε πείθουσι ποιῆσαι τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τελευτῶντες, πρεσβευτὰς εἰς Ῥώμην ἀποστεῖλαι τοὺς παρακαλέσοντας ἅμα καὶ συμβουλεύσοντας τῇ πόλει δέχεσθαι Ταρκυνίους καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους φυγάδας ἐπ´ ἀδείᾳ καὶ ἀμνηστίᾳ, καὶ περὶ τούτων ὅρκια τεμόντας τῇ πατρίῳ κοσμεῖσθαι πολιτείᾳ καὶ τῆς Φιδηναίων πόλεως ἀπανιστάναι τὸν στρατόν, ὡς σφῶν γε οὐχ ὑπεροψομένων συγγενεῖς καὶ φίλους ἀφαιρεθέντας τὴν πατρίδα· ἐὰν δὲ μηδέτερον τούτων ὑπομείνωσι πράττειν, τότε βουλεύσεσθαι περὶ τοῦ πολέμου· οὐκ ἀγνοοῦντες μέν, ὅτι τούτων οὐδέτερον ὑπομενοῦσι Ῥωμαῖοι, προφάσεις δὲ τῆς ἔχθρας βουλόμενοι λαβεῖν εὐπρεπεῖς, καὶ τοὺς ἐναντιουμένους σφίσι θεραπείαις ἐν τῷ μεταξὺ χρόνῳ καὶ χάρισιν ἐπάξεσθαι νομίζοντες. ταῦτα ψηφισάμενοι καὶ χρόνον ὁρίσαντες ἐνιαύσιον Ῥωμαίοις μὲν βουλῆς, ἑαυτοῖς δὲ παρασκευῆς, καὶ πρεσβευτὰς ἀποδείξαντες, οὓς Ταρκύνιος ἐβούλετο, διέλυσαν τὸν σύλλογον.

[5,52] Servius Sulpicius Camerinus and Manius Tullius Longus having taken over the consulship, some of the Fidenates, after sending for soldiers from the Tarquinii, took possession of the citadel at Fidenae, and putting to death some of those who were not of the same mind and banishing others, caused the city to revolt again from the Romans. And when a Roman embassy arrived, they were inclined to treat the men like enemies, but being hindered by the elders from doing so, they drove them out of the city, refusing either to listen to them or to say anything to them. The Roman senate, being informed of this, did not desire as yet to make war upon the whole nation of the Latins, (p155) because they understood that they did not all approve of the resolutions taken by the deputies in the assembly, but that the common people in every city shrank from the war, and that those who demanded that the treaty should remain in force outnumbered those who declared it had been dissolved. But they voted to send one of the consuls, Manius Tullius, against the Fidenates with a large army; and he, having laid waste their country quite unmolested, as none offered to defend it, encamped near the walls and placed guards to prevent the inhabitants from receiving provisions, arms, or any other assistance. The Fidenates, being thus shut up within their walls, sent ambassadors to the cities of the Latins to ask for prompt assistance; whereupon the presidents of the Latins, holding an assembly state of things cities and again giving leave to the Tarquinii and to the ambassadors from the besieged to speak, called upon the deputies, beginning with the oldest and the most distinguished, to give their opinion concerning the best way to make war against the Romans. And many speeches having been made, first, concerning the war itself, the most turbulent of the deputies were for restoring the king to power and advised assisting the Fidenates, being desirous of getting into positions of command in the armies and engaging in great undertakings; and this was the case particularly with those who yearned for domination and despotic power in their own cities, in gaining which they expected the assistance of the Tarquinii when these had recovered the sovereignty over the Romans. On the other hand, the men of the greatest means and of the greatest reasonableness maintained (p157) that the cities ought to adhere to the treaty and not hastily resort to arms; and these were the most influential with the common people. Those who pressed for war, being thus defeated by the advisers of peace, at last persuaded the assembly to do this much at least — to send ambassadors to Rome to invite and at the same time to advise the commonwealth to receive the Tarquinii and the other exiles upon the terms of impunity and a general amnesty, and after making a covenant concerning these matters, to restore their traditional form of government and to withdraw their army from Fidenae, since the Latins would not permit their kinsmen and friends to be despoiled of their country; and in case the Romans should consent to do neither of these things, they would then deliberate concerning war. They were not unaware that the Romans would consent to neither of these demands, but they desired to have a specious pretence for their hostility, and they expected to win over their opponents in the meantime by courting them and doing them favours. The deputies, having passed this vote and set a year's time for the Romans in which to deliberate and for themselves to make their preparations, and having appointed such ambassadors as Tarquinius wished, dismissed the assembly.