[5,54] Ἡ δ´ ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ σώζουσα τὴν πόλιν καὶ μέχρι τῶν κατ´ ἐμὲ χρόνων παραμένουσα θεία πρόνοια διεκάλυψεν αὐτῶν τὰ βουλεύματα μηνύσεως θατέρῳ τῶν ὑπάτων γενομένης Σολπικίῳ, ἣν ἐποίησαν ἀδελφοὶ δύο Ταρκύνιοι, Πόπλιος καὶ Μάρκος, ἐκ Λαυρέντου πόλεως, κορυφαιότατοι τῶν μετασχόντων τῆς συνωμοσίας, ὑπὸ θείας ἀνάγκης βιαζόμενοι. ἐφίσταντο γὰρ αὐτοῖς, ὅτε κοιμηθεῖεν, ὄψεις ὀνείρων φοβεραὶ τιμωρίας ἐπαπειλοῦσαι μεγάλας, εἰ μὴ παύσαιντο καὶ ἀποσταῖεν τῆς ἐπιθέσεως, διώκεσθαί τε ὑπὸ δαιμόνων τινῶν καὶ παίεσθαι καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐξορύττεσθαι καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ καὶ σχέτλια πάσχειν τελευτῶντες ἐδόκουν· ὑφ´ ὧν περίφοβοι καὶ τρόμῳ παλλόμενοι διηγείροντο καὶ οὐδὲ καθεύδειν διὰ τὰ δείματα ταῦτ´ ἐδύναντο. κατ´ ἀρχὰς μὲν οὖν ἀποτροπαίοις τισὶ καὶ ἐξακεστηρίοις θυσίαις ἐπειρῶντο παραιτεῖσθαι τοὺς ἐνισταμένους σφίσι δαίμονας· ὡς δ´ οὐδὲν ἐπέραινον, ἐπὶ μαντείας ἐτράποντο τὴν μὲν διάνοιαν τῆς ἐπιχειρήσεως ἀπόρρητον φυλάττοντες, τοῦτο δὲ μόνον ἀξιοῦντες μαθεῖν, εἰ καιρὸς ἤδη πράττειν, ἃ βούλονται. ἀποκριναμένου δὲ τοῦ μάντεως, ὅτι πονηρὰν καὶ ὀλέθριον βαδίζουσιν ὁδὸν καί, εἰ μὴ μεταθήσονται τὰ βουλεύματα, τὸν αἴσχιστον ἀπολοῦνται τρόπον, δείσαντες μὴ φθάσωσιν αὐτοὺς ἕτεροι τὰ κρυπτὰ εἰς φῶς ἐξενέγκαντες, αὐτοὶ μηνυταὶ γίνονται πρὸς τὸν ἐνδημοῦντα τῶν ὑπάτων. ὁ δ´ {ὕπατος} ἐπαινέσας αὐτοὺς καὶ πολλὰ ὑποσχόμενος εὖ ποιήσειν, ἐὰν καὶ τὰ ἔργα ὅμοια τοῖς λόγοις ἐπιδείξωνται, τούτους μὲν ἔνδον παρ´ ἑαυτῷ κατεῖχεν οὐδενὶ φράσας· τοὺς δὲ τῶν Λατίνων πρέσβεις ἀναβαλλόμενος τέως καὶ παρέλκων τὴν ἀπόκρισιν τότε εἰσαγαγὼν εἰς τὸ βουλευτήριον τὰ δόξαντα τοῖς συνέδροις ἀποκρίνεται πρὸς αὐτούς· Ἄνδρες φίλοι τε καὶ συγγενεῖς ἀπαγγέλλετε ἀπιόντες πρὸς τὸ κοινὸν τῶν Λατίνων, ὅτι Ῥωμαίων ὁ δῆμος οὔτε πρότερον Ταρκυνιήταις ἀξιοῦσιν ἐχαρίσατο τὴν τῶν τυράννων κάθοδον, οὔθ´ ὕστερον ἅπασι Τυρρηνοῖς, οὓς ἦγε βασιλεὺς Πορσίνας, ὑπὲρ τῶν αὐτῶν δεομένοις καὶ πόλεμον ἐπάγουσιν ἁπάντων {πολέμων} βαρύτατον ἐνέκλινεν, ἀλλ´ ἠνέσχετο γῆν τε κειρομένην ὁρῶν καὶ αὐλὰς ἐμπιπραμένας, τειχήρης γενόμενος ὑπὲρ τῆς ἐλευθερίας καὶ τοῦ μηθὲν ὧν μὴ βούλεται πράττειν κελευσθείς· ὑμῶν τ´, ὦ Λατῖνοι, τεθαύμακεν, εἰ ταῦτ´ εἰδότες οὐδὲν ἧττον δέχεσθαι τοὺς τυράννους καὶ τὴν Φιδήνης πολιορκίαν λύειν ἐπιτάττοντες ἥκετε καὶ μὴ πειθομένοις πόλεμον ἀπειλεῖτε. παύσασθε δὴ ψυχρὰς καὶ ἀπιθάνους τῆς ἔχθρας παραβαλλόμενοι προφάσεις καὶ εἰ διὰ ταῦτα μέλλετε διαλύειν τὸ συγγενὲς καὶ τὸν πόλεμον ἐπικυροῦν, μηθὲν ἔτι ἀναβάλλεσθε.

[5,54] But the divine Providence, which has on every occasion preserved this city and down to my own times continues to watch over it, brought their plans to light, information being given to Sulpicius, one of the consuls, by two brothers, Publius and Marcus Tarquinius of Laurentum, who were among the heads of the conspiracy and were forced by the compulsion of Heaven to reveal it. For frightful visions haunted them in their dreams whenever they slept, threatening them with dire punishments if they did not desist and abandon their attempt; and at last they thought that they were pursued and beaten by some demons, that their eyes were gouged out, and that they suffered many other cruel torments. In consequence of which they would wake with fear and trembling, and they could not even sleep because of these terrors. At first they endeavoured, by means of certain propitiatory and expiatory sacrifices, to avert the anger of the demons who haunted them; but accomplishing naught, they had recourse to divination, keeping secret the purpose of their enterprise and asking only to know whether it was yet the time to carry out their plan; and when the soothsayer answered that they were travelling an evil and fatal road, and that if they did not change their plans they would perish in the most shameful manner, fearing lest others should anticipate them in revealing (p163) the secret, they themselves gave information of the conspiracy to the consul who was then at Rome. He, having commended them and promised them great rewards if they made their actions conform to their words, kept them in his house without telling anyone; and introducing to the senate the ambassadors of the Latins, whom he had hitherto kept putting off, delaying his answer, he now gave them the answer that the senators had decided upon. "Friends and kinsmen," he said, "go back and report to the Latin nation that the Roman p did not either in the first instance grant the request of the Tarquinienses for the restoration of the tyrants or afterwards yield to all the Tyrrhenians, led by King Porsena, when they interceded in behalf of these same exiles and brought upon the commonwealth the most grievous of all wars, but submitted to seeing their land laid waste, their farm-houses set on fire, and themselves shut up within their walls for the sake of liberty and of not having to act otherwise than they wished at the command of another. And they wonder, Latins, that though you are aware of this, you have nevertheless come to them with orders to receive the tyrants and to raise the siege of Fidenae, and, if they refuse to obey you, threaten them with war. Cease, then, putting forward these stupid and improbable excuses for enmity; and if for these reasons you are determined to dissolve your ties of kinship and to declare war, defer it no longer."