[5,7] Ἐκ πολλῶν μὲν οὖν καὶ ἄλλων ἔδοξέ μοι τὰ Ῥωμαίων πράγματα προνοίᾳ θεῶν εἰς τοσαύτην προελθεῖν εὐδαιμονίαν, οὐχ ἥκιστα δὲ καὶ ἐκ τῶν τότε γενομένων. τοσαύτη γὰρ ἄνοια καὶ θεοβλάβεια τοὺς δυστήνους ἐκείνους κατέσχεν, ὥσθ´ ὑπέμειναν ἐπιστολὰς γράψαι πρὸς τὸν τύραννον αὐτογράφους δηλοῦντες αὐτῷ τὸ πλῆθός τε τῶν μετεχόντων τῆς συνωμοσίας καὶ χρόνον, ἐν ᾧ τὴν κατὰ τῶν ὑπάτων ἐπίθεσιν ἔμελλον ποιήσεσθαι, πεισθέντες ὑπὸ τῶν ἀφικομένων ὡς αὐτοὺς παρὰ τοῦ τυράννου γραμμάτων, ὅτι βούλεται προειδέναι, τίνας αὐτῷ προσήκει Ῥωμαίων εὖ ποιεῖν κατασχόντι τὴν ἀρχήν. τούτων δ´ ἐγένοντο τῶν ἐπιστολῶν ἐγκρατεῖς οἱ ὕπατοι κατὰ τοιάνδε τινὰ συντυχίαν. παρ´ Ἀκυλλίοις τοῖς ἐκ τῆς Κολλατίνου γεγονόσιν ἀδελφῆς οἱ κορυφαιότατοι τῶν ἐν τῇ συνωμοσίᾳ κατήγοντο παρακληθέντες ὡς ἐφ´ ἱερὰ καὶ θυσίαν· μετὰ δὲ τὴν ἑστίασιν ἐξελθεῖν ἐκ τοῦ συμποσίου κελεύσαντες τοὺς διακόνους καὶ πρὸ τῶν θυρῶν τοῦ ἀνδρῶνος ἀπελθεῖν διεφέροντό τε πρὸς ἀλλήλους ὑπὲρ τῆς καταγωγῆς τῶν τυράννων καὶ τὰ δόξαντα εἰς ἐπιστολὰς κατεχώριζον αὐτογράφους, ἃς ἔδει τοὺς Ἀκυλλίους λαβόντας ἀποδοῦναι τοῖς ἐκ Τυρρηνίας πρέσβεσιν, ἐκείνους δὲ Ταρκυνίῳ. ἐν τούτῳ δὴ τῷ χρόνῳ τῶν θεραπόντων τις οἰνοχόος ἐκ πόλεως Καινίνης αἰχμάλωτος ὄνομα Οὐινδίκιος ὑποπτεύσας τοὺς ἄνδρας βουλεύειν πονηρὰ τῇ μεταστάσει τῶν διακόνων ἔμεινε μόνος ἔξω παρὰ ταῖς θύραις καὶ τούς τε λόγους παρ´ αὐτῶν ἠκροάσατο καὶ τὰς ἐπιστολὰς εἶδεν ὑπὸ πάντων γραφομένας, ἁρμῷ τινι τῆς θύρας διαφανεῖ τὴν ὄψιν προσβαλών. ἐξελθὼν δὲ πολλῆς ἔτι νυκτὸς οὔσης ὡς ἀπεσταλμένος ὑπὸ τῶν δεσποτῶν ἐπὶ χρείαν τινά, πρὸς μὲν τοὺς ὑπάτους ὤκνησεν ἐλθεῖν δεδιώς, μὴ συγκρύψαι τὸ πρᾶγμα βουλόμενοι διὰ τὴν εὔνοιαν τῶν συγγενῶν τὸν μηνύσαντα τὴν συνωμοσίαν ἀφανίσωσιν, ἀφικόμενος δ´ ὡς Πόπλιον Οὐαλέριον, ὃς ἐν τοῖς πρώτοις τέτταρσιν ἦν τῶν τὴν τυραννίδα καταλυσάντων, δεξιώσει καὶ δι´ ὅρκων τὸ πιστὸν παρ´ αὐτοῦ λαβὼν ὑπὲρ ἀσφαλείας τῆς ἑαυτοῦ μηνυτὴς ὧν τ´ ἤκουσε καὶ ὧν εἶδε γίνεται. ὁ δ´ ὡς ἔμαθεν οὐδεμίαν ἀναβολὴν ποιησάμενος ἐπὶ τὴν οἰκίαν τῶν Ἀκυλλίων σὺν χειρὶ πολλῇ πελατῶν τε καὶ φίλων παραγίνεται περὶ τὸν ὄρθρον καὶ παρελθὼν εἴσω τῶν θυρῶν ὡς ἐπ´ ἄλλην τινὰ χρείαν παρὼν ἀκωλύτως κατ´ οἶκον ἔτι τῶν μειρακίων ὄντων ἐγκρατὴς γίνεται τῶν ἐπιστολῶν καὶ τοὺς νεανίσκους συλλαβὼν καθίστησιν ἐπὶ τοὺς ὑπάτους.

[5,7] Not only from many other circumstances has it seemed to me to be due to the providence of the gods that the affairs of the Romans have come to such a flourishing condition, but particularly by what happened upon this occasion. For so great a folly and (p21) infatuation possessed those unfortunate youths that they consented to write letters to the tyrant in their own hand, informing him not only of the number of their accomplices, but also of the time when they proposed to make the attack upon the consuls. They had been persuaded to do so by the letters that came to them from the tyrant, in which he desired to know beforehand the names of the Romans whom he ought to reward after he had regained the sovereignty. The consuls got possession of these letters by the following chance. The principal conspirators used to hold night sessions at the house of the Aquilii, the sons of the sister of Collatinus, being invited there ostensibly for some religious rites and a sacrifice. After the banquet they first ordered the servants to go out of the room and to withdraw from before the door of the men's apartment, and then proceeded to discuss together the means of restoring the tyrants and to set down in the letters in their own handwriting the decisions arrived at; these letters the Aquilii were to deliver to the Tyrrhenian ambassadors, and they in turn to Tarquinius. In the mean time one of the servants, who was their cup-bearer and a captive taken at Caenina, Vindicius by name, suspecting, from their ordering the servants to withdraw, that they were plotting some mischief, remained alone outs the door, and not only heard their conversation, but, by applying his eye to a crevice of the door that afforded a glimpse inside, saw the letters they were all writing. And setting out from the house while it was still the dead of night, as if he had been sent by his (p23) masters upon some business, he hesitated to go to the consuls, lest, in their desire the keep the matter quiet out of goodwill for their kinsmen, they might do away with the one who gave information of the conspiracy, but went to Publius Valerius, one of the four who had taken the lead in overthrowing the tyranny; and when this man had given him assurance of his safety by offering his hand and swearing oaths, he informed him of all that he had both heard and seen. Valerius, upon hearing this story, made no delay, but went to the house of the Aquilii about daybreak, attended by a large number of clients and friends; and getting inside the door without hindrance, as having come upon some other business, while the lads were still there, he got possession of the letters, and seizing the youths, took them before the consuls.