[7,10] Οἱ δ´ ἐπαναστάντες αὐτῷ καὶ τὴν πόλιν ἐλευθερώσαντες ἀπὸ τῆς τυραννίδος οἱ παῖδες τῶν πεφονευμένων ὑπ´ αὐτοῦ πολιτῶν ἦσαν, οὓς κατ´ ἀρχὰς ἅπαντας ἀποκτεῖναι ἐν ἡμέρᾳ μιᾷ προελόμενος ἐπέσχεν, ὥσπερ ἔφην, ὑπὸ τῶν σωματοφυλάκων, οἷς ἔδωκε τὰς μητέρας αὐτῶν, ἐκλιπαρηθείς, {καὶ} κατ´ ἀγροὺς κελεύσας διατρίβειν. ὀλίγοις δ´ ἔτεσιν ὕστερον, ἐπειδὴ τὰς κώμας διεξιὼν πολλὴν καὶ ἀγαθὴν εἶδεν αὐτῶν νεότητα, δείσας, μὴ συμφρονήσαντες ἐπαναστῶσιν αὐτῷ, φθάσαι διαχειρισάμενος ἅπαντας ἐβούλετο, πρὶν αἰσθέσθαι τινά· καὶ παραλαβὼν τοὺς φίλους ἐσκόπει μετ´ αὐτῶν, δι´ οἵου τρόπου ῥᾷστά τε καὶ τάχιστα λαθόντες ἀναιρεθήσονται. τοῦτο καταμαθόντες οἱ παῖδες, εἴτε μηνυθὲν ὑπὸ τῶν συνειδότων τινός, εἴτ´ αὐτοὶ κατὰ τὸν ἐκ τῶν εἰκότων λογισμὸν ὑποτοπήσαντες, φεύγουσιν εἰς τὰ ὄρη τὸν γεωργικὸν ἁρπάσαντες σίδηρον. ἧκον δ´ αὐτοῖς ἐπίκουροι κατὰ τάχος ἐνδιατρίβοντες ἐν Καπύῃ Κυμαίων φυγάδες, ὧν ἦσαν ἐπιφανέστατοί τε καὶ πλείστους Καμπανῶν ἔχοντες ξένους οἱ Ἱππομέδοντος παῖδες τοῦ κατὰ τὸν Τυρρηνικὸν ἱππαρχήσαντος πόλεμον, αὐτοί θ´ ὡπλισμένοι κἀκείνοις κομίζοντες ὅπλα Καμπανῶν τε μισθοφόρων καὶ φίλων χεῖρα συγκροτήσαντες οὐκ ὀλίγην. ἐπεὶ δὲ καθ´ ἓν ἅπαντες ἐγένοντο, τοὺς ἀγροὺς τῶν ἐχθρῶν καταθέοντες ἐφόδοις λῃστρικαῖς ἐλεηλάτουν καὶ τοὺς δούλους ἀφίστασαν ἀπὸ τῶν δεσποτῶν καὶ τοὺς ἐκ τῶν δεσμωτηρίων λύοντες καθώπλιζον, καὶ ὅσα μὴ δύναιντο φέρειν τε καὶ ἄγειν {χρήματα καὶ βοσκήματα} τὰ μὲν ἐνεπίμπρασαν, τὰ δὲ κατέσφαττον. ἀπορουμένῳ δὲ τῷ τυράννῳ, τίνα χρὴ τρόπον αὐτοῖς πολεμεῖν διὰ τὸ μήτ´ ἐκ τοῦ φανεροῦ τὰς ἐπιχειρήσεις αὐτοὺς ποιεῖσθαι μήτ´ ἐν τοῖς αὐτοῖς χρονίζειν τόποις, ἀλλὰ νυκτὶ μὲν εἰς ὄρθρον, ἡμέρᾳ δ´ εἰς νύκτα συμμετρεῖσθαι τὰς ἐφόδους, καὶ πολλάκις ἀποστείλαντι τοὺς στρατιώτας ἐπὶ τὴν βοήθειαν τῆς χώρας διὰ κενῆς, παραγίνεταί τις ἐξ αὐτῶν ᾐκισμένος τὸ σῶμα μάστιξιν ἀποσταλεὶς ὑπὸ τῶν φυγάδων ὡς αὐτόμολος, ὃς ἄδειαν αἰτησάμενος ὑπέσχετο τῷ τυράννῳ παραλαβὼν τὴν ἀποσταλησομένην σὺν αὑτῷ δύναμιν ἄξειν ἐπὶ τὸν τόπον, ἐν ᾧ τὴν ἐπιοῦσαν ἔμελλον αὐλίζεσθαι νύκτα οἱ φυγάδες. ᾧ πιστεῦσαι προαχθεὶς ὁ τύραννος αἰτοῦντι οὐθὲν καὶ τὸ ἑαυτοῦ σῶμα ὅμηρον παρεχομένῳ πέμπει τοὺς πιστοτάτους τῶν ἡγεμόνων ἄγοντας ἱππεῖς τε πολλοὺς καὶ τὴν μισθοφόρον δύναμιν, οἷς ἐνετείλατο μάλιστα μὲν ἅπαντας τοὺς φυγάδας, εἰ δὲ μή γ´ ὡς πλείστους ἐξ αὐτῶν δήσαντας πρὸς αὐτὸν ἄγειν. ὁ μὲν οὖν κατασκευαστὸς αὐτόμολος κατά τ´ ἀτριβεῖς ὁδοὺς καὶ διὰ δρυμῶν ἐρήμων ἦγε τὴν στρατιὰν ταλαιπωροῦσαν δι´ ὅλης νυκτὸς ἐπὶ τὰ πλεῖστον ἀπέχοντα τῆς πόλεως μέρη.

[7,10] Those who rose against him and freed their country from his tyranny were the sons of the citizens he had murdered, all of whom he had at first resolved to put to death in one day, but being prevailed upon by the entreaties of his bodyguards, to whom he had given their mothers, had refrained, as I said, and ordered them to live in the country. A few years later, as he was making a progress through the villages, he saw a large number of these youths, who made a brave appearance; and fearing they might conspire together and rise against him, he (p175) purposed to forestall them by putting them all to death before any one should be aware of his intention. Assembling his friends, accordingly, he considered with them how the youths might most easily and speedily be put to death in secret. The youths, being apprised of this, either by the information of some person who was acquainted with his purpose, or suspecting it themselves by reasoning from probabilities, fled to the mountains, taking with them the iron implements they used in husbandry. They were speedily joined by the Cumaean exiles who resided in Capua, most distinguished of whom and possessing the largest number of friends among the Campanians were the sons of Hippomedon, who had been commander of the horse in the war against the Tyrrhenians. These were not only well armed themselves, but also brought with them arms for the youths as well as a goodly band of Campanian mercenaries and of their own friends which they had raised. When they had all united, they made descents after the manner of brigands and plundered the lands of their enemies, lured the slaves away from their masters, released the men confined in prisons and armed them, and whatever they could not carry or drive off they either burnt or killed. While the tyrant was at a loss to know in what manner he ought to make war upon them, because they neither made their attempts openly nor stayed long in the same places, but timed their raids either from the fall of night to the break of day or from daybreak to nightfall, and after he had often sent out the soldiers to the relief of the country in vain, one of the fugitives, sent by the rest in the guise of a deserter, came to him, his body torn with whips, and (p177) after suing for impunity, promised the tyrant to conduct any troops he should think fit to send with him to the place where the fugitives proposed to encamp the following night. The tyrant, being induced to trust this man, who asked nothing and offered his own person as a hostage, sent his most trusted commanders at the head of a large number of horse and the band of mercenaries with orders to bring to him in chains all the fugitives if they could, otherwise as many of them as possible. The pretended deserter then led the army during the whole night through untrodden paths and lonely woods, where they suffered greatly, till they came to the regions that were most remote from the city.