[8,21] Μετὰ τοῦτο χώρα θ´, ὅσην διαπορεύοιτο, ὑποχείριος ἦν καὶ πόλις οὐδεμία ἠναντιοῦτο ἔξω Λαουινίου, ἣν πρώτην τε πόλιν οἱ σὺν Αἰνείᾳ κατάραντες εἰς Ἰταλίαν Τρῶες ἔκτισαν, καὶ ἀφ´ ἧς τὸ Ῥωμαίων ἦν γένος, ὡς καὶ πρότερόν μοι δεδήλωται. οἱ δ´ ἐν ταύτῃ κατοικοῦντες πάντα πρότερον ᾤοντο δεῖν ὑπομένειν, ἢ τὸ πρὸς τοὺς ἀπογόνους σφῶν {Ῥωμαίους} πιστὸν ἐγκαταλιπεῖν. ἐγένοντο μὲν οὖν καὶ τειχομαχίαι τινὲς αὐτόθι καρτεραὶ καὶ πρὸ τῶν ἐρυμάτων ὀξεῖαι μάχαι· οὐ μὴν ἑάλω γε τὸ τεῖχος ἀπὸ κράτους τῇ πρώτῃ ἐφόδῳ, ἀλλ´ ἐδόκει χρόνου δεῖν {ἡ πολιορκία} καὶ τριβῆς. ἀποστὰς οὖν τῆς πολιορκίας ὁ Μάρκιος περιετάφρευε κύκλῳ τὴν πόλιν καὶ ἀπεσταύρου, τὰς ὁδοὺς φυλάττων, ἵνα μήτ´ ἀγορὰ μήτ´ ἐπικουρία τις αὐτοῖς ἔξωθεν προσγένοιτο. Ῥωμαῖοι δὲ τῶν τε κεκρατημένων ἤδη πόλεων τὸν ὄλεθρον ἀκούοντες καὶ τῶν προσθεμένων τῷ Μαρκίῳ τὴν ἀνάγκην, ταῖς τε πρεσβείαις ἐνοχλούμενοι ταῖς ἀφικνουμέναις ὡς αὐτοὺς ὁσημέραι παρὰ τῶν μενουσῶν ἐν τῇ φιλίᾳ καὶ δεομένων βοηθείας, τοῦ τε Λαουινίου τὸν περιτειχισμὸν ὀρρωδοῦντες ἐν χερσὶν ὄντα, καὶ εἰ τόδε τὸ φρούριον ἁλώσεται τὸν πόλεμον ἐπὶ σφᾶς ἥξειν εὐθὺς οἰόμενοι, μίαν ὑπέλαβον ἔσεσθαι πάντων τῶν κακῶν λύσιν, εἰ ψηφίσαιντο τῷ Μαρκίῳ τὴν κάθοδον. καὶ ὅ τε δῆμος ἅπας ἐβόα τοῦτο, καὶ οἱ δήμαρχοι νόμον εἰσφέρειν ὑπὲρ ἀκυρώσεως τῆς καταδίκης ἐβούλοντο· ἀλλ´ οἱ πατρίκιοι ἠναντιώθησαν αὐτοῖς οὐκ ἀξιοῦντες τῶν δεδικασμένων λύειν οὐθέν. μὴ γενομένου δὲ προβουλεύματος ὑπὸ τῆς βουλῆς οὐδὲ τοῖς δημάρχοις ἔτι προθεῖναι γνώμην εἰς τὸν δῆμον ἐδόκει. ὃ καὶ θαυμάζειν ἄξιον, ἀφ´ ἧς δήποτε αἰτίας ἡ βουλὴ σπουδάζουσα τὸν ἔμπροσθεν χρόνον ὑπὲρ τοῦ Μαρκίου τότε βουλομένῳ τῷ δήμῳ κατάγειν αὐτὸν ἠναντιώθη· πότερα πεῖραν αὐτοῦ ποιουμένη τῆς γνώμης καὶ τῷ μὴ συγχωρεῖν ἑτοίμως ἐπὶ τὸ μᾶλλον σπουδάζειν αὐτὸν παρορμῶσα, ἢ τὰς καθ´ ἑαυτῆς ἀπολύσασθαι βουλομένη διαβολὰς ὑπὲρ τοῦ μηθενὸς ὧν ἔπραττεν ὁ ἀνὴρ μήτε αἰτία μήτε συνεργὸς εἶναι. χαλεπὸν γὰρ ἦν ἀπόρρητον γενόμενον αὐτῆς τὸ βούλευμα συμβαλεῖν.

[8,21] After this all the country he marched through submitted to him and no city made any resistance but Lavinium, which was the first city built by the Trojans who land in Italy with Aeneas, and the one from which the Romans derive their origin, as I have shown earlier. The inhabitants of this city thought they (p59) ought to suffer any extremity rather than fail to keep faith with their descendants. Here, therefore, some stubborn fighting took place upon the walls and some sharp engagements before the ramparts; nevertheless, the walls were not carried by storm at the first assault, but their capture seemed to require time and unhurried persistence. Marcius accordingly gave over the attack on the walls and undertook to construct a ditch and a palisade around the town, while guarding all the roads so that neither provisions nor reinforcements might come to the inhabitants from outside. The Romans, being informed both of the destruction of the cities that were already taken and of the exigency which had influenced those who had joined Marcius, and importuned by the embassies which came to them daily from those who continued firm in their friendship and besought their aid, and being alarmed, moreover, by the investment of Lavinium then in progress and believing that if this stronghold should be taken the war would promptly come to their own gates, thought the only remedy for all these evils would be to pass a vote for the return of Marcius. The entire populace shouted for this and the tribunes too wished to introduce a law for the annulment of his condemnation; but the patricians opposed them, being determined not to reverse any part of the sentence which had been pronounced. And as no preliminary decree was passed by the senate, the tribunes too no longer thought fit to propose the matter to the populace. It may well excite wonder what the motive was that led the senate, which hitherto had (p61) so warmly espoused the cause of Marcius, to oppose the populace on this occasion when they wished to recall him — whether they were sounding out the sentiment of the populace and arousing them to greater zeal by their own reluctance to yield to them, or whether they wished to clear themselves of the accusations brought against them so that they might not be held to be either responsible for or accomplices in any of the acts of Marcius. For as their purpose was kept secret, it was difficult to conjecture what it was.