[8,91] Ἐπὶ τῆς τούτων ἀρχῆς Αἰκανοὶ μὲν εἰς τὴν Λατίνων χώραν ἐμβαλόντες ἀπήλασαν ἀνδράποδα καὶ βοσκήματα πολλὰ λῃστρικῇ ἐφόδῳ χρησάμενοι· Τυρρηνῶν δ´ οἱ καλούμενοι Οὐιεντανοὶ τῆς Ῥωμαίων γῆς πολλὴν ἠδίκησαν προνομαῖς. τῆς δὲ βουλῆς τὸν μὲν πρὸς Αἰκανοὺς πόλεμον εἰς ἕτερον ἀναβαλομένης χρόνον, παρὰ δὲ Οὐιεντανῶν δίκας αἰτεῖν ψηφισαμένης, Αἰκανοὶ μὲν ἐπειδὴ τὰ πρῶτα αὐτοῖς κατὰ νοῦν ἐχώρησε, καὶ οὐθεὶς ὁ κωλύσων τὰ λοιπὰ ἐφαίνετο, θράσει ἐπαρθέντες ἀλογίστῳ λῃστρικὴν μὲν οὐκέτι στρατείαν ἔγνωσαν ποιεῖσθαι, δυνάμει δὲ βαρείᾳ ἐλάσαντες ἐπὶ πόλιν Ὀρτῶνα κατὰ κράτος αἱροῦσι· καὶ διαρπάσαντες τά τ´ ἐκ τῆς χώρας καὶ τὰ τῆς πόλεως ἀπῄεσαν εὐπορίαν πολλὴν ἀγόμενοι. Οὐιεντανοὶ δὲ πρὸς τοὺς ἀπὸ τῆς Ῥώμης ἥκοντας ἀποκρινάμενοι, ὅτι οὐκ ἐξ αὐτῶν εἴησαν οἱ προνομεύοντες τὴν χώραν, ἀλλ´ ἐκ τῶν ἄλλων Τυρρηνῶν, ἀπέλυσαν τοὺς ἄνδρας οὐθὲν τῶν δικαίων ποιήσαντες· καὶ οἱ πρέσβεις ἐπιτυγχάνουσι τοῖς Οὐιεντανοῖς λείαν ἐκ τῆς αὐτῶν χώρας ἄγουσι. ταῦτα παρ´ αὐτῶν ἡ βουλὴ μαθοῦσα πολεμεῖν τ´ ἐψηφίσατο Οὐιεντανοῖς καὶ τοὺς ὑπάτους ἀμφοτέρους ἐξάγειν τὴν στρατιάν. ἐγένετο μὲν οὖν περὶ τοῦ δόγματος ἀμφιλογία, καὶ πολλοὶ ἦσαν οἱ τὸν πόλεμον οὐκ ἐῶντες ἐκφέρειν τῆς τε κληρουχίας ὑπομιμνήσκοντες τοὺς δημοτικούς, ἧς γε πέμπτον ἔτος ἐψηφισμένης ὑπὸ τοῦ συνεδρίου κενῇ πιστεύσαντες ἐλπίδι ἐξηπάτηντο, καὶ κοινὸν ἀποφαίνοντες πόλεμον, εἰ κοινῇ χρήσεται γνώμῃ πᾶσα Τυρρηνία τοῖς ὁμοεθνέσι βοηθοῦσα. οὐ μὴν ἴσχυσάν γ´ οἱ τῶν στασιαστῶν λόγοι, ἀλλ´ ἐκύρωσε καὶ ὁ δῆμος τὸ τῆς βουλῆς δόγμα τῇ Σπορίου Λαρκίου γνώμῃ τε καὶ παρακλήσει χρησάμενος. καὶ μετὰ ταῦτ´ ἐξῆγον τὰς δυνάμεις οἱ ὕπατοι· στρατοπεδευσάμενοι δὲ χωρὶς ἀλλήλων οὐ μακρὰν ἀπὸ τῆς πόλεως καὶ μείναντες ἡμέρας συχνάς, ἐπειδὴ οὐκ ἀντεξῆγον οἱ πολέμιοι τὰς δυνάμεις, προνομεύσαντες αὐτῶν τῆς γῆς ὅσην ἐδύναντο πλείστην ἀπῆγον ἐπ´ οἴκου τὴν στρατιάν. ἄλλο δ´ ἐπὶ τῆς τούτων ὑπατείας λόγου ἄξιον οὐδὲν ἐπράχθη.

[8,91] During the consulship of these men the Aequians, making a raid into the territory of the Latins after the manner of brigands, carried off a great number of slaves and cattle; and the people of Tyrrhenia called the Veientes injured a large part of the Roman territory by their forays. The senate voted to put off the war against the Aequians to another time, but to demand satisfaction of the Veientes. The Aequians, accordingly, since their first attempts had been successful and there appeared to be no one to prevent their further operations, grew elated with an unreasoning boldness, and resolving no longer to send out a mere marauding expedition, marched with a large force to Ortona and took it by storm; then, after plundering everything both in the country and in the city, they returned home with rich booty. As for the Veientes, they returned answer to the ambassadors who came from Rome that those who were ravaging their country were not from their city, but from the other Tyrrhenian cities, and then dismissed them without giving them any satisfaction; and the ambassadors fell in with the Veientes as these were driving off booty from the Roman territory. The senate, learning of these things from the ambassadors, voted to declare war against the Veientes and that both consuls should lead out (p285) the army. There was a controversy, to be sure, over the decree, and there were many who opposed engaging in the war and reminded the plebeians of the allotment of land, of which they had been defrauded after a vain hope, though the senate had passed the decree four years before; and they declared that there would be a general war if all Tyrrhenia by common consent should assist their countrymen. However, the arguments of the seditious speakers did not prevail, but the populace also confirmed the decree of the senate, following the opinion and advice of Spurius Larcius. Thereupon the consuls marched out with their forces and encamped apart at no great distance from the city;76 but after they had remained there a good many days and the enemy did not lead their forces out to meet them, they ravaged as large a part of their country as they could and then returned home with the army. Nothing else worthy of notice happened during their consulship.