[10,24] ὁ δὲ τῆς πόλεως ἔπαρχος Φάβιος ἔπεμπε τοὺς παραληψομένους τὸν Κοίντιον ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρχήν. ἔτυχε δὲ καὶ τότε ὁ ἀνὴρ τῶν κατ´ ἀγρὸν ἔργων τι διαπραττόμενος· ἰδὼν δὲ τὸν προσιόντα ὄχλον καὶ ὑποπτεύσας ἐπ´ αὐτὸν ἥκειν ἐσθῆτά τ´ ἐλάμβανεν εὐπρεπεστέραν καὶ ὑπαντήσων αὐτοῖς ἐπορεύετο. ὡς δ´ ἐγγὺς ἦν, ἵππους τ´ αὐτῷ φαλάροις κεκοσμημένους ἐκπρεπέσι προσῆγον καὶ πελέκεις ἅμα ταῖς ῥάβδοις εἰκοσιτέτταρας παρέστησαν ἐσθῆτά τε ἁλουργῆ καὶ τἆλλα παράσημα, οἷς πρότερον ἡ τῶν βασιλέων ἐκεκόσμητο ἀρχή, προσήνεγκαν. ὁ δὲ μαθών, ὅτι δικτάτωρ ἀποδέδεικται τῆς πόλεως, οὐχ ὅπως ἠγάπησε τηλικαύτης τιμῆς τυχών, ἀλλὰ προσαγανακτήσας εἶπεν· Ἀπολεῖται ἄρα καὶ τούτου τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ ὁ καρπὸς διὰ τὰς ἐμὰς ἀσχολίας, καὶ πεινήσομεν ἅπαντες κακῶς. μετὰ ταῦτα παραγενόμενος εἰς τὴν πόλιν πρῶτον μὲν ἐθάρρυνε τοὺς πολίτας λόγον ἐν τῷ πλήθει διεξελθὼν ἐξεγεῖραι τὰς ψυχὰς δυνάμενον ἐλπίσιν ἀγαθαῖς ἔπειτα συναγαγὼν ἅπαντας τοὺς ἐν ἀκμῇ, τούς τε κατὰ τὴν πόλιν καὶ τοὺς ἐκ τῶν ἀγρῶν, καὶ τὰς παρὰ τῶν συμμάχων ἐπικουρίας μεταπεμψάμενος ἱππάρχην τ´ ἀποδείξας Λεύκιον Ταρκύνιον, ἄνδρα τῶν ἠμελημένων μὲν διὰ πενίαν, τὰ δὲ πολέμια γενναῖον, ἐξῆγε συγκεκροτημένην ἔχων δύναμιν, καὶ καταλαβὼν τὸν ταμίαν Τίτον Κοίντιον ἀναδεχόμενον αὐτοῦ τὴν παρουσίαν, λαβὼν καὶ τὴν σὺν ἐκείνῳ δύναμιν ἧκεν ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους. ὡς δὲ κατώπτευσε τὴν τῶν χωρίων φύσιν, ἐν οἷς ἦν τὰ στρατόπεδα, μέρος μέν τι τῆς στρατιᾶς ἐπὶ τοῖς μετεώροις ἔταξεν, ὡς μήτε βοήθεια παραγένοιτο τοῖς Αἰκανοῖς ἑτέρα μήτε τροφαί, τὴν δὲ λοιπὴν δύναμιν αὐτὸς ἔχων προῆγεν ἐκτεταγμένην ὡς εἰς μάχην. καὶ ὁ Κοίλιος οὐθὲν ὑποδείσας - ἥ τε γὰρ δύναμις ἡ περὶ αὐτὸν ἦν οὐκ ὀλίγη, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐδόκει ψυχὴν οὐ κακὸς εἶναι κατὰ τὰ πολέμια - δέχεται αὐτὸν ἐπιόντα, καὶ γίνεται μάχη καρτερά. χρόνου δὲ πολλοῦ διελθόντος καὶ τῶν Ῥωμαίων διὰ τοὺς συνεχεῖς πολέμους ἀναφερόντων τὸν πόνον τῶν τε ἱππέων κατὰ τὸ κάμνον μέρος ἀεὶ ἐπιβοηθούντων τοῖς πεζοῖς ἡσσηθεὶς ὁ Γράγχος κατακλείεται πάλιν εἰς τὸν ἑαυτοῦ χάρακα. καὶ μετὰ τοῦθ´ ὁ Κοίντιος περιταφρεύσας αὐτὸν ὑψηλῷ χάρακι καὶ πύργοις πυκνοῖς περιλαβών, ἐπεὶ κάμνοντα ἔμαθε τῶν ἀναγκαίων τῇ σπάνει, αὐτός τε προσβολὰς ἐποιεῖτο συνεχεῖς πρὸς τὸν χάρακα τῶν Αἰκανῶν καὶ τῷ Μηνυκίῳ προσέταξεν ἀπὸ τῶν ἑτέρων ἐξιέναι μερῶν. ὥστε ἠναγκάσθησαν οἱ Αἰκανοὶ τροφῆς τε ἀπορούμενοι καὶ συμμάχων βοήθειαν ἀπεγνωκότες πολιορκούμενοί τε πολλαχόθεν ἱκετηρίας ἀναλαβόντες ἐπιπρεσβεύεσθαι πρὸς τὸν Κοίντιον περὶ φιλίας {διαλεγόμενοι}. ὁ δὲ τοῖς μὲν ἄλλοις Αἰκανοῖς ἔφη σπένδεσθαι καὶ διδόναι τοῖς σώμασι τὴν ἄδειαν τά τε ὅπλα ἀποθεμένοις καὶ καθ´ ἕνα διεξιοῦσιν ὑπὸ ζυγόν, Γράγχῳ δὲ τῷ ἡγεμόνι τῶν πολεμίων καὶ τοῖς σὺν ἐκείνῳ βουλεύσασι τὴν ἀπόστασιν ὡς πολεμίοις χρήσασθαι, ἐκέλευσέ τε αὐτοῖς ἄγειν τοὺς ἄνδρας δεδεμένους. ὑπομενόντων δὲ ταῦτα τῶν Αἰκανῶν τελευταῖον αὐτοῖς ἐκεῖνο προσέταξεν· ἐπειδὴ Τύσκλον πόλιν Ῥωμαίων σύμμαχον ἐξηνδραποδίσαντο καὶ διήρπασαν οὐδὲν ὑπὸ Τυσκλάνων παθόντες κακόν, ἀντιπαρασχεῖν ἑαυτῷ πόλιν τῶν σφετέρων, Κορβιῶνα, τὰ ὅμοια διαθεῖναι. ταύτας λαβόντες τὰς ἀποκρίσεις οἱ πρέσβεις τῶν Αἰκανῶν προῄεσαν καὶ μετ´ οὐ πολὺ παρῆσαν ἄγοντες τὸν Γράγχον καὶ τοὺς σὺν αὐτῷ δεδεμένους· αὐτοὶ δὲ τὰ ὅπλα θέντες ἐξέλιπον τὴν παρεμβολὴν διαπορευόμενοι, καθάπερ ὁ στρατηγὸς ἐκέλευσε, διὰ τοῦ Ῥωμαίων χάρακος καθ´ ἕνα ὑπὸ ζυγόν, καὶ τὴν Κορβιῶνα κατὰ τὰς ὁμολογίας παρέδοσαν, τὰ ἐλεύθερα σώματα μόνον ἐξελθεῖν αἰτησάμενοι, περὶ ὧν διήλλαξαν τοὺς Τυσκλάνων αἰχμαλώτους.

[10,24] Fabius, the prefect of the city, sent men to invite Quintius to come and assume his magistracy. It chanced that Quintius was on this occasion also engaged in some work of husbandry; and seeing the approaching throng and suspecting that they were coming after him, he put on more becoming apparel and went to meet them. When he drew near, they brought to him horses decked with magnificent trappings, placed beside him twenty-four axes with the rods and presented to him the purple robe and the other insignia with which aforetime the kingly office had been adorned. Quintius, when he learned that he had been appointed dictator, far from being pleased at receiving so great an honour, was actually vexed, and said: "This year's crop too will be ruined, then, because of my official duties, and we shall all go dreadfully hungry." After that he went into the city and first encouraged the citizens by delivering a speech before the populace calculated to raise their spirits with good hopes; then, after assembling all the men in their prime, both of the city and of the country, and sending for the forces of the allies, he appointed as his Master of Horse Lucius Tarquinius, a man who because of his poverty had been overlooked, but valiant in war. After which he led out his forces, now that he had them assembled, and joined Titus Quintius, the quaestor, who was awaiting (p249) his arrival; and taking with him Quintius' forces also, he led them against the enemy. After observing the nature of the places in which the camps lay, he posted a part of his army on the heights, in order that neither another relief force nor any provisions might reach the Aequians, and he himself marched forward with the remainder arrayed as for battle. Cloelius, unmoved by fear — for the force he had was no small one and he himself was looked upon as no craven in spirit when it came to fighting — awaited his attack, and a severe battle ensued. After this had continued for a long time, and the Romans because of their continuous wars endured the toil, and the horse kept relieving the foot wherever the latter were hard pressed, Gracchus was beaten and shut up once more in his camp. After that Quintius surround edit with a high palisade, fortified with many towers; and when he learned that Gracchus was in distress for want of provisions, he not only himself made continual attacks upon the camp of the Aequians, but also ordered Minucius to make a sortie on the other side. Consequently the Aequians, lacking provisions, despairing of aid from any allies, and besieged on many sides, were compelled to send envoys to Quintius with the tokens of suppliants to treat for peace. Quintius said he was ready to make peace with the rest of the Aequians and grant them immunity for their persons if they would lay down (p251) their arms and pass under the yoke one at a time; but as for Gracchus, their commander, and those who had planned the revolt with him, he would treat them as enemies, and he ordered them to bring these men to him in chains. When the Aequians consented to do so, the last demand he made of them was this — that, inasmuch as they had enslaved the inhabitants of Tusculum, a city in alliance with the Romans, and plundered it, though they had received no injury from the Tusculans, they should in turn put at his disposal one of their own cities, Corbio, to be treated in like manner. The envoys, having received this answer, disappeared, and not long afterward returned, bringing with them in chains Gracchus and his associate. They themselves, laying down their arms, left their camp and, pursuant to the general's orders, marched through the Roman camp one by one under the yoke; and they delivered up Corbio according to their agreement, merely asking that the inhabitants of free condition might leave the city, in exchange for whom they released the Tusculan captives.