[10,46] Ὁ δὲ Σίκκιος ἑτέραν ἀποστραφείς, οὐχ ἣν ὁ Ῥωμίλιος ὑπελάμβανε, παρὰ τὴν λαγόνα τοῦ ὄρους ἦγεν. ἔπειτα - ἦν γάρ τις δρυμὸς ὕλην βαθεῖαν ἔχων - εἰς τοῦτον ἄγων τοὺς ἄνδρας ἵσταταί τε καί φησιν· Ὑπὸ μὲν τοῦ ἡγεμόνος ἀπεστάλμεθα, ὥσπερ ὁρᾶτε, ἀπολούμενοι. ἐδόκει γὰρ ἡμᾶς τὴν πλαγίαν χωρήσειν ὁδόν, ἣν ἀναβαίνοντας ἀμήχανον ἦν μὴ οὐ φανεροὺς τοῖς πολεμίοις γενέσθαι. ἐγὼ δ´ ὑμᾶς ἄξω κατ´ ἄδηλον τοῖς ἐχθροῖς ὁδὸν καὶ πολλὰς ἐλπίδας ἔχω τρίβων ἐπιλήψεσθαί τινων, αἳ κατὰ κορυφῆς ἄξουσιν ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ τὸν χάρακα· καὶ ἐλπίδας χρηστὰς ἔχετε. Ταῦτ´ εἰπὼν ἦγε διὰ τοῦ δρυμοῦ, καὶ πολὺν ἤδη διεληλυθὼς τόπον εὑρίσκει κατὰ δαίμονα ἄνδρα ἐξ ἀγροῦ ποθεν ἀπιόντα, ὃν τοῖς νεωτάτοις συλλαβεῖν κελεύσας ἡγεμόνα ποιεῖται τῆς ὁδοῦ. κἀκεῖνος αὐτοὺς ἄγων περὶ τὸ ὄρος σὺν πολλῷ χρόνῳ καθίστησιν ἐπὶ τὸν παρακείμενον τῷ χάρακι λόφον, ὅθεν ἦν ταχεῖα καὶ εὐεπίφορος ἐπ´ αὐτὸν ὁδός. ἐν ᾧ δὲ ταῦτ´ ἐγίνετο χρόνῳ, συνῄεσαν αἵ τε τῶν Ῥωμαίων καὶ αἱ τῶν Αἰκανῶν δυνάμεις ὁμόσε καὶ καταστᾶσαι ἐμάχοντο, πλήθει τ´ ἀγχώμαλοι οὖσαι καὶ ὁπλισμοῖς καὶ προθυμίαν παρεχόμεναι τὴν αὐτήν· καὶ διέμειναν ἐπὶ πολὺν χρόνον ἰσόρροποι, τοτὲ μὲν ἐπιβαίνοντες ἀλλήλοις, τοτὲ δ´ ὑποχωροῦντες, ἱππεῖς τε ἱππεῦσι καὶ πεζοὶ πεζοῖς, καὶ ἔπεσον ἐξ ἑκατέρων ἄνδρες ἐπιφανεῖς. ἔπειτα κρίσιν λαμβάνει ὁ πόλεμος ἐπιτελῆ. ὁ γὰρ Σίκκιος καὶ οἱ σὺν αὐτῷ, ἐπειδὴ πλησίον ἐγένοντο τῆς παρεμβολῆς τῶν Αἰκανῶν, ἀφύλακτον εὑρόντες ἐκεῖνο τὸ μέρος τοῦ χάρακος - ἐπὶ γὰρ θάτερα τὰ πρὸς τοὺς μαχομένους ἐστραμμένα μέρη πᾶσα ἡ φυλάττουσα αὐτὸν δύναμις ἐτράπετο κατὰ θέαν τοῦ ἀγῶνος - ἐπεισπεσόντες κατὰ πολλὴν εὐπέτειαν κατὰ κορυφῆς γίνονται τῶν φυλάκων. ἔπειτ´ ἀλαλάξαντες ἔθεον ἐπ´ αὐτούς· οἱ δ´ ὑπὸ τοῦ παρ´ ἐλπίδα δεινοῦ ἐκταραχθέντες καὶ οὐ τοσούτους εἶναι δόξαντες, ἀλλὰ τὸν ἕτερον ἥκειν ὕπατον ἄγοντα τὴν σὺν αὐτῷ δύναμιν, ἐρρίπτουν ἔξω τοῦ χάρακος ἑαυτούς, οὐδὲ τὰ ὅπλα οἱ πολλοὶ φυλάξαντες. οἱ δὲ περὶ τὸν Σίκκιον τοὺς καταλαμβανομένους αὐτῶν φονεύοντες καὶ τοῦ χάρακος κρατήσαντες ἐχώρουν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ. οἱ δὲ Αἰκανοὶ τοῦ χάρακος τὴν ἅλωσιν ἀπό τε τῆς φυγῆς καὶ τῆς κραυγῆς τῶν σφετέρων αἰσθόμενοι καὶ μετ´ οὐ πολὺ κατὰ νώτου σφίσι τοὺς πολεμίους ἐπιόντας ὁρῶντες, οὐκέτι γενναῖον οὐδὲν ἀπεδείξαντο, ἀλλὰ διασπάσαντες τὰς τάξεις ἔσῳζον ἑαυτοὺς ἄλλοι κατ´ ἄλλας ὁδούς· ἔνθα ὁ πλεῖστος αὐτῶν ἐγίνετο φόνος. οὐ γὰρ ἀνίεσαν οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι μέχρι νυκτὸς διώκοντές τε καὶ κτείνοντες τοὺς ἁλισκομένους. ὁ δὲ πλείστους τ´ αὐτῶν διαφθείρας καὶ λαμπρότατα ἔργα ἀποδειξάμενος Σίκκιος ἦν, ὅς, ἐπειδὴ τέλος ἑώρα τὰ τῶν πολεμίων ἔχοντα σκότους ὄντος ἤδη, τὴν σπεῖραν ἄγων ἐπὶ τὸν κρατηθέντα ὑπὸ σφῶν χάρακα ἀνέστρεφε μεγάλης χαρᾶς καὶ πολλοῦ μεστὸς ὢν αὐχήματος. οἵ τε περὶ αὐτὸν ἀθῷοι καὶ ἀβλαβεῖς πάντες οὐ μόνον οὐδὲν παθόντες ὧν προσεδόκησαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ δόξαν ἐπιφανεστάτην ἐξενεγκάμενοι, πατέρα καὶ σωτῆρα καὶ θεὸν καὶ πάντα τὰ τιμιώτατα ὀνομάζοντες ἀπλήστως εἶχον ἀσπασμῶν τε τοῦ ἀνδρὸς καὶ τῶν ἄλλων φιλοφρονήσεων {ἡδονάς}. ἐν δὲ τούτῳ καὶ ἡ ἄλλη τῶν Ῥωμαίων φάλαγξ ἅμα τοῖς ὑπάτοις ἀπὸ τῆς διώξεως ἀνέστρεφεν ἐπὶ τὸν ἑαυτῆς χάρακα.

[10,46] Siccius, however, turned off by a different road, not the one which Romilius had in mind, and marched along the flank of the hill. Then — for there was a thicket with a heavy growth of trees in it — he led his men into it, halted there and said: "We have been sent by the commander, as you see, to perish. For he expected us to take the transverse road, which we could not possibly have ascended without coming into full view of the enemy. But I will lead you by a way that is out of the enemy's sight and I have (p321) great hopes of gaining some paths that will bring us over the summit to their camp. So I bid you have the best of hopes." Having said this, he led the way through the thicket, and after going a good distance, by good fortune came upon a man who was on his way home from a farm somewhere; and ordering him to be seized by the youngest men of his company, he took him for his guide. This man, leading them round the hill, brought them after along time to the height adjacent to the camp, from which there was a short and easy descent to their goal. While this was happening, the forces of the Romans and of the Aequians engaged and fought steadfastly, since they were equally matched and displayed the same ardour. For a long time they continued to be evenly balanced as they now attacked one another and now withdrew, horse against horse and foot against foot; and prominent men fell on both sides. Then the battle took a definite turn. For Siccius and his men, when they came near the camp of the Aequians, found that part of it unguarded, since the entire force appointed to guard it had gone to the other side that faced the field of battle, in order to witness the conflict; and bursting into the camp with great ease, they found themselves immediately overhead in relation to the guards. Then, uttering their war-cry, they attacked them on the run. The garrison, confounded by this unexpected danger and not imagining that their assailants were so few in name, but supposing that the other consul had arrived with his army, hurled themselves out of the camp, most of them not even (p323) holding on to their arms. Siccius and his men slew all of them they overtook, and after possessing themselves of their camp, marched against those who were in the plain. The Aequians, perceiving from the flight and outcries of their men that their camp had been taken, and then, not long afterwards, seeing the enemy falling upon their rear, no longer displayed any valour, but broke their ranks and endeavoured to save themselves, some by one way and some by another. And here they met with their greatest loss of life; for the Romans did not give over the pursuit till night, killing all whom they captured. The man who slew the largest number of them and performed the most brilliant deeds was Siccius, who, when he saw that the enemy's resistance was at an end, it being now dark, returned with his cohort to the camp which they had taken, filled with great joy and much exultation. All his men, safe and uninjured, having not only suffered none of the calamities they had expected, but also won the greatest glory, called him their father, their preserver, their god, and every other honourable appellation, and could not sate themselves with embracing him and showing every other mark of affection. In the meantime the rest of the Roman army with the consuls was returning from the pursuit to their camp.