[10,47] Μέσαι τ´ ἤδη νύκτες ἦσαν, καὶ ὁ Σίκκιος μνησικακῶν τοῖς ὑπάτοις τῆς ἐπὶ τὸν θάνατον ἀποστολῆς εἰς νοῦν βάλλεται τὴν δόξαν ἀφελέσθαι τοῦ κατορθώματος. κοινωσάμενος δὲ τοῖς ἀμφ´ αὐτὸν ἣν εἶχε διάνοιαν, ἐπειδὴ πᾶσιν ὀρθῶς ἐφαίνετο, καὶ οὐδεὶς ἦν ὃς οὐκ ἐθαύμαζε τῆς τε φρονήσεως καὶ τῆς τόλμης τὸν ἄνδρα, λαβὼν τὰ ὅπλα καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους κελεύσας ἀναλαβεῖν, πρῶτον μὲν ἀνθρώπους ὅσους ἐν τῷ χάρακι κατέλαβε τῶν Αἰκανῶν καὶ ἵππους καὶ τἆλλα ὑποζύγια κατέκοψεν· ἔπειτα ὑφῆψε τὰς σκηνὰς ὅπλων τε καὶ σίτου καὶ ἐσθῆτος καὶ τῶν εἰς τὸν πόλεμον ἐπιτηδείων γεμούσας τῶν τε ἄλλων χρημάτων, ὧν ἐκ τῆς Τυσκλάνων λείας ἐπήγοντο πολλῶν πάνυ ὄντων. ὡς δ´ ἅπαντα ὑπὸ τοῦ πυρὸς ἠφάνιστο, περὶ τὸν ὄρθρον ἀπῄει φέρων οὐθὲν ὅτι μὴ τὰ ὅπλα, καὶ διανύσας σπουδῇ τὴν ὁδὸν εἰς Ῥώμην παρῆν. ὡς δ´ ὤφθησαν ἄνθρωποι καθωπλισμένοι παιανίζοντές τε καὶ σπουδῇ χωροῦντες αἵματι πολλῷ πεφυρμένοι, δρόμος ἐγίνετο καὶ πολλὴ προθυμία τῶν βουλομένων ἰδεῖν τ´ αὐτοὺς καὶ τὰ πραχθέντα ἀκοῦσαι. οἱ δὲ μέχρις ἀγορᾶς ἐλθόντες ἐδήλωσαν τοῖς δημάρχοις τὰ γενόμενα, κἀκεῖνοι συναγαγόντες ἐκκλησίαν ἐκέλευον αὐτοὺς πρὸς ἅπαντας λέγειν. ὄχλου δὲ πολλοῦ συναχθέντος παρελθὼν ὁ Σίκκιος τήν τε νίκην αὐτοῖς ἐδήλωσε καὶ τὸν τρόπον τοῦ ἀγῶνος ἐνεφάνισε, καὶ ὅτι παρὰ τὴν ἰδίαν ἀρετὴν καὶ τῶν σὺν αὐτῷ πρεσβυτέρων ἀνδρῶν ὀκτακοσίων, οὓς ἀποθανουμένους ἀπέστειλαν οἱ ὕπατοι, ὅ τε χάραξ ὁ τῶν Αἰκανῶν ἐλήφθη καὶ ἡ δύναμις ἡ παραταξαμένη τοῖς ὑπάτοις ἠναγκάσθη φυγεῖν· ἠξίου τε αὐτοὺς μηδενὶ τῆς νίκης ἑτέρῳ τὴν χάριν εἰδέναι καὶ τελευτῶν ἔτι προσέθηκεν ἐκεῖνον τὸν λόγον, ὅτι τὰς ψυχὰς καὶ τὰ ὅπλα σώζοντες ἥκομεν, ἄλλο δὲ οὐδὲν τῶν κεκρατημένων οὔτε μεῖζον οὔτ´ ἔλαττον ἐξενεγκάμενοι. ὁ δὲ δῆμος ἀκούσας τὸν λόγον εἰς οἶκτόν τε καὶ δάκρυα προὔπεσεν ὁρῶν μὲν τὰς ἡλικίας τῶν ἀνδρῶν, ἐνθυμούμενος δὲ τὰς ἀρετάς, ἀγανακτῶν δὲ καὶ νεμεσῶν τοῖς ἐπιβαλομένοις τοιούτων ἀνδρῶν ἐρημῶσαι τὴν πόλιν. ἐγεγόνει δέ, ὃ προὔλαβεν ὁ Σίκκιος, μῖσος εἰς τοὺς ὑπάτους ἐξ ἁπάντων τῶν πολιτῶν. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἡ βουλὴ τὸ πρᾶγμα μετρίως ἤνεγκεν, ἣ οὔτ´ ἐψηφίσατο αὐτοῖς πομπὴν θριάμβων οὔτε ἄλλο τι τῶν ἐπὶ καλοῖς ἀγῶσι γινομένων. τὸν μέντοι Σίκκιον ὁ δῆμος, ἐπειδὴ καθῆκεν ὁ τῶν ἀρχαιρεσίων καιρός, δήμαρχον ἀπέδειξεν, ἧς κύριος ἦν τιμῆς ἀποδιδούς. καὶ τὰ μὲν ἐπιφανέστατα τῶν τότε πραχθέντων τοιάδ´ ἦν.

[10,47] It was now midnight when Siccius, full of resentment against the consuls for having sent him to his death, resolved to take from them the glory of the victory; and having communicated his intention (p325) to his companions and received their approval, every one of them admiring the sagacity and daring of the man, he took his arms and ordering the rest to do the same, he first slaughtered all the Aequians he found in the camp, as well as the horses and beasts of burden; then he set fire to the tents, which were full of arms, corn, apparel, warlike stores and all the other articles, very many in number, which they were carrying off as part of the Tusculan booty. After everything had been consumed by the flames, he left the camp about break of day, carrying with him nothing but his arms, and after a hurried march came to Rome. As soon as armed men were seen singing paeans of victory and marching in haste, all covered with blood, the people flocked to them, earnestly desiring both to see them and to hear their exploits. When they had come as far as the Forum, they gave an account to the tribunes of what had pas; and those magistrates, calling an assembly, ordered them to tell their story to all. When a large crowd had gathered, Siccius came forward and not only announced to them the victory, but also described the nature of the battle, showing that by his own valour and that of the eight hundred veterans with him, whom the consuls had sent to be slain, the camp of the Aequians had been taken and the army arrayed against the consuls had been put to flight. He asked them to give thanks for the victory to no one else, and ended by adding these words: "We have come with our lives and our arms safe, but have brought with us nothing else, great or small, of (p327) the things we captured." The populace, upon hearing this, burst into compassion and tears, as they observed the age of the men and recalled their deeds of valour; and they were filled with resentment and indignation against those who had attempted to deprive the commonwealth of such men. For his report, as Siccius foresaw, had drawn upon the consuls the hatred of all the citizens. Indeed, not even the senate took the matter lightly; for it voted them neither a triumph nor any of the other honours usually bestowed for glorious engagements. As for Siccius, however, when the time for the elections came, the populace made him tribune, granting him the honour of which they had the disposal. These were the most important of the events at that time.