[11,23] Ὅτε τὸ περὶ τοῦ πολέμου ψήφισμα ἐκύρωσαν, καταγράψαντες ἐν τάχει τὰς δυνάμεις καὶ τριχῇ νείμαντες δύο μὲν τάγματα κατέλιπον ἐν τῇ πόλει φυλακῆς τῶν ἐντὸς τείχους ἕνεκεν· ἡγεῖτο δὲ τῶν δύο τούτων ταγμάτων Ἄππιος Κλαύδιος ὁ προεστηκὼς τῆς ὀλιγαρχίας καὶ σὺν αὐτῷ Σπόριος Ὄππιος. τρία δὲ ἔχοντες ἐξῆγον ἐπὶ Σαβίνους Κόιντος Φάβιος καὶ Κόιντος Ποιτέλιος καὶ Μάνιος Ῥαβολήιος. πέντε δὲ τὰ λοιπὰ τάγματα παραλαβόντες Μάρκος τε Κορνήλιος καὶ Λεύκιος Μηνύκιος καὶ Μάρκος Σέργιος καὶ Τίτος Ἀντώνιος καὶ τελευταῖος Καίσων Δουέλλιος ἐπὶ τὸν πρὸς Αἰκανοὺς πόλεμον ἀφίκοντο· συνεστρατεύετο δ´ αὐτοῖς Λατίνων τε καὶ ἄλλων συμμάχων ἐπικουρικὸν οὐκ ἔλαττον τοῦ πολιτικοῦ πλήθους. ἀλλ´ οὐδὲν αὐτοῖς ἐχώρει κατὰ νοῦν τοσαύτην μὲν οἰκείαν δύναμιν ἐπαγομένοις, τοσαύτην δὲ συμμαχίαν. οἱ γὰρ πολέμιοι καταφρονήσαντες αὐτῶν, ὅτι νεοσύλλεκτοι ἦσαν οἱ στρατευόμενοι, πλησίον ἀντεστρατοπεδεύσαντο καὶ τάς τ´ ἀγορὰς ἀγομένας ἀφῃροῦντο λοχῶντες τὰς ὁδοὺς καὶ ἐπὶ προνομὰς ἐξιοῦσιν ἐπετίθεντο, καὶ εἴ ποτε ἱππεῖς εἰς χεῖρας ἔλθοιεν ἱππεῦσι καὶ πεζοὶ πεζοῖς πρὸς φάλαγγα μαχόμενοι πανταχῇ πλέον ἔχοντες ἀπῄεσαν, ἐθελοκακούντων οὐκ ὀλίγων ἐν ταῖς συμπλοκαῖς καὶ οὔτε τοῖς ἡγεμόσι πειθομένων οὔτε ὁμόσε χωρεῖν τοῖς πολεμίοις βουλομένων. οἱ μὲν οὖν ἐπὶ Σαβίνους στρατεύσαντες ἐν τοῖς ἐλάττοσι κακοῖς σωφρονισθέντες ἑκόντες ἔγνωσαν ἐκλιπεῖν τὸν χάρακα· καὶ περὶ μέσας νύκτας ἀναστήσαντες τὸν στρατὸν ἀπῆγον ἐκ τῆς πολεμίας εἰς τὴν ἑαυτῶν φυγῇ παραπλησίαν ποιούμενοι τὴν ἀνάζευξιν, ἕως ἐπὶ πόλιν Κρουστομέρειαν, ἥ ἐστιν οὐ πρόσω τῆς Ῥώμης, ἀφίκοντο. οἱ δ´ ἐν Ἀλγιδῷ τῆς Αἰκανῶν χώρας θέμενοι τὴν παρεμβολὴν πολλὰς καὶ αὐτοὶ λαμβάνοντες ὑπὸ τῶν πολεμίων πληγὰς καὶ παρὰ τὰ δεινὰ μένειν ἀξιοῦντες ὡς ἐπανορθωσόμενοι τὰς ἐλαττώσεις οἴκτιστα πράγματα ἔπαθον. ὠσάμενοι γὰρ ἐπ´ αὐτοὺς οἱ πολέμιοι καὶ τοὺς ὑποστάντας τοῦ χάρακος καταβαλόντες ἐπέβησαν τῶν ἐρυμάτων· καὶ καταλαβόμενοι τὸ στρατόπεδον ὀλίγους μέν τινας ἀμυνομένους ἀπέκτειναν, τοὺς δὲ πλείους ἐν τῷ διωγμῷ διέφθειραν. οἱ δὲ διασωθέντες ἐκ τῆς φυγῆς τραυματίαι τε οἱ πλείους καὶ τὰ ὅπλα μικροῦ δεῖν πάντες ἀπολωλεκότες εἰς πόλιν Τύσκλον ἀφικνοῦντο· σκηνὰς δ´ αὐτῶν καὶ ὑποζύγια καὶ χρήματα καὶ θεράποντας καὶ τὴν ἄλλην τοῦ πολέμου παρασκευὴν οἱ πολέμιοι διήρπασαν. ὡς δ´ ἀπηγγέλη ταῦτα τοῖς κατὰ τὴν πόλιν, ὅσοιπερ ἦσαν ἐχθροὶ τῆς ὀλιγαρχίας καὶ οἱ τέως ἀποκρυπτόμενοι τὸ μῖσος, φανεροὺς ἐποίουν αὑτοὺς τότε χαίροντες ἐπὶ ταῖς κακοπραγίαις τῶν στρατηγῶν· καὶ ἦν ἤδη καρτερὰ χεὶρ περὶ τὸν Ὁράτιόν τε καὶ τὸν Οὐαλέριον, οὓς ἔφην ἡγεμόνας εἶναι τῶν ἀριστοκρατικῶν ἑταιρειῶν.

[11,23] After they had secured the ratification of the decree of the senate for the war, they hastily enrolled their forces and divided them into three bodies. Two legions they left in the city to keep guard over matters inside the walls; and Appius Claudius, the chief of the oligarchy, together with Spurius Oppius commanded these two. Quintus Fabius, Quintus Poetelius and Manius Rabuleius marched out with three legions against the Sabines.Marcus Cornelius, Lucius Minucius, Marcus Sergius, Titus Antonius, and last, Caeso Duilius, taking over the five remaining legions, arrived for the campaign against the Aequians. They were accompanied by an auxiliary force both of Latins and other allies that was as large as the citizen army. But nothing succeeded according to their plans, even though they were leading such large forces of both their own and allied troops.For their foes, despising them because their troops were new recruits, encamped over against them, and placing ambuscades in the roads, cut off the provisions that were being brought to them and (p79) attacked them when they went out for forage; and whenever cavalry clashed with cavalry, infantry with infantry, and phalanx against phalanx, the Sabines always came off superior to the Romans, not a few of whom voluntarily played the coward in their encounters and not only disobeyed their officers but refused to come to grips with the foe.Those, accordingly, who had set out against the Sabines, grown wise amid these minor misfortunes, resolved to quit their entrenchments of their own accord; and breaking camp about midnight, they led the army back from the enemy's territory into their own, making their withdrawal not unlike a flight, till they came to the city of Crustumerium, which is not far from Rome. But those who had made their camp at Algidum in the country of the Aequians, when they too had received many blows at the hands of the enemy and still resolved to stand their ground in the midst of these dangers in hopes of retrieving their reverses, suffered a most grievous disaster.For the enemy, having thrust forward against them and cleared palisades of those who defended them, mounted the ramparts, and possessing themselves of the camp, killed some few while fighting but destroyed the greater part in the pursuit. Those who escaped from this rout, being most of them wounded and having almost all lost their arms, came to the city of Tusculum; but their tents, beasts of burden, money, slaves, and the rest of their military provisions became the prey of the enemy. When the news of this defeat was brought to the people in Rome, all who were enemies of the oligarchy and those who had hitherto (p81) been concealing their hatred revealed themselves now by rejoicing at the misfortunes of the generals; and there was now a strong body of men attached to both Horatius and Valerius, who, as I said, were the leaders of the aristocratical groups.