[12,12] Τοῦτον τὸν ἄνδρα οἱ χιλίαρχοι λόγοις τε θεραπεύοντες καὶ βασάνων ἀπειλαῖς δεδιττόμενοι ἅπαντα παρεσκεύασαν ἐξειπεῖν, ἃ περὶ τῆς Ἀλβανίδος λίμνης ἀπέκρυπτεν· εἶτα καὶ πρὸς τὴν βουλὴν αὐτὸν ἀναπέμπουσι. τοῖς δ´ ἐκ τοῦ συνεδρίου οὐχ ἡ ὁμοία παρέστη δόξα, ἀλλὰ τοῖς μὲν ἐδόκει πανοῦργός τις εἶναι καὶ γόης ὁ Τυρρηνὸς καὶ καταψεύδεσθαι τοῦ δαιμονίου τὰ περὶ τὸν χρησμόν, τοῖς δ´ ἀπὸ πάσης ἀληθείας εἰρηκέναι. Ἐν τοιαύτῃ δ´ ἀμηχανίᾳ τῆς βουλῆς ὑπαρχούσης παρῆσαν οἱ προαποσταλέντες εἰς Δελφοὺς θεόπροποι χρησμοὺς κομίζοντες τοῖς ὑπὸ τοῦ Τυρρηνοῦ πρότερον ἀπηγγελμένοις συνᾴδοντας· ὅτι θεοὶ καὶ δαίμονες οἱ λαχόντες τὴν Οὐιεντανῶν πόλιν τοσοῦτον αὐτοῖς ἐγγυῶνται χρόνον ἀσάλευτον φυλάξαι τὴν ἐκ προγόνων παραδοθεῖσαν εὐδαιμονίαν, ὅσον ἂν διαμένωσιν αἱ πηγαὶ τῆς ἐν Ἀλβανῷ λίμνης ὑπερχεόμεναι καὶ μέχρι θαλάττης ἀπορρέουσαι· ὅταν δ´ ἐκεῖναι φύσιν τε τὴν ἑαυτῶν καὶ ὁδοὺς τὰς ἀρχαίας ἐκλιποῦσαι καθ´ ἑτέρας ἐκτραπῶσιν, ὡς μηκέτι μίσγεσθαι τῇ θαλάττῃ, τότε καὶ τὴν πόλιν αὐτῶν ἀνάστατον ἔσεσθαι· τοῦτο δ´ οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων γενήσεσθαι, ἐὰν ὀρύγμασι καθ´ ἕτερα χωρία γενομένοις ἐκτρέψωσι τὴν πλήμμυραν τῶν ὑδάτων εἰς τὰ πρόσω τῆς θαλάττης πεδία. ταῦτα μαθόντες οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι εὐθὺς ἐπέστησαν τοῖς ἔργοις τοὺς χειροτέχνας.

[12,12] The tribunes, by using arguments designed to conciliate this man as well as threats of torture to frighten him, caused him to declare all that he had been concealing with regard to the Alban lake; then they also sent him to the senate. The senators were not all of the same opinion; but some thought that the Tyrrhenian was something of a rascal and charlatan and falsely attributed to the deity what he said about the oracle, while others thought that he had spoken in all sincerity. 2 While the senate was in this quandary, the messengers who had been sent earlier to Delphi arrived, bringing oracles agreeing with those already announced by the Tyrrhenian. These declared that the gods and genii to whom had been allotted the oversight of the city of Veii guaranteed to maintain for them unshaken the good fortune of their city as handed down from their ancestors for only so long a time as the springs of the Alban lake should continue to overflow and run down to the sea; 3 but that when these should forsake their natural bent and, quitting their ancient courses, should turn aside to others, so as to mingle no longer with the sea, then too their city would be overthrown. (p231) this would be brought about in a short time by the Romans if by means of channels dug in other places they should divert the overflowing warm waters into the plains that were remote from the sea. Upon learning of this, the Romans at once put the engineers in charge of the operation.