[17,5] Ὅτι ὁ αὐτὸς Ποστόμιος πρῶτον μὲν τὸ Κομίνιον ἐκ πολιορκίας παραλαμβάνει χρόνον οὐ πολὺν ἐν ταῖς προσβολαῖς διατρίψας, ἔπειτα Οὐενουσίαν πολυάνθρωπον καὶ ἄλλας πόλεις πλείστας ὅσας, ἐξ ὧν μύριοι μὲν ἐσφάγησαν, ἑξακισχίλιοι δὲ καὶ διακόσιοι τὰ ὅπλα παρέδοσαν. ταῦτα διαπραξάμενος οὐχ ὅπως χάριτος ἢ τιμῆς τινος ἠξιώθη παρὰ τῆς βουλῆς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν προυπάρχουσαν ἀξίωσιν ἀπέβαλεν. ἀποστελλομένων γὰρ εἰς μίαν τῶν ἁλουσῶν ὑπ´ ἐκείνου πόλεων, τὴν καλουμένην Οὐενουσίαν, δισμυρίων ἐποίκων ἕτεροι τῆς ἀποικίας ᾑρέθησαν ἡγεμόνες· ὁ δὲ τὴν πόλιν ἐξελὼν καὶ τὴν γνώμην τῆς ἀποστολῆς τῶν κληρούχων εἰσηγησάμενος οὐδὲ ταύτης ἄξιος ἐφάνη τῆς τιμῆς. Εἰ μὲν οὖν σώφρονι λογισμῷ τὰ συμβάντα ἤνεγκε καὶ τὸ χαλεπὸν τοῦ συνεδρίου λόγων τε καὶ ἔργων χρηστῶν θεραπείαις ἐπράυνεν, οὐδεμιᾶς 〈ἂν〉 ἔτι συμφορᾶς εἰς ἀτιμίαν φερούσης ἐπειράθη. νῦν δ´ ἀγανακτῶν καὶ ἀντιχαλεπαίνων τάς τ´ ὠφελείας ἃς ἔλαβεν ἐκ τῶν πολεμίων ἁπάσας τοῖς στρατιώταις ἐχαρίσατο, καὶ πρὶν ἀποσταλῆναι τὸν διάδοχον τῆς ἀρχῆς ἀπέλυσεν ἀπὸ τῶν σημείων τὰς δυνάμεις, καὶ τελευτῶν ὃν οὔτε ἡ βουλὴ οὔτε ὁ δῆμος συνεχώρησεν αὐτῷ θρίαμβον ἀπὸ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ γνώμης κατήγαγεν. ἐφ´ οἷς ἅπασιν ἔτι μείζονος ἐξ ἁπάντων μίσους ἐκκαυθέντος ἅμα τῷ παραδοῦναι τὴν ἀρχὴν τοῖς μεθ´ ἑαυτὸν ὑπάτοις εἰς δίκην ὑπάγεται δημοσίαν ὑπὸ δυεῖν δημάρχων. καὶ κατηγορηθεὶς ἐν τῷ δήμῳ πάσαις ταῖς φυλαῖς κατακρίνεται, τίμημα τῆς εἰσαγγελίας ἐχούσης χρηματικὸν πέντε μυριάδας ἀργυρίου.

[17,5] (16.17) This same Postumius first took Cominium by siege, after spending but a short time in assaults, and then captured Venusia, a populous place, and ever so many other cities, of whose inhabitants 10,000 were slain and 6,200 surrendered their arms. 2 Though he accomplished all this, he not only was not granted any mark of favour or honour by the senate, but even lost the esteem which was his before. For when 20,000 colonists were sent out to one of the cities captured by him, the one called Venusia, others were chosen leaders of the colony, while the man who had reduced the city and had made the proposal for the dispatch of the colonists was not found worthy even of that honour. 3 (18) Now if he had borne these reverses with a prudence based upon reason and had assuaged the harshness of the senate by the therapy of courteous words and actions, he would have experienced no further misfortune leading to disgrace. But as it was, being exasperated and harsh in his turn, he not only presented the soldiers (p339) with all the booty he had taken from the enemy, but also, before his successor in the command was sent out, dismissed his forces from the standards; and finally, though it was granted to him by neither the senate nor the people, he celebrated a triumph on his own authority. 4 In consequence of all this, still greater hatred flared up on the part of all, and as soon as he turned over his magistracy to the consuls who succeeded him he was cited to a public trial by two tribunes. And being accused before the popular assembly, he was condemned by all the tribes, the indictment calling for a fine of 50,000 denarii.