[1.1] After the death of Numa Pompilius the senate, being once more in full control of the commonwealth, resolved to abide by the same form of government, and as the people did not adopt any contrary opinion, they appointed some of the older senators to govern as interreges for a definite number of days. These men, pursuant to the unanimous desire of the people, chose as king Tullus Hostilius, whose descent was as follows. [2] From Medullia, a city which had been built by the Albans and made a Roman colony by Romulus after he had taken it by capitulation, a man of distinguished birth and great fortune, named Hostilius, had removed to Rome and married a woman of the Sabine race, the daughter of Hersilius, the same woman who had advised her country-women to go as envoys to their fathers on behalf of their husbands at the time when the Sabines were making war against the Romans, and was regarded as the person chiefly responsible for the alliance then concluded by the leaders of the two nations. This man, after taking part with Romulus in many wars and performing mighty deeds in the battles with the Sabines, died, leaving an only son, a young child at the time, and was buried by the kings in the principal part of the Forum and honoured with a monument and an inscription testifying to his valour. [3] His only son, having come to manhood and married a woman of distinction, had by her Tullius Hostilius, a man of action, the same who was now chosen king by a vote passed by the citizens concerning him according to the laws; and the decision of the people was confirmed by favourable omens from Heaven. The year in which he assumed the sovereignty was the second of the twenty-seventh Olympiad, the one in which Eurybates, an Athenian, won the prize in the foot-race, Leostratus being archon at Athens. [4] Tullus, immediately upon his accession, gained the hearts of all the labouring class and of the needy among the populace by performing an act of the most splendid kind. It was this: The kings before him had possessed much fertile land, especially reserved for them, from the revenues of which they not only offered sacrifices to the gods, but also had abundant provision for their private needs. This land Romulus had acquired in war by dispossessing the former owners, and when he died childless, Numa Pompilius, his successor, had enjoyed its use; it was no longer the property of the state, but the inherited possession of the successive kings. [5] Tullus now permitted this land to be divided equally among such of the Romans as had no allotment, declaring that his own patrimony was sufficient both for the sacrifices and for his personal expenditures. By this act of humanity he relieved the poor among the citizens by freeing them from the necessity of labouring as serfs on the estates of others. And, to the end that none might lack a habitation either, he included within the city wall the hill called the Caelian, where those Romans who were unprovided with dwellings were allotted a sufficient amount of ground and built houses; and he himself had his residence in this quarter. These, then, are the memorable actions reported of this king so far as regards his civil administration.
[2.1] Many military exploits are related of him, but the greatest are those which I shall now narrate, beginning with the war against the Albans. The man responsible for the quarrel between the two cities and the severing of their bond of kinship was an Alban named Cluilius, who had been honoured with the chief magistracy; this man, vexed at the prosperity of the Romans and unable to contain his envy, and being by nature headstrong and somewhat inclined to madness, resolved to involve the cities in war with each other. [2] But not seeing how he could persuade the Albans to permit him to lead an army against the Romans without just and urgent reasons, he contrived a plan of the following sort: he permitted the poorest and boldest of the Albans to pillage the fields of the Romans, promising them immunity, and so caused many to overrun the neighbouring territory in a series of plundering raids, as they would now be pursuing without danger gains from which they would never desist even under the constraint of fear. [3] In doing this he was following a very natural line of reasoning, as the event bore witness. For he assumed that the Romans would not submit to being plundered but would rush to arms, and he would thus have an opportunity of accusing them to his people as the aggressors in the war; and he also believed that the majority of the Albans, envying the prosperity of their colony, would gladly listen to these false accusations and would begin war against the Romans. And that is just what happened. [4] For when the worst elements of each city fell to robbing and plundering each other and at last a Roman army made an incursion into the territory of the Albans and killed or took prisoner many of the bandits, Cluilius assembled the people and inveighed against the Romans at great length, showed them many who were wounded, produced the relations of those who had been seized or slain, and at the same time added other circumstances of his own invention; whereupon it was voted on his motion to send an embassy first of all to demand satisfaction for what had happened, and then, if the Romans refused it, to begin war against them.
[3.1] Upon the arrival of the ambassadors at Rome, Tullius, suspecting that they had come to demand satisfaction, resolved to anticipate them in doing this, since he wished to turn upon the Albans the blame for breaking the compact between them and their colony. For there existed a treaty between the two cities which had been made in the reign of Romulus, wherein, among other articles, it was stipulated that neither of them should begin a war, but if either complained of any injury whatsoever, that city would demand satisfaction from the city which had done the injury, and failing to obtain it, should then make war as a matter of necessity, the treaty being looked upon as already broken. [2] Tullius, therefore, taking care that the Romans should not be the first called upon to give satisfaction and, by refusing it, become guilty in the eyes of the Albans, ordered the most distinguished of his friends to entertain the ambassadors of the Albans with every courtesy and to detain them inside their homes while he himself, pretending to be occupied with some necessary business, put off their audience. [3] The following night he sent to Alba some Romans of distinction, duly instructed as to the course they should pursue, together with the fetiales, to demand satisfaction from the Albans for the injuries the Romans had received. These, having performed their journey before sunrise, found Cluilius in the market-place at the time when the early morning crowd was gathered there. And having set forth the injuries which the Romans had received at the hands of the Albans, they demanded that he should act in conformity with the compact between the cities. [4] But Cluilius, alleging that the Albans had been first in sending envoys to Rome to demand satisfaction and had not even been vouchsafed an answer, ordered the Romans to depart, on the ground that they had violated the terms of the treaty, and declared war against them. The chief of the embassy, however, as he was departing, demanded from Cluilius an answer to just this one question, namely, whether he admitted that those were violating the treaty who, being the first called upon to give satisfaction, had refused to comply with any part of their obligation. [5] And when Cluilius said he did, he exclaimed: “Well, then, I call the gods, whom we made witnesses of our treaty, to witness that the Romans, having been the first to be refused satisfaction, will be undertaking a just war against the violators of that treaty, and that it is you Albans who have avoided giving satisfaction, as the events themselves show. For you, being the first called upon for satisfaction, have refused it and you have been the first to declare war against us. Look, therefore, for vengeance to come upon you ere long with the sword.” [6] Tullius, having learned of all this from the ambassadors upon their return to Rome, then ordered the Albans to be brought before him and to state the reasons for their coming; and when they had delivered the message entrusted to them by Cluilius and were threatening war in case they did not obtain satisfaction, he replied: “I have anticipated you in doing this, and having obtained nothing that the treaty directs, I declare against the Albans the war that is both necessary and just.”
[4.1] After these pretences they both prepared themselves for war, not only arming their own forces but also calling to their assistance those of their subjects. And when they had everything ready the two armies drew near to each other and encamped at the distance of forty stades from Rome, the Albans at the Cluilian Ditches, as they are called (for they still preserve the name of the man who constructed them) and the Romans a little farther inside, having chosen the most convenient place for their camp. [2] When the two armies saw each other’s forces neither inferior in numbers nor poorly armed nor to be despised in respect of their other preparations, they lost their impetuous ardour for the combat, which they had felt at first because of their expectation of defeating the enemy by their very onset, and they took thought rather of defending themselves by building their ramparts to a greater height than of being the first to attack. At the same time the most intelligent among them began to reflect, feeling that they were not being governed by the best counsels, and there was a spirit of faultfinding against those in authority. [3] And as the time dragged on in vain (for they were not injuring one another to any notable extent by sudden dashes of the light-armed troops or by skirmishes of the horse), the man who was looked upon as responsible for the war, Cluilius, being irked at lying idle, resolved to march out with his army and challenge the enemy to battle, and if they declined it, to attack their entrenchments. [4] And having made his preparations for an engagement and all the plans necessary for an attack upon the enemy’s ramparts, in case that should prove necessary, when night came on he went to sleep in the general’s tent, attended by his usual guard; but about daybreak he was found dead, no signs appearing on his body either of wounds, strangling, poison, or any other violent death.
[5.1] This unfortunate event appearing extraordinary to everybody, as one would naturally expect, and the cause of it being enquired into — for no preceding illness could be alleged — those who ascribed all human fortunes to divine providence said that this death had been due to the anger of the gods, because he had handled an unjust and unnecessary war between the mother-city and her colony. But others, who looked upon war as a profitable business and thought they had been deprived of great gains, attributed the event to human treachery and envy, accusing some of his fellow citizens of the opposing faction of having made away with him by secret and untraceable poisons that they had discovered. Still others alleged that, being overcome with grief and despair, he had taken his own life, since all his plans were becoming difficult and impracticable and none of the things that he had looked forward to in the beginning when he first took hold of affairs was succeeding according to his desire. But those who were not influenced by either friendship or enmity for the general and based their judgment of what had happened on the soundest grounds were of the opinion that neither the anger of the gods nor the envy of the opposing faction nor despair of his plans had put an end to his life, but rather Nature’s stern law and fate, when once he had finished the destined course which is marked out for everyone that is born. [3] Such, then, was the end that Cluilius met, before he had performed any noble deed. In his place Mettius Fufetius was chosen general by those in the camp and invested with absolute power; he was a man without either ability to conduct a war or constancy to preserve a peace, one who, though he had been at first as zealous as any of the Albans in creating strife between the two cities and for that reason had been honoured with the command after the death of Cluilius, yet after he had obtained it and perceived the many difficulties and embarrassments with which the business was attended, no longer adhered to the same plans, but resolved to delay and put off matters, since he observed that not all the Albans now had the same ardour for war and also that the victims, whenever he offered sacrifice concerning battle, were unfavourable. [4] And at last he even determined to invite the enemy to an accommodation, taking the initiative himself in sending heralds, after he had been informed of a danger from the outside which threatened both the Albans and Romans, a danger which, if they did not terminate their war with each other by a treaty, was unavoidable and bound to destroy both armies. The danger was this:
[6.1] The Veientes and Fidenates, who inhabited large and populous cities, had in the reign of Romulus engaged in a war with the Romans for command and sovereignty, and after losing many armies in the course of the war and being punished by the loss of part of their territory, they had been forced to become subjects of the conquerors; concerning which I have given a precise account in the preceding Book. But having enjoyed an uninterrupted peace during the reign of Numa Pompilius, they had greatly increased in population, wealth and every other form of prosperity. Elated, therefore, by these advantages, they again aspired to freedom, assumed a bolder spirit and prepared to yield obedience to the Romans no longer. [2] For a time, indeed, their intention of revolting remained undiscovered, but during the Alban war it became manifest. For when they learned that the Romans had marched out with all their forces to engaged the Albans, they thought that they had now got the most favourable opportunity for their attack, and through their most influential men they entered into a secret conspiracy. It was arranged that all who were capable of bearing arms should assemble in Fidenae, going secretly, a few at a time, so as to escape as far as possible the notice of those against whom the plot was aimed, [3] and should remain there awaiting the moment when the armies of the Romans and Albans should quit their camps and march out to battle, the actual time to be indicated to them by means of signals given by some scouts posted on the mountains; and as soon as the signals were raised they were all to take arms and advance in haste against the combatants (the road leading from Fidenae to the camps was not a long one, but only a march of two or three hours at most), and appearing on the battlefield at the time when presumably the conflict would be over, they were to regard neither side as friends, but whether the Romans or the Albans had won, were to slay the victors. This was the plan of action on which the chiefs of those cities had determined. [4] If, therefore, the Albans, in their contempt for the Romans, had rushed more boldly into an engagement and had resolved to stake everything upon the issue of a single battle, nothing could have hindered the treachery contrived against them from remaining secret and both their armies from being destroyed. But as it was, their delay in beginning war, contrary to all expectations, and the length of time they employed in making their preparations were bringing their foes’ plans to nought. For some of the conspirators, either seeking to compass their private advantage or envying their leaders and those who had been the authors of the undertaking or fearing that others might lay information — a thing which has often happened in conspiracies where there are many accomplices and the execution is long delayed — or being compelled by the will of Heaven, which could not consent that a wicked design should meet with success, informed their enemies of the treachery.
[7.1] Fufetius, upon learning of this, grew still more desirous of making an accommodation, feeling that they now had no choice left of any other course. The king of the Romans also had received information of this conspiracy from his friends in Fidenae, so that he, too, made no delay but hearkened to the overtures made by Fufetius. When the two met in the space between the camps, each being attended by his council consisting of persons of competent judgment, they first embraced, according to their former custom, and exchanged the greetings usual among friends and relations, and then proceeded to discuss an accommodation. [2] And first the Alban leader began as follows:
“It seems to me necessary to begin my speech by setting forth the reasons why I have determined to take the initiative in proposing a termination of the war, though neither defeated by you Romans in battle nor hindered from supplying my army with provisions nor reduced to any other necessity, to the end that you may not imagine that a recognition of the weakness of my own force or a belief that yours is difficult to overcome makes me seek a plausible excuse for ending the war. For, should you entertain such an opinion of us, you would be intolerably severe, and, as if you were already victorious in the war, you could not bring yourself to do anything reasonable. [3] In order, therefore, that you may not impute to me false reasons for my purpose to end the war, listen to the true reasons. My country have been appointed me general with absolute power, as soon as I took over the command I considered what were the causes which had disturbed the peace of our cities. And finding them trivial and petty and of too little consequence to dissolve so great a friendship and kinship, I concluded that neither we Albans nor you Romans had been governed by the best counsels. [4] And I was further convinced of this and led to condemn the great madness that we both have shown, an once I had taken hold of affairs and began to sound out each man’s private opinion. For I found that the Albans neither in their private meetings nor in their public assemblies were all of one mind regarding the war; and the signs from Heaven, whenever I consulted the victims concerning battle, presenting, as they did, far greater difficulties than those based on human reasoning, caused me great dismay and anxiety. [5] In view, therefore, of these considerations, I restrained my eagerness for armed conflicts and devised delays and postponements of the war, in the belief that you Romans would make the first overtures towards peace. And indeed you should have done this, Tullius, since you are our colony, and not have waited till your mother-city set the example. For the founders of cities have a right to receive as great respect from their colonies as parents from their children. [6] But while we have been delaying and watching each other, to see which side should first make friendly overtures, another motive, more compelling than any arguments drawn from human reason, has arisen to draw us together. And since I learned of this while it was yet a secret to you, I felt that I ought no longer to aim at appearances in concluding peace. For dreadful designs are being formed against us, Tullius, and a deadly plot has been woven against both of us, a plot which was bound to overwhelm and destroy us easily and without effort, bursting upon us like a conflagration or a flood. [7] The authors of these wicked designs are the chiefs of the Fidenates and Veientes, who have conspired together. Hear now the nature of their plot and how the knowledge of their secret design came to me.”
[8.1] With these words he gave to one of those present the letters which a certain man had brought to him from his friends at Fidenae, and desired him to read them out; and at the same time he produced the man who had brought the letters. After they were read and the man had informed them of everything he had learned by word of mouth from the persons who had despatched the letters, all present were seized with great astonishment, as one would naturally expect upon their hearing of so great and so unexpected a danger. Then Fufetius, after a short pause, continued:
[2] You have now heard, Romans, the reasons why I have thus far been postponing armed conflicts with you and have now thought fit to make the first overtures concerning peace. After this it is for you to consider whether, in order to avenge the seizure of some miserable oxen and sheep, you ought to continue to carry on an implacable war against year founders and fathers, in the course of which, whether conquered or conquerors, you are sure to be destroyed, or, laying aside your enmity toward your kinsmen, to march with us against our common foes, who have plotted not only to revolt from you but also to attack you — although they have neither suffered any harm nor had any reason to fear that they should suffer any — and, what is more, have not attacked us openly, according to the universally recognized laws of war, but under cover of darkness, so that their treachery could least be suspected and guarded against. [3] But I need say no more to convince you that we ought to lay aside our enmity and march with all speed against these impious men (for it would be madness to think otherwise), since you are already resolved and will pursue that resolution. But in what manner the terms of reconciliation may prove honourable and advantageous to both cities (for probably you have long been eager to hear this) I shall now endeavour to explain. [4] For my part, I hold that that mutual reconciliation is the best and the most becoming to kinsmen and friends, in which there is no rancour nor remembrance of past injuries, but a general and sincere remission of everything that has been done or suffered on both sides; less honourable than this form of reconciliation is one by which, indeed, the mass of the people are absolved of blame, but those who have injured one another are compelled to undergo such a trial as reason and law direct. [5] Of these two methods of reconciliation, now, it is my opinion that we ought to choose the one which is the more honourable and magnanimous, and we ought to pass a decree of general amnesty. However, if you, Tullius, do not wish a reconciliation of this kind, but prefer that the accusers and the accused should mutually give and receive satisfaction, the Albans are also ready to do this, after first settling our mutual hatreds. And if, besides this, you have any other method to suggest which is either more honourable or more just, you cannot lay it before us too soon, and for doing so I shall be greatly obliged to you.”
[9.1] After Fufetius had thus spoken, the king of the Romans answered him and said:
“We also, Fufetius, felt that it would be a grave calamity for us if we were forced to decide this war between kinsmen by blood and slaughter, and whenever we performed the sacrifices preparatory to war we were forbidden by them to begin an engagement. As regards the secret conspiracy entered into by the Fidenates and Veientes against us both, we have learned of it, a little ahead of you, through our friends in their midst, and we are not unprepared against their plot, but have taken measures not only to suffer no mischief ourselves but also to punish those foes in such a manner as their treachery deserves. Nor were we less disposed than you to put an end to the war without a battle rather than by the sword; [2] yet we did not consider it fitting that we should be the first to send ambassadors to propose an accommodation, since we had not been the first to begin the war, but had merely defended ourselves against those who had begun it. But once you are ready to lay down your arms, we will gladly receive your proposal, and will not scrutinize too closely the terms of the reconciliation, but will accept those that are the best and the most magnanimous, forgiving every injury and offence we have received from the city of Alba — if, indeed, those deserve to be called public offences of the city for which your general Cluilius was responsible, and has paid no mean penalty to the gods for the wrongs he did us both. [3] Let every occasion, therefore, for complaint, whether private or public, be removed and let no memory of past injuries any longer remain — even as you also, Fufetius, think fitting. Yet it is not enough for us to consider merely how we may compose our present enmity toward one another, but we must further take measures to prevent our ever going to war again; for the purpose of our present meeting is not to obtain a postponement but rather an end of our evils. What settlement of the war, therefore, will be enduring and what contribution must each of us make toward the situation, in order that we may be friends both now and for all time? This, Fufetius, you have omitted to tell us; but I shall endeavour to go on and supply this omission also. [4] If, on the one hand, the Albans would cease to envy the Romans the advantages they possess, advantages which were acquired not without great perils and many hardships (in any case you have suffered no injury at our hands, great or slight, but you hate us for this reason alone, that we seem to be better off than you); and if, on the other hand, the Romans would cease to suspect the Albans of always plotting against them and would cease to be on their guard against them as against enemies (for no one can be a firm friend to one who distrusts him). [5] How, then, shall each of these results be brought about? Not by inserting them in the treaty, nor by our both swearing to them over the sacrificial victims — for these are small and weak assurances — but by looking upon each other’s fortunes as common to us both. For there is only one cure, Fufetius, for the bitterness which men feel over the advantages of others, and that is for the envious no longer to regard the advantages of the envied as other than their own. [6] In order to accomplish this, I think the Romans ought to place equally at the disposal of the Albans all the advantages they either now or shall hereafter possess; and that the Albans ought cheerfully the accept this offer and all of you, if possible, or at least the most and the best of you, become residents of Rome. Was it not, indeed, a fine thing for the Sabines and Tyrrhenians to leave their own cities and transfer their habitation to Rome? And for you, who are our nearest kinsmen, will it not accordingly be a fine thing if this same step is taken? [7] If, however, you refuse to inhabit the same city with us, which is already large and will be larger, but are going to cling to your ancestral hearths, do this at least: appoint a single council to consider what shall be of advantage to each city, and give the supremacy to that one of the two cities which is the more powerful and is in a position to render the greater services to the weaker. This is what I recommend, and if these proposals are carried out I believe that we shall then be lasting friends; whereas, so long as we inhabit two cities of equal eminence, as at present, there never will be harmony between us.”
[10.1] Fufetius, hearing this, desired time for taking counsel; and withdrawing from the assembly along with the Albans who were present, he consulted with them whether they should accept the proposals. Then, having taken the opinions of all, he returned to the assembly and spoke as follows: “We do not think it best, Tullius, to abandon our country or to desert the sanctuaries of our fathers, the hearths of our ancestors, and the place which our forbears have possessed for nearly five hundred years, particularly when we are not compelled to such a course either by war or by any other calamity inflicted by the hand of Heaven. But we are not opposed to establishing a single council and letting one of the two cities rule over the other. [2] Let this article, then, also be inserted in the treaty, if agreeable, and let every excuse for war be removed.”
These conditions having been agreed upon, they fell to disputing which of the two cities should be given the supremacy and many words were spoken by both of them upon this subject, each contending that his own city should rule over the other. [3] The claims advanced by the Alban leader were as follows:
“As for us, Tullius, we deserve to rule over even all the rest of Italy, inasmuch as we represent a Greek nation and the greatest nation of all that inhabit this country. But to the sovereignty of the Latin nation, even if no other, we think ourselves entitled, not without reason, but in accordance with the universal law which Nature bestowed upon all men, that ancestors should rule their posterity. And above all our other colonies, against whom we have thus far no reason to complain, we think we ought to rule your city, having sent our colony thither not so long ago that the stock sprung from us is already extinct, exhausted by the lapse of time, but only the third generation before the present. If, indeed, Nature, inverting human rights, shall ever command the young to rule over the old and posterity over their progenitors, then we shall submit to seeing the mother-city ruled by its colony, but not before. [4] This, then, is one argument we offer in support of our claim, in virtue of which we will never willingly yield the command to you. Another argument — and do not take this as said by way of censure or reproach of you Romans, but only from necessity — is the fact that the Alban race has to this day continued the same that it was under the founders of the city, and one cannot point to any race of mankind, except the Greeks and Latins, to whom we have granted citizenship; whereas you have corrupted the purity of your body politic by admitting Tyrrhenians, Sabines, and some others who were homeless, vagabonds and barbarians, and that in great numbers too, so that the true-born element among you that went out from our midst is become small, or rather a tiny fraction, in comparison with those who have been brought in and are of alien race. [5] And if we should yield the command to you, the base-born will rule over the true-born, barbarians over Greeks, and immigrants over the native-born. For you cannot even say this much for yourself, that you have not permitted this immigrant mob to gain any control of public affairs but that you native-born citizens are yourselves the rulers and councillors of the commonwealth. Why, even for your kings you choose outsiders, and the greatest part of your senate consists of these newcomers; and to none of these conditions can you assert that you submit willingly. For what man of superior rank willingly allows himself to be ruled by an inferior? It would be great folly and baseness, therefore, on our part to accept willingly those evils which you must own you submit to through necessity. [6] My last argument is this: The city of Alba has so far made no alteration in any part of its constitution, though it is already the eighteenth generation that it has been inhabited, but continues to observe in due form all its customs and traditions; whereas your city is still without order and discipline, due to its being newly founded and a conglomeration of many races, and it will require long ages and manifold turns of fortune in order to be regulated and freed from those troubles and dissensions with which it is now agitated. But all will agree that order ought to rule over confusion, experience over inexperience, and health over sickness; and you do wrong in demanding the reverse.”
[11] After Fufetius had thus spoken, Tullius answered and said:
“The right which is derived from Nature and the virtue of one’s ancestors, Fufetius and ye men of Alba, is common to us both; for we both boast the same ancestors, so that on this score neither of use ought to have any advantage or suffer any disadvantage. But as to your claim that by a kind of necessary law of Nature mother-cities should invariably rule over their colonies, it is neither true nor just. [2] Indeed, there are many races of mankind among which the mother-cities do not rule over their colonies but are subject to them. The greatest and the most conspicuous instance of this is the Spartan state, which claims the right not only to rule over the other Greeks but even over the Doric nation, of which she is a colony. But why should I mention the others? For you who colonized our city are yourself a colony of the Lavinians. [3] If, therefore, it is a law of Nature that the mother-city should rule over its colony, would not the Lavinians be the first to issue their just orders to both of us? To your first claim, then, and the one which carries with it the most specious appearance, this is a sufficient answer. But since you also undertook to compare the ways of life of the two cities, Fufetius, asserting that the nobility of the Albans has always remained the same while ours has been ‘corrupted’ by the various admixtures of foreigners, and demanded that the base-born should not rule over the well-born nor newcomers over the native-born, know, then, that in making this claim, too, you are greatly mistaken. [4] For we are so far from being ashamed of having made the privileges of our city free to all who desired them that we even take the greatest pride in this course; moreover, we are not the originators of this admirable practice, but took the example from the city of Athens, which enjoys the greatest reputation among the Greeks, due in no small measure, if indeed not chiefly, to this very policy. [5] And this principle, which has been to us the source of many advantages, affords us no ground either for complaint or regret, as if we had committed some error. Our chief magistracies and membership in the senate are held and the other honours among us are enjoyed, not by men possessed of great fortunes, nor by those who can show a long line of ancestors all natives of the country, but by such as are worthy of these honours; for we look upon the nobility of men as consisting in nothing else than in virtue. The rest of the populace are the body of the commonwealth, contributing strength and power to the decisions of the best men. It is owing to this humane policy that our city, from a small and contemptible beginning, is become large and formidable to its neighbours, and it is this policy which you condemn, Fufetius, that his laid for trains the foundation of that supremacy which none of the other Latins disputes with us. [6] For the power of states consists in the force of arms, and this in turn depends upon a multitude of citizens; whereas, for small states that are sparsely populated and for that reason weak it is not possible to rule others, nay, even to rule themselves. [7] On the whole, I am of the opinion that a man should only then disparage the government of other states and extol his own when he can show that his own, by following the principles he lays down, is grown flourishing and great, and that the states he censures, by not adopting them, are in an unhappy plight. But this is not our situation. On the contrary, your city, beginning with greater brilliance and enjoying greater resources than ours, has shrunk to lesser importance, while we, from small beginnings at first, have in a short time made Rome greater than all the neighbouring cities by following the very policies you condemned. [8] And as for our factional strife — since this also, Fufetius, met with your censure — it tends, not to destroy and diminish the commonwealth, but to preserve and enhance it. For there is emulation between our youths and our older men and between the newcomers and those who invited them in, to see which of us shall do more for the common welfare. [9] In short, those who are going to rule others ought to be endowed with these two qualities, strength in war and prudence in counsel, both of which are present in our case. And that this is no empty boast, experience, more powerful than any argument, bears us witness. It is certain in any case that the city could not have attained to such greatness and power in the third generation after its founding, had not both valour and prudence abounded in it. Suffer proof of its strength is afforded by the behaviour of many cities of the Latin race which owe their founding to you, but which, nevertheless, scorning your city, have come over us, choosing rather to be ruled by the Romans than by the Albans, because they look upon us as capable of doing both good to our friends and harm to our enemies, and upon you as capable of neither. [10] I had many other arguments, and valid ones, Fufetius, to advance against the claims which you have presented; but as I see that argument is futile and that the result will be the same whether I say much or little to you, who, though our adversaries, are at the same time the arbiters of justice, I will make an end of speaking. However, since I conceive that there is but one way of deciding our differences which is the best and has been made use of by many, both barbarians and Greeks, when hatred has arisen between them either over the supremacy or over some territory in dispute, I shall propose this and then conclude. [11] Let each of us fight the battle with some part of our forces and limit the fortune of war to a very small number of combatants; and let us give to that city whose champions shall overcome their adversaries the supremacy over the other. For such contests as cannot be determined by arguments are decided by arms.”
[12.1] These were the reasons urged by the two generals to support the pretensions of their respective cities to the supremacy; and the outcome of the discussion was the adoption of the plan Tullius proposed. For both the Albans and Romans who were present at the conference, in their desire to put a speedy end to the war, resolved to decide the controversy by arms. This also being agreed to, the question arose concerning the number of the combatants, since the two generals were not of the same mind. [2] For Tullius desired that the fate of the war might be decided by the smallest possible number of combatants, the most distinguished man among the Albans fighting the bravest of the Romans in single combat, and he cheerfully offered himself to fight for his own country, inviting the Alban leader to emulate him. He pointed out that for those who have assumed the command of armies combats for sovereignty and power are glorious, not only when they conquer brave men, but also when they are conquered by the brave; and he enumerated all the generals and kings who had risked their lives for their country, regarding it as a reproach to them to have a greater share of the honours than others but a smaller share of the dangers. [3] The Alban, however, while approving of the proposal to commit the fate of the cities to a few champions, would not agree to decide it by single combat. He owned that when commanders of the armies were seeking to establish their own power a combat between them for the supremacy was noble and necessary, but when states themselves were contending for the first place he thought the risk of single combat not only hazardous but even dishonourable, whether they met with good or ill fortune. [4] And he proposed that three chosen men from each city should fight in the presence of all the Albans and Romans, declaring that this was the most suitable number for deciding any matter in controversy, as containing in itself a beginning, a middle and an end. This proposal meeting with the approval of both Romans and Albans, the conference broke up and each side returned to its own camp.
[13.1] After this the generals assembled their respective armies and gave them an account both of what they had said to each other and of the terms upon which they had agreed to put an end to the war. And both armies having with great approbation ratified the agreement entered into by their generals, there arose a wonderful emulation among the officers and soldiers alike, since a great many were eager to carry off the prize of valour in the combat and expressed their emulation not only by their words but also by their actions, so that their leaders found great difficulty in selecting the most suitable champions. [2] For if anyone was renowned for his illustrious ancestry or remarkable for his strength of body, famous for some brave deed in action, or distinguished by some other good fortune or bold achievement, he insisted upon being chosen first among the three champions. [3] This emulation, which was running to great lengths in both armies, was checked by the Alban general, who called to mind that some divine providence, long since foreseeing this conflict between the two cities, had arranged that their future champions should be sprung of no obscure families and should be brave in arms, most comely in appearance, and distinguished from the generality of mankind by their birth, which should be unusual and wonderful because of its extraordinary nature. [4] It seems that Sicinius, an Alban, had at one and the same time married his twin daughters to Horatius, a Roman, and to Curiatius, an Alban; and the two wives came with child at the same time and each was brought to bed, at her first lying-in, of three male children. The parents, looking upon the event as a happy omen both to their cities and families, brought up all these children till they arrived at manhood. And Heaven, as I said in the beginning, gave them beauty and strength and nobility of mind, so that they were not inferior to any of those most highly endowed by Nature. It was to these men that Fufetius resolved to commit the combat for supremacy; and having invited the Roman king to a conference, he addressed him as follows:
[14.1] “Tullius, some god who keeps watch over both our cities would seem, just as upon many other occasions, so especially in what relates to this combat to have made his goodwill manifest. For that the champions who are to fight on behalf of all their people should be found inferior to none in birth, brave in arms, most comely in appearance, and that they should furthermore have been born of one father and mother, and, most wonderful of all, that they should have come into the world on the same day, the Horatii with you and the Curiatii with us, all this, I say, has every appearance of a remarkable instance of divine favour. [2] Why, therefore, do we not accept this great providence of the god and each of us invite the triplets on his side to engage in the combat for the supremacy? For not only all the other advantages which we could desire in the best-qualified champions are to be found in these men, but, as they are brothers, they will be more unwilling than any others among either the Romans or the Albans to forsake their companions when in distress; and furthermore, the emulation of the other youths, which cannot easily be appeased in any other way, will be promptly settled. [3] For I surmise that among you also, as well as among the Albans, there is a kind of strife among many of those who lay claim to bravery; but if we inform them that some providential fortune has anticipated all human efforts and has itself furnished us with champions qualified to engage upon equal terms in the cause of the cities, we shall easily persuade them to desist. For they will then look upon themselves as inferior to the triplets, not in point of bravery, but only in respect of a special boon of Nature and of the favour of a Chance that is equally inclined toward both sides.”
[15.1] After Fufetius had thus spoken and his proposal had been received with general approbation (for the most important both of the Romans and Albans were with the two leaders), Tullius, after a short pause, spoke as follows:
“In other respects, Fufetius, you seem to me to have reasoned well; for it must be some wonderful fortune that has produced in both our cities in our generation a similarity of birth never known before. But of one consideration you seem to be unaware — a matter which will cause great reluctance in the youths if we ask them to fight with one another. [2] For the mother of our Horatii is sister to the mother of the Alban Curiatii, and the young men have been brought up in the arms of both the women and cherish and love one another no less than their own brothers. Consider, therefore, whether, as they are cousins and have been brought up together, it would not be impious in us to put arms in their hands and invite them to mutual slaughter. For the pollution of kindred blood, if they are compelled to stain their hands with one another’s blood, will deservedly fall upon us who compel them.”
[3] To this Fufetius answered: “Neither have I failed, Tullius, to note the kinship of the youths, nor did I purpose to compel them to fight with their cousins unless they themselves were inclined to undertake the combat. But as soon as this plan came into my mind I sent for the Alban Curiatii and sounded them in private to learn whether they were willing to engage in the combat; and it was only after they had accepted the proposal with incredible and wonderful alacrity that I decided to disclose my plan and bring it forward for consideration. And I advise you to take the same course yourself — to send for the triplets on your side and sound out their disposition. [4] And if they, too, agree of their own accord to risk their lives for their country, accept the favour; but if they hesitate, bring no compulsion to bear upon them. I predict, however, the same result with them as with our own youths — that is, if they are such men as we have been informed, like the few most highly endowed by Nature, and are brave in arms; for the reputation of their valour has reached us also.”
[16.1] Tullius, accordingly, approved of this advice and made a truce for ten days, in order to have time to deliberate and give his answer after learning the disposition of the Horatii; and thereupon he returned to the city. During the following days he consulted with the most important men, and when the greater part of them favoured accepting the proposals of Fufetius, he sent for the three brothers and said to them:
[2] Horatii, Fufetius the Alban informed me at a conference the last time we met at the camp that by divine providence three brave champions were at hand for each city, the noblest and most suitable of any we could hope to find — the Curiatii among the Albans and you among the Romans. He added that upon learning of this he had himself first inquired whether your cousins were willing to give their lives to their country, and that, finding them very eager to undertake the combat on behalf of all their people, he could now bring forward this proposal with confidence; and he asked me also to sound you out, to learn whether you would be willing to risk your lives for your country by engaging with the Curiatii, or whether you choose to yield this honour to others. [3] I, in view of your valour and your gallantry in action, which are not concealed from public notice, assumed that you of all others would embrace this danger for the sake of winning the prize of valour; but fearing lest your kinship with the three Alban brothers might prove an obstacle to your zeal, I requested time for deliberation and made a truce for ten days. And when I came here I assembled the senate and laid the matter before them for their consideration. It was the opinion of the majority that if you of your own free will accepted the combat, which is a noble one and worthy of you and which I myself was eager to wage alone on behalf of all our people, they should praise your resolution and accept the favour from you; but if, to avoid the pollution of kindred blood — for surely it would be no admission of cowardice on your part — you felt that those who are not related to them ought to be called upon to undertake the combat, they should bring no compulsion to bear upon you. This, then, being the vote of the senate, which will neither be offended with you if you show a reluctance to undertake the task nor feel itself under any slight obligation to you if you rate your country more highly than your kinship, deliberate carefully and well.”
[17.1] The youths upon hearing these words withdrew to one side, and after a short conference together returned to give their answer; and the eldest on behalf of them all spoke as follows: “If we were free and sole masters of our own decisions, Tullius, and you had given us the opportunity to deliberate concerning the combat with our cousins, we should without further delay have given your our thoughts upon it. But since our father is still living, without whose advice we do not think it proper to say or do the least thing, we ask you to wait a short time for our answer till we have talked with him.” [2] Tullius having commended their filial devotion and told them to do as they proposed, they went home to their father. And acquainting him with the proposals of Fufetius and with what Tullius had said to them and, last of all, with their own answer, they desired his advice. [3] And he answered and said: “But indeed this is dutiful conduct on your part, my sons, when you live for your father and do nothing without my advice. But it is time for you to show that you yourselves now have discretion in such matters at least. Assume, therefore, that my life is now over, and let me know what you yourselves would have chosen to do if you had deliberated without your father upon your own affairs.” [4] And the eldest answered him thus: “Father, we would have accepted this combat for the supremacy and would have been ready to suffer whatever should be the will of Heaven; for we had rather be dead than to live unworthy both of you and of our ancestors. As for the bond of kinship with our cousins, we shall not be the first to break it, but since it has already been broken by fate, we shall acquiesce therein. [5] For if the Curiatii esteem kinship less than honour, the Horatii also will not value the ties of blood more highly than valour.” Their father, upon learning their disposition, rejoiced exceedingly, and lifting his hands to Heaven, said he rendered thanks to the gods for having given him noble sons. Then, throwing his arms about each in turn and giving the tenderest of embraces and kisses, he said: “You have my opinion also, my brave sons. Go, then, to Tullius and give him the answer that is both dutiful and honourable.” [6] The youths went away pleased with the exhortation of their father, and going to the king, they accepted the combat; and he, after assembling the senate and sounding the praises of the youths, sent ambassadors to the Alban to inform him that the Romans accepted his proposal and would offer the Horatii to fight for the sovereignty.
[18.1] As my subject requires not only that a full account of the way the battle was fought should be given, but also that the subsequent tragic events, which resemble the sudden reversals of fortune seen upon the stage, should be related in no perfunctory manner, I shall endeavour, as far as I am able, to give an accurate account of every incident. When the time came, then, for giving effect to the terms of the agreement, the Roman forces marched out in full strength, and afterwards the youths, when they had offered up their prayers to the gods of their fathers; they advanced accompanied by the king, while the entire throng that filed the city acclaimed them and strewed flowers upon their heads. By this time the Albans’ army also had marched out. [2] And when the armies had encamped near one another, leaving as an interval between their camps the boundary that separated the Roman territory from that of the Albans, each side occupying the site of its previous camp, they first offered sacrifice and swore over the burnt offerings that they would acquiesce in whatever fate the event of the combat between the cousins should allot to each city and that they would keep inviolate their agreement, neither they nor their posterity making use of any deceit. Then, after performing the rites which religion required, both the Romans and Albans laid aside their arms and came out in front of their camps to be spectators of the combat, leaving an interval of three or four stades for the champions. And presently appeared the Alban general conducting the Curiatii and the Roman king escorting the Horatii, all of them armed in the most splendid fashion and withal dressed like men about to die. [3] When they came near to one another they gave their swords to their armour-bearers, and running to one another, embraced, weeping and calling each other by the tenderest names, so that all the spectators were moved to tears and accused both themselves and their leaders of great heartlessness, in that, when it was possible to decide the battle by other champions, they had limited the combat on behalf of the cities to men of kindred blood and compelled the pollution of fratricide. The youths, after their embraces were over, received their swords from their armour-bearers, and the bystanders having retired, they took their places according to age and began the combat.
[19.1] For a time quiet and silence prevailed in both armies, and then there was shouting by both sides together and alternate exhortations to the combatants; and there were vows and lamentations and continual expressions of every other emotion experienced in battle, some of them caused by what was either being enacted or witnessed by each side, and others by their apprehensions of the outcome; and the things they imagined outnumbered those which actually were happening. [2] For it was impossible to see very clearly, owing to the great distance, and the partiality of each side for their own champions interpreted everything that passed to match their desire; then, too, the frequent advances and retreats of the combatants and their many sudden countercharges rendered any accurate judgment out of the question; and this situation lasted a considerable time. [3] For the champions on both sides not only were alike in strength of body but were well matched also in nobility of spirit, and they had their entire bodies protected by the choicest armour, leaving no part exposed which if wounded would bring on swift death. So that many, both of the Romans and of the Albans, from their eager rivalry and from their partiality for their own champions, were unconsciously putting themselves in the position of the combatants and desired rather to be actors in the drama that was being enacted than spectators. [4] At last the eldest of the Albans, closing with his adversary and giving and receiving blow after blow, happened somehow to run his sword thru the Roman’s groin. The latter was already stupefied from his other wounds, and now receiving this final low, a mortal one, he fell down dead, his limbs no longer supporting him. [5] When the spectators of the combat saw this they all cried out together, the Albans as already victorious, the Romans as vanquished; for they concluded that their two champions would be easily dispatched by the three Albans. In the meantime, the Roman who had fought by the side of the fallen champion, seeing the Alban rejoicing in his success, quickly rushed upon him, and after inflicting many wounds and receiving many himself, happened to plunge his sword into his neck and killed him. [6] After Fortune had thus in a short time made a great alteration both in the state of the combatants and in the feelings of the spectators, and the Romans had now recovered from their former dejection while the Albans had had their joy snatched away, another shift of Fortune, by giving a check to the success of the Romans, sunk their hopes and raised the confidence of their enemies. For when Alban fell, his brother who stood next to him closed with the Roman who had struck him down; and each, as it chanced, gave the other a dangerous wound at the same time, the Alban plunging his sword down through the Roman’s back into his bowels, and the Roman throwing himself under the shield of his adversary and slashing one of his thighs.
[20.1] The one who had received the mortal wound died instantly, and the other, who had been wounded in the thigh, was scarcely able to stand, but limped and frequently leaned upon his shield. Nevertheless, he still made a show of resistance and with his surviving brother advanced against the Roman, who stood his ground; and they surrounded him, one coming up to him from in front and the other from behind. [2] The Roman, fearing that, being thus surrounded by them and obliged to fight with two adversaries attacking him from two sides, he might easily be overcome — he was still uninjured — hit upon the plan of separating his enemies and fighting each one singly. He thought he could most easily separate them by feigning flight; for then he would not be pursued by both the Albans, but only by one of them, since he saw that the other no longer had control of his limbs. With this thought in mind he fled as fast as he could; and it was his good fortune not to be disappointed in his expectation. [3] For the Alban who was not mortally wounded followed at his heels, while the other, being unable to keep going was falling altogether too far behind. Then indeed the Albans encouraged their men and the Romans reproached their champion with cowardice, the former singing songs of triumph and crowning themselves with garlands as if the contest were already won, and the others lamenting as if Fortune would never raise them up again. But the Roman, having carefully waited for his opportunity, turned quickly and, before the Alban could put himself on his guard, struck him a blow on the arm with his sword and clove his elbow in twain, [4] and when his hand fell to the ground together with his sword, he struck one more blow, a mortal one, and dispatched the Alban; then, rushing from him to the last of his adversaries, who was half dead and fainting, he slew him also. And taking the spoils from the bodies of his cousins, he hastened to the city, wishing to give his father the first news of his victory.
[21.1] But it was ordained after all that even he, as he was but a mortal, should not be fortunate in everything, but should feel some stroke of the envious god who, having from an insignificant man made him great in a brief moment of time and raised him to wonderful and unexpected distinction, plunged him the same day into the unhappy state of being his sister’s murderer. [2] For when he arrived near the gates he saw a multitude of people of all conditions pouring out from the city and among them his sister running to meet him. At the first sight of her he was distressed that a virgin ripe for marriage should have deserted her household tasks at her mother’s side and joined a crowd of strangers. And though he indulged in many absurd reflections, he was at last inclining to those which were honourable and generous, feeling that in her yearning to be the first to embrace her surviving brother and in her desire to receive an account from him of the gallant behaviour of her dead brothers she had disregarded decorum in a moment of feminine weakness. [3] However, it was not, after all, her yearning for her brothers that had led her to venture forth in this unusual manner, but it was because she was overpowered by love for one of her cousins to whom her father had promised her in marriage, a passion which she had till then kept secret; and when she had overheard a man who came from the camp relating the details of the combat, she could no longer contain herself, but leaving the house, rushed to the city gates like a maenad, without paying any heed to her nurse who called her and ran to bring her back. [4] But when she got outside the city and saw her brother exulting and wearing the garlands of victory with which the king had crowned him, and his friends carrying the spoils of the slain, among which was an embroidered robe which she herself with the assistance of her mother had woven and sent as a present to her betrothed against their nuptial day (for it is the custom of the Latins to array themselves in embroidered robes when they go to fetch their brides), when, therefore, she saw this robe stained with blood, she rent her garment, and beating her breast with both hands, fell to lamenting and calling upon her cousin by name, so that great astonishment came upon all who were present there. [5] After she had bewailed the death of her betrothed she stared with fixed gaze at her brother and said: “Most abominable wretch, so you rejoice in having slain your cousins and deprived your most unhappy sister of wedlock! Miserable fellow! Why, you are not even touched with pity for your slain kinsmen, whom you were wont to call your brothers, but instead, as if you had performed some noble deed, you are beside yourself with joy and wear garlands in honour of such calamities. Of what wild beast, then, have you the heart?” [6] And he, answering her, said: “The heart of a citizen who loves his country and punishes those who wish her ill, whether they happen to be foreigners or his own people. And among such I count even you; for though you know that the greatest of blessings and of woes have happened to us at one and the same time — I mean the victory of your country, which I, your brother, am bringing home with me, and the death of your brothers — you neither rejoice in the public happiness of your country, wicked wretch, nor grieve at the private calamities of your own family, but, overlooking your own brothers, you lament the fate of your betrothed, and this, too, not after taking yourself off somewhere alone under cover of darkness, curse you! but before the eyes of the whole world; and you reproach me for my valour and my crowns of victory, you pretender to virginity, you hater of your brothers and disgrace to your ancestors! Since, therefore, you mourn, not for your brothers, but for your cousins, and since, though your body is with the living, your soul is with him who is dead, go to him on whom you call and cease to dishonour either your father or your brothers.”
[7] After these words, being unable in his hatred of baseness to observe moderation, but yielding to the anger which swayed him, he ran his sword through her side; and having slain his sister, he went to his father. But so averse to baseness and so stern were the manners and thoughts of the Romans of that day and, to compare them with the actions and lives of those of our age, so cruel and harsh and so little removed from the savagery of wild beasts, that the father, upon being informed of this terrible calamity, far from resenting it, looked upon it as a glorious and becoming action. [8] In fact, he would neither permit his daughter’s body to be brought into the house nor allow her to be buried in the tomb of her ancestors or given any funeral or burial robe or other customary rites; but as she lay there where she had been cast, in the place where she was slain, the passers-by, bringing stones and earth, buried her like any corpse which had none to give it proper burial. [9] Besides these instances of the father’s severity there were still others that I shall mention. Thus, as if in gratitude for some glorious and fortunate achievements, he offered that very day to the gods of his ancestors the sacrifices he had vowed, and entertained his relations at a splendid banquet, just as upon the greatest festivals, making less account of his private calamities than of the public advantages of his country. [10] This not only Horatius but many other prominent Romans after him are said to have done; I refer to their offering sacrifice and wearing crowns and celebrating triumphs immediately after the death of their sons when through them the commonwealth had met with good fortune. Of these I shall make mention in the proper places.
[22.1] After the combat between the triplets, the Romans who were then in the camp buried the slain brothers in a splendid manner in the places where they had fallen, and having offered to the gods the customary sacrifices for victory, were passing their time in rejoicings. On the other side, the Albans were grieving over what had happened and blaming their leader for bad generalship; and the greatest part of them spent that night without food and without any other care for their bodies. [2] The next day the king of the Romans called them to an assembly and consoled them with many assurances that he would lay no command upon them that was either dishonourable, grievous or unbecoming to kinsmen, but that with impartial judgment he would take thought for what was best and most advantageous for both cities; and having continued Fufetius, their ruler, in the same office and made no other change in the government, he led his army home.
[3] After he had celebrated the triumph which the senate had decreed for him and had entered upon the administration of civil affairs, some citizens of importance came to him bringing Horatius for trial, on the ground that because of his slaying of his sister he was not free of the guilt of shedding a kinsman’s blood; and being given a hearing, they argued at length, citing the laws which forbade the slaying of anyone without a trial, and recounting instances of the anger of all the gods against the cities which neglected to punish those who were polluted. [4] But the father spoke in defence of the youth and blamed his daughter, declaring that the act was a punishment, not a murder, and claiming that he himself was the proper judge of the calamities of his own family, since he was the father of both. And a great deal having been said on both sides, the king was in great perplexity what decision to pronounce in the cause. [5] For he did not think it seemly either to acquit any person of murder who confessed he had put his sister to death before a trial — and that, too, for an act which the laws did not concede to be a capital offence — lest by so doing he should transfer the curse and pollution from the criminal to his own household, or to punish as a murderer any person who had chosen to risk his life for his country and had brought her so great power, especially as he was acquitted of blame by his father, to whom before all others both nature and the law gave the right of taking vengeance in the case of his daughter. [6] Not knowing, therefore, how to deal with the situation, he at last decided it was best to leave the decision to the people. And the Roman people, becoming upon this occasion judges for the first time in a cause of a capital nature, sided with the opinion of the father and acquitted Horatius of the murder.
Nevertheless, the king did not believe that the judgment thus passed upon Horatius by men was a sufficient atonement to satisfy those who desired to observe due reverence toward the gods; but sending for the pontiffs, he ordered them to appease the gods and other divinities and to purify Horatius with those lustrations with which it was customary for involuntary homicides to be expiated. [7] The pontiffs erected two altars, one to Juno, to whom the care of sisters is allotted, and the other to a certain god or lesser divinity of the country called in their language Janus, to whom was now added the name Curiatius, derived from that of the cousins who had been slain by Horatius; and after they had offered certain sacrifices upon these altars, they finally, among other expiations, led Horatius under the yoke. It is customary among the Romans, when enemies deliver up their arms and submit to their power, to fix two pieces of wood upright in the ground and fasten a third to the top of them transversely, then to lead the captives under this structure, and after they have passed through, to grant them their liberty and leave to return home. This they call a yoke; and it was the last of the customary expiatory ceremonies used upon this occasion by those who purified Horatius. [8] The place in the city where they performed this expiation is regarded by all the Romans as sacred; it is in the street that leads down from the Carinae as one goes towards Cuprius Street. Here the altars then erected still remain, and over them extends a beam which is fixed in each of the opposite walls; the beam lies over the heads of those who go out of this street and is called in the Roman tongue “the Sister’s Beam.” This place, then, is still preserved in the city as a monument to this man’s misfortune and honoured by the Romans with sacrifices every year. [9] Another memorial of the bravery he displayed in the combat is the small corner pillar standing at the entrance to one of the two porticos in the Forum, upon which were placed the spoils of the three Alban brothers. The arms, it is true, have disappeared because of the lapse of time, but the pillar still preserves its name and is called pila Horatia or “the Horatian Pillar.” [10] The Romans also have a law, enacted in consequence of this episode and observed even to this day, which confers immortal honour and glory upon these men; it provides that the parents of triplets shall receive from the public treasury the cost of rearing them until they are grown. With this, the incidents relating to the family of the Horatii, which showed some remarkable and unexpected reversals of fortune, came to an end.
[23.1] The king of the Romans, after letting a year pass, during which he made the necessary preparations for war, resolved to lead out his army against the city of the Fidenates. The grounds he alleged for the war were that this people, being called upon to justify themselves in the matter of the plot that they had formed against the Romans and Albans, had paid no heed, but immediately taking up arms, shutting their gates, and bringing in the allied forces of the Veientes, had openly revolted, and that when ambassadors arrived from Rome to inquire the reason for their revolt, they had answered that they no longer had anything in common with the Romans since the death of Romulus, their king, to whom they had sworn their oaths of friendship. [2] Seizing on these grounds for war, Tullus was not only arming his own forces, but also sending for those of his allies. The most numerous as well as the best auxiliary troops were brought to him from Alba by Mettius Fufetius, and they were equipped with such splendid arms as to excel all the other allied forces. [3] Tullus, therefore, believing that Mettius had been actuated by zeal and by the best motives in deciding to take part in the war, commended him and communicated to him all his plans. But this man, who was accused by his fellow citizens of having mismanaged the recent war and was furthermore charged with treason, in view of the fact that he continued in the supreme command of the city for the third year by order of Tullus, disdaining now to hold any longer a command that was subject to another’s command or to be subordinated rather than himself to lead, devised an abominable plot. [4] He sent ambassadors here and there secretly to the enemies of the Romans while they were as yet wavering in their resolution to revolt and encouraged them not to hesitate, promising that he himself would join them in attacking the Romans during the battle; and these activities and plans he kept secret from everybody. [5] Tullus, as soon as he had got ready his own army as well as that of his allies, marched against the enemy and after crossing the river Anio encamped near Fidenae. And finding a considerable army both of the Fidenates and of their allies drawn up before the city, he lay quiet that day; but on the next he sent for Fufetius, the Alban, and the closest of his other friends and took counsel with them concerning the best method of conducting the war. And when all were in favour of engaging promptly and not wasting time, he assigned them their several posts and commands, and having fixed the next day for the battle, he dismissed the council.
[6] In the meantime Fufetius, the Alban — for his treachery was still a secret to many even of his own friends — calling together the most prominent centurions and tribunes among the Albans, addressed them as follows:
“Tribunes and centurions, I am going to disclose to you important and unexpected things which I have hitherto been concealing; and I beg of you to keep them secret if you do not wish to ruin me, and to assist me in carrying them out if you think their realization will be advantageous. The present occasion does not permit of many words, as the time is short; so I shall mention only the most essential matters. [7] I, from the time we were subordinated to the Romans up to this day, have led a life full of shame and grief, though honoured by the king with the supreme command, which I am now holding for the third year and may, if I should so desire, hold as long as I live. But regarding it as the greatest of all evils to be the only fortunate man in a time of public misfortune, and taking it to heart that, contrary to all the rights mankind look upon as sacred, we have been deprived by the Romans of our supremacy, I took thought how we might recover it without experiencing any great disaster. And although I considered many plans of every sort, the only way I could discover that promised success, and at the same time the easiest and the least dangerous one, was in hand a war should be started against them by the neighbouring states. [8] For I assumed that when confronted by such a war they would have need of allies and particularly of us. As to the next step, I assumed that it would not require much argument to convince you that it is more glorious as well as more fitting to fight for our liberty than for the supremacy of the Romans.
[9] “With these thoughts in mind I secretly stirred up a war against the Romans on the part of their subjects, encouraging the Veientes and Fidenates to take up arms by a promise of my assistance in the war. And thus far I have escaped the Romans’ notice as I contrived these things and kept in my own hands the opportune moment for the attack. Just consider now the many advantages we shall derive from this course. [10] First, by not having openly planned a revolt, in which there would have been a double danger — either of being hurried or unprepared and of putting everything to the hazard while trusting to our own strength only, or, while we were making preparations and gathering assistance, of being forestalled by an enemy already prepared — we shall now experience neither of these difficulties but shall enjoy the advantage of both. In the next place, we shall not be attempting to destroy the great and formidable power and good fortune of our adversaries by force, but rather by those means by which every thing that is overbearing and not easy to be subdued by force is taken, namely, by guile and deceit; and we shall be neither the first nor the only people who have resorted to these means. [11] Besides, as our own force is not strong enough to be arrayed against the whole power of the Romans and their allies, we have also added the forces of the Fidenates and the Veientes, whose great numbers you see before you; and I have taken the following precautions that these auxiliaries who have been added to our numbers may with all confidence be depended on to adhere to our alliance. [12] For it will not be in our territory that the Fidenates will be fighting, but while they are defending their own country they will at the same time be protecting ours. Then, too, we shall have this advantage, which men look upon as the most gratifying of all and which has fallen to the lot of but few in times past, namely, that, while receiving a benefit from our allies, we shall ourselves be thought to be conferring one upon them. [13] And if this enterprise turns out according to our wish, as is reasonable to expect, the Fidenates and the Veientes, in delivering us from a grievous subjection, will feel grateful to us, as if it were they themselves who had received this favour at our hands.
“These are the preparations which I have made after much thought and which I regard as sufficient to inspire you with the courage and zeal to revolt. [14] Now hear from me the manner in which I have planned to carry out the undertaking. Tullus has assigned me my post under the hill and has given me the command of one of the wings. When we are about to engage the enemy, I will break ranks and begin to lead up the hill; and you will then follow me with your companies in their proper order. When I have gained the top of the hill and am securely posted, hear in what manner I shall handle the situation after that. [15] If I find my plans turning out according to my wish, that is, if I see that the enemy has become emboldened through confidence in our assistance, and the Romans disheartened and terrified, in the belief that they have been betrayed by us, and contemplating, as they likely will, flight rather than fight, I will fall upon them and cover the field with the bodies of the slain, since I shall be rushing down hill from higher ground and shall be attacking with a courageous and orderly force men who are frightened and dispersed. [16] For a terrible thing in warfare is the sudden impression, even though ill-grounded, of the treachery of allies or of an attack by fresh enemies, and we know that many great armies in the past have been utterly destroyed by no other kind of terror so much as by an impression for which there was no ground. But in our case it will be no vain report, no unseen terror, but a deed more dreadful than anything ever seen or experienced. [17] If, however, I find that the contrary of my calculations is in fact coming to pass (for mention must be made also of those things which are wont to happen contrary to human expectations, since our lives bring us many improbable experiences as well), I too shall then endeavour to do the contrary of what I have just proposed. For I shall lead you against the enemy in conjunction with the Romans and shall share with them the victory, pretending that I occupied the heights with the intention of surrounding the foes drawn up against me; and my claim will seem credible, since I shall have made my actions agree with my explanation. Thus, without sharing in the dangers of either side, we shall have a part in the good fortune of both.
[18] “I, then, have determined upon these measures, and with the assistance of the gods I shall carry them out, as being the most advantageous, not only to the Albans, but also to the rest of the Latins. It is your part, in the first place, to observe secrecy, and next, to maintain good order, to obey promptly the orders you shall receive, to fight zealously yourselves and to infuse the same zeal into those who are under your command, remembering that we are not contending for liberty upon the same terms as other people, who have been accustomed to obey others and who have received that form of government from their ancestors. [19] For we are freemen descended from freemen, and to us our ancestors have handed down the tradition of holding sway over our neighbours as a mode of life preserved by them for someone five hundred years; of which let us not deprive our posterity. And let none of you entertain the fear that by showing a will to do this he will be breaking a compact and violating the oaths by which it was confirmed; on the contrary, let him consider that he will be restoring to its original force the compact which the Romans have violated, a compact far from unimportant, but one which human nature has established and the universal law of both Greeks and barbarians confirms, namely, that fathers shall rule over and give just commands to their children, and mother-cities to their colonies. [20] This compact, which is forever inseparable from human nature, is not being violated by us, who demand that it shall always remain in force, and none of the gods or lesser divinities will be wroth with us, as guilty of an impious action, if we resent being slaves to our own posterity; but it is being violated by those who have broken it from the beginning and have attempted by an impious act to set up the law of man above that of Heaven. And it is reasonable to expect that the anger of the gods will be directed against them rather than against us, and that the indignation of men will fall upon them rather than upon us. [21] If, therefore, you all believe that these plans will be the most advantageous, let us pursue them, calling the gods and other divinities to our assistance. But if any one of you is minded to the contrary and either believes that we ought never to recover the ancient dignity of our city, or, while awaiting a more favourable opportunity, favours deferring our undertaking for the present, let him not hesitate to propose his thoughts to the assembly. For we shall follow whatever plan meets with your unanimous approval.”
[24.1] Those who were present having approved of this advice and promised to carry out all his orders, he bound each of them by an oath and then dismissed the assembly. The next day the armies both of the Fidenates and of their allies marched out of their camp at sunrise and drew up in order of battle; and on the other side the Romans came out against them and took their positions. [2] Tullus himself and the Romans formed the left wing, which was opposite to the Veientes (for these occupied the enemy’s right), while Mettius Fufetius and the Albans drew up on the right wing of the Roman army, over against the Fidenates, beside the flank of the hill. [3] When the armies drew near one another and before they came within range of each other’s missiles, the Albans, separating themselves from the rest of the army, began to lead their companies up the hill in good order. The Fidenates, learning of this and feeling confident that the Albans’ promises to betray the Romans were coming true before their eyes, now fell to attacking the Romans with greater boldness, and the right wing of the Romans, left unprotected by their allies, was being broken and was suffering severely; but the left, where Tullus himself fought among the flower of the cavalry, carried on the struggle vigorously. [4] In the meantime a horseman rode up to those who were fighting under the king and said: “Our right wing is suffering, Tullus. For the Albans have deserted their posts and are hastening up to the heights, and the Fidenates, opposite to whom they were stationed, extend beyond our wing that is now left unprotected, and are going to surround us.” The Romans, upon hearing this and seeing the haste with which the Albans were rushing up the hill, were seized with such fear of being surrounded by the enemy that it did not occur to them either to fight or to stand their ground. [5] Thereupon Tullus, they say, not at all disturbed in mind by so great and so unexpected a misfortune, made use of a stratagem by which he not only saved the Roman army, which was threatened with manifest ruin, but also shattered and brought to nought all the plans of the enemy. For, as soon as he had heard the messenger, he raised his voice, so as to be heard even by the enemy, and cried: [6] “Romans, we are victorious over the enemy. For the Albans have occupied for us this hill hard by, as you see, by my orders, so as to get behind the enemy and fall upon them. Consider, therefore, that we have our greatest foes where we want them, some of us attacking them in front and others in the rear, in a position where, being unable either to advance or to retire, hemmed in as they are on the flanks by the river and by the hill, they will make handsome atonement to us. Forward, then, and show your utter contempt of them.”
[25.1] These words he repeated as he rode past all the ranks. And immediately the Fidenates became afraid of counter-treachery, suspecting that the Alban had deceived them by a stratagem, since they did not see either that he had changed his battle order so as to face the other way or that he was promptly charging the Romans, according to his promise; but the Romans, on their side, were emboldened by the words of Tullus and filled with confidence, and giving a great shout, they rushed in a body against the enemy. Upon this, the Fidenates gave way and fled toward their city in disorder. [2] The Roman king hurled his cavalry against them while they were in this fear and confusion, and pursued them for some distance; but when he learned that they were dispersed and separated from one another and neither likely to take thought for getting together again nor in fact able to do so, he gave over the pursuit and marched against those of the enemy whose ranks were still unbroken and standing their ground. [3] And now there took place a brilliant engagement of the infantry and a still more brilliant one on the part of the cavalry. For the Veientes, who were posted at this point, did not give way in terror at the charge of the Roman horse, but maintained the fight for a considerable time. Then, learning that their left wing was beaten and that the whole army of the Fidenates and of their other allies was in headlong flight, and fearing to be surrounded by the troops that had returned from the pursuit, they also broke their ranks and fled, endeavouring to save themselves by crossing the river. [4] Accordingly, those among them who were strongest, least disabled by their wounds, and had some ability to swim, got across the river, without their arms, while all who lacked any of these advantages perished in the eddies; for the stream of the Tiber near Fidenae is rapid and has many windings. [5] Tullus ordered a detachment of the horse to cut down those of the enemy who were pressing toward the river, while he himself led the rest of the army to the camp of the Veientes and captured it by storm. This was the situation of the Romans after they had been unexpectedly preserved from destruction.
[26.1] When the Alban observed that Tullus had already won a brilliant victory, he also marched down from the heights with his own troops and pursued those of the Fidenates who were fleeing, in order that he might be seen by all the Romans performing some part of the duty of an ally; and he destroyed many of the enemy who had become dispersed in the left. [2] Tullus, though he understood his purpose and understood his double treachery, thought he ought to utter no reproaches for the present till he should have the man in his power, but addressing himself to many of those who were present, he pretended to applaud the Alban’s withdrawal to the heights, as if it had been prompted by the best motive; and sending a party of horse to him, he requested him to give the final proof of his zeal by hunting down and slaying the many Fidenates who had been unable to get inside the walls and were dispersed about the country. [3] And Fufetius, imagining that he had succeeded in one of his two hopes and that Tullus was unacquainted with his treachery, rejoiced, and riding over the plains for a considerable time, he cut down all whom he found; but when the sun was now set, he returned from the pursuit with his horsemen to the Roman camp and passed the following night in making merry with his friends.
[4] Tullus remained in the camp of the Veientes till the first watch and questioned the most prominent of the prisoners concerning the leaders of the revolt; and when he learned that Mettius Fufetius, the Alban, was also one of the conspirators and considered that his actions agreed with the information of the prisoners, he mounted his horse, and taking with him the most faithful of his friends, rode off to Rome. [5] Then, sending to the houses of the senators, he assembled them before midnight and informed them of the treachery of the Alban, producing the prisoners as witnesses, and informed them of the stratagem by which he himself had outwitted both their enemies and the Fidenates. And he asked them, now that the war was ended in the most successful manner, to consider the problems that remained — how the traitors ought to be punished and the city of Alba rendered more circumspect for the future. [6] That the authors of these wicked designs should be punished seemed to all both just and necessary, but how this was to be most easily and safely accomplished was a problem that caused them great perplexity. For they thought it obviously impossible to put to death a great number of brave Albans in a secret and clandestine manner, whereas, if they should attempt openly to apprehend and punish the guilty, they assumed that the Albans would not permit it but would rush to arms; and they were unwilling to carry on war at the same time with the Fidenates and Tyrrhenians and with the Albans, who had come to them as allies. While they were in this perplexity, Tullus delivered the final opinion, which met with the approval of all; but of this I shall speak presently.
[27] The distance between Fidenae and Rome being forty stades, Tullus rode full speed to the camp, and sending for Marcus Horatius, the survivor of the triplets, before it was quite day, he commanded him to take the flower of the cavalry and infantry, and proceeding to Alba, to enter the city as a friend, and then, as soon as he had secured the submission of the inhabitants, to raze the city to the foundations without sparing a single building, whether private or public, except the temples; but as for the citizens, he was neither to kill nor injure any of them, but to permit them to retain their possessions. [2] After sending him on his way he assembled the tribunes and centurions, and having acquainted them with the resolutions of the senate, he placed them as a guard about his person. Soon after, the Alban came, pretending to express his joy over their common victory and to congratulate Tullus upon it. The latter, still concealing his intention, commended him and declared he was deserving of great rewards; at the same time he asked him to write down the names of such of the other Albans also as had performed any notable exploit in the battle and to bring the list to him, in order that they also might get their share of the fruits of victory. [3] Mettius, accordingly, greatly pleased at this, entered upon a tablet and gave to him a list of his most intimate friends who had been the accomplices in his secret designs. Then the Roman king ordered all the troops to come to an assembly after first laying aside their arms. And when they assembled he ordered the Alban general together with his tribunes and centurions to stand directly beside the tribunal; next to these the rest of the Albans were to take their place in the assembly, drawn up in their ranks, and behind the Albans the remainder of the allied forces, while outside of them all he stationed Romans, including the most resolute, with swords concealed under their garments. When he thought he had his foes where he wanted them, he rose up and spoke as follows:
[28.1] “Romans and you others, both friends and allies, those who dared openly to make war against us, the Fidenates and their allies, have been punished by us with the aid of the gods, and either will cease for the future to trouble us or will receive an even severer chastisement than that they have just experienced. [2] It is now time, since our first enterprise has succeeded to our wish, to punish those other enemies also who ear the name of friends and were taken into this war to assist us in harrying our common foes, but have broken faith with us, and entering into secret treaties with those enemies, have attempted to destroy us all. [3] For these are much worse than open enemies and deserve a severer punishment, since it is both easy to guard against the latter when one is treacherously attacked and possible to repulse them when they are at grips as enemies, but when friends act the part of enemies it is neither easy to guard against them nor possible for those who are taken by surprise to repulse them. And such are the allies sent us by the city of Alba with treacherous intent, although they have received no injury from us but many considerable benefits. [4] For, as we are their colony, we have not wrested away any part of their dominion but have acquired our own strength and power from our own wars; and by making our city a bulwark against the greatest and most warlike nations we have effectually secured them from a war with the Tyrrhenians and Sabines. In the prosperity, therefore, of our city they above all others should have rejoiced, and have grieved at its adversity no less than at their own. [5] But they, it appears, continued not only to begrudge us the advantages we had but also to begrudge themselves the good fortune they enjoyed because of us, and at last, unable any longer to contain their festering hatred, they declared war against us. But finding us well prepared for the struggle and themselves, therefore, in no condition to do any harm, they invited us to a reconciliation and friendship and asked that our strife over the supremacy should be decided by three men from each city. These proposals also we accepted, and after winning in the combat became masters of their city. Well, then, what did we do after that? [6] Though it was in our power to take hostages from them, to leave a garrison in their city, to destroy some of the principal authors of the war between the two cities and to banish others, to change the form of their government according to our own interest, to punish them with the forfeiture of a part of their lands and effects, and — the thing that was easiest of all — to disarm them, by which means we should have strengthened our rule, we did not see fit to do any of these things, but, consulting our filial obligations to our mother-city rather than the security of our power and considering the good opinion of all the world as more important than our own private advantage, we allowed them to enjoy all that was theirs and permitted Mettius Fufetius, as being supposedly the best of the Albans — since they themselves had honoured him with the chief magistracy — to administer their affairs up to the present time.
[7] “For which favours hear now what gratitude they showed, at a time when we needed the goodwill of our friends and allies more than ever. They made a secret compact with our common enemies by which they engaged to fall upon us in conjunction with them in the course of the battle; and when the two armies approached each other they deserted the post to which they had been assigned and made off for the hills near by at a run, eager to occupy the strong positions ahead of anyone else. [8] And if their attempt had succeeded according to their wish, nothing could have prevented us, surrounded at once by our enemies and by our friends, from being all destroyed, and the fruit of the many battles we had fought for the sovereignty of our city from being lost in a single day. [9] But since their plan has miscarried, owing, in the first place, to the goodwill of the gods (for I at any rate ascribe all worthy achievements to them), and, second, to the stratagem I made use of, which contributed not a little to inspire the enemy with fear and you with confidence (for the statement I made during the battle, that the Albans were taking possession of the heights by my orders with a view of surrounding the enemy, was all a fiction and a stratagem contrived by myself), [10] since, I say, things have turned out to our advantage, we should not be the men we ought to be if we did not take revenge on these traitors. For, apart from the other ties which, by reason of their kinship to us, they ought to have preserved inviolate, they recently made a treaty with us confirmed by oaths, and then, without either fearing the gods whom they had made witnesses of the treaty or showing any regard for justice itself and the condemnation of men, or considering the greatness of the danger if their treachery should not succeed according to their wish, endeavoured to destroy us, who are both their colony and their benefactors, in the most miserable fashion, thus arraying themselves, though our founders, on the side of our most deadly foes and our greatest enemies.”