§4.26.1γνοὺς δὲ ταῦτα τοὺς κρατίστους ἄνδρας ἐξ ἑκάστης πόλεως συνεκάλει περὶ μεγάλων καὶ κοινῶν φήσας πραγμάτων συμβούλους αὐτοὺς συγκαλεῖν.
When he understood these things, he summoned the most powerful men from each city, saying that he was calling them as advisers concerning great and common affairs.
ἐπεὶ δὲ συνῆλθον, συναγαγὼν τήν τε Ῥωμαίων βουλὴν καὶ τοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν πόλεων ἥκοντας λόγον διεξῆλθε παρακλητικὸν ὁμονοίας, διδάσκων ὡς καλὸν μὲν χρῆμα πολλαὶ πόλεις μιᾷ γνώμῃ χρώμεναι, αἰσχρὰ δʼ ὄψις συγγενῶν ἀλλήλαις διαφερομένων· αἴτιόν τʼ ἰσχύος μὲν ταῖς ἀσθενέσιν ἀποφαίνων ὁμοφροσύνην, ταπεινότητος δὲ καὶ ἀσθενείας καὶ ταῖς πάνυ ἰσχυραῖς ἀλληλοφθορίαν.
And when they had assembled, bringing together both the Roman senate and those who had come from the cities, he delivered a speech encouraging harmony, teaching how beautiful a thing it is for many cities to share a single mind, but how ugly a sight it is for kinsmen to differ with one another; and pointing out that harmony is the cause of strength for the weak, but mutual destruction is the cause of humiliation and weakness even for the very powerful.
§4.26.2ταῦτα διεξελθὼν ἐδίδασκεν αὐτούς, ὡς χρὴ Λατίνους μὲν τῶν προσοίκων ἄρχειν καὶ τὰ δίκαια τάττειν Ἕλληνας ὄντας βαρβάροις· Ῥωμαίους δὲ τὴν ἁπάντων Λατίνων ἔχειν προστασίαν μεγέθει τε πόλεως προὔχοντας καὶ πραγμάτων ὄγκῳ καὶ τῇ προνοίᾳ τοῦ δαιμονίου κρείττονι κεχρημένους ἐκείνων, διʼ ἣν εἰς τοσαύτην ἐπιφάνειαν προῆλθον.
After explaining these things, he taught them that the Latins, being Greeks, ought to rule over the neighboring barbarians and dictate justice to them; and that the Romans ought to have the leadership of all the Latins, since they surpassed them both in the size of their city and the scale of their affairs, and enjoyed a superior providence of the deity, through which they had advanced to such great distinction.
§4.26.3τοιαῦτα διεξελθὼν συνεβούλευεν αὐτοῖς ἱερὸν ἄσυλον ἀπὸ κοινῶν ἀναλωμάτων ἐν Ῥώμῃ κατασκευάσασθαι, ἐν ᾧ θύσουσί θʼ αἱ πόλεις συνερχόμεναι καθʼ ἕκαστον ἐνιαυτὸν ἰδίας τε καὶ κοινὰς θυσίας καὶ πανηγύρεις ἄξουσιν, ἐν οἷς ἂν ὁρίσωσι χρόνοις, καί, εἴ τι γένοιτο πρόσκρουσμα αὐταῖς πρὸς ἀλλήλας, ἐκ τῶν ἱερῶν τοῦτο διαλύσονται, ταῖς ἄλλαις πόλεσιν ἐπιτρέψασαι τὰ ἐγκλήματα διαγνῶναι.
After explaining such things, he advised them to construct a sacred asylum in Rome from common expenses, in which the cities, gathering together every year, would perform both private and common sacrifices and celebrate festivals at the times they should appoint; and, if any dispute should arise among them against one another, they would settle this from the sanctuary, permitting the other cities to judge the accusations.
§4.26.4διεξιὼν ταῦτα τε καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα ἕξουσιν ἀγαθὰ βουλευτήριον ἐγκαταστησάμενοι πάντας ἔπεισε τοὺς ἐν τῷ συνεδρίῳ παρόντας· καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο κατεσκεύασεν ἐξ ὧν ἅπασαι συνήνεγκαν αἱ πόλεις χρημάτων τὸν τῆς Ἀρτέμιδος νεών, τὸν ἐπὶ τοῦ μεγίστου τῶν ἐν τῇ Ῥώμῃ λόφων ἱδρυμένον Αὐεντίνου· καὶ τοὺς νόμους συνέγραψε ταῖς πόλεσι πρὸς ἀλλήλας καὶ τἆλλα τὰ περὶ τὴν ἑορτὴν καὶ πανήγυριν, ὃν ἐπιτελεσθήσεται τρόπον, ἔταξεν.
By detailing these and all the other advantages they would have by establishing a council, he persuaded all those present in the assembly; and after this, he constructed from the funds that all the cities contributed the temple of Artemis, which is established on the Aventine, the greatest of the hills in Rome; and he wrote the laws for the cities in relation to one another and ordered the other matters concerning the festival and assembly, in what manner it should be performed.
§4.26.5ἵνα δὲ μηδεὶς χρόνος αὐτοὺς ἀφανίσῃ, στήλην κατασκευάσας χαλκῆν ἔγραψεν ἐν ταύτῃ τά τε δόξαντα τοῖς συνέδροις καὶ τὰς μετεχούσας τῆς συνόδου πόλεις.
And so that no length of time should efface these, he made a bronze tablet and wrote on it both the decisions of the delegates and the cities participating in the assembly.
αὕτη διέμεινεν ἡ στήλη μέχρι τῆς ἐμῆς ἡλικίας ἐν τῷ τῆς Ἀρτέμιδος ἱερῷ κειμένη γραμμάτων ἔχουσα χαρακτῆρας, οἷς τὸ παλαιὸν ἡ Ἑλλὰς ἐχρῆτο.
This tablet remained until my time, placed in the temple of Artemis, having characters of letters which Greece used of old.
ὃ καὶ αὐτὸ ποιήσαιτʼ ἄν τις οὐ μικρὸν τεκμήριον τοῦ μὴ βαρβάρους εἶναι τοὺς οἰκίσαντας τὴν Ῥώμην. οὐ γὰρ ἂν Ἑλληνικοῖς ἐχρῶντο γράμμασιν ὄντες βάρβαροι.
This very fact indeed one might make a not small proof that those who settled Rome were not barbarians; for they would not have used Greek characters if they had been barbarians.
§4.26.6πολιτικαὶ μὲν δὴ πράξεις τοῦ βασιλέως τούτου σὺν ἄλλαις πολλαῖς ἐλάττοσί τε καὶ ἀμαυροτέραις αἱ μέγισται καὶ λαμπρόταται αὗται μνημονεύονται, πολεμικαὶ δʼ αἱ πρὸς ἓν τὸ Τυρρηνῶν ἔθνος γενόμεναι, περὶ ὧν μέλλω νῦν διεξιέναι.
While these are remembered as the greatest and most illustrious of this king's political actions, along with many other smaller and more obscure ones, his military actions were those carried out against the single nation of the Etrurians, which I am now about to describe.