§4.63.1ταῦτα διαπραξάμενος ὁ Ταρκύνιος ἐν εἰνήνῃ τε καὶ κατὰ πολέμους καὶ δύο πόλεις ἀποικίσας τὴν μὲν καλουμένην Σιγνίαν οὐ κατὰ προαίρεσεν, ἀλλʼ ἐκ ταὐτομάτου, χειμασάντων ἐν τῷ χωρίῳ τῶν στρατιωτῶν καὶ κατασκευασαμένων τὸ στρατόπεδον ὡς μηδὲν διαφέρειν πόλεως· Κιρκαίαν δὲ κατὰ λογισμόν, ὅτι τοῦ Πωμεντίνου πεδίου μεγίστου τῶν περὶ τῇ Λατίνῃ καὶ τῆς συναπτούσης αὐτῷ θαλάττης ἔκειτο ἐν καλῷ· ἔστι δὲ χερσονησοειδὴς σκόπελος ὑψηλὸς ἐπιεικῶς ἐπὶ τοῦ Τυρρηνικοῦ πελάγους κείμενος, ἔνθα λόγος ἔχει Κίρκην τὴν Ἡλίου θυγατέρα κατοικῆσαι· καὶ τὰς ἀποικίας ἀμφοτέρας δυσὶ τῶν παίδων οἰκισταῖς ἀναθείς, Κιρκαίαν μὲν Ἄρροντι, Σιγνίαν δὲ Τίτῳ, δέος ἅτε οὐδὲν ἔτι περὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς ἔχων, διὰ γυναικὸς ὕβριν αὐτῆς, ἣν ὁ πρεσβύτατος αὐτοῦ τῶν παίδων Σέξτος διέφθειρεν, ἐξελαύνεται τῆς τʼ ἀρχῆς καὶ τῆς πόλεως, προθεσπίσαντος αὐτῷ τοῦ δαιμονίου τὴν μέλλουσαν γενήσεσθαι περὶ τὸν οἶκον συμφορὰν πολλοῖς μὲν καὶ
Tarquinius, having accomplished these things in peace and in war, and having founded two colonies—the one called Signia, not by design, but spontaneously, because the soldiers had wintered in that place and had constructed a camp that in no way differed from a city; and Circeii by design, because it lay in a favorable position between the Pomentine plain, the largest of those in Latium, and the sea adjacent to it (now this is a fairly high peninsula-like rock lying in the Tyrrhenian Sea, where legend has it that Circe, the daughter of the Sun, dwelt)—and having entrusted both colonies to two of his sons as founders, Circeii to Arruns and Signia to Titus, inasmuch as he no longer had any fear for his sovereignty, was expelled both from his power and from the city on account of the outrage committed against a woman of his own house, whom his eldest son Sextus had violated, after the divinity had foretold to him the calamity that was to come upon his house by many other omens and by this last one.
§4.63.2ἄλλοις οἰωνοῖς, τελευταίῳ δὲ τῷδε. αἰετοὶ συνιόντες εἰς τὸν παρακείμενον τοῖς βασιλείοις κῆπον ἔαρος ὥρᾳ νεοττιὰν ἔπλαττον ἐπὶ κορυφῇ φοίνικος ὑψηλοῦ.
Eagles, gathering together into the garden adjacent to the palace in the spring season, were building a nest on the top of a high palm tree.
τούτων δὲ τῶν αἰετῶν ἀπτῆνας ἔτι τοὺς νεοττοὺς ἐχόντων γῦπες ἀθρόοι προσπετασθέντες τήν τε νεοττιὰν διεφόρησαν καὶ τοὺς νεοττοὺς ἀπέκτειναν καὶ τοὺς αἰετοὺς προσιόντας ἀπὸ τῆς νομῆς ἀμύττοντές τε καὶ παίοντες τοῖς ταρσοῖς ἀπὸ τοῦ φοίνικος ἀπήλασαν.
While these eagles still had their young unfledged, vultures, flying thither in a flock, destroyed the nest, killed the young, and when the eagles returned from their feeding, they drove them away from the palm tree, scratching them and striking them with their wings.
§4.63.3τούτους τοὺς οἰωνοὺς ἰδὼν ὁ Ταρκύνιος καὶ φυλαττόμενος, εἴ πως δύναιτο διακρούσασθαι τὴν μοῖραν, οὐκ ἴσχυσε νικῆσαι τὸ χρεών, ἀλλʼ ἐπιθεμένων αὐτῷ τῶν πατρικίων καὶ τοῦ δήμου συμφρονήσαντος ἐξέπεσε τῆς δυναστείας.
Tarquinius, having seen these omens and guarding himself to see if he might in some way escape his fate, was unable to conquer necessity; but when the patricians attacked him and the common people joined in the purpose, he fell from his sovereignty.
οἵτινες δʼ ἦσαν οἱ τῆς ἐπαναστάσεως ἄρξαντες καὶ διʼ οἵων τρόπων ἦλθον ἐπὶ τὰ πράγματα, δι’ ὀλίγων πειράσομαι διελθεῖν.
Who the leaders of the uprising were, and by what means they came to power, I shall attempt to relate in brief.