§5.54.1ἡ δʼ ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ σώζουσα τὴν πόλιν καὶ μέχρι τῶν κατʼ ἐμὲ χρόνων παραμένουσα θεία πρόνοια διεκάλυψεν αὐτῶν τὰ βουλεύματα μηνύσεως θατέρῳ τῶν ὑπάτων γενομένης Σολπικίῳ, ἣν ἐποίησαν ἀδελφοὶ δύο Ταρκύνιοι, Πόπλιος καὶ Μάρκος, ἐκ Λαυρέντου πόλεως, κορυφαιότατοι τῶν μετασχόντων τῆς συνωμοσίας, ὑπὸ θείας ἀνάγκης βιαζόμενοι.
But the divine providence which saves the city in every crisis and continues down to my own times, revealed their designs through a disclosure made to Sulpicius, one of the consuls, which was made by two brothers, Publius and Marcus, of the Tarquin family from the city of Laurentum, who were the chief leaders among those participating in the conspiracy, being compelled by divine necessity.
§5.54.2ἐφίσταντο γὰρ αὐτοῖς, ὅτε κοιμηθεῖεν, ὄψεις ὀνείρων φοβεραὶ τιμωρίας ἐπαπειλοῦσαι μεγάλας, εἰ μὴ παύσαιντο καὶ ἀποσταῖεν τῆς ἐπιθέσεως, διώκεσθαί τε ὑπὸ δαιμόνων τινῶν καὶ παίεσθαι καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐξορύττεσθαι καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ καὶ σχέτλια πάσχειν τελευτῶντες ἐδόκουν·
For when they went to sleep, terrifying visions in dreams stood over them, threatening great punishments if they did not cease and desist from the attack; they seemed in the end to be pursued by certain spirits, to be beaten, to have their eyes dug out, and to suffer many other dreadful things.
ὑφʼ ὧν περίφοβοι καὶ τρόμῳ παλλόμενοι διηγείροντο καὶ οὐδὲ καθεύδειν διὰ τὰ δείματα ταῦτʼ ἐδύναντο.
Terrified by these things and trembling, they would wake up, and could not even sleep because of these fears.
§5.54.3κατʼ ἀρχὰς μὲν οὖν ἀποτροπαίοις τισὶ καὶ ἐξακεστηρίοις θυσίαις ἐπειρῶντο παραιτεῖσθαι τοὺς ἐνισταμένους σφίσι δαίμονας· ὡς δʼ οὐδὲν ἐπέραινον, ἐπὶ μαντείας ἐτράποντο τὴν μὲν διάνοιαν τῆς ἐπιχειρήσεως ἀπόρρητον φυλάττοντες, τοῦτο δὲ μόνον ἀξιοῦντες μαθεῖν, εἰ καιρὸς ἤδη πράττειν, ἃ βούλονται.
At first, therefore, they tried by certain averting and expiatory sacrifices to appease the spirits opposing them; but when they accomplished nothing, they turned to divination, keeping the purpose of their enterprise secret and asking only to learn whether it was now the time to do what they wished.
ἀποκριναμένου δὲ τοῦ μάντεως, ὅτι πονηρὰν καὶ ὀλέθριον βαδίζουσιν ὁδὸν καί, εἰ μὴ μεταθήσονται τὰ βουλεύματα, τὸν αἴσχιστον ἀπολοῦνται τρόπον, δείσαντες μὴ φθάσωσιν αὐτοὺς ἕτεροι τὰ κρυπτὰ εἰς φῶς ἐξενέγκαντες, αὐτοὶ μηνυταὶ γίνονται πρὸς τὸν ἐνδημοῦντα τῶν ὑπάτων.
But when the seer answered that they were walking a wicked and ruinous path and that, unless they changed their designs, they would perish in the most shameful manner, fearing lest others should anticipate them by bringing the secrets to light, they themselves became informers to the one of the consuls who was in the city.
§5.54.4ὁ δʼ ἐπαινέσας αὐτοὺς καὶ πολλὰ ὑποσχόμενος εὖ ποιήσειν, ἐὰν καὶ τὰ ἔργα ὅμοια τοῖς λόγοις ἐπιδείξωνται, τούτους μὲν ἔνδον παρʼ ἑαυτῷ κατεῖχεν οὐδενὶ φράσας· τοὺς δὲ τῶν Λατίνων πρέσβεις ἀναβαλλόμενος τέως καὶ παρέλκων τὴν ἀπόκρισιν τότε εἰσαγαγὼν εἰς τὸ βουλευτήριον τὰ §5.54.5δόξαντα τοῖς συνέδροις ἀποκρίνεται πρὸς αὐτούς· ἄνδρες φίλοι τε καὶ συγγενεῖς ἀπαγγέλλετε ἀπιόντες πρὸς τὸ κοινὸν τῶν Λατίνων, ὅτι Ῥωμαίων ὁ δῆμος οὔτε πρότερον Ταρκυνιήταις ἀξιοῦσιν ἐχαρίσατο τὴν τῶν τυράννων κάθοδον, οὔθʼ ὕστερον ἅπασι Τυρρηνοῖς, οὓς ἦγε βασιλεὺς Πορσίνας, ὑπὲρ τῶν αὐτῶν δεομένοις καὶ πόλεμον ἐπάγουσιν ἁπάντων βαρύτατον ἐνέκλινεν, ἀλλʼ ἠνέσχετο γῆν τε κειρομένην ὁρῶν καὶ αὐλὰς ἐμπιπραμένας, τειχήρης γενόμενος ὑπὲρ τῆς ἐλευθερίας καὶ τοῦ μηθὲν ὧν μὴ βούλεται πράττειν κελευσθείς·
The consul, having praised them and promised to do them many favors if they should show their deeds to be matchable to their words, kept them inside with him, telling no one; and after delaying the ambassadors of the Latins for a while and putting off his answer, he then introduced them into the senate-house and gave them the decisions of the senators: "Friends and kinsmen, go and report to the common assembly of the Latins that the Roman people neither formerly granted the return of the tyrants to the Tarquinienses when they requested it, nor afterwards yielded to all the Etruscans led by King Porsena, who made the same petition and brought upon them the most grievous war of all; but they endured seeing their land ravaged and their farmsteads burned, shutting themselves within their walls for the sake of liberty and of doing nothing that they do not wish, even if commanded.
ὑμῶν τʼ, ὦ Λατῖνοι, τεθαύμακεν, εἰ ταῦτʼ εἰδότες οὐδὲν ἧττον δέχεσθαι τοὺς τυράννους καὶ τὴν Φιδήνης πολιορκίαν λύειν ἐπιτάττοντες ἥκετε καὶ μὴ πειθομένοις πόλεμον ἀπειλεῖτε.
And as for you, Latins, they wonder that, though you know these things, you have nonetheless come demanding that we receive the tyrants and raise the siege of Fidenae, and threatening us with war if we do not comply.
παύσασθε δὴ ψυχρὰς καὶ ἀπιθάνους τῆς ἔχθρας παραβαλλόμενοι προφάσεις καὶ εἰ διὰ ταῦτα μέλλετε διαλύειν τὸ συγγενὲς καὶ τὸν πόλεμον ἐπικυροῦν, μηθὲν ἔτι ἀναβάλλεσθε.
Cease, then, offering cold and implausible pretexts for your hostility; and if because of these things you intend to dissolve our kinship and ratify war, delay no longer."