[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.
Delphi Complete Works of Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Illustrated) (Delphi Ancient Classics Book 79) Page 24