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Brutus the uncle of Lucretia and Collatinus her husband, plotted against him, with the other senators and all the people of the city also joining them in this, that he should be thrown out of the kingdom, persuading the army guarding the palace and the city of Rome, the so-called Celerians, men most warlike in battle, to ally with them so as not to receive Tarquin as king returning to Rome in the future. And when Tarquin learned what was plotted against him by the senate and the army and the people, he himself sent and suborned the very son of Brutus, who was a friend and contemporary of his son Arruns. And being persuaded, he conspired, when the same Tarquin came against Rome, to betray the city and to murder his own father Brutus. But Vindicius, the slave of Brutus, who lived with his son, having learned this, secretly reported to his own master Brutus the plot about to be carried out against him by his son. And immediately upon hearing this, Brutus arrested his own 182 son, and having examined him in the forum of Rome before everyone, he forced him to confess the things planned by him and Tarquin. And he confessed to his own father the arrangement for the betrayal he had made with Tarquin; and immediately he killed his own son. And finally the entire senate of Rome, having assembled, renounced Tarquin from the kingship, making his deposition in writing, having voted in the first place and having designated two consuls, the great Brutus and Collatinus the husband of Lucretia, to administer the Roman state, appointing magistrates according to their own judgment, and that there be no longer a king in Rome, writing also to the army that was with Tarquin to abandon him; and they immediately deserted. And as soon as Brutus came forth as consul, he immediately brought his own slave Vindicius before the senate and the people out of gratitude, because he had kept faith with his own master, and having performed a solemn festival to Justice and having sat on the high tribunal, he brought Vindicius up on high opposite himself, and stretching out his right hand, and with his palm striking three blows upon his cheek, with a shout he said these things, “Having shaken off the fortune of your slavery, O Vindicius, and having cast off its yoke, put on the breastplate of Roman freedom for all the time of your life.” And taking a golden ring from his own hand, he placed it on his right hand, having given him also the rank of count and a part of his own 183 property, calling the same day of the festival Consilia, which is interpreted day of provision, and commanding the consular governors of the provinces appointed by him on the same day each year to perform a sacred all-night vigil and festival to Justice in memory of the victory over Tarquin and of the well-deserved freedom of Vindicius, in order to encourage the rest of the household slaves everywhere to be loyal to their own masters and to be deemed worthy of such freedom and honor. Which Consilia the consular governors of the provinces celebrate with festivities even until now. About which Livy the wise and many others have also written. And after many years, the Gauls, having gained tyrannical power, started a war against the Romans; and learning this, the senate of Rome appointed against them a powerful general named Manlius Capitolinus. Who, having armed himself and taken a most warlike army, set out against the Gauls; and joining battle, he conquered them by force. And returning, he celebrated the victory in a triumph in Rome, and he entered, having become reckless towards the senate and the army and the people; and on account of this the senate and all were grieved. And being envied by a certain senatorial enemy of his,
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Βροῦτος ὁ θεῖος τῆς Λουκρητίας καὶ Κολλατῖνος ὁ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς, κατεσκεύασαν αὐτῷ, συμποιησαμένων αὐτοῖς καὶ τῶν ἄλλων συγκλητικῶν καὶ τῶν τῆς πόλεως πάντων εἰς τὸ αὐτὸν ἐκβληθῆναι τῆς βασιλείας, πείσαντες συμμαχεῖν αὐτοῖς εἰς τὸ μὴ δέξασθαι τοῦ λοιποῦ τὸν Ταρκύνιον βασιλέα εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην ὑποστρέφοντα τὸν στρατὸν τὸν φυλάττοντα τὸ παλάτιον καὶ τὴν πόλιν Ῥώμην τῶν λεγομένων Κελεριανῶν, ἀνδρῶν μαχιμωτάτων ἐν πολέμοις. καὶ γνόντος τοῦ Ταρκυνίου τὸ τρακτευθὲν κατ' αὐτοῦ παρὰ τῆς συγκλήτου καὶ τοῦ στρατοῦ καὶ τοῦ δήμου, πέμψας αὐτὸς ὑπενόθευσε καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ Βρούτου, τὸν φίλον ὄντα καὶ συννεώτερον τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ Ἄῤῥουνς. καὶ πεισθεὶς συνετάξατο ἐρχομένου τοῦ αὐτοῦ Ταρκυνίου κατὰ τῆς Ῥώμης προδοῦναι τὴν πόλιν καὶ τὸν ἴδιον πατέρα φονεύειν τὸν Βροῦτον. τοῦτο δὲ γνοὺς ὁ δοῦλος τοῦ Βρούτου Βινδίκιος, ὁ συνδιάγων τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ, ἀνήγγειλε λάθρᾳ τῷ ἰδίῳ δεσπότῃ Βρούτῳ τὴν μέλλουσαν γίνεσθαι κατ' αὐτοῦ ἐπιβουλὴν παρὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ. καὶ εὐθέως ἀκούσας ὁ Βροῦτος συνέσχε τὸν ἴδιον 182 αὐτοῦ υἱόν, καὶ ἐν τῷ φόρῳ Ῥώμης ἐπὶ πάντων ἐξετάσας αὐτόν, ἠνάγκαζεν αὐτὸν ἐξειπεῖν τὰ αὐτῷ καὶ τῷ Ταρκυνίῳ βεβουλευμένα. ὁ δὲ ὡμολόγησε τῷ ἰδίῳ πατρὶ τὴν γενομένην παρ' αὐτοῦ σύνταξιν τῆς προδοσίας πρὸς τὸν Ταρκύνιον· καὶ εὐθέως ἐφόνευσε τὸν ἴδιον υἱόν. καὶ λοιπὸν συναθροισθεῖσα ἡ σύγκλητος Ῥώμης πᾶσα ἀπεκήρυξε τὸν Ταρκύνιον τῆς βασιλείας, ἐγγράφως τὴν καθαίρεσιν αὐτοῦ ποιήσαντες, ψηφισάμενοι ἐν πρώτοις καὶ δισιγνατεύσαντες ὑπάτους δύο, τὸν Βροῦτον τὸν μέγαν καὶ τὸν Κολλατῖνον τὸν ἄνδρα τῆς Λουκρητίας, διοικεῖν τὴν πολιτείαν Ῥωμαίων προβαλλομένους κατὰ ἰδίαν δοκιμασίαν ἄρχοντας, καὶ μὴ εἶναι τοῦ λοιποῦ βασιλέα ἐν τῇ Ῥώμῃ, γράψαντες καὶ τῷ στρατῷ τῷ ὄντι μετ' αὐτοῦ Ταρκυνίου ἀπολιπεῖν αὐτόν· καὶ ἀπέστησαν εὐθέως. ἢ μόνον δὲ προῆλθεν ὕπατος ὁ Βροῦτος, εὐθέως ἐπὶ τῆς συγκλήτου καὶ τοῦ δήμου ἀγαγὼν τὸν ἴδιον δοῦλον τὸν Βινδίκιον ὑπὲρ εὐχαριστίας, ὅτι πιστὰ ἐφύλαξε τῷ ἰδίῳ δεσπότῃ, καὶ ἐπιτελέσας ἑορτὴν πανηγυρικὴν τῇ ∆ίκῃ καὶ καθίσας ἐν τῷ ὑψηλῷ βήματι ἀνήγαγε τὸν Βινδίκιον ἐν ὕψει ἄντικρυς αὑτοῦ, καὶ ἐκτείνας τὴν δεξιὰν αὐτοῦ χεῖρα, καὶ τῇ παλάμῃ αὐτοῦ πληγὰς τρεῖς ἐπὶ τὴν αὐτοῦ παρειὰν ἐπαγαγὼν μετὰ κραυγῆς ἔφη ταῦτα, Ἀποτιναξάμενος τὴν τῆς σῆς δουλείας τύχην, ὦ Βινδίκιε, καὶ τὴν ταύτης ἐκδυσάμενος ζυγὸν ἔνδυσαι Ῥωμαϊκῆς ἐλευθερίας θώρακα τὸν ἅπαντα τῆς ζωῆς σου χρόνον. καὶ ἀφελόμενος ἐκ τῆς ἰδίας χειρὸς δακτύλιον χρυσοῦν ἐπέβαλεν εἰς τὴν δεξιὰν αὐτοῦ χεῖρα, δεδωκὼς αὐτῷ καὶ ἀξίαν κόμητος καὶ μέρος τῆς αὑτοῦ 183 περιουσίας, καλέσας τὴν αὐτὴν ἡμέραν τῆς ἑορτῆς Κονσίλια, ἅπερ ἑρμηνεύεται παροχῆς ἡμέρα, προστάξας καὶ τοῖς παρ' αὐτοῦ προβληθεῖσιν ὑπατικοῖς ἄρχουσι τῶν ἐπαρχιῶν τῇ αὐτῇ ἡμέρᾳ κατ' ἔτος ἱερὰν παννυχίδα καὶ ἑορτὴν τῇ ∆ίκῃ ἐπιτελεῖν εἰς μνημόσυνον τῆς κατὰ τοῦ Ταρκυνίου νίκης καὶ τῆς κατ' ἀξίαν ἐλευθερίας τοῦ Βινδικίου εἰς τὸ προτρέψασθαι τοὺς λοιποὺς τοὺς πανταχοῦ οἰκέτας εὐγνωμονεῖν τοῖς ἰδίοις δεσπόταις καὶ τοιαύτης ἐλευθερίας ἀξιοῦσθαι καὶ τιμῆς. ἅτινα Κονσίλια οἱ ὑπατικοὶ ἄρχοντες τῶν ἐπαρχιῶν ἕως τῆς νῦν ἐπιτελοῦσι πανηγυρίζοντες. περὶ ὧν καὶ Λίβιος ὁ σοφὸς καὶ ἕτεροι πολλοὶ συνεγράψαντο. Μετὰ δὲ χρόνους πολλοὺς τυραννήσαντες οἱ Γάλλοι ἐκίνησαν πόλεμον Ῥωμαίοις· καὶ τοῦτο γνοῦσα ἡ σύγκλητος Ῥώμης προεχειρίσατο κατ' αὐτῶν στρατηγὸν δυνατὸν ὀνόματι Μαλλίωνα Καπιτωλῖνον. ὅστις ὁπλισάμενος καὶ λαβὼν στρατὸν πολεμικώτατον, ὥρμησεν εἰς τοὺς Γάλλους· καὶ συμβαλὼν πόλεμον ἐνίκησε κατὰ κράτος. καὶ ὑποστρέψας ἐθριάμβευσε τὴν νίκην ἐν τῇ Ῥώμῃ, καὶ εἰσῆλθεν ἀπονενοημένος κατὰ τῆς συγκλήτου καὶ τοῦ στρατοῦ καὶ τοῦ δήμου· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐλυπήθη ἡ σύγκλητος καὶ πάντες. φθονηθεὶς δὲ ὑπό τινος ἐχθροῦ αὐτοῦ συγκλητικοῦ,