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vultures drove out the young of eagles from his garden, and from the men's quarters, in which he was dining with friends, a great snake appeared and drove out both him and his companions. For these reasons he sent his sons Titus and Arruns to Delphi. And when Apollo prophesied that he would fall from his rule when a dog should use a human voice, he was buoyed up by good hopes, not thinking that the oracle would ever come to pass. Now Lucius Junius was the son of Tarquin's sister, 2.117 whose father and brother Tarquin had killed. This man, therefore, also fearing for himself, feigned foolishness, setting this up as his savior; for which reason he was also called Brutus; for it is the custom for the Latins to call the simple-minded so. Therefore, pretending to be a fool, he was taken along by the sons of Tarquin, who were going to Delphi, as a plaything. And he said he was bringing a dedication to the god; and it was a certain staff having nothing of value from its appearance, for which reason he also incurred laughter on this account. And it was like a certain image of his own pretense; for having hollowed it out secretly, he poured gold into it, showing through it that his own intelligence was hidden, safe and honored, by the dishonor of foolishness. And when the sons of Tarquin asked who would succeed to their father's kingdom, the god prophesied that the first one to have kissed his mother would have the power. And Brutus, understanding, as if falling by chance, kissed the ground, judging it rightly to be the mother of all. This Brutus overthrew the Tarquins, putting forward as a reason the event concerning Lucretia, since they were otherwise hated by all because of their tyranny and violence. Now Lucretia was the daughter of Spurius Lucretius, one of the men of the senate, and the wife of Collatinus Tarquinius, one of the nobles, being renowned for both her beauty and her chastity. Sextus, the son of Tarquin, made it his endeavor to disgrace this woman, not so much having been smitten by her beauty as plotting against her reputation for chastity. Therefore, having watched for Collatinus 2.118 to be away from home, he came to her at night and, as to the wife of a kinsman, lodged with her. And first he tried with words to have intercourse with her, then he also applied force; and when he accomplished nothing, he threatened to kill her; and when she made light even of death, he threatened to lay a slave beside her and kill them both and spread the story that he had killed them upon finding them sleeping together. This disturbed Lucretia, and fearing that these things might be believed to have happened thus, she gave in. And having been ravished, she placed a small sword under her pillow, and having sent for both her husband and her father, with both Brutus and Publius Valerius accompanying them, she wept and, groaning, narrated the whole deed; then she added, "And I for my part shall do what is fitting for myself, but you, if you are men, avenge me, and free yourselves, and show the tyrants what kind of woman they have outraged, you being the men you are." Having said such things, she immediately drew out the small sword and killed herself. And they, having heard and seen these things, were overcome with grief. And Brutus, using Publius as a willing counselor for the deed, both showed the woman lying there to many of the people, and having addressed the rest, he caused their hatred toward the tyrants to be revealed; and they agreed to no longer receive Tarquin. And having done these things, and having entrusted the city to the others, he himself rode out to the army, and persuaded the soldiers also to decree the same things as the people. And Tarquin, having learned what had happened, and having hastened to the city, was repulsed, and fled to the Tarquinians 2.119 with his children and the others of like mind, with only Tullia, as the story goes, having killed herself. So Tarquin, having ruled as tyrant for twenty-five years, thus fell from his rule, and the Romans inclined toward Brutus and chose him as ruler. But so that the sole rule might not seem a kingdom, they also voted for a co-ruler for him, the husband of that Lucretia, Collatinus Tarquinius, as being hostile toward the tyrants

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κήπου αὐτοῦ γῦπες νεοσσοὺς ἐξήλασαν ἀετῶν, καὶ ἐξ ἀνδρῶνος, ἐν ῳ συνειστιᾶτο φίλοις, οφις μέγας ἐπιφανεὶς αὐτόν τε καὶ τοὺς συσσίτους ἐξέβαλε. διά τοι ταῦτα ἐς ∆ελφοὺς Τίτον τε καὶ ̓Αρροῦντα τοὺς υἱοὺς επεμψε. τοῦ δὲ ̓Απόλλωνος χρήσαντος τότε τῆς ἀρχῆς ἐκπεσεῖσθαι αὐτὸν οτε κύων φωνῇ ἀνθρωπίνῃ χρήσαιτο, ἀγαθαῖς ἐλπίσιν ᾐώρητο, μὴ οἰηθείς ποτε γενέσθαι τὸ μάντευμα. Ην δὲ Λούκιος ̓Ιούνιος ἀδελφῆς τοῦ Ταρκυνίου 2.117 υἱός, ου τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν ὁ Ταρκύνιος εκτεινεν. ουτος ουν καὶ περὶ ἑαυτῷ δεδοικὼς μωρίαν προσεποιήσατο, ταύτην ἑαυτοῦ προστησάμενος σώτειραν· διὸ καὶ Βροῦτος ἐπεκλήθη· τοὺς γὰρ εὐήθεις ουτω τοῖς Λατίνοις εθος καλεῖν. πλαττόμενος ουν τὸν μωραίνοντα, τοῖς τοῦ Ταρκυνίου παισὶν εἰς ∆ελφοὺς ἀπιοῦσι συμπαρελήφθη ὡς αθυρμα. ὁ δὲ καὶ ἀνάθημα φέρειν ελεγε τῷ θεῷ· τὸ δ' ην βάκτρον τι μηδὲν ἐκ τοῦ φαινομένου εχον χρηστόν, οθεν καὶ ἐπὶ τούτῳ ὠφλίσκανε γέλωτα. τὸ δ' ην οιον εἰκών τις τῆς κατ' αὐτὸν προσποιήσεως· κοιλάνας γὰρ αὐτὸ λάθρᾳ χρυσίον ἐνέχεεν, ἐνδεικνύμενος δι' αὐτοῦ ὡς καὶ τὸ φρόνημα αὐτῷ τῷ τῆς μωρίας ἀτίμῳ σῷον καὶ εντιμον κατακρύπτεται. ἐρομένων δὲ τῶν Ταρκυνίου υἱῶν τίς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ πατρὸς διαδέξεται, εχρησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν πρῶτον τὴν μητέρα φιλήσαντα τὸ κράτος εξειν. καὶ συνεὶς ὁ Βροῦτος ὡς τυχαίως καταπεσὼν τὴν γῆν κατεφίλησεν, αὐτὴν μητέρα πάντων ὑπάρχειν κρίνας ὀρθῶς. Ουτος ὁ Βροῦτος τοὺς Ταρκυνίους κατέλυσεν, αἰτίαν τὸ περὶ τὴν Λουκρητίαν συμβεβηκὸς προστησάμενος, καὶ αλλως μισουμένους παρὰ πάντων διὰ τὸ τυραννικόν τε καὶ βίαιον. ἡ δὲ Λουκρητία θυγάτηρ μὲν ην Λουκρητίου Σπουρίου, ἀνδρὸς τῶν τῆς συγκλήτου ἑνός, γαμετὴ δὲ Κολλατίνου Ταρκυνίου τῶν ἐπιφανῶν, ἐπί τε κάλλει καὶ σωφροσύνῃ τυγχάνουσα περιβόητος. ταύτην Σέξτος ὁ τοῦ Ταρκυνίου υἱὸς αἰσχῦναι σπούδασμα εθετο, οὐχ ουτω τοῦ κάλλους αὐτῆς ἐρασθεὶς οσον τῇ ἐπὶ τῷ σώφρονι δόξῃ ἐπιβουλεύων αὐτῆς. τηρήσας ουν τὸν Κολλατῖνον 2.118 τῆς οἰκίας ἀποδημοῦντα, νυκτὸς ἐλθὼν πρὸς αὐτὴν ὡς πρὸς γαμετὴν συγγενοῦς κατέλυσε παρ' αὐτῇ. καὶ πρῶτον μὲν λόγοις ἐπείρα συγγενέσθαι αὐτῇ, ειτα καὶ βίαν προσῆγεν· ὡς δ' οὐδὲν ἐπέραινεν, ἀποσφάξειν ἠπείλησεν· ὡς δὲ καὶ τοῦ θανάτου κατωλιγώρει, δοῦλον παρακατακλινεῖν αὐτῇ ἐπηπείλησε καὶ αμφω κτανεῖν καὶ λόγον διαδώσειν ὡς εὑρὼν αὐτοὺς συγκαθεύδοντας εκτεινε. τοῦτο τὴν Λουκρητίαν ἐτάραξε, καὶ φοβηθεῖσα μὴ πιστευθείη ταῦθ' ουτω γενέσθαι, ἐνέδωκε. καὶ μοιχευθεῖσα ξιφίδιον ὑπὸ τὸ προσκεφάλαιον εθετο, καὶ μεταπεμψαμένη τόν τε ανδρα καὶ τὸν πατέρα, συνεπομένων αὐτοῖς τοῦ τε Βρούτου καὶ Ποπλίου Οὐαλερίου, κατεδάκρυσε καὶ στενάξασα τὸ δρᾶμα πᾶν διηγήσατο· ειτα ἐπήγαγε "καὶ ἐγὼ μὲν τὰ πρέποντα ἐμαυτῇ ποιήσω, ὑμεῖς δὲ ειπερ ανδρες ἐστέ, τιμωρήσατε μὲν ἐμοί, ἐλευθερώθητε δὲ αὐτοί, καὶ δείξατε τοῖς τυράννοις οιων ὑμῶν οντων οιαν γυναῖκα υβρισαν." τοιαῦτα εἰποῦσα εὐθὺς τὸ ξιφίδιον ὑφελκύσασα κατέκτεινεν ἑαυτήν. ̓Ακούσαντες δ' ἐκεῖνοι ταῦτα καὶ θεασάμενοι ὑπερήλγησαν. καὶ τῷ Ποπλίῳ συμβούλῳ καὶ προθύμῳ πρὸς τουργον ὁ Βροῦτος χρησάμενος τήν τε γυναῖκα πολλοῖς τῶν τοῦ δήμου κειμένην ὑπέδειξε, καὶ πρὸς τοὺς λοιποὺς δημηγορήσας τὸ πρὸς τοὺς τυράννους μῖσος ἐκφῆναι πεποίηκε· καὶ μηκέτι δέξασθαι συνέθεντο τὸν Ταρκύνιον. ταῦτα δὲ πράξας, καὶ τὴν πόλιν ἐπιτρέψας τοῖς αλλοις, αὐτὸς πρὸς τὸ στρατόπεδον ἐξιππάσατο, καὶ τὰ αὐτὰ τῷ δήμῳ συνέπεισε καὶ τοὺς στρατιώτας ψηφίσασθαι. ὁ δέ γε Ταρκύνιος τὰ συμβεβηκότα μαθὼν καὶ πρὸς τὴν πόλιν ἐπειχθεὶς ἀπεώσθη, καὶ πρὸς τοὺς Ταρκυνη2.119 σίους μετὰ τῶν παίδων καὶ τῶν αλλων ὁμοφρόνων κατέφυγε, μόνης τῆς Τουλλίας, ὡς λόγος, ἑαυτὴν ἀνελούσης. ̔Ο μὲν ουν Ταρκύνιος πέντε καὶ εικοσι τυραννήσας ἐνιαυτοὺς ουτως ἐξέπεσε τῆς ἀρχῆς, οἱ ̔Ρωμαῖοι δὲ πρὸς τὸν Βροῦτον ἀπέκλιναν καὶ αὐτὸν ειλοντο αρχοντα. ινα δὲ μὴ ἡ μοναρχία βασιλεία δοκῇ, καὶ συνάρχοντα αὐτῷ ἐψηφίσαντο τὸν τῆς Λουκρητίας ἐκείνης ανδρα τὸν Κολλατῖνον Ταρκύνιον, ὡς ἀπεχθῶς πρὸς τοὺς τυράννους