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they restrained the majority, who were a mixed rabble and unarmed, and having advanced upon the Carcini, among whom they had deposited the booty, they had trouble. And at last at night, led by deserters, having climbed over the wall somewhere, they were in danger of perishing because of the darkness, not because the night was moonless, but because it was snowing very heavily; but when the moon appeared, they suddenly took control of the place. Much money then came to Rome, so that they even used silver drachmas. Then they marched into the country now called Calabria, on the pretext that they had received Pyrrhus and were overrunning the allied territory, but in truth because they wanted to make Brundisium their own, as it had a good harbor and offered an approach and a landing-place from Illyris and Greece of such a kind that with the same wind some could both set sail and land. And they took it, and sent colonists both into it and into other places. But while accomplishing these things and rising to greater heights, they were not arrogant, but they surrendered Quintus Fabius, a senator, to the Apolloniates in the Ionian gulf, because he had insulted their ambassadors. But they, having taken him, sent him back home unharmed. And in the consulship of Quintus Fabius and Aemilius they marched against the Volsinians for their freedom; for they were their treaty-allies. Being the most ancient of the Tyrrhenians, they acquired power and built a very strong wall, and used a well-ordered constitution, and for these reasons, when they once went to war with the Romans, they held out for a very long time. But when they were subdued, they themselves drifted into luxury, and they entrusted the administration of the city to their servants, and generally carried out their military campaigns through them; and finally they brought things to such a point that the servants had both power and pride and deemed themselves worthy of freedom. And as time went on they also obtained this for themselves, and they married their own mistresses and succeeded their masters, and were enrolled in the senate and held the magistracies and they themselves had all the authority, and in other things and in the outrages done to them by their masters, they retaliated against them more insolently. Therefore the old citizens, being able neither to endure them nor to defend themselves on their own, secretly sent ambassadors to Rome. And they, through secret arrangements, summoned the senate by night to a private house, so that nothing might be reported; and they succeeded. And they deliberated as if no one was listening, but a certain Samnite, who was staying as a guest with the master of the house and was sick, remained in place unnoticed, and he learned what they had voted and reported it to the accused parties. And they seized the ambassadors as they were returning and tortured them; and having learned what was being done, they killed them and the foremost of the others. Therefore, on account of these things, the Romans sent Fabius against them. And he routed those of them who met him and, having destroyed many in the flight, shut up the rest within the wall, and he attacked the city. And he, having been wounded there, died, but they, taking courage at this, came out to attack. And having been defeated again, they withdrew and were besieged; and having fallen into the necessity of famine, they surrendered themselves. The consul tortured and killed those who had usurped the honors of their masters and razed the city, but the natives, and any of the servants who had been good to their masters, he settled in another place. From this point the Romans began their overseas contests; for they had very little experience of naval matters; but having become sea-farers, they crossed over both to the islands and the other continents. And they first made war on the Carthaginians, who were in no way inferior to them either in wealth or in the excellence of their country, and were practiced in naval affairs with precision, and were equipped with cavalry and infantry forces and elephants, and ruled the Libyans, and held both Sardinia and the greater part of Sicily; whence they also entertained hopes of subduing Italy. For other things persuaded them to be proud, and they happened to be exceedingly elated by their independence, for the king for them was the title of an annual office, but not for a long time

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σύγκλυδας καὶ ἀόπλους τοὺς πλείονας οντας συνέσχον, χωρήσαντες δ' ἐπὶ Καρκίνους, παρ' οις τὴν λείαν ἐκεῖνοι ἀπετέθειντο, πράγματα εσχον. καὶ τέλος νυκτὸς ὑπ' αὐτομόλων ὑπερβάντες πῃ τοῦ τείχους ἐκινδύνευσαν ἀπολέσθαι διὰ σκότος, οὐχ ὡς ἀσελήνου τῆς νυκτὸς ουσης, ἀλλ' οτι σφοδρότατα ενιφεν· ἐκφανείσης δὲ τῆς σελήνης ἀθρόον ἐκράτησαν τοῦ χωρίου. Πολλὰ δὲ χρήματα τότε τῇ ̔Ρώμῃ ἐγένετο, ωστε καὶ ἀργυραῖς δραχμαῖς χρήσασθαι. Ειτα εἰς τὴν νῦν καλουμένην Καλαβρίαν ἐστράτευσαν, προφάσει μὲν οτι τὸν Πύρρον ὑπεδέξαντο καὶ τὴν συμμαχίδα κατέτρεχον, τῇ δ' ἀληθείᾳ οτι ἐβούλοντο οἰκειώσασθαι τὸ Βρεντέσιον, ὡς εὐλίμενον καὶ προσβολὴν καὶ κάταρσιν ἐκ τῆς ̓Ιλλυρίδος καὶ τῆς ̔Ελλάδος τοιαύτην εχον ωσθ' ὑπὸ τοῦ αὐτοῦ πνεύματος καὶ ἐξανάγεσθαί τινας καὶ καταίρειν. καὶ ειλον αὐτό, καὶ ἀποίκους επεμψαν εἰς αὐτό τε καὶ εἰς ετερα. ταῦτα δ' ἀνύοντες καὶ ἐπὶ μεῖζον αἰρόμενοι οὐχ ὑπερεφρόνουν, ἀλλὰ Κύιντον Φάβιον βουλευτὴν ̓Απολλωνιάταις τοῖς ἐν τῷ ̓Ιονίῳ κόλπῳ ἐξέδωκαν, οτι πρέσβεις αὐτῶν υβρισεν. οἱ δὲ λαβόντες αὐτὸν ἀπέπεμψαν οικαδε ἀπαθῆ. ̓Επὶ δὲ Κυΐντου Φαβίου καὶ Αἰμιλίου ὑπάτων πρὸς Οὐλσινίους ἐστράτευσαν ἐπ' ἐλευθερίᾳ αὐτῶν· ενσπονδοι γὰρ ησαν αὐτοῖς. οι ἀρχαιότατοι Τυρση2.194 νῶν οντες ἰσχύν τε περιεποιήσαντο καὶ τεῖχος κατεσκεύασαν ὀχυρώτατον, πολιτείᾳ τε εὐνομουμένῃ ἐκέχρηντο, καὶ δι' αὐτὰ πολεμοῦντές ποτε τοῖς ̔Ρωμαίοις ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ἀντέσχον. ὡς δ' ἐχειρώθησαν, αὐτοὶ μὲν ἐξώκειλαν εἰς ἁβρότητα, τὴν δὲ διοίκησιν τῆς πόλεως τοῖς οἰκέταις ἐπέτρεψαν, καὶ τὰς στρατείας δι' ἐκείνων ὡς τὸ πολὺ ἐποιοῦντο· καὶ τέλος ἐς τοῦτο προήγαγον σφᾶς ὡς καὶ δύναμιν τοὺς οἰκέτας καὶ φρόνημα εχειν καὶ ἐλευθερίας ἑαυτοὺς ἀξιοῦν. προϊόντος δὲ τοῦ χρόνου καὶ ετυχον ταύτης δι' ἑαυτῶν, καὶ τὰς σφῶν δεσποίνας ἠγάγοντο καὶ τοὺς δεσπότας διεδέχοντο, καὶ εἰς τὴν βουλὴν ἐνεγράφοντο καὶ τὰς ἀρχὰς ἐλάμβανον καὶ αὐτοὶ τὸ σύμπαν κῦρος ειχον, καὶ τά τε αλλα καὶ τὰς υβρεις τὰς ὑπὸ τῶν δεσποτῶν αὐτοῖς γινομένας ἰταμώτερον εἰς αὐτοὺς ἐκείνους ἀνταπεδείκνυντο. ουτ' ουν φέρειν σφᾶς οἱ ἀρχαῖοι πολῖται ουτε καθ' ἑαυτοὺς δεδυνημένοι ἀμύνασθαι, λάθρᾳ πρέσβεις εἰς τὴν ̔Ρώμην ἀπέστειλαν. οι καὶ δι' ἀπορρήτων νυκτὸς τὴν γερουσίαν εἰς ἰδιωτικὴν οἰκίαν ἐλθεῖν, ινα μηδὲν ἐξαγγελθῇ, παρεκάλεσαν· καὶ ετυχον. καὶ οἱ μὲν ὡς οὐδενὸς ἐπακούοντος ἐβουλεύοντο, Σαυνίτης δέ τις παρὰ τῷ κυρίῳ τῆς οἰκίας ἐπιξενούμενος καὶ νοσῶν ελαθε κατὰ χώραν μείνας, καὶ εμαθεν α ἐψηφίσαντο καὶ ἐμήνυσε τοῖς τὴν αἰτίαν εχουσι. κἀκεῖνοι τοὺς πρέσβεις ἐπανιόντας κατέσχον καὶ ἐβασάνισαν· καὶ μαθόντες τὰ δρώμενα αὐτούς τε ἀπέκτειναν καὶ τῶν αλλων τοὺς πρώτους. δι' ουν ταῦθ' οἱ ̔Ρωμαῖοι τὸν Φάβιον ἐπ' αὐτοὺς εστειλαν. καὶ ος τούς τε ἀπαντήσαντας αὐτῷ ἐξ ἐκείνων ἐτρέψατο καὶ πολλοὺς ἐν τῇ φυγῇ φθείρας κατέκλεισε τοὺς λοιποὺς εἰς τὸ τεῖχος, καὶ προσέβαλε τῇ πόλει. καὶ ὁ μὲν ἐνταῦθα 2.195 τρωθεὶς ἀπέθανε, θαρσήσαντες δ' ἐπὶ τούτῳ ἐπεξῆλθον. καὶ ἡττηθέντες αυθις ἀνεχώρησαν καὶ ἐπολιορκοῦντο· καὶ εἰς ἀνάγκην λιμοῦ ἐμπεσόντες παρέδωκαν ἑαυτούς. ὁ δὲ υπατος τοὺς μὲν ἀφελομένους τὰς τῶν κυρίων τιμὰς αἰκισάμενος εκτεινε καὶ τὴν πόλιν κατέσκαψε, τοὺς δὲ αὐθιγενεῖς, καὶ ει τινες τῶν οἰκετῶν χρηστοὶ περὶ τοὺς δεσπότας ἐγένοντο, ἐν ἑτέρῳ κατῴκισε τόπῳ. ̓Εντεῦθεν ηρξαντο οἱ ̔Ρωμαῖοι διαποντίων ἀγώνων· ναυτικῶν γὰρ ουτι πάνυ πεπείραντο· θαλαττουργοὶ δὲ γενόμενοι καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς νήσους τάς τε αλλας ἠπείρους ἐπεραιώθησαν. Καρχηδονίοις δὲ πρώτοις ἐπολέμησαν, οὐδὲν αὐτῶν ουσιν ηττοσιν ουτε πλούτῳ ουτε ἀρετῇ χώρας, καὶ ἠσκημένοις τὰ ναυτικὰ πρὸς ἀκρίβειαν, καὶ παρεσκευασμένοις ἱππικαῖς τε δυνάμεσι καὶ πεζαῖς καὶ ἐλέφασι, καὶ αρχουσι Λιβύων, τήν τε Σαρδὼ καὶ τῆς Σικελίας τὰ πλείω κατέχουσιν· οθεν καὶ τὴν ̓Ιταλίαν χειρώσασθαι δι' ἐλπίδων πεποίηντο. τά τε γὰρ αλλα σφᾶς φρονηματίζεσθαι επειθον, καὶ τῷ αὐτονόμῳ λίαν ἐτύγχανον ἐπαιρόμενοι, τὸν γὰρ βασιλέα ἑαυτοῖς κλῆσιν ἐτησίου ἀρχῆς, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐπὶ χρονίῳ