ch. 62.6 [Note] A detailed
report of these matters reached Tarquin. He was not only
furious at the failure of plans from which he had hoped so
much, but he was filled with rage at finding the way blocked
against secret intrigues; and consequently determined upon
open war. He
visited the cities of Etruria and appealed for help; in
particular, he implored the people of Veii and Tarquinii not
to allow one to perish before their eyes who was of the
same blood with them, and from being a powerful monarch was
now, with his children, homeless and destitute. Others, he
said, had been invited from abroad to reign in Rome; he, the
king, whilst extending the rule of Rome by a successful war,
had been driven out by the infamous conspiracy of his
nearest kinsmen. They had no single person amongst them
deemed worthy to reign, so they had distributed the kingly
authority amongst themselves, and had given his property as
plunder to the people, that all might be involved in the
crime. He wanted to recover his country and his throne and
punish his ungrateful subjects. The Veientines must help
him and furnish him with resources, they must set about
avenging their own wrongs also, their legions so often cut
to pieces, their territory torn from them.
This appeal decided the Veientines, they one and all
loudly demanded that their former humiliations should be
wiped out and their losses made good, now that they had a
Roman to
lead them. The people of Tarquinii were won over by the name
and nationality of the exile; they were proud of having a
countryman as king in Rome. So two armies from these cities
followed Tarquin to recover his crown and chastise the
Romans. When they had entered the Roman territory the consuls
advanced against them; Valerius with the infantry
in phalanx formation, [Note] Brutus reconnoitering in advance with
the cavalry. Similarly the enemy's cavalry was in front of
his main body, Arruns Tarquin, the king's son, in command;
the king himself followed with the legionaries. Whilst still
at a distance Arruns distinguished the consul by his escort
of lictors; as they drew nearer he clearly recognised Brutus
by his features, and in a transport of rage exclaimed, That
is the man who drove us from our country; see him proudly
advancing, adorned with our insignia! Ye gods, avengers of
kings, aid me! With these words, he dug spurs into his horse
and rode straight at the consul. Brutus saw that he was
making for him. It was a point of honour in those days for
the leaders to engage in single combat, so he eagerly
accepted the challenge, and they charged with such fury,
neither of them thinking of protecting himself, if only he
could wound his foe, that each drove his spear at the same
moment through the other's shield, and they fell dying from
their horses, with the spears sticking in them. The rest of
the cavalry at once engaged, and not long after the infantry
came up. The battle raged with varying fortune, the two
armies being fairly matched; the right wing of each was
victorious, the left defeated. The Veientes, accustomed to
defeat at the hands of the Romans, were scattered in flight,
but the Tarquinians, a new foe, not only held their ground,
but forced the Romans to give way.
