Liv. 2.49.1Mānat tōtā urbe rūmor;The rumour spreads through the whole city; Liv. 2.49.1Fabiōs ad caelum laudibus ferunt: familiam ūnam subīsse cīvitātis onus, Vēiēns bellum in prīvātam cūram, in prīvāta arma versum.they praise the Fabii to the skies: one family had taken up the burden of the state, and the war with Veii had been turned into a private concern, a matter for private arms. Liv. 2.49.1Sī sint duae rōboris eiusdem in urbe gentēs, dēposcant haec Volscōs sibi, illa Aequōs, populō Rōmānō tranquillam pācem agente omnēs fīnitimōs subigī populōs posse.If there were two clans of the same strength in the city, and one demanded the Volsci for itself, the other the Aequi, all the neighbouring peoples could be subdued while the Roman people enjoyed tranquil peace. Liv. 2.49.2Fabiī posterā diē arma capiunt;The next day the Fabii take up arms; Liv. 2.49.2quō iussī erant, conveniunt.they assemble where they had been ordered. Liv. 2.49.3Cōnsul palūdātus ēgrediēns in vestibulō gentem omnem suam īnstrūctō agmine videt;The consul, coming out in his general's cloak, sees his whole clan in the vestibule drawn up in column; Liv. 2.49.3acceptus in medium signa ferrī iubet.received into their midst, he orders the standards to advance.
Liv. 2.49.3Numquam exercitus neque minor numerō neque clārior fāmā et admīrātiōne hominum per urbem incessit: sex et trecentī mīlitēs, omnēs patriciī, omnēs ūnīus gentis, quōrum nēminem ducem spernerēs, ēgregius quibuslibet temporibus senātus, ībant, ūnīus familiae vīribus Vēientī populō pestem minitantēs.Never did an army smaller in number or more distinguished in renown and in men's admiration march through the city: three hundred and six soldiers, all patricians, all of one clan, not one of whom you would have rejected as a leader, a senate fit for any times, were on the march, threatening the Veientine people with destruction through the strength of a single family. Liv. 2.49.5Sequēbātur turba, propria alia cognātōrum sodāliumque, nihil medium, nec spem nec cūram, sed inmēnsa omnia volventium animō, alia pūblicā sollicitūdine excitāta, favōre et admīrātiōne stupēns.A crowd followed, part of it made up of their own kinsmen and friends, whose minds entertained nothing moderate, neither hope nor anxiety, but everything boundless, part roused by concern for the state, stupefied with enthusiasm and wonder. Liv. 2.49.6Īre fortēs, īre fēlīcēs iubent, inceptīs ēventūs parēs reddere;They bid them go bravely, go with good fortune, and make the outcome match the undertaking; Liv. 2.49.6cōnsulātūs inde ac triumphōs, omnia praemia ab sē, omnēs honōrēs spērāre.thereafter they might hope from them for consulships and triumphs, all rewards, all honours.
Liv. 2.49.7Praetereuntibus Capitōlium arcemque et alia templa, quidquid deōrum oculīs, quidquid animō occurrit, precantur, ut illud agmen faustum atque fēlīx mittant, sōspitēs brevī in patriam ad parentēs restituant.As they pass the Capitol and the citadel and the other temples, they pray to whatever gods meet their eyes, whatever gods come into their minds, to send that column forth with blessing and good fortune, and soon to restore them safe to their country and their parents. Liv. 2.49.8In cassum missae precēs.Those prayers were sent in vain. Liv. 2.49.8Īnfēlīcī viā, dextrō Iānō portae Carmentālis, profectī ad Cremeram flūmen perveniunt.Setting out by an ill-starred road, the right-hand arch of the Carmental gate, they arrive at the river Cremera. Liv. 2.49.8Is opportūnus vīsus locus commūniendō praesidiō.This seemed a suitable place for fortifying a stronghold. Liv. 2.49.8L. Aemilius inde et C. Servīlius cōnsulēs factī.Then Lucius Aemilius and Gaius Servilius were made consuls. Liv. 2.49.9Et dōnec nihil aliud quam in populātiōnibus rēs fuit, nōn ad praesidium modo tūtandum Fabiī satis erant, sed tōtā regiōne, quā Tuscus ager Rōmānō adiacet, sua tūta omnia, īnfesta hostium vagantēs per utrumque fīnem fēcēre.And as long as the business went no further than raiding, the Fabii were not only sufficient to protect their stronghold, but throughout the whole region where Tuscan territory borders Roman they made everything of their own safe and everything of the enemy's dangerous, roaming over both frontiers.
Liv. 2.49.10Intervallum deinde haud magnum populātiōnibus fuit, dum et Veientēs accītō ex Etrūriā exercitū praesidium Cremerae oppugnant, et Rōmānae legiōnēs ab L. Aemiliō cōnsule adductae comminus cum Etrūscīs dīmicant aciē.Then there was a brief pause in the raids, while the Veientes, having summoned an army from Etruria, attacked the stronghold on the Cremera, and the Roman legions, brought up by the consul Lucius Aemilius, fought hand to hand with the Etruscans in a pitched battle. Liv. 2.49.10Quamquam vix dērigendī aciem spatium Veientibus fuit;Though the Veientes scarcely had room to draw up their line; Liv. 2.49.11adeō inter prīmam trepidātiōnem, dum post signa ōrdinēs introeunt subsidiaque locant, invecta subitō ab latere Rōmāna equitum ala nōn pugnae modo incipiendae, sed cōnsistendī adēmit locum.so suddenly, in the first confusion, while the ranks were falling in behind the standards and placing their reserves, did a Roman cavalry wing charge in on their flank and deprive them of the chance not only to begin the battle but even to stand their ground. Liv. 2.49.12Ita fūsī retrō ad saxa rubra — ibi castra habēbant — pācem supplicēs petunt;So, routed and driven back to the Red Rocks — they had their camp there — they sue for peace as suppliants; Liv. 2.49.12cuius impetrātae ab īnsitā animīs levitāte ante dēductum Cremerā Rōmānum praesidium paenituit.and when it had been granted, through the fickleness ingrained in their minds, they repented of it before the Roman garrison had been withdrawn from the Cremera.