Liv. 2.9.1Iam Tarquiniī ad Lartem Porsinnam, Clūsīnum rēgem, perfūgerant.By now the Tarquins had fled for refuge to Lars Porsenna, king of Clusium. Liv. 2.9.1Ibi miscendō cōnsilium precēsque nunc ōrābant, nē sē, oriundōs ex Etrūscīs, eiusdem sanguinis nōminisque, egentēs exulāre paterētur, nunc monēbant etiam, nē orientem mōrem pellendī rēgēs inultum sineret.There, mingling advice with entreaties, they now begged him not to let them, who were descended from the Etruscans and of the same blood and name, live in exile and want, now warned him besides not to let the newly arising custom of driving out kings go unpunished. Liv. 2.9.3Satis lībertātem ipsam habēre dulcēdinis.Liberty itself, they said, had sweetness enough. Liv. 2.9.3Nisi, quantā vī cīvitātēs eam expetant, tanta regna rēgēs dēfendant, aequārī summa īnfimīs;Unless kings defended their thrones with as much force as states sought liberty, the highest would be brought level with the lowest; Liv. 2.9.3nihil excelsum, nihil, quod suprā cētera ēmineat, in cīvitātibus fore;there would be nothing lofty, nothing standing out above the rest, in states; Liv. 2.9.4adesse fīnem regnīs, reī inter deōs hominēsque pulcherrimae.the end of monarchy was at hand, the finest thing among gods and men.
Liv. 2.9.4Porsinna cum rēgem esse Rōmae tum Etrūscae gentis rēgem amplum Tuscīs ratus Rōmam īnfestō exercitū vēnit.Porsenna, thinking it a fine thing for the Etruscans both that there should be a king at Rome and that he should be of the Etruscan race, came against Rome with a hostile army. Liv. 2.9.5Nōn umquam aliās ante tantus terror senātum invāsit;Never before had such great terror seized the senate; Liv. 2.9.5adeō valida rēs tum Clūsīna erat magnumque Porsinnae nōmen.so powerful was the state of Clusium then, and so great the name of Porsenna. Liv. 2.9.5Nec hostēs modo timēbant, sed suōsmet ipsī cīvēs, nē Rōmāna plēbs metū perculsa receptīs in urbem rēgibus vel cum servitūte pācem acciperet.Nor did they fear only the enemy, but their own citizens too, lest the Roman commons, struck with fear, should admit the kings into the city and accept peace even at the price of slavery. Liv. 2.9.6Multa igitur blandīmenta plēbī per id tempus ab senātū data.Many concessions, therefore, were made to the commons by the senate at that time. Liv. 2.9.6Annōnae in prīmīs habita cūra, et ad frūmentum conparandum missī aliī in Volscōs, aliī Cūmās.Care was taken above all for the grain supply, and men were sent to buy grain, some to the Volsci, others to Cumae.
Liv. 2.9.6Salis quoque vēndendī arbitrium, quia inpēnsō pretiō vēnībat, in pūblicum omnī susceptō sūmptū adēmptum prīvātīs;The right to sell salt, too, because it was sold at a high price, was taken from private persons, the state taking on the whole cost; Liv. 2.9.6portōriīsque et tribūtō plēbēs līberāta, ut dīvitēs cōnferrent, quī onerī ferendō essent: pauperēs satis stīpendiī pendere, sī līberōs ēducārent.and the commons were freed from harbour dues and tax, so that the rich, who were able to bear the burden, should contribute: the poor paid tribute enough if they reared children. Liv. 2.9.7Itaque haec indulgentia patrum asperīs postmodum rēbus in obsidiōne ac fame adeō concordem cīvitātem tenuit, ut rēgium nōmen nōn summī magis quam īnfimī horrērent, nec quisquam ūnus malīs artibus posteā tam populāris esset, quam tum bene imperandō ūniversus senātus fuit.And so this indulgence of the senators kept the state so united later in hard times, in siege and famine, that the highest shuddered at the name of king no more than the lowest, and no single man was ever afterwards so popular by evil arts as the whole senate was then by governing well.