[10.1] Fufetius, hearing this, desired time for taking counsel; and withdrawing from the assembly along with the Albans who were present, he consulted with them whether they should accept the proposals. Then, having taken the opinions of all, he returned to the assembly and spoke as follows: “We do not think it best, Tullius, to abandon our country or to desert the sanctuaries of our fathers, the hearths of our ancestors, and the place which our forbears have possessed for nearly five hundred years, particularly when we are not compelled to such a course either by war or by any other calamity inflicted by the hand of Heaven. But we are not opposed to establishing a single council and letting one of the two cities rule over the other. [2] Let this article, then, also be inserted in the treaty, if agreeable, and let every excuse for war be removed.”
These conditions having been agreed upon, they fell to disputing which of the two cities should be given the supremacy and many words were spoken by both of them upon this subject, each contending that his own city should rule over the other. [3] The claims advanced by the Alban leader were as follows:
“As for us, Tullius, we deserve to rule over even all the rest of Italy, inasmuch as we represent a Greek nation and the greatest nation of all that inhabit this country. But to the sovereignty of the Latin nation, even if no other, we think ourselves entitled, not without reason, but in accordance with the universal law which Nature bestowed upon all men, that ancestors should rule their posterity. And above all our other colonies, against whom we have thus far no reason to complain, we think we ought to rule your city, having sent our colony thither not so long ago that the stock sprung from us is already extinct, exhausted by the lapse of time, but only the third generation before the present. If, indeed, Nature, inverting human rights, shall ever command the young to rule over the old and posterity over their progenitors, then we shall submit to seeing the mother-city ruled by its colony, but not before. [4] This, then, is one argument we offer in support of our claim, in virtue of which we will never willingly yield the command to you. Another argument — and do not take this as said by way of censure or reproach of you Romans, but only from necessity — is the fact that the Alban race has to this day continued the same that it was under the founders of the city, and one cannot point to any race of mankind, except the Greeks and Latins, to whom we have granted citizenship; whereas you have corrupted the purity of your body politic by admitting Tyrrhenians, Sabines, and some others who were homeless, vagabonds and barbarians, and that in great numbers too, so that the true-born element among you that went out from our midst is become small, or rather a tiny fraction, in comparison with those who have been brought in and are of alien race. [5] And if we should yield the command to you, the base-born will rule over the true-born, barbarians over Greeks, and immigrants over the native-born. For you cannot even say this much for yourself, that you have not permitted this immigrant mob to gain any control of public affairs but that you native-born citizens are yourselves the rulers and councillors of the commonwealth. Why, even for your kings you choose outsiders, and the greatest part of your senate consists of these newcomers; and to none of these conditions can you assert that you submit willingly. For what man of superior rank willingly allows himself to be ruled by an inferior? It would be great folly and baseness, therefore, on our part to accept willingly those evils which you must own you submit to through necessity. [6] My last argument is this: The city of Alba has so far made no alteration in any part of its constitution, though it is already the eighteenth generation that it has been inhabited, but continues to observe in due form all its customs and traditions; whereas your city is still without order and discipline, due to its being newly founded and a conglomeration of many races, and it will require long ages and manifold turns of fortune in order to be regulated and freed from those troubles and dissensions with which it is now agitated. But all will agree that order ought to rule over confusion, experience over inexperience, and health over sickness; and you do wrong in demanding the reverse.”
[11] After Fufetius had thus spoken, Tullius answered and said:
“The right which is derived from Nature and the virtue of one’s ancestors, Fufetius and ye men of Alba, is common to us both; for we both boast the same ancestors, so that on this score neither of use ought to have any advantage or suffer any disadvantage. But as to your claim that by a kind of necessary law of Nature mother-cities should invariably rule over their colonies, it is neither true nor just. [2] Indeed, there are many races of mankind among which the mother-cities do not rule over their colonies but are subject to them. The greatest and the most conspicuous instance of this is the Spartan state, which claims the right not only to rule over the other Greeks but even over the Doric nation, of which she is a colony. But why should I mention the others? For you who colonized our city are yourself a colony of the Lavinians. [3] If, therefore, it is a law of Nature that the mother-city should rule over its colony, would not the Lavinians be the first to issue their just orders to both of us? To your first claim, then, and the one which carries with it the most specious appearance, this is a sufficient answer. But since you also undertook to compare the ways of life of the two cities, Fufetius, asserting that the nobility of the Albans has always remained the same while ours has been ‘corrupted’ by the various admixtures of foreigners, and demanded that the base-born should not rule over the well-born nor newcomers over the native-born, know, then, that in making this claim, too, you are greatly mistaken. [4] For we are so far from being ashamed of having made the privileges of our city free to all who desired them that we even take the greatest pride in this course; moreover, we are not the originators of this admirable practice, but took the example from the city of Athens, which enjoys the greatest reputation among the Greeks, due in no small measure, if indeed not chiefly, to this very policy. [5] And this principle, which has been to us the source of many advantages, affords us no ground either for complaint or regret, as if we had committed some error. Our chief magistracies and membership in the senate are held and the other honours among us are enjoyed, not by men possessed of great fortunes, nor by those who can show a long line of ancestors all natives of the country, but by such as are worthy of these honours; for we look upon the nobility of men as consisting in nothing else than in virtue. The rest of the populace are the body of the commonwealth, contributing strength and power to the decisions of the best men. It is owing to this humane policy that our city, from a small and contemptible beginning, is become large and formidable to its neighbours, and it is this policy which you condemn, Fufetius, that his laid for trains the foundation of that supremacy which none of the other Latins disputes with us. [6] For the power of states consists in the force of arms, and this in turn depends upon a multitude of citizens; whereas, for small states that are sparsely populated and for that reason weak it is not possible to rule others, nay, even to rule themselves. [7] On the whole, I am of the opinion that a man should only then disparage the government of other states and extol his own when he can show that his own, by following the principles he lays down, is grown flourishing and great, and that the states he censures, by not adopting them, are in an unhappy plight. But this is not our situation. On the contrary, your city, beginning with greater brilliance and enjoying greater resources than ours, has shrunk to lesser importance, while we, from small beginnings at first, have in a short time made Rome greater than all the neighbouring cities by following the very policies you condemned. [8] And as for our factional strife — since this also, Fufetius, met with your censure — it tends, not to destroy and diminish the commonwealth, but to preserve and enhance it. For there is emulation between our youths and our older men and between the newcomers and those who invited them in, to see which of us shall do more for the common welfare. [9] In short, those who are going to rule others ought to be endowed with these two qualities, strength in war and prudence in counsel, both of which are present in our case. And that this is no empty boast, experience, more powerful than any argument, bears us
witness. It is certain in any case that the city could not have attained to such greatness and power in the third generation after its founding, had not both valour and prudence abounded in it. Suffer proof of its strength is afforded by the behaviour of many cities of the Latin race which owe their founding to you, but which, nevertheless, scorning your city, have come over us, choosing rather to be ruled by the Romans than by the Albans, because they look upon us as capable of doing both good to our friends and harm to our enemies, and upon you as capable of neither. [10] I had many other arguments, and valid ones, Fufetius, to advance against the claims which you have presented; but as I see that argument is futile and that the result will be the same whether I say much or little to you, who, though our adversaries, are at the same time the arbiters of justice, I will make an end of speaking. However, since I conceive that there is but one way of deciding our differences which is the best and has been made use of by many, both barbarians and Greeks, when hatred has arisen between them either over the supremacy or over some territory in dispute, I shall propose this and then conclude. [11] Let each of us fight the battle with some part of our forces and limit the fortune of war to a very small number of combatants; and let us give to that city whose champions shall overcome their adversaries the supremacy over the other. For such contests as cannot be determined by arguments are decided by arms.”
[12.1] These were the reasons urged by the two generals to support the pretensions of their respective cities to the supremacy; and the outcome of the discussion was the adoption of the plan Tullius proposed. For both the Albans and Romans who were present at the conference, in their desire to put a speedy end to the war, resolved to decide the controversy by arms. This also being agreed to, the question arose concerning the number of the combatants, since the two generals were not of the same mind. [2] For Tullius desired that the fate of the war might be decided by the smallest possible number of combatants, the most distinguished man among the Albans fighting the bravest of the Romans in single combat, and he cheerfully offered himself to fight for his own country, inviting the Alban leader to emulate him. He pointed out that for those who have assumed the command of armies combats for sovereignty and power are glorious, not only when they conquer brave men, but also when they are conquered by the brave; and he enumerated all the generals and kings who had risked their lives for their country, regarding it as a reproach to them to have a greater share of the honours than others but a smaller share of the dangers. [3] The Alban, however, while approving of the proposal to commit the fate of the cities to a few champions, would not agree to decide it by single combat. He owned that when commanders of the armies were seeking to establish their own power a combat between them for the supremacy was noble and necessary, but when states themselves were contending for the first place he thought the risk of single combat not only hazardous but even dishonourable, whether they met with good or ill fortune. [4] And he proposed that three chosen men from each city should fight in the presence of all the Albans and Romans, declaring that this was the most suitable number for deciding any matter in controversy, as containing in itself a beginning, a middle and an end. This proposal meeting with the approval of both Romans and Albans, the conference broke up and each side returned to its own camp.
[13.1] After this the generals assembled their respective armies and gave them an account both of what they had said to each other and of the terms upon which they had agreed to put an end to the war. And both armies having with great approbation ratified the agreement entered into by their generals, there arose a wonderful emulation among the officers and soldiers alike, since a great many were eager to carry off the prize of valour in the combat and expressed their emulation not only by their words but also by their actions, so that their leaders found great difficulty in selecting the most suitable champions. [2] For if anyone was renowned for his illustrious ancestry or remarkable for his strength of body, famous for some brave deed in action, or distinguished by some other good fortune or bold achievement, he insisted upon being chosen first among the three champions. [3] This emulation, which was running to great lengths in both armies, was checked by the Alban general, who called to mind that some divine providence, long since foreseeing this conflict between the two cities, had arranged that their future champions should be sprung of no obscure families and should be brave in arms, most comely in appearance, and distinguished from the generality of mankind by their birth, which should be unusual and wonderful because of its extraordinary nature. [4] It seems that Sicinius, an Alban, had at one and the same time married his twin daughters to Horatius, a Roman, and to Curiatius, an Alban; and the two wives came with child at the same time and each was brought to bed, at her first lying-in, of three male children. The parents, looking upon the event as a happy omen both to their cities and families, brought up all these children till they arrived at manhood. And Heaven, as I said in the beginning, gave them beauty and strength and nobility of mind, so that they were not inferior to any of those most highly endowed by Nature. It was to these men that Fufetius resolved to commit the combat for supremacy; and having invited the Roman king to a conference, he addressed him as follows:
[14.1] “Tullius, some god who keeps watch over both our cities would seem, just as upon many other occasions, so especially in what relates to this combat to have made his goodwill manifest. For that the champions who are to fight on behalf of all their people should be found inferior to none in birth, brave in arms, most comely in appearance, and that they should furthermore have been born of one father and mother, and, most wonderful of all, that they should have come into the world on the same day, the Horatii with you and the Curiatii with us, all this, I say, has every appearance of a remarkable instance of divine favour. [2] Why, therefore, do we not accept this great providence of the god and each of us invite the triplets on his side to engage in the combat for the supremacy? For not only all the other advantages which we could desire in the best-qualified champions are to be found in these men, but, as they are brothers, they will be more unwilling than any others among either the Romans or the Albans to forsake their companions when in distress; and furthermore, the emulation of the other youths, which cannot easily be appeased in any other way, will be promptly settled. [3] For I surmise that among you also, as well as among the Albans, there is a kind of strife among many of those who lay claim to bravery; but if we inform them that some providential fortune has anticipated all human efforts and has itself furnished us with champions qualified to engage upon equal terms in the cause of the cities, we shall easily persuade them to desist. For they will then look upon themselves as inferior to the triplets, not in point of bravery, but only in respect of a special boon of Nature and of the favour of a Chance that is equally inclined toward both sides.”
[15.1] After Fufetius had thus spoken and his proposal had been received with general approbation (for the most important both of the Romans and Albans were with the two leaders), Tullius, after a short pause, spoke as follows:
“In other respects, Fufetius, you seem to me to have reasoned well; for it must be some wonderful fortune that has produced in both our cities in our generation a similarity of birth never known before. But of one consideration you seem to be unaware — a matter which will cause great reluctance in the youths if we ask them to fight with one another. [2] For the mother of our Horatii is sister to the mother of the Alban Curiatii, and the young men have been brought up in the arms of both the women and cherish and love one another no less than their own brothers. Consider, therefore, whether, as they are cousins and have been brought up together, it would not be impious in us to put arms in their hands and invite them to mutual slaughter. For the pollution of kindred blood, if they are compelled to stain their hands with one another’s blood, will deservedly fall upon us who compel them.”
[3] To this Fufetius answered: “Neither have I failed, Tullius, to note the kinship of the youths, nor did I purpose to compel them to fight with their cousins unless they themselv
es were inclined to undertake the combat. But as soon as this plan came into my mind I sent for the Alban Curiatii and sounded them in private to learn whether they were willing to engage in the combat; and it was only after they had accepted the proposal with incredible and wonderful alacrity that I decided to disclose my plan and bring it forward for consideration. And I advise you to take the same course yourself — to send for the triplets on your side and sound out their disposition. [4] And if they, too, agree of their own accord to risk their lives for their country, accept the favour; but if they hesitate, bring no compulsion to bear upon them. I predict, however, the same result with them as with our own youths — that is, if they are such men as we have been informed, like the few most highly endowed by Nature, and are brave in arms; for the reputation of their valour has reached us also.”
Delphi Complete Works of Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Illustrated) (Delphi Ancient Classics Book 79) Page 22
