ἐκ τούτου τὸ περὶ τὴν Ἀλβανίδα λίμνην πάθος ἀκμάζοντι τῷ πολέμῳ συνενεχθέν οὐδενὸς ἧττον τῶν ἀπίστων πυθέσθαι θαυμάτων αἰτίας κοινῆς ἀποοίᾳ, καὶ λόγου φυσικὴν ἔχοντος ἀρχὴν ἐφόβησεν, ἦν μὲν γὰρ ὥρα μετοπωρινή, καὶ τὸ θέρος ἔληγεν οὔτʼ ἔπομβρον οὔτε πνεύμασι νοτίοις χαλεπὸν ἐπιδήλως γενόμενον·
And now, when the war was at its climax, the calamity of the Alban lake added its terrors. It seemed a most incredible prodigy, without familiar cause or natural explanation. For the season was autumn, and the summer just ended had, to all observation, been neither rainy nor vexed by south winds.
πολλὰς δὲ λίμνας καὶ ποταμοὺς καὶ νάματα παντοδαπὰ τῆς Ἰταλίας ἐχούσης τὰ μὲν ἐξέλιπε κομιδῇ, τὰ δʼ ἀντέσχε γλίσχρως καὶ μόλις, οἱ δὲ ποταμοὶ πάντες ὥσπερ ἀεὶ κοῖλοι καὶ ταπεινοὶ διὰ θέρους ἐρρύησαν. τὸ δὲ τῆς Ἀλβανίδος λίμνης ἀρχὴν ἔχον ἐν ἑαυτῷ καὶ τελευτήν, ὄρεσιν εὐγείοις περιεχόμενον, ἀπʼ οὐδενὸς αἰτίου, πλὴν εἴ τι θεῖον, αὐξόμενον ἐπιδήλως διωγκοῦτο καὶ προσίστατο ταῖς ὑπωρείαις καὶ τῶν ἀνωτάτω λόφων ὁμαλῶς ἐπέψαυεν, ἄνευ σάλου καὶ κλύδωνος ἐξανιστάμενον.
Of the lakes, rivers, and streams of all sizes with which Italy abounds, some had failed utterly, others barely managed to hold out, and all the rivers ran low, between high banks, as was always the case in summer. But the Alban lake, which had its source and outlet within itself, and was girt about with fertile mountains, for no reason, except it be that heaven willed it, was observed to increase and swell until it reached the skirts of the mountains and gradually touched their highest ridges. All this rise was without surge or billow.
καὶ πρῶτον μὲν ἦν ποιμένων θαῦμα καὶ βοτήρων ἐπεὶ δέ, τοῦ διείργοντος ἀπὸ τῆς κάτω χώρας οἷον ἰσθμοῦ τὴν λίμνην ὑπεκραγέντος ὑπὸ τοῦ πλήθους καὶ βάρους, μέγα ῥεῦμα κατέβαινε διὰ τῶν ἀρουμένων καὶ φυτευομένων ἐπὶ τὴν θάλατταν, οὐ μόνον αὐτοῖς παρεῖχε Ῥωμαίοις ἔκπληξιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ πᾶσιν ἐδόκει τοῖς τὴν Ἰταλίαν κατοικοῦσι μηδενὸς μικροῦ σημεῖον εἶναι, πλεῖστος δʼ αὐτοῦ λόγος ἦν ἐν τῷ στρατοπέδῳ τῷ πολιορκοῦντι τοὺς Οὐηΐους, ὥστε κἀκείνοις ἔκπυστον γενέσθαι τὸ περὶ τὴν λίμνην πάθος.
At first it was a prodigy for neighbouring shepherds and herdsmen. But when the volume and weight of water broke away the barrier which, like an isthmus, had kept the lake from the country lying below it, and a huge torrent poured down through the fields and vineyards and made its way to the sea, then not only were the Romans themselves dismayed, but all the inhabitants of Italy thought it a sign of no small evil to come. There was much talk about it in the army that was besieging Veii, so that even the besieged themselves heard of the calamity.
οἷα δʼ ἐν πολιορκίᾳ διὰ χρόνου μῆκος ἐπιμιξίας τε πολλὰς ἐχούσῃ καὶ κοινολογίας πρὸς τοὺς πολεμίους, ἐγεγόνει τινὶ Ῥωμαίῳ συνήθεια καὶ παρρησία πρὸς ἕνα τῶν πολιτῶν, ἄνθρωπον ἔμπειρόν τε λογίων παλαιῶν καί τι καὶ πλέον εἰδέναι τῶν ἄλλων ἀπὸ μαντικῆς δοκοῦντα. τοῦτον οὖν ὁ Ῥωμαῖος, ὡς ἤκουσε τὴν ἐπίδοσιν τῆς λίμνης, ὁρῶν ὑπερηδόμενόν τε καὶ καταγελῶντα τῆς πολιορκίας, οὐ ταῦτʼ ἔφη μόνον ἐνηνοχέναι θαυμαστὰ τὸν παρόντα χρόνον, ἀλλʼ ἕτερα τούτων ἀτοπώτερα σημεῖα Ῥωμαίοις γεγονέναι, περὶ ὧν ἐθέλειν ἐκείνῳ κοινωσάμενος, εἴ τι δύναιτο, θέσθαι τῶν ἰδίων ἄμεινον ἐν τοῖς κοινοῖς νοσοῦσιν.
As was to be expected in a long siege requiring many meetings for conference with the enemy, it fell out that a certain Roman became intimate and confidential with one of the citizens of Veii, a man versed in ancient oracles, and reputed wiser than the rest from his being a diviner. The Roman saw that this man, on hearing the story of the lake, was overjoyed and made mock of the siege. He therefore told him this was not the only wonder which the passing days had brought, but that other and stranger signs than this had been given to the Romans, of which he was minded to tell him, in order that, if possible, he might better his own private case in the midst of the public distresses.
ὑπακούσαντος δὲ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου προθύμως καὶ διδόντος ἑαυτὸν εἰς κοινολογίαν, ὡς ἀπορρήτων τινῶν ἀκροατὴν ἐσόμενον, κατὰ μικρὸν οὕτω διαλεγόμενος καὶ ὑπάγων αὐτόν, ὡς πορρωτέρω τῶν πυλῶν ἐγεγόνεισαν, αἴρει τε μετέωρον εὐρωστότερος ὢν καί τινῶν ἀπὸ στρατοπέδου προσδραμόντων χειρωσάμενος καὶ κρατήσας παρέδωκε τοῖς στρατηγοῖς.
The man gave eager hearing to all this, and consented to a conference, supposing that he was going to hear some deep secrets. But the Roman led him along little by little, conversing as he went, until they were some way beyond the city gate, when he seized him bodily, being a sturdier man than he, and with the help of comrades who came running up from the camp, mastered him completely and handed him over to the generals.
ἐν τούτῳ δʼ ἀνάγκης γεγονὼς ὁ ἄνθρωπος καὶ μαθὼν ἄρα τὸ πεπρωμένον ὡς ἄφυκτον εἴη, λόγια προὔφαινεν ἀπόρρητα περὶ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ πατρίδος, ὡς οὐκ οὔσης ἁλωσίμου πρότερον ἢ τὴν Ἀλβανίδα λίμνην ἐκχυθεῖσαν καὶ φερομένην ὁδοὺς ἑτέρας ὤσαντες ὀπίσω καὶ περισπάσαντες οἱ πολέμιοι κωλύσουσι μίγνυσθαι τῇ θαλάττῃ.
Thus constrained, and perceiving that fate’s decrees were not to be evaded, the man revealed secret oracles regarding his native city, to the effect that it could not be captured until the Alban lake, after leaving its bed and making new channels for itself, should be driven back by the enemy, deflected from its course, and prevented from mingling with the sea.
ταῦτα τῇ συγκλήτῳ πυθομένῃ καὶ διαπορούσῃ καλῶς ἔχειν ἔδοξε πέμψαντας εἰς Δελφοὺς ἐρέσθαι τὸν θεόν. οἱ δὲ πεμφθέντες ἄνδρες ἔνδοξοι καὶ μεγάλοι, Κόσσος Λικίννιος καὶ Οὐαλλέριος Ποτῖτος καὶ Φάβιος Ἄμβουστος, πλῷ τε χρησάμενοι καὶ τῶν παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ τυχόντες ἧκον ἄλλας τε μαντείας κομίζοντες, αἳ πατρίων τινῶν περὶ τὰς καλουμένας Λατίνας ἑορτὰς ὀλιγωρίαν ἔφραζον αὐτοῖς,
The Senate, on hearing this, was at great loss what to do, and thought it well to send an embassy to Delphi to consult the god. The envoys were men of great repute and influence, Cossus Licinius, Valerius Potitus, and Fabius Ambustus, who made their voyage and Came back with the responses of the god. One of these told them that certain ancestral rites connected with the so-called Latin festivals had been unduly neglected;
καὶ τὸ τῆς Ἀλβανίδος ὕδωρ ἐκέλευον εἴργοντας ὡς ἀνυστόν ἐστι τῆς θαλάσσης ἀνωθεῖν εἰς τὸν ἀρχαῖον πόρον, ἢ τοῦτο μὴ δυναμένους ὀρύγμασι καὶ τάφροις παράγειν εἰς τὸ πεδίον καὶ καταναλίσκειν· ἀπαγγελθέντων δὲ τούτων οἱ μὲν ἱερεῖς τὰ περὶ τὰς θυσίας ἔπραττον, ὁ δὲ δῆμος ἐχώρει πρὸς τὰ ἔργα καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ ἐξέτρεπεν.
another bade them by all means to keep the water of the Alban lake away from the sea and force it back into its ancient bed, or, if they could not effect this, by means of canals and trenches to divert it into the plain and dissipate it. On receipt of these responses the priests performed the neglected sacrifices, and the people sallied out into the fields and diverted the course of the water.
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