When they saw that, her father and her husband cried aloud; but Brutus
drew the knife from the wound, and holding it up, spoke thus: "By this
pure blood I swear before the gods that I will pursue L. Tarquinius the
Proud and all his bloody house with fire, sword, or in whatsoever way I
may, and that neither they nor any other shall hereafter be king in
Rome." Then he gave the knife to Collatinus and Lucretius and Valerius,
and they all swore likewise, much marvelling to hear such words from L.
Junius the Dullard. And they took up the body of Lucretia, and carried
it into the Forum, and called on the men of Collatia to rise against the
tyrant. So they set a guard at the gates of the town, to prevent any
news of the matter being carried to King Tarquin: and they themselves,
followed by the youth of Collatia, went to Rome. Here Brutus, who was
chief captain of the knights, called the people together, and he told
them what had been done, and called on them by the deed of shame wrought
against Lucretius and Collatinus--by all that they had suffered from the
tyrants--by the abominable murder of good King Servius--to assist them
in taking vengeance on the Tarquins. So it was hastily agreed to banish
Tarquinius and his family. The youth declared themselves ready to follow
Brutus against the king's army, and the seniors put themselves under the
rule of Lucretius, the prefect of the city. In this tumult, the wicked
Tullia fled from her house, pursued by the curses of all men, who prayed
that the avengers of her father's blood might be upon her.
When the king heard what had passed, he set off in all haste for the
city. Brutus also set off for the camp at Ardea; and he turned aside
that he might not meet his uncle the king. So he came to the camp at
Ardea, and the king came to Rome. And all the Romans at Ardea welcomed
Brutus, and joined their arms to his, and thrust out all the king's sons
from the camp. But the people of Rome shut the gates against the king,
so that he could not enter. And King Tarquin, with his sons Titus and
Aruns, went into exile and lived at Caere in Etruria. But Sextus fled to
Gabii, where he had before held rule, and the people of Gabii slew him
in memory of his former cruelty.
So L. Tarquinius Superbus was expelled from Rome, after he had been king
five-and-twenty years. And in memory of this event was instituted a
festival called the "Regifugium" or "Fugalia," which was celebrated
every year on the 24th day of February.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account