Clelia to Porsenna<hr>
       The deed I have undertaken bears such a noble cause that it merits glory. The silence<hr>
of my companions injures me, even if they mean well. I had hoped,<hr>
Porsenna, that they would be proud to acknowledge me as their liberator and openly<hr>
express in front of you that it was I who led them, and it was because of<hr>
my counsel that they left your camp. But since they've compelled me to glorify<hr>
myself for fear that you mistreat me, I'll plainly state that it was I who<hr>
freed them from your grip. Do not think that their silence denotes remorse<hr>
for what they have done.<hr>
       No, they harbor no doubts about the justice of our act, but they doubt your<hr>
ability to respect ethics, even in your foes. As for me, incapable of fearing<hr>
anything but the loss of my honor, I tell you once again: through my counsel, my care, and under my direction, these Roman women decided to free themselves from<hr>
your grip, to bravely plunge into the water to follow me, and to risk their lives to<hr>
escape the dishonor of enduring a treatment unbecoming of their purity. "My Roman women," I<hr>
said to encourage them to plunge into the river, "how could you compare your<hr>
life and your honor? Would you struggle to choose for fear of losing one or the other? No,<hr>
no, you are Roman women and my companions, and therefore too noble not to<hr>
favor risking honorable death to living in dishonor. Who has ever heard of<hr>
respectable young maidens in a camp where insolence rules among the soldiers and where<hr>
decency and modesty are unknown? We are prisoners of an army whose<hr>
general is the protector of the Tarquins. It is for them that King Porsenna has undertaken this<hr>
war. So, how can you hope for a safe refuge in a prince where Lucretia's violator found asylum and his defender? No, my companions, do not fool yourselves.<hr>
The blood of that unfortunate woman didn't prevent this prince from resisting the revolt that the<hr>
Romans carried out. Our tears wouldn't lead him to protect us from those who wish to<hr>
offend us. You could tell me that we were given to him as hostages and that we have<hr>
his word. But know, my companions, that every act done for honor can<hr>
only be glorious. We don't want to break peace, we don’t want to conquer King<hr>
Porsenna. We only want to avoid disgrace and offense and thus die in the same<hr>
honor as we have lived. Let us move then, Roman women, while we have the opportunity.<hr>
Listen to the noises coming from the soldiers in their camp and fear their animosity. They are<hr>
both soldiers, foreigners, our foes, and the defenders of the Tarquins.<hr>
<hr>
                                                  130<hr>