Afterwards by degrees he drew them farther and farther,
till by practice he had made them bold and fearless, as if no
danger was about them; and at last, having got them all together,
he brought them to the outposts of the Romans, and delivered them
up, demanding to be led to Camillus. Where being come, and
standing in the middle, he said that he was the master and teacher
of these children, but, preferring his favor before all other
obligations, he had come to deliver up his charge to him, and, in
that, the whole city. When Camillus had heard him out, he was
astounded at the treachery of the act, and, turning to the
standers-by observed that, "War, indeed, is of necessity attended
with much injustice and violence! Certain laws, however, all good
men observe even in war itself, nor is victory so great an object
as to induce us to incur for its sake obligations for base and
impious acts. A great general should rely on his own virtue, and
not other men's vices." Which said, he commanded the officers to
tear off the man's clothes, and bind his hands behind him and give
the boys rods and scourges, to punish the traitor and drive him
back to the city. By this time the Falerians had discovered the
treachery of the schoolmaster, and the city, as was likely, was
full of lamentations and cries for their calamity, men and women
of worth running in distraction about the walls and gates; when,
behold, the boys came whipping their master on, naked and bound,
calling Camillus their preserver and god and father; so that it
struck not only the parents, but the rest of the citizens, with
such admiration and love of Camillus's justice, that, immediately
meeting in assembly, they sent ambassadors to him, to resign
whatever they had to his disposal.
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