While they were overwhelmed with grief, Brutus drew the knife out of the wound, and, holding it up before him reeking with blood, said:  “By this blood, most pure before the outrage of a prince, I swear, and I call you, O gods, to witness my oath, that I will henceforth pursue Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, his wicked wife, and all their children, with fire, sword, and all other violent means in my power; nor will I ever suffer them or any other to reign at Rome.”  Then he gave the knife to Collatinus, and after him to Lucretius and Valerius, who were amazed at such an extraordinary occurrence, and could not understand the newly developed character of Brutus.  However, they all took the oath as they were directed, and, their sorrow being completely changed to wrath, followed the lead of Brutus, who from that time ceased not to call upon them to abolish the regal power.  They carried forth the body of Lucretia from her house, and conveyed it to the forum, where they caused a number of persons to assemble, as generally happens, by reason of the unheard-of and atrocious nature of an extraordinary occurrence.  They complained, each for himself, of the royal villainy and violence.  Both the grief of the father affected them, and also Brutus, who reproved their tears and unavailing complaints, and advised them to take up arms, as became men and Romans, against those who dared to treat them like enemies.  All the most spirited youths voluntarily presented themselves in arms; the rest of the young men followed also.  From thence, after an adequate garrison had been left at the gates at Collatia, and sentinels appointed, to prevent any one giving intelligence of the disturbance to the royal party, the rest set out for Rome in arms under the conduct of Brutus.  When they arrived there, the armed multitude caused panic and confusion wherever they went.  Again, when they saw the principal men of the state placing themselves at their head, they thought that, whatever it might be, it was not without good reason.  Nor did the heinousness of the event excite less violent emotions at Rome than it had done at Collatia:  accordingly, they ran from all parts of the city into the forum, and as soon as they came thither, the public crier summoned them to attend the tribune of the celeres [58], with which office Brutus happened to be at the time invested.  There a harangue was delivered by him, by no means of the style and character which had been counterfeited by him up to that day, concerning the violence and lust of Sextus Tarquinius, the horrid violation of Lucretia and her lamentable death, the bereavement of Tricipitinus,[59], in whose eyes the cause of his daughter’s death was more shameful and deplorable than that death itself.  To this was added the haughty insolence of the king himself, and the sufferings and toils of the people, buried in the earth in the task of cleansing ditches and sewers:  he declared that Romans, the conquerors of all the surrounding states, instead of warriors