12.2. He was accompanied by his friends, the chief men of the state. Titus Quinctius Capitolinus, who had thrice been consul, rehearsed the many honours which had come to himself and his family, and declared that neither in the Quinctian clan nor in the Roman state had there ever been such native qualities, so early ripening into manly worth; Caeso had been his best soldier, and had often fought under his own eyes.
12.2. T. Quinctius Capitolinus, qui ter consul fuerat, cum multa referret sua familiaeque decora, adfirmabat neque in Quinctia gente neque in civitate Romana tantam tantan indolem tam maturae virtutis unquam exstitisse; suum primum militem fuisse, se saepe vidente pugnasse in hostem;
12.4. Spurius Furius testified that Caeso had been sent to him by Quinctius Capitolinus, and had come to his aid when he was in a dangerous plight; that there was no single person whose services he considered to have been more effectual in saving the day.
12.4. Sp. Furius, missum ab Quinctio Capitolino sibi eum in dubiis suis rebus venisse subsidio; neminem unum esse cuius magis opera putet rem restitutam.
12.5. Lucius Lucretius, the consul of the year before, in the splendour of his new-won renown, shared his glory with Caeso, told of the young man's combats, and recounted his wonderful exploits on raids or in the field of battle; he earnestly advised the people to prefer that a distinguished youth, endowed with every advantage of nature and of fortune, and sure to be an important factor in the affairs of any state which he might join, should rather be their own than the citizen of another nation.
12.5. L. Lucretius, consul anni prioris, recenti gloria nitens, suas laudes participare palticipare cum Caesone, memorare pugnas, referre egregia facinora, nunc in expeditionibus nunc in acie suadere et monere iuvenem egregium, instructum naturae fortunaeque omnibus bonis, maximum momentum rerum eius civitatis, in quamcumque venisset suum quam alienum mallent civem esse.
12.7. Those qualities in him which gave offence, impetuosity and rashness, were diminishing each day, as he grew older: that in which he was deficient, namely prudence, was daily increasing. They should suffer a man of his greatnesshis worth maturing as he outlived his faults — to grow old in the possession of his citizenship.
12.7. offendat in eo, fervorem et audaciam, aetatem cottidie magis auferre; quod desideretur, consilium, id in dies crescere. vitiis, maturescente virtute sinerent tantum virum senem in civitate fieri.
12.8. The young man's father, Lucius Quinctius, surnamed Cincinnatus, was among his advocates. He did not dwell on Caeso's praises, lest he should add to his unpopularity; but, craving indulgence for his errors and his youth, he begged them to acquit the son as a favour to the father, who had offended no man either in word or deed.
12.8. inter hos L. Quinctius, cui Cincinnato cognomen erat, non iterando laudes, ne cumularet invidiam, sed veniam errori atque adulescentiae petendo, sibi, qui non dicto, non facto quemquam offendisset, ut condonarent filium orabat.
12.9. But some turned away from the petitioner, through either embarrassment or fear; while others complained of the injuries which Caeso had inflicted on themselves or their friends, and showed by their harsh replies how they meant to vote.
12.9. alii aversabantur preces aut verecundia aut metu; alii se suosque mulcatos querentes atroci responso iudicium suum praeferebant.
13.1. There was one charge, besides the general dislike of him, which bore hard upon the accused. Marcus Volscius Fictor, who had been a tribune of the plebs a few years before, had certified that shortly after the epidemic had been in the City he had fallen in with a band of young men swaggering through the Subura. There a brawl had arisen, and his elder brother, who had not yet fully recovered from the disease, had been felled by a blow from Caeso's fist; he had been picked up halfalive and carried home, and his death, Volscius considered, had resulted from this hurt; yet under the consuls of previous years he had been unable to avenge that wicked crime.
13.1. reum praeter volgatam invidiam crimen unum, quod M. Volscius Fictor, qui ante aliquot annos tribunus plebis fuerat, testis exstiterat se, haud multo post quam pestilentia in urbe fuerat, in iuventutem grassantem in Subura incidisse. rixam natam esse, fratremque suum maiorem natu, necdum ex morbo satis validum, pugno ictum ab Caesone cecidisse;
13.3. As Volscius shouted out this story, men became so excited that Caeso had nearly perished by the fury of the people. Verginius gave orders to seize the fellow and throw him into prison.
13.3. semianimem inter manus domum ablatum mortuumque inde arbitrari, nec sibi rem exsequi tam atrocem per consules superiorum annorum licuisse. Volscio clamitante adeo concitati homines sunt ut haud baud multum afuerit quin impetu populi Caeso interiret.
13.4. The patricians resisted force with force. Titus Quinctius cried out that a man who had been charged with a capital crime and whose day of trial was at hand ought not to suffer violence, uncondemned and unheard. The tribune answered that he did not propose to punish him uncondemned, but that he should keep him in prison notwithstanding, till the day of trial, that the Roman People might have it in their power to punish a homicide.
13.4. Verginius arripi iubet hominem et in vincula duci. vi contra vim resistunt. T. Quinctius clamitat, cui rei capitalis dies dicta sit et de quo futurum propediem iudicium, eum indemnatum indicta causa non debere violari.
13.5. The other tribunes, on being appealed to, asserted by a compromise their prerogative of protection: they forbade the imprisonment of the accused, but declared it to be their pleasure that he be produced for trial, and that money be pledged to the people in the event of a failure to produce him.
13.5. supplicium negat sumpturum se de indemnato; servaturum tamen in vinculis esse ad iudicii diem ut, qui hominem necaverit, de eo supplicii sumendi copia populo Romano fiat. tribuni medio decreto ius auxilii sui expediunt: in vincla conici vetant; sisti reum, pecuniamque ni sistatur populo promitti placere pronuntiant.
13.7. How great a sum was proper to be guaranteed was a doubtful point; it was referred to the senate, and Caeso was detained in custody till the Fathers could be consulted. They voted that sureties should be furnished, and fixed the responsibility of one surety at 3,000 asses; how many sureties should be given they left the tribunes to determine.
13.7. pecuniae quantam aequum esset promitti, veniebat in dubium; id ad senatum reicitur., dum consulerentur patres, retentus in publico est.
13.8. They decided on ten, and with this number of sureties the accuser admitted the accused to bail. Caeso was the first that ever gave sureties to the people. Being allowed to leave the Forum, he departed that night and went into exile amongst the Etruscans.
13.8. dari placuit; unum vadem tribus milibus aeris obligarunt; quot darentur permissum tribunis est. finierunt. vadibus accusator vadatus est reum. primus vades publico dedit. e foro nocte proxima in Tuscos in exsilium abiit.
13.9. On the day of trial, when it was pleaded that he had gone into voluntary exile, Verginius nevertheless attempted to hold the comitia, but an appeal was taken to his colleagues, who dismissed the assembly.
13.9. die cum excusaretur solum vertisse exsilii causa, nihilo minus Verginio comitia habente collegae appellati dimisere concilium.
13.10. The money was exacted from Caeso's father without pity, so that he was obliged to sell all that he had and live for some time on the other side of the Tiber, like one banished, in a certain lonely hovel.
13.10. a patre exacta crudeliter, ut divenditis omnibus bonis aliquamdiu trans Tiberim veluti relegatus devio quodam tugurio viveret.
14.1. This trial and the promulgation of the law kept the citizens in a turmoil: from foreign wars there was a respite.
14.1. iudicium et promulgata lex exercuit civitatem:
14.2. The tribunes, assuming that the rebuff sustained by the patricians in Caeso's exile had given themselves the victory, believed the law to be as good as passed; and so far as the older senators were concerned, they had indeed relinquished their grasp upon the government;
14.2. ab externis armis otium fuit. velut victores tribuni perculsis patribus Caesonis exsilio prope perlatam esse crederent legem et, quod ad seniores patrum pertineret, cessissent possessione rei publicae, iuniores, id maxime quod Caesonis sodalicium fuit, auxere iras in plebem, non minuerunt animos;
14.3. but the juniors, especially those who had been of Caeso's fellowship, grew more bitter against the plebs, and their courage ran as high as ever. Yet they greatly promoted their cause by tempering their fury with a kind of moderation. At the first attempt after Caeso's exile to pass the law, they were organized and ready, and fell upon the tribunes with a great army of clients, as soon as the tribunes gave them an excuse by attempting to remove them; in such wise that no single patrician came off with any conspicuous share of glory or unpopularity, and the plebeians complained that a thousand Caesos had sprung up in the place of one.
14.3. sed ibi plurimum profectum est, quod modo quodam temperavere impetus suos. primo post Caesonis exsilium lex coepta ferri est, instructi paratique cum ingenti clientium exercitu sic tribunos, ubi primum submoventes praebuere causam, adorti sunt ut nemo unus inde praecipuum quicquam gloriae domum invidiaeve ferret, mille pro uno Caesones exstitisse plebes quereretur.
14.5. During the intervening days on which the tribunes took no action about the law, nothing could have been more peaceable or quiet than these same youths. They would salute plebeians courteously, converse with them, invite them to their houses, assist them in the courts, and permit the tribunes themselves to hold their other assemblies without interruption. They never displayed arrogance towards any one, either openly or in private, except when the law came up; at other times they were democratic.
14.5. diebus quibus tribuni de lege non agerent, nihil eisdem illis placidius aut quietius erat. salutare, adloqui plebis homines, domum invitare, adesse in foro, tribunos ipsos cetera pati sine interpellatione concilia habere, numquam ulli neque publice neque privatim truces esse, nisi cum de lege agi coeptum esset; alibi popularis iuventus erat. voce quidem incommodi, nedum ut ulla vis fieret, paulatim permulcendo tractandoque mansuefecerant plebem. per totum annum artibus lex elusa est.
14.6. By avoiding so much as an offensive word, to say nothing of any sort of violence, they managed little by little, with gentleness and tact, to disarm the hostility of the plebs. By such arts the law was evaded for an entire year. And yet not only did the tribunes carry through their other measures without opposition, but they were even re-elected for the following twelvemonth. The state was less distracted when the consuls Gaius Claudius, the son of Appius, and Publius Valerius Publicola assumed control. No new difficulty had come in with the new year;
14.6. cetera modo tribuni tranquillo peregere, sed refecti quoque in insequentem annum. civitatem placidiorem consules C. Claudius Appi filius et P. Valerius Publicola. ] novi novus annus attulerat; legis ferendae aut accipiendae cura civitatem tenebat.
15.2. anxiety to pass the law on the one side, and on the other the dread of having to accept it, occupied the thoughts of the citizens.
15.2. iuniores patrum plebi se magis insinuabant, eo acrius contra tribuni tendebant ut plebi suspectos eos criminando facerent:
15.3. The more the younger patricians tried to ingratiate themselves with the plebs, the more sharply were they opposed by the tribunes, who endeavoured by bringing charges against their adversaries to make the plebeians suspect them: A conspiracy had been formed; Caeso was in Rome; plans had been laid to kill the tribunes and massacre the plebs; the elder patricians had intrusted the younger men with the task of abolishing the tribunician power from the commonwealth, that the state might have the same aspect it had worn before the occupation of the Sacred Mount.
15.3. coniurationem factam; Caesonem Romae esse; interficiendorum tribunorum, trucidandae plebis consilia inita; id negotii datum ab senioribus patrum ut iuventus tribuniciam potestatem e re publica tolleret formaque eadem civitatis esset quae ante Sacrum montem occupatum fuerat.
15.4. Also men feared the Volsci and Aequi, whose attack was by this time almost a regular and stated custom of annual recurrence; and a new and unexpected danger sprang up nearer home.
15.4. a Volscis et Aequis statum iam ac prope sollemne in singulos annos bellum timebatur, propiusque aliud novum novumn malum necopinato exortum.
15.5. Exiles and slaves to the number of twenty-five hundred, led by Appius Herdonius, the Sabine, came by night and seized the Capitol and the Citadel.
15.5. servique, ad duo milia hominum et quingenti, duce Ap. Herdonio Sabino nocte Capitolium atque arcem occupavere.
15.6. They at once put to the sword those in the Citadel who refused to conspire and take up arms with them. Some escaped in the confusion and ran down terror-stricken into the Forum. Alternating cries were heard, “To arms!” and “The enemy is in the City!”
15.6. in arce facta caedes eorum qui coniurare et simul capere arma noluerant: alii inter tumultum praecipites pavore in forum devolant. voces arma! et in urbe sunt audiebantur.
15.7. The consuls were afraid either to arm the plebs or to leave them unarmed, not knowing whence this sudden attack upon the City had come, whether from without or from within, from the hatred of the plebs or the treachery of slaves. They tried to still the uproar, and sometimes by their efforts made it the greater; for the trembling, panic-stricken multitude could not be controlled by authority.
15.7. et armare plebem et inermem pati timebant incerti quod malum repentinum, externum an intestinum, ab odio plebis an ab servili fraude, urbem invasisset. tumultus, sedando interdum movebant; nec enim poterat pavida et consternata multitudo regi imperio. tamen arma, non volgo, tantum ut incerto hoste praesidium satis fidum ad omnia esset.
15.8. Nevertheless they gave out arms, not to everybody, but only so far as to insure, in the uncertainty regarding their foe, that there should be a fairly dependable defence for any emergency. Filled with concern, and wondering who their enemy was and what his numbers, they employed the rest of the night in disposing pickets at suitable points throughout the City.
15.8. reliquum noctis incertique qui homines, quantus numerus hostium esset, in stationibus disponendis ad opportuna omnis urbis loca egere. deinde aperuit bellum ducemque belli.
15.9. Then came daylight and disclosed the nature of the war and its leader. From the Capitol Herdonius was calling the slaves to freedom; he had undertaken, he said, the cause of all the wretched, that he might bring back to their native land the exiles who had been wrongfully expelled, and release the slaves from their heavy yoke; he had rather this were done with the approval of the Roman people: if there were no hope in that quarter, he would call in the Volsci and the Aequi and leave no desperate measure unattempted.
15.9. ad libertatem libertatemr Ap. Herdonius ex Capitolio vocabat: se miserrimi cuiusque suscepisse causam, ut exsules iniuria pulsos in patriam reduceret et servitiis grave iugum demeret. malle populo Romano auctore fieri: si ibi spes non sit, se Volscos et Aequos et omnia extrema temptaturum et concitaturum.
16.1. The situation became clearer to the senators and the consuls. Still, besides the dangers with which they were publicly threatened, they were afraid that this might be a ruse of the Veientes or the Sabines, and that while there were so many enemies within the City, Sabine and Etruscan levies might presently combine for an invasion; or again that their perpetual foes, the Volsci and Aequi, might come, not as before to lay waste their fields, but to the City, which they would regard as already partly captured.
16.1. res magis patribus atque consulibus. ea tamen quae denuntiabantur, ne Veientium neu Sabinorum id consilium esset timere, et, cum tantum in urbe hostium esset, mox Sabinae Etruscaeque legiones ex composite adessent, tum aeterni hostes, Volsci et Aequi, non ad populandos, ut ante, fines sed ad urbem ut ex parte captam venirent.
16.3. Men's fears were many and various; above all the rest stood out their dread of the slaves. Everybody suspected that he had an enemy in his own household, whom it was safe neither to trust, nor, from want of confidence, to refuse to trust, lest his hostility should be intensified; and it seemed hardly possible that even co-operation between the classes should arrest the danger.
16.3. et varii timores; inter ceteros eminebat terror servilis, ne suus cuique domi hostis esset, cui nec credere nec non credendo, ne infestior fieret, fidem abrogare satis erat tutum;
16.4. So greatly did other evils overtop and threaten to engulf them that no one feared the tribunes or the plebeians; that seemed a milder mischief, and springing up, as it always did, when other troubles were quieted, appeared now to have been lulled to sleep by the foreign peril.
16.4. vixque concordia sisti videbatur posse. superantibus aliis ac mergentibus malis nemo tribunos aut plebem timebat; mansuetum id malum et per aliorum quietem quietern malorum semper exoriens tum quiesse peregrino terrore sopitum videbatur.
16.5. But in fact it bore down almost more heavily than anything else upon their sinking fortunes. For so frenzied were the tribunes that they asserted it was no war which had taken possession of the Capitol, but an idle mimicry of war, got up to divert the minds of the plebeians from thinking about the law; the patricians' friends and retainers would depart, when the passing of the law showed them how useless had been their insurrection, even more silently than they had come.
16.5. id prope unum maxime inclinatis rebus incubuit. enim tribunos furor tenuit ut non bellum sed vanam imaginem belli ad avertendos ab legis cura plebis animos Capitolium insedisse contenderent; patriciorum hospites clientesque si perlata lege frustra tumultuatos esse se sentiant, maiore quam venerint silentio abituros.
16.6. They then convened an assembly to carry the measure through, having called the people away from their service as soldiers. Meantime the consuls were holding a meeting of the senate, where more fear of the tribunes was manifested than the night-attack of the enemy had caused.
16.6. inde legi perferendae habere avocato populo ab armis. interim consules habent alio se maiore ab tribunis metu ostendente, quam quem nocturnus hostis intulerat.
17.1. On being informed that the men were laying down their arms and quitting their posts, Publius Valerius left his colleague to keep the senate together, and hurrying from the Curia sought out the tribunes in their meeting-place.
17.1. arma poni et discedere homines ab stationibus nuntiatum est, P. Valerius collega senatum retinente se ex curia proripit, inde in templum ad tribunos venit.
17.2. “What means this, tribunes?” he exclaimed, “Are you going to overturn the state under the leadership and auspices of Appius Herdonius? Has he who could not arouse the slaves been so successful in corrupting you? With the enemy over your heads can you choose to quit your arms and legislate?” Then, turning to the crowd, he continued: ( “If you feel no concern, Quirites, for your City, or for yourselves, yet fear your gods, whom the enemy hold captive.”
17.2. hoc rei est inquit, tribuni? Ap. Herdonii ductu et auspicio rem publicam eversuri estis? felix vobis corrumpendis fuit qui servitia non commovit auctor? hostes supra caput sint, discedi ab armis legesque ferri placet?
17.3. “Jupiter Optimus Maximus, Queen Juno, and Minerva, and the other gods and goddesses, are beleaguered; a camp of slaves is in possession of the tutelary deities of your country; does this seem to you a healthy polity?”
17.3. ad multitudinem oratione versa: vos urbis, Quirites, si vestri nulla cura tangit, at vos veremini deos vestros ab hostibus captos. Iuppiter optimus maximus, Iuno regina et Minerva, alii di deaeque obsidentur; castra servorum publicos vestros penates tenent;
17.4. “All these foes are not merely within our walls, but in the Citadel, above the Forum and the Curia; the people meanwhile are assembled in the Forum, and in the Curia sits the senate; as when peace reigns supreme, the senator gives voice to his opinion, the other Quirites vote. Should not every patrician and plebeian, the consuls, the tribunes, gods, and men, all have drawn the sword and helped; have rushed upon the Capitol; have brought liberty and peace to that most august house of Jupiter Optimus Maximus?”
17.4. haec vobis forma sanae civitatis videtur? hostium non solum intra muros est sed in arce supra forum curiamque; comitia interim in foro sunt, senatus in curia est; velut cum otium superat, senator sententiam dicit, alii Quirites suffragium ineunt.
17.5. “Father Romulus, grant thou to thy descendants that spirit in which thou didst aforetime regain thy Citadel from these same Sabines, when they had captured it with gold; bid them advance by that road where thou didst lead, and thy army followed.”
17.5. quidquid patrum plebisque est, consules, tribunos, deos hominesque omnes armatos opem ferre, in Capitolium currere, liberare ac pacare augustissimam illam domum iovis lovis optimi maximi decuit?
17.6. “Lo, I the consul will be the first, so far as mortal can emulate a god, to follow in thy footsteps!” He ended by announcing that he drew his sword and called to arms all the Quirites; if any hindered, he should no longer remember consular authority, nor tribunician power, nor the guarantees of sanctity; whoever the man, wherever he might be, —on the Capitol, in the Forum, —he should hold him a public enemy.
17.6. pater, tu mentem tuam, qua quondam arcem ab his iisdem Sabinis auro captam recepisti, da stirpi tuae; iube hanc ingredi viam, quam tu dux, quam tuus ingressus exercitus est! en ego consul, quantum mortalis deum possum, te ac tua vestigia sequar.
17.7. Since the tribunes forbade them to arm against Appius Herdonius, let them order an attack on Publius Valerius the consul; he would not fear to deal with tribunes as the founder of his family had dealt with kings.
17.7. orationis fuit: se arma capere, vocare omnes Quirites ad arma. qui impediat, iam se consularis imperii, iam tribuniciae potestatis sacratarumque legum oblitum, quisquis ille sit, ubicumque sit, in Capitolio, in foro, pro hoste habiturum.
17.8. It was evident that there would soon be an appeal to force, and that the enemy would be afforded the spectacle of mutiny among the Romans. 'Yet it was equally impossible for the law to be carried and for the consul to go up into the Capitol.
17.8. tribuni, quoniam in Ap. Herdonium vetarent, in P. Valerium consulem sumi arma; ausurum se in tribunis, quod princeps familiae suae ausus in regibus esset.
17.9. Night put an end to the struggle. The tribunes retired as darkness fell, fearing the armed strength of the consuls. When the instigators of insurrection were once out of the way, the Fathers went about among the plebs, and mingling with the different groups, talked to them in a strain adapted to the crisis.
17.9. ultimam apparebat futuram spectaculoque seditionem Romanam hostibus fore. lex tamen ferri nec ire in Capitolium consul potuit. certamina coepta oppressit. cessere nocti, timentes consulum arma. inde seditionis auctoribus patres circumire plebem inserentesque se in circulos sermones tempori aptos serere, admonere ut viderent in quod discrimen rem publicam adducerent:
17.11. They warned them to have a care into what straits they brought the nation: It was not between patricians and plebeians that the conflict lay; patricians and plebeians alike, the Citadel of the City, the temples of the gods, and the guardian deities of the state and of private citizens, were being surrendered to enemies.
17.11. non inter patres ac plebem certamen esse, sed simul patres plebemque, arcem urbis, templa deorum, penates publicos privatosque hostibus dedi.
17.12. Such were the means employed in the Forum to allay dissension. Meanwhile the consuls, lest Sabine or Veientine enemies might be afoot, had set out to make the round of the gates and walls.
17.12. haec in foro sedandae discordiae causa aguntur, consules interim, ne Sabini neve Veiens hostis moveretur, circa portas murosque discesserant.
18.1. That same night Tusculum received tidings of the capture of the Citadel, the seizure of the Capitol, and the general disorder in the City.
18.1. nocte et Tusculum de arce capta Capitolioque occupato et alio turbatae urbis statu nuntii veniunt.
18.2. Lucius Mamilius was then dictator at Tusculum. He at once convoked the senate; and having introduced the messengers, expressed an earnest conviction that they ought not to wait till ambassadors should come from Rome requesting help;
18.2. L. Mamilius Tusculi tum tur dictator erat. confestim convocato senatu atque introductis nuntiis magno opere censet ne exspectent dum ab Roma legati auxilium petentes veniant;
18.3. her perilous and critical situation spoke for itself —the gods of their alliance and the obligations of their treaty called on them to act. Heaven would never bestow on them an equal opportunity to earn the gratitude of so powerful and so near a state, by doing it a service.
18.3. periculum ipsum discrimenque ac sociales deos fidemque foederum id poscere. beneficio tam tar potentem, tam propinquam civitatem numquam parem occasionem daturos deos.
18.4. The senate resolved to help. The young men were enrolled, and arms were issued. As they marched towards Rome in the early dawn, the Tusculans, who were seen a long way off, were taken for enemies; it looked like an invasion of the Aequi or the Volsci.
18.4. ferri auxilium; iuventus conscribitur, arma dantur. Romam prima luce venientes procul speciem hostium praebuere; Aequi aut Volsci venire visi sunt; deinde ubi vanus terror abiit, accepti in urbem agmine in forum descendunt.
18.5. When the alarm proved groundless, they were received into the City, and marched in column down into the Forum. There they found Publius Valerius, who had left his colleague to protect the gates and was marshalling his army. The personal influence of the man had prevailed. He had assured the people that when the Capitol should be won back and peace restored in the City, if they would permit him to point out to them the mischief which lurked in the law the tribunes were proposing, he would remember his forefathers and the surname with which he had, as it were, inherited from those forefathers the charge of caring for the people, nor would he interfere with the council of the plebs.
18.5. iam P. Valerius relicto ad portarum praesidia collega instruebat aciem. viri moverat adfirmantis Capitolio reciperato et urbe pacata si edoceri se sissent, quae fraus ab tribunis occulta in lege ferretur, memorem se maiorum suorum, memorem cognominis quo populi colendi velut hereditaria cura sibi a maioribus tradita esset, concilium plebis non impediturum.
18.7. Following him as their leader, despite the idle efforts of the tribunes to restrain them, they advanced up the Clivus Capitolinus, accompanied by the troops from Tusculum.
18.7. ducem secuti nequiquam reclamantibus tribunis in clivum Capitolinum erigunt aciem. et Tusculana legio. socii civesque, utri reciperatae arcis suum decus facerent; dux uterque suos adhortatur.
18.8. It was a contest between the allies and the citizens, which should obtain the honour of recovering the Citadel. The leader of each party urged on his followers. The enemy now began to quake with fear, having no great confidence in anything but their position. As they stood there quaking, the Romans and their allies assailed them.
18.8. tum hostes, nec ulli satis rei praeterquam loco fidere; trepidantibus inferunt signa Romani sociique, iam in vestibulum perruperant templi, cum P. Valerius inter primores pugnam ciens interficitur.
18.9. They had already burst into the vestibule of the temple, when Publius Valerius was killed, as he was directing the attack in the van. Publius Volumnius, a former consul, saw him fall. Charging his men to cover up the body, he threw himself into the consul's place. In the ardour and enthusiasm of the soldiers so important an event passed unnoticed; and they had won the victory before they realized that they were fighting without their leader.
18.9. P. Volumnius consularis vidit cadentem. dato negotio suis ut corpus obtegerent, ipse in locum vicemque consulis provolat. ardore impetuque tantae rei sensus non pervenit ad militem; prius vicit quam se pugnare sine duce sentiret.
18.10. Many of the exiles stained the temples with their blood; many were taken alive; Herdonius was slain. Thus the Capitol was regained. The captives, according as they were free or slave, paid the penalty appropriate in each case to their condition; the Tusculans were thanked; the Capitol was purged and ceremonially purified.
18.10. exsulum caede sua foedavere templa, multi vivi capti, Herdonius interfectus. Capitolium reciperatum. captivis, ut quisque liber aut servus esset, suae fortunae a quoque sumptum sumptumr supplicium est; Tusculanis gratiae actae; Capitolium purgatum atque lustratum.
18.11. It is said that the plebeians flung their coppers into the consul's house, that he might be given a grander funeral.
18.11. consulis domum plebes quadrantes ut funere ampliore efferretur iactasse fertur.
19.1. When peace had been established, the tribunes began to urge the patricians to fulfil the promise made by Publius Valerius; and to urge Gaius Claudius to absolve the manes of his colleague from deceit, and allow the law to be discussed. The consul refused to permit discussion of the law, until he should have accomplished the election of a colleague.
19.1. parta instare tum tumr tribuni patribus ut P. Valeri fidem exsolverent, instare C. Claudio, ut collegae deos manes fraude liberaret, agi de lege sineret. antequam collegam sibi subrogasset negare passurum agi de lege.
19.2. These disputes continued up to the time when the comitia met to fill the vacant consulate. In December, thanks to extraordinary zeal on the part of the patricians, Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, Caeso's father, was declared consul, to enter upon the office at once.
19.2. tenuere contentiones usque ad comitia consulis subrogandi. mense summo patrum studio L. Quinctius Cincinnatus, pater Caesonis, consul creatur, qui magistratum statim occiperet.
19.3. The plebs were filled with dismay at the prospect of a consul incensed against themselves and strong in the favour of the senate, his own worth, and his three sons, none of whom was inferior to Caeso in courage, while they surpassed him in using wisdom and restraint when the need arose.
19.3. erat plebes consulem habitura iratum, potentem favore patrum, virtute sua, tribus liberis, quorum nemo Caesoni cedebat magnitudine animi, consilium et modum adhibendo ubi res posceret priores erant.
19.4. Cincinnatus, having taken up the magistracy, harangued the people incessantly from the tribunal; yet was no more vehement in repressing the plebs than in castigating the senate. It was owing, he declared, to the apathy of that order that the tribunes of the plebs, whose tenure was now become permanent, exercised such a tyranny of speech and accusation as might be expected in a disordered household, but not in the public affairs of the Roman People. With his son Caeso, manhood, steadfastness, and all the qualities which honour youth in war and in civil life had been driven from Rome and put to rout.
19.4. ut magistratum iniit, adsiduis contionibus pro tribunali non in plebe coercenda quam senatu castigando vehementior veliementior fuit, cuius ordinis languore perpetui iam tribuni plebis, non ut in re publica populi Romani sed ut in perdita domo lingua criminibusque regnarent. Caesone filio suo virtutem, constantiam, omnia iuventutis belli domique decora pulsa ex urbe Romana et fugata esse; loquaces, seditiosos, semina discordiarum, iterum ac tertium tribunos pessimis artibus regia licentia vivere.
19.6. Garrulous, seditious, sowers of discord, obtaining office —by the most wicked practices —for a second and even a third term, the tribunes led as lawless a life as kings. “Did Aulus Verginius,” he cried, “because he was not in the Capitol, deserve less punishment than Appius Herdonius? Nay, somewhat more, if one were disposed to be fair.”
19.6. Aulus inquit ille Verginius, quia in Capitolio non fuit, minus supplicii quam Ap. Herdonius meruit? hercule aliquanto, qui vere rem aestimare velit. Herdonius, si nihil aliud, hostem se fatendo prope denuntiavit ut arma caperetis; hic negando bellum esse arma vobis ademit nudosque servis vestris et exsulibus obiecit.
19.7. “Herdonius had one thing to his credit: by professing himself an enemy, he as good as warned you to arm; the other, denying the existence of a war, took away your arms and exposed you unprotected to your slaves and exiles. And did you —without offence to Gaius Claudius and the dead Publius Valerius be it said, —did you carry your standards against the Capitoline Hill before clearing these enemies out of the Forum? I am ashamed in the sight of gods and men.”
19.7. vos—C. Claudi pace et P. Valeri mortui loquar—prius in clivum Capitolinum signa intulistis quam hos hostes de foro tolleretis? deorum deorumn hominumque. hostes in arce, in Capitolio essent, exsulum et servorum dux profanatis omnibus in cella Iovis optimi maximi habitaret, Tusculi ante quam Romae Rornae sumpta sunt arma; in dubio fuit, utrum L.
19.8. “When foes were in the Citadel, foes in the Capitol, when the captain of slaves and exiles, profaning everything, was quartered in the very shrine of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, it was Tusculum —not Rome —where the first sword was drawn. It was a question whether Lucius Mamilius, the Tusculan general, or Publius Valerius and Gaius Claudius, the consuls, would free the Roman Citadel; and we who until then did not allow the Latins to touch their weapons, even in their own defence, though they had an enemy within their borders, had now, unless the Latins had armed of their own free will, been taken captive and destroyed.”
19.8. Mamilius, Tusculanus dux, an P. Valerius et C. Claudius consules Romanam arcem liberarent; et qui ante Latinos ne pro se quidem ipsis, cum in finibus hostem haberent, attingere arma passi sumus, nunc, nisi Latini sua sponte arma sumpsissent, capti et deleti eramus.
19.9. “Is this, tribunes, what you mean by helping the plebs, —to deliver them over unarmed to be slaughtered by the enemy? Why, if the humblest man belonging to your plebs, a part of the people which you have sundered, as it were, from the rest and made a country of your own and a state apart, —if ” “one of these, I say, had announced that his slaves had armed and seized his house, you would have thought yourselves bound to help him; was Jupiter Optimus Maximus, beset by the swords of exiles and slaves, too mean to merit any man's assistance?”
19.9. est, tribuni, auxilium plebi ferre, inermem eam earn hosti trucidandam obicere?, si quis vobis humillimus homo de vestra plebe, quam partem velut abruptam a cetero populo vestram patriam peculiaremque rem publicam fecistis, si quis ex his domum suam obsessam a familia armata nuntiaret, ferendum auxilium putaretis: iuppiter luppiter optimus maximus exsulum atque servorum saeptus armis nulla humana ope dignus erat? hi postulant ut sacrosancti habeantur, quibus ipsi di neque sacri neque sancti sunt?
19.11. “And do these tribunes demand that they be held sacred and inviolable, in whose eyes the very gods are neither the one nor the other? So! Weighed down with crimes against gods and men you assert that you will carry through your law this year! Then, by Heaven, it was an evil day for the nation when I was chosen consul, far more evil than when Publius Valerius the consul fell, —if indeed you carry it!”
19.11. enim divinis humanisque obruti sceleribus legem vos hoc anno perlaturos dictitatis. hercule illo die quo ego consul sum creatus, male gesta res publica est, peius multo, quam cum P. Valerius consul periit,—si tuleritis.
19.12. “First of all then, Quirites,” he concluded, “I and my colleague are resolved to lead the legions against the Volsci and the Aequi. We are somehow fated to enjoy the favour of the gods in larger measure when warring than when at peace. How dangerous these peoples would have been, had they known that the Capitol was seized by exiles, we may more profitably conjecture from the past than ascertain by trying it.”
19.12. primum omnium inquit, Quirites, in Volscos et Aequos mihi atque collegae legiones ducere in animo est. quo fato magis bellantes quam pacati propitios habemus deos. periculum ab illis populis fuerit, si Capitolium ab exsulibus obsessum scissent, suspicari de praeterito quam re ipsa experiri est melius.
20.1. The consul's speech had moved the plebs, and the senators took courage, believing that the state was on its feet again. The other consul, more spirited in co-operation than invention, had been quite willing that his colleague should take the lead in initiating such weighty measures; but in carrying them out he claimed for himself a share of the duties of the consulship. Then the tribunes, jeering at what they termed the idle words of Cincinnatus, proceeded to inquire how the consuls were going to lead out an army, when no one would permit them to hold a levy.
20.1. plebem oratio consulis; erecti patres restitutam credebant rem publicam. alter, comes animosior quam auctor, suscepisse collegam priorem actiones tam graves facile passus, in peragendis consularis officii partem ad se vindicabat. tribuni, eludentes velut vana dicta persequi quaerendo quonam modo exercitum educturi consules essent quos dilectum habere nemo passurus sit.
20.3. “But we have no need of a levy,” said Quinctius, “for when Publius Valerius gave arms to the people for the recovery of the Capitol, they all made oath that they would assemble at the bidding of the consul and not depart without his order.”
20.3. vero inquit Quinctius nihil dilectu opus est, cum, quo tempore P. Valerius ad recipiundum Capitolium arma plebi dedit, omnes in verba iuraverint conventuros se iussu consulis nec iniussu abituros.
20.4. “We therefore command that all you who took the oath report to-morrow, armed, at Lake Regillus.” Whereupon the tribunes, seeking to release the people from their obligation, resorted to a quibble: Quinctius had been a private citizen at the time when they bound themselves by the oath.
20.4. itaque, omnes qui in verba iurastis crastina die armati ad lacum Regillum adsitis. tum tur tribuni et populum exsolvere religione velle: privatum eo tempore Quinctium fuisse cum sacramento adacti sint.
20.5. But there had not yet come about that contempt for the gods which possesses the present generation; nor did everybody seek to construe oaths and laws to suit himself, but rather shaped his own practices by them.
20.5. nondum haec quae nunc tenet saeculum neglegentia deum venerat, nec interpretando sibi quisque ius iurandum et leges aptas faciebat, sed suos potius mores ad ea accommodabat.
20.6. Accordingly the tribunes, as there was no prospect of thwarting the design, concerned themselves with retarding the departure; the more so since a story was about that the augurs had been commanded to present themselves at Lake Regillus, there to inaugurate a place where the auspices could be taken and matters brought before the people, to the end that whatever had been enacted at Rome —thanks to the violence of the tribunes —might there be repealed by the comitia; everybody, they said, would vote as the consuls wished; for there was no appeal when one was more than a mile from the City, and the tribunes, if they should come there, would be subjected, amongst the rank and file of the citizens, to the consular authority.
20.6. tribuni, ut impediendae rei nulla spes erat, de proferendo exitu agere, eo magis, quod et augures iussos adesse ad Regillum lacum fama exierat, locumque inaugurari ubi auspicato cum populo agi posset, ut quidquid Romae vi tribunicia rogatum esset id comitiis ibi abrogaretur: omnes id iussuros quod consules velint; neque enim provocationem esse longius ab urbe mille passuum, et tribunos, si eo veniant, in alia turba Quiritium subiectos fore consulari imperio haec;
20.8. These were terrifying rumours, but far the greatest terror that preyed upon their spirits was this, that Quinctius repeatedly declared that he would hold no consular election; the disease of the commonwealth was not one that could be cured by ordinary remedies; the nation needed a dictator, that whoever went about to disturb the state might learn that the dictatorship knew no appeal.
20.8. sed ille maximus terror animos agitabat, quod saepius Quinctius dictitabat se consulum comitia non habiturum; non ita civitatem aegram esse ut consuetis remediis sisti possit; dictatore opus esse rei publicae, ut qui se moverit ad sollicitandum statum civitatis sentiat sine provocatione dictaturam esse.
21.1. The senate was in the Capitol. Thither came the tribunes with the troubled plebs. The multitude loudly besought protection, now of the consuls, now of the senators. Yet they could not move the consul from his purpose, until the tribunes had promised that they would submit to the authority of the Fathers.
21.1. in Capitolio erat; eo tribuni cum perturbata plebe veniunt. clamore ingenti nunc consulum, nunc patrum fidem implorant nec ante moverunt de sententia consulem quam tribuni se in auctoritate patrum futuros esse polliciti sunt.
21.2. The consul then brought up the demands of the tribunes and the plebs, and the senate resolved that neither should the tribunes proceed with the law that year, nor the consuls lead the army out of the City; that as regarded the future, it was the sense of the senate that for magistrates to succeed themselves and for the same tribunes to be re-elected was contrary to the general welfare.
21.2. referente consule de tribunorum et plebis postulatis senatus consulta fiunt ut neque tribuni legem eo anno ferrent neque consules ab urbe exercitum educerent; in reliquum magistratus continuari et eosdem tribunos refici iudicare senatum contra rem publicam esse.
21.3. The consuls acquiesced in the authority of the Fathers; the tribunes, in spite of the protests of the consuls, were returned to office. Then the patricians also, that they might yield in no respect to the plebs, would themselves have re-elected Lucius Quinctius consul.
21.3. fuere in patrum potestate: tribuni reclamantibus consulibus refecti. quoque, ne quid cederent plebi, et ipsi L. Quinctium consulem reficiebant. toto anno vehementior actio consulis fuit.
21.4. At no time during the entire year did the consul express himself with greater vehemence. “Can I wonder,” he cried, “if your influence with the people, Conscript Fathers, is unavailing?” “You yourselves impair it, when, because the people have disregarded the senate's resolution regarding successive terms, you desire to disregard it yourselves, that you may not lag behind the multitude in rashness; as if to be more inconstant and more lawless were to possess more power in the state. For surely it is more fickle and light-minded to nullify one's own decrees and resolutions, than those of others.”
21.4. inquit, si vana vestra, patres conscripti, auctoritas ad plebem est? elevatis eam ear; quippe qui quia plebs senatus consultum continuandis magistratibus solvit, ipsi quoque solutum voltis, ne temeritati multitudinis cedatis, tamquam id sit plus posse in civitate plus levitatis ac licentiae habere. enim vaniusque profecto est sua decreta et consulta tollere quam aliorum.
21.6. “Pattern yourselves, Conscript Fathers, after the thoughtless crowd; and do you, who ought to set others an example, err rather by the example of those others, than permit them to follow yours and do right. But I, with your leave, will not imitate the tribunes, nor suffer myself to be named consul against the senate's resolution.”
21.6. , patres conscripti, turbam inconsultam, et qui exemplo aliis esse debetis aliorum exemplo peccate potius quam alii vestro recte faciant, dum ego ne imiter tribunos nec me contra senatus consultum consulem renuntiari patiar.
21.7. “As for you, Gaius Claudius, I urge that you too restrain the Roman People from this lawlessness; and for my own part be assured I shall not feel that your action has stood in the way of my election, but that my renown has gained by my refusal of the office, and that the odium which threatened me from its continuation has been removed.”
21.7. vero, C. Claudi, adhortor, ut et ipse populum Romanum hac licentia arceas et de me hoc tibi persuadeas, me ita accepturum ut non honorem meum a te impeditum, sed gloriam spreti honoris auctam, invidiam quae ex continuato eo impenderet levatam putem.
21.8. They then united in an edict that no one should vote for Lucius Quinctius for consul; if any man should do so they would disregard his vote.
21.8. inde edicunt ne quis L. Quinctium consulem faceret; si quis fecisset, se id suffragium non observaturos.
22.1. The consuls elected were Quintus Fabius Vibulanus (for the third time) and Lucius Cornelius Maluginensis. The census was taken that year, but there were scruples against performing the lustral sacrifice, on account of the seizure of the Capitol and the slaying of the consul.
22.1. creati Q. Fabius Vibulanus tertium et L. Cornelius Maluginensis. actus eo anno: lustrum propter Capitolium captum, consulem occisum condi religiosum fuit.
22.2. The consulship of Quintus Fabius and Lucius Cornelius was a stormy one from the very beginning of the year. The tribunes egged on the plebs; the Latins and the Hernici reported that a great attack was being launched by the Volsci and the Aequi, and that Volscian levies were already at Antium. There was much apprehension too lest the colony itself should revolt; and the tribunes were hardly prevailed upon to allow the war to have precedence.
22.2. Q. Fabio L. Cornelio consulibus principio anni statim res turbulentae. plebem tribuni; bellum ingens a Volscis et Aequis Latini atque Hernici nuntiabant: iam Antii Volscorum legiones esse. ipsam coloniam ingens metus erat defecturam; aegreque impetratum a tribunis ut bellum praeverti sinerent.
22.3. Then the consuls divided the commands, appointing Fabius to take the legions to Antium, and Cornelius to defend Rome, lest some part of the enemy, in accordance with the Aequian custom, should make a foray.
22.3. inde partiti provincias: Fabio ut legiones Antium duceret datum, Cornelio ut Romae praesidio esset, ne qua pars hostium, qui Aequis mos erat, ad populandum veniret.
22.4. The Hernici and the Latins were bidden to furnish soldiers, as by treaty bound; two-thirds of the army were allies, one-third citizens. When the allies had reported on the appointed day, the consul encamped outside the Porta Capena. Thence, after purifying the army, he set out for Antium, and took up a position at no great distance from the town and the standing camp of the enemy.
22.4. Hernici et Latini iussi milites dare ex foedere, duaeque partes sociorum in exercitu, tertia civium fuit. ad diem praestitutum venerunt socii, consul extra portam Capenam castra locat. lustrato exercitu Antium profectus haud procul oppido stativisque hostium consedit.
22.5. There the Volsci, not daring to give battle —for the Aequian army had not yet come up —sought to protect themselves, without fighting, behind their rampart. The next day Fabius, instead of mingling allies and citizens in one line of battle, drew up the three nations in three separate armies, about the enemy's works, taking the centre himself with the Roman legions.
22.5. cum Volsci, quia nondum ab Aequis venisset exercitus, dimicare non ausi ansi, quem ad modum quieti vallo se tutarentur, pararent, postero die Fabius non permixtam unam sociorum civiumque sed trium populorum tres separatim acies circa vallum hostium instruxit; ipse erat medius cum legionibus Romanis.
22.6. He then commanded them all to wait for the signal, that the allies might act with the citizens in beginning the fight, and in retreating, if he should sound the recall. He also stationed the cavalry belonging to each division behind its first line.
22.6. signum observare iussit, ut pariter et socii rem inciperent referrentque pedem, si receptui cecinisset. item suae cuique parti post principia collocat.
22.7. Advancing thus in three sections he surrounded the camp, and attacking sharply on every side, dislodged the Volsci, who were unable to sustain his charge, from their intrenchments. Passing over these, he drove the frightened rabble before him in one direction and cleared the camp of them.
22.7. trifariam adortus castra circumvenit et, cum undique instaret, non sustinentes impetum Volscos vallo deturbat. inde munitiones pavidam turbam inclinatamque in partem unam castris expellit.
22.8. As they dispersed in flight, the cavalry, who had found it difficult to surmount the rampart and had hitherto been mere spectators of the battle, having now a clear field before them played their part in the victory by cutting off the fugitives.
22.8. effuse fugientes eques, cui superare vallum haud facile fuerat, cum ad id spectator pugnae adstitisset, libero campo adeptus parte victoriae fruitur territos caedendo.
22.9. Great was the slaughter inflicted on the enemy as they attempted to escape, both in the camp and outside the works; but the booty was still greater, since they had barely been able to carry away their arms. If the forests had not covered the flight, their army would have been utterly destroyed.
22.9. et in castris et extra munimenta caedes fugientium fuit, sed praeda maior, quia vix arma secum efferre hostis potuit. exercitus foret, ni fugientis silvae texissent.
23.1. While this battle was being fought near Antium, the Aequi had sent forward the flower of their troops, and by a surprise attack at night, had captured the Tusculan citadel. The rest of their army they stationed at a short distance from the walls of the town, in order to induce the enemy to extend his forces.
23.1. ad Antium haec geruntur, interim Aequi robore iuventutis praemisso arcem Tusculanam improviso nocte capiunt; reliquo exercitu haud procul moenibus Tusculi considunt ut distenderent hostium copias.
23.2. The news of these events being speedily carried to Rome and thence to the camp at Antium, had the same effect upon the Romans as if it had been announced that the Capitol was taken, — so fresh in their recollection was the service done them by the Tusculans, and so strongly did the similarity of the risk which their allies now ran seem to call for repayment of the assistance they had given.
23.2. celeriter Romam, ab Roma in castra Antium perlata movent Romanos haud secus quam si Capitolium Capitoliumn captum nuntiaretur; adeo et recens erat Tusculanorum meritum et similitudo similitude ipsa periculi reposcere datum auxilium videbatur.
23.3. Letting everything else go, Fabius quickly conveyed the plunder of the camp to Antium, and leaving there a moderate garrison, hastened by forced marches to Tusculum. The soldiers were allowed to take nothing but their arms and such bread as happened to be at hand; supplies were sent them from Rome by the consul Cornelius.
23.3. Fabius omissis omnibus praedam ex castris raptim Antium convehit; ibi modico praesidio relicto citatum agmen Tusculum rapit. praeter arma et quod cocti ad manum fuit cibi ferre militi licuit; commeatum ab Roma consul Cornelius subvehit.
23.4. The fighting at Tusculum lasted for some months. With a part of his army the consul laid siege to the camp of the Aequi; a part he had given to the Tusculans to use in recovering the citadel.
23.4. menses Tusculi bellatum. exercitus consul castra Aequorum oppugnabat, partem Tusculanis dederat ad arcem reciperandam. nunquam eo subiri potuit;
23.5. The place could never be entered by assault; but the enemy were finally driven out by hunger. Having thus reduced them to extremities, the Tusculans took away their arms, and stripping them to the tunic, sent them under the yoke. As they were ignominiously fleeing homeward, the Roman consul overtook them on Mount Algidus, and slew them, every man.
23.5. fames postremo inde detraxit hostem. postquam ventum ad extremum est, inermes nudique omnes sub iugum ab Tusculanis missi. ignominiosa fuga domum se recipientes Romanus consul in Algido consecutus ad unum omnes occidit.
23.6. The victor led his army back to Columen —this is the name of a place —and went into camp. The other consul too, now that the defeat of the enemy had removed all danger from the walls of Rome, set out himself from the City.
23.6. ad Columen—id loco nomen est—exercitu reducto castra locat. alter consul, postquam moenibus iam Romanis pulso hoste periculum esse desierat, et ipse ab Roma profectus.
23.7. Thus at two points the consuls invaded the enemy's borders, and with keen rivalry devastated the lands of the Volsci on the one hand, and those of the Aequi on the other. I find in a good many writers that the Antiates revolted that same year; and that Lucius Cornelius the consul conducted the war and took the town. I should not venture to affirm it for a certainty, since there is no mention of the matter in the older historians.
23.7. bifariam consules ingressi hostium fines ingenti certamine hinc Volscos, hinc Aequos populantur. anno descisse Antiates apud plerosque auctores invenio; L. Cornelium consulem id bellum gessisse oppidumque cepisse. adfirmare, quia nulla apud vetustiores scriptores eius rei mentio est, non ausim.
24.1. This war was no sooner finished, than the patricians were alarmed by one waged against them at home, by the tribunes, who cried out that the army was dishonestly kept afield —a trick intended to frustrate the passage of the law; which, notwithstanding, they had undertaken and proposed to carry through.
24.1. bello perfecto tribunicium domi bellum patres territat. fraude fieri, quod foris teneatur exercitus; frustrationem eam ear legis tollendae esse; se nihilo minus rem susceptam peracturos.
24.2. Still, Lucius Lucretius, the prefect of the City, obtained the postponement of any action by the tribunes until the consuls should have come.
24.2. tamen L. Lucretius, praefectus urbis, ut actiones tribuniciae in adventum consulum differrentur.
24.3. There had also arisen a new cause for disquiet. Aulus Cornelius and Quintus Servilius, the quaestors, had summoned Marcus Volscius to trial, on the charge that he had been guilty of undoubted perjury against Caeso. For it was becoming generally known, from many witnesses, first, that the brother of Volscius after having once fallen ill had not only never appeared in public, but had not even got up from his sick-bed, where he had died of a wasting disease which lasted many months;
24.3. et nova exorta causa motus. A. Cornelius et Q. Servilius quaestores M. Volscio, quod falsus haud dubie testis in Caesonem exstitisset, 4 diem dixerant. enim emanabat indiciis neque fratrem Volsci ex quo semel fuerit aeger unquam non modo visum in publico sed ne adsurrexisse quidem ex morbo, multorumque tabe mensum mensumn mortuum, nec iis temporibus in quae testis crimen coniecisset Caesonem Romae visum, adfirmantibus qui una meruerant secum eum tum tur frequentem ad signa sine ullo commeatu fuisse. ita esset, multi privatim ferebant Volscio iudicem.
24.5. and secondly, that within the period to which Volscius, in his testimony, had referred the crime, Caeso had not been seen in Rome; for those who had served with him affirmed that he had often during that time been in their company at the front, without taking any furlough.
24.5. ad iudicium ire non auderet, omnes eae res in unum congruentes haud magis dubiam damnationem Volsci quam Caesonis Volscio teste fuerat faciebant.
24.6. To prove this contention, many persons offered Volscius to refer the question of fact to a private arbitrator. Since he did not dare proceed to arbitration, all these things, pointing in one direction, made the condemnation of Volscius as certain as that of Caeso had been made by Volscius's evidence.
24.6. mora tribuni erant, qui comitia quaestores habere de reo, nisi prius habita de lege essent, passuros nega. bant. extracta utraque res in consulum adventum est.
24.7. The tribunes delayed matters by refusing to allow the quaestors to hold an assembly for his trial until one should first have been held to consider the law. So both affairs dragged on till the arrival of the consuls.
24.7. ubi triumphantes triurnphantes victore cum exercitu urbem inierunt, quia silentium silentiunm de lege erat, perculsos magna pars credebant tribunos.