24.8. When they had entered the City in triumph with their victorious army, nothing was said about the law, and many people thought the tribunes had been daunted. But the tribunes were seeking a fourth term of office —for the end of the year was now at hand —and had diverted their efforts from the law to the contest for the election. And though the consuls strove quite as vehemently against the re-election of the incumbents to the tribuneship, as if a law were being urged which had been promulgated to curtail their own majesty, the contest resulted in victory for the tribunes.
24.8. illi— etenim extremum anni iam erat,—quartum adfectantes tribunatum trilunatum, in comitiorum disceptationem ab lege certamen averterant. cum consules nihilo minus adversus continuationem tribunatus quam si lex minuendae suae maiestatis causa promulgata ferretur tetendissent, victoria certaminis penes tribunos fuit. anno Aequis pax est petentibus data., res priore anno incohata, perficitur; idque lustrum ab origine urbis decimum conditum ferunt. civium capita centum septendecim milia trecenta undeviginti.
24.10. That same year the Aequi sought and obtained peace. The census, which had been begun the year before, was completed; and this, they say, was the tenth lustral sacrifice performed since the founding of the City. There were enrolled 117,319 citizens. This year the consuls won great renown, at home and in the field; not only had they brought about peace with other nations, but at home also, though the state was not yet harmonious, yet it was less troubled than at other times. Lucius Minucius and Gaius Nautius were chosen to be the next consuls, and inherited the two causes left over from the preceding year. As before, the consuls obstructed the passage of the law, and the tribunes the trial of Volscius; but the new quaestors were men of superior force and influence. Marcus Valerius, son of Manius, and grandson of Volesus, shared the magistracy with Titus Quinctius Capitolinus, who had thrice been consul.
24.10. magna domi bellique eo anno gloria fuit, quod et foris pacem peperere, et domi etsi non concors, minus tamen quam alias infesta civitas fuit. L. Minucius inde et C. Nautius consules facti duas residuas anni prioris causas exceperunt. modo consules legem, tribuni iudicium de Volscio impediebant; sed in quaestoribus novis maior vis, maior auctoritas erat. M. Valerio, Mani filio, Volesi nepote nepotc quaestor erat T. Quinctius Capitolinus, qui ter consul fuerat.
25.3. Capitolinus, since it was beyond his power to restore Caeso to the Quinctian family and the greatest of her young men to the state, waged war, as justice and loyalty demanded, on the false witness who had deprived an innocent man of the power to plead his cause.
25.3. , quoniam neque Quinctiae familiae Caeso neque rei publicae maximus iuvenum restitui posset, falsum testem qui dicendae causae innoxio potestatem ademisset, iusto ac pio bello persequebatur.
25.4. Verginius was the most active amongst the tribunes in working for the law. The consuls were allowed two months' time to inspect the measure, that having explained to the people what hidden mischief was being proposed they might then permit them to vote. The granting of this breathing-space brought tranquillity to the City.
25.4. Verginius maxime ex tribunis de lege ageret, duum mensum spatium consulibus datum est ad inspiciendam legem ut cum edocuissent populum quid fraudis occultae ferretur, sinerent deinde suffragium inire. intervalli datum res tranquillas in urbe fecit.
25.5. But the Aequi did not suffer it to remain long at rest; breaking the treaty which they had made with the Romans the year before, they intrusted the command of their forces to Cloelius Gracchus, at that time by far the most eminent man in their state.
25.5. diuturnam quietem Aequi dederunt, qui rupto foedere quod ictum erat priore anno cum Romanis imperium ad Gracchum Cloelium deferunt; is tum longe princeps in Aequis erat.
25.6. Under this man's leadership they invaded the territory of Labici, and from there the territory of Tusculum, with fire and sword, and, loaded with booty, pitched their camp on Algidus. To this camp came Quintus Fabius, Publius Volumnius, and Aulus Postumius, envoys from Rome, to complain of the wrongs done and demand restitution, as provided in the treaty.
25.6. duce in Labicanum agrum, inde in Tusculanum hostili populatione veniunt plenique praedae in Algido castra locant. ea castra Q. Fabius, P. Volumnius, A. Postumius legati ab Roma venerunt questum iniurias et ex foedere res repetitum.
25.7. The Aequian general bade them recite the message of the Roman senate to the oak, saying that he would meantime attend to other matters. (The oak, a mighty tree, overhung head-quarters and with its dense shade afforded a cool resting-place.)
25.7. Aequorum imperator quae mandata habeant ab senatu Romano ad quercum iubet dicere; se alia interim acturum., ingens arbor, praetorio imminebat, cuius umbra opaca sedes erat.
25.8. Thereupon one of the envoys said, as he departed, “Let both this sacred oak and whatever gods there are hear that the treaty has been broken by you; and let them attend now to our complaints and presently support our arms, when we shall avenge the simultaneous violation of the rights of gods and men.”
25.8. ex legatis unus abiens et haec inquit, sacrata quercus et quidquid deorum est audiant foedus a vobis ruptum, nostrisque et nunc querellis adsint et mox armis, cum deorum hominumque simul violata iura exsequemur.
25.9. On the return of the envoys to Rome, the senate ordered one consul to lead an army to Algidus, against Gracchus, and to the other assigned the task of devastating the territories of the Aequi. The tribunes sought in their usual fashion to prevent the levy, and might perhaps have held out against it to the end; but suddenly a fresh alarm supervened.
25.9. Romam ut rediere legati, senatus iussit alterum consulem contra Gracchum in Algidum exercitum ducere, alteri populationem finium Aequorum provinciam dedit. suo more impedire dilectum et forsitan ad ultimum impedissent; sed novus subito additus terror est.
26.1. A great body of Sabines made a hostile incursion almost to the walls of Rome, wasting the fields and terrifying the citizens. Thereupon the plebeians willingly enlisted, and despite the unavailing protests of the tribunes, two large armies were enrolled. One of these Nautius led against the Sabines.
26.1. Sabinorum ingens prope ad moenia urbis infesta populatione venit; foedati agri, terror iniectus urbi est. plebs benigne arma cepit; reclamantibus frustra tribunis magni duo exercitus scripti.
26.2. Pitching his camp at Eretum, lie sent out little expeditions, chiefly nocturnal raiding parties, and so liberally repaid on their own fields the depredations of the Sabines, that the Roman territories in comparison seemed scarcely to have been touched by war.
26.2. Nautius contra Sabinos duxit castrisque ad Eretum positis, per expeditiones parvas, plerumque nocturnis incursionibus, tantam vastitatem in Sabino agro reddidit ut comparati ad eam prope intacti bello fines Romani viderentur.
26.3. Minucius had neither the same good fortune nor equal spirit in conducting his campaign; for he encamped not far from the enemy, and without having suffered any considerable defeat, kept timidly within his breastworks. When the enemy perceived this, their audacity was heightened, as is usually the case, by their opponents' fear, and they attacked the camp by night.
26.3. Minucio neque fortuna nec vis animi eadem in gerendo negotio fuit; nam cum haud procul ab hoste castra posuisset, nulla magnopere clade accepta castris se pavidus tenebat.
26.4. Failing to accomplish anything by open force, they next day surrounded the place with earthworks; but before these could be thrown up on every side of the camp and so shut off all egress, five horsemen were sent out through the enemy's outposts and carried to Rome the news that the consul and his army were beleaguered. Nothing more surprising or unlooked-for could have happened.
26.4. ubi senserant hostes, crevit ex metu alieno, ut fit, audacia, et nocte adorti castra postquam parum vis aperta profecerat, munitiones postero die circumdant. priusquam undique vallo obiectae clauderent exitus quinque equites inter stationes hostium emissi Romam pertulere consulem exercitumque obsideri.
26.5. And so the alarm and consternation were as great as if it had been the City, not the camp, which the enemy were investing.
26.5. tam inopinatum nec tam insperatum accidere potuit. tantus pavor, tanta trepidatio fuit quanta si urbem, non castra hostes obsiderent.
26.6. They sent for the consul Nautius; but deeming him unequal to their defence, and resolving to have a dictator to restore their shattered fortunes, they agreed unanimously on the nomination of Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus.
26.6. consulem arcessunt. quo cum parum praesidii videretur dictatoremque dici placeret qui rem perculsam restitueret, L. Quinctius Cincinnatus consensu omnium dicitur.
26.7. What followed merits the attention of those who despise all human qualities in comparison with riches, and think there is no room for great honours or for worth but amidst a profusion of wealth. The sole hope of the empire of the Roman People, Lucius Quinctius, cultivated a field of some four acres across the Tiber, now known as the Quinctian Meadows, directly opposite the place where the dockyards are at present.
26.7. pretium est audire qui omnia prae divitiis humana spernunt neque honori magno locum neque virtuti putant esse, nisi ubi effuse afluant opes.
26.8. There he was found by the representatives of the state. Whether bending over his spade as he dug a ditch, or ploughing, he was, at all events, as everybody agrees, intent upon some rustic task.
26.8. unica imperii populi Romani L. Quinctius trans Tiberim, contra eum ipsum locum ubi nunc navalia sunt, quattuor iugerum colebat agrum, quae prata Quinctia vocantur.
26.9. After they had exchanged greetings with him, they asked him to put on his toga, to hear (and might good come of it to himself and the republic!) the mandates of the senate. In amazement he cried, “Is all well?” and bade his wife Racilia quickly fetch out his toga from the hut.
26.9. ab legatis—seu fossam fodiens palae innixus seu cum araret, operi certe, id quod constat, agresti intentus—salute data in vicem redditaque rogatus ut, quod bene verteret ipsi reique publicae, togatus mandata senatus audiret, admiratus rogitansque satin salve? togam propere e tugurio proferre uxorem Raciliam iubet.
26.10. When he had put it on, after wiping off the dust and sweat, and came forth to the envoys, they hailed him Dictator, congratulated him, and summoned him to the City, explaining the alarming situation of the army.
26.10. simul absterso pulvere ac sudore velatus processit, dictatorem eum legati gratulantes consalutant, in urbem vocant, qui terror sit in exercitu exponunt.
26.11. A boat was waiting for him, provided by the state; and as he reached the other side his three sons came out to receive him; after them came his other kinsmen and friends; and after them the greater part of the senate. Attended by this throng and preceded by his lictors he was escorted to his house.
26.11. Quinctio publice parata fuit,transvectumque tres obviam egressi filii excipiunt, inde alii propinqui atque amici, tum patrum maior pars. frequentia stipatus antecedentibus lictoribus deductus est domum.
26.12. The plebeians too were gathered in great numbers; but they were by no means so rejoiced at the sight of Quinctius, because they thought that not only was his authority excessive, but that the man was even more dangerous than the authority itself. That night nothing more was done than to keep a watch in the City.
26.12. plebis concursus ingens fuit; sed ea nequaquam tam laeta Quinctium vidit, et imperium nimium et virum ipso imperio vehementiorem rata. illa quidem nocte nihil praeterquam vigilatum est in urbe.
27.1. On the following day the dictator, coming before dawn into the Forum, named as his master of the horse Lucius Tarquitius, a man of patrician birth, but one who had served as a foot-soldier because of poverty, though in war he had been esteemed by far the best of the Roman youth.
27.1. die dictator cum ante lucem in forum venisset, magistrum equitum dicit L. Tarquitium, patriciae gentis, sed qui, cum stipendia pedibus propter paupertatem fecisset, bello tamen primus longe Romanae iuventutis habitus esset.
27.2. With his master of the horse the dictator appeared before the people; proclamed a suspension of the courts; ordered the shops to be closed all over the City; and forbade anybody to engage in any private business.
27.2. magistro equitum in contionem venit, iustitium edicit, claudi tabernas tota urbe iubet, vetat quemquam privatae quicquam rei agere.
27.3. He then commanded all those who were of military age to come armed, before sunset, to the Campus Martius, bringing each enough bread to last five days, and twelve stakes;
27.3. , quicumque aetate militari essent, armati cum cibariis in dies quinque coctis vallisque duodenis ante solis occasum Martio in campo adessent;
27.4. those who were too old for war he ordered to prepare food for their neighbours who were soldiers, while the latter were getting their arms in order and looking for stakes.
27.4. quibus aetas ad militandum gravior esset, vicino militi, dum is arma pararet vallumque peteret, cibaria coquere iussit.
27.5. So the young men ran this way and that in search of stakes, and every one took them from the nearest source, nor was anyone interfered with; and all presented themselves promptly as the dictator had commanded.
27.5. iuventus discurrit ad vallum petendum. unde cuique proximum fuit; prohibitus nemo est; impigreque omnes ornnes ad edictum dictatoris praesto fuere.
27.6. Then, having drawn up their column so as to be ready for fighting as well as for marching, if need were, the dictator himself led the legions, the master of the horse his cavalry.
27.6. composite agmine non itineri magis apti quam proelio, si res ita tulisset, legiones ipse dictator, magister equitum suos equites ducit. utroque agmine quas tempus ipsum poscebat adhortationes erant:
27.7. In each division were spoken such words of encouragement as the occasion called for: Let them mend their pace; there was need of speed, that they might reach the enemy's camp in the night; a consul and a Roman army were being besieged, and it was now the third day of their investment; what each night or day might bring forth was uncertain; a single instant was often the turning-point of a great event.
27.7. adderent gradum; maturato opus esse ut nocte ad hostem perveniri posset; consulem exercitumque Romanum obsideri, tertium diem iam clausos esse; quid quaeque nox aut dies ferat, incertum esse; puncto saepe temporis maximarum rerum momenta verti.
27.8. The soldiers also, in complaisance to their commanders, cried out to one another, “Make haste, standard-bearer!” “Follow me, men!” At midnight they came to Algidus, and perceiving that they were now close to the enemy, halted.
27.8. signifer! miles! inter se quoque gratificantes ducibus clamabant. note in Algidum perveniunt et, ut sensere se iam prope hostes esse, signa constituunt.
28.1. Then the dictator, having ridden about and observed, as well as he could for the night, the extent of the camp and its shape, directed the military tribunes to make the soldiers throw down their packs in one place, and return, with arms and stakes, to their proper ranks. They did as he commanded.
28.1. dictator quantum nocte prospici poterat equo circumvectus contemplatusque qui tractus castrorum quaeque forma esset, tribunis militum imperavit, ut sarcinas in unum conici iubeant, militem cum armis valloque redire in ordines suos. quae imperavit.
28.2. Then, keeping the order of the march, he led out the whole army in a long column and surrounded the enemy's camp, commanding that at a given signal the troops should all raise a shout, and that after shouting every man should dig a trench in front of his own position and erect a palisade. The signal followed close on the announcement.
28.2. , quo fuerant ordine in via, exercitum omnem longo agmine circumdat hostium castris et ubi signum datum sit clamorem omnes tollere iubet, clamore sublato ante se quemque ducere fossam et iacere vallum.
28.3. The men did as they had been bidden. Their cheer resounded on all sides of the enemy, and passing over their camp, penetrated that of the consul; in the one it inspired panic, in the other great rejoicing.
28.3. imperio signum secutum est. miles exsequitur; clamor hostes circumsonat; superat inde castra hostium et in castra consulis venit;
28.4. The Romans, congratulating one another that it was their fellow-citizens who shouted, and that help was at hand, on their own part began to threaten the enemy with attacks from their pickets and outposts.
28.4. alibi pavorem, alibi gaudium ingens facit. Romani civilem esse clamorem atque auxilium adesse inter se gratulantes ultro ex stationibus ac vigiliis territant hostem. differendum negat;
28.5. The consul said that they ought to act without delay; the shout not only signified that their friends were come, but that they had begun to fight; and it would be surprising if they were not already assailing the enemy's camp from without. He accordingly bade his men stand to arms and follow him.
28.5. illo clamore non adventum modo significari, sed rem ab suis coeptam; mirumque esse ni iam exteriore parte castra hostium oppugnentur.
28.6. It was night when they entered the battle; with a cheer they gave the legions of the dictator to know that on their side as well the issue had been joined.
28.6. arma suos capere et se subsequi iubet. initum proelium est; legionibus dictatoris clamore significant ab ea quoque parte rem in discrimine esse.
28.7. The Aequi were already preparing to resist the work of circumvallation, when the attack was begun upon their inner line. Lest a sortie should be made through the midst of their camp, they turned their backs on those who were entrenching, and faced the attacking forces; and, leaving the others free to work all night, they fought till break of day with the soldiers of the consul.
28.7. se ad prohibenda circumdari opera Aequi parabant cum ab interiore hoste proelio coepto, ne per media sua castra fieret eruptio, a munientibus ad pugnantes introrsum versi vacuam noctem operi dedere; pugnatumque cum consule ad lucem est.
28.8. At early dawn they had already been shut in by the dictator's rampart, and were scarcely maintaining the battle against one army. Then the troops of Quinctius, who had at once, on completing the works, resumed their weapons, assailed the rampart of the Aequi. Here was a new battle on their hands, and the other not yet in the least abated.
28.8. prima iam circumvallati ab dictatore erant et vix adversus unum exercitum pugnam sustinebant. a Quinctiano exercitu, qui confestim a perfecto opere ad arma rediit, invaditur vallum. instabat nova pugna: illa nihil remiserat prior.
28.9. At this, hard-driven by a double danger, they turned from fighting to entreaties, and on the one hand implored the dictator, on the other the consul, not to make the victory a massacre, but to take their arms and let them go. The consul referred them to the dictator, who in his anger added ignominy to their surrender.
28.9. ancipiti malo urgente a proelio ad preces versi hinc dictatorem, hinc consulem orare, ne in occidione victoriam ponerent, ut inermes se inde abire sinerent Ab consule ad dictatorem ire iussi;
28.10. He commanded that Cloelius Gracchus, their commander, and the other captains, be brought to him in chains, and that the town of Corbio be evacuated. He said that he did not require the blood of the Aequi; they might go; but, that they might at last be forced to confess that their nation had been defeated and subdued, they should pass beneath the yoke as they departed.
28.10. is ignominiam infensus addidit; Gracchum Cloelium ducem principesque alios vinctos ad se adduci iubet, oppido Corbione decedi. se Aequorum non egere; licere abire; sed, ut exprimatur tandem confessio subactam domitamque esse gentem, sub iugum abituros.
28.11. A yoke was fashioned of three spears, two being fixed in the ground and the third laid across them and made fast. Under this yoke the dictator sent the Aequi.
28.11. hastis iugum fit humi fixis duabus superque eas transversa una deligata. hoc iugum dictator Aequos misit.
29.1. Having taken possession of the enemy's camp, which abounded in all sorts of supplies —for he had sent them out with nothing but their tunics —he gave all the booty to his own troops exclusively, rebuking the consular army and the consul himself in these terms: “You shall have no share, soldiers, in the spoils of that enemy to whom you almost fell a spoil; and you, Lucius Minucius, until you begin to have the spirit of a consul, shall command these legions as my lieutenant.”
29.1. hostium receptis plenis omnium rerum—nudos enim emiserat—praedam omnem suo tantum militi dedit; consularem exercitum ipsumque consulem increpans, inquit praedae parte, miles, ex eo hoste cui prope praedae fuisti; et tu, L. Minuci, donec consularem animum incipias habere, legatus his legionibus praeeris.
29.3. So Minucius abdicated the consulship, and remained, as he was ordered to do, with the army. But so tame and submissive was the temper of this army now towards a better commander, that, considering rather the benefit they had received at his hands than the humiliation, they voted the dictator a golden chaplet of a pound in weight, and when he departed, saluted him as their protector.
29.3. se Minucius abdicat consulatu iussusque ad exercitum manet. adeo tum imperio meliori animus mansuete oboediens erat ut beneficii magis quam ignominiae hic exercitus memor et coronam auream dictatori libram pondo decreverit et proficiscentem eum patronum salutaverit.
29.4. At Rome the senate, being convened by Quintus Fabius, the prefect of the City, commanded Quinctius to enter the gates in triumph, with the troops that accompanied him.
29.4. Romae a Q. Fabio praefecto urbis senatus habitus triumphantem Quinctium quo veniebat agmine urbem ingredi iussit. ante currum hostium duces, militaria signa praelata, secutus exercitus praeda onustus.
29.5. Before his chariot were led the generals of the enemy; the military standards were borne on ahead; after them came the soldiers, laden with booty. It is said that tables were spread before all the houses, and the troops, feasting as they marched, with songs of triumph and the customary jokes, followed the chariot like revellers.
29.5. instructae dicuntur fuisse ante omnium domus, epulantesque cum carmine triumphali et sollemnibus iocis comisantium modo currum secuti sunt.
29.6. On that day Lucius Mamilius the Tusculan was granted citizenship, with the approval of all. Cincinnatus would at once have resigned his office, had not the trial of Marcus Volscius, the false witness, caused him to delay.
29.6. die L. Mamilio Tusculano adprobantibus cunctis civitas data est. se dictator magistratu abdicasset, ni comitia M. Volsci, falsi testis, tenuissent. ne impedirent tribuni dictatoris obstitit metus.
29.7. The awe in which the tribunes held the dictator prevented them from interfering with the trial. Volscius was condemned and went into exile at Lanuvium. On the sixteenth day Quinctius surrendered the dictatorship which he had received for six months. During that period the consul Nautius fought a successful engagement at Eretum with the Sabines, who in addition to the devastation of their fields now suffered this new disaster. Fabius was sent to Mount Algidus to succeed Minucius.
29.7. Volscius damnatus Lanuvium in exsilium abiit. Quinctius sexto decimo die dictatura in sex menses accepta se abdicavit. eos dies consul Nautius ad Eretum cum Sabinis egregie pugnat; ad vastatos agros ea quoque clades accessit Sabinis. Minucio Fabius successor in Algidum missus.
29.8. At the close of the year there was some agitation for the law on the part of the tribunes; but since two armies were abroad, the senators insisted that no proposal should be laid before the people; the plebs were successful in electing the same tribunes for the fifth time.
29.8. anno agitatum de lege ab tribunis est; sed quia duo exercitus aberant, ne quid ferretur ad populum patres tenuere; plebes vicit ut quintum eosdem tribunos crearet. visos in Capitolio ferunt a canibus fugatos;
29.9. It is said that wolves were seen on the Capitol, pursued by dogs; because of which prodigy the Capitol was purified. Such were the events of this year.
29.9. ob id prodigium lustratum Capitolium esse. eo anno gesta.
30.1. The next consuls were Quintus Minucius and Marcus Horatius Pulvillus, At the beginning of the year, though foreign relations were peaceful, at home there were dissensions, inspired by the same tribunes and the same law;
30.1. consules Q. Minucius M. Horatius Pulvillus. initio anni cum foris otium esset, domi seditiones iidem tribuni, eadem lex faciebat;
30.2. and they would have proceeded to even greater lengths —so inflamed were men's passions —had it not been announced, as if designedly, that the garrison at Corbio had perished in a night-attack made by the Aequi.
30.2. ulteriusque ventum foret—adeo exarserant animis—ni velut dedita opera nocturno impetu Aequorum Corbione amissum praesidium nuntiatum esset.
30.3. The consuls convoked the senate, and were directed to make a summary levy and lead the army to Mount Algidus.
30.3. consules vocant; iubentur subitarium scribere exercitum atque in Algidum ducere. posito legis certamine nova de dilectu contentio orta;
30.4. From that moment the quarrel over the law was laid aside, and a fresh dispute arose, concerning the levy; in this consular authority was in a fair way to be defeated, by the help of the tribunes, when a new alarm was reported: that a Sabine army bent on pillage had descended upon the Roman fields, and was thence approaching the City.
30.4. vincebaturque consulare imperium tribunicio auxilio cum alius additur terror, Sabinum exercitum praedatum descendisse in agros Romanos, inde ad urbem venire.
30.5. This was such staggering news that the tribunes permitted the enrolment of troops; yet not without having obtained an agreement that since they had themselves been baffled for five years, and the existing tribunate was an insufficient protection to the plebs, ten tribunes should in future be elected.
30.5. metus perculit ut scribi militem tribuni sinerent, non sine pactione tamen ut quoniam ipsi quinquennium elusi essent parvumque id plebi praesidium foret, decem deinde tribuni plebis crearentur.
30.6. To this the patricians were compelled to agree, only stipulating that they should not thereafter see the same men tribunes.
30.6. hoc necessitas patribus; id modo excepere ne postea eosdem tribunos viderent. comitia, ne id quoque post bellum ut cetera vanum esset, extemplo habita.
30.7. The tribunician election was held immediately, lest when the war was over this promise too might be broken, as the others had been. In the thirty-sixth year from the first plebeian tribunes ten men were elected, two from each class, and it was enacted that they should be chosen thus thereafter.
30.7. sexto anno a primis tribuni plebis decem creati sunt, bini ex singulis classibus, itaque cautum est ut postea crearentur.
30.8. The levy was then held, and Minucius marched against the Sabines, but did not find the enemy. Horatius, after the Aequi, having put the garrison at Corbio to the sword, had also captured Ortona, fought a battle with them on Mount Algidus, killed many men, and drove off the enemy, not only from Algidus, but from Corbio and Ortona. Corbio he razed because of its betrayal of the garrison.
30.8. deinde habito Minucius contra Sabinos profectus non invenit hostem. Horatius, cum iam Aequi Corbione interfecto praesidio Ortonam etiam cepissent, in Algido pugnat; multos mortalis occidit; fugat hostem non ex Algido modo, sed a Corbione Ortonaque. Corbionem etiam diruit propter proditum praesidium.
31.1. Marcus Valerius and Spurius Verginius succeeded to the consulship. Affairs were quiet both at home and abroad; but there was a shortage in the corn-supply, due to excessive rains. A law was passed opening up the Aventine to settlement.
31.1. M. Valerius, Sp. Verginius consules facti. forisque otium fuit; annona propter aquarum intemperiem laboratum est. Aventino publicando lata lex est. plebis iidem refecti.
31.2. The same tribunes of the plebs were returned; and in the following year, when Titus Romilius and Gaius Veturius were consuls, they took occasion to urge the law in all their speeches: They were ashamed, they said, of the futile increase in their numbers, if this measure was to lie disregarded during their own two years of office, precisely as it had done throughout the five preceding years.
31.2. sequente anno T. Romilio C. Veturio consulibus legem omnibus contionibus suis celebrabant: pudere se numeri sui nequiquam aucti, si ea res aeque suo biennio iaceret ac toto superiore lustro iacuisset.
31.3. Just when this agitation was at its height, there came a disquieting report from Tusculum that the Aequi were in Tusculan territory. Men were ashamed, in view of the recent service of that nation, to delay in sending aid. Both 103 consuls were dispatched with an army; and finding the enemy on their usual ground, Mount Algidus, they there engaged them.
31.3. maxime haec agerent, trepidi nuntii ab Tusculo veniunt Aequos in agro Tusculano esse. pudorem recens eius populi meritum morandi auxilii. consules cum exercitu missi hostem in sua sede, in Algido, inveniunt.
31.4. Above seven thousand of the enemy were slain; the rest were put to flight; and immense spoils were taken. These the consuls sold, owing to the impoverished condition of the treasury. Nevertheless, their action made them unpopular with the army, and it also furnished the tribunes with an occasion for impeaching the consuls before the plebs.
31.4. pugnatum pugnatun. septem milia hostium caesa, alii fugati; praeda parta ingens. propter inopiam aerarii consules vendiderunt. tamen res ad exercitum fuit eademque tribunis materiam criminandi ad plebem consules praebuit.
31.5. Accordingly when they laid down their office and Spurius Tarpeius and Aulus Aternius became consuls, they were brought to trial; Romilius by Gaius Calvius Cicero, a plebeian tribune, Veturius by Lucius Alienus, an aedile of the plebs.
31.5. ergo, ut magistratu abiere Sp. Tarpeio A. Aternio consulibus, dies dicta est, Romilio ab C. Calvio Cicerone tribuno plebis, Veturio ab L. Alieno aedile plebis.
31.6. Both were condemned, greatly to the indignation of the patricians; Romilius was fined 10,000 asses, Veturius 15,000. And yet this disaster to their predecessors did not diminish the energy of the new consuls; they said that it was possible that they should themselves be condemned, but that it was not possible that the plebs and the tribunes should carry their law.
31.6. magna patrum indignatione damnatus, Romilius decem milibus aeris, Veturius quindecim. haec priorum calamitas consulum segniores novos fecerat consules; et se damnari posse aiebant, et plebem et tribunos legem ferre non posse.
31.7. Then the tribunes, discarding the law, which, in the time it had been before the people, had lost its vitality, began to treat more moderately with the patricians: Let them at last put an end, they said, to these disputes; if the plebeian measure were not agreeable to them, let them permit framers of laws to be appointed jointly from both the plebs and the nobility, that they might propose measures which should be advantageous to both sides, and secure equal liberty.
31.7. abiecta lege, quae promulgata consenuerat, tribuni lenius agere cum patribus: finem tandem certaminum facerent; si plebeiae leges displicerent, at illi communiter legum latores et ex plebe et ex patribus, qui utrisque utilia ferrent quaeque aequandae libertatis essent sinerent creari.
31.8. The patricians did not reject the principle; but they declared that no one should propose laws unless he were a patrician. Since they were agreed in regard to the laws, and only differed about the mover, they sent Spurius Postumius Albus, Aulus Manlius, and Publius Sulpicius Camerinus on a mission to Athens, with orders to copy the famous laws of Solon, and acquaint themselves with the institutions, customs, and laws of the other Greek states.
31.8. non aspernabantur patres: laturum leges neminem nisi ex patribus aiebant. de legibus conveniret, de latore tantum discreparet, missi legati Athenas Sp. Postumius Albus A. Manlius P. Sulpicius Camerinus iussique inclitas leges Solonis describere et aliarum Graeciae civitatium instituta mores iuraque noscere.
32.1. No foreign wars disturbed the quiet of that year; but even more quiet was the year that followed, when Publius Curiatius and Sextus Quinctilius were consuls, for the tribunes preserved an unbroken silence.
32.1. Ab externis bellis quietus annus fuit, quietior insequens P. Curiatio et Sex. consulibus perpetuo silentio tribunorum, quod primo legatorum qui Athenas ierant legumque peregrinarum exspectatio praebuit, dein duo simul mala ingentia exorta, fames pestilentiaque, foeda homini, foeda pecori.
32.2. This was due in the first place to their waiting for the commissioners who had gone to Athens, and for the foreign laws; in the second place two terrible misfortunes had come at the same time, famine and pestilence, baneful alike to men and beasts. The fields were left untenanted; the City was emptied by incessant funerals; many distinguished families were in mourning. The flamen of Quirinus, Servius Cornelius, died, and the augur Gaius Horatius Pulvillus, in whose place the augurs elected Gaius Veturius, the more eagerly because of his condemnation by the plebs.
32.2. agri sunt, urbs adsiduis exhausta funeribus; multae et clarae lugubres domus. Quirinalis Ser. Cornelius mortuus, augur C. Horatius Pulvillus; in cuius locum C. Veturium eo cupidius quia damnatus a plebe erat, augures legere. consul Quinctilius, quattuor tribuni plebi.
32.4. Death took the consul Quinctilius, and four tribunes of the plebs.
32.4. clade foedatus annus; ab hoste otium fuit.
32.5. The numerous losses made it a gloomy year; but Rome's enemies did not molest her. The next consuls were Gaius Menenius and Publius Sestius Capitolinus. In this year likewise there was no foreign war, but disturbances arose at home.
32.5. consules C. Menenius P. Sestius Capitolinus. eo anno quicquam belli externi fuit: domi motus orti.
32.6. The commissioners had now returned with the laws of Athens. The tribunes were therefore the more insistent that a beginning should be made at last towards codification. It was resolved to appoint decemvirs, subject to no appeal, and to have no other magistrates for that year.
32.6. redierant legati cum Atticis legibus. intentius instabant tribuni ut tandem scribendarum legum initium fieret. creari decemviros sine provocatione, et ne quis eo anno alius magistratus esset.
32.7. Whether plebeians should be permitted a share in the work was for some time disputed; in the end they yielded to the patricians, only bargaining that the Icilian law about the Aventine and the other sacred laws should not be abrogated.
32.7. plebeii, controversia aliquamdiu fuit; postremo concessum patribus, modo ne lex Icilia de Aventino aliaeque sacratae leges abrogarentur.
33.1. In the three hundred and second year from the founding of Rome the form of the polity was changed again, with the transfer of supreme authority from consuls to decemvirs, even as before it had passed from kings to consuls.
33.1. trecentensimo altero quam condita Roma erat iterum mutatur forma civitatis, ab consulibus ad decemviros, quem ad modum ab regibus ante ad consules venerat, translato translate imperio. insignis, quia non diuturna, mutatio fuit.
33.2. It was not so remarkable a change, because it did not last long. For the luxuriant beginnings of this magistracy took on too rank a growth; and in consequence it soon died down, and the custom was resumed of entrusting to two men the name and authority of consuls.
33.2. enim principia magistratus eius nimis luxuriavere; eo citius lapsa res est repetitumque duobus uti mandaretur consulum nomen imperiumque.
33.3. The decemvirs chosen were Appius Claudius, Titus Genucius, Publius Sestius, Lucius Veturius, Gaius Julius, Aulus Manlius, Publius Sulpicius, Publius Curiatius, Titus Romilius, and Spurius Postumius.
33.3. creati Ap. Claudius T. Genucius P. Sestius L. Veturius C. Iulius A. Manlius P. Sulpicius P. Curiatius T. Romilius Sp. Postumius.
33.4. To Claudius and Genucius, the consuls-elect for that year, the new office was given in compensation for the other; and to Sestius, one of the consuls of the year before, because he had brought the measure before the senate against his colleague's will.
33.4. Claudio et Genucio, quia designati consules in eum annum fuerant, pro honore honos redditus, et Sestio, alteri consulum prioris anni, quod eam rem collega invito ad patres rettulerat.
33.5. Next to these were honoured the three envoys who had gone to Athens, not only that the office might serve to reward them for so distant a mission, but also in the belief that their knowledge of foreign laws would be useful in compiling a new code. The other four filled up the number.
33.5. proximi habiti legati tres qui Athenas ierant, simul ut pro legatione tam longinqua praemio esset honos, simul peritos legum peregrinarum ad condenda nova iura usui fore credebant.
33.6. It is said that old men were chosen for the last places, that they might make a less vigorous opposition to the measures proposed by the rest.
33.6. ceteri numerum. quoque aetate electos novissimis suffragiis ferunt, quo minus ferociter aliorum scitis adversarentur.
33.7. The guiding hand in the whole magistracy was that of Appius, thanks to the favour of the plebs; and so novel a character had he assumed, that from being a harsh and cruel persecutor of the plebs, he came out all at once as the people's friend, and caught at every breath of popularity.
33.7. totius magistratus penes Appium erat favore plebis; adeoque novum sibi ingenium induerat ut plebicola repente omnisque aurae popularis captator evaderet pro truci saevoque insectatore plebis.
33.8. Sitting each one day in ten they administered justice to the people. On that day he who presided in court had twelve fasces; his nine colleagues were each attended by a single orderly. And while they maintained an unparalleled harmony amongst themselves —a unanimity sometimes prejudicial to the governed, —they treated others with the utmost fairness.
33.8. die ius populo singuli reddebant. die penes praefectum iuris fasces duodecim erant: collegis novem singuli accensi apparebant. in unica concordia inter ipsos, qui consensus privatis interdum inutilis est, summa adversus alios aequitas erat.
33.9. As proof of their moderation, it will suffice to note a single example. Though they had been chosen to a magistracy from which there was no appeal, yet when a corpse was found buried in the house of Publius Sestius, a patrician, and produced before the assembly, and the man's guilt was as clear as it was heinous, Gaius Julius the decemvir summoned Sestius to trial, and appeared before the people to prosecute a man of whose guilt he was the lawful judge, surrendering his own prerogative that he might add to the liberty of the people what he subtracted from the power of the magistracy.
33.9. eorum argumentum exemplo unius rei notasse satis erit. sine provocatione creati essent, defosso cadavere domi apud P. Sestium, patriciae gentis virum, invento prolatoque in contionem, in re iuxta manifesta atque atroci C. Iulius decemvir diem Sestio dixit et accusator ad populum exstitit, cuius rei iudex legitimus erat, decessitque iure suo, ut demptum de vi magistratus populi libertati adiceret.
34.1. While this prompt justice, as pure as though derived from an oracle, was being meted out impartially by the decemvirs to the highest and the lowest, they were also busily engaged in framing laws. Men's expectations were running high, when they set up ten tables, and summoning the people to assemble, commanded them —with a prayer that the result might be prosperous, favourable, and fortunate, for the commonwealth, for themselves, and for their children —to go and read the proposed statutes.
34.1. promptum hoc ius velut ex oraculo incorruptum pariter ab iis summi infimique ferrent, tum legibus condendis opera dabatur; ingentique hominum exspectatione propositis decem tabulis populum ad contionem advocaverunt, et quod bonum, faustum felixque rei publicae ipsis liberisque eorum esset, ire et legere leges propositas iussere.
34.3. They themselves, they said, so far as the capacities of ten men could forecast the event, had equalized the rights of all, both high and low; but there was greater efficacy in the capacities and counsels of many.
34.3. , quantum decem hominum ingeniis provideri potuerit, omnibus, summis infimisque, iura aequasse; plus pollere multorum ingenia consiliaque.
34.4. Let them consider each single point in their own minds, then discuss it with their fellows, and lastly state in public what excess or shortcoming there was in the several articles;
34.4. in animis secum unamquamque rem, agitarent deinde sermonibus, atque in medium quid in quaque re plus minusve esset conferrent.
34.5. the Roman People should have only such laws as their unanimity might fairly be considered not only to have passed, but to have proposed.
34.5. leges habiturum populum Romanum quas consensus omnium non iussisse latas magis quam tulisse videri posset.
34.6. When it appeared that the laws had been sufficiently amended, in the light of the opinions that men expressed concerning each separate section, the centuriate comitia met and adopted the Laws of the Ten Tables; which even now, in this great welter of statutes piled one upon another, are the fountain-head of all public and private law.
34.6. ad rumores hominum de unoquoque legum capite editos satis correctae viderentur, centuriatis comitiis decem tabularum leges perlatae sunt, qui nunc quoque, in hoc immenso aliarum super alias acervatarum legum cumulo, fons omnis publici privatique est iuris.
34.7. Afterwards the opinion was general that there lacked two tables, by the addition of which a corpus, so to speak, of all the Roman law could be rounded out. The hope of filling this lack made people desirous, when election day drew near, of choosing decemvirs again.
34.7. deinde rumor duas deesse tabulas quibus adiectis absolvi posse velut corpus omnis Romani iuris. exspectatio, cum dies comitiorum adpropinquaret, desiderium decemviros iterum creandi fecit.
34.8. The plebs, besides the fact that they hated the name of consul quite as much as that of king, had already ceased to require even the help of the tribunes, since the decemvirs yielded to one another when an appeal was taken.
34.8. plebs, praeterquam quod consulum nomen haud secus quam regum perosa erat, ne tribunicium quidem auxilium cedentibus in vicem appellatione decemviris quaerebat.
35.1. But when the comitia for the election of decemvirs had been announced to take place in fourand-twenty days, there was a great outburst of canvassing; even the chief men in the state —from fear, I doubt not, that if they left the field this great power might fall into unworthy hands —solicited men's votes and humbly begged for an office which they had themselves opposed with all their influence, from those plebeians with whom they had contended.
35.1. vero comitia decemviris creandis in trinum nundinum indicta sunt, tanta exarsit ambitio ut primores quoque civitatis—metu, credo, ne tanti possessio imperii vacuo ab se relicto loco haud satis dignis pateret—prensarent homines, honorem summa ope a se impugnatum ab ea plebe cum qua contenderant suppliciter petentes.
35.3. The risk of losing his position, at his time of life, and after holding the offices he had held, acted as a spur to Appius Claudius.
35.3. iam in discrimen dignitas ea aetate iisque honoribus actis stimulabat Ap. Claudium. utrum inter decemviros an inter candidatos numerares.
35.4. One would not have known whether to reckon him among the decemvirs or the candidates. He was at times more like one who sought a magistracy than like one who exercised it. He vilified the nobles; praised all the most insignificant and low-born candidates; and surrounding himself with former tribunes, like Duillius and Icilius, bustled about the Forum, and through them recommended himself to the plebs; till even his colleagues, who had been singularly devoted to him until then, looked askance at him and wondered what this could mean.
35.4. interdum petendo quam gerendo magistratui erat. optimates, extollere candidatorum levissimum quemque humillimumque, ipse medius inter tribunicios, Iciliosque, in foro volitare, per illos se plebi venditare, donec done collegae quoque, qui unice illi dediti fuerant ad id tempus, coniecere in eum oculos, mirantes quid sibi vellet:
35.6. It was evident there could be nothing genuine about it; so proud a man would certainly not be affable for nothing; excessive self-abasement and mingling with private citizens were not so much the marks of one who was in haste to retire from office as of one who sought the means of re-election.
35.6. apparere nihil sinceri esse; profecto haud gratuitam in tanta superbia comitatem fore: nimium in ordinem se ipsum cogere et volgari cum privatis non tam properantis abire magistratu quam viam ad continuandum magistratum quaerentis esse.
35.7. Open opposition to his desires being more than they dared venture, they endeavoured by a show of complaisance to lessen its intensity; and unanimously appointed him, as their youngest colleague, to preside at the election.
35.7. obviam ire cupiditati parum ausi obsecundando mollire impetum adgrediuntur. illi habendorum, quando minimus natu sit, munus consensu iniungunt.
35.8. This was a trick, that he might be unable to declare himself elected, a thing which none but tribunes of the plebs (and even there the precedent was most vicious) had ever done. But Appius, strange as it may seem, having promised, with a prayer for Heaven's blessing, to convene the comitia, turned the obstacle into an opportunity.
35.8. haec erat, ne semet ipse creare posset, quod praeter tribunos plebi—et id ipsum pessimo exemplo—nemo unquam fecisset. enimvero, quod bene vertat, habiturum se comitia professus, impedimentum pro occasione arripuit, deiectisque honore per coitionem duobus Quinctiis, Capitolino et Cincinnato, et patruo suo C.
35.9. He effected by collusion the defeat of the two Quinctii, Capitolinus and Cincinnatus, of his uncle Gaius Claudius, a steadfast champion of the aristocratic cause, and of other citizens of the same exalted rank; and declared the election of decemvirs who were no match for these men in excellence. His own name he announced among the first, a thing which good citizens condemned with as perfect unanimity, now it was done, as they had before believed he would not dare to do it.
35.9. Claudio, constantissimo viro in optimatium causa, et aliis eiusdem fastigii civibus, nequaquam splendore vitae pares decemviros creat, se in primis, quod haud secus factum improbabant boni quam nemo facere ausurum crediderat.
35.11. With him were elected Marcus Cornelius Maluginensis, Marcus Sergius, Lucius Minucius, Quintus Fabius Vibulanus, Quintus Poetelius, Titus Antonius Merenda, Caeso Duillius, Spurius Oppius Cornicen, Manius Rabuleius.
35.11. cum eo M. Cornelius Maluginensis M. Sergius L. Minucius Q. Fabius Vibulanus Q. Poetelius T. Antonius Merenda K. Duillius Sp. Oppius Cornicen M'. Rabuleius.
36.1. Appius now threw off the mask he had been wearing, and began from that moment to live as his true nature prompted him. His new colleagues too he commenced, even before they entered upon office, to fashion after his own character.
36.1. finis Appio alienae personae ferendae fuit. iam inde vivere ingenio coepit novosque collegas, iam priusquam inirent magistratum, in suos mores formare.
36.2. Every day they met together without witnesses. The tyrannical designs which they there adopted they matured in secret. They now no longer sought to conceal their pride; they were difficult of access, and surly towards those who sought to speak with them.
36.2. coibant remotis arbitris; inde impotentibus instructi consiliis, quae secreto ab aliis coquebant, iam haud dissimulando superbiam, rari aditus, conloquentibus difficiles, ad idus Maias rem perduxere.
36.3. Thus they carried matters until the Ides of May, at that time the traditional date for beginning a term of office. So then, when they had taken up their duties, they signalized the first day of their administration by a terrible threat. For whereas the former decemvirs had kept to the rule that only one should have the fasces, and that this regal emblem should pass from one to another in rotation, so that each should have his turn, they suddenly appeared in public, every man with his twelve fasces.
36.3. tum Maiae sollemnes ineundis magistratibus erant. igitur magistratu primum honoris diem denuntiatione ingentis terroris insignem fecere. cum ita priores decemviri servassent ut unus fasces haberet et hoc insigne regium in orbem, suam cuiusque vicem, per omnes iret, subito omnes cum duodenis fascibus prodiere.
36.4. A hundred and twenty lictors crowded the Forum, and before them, bound up in the rods, they carried axes. And indeed the decemvirs explained that there had been no reason for removing the axe, since the office to which they had been chosen was without appeal.
36.4. viginti lictores forum impleverant et cum fascibus secures inligatas praeferebant; nec attinuisse demi securem, cum sine provocatione creati essent, interpretabantur.
36.5. They seemed like ten kings; and the terror they inspired, not only in the humblest citizens but in the leaders of the senate, was intensified by the belief that the decemvirs were merely seeking a pretext and an opening for bloodshed, so that if anybody should pronounce a word in praise of liberty, either in the senate or before the people, the rods and axes might instantly be made ready, were it only to frighten the rest.
36.5. regum species erat multiplicatusque terror non infimis solum sed primoribus patrum, ratis caedis causam ac principium quaeri, ut si quis memorem libertatis vocem aut in senatu aut in populo misisset statim virgae securesque etiam ad ceterorum metum expedirentur.
36.6. For besides that there was no help in the people, the right of appeal having been taken away, they had further agreed not to interfere with each other's decisions; whereas their predecessors had allowed their judgments to be revised upon appeal to one of their colleagues; and certain cases which might have been held to be within their own competence they had referred to the people.
36.6. praeterquam quod in populo nihil erat praesidii sublata provocatione, intercessionem quoque consensu sustulerant, cum priores decemviri appellatione collegae corrigi reddita ab se iura tulissent et quaedam, quae sui iudicii videri possent, ad populum reiecissent. aequatus inter omnes terror fuit;
36.7. For a brief period the terror was shared equally by all; but little by little its full force began to fall upon the plebs. The patricians were left unmolested; humbler folk were dealt with arbitrarily and cruelly.
36.7. paulatim totus vertere in plebem coepit. a patribus; in humiliores libidinose crudeliterque consulebatur., non causarum toti erant, ut apud quos gratia vim aequi haberet.
36.8. It was all a question of persons, not of causes, with the decemvirs, since influence held with them the place of right. They concocted their judgments in private, and pronounced them in the Forum. If anybody sought redress from another decemvir, he came away regretting that he had not accepted the decision of the first.
36.8. domi conflabant, pronuntiabant in foro. quis collegam appellasset, ab eo ad quem venerat ita discedebat ut paeniteret non prioris decreto stetisse.
36.9. Moreover a report had got out, though it was not vouched for, that they had not only conspired for present wrongdoing but had ratified with an oath a secret agreement amongst themselves not to call an election, but by means of a perpetual decemvirate to hold the power they had once for all acquired.
36.9. etiam sine auctore exierat non in praesentis modo temporis eos iniuriam conspirasse, sed foedus clandestinum inter ipsos iure iurando ictum, ne comitia haberent perpetuoque decemviratu possessum semel obtinerent imperium.
37.1. The plebeians then fell to searching the countenances of the patricians, and would catch at the breath of freedom in that quarter where they had so feared enslavement as to have reduced the state to its present plight.
37.1. tum patriciorum voltus plebeii et inde libertatis captare auram unde servitutem timendo in eum statum rem publicam adduxerant.
37.2. The leading senators hated the decemvirs and hated the plebs. They could not approve of the things that were being done; still they believed them to be not undeserved. They had no desire to help those who in their greedy rush for liberty had fallen upon servitude, preferring that their wrongs should even be multiplied, that disgust at their actual situation might in the end arouse a longing for the two consuls and the former status of affairs.
37.2. patrum odisse decemviros, odisse plebem; nec probare quae fierent, et credere haud indignis accidere; avide ruendo ad libertatem in servitutem elapsos iuvare nolle, cumulari quoque iniurias, ut taedio praesentium consules duo tandem et status pristinus rerum in desiderium veniant.
37.4. And now the greater part of the year had passed, and the two tables of laws had been added to the ten of the year before; nor was there any further business to make the decemvirate necessary to the republic, so soon as those statutes too should have been enacted in the centuriate assembly.
37.4. iam lam et processerat pars maior anni et duae tabulae legum ad prioris anni decem tabulas erant adiectae, nec nee quicquam iam supererat, si eae quoque leges centuriatis comitiis perlatae essent, cur eo magistratu rei publicae opus esset.
37.5. People were anxiously looking forward to the time when the comitia for the election of consuls should be announced. The plebeians felt only one concern: how were they ever going to restore the tribunician power (their bulwark of liberty) which had been suspended?
37.5. quam mox consulibus creandis comitia edicerentur. modo plebes agitabat, quonam modo tribuniciam potestatem, munimentum libertati, rem intermissam, repararent; cum interim mentio comitiorum nulla fieri.
37.6. Meanwhile there was no mention of an election. And the decemvirs, who had at first exhibited themselves to the plebs in the society of former tribunes, because this had been thought a recommendation to the people, had now assumed a retinue of young patricians.
37.6. decemviri, qui primo tribunicios homines, quia id populate habebatur, circum se ostentaverant plebi, patriciis iuvenibus saepserant latera. catervae tribunalia obsederant.
37.7. Their bands blocked the tribunals. They bullied the plebs and plundered their possessions; for success attended the strong, no matter what they coveted.
37.7. ferre agere plebem plebisque res, cum fortuna, quidquid cupitum foret, potentioris esset.
37.8. And now they ceased even to respect a man's person; some they scourged with rods, others they made to feel the axe; and, that cruelty might not go unrequited, they bestowed the victim's property upon his slayer. Corrupted by these wages, the young nobles not only made no stand against wrong-doing, but frankly showed that they preferred licence for themselves to liberty for all.
37.8. iam ne tergo quidem abstinebatur; virgis caedi, alii securi subici; et ne gratuita crudelitas esset, bonorum donatio sequi domini supplicium. mercede iuventus nobilis corrupta non modo non ire obviam iniuriae, sed propalam licentiam suam malle quam omnium libertatem.
38.1. The Ides of May came. Without causing any magistrates to be elected, the decemvirs, now private citizens, appeared in public with no abatement either of the spirit with which they exercised their power or the insignia which proclaimed their office.
38.1. Maiae venere. subrogatis magistratibus privati pro decemviris neque animis ad imperium inhibendum imminutis neque ad speciem honoris insignibus prodeunt. vero regnum haud dubie videri.
38.2. But this was unmistakable tyranny. Men mourned for liberty as for ever lost; nor did any one arise, or seem likely to do so, in its defence. And not only had the people themselves lost heart; but they had begun to be despised by the neighbouring nations, who could ill brook the existence of imperial power where there was no liberty.
38.2. in perpetuum libertas, nec vindex quisquam exsistit aut futurus videtur. ipsi solum desponderant animos, sed contemni coepti erant a finitimis populis, imperiumque ibi esse ubi non esset libertas indignabantur.
38.3. The Sabines made an incursion with a large force into Roman territory, which they everywhere laid waste. Having safely driven off their booty, comprising men and beasts, they withdrew their army, which had ranged far and wide, to Eretum. There they established a camp, hoping that the want of harmony at Rome would interfere with the levying of troops. Not only the messengers who came, but the flight of the country-people, who thronged the City, inspired a feeling of dismay.
38.3. Sabini magna manu incursionem in agrum Romanum fecere; lateque populati, cum hominum atque pecudum inulti praedas egissent, recepto ad Eretum quod passim vagatum erat agmine castra locant, spem in discordia Romana ponentes: eam impedimentum dilectui fore.