§6.1ἐπεὶ δὲ τὸν θόρυβον κατέπαυσαν οἱ ὕπατοι καὶ τοῦ Οὐαλλερίου κελεύσαντος ἐκ τῆς οἰκίας ὁ Οὐινδίκιος προήχθη, καί γενομένης κατηγορίας ἀνεγνώσθη τὰ γράμματα καί πρὸς οὐδὲν ἐτόλμησαν ἀντειπεῖν οἱ ἄνδρες, ἦν μὲν κατήφεια καί σιωπὴ τῶν ἄλλων, ὀλίγοι δὲ βουλόμενοι τῷ Βρούτῳ χαρίζεσθαι φυγῆς ἐμέμνηντο.
When the consuls had quieted the tumult, and Vindicius, at the command of Valerius, was brought out of the house, and the accusation was made and the letters read, and the men dared not say anything in reply, there was dejection and silence among the others, but a few, wishing to curry favor with Brutus, suggested banishment.
καί τι καί Κολλατῖνος αὐτοῖς ἐλπίδος ἐπιεικοῦς ἐνεδίδου δεδακρυμένος καί Οὐαλλέριος σιωπῶν, ὁ δὲ Βροῦτος ὀνομαστὶ τῶν υἱῶν ἑκάτερον προσειπών,
ἄγε, ὦ Τίτε,
εἶπεν,
ἄγε, ὦ Τιβέριε, τί οὐκ ἀπολογεῖσθε πρὸς τὴν κατηγορίαν; §6.2ὡς δʼ οὐδὲν ἀπεκρίναντο τρὶς ἐρωτηθέντες, οὕτως πρὸς τοὺς ὑπηρέτας ἀποστ ρέψας τὸ πρόσωπον,
ὑμέτερον ἤδη,
εἶπε,
τὸ λοιπὸν ἔργον. οἱ δὲ εὐθὺς συλλαβόντες τοὺς νεανίσκους περιερρήγνυον τὰ ἱμάτια, τὰς χεῖρας ἀπῆγον ὀπίσω, ῥάβδοις ἔξαινον τὰ σώματα, §6.3τῶν μὲν ἄλλων οὐ δυναμένων προσορᾶν οὐδὲ καρτερούντων, ἐκεῖνον δὲ λέγεται μήτε τὰς ὄψεις ἀπαγαγεῖν ἀλλαχόσε μήτε οἴκτῳ τι τρέψαι τῆς περὶ τὸ πρόσωπον ὀργῆς καί βαρύτητος, ἀλλὰ δεινὸν ἐνορᾶν κολαζομένοις τοῖς παισίν ἄχρι οὗ κατατείναντες αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ τοὔδαφος πελέκει τὰς κεφαλὰς ἀπέκοψαν, οὕτω δὲ τοὺς ἄλλους ἐπὶ τῷ συνάρχοντι ποιησάμενος ᾤχετʼ ἐξαναστάς, ἔργον εἰργασμένος οὔτʼ ἐπαινεῖν βουλομένοις ἀξίως οὔτε ψέγειν ἐφικτόν.
And Collatinus, in tears, gave them some reasonable hope, and Valerius kept silent, but Brutus, addressing each of his sons by name, said, "Come, Titus," he said, "come, Tiberius, why do you not defend yourselves against the accusation?" And when they made no answer, though asked three times, he turned his face toward the lictors and said, "The rest is now your work." And they, immediately seizing the young men, tore off their clothes, bound their hands behind their backs, and scourged their bodies with rods, while the others could not bear to look on, but he, it is said, neither turned his eyes away nor allowed any pity to soften the anger and severity of his countenance, but looked fiercely upon his children as they were being punished, until they stretched them upon the ground and cut off their heads with an axe. Having thus left the others to his colleague, he rose and departed, having performed a deed which is neither possible for those who wish to praise it worthily to reach, nor for those who wish to blame it.
§6.4ἢ γὰρ ἀρετῆς ὕψος εἰς ἀπάθειαν ἐξέστησε τὴν ψυχήν, ἢ πάθους μέγεθος εἰς ἀναλγησίαν.
For either the height of his virtue drove his soul out into passionlessness, or the magnitude of his sorrow into insensibility.
οὐδέτερον δὲ μικρὸν οὐδʼ ἀνθρώπινον, ἀλλʼ ἢ θεῖον ἢ θηριῶδες.
Neither of these is small or human, but either divine or brutish.
δίκαιον δὲ τῇ δόξῃ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς τὴν κρίσιν ἕπεσθαι μᾶλλον ἢ τὴν ἀρετὴν ἀσθενείᾳ τοῦ κρίνοντος ἀπιστεῖσθαι.
But it is just that our judgment should follow the reputation of the man, rather than that his virtue should be disbelieved through the weakness of the judge.
Ῥωμαῖοι γὰρ οὐ τοσοῦτον ἔργον οἴονται Ῥωμύλου γενέσθαι τῆς πόλεως τὴν ἵδρυσιν, ὅσον Βρούτου τὴν κτίσιν τῆς πολιτείας καί κατάστασιν.
For the Romans do not think the founding of the city by Romulus was so great an achievement as the establishment and constitution of the commonwealth by Brutus.