§10.36.1ταῦθʼ ὑποσχόμενοι καὶ ὀμόσαντες ἀπέδειξαν ἡμέρας, ἐν αἷς ἀγορὰν ποιήσονται τοῦ δήμου καὶ τὰς ψήφους ἀναδώσουσι περὶ τῶν νόμων·
Having promised and sworn to these things, they appointed the days on which they would hold the assembly of the people and cast their votes concerning the laws.
ἐπιστάντος δὲ τοῦ χρόνου πρῶτον εἰσέφερον τὸν χωρονομικὸν νόμον καὶ πολλοὺς διελθόντες λόγους ἐκάλουν, εἴ τις τῷ νόμῳ συναγορεύειν βούλεται τῶν δημοτικῶν.
When the time arrived, they first introduced the agrarian law and, after delivering many speeches, they called upon any of the plebeians who wished to speak in favor of the law.
§10.36.2πολλῶν δὲ παριόντων καὶ τὰς ἑαυτῶν πράξεις, ἃς ἐν τοῖς πολέμοις ἀπεδείξαντο, προφερομένων καὶ ἀγανακτούντων, ὅτι πολλὴν ἀφελόμενοι γῆν τοὺς πολεμίους αὐτοὶ μὲν οὐδεμίαν εἰλήφασι μοῖραν, τοὺς δὲ χρήμασι καὶ φίλοις δυνατοὺς ἐσφετερισμένους ὁρῶσι τὰ κοινὰ καὶ καρπουμένους ἐκ τοῦ βιαιοτάτου, ἀξιούντων τε μὴ μόνον τοὺς κινδύνους εἶναι τῷ δήμῳ τοὺς ὑπὲρ τῶν κοινῶν ἀγαθῶν κοινούς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς ἀπʼ αὐτῶν ἡδονάς τε καὶ ὠφελείας, καὶ τοῦ πλήθους ἀσμένως ἀκούοντος τοὺς λόγους, ὁ μάλιστα ἐπιρρώσας τὸν δῆμον καὶ μηδὲ φωνὴν ὑπομένειν τῶν ἀντιλεγόντων διαπραξάμενος ἦν Λεύκιος Σίκκιος, Δεντάτος ἐπικαλούμενος, πολλὰς πάνυ καὶ μεγάλας ἑαυτοῦ πράξεις διεξελθών.
And when many came forward and brought up the deeds they had performed in the wars, and expressed their indignation that, although they had taken much land from the enemy, they themselves had received no portion of it, while they saw those who were powerful in wealth and friends appropriating the public lands and enjoying the fruits by the most violent means, and demanded that not only the dangers on behalf of the common goods should be shared by the people, but also the pleasures and advantages arising from them, and while the multitude listened to these speeches with pleasure, the one who especially encouraged the people and made sure that they would not even tolerate a voice from those who opposed them was Lucius Siccius, called Dentatus, who recounted very many and great deeds of his own.
§10.36.3ἦν δʼ ὀφθῆναί τε θαυμαστὸς ὁ ἀνὴρ καὶ ἡλικίας ἐν τῷ κρατίστῳ δυεῖν δέοντα ἑξήκοντα γεγονὼς ἔτη καὶ φρονῆσαι τὰ δέοντα ἱκανὸς εἰπεῖν τε ὡς στρατιώτης οὐκ ἀδύνατος.
The man was wonderful to look at, and in the prime of his age, being fifty-eight years old, and capable of understanding what was necessary, and not unable to speak like a soldier.
ἔφη δʼ οὖν παρελθών· ἐγώ, ὦ δημόται, καθʼ ἕκαστον ἔργον τῶν ἐμοὶ πεπραγμένων εἰ βουλοίμην λέγειν, ἐπιλίποι ἄν με ὁ τῆς ἡμέρας χρόνος.
Coming forward, he said: "Citizens, if I wished to speak of each deed performed by me, the time of day would fail me.
αὐτὰ δὲ τὰ κεφάλαια διʼ ἐλαχίστων ὡς ἐμὴ §10.36.4δύναμις ἐρῶ.
But the main points themselves I will tell as briefly as my ability allows.
τετταρακοστὸν μὲν ἔτος ἐστί μοι τοῦτο, ἐξ οὗ στρατεύομαι περὶ τῆς πατρίδος, τριακοστὸν δʼ ἐξ οὗ στρατιωτικῆς ἀεί τινος ἡγεμονίας τυγχάνων, τοτὲ μὲν σπείρας ἡγούμενος, τοτὲ δʼ ὅλου τάγματος, ἀρξάμενος ἀπὸ τῶν ὑπάτων Γαίου Ἀκυλλίου καὶ Τίτου Σικκίου, οἷς ἐψηφίσατο ἡ βουλὴ τὸν κατὰ Οὐολούσκων πόλεμον.
This is my fortieth year of serving in the army for my country, and the thirtieth since I have always held some military command, sometimes leading a cohort, sometimes an entire legion, beginning with the consuls Gaius Aquillius and Titus Siccius, for whom the senate voted the war against the Volscians.
ἤμην γὰρ τότε ἑπτακαιεικοσέτης, ἐταττόμην δʼ ἔτι ὑπὸ λοχαγῷ.
For I was then twenty-seven years old, and was still stationed under a centurion.
§10.36.5γενομένης δὲ μάχης καρτερᾶς καὶ τροπῆς, καὶ τοῦ μὲν ἡγεμόνος τῆς σπείρας πεπτωκότος, τῶν δὲ σημείων κρατουμένων ὑπὸ τῶν ἐχθρῶν, μόνος ἐγὼ τὸν ὑπὲρ ἁπάντων κίνδυνον ἀράμενος τά τε σημεῖα διέσωσα τῇ σπείρᾳ καὶ τοὺς πολεμίους ἀνέστειλα καὶ τοῦ μὴ περιπεσεῖν αἰσχύνῃ τοὺς λοχαγοὺς αἰωνίῳ, διʼ ἣν θανάτου κακίων ὁ λοιπὸς ἂν αὐτοῖς βίος ἦν, αἴτιος ἐγενόμην φανερῶς, ὡς αὐτοί τε ὡμολόγουν χρυσῷ με ἀναδήσαντες στεφάνῳ, καὶ ὁ ὕπατος Σίκκιος ἐμαρτύρησεν ἡγεμόνα τῆς σπείρας ἀποδείξας.
And when a fierce battle and a rout took place, and the commander of the cohort had fallen, and the standards were captured by the enemies, I alone, having undertaken the danger for all, both saved the standards for the cohort and turned back the enemy, and openly became the cause of the centurions not falling into an eternal disgrace, because of which the rest of their lives would have been worse than death, as they themselves acknowledged by crowning me with a golden crown, and the consul Siccius testified by appointing me commander of the cohort.
§10.36.6ἑτέρου τε πάλιν ἡμῖν ἀγῶνος ἐνστάντος, ἐν ᾧ τόν τε στρατοπεδάρχην τοῦ τάγματος ἡμῶν συνέβη πεσεῖν καὶ τὸν ἀετὸν ὑπὸ τοῖς πολεμίοις γενέσθαι, τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον ὑπὲρ ὅλου τοῦ τάγματος ἀγωνισάμενος τόν τʼ ἀετὸν ἀνεκομισάμην καὶ τὸν στρατοπεδάρχην ἔσωσα·
And when another contest again arose for us, in which it happened that the camp prefect of our legion fell and the eagle fell into the hands of the enemy, fighting in the same manner on behalf of the whole legion, I both recovered the eagle and saved the camp prefect.
ὃς ἐμοὶ τῆς τότε βοηθείας χάριν ἀποδιδοὺς τῆς ἡγεμονίας τοῦ τάγματος ἀφίστατό μοι καὶ τὸν ἀετὸν ἐδίδου, ἐγὼ δʼ οὐκ ἔλαβον, οὐκ ἀξιῶν ᾧ τὸν βίον ἐχαρισάμην τούτου παρελέσθαι τὰς τιμὰς ἃς εἶχε καὶ τὰς ἐπὶ ταύταις εὐφροσύνας.
He, returning the favor for the assistance then rendered, resigned the command of the legion to me and offered me the eagle, but I did not accept it, not thinking it right to deprive him, to whom I had granted his life, of the honors he held and the joy that came with them.
ἐφʼ οἷς ἀγασθείς με ὁ ὕπατος τοῦ πρώτου τάγματος ἀπέδωκε τὴν στρατοπεδαρχίαν ἀπολωλεκότος ἐν τῇ μάχῃ τὸν ἡγεμόνα.
Admiring me for this, the consul gave me the camp prefecture of the first legion, which had lost its commander in the battle.