§11.3.1ἐρημουμένης δὲ τοῦ κρείττονος ἔθνους τῆς πόλεως καὶ τὸ ἐλεύθερον ἅπαν ἀπολωλεκυίας ἀφορμὴν κρατίστην ὑπολαβόντες ἐκεῖνοι οἱ πολέμῳ κρατηθέντες ὑπʼ αὐτῆς τάς τε ὕβρεις ἃς ὑβρίσθησαν ἀποτίσασθαι καὶ τὰ ἀπολωλότα ἀναλαβεῖν, ὡς νοσούσης διὰ τὴν ὀλιγαρχίαν τῆς πόλεως καὶ οὔτε συστῆναι οὔθʼ ὁμονοῆσαι οὔτʼ ἀντιλαβέσθαι τῶν κοινῶν ἔτι δυνησομένης, παρασκευασάμενοι τὰ πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον ἐλαύνουσιν ἐπʼ αὐτὴν στρατεύμασι μεγάλοις.
Since the city was stripped of its better element and had lost all its freedom, those who had been conquered by it in war, thinking they had found the most excellent opportunity to avenge the outrages they had suffered and to recover what they had lost—believing that the city was sick because of the oligarchy and would no longer be able either to unite, or to be of one mind, or to take up public affairs—prepared for war and marched against it with great armies.
§11.3.2καὶ κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν χρόνον Σαβῖνοι ἐμβαλόντες εἰς τὴν ὁμοτέρμονα καὶ πολλῆς γενόμενοι λείας ἐγκρατεῖς φόνον τε πολὺν ἐργασάμενοι τοῦ γεωργικοῦ πλήθους ἐν Ἠρήτῳ κατεστρατοπέδευσαν·
And at the same time, the Sabines invaded the neighboring territory, and having secured much booty and having slaughtered many of the farming population, they encamped at Eretum.
διέστηκε δʼ ἀπὸ τῆς Ῥώμης ἡ πόλις αὕτη τετταράκοντα καὶ ἑκατὸν σταδίους πλησίον οὖσα §11.3.3Τιβέρεως ποταμοῦ.
This city is a hundred and forty stades distant from Rome, being near the Tiber River.
Αἰκανοὶ δʼ εἰς τὴν Τυσκλάνων γῆν ἐμβαλόντες ὅμορον οὖσαν σφίσι καὶ πολλὰ δῃώσαντες αὐτῆς ἐν Ἀλγιδῷ πόλει τίθενται τὸν χάρακα.
On the other hand, the Aequi invaded the territory of the Tusculans, which was adjacent to them, and after ravaging much of it, they pitched their camp in the city of Algidus.
ὡς δʼ ἤκουσαν οἱ δέκα τὴν τῶν πολεμίων ἔφοδον, τεταραγμένοι συνεκάλουν τὰς ἑταιρείας, καὶ μετὰ τούτων ὅ τι χρὴ πράττειν ἐσκόπουν.
When the decemvirs heard of the enemy's incursion, they were thrown into confusion and called together their factions, and with them they considered what they ought to do.
§11.3.4τὸ μὲν οὖν ὑπερόριον ἀποστέλλειν στρατιὰν καὶ μὴ περιμένειν, ἕως ἐπʼ αὐτὴν ἔλθωσι τὴν πόλιν αἱ τῶν πολεμίων δυνάμεις, ἅπασιν ἐδόκει· παρεῖχε δʼ αὐτοῖς πολλὴν ἀπορίαν, πρῶτον μὲν εἰ πάντας Ῥωμαίους ἐπὶ τὰ ὅπλα κλητέον καὶ τοὺς ἀπεχθομένους τῇ πολιτείᾳ· ἔπειθʼ ὁποίαν τινὰ δεήσει τὴν καταγραφὴν τῶν στρατιωτῶν ποιήσασθαι, πότερον αὐθάδη καὶ μισοπόνηρον οἵας ἔθος ἦν ποιεῖσθαι τοῖς τε βασιλεῦσι καὶ τοῖς ὑπάτοις, ἢ φιλάνθρωπον καὶ μέτριον.
Now, sending the army beyond the borders and not waiting until the enemy's forces should advance upon the city itself seemed best to all; but it caused them great difficulty, first, whether they should call all Romans to arms, even those who detested the government; and next, what kind of enlistment of soldiers they would have to make, whether an austere and strict one, such as was the custom for the kings and consuls to make, or a mild and moderate one.
§11.3.5ἐδόκει τʼ αὐτοῖς οὐδʼ ἐκεῖνο μικρᾶς εἶναι ζητήσεως ἄξιον, τί τὸ κυρῶσον ἔσται τὴν περὶ τοῦ πολέμου γνώμην καὶ τὴν στρατολογίαν ψηφιούμενον, πότερα τὸ συνέδριον τῆς βουλῆς ἢ τὸ δημοτικὸν πλῆθος ἢ τούτων μὲν οὐδέτερον, ἐπεὶ διʼ ὑποψίας ἦν αὐτοῖς ἑκάτερον, αὐτοὶ δὲ σφίσιν αὐτοῖς οἱ δέκα.
And it seemed to them that the following question also was not worthy of minor consideration: what was to be the authority to ratify the decision concerning the war and to vote for the levy, whether the senatorial council, or the plebeian assembly, or neither of these, since each of them was suspected by them, but the decemvirs themselves by and for themselves.
τέλος δʼ οὖν πολλὰ βουλευσάμενοι τὴν βουλὴν ἔγνωσαν συγκαλεῖν καὶ ποιεῖν, ὅπως τόν τε πόλεμον αὐτοῖς ἐκείνη ψηφιεῖται καὶ τὴν τοῦ στρατοῦ §11.3.6καταγραφὴν ἐπιτρέψει ποιήσασθαι.
In the end, therefore, after much deliberation, they decided to convene the senate and to bring it about that the senate should vote the war for them and commission them to make the enlistment of the army.
εἰ γὰρ ὑπὸ τοῦ συνεδρίου κυρωθείη τούτων ἑκάτερον, πρῶτον μὲν εὐπειθεῖς ἔσεσθαι πάντας ὑπελάμβανον ἄλλως τε καὶ τῆς δημαρχικῆς ἐξουσίας καταλελυμένης, ᾗ μόνῃ κατὰ νόμους ἐξῆν ἐναντιοῦσθαι τοῖς ὑπὸ τῶν δυνατῶν ἐπιταττομένοις· ἔπειτʼ αὐτοὶ δόξειν ὑπηρετοῦντες τῇ βουλῇ καὶ τὰ κυρωθέντα ὑπʼ ἐκείνης πράττοντες κατὰ νόμους ἀνειληφέναι τὴν ἐξουσίαν τοῦ πολέμου.
For if each of these measures should be ratified by the senate, they assumed, first, that everyone would be obedient, especially since the tribunician power had been abolished, which alone by law was permitted to oppose the commands of those in power; and next, that they themselves, by appearing to serve the senate and carrying out what had been ratified by it, would seem to have assumed the authority of the war in accordance with the laws.