§12.1.1ὅτι λιμοῦ κατὰ τὴν Ῥώμην γενομένου ἰσχυροῦ ἀνήρ τις οἴκου τε οὐκ ἀφανοῦς καὶ χρήμασιν ἐν τοῖς μάλιστα δυνατός, Σπόριος Μαίλιος Εὐδαίμων ἐπίκλησιν ἐπὶ τῆς πολλῆς εὐπορίας νεωστὶ μὲν παρειληφὼς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ πατρός, ἡλικίαν δὲ καὶ τάξιν ἔχων ἱππικήν, οἷα μήτε ἀρχὰς παραλαμβάνειν μήτε ἄλλην κοινὴν ἐπιμέλειαν μηδεμίαν, λαμπρὸς εἰ καί τις ἄλλος τὰ πολέμια καὶ πολλοῖς κεκοσμημένος ἀριστείοις, κράτιστον ὑπολαβὼν καιρὸν ἐπιθέσει τυραννίδος, ἐπὶ δημαγωγίαν τοῦ πλήθους ἐτράπετο, τὴν ῥᾳστώνην τῶν ἐπὶ τυραννίδα φερουσῶν ὁδῶν.
When a severe famine occurred in Rome, a certain man of a not undistinguished family and highly influential in wealth, Spurius Maelius, surnamed Eudaemon on account of his great riches, who had recently inherited his father's house, and being of military age and holding equestrian status, such as neither to assume public magistracies nor any other public responsibility, yet illustrious if any other in military affairs and adorned with many prizes of valor, conceiving this to be the best opportunity for attempting a tyranny, turned to the demagogy of the multitude, the easiest of the roads leading to tyranny.
§12.1.2ἔχων δὲ πολλοὺς ἑταίρους καὶ πελάτας ἄλλους ἄλλῃ διέπεμψε χρήματα δοὺς ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων εἰς συναγυρμοὺς τροφῆς καὶ αὐτὸς εἰς Τυρρηνίαν ᾤχετο.
Since he had many companions and clients, he sent them to various places, giving them money from his own resources for the collection of provisions, and he himself departed for Etruria.
ἐν βραχεῖ δὲ χρόνῳ διʼ ἑαυτοῦ τε καὶ τῶν ἑταίρων πολλὴν κατακομίσας ἀγορὰν διεμέτρει τοῖς πολίταις, ἀντὶ δώδεκα δραχμῶν διδράχμου ἀπομετρῶν τὸν μόδιον· ὅσους δὲ αἴσθοιτο παντάπασιν ἀδυνάτους καὶ μηδʼ ὑπὲρ τῆς ἐφημέρου τροφῆς ἔχοντας προέσθαι τὸ διάφορον ἄνευ τιμῆς χαριζόμενος.
In a short time, having brought in a large supply of grain through himself and his companions, he distributed it to the citizens, measuring out a modius for two drachmae instead of twelve; and to as many as he perceived to be completely destitute and not even having the means to pay the price for their daily food, he gave it without price as a favor.
§12.1.3ταύτῃ τῇ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τὸν δῆμον ἀναλαβὼν καὶ θαυμαστὴν ὅσην δόξαν ἀπενεγκάμενος ᾤχετο πάλιν ἐμπορευσόμενος ἑτέρας ἀγοράς· καὶ παρῆν οὐ διὰ μακροῦ ποταμηγοὺς ἄγων σκάφας πολλὰς πάνυ μεστὰς τροφῆς καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον τοῖς πολίταις ἐμέτρει.
Having won over the populace by this philanthropy and having gained an astonishingly great reputation, he went away again to purchase other provisions; and he was present before long, bringing many river boats quite full of food, and in the same manner measured it out to the citizens.
§12.1.4οἱ δὲ πατρίκιοι ταῦτα πράττοντα ὁρῶντες αὐτὸν δι ὑποψίας τε ἐλάμβανον τῆς ἄγαν φιλοτιμίας τοῦ ἀνδρὸς οὐδὲν ἀγαθὸν ἀπολαύσειν οἰόμενοι καὶ συνιστάμενοι κατὰ τὴν ἀγορὰν ἐσκόπουν, ὅντινα χρὴ τρόπον εὐπρεπέστερον ἄνευ κινδύνου παῦσαι τούτων αὐτὸν τῶν πολιτευμάτων· κρύφα μὲν τὸ πρῶτον καὶ κατʼ ὀλίγους συνιόντες καὶ διαλεγόμενοι πρὸς ἀλλήλους, ἔπειτα καὶ ἐκ τοῦ φανεροῦ καταβοῶντες, ἐπειδὴ βαρύς τε καὶ ἀφόρητος ἦν ἔργα τε πράττων ὑπερηφανίας μεστὰ καὶ
But the patricians, seeing him doing these things, regarded him with suspicion, thinking that they would derive no good from the excessive ambition of the man, and assembling in the forum they considered in what more seemly manner and without danger they might put an end to these political activities of his; at first meeting and conversing with one another secretly and in small numbers, and then even openly crying out against him, since he was heavy and insupportable, performing deeds full of arrogance and delivering insolent speeches about himself.
§12.1.5λόγους διεξιὼν αὐθάδεις ὑπὲρ ἑαυτοῦ· ὅς γε πρῶτον μὲν καθεζόμενος ἐπὶ βήματος περιφανοῦς, ὥσπερ ἔθος ἦν τοῖς τὰς ἀρχὰς ἔχουσιν, ἐχρημάτιζε τοῖς προσιοῦσι δι’ ἡμέρας περὶ τὴν σιτοδοσίαν, ἐκβαλὼν τῆς τιμῆς ταύτης τὸν ἀποδειχθέντα ἔπαρχον ὑπὸ τῆς βουλῆς·
Indeed, he first of all sat on a conspicuous tribunal, as was the custom for those who held public offices, and gave audience to those who approached him all day long concerning the distribution of corn, having cast out from this honor the commissioner appointed by the senate.
§12.1.6ἔπειτα συνεχεῖς ποιούμενος ἐκκλησίας οὐκ ὂν ἐν ἔθει Ῥωμαίοις ἰδιώτην ἐκκλησίαν συνάγειν πολλὰ μὲν τοῦ Μηνυκίου κατηγόρει πρὸς τὸν δῆμον, ὡς ὄνομα φέροντος ἀρχῆς μόνον, ἔργον δὲ οὐδὲν ἀποδειξαμένου τοῖς πένησιν ὠφέλιμον, πολλὰ δὲ τοὺς πατρικίους διέβαλλε πρὸς τὸν δῆμον, ὡς ταῦτα πράττοντας ἐξ ὧν ὀλίγου τε καὶ οὐδενὸς ἄξιος ὁ δῆμος ἔσται καὶ οὐδʼ ἐπὶ σιτοδείᾳ φροντίδα τῶν ἀπόρων ἔχοντας οὐδεμίαν, οὔτε κοινῇ πάντας οὔτε ἰδίᾳ τοὺς δυνατούς, παντὸς μάλιστα δέον αὐτοὺς χρήμασί τε καὶ σώμασιν ὥσπερ αὐτὸς δὴ κακοπαθεῖν καὶ πάντοθεν ἐπεισάγειν τῇ πόλει τὰς ἀγοράς.
Then, holding frequent assemblies—although it was not the custom for the Romans for a private citizen to convene an assembly—he accused Minucius at length before the people, as bearing the name of office only but showing no useful deed for the poor, and he greatly slandered the patricians to the people, saying that they were doing things from which the people would be worth little or nothing, and having no concern for the needy even during a grain shortage, neither collectively all of them nor individually the powerful, whereas they ought above all, just like himself indeed, to undergo hardship in money and body and to import provisions into the city from all sides.
§12.1.7ἠξίου τε πρὸς τὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἔργα πατρικίων τὰ ὑφʼ ἑαυτοῦ πραττόμενα ἐξετάζειν, ὡς πολὺ καὶ τὸ πᾶν ἀλλήλων διαφέροντα.
And he demanded that they examine his own deeds in comparison with those of the other patricians, as differing greatly and entirely from one another.
ἐκείνους μὲν γὰρ οὐδὲν ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων εἰς τὸ κοινὸν ἀναλίσκοντας ἔτι καὶ τὴν δημοσίαν γῆν σφετερισαμένους πολὺν ἤδη καρποῦσθαι χρόνον, ἑαυτὸν δὲ τῶν δημοσίων οὐδὲν ἔχοντα ἔτι καὶ τὴν πατρῴαν καταχορηγεῖν οὐσίαν εἰς βοήθειαν τῶν ἀπόρων καί, ἐπειδὰν τὰ ὄντα καταναλώσῃ, δανείσματα ποιεῖσθαι παρὰ φίλων οὐθὲν ἀντικαταλλαττόμενον τῆς τοιαύτης φιλοτιμίας ὅτι μὴ τὴν πολιτικὴν εὔνοιαν, ἧς οὐδὲ τὸν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων πλοῦτον ἡγεῖσθαι τιμιώτερον.
For those men, he said, spent nothing from their private means for the public benefit and, having moreover usurped the public land, had already enjoyed its fruits for a long time, whereas he himself, possessing nothing of the public property, spent even his patrimony in assistance to the needy and, whenever he exhausted his current means, made loans from friends, exchanging nothing for such ambition except the goodwill of the citizens, than which he considered not even all the wealth among men to be more valuable.