§5.11.1τοιαῦτα δὲ λέγοντος αὐτοῦ βοῶν καὶ δεινοπαθῶν ὁ Κολλατῖνος ἐπίβουλόν τε καὶ προδότην τῶν φίλων αὐτὸν παρʼ ἕκαστα ἀποκαλῶν καὶ τὰ μὲν ὑπὲρ τῶν καθʼ ἑαυτοῦ διαβολῶν ἀπολογούμενος, τὰ δʼ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀδελφιδῶν δεόμενος ψῆφόν τε καθʼ ἑαυτοῦ τοῖς πολίταις οὐκ ἐῶν ἀναδοῦναι χαλεπώτερον ἐποίει τὸν δῆμον καὶ δεινοὺς ἤγειρεν ἐπὶ πᾶσι τοῖς λεγομένοις θορύβους.
While he was saying such things, Collatinus, shouting and showing indignation, calling him at every turn a schemer and a betrayer of his friends, and on the one hand defending himself against the slanders directed at him, and on the other hand pleading on behalf of his nephews, and not permitting the vote concerning himself to be submitted to the citizens, made the people more hostile and aroused terrible clamors at everything that was said.
§5.11.2ἠγριωμένων δὲ τῶν πολιτῶν πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ οὔτʼ ἀπολογίαν ὑπομενόντων οὔτε δέησιν προσιεμένων, ἀλλὰ τὰς ψήφους ἀναδοθῆναι σφίσι κελευσάντων, δι’ εὐλαβείας τὸ πρᾶγμα ὁ κηδεστὴς αὐτοῦ λαβὼν Σπόριος Λουκρήτιος, ἀνὴρ τῷ δήμῳ τίμιος, μὴ μεθʼ ὕβρεως τῆς ἀρχῆς καὶ τῆς πατρίδος ἐκπέσῃ, λόγον αἰτησάμενος παρʼ ἀμφοτέρων τῶν ὑπάτων καὶ τυχὼν τῆς ἐξουσίας ταύτης πρῶτος, ὥς φασιν οἱ Ῥωμαίων συγγραφεῖς, οὔπω τότε Ῥωμαίοις ὄντος ἐν ἔθει δημηγορεῖν ἰδιώτην ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ, κοινὴν ἐποιήσατο δέησιν ἀμφοτέρων τῶν ὑπάτων, Κολλατίνῳ μὲν παραινῶν μὴ θυμομαχεῖν μηδʼ ἀκόντων κατέχειν τῶν πολιτῶν τὴν ἀρχήν, ἣν παρʼ ἑκόντων ἔλαβεν, ἀλλʼ εἰ δοκεῖ τοῖς δοῦσιν αὐτὴν ἀπολαβεῖν ἑκόντα καταθέσθαι καὶ μὴ τοῖς λόγοις ἀπολύεσθαι τὰς καθʼ ἑαυτοῦ διαβολάς, ἀλλὰ τοῖς πράγμασι, μεταθέσθαι τε τὴν οἴκησιν ἑτέρωσέ ποί ποτε πάντα τὰ ἑαυτοῦ λαβόντα, ἕως ἂν ἐν ἀσφαλεῖ γένηται τὰ κοινά, ἐπειδὴ τοῦτο δοκεῖ τῷ δήμῳ συμφέρειν, ἐνθυμούμενον, ὅτι τοῖς μὲν ἄλλοις ἀδικήμασι γενομένοις ὀργίζεσθαι πεφύκασιν ἅπαντες, προδοσίᾳ δὲ καὶ ὑποπτευομένῃ, σωφρονέστερον ἡγούμενοι καὶ διὰ κενῆς φοβηθέντες αὐτὴν φυλάξασθαι μᾶλλον ἢ §5.11.3καταφρονήσει ἐπιτρέψαντες ἀνατραπῆναι· Βροῦτον δὲ πείθων μὴ μετʼ αἰσχύνης καὶ προπηλακισμοῦ τὸν συνάρχοντα τῆς πατρίδος ἐκβαλεῖν, μεθʼ οὗ τὰ κράτιστα ὑπὲρ τῆς πόλεως ἐβούλευσεν· ἀλλʼ ἐὰν αὐτὸς ὑπομένῃ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀποθέσθαι καὶ παραχωρῇ τῆς πατρίδος ἑκών, τήν τʼ οὐσίαν αὐτῷ πᾶσαν ἐπιτρέψαι κατὰ σχολὴν ἀνασκευάσασθαι, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ δημοσίου προσθεῖναί τινα δωρεάν, ἵνα παραμύθιον ἔχῃ τῆς συμφορᾶς τὴν παρὰ τοῦ δήμου χάριν.
When the citizens had become enraged against him and would neither tolerate any defense nor admit any plea, but ordered the votes to be distributed to them, his father-in-law, Spurius Lucretius, a man honored by the people, viewing the matter with caution lest Collatinus should be expelled from his office and his country with insult, asked for speech from both consuls; and having obtained this permission—he being the first, as the Roman historians say, since it was not yet at that time a custom for Romans that a private citizen should address the assembly—he made a joint plea to both consuls, advising Collatinus on the one hand not to fight stubbornly against his feelings nor to hold onto the office against the will of the citizens, which he had received from them when they were willing, but, if it seemed good to those who gave it to take it back, to lay it down willingly, and not to clear away the slanders against himself by words, but by deeds, and to transfer his residence elsewhere, taking all his possessions with him, until public affairs should be in safety, since this seemed to be advantageous to the people, bearing in mind that, while all people are naturally angry at other crimes after they have been committed, they are angry at treason even when it is only suspected, thinking it wiser, even if they have feared it in vain, to guard against it rather than, ¦p.v.2p.156 having through contempt permitted themselves to be overthrown; and on the other hand persuading Brutus not to expel his colleague from the country with shame and insult, with whom he had planned the best things on behalf of the city; but if he himself should submit to lay down his office and withdraw from the country willingly, to permit him to pack up all his property at his leisure, and to add some gift from the public treasury, so that he might have the gratitude from the people as a consolation for his misfortune.