§5.68.1τούς τʼ οἰκτείρειν τὴν πενίαν τῶν πολιτῶν ἀξιοῦντας καὶ βοηθεῖν τοῖς μὴ δυναμένοις διαλῦσαι τὰ χρέα παραινοῦντας ἔφη δεῖν ἐξετάζειν, τί ποτε τὸ πεποιηκὸς ἦν αὐτοὺς ἀπόρους κλήρους τε παραλαβόντας, οὓς οἱ πατέρες αὐτῶν κατέλιπον, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν στρατειῶν πολλὰ ὠφεληθέντας, καὶ τὰ τελευταῖα ἐκ τῆς δημευθείσης τῶν τυράννων οὐσίας τὴν ἐπιβαλοῦσαν μοῖραν λαβόντας· ἔπειθʼ οὓς μὲν ἂν ὁρῶσι τῇ γαστρὶ καὶ ταῖς αἰσχίσταις ἐζηκότας ἡδοναῖς καὶ διὰ ταῦτʼ ἐκπεπτωκότας ἐκ τῶν βίων, αἰσχύνας τῆς πόλεως νομίζειν καὶ βλάβας, καὶ μέγα τῷ κοινῷ κέρδος ὑπολαμβάνειν, ἐὰν ἑκόντες ἀπὸ τῆς πόλεως ἀποφθαρῶσιν· οὓς δʼ ἂν αἰσθάνωνται διὰ πονηρὰν τύχην ἀπολωλεκότας τοὺς βίους, ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων τούτους
And he said that they must examine those who demanded that they pity the poverty of the citizens and advised helping those who were unable to pay their debts, as to what on earth it was that had made them destitute, seeing that they had inherited the plots of land which their fathers left them, had benefited much from military campaigns, and finally, had received their allotted share from the confiscated property of the tyrants; then, whomever they saw to have lived for their belly and the most shameful pleasures, and for these reasons to have lost their livelihood, they should consider them disgraces and injuries to the city, and suppose it a great gain for the public if they should voluntarily ruin themselves away from the city; but whomever they perceived to have lost their livelihood through bad fortune, they should do good to them from their private means.
§5.68.2εὖ ποιεῖν. ἄριστα δὲ τοῦτο καὶ γινώσκειν καὶ ποιήσειν ἔφησε τοὺς συμβεβληκότας αὐτοῖς καὶ βοηθήσειν αὐτῶν ταῖς τύχαις αὐτοὺς ἐκείνους οὐκ ἀναγκασθέντας ὑφʼ ἑτέρων, ἀλλʼ ἑκόντας, ἵνʼ αὐτοῖς ἡ χάρις ἀντὶ τῶν χρημάτων καλὸν ὀφείλημα περιῇ.
And he said that those who had lent to them would both understand and do this best, and those very men would help their fortunes, not forced by others, but voluntarily, so that gratitude might remain to them as a beautiful debt in place of money.
κοινὴν δὲ ποιεῖν τὴν βοήθειαν ἅπασιν, ἧς ἐξ ἴσου μεθέξουσιν οἱ πονηροὶ τοῖς χρηστοῖς, καὶ μὴ ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων, ἀλλʼ ἐκ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων τινὰς εὖ ποιεῖν, καὶ ὧν τὰ χρήματα ἀφαιροῦνται, τούτοις μηδὲ τὰς ὑπὲρ τῶν εὐεργεσιῶν καταλιπεῖν χάριτας, ἥκιστα τῇ Ῥωμαίων ἀρετῇ προσήκειν.
But to make the assistance common to all, in which the bad will share equally with the good, and to do good to some not from one's own but from others' property, and not even to leave to those whose money is taken away the gratitude for their benefactions, befitted the virtue of the Romans least of all.
§5.68.3ὑπὲρ ἅπαντα δὲ ταῦτα καὶ τἆλλα, δεινόν τι καὶ οὐκ ἀνεκτὸν εἶναι Ῥωμαίοις τῆς ἡγεμονίας ἀντιποιουμένοις, ἣν διὰ πολλῶν πόνων οἱ πατέρες αὐτῶν κτησάμενοι τοῖς ἐκγόνοις κατέλιπον, μὴ κατὰ προαίρεσιν μηδὲ πεισθέντας μηδʼ ἐν ᾧ προσῆκε καιρῷ τὰ βέλτιστα καὶ τῷ κοινῷ συμφέροντα πράττειν, ἀλλʼ ὥσπερ ἑαλωκυίας τῆς πόλεως ἢ προσδοκώσης τοῦτο πείσεσθαι παρὰ τὸ δοκοῦν ἑαυτοῖς πράττειν, ἐξ ὧν ὠφέλειαν μὲν οὐδεμίαν ἢ μικράν τινα κομιδῇ λήψονται, κακῶν δὲ κινδυνεύσουσι τὰ ἔσχατα παθεῖν.
And above all these things and the rest, it was a terrible and intolerable thing for Romans who laid claim to leadership, which their fathers, having acquired through many labors, left to their descendants, not to act according to choice, nor being persuaded, nor at the proper time to do what was best and advantageous for the public, but, as if the city had been captured or were expecting to suffer this, to act contrary to what seemed good to themselves, from which they would receive either no benefit or an altogether small one, but would run the risk of suffering the extreme of evils.
§5.68.4μακρῷ γὰρ αὐτοῖς εἶναι κρεῖττον ἃ κελεύουσι Λατῖνοι πράττειν ὡς μετριώτερα ὄντα καὶ μηδʼ εἰς πεῖραν ἐλθεῖν πολέμου, ἢ τοῖς μηδαμῇ μηδὲν χρησίμοις συγχωρήσαντας ἃ παρακαλοῦσιν ἀνελεῖν τὴν πίστιν ἐκ τῆς πόλεως, ἣν ἱεροῦ κατασκευῇ καὶ θυσίαις διετησίοις οἱ πατέρες αὐτῶν ἔταξαν γεραίρεσθαι, μέλλοντας σφενδονητῶν συμμαχίαν ἐπὶ τὸν πόλεμον προσλαμβάνειν.
For it was far better for them to do what the Latins commanded as being more moderate, and not even to come to the trial of war, than, by conceding what they requested to those who were in no way useful, to abolish faith from the city, which their fathers ordained to be honored by the building of a temple and annual sacrifices, when they were about to receive an alliance of slingers for the war.
§5.68.5κεφάλαιον δὲ τῆς γνώμης ἦν αὐτῷ τόδε· τοὺς μὲν θέλοντας τῶν πολιτῶν κοινωνεῖν τῆς ἐκ τοῦ πολέμου τύχης ἐπὶ τοῖς αὐτοῖς δικαίοις, οἷς καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἕκαστος, παραλαμβάνειν ἐπὶ τὰ πράγματα· τοὺς δὲ κατὰ συνθήκας ὁποίας δήποτε ἀξιοῦντας ἀναλαμβάνειν τὰ ὅπλα περὶ τῆς πατρίδος, ὡς οὐδὲν εἰ λάβοιεν ὠφελήσοντας, χαίρειν ἐᾶν.
And the sum of his opinion was this: to admit to affairs those of the citizens who wished to share in the fortune of war on the same terms as each of the others; but those who demanded to take up arms for their country on whatever conditions, to let them go, as they would be of no use if they took them.
εἰ γὰρ τοῦτο μάθοιεν, εἴξειν αὐτοὺς ἔφη, καὶ παρέξειν σφᾶς αὐτοὺς τοῖς τὰ κράτιστα περὶ τοῦ κοινοῦ βουλεύουσιν εὐπειθεῖς.
For if they should learn this, he said they would yield, and present themselves obedient to those who deliberated the best things for the public.
εἰωθέναι γὰρ ἀεί πως τὸ ἀνόητον ἅπαν, ὅταν μέν τις αὐτὸ κολακεύῃ μεγάλα φρονεῖν, ὅταν δὲ δεδίττηται σωφρονεῖν.
For all foolishness is somehow always accustomed, when someone flatters it, to think big, but when one terrifies it, to be sensible.