§6.28.1ταῦθʼ ὁρῶντες οἱ βουλευταὶ τὸν ἕτερον τῶν ὑπάτων Σερουίλιον, ὃς ἐν τῷ παρόντι πιθανώτερος εἶναι τοῖς πολλοῖς ἐδόκει, βοηθεῖν ἐδέοντο τῇ πατρίδι.
Seeing these things, the senators begged one of the consuls, Servilius, who at the present seemed to be more persuasive to the multitude, to help the fatherland.
ὁ δὲ συγκαλέσας τὸν δῆμον εἰς τὴν ἀγορὰν τοῦ παρόντος καιροῦ τὴν ἀνάγκην ἐπεδείκνυεν οὐκέτι προσδεχομένην πολιτικὰς φιλονεικίας καὶ ἠξίου νῦν μὲν ὁμόσε τοῖς πολεμίοις χωρεῖν κοινῇ γνώμῃ χρησαμένους καὶ μὴ περιιδεῖν ἀνάστατον τὴν πατρίδα γινομένην, ἐν ᾗ θεοὶ πατρῷοι καὶ θῆκαι προγόνων ἑκάστοις ἦσαν, ἃ τιμιώτατά ἐστι πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις· γονέων τε αἰδῶ λαβεῖν οὐχ ἱκανῶν ἐσομένων ἑαυτοῖς διὰ γῆρας ἀμύνειν, καὶ γυναικῶν ἔλεον ἃς αὐτίκα μάλα δεινὰς καὶ ἀφορήτους ὕβρεις ἀναγκασθησομένας ὑπομενεῖν, μάλιστα δὲ παίδων ἔτι νηπίων οὐκ ἐπὶ τοιαύταις ἐλπίσιν ἀνατραφέντων οἰκτεῖραι λώβας καὶ προπηλακισμοὺς ἀνηλεεῖς· §6.28.2ὅταν δὲ τὸν παρόντα κίνδυνον ἅπαντες ὁμοίαις προθυμίαις χρησάμενοι παραλύσωνται, τότε δὴ σκοπεῖν, τίνα τρόπον ἴσην καὶ κοινὴν καὶ σωτήριον ἅπασι τὴν πολιτείαν καταστήσονται, μήτε τῶν πενήτων ἐπιβουλευόντων ταῖς τῶν πλουσίων οὐσίαις μήτʼ ἐκείνων προπηλακιζόντων τοὺς ταῖς τύχαις ταπεινοτέρους·
And he, having called the people together into the forum, pointed out that the necessity of the present crisis no longer admitted civil rivalries, and requested them now indeed to advance against the enemy with one mind, and not to stand by and see the fatherland ruined, in which there were paternal gods and tombs of ancestors for each, which are most precious to all men; and to have regard for their parents, who would not be able to defend themselves because of old age, and pity for their wives, who would very soon be forced to endure terrible and unbearable outrages, and especially to pity the merciless abuses and insults to be suffered by their still infant children, who had not been brought up under such expectations.\n And when all, employing equal zeal, should avert the present danger, then indeed they should consider in what manner they would establish a constitution that is equal, common, and salutary to all, with neither the poor plotting against the property of the rich nor the latter insulting those who are humbler in their fortunes; for such things are least of all characteristic of citizens.
ἥκιστα γὰρ εἶναι ταῦτα πολιτικά· ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς ἀπόροις ἐπικουρία τις ἔσται πολιτική, καὶ τοῖς συμβάλλουσι τὰ χρέα βοήθεια μετρία τοῖς γοῦν ἀδικουμένοις, καὶ τὸ κράτιστον τῶν ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἀγαθῶν καὶ πάσας φυλάττον ἐν ὁμονοίᾳ τὰς πόλεις, πίστις ἐπὶ συναλλαγαῖς, οὐχ ἅπασα καὶ διὰ παντὸς ἐκ μόνης ἀναιρεθήσεται τῆς Ῥωμαίων πόλεως. §6.28.3ταῦτα καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα ἐν τοιούτῳ καιρῷ λεχθῆναι προσῆκε διεξελθὼν τελευτῶν ὑπὲρ τῆς ἰδίας εὐνοίας, ἣν ἔχων διετέλει πρὸς τὸν δῆμον, ἀπελογεῖτο, καὶ ἠξίου συνάρασθαι τῆς στρατείας αὐτῷ ταύτης, ἀνθʼ ὧν πρόθυμος εἰς αὐτοὺς ἦν, τῆς μὲν κατὰ πόλιν ἐπιμελείας τῷ συνάρχοντι προσηκούσης, ἑαυτῷ δὲ τῆς ἡγεμονίας τῶν πολέμων ἀποδεδομένης·
On the contrary, there would be some civic assistance for the poor, and a moderate relief for those who lend money, at least for those who are wronged, and that faith in contracts, which is the strongest of human goods and preserves all cities in harmony, would not be entirely and forever abolished from the city of the Romans alone.\n Having gone through these things and whatever else was fitting to be said at such a time, he finally made his defense concerning his own goodwill which he continued to have toward the people, and requested them to assist him in this campaign, in return for his eagerness toward them, since the care of the city belonged to his colleague, while the command of the wars was assigned to himself; for the lot had decreed these fortunes to them.
ταύτας γὰρ τὰς τύχας αὐτοῖς βραβεῦσαι τὸν κλῆρον. ὑπεσχῆσθαι δʼ αὑτῷ ἔφη τὴν βουλὴν ἐμπεδώσειν, ὅ τι ἂν διομολογήσηται τῷ πλήθει, αὑτὸν δʼ ἐκείνοις, πείσειν τοὺς δημότας μὴ προδώσειν τοῖς πολεμίοις τὴν πατρίδα.
And he said that the senate had promised him to ratify whatever agreement he should make with the multitude, and that he had promised them to persuade the citizens not to betray the fatherland to the enemy.