§6.49.1ὁ δὲ δῆμος, ἐπειδὴ παρῆν ὁ χρόνος, ἐν ᾧ τὰς ἀρχὰς ἐπικυροῦν ἔδει συνελθόντας εἰς τὸ πεδίον, οὐδενὸς οὔτε μετιόντος τὴν ὑπατείαν οὔτε διδομένην ὑπομένοντος λαβεῖν, αὐτὸς ἀποδείκνυσιν ὑπάτους ἐκ τῶν εἰληφότων ἤδη τὴν ἀρχὴν ταύτην δήμῳ τε κεχαρισμένους ἄνδρας καὶ ἀριστοκρατίᾳ, Πόστομον Κομίνιον καὶ Σπόριον Κάσσιον, ὑφʼ οὗ Σαβῖνοι καταπολεμηθέντες τῆς ἡγεμονίας ἀπέστησαν, ἐπὶ τῆς ἑβδομηκοστῆς καὶ δευτέρας ὀλυμπιάδος, ἣν ἐνίκα στάδιον Τισικράτης Κροτωνιάτης, ἄρχοντος Ἀθήνησι Διογνήτου.
But the people, when the time arrived in which they had to assemble in the plain to confirm the magistrates, since no one either sought the consulship or was willing to accept it when offered, themselves appointed as consuls from among those who had already held this office, men pleasing both to the people and to the aristocracy: Postumus Cominius and Spurius Cassius, by whom the Sabines, having been subdued, desisted from their claim to supremacy; in the seventy-second Olympiad (in which Tisicrates of Croton won the stadion race), Diognetus being archon at Athens.
§6.49.2οὗτοι παραλαβόντες τὴν ἀρχὴν καλάνδαις Σεπτεμβρίαις θᾶττον ἢ τοῖς προτέροις ἔθος ἦν, πρὶν ἢ τῶν ἄλλων τι διαπράξασθαι βουλὴν συγκαλέσαντες περὶ τῆς καθόδου τῶν δημοτικῶν λέγειν ἠξίουν, ἥν τινα διάνοιαν ἔχει, πρῶτον ἀποφήνασθαι παρακαλοῦντες ἄνδρα ἡλικίας ἐν τῇ κρατίστῃ τότε ὄντα καὶ συνέσει δοκοῦντα τῶν ἄλλων διαφέρειν, μάλιστα δʼ ἐπὶ τῇ προαιρέσει τῶν πολιτευμάτων ἐπαινούμενον, ὅτι τῆς μέσης τάξεως ἦν, οὔτε τὴν αὐθάδειαν τῶν ἀριστοκρατικῶν αὔξων οὔτε τῷ δήμῳ ὅσα βουληθείη πράττειν ἐπιτρέπων, Ἀγρίππαν Μενήνιον·
These men, having taken over the office on the calends of September, earlier than had been the custom for their predecessors, before transacting any other business, called a meeting of the senate and demanded that they should speak concerning the return of the plebeians; inviting to express his opinion first, as to what view he held, a man who was then in the prime of his age and was thought to excel others in wisdom, and was especially praised for his political policy, because he belonged to the middle party, neither promoting the arrogance of the patricians nor permitting the people to do whatever they wished: Menenius Agrippa.
ὃς ἐπὶ τὰς διαλλαγὰς τὴν βουλὴν παρεκάλει τάδε λέγων· §6.49.3εἰ μὲν ἅπασιν, ὦ βουλή, τοῖς παροῦσι τὴν αὐτὴν γνώμην συνέβαινεν ἔχειν, καὶ μηδεὶς ἔμελλε ταῖς πρὸς τὸν δῆμον διαλλαγαῖς ἐμποδὼν ἔσεσθαι, ἐφʼ οἷς δὲ διαλυσόμεθα πρὸς αὐτοὺς εἴτε δικαίοις οὖσιν εἴτε μή, ὅμως ταῦτα προὔκειτο μόνον σκοπεῖν, διʼ ὀλίγων ἂν ὑμῖν ἐδήλωσα λόγων, ἃ φρονῶ.
He exhorted the senate to reconciliation, speaking as follows: "If, senators, it happened that all those present held the same opinion, and no one was going to stand in the way of a reconciliation with the people, and the only task proposed was to consider on what terms we should reach an agreement with them, whether just or unjust, I should have declared my sentiments to you in few words.
§6.49.4ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ αὐτὸ τοῦτό τινες οἴονται βουλῆς ἔτι δεῖν, πότερον ἡμῖν ἄμεινόν ἐστι συμβῆναι πρὸς τοὺς ἀφεστηκότας ἢ πολεμεῖν, οὐχ ἡγοῦμαι ῥᾴδιον εἶναί μοι διʼ ὀλίγης δηλώσεως, ὅ τι χρὴ πράττειν παραινέσαι, ἀλλʼ ἀνάγκη διὰ πλειόνων διδάξαι λόγων τοὺς πρὸς τὰς διαλλαγὰς ἀλλοτρίως ἔχοντας ὑμῶν, ὅτι τἀναντία συμπείθουσιν ἢ καὶ δεδίττεσθαι μέλλοντες ὑμᾶς τὰ φαυλότατα τῶν χαλεπῶν καὶ ῥᾳδίας ἔχοντα τὰς ἐπανορθώσεις ὀρρωδοῦντας τῶν μεγίστων τε καὶ ἀνιάτων ἱκανῶς ἀπερισκέπτως ἔχουσι.
But since some think that even this very point still requires consultation—whether it is better for us to come to terms with the seceders or to make war on them—I do not think it is easy for me to advise in a brief statement what we ought to do; rather, it is necessary to instruct at greater length those of you who are averse to reconciliation, showing that they are advising the opposite of what is right, or, while intending to frighten you, are sufficiently thoughtless in dreading the most trivial of difficulties, which admit of easy remedy, while being indifferent to those that are greatest and incurable.
καὶ τοῦτο πεπόνθασι παρʼ οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἢ ὥστε λογισμῷ μὴ κρίνειν τὸ συμφέρον, ἀλλὰ θυμῷ καὶ μανίᾳ.
And they suffer this from no other cause than that they do not judge what is advantageous by reason, but by anger and madness.
§6.49.5πῶς γὰρ ἂν οὗτοι λέγοιντο προορᾶσθαί τι τῇ διανοίᾳ τῶν χρησίμων ἢ δυνατῶν, οἵ τινες ὑπολαμβάνουσι τηλικαύτην πόλιν καὶ τοσούτων πραγμάτων κυρίαν ἤδη ἐπίφθονόν τε καὶ λυπηρὰν τοῖς περιοίκοις γιγνομένην, ἢ δίχα τοῦ δημοτικοῦ δυνήσεσθαι κατέχειν τε καὶ σώζειν τὰ ἔθνη ῥᾳδίως, ἢ ἕτερον ἐπάξεσθαι δῆμον ἀντὶ τοῦ πονηροτέρου κρείττονα, ὃς αὐτοῖς προπολεμήσει τε τῆς ἀρχῆς καὶ κατὰ πολλὴν ἡσυχίαν συμπολιτεύσεται, παρέχων καὶ ἐν εἰρήνῃ καὶ κατὰ πολέμους ἑαυτὸν μέτριον;
For how could these men be said to foresee in their minds anything of what is useful or possible—those, I mean, who assume either that so great a city, already mistress of so many affairs, and now becoming an object of envy and vexation to its neighbors, will be able easily to hold and preserve its subjects without the plebeian forces, or that they will bring in another, better people instead of this worse one, who will fight for their empire and live with them in the state in great peace, showing themselves moderate both in peace and in war?
οὐδὲν γὰρ ἂν ἕτερον ἔχοιεν εἰπεῖν, ᾧ πιστεύοντες ἀξιώσουσιν ὑμᾶς μὴ δέχεσθαι τὰς διαλλαγάς.
For they would have nothing else to say, relying upon which they will demand that you do not accept the reconciliation."