§8.37.1ταῦτα ψηφισαμένης τῆς βουλῆς καὶ πρεσβευτὰς ἑτέρους ἑλομένης δέκα ἄνδρας ἐκ τῶν ὑπατικῶν τοὺς ἀξιώσοντας τὸν ἄνδρα μηθὲν ἐκφέρειν ἐπίταγμα βαρὺ μηδʼ ἀνάξιον τῆς πόλεως, ἀλλὰ καταλύσαντα τὴν ἔχθραν καὶ ἀναστήσαντα τὴν δύναμιν ἐκ τῆς χώρας πειθοῖ καὶ διὰ λόγων συμβατηρίων ταῦτα πειρᾶσθαι πράττειν, εἰ βούλεται βεβαίους τε καὶ εἰς ἀεὶ διαμενούσας ποιήσασθαι τὰς ὁμολογίας τῶν πόλεων, ὡς τῶν γε ὑπʼ ἀνάγκης τινὸς ἢ καιροῦ συγχωρουμένων καὶ ἰδιώταις καὶ πόλεσιν ἅμα τῷ μεταπεσεῖν τοὺς καιροὺς ἢ τὰς ἀνάγκας εὐθὺς διαλυομένων· οἱ μὲν ἀποδειχθέντες ὑπʼ αὐτῆς πρέσβεις ἅμα τῷ πυθέσθαι τὴν παρουσίαν τοῦ Μαρκίου πορευθέντες ὡς αὐτὸν πολλὰ ἐπαγωγὰ διελέγοντο φυλάττοντες καὶ ἐν τοῖς λόγοις τὸ ἀξίωμα τῆς πόλεως.
The senate having decreed these things and having chosen ten other men from the consulars as ambassadors, who were to demand that the man should not issue any harsh command nor any unworthy of the city, but, having ended the hostility and having withdrawn his army from the territory, should try to achieve these things by persuasion and through conciliatory words, if he wished to make the agreements of the cities firm and lasting forever—on the ground that agreements conceded under some necessity or circumstance by both individuals and cities are immediately dissolved as soon as the circumstances or necessities change—the ambassadors appointed by it, as soon as they learned of the arrival of Marcius, went to him and spoke many persuasive words, maintaining even in their words the dignity of the city.
§8.37.2ὁ δὲ Μάρκιος ἄλλο μὲν οὐδὲν αὐτοῖς ἀπεκρίνατο, συνεβούλευε δὲ κρεῖττόν τι βουλευσαμένους ἥκειν τριῶν ἐντὸς ἡμερῶν· ταύτας γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἔσεσθαι μόνας ἀνοχὰς τοῦ πολέμου.
But Marcius answered them nothing else, but advised them to return within three days having deliberated on something better; for these three days alone would be their truce from the war.
βουλομένων δέ τι πρὸς ταῦτα λέγειν τῶν ἀνδρῶν οὐκ ἐπέτρεψεν, ἀλλʼ ἀπιέναι τὴν ταχίστην ἐκέλευσεν ἐκ τοῦ χάρακος, ἀπειλήσας ὡς, εἰ μὴ ποιήσουσιν, ὡς κατασκόποις χρήσεται· κἀκεῖνοι σιωπῇ ἀπιόντες εὐθὺς ᾤχοντο.
And when the men wished to say something in reply to this, he did not permit them, but ordered them to depart from the camp as quickly as possible, threatening that if they did not do so, he would treat them as spies; and they, departing in silence, immediately went away.
§8.37.3μαθόντες δʼ οἱ βουλευταὶ παρὰ τῶν πρέσβεων τὰς αὐθάδεις ἀποκρίσεις %5τε καὶ ἀπειλὰς τοῦ Μαρκίου στρατιὰν μὲν ὑπερόριον ἐξάγειν οὐδὲ τότε ἐψηφίσαντο, εἴτε τὸ ἀπειροπόλεμον τῶν σφετέρων στρατιωτῶν· νεοσύλλεκτοι γὰρ οἱ πλείους ἦσαν αὐτῶν· εὐλαβηθέντες, εἴτε τὴν ἀτολμίαν τῶν ὑπάτων· ἥκιστα γὰρ ἐν αὐτοῖς τὸ δραστήριον ἦν· σφαλερὰν ἡγησάμενοι τηλικοῦτον ἀναιρεῖσθαι ἀγῶνα, εἴτʼ ἄρα καὶ τοῦ δαιμονίου σφίσιν ἐναντιουμένου πρὸς τὴν ἔξοδον δι᾽ οἰωνῶν ἢ χρησμῶν Σιβυλλείων ἤ τινος ὀττείας πατρίου, ὧν οὐκ ἠξίουν οἱ τότʼ ἄνθρωποι καθάπερ οἱ νῦν ὑπερορᾶν· φυλάττειν δὲ τὴν πόλιν ἐπιμελεστέρᾳ φυλακῇ καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ἐρυμάτων τοὺς ἐπιόντας ἀμύνεσθαι διέγνωσαν.
The senators, having learned from the ambassadors the insolent answers and threats of Marcius, did not even then vote to lead an army beyond the borders, whether because they feared the lack of military experience of their own soldiers—for most of them were newly recruited—or because, considering the lack of courage of the consuls—for there was very little activity in them—it was dangerous to undertake so great a struggle, or because the deity opposed their march out by means of omens or Sibylline oracles or some ancestral portents, which the men of that time did not think fit to disregard as people do now; but they resolved to guard the city with more diligent care and to ward off the attackers from the fortifications.