§8.46.1καὶ ἡ Οὐετουρία παραστησαμένη τήν τε· γυναῖκα τοῦ Μαρκίου καὶ τὰ τέκνα καὶ τὰς ἐπιφανεστάτας τῶν ἐν Ῥώμῃ γυναικῶν πρῶτον μὲν ἔκλαιεν εἰς τὴν γῆν ὁρῶσα μέχρι πολλοῦ, καὶ πολὺν ἐκίνησεν ἐκ τῶν παρόντων ἔλεον.
And Veturia, having placed beside her both the wife of Marcius and his children, and the most illustrious of the women in Rome, first wept for a long time, looking down at the ground, and aroused great pity among those present.
ἔπειτʼ ἀναλαβοῦσα αὑτὴν ἔλεξεν· §8.46.2αἱ γυναῖκες, ὦ Μάρκιε τέκνον, τὰς ὕβρεις ἐνθυμούμεναι καὶ τὰς ἄλλας συμφορὰς τὰς συμβησομένας αὐταῖς, ἐὰν ἡ πόλις ἡμῶν ὑπὸ τοῖς πολεμίοις γένηται, πᾶσαν ἄλλην ἀπογνοῦσαι βοήθειαν, ἐπειδὴ τοῖς ἀνδράσιν αὐτῶν ἀξιοῦσι διαλύσασθαι τὸν πόλεμον αὐθάδεις καὶ σκληρὰς ἔδωκας ἀποκρίσεις, ἄγουσαι τὰ τέκνα καὶ τοῖς πενθίμοις τούτοις ἠμφιεσμέναι τρύχεσι κατέφυγον ἐπʼ ἐμέ, τὴν σὴν μητέρα, καὶ Οὐολουμνίαν, τὴν σὴν γυναῖκα, δεόμεναι, μὴ περιιδεῖν αὐτὰς τὰ μέγιστα τῶν ἐν ἀνθρώποις κακῶν ὑπὸ σοῦ παθούσας·
Then, recovering herself, she said: “The women, my child Marcius, reflecting on the outrages and the other disasters that will happen to them if our city falls into the hands of the enemy, and despairing of all other help—since you gave arrogant and harsh answers to their husbands when they requested to put an end to the war—bringing their children and dressed in these mourning rags, fled for refuge to me, your mother, and to Volumnia, your wife, entreating us not to permit them to suffer the greatest of human misfortunes at your hands.
οὐθὲν μὲν οὔτε μεῖζον οὔτʼ ἔλαττον εἰς ἡμᾶς ἐξαμαρτοῦσαι, πολλὴν δὲ καί, ὅτʼ εὐτυχοῦμεν, εὔνοιαν ἔτι παρασχόμεναι, καί, ὅτʼ ἐπταίσαμεν, συμπάθειαν.
They have committed no offense, either great or small, against us, but have rather shown us much goodwill when we were prosperous, and sympathy when we stumbled.
§8.46.3ἔχομεν γὰρ αὐταῖς μαρτυρεῖν, ἐξ οὗ σὺ ἀπῆρας ἐκ τῆς πατρίδος, ἡμεῖς δʼ ἔρημοι καὶ τὸ μηθὲν ἔτι οὖσαι κατελειπόμεθα, συνεχῶς τε παραγινομέναις πρὸς ἡμᾶς καὶ παραμυθουμέναις τὰς συμφορὰς ἡμῶν καὶ συναλγούσαις.
For we can testify for them that, ever since you departed from your homeland and we were left behind, desolate and reduced to nothing, they have continually visited us, comforting us in our misfortunes and sharing in our grief.
τούτων δὴ λαμβάνουσαι μνήμην ἐγώ τε καὶ ἡ σὴ γυνὴ συνοικουροῦσα μετʼ ἐμοῦ τὰς ἱκεσίας αὐτῶν οὐκ ἀπεστράφημεν, ἀλλʼ ὑπεμείναμεν, ὡς ἠξίουν ἡμᾶς ἐλθεῖν ἐπὶ σὲ καὶ τὰς ὑπὲρ τῆς πατρίδος ποιήσασθαι δεήσεις.
Bearing these things in mind, both I and your wife, who keeps house with me, did not turn away from their supplications, but undertook to do as they requested—namely, to come to you and make entreaties on behalf of our country.”