§8.77.1τῷ δʼ ἑξῆς ἐνιαυτῷ τῆς ἑβδομηκοστῆς καὶ τετάρτης ὀλυμπιάδος ἐνεστώσης, ἣν ἐνίκα στάδιον Ἄστυλος Συρακούσιος, Ἀθήνησι δʼ ἄρχων ἦν Λεώστρατος, Κοΐντου Φαβίου καὶ Σερουίου Κορνηλίου τὴν ὑπατείαν παρειληφότων, ἄνδρες ἐκ τῶν πατρικίων νέοι μὲν ἔτι τὴν ἡλικίαν, ἐπιφανέστατοι δὲ τῶν ἄλλων κατά γʼ ἀξιώσεις προγόνων, καὶ διὰ τὰς ἑταιρίας τε καὶ πλούτους μέγα δυνάμενοι, καὶ ὡς νέοι τὰ πολιτικὰ πράττειν οὐδενὸς τῶν ἐν ἀκμῇ χείρους, Καίσων Φάβιος, ἀδελφὸς τοῦ τότε ὑπατεύοντος, καὶ Λεύκιος Οὐαλέριος Ποπλικόλας, ἀδελφὸς τοῦ καταλύσαντος τοὺς βασιλεῖς, τὴν ταμιευτικὴν ἔχοντες ἐξουσίαν κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν χρόνον, καὶ διὰ τοῦτʼ ἐκκλησίαν συνάγειν ὄντες κύριοι, τὸν ὑπατεύσαντα τῷ πρόσθεν ἐνιαυτῷ Σπόριον Κάσσιον καὶ τολμήσαντα τοὺς περὶ τῆς διανομῆς εἰσηγήσασθαι νόμους εἰσήγγειλαν εἰς τὸν δῆμον ἐπὶ τυραννίδος αἰτίᾳ· καὶ προειπόντες ἡμέραν ῥητὴν ἐκάλουν αὐτὸν ὡς ἐπὶ τοῦ δήμου τὴν δίκην ἀπολογησόμενον.
In the following year, while the seventy-fourth Olympiad was in progress—in which Astylos of Syracuse won the stade race, and Leostratos was archon at Athens—and when Quintus Fabius and Servius Cornelius had entered upon the consulship, certain young men of the patricians, still young in age but most illustrious of all in the prestige of their ancestors, and possessing great power through their political associations and wealth, and, though young, no worse than any of those in their prime at conducting public affairs—namely Kaeso Fabius, brother of the then consul, and Lucius Valerius Publicola, brother of the one who had overthrown the kings—holding the office of quaestor at the same time, and therefore having the authority to assemble the people, impeached before the people Spurius Cassius, who had been consul the year before and had dared to introduce the laws concerning the distribution of land, on a charge of seeking tyranny; and having announced a set day beforehand, they summoned him to make his defense at his trial before the people.
§8.77.2ὄχλου δὲ πλείστου συναχθέντος εἰς τὴν ἀποδειχθεῖσαν ἡμέραν συγκαλέσαντες εἰς ἐκκλησίαν τὸ πλῆθος τά τʼ ἐμφανῆ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἔργα ὡς ἐπʼ οὐδενὶ χρηστῷ γενόμενα διεξῄεσαν· ὅτι Λατίνοις μὲν πρῶτον, οἷς ἀπέχρη πολιτείας κοινῆς ἀξιωθῆναι μέγα εὐτύχημα ἡγουμένοις, εἰ καὶ ταύτης τύχοιεν, οὐ μόνον ἣν ᾔτουν πολιτείαν ὕπατος ὢν ἐχαρίσατο, ἀλλʼ ἔτι καὶ τῶν ἐκ τοῦ πολέμου λαφύρων, ἐὰν κοινὴ γένηται στρατεία, τὴν τρίτην ἐψηφίσατο δίδοσθαι· ἔπειθʼ Ἕρνικας, οὓς πολέμῳ χειρωθέντας ἀγαπᾶν ἐχρῆν, εἰ μὴ καὶ τῆς αὐτῶν χώρας ἀφαιρέσει τινὶ ζημιωθεῖεν, φίλους μὲν ἀνθʼ ὑπηκόων ἐποίησε, πολίτας δʼ ἀνθʼ ὑποτελῶν, γῆς τε καὶ λείας, ἣν ἂν ἐκ παντὸς κτήσωνται, τὴν ἑτέραν ἔταξε λαμβάνειν τρίτην μερίδα.
When a very great crowd had assembled on the appointed day, they called the multitude together into an assembly and detailed the public acts of the man, showing that they had been done for no good purpose: first, that to the Latins, for whom it would have been enough to be deemed worthy of shared citizenship, and who would have regarded it as a great piece of good fortune if they should obtain even this, he had not only granted as consul the citizenship they were asking for, but had also decreed that a third part of the spoils of war should be given to them if a common expedition should take place; and next, that the Hernici, who, having been subdued in war, ought to have been content if they were not even punished by some confiscation of their own territory, he had made friends instead of subjects, and citizens instead of tributaries, and had ordained that they should receive another third part of the land and booty which they should acquire from any source.
§8.77.3ὥστε μεριζομένων εἰς τρεῖς κλήρους τῶν λαφύρων τοὺς μὲν ὑπηκόους τε καὶ ἐπήλυδας διμοιρίας λαμβάνειν, τοὺς δʼ αὐθιγενεῖς καὶ ἡγεμόνας τρίτην μερίδα.
So that, the spoils being divided into three portions, the subjects and newcomers received two-thirds, while the native-born citizens and leaders received only a third part.
ἐκ δὲ τούτου δυεῖν τῶν ἀτοπωτάτων θάτερον ἐπεδείκνυσαν αὐτοῖς συμβησόμενον, ἐάν τινας ἑτέρους διὰ πολλὰς καὶ μεγάλας εὐεργεσίας προέλωνται ταῖς αὐταῖς τιμῆσαι δωρεαῖς, αἷς Λατίνους τʼ ἐτίμησαν καὶ τοὺς μηδʼ ὁτιοῦν ἀγαθὸν ἀποδειξαμένους Ἕρνικας. μιᾶς γὰρ καταλειπομένης αὐτοῖς τρίτης μερίδος, ἢ οὐχ ἕξειν, ὅ τι δώσουσιν ἐκείνοις μέρος ἢ τὰ ὅμοια ψηφισαμένους μηδὲν ἑαυτοῖς καταλείψειν.
From this they demonstrated to them that one of two most absurd consequences would happen if they should choose, because of many great services, to honor any others with the same gifts with which they had honored both the Latins and the Hernici, who had not displayed the slightest good will: for since only a single third part was left to themselves, they would either have no portion to give to those others, or, if they voted them equal shares, they would leave nothing for themselves.