§9.27.1καταλυθέντων δὲ τῶν ὑπαιθρίων πολέμων ἡ πολιτικὴ στάσις αὖθις ἀνεκαίετο τῶν δημάρχων πάλιν ταραττόντων τὸ πλῆθος, καὶ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα πολιτεύματα διεσκέδασαν αὐτῶν ἀντιταττόμενοι πρὸς ἕκαστον οἱ πατρίκιοι, τὴν δὲ κατὰ Μενηνίου δίκην τοῦ νεωστὶ ὑπατεύσαντος καίτοι πολλὰ πραγματευθέντες ἀδύνατοι ἐγένοντο διαλῦσαι·
When the wars in the field were brought to an end, the civil strife was rekindled, with the tribunes again stirring up the populace; and though the patricians, by opposing them in each instance, frustrated their other political measures, they were unable, in spite of much effort, to dismiss the prosecution against Menenius, who had recently been consul.
§9.27.2ἀλλʼ ὑπαχθεὶς ὁ ἀνὴρ εἰς δίκην ὑπὸ δυεῖν δημάρχων Κοίντου Κωνσιδίου καὶ Τίτου Γενυκίου, καὶ λόγον ἀπαιτούμενος τῆς στρατηγίας τοῦ πολέμου τέλος οὔτʼ εὐτυχὲς οὔτʼ εὐπρεπὲς λαβούσης, μάλιστα δὲ διαβαλλόμενος ἐπὶ τῷ Φαβίων ὀλέθρῳ καὶ τῇ Κρεμέρας ἁλώσει, δικάζοντος τοῦ δημοτικοῦ ὄχλου κατὰ φυλάς, οὐ παρʼ ὀλίγας ψήφους ὦφλεν, υἱὸς ὢν Ἀγρίππα Μενηνίου τοῦ καταγαγόντος ἐκ τῆς φυγῆς τὸν δῆμον καὶ διαλλάξαντος πρὸς τοὺς πατρικίους, ὃν ἀποθανόντα ἡ βουλὴ ἐκ τῶν δημοσίων χρημάτων λαμπροτάταις ἐκόσμησε ταφαῖς, αἱ δὲ γυναῖκες αἱ Ῥωμαίων ἐνιαύσιον ἐπένθησαν χρόνον πορφύραν καὶ χρυσὸν ἀποθέμεναι.
Instead, the man was brought to trial by two tribunes, Quintus Considius and Titus Genucius, and being called to account for his command of the war which had taken an end neither fortunate nor honorable, and being especially slandered for the destruction of the Fabii and the capture of Cremera, he was condemned by no small majority, while the plebeian crowd judged by tribes. He was the son of Agrippa Menenius, who had brought back the people from their secession and reconciled them with the patricians, and whom, when he died, the senate honored with the most magnificent funeral at public expense, while the Roman women put away their purple and gold and mourned for him for a year.
§9.27.3οὐ μέντοι θανάτου γʼ αὐτὸν οἱ καταδικασάμενοι ἐτίμησαν, ἀλλʼ ἐκτίσματος, ὃ πρὸς μὲν τοὺς νῦν ἐξεταζόμενον βίους γέλωτος ἂν ἄξιον φανείη, τοῖς δὲ τότʼ ἀνθρώποις αὐτουργοῖς οὖσι καὶ πρὸς αὐτὰ τὰ ἀναγκαῖα ζῶσι, μάλιστα δʼ ἐκείνῳ τῷ ἀνδρὶ πενίαν κληρονομήσαντι παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἀφειδὲς ἦν καὶ βαρύ, δισχιλίων ἀριθμὸς ἀσσαρίων.
The judges did not, however, sentence him to death, but to a fine, which, if evaluated in relation to present-day standards of living, might appear worthy of laughter, but to the men of those times, who worked with their own hands and lived on bare necessities, and especially to that man who had inherited poverty from his father, was unsparing and heavy—a sum of two thousand assaria.
ἦν δʼ ἀσσάριον τότε χάλκεον νόμισμα βάρος λιτριαῖον, ὥστε τὸ σύμπαν ὄφλημα ταλάντων ἑκκαίδεκα εἰς ὁλκὴν χαλκοῦ γενέσθαι.
Now the assarion was then a bronze coin weighing a litra, so that the total fine amounted to sixteen talents in weight of bronze.
§9.27.4καὶ τοῦτʼ ἐπίφθονον ἐφάνη τοῖς τότʼ ἀνθρώποις, καὶ ἐπανορθώσασθαι βουλόμενοι αὐτὸ τὰς μὲν χρηματικὰς ἔπαυσαν ζημίας, μετήνεγκαν δʼ εἰς προβάτων ἐκτίσματα καὶ βοῶν, τάξαντες καὶ τούτων ἀριθμὸν ταῖς ὕστερον ἐσομέναις ὑπὸ τῶν ἀρχόντων τοῖς ἰδιώταις ἐπιβολαῖς.
And this too seemed oppressive to the men of those times, and wishing to correct it, they abolished monetary fines and transferred them to payments of sheep and oxen, fixing also the number of these for the fines that would later be imposed by the magistrates on private citizens.
ἐκ δὲ τῆς Μενηνίου καταδίκης ἀφορμὴν αὖθις εἰλήφεσαν οἱ πατρίκιοι τῆς πρὸς τὸ δημοτικὸν ὀργῆς καὶ οὔτε τὴν κληρουχίαν ἐπέτρεπον ἔτι αὐτῷ ποιεῖσθαι, §9.27.5οὔτʼ ἄλλο ἐβούλοντο ἐνδιδόναι μαλακὸν οὐδέν.
But from the condemnation of Menenius, the patricians again took an occasion for resentment against the plebeians, and no longer permitted land distribution to be made for them, nor did they wish to make any other soft concession.
μετʼ οὐ πολὺ δὲ καὶ τῷ δήμῳ μετέμελε τῶν δεδικασμένων, ἐπειδὴ τὴν τελευτὴν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἐπύθετο·
But not long afterward, the plebeians also regretted their judgment when they heard of the man's death.
οὐδὲ γὰρ εἰς ἀνθρώπων ἔτι συνῆλθεν ὁμιλίας, οὐδʼ ἐν δημοσίῳ τινὶ πρὸς οὐδενὸς ὤφθη τόπῳ, ἐξόν τʼ αὐτῷ τὴν ζημίαν ἐκτίσαντι μηδενὸς ἀπελαύνεσθαι τῶν καινῶν — ἕτοιμοι γὰρ ἦσαν οὐκ ὀλίγοι τῶν ἐπιτηδείων αὐτοῦ τὴν καταδίκην ἀπαριθμεῖν — οὐκ ἠξίωσεν, ἀλλὰ θανάτου τὴν συμφορὰν τιμησάμενος οἴκοι μένων καὶ οὐδένα προσιέμενος ὑπό τʼ ἀθυμίας καὶ σίτων ἀποχῆς μαρανθεὶς ἀπέστη τοῦ βίου.
For although it was open to him, by paying the fine, to be excluded from none of his civic rights—since not a few of his friends were ready to pay the judgment for him—he did not deign to do so, but no longer entered into the society of men, nor was seen by anyone in any public place. Deeming the misfortune worthy of death, he remained at home, admitting no one, and being wasted away by despondency and abstinence from food, departed this life.
καὶ τὰ μὲν ἐν τούτῳ πραχθέντα τῷ ἐνιαυτῷ τοιάδε ἦν.
Such were the things done in this year.