§9.46.1Ἄππιος μὲν δὴ ταῦτʼ εἶπεν, ἐκ δὲ τῶν δημάρχων ὁ πρεσβύτατος καὶ πλείστου ἀξιώματος τυγχάνων, Γάιος Λαιτώριος, ἀνὴρ ἔν τε τοῖς πολέμοις ἐγνωσμένος εἶναι ψυχὴν οὐ κακὸς καὶ τὰ πολιτικὰ πράττειν οὐκ ἀδύνατος, ἀνίσταται πρὸς ταῦτʼ ἀπολογησόμενος·
Appius indeed spoke these words, but the oldest among the tribunes and the one possessing the greatest prestige, Gaius Laetorius—a man known in wars to be not base in soul and not incapable of managing political affairs—stood up to speak in reply to these things.
καὶ διῆλθεν ὑπὲρ τοῦ δήμου λόγον πολὺν ἀπὸ τῶν ἄνωθεν ἀρξάμενος· ὡς πολλὰς μὲν καὶ χαλεπὰς στρατείας οἱ βλασφημούμενοι πρὸς αὐτοῦ πένητες ἐστρατεύσαντο, οὐ μόνον ἐπὶ τῶν βασιλέων, ὅτε τὴν ἀνάγκην ἄν τις ᾐτιάσατο, ἀλλὰ καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἐκείνων ἐκβολὴν ἐλευθερίαν κτώμενοι τῇ πατρίδι καὶ ἡγεμονίαν· §9.46.2ἀμοιβὴν δʼ οὐδεμίαν ἐκομίσαντο παρὰ τῶν πατρικίων, οὐδʼ ἀπήλαυσαν οὐδενὸς τῶν κοινῶν ἀγαθῶν, ἀλλʼ ὡς πολέμῳ ἁλόντες ἀφῃρέθησαν ὑπʼ αὐτῶν καὶ τὴν ἐλευθερίαν, ἣν ἀνασώσασθαι βουλόμενοι καταλιπεῖν ἠναγκάσθησαν τὴν πατρίδα πόθῳ γῆς ἑτέρας, ἐν ᾗ τὸ μὴ ὑβρίζεσθαι αὐτοῖς ἐλευθέροις οὖσιν ὑπάρξει· καὶ οὔτε βιασάμενοι τὴν βουλὴν οὔτε πολέμῳ προσαναγκάσαντες εὕροντο τὴν ἐπὶ τὰ σφέτερα κάθοδον, ἀξιούσῃ δὲ καὶ δεομένῃ τὰ ἐκλειφθέντα ἀπολαβεῖν εἴξαντες.
And he delivered a long speech on behalf of the plebs, beginning from the times of old, saying how the poor, who were being slandered by him, had served many and difficult campaigns, not only under the kings, when one might have blamed necessity, but also after their expulsion, acquiring freedom and hegemony for their fatherland; and how they received no return from the patricians, nor enjoyed any of the common goods, but as if they had been captured in war they were deprived of even their liberty by them—desiring to recover which, they were forced to abandon their fatherland out of longing for another land, in which not being insulted would belong to them as free men; and that they achieved their return to their own homes neither by forcing the senate nor by compelling it by war, but by yielding to [the senate] which requested and begged [them] to take back what had been abandoned.
§9.46.3τούς θʼ ὅρκους διεξῄει καὶ τὰς συνθήκας τὰς ἐπὶ τῇ καθόδῳ γενομένας ἀνεκαλεῖτο· ἐν αἷς ἦν ἀμνηστία μὲν πρῶτον ἁπάντων, ἔπειτʼ ἐξουσία τοῖς πένησιν ἀρχὰς ἀποδεικνύναι, τιμωροὺς μὲν ἐσομένας σφίσιν αὐτοῖς, §9.46.4τοῖς δὲ κατισχύειν βουλομένοις ἀντιπάλους.
He also went through the oaths and recalled the covenants made upon their return, in which there was first of all amnesty for all things, and then authority for the poor to appoint magistrates, who would be defenders for themselves, and adversaries to those wishing to oppress them.
διεξελθὼν δὲ ταῦτα τοὺς νόμους ἐπεδείκνυτο, οὓς ὁ δῆμος ἐπεκύρωσεν οὐ πρὸ πολλοῦ, τόν τε περὶ τῶν δικαστηρίων τῆς μεταγωγῆς, ὡς ἔδωκεν ἡ βουλὴ τῷ δήμῳ τὴν ἐξουσίαν κρίνειν οὓς ἂν αὐτοῖς δόξειε τῶν πατρικίων, καὶ τὸν ὑπὲρ τῆς ψηφοφορίας, ὃς οὐκ ἔτι τὴν λοχῖτιν ἐκκλησίαν, ἀλλὰ τὴν κουριᾶτιν ἐποίει τῶν ψήφων κυρίαν.
Having gone through these matters, he pointed to the laws which the people had ratified not long before: both the one concerning the transfer of the courts, since the senate gave the people the authority to judge whichever of the patricians they might see fit, and the one concerning voting, which made no longer the centuriate assembly, but the curiate assembly, mistress of the votes.