§10.24.1Q. inde Fabius quintum et P. Decius quartum consulatum ineunt, §10.24.2tribus consulatibus censuraque collegae nec gloria magis rerum, quae ingens erat, quam concordia inter se clari.
Thereupon Quintus Fabius entered upon his fifth consulship and Publius Decius upon his fourth, colleagues in three consulships and a censorship, and famous not more for the glory of their achievements, which was immense, than for their harmony with each other.
quae ne perpetua esset, ordinum magis quam ipsorum inter se certamen intervenisse reor, §10.24.3patriciis tendentibus, ut Fabius Etruriam extra ordinem provinciam haberet, plebeis auctoribus Decio, ut ad sortem rem revocaret. §10.24.4fuit certe contentio in senatu. et postquam ibi Fabius plus poterat, revocata res ad populum est.
That this harmony might not be perpetual, a conflict between the orders, rather than between themselves, intervened, as I believe, since the patricians strove that Fabius should have Etruria as his province out of the regular order, while the plebeians, supporting Decius, urged that the matter should be referred back to the lot. There was certainly a dispute in the senate; and after Fabius prevailed there, the matter was referred to the people.
in contione, ut inter militares viros et factis potius quam dictis fretos, pauca verba habita.
In the assembly, as was natural among military men who relied on deeds rather than words, few words were spoken.
Fabius, §10.24.5quam arborem consevisset, sub ea legere alium fructum indignum esse dicere; se aperuisse Ciminiam silvam viamque per devios saltus Romano bello fecisse. §10.24.6quid se id aetatis sollicitassent, si alio duce gesturi bellum essent? nimirum adversarium se, non socium imperii legisse sensim exprobrat et invidisse Decium concordibus collegiis tribus.
Fabius said that it was unworthy for another to gather the fruit under the tree which he himself had planted; that he had opened up the Ciminian forest and had made a way through pathless passes for Roman arms. Why had they troubled a man of his age, if they were going to wage war under another leader?
§10.24.7postremo se tendere nihil ultra, quam ut, si se dignum provincia ducerent, in eam mitterent: in senatus arbitrio se fuisse et in potestate populi futurum. §10.24.8P. Decius senatus iniuriam querebatur: quoad potuerint, patres adnisos, ne plebeis aditus ad magnos honores esset; postquam ipsa virtus pervicerit, §10.24.9ne in ullo genere hominum inhonorata esset, quaeri, quem ad modum inrita sint non suffragia modo populi sed arbitria etiam fortunae et in paucorum potestatem vertantur. §10.24.10omnis ante se consules sortitos provincias esse; nunc extra sortem Fabio senatum provinciam dare. §10.24.11si honoris eius causa, ita eum de se deque re publica meritum esse, ut faveat Q. Fabi gloriae, quae modo non sua contumelia splendeat; §10.24.12cui autem dubium esse, ubi unum bellum sit asperum ac difficile, cum id alteri extra sortem mandetur, quin alter consul pro supervacaneo atque inutili habeatur? §10.24.13gloriari Fabium rebus in Etruria gestis; velle et P. Decium gloriari, et forsitan, quem ille obrutum ignem reliquerit, ita ut totiens novum ex inproviso incendium darct, eum se extincturum. §10.24.14postremo se collegae honores praemiaque concessurum verecundia aetatis eius maiestatisque; cum periculum, cum dimicatio proposita sit, neque cedere sua sponte neque cessurum; §10.24.15et, si nihil aliud ex eo certamine tulerit, illud certe laturum, ut, quod populi sit, populus iubeat potius, quam patres gratificentur. §10.24.16Iovem optimum maximum deosque inmortales se precari, ut ita sortem aequam sibi cum collega dent, si eandem virtutem felicitatemque in bello administrando daturi sint. §10.24.17certe id et natura aequum et exemplo utile esse et ad famam populi Romani pertinere, eos consules esse, quorum utrolibet duce bellum Etruscum geri recte possit.
He gradually reproached Decius for having chosen him as an adversary rather than as a partner in command, and for having envied their three harmonious colleagueships. Finally, he strove for nothing more than that, if they deemed him worthy of the province, they should send him to it: he had submitted to the judgment of the senate, and would be in the hands of the people. Publius Decius complained of the injustice of the senate: as long as they could, the patricians had striven to prevent the plebeians from having access to high offices; after merit itself had prevailed, so that no class of men should be without honor, they were seeking how to render void not only the votes of the people but even the decisions of fortune, and to turn them into the power of a few. All consuls before him had cast lots for their provinces; now the senate was giving Fabius his province without the lot. If this was for his honor, he had deserved so well of himself and of the state that he would favor the glory of Quintus Fabius, provided it did not shine by his own insult; but who could doubt that, where there was only one harsh and difficult war, when it was assigned to one colleague without the lot, the other consul was regarded as superfluous and useless? Fabius boasted of his achievements in Etruria; Publius Decius also wished to boast, and perhaps he would extinguish that fire which the other had left smothered, in such a way that it so often broke out unexpectedly into a new conflagration. Finally, he would yield honors and rewards to his colleague out of respect for his age and dignity; but when danger, when conflict was proposed, he would neither yield of his own accord nor would he yield in the future; and if he should gain nothing else from that contest, he would at least gain this, that the people should order what belonged to the people, rather than that the patricians should bestow it as a favor. He prayed to Jupiter Optimus Maximus and the immortal gods that they would grant him a fair lot with his colleague only if they were going to grant him the same valor and good fortune in conducting the war. Certainly it was both fair by nature and useful as an example, and appropriate to the reputation of the Roman people, that those should be consuls under the leadership of either of whom the Etruscan war could be properly waged.
Fabius nihil aliud precatus populum Romanum, §10.24.18quam ut, priusquam intro vocarentur ad suffragium tribus, Ap. Claudi praetoris adlatas ex Etruria litteras audirent, comitio abiit.
Fabius, having prayed for nothing else from the Roman people than that, before the tribes were called to vote, they should hear the letter of the praetor Appius Claudius sent from Etruria, left the comitium.
nec minore populi consensu quam senatus provincia Etruria extra sortem Fabio decreta est.
And with no less consensus of the people than of the senate, the province of Etruria was decreed to Fabius without the lot.