§24.22.1luce prima populus omnis, armatus inermisque, in Achradinam ad curiam convenit.
At early dawn all the people, armed and unarmed, assembled in Achradina at the senate-house.
ibi pro Concordiae ara, quae in eo sita loco erat, ex principibus unus nomine Polyaenus contionem et liberam et mod ratam habuit.
There, before the altar of Concordia, which was situated in that place, one of the leading men, Polyaenus by name, delivered a speech both free and moderate.
§24.22.2servitutis formidines indignitatesque homines expertos adversus notum malum inritatos esse discordia civilis quas inportet clades, audisse magis patribus Syracusanos quam ipsos vidisse.
He said that men who had experienced the terrors and indignities of servitude were provoked against a well-known evil; but as to what disasters civil discord brings, the Syracusans had rather heard from their fathers than seen them themselves.
§24.22.3arma quod inpigre ceperint, laudare, magis laudaturum, si non utantur nisi ultima necessitate coacti.
He praised them because they had quickly taken up arms; he would praise them more, if they did not use them unless compelled by the ultimate necessity.
§24.22.4in praesentia legatos ad Adranodorum mitti placere, qui denuntient, ut in potestate senatus ac populi sit, portas Insulae aperiat, tradat praesidium.
For the present, it was resolved that ambassadors be sent to Adranodorus to demand that he submit to the authority of the senate and people, open the gates of the Island, and hand over the garrison.
§24.22.5si tutelam alieni regni suum regnum velit facere, eundem se censere multo acrius ab Adranodoro quam ab Hieronymo repeti libertatem.
If he wished to make the guardianship of another's kingdom into his own kingdom, he judged that liberty must be reclaimed much more fiercely from Adranodorus than from Hieronymus.
ab hac contione legati missi sunt.
From this assembly the ambassadors were sent.
§24.22.6senatus inde haberi coeptus est, quod sicut regnante Hierone manserat publicum consilium, ita post mortem eius ante eam diem nulla de re neque convocati neque consulti fuerant.
Then the senate began to be held, which, though it had remained a public council during the reign of Hieron, had not been convened or consulted on any matter after his death before that day.
§24.22.7ut ventum ad Adranodorum est ipsum quidem movebat et civium consensus et cum aliae occupatae urbis partes, tum pars Insulae vel munitissima prodita atque alienata.
When they came to Adranodorus, he was indeed moved both by the consensus of the citizens and because, while other parts of the city had been occupied, even the most fortified part of the Island had been betrayed and alienated.
§24.22.8sed evocatum eum ab legatis Damarata uxor, filia Hieronis, inflata adhuc regiis animis ac muliebri spiritu, admonet saepe usurpatae Dionysi tyranni vocis, qua pedibus tractum, §24.22.9non insidentem equo relinquere tyrannidem dixerit debere.
But his wife Damarata, the daughter of Hieron, still inflated with royal pride and womanly spirit, called him aside from the ambassadors and reminded him of the saying so often used by the tyrant Dionysius, who said that one ought to leave a tyranny not seated on a horse, but dragged by the feet.
facile esse momento, quo quis velit, cedere possessione magnae fortunae, facere et parare eam difficile atque arduum esse.
It was easy, she said, to withdraw from the possession of a great fortune at the moment one wished; but to create and prepare it was difficult and arduous.
§24.22.10spatium sumeret ad consultandum ab legatis; eo uteretur ad arcessendos ex Leontinis milites, quibus si pecuniam regiam pollicitus esset, omnia in potestate eius futura.
He should take time for deliberation from the ambassadors; he should use it to summon the soldiers from Leontini, to whom if he promised the royal money, everything would be in his power.
§24.22.11haec muliebria consilia Adranodorus neque tota aspernatus est neque extemplo accepit, tutiorem ad opes adfectandas ratus esse viam, si in praesentia tempori cessisset.
Adranodorus neither entirely rejected nor immediately accepted these womanly counsels, thinking that there was a safer way to aim at power if for the present he yielded to the time.
§24.22.12itaque legatos renuntiare iussit futurum se in senatus ac populi potestate.
Therefore, he ordered the ambassadors to report back that he would submit to the power of the senate and people.
postero die luce prima patefactis Insulae portis in forum Achradinae venit.
At early dawn on the following day, the gates of the Island having been opened, he came into the forum of Achradina.
§24.22.13ibi in aram Concordiae ex qua pridie Polyaenus contionatus erat, escendit orationemque eam orsus est, qua primum cunctationis suae veniam petivit:
There he ascended the altar of Concordia, from which Polyaenus had spoken the day before, and began a speech in which he first asked pardon for his hesitation.
§24.22.14se enim clausas habuisse portas non separantem suas res a publicis, sed strictis semel gladiis timentem, qui finis caedibus esset futurus, utrum, quod satis libertati foret, contenti nece tyranni essent, an, quicumque aut propinquitate aut adfinitate aut aliquis ministeriis regiam contigissent, alienae culpae rei trucidarentur.
For he said he had kept the gates closed, not separating his own affairs from the public ones, but fearing, once swords were drawn, what end there would be to the slaughter; whether they would be content with the death of the tyrant, which would be sufficient for liberty, or whether whoever had touched the palace either by kinship or affinity or by any services would be butchered as guilty of another's fault.
§24.22.15postquam animadverterit eos, qui liberassent patriam, servare etiam liberatam velle atque undique consuli in medium, non dubitasse, quin et corpus suum et cetera omnia, quae suae fidei tutelaeque essent, quoniam eum, qui mandasset, suus furor absumpsisset, patriae restitueret.
After he perceived that those who had liberated their country wished also to preserve it when liberated, and that the public good was being consulted on all sides, he did not hesitate to restore to his country both his own person and all other things which were under his trust and protection, since his own madness had consumed the one who had entrusted them.
§24.22.16conversus deinde ad interfectores tyranni ac nomine appellans Theodotum ac Sosin “facinus” inquit “memorabile fecistis; §24.22.17sed mihi credite, incohata vestra gloria, nondum perfecta est, periculumque ingens manet, nisi paci et concordiae consulitis, ne libera efferatur res publica. ”
Turning then to the slayers of the tyrant and calling Theodotus and Sosis by name, he said, "You have performed a memorable deed; but believe me, your glory is only begun, not yet completed; and a huge danger remains, lest, unless you consult for peace and harmony, the free commonwealth be carried out to its grave."