§3.1.1Antio capto T. Aemilius et Q. Fabius consules fiunt.
After Antium was captured, Titus Aemilius and Quintus Fabius became consuls.
hic erat Fabius, qui unus exstinctae ad Cremeram genti superfuerat.
This was the Fabius who alone had survived when his clan was destroyed at the Cremera.
§3.1.2iam priore consulatu Aemilius dandi agri plebi fuerat auctor; itaque secundo quoque consulatu eius et agrarii se in spem legis erexerant, et tribuni rem contra consules saepe temptatam adiutore utique consule obtineri posse rati suscipiunt, et consul manebat in sententia sua.
Already in his former consulship, Aemilius had been a promoter of giving land to the plebs; therefore, in his second consulship also, the land-reformers had raised their hopes for the law, and the tribunes, thinking that a matter often attempted against the consuls could certainly be obtained now that a consul was their helper, took up the cause, and the consul remained firm in his opinion.
§3.1.3possessores et magna pars patrum, tribuniciis se iactare actionibus principem civitatis et largiendo de alieno popularem fieri querentes, totius invidiam rei a tribunis in consulem averterant.
The possessors and a large part of the patricians, complaining that the leading man of the state was puffing himself up with the actions of the tribunes and becoming popular by giving away other people's property, had turned the resentment of the whole matter from the tribunes onto the consul.
atrox certamen aderat, §3.1.4ni Fabius consilio neutri parti acerbo rem expedisset; T. Quincti ductu et auspicio agri captum priore anno aliquantum a Volscis esse; Antium, §3.1.5propinquam, opportunam et maritimam urbem, coloniam deduci posse; ita sine querellis possessorum plebem in agros ituram, civitatem in concordia fore.
A fierce conflict was at hand, had not Fabius settled the matter by a proposal harsh to neither party; that a considerable amount of land had been taken from the Volscians the year before under the leadership and auspices of Titus Quinctius; and that Antium, a neighboring, convenient, and maritime city, could be established as a colony; thus, without complaints from the possessors, the plebeians would go to the lands, and the state would remain in harmony.
haec sententia accepta est.
This proposal was accepted.
§3.1.6triumviros agro dando creat T. Quinctium, A. Verginium, P. Furium.
He appointed Titus Quinctius, Aulus Verginius, and Publius Furius as triumvirs for distributing the land.
§3.1.7iussi nomina dare, qui agrum accipere vellent.
They were ordered to give in their names, those who wished to receive land.
fecit statim, ut fit, fastidium copia, adeoque pauci nomina dedere, ut ad explendum numerum coloni Volsci adderentur; cetera multitudo poscere Romae agrum malle quam alibi accipere.
Immediately, as usually happens, abundance created disgust, and so few gave in their names that Volscian colonists were added to fill up the number; the rest of the multitude preferred to demand land at Rome rather than to receive it elsewhere.
§3.1.8aequi a Q. Fabio — is eo cum exercitu venerat — pacem petiere inritamque eam ipsi subita incursione in agrum Latinum fecere.
The Aequi sought peace from Quintus Fabius—who had come there with an army—and they themselves made it void by a sudden inroad into the Latin territory.