§3.11.1at ex parte altera consules in conspectu eorum positis sellis dilectum habebant.
But on the other side, the consuls, having placed their chairs in the sight of them, were holding the levy.
eo decurrunt tribuni contionemque secum trahunt.
There the tribunes ran down and drew the assembly with them.
citati pauci velut rei experiundae causa, et statim vis coorta.
A few were called, as if for the sake of testing the matter, and immediately violence arose.
§3.11.2quemcumque lictor iussu consulis prendisset, tribunus mitti iubebat; neque suum cuique ius modum faciebat, sed virium spes, et manu obtinendum erat, quod intenderes.
Whomever the lictor by order of the consul had seized, the tribune ordered to be released; nor did his own right set a limit for anyone, but the hope of strength did, and what one intended had to be obtained by force.
§3.11.3quem ad modum se tribuni gessissent in prohibendo dilectu, sic se patres in lege, quae per omnes comitiales dies ferebatur, impedienda gerebant.
In what manner the tribunes had behaved themselves in prohibiting the levy, in the same manner the patricians behaved themselves in obstructing the law, which was brought forward through all the comitial days.
§3.11.4initium erat rixae, cum discedere populum iussissent tribuni, quod patres se submoveri haud sinebant.
The beginning of the brawl was when the tribunes had ordered the people to disperse, because the patricians did not allow themselves to be removed.
nec fere seniores rei intererant, quippe quae non consilio regenda, sed permissa temeritati audaciaeque esset.
Nor were the elders for the most part present in the matter, since it was not to be ruled by counsel, but had been abandoned to rashness and audacity.
§3.11.5multum et consules se abstinebant, ne cui in conluuione rerum maiestatem suam contumeliae offerrent.
The consuls also abstained much, lest in the confusion of affairs they should offer their majesty to the insult of anyone.
§3.11.6caeso erat Quinctius, ferox iuvenis qua nobilitate gentis, qua corporis magnitudine et viribus.
There was Caeso Quinctius, a fierce youth, both by the nobility of his family and by the magnitude of his body and strength.
ad ea munera data a diis et ipse addiderat multa belli decora facundiamque in foro, ut nemo non lingua, non manu promptior in civitate haberetur.
To these gifts given by the gods, he himself had also added many military honors and eloquence in the forum, so that no one in the state was held more prompt either in tongue or in hand.
§3.11.7hic cum in medio patrum agmine constitisset eminens inter alios, velut omnes dictaturas consulatusque gerens in voce ac viribus suis, unus impetus tribunicios popularesque procellas sustinebat.
When this man had stood in the midst of the body of the patricians, towering among the others, as if bearing all dictatorships and consulships in his voice and strength, he alone sustained the tribunician attacks and the popular storms.
§3.11.8hoc duce saepe pulsi foro tribuni, fusa ac fugata plebes est; qui obvius fuerat, mulcatus nudatusque abibat, ut satis appareret, si sic agi liceret, victam legem esse.
With him as leader, the tribunes were often driven from the forum, and the plebs were routed and put to flight; whoever had stood in his way went away beaten and stripped, so that it appeared clearly enough that, if it were permitted to act thus, the law was defeated.
§3.11.9tum prope iam perculsis aliis tribunis A. Verginius ex collegio unus Caesoni capitis diem dicit.
Then, when the other tribunes were now almost dismayed, Aulus Verginius alone of the college appointed a day of trial for Caeso on a capital charge.
atrox ingenium accenderat eo facto magis quam conterruerat; eo acrius obstare legi, agitare plebem, tribunos velut iusto persequi bello.
By this act he had inflamed his fierce disposition more than he had terrified it; so much the more sharply did he oppose the law, harass the plebs, and pursue the tribunes as if in a regular war.
§3.11.10accusator pati reum ruere invidiaeque flammam ac materiam criminibus suis suggerere; legem interim non tam ad spem perferendi quam ad lacessendam Caesonis temeritatem ferre.
The accuser allowed the defendant to ruin himself, and to supply the flame of hatred and material for his charges; meanwhile he brought forward the law, not so much in hope of passing it as to provoke the rashness of Caeso.
§3.11.11ibi multa saepe ab iuventute inconsulte dicta factaque in unius Caesonis suspectum incidunt ingenium.
There, many things often spoken and done inconsiderately by the youth fell upon the suspected character of Caeso alone.
§3.11.12tamen legi resistebatur.
Yet the law was resisted.
et A. Verginius identidem plebi: “ecquid sentitis iam vos, Quirites, Caesonem simul civem et legem, quam cupitis, habere non posse?
And Aulus Verginius repeatedly said to the plebs: "Do you not now perceive, Quirites, that you cannot have Caeso as a citizen and the law which you desire at the same time?
§3.11.13quamquam quid ego legem loquor? libertati obstat;
And yet, why do I speak of the law?
omnes Tarquinios superbia exsuperat.
He stands in the way of liberty; he surpasses all the Tarquins in pride.
expectate, dum consul aut dictator fiat, quem privatum viribus et audacia regnantem videtis. ” adsentiebantur multi pulsatos se querentes et tribunum ad reum peragendum ultro incitabant.
Wait until he becomes consul or dictator, this man whom you see ruling by force and audacity while still a private citizen." Many assented, complaining that they had been beaten, and of their own accord incited the tribune to prosecute the defendant to the end.