§3.15.1accipiunt civitatem placidiorem consules C. Claudius, Appi filius, et P. Valerius Publicola.
The consuls Gaius Claudius, son of Appius, and Publius Valerius Publicola took over a more peaceful state.
nihil novi novus annus attulerat; legis ferendae aut accipiendae cura civitatem tenebat.
The new year had brought nothing new; the concern of proposing or accepting the law kept the state occupied.
§3.15.2quantum iuniores patrum plebi se magis insinuabant, eo acrius contra tribuni tendebant, ut plebi suspectos eos criminando facerent: coniurationem factam; §3.15.3Caesonem Romae esse; interficiendorum tribunorum, trucidandae plebis consilia inita; id negotii datum ab senioribus patrum, ut iuventus tribuniciam potestatem e re publica tolleret formaque eadem civitatis esset, quae ante Sacrum montem occupatum fuerat.
The more the younger patricians insinuated themselves into the favor of the plebeians, the more fiercely the tribunes strove against them, in order to make them suspected by the plebeians through accusations: that a conspiracy had been formed; that Caeso was in Rome; that plans had been entered into for murdering the tribunes and massacring the plebeians; that this task had been assigned by the older patricians, so that the youth might abolish the tribunician power from the commonwealth and that the state might be in the same form as it had been before the Sacred Mount was occupied.
et a Volscis §3.15.4et Aequis statum iam ac prope sollemne in singulos annos bellum timebatur, propiusque aliud novum malum necopinato exortum.
And from the Volscians and the Aequians a constant and now almost customary war every year was feared, and another new evil arose unexpectedly closer at hand.
§3.15.5exules servique, ad duo milia hominum et quingenti, duce Ap. Herdonio Sabino nocte Capitolium atque arcem occupavere.
Exiles and slaves, about two thousand five hundred men, under the leadership of Appius Herdonius the Sabine, occupied the Capitol and the citadel by night.
§3.15.6confestim in arce facta caedes eorum, qui coniurare et simul capere arma noluerant; alii inter tumultum praecipites pavore in forum devolant; alternae voces “ad arma!” et “hostes in urbe sunt” audiebantur.
Immediately in the citadel a slaughter was made of those who had been unwilling to join the conspiracy and take up arms at the same time; others, in the midst of the tumult, rushed headlong in panic down into the forum; alternate cries of "To arms!" and "The enemy is in the city!" were heard.
§3.15.7consules et armare plebem et inermem pati timebant incerti, quod malum repentinum, externum an intestinum, ab odio plebis an ab servili fraude, urbem invasisset.
The consuls were afraid both to arm the plebeians and to leave them unarmed, being uncertain what sudden evil, whether foreign or domestic, from the hatred of the plebs or from slave treachery, had invaded the city.
sedabant tumultus, sedando interdum movebant; nec enim poterat pavida et consternata multitudo regi imperio.
They tried to quiet the tumult, but by trying to quiet it they sometimes stirred it up; for the terrified and dismayed multitude could not be ruled by authority.
§3.15.8dant tamen arma, non vulgo, tantum ut incerto hoste praesidium satis fidum ad omnia esset.
Yet they gave out arms, not to the general public, but only so far that, with the enemy being uncertain, there might be a sufficiently reliable guard for all emergencies.
solliciti reliquum noctis incertique, qui homines, quantus numerus hostium esset, in stationibus disponendis ad opportuna omnis urbis loca egere.
Anxious and uncertain for the rest of the night as to who the men were and how great the number of the enemy was, they spent the time in posting guards at all suitable places in the city.
lux deinde aperuit bellum ducemque belli.
Then daylight revealed the war and the leader of the war.
§3.15.9servos ad libertatem Ap. Herdonius ex Capitolio vocabat: se miserrimi cuiusque suscepisse causam, ut exules iniuria pulsos in patriam reduceret et servitiis grave iugum demeret.
From the Capitol Appius Herdonius was calling the slaves to liberty, declaring that he had undertaken the cause of all the most wretched, so that he might bring back to their country the exiles who had been unjustly expelled, and remove the heavy yoke from the slaves.
id malle populo Romano auctore fieri; si ibi spes non sit, se Volscos et Aequos et omnia extrema temptaturum et concitaturum.
He preferred that this be done with the authorization of the Roman people; if there should be no hope there, he would try and stir up the Volscians, the Aequians, and all extreme measures.