§3.20.1Moverat plebem oratio consulis; erecti patres restitutam credebant rein publicam.
The speech of the consul had moved the plebs; the encouraged patricians believed that the republic had been restored.
consul alter, comes animosior quam auctor, suscepisse collegam priorem actiones tam gravis facile passus, in peragendis consularis officii partem ad se vindicabat.
The other consul, a companion more spirited than a leader, easily allowed his senior colleague to undertake such serious actions, and claimed a part of the consular duty for himself in carrying them out.
§3.20.2tum tribuni eludentes velut vana dicta persequi quaerendo, quonam modo exercitum educturi consules essent, quos dilectum habere nemo passurus esset?
Then the tribunes, mocking them as if they were empty words, sought to follow up by asking in what way the consuls were going to lead out an army, since no one would allow them to hold a levy.
§3.20.3“nobis vero” inquit Quinctius “nihil dilectu opus est, cum, quo tempore P. Valerius ad recipiundum Capitolium arma plebi dedit, omnes in verba iuraverint conventuros se iussu consulis nec iniussu abituros.
“For our part,” said Quinctius, “we have no need of a levy, since at the time when Publius Valerius gave arms to the plebs to recover the Capitol, they all swore to the formula that they would assemble at the order of the consul and would not depart without his order.
§3.20.4edicimus itaque, omnes, qui in verba iurastis, crastina die armati ad lacum Regillum adsitis. ” cavillari tum tribuni et populum exsolvere religione velle: privatum eo tempore Quinctium fuisse, cum sacramento adacti sint.
We therefore proclaim that all of you who have sworn to the formula shall be present tomorrow, armed, at Lake Regillus.” Then the tribunes began to cavil and wish to release the people from their religious obligation, saying that Quinctius had been a private citizen at the time when they were bound by the oath.
§3.20.5sed nondum haec, quae nunc tenet saeculum, neglegentia deum venerat, nec interpretando sibi quisque ius iurandum et leges aptas faciebat, sed suos potius mores ad ea accommodabat.
But that neglect of the gods, which now possesses this age, had not yet arrived, nor did everyone make oaths and laws fit themselves by interpreting them for their own benefit, but rather accommodated their own behavior to them.
§3.20.6igitur tribuni, ut inpediendae rei nulla spes erat, de proferenda profectione exercitus agere, eo magis, quod et augures iussos adesse ad Regillum lacum fama exierat locumque inaugurari, ubi auspicato cum populo agi posset, ut, quidquid Romae vi tribunicia rogatum esset, id comitiis ibi abrogaretur:
Therefore the tribunes, as there was no hope of obstructing the matter, began to treat for the postponement of the departure of the army, all the more because a rumor had gone out that the augurs had also been ordered to be present at Lake Regillus and that the place was to be inaugurated, where, after taking auspices, negotiations could be held with the people, so that whatever had been proposed at Rome by tribunician violence might there be abrogated in the assembly.
§3.20.7omnes id iussuros, quod consules vellent; neque enim provocationem esse longius ab urbe mille passuum, et tribunos, si eo veniant, in alia turba Quiritium subiectos fore consulari imperio.
Everyone would vote for what the consuls wished; for there was no right of appeal further than one mile from the city, and the tribunes, if they went there, would be subject to the consular authority in the general crowd of citizens.
§3.20.8terrebant haec; sed ille maximus terror animos agitabat, quod saepius Quinctius dictitabat se consulum comitia non habiturum: non ita civitatem aegram esse, ut consuetis remediis sisti posset; dictatore opus esse rei publicae, ut, qui se moverit ad sollicitandum statum civitatis, sentiat sine provocatione dictaturam esse.
These things caused alarm; but that greatest terror agitated their minds, because Quinctius repeatedly declared that he would not hold the election for consuls: that the state was not so sick that it could be cured by customary remedies; that the republic stood in need of a dictator, so that whoever should move to disturb the state of the city might feel that the dictatorship was without appeal.