§3.36.1ille finis Appio alienae personae ferendae fuit; suo iam inde vivere ingenio coepit novosque collegas, iam priusquam inirent magistratum, in suos mores formare.
That was the end for Appius of wearing another's persona; from then on he began to live according to his own character, and to mold his new colleagues, even before they entered office, into his own habits.
§3.36.2cottidie coibant remotis arbitris; inde inpotentibus instructi consiliis, quae secreto ab aliis coquebant, iam haud dissimulando superbiam, rari aditus, conloquentibus difficiles, ad idus Maias rem perduxere.
Every day they met, removing witnesses; then, equipped with headstrong plans which they brewed secretly from others, no longer concealing their pride, difficult of access, and harsh to those speaking with them, they dragged the matter out until the Ides of May.
§3.36.3idus tum Maiae sollemnes ineundis magistratibus erant.
At that time, the Ides of May were the customary date for entering magistracies.
inito igitur magistratu primum honoris diem denuntiatione ingentis terroris insignem fecere.
Therefore, having entered office, they made the first day of their magistracy notable by the denunciation of a great terror.
nam cum ita priores decemviri servassent, ut unus fasces haberet et hoc insigne regium in orbem suam cuiusque vicem per omnes iret, subito omnes cum duodenis fascibus prodiere.
For whereas the former decemvirs had observed the practice that only one should have the fasces, and that this royal emblem should go through all in turn, according to each one's place, they suddenly all appeared with twelve fasces each.
§3.36.4centum viginti lictores forum inpleverant et cum fascibus secures inligatas praeferebant; nec attinuisse demi securem, cum sine provocatione creati essent, interpretabantur.
One hundred and twenty lictors had filled the forum, and they carried axes bound up with the fasces; they interpreted that it was not necessary for the axe to be removed, since they had been elected without the right of appeal.
§3.36.5decem regum species erat multiplicatusque terror non infimis solum, sed primoribus patrum ratis caedis causam ac principium quaeri, ut, si quis memorem libertatis vocem aut in senatu aut in populo misisset, statim virgae securesque etiam ad ceterorum metum expedirentur.
There was the appearance of ten kings, and terror was multiplied not only for the lowest but also for the leading men of the patricians, who believed that a pretext and beginning of slaughter was being sought, so that if anyone let fall a word mindful of liberty, either in the senate or among the people, the rods and axes might immediately be readied, even for the fear of the rest.
§3.36.6nam praeterquam quod in populo nihil erat praesidii sublata provocatione, intercessionem quoque consensu sustulerant, cum priores decemviri appellatione collegae corrigi reddita ab se iura tulissent et quaedam, quae sui iudicii videri possent, ad populun reiecissent.
For besides the fact that there was no protection among the people because appeal had been abolished, they had also by mutual consent removed the right of veto, whereas the former decemvirs had allowed their judgments to be corrected by appeal to a colleague, and had referred certain matters, which might seem to belong to their own jurisdiction, back to the people.
aliquamdiu aequatus inter omnes terror fuit; §3.36.7paulatim totus vertere in plebem coepit.
For a time, the terror was equal among all; gradually it began to turn entirely upon the plebs.
abstinebatur a patribus; in humiliores lubidinose crudeliterque consulebatur.
The patricians were spared; but the humbler classes were treated with caprice and cruelty.
hominum, non causarum toti erant, ut apud quos gratia vim aequi haberet.
They were entirely devoted to persons, not to causes, as men with whom personal favor had the force of justice.
§3.36.8iudicia domi conflabant, pronuntiabant in foro.
They concocted judgments at home and pronounced them in the forum.
si quis collegam appellasset, ab eo, ad quem venerat, ita discedebat, ut paeniteret non prioris decreto stetisse.
If anyone appealed to a colleague, he departed from the one to whom he had come in such a state that he regretted not having abided by the decree of the first.
§3.36.9opinio etiam sine auctore exierat non in praesentis modo temporis eos iniuriam conspirasse, sed foedus clandestinum inter ipsos iure iurando ictum, ne comitia haberent perpetuoque decemviratu possessum semel obtinerent imperium.
A rumor had also gone out, even without an author, that they had conspired not only for the injustice of the present time, but that a secret league had been struck between them with an oath, that they should not hold elections, and that by a perpetual decemvirate they should keep the power once possessed.