§3.38.1idus Maiae venere.
The Ides of May came.
nullis subrogatis magistratibus privati pro decemviris neque animis ad imperium inhibendum inminutis neque ad speciem honoris insignibus prodeunt.
With no successor magistrates elected, the decemvirs stepped forward as private citizens, with no loss of determination to exercise power, nor discarding the insignia of their office.
id vero regnum haud dubie videri.
Indeed, this seemed beyond doubt a monarchy.
deploratur in perpetuum libertas, §3.38.2nec vindex quisquam existit aut futurus videtur.
Liberty was lamented as lost forever, and no champion appeared, nor did any seem likely to appear in the future.
nec ipsi solum desponderant animos, sed contemni coepti erant a finitimis populis imperiumque ibi esse, ubi non esset libertas, indignabantur.
And not only had they themselves lost heart, but they had begun to be despised by neighboring peoples, who felt indignant that empire should reside where liberty was not.
§3.38.3Sabini magna manu incursionem in agrum Romanum fecere lateque populati, cum hominum atque pecudum inulti praedas egissent, recepto ad Eretum, quod passim vagatum erat, agmine castra locant spem in discordia Romana ponentes: §3.38.4eam inpedimentum dilectui fore.
The Sabines made an incursion with a large force into Roman territory, and after wide devastation, when they had carried off booty of men and cattle with impunity, they rallied their column, which had been dispersed far and wide, near Eretum, and pitched their camp, placing their hope in Roman discord: believing that this would prove an obstacle to the enlistment.
non nuntii solum, sed per urbem agrestium fuga trepidationem iniecit.
Not only reports, but the flight of the country-people through the city struck terror.
decemviri consultant, quid opus facto sit, destituti inter patrum et plebis odia, addit terrorem insuper alium fortuna.
The decemvirs, left isolated between the hatred of the patricians and that of the plebeians, consulted on what needed to be done, while fortune added yet another terror on top.
§3.38.5aequi alia ex parte castra in Algido locant depopulanturque inde excursionibus Tusculanum agrum.
The Aequi from another quarter pitched camp on Mount Algidus, and from there devastated the Tusculan territory by incursions.
legati ea ab Tusculo praesidium orantes nuntiant.
Envoys from Tusculum reported these things, begging for aid.
§3.38.6is pavor perculit decemviros, ut senatum simul duobus circumstantibus urbem bellis consulerent.
This panic so struck the decemvirs that, with two wars simultaneously surrounding the city, they consulted the senate.
§3.38.7citari iubent in curiam patres haud ignari, quanta invidiae inmineret tempestas: omnes vastati agri periculorumque inminentium causas in se congesturos, temptationemque eam fore abolendi sibi magistratus, ni consensu resisterent imperioque inhibendo acriter in paucos praeferocis animi conatus aliorum conprimerent.
They ordered the patricians to be summoned to the curia, not unaware of how great a storm of unpopularity was impending: [knowing] that everyone would heap upon them the blame for the devastated lands and the imminent dangers, and that this would be an attempt to abolish their office, unless they resisted with one mind, and by vigorously exercising their authority against a few of the most defiant spirits, crushed the attempts of the rest.
§3.38.8postquam audita vox in foro est praeconis patres in curiam ad decemviros vocantis, velut nova res, quia intermiserant iam diu morem consulendi senatus, mirabundam plebem convertit, quidnam incidisset, cur ex tanto intervallo rem desuetam usurparent: §3.38.9hostibus belloque gratiam habendam, quod solitum quicquam liberae civitati fieret.
When the voice of the herald was heard in the forum summoning the senators to the curia to meet the decemvirs, it turned the attention of the wondering plebs, as if it were a novel event, because they had for a long time discontinued the custom of consulting the senate, to the question of what on earth had happened, and why, after so long an interval, they were reviving a disused practice: they muttered that thanks were due to the enemy and to the war, because something customary to a free state was being done.
circumspectare omnibus fori partibus senatorem raroque usquam noscitare; §3.38.10curiam inde ac solitudinem circa decemviros intueri, cum et ipsi consensu invisum imperium et plebs, quia privatis ius non esset vocandi senatum, non convenire patres interpretarentur; iam caput fieri libertatem repetentium, si se plebs comitem senatui det et, quem ad modum patres vocati non coeant in senatum, sic plebs abnuat dilectum.
They looked around for senators in all parts of the forum, but rarely recognized one anywhere; then they looked at the curia and the solitude around the decemvirs, since both the senators themselves, in unison, and the plebs interpreted that the fathers were not assembling because the hated power belonged to private citizens, who had no right to convoke the senate; and that now a beginning was being made by those who sought to reclaim liberty, if the plebs should ally themselves with the senate and, just as the summoned senators were not assembling in the senate, so the plebs should refuse the levy.
haec fremunt plebes.
Thus the plebs murmured.
§3.38.11patrum haud fere quisquam in foro, in urbe rari erant.
Scarcely any of the patricians were in the forum, and they were rare in the city.
indignitate rerum cesserant in agros suarumque rerum erant omissa publica cura, tantum ab iniuria se abesse rati, quantum a coetu congressuque inpotentium dominorum se amovissent.
Out of indignation at the state of affairs, they had retired to their estates, and neglecting public care, were occupied with their own private affairs, thinking that they were as far removed from injury as they had distanced themselves from the meeting and association of their impotent masters.
postquam citati non conveniebant, §3.38.12dimissi circa domos adparitores simul ad pignera capienda sciscitandumque, num consulto detrectarent, referunt senatum in agris esse.
When, after being summoned, they did not assemble, attendants were sent around to their houses, both to take pledges and to inquire whether they were refusing deliberately; they reported that the senate was in the country.
laetius id decemviris accidit, quam si praesentes detrectare imperium referrent.
This happened to be more pleasing to the decemvirs than if they had reported that the senators, being present, were refusing their authority.
§3.38.13iubent acciri omnes senatumque in diem posterum edicunt; qui aliquanto spe ipsorum frequentior convenit.
They ordered them all to be summoned and proclaimed a meeting of the senate for the following day, which assembled in somewhat greater numbers than they had expected.
quo facto proditam a patribus plebs libertatem rata, quod iis, qui iam magistratu abissent, privatisque, si vis abesset, tamquam iure cogentibus senatus paruisset.
In consequence of this, the plebs believed that liberty had been betrayed by the patricians, because the senate had obeyed those who had already left office and were private citizens, just as if they had a legal right to compel them, had force been lacking.