§5.12.1his orationibus incitata plebs denis milibus aeris gravis reos condemnat nequiquam Sergio Martem communem belli fortunamque accusante, Verginio deprecante, ne infelicior domi quam militiae esset.
Incited by these speeches, the plebeians condemned the defendants to a fine of ten thousand asses of heavy bronze each, though in vain did Sergius blame Mars, common to all in battle, and the fortune of war, and in vain did Virginius entreat that he might not be more unhappy at home than on military service.
§5.12.2in hos versa ira populi cooptationis tribunorum fraudisque contra legem Treboniam factae memoriam obscuram fecit.
The anger of the people, turned against these men, obscured the memory of the co-optation of the tribunes and the fraud committed against the Trebonian law.
Victores tribuni, §5.12.3ut praesentem mercedem iudicii plebes haberet, legem agrariam promulgant tributumque conferri prohibent, §5.12.4cum tot exercitibus stipendio opus esset resque militiae ita prospere gererentur, ut nullo bello veniretur ad exitum spei.
The victorious tribunes, in order that the plebeians might have an immediate reward for the judgment, proposed an agrarian law and forbade the war tax to be collected, although with so many armies there was need of pay, and military affairs were being conducted so successfully that in no war was an end to their hopes being reached.
namque Veis castra, quae amissa erant, recuperata castellis praesidiisque firmabantur; praeerant tribuni militum M. Aemilius et K. Fabius.
For at Veii the camp, which had been lost, was recovered and strengthened with forts and garrisons; the military tribunes Marcus Aemilius and Kaeso Fabius were in command.
§5.12.5a M. Furio in Faliscis et a Cn. Cornelio in Capenate agro hostes nulli extra moenia inventi; praedae actae incendiisque villarum ac frugum vastati fines; oppida wne oppugnata nec obsessa sunt.
By Marcus Furius among the Faliscans and by Gnaeus Cornelius in the territory of Capena, no enemies were found outside their walls; plunder was carried off, and their territories were devastated by the burning of farmhouses and crops; the towns were neither assaulted nor besieged.
§5.12.6at in Volscis depopulato agro Anxur nequiquam oppugnatum loco alto situm et, postquam vis inrita erat, vallo fossaque obsideri coeptum.
But among the Volscians, after their territory was plundered, Anxur, situated on a high place, was assaulted in vain, and after force proved ineffective, they began to besiege it with a rampart and a trench.
Valerio Potito Volsci provincia evenerat.
The Volscian province had fallen to Valerius Potitus.
§5.12.7hoc statu militarium rerum seditio intestina maiore mole coorta, quam bella tractabantur; et cum tributum conferri per tribunos non posset nec stipendium imperatoribus mitteretur aeraque militaria flagitaret miles, haud procul erat, quin castra quoque urbanae seditionis contagione turbarentur.
In this state of military affairs, internal discord arose with greater weight than the wars were being conducted; and since the tax could not be collected through the tribunes, nor pay sent to the generals, and the soldiers demanded their military pay, it was not far from the case that the camp also would be disturbed by the contagion of the urban discord.
§5.12.8inter has iras plebis in patres cum tribuni plebi nunc illud tempus esse dicerent stabiliendae libertatis et ab Sergiis Verginiisque ad plebeios viros fortes ac strenuos transferendi summi honoris, §5.12.9non tamen ultra processum est, quam ut unus ex plebe, usurpandi iuris causa, P. Licinius Calvus tribunus militum consulari potestate crearetur; ceteri patricii creati, §5.12.10P. Manlius, L. Titinius, P. Maelius, L. Furius Medullinus, L. Publilius Volscus.
Amidst these resentments of the plebeians against the patricians, when the tribunes of the plebs were saying that now was the time to establish liberty and to transfer the highest office from the likes of Sergius and Virginius to brave and energetic plebeian men, yet things did not proceed further than that one from the plebs, for the sake of exercising their right, Publius Licinius Calvus, should be elected military tribune with consular power; the others elected were patricians: Publius Manlius, Lucius Titinius, Publius Maelius, Lucius Furius Medullinus, and Lucius Publilius Volscus.
§5.12.11ipsa plebes mirabatur se tantam rem obtinuisse, non is modo, qui creatus erat, vir nullis ante honoribus usus, vetus tantum senator et aetate iam gravis.
The plebeians themselves wondered that they had obtained so great a thing, and not only he who had been elected, a man who had previously held no offices, but was only an old senator and already heavy with age.
§5.12.12nec satis constat, cur primus ac potissimus ad novum delibandum honorem sit habitus.
Nor is it sufficiently clear why he was regarded as the first and most eligible to taste the new honor.
alii Cn. Corneli fratris, qui tribunus militum priore anno fuerat triplexque stipendium equitibus dederat, gratia extractum ad tantum honorem credunt, alii orationem ipsum tempestivam de concordia ordinum patribus plebique gratam habuisse.
Some believe that he was drawn forth to so great an honor through the influence of his brother Gnaeus Cornelius, who had been military tribune the previous year and had given triple pay to the cavalry; others that he himself had delivered a timely speech on the harmony of the orders, pleasing to both patricians and plebeians.
§5.12.13hac victoria comitiorum exsultantes tribuni plebis, quod maxime rem publicam inpediebat, de tributo remiserunt.
Exulting in this victory of the elections, the tribunes of the plebs relented concerning the tax, which was the greatest obstacle to the state.
collatum oboedienter missumque ad exercitum est.
It was obediently paid and sent to the army.