§5.51.1“adeo mihi acerbae sunt, Quirites, contentiones cum tribunis plebis, ut nec tristissimi exilii solacium aliud habuerim, quoad Ardeae vixi, quam quod procul ab his certaminibus eram, et ob eadem haec non, si milies senatus consulto populique iussu revocaretis, rediturus umquam fuerim. §5.51.2nec nunc me, ut redirem, mea voluntas mutata, sed vestra fortuna perpulit; quippe, ut in sua sede maneret patria, id agebatur, non ut ego utique in patria essem.
"So bitter to me, Quirites, are the contentions with the tribunes of the plebs, that as long as I lived at Ardea, I had no other solace for my most sorrowful exile than that I was far from these struggles, and for these same reasons, even if you had recalled me a thousand times by decree of the senate and order of the people, I should never have returned. Nor is it my own will that has now changed to make me return, but your fortune that has compelled me; for indeed, the object was that the fatherland should remain in its own seat, not that I should by all means be in the fatherland.
et nunc quiescerem ac tacerem libenter, nisi haec quoque pro patria dimicatio esset, cui deesse, quoad vita suppetat, aliis turpe, Camillo etiam nefas est. §5.51.3quid enim repetiimus, quid obsessam ex hostium manibus eripuimus, si reciperatam ipsi deserimus? et cum victoribus Gallis, capta tota urbe Capitolium tamen atque arcem diique et homines Romani tenuerint et ibi habitaverint, victoribus Romanis, recuperata urbe arx quoque et Capitolium deseretur, et plus vastitatis huic urbi secunda nostra fortuna faciet, quam adversa fecit? §5.51.4equidem, si nobis cum urbe simul positae traditaeque per manus religiones nullae essent, tamen tam evidens numen hac tempestate rebus adfuit Romanis, ut omnem neglegentiam divini cultus exemptam hominibus putem. §5.51.5intuemini enim horum deinceps annorum vel secundas res vel adversas; invenietis omnia prospera evenisse sequentibus deos, adversa spernentibus. §5.51.6iam omnium primum Veiens bellum — per quot annos quanto labore gestum — non ante cepit finem, quam monitu deorum aqua ex lacu Albano emissa est.
And now I would gladly remain quiet and silent, did not this also concern a struggle for the fatherland; to fail which, as long as life lasts, is shameful for others, but for Camillus even a sin. For why did we seek to recover our city, why did we rescue it when besieged from the hands of the enemy, if we ourselves abandon it when recovered? And while, when the Gauls were victors and the entire city was captured, the Capitol and the citadel, the Roman gods and men, nevertheless held them and dwelt there, shall now, when the Romans are victors and the city is recovered, the citadel and the Capitol also be abandoned? And shall our good fortune cause more devastation to this city than our adversity did? For my part, even if we had no religious rites established and handed down to us from hand to hand together with the city, yet so manifest a divine power has been present in Roman affairs in this tempestuous time, that I think all negligence of divine worship has been removed from men. For look at the successes or adversities of these years in succession; you will find that all things turned out prosperously for those who followed the gods, and adversely for those who despised them. Now first of all, the Veientine war—waged for so many years with so much labor—did not reach an end until, by the warning of the gods, the water was drained from the Alban lake. What, then, of this recent and unprecedented disaster of our city?
§5.51.7quid haec tandem urbis nostrae clades nova? num ante exorta est, quam spreta vox caelo emissa de adventu Gallorum, quam gentium ius ab legatis nostris violatum, quam a nobis, cum vindicari deberet, eadem neglegentia deorum praetermissum? §5.51.8igitur victi captique ac redempti tantum poenarum dis hominibusque dedimus, ut terrarum orbi documento essemus. §5.51.9adversae deinde res admonuerunt religionum, confugimus in Capitolium ad deos, ad sedem Iovis optimi maximi; sacra in ruina rerum nostrarum alia terra celavimus, alia avecta in finitimas urbes amovimus ab hostium oculis; deorum cultum deserti ab dis hominibusque tamen non intermisimus. §5.51.10reddidere igitur patriam et victoriam et antiquum belli decus amissum et in hostes, qui caeci avaritia in pondere auri foedus ac fidem fefellerunt, verterunt terrorem fugamque et caedem.
Did it arise before the voice sent from heaven concerning the approach of the Gauls was despised, before the law of nations was violated by our envoys, and before that violation was passed over by us with the same negligence of the gods, when it ought to have been punished? Therefore, vanquished, captured, and ransomed, we have paid so great a penalty to gods and men that we might be a lesson to the whole world. Then, adversity reminded us of our religious duties; we fled to the Capitol, to the gods, to the seat of Jupiter Optimus Maximus; in the ruin of our affairs, we hid some of our sacred objects in the earth, and others we carried away to neighboring cities, removing them from the eyes of the enemy; though deserted by gods and men, we nevertheless did not interrupt the worship of the gods. Therefore, they have restored to us our fatherland, our victory, and our lost ancient glory in war; and upon the enemy, who, blinded by avarice, broke their treaty and pledge in the weighing of the gold, they have turned terror, flight, and slaughter."