[9,28] Ποπλίου δὲ Οὐαλερίου Ποπλικόλα καὶ Γαίου Ναυτίου παραλαβόντων τὴν ἀρχὴν ἕτερος ἀνὴρ πάλιν τῶν πατρικίων Σερούιος Σερουίλιος, ὁ τῷ παρελθόντι ὑπατεύσας ἔτει, μετ´ οὐ πολὺν ἢ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀποθέσθαι χρόνον εἰς τὸν ὑπὲρ τῆς ψυχῆς ἀγῶνα ἤχθη. οἱ δὲ προθέντες αὐτῷ τὴν ἐν τῷ δήμῳ δίκην δύο τῶν δημάρχων ἦσαν, Λεύκιος Καιδίκιος καὶ Τῖτος Στάτιος, οὐκ ἀδικήματος, ἀλλὰ τύχης ἀπαιτοῦντες λόγον, ὅτι κατὰ τὴν πρὸς Τυρρηνοὺς μάχην ὠσάμενος ἐπὶ τὸν χάρακα τῶν πολεμίων ὁ ἀνὴρ θρασύτερον μᾶλλον ἢ φρονιμώτερον, ἐδιώχθη τε ὑπὸ τῶν ἔνδον ἀθρόων ἐπεξελθόντων καὶ τὴν κρατίστην νεότητα ἀπέβαλεν. οὗτος ὁ ἀγὼν ἁπάντων ἐφάνη τοῖς πατρικίοις {ἀγώνων} βαρύτατος, ἠγανάκτουν τε συνιόντες πρὸς ἀλλήλους καὶ δεινὸν ἐποιοῦντο, εἰ τὰς εὐτολμίας τῶν στρατηγῶν καὶ τὸ μηδένα κίνδυνον ὀκνεῖν, ἐὰν ἐναντιωθῇ ταῖς ἐπιβολαῖς αὐτῶν τὸ δαιμόνιον, εἰς κατηγορίαν ἄξουσιν οἱ μὴ στάντες παρὰ τὰ δεινά· δειλίας τε καὶ ὄκνου καὶ τοῦ μηδὲν ἔτι καινουργεῖν τοὺς ἡγεμόνας, ὑφ´ ὧν ἐλευθερία τ´ ἀπόλλυται καὶ ἡγεμονία καταλύεται, τοὺς τοιούτους ἀγῶνας αἰτίους ἔσεσθαι κατὰ τὸ εἰκὸς ἐλογίζοντο. παρακλήσει τε πολλῇ ἐχρῶντο τῶν δημοτικῶν μὴ καταγνῶναι τοῦ ἀνδρὸς τὴν δίκην, διδάσκοντες, ὡς μεγάλα βλάψουσι τὴν πόλιν ἐπὶ ταῖς ἀτυχίαις τοὺς στρατηγοὺς ζημιοῦντες. ἐπεὶ δ´ ὁ τοῦ ἀγῶνος ἐνέστη χρόνος, παρελθὼν εἷς τῶν δημάρχων κατηγόρησε τοῦ ἀνδρός, Λεύκιος Καιδίκιος, ὅτι δι´ ἀφροσύνην τε καὶ τοῦ στρατηγεῖν ἀπειρίαν εἰς πρόδηλον ἄγων ὄλεθρον τὰς δυνάμεις ἀπώλεσε τῆς πόλεως τὴν κρατίστην ἀκμήν, καὶ εἰ μὴ ταχεῖα τοῦ κακοῦ γνῶσις ἐγένετο τῷ συνυπάτῳ, καὶ κατὰ σπουδὴν ἄγων τὰς δυνάμεις τούς τε πολεμίους ἀνέστειλε καὶ τοὺς σφετέρους ἔσωσε, μηδὲν ἂν γενέσθαι τὸ κωλῦσον ἅπασαν ἀπολωλέναι τὴν ἑτέραν δύναμιν καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν ἡμίσειαν ἀντὶ διπλασίας εἶναι τὴν πόλιν. τοιαῦτ´ εἰπὼν μάρτυρας ἐπηγάγετο λοχαγούς τε, ὅσοι περιῆσαν, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων στρατιωτῶν τινας, οἳ τὸ ἑαυτῶν αἰσχρὸν ἐπὶ τῇ τότε ἥττῃ τε καὶ φυγῇ ζητοῦντες ἀπολύσασθαι τὸν στρατηγὸν ᾐτιῶντο τῆς περὶ τὸν ἀγῶνα δυσποτμίας. ἔπειτ´ οἶκτον ἐπὶ τῇ συμφορᾷ τῶν τότε τεθνηκότων καταχεάμενος πολὺν καὶ τὸ δεινὸν αὐξήσας, τά τ´ ἄλλα, ὅσα εἰς φθόνον κοινῇ κατὰ τῶν πατρικίων λεγόμενα τοὺς μέλλοντας ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς δεήσεσθαι ἀνείρξειν ἔμελλεν ἐκ πολλῆς ὑπεροψίας διελθών, παρέδωκε τὸν λόγον.

[9,28] When Publius Valerius Publicola and Gaius Nautius had succeeded to the consulship, another of the patricians, Servius Servilius, who had been consul the preceding year, was put on trial for his life not long after laying down his magistracy. Those who cited him to trial before the populace were Lucius Caedicius and Titus Statius, two of the tribunes, who demanded an accounting, not for any crime, but for his bad luck, inasmuch as in the battle against the Tyrrhenians he had pressed forward to the enemy's camp with greater daring than prudence, and being pursued by the garrison, who rushed out in a body, had lost the flower of the youth.This trial was regarded by the patricians as the most grievous of all; and meeting together, they expressed their resentment and indignation if boldness on the part of generals and their refusal to shirk any danger were going to be made a ground for (p17) accusations, in case Heaven opposed their plans, on the part of those who had not faced the dangers; and they reasoned that such trials would in all probability be the cause of cowardice, shirking and the lack of any further initiative on the part of commanders — the very weaknesses through which liberty is lost and supremacy undermined. They earnestly implored the plebeians not to condemn the man, pointing out that they would do great harm to the commonwealth if they punished their generals for being unfortunate.When the time for the trial was at hand, Lucius Caedicius, one of the tribunes, came forward and accused Servilius of having through his folly and inexperience in the duties of a general led his forces to manifest destruction and lost the finest manhood of the army; and he declared that if his colleague had not been informed promptly of the disaster and had not by bringing up his forces in all haste repulsed the enemy and saved their own men, nothing could have prevented the other army from being utterly destroyed and the state from being reduced henceforth to one-half its former members.After he had thus spoken, he produced as witnesses all the centurions who had survived and some of the rank and file, who in the effort to wipe out their own disgrace arising from that defeat and flight were ready to blame the general for the ill success of the engagement. Then, having poured out many words of commiseration for the fate of those who had lost their lives upon that occasion, exaggerated the disaster, and with great contempt of the patricians dwelt at length upon everything else which by exposing their whole order to hatred was sure to discourage all who were intending to intercede (p19) for the man, he gave him an opportunity of speaking.