[9,39] Ἀνήρ τις ἐκ τῶν δημοτικῶν τὰ πολέμια λαμπρός, Βολέρων Πόπλιος, ἡγεμονίαν ἐσχηκὼς λόχων ἐν ταῖς προτέραις στρατείαις, τότ´ ἀντὶ λοχαγοῦ στρατιώτης πρὸς αὐτῶν κατεγράφετο. ὡς δ´ ἠναντιοῦτο καὶ οὐκ ἠξίου χώραν ἀτιμοτέραν λαβεῖν οὐδὲν ἡμαρτηκὼς ἐν ταῖς προτέραις στρατείαις, δυσανασχετοῦντες οἱ ὕπατοι τὴν παρρησίαν αὐτοῦ τοῖς ῥαβδούχοις ἐκέλευσαν τὴν ἐσθῆτά τε περικαταρρῆξαι καὶ ταῖς ῥάβδοις τὸ σῶμα ξαίνειν. ὁ δὲ νεανίας τούς τε δημάρχους ἐπεκαλεῖτο, καί, εἴ τι ἀδικεῖ, κρίσιν ἐπὶ τῶν δημοτῶν ὑπέχειν ἠξίου. ὡς δ´ οὐ προσεῖχον αὐτῷ τὸν νοῦν οἱ ὕπατοι, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ῥαβδούχοις ἄγειν καὶ τύπτειν ἐπεκελεύοντο, οὐκ ἀνασχετὸν ἡγησάμενος εἶναι τὴν ὕβριν αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ ταμίας τῆς δίκης γίνεται. τόν τε γὰρ πρῶτον προσελθόντα τῶν ῥαβδούχων παίων εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον ἐναντίαις πυγμαῖς νεανίας καὶ ἐρρωμένος ἀνὴρ ἀνατρέπει καὶ τὸν ἐπὶ τούτῳ. ἀγανακτησάντων δὲ τῶν ὑπάτων καὶ πᾶσιν ἅμα τοῖς ὑπηρέταις προσελθεῖν κελευσάντων δεινόν τι τοῖς παροῦσι τῶν δημοτικῶν ἐφάνη· καὶ αὐτίκα συστραφέντες ἀθρόοι καὶ ἀναβοήσαντες τὸ παρακλητικὸν τῆς ἀλλήλων ὀργῆς τόν τε νεανίσκον ἐξήρπασαν καὶ τοὺς ῥαβδούχους ἀπέστησαν παίοντες καὶ τελευτῶντες ἐπὶ τοὺς ὑπάτους ὥρμησαν, καὶ εἰ μὴ καταλιπόντες ἐκεῖνοι τὴν ἀγορὰν ἔφυγον, ἀνήκεστον ἄν τι κακὸν ἐξειργάσαντο. ἐκ δὲ τούτου διειστήκει πᾶσα ἡ πόλις, καὶ οἱ τέως ἡσυχάζοντες δήμαρχοι τότ´ ἠγριοῦντο καὶ τῶν ὑπάτων κατηγόρουν. περιειστήκει τε ἡ περὶ τῆς κληρουχίας στάσις εἰς ἕτερον μείζονα {διὰ τὸν} ὑπὲρ τοῦ κόσμου τῆς πολιτείας ἀνῶνα. οἱ μέν γε πατρίκιοι τοῖς ὑπάτοις ὡς καταλυομένης αὐτῶν τῆς ἐξουσίας συναγανακτοῦντες τὸν ἐπιβαλεῖν χεῖρας τοῖς ὑπηρέταις τολμήσαντα κατὰ κρημνοῦ βαλεῖν ἠξίουν. οἱ δὲ δημοτικοὶ συστρέψαντες αὑτοὺς κατεβόων τε καὶ παρεκελεύοντο μὴ προδιδόναι σφῶν τὴν ἐλευθερίαν, ἀλλ´ ἐπὶ τὴν βουλὴν τὸ πρᾶγμα ἄγειν καὶ τῶν ὑπάτων κατηγορεῖν καὶ δίκης τινὸς παρ´ αὐτῶν ἠξίουν τυχεῖν, ὅτι τὸν ἐπικαλεσάμενον τὴν ἐκ τῶν δημάρχων βοήθειαν, καὶ ἐν τῷ δήμῳ κρίσιν ὑπέχειν, εἴ τι πλημμελεῖ, βουλόμενον, οὐδετέρου τυχεῖν εἴασαν τῶν δικαίων, ἀλλ´ ἐν ἀνδραπόδου μοίρᾳ τὸν ἐλεύθερον καὶ πολίτην ἔθεντο παίειν ἐπικελευόμενοι. ἀντιτεταγμένων δὴ τούτων καὶ οὐδετέρων εἶξαι βουλομένων τοῖς ἑτέροις, ἅπας ὁ λοιπὸς τῆς ὑπατείας ἐκείνης ἐδαπανήθη χρόνος, οὔτε πολεμικαῖς πράξεσι κοσμηθεὶς καλαῖς οὔτε πολιτικαῖς λόγου ἀξίαις.

[9,39] A certain man of the plebeians, famous for his exploits in war, Volero Publius, who had commanded centuries in the late campaigns, was now listed by the consuls as a common soldier instead of a centurion. Upon his objecting to this and refusing to take a lower rank when he had been guilty of misconduct in the former campaigns, the consuls, offended at his frankness, ordered the lictors to strip him and lash his body with their rods. The young man called upon the tribunes for assistance, and asked, if he were guilty of any crime, to stand trial before the plebeians. When the consuls paid no heed to him but repeated their orders to the lictors to take him away and flog him, he regarded the insult as intolerable and took justice into his own hands. The first lictor who approached him he struck squarely in the face with his fists, and being a young man and vigorous, he knocked him down; and the next one likewise. When the consuls in their anger ordered all their attendants to approach him at the same time, the plebeians who were present thought it an outrageous thing. And immediately gathering together in a body and shouting the cry used to incite one another's resentment, they snatched the young man away and repulsed the lictors with blows, and at last made a rush against the consuls; and if those magistrates had not left the Forum and fled, the mob (p53) would have done some irreparable mischief. As a result of this incident the whole city was divided, and those tribunes who till then had remained quiet grew wild with rage and inveighed against the consuls. Thus the dissensions over the land-allotment had turned into another quarrel of greater consequence because of the contest concerning the form of government. On the one hand the patricians, believing that the power of the consuls was being destroyed, shared their indignation and demanded that the man who had dared to lay hands on their attendants should be hurled down from the precipice. On the other hand the plebeians, assembling together, raised a loud clamour and exhorted one another not to betray their liberty, but to carry the matter before the senate, to accuse the consuls and to endeavour to ought to be some justice from them because they had refused to permit a man who had invoked the assistance of the tribunes and asked to be tried before the populace, in case he were guilty of any wrongdoing, to obtain either of these rights, but had treated him like a slave, though he was free born and a citizen, when they ordered him to be beaten. The two parties being thus arrayed against one another and neither being willing to yield to the other, all the remaining time of this consulship was consumed without being marked either by any glorious exploits in war or by achievements at home worthy of mention.