[9,52] Ταῦτ´ εἰπόντος Αἰμιλίου δεύτερος κληθεὶς Ἄππιος Κλαύδιος, ὁ τῷ πρόσθεν ὑπατεύσας ἔτει, τὴν ἐναντίαν γνώμην ἀπεφήνατο διδάσκων, ὡς οὔθ´ ἡ βουλὴ διανεῖμαι τὰ δημόσια προαίρεσιν ἔσχε· πάλαι γὰρ ἂν εἰληφέναι τὰ δόξαντ´ αὐτῇ τέλος· ἀλλ´ εἰς χρόνον καὶ διάγνωσιν ἑτέραν ἀνεβάλετο, παῦσαι προθυμουμένη τὴν τότε κατασχοῦσαν στάσιν, ἣν εἰσῆγεν ὁ τῇ τυραννίδι ἐπιχειρῶν ὕπατος καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα δίκας δοὺς καλάς· οὔθ´ οἱ μετὰ τὸ προβούλευμα λαχόντες ὕπατοι τέλος τοῖς ἐψηφισμένοις ἐπέθεσαν ὁρῶντες, ὅσων εἰσελεύσεται κακῶν εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἀρχὴ συνεθισθέντων τὰ κοινὰ τῶν πενήτων διαλαγχάνειν· αἵ τε μετ´ ἐκείνους πεντεκαίδεκα ὑπατεῖαι πολλῶν αὐταῖς ἐπαχθέντων ὑπὸ τοῦ δήμου κινδύνων οὐδὲν ὑπέμειναν, ὃ μὴ συνέφερε τῷ κοινῷ πράττειν, διὰ τὸ μηδ´ ἐξεῖναι σφίσι κατὰ τὸ προβούλευμα τοὺς γεωμόρους ἀποδεικνύειν, ἀλλὰ τοῖς πρώτοις ἐκείνοις ὑπάτοις. ὥστ´ οὐδ´ ὑμῖν, ἔφησεν, ὦ Οὐαλέριε, καὶ σὺ Αἰμίλιε, γῆς ἀναδασμοὺς εἰσφέρειν, οὓς οὐκ ἐπέταξεν ὑμῖν τὸ συνέδριον, οὔτε καλῶς ἔχει, προγόνων οὖσιν ἀγαθῶν, οὔτ´ ἀσφαλῶς. καὶ περὶ μὲν τοῦ προβουλεύματος, ὡς οὐ κρατεῖσθε ὑπ´ αὐτοῦ οἱ τοσούτοις ὕστερον ὑπατεύσαντες χρόνοις, ταῦθ´ ἱκανά. περὶ δὲ τοῦ βιασαμένους τινὰς ἢ λαθόντας σφετερίσασθαι τὰ δημόσια βραχὺς ἀπαρκεῖ μοι λόγος. εἰ γάρ τις οἶδε καρπούμενόν τινα, ὧν οὐκ ἔχει κτῆσιν ἀποδεῖξαι νόμῳ, μήνυσιν ἀπενεγκάτω πρὸς τοὺς ὑπάτους καὶ κρινάτω κατὰ τοὺς νόμους, οὓς οὐ νεωστὶ δεήσει γράφειν· πάλαι γὰρ ἐγράφησαν, καὶ οὐδεὶς αὐτοὺς ἠφάνικε χρόνος. ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ περὶ τοῦ συμφέροντος ἐποιεῖτο λόγους Αἰμίλιος, ὡς ἐπὶ τῷ πάντων ἀγαθῷ τῆς κληρουχίας ἐσομένης, οὐδὲ τοῦτο τὸ μέρος ἀνέλεγκτον ἐᾶσαι βούλομαι. ἐμοὶ γὰρ δοκεῖ τὸ αὐτόθι μόνον οὗτός γ´ ὁρᾶν, τὸ δὲ μέλλον οὐ προσκοπεῖν, ὅτι μικρὸν εἶναι δοκοῦν ἐπὶ τῶν δημοσίων τοῖς ἀργοῖς καὶ ἀπόροις πολλῶν ἔσται καὶ μεγάλων κακῶν αἴτιον. τὸ γὰρ ἔθος τὸ συνεισπορευόμενον ἅμα τούτῳ καὶ διαμένον ἐν τῇ πόλει καὶ μέχρι παντὸς ὀλέθριον ἔσται καὶ δεινόν· οὐ γὰρ ἐξαιρεῖ τὰς πονηρὰς ἐπιθυμίας ἐκ τῆς ψυχῆς τὸ τυγχάνειν αὐτῶν, ἀλλ´ αὔξει καὶ πονηροτέρας ποιεῖ. τεκμήρια δ´ ὑμῖν γενέσθω τούτων τὰ ἔργα· τί γὰρ δεῖ τοῖς λόγοις ὑμᾶς τοῖς ἐμοῖς ἢ τοῖς Αἰμιλίου προσέχειν;

[9,52] Aemilius having spoken thus, Appius Claudius, who had been consul the preceding year, being the second person called upon, expressed the contrary opinion, pointing out that neither the senate had had any intention of dividing the public possessions — for in that case its decree would long since have been carried out — but had deferred it to a later time for further consideration, its concern being to put a stop to the sedition then raging, which had been stirred up by the consul who was aiming at tyranny and afterwards suffered deserved punishment; nor had the first consuls chosen after the preliminary decree put the vote into effect, when they saw what a source of evils would be introduced into the state if the poor were once accustomed to get by allotment the public possessions; nor did the consuls of the following fifteen years, though they were threatened with many dangers from the populace, consent to do anything that was not in the public interest, for the reason that no authority even was given to them by the preliminary decree to appoint the land commissioners, but only to those first consuls. (p97) "So that for you men also, Valerius, yes, and you too, Aemilius, to propose allotments of land which the senate did not direct you to carry out is neither honourable, descended as you are from worthy ancestors, nor is it safe. As regards the preliminary decree, then, let this suffice to show that you who have become consuls so many years afterwards are not bound by it. As for any who may, either forcibly or stealthily, have appropriated to themselves the public possessions, a few words will serve my purpose. If anyone knows that another is enjoying the use of property to which he cannot support his title by law, let him give information of it to the consuls and prosecute him according to the laws, which will not have to be drawn up afresh; for they were drawn up long since, and no lapse of time has abrogated them. But since Aemilius has spoken also about the advantage of this measure, asserting that the allotting of the land will be for the good of all, I do not wish to leave this point either unrefuted. For he, it seems to me, looks only to the present, and does not foresee the future, namely, that the granting of a portion of the public possessions to the idle and the poor, which now seems to him of small importance, will be the cause of many great evils,since the custom thereby introduced will not only continue in the state, but will for all time prove pernicious and dangerous. For the gratification of evil desires does not eradicate them from the soul, but rather strengthens them and renders them still more evil. Let the facts convince you of this; for why should you pay any attention to words, either mine or those of Aemilius?