[9,53] Ἴστε δήπου πάντες, ὅσους ἐχειρωσάμεθα πολεμίους, καὶ ὅσην γῆν προὐνομεύσαμεν, καὶ ὅσα λάφυρα ἐκ τῶν ἁλόντων χωρίων ἐλάβομεν, ὧν οἱ πολέμιοι στερόμενοι τέως εὐδαίμονες ὄντες ἐν πολλῇ νῦν καθεστήκασιν ἀπορίᾳ· καὶ ὅτι τούτων οὐδενὸς ἀπηλάσθησαν οὐδὲ μεῖον ἐκτήσαντο ἐν ταῖς διανομαῖς οἱ τὴν ἀπορίαν ὀδυρόμενοι. ἆρ´ οὖν διὰ ταύτας τὰς ἐπικτήσεις ἐπανορθωσάμενοι φαίνονταί τι τῆς παλαιᾶς τύχης καὶ προεληλυθότες εἰς ἐπιφάνειαν τοῖς βίοις; ἐβουλόμην μὲν ἂν καὶ θεοῖς εὐξάμην, ἵνα ἧττον ἦσαν ἐπίσκηνοι λυπηροὶ τῇ πόλει, νῦν δ´ ὁρᾶτε γὰρ καὶ ἀκούετε αὐτῶν ὀδυρομένων, ὅτι ἐν ἐσχάτῃ εἰσὶν ἀπορίᾳ. ὥστ´ οὐδ´ εἰ ταῦτα, ἃ νῦν αἰτοῦνται, καὶ ἔτι πλείω τούτων λάβοιεν, ἐπανορθώσονται τοὺς βίους. οὐ γὰρ ἐν ταῖς τύχαις αὐτῶν ἐνοικεῖ τὸ ἄπορον, ἀλλ´ ἐν τοῖς τρόποις· οὓς οὐχ οἷον ὁ βραχὺς οὗτος ἐκπληρώσει κλῆρος, ἀλλ´ οὐδ´ αἱ σύμπασαι βασιλέων τε καὶ τυράννων δωρεαί. δράσομέν τ´, εἰ καὶ ταῦτα συγχωρήσομεν αὐτοῖς, ὅμοια τοῖς πρὸς ἡδονὴν θεραπεύουσι τοὺς κάμνοντας ἰατροῖς. οὐ γὰρ τὸ νοσοῦν ὑγιασθήσεται τῆς πολιτείας μέρος, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ ὑγιαῖνον ἀπολαύσει τῆς νόσου. καθόλου τ´, ὦ βουλή, πολλῆς ὑμῖν δεῖ ἐπιμελείας τε καὶ φροντίδος, ὅπως ἂν σώσητε πάσῃ προθυμίᾳ διαφθειρόμενα τὰ ἤθη τῆς πόλεως. ὁρᾶτε γάρ, εἰς ἃ προελήλυθεν ἡ τοῦ δήμου ἀκοσμία, καὶ ὡς οὐκέτι ἄρχεσθαι πρὸς τῶν ὑπάτων ἀξιοῖ· ᾧ γ´ οὐ μετεμέλησε τῶν ἐνθάδε πραττομένων, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ στρατοπέδου τὴν αὐτὴν ἀπεδείξατο ἀκοσμίαν, ὅπλα τε ῥίψας καὶ τάξεις ἐκλιπὼν καὶ σημεῖα πολεμίοις προέμενος καὶ φυγῇ πρὶν εἰς χεῖρας ἐλθεῖν ἐπονειδίστῳ χρησάμενος, ὥσπερ ἐμοῦ μόνον ἀφαιρησόμενος τὴν ἐκ τῆς νίκης δόξαν, ἀλλ´ οὐχὶ καὶ τῆς πατρίδος τὸ κατὰ τῶν ἐχθρῶν πάθος. καὶ νῦν Οὐολούσκοις κατὰ Ῥωμαίων ἵσταται τρόπαια, καὶ κοσμεῖται τοῖς ἡμετέροις λαφύροις τἀκείνων ἱερὰ καὶ ἐν αὐχήμασιν, ἡλίκοις οὐπώποτε αἱ πόλεις αὐτῶν εἰσιν τέως ὑπὲρ ἀνδραποδισμοῦ τε καὶ κατασκαφῆς τῶν ἡμετέρων δεόμεναι ἡγεμόνων. ἆρά γε δίκαιον ἢ καλὸν ἐπὶ τοιούτοις κατορθώμασι χάριν αὐτοῖς ὑμᾶς εἰδέναι, καὶ δημοσίαις ἐπικοσμεῖν δωρεαῖς κληρουχήσαντας τὴν γῆν, ἧς πολέμιοι κρατοῦσι τὸ κατὰ τούτους εἶναι μέρος; ἀλλὰ τί δεῖ τούτοις ἐγκαλεῖν, οἷς δι´ ἀπαιδευσίαν τε καὶ δυσγένειαν ὀλίγος ἐστὶ τῶν καλῶν λόγος, ὁρῶντας, ὡς οὐδ´ ἐν τοῖς ὑμετέροις ἤθεσι πᾶσιν ἔτι τὸ ἀρχαῖον οἰκεῖ φρόνημα, ἀλλ´ αὐθάδεια μὲν ἡ σεμνότης καλεῖται πρὸς ἐνίων, μωρία δ´ ἡ δικαιοσύνη, μανικὸν δὲ τὸ ἀνδρεῖον, καὶ ἠλίθιον τὸ σῶφρον; ἃ δὲ μισητὰ παρὰ τοῖς προτέροις ἦν, ταῦτα πυργοῦταί τε νῦν καὶ θαυμάσια ἡλίκα φαίνεται τοῖς διεφθαρμένοις ἀγαθά, ἀνανδρία καὶ βωμολοχία καὶ κακοήθεια καὶ τὸ πανούργως σοφὸν καὶ τὸ πρὸς ἅπαντα ἰταμὸν καὶ τὸ μηδενὶ τῶν κρειττόνων εὐπειθές· ἃ πολλὰς ἤδη πόλεις ἰσχυρὰς λαβόντα ἐκ βάθρων ἀνέτρεψε. ταῦθ´ ὑμῖν, ὦ βουλή, εἴθ´ ἡδέα ἐστὶν ἀκούειν εἴτ´ ἀνιαρά, μετὰ πάσης ἀληθείας καὶ παρρησίας εἴρηται, τοῖς μὲν πεισθησομένοις ὑμῶν, ἐὰν ἄρα πεισθῆτε, ἔν τε τῷ παρόντι χρήσιμα καὶ εἰς τὸ μέλλον ἀσφαλῆ· ἐμοὶ δ´, ὃς ὑπὲρ τοῦ κοινῇ συμφέροντος ἰδίας ἀπεχθείας ἀναιροῦμαι, πολλῶν ἐσόμενα κινδύνων αἴτια. προορᾶν γὰρ ἱκανός εἰμι τὰ συμβησόμενα ἐκ λογισμοῦ, καὶ παραδείγματα ποιοῦμαι τἀλλότρια πάθη τῶν ἐμαυτοῦ.

[9,53] (p99) "You all know, to be sure, how many enemies we have overcome, how much territory we have ravaged, and how great spoils we have taken from the towns we have captured, the loss of which has reduced the enemy from their former prosperity to great want, and that those who now bewail their poverty were excluded from none of these spoils nor had less than their share in the distribution of them.Do they appear, then, to have improved their former condition at all by these further acquisitions or to have attained to any distinction in their lives? I could wish and have prayed to the gods that they might do so, in order that they might have been to a less extent mere transients, a nuisance to the city. But as it is, you see and hear them complaining that they are in the direst want. So that not even if you should receive what they now ask for — aye, still more than that — will they effect any improvement in their lives. For their poverty is not inherent in their condition in life, but in their character; and not only will this small portion of land not supply their lack of that, but not even all the largesses of kings and despots would do so. If we make this concession also to them, we shall be like those physicians whose treatment of the sick is to tickle their palates. For the diseased part of the commonwealth will not be cured, but even the sound part will catch the disease. In general, senators, you need to take much care and thought how you may preserve with all possible zeal the morals of the commonwealth which are being corrupted. For you see to what lengths the unruliness of the populace has gone and that they no longer care to be governed by the consuls; indeed, they (p101) were so far from repenting of what they did here that they showed the same unruliness in the field too, throwing away their arms, quitting their posts, abandoning their standards to the enemy and resorting to discipline graceful flight before ever coming to grips with them, as if they could rob me alone of the glory of the victory without robbing the fatherland at the same time of the renown it would gain at the expense of their enemies.And now trophies are being erected by the Volscians over the Romans, their temples are being adorned with spoils taken from us and their cities vaunt themselves as never before — those cities which were wont aforetime to beseech our generals to save them from slavery and total destruction.Is it just, then, or becoming in you to feel gratitude to you for such successes and to honour them with public grants by dividing up the land which, so far as they are concerned, is in the enemy's possession? Yet why should we accuse those who because of their lack of education and because of their low birth pay little regard to matters of honour, when we see that no longer in the character of all even of your own number does the ancient proud spirit dwell, but, on the contrary, some call gravity haughtiness, justice folly, courage madness, and modesty stupidity? On the other hand, those qualities that were held in detestation by the men of former times are now extolled and appear to the corrupt as wonderful virtues, such as cowardice, buffoonery, malignity, crafty wisdom, rashness in undertaking everything and unwillingness to listen to any of one's betters — vices which ere now have laid hold on and utterly overthrown many strong states.These words, senators, whether they (p103) are pleasing to you to hear or vexatious, have been uttered in all sincerity and frankness. To those among you who will be persuaded — if indeed you will be persuaded — they will prove both useful at the present time and a source of security for the future; but to me, who in the interest of the public good am bringing private hatreds upon myself, they will be the cause of great dangers. For reason enables me to foresee what will happen; and I take the misfortunes of others as examples of my own."