[5,10] Ταῦτ´ εἰπὼν καὶ φυλακὴν τοῖς μειρακίοις ἐπιστήσας ἐκάλει τὸν δῆμον εἰς ἐκκλησίαν. πληρωθείσης δὲ τῆς ἀγορᾶς ὄχλου· περιβόητον γὰρ ἀνὰ τὴν πόλιν ὅλην τὸ περὶ τοὺς παῖδας αὐτοῦ πάθος ἐγεγόνει· προελθών τε καὶ τοὺς ἐντιμοτάτους τῶν ἐν τῷ συνεδρίῳ παραστησάμενος ἔλεξε τοιάδε· Ἐβουλόμην μὲν ἄν, ὦ {ἄνδρες} πολῖται, Κολλατῖνον τουτονὶ τὸν συνάρχοντα περὶ πάντων μοι ταὐτὰ φρονεῖν καὶ μὴ τῷ λόγῳ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς ἔργοις μισεῖν τοὺς τυράννους καὶ πολεμεῖν· ἐπεὶ δὲ τἀναντία φρονῶν γέγονέ μοι καταφανὴς καὶ ἔστιν οὐ μόνον τῇ φύσει Ταρκυνίων συγγενής, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῇ προαιρέσει, διαλλαγάς τε πράττων πρὸς αὐτοὺς καὶ ἀντὶ τῶν κοινῇ συμφερόντων τὸ ἑαυτοῦ σκοπῶν λυσιτελές, αὐτός τε κωλύειν αὐτὸν παρεσκεύασμαι πράττειν ἃ κατὰ νοῦν ἔχει πονηρὰ ὄντα, καὶ ὑμᾶς ἐπὶ τούτῳ παρεκάλεσα· φράσω δ´ ὑμῖν πρῶτον μὲν, ἐν οἷς ἐγένετο κινδύνοις τὰ πράγματα τῆς πόλεως, ἔπειτα πῶς αὐτοῖς ἑκάτερος ἡμῶν κέχρηται. τῶν πολιτῶν τινες συνελθόντες εἰς τὴν Ἀκυλλίων οἰκίαν τῶν ἐκ τῆς Κολλατίνου γεγονότων ἀδελφῆς, ἐν οἷς ἦσαν οἵ τ´ ἐμοὶ παῖδες ἀμφότεροι καὶ οἱ τῆς γυναικὸς ἀδελφοὶ τῆς ἐμῆς καὶ ἄλλοι τινὲς ἅμα τούτοις οὐκ ἀφανεῖς, συνθήκας ἐποιήσαντο πρὸς ἀλλήλους καὶ συνώμοσαν ἀποκτείναντες ἐμὲ καταγαγεῖν Ταρκύνιον ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρχήν· ἐπιστολάς τε περὶ τούτων γράψαντες αὐτογράφους καὶ ταῖς ἑαυτῶν σφραγῖσι κατασημηνάμενοι πέμπειν πρὸς τοὺς φυγάδας ἔμελλον. ταῦθ´ ἡμῖν θεῶν τινος εὐνοίᾳ καταφανῆ γέγονεν ὑπὸ τοῦδε μηνυθέντα τοῦ ἀνδρός· ἔστι δ´ Ἀκυλλίων δοῦλος, παρ´ οἷς καταγόμενοι τῇ παρελθούσῃ νυκτὶ τὰς ἐπιστολὰς ἔγραψαν· καὶ τῶν γραμμάτων γεγόναμεν αὐτῶν ἐγκρατεῖς. Τῖτον μὲν οὖν ἐγὼ καὶ Τιβέριον τοὺς ἐμοὺς παῖδας τετιμώρημαι· καὶ οὐδὲν καταλέλυται διὰ τὴν ἐμὴν ἐπιείκειαν οὔτε νόμος οὔθ´ ὅρκος· Ἀκυλλίους δὲ Κολλατῖνος ἀφαιρεῖταί μου καί φησιν οὐκ ἐάσειν ὅμοια τοῖς ἐμοῖς παισὶ βουλεύσαντας τῶν ὁμοίων ἐκείνοις τυχεῖν. εἰ δ´ οὗτοι μηδεμίαν ὑφέξουσι δίκην, οὐδὲ τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς τῆς ἐμῆς γυναικὸς οὐδὲ τοὺς ἄλλους προδότας τῆς πατρίδος ἐξέσται μοι κολάσαι. τί γὰρ δὴ δίκαιον πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἕξω λέγειν, ἂν τούτους ἀφῶ; τίνος οὖν ταῦτα μηνύματα τίθεσθε; πότερα τῆς πρὸς τὴν πόλιν εὐνοίας ἢ τῶν πρὸς τοὺς τυράννους διαλλαγῶν, καὶ πότερα τῆς ἐμπεδώσεως τῶν ὅρκων, οὓς ἀφ´ ἡμῶν ἀρξάμενοι πάντες ὠμόσατε, ἢ τῆς συγχύσεώς τε καὶ ἐπιορκίας; καὶ εἰ μὲν ἔλαθεν ἡμᾶς, ταῖς ἀραῖς ἔνοχος ἦν ἂν καὶ θεοῖς ὑπέσχεν, οὓς ἐπιώρκει, δίκας· ἐπειδὴ δὲ καταφανὴς γέγονεν, ὑφ´ ἡμῶν αὐτὸν προσήκει κολασθῆναι, ὅς γ´ ὀλίγαις μὲν ἡμέραις πρότερον τὰ χρήματα τοῖς τυράννοις ὑμᾶς ἔπεισεν ἀποδοῦναι, ἵνα μὴ κατὰ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἡ πόλις αὐτοῖς ἔχῃ χρῆσθαι πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τῆς πόλεως οἱ ἐχθροί· νῦν δὲ τοὺς ἐπὶ καθόδῳ τῶν τυράννων συνομοσαμένους ἀφεῖσθαι τῆς τιμωρίας οἴεται δεῖν, ἐκείνοις αὐτοὺς δηλονότι χαριζόμενος, ἵν´, ἐὰν ἄρα κατέλθωσιν εἴτ´ ἐκ προδοσίας εἴτε πολέμῳ, ταύτας προφερόμενος τὰς χάριτας ἁπάντων ὡς φίλος ὅσων ἂν αἱρῆται παρ´ αὐτῶν τυγχάνῃ. ἔπειτ´ ἐγὼ τῶν ἐμῶν οὐ φεισάμενος τέκνων σοῦ φείσομαι, Κολλατῖνε, ὃς τὸ μὲν σῶμα παρ´ ἡμῖν ἔχεις, τὴν δὲ ψυχὴν παρὰ τοῖς πολεμίοις, καὶ τοὺς μὲν προδότας τῆς πατρίδος σώζεις, ἐμὲ δὲ τὸν ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς ἀγωνιζόμενον ἀποκτενεῖς; πόθεν; πολλοῦ γε καὶ δεῖ· ἀλλ´ ἵνα μηδὲν ἔτι τοιοῦτον ἐξεργάσῃ, τὴν μὲν ἀρχὴν ἀφαιροῦμαί σε καὶ πόλιν ἑτέραν κελεύω μεταλαβεῖν· ὑμῖν δ´, ὦ πολῖται, ψῆφον ἀναδώσω καλέσας αὐτίκα μάλα τοὺς λόχους, ἵνα διαγνῶσιν, εἰ χρὴ ταῦτ´ εἶναι κύρια· εὖ δ´ ἴστε {ὅτι} δυεῖν θάτερον ἢ Κολλατῖνον ἕξοντες ὕπατον ἢ Βροῦτον.

[5,10] (p31) Having said this and stationed a guard over the lads, he called an assembly of the people, and when the Forum was filled with a crowd (for the fate of his sons had been noised abroad through the whole city), he came forward and placing the most distinguished members of the senate near him, spoke as follows: "I could wish, citizens, that Collatinus, my colleague here, held the same sentiments as I do in everything and that he showed his hatred and enmity towards the tyrants, not by his words only, but by his actions as well. But since it had become clear to me that his sentiments are the opposite of my own and since he is related to the Tarquinii, not alone by blood, but also by inclination, both working for a reconciliation with them and considering his private advantage instead of the public good, I have not only made my own preparations to prevent him from carrying out the mischievous designs he has in mind, but I have also summoned you for this same purpose. I shall inform you, first, of the dangers to which the commonwealth has been exposed and then in what manner each of us has dealt with those dangers. Some of the citizens, assembling at the house of the Aquilii, who are sons of the sister of Collatinus, among them my two sons and the brothers of my wife, and some others with them, no obscure men, entered into an agreement and conspiracy to kill me and restore Tarquinius to the sovereignty. And having written letters concerning these matters in their own handwriting and sealed them with their own seals, they were intending to send them to the (p33) exiles. These things, by the favour of some god, have become known to us through information given by this man — he is a slave belonging to the Aquilii, at whose house they held a session last night and wrote the letters — and the letters themselves have come into our possession. As for Titus and Tiberius, my own sons, I have punished them, and neither the law nor our oath has in any degree been violated through clemency on my part. But Collatinus is trying to take the Aquilii out of my hands and declares that, even though they have taken part in the same counsels as my sons, he will not allow them to meet with the same punishment. But if these are not to suffer any penalty, then it will be impossible for me to punish either the brothers of my wife or the other traitors to their country. For what just charge shall I be able to bring against them if I let these off? Of what, then, do you think these actions of his are indications? Of loyalty to the commonwealth, or of a reconciliation with the tyrants? Of a confirmation of the oaths which you, following us, all took, or of a violation of those oaths, yes, of perjury? And if he had escaped discovery by us, he would have been subject to the curses we then invoked and he would have paid the penalty to the gods by whom he had sworn falsely; but since he has been found out, it is fitting that he should be punished by us — this man who but a few days ago persuaded you to restore their possessions to the tyrants, to the end that the commonwealth might not make use of them in the war against our enemies, but that our enemies might use them against the commonwealth. And now he thinks that those who have conspired to restore the tyrants (p35) ought to be let off from punishment, with a view no doubt of sparing their lives as a favour to the tyrants, so that, if these should after all return as the result of either treachery or war, he may, by reminding them of these favours, obtain from them, as being a friend, everything that he chooses. After this, shall I, who have not spared my own sons, spare you, Collatinus, who are with us indeed in person, but with our enemies in spirit, and are trying to save those who have betrayed their country and to kill me who am fighting in its defence? Far from it! On the contrary, to prevent you from doing anything of the kind in future, I now deprive you of your magistracy and command you to retire to some other city. And as for you, citizens, I shall assemble you at once by your centuries and take your votes, in order that you may decide whether this action of mine should be ratified. Be assured, however, that you will have only one of us two for your consul, either Collatinus or Brutus."