[5,11] Τοιαῦτα δὲ λέγοντος αὐτοῦ βοῶν καὶ δεινοπαθῶν ὁ Κολλατῖνος ἐπίβουλόν τε καὶ προδότην τῶν φίλων αὐτὸν παρ´ ἕκαστα ἀποκαλῶν καὶ τὰ μὲν ὑπὲρ τῶν καθ´ ἑαυτοῦ διαβολῶν ἀπολογούμενος, τὰ δ´ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀδελφιδῶν δεόμενος ψῆφόν τε καθ´ ἑαυτοῦ τοῖς πολίταις οὐκ ἐῶν ἀναδοῦναι χαλεπώτερον ἐποίει τὸν δῆμον καὶ δεινοὺς ἤγειρεν ἐπὶ πᾶσι τοῖς λεγομένοις θορύβους. ἠγριωμένων δὲ τῶν πολιτῶν πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ οὔτ´ ἀπολογίαν ὑπομενόντων οὔτε δέησιν προσιεμένων, ἀλλὰ τὰς ψήφους ἀναδοθῆναι σφίσι κελευσάντων, δι´ εὐλαβείας τὸ πρᾶγμα ὁ κηδεστὴς αὐτοῦ λαβὼν Σπόριος Λουκρήτιος, ἀνὴρ τῷ δήμῳ τίμιος, μὴ μεθ´ ὕβρεως τῆς ἀρχῆς καὶ τῆς πατρίδος ἐκπέσῃ, λόγον αἰτησάμενος παρ´ ἀμφοτέρων τῶν ὑπάτων καὶ τυχὼν τῆς ἐξουσίας ταύτης πρῶτος, ὥς φασιν οἱ Ῥωμαίων συγγραφεῖς, οὔπω τότε Ῥωμαίοις ὄντος ἐν ἔθει δημηγορεῖν ἰδιώτην ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ, κοινὴν ἐποιήσατο δέησιν ἀμφοτέρων τῶν ὑπάτων, Κολλατίνῳ μὲν παραινῶν μὴ θυμομαχεῖν μηδ´ ἀκόντων κατέχειν τῶν πολιτῶν τὴν ἀρχήν, ἣν παρ´ ἑκόντων ἔλαβεν, ἀλλ´ εἰ δοκεῖ τοῖς δοῦσιν αὐτὴν ἀπολαβεῖν ἑκόντα καταθέσθαι καὶ μὴ τοῖς λόγοις ἀπολύεσθαι τὰς καθ´ ἑαυτοῦ διαβολάς, ἀλλὰ τοῖς πράγμασι, μεταθέσθαι τε τὴν οἴκησιν ἑτέρωσέ ποί ποτε πάντα τὰ ἑαυτοῦ λαβόντα, ἕως ἂν ἐν ἀσφαλεῖ γένηται τὰ κοινά, ἐπειδὴ τοῦτο δοκεῖ τῷ δήμῳ συμφέρειν, ἐνθυμούμενον, ὅτι τοῖς μὲν ἄλλοις ἀδικήμασι γενομένοις ὀργίζεσθαι πεφύκασιν ἅπαντες, προδοσίᾳ δὲ καὶ ὑποπτευομένῃ, σωφρονέστερον ἡγούμενοι καὶ διὰ κενῆς φοβηθέντες αὐτὴν φυλάξασθαι μᾶλλον ἢ καταφρονήσει ἐπιτρέψαντες ἀνατραπῆναι· Βροῦτον δὲ πείθων μὴ μετ´ αἰσχύνης καὶ προπηλακισμοῦ τὸν συνάρχοντα τῆς πατρίδος ἐκβαλεῖν, μεθ´ οὗ τὰ κράτιστα ὑπὲρ τῆς πόλεως ἐβούλευσεν· ἀλλ´ ἐὰν αὐτὸς ὑπομένῃ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀποθέσθαι καὶ παραχωρῇ τῆς πατρίδος ἑκών, τήν τ´ οὐσίαν αὐτῷ πᾶσαν ἐπιτρέψαι κατὰ σχολὴν ἀνασκευάσασθαι, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ δημοσίου προσθεῖναί τινα δωρεάν, ἵνα παραμύθιον ἔχῃ τῆς συμφορᾶς τὴν παρὰ τοῦ δήμου χάριν.

[5,11] While Brutus was thus speaking, Collatinus kept crying out and loudly protesting and at every word calling him a plotter and a betrayer of his friends, and now by endeavouring to clear himself of the accusations against him, and now by pleading for his nephews, and by refusing to allow the matter to be put to the vote of the citizens, he made the people still angrier and caused a terrible uproar at everything he said. The citizens being now exasperated against him and refusing either to hear his defence or to listen to his entreaties, but calling (p37) for their votes to be taken, Spurius Lucretius, his father-in-law, a man esteemed by the people, feeling concern about the situation, lest Collatinus should be ignominiously driven from office and from his country, asked and obtained from both consuls leave to speak. He was the first person who ever obtained this privilege, as the Roman historians relate, since it was not yet customary at that time for a private citizen to speak in an assembly of the people. And addressing his entreaties to both consuls jointly, he advised Collatinus not to persist so obstinately in his opposition nor to retain against the will of the citizens the magistracy which he had received by their consent, but if those who had given it thought fit to take back the magistracy, to lay it down voluntarily, and to attempt to clear himself of the accusations against him, not by his words, but by his actions, and to remove with all his goods to some other region till the commonwealth should be in a state of security, since the good of the people seemed to require this. For he should bear in mind that, whereas in the case of other crimes all men are wont to show their resentment after the deed has been committed, in the case of treason they do so even when it is only suspected, regarding it as more prudent, though their fears may be vain, to guard against the treason than, by giving way to contempt, to be undone. As for Brutus, he endeavoured to persuade him not to expel from his country with shame and vituperation his colleague with whom he had concerted the best measures for the commonwealth, but if Collatinus himself was willing to resign the magistracy and leave the country voluntarily, not only to give him leave to get together all his substance (p39) at his leisure, but also to add some gift from the public treasury, to the end that this favour conferred upon him by the people might be a comfort to him in his affliction.