[5,27] Οὐκ ἀνασχομένων δὲ τῶν Ῥωμαίων τὰς ἐπιταγάς, ἀλλὰ πάντα τὰ δεινὰ ὑπομένειν βουλομένων, καταμαθὼν ὁ Μούκιος, ὅτι δυεῖν αὐτοῖς συμβήσεται θάτερον ἢ μὴ διαμεῖναι πολὺν ἐν τοῖς λελογισμένοις χρόνον ὑπὸ τῆς ἀπορίας τῶν ἀναγκαίων ἐκβιασθεῖσιν, ἢ φυλάττουσι βεβαίας τὰς κρίσεις τὸν οἴκτιστον ἀπολέσθαι μόρον, δεηθεὶς τῶν ὑπάτων τὴν βουλὴν αὐτῷ συναγαγεῖν, ὡς μέγα τι καὶ ἀναγκαῖον ἐξοίσων πρὸς αὐτήν, ἐπειδὴ συνήχθη, λέγει τοιάδε· Ἄνδρες πατέρες, ἐγχείρημα τολμᾶν διανοούμενος, ὑφ´ οὗ τῶν παρόντων ἀπαλλαγήσεται κακῶν ἡ πόλις, τῷ μὲν ἔργῳ πάνυ θαρρῶ καὶ ῥᾳδίως αὐτοῦ κρατήσειν οἴομαι· περὶ δὲ τῆς ἐμαυτοῦ ψυχῆς, εἰ περιέσται μοι μετὰ τὸ ἔργον, οὐ πολλὰς ἐλπίδας ἔχω, μᾶλλον δ´ εἰ χρὴ τἀληθὲς λέγειν οὐδεμίαν. εἰς τοσοῦτον δὴ κίνδυνον ἐμαυτὸν καθιέναι μέλλων οὐκ ἀξιῶ λαθεῖν ἅπαντας αἰωρηθεὶς ὑπὲρ μεγάλων, ἐὰν ἄρα συμβῇ μοι διαμαρτεῖν τῆς πείρας, ἀλλ´ ἐπὶ καλοῖς ἔργοις μεγάλων ἐπαίνων τυγχάνειν, ἐξ ὧν ἀντὶ τοῦ θνητοῦ σώματος ἀθάνατον ὑπάρξει μοι κλέος. δήμῳ μὲν φράζειν ἃ διανοοῦμαι πράττειν οὐκ ἀσφαλές, μή τις ἴδια κέρδη περιβαλλόμενος πρὸς τοὺς πολεμίους αὐτὰ ἐξενέγκῃ, δέον αὐτοῖς ὥσπερ μυστηρίου ἀπορρήτου φυλακῆς· ὑμῖν δ´ οὓς καθέξειν αὐτὰ πεπίστευκα ἐγκρατῶς πρώτοις τε καὶ μόνοις ἐκφέρω· παρ´ ὑμῶν δ´ οἱ ἄλλοι πολῖται ἐν τῷ προσήκοντι καιρῷ μαθήσονται. τὸ δ´ ἐγχείρημά μου τοιόνδε ἐστίν. αὐτομόλου σχῆμα μέλλω λαβὼν ἐπὶ τὸν χάρακα τῶν Τυρρηνῶν πορεύεσθαι. ἐὰν μὲν οὖν ἀπιστηθεὶς πρὸς αὐτῶν ἀποθάνω, ἑνὶ πολίτῃ μόνον ἐλάττους οἱ λοιποὶ γενήσεσθε· ἐὰν δὲ παρελθεῖν εἴσω τοῦ χάρακος ἐκγένηταί μοι, τὸν βασιλέα τῶν πολεμίων ἀποκτενεῖν ὑμῖν ὑποδέχομαι· ἀποθανόντος δὲ Πορσίνου καταλυθήσεται μὲν ὁ πόλεμος, ἐγὼ δ´ εἰ ὅ τι ἂν τῷ δαιμονίῳ δόξῃ πείσομαι, τούτων συνίστορας ὑμᾶς ἕξων καὶ μάρτυρας πρὸς τὸν δῆμον ἄπειμι τὴν κρείττονα τύχην τῆς πατρίδος ἡγεμόνα τῆς ὁδοῦ ποιησάμενος.

[5,27] When the Romans would not listen to this command, but chose rather to bear any calamities whatever, Mucius, foreseeing that one of two things would befall them, either that they would not adhere long to their resolution through want of the necessaries of life, or, if they held firmly to their decision, that they would perish by the most miserable of deaths, asked the consuls to assemble the senate for him, as he had something important and urgent to lay before them; and when they were met, he spoke as follows: "Fathers, having it in my mind to venture upon an undertaking by which the city will be freed from the present evils, I feel great confidence in the success of the plan and believe I shall easily carry it out; but as for my own life, I have small hopes of surviving the accomplishment of the deed, or, to say the truth, none at all. As I am about to expose myself, then, to so great a danger, I do not think it right that the world should remain in ignorance of the high stakes for which I have played — in case it (p81) should be my fate to fail after all in the undertaking — but I desire in return for noble deeds to gain great praise, by which I shall exchange this mortal body for immortal glory. It is not safe, of course, to communicate my plan to the people, lest some one for his own advantage should inform the enemy of a thing which ought to be concealed with the same care as an inviolable mystery. But you, who, I am persuaded, will keep the secret inviolate, are the first and the only persons to whom I am disclosing it; and from you the rest of the citizens will learn of it at the proper season. My enterprise is this: I propose to go to the camp of the Tyrrhenians in the guise of a deserter. If I am disbelieved by them and put to death, the number of you citizens who remain will be only one less. But if I can enter the enemy's camp, I promise you to kill their king; and when Porsena is dead, the war will be at an end. As for myself, I shall be ready to suffer whatever Heaven may see fit. In the assurance that you are privy to my purpose and will bear witness of it to the people, I go my way, making the better fortune of my country the guide of my journey."