[6,43] Οὐαλέριος δὲ κατὰ νοῦν χωρήσαντος αὐτῷ τοῦ πολέμου τὸν εἰωθότα θρίαμβον ἀπὸ τῆς νίκης καταγαγὼν ἀπέλυσε τὸν δῆμον ἀπὸ τῆς στρατείας, οὔπω τῆς βουλῆς καιρὸν εἶναι νομιζούσης, ἵνα μὴ τὰς ὑποσχέσεις ἀπαιτοῖεν οἱ ἄποροι· εἰς δὲ τὴν δορίκτητον, ἣν Οὐολούσκους ἀφείλοντο, κληρούχους ἀπέστειλεν ἐπιλέξας ἄνδρας ἐκ τῶν ἀπόρων, οἳ τήν τε πολεμίαν φρουρήσειν ἔμελλον καὶ τὸ ἐν τῇ πόλει στασιάζον ἔλαττον ἀπολείψειν. ταῦτα διοικησάμενος ἠξίου τὴν βουλὴν τὰς ὑποσχέσεις αὐτῷ βεβαιῶσαι κεκομισμένην τὸ παρὰ τοῦ πλήθους πρόθυμον ἐν τοῖς ἀγῶσιν. ὡς δ´ οὐ προσεῖχεν αὐτῷ τὸν νοῦν, ἀλλ´, ὅπερ πρότερον ἠναντιοῦτο, τῇ γνώμῃ συστρέψαντες ἑαυτοὺς νέοι καὶ βίαιοι καὶ πλήθει τῶν ἑτέρων ἐπικρατοῦντες καὶ τότε ἀντέπραττον καὶ πολλῇ καταβοῇ ἐχρῶντο, τὴν οἰκίαν αὐτοῦ δημοκόλακα ἀποφαίνοντες καὶ νόμων πονηρῶν ἀρχηγόν, ᾧ δὲ μάλιστα ἠγάλλοντο οἱ ἄνδρες ἐπὶ τῆς ἐκκλησίας τῶν δικαστηρίων πολιτεύματι, τούτῳ πᾶσαν ἠφανικέναι τὴν τῶν πατρικίων δυναστείαν αἰτιώμενοι· σχετλιάσας ὁ Οὐαλέριος πολλὰ καὶ ὡς οὐ δίκαια πάσχοι διαβεβλημένος ὑπ´ αὐτῶν πρὸς τὸν δῆμον ὀνειδίσας, τήν τε μέλλουσαν καταλήψεσθαι σφᾶς τύχην τοιαῦτα βουλευσαμένους ἀνακλαυσάμενος, καὶ οἷα εἰκὸς ἐν τοιούτῳ κακῷ, τὰ μὲν ἐκ πάθους, τὰ δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ πλεῖόν τι τῶν πολλῶν νοεῖν, ἀποθεσπίσας, ᾤχετο ἀπιὼν ἐκ τοῦ βουλευτηρίου· καὶ συγκαλέσας τὸν δῆμον εἰς ἐκκλησίαν, ἔλεξε· Πολλὴν χάριν ὑμῖν εἰδώς, ὦ πολῖται, τῆς τε προθυμίας, ἣν παρέσχεσθέ μοι ἑκούσιοι συναράμενοι τοῦ πολέμου, καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον τῆς ἀρετῆς, ἣν ἐν τοῖς ἀγῶσιν ἐπεδείξασθε, μεγάλην μὲν ἐποιούμην σπουδὴν ἀμείψασθαι ὑμᾶς τοῖς τε ἄλλοις καὶ τῷ μὴ ψεύσασθαι τὰς ὑποσχέσεις, ἃς ὑπὲρ τῆς βουλῆς ἐποιούμην πρὸς ὑμᾶς, καὶ εἰς ὁμόνοιαν ἤδη ποτὲ καταστῆσαι τὴν στάσιν ὑμῶν σύμβουλος καὶ διαιτητὴς ἀμφοῖν γενόμενος· κωλύομαι δὲ πράττειν αὐτὰ διὰ τοὺς οὐ τὰ βέλτιστα τῷ κοινῷ, τὰ δὲ σφίσιν αὐτοῖς ἐν τῷ παρόντι κεχαρισμένα προαιρουμένους, οἳ πλήθει τ´ ἐπικρατοῦντες τῶν ἑτέρων καὶ δυνάμει, ἣν τὸ νέον αὐτοῖς παρέχεται μᾶλλον ἢ τὰ πράγματα, ἔρρωνται. ἐγὼ δὲ γέρων τε δή, ὡς ὁρᾶτε, καὶ ἑτέρους τοιούτους ἔχω συμμάχους, ὧν ἡ ἐν τῇ γνώμῃ οὖσα ἰσχὺς ἀδύνατός ἐστιν ἔργῳ ἐπεξελθεῖν, καὶ περιέστηκεν ἡ δοκοῦσα ἡμῶν τοῦ κοινοῦ πρόνοια ἰδία πρὸς ἑκάτερον μέρος ἀπέχθεια φαινομένη. τῇ τε γὰρ βουλῇ δι´ αἰτίας εἰμὶ ὡς τὸ ὑμέτερον πλῆθος θεραπεύων καὶ πρὸς ὑμᾶς διαβέβλημαι, ὡς ἐκείνῃ μᾶλλον τὴν εὔνοιαν ἀποδεικνύμενος.

[6,43] (p365) Valerius, having succeeded in this war according to his desire and celebrated the customary triumph in honour of his victory, discharged the people from the service, though the senate did not regard it as the proper time yet, fearing the poor might demand the fulfilment of their promises. After this he se out colonists to occupy the land they had taken from the Volscians, choosing them from among the poor; these would not only guard the conquered country but would also leave the seditious element in the city diminished in number. Having made these arrangements, he asked the senate to fulfil for him the promises they had made, now that they had received the hearty co-operation of the plebeians in the later engagements. However, the senate paid no regard to him, but, just as before the young and violent men, who were superior to the other party in number, had joined together to oppose his motion, so on this occasion also they opposed it and raised a great outcry against him, calling his family flatterers of the people and the authors of vicious laws, and charging that by the very measure on which the Valerii prided themselves most, the one concerning the function of the assembly as a court of justice, they had totally destroyed the (p367) power of the patricians. Valerius became very indignant at this, and after reproaching them with having exposed him to the unjust resentment of the people, he lamented the fate which would come upon them for taking such a course, as might be expected in such an unhappy situation, uttered some dire prophecies, inspired in part by the emotion he was then under and in part by his superior sagacity. Then he flung himself out of the senate chamber; and assembling the people, he said: "Citizens, feeling myself under great obligations to you both for the zeal you showed in giving me your voluntary assistance in the war, and still more for the bravery you displayed in the various engagements, I was very desirous of making a return to you, not only in other ways, by particularly by not breaking the promises I kept giving you in the name of the senate, and, as an adviser and umpire between the senate and you, by changing at last the discord that now exists between you into harmony. But I am prevented from accomplishing these things by those who prefer, not what is most advantageous to the commonwealth, but what is pleasing to themselves at the present moment, and who, being superior to all the rest both in number and in the power they derive from their youth rather than from the present situation, have prevailed. Whereas I, as you see, an old man, and so are all my associates, whose strength consists in counsel which they are incapable of carrying out in action; and what was regarded as our concern for the commonwealth has turned out to have the appearance of a private grudge against both sides. For I am censured by the senate for courting your faction and misrepresented to you as showing greater goodwill to them.