[6,48] Ἐδόκει ταῦτα τῇ βουλῇ· καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα προχειρισαμένη τοὺς ἐπιτηδειοτάτους διεπέμψατο πρὸς τοὺς ἐπὶ τοῦ χάρακος, ἐντειλαμένη πυνθάνεσθαι παρ´ αὐτῶν, τίνος δέονται καὶ ἐπὶ τίσι δικαίοις ἀξιοῦσιν εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἀναστρέφειν· εἰ γὰρ εἴη τι μέτριον καὶ δυνατὸν τῶν αἰτημάτων, οὐκ ἐναντιώσεσθαι σφίσι τὴν βουλήν. νῦν μὲν οὖν αὐτοῖς ἀποθεμένοις τὰ ὅπλα καὶ κατιοῦσιν εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἄδειαν ὑπάρξειν τῶν ἡμαρτημένων, καὶ εἰς τὸν ἀπὸ τοῦδε χρόνον ἀμνηστίαν· ἐὰν δὲ τὰ κράτιστα βουλεύωσι τῷ κοινῷ καὶ προθύμως κινδυνεύωσι περὶ τῆς πατρίδος, ἀμοιβὰς καλὰς καὶ λυσιτελεῖς. ταύτας οἱ πρέσβεις τὰς ἐντολὰς κομισάμενοι ἀπέδοσαν τοῖς ἐπὶ στρατοπέδου καὶ τὰ ἀκόλουθα διελέχθησαν. οὐ δεξαμένων δὲ τῶν ἀποστατῶν τὰς προκλήσεις, ἀλλ´ ὑπεροψίαν καὶ βαρύτητα καὶ πολλὴν εἰρωνείαν τοῖς πατρικίοις ὀνειδισάντων, εἰ προσποιοῦνται μὲν ἀγνοεῖν, ὧν ὁ δῆμος δεῖται καὶ δι´ ἃς ἀνάγκας ἀπ´ αὐτῶν ἀπέστη, χαρίζονται δ´ αὐτῷ τὴν ἄδειαν τοῦ μηδεμίαν ὑποσχεῖν τῆς ἀποστάσεως δίκην, ὥσπερ ἔτι κύριοι, τῆς βοηθείας γε αὐτοὶ δεόμενοι τῆς πολιτικῆς οἱ ἐπὶ τοὺς ὀθνείους πολέμους οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν ἐλευσομένους πανστρατιᾷ, πρὸς οὓς οὐδ´ ἀντᾶραι δυνήσονται, οἳ οὐ σφέτερον ἡγοῦνται τὸ σωθῆναι ἀγαθόν, ἀλλὰ τῶν συναγωνιουμένων εὐτύχημα· τέλος δὲ τοῦτον προσθέντων τὸν λόγον, ὡς ἄμεινον ἤδη αὐτοὶ μαθόντες τὰς κατεχούσας τὴν πόλιν ἀπορίας, γνώσονται πρὸς οἵους ἀντιπάλους αὐτοῖς ἔσται ὁ ἀγών, καὶ πολλὰς καὶ χαλεπὰς ἀπειλὰς ἐπανατειναμένων· οἱ μὲν πρέσβεις οὐδὲν ἔτι πρὸς ταῦτα ἀντειπόντες ἀπηλλάττοντο καὶ τὰ παρὰ τῶν ἀποστατῶν τοῖς πατρικίοις ἐδήλωσαν, ἡ δὲ πόλις, ἐπειδὴ τὰς ἀποκρίσεις ταύτας ἔλαβεν, ἐν ταραχαῖς καὶ δείμασι πολλῷ χαλεπωτέροις ἢ πρόσθεν ἐγένετο, καὶ οὔτε ἡ βουλὴ πόρον εὑρεῖν οἵα τε ἦν οὔτ´ ἀναβολάς, δυσφημιῶν δὲ καὶ κατηγοριῶν, ἃς οἱ προεστηκότες αὐτῆς ἐποιοῦντο κατ´ ἀλλήλων, ἐπὶ πολλὰς ἀκούουσα ἡμέρας διελύετο· οὔτε τὸ δημοτικὸν πλῆθος, ὅσον ἔτι παρέμενεν εὐνοίᾳ τῶν πατρικίων ἢ πόθῳ τῆς πατρίδος ἠναγκασμένον, ὅμοιον ἦν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τούτου φανερῶς τε καὶ κρύφα πολὺ μέρος διέρρει, βέβαιον δ´ οὐδὲν τῶν καταλειπομένων ἐδόκει εἶναι. τούτων δὲ γενομένων οἱ μὲν ὕπατοι· καὶ γὰρ ἦν βραχὺς ὁ λειπόμενος αὐτοῖς ἔτι τῆς ἀρχῆς χρόνος· ἡμέραν ἔστησαν ἀρχαιρεσιῶν.

[6,48] This met with the approval of the senate. Thereupon they chose the most suitable persons and sent them to the people in the camp with orders to inquire of them what they desired and upon what terms they would consent to return to the city; for if any of their demands were moderate and possible to be complied with, the senate would not oppose them. If, therefore, they would now lay down their (p381) arms and return to the city they would be granted impunity for their past offences and amnesty for the future; and if they showed the best will for the commonwealth and cheerfully exposed themselves to danger in the service of their country, they would receive honourable and advantageous returns. The ambassadors, having received these instructions, communicated them to the people in the camp and spoke in conformity to them. But the seceders, rejecting these invitations, reproached the patricians with haughtiness, severity, and great dissimulation in pretending, on the one hand, to be ignorant of the demands of the people and of the reasons which had compelled them to secede from them, and, again, in granting them impunity from all prosecution for their secession, just as if they were still masters of the situation, though themselves standing in need of the assistance of their fellow-citizens against their foreign enemies, who would soon come with all their forces — enemies who could not be withstood by men who looked upon their preservation as not so much their own advantage as the good fortune of those who should assist them. They ended with the statement that when the patricians themselves understood better the difficulties that beset the commonwealth, they would know what kind of adversaries they had to deal with; and they added many violent threats. To all of which the ambassadors made no further answer, but departed and informed the patricians of the representations made by the seceders. When those in the city received this answer, they were in much more serious confusion and fear than before; (p383) and neither the senate was able to find a solution of the difficulties or any means of postponing them, but, after listening to the taunts and accusations which the leading men directed at one another, adjourned day after day; nor were the plebeians who still remained in the city, constrained by their goodwill toward the patricians or their affection for their country, of the same mind as before, but a large part even of these were trickling away both openly and secretly, and it seemed that no reliance could be placed upon those who were left. In this state of affairs the consuls — for the period that still remained of their magistracy was short — appointed a day for the election of magistrates.