[7,41] Ἐρῶ δὲ περὶ τοῦ δικαίου πρῶτον. ὑμεῖς δή, ὦ βουλή, ὅτε τοὺς βασιλεῖς ἀπηλλάξατε συμμάχους ἔχοντες ἡμᾶς καὶ τὴν πολιτείαν, ἐν ᾗ νῦν ἐσμεν, κατεστήσατε, ἣν οὐ ψέγομεν, μειονεκτοῦντας ἐν ταῖς δίκαις τοὺς δημοτικοὺς ὁρῶντες, ὁπότε συμβαίη τι διάφορον αὐτοῖς πρὸς τοὺς πατρικίους· πολλὰ δ´ ἦν ταῦτα· νόμον ἐκυρώσατε Ποπλίου Οὐαλερίου θατέρου τῶν ὑπάτων γνώμῃ χρησάμενοι, ἐξεῖναι τοῖς κατισχυομένοις ὑπὸ τῶν πατρικίων δημόταις προκαλεῖσθαι τὰς κρίσεις ἐπὶ τὸν δῆμον· καὶ παρ´ οὐδὲν οὕτως ἕτερον ὡς τὸν νόμον τόνδε τήν τε πόλιν ἐν ὁμονοίᾳ διεφυλάξατε καὶ τοὺς βασιλεῖς ἐπιόντας ἀπεώσασθε. τοῦτον δὴ προφερόμενοι τὸν νόμον, ὑπὲρ ὧν ἅπαντες ἀδικεῖσθαί τε καὶ κατισχύεσθαι λέγομεν ὑπὸ Γαΐου Μαρκίου τουδί, καλοῦμεν αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὸν δῆμον καὶ τὰ δίκαια παραγγέλλομεν ἐκεῖ λέγειν. καὶ προβουλεύματος ἐνταῦθ´ οὐκ ἔδει. περὶ ὧν γὰρ οὐκ εἰσὶ νόμοι, περὶ τούτων ὑμεῖς τοῦ προβουλεύεσθαι κύριοι καὶ ὁ δῆμος ἐπιψηφίσαι· νόμου δ´ ὄντος ἀκινήτου, κἂν μηδὲν ὑμεῖς προβουλεύσητε, τούτῳ δήπου χρηστέον. οὐ γὰρ δὴ τοῦτό γ´ ἂν εἴποι τις, ὅτι τῶν μὲν ἰδιωτῶν {ὄντων} οἷς τὸ μειονεκτεῖν συμβαίνει περὶ τὰς κρίσεις κυρίαν εἶναι δεῖ τὴν ἐπὶ τὸν δῆμον πρόκλησιν, ἡμῖν δὲ τοῖς δημάρχοις ἄκυρον. νόμου μὲν δὴ συγχωρήματι τῷδε ἰσχυριζόμενοι καὶ διὰ τοῦτο παρακινδυνεύσαντες ὑφ´ ὑμῖν γενέσθαι δικασταῖς ἥκομεν. ἐπ´ ἀγράφῳ δὲ καὶ ἀνομοθετήτῳ φύσεως δικαίῳ τόδε ἀξιοῦμεν, ὦ βουλή, μήτε πλέον ἔχειν ὑμῶν {τὸν δῆμον} μήτε μεῖον, {ἐν γοῦν τῷ δικαίῳ, {οἱ} πολλοὺς καὶ μεγάλους συνδιενέγκαντες ὑμῖν πολέμους καὶ} περὶ τὴν ἀπαλλαγὴν τῶν πολέμων πλείστην ἐπιδειξάμενοι προθυμίαν, καὶ τοῦ μηδενὶ τὸ κελευόμενον ποιεῖν τὴν πόλιν, ἀλλ´ αὐτὴν ἑτέροις ἐπιτάττειν τὰ δίκαια, οὐκ ἐλαχίστην μοῖραν παρασχόμενοι. οὕτω δ´ ἂν ἡμῖν τὸ μὴ μεῖον ἔχειν τῶν δικαίων ἀποδοίητε, ὦ πατέρες, εἰ τοὺς ἐπιχειροῦντας εἰς τὰ σώματα ἡμῶν καὶ τὴν ἐλευθερίαν παρανομεῖν κωλύοιτε τὸν ἐκ τῆς δίκης ἐφιστάντες αὐτοῖς φόβον. ἀρχὰς μὲν δὴ καὶ προεδρίας καὶ τιμὰς τοῖς ἀρετῇ καὶ τύχῃ προὔχουσιν ἡμῶν οἰόμεθα δεῖν ἀπονέμειν· τὸ δὲ μηδὲν ἀδικεῖσθαι καὶ τὸ δίκας ὧν ἄν τις πάθῃ προσηκούσας λαμβάνειν ἴσα καὶ κοινὰ τοῖς ἅμα πολιτευομένοις εἶναι δικαιοῦμεν. ὥσπερ οὖν τῶν λαμπρῶν καὶ μεγάλων ἀφιστάμεθ´ ὑμῖν, οὕτως τῶν ἴσων καὶ κοινῶν οὐ μεθιέμεθα. ἱκανὰ ταῦτ´ εἰρήσθω περὶ τοῦ δικαίου πολλῶν ἐνόντων καὶ ἄλλων λέγεσθαι.

[7,41] "I shall speak first concerning the point of justice. After you had got rid of the kings with our assistance, senators, and had established our present constitution, with which we find no fault, you observed that the plebeians had always the worse of it in their suits whenever they had any difference with the patricians, which frequently happened; and you accordingly sanctioned a law, on the advice of Publius Valerius, one of the consuls, permitting the plebeians, when oppressed by the patricians, to appeal their cases to the people; and by means of this law more than by any other measure you both preserved the harmony of the commonwealth and repulsed the attacks of the kings. It is in virtue of this law that we summon Gaius Marcius here to appear before the people because of the injustice and oppression which we all declare we have suffered at his hands, and we call upon him to make his defence before them. And in this case a preliminary decree was not necessary. For whereas in matters concerning which there are no laws you have the right to pass such a decree and the people have the right to ratify it, yet when there is an inviolable law, even though you pass no decree, that law must of course be observed. For surely no one will say that this appeal to the people must be allowed in the case of private citizens who (p261) have got the worst of it in their trials, but not in the case of us, the tribunes. Firmly relying, therefore, upon this concession of the law, and thus encouraged to run the risk of submitting our cause to you as our judges, we have come before you. And in virtue of an unwritten and unenacted natural right we make this demand of you, senators, that we may be in neither a better nor a worse condition than you at least in the matter of justice, inasmuch as we have assisted you in carrying on many important wars and have shown the greatest zeal in getting rid of the tyrants, and have had no small part in enabling the commonwealth to take orders from none but to give laws to others. Now the most effectual means you could take, fathers, to put us in no worse a condition than yourselves in point of rights would be to stop those who are making illegal attempts against our persons and our liberty, by placing before their eyes the fear of a trial. So far as magistracies, special privileges, and offices are concerned, we believe we should bestow them upon those who excel us in merit and fortune; but to suffer no wrong, and to receive justice adequate to any wrongs one may sustain, are rights, we hold, which should be equal and common to all who live under the same government. 6 Accordingly, just as we yield to you the privileges that are illustrious and great, so we do not intend to give up those that are equal and common to all. Let this suffice concerning the point of justice, though there are many other things that might be said.