[7,51] Ταύτας ὑμῖν ὁ δῆμος, ὦ βουλή, τὰς καλὰς ἀμοιβὰς ἀνθ´ ὧν ἔπαθεν ἀγαθῶν πολλῶν ὄντων καὶ μεγάλων τὰς μὲν ἀπέδωκεν ἤδη, τὰς δ´ ἀποδώσειν ἔμελλεν, εἰ μὴ τὸ κωλῦσον παρ´ ὑμᾶς ἐγένετο. ἄγε δὴ νῦν κἀκεῖνα ἐνθυμήθητε πάλιν, ἃ μετὰ τοῦτο τὸ γενναῖον καὶ σῶφρον ὑμῶν ἔργον ἔδρασεν, ἵνα γνῶτε, ὅντινα χρὴ τρόπον αὐτῷ προσφέρεσθαι. ἐκεῖνος τοίνυν ὡς ἔμαθεν ὑμᾶς οὐκέτι φέροντας αὐτοῦ τὴν ὕβριν, ἀλλ´ ὁμόσε χωρεῖν παρεσκευασμένους, ἔπτηξε καὶ μικρὸν ἀναλαβὼν ἑαυτὸν ὥσπερ ἐκ μέθης καὶ μανίας ἀπὸ μὲν τοῦ βιάζεσθαι κατέβη, ἐπὶ τὸ δικάζεσθαι δ´ ἐτράπετο· καὶ προειπὼν ἡμέραν ῥητὴν εἰς αὐτὴν ἐκάλει τὸν ἄνδρα ὡς δίκην ὑφέξοντα, ἧς αὐτὸς ἔμελλεν ἔσεσθαι κατήγορός τε καὶ μάρτυς καὶ δικαστὴς καὶ τοῦ μεγέθους τῆς τιμωρίας κύριος. ἐπειδὴ δὲ καὶ πρὸς τοῦτ´ ἐνέστητε νομίσαντες οὐκ ἐπὶ δίκην, ἀλλ´ ἐπὶ τιμωρίαν καλεῖσθαι τὸν ἄνδρα, ὁρῶν ὡς οὐδενὸς αὐτοκράτωρ ἐστὶ πράγματος, ἀλλ´ ὅς´ ἂν ὑμεῖς προβουλεύσητε, ταῦτ´ ἐπιψηφίσαι κύριος, τῆς τ´ αὐθαδείας, ἧς πολὺς ἔπνει τότε, ὑφεῖται νυνὶ καὶ δεησόμενος ὑμῶν ἥκει συγχωρῆσαι καὶ ταύτην αὐτῷ τὴν χάριν. ἐνθυμούμενοι δὴ ταῦτ´ αἴσθεσθε ἤδη ποτὲ καὶ μάθετε, ὅτι πάνθ´, ὅσα μὲν εὐηθέστερα βουλευσάμενοι μᾶλλον ἢ φρονιμώτερα ἐχαρίσασθε, αὐτῷ συμφορὰς ὑμῖν ἐνήνοχε καὶ βλάβας, ὅσα δὲ μετὰ τοῦ γενναίου στάντες τοῖς παρανόμοις αὐτοῦ καὶ βιαίοις ἠναντιώθητε, ταῦθ´ ὑμῖν εἰς δέον ἐκβέβηκε. τί οὖν ὑμῖν ἐπισταμένοις ταῦτα παραινῶ πράττειν καὶ τίνα γνώμην ὑπὲρ τῶν παρόντων ἀποφαίνομαι; ὅσα μὲν ἐχαρίσασθε καὶ συνεχωρήσατε τῷ δήμῳ τὴν ἔχθραν διαλλαττόμενοι ὁπωσδήποτε φυλάττειν κύρια, καὶ μὴ λύειν τῶν τότε συγχωρηθέντων μηθέν, οὐχ ὡς καλῶν καὶ τῆς πόλεως ἀξίων ὄντων· πόθεν γάρ; ἀλλ´ ὡς ἀναγκαίων καὶ μηκέτι δεχομένων διόρθωσιν· ὅσα δ´ ἂν ἔξω τούτου βιαζόμενος καὶ παρανομῶν ἀκόντων ὑμῶν ἐπιχειρῇ λαμβάνειν μήτε συγχωρεῖν αὐτῷ μήτ´ ἐπιτρέπειν, ἀλλ´ ἀντιπράττειν λόγοις τε καὶ ἔργοις καὶ ὁμοῦ πάντας καὶ ἕνα ἕκαστον ἰδίᾳ. οὐ γάρ, ἂν ἅπαξ ἁμάρτῃ τις εἴτ´ ἀπατηθεὶς εἴτ´ ἀναγκασθείς, καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ ὅμοια δεῖ πράττειν, ἀλλ´ ἐκείνου μεμνημένους τἆλλα ὅπως μὴ τοιαῦτα γενήσεται σκοπεῖν. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἐστιν, ἃ κοινῇ πάντας ὑμᾶς οἴομαι δεῖν ἐγνωκότας εἶναι, καὶ παρεσκευάσθαι πρὸς τὰς ἀδίκους τοῦ δήμου πλεονεξίας παραινῶ.

[7,51] "These, senators, are the fine returns which the populace have either already made to you, or would have made, if it had not lain in your power to prevent them, for the many great benefits they have received from you. Now consider those things that they did after this magnanimous and prudent action on your part, in order that you may learn how you ought to deal with them. Well then, as soon as they found you resolved no longer to bear their insolence but prepared to join issue with them, they were struck with terror, and recovering themselves slightly, as from a fit of drunkenness or madness, they desisted from violence and had recourse to legal action; and appointing a day, they summoned Marcius to appear then and stand his trial, at which they themselves were to be at once the accusers, the witnesses, and the judges, and the ones to determine the degree of the punishment. And since you opposed this also, (p291) because you thought that he was summoned, not to be tried, but to be punished, the populace, perceiving that they have absolute authority in no matter whatever, but only the power of ratifying your preliminary decrees, now abate their arrogance, which then blew so strong, and have come to beg that you will grant them this favour also. Bearing this in mind, therefore, perceive at last and learn that all the privileges you have hitherto granted them, with greater guilelessness than prudent, have brought calamities and harm upon you, but that every courageous stand you have made against their illegal and violent acts has turned out advantageously. What, then, do I advise you to do, now that you understand these things, and what opinion do I express upon the present question? Just this: As regards the privileges and concessions which you made to the populace at the time of your reconciliation, however you came to grant them, I advise you to adhere to them as valid and to abrogate none of the concessions you then made, not because they are honourable and worthy of the commonwealth — how could they be? — but because they are necessary and can no longer be remedied. But as to anything beyond this which they may endeavour to extort from you against your will by violence and illegal means, I advise you not to grant or allow it, but to oppose them both by words and by deeds, not only all of you as a body, but each one individually. For it is not inevitable, if a person has erred once through either deception or necessity, that he should act in like manner in everything else, (p293) but mindful of that error, he ought to consider by what means his future conduct may not resemble it. This is the resolution which I think you ought all of you unitedly to have formed, and I advise you to be prepared against the unjust encroachments of the populace.