[7,57] Ταῦτα καὶ τὰ παραπλήσια τούτοις εἰπὼν ἐπαύσατο. τῶν δὲ βουλευτῶν οἱ μετ´ αὐτὸν ἀνιστάμενοι πλὴν ὀλίγων οἱ λοιποὶ ταύτῃ προσέθεντο τῇ γνώμῃ. καὶ ἐπειδὴ τὸ προβούλευμα ἔδει γράφεσθαι, λόγον αἰτησάμενος ὁ Μάρκιος εἶπεν· Οἷος μέν, ὦ βουλή, πρὸς τὰ κοινὰ ἐγὼ γέγονα, καὶ ὡς διὰ τὴν πρὸς ὑμᾶς εὔνοιαν εἰς τοῦτον τὸν κίνδυνον ἐλήλυθα, καὶ ὅτι παρὰ γνώμην ἀπήντηταί μοι τὰ παρ´ ὑμῶν, ἅπαντες ἴστε καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον εἴσεσθε, ὅταν τὰ κατ´ ἐμὲ σχῇ τέλος. ἐπεὶ δ´ ἡ Οὐαλερίου γνώμη νικᾷ, συνενέγκειε μὲν ταῦτα ὑμῖν, καὶ γενοίμην ἐγὼ κακὸς εἰκαστὴς τῶν ἐσομένων. ἵνα δὲ καὶ ὑμεῖς οἱ τὸ προβούλευμα γράφοντες εἰδῆτε ἐφ´ οἷς παραδιδόναι με τῷ δήμῳ μέλλετε, κἀγὼ μὴ ἀγνοῶ, περὶ τίνος ἀγωνιοῦμαι, κελεύσατε δὴ τοὺς δημάρχους εἰπεῖν ἐναντίον ὑμῶν, τί τὸ ἀδίκημά ἐστιν, ἐφ´ οὗ μέλλουσί μου κατηγορεῖν, καὶ ποταπὸν ὄνομα ἐπιγράψουσι τῇ δίκῃ.

[7,57] After he had said this and other things to the same purport, he ended. And the rest of the senators who rose up after him, except a few, concurred in his opinion. When the preliminary decree of the senate was to be drawn up, Marcius, asking leave to speak, said: "You all know, senators, how I have acted with regard to the commonwealth, and that it is because of my goodwill toward you that I have come into this danger, and furthermore that your behaviour toward me has been contrary to my (p315) expectation; and you will know this even better when the action against me has ended. However, since the opinion of Valerius prevails, may these measures prove of advantage to you and may I prove a poor judge of future events. But in order not only that you who are to draw up the decree may know upon what terms you going to deliver me up to the people, but that I also may not fail to know on what charge I am to defend myself, pray order the tribunes to declare in your presence what the crime is of which they intend to accuse me and what title they propose to give to the cause."