[7,64] Τοῦτο τὸ κατηγόρημα πολλὴν ἐποίησε τὴν ἐπὶ θάτερα μεταβολήν. οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἐπιεικέστεροί τε καὶ σπουδάζοντες ὑπὲρ ἀφέσεως τοῦ ἀνδρὸς μαλακώτεροι τούτων ἀκούσαντες ἐγένοντο, τὸ δὲ κακόηθες ἅπαν, ὃ τοῦ δήμου πλεῖστον μέρος ἦν, ἐκ παντὸς ἀπολέσαι τὸν ἄνδρα δήπου προθυμούμενον, ἔτι μᾶλλον εἰς ταῦτ´ ἐπερρώσθη μεγάλης ἀφορμῆς καὶ φανερᾶς λαβόμενον. ἦν γὰρ ἀληθὴς ἡ τῶν λαφύρων διάδοσις, οὐ μὴν ἐκ προαιρέσεώς γε πονηρᾶς καὶ ἐπὶ κατασκευῇ τυραννίδος, ὡς ὁ Δέκιος ᾐτιᾶτο, γενομένη, ἀλλ´ ἀπὸ παντὸς τοῦ βελτίστου καὶ ἐπανορθώσεως ἕνεκα τῶν κατεχόντων τὰ κοινὰ κακῶν. στασιάζοντος γὰρ ἔτι καὶ διεστηκότος ἀπὸ τῶν πατρικίων τοῦ πλήθους τότε καταφρονήσαντες οἱ πολέμιοι καταδρομὰς τῆς χώρας ἐποιοῦντο καὶ λεηλασίας συνεχεῖς· καὶ ὁπότε δόξειε τῇ βουλῇ τὴν κωλύσουσαν ταῦτα δύναμιν ἐξελθεῖν, οὐδεὶς ἐξῄει τῶν δημοτῶν, ἀλλ´ ἐπέχαιρόν τε καὶ περιεώρων τὰ γινόμενα· ἡ δὲ τῶν πατρικίων χεὶρ οὐκ ἦν καθ´ ἑαυτὴν ἀξιόμαχος. τοῦτο καταμαθὼν ὁ Μάρκιος ὑπέσχετο τοῖς ὑπάτοις, ἐὰν ἐπιτρέψωσιν αὐτῷ τὴν ἡγεμονίαν, στρατιὰν ἄξειν ἑκούσιον ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους καὶ δίκην λήψεσθαι παρ´ αὐτῶν ἐν τάχει. λαβὼν δὲ τὴν ἐξουσίαν συνεκάλει τούς τε πελάτας καὶ τοὺς φίλους καὶ τῶν ἄλλων πολιτῶν οἷς ἦν βουλομένοις ἀπολαῦσαί τι τῆς τοῦ στρατηγοῦ τύχης κατὰ τὰ πολέμια καὶ ἀρετῆς. ὡς δ´ αὐτῷ χεὶρ ἀξιόμαχος ἐδόκει συνεληλυθέναι, προῆγεν ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους οὐθέν πω προειδότας. ἐμβαλὼν δ´ εἰς χώραν πολλῶν ἀγαθῶν μεστὴν γενόμενος ἀφθόνου λείας κύριος ἐφῆκε τοῖς στρατιώταις ἅπαντα τὰ ληφθέντα διανείμασθαι, ἵν´ οἱ μὲν συναράμενοι τοῦ ἔργου τὸν τῶν πόνων καρπὸν κομισάμενοι προθύμως ἐπὶ τὰς ἄλλας στρατείας ἀπαντῶσιν· οἱ δ´ ἀποκνήσαντες ἐνθυμηθέντες, ὅσων ἀγαθῶν αὐτοῖς ἐξὸν μεταλαβεῖν, διὰ τὸ στασιάζειν ἀπεκωλύθησαν εἰς τὰς λοιπὰς ἐξόδους γένωνται φρονιμώτεροι. διάνοια μὲν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἥδε ἐγένετο περὶ τὸ ἔργον· χόλῳ δ´ ὑπούλῳ καὶ φθόνῳ δυσμενῶν αὐτὴ καθ´ αὑτὴν ἡ πρᾶξις ἐξεταζομένη δημαγωγία τις ἐφαίνετο εἶναι καὶ δεκασμὸς τυραννικός. ὥστε βοῆς καὶ θορύβου πᾶσα ἦν ἀνάπλεως ἡ ἀγορά, καὶ οὔθ´ ὁ Μάρκιος πρὸς ταῦτ´ εἶχεν, ὅ τι ἀπολογήσαιτο, οὔθ´ ὁ ὕπατος οὔτ´ ἄλλος οὐδείς, οἷα δὴ παραδόξου καὶ ἀπροσδοκήτου φανείσης ἐπὶ σφίσι τῆς αἰτίας. ἐπειδὴ δ´ οὐδεὶς οὐκέτι ἀπελογεῖτο, ἀνέδωκαν οἱ δήμαρχοι τὴν ψῆφον ταῖς φυλαῖς τίμημα ἐπιγράψαντες τῇ δίκῃ φυγὴν ἀίδιον, κατὰ δέος, οἶμαι, τοῦ μὴ ἂν ἁλῶναι τὸν ἄνδρα θανάτου {αὐτῷ τιμησάντων}. ὡς δ´ ἐπεψήφισαν ἅπαντες, διαριθμουμένων τῶν ψήφων οὐ μέγα τὸ διάλλαγμα ἐφάνη. μιᾶς γὰρ καὶ εἴκοσι τότε φυλῶν οὐσῶν, οἷς ἡ ψῆφος ἀνεδόθη, τὰς ἀπολυούσας φυλὰς ἔσχεν ὁ Μάρκιος ἐννέα· ὥστ´ εἰ δύο προσῆλθον αὐτῷ φυλαί, διὰ τὴν ἰσοψηφίαν ἀπελέλυτ´ ἄν, ὥσπερ ὁ νόμος ἠξίου.

[7,64] This accusation caused a great shift in sentiment to the other side. For those who were more reasonable and were zealously working for the acquittal of Marcius, upon hearing these things, grew less confident, and all the malevolent, who constituted the larger part of the Potomac and were (p337) of course eager to destroy him at all costs, were still more encouraged in their purpose now that they had got hold of an important and clear ground for their attack. For the distribution of the spoils was a fact, though it had been made without any evil intent and not for the setting up of a tyranny, as Decius charged, but from only the best of motives and for the correction of the evils that beset the commonwealth. For as the sedition still continued at that time and the populace was then divided from the patricians, their enemies, despising them, made raids into their country and plundered it without intermission; and whenever the senate decided to send out an army to stop these raids, none of the plebeians would serve in it, but rejoiced at what was happening and permitted it to continue; and the force of the patricians alone was inadequate. Marcius, observing this, promised the consuls that he would march against the enemy with an army of volunteers if they would give him the command of it, and would soon take revenge on them; and having received authority to do so, he called together his clients and friends and such of the citizens as wished to share in the advantages expected from the general's good fortune in war and his valour. When he thought an adequate force had assembled, he led them against the enemy, who had no previous knowledge of his purpose. And making an incursion into their country, which was well stocked with many good things, and capturing a vast amount of booty, he permitted his soldiers to divide up all the spoils among themselves, to the end that both those who had assisted him in this expedition, by receiving the fruit of their labours, might cheerfully engage in (p339) the service upon other occasions, and the others who had declined it, considering all the benefits they had lost through their sedition, when they might have shared in them, might act with greater prudence in the case of future expeditions. Such was the intention of Marcius in this affair; but to the festering anger and envy of enemies the action, when considered by itself, appeared a kind of flattery of the people and a bribery tending toward tyranny. As a result the whole Forum was full of clamour and tumult and neither Marcius himself nor the consul nor anyone else had any answer to make to the charge, so incredible and unexpected did it appear to them. When nothing further was said in his defence, the tribunes called upon the tribes to cast their votes, and fixed perpetual banishment as the penalty in the case. This, I suspect, was due to their fear that he could not be convicted if death were set as the penalty. After they had all voted and the votes were counted, the difference was found to be slight. For out of the twenty-one tribes that were then in existence and gave their votes Marcius had nine in favour of his acquittal; so that if two more tribes had joined his side, he would have been acquitted as the result of the equal division of the votes, as the law prescribed.