[8,29] Τοιαῦτα διεξελθόντος τοῦ Μηνυκίου μικρὸν ἐπισχὼν ὁ Μάρκιος εἶπε· Σοὶ μέν, ὦ Μηνύκιε, καὶ ὑμῖν τοῖς ἅμα τούτῳ πεμφθεῖσιν ὑπὸ τῆς βουλῆς φίλος εἰμὶ καὶ πρόθυμος, εἴ τι δύναμαι, ποιεῖν ἀγαθόν, ὅτι μοι καὶ πρότερον, ὅτε πολίτης ὑμέτερος ἦν καὶ τὰ κοινὰ ἔπραττον, ἐν πολλοῖς καὶ ἀναγκαίοις ἐγένεσθε καιροῖς χρήσιμοι, καὶ μετὰ τὴν φυγὴν οὐκ ἀπεστράφητέ με καταφρονήσει τῆς τότε τύχης, ὡς οὔτε φίλους εὖ ποιεῖν δυνάμενον ἔτι οὔτ´ ἐχθροὺς κακῶς, ἀλλὰ χρηστοὶ καὶ βέβαιοι διεμείνατε φίλοι μητρός τε τῆς ἐμῆς κηδόμενοι καὶ γυναικὸς καὶ τέκνων, καὶ τὰς συμφορὰς αὐτοῖς κουφοτέρας ποιοῦντες ταῖς ἰδίαις ἐπιμελείαις. τοῖς δ´ ἄλλοις Ῥωμαίοις ἀπέχθομαί τ´ ὡς δύναμαι μάλιστα {καὶ πολεμῶ} καὶ οὐδέποτε μισῶν αὐτοὺς παύσομαι· οἵ με ἀντὶ πολλῶν καὶ καλῶν ἔργων, ἐφ´ οἷς τιμᾶσθαι προσῆκεν, ὡς τὰ μέγιστα ἐξημαρτηκότα περὶ τὸ κοινὸν αἰσχρῶς ἐξήλασαν ἐκ τῆς πατρίδος, οὔτε μητέρα αἰδεσθέντες τὴν ἐμὴν οὔτε παιδία ἐλεήσαντες οὔτ´ ἄλλο πάθος ἥμερον οὐδὲν ἐπὶ ταῖς ἐμαῖς λαβόντες τύχαις. μαθόντες δὲ τοῦτο, εἰ μὲν αὐτοὶ δεῖσθέ του παρ´ ἡμῶν, λέγετε μηθὲν ὀκνοῦντες, ὡς οὐθενὸς ἀτυχήσοντες τῶν δυνατῶν, περὶ δὲ φιλίας καὶ διαλλαγῶν, ἃς ἀξιοῦτέ με ποιήσασθαι πρὸς τὸν δῆμον ἐπὶ ταῖς ἐλπίσι τῆς καθόδου, παύσασθε διαλεγόμενοι. πάνυ γὰρ ἀγαπητῶς δεξαίμην ἂν εἰς τοιαύτην κατελθεῖν πόλιν, ἐν ᾗ τὰ μὲν τῆς ἀρετῆς ἆθλα ἡ κακία φέρεται, τὰς δὲ τῶν κακούργων τιμωρίας οἱ μηδὲν ἡμαρτηκότες ὑπομένουσιν. ἐπεί, φέρε, πρὸς θεῶν εἴπατέ μοι, τίνος ἀδικήματος αἰτίᾳ ταύτης ἐγὼ πεπείραμαι τῆς τύχης, ἢ ποῖον ἐπιτηδεύσας ἔργον ἀνάξιον τῶν ἐμαυτοῦ προγόνων; πρώτην ἐστρατευσάμην ἔξοδον κομιδῇ νέος ὤν, ὅτε πρὸς τοὺς βασιλεῖς βίᾳ κατιόντας ἠγωνιζόμεθα. ἐκ ταύτης τῆς μάχης ἀριστείοις ἀνεδούμην ὑπὸ τοῦ στρατηγοῦ στεφάνοις πολίτην ὑπερασπίσας καὶ πολέμιον ἀποκτείνας. ἔπειθ´ ὅσας ἄλλας ἱππικὰς καὶ πεζικὰς ἠγωνισάμην μάχας, ἐπιφανὴς ἐν ἁπάσαις ἐγενόμην καὶ τἀριστεῖα ἐξ ἁπασῶν ἔλαβον· καὶ οὔτε πόλις ἐκ τειχομαχίας ἑάλω τις, ἧς οὐκ ἐγὼ πρῶτος ἐπέβην ἢ μόνος ἢ σὺν ὀλίγοις, οὔτε φυγὴ πολεμίων ἐκ παρατάξεως ἐγένετο, ἧς οὐκ ἐμὲ αἰτιώτατον γενέσθαι πάντες οἱ παρόντες ὡμολόγουν, οὔτ´ ἄλλο τῶν λαμπρῶν ἢ γενναίων ἐν πολέμοις ἔργων οὐθὲν ἄνευ τῆς ἐμῆς εἴτ´ εὐτολμίας εἴτ´ εὐτυχίας ἐπράχθη.

[8,29] Minucius having spoken in this manner, Marcius after a short pause replied: "To you, Minucius, and to all others who have been sent here with him by the senate I am a friend and am ready to do you any service in my power, because not only earlier, when I was your fellow citizen and had a share in the administration of public affairs, you assisted me in many times of need, but also after my banishment you did not turn from me in contempt of my then unhappy fate, as if I were no longer able either to serve my friends or to hurt my enemies, but you continued to show yourselves good and staunch friends by taking care of my mother, my wife and my children, and alleviating their misfortune by your personal attentions. But to the rest of the Romans I am as hostile as I can be and am at war with them, and I shall never cease to hate them; for they, in return for the many glorious achievements for which I deserved honour, drove me out of my country with ignominy, as being guilty of the most grievous crimes against the commonwealth, and showed neither respect for my mother, nor compassion (p85) for my children, nor any other humane field in view of my misfortunes. Now that you have been informed of this, if you desire anything from me for yourselves, declare it without hesitation, in the assurance that you shall fail of naught that is in my power; but as regards friendship and a reconciliation, which you desire me to enter into with the populace in the hope that they will let me return, discuss it no more. Great indeed would be the satisfaction with which I should accept restoration to a city like this, in which vice receives the rewards of virtue and the innocent await the punishment of criminals! For come, tell me, in Heaven';s name, with what crime am I charged that I should have experienced this misfortune? Or what course have I pursued that is unworthy of my ancestors? I made my first campaign when I was very young, at the time we fought against the kings who were endeavouring to bring about their restoration by force. As a result of that battle I was crowned by the general with a wreath of valour for having saved a citizen and slain an enemy. After that, in every other action I was engaged in, whether of the horse or foot, I distinguished myself in all and from all received the rewards for valour. And there was neither any town taken by storm whose walls I was not the very first or among the first few to mount, nor any flight of the enemy from the field of battle where all who were present did not acknowledge that I had been the chief cause of it, nor any other signal or brave action performed in war without the assistance of either my valour or my good fortune.