[8,30] Καὶ ταυτὶ μὲν ἴσως ἂν ἔχοι τις καὶ ἕτερος ὑπὲρ αὑτοῦ γενναῖος ἀνήρ, εἰ μὴ καὶ τοσαῦτα, λέγειν· ἀλλὰ πόλιν ὅλην τίς δύναιτ´ ἂν καυχήσασθαι στρατηγὸς ἢ λοχαγὸς ἑλών, ὥσπερ ἐγὼ τὴν Κοριολανῶν, καὶ τῆς αὐτῆς ἡμέρας ὁ αὐτὸς ἀνὴρ στρατιὰν πολεμίων τρεψάμενος, ὥσπερ ἐγὼ τὴν Ἀντιατῶν ἐπίκουρον τοῖς πολιορκουμένοις ἀφικομένην; ἐῶ γὰρ λέγειν, ὅτι τοιαύτας ἀρετὰς ἀποδειξάμενος, ἐξόν μοι λαβεῖν ἐκ τῶν λαφύρων πολὺν μὲν χρυσόν, πολὺν δ´ ἄργυρον ἀνδράποδά τε καὶ ὑποζύγια καὶ βοσκήματα καὶ γῆν πολλὴν καὶ ἀγαθὴν οὐκ ἠξίωσα, ἀλλ´ ἀνεπίφθονον ὡς μάλιστα βουληθεὶς ἐμαυτὸν παρασχεῖν, πολεμιστὴν ἵππον ἕνα μόνον ἐκ τῶν λαφύρων ἔλαβον καὶ τὸν ἐμαυτοῦ ξένον ἐκ τῶν αἰχμαλώτων, τὸν δ´ ἄλλον πλοῦτον εἰς τὸ κοινὸν ἔθηκα φέρων. πότερον οὖν τιμωρίας ἄξιος ἦν ἐπὶ τούτοις ὑπέχειν, ἢ τιμὰς λαμβάνειν, καὶ πότερον ὑπὸ τοῖς κακίστοις γενέσθαι τῶν πολιτῶν, ἢ τὰ δίκαια τάττειν αὐτὸς τοῖς ἥττοσιν; ἀλλ´ οὐ διὰ ταῦτά με ἀπήλασεν ὁ δῆμος, ἀλλ´ ὅτι περὶ τὸν ἄλλον βίον ἀκόλαστος καὶ πολυτελὴς καὶ παράνομος ἦν; καὶ τίς ἂν ἔχοι δεῖξαί τινα διὰ τὰς ἐμὰς παρανόμους ἡδονὰς ἢ τὴν πατρίδα φεύγοντα ἢ τὴν ἐλευθερίαν ἀπολωλεκότα ἢ χρημάτων στερόμενον ἢ ἄλλῃ τινὶ συμφορᾷ χρησάμενον; ἀλλ´ οὐδὲ τῶν ἐχθρῶν με οὐδεὶς πώποτε ᾐτιάσατο οὐδὲ διέβαλεν ἐπ´ οὐδενὶ τούτων, ἀλλ´ ὑπὸ πάντων ἐμαρτυρεῖτό μοι καὶ ὁ καθ´ ἡμέραν ἀνεπίληπτος εἶναι βίος. ἀλλ´ ἡ προαίρεσις, νὴ Δία, φαίη τις ἄν, ἡ τῶν πολιτευμάτων σου μισηθεῖσα ταύτην ἐξειργάσατό σοι τὴν συμφοράν. ἐξὸν γὰρ ἑλέσθαι τὴν κρείττω μερίδα τὴν χείρονα εἵλου καὶ διετέλεις ἅπαντα καὶ λέγων καὶ πράττων, ἐξ ὧν καταλυθήσεται μὲν ἡ πάτριος ἀριστοκρατία, κύριος δ´ ἔσται τῶν κοινῶν ὄχλος ἀμαθὴς καὶ πονηρός. ἀλλ´ ἔγωγε τἀναντία ἔπραττον, ὦ Μηνύκιε, καὶ ὅπως ἡ βουλὴ τῶν κοινῶν διὰ παντὸς ἐπιμελήσεται καὶ ὁ πάτριος διαμενεῖ κόσμος τῆς πολιτείας προὐνοούμην. ἀντὶ τούτων μέντοι τῶν καλῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων, ἃ τοῖς προγόνοις ἡμῶν ζηλωτὰ εἶναι ἐδόκει, τὰς εὐτυχεῖς ταύτας καὶ μακαρίας κεκόμισμαι παρὰ τῆς πατρίδος ἀμοιβάς, οὐχ ὑπὸ τοῦ δήμου μόνον ἐξελασθείς, ὦ Μηνύκιε, ἀλλὰ πολὺ πρότερον ὑπὸ τῆς βουλῆς, ἣ κατ´ ἀρχὰς ἐπαίρουσά με κεναῖς ἐλπίσιν, ἡνίκα τοῖς δημάρχοις τυραννίδα περιβαλλομένοις ἠναντιούμην, ὡς αὐτὴν παρέξουσα τὸ ἀσφαλές, ἐπειδὴ κίνδυνόν τιν´ ἐκ τῶν δημοτικῶν ὑπείδετο, ἀπέστη καὶ παρέδωκέ με τοῖς ἐχθροῖς. σὺ μέντοι τότ´ αὐτὸς ὕπατος ἦσθα, ὦ Μηνύκιε, ὅτι τὸ προβούλευμα τὸ περὶ τῆς δίκης ἐγένετο, καὶ ἡνίκα Οὐαλέριος ὁ παραδιδόναι με τῷ δήμῳ παραινῶν σφόδρα ἐπὶ τοῖς λόγοις εὐδοκίμει, κἀγὼ δεδιώς, μὴ ψήφου δοθείσης ὑπὸ τῶν συνέδρων ἁλῶ, συνέγνων καὶ παρέξειν ἐμαυτὸν ὑπεσχόμην ἑκόντα ἐπὶ τὴν δίκην.

[8,30] "These are exploits, it is true, that some (p87) other brave man also might perhaps be able to cite in his favour, even if not so many of them; but what general or captain could boast of capturing an entire city, as I captured Corioli, and also of putting to flight the enemy's army on that very same day, as I did that of the Antiates when it came to the assistance of the besieged? I refrain from adding that after I had given such proofs of my valour, when I might have received out of the spoils a large amount of gold and silver, as well as slaves, beasts of burden and cattle, and much fertile land, I refused, but desiring to secure myself as far as possible against envy, took only a single war-horse out of the spoils and my personal friend from among the captives, and all the rest of the wealth I brought and turned over to the state. Did I, then, for these actions deserve to suffer punishments, or to receive honours? To become subject to the basest of the citizens, or myself to issue orders to my inferiors? Or perhaps it was not for these reasons that the populace banished me, but rather because in my private life I was unrestrained, extravagant and lawless? And yet who can point to anyone who because of my lawless pleasures has either been banished from his country, or lost his liberty, or been deprived of his money, or met with any other misfortune? On the contrary, no one even of my enemies ever accused or charged me any of these things, but all bore witness that even my daily life was irreproachable. 'But, great heavens, man,' some one may say, 'it was your political principles that aroused hatred and brought this misfortune upon you. For when you had it in your power to choose the better side, you chose the (p89) worse, and you continued to say and do everything calculated to effect the overthrow of the established aristocracy and to put the whole power of the commonwealth into the hands of an ignorant and base municipal.' But I, Minucius, pursued a course the very reverse of that, and sought to provide that the senate should always administer the public business and that the established constitution should be maintained. In return, however, for these honourable principles, which our forefathers thought worthy of emulation, I have received this happy, this blessed reward from my country — to have been banished, not by the populace alone, Minucius, but, long before that, by the senate, which encouraged me at first with vain hopes while I was opposing the tribunes in their efforts to establish a tyranny, promising that it would itself provide for my security, and then, upon the first suspicion of any danger from the plebeians, abandoned me and delivered me up to my enemies! But you yourself were consul at the time, Minucius, when the senate passed the preliminary decree concerning my trial and when Valerius, who advised delivering me up to the populace, gained great applause by his speech, and I, fearing that, if the question were put, I should be condemned by the senators, acquiesced and promised of appear voluntarily for trial.