[8,41] Ἡ μὲν δὴ ταῦτ´ εἰποῦσα καὶ πολλὰ προεμένη δάκρυα ἐσίγησεν· ὀδυρομένων δὲ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων γυναικῶν καὶ πολλὰς δεήσεις ποιουμένων μικρὸν ἐπισχοῦσα ἡ Οὐετουρία καὶ δακρύσασα εἶπεν· Εἰς ἀσθενῆ καὶ λεπτὴν ἐλπίδα καταπεφεύγατε, ὦ Οὐαλερία, τὴν ἐξ ἡμῶν τῶν ἀθλίων γυναικῶν βοήθειαν, αἷς ἡ μὲν εὔνοια ἡ πρὸς τὴν πατρίδα πάρεστι καὶ τὸ θέλειν σώζεσθαι τοὺς πολίτας, οἷοί ποτέ εἰσιν, ἡ δ´ ἰσχὺς καὶ τὸ δύνασθαι ποιεῖν ἃ θέλομεν ἄπεστιν. ἀπέστραπται γὰρ ἡμᾶς, ὦ Οὐαλερία, Μάρκιος, ἐξ οὗ τὴν πικρὰν ἐκείνην ὁ δῆμος αὐτοῦ κατέγνω δίκην, καὶ μεμίσηκε τὴν οἰκίαν ὅλην ἅμα τῇ πατρίδι· τοῦτο δ´ ὑμῖν οὐ παρ´ ἄλλου τινός, ἀλλὰ παρ´ αὐτοῦ Μαρκίου μαθοῦσαι λέγειν ἔχομεν. ὅτε γὰρ ἁλοὺς τὴν δίκην ἦλθεν εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν προπεμπόμενος ὑπὸ τῶν ἑταίρων, καταλαβὼν ἡμᾶς καθημένας ἐν πενθίμοις τρύχεσι, ταπεινάς, κρατούσας ἐν τοῖς γόνασι τὰ τέκνα αὐτοῦ στενούσας τε οἷα εἰκὸς καὶ ἀνακλαιομένας τὴν καθέξουσαν ἡμᾶς τύχην στερομένας ἐκείνου, στὰς μικρὸν ἄπωθεν ἡμῶν ἄδακρυς ὥσπερ λίθος καὶ ἀτενής· Οἴχεται, φησίν, ὑμῖν Μάρκιος, ὦ μῆτερ ἅμα καὶ σύ, ὦ Οὐολουμνία, κρατίστη γυναικῶν, ἐξελασθεὶς ὑπὸ τῶν πολιτῶν, ὅτι γενναῖος ἦν καὶ φιλόπολις καὶ πολλοὺς ὑπέμεινεν ὑπὲρ τῆς πατρίδος ἀγῶνας. ἀλλ´ ὡς πρέπει γυναιξὶν ἀγαθαῖς, οὕτω φέρετε τὰς συμφορὰς μηδὲν ἄσχημον ποιοῦσαι μηδὲ ἀγεννές, καὶ τὰ παιδία ταῦτα παραμύθια τῆς ἐμῆς ἐρημίας ἔχουσαι τρέφετε ἀξίως ὑμῶν τε καὶ τοῦ γένους· οἷς θεοὶ δοῖεν εἰς ἄνδρας ἐλθοῦσι τύχην μὲν κρείττονα τοῦ πατρός, ἀρετὴν δὲ μὴ χείρονα· καὶ χαίρετε. ἀπέρχομαι γὰρ ἤδη καταλιπὼν τὴν οὐκέτι χωροῦσαν ἄνδρας ἀγαθοὺς πόλιν. καὶ ὑμεῖς, ὦ θεοὶ κτήσιοι καὶ ἑστία πατρῴα καὶ δαίμονες οἱ κατέχοντες τοῦτον τὸν τόπον, χαίρετε. ὡς δὲ ταῦτ´ εἶπεν, ἡμεῖς μὲν αἱ δυστυχεῖς ἃς τὸ πάθος ἀπῄτει φωνὰς ἀναβοῶσαι καὶ παίουσαι τὰ στήθη περιεχύθημεν αὐτῷ τοὺς ἐσχάτους ἀσπασμοὺς κομιούμεναι· τῶν δὲ παιδίων τούτων ἐγὼ μὲν τὸ πρεσβύτερον ἦγον, ἡ δὲ μήτηρ τὸ νεώτερον εἶχεν ἐπὶ τῆς ἀγκάλης· ὁ δ´ ἀποστραφεὶς καὶ παρωσάμενος ἡμᾶς εἶπεν· Οὔτε σὸς υἱὸς ἔτι, μῆτερ, ἔσται τὸν ἀπὸ τοῦδε χρόνον Μάρκιος, ἀλλ´ ἀφῄρηταί σε τὸν γηροβοσκὸν ἡ πατρίς, οὔτε σὸς ἀνὴρ ἀπὸ ταύτης, ὦ Οὐολουμνία, τῆς ἡμέρας, ἀλλ´ εὐτυχοίης ἕτερον ἄνδρα λαβοῦσα εὐδαιμονέστερον ἐμοῦ, οὔθ´ ὑμῶν, ὦ τέκνα φίλτατα, πατήρ, ἀλλ´ ὀρφανοὶ καὶ ἔρημοι παρὰ ταύταις, ἕως εἰς ἄνδρας ἔλθητε, τραφήσεσθε. ταῦτ´ εἰπὼν ἄλλ´ οὐθὲν οὔτε διοικησάμενος οὔτ´ ἐπιστείλας οὔθ´ ὅποι πορεύεται φράσας ἀπῆλθεν ἐκ τῆς οἰκίας μόνος, ὦ γυναῖκες, ἄδουλος, ἄπορος, οὐδὲ τὴν ἐφήμερον ὁ δύστηνος ἐκ τῶν ἑαυτοῦ χρημάτων τροφὴν ἐπαγόμενος. καὶ τέταρτον ἐνιαυτὸν ἤδη τοῦτον, ἐξ οὗ φεύγει τὴν πατρίδα, πάντας ἡμᾶς ἀλλοτρίους ἑαυτοῦ νενόμικεν, οὐ γράφων οὐθέν, οὐκ ἐπιστέλλων, οὐ τὰ περὶ ἡμᾶς εἰδέναι βουλόμενος. πρὸς δὴ τοιαύτην ψυχὴν οὕτω σκληρὰν καὶ ἄτρωτον, ὦ Οὐαλερία, τίνα ἰσχὺν ἕξουσιν αἱ παρ´ ἡμῶν δεήσεις, αἷς οὔτ´ ἀσπασμῶν μετέδωκεν οὔτε φιλημάτων οὔτ´ ἄλλης φιλοφροσύνης οὐδεμιᾶς τὴν τελευταίαν πορευόμενος ἐκ τῆς οἰκίας ὁδόν;

[8,41] Having said this and shed many tears, she became silent. And when the other women also lamented and added many entreaties, Veturia, after pausing a short time and weeping, said: "It is a weak and slender hope, Valeria, to which you have turned for refuge — the assistance of us wretched women who feel indeed affection for ought to country and a desire for the preservation of the citizens, no matter what their character, but lack the strength and power to do what we wish. For Marcius has turned away from us, Valeria, ever since the people passed that bitter sentence against him, and has hated his whole family together with his country. This we can tell you as a thing we learned from the lips of none other than Marcius himself. For when, after his condemnation, he came home, escorted by his friends, and found us sitting there in garments of mourning, (p121) abased, clasping his children upon our knees, uttering such lamentations as one would expect in the circumstances and bewailing the unhappy fate which would come upon us when bereft of him, he stood at a little distance from us, tearless as a stone and unmoved, and said: 'Marcius is lost to you, mother, and to you also, Volumnia, best of wives, having been exiled by his fellow citizens because he was a brave man and a lover of his country and undertook many struggles for her sake. But bear this calamity as befits good women, doing nothing unseemly or ignoble, and with these children as a consolation for my absence, rear them in a manner worthy both of yourselves and of their lineage; and when they have come to manhood, may the gods grant them a fate better than their father's and valour not inferior to his. Farewell. I am departing now and leaving this city in which there is no longer any room for good men. And ye too, my household gods and hearth of my fathers, and ye other divinities who preside over this place, farewell.' When he had thus spoken, we unhappy women, uttering the cries which our plight called for, and beating our breasts, clung to him to receive his last embraces. I led the elder of these his sons by the hand, and the younger his mother carried in her arms. But he turned away, and thrusting us back, said: 'No longer shall Marcius be your son henceforth, mother, but our country has deprived you of the support of your old age; nor shall he be your husband, Volumnia, from this day, but may you be happen with another husband more fortunate than I; near shall he be your father, dearest children, but, orphans and forsaken, you will be reared by these women till you come to manhood.' (p123) With these words and nothing else — without arranging any of his affairs, sending any messages, or saying whither he was going — he went out of the house alone, women, without a servant, without means, and without taking from his own stores, wretched man, even a day's supply of food. And for the fourth year now, ever since he was banished from the country, he has looked upon us all as strangers to him, neither writing anything nor sending any messages nor caring to have news of us. On such a mind, so hard and invulnerable, Valeria, what force will the entreaties of us women have, to whom he gave neither embraces nor kisses nor any other mark of affection when he left his house for the last time?