[8,46] Καὶ ἡ Οὐετουρία παραστησαμένη τήν τε γυναῖκα τοῦ Μαρκίου καὶ τὰ τέκνα καὶ τὰς ἐπιφανεστάτας τῶν ἐν Ῥώμῃ γυναικῶν πρῶτον μὲν ἔκλαιεν εἰς τὴν γῆν ὁρῶσα μέχρι πολλοῦ, καὶ πολὺν ἐκίνησεν ἐκ τῶν παρόντων ἔλεον. ἔπειτ´ ἀναλαβοῦσα αὑτὴν ἔλεξεν· Αἱ γυναῖκες, ὦ Μάρκιε τέκνον, τὰς ὕβρεις ἐνθυμούμεναι καὶ τὰς ἄλλας συμφορὰς τὰς συμβησομένας αὐταῖς, ἐὰν ἡ πόλις ἡμῶν ὑπὸ τοῖς πολεμίοις γένηται, πᾶσαν ἄλλην ἀπογνοῦσαι βοήθειαν, ἐπειδὴ τοῖς ἀνδράσιν αὐτῶν ἀξιοῦσι διαλύσασθαι τὸν πόλεμον αὐθάδεις καὶ σκληρὰς ἔδωκας ἀποκρίσεις, ἄγουσαι τὰ τέκνα καὶ τοῖς πενθίμοις τούτοις ἠμφιεσμέναι τρύχεσι κατέφυγον ἐπ´ ἐμέ, τὴν σὴν μητέρα, καὶ Οὐολουμνίαν, τὴν σὴν γυναῖκα, δεόμεναι, μὴ περιιδεῖν αὐτὰς τὰ μέγιστα τῶν ἐν ἀνθρώποις κακῶν ὑπὸ σοῦ παθούσας· οὐθὲν μὲν οὔτε μεῖζον οὔτ´ ἔλαττον εἰς ἡμᾶς ἐξαμαρτοῦσαι, πολλὴν δὲ καί, ὅτ´ εὐτυχοῦμεν, εὔνοιαν ἔτι παρασχόμεναι, καί, ὅτ´ ἐπταίσαμεν, συμπάθειαν. ἔχομεν γὰρ αὐταῖς μαρτυρεῖν, ἐξ οὗ σὺ ἀπῆρας ἐκ τῆς πατρίδος, ἡμεῖς δ´ ἔρημοι καὶ τὸ μηθὲν ἔτι οὖσαι κατελειπόμεθα, συνεχῶς τε παραγινομέναις πρὸς ἡμᾶς καὶ παραμυθουμέναις τὰς συμφορὰς ἡμῶν καὶ συναλγούσαις. τούτων δὴ λαμβάνουσαι μνήμην ἐγώ τε καὶ ἡ σὴ γυνὴ {ἡ} συνοικουροῦσα μετ´ ἐμοῦ τὰς ἱκεσίας αὐτῶν οὐκ ἀπεστράφημεν, ἀλλ´ ὑπεμείναμεν, ὡς ἠξίουν ἡμᾶς ἐλθεῖν ἐπὶ σὲ καὶ τὰς ὑπὲρ τῆς πατρίδος ποιήσασθαι δεήσεις.

[8,46] Thereupon Veturia, having placed the wife of Marcius with his children and the most prominent of the Roman matrons near her, first wept, fixing her eyes on the ground for a long time, and roused great compassion in all who were present. Then, recovering herself, she said: "These women, Marcius, my son, mindful of the outrages and other calamities which will come upon them if our city falls into the power of the enemy, and despairing of all other assistance, since you gave haughty and harsh answers to their husbands when they asked you to end the (p135) war, took their children, and clad in these rent garments of mourning, turned for refuge to me, your mother, and to Volumnia, your wife, begging us not to permit them to suffer the greatest of all human evils at your hands, as they have never done us any injury, great or slight, but showed much affection for us while we were still prosperous, and compassion when we met with adversity. For we can bear them witness that since you withdrew from your country and we were left desolate and no longer of any account, they constantly visited us, alleviated our misfortunes, and condoled with us. So, remembering all this, neither I nor your wife, who lives with me, rejected their entreaties, but brought ourselves to come to you, as they asked, and to make our supplications in behalf of our country."