[8,48] Παυσαμένου δ´ αὐτοῦ μικρὸν ἡ Οὐετουρία ἐπισχοῦσα χρόνον, ἕως ὁ τῶν περιεστηκότων ἔπαινος ἐπαύσατο πολύς τε καὶ μέχρι πολλοῦ γενόμενος, λέγει πρὸς αὐτόν· Ἀλλ´ ἔγωγέ σε, ὦ Μάρκιε τέκνον, οὔτε προδότην Οὐολούσκων γενέσθαι ἀξιῶ, οἵ σε φεύγοντα ὑποδεξάμενοι τοῖς τ´ ἄλλοις ἐτίμησαν καὶ τὴν ἑαυτῶν ἡγεμονίαν ἐπίστευσαν, οὔτε παρὰ τὰς ὁμολογίας καὶ τοὺς ὅρκους, οὓς ἔδωκας αὐτοῖς, ὅτε τὰς δυνάμεις παρελάμβανες, ἄνευ κοινῆς γνώμης ἰδίᾳ καταλύσασθαι τὴν ἔχθραν βούλομαι· μηδ´ ὑπολάβῃς τὴν σεαυτοῦ μητέρα τοσαύτης ἀναπεπλῆσθαι θεοβλαβείας, ὥστε τὸν ἀγαπητὸν καὶ μόνον υἱὸν εἰς αἰσχρὰς καὶ ἀνοσίους πράξεις παρακαλεῖν. ἀλλὰ μετὰ κοινῆς γνώμης ἀποστῆναί σε ἀξιῶ τοῦ πολέμου, πείσαντα τοὺς Οὐολούσκους μετριάσαι περὶ τὰς διαλλαγὰς καὶ ποιήσασθαι τὴν εἰρήνην ἀμφοτέροις τοῖς ἔθνεσι καλὴν καὶ πρέπουσαν. τοῦτο δὲ γένοιτ´ ἄν, εἰ νῦν μὲν ἀναστήσας τὴν στρατιὰν ἀπαγάγοις ἐνιαυσίους ποιησάμενος ἀνοχάς, ἐν δὲ τῷ μεταξὺ χρόνῳ πρέσβεις ἀποστέλλων τε καὶ δεχόμενος ἀληθῆ φιλίαν πράττοις καὶ διαλλαγὰς βεβαίας. καὶ εὖ ἴσθι· Ῥωμαῖοι μέν, ὅσα μήτε τὸ ἀδύνατον μήτ´ ἄλλη τις ἀδοξία προσπεσοῦσα κωλύσει, πάντα ὑπομενοῦσι πράττειν λόγῳ καὶ παρακλήσει πειθόμενοι, ἀναγκαζόμενοι δ´, ὥσπερ σὺ νῦν ἀξιοῖς, οὐθὲν ἂν πώποτε χαρίσαιντο ὑμῖν οὔτε μεῖζον οὔτ´ ἔλαττον, ὡς ἐξ ἄλλων τε πολλῶν πάρεστί σοι καταμαθεῖν καὶ τὰ τελευταῖα ἐξ ὧν Λατίνοις συνεχώρησαν ἀποστᾶσιν ἀπὸ τῶν ὅπλων· Οὐολοῦσκοι δὲ πολὺ τὸ αὔθαδες ἔχουσιν, ὃ συμβαίνει τοῖς μεγάλα εὐτυχήσασιν. ἐὰν δὲ διδάσκῃς αὐτούς, ὅτι πᾶσα μὲν εἰρήνη παντός ἐστι πολέμου κρείττων, σύμβασις δὲ φίλων κατὰ τὸν ἑκούσιον γινομένη τρόπον τῶν ὑπ´ ἀνάγκης συγχωρηθέντων βεβαιοτέρα, καὶ ὅτι σωφρόνων ἐστὶν ἀνθρώπων, ὅταν μὲν εὖ πράττειν δοκῶσι, ταμιεύεσθαι τὰς τύχας, ὅταν δ´ εἰς ταπεινὰς καὶ φαύλας ἔλθωσι, μηθὲν ὑπομένειν ἀγεννές· καὶ τἆλλα, ὅσα εἰς ἡμερότητα καὶ ἐπιείκειαν ἐπαγωγὰ παιδεύματα εὕρηται λόγων, οὓς ὑμεῖς οἱ τὰ πολιτικὰ πράττοντες μάλιστ´ ἐπίστασθε, ἴστε ὅτι τοῦ τε αὐχήματος, ἐφ´ οὗ νῦν εἰσιν, ἑκόντες ὑποβήσονται καὶ ποιήσουσιν ἐξουσίαν σοι τοῦ πράττειν, ὅ τι ἂν αὐτοῖς ὑπολαμβάνῃς συνοίσειν. ἐὰν δ´ ἀντιπράττωσί σοι καὶ τοὺς λόγους μὴ προσδέχωνται ταῖς διὰ σὲ καὶ διὰ τὴν ἡγεμονίαν τὴν σὴν γενομέναις περὶ αὐτοὺς τύχαις ὡς ἀεὶ διαμενούσαις ἐπαιρόμενοι, τῆς στρατηγίας αὐτοῖς ἀφίστασο φανερῶς, καὶ μήτε προδότης γίνου τῶν πεπιστευκότων μήτε πολέμιος τῶν ἀναγκαιοτάτων· ἀσεβὲς γὰρ ἑκάτερον. ταῦτα ἥκω δεομένη σου γενέσθαι μοι παρὰ σοῦ, Μάρκιε τέκνον, οὔτ´ ἀδύναθ´, ὡς σὺ φῄς, πάσης τ´ ἀδίκου καὶ ἀνοσίου συνειδήσεως καθαρά.

[8,48] When he had ended, Veturia, after waiting a short time till the great and long- continued applause of the bystanders ceased, spoke to him as follows: "But I, Marcius, my son, neither ask you to become a traitor to the Volscians who received you when an exile and, among other honours, entrusted you with the command of their army, nor do I desire that, contrary to the agreements and to the sworn pledges you gave them when you took command of their forces, you should arbitrarily, without the general consent, put an end to enmity. do not imagine that your mother has been filled with such fatuousness as to urge her dear and only son to shameful and wicked actions. On the contrary, I ask you to withdraw from the war only with the general consent of the Volscians, after you have persuaded them to use moderation with regard to an accommodation and to make such a peace as shall be honourable and seemly for both nations. This may be done if you will now withdraw your forces, first making a truce for a year, and will in the meantime, by sending and receiving (p141) ambassadors, work to bring about a genuine friendship and a firm reconciliation. And be well assured of this: the Romans, in so far as no impossible condition or any dishonour attaching to the terms prevents, will consent to perform them all if won over by persuasion and exhortation, but if compulsion is attempted, as you now think proper, they will never make any concession, great or small, to please you, as you may learn from many other instances and particularly from the concessions they recently made to the Latins after these had laid down their arms. As to the Volscians, on the other hand, their arrogance is now great, as happens to all who have met with signal success; but if you point out to them that 'any peace is preferable to any war,' that 'a voluntary agreement between friends is more secure than concession extorted by necessity,' and that 'it is the part of wise men, when they seem to be prosperous, to husband their good fortune, but when their fortunes become low and paltry, to submit to nothing that is ignoble,' and if you make use of such other instructive maxims conducive to moderation and reasonableness as have been devised, maxims with which you politicians in particular are familiar, be assured that they will voluntarily recede from their present boastfulness and give you authority to do anything you believe will be to their advantage. But if they oppose you and refuse to accept your proposals, being elated by the successes they have (p143) gained through you and your leadership, as if these would always continue, resign publicly the command of their army and make yourself neither a traitor to those who have trusted you nor an enemy to those who are nearest to you; for to do either is impious. These are the favours I have come begging you to grant me, Marcius, my son, and they are not only not impossible to grant, as you assert, but are free from any consciousness on my part of an unjust or impious intent.