[8,50] Ἔστω δ´ οὖν ὅμως, καὶ δεδόσθω τοῖς τὰ δεινὰ παθοῦσι μὴ διακρίνειν εἴτε φίλιον εἴη τὸ κακῶς δεδρακὸς εἴτ´ ἀλλότριον, ἀλλ´ ἴσην πρὸς ἅπαντας ὀργὴν ἔχειν· ἔπειτ´ οὐχ ἱκανὰς εἰσπέπραξαι παρὰ τῶν ὑβρισάντων σε δίκας γῆν τ´ αὐτῶν τὴν ἀρίστην πεποιηκὼς μηλόβοτον καὶ πόλεις διαπεπορθηκὼς συμμαχίδας, ἃς πολλοῖς πόνοις κτησαμένη κατέσχε, καὶ τρίτον ἤδη ταῦτ´ ἔτος εἰς πολλὴν τῶν ἀναγκαίων κατακεκλεικὼς αὐτοὺς ἀπορίαν; ἀλλὰ καὶ πόρρω ἀνδραποδισμοῦ τῆς πόλεως αὐτῶν καὶ κατασκαφῆς τὴν ἀγριαίνουσαν καὶ μαινομένην ὀργὴν προάγεις· καὶ οὐδὲ τοὺς πεμφθέντας ὑπὸ τῆς βουλῆς πρέσβεις φέροντάς σοι τῶν τε ἐγκλημάτων ἄφεσιν καὶ κάθοδον ἐπὶ τὰ οἰκεῖα φίλους καὶ ἀγαθοὺς ἄνδρας ἐλθόντας ἐνετράπης, οὐδὲ τοὺς ἱερεῖς, οὓς τὸ τελευταῖον ἔπεμψεν ἡ πόλις, ἱερὰ στέμματα θεῶν ἔχοντας καὶ προτείνοντας {γηραιοὺς ἄνδρας} ἀλλὰ καὶ τούτους ἀπήλασας, αὐθάδεις καὶ δεσποτικὰς ὡς κεκρατημένοις ἀποκρίσεις δούς. ἐγὼ μὲν οὐκ ἔχω, πῶς ἐπαινέσω ταῦτα τὰ σκληρὰ καὶ ὑπέραυχα καὶ τὴν θνητὴν φύσιν ἐκβεβηκότα δικαιώματα ὁρῶσα καταφυγὰς εὑρημένας ἅπασιν ἀνθρώποις καὶ παραιτήσεις, ὧν ἂν ἐξαμαρτάνωσι περὶ ἀλλήλους, ἱκετηρίας καὶ λιτὰς {καὶ τὸ καταφυγεῖν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἠδικημένους τὸ ἀδικοῦν ταπεινόν, θεῶν ἡμῖν ταῦτα τὰ ἔθη καταστησαμένων·} ὑφ´ ὧν μαραίνεται πᾶσα ὀργὴ καὶ ἀντὶ τοῦ μισεῖν τὸν ἐχθρὸν ἐλεεῖ· τοὺς δ´ αὐθαδείᾳ χρησαμένους καὶ λιτὰς ἱκετῶν ὑβρίσαντας, ἅπαντας νεμεσωμένους ὑπὸ θεῶν καὶ εἰς συμφορὰς καταστρέφοντας οὐκ εὐτυχεῖς. αὐτοὶ γὰρ δὴ πρῶτον οἱ ταῦτα καταστησάμενοι καὶ παραδόντες ἡμῖν θεοὶ συγγνώμονες τοῖς ἀνθρωπίνοις εἰσὶν ἁμαρτήμασι καὶ εὐδιάλλακτοι, καὶ πολλοὶ ἤδη μεγάλα εἰς αὐτοὺς ἐξαμαρτόντες εὐχαῖς καὶ θυσίαις τὸν χόλον ἐξιλάσαντο· εἰ μὴ σύ, ὦ Μάρκιε, ἀξιοῖς τὰς μὲν τῶν θεῶν ὀργὰς θνητὰς εἶναι, τὰς δὲ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀθανάτους. δίκαια μὲν οὖν ποιήσεις καὶ σεαυτῷ πρέποντα καὶ τῇ πατρίδι αὐτῇ, ἀφεὶς τὰ ἐγκλήματα μετανοούσῃ γε καὶ διαλλαττομένῃ καὶ ὅσα πρότερον ἀφείλετο σοὶ νῦν ἀποδιδούσῃ.

[8,50] "Conceding the point nevertheless, and granting the right to all who have suffered grievous l not to distinguish whether those who have injured them are friends or aliens but to direct their anger against all impartially, even so have you not taken a sufficient revenge on such as abused you, now that you have turned their best land into a sheep-walk, have utterly destroyed the cities of their allies, which they had acquired and held at the cost of many hardships, and have reduced them now for the third year to a great scarcity of provisions? But you carry your wild and mad resentment even to the point of enslaving them and razing their city; and you showed no regard even for the envoys sent to you by the senate, men of worth and your friends, who came to offer you a dismissal of the charges and leave to return home, nor yet for the priests whom the commonwealth sent at the last to you, old men holding before them the holy garlands of the gods; but these also you drove away, giving a haughty and imperious answer to them as (p149) to men who had been conquered. For my part, I cannot commend these harsh and overbearing claims, which overstep the bounds of human nature, when I observe that a refuge for all men and the means of securing forgiveness for their offences one against another have been devised in the form of suppliant boughs and prayers, by which all anger is softened and instead of hating one's enemy one pities him; and when I observe also that those who act arrogantly and treat with insolence the prayers of suppliants all incur the indignation of the gods and in the end come to a miserable state. For the gods themselves, who in the first place instituted and delivered to us these customs, are disposed to forgive the offences of men and are easily reconciled; and many have there been ere now who, though greatly sinning against them, have appeased their anger by prayers and sacrifices. Unless you think it fitting, Marcius, that the anger of the gods should be mortal, but that of men immortal! You will be doing, then, what is just and becoming both to yourself to your country if you forgive her her offences, seeing that she is repentant and ready to be reconciled and to restore to you now everything that she took away from you before.