[8,53] Ἐὰν δὲ προπηλακίσῃς τὴν σεαυτοῦ μητέρα καὶ ἄτιμον ἀπολύσῃς, ὅ τι μὲν αὐτῷ σοι συμβήσεται διὰ ταῦτα παθεῖν, οὐκ ἔχω λέγειν, μαντεύομαι δ´ οὐδὲν εὐτυχές. ὅτι δ´ ἐὰν καὶ τἆλλα πάντα εὐδαιμονῇς, ἔστω γάρ, ἡ δι´ ἐμὲ καὶ τὰς ἐμὰς συμφορὰς παρακολουθήσουσά σοι καὶ οὐδέποτε ἀνήσουσα τὴν ψυχὴν ὀδύνη πάντων ἀγαθῶν σοι ἀνόνητον ποιήσει τὸν βίον, εὖ οἶδα. οὐ γὰρ ἀνέξεται Οὐετουρία τὴν δεινὴν καὶ ἀνήκεστον ὕβριν ἐν τοσούτοις μάρτυσιν ὑβρισθεῖσα τὸν ἐλάχιστον βιῶναι χρόνον, ἀλλ´ ἐν τοῖς ἁπάντων ὑμῶν φίλων τε καὶ ἐχθρῶν ὄμμασιν ἐμαυτὴν διαχρήσομαι, βαρεῖαν ἀρὰν καὶ δεινὰς ἐρινύας ἀντ´ ἐμαυτῆς καταλιποῦσά σοι τιμωρούς. ὧν μὴ δεήσειεν, ὦ θεοὶ τῆς Ῥωμαίων φύλακες ἡγεμονίας, ἀλλ´ εὐσεβεῖς καὶ καλοὺς δοίητε Μαρκίῳ λογισμούς· καὶ ὥσπερ ἄρτι προσιούσῃ μοι τούς τε πελέκεις ἀπέθετο καὶ τὰς ῥάβδους ἔκλινε καὶ τὸν δίφρον ἀπὸ τοῦ βήματος ἔθηκε χαμαὶ {καὶ πάντα τἆλλα, οἷς κοσμεῖσθαι τὰς αὐτοκράτορας ἀρχὰς νόμος, τὰ μὲν ἐμείωσε, τὰ δ´ ἐκποδὼν εἰς τέλος ἐποίησε} δῆλον ἅπασι βουλόμενος ποιῆσαι, ὅτι τῶν μὲν ἄλλων ἄρχειν αὐτῷ προσῆκεν, ὑπὸ δὲ τῆς μητρὸς ἄρχεσθαι· οὕτω καὶ νῦν τιμίαν καὶ περίβλεπτόν με ποιήσετε, καὶ χαρισάμενος τὴν κοινὴν πατρίδα ἀντὶ κακοδαιμονεστάτης εὐδαιμονεστάτην ἀποδείξειέ με πασῶν γυναικῶν. εἰ δὲ ὅσιόν ἐστι καὶ θεμιτὸν υἱοῦ γόνασι μητέρα προσκυλίεσθαι, καὶ τοῦτο καὶ πᾶν ἄλλο ταπεινὸν σχῆμα καὶ λειτούργημα ὑπομενῶ σωτηρίας ἕνεκα τῆς πατρίδος.

[8,53] "If, however, you treat your mother with indignity and send her away unhonoured, what you yourself will have to suffer for this I cannot say, though I presage no happiness. But even if you should be fortunate in all other respects — for let that be assumed — yet your compunction because of me and my afflictions, haunting you and never giving respite to your soul, will rob your life of the enjoyment (p157) of all its blessings; this I do know full well. Veturia, for one thing, after this cruel and irreparable ignominy received before so many witnesses, will not bear to live for a moment; nay, I will kill myself before the eyes of all of you, both friends and enemies, leaving to you in my stead a grievous curse and dire furies to be my avengers. May there be no occasion for this, O gods who guard the empire of the Romans, but inspire Marcius with sentiments of piety and honour; and just as a little while ago at my approach he ordered the axes to be laid aside, the rods to be lowered, and his chair to be taken from the tribunal and placed on the ground, and as for all the other observances by which it is the custom to honour supreme magistrates, he moderated some and did away with others altogether, desiring to make it clear to all that though it was fitting that he should rule all others, by his mother he should be ruled, even so may he now also make me honoured and conspicuous, and by giving me back our common country as a favour, render me, instead of the most ill-starred, the most fortunate of all women. And if it is right and lawful for a mother to grovel at the feet of her son, even to this and every other posture and office of humility will I submit in order to save my country."