[10,10] Ὅσον μὲν χρόνον οὐθὲν ἀκριβὲς ἡμῖν ἐφαίνετο τῶν προσαγγελλομένων δεινῶν, ἀλλὰ φῆμαι μετέωροι, καὶ τὸ βεβαιῶσον αὐτὰς οὐθὲν ἦν, ὠκνοῦμεν, ὦ βουλή, φέρειν τοὺς περὶ αὐτῶν λόγους εἰς μέσον, ταραχάς τε ὑποπτεύοντες ἔσεσθαι μεγάλας, οἷα εἰκὸς ἐπὶ δεινοῖς ἀκούσμασι, καὶ δι´ εὐλαβείας ἔχοντες, μὴ ταχύτερα δόξωμεν ὑμῖν βεβουλεῦσθαι μᾶλλον ἢ φρονιμώτερα. οὐ μὴν ὀλιγωρίᾳ γ´ αὐτὰ παραδόντες ἀφήκαμεν, ἀλλ´ ὅση δύναμις ἡμῖν ἦν ἐπιμελῆ ζήτησιν ἐποιούμεθα τῆς ἀληθείας. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἡ τοῦ δαιμονίου πρόνοια, ὑφ´ ἧς ἀεὶ σωζόμεθα κοινῇ, καλῶς ποιοῦσα τὰ κεκρυμμένα βουλεύματα καὶ τὰς ἀνοσίους ἐπιχειρήσεις τῶν θεοῖς ἐχθρῶν εἰς φῶς ἄγει, καὶ γράμματα πάρεστιν ἡμῖν, ἃ δεδέγμεθα νεωστὶ παρὰ ξένων εὔνοιαν ἡμῖν ἐνδεικνυμένων, οὓς ὕστερον ἀκούσεσθε, καὶ συντρέχει τε καὶ συνᾴδει τοῖς ἔξωθεν ἐπιστελλομένοις τὰ ἐνθένδε μηνυόμενα, καὶ τὰ πράγματα οὐκέτι μέλλησιν οὐδ´ ἀναβολὴν ἐν χερσὶν ὄντα ἐπιδέχεται, πρὶν εἰς τὸν δῆμον ἐξενεγκεῖν, ὑμῖν πρώτοις ὥσπερ ἐστὶ δίκαιον ἀπαγγεῖλαι διέγνωμεν αὐτά. ἴστε δὴ συνωμοσίαν ἐπὶ τῷ δήμῳ γεγενημένην ὑπ´ ἀνδρῶν οὐκ ἀφανῶν, ἐν οἷς ἐνεῖναι μέν τι λέγεται μέρος οὐ πολὺ καὶ τῶν εἰς τόδε συλλεγομένων τὸ συνέδριον πρεσβυτέρων, τὸ δὲ πλεῖστον ἐκ τῶν ἔξω τῆς βουλῆς ἱππέων, οὓς οὔπω καιρὸς οἵτινές εἰσιν ὑμῖν λέγειν. μέλλουσι δ´ οὖν, ὡς πυνθανόμεθα, σκοταίαν φυλάξαντες νύκτα κοιμωμένοις ἡμῖν ἐπιχειρεῖν, ἡνίκα οὔτε προιδεῖν τι τῶν γινομένων οὔτε φυλάξασθαι καθ´ ἓν γενόμενοι δυνάμεθα· ἐπιπεσόντες δὲ ταῖς οἰκίαις τούς τε δημάρχους ἡμᾶς κατασφάττειν καὶ τῶν δημοτῶν ἄλλους {τοὺς} ἐναντιωθέντας ποτὲ αὐτοῖς περὶ ἐλευθερίας ἢ τὸ λοιπὸν ἐναντιωσομένους. ὅταν δὲ ἡμᾶς ἐκποδὼν ποιήσωνται; τότ´ ἤδη κατὰ πολλὴν ἀσφάλειαν ἡγοῦνται διαπράξασθαι παρ´ ὑμῶν τὰ λοιπὰ ἀναιρεθῆναι διὰ κοινοῦ ψηφίσματος τὰς γενομένας ὑμῖν πρὸς τὸν δῆμον ὁμολογίας. ὁρῶντες δέ, ὅτι ξενικῆς αὐτοῖς χειρὸς εἰς τὰ πράγματα δεῖ κρύφα παρασκευασθείσης καὶ οὐδὲ ταύτης μετρίας, ἄνδρα προσειλήφασιν εἰς ταῦτα τῶν ὑμετέρων φυγάδων Καίσωνα Κοίντιον ἡγεμόνα, ὃν ἐπὶ φόνοις πολιτῶν καὶ διαστάσει τῆς πόλεως ἐξελεγχθέντα διεπράξαντό τινες τῶν ἐνθάδε μὴ δοῦναι δίκην, ἀλλ´ ἀθῷον ἀπελθεῖν ἐκ τῆς πόλεως, κάθοδόν τε πράξειν ὑπέσχηνται καὶ ἀρχὰς προτείνονται καὶ τιμὰς καὶ ἄλλους μισθοὺς τῆς ὑπουργίας. κἀκεῖνος ὑπέσχηται στρατιὰν αὐτοῖς Αἰκανῶν καὶ Οὐολούσκων ἄξειν ἐπίκουρον, ὅσης ἂν δεηθῶσιν· ἥξει τε οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν αὐτὸς μὲν ἐπαγόμενος τοὺς εὐτολμοτάτους κρύφα κατ´ ὀλίγους εἰσάγων καὶ σποράδας, ἡ δ´ ἄλλη δύναμις, ὅταν οἱ τοῦ δήμου προεστηκότες ἡμεῖς διαφθαρῶμεν, ἐπὶ τὸ ἄλλο πλῆθος τῶν πενήτων χωρήσει, ἐάν τινες ἄρα περιέχωνται τῆς ἐλευθερίας. ταῦτ´ ἐστίν, ἃ βεβούλευνται ὑπὸ σκότους καὶ μέλλουσι δρᾶν, ὦ βουλή, δεινὰ καὶ ἀνόσια ἔργα, οὔτε θεῖον φοβηθέντες χόλον οὔτε ἀνθρωπίνην ἐντραπέντες νέμεσιν.

[10,10] "As long as there seemed to us to be nothing definite about the dangers that were being reported, but there were only vague rumours and nothing to confirm them, we were reluctant, senators, to lay before you the reports about them, both because we suspected there would be great disturbances, as would be likely in a time of dreadful rumours, and also because we were afraid of appearing to you to have acted with greater precipitancy than prudence. We did not, however, ignore or neglect these reports, but inquired with all possible diligence into the truth of them. And since the divine providence, by which our commonwealth is ever preserved, is rightly bringing to light the hidden plans and wicked attempts of those who are enemies to the gods; since we have letters, just now received from foreign friends, who thus show their goodwill to us and whose names you shall later hear; since information given here at home coincides and agrees with the reports sent in from outside; and since these matters no longer admit of delay or postponement, being at our very doors, we have decided to report them to you, as is proper, before laying them before the populace. Know, then, that a conspiracy has been formed (p195) against the populace by men of prominence, among whom, it is said, there is a small number — not many — even of the older men who meet in this chamber, though the larger number are knights who are not members of the senate, whose names it is not yet the time to tell you. They intend, now, as we learn, to take advantage of a dark night and attack us while we are asleep, when we can neither provide against anything that is taking place nor get together in a body to defend ourselves, and, rushing into our houses, to cut the throats, not only of us tribunes, but of all the other plebeians also who have ever opposed them in defence of their liberty or may oppose them for the future. And after they have made away with us, they believe that then at last they will easily bring about the abrogation, by a unanimous vote on your part, of the compacts you made with the populace. But perceiving that they need for their purpose a body of foreign troops secretly got in readiness — and that no moderate force — they have to this end adopted as their leader one of your exiles, Caeso Quintius, a man whom, though convicted of the murder of his fellow citizens and of raising a sedition in the state, some of the members of this body contrived to save from paying the penalty, letting him go out of the city unharmed, and have promised to restore him to his country and are offering him magistracies and honours and other rewards for his help. And he on his part has promised to bring to their assistance as large a force of the Aequians (p197) and Volscians as they shall ask for. He himself will soon appear at the head of the most daring, whom he will introduce into the city secretly, a few at a time and in small bodies; the rest of the force, as soon as we who are the leaders of the populace are destroyed, will fall next upon the rest of the poor, if any of them cling to their liberty. These are the dreadful and wicked plans, senators, which they have concocted under cover of darkness and intend to carry out without either fearing the anger of the gods or heeding the indignation of men.