[10,27] Φθειρομένης καὶ διαρπαζομένης τῆς τε Ῥωμαίων καὶ τῶν συμμάχων γῆς, καὶ τῶν πολεμίων ὡς δι´ ἐρημίας ἐλαυνόντων κατ´ ἐλπίδα τοῦ μηδεμίαν ἐπ´ αὐτοὺς ἐξελεύσεσθαι δύναμιν διὰ τὴν κατέχουσαν ἐν τῇ πόλει στάσιν, οἱ μὲν ὕπατοι τὴν βουλὴν συνήγαγον, ὡς περὶ τῶν ὅλων ἔσχατον τοῦτο βουλευσόμενοι. ῥηθέντων δὲ πολλῶν λόγων πρῶτος ἐρωτηθεὶς γνώμην Λεύκιος Κοίντιος, ὁ τῷ παρελθόντι γενόμενος ἔτει δικτάτωρ, ἀνὴρ οὐ μόνον τὰ πολέμια δεινότατος τῶν καθ´ ἑαυτόν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ πολιτικὰ δοκῶν εἶναι φρονιμώτατος, γνώμην ἀπεφήνατο τήνδε· μάλιστα μὲν πείθειν τούς τε δημάρχους καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους πολίτας τὴν μὲν ὑπὲρ τοῦ νόμου διάγνωσιν οὐθὲν ἐν τῷ παρόντι κατεπείγουσαν εἰς ἑτέρους ἀναβαλέσθαι καιροὺς ἐπιτηδειοτέρους, τὸν δ´ ἐν χερσὶν ὄντα καὶ ὅσον οὔπω τῇ πόλει πλησιάζοντα πόλεμον ἄρασθαι πάσῃ προθυμίᾳ, καὶ μὴ περιιδεῖν τὴν μετὰ πολλῶν κτηθεῖσαν ἡγεμονίαν πόνων αἰσχρῶς καὶ ἀνάνδρως ἀπολομένην. ἐὰν δὲ μὴ πείθηται ὁ δῆμος, τοὺς πατρικίους ἅμα τοῖς πελάταις καθοπλισαμένους τῶν τ´ ἄλλων πολιτῶν παραλαβόντας, οἷς ἦν ἑκοῦσι συνάρασθαι τοῦ καλλίστου ὑπὲρ τῆς πατρίδος ἀγῶνος, χωρεῖν προθύμως ἐπὶ τὸν πόλεμον θεούς, ὅσοι φυλάττουσι τὴν Ῥωμαίων πόλιν, ἡγεμόνας τῆς ἐξόδου ποιησαμένους. συμβήσεσθαι γὰρ αὐτοῖς δυεῖν καλῶν ἔργων καὶ δικαίων θάτερον, ἢ νίκην ἐξενέγκασθαι πασῶν ὧν αὐτοί ποτε ἢ οἱ πατέρες ἐξηνέγκαντο λαμπροτάτην, ἢ περὶ τῶν ἐν αὐτῇ καλῶν εὐψύχως ἀγωνιζομένοις ἀποθανεῖν. ταύτης μέντοι τῆς καλῆς πείρας οὔτ´ αὐτὸς ἀπολείψεσθαι ἔφη, ἀλλ´ ἐν ἴσῳ τοῖς κράτιστα ἐρρωμένοις παρὼν ἀγωνιεῖσθαι, οὔτε τῶν ἄλλων τινὰ πρεσβυτέρων, οἷς ἐστιν ἐλευθερίας τε καὶ δόξης ἀγαθῆς λόγος.

[10,27] While the territory of both the Romans and their allies was being laid waste and plundered and the enemy marched through it as through a solitude, in the confidence that no army would come out against them by reason of the dissension then raging in the city, the consuls assembled the senate with the intention of deliberating finally this time about the whole situation. After many speeches had been made, the person who was first asked his opinion was Lucius Quintius, who had been dictator the year before, a man who had the reputation of being not (p259) only the ablest general but also the wisest statesman of his time. The opinion he expressed was as follows: That they should preferably persuade both the tribunes and the rest of the citizens to postpone to more suitable times their decision regarding the law, which was not at all pressing at the moment, and to undertake with all alacrity the war that was at hand and all but at their gates, and not to allow their empire, which they had acquired with many toils, to be lost in a shameful and pusillanimous fashion. But if the populace would not be persuaded, he advised that the patricians should arms themselves together with their clients, and associating with themselves such of the other citizens as were willing to take part in this most glorious struggle for the fatherland, to engage in the war with alacrity, taking as leaders of the expedition all the gods who protect the Roman state. For one or the other of two honourable and just destinies would be theirs: they would either win a victory more brilliant than all which they or their ancestors had ever won, or die fighting bravely for the noble prizes that victory brings with it. He added that neither he himself would be wanting in this glorious enterprise, but would be present and fight with a spirit equal to that of the most robust, nor would any of the others of the older men be wanting who had any regard for liberty and a good name.