[10,28] Ὡς δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασι ταῦτ´ ἐδόκει, καὶ οὐθεὶς ἦν ὁ τἀναντία ἐρῶν, οἱ μὲν ὕπατοι τὸν δῆμον εἰς ἐκκλησίαν συνεκάλουν. συνελθόντος δ´ ὡς ἐπὶ καινοῖς ἀκούσμασι παντὸς τοῦ κατὰ τὴν πόλιν ὄχλου παρελθὼν ἅτερος τῶν ὑπάτων Γάιος Ὁράτιος ἐπειρᾶτο πείθειν τοὺς δημοτικοὺς ἑκόντας ὑπομεῖναι καὶ ταύτην τὴν στρατείαν. ἀντιλεγόντων δὲ τῶν δημάρχων καὶ τοῦ δήμου προσέχοντος αὐτοῖς τὸν νοῦν παρελθὼν πάλιν ὁ ὕπατος εἶπε· Καλὸν γ´, ὦ Οὐεργίνιε, καὶ θαυμαστὸν ἔργον ἐξειργάσασθε διασπάσαντες ἀπὸ τῆς βουλῆς τὸν δῆμον· καὶ τὸ μὲν ἐφ´ ὑμῖν εἶναι μέρος πάντ´ ἀπολωλέκαμεν, ὅσα παρὰ τῶν προγόνων παραλαβόντες ἢ τοῖς ἑαυτῶν πόνοις κτησάμενοι κατέσχομεν {ἀγαθά}. οὐ μὴν ἡμεῖς γ´ ἀκονιτὶ μεθησόμεθα αὐτῶν, ἀλλ´ ἀναλαβόντες τὰ ὅπλα μετὰ τῶν βουλομένων σώζεσθαι τὴν πατρίδα χωρήσομεν ἐπὶ τὸν ἀγῶνα τὰς ἀγαθὰς προβαλλόμενοι τῶν ἔργων ἐλπίδας· καὶ εἴ τις ἄρα θεὸς ἐπισκοπεῖ τοὺς καλοὺς καὶ δικαίους ἀγῶνας, καὶ ἡ τὴν πόλιν τήνδε αὔξουσα ἐκ πολλοῦ τύχη μήπω προλέλοιπεν αὐτήν, κρείττους τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἐσόμεθα· εἰ δέ τις ἄρα ἐνέστηκε δαίμων καὶ ἐναντιοῦται τῇ σωτηρίᾳ τῆς πόλεως, οὔτοι τό γ´ ἐν ἡμῖν εὔνουν καὶ πρόθυμον ἀπολεῖται, ἀλλὰ τὸν ἁπάντων κράτιστον θάνατον αἱρησόμεθα περὶ τῆς πατρίδος. ὑμεῖς δὲ αὐτοῦ μένοντες οἰκουρεῖτε ἅμα ταῖς γυναιξίν, ὦ καλοὶ καὶ γενναῖοι προστάται τῆς πόλεως, ἐγκαταλιπόντες, μᾶλλον δὲ προδόντες ἡμᾶς, οἷς οὔτ´ ἂν νικήσωμεν ἡμεῖς ὁ βίος ἔσται καλός, οὔτ´ ἂν ἄλλως χωρήσῃ τὰ καθ´ ἡμᾶς ἀσφαλής· εἰ μὴ ἄρα ἐκείνῃ τῇ ψυχρᾷ ἐλπίδι ἐπαίρεσθε, ὡς διαφθαρέντων τῶν πατρικίων ὑμᾶς ἐάσουσιν οἱ πολέμιοι ταύτην ὑπολογιζόμενοι τὴν εὐεργεσίαν, καὶ συγχωρήσουσιν ὑμῖν τὴν πατρίδα καὶ τὴν ἐλευθερίαν καὶ τὴν ἡγεμονίαν καὶ πάντα τἆλλα ἀγαθά, ὅσα νῦν ἔχετε, καρποῦσθαι, ὧν ὑμεῖς ὅτε τὰ ἄριστα ἐφρονεῖτε πολλὴν μὲν γῆν ἀπετέμεσθε, πολλὰς δὲ πόλεις ἐξανδραποδισάμενοι κατεσκάψατε, πολλὰ δὲ καὶ μεγάλα καὶ οὐδ´ ὑπὸ τοῦ παντὸς αἰῶνος ἀφανισθησόμενα τρόπαια καὶ μνημεῖα τῆς ἔχθρας ἀνεστήσατε. ἀλλὰ τί τῷ δήμῳ ταῦτ´ ἐπιτιμῶ, ὃς οὐδέποτε πονηρὸς ἑκὼν ἐγένετο, μᾶλλον ἢ οὐχ ὑμῖν, ὦ Οὐεργίνιε, τοῖς τὰ καλὰ ταῦτα πολιτευομένοις; ἡμῖν μὲν οὖν, οἷς ἀνάγκη μηδὲν ταπεινὸν φρονεῖν, δέδοκταί τε καὶ οὐθὲν ἔσται τὸ κωλύσον ἄρασθαι τὸν ὑπὲρ τῆς πατρίδος ἀγῶνα, ὑμῖν δὲ τοῖς ἐγκαταλιποῦσι καὶ προδοῦσι τὸ κοινὸν ἥξει δίκη τιμωρὸς οὐ μεμπτὴ παρὰ θεῶν, ἐὰν ἄρα διαφύγητε τὴν παρ´ ἀνθρώπων κόλασιν. ἀλλ´ οὐδὲ ταύτην διαφεύξεσθε· καὶ μή με δεδίττεσθαι ὑπολάβητε, ἀλλ´ εὖ ἴστε, ὅτι οἱ καταλειφθέντες ἡμῶν ἐνθάδε φύλακες τῆς πόλεως, ἐὰν κρείττω τὰ τῶν ἐχθρῶν γένηται, φρονήσουσιν ἃ προσῆκεν αὐτοῖς φρονεῖν. οὐ γὰρ ἤδη βαρβάροις μέν τισιν ἁλισκομένοις ὑπὸ τῶν πολεμίων εἰς νοῦν ἦλθε μήτε γυναικῶν αὐτοῖς παραχωρῆσαι μήτε παίδων μήτε πόλεων, ἀλλὰ τὰς μὲν ἐμπρῆσαι, τὰς δὲ κατασφάξαι, Ῥωμαίοις δ´ ἄρα, οἷς ἑτέρων ἄρχειν πάτριόν ἐστιν, οὐ παραστήσεται ταῦτα περὶ ἑαυτῶν φρονεῖν; οὐχ οὕτως ἀγεννεῖς ἔσονται, ἀλλ´ ἀφ´ ὑμῶν τῶν ἐχθίστων ἀρξάμενοι τότε χωρήσουσι πρὸς τὰ φίλια. πρὸς ταῦτα ὁρῶντες ἐκκλησιάζετε καὶ νόμους εἰσφέρετε καινούς.

[10,28] All the others approving of this advice and there being no one to speak in opposition, the consuls called an assembly of the populace; and when all the people of the city had come together in expectation of hearing something new, Gaius (p261) Horatius, one of the consuls, came forward and attempted to persuade the plebeians to submit willingly to this campaign also. But as the tribunes opposed this and the populace gave heed to them, the consul again came forward and said: "A fine and wonderful thing, indeed, have you tribunes accomplished, Verginius, in dividing the populace from the senate; and, so far as it rests with you, we have lost all the advantages which we possessed, whether inherited from our ancestors or acquired by our own toils. As for us, however, we shall not part with them without a struggle, but shall take up arms along with all who desire the preservation of the fatherland and shall enter the struggle holding before our deeds the buckler of fair hopes. And if any god watches over noble and just struggles, and if Fortune, which long has been exalting this commonwealth, has not yet abandoned it, we shall have the victory over our enemies; or, if any divide is opposed to and stands in the way of the preservation of the commonwealth, at any rate our affection and zeal for it will not perish, but we shall choose the best of all deaths — to die for the fatherland. As for you, stay here and keep house with the women, O fine and noble protectors of the commonwealth, after abandoning, or rather betraying, us; but life for you will be neither honourable, if we conquer, nor safe, if things go otherwise with us. Unless, indeed, you are buoying yourselves up with the bleak hope that when the patricians are all destroyed the enemy will spare you in consideration of (p263) this service and will allow you to enjoy your country, your liberty, your empire and all the other blessings you now have, notwithstanding that you, when you displayed the noblest spirit, deprived these very enemies of much land, razed many of their cities and enslaved their inhabitants, and erected many great trophies and monuments of your enmity against them which not even all time to come will ever blot out. But why do I charge this against the populace, which never became cowardly of its own accord, and not rather against you tribunes, Verginius, who are the authors of these fine measures? We, then, who must needs show no ignoble spirit, have taken our resolution and nothing shall hinder us from undertaking the struggle in defence of the fatherland; but upon you, who abandon and betray the commonwealth, will come a punishment not to be scorned, as vengeance from the gods, if so be that you escape the punishment of men; yet you will not escape that either. And do not imagine that I am trying to terrify you, but be assured that those of us who will be left behind here to guard teach shall, in case the enemy should prove victorious, show that spirit which it befits them to show. Have there not indeed been instances already of barbarians who, when they were on the point of being captured by the enemy, resolved not to yield to them either their wives, their children or their cities, but to burn the cities and slay their dear ones? And will it fail, then, to occur to the Romans, to whom it is a heritage from their fathers to rule over others, to show this same spirit in their own case? They will never be so degenerate, but will begin with you who are their worst enemies and only afterwards (p265) turn to their loved ones. Consider these matters before you hold your assemblies and introduce new laws."