[10,33] Ὁ δὲ μετὰ τοῦτον, ἐν ᾧ τὴν ὕπατον ἀρχὴν παρειλήφεσαν Τίτος Ῥωμίλιος καὶ Γάιος Οὐετούριος, δήμαρχοι δ´ ἦσαν οἱ περὶ Λεύκιον Ἰκίλλιον τὸ δεύτερον ἄρχειν ἑξῆς αἱρεθέντες, οὐχ ἁπλοῦς, ἀλλὰ ποικίλος τις ἐγένετο καὶ μεγάλων μεστὸς πραγμάτων. ἥ τε γὰρ πολιτικὴ στάσις ἤδη μεμαράνθαι δοκοῦσα ὑπὸ τῶν δημάρχων πάλιν ἀνεκινεῖτο, καὶ πόλεμοί τινες ἐκ τῶν ἀλλοεθνῶν ἀνέστησαν, οἳ κακὸν μὲν οὐθὲν διαθεῖναι τὴν πόλιν ἠδυνήθησαν, οὐ μικρὰν δὲ ὠφέλειαν τὸ στασιάζον ἀνελόντες ἐξ αὐτῆς. ἐγκύκλιον γὰρ δὴ τοῦτο καὶ ἐν ἔθει ἦν ἤδη τῇ πόλει πολεμουμένῃ μὲν ὁμονοεῖν, εἰρήνην δὲ ἀγούσῃ στασιάζειν. τοῦτο συνιδόντες ἅπαντες οἱ τὰς ὑπάτους ἀρχὰς παραλαβόντες κατ´ εὐχὰς μὲν εἴ τις ἔξωθεν ἐπανασταίη πόλεμος ἐλάμβανον· ἡσυχαζόντων δὲ τῶν ἀντιπάλων αὐτοὶ κατεσκεύαζον ἐγκλήματα καὶ προφάσεις πολέμων, ἅτε ὁρῶντες διὰ μὲν τοὺς πολέμους μεγάλην καὶ εὐδαίμονα γινομένην τὴν πόλιν, διὰ δὲ τὰς στάσεις ταπεινὴν καὶ ἀσθενῆ. οἷς ὅμοια γνόντες οἱ τότε ὕπατοι στρατιὰν ἐξάγειν ἔκριναν ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους δεδοικότες, μή τι διὰ τὴν εἰρήνην ἄρξωνται ταράττειν ἀργοὶ καὶ πένητες ἄνθρωποι, τοῦτο μὲν ὀρθῶς ἰδόντες, ὅτι δεῖ περισπᾶσαι τὸν ὄχλον ἐπὶ τοὺς ἔξω πολέμους, τὸ δὲ μετὰ τοῦτο οὐκ ὀρθῶς. δέον γὰρ αὐτοὺς ὡς ἐν νοσούσῃ πόλει μετρίαις χρῆσθαι ταῖς στρατολογίαις ἐπὶ τὸ βίᾳ προσαναγκάζειν τοὺς ἀπειθοῦντας ἐτράποντο, οὔτε παραίτησιν οὔτε συγγνώμην οὐδενὶ διδόντες οὐδεμίαν, ἀλλὰ ταῖς ἐκ τῶν νόμων τιμωρίαις εἴς τε τὰ σώματα καὶ τὰς οὐσίας αὐτῶν πικρῶς χρώμενοι. ταῦτα ποιούντων αὐτῶν ἀφορμὴν αὖθις εἰλήφεσαν οἱ δήμαρχοι τοῦ δημαγωγεῖν τὰ πλήθη· καὶ συναγαγόντες εἰς ἐκκλησίαν τά τ´ ἄλλα τῶν ὑπάτων κατεβόων, καὶ ὅτι πολλοὺς τῶν πολιτῶν ἐκέλευσαν εἰς τὸ δεσμωτήριον ἀπάγειν τὴν δημαρχικὴν ἐξουσίαν ἐπικαλεσαμένους, τῆς τε στρατολογίας ἀπολύειν ἔφασαν αὐτοὶ δὴ μόνοι ἐξουσίαν ἐκ τῶν νόμων ἔχοντες. ὡς δ´ οὐθὲν ἐπέραινον, ἀλλ´ ἐπιστρεφεστέρας ἔτι τὰς καταγραφὰς ἑώρων γινομένας, ἔργοις κωλύειν ἐπεβάλλοντο. ἀμυνομένων δὲ τῶν ὑπάτων καὶ τῷ κράτει τῆς ἀρχῆς ἐρεθισμοί τέ τινες ἐγίνοντο καὶ χειρῶν ἐπιβολαί. συνηγωνίζετο δὲ τοῖς μὲν ὑπάτοις ἡ τῶν πατρικίων νεότης, τοῖς δὲ δημάρχοις ὁ πένης καὶ ἀργὸς ὄχλος. ἐκείνην μὲν οὖν τὴν ἡμέραν παρὰ πολὺ κρείττους ἐγένοντο τῶν δημάρχων οἱ ὕπατοι, ταῖς δ´ ἑξῆς ἡμέραις πλείονος ὄχλου συρρέοντος εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἐκ τῶν ἀγρῶν, δόξαντες οἱ δήμαρχοι προσειληφέναι χεῖρα ἀξιόμαχον ἐκκλησίας τε συνεχεῖς ἐποιοῦντο καὶ τοὺς ὑπηρέτας κακῶς διακειμένους ἐκ τῶν πληγῶν ἐπεδείκνυσαν καὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἔλεγον ἀποθήσεσθαι, εἰ μή τις αὐτοῖς ἔσται παρὰ τοῦ δήμου βοήθεια.

[10,33] The following year, when Titus Romilius and Gaius Veturius had succeeded to the consulship and Lucius Icilius and his colleagues were tribunes, chosen to hold the office for the second time in succession, was not all of one tenor, but varied and fraught with great events. For the civili strife, which seemed to have died down at last, was again stirred up by the tribunes, and some foreign wars arose which, without being able to do the commonwealth any harm, did her a great service by banishing the dissension. For it had by now become the regular and customary thing for the commonwealth to be harmonious in time of war and to be at odds in time of peace. All who assumed the consulship, being well aware of this, regarded it as an answer to prayer if a foreign war arose; and when their enemies were quiet, they themselves contrived grievances and excuses for wars, since they perceived that through its wars the commonwealth became great and flourishing, but through seditions humiliated and weak. The consuls of that year, having come of the this same conclusion, decided to make an expedition against the enemy, fearing that idle and poor men might because of the prevailing peace begin to raise disturbances; but though they were right in perceiving that the multitude ought to be kept employed in foreign wars, they erred in what they subsequently did. For, whereas they ought, in view of the sickly condition of the commonwealth, to have made the levies with moderation, they resorted instead to violence and compulsion in dealing with the disobedient, granting neither excuse nor pardon to anyone, but harshly imposing the penalties ordained by the laws upon both their (p281) persons and their property. While they were doing this, the tribunes took occasion to stir up the masses again with their harangues; and calling an assembly, they denounced the consuls on various scores, but particularly for having ordered many citizens to be haled to prison even though they had invoked the protection of the tribunes; and they said that they themselves on their own responsibility released the people from the levy, having as they did authority to do so under the laws. When this had no effect and they saw the levies being carried out with still greater strictness, they undertook to obstruct them by deeds; and when the consuls resisted with the power of their magistracy also, there were sundry provocations and acts of violence. The consuls were supported by the young patricians, and the tribunes by the poor and idle multitude. That day the consuls proved much superior to the tribunes; but in the course of the following days, as increasing numbers flocked into the city from the country, the tribunes thought they had now acquired an adequate force, and holding one assembly after another, they exhibited their assistants, who were in a bad condition from the blows they had received, and said they would resign their magistracy if they did not get some assistance from the populace.