[10,54] Εἰς δὲ τοὐπιὸν ἔτος ὕπατοι μὲν ἀπεδείχθησαν Λεύκιος Μενήνιος καὶ Πόπλιος Σήστιος· ἡ δὲ νόσος εἰς τέλος ἐλώφησε. καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο θυσίαι τε χαριστήριοι θεοῖς ἐπετελοῦντο δημοσίᾳ, καὶ ἀγῶνες ἐπιφανεῖς λαμπραῖς πάνυ χορηγούμενοι δαπάναις, ἐν εὐπαθείαις τε καὶ θαλίαις ἡ πόλις ἦν ὥσπερ εἰκός· καὶ πᾶς ὁ χειμέριος χρόνος ἀμφὶ ταῦτα ἐδαπανήθη. ἀρχομένου δ´ ἔαρος σῖτός τε πολὺς καὶ ἐκ πολλῶν ἤχθη χωρίων, ὁ μὲν πλείων δημοσίᾳ συνωνηθείς, ὁ δέ τις καὶ ὑπ´ ἰδιωτῶν ἐμπόρων κομιζόμενος. ἔκαμνε γὰρ οὐχ ἥκιστα ἐν τῇ σπάνει τῆς τροφῆς ὁ λαὸς χέρσου τῆς γῆς ἀφειμένης διὰ τὰς νόσους καὶ τὸν ὄλεθρον τῶν γεωργῶν. ἐν δὲ τῷ αὐτῷ καιρῷ παρεγένοντο ἀπό τ´ Ἀθηνῶν καὶ τῶν ἐν Ἰταλοῖς Ἑλληνίδων πόλεων οἱ πρέσβεις φέροντες τοὺς νόμους. καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο προσῄεσαν οἱ δήμαρχοι τοῖς ὑπάτοις ἀξιοῦντες ἀποδεῖξαι κατὰ τὸ ψήφισμα τῆς βουλῆς τοὺς νομοθέτας. οἱ δ´ οὐκ ἔχοντες, ὅτῳ ἂν αὐτοὺς ἀπαλλάξειαν τρόπῳ προσκαθημένους καὶ λιπαροῦντας, ἀχθόμενοι τῷ πράγματι καὶ οὐκ ἀξιοῦντες ἐπὶ τῆς αὑτῶν ἀρχῆς καταλῦσαι τὴν ἀριστοκρατίαν πρόφασιν εὐπρεπῆ προὐβάλοντο λέγοντες ἐν χερσὶν εἶναι τὸν τῶν ἀρχαιρεσίων καιρόν, καὶ δέον αὐτοὺς τοὺς ὑπάτους πρῶτον ἀποδεῖξαι, ποιῆσαι δὲ τοῦτ´ οὐκ εἰς μακράν, ἀποδειχθέντων δὲ τῶν ὑπάτων μετ´ ἐκείνων {ἔλεγον} ἀνοίσειν τῷ συνεδρίῳ τὴν περὶ τῶν νομοθετῶν διάγνωσιν. συγχωρούντων δὲ τῶν δημάρχων προθέντες ἀρχαιρέσια πολλῷ τάχιον ἢ τοῖς προτέροις ἔθος ἦν ὑπάτους ἀπέδειξαν Ἄππιον Κλαύδιον καὶ Τίτον Γενύκιον, καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο πᾶσαν ἀποθέμενοι τὴν περὶ τῶν κοινῶν φροντίδα, ὡς ἑτέρους ἤδη δέον ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν σκοπεῖν, οὐδὲν ἔτι τοῖς δημάρχοις προσεῖχον, ἀλλὰ διακλέψαι τὸν λοιπὸν χρόνον τῆς ὑπατείας διενοοῦντο. ἔτυχε δὲ τὸν ἕτερον αὐτῶν Μενήνιον ἀρρωστία τις καταλαβοῦσα χρόνιος. ἤδη δέ τινες ἔφασαν ὑπὸ λύπης καὶ ἀθυμίας ἐμπεσούσης τῷ ἀνδρὶ τηκεδόνα δυσαπάλλακτον ἐργάσασθαι νόσον. ταύτην δὲ προσλαβὼν τὴν πρόφασιν ὁ Σήστιος ὡς οὐδὲν οἷός τ´ ἦν πράττειν μόνος ἀπεωθεῖτο τὰς τῶν δημάρχων δεήσεις καὶ πρὸς τοὺς νέους ἄρχοντας ἠξίου τρέπεσθαι. οἱ δ´ οὐκ ἔχοντες, ὅ τι πράττωσιν, ἕτερον ἐπὶ τοὺς περὶ τὸν Ἄππιον οὔπω τὴν ἐξουσίαν παρειληφότας ἠναγκάζοντο καταφεύγειν, τὰ μὲν ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις δεόμενοι, τὰ δὲ καταμόνας συντυγχάνοντες· καὶ τέλος ἐξειργάσαντο τοὺς ἄνδρας μεγάλας ὑποτείνοντες ἐλπίδας αὐτοῖς, εἰ τὰ τοῦ δήμου πράγματα ἕλοιντο, τιμῆς καὶ δυναστείας. εἰσῆλθε γάρ τις τὸν Ἄππιον ἐπιθυμία ξένην ἀρχὴν περιβαλέσθαι καὶ νόμους καταστήσασθαι τῇ πατρίδι ὁμονοίας τε καὶ εἰρήνης καὶ τοῦ μίαν ἅπαντας ἡγεῖσθαι τὴν πόλιν ἄρξαι τοῖς συμπολιτευομένοις. οὐ μέντοι καὶ διέμεινέ γε χρηστὸς ἀρχῇ κοσμηθεὶς μεγάλῃ, ἀλλ´ ἐξέπεσε τελευτῶν εἰς φιλαρχίαν ἀπαραχώρητον ὑπὸ μεγέθους ἐξουσίας διαφθαρεὶς καὶ ὀλίγου ἐδέησεν ἐπὶ τυραννίδα ἐλάσαι. περὶ ὧν κατὰ τὸν οἰκεῖον διαλέξομαι καιρόν.

[10,54] For the following year Lucius Menenius (p347) were chosen consuls; and the pestilence finally ceased. After that public sacrifices of thanksgiving were performed to the gods and magnificent games celebrated at great expense; and the people were engaged in rejoicings and festivals, as may be imagined. Indeed the whole winter season was thus spent. In the beginning of spring a large quantity of corn was brought in from many places; most of it was purchased with the public money, but some was imported by private merchants. For not least of the people' hardships was the dearth of provisions, the land having lain uncultivated by reason of the pestilence and the death of the husbandmen. At the same time the ambassadors arrived from Athens and the Greek cities in Italy, bringing with them the laws. Thereupon the tribunes went to the consuls and asked them to appoint the lawgivers pursuant to the senate's decree. The consuls did not know how to get rid of their solicitations and importunities, but as they disliked the business and were unwilling for the aristocracy to be overthrown during their consulship, they resorted to a specious excuse, saying that the time for the election of magistrates was at hand and, as it was their duty first to name the new consuls, they would do so soon, and when these were appointed, they would in conjunction with them refer the matter of the lawgivers to the senate for its consideration. When the tribunes consented to this, they appointed the election much (p349) earlier than had been the custom with past elections, and nominated Appius Claudius and Titus Genucius for consuls; then, laying aside all thought for the public business, as if it were now the concern of others, they no longer paid any heed to the tribunes, but determined to pass the remaining time of their consulship in evasion of their duty. It chanced that one of them, Menenius, was seized with a chronic illness; indeed, some said that a wasting disease, which had come upon him because of grief and despondency, had made his malady hard to be cured. Sestius, availing himself of this additional excuse and pretending that he could do nothing alone, kept rejecting the pleas of the tribunes and advising them to apply to the new consuls. Thus the tribunes, since there was nothing else they could do, were forced to have recourse to Appius and his colleague, who had not yet entered upon their magistracy, and would now plead with them in the meetings of the assembly and now in private conferences. And at last they overcame these men by holding out to them great hopes of honour and power if they would espouse the cause of the populace. For Appius was seized with a desire to be invested with an alien magistracy, to establish laws for the fatherland and to set an example to his fellow citizens of harmony and peace and the recognition by them all of the unity of the commonwealth. Nevertheless, when he had been honoured with this great magistracy, he did not preserve his probity but, corrupted by the greatness of his authority, succumbed to an irresistible passion for holding office and came very near to (p351) running into tyranny; all which I shall relate at the proper time.