[11,11] Πῶς οὖν ἐπανορθώσετε ταῦτα καὶ παύσεσθε δι´ αἰτίας παρὰ τοῖς πολίταις ὄντες; τοῦτο γὰρ ἔσθ´ ὑπόλοιπον εἰπεῖν. εἰ προβούλευμα τοῦ συνεδρίου ποιήσαντες ἀποδοίητε τῷ δήμῳ διαγνῶναι, πότερον αὐτῷ δοκεῖ πάλιν ὑπάτους τ´ ἀποδεικνύναι καὶ δημάρχους καὶ τὰς ἄλλας ἀρχὰς τὰς πατρίους, ἢ μένειν ἐπὶ τῆς αὐτῆς πολιτείας. ἐάν τε γὰρ ἀγαπῶσι Ῥωμαῖοι πάντες ὀλιγαρχούμενοι καὶ μένειν ὑμᾶς ἐπὶ τῆς αὐτῆς ἐξουσίας ψηφίσωνται, κατὰ νόμον ἕξετε καὶ οὐ βίᾳ τὴν ἀρχήν· ἐάν τε ὑπάτους πάλιν αἱρεῖσθαι βουληθῶσι καὶ τὰς ἄλλας ἀρχὰς ὡς πρότερον, ἀποθήσεσθε νόμῳ τὴν ἐξουσίαν καὶ οὐ δόξετε ἀκόντων ἄρχειν τῶν ἴσων· τοῦτο μὲν γὰρ τυραννικόν, τὸ δὲ παρ´ ἑκόντων τὰς ἀρχὰς λαμβάνειν ἀριστοκρατικόν. τοῦ δὲ πολιτεύματος τούτου πρῶτον οἴομαι δεῖν ἄρξαι σὲ καὶ παῦσαι τὴν ὑπὸ σοῦ κατασταθεῖσαν ὀλιγαρχίαν, Ἄππιε, λυσιτελῆ γέ ποθ´ ἡμῖν γενομένην, νῦν δ´ ἐπαχθῆ. ἃ δ´ ἐκ τοῦ πεισθῆναί μοι καὶ ἀποθέσθαι τὴν ἐπίφθονον ἐξουσίαν ταύτην κερδανεῖς, ἄκουσον. ἐὰν μὲν ὅλον ὑμῶν τὸ ἀρχεῖον ἐπὶ τῆς αὐτῆς γένηται προαιρέσεως, διὰ σὲ πάντες ὑπολήψονται τὸν ἄρξαντα καὶ τούτους γεγενῆσθαι χρηστούς· ἐὰν δ´ οὗτοι φιλοχωρῶσιν ἐπὶ τῇ παρανόμῳ δυναστείᾳ, σοὶ μὲν ἅπαντες εἴσονται τὴν χάριν, ὅτι μόνος ἐβουλήθης δίκαια ποιεῖν, τοὺς δὲ μὴ θέλοντας σὺν αἰσχύνῃ καὶ μεγάλῃ βλάβῃ παύσουσι τῆς ἀρχῆς. ὁμολογίας δὲ καὶ πίστεις ἀπορρήτους εἴ τινας ἀλλήλοις δεδώκατε θεοὺς ἐγγυητὰς ποιησάμενοι - τάχα γάρ τι καὶ τοιοῦτον ὑμῖν πέπρακται - φυλαττομένας ἀνοσίους εἶναι νόμιζε ὡς κατὰ πολιτῶν καὶ πατρίδος, καταλυομένας δ´ εὐσεβεῖς. θεοὶ γὰρ ἐπὶ καλαῖς καὶ δικαίαις παραλαμβάνεσθαι φιλοῦσιν ὁμολογίαις, οὐκ ἐπ´ αἰσχραῖς καὶ ἀδίκοις.

[11,11] "How, then, shall you reform these matters and cease being the object of accusations among your fellow citizens? For this remains to be discussed. You can do so if you will procure a preliminary decree of the senate and restore to the people the right of deciding whether they prefer to appoint consuls, tribunes and the other traditional magistrates once more or to continue under the same form of government as at present.For if all the Romans are content to be governed by an oligarchy and vote that you shall continue in possession of the (p39) same power, you will hold your magistracy in accordance with law and not by force; whereas, if they wish to choose consuls again and all the other magistrates as aforetime, you will resign your power in a legal manner and avoid the imputation of governing your equals without their consent. For the latter course is tyrannical, but to receive the magistracies with the consent of the governed is the mark of an aristocracy. And of this measure I think that you, Appius, ought to be the author and thus put an end to the oligarchy instituted by yourself, which was once an advantage to us but is now a grievance. Hear, now, what you will gain by following my advice and resigning this invidious power.If your whole college is actuated by the same principle, everyone will think that it is because of you who set the example that the others too have become virtuous, whereas if these others are too fond of their illegal power, all will feel grateful to you for being the only person who desired to do what was right, and they will force out of office with ignominy and great hurt those who refuse to resign it. And if you have entered into any agreements and given secret pledges to one another, invoking the gods as witnesses, — for it is possible that you may have done something even of this nature, — look upon the observance of these agreements as impious, since they were made against your fellow citizens and your country, and the breaking of them as pious. For the gods like to be called in as partners for the performance of honourable and just agreements, not of those that are shameful and unjust.