[11,14] Ταῦτά σοι πολλάκις ἐβουλήθην ὑποθέσθαι μόνῳ μόνος εἰς λόγους παραγενόμενος καὶ τὰ μὲν ὡς ἀγνοοῦντα διδάξαι, τὰ δ´ ὡς ἁμαρτάνοντα νουθετῆσαι· καὶ παρεγενόμην εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν οὐχ ἅπαξ, ἀπήλασαν δέ με οἱ σοὶ παῖδες ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκείων οὐ σχολὴν ἄγειν σε λέγοντες, ἀλλ´ ἕτερά τινα πράττειν ἀναγκαιότερα, εἰ δή τί σοι τῆς πρὸς τὸ γένος εὐσεβείας ἀναγκαιότερον ἦν. τάχα δ´ οὐχ ὑπὸ σοῦ κελευσθέντες οἱ παῖδες, ἀλλ´ ἐφ´ ἑαυτῶν γνόντες διέκλεισάν με τῆς εἰσόδου, καὶ βουλοίμην οὕτως τἀληθὲς ἔχειν. τὸ πρᾶγμα δή με ἠνάγκασε τοῦτο διαλεχθῆναι ἐν τῷ συνεδρίῳ πρὸς σὲ περὶ ὧν ἐβουλόμην, ἐπειδὴ μόνῳ πρὸς μόνον οὐκ ἐξεγένετο. καιρὸν δ´ ἔχει πάντη λέγεσθαι τὰ καλὰ καὶ συμφέροντα παρ´ ἀνθρώποις μᾶλλον, Ἄππιε, ἢ μηδαμῇ. ἀποδεδωκὼς δή σοι τὰ τοῦ γένους ὀφειλήματα μαρτύρομαι θεούς, ὧν ἱερὰ καὶ βωμοὺς κοιναῖς θυσίαις γεραίρομεν οἱ τῆς Ἀππίου γενεᾶς διάδοχοι, καὶ προγόνων δαίμονας, οἷς μετὰ θεοὺς δευτέρας τιμὰς καὶ χάριτας ἀποδίδομεν κοινάς, ὑπὲρ ἅπαντας δὲ τούτους γῆν, ἣ κατέχει τὸν σὸν μὲν πατέρα, ἐμὸν δ´ ἀδελφόν, ὅτι σοι παρέσχημαι ψυχήν τε καὶ φωνὴν τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ τὰ κράτιστα βουλευομένην, καὶ ἐπανορθῶν τὰς ἀγνοίας σου κατὰ δύναμιν τὴν ἐμὴν ἀξιῶ σε μὴ τοῖς κακοῖς ἰᾶσθαι τὰ κακά, μηδὲ τῶν πλειόνων ὀρεγόμενον καὶ τὰ παρόντα ἀπολέσαι, μηδ´ ἵνα τῶν ἴσων τε καὶ κρειττόνων ἄρχῃς ὑπὸ τῶν ἡττόνων τε καὶ κακιόνων ἄρχεσθαι. πολλὰ καὶ περὶ πολλῶν ἔτι σοι λέγειν βουλόμενος ὀκνῶ. εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἐπὶ τὰ κρείττω βουλεύματα ὁ θεὸς ἄγει σε, καὶ ταῦτα πλείω τῶν ἱκανῶν εἴρηκα, εἰ δ´ ἐπὶ τὰ χείρω, διακενῆς καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ ἐρῶ. ἔχετε, ὦ βουλή, καὶ ὑμεῖς οἱ προεστηκότες τῆς πόλεως, τὴν ἐμὴν γνώμην καὶ περὶ τοῦ πολέμου τῆς καταλύσεως καὶ περὶ τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει θορύβων τῆς ἐπανορθώσεως. εἰ δέ τις ἕτερα τούτων κρείττω ἐρεῖ, τὰ βέλτιστα νικάτω.

[11,14] "This advice I have often desired to give you, if I could have a private conversation with you, not only by way of instructing one who is ignorant, but also of reproving one who errs; and I have gone more than once to your house. But your servants turned me away, saying that you had no leisure for private matters, but were attending to other more urgent business — if, indeed, anything could be more urgent for you than respect for your family! Perhaps it was not by your command but of their own accord that they barred my entered, and I could wish that this were the truth of the matter. This experience, then, has forced me to talk to you in the senate about the matters I wished to discuss with you, since I got no opportunity of doing (p47) so by ourselves alone; and things that are honourable and advantageous, Appius, may be mentioned seasonably anywhere in public rather than nowhere. Having now performed for you the duty I owe to our family, I protest by the gods, whose temples and altars we who carry on the succession of the Appian family honour with common sacrifices, and by the genii of our ancestors, to whom after the gods we pay the next honours and gratitude in common, and, above all these, by the earth, which holds your father and my brother, that I have put at your disposal both my mind and my voice to give you the best advice. And now, desiring to correct your ignorance as best I may, I ask you not to attempt to cure the evils by evils, nor, by aiming at too much, to lose even what you already have, nor again, by attempting to rule over your equals and your superiors, to be ruled yourself by those who are inferior and baser. I should like to say much more to you upon many subjects, but hesitate to do so. For if God is leading you to better resolutions, even this that I have said is more than sufficient; but if to worse, then what I have still to say will also be said in vain. you now have my opinion, senators, and you who are at the head of the commonwealth, concerning the means both of putting an end to the war and of reforming the civil disorders. If anyone, however, shall offer better advice than this, let the best prevail."