[11,16] Ἐφ´ ᾧ διαταραχθέντες οἱ περὶ τὸν Ἄππιον ἐβουλεύσαντο μηκέτι καθ´ ἡλικίαν καὶ βουλῆς ἀξίωσιν συμβούλους καλεῖν, ἀλλὰ κατ´ οἰκειότητα καὶ τὴν πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἑταιρίαν. καὶ παρελθὼν Μάρκος Κορνήλιος ἀνίστησι Λεύκιον Κορνήλιον τὸν ἀδελφόν, ὃς Κοίντῳ Φαβίῳ Οὐιβουλανῷ συνυπάτευσε τὸ τρίτον ὑπατεύοντι, δραστήριον ἄνδρα καὶ πολιτικοὺς διεξελθεῖν λόγους οὐκ ἀδύνατον. οὗτος ἀναστὰς ἔλεξε τοιάδε· Θαυμαστὸν μὲν ἦν καὶ τοῦτ´, ὦ βουλή, εἰ ταύτην ἔχοντες ἄνθρωποι τὴν ἡλικίαν ἔχουσιν, οἱ πρὸ ἐμοῦ γνώμην ἀποφηνάμενοι καὶ πρωτεύειν ἀξιοῦντες τῶν συνέδρων, τὴν ἐκ τῶν πολιτικῶν προσκρουσμάτων ἀπέχθειαν ἀδιάλλακτον πρὸς τοὺς προεστηκότας τῆς πόλεως, οὓς ἐχρῆν† οἷόν τε δεῖ φυλάττειν, καὶ τοῖς νέοις παραινεῖν ἀπὸ τοῦ κρατίστου ποιεῖσθαι τοὺς ὑπὲρ τῶν καλῶν ἀγῶνας, καὶ μὴ πολεμίους, ἀλλὰ φίλους ἡγεῖσθαι τοὺς περὶ τῶν κοινῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀντιπάλους. πολλῷ δ´ ἔτι τούτου θαυμασιώτερόν ἐστιν, εἰ τὰς ἰδίας ἀπεχθείας ἐπὶ τὰ κοινὰ τῆς πόλεως πράγματα μεταφέρουσι καὶ συναπολέσθαι τοῖς ἑαυτῶν ἐχθροῖς βούλονται μᾶλλον ἢ σωθῆναι μετὰ πάντων τῶν φίλων. ὑπερβολὴν γὰρ ἀνοίας τούτοις καὶ οὐ πόρρω θεοβλαβείας πεποιήκασιν οἱ πρόεδροι τῆς βουλῆς ἡμῶν. οὗτοι γὰρ ἀγανακτοῦντες, ὅτι μετιόντας αὐτοὺς τὴν τῶν δέκα ἀρχήν, ἧς αὐτοὶ νῦν κατηγοροῦσιν, ἐνίκησαν ἐν ἀρχαιρεσίαις ἐπιτηδειότεροι φανέντες, ἀεὶ πολεμοῦσιν αὐτοῖς πόλεμον ἀδιάλλακτον, καὶ εἰς τοῦθ´ ἥκουσιν εὐηθείας, μᾶλλον δὲ μανίας, ὥσθ´, ἵνα τούτους διαβάλλωσι πρὸς ὑμᾶς, ὅλην ὑπομένουσιν ἀνατρέψαι τὴν πατρίδα· οἵ γ´ ὁρῶντες μὲν ἀνάστατον τὴν χώραν ἡμῶν ὑπὸ τῶν πολεμίων γενομένην, ὁρῶντες δὲ ὅσον οὔπω καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν πόλιν αὐτοὺς ἐλεύσεσθαι - τὸ γὰρ διὰ μέσου χωρίον οὐ πολύ - ἀντὶ τοῦ παρακαλεῖν καὶ παρορμᾶν τοὺς νέους ἐπὶ τὸν ὑπὲρ τῆς πατρίδος ἀγῶνα, καὶ αὐτοὶ πάσῃ προθυμίᾳ καὶ σπουδῇ βοηθεῖν, ὅση γοῦν ἐν τοῖς τηλικούτοις ἐστὶν ἰσχύς, περὶ πολιτείας κόσμου νῦν ἀξιοῦσιν ὑμᾶς σκοπεῖν καὶ νέας ἀρχὰς ἀποδεικνύναι καὶ πάντα μᾶλλον ἢ τοὺς ἐχθροὺς κακῶς ποιεῖν· καὶ οὐδ´ αὐτὸ τοῦτο δύνανται συνιδεῖν, ὅτι γνώμας ἀσυμφόρους εἰσφέρουσι, μᾶλλον δ´ εὐχὰς ἀδυνάτους ἔχουσιν.

[11,16] Appius and his colleagues, being disturbed at this, resolved no longer to call upon others for advice according to their age or senatorial rank, but according to their friendship and attachment to themselves. And Marcus Cornelius, coming forward, asked Lucius Cornelius to rise, — his brother, who had been colleague to Quintus Fabius Vibulanus in his third consulship, a man of action and not without eloquence in political debates. This man, rising up, spoke as follows: This also was surprising, senators, that men of (p53) the age of those who preceded me in declaring their opinions and claim to be the foremost men of the senate, think fit to maintain unrelenting their enmity, derived from political clashes, toward those who are at the head of the commonwealth, when they ought to be exhorting the young men also to engage from the highest motive in competition for noble rewards, and to regard, not as enemies, but as friends, those who are their rivals in striving for the public good. And much more surprising still than this it is that they transfer their private animosities to the affairs of the commonwealth and choose rather to perish with their enemies than to be saved with all their friends. This is an excess of folly and not far from a Heaven-sent madness which the presiding officers of our senate have been guilty of. For these men, displeased because others who appeared more worthy defeated them at the election when they were candidates for the decemvirate, — a magistracy which they themselves now inveigh against, — continually wage an unrelenting war against them and have come to this pitch of folly, or rather of madness, that in order to slander these men to you they are willing to overthrow the whole country. For although they see that our land has been laid waste by our enemies and though they see that these foes will come almost immediately against Rome (the distance separating us is not great), instead of exhorting and (p55) urging the young men to fight for their country and going themselves to her relief with all alacrity and enthusiasm, so far at least as there is strength in men so aged, they ask you now to consider the form of government, to create new magistrates, and to do everything rather than injure the enemy; and they cannot see even this itself, that they are introducing inopportune motions, or rather uttering impracticable wishes.