[11,2] Πρώτη μὲν οὖν ἦν ἡ δόξασα γενέσθαι τοῦ κατὰ τῆς ὀλιγαρχίας μίσους πρόφασις, ὅτι συνύφηναν τὴν δευτέραν ἀρχὴν τῇ προτέρᾳ δήμου τε ὑπεριδόντες καὶ βουλῆς καταφρονήσαντες· ἔπειθ´ ὅτι τοὺς χαριεστάτους Ῥωμαίων, οἷς οὐ κατὰ γνώμην τὰ πραττόμενα ὑπ´ αὐτῶν ἦν, οὓς μὲν ἐξήλαυνον ἐκ τῆς πόλεως αἰτίας ἐπιφέροντες ψευδεῖς καὶ δεινάς, οὓς δὲ ἀπεκτίννυσαν, κατηγόρους τε αὐτοῖς ὑποπέμποντες ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων ἑταίρων καὶ τὰς δίκας ταύτας αὐτοὶ δικάζοντες· μάλιστα δ´ ὅτι τοῖς θρασυτάτοις τῶν νέων, οὓς εἶχον ἕκαστοι περὶ αὑτούς, ἐφῆκαν ἄγειν καὶ φέρειν τὰ τῶν ἐναντιουμένων τῇ πολιτείᾳ. οἱ δ´ ὥσπερ ἁλούσης πολέμῳ κατὰ κράτος τῆς πατρίδος οὐ τὰ χρήματα μόνον ἀφῃροῦντο τοὺς νόμῳ κτησαμένους, ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς τὰς γαμετὰς αὐτῶν τὰς εὐμόρφους παρενόμουν καὶ εἰς θυγατέρας ἐπιγάμους καθύβριζον καὶ πληγὰς τοῖς ἀγανακτοῦσιν ὥσπερ ἀνδραπόδοις ἐδίδοσαν· καὶ παρεσκεύασαν, ὅσοις ἀφόρητα εἶναι τὰ γινόμενα ἐδόκει, καταλιπόντας τὴν πατρίδα γυναιξὶν ὁμοῦ καὶ τέκνοις εἰς τὰς πλησίον ἐξοικίζεσθαι πόλεις, ὑποδεχομένων αὐτοὺς Λατίνων μὲν διὰ τὸ † ἀσθενές, Ἑρνίκων δὲ διὰ τὴν ἔναγχος γενομένην αὐτοῖς ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων ἰσοπολιτείαν. ὥσθ´, ὅπερ εἰκὸς ἦν, τελευτῶντες αὐτοὶ κατελείφθησαν οἱ φιλοτύραννοι, καὶ οἷς μηδεμία τῶν κοινῶν φροντὶς ἦν. οὔτε γὰρ οἵ γε πατρίκιοι διέμενον ἐν τῇ πόλει θωπεύειν μὲν οὐκ ἀξιοῦντες τοὺς ἡγεμόνας, ἐναντιοῦσθαι δὲ τοῖς πραττομένοις ἀδυνατοῦντες, οὔθ´ οἱ καταγραφέντες εἰς τὸ βουλευτικὸν συνέδριον, οὓς ἐπάναγκες ἔδει παρεῖναι ταῖς ἀρχαῖς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τούτων οἱ πλείους ἀνασκευασάμενοι πανοικεσίᾳ καὶ τὰς οἰκίας ἐρήμους ἀφέντες ἐν τοῖς ἀγροῖς διέτριβον. τοῖς δὲ ὀλιγαρχικοῖς καθ´ ἡδονὴν αἱ τῶν ἐπιφανεστάτων ἀνδρῶν ἐγίνοντο φυγαὶ πολλῶν μὲν καὶ ἄλλων ἕνεκα, μάλιστα δὲ ὅτι τοῖς ἀκολάστοις τῶν νέων πολὺ τὸ αὔθαδες προσεγίνετο μηδ´ ὄψει δυναμένοις ἰδεῖν, οὓς ἔμελλον ἀσελγές τι πράττοντες αἰσχύνεσθαι.

[11,2] The first ground for the hatred against the oligarchy seems to have been this, that its members had joined their second term of office immediately to their first, thus showing alike their scorn of the people and their contempt of the senate. Another p9was their treatment of the most reputable Romans who were dissatisfied with their actions, some of whom, on the strength of false and heinous accusations, they were expelling from the city and others they were putting to death, suborning some of their own faction to accuse them and themselves trying these cases. But more than anything else was the licence they gave to the most audacious of the young men by whom each of them was always attended, to plunder and pillage the goods of those who opposed their administration. These youths, as if the country had been taken by force of arms, not only stripped the legal owners of their effects, but even violated their wives, when these were beautiful, abused such of their daughters as were marriageable, and when any showed resentment, they beat them like slaves. Thus they bright it about that those who found these proceedings intolerable left their country along with their wives and children and removed to the neighbouring cities, where they were received by the Latins on account of their affinity and by the Hernicans in acknowledgement of the right of citizenship lately granted to them by the Romans. Consequently, as was to be expected, there were in the end none left behind but the friends of tyranny and such as had no concern for the public good. For neither the patricians, who were unwilling to flatter the rulers and yet were unable to oppose their actions, remained in the city, nor did those necessary to the magistrates; but the greater part of these also had removed with their entire families and, (p11) leaving their houses empty, were now living in the country. The oligarchical faction, however, was pleased with the flight of the most distinguished men, not only for many other reasons, but particularly because it greatly increased the arrogance of the licentious youth not to have before their eyes those persons whose presence would have made them blush whenever they committed any wanton act.