[11,22] Μετὰ τοῦθ´ οἱ μὲν τῆς ὀλιγαρχικῆς ἑταιρίας σοβαροὶ καὶ θρασεῖς περιῄεσαν ὡς δὴ κρείττους τῶν ἑτέρων γεγονότες καὶ διαπεπραγμένοι μηκέτι καταλυθῆναι σφῶν τὴν δυναστείαν, ἐπειδὰν ἅπαξ ὅπλων καὶ στρατιᾶς γένωνται κύριοι· οἱ δὲ τὰ βέλτιστα τῷ κοινῷ φρονοῦντες ἀνιαρῶς διακείμενοι καὶ περιφόβως ὡς οὐδενὸς τῶν κοινῶν ἔτι γενησόμενοι κύριοι καὶ διέστησαν εἰς μέρη πολλά, τῶν μὲν ἀγεννεστέρων τὰς φύσεις ἅπαντα συγχωρεῖν τοῖς κρατοῦσιν ἀναγκαζομένων καὶ κατανέμειν ἑαυτοὺς εἰς τὰς ὀλιγαρχικὰς ἑταιρίας, τῶν δ´ ἧττον ψοφοδεῶν ἀφισταμένων τῆς ὑπὲρ τῶν κοινῶν φροντίδος καὶ τὸν ἀπράγμονα βίον μεθαρμοττομένων· ὅσοις δὲ πολὺ τὸ γενναῖον ἐν τοῖς τρόποις ἦν, ἰδίας ἑταιρίας κατασκευαζομένων καὶ συμφρονούντων ἐπὶ φυλακῇ τε ἀλλήλων καὶ μεταστάσει τῆς πολιτείας. τούτων δὲ τῶν ἑταιριῶν ἡγεμόνες ἦσαν οἱ πρῶτοι τολμήσαντες ἐν τῷ συνεδρίῳ περὶ καταλύσεως τῆς δεκαδαρχίας εἰπεῖν, Λεύκιος Οὐαλέριος καὶ Μάρκος Ὁράτιος, φραξάμενοί τε τὰς οἰκίας ὅπλοις καὶ φυλακὴν θεραπόντων καὶ πελατῶν καρτερὰν περὶ ἑαυτοὺς ἔχοντες, ὡς μήτ´ ἐκ τοῦ βιαίου παθεῖν μηθὲν μήτ´ ἐκ τοῦ δολίου. ὅσοις δ´ οὔτε θεραπεύειν τὴν τῶν κρατούντων ἐξουσίαν βουλομένοις ἦν οὔτε μηδενὸς ἐπιστρέφεσθαι τῶν κοινῶν οὐδ´ ἐν ἀπράκτῳ ζῆν ἡσυχίᾳ καλὸν ἐδόκει, πολεμεῖν τ´ ἀνὰ κράτος οὐ ῥᾴδιον, ἐπεὶ καθαιρεθῆναι δυναστείαν τηλικαύτην ἀνόητον ἐφαίνετο εἶναι, κατέλιπον τὴν πόλιν. ἡγεμὼν δὲ τούτων ἀνὴρ ἦν ἐπιφανὴς Γάιος Κλαύδιος, ὁ τοῦ κορυφαιοτάτου τῆς δεκαδαρχίας Ἀππίου θεῖος, ἐμπεδῶν τὰς ὑποσχέσεις, ἃς ἐπὶ τῆς βουλῆς ἐποιήσατο πρὸς τὸν ἀδελφιδοῦν, ὅτ´ αὐτὸν ἀποθέσθαι τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀξιῶν οὐκ ἔπεισεν. ἠκολούθει δ´ αὐτῷ πολὺς μὲν ἑταίρων ὄχλος, πολὺς δὲ πελατῶν. τούτου δ´ ἀρξαμένου καὶ τὸ ἄλλο πολιτικὸν πλῆθος οὐκέτι λάθρα καὶ κατ´ ὀλίγους, ἀλλ´ ἐκ τοῦ φανεροῦ καὶ ἀθρόον ἐξέλιπε τὴν πατρίδα, τέκνα καὶ γυναῖκας ἐπαγόμενον. οἱ δὲ περὶ τὸν Ἄππιον ἀγανακτοῦντες τοῖς γινομένοις ἐπεβάλοντο μὲν κωλύειν πύλας τ´ ἀποκλείσαντες καὶ ἀνθρώπους τινὰς συναρπάσαντες, ἔπειτα - δέος γὰρ εἰσῆλθεν αὐτοῖς, μὴ πρὸς ἀλκὴν οἱ κωλυόμενοι τράπωνται, καὶ λογισμὸς ὀρθὸς ὡς κρεῖττον εἴη σφίσιν ἐκποδῶν εἶναι τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ἢ μένοντας ἐνοχλεῖν - ἀνοίξαντες τὰς πύλας ἀφῆκαν τοὺς θέλοντας ἀπιέναι, οἰκίας δ´ αὐτῶν καὶ κλήρους καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα ὑπελείπετο ἀδύνατα ὄντα ἐν φυγαῖς φέρεσθαι λειποστρατίαν ἐπενεγκόντες ἐδήμευσαν τῷ λόγῳ, τὸ δ´ ἀληθὲς τοῖς ἑαυτῶν ἑταίροις ὡσανεὶ παρὰ τοῦ δήμου πριαμένοις ἐχαρίσαντο. ταῦτα δὴ τὰ ἐγκλήματα προστεθέντα τοῖς προτέροις πολλῷ δυσμενεστέρους ἐποίησε πρὸς τὴν δεκαδαρχίαν τοὺς πατρικίους καὶ τοὺς δημοτικούς. εἰ μὲν οὖν μηδὲν ἐπεξήμαρτον ἔτι πρὸς τοῖς εἰρημένοις, δοκοῦσιν ἄν μοι πολὺν ἐπὶ τῆς αὐτῆς ἐξουσίας διαμεῖναι χρόνον· ἡ γὰρ φυλάττουσα τὴν δυναστείαν αὐτῶν στάσις ἔτι διέμενεν ἐν τῇ πόλει, διὰ πολλὰς αἰτίας καὶ ἐκ πολλῶν αὐξηθεῖσα χρόνων, δι´ ἣν ἔχαιρον ἑκάτεροι τοῖς ἀλλήλων κακοῖς· οἱ μὲν δημοτικοὶ τὸ φρόνημα τῶν πατρικίων τεταπεινωμένον ὁρῶντες καὶ τὴν βουλὴν οὐδενὸς ἔτι τῶν κοινῶν οὖσαν κυρίαν, οἱ δὲ πατρίκιοι τὴν ἐλευθερίαν ἀπολωλεκότα τὸν δῆμον καὶ μηδὲ τὴν ἐλαχίστην ἔχοντα ἰσχύν, ἐξ οὗ τὴν δημαρχικὴν ἐξουσίαν αὐτῶν οἱ δέκα ἀφείλαντο· αὐθαδείᾳ δὲ πολλῇ πρὸς ἄμφω τὰ μέρη χρώμενοι καὶ οὔτ´ ἐπὶ στρατοπέδου μετριάζοντες οὔτ´ ἐν τῇ πόλει σωφρονοῦντες ὁμονοῆσαι πάντας ἠνάγκασαν καὶ καταλῦσαι τὴν ἀρχὴν αὐτῶν, ὅπλων γενηθέντας κυρίους διὰ τὸν πόλεμον. τὰ δ´ ἁμαρτήματα αὐτῶν τὰ τελευταῖα καὶ δι´ ἃ κατελύθησαν ὑπὸ τοῦ δήμου - τοῦτον γὰρ δὴ μάλιστα προπηλακίζοντες ἐξηγρίωσαν - τοιάδε ἦν.

[11,22] After that those of the oligarchical faction went about swaggering and insolent, as if they had gained a victory over their adversaries and had contrived that their power could no longer be overthrown when once they should be in control of arms and an army. But the men who had the best interests of the commonwealth at heart were in great distress and consternation, imagining that they should never again have any share in the government. These split into many groups, those of less noble dispositions feeling obliged to yield all to the victors and join the (p73) oligarchical bands, and such as were less timorous abandoning their concern for the public interests in exchange for a carefree life; but those who had great nobility of character employed themselves in organizing bands of their own and planning together for their mutual defence and for a change in the form of government.The leaders of these groups were the men who had first dared to speak in the senate in favour of abolishing the decemvirate, namely Lucius Valerius and Marcus Horatius; and they had surrounded their houses with armed men and had about their persons a strong guard of their servants and clients, so as to suffer no harm from either violence or treachery. Those persons, again, who were unwilling either to court the power of the victors or to pay no attention to any of the business of the commonwealth and to lead a quiet, carefree life, and to whom the carrying on of open warfare, since it was not easy for so great a power to be overthrown, seemed to be senseless, quitted the city. At the head of these was a distinguished man, Gaius Claudius, uncle to Appius, the chief of the decemvirate, who by this step fulfilled the promises he had made to his nephew in the senate when he advised but failed to persuade him to resign his power.He was followed (p75) by a large crowd of his friends and likewise of his clients. Following his lead, the multitude also of citizens that were left, no longer privately or in small groups, but openly and in a body, abandoned their country, taking with them their wives and their children. Appius and his colleagues, being vexed at this, endeavoured at first to stop them by closing the gates and arresting some of the people. But afterwards, becoming afraid lest those they were attempting to stop should turn and defend themselves, and rightly judging it to be better for themselves that their enemies should be out of the way than that they should remain and make trouble, they opened the gates and permitted all who so wished to depart; after the houses and estates, however, and all the other things that they left behind because they could not carry them away in their flight, the decemvirs nominally confiscated these to the treasury, bringing against their owners a charge of desertion, but in reality they bestowed these possessions on their own followers, pretending that the latter had purchased them from the public. These grievances, added to the former, greatly inflamed the hostility of the patricians and plebeians against the decemvirs. If, now, they had not added any fresh crime to those I have related, I think they might have retained the same power for a considerable time; for the sedition which maintained that power still continued in the city and had been increased by many causes and by the great length of time it had lasted, and because of the sedition each of the two parties rejoiced in the other's misfortunes,the plebeians in seeing the spirit of the patricians humbled and the senate no longer possessing authority over any of the business of state, and (p77) the patricians in seeing the people stripped of their liberty and without the least strength since the decemvirs had taken from them the tribunician power. But the decemvirs, by treating both parties with great arrogance and by showing and moderation in the army nor self-restraint in the city, forced the parties to unite and to abolish their magistracy as soon as the war had put arms into their hands. Their last crimes, for which they were overthrown by the people, whom they had particularly enraged by their abuses, were as follows.