[11,41] Οὔτε σωφρόνων οὔτε γενναίων ἐστὶν ἀνθρώπων τὰ μὲν ἀλλότρια κτᾶσθαι δι´ ἀνδραγαθίαν, τὰ δ´ οἰκεῖα περιορᾶν ἀπολλύμενα διὰ μαλακίαν οὐδὲ πρὸς μὲν Αἰκανοὺς καὶ Οὐολούσκους καὶ Σαβίνους καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους περιοίκους ἅπαντας πολεμεῖν μακροὺς καὶ ἀδιαλείπτους πολέμους ὑπὲρ ἀρχῆς καὶ δυναστείας, πρὸς δὲ τοὺς παρὰ νόμον ἄρχοντας ὑμῶν μὴ θέλειν ἄρασθαι τὰ ὅπλα ὑπὲρ ἀσφαλείας τε καὶ ἐλευθερίας. οὐκ ἀναλήψεσθε τὸ φρόνημα τῆς πατρίδος; οὐ παραστήσεται λογισμὸς ὑμῖν τῆς ἀρετῆς τῶν γονέων ἄξιος, οἳ διὰ μιᾶς γυναικὸς ὕβριν ὑφ´ ἑνὸς τῶν Ταρκυνίου παίδων ὑβρισθείσης καὶ διὰ τὴν συμφορὰν ταύτην ἑαυτὴν διαχρησαμένης, οὕτως ἠγανάκτησαν ἐπὶ τῷ πάθει καὶ παρωξύνθησαν καὶ κοινὴν ἁπάντων ἡγήσαντο τὴν ὕβριν, ὥστ´ οὐ μόνον Ταρκύνιον ἐξέβαλον ἐκ τῆς πόλεως, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ βασιλικὸν πολίτευμα κατέλυσαν, καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν ἀπεῖπον μηδένα Ῥωμαίων ἄρχειν διὰ βίου τὴν ἀνυπεύθυνον ἀρχήν, αὐτοί τε τοὺς μεγίστους ὀμόσαντες ὅρκους, καὶ κατὰ τῶν ἐγγόνων ἀράς, ἐάν τι παρὰ ταῦτα ποιῶσι, καταρασάμενοι; ἔπειτ´ ἐκεῖνοι μὲν ἑνὸς οὐκ ἤνεγκαν ἀκολάστου μειρακίου τυραννικὴν ὕβριν εἰς ἓν σῶμα ἐλεύθερον γενομένην, ὑμεῖς δὲ πολυκέφαλον τυραννίδα πάσῃ παρανομίᾳ τε καὶ ἀσελγείᾳ χρωμένην καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον χρησομένην, ἐὰν νῦν ἀνάσχησθε, ὑπομενεῖτε; οὐκ ἐμοὶ μόνῳ θυγάτηρ ἐγένετο διαφέρουσα τὴν ὄψιν ἑτέρων, ἣν ἀπὸ τοῦ φανεροῦ βιάζεσθαι καὶ προπηλακίζειν Ἄππιος ἐπεβάλετο, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑμῶν εἰσι πολλαὶ τοῖς μὲν θυγατέρες, τοῖς δὲ γαμεταί, τοῖς δὲ νεανίαι παῖδες εὐπρεπεῖς, οὓς τί κωλύσει πρὸς ἄλλου τινὸς τῶν δέκα τυράννων ἢ πρὸς αὐτοῦ τοῦ Ἀππίου ταὐτὰ παθεῖν; εἰ μή τις ἄρα θεῶν ἐστιν ἐγγυητής, ὡς, ἐὰν τὰς ἐμὰς ταύτας συμφορὰς ἀτιμωρήτους ἐάσητε, οὐκ ἐφ´ ὑμῶν πολλοὺς τὰ ὅμοια δεινὰ ἥξει, ἀλλὰ μέχρι τῆς ἐμῆς θυγατρὸς ὁ τυραννικὸς ἔρως προελθὼν στήσεται, καὶ περὶ τὰ λοιπὰ σώματα παίδων τε καὶ παρθένων σωφρονήσει. πολλῆς μέντοι μωρίας καὶ σκαιότητος, σαφῶς ἴστε, τὰ νοούμενα ταῦθ´ ὡς οὐκ ἔσται λέγειν. ἀόριστοι γὰρ αἱ τῶν τυράννων ἐπιθυμίαι κατὰ τὸ εἰκός, οἷα δὴ μήτε νόμον ἔχουσαι κωλυτὴν μήτε φόβον. ἐμοί τε δὴ πράττοντες τιμωρίαν δικαίαν καὶ ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς ἀσφάλειαν, ἵνα μὴ ταὐτὰ πάθητε, παρασκευαζόμενοι διαρρήξατε ἤδη ποτὲ τοὺς χαλινούς, ὦ σχέτλιοι· ἀναβλέψατε ὀρθοῖς ὄμμασι πρὸς τὴν ἐλευθερίαν. ἐπὶ τίνι γὰρ ἑτέρᾳ προφάσει μᾶλλον ἀγανακτήσετε ἢ ταύτῃ, ὅτε τὰς τῶν πολιτῶν θυγατέρας ὡς δούλας ἀπάγουσιν οἱ τύραννοι καὶ μετὰ μαστίγων νυμφαγωγοῦσιν; ἐν ποίῳ δὲ τὸ ἐλεύθερον φρόνημα ἀναλήψεσθε καιρῷ τὸν νῦν παρέντες, ἐν ᾧ τὰ ὅπλα περὶ τοῖς σώμασιν ἔχετε;

[11,41] "It is the part neither of prudent nor of brave men to acquire the possessions of others by valour and then to allow their own to be lost through cowardice, nor, again, to wage long and incessant wars against the Aequians, the Volscians, the Sabines, and all the rest of your neighbours for the sake of sovereignty and dominion and then to be unwilling to take up arms against your unlawful rulers for the sake of both your security and your liberty.Will you not recover the proud spirit of your country? Will you not come to a decision worthy of the virtue of your ancestors who, because one woman was outraged by one of Tarquin's sons and because of this calamity put herself to death, became so indignant at her fate and so exasperated, looking upon the outrage as one done to them all alike, that they not only banished Tarquin from the state, but even abolished the monarchy itself and forbade that anyone should thereafter rule over Romans for life with irresponsible (p137) power, not only binding themselves by the most solemn oaths, but also invoking curses upon their descendants if in any respect they should act to the contrary? Then, when they refused to bear the tyrannical outrage committed by one licentious youth upon one person of free condition, will you tolerate a many-headed tyranny that indulges in every sort of crime and licentiousness and will indulge still more if you now submit to it? I am not the only man who had a daughter superior in beauty to others whom Appius had openly attempted to violate and besmirch, but many of you also have daughters or wives or comely young sons; and what shall hinder these from being treated in the same manner by another of the ten tyrants or by Appius himself? Unless, indeed, there is some one of the gods who will guarantee that if you permit these calamities of mine to go unavenged the same misfortunes will not come upon many of you, but having pursued its way only as far as my daughter, this lust of tyrants will stop and toward the persons of others, both youths and maidens, will grow chaste!Know of a certainty, however, that it is the part of great folly and stupidity to say that these imagined crimes will not come to pass. For the desires of tyrants are naturally limitless, inasmuch as they have neither law nor fear to check them. Therefore, by effecting for me a just vengeance and also by procuring for yourselves security against suffering the same mistreatment, break now at last your bonds, O miserable me; look up toward liberty, your eyes fixed upon her. What other ground for indignation greater than this will you have, when the tyrants carry off the daughters (p139) of citizens like slaves and with the lash lead their brides home? On what occasion will you regain the spirit of free men if you let slip the present one when your bodies are protected by arms?"