[11,42] Ἔτι δ´ αὐτοῦ λέγοντος ἀνεβόησαν οἱ πολλοὶ τιμωρήσειν ὑπισχνούμενοι καὶ τοὺς ἡγεμόνας τῶν λόχων ἐξ ὀνόματος ἐκάλουν ἀξιοῦντες ἔργου ἔχεσθαι, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ φανεροῦ πολλοὶ παριόντες ἐθάρρουν λέγειν, εἴ τι δεινὸν ἦσαν πεπονθότες. μαθόντες δὲ τὰ γενόμενα οἱ πέντε ἄνδρες, οὓς ἔφην ἡγεῖσθαι τῶν ταγμάτων, δείσαντες, μή τις ἐπ´ αὐτοὺς τῶν ὄχλων ὁρμὴ γένηται, συνέδραμον εἰς τὸ στρατήγιον πάντες καὶ μετὰ τῶν φίλων ἐσκόπουν, ὅπως παύσουσι τὴν ταραχήν, τὰ οἰκεῖα ὅπλα περιστησάμενοι. ὡς δ´ ἐπύθοντο ἀπεληλυθότας ἐπὶ τὰς σκηνὰς λήξαντά τε καὶ παυσάμενον τὸν θόρυβον, ἀγνοοῦντες, ὅτι τῶν ἑκατοντάρχων τοῖς πλείοσι δεδογμένον ἦν δι´ ἀπορρήτων συνωμοσιῶν ἀπόστασιν πράττειν καὶ συνελευθεροῦν τὴν πατρίδα, ἔκριναν, ἐπειδὰν ἡμέρα τάχιστα γένηται, τὸν μὲν ἐκταράττοντα τοὺς ὄχλους Οὐεργίνιον συλλαβόντας ἔχειν ἐν φυλακῇ, τὰς δὲ δυνάμεις ἀναστήσαντας ἐκ τοῦ χάρακος ἄγειν ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους, καὶ τὴν κρατίστην αὐτῶν τῆς χώρας ἐγκαθημένους δῃοῦν, περὶ τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει πραττομένων μηδὲν τοὺς σφετέρους ἔτι ἐῶντας πολυπραγμονεῖν, τὰ μὲν διὰ τὰς ὠφελείας, τὰ δὲ διὰ τοὺς ἐσομένους ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ἑκάστοτε ἀγῶνας. ἐγίνετο δ´ αὐτοῖς οὐδὲν τῶν ἐκ διαλογισμοῦ· οὐδὲ γὰρ τὸν Οὐεργίνιον εἴασαν οἱ λοχαγοὶ καλούμενον εἰς τὸ στρατήγιον ἀπελθεῖν, ὑποπτεύ{οντες, μή τι πάθοι δεινόν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν} διαληφθέντ{α λόγον, ὡς} ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους ἀγαγεῖν τοὺς λόχους ἐβούλοντο, {κατωνείδιζον} λέγοντες· Ὡς καλῶς ἡμῶν ἐστρατηγήκατε καὶ πρότερον, ἵνα καὶ νῦν λαβόντες ἐλπίδας ἀκολουθῶμεν ὑμῖν, οἵτινες ὅσην οὔπω πρότερον ἕτεροι Ῥωμαίων ἡγεμόνες ἔκ τ´ αὐτῆς ἄγοντες τῆς πόλεως στρατιὰν καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν συμμάχων ἀγείραντες, οὔτε {τινὰ νίκην ἢ βλάβην ἐποιήσατε κατὰ} τῶν ἐχθρῶν, ἀλλὰ δι´ ἀνανδρίαν τε καὶ ἀπειρίαν {ἀπεδείξασθε, κακῶς} στρατοπεδευσάμενοι, καὶ τὴν ἑαυτῶν χώραν ὡς ὑπὸ τῶν πολεμίων {καταδῃωθεῖσαν} πτωχοὺς καὶ ἀπόρους ἡμᾶς ἐποιήσατε ἁπάντων, ὅσοι κ{ρατοῦντες τοῖς ὅπλοις τῶν ἐναντίων} ἐνικῶμεν ταῖς μάχαις, ὅτε ὑμῶν κρείττους ἦσαν στρατηγοί· τρόπαιά τε καθ´ ἡμῶν ἀνιστᾶσι καὶ σκηνὰς καὶ ἀνδράποδα καὶ ὅπλα καὶ χρήματα διηρπακότες ἔχουσι τὰ ἡμέτερα.

[11,42] While he was yet speaking, most of the soldiers cried out, promising to avenge him, and called upon the centurions by name, demanding immediate action; and many, coming forward, made bold to speak openly of any ill-treatment they had suffered.Upon learning of what had happened, the five men, who, as I have stated, had the command of these legions, fearing lest some attack might be made upon them by the rabble, all ran to the general's headquarters and considered with their friends how they might allay the tumult by surrounding themselves with an armed guard of their own faction. But being informed that the soldiers had retired to their tents and that the disturbance was abated and ended, and being unaware that most of the centurions had secretly conspired to revolt and to unite in freeing their country, they resolved that as soon as it was day they would seize Verginius, who was stirring up the rabble, and keep him in custody, and then, breaking camp and leading their forces against the enemy, would settle down in the best part of their territory and lay it waste, thus keeping their men from meddling any longer with what was going on in the city, partly because of the booty they would acquire and partly because of the battles that would be waged in each instance to secure their own safety. (p141) But they succeeded in none of their calculations; for the centurions would not even permit Verginius to go to the generals' headquarters when he was sent for, suspecting that he might suffer some harm; nay, they even heaped scorn upon the intercepted report that the generals wished to lead the troops against the enemy, saying: "How skilfully you have commanded us in the past, that now also we should take hope and follow you — you who, after assembling a greater army both from the city itself and from our allies than any other generals in the past, have not only failed to gain any victory over the enemy or to do them any harm, but on the contrary have shown a lack of both courage and experience by encamping in cowardly father, and also, by permitting your own territory to be ravaged by the enemy, have made us beggars and destitute of all the means by which, when we were superior to our foes in equipment, we conquered them in battle when we had better generals than you! And now our foes erect trophies to commemorate our defeats and are in possession of our tents, our slaves, our arms and our money, which they have seized as plunder."