[11,54] Ἑλκομένου δὲ τοῦ χρόνου διακενῆς ἧκον εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἀπὸ τῶν συμμάχων ἄγγελοι λέγοντες, ὅτι πολλῇ στρατιᾷ μέλλουσιν ἐλαύνειν ἐπ´ αὐτοὺς Αἰκανοί τε καὶ Οὐολοῦσκοι, δεόμενοι βοήθειαν ἀποστεῖλαι σφίσι διὰ ταχέων ὡς ἐν τρίβῳ τοῦ πολέμου κειμένοις. ἐλέγοντο δὲ καὶ Τυρρηνῶν οἱ καλούμενοι Οὐιεντανοὶ παρασκευάζεσθαι πρὸς ἀπόστασιν, Ἀρδεᾶται τ´ αὐτῶν οὐκέτι ἦσαν ὑπήκοοι τῆς ἀμφιλόγου χώρας ὀργὴν ἔχοντες, ἣν ὁ Ῥωμαίων δῆμος αἱρεθεὶς δικαστὴς αὑτῷ προσεδίκασεν ἐν τῷ παρελθόντι ἐνιαυτῷ. ταῦτα ἡ βουλὴ μαθοῦσα ψηφίζεται στρατιὰν καταγράφειν καὶ τοὺς ὑπάτους ἀμφοτέρους ἐξάγειν δυνάμεις. ἀντέπραττον δὲ τοῖς γνωσθεῖσιν ὑπ´ αὐτῶν οἱ τὸν νόμον εἰσφέροντες {ἔχουσι δ´ ἐξουσίαν ἐναντιοῦσθαι δήμαρχοι τοῖς ὑπάτοις} ἀφαιρούμενοί τε τοὺς ἀγομένους ὑπ´ αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τὸν στρατιωτικὸν ὅρκον, καὶ τιμωρίαν οὐδεμίαν ἐῶντες λαμβάνειν παρὰ τῶν ἀπειθούντων. πολλὰ δὲ τῆς βουλῆς ἀξιούσης ἐν μὲν τῷ παρόντι χρόνῳ τὴν φιλονεικίαν καταβαλεῖν, ὅταν δὲ τέλος οἱ πόλεμοι λάβωσι, τότε προτιθέναι τὸν περὶ τῶν ἀρχαιρεσιῶν νόμον, οἵδε τοσούτου ἐδέησαν εἶξαι τοῖς καιροῖς, ὥστε καὶ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἐναντιώσεσθαι τοῖς δόγμασι τῆς βουλῆς ἔλεγον, καὶ οὐδὲν ἐάσειν δόγμα περὶ οὐδενὸς κυρωθῆναι πράγματος, ἐὰν μὴ τὸν ὑπ´ αὐτῶν εἰσφερόμενον προβουλεύσῃ νόμον. καὶ οὐ μόνον ἐν τῷ συνεδρίῳ πρὸς τοὺς ὑπάτους ταῦτ´ ἀπειλῆσαι προήχθησαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ἐκκλησίας, ὅρκους, οἵπερ εἰσὶ μέγιστοι παρ´ αὐτοῖς, κατὰ τῆς ἑαυτῶν πίστεως διομοσάμενοι, ἵνα μηδέ τι τῶν ἐγνωσμένων αὐτοῖς πεισθεῖσιν ἐξῇ καταλύειν.

[11,54] While the time was dragging along with no result, messengers from the allies arrived in the city reporting that both the Aequians and the Volscians were about to march against them with a large army and begging that assistance might be sent them promptly, as they lay in the path of the war. Those Tyrrhenians also who were called Veientes were said to be preparing for a revolt; and the Ardeates no longer gave allegiance to the Romans, being angry over the matter of the disputed territory which the Roman people, when chosen arbiters, had awarded to themselves the year before.The senate, upon being informed of all this, voted to enrol an army (p171) and that both consuls should take the field. But those who were trying to introduce the law kept opposing the execution of their decisions (tribunes have authority to oppose the consuls) by liberating such of the citizens as the consuls were leading off to make them take the military oath and by not permitting the consuls to inflict any punishment on the disobedient. And when the senate earnestly entreated them to put aside their contentiousness for the time being and only when the wars were at an end to propose the law concerning the consular elections, these men, far from yielding to the emergency, declared that they would oppose the decrees of the senate on any subject to be ratified unless the senate should approve by a preliminary decree the law they themselves were introducing.And they were so far carried away that they thus threatened the consuls not only in the senate, nature in the assembly of the people, swearing61 the oath which to them is the most binding, namely by their good fortune, to the end that they might not be at liberty to revoke any of their decisions even if convinced of their error.