Liv. 2.12.1Obsidiō erat nihilō minus et frūmentī cum summā cāritāte inopia,) sedendōque expugnātūrum sē urbem spem Porsinna habēbat, cum C. Mūcius, adulēscēns nōbilis, cui indignum vidēbātur populum Rōmānum servientem, cum sub rēgibus esset, nūllō bellō nec ab hostibus ūllīs obsessum esse, līberum eundem populum ab iīsdem Etrūscīs obsidērī, quōrum saepe exercitūs fūderit — ;The siege, nevertheless, went on, and with it a scarcity of grain at a very high price, and Porsenna was hoping to take the city by sitting still, when Gaius Mucius, a young noble, who thought it a disgrace that the Roman people, when it was enslaved under the kings, had not been besieged in any war or by any enemy, but that the same people, now free, should be besieged by those very Etruscans whose armies it had often routed — Liv. 2.12.3itaque magnō audācīque aliquō facinore eam indignitātem vindicandam ratus prīmō suā sponte penetrāre in hostium castra cōnstituit;so, thinking that this disgrace must be avenged by some great and daring deed, he decided at first to make his way into the enemy's camp on his own initiative; Liv. 2.12.4Dein metuēns, nē, sī cōnsulum iniussū et ignārīs omnibus īret, forte dēprehēnsus ā custōdibus Rōmānīs retraherētur ut trānsfuga, fortūna tum urbis crīmen adfirmante, senātum adit.then, fearing that if he went without the consuls' orders and with no one knowing, he might perhaps be caught by the Roman sentries and brought back as a deserter, since the city's plight at that time would lend weight to the charge, he goes to the senate.
Liv. 2.12.5"Trānsīre Tiberim" inquit, "patrēs, et intrāre, sī possim, castra hostium volō, nōn praedō nec populātiōnum in vicem ultor: maius, sī dī iuvant, in animō est facinus."'I wish, Fathers,' he said, 'to cross the Tiber and, if I can, to enter the enemy's camp, not as a plunderer or as one avenging their raids in turn: I have a greater deed in mind, if the gods help me.' Liv. 2.12.5Adprobant patrēs.The senators approve. Liv. 2.12.5Abditō intrā vestem ferrō proficīscitur.With a sword hidden under his clothing he sets out. Liv. 2.12.6Ubi eō vēnit, in cōnfertissimā turbā prope rēgium tribūnal cōnstitit.When he arrived there, he took his stand in the thickest of the crowd near the king's tribunal. Liv. 2.12.7Ibi cum stīpendium mīlitibus forte darētur, et scrība cum rēge sedēns parī ferē ōrnātū multa ageret eumque mīlitēs vulgō adīrent: timēns scīscitārī, uter Porsinna esset, nē ignōrandō rēgem sēmet ipse aperīret, quis esset, quō temerē trāxit fortūna facinus, scrībam prō rēge obtruncat.There, since pay was by chance being given out to the soldiers, and a secretary sitting with the king, dressed in much the same way, was very busy and the soldiers were mostly approaching him, he, afraid to ask which of the two was Porsenna in case by not knowing the king he should reveal who he was, kills the secretary in place of the king, where fortune blindly steered his deed.
Liv. 2.12.8Vādentem inde, quā per trepidam turbam cruentō mūcrōne sibi ipse fēcerat viam, cum concursū ad clamōrem factō conprehēnsum rēgiī satellitēs retrāxissent, ante tribūnal rēgis dēstitūtus, tum quoque inter tantās fortūnae minās metuendus magis quam metuēns "Rōmānus sum" inquit "cīvis;As he was making his way off from there, through the path he had cut for himself with his bloody blade through the frightened crowd, a crowd ran together at the shouting and the king's guards seized him and dragged him back; set before the king's tribunal, even then, amid such great threats of fortune, more to be feared than fearing, he said, 'I am a Roman citizen; Liv. 2.12.9C. Mūcium vocant.they call me Gaius Mucius. Liv. 2.12.9Hostis hostem occīdere voluī, nec ad mortem minus animī est, quam fuit ad caedem: et facere et patī fortia Rōmānum est.As an enemy I wished to kill an enemy, and I have no less courage for death than I had for killing: to act and to suffer bravely is the Roman way. Liv. 2.12.10Nec ūnus in tē ego hōs animōs gessī;Nor am I the only one to have borne this spirit against you; Liv. 2.12.10longus post mē ōrdō est idem petentium decus.behind me there is a long line of men seeking the same honour.
Liv. 2.12.10Proinde in hoc discrīmen, sī iuvat, accingere, ut in singulās hōrās capite dīmicēs tuō, ferrum hostemque in vestibulō habeās rēgiae.So prepare yourself for this ordeal, if you like: to fight for your life every hour, to have a sword and an enemy at the entrance of your palace. Liv. 2.12.11Hoc tibi iuventūs Rōmāna indīcimus bellum.This is the war that we, the youth of Rome, declare on you. Liv. 2.12.11Nūllam aciem, nūllum proelium timuerīs;You need fear no battle line, no battle; Liv. 2.12.11ūnī tibi et cum singulīs rēs erit."it will be a matter for you alone, against one man at a time.' Liv. 2.12.12Cum rēx simul īrā īnfēnsus perīculōque conterritus circumdarī ignēs minitābundus iubēret, nisi exprōmeret properē, quās īnsidiārum sibi minās per ambāgēs iacēret, "ēn tibi" inquit, "ut sentiās, quam vīle corpus sit iīs, quī magnam glōriam vident," dextramque accēnsō ad sacrificium foculō inicit.When the king, at once enraged with anger and terrified by the danger, threateningly ordered fires to be placed round him unless he quickly revealed what plot he was hinting at so darkly with his threats, Mucius said, 'Look, so that you may see how cheap the body is to those who have great glory in view,' and he thrust his right hand into a fire that had been lit for a sacrifice.
Liv. 2.12.13Quam cum velut aliēnātō ab sēnsū torrēret animō, prope attonitus mīrāculō rēx cum ab sēde suā prōsiluisset āmovērīque ab altāribus iuvenem iussisset, "tū vērō abī" inquit, "in tē magis quam in mē hostīlia ausus.When he went on roasting it as though his mind had no feeling, the king, almost stunned by the marvel, leapt up from his seat, ordered the young man to be removed from the altar and said, 'Go free, you who have dared acts of hostility against yourself more than against me. Liv. 2.12.14Iubērem macte virtūte esse, sī prō meā patriā ista virtūs stāret;I would bid you be honoured for your courage, if that courage stood on the side of my country; Liv. 2.12.14nunc iūre bellī līberum tē intāctum inviolātumque hinc dīmittō."as it is, by the law of war I let you go from here free, untouched and unharmed.' Liv. 2.12.15Tunc Mūcius quasi remūnerāns meritum "quandō quidem" inquit "est apud tē virtūtī bonōs, ut beneficiō tulerīs ā mē, quod minīs nequīstī: trecentī coniūrāvimus prīncipēs iuventūtis Rōmānae, ut in tē hāc viā grassārēmur.Then Mucius, as if repaying the kindness, said, 'Since indeed courage is honoured by you, so that by kindness you have won from me what you could not by threats: three hundred of us, leading young men of Rome, have sworn together to attack you in this way.
Liv. 2.12.16Mea prīma sors fuit;Mine was the first lot; Liv. 2.12.16cēterī, ut cuiusque excīderit prīmī, quoad tē opportūnum fortūna dederit, suō quisque tempore aderunt."the rest, according as each one's lot falls first, will each be here at his own time, until fortune has delivered you to us.'