Liv. 2.24.1Inter haec maior alius terror: Latīnī equitēs cum tumultuōsō advolant nūntiō Volscōs īnfestō exercitū ad urbem oppugnandam venīre.Meanwhile came another, greater alarm: Latin horsemen gallop in with the startling news that the Volsci were coming with a hostile army to attack the city. Liv. 2.24.1Quae audīta — adeō duās ex ūnā cīvitāte discordiā fēcerat — longē aliter patrēs ac plēbem adfēcēre.This news — so far had discord made two states out of one — affected the senators and the plebs very differently. Liv. 2.24.2Exsultāre gaudiō plēbēs, ultōrēs superbiae patrum adesse dīcere deōs;The plebs exulted with joy and said the gods were at hand to avenge the senators' arrogance; Liv. 2.24.2alius alium cōnfirmāre, nē nōmina darent: cum omnibus potius quam sōlōs peritūrōs;they urged one another not to give in their names: better to perish together with everyone than alone; Liv. 2.24.2patrēs mīlitārent, patrēs arma caperent, ut penes eōsdem perīcula bellī, penes quōs praemia essent.let the senators serve, let the senators take up arms, so that the dangers of war might lie with those who had its rewards. Liv. 2.24.3At vērō cūria maesta ac trepida ancipitī metū et ab cīve et ab hoste Servīlium cōnsulem, cui ingenium magis populāre erat, ōrāre, ut tantīs circumventam terrōribus expedīret rem pūblicam.But the senate, gloomy and alarmed by a double fear, of citizen and of enemy, begged the consul Servilius, whose temperament was more popular, to rescue the state, beset as it was by such terrors.
Liv. 2.24.4Tum cōnsul missō senātū in contiōnem prōdit.Then the consul, having dismissed the senate, comes forward to address the assembly. Liv. 2.24.4Ibi cūrae esse patribus ostendit, ut cōnsulātur plēbī;There he shows that the senators were concerned that the plebs should be looked after; Liv. 2.24.4cēterum dēlīberātiōnī dē maximā quidem illā, sed tamen parte cīvitātis metum prō ūniversā rē pūblicā intervēnisse.but that their deliberation about a part of the state, the greatest part indeed, but still a part, had been interrupted by fear for the commonwealth as a whole. Liv. 2.24.4Nec posse, cum hostēs prope ad portās essent, bellō praevertī quicquam, nec, sī sit laxāmentī aliquid, aut plēbī honestum esse, nisi mercēde prius acceptā arma prō patriā nōn cēpisse, aut patribus satis decōrum per metum potius quam postmodo voluntāte adflīctīs cīvium suōrum fortūnīs cōnsuluisse.Nor could anything take precedence over the war when the enemy were almost at the gates; nor, even if there were some respite, would it be honourable for the plebs to have refused to take up arms for their country unless they had first received payment, nor fitting enough for the senators to have relieved the distressed fortunes of their fellow citizens out of fear rather than afterwards of their own free will.
Liv. 2.24.6Contiōnī deinde ēdictō addidit fidem, quō ēdīxit, nē quis cīvem Rōmānum vinctum aut clausum tenēret, quō minus eī nōminis ēdendī apud cōnsulēs potestās fieret, neu quis mīlitis, dōnec in castrīs esset, bona possidēret aut vēnderet, līberōs nepōtēsve eius morārētur.He then confirmed his speech with an edict, in which he decreed that no one should keep a Roman citizen in chains or under lock so as to prevent him from giving his name to the consuls, and that no one should seize or sell the goods of a soldier while he was in camp, or detain his children or grandchildren. Liv. 2.24.7Hōc prōpositō ēdictō et quī aderant nexī, profitērī extemplō nōmina, et undique ex tōtā urbe prōripientium sē ex prīvātō, cum retinendī iūs crēditōrī nōn esset, concursus in forum, ut sacrāmentō dīcerent, fierī.When this edict had been posted, the bondsmen who were present at once gave in their names, and from all over the city men broke out of private custody, since the creditor had no right to hold them, and rushed into the forum to take the military oath. Liv. 2.24.8Magna ea manus fuit, neque aliōrum magis in Volscō bellō virtūs atque opera ēnituit.That was a large band, and no others showed more conspicuous courage and effort in the Volscian war.
Liv. 2.24.8Cōnsul cōpiās contrā hostem ēdūcit;The consul leads his forces out against the enemy; Liv. 2.24.8parvō dirimente intervallō castra pōnit.he pitches camp with only a small distance between them.