Liv. 2.34.1Cōnsulēs deinde T. Gegānius P. Minucius factī.Then Titus Geganius and Publius Minucius were made consuls. Liv. 2.34.1Eō annō, cum et forīs quiēta omnia ā bellō essent et domī sānāta discordia, aliud multō gravius malum cīvitātem invāsit, cāritās prīmum annōnae ex incultīs per sēcessiōnem plēbis agrīs, famēs deinde, quālis clausīs solet.In that year, when everything was quiet abroad from war and the discord at home had been healed, another and much graver evil fell upon the state: first a dearness of grain, because the fields had gone untilled during the secession of the plebs, and then famine, such as besieged people usually suffer. Liv. 2.34.3Ventumque ad interitum servitiōrum utique et plēbis esset, nī cōnsulēs prōvīdissent dīmissīs passim ad frūmentum coemendum nōn in Etrūriam modo dextrīs ab Ōstiā lītoribus laevōque per Volscōs marī ūsque ad Cūmās, sed in Siciliam quoque;And it would have come to the death of the slaves at any rate, and of the plebs, had the consuls not taken measures by sending men everywhere to buy up grain, not only to Etruria along the coast to the right of Ostia, and on the left by sea past the Volsci as far as Cumae, but to Sicily too; Liv. 2.34.3adeō fīnitimōrum odia longinquīs coēgerant indigēre auxiliīs.so far had the hatred of their neighbours forced them to need help from far away.
Liv. 2.34.4Frūmentum Cūmīs cum coēmptum esset, nāvēs prō bonīs Tarquiniōrum ab Aristodēmō tyrannō, quī hērēs erat, retentae sunt;When grain had been bought at Cumae, the ships were held back by the tyrant Aristodemus, who was the Tarquins' heir, in lieu of the Tarquins' property; Liv. 2.34.4in Volscīs Pōmptīnōque nē emī quidem potuit;among the Volsci and in the Pomptine country it could not even be bought; Liv. 2.34.4perīculum quoque ab impetū hominum ipsīs frūmentātōribus fuit;there was danger also to the grain-buyers themselves from attacks by the inhabitants; Liv. 2.34.5ex Tuscīs frūmentum Tiberī vēnit;from the Etruscans grain came down the Tiber; Liv. 2.34.5eō sustentāta est plēbs.by this the plebs were kept alive. Liv. 2.34.5Incommodō bellō in tam artīs commeātibus vexātī forent, nī Volscōs iam moventēs arma pestilentia ingēns invāsisset.They would have been harassed by an untimely war while supplies were so tight, had not a great plague attacked the Volsci just as they were taking up arms. Liv. 2.34.6Eā clāde conterritīs hostium animīs, ut etiam, ubi ea remīsisset, terrōre aliquō tenērentur, et Velitrīs auxēre numerum colōnōrum Rōmānī et Norbam in montīs novam colōniam, quae arx in Pōmptīnō esset, mīsērunt.Since the enemy's spirits were so terrified by this disaster that, even when it had abated, they were held by a certain dread, the Romans both increased the number of colonists at Velitrae and sent a new colony into the mountains at Norba, to be a citadel in the Pomptine country.
Liv. 2.34.6M. Minuciō deinde et A. Semprōniō cōnsulibus magna vīs frūmentī ex Siciliā advecta, agitātumque in senātū, quantī plēbī darētur.Then, in the consulship of Marcus Minucius and Aulus Sempronius, a great quantity of grain was brought from Sicily, and it was debated in the senate at what price it should be given to the plebs. Liv. 2.34.8Multī vēnisse tempus premendae plēbis putābant recuperandīque iūra, quae extorta sēcessiōne ac vī patribus essent.Many thought the time had come to put pressure on the plebs and to recover the rights which had been wrung from the senators by the secession and by force. Liv. 2.34.9In prīmīs Mārcius Coriolānus, hostis tribūniciae potestātis, "sī annōnam" inquit "veterem volunt, iūs prīstinum reddant patribus.Foremost among them Marcius Coriolanus, an enemy of the tribunes' power, said, 'If they want the old price of grain, let them give back to the senators their former rights. Liv. 2.34.9Cūr ego plēbēiōs magistrātūs, cūr Sicinium potentem videō sub iugum missus, tamquam ab latrōnibus redēmptus?Why do I see plebeian magistrates, why do I see Sicinius in power, I who have been sent under the yoke, as if ransomed from brigands?
Liv. 2.34.10Egone hās indignitātēs diūtius patiar quam necesse est?Shall I endure these indignities longer than I must? Liv. 2.34.10Tarquinium rēgem quī nōn tulerim, Sicinium feram?I, who would not put up with King Tarquin, am I to put up with Sicinius? Liv. 2.34.10Sēcēdat nunc, āvocet plēbem;Let him secede now, let him call the plebs away; Liv. 2.34.10patet via in Sacrum montem aliōsque collēs.the road lies open to the Sacred Mount and to other hills. Liv. 2.34.10Rapiant frūmenta ex agrīs nostrīs, quem ad modum tertiō annō ante rapuēre;Let them seize the grain from our fields, as they seized it two years ago; Liv. 2.34.10fruantur annōnā, quam furōre suō fēcēre.let them enjoy the scarcity which they made by their own madness. Liv. 2.34.11Audeō dīcere hōc malō domitōs ipsōs potius cultōrēs agrōrum fore, quam ut armātī per sēcessiōnem colī prohibeant."I dare to say that, tamed by this misfortune, they will themselves become tillers of the fields rather than, under arms, prevent them from being tilled by seceding.' Liv. 2.34.12Haud tam facile dictū est, faciendumne fuerit, quam potuisse arbitror fierī, ut condiciōnibus laxandī annōnam et tribūniciam potestātem et omnia invītīs iūra inposita patrēs dēmerent sibi.It is not so easy to say whether it ought to have been done as I think it could have been done, that the senators, on terms of lowering the price of grain, should rid themselves of both the tribunes' power and all the rights imposed on them against their will.