Liv. 2.39.1Imperātōrēs ad id bellum dē omnium populōrum sententiā lēctī Attius Tullius et Cn. Mārcius, exul Rōmānus, in quō aliquantō plus speī repositum.As generals for that war, by the vote of all the peoples, Attius Tullius and Gnaeus Marcius, the Roman exile, were chosen, and in Marcius somewhat more hope was placed. Liv. 2.39.2Quam spem nēquāquam fefellit, ut facile appārēret ducibus validiōrem quam exercitū rem Rōmānam esse.And he by no means disappointed that hope, so that it was easily seen that the strength of Rome lay more in its generals than in its army. Liv. 2.39.2Cerceiōs profectus prīmum colōnōs inde Rōmānōs expulit līberamque eam urbem Volscīs trādidit;Setting out first for Circei, he drove out the Roman colonists from there and handed the city over to the Volsci as a free town; Liv. 2.39.3inde in Latīnam viam trānsversīs trāmitibus trānsgressūrus Satricum, Longulam, Poluscam, Coriolōs, Mugillam — haec Rōmānīs — oppida adēmit;from there, crossing over by side-roads to the Latin Way, he took the towns of Satricum, Longula, Polusca, Corioli and Mugilla — these from the Romans; Liv. 2.39.4inde Lāvīnium recēpit;then he recovered Lavinium; Liv. 2.39.4tum deinceps Corbiōnem, Vitelliam, Trebium, Lavīcōs, Pedum cēpit.then in succession he took Corbio, Vitellia, Trebium, Labici and Pedum.
Liv. 2.39.5Postrēmum ad urbem ā Pedō dūcit et ad fossās Cluiliās quīnque ab urbe mīlia passuum castrīs positīs populātur inde agrum Rōmānum custōdibus inter populātōrēs missīs, quī patriciōrum agrōs intāctōs servārent, sīve īnfēnsus plēbī magis, sīve ut discordia inde inter patrēs plēbemque orerētur.Finally he leads from Pedum towards the city, and pitching camp at the Cluilian Trench five miles from the city, he ravages from there the Roman territory, sending guards among the raiders to keep the lands of the patricians untouched, either because he was more hostile to the plebs, or so that discord might arise from it between senators and plebs. Liv. 2.39.7Quae profectō orta esset — adeō tribūnī iam ferōcem per sē plēbem crīminandō in prīmōrēs cīvitātis īnstīgābant — , sed externus timor, maximum concordiae vinculum, quamvīs suspectōs īnfēnsōsque inter sē iungēbat animōs.And it would certainly have arisen — so much were the tribunes inciting the plebs, already fierce in themselves, by their accusations against the leading men of the state — but fear from outside, the strongest bond of harmony, joined their minds together, however suspicious and hostile to one another.
Liv. 2.39.7Id modo nōn conveniēbat, quod senātus cōnsulēsque nūsquam alibī spem quam in armīs pōnēbant, plēbēs omnia quam bellum mālēbat.The only point of disagreement was that the senate and the consuls placed their hope nowhere else but in arms, while the plebs preferred anything to war. Liv. 2.39.8Sp. Nautius iam et Sex. Fūrius cōnsulēs erant.Spurius Nautius and Sextus Furius were by now consuls. Liv. 2.39.9Eōs recēnsentēs legiōnēs, praesidia per mūrōs aliaque, in quibus statiōnēs vigiliāsque esse placuerat, loca distribuentīs multitūdō ingēns pācem poscentium prīmum sēditiōsō clamōre conterruit, deinde vocāre senātum, referre dē lēgātīs ad Cn. Mārcium mittendīs coēgit.As they were reviewing the legions and distributing garrisons along the walls and at the other places where it had been decided to have outposts and watches, a huge crowd demanding peace first terrified them with a mutinous uproar, then forced them to summon the senate and to bring forward a motion on sending envoys to Gnaeus Marcius. Liv. 2.39.9Accēpērunt relātiōnem patrēs, postquam appāruit labāre plēbis animōs, missīque dē pāce ad Mārcium ōrātōrēs.The senators accepted the motion, once it became plain that the spirit of the plebs was wavering, and envoys were sent to Marcius about peace.
Liv. 2.39.10Atrōx respōnsum rettulērunt: sī Volscīs ager redderētur, posse agī dē pāce;They brought back a harsh answer: if their land were restored to the Volsci, peace could be discussed; Liv. 2.39.11sī praedā bellī per ōtium fruī velint, memorem sē et cīvium iniūriae et hospitum beneficiī adnīsūrum, ut appāreat exiliō sibi inrītātōs, nōn frāctōs animōs esse.if they wished to enjoy the spoils of war at their ease, he, mindful both of his fellow citizens' wrongs and of his hosts' kindness, would strive to make it plain that his spirit had been provoked by exile, not broken. Liv. 2.39.12Iterum deinde iīdem missī nōn recipiuntur in castra.Then when the same men were sent a second time they were not admitted into the camp. Liv. 2.39.12Sacerdōtēs quoque suīs īnsignibus vēlātōs īsse supplicēs ad castra hostium trāditum est;The priests too, it is related, went as suppliants to the enemy's camp, wearing their insignia; Liv. 2.39.12nihilō magis quam lēgātōs flexisse animum.they moved his mind no more than the envoys had.