Liv. 2.44.1Et hic annus tribūnum auctōrem lēgis agrāriae habuit.This year too had a tribune proposing an agrarian law. Liv. 2.44.1Tib. Pontificius fuit.It was Tiberius Pontificius. Liv. 2.44.1Is eandem viam, velut prōcessisset Sp. Liciniō, ingressus dīlēctum paulisper inpediit.Taking the same road, as though it had succeeded for Spurius Licinius, he obstructed the levy for a little while. Liv. 2.44.2Perturbātīs iterum patribus Ap. Claudius victam tribūniciam potestātem dīcere priōre annō, in praesentiā rē, exemplō in perpetuum, quandō inventum sit suīs ipsam vīribus dissolvī.When the senators were again thrown into confusion, Appius Claudius declared that the tribunician power had been defeated the year before — for the moment in fact, and as a precedent for all time — since it had been discovered that it could be broken up by its own strength. Liv. 2.44.3Neque enim umquam dēfutūrum, quī et ex collēgā victōriam sibi et grātiam meliōris partis bonō pūblicō velit quaesītam;For there would never be lacking a man willing to win a victory over his colleague for himself and the goodwill of the better party for the public good; Liv. 2.44.3et plūrēs, sī plūribus opus sit, tribūnōs ad auxilium cōnsulum parātōs fore, et ūnum vel adversus omnēs satis esse.and several tribunes, if several were needed, would be ready to help the consuls, and indeed one was enough even against all the rest.
Liv. 2.44.3Darent modo et cōnsulēs et prīmōrēs patrum operam, ut, sī minus omnēs, aliquōs tamen ex tribūnīs reī pūblicae ac senātuī conciliārent.Only let both the consuls and the leading senators take pains to win over to the state and the senate, if not all, at least some of the tribunes. Liv. 2.44.5Praeceptīs Appiī monitī patrēs et ūniversī cōmiter ac benignē tribūnōs appellāre, et cōnsulārēs, ut cuique eōrum prīvātim aliquid iūris adversus singulōs erat, partim grātiā partim auctōritāte obtinuēre, ut tribūniciae potestātis vīrēs salūbrēs vellent reī pūblicae esse;Guided by Appius' advice, the senators as a body began to address the tribunes courteously and kindly, and the former consuls, according as each had some private claim on individual tribunes, prevailed, partly by favour, partly by authority, so that they were willing to have the strength of the tribunician power serve the good of the state; Liv. 2.44.6novemque tribūnōrum adversus ūnum morātōrem pūblicī commodī auxiliō dīlēctum cōnsulēs habent.and with the help of nine tribunes against the one obstructer of the public interest the consuls held the levy. Liv. 2.44.7Inde ad Vēiēns bellum profectī, quō undique ex Etrūriā auxilia convēnerant, nōn tam Veientium grātiā concitāta, quam quod in spem ventum erat discordiā intestīnā dissolvī rem Rōmānam posse.Then they set out for the war against Veii, to which auxiliaries had gathered from all over Etruria, stirred not so much by goodwill towards the Veientes as because they had come to hope that the Roman state could be broken up by internal discord.
Liv. 2.44.8Prīncipēsque in omnium Etrūriae populōrum conciliīs fremēbant aeternās opēs esse Rōmānās, nisi inter sēmet ipsī sēditiōnibus saeviant.And in the councils of all the peoples of Etruria the leading men loudly declared that Roman power would last for ever, unless they raged against one another in civil strife. Liv. 2.44.8Id ūnum venēnum, eam lābem cīvitātibus opulentīs repertam, ut magna imperia mortālia essent.This was the one poison, this the canker found for wealthy states, to make great empires mortal. Liv. 2.44.9Diū sustentātum id malum partim patrum cōnsiliīs partim patientiā plēbis, iam ad extrēma vēnisse.That evil, long held in check partly by the policy of the senators, partly by the patience of the plebs, had now come to the extreme. Liv. 2.44.9Duās cīvitātēs ex ūnā factās, suōs cuique partī magistrātūs, suās lēgēs esse.Two states had been made out of one; each party had its own magistrates, its own laws. Liv. 2.44.10Prīmum in dīlēctibus saevīre solitōs, eōsdem in bellō tamen pāruisse ducibus.At first they used to rage during the levies, but these same men had nonetheless obeyed their commanders in war.
Liv. 2.44.10Quālicumque urbis statū manente disciplīnā mīlitārī sistī potuisse;Whatever the condition of the city, so long as military discipline remained, things could have been held steady; Liv. 2.44.10iam nōn pārendī magistrātibus mōrem in castra quoque Rōmānum mīlitem sequī.now the habit of disobeying magistrates was following the Roman soldier into the camp as well. Liv. 2.44.11Proximō bellō in ipsā aciē, in ipsō certāmine cōnsēnsū exercitūs trāditam ultrō victōriam victīs Aequīs, signa dēserta, imperātōrem in aciē relictum, iniussū in castra reditum.In the last war, in the very battle line, in the very heat of the fight, by the agreement of the army victory had been handed over unasked to the defeated Aequi, the standards abandoned, the general left behind on the field, and a return made to camp without orders. Liv. 2.44.11Profectō, sī īnstētur, suō mīlite vincī Rōmam posse.Surely, if pressure were applied, Rome could be conquered by her own soldiers. Liv. 2.44.11Nihil aliud opus esse quam indīcī ostendīque bellum;Nothing else was needed but for war to be declared and displayed; Liv. 2.44.12cētera suā sponte fāta et deōs gestūrōs.the fates and the gods would do the rest of their own accord.
Liv. 2.44.12Hae spēs Etrūscōs armāverant multīs in vicem cāsibus victōs victōrēsque.These hopes had armed the Etruscans, who had been by turns conquered and conquerors in many fortunes of war.