Liv. 3.17.1Postquam arma pōnī et discēdere hominēs ab statiōnibus nūntiātum est, P. Valerius collēgā senātum retinente sē ex cūriā prōripit, inde in templum ad tribūnōs vēnit.After it was announced that arms were being laid down and men were leaving their posts, Publius Valerius, while his colleague kept the senate in session, hurries out of the senate house and from there comes to the tribunes in the sacred precinct. Liv. 3.17.2"Quid hoc reī est" inquit, "tribūnī?'What is the meaning of this,' he said, 'tribunes? Liv. 3.17.2Appī Herdōniī ductū et auspiciō rem pūblicam ēversūrī estis?Are you going to overthrow the republic under the leadership and auspices of Appius Herdonius? Liv. 3.17.2Tam fēlīx vōbīs corrumpendīs fuit, quī servitia nōn commōvit auctor?Has he, who as instigator failed to stir up the slaves, been so successful in corrupting you? Liv. 3.17.2Cum hostēs suprā caput sint, discēdī ab armīs lēgēsque ferrī placet?"When the enemy is above our heads, do you think fit to leave your arms and pass laws?' Liv. 3.17.3Inde ad multitūdinem ōrātiōne versā: "sī vōs urbis, Quirītēs, sī vestrī nūlla cūra tangit, at vōs verēminī deōs vestrōs ab hostibus captōs.Then, turning his speech to the multitude: 'If no concern for the city, Quirites, if none for yourselves touches you, then at least fear your gods, who have been captured by the enemy.
Liv. 3.17.3Iuppiter optimus maximus, Iūnō rēgīna et Minerva, aliī Diī deaeque obsidentur;Jupiter Best and Greatest, Queen Juno and Minerva, and other gods and goddesses are under siege; Liv. 3.17.3castra servōrum pūblicōs vestrōs penātēs tenent;a camp of slaves holds the household gods of your state; Liv. 3.17.4haec vōbīs fōrma sānae cīvitātis vidētur?does this seem to you the shape of a healthy state? Liv. 3.17.4Tantum hostium nōn sōlum intrā mūrōs est, sed in arce, suprā forum cūriamque;So great a host of enemies is not only within the walls but in the citadel, above the Forum and the senate house; Liv. 3.17.4comitia interim in forō sunt, senātus in cūriā est;meanwhile an assembly is being held in the Forum, the senate is in the senate house; Liv. 3.17.4velut cum ōtium superat, senātor sententiam dīcit, aliī Quirītēs suffrāgium ineunt.as when peace is abundant, the senator states his opinion, the other Quirites go to the vote. Liv. 3.17.5Nōn quidquid patrum plēbisque est, cōnsulēs, tribūnōs, deōs hominēsque omnēs armātōs opem ferre, in Capitōlium currere, līberāre ac pācāre augustissimam illam domum Iovis optimī maximī decuit?Ought not everyone, whatever there is of senators and plebs, consuls, tribunes, gods and men, to have brought help under arms, to have run to the Capitol, to have freed and restored to peace that most august house of Jupiter Best and Greatest?
Liv. 3.17.6Rōmule pater, tū mentem tuam, quā quondam arcem ab hīs iīsdem Sabīnīs aurō captam recēpistī, dā stirpī tuae;Father Romulus, give your offspring that resolve of yours by which you once recovered the citadel from these same Sabines when it had been captured with gold; Liv. 3.17.6iubē hanc ingredī viam, quam tū dux, quam tuus ingressus exercitus est!bid them enter upon this road which you as leader, which your army entered upon! Liv. 3.17.6Prīmus ēn ego cōnsul, quantum mortālis deum possum, tē ac tua vestīgia sequar."See, I as consul will be the first to follow you and your footsteps, as far as a mortal can follow a god.' Liv. 3.17.7Ultimum ōrātiōnis fuit: sē arma capere, vocāre omnēs Quirītēs ad arma.The end of his speech was that he was taking up arms and calling all the Quirites to arms. Liv. 3.17.7Sī quī inpediat, iam sē cōnsulāris imperiī, iam tribūniciae potestātis sacrātārumque lēgum oblītum, quisquis ille sit, ubicumque sit, in Capitōliō, in forō, prō hoste habitūrum.If anyone hindered him, he would, forgetting now consular authority, forgetting tribunician power and the sacred laws, treat him as an enemy, whoever he was and wherever he was, on the Capitol or in the Forum.
Liv. 3.17.7Iubērent tribūnī, quoniam in Appī Herdōnium vetārent, in P. Valerium cōnsulem sūmī arma;Let the tribunes order arms to be taken up against Publius Valerius the consul, since they forbade it against Appius Herdonius; Liv. 3.17.8ausūrum sē in tribūnīs, quod prīnceps familiae suae ausus in rēgibus esset.he would dare against tribunes what the founder of his family had dared against kings. Liv. 3.17.9Uim ultimam appārēbat futūram spectāculōque sēditiōnem Rōmānam hostibus fore.It was clear that it would come to the utmost violence, and that Roman sedition would be a spectacle for the enemy. Liv. 3.17.9Nec lēx tamen ferrī nec īre in Capitōlium cōnsul potuit.Yet neither could the law be passed nor the consul go to the Capitol. Liv. 3.17.9Nox certāmina coepta oppressit.Night smothered the struggles that had begun. Liv. 3.17.9Tribūnī cessēre noctī timentēs cōnsulum arma.The tribunes gave way to the night, fearing the consuls' arms. Liv. 3.17.10Āmōtīs inde sēditiōnis auctōribus patrēs circumīre plēbem īnserentēsque sē in circulōs sermōnēs temporī aptōs serere, admonēre, ut vidērent, in quod discrīmen rem pūblicam addūcerent: nōn inter patrēs ac plēbem certāmen esse, sed simul patrēs plēbemque, arcem urbis, templa deōrum, penātēs pūblicōs prīvātōsque hostibus dēdī.Then, with the instigators of the sedition out of the way, the senators went round among the plebs and, joining the groups, started conversations suited to the moment, warning them to see into what danger they were bringing the state: the struggle was not between senators and plebs, but senators and plebs together, the citadel of the city, the temples of the gods, the public and private household gods, were being handed over to the enemy.
Liv. 3.17.12Dum haec in forō sēdandae discordiae causā aguntur, cōnsulēs interim, nē Sabīnī nēve Vēiēns hostis movērētur, circā portās mūrōsque discesserant.While these things were being done in the Forum to calm the discord, the consuls meanwhile had gone off round the gates and the walls, in case the Sabines or the enemy from Veii should make a move.