Liv. 3.26.1Vīs Sabīnōrum ingēns prope ad moenia urbis īnfestā populātiōne vēnit;A huge force of Sabines came with hostile ravaging almost up to the walls of the city; Liv. 3.26.1foedātī agrī, terror iniectus urbī est.the fields were laid waste, and terror was struck into the city. Liv. 3.26.1Tum plēbs benignē arma cēpit;Then the plebs took up arms willingly; Liv. 3.26.1reclāmantibus frūstrā tribūnīs magnī duo exercitūs scrīptī.while the tribunes protested in vain, two great armies were enrolled. Liv. 3.26.2Alterum Nautius contrā Sabīnōs dūxit castrīsque ad Ērētum positīs per expedītiōnēs parvās, plērumque nocturnīs incursiōnibus, tantam vāstitātem in Sabīnō agrō reddidit, ut conparātī ad eam prope intāctī bellō fīnēs Rōmānī vidērentur.Nautius led one against the Sabines and, pitching camp at Eretum, by small expeditions, mostly raids by night, wrought such devastation in Sabine territory that, compared with it, the Roman lands seemed almost untouched by war. Liv. 3.26.3Minuciō neque fortūna nec vīs animī eadem in gerendō negōtiō fuit;Minucius had neither the same fortune nor the same strength of mind in conducting his campaign; Liv. 3.26.3nam cum haud procul ab hoste castra posuisset, nūllā magnopere clāde acceptā castrīs sē pavidus tenēbat.for having pitched camp not far from the enemy, though he had suffered no great reverse, he kept within his camp in fear.
Liv. 3.26.4Quod ubi sēnserant hostēs, crēvit ex metū aliēnō, ut fit, audācia, et nocte adortī castra, postquam parum vīs aperta prōfēcerat, mūnītiōnēs posterō diē circumdant.When the enemy noticed this, their boldness grew, as usually happens, from another's fear, and after attacking the camp by night, when open force had achieved little, they surround it with siege works the next day. Liv. 3.26.4Quae priusquam undique vallō obiectae clauderent exitūs, quīnque equitēs inter statiōnēs hostium ēmissī Rōmam pertulēre cōnsulem exercitumque obsidērī.Before these, thrown up on every side with a rampart, could shut off the exits, five horsemen sent out between the enemy's posts brought word to Rome that the consul and his army were under siege. Liv. 3.26.5Nihil tam inopīnātum nec tam īnspērātum accidere potuit.Nothing could have happened so unforeseen or so unexpected. Liv. 3.26.5Itaque tantus pavor, tanta trepidātiō fuit, quanta sī urbem, nōn castra hostēs obsidērent.And so there was as much panic, as much alarm, as if the enemy were besieging the city, not a camp. Liv. 3.26.6Nautium cōnsulem arcessunt.They summon the consul Nautius. Liv. 3.26.6In quō cum parum praesidiī vidērētur dictātōremque dīcī placēret, quī rem perculsam restitueret, L. Quīnctius Cincinnātus cōnsēnsū omnium dīcitur.When there seemed too little protection in him, and it was decided that a dictator should be named to restore the shaken situation, Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus is named by universal consent.
Liv. 3.26.7Operae pretium est audīre, quī omnia prae dīvitiīs hūmāna spernunt neque honōrī magnō locum neque virtūtī putant esse, nisi ubi effūsē afluant opēs.It is worth the while of those who despise all human things in comparison with riches, and think there is no room for great honour or for virtue except where wealth flows in abundance, to listen to this. Liv. 3.26.7Spēs ūnica imperiī populī Rōmānī, L. Quīnctius trāns Tiberim, contrā eum ipsum locum, ubi nunc nāvālia sunt, quattuor iūgerum colēbat agrum, quae prāta Quīnctia vocantur.The sole hope of the Roman people's dominion, Lucius Quinctius, was farming a plot of four iugera across the Tiber, opposite the very spot where the dockyards now are; it is called the Quinctian Meadows. Liv. 3.26.9Ibi ab lēgātīs, seu fossam fodiēns pālae innīxus seu cum arāret, operī certē, id quod cōnstat, agrestī intentus, salūte datā in vicem redditāque rogātus, ut, quod bene verteret ipsī reīque pūblicae, togātus mandāta senātūs audīret, admīrātus rogitānsque "satin salvē?"There the envoys found him, either digging a ditch and leaning on his spade or ploughing, but at any rate, as is agreed, intent on some work of the farm; when greetings had been given and returned, he was asked, with a prayer that it might turn out well for himself and the state, to put on his toga and hear the instructions of the senate; astonished, and asking again and again, 'Is all well?' Liv. 3.26.9Togam properē ē tuguriō prōferre uxōrem Raciliam iubet.he tells his wife Racilia to bring his toga quickly out of the cottage.
Liv. 3.26.10Quā simul abstersō pulvere ac sūdōre vēlātus prōcessit, dictātōrem eum lēgātī grātulantēs cōnsalūtant, in urbem vocant, quī terror sit in exercitū, expōnunt.As soon as he had wiped off the dust and sweat and came forward clothed in it, the envoys hail him as dictator with congratulations, summon him to the city, and explain what terror there is in the army. Liv. 3.26.11Nāvis Quīnctiō pūblicē parāta fuit, trānsvectumque trēs obviam ēgressī fīliī excipiunt, inde aliī propinquī atque amīcī, tum patrum maior pars.A boat had been made ready for Quinctius at public expense, and when he had been carried across his three sons, who had come out to meet him, receive him, then other relatives and friends, then the greater part of the senators. Liv. 3.26.12Eā frequentiā stīpātus antecēdentibus līctōribus dēductus est domum.Thronged by this crowd, with the lictors going before him, he was escorted home. Liv. 3.26.12Et plēbis concursus ingēns fuit;There was a huge concourse of the plebs too; Liv. 3.26.12sed ea nēquāquam tam laeta Quīnctium vīdit, et imperiī nimium et virum ipsō imperiō vehementiōrem rata.but they were by no means so glad to see Quinctius, thinking both his power excessive and the man more vehement than the power itself.
Liv. 3.26.12Et illā quidem nocte nihil praeterquam vigilātum est in urbe.And that night indeed nothing was done in the city except keep watch.