Liv. 3.36.1Ille fīnis Appiō aliēnae persōnae ferendae fuit;That was the end of Appius playing a part not his own; Liv. 3.36.1suō iam inde vīvere ingeniō coepit novōsque collēgās, iam priusquam inīrent magistrātum, in suōs mōrēs fōrmāre.from then on he began to live according to his own nature and to mould his new colleagues to his own ways, even before they entered office. Liv. 3.36.2Cottīdiē coībant remōtīs arbitrīs;Every day they met with no witnesses present; Liv. 3.36.2inde inpotentibus īnstrūctī cōnsiliīs, quae sēcrētō ab aliīs coquēbant, iam haud dissimulandō superbiam, rārī aditūs, conloquentibus difficilēs, ad īdūs Māiās rem perdūxēre.then, armed with unbridled plans which they concocted in secret apart from others, no longer hiding their arrogance, seldom approachable and hard to talk to, they spun matters out until the Ides of May. Liv. 3.36.3Īdūs tum Māiae sollemnēs ineundīs magistrātibus erant.The Ides of May was at that time the customary day for entering office. Liv. 3.36.3Initō igitur magistrātū prīmum honōris diem dēnūntiātiōne ingentis terrōris īnsignem fēcēre.So, on entering office, they marked the first day of their magistracy by a threat of tremendous terror.
Liv. 3.36.3Nam cum ita priōrēs decemvirī servāssent, ut ūnus fascēs habēret et hoc īnsigne rēgium in orbem suam cuiusque vicem per omnēs īret, subitō omnēs cum duodēnīs fascibus prōdiēre.For whereas the previous decemvirs had kept the rule that one man held the fasces and that this emblem of royalty passed round them all, each in his turn, suddenly they all came forth with twelve fasces each. Liv. 3.36.4Centum vīgintī līctōrēs forum inplēverant et cum fascibus secūrēs inligātās praeferēbant;A hundred and twenty lictors had filled the forum and carried before them axes bound up with the rods; Liv. 3.36.4nec attinuisse dēmī secūrem, cum sine prōvocātiōne creātī essent, interpretābantur.and they explained that there was no point in the axe being removed, since they had been elected without appeal. Liv. 3.36.5Decem rēgum speciēs erat multiplicātusque terror nōn īnfimīs sōlum, sed prīmōribus patrum ratīs caedis causam ac prīncipium quaerī, ut, sī quis memorem lībertātis vōcem aut in senātū aut in populō mīsisset, statim virgae secūrēsque etiam ad cēterōrum metum expedīrentur.It looked like ten kings, and the terror was multiplied, not only among the lowest but among the leading senators, who thought that a pretext and starting point for bloodshed was being sought, so that, if anyone let fall a word mindful of liberty, either in the senate or before the people, the rods and axes would at once be made ready, to frighten the rest as well.
Liv. 3.36.6Nam praeterquam quod in populō nihil erat praesidiī sublātā prōvocātiōne, intercessiōnem quoque cōnsēnsū sustulerant, cum priōrēs decemvirī appellātiōne collēgae corrigī reddita ab sē iūra tulissent et quaedam, quae suī iūdiciī vidērī possent, ad populum rēiēcissent.For besides the fact that there was no protection in the people, since appeal had been abolished, they had also by mutual agreement abolished intervention, whereas the previous decemvirs had allowed judgments given by themselves to be corrected by appeal to a colleague, and had referred to the people certain matters which might have seemed to fall within their own jurisdiction. Liv. 3.36.6Aliquamdiū aequātus inter omnēs terror fuit;For some time the terror was shared equally among all; Liv. 3.36.7paulātim tōtus vertere in plēbem coepit.little by little it began to turn wholly against the plebs. Liv. 3.36.7Abstinēbātur ā patribus;The senators were left alone; Liv. 3.36.7in humiliōrēs lubīdinōsē crūdēliterque cōnsulēbātur.against the humbler sort measures were taken wantonly and cruelly. Liv. 3.36.7Hominum, nōn causārum tōtī erant, ut apud quōs grātia vim aequī habēret.They were wholly for persons, not for causes, as men in whose eyes influence had the force of justice.
Liv. 3.36.8Iūdicia domī cōnflābant, prōnūntiābant in forō.They hammered out their judgments at home and pronounced them in the forum. Liv. 3.36.8Sī quis collēgam appellāsset, ab eō, ad quem vēnerat, ita discēdēbat, ut paenitēret nōn priōris dēcrētō stetisse.If anyone appealed to a colleague, he came away from the one he had gone to in such a state that he regretted not having abided by the first one's decree. Liv. 3.36.9Opīniō etiam sine auctōre exierat nōn in praesentis modo temporis eōs iniūriam cōnspīrāsse, sed foedus clandestīnum inter ipsōs iūre iūrandō ictum, nē comitia habērent perpetuōque decemvirātū possessum semel obtinērent imperium.A belief had also got abroad, though no one vouched for it, that they had conspired not only in injustice for the present time, but that a secret pact had been struck among them under oath not to hold elections, and by a perpetual decemvirate to keep the power they had once seized.