Liv. 3.48.1Decemvir, aliēnātus ad libīdinem animō, negat ex hesternō tantum convīciō Icilī violentiāque Verginī, cuius testem populum Rōmānum habeat, sed certīs quoque indiciīs conpertum sē habēre nocte tōtā coetūs in urbe factōs esse ad movendam sēditiōnem.The decemvir, his mind deranged by lust, says that not only from Icilius' abuse yesterday and Verginius' violence, for which he had the Roman people as witness, but also from sure information he has learned that meetings had been held in the city all night to stir up sedition. Liv. 3.48.2Itaque sē haud īnscium eius dīmicātiōnis cum armātīs dēscendisse, nōn ut quemquam quiētum violāret, sed ut turbantēs cīvitātis ōtium prō maiestāte imperiī coercēret.Therefore, not unaware of that struggle, he had come down with armed men, not to harm anyone who was peaceful, but to restrain those disturbing the peace of the state, as befitted the majesty of his office. Liv. 3.48.3"Proinde quiēsse erit melius;'So it will be better to keep quiet; Liv. 3.48.3ī" inquit, "līctor, submovē turbam et dā viam dominō ad prēndendum mancipium!"go, lictor,' he says, 'move back the crowd and make way for the master to seize his slave!' Liv. 3.48.3Cum haec intonuisset plēnus īrae, multitūdō ipsa sē suā sponte dīmōvit, dēsertaque praeda iniūriae puella stābat.When he had thundered this out, full of anger, the multitude of its own accord drew apart, and the girl stood abandoned, a prey to injustice.
Liv. 3.48.4Tum Verginius, ubi nihil usquam auxiliī vīdit, "quaesō" inquit, "Appī, prīmum ignōsce patriō dolōrī, sī quō inclēmentius in tē sum invectus;Then Verginius, when he saw no help anywhere, said, 'I beg you, Appius, first forgive a father's grief if I have attacked you at all too harshly; Liv. 3.48.4deinde sinās hīc cōram virgine nūtrīcem percontārī, quid hoc reī sit, ut, sī falsō pater dictus sum, aequiōre hinc animō discēdam."then allow me to question the nurse here in the maiden's presence about what this business is, so that, if I have been falsely called a father, I may leave here with a calmer mind.' Liv. 3.48.5Datā veniā sēdūcit fīliam ac nūtrīcem prope Cloācīnae ad tabernās, quibus nunc novīs est nōmen, atque ibi ab laniō cultrō arreptō "hōc tē ūnō quō possum" ait "modo, fīlia, in lībertātem vindicō."Permission given, he leads his daughter and the nurse aside, near the shrine of Cloacina, to the shops which now bear the name 'New', and there, snatching a knife from a butcher, he says, 'In this, the only way I can, my daughter, I claim your freedom.' Liv. 3.48.5Pectus deinde puellae trānsfīgit respectānsque ad tribūnal "tē" inquit, "Appī, tuumque caput sanguine hōc cōnsecrō."Then he pierces the girl's breast and, looking back at the tribunal, says, 'You, Appius, and your head I devote with this blood.' Liv. 3.48.6Clamōre ad tam atrōx facinus ortō excitus Appius conprendī Verginium iubet.As a shout went up at so dreadful a deed, Appius, roused by it, orders Verginius to be seized.
Liv. 3.48.6Ille ferrō quācumque ībat viam facere, dōnec multitūdine etiam prōsequentium tuente ad portam perrēxit.He made a way with the knife wherever he went, until, protected also by the multitude following him, he reached the gate. Liv. 3.48.7Icilius Numitōriusque exangue corpus sublātum ostentant populō;Icilius and Numitorius lift up the bloodless body and display it to the people; Liv. 3.48.7scelus Appī, puellae īnfēlīcem fōrmam, necessitātem patris dēplōrant.they lament Appius' crime, the girl's ill-starred beauty, the father's necessity. Liv. 3.48.7Sequentēs clāmitant mātronae: eamne līberōrum prōcreandōrum condiciōnem, ea pudīcitiae praemia esse?, cētera, quae in tālī rē muliebris dolor, quō est maestior inbēcillō animō, eō miserābilia magis querentibus subicit.The matrons follow, crying out: was this the condition on which children were brought into the world, were these the rewards of chastity? — and the other laments which in such a case a woman's grief prompts, all the more pitiable to those who utter them as it is the more sorrowful in a weaker spirit. Liv. 3.48.9Virōrum et maximē Icilī vōx tōta tribūniciae potestātis ac prōvocātiōnis ad populum ēreptae pūblicārumque indignātiōnum erat.The talk of the men, and above all of Icilius, was wholly of the tribunes' power and the appeal to the people that had been snatched away, and of public grievances.