Liv. 3.53.1Tum Valerius Horātiusque missī ad plēbem condiciōnibus quibus vidērētur revocandam conpōnendāsque rēs decemvirīs quoque ab īrā et impetū multitūdinis praecavēre iubentur.Then Valerius and Horatius are sent to bring back the plebs on whatever terms seemed good and to settle matters, and are instructed also to safeguard the decemvirs from the anger and violence of the multitude. Liv. 3.53.2Profectī gaudiō ingentī plēbis in castra accipiuntur, quippe līberātōrēs haud dubiē et mōtūs initiō et exitū reī.Setting out, they are received into the camp with the immense joy of the plebs, as being beyond doubt their liberators, both at the beginning of the upheaval and at the end of the affair. Liv. 3.53.3Ob haec iīs advenientibus grātiae āctae.For this, thanks were given to them on their arrival. Liv. 3.53.3Icilius prō multitūdine verba facit.Icilius speaks for the multitude. Liv. 3.53.3Īdem, cum dē condiciōnibus agerētur, quaerentibus lēgātīs, quae postulāta plēbis essent, conpositō iam ante adventum lēgātōrum cōnsiliō ea postulāvit, ut appārēret in aequitāte rērum plūs quam in armīs repōnī speī.The same man, when terms were being discussed and the envoys asked what the demands of the plebs were, following a plan agreed before the envoys arrived, made such demands as to make it clear that more hope was placed in the justice of their cause than in arms.
Liv. 3.53.4Potestātem enim tribūniciam prōvocātiōnemque repetēbant, quae ante decemvirōs creātōs auxilia plēbis fuerant, et nē cui fraudī esset concīsse mīlitēs aut plēbem ad repetendam per sēcessiōnem lībertātem.For they were seeking back the tribunes' power and the right of appeal, which had been the plebs' protections before the decemvirs were appointed, and that it should not be held against anyone that he had stirred up the soldiers or the plebs to regain their liberty by secession. Liv. 3.53.5Dē Decemvirōrum modo suppliciō atrōx postulātum fuit: dedī quippe eōs aequum cēnsēbant vīvōsque ignī concremātūrōs minābantur.Only about the punishment of the decemvirs was their demand savage: for they thought it fair that these should be handed over, and they threatened to burn them alive. Liv. 3.53.5Lēgātī ad ea: "quae cōnsiliī fuērunt, adeō aequa postulāstis, ut ultrō vōbīs dēferenda fuerint;The envoys replied: 'The demands that came from deliberation are so fair that they ought to have been offered to you unasked; Liv. 3.53.6lībertātī enim ea praesidia petitis, nōn licentiae ad inpugnandōs aliōs.for you are seeking them as defences for liberty, not as licence to attack others.
Liv. 3.53.7Īrae vestrae magis ignōscendum quam indulgendum est, quippe quī crūdēlitātis odiō in crūdēlitātem ruitis et prius paene, quam ipsī līberī sītis, dominārī iam in adversāriōs vultis.Your anger is to be pardoned rather than indulged, since from hatred of cruelty you are rushing into cruelty, and almost before you are free yourselves you already want to lord it over your opponents. Liv. 3.53.8Numquamnē quiēscet cīvitās nostra ā suppliciīs aut patrum in plēbem Rōmānam aut plēbis in patrēs?Will our state never rest from punishments, either of the fathers against the Roman plebs or of the plebs against the fathers? Liv. 3.53.9Scūtō vōbīs magis quam gladiō opus est.You need a shield more than a sword. Liv. 3.53.9Satis superque humilis est, quī iūre aequō in cīvitāte vīvit nec īnferendō iniūriam nec patiendō.Humble enough, and more than enough, is the man who lives in the state on equal terms, neither inflicting injury nor suffering it. Liv. 3.53.10Etiam sī quandō metuendōs vōs praebitūrī estis, cum reciperātīs magistrātibus lēgibusque vestrīs iūdicia penes vōs erunt dē capite nostrō fortūnīsque, tunc ut quaeque causa erit statuētis;Even if at some time you mean to make yourselves feared, when you have recovered your magistrates and your laws and judgements on our lives and fortunes are in your hands, then you will decide as each case requires; Liv. 3.53.10nunc lībertātem repetī satis est."for now it is enough that liberty is regained.'