Liv. 3.65.1Novī tribūnī plēbis in cooptandīs collēgīs patrum voluntātem fōvērunt, duōs etiam patriciōs cōnsulārēsque, Sp. Tarpeium et A. Aternium, cooptāvēre.The new tribunes of the plebs, in co-opting colleagues, indulged the wishes of the senators; they even co-opted two patricians and former consuls, Spurius Tarpeius and Aulus Aternius. Liv. 3.65.2Cōnsulēs creātī Sp. Herminius, T. Verginius Caelimontānus, nihil magnopere ad patrum aut plēbis causam inclīnātī, ōtium domī ac forīs habuēre.The consuls elected, Spurius Herminius and Titus Verginius Caelimontanus, inclining strongly to neither the senators' nor the plebs' cause, had peace at home and abroad. Liv. 3.65.3L. Trebōnius tribūnus plēbis īnfestus patribus, quod sē ab iīs in cooptandīs tribūnīs fraude captum prōditumque ā collēgīs aiēbat, rogātiōnem tulit, ut, quī plēbem Rōmānam tribūnōs plēbī rogāret, is ūsque eō rogāret, dum decem tribūnōs plēbī faceret;Lucius Trebonius, a tribune of the plebs hostile to the senators, because he said he had been tricked by them in the co-opting of tribunes and betrayed by his colleagues, brought forward a bill that whoever put the election of tribunes of the plebs to the Roman plebs should go on taking the vote until he had elected ten tribunes of the plebs; Liv. 3.65.4īnsectandīsque patribus, unde Asperō etiam inditum est cognōmen, tribūnātum gessit.and he spent his tribunate harassing the senators, from which he was even given the surname Asper.
Liv. 3.65.4Inde M. Gegānius Macerīnus et C. Iūlius cōnsulēs factī contentiōnēs tribūnōrum adversus nōbilium iuventūtem ortās sine īnsectātiōne potestātis eius cōnservātā maiestāte patrum sēdāvēre.Next Marcus Geganius Macerinus and Gaius Julius, who were made consuls, calmed the disputes that had arisen between the tribunes and the young nobles, without attacking that office and while preserving the majesty of the senators. Liv. 3.65.6Plēbem dēcrētō ad bellum Volscōrum et Aequōrum dīlēctū sustinendō rem ab sēditiōnibus continuēre, urbānō ōtiō forīs quoque omnia tranquilla esse adfirmantēs, per discordiās cīvīlēs externōs tollere animōs.By holding the plebs in check with a levy decreed for the war with the Volsci and Aequi, they kept the state from sedition, declaring that when the city was at peace all was calm abroad too, but that through civil discord foreigners raised their spirits. Liv. 3.65.7Cūra pācis concordiae quoque intestīnae causa fuit.Care for peace was also the cause of harmony within. Liv. 3.65.7Sed alter semper ōrdō gravis alterīus modestiae erat;But one order was always oppressive to the other's moderation; Liv. 3.65.7quiēscentī plēbī ab iūniōribus patrum iniūriae fierī coeptae.when the plebs was quiet, wrongs began to be done to it by the younger senators.
Liv. 3.65.8Ubi tribūnī auxiliō humiliōribus essent, in prīmīs parum prōderat, deinde nē ipsī quidem inviolātī erant, utique postrēmīs mēnsibus, cum et per coitiōnēs potentiōrum iniūria fieret et vīs potestātis omnis aliquantō posteriōre annī parte languidior ferme esset.Where the tribunes came to the aid of the humbler folk, at first it did little good, and later not even they themselves were inviolate, especially in the last months, when wrongs were done through combinations of the more powerful and the force of every office was generally somewhat weaker in the latter part of the year. Liv. 3.65.9Iamque plēbs ita in tribūnātū pōnere aliquid speī, sī similēs Iciliō tribūnōs habēret: nōmina tantum sē bienniō habuisse.And now the plebs was placing some hope in the tribunate only if it had tribunes like Icilius: for two years it had had mere names. Liv. 3.65.10Seniōrēs contrā patrum, ut nimis ferōcēs suōs crēdere iuvenēs esse, ita mālle, sī modus excēdendus esset, suīs quam adversāriīs superesse animōs.The elder senators, on the other hand, though they believed their young men too aggressive, still preferred, if moderation had to be exceeded, that their own side rather than their opponents should have spirit to spare.
Liv. 3.65.11Adeō moderātiō tuendae lībertātis, dum aequārī velle simulandō ita sē quisque extollit, ut dēprimat alium, in difficilī est, cavendōque nē metuant, hominēs metuendōs ultrō sē efficiunt, et iniūriam ā nōbīs repulsam tamquam aut facere aut patī necesse sit, iniungimus aliīs.So hard is moderation in defending liberty, while each man, by pretending to want equality, raises himself so as to press another down; and in guarding against fear, men actually make themselves to be feared, and the injury we have warded off from ourselves we inflict on others, as if one must either do wrong or suffer it.