Liv. 3.72.1Cōnsulēs, cum Scaptium nōn silentiō modo, sed cum adsēnsū etiam audīrī animadvertissent, deōs hominēsque testantēs flāgitium ingēns fierī patrum prīmōrēs arcessunt.The consuls, when they noticed that Scaptius was heard not only in silence but even with approval, calling gods and men to witness that a monstrous outrage was being committed, sent for the leading senators. Liv. 3.72.2Cum iīs circumīre tribūs, ōrāre, nē pessimum facinus peiōre exemplō admitterent iūdicēs in suam rem lītem vertendō, cum praesertim, etiam sī fās sit cūram ēmolumentī suī iūdicī esse, nēquāquam tantum agrō intercipiendō adquīrātur, quantum āmittātur aliēnandīs iniūriā sociōrum animīs.With them they went round the tribes, begging them not to commit a most wicked act setting a still worse precedent, by turning a lawsuit to their own advantage as judges, especially since, even if it were right for a judge to care for his own profit, by no means as much would be gained by intercepting the land as would be lost by alienating the allies' hearts through injustice. Liv. 3.72.3Nam fāmae quidem ac fideī damna maiōra esse, quam quae aestimārī possent: hoc lēgātōs referre domum, hoc vulgārī, hoc sociōs audīre, hoc hostēs, quō cum dolōre hōs, quō cum gaudiō illōs?For the damage to their reputation and good faith was greater than could be estimated: was this what the envoys would report home, this what would be spread abroad, this what allies would hear, this what enemies would hear — with what grief the former, with what joy the latter?
Liv. 3.72.4Scaptiōne hoc, cōntiōnālī senī, adsignātūrōs putārent fīnitimōs populōs?Did they think the neighbouring peoples would attribute this to Scaptius, an old haunter of assemblies? Liv. 3.72.4Clārum hāc fore imāgine Scaptium;Scaptius would be made famous by this portrait; Liv. 3.72.5sed populum Rōmānum quadruplātōris et interceptōris lītis aliēnae persōnam lātūrum.but the Roman people would bear the character of a pettifogging informer and a snatcher of other people's lawsuits. Liv. 3.72.5Quem enim hoc prīvātae reī iūdicem fēcisse, ut sibi contrōversiōsam adiūdicāret rem?For what judge in a private case had ever done this, awarding the disputed property to himself? Liv. 3.72.6Scaptium ipsum id quidem, etsī praemortuī iam sit pudōris, nōn factūrum.Even Scaptius himself, though his sense of shame was already dead, would not do that. Liv. 3.72.6Haec cōnsulēs, haec patrēs vōciferantur;So the consuls, so the senators cried out; Liv. 3.72.6sed plūs cupiditās et auctor cupiditātis Scaptius valet.but greed, and Scaptius, the prompter of greed, prevailed. Liv. 3.72.6Vocātae tribūs iūdicāvērunt agrum pūblicum populī Rōmānī esse.The tribes, when called, judged that the land was the public property of the Roman people. Liv. 3.72.7Nec abnuitur ita fuisse, sī ad iūdicēs aliōs itum foret;Nor is it denied that this would have been so if they had gone before other judges; Liv. 3.72.7nunc haud sānē quicquam bonō causae levātur dēdecus iūdiciī.as it was, the disgrace of the judgment was in no way lightened by the merits of the case.
Liv. 3.72.7Idque nōn Arīcīnīs Ardeātibusque quam patribus Rōmānīs foedius atque acerbius vīsum.And this seemed no more foul and bitter to the people of Aricia and Ardea than to the Roman senators. Liv. 3.72.7Reliquum annī quiētum ab urbānīs mōtibus et ab externīs mānsit.The rest of the year remained quiet, free from disturbances in the city and abroad.