Livy Page 11

Tunc Mucius, quasi remunerans meritum,

Then Mucius, as if paying back the kindness,

‘Quando quidem’ inquit ‘est apud te virtuti honos, ut beneficio tuleris a me quod minis nequisti,

said, ‘Since, indeed, there is esteem for courage in your eyes, so that you have obtained from me by your kindness what you could not [obtain] by threats,

trecenti coniuravimus principes iuventutis Romanae ut in te hac via grassaremur.

we 300 leaders of the Roman youth formed a conspiracy to attack you in this way.

mea prima sors fuit;

Mine was the first lot;

ceteri ut cuiusque ceciderit primi quoad te opportunum fortuna dederit, suo quisque tempore aderunt'.’

the rest will be here, each at his own time, according to whoever’s [lot] falls out first, until fortune makes you suitable [to attack].’

Mucium dimissum, cui postea Scaevolae a clade dextrae manus cognomen inditum, legati a Porsinna Romam secuti sunt;

Mucius was dismissed to whom afterwards the cognomen Scaevola was given from the disaster of his right hand, the commanders from Porsenna followed him back to Rome;

adeo moverat eum et primi periculi casus, a quo nihil se praeter errorem insidiatoris texisset,

the king’s narrow escape from the first of many attempts, which was owing solely to the mistake of his assailant;

et subeunda dimicatio totiens quot coniurati superessent, ut pacis condiciones ultro ferret Romanis.

and the prospect of having to meet as many attacks as there were conspirators, so unnerved him that he made proposals of peace to Rome.

Iactatum in condicionibus nequiquam de Tarquiniis in regnum restituendis

One for the restoration of the Tarquins was put forward,

magis quia id negare ipse nequiverat Tarquiniis quam quod negatum iri sibi ab Romanis ignoraret.

more because he could not well refuse than because he had any hope of its being granted.

De agro Veientibus restituendo impetratum, expressaque necessitas obsides dandi Romanis,

The demand for the restitution of their territory to the people of Veii, and that for the surrender of hostages as a condition of the withdrawal of the detachment from the Janiculum,

si Ianiculo praesidium deduci vellent.

were felt by the Romans to be inevitable.