Ab urbe condita

Then the contention began again, and Papirius ordered Fabius to be arrested. Though not only the leaders of the senate but the whole House sought to deprecate his wrath, he remained unmoved and persisted in his purpose.

Then M. Fabius, the father, said: “Since neither the authority of the senate nor the years which I, whom you are preparing to bereave of a son, have reached, nor the noble birth and personal merits of the Master of the Horse whom you yourself appointed, and entreaties such as have often mitigated the fierceness of human foes and pacified the anger of offended deities —since none of these move you —I claim the intervention of the tribunes of the plebs and appeal to the people.

As you are seeking to escape from the judgment which the army has passed upon you and which the senate is passing now, I summon you before the one judge who has at all events more power and authority than your Dictatorship.