Texte grec :
| [9,61] Ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς ἐνάτης καὶ ἑβδομηκοστῆς ὀλυμπιάδος, ἣν
ἐνίκα Ξενοφῶν Κορίνθιος ἄρχοντος Ἀθήνησιν
Ἀρχεδημίδου, παραλαμβάνουσι τὴν ὑπατείαν
Τῖτος Κοίντιος Καπιτωλῖνος καὶ Κόιντος Φάβιος
Οὐιβουλανός· Κοίντιος μὲν τὸ τρίτον ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν
ἀποδειχθεὶς ὑπὸ τοῦ δήμου, Φάβιος δὲ τὸ δεύτερον. οἷς
ἡ βουλὴ ἀμφοτέροις στρατιὰς μεγάλας καὶ εὖ
παρεσκευασμένας παραδοῦσα ἐξέπεμψε. Κοίντιος μὲν οὖν
ἐτάχθη φυλάττειν τὴν σφετέραν γῆν, ὅση τοῖς πολεμίοις
ὅμορος ἦν, Φάβιος δὲ τὴν Αἰκανῶν δῃοῦν· καὶ
καταλαμβάνει τοὺς Αἰκανοὺς ἐπὶ τοῖς μεθορίοις
ὑπομένοντας αὐτὸν σὺν δυνάμει πολλῇ. καὶ ἐπειδὴ τὰς
παρεμβολὰς ἐν τοῖς κρατίστοις ἑκάτεροι χωρίοις
κατεστήσαντο, προῄεσαν εἰς τὸ πεδίον Αἰκανῶν
προκαλεσαμένων καὶ ἀρξάντων τῆς μάχης, καὶ διέμειναν
ἐπὶ πολὺ τῆς ἡμέρας ἐκθύμως καὶ φιλοπόνως ἀγωνιζόμενοι,
καὶ τὸ νικᾶν οὐ παρ´ ἄλλον τινὰ ἢ παρ´ ἑαυτὸν ἕκαστος
τιθέμενος. ὡς δὲ τὰ ξίφη τοῖς πλείοσιν αὐτῶν διὰ
τὰς συνεχεῖς πληγὰς ἄχρηστα ἐγεγόνει, σημηνάντων
τὸ ἀνακλητικὸν τῶν ἡγεμόνων ἀπῆλθον ἐπὶ τοὺς
χάρακας. καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο τὸ ἔργον ἀγὼν μὲν ἐκ
παρατάξεως οὐκέτ´ αὐτῶν ἐγένετο, ἀκροβολισμοὶ δέ τινες
καὶ συμπλοκαὶ ψιλῶν περί τε ὕδασι καὶ ἐν ἀγορᾶς
παραπομπαῖς συνεχεῖς· κἀν τούτοις μέντοι τὰ πολλὰ
ἦσαν ἰσόρροποι. ἐν ᾧ δὲ ταῦτ´ ἐγίνετο χρόνῳ, μοῖρά
τις ἀπὸ τῆς Αἰκανῶν στρατιᾶς παρελθοῦσα καθ´ ἑτέρας
ὁδοὺς {ἀφυλάκτους} ἐνέβαλεν εἰς τὴν Ῥωμαίων γῆν, ἣ
πλεῖστον ἀφειστήκει τῆς ὁμόρου καὶ διὰ τοῦτ´ ἀφύλακτος
ἦν· ἐξ ἧς ἀνθρώπους τε πολλοὺς συνήρπασε
καὶ χρήματα, λαθοῦσά τε τοὺς σὺν τῷ Κοιντίῳ περιπόλους
τῆς σφετέρας γῆς ἀπῆλθεν ἐπὶ τὰ οἰκεῖα. τοῦτο
συνεχῶς ἐγίνετο καὶ πολλὴν παρεῖχεν αἰσχύνην τοῖς
ὑπάτοις. ἔπειτα μαθὼν διὰ κατασκόπων τε καὶ
αἰχμαλώτων ὁ Φάβιος ἐξεληλυθυῖαν ἐκ τοῦ χάρακος τῶν
Αἰκανῶν τὴν κρατίστην δύναμιν, ἐν τῇ παρεμβολῇ
καταλιπὼν τοὺς πρεσβυτάτους αὐτὸς ἐξῆλθε νύκτωρ
ἱππέων ἐπαγόμενος καὶ τοῦ πεζοῦ τὸ ἀκμαιότατον. οἱ
μὲν οὖν Αἰκανοὶ διηρπακότες τὰ χωρία, οἷς ἐνέβαλον,
ἀπῄεσαν ἐπαγόμενοι πολλὰς ὠφελείας, ὁ δὲ Φάβιος οὐ
πολὺ προελθοῦσιν αὐτοῖς ἐπιφαίνεται καὶ τήν τε λείαν
ἀφαιρεῖται καὶ μάχῃ τοὺς ὑπομείναντας νικᾷ γενομένους
ἄνδρας ἀγαθούς· οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ σποράδες ἐμπειρίᾳ
ὁδῶν λαθόντες τοὺς διώκοντας κατέφυγον εἰς τὸν χάρακα.
ἐπεὶ δὲ ταύτῃ ἀνεκρούσθησαν οἱ Αἰκανοὶ τῇ
συμφορᾷ παρὰ δόξαν σφίσι γενομένῃ, λύσαντες τὴν
παρεμβολὴν ὑπὸ νύκτα ᾤχοντο καὶ οὐκέτι τὸ λοιπὸν
ἐξῄεσαν ἐκ τῆς πόλεως· ἀλλ´ ἠνείχοντο σῖτόν τε, ὃς
ἐν ἀκμῇ τότε ἦν, συγκομιζόμενον ὑπὸ τῶν πολεμίων
καὶ ἀγέλας βοσκημάτων ἀπελαυνομένας ὁρῶντες,
χρήματά τε διαρπαζόμενα καὶ αὐλὰς πυρὶ διδομένας καὶ
αἰχμαλώτους πολλοὺς ἀγομένους. τοῦτο διαπραξάμενος
ὁ Φάβιος, ἐπειδὴ παραδοῦναι τὰς ἀρχὰς ἑτέροις ἔδει, τὴν
δύναμιν ἀναστήσας ἀπῆγε· τὸ δ´ αὐτὸ καὶ Κοίντιος ἐποίει.
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Traduction française :
| [9,61] In the seventy-ninth Olympiad (the one at which Xenophon of Corinth won the
foot-race), (p131) Archedemides being archon at Athens, Titus Quintius Capitolinus
and Quintus Fabius Vibulanus succeeded to the consulship, Quintius being elected by
the people to that office for the third time and Fabius for the second. Both of them the
senate sent into the field, giving them large and well-equipped armies.Quintius was
ordered to defend the part of their territory which adjoined that of the enemy, and
Fabius to plunder the country of the Aequians. Fabius found the Aequians waiting for
him on their own borders with a large force. After both sides had placed their camps
in the most advantageous positions, they advanced into the plain, the Aequians being
the challengers and beginning the battle; and they continued fighting spiritedly and
with perseverance for a great part of the day, each man placing his hopes of victory in
no one but himself. But when the swords of the greater part of them had become
useless from repeated blows, the generals ordered the retreat to be sounded and the
men returned to their camps. After this action no pitched battle was again fought by
them, but there were sundry skirmishes and constant clashes of the light-armed
troops as they went to fetch water and escorted convoys of provisions; and in these
encounters, moreover, they were as a result evenly matched. While this was going
on, a detachment of the Aequians' army, marching by other roads, made an irruption
into the part of the Roman territory which lay at a very great distance from the
common boundary and was for that reason unguarded; and seizing there many
persons and goods, they returned to their homes without (p133) being discovered by the
patrols under Quintius who were guarding their own territory. This happened
continually and brought much disgrace upon the consuls. Later Fabius, learning
through scouts and prisoners that the best of the Aequians' forces had gone out of
their camp, set out himself in the night with the flower of the horse and foot, leaving
the oldest men in the camp. The Aequians, after plundering the regions which they
had invaded, were returning home with many spoils. But they had not proceeded far
when Fabius suddenly appeared before them, took away their booty, and defeated in
battle those who valiantly withstood him; the rest scattered, and being familiar with
the roads, escaped their pursuers and fled to their camp for refuge.When the
Aequians had been checked by this unexpected disaster, they broke camp and
departed as night came on; and after that they ventured out no more from their city,
but submitted to seeing their corn, which was then ripe, carried off by the enemy,
their herds of cattle driven away, their effects seized, their farm-houses given to the
flames and many prisoners led away. After these achievements Fabius, the time
having come for the consuls to hand over their power to their successors, took his
army and returned home; and Quintius did the same.
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