Texte grec :
| [9,6] Οἱ δὲ Τυρρηνοὶ ἀχθόμενοι τῇ τριβῇ τοῦ πολέμου
δειλίαν τ´ ὠνείδιζον τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις, ἐπειδὴ οὐκ
ἐξῄεσαν εἰς μάχην, καὶ ὡς παρακεχωρηκότων αὐτῶν
σφίσι τῆς ὑπαίθρου μέγα ἐφρόνουν. καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον
ἐπήρθησαν εἰς ὑπεροψίαν τοῦ ἀντιπάλου στρατοῦ καὶ
καταφρόνησιν τῶν ὑπάτων δόξαντες καὶ τὸ θεῖον αὑτοῖς
συμμαχεῖν. τοῦ γὰρ ἑτέρου τῶν ὑπάτων Γναΐου
Μαλλίου κεραυνὸς εἰς τὸ στρατήγιον ἐμπεσὼν τήν τε
σκηνὴν διέσπασε καὶ τὴν ἑστίαν ἀνέτρεψε καὶ τῶν
πολεμιστηρίων ὅπλων τὰ μὲν ἐσπίλωσε, τὰ δὲ περιέκαυσε,
τὰ δ´ εἰς τέλος ἠφάνισεν· ἀπέκτεινε δὲ καὶ τὸν
λαμπρότατον αὐτοῦ τῶν ἵππων, ᾧ παρὰ τοὺς ἀγῶνας
ἐχρῆτο, καὶ τῶν θεραπόντων τινάς. λεγόντων δὲ τῶν
μάντεων τοῦ τε χάρακος ἅλωσιν προσημαίνειν τοὺς
θεοὺς καὶ τῶν ἐπιφανεστάτων ἀνδρῶν ἀπώλειαν,
ἀναστήσας τὴν δύναμιν ὁ Μάλλιος ἀπῆγε περὶ μέσας
νύκτας ἐπὶ τὸν ἕτερον χάρακα καὶ μετὰ τοῦ συνάρχοντος
κατεστρατοπέδευσε. μαθόντες οὖν οἱ Τυρρηνοὶ
τὴν ἀπανάστασιν τοῦ στρατηγοῦ καί, δι´ ἃς αἰτίας ἐγένετο,
παρά τινων αἰχμαλώτων ἀκούσαντες ἐπήρθησάν
τε ταῖς γνώμαις ἔτι μᾶλλον, ὡς πολεμοῦντος τοῖς
Ῥωμαίοις τοῦ δαιμονίου, καὶ πολλὴν εἶχον ἐλπίδα
κρατήσειν αὐτῶν· οἵ τε μάντεις ἀκριβέστερον τῶν ἄλλοθί
που δοκοῦντες ἐξητακέναι τὰ μετάρσια, πόθεν τε αἱ
τῶν κεραυνῶν γίνονται βολαὶ καὶ τίνες αὐτοὺς
ὑποδέχονται μετὰ τὰς πληγὰς ἀπιόντας τόποι, θεῶν τε οἷς
ἕκαστοι ἀποδίδονται καὶ τίνων ἀγαθῶν ἢ κακῶν μηνυταί,
χωρεῖν ὁμόσε τοῖς πολεμίοις παρῄνουν διαιρούμενοι τὸ
γενόμενον τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις σημεῖον κατὰ τάδε.
ἐπειδὴ τὸ βέλος εἰς ὑπάτου σκηνὴν κατέσκηψεν, ἐν ᾗ
τὸ στρατήγιον ἐνῆν, καὶ πᾶσαν αὐτὴν ἄχρι τῆς ἑστίας
ἠφάνισεν, ὅλῃ προσημαίνειν τὸ δαιμόνιον τῇ στρατιᾷ
τοῦ χάρακος ἔκλειψιν βίᾳ κρατηθέντος καὶ τῶν
ἐπιφανεστάτων ὄλεθρον. εἰ μὲν οὖν, ἔφασαν, ἔμειναν ἐν
ᾧ κατέσκηψε χωρίῳ τὸ βέλος οἱ κατέχοντες αὐτό, καὶ
μὴ μετηνέγκαντο τὰ σημεῖα ὡς τοὺς ἑτέρους, μιᾶς τε
παρεμβολῆς ἁλώσει καὶ ἑνὸς ὀλέθρῳ στρατοῦ τὸ νεμεσῶν
αὐτοῖς δαιμόνιον ἀπεπλήρωσεν ἂν τὸν χόλον·
ἐπειδὴ δὲ σοφώτεροι τῶν θεῶν εἶναι ζητοῦντες εἰς τὸν
ἕτερον χάρακα μετεστρατοπεδεύσαντο, καταλιπόντες
ἔρημον τὸν τόπον, ὡς οὐ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τοῦ θεοῦ
προδηλοῦντος τὰς συμφοράς, ἀλλὰ τοῖς τόποις, κοινὸς
ἅπασιν αὐτοῖς ὁ παρὰ τοῦ δαίμονος ἥξει χόλος, τοῖς
τ´ ἀπαναστᾶσι καὶ τοῖς ὑποδεξαμένοις. καὶ ἐπειδὴ
ἁλῶναι σφῶν τὸν ἕτερον χάρακα βίᾳ θείας
ἐπιθεσπιζούσης ἀνάγκης οὐ περιέμειναν τὸ χρεών, ἀλλ´
αὐτοὶ παρέδοσαν τοῖς ἐχθροῖς, ἐκεῖνος ὁ χάραξ ὁ τὸν
ἐκλειφθέντα ὑποδεξάμενος ἀντὶ τοῦ καταλειφθέντος
ἁλώσεται βίᾳ κρατηθείς.
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Traduction française :
| [9,6] The Tyrrhenians, being irked by the prolongation of the war, taunted the Romans
with cowardice because they would not come out for battle, and believing that their
foes had abandoned the field to them, they were greatly elated. They were still further
inspired with scorn for the Roman army and contempt for the consuls when they
thought that even the gods were fighting on their side. For (p303) a thunderbolt, falling
upon the headquarters of Gnaeus Manlius, one of the consuls, tore the tent in pieces,
overturned the hearth, and tarnished some of the weapons of war, while scorching or
completely destroying others. It killed also the finest of his horses, the one he used in
battle, and some of his servants. And when the augurs declared that the gods were
foretelling the capture of the camp and the death of the most important persons in it,
Manlius roused his forces about midnight and led them to the other camp, where he
took up quarters with his colleague. The Tyrrhenians, learning of the general's
departure and hearing from some of the prisoners the reasons for his action, grew
still more elated in mind, since it seemed that the gods were making war upon the
Romans; and they entertained great hopes of conquering them. For their augurs, who
are reputed to have investigated with greater accuracy than those anywhere else the
signs that appear in the sky, determining where the thunderbolts come from, what
quarters receive them when they depart after striking, to which of the gods each kind
of bolt is assigned, and what good or evil it portends, advised them to engage the
enemy, interpreting the omen which had appeared to the Romans on this wise:
Since the bolt had fallen upon the consul's tent, which was the army's headquarters,
and had utterly destroyed it even to its hearth, the gods were foretelling to the whole
army the wiping out of their camp after it should be taken by storm, and the death of
the principal persons in it. "If, now," they said, "the occupants of the place where the
bolt fell had remained there instead of removing their standards (p305) to the other
army, the divinity who was wroth with them would have satisfied his anger with the
capture of a single camp and the destruction of a single army; but since they
endeavoured to be wiser than the gods and changed their quarters to the other camp,
leaving the place deserted, as if the god has signified that the calamities should fall,
not upon the men, but upon the places, the divine wrath will come upon all of them
alike, both upon those who departed and upon those who received them. And since,
when destiny had foretold that one camp should be taken by storm, they did not wait
for their fate, but of their own accord handed their camp over to the enemy, the camp
which received the deserted camp5 shall be taken by storm instead of the one that was
abandoned."
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