Texte grec :
| [9,8] Βουλόμενοι δὴ τὸ στασιάζον ἐκ τῆς στρατιᾶς
ἐξελεῖν εἰς τέλος καὶ καταστῆσαι πάλιν εἰς τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς
ὁμόνοιαν ἅπαν τὸ πλῆθος, καὶ εἰς ἓν τοῦτο πᾶσαν
εἰσφερόμενοι βουλήν τε καὶ πρόνοιαν, ἐπειδὴ οὔτε κολάσει
μέρους τινὸς σωφρονέστερον ἀποδοῦναι τὸ λοιπὸν
ἦν, πολὺ καὶ αὔθαδες ὑπάρχον καὶ τὰ ὅπλα ἐν ταῖς
χερσὶν ἔχον, οὔτε πειθοῖ προσαγαγέσθαι λόγων τοὺς
οὐδὲ πεισθῆναι βουλομένους, δύο ταύτας ὑπέλαβον
ἔσεσθαι τῶν στασιαζόντων αἰτίας τῆς διαλλαγῆς, τοῖς
μὲν ἐπιεικεστέρας μετειληφόσι φύσεως - ἐνῆν γάρ τι καὶ
τοιοῦτον ἐν τῷ πολλῷ - τὴν ἐπὶ τοῖς ὀνειδισμοῖς τῶν
πολεμίων αἰσχύνην, τοῖς δὲ δυσαγώγοις ἐπὶ τὸ καλόν,
ἣν ἅπασα δέδοικεν ἀνθρώπου φύσις ἀνάγκην. ἵνα δὴ
ταῦτα γένοιτο ἀμφότερα, ἐφῆκαν τοῖς πολεμίοις λόγῳ
τ´ αἰσχύνειν κακίζοντας σφῶν ὡς ἄνανδρον τὴν ἡσυχίαν,
καὶ ἔργοις ὑπεροψίας τε καὶ καταφρονήσεως πολλῆς
γινομένοις ἀναγκάζειν ἀγαθοὺς γενέσθαι τοὺς ἑκουσίως
εἶναι μὴ βουλομένους. γινομένων γὰρ τούτων
πολλὰς ἐλπίδας εἶχον ἥξειν ἐπὶ τὸ στρατήγιον ἅπαντας
ἀγανακτοῦντας καὶ καταβοῶντας καὶ κελεύοντας
ἡγεῖσθαι σφῶν ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους· ὅπερ καὶ συνέβη. ὡς
γὰρ ἤρξαντο τὰς ἐξόδους τοῦ χάρακος ἀποταφρεύειν τε
καὶ ἀποσταυροῦν οἱ πολέμιοι, δυσανασχετήσαντες οἱ
Ῥωμαῖοι ἐπὶ τῷ ἔργῳ, τέως μὲν κατ´ ὀλίγους, ἔπειτ´
ἀθρόοι συντρέχοντες ἐπὶ τὰς σκηνὰς τῶν ὑπάτων
ἐκεκράγεσάν τε καὶ προδοσίαν αὐτοῖς ἐνεκάλουν, καὶ εἰ
μή τις ἡγήσεται σφίσι τῆς ἐξόδου, δίχα ἐκείνων αὐτοὶ
τὰ ὅπλα ἔχοντες ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους ἔλεγον ἐξελεύσεσθαι.
ὡς δ´ ἐξ ἁπάντων ἐγίνετο τοῦτο, παρεῖναι τὸν
χρόνον, ὃν περιέμενον, οἱ στρατηγοὶ νομίσαντες ἐκέλευον
τοῖς ὑπηρέταις συγκαλεῖν τὸ πλῆθος εἰς ἐκκλησίαν· καὶ
προελθὼν Φάβιος τοιάδε εἶπε·
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Traduction française :
| [9,8] Desiring, therefore, to banish sedition from the army once and for all and to
restore the whole rank and file to their original harmony, and devoting to this single
end all their counsel and all their thought, since it was not in their power by
punishing some of them to reform the rest, who were numerous, bold, and had arms
in their hands, or to attempt by the persuasion of words to win over those who did not
even wish to be persuaded, they assumed that the following two motives would bring
about the reconciliation of the seditious: first, for those of a more (p309) reasonable
disposition (for there was an admixture of these also among the mass of the troops),
the shame of being taunted by the enemy, and second, for those who were not easily
led to adopt the honourable course, the thing of which all human nature stands in
dread necessity. In order, however, to accomplish both these results, they allowed
the enemy not only to shame them by words, but also by repeated deeds of scorn and
contempt6 to compel those to show themselves brave men who were not disposed to
be so of their own accord. For if these insults should be continued, they had great
hopes that all the soldiers would come to headquarters, giving vent to their
indignation, reproaching the consuls, and demanding that they lead them against the
enemy; and that is just what happened. For when the enemy began to block the
outlets of the camp with ditches and kinds, the Romans, growing indignant at their
action, ran to the tents of the consuls, first in small numbers and then in a body, and
crying out, accused them of treachery, and declared that if no one would lead them in
a sortie, they themselves would take their arms and without their generals sally out
against the enemy. This being the general cry, the consuls thought the opportunity
for which they had been waiting had now come, and they ordered the lictors to call
the troops to an assembly. Then Fabius, coming forward, spoke as follows:
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