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Denys d'Halicarnasse, Les Antiquités romaines, livre III

Chapitre 30

  Chapitre 30

[3,30] Ὡς δὲ ταῦτ´ εἶπεν, ὅσοι μὲν ἦσαν Ἀλβανῶν πένητες ἠγάπων εἰ Ῥώμην τε οἰκήσουσι καὶ τῆς γῆς κλῆρον ἕξουσι καὶ ἐπῄνουν μεγάλῃ βοῇ τὰ διδόμενα, οἱ δὲ λαμπρότεροι τοῖς ἀξιώμασι καὶ ταῖς τύχαις κρείττους ἤχθοντο, εἰ δεήσει πόλιν τε τὴν γειναμένην αὐτοὺς ἐκλιπεῖν καὶ προγονικὰς ἑστίας ἐρημῶσαι καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν οἰκεῖν ἐν τῇ ξένῃ· οἷς οὐδὲν ἐπῄει λέγειν εἰς τὴν ἐσχάτην κατακεκλειμένοις ἀνάγκην. δὲ Τύλλος ἐπειδὴ τὴν διάνοιαν εἶδε τῶν πολλῶν, ἀπολογεῖσθαι τὸν Μέττιον ἐκέλευσεν, εἴ τι πρὸς ταῦτα λέγειν βούλεται. οὐκ ἔχων δ´ Μέττιος τι χρὴ λέγειν πρὸς τοὺς κατηγοροῦντάς τε καὶ καταμαρτυροῦντας τὴν Ἀλβανῶν βουλὴν ἔφησεν αὑτῷ ταῦτα ὑποθέσθαι ποιεῖν δι´ ἀπορρήτων, ὅτε ἐξῆγε τὴν δύναμιν ἐπὶ τὸν πόλεμον, ἠξίου τε τοὺς Ἀλβανούς, οἷς ἀνακτήσασθαι τὴν ἡγεμονίαν ἐπεχείρει, βοηθεῖν αὐτῷ καὶ μήτε τὴν πατρίδα κατασκαπτομένην περιορᾶν μήτε τοὺς ἐπιφανεστάτους τῶν πολιτῶν ἐπὶ τιμωρίαις συναρπαζομένους. ταραχῆς δὲ γινομένης κατὰ τὴν ἐκκλησίαν καί τινων φεύγειν ἐπὶ τὰ ὅπλα ὡρμηκότων οἱ περιεστεφανωκότες τὸν ὄχλον ἀρθέντος σημείου τινὸς ἀνέσχον τὰ ξίφη. περιφόβων δὲ γενομένων ἁπάντων ἀναστὰς πάλιν Τύλλος εἶπεν· Οὐδὲν ἔτι ἔξεστιν ὑμῖν νεωτερίζειν οὐδ´ ἐξαμαρτάνειν, ἄνδρες Ἀλβανοί. ὑμεῖς γὰρ ἂν παρακινεῖν τι τολμήσητε, πάντες ἀπολεῖσθε ὑπὸ τούτων· δείξας τοὺς ἔχοντας τὰ ξίφη. δέχεσθε οὖν τὰ διδόμενα καὶ γίνεσθε ἀπὸ τοῦ χρόνου τοῦδε Ῥωμαῖοι. δυεῖν γὰρ ἀνάγκη θάτερον ὑμᾶς ποιεῖν Ῥώμην κατοικεῖν μηδεμίαν ἑτέραν γῆν ἔχειν πατρίδα. οἴχεται γὰρ ἕωθεν ἐκπεμφθεὶς ὑπ´ ἐμοῦ Μάρκος Ὁράτιος ἀναιρήσων τὴν πόλιν ὑμῶν ἐκ θεμελίων καὶ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἅπαντας εἰς Ῥώμην μετάξων. ταῦτα οὖν εἰδότες ὅσον οὔπω γενησόμενα παύσασθε θανατῶντες καὶ ποιεῖτε τὰ κελευόμενα. Μέττιον δὲ Φουφέττιον ἀφανῶς τε ἡμῖν ἐπιβουλεύσαντα καὶ οὐδὲ νῦν ὀκνήσαντα ἐπὶ τὰ ὅπλα τοὺς ταραχώδεις καὶ στασιαστὰς καλεῖν τιμωρήσομαι τῆς κακῆς καὶ δολίου ψυχῆς ἀξίως. ταῦτα λέξαντος αὐτοῦ τὸ μὲν ἐρεθιζόμενον τῆς ἐκκλησίας μέρος ἔπτηξεν, οἷα δὴ κρατούμενον ἀνάγκῃ ἀφύκτῳ, τὸν δὲ Φουφέττιον ἀγανακτοῦντα ἔτι καὶ κεκραγότα μόνον τάς τε συνθήκας ἀνακαλούμενον, ἃς αὐτὸς ἐξηλέγχθη παρασπονδῶν, καὶ οὐδ´ ἐν κακοῖς τοῦ θράσους ὑφιέμενον οἱ ῥαβδοῦχοι κελεύσαντος τοῦ βασιλέως Τύλλου συλλαβόντες καὶ τὴν ἐσθῆτα περικαταρρήξαντες ἔξαινον τὸ σῶμα μάστιξι πάνυ πολλαῖς. ἐπεὶ δὲ ταύτης ἅλις εἶχε τῆς τιμωρίας, προσελάσαντες δύο συνωρίδας τῇ μὲν ἑτέρᾳ προσήρτων τοὺς βραχίονας αὐτοῦ, τῇ δ´ ἑτέρᾳ τοὺς πόδας ῥυτῆρσι κατεχομένους μακροῖς· ἐλαυνόντων δὲ τῶν ἡνιόχων τὰς συνωρίδας ἀπ´ ἀλλήλων ξαινόμενός τε περὶ τῇ γῇ καὶ ἀνθελκόμενος ὑφ´ ἑκατέρας ἐπὶ τἀναντία δείλαιος ἐν ὀλίγῳ διασπᾶται χρόνῳ. Μέττιος μὲν δὴ Φουφέττιος οὕτως οἰκτρᾶς καὶ ἀσχήμονος τελευτῆς ἔτυχε, τοῖς δ´ ἑταίροις αὐτοῦ καὶ συνειδόσι τὴν προδοσίαν {αὐτοῦ} δικαστήρια βασιλεὺς καθίσας τοὺς ἁλόντας ἐξ αὐτῶν κατὰ τὸν τῶν λειποτακτῶν τε καὶ προδοτῶν νόμον ἀπέκτεινεν. [3,30] At these words of Tullus the poorer sort of the Albans were very well satisfied to become residents of Rome and to have lands allotted to them, and they received with loud acclaim the terms (p133) granted them. But those among them who were distinguished for their dignities and fortunes were grieved at the thought of having to leave the city of their birth and to abandon the hearths of their ancestors and pass the rest of their lives in a foreign country; nevertheless, being reduced to the last extremity, they could think of nothing to say. Tullus, seeing the disposition of the multitude, ordered Mettius to make his defence, if he wished to say anything in answer to the charges. But he, unable to justify himself against the accusers and witnesses, said that the Alban senate had secretly given him these orders when he led his army forth to war, and he asked the Albans, for whom he had endeavoured to recover the supremacy, to come to his aid and to permit neither their city to be razed nor the most illustrious of the citizens to be haled to punishment. Upon this, a tumult arose in the assembly and, some of them rushing to arms, those who surrounded the multitude, upon a given signal, held up their swords. And when all were terrified, Tullus rose up again and said: "It is no longer in your power, Albans, to act seditiously or even to make any false move. For if you dare attempt any disturbance, you shall all be slain by these troops (pointing to those who held their swords in their hands). Accept, then, the terms offered to you and become henceforth Romans. For you must do one of two things, either live at Rome or have no other country. For early this (p135) morning Marcus Horatius set forth, sent by me, to raze your city to the foundations and to remove all the inhabitants to Rome. Knowing, then, that these orders are as good as executed already, cease to court destruction and do as you are bidden. As for Mettius Fufetius, who has not only laid snares for us in secret but even now has not hesitated to call the turbulent and seditious to arms, I shall punish him in such manner as his wicked and deceitful heart deserves." At these words, that part of the assembly which was in an irritated mood, cowered in fear, restrained by inevitable necessity. Fufetius alone still showed his resentment and cried out, appealing to the treaty which he himself was convicted of having violated, and even in his distress abated nothing of his boldness; but the lictors seized him at the command of King Tullus, and tearing off his clothes, scourged his body with many stripes. After he had been sufficiently punished in this manner, they brought up two teams of horses and with long traces fastened his arms to one of them and his feet to the other; then, as the drivers urged their teams apart, the wretch was mangled upon the ground and, being dragged by the two teams in opposite directions, was soon torn apart. This was the miserable and shameful end of Mettius Fufetius. For the trial of his friends and the accomplices of his treachery the king set up courts and put to death such of the accused as were found guilty, pursuant to the law respecting deserters and traitors.


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Dernière mise à jour : 26/10/2006