Texte grec :
[3,37] Ταῦτα καθιστάμενος τὰ πολιτεύματα καὶ
{διὰ} παντὸς μάλιστα ἐλπίσας ἄνευ πολέμου καὶ κακῶν
ἅπαντα τὸν βίον διατελέσειν, ὥσπερ ὁ μητροπάτωρ,
οὐκ ἔσχεν ὁμοίαν τῇ προαιρέσει τὴν τύχην, ἀλλὰ
παρὰ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γνώμην πολεμιστὴς ἠναγκάσθη γενέσθαι
καὶ μηδένα χρόνον ἄνευ κινδύνου καὶ ταραχῆς
βιῶσαι. εὐθὺς γὰρ ἅμα τῷ παρελθεῖν αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὴν
ἡγεμονίαν καὶ τὴν ἀπράγμονα καθίστασθαι πολιτείαν
καταφρονήσαντες αὐτοῦ Λατῖνοι καὶ νομίσαντες δι´
ἀνανδρίαν οὐχ ἱκανὸν εἶναι πολέμους στρατηγεῖν,
λῃστήρια διέπεμπον εἰς τὴν ὁμοροῦσαν αὐτοῖς ἕκαστοι
χώραν, ὑφ´ ὧν πολλοὶ Ῥωμαίων ἐβλάπτοντο.
ἀφικομένων δὲ παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως πρεσβευτῶν καὶ τὰ
δίκαια Ῥωμαίοις ἀξιούντων ὑπέχειν κατὰ τὰς συνθήκας,
οὔτε γινώσκειν ἐσκήπτοντο τῶν περὶ τὰ λῃστήρια
κατηγορουμένων οὐδὲν ὡς οὐ μετὰ κοινῆς γνώμης
γεγονότων οὔτε ὑπόδικοι γενέσθαι Ῥωμαίοις περὶ
οὐθενὸς πράγματος· οὐδὲ γὰρ πρὸς ἐκείνους ποιήσασθαι
τὰς συνθήκας, ἀλλὰ πρὸς Τύλλον, τελευτήσαντος
δὲ τοῦ Τύλλου λελύσθαι σφίσι τὰς περὶ τῆς εἰρήνης
ὁμολογίας. ἀναγκασθεὶς δὴ διὰ ταύτας τὰς αἰτίας καὶ
ἀποκρίσεις τῶν Λατίνων ὁ Μάρκιος ἐξάγει στρατιὰν
ἐπ´ αὐτοὺς καὶ προσκαθεζόμενος τῇ πόλει αὐτῶν Πολιτωρίῳ,
πρὶν ἐπικουρίαν τινὰ τοῖς πολιορκουμένοις
ἐκ τῶν ἄλλων ἀφικέσθαι Λατίνων, παραλαμβάνει
τὴν πόλιν καθ´ ὁμολογίας· οὐ μέντοι διέθηκε τοὺς
ἀνθρώπους δεινὸν οὐθέν, ἀλλ´ ἔχοντας τὰ σφέτερα
πανδημεὶ μετήγαγεν εἰς Ῥώμην καὶ κατένειμεν εἰς
φυλάς.
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Traduction française :
[3,37] While instituting these administrative measures he hoped above all else to pass
his whole life free from war and troubles, like his grandfather, but he found his
purpose crossed by fortune and, contrary to his inclinations, was forced to become a
warrior and to live no part of his life free from danger and turbulence. For at the very
time that he entered upon the government and was establishing his tranquil régime
the Latins, despising him and looking upon him as incapable of conducting wars
through want of courage, sent bands of robbers from each of their cities into the parts
of the Roman territory that lay next to them, in consequence of which many of the
Romans were suffering injury. And when ambassadors came from the king and
summoned them to make satisfaction to the Romans according to the treaty, they
alleged that they neither had any knowledge of the robberies complained of, asserting
that these had been committed without the general consent of the nation, nor had
become (p161) accountable to the Romans for anything they did. For they had not made
the treaty with them, they say, but with Tullus, and by the death of Tullus their treaty
of peace had been terminated. Marcius, therefore, compelled by these reasons and
the answers of the Latins, led out an army against them, and laying siege to the city
of Politorium, he took it by capitulation before any aid reached the besieged from the
other Latins. However, he did not treat the inhabitants with any severity, but,
allowing them to retain their possessions, transferred the whole population to Rome
and distributed them among the tribes.
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