Texte grec :
| [3,13] Ἔπειτα καλέσαντες εἰς ἐκκλησίαν τὰς δυνάμεις
ἀμφοτέρας οἱ στρατηγοὶ διεξῆλθον ἅ τε διελέχθησαν
αὐτοὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλους καὶ ἐφ´ οἷς συνέθεντο
καταλύσασθαι τὸν πόλεμον. ἐπικυρωσάντων δὲ τῶν
στρατευμάτων ἀμφοτέρων κατὰ πολλὴν εὐδόκησιν
τὰς τῶν στρατηγῶν ὁμολογίας, θαυμαστὴ μετὰ τοῦτο
κατεῖχε φιλοτιμία καὶ λοχαγοὺς καὶ στρατιώτας πολλῶν
πάνυ προθυμουμένων ἐξενέγκασθαι τὰ τῆς μάχης
ἀριστεῖα καὶ οὐ λόγῳ σπουδαζόντων μόνον, ἀλλὰ
καὶ ἔργῳ φιλοτιμίας ἀποδεικνυμένων, ὥστε χαλεπὴν
γενέσθαι τοῖς ἡγεμόσιν αὐτῶν τὴν τῶν ἐπιτηδειοτάτων
διάγνωσιν. εἰ γάρ τις ἦν ἢ πατέρων ἐπιφανείᾳ
λαμπρὸς ἢ σώματος ῥώμῃ διαπρεπὴς ἢ πράξει
τῇ κατὰ χεῖρα γενναῖος ἢ κατ´ ἄλλην τινὰ τύχην ἢ
τόλμαν ἐπίσημος ἑαυτὸν ἠξίου τάττειν πρῶτον ἐν
τοῖς τρισί. ταύτην ἐπὶ πολὺ χωροῦσαν ἐν ἀμφοτέροις
τοῖς στρατεύμασι τὴν φιλοτιμίαν ὁ τῶν Ἀλβανῶν
ἔπαυσε στρατηγὸς ἐνθυμηθείς, ὅτι θεία τις
πρόνοια ἐκ πολλοῦ προορωμένη τὸν μέλλοντα συμβήσεσθαι
ταῖς πόλεσιν ἀγῶνα τοὺς προκινδυνεύσοντας
ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν κατεσκεύασε γενέσθαι οἴκων τε οὐκ
ἀφανῶν καὶ τὰ πολέμια ἀγαθοὺς ὀφθῆναί τε καλλίστους
καὶ οὐ γενέσεως ὁμοίας τοῖς πολλοῖς μετειληφότας,
ἀλλὰ σπανίου καὶ θαυμαστῆς διὰ τὸ παράδοξον.
Ὁρατίῳ γάρ τινι Ῥωμαίῳ καὶ Κορατίῳ τὸ
γένος Ἀλβανῷ κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν χρόνον ἐνεγγύησε
θυγατέρας διδύμους Σικίνιος Ἀλβανός. τούτοις ἀμφοτέροις
αἱ γυναῖκες ἐγκύμονες ἅμα γενόμεναι, τὰς
πρωτοτόκους ἐκφέρουσι γονὰς ἄρρενα βρέφη τρίδυμα,
καὶ αὐτὰ {ἃ} οἱ γεινάμενοι πρὸς οἰωνοῦ λαβόντες
ἀγαθοῦ καὶ πόλει καὶ οἴκῳ τῷ σφετέρῳ τρέφουσιν
ἅπαντα καὶ τελειοῦσιν· θεὸς δ´ αὐτοῖς, ὥσπερ κατ´
ἀρχὰς ἔφην, δίδωσι κάλλος τε καὶ ῥώμην καὶ δὴ καὶ
ψυχῆς γενναιότητα μηδενὸς τῶν ἄριστα πεφυκότων
χείροσι γενέσθαι. τούτοις ἔγνω τοῖς ἀνδράσιν ὁ Φουφέττιος
ἐπιτρέπειν τὸν ὑπὲρ τῆς ἡγεμονίας ἀγῶνα
καὶ προκαλεσάμενος εἰς λόγους τὸν βασιλέα τῶν Ῥωμαίων
λέγει πρὸς αὐτόν·
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Traduction française :
| [3,13] After this the generals assembled their respective armies and gave them an
account both of what they had said to each other and of the terms upon which they
had agreed to put an end to the war. And both armies having with great approbation
ratified the agreement entered into by their generals, there arose a wonderful
emulation among the officers and soldiers alike, since a great many were eager to
carry off the prize of valour in the combat and expressed their emulation not only by
their words but also by their actions, so that their leaders found great difficulty in
selecting the most suitable champions. For if anyone was renowned for his
illustrious ancestry or remarkable for his strength of body, famous for some brave dee
in action, or distinguished by some other good fortune or bold achievement, he
insisted upon being chosen first among the three champions. This emulation, which
was running to great lengths in both armies, was checked by the Alban general, who
called to mind that some divine providence, long since foreseeing this conflict
between the two cities, had arranged that their future champions should be sprung of
no obscure families and should be brave (p57) in arms, most comely in appearance, and
distinguished from the generality of mankind by their birth, which should be unusual
and wonderful because of its extraordinary nature. It seems that Sicinius, an Alban,
had at one and the same time married his twin daughters to Horatius, a Roman, and
to Curiatius, an Alban; and the two wives came with child at the same time and each
was brought to bed, at her first lying-in, of three male children. The parents, looking
upon the event as a happy omen both to their cities and families, brought up all these
children till they arrived at manhood. And Heaven, as I said in the beginning, gave
them beauty and strength and nobility of mind, so that they were not inferior to any
of those most highly endowed by Nature. It was to these men that Fufetius resolved to
commit the combat for supremacy; and having invited the Roman king to a
conference, he addressed him as follows:
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