Texte grec :
| [4,43] Ταῦτα δ´ ὁρῶντες οἱ δημοτικοὶ δίκαια
πάσχειν αὐτοὺς ὑπελάμβανον καὶ ἐπέχαιρον ὑπ´ εὐηθείας,
ὡς ἐκείνοις μόνοις τῆς τυραννίδος βαρείας ἐσομένης,
σφίσι δ´ αὐτοῖς ἀκινδύνου. ἧκε δὲ κἀκείνοις
οὐ μετὰ πολὺν χρόνον ἔτι πλείω τὰ χαλεπά. τούς τε
γὰρ νόμους τοὺς ὑπὸ Τυλλίου γραφέντας, καθ´ οὓς
ἐξ ἴσου τὰ δίκαια παρ´ ἀλλήλων ἐλάμβανον καὶ οὐδὲν
ὑπὸ τῶν πατρικίων ὡς πρότερον ἐβλάπτοντο περὶ τὰ
συμβόλαια, πάντας ἀνεῖλε· καὶ οὐδὲ τὰς σανίδας, ἐν
αἷς ἦσαν γεγραμμένοι, κατέλιπεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ταύτας
καθαιρεθῆναι κελεύσας ἐκ τῆς ἀγορᾶς διέφθειρεν.
ἔπειτα κατέλυσε τὰς ἀπὸ τῶν τιμημάτων εἰσφορὰς καὶ
εἰς τὸν ἐξ ἀρχῆς τρόπον ἀποκατέστησε· καὶ ὁπότε
δεήσειεν αὐτῷ χρημάτων, τὸ ἴσον διάφορον ὁ πενέστατος
τῷ πλουσιωτάτῳ κατέφερε. τοῦτο τὸ πολίτευμα
πολὺ τοῦ δημοτικοῦ πλήθους ἀπανήλωσεν ἐπὶ τῆς πρώτης
εὐθὺς εἰσφορᾶς ἀναγκαζομένου κατὰ κεφαλὴν ἑκάστου
δραχμὰς δέκα εἰσφέρειν. συνόδους τε συμπάσας,
ὅσαι πρότερον ἐγίνοντο κωμητῶν ἢ φρατριαστῶν ἢ
γειτόνων ἔν τε τῇ πόλει καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀγρῶν ἐφ´ ἱερὰ
καὶ θυσίας ἅπασι κοινὰς προεῖπε μηκέτι συντελεῖν,
ἵνα μὴ συνιόντες εἰς ταὐτὸ πολλοὶ βουλὰς ἀπορρήτους
μετ´ ἀλλήλων ποιῶνται περὶ καταλύσεως τῆς ἀρχῆς.
ἦσαν δ´ αὐτῷ πολλαχῇ διεσπαρμένοι κατόπται
τινὲς καὶ διερευνηταὶ τῶν λεγομένων τε καὶ πραττομένων
λεληθότες τοὺς πολλούς, οἳ συγκαθιέντες εἰς
ὁμιλίαν τοῖς πέλας καὶ ἔστιν ὅτε κατὰ τοῦ τυράννου
λέγοντες αὐτοί, πεῖραν τῆς ἑκάστου γνώμης ἐλάμβανον·
ἔπειθ´ οὓς αἴσθοιντο τοῖς καθεστηκόσι πράγμασιν
ἀχθομένους κατεμήνυον πρὸς τὸν τύραννον· αἱ δὲ τιμωρίαι
κατὰ τῶν ἐλεγχθέντων ἐγίνοντο πικραὶ καὶ ἀπαραίτητοι.
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Traduction française :
| [4,43] The plebeians, seeing this, looked upon them as justly punished and in their
simplicity rejoiced at their discomfiture, imagining that the tyranny would be
burdensome to the senators alone and would involve no danger to themselves.
Nevertheless, to them also came even more hardships not long afterwards. For the
laws drawn up by Tullius, by which they all received justice alike from each other and
by which they were secured from being injured by the patricians, as before, in their
contracts with them, were all abolished by Tarquinius, who did not leave even the
tables on which the laws were written, but ordered these also to be removed (p415) from
the Forum and destroyed. After this he abolished the taxes based on the census and
revived the original form of taxation; and whenever he required money, the poorest
citizen contributed the same amount as the richest. This measure ruined a large part
of the plebeians, since every man was obliged to pay ten drachmae as his individual
share of the very first tax. He also forbade the holding in future of any of the
assemblies to which hitherto the inhabitants of the villages, the members of the
curiae, or the residents of a neighbourhood, both in the city and in the country, had
resorted in order to perform religious ceremonies and sacrifices in common, lest
large numbers of people, meeting together, should form secret conspiracies to
overthrow his power. He had spies scattered about in many places who secretly
inquired into everything that was said and done, while remaining undiscovered by
most persons; and by insinuating themselves into the conversation of their
neighbours and sometimes by reviling the tyrant themselves they sounded every
man's sentiments. Afterwards they informed the tyrant of all who were dissatisfied
with the existing state of affairs; and the punishments of those who were found guilty
were severe and relentless.
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