Texte grec :
| [4,24] Ἐπειδὴ δὲ κατὰ τοῦτο γέγονα τὸ μέρος
τῆς διηγήσεως, ἀναγκαῖον εἶναί μοι δοκεῖ διελθεῖν,
ὡς εἶχε τότε τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις τὰ περὶ τοὺς δούλους ἔθη,
ἵνα μήτε τὸν βασιλέα τὸν πρῶτον ἐπιχειρήσαντα τοὺς
δεδουλευκότας ἀστοὺς ποιεῖν μήτε τοὺς παραδεξαμένους
τὸν νόμον ἐν αἰτίαις σχῇ τις, ὡς ῥιπτοῦντας
εἰκῆ τὰ καλά. ἐτύγχανον δὴ τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις αἱ τῶν
θεραπόντων κτήσεις κατὰ τοὺς δικαιοτάτους γινόμεναι
τρόπους. ἢ γὰρ ὠνησάμενοι παρὰ τοῦ δημοσίου τοὺς
ὑπὸ δόρυ πωλουμένους ἐκ τῶν λαφύρων, ἢ τοῦ στρατηγοῦ
συγχωρήσαντος ἅμα ταῖς ἄλλαις ὠφελείαις καὶ
τοὺς δορυαλώτους τοῖς λαβοῦσιν ἔχειν ἢ πριαμένοις
παρ´ ἑτέρων κατὰ τοὺς αὐτοὺς τρόπους κυρίων γενομένων
ἐκέκτηντο τοὺς δούλους. οὐδὲν δὴ πρᾶγμα
ποιεῖν αἰσχύνης ἢ βλάβης κοινῆς αἴτιον οὔθ´ ὁ Τύλλιος
ὁ καταστησάμενος τὸ ἔθος οὔθ´ οἱ παραδεξάμενοι καὶ
διαφυλάξαντες ᾤοντο, εἰ τοῖς ἀφαιρεθεῖσιν ἐν πολέμῳ
τήν τε πατρίδα καὶ τὴν ἐλευθερίαν χρηστοῖς γενομένοις
περὶ τοὺς καταδουλωσαμένους ἢ τοὺς παρὰ τούτων
πριαμένους ἀμφότερα ταῦτα παρὰ τῶν δεσποτῶν
ὑπάρξει. ἐτύγχανον δὲ τῆς ἐλευθερίας οἱ μὲν πλεῖστοι
προῖκα διὰ καλοκἀγαθίαν· καὶ κράτιστος ἀπαλλαγῆς
δεσποτῶν τρόπος οὗτος ἦν· ὀλίγοι δέ τινες λύτρα
κατατιθέντες ἐξ ὁσίων καὶ δικαίων ἐργασιῶν συναχθέντα.
ἀλλ´ οὐκ ἐν τοῖς καθ´ ἡμᾶς χρόνοις οὕτω
ταῦτ´ ἔχει, ἀλλ´ εἰς τοσαύτην σύγχυσιν ἥκει τὰ πράγματα
καὶ τὰ καλὰ τῆς Ῥωμαίων πόλεως οὕτως ἄτιμα
καὶ ῥυπαρὰ γέγονεν, ὥσθ´ οἱ μὲν ἀπὸ λῃστείας καὶ
τοιχωρυχίας καὶ πορνείας καὶ παντὸς ἄλλου πονηροῦ
πόρου χρηματισάμενοι τούτων ὠνοῦνται τῶν χρημάτων
τὴν ἐλευθερίαν καὶ εὐθύς εἰσι Ῥωμαῖοι· οἱ δὲ συνίστορες
καὶ συνεργοὶ τοῖς δεσπόταις γενόμενοι φαρμακειῶν
καὶ ἀνδροφονιῶν καὶ τῶν εἰς θεοὺς ἢ τὸ
κοινὸν ἀδικημάτων ταύτας φέρονται παρ´ αὐτῶν τὰς
χάριτας· οἱ δ´ ἵνα τὸν δημοσίᾳ διδόμενον σῖτον λαμβάνοντες
κατὰ μῆνα καὶ εἴ τις ἄλλη παρὰ τῶν ἡγουμένων
γίγνοιτο τοῖς ἀπόροις τῶν πολιτῶν φιλανθρωπία
φέρωσι τοῖς δεδωκόσι τὴν ἐλευθερίαν· οἱ δὲ διὰ
κουφότητα τῶν δεσποτῶν καὶ κενὴν δοξοκοπίαν. ἔγωγ´
οὖν ἐπίσταμαί τινας ἅπασι τοῖς δούλοις συγκεχωρηκότας
εἶναι ἐλευθέροις μετὰ τὰς ἑαυτῶν τελευτάς, ἵνα
χρηστοὶ καλῶνται νεκροὶ καὶ πολλοὶ ταῖς κλίναις αὐτῶν
ἐκκομιζομέναις παρακολουθῶσι τοὺς πίλους ἔχοντες
ἐπὶ ταῖς κεφαλαῖς· ἐν οἷς ἐπόμπευόν τινες, ὡς ἦν
παρὰ τῶν ἐπισταμένων ἀκούειν, ἐκ τῶν δεσμωτηρίων
ἐξεληλυθότες ἀρτίως κακοῦργοι μυρίων ἄξια διαπεπραγμένοι
θανάτων. εἰς τούτους μέντοι τοὺς δυσεκκαθάρτους
σπίλους ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ἀποβλέποντες οἱ
πολλοὶ δυσχεραίνουσι καὶ προβέβληνται τὸ ἔθος, ὡς
οὐ πρέπον ἡγεμονικῇ πόλει καὶ παντὸς ἄρχειν ἀξιούσῃ
τόπου τοιούτους ποιεῖσθαι πολίτας. ἔχοι δ´ ἄν τις
πολλὰ καὶ ἄλλα διαβαλεῖν ἔθη καλῶς μὲν ὑπὸ τῶν
ἀρχαίων ἐπινοηθέντα, κακῶς δ´ ὑπὸ τῶν νῦν ἐπιτριβόμενα.
ἐγὼ δὲ τὸν νόμον τοῦτον οὐκ οἴομαι δεῖν
ἀναιρεῖν, μή τι μεῖζον ἐκραγῇ τῷ κοινῷ δι´ αὐτοῦ
κακόν· ἐπανορθοῦσθαι μέντοι φημὶ δεῖν τὰ δυνατὰ
καὶ μὴ περιορᾶν ὀνείδη μεγάλα καὶ ῥύπους δυσεκκαθάρτους
εἰς τὴν πολιτείαν εἰσαγομένους. καὶ μάλιστα
μὲν τοὺς τιμητὰς ἀξιώσαιμ´ ἂν τούτου τοῦ μέρους
προνοεῖν· εἰ δὲ μή γε, τοὺς ὑπάτους· δεῖ γὰρ ἀρχῆς
τινος μεγάλης· οἳ τοὺς καθ´ ἕκαστον ἐνιαυτὸν ἐλευθέρους
γινομένους ἐξετάσουσι, τίνες ὄντες καὶ διὰ τί
καὶ πῶς ἠλευθερώθησαν, ὥσπερ γε τοὺς τῶν ἱππέων
καὶ τοὺς τῶν βουλευτῶν βίους ἐξετάζουσιν· ἔπειθ´ οὓς
μὲν ἂν εὕρωσιν ἀξίους τῆς πόλεως ὄντας, εἰς φυλὰς
καταγράψουσι καὶ μένειν ἐφήσουσιν ἐν τῇ πόλει· τὸ
δὲ μιαρὸν καὶ ἀκάθαρτον φῦλον ἐκβαλοῦσιν ἐκ τῆς
πόλεως εὐπρεπὲς ὄνομα τῷ πράγματι τιθέντες, ἀποικίαν.
ταῦτα μὲν οὖν τῆς ὑποθέσεως ἀπαιτούσης ἀναγκαῖόν
τε καὶ δίκαιον ἔδοξεν εἶναί μοι πρὸς τοὺς ἐπιτιμῶντας
τοῖς Ῥωμαίων ἔθεσιν εἰπεῖν.
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Traduction française :
| [4,24] Now that I have come to this part of my narrative, I think it necessary to give an
account of the customs which at that time prevailed among the Romans with regard
to slaves, in order that no one may accuse either the king who first undertook to make
citizens of those who had been slaves, or the Romans who accepted the law, of
recklessly abandoning their noble traditions. The Romans acquired their slaves by
the most just means; for they either purchased them from the state at an auction49 as
part of the spoils, or the general permitted the soldiers to keep the prisoners they had
taken together with the rest of the booty, or else they bought them of those who had
obtained possession of them by these same means. So that neither Tullius, who
established this custom, nor those who received and maintained thought they were
doing anything dishonourable or detrimental to the public interest, if those who had
lost both their country and their liberty in war and had proved loyal to those who had
enslaved them, or to those who had purchased them from these, had both those
blessings restored to them by their masters. Most of these slaves obtained their
liberty as a free gift because of meritorious conduct, and this was the best kind of
discharge from their masters; but a few paid a ransom raised by lawful and honest labour.
(p347) This, however, is not the case in our day, but things have come to such a state of
confusion and the noble traditions of the Roman commonwealth have become so
debased and sullied, that some who have made a fortune by robbery, housebreaking,
prostitution and every other base means, purchase their freedom with the money so
acquired and straightway are Romans. Others, who have been confidants and
accomplices of their masters in poisonings, receive from them this favour as their
reward. Some are freed in order that, when they have received the monthly allowance
of corn given by the public or some other largesse distributed by the men in power to
the poor among the citizens, they may bring it to those who granted them their
freedom. And others owe their freedom to the levity of their masters and to their vain
thirst for popularity. I, at any rate, know of some who have allowed all their slaves to
be freed after their death, in order that they might be called good men when they
were dead and that many people might follow their biers wearing their liberty-caps;
indeed, some of those taking part in these processions, as one might have heard from
those who knew, have been malefactors just out of jail, who had committed crimes
deserving of a thousand deaths. Most people, nevertheless, as they look upon these
stains that can scarce be washed away from the city, are grieved and condemn the
custom, (p349) looking upon it as unseemly that a dominant city which aspires to rule
the whole world should make such men citizens.
One might justly condemn many other customs also which were wisely devised by
the ancients but are shamefully abused by the men of to-day. Yet, for my part, I do
not believe that this law ought to be abolished, lest as a result some greater evil
should break out to the detriment of the public; but I do say that it ought to be
amended, as far as possible, and that great reproaches and disgraces hard to be wiped
out should not be permitted entrance into the body politic. And I could wish that the
censors, preferably, or, if that may not be, then the consuls, would take upon
themselves the care of this matter, since it requires the control of some it magistracy,
and that they would make inquiries about the persons who are freed each year — who
they are and for what reason they have been freed and how — just as they inquire into
the lives of the knights and senators; after which they should enroll in the tribes such
of them as they find worthy to be citizens and allow them to remain in the city, but
should expel from the city the foul and corrupt herd under the specious pretence of
sending them out as a colony. These are the things, then, which as the subject
required it, I thought it both necessary and just to say to those who censure the
customs of the Romans.
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