Texte grec :
[4,25] Ὁ δὲ Τύλλιος οὐκ ἐν τούτοις μόνον τοῖς
πολιτεύμασι δημοτικὸς ὢν ἐδήλωσεν, ἐν οἷς ἐδόκει
τήν τε τῆς βουλῆς ἐξουσίαν καὶ τὴν τῶν πατρικίων
δυναστείαν ἐλαττοῦν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν οἷς τὴν βασιλικὴν
ἀρχὴν ἐμείωσεν αὐτὸς ἑαυτοῦ τὴν ἡμίσειαν τῆς ἐξουσίας
ἀφελόμενος. τῶν γὰρ πρὸ αὐτοῦ βασιλέων ἁπάσας
ἀξιούντων ἐφ´ ἑαυτοὺς ἄγειν τὰς δίκας καὶ πάντα
τὰ ἐγκλήματα τά τ´ ἴδια καὶ τὰ κοινὰ πρὸς τὸν ἑαυτῶν
τρόπον δικαζόντων ἐκεῖνος διελὼν ἀπὸ τῶν ἰδιωτικῶν
τὰ δημόσια, τῶν μὲν εἰς τὸ κοινὸν φερόντων
ἀδικημάτων αὐτὸς ἐποιεῖτο τὰς διαγνώσεις, τῶν δ´
ἰδιωτικῶν ἰδιώτας ἔταξεν εἶναι δικαστάς, ὅρους καὶ
κανόνας αὐτοῖς τάξας, οὓς αὐτὸς ἔγραψε νόμους. ἐπεὶ
δ´ αὐτῷ τὰ ἐν τῇ πόλει πράγματα τὸν κράτιστον
εἰλήφει κόσμον, εἰς ἐπιθυμίαν ἦλθεν ἐπιφανές τι διαπραξάμενος
αἰώνιον ἑαυτοῦ μνήμην τοῖς ἐπιγινομένοις
καταλιπεῖν. ἐφιστὰς δὲ τὴν διάνοιαν ἐπὶ τὰ τῶν ἀρχαίων
βασιλέων τε καὶ πολιτικῶν ἀνδρῶν μνημεῖα, ἐξ ὧν εἰς
ὀνόματα καὶ δόξας προῆλθον, οὔτε τοῦ Βαβυλωνίου
τείχους ἐμακάρισε τὴν Ἀσσυρίαν ἐκείνην γυναῖκα οὔτε
τῶν ἐν Μέμφει πυραμίδων τοὺς Αἰγύπτου βασιλεῖς
οὔτ´ εἴ τις ἄλλη πλούτου καὶ πολυχειρίας ἐπίδειξις ἦν
ἀνδρὸς ἡγεμόνος, ἀλλὰ ταῦτα πάντα μικρὰ καὶ ὀλιγοχρόνια
καὶ οὐκ ἄξια σπουδῆς ἡγησάμενος ὄψεώς τ´
ἀπάτας, οὐκ ἀληθεῖς βίου καὶ πραγμάτων ὠφελείας,
ἐξ ὧν μακαρισμοὶ τοῖς κατασκευασαμένοις ἠκολούθουν
μόνον, ἐπαίνου δὲ καὶ ζήλου ἄξια τὰ τῆς γνώμης ἔργα
ὑπολαβών, ἧς πλεῖστοί τ´ ἀπολαύουσι καὶ ἐπὶ μήκιστον
χρόνον καρποῦνται τὰς ὠφελείας, πάντων μάλιστα τῶν
τοιούτων ἔργων τὴν Ἀμφικτύονος τοῦ Ἕλληνος ἐπίνοιαν
ἠγάσθη, ὃς ἀσθενὲς ὁρῶν καὶ ῥᾴδιον ὑπὸ τῶν
περιοικούντων βαρβάρων ἐξαναλωθῆναι τὸ Ἑλληνικὸν
γένος, εἰς τὴν ἐπ´ ἐκείνου κληθεῖσαν Ἀμφικτυονικὴν
σύνοδον καὶ πανήγυριν αὐτὸ συνήγαγε, νόμους καταστησάμενος
ἔξω τῶν ἰδίων, ὧν ἑκάστη πόλις εἶχε, τοὺς
κοινοὺς ἅπασιν, οὓς καλοῦσιν Ἀμφικτυονικούς, ἐξ ὧν
φίλοι μὲν ὄντες ἀλλήλοις διετέλουν καὶ τὸ συγγενὲς
φυλάττοντες μᾶλλον ἔργοις ἢ λόγοις, λυπηροὶ δὲ τοῖς
βαρβάροις καὶ φοβεροί. παρ´ οὗ τὸ παράδειγμα λαβόντες
Ἴωνές θ´ οἱ μεταθέμενοι τὴν οἴκησιν ἐκ τῆς
Εὐρώπης εἰς τὰ παραθαλάττια τῆς Καρίας καὶ Δωριεῖς
οἱ περὶ τοὺς αὐτοὺς τόπους τὰς πόλεις ἱδρυσάμενοι
ἱερὰ κατεσκεύασαν ἀπὸ κοινῶν ἀναλωμάτων· Ἴωνες
μὲν ἐν Ἐφέσῳ τὸ τῆς Ἀρτέμιδος, Δωριεῖς δ´ ἐπὶ
Τριοπίῳ τὸ τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος· ἔνθα συνιόντες γυναιξὶν
ὁμοῦ καὶ τέκνοις κατὰ τοὺς ἀποδειχθέντας χρόνους
συνέθυόν τε καὶ συνεπανηγύριζον καὶ ἀγῶνας ἐπετέλουν
ἱππικοὺς καὶ γυμνικοὺς καὶ τῶν περὶ μουσικὴν
ἀκουσμάτων καὶ τοὺς θεοὺς ἀναθήμασι κοινοῖς ἐδωροῦντο.
θεωρήσαντες δὲ καὶ πανηγυρίσαντες καὶ τὰς
ἄλλας φιλοφροσύνας παρ´ ἀλλήλων ἀναλαβόντες, εἴ τι
πρόσκρουσμα πόλει πρὸς πόλιν ἐγεγόνει, δικασταὶ
καθεζόμενοι διῄτων καὶ περὶ τοῦ πρὸς τοὺς βαρβάρους
πολέμου καὶ περὶ τῆς πρὸς ἀλλήλους ὁμοφροσύνης
κοινὰς ἐποιοῦντο βουλάς. ταῦτα δὴ καὶ τὰ ὅμοια τούτοις
παραδείγματα λαβὼν προθυμίαν ἔσχε καὶ αὐτὸς
ἁπάσας τὰς μετεχούσας πόλεις τοῦ Λατίνων γένους
συστῆσαι καὶ συναγαγεῖν, ἵνα μὴ στασιάζουσαι καὶ
πολεμοῦσαι πρὸς ἀλλήλας ὑπὸ τῶν προσοικούντων βαρβάρων
τὴν ἐλευθερίαν ἀφαιρεθῶσι.
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Traduction française :
[4,25] Tullius showed himself a friend to the people, not only in these measures by
which he seemed to lessen the authority of the senate and the power of the
(p351) patricians, but also in those by which he diminished the royal power, of half of
which he deprived himself. For whereas the kings before him had thought proper to
have all causes brought before them and had determined all suits both private and
public as they themselves thought fit, he, making a distinction between public and
private suits, took cognizance himself of all crimes which affected the public, but in
private cases appointed private persons to be judges, prescribing for them as norms
and standards the laws which he himself had established.
When he had arranged affairs in the city in the best manner, he conceived a desire to
perpetuate his memory with posterity by some illustrious enterprise. And upon
turning his attention to the monuments both of ancient kings and statesmen by which
they had gained reputation and glory, he did not envy either that Assyrian woman
for having built the walls of Babylon, or the kings of Egypt for having raised the
pyramids at Memphis, or any other prince for whatever monument he might have
erected as a display of his riches and of the multitude of workmen at his command.
On the contrary, he regarded all these things as trivial and ephemeral and unworthy
of serious attention, mere beguilements for the eyes, but no real aids to the conduct of
life or to the administration of public affairs, since they led to nothing more than a
reputation for great felicity on the part of those who built them. But the things that he
regarded as worthy of praise and emulation were the works of the mind, the
(p353) advantages from which are enjoyed by the greatest number of people and for the
greatest length of time. And of all the achievements of this nature he admired most
the plan of Amphictyon, the son of Hellen, who, seeing the Greek nation weak and
easy to be destroyed by the barbarians who surrounded them, brought them together
in a general council and assemblage of the whole nation, named after him the
Amphictyonic council; and then, apart from the particular laws by which each city
was governed, established others common to all, which they call the Amphictyonic
laws, in consequence of which they lived in mutual friendship, and fulfilling the
obligations of kinship by their actions rather than by their professions, continued
troublesome and formidable neighbours to the barbarians. His example was
followed by the Ionians who, leaving Europe, settled in the maritime parts of Caria,
and also by the Dorians, who built their cities in the same region and erected temples
at the common expense — the Ionians building the temple of Diana at Ephesus and
the Dorians that of Apollo at Triopium — where they assembled with their wives and
children at the appointed times, joined together in sacrificing and celebrating the
festival, engaged in various contests, equestrian, gymnastic and musical, and made
joint offerings to the gods. After they had witnessed the spectacles, celebrated the
festival, and received the (p355) other evidences of goodwill from one another, if any
difference had arisen between one city and another, arbiters sat in judgment and
decided the controversy; and they also consulted together concerning the means both
of carrying on the war against the barbarians and of maintaining their mutual
concord. These and the like examples inspired Tullius also with a desire of bringing
together and uniting all the cities belonging to the Latin race, so that they might not,
as the result of engaging in strife at home and in wars with one another, be deprived
of their liberty by the neighbouring barbarians.
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