Texte grec :
| [6,47] Τοῖς δὲ πατρικίοις ἐν μὲν τῷ παραυτίκα
ταραχὴ ἐνέπεσε πολλὴ καὶ ἔκπληξις, καὶ ὡς αὐτίκα δὴ
μάλα τῶν ἀποστατῶν ἅμα τοῖς ἀλλοεθνέσι πολεμίοις
ἐπὶ τὴν πόλιν ἡξόντων δέος. ἔπειθ´ ὡς ἐξ ἑνὸς
παρακελεύσματος ἁρπάσαντες τὰ ὅπλα σὺν τοῖς οἰκείοις
ἕκαστοι πελάταις, οἱ μὲν ἐπὶ τὰς ὁδοὺς ἃς ἥξειν ἐνόμιζον
τοὺς πολεμίους παρεβοήθουν, οἱ δ´ ἐπὶ τὰ φρούρια φυλακῆς
ἕνεκα τῶν ἐρυμάτων ἐξῄεσαν, οἱ δ´ ἐν
τοῖς προκειμένοις τῆς πόλεως πεδίοις ἐστρατοπεδεύοντο·
ὅσοι δὲ διὰ γῆρας ἀδύνατοι τούτων τι δρᾶν ἦσαν ἐπὶ
τοῖς τείχεσιν ἐτάξαντο. ἐπεὶ δὲ τοὺς ἀποστάτας κατέμαθον
οὔτε τοῖς πολεμίοις προστιθεμένους οὔτε τὴν
χώραν δῃοῦντας οὔτε ἄλλο βλάπτοντας οὐδὲν ὅ τι καὶ
λόγου ἄξιον, τοῦ δέους ἐπαύσαντο· καὶ μεταθέμενοι
τὰς γνώμας, ἐφ´ οἷστε διαλλαγήσονται πρὸς αὐτούς,
ἐσκόπουν· καὶ ἐλέχθησαν ὑπὸ τῶν ἡγουμένων τοῦ
συνεδρίου λόγοι παντοδαποὶ καὶ πλεῖστον ἀλλήλων
διάφοροι, μετριώτατοι δὲ καὶ πρεπωδέστατοι ταῖς
παρούσαις τύχαις, οὓς οἱ πρεσβύτατοι αὐτῶν ἔλεξαν
διδάσκοντες, ὡς οὐδεμᾷ κακίᾳ πεποίηται τὴν ἀπόστασιν
ἀπ´ αὐτῶν ὁ δῆμος, ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀναγκαίων
συμφορῶν βιασθείς, τὰ δ´ ὑπὸ τῶν συμβούλων ἐξηπατημένος,
ὀργῇ δὲ μᾶλλον ἢ λογισμῷ τὰ συμφέροντα
κρίνων, οἷα ἐν ἀμαθεῖ πλήθει γίγνεσθαι φιλεῖ·
ἔπειθ´ ὅτι συνοίδασιν αὑτοῖς κακῶς βεβουλευμένοις οἱ
πλείους καὶ ζητοῦσιν ἀναλύσασθαι τὰς ἁμαρτίας
εὐσχήμονας ἀφορμὰς λαμβάνοντες· τὰ γοῦν ἔργα δρῶσιν
ἤδη μετεγνωκότων, καὶ εἰ λάβοιεν ἐλπίδα χρηστὴν
περὶ τοῦ μέλλοντος χρόνου, ψηφισαμένης αὐτοῖς ἄδειαν
τῆς βουλῆς καὶ διαλλαγὰς ποιησαμένης εὐπρεπεῖς,
ἀγαπητῶς τὰ σφέτερα δέξονται. ἠξίουν τε ταῦτα
παραινοῦντες μὴ χείρους ὀργὴν εἶναι τῶν κακιόνων τοὺς
κρείττονας, μηδ´ εἰς ἐκεῖνον ἀναβάλλεσθαι τὸν χρόνον
τὰς διαλλαγάς, ὅτε ἢ νοῦν ἔχειν ἀναγκασθήσεται τὸ
ἀνόητον, ἢ τῷ μείζονι κακῷ τοὔλαττον ἰᾶσθαι ὅπλων
παραδόσει καὶ σωμάτων ἐπιτροπῇ τὴν ἐλευθερίαν
ἀφαιρεθὲν αὐτὸ ὑφ´ ἑαυτοῦ· ταῦτα γὰρ ἐγγὺς εἶναι τοῦ
ἀδυνάτου· μετρίως δὲ χρησαμένους ἀρχηγοὺς τῶν
συμφερόντων βουλευμάτων γενέσθαι καὶ προτέρους ἐκείνων
ἐπὶ τὰς διαλλαγὰς χωρεῖν ἐνθυμουμένους, ὅτι τὸ
μὲν ἄρχειν καὶ ἐπιτροπεύειν τοῖς πατρικίοις ὑπάρχει,
φιλότητος δὲ καὶ εἰρήνης - - - τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς. τὸ
δ´ ἀξίωμα τῆς βουλῆς οὐκ ἐν τῷδε μάλιστα ἐλαττώσεσθαι
ἀπέφαινον, ἐν ᾧ μάλιστα τὰς ἀναγκαίας συμφορὰς
γενναίως φέροντες ἀσφαλῶς πολιτεύσουσιν, ἀλλ´
ἐν ᾧ δυσοργήτως ταῖς τύχαις ὁμιλοῦντες ἀνατρέψουσι
τὸ κοινόν. ἀνοίας δ´ ἔργον εἶναι τῆς εὐπρεπείας ὀρεγομένους
τῆς ἀσφαλείας ὑπερορᾶν· ἀγαπητὸν μὲν γὰρ
ἀμφοῖν τυγχάνειν, εἰ δ´ ἐξείργοιτό τις θατέρου, τὰ
σωτήρια τῶν εὐπρεπεστέρων νομιστέα ἀναγκαιότερα.
τέλος δ´ ἦν τῶν ταῦτα παραινούντων, πρέσβεις ἀποστέλλειν
τοὺς διαλεξομένους τοῖς ἀφεστηκόσι περὶ φιλίας, ὡς οὐδὲν
αὐτοῖς ἡμάρτηται ἀνήκεστον.
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Traduction française :
| [6,47] At first great confusion and consternation fell upon the patricians, who feared
that the seceders would at once come against the city together with the foreign
enemies. Then, as if at a single signal, snatching up arms and attended each by his
own clients, some went to defend the roads by which they expected the enemy would
approach, others marched out to the fortresses in order to secure them, while still
others encamped on the plains before the city; (p377) and those who by reason of age
were unable to anything of the kind took their places upon the walls. But when they
heard that the seceders were neither joining the enemy, laying waste the country, nor
doing any other mischief worth speaking of, they gave up their fear, and changing
their minds, proceeded to consider upon what terms they might come to an
agreement with them. And speeches of every kind, directly opposed to one another,
were made by the leading men of the se; but the most moderate speeches and those
most suitable to the existing situation were delivered by the oldest senators, who
showed that the people had not made this secession from them with any malicious
intent, but partly compelled by irresistible calamities and partly deluded by their
advises, and judging of their interest by passion rather than reason, as is wont to
happen with an ignorant populace; and furthermore, that the greater part of them
were conscious of having been ill advised and were seeking an opportunity of
redeeming their offences if they could find plausible excuses for doing so. At any rate
their actions were those of men who had already repented, and if they should be given
good hope for the future by a vote of the senate granting them impunity and offering
an honourable accommodation, they would cheerfully take back what was their own.
In urging this course they demanded that men of superior worth should not be more
implacable than their inferiors, nor defer an accommodation till the senseless crowd
should be either brought to their (p379) senses by necessity or induced by it to cure a
smaller evil by a greater, in depriving themselves of liberty as the result of delivering
up their arms and surrendering their persons at discretion; for these things were next
to impossible. But by treating the people with moderation they ought to set the
example of salutary counsels, and to anticipate the others in proposing an
accommodation, bearing in mind that while governing and administering the state
was the duty of the patricians, the promoting of friendship and peace was the part of
good men. They declared that the prestige of the senate would be most diminished,
not by a policy of administering the government safely while bearing nobly the
calamities that were unavoidable, but by a policy whereby, in showing resentment
toward the vicissitudes of fortune, they would overthrow the commonwealth. It was
the part of folly, while aiming at appearances, to neglect security; it was desirable of
course, to obtain both, but if one must do without either, safety ought to be regarded
as more necessary than appearances. The final proposal of those who gave these
advice was that ambassadors should be sent to the seceders to treat of peace, since
they had been guilty of no irreparable mischief.
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