Texte grec :
| [6,68] Μετὰ τοῦτον ἀνίσταντο καλούμενοι καθ´
ἡλικίαν οἱ τὴν ὑπατικὴν ἐσχηκότες ἀρχήν, οἷς ἅπασιν
ἐδόκει τῇ Μενηνίου χρῆσθαι γνώμῃ, τέως καθῆκεν ὁ
λόγος εἰς τὸν Ἄππιον. ὁ δ´ ἀναστάς, Ὁρῶ μέν, ἔφησεν, ὅτι
καὶ τοῖς ὑπάτοις ἐστὶ κεχαρισμένον, ὦ βουλή,
καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ὑμῖν ὀλίγου δεῖν πᾶσι κατάγειν τὸν
δῆμον, ἐφ´ οἷς ἂν αὐτὸς ἀξιοῖ· καὶ μόνος ἐξ ἁπάντων
ἐγὼ λείπομαι τῶν ἐναντιωθέντων πρὸς τὰς διαλύσεις
ἐκείνοις τ´ ἀπεχθὴς διαμένων καὶ ὑμῖν οὐδὲν ἔτι χρήσιμος
ὤν. οὐ μὴν διὰ ταῦτά γ´ ἀποστήσομαι τῶν ἐξ
ἀρχῆς ἐγνωσμένων οὐδὲ καταλείψω τὴν τάξιν τῆς πολιτείας
ἑκών. ὅσῳ δ´ ἂν ἐρημότερος γένωμαι τῶν τὰ
αὐτά μοι προελομένων, τοσούτῳ τιμιώτερος ὑμῖν ἔσομαί
ποτ´ ἐν χρόνῳ, καὶ περιέσται μοι ζῶντι μὲν ἔπαινος,
τελευτήσαντι δ´ ἡ παρὰ τῶν ἐπιγινομένων μνήμη. εἴη
μὲν οὖν, ὦ Καπετώλιε Ζεῦ καὶ θεοὶ πόλεως ἐπίσκοποι
τῆς ἡμετέρας ἥρωές τε καὶ δαίμονες, ὅσοι γῆν τὴν
Ῥωμαίων ἐφορᾶτε, καλὴ καὶ συμφέρουσα πᾶσιν ἡ τῶν
φυγάδων κάθοδος, καὶ ψευσθείην ἐγὼ τῶν ἐλπίδων,
ἃς ὑπὲρ τοῦ μέλλοντος ἔχω χρόνου. ἐὰν δέ τι δεινὸν
ἐκ τούτων καταλάβῃ τῶν βουλευμάτων τὴν πόλιν· ἔσται
δὲ τοῦτο φανερὸν οὐκ εἰς μακράν· τούτοις μὲν ταχεῖαν
ἐπανόρθωσιν αὐτοὶ δοίητε καὶ σωτηρίαν τοῖς πράγμασιν
ἀσφαλῆ, ἐμοὶ δ´, ὃς οὔτ´ ἐν ἄλλῳ καιρῷ πώποτε
τὰ ἥδιστα εἱλόμην λέγειν ἀντὶ τῶν ὠφελιμωτάτων οὔτε
νῦν προδίδωμι τὸ κοινὸν ἰδίαν καταπραττόμενος ἀσφάλειαν,
εὐμενεῖς εἴητε καὶ μειλίχιοι. θεοῖς μὲν δὴ ταῦτα
εὔχομαι, λόγων γὰρ οὐδὲν ἔτι δεῖ· γνώμην δ´, ἣν
καὶ πρότερον ἀποφαίνομαι, τοὺς μὲν ἐν τῇ πόλει
διαμένοντας τῶν δημοτικῶν ἀφίεσθαι χρεῶν, τοῖς δ´
ἀποστάταις πολεμεῖν ἁπάσῃ προθυμίᾳ, τέως ἂν ἔτι
διαμένωσιν ἐν τοῖς ὅπλοις.
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Traduction française :
| [6,68] After him the others who had held the office of consul, being called upon
according to their age, rose up and all favoured adopting the opinion of Menenius, till
it came to the turn of Appius to speak. He, rising up, said: "I see, senators, that it is
the pleasure both of the consuls and of almost (p57) all the rest of you to bring back the
people upon their own terms; and I alone am left of all those who opposed the
accommodation, with the result that I continue to be hated by them and at the same
time am no longer of any use to you. Nevertheless, I shall not on this account depart
from my former opinion nor willingly desert my post as a citizen; but the more I am
abandoned by those who formerly espoused the same sentiments, the more I shall
one day be esteemed by you; while I live, I shall be praised by you, and when I am
dead, I shall be remembered by posterity. But do thou, Jupiter Capitolinus, and ye
guardian gods of our city, ye heroes and divinities who keep watch over the land of
the Romans, grant that the return of the fugitives may be honourable and
advantageous to all, and that I may be mistaken in my forebodings regarding the
future. But if any misfortune should come upon the commonwealth as a result of
these measures — and this will soon be manifest — may ye yourselves speedily correct
them and grant safety and security to the commonwealth! And to me, who neither
upon any other occasion ever chose to say the things that were most agreeable instead
of those that were most profitable, nor am now betraying the state while securing my
own safety, may ye be favourable and propitious! These are the prayers I address to
the gods; for speeches are of no further use. The opinion I express is the same as
before, namely, to relieve of their debts the people who remain in the city, but to
make war upon the seceders with the utmost vigour as long as they remain in arms."
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