Texte grec :
| [6,8] Εἰ δέ τινες ὑμῶν ταῦτα μὲν ὀρθῶς εἰρῆσθαι
νομίζουσιν, ὀρρωδοῦσι δὲ τὸ τῶν ἀντιπολεμίων
πλῆθος, βραχείᾳ διδαχῇ μαθέτωσαν τὰ μὴ δεινὰ δεδιότες,
μᾶλλον δ´ ἀναμνήσει· πρῶτον μὲν ἐνθυμηθέντες,
ὅτι πλεῖόν ἐστιν ἐν αὐτοῖς τὸ ἠναγκασμένον
τὰ ὅπλα καθ´ ἡμῶν ἀναλαβεῖν, ὡς ἐκ πολλῶν ἡμῖν
ἔργων τε καὶ λόγων ἐδήλωσε, τὸ δ´ ἑκούσιόν τε καὶ
ἐκ προθυμίας ὑπὲρ τῶν τυράννων ἀγωνιζόμενον πάνυ
ὀλίγον, μᾶλλον δὲ πολλοστὸν μέρος τι τοῦ ἡμετέρου·
ἔπειθ´ ὅτι τοὺς πολέμους ἅπαντας οὐχ οἱ πλείους τοῖς
ἀριθμοῖς κατορθοῦσιν, ἀλλ´ οἱ κρείττους ἀρετῇ. πολὺ
ἂν ἔργον εἴη παραδείγματα φέρειν, ὅσα βαρβάρων τε
καὶ Ἑλλήνων στρατεύματα ὑπερβαλόντα πλήθει μικραὶ
πάνυ κατηγωνίσαντο δυνάμεις, οὕτως ὥστε μηδὲ πιστοὺς
εἶναι τοῖς πολλοῖς τοὺς περὶ αὐτῶν λόγους. ἐῶ
τἆλλα· ἀλλ´ ὑμεῖς αὐτοὶ πόσους κατωρθώκατε πολέμους
μετ´ ἐλάττονος ἢ ὅσης νῦν ἔχετε δυνάμεως μείζοσιν ἢ
τοσαύταις παρασκευαῖς πολεμίων ἀντιταχθέντες; φέρε, ἀλλὰ
τοῖς μὲν ἄλλοις φοβεροὶ διατελεῖτε
ὄντες ὧν ἐκρατεῖτε μαχόμενοι, Λατίνοις δ´ ἄρα τούτοις
καὶ τοῖς συμμάχοις αὐτῶν Οὐολούσκοις εὐκαταφρόνητοι, διὰ
τὸ μὴ πειραθῆναί ποτε αὐτοὺς τῆς ὑμετέρας
μάχης; ἀλλὰ πάντες ἴστε, ὅτι ταῦτ´ ἀμφότερα τὰ ἔθνη
πολλαῖς ἐνίκων μάχαις οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν. ἆρ´ οὖν
λόγον ἔχει τὰ μὲν τῶν κρατηθέντων πράγματα ἐπὶ
ταῖς τοιαύταις συμφοραῖς κρείττονα εἶναι, τὰ δὲ τῶν
κεκρατηκότων ἐπὶ ταῖς τηλικαύταις εὐπραγίαις χείρονα;
καὶ τίς ἂν τοῦτο φήσειε νοῦν ἔχων; θαυμάσαιμι δ´
ἄν, εἴ τις ὑμῶν τὸ μὲν τῶν πολεμίων πλῆθος, ἐν ᾧ
βραχὺ τὸ γενναῖόν ἐστιν, ὀρρωδεῖ, τῆς δ´ οἰκείας δυνάμεως
οὕτω πολλῆς καὶ ἀγαθῆς οὔσης καταφρονεῖ,
ἧς οὔτ´ ἀρετῇ κρείττων οὔτ´ ἀριθμῷ πλείων συνηνέχθη
ποτὲ ἡμῖν ἐν οὐδενὶ τῶν πρὸ τούτου πολέμων δύναμις.
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Traduction française :
| [6,8] "But if any of you, though convinced of the reasonableness of what I have said,
nevertheless fear the numbers of the enemy, let them learn by a few words of
instruction, or rather from their own memory, that what they dread is not formidable.
Let them consider, in the first place, that the greater part of our enemies have been
forced to take up arms against us, as they have often shown us by both actions and
words, and that the number of those who willingly and eagerly fight for the tyrants is
very small, in fact only an insignificant fraction of ours; and secondly, that all wars
are won, not by the forces which are larger in numbers, but by those which are
superior in valour. It would tedious to cite as examples all the armies of the Greeks
as well as barbarians which, though superior in numbers, were overcome by forces so
very small that the reports about the numbers engaged are not even credible to most
people. But, to omit other instances, how many wars have you yourselves won, with a
smaller force than you now have, when arrayed against enemies more numerous than
all these the enemy have now got together? Well, then, can it be that, though you
indeed continue to be formidable to those whom you have repeatedly overcome in
battle, you are nevertheless contemptible in the eyes of these Latins and their allies,
the Volscians, because they have never experienced your prowess in battle? But you
(p263) all knew that our fathers conquered both of these nations in many battles. Is it
reasonable, then, to suppose that the condition of the conquered has been improved
after so many disasters and that of the conquerors impaired after so many successes?
What man in his senses would say so? I should indeed be surprised if any of you
feared the numbers of the enemy, in which there are few brave men, or scorned your
own army, which is so numerous and so brave that none exceeding it either in
courage or in numbers was ever assembled in any of our former wars.
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