Texte grec :
| [6,92] Καταλιπὼν δὲ κἂν ταύτῃ βραχεῖαν τῆς
στρατιᾶς μοῖραν ἕνεκα φυλακῆς, τῇ κατόπιν ἡμέρᾳ
τὴν δύναμιν ἀναλαβὼν προῆγεν ἐπὶ Κοριόλαν, πόλιν
ἐπιφανῆ σφόδρα καὶ ὥσπερ ἂν μητρόπολιν τῶν
Οὐολούσκων· ἔνθα καὶ δύναμις ἦν συνειλεγμένη καρτερὰ
καὶ τὸ τεῖχος οὐ ῥᾴδιον ἁλῶναι τά τε πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον
ἐπιτήδεια παρεσκευασμένα τοῖς ἔνδον ἐκ πολλοῦ.
ἐπιχειρήσας δὲ τῇ τειχομαχίᾳ μέχρι δείλης ὀψίας
ἀποκρούεται πρὸς τῶν ἐναντίων πολλοὺς τῶν οἰκείων
ἀπολέσας. τῇ δ´ ἑξῆς ἡμέρᾳ κριούς τε καὶ γέρρα καὶ κλίμακας
εὐτρεπισάμενος παρεσκευάζετο μὲν ὡς ἁπάσῃ
τῇ δυνάμει πειρασόμενος τῆς πόλεως, ἀκούσας δ´ ὅτι
πολλῇ χειρὶ μέλλουσιν Ἀντιάται βοηθεῖν τοῖς Κοριολανοῖς
κατὰ τὸ συγγενὲς καὶ εἰσὶν οἱ πεμφθέντες ἐν
ὁδῷ ἤδη, μερίσας τὸν ἑαυτοῦ στρατὸν τῷ μὲν ἡμίσει
τειχομαχεῖν ἔγνω Τῖτον Λάρκιον ἐπ´ αὐτοῦ καταλιπών,
τῷ δὲ λοιπῷ κωλύειν τοὺς ἐπιόντας διενοεῖτο. καὶ
γίνονται δύο τῆς αὐτῆς ἡμέρας ἀγῶνες· Ῥωμαῖοι δ´
ἐνίκων ἁπάντων μὲν προθύμως ἀγωνισαμένων, ἑνὸς
δ´ ἀνδρὸς ἄπιστον ἀρετὴν καὶ παντὸς λόγου κρείττονας
ἀποδειξαμένου πράξεις, ὃς ἦν μὲν ἐκ τοῦ γένους τῶν
πατρικίων καὶ οὐκ ἀσήμων πατέρων, ἐκαλεῖτο δὲ Γάιος
Μάρκιος, σώφρων δὲ τὸν καθ´ ἡμέραν βίον ἀνὴρ καὶ
φρονήματος ἐλευθέρου μεστός. ἐγένετο δ´ ὁ τρόπος
τῆς ἑκατέρας μάχης τοιόσδε· ὁ μὲν Λάρκιος ἐξαγαγὼν
τὴν στρατιὰν ἅμ´ ἡμέρᾳ προσῆγε τοῖς τείχεσι τῆς Κοριόλας
καὶ κατὰ πολλοὺς τόπους ἐποιεῖτο τὰς προσβολάς·
οἱ δὲ Κοριολάνοι μέγα φρονοῦντες ἐπὶ τῇ παρὰ
τῶν Ἀντιατῶν βοηθείᾳ, ἣν οὐ διὰ μακροῦ σφίσι παρέσεσθαι
ἐπίστευον, ἀνοίξαντες ἁπάσας τὰς πύλας ὥρμησαν ἐπὶ τοὺς
πολεμίους ἀθρόοι. Ῥωμαῖοι δὲ τὴν
μὲν πρώτην ἔφοδον αὐτῶν ἐδέξαντο καὶ πολλὰς πληγὰς τοῖς
ὁμόσε χωροῦσιν ἔδοσαν, ἔπειτα πλειόνων
ἐπιόντων ὠθούμενοι κατὰ πρανοῦς χωρίου ἐνέκλιναν.
τοῦτο κατιδὼν ὁ Μάρκιος, ὑπὲρ οὗ πρότερον ἔφην,
ἵσταται σὺν ὀλίγοις καὶ δέχεται τὸ ἐπιφερόμενον τῶν
πολεμίων στῖφος· καταβαλὼν δὲ συχνοὺς αὐτῶν, ὡς
ἐνέκλιναν οἱ λοιποὶ καὶ πρὸς τὴν πόλιν ἔφευγον, ἠκολούθει
κτείνων ἀεὶ τοὺς ἐν χερσὶ καὶ ἐπικελευόμενος
τοῖς φεύγουσι τῶν σφετέρων ἀναστρέφειν τε καὶ θαρρεῖν καὶ
αὑτῷ ἕπεσθαι. οἱ δ´ αἰδεσθέντες ἐπὶ τῷ ἔργῳ
ἀνέστρεφον αὖθις καὶ τοῖς καθ´ ἑαυτοὺς ἐπέκειντο παίοντες
καὶ διώκοντες, καὶ δι´ ὀλίγου χρόνου τοὺς συμπλακέντας
ἕκαστοι τρεψάμενοι προσέκειντο τοῖς τείχεσι· καὶ
ὁ Μάρκιος θρασύτερον ἤδη κινδυνεύων προσωτέρω
μᾶλλον ἐχώρει καὶ πρὸς αὐταῖς γενόμενος ταῖς πύλαις
συνεισέπιπτε τοῖς φεύγουσιν εἰς τὸ τεῖχος. συνεισπεσόντων
δ´ αὐτῷ καὶ ἄλλων συχνῶν κατὰ πολλὰ
μέρη τῆς πόλεως φόνος ἐγίνετο ἐξ ἀμφοῖν πολύς· τῶν
μὲν ἀνὰ τοὺς στενωπούς, τῶν δὲ περὶ ταῖς ἁλισκομέναις
οἰκίαις μαχομένων. συνελάμβανον δὲ τοῦ ἔργου
τοῖς ἔνδον καὶ γυναῖκες ἀπὸ τῶν τεγῶν βάλλουσαι
τοὺς πολεμίους τοῖς καλυπτῆρσι, καὶ καθ´ ὅσον ἑκάστῳ
τις ἰσχὺς καὶ δύναμις ἦν προθύμως ἐβοήθουν τῇ πατρίδι. οὐ
μέντοι ἐπὶ πολύν γε χρόνον τοῖς δεινοῖς
ἀντεῖχον, ἀλλ´ ἠναγκάσθησαν παραδιδόναι σφᾶς αὐτοὺς
τοῖς κεκρατηκόσι. τοῦτον δὲ τὸν τρόπον ἁλούσης τῆς
πόλεως οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι Ῥωμαῖοι πρὸς ἁρπαγὴν τῶν
ἐγκαταληφθέντων ἐτράποντο καὶ μέχρι πολλοῦ διετέλουν
προσκείμενοι ταῖς ὠφελείαις χρημάτων τε πολλῶν
ὑπαρχόντων ἐν τῷ χωρίῳ καὶ ἀνδραπόδων,
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Traduction française :
| [6,92] He left in this city also a small part of the army as a garrison, and the next day
marched with the rest to Corioli, a city of very great note and the mother-city, so to
speak, of the Volscians. Here a strong force had been assembled, the walls were not
easy to be taken, and everything necessary for war had been prepared long before by
the inhabitants. The consul undertook to storm the walls and persisted in his efforts
till late in the afternoon, but was (p129) repulsed by the enemy after he had lost many of
his men. The next day he got ready battering rams, mantlets, and scaling-ladders
and was preparing to make an attempt against the city with his entire forces; but
learning that the Antiates were planning to come with a large force to the assistance
of the Coriolani because of their kinship with them, and that those chosen to make
the expedition were already upon the march, he divided his army and determined to
continue the assault on the city with one half of it, leaving Titus Larcius in command,
with the other half to stop the advance of the approaching force. Thus two actions
took place on the same day, and the Romans gained the victory in both, as all of them
fought with great ardour and one man in particular displayed incredible bravery and
performed deeds that beggar description. This man was of patrician rank and of no
obscure lineage, Gaius Marcius by name; he was sober and restrained in his private
life and had the spirit of a freeman in full measure. The circumstances of the two
actions were as follows: Larcius, having marched out of the camp with his army at
break of day, advanced to the walls of Corioli and assault the city in many places. The
Coriolani, for their part, elated by their expectation of aid from the Antiates, which
they were convinced would son reach them, opened all their gates and made a general
sally against the enemy. The Romans sustained their first attack and wounded many
of those who engaged them, but later, as the number of the assailants increased, they
were forced down hill and gave way. Marcius, whom I mentioned before, upon seeing
this, stood his ground with a few followers and awaited the solid mass of the enemy
(p131) as they attacked. When he had struck down many of them and the rest gave way
and fled toward the city, he followed, slaying, one after another, all who came within
reach, and calling out without intermission to those of his own men who fled to face
about, to take courage, and to follow him. These, ashamed of their behaviour, rallied
and pressed hard upon their opponents, smiting and pursuing them; and in a short
time they had all routed their antagonists and were attacking the walls of the city.
Marcius, exposing himself now with greater boldness, kept advancing farther and
farther, and coming to the very gates, entered along with those who were fleeing
inside the walls. And when many others also forced their way inside with him, there
ensued a great slaughter on both sides in many parts of the city, some fighting in the
streets and others in defence of the houses that were being taken. Even women
assisted the inhabitants in their struggle by hurling down tiles upon the enemy from
the roofs; and everyone according to his strength and power bravely defended his
native city. However, they did not hold out long against these perils, but were obliged
to surrender to the conquers. The city having been taken in this manner, most of the
Romans turned to plundering the property found there, and continued for a long time
intent on the booty, as there was a large quantity of money and a great number of
slaves in the place.
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