Texte grec :
| [6,28] Ταῦθ´ ὁρῶντες οἱ βουλευταὶ τὸν ἕτερον
τῶν ὑπάτων Σερουίλιον, ὃς ἐν τῷ παρόντι πιθανώτερος εἶναι
τοῖς πολλοῖς ἐδόκει, βοηθεῖν ἐδέοντο τῇ πατρίδι. ὁ δὲ
συγκαλέσας τὸν δῆμον εἰς τὴν ἀγορὰν
τοῦ παρόντος καιροῦ τὴν ἀνάγκην ἐπεδείκνυεν οὐκέτι
προσδεχομένην πολιτικὰς φιλονεικίας καὶ ἠξίου νῦν
μὲν ὁμόσε τοῖς πολεμίοις χωρεῖν κοινῇ γνώμῃ χρησαμένους
καὶ μὴ περιιδεῖν ἀνάστατον τὴν πατρίδα γινομένην, ἐν ᾗ θεοὶ
πατρῷοι καὶ θῆκαι προγόνων ἑκάστοις
ἦσαν, ἃ τιμιώτατά ἐστι πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις· γονέων τε
αἰδῶ λαβεῖν οὐχ ἱκανῶν ἐσομένων ἑαυτοῖς διὰ γῆρας
ἀμύνειν, καὶ γυναικῶν ἔλεον ἃς αὐτίκα μάλα δεινὰς
καὶ ἀφορήτους ὕβρεις ἀναγκασθησομένας ὑπομενεῖν,
μάλιστα δὲ παίδων ἔτι νηπίων οὐκ ἐπὶ τοιαύταις ἐλπίσιν
ἀνατραφέντων οἰκτεῖραι λώβας καὶ προπηλακισμοὺς
ἀνηλεεῖς· ὅταν δὲ τὸν παρόντα κίνδυνον ἅπαντες
ὁμοίαις προθυμίαις χρησάμενοι παραλύσωνται, τότε δὴ
σκοπεῖν, τίνα τρόπον ἴσην καὶ κοινὴν καὶ σωτήριον
ἅπασι τὴν πολιτείαν καταστήσονται, μήτε τῶν πενήτων
ἐπιβουλευόντων ταῖς τῶν πλουσίων οὐσίαις μήτ´
ἐκείνων προπηλακιζόντων τοὺς ταῖς τύχαις ταπεινοτέρους·
ἥκιστα γὰρ εἶναι ταῦτα πολιτικά· ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς
ἀπόροις ἐπικουρία τις ἔσται πολιτική, καὶ τοῖς συμβάλλουσι
τὰ χρέα βοήθεια μετρία τοῖς γοῦν ἀδικουμένοις, καὶ τὸ
κράτιστον τῶν ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἀγαθῶν
καὶ πάσας φυλάττον ἐν ὁμονοίᾳ τὰς πόλεις, πίστις ἐπὶ
συναλλαγαῖς, οὐχ ἅπασα καὶ διὰ παντὸς ἐκ μόνης
ἀναιρεθήσεται τῆς Ῥωμαίων πόλεως. Ταῦτα καὶ ὅσα
ἄλλα ἐν τοιούτῳ καιρῷ λεχθῆναι προσῆκε διεξελθὼν
τελευτῶν ὑπὲρ τῆς ἰδίας εὐνοίας, ἣν ἔχων διετέλει
πρὸς τὸν δῆμον, ἀπελογεῖτο, καὶ ἠξίου συνάρασθαι
τῆς στρατείας αὐτῷ ταύτης, ἀνθ´ ὧν πρόθυμος εἰς
αὐτοὺς ἦν, τῆς μὲν κατὰ πόλιν ἐπιμελείας τῷ συνάρχοντι
προσηκούσης, ἑαυτῷ δὲ τῆς ἡγεμονίας τῶν πολέμων
ἀποδεδομένης· ταύτας γὰρ τὰς τύχας αὐτοῖς βραβεῦσαι τὸν
κλῆρον. ὑπεσχῆσθαι δ´ αὑτῷ ἔφη τὴν
βουλὴν ἐμπεδώσειν, ὅ τι ἂν διομολογήσηται τῷ πλήθει,
αὑτὸν δ´ ἐκείνοις, πείσειν τοὺς δημότας μὴ προδώσειν
τοῖς πολεμίοις τὴν πατρίδα.
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Traduction française :
| [6,28] The senators, seeing these things, begged of the other consul, Servilius, who
seemed in the present juncture to have greater credit with the multitude, to come to
the aid of the country. And he, calling the people together in the Forum, showed them
that the urgency of the moment no longer admitted of quarrels among the citizens,
and he asked them for the time being to march against the enemy with united
purpose and not to view with indifference the overthrow of their country, in which
were the gods of their fathers and the sepulchres of each man's ancestors, both of
which are most precious in the eyes of all men; he begged them to show respect for
their parents, who would be unable because of age to defend themselves, to have pity
on their wives, who would soon be forced to submit to dreadful and intolerable
outrages, and especially to show compassion for their infant children, who, after
being reared for very different expectations, would be exposed to pitiless insults and
abuses. And when by a common effort they had averted the present danger,
(p325) then would be the time, he said, to consider in what manner they should make
their government fair, impartial and salutary to all, one in which neither the poor
would plot against the possessions of the rich nor the latter insult those in humbler
circumstances — for such behaviour was anything but becoming to citizens — but in
which not only the needy should receive some assistance from the state, but the
money-lenders too, at least those who were suffering injustice, should receive
moderate relief, and thus the greatest of human blessings and the preserver of
harmony in all states, good faith in the observance of contracts, would not be
destroyed totally and forever in Rome alone. After saying this and everything else
that the occasion required, he spoke finally in his own behalf, about the goodwill
which he had ever shown toward the people, and asked them to serve with him in this
expedition in return for his zeal in their behalf; for the oversight of the city had been
entrusted to his colleague and the command in war conferred upon himself, these
duties having been determined for them by lot. He said also that the senate had
promised him to confirm whatever agreements he should make with the people, and
that he had promised the senate to persuade the people not to betray their country to
the enemy.
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