Texte grec :
| [7,14] Ἐγένετο δ´ οὐδὲν τῶν ἐκ λογισμοῦ τοῖς
πατρικίοις κατὰ γοῦν τὴν ἐλπίδα λωφήσειν τὴν στάσιν,
ἀλλ´ οἱ περιλειφθέντες ἔτι χείρους ταῖς ὀργαῖς ἦσαν
καὶ πολλῇ τῇ καταβοῇ τῶν βουλευτῶν ἐχρῶντο κατά
τε συστροφὰς καὶ ἑταιρίας, ὀλίγοι μὲν συνιόντες τὸ
πρῶτον, ἔπειτ´ ἀθρόοι συντονωτέρας ἤδη γινομένης
τῆς ἀπορίας καὶ συνδραμόντες εἰς τὴν ἀγορὰν τοὺς
δημάρχους ἐβόων. συναχθείσης δ´ ὑπ´ αὐτῶν ἐκκλησίας
παρελθὼν Σπόριος Σικίνιος, ὃς ἦν τοῦ ἀρχείου
τότε ἡγεμών, αὐτός τε πολὺς ἔρρει κατὰ τῆς βουλῆς
αὔξων ὡς μάλιστ´ ἐνῆν τὸν κατ´ αὐτῆς φθόνον, καὶ
τοὺς ἄλλους ἠξίου λέγειν ἃ φρονοῦσιν εἰς τὸ κοινόν,
μάλιστα δὲ τὸν Σικίνιον καὶ τὸν Βροῦτον ἀγορανόμους τότ´ ὄντας
ἀνακαλῶν ἑκάτερον ἐξ ὀνόματος, οἳ
καὶ τῆς πρώτης ἀποστάσεως τῷ δήμῳ ἦρξαν, καὶ τὴν
δημαρχικὴν ἐξουσίαν εἰσηγησάμενοι πρῶτοι αὐτῆς ἔτυχον.
παρελθόντες δ´ οὗτοι τοὺς κακοηθεστάτους τῶν
λόγων ἐκ πολλοῦ παρεσκευασμένοι διεξῄεσαν, ἃ τοῖς
πολλοῖς ἀκούειν ἦν βουλομένοις, ὡς ἐκ προνοίας τε
καὶ ἐπιβουλῆς ὑπὸ τῶν πλουσίων γένοιθ´ ἡ περὶ τὸν
σῖτον ἀπορία, ἐπειδὴ τὴν ἐλευθερίαν ἀκόντων ἐκείνων
ὁ δῆμος ἐκ τῆς ἀποστάσεως εὕρετο. ἰσομοιρεῖν τ´ οὐδὲ
κατὰ μικρὸν ἀπέφαινον τῆς συμφορᾶς τοῖς πένησι τοὺς
εὐπόρους· ἐκείνοις μὲν γὰρ εἶναι καὶ τροφὰς ἐν ἀφανεῖ
ἀποκειμένας καὶ χρήματα, οἷς ὠνούμενοι τὰς ἐπεισάκτους
ἀγορὰς ἐν πολλῇ ὑπεροψίᾳ ἦσαν τοῦ κακοῦ, τοῖς
δὲ δημόταις ἀμφότερα ταῦτ´ ἀπόρως ἔχειν· τήν τ´ ἀποστολὴν τῶν
κληρούχων, ἣν ἐποιήσαντο εἰς νοσερὰ χωρία,
ἐκβολὴν ἀποφαίνοντες εἰς προφανῆ καὶ μακρῷ χείρονα
ὄλεθρον, αὔξοντες ὡς μάλιστα δυνατοὶ ἦσαν τῷ λόγῳ
τὰ δεινά, καὶ τί πέρας ἔσται τῶν κακῶν ἀξιοῦντες
μαθεῖν, ὑπομιμνήσκοντές τε τῶν παλαιῶν αὐτοὺς αἰκισμῶν, οἷς
ὑπὸ τῶν πλουσίων ἔτυχον αἰκισθέντες, καὶ
τἆλλα τὰ ὅμοια τούτοις κατὰ πολλὴν ἄδειαν διεξιόντες.
τελευτῶν δ´ ὁ Βροῦτος εἰς ἀπειλήν τινα τοιάνδε κατέκλεισε τὸν
λόγον, ὡς εἰ βουληθεῖεν αὐτῷ πείθεσθαι
διὰ ταχέων προσαναγκάσων τοὺς ἐκκαύσαντας τὸ δεινὸν καὶ
κατασβέσαι. ἡ μὲν δὴ ἐκκλησία διελύετο.
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Traduction française :
| [7,14] But nothing turned out according to the calculations of the patricians, insofar at
least as their hope of appeasing the sedition was concerned; on the contrary, the
people who were left at home were now more exasperated than before and clamoured
violently against the senators in their groups and clubs. They met in small numbers at
first, but afterwards, as the dearth became more severe, they assembled in a body,
and rushing all together into the Forum, cried out for the tribunes. And these having
assembled the people, Spurius Sicinius, who was then at the head of their college,
came forward and not only inveighed at length against the senate himself, inflaming
the hatred of the people against them as much as he could, but also demanded that
(p189) the others should express their sentiments publicly, especially Sicinius and
Brutus, who were then aediles, calling upon each of them by name; they had been the
authors of the first secession of the people as well, and having introduced the
tribunician power, had been the first to be invested with it. These, having long
before prepared the most malicious speeches, came forward and enlarged upon those
points that were welcome to the multitude, alleging that the dearth of corn had been
occasioned by the contrivance and treachery of the rich, against whose will the people
had acquired the liberty by the secession. And they declared that the rich did not in
the least bear an equal share of this calamity with the poor, since they had not only
provisions secretly hoarded up, but also money to purchase imported foodstuffs, and
thus could treat the calamity with fine scorn, whereas the plebeians had neither
resource. As regarded the colony which they had sent out to a pestilential region, they
declared it was a banishment to a manifest and much worse destruction; and
exaggerating the evils with all their powers of speech, they asked to be informed what
end there was to be of their miseries. They reminded them of the abusive treatment
they had formerly received from the rich, and recounted many other things of this
nature with great freedom. Finally, Brutus closed his speech with some such threats
as this, that, if they would follow his advice, he would soon compel those who had
kindled this mischief to extinguish it. After which the assembly was dismissed.
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