Texte grec :
| [7,42] Ὡς δὲ καὶ συνοίσει τῷ κοινῷ ταῦθ´ ὡς
ὁ δῆμος ἀξιοῖ γινόμενα, μικρὰ διεξιόντος ἀνέχεσθέ
μου. φέρε γάρ, εἴ τις ὑμᾶς ἔροιτο, τί μέγιστον οἴεσθε
εἶναι τῶν καταλαμβανόντων κακῶν τὰς πόλεις, καὶ τοῦ
ταχίστου τῶν ὀλέθρων αἴτιον, ἆρ´ οὐχὶ τὴν διχοστασίαν εἴποιτ´
ἄν; ἐμοὶ γοῦν δοκεῖ. τίς γὰρ ὑμῶν
οὕτως ἠλίθιός ἐστιν ἢ σκαιὸς ἢ πέρα τοῦ μετρίου μισῶν
τὴν ἰσηγορίαν, ὃς οὐκ οἶδεν, ὅτι δοθείσης ἐξουσίας
τῷ δήμῳ κρίνειν ἃς ἔξεστιν αὐτῷ δίκας κατὰ τὸν
νόμον ἐν ὁμονοίᾳ πολιτευσόμεθα, εἰ δὲ τἀναντία γνοίητε
καὶ ἀφέλοισθ´ ἡμῶν τὴν ἐλευθερίαν· ἐλευθερίαν γὰρ
ἀφαιρήσεσθε δίκην καὶ νόμον ἀφαιρούμενοι· στασιάζειν
ἡμᾶς αὖθις ἀναγκάσετε καὶ πολεμεῖν ὑμῖν; ἐξ ἧς γὰρ
ἂν ἐξελασθῇ πόλεως δίκη καὶ νόμος, εἰς ταύτην στάσις
εἰσπορεύεσθαι φιλεῖ καὶ πόλεμος. καὶ ὅσοι μὲν οὐκ
ἦλθον εἰς πεῖραν ἐμφυλίων διαφορῶν, οὐδὲν θαυμαστόν, εἰ δι´
ἀπειρίαν τῶν κακῶν μήτ´ ἄχθονται τοῖς
γεγονόσι δεινοῖς μήτε κωλύουσιν ἐκ πολλοῦ τὰ μέλλοντα. ὅσοι δ´
ὥσπερ ὑμεῖς εἰς τοὺς ἐσχάτους κινδύνους καταστάντες ἀγαπητῶς
ἀπηλλάγησαν, ἣν ὁ καιρὸς
ἀπῄτει ποιησάμενοι τῶν κακῶν λύσιν, τίς εὐπρεπὴς ἢ
μετρία πρόφασις ἀπολείπεται τούτοις, ἐὰν ἔτι ταῖς
αὐταῖς συμφέρωνται τύχαις; τίς δ´ οὐκ ἂν ὑμῶν καταγνοίη
πολλὴν ἄνοιαν καὶ μανίαν ἐνθυμούμενος, ὅτι
μικρὸν μὲν ἔμπροσθεν ὑπὲρ τοῦ μὴ στασιάζειν τοὺς
δημότας πολλὰ παρὰ γνώμην ὑπεμείνατε, ὧν ἔνια οὔτε
κάλλιστα ἦν ἴσως οὔτε λυσιτελέστατα· νῦν δ´ οὔτ´ εἰς
χρήματα βλάπτεσθαι μέλλοντες οὔτ´ εἰς εὐδοξίαν οὔτ´
εἰς ἄλλο τῶν κοινῶν οὐδ´ ὁτιοῦν, ἵνα χαρίζησθε τοῖς
μισοδημοτάτοις, τὸ δημοτικὸν αὖθις ἐκπολεμώσετε; οὔκ,
ἐάν γε σωφρονῆτε. ἡδέως δ´ ἂν ὑμᾶς ἐροίμην, τίνα
γνώμην λαβόντες τότε τὴν κάθοδον ἡμῖν συνεχωρήσατε
ἐφ´ οἷς ἠξιοῦμεν, πότερα λογισμῷ προϊδόμενοι τὸ κράτιστον ἢ τῇ
ἀνάγκῃ εἴξαντες; εἴπερ γὰρ ταῦθ´ ὑπελαμβάνετε ὠφελιμώτατα
εἶναι τῇ πόλει, τί οὐ μένετε
καὶ νῦν ἐν αὐτοῖς; εἰ δ´ ἀναγκαῖα καὶ οὐκ ἐνδεχόμενα
ἄλλως γενέσθαι, τί χαλεπαίνετε γενομένοις; τὴν ἀρχὴν
γὰρ ἴσως ἔδει μὴ συγχωρῆσαι, εἰ δύναμις ἦν ὑμῖν,
συγχωρήσαντας δὲ μηκέτι τοῖς πεπραγμένος ἐγκαλεῖν.
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Traduction française :
| [7,42] (p263) "Bear with me now while I explain to you in a few words how these demands
of the people will also be advantageous to the commonwealth. For, come now, if
anyone should ask you what you regard as the greatest of the evils that befall states
and the cause of the swiftest destruction, would you not say it is discord? I, at least,
think you would. For who is there among you so stupid, so perverse, and
immoderate a hater of equality as not to know that if the people are allowed to render
judgment in causes in which the law gives them the authority, we shall live in
harmony, whereas, if you decide to the contrary and deprive us of our liberty for
you will be depriving us of liberty if you deprive us of justice and law you will drive
us again into sedition and civil war? For if justice and law are banished from a state,
sedition and war are wont to enter there. Now in the case of those who have had no
experience of civil calamities, it is no wonder if, because of inexperience of those evils,
they neither grieve over the misfortunes that are past nor take early precautions to
prevent others in the future; but for those who, when exposed as you were, to the
gravest perils, thought themselves happy to be rid of them by making such a
settlement of the evils as the situation demanded, what specious or reasonable excuse
is left them if they meet again with the same misfortunes? Who would not consider
you guilty of great folly and madness when he calls to mind that although just a
(p265) short time ago, in order to appease a sedition of the plebeians, you submitted to
many things against your will, some of which were neither very honourable, perhaps,
nor very advantageous, yet now, when you are not destined to be injured in either
your fortunes or your reputation or, for that matter, in any of your public interests
whatever, you are going to goad all plebeians into war again, to oblige the bitterest
foes of democracy? No, not if you are wise. But I should like to ask you what motive
induced you at the time to consent to our return upon the terms we desired. Did you
foresee in the light of reason what was best, or did you yield to necessity? For if you
thought those concessions to be of the greatest advantage to the commonwealth, why
do you not adhere to them at present also? And if they were necessary and
unavoidable, why are you disgruntled now that they have been made? Possibly you
ought not to have granted them in the first place, if you could have avoided it, but
once having granted them, you ought no longer to find fault with what is done.
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