Texte grec :
| [8,6] Ταῦθ´ ὁρῶντες οἱ πονηρότατοι τοῦ πλήθους
ἐκεῖνοι προστάται πρώτους ἔγνωσαν ἡμᾶς τοὺς φανερώτατα
ἐναντιουμένους σφίσιν ἐκποδὼν ποιήσασθαι,
οὐχ ἅμ´ ἀμφοτέροις ἐπιχειρήσαντες, ἵνα μὴ ἐπίφθονόν
τε καὶ βαρὺ τὸ πρᾶγμα γένηται, ἀλλ´ ἀπ´ ἐμοῦ τοῦ
νεωτέρου τε καὶ εὐμεταχειριστοτέρου ἀρξάμενοι. τὸ
μὲν οὖν πρῶτον ἄκριτόν με ἐπεχείρησαν ἀπολέσαι,
ἔπειτ´ ἔκδοτον παρὰ τῆς βουλῆς ἠξίουν ἐπὶ θανάτῳ
λαβεῖν· ἀποτυχόντες δ´ ἀμφοτέρων προὐκαλέσαντο ἐπὶ
δίκην, ἣν αὐτοὶ δικάσειν ἔμελλον, τυραννίδος ἐπιβαλόντες αἰτίαν.
καὶ οὐδὲ τοῦτ´ ἔμαθον, ὅτι δήμῳ τύραννος οὐδεὶς πολεμεῖ μετὰ
τῶν ἀρίστων συστάς, ἀλλὰ
τἀναντία μετὰ τοῦ δήμου τὸ κράτιστον ἐκ τῆς πόλεως
ἀναιρεῖ μέρος· δικαστήριόν τ´ οὐχ ὅπερ ἦν πάτριον
ἀπέδωκάν μοι τὴν λοχῖτιν καλέσαντες ἐκκλησίαν, ἀλλ´
ὃ πάντες ὁμολογοῦσι πονηρότατον εἶναι {δικαστήριον}
καὶ ἐπ´ ἐμοῦ πρώτου καὶ μόνου γενόμενον, ἐν ᾧ πλέον
ἔχειν ἔμελλον οἱ θῆτες καὶ ἀνέστιοι καὶ τοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις
ἐπιβουλεύοντες βίοις τῶν ἀγαθῶν καὶ δικαίων καὶ τὰ
κοινὰ σώζεσθαι βουλομένων. τοσοῦτο δ´ ἄρα μοι περιῆν τοῦ
μηδὲν ἀδικεῖν, ὥστ´ ἐν ὄχλῳ κρινόμενος, οὗ
τὸ πλέον μισόχρηστον ἦν καὶ διὰ τοῦτ´ ἐχθρὸν ἐμοί,
δυσὶ μόνον ἑάλων ψήφοις ἀποτιθεμένων τὴν ἐξουσίαν
τῶν δημάρχων, εἰ μὴ καταδικασθείην ἐγώ, καὶ τὰ
ἔσχατα πείσεσθαι πρὸς ἐμοῦ λεγόντων καὶ πάσῃ σπουδῇ
καὶ προθυμίᾳ παρὰ τὸν ἀγῶνα κατ´ ἐμοῦ χρησαμένων.
τοιαῦτα δὴ πεπονθὼς ἐγὼ πρὸς τῶν ἐμαυτοῦ πολιτῶν ἀβίωτον
ἡγησάμην τὸν λοιπὸν ἔσεσθαί μοι βίον,
εἰ μὴ λάβοιμι παρ´ αὐτῶν δίκας· καὶ διὰ τοῦτ´ ἐξόν
μοι ζῆν ἀπραγμόνως, εἴτ´ ἐν ταῖς Λατίνων πόλεσιν
ἠβουλόμην κατὰ τὸ συγγενές, εἴτ´ ἐν ταῖς νεοκτίστοις,
ἃς οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν ἀπῴκισαν, οὐκ ἠβουλήθην, ἐφ´
ὑμᾶς δὲ κατέφυγον, οὓς ἠπιστάμην πλεῖστά θ´ ὑπὸ
Ῥωμαίων ἠδικημένους καὶ μάλιστ´ αὐτοῖς ἀπεχθομένους,
ἵνα κοινῇ μεθ´ ὑμῶν τιμωρησαίμην αὐτούς, ὅση μοι
δύναμις, λόγοις τ´, ἔνθα δεῖ λόγων, καὶ ἔργοις, ὅταν
ἔργων δέῃ. χάριν τε τὴν μεγάλην ὑμῖν οἶδα τῆς
θ´ ὑποδοχῆς μου καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον τῆς τιμῆς, ᾗ με τιμᾶτε οὐθὲν οὔτε
μνησικακήσαντες οὔθ´ ὑπολογισάμενοι
ὧν ὑπ´ ἐμοῦ πολεμίου ποτὲ ὄντος ἐπάθετε κατὰ τοὺς πολέμους.
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Traduction française :
| [8,6] "This being observed by those most unprincipled leaders of the populace, they
resolved to remove first out of their way the two of us who most openly opposed them
— not, however, by attacking us both at once, lest the attempt should appear
invidious and odious, but beginning with me who was the younger and the easier to
be dealt with. In the first place, then, they endeavoured to destroy me without a trial;
and after that they demanded that I be delivered up by the senate in order to be put to
death. But having failed of both purposes, they summoned me to a trial in which they
themselves were to be my judges, and charged me with aiming at tyranny. They had
not learned even this much — that no tyrant makes war upon the populace by allying
himself with the best men, but, on the contrary, destroys the best element in the state
with the aid of the populace. And they did not give me the tribunal that was
traditional, by summoning the centuriate assembly, but rather a tribunal which all
admit to be most unprincipled — one set up in my case and mine alone — in which
the working class and vagabonds and those who plot against the possessions of others
were sure to prevail over good and just men and such as desire the safety of the
commonwealth. This profit, then, and no more did I gain from my (p21) innocence,
that, though tried by the mob, of which the greater part were haters of the virtuous
and for that reason hostile to me, I was condemned by two votes only, even though
the tribunes threatened to resign their power if I were acquitted, alleging that they
expected to suffer the worst at my hands, and though they displayed all eagerness and
zeal against me during the trial. After meeting with such treatment at the hands of
my fellow citizens I felt that the rest of my life would not be worth living unless I took
revenge upon them; and for this reason, when I was at liberty to live free from
vexations either in any of the Latin cities I pleased, because of our ties of kinship, or
in the colonies lately planted by our fathers, I was unwilling to do so, but took refuge
with you, though I knew you had suffered ever so many wrongs at the hands of the
Romans and had conceived the greatest resentment against them, in order that in
conjunction with you I might take revenge upon them to the utmost of my power,
both by words what words were wanted, and by deeds, where deeds were wanted.
And I feel very grateful to you for receiving me, and still more for the honour you
show me, without either resenting or taking into account the injuries which you
received from me, your erstwhile enemy, during the wars.
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