Texte grec :
| [8,49] Φέρε, ἀλλὰ δόξαν αἰσχρὰν οἴσεσθαι
δέδοικας, ἐὰν ἃ παρακαλῶ σε πράττῃς, ὡς ἀχάριστος
εἰς τοὺς εὐεργέτας ἐξελεγχθησόμενος, οἵ σε πολέμιον
ὄντα ὑποδεξάμενοι πάντων μετέδωκαν ὧν τοῖς φύσει
πολίταις μέτεστιν ἀγαθῶν· ταῦτα γάρ ἐστιν, ἃ μεγάλα
ποιεῖς τοῖς λόγοις ἀεί. οὐκ ἀποδέδωκας οὖν αὐτοῖς
πολλὰς καὶ καλὰς ἀμοιβὰς καὶ νενίκηκας ἀπείρῳ δή
τινι μεγέθει καὶ πλήθει χαρίτων τὰς ἐξ ἐκείνων εὐεργεσίας; οὓς
ἀγαπητὸν ἡγουμένους καὶ πάντων μέγιστον ἀγαθῶν, ἐὰν
ἐλευθέρας οἰκῶσι τὰς πατρίδας, οὐ
μόνον ἑαυτῶν κυρίους εἶναι βεβαίως παρεσκεύακας,
ἀλλὰ καὶ πεποίηκας ἤδη σκοπεῖν, πότερα καταλῦσαι
τὴν Ῥωμαίων ἀρχὴν αὐτοῖς ἄμεινον, ἢ μετέχειν αὐτῆς
ἐξ ἴσου κοινὴν καταστησαμένους πολιτείαν. ἐῶ γὰρ
λέγειν, ὅσοις κεκόσμηκας ἐκ τοῦ πολέμου λαφύροις τὰς
πόλεις αὐτῶν, καὶ πηλίκους κεχάρισαι τοῖς συστρατευσαμένοις
πλούτους. τοὺς δὴ τοσούτους διὰ σὲ γενομένους καὶ ἐπὶ
τηλικαύτης βεβηκότας εὐτυχίας οὐ
δοκεῖς ἀγαπήσειν οἷς ἔχουσιν ἀγαθοῖς, ἀλλ´ ὀργιεῖσθαί
σοι καὶ ἀγανακτήσειν, ἐὰν μὴ καὶ τὸ τῆς πατρίδος
αἷμα ταῖς χερσὶν αὐτῶν ἐπισπείσῃς; ἐγὼ μὲν οὐκ οἴομαι. εἷς ἔτι
μοι καταλείπεται λόγος ἰσχυρὸς μέν,
ἐὰν λογισμῷ κρίνῃς αὐτόν, ἀσθενὴς δ´, ἐὰν μετ´ ὀργῆς,
ὁ περὶ τῆς οὐ δικαίως μισουμένης ὑπὸ σοῦ πατρίδος.
οὔτε γὰρ ὑγιαίνουσα καὶ τῷ πατρίῳ κόσμῳ πολιτευομένη τὴν οὐ
δικαίαν κατὰ σοῦ κρίσιν ἐξήνεγκεν, ἀλλὰ
νοσοῦσα καὶ ἐν πολλῷ κλύδωνι σαλευομένη, οὔτε πᾶσα
τὴν αὐτὴν γνώμην τότ´ ἔσχεν, ἀλλὰ τὸ κάκιον ἐν
αὐτῇ μέρος πονηροῖς προστάταις χρησάμενον. εἰ δὲ
δὴ μὴ τοῖς κακίστοις μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις
ἅπασιν ἐδόκει ταῦτα, καὶ ὡς οὐ τὰ κράτιστα πολιτευόμενος
ἀπηλάθης ὑπ´ αὐτῶν, οὐδ´ οὕτω σοι προσῆκε
μνησικακεῖν πρὸς τὴν σεαυτοῦ πατρίδα. πολλοῖς γὰρ
δὴ καὶ ἄλλοις τῶν ἀπὸ τοῦ βελτίστου πολιτευομένων
τὰ παραπλήσια συνέβη παθεῖν· καὶ σπάνιοι δή τινές
εἰσιν, οἷς οὐκ ἀντέπνευσε πρὸς τὴν δοκοῦσαν ἀρετὴν
φθόνος ἐκ τῶν συμπολιτευομένων ἄδικος. ἀλλ´ ἀνθρωπίνως, ὦ
Μάρκιε, φέρουσι καὶ μετρίως ἅπαντες
οἱ γενναῖοι τὰς συμφοράς, καὶ πόλεις μεταλαμβάνουσιν,
ἐν αἷς οἰκήσαντες οὐθὲν λυπήσουσι τὰς πατρίδας·
ὥσπερ καὶ Ταρκύνιος ἐποίησεν ὁ Κολλατῖνος ἐπικαλούμενος·
{ἱκανὸν ἓν παράδειγμα καὶ οἰκεῖον·} ὃς συνελευθερώσας ἀπὸ τῶν
τυράννων τοὺς πολίτας, ἔπειτα
διαβληθεὶς πρὸς αὐτοὺς ὡς συμπράττων πάλιν τοῖς
τυράννοις τὴν κάθοδον, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐξελασθεὶς αὐτὸς ἐκ τῆς
πατρίδος, οὐκ ἐμνησικάκει πρὸς τοὺς ἐκβαλόντας αὐτόν, οὐδ´
ἐπεστράτευε τῇ πόλει τοὺς τυράννους ἐπαγόμενος, οὐδ´ ἐποίει
τεκμήρια τῶν διαβολῶν τὰ ἔργα, ἀλλ´ εἰς τὴν μητρόπολιν ἡμῶν
Λαουΐνιον ἀπελθὼν ἐκεῖ πάντα τὸν λοιπὸν ἐβίω χρόνον εὔνους
ὢν τῇ πατρίδι καὶ φίλος.
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Traduction française :
| [8,49] "But come, you are afraid perhaps that if you do what I urge you will incur a
shameful reputation, believing that you will stand convicted of ingratitude to your
benefactors, who received you, an enemy, and shared with you all the advantages to
which their native-born citizens are entitled; for these are the things you constantly
stress in your remarks. Have you the, then, made them many fine returns, and have
you not by the favours you have bestow wed, while nigh limitless in magnitude and
number, surpassed the kindnesses received from them? Though they regarded it as
enough and as the greatest of all blessings if they could continue to live as freemen in
their native cities, you have not only made them securely their own masters, but have
also brought it about that they are already considering whether it is better for them to
destroy the dominion of the Romans or to have an equal share in it by forming a joint
commonwealth. I say nothing of all the spoils of war with which you have adorned
their cities nor of the great riches you have bestowed upon those who accompanied
you on your expeditions. Do you believe that those who through your aid have
become so great and have entered upon such prosperity (p145) will not be content with
the blessings they have, but will be angry with you and indignant if you do not also
spill by their hands your country's blood? For my part, I do not believe so. I have
still one point left to speak of — a strong one if you judge of it by reason, but weak if
you judge by passion. I refer to the unjust hatred you bear toward your country. For
the commonwealth was neither in a state of health nor governed according to the
established constitution when she pronounced that unjust sentence against you, but
was diseased and tossed in a violent tempest; nor did the state as a whole entertain
this opinion at that time, but only the baser element in it, which had followed evil
leaders. Yet supposing not only the worst of the citizens, but all the rest of as well
had been of this mind, and you had been banished by them as not acting for the best
interests of the state, not even in that case did it become you to bear any resentment
against your country. For it has fallen to the lot of many others, you know, of those
whose policies were prompted by the best motives, to have the same experience, and
few indeed are those who have not, because of their reputation for virtue, felt the
breath of unjust envoy on the part of their political rivals. But all who are high-
minded, Marcius, bear their misfortunes like men and with moderation, and remove
to other cities in which they can dwell without causing harm to their fatherland. This
was the case with Tarquinius, surnamed Collatinus. (A single instance and one from
our own history will suffice. He had assisted in freeing his fellow citizens from the
tyrants, but was later accused (p147) before them of attempting in turn to restore these
tyrants and for that reason was himself banished from his country; yet he retained no
resentment against those who had exiled him, nor would he march against his
country bringing with him the tyrants nor commit acts that would substantiate the
charges made against him, but retiring to Lavinium, our mother-city, he spent the
remainder of his life there, continuing loyal to his country and its friend.
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