Texte grec :
| [8,86] Ῥωμαῖοι μὲν οὖν ἐν τούτοις ἦσαν· Οὐολοῦσκοι
δ´, ἐπειδὴ ἡμέρα τ´ ἐγένετο καὶ ἔγνωσαν τοὺς
πολεμίους ἐκλελοιπότας τὸν χάρακα, προσελθόντες
κατεστρατοπέδευσαν. σκυλεύσαντες δὲ τοὺς τῶν πολεμίων
νεκροὺς καὶ τοὺς ἡμιθνῆτας, οἷς σωθήσεσθαι ἐλπὶς ἦν,
ἀνελόμενοι ταφάς τε ποιησάμενοι τῶν σφετέρων νεκρῶν,
εἰς τὴν ἐγγυτάτω πόλιν Ἄντιον ἀνέζευξαν· ἔνθα
παιανίζοντες ἐπὶ τῇ νίκῃ καὶ θύοντες ἐν ἅπασιν ἱεροῖς
εἰς εὐπαθείας καὶ ἡδονὰς ταῖς ἑξῆς ἡμέραις ἐτράποντο.
εἰ μὲν οὖν ἐπὶ τῆς τότε νίκης διέμειναν καὶ μηδὲν
ἐπεξειργάσαντο, καλὸν ἂν αὐτοῖς εἰλήφει τέλος ὁ
ἀγών. Ῥωμαῖοι γὰρ οὐκ ἂν ὑπέμειναν ἔτι προελθεῖν
ἐκ τοῦ χάρακος ἐπὶ πολέμῳ, ἀγαπητὸν δ´ ἂν ἦν, εἰ
ἀπῆλθον ἐκ τῆς πολεμίας, κρείττονα τοῦ προδήλου
θανάτου τὴν ἄδοξον ἡγησάμενοι φυγήν. νῦν δὲ τοῦ
πλείονος ὀρεγόμενοι καὶ τὴν ἐκ τῆς προτέρας νίκης
δόξαν ἀπέβαλον. ἀκούοντες γὰρ παρά τε κατασκόπων
καὶ τῶν ἐκ τοῦ χάρακος ἀποδεδρακότων, ὅτι κομιδῇ
τ´ εἰσὶν οἱ σωθέντες Ῥωμαίων ὀλίγοι καὶ τούτων οἱ
πλείους τραυματίαι, πολλὴν αὐτῶν ἐποιήσαντο καταφρόνησιν,
καὶ αὐτίκα τὰ ὅπλα ἁρπάσαντες ἔθεον ἐπ´
αὐτούς. πολὺ δὲ καὶ τὸ ἄνοπλον αὐτοῖς ἐκ τῆς πόλεως εἵπετο
κατὰ θέαν τοῦ ἀγῶνος καὶ ἅμα ἐφ´ ἁρπαγήν τε καὶ ὠφέλειαν.
ἐπεὶ δὲ προσβαλόντες τῷ λόφῳ
τόν τε χάρακα περιέστησαν καὶ τὰ περισταυρώματα
διασπᾶν ἐπεχείρουν, πρῶτοι μὲν οἱ τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἱππεῖς πεζοὶ
μαχόμενοι διὰ τὴν τοῦ χωρίου φύσιν ἐξέδραμον ἐπ´ αὐτούς,
ἔπειτα τούτων κατόπιν οἱ καλούμενοι τριάριοι πυκνώσαντες τοὺς
λόχους· οὗτοι δ´ εἰσὶν οἱ πρεσβύτατοι τῶν στρατευομένων, οἷς τὰ
στρατόπεδα ἐπιτρέπουσι φυλάττειν, ὅταν ἐξίωσιν εἰς τὴν
μάχην, καὶ ἐφ´ οὓς τελευταίους, ὅταν ἀθρόα γένηται
τῶν ἐν ἀκμῇ φθορά, σπανίζοντες ἑτέρας ἐπικουρίας
καταφεύγουσι διὰ τὴν ἀνάγκην. οἱ δ´ Οὐολοῦσκοι
κατ´ ἀρχὰς μὲν ἐδέξαντο τὴν ἔφοδον αὐτῶν καὶ μέχρι
πολλοῦ διέμενον ἐκθύμως ἀγωνιζόμενοι, ἔπειτα διὰ
τὴν τοῦ χωρίου φύσιν μειονεκτοῦντες ὑπεχώρουν, καὶ
τέλος ὀλίγα μὲν τοὺς πολεμίους καὶ οὐκ ἄξια λόγου
ἐργασάμενοι, πλείω δ´ αὐτοὶ παθόντες κακὰ ὑπεχώρησαν εἰς τὸ
πεδίον. ἔνθα καταστρατοπεδευσάμενοι
ταῖς ἑξῆς ἡμέραις ἐξέταττον τὴν δύναμιν καὶ προὐκαλοῦντο τοὺς
Ῥωμαίους εἰς μάχην, οἱ δ´ οὐκ ἀντεξῄεσαν. ὡς δὲ τοῦτ´ εἶδον
καταφρονήσαντες αὐτῶν οἱ
Οὐολοῦσκοι συνεκάλουν ἐκ τῶν πόλεων δυνάμεις καὶ
παρεσκευάζοντο ὡς ἐξελοῦντες πολυχειρίᾳ τὸ φρούριον·
ῥᾳδίως τ´ ἂν ἐξειργάσαντο μέγα ἔργον ὑπάτου τε καὶ
Ῥωμαϊκῆς δυνάμεως ἢ βίᾳ κρατήσαντες ἢ καὶ ὁμολογίαις· οὐδὲ
γὰρ τῶν ἐπιτηδείων ἔτι εὐπόρει τὸ χωρίον· ἔφθη δὲ πρότερον
ἐπικουρία Ῥωμαίοις ἐλθοῦσα,
ὑφ´ ἧς ἐκωλύθησαν οἱ Οὐολοῦσκοι τὸ κάλλιστον ἐπιθεῖναι τῷ
πολέμῳ τέλος. ὁ γὰρ ἕτερος τῶν ὑπάτων
Καίσων Φάβιος μαθών, ἐν αἷς ἦν τύχαις ἡ παραταξαμένη
Οὐολούσκοις δύναμις, ἐβούλετο μὲν ὡς εἶχε τάχους ἅπασαν ἄγων
τὴν δύναμιν εὐθὺς ἐπιέναι τοῖς
πολιορκοῦσι τὸ φρούριον. ὡς δ´ οὐκ ἐγίνετο αὐτῷ
θυομένῳ τε καὶ οἰωνοῖς χρωμένῳ τὰ ἱερὰ καλά, ἀλλ´
ἠναντιοῦτο πρὸς τὰς ἐξόδους αὐτοῦ τὸ δαιμόνιον, αὐτὸς μὲν
ὑπέμεινε, τὰς δὲ κρατίστας ἐπιλεξάμενος
σπείρας ἀπέστειλε τῷ συνάρχοντι. αἱ δὲ διά τ´ ὀρῶν
ἀφανῶς καὶ νύκτωρ τὰ πολλὰ ποιησάμεναι τὰς ὁδοὺς
εἰσῆλθον εἰς τὸν χάρακα τοὺς πολεμίους λαθοῦσαι. ὁ
μὲν οὖν Αἰμίλιος θρασύτερος ἐγεγόνει τῇ παρουσίᾳ
τῶν συμμάχων, οἱ δὲ πολέμιοι τῷ τε πλήθει τῷ σφετέρῳ εἰκῆ
πίσυνοι καὶ διὰ τὸ μὴ ἐπεξιέναι τοὺς Ῥωμαίους εἰς μάχην
ἐπαρθέντες ἀνέβαινον ἐπὶ τὸ ὄρος
πυκνώσαντες τοὺς λόχους· καὶ οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι παρέντες
αὐτοὺς ἀναβῆναι καθ´ ἡσυχίαν καὶ πολλὰ πονεῖν περὶ
τῷ σταυρώματι ἐάσαντες, ἐπειδὴ τὰ σημεῖα ἤρθη τῆς
μάχης διασπάσαντες κατὰ πολλὰ μέρη τὸν χάρακα ἐμπίπτουσιν
αὐτοῖς· καὶ οἱ μὲν εἰς χεῖρας καταστάντες
τοῖς ξίφεσιν ἐμάχοντο, οἱ δ´ ἀπὸ τῶν ἐρυμάτων λίθοις τε καὶ
σαυνίοις καὶ λόγχαις τοὺς ἐπιόντας ἔβαλλον, βέλος δ´ οὐδὲν
ἄσκοπον ἦν πεπιλημένων γ´ ἐν
βραχεῖ χωρίῳ πολλῶν. ἀπαράττονται δὴ τοῦ λόφου
πολλοὺς σφῶν ἀποβαλόντες οἱ Οὐολοῦσκοι καὶ εἰς φυγὴν
ὁρμήσαντες μόγις εἰς τὸν ἴδιον ἀποσώζονται χάρακα. Ῥωμαῖοι δ´
ὡς ἐν ἀσφαλείᾳ τέως ὄντες ἤδη
κατέβαινον ἐπὶ τοὺς ἀγροὺς αὐτῶν· ἐξ ὧν ἐπισιτισμοὺς
καὶ τἆλλα, ὅσων σπάνις ἦν ἐν τῷ χάρακι, ἐλάμβανον.
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Traduction française :
| [8,86] While the Romans were thus occupied, the Volscians, as soon as it was day and
they learned that the enemy had left their entrenchments, came up and made camp.
Then, having stripped the dead, taken up those whom, though half dead, there was
hope of saving, and buried their own men, they retired to Antium, the nearest city;
and there, signing songs of triumph for their victory and offering sacrifices in all their
temples, they devoted themselves during the following days to merry-making and
pleasures. Now if they had rested content with their present victory and had
attempted nothing further, their struggle would have had a glory end. For the
Romans would not have dared to come out again from their camp to give battle, but
would have been glad to withdraw from the enemy's country, considering inglorious
flight better than certain death. But as it was, the Volscians, aiming at still more,
threw away the glory of their former victory. For hearing both from scouts and from
those who escaped from the enemy's camp that the Romans who had saved
themselves were very few, and the greater part of these wounded, they conceived
great contempt for them, and immediately seizing their arms, ran to attack them.
Many unarmed people also followed them out of the city to witness the struggle and
at the same time to secure plunder and booty. But when, after attacking the hill and
surrounding the (p263) camp, they endeavoured to pull down the palisades, first the
Roman horse, obliged, from the nature of the ground, to fight on foot, sallied out
against them, and, behind the horse, those they call the triarii, with their ranks
closed. These are the oldest soldiers, to whom they commit the guarding of the camp
when they go out to give battle, and they fall back of necessity upon these as their last
hope when there has been a general slaughter of the younger men and they lack other
reinforcements. The Volscians at first sustained their onset and continued to fight
stubbornly for a long time; then, being at a disadvantage because of the nature of the
ground, they began to give way and at last, after inflicting slight and negligible
injuries upon the enemy, while suffering more themselves, they retired to the plain.
And encamping there, during the following days they repeatedly drew up in order of
battle, challenging the Romans to fight; but these did not come out against them.
When the Volscians saw this, they held them in contempt, and summoning forces
from their cities, made preparations to capture the stronghold by their very numbers.
And they might easily have performed a great exploit by taking both the consul and
the Roman army either by force or even by capitulation, since the place was no longer
well supplied with provisions either; but reinforcements came in time to the Romans,
thus preventing the Volscians from bringing the war to the most glorious conclusion.
It seems that the other consul, Caeso Fabius, learning to what straits the army had
been reduced which had been arrayed against the Volscians, proposed to (p265) march
as quickly as possible with all his forces and fall at once upon those who were
besieging the stronghold. Since, however, the victims and omens were not favourable
when he offered sacrifice and consulted the auspices, but the gods opposed his setting
out, he himself remained behind, but chose out and sent his best cohorts to his
colleague. These, making their way covertly through the mountains and generally by
night, entered the camp without being perceived by the enemy. Aemilius, therefore,
had become emboldened by the arrival of these reinforcements, while the enemy,
rashly trusting to their numbers and elated because the Romans did not come out to
fight, proceeded to march up the hill in close order. The Romans permitted them to
come up at their leisure and to spend their strength on the palisade; but when the
signals for battle were raised, they pulled down the ramparts in many places and fell
upon the enemy. Some of them, coming to close quarters, fought with their swords,
while others from the ramparts hurled at their assailants stones, javelins and spears;
and no missile failed of a mark where many combatants were crowded together in a
limited space. 9 Thus the Volscians were hurled back from the hill after losing many
of their number, and turning to flight, barely got safely back to their own camp. The
Romans, feeling themselves secure at last, now made descents into the enemy's fields,
from which they took provisions and everything else of which there was a dearth in
the camp.
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