Texte grec :
| [8,87] Ἐπειδὴ δὲ καθῆκεν ὁ τῶν ἀρχαιρεσιῶν
καιρός, ὁ μὲν Αἰμίλιος ἔμεινεν ἐπὶ στρατοπέδου δι´
αἰσχύνης ἔχων ἐπὶ συμφοραῖς οὐκ εὐσχήμοσιν εἰς τὴν
πόλιν εἰσελθεῖν τὸ κράτιστον ἀπολωλεκὼς τῆς στρατιᾶς. ὁ δὲ
συνύπατος αὐτοῦ τοὺς ὑφ´ ἑαυτὸν ἄρχοντας
ἐπὶ στρατοπέδου καταλιπὼν εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην ᾤχετο· καὶ
συγκαλέσας τὸν ὄχλον ἐπὶ τὰς ἀρχαιρεσίας, οἷς μὲν ὁ
δῆμος ἐβούλετο δοθῆναι τὴν ὑπατείαν ἀνδράσιν ἐκ
τῶν ὑπατευκότων, οὐ προὔθηκε τὴν ψηφοφορίαν, ἐπειδὴ
οὐδ´ αὐτοὶ μετῄεσαν τὴν ἀρχὴν ἑκόντες, ὑπὲρ δὲ τῶν
μετιόντων τούς τε λόχους ἐκάλεσε καὶ τὰς ψήφους
ἀνέδωκεν. οὗτοι δ´ ἦσαν, οὓς ἡ βουλὴ προείλετο καὶ
οἷς παραγγέλλειν τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐκέλευσεν, οὐ σφόδρα τῷ
δήμῳ κεχαρισμένοι. καὶ ἀπεδείχθησαν εἰς τὸν ἐπιόντα
ἐνιαυτὸν ὕπατοι ὅ τε νεώτερος ἀδελφὸς τοῦ προθέντος
τὰς ἀρχαιρεσίας ὑπάτου, Μάρκος Φάβιος Καίσωνος
υἱός, καὶ Λεύκιος Οὐαλέριος Μάρκου υἱός, ὁ τὸν τρὶς
ὑπατεύσαντα Κάσσιον κρίνας ἐπὶ τῇ τυραννίδι καὶ
ἀποκτείνας. οὗτοι τὴν ἀρχὴν παραλαβόντες ὑπὲρ τῶν
ἀποθανόντων ἐν τῷ πρὸς Ἀντιάτας πολέμῳ στρατιωτῶν ἠξίουν
ἑτέρους καταγράφειν, ἵνα τὸ ἐλλιπὲς ἀναπληρωθῇ τῶν λόχων.
καὶ δόγμα ποιησάμενοι βουλῆς
προὔγραψαν ἡμέραν, ἐν ᾗ παρεῖναι τοὺς ἔχοντας ἡλικίαν
στρατεύσιμον ἔδει. μετὰ τοῦτο θόρυβος ἦν πολὺς
κατὰ τὴν πόλιν, καὶ λόγοι τῶν πενεστάτων στασιώδεις
οὐκ ἀξιούντων οὔτε βουλῆς δόγμασιν ὑπηρετεῖν οὔτε
ὑπάτων ἐξουσίᾳ πειθαρχεῖν, ὅτι τὰς περὶ τῆς κληρουχίας
ὑποσχέσεις ἐψεύσαντο πρὸς αὐτούς· συνιόντες τε
κατὰ πλῆθος ἐπὶ τοὺς δημάρχους ὠνείδιζον αὐτοῖς προδοσίαν καὶ
κατεβόων ἐπικαλούμενοι τὴν ἐξ ἐκείνων
συμμαχίαν. τοῖς μὲν οὖν ἄλλοις οὐκ ἐδόκει καιρὸς
ἁρμόττων εἶναι πολέμου συνεστῶτος ὑπερορίου τὰς πολιτικὰς
ἔχθρας ἀναζωπυρεῖν, εἷς δέ τις ἐξ αὐτῶν
Γάϊος Μαίνιος οὐκ ἔφη προδώσειν τοὺς δημοτικούς,
οὐδ´ ἐπιτρέψειν τοῖς ὑπάτοις στρατιὰν καταγράφειν,
ἐὰν μὴ πρότερον ἀποδείξωσι τοὺς ὁριστὰς τῆς δημοσίας
γῆς καὶ τὸ περὶ τῆς κληρουχίας ψήφισμα γράψαντες
εἰς τὸν δῆμον ἐξενέγκωσιν. ἀντιλεγόντων δὲ πρὸς
ταῦτα τῶν ὑπάτων καὶ πρόφασιν ποιουμένων τοῦ μηθὲν αὐτῷ
συγχωρεῖν, ὧν ἠξίου, τὸν ἐν χερσὶν ὄντα
πόλεμον, οὐκ ἔφη προσέξειν αὐτοῖς τὸν νοῦν, ἀλλὰ
κωλύσειν ἁπάσῃ δυνάμει τὴν καταγραφήν. καὶ ἐποίει
ταῦτα· οὐ μὴν ἴσχυσέ γε μέχρι τέλους. οἱ γὰρ ὕπατοι
προελθόντες ἔξω τῆς πόλεως ἐν τῷ παρακειμένῳ πεδίῳ
τοὺς στρατηγικοὺς δίφρους ἔθηκαν· ἐνταῦθα καὶ τὸν
στρατιωτικὸν ἐποιοῦντο κατάλογον, καὶ τοὺς οὐχ ὑπακούοντας
τοῖς νόμοις, ἐπειδὴ αὐτοὺς ἄγειν οὐχ οἷοί τ´
ἦσαν, εἰς χρήματα ἐζημίουν· ὅσοις μὲν χωρία ὑπῆρχεν,
ἐκκόπτοντες ταῦτα καὶ τὰς αὐλὰς καθαιροῦντες· ὅσων
δὲ γεωργικὸς ὁ βίος ἦν ἐν ἀλλοτρίοις κτήμασι, τούτων ἄγοντές τε
καὶ φέροντες τὰ παρεσκευασμένα πρὸς
τὴν ἐργασίαν ζεύγη τε βοϊκὰ καὶ βοσκήματα καὶ ὑποζύγια
ἀχθοφόρα καὶ σκεύη παντοῖα, οἷς γῆ τ´ ἐξεργάζεται καὶ καρποὶ
συγκομίζονται. ὁ δὲ κωλύων τὴν
καταγραφὴν δήμαρχος οὐθὲν ἔτι ποιεῖν ἦν δυνατός.
οὐδενὸς γάρ εἰσι τῶν ἔξω τῆς πόλεως οἱ τὴν δημαρχικὴν ἔχοντες
ἐξουσίαν κύριοι· περιγέγραπται γὰρ αὐτῶν τὸ κράτος τοῖς τείχεσι,
καὶ οὐδὲ ἀπαυλισθῆναι
τῆς πόλεως αὐτοῖς θέμις, ὅτι μὴ πρὸς ἕνα καιρόν, ἐν
ᾧ πᾶσαι θύουσιν αἱ τῆς πόλεως ἀρχαὶ κοινὴν ὑπὲρ
τοῦ Λατίνων ἔθνους τῷ Διὶ θυσίαν ἐπὶ τὸ Ἀλβανῶν
ὄρος ἀναβαίνουσαι. τοῦτο διαμένει μέχρι τῶν καθ´
ἡμᾶς χρόνων τὸ ἔθος, τὸ μηθενὸς εἶναι τῶν ἔξω τῆς
πόλεως τοὺς δημάρχους κυρίους· καὶ δὴ καὶ τὸν ἐμφύλιον
Ῥωμαίων πόλεμον τὸν ἐπὶ τῆς ἐμῆς ἡλικίας, ὃς μέγιστος τῶν πρὸ
αὐτοῦ πολέμων ἐγένετο, ἡ
κινήσασα πρόφασις ἐπὶ πολλαῖς ἄλλαις δόξασα μείζων
εἶναι καὶ μόνη ἀποχρῶσα διαστῆσαι τὴν πόλιν ἥδε
ἦν, ὅτι τῶν δημάρχων τινὲς ἐξεληλάσθαι τῆς πόλεως
αἰτιώμενοι βίᾳ πρὸς τοῦ τότε κατέχοντος τὰ κατὰ τὴν
Ἰταλίαν ἡγεμόνος, ἵνα μηδενὸς εἶεν ἔτι κύριοι, ἐπὶ
τὸν ἐν τῇ Γαλατίᾳ τὰ στρατόπεδα κατέχοντα ὡς οὐκ
ἔχοντες, ὅποι τράπωνται, κατέφυγον. ὁ δὲ τῇ προφάσει ταύτῃ
χρησάμενος, ὡς ἀρχῇ δήμου παναγεῖ τὸ
κράτος ἀφαιρεθείσῃ παρὰ τοὺς ὅρκους τῶν προγόνων
αὐτὸς ὁσίως καὶ σὺν δίκῃ βοηθῶν αὐτός τε σὺν τοῖς
ὅπλοις ἦλθεν εἰς τὴν πόλιν καὶ τοὺς ἄνδρας ἐπὶ τὴν
ἀρχὴν κατήγαγε.
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Traduction française :
| [8,87] When the time for the election of (p267) magistrates arrived, Aemilius remained in
camp, being ashamed to enter the city after his ignominious defeat, in which he had
lost the best part of his army. But his colleague, leaving his subordinate officers in
camp, went to Rome; and assembling the people for the election, he declined to
propose for the voting those among the ex-consuls on whom the populace wished the
consulship to be bestowed, since even these men were not voluntary candidates, but
he called the centuries and took their votes in favour of such as sought the office.
These were men the senate had selected and ordered to canvass for the office, men
not very acceptable to the populace. Those elected consuls for the ensuing year were
Marcus Fabius, son of Caeso, the younger brother of the consul who conducted the
election, and Lucius Valerius, the son of Marcus, the man who had accused Cassius,
who had been thrice consul, of aiming at tyranny and caused him to be put to death.
These men, having taken office, asked for the levying of fresh troops to replace those
who had perished in the war against the Antiates, in order that the gaps in the various
centuries might be filled; and having obtained a decree of the senate, they appointed
a day on which all who were of military age must appear. Thereupon there was a great
tumult throughout the city and seditious speeches were made by the poorest citizens,
who refused either to comply with the decrees of the senate or to obey the authority of
the consuls, since they had violated the promises made (p269) to them concerning the
allotment of land. And going in great numbers to the tribunes, they charged them
with treachery, and with loud outcries demanded their assistance. Most of the
tribunes did not regard it as a suitable time, when a foreign war had arisen, to fan
domestic hatreds into flame again; but one of them, named Gaius Maenius, declared
that he would not betray the plebeians or permit the consuls to levy an army unless
they should first appoint commissioners for fixing the boundaries of the public land,
draw up the decree of the senate for its allotment, and lay it before the people. When
the consuls opposed this and made the war they had on their hands an excuse he says
not granting anything he desired, the tribune replied that he would pay no heed to
them, but would hinder the levy with all his power. And this he attempted to do;
nevertheless, he could prevail to the end. For the consuls, going outside the city,
ordered their generals' chairs to be placed in the near-by field; and there they not
only enrolled the troops, but also fined those who refused obedience to the laws, since
it was not in their power to seize their persons. If the disobedient owned estates, they
laid them waste and demolished their country-houses; and if they were farmers who
tilled fields belonging to others, they stripped them of the yokes of oxen, the cattle,
and the beasts of burden that were on hand for the work, and all kinds of implements
with which the land is tilled and the crops gathered. And the tribune who opposed
the levy was no longer able to do anything. For those who are invested with the
tribuneship possess no authority over anything outside the city, since their
jurisdiction (p271) is limited by the city walls, and it is not lawful for them even to pass a
night away from the city, save on a single occasion, when all the magistrates of the
commonwealth ascended the Alban Mount and offer up a common sacrifice to
Jupiter in behalf of the Latin nation. This custom by which the tribunes possess no
authority over anything outside the city continues to our times. And indeed the
motivating cause, among many others, of the civil war among the Romans which
occurred in my day and was greater than any war before it, the cause which seemed
more important and sufficient to divide the commonwealth, was this — that some of
the tribunes, complaining that they had been forcibly driven out of the city by the
general who was then in control of affairs in Italy, in order to deprive them
henceforth of any power, fled to the general who commanded the armies in Gaul, as
having no place to turn to. And the latter, availing himself of this excuse and
pretending to come with right and justice to the aid of the sacrosanct magistracy of
the people which had been deprived of its authority contrary to the oaths of the
forefathers, entered the city himself in arms and restored the men to their office.
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