Texte grec :
| [8,83] Παραλαμβάνουσι δὴ τὴν ὑπατείαν κατὰ
τὸ ἑβδομηκοστόν τε καὶ διακοσιοστὸν ἔτος ἀπὸ τοῦ
συνοικισμοῦ τῆς Ῥώμης Λεύκιος Αἰμίλιος Μαμέρκου
υἱὸς καὶ Καίσων Φάβιος Καίσωνος υἱός, ἄρχοντος
Ἀθήνησι Νικοδήμου. οἷς κατ´ εὐχὴν συνέβη μηδὲν
ὑπὸ τῆς πολιτικῆς ἐπιταραχθῆναι διχοστασίας πολέμων
τὴν πόλιν περιστάντων ἀλλοεθνῶν. ἐν ἅπασι μὲν οὖν
ἔθνεσι καὶ τόποις Ἑλλήνων τε καὶ βαρβάρων φιλοῦσιν
αἱ τῶν ἔξωθεν κακῶν ἀνάπαυλαι ἐμφυλίους τε καὶ
ἐνδήμους ἐγείρειν πολέμους, μάλιστα δὲ τοῦτο πάσχουσιν, ὅσοι
πολεμιστὴν καὶ κακόπαθον αἱροῦνται
βίον ἐλευθερίας τε καὶ ἡγεμονίας πόθῳ. χαλεπαὶ γὰρ
αἱ μαθοῦσαι τοῦ πλείονος ἐφίεσθαι φύσεις ἐξειργόμεναι τῶν
συνήθων ἔργων καρτερεῖν· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο
οἱ φρονιμώτατοι τῶν ἡγεμόνων ἀεί τινας ἐκ τῶν ἀλλοεθνῶν
ἀναζωπυροῦσιν ἔχθρας, κρείττονας ἡγούμενοι
τῶν ἐντοπίων πολέμων τοὺς ἀλλοδαπούς. τότε δ´ οὖν,
ὥσπερ ἔφην, κατὰ δαίμονα τοῖς ὑπάτοις συνέπεσον αἱ
τῶν ὑπηκόων ἐπαναστάσεις. Οὐολοῦσκοι γάρ, εἴτε τῇ
πολιτικῇ Ῥωμαίων κινήσει πιστεύσαντες ὡς ἐκπεπολεμωμένου
τοῦ δημοτικοῦ πρὸς τοὺς ἐν τέλει, εἴτε τῆς
προτέρας ἥττης ἀμαχητὶ γενομένης αἰσχύνῃ παροξυνθέντες, εἴτ´
ἐπὶ ταῖς ἑαυτῶν δυνάμεσι πολλαῖς οὔσαις μέγα φρονήσαντες, εἴτε
διὰ ταῦτα πάντα πολεμεῖν
Ῥωμαίοις διέγνωσαν, καὶ συναγαγόντες ἐξ ἁπάσης πόλεως τὴν
νεότητα, μέρει μέν τινι τῆς δυνάμεως ἐπὶ
τὰς Ἑρνίκων τε καὶ Λατίνων πόλεις ἐστράτευσαν, τῇ
δὲ λοιπῇ, ἣ πλείστη τ´ ἦν καὶ κρατίστη, τοὺς ἐπὶ τὰς
πόλεις σφῶν ἥξοντας δέχεσθαι ἤμελλον. ταῦτα μαθοῦσι
Ῥωμαίοις ἔδοξε διχῇ νέμειν τὰς δυνάμεις καὶ
τῇ μὲν ἑτέρᾳ τὴν Ἑρνίκων τε καὶ Λατίνων διὰ φυλακῆς ἔχειν, τῇ
δ´ ἑτέρᾳ τὴν Οὐολούσκων λεηλατεῖν.
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Traduction française :
| [8,83] Accordingly, Lucius Aemilius, the son of Mamercus, and Caeso Fabius, the son of
Caeso, succeeded to the consulship in the two hundred and seventieth year60 after the
settlement of Rome, when Nicodemus was archon at Athens. It chanced fortunately
that their consulship was not disturbed at all by strife, since the state was beset by
foreign wars. Now in all nations and places, both Greek and barbarian, respites from
evils from abroad are wont to provoke civil and domestic wars; and this happens
especially among those peoples who choose a life of warfare and its hardships from a
passion for liberty and dominion. For natures which have learned to covet more than
they have find it difficult, when (p255) restrained from their usual employments, to
remain patient, and for this reason the wisest leaders are always stirring up the
embers of some foreign quarrels in the belief that wars waged abroad are better than
those fought at home. Be that as it may, at the time in question, as I said, the
uprisings of the subject nations occurred very fortunately for the consuls. For the
Volscians, either relying on the domestic disquiet of the Romans, in the belief that the
plebeians had been brought to a state of war with the authorities, or stung by the
shame of their former defeat received without striking a blow, or priding themselves
on their own forces, which were very numerous, or induced by all these motives,
resolved to make war upon the Romans. And assembling the youth from every city,
they marched with one a of their army against the cities of the Hernicans and Latins,
while with the other, which was very numerous and powerful, they proposed to await
the forces which should come against their own cities. The Romans, being informed
of this, determined to divide their army into two bodies, with one of which they would
keep guard over the territory of the Hernicans and Latins and with the other lay waste
that of the Volscians.
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