Texte grec :
| [8,90] Ὡς δὲ καθῆκεν ὁ τῶν ἀρχαιρεσιῶν χρόνος,
ἐλθόντων τῶν ὑπάτων πολλὴ σπουδὴ καὶ παράταξις ἐγένετο τοῦ
δήμου πρὸς τοὺς πατρικίους περὶ
τῶν παραληψομένων τὴν ἡγεμονίαν ἀνδρῶν. ἐκεῖνοι
μὲν γὰρ ἐκ τῶν νεωτέρων ἐβούλοντο τοὺς δραστηρίους
τε καὶ ἥκιστα δημοτικοὺς ἐπὶ τὴν ὑπατείαν προαγαγεῖν· καὶ
μετῄει τὴν ἀρχὴν κελευσθεὶς ὑπ´ αὐτῶν ὁ
υἱὸς Ἀππίου Κλαυδίου τοῦ πολεμιωτάτου τῷ δήμῳ
δοκοῦντος εἶναι, μεστὸς αὐθαδείας ἀνὴρ καὶ θράσους,
ἑταίροις τε καὶ πελάταις ἁπάντων πλεῖστον τῶν καθ´
ἡλικίαν δυνάμενος· ὁ δὲ δῆμος ἐκ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων
τε καὶ τῶν πεῖραν ἤδη δεδωκότων τῆς ἐπιεικείας τοὺς
προνοησομένους τοῦ κοινῇ συμφέροντος ὀνομάζων ἠξίου
ποιεῖν ὑπάτους. αἵ τ´ ἀρχαὶ διειστήκεσαν καὶ τὰς
ἀλλήλων ἀνέλυον ἐξουσίας. ὁπότε μὲν γὰρ οἱ ὕπατοι
καλοῖεν τὸ πλῆθος ὡς ἀποδείξοντες τοὺς μετιόντας
τὴν ἀρχὴν ὑπάτους, οἱ δήμαρχοι τοῦ κωλύειν ὄντες
κύριοι διέλυον τὰ ἀρχαιρέσια, ὁπότε δ´ αὖ πάλιν ἐκεῖνοι
καλοῖεν ὡς ἀρχαιρεσιάσοντα τὸν δῆμον, οὐκ ἐπέτρεπον οἱ ὕπατοι
τὴν ἐξουσίαν ἔχοντες τοῦ συγκαλεῖν
τοὺς λόχους καὶ τὰς ψήφους ἀναδιδόναι. κατηγορίαι
τ´ ἀλλήλων ἐγίνοντο καὶ συνεχεῖς ἁψιμαχίαι καθ´ ἑταιρίας
συνισταμένων, ὥστε καὶ πληγὰς ἀλλήλοις διδόναι
τινὰς ὑπ´ ὀργῆς, καὶ οὐ μακρὰν ἀποσχεῖν τὴν στάσιν
τῶν ὅπλων. ταῦτα μαθοῦσα ἡ βουλὴ πολὺν ἐσκόπει
χρόνον, ὅ τι χρήσεται τοῖς πράγμασιν, οὔτε βιάσασθαι
δυναμένη τὸν δῆμον οὔτ´ εἶξαι βουλομένη. ἦν δ´ ἡ
μὲν αὐθαδεστέρα γνώμη δικτάτορα ἑλέσθαι τῶν ἀρχαιρεσιῶν
ἕνεκα, ὃν ἂν ἡγῶνται κράτιστον εἶναι· τὸν δὲ
λαβόντα τὴν ἐξουσίαν τούς τε νοσοποιοὺς ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ἐξελεῖν,
καὶ εἴ τι ἡμάρτηται ταῖς πρότερον ἀρχαῖς
ἐπανορθώσασθαι, τόν τε κόσμον τοῦ πολιτεύματος,
ὃν βούλεται, καταστησάμενον ἀνδράσι τοῖς κρατίστοις
ἀποδοῦναι τὰς ἀρχάς. ἡ δ´ ἐπιεικεστέρα μεσοβασιλεῖς
ἑλέσθαι τοὺς πρεσβυτάτους τε καὶ τιμιωτάτους ἄνδρας,
οἷς ἐπιμελὲς ἔσται τὰ περὶ τὰς ἀρχάς, ὅπως κράτισται
γενήσονται, προνοηθῆναι, τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον, ὅνπερ
ἐπὶ τῶν βασιλέων τῶν ἐκλιπόντων ἐγίνοντο. ταύτῃ
προσθεμένων τῇ γνώμῃ τῶν πλειόνων ἀποδείκνυται
πρὸς αὐτῶν μεσοβασιλεὺς Αὖλος Σεμπρώνιος Ἀτρατῖνος· αἱ δ´
ἄλλαι κατελύθησαν ἀρχαί. οὗτος ἐπιτροπεύσας τὴν πόλιν
ἀστασίαστον ὅσας ἐξῆν ἡμέρας ἕτερον ἀποδείκνυσιν, ὥσπερ
αὐτοῖς ἔθος ἦν, Σπόριον
Λάρκιον. κἀκεῖνος συγκαλέσας τὴν λοχῖτιν ἐκκλησίαν
καὶ τὰς ψήφους κατὰ τὰ τιμήματα ἀναδούς, ἐκ τῆς
ἀμφοτέρων εὐδοκήσεως ἀποδείκνυσιν ὑπάτους, Γάϊον
Ἰούλιον, τὸν ἐπικαλούμενον Ἴουλον, ἐκ τῶν φιλοδήμων, καὶ
Κόιντον Φάβιον Καίσωνος υἱὸν τὸ δεύτερον
ἐκ τῶν ἀριστοκρατικῶν. καὶ ὁ μὲν δῆμος οὐδὲν ἐκ
τῆς προτέρας ὑπατείας αὐτοῦ πεπονθὼς εἴασε τυχεῖν
ταύτης τῆς ἐξουσίας τὸ δεύτερον, μισῶν τὸν Ἄππιον
καὶ ὅτι ἐκεῖνος ἀτιμασθῆναι ἐδόκει σφόδρα ἡδόμενος·
τοῖς δ´ ἐν τέλει διαπεπραγμένοις δραστήριον ἄνδρα
καὶ οὐθὲν ἐνδώσοντα τῷ δήμῳ μαλακὸν ἐπὶ τὴν ὑπατείαν
παρελθεῖν, κατὰ γνώμην ἐδόκει κεχωρηκέναι τὰ
τῆς διχοστασίας.
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Traduction française :
| [8,90] When the time for the election of magistrates arrived and the consuls had
returned to Rome, there was great rivalry and marshalling of forces between the
populace and the patricians concerning the persons who were to receive the chief
magistracy. For the patricians desired to promote to the consulship those of the
younger men who were energetic and least inclined to favour the plebeians; and at
their behest the son of the Appius Claudius who was regarded as the greatest enemy
of the plebeians stood for the office, a man full of arrogance and daring and by reason
of his friends and clients the most powerful man of his age. The populace, on their
part, named from among the older men who had already given proof of their
reasonableness those who were likely to consult the common good, and desired to
make them consuls. The magistrates also were divided and sought to invalidate one
another's authority. For whenever the consuls called an assembly of the multitude,
to announce the candidates for the consulship, the tribunes, by virtue of their power
to intervene, would dismiss the comitia; and whenever the tribunes, in turn, called an
assembly of the people to elect magistrates, the consuls, who had the power of calling
the centuries together and of taking their votes, would not permit them to proceed.
There were mutual accusations and continual skirmishes between them, each side
uniting in factional groups, with the result that even angry blows were exchanged and
the sedition stopped little short of armed violence. (p281) The senate, being informed
of all this, deliberated for a long time how it should deal with the situation, being
neither able to force the populace to submit or willing to yield. The bolder opinion in
that body was for appointing a dictator, whomever they should considered to be the
best, for the purpose of the election, and that the one receiving this power should
banish the trouble-makers from the state, and if the former magistrates had been
guilty of any error, that he should correct it, and then, after establishing the form of
government he desired, should hand over the magistracies to the best men. The
more moderate opinion was for choosing oldest and most honoured senators as
interreges to have charge of the election and see that it was carried out in the best
manner, just as elections were formerly carried out upon the demise of their kings.
The latter opinion having been approved by the majority, Aulus Sempronius
Atratinus was appointed interrex by the senate and all the other magistracies were
suspended. After he had administered the commonwealth without any sedition for
as many days as it was lawful, he appointed another interrex, according to their
custom, naming Spurius Larcius. And Larcius, summoning the centuriate assembly
and taking their votes according to the valuation of their property, named for consuls,
with the approval of both sides, Gaius Julius, surnamed Iulus, one of the men friendly
to the populace and, to serve for the second time, Quintus Fabius, the son of Caeso,
who belonged to the aristocratic party. The populace, who had suffered naught at
his hands in the former consulship, permitted him to obtain this (p283) power for the
second time because they hated Appius and were greatly pleased that he seemed to
have been deprived of an honour; while those in authority, having succeeded in
advancing to the consulship a man of action and one who would show no weakness
toward the populace, thought the dissension had taken a course favourable to their designs.
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