Texte grec :
| [8,17] Οἱ δὲ Οὐολοῦσκοι τὸ μέγεθος τῆς κομιζομένης
λείας ὁρῶντες καὶ περὶ τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἀτολμίας
ἀκούοντες, οἳ δὴ τέως τὴν ἀλλοτρίαν λεηλατοῦντες
ἀδεῶς τότε τὴν αὑτῶν γῆν ἠνείχοντο δῃουμένην ὁρῶντες,
αὐχήματός τε μεγάλου ἐνεπίμπλαντο καὶ ἐν ἐλπίδι
ἦσαν ἡγεμονίας, ὡς δὴ ῥᾴδιον καὶ ἐν ἑτοίμῳ σφίσιν
ὂν καταλῦσαι τὴν τῶν ἀντιπάλων ἰσχύν, θυσίας τε
χαριστηρίους τοῖς θεοῖς ἐποιοῦντο καὶ σκύλων ἀναθέσει
τοὺς νεὼς καὶ τὰς ἀγορὰς ἐκόσμουν καὶ ἦσαν ἅπαντες
ἐν ἑορταῖς καὶ εὐπαθείαις τόν τε Μάρκιον ἀγάμενοι
καὶ ὑμνοῦντες διετέλουν, ὡς εἴη τά τε πολέμια δεινότατος
ἀνθρώπων καὶ στρατηγός, οἷος οὔτε Ῥωμαῖος οὔτε
ἄλλος {στρατηγὸς} Ἑλλήνων ἢ βαρβάρων οὐδείς. μάλιστα δὲ τῆς
τύχης αὐτὸν ἐμακάριζον ἅπαντα, ὅσοις
ἐπιχειρήσειε, κατὰ γνώμην αὐτῷ προχωροῦντα ὁρῶντες
δίχα πόνου· ὥστ´ οὐδεὶς ἦν τῶν ἐχόντων τὴν στρατεύσιμον
ἡλικίαν, ὃς ἀπολείπεσθαι τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἠξίου, ἀλλὰ
πάντες ὥρμηντο μετέχειν τῶν πράξεων καὶ συνῄεσαν
ὡς αὐτὸν ἐξ ἁπάσης πόλεως. ὁ δὲ στρατηγός, ἐπειδὴ
τὴν προθυμίαν τῶν Οὐολούσκων ἐπέρρωσε καὶ τὸ τῶν
πολεμίων ἀνδρεῖον εἰς ταπεινὴν καὶ ἄνανδρον κατέκλεισεν
ἀμηχανίαν, ἐπὶ τὰς συμμαχίδας αὐτῶν πόλεις,
ὅσαι τὸ πιστὸν διεφύλαττον, ἦγε τὴν δύναμιν· καὶ αὐτίκα
ἑτοιμασάμενος, ὅσα εἰς πολιορκίαν χρήσιμα ἦν,
ἐπὶ Τολερίνους ἐλαύνει τοῦ Λατίνων ὄντας ἔθνους.
οἱ δὲ Τολερῖνοι πρὸ πολλοῦ παρασκευασάμενοι τὰ εἰς
τὸν πόλεμον καὶ τὰ ἐκ τῆς χώρας εἰς τὴν πόλιν
συγκεκομικότες ἐδέχοντο αὐτὸν ἐπιόντα καὶ χρόνον μέν
τιν´ ἀντεῖχον ἀπὸ τῶν τειχῶν μαχόμενοι καὶ πολλοὺς
τῶν πολεμίων κατέτρωσαν· ἔπειθ´ ὑπὸ τῶν σφενδονητῶν
ἀναστελλόμενοι καὶ μέχρι δείλης ὀψίας ταλαιπωροῦντες πολλὰ
μέρη τοῦ τείχους ἐξέλιπον. τοῦτο
καταμαθὼν ὁ Μάρκιος τοῖς μὲν ἄλλοις στρατιώταις
παρήγγειλε κλίμακας προσφέρειν κατὰ τὰ γυμνούμενα
μέρη τοῦ περιβόλου, αὐτὸς δὲ τοὺς κρατίστους τῆς
στρατιᾶς ἀναλαβὼν ἐπὶ τὰς πύλας ἵεται βαλλόμενος
ἀπὸ τῶν πύργων, καὶ διαρρήξας τοὺς μοχλοὺς παρέρχεται
πρῶτος εἰς τὴν πόλιν. ἦν δ´ ὑφεστηκὸς ταῖς
πύλαις πολὺ καὶ καρτερὸν στῖφος τῶν πολεμίων, οἳ
δέχονταί τ´ αὐτὸν ἐρρωμένως καὶ μέχρι πολλοῦ διεκαρτέρουν
ἀγωνιζόμενοι· πολλῶν δ´ ἀναιρεθέντων τρέπονται οἱ λοιποὶ καὶ
σκεδασθέντες ἔφευγον ἀνὰ τοὺς
στενωπούς. ὁ δ´ ἠκολούθει κτείνων τοὺς καταλαμβανομένους,
ὅσοι μὴ τὰ ὅπλα ῥίψαντες εἰς ἱκεσίας ἐτράποντο· ἐν δὲ τούτῳ καὶ
οἱ διὰ τῶν κλιμάκων ἀναβαίνοντες ἐκράτουν τοῦ τείχους. τοῦτον
δὴ τὸν τρόπον ἁλούσης τῆς πόλεως ἐξελόμενος ὁ Μάρκιος ἐκ τῶν λαφύρων
ὅσα θεοῖς τ´ ἀναθήματα καὶ κόσμος ταῖς Οὐολούσκων πόλεσιν ἔμελλε
γενέσθαι, τὰ λοιπὰ τοῖς στρατιώταις ἐφῆκε διαρπάσαι. ἦν δὲ
πολλὰ μὲν αὐτόθι σώματα, πολλὰ δὲ χρήματα, πολὺς δὲ σῖτος, ὥστε
μὴ ῥᾴδιον εἶναι μιᾷ πάντα ἐκκομίσαι τοὺς κρατήσαντας
ἡμέρᾳ, ἀλλ´ ἐκ διαδοχῆς ἄγοντες καὶ φέροντες τὰ μὲν
αὐτοί, τὰ δ´ ἐπὶ τῶν ὑποζυγίων πολὺν ἠναγκάσθησαν διατρῖψαι χρόνον.
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Traduction française :
| [8,17] The Volscians, seeing the vast quantity of booty that was being brought home and
hearing reports of the craven spirit of the Romans who, though they had hitherto
been wont to ravage their neighbours' country, could now bear to see their own laid
waste with impunity, were filled with great boastfulness and entertained hopes of the
supremacy, looking upon it as an easy undertaking, lying ready to their hands, to
overthrow the power of their adversaries. They offered sacrifices of thanksgiving to
the gods for their success and adorned their temples and market-places with
dedications of spoils, and all passed their time in festivals and rejoicings; while as for
Marcius, they continued to admire and celebrate him as the ablest of all men in
warfare and a general (p47) without an equal either at Rome or in the Greek or
barbarian world. But above all they admired him for his good fortune, observing
that everything he undertook easily succeeded according to his desire; so that there
was no one of military age who was willing to be left behind by him, but all were eager
to share in his exploits and flocked to him from every city. The general, after he had
strengthened the zeal of the Volscians and reduced the manly fortitude of the enemy
to a helplessness that was abject and anything but manly, led his army against the
cities of their allies that still remained faithful to them; and having promptly
prepared everything that was necessary for a siege, he marched against the
Tolerienses, who belonged to the Latin nation. These, having long before made the
necessary preparations for war and transported all the effects they had in the country
into the city, withstood his attack and held out for some time, fighting from their
walls and wounding many of the enemy; then, after being driven back by the slingers
and enduring hardships till the late afternoon, they abandoned many parts of the
wall. When Marcius was informed of this, he ordered some of the soldiers to plant
ladders against those parts of the wall that were left unprotected, while he himself
with the flower of his army hastened to the gates amid a shower of spears that were
hurled at him from the towers; and breaking the bars asunder, he was the first to
enter the city. Close to the gates stood a large and strong body of the enemy's troops,
who stoutly withstood his attack and continued to fight for a long time; but p49 when
many of them had been killed, the rest gave way and, dispersing themselves, fled
through the streets. Marcius followed, putting to death all whom he overtook except
those who threw away their arms and had recourse to supplications. In the meantime
the men who had ascended by the ladders were making themselves masters of the
wall. The town being taken in this manner, Marcius set aside such of the spoils as
were to be consecrated to the gods and to adorn the cities of the Volscians, and the
rest he permitted the soldiers to plunder. Many prisoners were taken there, also a
great deal of money and much corn, so that it was not easy for the victors to remove
everything in one day, but they were forced to consume much time while, working in
relays, they drove or carried away the booty, either on their own backs or using beasts
of burden.
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