Texte grec :
| [8,5] Ὑπὲρ δὲ τοῦ τίνα χρὴ πολεμεῖν αὐτοῖς τρόπον
προθέντων σκοπεῖν τῶν ἐν τοῖς τέλεσι παρελθὼν ὁ
Τύλλος συνεβούλευσεν αὐτοῖς καλεῖν τὸν Μάρκιον καὶ
παρ´ ἐκείνου πυνθάνεσθαι, πῶς ἂν ἡ Ῥωμαίων καταλυθείη
δύναμις· κράτιστα γὰρ ἁπάντων ἀνθρώπων
εἰδέναι, πῇ τε κάμνει τὰ τῆς πόλεως πράγματα καὶ πῇ
μάλιστα ἔρρωται. ἐδόκει ταῦτα, καὶ αὐτίκα πάντες
ἐβόων καλεῖν τὸν ἄνδρα. καὶ ὁ Μάρκιος ἧς ἐβούλετο
ἀφορμῆς λαβόμενος ἀνέστη κατηφὴς καὶ δεδακρυμένος
καὶ μικρὸν ἐπισχὼν χρόνον τοιούτους διέθετο λόγους·
Εἰ μὲν ἡγούμην ὑμᾶς ἅπαντας ὅμοια γινώσκειν περὶ
τῆς ἐμῆς συμφορᾶς, οὐκ ἂν ὑπελάμβανον ἀναγκαῖον
εἶναι περὶ αὐτῆς ἀπολογεῖσθαι· ἐνθυμούμενος δ´, ὡς
ἐν πολλοῖς καὶ διαφόροις ἤθεσιν εἰκός, εἶναί τινας,
οἷς παραστήσεται δόξα οὔτ´ ἀληθὴς οὔτε προσήκουσα
περὶ ἐμοῦ, ὡς οὐκ ἂν ἄτερ αἰτίας ἀληθοῦς καὶ δικαίας
ἐξήλασέ με ὁ δῆμος ἐκ τῆς πατρίδος, παντὸς μάλιστα
οἴομαι δεῖν πρῶτον ὑπὲρ τῆς ἐμῆς φυγῆς ἐν κοινῷ
πρὸς ἅπαντας ὑμᾶς ἀπολογήσασθαι. ἀλλ´ ἀνάσχεσθέ
μου, πρὸς θεῶν, καὶ οἱ κράτιστα ἐγνωκότες, ἃ πέπονθα
ὑπὸ τῶν ἐχθρῶν καὶ ὡς οὐ προσῆκόν μοι ταύτης πεπείραμαι τῆς
τύχης διεξιόντος, καὶ μὴ πρότερον ποθεῖτε,
ὅ τι χρὴ πράττειν ἀκοῦσαι, πρίν, ὁποῖός τις εἰμὶ ὁ
τὴν γνώμην ἀποδειξόμενος, ἐξετάσαι. ἔσται δὲ βραχὺς
ὁ περὶ αὐτῶν, κἂν πρόσωθεν ἄρξωμαι, λόγος. Ῥωμαίοις
τὸ μὲν ἐξ ἀρχῆς πολίτευμα ἦν μικτὸν ἔκ τε βασιλείας
καὶ ἀριστοκρατίας· ἔπειτα ὁ τελευταῖος βασιλεὺς Ταρκύνιος
τυραννίδα τὴν ἀρχὴν ἠξίου ποιεῖν. συστάντες
οὖν ἐπ´ αὐτὸν οἱ τῆς ἀριστοκρατίας ἡγεμόνες ἐκεῖνον
μὲν ἐξέβαλον ἐκ τῆς πόλεως, αὐτοὶ δὲ τὰ κοινὰ κατέσχον ἀρίστην
καὶ σωφρονεστάτην, ὡς ἅπαντες ὁμολογοῦσι, καταστησάμενοι
πολιτείαν. χρόνοις δ´ οὐ πολλοῖς τῶν νῦν πρότερον, ἀλλὰ τρίτον ἢ
τέταρτον τοῦτ´ ἔτος οἱ πενέστατοί τε καὶ ἀργότατοι τῶν πολιτῶν
πονηροῖς χρησάμενοι προστάταις ἄλλα τε πολλὰ ἐξύβρισαν,
καὶ τελευτῶντες καταλύειν τὴν ἀριστοκρατίαν ἐπεχείρουν. ἐφ´
οἷς ἅπαντες μὲν οἱ τῆς βουλῆς προεστηκότες ἤχθοντο καί, ὅπως
παύσωνται τῆς ὕβρεως οἱ
κινοῦντες τὴν πολιτείαν, σκοπεῖν ἠξίουν. ὑπὲρ ἅπαντας δὲ τοὺς
ἀριστοκρατικοὺς ἐκ μὲν τῶν πρεσβυτέρων
Ἄππιος ἀνὴρ πολλῶν ἄξιος ἕνεκεν ἐπαινεῖσθαι, ἐκ δὲ
τῶν νεωτέρων ἐγώ· καὶ λόγους ἐποιούμεθα διὰ παντὸς
ἐπὶ τῆς βουλῆς ἐλευθέρους οὐ δήμῳ πολεμοῦντες, ἀλλὰ
πονηροκρατίαν ὑφορώμενοι, οὐδὲ καταδουλώσασθαί τινα
βουλόμενοι Ῥωμαίων, ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν ἐλεύθερον ἅπασιν
ἀξιοῦντες ὑπάρχειν, τὴν δὲ προστασίαν τῶν κοινῶν
ἀποδεδόσθαι τοῖς κρείττοσι.
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Traduction française :
| [8,5] When the authorities had proposed to the assembly to consider in what manner
they ought to carry on the war against them, Tullus came forward and advised them
to summon Marcius and inquire of him how the power of the Romans might be
overthrown, since he knew better than any man both the weakness and the strength
of the commonwealth. This met with their approval, and at once they all cried out to
summon the man. Then Marcius, having found the opportunity he desired, rose up
with downcast looks and with tears in his eyes and after a brief pause spoke as follows:
"If I thought you all entertained the same opinion of my misfortune, I should not
think it necessary to make any defence of it; but when I consider that, as is to be
expected among many men of different characters, there are some to whom will occur
the notion, neither true nor deserved by me, that the (p17) people would not have
banished me from my country without a real and just cause, I think it necessary
above all things first to clear myself publicly before you all in the matter of my
banishment. But have patience with me, I adjure you by the gods, even those of you
who are beside acquainted with the facts, while I relate what I have suffered from my
enemies and show that I have not deserved this misfortune which has befallen me;
and do not be anxious to hear what you must do before you have inquired what sort
of man I am who am now going to express my opinion. The account I shall give of
these matters will be brief, even though I begin from far back.
"The original constitution of the Romans was a mixture of monarchy and
aristocracy. Afterwards Tarquinius, their last king, thought fit to make his
government a tyranny; for which reason the leading men of the aristocracy,
combining against him, expelled him from the state, and taking upon themselves the
administration of public affairs, formed such a system of government as all men
acknowledge to be the best and wisest. Not long ago, however, but only two or three
years since, the poorest and idlest of the citizens, having bad men as their leaders, not
only committed many other outrages, but at last endeavoured to overthrow the
aristocracy. At this all the leaders of the senate were grieved and thought they ought
to consider how the insolence of these disturbers of the government could be
stopped; but more active in this regard than the other aristocrats, were, of the older
senators, Appius, a man deserving of praise on many accounts, and, (p19) of the younger
men, I myself. And the speeches which on every occasion we made before the senate
were frank, not by way of making war upon the populace, but from a suspicion we
had of government by the worst elements; nor again from a wish to enslave any of the
Romans, but from a desire that the liberty of all might be preserved and the
management of public affairs be entrusted to the best men.
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