Texte grec :
| [8,77] Τῷ δ´ ἑξῆς ἐνιαυτῷ τῆς ἑβδομηκοστῆς
καὶ τετάρτης ὀλυμπιάδος ἐνεστώσης, ἣν ἐνίκα στάδιον
Ἄστυλος Συρακούσιος, Ἀθήνησι δ´ ἄρχων ἦν Λεώστρατος,
Κοΐντου Φαβίου καὶ Σερουίου Κορνηλίου τὴν
ὑπατείαν παρειληφότων, ἄνδρες ἐκ τῶν πατρικίων νέοι
μὲν ἔτι τὴν ἡλικίαν, ἐπιφανέστατοι δὲ τῶν ἄλλων κατά
γ´ ἀξιώσεις προγόνων, καὶ διὰ τὰς ἑταιρίας τε καὶ
πλούτους μέγα δυνάμενοι, καὶ ὡς νέοι τὰ πολιτικὰ
πράττειν οὐδενὸς τῶν ἐν ἀκμῇ χείρους, Καίσων Φάβιος, ἀδελφὸς
τοῦ τότε ὑπατεύοντος, καὶ Λεύκιος Οὐαλέριος Ποπλικόλας,
ἀδελφὸς τοῦ καταλύσαντος τοὺς
βασιλεῖς, τὴν ταμιευτικὴν ἔχοντες ἐξουσίαν κατὰ τὸν
αὐτὸν χρόνον, καὶ διὰ τοῦτ´ ἐκκλησίαν συνάγειν ὄντες
κύριοι, τὸν ὑπατεύσαντα τῷ πρόσθεν ἐνιαυτῷ Σπόριον
Κάσσιον καὶ τολμήσαντα τοὺς περὶ τῆς διανομῆς εἰσηγήσασθαι
νόμους εἰσήγγειλαν εἰς τὸν δῆμον ἐπὶ τυραννίδος αἰτίᾳ· καὶ
προειπόντες ἡμέραν ῥητὴν ἐκάλουν
αὐτὸν ὡς ἐπὶ τοῦ δήμου τὴν δίκην ἀπολογησόμενον.
ὄχλου δὲ πλείστου συναχθέντος εἰς τὴν ἀποδειχθεῖσαν
ἡμέραν συγκαλέσαντες εἰς ἐκκλησίαν τὸ πλῆθος τά τ´
ἐμφανῆ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἔργα ὡς ἐπ´ οὐδενὶ χρηστῷ γενόμενα
διεξῄεσαν· ὅτι Λατίνοις μὲν πρῶτον, οἷς ἀπέχρη
πολιτείας κοινῆς ἀξιωθῆναι μέγα εὐτύχημα ἡγουμένοις,
εἰ καὶ ταύτης τύχοιεν, οὐ μόνον ἣν ᾔτουν πολιτείαν
ὕπατος ὢν ἐχαρίσατο, ἀλλ´ ἔτι καὶ τῶν ἐκ τοῦ πολέμου λαφύρων,
ἐὰν κοινὴ γένηται στρατεία, τὴν τρίτην
ἐψηφίσατο δίδοσθαι· ἔπειθ´ Ἕρνικας, οὓς πολέμῳ χειρωθέντας
ἀγαπᾶν ἐχρῆν, εἰ μὴ καὶ τῆς αὐτῶν χώρας
ἀφαιρέσει τινὶ ζημιωθεῖεν, φίλους μὲν ἀνθ´ ὑπηκόων
ἐποίησε, πολίτας δ´ ἀνθ´ ὑποτελῶν, γῆς τε καὶ λείας,
ἣν ἂν ἐκ παντὸς κτήσωνται, τὴν ἑτέραν ἔταξε λαμβάνειν τρίτην
μερίδα. ὥστε μεριζομένων εἰς τρεῖς κλήρους τῶν λαφύρων τοὺς
μὲν ὑπηκόους τε καὶ ἐπήλυδας
διμοιρίας λαμβάνειν, τοὺς δ´ αὐθιγενεῖς καὶ ἡγεμόνας
τρίτην μερίδα. ἐκ δὲ τούτου δυεῖν τῶν ἀτοπωτάτων
θάτερον ἐπεδείκνυσαν αὐτοῖς συμβησόμενον, ἐάν τινας
ἑτέρους διὰ πολλὰς καὶ μεγάλας εὐεργεσίας προέλωνται
ταῖς αὐταῖς τιμῆσαι δωρεαῖς, αἷς Λατίνους τ´ ἐτίμησαν
καὶ τοὺς μηδ´ ὁτιοῦν ἀγαθὸν ἀποδειξαμένους Ἕρνικας.
μιᾶς γὰρ καταλειπομένης αὐτοῖς τρίτης μερίδος, ἢ οὐχ
ἕξειν, ὅ τι δώσουσιν ἐκείνοις μέρος ἢ τὰ ὅμοια ψηφισαμένους
μηδὲν ἑαυτοῖς καταλείψειν.
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Traduction française :
| [8,77] The following year, at the beginning of the seventy-fourth Olympiad (the one at
which Astylus of Syracuse won the foot-race), when Leostratus was archon at Athens,
and Quintus Fabius and Servius Cornelius had succeeded to the consulship, two
patricians, young indeed in years, but the most distinguished of their body because of
the prestige of their ancestors, men of great influence both on account of their bands
of supporters and because of their wealth, and, for young men, inferior to none of
mature age for their ability in civil affairs, namely, Caeso Fabius, brother of the then
consul, and Lucius Valerius Publicola, brother to the man who overthrew the kings,
being quaestors at the same time and therefore having authority to assemble the
populace, denounced before them Spurius Cassius, the consul of the preceding year,
who had dared to propose the laws concerning the distribution of land, charging him
with having aimed at tyranny; and appointing a day, they summoned him to make his
defence before the populace. When a very large crowd has assembled upon the day
appointed, the two quaestors called the multitude together in assembly, and
recounting all his overt actions, showed that they were calculated for no good
purpose. First, in the case of the Latins, who would have been content with being
accounted worthy of a common citizenship with the Romans, esteeming it a great
piece of good luck to (p235) get even so much, he had as consul not only bestowed on
them the citizenship they asked for, but had furthermore caused a vote to be passed
that they should be given also the third part of the spoils of war on the occasion of any
joint campaign. Again, in the case of the Hernicans, who, having been subdued in
war, ought to have been content not to be punished by the loss of some part of their
territory, he had made them friends instead of subjects, and citizens instead of
tributaries, and had ordered that they should receive the second third of any land and
booty that the Romans might acquire from any source. Thus the spoils were to be
divided into three portions, the subjects of the Romans and aliens receiving two of
them and the natives and dominant race the third part. They pointed out that as a
result of this procedure one or the other of two most absurd situations would come
about in case they should choose to honour any other nation, in return for many great
services, by granting the same privileges with which they had honoured not only the
Latins, but also the Hernicans, who had never done them the least service. For, as
there would be but one third left for them, they would either have no part to bestow
upon their benefactors or, if they granted them the like favour, they would have
nothing for themselves.
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