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Denys d'Halicarnasse, Les Antiquités romaines, livre X

Chapitre 21

  Chapitre 21

[10,21] Ἀποδοὺς δὲ τοῖς Τυσκλάνοις τὴν πόλιν Φάβιος περὶ δείλην ὀψίαν ἀνίστησι τὴν στρατιάν. καὶ ὡς εἶχε τάχους ἤλαυνεν ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους, ἀκούων περὶ πόλιν Ἀλγιδὸν ἀθρόας εἶναι τάς τε Οὐολούσκων καὶ τὰς Αἰκανῶν δυνάμεις. ποιησάμενος δὲ δι´ ὅλης νυκτὸς σύντονον ὁδὸν ὑπ´ αὐτὸν τὸν ὄρθρον ἐπιφαίνεται τοῖς πολεμίοις ἐστρατοπεδευκόσιν ἐν πεδίῳ καὶ οὔτε τάφρον περιβεβλημένοις οὔτε χάρακα, ὡς ἐν οἰκείᾳ τε γῇ καὶ καταφρονήσει τοῦ ἀντιπάλου. παρακελευσάμενος δὲ τοῖς ἀμφ´ αὐτὸν ἀγαθοῖς ἀνδράσι γίνεσθαι πρῶτος εἰσελαύνει μετὰ τῶν ἱππέων εἰς τὴν τῶν πολεμίων παρεμβολήν, καὶ οἱ πεζοὶ συναλαλάξαντες εἵποντο· τῶν δ´ οἱ μὲν ἔτι κοιμώμενοι ἐφονεύοντο, οἱ δ´ ἀρτίως ἀνεστηκότες καὶ πρὸς ἀλκὴν ἐπιχειροῦντες τραπέσθαι, οἱ δὲ πλείους φεύγοντες ἐσκεδάννυντο. ἁλόντος δὲ τοῦ στρατοπέδου κατὰ πολλὴν εὐπέτειαν ἐπιτρέψας τοῖς στρατιώταις τὰ χρήματα ὠφελεῖσθαι καὶ τὰ σώματα πλὴν ὅσα Τυσκλάνων ἦν, οὐ πολὺν ἐνταῦθα διατρίψας χρόνον ἐπὶ τὴν Ἐχετράνων πόλιν ἦγε τὴν δύναμιν, τότε ἦν τοῦ Οὐολούσκων ἔθνους ἐπιφανεστάτη τε κἀν τῷ κρατίστῳ μάλιστα τόπῳ κειμένη. στρατοπεδεύσας δὲ πλησίον τῆς πόλεως ἐπὶ πολλὰς ἡμέρας κατ´ ἐλπίδα τοῦ προελεύσεσθαι τοὺς ἔνδον εἰς μάχην, ὡς οὐδεμία ἐξῄει στρατιά, τὴν γῆν αὐτῶν ἐδῄου ἀνθρώπων μεστὴν οὖσαν καὶ βοσκημάτων. οὐ γὰρ ἔφθασαν ἀνασκευασάμενοι τὰ ἐκ τῶν ἀγρῶν αἰφνιδίου γενηθείσης αὐτοῖς τῆς ἐφόδου. ἐφεὶς δὲ καὶ ταῦτα τοῖς στρατιώταις διαρπάζειν Φάβιος καὶ πολλὰς ἐν τῇ προνομῇ διατρίψας ἡμέρας ἀπῆγεν ἐπ´ οἴκου τὴν δύναμιν. δ´ ἕτερος τῶν ὑπάτων Κορνήλιος ἐπὶ τοὺς ἐν Ἀντίῳ Ῥωμαίους τε καὶ Οὐολούσκους ἐλαύνων ἐπιτυγχάνει στρατιᾷ πρὸ τῶν ὁρίων αὐτὸν ὑποδεχομένῃ. παραταξάμενος δὲ αὐτοῖς καὶ πολλοὺς μὲν φονεύσας, τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς τρεψάμενος ἀγχοῦ τῆς πόλεως κατεστρατοπέδευσεν. οὐ τολμώντων δὲ τῶν ἐκ τῆς πόλεως οὐκέτι χωρεῖν εἰς μάχην πρῶτον μὲν τὴν γῆν αὐτῶν ἔκειρεν, ἔπειτα τὴν πόλιν ἀπετάφρευε καὶ περιεχαράκου. τότε δὴ πάλιν ἀναγκασθέντες ἐξῆλθον ἐκ τῆς πόλεως πανστρατιᾷ, πολὺς καὶ ἀσύντακτος ὄχλος, καὶ συμβαλόντες εἰς μάχην ἔτι κάκιον ἀγωνισάμενοι κατακλείονται τὸ δεύτερον εἰς τὴν πόλιν, αἰσχρῶς καὶ ἀνάνδρως φεύγοντες. δ´ ὕπατος οὐδεμίαν αὐτοῖς ἀναστροφὴν ἔτι δοὺς κλίμακας προσέφερε τοῖς τείχεσι καὶ κριοῖς ἐξέκοπτε τὰς πύλας. ἐπιπόνως δὲ καὶ ταλαιπώρως τῶν ἔνδον ἀπομαχομένων οὐ πολλὰ πραγματευθεὶς κατὰ κράτος αἱρεῖ τὴν πόλιν. χρήματα μὲν οὖν αὐτῶν, ὅσα χρυσὸς καὶ ἄργυρος καὶ χαλκὸς ἐνῆν, εἰς τὸ δημόσιον ἐκέλευσεν ἀναφέρειν, ἀνδράποδα δὲ τοὺς ταμίας παραλαμβάνοντας καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ λάφυρα πωλεῖν· τοῖς δὲ στρατιώταις ἐσθῆτα καὶ τροφὰς καὶ ὅς´ ἄλλα τοιαῦτα ἐδύναντο ὠφελεῖσθαι ἐπέτρεψεν. ἔπειτα διακρίνας τῶν τε κληρούχων καὶ τῶν ἀρχαίων Ἀντιατῶν τοὺς ἐπιφανεστάτους τε καὶ τῆς ἀποστάσεως αἰτίους - ἦσαν δὲ πολλοί - ῥάβδοις τε ᾐκίσατο μέχρι πολλοῦ καὶ τοὺς αὐχένας αὐτῶν ἐκέλευσεν ἀποτεμεῖν. ταῦτα διαπραξάμενος ἀπῆγε καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπ´ οἴκου τὴν δύναμιν. τούτοις βουλὴ τοῖς ὑπάτοις προσιοῦσί τε ἀπήντησε καὶ θριάμβους ἀμφοτέροις καταγαγεῖν ἐψηφίσατο· καὶ πρὸς Αἰκανοὺς πρεσβευσαμένους ὑπὲρ εἰρήνης ἐποιήσατο συνθήκας περὶ καταλύσεως τοῦ πολέμου, ἐν αἷς ἐγράφη, πόλεις τε καὶ χώρας ἔχοντας Αἰκανούς, ὧν ἐκράτουν, ὅτε αἱ σπονδαὶ ἐγίνοντο, Ῥωμαίοις εἶναι ὑπηκόους, ἄλλο μὲν ὑποτελοῦντας μηθέν, ἐν δὲ τοῖς πολέμοις συμμαχίαν ἀποστέλλοντας ὁσηνδήποτε, ὥσπερ καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι σύμμαχοι. καὶ τὸ ἔτος τοῦτο ἐτελεύτα. [10,21] After Fabius had restored the city to the Tusculans, he broke camp in the late afternoon and marched with all possible speed against the enemy, upon hearing that the combined forces of the Volscians and the Aequians lay near the town of Algidum. And having made a forced march all that night, he appeared before the enemy at early dawn, as they lay encamped in a plain without either a ditch or a palisade to defend them, inasmuch as they were in their own country and were contemptuous of their foe. Then, exhorting his troops to acquit themselves as brave men should, he was the first to charge into the enemy's camp at the head of the horse, and the foot, uttering their war-cry, followed. Some of the enemy were slain while they were still asleep and others just as they had got up and were attempting to defend themselves; but most of them scattered in flight. The camp having been taken with great ease, Fabius permitted the soldiers to keep for themselves the booty and the prisoners, except those who were Tusculans. Then, after a short stay there, he led them to Ecetra, which was at that time the most prominent city of the Volscian nation and the most strongly situated. When he had encamped near this city for many days in hopes that those inside would come out to fight, and no army issued forth, he laid waste their land, which was full of men and cattle; for the Volscians, surprised by the suddenness of the attack upon them, had not had time to remove their (p237) possessions out of the fields. These things also Fabius permitted his soldiers to plunder; and after spending many days in ravaging the country, he led the army home. The other consul, Cornelius, marching against the Romans and Volscians in Antium, found an army awaiting him before their borders; and arraying his forces against them, he killed many, and after putting the rest to flight, encamped near the city. But when the inhabitants no longer ventured to come out for battle, he first laid waste to their land and then surrounded the city with a ditch and palisades. Then indeed the enemy were compelled to come out again from the city with all their forces, a numerous and disorderly multitude; and engaging in battle and fighting with less bravery than before, they were shut up inside the city a second time, after a shameful and unmanly flight. But the consul, giving them no log any rest, planted scaling-ladders against the walls and broke down the gates with battering-rams; then, as the besieged with difficulty and painfully tried to fight them off, he with little trouble took the town by storm. He ordered that such of their effects as consisted of gold, silver and copper should be turned in to the treasury, and that the slaves and the rest of the spoils should be taken over and sold by the quaestors; but to the soldiers he granted the apparel and provisions and everything else of the sort that they could use for booty. Then, selecting both from the colonists and from the original inhabitants of Antium those who were the most prominent and had been the authors of the revolt — and there were many of these — he ordered them to be scourged (p239) with rods for a long time and then beheaded. After accomplishing these things he too led his army home. The senate went to meet these consuls as they approached the city and decreed that they both should celebrate a triumph. And when the Aequians sent heralds to sue for peace, they concluded with them a treaty for the termination of the war, in which it was stipulated that the Aequians should retain the cities and land which they possessed at the time of the treaty and be subject to the Romans without paying any tribute, but sending to their assistance in time of war a certain number of troops, like the rest of the allies. Thus ended that year.


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