Texte grec :
| [10,37] Ταῦτ´ ἐστίν, ὦ δημόται, τὰ φανερώσαντά
με καὶ εἰς ἡγεμονίας προαγαγόντα γενναῖα ἔργα. ἐπεὶ
δ´ ὀνόματος ἤδη λαμπροῦ τυγχάνων φανερὸς ἤμην,
ἅπαντας ὑπέμενον τοὺς λοιποὺς ἀγῶνας αἰδούμενος
τὰς ἐπὶ τοῖς προτέροις ἔργοις τιμὰς καὶ χάριτας
ἀφανίσαι. καὶ διετέλεσα πάντα τὸν μεταξὺ χρόνον
στρατευόμενος καὶ ταλαιπωρῶν καὶ οὐδένα κίνδυνον
δεδιὼς οὐδὲ ὑπολογιζόμενος· ἐξ ὧν ἁπάντων ἀριστεῖα
καὶ σκῦλα καὶ στεφάνους καὶ τὰς ἄλλας τιμὰς παρὰ
τῶν ὑπάτων ἔλαβον· ἵνα δὲ συνελὼν εἴπω, μάχας μὲν
ἐν τοῖς τετταράκοντα ἔτεσιν, ἐν οἷς διατελῶ στρατευόμενος, ἀμφὶ τὰς ἑκατὸν εἴκοσι
μεμάχημαι, τραύματα δὲ
πέντε καὶ τετταράκοντα εἴληφα καὶ πάντα ἐμπρόσθια,
κατὰ νώτου δ´ οὐθέν. καὶ τούτων δώδεκά ἐστιν, ἃ συνέβη μοι λαβεῖν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ μιᾷ,
ὅτε Σαβῖνος Ἑρδώνιος
τὴν ἄκραν καὶ τὸ Καπιτώλιον κατελάβετο. ἀριστεῖα
δ´ ἐκ τῶν ἀγώνων ἐξενήνεγμαι τεσσαρεσκαίδεκα μὲν
στεφάνους πολιτικούς, οἷς ἀνέδησάν με οἱ σωθέντες
ἐν ταῖς μάχαις ὑπ´ ἐμοῦ, τρεῖς δὲ πολιορκητικοὺς πρῶτος ἐπιβὰς πολεμίων τείχεσι
καὶ κατασχών, ὀκτὼ δὲ
τοὺς ἐκ παρατάξεως, οἷς ὑπὸ τῶν αὐτοκρατόρων ἐτιμήθην· πρὸς δὲ τούτοις
ὀγδοήκοντα μὲν καὶ τρεῖς
χρυσοῦς στρεπτοὺς περιαυχενίους, ἑξήκοντα δὲ καὶ
ἑκατὸν περιβραχιόνια χρύσεα, δόρατα δ´ ὀκτωκαίδεκα,
φάλαρα δ´ ἐπίσημα πέντε πρὸς τοῖς εἴκοσιν, † ὧν ἐννέα ἦσαν, οὓς μονομαχῆσαί τινα
ἡμῶν προκαλεσαμένους
ἑκούσιος ὑποστὰς ἐνίκησα. οὗτος μέντοι Σίκκιος, ὦ
πολῖται, ὁ τοσαῦτα μὲν ἔτη στρατευσάμενος ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν,
τοσαύτας δὲ μάχας ἀγωνισάμενος, τοσούτοις δὲ τετιμημένος ἀριστείοις, ὁ μηδένα
κίνδυνον ὀκνήσας πώποτε
μηδ´ ἀπειπάμενος ἄλλῃ ἐν παρατάξεσι καὶ ἐν τειχομαχίαις καὶ ἐν πεζοῖς καὶ ἐν
ἱππεῦσι καὶ μετὰ πάντων
καὶ σὺν ὀλίγοις καὶ μόνος, καὶ κατατετρωμένος ὅλον
τὸ σῶμα, ὁ συγκατακτησάμενος τῇ πατρίδι πολλὴν καὶ
ἀγαθὴν γῆν, τοῦτο μὲν ἣν Τυρρηνούς τε παὶ Σαβίνους
ἀφείλεσθε, τοῦτο δὲ ἣν Αἰκανῶν καὶ Οὐολούσκων καὶ
Πωμεντίνων κρατήσαντες ἔχετε, οὐδὲ τὴν ἐλαχίστην
ἔχω μοῖραν ἐξ αὐτῆς λαβών, οὐδ´ ὑμῶν, ὦ δημόται,
τῶν τὰ ὅμοια ταλαιπωρησάντων οὐδείς· οἱ δὲ βιαιότατοι τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει καὶ
ἀναιδέστατοι τὴν καλλίστην
κατέχουσιν ἐξ αὐτῆς καὶ πολλὰ ἔτη κεκάρπωνται οὔτε
δωρεὰν παρ´ ὑμῶν λαβόντες οὔτε χρημάτων πριάμενοι
οὔτε ἄλλην δικαίαν κτῆσιν οὐδεμίαν αὐτῆς ἀποδεῖξαι
δυνάμενοι. καὶ εἰ μὲν ἴσα τοῖς ἄλλοις ἡμῖν ταλαιπωρήσαντες,
ὅτ´ αὐτὴν ἐκτώμεθα, πλεῖον ἠξίουν ἡμῶν ἔχειν,
ἦν μὲν οὐδ´ οὕτω δίκαιον οὐδὲ πολιτικὸν ὀλίγους σφετερίσασθαι
τὰ κοινά, οὐ μὴν ἀλλ´ εἶχέ γέ τινα λόγον
ἡ πλεονεξία τῶν ἀνθρώπων· ὁπότε δ´ οὐθὲν ἔχοντες
ἐπιδείξασθαι μέγα καὶ νεανικὸν ἔργον, ἀνθ´ οὗ τὰ
ἡμέτερα βίᾳ κατέσχον, ἀναισχυντοῦσι καὶ οὐδ´ ἐξελεγχόμενοι
μεθίενται αὐτῶν, τίς ἂν ἀνάσχοιτο;
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Traduction française :
| [10,37] "These, plebeians, are the noble actions (p293) which brought me distinction and
preferment. After I had already gained an illustrious name and was famous,
I submitted to the hardships of all the other engagements, being ashamed to blot out
the memory of the honours and favours I had received for my former actions. And all
the time since then I have continued to take part in campaigns and undergo their
hardships without fearing or even considering my danger. From all these campaigns
I received prizes for valour, spoils, crowns, and the other honours from the consuls.
In a word, during the forty years I have continued to serve I have fought about one
hundred and twenty battles and received forty-five wounds, all in front and not one
behind; twelve of these I happened to receive in one day, when Herdonius the Sabine
seized the citadel and the Capitol. As to rewards for valour, I have brought out of
those contests fourteen civic crowns, bestowed upon me by those I saved in battle,
three mural crowns for having been the first to mount the enemy's walls and hold
them, and eight others for my exploits on the battlefield, with which I was honoured
by the generals; and, in addition to these, eighty-three gold collars, one hundred and
sixty gold bracelets, eighteen spears, twenty-five splendid decorations, . . . nine of
whom I voluntarily encountered and overcame when they challenged someone of our
men to fight in single combat. Nevertheless, citizens, this Siccius, (p295) who has
served so many years in your defence, fought so many battles, been honoured with so
many prizes for valour, who never shirked or declined any danger, but . . . in pitched
battles and assaults upon walled towns, among the foot and among the horse, with
all, with a few, and alone, whose body is covered be with wounds, and who has had a
share in winning this country much fertile land, both that which you have taken from
the Tyrrhenians and the substitutes and that which you possess after conquering the
Aequians, the Volscians and the Pometini — this Siccius, I say, has not received even
the least portion of this land as his to possess, nor has any one of you plebeians who
have shared in the same hardships. But the most violent and shameless men of the
city hold the finest part of it and have had the enjoyment of it for many years, without
having either received it from you as a gift or purchased it or being able to show any
other just title to it. If, indeed, they had borne an equal share of the hardships with
the rest of us when we were acquiring this land and had then demanded to have a
larger share of it than we, while it would not, even so, have been either just or
democratic that a few should appropriate what belongs to all in common, yet there
would at least be some excuse for the greed of these men; but when, though they
cannot point to any great or daring deed of theirs in payment for which they seized by
force the possessions that belong to us, they act in this shameless manner and even
when convicted do not give them up, who can bear it?
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