Texte grec :
| [10,7] Ταῦτ´ εἰπὼν ἀνίστησιν ἐκ τῶν συναρχόντων
Μάρκον Οὐολούσκιον καὶ λέγειν ἐκέλευσεν, ἃ σύνοιδε
τῷ μειρακίῳ. σιωπῆς δὲ γενομένης καὶ πολλῆς ἐξ
ἁπάντων προσδοκίας μικρὸν ἐπισχὼν ὁ Οὐολούσκιος
εἶπεν· Ἐγὼ μάλιστα ἐβουλόμην ἄν, ὦ πολῖται, δίκην
ἰδίαν, ἣν ὁ νόμος δίδωσί μοι, παρὰ τούτου λαβεῖν
δεινὰ καὶ πέρα δεινῶν πεπονθώς· κωλυθεὶς δὲ τούτου
τυχεῖν διὰ πενίαν καὶ ἀσθένειαν καὶ τὸ τῶν πολλῶν
εἷς εἶναι, νῦν γ´ ἡνίκα ἔξεστί μοι τὸ τοῦ μάρτυρος
σχῆμα, ἐπειδὴ οὐ τὸ τοῦ κατηγόρου, λήψομαι. ἃ δὲ
πέπονθα, ὡς ὠμὰ καὶ ἀνήκεστα, ἀκούσατέ μου. ἀδελφὸς
ἦν μοι Λεύκιος, ὃν ἐγὼ πάντων ἀνθρώπων μᾶλλον
ἠγάπησα. οὗτός μοι συνεδείπνει παρὰ φίλῳ, καὶ μετὰ
ταῦτ´ ἀναστάντες τῆς ἐχομένης νυκτὸς ᾠχόμεθα. διεληλυθόσι
δ´ ἡμῖν τὴν ἀγορὰν περιτυγχάνει Καίσων
οὑτοσὶ κωμάζων σὺν ἑτέροις ἀγερώχοις μειρακίοις.
καὶ οὗτοι τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἔσκωπτόν τε καὶ ὕβριζον εἰς
ἡμᾶς, οἷα μεθύοντες ἂν νέοι καὶ αὐθάδεις {ὡς ἂν} εἰς
ταπεινοὺς καὶ πένητας {ὑβρίσαιεν}, ὡς δ´ ἠγανακτοῦμεν
πρὸς αὐτούς, ἐλεύθερον ῥῆμα εἰς τοῦτον εἶπε. δεινὸν
δ´ ἡγησάμενος οὑτοσὶ Καίσων ἀκοῦσαί τι, ὧν οὐκ
ἐβούλετο, προσδραμὼν αὐτῷ παίων καὶ λακτίζων καὶ
πᾶσαν ἄλλην ὠμότητα καὶ ὕβριν ἐνδεικνύμενος ἀποκτείνει.
ἐμοῦ δὲ κεκραγότος καὶ ἀμυνομένου τοσαῦτα
ὅσα ἐδυνάμην, ἐκεῖνον ἤδη νεκρὸν κείμενον ἀφεὶς ἐμὲ
πάλιν ἔπαιε καὶ οὐ πρότερον ἐπαύσατο, πρὶν ἀκίνητόν
τε καὶ ἄφωνον εἶδεν ἐρριμμένον, δόξας εἶναι νεκρόν.
μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα οὗτος μὲν ἀπιὼν ᾤχετο χαίρων ὥσπερ
ἐπὶ καλῷ ἔργῳ· ἡμᾶς δὲ οἱ παραγενόμενοι μετὰ ταῦτα
αἵματι πεφυρμένους αἴρουσι καὶ εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν ἀπεκόμισαν,
τὸν μὲν ἀδελφόν μου {Λεύκιον} νεκρόν, ὥσπερ
ἔφην, ἐμὲ δὲ ἡμιθανῆ καὶ ἐλπίδας ἔχοντα τοῦ ζῆν
ὀλίγας. ταῦτα δ´ ἐγένετο Ποπλίου Σερουιλίου καὶ
Λευκίου Αἰβουτίου τὴν ὑπατείαν ἐχόντων, ὅτε ἡ μεγάλη
νόσος κατέλαβε τὴν πόλιν, ἧς ἀπελαύσαμεν καὶ ἡμεῖς
ἀμφότεροι. τότε μὲν οὖν δίκην οὐχ οἷόν τ´ ἦν μοι
παρ´ αὐτοῦ λαβεῖν τεθνηκότων ἀμφοτέρων τῶν ὑπάτων·
Λευκίου δὲ Λοκρητίου καὶ Τίτου Οὐετουρίου παρα–
λαβόντων τὴν ἀρχὴν βουλόμενος αὐτὸν ἀγαγεῖν ὑπὸ
δίκην ἐκωλύθην διὰ τὸν πόλεμον, ἐκλελοιπότων ἀμφοτέρων
τῶν ὑπάτων τὴν πόλιν. ὡς δὲ ἀνέστρεψαν
ἀπὸ τῆς στρατείας, πολλάκις αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν
καλῶν, ὁσάκις προσέλθοιμι - καὶ ταῦτα δὴ πολλοὶ
τῶν πολιτῶν ἴσασι - πληγὰς ἐλάμβανον ὑπ´ αὐτοῦ.
ταῦτ´ ἐστὶν ἃ πέπονθα, ὦ δημόται, μετὰ πάσης ἀληθείας
εἰρημένα πρὸς ὑμᾶς.
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Traduction française :
| [10,7] Having spoken thus, he asked Marcus Volscius, one of his colleagues, to rise up and
tell what he knew about the youth. When all had become silent and full of
expectation, Volscius, after a short pause, said: "I should have preferred, citizens, to
(p183) receive from this man private satisfaction, such as the law affords me, for the
terrible and worse than terrible wrongs I have suffered; but having been prevented
from obtaining this by reason of poverty and lack of influence and because of my
being one of the common crowd, now, when it is possible, I shall take the rôle of a
witness, since I can not take that of an accuser. Hear from me, then, the things I have
suffered, how cruel, how irreparable they were. I had a brother, Lucius, whom
I loved above all men. He and I supped with a friend and afterwards, as night came
on, we rose and departed. When we had passed through the Forum, Caeso here fell
in with us as he was revelling with other insolent youths. At first they laughed at us
and abused us, as young men when drunk and arrogant are apt to abuse the humble
and poor; and when we were vexed at them, Lucius9 spoke out frankly to this man.
But Caeso here, thinking it outrageous to have anything said to him that he did not
like, ran up to him, and beating and kicking him and showing every other form of
cruelty and abuse, killed him. And when I cried out and was doing all I could to
defend him, Caeso, leaving my brother Lucius where he already lay dead, fell to
beating me in turn, and ceased not until he saw me cast down upon the ground
motionless and speechless, so that he took me to be dead. After that he went (p185) away
rejoicing, as if over a noble deed. As for us, some persons who came along later took
us up, covered with blood, and carried us home, my brother being dead, as I said,
and I half dead and having little hope of living. This happened in the consulship of
Publius Servilius and Lucius Aebutius, when the city was attacked by the great
pestilence, which both of us caught. At that time, therefore, it was not possible for me
to obtain justice against him, since both consuls were dead; then, when Lucius
Lucretius and Titus Veturius had succeeded to the office, I wished to bring him to
trial, but was prevented by the war, both consuls having left the city. After they
returned from the campaign, I often cited him to appear before those magistrates, but
as often as I approached them — as many of the citizens know — I received blows
from him. These are the things I have suffered, plebeians, and I have related them to
you with complete truthfulness."
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