Texte grec :
| [17,1] Ὅτι ὁ Σαυνιτικὸς αὖθις ἀνερριπίσθη
πόλεμος ἀπὸ τοιαύτης αἰτίας ἀρξάμενος. μετὰ τὰς
σπονδάς, ἃς ἐποιήσαντο πρὸς τὴν Ῥωμαίων πόλιν οἱ
Σαυνῖται, χρόνον ὀλίγον ἐπισχόντες ἐπὶ Λευκανοὺς
ἐστράτευσαν ὁμόρους ὄντας ἐκ παλαιᾶς τινος ὁρμηθέντες
ἔχθρας. κατ´ ἀρχὰς μὲν οὖν ταῖς ἑαυτῶν δυνάμεσι
πιστεύοντες οἱ Λευκανοὶ τόν {τε} πόλεμον
διέφερον· ἐν ἁπάσαις δὲ μειονεκτοῦντες ταῖς μάχαις
καὶ πολλὰ μὲν ἀπολωλεκότες ἤδη χωρία, κινδυνεύοντες
δὲ καὶ περὶ τῆς ἄλλης γῆς ἁπάσης, ἐπὶ τὴν Ῥωμαίων
βοήθειαν ἠναγκάσθησαν καταφυγεῖν, συνειδότες μὲν
ἑαυτοῖς ἐψευσμένοις ἃς πρότερον ἐποιήσαντο πρὸς
αὐτοὺς ὁμολογίας, ἐν αἷς φιλίαν συνέθεντο καὶ συμμαχίαν,
οὐκ ἀπογνόντες δὲ συμπείσειν αὐτούς, ἐὰν ἐξ
ἁπάσης {τῆς} πόλεως τοὺς ἐπιφανεστάτους παῖδας ὁμήρους ἅμα τοῖς πρεσβευταῖς ἀποστείλωσιν· ὅπερ καὶ
συνέβη. ἀφικομένων γὰρ τῶν πρέσβεων καὶ
πολλὰ δεομένων ἥ τε βουλὴ δέχεσθαι τὰ ὅμηρα ἔγνω
καὶ τὴν φιλίαν πρὸς τοὺς Λευκανοὺς συνάψαι, καὶ ὁ
δῆμος ἐπεκύρωσε τὰ ψηφισθέντα ὑπ´ αὐτῆς. γενομένων
δὲ τῶν συνθηκῶν πρὸς τοὺς ἀποσταλέντας ὑπὸ
τῶν Λευκανῶν ἄνδρας οἱ πρεσβύτατοι Ῥωμαίων καὶ
τιμιώτατοι προχειρισθέντες ὑπὸ τῆς βουλῆς πρέσβεις
ἀπεστάλησαν ἐπὶ τὴν κοινὴν τῶν Σαυνιτῶν σύνοδον,
δηλώσοντες αὐτοῖς, ὅτι φίλοι καὶ σύμμαχοι Ῥωμαίων
εἰσὶ Λευκανοί, καὶ τήν τε χώραν ἣν ἔτυχον αὐτῶν
ἀφῃρημένοι παρακαλέσοντες ἀποδιδόναι, καὶ μηδὲν ἔτι
πράττειν ἔργον πολεμίων, ὡς οὐ περιοψομένης τῆς
Ῥωμαίων πόλεως τοὺς ἑαυτῆς ἱκέτας ἐξελαυνομένους
ἐκ τῆς σφετέρας.
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Traduction française :
| [17,1] (16.11) The Samnite war was once more kindled into flame, beginning from some
such cause as the following. After the treaty which the Samnites had made with
Rome, they waited a short time and then made an expedition against the Lucanians,
who were their neighbours, being moved thereto by some long-standing feud. 2 At
first the Lucanians carried on the war relying on their own forces; but getting the
worst of it in all the engagements, and having lost many districts already and being in
danger of losing all the rest of their land, they were forced to have recourse to the
Romans assistance. They were conscious, to be sure, of having broken the compact
they had made with the Romans earlier, in which they had pledged friendship and
alliance, but did not despair of persuading them if they should send to them along
with their ambassadors the most prominent boys from every city as hostages. 3 (12)
For when the ambassadors arrived and (p331) made many entreaties, the senate voted to
accept the hostages and to join friendship with the Lucanians; and the popular
assembly ratified their vote. 4 Upon the conclusion of the treaty with the emissaries of
the Lucanians the oldest and most honoured of the Romans were chosen by the
senate and sent as ambassadors to the general council of the Samnites to inform them
that the Lucanians were friends and allies of the Romans and to warn them not only
to restore the land they had taken away from them but also to commit no further act
of hostility, since Rome would not permit her suppliants to be driven out of their own
land.
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