Texte grec :
| [19,9] Βασιλεὺς Ἠπειρωτῶν Πύρρος, βασιλέως Αἰακίδου,
Ποπλίῳ Οὐαλερίῳ τῷ Ῥωμαίων
ὑπάτῳ χαίρειν. πεπύσθαι μὲν εἰκός σε παρ´ ἑτέρων,
ὅτι πάρειμι μετὰ τῆς δυνάμεως Ταραντίνοις τε καὶ
τοῖς ἄλλοις Ἰταλιώταις ἐπικαλεσαμένοις βοηθήσων· καὶ
μηδὲ ταῦτα ἀγνοεῖν, τίνων τε ἀνδρῶν ἀπόγονός εἰμι
καὶ τίνας αὐτὸς ἀποδέδειγμαι πράξεις καὶ πόσην δύναμιν
ἐπάγομαι καὶ ὡς τὰ πολέμια ἀγαθήν. οἰόμενος
δή σε τούτων ἕκαστον ἐπιλογιζόμενον μὴ περιμένειν,
ἕως ἔργῳ καὶ πείρᾳ μάθῃς τὴν κατὰ τοὺς ἀγῶνας
ἡμῶν ἀρετήν, ἀλλ´ ἀποστάντα τῶν ὅπλων χωρεῖν ἐπὶ
τοὺς λόγους, συμβουλεύω τε σοι, περὶ ὧν ὁ Ῥωμαίων
δῆμος διαφέρεται πρὸς Ταραντίνους ἢ Λευκανοὺς ἢ
Σαυνίτας ἐμοὶ τὴν διάγνωσιν ἐπιτρέπειν—διαιτήσω
γὰρ ἀπὸ παντὸς τοῦ δικαίου τὰ διάφορα—καὶ παρέξω
τοὺς ἐμαυτοῦ φίλους ἁπάσας τὰς βλάβας ἀποτίνοντας,
ἃς ἂν αὐτῶν ἐγὼ καταγνῶ. Ὀρθῶς δὲ
ποιήσετε καὶ ὑμεῖς βεβαιωτὰς παρασχόντες ὑπὲρ ὧν
ἂν ἐκείνων τινὲς ἐπικαλῶσιν, ὅτι τὰ κριθέντα ὑπ´ ἐμοῦ
φυλάξετε κύρια. ταῦτα ποιοῦσι μὲν ὑμῖν εἰρήνην
ἐπαγγέλλομαι παρέξειν καὶ φίλος ἔσεσθαι καὶ ἐφ´ οὓς
ἄν με παρακαλῆτε πολέμους προθύμως βοηθήσειν, μὴ
ποιοῦσι δ´ οὐκ ἂν ἐπιτρέψαιμι χώραν συμμάχων ἀνδρῶν
ἐξερημοῦν καὶ πόλεις Ἑλληνίδας ἀναρπάζειν καὶ
σώματα ἐλεύθερα λαφυροπωλεῖν, ἀλλὰ κωλύσω τοῖς
ὅπλοις, ἵνα παύσησθε ἤδη ποτὲ ἄγοντες καὶ φέροντες
ὅλην Ἰταλίαν καὶ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις ὡς δούλοις ἐντρυφῶντες.
ἐκδέξομαι δὲ τὰς σὰς ἀποκρίσεις μέχρι δεκάτης
ἡμέρας· περαιτέρω γὰρ οὐκ ἂν ἔτι δυναίμην.
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Traduction française :
| [19,9] (17.15) "The King of the Epirots, Pyrrhus, son of King Aeacides, to Publius Valerius,
consul of the Romans, greetings. You have presumably learned from others that
I have come with my army to the aid of the Tarentines and other Italiots in response
to their summons; presumably also you are not unaware from what men I am sprung
and what exploits I myself have performed and of the size of the army I bring with me
and its excellence in warfare. 2 Convinced as I am, then, that as you appraise each of
these factors you are not waiting to learn from fact and experience our valour in
battle, (p355) but having desisted from arms, are proceeding to words, I not only advise
you to leave to me the settlement of your differences with the Tarentines, Lucanians
and Samnites for I will arbitrate your differences with complete justice but I will
cause my friends to make good all the damage that I find them to have caused. 3 (16)
You Romans also will do well to offer sureties yourselves, with respect to any charges
that some of them may bring against you, that you will abide by my decisions as valid.
If you do this, I promise to give you peace and to be your friend and to aid you
zealously in any wars to which you may summon me; 4 but if you do not do so, I shall
not permit you to make desolate the country of men who are my allies, to plunder
Greek cities and sell freemen at auction, but I shall prevent you by force of arms, in
order that you may at last stop pillaging all Italy and treating all men arrogantly as if
they were slaves. I shall wait ten days for your answer; longer I cannot wait."
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