Texte grec :
| [19,5] Ὅτι Ποστόμιος πρέσβυς ἐστάλη πρὸς
Ταραντίνους· καί τινα αὐτοῦ διεξιόντος λόγον οὐχ
ὅπως προσεῖχον αὐτῷ τὴν διάνοιαν ἢ λογισμοὺς ἐλάμβανον
οἱ Ταραντῖνοι σωφρόνων ἀνθρώπων καὶ περὶ
πόλεως κινδυνευούσης βουλευομένων, ἀλλ´ εἴ τι μὴ
κατὰ τὸν ἀκριβέστατον τῆς Ἑλληνικῆς διαλέκτου χαρακτῆρα
ὑπ´ αὐτοῦ λέγοιτο παρατηροῦντες ἐγέλων, καὶ
πρὸς τὰς ἀνατάσεις ἐτραχύνοντο καὶ βαρβάρους ἀπεκάλουν
καὶ τελευτῶντες ἐξέβαλλον ἐκ τοῦ θεάτρου.
ἀπιόντων δ´ αὐτῶν εἷς τῶν ἐφεστηκότων ἐν τῇ παρόδῳ
Ταραντίνων, Φιλωνίδης ὄνομα, σπερμολόγος ἄνθρωπος,
ὃς ἀπὸ τῆς οἰνοφλυγίας, ᾗ παρὰ πάντα τὸν βίον
ἐκέχρητο, προσηγορεύετο Κοτύλη, μεστὸς ὢν ἔτι τῆς
χθιζῆς μέθης, ὡς ἐγγὺς ἦσαν οἱ πρέσβεις, ἀνασυράμενος
τὴν περιβολὴν καὶ σχηματίσας ἑαυτὸν ὡς
αἴσχιστον ὀφθῆναι, τὴν οὐδὲ λέγεσθαι πρέπουσαν
ἀκαθαρσίαν κατὰ τῆς ἱερᾶς ἐσθῆτος τοῦ πρεσβευτοῦ
κατεσκέδασε.
Γέλωτος δὲ καταρραγέντος ἐξ ὅλου τοῦ θεάτρου
καὶ συγκροτούντων τὰς χεῖρας τῶν ἀγερωχοτάτων
ἐμβλέψας εἰς τὸν Φιλωνίδην ὁ Ποστόμιος εἶπεν·
Δεξόμεθα τὸν οἰωνόν, ὦ σπερμολόγε ἄνθρωπε, ὅτι
καὶ τὰ μὴ αἰτούμενα δίδοτε ἡμῖν. ἔπειτα εἰς τὸν
ὄχλον ἐπιστραφεὶς καὶ τὴν ὑβρισμένην ἐσθῆτα δεικνύς,
ὡς ἔμαθεν ἔτι πλείονα γινόμενον ἐξ ἁπάντων
〈τὸν〉 γέλωτα καὶ φωνὰς ἤκουσεν ἐνίων ἐπιχαιρόντων
καὶ τὴν ὕβριν ἐπαινούντων· Γελᾶτε, ἔφησεν, ἕως
ἔξεστιν ὑμῖν, ἄνδρες Ταραντῖνοι, γελᾶτε· πολὺν γὰρ
τὸν μετὰ ταῦτα χρόνον κλαύσετε. ἐκπικρανθέντων δέ
τινων πρὸς τὴν ἀπειλήν· καὶ ἵνα γε μᾶλλον, ἔφησεν,
ἀγανακτήσητε, καὶ τοῦθ´ ὑμῖν λέγομεν, ὅτι πολλῷ τὴν
ἐσθῆτα ταύτην αἵματι ἐκπλυνεῖτε. ταῦτα οἱ τῶν Ῥωμαίων
πρέσβεις ὑβρισθέντες ὑπὸ τῶν Ταραντίνων ἰδίᾳ
τε καὶ δημοσίᾳ καὶ ταύτας τὰς φωνὰς ἐπιθεσπίσαντες
ἀπέπλευσαν ἐκ τῆς πόλεως.
|
|
Traduction française :
| [19,5] (17.7) Postumius was sent as ambassador to the Tarentines. As he was making an
address to (p347) them, the Tarentines, far from paying heed to him or thinking
seriously, as men should do who are sensible and are taking counsel for a state which
is in peril, watched rather to see if he would make any slip in the finer points of the
Greek language, and then laughed, became exasperated at his truculence, which they
called barbarous, and finally were ready to drive him out of the theatre. 2 As the
Romans were departing, one of the Tarentines standing beside the exit was a man
named Philonides, a frivolous fellow who because of his besotted condition in which
he passed his whole life was called Demijohn; and this man, being still full of
yesterday's wine, as soon as the ambassadors drew near, pulled up his garment, and
assuming a posture most shameful to behold, bespattered the sacred robe of the
ambassador with the filth that is indecent even to be uttered.
3 (8) When laughter burst out from the whole theatre and the most insolent clapped
their hands, Postumius, looking at Philonides, said: "We shall accept the omen, you
frivolous fellow, in the sense that you Tarentines give us what we do not ask for."
Then he turned to the crowd and showed his defiled robe; but when he found that the
laughter of everybody became even greater and heard the cries of some who were
exulting over and praising the insult, he said: 4 "Laugh while you may, Tarentines!
(p349) Laugh! For long will be the time that you will weep hereafter." When some
became embittered at this threat, he added: "And that you may become yet more
angry, we say this also to you, that you will wash out this robe with much blood."
5 The Roman ambassadors, having been insulted in this fashion by the Tarentines
both privately and publicly and having uttered the prophetic words which I have
reported, sailed away from their city.
|
|
