第7巻 第9章

Greek τοῖς τε Ἰταλιώταις περιῆν ἅπασι πάσχειν τὰ χαλεπώτατα πρὸς ἑκατέρων τῶν στρατοπέδων.

Dewing As for the Italians, the result of the situation for them was that they all suffered most severely at the hands of both armies.

Greek τοὺς μὲν γὰρ ἀγροὺς ἐστέρηντο πρὸς τῶν πολεμίων, ὑπὸ δὲ τοῦ βασιλέως στρατοῦ ἔπιπλα πάντα. καὶ προσῆν αὐτοῖς αἰκίζεσθαί τε καὶ οὐδενὶ λόγῳ διαφθείρεσθαι, τῶν ἀναγκαίων τῇ ἀπορίᾳ πιεζομένοις.

Dewing For while, on the one hand, they were deprived of their lands by the enemy, the Emperor's army, on the other hand, took all their household goods. And they were forced besides to suffer cruel torture and death for no good cause, being hard pressed as they were by the scarcity of food.

Greek οἱ γὰρ στρατιῶται ἀμύνειν σφίσι κακουμένοις πρὸς τῶν πολεμίων οὐδαμῆ ἔχοντες οὐχ ὅσον ἐρυθριᾶν ὡς ἥκιστα ἐπὶ τοῖς παροῦσιν ἐγίνωσκον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς βαρβάρους ποθεινοὺς αὐτοῖς εἶναι οἷς ἐξημάρτανον ἀπειργάζοντο.

Dewing For the soldiers, though utterly unable to defend them when mistreated by the enemy, not only refused to feel the least blush of shame at existing conditions, but actually made the people long for the barbarians by reason of the wrongs they committed.

Greek οἷς δὴ Κωνσταντιανὸς ἀπορούμενος γράμματα Ἰουστινιανῷ βασιλεῖ ἔπεμψεν, ἄντικρυς ἀποφαίνων ὅτι δὴ Γότθων τῷ πολέμῳ ἀντέχειν ἀδύνατος εἴη.

Dewing And Constantianus, being at a loss because of this situation, sent a letter to the Emperor Justinian, setting forth plainly that he was unable to hold out in the war against the Goths.

Greek οἵ τε ἄλλοι ἄρχοντες, ὥσπερ τὴν γνώμην ἐπιψηφίζοντες, ἐν τούτῳ δὴ τῷ γραμματείῳ τὴν ὁμολογίαν ἐσήμαινον τῆς ἐς τὴν ἀγωνίαν ὀκνήσεως. Ἰταλιώταις μὲν τὰ πράγματα ἐφέρετο τῇδε. Τουτίλας δὲ Ῥωμαίων τῇ βουλῇ ἐπιστολὴν ἔπεμψεν.

Dewing And the other commanders, as if giving their vote in support of this view, indicated in this same letter their reluctance to carry on the struggle. Such then were the fortunes of the Italians. Meantime Totila sent a letter to the Roman senate written in the following terms.

Greek ἐδήλου δὲ ἡ γραφὴ τάδε· “Ὅσοι μὲν ἀδικοῦσι τοὺς πέλας ἢ προλαβούσης ἀγνοίας ἴσως ἢ λήθης ἐπιγενομένης τινός, τούτοις ἄξιον τοὺς τὰ δεινὰ πεπονθότας συγγνώμονας εἶναι. τὸ γὰρ τῆς ἁμαρτάδος ξυμπεσὸν αἴτιον τῶν ἐγκλημάτων αὐτοῖς παραιτεῖται τὸ πλεῖστον.

Dewing "Such men as wrong their neighbours, being either the victims of ignorance or blinded by some forget­fulness that has come upon them, may fairly be forgiven by the victims of their ill‑treatment. For their ignorance or forget­fulness, which led to their wrongdoing, also excuses it for the most part.

Greek ἢν δέ τις ἐκ προνοίας ἀδικῇ μόνης, τούτῳ δὲ μηδὲ ἀντιλέγειν ποτὲ περὶ τῶν πεπραγμένων λελείψεται.

Dewing If, however, any man does wrong as a result of deliberate intent solely, such a man will have nothing left with which even to defend his conduct.

Greek οὐ γὰρ τοῦ ἔργου μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς γνώμης αὐτὸς φέρεσθαι τὴν αἰτίαν δίκαιος ἂν εἴη.

Dewing For it is not the deed alone, but also the intention, for which this man himself must, in justice, bear the responsibility.

Greek οὐκοῦν, ἐπειδὴ ταῦτα οὕτως ἔχει, λογίζεσθε ἤδη τί ποτε ἄρα ὑμῖν ἀπολελογῆσθαι πρὸς τὰ ἐς Γότθους εἰργασμένα ξυμβήσεται· πότερα ὑμᾶς ἀγνοεῖν τὰς Θευδερίχου τε καὶ Ἀμαλασούνθης εὐεργεσίας τετύχηκεν, ἢ χρόνῳ τε αὐτὰς καὶ λήθῃ ἐν ὑμῖν ἐξιτήλους εἶναι;

Dewing Therefore, since this is so, consider forthwith what defence you will possibly be able to make for your actions toward the Goths. Has it really come to pass that you are ignorant of the good deeds of Theoderic and Amalasuntha, or have they been blotted from your minds with the lapse of time and forget­fulness?

Greek καίτοι οὐκ ἔστι τούτων οὐδέτερον. οὐ γὰρ ἐπὶ φαύλοις τισὶν οὐδὲ εἰς τοὺς ὑμετέρους τὰς χάριτας αὐτούς, κατὰ δὴ τὸν παλαιὸν χρόνον, ἐπιδεδεῖχθαι ξυνέβη, ἀλλ’ ἐν τοῖς ἀναγκαιοτάτοις ἔς γε ὑμᾶς αὐτοὺς ἔναγχός τε καὶ ἐξ ὑπογυίου, ὦ φίλοι Ῥωμαῖοι.

Dewing No, indeed; neither one of these is true. For it was not in some small matter, nor toward your ancestors in olden times that their kindness was displayed, but it was in matter of vital importance, dear Romans, towards your very selves, recently and in days that are close at hand.

Greek ἀλλὰ τὴν Γραικῶν ἐς τὸ ὑπήκοον ἀρετὴν ἢ ἀκοῇ λαβόντες ἢ πείρᾳ μαθόντες οὕτω δὴ προήσεσθαι αὐτοῖς τὰ Γότθων τε καὶ Ἰταλιωτῶν πράγματα ἔγνωτε;

Dewing But was it because you had been informed by hearsay or learned by experience the righteousness of the Greeks toward their subjects that you decided to abandon to them as you did the cause of the Goths and Italians?

Greek καίτοι ἐξεναγεῖσθε μὲν ὑμεῖς αὐτούς, οἶμαι, ἄριστα, ὁποίων δὲ αὐτῶν ἐτύχετε ξένων καὶ φίλων ἐπίστασθε δή που, εἴ τι τῶν Ἀλεξάνδρου μέμνησθε λογισμῶν.

Dewing At any rate, you, for your part, have, I think, entertained them royally, but you know full well what sort of guests and friends you have found them, if you have any recollection of the public accounts of Alexander.⁠

Greek ἐῶ γὰρ λέγειν τούς τε στρατιώτας καὶ τοὺς στρατιωτῶν ἄρχοντας, ὧν τῆς τε φιλοφροσύνης καὶ μεγαλοψυχίας ἀπώνασθε· ὧν δὴ αὐτοῖς ἕνεκα ἐς τοῦτο τύχης τὰ πράγματα ἥκει.

Dewing For I need make no mention of the soldiers and the commanders by whose friendliness and magnanimity you have profited; and it is precisely this conduct of these men which has brought their fortunes to such a pass.

Greek ὑμῶν δὲ οἰέσθω μηδεὶς μήτε ὑπὸ νέου φιλοτιμίας τὰ ὀνείδη ταῦτα ἐς αὐτοὺς φέρεσθαι μήτε με ἅτε βαρβάρων ἄρχοντα κομπωδεστέρους ποιεῖσθαι τοὺς λόγους.

Dewing Now let no one of you think that I am moved by youthful ambition to bring these reproaches against them nor that I am inclined to boastful speech merely because I am a ruler of barbarians.

Greek οὐ γὰρ ἡμετέρας ἀρετῆς ἔργον εἶναί φημι τὴν τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἐπικράτησιν, ἀλλὰ τίσιν τινὰ ἰσχυρίζομαι τῆς εἰς ὑμᾶς ἀδικίας αὐτοὺς μετελθεῖν.

Dewing For the overmastery of those men, I say, has not been a work of our valour, but I confidently maintain that a sort of vengeance has overtaken them for the wrongs you have suffered at their hands.

Greek καίτοι πῶς οὐκ ἂν τῶν ἀτοπωτάτων δόξειεν εἶναι τὸν μὲν θεὸν ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν αὐτοὺς τίννυσθαι, ὑμᾶς δὲ τῇ τούτων ἐμφιλοχωρεῖν ἀτοπίᾳ καὶ τῶν ἐντεῦθεν οὐκ ἐθέλειν ἀπηλλάχθαι κακῶν; δότε τοίνυν τινὰ πρόφασιν ὑμῖν μὲν αὐτοῖς τῆς ἐς τοὺς Γότθους ἀπολογίας,

Dewing How then could it fail to appear a most atrocious act on your part, that you, while God is exacting vengeance from them in your behalf, should cling fondly to that atrocity of theirs and be unwilling to be rid of the ills arising therefrom?

Greek ἡμῖν δὲ τῆς ἐς ὑμᾶς συγγνώμης. δώσετε δέ, ἤν γε μὴ ἀναμενοῦντες τὸ τοῦ πολέμου πέρας, ἀλλ’ ἔτι βραχείας τινὸς καὶ ταύτης ἀνονήτου ὑμῖν ἀπολελειμμένης ἐλπίδος ἕλησθε μὲν τὰ κρείσσω, ἐπανορθώσητε δὲ τὰ ἐς ἡμᾶς οὐ δέον ὑμῖν πεπραγμένα.”

Dewing Give yourselves, therefore, some ground for the defence you must make to the Goths, and give us, on the other hand, some ground for forgiveness toward you. And you will give this if, without proposing to await the conclusion of the war, now that there is only scant hope left in you, and that too of no avail, you choose the better course and set right the wrongs which you have committed against us."

Greek Τοσαῦτα μὲν ἡ γραφὴ ἐδήλου. ἐγχειρίσας δὲ αὐτὴν τῶν τισιν αἰχμαλώτων ὁ Τουτίλας ἐπὶ Ῥώμης ἐκέλευεν ἰόντας τοῖς ἐκ βουλῆς διδόναι.

Dewing Such then was the message which the writing set forth; and now Totila, pla­cing it in the hands of some of the captives, commanded them to go to Rome and give it to the senators. And they did this.

Greek καὶ οἱ μὲν κατὰ ταῦτα ἐποίουν. Ἰωάννης δὲ τοὺς τὸ γράμμα τοῦτο ἰδόντας ἀποκρίνασθαί τι πρὸς Τουτίλαν διεκώλυσε. διὸ δὴ αὖθις ὁ Τουτίλας γράψας γραμμάτια πολλά, ὅρκους τε αὐτοῖς τοὺς δεινοτάτους ἐνθέμενος διαρρήδην ἀπώμοσε μήποτε Ῥωμαίων τινὰ κακόν τι ἐργάσασθαι Γότθους.

Dewing But John prevented those who saw this letter from making any reply to Totila. For this reason Totila made a second attempt, writing a large number of short letters, in which he gave expression to the most solemn oaths, swearing in explicit terms that never would the Goths do any harm to anyone of the Romans.

Greek οἵτινες μὲν οὖν ἀνθρώπων ἐς Ῥώμην τὰ βιβλίδια ταῦτα ἐκόμισαν οὐκ ἔχω εἰπεῖν. ἅπαντα γὰρ ἀωρὶ τῶν νυκτῶν ἐν τοῖς διαφανέσι τῆς πόλεως χωρίοις παγέντα, ἐπεὶ ἐγένετο ἡμέρα, ἐγνώσθη· οἱ δὲ τοῦ Ῥωμαίων στρατοῦ ἄρχοντες ὑποψίᾳ πολλῇ ἐς τῶν Ἀρειανῶν τοὺς ἱερέας ἐχόμενοι ἔξω τῆς πόλεως κατεστήσαντο εὐθὺς ἅπαντας.

Dewing Now as to what persons conveyed these writings to Rome, I cannot speak; for all of them were posted late at night in the conspicuous places in the city, and only when it came day were they discovered; but the commanders of the Roman army entertained grave suspicions against the priests of the Arians, and consequently removed these all from the city immediately.

Greek Τουτίλας δὲ ταῦτα ἀκούσας μοῖραν μέν τινα τοῦ στρατοῦ πέμψας ἐς Καλαβρίαν ἀποπειράσασθαι τοῦ ἐν Δρυοῦντι φρουρίου ἐπέστελλεν. ἐπεὶ δὲ ὡς ἥκιστά οἱ προσχωρεῖν ἤθελον οἱ φυλακτήριον ταύτῃ ἔχοντες, τοὺς μὲν ἐνταῦθα ἐσταλμένους ἐκέλευεν ἐς πολιορκίαν καθίστασθαι, αὐτὸς δὲ τῷ πλείονι τοῦ στρατοῦ ἐς τὰ ἐπὶ Ῥώμης χωρία ᾔει.

Dewing Totila, upon hearing this, sent a certain portion of his army into Calabria, bidding them make trial of the fortress at Dryus.⁠ But since the troops keeping guard in this fortress absolutely refused to yield to him, he commanded the force which had been sent there to institute a siege, while he, with the greater part of the army, went to the vicinity of Rome.

Greek ταῦτα ἐπεὶ βασιλεὺς ἔμαθεν, ἔς τε ἀμηχανίαν ἐμπέπτωκε καὶ Βελισάριον ἐπὶ Τουτίλαν πέμψαι, καίπερ ἔτι Περσῶν ἰσχυρότατα ἐγκειμένων, ἠνάγκαστο. καὶ ὁ χειμὼν ἔληγε, καὶ τὸ ἔνατον ἔτος ἐτελεύτα τῷ πολέμῳ τῷδε, ὃν Προκόπιος ξυνέγραψεν.

Dewing When the emperor heard this, he was greatly embarrassed, and, in spite of the fact that the Persians were still pressing him very hard, was compelled to send Belisarius against Totila. And the winter drew to a close, and the ninth year ended in this war, the history of which Procopius has written.