Corps meurtri, corps parlant

Résumé Fr En

En 167 av. n.è, l’ancien consul M. Servilius prit la parole devant le peuple afin de le persuader de ne pas s’opposer au triomphe de Paul-Émile. À la fin de son discours, il découvrit et expliqua une à une les cicatrices acquises au cours des guerres menées à la tête de ses soldats. La toge de Servilius finit par glisser, et par découvrir une tumeur qu’il avait à l’aine. Alors le public se mit à rire. Servilius parvint pourtant à ses fins et le peuple vota unanimement en faveur du triomphe de Paul-Émile. Cette étude propose de réfléchir aux interactions entre le corps scarifié et difforme du général orateur, comme support d’un discours qui déterminait le sens du dévoilement de ce corps, et l’opinion du corps civique à qui il s’adressait, interactions qui permettent de comprendre non seulement que Servilius a convaincu le peuple, mais également le caractère exemplaire de cet épisode.

In 167 B.C., the former consul M. Servilius spoke in front of the people to convince him not to oppose Aemilius Paulus's triumph. At the end of his speech, he discovered and explained one by one the scars acquired during the wars led at the head of his soldiers. Servilius's toga finally slipped, discovering a tumor he had in his groin. Then the audience laughed. Servilius, however, achieved his ends, and the people voted unanimously in favour of the triumph of Paul-Émile. Servilius reached nevertheless his purpose and the people voted unanimously in favour of Aemilius Paulus's triumph. This study proposes to think about the interactions between the scarified and deformed body of the general speaker, as a support for a speech that determined the meaning of the unveiling of this body, and the opinion of the civic body to whom he addressed this speech, interactions which make possible to understand not only that Servilius has convinced the people, but also the exemplary character of this episode.