- Source
- Herodotus. Godley, Alfred Denis, editor. Cambridge, MA; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann, Ltd., 1920-1925 (printing).
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:3.73.1-3.73.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Gobryas strongly supports Darius's proposal for immediate action, reminding the conspirators of the humiliation of being ruled by a Magian and of Cambyses' dying injunctions.
λέγει Γοβρύης μετὰ ταῦτα ἄνδρες φίλοι, ἡμῖν κότε κάλλιον παρέξει1 ἀνασώσασθαι τὴν ἀρχήν, ἢ εἴ γε μὴ οἷοί τε ἐσόμεθα αὐτὴν ἀναλαβεῖν, ἀποθανεῖν; ὅτε γε ἀρχόμεθα μὲν ἐόντες Πέρσαι ὑπὸ Μήδου ἀνδρὸς Μάγου, καὶ τούτου ὦτα οὐκ ἔχοντος.2
After this Gobryas said: “My friends, when will there be a better opportunity for us to win back our empire, or, if we cannot regain it, to die? Since indeed we, who are Persians, are ruled by a Mede, a Magian, and one moreover who has no ears.
ὅσοι τε ὑμέων Καμβύσῃ νοσέοντι παρεγένοντο, πάντως κου μέμνησθε τὰ ἐπέσκηψε Πέρσῃσι τελευτῶν τὸν βίον μὴ πειρωμένοισι3 ἀνακτᾶσθαι τὴν ἀρχήν· τὰ τότε οὐκ ἐνεδεκόμεθα, ἀλλʼ ἐπὶ διαβολῇ ἐδοκέομεν εἰπεῖν Καμβύσεα.
And as many of you as were present with Cambyses on his deathbed surely, I suppose, remember the solemn injunctions he laid upon the Persians as he ended his life, if they should not attempt to recover the empire; which we did not then accept, but we thought Cambyses spoke from a desire to slander.
νῦν ὦν τίθεμαι ψῆφον πείθεσθαι Δαρείῳ καὶ μὴ διαλύεσθαι ἐκ τοῦ συλλόγου τοῦδε ἀλλʼ ἢ4 ἐπὶ τὸν Μάγον ἰθέως. ταῦτα εἶπε Γοβρύης, καὶ πάντες ταύτῃ αἴνεον.
Now, therefore, I give my vote to obey Darius, and not to break up this meeting except to go straight against the Magian.” Thus spoke Gobryas, and they all assented to this.
- 3.73.1παρέξει
The third-person singular future of παρέχω, used impersonally to mean 'opportunity will present itself'. The infinitives ἀνασώσασθαι and ἀποθανεῖν function as the logical subjects of this verb.
- 3.73.1καὶ τούτου ὦτα οὐκ ἔχοντος
A genitive absolute construction with the demonstrative τούτου as its logical subject. It refers back to Μήδου ἀνδρὸς Μάγου, adding a circumstantial or concessive detail: 'and that too when he has no ears.'
- 3.73.2μὴ πειρωμένοισι
The dative plural masculine of the present participle πειρώμενος, agreeing with Πέρσῃσι. It functions conditionally ('if they should not attempt'), which explains the use of the negative particle μή.
- 3.73.3ἀλλʼ ἢ
An idiomatic phrase used after a negative statement (here, μὴ διαλύεσθαι, 'not to break up') to express exception: 'except' or 'other than' (i.e., 'not to break up except to go straight against').