- 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-grc2:7.10A.1-7.10A.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Artabanus emphasizes the importance of comparing opposing opinions, recalling his past advice against Darius's failed expedition to Scythia, and warns Xerxes of the immense danger of invading the far superior Greeks.
ὦ βασιλεῦ, μὴ λεχθεισέων μὲν γνωμέων1 ἀντιέων ἀλλήλῃσι οὐκ ἔστι2 τὴν ἀμείνω αἱρεόμενον3 ἑλέσθαι, ἀλλὰ δεῖ τῇ εἰρημένῃ χρᾶσθαι, λεχθεισέων δὲ ἔστι, ὥσπερ τὸν χρυσὸν τὸν ἀκήρατον αὐτὸν μὲν ἐπʼ ἑωυτοῦ οὐ διαγινώσκομεν, ἐπεὰν δὲ παρατρίψωμεν ἄλλῳ χρυσῷ, διαγινώσκομεν τὸν ἀμείνω.
O King, if opinions contrary to one another are not spoken, it is not possible for one to choose and take the better one, but it is necessary to use the one that has been proposed; but if they are spoken, it is possible, just as we do not distinguish pure gold by itself, but when we rub it against other gold, we distinguish the better.
ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ πατρὶ τῷ σῷ, ἀδελφεῷ δὲ ἐμῷ Δαρείῳ ἠγόρευον μὴ στρατεύεσθαι ἐπὶ Σκύθας, ἄνδρας οὐδαμόθι γῆς ἄστυ νέμοντας. ὁ δὲ ἐλπίζων Σκύθας τοὺς νομάδας καταστρέψεσθαι ἐμοί τε οὐκ ἐπείθετο, στρατευσάμενός τε πολλοὺς καὶ ἀγαθοὺς τῆς στρατιῆς ἀποβαλὼν ἀπῆλθε.
I also advised your father, and my brother, Darius, not to march against the Scythians, men who inhabit no city anywhere on earth. But he, hoping to subjugate the nomadic Scythians, did not listen to me, and having made the expedition, he returned after losing many brave men of his army.
σὺ δὲ ὦ βασιλεῦ μέλλεις ἐπʼ ἄνδρας στρατεύεσθαι πολλὸν ἀμείνονας ἢ Σκύθας, οἳ κατὰ θάλασσάν τε ἄριστοι καὶ κατὰ γῆν λέγονται εἶναι. τὸ δὲ αὐτοῖσι ἔνεστι δεινόν,4 ἐμὲ σοὶ δίκαιον ἐστὶ φράζειν.5
But you, O King, are about to march against men far better than the Scythians, who are said to be the best both by sea and by land. It is right for me to declare to you what danger is inherent in them.
- 7.10A.1μὴ λεχθεισέων μὲν γνωμέων
A genitive absolute construction with the negative particle μὴ, expressing a condition ('if opinions are not spoken'). The feminine genitive plural ending -έων (likewise in γνωμέων and ἀντιέων) is an Ionic dialect feature corresponding to the Attic -ῶν (λεχθεισῶν, γνωμῶν, ἀντιῶν).
- 7.10A.1οὐκ ἔστι
Here ἔστι is used impersonally in the sense of ἔξεστι ('it is possible'), governing the infinitive ἑλέσθαι.
- 7.10A.1αἱρεόμενον
A masculine accusative singular present participle representing the subject of the infinitive ἑλέσθαι. In an impersonal construction with an infinitive (οὐκ ἔστι), the accusative is used to refer generally to the person making the choice.
- 7.10A.3τὸ δὲ αὐτοῖσι ἔνεστι δεινόν
A relative-like clause containing the verb ἔνεστι, nominalized by the article τὸ, serving as the direct object of the infinitive φράζειν in the main clause. It means 'the danger (or terrible thing) that is inherent in them.'
- 7.10A.3ἐμὲ σοὶ δίκαιον ἐστὶ φράζειν
An accusative-and-infinitive construction governed by the impersonal phrase δίκαιόν ἐστι ('it is right/just'). ἐμέ is the subject of the infinitive φράζειν, and the dative σοί depends on φράζειν ('to declare to you').
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — note 1