- 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-grc2:7.10G.1-7.10G.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Artabanus advises Xerxes and warns Mardonius to stop slanderously urging a war against the Greeks, explaining the inherently unjust nature of slander which involves and harms multiple parties.
σοὶ μὲν δὴ ταῦτα ὦ βασιλεῦ συμβουλεύω· σὺ δέ, ὦ παῖ Γοβρύεω Μαρδόνιε, παῦσαι λέγων λόγους ματαίους περὶ Ἑλλήνων οὐκ ἐόντων ἀξίων φλαύρως ἀκούειν.1 Ἕλληνας γὰρ διαβάλλων ἐπαείρεις αὐτὸν βασιλέα στρατεύεσθαι· αὐτοῦ δὲ τούτου εἵνεκα δοκέεις μοι πᾶσαν προθυμίην ἐκτείνειν. μή νυν οὕτω γένηται.
This, O King, is the advice I give to you. But you, Mardonius, son of Gobryas, cease speaking empty words about the Greeks, who do not deserve to be spoken ill of. For by slandering the Greeks you are inciting the King himself to march in war; and for this very purpose, it seems to me, you are exerting all your zeal. May it not, then, happen so.
διαβολὴ γὰρ ἐστὶ δεινότατον· ἐν τῇ δύο μὲν εἰσὶ οἱ ἀδικέοντες, εἷς δὲ ὁ ἀδικεόμενος. ὁ μὲν γὰρ διαβάλλων ἀδικέει οὐ παρεόντι κατηγορέων, ὁ δὲ ἀδικέει ἀναπειθόμενος πρὶν ἢ ἀτρεκέως ἐκμάθῃ·2 ὁ δὲ δὴ ἀπεὼν τοῦ λόγου3 τάδε ἐν αὐτοῖσι ἀδικέεται, διαβληθείς τε ὑπὸ τοῦ ἑτέρου καὶ νομισθεὶς πρὸς τοῦ ἑτέρου κακὸς εἶναι.
For slander is a most terrible thing; in it there are two who commit injustice, and one who suffers it. For the slanderer commits injustice by accusing one who is not present, and the other commits injustice by being convinced before he has learned the truth for certain; and the one indeed who is absent from the talk suffers injustice among them in this way, being both slandered by the one and believed to be bad by the other.
- 7.10G.1φλαύρως ἀκούειν
The construction of the verb ἀκούω with an adverb (here φλαύρως, meaning 'badly' or 'ill') serves as a passive equivalent meaning 'to be spoken of' or 'to hear oneself called'. The infinitive functions as a complement to the adjective ἀξίων ('worthy of').
- 7.10G.2πρὶν ἢ ἀτρεκέως ἐκμάθῃ
The conjunction πρὶν ἤ ('before') is followed by the subjunctive ἐκμάθῃ (without ἄν, as is common in the Ionic dialect), introduced after a main clause with a negative implication (the injustice of being convinced prematurely).
- 7.10G.2ἀπεὼν τοῦ λόγου
The participle ἀπεών (Ionic for ἀπών, 'being absent') takes the genitive of separation τοῦ λόγου ('from the talk/discussion'), referring to the person who is not present at the conversation where the slander occurs.