- Source
- Polybius. Vols. 1-4. Büttner-Wobst, Theodor, editor. Leipzig: Teubner, 1893.
- 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:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.13.1-1.13.13
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-12
The author explains the plan of the introductory narrative from the First Punic War to the Cleomenic War, highlighting the significance of the First Punic War over Sicily as the most suitable event for comparing the Roman and Carthaginian states.
ἀφεμένους1 δὲ τούτων λέγειν ὥρα περὶ τῶν προκειμένων, ἐπὶ βραχὺ καὶ κεφαλαιωδῶς προεκθεμένους τὰς ἐν τῇ προκατασκευῇ πράξεις.
It is time, therefore, to leave these matters and speak of our subject, after having set forth briefly and summarily the events in the introductory preparation.
ὧν εἰσι πρῶται κατὰ τὴν τάξιν αἱ γενόμεναι Ῥωμαίοις καὶ Καρχηδονίοις ἐν τῷ περὶ Σικελίας πολέμῳ.
First among these in order are the events that occurred between the Romans and the Carthaginians in the war over Sicily.
ταύταις2 συνεχὴς ὁ Λιβυκὸς πόλεμος· ᾧ συνάπτει τὰ κατʼ Ἰβηρίαν Ἀμίλκᾳ, μετὰ δὲ τοῦτον Ἀσδρούβᾳ πραχθέντα καὶ Καρχηδονίοις.
To this succeeds the Libyan War, with which are connected the achievements in Iberia accomplished by Hamilcar, and after him by Hasdrubal and the Carthaginians.
οἷς ἐγένετο κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν καιρὸν ἡ πρώτη Ῥωμαίων διάβασις εἰς τὴν Ἰλλυρίδα καὶ ταῦτα τὰ μέρη τῆς Εὐρώπης, ἐπὶ δὲ τοῖς προειρημένοις οἱ πρὸς τοὺς ἐν Ἰταλίᾳ Κελτοὺς ἀγῶνες.
At the same time as these occurred the first crossing of the Romans to Illyria and these parts of Europe, and following upon the aforementioned events, the struggles against the Celts in Italy.
τούτοις δὲ κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν καιρὸν παρὰ τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ὁ Κλεομενικὸς καλούμενος ἐνηργεῖτο πόλεμος, εἰς ὃν καὶ τὴν καταστροφὴν ἐποιησάμεθα τῆς ὅλης κατασκευῆς καὶ τῆς δευτέρας βύβλου.
At the same time with these, among the Greeks, the so-called Cleomenic War was being waged, with which we have made the conclusion of our entire introductory preparation and of our second book.
τὸ μὲν οὖν ἐξαριθμεῖσθαι τὰ κατὰ μέρος ὑπὲρ τῶν προειρημένων πράξεων οὐδὲν οὔθʼ ἡμῖν ἀναγκαῖον οὔτε τοῖς ἀκούουσι χρήσιμον.
Now, to enumerate in detail the individual circumstances of the aforementioned events is neither necessary for us nor useful for our readers.
οὐ γὰρ ἱστορεῖν ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν προτιθέμεθα, μνησθῆναι δὲ κεφαλαιωδῶς προαιρούμεθα χάριν τῆς προκατασκευῆς τῶν μελλουσῶν ὑφʼ ἡμῶν ἱστορεῖσθαι πράξεων.
For we do not propose to write the history of these events, but we choose to mention them summarily for the sake of the preparation for those events which are to be narrated by us.
διόπερ ἐπὶ κεφαλαίων ψαύοντες κατὰ τὸ συνεχὲς τῶν προειρημένων πειρασόμεθα συνάψαι τὴν τελευτὴν τῆς προκατασκευῆς τῇ τῆς ἡμετέρας ἱστορίας ἀρχῇ καὶ προθέσει.
Therefore, touching only upon the main points in the continuity of the aforementioned, we shall attempt to connect the end of our introductory preparation with the beginning and subject of our actual history.
τοῦτον γὰρ τὸν τρόπον3 συνεχοῦς γινομένης τῆς διηγήσεως, ἡμεῖς τε δόξομεν εὐλόγως ἐφάπτεσθαι τῶν ἤδη προϊστορημένων ἑτέροις, τοῖς τε φιλομαθοῦσιν ἐκ τῆς τοιαύτης οἰκονομίας εὐμαθῆ καὶ ῥᾳδίαν ἐπὶ τὰ μέλλοντα ῥηθήσεσθαι παρασκευάσομεν τὴν ἔφοδον.
For if the narrative is made continuous in this manner, we shall be seen to connect our work reasonably with what has already been recorded by others, and we shall render the approach to what is to be told in the future easy and plain for studious readers by means of such an arrangement.
βραχὺ δʼ ἐπιμελέστερον πειρασόμεθα διελθεῖν ὑπὲρ τοῦ πρώτου συστάντος πολέμου Ῥωμαίοις καὶ Καρχηδονίοις περὶ Σικελίας.
We shall, however, attempt to go through with somewhat greater care the first war that arose between the Romans and the Carthaginians over Sicily.
οὔτε γὰρ πολυχρονιώτερον τούτου πόλεμον εὑρεῖν ῥᾴδιον οὔτε παρασκευὰς ὁλοσχερεστέρας οὔτε συνεχεστέρας πράξεις οὔτε πλείους ἀγῶνας οὔτε περιπετείας μείζους τῶν ἐν τῷ προειρημένῳ πολέμῳ συμβάντων ἑκατέροις.
For it is not easy to find a war more lasting than this, nor more comprehensive military preparations, nor more continuous operations, nor more numerous battles, nor greater vicissitudes of fortune than those which befell both parties in the aforementioned war.
αὐτά τε τὰ πολιτεύματα κατʼ ἐκείνους τοὺς καιροὺς ἀκμὴν ἀκέραια μὲν ἦν τοῖς ἐθισμοῖς, μέτρια δὲ ταῖς τύχαις, πάρισα δὲ ταῖς δυνάμεσιν.
Moreover, at those times the states themselves were still uncorrupted in their customs, moderate in their fortunes, and equal in their power.
διὸ καὶ τοῖς βουλομένοις καλῶς συνθεάσασθαι τὴν ἑκατέρου τοῦ πολιτεύματος ἰδιότητα καὶ δύναμιν οὐχ οὕτως ἐκ τῶν ἐπιγενομένων πολέμων ὡς ἐκ τούτου ποιητέον4 τὴν σύγκρισιν.
Therefore, for those who wish to perceive clearly the unique character and power of each state, the comparison must be made not so much from the subsequent wars as from this one.
- 1.13.1ἀφεμένους
The accusative participles ἀφεμένους and προεκθεμένους agree with the omitted subject of the infinitive λέγειν (ἡμᾶς), which is governed by the impersonal expression ὥρα ("it is time to...").
- 1.13.3ταύταις
The demonstrative pronoun ταύταις (dative plural feminine) refers back to αἱ γενόμεναι ... πράξεις (feminine plural) in §1.13.2, meaning the events of the Sicilian war. Meanwhile, the relative pronoun ᾧ (dative singular masculine) has ὁ Λιβυκὸς πόλεμος as its antecedent. The intransitive verb συνάπτει means "connects with" or "adjoins."
- 1.13.9τοῦτον γὰρ τὸν τρόπον
τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον is an adverbial accusative meaning "in this manner." The following phrase συνεχοῦς γινομένης τῆς διηγήσεως is a genitive absolute construction functioning as a conditional or circumstantial clause.
- 1.13.13ποιητέον
ποιητέον is the neuter singular of the verbal adjective ποιητέος used impersonally ("must be made"), with the agent of the action expressed in the dative case by τοῖς βουλομένοις ("by those who wish...").