- 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-grc2:1.54.1-1.54.8
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-12
The Consul Junius, leading the second Roman fleet, anchors in a dangerous area to avoid the enemy; while the Carthaginians manage to double Cape Pachynus and escape a rising storm, the Roman fleets are completely destroyed.
ὁ δʼ ἐν ταῖς Συρακούσαις ὑπολειφθεὶς στρατηγός, ἐπεὶ τὰ κατὰ τὴν πρόθεσιν ἐπετέλεσεν, κάμψας τὸν Πάχυνον ἐποιεῖτο τὸν πλοῦν ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ Λιλύβαιον, οὐδὲν εἰδὼς τῶν περὶ τοὺς προπλέοντας συμβεβηκότων.
The commander who had been left behind in Syracuse, after he had completed his intended duties, rounded Cape Pachynus and made his voyage towards Lilybaeum, knowing nothing of what had happened to those who had sailed on ahead.
ὁ δὲ τῶν Καρχηδονίων ναύαρχος, σημηνάντων τῶν σκοπῶν αὐτῷ πάλιν τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν τῶν ὑπεναντίων, ἀναχθεὶς ἔπλει μετὰ σπουδῆς, βουλόμενος αὐτοῖς ὡς πλεῖστον ἀπέχουσι τῶν οἰκείων νεῶν συμβαλεῖν.
But the Carthaginian admiral, when his scouts signaled to him again the appearance of the enemy, put to sea and sailed with haste, wishing to engage them while they were as far away as possible from their own ships.
ὁ δʼ Ἰούνιος κατιδὼν ἐκ πολλοῦ τὸν στόλον τὸν τῶν Καρχηδονίων καὶ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν σκαφῶν, οὔτε συμβαλεῖν τολμῶν οὔτʼ ἐκφυγεῖν ἔτι δυνατὸς ὢν διὰ τὸ σύνεγγυς εἶναι τοὺς πολεμίους, ἐγκλίνας εἰς τόπους τραχεῖς καὶ κατὰ πάντα τρόπον ἐπισφαλεῖς καθωρμίσθη, κρίνων αἱρετώτερον ὑπάρχειν ὅ,τι δέοι παθεῖν1 μᾶλλον ἢ τοῖς πολεμίοις αὔτανδρον τὸ σφέτερον στρατόπεδον ὑποχείριον ποιῆσαι.
Junius, having sighted the Carthaginian fleet and the great number of their vessels from a distance, neither daring to engage them nor being able to escape because the enemy were so close, turned aside into rugged and in every way precarious places and anchored there, judging that it was preferable to suffer whatever they might have to suffer rather than deliver their own force, crew and all, into the hands of the enemy.
συνιδὼν δὲ καὶ τὸ περὶ τούτου γεγονὸς ὁ τῶν Καρχηδονίων ναύαρχος τὸ μὲν παραβάλλεσθαι καὶ προσάγειν τοιούτοις τόποις ἀπεδοκίμασε, λαβὼν δʼ ἄκραν τινὰ καὶ προσορμισθεὶς ταύτῃ μεταξὺ τῶν στόλων ἐτήρει καὶ προσεῖχε τὸν νοῦν ἀμφοτέροις.
The Carthaginian admiral, having perceived what had happened in this regard, rejected the idea of exposing his ships to risk by approaching such places; instead, holding a certain headland and anchoring there, he kept watch between the two fleets and directed his attention to both.
ἐπιγενομένου δὲ χειμῶνος καὶ περιστάσεως προφαινομένης ἐκ τοῦ πελάγους ὁλοσχερεστέρας, οἱ μὲν τῶν Καρχηδονίων κυβερνῆται διά τε τὴν τῶν τόπων καὶ τὴν τοῦ πράγματος ἐμπειρίαν προορώμενοι τὸ μέλλον καὶ προλέγοντες τὸ συμβησόμενον ἔπεισαν τὸν Καρθάλωνα φυγεῖν τὸν χειμῶνα καὶ κάμψαι τὴν ἄκραν τοῦ Παχύνου.
But when a storm came on, and a more severe gale was visibly approaching from the open sea, the Carthaginian pilots, foreseeing the future and predicting what would happen owing to their experience both of the locality and of the weather, persuaded Carthalo to escape the storm and round Cape Pachynus.
πεισθέντος δὲ νουνεχῶς, οὗτοι μὲν πολλὰ μοχθήσαντες καὶ μόλις ὑπεράραντες τὴν ἄκραν ἐν ἀσφαλεῖ καθωρμίσθησαν, οἱ δὲ τῶν Ῥωμαίων στόλοι, τοῦ χειμῶνος ἐπιγενομένου καὶ τῶν τόπων εἰς τέλος ὑπαρχόντων ἀλιμένων, οὕτως διεφθάρησαν ὥστε μηδὲ τῶν ναυαγίων μηδὲν γενέσθαι χρήσιμον,2 ἀλλʼ ἀμφοτέρους αὐτοὺς ἄρδην καὶ παραλόγως ἀχρειωθῆναι.
He having wisely followed their advice, they, after much labor and with great difficulty doubling the cape, anchored in safety. But the Roman fleets, when the storm fell upon them and the locality was utterly devoid of harbors, were so completely destroyed that not even any of the wreckage could be of any use, and both of them were utterly and unexpectedly rendered useless.
- 1.54.4ὅ,τι δέοι παθεῖν
The verb δεῖ in the indirect question depending on κρίνων (present participle in a past context) is in the oblique optative (δέοι) due to the past tense of the main narrative.
- 1.54.8ὥστε μηδὲ τῶν ναυαγίων μηδὲν γενέσθαι χρήσιμον
A result clause with ὥστε followed by the infinitive (γενέσθαι). The double negatives μηδέ and μηδέν reinforce each other to express a strong emphasis: 'not even any of the wreckage...'