- 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-grc2:10.19.1-10.19.9
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-06
Publius Scipio delivers the seized Carthaginian funds to the quaestors, refrains from accepting a beautiful captive maiden out of self-control, and dispatches Laelius to Rome with the prisoners to report the victory.
μετὰ ταῦτα παρεδίδου τοῖς ταμίαις [τὰ χρήματα], ὅσα δημόσια κατελήφθη τῶν Καρχηδονίων.
After this, he delivered to the quaestors all the funds of the Carthaginians that had been seized as public property.
ἦν δὲ ταῦτα πλείω τῶν ἑξακοσίων ταλάντων, ὥστε προστεθέντων τούτων οἷς παρῆν αὐτὸς ἐκ Ῥώμης ἔχων τετρακοσίοις,1 τὴν ὅλην παράθεσιν αὐτῷ γενέσθαι τῆς χορηγίας πλείω τῶν χιλίων.
This amounted to more than six hundred talents, so that, when this was added to the four hundred talents which he himself had brought from Rome, the total reserve of his military funds available to him came to more than a thousand talents.
κατὰ δὲ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον νεανίσκοι τινὲς τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἐπιτυχόντες παρθένῳ κατὰ τὴν ἀκμὴν καὶ κατὰ τὸ κάλλος διαφερούσῃ τῶν ἄλλων γυναικῶν, καὶ συνιδόντες φιλογύνην ὄντα τὸν Πόπλιον, ἧκον αὐτὴν ἄγοντες καὶ παραστήσαντες ἔφασκον αὐτῷ δωρεῖσθαι τὴν κόρην.
About this time, some young Roman soldiers, having met with a maiden who in her prime of youth and beauty excelled all other women, and knowing that Publius was fond of women, came bringing her and, placing her before him, said they presented the girl to him as a gift.
ὁ δὲ καταπλαγεὶς καὶ θαυμάσας τὸ κάλλος, ἰδιώτης μὲν ὢν οὐδεμίαν ἥδιον ἂν ἔφη δέξασθαι ταύτης τῆς δωρεᾶς, στρατηγὸς δʼ ὑπάρχων οὐδʼ ὁποίαν ἧττον,2 ὡς μὲν ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ, τοῦτʼ αἰνιττόμενος διὰ τῆς ἀποφάσεως, διότι κατὰ μὲν τὰς ἀναπαύσεις ἐνίοτε καὶ ῥᾳθυμίας ἐν τῷ ζῆν ἡδίστας τοῖς νέοις ἀπολαύσεις τὰ τοιαῦτα παρέχεται καὶ διατριβάς, ἐν δὲ τοῖς τοῦ πράττειν καιροῖς μέγιστα γίνεται καὶ κατὰ σῶμα καὶ κατὰ ψυχὴν ἐμπόδια τοῖς χρωμένοις.
But he, being struck with admiration and marvelling at her beauty, said that if he were a private citizen, he would accept no gift more gladly than this, but since he was a general, there was no gift he should accept less. By this reply, in my opinion, he was hinting at the fact that, although during times of rest and occasional leisure in life such things afford the most pleasant enjoyment and pastimes for young men, yet in times of action they become the greatest obstacles, both to the body and to the soul, of those who indulge in them.
τοῖς μὲν οὖν νεανίσκοις ἔφη χάριν ἔχειν, τὸν δὲ τῆς παρθένου πατέρα καλέσας καὶ δοὺς αὐτὴν ἐκ χειρὸς ἐκέλευε συνοικίζειν ᾧ ποτʼ ἂν προαιρῆται τῶν πολιτῶν.
Therefore, having said that he thanked the young men, he summoned the girl’s father, and delivering her directly into his hands, bade him marry her to whichever of the citizens he himself preferred.
διʼ ὧν καὶ τὰ τῆς ἐγκρατείας καὶ τὰ τῆς μετριότητος ἐμφαίνων μεγάλην ἀποδοχὴν ἐνειργάζετο τοῖς ὑποταττομένοις. ταῦτα δὲ διοικησάμενος, καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ τῶν αἰχμαλώτων παραδοὺς τοῖς χιλιάρχοις, ἐξέπεμψε Γάιον τὸν Λαίλιον ἐπὶ πεντήρους εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην, τούς τε Καρχηδονίους συστήσας καὶ τῶν ἄλλων αἰχμαλώτων τοὺς ἐπιφανεστάτους, δηλώσοντα τοῖς ἐν τῇ πατρίδι τὰ γεγονότα.
By these actions, displaying both his self-control and moderation, he inspired great admiration and affection among his subjects. Having arranged these matters, and having delivered the rest of the prisoners to the military tribunes, he dispatched Gaius Laelius on a quinquereme to Rome, placing under his charge both the Carthaginians and the most distinguished of the other captives, in order to report the events to the people at home.
τὸ γὰρ πλεῖον αὐτῶν ἤδη τὰ κατὰ τὴν Ἰβηρίαν ἀπηλπικότων,3 σαφῶς ᾔδει διότι τούτων προσαγγελθέντων αὖθις ἀναθαρρήσαντες πολλαπλασίως συνεπιλήψονται τῶν πραγμάτων.
For since the majority of them had already despaired of the situation in Iberia, he knew clearly that once these tidings were announced, they would take courage again and support the conduct of affairs with many times greater zeal.
- 10.19.2οἷς παρῆν αὐτὸς ἐκ Ῥώμης ἔχων τετρακοσίοις
The relative pronoun οἷς is attracted into the dative case (attractio relativi) by its antecedent τετρακοσίοις, which is in the dative, whereas it would syntactically be expected to be the accusative ἃ as the object of ἔχων.
- 10.19.4οὐδʼ ὁποίαν ἧττον
This phrase, in contrast with the preceding οὐδεμίαν ἥδιον (none more gladly if a private citizen), conveys a strong rejection: 'as a general, there is no gift that he would accept less,' meaning he must not accept any such gift at all.
- 10.19.9τὸ γὰρ πλεῖον αὐτῶν ἤδη τὰ κατὰ τὴν Ἰβηρίαν ἀπηλπικότων
This is a genitive absolute construction where the subject of the clause, τὸ πλεῖον αὐτῶν (the majority of them, referring to the Romans at home), stands in the genitive case with the participle ἀπηλπικότων, expressing the reason for Scipio's confidence.