Scipio's Rational Calculation and Comparison with Lycurgus — Polybius, The Histories Book 10 (10.2.1–10.2.13), Greek & English

§10.2.1

ὅτι¹ μέλλοντες ἱστορεῖν τὰ πραχθέντα Ποπλίῳ κατὰ τὴν Ἰβηρίαν, συλλήβδην δὲ πάσας τὰς κατὰ τὸν βίον ἐπιτελεσθείσας αὐτῷ πράξεις, ἀναγκαῖον ἡγούμεθα τὸ προεπιστῆσαι τοὺς ἀκούοντας ἐπὶ τὴν αἵρεσιν καὶ φύσιν τἀνδρός.

As we are about to relate the achievements of Publius in Iberia, and in short, all the actions accomplished by him during his life, we think it necessary first to direct the attention of our hearers to the character and natural disposition of the man.

§10.2.2

τῷ γὰρ σχεδὸν ἐπιφανέστατον αὐτὸν γεγονέναι² τῶν πρὸ τοῦ, ζητοῦσι μὲν πάντες εἰδέναι τίς ποτʼ ἦν καὶ ἀπὸ ποίας φύσεως ἢ τριβῆς ὁρμηθεὶς τὰς τηλικαύτας καὶ τοσαύτας ἐπετελέσατο πράξεις, ἀγνοεῖν δὲ καὶ ψευδοδοξεῖν ἀναγκάζονται διὰ τὸ τοὺς ἐξηγουμένους ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ παραπεπαικέναι τῆς ἀληθείας.

For since he was almost the most illustrious of those before him, though everyone seeks to know who he was and starting from what natural disposition or training he accomplished such great and numerous deeds, yet they are forced to remain ignorant and hold false opinions because those who have written about him have strayed from the truth.

§10.2.4

ὅτι δʼ ἔστιν ὑγιὲς τὸ νυνὶ λεγόμενον ὑφʼ ἡμῶν δῆλον ἔσται διὰ τῆς ἡμετέρας ἐξηγήσεως τοῖς ἐπισημαίνεσθαι δυναμένοις τὰ κάλλιστα καὶ παραβολώτατα τῶν ἐκείνῳ πεπραγμένων.

That what we are now saying is sound will become clear through our narrative to those who are capable of appreciating the finest and most hazardous of his exploits.

§10.2.5

οἱ μὲν οὖν ἄλλοι πάντες αὐτὸν ἐπιτυχῆ τινα καὶ τὸ πλεῖον αἰεὶ παραλόγως καὶ ταὐτομάτῳ κατορθοῦντα τὰς ἐπιβολὰς παρεισάγουσι, νομίζοντες ὡς ἂν εἰ θειοτέρους εἶναι³ καὶ θαυμαστοτέρους τοὺς τοιούτους ἄνδρας τῶν κατὰ λόγον ἐν ἑκάστοις πραττόντων, ἀγνοοῦντες ὅτι τὸ μὲν ἐπαινετόν, τὸ δὲ μακαριστὸν εἶναι συμβαίνει τῶν προειρημένων, καὶ τὸ μὲν κοινόν ἐστι καὶ τοῖς τυχοῦσι, τὸ δʼ ἐπαινετὸν μόνον ἴδιον ὑπάρχει τῶν εὐλογίστων καὶ φρένας ἐχόντων ἀνδρῶν, οὓς καὶ θειοτάτους εἶναι καὶ προσφιλεστάτους τοῖς θεοῖς νομιστέον.

Now, all other writers represent him as a man of fortune, who succeeded in his enterprises for the most part unexpectedly and by mere chance, thinking that such men are, as it were, more divine and more admirable than those who act in each matter in accordance with reason, being ignorant that of the aforementioned things, one happens to be praiseworthy, while the other is merely blest, and that the latter is common even to ordinary men, whereas that which is praiseworthy belongs uniquely to men of sound reason and intelligence, who should be regarded both as most divine and as most beloved by the gods.

§10.2.8

ἐμοὶ δὲ δοκεῖ Πόπλιος Λυκούργῳ τῷ τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων νομοθέτῃ παραπλησίαν ἐσχηκέναι φύσιν καὶ προαίρεσιν.

To me, indeed, Publius seems to have possessed a natural disposition and purpose very similar to those of Lycurgus, the lawgiver of the Lacedaemonians.

§10.2.9

οὔτε γὰρ Λυκοῦργον ἡγητέον δεισιδαιμονοῦντα καὶ πάντα προσέχοντα τῇ Πυθίᾳ συστήσασθαι τὸ Λακεδαιμονίων πολίτευμα, οὔτε Πόπλιον ἐξ ἐνυπνίων ὁρμώμενον καὶ κληδόνων τηλικαύτην περιποιῆσαι τῇ πατρίδι δυναστείαν·

For we must neither suppose that Lycurgus established the Lacedaemonian constitution under the influence of superstition and by paying absolute attention to the Pythia, nor that Publius, acting on the impulse of dreams and omens, acquired so great a dominion for his country;

§10.2.10

ἀλλʼ ὁρῶντες ἑκάτεροι⁴ τοὺς πολλοὺς τῶν ἀνθρώπων οὔτε τὰ παράδοξα προσδεχομένους ῥᾳδίως οὔτε τοῖς δεινοῖς τολμῶντας παραβάλλεσθαι χωρὶς τῆς ἐκ τῶν θεῶν ἐλπίδος, Λυκοῦργος μὲν αἰεὶ προσλαμβανόμενος ταῖς ἰδίαις ἐπιβολαῖς τὴν ἐκ τῆς Πυθίας φήμην εὐπαραδεκτοτέρας καὶ πιστοτέρας ἐποίει τὰς ἰδίας ἐπινοίας, Πόπλιος δὲ παραπλησίως ἐνεργαζόμενος αἰεὶ δόξαν τοῖς πολλοῖς ὡς μετά τινος θείας ἐπιπνοίας ποιούμενος τὰς ἐπιβολάς, εὐθαρσεστέρους καὶ προθυμοτέρους κατεσκεύαζε τοὺς ὑποταττομένους πρὸς τὰ δεινὰ τῶν ἔργων.

but since both of them saw that the majority of mankind do not easily accept what is unexpected, nor dare to expose themselves to dangers without hope derived from the gods, Lycurgus, by always calling in the authority of the Pythian oracle to support his own designs, rendered his own ideas more acceptable and trustworthy, and Publius, in like manner, by always instilling in the minds of the multitude the belief that he was making his plans with some divine inspiration, rendered his subordinates more courageous and more ready to face dangerous enterprises.

§10.2.13

ὅτι δʼ ἕκαστα μετὰ λογισμοῦ καὶ προνοίας ἔπραττε, καὶ διότι πάντα κατὰ λόγον ἐξέβαινε τὰ τέλη τῶν πράξεων αὐτῷ, δῆλον ἔσται διὰ τῶν λέγεσθαι μελλόντων.

That he did indeed perform each action with calculation and foresight, and that the outcomes of all his actions turned out in accordance with reason, will be clear from what we are about to say.

Syntax notes4 items

10.2.1ὅτι
The ὅτι appearing at the beginning of the section is a characteristic usage in Polybius that lacks a grammatical main clause, functioning as an introduction to the topic ('regarding the fact that...') or showing a logical connection with the preceding section.
10.2.2τῷ γὰρ σχεδὸν ἐπιφανέστατον αὐτὸν γεγονέναι
An articular infinitive in the dative case (τῷ ... γεγονέναι) expressing cause ('because he had become...'). αὐτόν acts as the subject accusative of the infinitive.
10.2.6νομίζοντες ὡς ἂν εἰ θειοτέρους εἶναι
The phrase ὡς ἂν εἰ expresses a hypothetical comparison ('as if...'), modifying the accusative and infinitive clause (θειοτέρους εἶναι) which serves as the complement of νομίζοντες ('thinking').
10.2.10ἀλλʼ ὁρῶντες ἑκάτεροι
The participle ὁρῶντες ('seeing') modifies ἑκάτεροι ('each of the two'), while the main verbs of this structure branch into ἐποίει in §10.2.11 and κατεσκεύαζε in §10.2.12, contrasted by μέν ... δέ.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-10-09)

2026-10-09 Collated with the printed edition — source 1

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:10.2.1-10.2.13