- 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-grc2:10.21.1-10.21.8
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-06
After pointing out the incompetence of the Achaean general Euryleon, the author explains the importance of describing Philopoemen's training and character as he begins his account of his deeds, and discusses the stylistic differences between biography and history.
ὅτι Εὐρυλέων ὁ τῶν Ἀχαιῶν στρατηγὸς ἄτολμος ἦν καὶ πολεμικῆς χρείας ἀλλότριος.
That Euryleon, the general of the Achaeans, was spiritless and a stranger to military practice.
τοῦ δὲ καιροῦ τοῦ κατὰ τὴν διήγησιν ἐφεστακότος ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν τῶν Φιλοποίμενος πράξεων,1 καθήκειν ἡγούμεθα, καθάπερ καὶ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν ἀξιολόγων ἀνδρῶν τὰς ἑκάστων ἀγωγὰς καὶ φύσεις ἐπειράθημεν ὑποδεικνύναι, καὶ περὶ τούτου ποιῆσαι τὸ παραπλήσιον.
Since the course of our narrative now brings us to the beginning of the deeds of Philopoemen, we consider it to be our duty, just as we have endeavored in the cases of other noteworthy men to point out the training and character of each, to do the same also for him.
καὶ γὰρ ἄτοπον τὰς μὲν τῶν πόλεων κτίσεις τοὺς συγγραφέας, καὶ πότε καὶ πῶς καὶ διὰ τίνων ἐκτίσθησαν, ἔτι δὲ τὰς διαθέσεις καὶ περιστάσεις μετʼ ἀποδείξεως ἐξαγγέλλειν, τὰς δὲ τῶν τὰ ὅλα χειρισάντων ἀνδρῶν ἀγωγὰς καὶ ζήλους παρασιωπᾶν, καὶ ταῦτα τῆς χρείας μεγάλην ἐχούσης τὴν διαφοράν·2
For it would be absurd for historians to report with proof the foundations of cities, when and how and by whom they were founded, and furthermore their layouts and circumstances, but to pass over in silence the training and ambitions of the men who directed entire affairs, especially since there is a great difference in the practical utility of these two.
ὅσῳ γὰρ ἄν τις καὶ ζηλῶσαι καὶ μιμήσασθαι δυνηθείη μᾶλλον τοὺς ἐμψύχους ἄνδρας τῶν ἀψύχων κατασκευασμάτων, τοσούτῳ καὶ τὸν περὶ αὐτῶν λόγον διαφέρειν εἰκὸς πρὸς ἐπανόρθωσιν τῶν ἀκουόντων.
For in proportion as one would be more able to emulate and imitate living men rather than inanimate structures, so much more is it natural for the narrative concerning them to excel in the correction of the readers.
εἰ μὲν οὖν μὴ κατʼ ἰδίαν ἐπεποιήμεθα τὴν περὶ αὐτοῦ σύνταξιν, ἐν ᾗ διεσαφοῦμεν καὶ τίς ἦν3 καὶ τίνων καὶ τίσιν ἀγωγαῖς ἐχρήσατο νέος ὤν, ἀναγκαῖον ἦν ὑπὲρ ἑκάστου τῶν προειρημένων φέρειν ἀπολογισμόν·
If, therefore, I had not composed a separate treatise on him, in which I made clear who he was, of what parentage, and what kind of training he received when he was young, it would have been necessary to give an account of each of these aforementioned matters.
ἐπεὶ δὲ πρότερον ἐν τρισὶ βυβλίοις ἐκτὸς ταύτης τῆς συντάξεως τὸν ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ πεποιήμεθα λόγον, τήν τε παιδικὴν ἀγωγὴν διασαφοῦντες καὶ τὰς ἐπιφανεστάτας πράξεις, δῆλον ὡς ἐν τῇ νῦν ἐξηγήσει πρέπον ἂν εἴη τῆς μὲν νεωτερικῆς ἀγωγῆς καὶ τῶν νεωτερικῶν ζήλων κατὰ μέρος ἀφελεῖν, τοῖς δὲ κατὰ τὴν ἀκμὴν αὐτοῦ κεφαλαιωδῶς ἐκεῖ δεδηλωμένοις ἔργοις προσθεῖναι καὶ κατὰ μέρος, ἵνα τὸ πρέπον ἑκατέρᾳ τῶν συντάξεων τηρῶμεν. ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐκεῖνος ὁ τόπος, ὑπάρχων ἐγκωμιαστικός, ἀπῄτει τὸν κεφαλαιώδη καὶ μετʼ αὐξήσεως τῶν πράξεων ἀπολογισμόν, οὕτως ὁ τῆς ἱστορίας,4 κοινὸς ὢν ἐπαίνου καὶ ψόγου, ζητεῖ τὸν ἀληθῆ καὶ τὸν μετʼ ἀποδείξεως καὶ τῶν ἑκάστοις παρεπομένων συλλογισμῶν.
But since I have previously written a discourse on him in three books, separate from this work, explaining both his childhood training and his most famous deeds, it is clear that in the present narrative it would be appropriate to omit detailed accounts of his early training and youthful ambitions, and to add detail to the deeds of his prime which were only summarized there, so that we may preserve what is fitting for each of the two works. For just as that genre, being encomiastic, demanded a summary and eulogistic account of his actions, so that of history, being common to both praise and blame, requires an account that is true, supported by proof, and accompanied by the reasoning that belongs to each event.
- 10.21.2τοῦ δὲ καιροῦ τοῦ κατὰ τὴν διήγησιν ἐφεστακότος ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν τῶν Φιλοποίμενος πράξεων
A genitive absolute construction opening the sentence. The subject is τοῦ καιροῦ, and ἐφεστακότος is the perfect active participle of ἐφίστημι, taking ἡμᾶς (accusative) as its object, meaning "since the proper time in the narrative brings us to the beginning of the deeds of Philopoemen."
- 10.21.3καὶ ταῦτα τῆς χρείας μεγάλην ἐχούσης τὴν διαφοράν
The idiomatic expression καὶ ταῦτα (especially, and that too) is here accompanied by a genitive absolute τῆς χρείας ... ἐχούσης. While καὶ ταῦτα usually takes an agreeing participle, here it introduces a genitive absolute to emphasize a concessive or additional circumstance: "especially since there is a great difference in utility."
- 10.21.5εἰ μὲν οὖν μὴ κατʼ ἰδίαν ἐπεποιήμεθα... ἀναγκαῖον ἦν...
A past contrary-to-fact conditional sentence. The verb in the protasis is ἐπεποιήμεθα (indicative pluperfect 1st person plural). In the apodosis, ἀναγκαῖον ἦν (past tense of an impersonal expression) lacks the particle ἄν, which is regular in classical Greek for past expressions of necessity, obligation, or possibility in contrary-to-fact apodoses.
- 10.21.8οὕτως ὁ τῆς ἱστορίας
This structure contrasts with the preceding clause ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐκεῖνος ὁ τόπος. The noun τόπος (genre, field of writing) is omitted after ὁ τῆς ἱστορίας. Furthermore, in the object of the following verb ζητεῖ, the noun ἀπολογισμόν (account, report) from the previous clause is omitted: τὸν ἀληθῆ καὶ τὸν μετʼ ἀποδείξεως... [ἀπολογισμόν].
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