- 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-grc2:10.3.1-10.3.7
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-07
Polybius introduces Laelius as a witness to Publius's true character, and recounts his first military exploit at the age of seventeen near the river Padus, where he saved his father's life from imminent danger.
ἐκεῖνος γὰρ ὅτι μὲν ἦν εὐεργετικὸς καὶ μεγαλόψυχος ὁμολογεῖται, διότι δʼ ἀγχίνους καὶ νήπτης καὶ τῇ διανοίᾳ περὶ τὸ προτεθὲν ἐντεταμένος, οὐθεὶς ἂν συγχωρήσειε πλὴν τῶν συμβεβιωκότων καὶ τεθεαμένων ὑπʼ αὐγὰς1 αὐτοῦ τὴν φύσιν.
For that he was beneficent and high-minded is universally admitted, but that he was sharp-witted, sober, and intent in mind upon the task before him, no one would concede except those who lived with him and had beheld his character in the clear light of day.
ὧν εἷς ἦν Γάιος Λαίλιος, ἀπὸ νέου μετεσχηκὼς αὐτῷ παντὸς ἔργου καὶ λόγου μέχρι τελευτῆς, ὁ ταύτην περὶ αὐτοῦ τὴν δόξαν ἡμῖν ἐνεργασάμενος διὰ τὸ δοκεῖν εἰκότα λέγειν καὶ σύμφωνα τοῖς ὑπʼ ἐκείνου πεπραγμένοις.
Of these, one was Gaius Laelius, who from youth until the end had shared with him in every deed and word, and who instilled this opinion about him in us because he seemed to speak plausibly and in harmony with the actions performed by him.
ἔφη γὰρ πρώτην γεγονέναι Ποπλίου πρᾶξιν ἐπίσημον, καθʼ ὃν καιρὸν ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ τὴν ἱππομαχίαν συνεστήσατο πρὸς Ἀννίβαν περὶ τὸν Πάδον καλούμενον ποταμόν.
For he said that the first famous exploit of Publius took place at the time when his father engaged in the cavalry battle against Hannibal near the river called Padus.
τότε γάρ, ὡς ἔοικεν, ἑπτακαιδέκατον ἔτος ἔχων καὶ πρῶτον εἰς ὕπαιθρον ἐξεληλυθώς, συστήσαντος αὐτῷ τοῦ πατρὸς διαφερόντων ἱππέων οὐλαμὸν ἀσφαλείας χάριν, συνθεασάμενος ἐν τῷ κινδύνῳ τὸν πατέρα περιειλημμένον ὑπὸ τῶν πολεμίων μετὰ δυεῖν ἢ τριῶν ἱππέων καὶ τετρωμένον ἐπισφαλῶς, τὰς μὲν ἀρχὰς ἐπεβάλετο παρακαλεῖν τοὺς μεθʼ αὑτοῦ βοηθῆσαι τῷ πατρί, τῶν δʼ ἐπὶ ποσὸν κατορρωδούντων διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν περιεστώτων πολεμίων, αὐτὸς εἰσελάσαι παραβόλως δοκεῖ καὶ τολμηρῶς εἰς τοὺς περικεχυμένους.
For then, as it seems, being seventeen years old and having gone out into the field for the first time, his father having assigned to him a troop of excellent cavalry for the sake of safety, when he saw in the danger that his father was surrounded by the enemy with only two or three horsemen and dangerously wounded, he at first attempted to exhort those with him to help his father; but as they hesitated to some extent because of the multitude of the surrounding enemies, he himself is thought to have charged recklessly and boldly into those who had surrounded him.
μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἀναγκασθέντων ἐμβαλεῖν οἱ μὲν πολέμιοι καταπλαγέντες διέστησαν, ὁ δὲ Πόπλιος ἀνελπίστως σωθεὶς πρῶτος αὐτὸς τὸν υἱὸν σωτῆρα προσεφώνησε πάντων ἀκουόντων.
After this, when the others also were forced to charge, the enemy were terrified and parted, and Publius, having been unexpectedly saved, was himself the first to address his son as his savior in the hearing of all.
περιγενομένης δʼ αὐτῷ τῆς ἐπʼ ἀνδρείᾳ φήμης ὁμολογουμένης διὰ τὴν προειρημένην χρείαν, λοιπὸν ἤδη πάντως αὑτὸν ἐδίδου2 κατὰ τοὺς ὕστερον καιροὺς εἰς τοὺς κατʼ ἰδίαν κινδύνους, ὅτʼ εἰς αὐτὸν ἀναρτηθεῖεν ὑπὸ τῆς πατρίδος αἱ τῶν ὅλων ἐλπίδες· ὅπερ ἴδιόν ἐστιν οὐ τῇ τύχῃ πιστεύοντος, ἀλλὰ νοῦν ἔχοντος ἡγεμόνος.
And when a universally acknowledged reputation for courage accrued to him because of the aforementioned service, thenceforward indeed he altogether refrained from exposing himself to personal dangers in later times, when the hopes of the whole state were suspended upon him; which is characteristic not of a leader who trusts in fortune, but of one who possesses intelligence.
- 10.3.1ὑπʼ αὐγὰς
An idiomatic expression meaning "under the rays [of the sun]" or "in the clear light of day," referring to examining something closely or in plain view. Here it signifies observing Publius's true character intimately and thoroughly.
- 10.3.7αὑτὸν ἐδίδου
Although the phrase literally means "he gave himself [to dangers]," the context (a wise leader carrying the state's hopes does not risk himself for personal bravery) and the following "ὅπερ... νοῦν ἔχοντος ἡγεμόνος" require a negative sense ("he refrained from/avoided exposing himself"). Many editors assume the loss of a negative like οὐκέτι or interpret the verb as carrying a restrictive nuance in this context.