- 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-grc2:10.4.1-10.4.9
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-06
Publius devises a plan to help his older brother Lucius run for the aedileship, persuading their mother by telling her of a prophetic dream.
μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα, πρεσβύτερον ἔχων ἀδελφὸν Λεύκιον, καὶ τούτου προσπορευομένου1 πρὸς τὴν ἀγορανομίαν, ἣν σχεδὸν ἐπιφανεστάτην ἀρχὴν εἶναι συμβαίνει τῶν νέων παρὰ Ῥωμαίοις, ἔθους δʼ ὄντος δύο πατρικίους καθίστασθαι, τότε δὲ καὶ πλειόνων προσπορευομένων, ἐκ πολλοῦ μὲν οὐκ ἐτόλμα μεταπορεύεσθαι τὴν αὐτὴν ἀρχὴν τἀδελφῷ·
After this, as he had an older brother Lucius, and as the latter was standing for the aedileship, which happens to be perhaps the most distinguished office for young men among the Romans, and as it was the custom for two patricians to be appointed, and at that time more also were standing, for a long time he did not dare to stand for the same office as his brother.
συνεγγιζούσης δὲ τῆς καταστάσεως, λογιζόμενος ἐκ τῆς τοῦ πλήθους φορᾶς οὐκ εὐμαρῶς τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἐφιξόμενον τῆς ἀρχῆς, τὴν δὲ πρὸς αὑτὸν εὔνοιαν τοῦ δήμου θεωρῶν μεγάλην ὑπάρχουσαν, καὶ μόνως οὕτως ὑπολαμβάνων κἀκεῖνον καθίξεσθαι2 τῆς προθέσεως, εἰ συμφρονήσαντες ἅμα ποιήσαιντο τὴν ἐπιβολήν, ἦλθεν ἐπί τινα τοιαύτην ἔννοιαν.
But as the election drew near, calculating from the impulse of the multitude that his brother would not easily obtain the office, and seeing that the goodwill of the people towards himself was great, and conceiving that only in this way would the other also achieve his purpose, if they made the attempt together by common agreement, he hit upon the following plan.
θεωρῶν γὰρ τὴν μητέρα περιπορευομένην τοὺς νεὼς καὶ θύουσαν τοῖς θεοῖς ὑπὲρ τἀδελφοῦ καὶ καθόλου μεγάλην προσδοκίαν ἔχουσαν ὑπὲρ τοῦ μέλλοντος, ἧς μόνης ἔμελεν αὐτῷ3 —
For seeing his mother going around the temples and sacrificing to the gods on behalf of his brother, and generally having great expectations for the future, her alone being his concern—
τὸν μὲν γὰρ πατέρα τότε πλεῖν συνέβαινεν εἰς Ἰβηρίαν στρατηγὸν καθεσταμένον ἐπὶ τὰς προειρημένας πράξεις — οὐ μὴν ἀλλʼ4 ἔφη πρὸς αὐτὴν ὄνειρον τεθεωρηκέναι δὶς ἤδη τὸν αὐτόν.
for it happened that his father was then sailing to Iberia, having been appointed general for the aforementioned operations—nevertheless, he said to her that he had already twice seen the same dream.
δοκεῖν γὰρ ἅμα τἀδελφῷ καθεσταμένος ἀγορανόμος ἀναβαίνειν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγορᾶς ὡς ἐπὶ τὴν οἰκίαν, ἐκείνην δὲ συναντᾶν αὐτοῖς εἰς τὰς θύρας καὶ περιπτύξασαν ἀσπάσασθαι.
For he dreamt that, having been appointed aedile together with his brother, he was going up from the forum as if to their house, and that she met them at the doors and embraced and greeted them.
τῆς δὲ παθούσης τὸ γυναικεῖον πάθος καί τι προσεπιφθεγξαμένης "3Εἰ γὰρ ἐμοὶ ταύτην ἰδεῖν γένοιτο τὴν ἡμέραν"3 "3Βούλει"3 φησί " 3μῆτερ, πεῖραν λάβωμεν;"3 τῆς δὲ συγκαταθεμένης, ὡς οὐ τολμήσοντος αὐτοῦ, πρὸς δὲ τὸν καιρὸν οἱονεὶ προσπαίζοντος — καὶ γὰρ ἦν κομιδῇ νέος — ἠξίου τήβενναν αὑτῷ λαμπρὰν εὐθέως ἑτοιμάσαι·
And when she was affected by a womanly emotion and added, “3Would that it were granted to me to see this day!”3 “3Do you wish,”3 he said, “ 3mother, that we make trial?”3 And when she agreed, thinking he would not dare but was merely playing for the moment—for he was indeed quite young—he asked her to prepare a bright toga for him at once;
τοῦτο γὰρ ἔθος ἐστὶ τοῖς τὰς ἀρχὰς μεταπορευομένοις.
for this is the custom for those who stand for offices.
- 10.4.1τούτου προσπορευομένου
Genitive absolute construction meaning 'as he (his brother Lucius) was standing for office'. The verb προσπορεύομαι is used here in the technical sense of 'to stand/run for' a Roman office (Latin: petere).
- 10.4.3καθίξεσθαι
Future infinitive of καθικνέομαι (to reach, achieve), which governs the genitive object τῆς προθέσεως (purpose). It functions in an accusative-with-infinitive construction (with κἀκεῖνον = καὶ ἐκεῖνον as its subject accusative) dependent on the participle ὑπολαμβάνων (supposing).
- 10.4.4ἧς μόνης ἔμελεν αὐτῷ
A relative clause using the impersonal verb μέλει (to be a care to). The object of concern is represented by the genitive relative pronoun ἧς μόνης (referring back to the mother, τὴν μητέρα), and the person who cares is in the dative αὐτῷ (Publius). This parenthetical clause emphasizes that she was his sole concern.
- 10.4.5οὐ μὴν ἀλλʼ
An adversative idiomatic phrase ('nevertheless', 'howbeit') used to transition back to the main narrative (telling the dream to his mother) after the parenthesis in the preceding clause concerning his father's absence in Iberia.