- 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-grc2:11.19.1-11.19.7
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-06
The author praises Hannibal's outstanding leadership in maintaining a diverse, multi-ethnic army for sixteen years in Italy without any mutiny, and suggests that he would have conquered the world had he faced the Romans last.
τίς οὐκ ἂν ἐπισημήναιτο1 τὴν ἡγεμονίαν καὶ τὴν ἀρετὴν καὶ τὴν δύναμιν ἐν τοῖς ὑπαίθροις τἀνδρός, βλέψας εἰς τὸ μῆκος τούτου τοῦ χρόνου, καὶ συνεπιστήσας αὑτὸν ἐπί τε τὰς καθόλου καὶ τὰς κατὰ μέρος μάχας καὶ πολιορκίας καὶ πόλεων μεταβολὰς καὶ περιστάσεις καιρῶν, ἐπί τε τὴν περιοχὴν τῆς ὅλης ἐπιβολῆς καὶ πράξεως, ἐν ᾗ συνεχῶς Ἀννίβας ἑκκαίδεκα πολεμήσας ἔτη Ῥωμαίοις κατὰ τὴν Ἰταλίαν οὐδέποτε διέλυσε τὰς δυνάμεις ἐκ τῶν ὑπαίθρων, ἀλλὰ συνέχων ὑφʼ αὑτόν, ὥσπερ ἀγαθὸς κυβερνήτης, ἀστασίαστα διετήρησε τοσαῦτα πλήθη καὶ πρὸς αὑτὸν καὶ πρὸς ἄλληλα, καίπερ οὐχ οἷον ὁμοεθνέσιν, ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ ὁμοφύλοις χρησάμενος2 στρατοπέδοις. εἶχε γὰρ Λίβυας, Ἴβηρας, Λιγυστίνους, Κελτούς, Φοίνικας, Ἰταλούς, Ἕλληνας, οἷς οὐ νόμος, οὐκ ἔθος, οὐ λόγος, οὐχ ἕτερον οὐδὲν ἦν κοινὸν ἐκ φύσεως πρὸς ἀλλήλους.
Who would not admire the leadership, excellence, and power of this man in the field, when looking at the length of this period, and when directing his attention to both the general and particular battles, sieges, defections of cities, critical situations, and the scope of his entire undertaking and action? In this undertaking, Hannibal, having waged war continuously against the Romans in Italy for sixteen years, never disbanded his forces from the field, but keeping them under his control, like a good helmsman, kept such great multitudes free from mutiny both toward himself and toward one another, even though he employed armies that were not only of different nations but not even of the same race. For he had Libyans, Iberians, Ligurians, Celts, Phoenicians, Italians, and Greeks, who had no law, no custom, no language, nor anything else in common by nature with one another.
ἀλλʼ ὅμως ἡ τοῦ προεστῶτος ἀγχίνοια τὰς τηλικαύτας καὶ τοιαύτας διαφορὰς ἑνὸς ἐποίει προστάγματος ἀκούειν καὶ μιᾷ πείθεσθαι γνώμῃ, καίπερ οὐχ ἁπλῆς οὔσης τῆς περιστάσεως, ἀλλὰ καὶ ποικίλης, καὶ πολλάκις μὲν αὐτοῖς λαμπρᾶς ἐπιπνεούσης τῆς τύχης, ποτὲ δὲ τοὐναντίον.
Yet, the sagacity of the leader made differences so great and of such a kind listen to a single command and obey a single will, even though the situation was not simple but varied, and sometimes fortune blew upon them splendidly, and at other times the reverse.
ἐξ ὧν εἰκότως ἄν τις θαυμάσειε τὴν τοῦ προεστῶτος δύναμιν ἐν τούτῳ τῷ μέρει, καὶ θαρρῶν εἴπειεν ὡς εἴπερ ποιησάμενος τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐπʼ ἄλλα μέρη τῆς οἰκουμένης ἐπὶ τελευταίους ἦλθε Ῥωμαίους, οὐδὲν ἂν τῶν προτεθέντων αὐτὸν διέφυγε.3
From these facts, one might reasonably admire the power of the leader in this respect, and say with confidence that if he had begun his conquests in other parts of the world and come against the Romans last of all, none of his projects would have escaped him.
νῦν δʼ, ἐφʼ οὓς ἔδει τελευταίους ἐλθεῖν, ἀπὸ τούτων ἀρξάμενος, ἐν τούτοις ἐποιήσατο καὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν τῶν πράξεων καὶ τὸ τέλος.
But as it was, having begun with those against whom he ought to have come last, he made both the beginning and the end of his exploits among them.
- 11.19.1τίς οὐκ ἂν ἐπισημήναιτο
A rhetorical question using the potential optative (optative with ἄν), expressing a strong conviction: 'Who would not admire...?' (implying everyone would).
- 11.19.3καίπερ οὐχ οἷον ὁμοεθνέσιν, ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ ὁμοφύλοις χρησάμενος
The correlative construction οὐχ οἷον... ἀλλ' οὐδέ means 'not only not... but not even.' It emphasizes that his troops were not just of different nationalities (ὁμοεθνέσιν), but not even of the same race (ὁμοφύλοις).
- 11.19.6ὡς εἴπερ ποιησάμενος τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐπʼ ἄλλα μέρη τῆς οἰκουμένης ἐπὶ τελευταίους ἦλθε Ῥωμαίους, οὐδὲν ἂν τῶν προτεθέντων αὐτὸν διέφυγε
Inside the ὡς clause (indirect speech), there is a past contrary-to-fact conditional sentence (protasis with past indicative εἴπερ... ἦλθε, apodosis with past indicative + ἄν οὐδὲν ἂν... διέφυγε). The participle ποιησάμενος functions temporally prior to ἦλθε ('if he had made his start... and then come').