- 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-grc2:11.6.1-11.6.10
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-05
Lyciscus, the Acarnanian envoy, concludes his speech by warning the Etolians of eventual Roman domination over Greece and urging a wiser decision. Subsequently, Philip's ambassadors present a two-option ultimatum of either accepting peace or bearing the blame for future consequences.
λων ἅπασι τοῖς Ἕλλησιν; ὅτι γάρ,1 ἂν Ῥωμαῖοι τὸν ἐν Ἰταλίᾳ πόλεμον ἀποτρίψωνται — τοῦτο δʼ ἐστὶν ἐν ὀλίγῳ, συγκεκλειμένου τῆς Βρεττίας εἰς πάνυ βραχεῖς τόπους Ἀννίβου —
...t of evils to all the Greeks? For, if the Romans should shake off the war in Italy — and this will be in a short time, Hannibal being shut up in very narrow quarters in Bruttium —
λοιπὸν ὅτι πάσῃ τῇ δυνάμει τὴν ὁρμὴν ἐπὶ τοὺς κατὰ τὴν Ἑλλάδα τόπους ποιήσονται, λόγῳ μὲν Αἰτωλοῖς βοηθήσοντες κατὰ Φιλίππου, τῇ δʼ ἀληθείᾳ πᾶσαν ὑφʼ ἑαυτοὺς ποιησόμενοι, καὶ λίαν ὑπολαμβάνω τοῦτʼ εἶναι καταφανές.
that they will subsequently make an expedition with all their forces against the regions of Greece, ostensibly indeed to assist the Etolians against Philip, but in truth to bring all under their own subjection, is a thing which I deem to be exceedingly manifest.
ἐάν τε καλῶς προθῶνται ποιεῖν Ῥωμαῖοι κυριεύσαντες, ἐκείνων ἔσεσθαι καὶ τὴν χάριν καὶ τὴν ἐπιγραφήν, ἐάν τε κακῶς, τῶν αὐτῶν ὑπάρξειν καὶ τὰς ὠφελείας ἐκ τῶν ἀπολλυμένων καὶ τὴν ἐξουσίαν τῶν σῳζομένων. ὑμεῖς δὲ τότε τοὺς θεοὺς ἐπικαλέσεσθε μάρτυρας, ὅταν μήτε τῶν θεῶν βούληται μήτε τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἔτι δύνηται βοηθεῖν ὑμῖν μηδείς.2 ἴσως μὲν οὖν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἔδει πάντα προορᾶσθαι·
And whether the Romans, having become masters, purpose to act kindly, the gratitude and the credit will be theirs, or whether they purpose to act cruelly, the advantage from those who are destroyed and the power over those who are saved will belong to the same people. And you will then call upon the gods as witnesses, when no one of the gods will wish, nor any of men will any longer be able, to help you. Perhaps indeed you ought to have foreseen everything from the beginning;
τοῦτο γὰρ ἦν ὑμῖν πρέπον·
for this would have been worthy of you;
ἐπειδὴ δὲ πολλὰ διαφεύγει τῶν μελλόντων τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην πρόνοιαν, νῦν γε δέον ἂν εἴη, διὰ τούτων τῶν πραγμάτων συνεωρακότας τὸ συμβαῖνον, βέλτιον βουλεύεσθαι περὶ τοῦ μέλλοντος.
but since many future things escape human foresight, now at least it would be necessary, having seen what is happening through these events, to deliberate better concerning the future.
οὐ μὴν ἀλλʼ ἡμεῖς γε κατὰ τὸ παρὸν οὐδὲν ἀπολελοίπαμεν τῶν ἁρμοζόντων ἢ λέγειν ἢ πράττειν τοῖς ἀληθινοῖς φίλοις, καὶ περὶ τοῦ μέλλοντος τὸ δοκοῦν μετὰ παρρησίας εἰρήκαμεν·
Nevertheless, we at least for the present have left undone nothing of what is fitting for true friends either to say or to do, and have spoken with frankness what seems best concerning the future;
ὑμᾶς δʼ ἀξιοῦμεν καὶ παρακαλοῦμεν μήθʼ αὑτοῖς φθονῆσαι3 μήτε τοῖς ἄλλοις Ἕλλησι τῆς ἐλευθερίας καὶ τῆς σωτηρίας."
and we request and exhort you neither to begrudge yourselves nor the other Greeks their freedom and safety.”
τούτου δὲ ποιήσαντος διατροπήν τινα τοῖς πολλοῖς, ὡς ἐδόκει, μετὰ τοῦτον εἰσῆλθον οἱ παρὰ τοῦ Φιλίππου πρέσβεις, οἳ τοὺς μὲν κατὰ μέρος λόγους ὑπερέθεντο, δύο δʼ ἔφασαν ἥκειν ἔχοντες ἐντολάς, αἱρουμένων μὲν τῶν Αἰτωλῶν τὴν εἰρήνην ἑτοίμως δέχεσθαι τοὺς θεοὺς καὶ τοὺς πρεσβευτὰς τοὺς παρόντας ἀπὸ τῆς Ἑλλάδος ἐπιμαρτυραμένους χωρίζεσθαι διότι4 τῶν μετὰ ταῦτα συμβησομένων τοῖς Ἕλλησιν Αἰτωλούς, ἀλλʼ οὐ Φίλιππον αἴτιον δεήσει νομίζειν. —
When he had caused some embarrassment among the multitude, as it seemed, after him entered the ambassadors from Philip, who postponed detailed discussions, but said they had come bringing two instructions: that if the Etolians chose peace, they would readily accept it, but if not, they would depart after calling the gods and the ambassadors present from Greece to witness that it would be necessary to consider the Etolians, and not Philip, responsible for what would happen to the Greeks thereafter.
- 11.6.1ὅτι γάρ
This ὅτι introduces the explanation for the preceding question and is repeated by the second ὅτι in §11.6.2. Due to the long parenthesis (τοῦτο δʼ ἐστὶν...), an anacoluthon occurs, necessitating the repetition of the conjunction. The main governing verb is ὑπολαμβάνω at the end of the sentence.
- 11.6.4μηδείς
The subject μηδείς placed at the end of the clause exerts negative quantification over both partitive genitives, τῶν θεῶν (governing βούληται) and τῶν ἀνθρώπων (governing δύνηται).
- 11.6.8φθονῆσαι
The verb φθονέω takes a dative of person (αὑτοῖς and τοῖς ἄλλοις Ἕλλησι) and a genitive of thing (τῆς ἐλευθερίας καὶ τῆς σωτηρίας), meaning 'to begrudge or deny something to someone'.
- 11.6.10διότι
In Polybian and Hellenistic Greek, διότι frequently functions as a simple declarative conjunction equivalent to ὅτι ('that'). Here it introduces the noun clause containing the accusative and infinitive construction (Αἰτωλούς... αἴτιον... δεήσει νομίζειν).