- 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-grc2:12.14.1-12.14.7
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-07
Polybius asserts the innocence of Demochares based on the fact that no one else accused him, and criticizes Timaeus for recording excessive slander in his history out of personal anger, which violates the duty of a historian.
κει1 περὶ Δημοχάρους τοιοῦτον οὐδέν. ἐξ ὧν ἐγώ, βεβαιοτέραν τὴν τῆς πατρίδος ἡγούμενος μαρτυρίαν ἢ τὴν Τιμαίου πικρίαν, θαρρῶν ἀποφαίνομαι μηδενὶ τὸν Δημοχάρους βίον ἔνοχον εἶναι τῶν τοιούτων κατηγορημάτων.
had said any such thing about Demochares. From which I, considering the testimony of his country more credible than the bitterness of Timaeus, confidently declare that the life of Demochares is not liable to any of such accusations.
καίπερ εἰ κατʼ ἀλήθειαν ὑπῆρχέ τι τοιοῦτον ἀτύχημα περὶ Δημοχάρην, ποῖος καιρὸς ἢ ποία πρᾶξις ἠνάγκασε Τίμαιον ταῦτα κατατάττειν εἰς τὴν ἱστορίαν;
And yet, even if in truth some such misfortune had occurred regarding Demochares, what occasion or what action forced Timaeus to record these things in his history?
καθάπερ γὰρ οἱ νοῦν ἔχοντες, ἐπὰν ἀμύνασθαι κρίνωσι τοὺς ἐχθρούς, οὐ τοῦτο πρῶτον σκοποῦνται τί παθεῖν ἄξιός ἐστιν ὁ πλησίον, ἀλλὰ τί ποιεῖν αὐτοῖς πρέπει, τοῦτο μᾶλλον οὕτως καὶ περὶ τῶν λοιδοριῶν, οὐ τί τοῖς ἐχθροῖς ἀκούειν2 ἁρμόζει, τοῦτο πρῶτον ἡγητέον, ἀλλὰ τί λέγειν ἡμῖν πρέπει, τοῦτʼ ἀναγκαιότατον λογιστέον.
For just as sensible men, when they decide to avenge themselves on their enemies, do not look first to what their neighbor deserves to suffer, but rather to what is fitting for themselves to do, so also regarding abuse, we must not consider first what is proper for our enemies to hear, but we must reckon most necessary what is fitting for us to say.
περὶ δὲ τῶν πάντα μετρούντων ταῖς ἰδίαις ὀργαῖς καὶ φιλοτιμίαις ἀνάγκη πάνθʼ ὑποπτεύειν ἐστὶ καὶ πᾶσι διαπιστεῖν πέρα τοῦ δέοντος λεγομένοις.3
But in the case of those who measure everything by their own anger and jealousy, it is necessary to suspect everything and to distrust everything that is said beyond what is proper.
διὸ δὴ καὶ νῦν ἡμεῖς μὲν εἰκότως ἂν δόξαιμεν ἀθετεῖν τοῖς ὑπὸ Τιμαίου κατὰ Δημοχάρους εἰρημένοις·
Wherefore now we indeed might reasonably be thought to reject the things said by Timaeus against Demochares;
ἐκεῖνος δʼ ἂν οὐκ εἰκότως τυγχάνοι συγγνώμης οὐδὲ πίστεως ὑπʼ οὐδενὸς διὰ τὸ προφανῶς ἐν ταῖς λοιδορίαις ἐκπίπτειν τοῦ καθήκοντος διὰ τὴν ἔμφυτον πικρίαν.
but he would not reasonably obtain pardon or credit from anyone, because of his obvious departure from duty in his abuse, owing to his innate bitterness.
- 12.14.1κει
This connects with εἰρή at the end of the previous chunk, forming the third-person singular pluperfect active indicative εἰρήκει. The subject is the preceding phrase οὔτε Δημήτριος οὔτʼ ἄλλος οὐδεὶς.
- 12.14.4ἀκούειν
Although meaning 'to hear', it is used here with a passive nuance of 'to be spoken of' or 'to be called', so that τί τοῖς ἐχθροῖς ἀκούειν ἁρμόζει means 'what kind of abuse is fitting for our enemies to hear (about themselves)'.
- 12.14.5λεγομένοις
A present passive participle in the dative plural neuter, modifying the preceding dative πᾶσι ('to all things'), together serving as the object of διαπιστεῖν ('to distrust').