- 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-grc2:12.25.1-12.25.9
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-07
Polybius criticizes Timaeus for denying the historical reality of the bronze bull of Phalaris in Akragas, and exposes his ignorance regarding basic geography to prove his lack of education.
ὅτι περὶ τοῦ ταύρου τοῦ χαλκοῦ τοῦ παρὰ Φαλάριδος κατασκευασθέντος ἐν Ἀκράγαντι, εἰς ὃν ἐνεβίβαζεν ἀνθρώπους, κἄπειτα πῦρ ὑποκαίων ἐλάμβανε τιμωρίαν παρὰ τῶν ὑποταττομένων τοιαύτην ὥστʼ ἐκπυρουμένου τοῦ χαλκοῦ τὸν μὲν ἄνθρωπον πανταχόθεν παροπτώμενον καὶ περιφλεγόμενον διαφθείρεσθαι,1 κατὰ δὲ τὴν ὑπερβολὴν τῆς ἀλγηδόνος, ὁπότʼ ἀναβοήσειε, μυκηθμῷ παραπλήσιον τὸν ἦχον ἐκ τοῦ κατασκευάσματος προσπίπτειν τοῖς ἀκούουσι.
Concerning the bronze bull constructed by Phalaris in Akragas, into which he used to put men, and then, by lighting a fire beneath it, inflicted such a punishment upon his subjects that, as the bronze grew hot, the man was roasted and scorched on all sides and perished, while from the excess of pain, whenever he cried out, a sound very similar to bellowing reached the ears of those present from the machine.
τούτου δὲ τοῦ ταύρου κατὰ τὴν ἐπικράτειαν Καρχηδονίων μετενεχθέντος2 ἐξ Ἀκράγαντος εἰς Καρχηδόνα, καὶ τῆς θυρίδος διαμενούσης περὶ τὰς συνωμίας, διʼ ἧς συνέβαινε καθίεσθαι τοὺς ἐπὶ τὴν τιμωρίαν, καὶ ἑτέρας αἰτίας, διʼ ἣν ἐν Καρχηδόνι κατεσκευάσθη τοιοῦτος ταῦρος, οὐδαμῶς δυναμένης εὑρεθῆναι τὸ παράπαν, ὅμως Τίμαιος ἐπεβάλετο καὶ τὴν κοινὴν φήμην ἀνασκευάζειν καὶ τὰς ἀποφάσεις τῶν ποιητῶν καὶ συγγραφέων ψευδοποιεῖν, φάσκων μήτʼ εἶναι τὸν ἐν Καρχηδόνι ταῦρον ἐξ Ἀκράγαντος μήτε γεγονέναι τοιοῦτον ἐν τῇ προειρημένῃ πόλει·
Although this bull had been transferred from Akragas to Carthage during the period of Carthaginian dominion, and the door through which those destined for punishment were let down remained near the shoulders, and no other reason could possibly be found at all why such a bull had been constructed in Carthage, Timaeus nevertheless undertook both to refute the common rumor and to make the assertions of the poets and historians out to be false, claiming that the bull in Carthage did not come from Akragas, and that no such bull had ever existed in the aforementioned city.
καὶ πολλοὺς δή τινας εἰς τοῦτο τὸ μέρος διατέθειται λόγους. — κατὰ τῆς Τιμαίου τί ποτε δεῖ λέγειν ὄνομα καὶ ῥῆμα; πάντα γὰρ ἐπιδέχεσθαί μοι δοκεῖ τὰ πικρότατα τὸ γένος, οἷς ἐκεῖνος κέχρηται κατὰ τῶν πλησίον.
And he has indeed set forth many arguments on this point. — What name and word must one apply to the character of Timaeus? For it seems to me that all the bitterest terms of the kind which he used against his neighbors are applicable to him.
ὅτι μὲν οὖν ἐστι φιλαπεχθὴς καὶ ψεύστης καὶ τολμηρός, σχεδὸν ἱκανῶς ἐκ τῶν προειρημένων ὑπεδείχθη· διότι δʼ ἀφιλόσοφός ἐστι καὶ συλλήβδην ἀνάγωγος συγγραφεύς, ἐκ τῶν λέγεσθαι μελλόντων ἔσται συμφανές.
That he is quarrelsome, a liar, and audacious has been sufficiently shown from what has been said above; but that he is unphilosophical and, in a word, an uneducated writer, will be manifest from what is about to be said.
ἐν γὰρ τῇ μιᾷ καὶ εἰκοστῇ βύβλῳ, καὶ ταύτης ἐπὶ τελευτῇ, λέγει κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Τιμολέοντος παράκλησιν ταῦτα, διότι τῆς γῆς τῆς ὑπὸ τῷ κόσμῳ κειμένης εἰς τρία μέρη διῃρημένης,3 καὶ τῆς μὲν Ἀσίας, τῆς δὲ Λιβύης, τῆς δʼ Εὐρώπης προσαγορευομένης. ταῦτα γὰρ οὐχ οἷον Τίμαιον εἰρηκέναι τίς ἂν πιστεύσειεν, ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ τὸν λεγόμενον Μαργίτην ἐκεῖνον.
For in the twenty-first book, and at the end of it, he says, in connection with the exhortation of Timoleon, that while the earth lying under the heavens is divided into three parts, called Asia, Libya, and Europe, who would believe that not just Timaeus but even that famous Margites said these things?
τίς γὰρ οὕτως ἐστὶν ἀδαής, οὐ λέγω τῶν πρὸς ὑπομνήμασι γεγονότων
For who is so ignorant, I do not say among those who have been occupied with historical records...
- 12.25.2ὥστʼ ἐκπυρουμένου τοῦ χαλκοῦ τὸν μὲν ἄνθρωπον... διαφθείρεσθαι
The infinitive clause introduced by the conjunction ὥστε expresses a result, with its subject accusative being τὸν μὲν ἄνθρωπον. Within this clause, ἐκπυρουμένου τοῦ χαλκοῦ is a genitive absolute using the present participle to indicate the progressive circumstance ('as the bronze grew hot').
- 12.25.3τούτου δὲ τοῦ ταύρου... μετενεχθέντος
This entire section (§12.25.3) consists of three consecutive genitive absolute constructions (μετενεχθέντος, διαμενούσης, and δυναμένης) leading up to the strong adversative particle ὅμως ('nevertheless') in §12.25.4, serving to set up the concessive background against which Timaeus' claims are framed as absurd.
- 12.25.7διότι τῆς γῆς... διῃρημένης
The clause introduced by the conjunction διότι lacks a finite verb; instead, the genitive noun τῆς γῆς agrees with the participles διῃρημένης and προσαγορευομένης, functioning in effect as a genitive absolute that loosely details the content of the statement introduced by λέγει in the main clause.