- 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-grc2:12.25a.1-12.25a.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-07
Polybius criticizes Timaeus, arguing that his deliberate falsehoods compromise the reliability of his entire work, and highlights that Timaeus's speeches are not records of actual words but rhetorical displays designed to show off his own talent.
ὅτι περὶ Τιμαίου φησὶν ὁ Πολύβιος ὁ Μεγαλοπολίτης· καθάπερ γὰρ ἐκ τῶν παροιμιῶν ἱκανὸν εἶναί φασι σταλαγμὸν ἕνα τοῦ μεγίστου τεύχους1 εἰς τὸ γνῶναι τὸ πᾶν ἔγχυμα, τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον καὶ περὶ τῶν ὑποκειμένων χρὴ διαλαμβάνειν·
Polybius of Megalopolis says concerning Timaeus: just as they say, according to the proverbs, that a single drop from the largest vessel is sufficient for knowing the whole mixture, in the same way we must judge concerning the subject before us.
ἐπειδὰν γὰρ ἓν ἢ δεύτερον εὑρεθῇ ψεῦδος ἐν τοῖς συγγράμμασι, καὶ τοῦτο γεγονὸς ᾖ κατὰ προαίρεσιν, δῆλον ὡς οὐδὲν ἂν ἔτι βέβαιον οὐδʼ ἀσφαλὲς γένοιτο τῶν ὑπὸ τοῦ τοιούτου συγγραφέως λεγομένων.
For whenever one or two falsehoods are found in historical writings, and this has occurred by deliberate choice, it is clear that nothing said by such a writer can any longer be certain or reliable.
ἵνα δὲ καὶ τοὺς φιλοτιμότερον διακειμένους μεταπείσωμεν, ῥητέον ἂν εἴη περὶ τῆς αἱρέσεως αὐτοῦ καὶ μελέτης τῆς κατὰ τὰς δημηγορίας καὶ τὰς παρακλήσεις, ἔτι δὲ τοὺς πρεσβευτικοὺς λόγους, καὶ συλλήβδην πᾶν τὸ τοιοῦτο γένος, ἃ σχεδὸν ὡς εἰ κεφάλαια2 τῶν πράξεών ἐστι καὶ συνέχει τὴν ὅλην ἱστορίαν·
But in order to persuade even those who are more obstinately biased, we should speak of his choice and practice in public speeches, exhortations, and furthermore, embassy speeches, and in short, the whole of this genre, which are, as it were, the principal heads of actions and hold the entire history together.
διότι γὰρ ταῦτα παρʼ ἀλήθειαν ἐν τοῖς ὑπομνήμασι κατατέταχε Τίμαιος, καὶ τοῦτο πεποίηκε κατὰ πρόθεσιν, τίς οὐ παρακολουθεῖ τῶν ἀνεγνωκότων;
For who among those who have read them does not grasp that Timaeus has set these down in his memoirs contrary to the truth, and has done so with deliberate intent?
οὐ γὰρ τὰ ῥηθέντα γέγραφεν, οὐδʼ ὡς ἐρρήθη κατʼ ἀλήθειαν, ἀλλὰ προθέμενος ὡς δεῖ ῥηθῆναι, πάντας ἐξαριθμεῖται τοὺς ῥηθέντας λόγους καὶ τὰ παρεπόμενα τοῖς πράγμασιν οὕτως ὡς ἂν εἴ τις ἐν διατριβῇ3 πρὸς ὑπόθεσιν ἐπιχειροίη ὥσπερ ἀπόδειξιν τῆς ἑαυτοῦ δυνάμεως ποιούμενος, ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἐξήγησιν τῶν κατʼ ἀλήθειαν εἰρημένων. —
For he did not write what was actually said, nor as it was spoken in truth, but having proposed to himself how they ought to have been spoken, he enumerates all the speeches delivered and the circumstances accompanying the events, just as if someone in a school were declaiming on a set theme, making a display of his own talent rather than providing an exposition of what was said in truth.
- 12.25a.1σταλαγμὸν ἕνα τοῦ μεγίστου τεύχους
Meaning 'a single drop from the largest vessel.' The genitive τοῦ μεγίστου τεύχους functions as a genitive of source or separation, indicating the origin from which the single drop is taken.
- 12.25a.3ἃ σχεδὸν ὡς εἰ κεφάλαια
The relative pronoun ἃ (neuter plural) takes the preceding varied noun phrases (feminine plural δημηγορίας, παρακλήσεις, and masculine plural λόγους) as its collective antecedent. The neuter plural is used to group these together generically as abstract matters ('these things/discourses').
- 12.25a.5ὡς ἂν εἴ τις ἐν διατριβῇ
The construction ὡς ἂν εἰ is a formulaic expression introducing a hypothetical comparison ('as if someone...'). It is accompanied here by the optative ἐπιχειροίη to express a potential or imaginary scenario, illustrating how Timaeus treats historical writing as though it were a hypothetical rhetorical exercise in a school.