- 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-grc2:12.25c.1-12.25c.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-07
The author explains why Timaeus's critical attitude is well received, comparing him to the physicist Straton and general human life, where criticizing others is easy but presenting oneself as faultless is difficult.
ἴσως δʼ οὖν ἄν τις ἐναπορήσειε πῶς τοιοῦτος ὢν οἷον ἡμεῖς ὑποδείκνυμεν τοιαύτης παρʼ ἐνίοις ἀποδοχῆς τέτευχε καὶ πίστεως.
Perhaps, then, someone might wonder how, being such as we describe him, he has met with such acceptance and credit among some.
τούτου δʼ ἐστὶν αἴτιον διότι πλεοναζούσης αὐτῷ κατὰ τὴν πραγματείαν τῆς κατὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἐπιτιμήσεως καὶ λοιδορίας1 οὐκ ἐκ τῆς αὑτοῦ θεωρεῖται πραγματείας οὐδʼ ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων ἀποφάσεων, ἀλλʼ ἐκ τῆς τῶν πέλας κατηγορίας, πρὸς ὃ γένος καὶ πολυπραγμοσύνην δοκεῖ μοι καὶ φύσιν προσενέγκασθαι διαφέρουσαν·
And the cause of this is that, because criticism and abuse of others abound in his work, he is judged not by his own work nor by his own declarations, but by his accusation of his neighbors; for which kind of work he seems to me to have brought both a singular industry and natural aptitude.
παραπλήσιον γὰρ δή τι τοιοῦτο συμβέβηκε καὶ Στράτωνι τῷ φυσικῷ· καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνος ὅταν ἐγχειρήσῃ τὰς τῶν ἄλλων δόξας διαστέλλεσθαι καὶ ψευδοποιεῖν, θαυμάσιός ἐστιν· ὅταν δʼ ἐξ αὑτοῦ τι προφέρηται καί τι τῶν ἰδίων ἐπινοημάτων ἐξηγῆται, παρὰ πολὺ φαίνεται τοῖς ἐπιστήμοσιν εὐηθέστερος αὑτοῦ2 καὶ νωθρότερος.
For indeed something very similar has happened also to Straton the physicist. For he too, when he undertakes to dissect and disprove the opinions of others, is marvelous; but when he puts forward something of his own and explains any of his own inventions, he appears to men of science to be by far more foolish and duller than himself.
καί μοι δοκεῖ παντάπασιν ὅμοιόν τι γίνεσθαι περὶ τοὺς γράφοντας τῷ περὶ τὸν ὅλον ἡμῶν βίον συμβαίνοντι·3
And it seems to me that something altogether similar happens in the case of writers to what occurs in our life as a whole;
καὶ γὰρ ἐν τούτῳ τὸ μὲν ἐπιτιμῆσαι τοῖς πέλας ἐστὶ ῥᾴδιον, τὸ δʼ αὑτὸν ἀναμάρτητον παρέχεσθαι χαλεπόν, καὶ σχεδὸν ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν ἴδοι τις ἂν τοὺς προχειρότατα τοῖς πέλας ἐπιτιμῶντας πλεῖστα περὶ τὸν ἴδιον βίον ἁμαρτάνοντας.
for in this too, to criticize one’s neighbors is easy, but to present oneself as faultless is difficult, and one might see, almost to speak generally, that those who most readily criticize their neighbors commit the most errors in their own lives.
- 12.25c.2πλεοναζούσης αὐτῷ κατὰ τὴν πραγματείαν τῆς κατὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἐπιτιμήσεως καὶ λοιδορίας
The participle πλεοναζούσης and the noun phrase τῆς ... ἐπιτιμήσεως καὶ λοιδορίας form a genitive absolute construction. The dative pronoun αὐτῷ functions as a dative of reference or possession ('for him', i.e., in his work).
- 12.25c.3εὐηθέστερος αὑτοῦ
The comparative εὐηθέστερος is accompanied by the genitive of comparison αὑτοῦ (reflexive pronoun). It indicates a self-comparison, comparing his own performance in positive exposition with his own excellent performance when criticizing others.
- 12.25c.4τῷ περὶ τὸν ὅλον ἡμῶν βίον συμβαίνοντι
The dative construction is governed by the preceding adjective ὅμοιον ('similar to'). The neuter singular participle συμβαίνοντι, used substantively with the article τῷ, expresses 'that which happens' or 'what occurs in our life as a whole'.