Critique of Unnatural Arguments in Timoleon's Speech — Polybius, The Histories Book 12 (12.26a.1–12.26a.4), Greek & English

§12.26a.1

τί δὲ πάλιν ὅταν ὁ Τιμολέων ἐν τῇ αὐτῇ βύβλῳ παρακαλῶν τοὺς Ἕλληνας πρὸς τὸν ἐπὶ τοὺς Καρχηδονίους κίνδυνον, καὶ μόνον οὐκ ἤδη μελλόντων¹ συνάγειν εἰς τὰς χεῖρας τοῖς ἐχθροῖς πολλαπλασίοις οὖσι, πρῶτον μὲν ἀξιοῖ μὴ βλέπειν αὐτοὺς πρὸς τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ὑπεναντίων, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὴν ἀνανδρίαν;

And again, what when Timoleon, in the same book, exhorting the Greeks to face the danger against the Carthaginians, when they are just on the point of engaging hand to hand with enemies many times their number, first of all demands that they should look not at the multitude of their opponents, but at their cowardice?

§12.26a.2

καὶ γὰρ τῆς Λιβύης ἁπάσης συνεχῶς οἰκουμένης καὶ πληθυούσης ἀνθρώπων, ὅμως ἐν ταῖς παροιμίαις, ὅταν περὶ ἐρημίας ἔμφασιν βουλώμεθα ποιῆσαι, λέγειν ἡμᾶς «ἐρημότερα τῆς Λιβύης», οὐκ ἐπὶ τὴν ἐρημίαν φέροντας τὸν λόγον, ἀλλʼ ἐπὶ τὴν ἀνανδρίαν τῶν κατοικούντων.

For, [he says,] although the whole of Libya is continuously inhabited and teeming with men, nevertheless in our proverbs, when we wish to emphasize desolation, we say “more desolate than Libya,” applying the expression not to physical desolation, but to the cowardice of the inhabitants.

§12.26a.3

καθόλου δέ, φησί, τίς ἂν φοβηθείη τοὺς ἄνδρας, οἵτινες τῆς φύσεως τοῦτο τοῖς ἀνθρώποις δεδωκυίας ἴδιον παρὰ τὰ λοιπὰ τῶν ζῴων, λέγω δὲ τὰς χεῖρας,² ταύτας παρʼ ὅλον τὸν βίον ἐντὸς τῶν χιτώνων ἔχοντες ἀπράκτους περιφέρουσι;

”And on the whole,” he says, “who would fear men who, although nature has given this to humans as a special privilege distinct from the rest of the animals—I mean hands—carry these about inside their tunics inactive throughout their whole lives?

§12.26a.4

τὸ δὲ μέγιστον ὅτι³ καὶ ὑπὸ τοῖς χιτωνίσκοις, φησί, περιζώματα φοροῦσιν, ἵνα μηδʼ ὅταν ἀποθάνωσιν ἐν ταῖς μάχαις φανεροὶ γένωνται τοῖς ὑπεναντίοις

And what is greatest of all,” he says, “is that they even wear loincloths under their tunics, so that not even when they die in battle may they be exposed to their opponents.”

Syntax notes3 items

12.26a.1μελλόντων
The genitive present participle μελλόντων functions as a genitive absolute without an explicit subject (referring to "the Greeks" or "both armies" from the context), meaning "when they are just about to..." rather than agreeing with the accusative object τοὺς Ἕλληνας.
12.26a.3τῆς φύσεως τοῦτο τοῖς ἀνθρώποις δεδωκυίας ἴδιον παρὰ τὰ λοιπὰ τῶν ζῴων, λέγω δὲ τὰς χεῖρας
The clause τῆς φύσεως... δεδωκυίας is a genitive absolute, in which the pronoun τοῦτο anticipates the appositive accusative phrase λέγω δὲ τὰς χεῖρας ("I mean hands"). ἴδιον is used predicatively ("as a special privilege"), modified by the prepositional phrase παρὰ τὰ λοιπὰ τῶν ζῴων ("distinct from the rest of the animals").
12.26a.4τὸ δὲ μέγιστον ὅτι
The introductory phrase τὸ δὲ μέγιστον acts as an accusative of apposition to the sentence (or an absolute accusative) meaning "and what is greatest of all", with the following ὅτι clause explaining the content of this statement.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-22)

2026-09-22 AI review — source 1

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:12.26a.1-12.26a.4