- 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-grc2:12.27a.1-12.27a.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Polybius points out the abundance of errors in the practical part of Timaeus's history and begins to state their cause, noting that despite Timaeus's apparent industry, he is at times the most inexperienced and lazy of writers.
λοιπὸν δὲ τὸ πραγματικὸν αὐτῷ1 μέρος τῆς ἱστορίας ἐκ πάντων σύγκειται τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων, ὧν τὰ πλεῖστα διεληλύθαμεν·
And furthermore, the practical part of his history is composed of all kinds of errors, the majority of which we have already gone through.
τὴν δʼ αἰτίαν τῆς ἁμαρτίας νῦν ἐροῦμεν, ἥτις οὐκ ἔνδοξος μὲν φανεῖται τοῖς πλείστοις, ἀληθινωτάτη δʼ εὑρεθήσεται τῶν Τιμαίου κατηγορημάτων.
Now we shall state the cause of this error, which, though it will not seem plausible to most people, will be found to be the truest of the accusations against Timaeus.
δοκεῖ μὲν γὰρ καὶ τὴν ἐμπειρικὴν περὶ ἕκαστα δύναμιν καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ τῆς πολυπραγμοσύνης ἕξιν παρεσκευάσθαι2 καὶ συλλήβδην φιλοπόνως προσεληλυθέναι πρὸς τὸ γράφειν τὴν ἱστορίαν, ἐν ἐνίοις δʼ οὐδεὶς οὔτʼ ἀπειρότερος οὔτʼ ἀφιλοπονώτερος3 φαίνεται γεγονέναι τῶν ἐπʼ ὀνόματος συγγραφέων. δῆλον δʼ ἔσται τὸ λεγόμενον ἐκ τούτων.
For he seems, on the one hand, to have equipped himself with both empirical capacity regarding individual details and the habit of inquiry, and in short, to have approached the writing of history with industriousness; but on the other hand, in some matters no one of the distinguished writers appears to have been more inexperienced or more lacking in industry than he. What is being said will become clear from the following.
- 12.27a.1αὐτῷ
Dative of possession or relation ('for him' or 'his'), referring to Timaeus and modifying 'τὸ πραγματικὸν μέρος τῆς ἱστορίας'.
- 12.27a.3παρεσκευάσθαι
Infinitive governed by the main verb 'δοκεῖ' ('he seems to...'). The perfect middle/passive infinitive 'παρεσκευάσθαι' and the perfect active infinitive 'προσεληλυθέναι' are coordinated by 'καί', describing the preparation and approach of the subject (Timaeus) to historical composition.
- 12.27a.4οὔτʼ ἀπειρότερος οὔτʼ ἀφιλοπονώτερος
Under the negative subject 'οὐδείς' ('no one'), the correlative conjunction 'οὔτε... οὔτε' joins two comparative adjectives ('more inexperienced', 'more lacking in industry'), creating a strong superlative sense: 'no one appears to be more inexperienced or more lacking in industry than he' (i.e., 'he is the most inexperienced and lazy of all').