- 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-grc2:12.3.1-12.3.10
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-07
Polybius criticizes the historian Timaeus for his ignorance in describing Libya as barren, pointing out the country's actual fertility and abundance of animals. He further corrects Timaeus's erroneous account of the wildlife on the island of Cyrnus (Corsica), beginning to describe a specific animal called the cuniculus.
τὴν μὲν τῆς χώρας ἀρετὴν πᾶς ἄν τις θαυμάσειε, τὸν δὲ Τίμαιον εἴποι τις ἂν οὐ μόνον ἀνιστόρητον γεγονέναι περὶ τῶν κατὰ τὴν Λιβύην, ἀλλὰ καὶ παιδαριώδη καὶ τελέως ἀσυλλόγιστον καὶ ταῖς ἀρχαίαις φήμαις ἀκμὴν ἐνδεδεμένον, ἃς παρειλήφαμεν, ὡς ἀμμώδους πάσης καὶ ξηρᾶς καὶ ἀκάρπου καθυπαρχούσης τῆς Λιβύης.1
While anyone would admire the fertility of the country, one might say of Timaeus that he was not only ignorant of the facts regarding Libya, but also childish and completely illogical, and still bound to those ancient rumors which we have received, to the effect that all Libya exists as sandy, dry, and barren.
ὁ δʼ αὐτὸς λόγος καὶ περὶ τῶν ζῴων. τό τε γὰρ τῶν ἵππων καὶ τῶν βοῶν καὶ προβάτων, ἅμα δὲ τούτοις αἰγῶν πλῆθος τοσοῦτόν ἐστι κατὰ τὴν χώραν ὅσον οὐκ οἶδʼ εἰ δύναιτʼ ἂν εὑρεθῆναι2 κατὰ τὴν λοιπὴν οἰκουμένην, διὰ τὸ πολλὰ τῶν κατὰ Λιβύην ἐθνῶν τοῖς μὲν ἡμέροις μὴ χρῆσθαι καρποῖς, ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν θρεμμάτων καὶ σὺν τοῖς θρέμμασιν ἔχειν τὸν βίον.
The same account holds also regarding the animals. For the multitude of horses, cattle, and sheep, and along with these of goats, is so great in this country that I do not know if the like could be found in the rest of the inhabited world, because many of the nations in Libya do not make use of cultivated crops, but derive their livelihood from and with their herds.
καὶ μὴν τὸ τῶν ἐλεφάντων καὶ λεόντων καὶ παρδάλεων πλῆθος καὶ τὴν ἀλκήν, ἔτι δὲ βουβάλων κάλλος καὶ στρουθῶν μεγέθη, τίς οὐχ ἱστόρησεν; ὧν κατὰ μὲν τὴν Εὐρώπην τὸ παράπαν οὐδέν ἐστιν, ἡ δὲ Λιβύη πλήρης ἐστὶ τῶν προειρημένων.
Furthermore, who has not recorded the multitude and strength of elephants, lions, and leopards, and also the beauty of wild oxen and the size of ostriches? Of which there are none at all in Europe, but Libya is full of the aforementioned animals.
περὶ ὧν οὐδὲν ἱστορήσας Τίμαιος ὥσπερ ἐπίτηδες τἀναντία τοῖς κατʼ ἀλήθειαν ὑπάρχουσιν ἐξηγεῖται.
Timaeus, having recorded nothing about these things, explains, as if on purpose, the very opposite of the actual facts.
καθάπερ δὲ καὶ περὶ τῶν κατὰ Λιβύην ἀπεσχεδίακεν, οὕτως καὶ περὶ τῶν κατὰ τὴν νῆσον τὴν προσαγορευομένην Κύρνον.
And just as he spoke offhand about the affairs in Libya, so he did also about those in the island called Cyrnus.
καὶ γὰρ ὑπὲρ ἐκείνης μνημονεύων ἐν τῇ δευτέρᾳ βύβλῳ φησὶν αἶγας ἀγρίας καὶ πρόβατα καὶ βοῦς ἀγρίους ὑπάρχειν ἐν αὐτῇ πολλούς, ἔτι δʼ ἐλάφους καὶ λαγὼς καὶ λύκους καί τινα τῶν ἄλλων ζῴων, καὶ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους περὶ ταῦτα διατρίβειν κυνηγετοῦντας καὶ τὴν ὅλην τοῦ βίου διαγωγὴν ἐν τούτοις ἔχειν.
For indeed, mentioning it in his second book, he says that there are many wild goats, sheep, and wild oxen in it, and further stags, hares, wolves, and some of the other animals, and that the inhabitants spend their time hunting these and have their whole way of life in these pursuits.
κατὰ δὲ τὴν προειρημένην νῆσον οὐχ οἷον αἲξ ἄγριος ἢ βοῦς, ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ3 λαγὼς οὐδὲ λύκος οὐδʼ ἔλαφος οὐδʼ ἄλλο τῶν τοιούτων ζῴων οὐδέν ἐστι, πλὴν ἀλωπέκων καὶ κυνίκλων καὶ προβάτων ἀγρίων.
But in the aforementioned island, far from there being a wild goat or ox, there is not even a hare, a wolf, a stag, or any other such animal at all, except foxes, cuniculi, and wild sheep.
ὁ δὲ κύνικλος πόρρωθεν μὲν ὁρώμενος εἶναι δοκεῖ λαγὼς μικρός, ὅταν δʼ εἰς τὰς χεῖρας λάβῃ τις, μεγάλην ἔχει διαφορὰν καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν καὶ κατὰ τὴν βρῶσιν· γίνεται δὲ τὸ
The cuniculus, when seen from a distance, seems to be a small hare, but when someone takes it into his hands, it has a great difference both in appearance and in taste; and it becomes...
- 12.3.2ὡς ἀμμώδους πάσης καὶ ξηρᾶς καὶ ἀκάρπου καθυπαρχούσης τῆς Λιβύης
Genitive absolute construction (καθυπαρχούσης τῆς Λιβύης) introduced by the conjunction ὡς, which expresses a subjective reason or the content of a rumor. Here, it specifies the content of the preceding 'ancient rumors' (ταῖς ἀρχαίαις φήμαις).
- 12.3.3ὅσον οὐκ οἶδʼ εἰ δύναιτʼ ἂν εὑρεθῆναι
The phrase οὐκ οἶδʼ εἰ ('I know not if') is inserted within the relative clause introduced by ὅσον, and accompanied by the potential optative (δύναιτʼ ἄν), expressing a strong emphasis equivalent to 'so great that I doubt whether the like could be found anywhere else'.
- 12.3.9οὐχ οἷον αἲξ ἄγριος ἢ βοῦς, ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ
A correlative idiomatic expression meaning 'not to mention..., not even...' or 'far from being..., there is not even...'. The phrase οὐχ οἷον ('not such as to' / 'not only') corresponds with the following ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ ('but not even'), strongly denying the existence of the former while emphasizing the complete absence of the latter.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-10-09)
- 2026-10-09 Collated with the printed edition — source 1