- 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-grc2:12.4a.1-12.4a.6
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-07
Polybius criticizes Timaeus's censorious attitude toward the minor mistakes of other historians. He points out Timaeus's unfair accusations against Theopompus and Ephorus, demonstrating that the errors in question were merely trivial copyists' mistakes.
ὅτι διασύρας ὁ Πολύβιος τὸν Τίμαιον ἐν πολλοῖς αὖθίς φησι· τίς ἂν ἔτι δοίη συγγνώμην ἐπὶ τοῖς τοιούτοις ἁμαρτήμασιν ἄλλως τε καὶ Τιμαίῳ τῷ προσφυομένῳ1 τοῖς ἄλλοις πρὸς τὰς τοιαύτας παρωνυχίας;2
Polybius, having censured Timaeus on many points, says again: “Who would still grant pardon for such errors, especially to Timaeus, who attaches himself to others for such minor blemishes?
ἐν αἷς Θεοπόμπου μὲν κατηγορεῖ διότι Διονυσίου ποιησαμένου τὴν ἀνακομιδὴν ἐκ Σικελίας εἰς Κόρινθον ἐν μακρᾷ νηί, Θεόπομπός φησιν ἐν στρογγύλῃ παραγενέσθαι τὸν Διονύσιον, Ἐφόρου δὲ πάλιν ἄγνοιαν καταψεύδεται, φάσκων λέγειν αὐτὸν ὅτι Διονύσιος ὁ πρεσβύτερος παρελάμβανε τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐτῶν εἴκοσι τριῶν ὑπάρχων, δυναστεύσαι δὲ τετταράκοντα καὶ δύο, μεταλλάξαι δὲ τὸν βίον προσλαβὼν τοῖς ἑξήκοντα τρία·
Among which censures, he accuses Theopompus because, although Dionysius made his return from Sicily to Corinth in a long ship, Theopompus says that Dionysius arrived in a merchant vessel, and again he falsely charges Ephorus with ignorance, claiming that he says that Dionysius the Elder took over the government when he was twenty-three years old, ruled for forty-two years, and ended his life having added three to sixty.
τοῦτο γὰρ οὐδεὶς ἂν εἴπειε δήπου τοῦ συγγραφέως εἶναι τὸ διάπτωμα, τοῦ δὲ γραφέως3 ὁμολογουμένως·
For no one, surely, would say that this was the slip of the author, but admittedly that of the copyist;
ἢ γὰρ δεῖ τὸν Ἔφορον ὑπερβεβηκέναι τῇ μωρίᾳ καὶ τὸν Κόροιβον καὶ τὸν Μαργίτην, εἰ μὴ δυνατὸς ἦν συλλογίζεσθαι διότι τὰ τετταράκοντα καὶ δύο προστεθέντα τοῖς εἴκοσι καὶ τρισὶν ἑξήκοντα γίνεται καὶ πέντε·
for Ephorus must have surpassed even Coroebus and Margites in stupidity, if he was unable to calculate that forty-two added to twenty-three makes sixty-five.
ἢ τούτου μηδαμῶς ἂν πιστευθέντος4 ὑπὲρ Ἐφόρου φανερὸν ὅτι τὸ μὲν ἁμάρτημα ἐστι τοῦ γραφέως, τὸ δὲ Τιμαίου φιλεπίτιμον καὶ φιλέγκλημον οὐδεὶς ἂν ἀποδέξαιτο.
Or, since this would in no way be believed of Ephorus, it is clear that the error belongs to the copyist, and no one would tolerate Timaeus’s fault-finding and censorious disposition.”
- 12.4a.1τῷ προσφυομένῳ
The verb προσφύομαι originally means 'to cling to' or 'to cleave to', but here it is used metaphorically in the sense of 'clinging to' or 'persistently attacking' the minor faults of others.
- 12.4a.1παρωνυχίας
The noun παρωνυχία, which literally refers to a 'hangnail' or 'whitlow', is used here metaphorically to denote an 'extremely minor blemish' or 'trivial mistake' in a literary work.
- 12.4a.4τοῦ δὲ γραφέως
In contrast with the preceding phrase τοῦ συγγραφέως εἶναι τὸ διάπτωμα, the words εἶναι τὸ διάπτωμα are omitted here but must be understood from the context.
- 12.4a.6τούτου μηδαμῶς ἂν πιστευθέντος
A genitive absolute construction with the participle πιστευθέντος accompanied by the particle ἄν, expressing a potential or conditional meaning ('since this would in no way be believed').
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