- 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-grc2:12.8.1-12.8.6
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-07
The author quotes Timaeus' personal attacks and vitriolic insults against Aristotle, severely criticizing his rage as entirely unbecoming of a true historian.
ἢ δεικτέον οὖν τὸν Ἀριστοτέλην κατὰ τὸν ἄρτι λόγον τὰ περὶ Λοκρῶν εἰρηκότα χάριτος ἢ κέρδους ἢ διαφορᾶς ἕνεκεν ἢ μηδὲ τολμῶντας1 τοῦτο λέγειν ὁμολογητέον2 ἀγνοεῖν καὶ παραπαίειν τοὺς τοιαύτῃ χρωμένους ἀπεχθείᾳ καὶ πικρίᾳ κατὰ τῶν πέλας οἵᾳ κέχρηται Τίμαιος κατʼ Ἀριστοτέλους.
Therefore, we must either show that Aristotle, according to our recent argument, spoke about the Locrians for the sake of favor, gain, or private feud, or, if we do not even dare to say this, we must admit that those who employ such animosity and bitterness against their neighbors as Timaeus has employed against Aristotle, are ignorant and out of their minds.
φησὶ γὰρ αὐτὸν εἶναι θρασύν, εὐχερῆ, προπετῆ, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις κατατετολμηκέναι τῆς τῶν Λοκρῶν πόλεως, εἰπόντα τὴν ἀποικίαν αὐτῶν εἶναι δραπετῶν, οἰκετῶν, μοιχῶν, ἀνδραποδιστῶν.
For he says that he is impudent, reckless, and headstrong, and moreover that he has behaved with utter audacity towards the city of the Locrians, by saying that their colony consisted of runaway slaves, servants, adulterers, and kidnappers.
καὶ ταῦτα λέγειν αὐτόν φησιν οὕτως ἀξιοπίστως ὥστε δοκεῖν ἕνα τῶν ἐστρατηγηκότων ὑπάρχειν καὶ τοὺς Πέρσας ἐν ταῖς Κιλικίαις πύλαις ἄρτι παρατάξει νενικηκότα διὰ τῆς αὑτοῦ δυνάμεως, ἀλλʼ οὐ σοφιστὴν ὀψιμαθῆ καὶ μισητὸν ὑπάρχοντα3 καὶ τὸ πολυτίμητον ἰατρεῖον ἀρτίως ἀποκεκλεικότα, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις εἰς πᾶσαν αὐλὴν καὶ σκηνὴν ἐμπεπηδηκότα, πρὸς δὲ γαστρίμαργον, ὀψαρτυτήν, ἐπὶ στόμα φερόμενον ἐν πᾶσι.
And he says that he speaks of these things with such an air of authority as to seem to be one of those who have held military command, and to have just defeated the Persians at the Cilician Gates in a pitched battle by his own power, and not a late-learning and detestable sophist, who has just closed his precious surgeon’s shop, and furthermore has forced his way into every palace and stage, and is besides a glutton, a chef, carrying his mouth forward in everything.
δοκεῖ δή μοι τὰ τοιαῦτα μόλις ἂν ἄνθρωπος ἀγύρτης καὶ προπετὴς ἐπὶ δικαστηρίου ῥιψολογῶν ἀνεκτὸς φανῆναι· μέτριος μὲν γὰρ οὐ δοκεῖ.
It seems to me indeed that such language would scarcely be tolerated from some vulgar quack pouring out abuse in a court of justice; for moderate it certainly does not seem.
συγγραφεὺς δὲ κοινῶν πράξεων καὶ προστάτης ἱστορίας ἀληθινὸς οὐδʼ ἂν αὐτὸς ἐν αὑτῷ διανοηθῆναι μή τι δὴ καὶ4 γράφειν τολμήσαι τοιοῦτον.
But a writer of public transactions and a true champion of history would not even dare to think such things to himself, let alone to write them.
- 12.8.1μηδὲ τολμῶντας
The participle μηδὲ τολμῶντας (present active, accusative plural masculine) agrees with the unexpressed logical subject (such as ἡμᾶς) of the verbal adjective ὁμολογητέον, functioning conditionally: 'if we do not even dare to say this.'
- 12.8.1ἢ δεικτέον... ἢ... ὁμολογητέον
The correlative construction ἢ δεικτέον... ἢ... ὁμολογητέον uses impersonal verbal adjectives of necessity, meaning 'we must either show... or admit...'. The logical subject is omitted but understood as 'we' (the readers and writer).
- 12.8.4ἀλλʼ οὐ σοφιστὴν... ὑπάρχοντα
In the result clause introduced by ὥστε δοκεῖν, the infinitive ὑπάρχειν ('to be [one of the generals]') is contrasted with the participle ὑπάρχοντα in §12.8.4 (accusative singular agreeing with αὐτόν, the subject of δοκεῖν), meaning 'so as to seem to be [a general]... but not [a sophist]...'
- 12.8.6μή τι δὴ καὶ
The idiomatic expression μή τι δὴ καὶ means 'let alone, much less,' strengthening the negative assertion that a true historian would not even think of such things (διανοηθῆναι), let alone dare to write them (γράφειν τολμήσαι). The particle ἂν goes with the optative τολμήσαι.