- 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-grc2:15.10.1-15.10.7
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Publius encourages his troops before the battle, presenting the immense rewards of victory and the miserable fate of defeat or flight, urging them to fight with the resolve to conquer or die.
ταῦτα δʼ ἑτοιμασάμενος ἐπεπορεύετο παρακαλῶν τὰς δυνάμεις βραχέως μέν, οἰκείως δὲ τῆς ὑποκειμένης περιστάσεως.1
Having made these preparations, he went along the lines, encouraging his forces briefly, but in a manner suited to the present crisis.
ἠξίου γὰρ μνημονεύοντας τῶν προγεγονότων ἀγώνων ἄνδρας ἀγαθοὺς γίνεσθαι,2 σφῶν καὶ τῆς πατρίδος ἀξίους, καὶ λαμβάνειν πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν ὅτι κρατήσαντες μὲν τῶν ἐχθρῶν οὐ μόνον τῶν ἐν Λιβύῃ πραγμάτων ἔσονται κύριοι βεβαίως, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς ἄλλης οἰκουμένης τὴν ἡγεμονίαν καὶ δυναστείαν ἀδήριτον αὑτοῖς τε καὶ τῇ πατρίδι περιποιήσουσιν·
For he urged them, remembering their past struggles, to show themselves brave men, worthy of themselves and of their country, and to keep before their eyes that, if they conquered the enemy, they would not only become securely masters of affairs in Libya, but would also acquire for themselves and their country an undisputed hegemony and sovereignty over the rest of the world;
ἐὰν δʼ ὡς ἄλλως ἐκβῇ τὰ κατὰ τὸν κίνδυνον, οἱ μὲν ἀποθανόντες εὐγενῶς ἐν τῇ μάχῃ κάλλιστον ἐντάφιον ἕξουσι τὸν ὑπὲρ τῆς πατρίδος θάνατον,3 οἱ δὲ διαφυγόντες αἴσχιστον καὶ ἐλεεινότατον τὸν ἐπίλοιπον βίον.
but if the outcome of the danger should be otherwise, those who died nobly in battle would have as a most beautiful winding-sheet a death on behalf of their country, while those who escaped would have a most shameful and miserable remaining life.
ἀσφάλειαν γὰρ τοῖς φυγοῦσιν οὐδεὶς ἱκανὸς περιποιῆσαι τόπος τῶν ἐν τῇ Λιβύῃ· πεσοῦσι δʼ ὑπὸ τὰς τῶν Καρχηδονίων χεῖρας οὐκ ἄδηλα [εἶναι] τὰ συμβησόμενα τοῖς ὀρθῶς λογιζομένοις· "ὧν4" ἔφη "μηδενὶ γένοιτο πεῖραν ὑμῶν λαβεῖν.
For no place in Libya would be sufficient to afford safety to those who fled; and for those who fell into the hands of the Carthaginians, what would happen to them was not unclear to those who reasoned rightly. “May none of you,” he said, “experience this.
τῆς δʼ οὖν τύχης ἡμῖν τὰ μέγιστα τῶν ἄθλων εἰς ἑκάτερον τὸ μέρος ἐκτεθεικυίας,5 πῶς οὐκ ἂν εἴημεν ἀγεννέστατοι καὶ συλλήβδην ἀφρονέστατοι πάντων, εἰ παρέντες τὰ κάλλιστα τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἑλοίμεθα τὰ μέγιστα τῶν κακῶν διὰ φιλοζωίαν;
Since, then, Fortune has proposed to us the greatest of prizes on either side, how should we not be the most ignoble and, in short, the most foolish of all men if, letting pass the fairest of goods, we should choose the greatest of evils through love of life?”
" διόπερ ἠξίου δύο προθεμένους, ταῦτα δʼ ἐστὶν ἢ νικᾶν ἢ θνήσκειν, ὁμόσε χωρεῖν εἰς τοὺς πολεμίους.
Therefore he urged them, having set before themselves two alternatives, namely to conquer or to die, to close with the enemy.
τοὺς γὰρ τοιαύτας ἔχοντας διαλήψεις κατʼ ἀνάγκην ἀεὶ κρατεῖν τῶν ἀντιταττομένων, ἐπειδὰν ἀπελπίσαντες τοῦ ζῆν ἴωσιν εἰς τὴν μάχην.
For those who hold such convictions must of necessity always defeat their opponents, whenever they go into battle having abandoned all hope of life.
- 15.10.1οἰκείως δὲ τῆς ὑποκειμένης περιστάσεως
The adverb οἰκείως (suitably) governs the genitive case τῆς ὑποκειμένης περιστάσεως (the present circumstance), expressing conformity or suitability.
- 15.10.2μνημονεύοντας τῶν προγεγονότων ἀγώνων ἄνδρας ἀγαθοὺς γίνεσθαι
An accusative and infinitive construction governed by ἠξίου. The participle μνημονεύοντας is in the accusative plural masculine, agreeing with the implied subject of the infinitive γίνεσθαι (and its complement ἄνδρας).
- 15.10.3κάλλιστον ἐντάφιον ἕξουσι τὸν ὑπὲρ τῆς πατρίδος θάνατον
τὸν ὑπὲρ τῆς πατρίδος θάνατον (death for one's country) is the direct object of ἕξουσι, while κάλλιστον ἐντάφιον (a most beautiful shroud) functions as an object complement (predicative accusative), which is a traditional literary metaphor.
- 15.10.4ὧν
A relative pronoun at the beginning of the clause functioning as a relative connection, referring back to the disastrous consequences mentioned in the preceding sentence ("of which things").
- 15.10.5τῆς δʼ οὖν τύχης ... ἐκτεθεικυίας
A genitive absolute construction. Together with the transitional particle δʼ οὖν (at any rate, however), it introduces a premise or cause.