- 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-grc2:15.16.1-15.16.6
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Polybius explains Hannibal's tactical disposition of his elephants, mercenaries, and elite troops against the Romans, arguing that despite his defeat, Hannibal's generalship remains blameless.
διὰ τὰς προειρημένας αἰτίας.1 ἀλλʼ ὅμως πρὸς ἕκαστα τούτων οὕτως ἐνδεχομένως Ἀννίβας ἐκ τῶν κατὰ λόγον ἡρμόσατο παρʼ αὐτὸν τὸν καιρὸν ὥσθʼ ὑπερβολὴν μὴ καταλιπεῖν.
owing to the aforementioned reasons. But nevertheless, against each of these Hannibal adapted his measures so appropriately, on rational principles, at the very moment itself, as to leave no room for improvement.
τὸ μὲν γὰρ τῶν ἐλεφάντων πλῆθος ἐξ αὐτῆς παρεσκευάσατο καὶ τότε προεβάλετο χάριν τοῦ συνταράξαι καὶ διασπάσαι τὰς τάξεις τῶν ὑπεναντίων·
For he had prepared the multitude of elephants beforehand, and posted them in front on that occasion for the purpose of throwing the ranks of the enemy into confusion and breaking them;
τοὺς δὲ μισθοφόρους προέταξε καὶ τοὺς Καρχηδονίους ἔθηκε μετὰ τούτους ἕνεκα τοῦ προεκλῦσαι μὲν τῷ κόπῳ τὰ σώματα τῶν πολεμίων, ἀχρειῶσαι δὲ τὰς ἀκμὰς τῶν ὅπλων διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν φονευομένων, ἀναγκάσαι δὲ τοὺς Καρχηδονίους μέσους ὄντας μένειν καὶ μάχεσθαι κατὰ τὸν ποιητὴν ὄφρα καὶ οὐκ ἐθέλων τις ἀναγκαίῃ πολεμίζοι.2
and he stationed the mercenaries in front, and placed the Carthaginians behind them, for the purpose of exhausting the physical strength of the enemy by fatigue, rendering the sharpness of their weapons useless by the multitude of those slain, and compelling the Carthaginians, being in the middle, to stand and fight, in the words of the poet, ‘so that even one unwilling might fight under constraint.’
τοὺς δὲ μαχιμωτάτους καὶ στασιμωτάτους τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἐν ἀποστάσει παρενέβαλε χάριν τοῦ προορωμένους3 ἐκ πολλοῦ τὸ συμβαῖνον καὶ διαμένοντας ἀκεραίους τοῖς τε σώμασι καὶ ταῖς ψυχαῖς σὺν καιρῷ χρήσασθαι ταῖς σφετέραις ἀρεταῖς.
And he drew up the most warlike and steadiest of his men at a distance, so that, foreseeing what was happening from afar and remaining fresh both in body and spirit, they might employ their courage at the proper moment.
εἰ δὲ πάντα τὰ δυνατὰ ποιήσας πρὸς τὸ νικᾶν ἐσφάλη τὸν πρὸ τούτου χρόνον ἀήττητος ὤν, συγγνώμην δοτέον·
And if, after doing everything possible to win, he who had been undefeated in the time before this was defeated, he must be pardoned;
ἔστι μὲν γὰρ ὅτε καὶ ταὐτόματον ἀντέπραξε ταῖς ἐπιβολαῖς τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀνδρῶν, ἔστι δʼ ὅτε πάλιν κατὰ τὴν παροιμίαν ἐσθλὸς ἐὼν ἄλλου κρείττονος ἀντέτυχεν· ὃ δὴ καὶ τότε γεγονέναι περὶ ἐκεῖνον φήσειεν ἄν τις. —
for there are times when chance also thwarts the plans of good men, and there are times again, as the proverb has it, ‘one who is brave meets with another who is braver’; which is indeed what one might say happened to him on that occasion.
- 15.16.1διὰ τὰς προειρημένας αἰτίας
This short phrase summarizes the reasons mentioned in the preceding section (§15.15.8) for why the Romans were hard to conquer (such as the size of their shields and the strength of their swords). Although punctuated as a sentence, it serves to transition from the previous section, contrasting the Roman strength with Hannibal's adaptation introduced by ἀλλʼ ὅμως.
- 15.16.3ὄφρα καὶ οὐκ ἐθέλων τις ἀναγκαίῃ πολεμίζοι
A direct quotation from Homer's Iliad (4.300). It retains epic dialect features, such as the conjunction of purpose ὄφρα ('so that'), the Ionic/Epic dative ἀναγκαίῃ ('under constraint'), and the optative πολεμίζοι in a purpose clause, corresponding to the historical infinitive ἀναγκάσαι in the main clause.
- 15.16.4προορωμένους
The accusative participles προορωμένους ('foreseeing') and διαμένοντας ('remaining') agree in case with the implied subject (accusative αὐτούς, referring to 'the most warlike men') of the infinitive χρήσασθαι dependent on χάριν.