- 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-grc2:15.28.1-15.28.9
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Following the sudden departure of Nicostratus, Moiraegenes is miraculously left behind and escapes naked to a nearby Macedonian tent. He then implores the soldiers to seize this opportunity and rise up against Agathocles.
περὶ δὲ τὸν Μοιραγένην ἄφατον ἦν καὶ παράλογον τὸ συμβαῖνον.
But what happened to Moiraegenes was unspeakable and beyond expectation.
οἱ μὲν γὰρ μόνον οὐ1 διατεταμένοι τὰς μάστιγας παρέστασαν, οἱ δὲ πρὸ ποδῶν αὐτοῦ τὰ πρὸς ἀνάγκας ὄργανα διεσκεύαζον·
For some stood by him with their whips all but raised, while others were preparing the instruments of torture before his feet;
τοῦ δὲ Νικοστράτου παραχωρήσαντος2 ἕστασαν ἀχανεῖς πάντες, ἐμβλέποντες ἀλλήλοις, προσδοκῶντες ἀεί ποτε τὸν προειρημένον ἀνακάμψειν.
but when Nicostratus departed, they all stood agape, looking at one another, expecting at any moment that the aforementioned would return.
χρόνου δὲ γινομένου κατὰ βραχὺ διέρρεον οἱ παρεστῶτες, τέλος δʼ ὁ Μοιραγένης ἀπελείφθη. καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα διελθὼν τὴν αὐλὴν ἀνελπίστως παρέπεσε γυμνὸς εἴς τινα σκηνὴν τῶν Μακεδόνων, σύνεγγυς κειμένην τῆς αὐλῆς.
And as time went on, those standing by gradually slipped away, and at last Moiraegenes was left behind. After this, passing through the palace, he unexpectedly escaped naked into a tent of the Macedonians, which was situated near the palace.
καταλαβὼν δὲ κατὰ τύχην ἀριστῶντας καὶ συνηθροισμένους, ἔλεγε τὰ περὶ αὑτὸν συμβεβηκότα καὶ τὸ παράλογον τῆς σωτηρίας.
Finding them by chance taking their midday meal and gathered together, he told them what had happened to him and the unexpected nature of his escape.
οἱ δὲ τὰ μὲν ἠπίστουν, τὰ δὲ πάλιν ὁρῶντες αὐτὸν γυμνὸν ἠναγκάζοντο πιστεύειν.
They on the one hand disbelieved his words, but on the other hand, seeing him naked, they were forced to believe him.
ἐκ δὲ ταύτης τῆς περιπετείας ὅ τε Μοιραγένης μετὰ δακρύων ἐδεῖτο τῶν Μακεδόνων μὴ μόνον τῆς αὑτοῦ συνεπιλαβέσθαι σωτηρίας, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς τοῦ βασιλέως, καὶ μάλιστα τῆς σφῶν αὐτῶν·
From this turn of events, Moiraegenes, with tears, begged the Macedonians to help secure not only his own safety, but also that of the king, and most of all their own;
πρόδηλον γὰρ εἶναι3 πᾶσι τὸν ὄλεθρον, ἐὰν μὴ συνάψωνται τοῦ καιροῦ,4 καθʼ ὃν ἀκμάζει τὸ τῶν πολλῶν μῖσος καὶ πᾶς ἕτοιμός ἐστι πρὸς τὴν κατʼ Ἀγαθοκλέους τιμωρίαν.
for, he said, their destruction was manifest to all unless they seized the opportunity, at which the hatred of the multitude was at its height and everyone was ready for the punishment of Agathocles.
ἀκμάζειν δὲ νῦν μά
And that now, most of all, it was at its height...
- 15.28.2μόνον οὐ
An adverbial idiomatic phrase equivalent to "all but" or "almost." Here it modifies the perfect passive participle διατεταμένοι (stretched, raised), indicating that they were on the very verge of striking him with the whips.
- 15.28.3τοῦ δὲ Νικοστράτου παραχωρήσαντος
A genitive absolute construction consisting of the proper noun Νικόστρατος and the aorist active participle παραχωρήσας in the genitive case. It functions as a temporal or causal background to the main clause (ἕστασαν...).
- 15.28.8πρόδηλον γὰρ εἶναι
An infinitive construction in indirect speech introduced by ἐδεῖτο (representing Moiraegenes' argument), where the direct statement πρόδηλός ἐστιν ὁ ὄλεθρος becomes an infinitive clause with εἶναι and the accusative subject τὸν ὄλεθρον. πρόδηλον acts as a neuter accusative predicate.
- 15.28.8συνάψωνται τοῦ καιροῦ
The middle voice of the verb συνάπτω (συνάπτομαι), meaning "to grasp" or "to lay hold of," governs the genitive case. Here τοῦ καιροῦ (the opportunity) is its genitive object, yielding the meaning "to seize the opportunity."