- 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-grc2:15.5.1-15.5.14
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Hannibal, pitching camp near Zama at the Carthaginians' request, sends spies to the Roman camp; Publius, instead of punishing them, shows them around and releases them, inspiring Hannibal to request a conference. After Masinissa joins him, Publius advances to Naragara.
οἱ δὲ Καρχηδόνιοι θεωροῦντες τὰς πόλεις ἐκπορθουμένας, ἔπεμπον πρὸς τὸν Ἀννίβαν, δεόμενοι μὴ μέλλειν, ἀλλὰ προσπελάζειν τοῖς πολεμίοις καὶ κρίνειν τὰ πράγματα διὰ μάχης.
The Carthaginians, seeing the cities being plundered, sent messengers to Hannibal, begging him not to delay, but to approach the enemy and decide the issue by battle.
ὁ δὲ διακούσας τοῖς μὲν παροῦσιν ἀπεκρίθη τἄλλα σκοπεῖν, περὶ δὲ τούτου ῥᾳθυμεῖν· διαλήψεσθαι γὰρ τὸν καιρὸν αὐτός.1
He, having heard them out, replied to those present that they should attend to other matters, but be at ease concerning this; for he himself would choose the opportune moment.
μετὰ δέ τινας ἡμέρας ἀναζεύξας ἐκ τῶν παρὰ τὸν Ἀδρύμητα τόπων προῆλθε καὶ κατεστρατοπέδευσε περὶ Ζάμαν· αὕτη δʼ ἐστὶ πόλις ἀπέχουσα Καρχηδόνος ὡς πρὸς τὰς δύσεις ὁδὸν ἡμερῶν πέντε. κἀκεῖθεν ἐξέπεμψε τρεῖς κατασκόπους, βουλόμενος ἐπιγνῶναι ποῦ στρατοπεδεύουσι καὶ πῶς χειρίζει τὰ κατὰ τὰς παρεμβολὰς ὁ τῶν Ῥωμαίων στρατηγός. Πόπλιος δʼ, ἐπαναχθέντων ὡς αὐτὸν τῶν κατασκόπων, τοσοῦτον ἀπέσχε τοῦ κολάζειν τοὺς ἑαλωκότας, καθάπερ ἔθος ἐστὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις, ὡς2 τοὐναντίον συστήσας αὐτοῖς χιλίαρχον ἐπέταξε πάντα καθαρίως ὑποδεῖξαι τὰ κατὰ τὴν παρεμβολήν.
A few days later, having decamped from the region near Hadrumetum, he advanced and pitched his camp near Zama; this is a city lying about five days’ journey to the west of Carthage. And from there he sent out three spies, wishing to find out where they were encamped and how the Roman general managed the affairs of his camp. But Publius, when the spies were brought before him, was so far from punishing those who had been captured, as is the custom with others, that on the contrary, having assigned a military tribune to them, he ordered him to show them everything in the camp thoroughly.
γενομένου δὲ τούτου προσεπύθετο τῶν ἀνθρώπων εἰ πάντα φιλοτίμως αὐτοῖς ὑποδέδειχεν ὁ συσταθείς· τῶν δὲ φησάντων, δοὺς ἐφόδια καὶ παραπομπὴν ἐξαπέστειλε προστάξας ἐπιμελῶς Ἀννίβᾳ διασαφεῖν περὶ τῶν ἀπηντημένων αὐτοῖς.
When this was done, he further asked the men whether the officer assigned to them had shown them everything diligently; and upon their saying that he had, he gave them provisions and an escort, and sent them away, commanding them to report carefully to Hannibal what had happened to them.
ὧν παραγενηθέντων θαυμάσας ὁ Ἀννίβας τὴν μεγαλοψυχίαν καὶ τόλμαν τἀνδρὸς οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅπως3 εἰς ὁρμὴν ἔπεσε τοῦ βούλεσθαι συνελθεῖν εἰς λόγους τῷ Ποπλίῳ.
When they arrived, Hannibal, marvelling at the magnanimity and daring of the man, was seized, I know not how, with a desire to meet and hold a conference with Publius.
κρίνας δὲ τοῦτο διεπέμψατο κήρυκα, φάσκων βούλεσθαι κοινολογηθῆναι πρὸς αὐτὸν ὑπὲρ τῶν ὅλων.
Having decided upon this, he sent a herald, saying that he wished to confer with him on the whole situation.
ὁ δὲ Πόπλιος ἀκούσας ταῦτα τοῦ κήρυκος συγκατετίθετο τοῖς παρακαλουμένοις, ἔφη δὲ πέμψειν πρὸς αὐτὸν διασαφῶν, ἐπειδὰν μέλλῃ συμπορεύεσθαι, τὸν τόπον καὶ τὸν καιρόν.
Publius, having heard this from the herald, agreed to the request, and said that he would send a message to him to point out the place and the time when he was about to set out.
ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἀκούσας ὁ κῆρυξ ἐπανῆλθε πάλιν εἰς τὴν ἰδίαν παρεμβολήν·
The herald, having heard this, returned again to his own camp.
τῇ δʼ ἐπαύριον ἧκε Μασαννάσας, ἔχων πεζοὺς μὲν εἰς ἑξακισχιλίους, ἱππεῖς δὲ περὶ τετρακισχιλίους.
On the following day Masinissa arrived, having about six thousand infantry and about four thousand cavalry.
ὃν ἀποδεξάμενος ὁ Πόπλιος φιλανθρώπως καὶ συγχαρεὶς ἐπὶ τῷ πάντας ὑπηκόους πεποιῆσθαι τοὺς πρότερον Σόφακι πειθομένους, ἀνέζευξε, καὶ παραγενηθεὶς πρὸς πόλιν Ναράγαρα κατεστρατοπέδευσε, πρός τε τἄλλα τόπον εὐφυῆ καταλαβόμενος καὶ τὴν
Publius, having received him kindly and congratulated him on having made all those who formerly obeyed Syphax his subjects, decamped, and having arrived near the city of Naragara, pitched his camp, occupying a site which was well situated in other respects, and the
- 15.5.2διαλήψεσθαι γὰρ τὸν καιρὸν αὐτός
The future infinitive διαλήψεσθαι takes the nominative pronoun αὐτός as its subject because the subject of the infinitive is identical to the subject of the main governing verb ἀπεκρίθη (Hannibal).
- 15.5.5τοσοῦτον ἀπέσχε τοῦ κολάζειν ... ὡς ...
A correlative construction in the form of τοσοῦτον ἀπέχειν τοῦ [infinitive] ὥστε/ὡς [indicative], meaning "he was so far from doing [A] that, on the contrary, he did [B]."
- 15.5.8οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅπως
Literally meaning "I know not how," this is an idiomatic formula equivalent to the Latin "nescio quo modo," functioning adverbially to mean "somehow" or "for some unknown reason."