- 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-grc2:16.22.1-16.22.11
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Amid rising discontent in the court against Tlepolemus's misrule, Ptolemy, the son of Sosibius, returns to rival him, leading to a confrontation in the council after which Tlepolemus consolidates his power.
ξενικὰς καὶ στρατιωτικὰς χάριτας.1 ἐφʼ οἷς οἱ περὶ τὴν αὐλὴν ἀσχάλλοντες πάντα παρεσημαίνοντο καὶ βαρέως αὐτοῦ τὴν αὐθάδειαν ὑπέφερον, τὸν δὲ Σωσίβιον ἐκ παραθέσεως ἐθαύμαζον.
...favors to foreigners and soldiers. At these things, those about the court, being vexed, watched everything closely and bore his arrogance with difficulty, but by contrast, they admired Sosibius.
ἐδόκει γὰρ οὗτος τοῦ τε βασιλέως προεστάναι φρονιμώτερον ἢ κατὰ τὴν ἡλικίαν,2 τήν τε πρὸς τοὺς ἐκτὸς ἀπάντησιν ἀξίαν ποιεῖσθαι τῆς ἐγκεχειρισμένης αὐτῷ πίστεως· αὕτη δʼ ἦν ἡ σφραγὶς καὶ τὸ τοῦ βασιλέως σῶμα.
For he seemed to direct the king more wisely than was expected for his age, and to make his reception of foreigners worthy of the trust committed to him; and this trust was the signet-ring and the person of the king.
κατὰ δὲ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον ἀνακομιζόμενος ἥκει παρὰ τοῦ Φιλίππου Πτολεμαῖος ὁ Σωσιβίου.
At this time, Ptolemy, the son of Sosibius, arrived, returning from Philip.
καὶ πρὶν μὲν οὖν ἐκ τῆς Ἀλεξανδρείας ἐκπλεῦσαι πλήρης ἦν τύφου διά τε τὴν ἰδίαν φύσιν καὶ διὰ τὴν προσγεγενημένην ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς εὐκαιρίαν·
Even before he sailed out of Alexandria, he was full of pride, both because of his own nature and because of the advantageous position derived from his father.
ὡς δὲ καταπλεύσας εἰς τὴν Μακεδονίαν συνέμιξε τοῖς περὶ τὴν αὐλὴν νεανίσκοις, ὑπολαβὼν εἶναι τὴν Μακεδόνων ἀνδρείαν ἐν τῇ τῆς ὑποδέσεως καὶ τῇ τῆς ἐσθῆτος διαφορᾷ,3 παρῆν ταῦτα πάντʼ ἐζηλωκὼς καὶ πεπεισμένος αὑτὸν μὲν ἄνδρα γεγονέναι διὰ τὴν ἐκδημίαν καὶ διὰ τὸ Μακεδόσιν ὡμιληκέναι, τοὺς δὲ κατὰ τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρειαν ἀνδράποδα καὶ βλᾶκας διαμένειν.
But when, having sailed to Macedonia, he associated with the youths of the court, supposing that the manliness of the Macedonians consisted in the peculiarity of their footwear and dress, he returned having emulated all these things, and being convinced that he himself had become a man through his travel abroad and his intercourse with the Macedonians, whereas those in Alexandria remained slaves and fools.
διόπερ εὐθέως ἐζηλοτύπει καὶ παρετρίβετο πρὸς τὸν Τληπόλεμον.
Therefore he immediately became jealous and came into conflict with Tlepolemus.
πάντων δʼ αὐτῷ συγκατατιθεμένων τῶν περὶ τὴν αὐλὴν διὰ τὸ τὸν Τληπόλεμον καὶ τὰ πράγματα καὶ τὰ χρήματα μὴ ὡς ἐπίτροπον, ἀλλʼ ὡς κληρονόμον χειρίζειν,4 ταχέως ηὐξήθη τὰ τῆς διαφορᾶς.
And as all those about the court sided with him, because Tlepolemus managed both the affairs and the funds not as a guardian but as an heir, the discord quickly increased.
καθʼ ὃν καιρὸν ὁ Τληπόλεμος, προσπιπτόντων αὐτῷ λόγων δυσμενικῶν ἐκ τῆς τῶν αὐλικῶν παρατηρήσεως καὶ κακοπραγμοσύνης, τὰς μὲν ἀρχὰς παρήκουε καὶ κατεφρόνει τῶν λεγομένων.
At this time Tlepolemus, when hostile reports fell upon him from the observation and malicious interference of the courtiers, at first turned a deaf ear and despised what was said.
ὡς δέ ποτε καὶ κοινῇ συνεδρεύσαντες ἐτόλμησαν ἐν τῷ μέσῳ καταμέμφεσθαι τὸν Τληπόλεμον, ὡς κακῶς χειρίζοντα τὰ κατὰ τὴν βασιλείαν, οὐ παρόντος αὐτοῦ, τότε δὴ παροξυνθεὶς συνῆγε τὸ συνέδριον καὶ παρελθὼν ἐκείνους μὲν ἔφη λάθρᾳ καὶ κατʼ ἰδίαν ποιεῖσθαι κατʼ αὐτοῦ τὰς διαβολάς, αὐτὸς δʼ ἔκρινε κοινῇ καὶ κατὰ πρόσωπον αὐτῶν ποιήσασθαι τὴν κατηγορίαν. —
But when on one occasion they dared, in a common council during his absence, openly to censure Tlepolemus as managing the affairs of the kingdom badly, then indeed, being provoked, he assembled the council, and coming forward said that they made their slanders against him in secret and in private, but he had decided to make his accusation publicly and face to face with them.
ὅτι μετὰ τὴν δημηγορίαν ἔλαβε καὶ τὴν σφραγῖδα παρὰ Σωσιβίου, καὶ ταύτην παρειληφὼς ὁ Τληπόλεμος λοιπὸν ἤδη πάντα τὰ πράγματα κατὰ τὴν αὑτοῦ προαίρεσιν ἔπραττεν.
After his public speech, he also received the signet-ring from Sosibius, and having taken it over, Tlepolemus from then on managed all affairs according to his own preference.
- 16.22.1ξενικὰς καὶ στρατιωτικὰς χάριτας
This accusative phrase is connected to προχειρότερος ἐγίνετο πρὸς τὰς at the end of the previous chapter (16.21.12), demonstrating syntactic continuity across the chapter boundary.
- 16.22.2φρονιμώτερον ἢ κατὰ τὴν ἡλικίαν
The comparative φρονιμώτερον followed by the prepositional phrase κατά with the accusative (in proportion to) forms an idiomatic comparison meaning "more wisely than was expected for his age."
- 16.22.5ὑπολαβὼν εἶναι τὴν Μακεδόνων ἀνδρείαν ἐν τῇ τῆς ὑποδέσεως καὶ τῇ τῆς ἐσθῆτος διαφορᾷ
The subject of the infinitive εἶναι is the accusative τὴν Μακεδόνων ἀνδρείαν, with the prepositional phrase ἐν ... διαφορᾷ serving as the predicate. It means "supposing that the manliness of the Macedonians consisted in the difference..."
- 16.22.7διὰ τὸ τὸν Τληπόλεμον ... χειρίζειν
The preposition διά governs the entire articular infinitive phrase in the accusative τὸ ... χειρίζειν. τὸν Τληπόλεμον is the subject accusative of the infinitive, and the entire construction expresses cause.