- 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-grc2:18.45.1-18.45.12
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
Following the Senate's decree, the Aetolians criticize the Romans as mere replacements for Philip, causing unrest. Titus holds a council with the commissioners, urging the full liberation of Greece to preserve Rome's reputation, though key strongholds are retained due to the threat from Antiochus III.
τούτου δὲ τοῦ δόγματος διαδοθέντος εἰς τοὺς Ἕλληνας οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι πάντες εὐθαρσεῖς ἦσαν καὶ περιχαρεῖς, μόνοι δʼ Αἰτωλοί, δυσχεραίνοντες ἐπὶ τῷ μὴ τυγχάνειν ὧν ἤλπιζον, κατελάλουν τὸ δόγμα, φάσκοντες οὐ πραγμάτων, ἀλλὰ γραμμάτων μόνον ἔχειν αὐτὸ διάθεσιν.1
When this decree was publicized among the Greeks, all the others were encouraged and overjoyed; but the Aetolians alone, displeased at not obtaining what they hoped for, defamed the decree, asserting that it had the character of mere words rather than facts.
καί τινας ἐλάμβανον πιθανότητας ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν ἐγγράπτων πρὸς τὸ διασείειν τοὺς ἀκούοντας τοιαύτας.
And they drew from the text itself certain plausible arguments of the following kind to shake the confidence of their hearers.
ἔφασκον γὰρ εἶναι δύο γνώμας ἐν τῷ δόγματι περὶ τῶν ὑπὸ Φιλίππου φρουρουμένων πόλεων, τὴν μὲν μίαν ἐπιτάττουσαν ἐξάγειν τὰς φρουρὰς τὸν Φίλιππον, τὰς δὲ πόλεις παραδιδόναι Ῥωμαίοις, τὴν δʼ ἑτέραν ἐξάγοντα τὰς φρουρὰς ἐλευθεροῦν τὰς πόλεις.
For they asserted that there were two provisions in the decree regarding the cities garrisoned by Philip: one ordering Philip to withdraw his garrisons and hand over the cities to the Romans, and the other ordering him to withdraw his garrisons and set the cities free.
τὰς μὲν οὖν ἐλευθερουμένας ἐπʼ ὀνόματος δηλοῦσθαι, ταύτας δʼ εἶναι τὰς κατὰ τὴν Ἀσίαν, τὰς δὲ παραδιδομένας Ῥωμαίοις φανερὸν ὅτι τὰς κατὰ τὴν Εὐρώπην. εἶναι δὲ ταύτας Ὠρεόν, Ἐρέτριαν, Χαλκίδα, Δημητριάδα, Κόρινθον.
Those to be set free, they said, were designated by name, and these were the cities in Asia, while those to be handed over to the Romans were clearly those in Europe; and these latter were Oreus, Eretria, Chalcis, Demetrias, and Corinth.
ἐκ δὲ τούτων εὐθεώρητον ὑπάρχειν πᾶσιν ὅτι μεταλαμβάνουσι τὰς Ἑλληνικὰς πέδας παρὰ Φιλίππου Ῥωμαῖοι, καὶ γίνεται μεθάρμοσις δεσποτῶν, οὐκ ἐλευθέρωσις τῶν Ἑλλήνων. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ὑπʼ Αἰτωλῶν ἐλέγετο κατακόρως.
From this, they argued, it was easy for everyone to see that the Romans were receiving “the fetters of Greece” from Philip, and that there was a change of masters, not the liberation of the Greeks. These things, then, were repeatedly said by the Aetolians.
ὁ δὲ Τίτος ὁρμήσας ἐκ τῆς Ἐλατείας μετὰ τῶν δέκα καὶ κατάρας εἰς τὴν Ἀντίκυραν, παραυτίκα διέπλευσεν εἰς τὸν Κόρινθον, κἀκεῖ παραγενόμενος συνήδρευε μετὰ τούτων καὶ διελάμβανε περὶ τῶν ὅλων.
But Titus, having set out from Elateia with the ten commissioners and put in at Anticyra, immediately sailed across to Corinth, and upon arriving there, held a council with them and deliberated on the whole situation.
πλεοναζούσης δὲ τῆς τῶν Αἰτωλῶν διαβολῆς καὶ πιστευομένης παρʼ ἐνίοις, πολλοὺς καὶ ποικίλους ἠναγκάζετο ποιεῖσθαι λόγους ὁ Τίτος ἐν τῷ συνεδρίῳ, διδάσκων ὡς εἴπερ βούλονται καὶ τὴν τῶν Ἑλλήνων εὔκλειαν ὁλόκληρον περιποιήσασθαι, καὶ καθόλου πιστευθῆναι παρὰ πᾶσι διότι καὶ τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐποιήσαντο διάβασιν οὐ τοῦ συμφέροντος ἕνεκεν, ἀλλὰ τῆς τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἐλευθερίας, ἐκχωρητέον εἴη2 πάντων τῶν τόπων καὶ πάσας ἐλευθερωτέον τὰς πόλεις τὰς νῦν ὑπὸ Φιλίππου φρουρουμένας.
As the slander of the Aetolians was spreading and gaining belief among some, Titus was compelled to make many and various arguments in the council, showing that if they wished both to win the reputation of the Greeks unimpaired and to be believed by all in general that they had made their original crossing not for self-interest but for the freedom of the Greeks, they must withdraw from all places and free all the cities now garrisoned by Philip.
ταύτην δὲ συνέβαινε γίνεσθαι τὴν ἀπορίαν ἐν τῷ συνεδρίῳ διὰ τὸ περὶ μὲν τῶν ἄλλων ἐν τῇ Ῥώμῃ προδιειλῆφθαι3 καὶ ῥητὰς ἔχειν τοὺς δέκα παρὰ τῆς συγκλήτου τὰς ἐντολάς, περὶ δὲ Χαλκίδος καὶ Κορίνθου καὶ Δημητριάδος ἐπιτροπὴν αὐτοῖς δεδόσθαι διὰ τὸν Ἀντίοχον, ἵνα βλέποντες πρὸς τοὺς καιροὺς βουλεύωνται περὶ τῶν προειρημένων πόλεων κατὰ τὰς αὑτῶν προαιρέσεις·
This difficulty arose in the council because, while concerning other matters decisions had been made in advance in Rome and the ten had explicit instructions from the Senate, regarding Chalcis, Corinth, and Demetrias, discretionary power had been given to them on account of Antiochus, so that, looking to the circumstances, they might deliberate on the aforementioned cities according to their own judgment;
ὁ γὰρ προειρημένος βασιλεὺς δῆλος ἦν ἐπέχων4 πάλαι τοῖς κατὰ τὴν Εὐρώπην πράγμασιν.
for the aforementioned king had long been clearly keeping an eye on the affairs of Europe.
οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ τὸν μὲν Κόρινθον ὁ Τίτος ἔπεισε τὸ συνέδριον ἐλευθεροῦν παραχρῆμα καὶ τοῖς Ἀχαιοῖς ἐγχειρίζειν διὰ τὰς ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὁμολογίας, τὸν δʼ Ἀκροκόρινθον καὶ Δημητριάδα καὶ Χαλκίδα παρακατέσχεν.
Nevertheless, Titus persuaded the council to free Corinth immediately and hand it over to the Achaeans in accordance with their original agreement, but he retained Acrocorinth, Demetrias, and Chalcis.
- 18.45.1ἔχειν αὐτὸ διάθεσιν
The subject of the infinitive ἔχειν is αὐτό (the decree), and διάθεσιν is its object. The Aetolians charge that the decree has merely the arrangement (structure) of words, lacking actual substance.
- 18.45.9ἐκχωρητέον εἴη
The verbal adjectives ἐκχωρητέον and ἐλευθερωτέον (with εἴη understood in the second clause) are used with the optative εἴη in indirect discourse after διδάσκων ὡς. This construction expresses necessity or duty transposed into the optative because the leading verb (ἠναγκάζετο) is in a past tense.
- 18.45.10διὰ τὸ ... προδιειλῆφθαι
The preposition διὰ governs the articular infinitives τὸ ... προδιειλῆφθαι, ἔχειν, and δεδόσθαι in parallel, explaining the causes of the difficulty (ἀπορίαν) that arose in the council.
- 18.45.11δῆλος ἦν ἐπέχων
The adjective δῆλος with the copula ἦν and the participle ἐπέχων forms a personal construction meaning 'he was clearly keeping an eye on...'. The verb ἐπέχω here takes the dative τοῖς ... πράγμασιν to mean 'directing one's attention to' or 'aiming at.'