Philip's Request for Written Demands and Postponement — Polybius, The Histories Book 18 (18.7.1–18.7.8), Greek & English

§18.7.1

ταῦτα δὲ διαλεχθεὶς πρὸς τοὺς ἄλλους ἤρετο τὸν Τίτον, φήσας πρὸς ἐκεῖνον αὑτῷ τὸν λόγον εἶναι καὶ πρὸς Ῥωμαίους, πότερον οἴεται δεῖν ἐκχωρεῖν ὧν ἐπέκτηται πόλεων καὶ τόπων¹ ἐν τοῖς Ἕλλησιν, ἢ καὶ τούτων ὅσα παρὰ τῶν γονέων παρείληφε.

Having spoken thus to the others, he asked Titus, saying that his discourse was addressed to him and to the Romans, whether he thought it necessary for him to evacuate those cities and places among the Greeks which he had acquired, or also those of them which he had inherited from his ancestors.

§18.7.2

τοῦ δʼ ἀποσιωπήσαντος ἐκ χειρὸς² ἀπαντᾶν οἷοί τʼ ἦσαν ὁ μὲν Ἀρίσταινος ὑπὲρ τῶν Ἀχαιῶν, ὁ δὲ Φαινέας ὑπὲρ τῶν Αἰτωλῶν.

And when Titus remained silent, Aristainos on behalf of the Achaians and Phaineas on behalf of the Aetolians were ready to reply on the spot.

§18.7.3

ἤδη δὲ τῆς ὥρας συγκλειούσης ὁ μὲν τούτων λόγος ἐκωλύθη διὰ τὸν καιρόν, ὁ δὲ Φίλιππος ἠξίου γράψαντας αὑτῷ δοῦναι πάντας ἐφʼ οἷς δεήσει γίνεσθαι τὴν εἰρήνην· μόνος γὰρ ὢν οὐκ ἔχειν μεθʼ ὧν βουλεύηται·³

But as the hour was already drawing to a close, their debate was interrupted because of the time, and Philip requested that they should all write down and give him the terms on which the peace must be made; for, being alone, he had no one with whom to deliberate;

§18.7.4

διὸ θέλειν αὑτῷ λόγον δοῦναι περὶ τῶν ἐπιταττομένων.

therefore, he wished that a space of time be given to him concerning the demands.

§18.7.5

ὁ δὲ Τίτος οὐκ ἀηδῶς μὲν ἤκουε τοῦ Φιλίππου χλευάζοντος· μὴ βουλόμενος δὲ τοῖς ἄλλοις [μὴ] δοκεῖν ἀντεπέσκωψε τὸν Φίλιππον εἰπὼν οὕτως· "

And Titus heard Philip mocking not without pleasure; but not wishing to seem to the others to be got the better of, he mocked Philip in return, saying:

§18.7.6

εἰκότως" ἔφη "Φίλιππε, μόνος εἶ νῦν· τοὺς γὰρ φίλους τοὺς τὰ κράτιστά σοι συμβουλεύσοντας ἀπώλεσας ἅπαντας". ὁ δὲ Μακεδὼν ὑπομειδιάσας σαρδάνιον ἀπεσιώπησε. καὶ τότε μὲν ἅπαντες, ἐγγράπτους δόντες τῷ Φιλίππῳ τὰς ἑαυτῶν προαιρέσεις ἀκολούθως τοῖς προειρημένοις, ἐχωρίσθησαν, ταξάμενοι κατὰ τὴν ἐπιοῦσαν εἰς Νίκαιαν πάλιν ἀπαντήσειν·

’With good reason, Philip, are you now alone; for you have destroyed all those friends who would have given you the best advice.’ And the Macedonian, smiling bitterly, remained silent. And at that time they all, having given their demands in writing to Philip in accordance with what had been said before, departed, having agreed to meet again at Nicaea on the following day;

§18.7.8

τῇ δʼ αὔριον οἱ μὲν περὶ τὸν Τίτον ἧκον ἐπὶ τὸν ταχθέντα τόπον ἐν ὥρᾳ πάντες [ἦσαν], ὁ δὲ Φίλιππος οὐ παρεγίνετο.

and on the next day, those around Titus all arrived at the appointed place in time, but Philip did not appear.

Syntax notes3 items

18.7.1ὧν ἐπέκτηται πόλεων καὶ τόπων
The relative pronoun ὧν (genitive) is attracted to the case of its antecedent πόλεων καὶ τόπων (genitive, governed by the verb of departure ἐκχωρεῖν), which would otherwise be in the accusative (ἃ). Additionally, the antecedent is incorporated into the relative clause.
18.7.2ἐκ χειρὸς
Literally 'from hand,' used here adverbially to mean 'immediately,' 'on the spot,' or 'at once.'
18.7.3οὐκ ἔχειν μεθʼ ὧν βουλεύηται
An accusative with infinitive clause in indirect speech, dependent on ἠξίου (or an implied ἔφη). The relative clause μεθʼ ὧν βουλεύηται uses the subjunctive to denote purpose or expectation ('anyone with whom he might deliberate').

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (2, latest 2026-09-21)

2026-09-21 AI review — source 2

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:18.7.1-18.7.8