- 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-grc2:2.48.1-2.48.8
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-12
Aratus, utilizing the city of Megalopolis which had historical ties with Macedon, secretly orchestrated a plan to have them prompt the Achaean League to send envoys to King Antigonus for aid.
εἰδὼς1 δὲ τοὺς Μεγαλοπολίτας κακοπαθοῦντας μὲν τῷ πολέμῳ διὰ τὸ παρακειμένους τῇ Λακεδαίμονι προπολεμεῖν τῶν ἄλλων, οὐ τυγχάνοντας δὲ τῆς καθηκούσης ἐπικουρίας ὑπὸ τῶν Ἀχαιῶν διὰ τὸ κἀκείνους δυσχρηστεῖσθαι θλιβομένους ὑπὸ τῆς περιστάσεως, σαφῶς δὲ γινώσκων οἰκείως διακειμένους αὐτοὺς πρὸς τὴν Μακεδόνων οἰκίαν ἐκ τῶν κατὰ τὸν Ἀμύντου Φίλιππον εὐεργεσιῶν, διειλήφει διότι ταχέως ἂν ὑπὸ τοῦ Κλεομένους πιεζόμενοι καταφύγοιεν2 ἐπὶ τὸν Ἀντίγονον καὶ τὰς Μακεδόνων ἐλπίδας·
Aratus, knowing that the Megalopolitans were suffering in the war because, being situated next to Lacedaemon, they fought as a vanguard before the others, and that they were not obtaining the proper assistance from the Achaeans because the latter also were in difficulties, being hard pressed by the circumstances, and clearly knowing that they were amicably disposed toward the house of Macedon because of the benefactions in the time of Philip, son of Amyntas, had concluded that, if hard pressed by Cleomenes, they would quickly take refuge with Antigonus and the hopes placed in the Macedonians.
κοινολογηθεὶς οὖν διʼ ἀπορρήτων περὶ τῆς ὅλης ἐπιβολῆς Νικοφάνει καὶ Κερκιδᾷ τοῖς Μεγαλοπολίταις, οἵτινες ἦσαν αὐτοῦ πατρικοὶ ξένοι καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἐπιβολὴν εὐφυεῖς, ῥᾳδίως διὰ τούτων ὁρμὴν παρέστησε τοῖς Μεγαλοπολίταις εἰς τὸ πρεσβεύειν πρὸς τοὺς Ἀχαιοὺς καὶ παρακαλεῖν πέμπειν πρὸς τὸν Ἀντίγονον ὑπὲρ βοηθείας.
Therefore, having communicated in secret concerning the whole plan with Nicophanes and Cercidas, the Megalopolitans, who were his ancestral guest-friends and well-suited for the undertaking, through them he easily instilled an impulse in the Megalopolitans to send envoys to the Achaeans and urge them to send to Antigonus for help.
οἱ μὲν οὖν Μεγαλοπολῖται κατέστησαν αὐτοὺς τοὺς περὶ τὸν Νικοφάνη καὶ τὸν Κερκιδᾶν3 πρεσβευτὰς πρός τε τοὺς Ἀχαιοὺς κἀκεῖθεν εὐθέως πρὸς τὸν Ἀντίγονον, ἂν αὐτοῖς συγκατάθηται τὸ ἔθνος.
The Megalopolitans, then, appointed Nicophanes and Cercidas themselves as envoys to the Achaeans, and from there straight to Antigonus, if the league should agree with them.
οἱ δʼ Ἀχαιοὶ συνεχώρησαν πρεσβεύειν τοῖς Μεγαλοπολίταις.
And the Achaeans permitted the Megalopolitans to send the embassy.
σπουδῇ δὲ συμμίξαντες οἱ περὶ τὸν Νικοφάνη τῷ βασιλεῖ διελέγοντο περὶ μὲν τῆς ἑαυτῶν πατρίδος αὐτὰ τἀναγκαῖα διὰ βραχέων καὶ κεφαλαιωδῶς, τὰ δὲ πολλὰ περὶ τῶν ὅλων κατὰ τὰς ἐντολὰς τὰς Ἀράτου
Having met the king in haste, Nicophanes and his companions spoke briefly and summarily about only the bare essentials concerning their own fatherland, but for the most part, about the general situation according to the instructions of Aratus.
- 2.48.1εἰδὼς
The participles εἰδὼς (§2.48.1) and γινώσκων (§2.48.2) modify the unexpressed subject of the main verb διειλήφει (§2.48.3), which refers to Aratus, continuing from the previous chapter (§2.47.4).
- 2.48.3διότι ... ἂν ... καταφύγοιεν
The conjunction διότι here does not mean "because," but like ὅτι, introduces a noun clause containing the object of the verb of mental perception διειλήφει (a usage characteristic of Polybius). The phrase ἂν ... καταφύγοιεν represents a potential optative (optative with ἄν), expressing potentiality or a future-less-vivid apodosis under a historical main verb.
- 2.48.6τοὺς περὶ τὸν Νικοφάνη καὶ τὸν Κερκιδᾶν
The idiom οἱ περὶ [Name] can mean either "the companions of [Name]" or simply the individuals themselves. Accompanied by the intensive pronoun αὐτοὺς, it designates "Nicophanes and Cercidas themselves" or the embassy led by them.