Critique of Phylarchus and the Purpose of History — Polybius, The Histories Book 2 (2.56.1–2.56.16), Greek & English

§2.56.1

ἐπεὶ δὲ τῶν κατὰ τοὺς αὐτοὺς καιροὺς Ἀράτῳ γεγραφότων παρʼ ἐνίοις ἀποδοχῆς ἀξιοῦται Φύλαρχος, ἐν πολλοῖς ἀντιδοξῶν καὶ τἀναντία γράφων αὐτῷ, χρήσιμον ἂν εἴη, μᾶλλον δʼ ἀναγκαῖον ἡμῖν, Ἀράτῳ προῃρημένοις κατακολουθεῖν¹ περὶ τῶν Κλεομενικῶν, μὴ παραλιπεῖν ἄσκεπτον τοῦτο τὸ μέρος, ἵνα μὴ τὸ ψεῦδος ἐν τοῖς συγγράμμασιν ἰσοδυναμοῦν ἀπολείπωμεν πρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν.

But since, among those who wrote at the same time as Aratus, Phylarchus is deemed worthy of acceptance by some, although he holds different opinions in many matters and writes the opposite to him, it would be useful, or rather necessary for us, who have chosen to follow Aratus regarding the Cleomenic War, not to leave this matter unexamined, so that we may not allow falsehood in historical writings to remain of equal authority with the truth.

§2.56.3

καθόλου μὲν οὖν ὁ συγγραφεὺς οὗτος πολλὰ παρʼ ὅλην τὴν πραγματείαν εἰκῇ καὶ ὡς ἔτυχεν εἴρηκεν.

Generally speaking, then, this writer has made many assertions throughout his entire work at random and just as it happened.

§2.56.4

πλὴν περὶ μὲν τῶν ἄλλων ἴσως οὐκ ἀναγκαῖον ἐπιτιμᾶν κατὰ τὸ παρὸν οὐδʼ ἐξακριβοῦν· ὅσα δὲ συνεπιβάλλει τοῖς ὑφʼ ἡμῶν γραφομένοις καιροῖς — ταῦτα δʼ ἔστιν τὰ περὶ τὸν Κλεομενικὸν πόλεμον — ὑπὲρ τούτων ἀναγκαῖόν ἐστιν ἡμῖν διευκρινεῖν.

Nevertheless, while it is perhaps not necessary at present to censure or detail his other statements, yet regarding those which overlap with the times of which we write—and these are the events of the Cleomenic War—it is necessary for us to clear up the matter.

§2.56.5

ἔσται δὲ πάντως ἀρκοῦντα ταῦτα πρὸς τὸ καὶ τὴν ὅλην αὐτοῦ προαίρεσιν καὶ δύναμιν ἐν τῇ πραγματείᾳ καταμαθεῖν.

And this will be quite sufficient to enable us to understand his general purpose and ability in his work.

§2.56.6

βουλόμενος δὴ διασαφεῖν τὴν ὠμότητα τὴν Ἀντιγόνου καὶ Μακεδόνων, ἅμα δὲ τούτοις τὴν Ἀράτου καὶ τῶν Ἀχαιῶν, φησὶ τοὺς Μαντινέας γενομένους ὑποχειρίους μεγάλοις περιπεσεῖν ἀτυχήμασι, καὶ τὴν ἀρχαιοτάτην καὶ μεγίστην πόλιν τῶν κατὰ τὴν Ἀρκαδίαν τηλικαύταις παλαῖσαι συμφοραῖς ὥστε πάντας εἰς ἐπίστασιν καὶ δάκρυα τοὺς Ἕλληνας ἀγαγεῖν.

For wishing to demonstrate the cruelty of Antigonus and the Macedonians, and at the same time that of Aratus and the Achaeans, he says that the Mantineans, on falling into their power, met with terrible misfortunes, and that the oldest and greatest city in Arcadia was beset by calamities so great as to bring all the Greeks to astonishment and tears.

§2.56.7

σπουδάζων δʼ εἰς ἔλεον ἐκκαλεῖσθαι τοὺς ἀναγινώσκοντας καὶ συμπαθεῖς ποιεῖν τοῖς λεγομένοις, εἰσάγει περιπλοκὰς γυναικῶν καὶ κόμας διερριμμένας καὶ μαστῶν ἐκβολάς, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις δάκρυα καὶ θρήνους ἀνδρῶν καὶ γυναικῶν ἀναμὶξ τέκνοις καὶ γονεῦσι γηραιοῖς ἀπαγομένων. ποιεῖ δὲ τοῦτο παρʼ ὅλην τὴν ἱστορίαν, πειρώμενος ἐν ἑκάστοις ἀεὶ πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν τιθέναι τὰ δεινά.

And in his eagerness to move his readers to pity and to make them sympathize with his narrative, he introduces women clinging to one another, disheveled hair, and bared breasts, and besides these, the tears and laments of men and women led away together with their children and aged parents. And he does this throughout his entire history, trying in every case to place the horrors before our eyes.

§2.56.9

τὸ μὲν οὖν ἀγεννὲς καὶ γυναικῶδες τῆς αἱρέσεως αὐτοῦ παρείσθω, τὸ δὲ τῆς ἱστορίας οἰκεῖον ἅμα καὶ χρήσιμον ἐξεταζέσθω.

Now, let the ignoble and womanish character of his choice be passed over, but let that which is proper to history and at the same time useful be examined.

§2.56.10

δεῖ τοιγαροῦν οὐκ ἐπιπλήττειν² τὸν συγγραφέα τερατευόμενον διὰ τῆς ἱστορίας τοὺς ἐντυγχάνοντας οὐδὲ τοὺς ἐνδεχομένους λόγους ζητεῖν καὶ τὰ παρεπόμενα τοῖς ὑποκειμένοις ἐξαριθμεῖσθαι, καθάπερ οἱ τραγῳδιογράφοι, τῶν δὲ πραχθέντων καὶ ῥηθέντων κατʼ ἀλήθειαν αὐτῶν μνημονεύειν πάμπαν, κἂν πάνυ μέτρια τυγχάνωσιν ὄντα.

Therefore, a historian ought not to try to astonish his readers by sensational stories through his history, nor to seek out speeches which might have been delivered, nor to enumerate the circumstances which might follow upon his subjects, like tragic poets; but he should record completely what was actually done and said, even if it happens to be entirely commonplace.

§2.56.11

τὸ γὰρ τέλος ἱστορίας καὶ τραγῳδίας οὐ ταὐτόν, ἀλλὰ τοὐναντίον. ἐκεῖ μὲν γὰρ δεῖ διὰ τῶν πιθανωτάτων λόγων ἐκπλῆξαι καὶ ψυχαγωγῆσαι κατὰ τὸ παρὸν τοὺς ἀκούοντας, ἐνθάδε δὲ διὰ τῶν ἀληθινῶν ἔργων καὶ λόγων εἰς τὸν πάντα χρόνον διδάξαι καὶ πεῖσαι τοὺς φιλομαθοῦντας, ἐπειδήπερ ἐν ἐκείνοις μὲν ἡγεῖται τὸ πιθανόν, κἂν ᾖ ψεῦδος, διὰ τὴν ἀπάτην τῶν θεωμένων, ἐν δὲ τούτοις τἀληθὲς διὰ τὴν ὠφέλειαν τῶν φιλομαθούντων.

For the purpose of history and that of tragedy are not the same, but quite the opposite. For in the latter, one must astonish and captivate the audience for the moment by means of the most plausible words, but in the former, one must instruct and convince the lovers of learning for all time by means of true deeds and words, since in the one, the plausible, even if it is false, takes the lead for the delusion of the spectators, but in the other, the truth takes the lead for the benefit of the studious.

§2.56.13

χωρίς τε τούτων τὰς πλείστας ἡμῖν ἐξηγεῖται τῶν περιπετειῶν, οὐχ ὑποτιθεὶς αἰτίαν καὶ τρόπον τοῖς γινομένοις, ὧν χωρὶς οὔτʼ ἐλεεῖν εὐλόγως οὔτʼ ὀργίζεσθαι καθηκόντως δυνατὸν ἐπʼ οὐδενὶ τῶν συμβαινόντων.

And besides these things, he relates most of the vicissitudes of fortune to us without suggesting the cause and method of what happened, without which it is impossible either to feel pity reasonably or to be angry properly at any of the occurrences.

§2.56.14

ἐπεὶ τίς ἀνθρώπων οὐ δεινὸν ἡγεῖται τύπτεσθαι τοὺς ἐλευθέρους; ἀλλʼ ὅμως, ἐὰν μὲν ἄρχων ἀδίκων χειρῶν³ πάθῃ τις τοῦτο, δικαίως κρίνεται πεπονθέναι· ἐὰν δʼ ἐπὶ διορθώσει καὶ μαθήσει ταὐτὸ τοῦτο γίνηται, προσέτι καὶ τιμῆς καὶ χάριτος οἱ τύπτοντες τοὺς ἐλευθέρους ἀξιοῦνται.

For who among men does not think it a terrible thing for free men to be beaten? But nevertheless, if a person suffers this because he was the beginner of unlawful violence, he is judged to have suffered justly; but if this same thing is done for correction and instruction, those who beat free men are moreover deemed worthy of honor and gratitude.

§2.56.15

καὶ μὴν τό γε τοὺς πολίτας ἀποκτεινύναι μέγιστον ἀσέβημα τίθεται καὶ μεγίστων ἄξιον προστίμων· καίτοι γε προφανῶς ὁ μὲν τὸν κλέπτην ἢ μοιχὸν ἀποκτείνας ἀθῷός ἐστιν, ὁ δὲ τὸν προδότην ἢ τύραννον τιμῶν καὶ προεδρείας τυγχάνει παρὰ πᾶσιν.

And indeed, to kill citizens is set down as the greatest impiety and deserving of the heaviest penalties; and yet clearly, he who kills a thief or an adulterer is guiltless, while he who kills a traitor or a tyrant meets with honor and the right of front-seats among all men.

§2.56.16

οὕτως ἐν παντὶ τὸ τέλος κεῖται τῆς διαλήψεως ὑπὲρ τούτων οὐκ ἐν τοῖς τελουμένοις, ἀλλʼ ἐν ταῖς αἰτίαις καὶ προαιρέσεσι τῶν πραττόντων καὶ ταῖς τούτων διαφοραῖς.

Thus in every matter, the final decision of judgment on these points lies not in the actions performed, but in the causes and purposes of the agents and in the differences between them.

Syntax notes3 items

2.56.2Ἀράτῳ προῃρημένοις κατακολουθεῖν
Meaning 'for us who have chosen to follow Aratus.' The perfect participle προῃρημένοις (dative plural) agrees with the dative pronoun ἡμῖν (for us) in the main clause. The infinitive κατακολουθεῖν acts as a complementary infinitive dependent on προαιρέομαι (to choose, resolve), while the dative Ἀράτῳ is governed by κατακολουθέω (to follow).
2.56.10δεῖ τοιγαροῦν οὐκ ἐπιπλήττειν
A contrastive structure governed by the impersonal verb δεῖ. The negative infinitives οὐκ ἐπιπλήττειν, ζητεῖν, and ἐξαριθμεῖσθαι are parallel and qualified by καθάπερ οἱ τραγῳδιογράφοι (like tragic poets), which are then contrasted with the positive infinitive μνημονεύειν (to record). Here ἐπιπλήττειν is used in the sense of 'to strike, shock, or thrill' the audience's emotions.
2.56.14ἄρχων ἀδίκων χειρῶν
An idiomatic expression where the verb ἄρχω in the sense of 'to begin, initiate' governs the genitive ἀδίκων χειρῶν (unlawful hands/violence). The participle ἄρχων (nominative singular) modifies the subject τις in the conditional clause, meaning 'by being the initiator of unjust violence.'

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)

2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:2.56.1-2.56.16