- 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-grc2:21.21.1-21.21.11
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
Eumenes appeals to the Roman Senate for fitting consideration based on their loyalty, comparing their case with Masannasa and Pleuratus. He argues that if Rome does not occupy Asia, the prizes of war should be granted to Pergamum rather than freeing the cities that sided with Antiochus.
ὥσθʼ ὑμᾶς,1 ἄνδρες Ῥωμαῖοι, πολλοὺς μὲν γεγονότας αὐτόπτας, πάντας δὲ γινώσκοντας διότι λέγομεν ἀληθῆ, δίκαιόν ἐστι τὴν ἁρμόζουσαν πρόνοιαν ποιήσασθαι περὶ ἡμῶν.
Therefore, O Romans, since many of you have been eyewitnesses and all of you know that we speak the truth, it is just that you should take fitting care of us. Therefore, O Romans, since many of you have been eyewitnesses and all of whom know that we speak the truth, it is just that you should take fitting care of us.
καὶ γὰρ ἂν πάντων γένοιτο δεινότατον, εἰ Μασαννάσαν μὲν τὸν οὐ μόνον ὑπάρξαντα πολέμιον ὑμῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ τελευταῖον καταφυγόντα πρὸς ὑμᾶς μετά τινων ἱππέων, τοῦτον,2 ὅτι καθʼ ἕνα πόλεμον τὸν πρὸς Καρχηδονίους ἐτήρησε τὴν πίστιν, βασιλέα τῶν πλείστων μερῶν τῆς Λιβύης πεποιήκατε, Πλευρᾶτον δέ, πράξαντα μὲν ἁπλῶς οὐδέν, διαφυλάξαντα δὲ μόνον τὴν πίστιν, μέγιστον τῶν κατὰ τὴν Ἰλλυρίδα δυναστῶν ἀναδεδείχατε, ἡμᾶς δὲ τοὺς διὰ προγόνων τὰ μέγιστα καὶ κάλλιστα τῶν ἔργων ὑμῖν συγκατειργασμένους παρʼ οὐδὲν ποιήσεσθε.3
For indeed it would be the most terrible thing of all if, on the one hand, you have made Masannasa—who was not only once your enemy, but also finally fled to you with a few horsemen—on the ground that in one single war, that against the Carthaginians, he kept his loyalty, king of most parts of Libya, and on the other hand, Pleuratus, who did absolutely nothing but only preserved his loyalty, you have declared the greatest of the rulers in Illyria, while us, who through our ancestors have helped you achieve the greatest and most beautiful deeds, you will hold of no account.
τί οὖν ἐστιν ὃ παρακαλῶ, καὶ τίνος φημὶ δεῖν ἡμᾶς τυγχάνειν παρʼ ὑμῶν; ἐρῶ μετὰ παρρησίας, ἐπείπερ ἡμᾶς ἐξεκαλέσασθε πρὸς τὸ λέγειν ὑμῖν τὸ φαινόμενον.
What then is it that I ask for, and what do I say we ought to obtain from you? I will speak with frankness, since you have invited us to state to you what seems best to us.
εἰ μὲν αὐτοὶ κρίνετέ τινας τόπους διακατέχειν τῆς Ἀσίας τῶν ὄντων μὲν ἐπὶ τάδε τοῦ Ταύρου, ταττομένων δὲ πρότερον ὑπʼ Ἀντίοχον, τοῦτο καὶ μάλιστα βουλοίμεθʼ ἂν ἰδεῖν γενόμενον·
If you yourselves decide to occupy any parts of Asia that lie on this side of Taurus, and which were formerly subject to Antiochus, this is what we would most of all wish to see happen;
καὶ γὰρ ἀσφαλέστατα βασιλεύσειν ὑμῖν γειτνιῶντες ὑπολαμβάνομεν καὶ μάλιστα μετέχοντες τῆς ὑμετέρας ἐξουσίας.
for we think we shall rule most securely if we are neighbors to you and share most in your authority.
εἰ δὲ τοῦτο μὴ κρίνετε ποιεῖν, ἀλλʼ ἐκχωρεῖν τῆς Ἀσίας ὁλοσχερῶς, οὐδενί φαμεν δικαιότερον εἶναι παραχωρεῖν ὑμᾶς τῶν ἐκ τοῦ πολέμου γεγονότων ἄθλων ἤπερ ἡμῖν.
But if you decide not to do this, but to withdraw from Asia entirely, we say that there is no one to whom it is more just for you to yield the prizes resulting from the war than to us. But if you decide not to do this, but to withdraw from Asia entirely, we say that there is no one to whom it is more just for you to yield the prizes resulting from the war than to us.
νὴ Δίʼ, ἀλλὰ κάλλιόν ἐστι τοὺς δουλεύοντας ἐλευθεροῦν. εἴγε μὴ4 μετʼ Ἀντιόχου πολεμεῖν ὑμῖν ἐτόλμησαν.
”But, by Zeus, it is nobler to free those who are enslaved.” Yes, indeed, if only they had not dared to fight against you along with Antiochus! “But, by Zeus, it is nobler to free those who are enslaved.” Yes, indeed, if only they had not dared to fight against you along with Antiochus!
ἐπεὶ δὲ τοῦθʼ ὑπέμειναν, πολλῷ κάλλιον τὸ τοῖς ἀληθινοῖς φίλοις τὰς ἁρμοζούσας χάριτας ἀποδιδόναι μᾶλλον ἢ τοὺς πολεμίους γεγονότας εὐεργετεῖν."
But since they submitted to this, it is far nobler to render fitting gratitude to true friends rather than to benefit those who have been enemies.”
- 21.21.1ὥσθʼ ὑμᾶς
The construction is "ὥστε + accusative + infinitive". The accusative ὑμᾶς is the subject of the infinitive ποιήσασθαι at the end of the clause. The participles γεγονότας and γινώσκοντας agree with ὑμᾶς.
- 21.21.2Μασαννάσαν... τοῦτον
Pleonastic repetition of the object. Masannasa (Μασαννάσαν), placed at the beginning, is resumed by the demonstrative pronoun τοῦτον just before the main verb πεποιήκατε, after a long intervening clausal parenthesis.
- 21.21.2ἂν πάντων γένοιτο … ποιήσεσθε
A mixed conditional sentence with ἄν + optative (γένοιτο) in the apodosis and the future indicative (ποιήσεσθε, in §21.21.4) in the protasis. It expresses a future possibility treated as a vivid threat while softening the conclusion as a potential result.
- 21.21.10εἴγε μὴ
"If at least... not," indicating a restrictive condition. It limits the general statement in the preceding clause (κάλλιόν ἐστι) by implying that since they did in fact dare to fight alongside Antiochus, the assertion of "nobility" does not apply to them.