- 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-grc2:22.12.1-22.12.10
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
After hearing the arguments of the Spartan and Achaean envoys, the Roman senate decides to send Appius Claudius and his colleagues to Greece. The senate also admonishes the Achaeans to pay proper attention and show appropriate hospitality to Roman legates, following Caecilius's counter-accusation.
ποιησαμένων1 δὲ καὶ τούτων πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἐκ συγκαταθέσεως τὴν δικαιολογίαν, καὶ διδασκόντων τὴν σύγκλητον τῶν μὲν περὶ τὸν Ἀπολλωνίδαν τὸν Σικυώνιον ὡς ἀδύνατον εἴη τὸ παράπαν ἄμεινον χειρισθῆναι τὰ κατὰ τὴν Σπάρτην ἢ νῦν κεχείρισται διὰ τῶν Ἀχαιῶν καὶ διὰ Φιλοποίμενος, τῶν δὲ περὶ τὸν Ἀρέα τἀναντία πειρωμένων λέγειν καὶ φασκόντων πρῶτον μὲν καταλελύσθαι τὴν τῆς πόλεως δύναμιν ἐξηγμένου τοῦ πλήθους2 μετὰ βίας, εἶτʼ ἐν αὐτοῖς ἐπισφαλῆ καὶ ἀπαρρησίαστον καταλείπεσθαι τὴν πολιτείαν, ἐπισφαλῆ μὲν ὀλίγοις οὖσιν καὶ τούτοις τῶν τειχῶν περιῃρημένων, ἀπαρρησίαστον δὲ διὰ τὸ μὴ μόνον τοῖς κοινοῖς δόγμασιν τῶν Ἀχαιῶν πειθαρχεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ κατʼ ἰδίαν ὑπηρετεῖν τοῖς ἀεὶ καθισταμένοις ἄρχουσιν, διακούσασα καὶ τούτων ἡ σύγκλητος ἔκρινε τοῖς αὐτοῖς πρεσβευταῖς δοῦναι καὶ περὶ τούτων ἐντολάς, καὶ κατέστησεν πρεσβευτὰς ἐπὶ τὴν Μακεδονίαν καὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα τοὺς περὶ Ἄππιον Κλαύδιον.
And when these also had made their defense by mutual agreement, and when Apollonidas of Sicyon and his companions were instructing the senate that it was utterly impossible for the affairs of Sparta to be administered better than they were now being administered by the Achaeans and Philopoemen, while Areus and his companions were trying to say the opposite, claiming first that the power of the city had been destroyed because the multitude had been violently expelled, and secondly that the constitution left among them was precarious and without freedom of speech, precarious because they were few and even their walls had been demolished, and without freedom of speech because they had not only to obey the common decrees of the Achaeans but also to serve individually the magistrates appointed from time to time, the senate, having heard these arguments as well, decided to give instructions on these matters to the same envoys, and appointed Appius Claudius and his colleagues as envoys to Macedonia and Greece.
Ἀπελογήθησαν δὲ καὶ πρὸς τὸν Καικίλιον ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀρχόντων οἱ παρὰ τῶν Ἀχαιῶν πρέσβεις ἐν τῇ συγκλήτῳ, φάσκοντες οὐθὲν ἀδικεῖν αὐτοὺς οὐδʼ ἀξίους ἐγκλήματος ὑπάρχειν ἐπὶ τῷ μὴ συνάγειν3 τὴν ἐκκλησίαν·
The envoys from the Achaeans also defended the magistrates before Caecilius in the senate, claiming that they had done no wrong and were not liable to accusation for not having assembled the assembly;
νόμον γὰρ εἶναι παρὰ τοῖς Ἀχαιοῖς μὴ συγκαλεῖν τοὺς πολλούς, ἐὰν μὴ περὶ συμμαχίας ἢ πολέμου δέῃ γίνεσθαι διαβούλιον ἢ παρὰ τῆς συγκλήτου τις ἐνέγκῃ γράμματα.
for there was a law among the Achaeans not to convoke the multitude, unless there was to be a deliberation concerning alliance or war, or someone brought letters from the senate.
διὸ καὶ δικαίως τότε βουλεύσασθαι μὲν τοὺς ἄρχοντας συγκαλεῖν τοὺς Ἀχαιοὺς εἰς ἐκκλησίαν, κωλύεσθαι δʼ ὑπὸ τῶν νόμων διὰ τὸ μήτε γράμματα φέρειν αὐτὸν παρὰ τῆς συγκλήτου μήτε τὰς ἐντολὰς ἐγγράπτους ἐθέλειν δοῦναι τοῖς ἄρχουσιν.
Therefore, they argued, the magistrates had then rightly deliberated to summon the Achaeans to an assembly, but were prevented by the laws because he neither brought letters from the senate nor was willing to give his instructions in writing to the magistrates.
ὧν ῥηθέντων ἀναστὰς Καικίλιος τῶν τε περὶ τὸν Φιλοποίμενα καὶ Λυκόρταν κατηγόρησεν καὶ καθόλου τῶν Ἀχαιῶν καὶ τῆς οἰκονομίας, ᾗ περὶ τῆς τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων ἐκέχρηντο πόλεως.
When these things were said, Caecilius stood up and accused Philopoemen, Lycortas, and their associates, and in general the Achaeans and the administration they had employed concerning the city of the Lacedaemonians.
ἡ δὲ σύγκλητος διακούσασα τῶν λεγομένων ἔδωκε τοῖς Ἀχαιοῖς ἀπόκρισιν ὅτι περὶ μὲν τῶν κατὰ Λακεδαίμονα πέμψει τοὺς ἐπισκεψομένους·
The senate, having heard what was said, gave an answer to the Achaeans that concerning the affairs of Lacedaemon it would send those who would inspect them;
τοῖς δὲ πρεσβευταῖς τοῖς αἰεὶ παρʼ ἑαυτῶν4 ἐκπεμπομένοις παρῄνει προσέχειν τὸν νοῦν καὶ καταδοχὴν ποιεῖσθαι τὴν ἁρμόζουσαν, καθάπερ καὶ Ῥωμαῖοι ποιοῦνται τῶν παραγινομένων πρὸς αὐτοὺς πρεσβευτῶν.
and it admonished them to pay attention to the envoys sent from time to time from themselves and to make a fitting reception, just as the Romans also do for the envoys who arrive before them.
- 22.12.1ποιησαμένων
Introduces a genitive absolute with the genitive pronoun τούτων as its subject. The subsequent participle διδασκόντων is also a genitive absolute, describing the circumstances of the explanation given by Apollonidas and his group to the senate.
- 22.12.2ἐξηγμένου τοῦ πλήθους
A genitive absolute consisting of the perfect passive participle ἐξηγμένου (from ἐξάγω "to lead out, expel") and the genitive noun τοῦ πλήθους. It indicates the cause or attendant circumstance that the Spartan multitude had been violently (μετὰ βίας) expelled.
- 22.12.5ἐπὶ τῷ μὴ συνάγειν
The preposition ἐπί followed by the articular infinitive τῷ ... συνάγειν, expressing the "reason" or "ground" for the accusation ("for not having assembled the assembly"). The negative particle μή is used.
- 22.12.10παρʼ ἑαυτῶν
The third-person reflexive pronoun in the genitive ἑαυτῶν refers back to the subject of the main clause, the senate (ἡ σύγκλητος). It means "the envoys sent from themselves (the senate)," forming the context in which the Achaeans are urged to respect Roman legates.