Clemency of Philip II and Cruelty of Ptolemy V — Polybius, The Histories Book 22 (22.16.1–22.16.4), Greek & English

§22.16.1

βασιλέα καὶ θ?ε?ω?ν? α?ι?μ?α? τοῦτον λέγοντες καταχρώμενοι τ?ε?υ?ξ?ε?σ?θ?α?ι? τινος ἐλέους καὶ συγγνώμης ἐπὶ τῳ σασθαι τ?ο?ν? β?α?σ?ι?λεα ων γε μὴν καὶ βασιλικώτερος. ονων ων ἀθετηθῆναι γὰρ υ?φ? ε?τ?ε?ρων κ?ρ?ε?ι?τ?τ?ον ἦν ἢ πρότερον αὐτὸν ἀθετεῖν τὰς πίστεις¹ καὶ μὴν ἀδικεῖσθαι μᾶλλον η και 〈ανου〉ς φασιν συμπάσχειν τοις αδικοις π ἔγγιστα τῆς θείας φυσεως εἶναι, νους τυγχάνειν τιμῶν η υ?π? θεὸς γὰρ οὐδεὶς πρότερος κακῶς ποιεῖ τοὺς ανους τα? του προς ς θαυμάζουσι μὲν πάντες Φίλιππον διὰ τὴν ορ ς μεγαλοψυχίαν ὅτι κακῶς οὐ μόνον ἀκούων, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάσχων² ὑπʼ Ἀθηναίων, νικήσας αὐτοὺς τὴν περὶ Χαιρώνειαν μάχην τοσοῦτον ἀπέσχε τοῦ χρήσασθαι τῷ καιρῷ πρὸς τὴν κατὰ τῶν ἐχθρῶν βλάβην ὥστε³ τοὺς μὲν τεθνεῶτας τῶν Ἀθηναίων κηδεύσας ἔθαψε, τοὺς δʼ αἰχμαλώτους χωρὶς λύτρων προσαμφιέσας ἐξαπέστειλε τοῖς ἀναγκαίοις·

...calling him a king and of the blood of gods, and taking advantage of this in the hope of obtaining some mercy and pardon... toward the king... he himself being even more kingly. For it was better to be betrayed by others than to be the first to break one’s pledge, and indeed to suffer injustice rather than... they say that men sympathize with those who suffer injustice... to be closest to the divine nature... for no god is the first to do harm to men... everyone admires Philip for his... ...magnanimity; because, although he was not only ill-spoken of but also ill-treated by the Athenians, when he defeated them in the battle of Chaeronea, he so far refrained from using the opportunity to harm his enemies that he buried the Athenian dead with due ceremony, and sent the captives back to their relatives, not only without ransom but even having provided them with clothing.

§22.16.3

μιμοῦνται δʼ ἥκιστα τὴν τοιαύτην προαίρεσιν, ἁμιλλῶνται δὲ τοῖς θυμοῖς καὶ ταῖς τιμωρίαις πρὸς τούτους, οἷς πολεμοῦσι τούτων αὐτῶν ἕνεκα.

But they least of all imitate such a policy; instead, they vie with those they are at war with in anger and vengeance for these very things.

§22.16.4

πλὴν ὅγε Πτολεμαῖος δήσας τοὺς ἀνθρώπους γυμνοὺς ταῖς ἁμάξαις εἷλκε καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα τιμωρησάμενος ἀπέκτεινεν. —

Except indeed Ptolemy, who bound the men naked to his chariots and dragged them, and after that tortured and killed them.

Syntax notes3 items

22.16.1ἀθετηθῆναι γὰρ ὑφ’ ἑτέρων κρεῖττον ἦν ἢ πρότερον αὐτὸν ἀθετεῖν τὰς πίστεις
In the comparative construction with κρεῖττον ἦν ἤ..., the two compared actions are expressed by infinitives with different voices and subjects. The first part, ἀθετηθῆναι, is an aorist passive infinitive ('to be betrayed by others'), while the second part is an active infinitive ἀθετεῖν with the accusative subject αὐτόν ('for oneself to be the first to break one's pledge').
22.16.2κακῶς οὐ μόνον ἀκούων, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάσχων
The phrase κακῶς ἀκούω ('to be ill-spoken of') is an idiomatic construction where the active verb ἀκούω functions with a passive sense. This is contrasted and paired with κακῶς πάσχω ('to be ill-treated'), creating a rhetorical balance between suffering verbal abuse and physical harm.
22.16.2τοσοῦτον ἀπέσχε τοῦ χρήσασθαι τῷ καιρῷ πρὸς τὴν κατὰ τῶν ἐχθρῶν βλάβην ὥστε
The adverbial τοσοῦτον correlates with ὥστε to introduce a result clause ('he so far refrained... that...'). The verb ἀπέχω ('refrain/keep away from') takes a genitive of separation, which here governs the articular infinitive τοῦ χρήσασθαι.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-10-09)

2026-10-09 Collated with the printed edition — source 1

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:22.16.1-22.16.4