- 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-grc2:22.19.1-22.19.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
Polybius mentions and criticizes the event where Philopoemen praised Archon for acting craftily on a certain occasion. He emphasizes the profound difference between a man of affairs and a busybody, regretting that people easily confuse these qualities.
ὅτι Φιλοποίμην πρὸς Ἄρχωνα τὸν στρατηγὸν λόγοις τισὶ διεφέρετο. ὁ μὲν οὖν Φιλοποίμην εὐδοκήσας ἐκ τοῦ καιροῦ τοῖς λεγομένοις καὶ μεταγνοὺς ἐπῄνει τὸν Ἄρχωνα φιλοφρόνως, ὡς ἐντρεχῶς καὶ πανούργως τῷ καιρῷ κεχρημένον.
That Philopoemen was at variance in certain discussions with Archon the strategus. Now Philopoemen, having on the spur of the moment approved of what was said and having changed his mind, praised Archon kindly, as one who had used the opportunity alertly and craftily.
ἔμοιγε μήν, φησὶν ὁ Πολύβιος, οὔτε τότε παρόντι τὸ ῥηθὲν εὐηρέστησεν, ὥστʼ ἐπαινοῦντά τινα κακῶς ἅμα ποιεῖν,1 οὔτε μετὰ ταῦτα τῆς ἡλικίας προβαινούσης·
”But to me indeed,” says Polybius, “neither at that time when I was present did what was said please me—so as for a person, while praising, to act badly at the same time—nor afterwards as my age advanced.
πολὺ γὰρ δή τι μοι δοκεῖ κεχωρίσθαι κατὰ τὴν αἵρεσιν ὁ πραγματικὸς ἀνὴρ τοῦ κακοπράγμονος καὶ παραπλησίαν ἔχειν διαφορὰν τῷ κακεντρεχεῖ πρὸς τὸν ἐντρεχῆ·2 ἃ μὲν γάρ ἐστι κάλλιστα τῶν ὄντων ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν, ἃ δὲ3 τοὐναντίον·
For the man of affairs seems to me to be separated by a very great distance in his principles from the busybody, and to have a difference similar to that of the malicious man in relation to the alert man; for the former are, so to speak, the finest of existing things, and the latter the opposite.
ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν νῦν ἐπιπολάζουσαν ἀκρισίαν βραχείας ἔχοντα κοινότητας τὰ προειρημένα τῆς αὐτῆς ἐπισημασίας καὶ ζήλου τυγχάνει παρὰ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις.
But on account of the lack of judgment now prevailing, the aforementioned qualities, though having only small points in common, meet with the same approval and admiration among men.”
- 22.19.2ὥστʼ ἐπαινοῦντά τινα κακῶς ἅμα ποιεῖν
In the infinitive clause introduced by ὥστε, τινά is interpreted as the subject accusative of the infinitive ποιεῖν and the participle ἐπαινοῦντα, meaning "so that a person, while praising, should at the same time act badly." Alternatively, τινά could be the direct object of the participle ἐπαινοῦντα ("praising someone") with an indefinite subject for the infinitive, but the former interpretation sharper contrasts the contradictory behavior of the same agent.
- 22.19.3παραπλησίαν ἔχειν διαφορὰν τῷ κακεντρεχεῖ πρὸς τὸν ἐντρεχῆ
This is an instance of compendiary comparison, where the dative τῷ κακεντρεχεῖ (the malicious man) depends on the adjective παραπλησίαν (similar). The phrase is a condensed way of saying "to have a difference similar to the difference of the malicious man in relation to the alert man," comparing the contrast between the statesman and the busybody to that between the malicious and the alert.
- 22.19.3ἃ μὲν ... ἃ δὲ
The neuter plural relative pronouns ἅ are used as demonstratives with the particles μέν and δέ ("the ones... the others..."). In this context, ἃ μέν refers to the positive qualities/types, namely ὁ πραγματικὸς ἀνὴρ (the man of affairs) and ὁ ἐντρεχής (the alert man), while ἃ δέ refers to the negative ones, ὁ κακοπράγμων (the busybody) and ὁ κακεντρεχής (the malicious man).