- 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-grc2:23.10.1-23.10.17
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
Describes the three calamities (divine punishments) that befell King Philip of Macedon in his old age: the resentment of the people due to forced relocation, the persecution of the children of those he executed, and the fatal discord between his sons.
ὅτι τῷ βασιλεῖ Φιλίππῳ καὶ τῇ συμπάσῃ Μακεδονίᾳ κατὰ τοῦτον τὸν καιρὸν δεινή τις ἀρχὴ κακῶν ἐνέπεσε καὶ πολλῆς ἐπιστάσεως καὶ μνήμης ἀξία.
That at this time a terrible beginning of evils fell upon King Philip and the whole of Macedonia, worthy of great attention and remembrance.
καθάπερ γὰρ ἂν εἰ1 δίκην ἡ τύχη βουλομένη λαβεῖν ἐν καιρῷ παρʼ αὐτοῦ πάντων τῶν ἀσεβημάτων καὶ παρανομημάτων ὧν εἰργάσατο κατὰ τὸν βίον, τότε παρέστησέ τινας ἐρινῦς καὶ ποινὰς καὶ προστροπαίους τῶν διʼ ἐκεῖνον ἠτυχηκότων·
For just as if Fortune, wishing in due season to exact from him the penalty for all the impieties and lawless deeds he had committed during his life, had then placed by his side certain furies, avengers, and mutinous spirits of those who had suffered misfortune because of him;
οἳ συνόντες αὐτῷ καὶ νύκτωρ καὶ μεθʼ ἡμέραν τοιαύτας ἔλαβον παρʼ αὐτοῦ τιμωρίας, ἕως οὗ τὸ ζῆν ἐξέλιπεν, ὡς καὶ πάντας ἀνθρώπους ὁμολογῆσαι διότι κατὰ τὴν παροιμίαν ἔστι Δίκης ὀφθαλμός, ἧς μηδέποτε δεῖ καταφρονεῖν ἀνθρώπους ὑπάρχοντας.2
who, accompanying him night and day, exacted such retribution from him until his life ended, so that all men agreed that, as the proverb says, there is an eye of Justice, which men, being mortal, must never despise.
πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ αὐτῷ ταύτην παρεστήσαντο τὴν ἔννοιαν ὅτι δεῖ μέλλοντα πολεμεῖν3 πρὸς Ῥωμαίους ἐκ τῶν ἐπιφανεστάτων καὶ παραθαλαττίων πόλεων τοὺς μὲν πολιτικοὺς ἄνδρας μετὰ τέκνων καὶ γυναικῶν ἀναστάτους ποιήσαντα μεταγαγεῖν εἰς τὴν νῦν μὲν Ἠμαθίαν, τὸ δὲ παλαιὸν Παιονίαν προσαγορευομένην, πληρῶσαι δὲ καὶ Θρᾳκῶν καὶ βαρβάρων τὰς πόλεις, ὡς βεβαιοτέρας αὐτῷ τῆς ἐκ τούτων πίστεως ὑπαρξούσης κατὰ τὰς περιστάσεις. οὗ συντελουμένου, καὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀνασπάστων γινομένων, τηλικοῦτο συνέβη γενέσθαι πένθος καὶ τηλικοῦτον θόρυβον ὥστε δοριάλωτον δοκεῖν ἅπασαν γίνεσθαι.
For first of all, they put this thought into his mind, that as he was about to wage war against the Romans, he must remove the citizens from the most prominent and coastal cities with their children and wives, and transplant them to what is now called Emathia, but anciently Paeonia, and fill the cities with Thracians and barbarians, as though the loyalty of these would be more secure for him in times of crisis. While this was being carried out, and the people were being torn from their homes, there occurred such great mourning and such great tumult that the whole country seemed to have been taken by force of arms.
ἐξ ὧν κατάραι καὶ θεοκλυτήσεις ἐγίνοντο κατὰ τοῦ βασιλέως, οὐκέτι λάθρᾳ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ φανερῶς.
Consequently, curses and appeals to heaven were made against the king, no longer only in secret, but also openly.
μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα βουληθεὶς μηδὲν ἀλλότριον ὑποκαθέσθαι μηδὲ δυσμενὲς μηδὲν ἀπολιπεῖν πρὸς τὴν βασιλείαν, ἔγραψε τοῖς ἐπὶ τῶν πόλεων διατεταγμένοις ἀναζητήσασι τοὺς υἱοὺς καὶ τὰς θυγατέρας τῶν ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ Μακεδόνων ἀνῃρημένων, εἰς φυλακὴν ἀποθέσθαι,4 μάλιστα μὲν φέρων ἐπὶ τοὺς περὶ Ἄδμητον καὶ Πύρριχον καὶ Σάμον καὶ τοὺς μετὰ τούτων ἀπολομένους·
After this, wishing to leave no hostile or disaffected element behind in his kingdom, he wrote to the officers stationed in the cities that they should search out the sons and daughters of the Macedonians who had been put to death by him, and place them in custody, directing this especially against the families of Admetus, Pyrrhichus, Samos, and those who had perished with them;
ἅμα δὲ τούτοις συμπεριέλαβε καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ἅπαντας, ὅσοι κατὰ βασιλικὸν πρόσταγμα τοῦ ζῆν ἐστερήθησαν, ἐπιφθεγξάμενος, ὥς φασι, τὸν στίχον τοῦτον· νήπιος ὃς πατέρα κτείνας υἱοὺς καταλείπει.
but at the same time he included all the others who had been deprived of life by royal decree, quoting, as they say, this verse: “Foolish is he who, having slain the father, leaves the sons behind.”
ὄντων δὲ τῶν πλείστων ἐπιφανῶν διὰ τὰς τῶν πατέρων προαγωγάς, ἐπιφανῆ καὶ τὴν τούτων ἀτυχίαν συνέβαινε γίνεσθαι καὶ παρὰ πᾶσιν ἐλεεινήν.
As most of them were prominent owing to the high positions of their fathers, their misfortune also became conspicuous and moved all to pity.
τρίτον δʼ ἡ τύχη δρᾶμα κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν καιρὸν ἐπεισήγαγεν τὸ κατὰ τοὺς υἱούς, ἐν ᾧ τῶν μὲν νεανίσκων ἀλλήλοις ἐπιβουλευόντων, τῆς δʼ ἀναφορᾶς περὶ τούτων ἐπʼ αὐτὸν γινομένης, καὶ δέον διαλαμβάνειν5 ποτέρου δεῖ γίνεσθαι τῶν υἱῶν φονέα καὶ πότερον αὐτῶν δεδιέναι μᾶλλον κατὰ τὸν ἑξῆς βίον, μὴ γηράσκων αὐτὸς πάθῃ τὸ παραπλήσιον, ἐστροβεῖτο νύκτωρ καὶ μεθʼ ἡμέραν περὶ τούτων διανοούμενος.
In the third place, Fortune introduced at the same time a drama concerning his sons, in which, while the young men were plotting against each other, and the reference of these matters was made to him, and it was necessary for him to decide of which of his sons he must become the murderer, and which of them he must fear more during the rest of his life, lest in his old age he himself should suffer a similar fate, he was racked night and day as he pondered these things.
ἐν τοιαύταις δʼ οὔσης ἀτυχίαις καὶ ταραχαῖς τῆς αὐτοῦ ψυχῆς, τίς οὐκ ἂν εἰκότως ὑπολάβοι θεῶν τινων αὐτῷ μῆνιν εἰς τὸ γῆρας κατασκῆψαι διὰ τὰς ἐν τῷ προγεγονότι βίῳ παρανομίας;
When his soul was in such misfortune and trouble, who would not reasonably suppose that the anger of some gods had fallen upon his old age because of the lawless deeds of his past life?
τοῦτο δʼ ἔτι μᾶλλον ἔσται δῆλον ἐκ τῶν ἑξῆς ῥηθησομένων. — ὅτι Φίλιππος ὁ Μακεδόνων βασιλεὺς πολλοὺς τῶν Μακεδόνων ἀνελὼν καὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς αὐτῶν ἐπανεῖλεν, ὥς φασι, τὸν στίχον τοῦτον εἰπών· νήπιος ὃς πατέρα κτείνας υἱοὺς καταλείπει.
And this will be still more clear from what is about to be told. — That Philip, the king of the Macedonians, having put to death many of the Macedonians, also put to death their sons, quoting, as they say, this verse: “Foolish is he who, having slain the father, leaves the sons behind.”
καὶ διὰ ταῦτα τῆς ψυχῆς οἱονεὶ λυττώσης αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὸ κατὰ τοὺς υἱοὺς νεῖκος ἅμα τοῖς προειρημένοις ἐξεκαύθη, τῆς τύχης ὥσπερ ἐπίτηδες ἀναβιβαζούσης ἐπὶ σκηνὴν ἐν ἑνὶ καιρῷ τὰς τούτων συμφοράς. —
And because of this, his soul being as it were driven mad, the quarrel concerning his sons also blazed up together with the aforementioned calamities, Fortune as if on purpose bringing their misfortunes onto the stage at one and the same time. —
ἐναγίζουσιν οὖν τῷ Ξανθῷ Μακεδόνες καὶ καθαρμὸν ποιοῦσι σὺν ἵπποις ὡπλισμένοις. —
Therefore the Macedonians offer sacrifice to Xanthos and perform a purification with armed horses. —
- 23.10.2καθάπερ γὰρ ἂν εἰ
An idiomatic expression introducing a figurative comparison. The particle ἄν implies the potential apodosis of an unfulfilled condition (typically an indicative past tense like παρέστησεν), which is omitted as the sentence flows directly into the narrative of actual events in the main clause (τότε παρέστησε...).
- 23.10.3ἧς μηδέποτε δεῖ καταφρονεῖν ἀνθρώπους ὑπάρχοντας
The accusative participle phrase ἀνθρώπους ὑπάρχοντας ('being humans', 'since they are mortal') serves as the subject of the infinitive depending on the impersonal verb δεῖ. The relative pronoun ἧς refers back to Δίκης ὀφθαλμός (or Δίκη itself) in the genitive, governed by the verb καταφρονέω.
- 23.10.4δεῖ μέλλοντα πολεμεῖν
The accusative participle μέλλοντα serves as the subject of the infinitives μεταγαγεῖν and πληρῶσαι (§23.10.5) governed by the impersonal verb δεῖ. Although referring to Philip, it is formulated in the general accusative ('one who is about to wage war') rather than a specific dative.
- 23.10.8ἀναζητήσασι ... ἀποθέσθαι
The dative participle ἀναζητήσασι agrees with the indirect object of the verb ἔγραψε, namely the officers stationed in the cities (τοῖς ἐπὶ τῶν πόλεων διατεταγμένοις). The infinitive ἀποθέσθαι expresses the command or request conveyed in the letter.
- 23.10.13καὶ δέον διαλαμβάνειν
An accusative absolute construction using the neuter present participle δέον of the impersonal verb δεῖ. It functions as an adverbial phrase expressing an accompanying circumstance or cause ('it being necessary to decide'), parallel to the surrounding genitive absolutes.
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