- 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-grc2:23.14.1-23.14.12
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
The passage recounts anecdotes of Publius Scipio, who dismissed a public accusation by emphasizing his past achievements, and resolutely refused to submit to financial demands in the senate, presenting his actions as an inspiring example for future generations.
ὅτι Πόπλιος φιλοδοξήσας1 ἐν ἀριστοκρατικῷ πολιτεύματι τηλικαύτην περιεποιήσατο παρὰ μὲν τοῖς ὄχλοις εὔνοιαν παρὰ δὲ τῷ συνεδρίῳ πίστιν ὥστʼ, ἐν μὲν τῷ δήμῳ κρίνειν τινὸς ἐπιβαλομένου2 κατὰ τὰ Ῥωμαίων ἔθη καὶ πολλὰ κατηγορήσαντος καὶ πικρῶς, ἄλλο μὲν οὐθὲν εἶπε προελθών, οὐκ ἔφη δὲ πρέπον εἶναι τῷ δήμῳ τῶν Ῥωμαίων οὐθενὸς ἀκούειν κατηγοροῦντος Ποπλίου Κορνηλίου Σκιπίωνος,3 διʼ ὃν αὐτὴν τὴν τοῦ λέγειν ἐξουσίαν ἔχουσιν οἱ κατηγοροῦντες.
That Publius, having been ambitious in an aristocratic constitution, acquired such great goodwill among the masses and trust in the senate, that, when someone in the assembly of the people attempted to bring him to trial according to the Roman customs and accused him at length and bitterly, he stepped forward and said nothing else, but said that it was not fitting for the Roman people to listen to anyone accusing Publius Cornelius Scipio, thanks to whom the accusers themselves possessed the very authority to speak.
ὧν ἀκούσαντες οἱ πολλοὶ παραχρῆμα διελύθησαν πάντες ἐκ τῆς ἐκκλησίας, ἀπολιπόντες τὸν κατηγοροῦντα μόνον. —
On hearing this, the multitude at once all dispersed from the assembly, leaving the accuser alone. —
ὅτι Πόπλιος ἐν τῷ συνεδρίῳ χρείας ποτὲ χρημάτων οὔσης εἴς τινα κατεπείγουσαν οἰκονομίαν, τοῦ δὲ ταμίου διά τινα νόμον οὐ φάσκοντος ἀνοίξειν τὸ ταμιεῖον κατʼ ἐκείνην τὴν ἡμέραν, αὐτὸς ἔφη λαβὼν τὰς κλεῖς ἀνοίξειν·
That Publius in the senate, when there was once a need for money for some urgent administration, and the quaestor, because of a certain law, declared he would not open the treasury on that day, said that he would take the keys and open it himself;
αὐτὸς γὰρ αἴτιος γεγονέναι καὶ τοῦ κλείεσθαι τὸ ταμιεῖον.4
for he said he himself had been the cause also of the treasury being closed.
πάλιν δέ ποτε λόγον ἀπαιτοῦντός τινος ἐν τῷ συνεδρίῳ τῶν χρημάτων ὧν ἔλαβε παρʼ Ἀντιόχου πρὸ τῶν συνθηκῶν εἰς τὴν τοῦ στρατοπέδου μισθοδοσίαν, ἔχειν μὲν ἔφη τὸν λογισμόν, οὐ δεῖν δʼ αὐτὸν ὑποσχεῖν οὐδενὶ λόγον·
And on another occasion, when someone in the senate demanded an account of the money he had received from Antiochus before the treaty for the pay of the army, he said indeed that he had the ledger, but that he ought not to render an account to anyone;
τοῦ δʼ ἐπικειμένου καὶ κελεύοντος φέρειν ἠξίωσε τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἐνεγκεῖν· κομισθέντος δὲ τοῦ βυβλίου, προτείνας αὐτὸ καὶ κατασπαράξας πάντων ὁρώντων τὸν μὲν ἀπαιτοῦντα τὸν λόγον ἐκ τούτων ζητεῖν ἐκέλευσε, τοὺς δʼ ἄλλους ἤρετο πῶς τῶν μὲν τρισχιλίων ταλάντων τὸν λόγον ἐπιζητοῦσι πῶς ἐδαπανήθη καὶ διὰ τίνων, τῶν δὲ μυρίων καθόλου καὶ πεντακισχιλίων ὧν παρʼ Ἀντιόχου λαμβάνουσιν, οὐκέτι ζητοῦσι πῶς εἰσπορεύεται καὶ διὰ τίνων, οὐδὲ πῶς τῆς Ἀσίας καὶ τῆς Λιβύης, ἔτι δὲ τῆς Ἰβηρίας κεκυριεύκασιν.
and when the other pressed him and ordered him to bring it, he requested his brother to bring it; and when the book was brought, he held it out and tore it to pieces in the sight of all, and bade the man who demanded the account to seek it from those pieces, and asked the others how it was that, while they demanded an account of the three thousand talents as to how it was spent and by whom, they no longer asked how the fifteen thousand talents in total which they were receiving from Antiochus was coming in and by whom, nor how they had become masters of Asia and Libya, and furthermore of Iberia.
ὥστε μὴ μόνον καταπλαγῆναι πάντας, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν ζητήσαντα τὸν λόγον ἀποσιωπῆσαι.
so that not only were all astounded, but even the man who demanded the account fell silent.
ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἡμῖν εἰρήσθω5 τῆς τε τῶν μετηλλαχότων ἀνδρῶν εὐκλείας ἕνεκεν καὶ τῆς τῶν ἐπιγινομένων παρορμήσεως πρὸς τὰ καλὰ τῶν ἔργων. —
Therefore, let this much be said by us both for the sake of the good fame of the departed men and for the encouragement of succeeding generations toward noble deeds. —
- 23.14.1φιλοδοξήσας
The aorist participle of the verb φιλοδοξέω (to love fame, be ambitious). It functions circumstantially with the main verb περιεποιήσατο (acquired), indicating the attitude or motive of the subject.
- 23.14.2κρίνειν τινὸς ἐπιβαλομένου
A genitive absolute construction. The genitive pronoun τινός (someone) acts as the subject of the middle aorist participle ἐπιβαλομένου (attempting), which takes the infinitive κρίνειν (to bring to trial) as its object. The object of the trial (Scipio) is omitted in the accusative.
- 23.14.3οὐθενὸς ἀκούειν κατηγοροῦντος Ποπλίου Κορνηλίου Σκιπίωνος
The verb ἀκούω takes a genitive of the person heard, making οὐθενός (no one) the direct object of ἀκούειν. The participle κατηγοροῦντος (accusing) modifies οὐθενός and in turn governs Ποπλίου... in the genitive as its own object.
- 23.14.6καὶ τοῦ κλείεσθαι τὸ ταμιεῖον
A substantivized infinitive in the genitive, governed by αἴτιος (responsible for) in the preceding clause. The noun τὸ ταμιεῖον acts as the subject of the passive infinitive κλείεσθαι. It expresses Scipio's pride in having been the source of Rome's wealth (which allowed the treasury to remain closed/secured).
- 23.14.12εἰρήσθω
The third-person singular perfect passive imperative of λέγω. Meaning 'let this much be said by us,' it is a formulaic expression used by the author to close a topic and move on to the next.