- 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-grc2:24.13.1-24.13.10
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-11
It describes Philopoemen opposing Aristaenus' policy of submission to Rome, arguing instead that the Achaeans should assert their rights and resist unjust demands, and notes that while their policies differed in character, both contributed to keeping the Achaeans safe.
ὁ δὲ Φιλοποίμην οὐκ ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον ἔφη δεῖν ἀμαθίαν αὑτοῦ καταγινώσκειν1 ὥστε μὴ δύνασθαι μετρεῖν μήτε τὴν διαφορὰν τοῦ πολιτεύματος τῶν Ῥωμαίων καὶ τῶν Ἀχαιῶν μήτε τὴν ὑπερβολὴν τῆς δυνάμεως " ἀλλὰ πάσης ὑπεροχῆς φύσιν ἐχούσης2 ἀεὶ βαρύτερον χρῆσθαι τοῖς ὑποταττομένοις, πότερον" ἔφη "συμφέρει συνεργεῖν ταῖς ὁρμαῖς ταῖς τῶν κρατούντων καὶ μηθὲν ἐμποδὼν ποιεῖν, ἵνʼ ὡς τάχιστα πεῖραν λάβωμεν τῶν βαρυτάτων ἐπιταγμάτων ἢ τοὐναντίον, καθʼ ὅσον οἷοί τʼ ἐσμέν, συμπαλαίοντας προσαντέχειν ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον, ἐφʼ ὅσον μέλλομεν τελέως κἂν ἐπιτάττωσιν καὶ τούτων ὑπομιμνήσκοντες αὐτοὺς ἐπιλαμβανώμεθα τῆς ὁρμῆς, παρακαθέξομεν ἐπὶ ποσὸν τὸ πικρὸν αὐτῶν τῆς ἐξουσίας, ἄλλως τε δὴ καὶ περὶ πλείονος ποιουμένων3 Ῥωμαίων ἕως γε τοῦ νῦν, ὡς αὐτὸς φής, Ἀρίσταινε, τὸ τηρεῖν τοὺς ὅρκους καὶ τὰς συνθήκας καὶ τὴν πρὸς τοὺς συμμάχους πίστιν.
Philopoemen, on the other hand, said that he ought not to be accused of such great ignorance as not to be able to measure either the difference of the constitution of the Romans and the Achaeans, or the superiority of their power: “ But since it is the nature of every superior power always to treat its subjects more harshly,” he said, “is it advantageous to cooperate with the impulses of those who rule and place no obstacle in their way, so that we may as quickly as possible experience the heaviest commands, or, on the contrary, as far as we are able, by wrestling together, to hold out against them to such an extent, as far as we are going to completely... And even if they command, if we, by reminding them of these things, check their impulse, we shall restrain to some extent the bitterness of their authority, especially since the Romans, at least until now, as you yourself say, Aristaenus, value highly the keeping of oaths, treaties, and faith towards allies.
ἐὰν δʼ αὐτοὶ καταγνόντες τῶν ἰδίων δικαίων αὐτόθεν εὐθέως καθάπερ οἱ δοριάλωτοι πρὸς πᾶν τὸ κελευόμενον ἑτοίμους ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς παρασκευ άζωμεν, τί διοίσει τὸ τῶν Ἀχαιῶν ἔθνος Σικελιωτῶν καὶ Καπυανῶν4 τῶν ὁμολογουμένως καὶ πάλαι δουλευόντων;
But if we ourselves, condemning our own rights, immediately and straightway, just like prisoners of war, prepare ourselves to be ready for every command, how will the Achaean nation differ from the Siceliots and Capuans, who are admittedly and for a long time enslaved?
" διόπερ ἔφη δεῖν ἢ τοῦτο συγχωρεῖν ὡς οὐδὲν ἰσχύει δίκαιον παρὰ Ῥωμαίοις ἢ μηδὲ τολμῶντας τοῦτο λέγειν χρῆσθαι τοῖς δικαίοις καὶ μὴ προΐεσθαι σφᾶς, ἔχοντάς γε δὴ μεγίστας καὶ καλλίστας ἀφορμὰς πρὸς Ῥωμαίους.
” Therefore he said that we must either concede this, that no right has any force with the Romans, or, if we do not even dare to say this, we must make use of our rights and not abandon ourselves, especially since we have the greatest and most honorable grounds in relation to the Romans.
ὅτι μὲν γὰρ ἥξει ποτὲ τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ὁ καιρὸς οὗτος, ἐν ᾧ δεήσει ποιεῖν κατʼ ἀνάγκην πᾶν τὸ παραγγελλόμενον, σαφῶς ἔφη γινώσκειν· "ἀλλὰ πότερα τοῦτον ὡς τάχιστά τις ἂν ἰδεῖν βουληθείη γενόμενον ἢ τοὐναντίον ὡς βραδύτατα; δοκῶ μὲν γὰρ ὡς βραδύτατα.
For he said he knew clearly that this time will indeed come for the Greeks, in which it will be necessary of necessity to do everything commanded: “But would anyone wish to see this come to pass as quickly as possible, or on the contrary as slowly as possible? For my part, I think as slowly as possible.
" διὸ καὶ τούτῳ διαφέρειν ἔφη τὴν Ἀρισταίνου πολιτείαν τῆς ἑαυτοῦ· ἐκεῖνον μὲν γὰρ σπουδάζειν ὡς τάχιστα τὸ χρεὼν ἰδεῖν γενόμενον καὶ συνεργεῖν τούτῳ κατὰ δύναμιν· αὐτὸς δὲ πρὸς τοῦτʼ ἀντερείδειν καὶ διωθεῖσθαι, καθʼ ὅσον ἐστὶ δυνατός.
” Therefore he said that Aristaenus’ policy differed from his own also in this: for that man was eager to see the inevitable come to pass as quickly as possible and to cooperate with this to the best of his power; whereas he himself resisted this and pushed it away, as far as he was able.
οὐ μὴν ἀλλʼ ἐκ τῶν προειρημένων δῆλον ὡς συνέβαινε γίνεσθαι τοῦ μὲν καλήν, τοῦ δʼ εὐσχήμονα τὴν πολιτείαν, ἀμφοτέρας γε μὴν ἀσφαλεῖς·
Nevertheless, from what has been said, it is clear that it resulted that the policy of the one was noble, and that of the other decorous, but both indeed were safe;
τοιγαροῦν μεγίστων καιρῶν τότε περιστάντων καὶ Ῥωμαίους καὶ τοὺς Ἕλληνας τῶν τε κατὰ Φίλιππον καὶ κατʼ Ἀντίοχον, ὅμως ἀμφότεροι διετήρησαν ἀκέραια τὰ δίκαια τοῖς Ἀχαιοῖς πρὸς Ῥωμαίους·
Therefore, although very great crises then surrounded both the Romans and the Greeks, namely those concerning Philip and Antiochus, nevertheless both of them preserved the rights for the Achaeans intact towards the Romans;
φήμη δέ τις ἐνέτρεχεν ὡς Ἀρισταίνου Ῥωμαίοις εὐνουστέρου μᾶλλον ἢ Φιλοποίμενος ὑπάρχοντος.5
and a certain rumor was current that Aristaenus was more well-disposed to the Romans than Philopoemen.
- 24.13.1ἀμαθίαν αὑτοῦ καταγινώσκειν
The verb καταγινώσκειν ('to condemn, charge') typically takes a genitive of the person and an accusative of the charge. Here, αὑτοῦ is the genitive of the person (referring to Philopoemen himself) and ἀμαθίαν is the accusative of the charge ('ignorance'), forming a double-case construction meaning 'to accuse himself of ignorance.'
- 24.13.2πάσης ὑπεροχῆς φύσιν ἐχούσης
A genitive absolute construction expressing cause ('since...'). πάσης ὑπεροχῆς is the logical subject and the participle ἐχούσης is the predicate.
- 24.13.3περὶ πλείονος ποιουμένων
A genitive absolute construction whose logical subject is Ῥωμαίων. It utilizes the middle participle ποιουμένων of the idiomatic expression περὶ πλείονος ποιεῖσθαι ('to value highly'), which takes the articular infinitive phrase τὸ τηρεῖν ... as its object.
- 24.13.4τί διοίσει τὸ τῶν Ἀχαιῶν ἔθνος Σικελιωτῶν καὶ Καπυανῶν
The verb διαφέρω (here in the future tense, διοίσει) takes a genitive of comparison/distinction (Σικελιωτῶν καὶ Καπυανῶν) to mean 'differ from.' The subject is τὸ τῶν Ἀχαιῶν ἔθνος.
- 24.13.10ὡς Ἀρισταίνου ὑπάρχοντος
A genitive absolute introduced by the conjunction ὡς, presenting the content of a rumor or subjective allegation (representing people's belief or claim rather than an objective fact).