- 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-grc2:27.15.1-27.15.16
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-11
This passage describes how Cephalus of Epirus, faced with the persistent slanders of the younger Charops and the unjust abduction of Aetolian leaders to Rome, was reluctantly forced to side with Perseus for self-preservation.
ὅτι Κέφαλος ἧκεν ἐξ Ἠπείρου, ἔχων μὲν καὶ πρότερον ἤδη σύστασιν πρὸς τὴν Μακεδόνων οἰκίαν, τότε δὲ διὰ τῶν πραγμάτων ἠναγκασμένος αἱρεῖσθαι τὰ τοῦ Περσέως. ἡ δʼ αἰτία τοῦ συμβαίνοντος ἐγένετο τοιαύτη.
That Cephalus came from Epirus; though he had already previously had an attachment to the Macedonian royal house, he was at that time forced by the circumstances to choose the side of Perseus. The cause of this occurrence was as follows.
Χάροψ ἦν Ἠπειρώτης, ἀνὴρ τἄλλα μὲν καλὸς κἀγαθὸς καὶ φίλος Ῥωμαίων, ὃς Φιλίππου τὰ κατὰ τὴν Ἤπειρον στενὰ κατασχόντος αἴτιος ἐγένετο τοῦ Φίλιππον μὲν ἐκπεσεῖν ἐκ τῆς Ἠπείρου, Τίτον δὲ καὶ τῆς Ἠπείρου κρατῆσαι καὶ τῶν Μακεδόνων.1
There was an Epirot named Charops, a man otherwise noble and good, and a friend of the Romans, who, when Philip had occupied the passes of Epirus, became the cause of Philip being driven out of Epirus, and of Titus gaining control of both Epirus and the Macedonians.
οὗτος υἱὸν ἔσχε Μαχατᾶν, οὗ Χάροψ ἐγένετο.
This man had a son Machatas, from whom Charops was born.
τοῦτον ἀντίπαιδα κατὰ τὴν ἡλικίαν ὄντα τοῦ πατρὸς μεταλλάξαντος2 ὁ Χάροψ μετὰ τῆς καθηκούσης προστασίας εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην ἀπέστειλε χάριν τοῦ καὶ τὴν διάλεκτον καὶ τὰ γράμματα τὰ Ῥωμαϊκὰ μαθεῖν.
When this younger Charops was still a child and his father had died, the elder Charops sent him to Rome with appropriate guardianship, so that he might learn both the Roman language and literature.
τοῦτο τὸ μειράκιον πολλοῖς σύνηθες γεγονὸς ἐπανῆλθε μετά τινα χρόνον εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν.
This young man, having become familiar with many people, returned after some time to his home.
ὁ μὲν οὖν πρεσβύτερος Χάροψ μετήλλαξε τὸν βίον. τὸ δὲ μειράκιον μετέωρον ὂν τῇ φύσει καὶ πάσης πονηρίας ἔμπλεων ἐκορωνία καὶ παρετρίβετο3 πρὸς τοὺς ἐπιφανεῖς ἄνδρας.
Now the elder Charops departed this life; but the young man, being flighty by nature and full of every kind of wickedness, behaved arrogantly and was constantly at friction with the prominent citizens.
τὰς μὲν οὖν ἀρχὰς οὐδεὶς ἦν αὐτοῦ λόγος, ἀλλʼ οἱ προκατέχοντες καὶ ταῖς ἡλικίαις καὶ ταῖς δόξαις, οἱ περὶ τὸν Ἀντίνουν, ἐχείριζον τὰ κοινὰ κατὰ τὰς αὑτῶν γνώμας. τοῦ δὲ πολέμου τοῦ Περσικοῦ συστάντος, εὐθέως διέβαλλε τὸ μειράκιον τοὺς προειρημένους ἄνδρας πρὸς Ῥωμαίους, ἀφορμῇ μὲν χρώμενον τῇ προγεγενημένῃ συστάσει τῶν ἀνδρῶν πρὸς τὴν Μακεδόνων οἰκίαν, κατὰ δὲ τὸ παρὸν πάντα παρατηροῦν καὶ πᾶν τὸ λεγόμενον ἢ πραττόμενον ὑπʼ αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τὸ χεῖρον ἐκδεχόμενον καὶ τὰ μὲν ἀφαιροῦν τὰ δὲ προστιθὲν ἐλάμβανε πιθανότητας κατὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων.
At first, therefore, no account was taken of him, but those who were pre-eminent in age and reputation, namely Antinous and his circle, managed public affairs according to their own judgment. But when the war with Perseus broke out, the young man immediately began to slander the aforementioned men to the Romans, using as a starting point the pre-existing attachment of those men to the Macedonian royal house, and for the present, watching everything and interpreting everything said or done by them in the worst light, subtracting some things and adding others, he gained credibility against the men.
ὁ δὲ Κέφαλος, τἄλλα τε φρόνιμος καὶ στάσιμος ἄνθρωπος, καὶ κατὰ τοὺς καιροὺς τούτους ἐπὶ τῆς ἀρίστης ὑπῆρχε γνώμης.
Cephalus, a man otherwise prudent and stable, was also at these critical times of the best disposition.
ἀρχόμενος γὰρ ηὔξατο τοῖς θεοῖς μὴ συστῆναι τὸν πόλεμον μηδὲ κριθῆναι τὰ πράγματα·
For at the beginning he prayed to the gods that the war might not break out and that the issues might not be decided by force;
πραττομένου δὲ τοῦ πολέμου τὰ κατὰ τὴν συμμαχίαν ἐβούλετο δίκαια ποιεῖν Ῥωμαίοις, πέρα δὲ τούτου μήτε προστρέχειν ἀγεννῶς μήθʼ ὑπηρετεῖν μηδὲν παρὰ τὸ δέον.
but when the war was being waged, he wished to do what was just toward the Romans in accordance with the alliance, but beyond this, neither to court them ignobly nor to perform any service beyond what was necessary.
τοῦ δὲ Χάροπος ἐνεργῶς χρωμένου ταῖς κατʼ αὐτοῦ διαβολαῖς καὶ πᾶν τὸ παρὰ τὴν Ῥωμαίων βούλησιν γινόμενον εἰς ἐθελοκάκησιν ἄγοντος, τὸ μὲν πρῶτον οἱ προειρημένοι κατεφρόνουν, οὐδὲν αὑτοῖς συνειδότες ἀλλότριον βουλευομένοις Ῥωμαίων.4
But as Charops actively made use of the slanders against him, and attributed everything that happened contrary to the will of the Romans to deliberate reluctance, the aforementioned men at first disregarded it, being conscious of no hostile design against the Romans.
ὡς δὲ τοὺς περὶ τὸν Ἱππόλοχον καὶ Νίκανδρον καὶ Λόχαγον εἶδον τοὺς Αἰτωλοὺς ἀναγομένους εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην ἀπὸ τῆς ἱππομαχίας ἀλόγως, καὶ τὰς διαβολὰς τὰς ἐκ τῶν περὶ Λυκίσκον πεπιστευμένας κατʼ αὐτῶν, οἵτινες κατὰ τὴν Αἰτωλίαν τὴν αὐτὴν αἵρεσιν ἦγον τῷ Χάροπι, τὸ τηνικάδε προϊδόμενοι τὸ μέλλον ἐβουλεύοντο περὶ αὑτῶν.
However, when they saw Hippolochus, Nicander, and Lochagus, the Aetolians, being carried off to Rome unreasonably after the cavalry battle, and the slanders of Lyciscus and his circle believed against them—who in Aetolia belonged to the same faction as Charops—they then, foreseeing the future, took counsel concerning themselves.
ἔδοξεν οὖν αὐτοῖς παντὸς πεῖραν λαμβάνειν ἐφʼ ᾧ μὴ προέσθαι σφᾶς αὐτοὺς ἀκρίτως εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην ἐπανάγεσθαι5 διὰ τὰς Χάροπος διαβολάς.
It seemed best to them, therefore, to try every means in order not to abandon themselves to being carried off to Rome without trial due to the slanders of Charops.
οὕτω μὲν οὖν οἱ περὶ τὸν Κέφαλον ἠναγκάσθησαν παρὰ τὰς αὑτῶν προαιρέσεις ἑλέσθαι τὰ τοῦ Περσέως. —
Thus, then, Cephalus and his circle were forced, contrary to their own purpose, to choose the side of Perseus.
- 27.15.2τοῦ Φίλιππον μὲν ἐκπεσεῖν ἐκ τῆς Ἠπείρου, Τίτον δὲ καὶ τῆς Ἠπείρου κρατῆσαι καὶ τῶν Μακεδόνων
The genitive of the articular infinitive introduced by τοῦ is dependent on the adjective αἴτιος ('responsible for', 'cause of'). The accusatives Φίλιππον and Τίτον function as the subject accusatives of the infinitives ἐκπεσεῖν and κρατῆσαι respectively.
- 27.15.4τοῦ πατρὸς μεταλλάξαντος
A genitive absolute construction consisting of the noun τοῦ πατρὸς and the active aorist participle μεταλλάξαντος (from μεταλλάσσω, 'to depart this life', 'die'). It sets the causal and temporal background (the death of the father, Machatas) distinct from the subject of the main clause, ὁ Χάροψ (the grandfather).
- 27.15.6ἐκορωνία καὶ παρετρίβετο
Imperfect indicative forms of κορωνιάω ('to hold one's head high', 'behave arrogantly') and παρατρίβομαι ('to rub against', 'be in friction with', or 'vye with'). These imperfects vividly describe the young Charops's ongoing arrogant attitude and his friction with the prominent citizens.
- 27.15.13οὐδὲν αὑτοῖς συνειδότες ἀλλότριον βουλευομένοις Ῥωμαίων
The participle συνειδότες (from σύνοιδα, 'to be conscious') is used with the reflexive dative αὑτοῖς in the idiom 'to be conscious of something in oneself'. The neuter adjective ἀλλότριον ('hostile to', 'alien to') governs the genitive Ῥωμαίων, agreeing with the dative participle βουλευομένοις, meaning 'being conscious of planning nothing hostile to the Romans'.
- 27.15.15ἐφʼ ᾧ μὴ προέσθαι σφᾶς αὐτοὺς ἀκρίτως εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην ἐπανάγεσθαι
The combination of the preposition ἐπί with the dative relative pronoun ᾧ followed by an infinitive expresses condition or purpose ('on condition that', 'in order that'). Combined with the negative μὴ, it denotes their purpose: 'in order not to abandon (προέσθαι) themselves (σφᾶς αὐτοὺς) to being carried off (ἐπανάγεσθαι, passive infinitive) to Rome without trial'.