- 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-grc2:28.13.1-28.13.14
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-11
The envoys including Polybius meet the consul Marcius at the Roman camp and are relieved of sending aid, but Polybius remains with the army. Later, when Appius Cento demands five thousand troops, Polybius returns to the Peloponnese and successfully blocks the demand by using a senatorial decree as a safeguard, though exposing himself to slander.
οἱ δὲ περὶ τὸν Πολύβιον καταλαβόντες τοὺς Ῥωμαίους ἐκ μὲν τῆς Θετταλίας κεκινηκότας, τῆς δὲ Περραιβίας στρατοπεδεύοντας Ἀζωρίου μεταξὺ καὶ Δολίχης, τὴν μὲν ἔντευξιν ὑπερέθεντο διὰ τοὺς περιεστῶτας καιρούς, τῶν δὲ κατὰ τὴν εἴσοδον τὴν εἰς Μακεδονίαν κινδύνων μετεῖχον.
Polybius and his party, finding that the Romans had already moved from Thessaly and were encamped in Perrhaebia, between Azorus and Doliche, postponed their interview owing to the critical circumstances that surrounded them, but shared in the dangers of the passage into Macedonia.
ἐπεὶ δὲ τοῦ στρατεύματος κατάραντος ἐπὶ τοὺς καθʼ Ἡράκλειον τόπους ἔδοξε καιρὸς εἶναι πρὸς ἔντευξιν, ἅτε τοῦ στρατηγοῦ δοκοῦντος ἠνύσθαι τὸ μέγιστον τῶν προκειμένων, τότε λαβόντες καιρὸν τὸ ψήφισμα τῷ Μαρκίῳ προσήνεγκαν καὶ διεσάφουν τὴν τῶν Ἀχαιῶν προαίρεσιν διότι βουληθεῖεν αὐτῷ πανδημεὶ τῶν αὐτῶν μετασχεῖν ἀγώνων καὶ κινδύνων. καὶ πρὸς τούτοις ὑπέδειξαν διότι πᾶν τὸ γραφὲν ἢ παραγγελθὲν τοῖς Ἀχαιοῖς ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων κατὰ τὸν ἐνεστῶτα πόλεμον ἀναντίρρητον γέγονεν.
But when the army had descended into the district of Heracleum, it seemed to be a favorable time for the interview, as the general was thought to have accomplished the greatest of his tasks. Then, taking the opportunity, they presented the decree to Marcius and made clear the determination of the Achaeans, that they wished to share with him in the same struggles and dangers in full force. In addition to this, they pointed out that everything written or commanded to the Achaeans by the Romans during the present war had been executed without objection.
τοῦ δὲ Μαρκίου τὴν μὲν προαίρεσιν ἀποδεχομένου τὴν Ἀχαιῶν μεγαλωστί, τῆς δὲ κακοπαθείας αὐτοὺς καὶ τῆς δαπάνης παραλύοντος1 διὰ τὸ μηκέτι χρείαν ἔχειν τοὺς καιροὺς τῆς τῶν συμμάχων βοηθείας, οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι πρέσβεις ἐπανῆλθον εἰς τὴν Ἀχαΐαν, ὁ δὲ Πολύβιος αὐτοῦ μείνας μετεῖχε τῶν ἐνεστώτων πραγμάτων, ἕως ὁ Μάρκιος ἀκούσας Ἄππιον τὸν Κέντωνα πεντακισχιλίους στρατιώτας αἰτεῖσθαι παρὰ τῶν Ἀχαιῶν εἰς Ἤπειρον, ἐξαπέστειλε τὸν προειρημένον, παρακαλέσας φροντίζειν ἵνα μὴ δοθῶσιν οἱ στρατιῶται μηδὲ τηλικοῦτο δαπάνημα μάταιον γένηται τοῖς Ἀχαιοῖς· πρὸς οὐδένα γὰρ λόγον αἰτεῖν τοὺς στρατιώτας τὸν Ἄππιον.
Though Marcius welcomed the determination of the Achaeans greatly, he relieved them from the hardship and the expense, because the circumstances no longer required the help of the allies. Therefore, the other envoys returned to Achaea, but Polybius remained there and took part in the operations of the day, until Marcius, hearing that Appius Cento was asking the Achaeans for five thousand soldiers to be sent to Epirus, dispatched the aforementioned Polybius, urging him to see to it that the soldiers should not be sent and that no such great and useless expense should fall upon the Achaeans; for he said that Appius was asking for the soldiers for no good reason.
πότερα δὲ τοῦτʼ ἐποίει κηδόμενος τῶν Ἀχαιῶν ἢ τὸν Ἄππιον ἀπραγεῖν βουλόμενος χαλεπὸν εἰπεῖν.
Whether he did this out of concern for the Achaeans or because he wished Appius to remain inactive, it is difficult to say.
πλὴν ὅ γε Πολύβιος ἀναχωρήσας εἰς τὴν Πελοπόννησον, ἤδη τῶν γραμμάτων ἐκ τῆς Ἠπείρου προσπεπτωκότων καὶ μετʼ οὐ πολὺ συναχθέντων εἰς Σικυῶνα τῶν Ἀχαιῶν, εἰς πρόβλημα παμμέγεθες ἐνέπεσε.
At any rate, Polybius, having returned to the Peloponnese, when the letters from Epirus had already arrived and the Achaeans were shortly after assembled at Sicyon, fell into a very great dilemma.
τοῦ γὰρ διαβουλίου προτεθέντος ὑπὲρ ὧν ὁ Κέντων ᾐτεῖτο στρατιωτῶν, ἃ μὲν ὁ Μάρκιος αὐτῷ φροντίζειν κατʼ ἰδίαν ἐνετείλατο, ταῦτα φωτίζειν οὐδαμῶς ἔκρινεν· τὸ δὲ μηδεμιᾶς αἰτίας ὑπαρχούσης φανερῶς ἀντιλέγειν τῇ βοηθείᾳ τελείως ἦν ἐπισφαλές.2 δυσχρήστου δὲ καὶ ποικίλης οὔσης τῆς ὑποθέσεως, ἐχρήσατο βοηθήματι πρὸς τὸ παρὸν τῷ τῆς συγκλήτου δόγματι τῷ κελεύοντι μηδένα προσέχειν τοῖς ὑπὸ τῶν στρατηγῶν γραφομένοις, ἐὰν μὴ τοῦτο ποιῶσιν κατὰ τὸ δόγμα τῆς συγκλήτου.
For when the debate was proposed concerning the soldiers whom Cento was asking for, he decided by no means to reveal what Marcius had privately instructed him to see to; but to oppose the reinforcement openly when no reason existed was altogether dangerous. The matter being difficult and complicated, he made use for the moment of the decree of the senate as a safeguard, which ordered that no one should pay attention to letters written by the generals unless they did this in accordance with a decree of the senate.
τοῦτο δʼ οὐκ ἦν προσκείμενον τοῖς γράμμασι.
And this was not attached to the letter.
διὸ καὶ κατεκράτησε τοῦ τὴν ἀναφορὰν ἐπὶ τὸν ὕπατον γενέσθαι καὶ διʼ ἐκείνου παραλυθῆναι τῆς δαπάνης τὸ ἔθνος, οὔσης ὑπὲρ ἑκατὸν εἴκοσι τάλαντα μεγάλα.3
For this reason he succeeded in having the matter referred to the consul, and through him the nation was relieved of the expense, which amounted to over a hundred and twenty large talents.
τοῖς γε μὴν βουλομένοις διαβάλλειν αὐτὸν πρὸς τὸν Ἄππιον ἀφορμὰς ἔδωκεν, ὅτι διακόψαι τὴν ἐπιβολὴν αὐτοῦ τὴν περὶ τῆς βοηθείας.4 —
However, to those who wished to calumniate him to Appius, he gave an occasion, on the ground that he had cut short his plan concerning the reinforcement.
- 28.13.5τῆς δὲ κακοπαθείας αὐτοὺς καὶ τῆς δαπάνης παραλύοντος
The verb παραλύω takes an accusative of the person (αὐτοὺς) and a genitive of the thing remitted (τῆς κακοπαθείας and τῆς δαπάνης), meaning 'to relieve or release someone from something.'
- 28.13.10τὸ δὲ μηδεμιᾶς αἰτίας ὑπαρχούσης φανερῶς ἀντιλέγειν τῇ βοηθείᾳ τελείως ἦν ἐπισφαλές
The articular infinitive clause τὸ ... ἀντιλέγειν functions as the subject of ἦν, within which the genitive absolute construction μηδεμιᾶς αἰτίας ὑπαρχούσης is embedded.
- 28.13.13οὔσης ὑπὲρ ἑκατὸν εἴκοσι τάλαντα μεγάλα
The participle οὔσης (present participle of εἰμί, feminine genitive singular) agrees with and modifies τῆς δαπάνης (genitive), meaning 'an expense which was over a hundred and twenty large talents.'
- 28.13.14ὅτι διακόψαι τὴν ἐπιβολὴν αὐτοῦ τὴν περὶ τῆς βοηθείας
An irregular construction where the infinitive διακόψαι is placed after the conjunction ὅτι instead of an indicative or optative. It functions to introduce the substance of the accusation.