Motives of Eumenes and Perseus and the Peace Soundings — Polybius, The Histories Book 29 (29.7.1–29.7.8), Greek & English

§29.7.1

αὕτη¹ καὶ μέχρι τίνος προύβη πάρεστι σκοπεῖν. ὅτι μὲν οὖν Εὐμένης οὐκ ἂν ἠβουλήθη² Περσέα κρατῆσαι τῷ πολέμῳ καὶ γενέσθαι κύριον τῶν ὅλων, εὐχερὲς καταμαθεῖν·

What this intercourse was, and how far it went, we may now examine. That Eumenes indeed would not have wished Perseus to conquer in the war and become master of the whole, is easy to understand.

§29.7.2

χωρὶς γὰρ τῆς πατρικῆς ἀλλοτριότητος καὶ δυσμενείας, ἣν εἶχον πρὸς ἀλλήλους, καὶ τὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς ὁμογενὲς ἱκανὸν ἦν ἀπιστίαν καὶ ζηλοτυπίαν καὶ καθόλου τὴν μεγίστην ἀλλοτριότητα παρασκευάζειν ἐν αὐτοῖς·

For apart from the hereditary alienation and hostility which they had toward each other, the very similarity of their sovereign power was sufficient to produce mistrust, jealousy, and in general the greatest alienation between them.

§29.7.3

λοιπὸν ἦν ἐξαπατᾶν καὶ στρατηγεῖν ἀλλήλους διʼ ἀπορρήτων· ὅπερ ἐποίουν ἀμφότεροι.

The only thing left was for them to deceive and outmaneuver each other in secret; and this is what both were doing.

§29.7.4

θεωρῶν³ γὰρ Εὐμένης δυσπαθοῦντα καὶ συγκλειόμενον τὸν Περσέα πανταχόθεν καὶ πᾶν τὸ παραγγελλόμενον ἐπιδεχόμενον χάριν τοῦ τὸν πόλεμον διαλύσασθαι καὶ διαπεμπόμενον ὑπὲρ τούτων πρὸς τοὺς στρατηγοὺς καθʼ ἕκαστον ἔτος, τοὺς δὲ Ῥωμαίους ὡσαύτως δυσχρηστουμένους τοῖς ὅλοις διά τε τὸ μηδὲν προκόπτειν ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ μέχρι τῆς Παύλου στρατηγίας καὶ διὰ τὸ τοὺς κατὰ τὴν Αἰτωλίαν μετεώρους ὑπάρχειν, ὑπέλαβεν οὐκ ἀδύνατον εἶναι τὸ συγκαταβῆναι Ῥωμαίους εἰς ἐξαγωγὴν τοῦ πολέμου καὶ διάλυσιν·

For Eumenes, seeing that Perseus was in distress and hemmed in on all sides, and was ready to accept any terms imposed upon him for the sake of ending the war, and was sending envoys concerning this to the generals every year, and that the Romans likewise were in difficulties as a whole, both because they made no progress in the war until the consulship of Paulus, and because the people of Aetolia were in a state of suspense, conceived that it was not impossible for the Romans to descend to a termination and settlement of the war;

§29.7.7

πρὸς δὲ τὸ μεσιτεῦσαι ταῦτα καὶ συναγαγεῖν ἐνόμισεν αὑτὸν ἐπιτηδειότατον εἶναι.

and for mediating these matters and bringing them together, he thought himself to be the most suitable person.

§29.7.8

ταῦτα δὲ συλλογισάμενος ἐφʼ ἑαυτοῦ⁴ κατεπείραζε τοῦ Περσέως διὰ Κύδα τοῦ Κρητὸς τῷ πρότερον ἔτει πόσου βούλοιτʼ ἂν ὠνήσασθαι τὴν ἐλπίδα

Having reasoned thus within himself, he made trial of Perseus through Cydas the Cretan in the preceding year, asking for how much he would be willing to purchase the hope...

Syntax notes4 items

29.7.1αὕτη
The feminine demonstrative pronoun "αὕτη" serves as the subject completing the indirect question introduced by "τίς δʼ" at the very end of §29.6.6, and it refers back to the feminine noun "ἐπιπλοκή" (intercourse, connection) in §29.6.5.
29.7.1οὐκ ἂν ἠβουλήθη
The past indicative "ἠβουλήθη" with the particle "ἄν" expresses a past potential or counterfactual assertion, meaning "would not have wished" or "could not have been willing."
29.7.4θεωρῶν
This participle governs both the accusative-and-participle construction of Perseus in §29.7.4 ("τὸν Περσέα ... δυσπαθοῦντα") and that of the Romans in §29.7.5 ("τοὺς δὲ Ῥωμαίους ... δυσχρηστουμένους"). The main verb of this long period is "ὑπέλαβεν" in §29.7.6.
29.7.8ἐφʼ ἑαυτοῦ
Meaning "by himself" or "in his own mind," indicating that Eumenes performed the reasoning or calculation ("συλλογισάμενος") privately without consulting others.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)

2026-09-21 AI review — source 1

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:29.7.1-29.7.8