- 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-grc2:3.34.1-3.34.9
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-11
After securing Libya and Iberia, Hannibal negotiates with the Celts to gain their crucial cooperation for invading Italy. Receiving favorable reports, he openly declares war on Rome to his enthusiastic soldiers at the start of spring and prepares for departure.
Ἀννίβας δὲ πάντα προνοηθεὶς περὶ τῆς ἀσφαλείας τῶν τε κατὰ Λιβύην πραγμάτων καὶ τῶν ἐν Ἰβηρίᾳ λοιπὸν ἐκαραδόκει καὶ προσεδέχετο τοὺς παρὰ τῶν Κελτῶν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀποστελλομένους·
Hannibal, having provided everything for the security of both the affairs in Libya and those in Iberia, for the rest was waiting anxiously and expecting the messengers being sent to him from the Celts;
σαφῶς γὰρ ἐξητάκει καὶ τὴν ἀρετὴν τῆς ὑπὸ τὰς Ἄλπεις καὶ περὶ τὸν Πάδον ποταμὸν χώρας καὶ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν κατοικούντων αὐτήν, ἔτι δὲ τὴν πρὸς τοὺς πολέμους τῶν ἀνδρῶν τόλμαν, καὶ τὸ μέγιστον, τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν δυσμένειαν αὐτοῖς ἐκ τοῦ προγεγονότος πολέμου πρὸς Ῥωμαίους, ὑπὲρ οὗ διήλθομεν ἡμεῖς ἐν τῇ πρὸ ταύτης βύβλῳ χάριν τοῦ συμπεριφέρεσθαι τοὺς ἐντυγχάνοντας τοῖς νῦν μέλλουσι λέγεσθαι.1
for he had thoroughly investigated both the fertility of the country under the Alps and around the river Po, and the number of those inhabiting it, and further, the daring of the men in war, and, what was most important, the hostility existing in them arising from the former war against the Romans, about which we went through in the book before this one for the sake of the readers keeping pace with what is now about to be said.
διόπερ εἴχετο ταύτης τῆς ἐλπίδος καὶ πᾶν ὑπισχνεῖτο, διαπεμπόμενος ἐπιμελῶς πρὸς τοὺς δυνάστας τῶν Κελτῶν καὶ τοὺς ἐπὶ τάδε καὶ τοὺς ἐν αὐταῖς ταῖς Ἄλπεσιν ἐνοικοῦντας, μόνως ἂν ὑπολαμβάνων ἐν Ἰταλίᾳ συστήσασθαι τὸν πρὸς Ῥωμαίους πόλεμον, εἰ δυνηθείη2 διαπεράσας τὰς πρὸ τοῦ δυσχωρίας εἰς τοὺς προειρημένους ἀφικέσθαι τόπους καὶ συνεργοῖς καὶ συμμάχοις χρήσασθαι Κελτοῖς εἰς τὴν προκειμένην ἐπιβολήν.
Therefore he held fast to this hope and promised everything, sending messages diligently to the chieftains of the Celts, both those on this side of the Alps and those dwelling in the Alps themselves, supposing that he could only in Italy set on foot the war against the Romans, if he should be able, having crossed the difficult ground before them, to arrive at the aforementioned places and to employ the Celts as helpers and allies for the proposed enterprise.
ἀφικομένων δὲ τῶν ἀγγέλων καὶ τήν τε τῶν Κελτῶν βούλησιν καὶ προσδοκίαν ἀπαγγειλάντων τήν τε τῶν Ἀλπεινῶν ὀρῶν ὑπερβολὴν ἐπίπονον μὲν καὶ δυσχερῆ λίαν, οὐ μὴν ἀδύνατον εἶναι φασκόντων, συνῆγε τὰς δυνάμεις ἐκ τῆς παραχειμασίας ὑπὸ τὴν ἐαρινὴν ὥραν.
When the messengers arrived and reported both the goodwill and expectation of the Celts, and said that the crossing of the Alpine mountains, though painful and very difficult, was by no means impossible, he assembled his forces from their winter quarters towards the spring season.
προσπεπτωκότων δὲ προσφάτως αὐτῷ καὶ τῶν ἐκ τῆς Καρχηδόνος, ἐπαρθεὶς τῷ θυμῷ καὶ πιστεύων τῇ τῶν πολιτῶν εὐνοίᾳ παρεκάλει τὰς δυνάμεις φανερῶς ἤδη πρὸς τὸν κατὰ Ῥωμαίων πόλεμον, ἐμφανίζων μὲν ὃν τρόπον ἔκδοτον αὐτὸν ἐγχειρήσαιεν αἰτεῖσθαι Ῥωμαῖοι3 καὶ πάντας τοὺς τοῦ στρατοπέδου προεστῶτας, ὑποδεικνύων δὲ τὴν τῆς χώρας ἀρετήν, εἰς ἣν ἀφίξονται, καὶ τὴν τῶν Κελτῶν εὔνοιαν καὶ συμμαχίαν.
And when news from Carthage had also recently reached him, elated in spirit and trusting in the goodwill of his fellow citizens, he now openly exhorted his forces to the war against the Romans, showing, on the one hand, in what manner the Romans had attempted to demand him to be delivered up, along with all the leaders of the army, and pointing out, on the other hand, the richness of the country to which they would arrive, and the goodwill and alliance of the Celts.
εὐθύμως δὲ τῶν ὄχλων αὐτῷ συνεξισταμένων, ἐπαινέσας καὶ παραγγείλας τακτὴν ἡμέραν, ἐν ᾗ ποιήσεται τὴν ἔξοδον, τότε μὲν διέλυσε τὴν ἐκκλησίαν.
And when the multitudes enthusiastically joined him, having praised them and appointed a set day on which he would make his departure, for the moment he dismissed the assembly.
- 3.34.3χάριν τοῦ συμπεριφέρεσθαι τοὺς ἐντυγχάνοντας τοῖς νῦν μέλλουσι λέγεσθαι
The phrase χάριν τοῦ συμπεριφέρεσθαι expresses purpose ("for the sake of keeping pace with"). The accusative τοὺς ἐντυγχάνοντας ("the readers") is the subject of the infinitive, and the dative τοῖς νῦν μέλλουσι λέγεσθαι ("what is now about to be told") is governed by the compound verb συμπεριφέρεσθαι.
- 3.34.5μόνως ἂν ὑπολαμβάνων ἐν Ἰταλίᾳ συστήσασθαι τὸν πρὸς Ῥωμαίους πόλεμον, εἰ δυνηθείη
In the accusative and infinitive construction introduced by the participle ὑπολαμβάνων ("supposing"), the particle ἄν is attached to the infinitive συστήσασθαι, forming a potential statement ("that he would be able to set on foot") in response to the optative condition εἰ δυνηθείη.
- 3.34.8ὃν τρόπον ἔκδοτον αὐτὸν ἐγχειρήσαιεν αἰτεῖσθαι Ῥωμαῖοι
The adjective ἔκδοτον ("delivered up") functions as a predicative adjective modifying the pronoun αὐτόν (referring to Hannibal), which is the object of the transitive infinitive αἰτεῖσθαι ("to demand"), meaning "demanded that he be delivered up."