- 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-grc2:3.38.1-3.38.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-11
The author discusses the limits of geographical knowledge regarding unexplored regions and explains that he provides this general outline to help the audience mentally orient themselves.
κατὰ μέρος λόγον ἀποδώσομεν. καθάπερ δὲ καὶ τῆς Ἀσίας καὶ τῆς Λιβύης,1 καθὸ συνάπτουσιν ἀλλήλαις περὶ τὴν Αἰθιοπίαν, οὐδεὶς ἔχει λέγειν ἀτρεκῶς ἕως τῶν καθʼ ἡμᾶς καιρῶν πότερον ἤπειρός ἐστι κατὰ τὸ συνεχὲς τὰ πρὸς τὴν μεσημβρίαν ἢ θαλάττῃ περιέχεται, τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον τὸ μεταξὺ Τανάιδος καὶ Νάρβωνος εἰς τὰς ἄρκτους ἀνῆκον ἄγνωστον ἡμῖν ἕως τοῦ νῦν ἐστιν, ἐὰν μή τι μετὰ ταῦτα πολυπραγμονοῦντες ἱστορήσωμεν.
...we shall give a detailed account. Just as concerning Asia and Libya, where they join each other around Ethiopia, no one up to our times is able to say for certain whether the region towards the south is a continuous continent or is surrounded by sea, in the same way, the region between the Tanais and the Narbo which extends towards the north is unknown to us up to the present, unless hereafter we learn something through painstaking investigation.
τοὺς δὲ λέγοντάς τι περὶ τούτων ἄλλως ἢ γράφοντας ἀγνοεῖν καὶ μύθους διατιθέναι νομιστέον.
And we must consider that those who say or write anything otherwise concerning these matters are ignorant and are recounting myths.
ταῦτα μὲν οὖν εἰρήσθω μοι χάριν τοῦ μὴ τελέως ἀνυπότακτον εἶναι τοῖς ἀπείροις τῶν τόπων τὴν διήγησιν,2 ἀλλὰ κατά γε τὰς ὁλοσχερεῖς διαφορὰς συνεπιβάλλειν καὶ φέρειν ἐπί τι τῇ διανοίᾳ τὸ λεγόμενον, τεκμαιρομένους3 ἐκ τοῦ περιέχοντος.
So much, then, let be said by me, for the sake of the narrative not being completely unanchored for those unfamiliar with the places, but so that they may, at least in terms of general distinctions, direct their minds to and bring what is said to some representation in thought, making conjectures from the surrounding.
καθάπερ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῆς ὁράσεως εἰθίσμεθα συνεπιστρέφειν ἀεὶ τὰ πρόσωπα πρὸς τὸ κατὰ τὴν ἔνδειξιν ὑποδεικνύμενον, οὕτως καὶ τῇ διανοίᾳ χρὴ συνδιανεύειν καὶ συρρέπειν ἐπὶ τοὺς τόπους ἀεὶ τοὺς
For just as in the case of sight we are accustomed always to turn our faces towards the object pointed out, so also in thought we must always direct our attention and incline towards the places...
- 3.38.1τῆς Ἀσίας καὶ τῆς Λιβύης
Genitive of reference or topic ("with respect to..."). Placed at the beginning of the clause to anticipate and establish the topic of the comparison introduced by καθάπερ.
- 3.38.4χάριν τοῦ μὴ τελέως ἀνυπότακτον εἶναι τοῖς ἀπείροις τῶν τόπων τὴν διήγησιν
The preposition χάριν ("for the sake of") governs the articular infinitive τοῦ ... εἶναι to express purpose. The accusative τὴν διήγησιν is the subject of the infinitive, while ἀνυπότακτον functions as a predicate adjective. The dative τοῖς ἀπείροις is a dative of reference ("for those unfamiliar").
- 3.38.4συνεπιβάλλειν καὶ φέρειν ... τεκμαιρομένους
The infinitives συνεπιβάλλειν and φέρειν are also governed by χάριν τοῦ. Their implied subject is shown to be masculine plural accusative by the participle τεκμαιρομένους, referring to the audience/hearers.