- 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-grc2:3.40.1-3.40.14
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-11
While Hannibal begins his crossing of the Pyrenees, Rome resolves to dispatch consuls to Iberia and Libya and hastens to complete its colonies in northern Italy, only to face a sudden revolt by the Boii and other Gauls, which forces Rome to divert its planned legions for rescue.
Ἀννίβας μὲν οὖν ἐνεχείρει ταῖς διεκβολαῖς τῶν Πυρηναίων ὀρῶν, κατάφοβος ὢν τοὺς Κελτοὺς1 διὰ τὰς ὀχυρότητας τῶν τόπων.
Hannibal, then, was attempting the passages of the Pyrenees, fearing the Celts on account of the strength of their positions.
Ῥωμαῖοι δὲ κατὰ τοὺς αὐτοὺς καιροὺς διακούσαντες μὲν τῶν ἐξαποσταλέντων εἰς Καρχηδόνα πρεσβευτῶν τὰ δεδογμένα καὶ τοὺς ῥηθέντας λόγους, προσπεσόντος δὲ θᾶττον ἢ προσεδόκων Ἀννίβαν διαβεβηκέναι2 τὸν Ἴβηρα ποταμὸν μετὰ τῆς δυνάμεως, προεχειρίσαντο πέμπειν μετὰ στρατοπέδων Πόπλιον μὲν Κορνήλιον εἰς Ἰβηρίαν, Τεβέριον δὲ Σεμπρώνιον εἰς Λιβύην.
The Romans, on their part, at this same time, having heard from the ambassadors sent to Carthage the decisions and the speeches made, and, on news having reached them sooner than they expected that Hannibal had crossed the river Iberus with his army, resolved to send Publius Cornelius to Iberia and Tiberius Sempronius to Libya, each with a consular army.
ἐν ὅσῳ δʼ οὗτοι περὶ τὰς καταγραφὰς ἐγίνοντο τῶν στρατοπέδων καὶ τὴν ἄλλην παρασκευήν, ἔσπευσαν ἐπὶ τέλος ἀγαγεῖν τὰ κατὰ τὰς ἀποικίας, οἳ δὴ3 πρότερον ἦσαν εἰς Γαλατίαν ἀποστέλλειν προκεχειρισμένοι.
While these latter were occupied with the enrollment of the legions and other preparations, they hastened to bring to completion the business of the colonies, which indeed they had previously resolved to plant in Gaul.
τὰς μὲν οὖν πόλεις ἐνεργῶς ἐτείχιζον, τοὺς δʼ οἰκήτορας ἐν ἡμέραις τριάκοντα παρήγγειλαν ἐπιτόπους γίνεσθαι, τὸν ἀριθμὸν ὄντας εἰς ἑκατέραν τὴν πόλιν εἰς ἑξακισχιλίους·
They actively fortified the cities, then, and ordered the colonists to be on the spot within thirty days, being in number six thousand for each of the two cities.
ὧν τὴν μὲν μίαν ἔκτιζον ἐπὶ τάδε τοῦ Πάδου ποταμοῦ, προσαγορεύσαντες Πλακεντίαν, τὴν δʼ ἄλλην ἐπὶ θάτερα, κατονομάσαντες Κρεμώνην.
One of these they founded on this side of the river Po, calling it Placentia, and the other on the further bank, naming it Cremona.
ἤδη δὲ τούτων συνῳκισμένων, οἱ Βοῖοι καλούμενοι Γαλάται, πάλαι μὲν οἷον λοχῶντες τὴν πρὸς Ῥωμαίους φιλίαν, οὐκ ἔχοντες δὲ τότε καιρόν, μετεωριζόμενοι καὶ πιστεύοντες ἐκ τῶν διαπεμπομένων τῇ παρουσίᾳ τῶν Καρχηδονίων ἀπέστησαν ἀπὸ Ῥωμαίων, ἐγκαταλιπόντες τοὺς ὁμήρους, οὓς ἔδοσαν ἐκβαίνοντες ἐκ τοῦ πολέμου τοῦ προγεγονότος, ὑπὲρ οὗ τὴν ἐξήγησιν ἡμεῖς ἐν τῇ προτέρᾳ βύβλῳ ταύτης ἐποιησάμεθα.
But when these had already been settled, the Gauls called Boii, who had long been lying in wait, as it were, against their friendship with the Romans, but had not had an opportunity till then, being encouraged and trusting in the arrival of the Carthaginians owing to the messages sent between them, revolted from the Romans, abandoning the hostages whom they had given on coming out of the previous war, of which we made our account in the book preceding this.
παρακαλέσαντες δὲ τοὺς Ἴνσομβρας καὶ συμφρονήσαντες κατὰ τὴν προγεγενημένην ὀργὴν κατέσυραν τὴν κατακεκληρουχημένην χώραν ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων καὶ τοὺς φεύγοντας συνδιώξαντες εἰς Μοτίνην, ἀποικίαν ὑπάρχουσαν Ῥωμαίων, ἐπολιόρκουν.
And having summoned the Insubres and acting in concert with them in accordance with their long-standing resentment, they ravaged the land allotted by the Romans, and pursuing those who fled as far as Mutina, a Roman colony, they besieged them.
ἐν οἷς καὶ τρεῖς ἄνδρας τῶν ἐπιφανῶν συνέκλεισαν τοὺς ἐπὶ τὴν διαίρεσιν τῆς χώρας ἀπεσταλμένους· ὧν εἷς μὲν ἦν Γάιος Λυτάτιος ὁ τὴν ὕπατον ἀρχὴν εἰληφώς, οἱ δὲ δύο τὴν ἑξαπέλεκυν.4
Among these they also shut up three distinguished men who had been sent for the division of the land; one of whom was Gaius Lutatius, a man of consular rank, and the other two of praetorian rank.
οἰομένων δὲ δεῖν τούτων εἰς λόγους σφίσι συνελθεῖν, ὑπήκουσαν οἱ Βοῖοι. τῶν δʼ ἀνδρῶν ἐξελθόντων, παρασπονδήσαντες συνέλαβον αὐτούς, ἐλπίσαντες διὰ τούτων κομιεῖσθαι τοὺς αὑτῶν ὁμήρους.
When these latter thought they ought to enter into negotiations with them, the Boii consented. But on the men coming out, they violated the treaty and seized them, hoping by their means to recover their own hostages.
Λεύκιος δὲ Μάλιος ἑξαπέλεκυς ὑπάρχων καὶ προκαθήμενος ἐπὶ τῶν τόπων μετὰ δυνάμεως, ἀκούσας τὸ γεγονός, ἐβοήθει κατὰ σπουδήν.
Lucius Manlius, who was praetor and was stationed in those parts with a force, on hearing what had happened, hastened to the rescue.
οἱ δὲ Βοῖοι συνέντες αὐτοῦ τὴν παρουσίαν, ἔν τισι δρυμοῖς ἑτοιμάσαντες ἐνέδρας ἅμα τῷ παρελθεῖν εἰς τοὺς ὑλώδεις τόπους πανταχόθεν ἅμα προσπεσόντες πολλοὺς ἀπέκτειναν τῶν Ῥωμαίων.
But the Boii, having perceived his approach, prepared an ambush in certain woods, and as soon as the Romans had entered the wooded regions, falling upon them from all sides at once, they killed many of them.
οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ τὰς μὲν ἀρχὰς ὥρμησαν πρὸς φυγήν· ἐπεὶ δὲ τῶν ψιλῶν ἥψαντο χωρίων, ἐπὶ ποσὸν συνέστησαν οὕτως ὥστε μόλις εὐσχήμονα ποιήσασθαι τὴν ἀποχώρησιν. οἱ δὲ Βοῖοι κατακολουθήσαντες συνέκλεισαν καὶ τούτους εἰς τὴν Τάννητος καλουμένην κώμην.
The rest at first turned to flight; but when they reached open country, they rallied to some extent, so as to make their retreat, though with difficulty, in an orderly manner. And the Boii, pursuing them close, shut them up also in the village called Tannetum.
τοῖς δʼ ἐν τῇ Ῥώμῃ προσπεσόντος ὅτι τὸ τέταρτον στρατόπεδον περιειλημμένον ὑπὸ τῶν Βοίων πολιορκεῖται κατὰ κράτος, τὰ μὲν τῷ Ποπλίῳ προκεχειρισμένα στρατόπεδα κατὰ σπουδὴν ἐξαπέστελλον ἐπὶ τὴν τούτων βοήθειαν, ἡγεμόνα συστήσαντες ἑξαπέλεκυν, ἄλλα δὲ συνάγειν καὶ καταγράφειν ἐκ τῶν συμμάχων αὐτῷ παρήγγειλαν.
When news reached those in Rome that the fourth legion was surrounded and vigorously besieged by the Boii, they dispatched in haste the legions which had been prepared for Publius to their assistance, appointing a praetor as commander, and ordered him to collect and enroll other legions from the allies.
- 3.40.1κατάφοβος ὢν τοὺς Κελτοὺς
The adjective κατάφοβος (fearful) directly governs the accusative τοὺς Κελτοὺς as its object. Adjectives of fear usually take the genitive, but here the construction is influenced by the transitive verb φοβέομαι.
- 3.40.2προσπεσόντος ... Ἀννίβαν διαβεβηκέναι
A genitive absolute construction. The neuter singular genitive participle προσπεσόντος (from προσπίπτω, 'to reach, be reported') functions impersonally, taking the accusative with infinitive clause Ἀννίβαν διαβεβηκέναι ('that Hannibal had crossed') as its logical subject.
- 3.40.3ἀποικίας, οἳ δὴ
The relative pronoun οἳ is masculine plural, even though its grammatical antecedent is the feminine plural noun ἀποικίας (colonies). This is an agreement according to sense (constructio ad sensum), where the pronoun agrees with the actual 'colonists' (οἰκήτορες, masculine) rather than the abstract colonies.
- 3.40.9τὴν ἑξαπέλεκυν
Literally 'the six-axed (office)', a term characteristic of Polybius to designate the Roman 'praetor', deriving from the fact that a praetor in the provinces was accompanied by six lictors bearing axes in their fasces.