- 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-grc2:3.79.1-3.79.12
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-11
Hannibal investigated the marshy route and marched through the wetlands with his forces, placing the Libyans and Iberians in the vanguard, the Celts in the middle, and the cavalry under Mago at the rear. The grueling march through deep mud and water caused severe casualties among men and beasts, and Hannibal himself lost the sight of one eye due to a severe eye disease.
τοὺς λιμνώδεις τῶν τόπων.1 Ἀννίβας δʼ ἐπιμελῶς ἐξητακὼς τεναγώδεις καὶ στερεοὺς ὑπάρχοντας τοὺς κατὰ τὴν δίοδον τόπους,2 ἀναζεύξας εἰς μὲν τὴν πρωτοπορείαν ἔθηκε τοὺς Λίβυας καὶ Ἴβηρας καὶ πᾶν τὸ χρησιμώτερον μέρος τῆς σφετέρας δυνάμεως, συγκαταμίξας αὐτοῖς τὴν ἀποσκευήν, ἵνα πρὸς τὸ παρὸν εὐπορῶσι τῶν ἐπιτηδείων·
and the marshy parts of the places. But Hannibal, having carefully investigated that the places along the passage were shallow and firm, broke camp and placed in the vanguard the Libyans and Iberians and all the more efficient part of his own force, mixing their baggage among them, so that for the present they might have an abundance of provisions;
πρὸς γὰρ τὸ μέλλον εἰς τέλος ἀφροντίστως εἶχε περὶ παντὸς τοῦ σκευοφόρου, λογιζόμενος ὡς ἐὰν ἅψηται τῆς πολεμίας, ἡττηθεὶς μὲν οὐ προσδεήσεται τῶν ἀναγκαίων, κρατῶν δὲ τῶν ὑπαίθρων οὐκ ἀπορήσει τῶν ἐπιτηδείων.
for as to the future, he was entirely careless about all the baggage train, calculating that if he reached the enemy’s country, if defeated he would not need necessaries, and if victorious and master of the open country he would not lack provisions.
ἐπὶ δὲ τοῖς προειρημένοις ἐπέβαλε τοὺς Κελτούς, ἐπὶ δὲ πᾶσι τοὺς ἱππεῖς.
Behind those mentioned he placed the Celts, and at the very rear of all the cavalry.
ἐπιμελητὴν δὲ τῆς οὐραγίας τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἀπέλιπε Μάγωνα τῶν τε λοιπῶν χάριν καὶ μάλιστα τῆς τῶν Κελτῶν μαλακίας καὶ φυγοπονίας, ἵνʼ ἐὰν κακοπαθοῦντες τρέπωνται πάλιν εἰς τοὐπίσω, κωλύῃ διὰ τῶν ἱππέων καὶ προσφέρῃ τὰς χεῖρας3 αὐτοῖς.
He left his brother Mago in charge of the rear guard, both for other reasons and especially because of the soft and labor-shunning character of the Celts, so that if, suffering hardships, they should turn back again, he might prevent them by means of the cavalry and use force against them.
οἱ μὲν οὖν Ἴβηρες καὶ Λίβυες διʼ ἀκεραίων τῶν ἑλῶν ποιούμενοι τὴν πορείαν μετρίως κακοπαθοῦντες ἤνυον, ἅτε καὶ φερέκακοι πάντες ὄντες καὶ συνήθεις ταῖς τοιαύταις ταλαιπωρίαις.
Now the Iberians and Libyans, making their march through the marshes while still undisturbed, accomplished it with moderate suffering, as they were all patient of hardship and accustomed to such trials.
οἱ δὲ Κελτοὶ δυσχερῶς μὲν εἰς τοὔμπροσθεν προύβαινον, τεταραγμένων καὶ διαπεπατημένων εἰς βάθος τῶν ἑλῶν, ἐπιπόνως δὲ καὶ ταλαιπώρως ὑπέμενον τὴν κακοπάθειαν, ἄπειροι πάσης τῆς τοιαύτης ὄντες κακουχίας.
But the Celts advanced forward with difficulty, as the marshes were deeply disturbed and trampled, and they endured the suffering painfully and with distress, being inexperienced in all such hardship.
ἐκωλύοντο δὲ πάλιν ἀπονεύειν εἰς τοὐπίσω διὰ τοὺς ἐφεστῶτας αὐτοῖς ἱππεῖς.
And they were prevented from turning back again by the cavalry stationed behind them.
πάντες μὲν οὖν ἐκακοπάθουν καὶ μάλιστα διὰ τὴν ἀγρυπνίαν, ὡς ἂν ἑξῆς ἡμέρας τέτταρας καὶ τρεῖς νύκτας συνεχῶς διʼ ὕδατος ποιούμενοι4 τὴν πορείαν· διαφερόντως γε μὴν ἐπόνουν καὶ κατεφθείρονθʼ ὑπὲρ τοὺς ἄλλους οἱ Κελτοί.
Thus all indeed suffered, and especially from lack of sleep, as they made their march continuously through water for four days and three nights in succession; yet the Celts in particular labored and were exhausted far beyond the others.
τῶν δʼ ὑποζυγίων αὐτοῦ τὰ πλεῖστα πίπτοντα διὰ τοὺς πηλοὺς ἀπώλλυντο, μίαν παρεχόμενα χρείαν ἐν τῷ πεσεῖν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις·
Most of his beasts of burden fell and perished because of the mud, providing only one use to the men when they fell;
καθεζόμενοι γὰρ ἐπʼ αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν σκευῶν σωρηδὸν ὑπὲρ τὸ ὑγρὸν ὑπερεῖχον καὶ τῷ τοιούτῳ τρόπῳ βραχὺ μέρος τῆς νυκτὸς ἀπεκοιμῶντο.
for by sitting upon them and upon the baggage piled up, they kept themselves above the wet, and in this manner snatched a little sleep during a small part of the night.
οὐκ ὀλίγοι δὲ καὶ τῶν ἵππων τὰς ὁπλὰς ἀπέβαλον διὰ τὴν συνέχειαν τῆς διὰ τῶν πηλῶν πορείας.
Not a few of the horses also lost their hoofs due to the continuous march through the mud.
Ἀννίβας δὲ μόλις ἐπὶ τοῦ περιλειφθέντος θηρίου διεσώθη μετὰ πολλῆς ταλαιπωρίας, ὑπεραλγὴς ὢν διὰ τὴν βαρύτητα τῆς ἐπενεχθείσης ὀφθαλμίας αὐτῷ, διʼ ἣν καὶ τέλος ἐστερήθη τῆς μιᾶς ὄψεως, οὐκ ἐπιδεχομένου τοῦ καιροῦ5 καταμονὴν οὐδὲ θεραπείαν διὰ τὸ τῆς περιστάσεως ἀδύνατον.
Hannibal himself, with great difficulty, was saved upon the only remaining beast, suffering severe pain from the gravity of the ophthalmia that had attacked him, by which indeed he was in the end deprived of the sight of one eye, as the occasion did not admit of delay or treatment due to the impossibility of the circumstances.
- 3.79.1τοὺς λιμνώδεις τῶν τόπων
Accusative phrase acting as the object of the participle ὑφορώμενος (suspecting) at the end of the preceding chunk, in coordination with βάραθρα καὶ.
- 3.79.1τεναγώδεις καὶ στερεοὺς ὑπάρχοντας τοὺς κατὰ τὴν δίοδον τόπους
Object of the perfect active participle ἐξητακὼς. The participle ὑπάρχοντας functions predicatively with τοὺς ... τόπους, indicating that Hannibal had investigated 'the places along the passage to be shallow and firm'.
- 3.79.4προσφέρῃ τὰς χεῖρας
Literally 'to apply hands', but used here idiomatically in the context of preventing the Celts from deserting to mean 'to use force against them' or 'to constrain them by force'.
- 3.79.8ὡς ἂν ... ποιούμενοι
The combination of ὡς ἄν with the present participle ποιούμενοι expresses the reason ('since they were making...'). In Polybian style, this construction is frequently used to present an objective circumstance as the cause.
- 3.79.12οὐκ ἐπιδεχομένου τοῦ καιροῦ
A genitive absolute construction with the present participle ἐπιδεχομένου and the noun τοῦ καιροῦ, expressing the cause of the action in the main clause ('as the occasion did not admit...').