- 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-grc2:3.8.1-3.8.11
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-11
Polybius criticizes the Roman historian Fabius's view that the Hannibalic War was caused by Hasdrubal's ambition and Hannibal's unilateral actions, pointing out the contradiction in Fabius's claim since the Carthaginians supported the war for seventeen years.
Φάβιος δέ φησιν ὁ Ῥωμαϊκὸς συγγραφεὺς ἅμα τῷ κατὰ Ζακανθαίους ἀδικήματι καὶ τὴν Ἀσδρούβου πλεονεξίαν καὶ φιλαρχίαν αἰτίαν γίνεσθαι1 τοῦ κατʼ Ἀννίβαν πολέμου.
Fabius, the Roman historian, says that along with the injustice against the Saguntines, the greed and ambition of Hasdrubal became the cause of the war against Hannibal.
ἐκεῖνον γὰρ μεγάλην ἀνειληφότα τὴν δυναστείαν ἐν τοῖς κατʼ Ἰβηρίαν τόποις, μετὰ ταῦτα παραγενόμενον ἐπὶ Λιβύην ἐπιβαλέσθαι καταλύσαντα τοὺς νόμους εἰς μοναρχίαν περιστῆσαι τὸ πολίτευμα τῶν Καρχηδονίων·
For that man, having acquired great power in the regions of Iberia, afterwards came to Libya and attempted, by abolishing the laws, to change the constitution of the Carthaginians into a monarchy.
τοὺς δὲ πρώτους ἄνδρας ἐπὶ τοῦ πολιτεύματος προϊδομένους αὐτοῦ τὴν ἐπιβολὴν συμφρονῆσαι καὶ διαστῆναι πρὸς αὐτόν·
And the leading men in the government, having foreseen his attempt, united together and stood against him.
τὸν δʼ Ἀσδρούβαν ὑπιδόμενον, ἀναχωρήσαντʼ ἐκ τῆς Λιβύης τὸ λοιπὸν ἤδη τὰ κατὰ τὴν Ἰβηρίαν χειρίζειν κατὰ τὴν αὑτοῦ προαίρεσιν, οὐ προσέχοντα τῷ συνεδρίῳ τῶν Καρχηδονίων.
Hasdrubal, suspecting this, withdrew from Libya and thenceforth managed the affairs in Iberia according to his own will, paying no attention to the senate of the Carthaginians.
Ἀννίβαν δὲ κοινωνὸν καὶ ζηλωτὴν ἐκ μειρακίου γεγονότα τῆς ἐκείνου προαιρέσεως καὶ τότε διαδεξάμενον τὰ κατὰ τὴν Ἰβηρίαν τὴν αὐτὴν ἀγωγὴν Ἀσδρούβᾳ ποιεῖσθαι τῶν πραγμάτων.
And Hannibal, who from his youth had been an associate and imitator of his policy, having then succeeded to the command in Iberia, conducted affairs in the same manner as Hasdrubal.
διὸ καὶ νῦν τὸν πόλεμον τοῦτον ἐξενηνοχέναι κατὰ τὴν αὑτοῦ προαίρεσιν Ῥωμαίοις παρὰ τὴν Καρχηδονίων γνώμην.
Therefore, now too he had brought this war against the Romans according to his own will, contrary to the opinion of the Carthaginians.
οὐδένα γὰρ εὐδοκεῖν τῶν ἀξιολόγων ἀνδρῶν ἐν Καρχηδόνι τοῖς ὑπʼ Ἀννίβου περὶ τὴν Ζακανθαίων πόλιν πραχθεῖσιν.
For none of the prominent men in Carthage approved of the actions done by Hannibal concerning the city of the Saguntines.
ταῦτα δʼ εἰπών φησιν μετὰ τὴν τῆς προειρημένης πόλεως ἅλωσιν παραγενέσθαι τοὺς Ῥωμαίους, οἰομένους δεῖν ἢ τὸν Ἀννίβαν ἐκδιδόναι σφίσι τοὺς Καρχηδονίους ἢ τὸν πόλεμον ἀναλαμβάνειν.
Having said this, he says that after the capture of the aforementioned city, the Romans arrived, thinking that the Carthaginians must either hand over Hannibal to them or accept war.
εἰ δέ τις ἔροιτο τὸν συγγραφέα ποῖος ἦν καιρὸς οἰκειότερος τοῖς Καρχηδονίοις ἢ ποῖον πρᾶγμα τούτου δικαιότερον ἢ συμφορώτερον, ἐπείπερ ἐξ ἀρχῆς δυσηρεστοῦντο, καθάπερ οὗτός φησιν, τοῖς ὑπʼ Ἀννίβου πραττομένοις, τοῦ πεισθέντας2 τότε τοῖς ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων παρακαλουμένοις ἐκδοῦναι μὲν τὸν αἴτιον τῶν ἀδικημάτων, ἐπανελέσθαι δʼ εὐλόγως διʼ ἑτέρων τὸν κοινὸν ἐχθρὸν τῆς πόλεως, περιποιήσασθαι δὲ τῇ χώρᾳ τὴν ἀσφάλειαν, ἀποτριψαμένους τὸν ἐπιφερόμενον πόλεμον, δόγματι μόνον τὴν ἐκδίκησιν ποιησαμένους, τί ἂν εἰπεῖν ἔχοι πρὸς αὐτά; δῆλον γὰρ ὡς οὐδέν.
But if someone were to ask the historian what time would have been more suitable for the Carthaginians, or what action more just or advantageous than this, since from the beginning they were displeased, as he himself says, with the actions of Hannibal, [namely] yielding to the Roman demands at that time, and handing over the author of the injustices, and reasonably destroying the common enemy of the city through others, and securing safety for their country by warding off the impending war, and achieving vengeance by a mere decree—what could he say to this? For it is clear he could say nothing.
οἵ γε τοσοῦτον ἀπέσχον τοῦ πρᾶξαί τι τῶν προειρημένων ὡς ἑπτακαίδεκʼ ἔτη συνεχῶς πολεμήσαντες κατὰ τὴν Ἀννίβου προαίρεσιν οὐ πρότερον κατελύσαντο3 τὸν πόλεμον, ἕως οὗ πάσας ἐξελέγξαντες τὰς ἐλπίδας τελευταῖον εἰς τὸν περὶ τῆς πατρίδος καὶ τῶν ἐν αὐτῇ σωμάτων παρεγένοντο κίνδυνον.
Indeed, they were so far from doing any of the aforementioned things that, having waged war continuously for seventeen years according to the will of Hannibal, they did not end the war until they had exhausted every hope and finally came into danger concerning their fatherland and the citizens within it.
- 3.8.1γίνεσθαι
An accusative with infinitive construction (indirect speech) introduced by the verb φησιν, where τὴν ... πλεονεξίαν καὶ φιλαρχίαν serves as the subject accusative.
- 3.8.10τοῦ πεισθέντας
Part of the genitive infinitive construction τοῦ ... ἐκδοῦναι ... ἐπανελέσθαι ... περιποιήσασθαι. It functions as a genitive of comparison modifying the comparative adjectives in the previous section (e.g., οἰκειότερος). The participles are in the accusative plural (πεισθέντας, etc.) because they refer to the implied subject of the infinitive (the Carthaginians).
- 3.8.11τοσοῦτον ἀπέσχον ... ὡς ... οὐ ... κατελύσαντο
A construction expressing strong negation and result: "they were so far from [doing] ... that ... they did not." τοσοῦτον ἀπέσχον τοῦ πρᾶξαι means "they were so far from doing," and the conjunction ὡς (equivalent to ὥστε) is followed by the indicative past κατελύσαντο to denote the actual result ("they did not end the war").