- 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-grc2:3.94.1-3.94.10
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-11
Misled by Hannibal's stratagem of the oxen with burning torches, the Roman guards abandon their post, allowing the Carthaginian army to pass through the defile safely while Fabius remains cautious. Upon his temporary departure to Rome, Fabius instructs his colleague Marcus Minucius to avoid rashness, but the latter is eager for a decisive battle.
ἧκε πρὸς τὰ στενὰ καὶ τὰς διεκβολάς. τῶν δὲ Ῥωμαίων οἱ μὲν ἐπὶ τοῖς στενοῖς φυλάττοντες ἅμα τῷ συνιδεῖν1 τὰ φῶτα προσβάλλοντα πρὸς τὰς ὑπερβολάς, νομίσαντες ταύτῃ ποιεῖσθαι τὴν ὁρμὴν τὸν Ἀννίβαν, ἀπολιπόντες τὰς δυσχωρίας παρεβοήθουν τοῖς ἄκροις.
Hannibal arrived at the pass and the outlets. As for the Romans, those who were guarding the pass, as soon as they saw the lights advancing towards the ridges, thinking that Hannibal was making his push in that direction, abandoned the narrow passes and went to support those on the heights.
ἐγγίζοντες δὲ τοῖς βουσὶν ἠποροῦντο διὰ τὰ φῶτα, μεῖζόν τι τοῦ συμβαίνοντος καὶ δεινότερον ἀναπλάττοντες καὶ προσδοκῶντες. ἐπιγενομένων δὲ τῶν λογχοφόρων, οὗτοι μὲν βραχέα πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἀκροβολισάμενοι, τῶν βοῶν αὐτοῖς ἐμπιπτόντων ἔμειναν διαστάντες ἐπὶ τῶν ἄκρων ἀμφότεροι καὶ προσανεῖχον2 καραδοκοῦντες τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν τῆς ἡμέρας διὰ τὸ μὴ δύνασθαι γνῶναι τὸ γινόμενον.
But as they drew near the oxen, they were baffled by the lights, imagining and expecting something greater and more terrible than what was actually happening. When the spearmen arrived, these, having skirmished with one another for a short time, since the oxen were rushing in upon them, both sides remained apart on the heights, and kept on the alert, waiting for the break of day, because they were unable to understand what was going on.
Φάβιος δὲ τὰ μὲν ἀπορούμενος ἐπὶ τῷ συμβαίνοντι καὶ κατὰ τὸν ποιητὴν3 ὀισσάμενος δόλον εἶναι, τὰ δὲ κατὰ τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὑπόθεσιν οὐδαμῶς κρίνων ἐκκυβεύειν οὐδὲ παραβάλλεσθαι τοῖς ὅλοις,4 ἦγε τὴν ἡσυχίαν ἐπὶ τῷ χάρακι καὶ προσεδέχετο τὴν ἡμέραν.
Fabius, on the one hand, being perplexed at what was happening and, as the poet says, suspecting that there was a trick, and on the other hand, judging that he should by no means gamble or risk the main issue contrary to his original policy, remained quiet in his camp and awaited the day.
κατὰ δὲ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον Ἀννίβας, προχωρούντων αὐτῷ τῶν πραγμάτων κατὰ τὴν ἐπιβολήν, τήν τε δύναμιν διεκόμισε διὰ τῶν στενῶν μετʼ ἀσφαλείας καὶ τὴν λείαν, λελοιπότων τοὺς τόπους τῶν παραφυλαττόντων τὰς δυσχωρίας.
At this time Hannibal, since his affairs were proceeding according to his plan, safely conveyed his army and the booty through the pass, as those who guarded the narrow passages had left their positions.
ἅμα δὲ τῷ φωτὶ συνιδὼν τοὺς ἐν τοῖς ἄκροις ἀντικαθημένους τοῖς λογχοφόροις ἐπαπέστειλέ τινας τῶν Ἰβήρων, οἳ καὶ συμμίξαντες κατέβαλον μὲν τῶν Ῥωμαίων εἰς χιλίους, ῥᾳδίως δὲ τοὺς παρὰ σφῶν εὐζώνους ἐκδεξάμενοι κατεβίβασαν.
At daybreak, seeing those on the heights facing the spearmen, he sent out some of the Iberians, who, having engaged the enemy, cut down about a thousand of the Romans, and easily rescued and brought down their own light-armed troops.
Ἀννίβας μὲν οὖν τοιαύτην ἐκ τοῦ Φαλέρνου ποιησάμενος τὴν ἔξοδον, λοιπὸν ἤδη στρατοπεδεύων ἀσφαλῶς κατεσκέπτετο καὶ προυνοεῖτο περὶ τῆς χειμασίας ποῦ καὶ πῶς ποιήσεται, μέγαν φόβον καὶ πολλὴν ἀπορίαν παρεστακὼς ταῖς πόλεσι καὶ τοῖς κατὰ τὴν Ἰταλίαν ἀνθρώποις.
Hannibal, having thus made his exit from the Falernian territory, was now encamping in safety and began to reconnoitre and plan where and how he should make his winter quarters, having inspired great fear and much perplexity in the cities and the people of Italy.
Φάβιος δὲ κακῶς μὲν ἤκουε παρὰ τοῖς πολλοῖς, ὡς ἀνάνδρως ἐκ τοιούτων τόπων προέμενος τοὺς ὑπεναντίους, οὐ μὴν ἀφίστατό γε τῆς προθέσεως.
Fabius, though he was in bad repute among the general public for having cowardly let the enemy escape from such a position, did not, however, abandon his policy.
καὶ ἀναγκασθεὶς δὲ μετʼ ὀλίγας ἡμέρας ἐπί τινας ἀπελθεῖν θυσίας εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην παρέδωκεν τῷ συνάρχοντι τὰ στρατόπεδα καὶ πολλὰ χωριζόμενος ἐνετείλατο μὴ τοσαύτην ποιεῖσθαι σπουδὴν ὑπὲρ τοῦ βλάψαι τοὺς πολεμίους ἡλίκην ὑπὲρ τοῦ μηδὲν αὐτοὺς παθεῖν δεινόν.5
And being compelled a few days later to depart to Rome for certain sacrifices, he handed over the legions to his colleague, and on leaving gave him many injunctions not to show so much eagerness for injuring the enemy as for not suffering any disaster themselves.
ὧν οὐδὲ μικρὸν ἐν νῷ τιθέμενος Μάρκος ἔτι λέγοντος αὐτοῦ ταῦτα πρὸς τῷ παραβάλλεσθαι καὶ τῷ διακινδυνεύειν ὅλος καὶ πᾶς ἦν.6
Marcus, paying not the slightest attention to these words, even while Fabius was still speaking them, was wholly and entirely bent on taking risks and running hazards.
- 3.94.1ἅμα τῷ συνιδεῖν
The preposition ἅμα combined with the articular infinitive in the dative (τῷ συνιδεῖν) forms a temporal phrase meaning "as soon as they saw."
- 3.94.3προσανεῖχον
The imperfect tense of προσανέχω ("to hold towards, attend to"), used here intransitively with the omission of an object like τὸν νοῦν ("attention"), meaning "remained alert" or "kept waiting."
- 3.94.4κατὰ τὸν ποιητὴν
Meaning "according to the poet (Homer)." The subsequent phrase ὀισσάμενος δόλον εἶναι ("suspecting it to be a trick") is an allusion to Homeric phrasing found in the Odyssey and elsewhere.
- 3.94.4τοῖς ὅλοις
Neuter plural dative used substantively, referring to "the main issue" or "the whole fortune of the war," serving as the dative object of the verb παραβάλλεσθαι ("to hazard, stake").
- 3.94.9μὴ τοσαύτην ποιεῖσθαι σπουδὴν ὑπὲρ τοῦ βλάψαι τοὺς πολεμίους ἡλίκην ὑπὲρ τοῦ μηδὲν αὐτοὺς παθεῖν δεινόν
A comparative construction with the correlatives tosaúten ... helíken ("so much ... as"). It coordinates two genitive infinitive phrases (toû blápsai and toû ... patheîn) governed by the preposition hypèr. The pronoun autoús in the latter phrase is in the accusative, acting as the subject of the infinitive patheîn (referring to the Romans themselves).
- 3.94.10ὅλος καὶ πᾶς ἦν
A colloquial idiom meaning "was wholly and entirely," using two synonyms (hólos and pâs) with the copula to express total absorption or dedication to a particular purpose.