- 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-grc2:30.1.1-30.1.10
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-11
Attalus, the brother of King Eumenes, arrives in Rome and is warmly received. Influenced by prominent Romans who resent his brother, he is tempted to seek an independent kingdom for himself.
ὅτι κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον ἦλθε παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως Εὐμένους ἀδελφὸς Ἄτταλος, ἔχων μὲν πρόφασιν, εἰ καὶ μὴ τὸ κατὰ τοὺς Γαλάτας ἐγεγόνει σύμπτωμα περὶ τὴν βασιλείαν, ὅμως ἐλθεῖν1 εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην ἕνεκεν τοῦ συγχαρῆναι τῇ συγκλήτῳ καὶ τυχεῖν τινος ἐπισημασίας διὰ τὸ συμπεπολεμηκέναι καὶ πάντων εὐμενῶς σφίσι μετεσχηκέναι τῶν κινδύνων·
At this time, Attalus, the brother of King Eumenes, arrived. He had a pretext for coming to Rome in any case—even if the misfortune concerning the Galatians had not occurred to the kingdom—in order to congratulate the Senate and to obtain some mark of distinction for having fought alongside them and having cheerfully shared in all their dangers;
τότε δὲ καὶ διὰ τὴν Γαλατικὴν περίστασιν ἠναγκασμένος ἧκεν εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην.
but on this occasion he was also compelled to come to Rome because of the Galatian crisis.
πάντων δὲ φιλοφρόνως αὐτὸν ἀποδεχομένων διά τε τὴν ἐν τῇ στρατείᾳ γεγενημένην συνήθειαν καὶ διὰ τὸ δοκεῖν εὔνουν αὐτοῖς ὑπάρχειν, καὶ γινομένης τῆς ἀπαντήσεως ὑπὲρ τὴν προσδοκίαν, μετέωρος ἐγενήθη ταῖς ἐλπίσιν, οὐκ εἰδὼς τὴν ἀληθινὴν αἰτίαν τῆς ἀποδοχῆς.
Since everyone welcomed him cordially, both because of the intimacy established during the campaign and because he was thought to be well-disposed toward them, and since the reception he met with was beyond expectation, he was elated with hopes, not knowing the true reason for this reception.
διὸ καὶ παρʼ ὀλίγον ἦλθε τοῦ λυμήνασθαι2 τὰ σφέτερα πράγματα καὶ τὴν ὅλην βασιλείαν.
Consequently, he came within a little of ruining his own prospects and the entire kingdom.
τῶν γὰρ πλείστων Ῥωμαίων ἀπηλλοτριωμένων τῆς τοῦ βασιλέως Εὐμένους εὐνοίας καὶ πεπεισμένων αὐτὸν πλάγιον ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ γεγονέναι, λαλοῦντα τῷ Περσεῖ καὶ τοῖς καιροῖς ἐφεδρεύοντα3 τοῖς κατʼ αὐτῶν, ἔνιοι τῶν ἐπιφανῶν ἀνδρῶν λαμβάνοντες εἰς τὰς χεῖρας τὸν Ἄτταλον παρεκάλουν τὴν μὲν ὑπὲρ τἀδελφοῦ πρεσβείαν ἀποθέσθαι, περὶ δʼ ἑαυτοῦ ποιεῖσθαι τοὺς λόγους·
For the majority of the Romans had become estranged from King Eumenes and were convinced that he had acted treacherously during the war, communicating with Perseus and watching for opportunities against them. Some of the prominent men, taking Attalus by the hand, exhorted him to set aside the embassy on behalf of his brother and to make proposals on his own behalf;
βούλεσθαι γὰρ αὐτῷ τὴν σύγκλητον συγκατασκευάζειν ἰδίαν ἀρχὴν καὶ δυναστείαν διὰ τὴν ἀλλοτριότητα τὴν πρὸς τὸν ἀδελφόν.
for they said that the Senate, because of their hostility toward his brother, wished to establish a separate principality and sovereignty for Attalus himself.
ἐφʼ οἷς συνέβαινε τὸν Ἄτταλον ἐπὶ πολὺ μετεωρίζεσθαι καὶ συγκατανεύειν ἐν ταῖς κατʼ ἰδίαν ὁμιλίαις τοῖς εἰς τοῦτο τὸ μέρος αὐτὸν παρορμῶσι.
On these terms, Attalus became greatly elated and in his private conversations agreed with those who urged him in this direction.
τέλος δὲ πρὸς ἐνίους τῶν ἀξιολόγων ἀνδρῶν συνέθετο καὶ παρελθὼν εἰς τὴν σύγκλητον ποιήσεσθαι τοὺς περὶ τούτων λόγους.
Finally, he made an agreement with some of the men of high standing and undertook to go before the Senate and speak on these matters.
- 30.1.2ἔχων μὲν πρόφασιν ... ἐλθεῖν
The infinitive ἐλθεῖν acts appositively to the noun πρόφασιν, meaning "having a pretext for going." The structure is temporarily interrupted by the concessive clause εἰ καὶ μὴ ... ὅμως, which separates the infinitive from its head noun.
- 30.1.5παρʼ ὀλίγον ἦλθε τοῦ λυμήνασθαι
The prepositional phrase παρʼ ὀλίγον combined with the verb ἦλθε and the genitive infinitive τοῦ λυμήνασθαι forms an idiomatic expression meaning "he came within a little of ruining" or "he was on the verge of ruining."
- 30.1.6λαλοῦντα ... καὶ ἐφεδρεύοντα
The present participles λαλοῦντα and ἐφεδρεύοντα are predicate participles agreeing with the accusative pronoun αὐτόν (referring to Eumenes), which functions as the subject accusative of the perfect passive participle πεπεισμένων ("being convinced"), describing the specific actions of which the Romans suspected him.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-10-09)
- 2026-10-09 Collated with the printed edition — source 1