- 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-grc2:30.7.1-30.7.10
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-11
This chunk describes the fates of the three political groups accused during the war against Perseus. It covers the noble deaths of the Molossian leaders who turned their state to Perseus, the trials of the Achaean and Thessalian leaders who maintained a blameless silence, and the actions of the pro-Macedonian leaders in Cos and Rhodes who failed to secure an alliance.
τὴν Περσέως συμμαχίαν. πῶς οὖν ἕκαστοι τούτων ἐχείρισαν τὰ καθʼ αὑτοὺς σκοπεῖν πάρεστιν.
...alliance with Perseus. How, then, each of these groups managed their own affairs, we may now observe.
μετέρριψαν πρὸς Περσέα τὸ τῶν Μολοττῶν ἔθνος Ἀντίνους καὶ Θεόδοτος καὶ Κέφαλος μετʼ αὐτῶν·
Antinous, Theodotus, and with them Cephalus, turned the nation of the Molossians to Perseus.
οἳ τῶν πραγμάτων ἀντιπεσόντων ταῖς ἐπιβολαῖς αὐτῶν ὁλοσχερῶς, καὶ περιστάντος τοῦ κινδύνου, καὶ συνεγγίζοντος τοῦ δεινοῦ, πάντες ὁμόσε χωρήσαντες τοῖς παροῦσιν ἀπέθανον γενναίως.
These men, when affairs turned out completely contrary to their plans, and danger beset them, and the crisis drew near, all marched together to meet the present emergency and died nobly.
διόπερ ἄξιον ἐπαινεῖν τοὺς ἄνδρας ἐπὶ τῷ μὴ προέσθαι μηδὲ περιιδεῖν σφᾶς αὐτοὺς εἰς ἀναξίαν διάθεσιν ἐμπεσόντας τοῦ προγεγονότος βίου.1
Therefore, it is right to praise these men for not surrendering nor allowing themselves to fall into a state unworthy of their past lives.
καὶ μὴν ἐν Ἀχαΐᾳ καὶ παρὰ Θετταλοῖς καὶ Περραιβοῖς ἔσχον αἰτίαν καὶ πλείους διὰ τὴν ἡσυχίαν, ὡς ἐφεδρεύοντες2 τοῖς καιροῖς καὶ φρονοῦντες τὰ Περσέως.
Moreover, in Achaea and among the Thessalians and Perraebians, many fell under accusation because of their inactivity, as being on the watch for opportunities and favoring the cause of Perseus.
ἀλλʼ οὔτε λόγον ἐν τῷ μέσῳ τοιοῦτον ἐξέβαλον οὔτε γράφοντες οὔτε διαπεμπόμενοι πρὸς τὸν Περσέα περί τινος ἐφωράθησαν, ἀλλὰ διεφύλαξαν ἀνεπιλήπτους ἑαυτούς.
But they neither uttered any such speech in public, nor were they caught writing or sending messages to Perseus about anything, but they kept themselves blameless.
τοιγαροῦν εἰκότως οὗτοι καὶ δικαιολογίαν καὶ κρίσιν ὑπέμενον καὶ πάσας ἐξήλεγχον τὰς ἐλπίδας·
Consequently, they naturally submitted to justification and trial, and tested every hope;
οὐ γὰρ ἔλαττόν ἐστιν ἀγεννίας σημεῖον τὸ μηδὲν αὑτῷ συνειδότα3 μοχθηρὸν προεξάγειν ἐκ τοῦ ζῆν αὑτόν, ποτὲ μὲν τὰς τῶν ἀντιπολιτευομένων ἀνατάσεις καταπλαγέντα, ποτὲ δὲ τὴν τῶν κρατούντων ἐξουσίαν, τοῦ παρὰ τὸ καθῆκον φιλοζωεῖν.4
For, it is no less a sign of cowardice for one who is conscious of no guilt to take his own life, terrified now by the threats of political opponents, now by the power of those in authority, than to cling to life contrary to duty.
καὶ μὴν ἐν Ῥόδῳ καὶ Κῷ καὶ πλείοσιν ἑτέραις πόλεσιν ἐγένοντό τινες οἱ φρονοῦντες τὰ Περσέως, οἳ καὶ λέγειν ἐθάρρουν περὶ Μακεδόνων ἐν τοῖς ἰδίοις πολιτεύμασι καὶ κατηγορεῖν μὲν Ῥωμαίων καὶ καθόλου συνίστασθαι πρὸς τὸν Περσέα κοινοπραγίαν, οὐ δυνηθέντες δὲ μεταρρῖψαι τὰ πολιτεύματα πρὸς τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως συμμαχίαν.
Furthermore, in Rhodes, Cos, and many other cities, there were some who favored the cause of Perseus, who even dared to speak about the Macedonians in their own assemblies and to accuse the Romans, and generally to establish common action with Perseus, though they were unable to turn their governments toward alliance with the king.
τούτων δʼ ἦσαν ἐπιφανέστατοι παρὰ μὲν τοῖς Κῴοις Ἱππόκριτος καὶ Διομέδων ἀδελ
Of these, the most prominent among the Coans were Hippocritus and Diomedon, the brothers...
- 30.7.4τοῦ προγεγονότος βίου
The genitive is governed by the adjective ἀνάξιος ('unworthy'), qualifying ἀναξίαν διάθεσιν to mean 'a state unworthy of their past lives'.
- 30.7.5ὡς ἐφεδρεύοντες
The conjunction ὡς combined with the participles ἐφεδρεύοντες (and φρονοῦντες) expresses the alleged or subjective reason put forward by the accusers, meaning 'on the ground that they were watching for opportunities...'.
- 30.7.8μηδὲν αὑτῷ συνειδότα
The accusative participle συνειδότα modifies αὑτόν. Derived from the idiom συνειδέναι ἑαυτῷ τι ('to be conscious of something in oneself'), here with the negative μηδέν it means 'being conscious of no guilt or wrongdoing in oneself'.
- 30.7.8τοῦ παρὰ τὸ καθῆκον φιλοζωεῖν
This genitive of the articular infinitive is a genitive of comparison depending on the comparative ἔλαττον ('no less') near the beginning of the sentence, comparing 'clinging to life' with the subject infinitive τὸ ... προεξάγειν ('taking one's own life').