- 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-grc2:30.8.1-30.8.8
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-11
The author censures the pro-Macedonian Rhodian leaders such as Deinon, who clung to life and persisted in denial despite clear evidence, and details the capture and confession of their agent Thoas, which fully exposed their treason.
φοί,1 παρὰ δὲ Ῥοδίοις Δείνων καὶ Πολυάρατος. ὧν τίς οὐκ ἂν καταμέμψαιτο τὴν προαίρεσιν; οἳ πρῶτον μὲν τοὺς πολίτας συνίστορας ἔχοντες πάντων τῶν σφίσι πεπραγμένων καὶ τῶν εἰρημένων, ἔπειτα δὲ τῶν γραμμάτων ἑαλωκότων2 καὶ πεφωτισμένων καὶ τῶν παρὰ τοῦ Περσέως πρὸς ἐκείνους διαπεμπομένων καὶ τῶν πρὸς τὸν Περσέα παρʼ ἐκείνων, ἅμα δὲ καὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὑποχειρίων γεγονότων τῶν διαπεμπομένων παρʼ ἑκατέρων καὶ πρὸς ἑκατέρους, οὐχ οἷοί τʼ ἦσαν εἴκειν οὐδʼ ἐκποδὼν ποιεῖν ἑαυτούς, ἀλλʼ ἀκμὴν ἠμφισβήτουν.
-thers, and among the Rhodians Deinon and Polyaratus. Who would not censure their policy? For, in the first place, they had their fellow citizens as witnesses of all that had been done and said by them; and in the second place, their letters had been captured and brought to light, both those sent from Perseus to them and those from them to Perseus; and at the same time, the men who had been dispatched from and to both parties had fallen into hands; yet they were neither able to yield nor to remove themselves out of the way, but still persisted in denial.
τοιγαροῦν προσκαρτεροῦντες καὶ φιλοζωοῦντες πρὸς ἀπεγνωσμένας ἐλπίδας καὶ τὸ δοκοῦν εἶναι περὶ αὐτοὺς τολμηρὸν καὶ παράβολον3 ἀνέτρεψαν, ὥστε παρὰ τοῖς ἐπιγινομένοις μηδʼ ἔσχατον ἐλέῳ καὶ συγγνώμῃ τόπον καταλιπεῖν.
Therefore, by clinging to life and holding on to hopeless expectations, they reversed what had seemed to be their courage and daring character, so as not to leave the slightest room for pity or forgiveness among posterity.
ἐλεγχόμενοι γὰρ κατὰ πρόσωπον ὑπὸ τῶν ἰδίων χειρογράφων καὶ τῶν ὑπουργῶν οὐ μόνον ἀτυχεῖν, ἔτι δὲ μᾶλλον ἀναισχυντεῖν ἔδοξαν.
For, being convicted face to face by their own handwriting and by their assistants, they were thought not only to be unfortunate, but still more to be shameless.
Θόας γάρ τις ἦν τῶν πλοϊζομένων, ὃς καὶ πολλάκις εἰς τὴν Μακεδονίαν ἐπεπλεύκει, διαπεσταλμένος ὑπὸ τῶν προειρημένων.
For there was a certain Thoas among the seafaring men, who had frequently sailed to Macedonia, having been dispatched by the aforementioned persons.
οὗτος ἐν τῇ μεταβολῇ τῶν πραγμάτων συνειδὼς αὑτῷ τὰ πεπραγμένα, δείσας ἀπεχώρησεν εἰς τὴν Κνίδον. τῶν δὲ Κνιδίων αὐτὸν εἰς φυλακὴν ἀποθεμένων, ἐξαιτηθεὶς ὑπὸ τῶν Ῥοδίων ἦλθεν εἰς τὴν Ῥόδον.
This man, being conscious of his own actions during the turn of events, fled in fear to Cnidus. But when the Cnidians threw him into prison, he was demanded by the Rhodians and brought to Rhodes.
κἀκεῖ διὰ τῶν βασάνων ἐλεγχόμενος ἀνθωμολογεῖτο καὶ σύμφωνος ἦν πᾶσι τοῖς ἐκ τῶν αἰχμαλώτων γραμμάτων συνθήμασιν, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ταῖς ἐπιστολαῖς ταῖς παρά τε τοῦ Περσέως ἀποστελλομέναις πρὸς τὸν Δείνωνα καὶ Πολυάρατον καὶ παρὰ τούτων πρὸς ἐκεῖνον.
And there, being examined under torture, he confessed and agreed with all the disclosures from the captured letters, and likewise with the letters dispatched by Perseus to Deinon and Polyaratus, and by them to him.
ἐξ ὧν θαυμάζειν ἦν4 τίνι ποτὲ λογισμῷ χρώμενος ὁ Δείνων προσανεῖχε τῷ ζῆν καὶ τὸν παραδειγματισμὸν ὑπέμενε τοῦτον.
Wherefore one could not but wonder what kind of reasoning Deinon could have used to cling to life and submit to such public ignominy.
- 30.8.1φοί
Combines with ἀδελ at the end of the previous chunk to form the noun ἀδελφοί ("brothers").
- 30.8.1τῶν γραμμάτων ἑαλωκότων
Genitive absolute construction consisting of the genitive noun and the participle. The subsequent phrases such as τῶν παρὰ τοῦ Περσέως... are parallel to this, expressing a concessive meaning ("although...").
- 30.8.3τὸ δοκοῦν εἶναι περὶ αὐτοὺς τολμηρὸν καὶ παράβολον
The object of the verb ἀνέτρεψαν, referring to "what seemed to be courageous and daring about them" (i.e., their reputation).
- 30.8.8θαυμάζειν ἦν
An impersonal construction where ἦν (imperfect of ἔστι) is followed by the infinitive θαυμάζειν, meaning "it was possible to wonder" or "one could not but wonder."