- 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-grc2:31.23.1-31.23.12
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-12
Following his promise in the previous book, the author begins to relate the origins of the friendship between Polybius and Scipio. The young Scipio opens his heart to Polybius, expressing grief over being neglected for his brother Fabius and being regarded by his fellow citizens as quiet, indolent, and unworthy of his illustrious family.
τῆς δὲ κατὰ τὴν διήγησιν ἐφόδου καὶ τῶν καιρῶν ἐφεστακότων ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ τὴν οἰκίαν ταύτην,1 βούλομαι τὸ κατὰ τὴν προτέραν βύβλον ἐν ἐπαγγελίᾳ καταλειφθὲν συνεκπληρῶσαι τῶν φιληκόων ἕνεκα.
But as the progress of my narrative and the circumstances have brought us to this house, I wish to fulfill, for the sake of those who love to hear, what was left as a promise in the preceding book.
προϋπεσχόμην γὰρ διηγήσασθαι διὰ τί καὶ πῶς ἐπὶ τοσοῦτο προέκοψε καὶ θᾶττον ἢ καθῆκεν ἐξέλαμψεν ἡ τοῦ Σκιπίωνος ἐν τῇ Ῥώμῃ δόξα, σὺν δὲ τούτῳ πῶς ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον αὐξηθῆναι συνέβη τῷ Πολυβίῳ τὴν πρὸς τὸν προειρημένον φιλίαν καὶ συνήθειαν ὥστε μὴ μόνον ἕως τῆς Ἰταλίας καὶ τῆς Ἑλλάδος ἐπιδιατεῖναι τὴν περὶ αὐτῶν φήμην, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς πορρωτέρω γνώριμον γενέσθαι τὴν αἵρεσιν καὶ συμπεριφορὰν αὐτῶν.
For I previously promised to relate why and how the reputation of Scipio in Rome advanced so much and shone forth sooner than was expected, and with this, how the friendship and intimacy of Polybius with the aforementioned man happened to increase to such an extent that the report concerning them not only extended as far as Italy and Greece, but their mutual affinity and companionship also became known to those further away.
διότι μὲν οὖν ἡ καταρχὴ τῆς συστάσεως ἐγενήθη τοῖς προειρημένοις ἔκ τινος χρήσεως βυβλίων καὶ τῆς περὶ τούτων λαλιᾶς δεδηλώκαμεν·
Now, how the beginning of their acquaintance arose for the aforementioned men from a certain use of books and conversation about them, we have already made clear;
προβαινούσης δὲ τῆς συνηθείας καὶ τῶν ἀνακεκλημένων ἐκπεμπομένων ἐπὶ τὰς πόλεις, διέσπευσαν ὅ τε Φάβιος καὶ ὁ Σκιπίων οἱ τοῦ Λευκίου νεανίσκοι πρὸς τὸν στρατηγὸν μεῖναι τὸν Πολύβιον ἐν τῇ Ῥώμῃ.
but as their intimacy advanced and the hostages who had been summoned were being sent back to their cities, the young men Fabius and Scipio, the sons of Lucius, made earnest suit to the praetor that Polybius should remain in Rome.
γενομένου δὲ τούτου, καὶ τῆς συμπεριφορᾶς ἐπὶ πολὺ προκοπτούσης, ἐγένετο συγκύρημά τι τοιοῦτον.
When this was done, and their companionship made great progress, a certain coincidence of this kind occurred.
ἐκπορευομένων γάρ ποτε κατʼ αὐτὸ πάντων ἐκ τῆς οἰκίας τῆς τοῦ Φαβίου, συνέβη τὸν μὲν Φάβιον ἐπὶ τὴν ἀγορὰν ἀπονεῦσαι, τὸν δὲ Πολύβιον ἐπὶ θάτερα μετὰ τοῦ Σκιπίωνος.
For once, when they were all going out together from the house of Fabius, it happened that Fabius turned aside toward the forum, while Polybius went in the other direction with Scipio.
προαγόντων δʼ αὐτῶν ὁ Πόπλιος ἡσυχῇ καὶ πρᾴως τῇ φωνῇ φθεγξάμενος καὶ τῷ χρώματι γενόμενος ἐνερευθής, "
As they were walking along, Publius, speaking in a low and gentle voice and blushing deeply, said:
τί δαί" φησίν "ὦ Πολύβιε, δύο τρώγομεν ἀδελφοί,2 καὶ διαλέγει συνεχῶς καὶ πάσας τὰς ἐρωτήσεις καὶ τὰς ἀποφάσεις ποιεῖ πρὸς ἐκεῖνον, ἐμὲ δὲ παραπέμπεις;
’Why is it, Polybius, that since we are two brothers living together, you always converse and address all your questions and remarks to him, but pass me by?
ἢ δῆλον ὅτι καὶ σὺ περὶ ἐμοῦ τὴν αὐτὴν ἔχεις διάληψιν, ἣν καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους πολίτας ἔχειν πυνθάνομαι;
Or is it clear that you also have the same opinion of me which I hear the other citizens have?
δοκῶ γὰρ εἶναι πᾶσιν ἡσύχιός τις καὶ νωθρός, ὡς ἀκούω, καὶ πολὺ κεχωρισμένος τῆς Ῥωμαϊκῆς αἱρέσεως καὶ πράξεως, ὅτι κρίσεις οὐχ αἱροῦμαι λέγειν.3
For I seem to all, as I hear, to be a quiet and sluggish person, and far removed from the Roman character and activity, because I do not choose to plead in court.
τὴν δʼ οἰκίαν οὔ φασι τοιοῦτον ζητεῖν προστάτην ἐξ ἧς ὁρμῶμαι, τὸ δʼ ἐναντίον· ὃ καὶ μάλιστά με λυπεῖ."
But they say that the house from which I spring does not seek such a protector, but rather the opposite; and this is what grieves me most of all.’
- 31.23.1τῆς δὲ κατὰ τὴν διήγησιν ἐφόδου καὶ τῶν καιρῶν ἐφεστακότων ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ τὴν οἰκίαν ταύτην
A genitive absolute construction where the genitive nouns τῆς ἐφόδου and τῶν καιρῶν act as the subject, and the perfect active participle ἐφεστακότων acts as the predicate. The perfect participle, used intransitively/causatively, takes the accusative ἡμᾶς (us) to mean 'having brought us to...'.
- 31.23.9δύο τρώγομεν ἀδελφοί
The first-person plural present of τρώγω (to eat, chew). Here, it is used colloquially to mean 'sharing meals' or 'living under the same roof'. The verb is in the first-person plural, agreeing with the semantic inclusion of the speaker and his brother in the subject 'we, two brothers'.
- 31.23.11ὅτι κρίσεις οὐχ αἱροῦμαι λέγειν
The conjunction ὅτι introduces a causal clause ('because...'). κρίσεις (lawsuits, judicial cases) is the object of the infinitive λέγειν (to speak, plead). For young Romans, pleading in court was a crucial step for a public career; Scipio's reluctance to do so (οὐχ αἱροῦμαι) explains why he was deemed indolent.