- 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-grc2:31.29.1-31.29.12
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-12
After the war in Macedonia, Scipio is granted full authority over the royal hunting grounds by his father Lucius and enthusiastically devotes himself to hunting. Upon returning to Rome, while other youths seek fame through hostile lawsuits, Scipio wins a glorious reputation for courage through hunting without harming anyone.
λοιποῦ δʼ ὄντος τοῦ κατὰ τὴν ἀνδρείαν μέρους1 καὶ κυριωτάτου σχεδὸν ἐν πάσῃ μὲν πολιτείᾳ μάλιστα δʼ ἐν τῇ Ῥώμῃ, μεγίστην ἔδει καὶ τὴν ἄσκησιν περὶ τοῦτο τὸ μέρος ποιήσασθαι.
The remaining part being that which concerned courage—which is the most important part in almost every state, and especially in Rome—it was necessary for him to make the greatest training in this part as well.
καλὸν μὲν οὖν τι πρὸς ταύτην τὴν ἐπιβολὴν αὐτῷ καὶ διὰ τῆς τύχης ἐγένετο συνέργημα.
Consequently, a wonderful piece of assistance was brought to him for this enterprise even by fortune.
τῶν γὰρ ἐν Μακεδονίᾳ βασιλικῶν μεγίστην ποιουμένων σπουδὴν περὶ τὰς κυνηγεσίας καὶ Μακεδόνων ἀνεικότων τοὺς ἐπιτηδειοτάτους τόπους πρὸς τὴν τῶν θηρίων συναγωγήν, ταῦτα συνέβη τὰ χωρία τετηρῆσθαι μὲν ἐπιμελῶς, καθάπερ καὶ πρότερον, πάντα τὸν τοῦ πολέμου χρόνον, κεκυνηγῆσθαι δὲ μηδέποτε2 τῶν τεττάρων ἐτῶν διὰ τοὺς περισπασμούς· ᾗ καὶ θηρίων ὑπῆρχε πλήρη παντοδαπῶν.
For as the kings of Macedonia showed the greatest enthusiasm for hunting, and the Macedonians had set apart the most suitable places for the gathering of wild beasts, it happened that these districts, though carefully preserved during the whole period of the war just as before, had never been hunted in for four years because of other distractions; and thus they were full of all kinds of wild beasts.
τοῦ δὲ πολέμου λαβόντος κρίσιν, ὁ Λεύκιος καλλίστην ὑπολαμβάνων καὶ τὴν ἄσκησιν καὶ τὴν ψυχαγωγίαν ὑπάρχειν τοῖς νέοις τὴν περὶ τὰ κυνηγέσια, τούς τε κυνηγοὺς συνέστησε τοὺς βασιλικοὺς τῷ Σκιπίωνι καὶ τὴν ἐξουσίαν τὴν περὶ τὰ κυνηγέσια παρέδωκε τούτῳ πᾶσαν·
When the war was decided, Lucius, considering that hunting was the finest training and recreation for young men, introduced the royal huntsmen to Scipio and handed over to him all the authority over the hunting.
ἧς ἐπιλαβόμενος ὁ προειρημένος καὶ νομίσας οἱονεὶ βασιλεύειν, ἐν τούτῳ κατεγίνετο πάντα τὸν χρόνον, ὅσον ἐπέμεινε τὸ στρατόπεδον μετὰ τὴν μάχην ἐν τῇ Μακεδονίᾳ.
Having taken hold of this, the aforementioned Scipio, thinking himself almost a king, occupied himself with this during the whole time that the army remained in Macedonia after the battle.
γενομένης δὲ μεγάλης ἐνθουσιάσεως περὶ τοῦτο τὸ μέρος, ὡς κατά τε τὴν ἡλικίαν ἀκμαίως ἔχοντος αὐτοῦ καὶ κατὰ φύσιν οἰκείως διακειμένου,3 καθάπερ εὐγενοῦς σκύλακος, ἐπίμονον αὐτοῦ συνέβη γενέσθαι τὴν περὶ τὰς κυνηγεσίας ὁρμήν.
A great enthusiasm for this pursuit having arisen in him, since he was at the prime of his age and naturally well-disposed to it like a well-bred puppy, his impulse for hunting became permanent.
διὸ καὶ παραγενόμενος εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην καὶ προσλαβὼν τὸν τοῦ Πολυβίου πρὸς τοῦτο τὸ μέρος ἐνθουσιασμόν, ἐφʼ ὅσον οἱ λοιποὶ τῶν νέων περὶ τὰς κρίσεις καὶ τοὺς χαιρετισμοὺς ἐσπούδαζον, κατὰ τὴν ἀγορὰν ποιούμενοι τὴν διατριβήν, καὶ διὰ τούτων συνιστάνειν ἑαυτοὺς ἐπειρῶντο τοῖς πολλοῖς, ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον4 ὁ Σκιπίων ἐν ταῖς κυνηγεσίαις ἀναστρεφόμενος καὶ λαμπρὸν ἀεί τι ποιῶν καὶ μνήμης ἄξιον καλλίω δόξαν ἐξεφέρετο τῶν ἄλλων.
Therefore, when he returned to Rome and added Polybius’s enthusiasm for this pursuit to his own, while the rest of the young men were busy with lawsuits and greetings, spending their time in the Forum, and trying by these means to recommend themselves to the public, to that same extent Scipio, occupying himself in hunting and always performing some brilliant and memorable deed, won a more beautiful reputation than the others.
οἷς μὲν γὰρ οὐκ ἦν ἐπαίνου τυχεῖν, εἰ μὴ βλάψαιέν τινα τῶν πολιτῶν· ὁ γὰρ τῶν κρίσεων τρόπος τοῦτʼ ἐπιφέρειν εἴωθεν·
For the others could not obtain praise unless they injured some of their fellow citizens; for the practice of lawsuits is accustomed to bring this about;
ὁ δʼ ἁπλῶς οὐδένα λυπῶν ἐξεφέρετο τὴν ἐπʼ ἀνδρείᾳ δόξαν πάνδημον, ἔργῳ πρὸς λόγον ἁμιλλώμενος.
but he, without causing annoyance to anyone, won a general reputation for courage, contending by deeds against words.
τοιγαροῦν ὀλίγῳ χρόνῳ τοσοῦτον παρέδραμε τοὺς καθʼ αὑτὸν ὅσον οὐδείς πω μνημονεύεται Ῥωμαίων, καίπερ τὴν ἐναντίαν ὁδὸν πορευθεὶς ἐν φιλοδοξίᾳ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασι πρὸς τὰ Ῥωμαίων ἔθη καὶ νόμιμα.
Consequently, in a short time he outstripped his contemporaries to such a degree as no Roman is remembered to have done, although he had traveled the opposite path to all the others in seeking fame contrary to Roman customs and institutions.
- 31.29.1λοιποῦ δʼ ὄντος τοῦ κατὰ τὴν ἀνδρείαν μέρους
Genitive absolute construction. Following "nobility of character" (καλοκἀγαθία) and "temperance" (σωφροσύνη) discussed in the previous section (§31.28.10–13), this serves as an introduction to discuss "courage" (ἀνδρεία), the third virtue of the soul.
- 31.29.4ταῦτα συνέβη τὰ χωρία τετηρῆσθαι μὲν ... κεκυνηγῆσθαι δὲ μηδέποτε
The accusative and infinitive clauses ταῦτα τὰ χωρία τετηρῆσθαι μὲν... κεκυνηγῆσθαι δὲ μηδέποτε (with ταῦτα τὰ χωρία as the subject) function as the subject of the verb συνέβη ("it happened that..."). The perfect passive infinitives express the state resulting from the completed actions during the war.
- 31.29.7ὡς κατά τε τὴν ἡλικίαν ἀκμαίως ἔχοντος αὐτοῦ καὶ κατὰ φύσιν οἰκείως διακειμένου
The conjunction ὡς combined with the genitive absolute (ἔχοντος αὐτοῦ καὶ... διακειμένου) expresses a subjective reason or perceived circumstance ("seeing that he was..."). This reinforces the author's descriptive assessment of Scipio's youth and natural aptitude, compared here to a puppy.
- 31.29.8ἐφʼ ὅσον ... ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον
A correlative construction comparing the degree (ἐφ' ὅσον) to which other young men sought public recommendation through lawsuits and greetings in the Forum with the degree (ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον in §31.29.9) to which Scipio won a superior reputation through hunting, emphasizing his extraordinary success.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1