- 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-grc2:36.13.1-36.13.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-12
Through the coincidental removal of the statues of the pro-Roman Callicrates and the restoration of those of Lycortas on the same day, the author reflects on the irony of Fortune, which turns lawmakers' designs against themselves, and on the human nature that always craves novelty.
ὅτι1 κατά τι σύμπτωμα τῶν μὲν τοῦ Καλλικράτους εἰκόνων εἰσφερομένων κατὰ τὸ σκότος, τῶν δὲ τοῦ Λυκόρτα κατὰ τὴν αὐτὴν ἡμέραν ἐκφερομένων εἰς τὸ φῶς κατὰ τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς διάθεσιν, πάντας ἠνάγκαζε τὸ γινόμενον ἐπιφθέγγεσθαι διότι δεῖ μηδέποτε τοῖς καιροῖς ὑπερηφάνως χρῆσθαι κατὰ τῶν πέλας, εἰδότα2 διότι καὶ λίαν τοῦτʼ ἔστιν ἴδιον ἐπιτήδευμα τῆς τύχης, τὸ τοῖς αὑτῶν ἐπινοήμασι καὶ νομοθετήμασιν ἐξ ὑποστροφῆς αὐτοὺς ὑποβάλλειν3 τοὺς νομοθετήσαντας. —
By a certain coincidence, while the portraits of Callicrates were being carried away into the darkness, those of Lycortas were on the very same day brought out into the light in accordance with their original arrangement; this event forced everyone to remark that one should never use circumstances arrogantly against one’s neighbors, knowing that this is a highly characteristic practice of Fortune: to subject the very lawgivers themselves, by a sudden turn, to their own designs and legislations. —
ὅτι αὐτὸ τὸ φύσει φιλόκαινον τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἱκανόν ἐστι πρὸς πᾶσαν μεταβολήν.
The very love of novelty inherent in human nature is sufficient to bring about every change.
- 36.13.1ὅτι
A conjunction introducing a passage in the collection of excerpts, standing outside the main syntactic structure of the sentence. It is left untranslated here for stylistic smoothness.
- 36.13.2εἰδότα
Perfect active participle of οἶδα, accusative singular masculine. Instead of agreeing with the plural accusative object πάντας of the main clause, it agrees with the implied subject of the infinitive clause (an indefinite 'someone' or 'a person').
- 36.13.2τὸ ... ὑποβάλλειν
An articular infinitive clause functioning in apposition to the preceding noun phrase ἴδιον ἐπιτήδευμα τῆς τύχης, explaining the specific practice of Fortune.