- 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-grc2:38.12.1-38.12.11
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-12
Metellus sends legates to Corinth in an attempt to reconcile the Achaeans, but the excited crowd drives them away. Critolaus exploits the situation by delivering anti-Roman speeches to inflame the masses, claiming external support.
ὁ δὲ Κόιντος ὁ Καικίλιος ἐν τῇ Μακεδονίᾳ τάδε πυνθανόμενος καὶ τὴν ἐν Πελοποννήσῳ γενομένην ἀκρισίαν καὶ ταραχὴν ἐξέπεμψε πρεσβευτὰς Γνάιον Παπείριον καὶ τὸν νεώτερον Ποπίλιον Λαινᾶτον, σὺν δὲ τούτοις Αὖλον Γαβίνιον καὶ Γάιον Φάννιον·
Quintus Caecilius, on learning in Macedonia of these matters and of the confusion and disorder that had arisen in the Peloponnese, dispatched as legates Gnaeus Papirius and the younger Popilius Laenas, and with them Aulus Gabinius and Gaius Fannius;
οἳ1 καὶ συνηγμένων τῶν Ἀχαιῶν εἰς Κόρινθον, κατὰ τύχην ἐλθόντες εἰς τοῦτον τὸν καιρὸν καὶ παραχθέντες εἰς τὰ πλήθη διετίθεντο πολλοὺς οὗτοι καὶ φιλανθρώπους λόγους παραπλησίους τοῖς περὶ τὸν Σέξτον, πᾶσαν ἐνδεικνύμενοι φιλοτιμίαν χάριν τοῦ μὴ προβῆναι τοὺς Ἀχαιοὺς εἰς ὁλοσχερεστέραν ἀπέχθειαν πρὸς Ῥωμαίους μήτʼ ἐκ τῆς πρὸς Λακεδαιμονίους προφάσεως μήτε διὰ τῆς πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἐκείνους ἀλλοτριότητος.
who, having arrived by chance at this very juncture when the Achaeans were assembled at Corinth, and being introduced to the multitudes, delivered many friendly speeches, similar to those of Sextus and his colleagues, showing every enthusiasm to prevent the Achaeans from proceeding to a more complete hostility toward the Romans, either on the pretext of their dispute with the Lacedaemonians or through alienation toward the Romans themselves.
ὧν οἱ μὲν πολλοὶ διακούοντες οὐδαμῶς ἀνείχοντο, χλευάζοντες δὲ τοὺς πρέσβεις μετὰ θορύβου καὶ κραυγῆς ἐξέβαλον.
The majority of them, however, could not bear to listen, but with noise and clamor mocked the legates and drove them out.
καὶ γὰρ συνηθροίσθη πλῆθος ἐργαστηριακῶν καὶ βαναύσων ἀνθρώπων ὅσον οὐδέποτε· πᾶσαι μὲν γὰρ ἐκορύζων2 αἱ πόλεις, πανδημεὶ δὲ καὶ μάλιστά πως ἡ τῶν Κορινθίων.
For there had assembled a larger crowd of artisans and laborers than ever before; indeed, all the cities were in a state of doting folly, and the Corinthian population especially so, with their whole community.
ὀλίγοις δέ τισι καὶ λίαν ἤρεσκε τὰ λεγόμενα διὰ τῶν πρεσβευτῶν.
Only a very few individuals were highly pleased with what was said by the legates.
ὁ δὲ Κριτόλαος, ὥσπερ κατʼ εὐχὴν ὑποθέσεως ἐπειλημμένος3 καὶ θεάτρου συνενθουσιῶντος καὶ παρεστηκότος ταῖς διανοίαις, κατανίστατο μὲν τῶν ἀρχόντων, διέσυρε δὲ τοὺς ἀντιπολιτευομένους, ἐνεπαρρησιάζετο δὲ τοῖς τῶν Ῥωμαίων πρεσβευταῖς, φάσκων βούλεσθαι μὲν Ῥωμαίων φίλος ὑπάρχειν, δεσπότας δʼ οὐκ ἂν εὐδοκῆσαι κτησάμενος.4 καθόλου δὲ παρῄνει, λέγων ὡς, ἐὰν μὲν ἄνδρες ὦσιν, οὐκ ἀπορήσουσι συμμάχων, ἐὰν δʼ ἀνδρόγυνοι, κυρίων.5
But Critolaus, as if he had seized a topic that was answerable to his wishes and had before him an audience that was filled with enthusiastic frenzy and out of its mind, rose up against the magistrates, slandered his political opponents, and spoke with insolent freedom to the Roman legates, asserting that he wished to be a friend of the Romans, but would never consent to having them as masters. In general, he exhorted them, saying that if they were men, they would have no lack of allies, but if they were half-men, they would have no lack of masters.
καὶ πολλὰ δή τινα πρὸς ταύτην τὴν ὑπόθεσιν ἐμπορεύων καὶ μεθοδευόμενος ἐκίνει καὶ παρώξυνε τοὺς ὄχλους.
And by employing and devising many such arguments directed to this theme, he stirred up and exasperated the crowds.
ἐποίει δʼ ἐμφάσεις καὶ περὶ τοῦ μὴ τυχόντως χρῆσθαι ταῖς ἐπιβολαῖς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν βασιλέων τινὰς καὶ τῶν πολιτευμάτων ἔνια κοινωνεῖν αὐτῷ τῆς
He also insinuated that he was not acting at random in his undertakings, but that some of the kings and some of the states were sharing his hopes.
- 38.12.2οἳ
The relative pronoun οἵ is used connectively at the beginning of the clause to refer to the legates mentioned in the previous sentence. The following phrase συνηγμένων τῶν Ἀχαιῶν is a genitive absolute with a perfect participle.
- 38.12.5ἐκορύζων
Third-person plural imperfect of the verb κορυζάω (literally, "to run at the nose"). It is used here metaphorically to mean "to fall into doting folly" or "to be out of one's senses," agreeing in number with the plural subject αἱ πόλεις.
- 38.12.7ἐπειλημμένος
Perfect middle-passive participle of the verb ἐπιλαμβάνομαι ("to seize" or "to lay hold of"), governing the genitive noun ὑποθέσεως ("pretext" or "subject").
- 38.12.8οὐκ ἂν εὐδοκῆσαι κτησάμενος
The aorist participle κτησάμενος (from κτήομαι) functions as a conditional protasis ("if he should acquire"), which, in combination with the infinitive εὐδοκῆσαι with ἄν, represents a potential apodosis ("would not consent") in indirect discourse.
- 38.12.9ἐὰν δʼ ἀνδρόγυνοι, κυρίων
In contrast to the preceding clause ἐὰν μὲν ἄνδρες ὦσιν, οὐκ ἀπορήσουσι συμμάχων, the verb ὦσιν and the verb of the apodosis οὐκ ἀπορήσουσι are omitted in the second clause, which should be understood as: "but if they [should be] half-men, [they will have no lack] of masters."