- 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-grc2:38.13.1-38.13.9
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-12
Defying the restraint of the Achaean leaders, Critolaus incites the crowd by accusing internal traitors and passes a war resolution granting him extraordinary power, while the Roman legates disperse.
προθέσεως.1 τῶν δὲ τῆς γερουσίας βουλομένων2 ἐπιλαμβάνεσθαι καὶ κωλύειν αὐτὸν τῶν τοιούτων λόγων, περισπασάμενος τοὺς στρατιώτας κατανίστατο, κελεύων προσελθεῖν, ἐγγίσαι, τολμῆσαί τινα3 μόνον ἅψασθαι τῆς χλαμύδος.
...undertakings. When the members of the council wished to censure him and prevent him from making such speeches, he drew his soldiers around him and stood his ground, bidding anyone to approach, come near, and dare to touch even his cloak.
καθόλου δʼ ἔφη πολὺν ἤδη χρόνον παρακατεσχηκὼς αὑτὸν οὐκέτι δύνασθαι καρτερεῖν, ἀλλʼ ἐρεῖν τὸ φαινόμενον.
In general, he declared that he had restrained himself for a long time and could no longer endure it, but would speak what was apparent.
δεῖν γὰρ οὐ Λακεδαιμονίους οὐδὲ Ῥωμαίους ἀγωνιᾶν4 οὕτως ὡς τοὺς ἐξ αὐτῶν συνεργοῦντας τοῖς ἐχθροῖς· εἶναι γάρ τινας τοὺς πλεῖον Ῥωμαίοις εὐνοοῦντας καὶ Λακεδαιμονίοις ἢ τοῖς σφετέροις πράγμασιν.
For they ought not to fear the Lacedaemonians or the Romans so much as those among themselves who were cooperating with the enemy; for there were some who favored the Romans and Lacedaemonians more than their own affairs.
καὶ τούτων πίστιν ἔφερεν· ἔφη γὰρ Εὐαγόραν τὸν Αἰγιέα καὶ τὸν Τριταιέα Στρατίον πάντα τὰ λεγόμενα διʼ ἀπορρήτων ἐν ταῖς συναρχίαις διασαφεῖν τοῖς περὶ τὸν Γνάιον.
And he brought forward proof of this; for he asserted that Evagoras of Aegium and Stratius of Tritaea revealed all that was said in secret in the college of magistrates to Gnaeus and his colleagues.
τοῦ δὲ Στρατίου συμμεμιχέναι μὲν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ὁμολογοῦντος καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα συμμίξειν φάσκοντος φίλοις οὖσι καὶ συμμάχοις,5 ἀνηγγελκέναι δʼ ὁρκιζομένου μηδὲν τῶν ἐν ταῖς συναρχίαις εἰρημένων, ὀλίγοι μέν τινες ἐπίστευον, οἱ δὲ πλείους προσεδέχοντο τὰς διαβολάς.
Although Stratius admitted that he had associated with those men and stated that he would associate with them in the future as they were friends and allies, while swearing that he had reported nothing of what was said in the college, only a few believed him, and the majority accepted the slanders.
ὁ δὲ Κριτόλαος παροξύνας τοὺς ὄχλους διὰ τῆς τούτων κατηγορίας ἔπεισε τοὺς Ἀχαιοὺς πάλιν ψηφίσασθαι λόγῳ μὲν τὸν πρὸς Λακεδαιμονίους πόλεμον, ἔργῳ δὲ τὸν πρὸς Ῥωμαίους·
Critolaus, having exasperated the crowds by his accusation of these men, persuaded the Achaeans to vote again for war, in word against the Lacedaemonians, but in deed against the Romans.
καὶ προσεπεμέτρησεν ἕτερον ψήφισμα παράνομον, ὥστε κυρίους εἶναι τοὺς ἀνθρώπους οὓς [ἂν] ἐπὶ στρατηγίαν αἱρήσονται·6 διʼ οὗ τρόπου τινὰ μοναρχικὴν ἀνέλαβεν ἐξουσίαν.
And he added another illegal decree, to the effect that the men whom they should elect to the generalship should have absolute power; by which means he assumed a kind of monarchical authority.
οὗτος μὲν οὖν ταῦτα διοικησάμενος ἐγίνετο περὶ τὸ πραγματοκοπεῖν καὶ Ῥωμαίοις ἐπιβάλλειν τὰς χεῖρας, οὐδενὶ λόγῳ τοῦτο πράττων, ἀλλὰ πάντων ἀσεβεστάτοις καὶ παρανομωτάτοις ἐπιβαλλόμενος·
Having managed these affairs in this manner, he set about causing trouble and laying hands on the Romans, doing this with no rational motive, but undertaking the most impious and unlawful of all schemes.
τῶν δὲ πρέσβεων ὁ μὲν Γνάιος εἰς Ἀθήνας ἀπῆρεν κἀκεῖθεν εἰς Λακεδαίμονα προσεδρεύσων τοῖς καιροῖς, ὁ δʼ Αὖλος εἰς Ναύπακτον, οἱ δὲ δύο μέχρι τῆς τοῦ Καικιλίου παρουσίας ἔμειναν ἐν ταῖς Ἀθήναις. καὶ τὰ μὲν κατὰ τὴν Πελοπόννησον ἐν τούτοις ἦν. —
Of the legates, Gnaeus set sail for Athens and from there went to Lacedaemon to watch the turn of events, Aulus went to Naupactus, and the other two remained in Athens until the arrival of Caecilius. And such was the state of affairs in the Peloponnese.
- 38.13.1προθέσεως
This word connects with the feminine singular genitive article τῆς at the very end of the preceding chunk, serving as the genitive object of the verb κοινωνεῖν. It demonstrates the continuity of the sentence across the chunk boundary.
- 38.13.1τῶν δὲ τῆς γερουσίας βουλομένων
Genitive absolute construction. τῶν τῆς γερουσίας (the members of the council) serves as the logical subject.
- 38.13.1κελεύων προσελθεῖν, ἐγγίσαι, τολμῆσαί τινα
The infinitives προσελθεῖν, ἐγγίσαι, and τολμῆσαι are all governed by the participle κελεύων, with the accusative τινα acting as their logical subject. The infinitive ἅψασθαι is dependent on τολμῆσαι.
- 38.13.3δεῖν γὰρ οὐ Λακεδαιμονίους οὐδὲ Ῥωμαίους ἀγωνιᾶν
An accusative and infinitive construction in indirect speech continuing from ἔφη (§38.13.2). The impersonal verb δεῖ becomes the infinitive δεῖν, while ἀγωνιᾶν is the infinitive dependent on it. The nouns Λακεδαιμονίους οὐδὲ Ῥωμαίους are the accusative objects of ἀγωνιᾶν (the objects of fear), while the logical subject of ἀγωνιᾶν is the Achaeans, understood from the context.
- 38.13.5φίλοις οὖσι καὶ συμμάχοις
Dative. It functions appositively to the dative τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, which represents the party associated with, as governed by the associative verb συμμεμιχέναι and the future infinitive συμμίξειν.
- 38.13.7οὓς [ἂν] ἐπὶ στρατηγίαν αἱρήσονται
The relative clause employs [ἂν] with the future indicative αἱρήσονται (though some manuscripts read the subjunctive αἱρήσωνται or αἱρῶνται), expressing a general expectation or an unspecified, hypothetical person in the future.