← Polybius

The Histories

§38.19.1

Polybius's Advice and Rejection at the Siege of Carthage

In the siege of Carthage, when the Roman general found a shallow passage, Polybius advised him to install obstacles, but the general rejected it, arguing that they should not avoid fighting since they had already entered the city.

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§38.19.1

ἐπεὶ δὲ παρελθὼν εἰς τὸ τεῖχος, τῶν Καρχηδονίων ἐκ τῆς ἄκρας ἀμυνομένων,1 εὗρε τὴν διὰ μέσου θάλασσαν οὐ πάνυ βαθεῖαν οὖσαν, τοῦ Πολυβίου συμβουλεύοντος αὐτῷ κατασπεῖραι τριβόλους σιδηροῦς ἢ σανίδας ἐμβαλεῖν κεντρωτάς, ὅπως μὴ διαβαίνοντες οἱ πολέμιοι προσμάχωνται τοῖς χώμασιν, ἔφη γελοῖον εἶναι, κατειληφότας τὰ τείχη καὶ τῆς πόλεως ἐντὸς ὄντας,2 εἶτα πράττειν ὅπως οὐ μαχοῦνται3 τοῖς πολεμίοις. —

​And when he had entered within the wall, while the Carthaginians were defending themselves from the citadel, and found that the intervening sea was not at all deep, Polybius advised him to scatter iron caltrops or to throw in boards studded with spikes, so that the enemy might not cross over and attack the mounds; but he said that it was ridiculous for them, having captured the walls and being inside the city, then to act in such a way as to avoid fighting the enemy.

Syntax notes3 items
  1. 38.19.1τῶν Καρχηδονίων ἐκ τῆς ἄκρας ἀμυνομένων

    A genitive absolute construction indicating an action by a subject different from that of the main verb ἔφη and the nominative participle παρελθὼν and finite verb εὗρε, describing the military situation faced by the Roman forces.

  2. 38.19.1κατειληφότας ... ὄντας

    The accusative plural participles κατειληφότας and ὄντας function as the subject of the infinitive πράττειν in an accusative and infinitive construction, referring to the Roman general and his army.

  3. 38.19.1ὅπως οὐ μαχοῦνται

    Led by the verb πράττειν (to contrive, manage), the clause uses ὅπως with the future indicative (or subjunctive μαχοῦνται), taking the negation οὐ instead of μή to express the objective effort of striving to bring about a state where they would 'not fight' the enemy.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
  • 2026-09-21 AI review — note 1
urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:38.19.1