- 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-grc2:38.9.1-38.9.8
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-12
Following the report of Aurelius's embassy regarding their narrow escape and the hostility in Achaea, the highly indignant Senate dispatches Julius's embassy with instructions to counsel moderation. While the Romans sought to curb Achaean arrogance, they valued the long-standing alliance and did not intend to initiate war or a total rupture.
ὅτι1 παραγενομένων ἐκ Πελοποννήσου τῶν περὶ τὸν Αὐρήλιον πρεσβευτῶν καὶ διασαφούντων τὰ συμβεβηκότα περὶ αὐτούς, ὅτι παρʼ ὀλίγον2 τοῖς ὅλοις ἐκινδύνευσαν, καὶ λεγόντων μετʼ αὐξήσεως καὶ καινολογίας· οὐ γὰρ ὡς κατὰ περιπέτειαν ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς ἥκοντος τοῦ δεινοῦ διεσάφουν, ἀλλʼ ὡς κατὰ πρόθεσιν ὡρμηκότων τῶν Ἀχαιῶν ἐπὶ τὸ παραδειγματίζειν αὐτούς·
That when the ambassadors under Aurelius returned from the Peloponnese and made clear what had happened to them, namely that they had been within a hair’s breadth of total destruction, and speaking with exaggeration and sensationalism; for they did not report that the danger had come upon them as by an accident, but that the Achaeans had set upon them with a deliberate purpose to make an example of them.
ἡ σύγκλητος ἠγανάκτησεν μὲν ἐπὶ τοῖς γεγονόσιν ὡς οὐδέποτε καὶ παραχρῆμα πρεσβευτὰς κατεστήσατο τοὺς περὶ τὸν Ἰούλιον, καὶ τούτους ἔπεμπε δοῦσα τοιαύτας ἐντολάς, διότι δεῖ μετρίως ἐπιτιμήσαντας καὶ μεμψαμένους ἐπὶ τοῖς γεγονόσι τὸ πλεῖον παρακαλεῖν καὶ διδάσκειν τοὺς Ἀχαιοὺς μήτε τοῖς ἐπὶ τὰ χείριστα παρακαλοῦσι προσέχειν μήτʼ αὐτοὺς λαθεῖν εἰς τὴν πρὸς Ῥωμαίους ἀλλοτριότητα διεμπεσόντας, ἀλλʼ ἔτι καὶ νῦν ποιήσασθαί τινα διόρθωσιν τῶν ἠγνοημένων, ἀπερεισαμένους τὴν ἄγνοιαν ἐπὶ τοὺς αἰτίους3 τῆς ἁμαρτίας.
The senate was indignant at what had occurred as never before, and immediately appointed the ambassadors under Julius and sent them with the following instructions: that they should, after moderately censuring and blaming them for what had occurred, focus more on encouraging and teaching the Achaeans neither to pay attention to those who urge them to the worst course, nor themselves to slip unconsciously into hostility toward the Romans, but even now to make some correction of their errors, throwing the blame of their ignorance upon those who were the authors of the mistake.
ἐξ ὧν καὶ λίαν δῆλον ἐγένετο διότι καὶ τοῖς περὶ τὸν Αὐρήλιον ἔδωκε τὰς ἐντολὰς οὐ διασπάσαι βουλομένη τὸ ἔθνος, ἀλλὰ πτοῆσαι καὶ καταπλήξασθαι [βουλομένη] τὴν αὐθάδειαν καὶ τὴν ἀπέχθειαν τῶν Ἀχαιῶν.
From which it also became very clear that they had given instructions to Aurelius and his colleagues, not because they wished to split the nation, but because they wished to alarm and strike terror into the arrogance and hostility of the Achaeans.
τινὲς μὲν οὖν ὑπελάμβανον καθʼ ὑπόκρισιν τοὺς Ῥωμαίους διὰ τὸ μένειν ἀτελῆ τὰ κατὰ Καρχηδόνα· τὸ δʼ ἀληθὲς οὐχ οὕτως εἶχεν, ἀλλʼ ἀποδεδεγμένοι τὸ ἔθνος ἐκ πολλοῦ χρόνου καὶ νομίζοντες ἔχειν αὐτὸ πιστὸν μάλιστα τῶν Ἑλληνικῶν, ἀνασοβῆσαι μὲν ἔκριναν4 διὰ τὸ φρονηματίζεσθαι πέρα τοῦ δέοντος, πόλεμον δʼ ἀναλαβεῖν ἢ διαφορὰν ὁλοσχερῆ πρὸς τοὺς Ἀχαιοὺς οὐδαμῶς ἐβούλοντο. —
Some, therefore, supposed that the Romans acted thus out of hypocrisy because the affairs of Carthage remained unfinished; but the truth was not so, but having accepted the nation for a long time and considering it to be the most faithful of the Greek states, they decided to shake them up because they were prideful beyond what was fitting, but they by no means wished to undertake war or a total rupture with the Achaeans.
- 38.9.1ὅτι
The use of ὅτι at the beginning of passages in historical excerpts (Excerpta), where the main governing verb introducing the report has been omitted in the transmission.
- 38.9.2παρʼ ὀλίγον
A prepositional phrase meaning "almost" or "within a hair's breadth." It qualifies the verb ἐκινδύνευσαν ("ran a risk") to express that they had narrowly escaped total destruction (τοῖς ὅλοις).
- 38.9.5ἀπερεισαμένους τὴν ἄγνοιαν ἐπὶ τοὺς αἰτίους
The participle ἀπερεισαμένους (from ἀπερείδω, "to lean upon" or "to cast/shift onto") describes transferring the blame of their "ignorance" (ἄγνοιαν) onto the actual instigators (τοὺς αἰτίους) of the mistake, allowing the nation as a whole to correct their error.
- 38.9.8ἀνασοβῆσαι μὲν ἔκριναν
The infinitive ἀνασοβῆσαι (from ἀνασοβέω, "to scare away" or "to shake up/rouse") acts as the object of ἔκριναν ("they decided"), meaning to give a sharp warning or shake up the Achaeans who had become excessively arrogant.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-10-09)
- 2026-10-09 Collated with the printed edition — source 1