- 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-grc2:4.42.1-4.42.8
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
The author demonstrates the physical necessity of the Pontus eventually turning into a fresh-water lake due to river siltation through a proportional comparison with Lake Maeotis, emphasizing the value of scientific proof against sailors' tall tales before returning to Byzantium.
τοὺς αὐτοὺς τόπους.1 ἐξ ὧν οὐκ εἰκὸς θαυμάζειν πῶς οἱ τηλικοῦτοι καὶ τοιοῦτοι ποταμοὶ συνεχῶς ῥέοντες ἀπεργάζονταί τι τῶν προειρημένων καὶ τέλος ἐκπληροῦσι τὸν Πόντον.
(...to recognize) the same places. From which it is not reasonable to wonder how such great and numerous rivers, flowing continuously, accomplish any of the aforementioned things and finally fill up the Pontus.
οὐ γὰρ εἰκός, ἀλλʼ ἀναγκαῖον γενέσθαι τοῦτό γε προφαίνεται κατὰ τὸν ὀρθὸν λόγον.
For indeed, according to correct reasoning, this appears not merely probable, but necessary to happen.
σημεῖον δὲ τοῦ μέλλοντος· ὅσῳ γάρ ἐστι νῦν ἡ Μαιῶτις γλυκυτέρα τῆς Ποντικῆς θαλάττης, οὕτως θεωρεῖται διαφέρουσα προφανῶς ἡ Ποντικὴ τῆς καθʼ ἡμᾶς.2
And here is the proof of what is to happen: for in proportion as the Maeotis is now fresher than the Pontic sea, so the Pontic is clearly seen to differ from our own sea.
ἐξ ὧν δῆλον ὡς, ὅταν ὁ χρόνος, ἐν ᾧ πεπληρῶσθαι συμβαίνει τὴν Μαιῶτιν, τοῦτον λάβῃ τὸν λόγον πρὸς τὸν χρόνον, ὃν ἔχει τὸ μέγεθος τοῦ κοιλώματος πρὸς τὸ κοίλωμα,3 τότε συμβήσεται καὶ τὸν Πόντον τεναγώδη καὶ γλυκὺν καὶ λιμνώδη γενέσθαι παραπλησίως τῇ Μαιώτιδι λίμνῃ.
From which it is clear that, when the time in which the Maeotis is filled up bears to the time in which the Pontus is filled up the same ratio which the size of the basin of the former bears to the basin of the latter, then it will also happen that the Pontus will become shallow, fresh, and lake-like, in a similar manner to the Maeotian lake.
καὶ θᾶττον δὲ τοῦτον ὑποληπτέον. ὅσῳ μείζους καὶ πλείους εἰσὶν αἱ ῥύσεις τῶν εἰς τοῦτον ἐκπιπτόντων ποταμῶν.
And we must suppose this will happen even more quickly, inasmuch as the currents of the rivers emptying into this latter are larger and more numerous.
ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἡμῖν εἰρήσθω πρὸς τοὺς ἀπίστως διακειμένους, εἰ δὴ χώννυσθαι νῦν καὶ χωσθήσεσθαί ποτε συμβήσεται τὸν Πόντον καὶ λίμνη καὶ τέναγος ἔσται τὸ τηλικοῦτον πέλαγος.
Now, let this much be said by us to those who are incredulous as to whether it is happening now and will one day happen that the Pontus is silted up, and whether so great a sea will become a lake and a shallow.
ἔτι δὲ μᾶλλον εἰρήσθω καὶ τῆς τῶν πλοϊζομένων ψευδολογίας καὶ τερατείας χάριν, ἵνα μὴ παντὶ τῷ λεγομένῳ προσκεχηνέναι παιδικῶς ἀναγκαζώμεθα4 διὰ τὴν ἀπειρίαν, ἔχοντες δʼ ἴχνη τῆς ἀληθείας ἐπὶ ποσὸν ἐξ αὐτῶν ἐπικρίνειν δυνώμεθα τὸ λεγόμενον ὑπό τινων ἀληθῶς ἢ τοὐναντίον.
And still more let it be said because of the falsehood and love of the marvelous shown by those who sail the sea, so that we may not, through lack of experience, be forced to gape like children at everything that is told, but having some traces of the truth, we may be able to judge by their help whether what is said by anyone is true or the reverse.
ἐπὶ δὲ τὸ συνεχὲς τῆς εὐκαιρίας τῶν Βυζαντίων ἐπάνιμεν.
But we must return to the next part of our account of the advantageous position of Byzantium.
- 4.42.1τοὺς αὐτοὺς τόπους
This phrase serves grammatically as the object of the infinitive "μηδὲ γινώσκειν" (not to recognize) at the end of the previous section (§4.41.9), spanning across the chunk boundary.
- 4.42.3ὅσῳ γάρ ἐστι νῦν ἡ Μαιῶτις γλυκυτέρα τῆς Ποντικῆς θαλάττης, οὕτως θεωρεῖται διαφέρουσα προφανῶς ἡ Ποντικὴ τῆς καθʼ ἡμᾶς.
The correlative construction "ὅσῳ ... οὕτως" is used to show a proportion ("in proportion as... so..."). It compares the degree to which Lake Maeotis is fresher than the Pontic Sea to the degree to which the Pontic Sea differs in salinity from "our sea" (the Mediterranean).
- 4.42.4ὅταν ὁ χρόνος, ἐν ᾧ πεπληρῶσθαι συμβαίνει τὴν Μαιῶτιν, τοῦτον λάβῃ τὸν λόγον πρὸς τὸν χρόνον, ὃν ἔχει τὸ μέγεθος τοῦ κοιλώματος πρὸς τὸ κοίλωμα
A complex comparison of ratios. The subject is "the time in which the Maeotis is filled up" (ὁ χρόνος...). The relative clause "ὃν ἔχει..." defines "this ratio" (τοῦτον... τὸν λόγον), meaning the ratio which the size of the basin of the Maeotis bears to that of the Pontus. When the ratio of their filling times equals the ratio of their basin sizes, the same silting-up process will be complete for the Pontus.
- 4.42.7ἵνα μὴ... προσκεχηνέναι παιδικῶς ἀναγκαζώμεθα
In the purpose clause introduced by "ἵνα", the perfect infinitive "προσκεχηνέναι" (from προσχάσκω, to gape or stand open-mouthed) is used with "ἀναγκαζώμεθα" (we are forced) to form a figurative expression meaning "lest we be forced to gape childishly in credulity" at everything we hear.