- 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-grc2:5.10.1-5.10.11
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
The author presents Philip II and Alexander the Great as examples of moderation and piety toward defeated enemies and sacred sites, criticizing the current Philip V for failing to emulate their virtues and acting in the opposite manner.
τοῖς προειρημένοις.1 καὶ μὴν ὁ πρῶτος αὐτῶν αὐξήσας τὴν βασιλείαν καὶ γενόμενος ἀρχηγὸς τοῦ προσχήματος τῆς οἰκίας, Φίλιππος νικήσας Ἀθηναίους τὴν ἐν Χαιρωνείᾳ μάχην, οὐ τοσοῦτον ἤνυσε διὰ τῶν ὅπλων ὅσον διὰ τῆς ἐπιεικείας καὶ φιλανθρωπίας τῶν τρόπων.
from those mentioned above. And indeed, the first of them to expand the kingdom and become the founder of the family’s renown, Philip, having defeated the Athenians in the battle of Chaeronea, accomplished not so much by arms as by his moderation and humanity of character.
τῷ μὲν γὰρ πολέμῳ καὶ τοῖς ὅπλοις αὐτῶν μόνων περιεγένετο καὶ κύριος κατέστη τῶν ἀντιταξαμένων, τῇ δʼ εὐγνωμοσύνῃ καὶ μετριότητι πάντας Ἀθηναίους ἅμα καὶ τὴν πόλιν αὐτῶν ἔσχεν ὑποχείριον, οὐκ ἐπιμετρῶν τῷ θυμῷ τοῖς πραττομένοις, ἀλλὰ μέχρι τούτου πολεμῶν καὶ φιλονεικῶν, ἕως τοῦ λαβεῖν2 ἀφορμὰς πρὸς ἀπόδειξιν τῆς αὑτοῦ πρᾳότητος καὶ καλοκἀγαθίας.
For by war and arms he conquered only those who opposed him and became master of his adversaries, but by his thoughtfulness and moderation he got all the Athenians and their city at once into his power, not allowing his anger to measure his actions, but carrying on war and contention only so far as to find opportunities for displaying his own gentleness and goodness.
τοιγαροῦν χωρὶς λύτρων ἀποστείλας τοὺς αἰχμαλώτους καὶ κηδεύσας Ἀθηναίων τοὺς τετελευτηκότας, ἔτι δὲ συνθεὶς Ἀντιπάτρῳ τὰ τούτων ὀστᾶ3 καὶ τῶν ἀπαλλαττομένων τοὺς πλείστους ἀμφιέσας, μικρᾷ δαπάνῃ διὰ τὴν ἀγχίνοιαν τὴν μεγίστην πρᾶξιν κατειργάσατο·
Therefore, by sending back the prisoners without ransom, by burying the dead of the Athenians, and further, by committing their bones to Antipater and clothing most of those who were departing, he accomplished the greatest achievement at little expense through his sagacity;
τὸ γὰρ Ἀθηναίων φρόνημα καταπληξάμενος τῇ μεγαλοψυχίᾳ πρὸς πᾶν ἑτοίμους αὐτοὺς ἔσχε συναγωνιστὰς ἀντὶ πολεμίων.
for having struck down the pride of the Athenians by his high-mindedness, he made them ready allies in everything instead of enemies.
τί δʼ Ἀλέξανδρος; ἐκεῖνος γὰρ ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον ἐξοργισθεὶς Θηβαίοις ὥστε τοὺς μὲν οἰκήτορας ἐξανδραποδίσασθαι, τὴν δὲ πόλιν εἰς ἔδαφος κατασκάψαι, τῆς γε πρὸς τοὺς θεοὺς εὐσεβείας οὐκ ὠλιγώρησε περὶ τὴν κατάληψιν τῆς πόλεως, ἀλλὰ πλείστην ἐποιήσατο πρόνοιαν ὑπὲρ τοῦ μηδʼ ἀκούσιον ἁμάρτημα γενέσθαι περὶ τὰ ἱερὰ καὶ καθόλου τὰ τεμένη.
And what of Alexander? For though he was so enraged against the Thebans as to enslave the inhabitants and raze the city to the ground, he did not neglect piety toward the gods when capturing the city, but took the greatest care that not even an involuntary offense should occur regarding the temples and the sacred enclosures in general.
καὶ μὴν ὅτε διαβὰς εἰς τὴν Ἀσίαν μετεπορεύετο τὴν Περσῶν ἀσέβειαν εἰς τοὺς Ἕλληνας, παρὰ μὲν τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐπειράθη λαβεῖν δίκην ἀξίαν τῶν σφίσι πεπραγμένων, τῶν δὲ τοῖς θεοῖς καταπεφημισμένων πάντων ἀπέσχετο, καίπερ τῶν Περσῶν μάλιστα περὶ τοῦτο τὸ μέρος ἐξαμαρτόντων ἐν τοῖς κατὰ τὴν Ἑλλάδα τόποις.
Moreover, when he crossed over into Asia to avenge the impiety of the Persians against the Greeks, he indeed attempted to exact from the men a fitting punishment for their deeds, but he refrained from everything that had been dedicated to the gods, although the Persians had sinned most of all in this very respect in the territories of Greece.
ταῦτʼ οὖν ἐχρῆν καὶ τότε Φίλιππον ἐν νῷ λαμβάνοντα συνεχῶς μὴ οὕτως τῆς ἀρχῆς ὡς τῆς προαιρέσεως καὶ τῆς μεγαλοψυχίας διάδοχον αὑτὸν ἀναδεικνύναι καὶ κληρονόμον τῶν προειρημένων ἀνδρῶν.
These things, therefore, Philip also ought to have kept constantly in mind at that time, and to have shown himself a successor and heir of the aforementioned men, not so much of their rule as of their purpose and high-mindedness.
ὁ δʼ ἵνα μὲν καὶ συγγενὴς Ἀλεξάνδρου καὶ Φιλίππου φαίνηται μεγάλην ἐποιεῖτο παρʼ ὅλον τὸν βίον σπουδήν, ἵνα δὲ ζηλωτὴς οὐδὲ τὸν ἐλάχιστον ἔσχε λόγον.
But while he made a great effort throughout his whole life to appear a kinsman of Alexander and Philip, he took not the slightest account of being their emulator.
τοιγαροῦν τἀναντία τοῖς προειρημένοις ἀνδράσιν ἐπιτηδεύων τῆς ἐναντίας ἔτυχε4 παρὰ πᾶσι
Therefore, practicing the opposite of the aforementioned men, he met with the opposite (reputation) among all...
- 5.10.1τοῖς προειρημένοις
A dative phrase continuing from the preposition ἐπί at the end of the previous chapter (5.9.10), completing the clause "obtained (immortal honor and glory) among (the aforementioned)."
- 5.10.3ἕως τοῦ λαβεῖν
The conjunction ἕως is used with the genitive article and infinitive (τοῦ λαβεῖν) to form an adverbial phrase expressing a temporal limit ("until obtaining").
- 5.10.4συνθεὶς Ἀντιπάτρῳ τὰ τούτων ὀστᾶ
The participle συνθεὶς (aorist active participle of συντίθημι) takes the dative Ἀντιπάτρῳ and the accusative τὰ τούτων ὀστᾶ, meaning "having committed their bones to Antipater." Here, συντίθημι is used in the sense of delivering or entrusting remains.
- 5.10.11τῆς ἐναντίας ἔτυχε
The verb ἔτυχε (aorist of τυγχάνω) governs the genitive. τῆς ἐναντίας is a feminine genitive singular adjective, with a feminine noun meaning "reputation" or "opinion" (such as δόξης or εὐδοξίας) understood from the context.