- 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-grc2:5.75.1-5.75.10
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
The author remarks on the danger of cities being surprised during truces and emphasizes the value of learning from history. Meanwhile, Logbasis secretly gathers enemy soldiers in his house and urges the Selgians to assemble and conclude a treaty with Achaeus.
καὶ παρασκευὰς τῆς ἐπιβολῆς.1 κατὰ δὲ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον πλεονάκις συμπορευομένων2 πρὸς ἀλλήλους εἰς σύλλογον, ἐγίνετό τις συνήθεια τῶν ἐκ τοῦ στρατοπέδου, παρεισιόντων πρὸς τὰς σιταρχίας εἰς τὴν πόλιν.
and for the preparations of the enterprise. During this time, as they went to and fro to meet each other in conference quite frequently, a certain habit arose among those from the camp of entering into the city for the purchase of provisions.
ὃ δὴ καὶ πολλοῖς καὶ πολλάκις ἤδη παραίτιον γέγονε τῆς ἀπωλείας. καί μοι δοκεῖ πάντων τῶν ζῴων εὐπαραλογιστότατον ὑπάρχειν ἄνθρωπος, δοκοῦν εἶναι3 πανουργότατον.
This very thing has indeed already, to many and on many occasions, been the contributing cause of ruin. And it seems to me that of all living creatures man is the most easily deceived, though reputed to be the most cunning.
πόσαι μὲν γὰρ παρεμβολαὶ καὶ φρούρια, πόσαι δὲ καὶ πηλίκαι πόλεις τούτῳ τῷ τρόπῳ παρεσπόνδηνται;
For how many camps and forts, and how many and how great cities have been betrayed and surprised in this manner?
καὶ τούτων οὕτω συνεχῶς καὶ προφανῶς πολλοῖς ἤδη συμβεβηκότων οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅπως4 καινοί τινες αἰεὶ καὶ νέοι πρὸς τὰς τοιαύτας ἀπάτας πεφύκαμεν.
And though these things have already happened to many so continuously and manifestly, I know not how it is that we are always by nature like novices and youths in the face of such deceptions.
τούτου δʼ αἴτιόν ἐστιν ὅτι τὰς τῶν πρότερον ἐπταικότων ἐν ἑκάστοις περιπετείας οὐ ποιούμεθα προχείρους, ἀλλὰ σίτου μὲν καὶ χρημάτων πλῆθος, ἔτι δὲ τειχῶν καὶ βελῶν κατασκευάς, μετὰ πολλῆς ταλαιπωρίας καὶ δαπάνης ἑτοιμαζόμεθα πρὸς τὰ παράδοξα τῶν συμβαινόντων, ὃ δʼ ἐστὶ ῥᾷστον μὲν τῶν ὄντων, μεγίστας δὲ παρέχεται χρείας ἐν τοῖς ἐπισφαλέσι καιροῖς, τούτου πάντες κατολιγωροῦμεν, καὶ ταῦτα5 δυνάμενοι μετʼ εὐσχήμονος ἀναπαύσεως ἅμα καὶ διαγωγῆς ἐκ τῆς ἱστορίας καὶ πολυπραγμοσύνης περιποιεῖσθαι τὴν τοιαύτην ἐμπειρίαν.
And the cause of this is that we do not keep ready at hand the disasters of those who have previously slipped in each case, but instead we prepare an abundance of corn and money, and furthermore structures of walls and weapons, with much hardship and expense, against the unexpected of occurrences, while that which is easiest of all things, and yields the greatest utility in hazardous times, we all utterly neglect, and that too when we are able, accompanied by decent relaxation and amusement, to acquire such experience from history and inquiry.
πλὴν ὁ μὲν Ἀχαιὸς ἧκε πρὸς τὸν καιρόν, οἱ δὲ Σελγεῖς συμμίξαντες αὐτῷ μεγάλας ἔσχον ἐλπίδας ὡς ὁλοσχεροῦς τινος τευξόμενοι φιλανθρωπίας.
At any rate, Achaeus arrived at the appointed time, and the Selgians, having held an interview with him, conceived great hopes of obtaining some complete leniency.
ὁ δὲ Λόγβασις ἐν τούτῳ τῷ καιρῷ κατὰ βραχὺ συνηθροικὼς εἰς τὴν ἰδίαν οἰκίαν τῶν ἐκ τοῦ στρατοπέδου παρεισιόντων στρατιωτῶν, συνεβούλευε τοῖς πολίταις μὴ παρεῖναι τὸν καιρόν, ἀλλὰ πράττειν βλέποντας εἰς τὴν ὑποδεικνυμένην φιλανθρωπίαν ὑπʼ Ἀχαιοῦ, καὶ τέλος ἐπιθεῖναι ταῖς συνθήκαις πανδημεὶ βουλευσαμένους ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐνεστώτων.
Meanwhile, Logbasis, having gradually collected in his own house some of the soldiers who entered from the camp, advised the citizens not to let the opportunity slip, but to act with a view to the leniency shown by Achaeus, and finally to put a conclusion to the treaty after consulting in a body concerning the present state of affairs.
ταχὺ δὲ συναθροισθείσης τῆς ἐκκλησίας, οὗτοι μὲν ἐβουλεύοντο, καλέσαντες καὶ τοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν φυλακείων ἅπαντας, ὡς τέλος ἐπιθή
And the assembly being quickly gathered, they were consulting, having summoned all those even from the guard-posts, as if to put a conclusion...
- 5.75.1καὶ παρασκευὰς τῆς ἐπιβολῆς.
The latter part of the accusative noun phrase governed by the preposition πρὸς from the end of the previous chapter (5.74.9: πρὸς τὰς ἐντεύξεις καὶ παρασκευὰς τῆς ἐπιβολῆς). Due to the manuscript division, it appears isolated at the beginning of this chapter.
- 5.75.1συμπορευομένων
Genitive absolute participle. The implied subject in this context is both parties engaged in the negotiations (the camp of Garsyeris and the Selgian envoys) who were frequently communicating.
- 5.75.2δοκοῦν εἶναι
Neuter singular nominative participle. Though the grammatical subject is the masculine ἄνθρωπος, it is treated as a representative of 'living creatures' (ζῷον, neuter), resulting in a construction according to sense (constructio ad sensum). It has a concessive force ('reputed though he is to be').
- 5.75.4οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅπως
While formally structured as introducing an indirect question, it practically functions as an adverbial phrase meaning 'somehow' or 'I know not how' (equivalent to Latin nescio quo modo), modifying the whole clause.
- 5.75.6καὶ ταῦτα
An idiomatic phrase meaning 'and that too' or 'especially when', adding a concessive or circumstantial force to the following participle δυνάμενοι, emphasizing how easy it is to acquire experience through history.