- 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-grc2:6.24.1-6.24.9
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
This section explains the election and distribution of centurions, rear-leaders, and standard-bearers in the Roman army, highlighting the rationale of the double-commander system and the preferred qualities of centurions.
ἐξ ἑκάστου δὲ τῶν προειρημένων γενῶν πλὴν τῶν νεωτάτων ἐξέλεξαν ταξιάρχους ἀριστίνδην δέκα. μετὰ δὲ τούτους ἑτέραν ἐκλογὴν ἄλλων δέκα ποιοῦνται.
From each of the aforementioned classes, except the youngest, they elected ten centurions according to merit. After these, they made a second election of another ten.
καὶ τούτους μὲν ἅπαντας προσηγόρευσαν ταξιάρχους, ὧν ὁ πρῶτος αἱρεθεὶς καὶ συνεδρίου κοινωνεῖ· προσεκλέγονται δʼ οὗτοι πάλιν αὐτοὶ τοὺς ἴσους οὐραγούς.
And all of these they called centurions, of whom the first elected also shares in the military council. These centurions in turn select for themselves an equal number of rear-leaders.
ἑξῆς δὲ τούτοις μετὰ τῶν ταξιάρχων διεῖλον τὰς ἡλικίας, ἑκάστην εἰς δέκα μέρη, πλὴν τῶν γροσφομάχων· καὶ προσένειμαν ἑκάστῳ μέρει τῶν ἐκλεχθέντων ἀνδρῶν δύʼ ἡγεμόνας καὶ δύʼ οὐραγούς.
Next to this, they, together with the centurions, divided each of the classes, except the velites, into ten parts, and assigned to each part two commanders and two rear-leaders from the elected men.
τῶν δὲ γροσφομάχων τοὺς ἐπιβάλλοντας κατὰ τὸ πλῆθος ἴσους ἐπὶ πάντα τὰ μέρη διένειμαν.
As for the velites, they distributed them equally among all the parts in proportion to their total number.
καὶ τὸ μὲν μέρος ἕκαστον ἐκάλεσαν καὶ τάγμα καὶ σπεῖραν καὶ σημαίαν, τοὺς δʼ ἡγεμόνας κεντυρίωνας καὶ ταξιάρχους.
And each part they called a company, a cohort, or a maniple, and the commanders they called centurions or captains.
οὗτοι δὲ καθʼ ἑκάστην σπεῖραν ἐκ τῶν καταλειπομένων ἐξέλεξαν αὐτοὶ δύο τοὺς ἀκμαιοτάτους καὶ γενναιοτάτους ἄνδρας σημαιαφόρους.
And these commanders selected for themselves from the remainder in each cohort two of the most vigorous and brave men as standard-bearers.
δύο δὲ καθʼ ἕκαστον τάγμα ποιοῦσιν ἡγεμόνας εἰκότως· ἀδήλου γὰρ ὄντος καὶ τοῦ ποιῆσαι καὶ τοῦ παθεῖν τι τὸν ἡγεμόνα,1 τῆς πολεμικῆς χρείας οὐκ ἐπιδεχομένης πρόφασιν, οὐδέποτε βούλονται τὴν σπεῖραν χωρὶς ἡγεμόνος εἶναι καὶ προστάτου.
It is with good reason that they appoint two commanders for each company; for since it is uncertain what a commander may do or suffer, and as military necessity admits of no excuse, they never wish the cohort to be without a commander and leader.
παρόντων μὲν οὖν ἀμφοτέρων ὁ μὲν πρῶτος αἱρεθεὶς ἡγεῖται τοῦ δεξιοῦ μέρους τῆς σπείρας, ὁ δὲ δεύτερος τῶν εὐωνύμων ἀνδρῶν τῆς σημαίας ἔχει τὴν ἡγεμονίαν· μὴ παρόντων δʼ ὁ καταλειπόμενος ἡγεῖται πάντων.
Thus, when both are present, the one first elected leads the right division of the cohort, and the second has the command of the left-wing men of the company; but if one is absent, the one who is left leads the whole.
βούλονται δʼ εἶναι τοὺς ταξιάρχους οὐχ οὕτως θρασεῖς καὶ φιλοκινδύνους ὡς ἡγεμονικοὺς2 καὶ στασίμους καὶ βαθεῖς μᾶλλον ταῖς ψυχαῖς, οὐδʼ ἐξ ἀκεραίου προσπίπτειν ἢ κατάρχεσθαι τῆς μάχης, ἐπικρατουμένους δὲ καὶ πιεζομένους ὑπομένειν καὶ ἀποθνήσκειν ὑπὲρ τῆς χώρας.
And they wish the centurions to be not so much venturesome and daredevil as natural leaders, steady, and rather deep in spirit, not prone to rush into battle or start the fighting rashly, but ready, when hard pressed and overwhelmed, to hold their ground and die for their country.
- 6.24.7ἀδήλου γὰρ ὄντος καὶ τοῦ ποιῆσαι καὶ τοῦ παθεῖν τι τὸν ἡγεμόνα
This is a complex nesting structure where the impersonal neuter genitive absolute ἀδήλου ὄντος ('it being uncertain') contains the articular infinitives τοῦ ποιῆσαι καὶ τοῦ παθεῖν as its subject, which in turn govern the accusative τὸν ἡγεμόνα ('the commander') as their subject. It expresses the unpredictability of the commander's fate on the battlefield, whether acting (doing something) or suffering (being wounded or killed).
- 6.24.9βούλονται δʼ εἶναι τοὺς ταξιάρχους οὐχ οὕτως θρασεῖς ... ὡς ἡγεμονικοὺς
The verb βούλονται governs an accusative and infinitive construction, with τοὺς ταξιάρχους as the subject accusative and εἶναι as the infinitive. The correlative structure οὐχ οὕτως... ὡς... ('not so much... as...') contrasts the undesirable trait of being rash (θρασεῖς) with the desired trait of possessing leadership qualities (ἡγεμονικοὺς).