- 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-grc2:6.42.1-6.42.6
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Explains the difference in camp-pitching approaches between the Greeks and Romans, concluding the overview of military camps. While the Greeks prioritize natural terrain to avoid manual labor, the Romans choose to endure the labor of entrenchment for the sake of a consistent and familiar camp layout.
ἧι1 δοκοῦσι Ῥωμαῖοι καταδιώκοντες τὴν ἐν τούτοις εὐχέρειαν τὴν ἐναντίαν ὁδὸν πορεύεσθαι τοῖς Ἕλλησι κατὰ τοῦτο τὸ μέρος.
Wherefore the Romans, in pursuing convenience in these matters, seem in this respect to march in the opposite direction to the Greeks.
οἱ μὲν γὰρ Ἕλληνες ἐν τῷ στρατοπεδεύειν ἡγοῦνται κυριώτατον τὸ κατακολουθεῖν ταῖς ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν τόπων ὀχυρότησιν, ἅμα μὲν ἐκκλίνοντες τὴν περὶ τὰς ταφρείας ταλαιπωρίαν, ἅμα δὲ νομίζοντες2 οὐχ ὁμοίας εἶναι τὰς χειροποιήτους ἀσφαλείας ταῖς ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς φύσεως ἐπὶ τῶν τόπων ὑπαρχούσαις ὀχυρότησι.
For the Greeks, in pitching camp, consider it of first importance to follow the natural strength of the sites themselves, partly because they avoid the labor of entrenchment, and partly because they believe that man-made defenses are not equal to the strengths naturally inherent in the sites themselves.
διὸ καὶ κατά τε τὴν τῆς ὅλης παρεμβολῆς θέσιν πᾶν ἀναγκάζονται σχῆμα μεταλαμβάνειν, ἑπόμενοι τοῖς τόποις, τά τε μέρη μεταλλάττειν ἄλλοτε πρὸς ἄλλους καὶ ἀκαταλλήλους τόπους·
For which reason they are forced, in following the terrain, to adopt all kinds of shapes for the layout of the whole camp, and to shift its parts at different times to different and unsuitable places.
ἐξ ὧν ἄστατον ὑπάρχειν συμβαίνει3 καὶ τὸν κατʼ ἰδίαν καὶ τὸν κατὰ μέρος ἑκάστῳ τόπον τῆς στρατοπεδείας.
As a result of this, it happens that both the individual place and the sectional place within the camp remain unfixed for everyone.
Ῥωμαῖοι δὲ τὴν περὶ τὰς τάφρους ταλαιπωρίαν καὶ τἄλλα τὰ παρεπόμενα τούτοις ὑπομένειν αἱροῦνται χάριν τῆς εὐχερείας καὶ τοῦ γνώριμον καὶ μίαν ἔχειν καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν αἰεὶ παρεμβολήν.
The Romans, on the other hand, choose to undergo the labor of entrenchment and the other accompanying hardships for the sake of convenience and of having an encampment that is always familiar, single, and the same.
τὰ μὲν οὖν ὁλοσχερέστερα μέρη τῆς περὶ τὰ στρατόπεδα θεωρίας, καὶ μάλιστα περὶ τὰς παρεμβολάς, ταῦτʼ ἔστιν.
These, then, are the more general parts of the study of military camps, especially regarding their layouts.
- 6.42.1ἧι
An adverbial usage derived from the dative feminine singular of the relative pronoun ᾗ. Here it is interpreted as 'wherefore' or 'in which respect,' serving as a connective that introduces the main clause stating that the Romans seem to take the opposite course to the Greeks.
- 6.42.2ἅμα μὲν ἐκκλίνοντες ... ἅμα δὲ νομίζοντες
Participles (nominative plural masculine) agreeing in gender, number, and case with the subject of the main clause, οἱ Ἕλληνες. They explain two parallel 'reasons' for their thinking (ἡγοῦνται) using the correlative structure ἅμα μέν ... ἅμα δέ ('partly because... and partly because...').
- 6.42.4ἄστατον ὑπάρχειν συμβαίνει
The accusative with infinitive construction (the clause starting with ὑπάρχειν) functions as the subject of the impersonal verb συμβαίνει ('it happens'). The subject accusative of the infinitive is τὸν ... τόπον ('the place'), and ἄστατον ('unstable/unfixed') is its predicate accusative, meaning 'it happens that the place remains unstable'.
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