- 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-grc2:7.7.1-7.7.8
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
The author criticizes historians who exaggerated the cruelty of the young tyrant Hieronymus's brief reign, arguing that it is far more reasonable to devote historical narrative to the exemplary rulers Hiero and Gelo.
ὅτι1 τινὲς τῶν λογογράφων τῶν ὑπὲρ τῆς καταστροφῆς τοῦ Ἱερωνύμου γεγραφότων πολύν τινα πεποίηνται λόγον καὶ πολλήν τινα διατέθεινται τερατείαν, ἐξηγούμενοι μὲν τὰ πρὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς αὐτοῖς γενόμενα σημεῖα καὶ τὰς ἀτυχίας τὰς Συρακοσίων, τραγῳδοῦντες2 δὲ τὴν ὠμότητα τῶν τρόπων καὶ τὴν ἀσέβειαν τῶν πράξεων, ἐπὶ δὲ πᾶσι τὸ παράλογον καὶ τὸ δεινὸν τῶν περὶ τὴν καταστροφὴν αὐτοῦ συμβάντων, ὥστε μήτε Φάλαριν μήτʼ Ἀπολλόδωρον μήτʼ ἄλλον μηδένα γεγονέναι τύραννον ἐκείνου πικρότερον.
That some of the historians who have written about the downfall of Hieronymus have made a great deal of talk and have set forth much of the marvelous, explaining the portents that happened to them before their rule and the misfortunes of the Syracusans, tragedizing the cruelty of his character and the impiety of his actions, and above all the strange and terrible nature of the events surrounding his downfall, so that neither Phalaris nor Apollodorus nor any other tyrant is said to have been more cruel than he.
καίτοι παῖς παραλαβὼν τὴν ἀρχήν, εἶτα μῆνας οὐ πλείους τριῶν καὶ δέκα βιώσας μετήλλαξε τὸν βίον.
And yet, having succeeded to the rule as a boy, and then having lived for no more than thirteen months, he departed this life.
κατὰ δὲ τὸν χρόνον τοῦτον ἕνα μέν τινα καὶ δεύτερον ἐστρεβλῶσθαι καί τινας τῶν φίλων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων Συρακοσίων ἀπεκτάνθαι δυνατόν, ὑπερβολὴν δὲ γεγονέναι παρανομίας καὶ παρηλλαγμένην ἀσέβειαν οὐκ εἰκός.
During this time, it is possible that one or two persons were tortured, and that some of his friends and of the other Syracusans were put to death, but that there was an excess of lawlessness and extraordinary impiety is improbable.
καὶ τῷ μὲν τρόπῳ διαφερόντως εἰκαῖον αὐτὸν γεγονέναι καὶ παράνομον φατέον, οὐ μὴν εἴς γε σύγκρισιν ἀκτέον οὐδενὶ τῶν προειρημένων τυράννων.
And while it must be said that in his character he was exceptionally reckless and lawless, he should by no means be brought into comparison with any of the aforementioned tyrants.
ἀλλά μοι δοκοῦσιν οἱ τὰς ἐπὶ μέρους γράφοντες πράξεις, ἐπειδὰν ὑποθέσεις εὐπεριλήπτους ὑποστήσωνται καὶ στενάς, πτωχεύοντες πραγμάτων ἀναγκάζεσθαι τὰ μικρὰ μεγάλα ποιεῖν καὶ περὶ τῶν μηδὲ μνήμης ἀξίων πολλούς τινας διατίθεσθαι λόγους. ἔνιοι δὲ καὶ διʼ ἀκρισίαν εἰς τὸ παραπλήσιον τούτοις ἐμπίπτουσιν.
But it seems to me that those who write of particular events, when they undertake simple and narrow subjects, being bankrupt of facts, are forced to make small things great, and to make long discourses about things not even worthy of mention. Some, indeed, fall into similar errors through a lack of judgment.
ὅσῳ γὰρ ἄν τις εὐλογώτερον καὶ περὶ ταῦτα τὸν ἀναπληροῦντα τὰς βύβλους καὶ τὸν ἐπιμετροῦντα λόγον τῆς διηγήσεως εἰς Ἱέρωνα καὶ Γέλωνα διάθοιτο,3 παρεὶς Ἱερώνυμον.
For how much more reasonable would it be for one to spend the talk that fills up books and measures out the narrative upon Hiero and Gelo, passing over Hieronymus.
καὶ γὰρ τοῖς φιληκόοις ἡδίων οὗτος καὶ τοῖς φιλομαθοῦσι
For this is more pleasing to those who love to hear, and to those who love to learn
- 7.7.1ὅτι
This ὅτι is typical of the Byzantine Excerpta (epitomes), serving to introduce an excerpted statement. While grammatically subordinating the entire sentence, it is translated either as an introductory 'That...' or as a direct declarative sentence.
- 7.7.2τραγῳδοῦντες
Present active participle of the verb τραγῳδέω (literally 'to represent in tragedy'). Here it is used metaphorically to mean 'to exaggerate or represent in a theatrical and tragic manner'. The participle agrees with the main subject, τινὲς τῶν λογογράφων.
- 7.7.7ὅσῳ γὰρ ἄν τις εὐλογώτερον... διάθοιτο
A potential optative construction consisting of ἄν and the optative διάθοιτο (3rd person singular middle of διατίθημι). Combined with the comparative εὐλογώτερον and the relative adverb ὅσῳ, it expresses a strong rhetorical comparison: 'by how much more reasonable would it be to...'.