- 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-grc2:8.1.1-8.1.8
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Polybius highlights the grand ambition of both Rome and Carthage, noting that despite their intense struggles in Italy and Iberia, they simultaneously extended their operations and military assets to Sardinia, Sicily, and Greece.
οὐκ ἀλλότριον εἶναί μοι δοκεῖ τῆς ὅλης ἡμῶν ἐπιβολῆς1 καὶ τῆς ἐν ἀρχαῖς προθέσεως συνεπιστῆσαι τοὺς ἀκούοντας ἐπὶ τὸ μεγαλεῖον τῶν πράξεων καὶ τὸ φιλότιμον τῆς ἑκατέρου τοῦ πολιτεύματος προαιρέσεως, λέγω δὲ τοῦ Ῥωμαίων καὶ Καρχηδονίων.
It does not seem to me foreign to my whole design and original purpose to direct the attention of my readers to the greatness of the achievements and the ambitious policy of both republics, I mean that of the Romans and the Carthaginians.
τίς γὰρ οὐκ ἂν ἐπισημήναιτο πῶς2 τηλικοῦτον μὲν πόλεμον συνεσταμένοι περὶ τῶν κατὰ τὴν Ἰταλίαν πραγμάτων, οὐκ ἐλάττω δὲ τούτου περὶ τῶν κατὰ τὴν Ἰβηρίαν, ἀκμὴν δὲ περὶ τούτων ἀδήλους μὲν ἔχοντες ἐπʼ ἴσον ἀμφότεροι τὰς ὑπὲρ τοῦ μέλλοντος ἐλπίδας, ἐφαμίλλους δὲ τοὺς κατὰ τὸ παρὸν ἐνεστῶτας κινδύνους, ὅμως οὐκ ἠρκοῦντο ταῖς προκειμέναις ἐπιβολαῖς, ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ Σαρδόνος καὶ Σικελίας ἠμφισβήτουν· καὶ πάντα περιελάμβανον, οὐ μόνον ταῖς ἐλπίσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ταῖς χορηγίαις καὶ ταῖς παρασκευαῖς;
For who would not mark how, though engaged in a war of such magnitude for the possession of Italy, and in another no less important for that of Iberia, and being, in the very heat of these struggles, both of them with expectations for the future equally uncertain and dangers immediately threatening them equally matched, they nevertheless were not satisfied with their existing undertakings, but also disputed the possession of Sardinia and Sicily, and embraced the whole world not only in their hopes but in their supplies and preparations?
ὃ καὶ μάλιστʼ ἄν τις εἰς τὸ κατὰ μέρος ἐμβλέψας θαυμάσειε.3 δύο μὲν γὰρ Ῥωμαίοις κατὰ τὴν Ἰταλίαν μετὰ τῶν ὑπάτων ἐντελῆ προεκάθητο στρατόπεδα, δύο δὲ κατὰ τὴν Ἰβηρίαν, ὧν τὸ μὲν πεζὸν Γνάϊος εἶχε, τὸ δὲ ναυτικὸν Πόπλιος.
A fact which anyone would marvel at most on looking into the details. For two complete armies under the consuls were stationed in Italy on the side of the Romans, and two in Iberia, of which Gnaeus commanded the land forces and Publius the fleet.
οἰκείως δὲ ταῦτα συνέβαινε γίνεσθαι καὶ παρὰ Καρχηδονίοις.
The very same state of things occurred on the part of the Carthaginians.
καὶ μὴν τοῖς κατὰ τὴν Ἑλλάδα τόποις ἐφώρμει4 καὶ ταῖς ἐπιβολαῖς τοῦ Φιλίππου στόλος, ἐφʼ οὗ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον Μάρκος Οὐαλέριος, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα Πόπλιος ἐπέπλει Σουλπίκιος.
Moreover, a fleet was watching the Greek coast and the designs of Philip, of which first Marcus Valerius and after him Publius Sulpicius was in command.
ἅμα δὲ τούτοις Ἄππιος μὲν ἑκατὸν πεντηρικοῖς σκάφεσι, Μάρκος δὲ Κλαύδιος πεζικὰς ἔχων δυνάμεις, ἐφήδρευε τοῖς κατὰ τὴν Σικελίαν.
At the same time Appius with a hundred quinqueremes, and Marcus Claudius with land forces, were keeping watch on the state of affairs in Sicily.
τὸ δʼ αὐτὸ τοῦτʼ Ἀμίλκας ἐποίει παρὰ Καρχηδονίοις.
And Hamilcar did the very same on the side of the Carthaginians.
- 8.1.1ἀλλότριον ... τῆς ὅλης ἡμῶν ἐπιβολῆς
The adjective ἀλλότριος can govern either the genitive or the dative, meaning "foreign to" or "inconsistent with". Here it governs the genitive τῆς ὅλης ἡμῶν ἐπιβολῆς.
- 8.1.2πῶς
The indirect interrogative clause introduced by πῶς is exceptionally long, extending to the end of §8.1.3. Syntactically, it contains two participial clauses (συνεσταμένοι and ἔχοντες) acting concessionally or circumstantially, before reaching the main verbs of the clause: οὐκ ἠρκοῦντο, ἠμφισβήτουν, and περιελάμβανον.
- 8.1.4ὃ καὶ μάλιστʼ ἄν τις εἰς τὸ κατὰ μέρος ἐμβλέψας θαυμάσειε
The relative pronoun ὅ at the beginning of the sentence functions as a transitional relative referring to the entire preceding statement (the grand scale of the war preparations of Rome and Carthage) and is the direct object of θαυμάσειε (optative with ἄν, expressing potentiality).
- 8.1.6τοῖς κατὰ τὴν Ἑλλάδα τόποις ... ἐφώρμει
The verb ἐφορμέω governs the dative (here τόποις and ἐπιβολαῖς) in the sense of "to lie at anchor watching" or "to keep a watchful eye on".
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (2, latest 2026-10-09)
- 2026-10-09 Collated with the printed edition — source 1
- 2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1