- 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-grc2:8.18.1-8.18.11
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Bolis and Cambylus arrange the detailed plan to lure Achaeus out of the citadel and capture him alive, and after obtaining King Antiochus's confirmation, Bolis enters the citadel with Arianus.
ὁ μὲν οὖν Ἀχαιὸς ἐπί τινος τοιαύτης προσδοκίας καὶ διαλογισμῶν ὑπάρχων ἐκαραδόκει τὴν παρουσίαν τοῦ Βώλιδος·
Thus Achaeus, being in such a state of expectation and calculations, was eagerly awaiting the arrival of Bolis.
οἱ δὲ περὶ τὸν Μελαγκόμαν ἀποδεξάμενοι τὸν Ἀριανὸν καὶ τὰς ἐπιστολὰς ἀναγνόντες, ἐξέπεμπον τὸν Βῶλιν, παρακαλέσαντες διὰ πλειόνων καὶ μεγάλας ἐλπίδας ὑποδείξαντες, ἐὰν καθίκηται1 τῆς ἐπιβολῆς.
On the other hand, Melancomas and his party, having received Arianus and read the letters, sent off Bolis, after encouraging him at length and holding out great hopes if he should succeed in the enterprise.
ὁ δὲ προδιαπεμψάμενος τὸν Ἀριανόν, καὶ δηλώσας τῷ Καμβύλῳ τὴν αὑτοῦ παρουσίαν, ἧκε νυκτὸς ἐπὶ τὸν συντεθέντα τόπον.
The latter, having sent Arianus on ahead and made his own arrival known to Cambylus, came by night to the agreed place.
γενόμενοι δὲ μίαν ἡμέραν ἐπὶ ταὐτό, καὶ συνταξάμενοι περὶ τοῦ πῶς χειρισθήσεται τὰ κατὰ μέρος, μετὰ ταῦτα νυκτὸς εἰσῆλθον εἰς τὴν παρεμβολήν.
Having spent one day together and arranged how the details should be managed, after this they entered the camp by night.
ἡ δὲ διάταξις αὐτῶν ἐγεγόνει τοιαύτη τις· εἰ μὲν συμβαίη τὸν Ἀχαιὸν ἐκ τῆς ἄκρας ἐλθεῖν μόνον ἢ καὶ δεύτερον2 μετὰ τοῦ Βώλιδος καὶ Ἀριανοῦ, τελέως εὐκαταφρόνητος, ἔτι δʼ εὐχείρωτος ἔμελλε γίνεσθαι τοῖς ἐνεδρεύουσιν·
Their plan was something of this sort: if it should happen that Achaeus came out of the citadel alone, or with just one other person besides Bolis and Arianus, he was bound to be completely easy to manage, and still easier to capture, for those lying in ambush;
εἰ δὲ μετὰ πλειόνων, δύσχρηστος ἡ πρόθεσις ἀπέβαινε τοῖς πεπιστευμένοις, ἄλλως τε καὶ ζωγρίᾳ σπεύδουσι κυριεῦσαι διὰ τὸ τῆς πρὸς τὸν Ἀντίοχον χάριτος τὸ πλεῖστον ἐν τούτῳ κεῖσθαι τῷ μέρει.
but if with more, the design would prove difficult of execution for those to whom it was entrusted, especially as they were eager to capture him alive because the greater part of the favor with Antiochus lay in this very point.
διόπερ ἔδει τὸν μὲν Ἀριανόν, ὅταν ἐξάγῃ τὸν Ἀχαιόν, ἡγεῖσθαι διὰ τὸ γινώσκειν τὴν ἀτραπόν, ᾗ πολλάκις ἐπεποίητο καὶ τὴν εἴσοδον καὶ τὴν ἔξοδον, τὸν δὲ Βῶλιν ἀκολουθεῖν τῶν ἄλλων κατόπιν, ἵνʼ ἐπειδὰν παραγένηται πρὸς τὸν τόπον, ἐν ᾧ τοὺς ἐνεδρεύοντας ἑτοίμους ὑπάρχειν ἔδει διὰ τοῦ Καμβύλου, τότʼ ἐπιλαβόμενος κρατοίη τὸν Ἀχαιόν, καὶ μήτε διαδραίη κατὰ τὸν θόρυβον νυκτὸς οὔσης διὰ τόπων ὑλωδῶν, μήθʼ αὑτὸν ῥίψαι3 κατά τινος κρημνοῦ περιπαθὴς γενόμενος, πέσοι δὲ κατὰ τὴν πρόθεσιν ὑπὸ τὰς τῶν ἐχθρῶν χεῖρας ζωγρίᾳ.
Therefore, it was necessary for Arianus, when he led Achaeus out, to lead the way because he knew the path, by which he had frequently made both his entrance and exit, while Bolis was to follow behind the others, so that when he arrived at the place where the men in ambush were to be ready through Cambylus, he might then seize and hold Achaeus, and that the latter might neither escape in the confusion, as it was night, through the wooded places, nor throw himself down some precipice in his distress, but might fall alive, according to their plan, into the hands of his enemies.
τούτων δὲ συγκειμένων, καὶ παραγενομένου τοῦ Βώλιδος ὡς τὸν Καμβύλον, ᾗ μὲν ἦλθε νυκτί, ταύτῃ παράγει πρὸς τὸν Ἀντίοχον τὸν Βῶλιν ὁ Καμβύλος μόνος πρὸς μόνον.
These things having been agreed upon, and Bolis having come to Cambylus, on the very night he arrived, Cambylus brought Bolis to Antiochus, alone to alone.
ἀποδεξαμένου δὲ τοῦ βασιλέως φιλοφρόνως, καὶ δόντος πίστεις ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐπαγγελιῶν, καὶ παρακαλέσαντος ἀμφοτέρους διὰ πλειόνων μηκέτι μέλλειν ὑπὲρ τῶν προκειμένων, τότε μὲν ἀνεχώρησαν εἰς τὴν αὑτῶν παρεμβολήν, ὑπὸ δὲ τὴν ἑωθινὴν Βῶλις ἀνέβη μετὰ τοῦ Ἀριανοῦ, καὶ παρεισῆλθεν ἔτι νυκτὸς εἰς τὴν ἄκραν.
And the king having received him kindly, and given pledges for his promises, and having urged them both at length no longer to delay in the matters before them, they then retired to their own camp, and towards dawn Bolis went up with Arianus, and entered the citadel while it was still dark.
- 8.18.2ἐὰν καθίκηται
A conditional clause with ἐάν and the aorist subjunctive, expressing a future expectation. The intransitive middle verb καθικνέομαι means 'to reach, attain, succeed in' and takes the genitive τῆς ἐπιβολῆς as its object.
- 8.18.5μόνον ἢ καὶ δεύτερον
δεύτερον here means 'as a second person' (including Achaeus himself). Thus, it translates to 'alone or with only one companion.'
- 8.18.8ῥίψαι
This form stands in a series of optatives (κρατοίη, διαδραίη, πέσοι) introduced by the conjunction ἵνα. Although ῥίψαι looks like an infinitive, here it is the 3rd person singular aorist active optative (a later Greek form instead of Attic ῥίψειε), with Achaeus as its subject.