- 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-grc2:9.22.1-9.22.10
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-07
Polybius points out that Hannibal was the single driving force behind the events of the war between Rome and Carthage, and in beginning a discussion of his character, he argues how easily human actions are influenced by circumstances and others.
ὅτι τῶν ἑκατέροις, Ῥωμαίοις φημὶ καὶ Καρχηδονίοις, προσπιπτόντων καὶ συμβαινόντων1 εἷς ἦν ἀνὴρ αἴτιος καὶ μία ψυχή, λέγω δὲ τὴν Ἀννίβου.
That of all that befell and happened to both sides, I mean the Romans and the Carthaginians, one man and one soul was the cause, and I mean that of Hannibal.
τά τε γὰρ κατὰ τὴν Ἰταλίαν ὁμολογουμένως οὗτος ἦν ὁ χειρίζων, τά τε κατὰ τὴν Ἰβηρίαν διὰ τοῦ πρεσβυτέρου τῶν ἀδελφῶν Ἀσδρούβου, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα διὰ τοῦ [πρεσβύτου] Μάγωνος·
For he was admittedly the one who directed operations in Italy, and those in Iberia through the elder of his brothers, Hasdrubal, and afterwards through Mago;
οἱ γὰρ τοὺς τῶν Ῥωμαίων στρατηγοὺς ἀμφοτέρους ἀποκτείναντες [ἅμα] κατὰ τὴν Ἰβηρίαν ἦσαν οὗτοι.
for these were the ones who killed both Roman generals in Iberia.
καὶ μὴν τὰ κατὰ τὴν Σικελίαν ἔπραττε τὰς μὲν ἀρχὰς2 διὰ τῶν περὶ τὸν Ἱπποκράτην, ὕστερον δὲ διὰ Μυττόνου τοῦ Λίβυος.
Moreover, he conducted affairs in Sicily, at first through Hippocrates and his associates, and later through Myttonus the Libyan.
ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ κατὰ τὴν Ἑλλάδα καὶ τὴν Ἰλλυρίδα· καὶ τὸν ἀπὸ τούτων τῶν τόπων φόβον ἀνατεινόμενος ἐξέπληττε καὶ περιέσπα Ῥωμαίους διὰ τῆς πρὸς Φίλιππον κοινοπραγίας.
And similarly also in Greece and Illyria; and by holding up the threat from these regions, he terrified and distracted the Romans through his alliance with Philip.
οὕτως μέγα τι φύεται3 χρῆμα καὶ θαυμάσιον ἀνὴρ καὶ ψυχὴ δεόντως ἁρμοσθεῖσα κατὰ τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς σύστασιν πρὸς ὅ,τι ἂν ὁρμήσῃ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ἔργων.
Thus a man and a soul, when properly adapted by its original constitution for whatever human tasks it may undertake, grows into a truly great and wonderful thing.
ἐπεὶ δʼ ἡ τῶν πραγμάτων διάθεσις εἰς ἐπίστασιν ἡμᾶς ἦχε περὶ τῆς Ἀννίβου φύσεως, ἀπαιτεῖν ὁ καιρὸς δοκεῖ μοι τὰς μάλιστα διαπορουμένας ἰδιότητας ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ δηλῶσαι.
But since the disposition of affairs has brought us to pause and reflect upon the character of Hannibal, the occasion seems to me to demand that I make clear the qualities most disputed in him.
τινὲς μὲν γὰρ ὠμὸν αὐτὸν οἴονται γεγονέναι καθʼ ὑπερβολήν, τινὲς δὲ φιλάργυρον. τὸ δʼ ἀληθὲς εἰπεῖν ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ καὶ τῶν ἐν πράγμασιν ἀναστρεφομένων οὐ ῥᾴδιον.
For some think he was excessively cruel, and others that he was avaricious. But to speak the truth about him and about those engaged in public affairs is not easy.
ἔνιοι μὲν γὰρ ἐλέγχεσθαί φασι τὰς φύσεις ὑπὸ τῶν περιστάσεων, καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἐν ταῖς ἐξουσίαις καταφανεῖς γίνεσθαι, κἂν ὅλως τὸν πρὸ τοῦ χρόνον ἀναστέλλωνται, τοὺς δὲ πάλιν ἐν ταῖς ἀτυχίαις.
For some say that characters are tested by circumstances, and that some men are revealed when in power, even if they completely restrain themselves in the preceding time, and others again in times of misfortune.
ἐμοὶ δʼ ἔμπαλιν οὐχ ὑγιὲς εἶναι δοκεῖ τὸ λεγόμενον· οὐ γὰρ ὀλίγα μοι φαίνονται, τὰ δὲ πλεῖστα,4 ποτὲ μὲν διὰ τὰς τῶν φίλων παραθέσεις, ποτὲ δὲ διὰ τὰς τῶν πραγμάτων ποικιλίας, ἄνθρωποι παρὰ τὴν αὑτῶν προαίρεσιν ἀναγκάζεσθαι καὶ λέγειν καὶ πράττειν.
To me, on the contrary, this saying does not seem sound; for it appears to me that, not in a few cases, but in the vast majority, men are forced to speak and act contrary to their own purpose, sometimes because of the suggestions of friends, and sometimes because of the complexity of affairs.
- 9.22.1τῶν ἑκατέροις ... προσπιπτόντων καὶ συμβαινόντων
A genitive phrase dependent on the adjective αἴτιος (cause of). ἑκατέροις is the dative complement of the participles προσπιπτόντων and συμβαινόντων, and is further explained in apposition by Ῥωμαίοις φημὶ καὶ Καρχηδονίοις.
- 9.22.4τὰς μὲν ἀρχὰς
Accusative of respect used adverbially, meaning "at first" or "in the beginning," contrasted with the subsequent ὕστερον δέ.
- 9.22.6φύεται
Present middle/passive of φύω. Here it means not merely "is born" but "grows to be" or "proves by nature to be." The subject is the following ἀνὴρ καὶ ψυχὴ, and χρῆμα functions as a nominative predicate or in apposition with them.
- 9.22.10οὐ γὰρ ὀλίγα μοι φαίνονται, τὰ δὲ πλεῖστα
The negation οὐ affects only ὀλίγα, forming a litotes ("not a few", i.e., very many). This is further clarified and reinforced by the positive restatement τὰ δὲ πλεῖστα ("but the most"), meaning "not in a few cases, but in the vast majority of them."