- 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-grc2:9.33.1-9.33.12
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-07
Lyciscus, the Acarnanian envoy, argues that Sparta should remain neutral if they refuse the alliance, and counters Chlaeneas's accusations against Macedon by praising Philip II's role in saving Greece and enforcing a peaceful arbitration even for Sparta.
μή, τούτων τὴν ἡσυχίαν ἔχειν κατὰ τὸ παρόν. ἐπεὶ δʼ ἀνέκαθεν οὗτοι κατηγορεῖν ἐτόλμησαν τῆς Μακεδόνων οἰκίας, ἀναγκαῖον εἶναί μοι δοκεῖ πρότερον ὑπὲρ τούτων βραχέα διαλεχθέντʼ1 ἀφελέσθαι τὴν ἄγνοιαν τῶν πεπιστευκότων τοῖς εἰρημένοις.
[ or if] not, to keep quiet as to these things for the present. But since these men have dared to accuse the house of Macedon from of old, it seems to me necessary, after having myself spoken briefly on these points, to remove the ignorance of those who have believed what was said.
+ extra markers: 9.32.12 (translation introduced markers absent in the source; merged into this section)
ἔφη τοιγαροῦν Χλαινέας Φίλιππον τὸν Ἀμύντου διὰ τῆς Ὀλυνθίων ἀτυχίας κύριον γενέσθαι Θετταλίας.
Chlaeneas, then, said that Philip, the son of Amyntas, became master of Thessaly through the misfortune of the Olynthians.
ἐγὼ δὲ διὰ Φίλιππον οὐ μόνον Θετταλούς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς λοιποὺς Ἕλληνας ὑπολαμβάνω σεσῶσθαι.
But for my part, I consider that not only the Thessalians but also the rest of the Greeks were saved owing to Philip.
καθʼ οὓς γὰρ καιροὺς Ὀνόμαρχος καὶ Φιλόμηλος καταλαβόμενοι Δελφοὺς ἀσεβῶς καὶ παρανόμως ἐγένοντο κύριοι τῶν τοῦ θεοῦ χρημάτων, τότε τίς ὑμῶν οὐκ οἶδε διότι τηλικαύτην συνεστήσαντο δύναμιν, πρὸς ἣν οὐδεὶς ἔτι τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἀντοφθαλμεῖν δυνατὸς ἦν;
For at the time when Onomarchus and Philomelus, having impiously and unlawfully seized Delphi, became masters of the god’s treasures, who among you does not know what a great power they organized, against which no longer any of the Greeks was able to stand?
ἀλλʼ ἐκινδύνευον ἅμα ταῖς εἰς τὸ θεῖον ἀσεβείαις καὶ τῆς Ἑλλάδος γενέσθαι κύριοι πάσης.
Indeed, they were in danger of becoming masters of the whole of Greece at the same time as their acts of impiety towards the divine.
ἐν οἷς καιροῖς Φίλιππος ἐθελοντὴν αὑτὸν ἐπιδοὺς ἐπανείλετο μὲν τοὺς τυράννους, ἠσφαλίσατο δὲ τὰ κατὰ τὸ ἱερόν, αἴτιος δʼ ἐγένετο τοῖς Ἕλλησι τῆς ἐλευθερίας, ὡς αὐτὰ τὰ πράγματα μεμαρτύρηκε καὶ τοῖς ἐπιγενομένοις.
At which crisis Philip, voluntarily offering himself, destroyed the tyrants, secured the affairs of the temple, and became the cause of freedom for the Greeks, as the facts themselves have testified even to subsequent generations.
οὐ γὰρ ὡς ἠδικηκότα Φίλιππον Θετταλούς, καθάπερ οὗτος ἐτόλμα λέγειν, ἀλλʼ ὡς εὐεργέτην ὄντα τῆς Ἑλλάδος, καὶ κατὰ γῆν αὐτὸν ἡγεμόνα καὶ κατὰ θάλατταν εἵλοντο πάντες· οὗ πρότερον ἀνθρώπων οὐδεὶς ἔτυχε.
For it was not as one who had wronged the Thessalians, as this man dared to say, but as being a benefactor of Greece, that everyone chose him leader both by land and by sea, an honor which no man had ever obtained before.
νὴ Δίʼ, ἀλλὰ2 παρεγένετο μετὰ τῆς δυνάμεως εἰς τὴν Λακωνικήν·
’But, by Zeus, he did enter Laconia with his army’ (someone might say).
οὐ κατά γε τὴν αὑτοῦ προαίρεσιν, ὡς ὑμεῖς ἴστε, καλούμενος δὲ καὶ πολλάκις ὀνομαζόμενος ὑπὸ τῶν ἐν Πελοποννήσῳ φίλων καὶ συμμάχων μόλις αὑτὸν ἐπέδωκε.
Yet, as you know, this was not according to his own preference, but being called upon and repeatedly named by his friends and allies in the Peloponnese, he barely yielded himself to it.
καὶ παραγενόμενος πῶς τοῖς πράγμασιν ἐχρήσατο, ὦ Χλαινέα, σκόπει. δυνάμενος γὰρ συγχρήσασθαι ταῖς τῶν ἀστυγειτόνων ὁρμαῖς πρός τε τὴν τῆς χώρας τῆς τούτων καταφθορὰν καὶ τὴν τῆς πόλεως ταπείνωσιν, καὶ τοῦτο πρᾶξαι μετὰ τῆς μεγίστης χάριτος, ἐπὶ μὲν τὴν τοιαύτην αἵρεσιν οὐδαμῶς αὑτὸν ἐνέδωκε, καταπληξάμενος δὲ κἀκείνους καὶ τούτους ἐπὶ τῷ κοινῇ συμφέροντι διὰ λόγου τὴν ἐξαγωγὴν ἀμφοτέρους ἠνάγκασε ποιήσασθαι3 περὶ τῶν ἀμφισβητουμένων, οὐχ αὑτὸν ἀποδείξας κριτὴν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀντιλεγομένων, ἀλλὰ κοινὸν ἐκ πάντων τῶν Ἑλλήνων καθίσας κριτήριον. ἄξιόν γε τὸ γεγονὸς ὀνείδους καὶ προφορᾶς.
And having arrived, how did he handle the situation? Look, Chlaeneas! For though he was able to make use of the impulses of the neighbors both for the destruction of their territory and the humiliation of their city, and to do this with the greatest gratitude, he did not at all give himself up to such a choice; but having struck terror into both them and you for the common interest, he forced both sides, through discussion, to submit their disputes to arbitration, not by appointing himself arbitrator over the disputed matters, but by establishing a common tribunal from all the Greeks. Is this deed worthy of reproach and censure?
- 9.33.1διαλεχθέντʼ
The participle διαλεχθέντα (with elision) agrees with the omitted subject of the infinitive ἀφελέσθαι (an implicit accusative pronoun such as με), rather than the dative μοι governed by δοκεῖ. This is a common construction where the logical subject of the infinitive attracted to the accusative despite the presence of a dative pronoun.
- 9.33.8νὴ Δίʼ, ἀλλὰ
An idiomatic expression used to introduce an anticipated objection from the opponent or audience (prohypophora). It serves to voice the counterargument ('But, by Zeus, someone will say...') only to refute it immediately in the following sentences.
- 9.33.11τὴν ἐξαγωγὴν ... ποιήσασθαι
An expression in Polybius referring to submitting or referring unresolved disputes (such as territorial conflicts) to judicial arbitration or settlement. In combination with διὰ λόγου (through discussion), it signifies choosing peaceful, diplomatic, and legal means instead of armed conflict.