§1.1ὅσα μὲν οὖν ἔδοξεν ἡμῖν ἀναγραφῆς ἄξια τῶν ἱστορημένων περὶ Μαρκέλλου καὶ Πελοπίδου, ταὐτά ἔστι.
These, then, are the things which seemed to us worthy of record from among the histories recorded concerning Marcellus and Pelopidas.
τῶν δὲ κατὰ τὰς φύσεις καὶ τὰ ἤθη κοινοτήτων ὥσπερ ἐφαμίλλων οὐσῶν καὶ γὰρ ἀνδρεῖοι καὶ φιλόπονοι καὶ θυμοειδεῖς καὶ μεγαλόφρονες ἀμφότεροι γεγόνασιν, ἐκεῖνο δόξειεν ἂν διαφορὰν ἔχειν μόνον, ὅτι Μάρκελλος μὲν ἐν πολλαῖς πόλεσιν ὑποχειρίοις γενομέναις σφαγὰς ἐποίησεν, Ἐπαμεινώνδας δὲ καὶ Πελοπίδας οὐδένα πώποτε κρατήσαντες ἀπέκτειναν οὐδὲ πόλεις ἠνδραποδίσαντο.
As for the common traits in their characters and dispositions, since they were as if in rivalry—for both were brave, industrious, high-spirited, and magnanimous—this alone would seem to constitute a difference between them: namely, that Marcellus committed slaughter in many cities that fell into his hands, whereas Epaminondas and Pelopidas never killed anyone whom they had defeated, nor did they enslave cities.
λέγονται δὲ Θηβαῖοι μηδὲ Ὀρχομενίους ἂν οὕτω μεταχειρίσασθαι παρόντων ἐκείνων·
And it is said that the Thebans would not have treated even the Orchomenians so, if those men had been present.
§1.2ἐν δὲ ταῖς πράξεσι θαυμαστὰ μὲν καὶ μεγάλα τοῦ Μαρκέλλου τὰ πρὸς Κελτούς, ὠσαμένου τοσοῦτον πλῆθος ἱππέων ὁμοῦ καὶ πεζῶν ὀλίγοις τοῖς περὶ αὐτὸν ἱππεῦσιν, ὃ ῥᾳδίως ὑφʼ ἑτέρου στρατηγοῦ γεγονὸς οὐχ ἱστόρηται, καὶ τὸν ἄρχοντα τῶν πολεμίων ἀνελόντος·
But in their achievements, wonderful and great was the success of Marcellus against the Celts, when he repulsed so great a multitude of cavalry and infantry together with the few horsemen about him—an exploit which is not recorded as having easily been achieved by any other general—and slew the commander of the enemy.
ἐν ᾧ τρόπῳ Πελοπίδας ἔπταισεν ὁρμήσας ἐπὶ ταὐτά, προαναιρεθεὶς δὲ ὑπὸ τοῦ τυράννου καὶ παθὼν πρότερον ἢ δράσας.
In which style Pelopidas failed when he rushed for the same thing, being slain beforehand by the tyrant and suffering before he could act.
§1.3οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ τούτοις μὲν ἔστι παραβαλεῖν τὰ Λεῦκτρα καὶ Τεγύρας, ἐπιφανεστάτους καὶ μεγίστους ἀγώνων, κρυφαίαν δὲ σὺν λόχῳ κατωρθωμένην πρᾶξιν οὐκ ἔχομεν τοῦ Μαρκέλλου παραβαλεῖν οἷς Πελοπίδας περὶ τὴν ἐκ φυγῆς κάθοδον καὶ ἀναίρεσιν τῶν ἐν Θήβαις τυράννων ἔπραξεν, ἀλλʼ ἐκεῖνο πολὺ πάντων ἔοικε πρωτεύειν τῶν ὑπὸ σκότῳ καὶ διʼ ἀπάτης γεγενημένων τὸ ἔργον.
Nevertheless, one can set against these achievements the battles of Leuctra and Tegyra, the most illustrious and greatest of contests; but we have no exploit of Marcellus accomplished in secret with a small band to compare with what Pelopidas did in his return from exile and his slaying of the tyrants in Thebes; rather, that deed seems by far to hold the first place among all that have been accomplished in darkness and by stealth.
§1.4Ἀννίβας φοβερὸς μὲν καὶ δεινὸς ἐνέκειτο Ῥωμαίοις, ὥσπερ ἀμέλει Λακεδαιμόνιοι τότε Θηβαίοις, ἐνδοῦναι δὲ τούτους μὲν Πελοπίδᾳ καὶ περὶ Τεγύρας καὶ περὶ Λεῦκτρα βέβαιόν ἐστιν, Ἀννίβαν δὲ Μάρκελλος, ὡς μὲν οἱ περὶ Πολύβιον λέγουσιν, οὐδὲ ἅπαξ ἐνίκησεν, ἀλλʼ ἀήττητος ὁ ἁνὴρ δοκεῖ διαγενέσθαι μέχρι Σκηπίωνος· §1.5ἡμεῖς δὲ Λιβίῳ, Καίσαρι καὶ Νέπωτι καὶ τῶν Ἑλληνικῶν τῷ βασιλεῖ Ἰόβᾳ πιστεύομεν, ἥττας τινὰς καὶ τροπὰς ὑπὸ Μαρκέλλου τῶν σὺν Ἀννίβᾳ, γενέσθαι· μεγάλην δὲ αὗται ῥοπὴν οὐδεμίαν ἐποίησαν, ἀλλʼ ἔοικε ψευδόπτωμά τι γενέσθαι περὶ τὸν Λίβυν ἐν ταῖς συμπλοκαῖς ἐκείναις.
Hannibal pressed hard upon the Romans, terrifying and formidable, just as the Lacedaemonians did then upon the Thebans; and while it is certain that the latter yielded to Pelopidas both at Tegyra and at Leuctra, Marcellus, as Polybius and his followers say, did not defeat Hannibal even once, but that man seems to have remained undefeated until Scipio; But we, trusting Livy, Caesar, Nepos, and, among Greek writers, King Juba, believe that certain defeats and routs of Hannibal's forces were effected by Marcellus; yet these made no great difference in the scale, but there seems to have been some false slip on the part of the Libyan in those encounters.
§1.6ὃ δὴ κατὰ λόγον καὶ προσηκόντως ἐθαυμάσθη, μετὰ τοσαύτας τροπὰς στρατοπέδων καὶ φόνους στρατηγῶν καὶ σύγχυσιν ὅλης ὁμοῦ τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἡγεμονίας εἰς ἀντίπαλα τῷ θαρρεῖν καθισταμένων· ὁ γὰρ ἐκ πολλοῦ τοῦ πάλαι περιδεοῦς καὶ καταπεπληγότος αὖθις ἐμβαλὼν τῷ στρατεύματι ζῆλον καὶ φιλονεικίαν πρὸς τοὺς πολεμίους, §1.7καὶ τοῦτο δὴ τὸ μὴ ῥᾳδίως τῆς νίκης ὑφιέμενον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀμφισβητοῦν τε καὶ φιλοτιμούμενον ἐπάρας καὶ θαρρύνας, εἷς ἀνὴρ ἦν, Μάρκελλος·
And this indeed was reasonably and fittingly admired: that after so many routs of armies, slaughters of generals, and the confusion of the whole Roman empire together, they were established in a courage to match their enemies; for he who, after their long-standing and great terror and dismay, instilled again into the army a zeal and a rivalry against the enemy, and who raised and encouraged this spirit which did not easily yield the victory, but disputed it and strove for honor—this one man was Marcellus.
εἰθισμένους γὰρ ὑπὸ τῶν συμφορῶν, εἰ φεύγοντες ἐκφύγοιεν Ἀννίβαν, ἀγαπᾶν, ἐδίδαξεν αἰσχύνεσθαι σῳζομένους μεθʼ ἥττης, αἰδεῖσθαι δὲ παρὰ μικρὸν ἐνδόντας, ἀλγεῖν δὲ μὴ κρατήσαντας.
For those who, because of their disasters, had been accustomed to be content if they could escape Hannibal by flight, he taught to be ashamed of saving themselves with defeat, to feel remorse if they yielded even a little, and to grieve if they did not conquer.