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Plutarch · Life of Eumenes §10.1-10.4

Retreat to Nora and the Meeting with Antigonus

Passage 10 of 19 · Greek

Summary

Eumenes retreated to the fortress of Nora after dismissing many of his followers, and when Antigonus invited him to a conference, Eumenes asserted his independence and maintained a proud, unyielding attitude.

§10.1ἐκ τούτου πλανώμενος ὁ Εὐμενὴς καὶ ὑποφεύγων ἔπεισε τοὺς πολλοὺς τῶν στρατιωτῶν ἀπελθεῖν, εἴτε κηδόμενος αὐτῶν εἴτε ἐφέλκεσθαι μή βουλόμενος ἐλάττονας μὲν τοῦ μάχεσθαι, πλείονας δὲ τοῦ λανθάνειν ὄντας, καταφυγὼν δὲ εἰς Νῶρα, χωρίον ἐν μεθορίῳ Λυκαονίας καὶ Καππαδοκίας, μετὰ πεντακοσίων ἱππέων καὶ διακοσίων ὁπλιτῶν, κἀντεῦθεν αὖθις, ὅσοι τῶν φίλων ἐδεήθησαν ἀφεθῆναι τοῦ χωρίου τὴν χαλεπότητα καὶ τῆς διαίτης τὴν ἀνάγκην οὐ φέροντες, πάντας ἀσπασάμενος καὶ φιλοφρονηθεὶς ἀπέπεμψεν.
After this, Eumenes, wandering and fleeing, persuaded the greater part of his soldiers to depart, whether out of care for them, or because he did not wish to drag along men who were too few to fight and too many to remain hidden; and having taken refuge in Nora, a stronghold on the frontier of Lycaonia and Cappadocia, with five hundred horsemen and two hundred heavy infantry, he then once more sent away all those of his friends who asked to be dismissed because they could not bear the hardships of the place and the constraints of their life there, having embraced them and treated them with kindness.
§10.2ὡς δὲ ἐπελθὼν ὁ Ἀντίγονος εἰς λόγους αὐτόν ἐκάλει πρὸ τῆς πολιορκίας, ἀπεκρίνατο πολλοὺς εἶναι τοὺς Ἀντιγόνου φίλους καὶ μετὰ Ἀντίγονον ἡγεμόνας, ὧν δὲ αὐτὸς προπολεμεῖ μηδένα λείπεσθαι μετʼ αὐτόν·
When Antigonus came and, before the siege, invited him to a conference, Eumenes replied that Antigonus had many friends and many generals to succeed him, whereas of those for whom he himself was fighting, there was no one left after him; and he demanded that Antigonus send hostages if he wished to enter into parley with him.
ὁμήρους δὲ πέμπειν ἐκέλευσεν, εἰ χρῄζει διὰ λόγων αὐτῷ γενέσθαι, τοῦ δὲ Ἀντιγόνου κελεύοντος ὡς κρείττονι λαλεῖν, οὐδένα, εἶπεν, ἐμαυτοῦ κρείττονα νομίζω, μέχρι ἂν ὦ τοῦ ξίφους κύριος. §10.3ὅμως δὲ πέμψαντος τοῦ Ἀντιγόνου τὸν ἀδελφιδοῦν Πτολεμαῖον εἰς τὸ χωρίον, ὥσπερ ἠξίωσεν ὁ Εὐμενής, κατέβη, καὶ περιβαλόντες ἀλλήλους ἠσπάσαντο φιλικῶς καὶ οἰκείως, ἅτε δὴ ἀλλήλοις κεχρημένοι πολλὰ καὶ συνήθεις γεγονότες.
And when Antigonus ordered him to speak as to a superior, Eumenes replied, 'I regard no one as my superior, so long as I am master of my sword.' Nevertheless, when Antigonus sent his nephew Ptolemy into the stronghold, as Eumenes had demanded, Eumenes went down, and they embraced and greeted each other in a friendly and intimate manner, since they had formerly been close associates and companions.
λόγων δὲ γενομένων πολλῶν καὶ τοῦ Εὐμενοῦς οὐχ ὑπὲρ ἀσφαλείας μεμνημένου καὶ διαλύσεως, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς σατραπείας ἀξιοῦντος αὑτῷ βεβαιοῦσθαι καὶ τὰς δωρεὰς ἀποδίδοσθαι, θαῦμα τοὺς παρόντας εἶχε τὸ φρόνημα καὶ τὴν εὐτολμίαν ἀγαμένους.
Though many words passed between them, Eumenes made no mention of his own safety or of a reconciliation, but demanded that his satrapies should be confirmed to him and his gifts restored; so that those who were present were filled with wonder, admiring his high spirit and courage.
§10.4ἅμα δὲ πολλοὶ συνέτρεχον τῶν Μακεδόνων ἰδεῖν ὅστις ἐστὶ τὸν Εὐμενῆ ποθοῦντες· οὐ γὰρ ἑτέρου λόγος ἦν τοσοῦτος ἐν τῷ στρατῷ μετὰ τὴν τοῦ Κρατεροῦ τελευτήν.
At the same time, many of the Macedonians ran together, longing to see what kind of man Eumenes was; for there was no other man of whom there was so much talk in the army after the death of Craterus.
δείσας δὲ ὁ Ἀντίγονος ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ, μή τι πάθῃ βίαιον, πρῶτον μὲν ἀπηγόρευε μή προσιέναι βοῶν, καὶ τοῖς λίθοις ἔβαλλε τοὺς ἐπιφερομένους, τέλος δὲ ταῖς χερσὶ τὸν Εὐμενῆ περιβαλὼν καὶ τὸν ὄχλον ἀπερύκων τοῖς δορυφόροις μόλις εἰς τὸ ἀσφαλὲς ἀποκατέστησε.
But Antigonus, fearing for him lest he should suffer some violence, at first forbade them to approach, shouting aloud and throwing stones at those who pressed forward; and at last, throwing his arms around Eumenes and keeping back the crowd with his bodyguards, he with difficulty brought him back to safety.

Notes

  1. 10.1ἐλάττονας μὲν τοῦ μάχεσθαι, πλείονας δὲ τοῦ λανθάνειν ὄντας — The comparatives (ἐλάττονας / πλείονας) followed by the genitive of the infinitive (τοῦ + infinitive) express the idea of 'too ... to ...' (too few to fight, too many to remain hidden).
  2. 10.2ὧν δὲ αὐτὸς προπολεμεῖ μηδένα λείπεσθαι μετʼ αὐτόν — The relative pronoun ὧν has an omitted antecedent and is governed in the genitive by the verb προπολεμεῖ (to fight on behalf of). The phrase forms an accusative and infinitive construction: 'that of those on whose behalf he himself fights, no one is left after him.'
  3. 10.2μέχρι ἂν ὦ τοῦ ξίφους κύριος — The temporal clause with μέχρι ἄν followed by the subjunctive (ὦ) denotes a conditional or indefinite future duration: 'as long as (or until) I am master of my sword.'

Cite this passage

Plutarch, Life of Eumenes §10.1-10.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0007.tlg041.humanitext-grc2:10.1-10.4

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