Humanitext Reader

Plutarch · Comparison of Agesilaus and Pompey §5.1

Motives for Sailing to Egypt and Conduct toward Allies

Passage 5 of 5 · Greek

Summary

The author contrasts the motives of Pompey and Agesilaus in sailing to Egypt and compares the nature of the betrayals associated with their actions there.

§5.1εἰς Αἴγυπτον δʼ ὁ μὲν ἐξ ἀνάγκης ἔπλευσε φεύγων, ὁ δὲ οὔτε καλῶς οὔτε ἀναγκαίως ἐπὶ χρήμασιν, ὅπως ἔχῃ τοῖς Ἕλλησι πολεμεῖν ἀφʼ ὧν τοῖς βαρβάροις ἐστρατήγησεν.
To Egypt, the one sailed out of necessity as a fugitive, while the other sailed neither honorably nor out of necessity, but for money, so that he might be able to wage war against the Greeks with the resources he acquired by serving as a general for the barbarians.
εἶτα ἃ διὰ Πομπήϊον Αἰγυπτίοις ἐγκαλοῦμεν, ταῦτα Αἰγύπτιοι κατηγοροῦσιν Ἀγησιλάου, ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἠδικήθη πιστεύσας, ὁ δὲ πιστευθεὶς ἐγκατέλιπε καὶ μετέστη πρὸς τοὺς πολεμοῦντας οἷς ἔπλευσε συμμαχήσων.
Furthermore, the very things for which we blame the Egyptians because of Pompey, the Egyptians charge against Agesilaus; for the one was wronged because he trusted, while the other, having been trusted, abandoned them and went over to those who were waging war against the very ones he had sailed to ally with.

Notes

  1. §5.1ὅπως ἔχῃ τοῖς Ἕλλησι πολεμεῖν — The third-person singular present subjunctive ἔχῃ, accompanied by the infinitive πολεμεῖν, expresses ability ('to be able to') and forms a purpose clause introduced by ὅπως.
  2. §5.1ἀφʼ ὧν — This is an instance of antecedent omission and case attraction (for ἀπὸ τούτων ἃ). The relative pronoun, originally a neuter plural accusative as the object or instrumental accusative of ἐστρατήγησεν, is attracted into the genitive ὧν by the preposition ἀπό.
  3. §5.1ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἠδικήθη πιστεύσας, ὁ δὲ πιστευθεὶς — The contrast between the active aorist participle πιστεύσας ('having trusted') and the passive aorist participle πιστευθείς ('having been trusted') structurally highlights the opposing situations of Pompey and Agesilaus.

Cite this passage

Plutarch, Comparison of Agesilaus and Pompey §5.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0007.tlg046.humanitext-grc2:5.1

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