§16.4.27τοῦ δὲ ποιητοῦ λέγοντος
Αἰθίοπάς θʼ ἱκόμην καὶ Σιδονίους καὶ Ἐρεμβούς,
διαποροῦσι·
But concerning the poet's saying, "I came to the Ethiopians and the Sidonians and the Erembi," people are in doubt.
καὶ περὶ τῶν Σιδονίων μέν, εἴτε τινὰς χρὴ λέγειν τῶν ἐν τῷ Περσικῷ κόλπῳ κατοικούντων, ὧν ἄποικοι οἱ παρʼ ἡμῖν Σιδώνιοι, καθάπερ καὶ Τυρίους τινὰς ἐκεῖ νησιώτας ἱστοροῦσι καὶ Ἀραδίους, ὧν ἀποίκους τοὺς παρʼ ἡμῖν φασιν, εἴτʼ αὐτοὺς τοὺς Σιδωνίους·
On the one hand, regarding the Sidonians, whether we should understand some of those who dwell on the Persian Gulf, of whom the Sidonians in our parts are colonists, just as they record certain Tyrians and Aradians as islanders there, whose colonists they say those in our parts are, or whether we should understand the Sidonians themselves.
ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον περὶ τῶν Ἐρεμβῶν ἡ ζήτησις, εἴτε τοὺς Τρωγλοδύτας ὑπονοητέον λέγεσθαι, καθάπερ οἱ τὴν ἐτυμολογίαν βιαζόμενοι ἀπὸ τοῦ εἰς τὴν ἔραν ἐμβαίνειν, ὅπερ ἐστὶν εἰς τὴν γῆν, εἴτε τοὺς Ἄραβας.
But the inquiry is rather about the Erembi, whether we must suppose the Troglodytes to be meant (as those who force the etymology from "entering into the earth [era]," which is "into the ground"), or whether the Arabs.
ὁ μὲν οὖν Ζήνων ὁ ἡμέτερος μεταγράφει οὕτως
καὶ Σιδονίους Ἄραβάς τε. πιθανώτερον δὲ Ποσειδώνιος γράφει τῷ παρὰ μικρὸν ἀλλάξαι
καὶ Σιδονίους καὶ Ἀραμβούς,
ὡς τοῦ ποιητοῦ τοὺς νῦν Ἄραβας οὕτω καλέσαντος, καθάπερ καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν ἄλλων ὠνομάζοντο κατʼ αὐτόν.
Our Zeno, then, alters the text thus: "and the Sidonians and the Arabs." But Poseidonius writes more plausibly, changing it only slightly: "and the Sidonians and the Arambi," implying that the poet thus called those who are now Arabs, just as they were also named by others in his time.
φησὶ δὲ ταῦτα τρία ἔθνη συνεχῆ ἀλλήλοις ἱδρυμένα ὁμογένειάν τινα ἐμφαίνειν πρὸς ἄλληλα, καὶ διὰ το παρακειμένοις ὀνόμασι κεκλῆσθαι, τοὺς μὲν Ἀρμενίους τοὺς δὲ Ἀραμαίους τοὺς δὲ Ἀραμβούς·
And he says that these three nations, settled adjacent to one another, show a certain common affinity, and for this reason were called by related names, some Armenians, some Arameans, and some Arambi.
ὥσπερ δὲ ἀπὸ ἔθνους ὑπολαμβάνειν ἐστὶν εἰς τρία διῃρῆσθαι κατὰ τὰς τῶν κλιμάτων διαφορὰς ἀεὶ καὶ μᾶλλον ἐξαλλαττομένων, οὕτω καὶ τοῖς ὀνόμασι χρήσασθαι πλείοσιν ἀνθʼ ἑνός.
And just as one can suppose that they were divided into three from one nation according to the differences of climates, which were always becoming more and more altered, so also they came to use several names instead of one.
οὐδʼ οἱ Ἐρεμνοὺς γράφοντες πιθανοί· τῶν γὰρ Αἰθιόπων μᾶλλον ἴδιον.
Nor are those who write "Eremni" plausible; for this is rather a characteristic of the Ethiopians.
λέγει δὲ καὶ τοὺς Ἀρίμους ὁ ποιητής, οὕς φησι Ποσειδώνιος δέχεσθαι δεῖν μὴ τόπον τινὰ τῆς Συρίας ἢ τῆς Κιλικίας ἢ ἄλλης τινὸς γῆς, ἀλλὰ τὴν Συρίαν αὐτήν· Ἀραμαῖοι γὰρ οἱ ἐν αὐτῇ· τάχα δʼ οἱ Ἕλληνες Ἀριμαίους ἐκάλουν ἢ Ἀρίμους.
The poet also speaks of the "Arimi," whom Poseidonius says we should understand to mean not some place in Syria or Cilicia or any other land, but Syria itself; for those in it are Arameans, and perhaps the Greeks called them Arimaeans or Arimi.
αἱ δὲ τῶν ὀνομάτων μεταπτώσεις καὶ μάλιστα τῶν βαρβαρικῶν πολλαί· καθάπερ τὸν Δαριήκην Δαρεῖον ἐκάλεσαν, τὴν δὲ Φάρζιριν Παρύσατιν, Ἀταργάτιν δὲ τὴν Ἀθάραν· Δερκετὼ δʼ αὐτὴν Κτησίας καλεῖ. τῆς δὲ τῶν Ἀράβων εὐδαιμονίας καὶ Ἀλέξανδρον ἄν τις ποιήσαιτο μάρτυρα τὸν διανοηθέντα, ὥς φασι, καὶ βασίλειον αὐτὴν ποιήσασθαι μετὰ τὴν ἐξ Ἰνδῶν ἐπάνοδον.
The transmutations of names, especially of barbarian ones, are many; just as they called Dariekes "Darius," and Pharziris "Parysatis," and Atargatis "Athara," whom Ctesias calls "Derceto." One might also make Alexander a witness to the prosperity of the Arabs, since he intended, as they say, to make it his royal seat after his return from India.
πᾶσαι μὲν οὖν αἱ ἐπιχειρήσεις αὐτοῦ κατελύθησαν τελευτήσαντος παραχρῆμα τὸν βίον· μία δʼ οὖν καὶ αὕτη τῶν ἐπιχειρήσεων ἦν, εἰ μὲν ἑκόντες παραδέχοιντο αὐτόν, εἰ δὲ μή, ὡς πολεμήσοντος·
Now, all his enterprises were brought to an end when he immediately departed this life; and this was indeed one of his enterprises, to see whether they would receive him voluntarily, and if not, to go to war with them.
καὶ δὴ ὁρῶν μήτε πρότερον μήθʼ ὕστερον πέμψαντας ὡς αὐτὸν πρέσβεις, παρεσκευάζετο πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον, ὥσπερ εἰρήκαμεν ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν.
And indeed, seeing that they had sent no ambassadors to him either before or after, he was preparing for war, just as we have said before.