Polybius · The Histories §13.1a.1-13.1a.3

Alexander's Warning Against Radical Debt Relief

Passage 786 of 1311 · Greek

Summary

Alexander the Aetolian opposed the legislative proposals of Dorimachus and Scopas, warning that radical reforms would ultimately bring great disaster, and urged focusing on the future rather than temporary debt relief.

§13.1a.1ὅτι Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Αἰτωλὸς νομοθετοῦντος Δωριμάχου καὶ Σκόπα ἀντέλεγε τοῖς γραφομένοις, ἐκ πολλῶν ἐπιδεικνύμενος ὅτι παρʼ οἷς ἔφυ τοῦτο τὸ φυτόν, οὐδέποτε κατέληξε πρότερον ἢ μεγάλοις κακοῖς περιβαλεῖν τοὺς ἅπαξ αὐτῷ χρησαμένους· διόπερ ἠξίου μὴ μόνον πρὸς τὸ παρὸν ἀποβλέπειν, §13.1a.2εἰ κουφισθήσονται τῶν ἐνεστώτων συναλλαγμάτων, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς τὸ μέλλον· §13.1a.3ἄτοπον γὰρ εἶναι πολεμοῦντας μὲν καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα προΐεσθαι χάριν τῆς τῶν τέκνων ἀσφαλείας, βουλευομένους δὲ μηδένα ποιεῖσθαι λόγον τοῦ μετὰ ταῦτα χρόνου. —

\nThat Alexander the Aetolian, when Dorimachus and Scopas were legislating, spoke against the laws being drafted, demonstrating from many instances that among whomever this plant took root, it never ceased before involving those who had once used it in great calamities; wherefore he urged that they should not look only to the present,\n\nnamely, whether they would be relieved of their current debts, but also to the future;\n\nfor it was absurd that while in war they should even surrender their lives for the sake of their children's safety, yet when deliberating they should make no account of the time to come. —

Notes

13.1a.1τοῦτο τὸ φυτόν — A figurative expression referring in this context to easy and radical social reforms, such as the cancellation of debts, or the resulting collapse of social order.
13.1a.1οὐδέποτε κατέληξε πρότερον ἢ — The construction πρότερον ἤ with an infinitive (περιβαλεῖν) accompanied by a negative (οὐδέποτε) means "it never ceased before [doing something]," expressing a strong sense of inevitability (i.e., "it always resulted in... before it ended").
13.1a.2εἰ κουφισθήσονται — The conjunction εἰ here introduces an indirect question ("whether"), not a condition ("if"), explaining the concrete content of the preceding phrase πρὸς τὸ παρὸν ("the present").
13.1a.3ἄτοπον γὰρ εἶναι πολεμοῦντας — Part of the indirect discourse introduced by ἠξίου (§13.1a.1). The subject of ἄτοπον εἶναι is the following infinitive clauses (προΐεσθαι and ποιεῖσθαι), and the accusative participles πολεμοῦντας and βουλευομένους agree with the implied subject of these infinitives (people in general).

Cite this passage

Polybius, The Histories §13.1a.1-13.1a.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:13.1a.1-13.1a.3

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