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Polybius · The Histories §18.38.1-18.38.9

Aetolian Demands for Cities and Titus's Refusal

Passage 927 of 1311 · Greek

Summary

At the conference, Philip offers to concede all past demands, but when the Aetolians claim the restoration of their former cities, Titus rejects their claims on the grounds of the dissolution of the alliance and the nature of voluntary surrender.

§18.38.1καὶ τότε μὲν ἐπὶ τούτοις ἐχωρίσθησαν.
And on these terms they dispersed for the time.
τῇ δʼ ὑστεραίᾳ παραγενομένου τοῦ βασιλέως, καὶ τῇ τρίτῃ πάντων εἰς τὸν σύλλογον ἁθροισθέντων, εἰσελθὼν ὁ Φίλιππος εὐστόχως καὶ συνετῶς ὑπετέμετο τὰς πάντων ὁρμάς·
On the following day, when the king arrived, and on the third day, when everyone had assembled for the conference, Philip, coming in, skillfully and wisely forestalled the impulses of all.
§18.38.2ἔφη γὰρ τὰ μὲν πρότερον ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων καὶ τῶν συμμάχων ἐπιταττόμενα πάντα συγχωρεῖν καὶ ποιήσειν, περὶ δὲ τῶν λοιπῶν διδόναι τῇ συγκλήτῳ τὴν ἐπιτροπήν.
For he declared that he conceded and would perform all that had previously been enjoined by the Romans and the allies, and that regarding the remaining matters he gave the decision over to the Senate.
§18.38.3τούτων δὲ ῥηθέντων οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι πάντες ἀπεσιώπησαν, ὁ δὲ τῶν Αἰτωλῶν Φαινέας "τί οὖν ἡμῖν οὐκ ἀποδίδως, Φίλιππε" ἔφη "Λάρισαν τὴν Κρεμαστήν, Φάρσαλον, Θήβας τὰς Φθίας, Ἐχῖνον" §18.38.4; ὁ μὲν οὖν Φίλιππος ἐκέλευε παραλαμβάνειν αὐτούς, ὁ δὲ Τίτος τῶν μὲν ἄλλων οὐκ ἔφη δεῖν οὐδεμίαν, Θήβας δὲ μόνον τὰς Φθίας·
When these words were spoken, all the others remained silent, but Phaeneas, the leader of the Aetolians, said, "Why then, Philip, do you not restore to us Kremaste Larissa, Pharsalus, Phthiotic Thebes, and Echinus?" Philip, then, bade them take them over, but Titus said that they ought not to receive any of the other cities, but only Phthiotic Thebes.
§18.38.5Θηβαίους γὰρ ἐγγίσαντος αὐτοῦ μετὰ τῆς δυνάμεως καὶ παρακαλοῦντος σφᾶς εἰς τὴν Ῥωμαίων πίστιν οὐ βουληθῆναι· διὸ νῦν, κατὰ πόλεμον ὑποχειρίων ὄντων, ἔχειν ἐξουσίαν ἔφη βουλεύεσθαι περὶ αὐτῶν ὡς ἂν προαιρῆται.
For when he had approached with his force and exhorted them to surrender to the faith of the Romans, the Thebans had refused; therefore now, since they had been subdued in war, he said he had the authority to deliberate concerning them in whatever way he chose.
§18.38.6τῶν δὲ περὶ τὸν Φαινέαν ἀγανακτούντων, καὶ λεγόντων ὅτι δέον αὐτοὺς εἴη, πρῶτον μέν, καθότι συνεπολέμησαν νῦν, κομίζεσθαι τὰς πόλεις τὰς πρότερον μεθʼ αὑτῶν συμπολιτευομένας, §18.38.7ἔπειτα κατὰ τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς συμμαχίαν, καθʼ ἣν ἔδει τῶν κατὰ πόλεμον ἑλόντων τὰ μὲν ἔπιπλα Ῥωμαίων εἶναι, τὰς δὲ πόλεις Αἰτωλῶν, ὁ Τίτος ἀγνοεῖν αὐτοὺς ἔφη κατʼ ἀμφότερα.
When Phaeneas and his party were indignant, and said that it was fitting for them, first because they had fought together in the present war, to recover the cities that had formerly shared their constitution, and secondly according to the original alliance, under which it was required that of those captured in war, the movables should belong to the Romans, but the cities to the Aetolians, Titus stated that they were ignorant on both points.
§18.38.8τήν τε γὰρ συμμαχίαν λελύσθαι, καθʼ ὃν καιρὸν τὰς διαλύσεις ἐποιήσαντο πρὸς Φίλιππον ἐγκαταλείποντες Ῥωμαίους, εἴ τε καὶ μένειν ἔτι τὴν συμμαχίαν, §18.38.9δεῖν αὐτοὺς κομίζεσθαι καὶ παραλαμβάνειν, οὐκ εἴ τινες ἐθελοντὴν σφᾶς εἰς τὴν Ῥωμαίων πίστιν ἐνεχείρισαν, ὅπερ αἱ κατὰ Θετταλίαν πόλεις ἅπασαι πεποιήκασι νῦν, ἀλλʼ εἴ τινες κατὰ κράτος ἑάλωσαν.
For, he said, the alliance had been dissolved at the time when they made terms with Philip, abandoning the Romans; and even if the alliance still remained, they ought to recover and take over not those who had voluntarily surrendered themselves to the faith of the Romans—as all the cities in Thessaly had now done—but only those that had been taken by force.

Notes

  1. §18.38.1ὑπετέμετο τὰς πάντων ὁρμάς — The verb ὑποτέμνομαι (middle voice), literally meaning 'to cut off' or 'intercept,' is here used metaphorically to mean 'to forestall' or 'to cut the ground from under someone's feet.' It describes how Philip, by preemptively yielding to all previous demands, neutralized the hostile intentions of the other parties.
  2. §18.38.4τῶν μὲν ἄλλων οὐκ ἔφη δεῖν οὐδεμίαν — The infinitive παραλαμβάνειν (to take over), appearing in the previous clause, is omitted after the impersonal verb δεῖν (infinitive of δεῖ in indirect discourse). The combination of οὐκ and οὐδεμίαν constitutes a strong negative, meaning 'not any single one of them.'
  3. §18.38.5Θηβαίους γὰρ ἐγγίσαντος αὐτοῦ μετὰ τῆς δυνάμεως καὶ παρακαλοῦντος σφᾶς εἰς τὴν Ῥωμαίων πίστιν οὐ βουληθῆναι — An accusative and infinitive construction in indirect discourse dependent on ἔφη. The subject accusative of the infinitive βουληθῆναι is Θηβαίους. Inserted between them is a genitive absolute clause with a different subject, ἐγγίσαντος αὐτοῦ... καὶ παρακαλοῦντος σφᾶς ('when he [Titus] had approached... and exhorted them').
  4. §18.38.6δέον αὐτοὺς εἴη — The periphrastic form of the impersonal δέον with εἴη (present optative of εἰμί), or δέον itself functioning adjectivally. This is an optative of indirect discourse (oblique optative) in a ὅτι clause following past verbs of saying (ἀγανακτούντων, καὶ λεγόντων), representing the original statement that 'it is necessary/fitting' for them.

Cite this passage

Polybius, The Histories §18.38.1-18.38.9. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:18.38.1-18.38.9

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