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Polybius · The Histories §27.6.1-27.6.4

Expulsion of Perseus's Envoys and Preparations for War

Passage 1078 of 1311 · Greek

Summary

After receiving reports from the Asian embassies, the Roman senate summoned Perseus's envoys, ordered all Macedonians to leave Italy immediately, and urged the consuls to act swiftly.

§27.6.1ὅτι οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς Ἀσίας παραγεγονότων πρεσβευτῶν διακούσαντες τά τε κατὰ τὴν Ῥόδον καὶ τὰ κατὰ τὰς ἄλλας πόλεις προσεκαλέσαντο τοὺς παρὰ τοῦ Περσέως πρεσβευτάς.
That the Romans, after hearing from the ambassadors who had arrived from Asia about the affairs of Rhodes and the other cities, summoned the ambassadors from Perseus.
§27.6.2οἱ δὲ περὶ τὸν Σόλωνα καὶ τὸν Ἱππίαν ἐπειρῶντο μὲν καὶ περὶ τῶν ὅλων λέγειν τι καὶ παραιτεῖσθαι τὴν σύγκλητον· τὸ δὲ πλέον ἀπελογοῦντο περὶ τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς τῆς κατὰ τὸν Εὐμένη.
Solon and Hippias and their colleagues tried indeed to say something about the general situation and to entreat the senate, but for the most part they defended themselves against the charge of the conspiracy against Eumenes.
ληξάντων δὲ τῆς δικαιολογίας αὐτῶν, §27.6.3πάλαι προδιειληφότες ὑπὲρ τοῦ πολεμεῖν προσέταξαν αὐτοῖς ἐκ μὲν τῆς Ῥώμης εὐθέως ἀπαλλάττεσθαι καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασιν Μακεδόσιν, ὅσοι παρεπιδημοῦντες ἔτυχον, ἐκ δὲ τῆς Ἰταλίας ἐν τριάκονθʼ ἡμέραις ἐκχωρεῖν.
When they had finished their defense, the senators, having long before decided upon war, ordered them to depart from Rome immediately, along with all the other Macedonians who happened to be residing there, and to leave Italy within thirty days.
§27.6.4μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τοὺς ὑπάτους ἀνακαλεσάμενοι παρώρμων ἔχεσθαι τοῦ καιροῦ καὶ μὴ καθυστερεῖν. —
After this, they summoned the consuls and urged them to seize the opportunity and not to lag behind.

Notes

  1. 27.6.1διακούσαντες — The verb διακούω (to hear out) governs both the genitive τῶν... πρεσβευτῶν indicating the speakers, and the accusatives τά τε κατὰ τὴν Ῥόδον καὶ τὰ κατὰ τὰς ἄλλας πόλεις indicating the content of what was heard.
  2. 27.6.2οἱ περὶ τὸν Σόλωνα — The idiomatic expression 'οἱ περί' followed by a proper name in the accusative denotes a leading figure and his associates (here, 'Solon and Hippias and their embassy').
  3. 27.6.3προδιειληφότες — The perfect active participle προδιειληφότες (having decided beforehand) shares its subject with the main verb προσέταξαν (the senators), and functions adverbially to express cause.
  4. 27.6.4ἔχεσθαι τοῦ καιροῦ — The middle voice ἔχομαι governs the genitive τοῦ καιροῦ and means 'to hold fast to' or 'to seize' the opportunity.

Cite this passage

Polybius, The Histories §27.6.1-27.6.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:27.6.1-27.6.4

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