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Polybius · The Histories §3.108.1-3.108.10

Departure of the Consuls and Aemilius's Speech to the Soldiers

Passage 267 of 1311 · Greek

Summary

The Roman Senate encourages and dispatches the consuls, and Aemilius addresses the soldiers, analyzing the causes of past defeats and explaining the advantageous conditions of the present battle.

§3.108.1διὸ καὶ παρακαλέσαντες τοὺς περὶ τὸν Αἰμίλιον καὶ πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν θέντες τὸ μέγεθος τῶν εἰς ἑκάτερον τὸ μέρος ἀποβησομένων ἐκ τῆς μάχης ἐξαπέστειλαν, ἐντειλάμενοι σὺν καιρῷ κρίνειν τὰ ὅλα γενναίως καὶ τῆς πατρίδος ἀξίως.
Therefore, having also exhorted Aemilius and his colleague and set before their eyes the magnitude of the consequences that would result to either side from the battle, they dispatched them, charging them to decide the whole issue, when the opportunity arose, nobly and worthily of their country.
§3.108.2οἳ καὶ παραγενόμενοι πρὸς τὰς δυνάμεις καὶ συναθροίσαντες τὰ πλήθη τήν τε τῆς συγκλήτου γνώμην διεσάφησαν τοῖς πολλοῖς καὶ παρεκάλουν τὰ πρέποντα τοῖς παρεστῶσι καιροῖς, ἐξ αὐτοπαθείας τοῦ Λευκίου διατιθεμένου τοὺς λόγους.
And they, having arrived at the forces and assembled the troops, made clear the decision of the Senate to the multitude and exhorted them in terms appropriate to the present circumstances, Lucius delivering the address from his own deep feeling.
§3.108.3ἦν δὲ τὰ πλεῖστα τῶν λεγομένων πρὸς τοῦτον τείνοντα τὸν νοῦν, τὸν ὑπὲρ τῶν νεωστὶ γεγονότων συμπτωμάτων· ὧδε γὰρ καὶ τῇδέ που συνέβαινε διατετράφθαι καὶ προσδεῖσθαι παραινέσεως τοὺς πολλούς.
Now most of what was said tended towards this point, namely, the one concerning the defeats that had recently occurred; for because of these, in one way or another, it happened that the minds of the multitude were disheartened and stood in need of encouragement.
§3.108.4διόπερ ἐπειρᾶτο συνιστάνειν ὅτι τῶν μὲν ἐν ταῖς προγεγενημέναις μάχαις ἐλαττωμάτων οὐχ ἓν οὐδὲ δεύτερον, καὶ πλείω δʼ ἂν εὕροι τις αἴτια, διʼ ἃ τοιοῦτον αὐτῶν ἐξέβη τὸ τέλος, §3.108.5ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν νῦν καιρῶν οὐδεμία λείπεται πρόφασις, ἐὰν ἄνδρες ὦσι, τοῦ μὴ νικᾶν τοὺς ἐχθρούς.
Therefore he tried to point out that, as for the defeats in the past battles, one would find not just one or two, but even more causes on account of which such was their end; but in the present circumstances, if they act like men, no excuse remains for not defeating the enemy.
§3.108.6τότε μὲν γὰρ οὔτε τοὺς ἡγεμόνας ἀμφοτέρους οὐδέποτε συνηγωνίσθαι τοῖς στρατοπέδοις οὔτε ταῖς δυνάμεσι κεχρῆσθαι γεγυμνασμέναις, ἀλλὰ νεοσυλλόγοις καὶ ἀοράτοις παντὸς δεινοῦ· §3.108.7τό τε μέγιστον, ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον ἀγνοεῖσθαι παρʼ αὐτοῖς πρότερον τὰ κατὰ τοὺς ὑπεναντίους ὥστε σχεδὸν μηδʼ ἑωρακότας τοὺς ἀνταγωνιστὰς παρατάττεσθαι καὶ συγκαταβαίνειν εἰς τοὺς ὁλοσχερεῖς κινδύνους.
For on the former occasions, neither had both commanders ever fought together with the legions, nor had they used trained forces, but rather raw recruits who had never seen danger; and, what was most important, the affairs of the enemy were previously so little known among them that, having scarcely even seen their opponents, they drew up their lines and entered into the decisive struggles.
§3.108.8‘οἱ μὲν γὰρ περὶ τὸν Τρεβίαν ποταμὸν σφαλέντες, ἐκ Σικελίας τῇ προτεραίᾳ παραγενηθέντες, ἅμα τῷ φωτὶ τῇ κατὰ πόδας ἡμέρᾳ παρετάξαντο· §3.108.9τοῖς δὲ κατὰ Τυρρηνίαν ἀγωνισαμένοις οὐχ οἷον πρότερον, ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ μάχῃ συνιδεῖν ἐξεγένετο τοὺς πολεμίους διὰ τὸ περὶ τὸν ἀέρα γενόμενον σύμπτωμα.
"For those who met with disaster at the river Trebia, having arrived from Sicily on the previous day, drew up for battle at dawn on the very next day; and for those who fought in Etruria, it was not possible to see the enemy beforehand, nor indeed even during the battle itself, because of the condition that arose in the atmosphere.
§3.108.10νῦν γε μὴν πάντα τἀναντία τοῖς προειρημένοις ὑπάρχει.
But now, indeed, all things are the opposite of the aforementioned."

Notes

  1. §3.108.1τοὺς περὶ τὸν Αἰμίλιον — The expression containing the article/pronoun followed by περί and an accusative designates 'Aemilius and his associates' or 'Aemilius and his colleague'. Here, it refers to the consuls, including the other consul Terentius Varro.
  2. §3.108.2οἳ — Nominative plural of the relative pronoun, acting as a demonstrative at the beginning of a sentence (connecting relative). Here, it refers to the newly dispatched consuls.
  3. §3.108.4τῶν μὲν ἐν ταῖς προγεγενημέναις μάχαις ἐλαττωμάτων — Genitive noun phrase depending on the following αἴτια (causes), meaning 'the causes of the defeats in the past battles.' It can also be interpreted as a genitive of respect, introducing the topic: 'as for the defeats...'.
  4. §3.108.5τοῦ μὴ νικᾶν — Articular infinitive in the genitive case with the negative particle μὴ, following the negative adjective οὐδεμία, functioning appositionally or explanatorily to mean 'any excuse for not defeating the enemy.'
  5. §3.108.6οὔτε τοὺς ἡγεμόνας ἀμφοτέρους οὐδέποτε συνηγωνίσθαι — Accusative with infinitive construction in indirect discourse, continuing under the influence of ὅτι in §108.4. The subject ἡγεμόνας is in the accusative case, and the verb συνηγωνίσθαι is in the infinitive.

Cite this passage

Polybius, The Histories §3.108.1-3.108.10. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:3.108.1-3.108.10

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