Polybius · The Histories §32.4.1-32.4.3

Death of Lyciscus and the Influence of Individual Character

Passage 1211 of 1311 · Greek

Summary

Following the peace restored to Aetolia by the death of the agitator Lyciscus, the text reflects on the immense influence of a single individual's character on society and the injustice of a wicked man enjoying a peaceful death.

§32.4.1ὅτι Λυκίσκου τοῦ Αἰτωλοῦ ταρα χώδους ὄντος καὶ θορυβώδους, ἀναιρεθέντος δὲ τούτου, τὸ ἑξῆς οἱ Αἰτωλοὶ ὡμοφρόνησαν καὶ ὡμονόησαν ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου παραχωρήσαντος·

Since Lyciscus the Aetolian was turbulent and troublesome, but when he was put to death, the Aetolians thereafter became of one mind and lived in harmony, now that a single man had departed.

§32.4.2τηλικαύτη τίς ἐστιν, ὡς ἔοικε, δύναμις ἐν ταῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων φύσεσιν, ὥστε μὴ μόνον στρατόπεδα καὶ πόλεις, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς ἐθνικὰς συστάσεις καὶ τὰς ὁλοσχερεῖς διαφορὰς τῆς οἰκουμένης διʼ ἑνὸς ἀνδρὸς ἀρετὴν καὶ κακίαν ποτὲ μὲν τῶν μεγίστων κακῶν, ποτὲ δὲ τῶν μεγίστων ἀγαθῶν πεῖραν λαμβάνειν. —

So great, it seems, is the power inherent in human natures, that not only camps and cities, but even national leagues and the entire fortunes of the inhabited world, through the virtue or vice of one man, at one time experience the greatest evils, and at another the greatest blessings.

§32.4.3ὅτι Λυκίσκος κάκιστος ὢν καλῶς κατέστρεψε τὸν βίον, ὥστε τοὺς πλείστους εἰκότως ὀνειδίζειν τῇ τύχῃ διότι τὸ τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀνδρῶν ἆθλον τὴν εὐθανασίαν τοῖς χειρίστοις ἐνίοτε περιτίθησιν. —

That Lyciscus, though a most wicked man, ended his life peacefully, so that most people with good reason reproached Fortune because she sometimes bestows on the worst of men "a happy death," which is the prize of the good.

Notes

32.4.1Λυκίσκου τοῦ Αἰτωλοῦ ταραχώδους ὄντος... ἀναιρεθέντος δὲ τούτου... ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου παραχωρήσαντος — Three genitive absolutes are stacked here in relation to the main verbs (ὡμοφρόνησαν καὶ ὡμονόησαν). The first, 'Λυκίσκου... ὄντος', describes the background or cause; the second, 'ἀναιρεθέντος δὲ τούτου', sets the temporal condition; and the third, 'ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου παραχωρήσαντος', emphasizes the cause of the reconciliation (the departure of this single man).
32.4.2τὰς ὁλοσχερεῖς διαφορὰς τῆς οἰκουμένης — In the accusative and infinitive construction introduced by the consecutive conjunction ὥστε, this phrase acts as one of the subjects of the infinitive 'πεῖραν λαμβάνειν', alongside 'στρατόπεδα καὶ πόλεις' and 'ἐθνικὰς συστάσεις'. It refers to 'the overall fortunes or critical shifts' of the inhabited world.
32.4.3καλῶς κατέστρεψε τὸν βίον — The phrase 'ended his life beautifully' describes the paradox and irony that Lyciscus, despite being an extremely wicked man, did not meet a miserable end but rather a peaceful death, which is later referred to as 'εὐθανασία'.

Cite this passage

Polybius, The Histories §32.4.1-32.4.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:32.4.1-32.4.3

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