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Polybius · The Histories §4.24.1-4.24.9

Leniency toward Sparta and Philip's March to Corinth

Passage 301 of 1311 · Greek

Summary

King Philip decides on a lenient treatment towards the Lacedaemonians at the end of the council, which the author attributes to the advice of Aratus, and after dispatching envoys to exchange oaths, the king marches towards Corinth.

§4.24.1φίλοις.
to his own friends.
ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ἐπὶ πᾶσιν, εἰ χρὴ τοῦ βασιλέως λέγειν τὰς τότε γνώμας· οὐ γὰρ εἰκὸς ἑπτακαιδεκαέτη παῖδα περὶ τηλικούτων δύνασθαι πραγμάτων διευκρινεῖν.
But the king, after all of them—if indeed one should call the opinions then expressed those of the king, for it is not probable that a seventeen-year-old boy could decide on such important affairs—spoke as follows.
§4.24.2ἀλλʼ ἡμῖν μὲν καθήκει τοῖς γράφουσι τὰς κυρούσας τὰ διαβούλια γνώμας ἀνατιθέναι τοῖς προεστῶσι τῶν ὅλων· τοὺς μέντοι γʼ ἀκούοντας αὐτοὺς χρὴ συνυπονοεῖν διότι τῶν συνόντων καὶ μάλιστα τῶν παρακειμένων εἰκός ἐστιν εἶναι τὰς τοιαύτας ὑποθέσεις καὶ διαλήψεις·
But while it is proper for us who write history to attribute the opinions that determine deliberations to the leaders of the whole, those who hear them ought themselves to understand that such proposals and judgments are likely to come from their associates, and especially those closest to them.
§4.24.3ὧν Ἀράτῳ τις ἐπιεικέστατʼ ἂν προσάπτοι τὴν τότε ῥηθεῖσαν ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως γνώμην.
Among whom, one might most justly attribute to Aratus the opinion then spoken by the king.
§4.24.4ὁ γὰρ Φίλιππος τὰ μὲν κατʼ ἰδίαν τῶν συμμάχων εἰς αὑτοὺς ἀδικήματα καθήκειν ἔφησεν αὑτῷ μέχρι λόγου καὶ γραμμάτων διορθοῦν καὶ συνεπισημαίνεσθαι, §4.24.5τὰ δὲ πρὸς τὴν κοινὴν ἀνήκοντα συμμαχίαν, ταῦτʼ ἔφη μόνα δεῖν κοινῆς ἐπιστροφῆς καὶ διορθώσεως τυγχάνειν ὑπὸ πάντων.
For Philip said that, while it belonged to him to correct and call attention to the private offenses of the allies against each other as far as words and letters went, only those things which concerned the common alliance ought to receive common attention and correction by all.
§4.24.6Λακεδαιμονίων δὲ μηδὲν εἰς τὴν κοινὴν συμμαχίαν ἐκφανὲς ἡμαρτηκότων, ἐπαγγελλομένων δὲ πάντα καὶ ποιεῖν τὰ δίκαια πρὸς ἡμᾶς, οὐ καλῶς ἔχον εἶναι τὸ βουλεύεσθαί τι περὶ αὐτῶν ἀπαραίτητον· §4.24.7καὶ γὰρ ἄτοπον τὸν μὲν πατέρα πολεμίων ὄντων κρατήσαντα μηδὲν ποιῆσαι δεινόν, αὐτὸν δʼ ἐφʼ οὕτω μικρᾶς αἰτίας ἀνήκεστόν τι βουλεύεσθαι περὶ αὐτῶν.
And since the Lacedaemonians had committed no obvious offense against the common alliance, and promised to do everything that was just towards us, it was not proper to make any relentless decision concerning them; for it would be absurd that his father, who had conquered them when they were enemies, did them no harm, while he himself, on such a slight pretext, should make some fatal decision concerning them.
§4.24.8ἐπικυρωθείσης δὲ ταύτης τῆς γνώμης, ὅτι δεῖ παριδεῖν τὸ γεγονός, εὐθέως ὁ βασιλεὺς Πετραῖον τῶν αὑτοῦ φίλων ἅμα τοῖς περὶ τὸν Ὠμίαν ἐξαπέστελλε παρακαλέσοντα τοὺς πολλοὺς ἀντέχεσθαι τῆς πρὸς αὑτὸν καὶ Μακεδόνας εὐνοίας, ἅμα δὲ δώσοντα καὶ ληψόμενον τοὺς ὅρκους περὶ συμμαχίαν.
This opinion having been ratified, namely that they ought to overlook what had occurred, the king immediately sent Petraeus, one of his friends, together with Omias and his party, to urge the common people to hold fast to their goodwill towards himself and the Macedonians, and at the same time to exchange the oaths concerning the alliance.
§4.24.9αὐτὸς δὲ μετὰ τῆς δυνάμεως ἀναζεύξας προῆγε πάλιν ὡς ἐπὶ Κορίνθου, καλὸν δεῖγμα τῆς ἑαυτοῦ προαιρέσεως τοῖς συμμάχοις ἐκτιθέμενος ἐν τῇ πρὸς τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους ἀποφάσει.
He himself, having broken camp with his army, advanced again as if towards Corinth, displaying to the allies a fine example of his own policy in his decision towards the Lacedaemonians.

Notes

  1. §4.24.1ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ἐπὶ πᾶσιν — ἐπὶ πᾶσιν means "after all of them" or "after all these opinions" discussed in the previous section (§4.23.8-9). The main verb (such as ἔφη or ἀπεφήνατο) is omitted and must be supplied from the context.
  2. §4.24.2τὰς κυρούσας τὰ διαβούλια γνώμας — The present participle κυρούσας is accusative plural feminine, modifying γνώμας, meaning "the opinions that ratify (or determine) the deliberations (τὰ διαβούλια)". It serves as the object of ἀνατιθέναι in the accusative-with-infinitve construction.
  3. §4.24.3ὧν — The genitive plural relative pronoun refers back to the associates and close companions mentioned in the previous section (§4.24.2), namely `τῶν συνόντων` and `τῶν παρακειμένων`. It functions as a partitive genitive: "among whom."
  4. §4.24.6οὐ καλῶς ἔχον εἶναι — οὐ καλῶς ἔχον is an impersonal accusative absolute (or an impersonal expression with a participle), followed by the infinitive εἶναι, which together function within the indirect discourse depending on ἔφη in §4.24.4.
  5. §4.24.7τὸν μὲν πατέρα... αὐτὸν δʼ — A dual contrastive structure of accusative subjects with infinitives introduced by the impersonal adjective ἄτοπον (with εἶναι omitted). The infinitive for the first accusative subject τὸν μὲν πατέρα (his adoptive father Antigonus) is ποιῆσαι, while the infinitive for the second subject αὐτὸν δʼ (Philip himself) is βουλεύεσθαι.

Cite this passage

Polybius, The Histories §4.24.1-4.24.9. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.24.1-4.24.9

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