§5.33.1καίτοι γʼ οὐκ ἀγνοῶ διότι καὶ πλείους ἕτεροι τῶν συγγραφέων τὴν αὐτὴν ἐμοὶ προεῖνται φωνήν, φάσκοντες τὰ καθόλου γράφειν καὶ μεγίστην τῶν προγεγονότων ἐπιβεβλῆσθαι πραγματείαν· §5.33.2περὶ ὧν ἐγώ, παραιτησάμενος Ἔφορον τὸν πρῶτον καὶ μόνον ἐπιβεβλημένον τὰ καθόλου γράφειν, τὸ μὲν πλείω λέγειν ἢ μνημονεύειν τινὸς τῶν ἄλλων ἐπʼ ὀνόματος παρήσω, §5.33.3μέχρι δὲ τούτου μνησθήσομαι, διότι τῶν καθʼ ἡμᾶς τινες γραφόντων ἱστορίαν ἐν τρισὶν ἢ τέτταρσιν ἐξηγησάμενοι σελίσιν ἡμῖν τὸν Ῥωμαίων καὶ Καρχηδονίων πόλεμον φασὶ τὰ καθόλου γράφειν. §5.33.4καίτοι διότι πλεῖσται μὲν καὶ μέγισται τότε περί τε τὴν Ἰβηρίαν καὶ Λιβύην, ἔτι δὲ τὴν Σικελίαν καὶ Ἰταλίαν ἐπετελέσθησαν πράξεις, ἐπιφανέστατος δὲ καὶ πολυχρονιώτατος ὁ κατʼ Ἀννίβαν πόλεμος γέγονε πλὴν τοῦ περὶ Σικελίαν, πάντες δʼ ἠναγκάσθημεν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀποβλέπειν διὰ τὸ μέγεθος, δεδιότες τὴν συντέλειαν τῶν ἀποβησομένων, τίς οὕτως ἐστὶν ἀδαὴς ὃς οὐκ οἶδεν; §5.33.5ἀλλʼ ἔνιοι τῶν πραγματευομένων οὐδʼ ἐφʼ ὅσον οἱ τὰ κατὰ καιροὺς ἐν ταῖς χρονογραφίαις ὑπομνηματιζόμενοι πολιτικῶς εἰς τοὺς τοίχους, οὐδʼ ἐπὶ τοσοῦτο μνησθέντες, πάσας φασὶ τὰς κατὰ τὴν Ἑλλάδα καὶ βάρβαρον περιειληφέναι πράξεις. §5.33.6τοῦτο δʼ ἐστὶν αἴτιον, ὅτι τὸ μὲν τῷ λόγῳ τῶν μεγίστων ἔργων ἀντιποιήσασθαι τελείως ἐστὶ ῥᾴδιον, τὸ δὲ τοῖς πράγμασιν ἐφικέσθαι τινὸς τῶν καλῶν οὐκ εὐμαρές. §5.33.7διὸ καὶ τὸ μὲν ἐν μέσῳ κεῖται καὶ πᾶσι κοινὸν ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν τοῖς μόνον τολμᾶν δυναμένοις ὑπάρχει, τὸ δὲ καὶ λίαν ἐστὶ σπάνιον καὶ σπανίοις συνεξέδραμε κατὰ τὸν βίον. §5.33.8ταῦτα μὲν οὖν προήχθην εἰπεῖν χάριν τῆς ἀλαζονείας τῶν ὑπερηφανούντων ἑαυτοὺς καὶ τὰς ἰδίας πραγματείας· ἐπὶ δὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐπάνειμι τῆς ἐμαυτοῦ προθέσεως.
And yet, I am not ignorant that several other writers too have uttered the same boast as myself, claiming that they write general history and have undertaken the greatest task of past events. Concerning whom, having made an exception of Ephorus, who was the first and only one to have undertaken to write general history, I shall refrain from speaking at greater length or mentioning any of the others by name, but I will mention this much, that some of those who write history in our time, having narrated the war between the Romans and the Carthaginians in three or four pages, claim that they are writing general history. And yet, who is so ignorant as not to know that on the one hand most numerous and greatest deeds were then performed in Iberia and Libya, and also in Sicily and Italy, and on the other hand the Hannibalic War was the most famous and longest-lasting except for the one concerning Sicily, and we were all compelled to keep our eyes upon it because of its magnitude, fearing the outcome of what would happen? But some of these writers, not even mentioning so much as those who register the events of the times in the public chronicles on the walls, and having made not even that much of a mention, claim to have embraced all events in both Greece and the barbarian world. And the reason for this is that while it is completely easy to lay claim in words to the greatest works, it is not easy to achieve in actual fact any noble thing. Therefore, the former lies in the open and is, so to speak, common to all who merely have the audacity, whereas the latter is exceedingly rare and has accompanied few in their lives. I have been led to say these things, then, on account of the boastfulness of those who pride themselves and their own undertakings; but I will now return to the beginning of my own design.