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Polybius · The Histories §9.39.1-9.39.7

Denunciation of the Aetolian Treaty and Appeal for Neutrality

Passage 640 of 1311 · Greek

Summary

The speaker strongly condemns the aggressive treaty the Aetolians made with the Romans, and urges the Lacedaemonians to remember their ancestors' glory and their debts to Antigonus by rejecting the Aetolian alliance in favor of the Achaeans and Macedonians, or at least remaining neutral.

§9.39.1ἃ τίς οὐκ ἂν πυθόμενος ὑπίδοιτο μὲν τὴν Ῥωμαίων ἔφοδον, μισήσαι δὲ τὴν Αἰτωλῶν ἀπόνοιαν, ὅτι τοιαύτας ἐθάρρησαν ποιήσασθαι συνθήκας; §9.39.2ἤδη παρῄρηνται μὲν Ἀκαρνάνων Οἰνιάδας καὶ Νᾶσον· κατέσχον δὲ πρῴην τὴν τῶν ταλαιπώρων Ἀντικυρέων πόλιν, ἐξανδραποδισάμενοι μετὰ Ῥωμαίων αὐτήν. §9.39.3καὶ τὰ μὲν τέκνα καὶ τὰς γυναῖκας ἀπάγουσι Ῥωμαῖοι, πεισόμενα δῆλον [ὅτι] ἅπερ εἰκός ἐστι πάσχειν τοῖς ὑπὸ τὰς τῶν ἀλλοφύλων πεσοῦσιν ἐξουσίας· τὰ δʼ ἐδάφη κληρονομοῦσι τῶν ἠτυχηκότων Αἰτωλοί. §9.39.4καλόν γε ταύτης τῆς συμμαχίας μετασχεῖν κατὰ προαίρεσιν, ἄλλως τε καὶ Λακεδαιμονίους ὑπάρχοντας, §9.39.5οἵ γε Θηβαίους τοὺς κατʼ ἀνάγκην ἡσυχίαν ἄγειν βουλευσαμένους μόνους τῶν Ἑλλήνων κατὰ τὴν τῶν Περσῶν ἔφοδον ἐψηφίσαντο δεκατεύσειν τοῖς θεοῖς κρατήσαντες τῷ πολέμῳ τῶν βαρβάρων. καλὸν μὲν οὖν, §9.39.6ὦ ἄνδρες Λακεδαιμόνιοι, καὶ πρέπον ὑμῖν ἐστι τὸ μνησθέντας μὲν τῶν προγόνων, εὐλαβηθέντας δὲ τὴν Ῥωμαίων ἔφοδον, ὑπιδομένους δὲ τὴν Αἰτωλῶν κακοπραγμοσύνην, τὸ δὲ μέγιστον τῶν ἐξ Ἀντιγόνου γεγονότων μνησθέντας, ἔτι καὶ νῦν μισοπονηρῆσαι, καὶ τὴν μὲν Αἰτωλῶν ἀποστραφῆναι φιλίαν, Ἀχαιοῖς δὲ καὶ Μακεδόσι κοινωνῆσαι τῶν αὐτῶν ἐλπίδων. §9.39.7εἰ δʼ ἄρα πρὸς τοῦτό τινες ἀντιπράττουσι τῶν πλεῖον δυναμένων παρʼ ὑμῖν, πρός γε τὴν ἡσυχίαν ὁρμήσατε, καὶ μὴ μετάσχητε τῆς τούτων ἀδικίας. ’
Who, on learning of these things, would not suspect the Roman invasion and hate the madness of the Aetolians, in that they dared to make such a treaty? They have already stripped the Acarnanians of Oeniadae and Nasus; and the other day, having enslaved its inhabitants together with the Romans, they seized the city of the unfortunate Anticyreans. And while the Romans carry off the children and the women, who will clearly suffer what is natural for those who fall under the power of foreigners, the Aetolians inherit the lands of these luckless people. It is indeed a fine thing to participate in such an alliance by choice, especially for those who are Lacedaemonians— those very men who, when the Persians invaded, voted to tithe to the gods the Thebans (the only Greeks who had resolved to keep quiet out of necessity) once they had conquered the barbarians in the war. Therefore, men of Lacedaemon, it is a fine and proper thing for you—by remembering your ancestors, by being on your guard against the Roman invasion, by suspecting the wickedness of the Aetolians, and most of all, by remembering the benefits received from Antigonus—even now to hate wickedness, to turn away from the friendship of the Aetolians, and to share the same hopes with the Achaeans and Macedonians. But if, after all, some of those who have greater power among you oppose this course, at least betake yourselves to quietness, and do not participate in the injustice of these men."

Notes

  1. 9.39.1 — An accusative neuter plural relative pronoun, functioning as a 'relative connection' referring back to the entirety of the Aetolians' actions and treaties described in the previous section.
  2. 9.39.3πεισόμενα — Future participle neuter plural of πάσχω. It agrees in the neuter plural because it refers back to two preceding nouns of different genders: the neuter τὰ τέκνα and the feminine τὰς γυναῖκας.
  3. 9.39.4Λακεδαιμονίους ὑπάρχοντας — The accusative subject of the infinitive μετασχεῖν. The participle ὑπάρχοντας is used in place of ὄντας (from εἶναι) to denote existence or state ('being Lacedaemonians').
  4. 9.39.6τὸ μνησθέντας ... μισοπονηρῆσαι — A long articular infinitive phrase serving as the subject of the main clause. The essential structure of the sentence is 'τὸ μισοπονηρῆσαι καὶ ἀποστραφῆναι ... κοινωνῆσαι ... καλὸν καὶ πρέπον ἐστιν' (to hate, to turn away, and to share is fine and proper). Multiple accusative plural participles (μνησθέντας, εὐλαβηθέντας, ὑπιδομένους, μνησθέντας) modifying the implied subject are embedded before the infinitives.

Cite this passage

Polybius, The Histories §9.39.1-9.39.7. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:9.39.1-9.39.7

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