Polybius, Histories

Translation

Book 10 - Chapter 21

<head lang="la">III. Res Graeciae</head><w lemma="%2A%28%2Foti">Ὅτι</w> <w lemma="%2Aeu%29rule%2Fwn">Εὐρυλέων</w> <w lemma="o%28">ὁ</w> <w lemma="tw%3Dn">τῶν</w> <w lemma="%2A%29axaiw%3Dn">Ἀχαιῶν</w> <w lemma="strathgo%5Cs">στρατηγὸς</w> <w lemma="a%29%2Ftolmos">ἄτολμος</w> <w lemma="h%29%3Dn">ἦν</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="polemikh%3Ds">πολεμικῆς</w> <w lemma="xrei%2Fas">χρείας</w> <w lemma="a%29llo%2Ftrios">ἀλλότριος</w>.

<w lemma="tou%3D">τοῦ</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="kairou%3D">καιροῦ</w> <w lemma="tou%3D">τοῦ</w> <w lemma="kata%5C">κατὰ</w> <w lemma="th%5Cn">τὴν</w> <w lemma="dih%2Fghsin">διήγησιν</w> <w lemma="e%29festako%2Ftos">ἐφεστακότος</w> <w lemma="h%28ma%3Ds">ἡμᾶς</w> <w lemma="e%29pi%5C">ἐπὶ</w> <w lemma="th%5Cn">τὴν</w> <w lemma="a%29rxh%5Cn">ἀρχὴν</w> <w lemma="tw%3Dn">τῶν</w> <w lemma="%2Afilopoi%2Fmenos">Φιλοποίμενος</w> <w lemma="pra%2Fcewn">πράξεων</w>, <w lemma="kaqh%2Fkein">καθήκειν</w> <w lemma="h%28gou%2Fmeqa">ἡγούμεθα</w>, <w lemma="kaqa%2Fper">καθάπερ</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="peri%5C">περὶ</w> <w lemma="tw%3Dn">τῶν</w> <w lemma="a%29%2Fllwn">ἄλλων</w> <w lemma="tw%3Dn">τῶν</w> <w lemma="a%29ciolo%2Fgwn">ἀξιολόγων</w> <w lemma="a%29ndrw%3Dn">ἀνδρῶν</w> <w lemma="ta%5Cs">τὰς</w> <w lemma="e%28ka%2Fstwn">ἑκάστων</w> <w lemma="a%29gwga%5Cs">ἀγωγὰς</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="fu%2Fseis">φύσεις</w> <w lemma="e%29peira%2Fqhmen">ἐπειράθημεν</w> <w lemma="u%28podeiknu%2Fnai">ὑποδεικνύναι</w>, <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="peri%5C">περὶ</w> <w lemma="tou%2Ftou">τούτου</w> <w lemma="poih%3Dsai">ποιῆσαι</w> <w lemma="to%5C">τὸ</w> <w lemma="paraplh%2Fsion">παραπλήσιον</w>.

<w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="ga%5Cr">γὰρ</w> <w lemma="a%29%2Ftopon">ἄτοπον</w> <w lemma="ta%5Cs">τὰς</w> <w lemma="me%5Cn">μὲν</w> <w lemma="tw%3Dn">τῶν</w> <w lemma="po%2Flewn">πόλεων</w> <w lemma="kti%2Fseis">κτίσεις</w> <w lemma="tou%5Cs">τοὺς</w> <w lemma="suggrafe%2Fas">συγγραφέας</w>, <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="po%2Fte">πότε</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="pw%3Ds">πῶς</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="dia%5C">διὰ</w> <w lemma="ti%2Fnwn">τίνων</w> <w lemma="e%29kti%2Fsqhsan">ἐκτίσθησαν</w>, <w lemma="e%29%2Fti">ἔτι</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="ta%5Cs">τὰς</w> <w lemma="diaqe%2Fseis">διαθέσεις</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="perista%2Fseis">περιστάσεις</w> <w lemma="met%27">μετ᾽</w> <w lemma="a%29podei%2Fcews">ἀποδείξεως</w> <w lemma="e%29cagge%2Fllein">ἐξαγγέλλειν</w>, <w lemma="ta%5Cs">τὰς</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="tw%3Dn">τῶν</w> <w lemma="ta%5C">τὰ</w> <w lemma="o%28%2Fla">ὅλα</w> <w lemma="xeirisa%2Fntwn">χειρισάντων</w> <w lemma="a%29ndrw%3Dn">ἀνδρῶν</w> <w lemma="a%29gwga%5Cs">ἀγωγὰς</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="zh%2Flous">ζήλους</w> <w lemma="parasiwpa%3Dn">παρασιωπᾶν</w>, <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="tau%3Dta">ταῦτα</w> <w lemma="th%3Ds">τῆς</w> <w lemma="xrei%2Fas">χρείας</w> <w lemma="mega%2Flhn">μεγάλην</w> <w lemma="e%29xou%2Fshs">ἐχούσης</w> <w lemma="th%5Cn">τὴν</w> <w lemma="diafora%2Fn:">διαφοράν·</w>

<w lemma="o%28%2Fsw%7C">ὅσῳ</w> <w lemma="ga%5Cr">γὰρ</w> <w lemma="a%29%2Fn">ἄν</w> <w lemma="tis">τις</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="zhlw%3Dsai">ζηλῶσαι</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="mimh%2Fsasqai">μιμήσασθαι</w> <w lemma="dunhqei%2Fh">δυνηθείη</w> <w lemma="ma%3Dllon">μᾶλλον</w> <w lemma="tou%5Cs">τοὺς</w> <w lemma="e%29myu%2Fxous">ἐμψύχους</w> <w lemma="a%29%2Fndras">ἄνδρας</w> <w lemma="tw%3Dn">τῶν</w> <w lemma="a%29yu%2Fxwn">ἀψύχων</w> <w lemma="kataskeuasma%2Ftwn">κατασκευασμάτων</w>, <w lemma="tosou%2Ftw%7C">τοσούτῳ</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="to%5Cn">τὸν</w> <w lemma="peri%5C">περὶ</w> <w lemma="au%29tw%3Dn">αὐτῶν</w> <w lemma="lo%2Fgon">λόγον</w> <w lemma="diafe%2Frein">διαφέρειν</w> <w lemma="ei%29ko%5Cs">εἰκὸς</w> <w lemma="pro%5Cs">πρὸς</w> <w lemma="e%29pano%2Frqwsin">ἐπανόρθωσιν</w> <w lemma="tw%3Dn">τῶν</w> <w lemma="a%29kouo%2Fntwn">ἀκουόντων</w>.

<w lemma="ei%29">εἰ</w> <w lemma="me%5Cn">μὲν</w> <w lemma="ou%29%3Dn">οὖν</w> <w lemma="mh%5C">μὴ</w> <w lemma="kat%27">κατ᾽</w> <w lemma="i%29di%2Fan">ἰδίαν</w> <w lemma="e%29pepoih%2Fmeqa">ἐπεποιήμεθα</w> <w lemma="th%5Cn">τὴν</w> <w lemma="peri%5C">περὶ</w> <w lemma="au%29tou%3D">αὐτοῦ</w> <w lemma="su%2Fntacin">σύνταξιν</w>, <w lemma="e%29n">ἐν</w> <w lemma="h%28%3D%7C">ᾗ</w> <w lemma="diesafou%3Dmen">διεσαφοῦμεν</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="ti%2Fs">τίς</w> <w lemma="h%29%3Dn">ἦν</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="ti%2Fnwn">τίνων</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="ti%2Fsin">τίσιν</w> <w lemma="a%29gwgai%3Ds">ἀγωγαῖς</w> <w lemma="e%29xrh%2Fsato">ἐχρήσατο</w> <w lemma="ne%2Fos">νέος</w> <w lemma="w%29%2Fn">ὤν</w>, <w lemma="a%29nagkai%3Don">ἀναγκαῖον</w> <w lemma="h%29%3Dn">ἦν</w> <w lemma="u%28pe%5Cr">ὑπὲρ</w> <w lemma="e%28ka%2Fstou">ἑκάστου</w> <w lemma="tw%3Dn">τῶν</w> <w lemma="proeirhme%2Fnwn">προειρημένων</w> <w lemma="fe%2Frein">φέρειν</w> <w lemma="a%29pologismo%2Fn:">ἀπολογισμόν·</w>

<w lemma="e%29pei%5C">ἐπεὶ</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="pro%2Fteron">πρότερον</w> <w lemma="e%29n">ἐν</w> <w lemma="trisi%5C">τρισὶ</w> <w lemma="bubli%2Fois">βυβλίοις</w> <w lemma="e%29kto%5Cs">ἐκτὸς</w> <w lemma="tau%2Fths">ταύτης</w> <w lemma="th%3Ds">τῆς</w> <w lemma="sunta%2Fcews">συντάξεως</w> <w lemma="to%5Cn">τὸν</w> <w lemma="u%28pe%5Cr">ὑπὲρ</w> <w lemma="au%29tou%3D">αὐτοῦ</w> <w lemma="pepoih%2Fmeqa">πεποιήμεθα</w> <w lemma="lo%2Fgon">λόγον</w>, <w lemma="th%2Fn">τήν</w> <w lemma="te">τε</w> <w lemma="paidikh%5Cn">παιδικὴν</w> <w lemma="a%29gwgh%5Cn">ἀγωγὴν</w> <w lemma="diasafou%3Dntes">διασαφοῦντες</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="ta%5Cs">τὰς</w> <w lemma="e%29pifanesta%2Ftas">ἐπιφανεστάτας</w> <w lemma="pra%2Fceis">πράξεις</w>,

<w lemma="dh%3Dlon">δῆλον</w> <w lemma="w%28s">ὡς</w> <w lemma="e%29n">ἐν</w> <w lemma="th%3D%7C">τῇ</w> <w lemma="nu%3Dn">νῦν</w> <w lemma="e%29chgh%2Fsei">ἐξηγήσει</w> <w lemma="pre%2Fpon">πρέπον</w> <w lemma="a%29%5Cn">ἂν</w> <w lemma="ei%29%2Fh">εἴη</w> <w lemma="th%3Ds">τῆς</w> <w lemma="me%5Cn">μὲν</w> <w lemma="newterikh%3Ds">νεωτερικῆς</w> <w lemma="a%29gwgh%3Ds">ἀγωγῆς</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="tw%3Dn">τῶν</w> <w lemma="newterikw%3Dn">νεωτερικῶν</w> <w lemma="zh%2Flwn">ζήλων</w> <w lemma="kata%5C">κατὰ</w> <w lemma="me%2Fros">μέρος</w> <w lemma="a%29felei%3Dn">ἀφελεῖν</w>, <w lemma="toi%3Ds">τοῖς</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="kata%5C">κατὰ</w> <w lemma="th%5Cn">τὴν</w> <w lemma="a%29kmh%5Cn">ἀκμὴν</w> <w lemma="au%29tou%3D">αὐτοῦ</w> <w lemma="kefalaiwdw%3Ds">κεφαλαιωδῶς</w> <w lemma="e%29kei%3D">ἐκεῖ</w> <w lemma="dedhlwme%2Fnois">δεδηλωμένοις</w> <w lemma="e%29%2Frgois">ἔργοις</w> <w lemma="prosqei%3Dnai">προσθεῖναι</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="kata%5C">κατὰ</w> <w lemma="me%2Fros">μέρος</w>, <w lemma="i%28%2Fna">ἵνα</w> <w lemma="to%5C">τὸ</w> <w lemma="pre%2Fpon">πρέπον</w> <w lemma="e%28kate%2Fra%7C">ἑκατέρᾳ</w> <w lemma="tw%3Dn">τῶν</w> <w lemma="sunta%2Fcewn">συντάξεων</w> <w lemma="thrw%3Dmen">τηρῶμεν</w>. <w lemma="w%28%2Fsper">ὥσπερ</w> <w lemma="ga%5Cr">γὰρ</w> <w lemma="e%29kei%3Dnos">ἐκεῖνος</w> <w lemma="o%28">ὁ</w> <w lemma="to%2Fpos">τόπος</w>,

<w lemma="u%28pa%2Frxwn">ὑπάρχων</w> <w lemma="e%29gkwmiastiko%2Fs">ἐγκωμιαστικός</w>, <w lemma="a%29ph%2F%7Ctei">ἀπῄτει</w> <w lemma="to%5Cn">τὸν</w> <w lemma="kefalaiw%2Fdh">κεφαλαιώδη</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="met%27">μετ᾽</w> <w lemma="au%29ch%2Fsews">αὐξήσεως</w> <w lemma="tw%3Dn">τῶν</w> <w lemma="pra%2Fcewn">πράξεων</w> <w lemma="a%29pologismo%2Fn">ἀπολογισμόν</w>, <w lemma="ou%28%2Ftws">οὕτως</w> <w lemma="o%28">ὁ</w> <w lemma="th%3Ds">τῆς</w> <w lemma="i%28stori%2Fas">ἱστορίας</w>, <w lemma="koino%5Cs">κοινὸς</w> <w lemma="w%29%5Cn">ὢν</w> <w lemma="e%29pai%2Fnou">ἐπαίνου</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="yo%2Fgou">ψόγου</w>, <w lemma="zhtei%3D">ζητεῖ</w> <w lemma="to%5Cn">τὸν</w> <w lemma="a%29lhqh%3D">ἀληθῆ</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="to%5Cn">τὸν</w> <w lemma="met%27">μετ᾽</w> <w lemma="a%29podei%2Fcews">ἀποδείξεως</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="tw%3Dn">τῶν</w> <w lemma="e%28ka%2Fstois">ἑκάστοις</w> <w lemma="parepome%2Fnwn">παρεπομένων</w> <w lemma="sullogismw%3Dn">συλλογισμῶν</w>.

<head>III. Affairs of Greece</head><head>Philopoemen</head>Euryleon, the strategus of the Achaeans, was a timid man, without any military capacity.

Now that the course of my narrative has brought me to the beginning of the achievements of Philopoemen, I think it is incumbent on me, just as in the case of other eminent men I have attempted to sketch their training and character, to do now the like for him.

It is indeed a strange thing that authors should narrate circumstantially the foundations of cities, telling us when, how, and by whom they were founded, and detailing the precise conditions and difficulties of the undertaking, while they pass over in silence the previous training and the objects of the men who directed the whole matter, though such information is more profitable.

For inasmuch as it is more possible to emulate and to imitate living men than lifeless buildings, so much more important for the improvement of a reader is it to learn about former.

Now had I not dealt with Philopoemen in a special work in which I explain who he and his family were, and the nature of his training when young, I should be compelled to give an account of all these matters here.

Since, however, I have formerly in three books, which do not form part of the present work, treated of him, stating which was his training as a boy and enumerating his most famous actions,

it is event that in the present narrative my proper course is to omit details concerning his early training and the ambitions of his youth, but to add detail to the summary account I there gave of the achievements of his riper years, in order that the proper character of each work may be preserved.

For just as the former work, being in the form of an encomium, demanded a summary and somewhat exaggerated account of his achievements, so the present history, which distributes praise and blame impartially, demands a strictly true account and one which states the ground on which either praise or blame is based.

Walbank Commentary

Overview

10.20.0 - 10.24.0

Philopoemen reforms the Achaean cavalry This fragment, from the res Graeciae of Ol. 142, 3 = 210/09 B.C. (in fact 209) concerns Philopoemen's hipparchia, to which he was elected in autumn 210, when Cycliadas became Achaean general (22. 6; cf. Plut. Philop. 7. 2; Paus. viii. 49. 7; Livy, xxvii. 31. 10 for Cycliadas). By this date entry upon the strategia, and with it the hipparchia, was in autumn; cf. v. 106. 1 n., xi. 10. 9.

10.21.5 - 10.21.8

Life of Philopoemen. When P. composed this is not recorded and has been the subject of much controversy. Werner, 14, dated its composition to the period 180–172 when, he argued, Lycortas' party was out of office (a dubious assumption). Lucas, 35 n. 2, assumed that P. composed it after 146 to defend the dead leader against Roman criticism (cf. xxxix. 3), a view that has been generally rejected, though not always for good reasons. Nitzsch, 137, for example, argued that if Lucas was right it was odd that the Philopoemen dealt only summarily with its subject's adult years; but in fact <w lang="el-GR">κεφαλαιωδῶς</w> (§ 7) describes the general character of the encomium contrasted with the Histories, and does not imply that Philopoemen's adult years were given summary treatment and his early youth developed at length (so Pdech, REG, 1951, 82–88; contra Jacoby on FGH, 173). A stronger argument is that the Philopoemen was an elogium or encomium (§ 8), and that this was quite distinct in rhetorical theory from an apologia (Arist. Rhet. i. 3. 3. 1358 b; i. 9. 33. 1367 b; Pdech, REG, 1951, 89). Finally, it is certain that P. had written at least as far as xv (and probably xvi) by 146 (cf. iii. 1–5 n.); therefore, since P. here (§ 6) says that the Philopoemen was an earlier work, to date it to 146 will involve the hypothesis that the account of Philopoemen in x is a later insertion, a view for which there is no evidence whatever. It is therefore unlikely that the encomium was written at the date and in the context assigned to it by Lucas. Recently Pdech (REG, 1951, 88–103), anticipated by Wunderer (i. 87), has argued that P. wrote his Philopoemen at <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Rome&groupId=935&placeId=1669">Rome</a> as an educational model for the young Scipio Aemilianus. But this view depends largely on the thesis that it was primarily concerned with Philopoemen's education and early years, a view not supported by the evidence (see below); and, as Ziegler observes (RE, 'Polybios (1)', cols. 1472–3 n.), Scipio's model and vade-mecum is known to have been Xenophon's Cyropaedia (Cic. T.D. ii. 62; ad Q. frat. i. 1. 23). Further, Philopoemen was hardly the figure to commend himself to the young Roman noble as a model in view of his supposed hostility to <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Rome&groupId=935&placeId=1669">Rome</a> (cf. Treu, Historia, 1954, 219 n. 1). Altogether, then, the view that the Philopoemen was a youthful work written soon after its subject's death is the most convincing (Nissen, KU, 280–1; Ziegler, RE, 'Polybios (1)', col. 1472). It is highly probable that Plutarch's Philopoemen is derived very largely from P.'s encomium (cf. A. H. L. Heeren, De fontibus et auctoritate vit. parallel. Plut. commentationes quattuor (Göttingen, <milestone unit="page" n="221">[221]</milestone> 1820), 86–88; M. Haug, Die Quellen Plutarchs in den Lebensbeschreibungen der Gracchen (Tbingen, 1854), 84–86; Nissen, KU, 280–7; contra Ziegler, RE, 'Polybios (1)', col. 1472). The Life includes many details not in P.'s Histories, but not inconsistent with them; whether Plutarch used P.'s Life directly is another question, not relevant here. Pdech (REG, 1951, 82–88) has tried to establish the detailed contents of the Philopoemen, but unsuccessfully. He argues that the phrase <w lang="el-GR">τὰς ἐπιφανεστάτας πράξεις</w> (§ 6) means Philopoemen's achievements prior to his holding the hipparchy (cf. § 7, <w lang="el-GR">τῶν νεωτερικῶν ζήλων)</w>, and therefore that of the three books of the encomium, book i dealt with Philopoemen's birth and education (cf. § 5, <w lang="el-GR">τίς ἦν καὶ τίνων καὶ τίσιν ἀγωγαῖς ἐχρή?σατο νέος ὤν</w> ), book ii with his career down to 210/09, and book iii with his <w lang="el-GR">ἀκμή</w>. But the <w lang="el-GR">ἐπιφανέσταται πράξεις</w> seem to be the deeds of Philopoemen's prime; cf. § 1, <w lang="el-GR">ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν τῶν . . . πράξεων</w>, which implies that the <w lang="el-GR">πράξεις</w> began with his official career, and neglects what was done earlier, for instance at <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Sellasia&groupId=966&placeId=1714">Sellasia</a>. Moreover, if Plutarch's Life is any indication, where only seven chapters out of twenty-one deal with the period before the hipparchy, it is unlikely that two-thirds of the encomium was concerned with these early years. Equally unconvincing is Treu's attempt (Historia, 1954, 220–4) to expand the Philopoemen to contain an excursus on the early history of the Achaean confederation (Plut. Philop. 8), inserted between Philopoemen's early life and the account of his primean excursus which he thinks served P. as a source in the Histories. In reality, the detailed contents and disposition of the Philopoemen seem to be irrecoverable. H. Homeyer, Klio, 1963, 155 n. 5, thinks that what P. composed was not an encomium but an encomiastic biography, arranged chronologically; see also Petzold, Studien, 12 n. 5. Errington, 232–6, reaches no firm conclusion on the date of its composition, but he queries Nissen's view that the biography, and not the Histories, was Plutarch's source in the Philopoemen. On that point see addendum to xi. 18. 4. Pdech's reconstruction of P.'s Philopoemen is rejected by Petzold, loc. cit.

10.21.8 - 10.21.8

Encomium and history. It is a mark of the <w lang="el-GR">γένος ἐγκωμιαστικόν</w> that it requires <w lang="el-GR">αὔξησις</w> (amplificatio), a feature stressed by Gorgias, who laid it down (Plato, Phaedr. 267 A) that the orator's task was to make <w lang="el-GR">τὰ σμικρὰ μεγάλα καὶ τὰ μεγάλα σμικρὰ φαίνεσθαι</w> . There was a clear line between history and encomium (also called <w lang="el-GR">ἐπιδεικτικόν</w> and <w lang="el-GR">πανηγυρικόν</w>; cf. Kroll, RE, 'Rhetorik', Suppl.-B. vii, cols. 1128–9) on the question of truth (cf. xii. 28 a 1). The distinction is developed in Lucian, Hist. conscr. 7; see Avenarius, 13–16, 159–60, also discussing the present passage. <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">κοινὸς ὢν ἐπαίνου καὶ ψόγου</w>:</emph> this is essential to the moral and didactic purpose of history (cf. Vol. I, pp. 6 ff.), and must therefore be firmly based on reasons <w lang="el-GR">(μετ᾿ ἀποδείξεως)</w>; see viii. 8. 7 n. Elsewhere P. criticizes Phylarchus (ii. 61. 6) and Timaeus (xii. 15. 9) for omitting <w lang="el-GR">ἔπαινος</w> in the proper place; and in i. 14. 5 he insists that personal friendship or hostility must not affect the historian's duty to apply praise and blame (cf. vi. 11. 10, xviii. 41. 1). Avenarius, 157–62, stresses the development of this by Ephorus and Theopompus. <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">τὸν μετ᾿ ἀποδείξεως καὶ τῶν . . . συλλογισμῶν</w> :</emph> sc. <w lang="el-GR">ἀπολογισμόν</w>; 'an account supported by reasoning and the considerations accompanying each action'. This seems the most likely rendering, since, if <w lang="el-GR">συλλογισμῶν</w> is translated 'calculation of results', <w lang="el-GR">παρεπομένων</w> has no obvious sense.

Specifics

10.21.1 - 10.21.1

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">Εὐρυλέων</w>:</emph> presumably the Achaean general for 211/10; he is not mentioned elsewhere (Niese, ii. 483 n. 5), but may be the father of Xenophon of Aegium (cf. xviii. 1. 4 n.). The approach to <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Sparta&groupId=660&placeId=1208">Sparta</a> in the late spring of 210 (ix. 28–39 n.) had brought her into the war, and under Machanidas (41. 2) she threatened <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Achaea&groupId=272&placeId=533">Achaea</a>. For the loss of Aegina the same year see ix. 42. 5–8. <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">τὴν ἀρχὴ?ν τῶν Φιλοποίμενος πράξεων</w>:</emph> on Philopoemen see ii. 40. 2 n. Since <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Sellasia&groupId=966&placeId=1714">Sellasia</a> (ii. 67. 4 ff.) he had served as a mercenary in <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Crete&groupId=505&placeId=949">Crete</a> (Plut. Philop. 7. 1–2; Paus. viii. 49. 7) for about ten years; he will have returned to <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Achaea&groupId=272&placeId=533">Achaea</a> in 210. P. is here thinking of his official career and so neglects his achievements at <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Sellasia&groupId=966&placeId=1714">Sellasia</a> (on <w lang="el-GR">πράξεις</w> cf. § 6 n.). <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">τὰς ἑκάστων ἀγωγὰς καὶ φύσεις</w>:</emph> 'their training and character'; similarly the account of Scipio's <w lang="el-GR">πράξεις</w> is preceded by a discussion of his <w lang="el-GR">αἵρεσις? καὶ φύσις</w>, and <w lang="el-GR">ἀπὸ ποίας φύσως ἢ τριβῆς ὁρμηθεί?ς</w> he accomplished them (2. 1–2). P. also emphasizes the <w lang="el-GR">ἀγωγή</w> of Xanthippus (i. 32. 1), the elder Tarquin (vi. 11 a 7), and Chaeron (xxiv. 7. 1); cf. Pdech, REG, 1951. 91. <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">καὶ περὶ τούτου ποιῆσαι τὸ παραπλήσιον</w>:</emph> for an attempt to analyse P.'s procedure in terms of the schemata laid down in late rhetorical manuals see O. Schissel, Rh. Mus. 1926, 84–97; it fails because it assumes P. to be writing an encomium of Philopoemen, despite the clear indication that this is what he is not doing (§ 8).

10.21.3 - 10.21.3

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">τὰς . . . τῶν πόλεων κτίσεις</w>:</emph> cf. ix. 1. 4 n. <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">τὰς διαθέσεις καὶ περιστὰσεις</w>:</emph> 'the circumstances and difficulties of the operation'. <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">τὰς ἀγωγὰς καὶ ζήλους</w>:</emph> 'the education and tastes'. <milestone unit="page" n="220">[220]</milestone> <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">καὶ ταῦτα . . . τὴν διαφοράν</w>:</emph> 'though such information is more profitable' (Paton).

10.21.4 - 10.21.4

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">τοὺς ἐμψύχους ἄνδρας</w>:</emph> Schweighaeuser's convincing emendation of P <w lang="el-GR">εὐψύχους</w>; for the contrast with <w lang="el-GR">ἀψύχων</w> cf. vi. 47. 10. 〈 <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">πρὸς</w></emph> 〉 <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">ἐπανόρθωσιν</w>:</emph> for the didactic purpose see Vol. I, pp. 6 ff.

10.21.5 - 10.21.5

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">τίς ἦν καὶ τίνων . . . νέος? ὤν</w>:</emph> on the triple scheme here outlined see Treu, Historia, 1954, 221, who observes that <w lang="el-GR">τίς</w> originally included a man's character or <w lang="el-GR">φύσις</w>, and only later came to point only to his name. In the Euagoras Isocrates has only the first two points: <w lang="el-GR">πρῶτον μὲν οὖν περὶ τῆς φύσεως τῆς Εὐαγόρου καὶ τίνων ἦν ἀπόγονος . . . δοκεῖ μοι πρέπειν . . . διελθεῖν</w> (Isoc. Evag. 12). The third, <w lang="el-GR">ἀγωγή</w>, is found, however, in Xenophon's Cyropaedia (i. 1. 6), <w lang="el-GR">τίς ποτ᾿ ὤν γενεὰν καὶ ποίαν τινὰ φύσιν ἔ?χων καὶ ποίᾳ τινὶ παιδευθεὶς παιδείᾳ τοσοῦτον διήνεγκεν εἰς τὸ ἄρχειν ἀνθρώπων</w>. The whole scheme appears later in Nicolaus of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Damascus&groupId=121&placeId=358">Damascus</a>' biography of Augustus (FGH, 90 F 126). Pdech (REG, 1951, 83) argues that this part of Philopoemen's career was treated in detail, and adduces the use of <w lang="el-GR">διασαφοῦντες</w>; but <w lang="el-GR">διασφεῖν</w> means only 'to explain' (cf. ii. 19. 13, where it refers back to the cursory mention of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Sena&groupId=968&placeId=1716">Sena</a> in ii. 14. 11 and ii. 16. 5).

10.21.6 - 10.21.6

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">τὴν τε παιδικὴν ἀγωγὴν . . . καὶ τὰς ἐπιφανεστάτας πράξεις</w> :</emph> the former is taken up as <w lang="el-GR">τῆς . . . νεωτερικῆς ἀγωγῆς καὶ τῶν νεωτερικῶν ζήλων</w> (§ 7), the latter are the achievements of his adult career (§ 7, <w lang="el-GR">τοῖς . . . κατὰ τὴν ἀκμὴν αὐτοῦ . . . ἔργοις</w> ). On the view that the <w lang="el-GR">ἐπιφανέσταται πράξεις</w> are the same as <w lang="el-GR">οἱ νεωτερικοὶ ζῆλοι</w> see above, §§ 5–8 n. <milestone unit="page" n="222">[222]</milestone>

10.21.7 - 10.21.7

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">κατὰ μέρος ἀφελεῖν</w>:</emph> 'to abridge the details' (contrast <w lang="el-GR">προσθεῖναι καὶ κατὰ μέρος</w>, 'to add details'). Schweighaeuser quotes Reiske's view that <w lang="el-GR">κατὰ μέρος</w> here means simply 'modo . . . modo', 'on the one hand' and 'on the other' per compensationem; but this is already in <w lang="el-GR">μὲν . . . δέ</w>. The account of Philopoemen's early youth and training is to be abridged, not because it has been described in greater detail in the monograph than have his later years, but because a detailed account of such matters is out of place in a general history. <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">κεφαλαιωδῶς ἐκεῖ δεδηλωμένοις</w>:</emph> summarily compared with the requirements of a history; but an encomium, P. adds (§ 8), <w lang="el-GR">ἀπῄτει τὸν κεφαλαιώδη . . . ἀπολόγισμον</w> . <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">τὸ πρέπον ἐκατέρᾳ τῶν συντάξεων</w>:</emph> cf. ii. 40. 3, <w lang="el-GR">κατὰ τὸ πρέπον τῇ γραφῇ</w>, where P. makes the same contrast between history and biography (or encomium).

Addenda & corrigenda

10.21.5 - 10.21.8

<emph rend="bold">21. 5–8.</emph> Life of Philopoemen: H. Homeyer, Klio, 1963, 155 n. 5, thinks that what P. composed was not an encomium but an encomiastic biography, arranged chronologically; see also Petzold, Studien, 12 n. 5. Errington, 232–6, reaches no firm conclusion on the date of its composition, but he queries Nissen's view that the biography, and not the Histories, was Plutarch's source in the Philopoemen. On that point see addendum to xi. 18. 4. Pdech's reconstruction of P.'s Philopoemen is rejected by Petzold, loc. cit.

Polybius, Histories

Bibliography

Archaeology

Places

Walbank Commentary

Commentary