---
title: "The Histories · Ἱστορίαι"
author: "Polybius"
translator: "Evelyn S. Shuckburgh"
languages: [grc, en]
shelf: "Classical Greek"
section: 42 of 103
url: https://scriptura.si/works/polybius-histories/42/
cite: "Polybius, tr. Evelyn S. Shuckburgh, The Histories · Ἱστορίαι, section 42. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/polybius-histories/42/"
---

# The Histories · Ἱστορίαι

*Polybius, tr. Evelyn S. Shuckburgh*

How did Rome conquer the known world in under fifty-three years? A Greek hostage who became Scipio’s friend explains, with the Punic Wars, Hannibal, the Roman constitution and the fall of Carthage.

> Greek: ed. Theodor Büttner-Wobst, from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-greekLit, tlg0543.tlg001, CC BY-SA 4.0).

> English: Evelyn S. Shuckburgh, from the Perseus Digital Library (tlg0543.tlg001.perseus-eng2). Notes are not included.

> Rows follow the references the two texts share (books, chapters and sections), cut where both reach the end of a sentence.

## 42. Book VI · chapters 35–46

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/polybius-histories/42/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/polybius-histories/42/#p-N

[¶0] 35. Next as to the keeping guard at night. The Consul’s tent is guarded by the maniple on duty: those of the Tribuni and praefects of the cavalry by the pickets formed as described above from the several maniples. And in the same way each maniple and squadron posts guards of their own men. The other pickets are posted by the Consul. Generally speaking there are three pickets at the Quaestorium, and two at the tent of each of the legati or members of council. The vallum is lined by the velites, who are on guard all along it from day to day. That is their special duty; while they also guard all the entrances to the camp, telling off ten sentinels to take their turn at each of them. Of the men told off for duty at the several stationes, the man who in each maniple is to take the first watch is brought by the rear-rank man of his company to the Tribune at eventide. The latter hands over to them severally small wooden tablets (tesserae), one for each watch, inscribed with small marks; on receiving which they go off to the places indicated. The duty of going the rounds is intrusted to the cavalry. The first Praefect of cavalry in each legion, early in the morning, orders one of his rear-rank men to give notice before breakfast to four young men of his squadron who are to go the rounds. At evening this same man’s duty is to give notice to the Praefect of the next squadron that it is his turn to provide for going the rounds until next morning. This officer thereupon takes measures similar to the preceding one until the next day; and so on throughout the cavalry squadrons. The four men thus selected by the rear-rank men from the first squadron, after drawing lots for the watch they are to take, proceed to the tent of the Tribune on duty, and receive from him a writing stating the order and the number of the watches they are to visit. The four then take up their quarters for the night alongside of the first maniple of Triarii; for it is the duty of the centurion of this maniple to see that a bugle is blown at the beginning of every watch. When the time has arrived, the man to whose lot the first watch has fallen goes his rounds, taking some of his friends as witnesses. He walks through the posts assigned, which are not only those along the vallum and gates, but also the pickets set by the several maniples and squadrons. If he find the men of the first watch awake he takes from them their tessera; but if he find any one of them asleep or absent from his post, he calls those with him to witness the fact and passes on. The same process is repeated by those who go the rounds during the other watches. The charge of seeing that the bugle is blown at the beginning of each watch, so that the right man might visit the right pickets, is as I have said, laid upon the centurions of the first maniple of Triarii, each one taking the duty for a day. Each of these men who have gone the rounds (tessarii) at daybreak conveys the tesserae to the Tribune on duty. If the whole number are given in they are dismissed without question; but if any of them brings a number less than that of the pickets, an investigation is made by means of the mark on the tessera, as to which picket he has omitted. Upon this being ascertained the centurion is summoned; he brings the men who were on duty, and they are confronted with the patrol. If the fault is with the men on guard, the patrol clears himself by producing the witnesses whom he took with him; for he cannot do so without. If nothing of that sort happened, the blame recoils upon the patrol.

> Greek: 35. τὰ δὲ περὶ τὰς νυκτερινὰς φυλακὰς οὕτως οἰκονομεῖται παρʼ αὐτοῖς. τὸν μὲν στρατηγὸν καὶ τὴν τούτου σκηνὴν ἡ παρακοιτοῦσα σημαία φυλάττει, τὰς δὲ τῶν χιλιάρχων καὶ τοὺς τῶν ἱππέων οὐλαμοὺς οἱ διατεταγμένοι κατὰ τὸν ἄρτι λόγον ἐξ ἑκάστης σημαίας. ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ παρʼ ἕκαστον τάγμα πάντες ἐξ ἑαυτῶν τιθέασι φυλακήν· τὰς δὲ λοιπὰς ὁ στρατηγὸς ἀποτάττει. γίνονται δʼ ὡς ἐπίπαν τρεῖς φυλακαὶ παρὰ τὸν ταμίαν, καὶ παρʼ ἕκαστον τῶν πρεσβευτῶν καὶ συμβούλων δύο. τὴν δʼ ἐκτὸς ἐπιφάνειαν οἱ γροσφομάχοι πληροῦσι, παρʼ ὅλον καθʼ ἡμέραν τὸν χάρακα παρακοιτοῦντες — αὕτη γὰρ ἐπιτέτακται τούτοις ἡ λειτουργία — ἐπί τε τῶν εἰσόδων ἀνὰ δέκα ποιοῦνται τούτων αὐτῶν τὰς προκοιτίας. τῶν δʼ εἰς τὰς φυλακὰς ἀποταχθέντων ἀφʼ ἑκάστου φυλακείου τὸν τὴν πρώτην μέλλοντα τηρεῖν εἷς ἐξ ἑκάστης σημαίας οὐραγὸς ἄγει πρὸς τὸν χιλίαρχον ἑσπέρας· ὁ δὲ δίδωσι τούτοις πᾶσι ξυλήφια κατὰ φυλακήν, βραχέα τελέως, ἔχοντα χαρακτῆρα. λαβόντες δʼ οὗτοι μὲν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἀποδεδειγμένους ἀπαλλάττονται τόπους. ἡ δὲ τῆς ἐφοδείας πίστις εἰς τοὺς ἱππεῖς ἀνατίθεται. δεῖ γὰρ τὸν πρῶτον ἰλάρχην καθʼ ἕκαστον στρατόπεδον ἑνὶ τῶν οὐραγῶν τῶν αὑτοῦ παραγγεῖλαι πρῲ παράγγελμα τοιοῦτον, ἵνα τέτταρσιν οὗτος ἐμφανίσῃ νεανίσκοις τῶν ἐκ τῆς ἰδίας ἴλης πρὸ ἀρίστου τοῖς μέλλουσιν ἐφοδεύειν. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τῷ τῆς ἐχομένης ἴλης ἡγεμόνι δεῖ τὸν αὐτὸν ἀφʼ ἑσπέρας παραγγεῖλαι διότι τούτῳ καθήκει τὰ περὶ τῆς ἐφοδείας φροντίζειν εἰς τὴν αὔριον. τοῦτον δʼ ἀκούσαντα παραπλησίως ταὐτὰ δεῖ ποιεῖν τοῖς προειρημένοις εἰς τὴν ἐπιοῦσαν ἡμέραν· ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἑξῆς. οἱ δὲ προκριθέντες ὑπὸ τῶν οὐραγῶν ἐκ τῆς πρώτης ἴλης τέτταρες, ἐπειδὰν διαλάχωσι τὰς φυλακάς, πορεύονται πρὸς τὸν χιλίαρχον, καὶ γραφὴν λαμβάνουσι πόσου καὶ πόσας ἐφοδεῦσαι δεῖ φυλακάς. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα παρακοιτοῦσιν οἱ τέτταρες παρὰ τὴν πρώτην σημαίαν τῶν τριαρίων· ὁ γὰρ ταύτης ταξίαρχος τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν ποιεῖται τοῦ κατὰ φυλακὴν βουκανᾶν. συνάψαντος δὲ τοῦ καιροῦ τὴν πρώτην ἐφοδεύει φυλακὴν ὁ ταύτην λαχών, ἔχων μεθʼ αὑτοῦ μάρτυρας τῶν φίλων. ἐπιπορεύεται δὲ τοὺς ῥηθέντας τόπους, οὐ μόνον τοὺς περὶ τὸν χάρακα καὶ τὰς εἰσόδους, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς κατὰ σημαίαν ἅπαντας καὶ τοὺς κατʼ οὐλαμόν· κἂν μὲν εὕρῃ τοὺς φυλάττοντας τὴν πρώτην ἐγρηγορότας, λαμβάνει παρὰ τούτων τὸ κάρφος· ἐὰν δʼ εὕρῃ κοιμώμενον ἢ λελοιπότα τινὰ τὸν τόπον, ἐπιμαρτυράμενος τοὺς σύνεγγυς ἀπαλλάττεται. τὸ δὲ παραπλήσιον γίνεται καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν τὰς ἑξῆς φυλακὰς ἐφοδευόντων. τὴν δʼ ἐπιμέλειαν τοῦ κατὰ φυλακὴν βουκανᾶν, ὡς ἀρτίως εἶπον, ἵνα σύμφωνον ᾖ τοῖς ἐφοδεύουσι πρὸς τοὺς φυλάττοντας, οἱ τῆς πρώτης σημαίας τῶν τριαρίων ἐξ ἑκατέρου τοῦ στρατοπέδου ταξίαρχοι καθʼ ἡμέραν ποιοῦνται. τῶν δʼ ἐφόδων ἕκαστος ἅμα τῷ φωτὶ πρὸς τὸν χιλίαρχον ἀναφέρει τὸ σύνθημα. κἂν μὲν ᾖ πάντα δεδομένα, χωρὶς ἐγκλήματος ἀπαλλάττονται πάλιν· ἂν δέ τις ἐλάττω φέρῃ τοῦ πλήθους τῶν φυλακείων, ζητοῦσιν ἐκ τοῦ χαρακτῆρος ποῖον ἐκ τῶν φυλακείων λέλοιπε. τούτου δὲ γνωσθέντος καλεῖ τὸν ταξίαρχον· οὗτος δʼ ἄγει τοὺς ἀποταχθέντας εἰς τὴν φυλακήν· οὗτοι δὲ συγκρίνονται πρὸς τὸν ἔφοδον. ἐὰν μὲν οὖν ἐν τοῖς φύλαξιν ᾖ τὸ κακόν, εὐθέως δῆλός ἐστιν ὁ τὴν ἐφοδείαν ἔχων ἐπιμαρτυράμενος τοὺς σύνεγγυς· ὀφείλει γὰρ τοῦτο ποιεῖν· ἐὰν δὲ μηδὲν ᾖ τοιοῦτο γεγονός, εἰς τὸν ἔφοδον ἀναχωρεῖ τοὔγκλημα.

[¶1] 37. Then the Tribunes at once hold a court-martial, and the man who is found guilty is punished by the fustuarium; the nature of which is this. The Tribune takes a cudgel and merely touches the condemned man; whereupon all the soldiers fall upon him with cudgels and stones. Generally speaking men thus punished are killed on the spot; but if by any chance, after running the gauntlet, they manage to escape from the camp, they have no hope of ultimately surviving even so. They may not return to their own country, nor would any one venture to receive such an one into his house. Therefore those who have once fallen into this misfortune are utterly and finally ruined. The same fate awaits the praefect of the squadron, as well as his rear-rank man, if they fail to give the necessary order at the proper time, the latter to the patrols, and the former to the praefect of the next squadron. The result of the severity and inevitableness of this punishment is that in the Roman army the night watches are faultlessly kept. The common soldiers are amenable to the Tribunes; the Tribunes to the Consuls. The Tribune is competent to punish a soldier by inflicting a fine, distraining his goods, or ordering him to be flogged; so too the praefects in the case of the socii. The punishment of the fustuarium is assigned also to any one committing theft in the camp, or bearing false witness: as also to any one who in full manhood is detected in shameful immorality: or to any one who has been thrice punished for the same offence. All these things are punished as crimes. But such as the following are reckoned as cowardly and dishonourable in a soldier: —for a man to make a false report to the Tribunes of his valour in order to get reward; or for men who have been told off to an ambuscade to quit the place assigned them from fear; and also for a man to throw away any of his arms from fear, on the actual field of battle. Consequently it sometimes happens that men confront certain death at their stations, because, from their fear of the punishment awaiting them at home, they refuse to quit their post: while others, who have lost shield or spear or any other arm on the field, throw themselves upon the foe, in hopes of recovering what they have lost, or of escaping by death from certain disgrace and the insults of their relations.

> Greek: 37. καθίσαντος δὲ παραχρῆμα συνεδρίου τῶν χιλιάρχων κρίνεται, κἂν καταδικασθῇ, ξυλοκοπεῖται. τὸ δὲ τῆς ξυλοκοπίας ἐστὶ τοιοῦτον. λαβὼν ξύλον ὁ χιλίαρχος τούτῳ τοῦ κατακριθέντος οἷον ἥψατο μόνον, οὗ γενομένου πάντες οἱ τοῦ στρατοπέδου τύπτοντες τοῖς ξύλοις καὶ τοῖς λίθοις τοὺς μὲν πλείστους ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ στρατοπεδείᾳ καταβάλλουσι, τοῖς δʼ ἐκπεσεῖν δυναμένοις οὐδʼ ὣς ὑπάρχει σωτηρία· πῶς γάρ; οἷς οὔτʼ εἰς τὴν πατρίδα τὴν ἑαυτῶν ἐπανελθεῖν ἔξεστιν οὔτε τῶν ἀναγκαίων οὐδεὶς ἂν οἰκίᾳ τολμήσειε δέξασθαι τὸν τοιοῦτον. διὸ τελείως οἱ περιπεσόντες ἅπαξ τοιαύτῃ συμφορᾷ καταφθείρονται. τὸ δʼ αὐτὸ πάσχειν ὀφείλει τοῖς προειρημένοις ὅ τʼ οὐραγὸς καὶ [ὁ] τῆς ἴλης ἡγεμών, ἐὰν μὴ παραγγείλωσιν, ὁ μὲν τοῖς ἐφόδοις, ὁ δὲ τῷ τῆς ἐχομένης ἴλης ἡγεμόνι, τὸ δέον ἐν τῷ καθήκοντι καιρῷ. διόπερ οὕτως ἰσχυρᾶς οὔσης καὶ ἀπαραιτήτου τῆς τιμωρίας ἀδιάπτωτα γίνεται παρʼ αὐτοῖς τὰ κατὰ τὰς νυκτερινὰς φυλακάς. δεῖ δὲ προσέχειν τοὺς μὲν στρατιώτας τοῖς χιλιάρχοις, τούτους δʼ ἔτι τοῖς ὑπάτοις. κύριος δʼ ἐστὶ καὶ ζημιῶν ὁ χιλίαρχος καὶ ἐνεχυράζων καὶ μαστιγῶν, τοὺς δὲ συμμάχους οἱ πραίφεκτοι. ξυλοκοπεῖται δὲ καὶ πᾶς ὁ κλέψας τι τῶν ἐκ τοῦ στρατοπέδου, καὶ μὴν ὁ μαρτυρήσας ψευδῆ παραπλησίως, κἄν τις τῶν ἐν ἀκμῇ παραχρησάμενος εὑρεθῇ τῷ σώματι, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις ὁ τρὶς περὶ τῆς αὐτῆς αἰτίας ζημιωθείς. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ὡς ἀδικήματα κολάζουσιν· εἰς δʼ ἀνανδρίαν τιθέασι καὶ στρατιωτικὴν αἰσχύνην τὰ τοιαῦτα τῶν ἐγκλημάτων, ἐάν τινες ψευδῆ περὶ αὑτῶν ἀνδραγαθίαν ἀπαγγείλωσι τοῖς χιλιάρχοις ἕνεκεν τοῦ τιμὰς λαβεῖν, ὁμοίως ἄν τινες εἰς ἐφεδρείαν ταχθέντες φόβου χάριν λίπωσι τὸν δοθέντα τόπον, παραπλησίως ἐάν τις ἀπορρίψῃ τι τῶν ὅπλων κατʼ αὐτὸν τὸν κίνδυνον διὰ φόβον. διὸ καί τινες μὲν ἐν ταῖς ἐφεδρείαις προδήλως ἀπόλλυνται, πολλαπλασίων αὐτοῖς ἐπιγινομένων οὐ θέλοντες λιπεῖν τὴν τάξιν, δεδιότες τὴν οἰκείαν τιμωρίαν· ἔνιοι δὲ κατʼ αὐτὸν τὸν κίνδυνον ἐκβαλόντες θυρεὸν ἢ μάχαιραν ἤ τι τῶν ἄλλων ὅπλων παραλόγως ῥίπτουσιν ἑαυτοὺς εἰς τοὺς πολεμίους, ἢ κυριεύειν ἐλπίζοντες ὧν ἀπέβαλον ἢ παθόντες τι τὴν πρόδηλον αἰσχύνην διαφεύξεσθαι καὶ τὴν τῶν οἰκείων ὕβριν.

[¶2] 38. But if it ever happens that a number of men are involved in these same acts: if, for instance, some entire maniples have quitted their ground in the presence of the enemy, it is deemed impossible to subject all to thefustuarium or to military execution; but a solution of the difficulty has been found at once adequate to the maintenance of discipline and calculated to strike terror. The Tribune assembles the legion, calls the defaulters to the front, and, after administering a sharp rebuke, selects five or eight or twenty out of them by lot, so that those selected should be about a tenth of those who have been guilty of the act of cowardice. These selected are punished with thefustuarium without mercy; the rest are put on rations of barley instead of wheat, and are ordered to take up their quarters outside the vallum and the protection of the camp. As all are equally in danger of having the lot fall on them, and as all alike who escape that, are made a conspicuous example of by having their rations of barley, the best possible means are thus taken to inspire fear for the future, and to correct the mischief which has actually occurred.

> Greek: 38. ἐὰν δέ ποτε ταὐτὰ ταῦτα περὶ πλείους συμβῇ γενέσθαι καὶ σημαίας τινὰς ὁλοσχερῶς πιεσθείσας λιπεῖν τοὺς τόπους, τὸ μὲν ἅπαντας ξυλοκοπεῖν ἢ φονεύειν ἀποδοκιμάζουσι, λύσιν δὲ τοῦ πράγματος εὑρίσκονται συμφέρουσαν ἅμα καὶ καταπληκτικήν. συναθροίσας γὰρ τὸ στρατόπεδον ὁ χιλίαρχος καὶ προαγαγὼν εἰς μέσον τοὺς λελοιπότας, κατηγορεῖ πικρῶς, καὶ τὸ τέλος ποτὲ μὲν πέντε, ποτὲ δʼ ὀκτώ, ποτὲ δʼ εἴκοσι, τὸ δʼ ὅλον πρὸς τὸ πλῆθος αἰεὶ στοχαζόμενος, ὥστε δέκατον μάλιστα γίνεσθαι τῶν ἡμαρτηκότων, τοσούτους ἐκ πάντων κληροῦται τῶν ἀποδεδειλιακότων, καὶ τοὺς μὲν λαχόντας ξυλοκοπεῖ κατὰ τὸν ἄρτι ῥηθέντα λόγον ἀπαραιτήτως, τοῖς δὲ λοιποῖς τὸ μέτρημα κριθὰς δοὺς ἀντὶ πυρῶν ἔξω κελεύει τοῦ χάρακος καὶ τῆς ἀσφαλείας ποιεῖσθαι τὴν παρεμβολήν. λοιπὸν τοῦ μὲν κινδύνου καὶ φόβου τοῦ κατὰ τὸν κλῆρον ἐπʼ ἴσον ἐπικρεμαμένου πᾶσιν, ὡς ἂν ἀδήλου τοῦ συμπτώματος ὑπάρχοντος, τοῦ δὲ παραδειγματισμοῦ τοῦ κατὰ τὴν κριθοφαγίαν ὁμοίως συμβαίνοντος περὶ πάντας, τὸ δυνατὸν ἐκ τῶν ἐθισμῶν εἴληπται καὶ πρὸς κατάπληξιν καὶ διόρθωσιν τῶν συμπτωμάτων.

[¶3] 39. A very excellent plan also is adopted for inducing young soldiers to brave danger. When an engagement has taken place and any of them have showed conspicuous gallantry, the Consul summons an assembly of the legion, puts forward those whom he considers to have distinguished themselves in any way, and first compliments each of them individually on his gallantry, and mentions any other distinction he may have earned in the course of his life, and then presents them with gifts: to the man who has wounded an enemy, a spear; to the man who has killed one and stripped his armour, a cup, if he be in the infantry, horse-trappings if in the cavalry: though originally the only present made was a spear. This does not take place in the event of their having wounded or stripped any of the enemy in a set engagement or the storming of a town; but in skirmishes or other occasions of that sort, in which, without there being any positive necessity for them to expose themselves singly to danger, they have done so voluntarily and deliberately. In the capture of a town those who are first to mount the walls are presented with a gold crown. So too those who have covered and saved any citizens or allies are distinguished by the Consul with certain presents; and those whom they have preserved present them voluntarily with a crown, or if not, they are compelled to do so by the Tribunes. The man thus preserved, too, reverences his preserver throughout his life as a father, and is bound to act towards him as a father in every respect. By such incentives those who stay at home are stirred up to a noble rivalry and emulation in confronting danger, no less than those who actually hear and see what takes place. For the recipients of such rewards not only enjoy great glory among their comrades in the army, and an immediate reputation at home, but after their return they are marked men in all solemn festivals; for they alone, who have been thus distinguished by the Consuls for bravery, are allowed to wear robes of honour on those occasions: and moreover they place the spoils they have taken in the most conspicuous places in their houses, as visible tokens and proofs of their valour. No wonder that a people, whose rewards and punishments are allotted with such care and received with such feelings, should be brilliantly successful in war. The pay of the foot soldier is 5 1/3 asses a day; of the centurion 10 2/3; of the cavalry 16. The infantry receive a ration of wheat equal to about 2/3 of an Attic medimnus a month, and the cavalry 7 medimni of barley, and 2 of wheat; of the allies the infantry receive the same, the cavalry 1 1/3 medimnus of wheat, and 5 of barley. This is a free gift to the allies; but in the cases of the Romans, the Quaestor stops out of their pay the price of their corn and clothes, or any additional arms they may require at a fixed rate.

> Greek: 39. καλῶς δὲ καὶ τοὺς νέους ἐκκαλοῦνται πρὸς τὸ κινδυνεύειν. ἐπειδὰν γὰρ γένηταί τις χρεία καί τινες αὐτῶν ἀνδραγαθήσωσι, συναγαγὼν ὁ στρατηγὸς ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ στρατοπέδου, καὶ παραστησάμενος τοὺς δόξαντάς τι πεπραχέναι διαφέρον, πρῶτον μὲν ἐγκώμιον ὑπὲρ ἑκάστου λέγει περί τε τῆς ἀνδραγαθίας, κἄν τι κατὰ τὸν βίον αὐτοῖς ἄλλο συνυπάρχῃ τῆς ἐπʼ ἀγαθῷ μνήμης ἄξιον, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τῷ μὲν τρώσαντι πολέμιον γαῖσον δωρεῖται, τῷ δὲ καταβαλόντι καὶ σκυλεύσαντι, τῷ μὲν πεζῷ φιάλην, τῷ δʼ ἱππεῖ φάλαρʼ, ἐξ ἀρχῆς δὲ γαῖσον μόνον. τυγχάνει δὲ τούτων οὐκ ἐὰν ἐν παρατάξει τις ἢ πόλεως καταλήψει τρώσῃ τινὰς ἢ σκυλεύσῃ τῶν πολεμίων, ἀλλʼ ἐὰν ἐν ἀκροβολισμοῖς ἤ τισιν ἄλλοις τοιούτοις καιροῖς, ἐν οἷς μηδεμιᾶς ἀνάγκης οὔσης κατʼ ἄνδρα κινδυνεύειν αὐτοί τινες ἑκουσίως καὶ κατὰ προαίρεσιν αὑτοὺς εἰς τοῦτο διδόασι. τοῖς δὲ πόλεως καταλαμβανομένης πρώτοις ἐπὶ τὸ τεῖχος ἀναβᾶσι χρυσοῦν δίδωσι στέφανον. ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τοὺς ὑπερασπίσαντας καὶ σώσαντάς τινας τῶν πολιτῶν ἢ συμμάχων ὅ τε στρατηγὸς ἐπισημαίνεται δώροις, οἵ τε χιλίαρχοι τοὺς σωθέντας, ἐὰν μὲν ἑκόντες ποιήσωσιν, εἰ δὲ μή, κρίναντες συναναγκάζουσι τὸν σώσαντα στεφανοῦν. σέβεται δὲ τοῦτον καὶ παρʼ ὅλον τὸν βίον ὁ σωθεὶς ὡς πατέρα, καὶ πάντα δεῖ τούτῳ ποιεῖν αὐτὸν ὡς τῷ γονεῖ. ἐκ δὲ τῆς τοιαύτης παρορμήσεως οὐ μόνον τοὺς ἀκούοντας καὶ παρόντας ἐκκαλοῦνται πρὸς τὴν ἐν τοῖς κινδύνοις ἅμιλλαν καὶ ζῆλον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ἐν οἴκῳ μένοντας· οἱ γὰρ τυχόντες τῶν τοιούτων δωρεῶν χωρὶς τῆς ἐν τοῖς στρατοπέδοις εὐκλείας καὶ τῆς ἐν οἴκῳ παραχρῆμα φήμης καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἐπάνοδον τὴν εἰς τὴν πατρίδα τάς τε πομπὰς ἐπισήμως πομπεύουσι διὰ τὸ μόνοις ἐξεῖναι περιτίθεσθαι κόσμον τοῖς ὑπὸ τῶν στρατηγῶν ἐπʼ ἀνδραγαθίᾳ τετιμημένοις, ἔν τε ταῖς οἰκίαις κατὰ τοὺς ἐπιφανεστάτους τόπους τιθέασι τὰ σκῦλα, σημεῖα ποιούμενοι καὶ μαρτύρια τῆς ἑαυτῶν ἀρετῆς. τοιαύτης δʼ ἐπιμελείας οὔσης καὶ σπουδῆς περί τε τὰς τιμὰς καὶ τιμωρίας τὰς ἐν τοῖς στρατοπέδοις, εἰκότως καὶ τὰ τέλη τῶν πολεμικῶν πράξεων ἐπιτυχῆ καὶ λαμπρὰ γίνεται διʼ αὐτῶν. ὀψώνιον δʼ οἱ μὲν πεζοὶ λαμβάνουσι τῆς ἡμέρας δύʼ ὀβολούς, οἱ δὲ ταξίαρχοι διπλοῦν, οἱ δʼ ἱππεῖς δραχμήν. σιτομετροῦνται δʼ οἱ μὲν πεζοὶ πυρῶν Ἀττικοῦ μεδίμνου δύο μέρη μάλιστά πως, οἱ δʼ ἱππεῖς κριθῶν μὲν ἑπτὰ μεδίμνους εἰς τὸν μῆνα, πυρῶν δὲ δύο, τῶν δὲ συμμάχων οἱ μὲν πεζοὶ τὸ ἴσον, οἱ δʼ ἱππεῖς πυρῶν μὲν μέδιμνον ἕνα καὶ τρίτον μέρος, κριθῶν δὲ πέντε. δίδοται δὲ τοῖς μὲν συμμάχοις τοῦτʼ ἐν δωρεᾷ· τοῖς δὲ Ῥωμαίοις τοῦ τε σίτου καὶ τῆς ἐσθῆτος, κἄν τινος ὅπλου προσδεηθῶσι, πάντων τούτων ὁ ταμίας τὴν τεταγμένην τιμὴν ἐκ τῶν ὀψωνίων ὑπολογίζεται.

[¶4] 40. The following is their manner of moving camp. At the first bugle the men all strike their tents and collect their baggage; but no soldier may strike his tent, or set it up either, till the same is done to that of the Tribuni and the Consul. At the second bugle they load the beasts of burden with their baggage: at the third the first maniples must advance and set the whole camp in motion. Generally speaking, the men appointed to make this start are the extraordinarii: next comes the right wing of the socii; and behind them their beasts of burden. These are followed by the first legion with its own baggage immediately on its rear; then comes the second legion, followed by its own beasts of burden, and the baggage of those socii who have to bring up the rear of the march, that is to say, the left wing of the socii. The cavalry sometimes ride on the rear of their respective divisions, sometimes on either side of the beasts of burden, to keep them together and secure them. If an attack is expected on the rear, the extraordinarii themselves occupy the rear instead of the van. Of the two legions and wings each takes the lead in the march on alternate days, that by this interchange of position all may have an equal share in the advantage of being first at the water and forage. The order of march, however, is different at times of unusual danger, if they have open ground enough. For in that case they advance in three parallel columns, consisting of the Hastati, Principes, and Triarii: the beasts of burden belonging to the maniples in the van are placed in front of all, those belonging to the second behind the leading maniples, and those belonging to the third behind the second maniples, thus having the baggage and the maniples in alternate lines. With this order of march, on an alarm being given, the columns face to the right or left according to the quarter on which the enemy appears, and get clear of the baggage. So that in a short space of time, and by one movement, the whole of the hoplites are in line of battle—except that sometimes it is necessary to half-wheel the Hastati also—and the baggage and the rest of the army are in their proper place for safety, namely, in the rear of the line of combatants.

> Greek: 40. τὰς δʼ ἐκ τῆς παρεμβολῆς ἀναστρατοπεδείας ποιοῦνται τὸν τρόπον τοῦτον. ὅταν τὸ πρῶτον σημήνῃ, καταλύουσι τὰς σκηνὰς καὶ συντιθέασι τὰ φορτία πάντες· οὔτε δὲ καθελεῖν ἔξεστιν οὔτʼ ἀναστῆσαι πρότερον οὐδένα τῆς τῶν χιλιάρχων καὶ τοῦ στρατηγοῦ σκηνῆς. ὅταν δὲ τὸ δεύτερον, ἀνατιθέασι τὰ σκευοφόρα τοῖς ὑποζυγίοις. ἐπὰν δὲ τὸ τρίτον σημήνῃ, προάγειν δεῖ τοὺς πρώτους καὶ κινεῖν τὴν ὅλην παρεμβολήν. εἰς μὲν οὖν τὴν πρωτοπορείαν ὡς ἐπίπαν τάττουσι τοὺς ἐπιλέκτους· τούτοις δὲ τὸ τῶν συμμάχων δεξιὸν ἐπιβάλλει κέρας· ἑξῆς δὲ τούτοις ἕπεται τὰ τῶν προειρημένων ὑποζύγια. τῇ δὲ τούτων πορείᾳ τὸ πρῶτον τῶν Ῥωμαϊκῶν ἀκολουθεῖ στρατόπεδον, ἔχον ὄπισθεν τὴν ἰδίαν ἀποσκευήν. κἄπειτα κατακολουθεῖ τὸ δεύτερον στρατόπεδον, ἑπομένων αὐτῷ τῶν ἰδίων ὑποζυγίων καὶ τῆς τῶν συμμάχων ἀποσκευῆς τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς οὐραγίας τεταγμένων τελευταῖον γὰρ ἐν τῇ πορείᾳ τάττεται τὸ τῶν συμμάχων εὐώνυμον κέρας. οἱ δʼ ἱππεῖς ποτὲ μὲν ἀπουραγοῦσι τοῖς αὑτῶν ἕκαστοι μέρεσι, ποτὲ δὲ παρὰ τὰ ὑποζύγια πλάγιοι παραπορεύονται, συνέχοντες ταῦτα καὶ τὴν ἀσφάλειαν τούτοις παρασκευάζοντες. προσδοκίας δʼ οὔσης κατὰ τὴν οὐραγίαν τὰ μὲν ἄλλα παρʼ αὐτοῖς τὸν αὐτὸν ἔχει τρόπον, αὐτοὶ δʼ οἱ τῶν συμμάχων ἐπίλεκτοι τὴν οὐραγίαν ἀντὶ τῆς πρωτοπορείας μεταλαμβάνουσι. παρὰ δὲ μίαν ἡμέραν τὰ μὲν ἡγεῖται τῶν στρατοπέδων καὶ κεράτων, τὰ δʼ αὐτὰ πάλιν ἕπεται ταῦτα κατόπιν, ἵνα τῆς περὶ τὰς ὑδρείας καὶ σιτολογίας ἀκεραιότητος πάντες ἐπʼ ἴσον κοινωνῶσι, μεταλαμβάνοντες ἀεὶ τὴν ἐπὶ τῆς πρωτοπορείας ἐναλλὰξ τάξιν. χρῶνται δὲ καὶ ἑτέρῳ γένει πορείας ἐν τοῖς ἐπισφαλέσι τῶν καιρῶν, ἐὰν ἀνα πεπταμένους ἔχωσι τόπους ἄγουσι γὰρ τριφαλαγγίαν παράλληλον τῶν ἁστάτων καὶ πριγκίπων καὶ τριαρίων, τάττοντες τὰ τῶν ἡγουμένων σημαιῶν ὑποζύγια πρὸ πάντων, ἐπὶ δὲ ταῖς πρώταις σημαίαις τὰ τῶν δευτέρων, ἐπὶ δὲ ταῖς δευτέραις τὰ τῶν τρίτων, καὶ κατὰ λόγον οὕτως ἐναλλὰξ ἀεὶ τιθέντες τὰ ὑποζύγια ταῖς σημαίαις οὕτω δὲ συντάξαντες τὴν πορείαν, ἐπειδὰν προσπίπτῃ τι τῶν δεινῶν, ποτὲ μὲν παρʼ ἀσπίδα κλίναντες, ποτὲ δʼ ἐπὶ δόρυ, προάγουσι τὰς σημαίας ἐκ τῶν ὑποζυγίων πρὸς τὴν τῶν πολεμίων ἐπιφάνειαν. λοιπὸν ἐν βραχεῖ χρόνῳ καὶ μιᾷ κινήσει τὸ μὲν τῶν ὁπλιτῶν σύστημα λαμβάνει παρατάξεως διάθεσιν, ἐὰν μή ποτε προσεξελίξαι δέῃ τοὺς ἁστάτους, τὸ δὲ τῶν ὑποζυγίων καὶ τῶν παρεπομένων τούτοις πλῆθος, ὑπὸ τοὺς παρατεταγμένους ὑπεσταλκός, ἔχει τὴν καθήκουσαν χώραν πρὸς τὸν κίνδυνον.

[¶5] 41. When the army on the march is approaching the place of encampment, a Tribune, and those of the centurions who have been from time to time selected for that duty, are sent forward to survey the place of encampment. Having done this they proceed first of all to fix upon the place for the Consul’s tent (as I have described above), and to determine on which side of the Praetorium to quarter the legions. Having decided these points they measure out the Praetorium, then they draw the straight line along which the tents of the Tribunes are to be pitched, and then the line parallel to this, beyond which the quarters of the legions are to begin. In the same way they draw the lines on the other sides of the Praetorium in accordance with the plan which I have already detailed at length. This does not take long, nor is the marking out of the camp a matter of difficulty, because the dimensions are all regularly laid down, and are in accordance with precedent. Then they fix one flag in the ground where the Consul’s tent is to stand, and another on the base of the square containing it, and a third on the line of the Tribunes’ tents; the two latter are scarlet, that which marks the Consul’s tent is white; the lines on the other sides of the Praetorium are marked sometimes with plain spears and sometimes by flags of other colours. After this they lay out the viae between the quarters, fixing spears at each via. Consequently when the legions in the course of their march have come near enough to get a clear view of the place of encampment, they can all make out exactly the whole plan of it, taking as their base the Consul’s flag and calculating from that. Moreover as each soldier knows precisely on which via, and at what point of it, his quarters are to be, because all occupy the same position in the camp wherever it may be, it is exactly like a legion entering its own city; when breaking off at the gates each man makes straight for his own residence without hesitation, because he knows the direction and the quarter of the town in which home lies. It is precisely the same in a Roman camp.

> Greek: 41. ὅταν δὲ κατὰ τὰς πορείας ἐγγίζωσι στρατοπεδεύειν, προπορεύονται χιλίαρχος καὶ τῶν ταξιάρχων οἱ πρὸς τοῦτο τὸ μέρος ἀεὶ προχειρισθέντες, οἵτινες ἐπειδὰν συνθεάσωνται τὸν ὅλον τόπον, οὗ δεῖ στρατοπεδεύειν, ἐν αὐτῷ τούτῳ πρῶτον μὲν διέλαβον τὴν τοῦ στρατηγοῦ σκηνὴν οὗ δεήσει θεῖναι κατὰ τὸν ἄρτι λόγον, καὶ παρὰ ποίαν ἐπιφάνειαν καὶ πλευρὰν τῆς περὶ τὴν σκηνὴν περιστάσεως παρεμβαλεῖν τὰ στρατόπεδα· τούτων δὲ προκριθέντων διαμετροῦνται τὴν περίστασιν τῆς σκηνῆς, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τὴν εὐθεῖαν, ἐφʼ ἧς αἱ σκηναὶ τίθενται τῶν χιλιάρχων, ἑξῆς δὲ τὴν ταύτης παράλληλον, ἀφʼ ἧς ἄρχεται τὰ στρατόπεδα παρεμβάλλειν. ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ θάτερα μέρη τῆς σκηνῆς κατεμετρήσαντο γραμμαῖς, περὶ ὧν ὑπεδείξαμεν ἄρτι διὰ πλειόνων κατὰ μέρος. γενομένων δὲ τούτων ἐν βραχεῖ χρόνῳ διὰ τὸ ῥᾳδίαν εἶναι τὴν καταμέτρησιν, ὡς ἁπάντων ὡρισμένων καὶ συνήθων ὄντων διαστημάτων, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα σημαίαν ἔπηξαν μίαν μὲν καὶ πρώτην, ἐν ᾧ δεῖ τόπῳ τίθεσθαι τὴν τοῦ στρατηγοῦ σκηνήν, δευτέραν δὲ τὴν ἐπὶ τῆς προκριθείσης πλευρᾶς, τρίτην ἐπὶ μέσης τῆς γραμμῆς ἐφʼ ἧς οἱ χιλίαρχοι σκηνοῦσι, τετάρτην, παρʼ ἣν τίθενται τὰ στρατόπεδα. καὶ ταύτας μὲν ποιοῦσι φοινικιᾶς, τὴν δὲ τοῦ στρατηγοῦ λευκήν. τὰ δʼ ἐπὶ θάτερα ποτὲ μὲν ψιλὰ δόρατα πηγνύουσι, ποτὲ δὲ σημαίας ἐκ τῶν ἄλλων χρωμάτων. γενομένων δὲ τούτων ἑξῆς τὰς ῥύμας διεμέτρησαν καὶ δόρατα κατέπηξαν ἐφʼ ἑκάστης ῥύμης. ἐξ ὧν εἰκότως, ὅταν ἐγγίσῃ τὰ στρατόπεδα κατὰ τὰς πορείας καὶ γένητʼ εὐσύνοπτος ὁ τόπος τῆς παρεμβολῆς, εὐθέως ἅπαντα γίνεται πᾶσι γνώριμα, τεκμαιρομένοις καὶ συλλογιζομένοις ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ στρατηγοῦ σημαίας. λοιπὸν ἑκάστου σαφῶς γινώσκοντος ἐν ποίᾳ ῥύμῃ καὶ ποίῳ τόπῳ τῆς ῥύμης σκηνοῖ διὰ τὸ πάντας ἀεὶ τὸν αὐτὸν ἐπέχειν τῆς στρατοπεδείας, γίνεταί τι παραπλήσιον, οἷον ὅταν εἰς πόλιν εἰσίῃ στρατόπεδον ἐγχώριον. καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖ διακλίναντες ἀπὸ τῶν πυλῶν εὐθέως ἕκαστοι προάγουσι καὶ παραγίνονται πρὸς τὰς ἰδίας οἰκήσεις ἀδιαπτώτως, διὰ τὸ καθόλου καὶ κατὰ μέρος γινώσκειν ποῦ τῆς πόλεώς ἐστιν αὐτοῖς ἡ κατάλυσις. τὸ δὲ παραπλήσιον τούτοις καὶ περὶ τὰς Ῥωμαϊκὰς συμβαίνει στρατοπεδείας.

[¶6] 42. It is because the first object of the Romans in the matter of encampment is facility, that they seem to me to differ diametrically from Greek military men in this respect. Greeks, in choosing a place for a camp, think primarily of security from the natural strength of the position: first, because they are averse from the toil of digging a foss, and, secondly, because they think that no artificial defences are comparable to those afforded by the nature of the ground. Accordingly, they not only have to vary the whole configuration of the camp to suit the nature of the ground, but to change the arrangement of details in all kinds of irregular ways; so that neither soldier nor company has a fixed place in it. The Romans, on the other hand, prefer to undergo the fatigue of digging, and of the other labours of circumvallation, for the sake of the facility in arrangement, and to secure a plan of encampment which shall be one and the same and familiar to all. Such are the most important facts in regard to the legions and the method of encamping them....

> Greek: 42. ἧι δοκοῦσι Ῥωμαῖοι καταδιώκοντες τὴν ἐν τούτοις εὐχέρειαν τὴν ἐναντίαν ὁδὸν πορεύεσθαι τοῖς Ἕλλησι κατὰ τοῦτο τὸ μέρος. οἱ μὲν γὰρ Ἕλληνες ἐν τῷ στρατοπεδεύειν ἡγοῦνται κυριώτατον τὸ κατακολουθεῖν ταῖς ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν τόπων ὀχυρότησιν, ἅμα μὲν ἐκκλίνοντες τὴν περὶ τὰς ταφρείας ταλαιπωρίαν, ἅμα δὲ νομίζοντες οὐχ ὁμοίας εἶναι τὰς χειροποιήτους ἀσφαλείας ταῖς ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς φύσεως ἐπὶ τῶν τόπων ὑπαρχούσαις ὀχυρότησι. διὸ καὶ κατά τε τὴν τῆς ὅλης παρεμβολῆς θέσιν πᾶν ἀναγκάζονται σχῆμα μεταλαμβάνειν, ἑπόμενοι τοῖς τόποις, τά τε μέρη μεταλλάττειν ἄλλοτε πρὸς ἄλλους καὶ ἀκαταλλήλους τόπους· ἐξ ὧν ἄστατον ὑπάρχειν συμβαίνει καὶ τὸν κατʼ ἰδίαν καὶ τὸν κατὰ μέρος ἑκάστῳ τόπον τῆς στρατοπεδείας. Ῥωμαῖοι δὲ τὴν περὶ τὰς τάφρους ταλαιπωρίαν καὶ τἄλλα τὰ παρεπόμενα τούτοις ὑπομένειν αἱροῦνται χάριν τῆς εὐχερείας καὶ τοῦ γνώριμον καὶ μίαν ἔχειν καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν αἰεὶ παρεμβολήν. τὰ μὲν οὖν ὁλοσχερέστερα μέρη τῆς περὶ τὰ στρατόπεδα θεωρίας, καὶ μάλιστα περὶ τὰς παρεμβολάς, ταῦτʼ ἔστιν. [ξοδ. υρβ. ϝ. π. 264, 17 ηαβετ ηαεξ ξυμ αντεξεδεντιβυς αρξτε ξοηαερεντια εχξ. αντ. π. 180.]

[¶7] 43. Nearly all historians have recorded as constitutions of eminent excellence those of Lacedaemonia, Crete, Mantinea, and Carthage. Some have also mentioned those of Athens and Thebes. The former I may allow to pass; but I am convinced that little need be said of the Athenian and Theban constitutions: their growth was abnormal, the period of their zenith brief, and the changes they experienced unusually violent. Their glory was a sudden and fortuitous flash, so to speak; and while they still thought themselves prosperous, and likely to remain so, they found themselves involved in circumstances completely the reverse. The Thebans got their reputation for valour among the Greeks, by taking advantage of the senseless policy of the Lacedaemonians, and the hatred of the allies towards them, owing to the valour of one, or at most two, men who were wise enough to appreciate the situation. Since fortune quickly made it evident that it was not the peculiarity of their constitution, but the valour of their leaders, which gave the Thebans their success. For the great power of Thebes notoriously took its rise, attained its zenith, and fell to the ground with the lives of Epaminondas and Pelopidas. We must therefore conclude that it was not its constitution, but its men, that caused the high fortune which it then enjoyed.

> Greek: 43. σχεδὸν δὴ πάντες οἱ συγγραφεῖς περὶ τούτων ἡμῖν τῶν πολιτευμάτων παραδεδώκασι τὴν ἐπʼ ἀρετῇ φήμην, περί τε τοῦ Λακεδαιμονίων καὶ Κρητῶν καὶ Μαντινέων, ἔτι δὲ Καρχηδονίων· ἔνιοι δὲ καὶ περὶ τῆς Ἀθηναίων καὶ Θηβαίων πολιτείας πεποίηνται μνήμην. ἐγὼ δὲ ταύτας μὲν ἐῶ, τὴν γὰρ Ἀθηναίων καὶ Θηβαίων οὐ πάνυ τι πολλοῦ προσδεῖσθαι πέπεισμαι λόγου διὰ τὸ μήτε τὰς αὐξήσεις ἐσχηκέναι κατὰ λόγον μήτε τὰς ἀκμὰς ἐπιμόνους, μήτε τὰς μεταβολὰς ἐνηλλαχέναι μετρίως, ἀλλʼ ὥσπερ ἐκ προσπαίου τινὸς τύχης σὺν καιρῷ λάμψαντας, τὸ δὴ λεγόμενον, ἔτι δοκοῦντας ἀκμὴν καὶ μέλλοντας εὐτυχεῖν, τῆς ἐναντίας πεῖραν εἰληφέναι μεταβολῆς. Θηβαῖοι μὲν γὰρ τῇ Λακεδαιμονίων ἀγνοίᾳ καὶ τῷ τῶν συμμάχων πρὸς αὐτοὺς μίσει συνεπιθέμενοι, διὰ τὴν ἑνὸς ἀνδρὸς ἀρετὴν ἢ καὶ δευτέρου, τῶν τὰ προειρημένα συνιδόντων, περιεποιήσαντο παρὰ τοῖς Ἕλλησι τὴν ἐπʼ ἀρετῇ φήμην. ὅτι γὰρ οὐχ ἡ τῆς πολιτείας σύστασις αἰτία τότʼ ἐγένετο Θηβαίοις τῶν εὐτυχημάτων, ἀλλʼ ἡ τῶν προεστώτων ἀνδρῶν ἀρετή, παρὰ πόδας ἡ τύχη τοῦτο πᾶσιν ἐποίησε δῆλον· καὶ γὰρ συνηυξήθη καὶ συνήκμασε καὶ συγκατελύθη τὰ Θηβαίων ἔργα τῷ τʼ Ἐπαμινώνδου καὶ τῷ Πελοπίδου βίῳ προφανῶς. ἐξ ὧν οὐ τὴν πολιτείαν αἰτίαν, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἄνδρας ἡγητέον τῆς τότε γενομένης περὶ τὴν Θηβαίων πόλιν ἐπιφανείας.

[¶8] 44. A somewhat similar remark applies to the Athenian constitution also. For though it perhaps had more frequent interludes of excellence, yet its highest perfection was attained during the brilliant career of Themistocles; and having reached that point it quickly declined, owing to its essential instability. For the Athenian demus is always in the position of a ship without a commander. In such a ship, if fear of the enemy, or the occurrence of a storm induce the crew to be of one mind and to obey the helmsman, everything goes well; but if they recover from this fear, and begin to treat their officers with contempt, and to quarrel with each other because they are no longer all of one mind,—one party wishing to continue the voyage, and the other urging the steersman to bring the ship to anchor; some letting out the sheets, and others hauling them in, and ordering the sails to be furled,—their discord and quarrels make a sorry show to lookers on; and the position of affairs is full of risk to those on board engaged on the same voyage: and the result has often been that, after escaping the dangers of the widest seas, and the most violent storms, they wreck their ship in harbour and close to shore. And this is what has often happened to the Athenian constitution. For, after repelling, on various occasions, the greatest and most formidable dangers by the valour of its people and their leaders, there have been times when, in periods of secure tranquillity, it has gratuitously and recklessly encountered disaster. Therefore I need say no more about either it, or the Theban constitution: in both of which a mob manages everything on its own unfettered impulse—a mob in the one city distinguished for headlong outbursts of fiery temper, in the other trained in long habits of violence and ferocity.

> Greek: 44. τὸ δὲ παραπλήσιον καὶ περὶ τῆς Ἀθηναίων πολιτείας διαληπτέον. καὶ γὰρ αὕτη πλεονάκις μὲν ἴσως, ἐκφανέστατα δὲ τῇ Θεμιστοκλέους ἀρετῇ συνανθήσασα ταχέως τῆς ἐναντίας μεταβολῆς ἔλαβε πεῖραν διὰ τὴν ἀνωμαλίαν τῆς φύσεως. ἀεὶ γάρ ποτε τὸν τῶν Ἀθηναίων δῆμον παραπλήσιον εἶναι συμβαίνει τοῖς ἀδεσπότοις σκάφεσι. καὶ γὰρ ἐπʼ ἐκείνων, ὅταν μὲν ἢ διὰ πελαγῶν φόβον ἢ διὰ περίστασιν χειμῶνος ὁρμὴ παραστῇ τοῖς ἐπιβάταις συμφρονεῖν καὶ προσέχειν τὸν νοῦν τῷ κυβερνήτῃ, γίνεται τὸ δέον ἐξ αὐτῶν διαφερόντως· ὅταν δὲ θαρρήσαντες ἄρξωνται καταφρονεῖν τῶν προεστώτων καὶ στασιάζειν πρὸς ἀλλήλους διὰ τὸ μηκέτι δοκεῖν πᾶσι ταὐτά, τότε δὴ τῶν μὲν ἔτι πλεῖν προαιρουμένων, τῶν δὲ κατεπειγόντων ὁρμίζειν τὸν κυβερνήτην, καὶ τῶν μὲν ἐκσειόντων τοὺς κάλους, τῶν δʼ ἐπιλαμβανομένων καὶ στέλλεσθαι παρακελευομένων, αἰσχρὰ μὲν πρόσοψις γίνεται τοῖς ἔξωθεν θεωμένοις διὰ τὴν ἐν ἀλλήλοις διαφορὰν καὶ στάσιν, ἐπισφαλὴς δʼ ἡ διάθεσις τοῖς μετασχοῦσι καὶ κοινωνήσασι τοῦ πλοῦ· διὸ καὶ πολλάκις διαφυγόντες τὰ μέγιστα πελάγη καὶ τοὺς ἐπιφανεστάτους χειμῶνας ἐν τοῖς λιμέσι καὶ πρὸς τῇ γῇ ναυαγοῦσιν. ὃ δὴ καὶ τῇ τῶν Ἀθηναίων πολιτείᾳ πλεονάκις ἤδη συμβέβηκε· διωσαμένη γὰρ ἐνίοτε τὰς μεγίστας καὶ δεινοτάτας περιστάσεις διά τε τὴν τοῦ δήμου καὶ τὴν τῶν προεστώτων ἀρετὴν ἐν ταῖς ἀπεριστάτοις ῥᾳστώναις εἰκῇ πως καὶ ἀλόγως ἐνίοτε σφάλλεται. διὸ καὶ περὶ μὲν ταύτης τε καὶ τῆς τῶν Θηβαίων οὐδὲν δεῖ πλείω λέγειν, ἐν αἷς ὄχλος χειρίζει τὰ ὅλα κατὰ τὴν ἰδίαν ὁρμήν, ὁ μὲν ὀξύτητι καὶ πικρίᾳ διαφέρων, ὁ δὲ βίᾳ καὶ θυμῷ συμπεπαιδευμένος.

[¶9] 45. Passing to the Cretan polity there are two points which deserve our consideration. The first is how such writers as Ephorus, Xenophon, Callisthenes and Plato —who are the most learned of the ancients—could assert that it was like that of Sparta; and secondly how they came to assert that it was at all admirable. I can agree with neither assertion; and I will explain why I say so. And first as to its dissimilarity with the Spartan constitution. The peculiar merit of the latter is said to be its land laws, by which no one possesses more than another, but all citizens have an equal share in the public land. The next distinctive feature regards the possession of money: for as it is utterly discredited among them, the jealous competition which arises from inequality of wealth is entirely removed from the city. A third peculiarity of the Lacedaemonian polity is that, of the officials by whose hands and with whose advice the whole government is conducted, the kings hold an hereditary office, while the members of the Gerusia are elected for life.

> Greek: 45. ἐπὶ δὲ τὴν Κρηταιῶν μεταβάντας ἄξιον ἐπιστῆσαι κατὰ δύο τρόπους πῶς οἱ λογιώτατοι τῶν ἀρχαίων συγγραφέων, Ἔφορος, Ξενοφῶν, Καλλισθένης, Πλάτων, πρῶτον μὲν ὁμοίαν εἶναί φασι καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν τῇ Λακεδαιμονίων, δεύτερον δʼ ἐπαινετὴν ὑπάρχουσαν ἀποφαίνουσιν· ὧν οὐδέτερον ἀληθὲς εἶναί μοι δοκεῖ. σκοπεῖν δʼ ἐκ τούτων πάρεστι. καὶ πρῶτον ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀνομοιότητος διέξιμεν. τῆς μὲν δὴ Λακεδαιμονίων πολιτείας ἴδιον εἶναί φασι πρῶτον μὲν τὰ περὶ τὰς ἐγγαίους κτήσεις, ὧν οὐδενὶ μέτεστι πλεῖον, ἀλλὰ πάντας τοὺς πολίτας ἴσον ἔχειν δεῖ τῆς πολιτικῆς χώρας, δεύτερον τὰ περὶ τὴν τοῦ διαφόρου κτῆσιν, ἧς εἰς τέλος ἀδοκίμου παρʼ αὐτοῖς ὑπαρχούσης ἄρδην ἐκ τῆς πολιτείας ἀνῃρῆσθαι συμβαίνει τὴν περὶ τὸ πλεῖον καὶ τοὔλαττον φιλοτιμίαν. τρίτον παρὰ Λακεδαιμονίοις οἱ μὲν βασιλεῖς ἀΐδιον ἔχουσι τὴν ἀρχήν, οἱ δὲ προσαγορευόμενοι γέροντες διὰ βίου, διʼ ὧν καὶ μεθʼ ὧν πάντα χειρίζεται τὰ κατὰ τὴν πολιτείαν.

[¶10] 46. Among the Cretans the exact reverse of all these arrangements obtains. The laws allow them to possess as much land as they can get with no limitation whatever. Money is so highly valued among them, that its possession is not only thought to be necessary but in the highest degree creditable. And in fact greed and avarice are so native to the soil in Crete, that they are the only people in the world among whom no stigma attaches to any sort of gain whatever. Again all their offices are annual and on a democratical footing. I have therefore often felt at a loss to account for these writers speaking of the two constitutions, which are radically different, as though they were closely united and allied. But, besides overlooking these important differences, these writers have gone out of their way to comment at length on the legislation of Lycurgus: “He was the only legislator,” they say, “who saw the important points. For there being two things on which the safety of a commonwealth depends,—courage in the face of the enemy and concord at home,—by abolishing covetousness, he with it removed all motive for civil broil and contest: whence it has been brought about that the Lacedaemonians are the best governed and most united people in Greece.” Yet while giving utterance to these sentiments, and though they see that, in contrast to this, the Cretans by their ingrained avarice are engaged in countless public and private seditions, murders and civil wars, they yet regard these facts as not affecting their contention, but are bold enough to speak of the two constitutions as alike. Ephorus, indeed, putting aside names, employs expressions so precisely the same, when discoursing on the two constitutions, that, unless one noticed the proper names, there would be no means whatever of distinguishing which of the two he was describing.

> Greek: 46. παρὰ δὲ Κρηταιεῦσι πάντα τούτοις ὑπάρχει τἀναντία· τήν τε γὰρ χώραν κατὰ δύναμιν αὐτοῖς ἐφιᾶσιν οἱ νόμοι, τὸ δὴ λεγόμενον, εἰς ἄπειρον κτᾶσθαι, τό τε διάφορον ἐκτετίμηται παρʼ αὐτοῖς ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον ὥστε μὴ μόνον ἀναγκαίαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ καλλίστην εἶναι δοκεῖν τὴν τούτου κτῆσιν. καθόλου θʼ ὁ περὶ τὴν αἰσχροκέρδειαν καὶ πλεονεξίαν τρόπος οὕτως ἐπιχωριάζει παρʼ αὐτοῖς ὥστε παρὰ μόνοις Κρηταιεῦσι τῶν ἁπάντων ἀνθρώπων μηδὲν αἰσχρὸν νομίζεσθαι κέρδος. καὶ μὴν τὰ κατὰ τὰς ἀρχὰς ἐπέτεια παρʼ αὐτοῖς ἐστι καὶ δημοκρατικὴν ἔχει διάθεσιν. ὥστε πολλάκις διαπορεῖν πῶς ἡμῖν περὶ τῶν τὴν ἐναντίαν φύσιν ἐχόντων ὡς οἰκείων καὶ συγγενῶν ὄντων ἀλλήλοις ἐξηγγέλκασι. καὶ χωρὶς τοῦ παραβλέπειν τὰς τηλικαύτας διαφορὰς καὶ πολὺν δή τινα λόγον ἐν ἐπιμέτρῳ διατίθενται, φάσκοντες τὸν Λυκοῦργον μόνον τῶν γεγονότων τὰ συνέχοντα τεθεωρηκέναι· δυεῖν γὰρ ὄντων, διʼ ὧν σῴζεται πολίτευμα πᾶν, τῆς πρὸς τοὺς πολεμίους ἀνδρείας καὶ τῆς πρὸς σφᾶς αὐτοὺς ὁμονοίας, ἀνῃρηκότα τὴν πλεονεξίαν ἅμα ταύτῃ συνανῃρηκέναι πᾶσαν ἐμφύλιον διαφορὰν καὶ στάσιν· ᾗ καὶ Λακεδαιμονίους, ἐκτὸς ὄντας τῶν κακῶν τούτων, κάλλιστα τῶν Ἑλλήνων τὰ πρὸς σφᾶς αὐτοὺς πολιτεύεσθαι καὶ συμφρονεῖν ταὐτά. ταῦτα δʼ ἀποφηνάμενοι, καὶ θεωροῦντες ἐκ παραθέσεως Κρηταιεῖς διὰ τὴν ἔμφυτον σφίσι πλεονεξίαν ἐν πλείσταις ἰδίᾳ καὶ κατὰ κοινὸν στάσεσι καὶ φόνοις καὶ πολέμοις ἐμφυλίοις ἀναστρεφομένους, οὐδὲν οἴονται πρὸς σφᾶς εἶναι, θαρροῦσι δὲ λέγειν ὡς ὁμοίων ὄντων τῶν πολιτευμάτων. ὁ δʼ Ἔφορος χωρὶς τῶν ὀνομάτων καὶ ταῖς λέξεσι κέχρηται ταῖς αὐταῖς, ὑπὲρ ἑκατέρας ποιούμενος τῆς πολιτείας ἐξήγησιν, ὥστʼ, εἴ τις μὴ τοῖς κυρίοις ὀνόμασι προσέχοι, κατὰ μηδένα τρόπον ἂν δύνασθαι διαγνῶναι περὶ ὁποτέρας ποιεῖται τὴν διήγησιν. ἧι μὲν οὖν μοι δοκοῦσι διαφέρειν ἀλλήλων, ταῦτʼ ἔστιν ᾗ δὲ πάλιν οὔτʼ ἐπαινετὴν οὔτε ζηλωτὴν ἡγούμεθʼ εἶναι τὴν Κρητικὴν πολιτείαν, νῦν ἤδη διέξιμεν.