第3巻 第22章

Greek Οἱ δὲ Βανδίλοι λόγου παλαιοῦ ἀναμνησθέντες ἐθαύμαζον, ἐξεπιστάμενοι τὸ λοιπὸν ὡς ἀνθρώπῳ γε ὄντι οὔτ’ ἂν ἄπιστός τις ἐλπὶς οὔτε κτῆσις βέβαιος γένοιτο.

Dewing And the Vandals, recalling an ancient saying, marvelled, understanding clearly thereafter that for a man, at least, no hope could be impossible nor any possession secure.

Greek ὅστις δὲ ἦν οὗτος ὁ λόγος καὶ ὅντινα ἐρρήθη τρόπον, ἐγὼ δηλώσω.

Dewing And what this saying was and in what manner it was spoken I shall explain.

Greek ἡνίκα Βανδίλοι κατ’ ἀρχὰς τῷ λιμῷ πιεζόμενοι ἐξ ἠθῶν τῶν πατρίων ἀνίστασθαι ἔμελλον, μοῖρά τις αὐτῶν ἀπελείπετο, οἷς δὴ ὀκνήσει ἐχομένοις πρὸς ἡδονὴν Γωδιγίσκλῳ ἐπισπέσθαι οὐκ ἦν.

Dewing When the Vandals originally, pressed by hunger, were about to remove from their ancestral abodes, a certain part of them was left behind who were reluctant to go and not desirous of following Godigisclus.

Greek προϊόντος δὲ χρόνου τοῖς τε μείνασι τὰ ἐς τῶν ἐπιτηδείων τὴν ἀφθονίαν εὖ ἔχειν ἐδόκει καὶ Γιζέριχος ξὺν τοῖς ἀμφ’ αὐτὸν Λιβύην ἔσχεν.

Dewing And as time went on it seemed to those who had remained that they were well off as regards abundance of provisions, and Gizeric with his followers gained possession of Libya.

Greek ὅπερ ἀκούσαντες οἱ Γωδιγίσκλῳ οὐκ ἐπισπόμενοι ἔχαιρον, τῆς χώρας λοιπὸν ἰσχυρότατα σφίσιν ἐς τὸ ἀποζῆν διαρκούσης.

Dewing And when this was heard by those who had not followed Godigisclus, they rejoiced, since thenceforth the country was altogether sufficient for them to live upon.

Greek δείσαντες δὲ μὴ χρόνῳ τινὶ πολλῷ ὕστερον ἢ αὐτοὶ ὅσοι Λιβύην ἔσχον, ἢ οἱ τούτων ἀπόγονοι ὅτῳ δὴ τρόπῳ Λιβύης ἐξελαυνόμενοι ἐπανήξουσιν ἐς τὰ πάτρια ἤθη (οὐ γάρ ποτε Ῥωμαίους αὐτὴν ἐς ἀεὶ περιόψεσθαι ὑπετόπαζον), πρέσβεις ἔπεμψαν παρ’ αὐτούς.

Dewing But fearing lest at some time much later either the very ones who had conquered Libya, or their descendants, should in some way or other be driven out of Libya and return to their ancestral homes (for they never supposed that the Romans would let Libya be held for ever), they sent ambassadors to them.

Greek οἵ, ἐπεὶ Γιζερίχῳ ἐς ὄψιν ἧκον, συνήδεσθαι μὲν τοῖς ὁμογενέσιν οὕτω δὴ εὐημερήσασιν ἔφασκον, φυλάσσειν δὲ περαιτέρω τὴν γῆν οὐχ οἷοί τε εἶναι ἧσπερ αὐτοὶ ὠλιγωρηκότες ἐπὶ Λιβύης ἱδρύσαντο.

Dewing And these men, upon coming before Gizeric, said that they rejoiced with their compatriots who had met with such success, but that they were no longer able to guard the land of which he and his men had thought so little that they had settled in Libya.

Greek ἐδέοντο οὖν, εἰ μὴ γῆς τῆς πατρῴας μεταποιοῦνται κτήματι αὐτοὺς ἀνονήτῳ σφίσι δωρήσασθαι, ὅπως δὴ κύριοι τῆς χώρας ὡς ἀσφαλέστατα γεγενημένοι, ἤν τις κακουργήσων ἐπ’ αὐτὴν ἴοι, ὡς ἥκιστα ἀπαξιοῦν ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς θνήσκειν.

Dewing They prayed therefore that, if they had no claim to their fatherland, they would bestow it as an unprofitable possession upon themselves, so that their title to the land might be made as secure as possible, and if anyone should come to do it harm, they might by no means disdain to die in behalf of it.

Greek Γιζερίχῳ μὲν οὖν καὶ Βανδίλοις τοῖς ἄλλοις εὖ τε καὶ τὰ δίκαια λέγειν ἔδοξαν, καὶ ξυνεχώρουν ἅπαντα ὅσα οἱ πρέσβεις αὐτῶν ἔχρῃζον.

Dewing Gizeric, accordingly, and all the other Vandals thought that they spoke fairly and justly, and they were in the act of granting everything which the envoys desired of them.

Greek γέρων δέ τις ἀνὴρ ἐν αὐτοῖς δόκιμος καὶ δόξαν ἐπὶ ξυνέσει πολλήν τινα ἔχων τὸ τοιοῦτον ἐπιτρέψειν οὐδαμῆ ἔφη. τῶν γὰρ ἀνθρωπείων οὐδ’ ὁτιοῦν ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀσφαλοῦς ἵστασθαι, ἀλλ’ εἶναι αὐτοῖς ἐς τὸν πάντα αἰῶνα βέβαιον μὲν τῶν ὄντων οὐδέν, τῶν δὲ οὐκ ὄντων οὐδὲν ἀμήχανον.

Dewing But a certain old man who was esteemed among them and had a great reputation for discretion said that he would by no means permit such a thing. "For in human affairs, "he said, "not one thing stands secure; nay, nothing which now exists is stable for all time for men, while as regards that which does not yet exist, there is nothing which may not come to pass."

Greek ταῦτα ὁ Γιζέριχος ἀκούσας ἐπῄνεσέ τε καὶ τοὺς πρέσβεις ἀπράκτους ἀποπέμπεσθαι ἔγνω. τότε μὲν οὖν αὐτός τε καὶ ὁ παραινέσας ἅτε τὰ ἀμήχανα προορώμενοι, πρὸς πάντων Βανδίλων γέλωτα ὦφλον.

Dewing When Gizeric heard this, he expressed approval and decided to send the envoys away with nothing accomplished. Now at that time both he himself and the man who had given the advice were judged worthy of ridicule by all the Vandals, as foreseeing the impossible.

Greek ἐπεὶ δὲ ταῦτα ἅπερ ἐρρήθη ἐγένετο, μετέμαθόν τε τῶν ἀνθρωπείων πραγμάτων οἱ Βανδίλοι τὴν φύσιν καὶ σοφοῦ τὸ ἔπος εἶναι ἀνδρὸς ἔγνωσαν.

Dewing But when these things which have been told took place, the Vandals learned to take a different view of the nature of human affairs and realized that the saying was that of a wise man.

Greek Τούτων μὲν οὖν Βανδίλων οἳ ἔμειναν ἐν γῇ τῇ πατρῴᾳ, οὔτε μνήμη τις οὔτε ὄνομα ἐς ἐμὲ σώζεται. ἅτε γάρ, οἶμαι, ὀλίγοις τισὶν οὖσιν ἢ βεβιάσθαι πρὸς βαρβάρων τῶν σφίσιν ὁμόρων ἢ ἀναμεμίχθαι οὔτι ἀκουσίοις τετύχηκε, τό τε ὄνομα ἐς αὐτούς πη ἀποκεκρίσθαι.

Dewing Now as for those Vandals who remained in their native land, neither remembrance nor any name of them has been preserved to my time.⁠ For since, I suppose, they were a small number, they were either over­powered by the neighbouring barbarians or they were mingled with them not at all unwillingly and their name gave way to that of their conquerors.

Greek οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ ἡσσημένοις τότε πρὸς Βελισαρίου Βανδίλοις ἔννοια γέγονεν ἐς ἤθη τὰ πάτρια ἐνθένδε ἰέναι.

Dewing Indeed, when the Vandals were conquered at that time by Belisarius, no thought occurred to them to go from there to their ancestral homes.

Greek οὐ γὰρ εἶχον ἐκ Λιβύης ἐκ τοῦ αἰφνιδίου, ἄλλως τε καὶ νεῶν οὐ παρουσῶν σφίσιν, ἐς τὴν Εὐρώπην κομίζεσθαι, ἀλλ’ ἔτισαν ἐνταῦθα τὴν δίκην ἁπάντων ὧνπερ ἐς Ῥωμαίους εἰργάσαντο καὶ οὐχ ἥκιστα ἐς Ζακυνθίους.

Dewing For they were not able to convey themselves suddenly from Libya to Europe, especially as they had no ships at hand, but paid the penalty⁠ there for all the wrongs they had done the Romans and especially the Zacynthians.

Greek Γιζέριχος γάρ, ἐπισκήψας ποτὲ τοῖς ἐν Πελοποννήσῳ χωρίοις, Ταινάρῳ προσβαλεῖν ἐνεχείρησεν. ἐνθένδε τε κατὰ τάχος ἀποκρουσθεὶς καὶ πολλοὺς τῶν οἱ ἑπομένων ἀποβαλὼν ἀνεχώρησεν οὐδενὶ κόσμῳ.

Dewing For at one time Gizeric, falling suddenly upon the towns in the Peloponnesus, undertook to assault Taenarum.

Greek διὸ δὴ τῷ θυμῷ ἔτι ἐχόμενος Ζακύνθῳ προσέσχε, καὶ πολλοὺς μὲν τῶν ἐν ποσὶ κτείνας, τῶν δὲ δοκίμων ἐς πεντακοσίους ἀνδραποδίσας δι’ ὀλίγου ἀπέπλευσεν.

Dewing And while he was still filled with anger on account of this, he touched at Zacynthus, and having killed many of those he met and enslaved five hundred of the notables, he sailed away soon afterwards.

Greek ἐπειδή τε γέγονεν ἐν μέσῳ τῷ Ἀδριατικῷ καλουμένῳ πελάγει, ἐνταῦθα κρεουργήσας τῶν πεντακοσίων τὰ σώματα, πανταχῆ τῆς θαλάσσης οὐδὲν ὑπολογισάμενος ἔρριψεν. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ἐν τοῖς ἄνω χρόνοις ἐγένετο.

Dewing And when he reached the middle of the Adriatic Sea, as it is called, he cut into small pieces the bodies of the five hundred and threw them all about the sea without the least concern. But this happened in earlier times.