Public domain
The work and displayed translations are recorded as public domain or from an open transcription.
Posidonius
Fragments on Customs and Wars Carrier unit 111e
Carrier unit 171 of 197
Canonical reference F.111e
Ancient Greek
;;p. 390, 18 (= 27): ὅτι ἑπτακαίδεκα φυλαὶ τὸν νόμον ἀπεδοκίμαζον. ἄλλαι δὲ ταύταις ἴσαι παρεδέχοντο· τῆς δὲ ὀκτωκαιδεκάτης διαριθμουμένης μία ψῆφος ὑπερῆρε τῶν κυρούντων τὸν νόμον. τῆς δὲ τοῦ δήμου κρίσεως εἰς οὕτω μικρὰν ῥοπὴν συγκλειομένης ὁ Γράκχος ἠγωνία ὡς ὑπὲρ τοῦ ζῆν κινδυνεύων, τῆι δὲ προσθήκηι μιᾶς γνώμης μαθὼν ἑαυτὸν νικῶντα μετὰ χαρᾶς ἀνεφθέγξατο ‘τὸ μὲν ξίφος ὑπόκειται τοῖς ἐχθροῖς, περὶ δὲ τῶν ἄλλων ὡς ἂν ἡ τύχη βραβεύσηι στέρξομεν‘.
English AI-generated translation, non-official
Codex gpt-5.6-sol · Non-official working translation · 2026-09-15
p. 390.18 (= 27): Seventeen tribes rejected the law, while an equal number accepted it. When the eighteenth was counted, a single vote gave the advantage to those ratifying the law. As the people’s decision was confined to so slight a turn of the balance, Gracchus was in anguish as though his life were at stake. When he learned that the addition of one vote had given him victory, he exclaimed joyfully: “The sword now lies ready for our enemies; as for the rest, we shall accept whatever fortune decides.”
French AI-generated translation, non-official
Codex gpt-5.6-sol · Non-official working translation · 2026-09-15
p. 390, 18 (= 27) : dix-sept tribus rejetaient la loi, tandis qu’un nombre égal l’acceptait. Lors du décompte de la dix-huitième, une seule voix donna l’avantage à ceux qui ratifiaient la loi. Le jugement du peuple se trouvant réduit à un écart si faible, Gracchus était dans l’angoisse comme si sa vie même était en péril ; mais lorsqu’il apprit que l’addition d’un seul suffrage lui donnait la victoire, il s’écria avec joie : « Le glaive est désormais placé au-dessus de nos ennemis ; pour le reste, nous accepterons ce que la fortune décidera. »
Concepts in this passage
Customs and institutions
View detailed page
Filter the library
Empirical inquiry through travel
View detailed page
Filter the library
Intelligible forms
View detailed page
Filter the library
Fortune
View detailed page
Filter the library
Historical causation
View detailed page
Filter the library
Luxury and corruption
View detailed page
Filter the library
Nature
View detailed page
Filter the library
Reason
View detailed page
Filter the library
War and civil disorder
View detailed page
Filter the library