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[Prousias][1] the king, being unpleasant of aspect though happening to have a superior rational capacity; [was][2] only half a man in appearance[3] and in respect of military prerequisites ignoble and womanly.[4] For he was not only a coward, but was also averse to all hardships and,[5] in short, had been feminized both in spirit and body in all areas of his life. This is something all people, but especially the race of the Bithynians, absolutely do not like to see happen where kings are concerned. And a kind of substantial licentiousness followed him everywhere in matters of physical desire. He was utterly untouched by education and philosophy and the intellectual matters found therein.[6] He had not even an inkling of goodness and what it is, and lived the barbarous life of Sardanapalos[7] both by day and by night. So of course, the moment they grabbed[8] even a slight hope, the mass of people whom he ruled had an irrevocable impulse not only to support the opposite side to the king, but also to want to exact punishment from him.

*prousi/as o( basileu/s, ei)dexqh\s w)\n kata\ th\n e)/mfasin, kai/per e)k sullogismou= belti/wn u(pa/rxwn, h(/misus a)nh\r kata\ th\n e)pifa/neian kai\ pro\s ta\s polemika\s xrei/as a)gennh\s kai\ gunaikw/dhs. ou) ga\r mo/non deilo\s h)=n, a)lla\ kai\ pro\s ta\s kakopaqei/as a)llo/trios kai\ sullh/bdhn e)kteqhlumme/nos kai\ th=| yuxh=| kai\ tw=| sw/mati par' o(/lon to\n bi/on: o(/per h(/kista bou/lontai peri\ tou\s basilei=s u(pa/rxein a(/pantes me\n ga/r, ma/lista de\ to\ tw=n *biqunw=n ge/nos. pollh\ de/ tis a)se/lgeia kai\ peri\ ta\s swmatika\s e)piqumi/as au)tw=| sunechkolou/qei. paidei/as de\ kai\ filosofi/as kai\ tw=n e)n tou/tois qewrhma/twn a)/peiros ei)s te/los h)=n, kai\ tou= kalou=, o(/ ti pote/ e)stin, ou)d' e)/nnoian ei)=xe, *sardanapa/lou de\ ba/rbaron bi/on e)/zh kai\ meq' h(me/ran kai\ nu/ktwr: kai\ ga\r ou)=n a(/ma tw=| braxei/as e)lpi/dos to\ tw=n basileuome/nwn plh=qos labe/sqai, a)meta/klhton o(rmh\n e)/sxen ei)s to\ mh\ mo/non a)llo/tria fronei=n tou= basile/ws, a)lla\ kai\ timwri/an bou/lesqai par' au)tou= lamba/nein.

[1] This is attributed to Polybios as 36.15.1. Prousias II (cf. OCD(4) s.v. Prusias(2)) was king of Bithynia (Barrington Atlas map 86 grid A3) from 182 to 149 BCE. See also pi 2914.
[2] The word h)=n, ‘was’, is added in editions of Polyb.
[3] He was apparently of small stature.
[4] Quoted at eta 351.
[5] cf. alpha 1333.
[6] On the meaning of this sentence, see Walbank's commentary on Polyb. 36.15.5; he suggests 'the systematic learning derived from these studies'.
[7] Sardanapalos: king of Ninos (Nineveh), famed for his luxurious life (Herodotus 2.150). See sigma 121, sigma 122, and Walbank's commentary on Polyb. 8.10.3.
[8] Editions of Polyb. read dra/casqai before braxei/as and omit labe/sqai, which means 'took'. The last part of this sentence is also quoted under alpha 1557.

Catharine Roth (added keywords) on 12 August 2002@02:31:25.
David Whitehead (augmented notes; cosmetics) on 12 August 2002@02:58:30.
Catharine Roth (corrected cross-reference, added keyword) on 28 August 2006@19:34:38.
David Whitehead (more keywords; tweaking) on 21 October 2013@05:58:36.
Ronald Allen (added map note, augmented n.1) on 12 June 2018@23:13:12.

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