History of the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides. London. 1919-1923.
Funding provided by National Endownment for the Humanities.
History of the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides. London. 1919-1923.
Funding provided by National Endownment for the Humanities.
History of the Peloponnesian War (English) (Thucydides, Vol. 1-4. Smith, Charles Foster, translator. London and Cambridge, MA: Heinemann and Harvard University Press, 1919-1923.)
History of the Peloponnesian War
ἄρχεται —not historic, but primary and connected with γέγραπται below. Thuc. means to say ‘what preceded ( i.e. book I.) was an introduction: now begins (my account of) the war itself.’ Cf. ἀρξάμενος, I. 1, 1: Diod. XII. 37 τὴν ἱστορίαν ἐντεῦθεν ἀρξάμενος. Ullrich first rightly explained this passage.
ὁ πόλεμος — i.e. the Archidamian War, 431-421; not the whole war to 404.
ἐνθένδε ἤδη —cf. Aristoph. Ach. 539 κἀντεῦθεν ἤδη πάταγος ἦν τῶν ἀσπίδων, referring to the outbreak of the war. ἐνθένδε refers back to I. 146, i.e. the account of the αἰτίαι καὶ διαφοραὶ is now concluded. (The other explanation, referring ἐνθένδε to the attack on Plataea, is less satisfactory, as ἐνθένδε is so far from the account of the attempt.)
τῶν ἑκατέροις ξ. —when ξύμμαχος is in the gen. plu., it is generally constructed as an adj., following that of ξυμμαχεῖν. Thus cacophony is avoided. Contrast I. 18 τοῖς ἑαυτῶν ξυμμάχοις, IV. 81 τοῖς Ἀθηναίων ξ. ἐν ᾧ—neut. Cf. c. 11, 6, 35, 2, = quo tempore. It expresses not merely time, but includes circumstances. ἐν ᾧ=‘during which period.’
οὔτε...τε —cf. c. 5, 5.
ἐπεμείγνυντο παρ’ ἀλλήλους —the ἐπι-expresses reciprocity, as in ἐπιχρῆσθαι. During the period of suspicion which preceded war, ἐπεμείγνυντο καὶ παρ’ ἀλλήλους ἐφοίτων ἀκηρύκτως μέν, ἀνυπόπτως δ’ οὔ, 1.146 .
καταστάντες —sc. ἐς πόλεμον , when once they had definitely started. Cf. c. 9, 1 and I. 49, 3. This refers to the interval between the attempt at Plataea and the invasion of Attica.
ξυνεχῶς —down to the truce that preceded the Peace of Nicias. Cf. v. 24 ταῦτα τὰ δέκα ἔτη ὁ πρῶτος πόλεμος ξυνεχῶς γενόμενος , VI. 26 ἄρτι δ’ ἀνειλήφει ἡ πόλις ἑαυτὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ ξυνεχοῦς πολέμου.
γέγραπται —sc. μοι.—This resumes ἄρχεται, but γέγραπται is probably impersonal, Thuc. meaning γέγραφα. Attic prose shows a marked preference for perf. pass. over perf. act. forms in 3rd sing. Thus ἃ πέπρακταί μοι is far commoner than ἃ πέπραχα, which is quite rare. γέγραφα occurs once in Thuc., γέγραπται ἐγέγραπτο or partic. nine times.
ἑξῆς —explained by κατὰ θ. καὶ χειμῶνα. Distinguish between τάξις, the arrangement of the subject matter as a whole, διαίρεσις, the divisions in which the separate events are grouped, ἐξεργασία, the treatment of the separate events. It is to the διαίρεσις that Thuc. refers.
ὡς ἕκαστα ἐγίγνετο —neut. plu. is used of the several events, just as Thuc. uses αὐτὰ constantly of the details of the subject he is dealing with.
κατὰ θ. καὶ χειμῶνα —as Thuc. begins his account of each summer with the first event of the new campaign, the summer in his history does not always begin exactly at the same time. Thus in 429, the account of summer begins with the Peloponnesian expedition against Plataea, which took place ἀκμάζοντος τοῦ σίτου, i.e. 80 days after the opening of spring ( II. 71, 1; 79, 1; cf. c. 19, 1 and 2, 1). In 428 the account of the summer only begins ἅμα τῷ ἦρι ἀκμάζοντι ( III. 1, 1). Phormio's arrival at Piraeus did not occur till spring had opened; but, for the sake of convenience, that event is tacked on to the preceding winter ( II. 103 ). But usually the opening of spring is reckoned with summer. Autumn also is counted with summer. Though Steup maintains that summer and winter are of equal length in Thuc., Poppo's view, that the summer consists of eight months (Elaphebolion to Pyanepsion) is probably correct. Thus the winter is from Maemacterion to Anthesterion.
γὰρ —takes up ἄρχεται and introduces the narrative. So c. 49, τὸ μὲν γαρ ἔτος takes up δηλώσω. ἐνέμειναν—the aor. of a single historical fact. M. T. 56, 57 (sometimes called ‘complexive).’
Εὐβοίας ἅλωσιν —Euboea revolted at the same time as Megara, 445 B.C. See I. 114, 115. The place of the article is taken by the gen., as often. Cf. I. 1 διὰ χρόνου πλῆθος. Comparing this phrase with c. 49, 4 μετὰ ταῦτα λωφήσαντα, VI. 3, 3 μετὰ Συρακούσας οἰκισθείσας, II 68 ἀπὸ τῶν Ἀμπρακιωτῶν ξυνοικησάντων, VI. 80, 2, and similar predicative uses of the partic. collected by Stahl, Quaest. Gram. p. 28, we might suppose that Thuc. could have written μετὰ Εὔβοιαν ἁλοῦσαν, just as below we have ἐπὶ Χρυσίδος ἱερωμένης, but, with the solitary exception of ἅμα with expressions of time, as ἄμα τῷ σίτῳ ἀκμάζοντι, it is improbable that this convenient use of the partic. was ever employed unless the expression made sense without the partic., which would not be the case here. This convenient use is of course much commoner in Latin than in Greek.
ἐπὶ Χρυσίδος —Argos, though humbled by Sparta, 495 B.C., was still the third state in Greece. The Argives reckoned by the number of years during which the priestess of Hera had held office. Hellanicus had written a work on the Priestesses of Argos, using them as marks for the dates.
Αἰνησίου —sc. ἐπί: so with Πυθοδώρου. ἐφόρου — i.e. the Ephor ἐπώνυμος. The omission of ὄντος, for which cf. v. 25, 1, is rare except in dates. ἐφόρου ὄντος = ἐφορεύοντος. τέσσαρας μῆνας—the archons entered on office on the 1st of Hecatombaeon, which in 431 B.C. fell on August 1st. To express a period of time, the pres. (or imperf.) or perf. (or pluperf.) participle is used: to supply the reference to the completion of the period, ( a) ἤδη is added, in primary sequence, which becomes τότε in secondary sequence: both refer to a period past at the time of speaking: ( b) ἔτι referring to the completion of a period in the future. Thus v. 112, 2 οὔτ’ ἐν ὀλίγῳ χρόνῳ πόλεως ἑπτακόσια ἔτη ἤδη οἰκουμένης τὴν ἐλευθερίαν ἀφαιρησόμεθα, and observe τότε ἱερωμένης and ἔτι ἄρχοντος here. The four months are Elaphebolion, Munychion, Thargelion, Scirophorion.
Ἀθηναίοις —cf. 1. 93 ἀρχὴν ἄρχειν Ἀθηναίοις, but in v. 25 ἄρχοντος Ἀθήνησι. The dative is probably local. Cf. c. 86 and 92 ἀπὸ τῶν Ἀθηναίων for ἀπὸ τῶν Ἀθηνῶν. [
μετὰ τὴν μηνὶ ἕκτῳ ]. Reasons for regarding these words as a later addition to the text are 1. Nearly a year ( I. 125 ) intervened between the day on which the allies of Sparta decided to go to war and the first invasion of Attica (c. 19 ). Between the battle of Potidaea and the decision came the events recorded in I.63-88 , 118-125 . The invasion was 80 days after the attempt on Plataea (c. 19 ). So for the period between the battle at Potidaea and the attempt on Plataea we get nearly a year minus 80 days and the time occupied by the events of I. 63-88, 118-125. The result must clearly be more than six months But Lipsius' ἕκτῳ καὶ δεκάτῳ probably gives too much time: thus, from battle at Potidaea to attempt on Plataea = 15 months; from attempt on Plataea to invasion of Attica = 80 days. Total about 17 1/2 months. Deducting nearly a year for the time between the decision of the allies and the invasion, we get about 6 1/2 months, at least, for the events of I.63-88 , 118-125 . These events were as follows: the Athenians built a wall on the north side of Potidaea and garrisoned it. After a considerable interval ( χρόνῳ ὕστερον) Phormio was sent from Athens with 1600 hoplites. He spent some time on the road ( κατὰ βραχὺ προιών). On arriving, he built a wall south of Potidaea. The Corinthians called a meeting of allies at Sparta. The Spartans sent to Delphi. Then a general meeting of allies was held at Sparta. at which the decision was come to. It is not clear whether the Corinthians proposed the first meeting after the north wall was built, or only after the south wall was finished. It is however highly improbable that they waited to take action till Potidaea was completely shut in; for they were most anxious about Potidaea, and were anxious to force on war. The Athenians would occupy about a month in building the north wall. Thus the Corinthians probably suggested the meeting about 40 days after the battle. Thus, the whole time would only be about 40 days + the time taken in the mission to Delphi and the calling of the second meeting. 2. The bracketed words give no additional indication of the date of the attempt on Plataea. Thuc. wishes to be precise here, but he has given no definite indication of the date of the battle at Potidaea, nor was it necessary to do so. He says (1) the decision of the allies was some 11 months before the invasion, (2) the invasion was 80 days after the attempt. All that could be found from μηνὶ ἕκτῳ would be the date of the battle of Potidaea. If any event were here referred to it would rather be the decision of the allies.
ἅμα ἦρι ἀρχομένῳ —the last day of Anthesterion, in 431 April 4th. See c. 4, 2
βοιωταρχοῦντες —the 11 chiefs of the Boeotian confederacy, of whom Thebes elected two, the other cities one each.
περὶ πρῶτον ὕπνον —cf. VII. 43 ἀπὸ πρώτου ὕπνου. When the article is omitted with expressions of time, a preposition is usually present, except with ἡμέρας and νυκτός. See Rutherford, Syntax, p. 4. There were three watches, the first beginning about 10 o'clock.
ξὺν ὅπλοις —in later Attic, except Xenophon, σὺν has only two uses; (1) the old phrase σὺν ( τοῖς) θεοῖς, (2) in enumerating things which are thrown together in a sum total; so that σὺν is very rare with persons, and it never implies a willing connection. Andoc. II. 7 τὸν πατέρα σὺν ἐμαυτῷ ἀποκτεῖναι. Of (1) Thuc. has 1 example, II. 86 ; of (2) 11 examples, e.g. ( a) with things —c. 13 , 77 ,; v. 26 ξὺν τῷ πρώτῳ πολέμῳ τοσαῦτα ἔτη. Cf. VII. 42 ; VIII. 90 , 95 : ( b) with persons, comparatively common in Thuc., I. 12 ; II. 6, 13 ; IV. 124 ; v. 74 . Besides these, Thuc. has the old military phrase, ξὺν ( τοῖς ) ὅπλοις, 8 times. Cf. Eur. Hec. 112 . Aristoph. Nub, 560. In the same class fall ξὺν ἑνὶ ἱματίῳ, II. 70, ψιλοὶ ξὺν ξιφιδίῳ and ξὺν δορατίοις III. 22. Cf. the Homeric σὺν τεύχεσι. Further, 6 cases of verbal nouns which modify the meaning of a verb, viz.: ξὺν ἐπαίνῳ ἐξοτρύνειν I. 84, ξὺν κατηγορίᾳ παροξύνειν ib., ξὺν χαλεπότητι παιδεύεσθαι ib., ξὺν φόβῳ ἔχειν τι I. 141, ξὺν ἀνάγκῃ τι παθεῖν III. 40, ξὺν προφάσει κακῶς ποιεῖν ib. The absence of this archaic idiom from the later books is remarkable. Lastly, 3 cases of a connection willingly formed, viz. : II. 58 ; III. 90 ; VII. 57 . This is common in Tragedy and Xenophon. In inscriptions of the classical period only the Attic use marked (2) above is found, and that never with persons.
ἐπηγάγοντο —the τάξις (see on c. 1 ) of this c. is dramatic, the causes which led to the attempt being given parenthetically in 2 and 3, while the narrative is continued at 4.
Πλαταιῶν ἄνδρες —the Thebans call them, III. 65, ἄνδρες οἱ πρῶτοι καὶ χρήμασι καὶ γένει. These leaders of the aristocratic party represent the great land-owners as distinct from the merchants.
ἄνδρας τοὺς ὑπεναντίους —the order, noun, art, adj., puts emphasis on the adj. Cf. c. 34, 4.
ἔπραξαν —of manipulation or diplomacy, as often. Cf. c. 5, 7. An abuse of the meaning ‘to succeed.’
ἔσοιτο — was certain. Cf. c. 13, 1.
ἔτι ἐν εἰρήνῃ —cf. III. 13 ἔτι ἐν τῇ εἰρήνῃ, and c. 5, 4. Here τε καὶ joins a positive to a negative expression which merely repeats it from another point of view. Cf. v. 9, 2 τῷ τε κατ’ ὀλίγον καὶ μὴ ἄπαντας κινδυνεύειν.
μήπω —the sentence expresses a wish.
ᾗ καὶ ρᾷον —cf. ᾗ καὶ μᾶλλον I. 11, 25; III. 13 ; IV. 1, 103. ᾗ καὶ before a comparative adverb emphasizes an inference.
ἔλαθον ἐσελθόντες —see M. T. 144, 146, 887.
προκαθεστηκυίας —Pp. compares anteponere vigilias, Tac. An. I. 50.
θέμενοι τὰ ὅπλα — cum in foro constitissent, lit. ‘having grounded their arms.’
τοῖς ἐπαγομένοις —the temporal force is lost, and the partic. becomes a substantive, as in οἱ προδιδόντες c. 5 .
ἐπείθοντο ὥστε —cf. c. 101, 5.
ὥστε is often inserted with verbs which take simple infin., the main emphasis is transferred from the finite to the infin. M. T. 588.
ἔργου ἔχεσθαι — rem aggredi. Cf. 1.49, 7 , 78, 3.
ἰέναι ἐς —for the hostile sense of ἰέναι cf. v. 69 ἐς τὴν γῆν ἐλθεῖν, ‘to attack.’ ἐπὶ is commoner than ἐς, as I. 58 ἢν ἐπὶ Ποτείδαιαν ἴωσιν. Cf. c. 3, 4. ἔρχομαι, εἶμι, ἥκω, ἦλθον and synonyms are far more supple in sense than our ‘to come.’ Note that the moods of εἶμι are usually present in meaning, except in Oratio Obliqua.
γνώμην ἐποιοῦντο — i.e. ἐγίγνωσκον, ‘came to a decision.’
ἐπιτηδείοις —so c. 18, 3.
καὶ ἀνεῖπεν —‘and in fact,’ καὶ introducing the parenthesis and emphasizing the word following. Cf. c. 49, 5, 51, 5.
εἴ τις βούλεται —in a protasis to a condition in Oratio Obliqua, probably only the future indicative is ever changed into optative, so that the optative in protasis in Or. Obl., except in the future, represents either ἢν and subjunctive or εἰ and optative of the Recta.
κατὰ τὰ πάτρια —in Iliad II. 504 Plataea is enumerated among the Boeotian confederate cities.
ξυμμαχεῖν —this may be a gloss on τίθεσθαι κ.τ.λ. Cf. IV. 30 προκαλούμενοι, εἰ βούλοιντο, τὰ ὅπλα κελεύειν παραδοῦναι, and so 37 ; v. 115 ἐκήρυξαν, εἴ τις βούλεται, λῄζεσθαι, VII. 82 κήρυγμα ποιοῦνται, εἴ τις βούλεται, ὡς σφᾶς ἀπιέναι. With βούλομαι an infinitive has often to be supplied from the context.
ὡς ᾔσθοντο —cf. c. 5, 4, 31, 1, 94, 3. The aorist is usual with ὡς, but, whatever tense is used, it is always independent of that of the main verb. In this respect ὡς differs from other temporal particles. Thus if imperf. is used, as in c. 77, 1, or pluperf. as in c. 59, 1, it is because that tense is required to describe a continuous or completed act, apart from the main verb. If the act in a temporal sentence is represented as simultaneous with or preceding the action of the main sentence, ὅτε or ἐπειδὴ is used.
ᾔσθοντο —‘became aware,’ ingressive aor., a use almost confined to 1st aor. forms.
ἐξαπιναίως —this and ἐξαπίνης, in place of ἐξαίφνης or αἰφνιδίως, are Ionic, and only found in Thuc. and Xenophon of Attic prose writers. [Dem.] c. Neaeram § 99 is copied from this passage. Cf. c. 48, 2, 93, 3.
καταδείσαντες καὶ ν. — ingressive, ‘having become alarmed,’ etc.
πολλῷ πλείους — sc. ἢ ἐσῆλθον. An ellipse with comparative is very common.
ἐν τῇ νυκτὶ — per noctis caliginem. Cf. ἐν νυκτὶ below, and c. 4 ἐν σκότῳ καὶ πήλῳ.
πρὸς ξ. ἐχώρησαν — se converterunt Cf. III. 66 προείπομεν τὸν βουλόμενον κατὰ τὰ πάντων Βοιῶτων πάτρια πολιτεύειν ἰέναι πρὸς ἡμᾶς, IV. 120, VIII. 40, 2.
ἐνεωτέριζον —the subject is changed, as in 4 below . Thuc. assumes that his readers will follow the narrative attentively.
πράσσοντές πως —the particle implies that unnecessary details are omitted. Cf. ἄλλως πως in brief narrative, I. 99, , VI.2 .
κρατήσειν —Cl. defends κρατῆσαι, on the ground that the aor. expresses confidence in the result of the action in ἐπιθέμενοι. But the aor. inf. is very doubtful used thus for the future.
τῷ γὰρ πλήθει — γὰρ gives the writer's explanation, and shows that οἱ Πλαταιῆς above was loosely used for τὸ πλῆθος τῶν Π.
βουλομένῳ ἦν
—so
VII.
35
;
VIII.
92,
6.
M. T. 900. The editors compare
Sallust, Jug. 84
ἐπιχειρητέα εἶναι —cf. I. 118 ἐπιχειρητέα ἐδόκει εἶναι πάσῃ προθυμίᾳ. Plur. neut. forms for sing. are very common in Thuc., especially with verbals.
ξυνελέγοντο —with παρ’ ἀλλήλους, διορύσσοντες τοὺς τ.—cf. τοιχωρύχος.
ἁμάξας τε —the conjunction adds a third and important fact, as often.
ᾖ —sc. αὐτό, what has just been described, the barrier of waggons.
ἑτοῖμα —the plur. marks the details of a complex act. See c. 10, 2
φυλάξαντες ἔτι νύκτα —cf. VII. 83 τῆς νυκτὸς φυλάξαντες τὸ ἡσυχάζον. ‘Waited for the time when it was still night.’
ἔτι νύκτα is equivalent to τὴν ἔτι νύκτα.
φυλάξαντες ἔτι νύκτα —cf c. 2, 1.
καὶ —adds the more exact time.
περίορθρον —the beginning of that time of night denoted by ὄρθρος. Cf. IV. 110 νυκτὸς ἔτι καὶ περὶ ὄρθρον, VI. 101 περὶ ὄρθρον, According to Phrynichus (Bekker An. Gr. 54, 8) ὄρθρος ἐστιν ἡ ὥρα τῆς νυκτὸς καθ’ ἣν ἀλεκτρύονες ᾅδουσιν. ἄρχεται δὲ ἐνάτης ὥρας καὶ τελευτᾷ εἰς διαγελῶσαν ἡμέραν. So in III. 112, Demosthenes attacked the Ambraciots ἅμα ὄρθρῳ, at which time they could not distinguish friend from foe, νυκτὸς ἔτι οὔσης. Thus the Plataean rally was at about 2 o'clock.
γίγνωνται —sc. οἱ Θηβαῖοι. Cf. I. 143 οὐκέτι ἐκ τοῦ ὁμοίου ἔσται, III. 12, 3.
φοβερώτεροι —for the passive meaning, ‘timid,’ cf. IV. 128, 4. Conversely ἀδεὴς which is usually active is occasionally passive = not formidable. See I. 36, 1. Cf. προστρόπαιος, ἀλιτήριος, and in Latin formidolosus and others. See Cook on Sallust, Cat. 39, 2. Shil. quotes Soph. O. T. 153 φοβερὰν φρένα δείματι πάλλων.
ἥσσους ὦσι τῆς — i.e. ἡσσῶνται equivalent to νικῶνται ὑπὸ τῆς κ.τ.λ. σφετέρας—indirect reflexive, i.e. refers to subject of the main verb, not to that of its own clause. Cf. c. 83, 3, 89, 4; IV. 37, 1; V. 47 ; VII. 48 ; VIII. 74, 3. This is the regular use of σφέτερος, whereas σφέτερος αὐτῶν is the same as ἑαυτῶν. But Thuc. also uses σφέτερος alone as direct reflexive, as IV. 33 οὐκ ἐδυνήθησαν τῇ σφετέρᾳ ἐμπειρίᾳ χρήσασθαι: and in dependent clauses, as c. 71 and IV. 11 τας σφετέρας ναῦς καταγνύναι ἐκέλευε. ta\ sfe/tera is direct in c. 20, 4; IV. 99, 1, indirect in III. 68, 3.
προσέβαλόν τε — inferential τε, ‘and so.’
ἔγνωσαν —‘became aware,’ ingressive.
ξυνεστρέφοντο —‘proceeded to rally,’ imperf. expressing difficulty.
σφίσιν αὐτοῖς —in c. 65, 12, 76, 2 Thuc. has the Ionic use of σφᾶς alone as a direct reflexive. See Rutherford, Syntax, p. 11.
δὶς μὲν ... ἔπειτα —cf IV. 115 καὶ μίαν μὲν ἡμέραν ἀπεκρούσαντο, τῇ δ’ ὑστεραίᾳ. As regards ἔπειτα without δέ, the ordinary use is πρῶτον ( πρῶτα ) μὲν. ἔπειτα, which Thuc. uses 28 times; see c. 19, 2, 49, 2, 75, 1, 89, 2, 96, 1, 98, 1. He has πρῶτον ( πρῶτα) μὲν ... ἔπειτα δὲ 8 times; see c. 55, 84. If καὶ follows ἔπειτα, δὲ is always inserted, e.g. c. 84 ; IV. 43 ; VII. 23 ; VIII. 48 ; also μάλιστα μὲν is always followed by ἔπειτα δέ, as c. 54 ; I. 75 ; VI. 11, 4, 16, 5, 67, 2. If the more emphatic ἔπειτα μέντοι is used, it is preceded by τὸ πρῶτον or τὸ μὲν π., as III. 93, 1, 111, 3; VIII. 75, 1, 86, 2. τὸ μὲν πρῶτον .. ἔπειτα occurs I. 131 ; V. 41, 3, 84, 2; the same, but ἔπειτα δὲ c. 48 ; v. 41, 2. πρῶτον alone is always answered by ἔπειτα alone, unless καὶ follows ἔπειτα, as in VII. 23 τὸ μέγιστον πρῶτον, ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ κ.τ.λ. After other phrases, ἔπειτα is without δὲ in 10 cases, has δὲ in 2, viz. c. 92, 1; I. 18, 3.
κραυγῇ —Moeris says κεκραγμὸς Ἀττικοί, κραυγὴ Ἕλληνες, but κεκραγμός , κέκραγμα and κραυγή are all Attic words. Perhaps Moeris really wrote κραυγασμὸς Ἕλληνες, which would agree with Phrynichus.
καὶ —there is chiasmus here and in λίθοις καὶ κεράμῳ.
ὀλολυγῇ —‘cheering,’ this word is used regularly of women. Pollux I. 28 ὀλολῦξαι καὶ ὀλολυγῇ χρήσασθαι ἐπὶ γυναικῶν. Hence κραυγῇ goes with οἰκετῶν, ὀλολυγῇ with γυναικῶν. Eur. I. T. 1337 ἀνωλόλυξε καὶ κατῇδε of Iphigenia; cf. Aesch. Ag. 587 of Clytaemnestra. Verg. Aen. IV. 667, IX. 477 femineo ululatu.
τε ... τε —these join χρωμένων to βαλλόντων and represent the two actions as going on simultaneously. Cf. c. 22 ἐκκλησίαν τε οὐκ ἐποίει ... τήν τε πόλιν ἐφύλασσε.
λίθοις καὶ κεράμῳ —no doubt the slaves had gathered the stones, while the women removed the tiles. For κέραμος collective, cf. III. 74, 1; IV. 48, 2. So ἔπαλξις c. 13, κάλαμος c. 76 . Xen. Mem. III. 1, 7 λίθοι καὶ πλίνθοι καὶ ξύλα καὶ κέραμος.
διὰ νυκτὸς —cf. διὰ παντὸς c. 16, 2 .
πολλοῦ —predicate with ἐπιγενομένου Cf. VII. 87 αἱ νύκτες ἐπιγιγνόμεναι μετοπωριναὶ καὶ ψυχραί.
ἐπιγενομένου —expresses any sudden or unexpected phenomenon. Cf. c. 64, 1, 70, 1, 77, 5. The other meaning occurs in 4 below .
οἱ πλείους —the subject is here limited by apposition from all to the majority, Cf. I. 2, 6 οἱ ἐκπίπτοντες ... οἱ δυνατώτατοι. So in Latin, Livy XXI.24, 2 Galli ... aliquot populi.
πηλῷ —so that progress was impeded. Cf. c. 5, 2. This shows that the streets of Plataea were bad, like Greek streets generally. On the outskirts of the town the soil was certainly soft, and the Thebans fled in the direction of the valley of the Asopus, so that the further they went, the worse the road became. Probably in wet weather the streets of the town resembled water-courses carrying down the water from Cithaeron to the Asopus.
τῶν διόδων —belongs like ᾗ χρὴ ς. to ἄπειροι ὄντες.
ᾗ χρὴ — takes the place of a deliberative subj. (why?). Cf. I. 91, 1 οὐκ εἶχον ὅπως χρὴ ἀπιστῆσαι.
καὶ γὰρ —explains only ἐν σκότῳ , πηλῷ being already explained in ὑετοῦ ἅμα. τελευτῶντος τοῦ μηνὸς—there was a new moon on the early morning of the 7th April 431, and, as the Attic months were lunar, assuming the calendar to have been in perfect order (it must have been in fair order), the month Elaphebolion began at sunset on the 6th April. The attempt was made at the end of Anthesterion, on the night of April 4th or 5th. When the calendar month did not correspond with the true lunar month, the true day of the new moon was called νουμηνία κατὰ σελήνην (c. 28 ).
ἐμπείρους δὲ ἔχοντες τοὺς δ. —for ἐμπείρων δὲ ὄντων τῶν δ. Cf. I. 144 αὐτονόμους ἀφήσομεν εἰ καὶ αὐτονόμους ἔχοντες ἐσπεισάμεθα.
[τοῦ μὴ ἐκφεύγειν —this is taken as ne effugereni. (There is another tradition, due to Kr., that it expresses a consequence, which is not in good Attic.) It must depend on διώκοντας,—which gives the platitude that the enemy pursued them that they might not escape. To avoid this, Cl. explains it as equivalent to τοῦ μὴ ἐᾶν ἐκφεύγειν and constructs it with ἐμπείρους. But (1) there is no other case of gen, of inf. with adjectives in Thuc., (2) ἐμπείρους τοῦ ἐκφεύγειν ought to mean ‘experienced in escaping.’ Supply τῶν διόδων with ἐμπείρους. ὥστε διεφθείροντο οἱ π.]—the article, found in BCEFGM and in A corrected, contradicts τὸ πλεῖστον in 5 below, and ὀγδοήκοντα καὶ ἑκατὸν c. 5, 7, the number captured out of a force of few over 300 (c. 2, 1), when many others had been killed or had escaped (4 below). Bekker omits οἱ, followed by most edd., and the imitation of Aen. Pol. 2, 6 is quoted οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἔφυγον ἄπειροι ὄντες ᾗ χρὴ σωθῆναι, οἱ δὲ ἐμπείρως διώκοντες πάνυ πολλοὺς ἔφθειραν. But on reading the whole chap. to 4, it becomes clear that no results of the flight are given till 4, where the fate of the whole number is told: so that these words break the continuity of the narrative.
στυρακίῳ ἀκοντίου — στυράκιον λαβών τις ἐν τῷ μοχλῷ τῆς θύρας ἐνέβαλεν, Schol. The στυράκιον is the spike at the top of a small javelin for fixing it in the ground; = Homeric σαυρωτήρ. This was used instead of the βάλανος or iron pin which was driven through the μόχλος (bar) and the door, and could not be removed without a key ( βαλανάγρα, κλείς), which fitted into it. Arnold remarks that the action is the same as spiking a gun. Cf. Aristoph. Av. 1159 ἅπαντ’ ἐκεῖνα πεπύλωται πύλαις καὶ βεβαλάνωται καὶ φυλάττεται κύκλῳ. χρησάμενος ἐς —cf. c. 49 ἔδρασαν ἐς τὰ φρέατα.
διωκόμενοι .. ἀναβάντες ἔρριψαν —the 1st partic. gives the cause of ἀνάβαντες, while the latter is temporal to ἔρριψαν. Cf. c. 59, 3, 76, 1, 90, 3. The 2nd partic. tends to become a mere adverb to the verb, as c. 90, 1 βουλόμενοι προαγαγεῖν αὐτούς, ἀναγαγόμενοι ἔπλεον. οἱ μέν τινες ... οἱ δὲ ... ἄλλοι δὲ ... τὸ δὲ πλεῖστον—the partic. διωκόμενοι is subdivided. Also οἱ μέν τινες is restricted by οἱ πλείους.
λαθόντες καὶ ]—it is evident that γυναικὸς δούσης πέλεκυν must be joined with διακόψαντες, but καὶ is in the way of this. But, though Stahl's reading is given, perhaps Thuc. wrote γυναικὸς δούσης πέλεκυν καὶ διακόψαντες τὸν μοχλὸν λαθόντες ἐξῆλθον. There would then be no objection to καί. For the want of symmetry in δούσης καὶ διακόψαντες, see c. 25, 1. For the two participles διακόψαντες, λαθόντες, the first temporal, the second defining the verb, see c. 33, 3. The objection to bracketing καὶ only is that Thuc. would have written λάθρᾳ διακόψαντες, as IV. 110 ; VIII. 84.
ἄλλοι δὲ ἄλλῃ τῆς —cf. c. 76 ἄλλας δὲ ἄλλῃ τοῦ τείχους.
τὸ πλεῖστον ... ἐσπίπτουσιν —plur. verb after a collective, as often. Rutherford, Syntax, p. 21.
ὃ ἦν τοῦ τείχους —cf. I. 134 οἴκημα ὃ ἦν τοῦ ἱεροῦ. It was not usual in early times to have buildings adjacent to the walls. Cf. c. 17, 1 note. Hence the Thebans thought the building was part of the gate-way, supposing it to be double like the Dipylon at Athens. Thebes prided herself on her seven great gates, and it is highly improbable that the pomoerium was thus violated in that city. There cannot have been many such buildings at Plataea, for in c. 76 we see there was room for a curved wall between the τεῖχος and the mass of the buildings.
ἀνεῳγμέναι ἔτυχον —in order to represent the action as complete, the perf. partic., not aor., has to be used with τυγχάνω, λανθάνω , φθάνω, unless the verb is in imperf, or pres. See M. T. 144, 146, 147, 887. Cf. I. 103 Ναύπακτον ἔτυχον ᾑρηκότες. αὐτοῦ—in the second member of a relative sentence the relative is not repeated, but a demonstrative or personal pron. takes its place. Cf. c. 34, 5, 72, 1, 74, 3. Exceptions are c. 43, 3, 44, 1, where the relative is repeated. Cf. ‘Whose fan is in His hand, and He shall throughly purge His floor.’
πύλας — πύλαι τοῦ τείχους, θύραι τοῦ οἴκου Schol. Cf. τεῖχος and τοῖχος. ἄντικρυς—‘right through.’ In VI. 49 it means direct. In all other places in Thuc. downright, complete, as VIII. 64 ἐπὶ τὴν ἄντικρυς ἐλευθερίαν. It is said that ἄντικρυς = φανερῶς , ἄντικρυ (not found in Thuc.) = ἐξ ἐναντίας .
κατακαύσωσιν —cf. c. 52 οὐκ ἔχοντες ὅ τι γένωνται. ὥσπερ ἔχουσιν—sc. οἱ Θηβαῖοι, on the spot. Often in Thuc., but later Atties use οὕτως in much the same sense.
τὰ ὅπλα καὶ σφᾶς αὐτοὺς —the phrase is common, and the order is always the same. Cf. IV. 21, 3, 30, 4, 37, 2, 38, 3. Livy XXII. 60, 24 and 26 arma et vos ipsos traditis.
χρήσασθαι ὅ τι ἂν β. —with χρήσασθαι supply σφίσι only. Cf. c. 24, 2. χρήσασθαι expresses purpose, the act. or mid. being regular in this construction even when the pass. might seem more suitable. M. T. 770. The phrase is regular in the terms of a complete surrender. Cf. IV. 69, 3; VII. 85, 1. Andoc. I. 11, 26.
μὲν δὴ —dismisses the subject.
ἐπεπράγεσαν —the pluperf shows that Thuc. has anticipated: in c. 5 he goes back.
ἔδει παραγενέσθαι —‘ought to have reached Plataea.’ M. T. 415. Cf. c. 92, 7, 95, 3.
εἴ τι ἄρα —cf. c. 12, 1. The following are noteworthy: (1) εἴ μὴ ἄρα = nisi forte, e.g. Xen. Mem. I. 2, 8 πῶς ἂν οὖν ὁ τοιοῦτος ἀνὴρ διαφθείροι τοὺς νέους; εἰ μὴ ἄρα ἡ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐπιμέλεια διαφθορά ἐστιν. (2) εί ἄρα in indirect questions, e.g. Plat. Phaedo, 95 B πειρώμεθα εί ἄρα τι λέγεις. (3) εἰ ἄρα or ἢν ἄρα in protasis, as I. 140 ἢν ἄρα τι καὶ σφαλλώμεθα . ἄρα implies a quite unlikely contingency.
προχωροίη —the apodosis is only implied in ἔδει παραγενἐσθαι . M. T. 696. ἢν προχωρῇ might have been kept. προχωρεῖν is a favourite word with Thuc.
ἅμα —belongs to ῥηθείσης, as c. 4 ὑετοῦ ἅμα ἐπιγενομένου. ῥηθείσης—more usually ἐλθούσης, but the former is better suited to a hurried announcement to an army on the march.
τῶν γεγενημένων —the Theban reinforcements were ignorant of the destruction of their friends when they arrived, see 4 below. Hence these τὰ γεγενημένα told them were not complete. The message was doubtless brought by those who escaped κατὰ πύλας ἐρήμους, who did not know all.
ἐπεβοήθουν —‘increased their speed.’ Cf. III. 110, 1.
ἑβδομήκοντα —probably rather over the direct route, but approximately correct measured by the road.
γενόμενον —of natural phenomena, as often. Cf. c. 77 ἐγένετο φλόξ, ὕδωρ καὶ βροντὰς γενομένας. ἐρρύη μέγας—cf. c. 75 ᾔρετο μέγα.
τε —‘and so.’
ὕστερον —‘late,’ cf. c. 80 ὕστερον ἦλθον.
τῶν ἀνδρῶν —apposition with τῶν μὲν ... τῶν δὲ, as in 4, 4 .
ζώντων —predicative.
κατασκευή —‘property,’ viz. household effects and farming implements. κατασκευὴ means anything that makes a place habitable and worth living in. See L. and S.
οἷα —Ionic for ἅτε.
ἐβούλοντο εἴ τινα λάβοιεν κ.τ.λ. — M. T. 695. The second protasis is not co-ordinate with the first. In a more certain form the sentence would run ὅντινα λάβοιειν ὑπάρχειν ἐβούλοντο ἀντὶ τῶν ἔνδον ἐζωγρημένων.
διαβουλευομένων —reciprocal mid., like διαλέγομαι, διαπράττομαι. When a compound of διὰ is not available, the same sense is given by ἐν ἑαυτοῖς or σφίσιν αὐτοῖς, as IV. 25, 9 παρακελευόμενοι ἐν ἑαυτοῖς, VIII. 76 παραινέσεις ἐποιοῦντο ἐν σφίσιν αὐτοῖς, sometimes by ἐν ἀλλήλοις, for which see c. 65, 11.
ὑποτοπήσαντες —rare and poetical, used by Thuc. 8 times, only in aor. inf. or partic.
περὶ τοῖς ἔξω —the dat. with περὶ gradually disappeared in Attic and occurs but once in the orators, Isocr. Ep. 9, 10. It is regular in Thuc. with verbs of fearing.
ὁσίως —when used of states, ὅσιος means in accordance with those principles of right dealing universally recognised ( jus gentium). Cf. III. 56 ἐτιμωρησάμεθα κατὰ τὸν πᾶσι νόμον καθεστῶτα, τὸν ἐπιόντα πολέμιον ὅσιον εἶναι ἀμύνέσθαι. ib. c. 58, 3. See on c. 52, 3. Eur. Hec. 788 .
σφῶν —with πόλιν. The position is for the sake of emphasis.
πειραθέντες —the Attic aor. of πειρῶμαι is ἐπειράθην, cf. c. 33, 2. But Thuc. uses also the lonic ἐπειρασάμην in c. 44 and 85.
ἔλεγον —interrupts the structure of οὔτε ... τε, but the irregularity is very slight. λέγω in sense of κελεύω regularly takes infin., μὴ being the neg.
εἰ δὲ μή —cf. I. 28 εἰ δὲ μή, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἀναγκασθήσεσθαι ἔφασαν. The addition of ἔφασαν, suspected also by Kr. in both places, certainly adds clearness, yet Thuc. proceeds in a quite different way in c. 13. But the difference in the nature of the matter of these chapters (the one narrative, the other reflective) may account for the difference of style.
ἀναχωρησάντων ... αὐτοῖς —the use of the gen. abs. in spite of the dat. following, makes the act in the partic. more prominent, and prevents it from being a mere appendage of ἀποδώσειν. A common sacrifice of form to sense in Herod. and Thuc. αὐτοῖς is wrongly bracketed in the text.
ἐπομόσαι — jusjurandum addere. Does not occur elsewhere in Thuc.
εὐθὺς —with ἀποδώσειν. as the following words show.
ἤν τι ξυμβαίνωσι —closely with γενομένων, ‘with a view to an arrangement.’ ἢν ξυμβῶσι would be ‘if they come to an arrangement.’
δ’ οὖν —doubtful statements are dismissed and the narrative of facts resumed.
οὐδὲν ἀδικήσαντες —contrast οὐδὲν ἀδικοῦντες =‘guiltless.’
τὰ ἐκ τῆς χώρας ἐσεκομίσαντο —the preposition attracted to the verb, for ἐν. Cf. c. 13, 2, 14, 1.
ἀπέκτειναν —assuredly justified as an act of reprisal, but most impolitic, as calculated to provoke Thebes and Sparta.
εἷς αὐτῶν ἦν —the so-called partitive gen. is often used thus without εἷς, which is wanting in C. Cf. I. 85 εἷς τῶν ἐφόρων τότε ὤν, v. 59, 5; VIII. 39, 2.
πρὸς ὅν ἔπραξαν —so I. 131, I; IV. 114, 3. This is only a variant for πράσσειν with dat., as IV. 110, 2; v. 76, 3. But when many persons are dealt with, πράσσειν ἐς is also used, as I. 132, 4. The same three constructions follow λέγειν: πρός, Andoc. I. 48; dat., ib. I. 69; ἐς, ib., l.c. Eur. Hec. 303 εἷπον εἰς ἅπαντας, ‘proposed in the general assembly.’
οἱ προδιδόντες —see on c. 2, 4.
ἔπεμπον —the imperf. with verbs of ‘going’ and ‘sending,’ presenting the details of an elaborate negociation involving a journey, is common. Cf. c. 85, 2; I. 10, 5, 26, 1, and 3 below. But the aor. is also used. M. T. 57.
καὶ —has nothing to do with the τε preceding, which is answered by the τε following. Thus the sentence consists of two members joined by τε .. τε. Cf. I. 69, 1 τό τε πρῶτον ἐάσαντες . . καὶ ὔστερον τὰ μακρὰ στῆσαι τείχη, ἐς τόδε τε αἰεὶ ἀποστεροῦντες. So in 4 below.
ἠγγέλθη εὐθὺς —does not refer to ἔπεμπον ἄγγελον, but to two previous messages mentioned in 3 below. Plataea is something over 30 miles from Athens.
καὶ .. ξυνέλαβον — parataxis, presenting the two facts as almost concurrent. The second was prompt and hurried. Cf. I. 61 ἦλθε καὶ τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις εὐθὺς ἠ ἀγγελία ... καὶ πεμπουσιν. ἔπεμψαν ... κελεύοντες—the activity of the sender is continued in the person sent. Cf. c. 85, 1.
νεώτερον ποιεῖν — i.e. νεωτερίζειν. Cf. I. 132, 5; IV. 55 μὴ νεώτερόν τι γένηται. πρὶν ἂν—after historic tenses, πρὶν ἂν and subj. is used only in Oratio Obliqua. Cf. c. 84, 1, 102, 5.
ἅμα τῇ ἐσόδῳ γιγνομένῃ —see c. 2, 1.
οὕτω δὴ — gives the result of facts just stated, contrast c. 19, 1.
οὐκ εἰδότες — sc. ὅτι τεθνήκασιν. ἐπέστελλον—see 1 above.
ἐγκατέλιπον —so ἐγκαθέζομαι III. 1 ; ἐγκαθίστημι I. 4 ; ἐγκαθορμίζομαι IV. 1 ; ἐγκατοικοδομεῖν III. 18 ; ἐγκατασκήπτειν c. 47.
τοὺς ἀχρειοτάτους — sunt ἀχρεῖοι omnes inhabiles militiae,’ Pp. Cf. c. 44. Juv. 15, 126 imbelle et inutile vulgus. For the deeper application of ἀχρεῖος, see c. 40, 2.
ἐξεκόμισαν —c. 78, 3.
λελυμένων —before the attempt on Plataea, each side had interpreted the other's action as σπονδῶν ξύγχυσις ( I. 146 ), but there had been no open violation of the letter of the truce.
λαμπρῶς —cf. I. 49, 7; VIII. 66, 3, 75, 2.
παρεσκευάζοντο δὲ —the anaphora would have been more perfect with παρεσκευάζοντο μὲν preceding, but Thuc. often omits μέν in cases where it is not required, though a writer more careful about symmetry would msert it: perhaps he purposely avoids a rhetorical formula in narrative. The common cases in Thuc. are very simple, as πολλοὶ μὲν ... πολλοὶ δέ, εἰ μὲν .. εἰ δέ, ἅμα μὲν ... ἅμα δέ. Cf. I. 28 with πέμπετε; VI. 20, 4; also c. 41, 3 μόνη γὰρ καὶ μόνη. μέλλοντες—belongs to both subjects, as ποιούμενοι below. Probably both intended sending to Persia, though the Athenians did not carry out their intention. See c. 67.
πέμπειν — M. T. 73, 96.
ἀλλόσε —see c. 29.
ἑαυτῶν —for σφετέρας. Cf. c. 92, 4, and see c. 3, 4.
Λακεδαιμονίοις ... ἐπετάχθη — i.e. Λακεδαιμόνιοι ἐπέταξαν. This dat. of the agent is very rare with other parts of the pass. than perf. It occurs in I. 51 τοῖς Κερκυραίοις οὐχ ἑωρῶντο, IV. 64 τίνες ἂν δικαιότερον πᾶσι ... μισοῖντο , ib. 109 πόλεις οἰκοῦνται ξυμμίκτοις ἔθνεσι. There are only two instances in the Orators.
αὐτοῦ —in the harbours of Peloponnese.
ἐξ Ἰ. καὶ Σ. —with τοῖς ἑλομένοις, but placed first for the sake of the antithesis with αὐτοῦ. Cf. c. 18, 3 κατὰ τὴν ἄλλην πορείαν ἡ σχολαιότης. ναῦς ἐπετάχθη—Stahl supports his reading with great ability. It will be noticed that these Dorian cities, reckoned by Sparta among her allies, are not mentioned in c. 9 with the ξύμμαχοι, because there only those who actually contributed to the armament are given, and these cities contributed nothing. III. 86, 2.
ποιεῖσθαι —middle, ναῦς being the object. Cf. I. 14, 2.
ἐς τὸν πάντα ἀ —‘in all.’ When the article precedes πᾶς, the whole is regarded as the sum of its component parts.
πεντακοσίων —by no means realised. The Spartan navy in the Archidamian War was contemptible. See c. 66 and 85. Thuc. speaks with some irony.
τά τ’ ἄλλα —perhaps τἆλλα should be read here, the τ’ being due to dittography.
ἡσυχάζοντας —the change from the dat. ἑλομένοις is due to the infin. This change from gen. or dat. is always possible except when a word is the predicate to a gen. or dat., as I. 71 βουλομένων ὑμῶν εἶναι προθύμων. See c 24, 1.
μιᾷ νηὶ
—
ἕως ἂν — whereas with πρίν, μέχρι and μέχρι οὗ Thuc. occasionally omits ἂν when subjunctive is used, according to the older Attic idiom, this is never the case with ἕως. Cf. c. 72, 3.
τὰ περὶ Π. —‘in the neighbourhood of P.’ like circa. Cf. c. 99, 3.
μᾶλλον —‘more than elsewhere,’ so ‘especially.’ Cf. c. 15 ἑτέρων μᾶλλον. Κέρκυραν— the places are given in inverse order, the final point reached coming first. Cf. c. 93, 1. Eur. Bach. 13 fol. At present only an ἐπιμαχία existed between Athens and Corcyra. See Intr. p. LXVI.
Κεφαλληνίαν —it took no part in the war at first, but joined Athens towards the end of the summer. See c. 30. Ἀκαρνᾶνας—except the Oeniadae, c. 102, 2, the Acarnanians were reckoned as allies from the first, though no treaty was concluded till the autumn of 430. See c. 68. Ζάκυνθον—its interests and policy coincided with those of Corcyra. Cf. c. 9, 4; I. 47, 2.
εἰ ... εἴη — Recta, ἐὰν ... ᾖ. See 2, 4 .
βεβαίως —cf. IV. 20, 3 φίλους γενέσθαι βεβαίως. πέριξ καταπολεμήσοντες — se undique impugnaturos.
ὀλίγον οὐδὲν —cf. VII. 59, 3, 87, 6; VIII. 15, 2. ὀλίγον is predicate.
τε —‘in fact,’ summing up the preceding remarks. Cf. 3 below.
ἔρρωντο — totis viribus incumbebant. Thuc. uses the literal sense only once, VII. 15.
οὐκ ἀπεικότως —so εἰκότως in the Orators is often followed by γάρ. Cf. I. 77, 5. So οὐκ ἀκουσίως below.
ἀρχόμενοι — i.e. there is greater enthusiasm at the beginning of an undertaking than after the first excitement has worn off.
ἀντιλαμβάνονται — sc. τῶν πραγμάτων, rem capessunt.
τότε δὲ —contrasted with πάντες. καὶ—an additional reason existed then.
νεότης — juventus. Cf. c. 20, 2, 21, 2. The abstract term, like ἡλικία, represents the young men as a power in the State. Cf. Pericles' remark, quoted by Aristot. Rhet. A. 7, 34 τὴν νεότητα ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ἀνῃρῆσθαι ὥσπερ τὸ ἔαρ ἐκ τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ εἰ ἐξαιρεθείη. ὑπ’ ἀπειρίας —so ὑπὸ is used with any noun denoting any state of mind which is the immediate cause of action. See c. 47, 4. παροιμία· γλυκὺς ἀπείρῳ πόλεμος [Pindar, frag. 87 Bergk] Schol.
ἡ ἄλλη Ἑλλὰς —all States in or outside Greece. Cf. I. 1, 1, 6, 1.
ξυνιουσῶν — pres. not fut. Cf. v. 59, 5, 71, 1.
λόγια —a general term for all words, whether prose or verse, supposed to be ominous. Probably old stories of strange things in the past are here meant Pind Pyth. 1, 92.
ἐλέγετο
—in other places the plur. verb appears after a neut. sing. (see
not. crit.), viz.:
I.
126,
5
ἐπῆλθον Ὀλύμπια (where CEG read
ἐπῆλθεν );
v.
75,
2
Καρνεῖα ἐτύγχανον ὄντα: though elsewhere names of festivals have the sing.;
v.
26,
2
ἁμαρτήματα ἐγένοντο;
VI.
62,
4
ἐγένοντο ἑκατὸν τάλαντα .
πολλὰ δὲ — i.e. χρησμοί, which are collected and interpreted by χρησμολόγοι. ἦδον—contrasted with ἔλέγετο, since the χρησμοὶ were in verse; ‘recited.’ Cf. c. 54, 2. So cano often.
Δῆλος ἐκινήθη —the centre of the Ionian race, which by its unique κίνησις foreshadowed an equally unique κίνησις of all Greece. Cf. I. 1, 2.
οὔπω —either Thuc. did not know of Herod. VI. 98, or he ignores it.
ἐπὶ —‘in view of.’ c. 36, 4.
σημῆναι —intrans., σημεῖον εἶναι. Cf. c. 43, 3, 49, 7.
ἀνεζητεῖτο —cf. VIII. 33, 4. Bloomf. quotes Aristoph. Lys. 28 πρᾶγμ’ ἀνεζητημένον, πολλαῖσιν ἀγρυπνίαισιν ἐρριπτασμένον.
ἐποίει ἐς
—
ἀντὶ τοῦ εὐνοικῶς εἶχον Schol.
προειπόντων —cf. c. 5, 5; M.T. 850; and for Latin, Riemann, S.L. § 263; a convenient use of the gen. abs., in spite of the proximity of another case, to make a fresh predication without a new sentence. Cf. c. 83, 3; I. 114, 1; III. 13, 6, 22, 1.
ἐλευθεροῦσιν —the claim continually put forward by S., that she was a Liberator. She traded on the insane craving for αὐτονομία, the evil spirit by which the Greeks were possessed. A wanton abuse of terms must lead to disaster, and after misusing the word Freedom for a century, Greece ‘buried her Liberty’ on the field of Chaeronea.
καὶ λόγῳ καὶ ἔργῳ — sive ... sive. There are some 50 cases of this antithesis between λ. and ἔ. in Thuc., which is not surprising considering that (1) great importance was attached to words at Athens, apart from their truth or falsity; (2) Thuc. had but too good reason to contrast the professions of men with their deeds during the war. The antithesis underlies all diplomacy. The opening of the Funeral Oration, c. 35, is a contrast of λόγος and ἔργον. Cf. c. 40, 1, 41, 2, 4, 42, 2, 4, 43, 1, 2, 46, 1, 65, 9, 72, 1, 81, 2.
ἐν τούτῳ ... ᾧ —‘in any enterprise in which he did not take part.’ ᾧ depends on παρέσται, as in I. 22 οἷς αὐτὸς παρῆν. κεκωλῦσθαι — i.e. κεκώλυται εἰ μὴ αὐτὸς παρέσομαι, the perfect being used of something bound to happen in the future if the condition is fulfilled. Livy XXI. 43, 2 vicimus for vicerimus. Cf. IV. 46, 3 ὥστ’ ἐάν τις ἁλῷ ἀποδιδράσκων, ἅπασι λελύσθαι τὰς σπονδάς. The description of the friends of Sparta is not without a touch of sarcasm.
<ἐν> ὀργῇ εἶχον —c. 59, 2.
ἀρχθῶσι —ingressive, ‘become subjects.’
φοβούμενοι —the government of Sparta kept all its proceedings too secret for them to know the true nature of the Spartan oligarchy, which was to conduct them in many cases from democracy to decarchy.
παρασκευῇ ... καὶ γνώμῃ —c. 7 and 8 are resumed by a chiasmus (see analysis of 7, 8 ).
ὥρμηντο —‘made ready for war.’ Cf. I. 32, 5.
Λακ, μὲν ... Πέλ. μὲν ... ἔξω δὲ Ἀθ. δέ —the extremes and the means are contrasted, as usually with this double use of μὲν ... δέ. Πελοποννήσιοι—in the geographical sense, the dwellers in Peloponnese of whatever stock.
[οἱ ἐντὸς Ἰσθμοῦ ]—usually in Thucydides Πελοποννήσιοι means ‘the allies of Sparta.’ In c. 11 indeed, Archidamus is made to address the officers as Πελ. καὶ ξύμμαχοι, i.e. as politically connected and as comrades in arms, but, after that it is generally taken for granted that all the allies are included in the term Πελ. But before the war, Πελοποννήσιοι means ‘the inhabitants of Peloponnese,’ and only in this sense can the Argives and Achaeans be included in the term. If οἱ ἐντὸς is in the text, the P. of Peloponnese are contrasted with those P. outside it ( Πελοποννήσιοι ἔξω Πελοποννήσου), i.e. Πελ. must mean ‘the allies of Sparta,’ which is impossible.
Πελληνῆς —near Zougra. Pellene seems to have been connected politically with Sicyon (10 miles) and Phlius (14 miles) rather than with Achaea.
ἔπειτα δὲ ὕστερον —cf. III. 94, 1; IV. 102, 2; v. 61, 4. In 417 the Lacedaemonians became more closely connected with Achaea. See v. 82, 1.
ἔξω δὲ Π. —on the land side, Athens was wedged in between enemies. This both exposed her to invasion and hampered her own undertakings. It was with a view to breaking up this hostile combination that Demosthenes undertook the expedition into Aetolia in 427.
Λοκροί —the Opuntian Locrians, with the Epicnemidian, whereas the Ozolian Locrians were allies of Athens.
ναυτικὸν —scarcely anything was done by S. with the fleet in the 1st year. Intr. p. LXXII.
Κορίνθιοι —for their naval operations, see c. 33, 80, 3, 83. Μεγαρῆς —c. 92. Σικυώνιοι —c. 80, 3.
Ἀμπρακιῶται —c. 80. [ παρεῖχον]— Intr. p. XXXIX.
αὕτη —the omission of μὲν here and in I. 125, 1. in both of which C inserts μέν, raises a difficulty. Elsewhere it is left out only when a participle prevents its use, as in the opening of c. 65, 72, 75. It is possible that αὕτη Λακ. ξυμμαχία is inserted wrongly from 6 below. (This omission is not similar to that noticed above, c. 7, 1.)
Χῖοι, Λέσβιοι — the only islands on the Aegean then retaining the position of independent allies of Athens.
ἐν Ναυπάκτῳ —placed there by Athens at the close of the third Messenian War. See c. 27, 2.
οἱ πλείους —Astacus (c. 30 ) and Oeniadae (c. 102 ) did not join Athens.
ἄλλαι —‘and other cities (besides the αὐτόνομοι ξύμμαχοι just mentioned), namely.’
Καρία —the ἔθνη are added in the nom., in spite of the dat. preceding, because these are the four financial divisions of the πόλεις ὑποτελεῖς, so that the nominatives are as much in apposition with πόλεις as with ἔθνεσι. Καρία ... πρόσοικοι—called in the tribute lists ὁ Καρικὸς φόρος, and so Ἰωνία = ὁ Ἰωνικός, Ἑλλήσποντος = ὁ Ἑλλησπόντιος, τὰ ἐπὶ Θ. = ὁ ἐπὶ Θ. φ., νῆσοι ... Θήρας = ὁ νησιωτικὸς φ. From 436 B.C. Ionia and Caria were grouped together.
Καρσὶ πρόσοικοι —for the omission of οἱ cf. c. 85, 5. It is explained by the fact that this is an official title, Kr. Gr. Gr. 50, 2, 11.
νῆσοι...πᾶσαι αἱ ἄλλαι —for ὅσος Iimited by πλήν, cf. IV. 32, 2, and for οὶ ἄλλοι V. 27, 2.
Μήλου καὶ Θήρας —both colonized by the Dorians about the time of their settlement in Crete, circ. 1100 B.C.
ναυτικὸν —this was a privilege belonging only to the independent allies. Cf. Intr. p. LXXIV. They were αὐτοτελεῖς.
ξυμμαχία —abstract for concrete.
καὶ παρασκευὴ —the chapter is summarised in inverse order, as in c. 7, 8.
περιήγγελλον —often takes the construction of κελεύω but with the dat., which κελεύω never has.
τά τε ἐπιτήδεια —sc. παρασκευάζεσθαι. οἷα εἰκὸς — quae deceret.
ὡς ἐσβαλοῦντες —because Athens was exposed to attack from the Isthmus. The corresponding Athenian incursion was merely into the Megarid; but Athens was unable to strike at Sparta herself directly. For the system adopted in consequence, see Intr. p. LXIX.
ἑτοῖμα —not with ἐπιτήδεια, but as in c. 3, 4, 98, 1.
γίγνοιτο —iterative; hence ξυνῇσαν imperf.
τὰ δύο μέρη — the denominator exceeding the numerator by 1 is invariably omitted. Contrast τῶν πέντε τὰς δύο μοίρας I. 10. τὰ δ. μέρη is in limiting apposition to the subject of ξυνῇσαν. Cf. c. 47, 2.
τοὺς . . ἀξιολογωτάτους —an indefinite expression, suited to the different circumstances and arrangements of the various contingents.
ἀξιολογωτάτους —forming one group with τοὺς ἐν τἐλει, but not identical with them. Cf. I. 10 τὰς μεγίστας καὶ ἐλαχίστας.
ἄνδρες —Thuc. shows exquisite judgment in selecting the places in which to insert speeches. They are the occasions on which it is necessary for the reader to understand the exact situation of affairs and to realise what were the infiuences at work. They stand in place of explanation and abstract reasoning. The occasions selected for this purpose in this book are ( a) the first invasion of Attica (this speech shows the feelings of the Spartans); ( b) the close of the first campaign (the Funeral Oration is an exposition of the form and theory of the Athenian polity by the ablest citizen); ( c) the close of Pericles' administration and life, the speech containing a vindication of his policy; ( d) the victories of Phormio, the one event of great importance outside Athens in 429, and the most splendid example of Athenian prowess in the whole war. Dion. Hal. totally misunderstood the significance of the speeches. Far juster is Lucian's estimate ( πῶς δεῖ ἱστορίαν συγγράφειν c. 44 ): he knew that Thuc.'s object was σαφῶς δηλῶσαι καὶ φανώτατα ἐμφανίσαι τὰ πράγματα.
οἱ ] —inserted through confusion with οἱ πατέρες. Thuc. never puts in the article in such addresses.
ξύμμαχοι —there are two elements in the force, but Archidamus groups them together, and carefully draws no distinctions. ἄνδρες goes with ξύμμαχοι also.
καὶ οἱ π. . καὶ αὐτῶν —paratactic, the 2nd member being the more prominent.
οἱ πατέρες —an opportune reference to the wars which were the glory of the Dorian race. Thuc. however avoids any commonplaces about the Persian wars such as become frequent in later writers.
στρατείας ἐποιήσαντο — = ἐστράτευσαν. ἡμῶν οἱ πρεσβύτεροι εἰσίν—with the ‘partitive’ genitive 1st or 2nd person, the verb is generally in 3rd person, but the writer always passes quickly to the 1st or 2nd. Cf. III. 62 σκέψασθε ἐν οἵῳ εἴδει ἑκάτεροι ἡμῶν τοῦτο ἔπραξαν. VII. 64 ἐνθυμεῖσθε ὅτι οἱ ἐν ταῖς ναυσὶν ὑμῶν νῦν ἐσόμενοι καὶ πεζοὶ τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις εἰσὶ καὶ νῆες. So I. 87. When for the subject a relative clause is substituted, the 3rd person is rare: e.g. Andoc. I. 46 ὁπόσοι ὐμῶν παρῆσαν (= οἱ παρόντες) ἀναμιμνήσκεσθε. Lys. 12, 97 , Aeschin. 3, 60 . The same phenomenon may be seen in Latin poets, as Ov. Trist.III. 4, 75 et qua quisque potest aliqua mala nostra levate.
μείζονα —litotes, as πλεῖστοι shows.
νῦν ἐρχόμεθα —sc. ἡμεῖς, whereas οἱ πατέρες καὶ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι was subject to ἐξήλθομεν. στρατεύοντες —sc. ἐρχόμεθα, the antithesis being between πόλιν and αὐτοί, δυνατωτάτην and πλεῖστοι καὶ ἄριστοι στρατεύοντες.
δίκαιον οὖν —the topic is τὸ καλόν, as in 9 below. Index s. v. τόποι. It is a common subject in Thuc., especially in military harangues.
ἡμῶν αὐτῶν —put first for the sake of the antithesis. See c. 7, 2.
ἐπῆρται —cf. Dem. 4, 49 τοῖς πεπραγμένοις ἐπῃρμένον. εὔνοιαν ἔχουσα—with infin. = ἐπιθυμοῦσα, as c. 86, 5 γνώμην εἶχον μὴ ἐκπλεῖν. A periphrasis for a simple verb is very common in Tragedy.
οὔκουν χρὴ —the topic of the πίστις is τὸ ξυμφέρον, as the Schol. says. It is the commonest of all forms of argument in Thuc.
πλήθει —of superior numbers, as c. 89, 1.
ἀσφάλεια πολλὴ —opposite of κίνδυνος μέγας, but, being an abstract idea, and not, like κίνδυνος, a single entity, it requires πολλή. Cf. VI. 24. So with προθυμία, ἀθυμία and such words.
εἶναι —sc. δοκεῖ. μὴ ἄν ἐλθεῖν—after the predicative noun ἀσφάλεια, like κίνδυνος, ξυγγνωμή. διὰ μάχης ἰέναι—cf. 6 below; IV. 92, 1. So διὰ δίκης ἰέναι VI. 60, 3; δῑ ὄχλου εἶναι I. 73, 2; διὰ φόβου εἶναι VI. 59, 2; δῑ ησυχίας ἔχειν c. 22, 1.
ἀμελέστερόν τι —cf. 9 below πλέον τι. By the addition of τι the range of the adjective is indefinitely extended.
τὸ καθ’ αὑτὸν — suam quemque vicem. Cf. c. 87, 8. The subject of ἥξειν is ἡγεμόνα καὶ ς.
ἄδηλα γὰρ —Thuc. is extremely fond of γνῶμαι or general truths as arguments, whereas he does not use παραδείγματα or examples at all. The γνῶμαι have been collected by several critics, and, as might be supposed, they show a profound insight into the fundamental principles that actually guide human conduct.
ἐξ ὀλίγου —‘suddenly.’
δῑ ὀργῆς — ‘on impulse.’
αἱ ἐπιχειρήσεις γίγνονται —the passive of τὰς ἐπι. ποιεῖσθαι I. 70, 7.
τε —adds a third and important fact. [
δεδιὸς ἄμεινον ]— 1. δεδιὸς obscures the point, which is that a large force, caught off its guard, has often been defeated by a small force. There is no room here for any reference to the apprehension or precautions of the smaller force. 2. No passage supports the idea that Archidamus is pointing out the advantage of δέος in action, ἐν τῷ ἀμύνεσθαι. It is then too late for δέος, which is valuable only ἐν τῷ παρασκευάζεσθαι . 3. The assumption that δεδιὸς is answered by διὰ τὸ καταφρονοῦντας ... γενέσθαι is not borne out by the form of the sentence. 4. Archidamus merely says ‘do not be careless, lest you be caught unprepared.’ 5. Of ἄμεινον there are two explanations ( a) = ἄμεινον ἢ οἱ πλείονες τὸ ἔλασσον πλῆθος. But ἠμύναντο is used only of the side on the defensive; nor is there any reference to superiority in courage such as ἀγαθός suggests. ( b) ἄμεινον δεδιὸς ἢ μὴ δεδιός, Cl., a curious paradox worthy only of a rhetorician.Append. II.
ἠμύνατο —gnomic. Cf. c. 89 πολλὰ στρατόπεδα ἤδη ἔπεσεν ὑπὸ ἐλασσόνων.
χρὴ δὲ —a γνώμη in the form of an antithesis. For ‘figures’ in γνῶμαι, cf. c. 40 throughout.
τῇ μὲν γνώμῃ ... τῷ δὲ ἔργῳ —an imperfect antithesis. γνώμη means ‘feelings,’ ἔργον ‘actions’ (not γνώμη ‘plans,’ ἔργον ‘battle’). Cf. c. 43, 3, 64. 6, and 89 τῆ δυνάμει τὸ πλέον πίσυνοι ἢ τῆ? γνωμη?. Herod. VII. 49 ἀνὴρ οὕτω ἄν εἴη ἄριστος εἰ βουλευόμενος μὲν ἀρρωδέοι ἐν δὲ τῷ ἔργῳ θρασὺς εἴη—which is however somewhat different.
παρασκευάζεσθαι —the reading is now commonly παρεσκευάσθαι. Cr. says ‘le parfait est nécessaire,’ but gives the present. The perfect is due to a mistaken interpretation of γνώμῃ and ἔργῳ , the latter of which refers to the period before battle. The antithesis between στρατεύειν and παρασκευάζεσθαι must not be too closely pressed. (A quite different view of this passage will be found in Steup, Quaest. Thuc. p. 30.)
πρὸς τὸ ἐπιέναι εὐψυχότατοι —cf. III. 44, 3 ξυμφέρον πρὸς τὸ ἧσσον ἀφίστασθαι; VIII. 76, 6. The use of the infinitive with article in all constructions is far commoner in the speeches and the passages in the rhetorical manner than in ordinary narrative.
ἐπιχειρεῖσθαι
—‘to be attacked.’ This sentence puts in the proper light the two points referred to in 3 above: so
οὕτω —with ἀδύνατον. τοῖς πᾶσι—cf. c. 36, 3.
εἰ μὴ καὶ νῦν —‘if not already ... at least.’ I see no need to alter the text with Francken, or to assume a misplacement of καί. For ἀλλά, ἀλλὰ ... γέ, ἀλλ’ οὖν ... γε, see Kr. Gr. Gr. 69, 4, 5.
ὅταν ὁρῶσι —usually in Thuc. ὅταν denotes a single act, ὁπόταν repeated action. I. 142, 9 is an exception.
τἀκείνων —for τὰ ἑαυτῶν, as ἐκεῖνος can apply to anyone other than the speaker and the person addressed.
φθείροντας
— cf.
Livy XXII. 3
πᾶσι γὰρ —the only possible way of taking these words as they stand is the traditional way of Arn., Shil., and Bh., which is supported by A. Grossman, N. Jahrb. 121, p. 523. ἐν τοῖς ὄμμασι καὶ ἐν τῷ παραυτίκα are taken after ὁρᾶν, the infinitive is made to depend on the phrase ὀργὴ προσπίπτει, as though it were λυπεῖ, and ὁρᾶν πάσχοντας = ‘to see that they are suffering.’ There are grave objections: ὁρᾶν πάσχοντας would more naturally mean ‘to see others suffering,’ and it is very doubtful whether ὀργὴ προσπίπτει can be considered a periphrasis which could legitimately take an infinitive in prose. Usener proposes πᾶσι γὰρ ἐν τῷ παραυτίκα ὁρᾶν πάσχοντάς τι ἀηθές, taking ἐν τῷ with ὁρᾶν πάσχοντας. Cf. Steup's proposal in not. crit.
γὰρ —this introduces the γνώμη by which the statement that ‘the Athenians will come out to battle’ is supported. We have here an example of the form of proof called Enthymeme, i.e. a ‘syllogism drawn, not from the premisses proper to any particular science—such, for instance, as medicine—but from propositions relating to contingent things in the sphere of human action, which are the common property of all discussion.’ Jebb, Attic Orators II. p. 289. Cf. c. 60. καὶ λογισμῷ — i.e. ‘and then men do not pause to think.’ Possibly οἱ bracketed represents a lost οἱ τοιοῦτοι, = οἱ ὀργισθέντες. θυμῷ—also, like λογισμῷ, with χρώμενοι .
Ἀθηναίους —this view of Athenian character is that of Thuc. himself. He began the description of it in the first speech of the Corinthian envoy at Sparta ( I. 70 ) and completes it in the Funeral Oration (c. 35 fol.).
πλέον τι —cf. III. 45, 6, 69, 2; IV. 78, 5; V. 29, 2; VI. 90, 1; VII. 21, 4, 49, 4. For τι with comparative, see 3 above. μᾶλλόν τι is commoner in this sense.
τῶν ἄλλων —often ἑτέρων in this idiom.
εἰκὸς — decet, with aorist infinitive, as regularly (sometimes present, c. 10, 1). Rutherford, Syntax, p. 128. The argument is now drawn from τὸ εἰκός. An orator naturally employs this topic to prove something in the past, but Thuc. to forecast the future. Index s.v. τόποι. τοῦτο δρᾶσαι—the regular phrase for referring to an action just deseribed. Cf. c. 49, 5; I. 5, 2, 6, 5. Of course Thuc. refers to the actual indignation of the Athenians at seeing their land ravaged. See c. 21, 2. It was a source of great pride that the beautiful country of Attica had never been plundered πλὴν τὰ Μηδικά. Cf. Eur. Med. 826 —the play was produced this very year— where the Athenians are addressed as ἱερᾶς χώρας ἀπορθήτου τ’ ἀποφερβόμενοι. ὁρᾶν —sc. δῃουμένην.
οἰσόμενοι —cf. c. 60 αἰτίαν φέρεσθαι. τοῖς προγόνοις — we should refer to posterity, but the ancients thought far more of the worship due to their ancestors, the θεοὶ χθόνιοι. On the excessive reverence of the Greeks for the past (from which Thuc. was remarkably free), Girard, Essai sur Thuc., p. 13, says ‘Les Grecs ne songeaient qu'aà chercher dans cet âge merveilleux leurs titres de noblesse et à y rettacher étroitement le présent.’
ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς —corrected from ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς with Hude, Comment. Crit., p. 109. ἕπεσθε strongly supports him. ‘Nulla in re magis quam in pronominibus ἡμεῖς et ὑμεῖς permutandis librarios peccavisse satis constat.’
ἀποβαινόντων —see c. 50, 2.
ὄξεως δεχόμενοι —cf. c. 89, 9.
κάλλιστον καὶ ἀσφαλέστατον —the identity of τὸ καλὸν and τὸ ἀσφαλὲς has been the prevailing idea throughout the speech. It is an idea characteristic of Sparta that εὐνομία is κάλλος. Thus Spartan tradition did not object to Athens claiming the poet Tyrtaeus for her own, though the claim was probably unfounded; but took care that the lame Athenian singer should only develop into the warrior Tyrtaeus after settling in Sparta.
ὄντας —the participle adds emphasis to πολλοὺς and heightens the contrast to ἑνί.
τοσαῦτα — haec tantum, the regular word after a short speech instead of τοιαῦτα. εἴ τι ἄρα —c. 5, 1 .
τι μᾶλλον —not for μᾶλλόν τι, but τι belongs to ἐνδοῖεν, as below, οὐδὲν ἐνδωσείουσι.
οὐδ’ — οὐδέ, μηδέ, sometimes as here = nedum ‘much less.’
τὸ κοινὸν —the βουλὴ and ἐκκλησία. ἦν ... νενικηκυῖα —except with this periphrasis in the perfect passive and middle forms, the tense of εἰμὶ must precede the participle, and is emphatic, representing a state of things existing at the time referred to, Cf. c. 67 ἦν ... πολιορκοῦν, 80 ἦσαν ... ξυμπροθυμούμενοι, 93 ἦν προφυλάσσον. Then the participle often resembles an adjective.
κήρυκα ... προσδέχεσθαι —a formal expression for breaking off all political relations. Cf. V, 80. .
ἐκτὸς ὅρων —without article, as a local expression, akin to ἐν ἄστει. Rutherford, Syntax, p. 4.
τὸ λοιπὸν — with πρεσβεύεσθαι. ἀναχωρήσαντας — i.e. retire before thinking of sending any more. The participle is emphatic.
διαλύσεσθαι —‘part from his escort.’
τοσόνδε — ‘merely this.’
ὅτι —this convenient form of quasi-oblique speech, where the speaker's actual words follow ὅτι, is colloquial and limited to prose.
ἥδε ἡ ἡμέρα
—Aristoph.
Pax 435
εὐχόμεσθα τὴν νῦν ἡμέραν Ἕλλησιν ἄρξαι πᾶσι πολλῶν κἀγαθῶν.
Verg. Aen. IV. 169
ἔγνω —ingressive, ‘learnt.’
ἐνδωσείουσι —though Cobet and Sta. reject this, it is more probable than ἐνδώσουσι, since πω is not used with future, and Archidamus' object was to find out what the Athenians were now intending.
οὕτω δὴ —like τότε δή, gives the decisive moment. Cf. c. 19.
μέρος —of infantry. So the Boeotians did not supply cavalry only. See c. 9, 3.
λειπομένοις —for the present, see c. 2, 4.
ἐν ὁδῷ ὄντων —cf. c. 12, 1 and 2 , but referring here to the march not of the various contingents to the Isthmus, but of the whole force from the Isthmus. Several meetings of the Ecclesia were held.
Περικλῆς —O. Drefke, de orat. quae in priore parte Historiae Thuc. insunt, suggests that Thuc. probably intended to insert a speech here, but changed his mind on finding the subject unsuitable for readers. He thinks that we have here the notes Thuc. had made at the time, which assumption would explain the loose structure of the Oratio Obliqua throughout. Cf. c. 72. δέκατος αὐτὸς—the view of Gilbert, that this phrase means that Pericles was στρατηγὸς αὐτοκράτωρ, i.e. was irresponsible and had full powers to do anything he deemed necessary, is now generally accepted. Pericles held the same position in the war with Samos 440 B.C.
μὴ πολλάκις —as though ὑποτοπήσας were φοβηθείς. Cf. III. 53, 2 ὑποπτεύομεν μὴ οὐ κοινοὶ ἀποβῆτε. πολλάκις — forte, a sense which it bears only after εἰ, ἐάν, μή. μὴ δηώσῃ—should be οὐ δηώσῃ. This very rare irregularity is only possible when the second negative is far removed from the first. M. T. 306.
ἐπὶ διαβολῇ —the same thing was done by Hannibal to cast odium on Fabius, Livy, xxii. 23, 4 . For the order, see c 2, 2.
τοῦτο γένηται —c. 11, 8.
προηγόρευε —above προεῖπον. The rule about compounds of λέγω and ἀγορεύω will be found in Rutherford's New Phryn. p. 326.
οἱ —the only form of the indirect reflexive singular found in Thuc. and the orators, and rare in them.
ἐπὶ κακῷ —the same phrase in V. 44, 3, 77, 6; VIII. 58, 3, 4.
γένοιτο —sc. τοῦτο, as γένηται τοῦτο above.
τοὺς ἀγροὺς καὶ οἰκίας —the article not repeated, the two nouns forming one idea between them (viz. the idea τὴν φανερὰν οὐσίαν). Cf. c. 10, 3.
ἀφίησιν —does not depend on προηγόρευε, but is used for άφιέναι φησίν (which is possibly what Thuc. wrote), just as we might say ‘he gives the land’ for ‘he undertakes to give it.’
εἶναι —like the use of εἶναι in Homer and Herod., expressing purpose, but redundant. M. T. 774.
γίγνεσθαι —this is like the use of the infinitive in the terms of a treaty or any compact. It is in origin probably identical with the so-called infinitive for imperative. But this may be oblique for μηδεμία μοι ὑποψία γιγνέσθω. In any case, Pp.'s explanation, supplying βούλεται, is without doubt wrong. The sentence is probably a note Thuc. wrote in these very words at the time.
παρῄνει δὲ —cf. V. 38, 2 παρῄνουν γενέσθαι ὅρκους. καὶ πρότερον —I. 143. τὰ ἐκ τῶν ἀ. ἐσκομίζεσθαι—cf. c. 5, 7.
ἔς τε μάχην —the ancient critics noticed that polysyndeton is common in Thuc. There are three main members here, each introduced by τε, παρασκευάζεσθαί τε ... ἔς τε ... τά τε, and the first two are complicated by an additional member, which however does not affect the main structure, viz. καὶ ... ἐσκομίζεσθαι, ἀλλὰ ἐξαρτύεσθαι. μὴ ἐπεξιέναι—Intr. p. lxix.
τὴν πόλιν ἐσελθόντας φυλάσσειν — cf IV. 70 τὴν πόλιν ἐσελθὼν βεβαιώσασθαι. When a participle and verb which have different constructions take a common object, the object regularly follows the construction required by the participle, as in I. 114, 2 ἐς Ἐλευσῖνα καὶ Θριῶζε ἐσβαλόντες ἐδῄωσαν , IV 18 δοῦναι ἐφ’ ἂ άφιγμένοι ὑμᾶς αἰτούμεθα, VII. 3, 4 μέρος τι πέμψας πρὸς τὸ φρούριον αἱρεῖ, ib. 53, 2 προσπεσόντες τοῖς πρώτοις τρέπουσι. But there is here no need to take τὴν πόλιν with ἐσελθόντας at all.
διὰ χειρὸς ἔχειν
— the opposite of
ἀνιέναι,
I
76
ἀρχὴν ἀνιέναι. So
Livy XXI. 35, 9
λέγων ... εἶναι —a rare construction—c. 57, 1. ἀπὸ τούτων εἶναι τῶν χρ. τῆς προσόδου — i.e. τὴν ἰσχὺν τῆς προσόδου τῶν χρημάτων ἀπὸ τούτων ( = τῶν ξυμμάχων) εἶναι. Cf. III. 13, 6 ἔστι τῶν χρημάτων άπὸ τῶν ξυμμάχων ἡ πρόσοδος. This sentence must not be pruned, for τῆς προσόδου defines the nature of ἰσχύν, and τῶν χρημάτων is caught up presently by χρημάτων again: the insertion of τῶν χρημάτων is stylistic.
τὰ πολλὰ .. κρατεῖσθαι —‘most successes are won.’
γνώμῃ —‘insight,’ not put in at hap-hazard, but summing up in a word παρασκευάζεσθαι to ἐξαρτύεσθαι. It is on the policy here sketched that Pericles rested his claims to be possessed of γνώμη, or, as Thuc. says in c. 65 πρόνοια. To supply γνώμη was the statesman's part, to supply χρήματα the subjects'.
ἑξακοσίων —in I. 96 we see that under Aristides' administration the φόρος amounted to 460 talents. In the lists of the quota paid to Athene for 450 and 446 B.C., the tribute of some States is seen to be reduced, and the total was probably made up by payments from new subjects. But the tribute was in some cases subsequently raised, so that 600 talents may represent the average ( ὡς ἐ τὶ τὸ πολὺ) in 431.
φόρου —for this genitive of material, cf. ἀργυρίου below. See Rutherford, Syntax, p. 35.
ἀπὸ τῶν ξυμ —the origin ( ἀπὸ) from which money is obtained. Cf. Aristoph. Vesp. 670 δωροδοκοῦσιν ἀπὸ τῶν πόλεων (rightly defended by Sobolewski, de praepos. usu Aristoph.).
ἄνευ —this is the ordinary meaning of χωρὶς as a preposition in Attic, but Thuc. only uses χωρὶς as an adverb. The opposite of σὺν ( τοῖς) θεοῖς (see c. 2, 1) is ἄνευ ( τῶν) θεῶν. The opposite of σὺν in its other Attic sense in totals, is usually χωρίς. The opposite of μετά is ἄνευ, and more rarely χωρίς (thus Isocrates has two cases, but in both χωρίς, not ἄνευ, is used to avoid hiatus).
τῆς ἄλλης προσόδου —as rents from public lands, especially the silver mines, the tax paid by resident aliens and by owners of slaves, duties on imports exports and sales, and court fees and fines, amounting in all to at least 400 talents.
ἐν τῇ ἀκροπόλει — in the Opisthodomus of the Parthenon.
ἐγένετο —‘amounted to.’ Cf. c. 20, 4.
τὰ προπύλαια —begun 437, completed 432.
τἆλλα —the Odeum, Parthenon and the sculpture on the buildings was paid for out of this fund.
ἐς Ποτείδαιαν —from first to last the siege cost 2000 talents. It began in the autumn of 433, ended in the winter of 430. Probably Thuc. omits in that sum the expense of Hagnon's expedition (c. 58 ), which cost 400 talents more.
Χωρὶς —‘besides.’ Cf. c. 24, 31, 97. χρυσίου— depends on ταλάντων below.
ὅσα —sc. ἐστί. So c. 9, 4, 97 περί—‘used in.’
σκῦλα Μηδικὰ —sc. ὅσα ἐστί, but this might have been ἐν σκύλοις Μηδικοῖς. The throne of Xerxes and the sabre of Mardonius ( Medus acinaces) were among them.
οὐκ ἔλασσον ἢ π. ταλάντων —cf. IV. 72 παρόντος τοῦ στρατεύματος, ὁπλιτῶν οὐκ ἔλασσον ἑξακισχιλίων. The genitive of comparison does not follow ἔλασσον here, because ταλάντων is already in the genitive absolute, sc. ὑπαρχόντων from above.
Τὰ ἐκ τῶν ἄλλων ἱερῶν — i.e. in temples other than the Parthenon. The temple treasures were of great value.
χρήματα —no doubt Pericles explained the details, whieh he must have known thoroughly after his long tenure of the Generalship, in which he had distinguished himself in Finauce. In this respect he was imitated by many popular leaders who followed him, and, as the war went on, Finance became the most pressing difficulty.
οἷς χρήσεσθαι —cf. c. 102 λέγεται ... ὅτε δὴ ἀλᾶσθαι. This attraction of short relative clauses in Oratio Obliqua into infinitive is less rare in Greek than in Latin (of course qui = et is etc. is different). Thuc. has nine instances.
τῆς θεοῦ — i.e. the statue of Athene. Both in Greek and Latin the name of the person represented is used for the statue itself, as Victoria aurea.
σταθμὸν —predicate.
χρυσίου ἀ. —with τάλαντα. ἀπέφθου — i.e. without alloy.
περιαιρετὸν εἶναι —sc. ἔφη. μὴ ἐλάσσω— often during the war money was borrowed from the ἱερὰ χρήματα. The loans were repaid with interest at a low rate, which Pericles probably proposed at this time.
Τρισχιλίους καὶ μ. —cf. c. 31, 2. 10,000 were on the spot, 3000 at Potidaea.
τῶν ἐν τοῖς φρουρίοις —the garrisons of Attica were supplied mainly from the περίπολοι, young Athenians between 18 and 20 years old. At 18 their age was entered in the ληξιαρχικὸν γραμματεῖον, list of the members of the deme capable of arms kept by the demarch. Not till 20 was a man entitled to attend the Ecclesia. The περίπολοι regularly served in Attica.
ἔπαλξιν —eollective. See c. 4, 2. Again the article dropped with a word approximating to a proper name, in prepositional phrases. The line of fortified walls of Athens and Piraeus, including the long walls, is meant. The citizens who manned these were drawn from the πρεσβύτατοι, those excused by age from serving outside Attica. Legally this age was 60, but in practice it could be, and probably was, reduced.
νεωτάτων —the περίπολοι.
Τοῦ Φαληρικοῦ —begun under Themistocles with τὸ ἔξωθεν ( τεῖχος), which ran to Piraeus. Under Pericles, about 445, a third wall, τὸ διὰ μέσου was built between these two, running to Munychia.
ἦσαν —were, according to Pericles' narrative.
τὸν κύκλον τοῦ ἄστεως —the walls of Athens.
ἀφύλακτον ἦν —about 6 stadia: so that the city walls, as rebuilt after Salamis, were about 50 stadia in circumference.
τοῦ τε μακροῦ = τοῦ ἔξωθεν. τὰ μακρὰ τείχη —namely τὸ ἔξωθεν, the earlier wall, and τὸ διὰ μέσου τεῖχος, called τὰ σκέλη .
σταδίων —genitive of description, almost confined to expressions of magnitude. Cf. c. 23, 3.
Ξὺν ἱπποτοξόταις — including ( ξὺν) the 200 mounted archers, state slaves who served as police, as did the 1200 Σκύθαι who are included in the 1600 τοξόται below.
τριήρεις τὰς π. —see c. 2, 2.
τριακοσίους —in III. 17 we read that 250 ships were employed on active service at the beginning of the war. (As the details there given do not correspond with those given in this book with regard to the fleet in 431, the text is probably wrong in III. 17. )
Ἐς ἀπόδειξιν τοῦ περιέσεσθαι —cf. c. 56 ἐς ἐλπίδα ἦλθον τοῦ ἑλεῖν, and for the rare future infinitive with article, I. 144, 1.
τῷ πολέμῳ —the dative is temporal. Cf. c. 20 ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἐσβολῆ?. It is however rarely that ἐν is omitted with a noun used temporally which is not properly temporal.
Ἀνεπείθοντο —both the compound and the tense denote the difficulty of convincing them. Cf. c. 65, 1. Even now they did not feel quite certain, and were liable to change their minds again. (It was δόξα resulting from πειθώ, not ἐπιστήμη resulting from μάθησις.)
τὴν ἄλλην —perhaps the exclusive άλλος, but κατασκευή, stock, may here include children and wives. See c. 5, 4.
κατ’ οἶκον —see on c. 60, 4.
ξύλωσιν — materia; several verbal nouns in ‐ις are peculiar to Thuc. Cf. ὀλόφυρσις c. 51. Pollux and the Schol. regard this one as coined by Thuc.
καθαιροῦντες —this and ἐσεκομίζοντο both govern ξύλωσιν. ἐπικειμένας—‘off the coast.’
Χαλεπῶς ... ἐγίγνετο —passive for χαλεπῶς τὴν ἀ. ἐποιοῦντο. ἀνάστασις—an unwilling ( μετανάστασις, a willing) removal from one's country.
Ἐπὶ γὰρ —now follows one of the few episodes in Thuc., who never leaves his subject except to comment on some epoch of Athenian history either throwing light on the circumstances he is relating, or imperfectly understood in his day.
κατὰ πόλεις —cf. the condition of Sparta, referred to I. 10, 2. According to tradition, there were 12 πόλεις in Attica; these had arisen by the increase and amalgamation of κῶμαι. ᾠκεῖτο—of the political condition of the district, as often.
πρυτανεῖα —these bore the same relation to the community as the οίκία did to the family. Hence the community entertained its guests there.
ἄρχοντας —‘princes,’ some of whose names may have been immortalised in the names of Attic demes.
οὐ ξυνῇσαν —only common danger brought them together.
ἐπολέμησαν —the war between Athens and Eleusis, given as an example of the early wars in Attica, was probably due to a quarrel about the frontier, which was the range of Mount Aegaleos, over which the Sacred Way after wards ran. Whatever the result, the position of Athens in the Dodecapolis was certainly raised by the war.
Θησεὺς —probably the legend of the coming of Theseus to Athens represents a second Ionic invasion of Attica, to which the strife between Athene and Poseidon, who is identical with Aegeus, father of Theseus, also points. See Plut. Thes. c. 13.
ἐβασίλευσε —‘became king.’ Cf. c. 58 νοσῆσαι, ‘to fall sick.’
μετὰ τοῦ ξυνετοῦ — i.e. uniting power to the ability which he had already.
καταλύσας ... ἀποδείξας ... ξυνῴκισε —the first participle precedes the second in time, and the second gives the action which resulted immediately in that of the main verb. Cf. c. 76 ἀρτήσαντες ... ἀνελκύσαντες ἀφίεσαν, 93 ἀφικομένους ... καθελκύσαντας πλεῦσαι. ξυντελούντων—‘contributed to it,’ in taxes, hence ‘were members of the community.’
ξυνοίκια —neuter plural, the annual festival celebrating the Union, held on the 16th of Hecatombaeon. Plut. Thes. c. 24.
ποιοῦσιν —active not middle, of the body appointing the festival, cf. c. 34, 5.
Ἡ ἀκρόπολις — i.e. ἣ ἀκρόπολις νῦν ἐστι πόλις ἦν, the city was a mere stronghold. ‘What is now the acropolis, and the ground lying under it to the south was the city’ (J.). (The bracked ἡ would imply a contrast with some older acropolis.) The same observation is true of London and Paris.
πρὸς τετραμμένον —here in its literal sense, but oftener metaphorical, as in c. 25, 2; Plat. Phaedo, p. 66 D.
Τεκμήριον δέ —Thuc. disregards the Athenian legends, as suited only to poetry. Deposing the picturesque and enthroning the reasonable, he judges the remote past solely hy the indisputable evidence supplied by the present. For the use of τεκμήρια and σημεῖα, non-forensic πίστεις like ἐνθυμήματα (c. 11, 8) and γνῶμαι (c. 11, 9), cf. 39, 2, 41, 2, 50, 2.
καὶ ἄλλων —the lost allusion to the most ancient temple of Athene, namely the shrine of Athene Polias attached to the Erectheum and containing the venerable wooden figure of the goddess ( ξόανον) and occupying the site of her struggle with Poseidon, would have been the best evidence that the original site of the city was the Acropolis.
τὰ ἔξω —the early temples not on the Acropolis lie at the south of it, viz. the Olympieium at the S.E., begun by Pisistratus, remarkable for its size, and only finished under Hadrian; the Pythium, or temple of Apollo πατρῷος, of which there are no remains, Pausanias says it was close to the Olympieium; the shrine of the Earth-Mother, situated within the τέμενος of the Olympieium; and that of Dionysus in the low ground near the Ilissus. The Pisistratids probably did much to make these temples popular.
τὰ ἀρχαιότερα —the Anthesteria, held in Anthesterion (11th to 13th). The first day was called ἡ Πιθοιγία, the second Χόες, the third Χύτροι. Aristoph. Ran. 215 , Eur. I. T. 960, Harpoc. and Suidas s.v. χόες. [
τῇ δωδεκάτῃ ]—gives one day only, and with it Ἀνθεστηριῶνος μηνός would be required. The date of the χόες seems inserted from the same source from which Harpocration drew.
ποιεῖται —passive of ποιοῦσι, not of ποιοῦνται. See 2 above, and c. 11, 4.
οἱ ἀπ’ Ἀ. — i.e. οἱ ἄποικοι τῶν Ἀθηναίων. νομίζουσι —‘are accustomed to do.’ Cf. 5 below, c. 38, 1.
Τῇ κρήνῃ —S. of the Olympieium, on the Ilissus. The Pisistratids furnished it with nine pipes and beautified it with columns. It was part of the Tyrants' policy to improve their cities and to encourage every form of art.
Καλλιρρόῃ —the name still survives to show the early importance of this spring. See Ruskin, Oxford Lect. on Art, p. 136, Pausanias, I. 14, 1. [
τὰ πλείστου ἄξια ]—Thuc. is arguing that in earlier times the spring was in general use.
πρὸ γαμικῶν — for the λουτρὸν γαμικόν, the water being brought from the spring by a maid called ἡ λουτροφόρος. Pollux III. 43, VIII. 66. But Harpoc. says that a boy brought it. ἐς ἄλλα—ἔθος ἦν καὶ τῶν ἀγάμων ἀποθανόντων λουτροφόρον ἐπὶ τὸ μνῆμα ἐφίστασθαι Harpoc. Cf. Dem. in Leoch. 18, 30. Probably a figure holding a pitcher, which contained water from the spring, was placed on the tomb. Eustathius says the object was to show that the dead had never used the nuptial water.
νομίζεται —‘it is the custom.’ The connection between the λουτρὸν γαμικὸν and the λουτρὸν τῶν ἀποθανόντων is as familiar as utraque taeda. In Eur. Hec. 612 , the bringing of the water to wash the dead body of Polyxena snggests to Hecuba the λουτρὸν γαμικόν.
Κατοίκησιν —c. 102, 5.
πόλις —this meaning is common in Inscriptions and official documents.
Τῇ ... οἰκήσει —causal, with γενόμενοι καὶ οἰκήσαντες. δ’ οὖν—resumes from c. 14. ἐπὶ πολὺ —temporal.
αὐτονόμῳ —independent of any capital.
καὶ —‘even.’
ὅμως — answers καὶ and may be omitted in translating.
οἱ πλείους —restricting οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι. πανοικεσίᾳ γενόμενοί τε καὶ οἰκήσαντες—all go closely together, ‘having been born and having lived with their whole family.’
ἀνειληφότες —having recovered from the effects of the Persian Invasion, when they had abandoned their homes. Not merely ‘had restored their homes,’ which took them only a short time. Cf. VI. 26, where it is said that Athens in 415 ἄρτι ἀνειλήφει ἑαυτὴν ἀπὸ τῆς νόσου καὶ τοῦ ξυνεχοῦς πολέμου.
Κατὰ τὸ ἀρχαῖον —lit. ‘according to early custom,’ ‘primitive,’ not τὸ ἀρχαῖον ‘in early times,’ ‘ancient.’ The early πόλις was held together mainly as a religious union, with its local cult.
ἀπολείπων —joined to preceding plural, and might have been ἀπολείποντες. Cf. c. 65, 10.
*(γπῆρχον —‘had homes ready to receive them.’ It appears that the whole of the country population was opposed to war. The rich landed gentry had town houses, but rarely lived in them and felt the loss of their fine country places. Cf. c. 65; Isocr. VII. 52. The farmers and peasants were ruined by the invasion. Cf. [Lys.] 20. 33.
Ἐλευσινίου — at the foot of the Acropolis, at the N.E. It was regarded with great awe, and even in the time of Pausanias some mysterious sanctity belonged to it. The Boule sat there the day after the Eleusinian Festival ended.
τὸ Πελαργικὸν —( a) a fortification built by the ‘Pelasgians’ on the W. side of the Acropolis, the only side accessible to an enemy; ( b) a space below this fortification and also above it. It is to this space on either side that the curse attached. (On the orthography, Herodian says, Πελαργικὸν ἀντὶ τοῦ Πελασγικόν. Cf Lobeck, Phryn. p. 109.
ἐπάρατον —what was the reason of this? Only the W. side was ‘cursed’ since only on that side could buildings be placed; but this space was part of the pomoerium of the original settlement, the Acropolis being then the τέμενος of Pelasgian Zeus. Hence no human beings were to live there. μὴ—due to the prohibition implied in ἐπάρατον. τοιόνδε — i.e. μὴ οἰκεῖν αὐτό, the relative construction disappearing. See c. 4, 5.
Πελαργικὸν ἀργὸν —such παρονομασία is common in oracles. See c. 54, 2.
ἄμεινον —a favourite word at Delphi, suiting well the oracle which worked by suggestion rather than command.
ἐξῳκήθη —‘was filled with settlers.’
Ξυμβῆναι —‘to have been fulfilled in a manner con- trary to their expectations,’ because the troubles were the cause instead of the result of the occupation.
ἢ προσεδέχοντο —Haase suggested ἢ {ᾗ} προσεδέχοντο, but the relative may be omitted.
γενέσθαι —sc. δοκοῦσι from δοκεῖ above. So Burke, Reflections, ‘In England we are said to learn manners at seeond-hand from your side of the water, and that we dress our behaviour in the frippery of France’ ( i.e, it is said that we dress).
προῄδει — i.e. warned them that the place would some day be inhabited in time of adversity.
μὴ ἐπ’ ἀγαθῷ —after οἶδα the regular negative is οὐ. This μὴ implies a sense of authoritative declaration in οἶδα, and is not a colloquial license. M. T. 688. μὴ belongs to ἀγαθῷ.
Κατεσκευάσαντο —‘fonnd quarters.’
ὡς ἕκαστός που — Aristoph. Eq. 792 , Andoc. ap. Suid. s.v. σκάνδιξ. Andocides refers to the difficulty of getting good food.
ἐχώρησε —from this early trans. use of χωρεῖν comes the meaning ‘receive’ of persons, as in St. Matthew xix. 12.
Ἥπτοντο —cf. Plat. Phaedo, 64 A ὀρθῶς ἁπτόμενοι φιλοσοφίας. Thuc. speaks of the Athenians generally: while the country people were settling down as best they could, the Athenians were meanwhile busy with the details connected with the war, both τὰ ἔξω, ξυμμάχους ἀγείροντες, and τὰ ἔνδον, ναῦς ἐξαρτύοντες. τῇ Π. .—c. 56, 1.
ἐν τούτῳ π. — cf. VII. 50, 4 ἐν παντὶ ἀθυμίας .
Τῆς Ἀτ. ἐς Οἰνόην —for order cf. c. 21, 1, 25, 3.
Οἰνόην —there were two roads to Attica, the one a bad one by the coast, the other an inland one, leading over Cithaeron by the Pass of the Oak's Heads ( Δρυὸς Κεφαλαί) and passing Eleutherae, which is probably the site of Oenoe. In any case Oenoe was on the frontier between Attica and Boeotia and just where the road from Athens and Eleusis branched off, one way to Plataea, the other to the Peloponnese.
ὡς ἐκαθέζοντο —the imperfect implies a prolonged stay. Cf. c. 19, and see c. 3, 1.
προσβολὰς —the siege was preliminary to the invasion. See 19, 1.
παρεσκευάζοντο —for the omission of ὡς with the participle, cf. c. 91, 1.
φρουρίῳ —because it commanded the pass. A similar importance attached to Phyle and Decelea.
ἄλλως —‘in other ways.’
Αἰτίαν τε —to the end of the chapter is parenthetical.
ἔλαβεν ... δοκῶν ... οὐ παραινῶν — δοκῶν gives the cause of ἔλαβεν, παραινῶν the cause of δοκῶν. Cf. c. 86 ἀνθώρμουν ... γνώμην ἔχοντες ... φοβούμενοι. αὐτοῦ—of what has just been described, as often.
ἐν τῇ ξυναγωγῇ — in bello conflando. So Isocr. οἶμαι τὸν πόλεμον θεῶν τινα συναγαγεῖν. ἐπειδή τε— this τε joins ξυνελέγετο to ἐν τῇ ξυναγωγῇ. Four periods are distinguished, (1) the time when Sparta was seeking a casus belli, (2) the time when the contingents were assembling at the Isthmus, (3) the march to Oenoe, (4) the delay at Oenoe
ἥ τε —this τε belongs equally to ἐπειδὴ ξυν. ὁ στρατός, but the order is distorted for the sake of the antithesis between the three periods. Cf. c. 13, 2.
κατὰ τὴν — i.e. ἡ κατὰ τὴν ἄλλην π. σχολαιότης. Cf. Intr. p. xl.
ἄλλην —exclusive, ‘as well.’
μάλιστα δὲ —the most inelegant section in the book. The repetition of what has been said in 2 above is clumsy.
Ἐπελθόντες ἂν —the ἂν belongs to καταλαβεῖν only; of course ἂν is constantly attracted to a partic. which forms the protasis; but sometimes the ἂν also belongs to the partic., which is part of the apodosis, as c. 53, 4 βιοὺς ἂν ... ἀντιδοῦναι. (In some cases it is not easy to decide whether the partic. belongs to prot. or apod., as Demosth. Phil. 1 , 1.)
Ἐν ... ὀργῇ —see c. 59, 2.
Πᾶσαν ἰδέαν —adverbial, = πάντα τρόπον. πειρά‐ σαντες —se. αὐτῆς. In Attic πειρῶμαι = conari. Only Herod. and Thuc. among prose writers use the aetive in this sense. [
τῶν ἐ. Θηβαίων ]—Intr. p. xxxix.
ὀγδοηκοστῇ — i.e. about June 20th.
ἀκμάζοντος —denotes the time preeeding ripeness, in Attica the end of May and the greater part of June.
ἡγεῖτο δὲ —Archidamus has been already referred to again and again as the general. But ef. c. 47, 2, 71, 1; III. 1, 1, 26, 2, 89, 1; IV. 2, 1; V. 54, 1, 57, 1; VII. 19, 1. ὴγεμὼν is the technieal word for the Peloponnesian general, cf. I. 128 Παυσανίας ὁ ἡγεμὼν τῆς Σπάρτης, and the name of the ἡγεμὼν —generally one of the kings—in command of a Spartan expedition is regularly given as a matter of form. As regards Sparta, ἡγεμὼν is regularly the title of a king or regent. Thus Brasidas is ealled only στρατηγὸς or ἄρχων .
Καθεζόμενοι —for the tense, ef. c. 18, 1.
Ἐλευ‐ σῖνα καὶ τὸ Θ. πεδίον —the country round Eleusis.
περὶ τοὺς Ῥειτοὺς —two salt lakes on the boundary between the land of Athens and Eleusis, at the eorner of the Thriasian plain. From Eleusis Archidamus had followed the Sacred Way.
Αἰγάλεων —instead of ‘turning off to the eastward,’ as Grote says, Archidamus probably continued along the direct road to Athens, i.e. the Saered Way, erossing the pass of Daphni, and only then turned north towards Mount Parnes. This agrees better with ἐν δεξιᾷ ἔχοντες τὸ Αἰ. (Mount Skarmanga). The question is eomplicated by the uneertainty of the position of the deme Cropia.
χρόνον πολὺν —with ἔτεμνον. ἐμμείναντες—‘having settled there.’ ἐμμένειν is regularly used of persons: thus ἐμμένω ταῖς σπονδαῖς, not αἱ σπονδαὶ ἐμμένουσιν is the ordinary idiom. For exeeptions, see c. 2, 1 not. crit.
Ὡς ... ταξάμενον ]—by no means in accordanee with the desultory nature of Archidamus' operations. On λέγεται, see c. 57, 1.
ἐς τὸ πεδίον —the Attic plain.
ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἐσβολῇ —temporal. See c. 13, 9, 57, 2. Rutherford, Syntax, p. 68.
Τμηθῆναι —the infinitive after περιορᾶν is found only in Herod. and Thuc.; π. then = ἐᾶν, the notion of perception or want of it being lost. Cf. c. 18, 5. M. T. 903, 6.
Ἐνστρατοπεδεῦσαι —for ἐν in compounds with ad- verbial force, cf. c. 44, 1.
μέρος —see c. 21, 3. There were probably heroes of Marathon to be found among the Acharnians, who were by no means inclined to see their vines cut down without a blow being struck. The deme was proud of its distinction in war. See Aristoph. Ach. 180 .
ὁρμήσειν —transitive, governing τοὺς πάντας .
Τοιαύτῃ μὲν —resuming and dismissing γνώμῃ τοιᾷδε in 1 above. Cf. 9, 1 and 6.
Καί τινα —the principal sentence.
Πλειστοάνακτα —when Euboea and Megara revolted from Athens 445 B.C., and Pericles had crossed to Euboea, Pleistoanax invaded Attica, but retreated after ravaging the Thriasian plain, as Pericles returned.
μεμνημένοι. .ὅτε...ἀνεχώρησε —‘remembering the time when.’ Cf. c. 54, 4 μνήμη ἐγένετο . ὅτε ( ὁ θεὸς ) ἀνεῖλε. Eur. Hec. 112 οἶσθ’ ὅτε χρυσέοις ἐφάνη ξὺν ὅπλοις. Only ὅτε is used in prose to mark a date. See c. 98, 1. So ‘audivi eum eum diceret.’
ἐσβαλὼν ... οὐκέτι προελθὼν — both temporal; cf. c. 68, 3 , 71, 2 , where also the time of the first precedes that of the second.
ἐς Ἐ. καὶ Θριῶζε — i.e. ἐς Ἐ. καὶ τὸ Θριάσιον πεδίον. ἐς τὸ π. οὐκέτι—‘without advancing further.’ Cf. I. 114 τὸ πλἐον οὐκέτι προελθόντες. With the eomparative the ‐έτι is superfluous, but idiomatic.
ἡ φυγὴ —Thuc. writes as though he had mentioned this before, but nothing is said about it in I. 114, and it is again referred to incidentally V. 16. It must have been a very famous event.
Ὡς εἰκὸς —with ἐφαίνετο. ἐν τῷ ἐμφανεῖ —)( ἐν τῷ ἀφανεῖ I. 136. ἐν in an adverbial phrase is eommon.
πλὴν —here an adverb. Cf. c. 34. So ad = ὡς, Livy XXI. 22, 3 ad mille oetingenti, though that use is limited to cases in whieh mille or millia intervenes.
τὰ Μηδικὰ —‘at the time of the Persian war.’ Cf. I. 3, 4 τὰ πρὸ Ἕλληνος. Adverbial aceusative, as in τὸ πρῶτον. μὴ περιορᾶν—distinguish ( a) οὐκ ἐδόκει περιορᾶν, ‘it did not seem good to overlook it,’ ( b) ἐδόκει οὐ περιορᾶν, ‘it seemed that they were not overlooking it,’ ( c) ἐδόκει μὴ περιορᾶν, ‘it seemed better not to,’ i.e. ‘they determined not to,’ implying ‘preferenee or deprecation.’ Rutherford. Syntax, p. 132.
Κατὰ ξ. γ. —so γίγνομαι is often used with participial expressions. Cf. c. 3 ἐκ τοῦ ἴσου γίγνεσθαι. The style here beeomes more animated, the conflicting passions being described, as usual, in short eo-ordinate sentences.
οἱ μὲν — apposition to the universal subject. Cf. c. 16, 1.
παντοίους, ὡς ἀκροᾶσθαι — i.e. every man, to whatever side he belonged, eould quote his own oraele-monger.
ὥρμητο —with infin., as in c. 59. παρὰ —c. 72, 2.
παντί τε —this τε sums up the preeeding three.
στρατηγὸς ὢν —Pericles being στρατηγὸς αὐτοκράτωρ (speeially given unlimited powers) could prevent any of his colleagues from leading them out.
ὑπεξαγάγοι — cause assigned by the people. Hence optative.
Γιγνώσκειν περὶ τοῦ μὴ —cf. c. 55. For the reason of his action, see Intr. p. lxix.
ἐκκλησίαν τε ... τήν τε —the double τε implies two coneurrent acts having the same object in view.
ἐποίει —‘summon.’ ἐκκλησία means the regular meeting ( κυρία ἐκκλησία) which only a στρατηγὸς αὐτοκράτωρ could prevent. It was ordinarily held in each Prytany. ξύλλογος means a special meeting ( συγκλητὸς ἐκκλησία). Cf. c. 59 and IV. 114, 120. These were summoned by the Prytanes at the request of the Strategi. (Gilbert, Beitr. zur innern Geschichte, p. 14, explains this passage differently.) As so many eountry people were now in Athens, all opposed to the war, it would have been very dangerous to eall a meeting.
οὐδένα —but he could not prevent the ξυστάσεις: club intrigues and sueh strained eombinations of opposed interests as oecur in times of excitement took the plaee of ordinary politics. In this hazy atmosphere the figure of Cleon looms indistinctly. (We cannot penetrate into the workings of the ἑταιρεῖαι to which Thuc. refers; but Grote is quite mistaken in saying that Cleon rose now ‘as an opposition speaker.’ He was preparing for the great attaek on Pericles that was made in 430 B.C. Intr. p. lxxvi.)
δῑ ἡσυχίας —c. 13, 2.
Τοῦ μὴ —purpose, a rare construction outside Thuc.
ἐσπίπτοντας ἐς κακουργεῖν —the eommon object is accommodated to the participle. See c. 13, 2.
ἀγροὺς —the Attic plain.
Φρυγίοις —somewhere between Athens and Acharnae in the plain.
τροπὴ ἐγένετο —pass. of τ. ἐποιήσαντο, c. 19.
Τὸ παλαιὸν ξ —made 461 B.C., the Thessalians being enemies of the Dorians and Boeotians from early times. The allianee was made when Sparta sent away the foree which Athens sent to help to subdue the helots.
Πολυμήδης καὶ Ἀριστόνους —these suggestive names are one outeome of the visit of Gorgias to Larissa, which had previously prided itself on ἱππικὴ rather than σοφία. Plat. Meno, 70 B, Isoer. 15, 155 .
ἀπὸ τῆς στάσεως —the Sehol. says ἡ Λάρισσα ἐστασίασε πρὸς ἑαυτήν· διὸ ἑκατέρα μερὶς ἄρχοντα εἶχε. λέγει δὲ ὅτι ἑκατέρα στάσις δύναμιν Ἀθηναίοις ἀπέστειλεν. οἱ μὲν γὰρ δημοκρατίαν ἤγαγον, οἱ δὲ ὀλιγαρχίαν. These explanations are based only on the passage. It is more probable that Thue. means that the troops of Larissa were in two divisions, each having its own general Cf. c. 36, 1; VI. 62. The meanings of μέρος and στάσις are much alike, and as μέρος sometimes has a political, so στάσις perhaps has a military sense. Cf. centuria. A. Philippi, Rhein. Mus. 36, p. 245, proposes ἀρχηγὸς τῆς στάσεως for ἀπὸ τ. ς. Larissa was the most important state in Thessaly. Its prinees elaimed to be descended from Heracles, Pind. Pyth. 10 . (Herodian settles the orthography. It must be admitted that the analogy of Thebes, and of Sparta to some extent, favours the explanation of the Sehol.)
κατὰ πόλεις —though the cities of Thessaly had separate prinees, they seem to have been connected by allianee.
Βριλησσοῦ —Mt. Pentelicon, N.E. of Athens. See 3 below.
Χιλίους ὁπλίτας —10 for each ship, as usual. These marines were generally Thetes. Cf. VI. 43 They were called ἐπιβάται. Καρκίνος—related to the famous tragic poet of the same name, at whom Aristophanes jests several times.
Πρωτέας —had been one of the commanders of the 10 ships sent to Coreyra in 433. Intr. p. lxvii.
Ὅσου —see c. 13, 7.
Ὠρωπὸν —to get there from Pentelieon, they would pass the demes Cephisia, Aphidna and Oenoe, and cross the pass of Deeelea.
τὴν Γραϊκὴν —the name of the coast opposite Eretria. It is probably the plaee whieh gave the name Graeci to the colonists of Italy. See Busolt, G. Gesch., I. p. 14
Ἀθηναῖοι ύπήκοοι —Oropus fell into the hands of Boeotia in 412 B.C. Thuc. leaves his note, made probably in 431, unaltered.
Ἀναχωρησάντων —then the eountry people returned to their demes.
φυλακὰς —to give warning to the eountry people of any fresh invasion and to prevent ships sailing in or out of Megara. Cf. also c. 32, 69. See c. 93, 4. The arrangements were quite different when an enemy was in Attica. Cf. c. 13, 7.
δὴ —Thuc. thinks of the changes which were soon found necessary. Cf. c. 94, 5.
ἔδοξεν αὐτοῖς —in the Ecclesia. The position of Pericles was now improved by the retreat of the enemy, and the departure of the country people. In the eity itself and in Piraeus he had a large majority. Both Diodorus and Plutarch call attention to this inerease of influence, but assign the wrong reason.
ποιησαμένοις —might have been aecus. (c. 7, 2), but Thuc. and Lysias keep the dat. more than other writers. Cf. v. 9 9.
ἀναλοῦν —old form of ἀναλίσκειν. εἰπῇ—of the proposer of a motion, ἐπιψηφίσῃ of the president for the day, who put the question. In VIII. 15, after the revolt of Chios early in 412, τὰ χίλια τ. εὐθὺς ἔλυσαν τάς ἐπικειμένας ζημὶας τῷ εἰπόντι ἢ ἐπιψηφίσαντι καὶ ἐψηφίσαντο κινεῖν. κινεῖν—only of things disturbed through neeessity.
ἐς ἄλλο τι —explained by what follows. Cf. c. 1 ἑξῆς. νηίτῃ—old word for ναυτικῷ in this phrase. Thuc. is giving the formal language of the ψήφισμα. θάνατον—‘the penalty they fixed was death.’ ζημίαν goes elosely with ἐπέθεντο, whieh is mid. beeause the motion then passed applied to themselves.
Ἐξαιρέτους —a reserve fleet, distinct from the φυλακάς, inspected yearly; any ships not in first-rate condition were replaeed.
κατὰ τὸν —the addition of the article adds formal preeision to the language.
τριηράρχους —the ships were docked, so that the eaptains would have nothing to do unless there were an attack by sea. See c. 94. ὧν—goes baek to τριήρεις. χρῆσθαι—it is easy to supply ἔδοξε, but by no means certain that Thuc. intended this. See c. 13, 1 γίγνεσθαι and 5 οἷς χρήσεσθαι. ἢν δέῃ—the apod. is implied in τοῦ αὐτοῦ κ .
Ἐκεῖ —the Messenians of Naupactus, placed there by Athens 455 B.C., the Acarnamans and Zaeynthians.
Μεθώνην —contrast the order in e. 18, 1 and 3 below. M., now Modon, is in Messenia, but after the Messenian Wars, circa 650 B.C., Messenia belonged to Laeonia. About the same date, the inhabitants of Nauplia, expelled from Argolis, were settled in Methone by Sparta, to hold the port in her interest as the Messenians afterwards held Naupaetus for Athens.
προσέβαλον —they thought to take it by assault, judging a regular approaeh unnecessary.
ὄντι ... ἐνόντων —see on e. 4, 4.
οὐκ ἐνόντων —se. τῷ τείχει. There were however men in the place, but it was ungarrisoned. The attaek was a surprise.
Περὶ τοὺς χ. τ. —the only phrase in which the plur. of χῶρος oceurs in Thue. Cf. c. 101, 2; III. 102, 4.
Βρασίδας —Thuc. admired Brasidas and relates many of his adventures. They may be read again, adorned with rhetorieal effects, in Diodorus.
φρουρὰν ἔχων —‘with an expeditionary force,’ sent to protect the eoast of Messenia. Cf. φρουρὰν φαίνειν in Xen., ‘to send out a force.’
τετραμμένον —‘with their attention oceupied.’ Cf. c. 40, 2. So versus ad.
ἐπῃνέθη —by a decree passed in his honour, the usual sense of ἐπαινῶ in such eases.
Σχόντες —cf. c. 33, 3.
Φειὰν —now Katakolo, the landing-place for visitors to Olympia.
ἐπὶ δύο ἡ —cf. c. 86, 5. A rare use of ἐπί. Cf. Andoc. II. 8 λύπας ἐπὶ χρόνον πλεῖστον φέρειν. τῆς κοίλης Ἤλιδος—the physieal conditions of the eountry as well as the feud between Elis and Pisatis over the management of the games dating from the 7th cent. B.C., prevented any real union in this district. The N. part, in the valley of the Peneus, was ἡ κοιλή, and was taken by the Aetolian Epeans or vαλεῖοι (Lat. vallis) from the earlier population.
λογάδας —Ionie for ἐπιλέκτους, used by no other Attic prose writer. Eur. Hec. 544 . Suidas s.v. λογάδην. αὐτόθεν — i.e. from the neighbourhood of Pheia itself, whieh, being in Pisatis, belonged to the περιοικίς. ἐκ τῆς περιοικίδος—epexegesis of αὐτόθεν, but also showing that the relieving party was drawn not merely from the immediate neighbourhood of Pheia, but from Pisatis and Triphylia generally ( ἡ περιοικίς, the sense being political not geographical ).
Ἀνέμου κατιόντος —cf. c. 84 ; VI. 2, 4. The regular word of a breeze getting up at sea.
ἐπέβησαν ἐπὶ —so I. 111 ; VII. 69 ; less eommonly simple dat. Contrast ἐπιβαίνω with gen., ‘to set foot in.’
Ἰχθῦν —the promontory on whieh Pheia lay, now C. Katakolo.
τὸν ...λιμένα —probably Pontikokastro. [
οἱ...ἐπιβῆναι ]—this could only apply to ἄλλοι τινές: but it is probably a note on οἱ Μεσσήνιοι καὶ ἄλλοι .
Προσεβεβοηθήκει —plup., because this had caused the departure of the Athenians.
Φυλακὴν —predicate, καὶ joining the two phrases which express the objects of the expedition. For περὶ of vague reference, cf. c. 7, 3.
Κλεόπομπος —was strategus again in 430; c. 58 (? 431/430 or 430/429. See note l.c.)
Θρόνιον —some way inland; the capital of the Epi- cnemidian Locrians, on whom see c. 9, 4.
τε —introduces the third fact.
αὐτῶν —the inhabitants of Thronium, the people being named instead of the plaee, as often.
Ἀλόπῃ —its ruins, like those of Thronium, are on the road from the modern Atalante to Thermopylae.
Αἰγινήτας —Athens had been frequently at war with Aegina, the last war being 460-456 B.C., when Aegina surrendered. See I. 67. {
ἐν }
τῷ αὐτῷ θ —Cl. shows that Thuc. always inserts ἐν in this phrase. Otherwise he uses the gen.
αὐτούς τε —‘brutale applieation du droit du plus fort.’ M. Henry.
οὐχ ἥκιστα —with αἰτίους. [τῇ Π. ἐπικειμένην]—had this been the object Athens would have directed her attacks on Peloponnese from Aegina; but we hear nothing of this.
ἐποίκους — i.e. κληρούχους. This measure was certain to make Pericles very popular.
καὶ — ‘and so.’
Θυρέαν —thus the Aeginetans would form a buffer between Laconia and Argolis. This region was a constant source of dispute between the two.
οἰκεῖν ... νέμεσθαι — these limit ἔδοσαν and ‘denote occupation, not property.’ Bloomf. Cf. c. 30. σφῶν—emphatic. ‘We help you because you helped us.’
ὑπὸ τὸν σεισμὸν —about 464 B.C. Just after, the helots revolted, and the Messenians were expelled in consequence. See c. 25, 1. The Spartans now paid back Athens for placing the Messenians in Naupactus,
Θυρεᾶτις —had been in the hands of Sparta since 495 B.C.
Κατὰ σελήνην —see c. 4, 2 on τελευτῶντος τοῦ μηνός. ὥσπερ καὶ—probably Thue. drew his knowledge of natural phenomena from Anaxagoras, whose influence on Pericles and many of the thoughtful men of the time was very great. A. was called ὁ Νοῦς, his chief doctrine being νοῦς ἐστὶν ὁ διακοσμῶν τε καὶ πάντων αἴτιος. Soerates when a young man once believed in him. See Plato, Phaedo 97 C, where S. speaks of A's physical theory with good-humoured banter. Cf. c. 102, 3. According to a story in Cicero ( de Rep. I. 16) and Plutarch, Per. 35, the people were alarmed at this eelipse, and Pericles explained it after Anaxagoras.
ἐξέλιπε — this chapter correets, while it ignores, the current superstitions about eclipses. Herod. I. 74 tells a similar tale of Thales.
γενόμενος καὶ ἐκφανέντων —see c. 4, 4.
ἀστέρων —Mars and Venus.
Πυθέω —Ionic gen. of Πύθης. Cf. Τηρέω below.
εἶχε —sc. γυναῖκα. Cf. Andoc. I. 50 ὃς ἔχει σου τὴν ἀδελφήν. Σιτάλκης—see c. 95-102. πρόξενον—their representative in the kingdom of the Odrysae.
Τὴν μεγάλην βασίλειαν —the great kingdom existing in 431.
ἐπὶ πλεῖον τῆς ἄλλης —there are several ways of explaining this. The old rendering was ‘made it more powerful than the rest of Thrace,’ but this strains ἐπὶ πλεῖον. The others are (1) ‘extended his kingdom over a great part of Thrace,’ (2) ‘established it over a greater territory than the rest of Thrace comprised,’ i.e. it included more than half of Thrace, (3) ‘formed it on a larger scale than the rest of Thraee.’ Probably (2) is right; I. 9, 3, 71, 3 are similar.
Προσήκει οὐδέν —at a time when Athens was trying to form a conneetion with Thrace, it was natural that people should try to eonneet Athenian history with Thraeian.
τὸ ἔργον —a hint at the murder of Itys by Procne and Philomela. Ovid, Met. VI. 620. For the attitude of Thuc. towards these myths, see Grote I. p. 389.
πολλοῖς —the ordinary prose rule for the agent with perf. pass, which Thuc. generally follows, is that the dat. is used when the subject is nonpersonal: when the subject is a person, ὑπὸ and gen. is invariably used.
ἐν ἀηδόνος μνήμῃ —‘in referenees to the nightingale.’
εἰκὸς δὲ —for this argument cf. c. 11, 8. It was used only by orators and historians: philosophers laughed at it.
κῆδος —an Ionie word for ‘a connexion by marriage,’ found in Herod., Tragedy and late writers.
διὰ τοσούτου — ‘at so short a distance.’ Cf. c. 12, 1.
πολλῶν ἡμερῶν — depends on ὁδοῦ, see c. 13, 7.
Τὰ ἐπὶ Θ —the Chalcidian towns, which were causing much anxiety at the time.
Περδίκκαν —he had acted against Athens in the matter of Potidaea. I. 57-62. ξυνελεῖν— ‘to help to establish their influence over.’
Τε —‘and so.’
ἐποίησε —contrast with ἐποιήσαντο in 4 above.
Σάδοκον —this presentation of the freedom of Athens amused and disgusted many. See Aristoph. Acharn. 141 .
Ἀθηναῖον —Muller-Strubing places καὶ Σάδοκον . .Ἀθηναῖον after ξύμμαχον ἐποιήσαντο above, on the ground that Thuc. could not say that an Abderite made a man a citizen: but it is plain that Thuc. refers to formalities earried out by the Proxenus when a member of his state was made a citizen of the state of which he was Proxenus. (So μυεῖν, ‘to initiate’ into the mysteries, a privilege belonging to the Eumolpidae, and Ceryees is used inexaetly of the man who introduces a candidate for initiation. Cf. [Dem.] 59, 21, Andoc. 1, 132 .
Ξυνεβίβασε —a great gain to Athens. Cf. Intr. p. lxviii.
Θέρμην —eaptured by Athens in 432. I. 61, 2. τ’—‘and so.’
Φορμίωνος —he had gone with reinforeements to Potidaea in 432. See c. 2, 1. He had been Strategus in the Samian War, and again held offiee in 430 and 429. I. 64, 117; e. 69, 80, 102.
Οὕτω μὲν —the usual way in whieh Thue. summarises and dismisses a subject to pass to another. Cf. e. 4, 9, 15, 20.
Οἱ —the influence of the art. extends to Πελοπόννησον, so that ὄντες is attributive.
ἔτι —where they were left c. 25. Σόλλιον—here Demosthenes landed in Aetolia in 426. It remained in the possession of Athens to the peace of Nicias. It appears to be S. of Astacns.
τὴν γῆν καὶ πόλιν —the art. covers both nouns, they being inseparable. Cf. c. 64 ἡ λαμπρότης καὶ δόξα. νέμεσθαι —epexegetie, τὴν γῆν καὶ πόλιν being object to παραδιδόασι. Cf. c. 27, 2.
Ἄστακον —near the mouth of the Achelous.
Κατὰ Ἀκαρνανίαν —‘opposite.’ Cf. Aristoph. Ran. 626 κατ’ ὀφθαλμοὺς = coram te. A rare use.
τετράπολις — the Samaeans were the most important, and in ancient times gave their name to the state. In Od. I. 246 Cephallenia is ealled Same, in IV. 671 Samos.
Παλῆς —the names of the people are given instead of the cities. Cf. c. 9, 4.
Φθινόπωρον —in September.
Μεγαρίδα —for the policy of this, see Intr. p. Ixxii. Megara had a hard fate, gross time-server as she was. In 455 she revolted from Sparta to Athens; then in 445, when Athens was in a bad plight, revolted from her and rejoined Sparta. In 427 Nicias seized Minoa, an island off Megara. In 425 Aristophanes, in the Acharnians, gibed at her sufferings in a spirit worthy of Lauderdale. In 424 the Athenians became masters of Nisaea and the Long Walls that connected Megara with that port. Then the walls were pulled down. In the truce of 423 the line between the Athenians and Megara was carefully defined. Athens lost her influence there by the peace of 421, when Minoa and Nisaea were restored to Megara.
Μεγάροις — i.e. the district of Megara, as with Eleusis c. 19.
Ἐγένετο —of a sum total, as c. 13, 3.
μυρίων — with the 3000 hoplites at Potidaea, the total becomes 13,000, as mentioned in c. 13. Phormio, who had been sent with 1600 more to Potidaea, must have returned already to Athens, though, as often in Thuc., this fact is only referred to incidentally and later See c. 58, 2.
ὅμιλος —so c. 34, 8, 36, 4, 65, 4. Outside Thuc. it is found only in Herod., Tragedy and late authors, as Dion. Hal., Plutarch, Lucian.
Καὶ ἄλλαι —the result was a sore famine in Megara.
Ἀταλάντη —in 426 B.C. part of the island disappeared in an earthquake when it was oeeupied by the Athenians.
φρούριον —predicate. ἡ ἐπὶ Λοκροῖς—ἐπὶ = ad oram sita. So III. 89, 3.
Ὀποῦντος —see c. 9, 2.
Ἐπικούρους —speeially used of mereenaries and tyrants' body-guards. Χρύσιδος —Χρῦσις is masc., Χρυσὶς fem., c. 2, 1.
Τῆς περὶ θ —an uncommon use of περί. See on c. 99, 3, and for the order, cf. c. 18, 1.
πειραθέντες —see c. 19, 1. Supply προσποιήσασθαι. ἀπέπλεον—imperf., as the journey was broken.
Σχόντες ... ἀπατηθέντες ... ἀποβάλλουσι —the first participle is temporal, while the second belongs closely to the verb and defines it like an adverb of manner.
ἐξ ὁμολογίας —‘after an agreement had been made with them,’ the Corinthians, so that they had reason to expect the surrender of the islanders. The antithesis is between ἀπατὴ and ὁμολογία, i.e. ἐξ ὸμολογίας ἀπατὴ γίγνεται, as ἐξ is constantly used of persons, to denote a change of condition; cf. transfuga ex oratore etc.
ἀπροσδοκήτοις —active. See c. 3, 4.
βιαίοτερον —‘not without a struggle,’ with considerable diffieulty.
Νόμῳ —‘custom.’ See c. 35, 1.
ταφὰς —funeral) ) τάφος, tomb.
ἐν τῷδε τῷ π —see e. 1, init.
ἀποθανόντων —in the siege of Potidaea, during the skirmishes with the invaders in Attica, and in the two coast expeditions.
Ὀστᾶ —the bodies had been burnt already at the scene of the action, then the bones were collected and buried at Athens. Cf. Plato, Phaedo, 80 D ἔνια μέρη τοῦ σώματος, ὁστᾶ τε καὶ νεῦρα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν ἀθάνατά ἐστιν. προτίθενται — proponunt.
ἀπογενομένων —ef. c. 51, 5. An Ionie word. Herod. II. 85. Suidas, s.v. ἀπεγένετο, says οὕτως Ἀντιφῶν καὶ Θουκυδίδης. Probably it was used in ritual, as ἀποκτιννύναι for ἀποκτείνειν. πρότριτα —so Aristoph. Lys. 611 . Cf. πρόπεμπτα. Both words puzzled ancient commentators. We should say ‘two days’ (before the ἐκφορά).
σκηνὴν ποιήσαντες —in the agora, whieh was in the deme Cerameicus.
ἤν τι —not the things whieh the dead were supposed to require for their existenee below, but fancy presents.
ἐπειδὰν —used here like ὅταν. Contrast 6 below, and c. 72, 3.
κυπαρισσίνας —the sehol. says that cypress was used beeause it does not easily deeay. Cl. says this is mere imagination; but at Veniee carved chests of cypress were used in the time of Shakspere for keeping valuable stuffs in. (‘Taming of the Shrew,’ II. 1 In cypress chests my arras.) The faet that it was used for coffins may be the reason why it was saered to the dead.
φυλῆς —the members of a φυλὴ were buried together ( a) because the φυλαὶ were the largest aggregates based on the family, ( b) because they were the basis of military organisation. ἧς ἕκαστος—ἕκ. is put into the relative clause, as in c. 17, 3.
κενὴ —every effort had to be made to reeover the dead; only for those who were not found after eareful search was the symbolic burial sufficient. Eur. Hel. 1241 Ἕλλησίν έστι νόμος ὃς ἂν πόντῳ θάνῃ [κενοῖσι θάπτειν ἐν πέπλων ὑφάσμασιν. τῶν ἀφανῶν —with κλίνη. For the expression, cf. VIII. 38 ἀποπλέων ἐν κέλητι ἀφανίζεται.
Ὁ βουλόμενος —the generic art. is post-Homeric.
ξένων —thus the aliens would hear the funeral oration, in which Athens was always extolled.
αἱ προσήκουσαι —this limits γυναῖκες, lit. ‘I mean those who are related.’
ἐπὶ τὸν τάφον —the women might be present at the grave, but did not walk in the proeession from the agora.
Προαστείου —that part of the Cerameieus which was outside the gates was used as a cemetery. It was to Athens what the Appian Way was to Rome. It was just outside the Dipylon, the chief and double gateway of Athens. Probably it means ‘the potters' quarter,’ the Athenian potteries being famous. Cf. the potters' field in St. Matthew, XXVII. 7, whieh was bought ‘to bury strangers in.’
πλὴν —see c. 21, 2.
ἐν Μαραθῶνι —see not. crit. Some critics, while admitting ἐν Σαλαμῖνι, deny that ἐν can be used with Μαραθῶνι, and no case where the metre requires ἐν before Μαραθῶνι is found. The names of the sites of famous battles are used elliptically.
αὐτοῦ —on the battle-field.
καὶ —as well as burning the bodies.
τάφον ἐποίησαν —‘made them their grave.’ The mound raised over it still exists, as also the remains of the trophy of victory set up in 490 B.C.
ᾙρημένος ὑπὸ —the subject is a person; therefore ὑπὸ and not the dat. is used with the perf. pass.
μὴ ἀξύνετος — i.e. ξυνετώτατος. ἀξιώσει—Grote and Shil. say ἀξίωσις means the estimate one has of oneself; ἀξίωμα that which others have of one. Such a wide difference does not exist here. ἀξίωσις is the recogintion of a man's γνώμη. προήκῃ —rare for προέχῃ. ἐπ’ αὐτοῖς—the prep. marks the occasion. Cf. 8 below, 35, 1, 42, 1. So in the orators.
ἔ. τὸν πρέποντα —mark the order. c. 2. 2.
Ξυμβαίη —sc. θάπτειν τοὺς ἐκ τοῦ πολέμου, i.e. at the end of each campaign.
Καιρὸς ἐλάμβανε —‘at the right moment,’ = κ. κατε‐ λάμβανε. Cf. c. 18, 2.
ὑψηλὸν πεποιημένον —together. Ste. however places the stop after ὑψηλόν. ὡς ἐπὶ πλεῖστον —so ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολύ IV. 29, 3; ἐπί πλέον c. 53, 1 (cf. c. 29, 2 note). Cf. Eur. Sup. 857 fol.
ἔλεγε —now follows the λόγος ἐπιτάφιος. It is more worked up than any other speech in Thuc., and conforms closely to the rhetorical rules. The other λ. ἐπιτάφιοι extant are one ascribed to Lysias, one to Demosthenes (see 44, 2), the Menexenus ascribed to Plato; fragments of one by Gorgias (see Intr. p. xlii.), and a considerable part of one by Hypereides. Doderlein says of the speech ‘Arte dicentis ad laudes Athenarum inflexum ac potius ad comparationem vitae Atheniensium liberae, liberalis, vere vitalis, cum tetrica angustaque et aerumnosa Spartanorum disciplina.’
Ἐπαινοῦσι — ἔπαινος filled λ. ἐπιταφίους. τὸν προσθέντα—it is not known who instituted the custom. It was of course ascribed to Solon. After a time, the subjects dealt with became traditional commonplaces. Dion. Hal. enumerates them ( Ars Rhet. VI.) as πατρίς, γένος, φύσις, ἀγωγή, πρᾶξις. Then he shows how the subjects should be treated.
ὡς καλὸν —sc. ὄν . M. T. 875.
νόμῳ —probably ‘institution.’
ἀρκοῦν —used as an adj.
ἂν ἐδόκει — censeam, often instead of censeo, as a polite expression, ‘I am inclined to think’; if I had to settle the matter I should hold. Cf. Burke, On American Taxation, ‘For my part I should choose (if I could have my wish).’
ἔργῳ δηλοῦσθαι —in a public burial, in honour paid to the tomb (a very important matter to the Greeks), and in privileges to the family.
τιμάς, οἷα —the change to neuter shows that only an instance of the many kinds of τιμαὶ is given.
περὶ —not local, but ‘at’ meaning ‘on the occasion of.’
παρασκευασθέντα — with οἷα. καὶ μὴ κ.τ.λ.—Gottleber makes πιστευθῆναι subj. of κινδυνεύεσθαι , i.e. καὶ ( τὸ ) πολλῶν ἀρετὰς πιστευθῆναι μὴ κινδυνεύεσθαι ἐν ἑνί. (This is better than making πιστευθῆναι depend on κινδυνεύεσθαι, as then ἢ οὔ would be required after πιστευθῆναι.)
ἐν ἑνὶ
—cf.
Eur. I. T.1057-8
ἢ μηδὲν εἶναι
πιστευθῆναι —for omission of τό, cf. c. 39, 4.
εὖ τε καὶ χεῖρον — sive bene sive male dixerit.
τὸ μετρίως εἰπεῖν —explained by what follows as meaning neither ἐνδεεστέρως δηλοῦν nor πλεονάζειν .
ἐν ᾧ — in a case where. Cf. c. 1. In this phrase, the relative does not refer to any definite antecedent, but rather to the whole preceding clause.
δόκησις —even if the speaker is sure he has hit the mean, he finds it hard to convey that impression to his hearers. The word δόκησις , impression, is tragic, and used by no other prose writer. See c. 14, 1.
ἀληθείας
—
ἐνδεεστέρως —cf. c. 50 χαλεπωτέρως. Thuc. uses a considerable number of such comparatives. They are rare in other prose writers (Dobree, Advers. II. 208), except indeed only after ἔχειν intrans., as Plato, Phaedo, 75A ἔχει δὲ ἐνδεεστέρως. πρὸς— prae. Cf. c. 62, 3, 65, 10.
ἀκούοι —protasis to ἂν νομίσειε.
τῷ ὑπερβάλλοντι αὐτῶν —viz. τῶν ἐπαίνων, that which transgresses the limit in these panegyrics they actually discredit. See on c. 59, 3 τὸ ὀργιζόμενον τῆς γνώμης. φθονοῦντες—not that they envy the dead (which the speaker says is not the case c. 45, 1), but they do not like to hear another's praises exaggerated, whether he be living or dead ( περὶ ἑτέρων ἔπαινοι). Cf. Herod. III. 52 φθονέεσθαι κρέσσον ἐστὶν ἢ οἰκτείρεσθαι. Pind. Pyth. I. 85 κρέσσων οἰκτιρμοῦ φθόνος .
Ἐπειδὴ —resumes ἐμοὶ δ’ in 1 above.
ἐδοκιμάσθη —properly of the preliminary test to which newly-appointed officials had to submit to prove they were qualified. Hence δεδοκιμασμένος, like spectatus, ‘tried and approved.’ The word shows Pericles has in his mind a custom rather than a law.
Ἄρξομαι —here begins a subsidiary introduction, the object of which is to get rid of the conventional topics in few words, and lead up to the prothesis (see 4 below).
προγόνων —dismissed with merely a respectful mention, as Pericles' real business is with the present, not the past. He begins with πρόγονοι, the θεοὶ χθόνιοι, as poets and orators begin with the gods. Plato does it sometimes at the beginning of a long discussion; cf. Livy's conclusion to his preface, and the opening of Demosth. de Cor.
πρῶτον —not pleonastic, for the analysis shows that the ἀρχὴ of the speech contains three points.
δίκαιον .. πρέπον —the former of one's duty towards others, the latter of one's duty towards oneself.
αὐτοῖς —with δίδοσθαι. καὶ π. δὲ ἅμα —like non modo ... sed etiam.
ἐν τῷ τοιῷδε —‘on such an occasion as this.’
οἱ αὐτοὶ —predicate with οἰκοῦντες. The Athenians prided themselves on being αὐτόχθονες. διαδοχῇ —instrumental.
Πατέρες —he passes to the period of the Persian Wars.
πρὸς οἷς —they received Attica; they left the maritime confederacy.
ἀρχὴν —Pericles avoids stating the steps by which the Athenian ἡγεμονία was turned into an ἀρχή .
Τὰ πλείω —is accus. of respect, and refers especially to the internal improvements, made in the age of Pericles, of whatever kind. As for the material improvements—buildings and walls—Pericles' connection with them precluded him from referring to them in detail.
ἡμεῖς —Pericles was born about 490 B.C. Hence μάλιστα, ‘more or less.’
ἐν τῇ καθ —lit. ‘living in settled life,’ i.e. ‘in the vigour of life,’ the time between growth and decay. Cic. Cat. maj. 76 constans aetas quae media dicitur.
ἐπηυξήσαμεν —‘have improved it.’
αὐταρκεστάτην —by the increase of the revenue and the advance of culture.
ἐκτήθη —offensive measures) ( ἠμυνάμεθα, defensive. [
πόλεμον ]—this would require Ἑλληνικύν, since Ἕλλην can only be used as an adj. with persons, as VII. 42, 1 ἀκοντιστὰς βαρβάρους καὶ Ἕλληνας. ἀπὸ δὲ—this introduces the prothesis, or statement of the theme of the main portion of the speech (the πίστις ).
ἐπιτηδεύσεως —‘principles’ on which concrete ἐπιτηδεύματα are based. Pericles will explain the meaning and point out the results of the ideas which underlie the Athenian constitution, and show that it is based on philosophy and intelligence. (Aristotle did not admire Pericles much, because Athens degenerated so rapidly after his death; and Plato thought little of most men who took part in public affairs: but the passage in Phaedo, 82 A οἱ τὴν δημοτικήν τε καὶ πολιτικὴν ἀρετὴν ἐπιτηδευκότες, ἣν δὴ καλοῦσι σωφροσύνην τε καὶ δικαιοσύνην, ἐξ ἔθους τε καὶ μελέτης γεγονυῖαν ἄνευ φιλοσοφίας τε καὶ νοῦ, could not apply to Pericles and the circle of Anaxagoras. See Appendix in Archer—Hind's edition).
αὐτὰ —cf. c. 1 ἕκαστα , 43, 1.
μεθ’ οἵας —the prepositions are important. ἀπὸ gives the remote origin, ἐξ the immediate cause, μετὰ the circumstances under which the result was produced. From both ἀπὸ and ἐκ must be distinguished ὑπό, of the agent (see Class. Rev. III. 436 a ),
πολιτείας —of public and active life) ( τρόπων, of personal relations, and intellectual life.
ταῦτα δηλώσας —‘I will explain this before’ etc. The main emphasis is on the partic. as c. 12, 2.
ἐπὶ τῷ παρόντι —‘under the present circumstances,’ i.e. at the end of the first campaign. There will be practical lessons to learn from the description. Intr. p. lxxii. In the same sense ἐπὶ τοῖς παροῦσιν is used VIII. 54, 4.
ἀπρεπῆ — predicate, with λεχθῆναι. Cf. c. 102, 6.
ἀστῶν —so that they might lay to heart the lesson to be learnt.
ξένων — see c. 34, 4.
ξύμφορον —neut. The general topic of the πίστις is τὸ ξυμφέρον. It is changed at c. 43 for τὸ καλόν. ἐπακοῦσαι—‘to hear with attention’) ( ὑπακούειν ‘to hear and obey.’
Οὐ ζηλούσῃ —the institutions of Sparta were based on those of Crete.
παράδειγμα —probably a reference to the embassy sent from Rome to Athens in 454 B.C. to examine the laws of Solon. Livy III. 31. (Hertz, N. Jahrb. 1881, p. 283 fol.)
ὄντες —the partic. is constructed with the subject instead of with πολιτείᾳ, so that the pride of the people is directly appealed to.
ὄνομα —adverb. accus.
ἐς ὀλίγους . . οἰκεῖν —‘the administration is in the hands not of a few but of the majority.’ οἰκεῖν is here intrans. = ‘to be administered,’ and the subject is ἡ πολιτεία. Cf. Plat. Rep. VIII p. 547 C πῶς οἰκήσει ( αὕτη ἡ πολιτεία);
δ. κέκληται —‘our constitution is called a democracy.’ Then μέτεστι δὲ κ.τ.λ. explains that, though named a democracy, the name does not mean that the claims of excellence are disregarded.
πρὸς τὰ ἴδια δ ——‘in protecting their private interests,’) ( ἐς τὰ κοινὰ below.
πᾶσι — i.e. ὀλίγοι, as well as δῆμος. The two cardinal principles on which the democracy rested were ἰσονομία and ἐλευθερία. All being equal in the eyes of the law, the majority of necessity controlled the state. Pericles was convinced that complete democracy was necessary, as only under such a government had all an equal chance of developing their abilities; all being, as Isocr. says, ἐκ τῆς δημοκρατίας πεπαιδευμένοι. κατὰ δὲ—antithesis to μέτεστι πᾶσι rather than to κατὰ μὲν τοὺς νόμους. ἀξίωσιν — existimatio, the consideration accorded to merit, recognition of personal claims
εὐδοκιμεῖ —he alludes especially to officials elected by show of hands, such as the strategi. Those offices which required no special knowledge were filled by lot. Whether the best men were always elected is doubtful. Pericles only claims that nothing stood in the way of merit.
οὐκ ἀπὸ μέρους — ‘not on account of his rank so much as.’ μέρος = a particular class, such as the ὁμοῖοι of Sparta.
ἀγαθόν τι δρᾶσαι —see c. 64, 1; Plat. Rep. I. 332 A.
ἀξιώματος ἀφανείᾳ —the result of ἀξίωσις is ἀξίωμα, a position in the state: ‘by the obscurity of his position.’
κεκώλυται —sc. ἀγαθόν τι δρᾶσαι τὴν πόλιν, a clear statement that abilities are to be devoted to the advancement of the state. (This was the theory of all the best Athenian statesmen: there was some sense in the Seriphian's insult to Themistocles, οὐ δῑ αὑτὸν ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν πόλιν εὐδοκιμεῖ.)
Ἐλευθέρως —the same liberal spirit that we show in public life underlies all our private relations.
τά τε .. καὶ —parataxis: ‘as ... so.’
πολιτεύομεν —lit. live in the state, τὰ πρὸς τὸ κ. being internal accus. ‘as regards our public life,’ quod attinet ad rempublicam.
ἐς τὴν ὑποψίαν —‘in respect of that mutual suspicion often felt ( τὴν) in the daily business of life.’
ἐπιτηδευμάτων —the outcome of following any particular ἐπιτήδευσις (see c. 36, 4).
δῑ ὀργῆς . . ἔχοντες —c. 13, 2.
εἰ ... δρᾷ —this merely = τὸν δρῶντα, i.e. no time is referred to at all. If it were, ἐάν τι δρᾷ would be required. Cf. c. 64, 6.
καθ’ ἡδονήν τι δρᾷ — genio indulget, ‘does as he likes.’ This is true generally; but in their religious opinions the Athenians were intolerant.
ἀχθηδόνας προστιθέμενοι —‘assuming an ill-humoured expression.’ τῇ ὄψει ‘on our faces’ may be omitted in trans.; unless, indeed, it belongs not to προστιθέμενοι, but to λυπηράς, ‘annoying to see.’ ἀζημίους is active in meaning. ἀχθηδὼν (= ἄχθος) is poetic. Thuc. still alludes to Sparta, where people could not do as they liked, through the rigorous system of police control enforced by the ephors.
Ἀνεπαχθῶς —‘yet, in spite of this freedom from restraint in our private intercourse, we are in our public acts most careful to reverence the laws.’ Both τὰ ἴδια and τὰ δημόσια are adverbial.
αἰεὶ —constantly used of the officials who held office for a year, and denoting the continuous succession of magistrates.
ἀκροάσει —‘showing respect to,’ = ἀκροώμενοι, which means lit. ‘listening eagerly to.’ Cf. c. 21, 3.
αὐτῶν —with ὅσοι. ἄγραφοι — Soph. Antig. 454 ἄγραπτα κἀσφαλῆ θεῶν| νόμιμα δύνασθαι θνητὸν ὄνθ’ ὑπερδραμεῖν . Xen. Mem. IV. 4, 19 . They are the natural laws that are engraved on the heart of every right-minded individual, so that none doubt it is disgraceful to transgress them. Cf. Milton: ‘Those unwritten, or at least unconstraining laws of virtuous education.’
αἰσχύνην ... φέρουσι —‘bring universally admitted disgrace,’ sc. τοῖς παρανομοῦσι.
Ἀναπαύλας —an old Attic word, frequent in trag.
τῇ γνώμῃ —‘for the mind,’ referring to the humanising and artistic value of the festivals.
ἀγῶσι —namely, at the πανηγύρεις, the chief festivals, when business ceased. Such were the Panathenaic Festival and the Dionysia.
θυσίαις —not the ordinary sacrifices, but those performed at the ἑορταί, the most important of which were πανηγύρεις. διετησίοις — ‘which succeed one another throughout the year.’ At Athens the festivals were more frequent than elsewhere, and perhaps ridicule was cast upon them by the Spartans, just as the Romans ridiculed the Jews and Christians for wasting time over their weekly sabbath.
νομίζοντες —= χρώμενοι: an Ionic use, cf. I. 74, end.
κατασκευαῖς εὐ —c. 65, 2.
καθ’ ἡμέραν ἡ τέρψις — i.e. ἡ καθ’ ἡ. τέρψις. Cf. c. 18. 3. For the reason of this transposition, see Intr. p. xl. The object here is to contrast καθ’ ἡμέραν with διετησίοις, in which there is a legitimate gain, since καθ’ ἡμέραν is always used of ordinary business, whereas διετησίοις applies to the holidays: also to extend the force of καθ’ ἡ. to ἐκπλήσσει and τὸ λυπηρόν, as in c. 7, 2 ἐξ Ἰταλίας belongs partly to ποιεῖσθαι. τὸ λυπηρὸν— of the petty worries of life, which oppress the middle classes, and take all the pleasure out of life. Pericles allndes to Sparta. Cf. Burke, On American Taxation, ‘If I were to detail the imports, I could show how many enjoyments they procure which deceive the burden of life.’
Τὰ πάντα —cf. c. 11, 6, 36, 4, ‘all that we need.’ The echo in πάσης ... πάντα is what Cornificius calls traductio. It is a variety of παρονομασία. Cf. VI. 87, 4 ἐν παντὶ γὰρ πᾶς χωρίῳ. VI. 11, 1 διὰ πολλοῦ γε καὶ πολλῶν ὄντων. οἰκειοτέρᾳ κ.τ.λ.—ht. ‘the enjoyment with which we reap the harvest of the good things produced in our own land is not more our own than that of the productions of the rest of the world,’ i.e. ‘we have the advantage of enjoying the products of other countries as freely as those of our own.’
τὰ ἀγαθὰ —not the products of the soil only, but those of the mind as well.
αὐτοῦ —adv., cf. c. 7, 2.
Καὶ —‘further.’ Here Pericles, who has not before openly alluded to Sparta, first avows the contrast.
ταῖς μελέταις ... τοῖσδε —the second dat. restricts the first.
τῶν ἐναντίων —with διαφέρομεν. κοινὴν—Intr. p. lxx. end.
ξενηλασίαις —‘alien acts,’ one of the arcana imperii by which the Ephors tried to keep ont foreign manners. Strangers were not allowed to settle in Sparta. The Athenians felt this as an insult. Cf. I. 144. Aristoph. Av. 1012 ὥσπερ ἐν Λακεδαἰμονι ξενηλατεῖται. ὃ ... ὠφεληθείη — i.e. ὃ εἰ ἴδοι μὴ κρυφθὲν ὠφεληθείη ἄν. Thuc. says that he was unable to obtain information about Spartan military matters owing to the concealment which the government practised. v. 9, 5. Cf. c. 8, 4, and τὸ κρυπτὸν τῆς πολιτεἰας v. 68, 2.
τῷ ἀφ’ ἡμῶν ... εὐψύχῳ some what similar is c. 87, 1 τὰ ἀπὸ τῆς τύχης. Demosth. 54, 36 — ἡ ἀπ’ αὐτῶν ἑτοιμότης. ὄση καὶ ὅα πρὸς τὸ ποιεῖν ὁτιοῦν ὑπάρχει. A rare use outside Thuc.: not found in Aristoph., very rare in the orators.
ἐς τὰ ἔργα —contrasted with παρασκευαῖς. Contrast c. 11, 5.
ταῖς παιδείαις —‘respective methods of education.’
ἐπιπόνῳ ἀσκήσει —of the laborious training to which young Spartans were subjected, being taught to imitate the courage and gravity of men. The life they led was half military, half monastic. At Athens ἐπίπονος was only associated with γῆρας, not with νεότης. Plat. Rep. I. p. 329 D.
ἀνειμένως διαιτώμενοι —cf. I. 6, 3 πρῶτοι Ἀθηναῖοι τόν τε σίδηρον κατέθεντο καὶ ἀνειμένῃ τῇ διαίτῃ ἐς τὸ τρυφερώτερον μετέστησαν. It was conflicting ideas that drove Athens and Sparta into war. Doderlein says ‘demonstratur (in this speech) non impotentia tantum et dominandi cupidine ad bellum tam atrox tamque diutinum impulsos esse, sed etiam diversa recti honestique aestimatione et constanti sui utrosque judicii propugnatione.’
τοὺς ἰσοπαλεῖς κ —Editors are not agreed as to the meaning of these words; there are two interpretations: (1) ‘equal dangers,’ i.e. dangers as great as any the Spartans, for all their training, venture to face (so most edd.); (2) ‘struggles in which equal, but not superior, forces oppose us.’ So Kr., Cl., Tillmanns. The general sense favours (1), the Greek favours (2). According to (2), the reservation is implied ‘we do not risk a battle against superior forces, as when the enemy invade Attica.’
Τεκμήριον —see c. 15, 3.
καθ’ ἑαυτούς — i.e. alone, without the help of their allies. καθ’ ἑκάστους is impossible because it would refer to detachments of the Lacedaemonians: had Πελοποννήσιοι stood in place of Λακεδαιμόνιοι, it would have been right.
πάντων —sc. τῶν ξυμμάχων. αὐτοὶ—‘by ourselves.’ The words are arranged so that a great emphasis falls on κρατοῦμεν, up to which point, the exact meaning of αὐτοὶ, which is contrasted with μετὰ πάντων, remains in doubt.
περὶ — = ὐπὲρ, as often in Isocr. and Demosth. Cf. c. 41, 5. Aristoph. Eq. 767 περὶ σοῦ μάχομαι, 781, 1038.
τὰ πλείω — cf. c. 11, 4 τὰ πολλά.
Τε —cf. c. 11, 4. This new fact has an important bearing on τὰ πλείω κρατοῦμεν, enhancing the value of the victories, and excusing the reverses.
ἐπὶ πολλὰ —with ἐπίπεμψιν. At the same time that we are busy with our fleet, we have to send out our citizens on many expeditions by land.
ἡμῶν αὐτῶν — i.e. having no allies available.
ἐπίπεμψιν — (see c. 14, 1) = διὰ τὸ ἡμῶν αὐτῶν (‘partitive’) ἐπιπέμπειν. αὐχοῦσιν—poetical word. Herod. II. 160. αὔχημα, very rare in Attic, occurs in c. 62, 4.
ἀπεῶσθαι —middle.
ὑφ’ ἁ. ἡσσῆσθαι —c. 34, 6.
Καίτοι —resumes the main thought which was in- terrupted at τεκμήριον δέ: ‘and surely.’
ῥαθυμίᾳ —‘with a light heart.’ Cf. ἀνειμένως διαιτώμενοι above. Not in its bad sense. Shil. quotes [Arist.] Eth. VI. 1 οὔτε πλείω οὔτε ἐλάττω πονεῖν οὐδὲ ῥᾳθυμεῖν. πόνων—this word had great significance to the Spartans and Thebans, denoting the ‘training’ which they thought so necessary to success. It is constantly used by Pindar, who holds that πόνος and δαπανή (‘outlay’) together win victory in the games. Observe the παρονομασία in πόνων, νόμων, τρόπων. μετὰ .. ἀνδρείας—the Spartan manliness is the result of military rules, the Athenian of habit formed through our mode of life. ἀνδρείας belongs to both gens., and νόμων ἀνδρείας, τρόπων ἀ. form a chiasmus with ῥαθυμίᾳ, πόνων μ. ἐθέλομεν—‘omnes recentioris aetatis pro ἐθέλοιμεν scripserunt ἐθέλομεν.’ Wichmann. Sta. thinks that Dion. Hal. really wrote the indic., and that this, like other passages he quotes from Thuc., has been altered by Byzantine scribes in his text. The critics ‘corrected’ Dionysius from their MSS. of Thuc.
περιγίγνεται —Dion. Hal. says Thuc. ought to have written περιέσται, because ἐθέλω points to the fut., but there is no reference to time at all here, and if there were the pres. γίγνομαι can apply to the fut. Trans. ‘we are the gainers.’
τοῖς μέλλουσιν ἀλγεινοῖς —it is a question whether the dat. is causal, ‘through coming troubles,’ or dat. commodi, ‘for the sake of.’ Probably it is causal.
ἐς αὐτὰ — τὰ ἀλ. γεινὰ ‘when face to face with trouble.’ The καὶ is paratactic, ‘while,’ and the verb, περιγίγνεται, is gradually lost sight of, until we reach ἐν ἄλλοις, which belongs rather to what follows. This is a good example of Thuc.'s πολύνους βραχυλογία. ἀτολμοτέρους ... φαίνεσθαι —with φαίνομαι Thuc. more often omits than inserts the partic., where an adj. is used. Contrast c. 51, 3 σῶμα αὔταρκες ὂν ἐφάνη.
Φιλοκαλοῦμεν —these words have been assidu- ously translated, paraphrased, and burlesqued. They not only defend Athenian ἀνδρεία, but contain sound advice to his hearers not to let their love of art degenerate into bad taste and mere display, nor their culture undermine their manliness.
εὐτελείας —‘simplicity,’ avoidance of the gorgeous ornamentation that afterwards characterised Asianism.
φιλοσοφοῦμεν —‘combine culture with manliness.’ Observe the ἰσόκωλον (equal number of syllables in two clauses), 11 syllables on each side of καί: this is a variety of παρομοίωσις (Intr. p. lii.), and the παρονομασία in φιλοκαλοῦμεν, φιλοσοφοῦμεν. ἄνευ μαλακίας — Demosth. 3, 24 and 25 has a passage probably suggested by this, in which he contrasts the magnificence of the public buildings with the simplicity of the private life in former times. Pericles refers to the Spartan idea, that learning was unsuited to men of action. The idea is not confined to Sparta.
πλούτῳ —‘we employ our wealth as means for action, not as a subject for boasting.’ Cf. c. 41, 2.
τὸ πένεσθαι —put First, because emphatic. ‘To admit poverty is no disgrace.’ Cf. c. 37, 1. There were penalties for idleness at Athens.
αἴσχιον —another γνώμη in the form of an antithesis. Cf. c. 11, 5, and 2, 3 and 4 below. The comparative implies ‘even if poverty were disgraceful (as some say).’ Plat. Apol. p. 39 A μὴ ού τοῦτ’ ἦ? χαλεπόν, θάνατον ἐκφυγεῖν, ἀλλὰ πολὺ χαλεπώτερον πονηρίαν: the first member must be negative in this idiom, in which opposition is mixed with comparison. Cf. οὐδὲν ἄλλο ... ἀλλ’ ἢ in Plato.
Τοῖς αὐτοῖς —sc. ἡμῖν, all the citizens being meant. ‘In attending to our private business, we do not neglect the state.’ It was Pericles' object to induce all the citizens to take part in politics.
ἕτερα πρὸς ἔργα — i.e. trade, manufacture and agriculture.
τετραμμένοις —c. 25, 2.
ἀπράγμονα —to many, πράγματα were tiresome. Cf. c. 64, 4, and Intr. p. lxxii.
αὐτοὶ —‘we in person,’ the citizens in the ecclesia, as contrasted with the Spartan government, which was almost entirely in the hands of the Ephors and Gerusia.
ἤτοι κρίνομέν γε —in Thuc., the more certain, but less important alternative is put first when these particles are used. But this does not seem to be the case in other authors. ‘At any rate we are sound judges, if we cannot originate.’ This contains an encouragement to the citizens to exercise their right of voting in the ecclesia, since they were capable of pronouncing an opinion on any policy proposed to them: but there are cases in which the citizens conspicuously erred in their judgment. Here, as in other parts, Pericles states his ideal of the constitution.
ἐνθυμούμεθα —of the statesmen.
τοὺς λόγους —alluding to the ‘laconic’ brevity of the Spartans.
ἀλλὰ μὴ — i.e. μᾶλλον βλάβην ἡγούμενοι μὴ προδιδαχθῆναι; the compar. as in 1 above.
προδιδαχθῆναι —by the orators, to whom, in after years, the people became accustomed to look for political guidance.
πρότερον ἢ —for πρότερον ... πρίν, a very rare construction except in Herod., Thuc., and Antiphon. Cf. c. 65, 12.
ἢ ἐπὶ ἃ δεῖ ἔργῳ ἐλθεῖν — i.e. ἣ ἐργῷ ἐλθεῖν ἐπὶ ἃ δεῖ ( ἔργῳ ἐλθεῖν). Cf. Plat. Phaedo, p. 114 B οἳ ἂν δόξωσι διαφερόντως πρὸς τὸ ὁσίως βιῶναι, i.e. οἳ ἂν δόξωσι διαφερόντως βιῶναι πρὸς τὸ ὁσίως ( βιῶναι), where, though Stallbaum's quotations are irrevelant, his explanation is right, in spite of Archer-Hind's objection. The verb really belongs to the 1st member, and is ‘understood’ with the 2nd.
ἐπὶ ... ἐλθεῖν —cf. ἐπεξελθεῖν of actions) ( διεξελθεῖν of words.
Ὥστε —explains what precedes, as though it were ὅτι τολμῶμεν. ἐπιχειρήσομεν—‘mean to undertake.’
ἐκλογίζεσθαι —sc. μάλιστα, ‘give the fullest consideration.’
ὃ — adverbial accus. ‘on the contrary.’ Cf. quod before si. (This is the old explanation, that of Hudson; but it was generally abandoned in favour of the view that ὃ is nom., and to be explained by anacoluthon. The edd. of the last decade have returned to the old view, especially since 1883—Schneider in N. Jahrb. '83, p. 457.) Cf. τὸ δέ. It refers to the whole of the preceding sentence.
ψυχὴν —only here in Thuc.= ‘spirit’; elsewhere ‘life.’ Cl. compares εὔψυχος. οἱ κ.τ.λ. —this defines courage, as distinct from θράσος. Aristotle ( Eth. II. 2, 7 ) places the virtue ἀνδρεία midway between the vices δειλία and θράσος. Cf. Plat. Protag. 351 A, Aristot. Eth. III. 7, 11 fol.
δεινὰ —of the hardships of war.
ήδέα —of the pleasures of peace.
σαφέστατα —courage is one of the four cardinal virtues (justice, temperance, wisdom, and courage). Socrates held that courage consists, not only in being used to danger, but also in the knowledge of good and evil.
μὴ ἀποτρεπόμενοι —this sums up the preceding sections, in which the statement φιλοσοφοῦμεν ἄνευ μαλακίας has been expanded. διὰ ταῦτα= ὅμως.
Ἀρετὴν —in its restricted sense, as Aristot. Rhet. I. 9, 4,=the power of doing good; not in the general sense of the Ethics (= perfection of man and of his functions).
ἐνηντιώμεθα —the perf. denotes ‘we have always been unlike,’ a regular use of the perf. In Aristoph. Av. 385 the MSS. give ἠναντιώμεθα against the metre.
δρῶντες —cf. Pliny, Ep. III. 4, 6 conservandum veteris officii meritum novo videbatur.
τοὺς —‘our.’
βεβαιότερος —‘a firmer friend,’ cf. Aristot. Eth. IX. 7, 2 οἱ εὖ πεποιηκότες φιλοῦσι καὶ ἀγαπῶσι τοὺς εὖ πεπονθότας. ὸ δράσας κ.τ.λ.— i.e. ὁ δράσας τὴν χάριν ἐστι βεβαιότερος ὥστε σῴζειν τὴν χάριν ὀφειλομένην δῑ εὐνοίας ἐκείνου ᾧ δέδωκε τὴν χάριν. Here, as often, ὥστε is inserted where the simple infin. might have been used. Cf. c. 2, 4; Plat. Protag. p. 338 C ἀδύνατον ὥστε σοφώτερόν τιν’ ἑλέσθαι. τὴν χάριν—regarded from the side of both giver and recipient, thus combining the meanings ‘favour’ and ‘gratitude,’ as with gratia.
ὀφειλομένην — ‘as due to him’ ( i.e. to the giver). ὀφειλομένην and σῴζειν are connected, being properly used of property given in trust to another's keeping. Plat. Rep. I. p. 332 A compared with ib. p. 333 C.
δῑ εὐνοίας —‘by (the continuation of) his goodwill towards him to whom he showed the kindness.’
δέδωκε —as in Acts, 20, 35 μακάριόν ἐστι μᾶλλον διδόναι ἢ λαμβάνειν. Livy, XXII. 13 sub fin., Sallust. Cat. 6 , 5
σῴζειν —as this means ‘to retain the good-will or gratitude of his friends whom he has benefited,’ the middle might be expected: but the object of the act. is to represent the result of the benefit, not on the mind of the doer but on the mind of the recipient; the doer is said to ‘keep safe’ what the recipient ‘keeps safe’ for him, viz. τὴν χάριν. ἀμβλύτερος—‘more indifferent.’ Is it not true?
ἐς —‘as a.’ Cf. Andoc. II. 23 εἰς χρήματα μεγάλας δωρέας. χάριν—free service which will win him gratitude. χάρις, a free gift, is contrasted with ὀφείλημα, a loan, and so a debt.
τῆς ἐλευθερίας τῷ πιστῷ — ‘the confidence due to our liberal ideas.’ Cf. c. 37, 2 ἐλευθέρως. (Not ‘liberality.’)
ἀδεῶς —‘without fear,’ lest, by helping others, we should be injuring ourselves.
Τε —sums up the preceding remarks.
παίδευσιν — not ‘school,’ but ‘liberal education.’ Pericles represents Athens as the Ἑλλάδος Ἑλλάς. Cf. Plat. Protag. 337 D Athens τῆς σοφίας πρυτανεῖον. Isocr. 15, 295 Athens πάντων τῶν δυναμένων λέγειν ἢ παιδεύειν δοκεῖ γεγενῆσθαι διδάσκαλος. Plat. Laws 641 E all Greeks consider Athens φιλόλογός τε καὶ πολύλογος. καθ’ ἕκαστον—Athens as the sum of all the citizens ( τὴν πᾶσαν), with a perfect πολιτεία, is contrasted with the individuals, with their perfect τρόποι. See c. 37, 1.
δοκεῖν ἄν —this ἄν, like the other two, belongs to παρέχεσθαι. παρ’ ἡμῶν—this refers to παίδευσιν, and represents the excellence of the individual as proceeding from the spirit of the whole state.
ἐπὶ πλεῖστ’ ἂν εἴδη —‘to the most varied circumstances.’
μετὰ χαρίτων μάλιστα εὐτραπέλως — i.e. μάλιστα μετά τε χαρίτων καὶ εὐτραπέλως, ‘with the utmost grace and versatility.’ Probably Pericles had in mind the famous lines of Pindar, Pyth. I. 92 to end, μὴ δολωθῆ?ς εὐτραπέλοις κέρδεσσ’, κ.τ.λ., and wished to show that εὐτραπελία in the Athenian character was a virtue.
τὸ σῶμα —= ἑαυτόν .
Ἐν τῷ παρόντι κόμπος —‘passing boast.’
τάδε — see c. 42, 1.
δύναμις —see c. 36, 4.
σημαίνει —cf. Antiphon, Tetr. Γ. γ, 3 ὡς οὐδὲ τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἠμύνατο αὐτόν, αὐτὸ τὸ ἔργον σημαίνει. See c. 15, 4.
Τῶν νῦν —sc. πόλεων. ἀκοῆς κρείσσων—‘superior to what men have heard of her.’
ἐς πεῖραν ἔρχεται —‘proves herself in the hour of trial.’
τῷ πολεμίῳ —collective. [
ἐπελθόντι ]—spurious, for (1) it destroys the balance to τῷ ὑπηκόῳ, (2) the sense requires that enemies in general should be referred to, not merely enemies who attack Athens; nor could Pericles mean that Athens never attacked anyone.
ἔχει —= παρέχει. Cf. c. 61, 2.
οἵων — i.e. φαύλων. οὐχ ὑπ’ ἀξίων —= ὑπ’ ἀναξίων, the neg. preceding the prep. as usual. Contrast c. 49, 3.
Σημείων —‘clear proofs,’ viz. in the results of Athenian activity. οὐ δή τοι—δὴ as in c. 40, 3, emphasizing οὐ ‘by no means,’ while τοι ‘assuredly’ also belongs to
οὐ. ἀμάρτυρον —‘without witnesses,’ since all contemporaries, and above all her enemies knew her greatness from her acts in every land and sea. The word has its forensic sense, as used of a plea supported only by the speaker's own testimony.
τοῖς τε νῦν —agent; this disappears in later Attic, except in the cases already noticed. See c. 7, 2.
καὶ —at the beginning of a parenthesis. See c. 2, 4.
Ὁμήρου — i.e. not needing a poet to exaggerate our history. Of course Thuc. did not object to Homer as a poet, but only as a historian.
ὅστις — i.e. ποιητής. A similar change to a relative clause is not uncommon in Isocrates; e.g. 5, 153 τοὺς μὴ μόνον κεχαρισμένως διειλεγμένους, ἀλλ’ οἵτινες ἂν οὕτω ποιήσωσι τὰς σὰς πράξεις θαυμάζειν ὡς οὐδενὸς ἄλλου. (The view that Pericles is intended to reprove Homer for saying so little of the ‘sons of Theseus’ is quite untenable.)
ἔπεσι —‘poetry.’
τὸ αὐτίκα —‘for the moment.’ Cf. I. 21 οὔτε ὡς ποιηταὶ ὑμνήκασι πιστεύων, οὔτε ὡς λογογράφοι ξυνέθεσαν ἐπὶ τὸ προσαγωγότερον τῆ? ἀκροάσει ἢ ἀληθέστερον. The mythical element in early Greek history was due to the influence of epic. See Intr. C. III. init.
τῶν δὲ ἔργων —the influence of the rel. is here lost, on the principle of c. 4, 5, 34, 5. The μὲν aud δὲ are paratactic. The gen. belongs equally to ὑπόνοιαν and ἀλήθεια. ὑπόνοιαν—‘the conception of the facts,’ aroused by poetry. So ὑπονοεῖν ‘to conjecture.’
ἡ ἀλήθεια — i.e. the knowledge gained from investigation of the facts.
ἀλλὰ —antithesis to οὐ ... παρασχόμενοι. καλῶν τε κἀγαθῶν —the MSS. κακῶν is explained to mean ‘of the harm and of the good we have done.’ For κακῶν cf. κακοπαθεῖ above. But Pericles is talking of Atheniau prowess, not contrasting the harm done to her enemies with the benefits conferred on her friends: nor is ἀγαθὰ ‘benefits’ here, but ‘acts of valour,’ which of course inflict harm on enemies. Nor is the reference to the Greek estimate of εὐτυχία, as a compound of good and ill, for which see c. 44, 1: for Pericles is here dealing not with τύχη, but with Athenian γνώμη. The substitution of κακῶν for καλῶν in this phrase, even if it made sense, would be a miserable joke.
ξυγκατοικίσαντες — i.e. while opening the whole world to our prowess, we have at the same time everywhere established monuments of that prowess, in colonies and states made subject to us, and in the scenes of many brave actions.
Περὶ —c. 39, 2.
τοιαύτης —this word sums up the whole of the ἔπαινος A, and prepares the way for ἔπαινος B.
δικαιοῦν —an Ionic and old Attic word, used once by Plato, Laws, p. 934 A. Its usual sense is that of ἀξιοῦν, but sometimes it = ‘to punish.’
οἵδε .. μὴ ἀφαιρεθῆναι αὐτὴν —the clue to the construction is οὐκ ἀφαιροῦμαι τούσδε τὴν πόλιν. τῶν λειπομένων —c. 2, 4.
εἰκὸς —c. 10, 1.
ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς — repeats περὶ ... πόλεως. κάμνειν—an exhortation to persevere in spite of the hardships of the war.
Διὸ δὴ καὶ —‘this is the very reason why.’
τῆς πόλεως —in preference to τῶν ἀνδρῶν, (1) to encourage his listeners (2) because the clearest proof of the greatness of the Atbenians was the greatness of Athens herself.
περὶ ἴσου —‘for an equal prize.’ Kr. quotes Dem. 8, 60 οὐχ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἴσων ὑμῖν τε καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἔσθ’ ὁ κίνδυνος. ( κινδυνεύειν, ἀγωνίζεσθαι and so forth, with περί, ὑπέρ or ἕνεκα are common in the orators. In Andoc. I. 10 εἰς τὸν ἀγῶνα τόνδε κατέστην, περὶ τῶν μυστηρίων ὡς οὔτε μοι ἠσέβηται, the comma should be placed after μυστηρίων .)
τῶνδε —referring to what precedes. In speeches ὅδε is fairly often used thus of οὗτος. Cf. 40, 2, 60, 6, 63, 2, 71, 3, 72, 1, 3. The meaning was aided by gesture and emphasis, so that the use is akin to the deictic ὅδε. The phrase οὔτως εἶχεν frequently refers to what follows in the orators. Antiphon 6, 9 and 14, Isocr. 4, 163 .
μηδὲν —hypothetical rel., so that every nation is included, though Pericles has Sparta in his mind.
ὁμοίως —this, like μηδέν, softens the expression and makes it vaguer. It also increases the force of the exhortation κἀμνειν ὑπὲρ τῆς πόλεως, by increasing the number of states with which Athens is contrasted.
ἐφ’ οἷς —for τούτων ἐφ’ οἷς. Cf. c. 34, 6.
σημείοις —approaches very near the sense of παραδείγμασι: the manifest proofs are the acts in which the fallen had a share.
Καὶ —‘and in fact.’
ὕμνησα —originally of poetic praise, then of a panegyric in prose. Plat. Repub. 364 A.
αἱ τῶνδε —sc. ταῦτα, their deeds justify my words; for ‘they added fresh lustre to the glories which I praised in our city’: therefore, in speaking the praises of the city, I was praising them. The sense is τὰ τῆς πόλεως ἃ ὕμνησα, ταῦτα ἐκεῖνοι ἐκόσμησαν ταῖς ἀρεταῖς. L. and S. wrongly supply τὴν πόλιν, with several edd., to ἐκόσμησαν. ἀρεταὶ—‘valiant deeds.’
οὐκ ἂν —the whole result of this sentence is positive, but the idiom by which the verb after οὐχ ὥσπερ agrees with the thing in the simile and not the thing compared, has nothing to do with this passage. ( Plat. Gorg. 522 A ἀπορεῖν ποιεῖ, οὐχ ὥσπερ ἐγὼ ηὐώχουν ὑμᾶς .)
πολλοῖς —ethic dat., and equivalent here to πολλῶν, but preferred because of the gen. following. ‘There are few Greeks of whom it could be said that tbe report of their deeds does not do more than balance the reality.’
τῶνδε —depends on λόγος. τῷ ἔργῳ —= τῶν ἔργων τῆ? ἀληθείᾳ c. 41, 4.
ἀνδρὸς ἀρετὴν —‘virtue in a man.’
πρώτη τε —= εἴτε πρώτη μηνύει εἴτε τελευταία βεβαιοῖ. For some, especially the younger men, their death was the first μηνυτὴς of the worth which they had not had a previous chance of showing; for others it was but the final confirmation of what had been amply proved before.
καταστροφή — Soph. O. C. 103: meiosis for death.
Τοῖς τἆλλα χείροσι —not referring to any among the dead, but purely hypothetical, and intending to lead to a conclusion a fortiori. If men who have often proved themselves base can by one act rehabilitate themselves, how much more are these men noble who never in any case sbrank from danger? The dat. depends on δίκαιόν ( ἐστι ).
προτίθεσθαι — = προτιμᾶσθαι (see 4 below), pass. They may have preferred wealth and ease to serving their country: in estimating them, we must prefer their one great sacrifice.
ἀφανίσαντες —so that not the least trace of their failings remains.
ὠφέλησαν —the aor. are gnomic.
ἐκ τῶν ἰδιῶν —‘through their private life.’ Pericles is thinking of the indifference to state affairs against which he warns his hearers. See Intr. p. lxxiii.
Τὴν ἔτι —‘the continued enjoyment’ of wealth.
πενίας ἐλπίδι, ὡς .. αὐτὴν —= οὔτε ἐλπίδι, ὡς διαφυγὼν τὴν πενίαν κἂν ἔτι πλουτήσειεν. But πενίας is attracted to ἐλπίδι because of the antithesis to πλούτῳ. ἔτι—some day, as in prophecies and threats.
πλουτήσειεν —ingressive.
ἀναβολὴν ἐποίησατο —these periphrases will be found collected in the index, s.v. ποιεῖσθαι. ποθεινοτέραν—a strong word used of things that are desirable. ποθεῖν is the regular word in oratory to describe the supposed anxiety of tbe hearers to have information on any point. Antiph. 5, 64 ; Andoc. 1, 70 ; Lys. 14. 1; Isocr. 12, 167 ; 15, 43; Isaeus 11, 19; Dem. 4, 28 ; 21, 77; 50, 43; Aeschin. 2, 7 and 44.
αὐτῶν —again a loose reference to what has been described, here = πλούτου ὴ ἔτι ἀπόλαυσις and τὸ ἔτι πλουτῆσαι. λαβόντες —= ὑπολαβόντες, as ‘I take it’ is used by us for ‘I suppose.’ Often in Thuc.
μετ’ αὐτοῦ —sc. τοῦ κινδύνου. It goes with ἐφίεσθαι also.
τῶν δὲ — viz. the enjoyment and the hope: ‘to face this danger in exacting vengeance before tbey indulged in these hopes.’ The chief emphasis is on μετ’ αὐτοῦ. (Only Bh., Kraz and Ste. among recent edd. retain ἐφίεσθαι ).
ἐλπίδι μὲν —the construction differs from that of ἔργῳ, which is adverbial.
τοῦ κατορθώσειν —the fut. is due to the prominence of tbe idea of futurity here. Cf. c. 13, 9. The infin. approximates in these cases to its use in Oratio Obliqua, in that the writer allows the thought of the person to whom he refers to influence the tense ( ἀφανές ἐστιν εἰ κατορθώσομεν). It is characteristic of Thuc. to present an action as it was regarded by the actors themselves. M. T. 113.
ἔργῳ —‘but in the task actually before them at the moment, tbey resolved to trust to themselves’: i.e. the future must be left to τύχη (Providence); the present required γνώμη. ἐν αὐτῷ—what can this be but the act just described, i.e. ἐν τῷ ... σφίσιν αὐτοῖς πεποιθέναι? The sense is ‘in carrying out their resolution,’ i.e. in the struggle itself.
τὸ ἀμύνεσθαι καὶ παθεῖν —cf. Isocr. 2, 36 ἢν δ’ ἀναγκασθῆ?ς κινδυνεύειν, αἱροῦ τεθνάναι καλῶς μᾶλλον ἢ ζῆν αἰσχρῶς. 4, 95 τοῖς καλοῖς κἀγαθοῖς αἱρετώτερόν ἐστι καλῶς ἀποθανεῖν ἢ ζῆν αἰσχρῶς. Intr. p. xl.
τὸ αἰσχρὸν τοῦ λόγου — i.e. τὸ ὀνειδίζεσθαι ὡς δειλοί (Schol.).
ἔφυγον —antithesis to ὑπέμειναν, as very often, e.g. Lys. 13, 27 and 63.
τὸ ἔργον —= τὸν κίνδυνον. δῑ ἐλαχίστου καιροῦ τύχης —human γνώμη is often crossed by divine τύχη, and in this case was so modified that their highest hopes were not realised. The edd. quote Horace Sat. I. 1, 7 horae momento cita mors venit aut victoria laeta, but horae momento denotes a far greater length of time, and does not take in τύχης. But this sentence, the close of the ἔπαινος τῶν ἀποθανόντων, in its intense solemnity, resembles ( mutatis mutandis) the words of St. Paul (1 Cor. 15, 52 , 54) ‘We shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. ... O grave, wbere is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?’ So here Pericles refers to the rapidity and sud denness with which τύχη acts. Hence ‘in a moment ordained by Fate, at the crisis not of fear but of glory—they passed.’ (Behrendt rightly objects to Steup's proposal.)
ἀπηλλάγησαν —absolute, a poetical use. Dr. Kennedy ( Cam. Phil. Proceedings 1882, p. 20 fol.) well says that the speaker's voice ‘sinks to the sad and solemn cadence of ἀπηλλάγησαν.’ Supply τοῦ βίου .
Καὶ —‘and thus.’ Here the πίστις B is summed up, preparatory to passing on to the προτροπή (exhortation).
προσηκόντως τῇ πόλει —‘in a manner worthy of Athens.’
τοὺς λοιποὺς —= τοὺς λειπομένους of 41, 5.
ἀσφαλεστέραν — sc. διάνοιαν, though they should pray for a spirit less fatal (in its results). This again shows that τύχη had, in Pericles' view, to some extent crossed the purpose of the fallen.
εὔσεσθαι —for ἀσφάλεια is the gift of God alone. Cf. c. 87, 3. εὐτολμία depends on human resolution.
λόγῳ — i.e. from the words of the orator.
ὠφελίαν —explained in ὅσα ... ἀγαθὰ ἔνεστιν. (On the orthography, Herodian remarks ὠφέλεια· ποιητικώτερον διὰ τὸ ι— καὶ παροξύνεται .)
ἣν —with μηκύνοι. Cf. c. 42, 1.
πρὸς — coram, with a verb of speaking. See c. 5, 7. Cf. III. 53, 4 πρὸς εἰδότας πάντα λελέξεται. καθ’ ἡμέραν—this daily contemplation of the greatness of Athens will lead to a lasting love for her: and that love should be an incentive to noble actions.
τολμῶντες —‘by courage, by knowing what was their duty, and by their sense of honour in the hour of conflict.’
αὐτὰ — i.e. τὴν δύναμιν, but expressing the details of the power. Cf. c. 1. οὖν—‘on that account.’
κάλλιστον —because, while they contributed to the advancement of the state, they obtained a splendid return.
ἔρανον —‘contribution’; both the association and the money subscribed to it were termed ἔρανος, which denotes combination for financial purposes of whatever kind. The object is τὴν ἀρετήν, κ. ἔρανον being predicate.
προιέμενοι —stronger than the ordinary ἔρανον ἐσφέρειν, and used because it is the regular word for sacrificing anything for the state; e.g. Lysias 21, 12 ὑμῖν οὐδὲν προεῖνται τῶν σφετέρων αὐτῶν .
Κοινῇ ... ἰδίᾳ —the antithesis is as obvious as it is forcible. They gave their lives for the common good; they gained for themselves undying fame.
γὰρ —Pericles refers to the distribution of profits made by a financial ἔρανος. (All this is quite clear when Andoc. I. 133-135 is compared: he speaks of the members of an ἔρανος got up by Agyrrhius to farm the tax on imports and exports; the object of the business-men who joined it was διανείμασθαι τὰ κοινά.)
τὸν ἀγήρων ἔπαινον —the praise (which rewards good deeds).
ἐλάμβανον —the tense represents the result of the act ( διδόντες) as growing out of the act itself, as in Lat. ita vitas dederunt ut acciperent, contrasted with ita vitas dederunt ut acceperint.
ἐπισημότατον —the pred. serves to connect the adj. with the rel. clause which follows.
οὐκ ... μᾶλλον, ἀλλ’ —cf. c. 40, 1; 44, 4; ἀλλὰ for ἢ (only after a neg.) gives greater emphasis to the second clause.
παρὰ τῷ ἐντυχόντι ... καιρῷ —a curious expression, since παρὰ with dat. is confined to persons; ‘on every fitting occasion, whether by word or deed.’ This construction is only found when the thing is almost personified; here αἰείμνηστος παρὰ καιρῷ λόγου implies persons: in c. 89, 9 and VIII. 95, 4 Thuc. writes παρὰ ταῖς ναυσὶν εἶναι, in v. 26, 5 γενομένῳ παρ’ ἀμφοτέροις τοῖς πράγμασι. There is only one case in the orators, viz. Andoc. I. 116 ὴ στήλη παρ’ ᾗ ἕστηκας κελεύει .
Σημαίνει —c. 8, 3. Cf. v. 20, 2 ἐς τὰ προγεγενημένα σημαίνει. ἄγραφος μνήμη—cf. c. 38, 3, which shows that by τῆς γνώμης κ.τ.λ. is meant ‘engraved on the heart rather than in material records.’ The difficulty is to explain the art. with ἔργου; it is due to στηλῶν above, the records having been referred to in that word. As the memory is carried in men's hearts, it is confined to no particular country.
Τὸ εὔδαιμον ... τὸ δὲ ἐλεύθερον —predicates, the art. being added because the adj. is used as a noun.
μὴ περιορᾶσθε —‘do not be too anxious about the dangers of war’; the advice is the result of the doctrine ‘happiness is attained by courage,—by retaining a cheerful spirit in peril,’ which cheerfulness Pericles claims to be characteristic of the Athenians as the result of their free institutions ( 39, 4), and now urges them to retain in the war.
Οὐ γὰρ —a paradox: misery is identical with cowardice, since cowardice must involve misery. Therefore those who are prosperous must avoid cowardice ( i.e. be ready to sacrifice their lives), whereas to those who are already miserable cowardice involves no addition to their misery. This decides the meaning of περιορᾶσθε above.
ἡ ἐναντία μεταβολὴ —‘the change from good to bad fortune.’
κινδυνεύεται —c. 35, 1.
ἐν οἷς —‘in whose case.’
μάλιστα — ‘in comparison with others,’ as often. Cf. c. 49, 1, and μᾶλλον ἑτέρων. τὰ διαφέροντα—‘the difference.’
Μετὰ τοῦ —cf. I. 6, 5; VI. 65, 1. ‘Cowardice and disgrace together.’
κάκωσις —= ἡ ἐναντία μεταβολὴ above, according to the doctrine that cowardice is misery, and therefore to the prosperous involves degradation: κάκωσις· ταπείνωσις Hesych.
μετὰ ῥώμης —‘when he is fired by courage and the general hope,’ viz. that his side will win.
ἀναίσθητος — ‘painless.’
Διόπερ —‘This is the reason why,’ viz. because in their death they were εὐδαίμονες, or, as he says presently, εὐτυχεῖς. νῦν—belongs to τῶνδε= τῶν νῦν θαπτομένων, and inserted because since the γνώμη with which 43, 3 opened, Pericles had been generalising.
τοκέας —poetical, for γονέας. πάρεστε —contrast ἐπίστανται below: cf. c. 11, 1. It is clear that the Greek orators interchanged direct address and reflection more rapidly than we can do.
πολυτρόποις —of experiences as varied as those of Odysseus.
τὸ δ’ εὐτυχὲς —sc. ἐστίν; here follows a remarkable definition of εὐτυχία. Intr. p. xl. fol.
οἳ ἂν —cf. c. 62, 4.
τῆς εὐπρεπεστάτης —belongs both to τελευτῆς and λύπης. ‘This is good fortune, to have gained an honourable death, like theirs, or an honourable grief, like yours.’ With ὑμεῖς supply ὥσπερ. καὶ οἷς—the change from οἳ ἂν shows that Pericles is not now speaking generally, but referring to the fallen particularly, so that οἷς ... ξυνεμετρήθη= οἷς ἂν ὥσπερ τοῖσδε ξυμμετρηθῇ. ἐνευδαιμονῆσαι —= εὐδαιμονῆσαι ἐν αὐτῷ ( i.e. τῷ βίῳ). Infin. of purpose. Intr. p. xli.
ἐνταλαιπωρῆσαι —‘whose life has been meted out to prosper in and to suffer in alike,’ i.e. ‘they may be deemed happy in whose life prosperity and adversity are equally balanced.’ A philosophical definition of human εὐτυχία, for which cf. Pindar, Pyth. 7, 20 φαντί γε μὰν οὕτω κεν ἀνδρὶ παρμονίμαν θάλλουσαν εὐδαιμονίαν τὰ καὶ τὰ φέρεσθαι: that man, says Pericles, is happy who has τὰ καὶ τὰ in equal proportions. ( Alii alia, says Herw.: those who do not like this explanation will find others elsewhere. Sta. reads ἐντελευτῆσαι {ἡ εὐδαιμονία} ξυν.)
Μὴ} ποθεῖν ... ὑπομνήματα —cf. the Funeral Oration attributed to Demosth. 16 ὥσπερ ἴχνη γνωρίζουσα νῦν ἡ τῶν οἰκείων αὐτοῖς καὶ φίλων μνήμη πᾶσαν ὥραν ἐπὶ τούτους φέρεται τῷ πόθῳ, πόλλ’ ὑπομνήματα λαμβάνουσα. Plat. Rep. I. p. 329 A τὰς ἐν τῆ? νεότητι ἡδονὰς ποθοῦντες καὶ ἀναμιμνῃσκόμενοι. Add Andoc. I. 70 εἴ τίς τι ὑμῶν ποθεῖ. ἀναστὰς ὑπομνησάτω (if A desiderat aliquid which B is able and willing to give to him, A naturally reminds B of it; conversely, if D has something, which C has lost, and cannot give it to C, but cannot help reminding C of it, D naturally feels desiderium, πόθος).
ὧν — = αὐτοὺς ὧν. καὶ πολλάκις—‘only too often.’
εὐτυχίαις — related to εὐτυχία or τὸ εὐτυχές as τύχαι or τὰ τῆς τύχης to τύχη, i.e. the plur. denotes instances of good luck rather than good luck in the abstract. This refers back to τὸ εὐτυχὲς above: for, though a man cannot be judged prosperous till after his death, still instances of good luck may of course occur in life, and if these are as frequent as the misfortunes of life, the whole result will be τὸ εὐτυχές. Cf. Soph. frag. οὐ χρή ποτ’ εὖ πράσσοντος ὀλβίσαι τύχας | ἀνδρός, πρὶν αὐτῷ παντελῶς ἤδη βίος | διεκπερανθῇ καὶ τελευτήσῃ βίον. Pericles refers especially to the noble deeds of sons who will thus bring joy to their parents. Cf. 43, 4.
αἷς —cf. Isocr. 14, 47 ἢν ὡς εὖ πράττοντας ἔλθωμεν, ἔτι χαλεπώτερον ἔχομεν, οὐ ταῖς ἐκείνων φθονοῦντες εὐπορίαις ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ἐν τοῖς τῶν πέλας ἀγαθοῖς τὰς ἡμετέρας αὐτῶν συμφορὰς καθορῶντες. λύπη —sc. ἐστίν, ‘a man feels sorrow, not for the want of blessings which he loses before he knows them.’ ὧν is governed by both partic. and verb.
πειρασάμενος —c. 5, 5.
οὗ ἂν —a conspicuous instance of the rule referred to on c. 13, 2; the gen. depends on ἐθάς, while ἀφαιρεθῇ would take accus. The change from ὧν to οὗ is another instance of irregularity in the form of rel. clauses.
ἐθας —synonym of ἠθἀς, Soph. El. 372 ; both forms appear in the ancient lexica: probably ἐθὰς does not occur elsewhere in Attic prose.
Καρτερεῖν —(sometimes joined with ὑπομένειν). See c. 61, 2.
τέκνωσιν π —= παιδοποιεῖσθαι. τῶν οὐκ ὄντων —= τῶν τεθνηκότων. λήθη—‘cause of forgetfulness.’
ἔκ τε .. καὶ ἀσφαλείᾳ —these give the two grounds referred to in διχόθεν; for the variety of construction, cf. c. 36, 4; I. 138, 2, μὴ ἐρημοῦσθαι, by means of the soldiers and citizens she would acquire; ἀσφαλείᾳ, by the increased anxiety of the parents to benefit the state, as explained in the next sentence.
ξυνοίσει —sc. τὸ παῖδας ἐπιγίγνεσθαι. Cf. c. 3, 3.
ἴσον τι ἢ δίκαιον —equal, in the sense of ‘democratic,’ conforming to the equality that characterises the Athenian polity; cf. c. 37, 1: just, in the sense of ‘regular’ or ‘sober,’ in accordance with a sane judgment of religion and politics.
ἐκ τοῦ ὁμοίου —= ὁμοίως, equally with otbers. Adverbial phrases with ἐκ and an adj. are common in Thuc., who has ἐκ τοῦ προφανοῦς, ἐκ τοῦ φανεροῦ, ἐκ τοῦ εὐθέος, ἐκ τοῦ εἰκότος, ἐκ τοῦ εὐπρεποῦς, ἐκ τοῦ αἰσχίονος, ἐκ τοῦ δικαίου, ἐξ ἴσου, and others. This one occurs also I. 143, 4, and elsewhere. One or two of these phrases were colloquial, as ἐξ ἴσου, ἐξ ἑνὸς ( τρόπου or λόγου ), ἐκ παντὸς ( τρόπου) (these are the only ones found in Aristoph.); the rest are formed on the analogy of such simple phrases. The orators use them, but only with common adjectives: Thuc. confines them to speeches and highly-wrought passages. The 8th book contains only three examples.
παραβαλλόμενοι — discrimini objicientes: a dictionary may here be useful to some. To have children in peril would constitute having a stake in the state.
Παρηβήκατε —antithesis to οἷς ἔτι ἡλικία. κέρδος— predicate, in an unexpected place, and so emphatic.
τόνδε —‘your present life,’ i e. your sorrow will be short-lived, because your lives are drawing to a close.
τὸ φιλότιμον — ‘love of honour,’ which would be gratified in their case, as they would be honoured on account of their children's fame.
ἐν τῷ ἀχρείῳ τῆς ἡλικίας —cf. c. 40, 2, = ἐν τῷ γήρᾳ. τὸ κερδαίνειν ... τὸ τιμᾶσθαι—a true description of the ‘last infirmity’ of base and noble minds respectively.
ἀλλὰ —c. 40, 1, 43, 2.
Μέγαν τὸν ἀγῶνα —‘the struggle to emulate them will be a difficult one.’ The partic. is omitted after ὁρῶ. Cf. c. 49, 5. [
τὸν γὰρ .. ἐπαινεῖν ]— the general statement, παισὶ δ’ αὖ, is continued and explained in καὶ μὁλις ἂν ... κριθεῖτε. Then follows the reason in φθόνος γὰρ κ.τ.λ. καθ’ ὑπερβολὴν ἀρετῆς—‘by pre-eminent virtue.’ For κατά cf. c. 27, 2.
ἀλλ’ —would more naturally be ἀλλὰ καί. φθόνος—cf. Demosth 18, 315 τίς γὰρ οὐκ οἶδεν, ὅτι τοῖς μὲν ζῶσι πᾶσιν ὕπεστί τις ἢ πλείων ἢ ἐλάττων φθόνος, τοὺς τεθνεῶτας δ’ οὑδὲ τῶν ἐχθρῶν τις μισεῖ; τοῖς ζῶσι πρὸς τὸ ἀντίπαλον—‘envy towards a rival attacks the living.’
πρὸς — adversus (so Grundstrom and Golisch: Sta. propter ).
τὸ ἀντίπαλον — for τοὺς ἀντιπάλους. τὸ μὴ ἐμποδὼν —= τὸ μηκέτ’ ἐμποδών. Cf. τῶν οὐκ ὄντων c. 44, 3. This is the antithesis to τοῖς ζῶσι, while ἀνανταγωνίστῳ εὐνοίᾳ corresponds to πρὸς τὸ ἀντίπαλον, and τετίμηται to φθόνος. ἀνανταγωνίστῳ—‘without opposition.’
τετίμηται —gnomic perf., according to Goodwin; but may be the Homeric use of this word, with pres. sense.
Ὅσαι —as if γυναικῶν instead of γυναικείας preceded.
ἔσονται —contrast πάρεστε above. Cf. c. 44, 1.
ὑπαρχούσης —by no means attributing weakness, but referring to the restraints and household duties which nature imposed on women. Pericles refers to the Spartan women, who, according to Aristotle, lived a very different life from the stern asceticism of the Spartan men.
καὶ ἧς — i.e. καὶ μεγάλη ἐστιν ὴ δόξα ταύτης ἧς. μεγάλη ἡ δόξα —cf. VII. 68 τὸ τούσδε κολασθῆναι ... καλὸς ὁ ἀγών. κλέος—‘talk,’ a neutral word. Cf. Aesch. Ag. 611 , Clyt. says οὐκ οἶδα τέρψιν οὐδ’ ἐπίψογον φάτιν | ἄλλου πρὸς ἀνδρός.
Εἴρηται —the act. or pass perf. is often used thus in bringing a speech to a close (Lys 12, the case referred to by Aristotle at the close of the Rhet. is an example; so probably Eur. Hec. 236 . Cf. dixi.) Hence it is made prominent.
καὶ ἐμοὶ —Shil. rightly explains this as connected with καὶ ἔργῳ, the sense being καὶ λόγῳ ἐμοὶ εἴρηται καὶ ἔργῳ οἱ θ. κεκόσμηνται. ‘I have done my duty in delivery of the oration, the city has in deed partly done hers and is prepared to do more.’
κατὰ τὸν νόμον .. πρόσφορα —a modest description of what had been a metaphysical exposition of the relation of politics to character. Cf. Burke, Reflections, ‘I am unable to distinguish what I have learned from others from the results of my own meditation.’
αὐτῶν —cf. c. 27, 1. Its position gives it the force of a dat. of interest.
μέχρι ἥβης —to the age of eighteen.
θρέψει —of people) ( βόσκειν of cattle. βόσκειν is only used of people contemptuously, except by Herod., and Thuc., who uses the word once, VII. 48 ναυτικὸν πολὺ βόσκοντας: even there the notion of irksomeness comes in.
ὠφέλιμον —something more than a mere distinction.
τοῖσδε —the fallen, τοῖς λειπομένοις ‘the survivors,’ as in 41, 5.
ἀγώνων —with στέφανον, like τροπαῖον μάχης. προτιθεῖσα —‘offering.’
οἷς —in general relation to the whole, ‘among whom.’
τοῖς δὲ —cf. c. 65, 5, δὲ in apodosis.
)Απολοφυράμενοι —the ὀλόφυρσις was part of the regular ceremony, and took place at the conclusion of the speech. [Lys.] Epitaph. end, ἀνάγκη τοῖς ἀρχαίοις ἔθεσι χρῆσθαι, καὶ θεραπεύοντας τὸν πάτριον νόμον ὀλοφύρεσθαι τοὺς θαπτομένους. The Menex. ends thus, τοὺς τετελευτηκότας ἀπολοφυράμενοι ἄπιτε, and [Demosth.] Epitaph. ἀποδυράμενοι ... ἄπιτε. ‘When you have finished (probably aor., as Sta. says, not ἀπο‐, gives this force) your lamentation.’
προσήκει —sc. ἀπολοφυρεσθαι. ἀποχωρεῖτε—Intr. p. xxxii. There is no doubt about the reading because χωρεῖν was much less familiar to the copyists than ἰέναι, and the scholia sometimes explain the former by the latter.
Τοιόσδε —see c. 41, 2. Late authors make no dis- tinction between these pronouns.
τάφος —contrast the meaning in 34, 4.
ἐγένετο —pass. of ταφὰς ἐποιήσαντο, c. 34, 1.
πρῶτον —Thuc. never inserts the art. in these formulae.
Τὰ δύο μέρη — limiting apposition. The arrangements for the campaign are exactly the same as tbose of the pre ceding year, though the Spartans now knew that the Athenians would not offer battle. It is clear therefore that Sparta too saw that the only hope was to wear Athens out. Cf. Intr. p. lxx.
καθεζόμενοι —c. 18, 1.
Ἡ νόσος —‘the famous plague.’ The account (c. 47-54) falls into three parts, (i) its origin ( 47, 48), (ii) symptoms and effects on sufferers ( 49, 50), (iii) effects on morality ( 51, etc.). This description has been imitated by many writers, as Lucretius VI. 1138-1251 who is in turn imitated by Vergil, Georg. III, 478 and Ovid, Met. VII. 523), Procopius, Persica II, 22, who describes the plague at Constantinople in Justinian's reign, A.D. 542, and John Cantacuzene, Emperor of the Eastern Empire, who described very poorly the great plague of 1347 with which the plague of Florence described by Boccaccio and the ‘Black Death’ in England are connected. Superstitious horror, followed by demoralisation, is common to all great plagues.
πρῶτον ἤρξατο —cf. c. 36, 1, 48, 1.
γενέσθαι —the phrase occurs also I. 103 τὸ μῖσος ἤρξατο γενέσθαι, c. 68, 2, III. 18 ὁ χειμὼν ἤρχετο γίγνεσθαι , Isocr. 15, 82 ἤρχετο τὸ γένος τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γίγνεσθαι, Andoc. 2, 9 ἤρχετο γίγνεσθαι δυσδαιμονἐστερος. The tense of γίγνομαι must be the same as that of ἄρχομαι; yet ἤρξατο πρἀσσειν is good Greek, though ἤρχετο πρᾶξαι is not (the reason is that γίγνομαι is inceptive, while πράσσω is not, so that ἤρξατο γίγνεσθαι would be a contradiction in terms; thus ἤρξατο γιγνώσκειν would not do).
λεγόμενον —as though νόσημα had preceded.
ἐγκατασκῆψαι —Soph. O. T. 27 ἐν δ’ ὁ πυρφόρος θεός | σκήψας ἐλαύνει, λοιμὸς ἔχθιστος πάλιν. περὶ — circa: c. 7, 3.
οὕτως —with γενέσθαι. ἐμνημονεύετο — anacoluthon. as λεγόμενον μὲν preceded. (Observe that this is not a solecism.) Cf. c. 65, 11.
Τὸ πρῶτον —with θεραπεύοντες, ‘as they treated it at first with no knowledge of its nature.’
μάλιστα .. ὅσῳ καὶ μάλιστα — i.e. the mortality among them was greater than among any other class because they came in contact with the disease more than others. For the double superl. or compar. in proportion, cf. I. 68 προσήκει ἡμᾶς οὐχ ἥκιστα εἰπεῖν, ὁσῳ καὶ μέγιστα ἐγκλήματα ἔχομεν, III. 45 οὐχ ἧσσον τὰς πόλεις, ὅσῳ περὶ μεγίστων , V. 90 πρὸς ὑμῶν οὐχ ἧσσον τοῦτο, ὅσῳ καὶ ἐπὶ μεγίστῃ τιμωρίᾳ ἂν παράδειγμα γένοισθε. Cf. also c. 11, 1 καὶ ἐπὶ πόλιν δυνατωτάτην ... καὶ αὐτοὶ πλεῖστοι ἐρχόμεθα. πρὸς ἱεροῖς — ad loca sacra; cf. c. 87, 6, 94, 4.
ἱκέτευσαν —the aor. sums up all the instances ( complexive).
ἐχρήσαντο — sc. ὅσα, which with ἱκέτευσαν = ὅσας ἱκετείας, but with ἐχρήσαντο= περὶ ὅσα. See L. and S. χράω A. III.
τε —does not belong to the preceding τε, which added a third fact to οὔτε οὔτε, but=‘and so.’
ὑπὸ τοῦ κακοῦ —cf. 51, 1; but contrast 60, 6 χρήμασι νικώμενος. The verbs which commonly have ὑπὸ with things in prose are such as νικῶμαι, βλάπτομαι, διαφθείρομαι, ἀναγκάζομαι, ἡττῶμαι, πείθομαι (Isaeus only has πείθομαι and διαφθείρομαι, Lysias only ἀναγκἀζομαι, ἐπαίρομαι, διἀκειμαι) and the things so used must be such as can be easily personified, such as (1) natural phenomena, as χειμών, σεισμός, ἄπλοια, (2) external circumstances, as κίνδυνος, συμφορά, πληγαί, δεσμοί, κέρδος, χρήματα, νόμος, (3) emotions, as ἡδον ή, φθόνος, (4) words which imply a person, as λόγοι, πράγματα, δύναμις, when the person is often inserted (as in ὑπὸ τῆς τοῦ ῥήτορος δενότητος), and all the topics of rhetoric as ὑπὸ τῶν εἰκότων, ὑπὸ τοῦ δικαίου. The construction is optional in these cases, as the following examples show: Aristoph. Av. 1438 πἀντες τοῖς λόγοις ἀναπτεροῦνται, ib. 1447 ὑπὸ λόγων ἐπαίρεται ; Isocr. 5, 40 τὰς πόλεις ὡμαλισμένας ὑπὸ τῶν συμφορῶν, 6, 65 ὡμαλισμένοι ταῖς συμφοραῖς.
Ἤρξατο —sc. τὸ κακόν. ὑπὲρ —beyond, i.e. further inland, ‘south of.’ So the plague in Justinian's reign was said to have come from Ethiopia and Egypt: the ‘Black Death’ was traced to the Levant.
τὴν πολλήν —limiting apposition.
Ἐν τῷ Πειραιεῖ —it was imported, as in the case of the plague under Justinian.
φάρμακα —so in Germany and England in 1349 the Jews were supposed to have poisoned the wells. The plague had broken out a few days after the Peloponnesians invaded Attica.
φρέατα —‘cisterns,’ for rainwater.
κρῆναι —see c. 15, 5.
οὔπω —probably the astronomer Meton suggested them in 414 B.C.
Ἀφ’ ὅτου —cf. 49, 2, 62, 4, 68, 2. Contrast the phrase ἐξ ὅτου=‘since which time.’
εἰκὸς ἦν —c. 10, 1.
τὰς αἰτίας — = τὰς αἰτίας τοσαύτης μεταβολῆς, ἅστινας υομίζει ἱκανὰς εἶναι. In the adscript, δύναμιν σχεῖν was meant to explain ἱκανὰς εἶναι, ἐς τὸ μεταστῆσαι to explain μεταβολῆς. (To the list of those who bracket here, which is given in the not. crit., add Hampke, Studien, p. 16).
ἀφ’ ὧν ... σκοπῶν —take ταῦτα below with ἀφ’ ὧν,=the symptoms, by which it might be recognised in future. Cf. I. 21, 2 ἀπ’ αὐτῶν τῶν ἔργων σκοποῦσι, III. 38, 4 ἀπὸ τῶν εὖ εἰπόντων σκοποῦντες. ἄν— belongs to ἔχοι, cf. c. 41, 1.
Ἔτος —Intr. p. xlii.
ὡμολογεῖτο ἐκ πάντων —the other places in Thuc. in which ἐκ = ὑπὸ are I. 20, 2; III. 69, 1; V. 104 ; VI. 36, 2. The use is not found in Aristoph., and there are but very faint and doubtful traces of it in the orators. This use is Ionic, but occurs now and then in Attic (though Shil. denies the use altogether). ὁμολογοῦμαι often has παρὰ instead of ὑπὸ ( Andoc. 1, 140 ; Lysias, 30, 12; Isaeus, 1, 38 and 42; 2, 16 and 40; 4. 15; 11, 10; Demosth. 34, 5 ; Dinarch. 1, 53 and 90; 3, 8), in Demosth. 29, 20 ὁμολογεῖσθαι has πρός; in Isaeus 5, 17 we have ἃ ὡμολογήθη ἡμῖν: so Plat Phaedo, p. 106 C.
προέκαμνε — viz. before the plague established itself. Contrast the opt. and imperf. in c. 51, 1, where Thuc. uses the indef. form because he speaks of a long period of time, whereas here he refers to a definite moment, viz. just before the plague broke out.
ἀπεκρίθη —‘determined in this,’ i.e. ‘the symptoms eventually assumed the character of the disease.’ All who were ailing before were attacked.
Τοὺς δ’ ἄλλους —when once an epidemic has esta- blished itself, it shows itself ‘suddenly and without ostensible cause’ (Collier). These words must not be so pressed as to admit of no exceptions whatever; exceptions are mentioned in c. 51, 1.
πρῶτον μὲν —first stage; intense heat in head, inflammation in eyes, bleeding from throat and tongue, fetid breath, and, after these symptoms, sneezing and hoarseness.
ἄτοπον —cf. c. 51, 1, ‘unnatural.’
ἠφίει —both ἀφίει and ἠφίει are Attic.
φάρυγξ —see not. crit.: ancient grammarians were not agreed on the orthography. Herodian says φάρυξ, Hesych. φάρυγξ .
Ἐξ αὐτῶν —after the symptoms just described. See c. 4, 2.
πταρμὸς —due to inflammation of the mucous membrane.
καὶ ἐν οὐ πολλῷ —second stage: the disease attacks the chest, the consequence of the passage of the morbid action along the membrane that lines the respiratory organ being violent coughing. For ἐν οὐ πολλῷ contrast c. 41, 3.
πόνος —‘the disorder.’
ὁπότε —third stage: the disease, on reaching the stomach, caused vomiting and great distress, and, in most cases, ineffectual retching; then the skin turned livid, and broke out in vesicles which degenerated into ulcers. Then came the crisis.
καρδίαν —‘stomach.’
στηρίξειεν — intrans., a medical use.
ἀποκαθάρσεις —‘vomits of bile.’
ὅσαι —evidently referring to different terms used to denote the various colours that bile has in different diseases, or stages of a disease; e.g. in cholera, the bile is first dark brown, then light green. Probably, as Grote says, Thuc. was acquainted with medical terms.
ὑπὸ ἰατρῶν ὠνομασμέναι —though the subject is non-personal, yet, if it be a nom, or fem. noun, it is not uncommon to find the agent with the perf. pass. expressed by ὑπό, instead of by the regular dat.: see on c. 29, 3.
ταλαιπωρίας —‘distress’ (tenesmus): a medical term.
Λύγξ —rendered ‘retching,’ but Collier says it should be ‘hiccough,’ because the hiccough is an important symptom of deadly maladies, especially of those which affect the membrane of parts within the chest. But (1) this leaves κενὴ unexplained, (2) the disease described is now unknown.
ἐνδιδοῦσα — ‘producing,’ the same use of ἐν as in ἐμποιῶ, ἐντίθημι. μετὰ
ταῦτα —after the previous symptoms (see third stage).
λωφήσαντα —with μετὰ ταῦτα. Cf. c. 2, 1. λωφᾶ·| παύεται Hesych., cf. Plat. Phaedrus, 251 C λωφᾷ τῆς ὀδύνης (Collier takes this with σπασμόν, as do some edd., but this would require λωφῶντα to match ἐνδιδοῦσα ).
Τὸ μὲν ἔξωθεν —adverbial, ἔξωθεν being for ἔξω. Cf. c. 13, 7.
ἁπτομένῳ —with θερμὸν ἦν, ‘to the touch.’
σῶμα —for absence of art. cf. 8 below.
χλωρόν —‘pale.’
φλύκταιναι —transparent vesicles, little blains which degenerate into sores.
τὰ δὲ ἐντὸς —the ἀκμὴ of the disease is now reached. It came in the third stage, and was marked by internal fever, intolerable thirst, and sleeplessness: yet the body was scarcely weakened by its suffering.
μήτε — answered by ἥδιστά τε. τὰς ἐπιβολὰς—for the order, cf. 18, 1.
μηδ’ —not connected with μήτε, but only joins ἐπιβολὰς to ἄλλο τι ἢ and with it= nec nisi; cf. c. 16, 2.
γυμνοὶ —the nom. is justified by τὰ ἐντός, part of themselves, With γυμνοὶ supply ὄντες. Cf. c. 45, 1 ὁρῶ μέγαν τὸν ἀγῶνα. So with τυγχἀνω c. 87, 5, φαίνεσθαι c. 39, 4. In the two cases in which Thuc. uses διατελῶ with adj., he omits ὤν ( I. 34 ; VI. 89 ); contrast VII. 38 παρασκευαζόμενοι διετέλεσαν. ἥδιστα ἂν— i.e. ἥδιστ’ ἂν ἔρριπτον, lit. ‘so as to have thrown themselves (had they been allowed).’ The infin. with ἂν is not common with ὤστε. M. T. 211, 592.
καὶ πολλοὶ — ‘and in fact.’ Cf. c. 2, 4.
ἔδρασαν —cf. c. 11, 8. Here = σφᾶς αὐτοὺς ἔρριψαν. τῇ δίψῃ ἀπαύστῳ—the adj., being pred., is emphatic, as always; ‘which was unceasing.’ (There are not many examples quite like this in Thuc.: I. 49 ἑνέπρησαν τὰς σκηνὰς ἐρήμους, c. 13, 5 τὰ χρήματα οὐκ ὀλίγα, IV. 122 τῇ ἰσχύι ἀνωφελεῖ πιστεύοντες, and VII. 70, 6).
τὸ πλέον καὶ ἔλασσον —the art. omitted with ἔλασσον, though the two things are mutually exclusive, as in I. 10 τὰς μεγίστας καὶ ἐλαχίστας. ἡ ἀπορία τοῦ μὴ—the infin. after a noun, as in c. 60, 7 αἰτίαν τοῦ ἀδικεῖν. The μὴ is added because the whole result is neg., as often. Plat. Apol. p. 38 D ἀπορίᾳ ... τοῦ μὴ ἐθέλειν, ‘the neg. being added as after other neg. or prohibitive words’ (Shil.). Andoc. 2, 12 κίνδυνος περὶ τοῦ μηδὲ αὐτοὺς σωθῆναι, ‘a risk lest not even they should be saved.’ See also c. 62, 3; III. 75, 4 ἡ τοῦ μὴ ξυμπλεῖν ἀπιστία.
)Επέκειτο — instabat; cf. c. 59, 1.
ὅσονπερ καὶ — like ὥσπερ καί, the καὶ merely making the two things parallel.
ἀκμάζοι —iterative, in a rel. clause. Cf. VII. 70, 5 ὅσον χρόνον προσφέροιτο ναῦς. M. T. 521.
ὥστε —the result is in the partic. ἔτι ἔχοντες, not in διεφθείροντο: this inversion of partic. and verb is very common.
οἱ πλεῖστοι —belongs only to διεφθείροντο, a new subject οἱ πολλοὶ (most of the minority who did not die on the 7th or 9th day) being inserted in the next clause.
καὶ ἑβδομαῖοι —the main emphasis is on this, the second member, as constantly in Greek.
ὑπὸ τοῦ καύματος —c. 47, 4.
τι δυνάμεως —cf. I. 5, 1 τι καὶ δόξης , III. 44, 2 ἐχοντάς τι ξυγγνώμης. διαφύγοιεν—‘pulled through.’
ἐπικατιόντος —fourth stage, only reached by comparatively few, marked by ulceration of the bowels, after the internal fever had abated; then followed violent dysentery, leaving the patient so weak that he generally died.
ἀπεφθείροντο —poetical word. See not. crit.
Ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ π. ἱδρυθὲν —Kr. thinks this an adscript, and is followed by F. Muller.
τῶν γε — effects seen in the convalescents ‘a seizure of the extremities remained as a mark (of the disease)’.
ἀντίληψις —for ἐπίσκηψις. Elsewhere ἀ. = an objection to an argument, as Plat. Phaedo p. 87 A. [
αὐτοῦ ]—if the conjecture αὐτὸ = τὸ περιγενέσθαι, it clearly involves a contradiction, since Thuc. is giving the signs of the disease before the recovery, but it might stand in the sense of τὸ κακόν. ἐπεσήμαινε—absolute, cf. c. 8, 3, 43, 3. Cf. Eur. Hec. 1215 .
Ἐς αἰδοῖα —art. omitted, as often with parts of the body.
παραυτίκα ἀναστάντας —‘immediately on their recovery.’ The loss of memory was temporary.
ἠγνόησαν —aor., giving the result of the imperf. ἐλάμβανε .
Κρεῖσσον λόγου —cf. c. 41, 3, but here = ‘not to be described.’
χαλεπωτέρως —see ἐνδεεστέρως 35, 2.
ἢ κατὰ — quam pro.
ἐδήλωσε .. ὂν —cf. v. 9 δείξω οὐ παραινέσαι οἷός τε ὤν. For the aor. cf. c. 51, 5.
ἄπτεται —cf. c. 48, 2.
ἀτύφων —see c. 52.
Τεκμήριον δέ —see c. 15, 4: only here without γὰρ fol- lowing.
ἄλλως —‘at all,’ after περὶ τοιοῦτον. περὶ τοιοῦτον — i.e. περὶ τὰ σώματα. αἴσθησιν παρεῖχον—‘gave an opportunity of observing the effect’ (on animals).
ἀποβαίνοντος —cf. c. 87, 3 ἀποβάντι, the imperf. being used here of the repeated result. In c. 11, 9 the plur was used, pres. partic. of the result as it will affect each man.
Παραλιπόντι —as ἁπτομένῳ 49, 5, ὑπερβάντι 96, 1. ἀτοπίας—‘omitting many peculiarities,’ πολλὰ ἀτοπίας being like μέγα ἰσχίος 97, 4, and the common expressions εἰς τοσοῦτο, εἰς τοῦτο with gen., as Demosth. 21, 62 εἰς τοσοῦτ’ ἀναιδείας ἀφίκετο. Cf. c. 17, 4.
διαφερόντως —lit. differently to one as compared with another, i.e. peculiarities ‘which marked individual cases.’ πρὸς=‘compared with,’ as in 62, 3.
ἐπὶ πᾶν —cf. ἐπὶ μέγα 76, 4, ἐπὶ πλεῖστον 34, 8, 35, 3; translate with τὴν ἰδέαν, ‘its general nature.’ επὶ is local.
ἰσέαν — contrast the meaning in c. 19, 1.
παρελύπει—παρα‐ denotes simultaneous action or intrusion on something more important. Cf. Plat. Phaedo 65 C λογἰζεται κάλλιστα ὅταν αὐτὴν τούτων μηδὲν παραλυπῇ. Cf. παρενοχλεῖν. κατ’ ἐκεῖνον — i. e. throughout the time that the plague lasted.
γἐνοιτο —contrast the mood in 49, 1: here the general form is required by the sense. Cf. 49, 6.
Ἀμελείᾳ —causal, some might have been saved had they been treated.
θεραπευόμενοι —‘in spite of’ etc.
ἕν τε οὐδὲ ἓν —a very strong neg., for which cf. Demosth. 23, 70 ἓν οὐδ’ ὁτιοῦν τούτων, and for οὐδὲν resolved, Andoc. 1, 29 οὔτε μεῖζον οὔτ’ ἔλαττον οὐδὲ ἕν. ὡς εἰπεῖν—qualifies the universal statement Shil. remarks that Thuc. never writes ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν ὅ τι χρῆν προσφέροντας — i.e. ὅ τι χρῆν προσφέρειν ὥστε ὠφελείν. The partic. really belongs to χρῆν. This irregularity is found also with δεῖ. Kr. Gr. Gr. 56, 10, 5.
προσφέροντας —a medical term, to interfere with the course of a malady, etc., by any means. Cf. Plat. Phaedo 63 D δεῖν οὐδὲν τοιοῦτον προσφέρειν τῷ φαρμάκῳ. τοῦτο —c. 53, 3 ὅ τι ἤδη ἡδὺ ... τοῦτο κ.τ.λ., 64, 6. This ‘epanaleptic’ οὗτος is commonest after relative clauses, as Isaeus, 1, 28 Κλεώνυμος ὃς ἦν ἡμῖν οἰκειότατος ... οὗτος κ.τ.λ., but at any rate in colloquial Attic it was freely used even when no rel. preceded.
Ἰσχύος πέρι —cf. c. 62, 1, ‘as regards physical strength or weakness,’ i.e. ‘whether strong or weak.’
ξυνῄρει —subject αὐτό = τὸ νόσημα .
Δεινότατον —pred. to ( a ) ἀθυμία, ( b ) ὄτι .. ἔθνη?σκον. πολλῷ μᾶλλον —sc. ἢ διεφθείροντο ὑπὸ τοῦ κακοῦ, because the worst possible thing to do in illness is to lose hope: they abandoned themselves to despair and really threw their lives away, instead of resisting.
ἀφ’ ἑτέρου θ. — = ἀπὸ τοῦ ἕτερον θεραπεῦσαι. ἀναπιμπλάμενοι—the technical word for taking infection. Cf. Plat. Phaedo, p. 67 A μὴ ἀναπιμπλώμεθα τῆς τούτου φύσεως. So ἀναπλἑως, infected, ib. p. 83 D.
τοῦτο — i.e. the contagion, because ( a) the fear of catching the disease caused neglect of the sick, ( b) while those who attended the sick caught it.
Μὴ θέλοιεν —according to the MSS., which are quite worthless in such a case, the orators said μὴ θέλειν and μὴ ἐθέλειν indiscriminately Shil. prints )θέλοιεν here; so some other edd. after μὴ. It is probable that ἐθέλω is, after all, the invariable prose form. (See Rutherford, New Phryn. p. 416, Meisterhans, p. 142.)
ἀπώλλυντο ... ἐκενώθη?σαν —the complexive aor. again gives the result of the verb in imperf. Cf. c. 50, 1.
τοῦ θεραπεύσοντος —cf. Aesch. Prom. V. 27 ὁ λωφήσων γὰρ οὐ πέφυκέ πω. The art. refers to no person in particular. Kr. Gr. Gr. 50, 4, 3. The fut. partic. with art. is not common. M. T. 826.
ἀρετῆς — = φιλανθρωπίας. Cf. c. 40, 4.
αἰσχύνῃ —cf. c. 43, 1.
ὀλοφύρσεις —the complorationes over those who died: friends had to go because relatives actually wearied even of performing the proper offices for the dead. The καὶ before ὀλοφύρσεις shows that having already neglected to attend to their sick, they also took no notice of them when they died.
τῶν ἀπογιγνομένων —cf. c. 34, 2. The imperf. is used of the constant deaths, as ἀπώλλυντο etc. above.
ἐξέκαμνον —‘wearied of,’ so ἀποκάμν ειν occasionally.
ὑπὸ . . νικώμενοι —c. 47, 4.
Ἐπὶ πλέον —c. 35, 3. Thuc. uses this expression about a dozen times in this sense ( μᾶλλον).
πονούμενον —cf. c. 49, 3.
ἐν τῷ θαρσαλέῳ εἶναι —cf. c. 60 ἐν ἴσῳ ( εἶναι ), III. 22, 6 ἐν ἀπόρῳ εἶναι, and many others.
κούφης —‘vain,’ because ἂν διαφθαρῆναι implies ‘if they fell ill with any other disease.’ They fancied that they could only die of old age.
ὑπ’ ἄλλου .. διαφθαρῆναι —see on c. 47, 4.
Ἐπίεσε .. ἡ ξυγκομιδὴ —the in version makes both emphatic.
ἡ ξυγκομιδὴ ἐκ τῶν ἀ —for the art. not repeated before the prep., cf. c. 18, 3, 38, 1. ( a) The noun or adj. must be connected with a verb which takes the construction used with it ( κομίζομαι ἐκ τῶν ἀ.) to admit of this inversion of the order, ( b) if the words which are inverted precede (see on c. 7, 2), the object is to produce an antithesis; but if, as more commonly, they follow the noun or adj., it is merely for the sake of convenience.
οὐχ ἧσσον — = μᾶλλον.
Καλύβαις —Aristoph. (see c. 17, 1) says ἐν ταῖς πιθάκναισι καὶ γυπαρίοις καὶ πυργιδίοις. ὥρᾳ ἔτους—Suidas gives ὥρα ἔτους· τὸ ἔαρ καὶ τὸ θέρος, and rightly takes ὥρα to denote the best time, as we use ‘the season.’
οὐδενὶ κόσμῳ —it may be judged from tragedy how important the Greeks thought it to make a graceful exit from the world.
ἀλλὰ καὶ —expresses οὐδενὶ κόσμῳ in a positive form. [
ἀποθνῄσκοντες ] —a gloss on ἡμιθνῆτες. (It is not possible to take this as imperf. partic., like ἀπογιγνομένων in 51, 5, since not νεκροὶ ἀποθνῄσκοντες, but νεκροὶ ἀποθνῃσκόντων would be necessary; for νεκρὸς ἀπέθανεν could not be right) καλινδούμενοι—καλινδοῦμαι is figurative in meaning) ( κυλίνδομαι is literal.
Ἐναποθνῃσκόντων —gen. abs. ‘men dying there.’
ἔχοντες — = εἰδότες. ὅ τι —cf. Eur. Or. 418 δουλεύομεν θεοῖς, ὄ τι ποτ’ εἰσὶν οἱ θεοἰ. ἱερῶν καὶ ὁσίων —cf. Isocr. 7, 66 τὴν δημοκρατίαν κος μήσασαν τὴν πόλιν καὶ τοῖς ἱεροῖς καὶ τοῖς ὀσίοις, and 53, 4 θεῶν φόβος ἢ ἀνθρώπων νόμος .
Θήκας —for ταφάς, ‘modes of burial.’ This meaning is sufficiently proved by Sta., who quotes Plat. Rep. 427 B.
ἐπιτηδείων —neut., whatever was required for the burning and burial.
ἐπὶ πυρὰς —governed both by ἐπιθέντες and ἐπιβαλόντες. For ἐπὶ πυρὰς ... ἑπιθέντες . . ὑφῆπτον, see c. 13, 2.
ὃν φέροιεν — M. T. 522.
Πρῶτον ἦρξε —cf. c. 36, 1.
καὶ —besides those instances of ἀνομία just mentioned.
ἐπὶ πλέον —cf. c. 51, 1, ‘to a greater extent’ (than ever before), since the αἰσχύνη which followed the breach of the ἄγραφοι νόμοι (c. 37, 3) was no longer felt.
ἀνομίας —governed by ἧρξε. ἀπεκρύπτετο μὴ —c. 49, 5.
καθ’ ἡδονὴν —as 37, 2, but with a bad sense.
ἀγχίστροφον —Ionic word, not found elsewhere in Attic prose.
μεταβολὴν — 43, 5.
ὁρῶντες —plur., though τις precedes, as after ἕκαστος, ἕτερος, πᾶς, οὐδείς. τῶν τ’ —the τε is answered by καὶ before οὐδέν, and each pair is introduced by a single τῶν, since εὐδαιμόνων . θνῃσκόντων apply to one set of persons, κεκτημένων . . ἐχόντων to another set.
Ἐπαυρέσεις —Ionic for ἀπολαύσεις, which Thuc. also uses, c. 38, 42. It was revived by late writers from Aristotle onwards: Andocides uses it once.
πρὸς τὸ τερπνὸν —cf. c. 65, 8 πρὸς ἡδονήν τι λέγειν. ἐπαύρεσις is the advantage, gain, or good to be got out of any act: generally it is neither immediately realised, nor does it take the form of mere sensual enjoyment; but now honourable ambition and forethought no longer prompted action.
Τὸ μὲν προταλαιπωρεῖν —the art. and inf. depend, as accus of respect, on πρόθυμος ἦν. The purpose of the art, is to contrast the two clauses introduced by μὲν ... δέ, since below ὅ τι δὲ ἤδη ἡδὺ = τὸ δὲ ἤδη ἡδύ. Cf. c. 87, 5, VI. 17 τὸ μὲν ἐς τὴν γῆν ἐσβάλλειν, ικανοί εἰσι, τῷ δὲ ναυτικῷ οὐκ ἂν δύναιντο βλάπτειν. τῷ δόξαντι καλῷ—‘for the sake of what seemed honourable’; cf. VIII. 63 οὐκέτι ἄλλοις ἢ σφίσιν αὐτοῖς ταλαιπωροῦντας. τῷ δόξαντι καλῷ differs from τῷ καλῷ in that the former denotes that no man had the will to strive after that which he himself conceived to be good; much less would he trouble himself about Good as a principle One reflected, τοῦτό μοι δοκεῖ καλὸν εἶναι, ἀλλὰ πρὶν ἐπ’ αὐτὸ ἐλθεῖν διαφθαρησομαι. (There is probably no reference here to good as universally admitted, as some have supposed: δόξαν applies to individual cases.)
νομίζων —the partic. again appended somewhat freely to the preceding clause. Cf. 1 above and 4 below. Here not οὐδεὶς but ἕκαστος must be supplied: somewhat similar is VI. 27 τοὺς δράσαντας ᾔδει οὐδείς, ἀλλὰ . . ἐζητοῦντο καὶ προσέτι ἐψηφίσαντο (sc. οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι ); IV. 59 οὐδεὶς ... ἢν (sc. τις) οἴηταί τι πλέον σχήσειν, ἀποτρέπεται, VI. 84 ὑπολάβῃ μηδεὶς ὡς οὐδὲν προσῆκον ὑμῶν κη?δόμεθα, γνοὺς ὅτι κ.τ.λ. ἤδη τε ἡδὺ καὶ— τε ... καὶ = sive .. sive, the first clause answering to σώματα, the second to χρήματα in 2 above.
πανταχόθεν τὸ ἐς αὐτὸ κερδαλέον — = ( ὅ τι) πανταχόθεν ἐς τὸ ἤδη ἡδὺ κερδαλἐον ἦν, ‘or contributed to the pleasure of the moment, regardless of the source from which it was obtained,’ i.e. men did not care how disgraceful were the means by which they strove to gratify their immediate desires. The sanctity of oaths and contracts was no longer respected; for the sake of gain fraud and crime became καλὸν καὶ χρήσιμον, and what was gained was immediately squandered.
πανταχόθεν —cf. Intr. p. xl.: all means, good or bad, were alike to them.
τοῦτο —cf. c. 51, 2.
καλὸν —1st Cor. 15, 32 φάγωμεν καὶ πίωμεν· αὔριον γὰρ ἀποθνήσκομεν. (Thuc. does not say they really thought these base things καλόν: it was not τὸ δόξαν καλὸν that changed, but τὸ καθεστηκὸς καλόν. The public standard of morality is a very different thing from what each man in his heart thinks moral.)
Τὸ μὲν —‘on the one hand,’ answered by δέ, instead of τὸ δέ. κρίνοντες—anacoluthon, as though the preceding clause had been pass. = ὑπ’ οὐδενὸς νόμου ἀπείργοντο. Such a slight irregularity is not uncommon in Thuc. and tragedy, as Eur. Hec. 971 αἰδώς μ’ ἔχει ... τυγχάνουσα. Cf. III. 36 ἔδοξεν αὐτοῖς . ἐπικαλοῦντες. (Shil. quotes IV. 108, as a ‘still bolder anacoluthon.’ But the cases are almost certainly wrong there. As εἰωθότες κ.τ.λ. is clearly general, prob. the gen. abs. should be read.)
ἐν ὁμοίῳ —cf. c. 49, 5, 61 ἐν ἴσῳ δικαιοῦν , 60 ἐν ἴσῳ ( ἐστί).
καὶ μὴ —sc. σέβειν. ἐλπίζων—cf. c. 11, 6; had a plur. been nearer and οὐδεὶς not so near, Thuc. would have written ἐλπίζοντες, as VII. 28, 3.
μέχρι τοῦ —so v. 73, 4.
βιοὺς ἂν —the ἂν belongs also to ἀντιδοῦναι, = βιῶναι ἂν καὶ ἀντιδοῦναι. τιμωρίαν —with τῶν ὰμαρτημάτων. The art. and ἀντιδοῦναι shows that they sinned well knowing that retribution awaited them if they lived. With the general description, cf. St. Matthew, XXIV. 12, where Christ speaks of the destruction of Jerusalem, διὰ τὸ πληθυνθῆναι τὴν ἀνομίαν ψυγήσεται ἡ ἀγαπὴ τῶν πολλῶν. πολὺ δὲ—sc νομίζοντες, and for the interchange of words of saying and thinking which have to be supplied from the context, cf. c. 13. κατεψηφισμένην —sc. τιμωρίαν, i.e. νόσον. ἣν ... εἶναι—cf. c. 13, 5, 24, 2, 102, 5.
εἰκὸς —c. 10, 1.
Τοιούτῳ μὲν —the description is now concluded, the following particulars heing added as an afterthought ( a) to illustrate the superstition rife at the time, ( b) to indicate the locale of the plague.
περιπεσόντες —cf. c. 59, 2, and the phrase, συμφορᾷ περιπεσεῖν, constantly occurring in the orators.
Ἐν —‘during,’ though κακὸν is not temporal. Cf. c. 63, 1.
οἷα εἰκός —cf. c. 5, 4, and ὡς εἰκός VIII. 2, 3.
ἔπους —‘verse,’ 41, 4.
οἱ πρεσβύτεροι —limiting apposition. Cf. 4, 2, 11, 1, 16, 1, 21, 3.
ᾄδεσθαι —c. 8, 2, 21, 3.
ἥξει —common in prophecies, Eur. Sup. 1222 πικροὶ γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἥξετ’ ἐκτεθραμμένοι | σκύμνοι λεόντων. St. Matt. XXIV. 14 τότε ἥξει τὸ τέλος. πόλεμος καὶ λοιμὸς—there is intentional παρομοίωσις here, as often in oracles. The change of λιμὸς to λοιμὸς would be suggested by Il. 1, 61 εἰ δὴ ὁμοῦ πόλεμός τε δαμᾷ καὶ λοιμὸς Ἀχαιούς, and Hesiod, W. and D. 242 μέγ’ ἐπήγαγε πῆμα Κρονίων | λιμὸν ὁμοῦ καὶ λοιμόν .
Ὠνομάσθαι —‘that famine, and not pestilence had been the original word.’ (This translation is imperfect because it introduces a comparatively modern association.)
ὑπὸ τῶν παλαιῶν —might have been dat.
ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος —cf. ἐπὶ τῷ παρόντι c. 36, 4. The gen. is more distinctly temporal = ‘at the moment.’
πρὸς ἃ ἔπασχον —cf. VI. 34 τῶν ἀνθρώπων πρὸς τὰ λεγόμενα καὶ αἱ γνῶμαι ἵστανται. μνήμην ἐποιοῦντο— act. of μνήμη ἐγένετο in 4 below, and = ἀνεμνήσθησαν in 2.
δέ γε —these particles always cap a previous statement, whether made by the speaker himself or an opponent. They are sometimes separated.
καταλάβῃ —c. 18, 2.
Ὅτε —see c. 21, 1.
τὸν θεόν —as Apollo was both healer and destroyer, they thought that the god was helping the enemy by sending the plague. Cf. the opening of Il. 1, and O. T. first chorus.
Περὶ μὲν οὖν —Thuc. leaves this doubtful, without expressing his own opinions: then he goes on with the facts, δὲ being equivalent to δ’ οὖν. ‘As concerns .., they thought that what was happening corresponded to it.’
ὅ τι ἄ. καὶ εἰπεῖν — = ὅ τι καὶ ἀ. εἰπεῖν. ταῦτα μὲν —ἐστι is regularly omitted in this phrase, as in sed haec hactenus. Cf. IV. 41, 4; VII. 87, 6.
Τὸ πεδίον —the Attic plain, as c. 20, 1. This resumes from c. 47. παρῆλθον—after ravaging the plain (contrast c 19), and reaching the north-east parts of it that lie between Mt. Parnes and Pentelicon (Brilessus), they worked their way down the south-east coast district of Attica.
Πάραλον — = the part of Attica stretching south of Mt. Hymettus and Brauron right down to C. Sunium.
Λαυρείου —the mines here, which were an important source of revenue to Athens (Aesch. Persae, 237 ἀργύρου πηγή τις αὐτοῖς ἐστι, θησαυρὸς χθονός), were farmed out on hereditary leases. See Kennedy's Demosth., Intr. to the speech against Pantaenetus. [
οὗ ]—Intr. p. xxxix.
ᾗ πρὸς Π. ὁρᾷ — partem quae spectat ad P. Cf. c. 93, 4.
ἔπειτα δὲ —c. 4, 2. The addition of δὲ emphasizes the antithesis.
Καὶ τότε —with ὤν. Pericles had entered on a fresh year of office in Hecatombaeon 430 (Intr. p. lxv.) since the last mention of him as Strategus.
περὶ τοῦ μὴ —c. 22, 1.
Ἔτι δ’ —cf. c. 13, init.
τῇ Π. —the dat. depends on ἐπίπλουν. ἑτοῖμα—cf. c. 3, 4.
Ἐπὶ τῶν —see c. 80, 2
ἱππαγωγοῖς —this is the first occasion on which the Athenians used transports. (The Persians used them, Herod. VI. 48.) They were triremes (IV. 42; VI. 43 ); in 424 they were sufficiently novel to provide Aristoph. with a joke, Eq. 599. It was very important to have cavalry in the plundering expeditions, in order to be able to penetrate as far inland as possible.
Χῖοι καὶ Λ. — cf. c. 9, 4.
ναυσίν —the dat. of accompaniment, only used in naval and military phrases.
Ὅτε —the imperf., as usual, after ὅτε, denoting that the act described in the principal clause occurs at the same time as that described in the temporal clause. Cf. on c. 21, 1, and c. 99, 6.
τῆς Ἀττικῆς —for the order, cf. c. 18, 1, and contrast 4 below, where the emphasis is on Ἐπίδαυρον, whereas here the point is that the Peloponnesians were still in Attica, cf. 6 below.
Ἐπίδαυρον —the most important place yet attacked by the Athenians; it would have been valuable to them, as it lay on the road to Argos, which was then neutral (c. 9, 2) and might possibly join them if they obtained possession of so considerable a state: and other towns, as Troezen and Hermione might have fallen into their hands.
ἔτεμον —it is not clear why Pericles ravaged the country before attacking Epidaurus: probably he had planned a stratagem to seize the place with a small force while the main body was scattered about and was keeping the troops that guarded the town (only a third of the whole force of Epidaurus, c. 47, 2) occupied.
ἐς ἐλπίδα ἦλθον —the phrases ἐλπίς ἐστι, ἐν ἐλπίδι εἶναι, ἐλπίδα ἔχειν have the simple infin. aor. in most cases, as c. 80, 1; but in c. 85, 4 ἐλπίδος ούσης has the fut. infin., and in 102, 3 ἐλπὶς has ἂν παθεῖν; while in I. 144, 1 we have ἐλπίδα τοῦ περιέσεσθαι. Cf. on c. 13, 9.
οὐ μἐντοι —this failure is probably due to a rally of the inhabitants similar to that of the Plataeans, c. 3. προεχώρησε—impersonal; cf. I. 109 ὼς αὐτῷ οὐ προυχώρει ; III. 18 ἐπειδὴ οὐ προυχώρει ᾗ προσεδέχοντο; al.
Ἐκ τῆς Ἐ. —the attack on Epidaurus was the greatest enterprise of Athens before 427.
Ἁλιάδα —the country round Halice, an unimportant town on the south-east coast of Argolis.
Ἑρμιονίδα —Hermione had a territory of some extent on the coast of the Gulf of Hermione.
Πρασιάς —on north-east coast of Laconia. It suffered severely from the war, and is a proof how effective the method of Pericles was. Intr. p. lxx. Aristoph. Pax, 242 ἰὼ Πρασιαὶ τρισάθλιαι καὶ πεντάκις. οὐκέτι—nothing is said of the route taken by the Peloponnesians after they left Laurium.
κατέλαβον —always takes pres. or perf. part.: IV. 129, 1 (pres.), I. 59, 1 (perf.).
Ὅσον χρόνον —this has to be supplied with καὶ οἱ Ἀ., i.e. the sense is not that the plague raged during the simultaneous ravaging in Attica and in Peloponnese, but ‘both while the Peloponnesians were in Attica, and while the A. were away on the expedition.’
ἔν τε τῇ στρατίᾳ —the order is chiastic: τῇ γῇ—νεῶν—στρατίᾳ—πόλει. Thuc. is very fond of the chiasmus.
ἐλέχθη —constructed with acc. and infin. regularly ( a) when it is used in the sense of ferunt, fertur; cf. c. 20, 1, 47, 3, 77, 6, 93, 4, 98, 3, 102, 5; I. 69; V. 74. Plat. Phaedo, p. 110 C λέγεται εἶναι τοιαύτη ἡ γῆ, in a myth. It is then oftener in the pass.: the act. occurs e.g. I. 9, 2, 138, 4. If however Thuc. wants to imply that he disbelieves the report, he uses ὡς, as in c. 48 ἐλέχθη ὡς ἐσβεβλήκοιεν. (He always inserts some qualification when he is not sure of the truth of what he relates:) ( b) when it = κελεύω. It is not often found with accus. and infin. otherwise. See c. 13, 2 and cf. Andoc. 1, 57 εἰπεῖν κακίαν εἶναι τὰ γενόμενα. ἠσθάνοντο—from the smoke of the pyres.
Τῇ ἐσβολῇ —see c. 20, 1.
ἐνέμειναν —sc. ἐν τῇ γῇ. Complexive aor., as also ἔτεμον. The shortest period they remained was 15 days, 425 B.C. The ordinary time was about 30 days.
Ἅγνων —Intr. p. lxxv. He had been Strategus in 440 B.C., and was again re-elected in 429, c. 95. He led the colony to Amphipolis in 437 B.C., and was honoured as founder until the death of Brasidas in 422 B.C., when the latter took his place in the regard of the people ( v. 11 ). After the Sicilian disaster, when a very old man, he was elected one of the ten Πρόβουλοι. Κλεόπομπος —c. 26, 1. ξυστρατηγοὶ —It is not clear whether Thuc. means they were now in office for the official year Hecatombaeon 431 to Hecatombaeon 430, or for the year 430 to 429. Probably it is the former, and they were now nearing the end of their year of office. The expression probably points to the extraordinary position held by Pericles from Hecatombaeon 432 to Hecatombaeon 430. Intr. pp. lxvi., lxxiv.
μηχανάς —Intr. p. lxxv. Pericles wanted to reduce Potidaea in order that, in case peace should be concluded with Sparta (c. 59, 2), Athens might retain the town.
Παρασκευῆς —with ἀξίως. ἐπινεμομένη—‘spreading among.’ Cf. c. 54, 5. ἐπιγίγνομαι is only used of a disaster which is new. The partic., as well as the verb, governs τοὺς Ἀ. ἐνταῦθα δὴ—following a partic., as in I. 94, 5, = τότε δή νοσῆσαι—‘fell ill,’ ingressive.
ἀπὸ —cf. c. 51, 4.
ξὺν — un-Attic use. See c. 2, 1.
Φορμίων —c. 31, 2, and 2, 1; I. 64, 2. Only the 3000 hoplites referred to in I. 61, 4 were at Potidaea when Hagnon went there.
Κατὰ χώραν μένοντες —so I. 28, 5; III. 22, 6. Isocr. 4, 176 ; Demosth. 24, 5 ; Aristoph. Plut. 367 , et al. Cf. Horace's certa sede manet.
Ὡς ... ἐτέτμητο —the plup. has nothing to do with ἠλλοίωντο, ( i.e. the meaning is not that the land had been ravaged before the change came over their feelings), but describes the state of the country as it lay ruined before their eyes. The other places in which ὡς has the plup. ( III. 23, 1, 26, 4, 27, 1, 69, 2) are similar. Cf. on c. 3, 1.
ὁ πόλεμος —referring to the other miseries besides the ruin of the trees, crops and buildings, such as the difficulty of living and the burdens of service.
ἠλλοίωντο —plup., because the change had come over them before Hagnon's expedition, during Pericles' absence. Intr. p. lxxv.
Ἐν αἰτίᾳ εἶχον —cf. the following, ἐν ὀργῇ ἔ., c. 18, 5, 21, 3, 65, 3; ἐν ἡδονῇ ἔ., III. 9 ; ἐν ὀρρωδίᾳ ἔ., c. 89, 1. This idiom is not found in the orators, but occurs in tragedy.
περιπεπτωκότες —see c. 54, 1.
πρὸς τοὺς Λ. —with ξυγχωρεῖν. πρέσβεις—Sta. reads πρεσβείας with MT only. Dion. Hal. thinks that Thuc. ought to have given a detailed account of these transactions. The reason he does not do so is that nothing came of them.
πανταχόθεν —not local, but = ‘utterly.’
ἄποροι καθεστῶτες — i.e. εἰς ἀπορίαν κ. c. 81, 8; εἰς τοσαύτην ἀπορίαν ἐλθεῖν Isocr. 8, 47 ; εἰς τοῦτο καταστῆσαι ἀπορίας Demosth. 22, 132 ; εἰς ἄπορον πεσεῖν Aristoph. Clouds 702.
Ὁρῶν ... ποιήσας —see c. 4, 4.
πρὸς τὰ π. —c. 22, 1, 64, 6 πρὸς πὰς ξυμφοράς , 88, 3 π. τὴν παροῦσαν ὄψιν. ἤλπιζε—of bad events, as in I. 1, 1.
ξύλλογον —c. 22, 1. Pericles still held his extraordinary power. Intr. p. lxvi., and it was perhaps by virtue of this that he was able to have a special meeting summoned. Cf. c. 13, 1.
ἔτι δ’ — i.e. he had not yet been suspended from office and brought to trial ( ἀποχειροτονηθείς). Intr. pp. lxxv. fol. will make this clear.
ἐστρατήγει —‘held office,’ implying that he was still αὐτοκράτωρ. He was just completing another year of office, and was Strategus elect for the official year soon to begin. Cf. c. 55, 2.
τὸ ὀργιζόμενον τῆς γ. —cf. VII. 68 τῆς γ. τὸ θυμούμενον. This neuter partic. as noun abstract presents the idea as an action going on, not as an abstract notion separate from all associations of time and circumstance. Cf. c. 87, 3. It is frequent in Euripides.
πρὸς ... καταστῆσαι —the ordinary construction is ἐς (see 2 above), but τρέπεσθαι has ἐπί, πρός, ἐς, and several verbs ἐπὶ or ἐς in Thuc. Cf. c. 65, 9.
καταστῆσαι —sc. τὴν γνώμην. ἔλεξε—the Schol. labels the speech δημηγορία Περικλέους πρὸς Ἀθηναίους. The speech was also known in antiquity as ἡ οἰκεία Περικλέους δημηγορία .
Καὶ . καὶ —parataxis; cf. c. 46, 1.
προσδεχο‐ μένῳ ... γεγένηται —cf. c. 3, 2. M. T. 900.
τὰ τῆς ὀργῆς — ‘this outburst of wrath,’ as τὰ τῆς τύχης; see on c. 44, 2.
ξυνήγαγον —the aor. of momentary action, as continually in tragedy.
ὄπως —the subjun. is certainly to be preferred to the fut. indic. here, as this is a pure final clause. M. T. 364 ( ὅπως is Thuc.'s favourite final particle, but is rare in other prose authors except Xen.).
εἴ τι —he does not doubt it, but softens the expression.
Πλείω —with ὠφελεῖν. This sentence contains a triple antithesis.
ὀρθουμένην .. σφαλλομένην —the state is personified.
καθ’ ἕκαστον —because it is when prosperity has engendered selfishness and oblivion of corporate life that states go to ruin.
Καλῶς φερόμενος —cf. v. 15, 2, 16, 1; φ. of the course that affairs take. This γνώμη is the premiss of the following enthymeme (see c. 11, 7) ‘It is well for the citizens that the state should prosper even if they have to sacrifice themselves: for the citizens must fall with the state, and when the state prospers, the citizens easily overcome their troubles. Therefore the citizens must sacrifice themselves for the state.’ Cf. 4 below.
τὸ καθ’ ἑαυτὸν —cf. c. 11, 3.
διαφθειρομένης —there is παρονομασία between this and φερόμενος, also between κακοτυχῶν and εὐτυχούσῃ. πολλῷ μᾶλλον —sc. ἢ ἐν κακοτυχούσῃ.
Ὁπότε —‘since,’ so that the verb to be supplied is ἐστί. Andoc 1, 7 and 89.
εἶς ἕκαστος —cf. VI. 41 εἶς τε ἕκαστος καὶ ἡ ξύμπασα πόλις; VIII. 89 ἠγωνίζετο εἶς ἔκαστος. μὴ—the sentence does not end regularly, the construction being carried on to suit the parenthesis ὃ νῦν ὑ. δρᾶτε. We expect καὶ μὴ ἀφίεσθαι. Cf. Plat. Phaedrus, 272 D παντάπασι γάρ, ὃ καὶ κατ’ ἀρχὰς εἴπομεν τοῦδε τοῦ λόγου, ὅτι οὐδὲν ἀληθείας μετέχειν δέοι τὸν μέλλοντα ῥητορικὸν ἔσεσθαι. ταῖς κατ’ οἶκον κ.τ.λ.—epexegesis of δρᾶτε. Cf. VI. 11 ὅπερ ... πεπόνθατε· διὰ τὸ περιγεγενῆσθαι ... Σικελίας ἐφίεσθε. Shil notes that Latin idiom expresses the epexegesis of facio by ut.
κατ’ οἶκον — cf. Aristoph. Lys. 261 ἃς ἐβόσκομεν κατ’ οἶκον, ‘at home.’ This phrase differs from κατὰ τὴν οἰκίαν = ‘about the house,’ Aristoph. Thesm. 402 , and has a wider sense than κατ’ οἰκίαν, ‘in private,’ Aristoph. Vesp. 1180 .
τοῦ κοινοῦ —objective gen. to σωτηρίας, but put first for the sake of the emphatic antithesis to κατ’ οἶκον. ὑμᾶς—he dexterously throws the charge back on them.
ξυνέγνωτε —the prep. here has an adverbial force. Cf. c. 64, 1.
δῑ αἰτίας ἔχειν —cf. c. 59, 2, and 11, 3 This idiom is rare in other Attic prose writers (not found in orators).
Καίτοι —there is no prothesis to this speech (see on c. 36, 4), the reason being that in c. 59. 3, and 65, 1 Thuc. explains the object which Pericles had in the Πίστις, and so had no need to insert it here.
ἐμοὶ —the analysis makes the πίστις begin here. But the Schol. who notes on these words παραγραφικὸν ἐν δεινότητι must have taken this to be part of the προοίμιον and thought that the πίστις began with c. 61. (I begin the πίστις here with Fr. Muller, against the Schol., Altinger and Leitschel, because the object of Pericles in the πίστις certainly was τῆς ἐπ’ αὐτὸν ὀργῆς παραλύειν τοὺς Ἀθηναίους, 65, 1. Τὸ παραγραφικὸν comes in the προοίμιον, but Thuc. may have meant the last part of 4 to represent this.)
τοιούτῳ — here follows another enthymeme: ‘You are unjustly angry with Pericles: for he is able, patriotic, honest and can tell you what is best for you; without all these qualities, a statesman is of little use. Therefore, as Pericles has them all, it is wrong to blame him.’
οὐδενὸς ἥσσων —this is all purely rhetorical, for no proof is offered of the premise, which might be disputed. This illustrates excellently Aristotle's remark that, whereas exact truth is the object of the syllogism, probability is the object of the enthymeme.
φιλόπολις —to us philanthropy and cosmopolitanism mean far more than citizenship and patriotism; but in antiquity the former were vague abstractions which interested none but philosophers, whereas the latter were realities for which every right-minded man was ready to sacrifice himself.
χρημάτων κρείσσων —cf. c. 65, 8. Probably Pericles already knew that Cleon was preparing to charge him with intercepting public money. Intr. p. lxxvi.
Ἐν ἴσῳ —cf. 53, 4.
καὶ —‘as’; so after ἴσος III. 14, 1; ὁμοῖος VI. 11, 1; VIII. 76, 4.
ἐνεθυμήθη —c. 40, 2.
οὐκ ἂν ὁμοίως — meiosis. Cf. for ὁμοίως, c. 44, 3.
οἰκείως —like an οἰκεῖος, ‘as a loyal citizen,’ who regards himself as much bound to the state as to his family.
τοῦδε —this I am speaking of, viz. patriotism.
vικώμενος — the reading adopted is far more likely than the MSS. genitive, as the partic. corresponds to γνοὺς and ἔχων. (The gender would be masc., cf. c. 47, 4. So Kr., but recent edd., except Cr., make it neut., with τοῦδε for subj., against which it may be urged ( a) τόδε νικᾶται means ‘this view is rejected,’ unless τόδε is personified, in which case ( b) we should expect χρήμασι also to be personified, and to become ὑπὸ τῶν χ. )
τούτου — i.e. χρημάτων, cf. τοῦδε above.
ἀπόδοιτο —there are readings πολοῖτο and ἀπόλοιτο in inferior MSS.
Καὶ μέσως —with μᾶλλον ἑτέρων. ‘If you thought that I had somewhat more of these qualifications than others.’ ‘Propria laus tantum abest ut sordeat in ore virorum vere magnorum ut liabeat etiam ingenuae magnificaeque simplicitatis plurimum.’ Doderlein. μᾶλλον ἑτέρων—μέσως εἶπε καὶ οὐ σφόδρα, διὰ τὸ φορτικόν. Schol.
αὐτὰ —cf. c. 1. γε —emphasizes τοῦ ἀδικεῖν: ‘you followed my advice because you thought me φιλόπολις, χρημάτων κρείσσων. Is it not then absurd to impute ἀδικία to me?’ He seems again to refer to the plots of Cleon.
Καὶ γὰρ —this takes up τοῦ γε ἀδικεῖν, and belongs to πολλὴ ἄνοια, ‘for undoubtedly it is intensely foolish to go to war.’
αἵρεσις — viz. between peace and war.
πολεμῆσαι ingressive, cf c. 15, 2, 58, 2.
εἰ δ’ —there is not any doubt about it; cf. c. 39, 4, and Andoc. I. 33 εἰ μέν τι ἠσέβηκα ... εἰ δὲ οὐδὲν ἡμάρτηταί μοι, Aeschines, I. 112 εἰ μὲν ἦν ὁ ἀγὼν οὑτοσὶ ἐν πόλει ἐκκλήτῳ, ὑμᾶς ἂν ἠξίωσα εἰ δ’ ὁ ἀγών ἐστιν Ἀθήνησιν ... ἀναμιμνησκειν προσήκει. ἦν — viz. when the Spartan embassies were sent threatening war. Intr. p. lxviii.
εὐθὺς —with ὑπακοῦσαι. ὁ φυγὼν—Shil. takes this as general, but then the pres. partic. would be expected. Pericles alludes to those who had been opposed to war. κινδυνεύσαντας is emphatic.
Ὁ αὐτός εἰμι —this, like ἐξίσταμαι, μεταβάλλετε, πει‐ σθῆναι, μεταμέλειν, and ἐγκαρτερεῖν, is left without further definition. The gloss ἃ ἔγνωτε well gives the general idea of the passage which is clear but exceedingly condensed.
ἀκεραίοις —cf. c. 18, 5; before you had suffered from the invasion and the plague.
λόγον —‘policy,’ as announced in c. 13, and before the war.
ἐν τῷ ἀσθενεῖ τῆς γνώμης —cf. c. 87, 3. Antiphon, Tet. A, 3.3 τὸ θυμούμενον τῆς γνώμης, and c. 59, 3.
ὑμετέρῳ —put with ἀσθενεῖ rather than γνώμης for the antithesis to ἐμόν. It is not uncommon for a neut. adj. with art. to have an epithet; cf. IV. 87, 3 τῷ ὑμετέρῳ εὔνῳ. μὴ —with φαίνεσθαι. διότι—its ordinary sense is ‘because,’ but often from Aristotle onwards = ‘that.’
τὸ λύπουν —in order to secure a permanent advantage in the future, it may be necessary to submit to some temporary inconvenience (c. 53, 3), which a too hasty judgment may mistake for the only outcome of a far-sighted policy.
ἔχει —involves. so ‘makes itself felt.’
ἅπασι —with δήλωσις; the individual's perception of the immediate inconvenience being contrasted with the deferred realisation by the nation of the advantage.
ἐξ ὀλιγοῦ —c. 11, 4.
ταπεινὴ . ἐγκαρτερεῖν —cf. I. 50, 5 νῆες ὀλίγαι ἀμύνειν; v. 111, 2 τὰ ὑπάρχοντα βραχέα περιγίγνεσθαι. Shil. points out that this is not the same as ταπεινοτέρα ἢ ὥστε ἐγ.; being milder, it does not allege utter want of endurance: ‘You are weak in patiently abiding the change.’
Παραλόγῳ —that which is sudden and unexpected— for instance death in certain mortal but lingering diseases— does not necessarily overthrow one's original calculations. Hence the addition of τὸ ... ξυμβαῖνον to τὸ αἰφ. καὶ ἀ. ἄλλοις —neut.
Ἀντιπάλοις — = ἴσοις τῷ μεγέθει αὐτῆς. ξ. τὰς μεγί‐ στας —c. 2, 2.
ἐθέλειν —Shil.'s excellent remark that ἐθέλω = ‘I am willing,’ βούλομαι = ‘I wish,’ needs this much modification, that ἐθέλω is always used by a superior to an inferior, just as they speak of the ‘will’ of the gods. (In Plat. Gorg. 508 C, Shil. says a distinction is hardly recognised: but there ὁ βουλόμενος = ‘anyone who wishes,’ as usual, and ὁ ἐθέλων = ‘anyone whose will and pleasure it is’— εἰμὶ ἐπὶ τῷ βουλομένῳ ὤσπερ οἱ ἄτιμοι τοῦ ἐθέλοντος. At the same time, the example shows that the meanings of the two do overlap. Schmeizer on Plato, Phaedo, c. 50.)
ὑφίστασθαι — = ‘endure’ takes accus.: for meaning with dat., see L. and S.
ἀφανίζειν — c. 34, 3.
ἐν ἴσῳ — = ὁμοίως. δικαιοῦσι —c. 41, 5.
δόξης —with ἐλλείπει, as προσηκούσης with ὀρεγόμενον, the order being due to the elaborate antithesis.
ὅστις . . τὸν —the change of expression relieves the sentence. Isocr. 6, 90 έλέσθαι μὴ τὸ τούτοις ῥᾷστον, ἀλλ’ ὃ πρέπον ἔσται. ἀπαλγήσαντας— only found in Thuc.: for the force of ἀπὸ, cf. ἀπανθεῖν, ἀπέρδω, ἀποτύπτω. τοῦ κοινοῦ τῆς ς. —c. 60, 4.
πόνον —with ἀπέδειξα ὑποπτευόμενον, the object being repeated in αὐτὸν owing to the length of the sentence.
μὴ — subordinate to ὑποπτευόμενον. ὑπάρχον —with ἐνθυμηθῆναι, and both ἐς τὴν ἀρχὴν and μεγέθους πέρι belong to ὑπάρχον, ‘your possession of which, as bearing on your empire in respect of its greatness,’ i.e. ‘the existence of which, as it bears on the greatness of your empire.’
οὔτ’ ἐγὼ —sc. ἐχρησάμην αὐτῷ. κομπωδεστέραν—‘as the pretension it involves is rather arrogant.’
παρὰ τὸ εἰκὸς —‘unduly.’
Οἴεσθε —in this passage the topic τὸ δυνατὸν is used; Index, s.v. τόποι. μερῶν—depends on τοῦ ἑτέρου. ἐπὶ πλέον —sc. νέμεσθαι (c. 29, 2), ‘to any further extent you wish.’
ἄλλο —exclusive, cf. c. 14, 1; ‘nor any nation either.’ βασιλεὺς is not the Persian king, but goes with οὐκ ἔ. ὅστις. οὐδείς. τῶν ἐν τ. π.—cf. c. 41, 3.
ὥστε —the value of Attica cannot be compared with the value of the sea.
οὐ κατὰ .. χρείαν —‘not to be measured by the advantage derived from,’ i.e. is much greater than that. Shil. quotes many examples of οὐ or μὴ κατὰ meaning superior to; the same may mean inferior to, as in the phrase οὐ κατ’ ἀξίαν common in tragedy.
ὧν —sc. ἐστερημένοι. οὐδ’ εἰκὸς — neque decet, c. 10, 1.
χαλ. φέρειν —sc. ἐστερημένοι. [
αὐτῶν ]—probably due to a note ἐστερῆσθαι αὐτῶν. μᾶλλον ἢ οὐ —cf. III. 36, 4 πόλιν διαφθεῖραι μᾶλλον ἢ οὐ τοὺς αἰτίους. Shil. notes that ἢ implies a negative, just as πρὶν does ( A. J. of Phil. II. B. L. G. on πρἱν): and all sentences implying a neg. may be strengthened by an expressed neg. M. T. 815. Thus κινδυνεύω περὶ τοῦ μὴ σωθῆναι means the same thing as κινδυνεύω περὶ τοῦ σωθῆναι. κηπίον—a parterre of flowers. (The other view that κηπίον means a mode of dressing the hair is due to Aelius Dionysius: Eustath., p. 907, quotes Aelius, whose gloss also appears in Photius, Suidas, and more than once in Scholia; cf. Pollux, II. 29 κῆπος γὰρ οὐ μόνον φυταλιά, ἀλλὰ καὶ καλλσμὸς κόμης, κατ’ Αἰλιον Διονύσιον, καὶ κουρᾶς διάθεσις τῶν ἐν κεφαλῇ τριχῶν. Θουκυδίδης δὲ κηπίον φησι.)
ἐγκαλλώπισμα —of display in dress. Cf. Plato, Phaedo, p. 64 D τὰς ἄλλας τὰς περὶ τὸ σῶμα θεραπείας ... οἶον ἱματίων διαφερόντων κτήσεις καὶ ὑποδημάτων καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους καλλωπισμούς. γνῶναι —sc. εἰκός. ἀντιλ. αὐτῆς διασώσωμεν —c. 13, 2.
ἀναληψομένην ... φιλεῖν —the change of construction is due to the change in the sense of γνῶναι, which at first = know, then = judge or decide. M. T. 915.
ὑπακούσασι —with gen. of a perpetual attitude of submission, with dat. ( 61, 1) of submission at a particular moment.
πατέρων — the topic changes to τὸ συμφέρον. See 2 above. Demosth. 3, 36 μὴ παραχωρεῖν τῆς τάξεως ἣν ὑμῖν οἱ πρόγονοι μετὰ πολλῶν καὶ καλῶν κινδύνων κτησάμενοι κατέλιπον κατ’ ἀμφότερα — i.e. κατὰ τὸ κατασχεῖν καὶ διασώσαντες παραδοῦναι. But, as applied to his hearers, κατασχεῖν does not mean to acquire new empire, which Pericles discouraged; but to assert their mastery over their existing empire, and not think of surrendering it to Sparta: κατασχεῖν = both to get and to keep.
φανῆναι —sc. εἰκός. μετὰ πόνων —cf. I. 70, 8 μετἀ πόνων καὶ κινδύνων μοχθεῖν, ib. 19, 3 μετὰ κινδύνων τὰς μελετὰς ποιεῖδθαι. When abstract sing. nouns are used in these phrases (Thuc. has examples), as μετ’ ἀληθείας, the art. is rare.
προσέτι —once Thuc. uses πρὸς as an adv., III. 58, 5: elsewhere προσέτι. αὐτὰ —c. 36, 4.
αἴσχιον — Demosth. 2, 26 πολὺ ῥᾷον ἔχοντας φυλάττειν ἢ κτήσασθαι. ἔχοντας—δεξαμένους, while ἀφαιρεθῆναι is the opposite of κατασχεῖν καὶ διασώσασθαι. ἰέναι ὁμόσε—cf. c. 81, 5, obviam ire. φρονήματι καταφρονήματι —παρονομασία, in the style of Gorgias. Intr. p. lii. The antithesis between confidence and disdain is an antithesis between an instinctive feeling of superiority and a consciousness arising from knowledge of the enemy's inferiority. Cf. Livy, XXI. 41 non eo solum animo quo adversus alios hostes soletis pugnare velim; sed cum indignatione quadam atque ira, velut si servos videatis vestros arma repente contra vos ferentes.
Αὔχημα —Intr. p. liii. αὔχημα is not identified with φρόνημα, but is substituted as the natural result of it.
καὶ —‘mere.’
ἀμαθίας εὐτυχοῦς —fortune sometimes favours cowardly fools, and produces in them a habit of boasting. Pericles probably meant Cleon, and Thuc. suggests him by καὶ (= ‘even’) δειλῷ τινι. καταφρόνησις ὃς ἂν—cf. the definition in c. 44, 1. Sc. τούτῳ ἐγγίγνεται. γνώμῃ—certain knowledge, contrasted with ἀμαθία εὐ.; again suggesting Cleon, who made the un-Socratic discovery that ἀμαθία is ἀρετή! Intr. p. lxxiii.
Τόλμαν —one of the effects of καταφρόνησις, but not always of φρόνημα, which is compatible with cowardice.
ἡ ξύνεσις —stands very close to γνώμη, but only in the intellectual sense of clear insight and circumspection. For the principle that true courage is impossible without ξύνεσις, cf. c. 40, 4. (This illustrates the close connection between Ethics and Metaphysics, so often insisted upon by modern thinkers.)
ἐκ τοῦ ὑπέρφρονος —with ἐχυρωτέραν παρέχεται. ‘Intelligence gives greater solidity to courage as the result of a consciousness of superiority’; such a consciousness of superiority is therefore desirable.
ἐλπίδι —cf. V. 102 ἐπιστάμεθα τὰ τῶν πολέμων ἔστιν ὅτε κοινοτέρας τὰς τύχας λαμβάνοντα ἢ κατὰ τὸ διαφέρον ἑκατέρων πλῆθος. ‘Courage trusts not to hope because fortune has hitherto been fair (that is the strength of the helpless); rather it trusts to insight based on a survey of realities; and that is a far safer prophet.’ In this elaborate antithesis ( a) blind hope is contrasted with clear insight, ( b) the foundation on which hope is built is contrasted with the foundation on which insight is built, the one being treacherous ( τύχη), the other being firm, ( c) there is a contrast, in the form of chiasmus, between ἐλπίδι and ὑπάρχοντα, and between τύχης and γνώμη. ἀπὸ τῆς ὁμοίας τύχης—referring to 4 above; cowards boast when τύχη has been more than ὁμοία to them: the helpless hope on when τύχη has been as much as ὁμοία to them; for an equal share of Heaven's favours is enough to make them suppose they will not be destroyed But brave men, trusting in γνώμη, can bear up even under a temporary withdrawal of their share of Heaven's favour (c. 64, 2). (These words, if retained after τὴν τόλμαν, give no sense, since there is no reason why courage should come ἀπὸ ... τύχης , or why the effect of insight on courage should be limited by such a condition.)
ἀπόρῳ —neut.
γνώμῃ —Thuc. does not often contrast γνώμη with τύχη, by which γνώμη may always be over-ridden. Intr. p. xli.; I. 144, 4; V. 75 τυχῃ μὲν κακιζόμενοι, γνώμῃ δὲ οἱ αὐτοὶ ἔτι ὄντες. It is common in the orators, as Antiphon, 5, 92, Andoc. 1, 140 , Lys. 34, 2 , Isocr. 2, 30 .
Τῆς τε —the topic changes to τὸ συμφέρον; see c. 62, 3, Index s.v. τόποι. εἰκὸς — decet.
τῷ τιμωμένῳ —c. 59, 3. ‘You are bound to support the dignity which the state has obtained through our empire.’
ὑπὲρ ἅπαντας —not a common use of ὑπέρ. Cf. Isocr. ep. 4, 8 τοὺς ὑπὲρ αὑτοὺς ὄντας. τιμὰς—which, though belonging to the state, directly benefit every citizen; in those times the city was everything, the citizen nothing. Cf. 60, 3.
περὶ δουλείας ἀγωνίζεσθαι —as remarked on c. 62, 3, sentences like ἀγὼν περὶ τοῦ δοκεῖν ἀδίκως ἐπιθυμεῖν and ἀγὡν περὶ τοῦ μὴ δοκεῖν ἀ. ἐ. are identical in meaning. In the same way, with all verbs or nouns implying a contest, the noun with περὶ may describe either the object which the combatant referred to wishes to obtain, or the disaster he wishes to avoid, the two being the same thing regarded from different views: thus Lysias' ἐναντιοῦσθαι περὶ έλευθερίας (13, 17) is the same as ἀγωνίζεσθαι περὶ δουλείας. Cf. Lys. 3, 44 ἀγωνίζεσθαι περὶ θανάτου; 21, 20 ἀ. περὶ ἀσεβείας. Demosth. 1, 5 οὐ περὶ δόξης κίνδυνος άλλ’ ἀνδραποδισμοῦ τῆς πατρίδος. δουλείας — i.e. dependence on Sparta, as δ. often denotes merely the opposite of αὐτονομία. κινδύνου ὧν — periculo ob offensas in imperio contractas, danger due to the hatred to which you have been exposed in that empire. ὧν = τούτων ἅ, cognate accus. to ἀπήχθησθε. (One or two edd. prefer to take ὧν as masc., danger from those in governing whom you have incurred hatred; but that does not agree well with the abstract nature of the whole passage.)
Εἴ τις —referring to the combination to which the overtures to Sparta were due.
καὶ τόδε — i.e. τὸ ἐκστῆναι τῆς ἀρχῆς, ‘if that is the honourable part that any of you, prompted by his present apprehension and an indolent spirit, wishes to play.’ τόδε is cognate accus. to ἀνδραγαθίζεται. Cf. 1 above. The friends of peace did not admit that they wished ἐκστῆναι τῆς ἀρχῆς, but Pericles asserts that their policy would lead to loss of empire and even worse disasters.
ἀπραγμοσύνῃ — dat. of manner. The word is purposely chosen to include all who were playing into the hands of Sparta, if only by their apathy. Cf. Intr. p. lxxiii.
ὡς τυραννίδα —it is remarkable that Cleon, who had done so much to get up the attack on Pericles, utters the same sentiment, III. 40. Cleon was really by no means anxious for peace (see Intr. p. lxxiv. fol.), and it is probable that Pericles here points out the absurdity of Cleon's present attitude by adopting a phrase of which all knew that he was fond; leaving the friends of ἀπραγμοσύνη to settle matters with the friends of τυραννὶς as best they could.
ἄδικον δοκεῖ — viz. ‘to the world.’ Pericles does not himself assert that the empire is a despotism, or that it was unjustly acquired: he alludes to an opinion then especially prevalent.
ἐπικίνδυνον —sc. ἐστί.
Οἱ τοιοῦτοι — i.e. οἱ τόδε ἀνδραγαθιζόμενοι. ἑτέρους πείσαντες—‘if they should get others to adopt their views.’
καὶ —with τέ , sive ... sive. Observe the ἰσόκωλον on each side of καί, cf. c. 40, 1, and the ὁμοιοτέλευτα in ἀπολέσειαν and οἰκήσειαν. (These similar endings are not common in Thuc.: there are about a dozen in this book.)
εἴ που —the second protasis to πόλιν ἀπολέσειαν. ἐπὶ σφῶν αὐτῶν—‘by themselves,’ a hint that if they want their ideas carried out, they had better go and live somewhere else. For the phrase, cf. v. 67 , 1; VI. 40, 2 αὐτὴ έφ’ αὺτῆς; VIII. 63, 4.
τὸ ἄπραγμον —‘indolence is not secure unless it be ranged beside activity; nor yet is it expedient in a sovereign state, but only in one that is in subjection, to seek safety by submission.’ τὸ ἄπραγμον and τὸ δραστήριον are for οἱ ἀπράγμονες, οἱ δραστήριοι. Cf. c. 44, 1.
σῴζεται ... τεταγμένον —military words. If indolent persons wish to come out of the struggle safe, they had better take sides with the active; i.e. the peace party can only gain a secure peace by supporting the war party, instead of making overtures to the enemy. Cf. Demosth. 6, 25 οὐ φυλάξεσθ’ ὅπως μὴ πολέμου ζητοῦντες ἀπαλλαγῆναι δεσπότην εὕρητε; ξυμφέρει —subject ὰσφαλῶς δουλεύειν, before which τὸ is omitted, as in c. 35, 1, 39, 4.
ἀσφαλῶς δ. — this is what τὸ ἄπραγμον really means, says Pericles, it is not σωτηρία, as the friends of peace pretend, but δουλεία : ἀσφαλῶς corresponds to οὐ σῴζεται, δουλεύειν to μὴ μετὰ τοῦ δραο τηρίου τεταγμένον, which shows that the adv. is emphatic.
δουλεύειν —cf. 1 above; a state now ἄρχουσα becomes a slave by submitting. Cf. c. 42, 4. (For other views of this passage, see other editions.)
Δῑ ὀργῆς —c. 13, 2.
εἰκὸς ἦν —sc. δρᾶσαι. Cf. c. 11, 8.
πρᾶγμα ... γεγενημένον —for the change to a neut. expression cf. c. 47, 3. πρᾶγμα is in apposition to the sentence generally, as in Andoc. 1, 39 τοῦθ’ ὑπέθετο, δεινότατον πρᾶγμα οἶμαι. ἐλπίδος—cf. c. 11, 6, 85, 4, 102, 3.
κρεῖσσον —cf. c. 41, 3.
οἶδ’ ὅτι —cf. εὖ οἶδ’ ὅτι, and δῆλον ὅτι. μέρος τι —‘considerably.’ [ τι ] εὖ πράξητε —either εὖ ποιεῖν, εὖ πράττειν, etc., or ἀγαθόν τι ποιεῖν, ἀγαθόν τι πράττειν, etc., are the phrases. For the latter, cf. Isocr. 2, 20 , Aristoph. Eccles. 108 .
ἀναθήσετε —‘you intend to attribute it to me.’ So the fut. indic. with εἰ may follow optat. with ἄν, and even alternate with εἰ and optat., as Andoc. 1, 30 δεινὸν ἂν εἴη, εἰ ὲμοὶ ὀργίζοισθε καὶ τὴν διαβολὴν ... κρείττω τῆς ἀληθείας ἡγήσεσθε.
Φἑρειν τε —another reason why their indignation is unmerited is that the plague is sent by a higher power.
τὰ δαιμόνια —this phrase, for τὰ τῆς τύχης, only occurs here, and, as Cl. says, it is probably borrowed from the language of philosophers. Cf. θεῖος, contrasted with ἀνθρώπινος, in Plato; also Andoc. 1, 139 κίνδυνοι θεῖοι) ( κ. ἀνθρώπινοι. ἀναγκαίως —‘with resignation.’ The inevitable should be endured, not argued over.
τά τε ἀπὸ —there is chiasmus with I above; οἱ ὲναντίοι, ἡ νόσος, τὰ δαιμόνια, τὰ ἀπὸ τῶν π. ἐν ἔθει ἦν— ‘was the habit of.’
ἐν ὑμῖν —‘by your act.’ Cf. c. 35 , 1.
κωλυθῇ —‘let it not be impeded,’ i.e. ‘let not your action check it.’
Διὰ τὸ —belongs to εἴκειν and ἀνηλωκέναι. (The Schol., who makes ἀνηλωκέναι depend on γνῶτε, has the honour of having misled Shil.)
πλεῖστα δὲ —‘has never yielded ..., but has sacrificed.’
μεγίστην δὴ —antithesis to ὄνομα μέγιστον. Notice the frequent use of superlatives, esp. μέγιστος and πλεῖστος. Cf. c. 11, 1.
ἢν καὶ νῦν —‘even if, in our present condition ( i.e. in spite of our present power), we should give way at all. Pericles admits the possibility of a decline of the empire.’
καὶ ἐλασσοῦσθαι —‘to decay as well (as to grow).’
καταλελείψεται —permanent result in fut. M. T. 78.
Ἑλλήνων τε ὅτι —epexegesis of ἧς = δυνάμεως. Cf. Plat. Rep. v. p. 469 B Ἕλληνας Ἑλληνίδας πόλεις ἀνδραποδίζεσθαι. ὅτι—put late, because of the emphasis on Ἑλλήνων. πολέμοις—temporal. Cf. c. 13, 9.
καθ’ ἑκάστους —depends, as though it were one word, on πρός. τοῖς πᾶσιν —c. 11, 6.
Καίτοι —‘now it is true that,’ making an admission that increase of power does not increase the number of friends. The objection is answered in 5 below. (Only Bäumlein and Sta. make this clear.)
ἀπράγμων —referring to other states, yet with a hint at οἱ ἀπράγμονες in Athens.
μέμψαιτ’ ἄν — corresponds to the fut. ζηλώσει, φθονήσει. καὶ αὐτὸς —with δρᾶν, ‘he who is ambitious like ourselves.’
ζηλώσει —note the difference between ζῆλος and φθόνος. L. and S. s.v. ζῆλος. εἰ ... κέκτηται —= ὅστις κέκτηται= ὁ κεκτημένος.
Ἐν τῷ παρόντι —‘for a time,’ i.e. until other nations become habituated to it. Cf. c. 41, 2.
ἕτεροι ἑτέρων —c. 51, 1 and 4. Cf. I. 84 διαφέρειν ἄνθρωπον ἀνθρώπου and 3 above; Livy, XXI. 10, 4 ex bellis bella serendo.
ὅστις ... λαμβάνει —= ὁ λαμβάνων. ἐπὶ μεγίστοις—cf. c. 29, 3 ἐπ’ ὠφελίᾳ. ἡ δὲ κ.τ.λ.—there is only one idea in the subject: lit. ‘that which is the splendour of the present remains also the glory of the future in memory for ever,’ by which he means great power, τὰ μέγιστα above. In the present, such power is viewed with dislike, though it is a splendid thing to have; but hatred is short-lived, and in the future will be changed into admiration and respect. Even if this great power decline, it is still remembered. The second member is the more important.
Ἔς τε τὸ μέλλον —there is chiasmus here; παραυτίκα, ἐς τὸ ἔπειτα, ἐς τὸ μέλλον, ἐς τὸ αὐτίκα. προγνόντες—‘providing for future glory and present escape from disgrace, secure both by making an effort now.’
ἐπικηρυκεύεσθε —see c. 1 ἐπεμείγνυντο. Cf. ἐπιδικἀζεσθαι. οἵτινες—with this conclusion, cf. the close of Nicias' speech, VI. 14 τὸ καλῶς ἄρξαι τοῦτ’ εἶναι, ὃς ἂν κ.τ.λ. πρὸς — propter, c. 91, 4.
οὗτοι —c. 58, 3.
καὶ πόλεων καὶ ἰδιωτῶν —sums up the lesson of the whole speech. The interests of the individual cannot be considered apart from those of the community. Cf. Isocr. 3, 51 .
Τῆς ἐπ’ αὐτὸν —‘the indignation directed against him.’
δεινῶν —here regarded from the point of view of the sufferers; in 77, 1 from that of those who cause the suffering.
ἀπάγειν τὴν γ. —cf. c. 59, 3.
Ἀνεπείθοντο —c. 14, 1.
ὁ μὲν —cf. c. 21, 3.
ἀπ’ ἐλασσόνων —‘having less to start with,’ i.e. before the war.
ἐστέρητο —so Andoc. 3, 8 ; Aeschin. 2, 173 of this period.
{ἐν} οἰκοδομίαις —‘consisting in buildings and costly furniture,’ with κτήματα. Cf. Dinarch. 1, 5 ἡ ἐν τῷ λέγειν δύναμις. τὸ δὲ μέγιστον—‘above all,’ adverbial accus.
Πρότερον ... πρὶν —this insertion of πρότερον is due to the comparative and negative nature of πρίν. It is very common. M. T. 658.
χρήμασιν —cf. IV. 65 φυγῇ ἐζημίωσαν. For the probable circumstances see Intr. p. lxxvi.
Ὕστερον —Intr. p. lxxvii.
οὐ πολλῷ —about six months.
ὅπερ φιλεῖ —Thuc.'s objections to a thorough-going democracy are (1) that it is uncertain in its policy, (2) that it encourages rivalry among demagogues, and consequently party strife. Cf. Burke, Reflections, ‘Not being wholly unread in the authors who had seen the most of those constitutions, I cannot help concurring with their opinion, that an absolute democracy, no more than absolute monarchy, is to be reckoned among the legitimate forms of government.’
πάντα — i.e. made him στρατηγὸς αὐτοκράτωρ. ὧν ... ἤλγει —cf. Eur. Hec. 1256 παιδὸς ἀλγεῖν, a poetical construction. Supply ταῦτα, accus. of respect, to ἀμβλύτεροι, and to πλείστου ἄξιον. ἡ ξύμπασα—the state is contrasted with the individuals of which it consists. Cf. c. 7, 2. ξύμπασα ἡ would contrast the whole with part of the city.
Ὅσον τε ... ἐπεί τε — i.e. throughout his administra- tion, both before and after the outbreak of war. For τε ... τε, cf. c. 22, 1, 64, 2, 6.
προύστη —Pericles had been decidedly the first man in Athens since the ostracism of Thucydides, son of Melesias, in 444 B.C.
ἐν τῇ εἰρήνῃ — i.e. the Thirty Years' peace of 445 B.C. (So Bloomfield rightly; for the period 458-445 was regarded as πόλεμος, Andoc. 3, 6 ; Aeschin. 2, 174 . Pericles' decisive appearance dates from B.C. 468, but as πόλεμος below cannot include B.C. 458-445, εἰρήνη cannot include 468-458.)
διεφύλαξεν —the aor. gives the result of his policy. Cf. c. 49, 5. Andocides and Aeschines dilate on the advantages gained by Athens during the peace.
μεγίστη —attributes the greatness of Athens, on which Pericles so often insisted, to Pericles himself. Andoc. and Aesch. wrongly assign the creation of the reserve fund (c. 24 ) to the period of the peace. Andoc., being a consummate liar, probably did this on purpose, and misled Aesch. and puzzled some modern historians.
ὁ δὲ — cf. c. 46, 1. M. T. 564.
δύναμιν —sc. τῆς πόλεως. Cf. 13 below. Unfortunately Pericles failed to notice two sources of weakness: (1) the growing discontent of the allies, (2) the lack of rising politicians who would carry on his policy after his death.
Ἐπεβίω —‘lived beyond’ the beginning of the war.
δ. ἔτη καὶ μ. ἓξ —Intr. p. xvii.
ἐγνώσθη —here follows a defence of Pericles' war policy. The proofs offered of his wisdom are (1) the reversal of his policy led to disaster, (2) in spite of that reversal, Athens held out against great odds until ruined by internal dissensions. This may prove that his policy was good, but Thuc. goes too far in 13 when he implies that Athens would certainly have succeeded if Pericles' advice had been followed.
ἡ πρόνοια ἐς —cf. c. 64, 6, and for the order, c. 52, 1.
Ἡσυχάζοντας — i.e. they were to adopt the policy of wearing out Sparta, and not to attempt to bring the war to an end by a few battles.
ναυτικὸν θεραπεύοντες —the object of Athens was to obtain the recognition of her maritime supremacy, as it existed in 431.
ἀρχἡν μἡ ἐπικτωμένους — not to attempt conquests while the war lasted.
τῇ πόλει κινδυνεύειν —‘endanger the existence of the state,’ by distant undertakings or great land battles.
οἱ δὲ —other ancient authors contrasted Pericles with the demagogues who followed him, as Isocr. 8, 127 , [Aristot.] Rep. Ath. 28 ἕως Π. προειστήκει τοῦ δήμου βελτίω τὰ κατὰ τὴν πολιτείαν ἦν, τελευτήσαντος δὲ Περικλέους πολὺ χείρω. ἔξω τοῦ πολέμου—‘things which seemed to have no connection with the war,’ but really had; e.g. the rivalry between politicians, which led to bad government and consequent mismanagement.
σφίσι —for σφίσιν αὐτοῖς as c. 4, 1.
κατὰ —cf. 11 below.
τοὺς ξυμμάχους — by producing ill-feeling towards Athens among the allies.
κατορθούμενα —reflecting on the selfish policy of Cleon and Alcibiades.
βλάβη κ. —‘proved injurious.’ βλάβη sums up τὰ κακῶς πεπολιτευμένα, the result of which was seen in the Decelean war.
Ἀξιώματι —c. 37, 1.
χρημἄτων δ. ἀδωρότατος — Thuc. again alludes to Pericles' trial. Cf. c. 60, 5.
ἐλευθέρως —cf. c. 37, 2, ‘while respecting their liberty.’
οὐ μᾶλλον —‘instead of.’
διὰ τὸ μὴ . . λέγειν —this is answered by ἔχων. Cf. v. 16, 1 διὰ τὸ εὐτυχεῖν parallel to νομίζων, VII. 70, 4 διὰ τὸ φεύγειν parallel to ἐπιπλέουσα. ἐξ οὐ π.—contrast c. 17, 2 μὴ ἐπ’ ἀγαθῷ. ἐπ’ ἀξιώσει —c. 34, 6. Cf. ἐπ’ αἰσχρᾷ αἰτίᾳ VII. 48, 4; and Livy, XXI. 49 haud cum imparatis, for cum haud imparatis.
πρὸς ὀργήν —‘angrily.’ (Arnold translates ‘so as to excite their anger,’ because πρὸς ὀργήν corresponds to πρὸς ἡδονήν; which no one would think of translating ‘willingly.’ But neither does πρὸς ἡδονὴν = ‘so as to excite their pleasure’; rather πρὸς ἡ. λέγειν = ‘to speak pleasantly,’ ‘to say pleasant things’: moreover Arnold presses the antithesis too closely. ἀντειπεῖν is not the opposite of λέγειν.) Cf. III. 43, 5; VIII. 27, 6. For Pericles' freedom of speech, cf Eupolis, frag. τὸ κέντρον ἐγκατέλιπε τοῖς ἀκροωμένοις, comparing Pericles to a bee.
Γοῦν —‘at any rate,’ introducing an illustration which explains in what sense the preceding statement is to be taken.
κατέπλησσεν —later demagogues, on the contrary, tried only to humour the people.
ἐγίγνετό τε —‘and so it came about that.’ This is an explicit statement that Pericles owed his ascendancy to the influence he had acquired by his abilities.
λόγῳ μὲν —such a tempered democracy was the ideal constitution of Thuc. Cf. VIII. 24, 4, 97, 2.
ὑπὸ ... ἀρχή —the verbal substantive constructed like a pass. partic.
Οἱ δὲ ὕστερον —answering ἐκεῖνος μὲν in 8 above. So ἴσοι ... ὄντες corresponds to δυνατὸς ὢν. αὐτοὶ ... πρὸς ἀλλὴλους—might have been αὐτοὶ πρὸς ἁτούς. Cf. c. 5, 5 on διαβουλευόμενων. καθ’ ἡδονὰς—depends on ἐνδιὁόναι, ‘so as to suit any popular whim.’
καὶ τὰ πράγματα — i.e. to gain their object they were ready not only to flatter the people, but even to place the administration of the state entirely in their hands.
ἐνδιδόναι —after ἐτράποντο ‘they set themselves to.’
Ἄλλα — e.g. the rejection of the Spartan overtures for peace in 410 B.C., and the aggressive warfare of 424 B.C.
ὡς —‘as is natural’ when the administration of a great empire is entirely in the hands of the people.
ὁ ... πλοῦς —sc. ἡμαρτήθη, ὁ πλοῦς being viewed as an ἔργον τοῦ πολέμου. Cf. III. 67 ἁμαρτανόμενα ἔργα, Plato, Rep. VIII. p. 544 D πόλεις ἡμαρτημένας. ( ἡμαρτήθη is not impersonal, a constr. nearly confined to perf. pass.)
ἁμάρτημα πρὸς οὓς —the construction is similar to c. 44, 1 τὸ δ’ εὐτυχἐς, οἳ ἂν κ.τ.λ., 62, 4 καταφρόνησις δὲ ὃς ἂν κ.τ.λ.; thus ἁμάρτημα ἦν πρὸς οὓς ἐ. follows the construction of ἡμἀρτανον πρὸς οὓς ἐ. ‘It was not so much an error of judgment with regard to the people whom they were intending to attack; the blunder they made was rather that the people responsible for the expedition did not consult the interests of those who had been sent out in their subsequent measures.’
ὅσον ... ἐπιγιγνώσκοντες —sc. ἁμάρτημα ἦν. Cf. IV. 26 αἴτιον ἦν οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι προειπόντες. οἱ ἐκπέμψαντες—the extreme democrats.
οὐ τὰ πρόσφορα —of the measures taken after the mutilation of the Hermae, esp. the recall of Alcibiades.
κατὰ —‘in consequence of intrigues for the leadership of the democracy.’ Cf. κατὰ πενίαν c. 37, 1. Thuc. alludes to the position of δήμου προστάτης, recognised leader of the popular party. The list, according to [Arist.] Rep. Ath. 28, is Solon, Pisistratus, Cleisthenes, Xanthippus, Themistocles, Ephialtes, Pericles; after whom the popular leaders degenerated with Cleon and Cleophon.
τά τε —‘they conducted the military operations without vigour.’ Thuc. shifts the blame of the disaster from Nicias to the home authorities.
ἀμβλύτερα —with less vigour than they had since the war broke out.
τὰ περὶ —accus. of respect; έταρἁχθησαν being ‘ingressive.’
πρῶτον — i.e. for the first time during the war. What ruined Athens in the war was the internal discord that broke out after Pericles' death.
Σφαλέντες ... παρασκευῇ —for the dat. cf. 7 above.
δέκα — i.e. 413-404 B.C.
μὲν —answered by καὶ οὐ πρότερον, just as we sometimes find μὲν ... τέ, τε .. δέ. βασιλέως— Darius.
προσγενομένῳ —from 407 B.C.
πρότερον ... ἢ — cf. c. 40, 2. M. T. 653.
ἐν σφίσι —for ἐν σφίσιν αὐτοῖς. See c. 4, 1.
κατὰ —cf. 11 above. [ περιπεσόντες ]—περιπίπτειν regularly takes the dat., and no case in which it takes any prep. but ἐν is known The phrase συμφοραῖς περιπεσεῖν is very common, and probably a commentator wrote this in the margin to illustrate κατὰ .. ἐσφάλησαν .
ἐπερίς‐ σευσε —sc. ταῦτα from ἀφ’ ὧν, ‘such an abundance of resources had Pericles, by means of which he of himself foresaw.’
καὶ πάνυ —c. 11, 6, 51, 2.
αὐτῶν —‘alone.’
πολέμῳ — c. 13, 9.
Εἰσὶ —sc. οἱ Ζακύνθιοι. Cf. c. 26, 2.
τῶν ἐκ — attraction of prep., due to ἄποικοι .
Ἐπέπλεον —‘were on board.’
Κνῆμος —c. 80 fol.
ναύαρχος —an office held for a year. The admiral was almost as important as the kings, who commanded the land forces. His power increased when the Spartan navy became more important.
ξυνεχώρουν —‘did not seem likely to yield,’ imperf. of uncompleted action. Cf. Eur. Her. Fur. 538 καὶ τἄμ’ ἔθνῃσκε τέκν’, ἀπωλλύμην δ’ ἐγώ.
Πρατόδαμος —see not. crit. Mss. often Atticise un-Attic names.
ἰδίᾳ —probably he represented the philo. Lacoman party at Argos; the city was neutral, c. 9, 2.
Σιτάλκην —c. 29. στρατεῦσαι ἐπὶ— ‘send an army to relieve.’
ἦν ... πολιορκοῦν —c. 12, 2. ἦν = versabatur, ‘was engaged.’
δῑ ἐκείνου —‘with his aid.’
Φαρνάκην —satrap of Dascylium, the N. satrapy of Asia Minor, Sardis being the S. satrapy.
ἀναπέμψειν —‘escort inland’; cf. ἀναβαίνειν.
Τὴν ἐκείνου πόλιν — i.e. Athens.
τὸ μέρος —with βλάψωσιν, ‘do their hest to injure,’ adverbial accus.
Περαιώσειν —‘send them across.’ No subject is given for ἔμελλον, but ‘Sitalces and Sadocus’ has to be supplied from the context.
πρὶν ἐσβαίνειν —generally πρὶν takes aor. infin.; the pres. means ‘before the embarkation began.’
καὶ ἐκέλευσεν —sc. τοὺς πεμφθέντας. He ‘had given orders’ before the expedition started.
Τὰ ... τῶν ἐπὶ Θ. —‘the difficulties in Chalcidice.’ Aristeus had been sent with 2000 men from Corinth to aid Potidaea when it revolted, I. 60. πάντας—probably Cleon was responsible for the death of the Spartan envoys. They should have been kept in prison as hostages. Pericles had no voice now in the government, and Thuc. hints that he views this act as a blunder.
δικαιοῦντες —c. 41, 5.
οἷσπερ . . ὑπῆρξαν —attraction for ἅπερ ὑπῆρξαν. Shil. quotes Dem. 19, 321 τὰς εὐεργεσίας ἃς ὑπῆρξαν εἰς ὑμᾶς , lsocr. 14, 57 τὴν αὐτὴν εὐεργεσίαν ἥνπερ αὐτοὶ τυγχάνομεν είς ὑμᾶς ὑπάρξαντες , Aeschin. 2, 26 τὰς εὐεργεσίας ἃς ὑμεῖς ὑπήρξατε. οὓς ἔλαβον—probably some special occasion is here referred to, and the merchants were captured by privateers.
πάντας δὴ —‘without exception,’ δὴ strengthening πάντας. Cf. c. 77, 2.
μηδὲ μεθ’ ἑτέρων —c. 72, 1.
Ἀναστήσαντες —cf. c. 96, 1. πολλοὺς is attracted to the partic, and stands for πολλοί, by a common idiom.
Ἄργος —the Peloponnesians were very anxious to weaken the influence of Athens on the west coast, as they wanted to improve their means of communication with Sicily.
Ἤρξατο πρῶτον —c. 36, 1, 48, 1. the account which follows is inserted to clear up an uncertainty which existed in Thuc.'s time with regard to the history of the northern Argos.
Ἀ. τὴν ἄλλην —Intr. p. xxxvi.
ἀρεσκόμενος τῇ — the pass. of ἀρέσκω is only found in Herod. and Thuc. of Attic writers.
τῇ ... καταστάσει —he found that his brother Alcmaeon had killed their mother Eriphyle. Emigration was then the last resource of the discontented.
ὀνομόσας —the time of the partic. is not here past relatively to the verb ἔκτισε, but is comcident with it. M. T. 150.
Μεγίστη .. δυνατωτάτους —cf. c. 64, 3; μέγεθος of the size, δύναμις of the influence of a state.
Ὑπὸ ξ. . πιεζόμενοι —c. 47, 4.
ἡλληνίσθησαν — ‘adopted the Greek language, which they now speak.’
τὴν νῦν γ. —cognate accus.
ἀπὸ τῶν Ἀ. ξυνοικησάντων —‘as the result of this joint settlement.’ Cf. c. 49, 4 and 2, 1. Ambracia was a colony of Corinth.
Ἀργείους — = οἱ Ἀμφίλοχοι of 7.
χρόνῳ — = χρόνῳ ὕστερον.
Φορμίωνα —some time before the Peloponnesian war.
Ἀμπρακιώτας —those in Argos.
αἱροῦσι ... καὶ ἠνδραπόδισαν —contrast c. 67, 3. See 2 below.
Ἡ ξ. —c. 9, 4. It was very important to Athens.
Ἔχθραν ... ἐποιήσαντο —act. of ἔχθρα ἐγένετο in 2 above.
ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ —c. 65, 7.
Χαόνων —see c. 80, 5.
τἡν δὲ πόλιν —put before ὡς for the sake of the antithesis.
Ὁρμώμενος —‘making Naupactus his head-quarters.’
ἐπὶ —‘to the coast.’
ταῦτα —‘in these parts.’
ἀργυρολογῶσι —‘collect arrears of tribute.’
μἡ ἐῶσιν —‘prevent.’
Φασηλίδος —a Dorian port of Lycia.
τῆς ἐκεῖθεν —for τῆς ἐκεῖ, by attraction to ἀπό. Cf. c. 84, 5.
Ἀποθνῄσκει .. διέφθειρε —‘fell after losing.’ The aor. is antecedent in time to the hist. pres., but is placed after it, and joined by καὶ as the more important member. Cf. c. 67, 3 ξυλλαμβάνει .. ἐκέλευσεν.
Αἵ τε ... ὅ τε ... καὶ ἄλλα τε ... καί τινες —there are two members to this sentence, united by the first καί: each of these two is bisected, the first by τε ... τε, the second by τε ... καί τινες. οὐδὲν μ. ἀπανίστασαν—‘did not force the Athenians to raise the siege,’ any more than the embassies sent by Sparta to Athens before the war demanding that the army should be withdrawn from Potidaea. Intr. p. lxviii. ἀπανίστημι is not found in any other Attic writer. Herod. III. 156.
ἐπεγεγένητο —cf. c. 4, 2.
ἀναγκαίας —‘in their straits for food.’ ‘Non pas nécessaire à la vie, mais imposée par la nécessité.’ Cr. Livy, XXI. 14 pacem magis necessariam quam aequam.
ἀλλήλων ἐγέγευντο —Josephus, VI. 3, 3 wrongly calls such cannibalism a horror unheard of among Greeks. With the austere brevity of Thuc.'s description contrast Macaulay's account of the sufferings in Londonderry, Hist. Eng. c. 12, but the propriety of the close of the picture, where the story of ‘the fat man’ is introduced, may be questioned.
οὕτω δὴ —c. 12, 4.
ἐπὶ σφίσι τ. — ‘against’; contrast c. 90, 2. Cf. III. 13 αἱ δ’ ἐφ’ ἡμῖν τετάχαται. Χενοφῶντι —c. 79.
ἐν —belongs to τὴν ταλαιπωρίαν; for the use cf. c. 3, 1.
ἐς τὴν π. —Intr. p. lxxvii.
Ἐπὶ τοῖσδε ξυνέβησαν, ἐξελθεῖν —cf. IV. 16 ναῦς παρα‐ δοῦναι κομίσαντας Ἀθηναίοις ... αἱ μὲν σπονδαὶ ἐπὶ τούτοις ἐγένοντο. In VIII. 18 the imperative is used throughout the terms. ‘The men ... to go out.’ The inf. is not for ἐπὶ τῷ ἐξελθεῖν, but is the use noticed in c. 13, 1.
ξὺν ἑνὶ — cum singulis vestimentis, Livy, XXI. 12.
γυναῖκας δὲ —probably Thuc. is quoting the actual terms; so he is not responsible for what seems at first an odd correction of γυναῖκας above, but is quite suited to the cumbrous diction of officials. ‘With one garment, except the women.’
Ἄνευ αὐτῶν — injussu suo or privato consilio.
ξυνέ‐ βησαν —might have been ξυμβαῖεν, as in 21, 3. M. T. 713, 714.
ᾗ ἐβούλοντο — Recta, ἐκρατήσαμεν ἂν ᾗ ὲβουλόμεθα, whereas ᾖ βούλοιντο would represent ᾗ ἂν βουλώμεθα. The sentence is equivalent to κρατήσαντες ἂν ἐχρησάμεθα τῇ πόλει ᾗ ἐβουλόμεθα. Cf. c. 4, 7.
ἐποίκους —c. 27, 1. See on c. 101, 6.
Ταῦτα μὲν ... καὶ —the break between μὲν and τοῦ δ’, c. 71, is certainly not violent enough to warrant the supposition that καὶ δεύτερον ἔτος κ.τ.λ. is spurious. In a well-marked antithesis like ταῦτα μὲν ... χειμῶνι, τοῦ δὲ ... θέρους, an author could insert any parenthesis he chose between the μὲν and δὲ clauses. (So Andoc. 1, 29 περὶ μὲν τῶν μυστηρίων summarises what has preceded: then follows a parenthesis of five sections: then in 34 περὶ δὲ τῶν ἀναθημάτων introduces what follows.)
Ἐς μὲν ... ἐστράτευσαν δ’ —cf. c. 94, 4, 98, 2.
πέμψαντες ... ἔλεγον —c. 6, 2.
Οὐ δίκαια —cf. c. 5, 5, the Plataeans had told the Thebans ὅτι οὐ τὰ πεποιημένα ὁσίως δράσειαν. They now appeal both to τὸ δίκαιον and τὸ καλόν. πατέρων ὧν ἐστε— = τῶν πατέρων. Παυσανίας—this was done after the battle of Plataea, 479 B C., after burying the fallen in the territory of Plataea, which was declared autonomous and inviolable.
ἐλευθερώσας —this would remind the Spartans of their professed object in the present war. How could it be ἄξιον ἑαυτῶν to come ἐπὶ δουλείᾳ τῇ Πλαταιῶν? Cf. c. 8, 4.
ἐλευθερώσας . . θύσας —the first partic. is prior in time to the second, and the second prior to the main verb. Cf. c. 52, 3 φθάσαντες . . ἐπιθέντες ... ὑφῆπτον. ξυνάρασθαι τὸν κ.— cf. Demosth. 1, 24 ς. τὰ πράγματα, but the gen. is commoner.
Ἐλευθερίῳ —Pausanias mentions an altar of Zeus Eleutherius and a festival called Eleutheria at Plataea.
ἀπεδίδου —‘conceded’ the right, the imperf. representing the details of the act,
αὐτονόμους —with ἔχοντας. στρατεῦσαι—the change of tense from οἰκεῖν shows that the pres. denotes the continuous, the aor. the single act.
εἰ δὲ μή — introduces the alternative, whether a positive or a negative precedes.
ἀμύνειν —‘Pausanias can scarcely have offered these guarantees in the name of the confederacy without a resolution of the council of strategi to this effect.’ Busolt, G. Gesch. III. p. 212.
Τάδε —c. 41, 2.
τῶν ἡμῖν ἐχθίστων —c. 1 τῶν ἑκατέροις ξυμμάχων.
Ὁρκίους γενομένους —cf. Livy, XXI. 10 foederum arbitros ac testes.
τοὺς ὑμετέρους πατρῴους καὶ ἡ· ἐγχωρίους —‘the gods of your race and of our country.’ πατρῶοι are gods of a family. Cl. says the one art. shows that the same gods are meant by both expressions, but it may only show that the θεοὶ ὅρκιοι are contrasted with the θ. πατρῷοι and θ. ἐγχώριοι. The θ. ὅρκιοι, Arn. says, would be affronted by the violation of the oath; the θ. πατρῷοι of Sparta because the act of Pausanias was annulled; the θ. ἐγχώριοι of Plataea because they would be driven into exile if the strangers seized their land.
ἐδικαίωσε —c. 41, 5.
Τοσαῦτα —c. 12, 1.
ὑπολαβὼν —‘in answer’; as often in Plato.
δίκαια λέγετε — i.e. the justice of your words depends on how far your own acts correspond to your statements.
αὐτονομεῖσθε —imper.
αὐτῶν —the influence of the rel. is lost. Cf. c. 4, 5.
τῶν ἄλλων — i.e. those who did not take part in the battle and ceremony of 479, and are now under the rule of Athens.
ἧς —cf. c. 43, 4 οὓς νῦν ὑμεῖς. μετασχόντες—share in the liberation of Greece as your confederates did then.
πρότερον —the occasion is unknown.
μηδὲ μεθ’ ἑτέρων —c. 67, 4.
δέχεσθε —c. 7, 2.
Ἀδύνατα —the plur. points to the details of a com- plicated action.
ἄνευ —c. 70, 4.
παρ’ ἐκείνοις —cf. c. 21, 3.
εἷεν —the infin. is usual after γὰρ on continuing Or. Obliqua, and this is the only instance of the opt. in Thuc. See also on c. 80, 1, M. T. 675.
οὐκ ἐπιτρέπωσι — i.e. to remain neutral.
ἔνορκοι —‘being included in the treaty in consequence of the stipulation that the Plataeans should admit both.’
πειράσωσι —in the sense of πειρῶμαι. Cf. c. 19, 1, 77, 2. Several MSS. read πειράσουσι, and the fut. indic. after a verb of fearing is occasionally found, as Aristoph. Eccles. 465 , Plat. Rep. V. p. 451 A. But there is no case in Thuc.
Ὑμεῖς δὲ —here δὲ = ἀλλὰ in an answer.
γῆς ὅρους —art. omitted in a geographical expression. Cf. c. 13, 6.
ἕξομεν —sc. ἂ ἂν παραλάβωμεν. παρακαταθήκην—pred. Cf. Plat. Rep. I. p. 332 ἀποδοῦναι παρακαταθεμένῳ. ἐργαζόμενοι —cf. χρήματα ἔνεργα.
Πείθωσιν —perhaps πείσωσιν should be read.
ἡμέ‐ ρας ἐσπείσατο —accus. of duration, ἐν αἷς replacing the numeral.
εἰκὸς ἦν —c. 11, 8.
κομισθῆναι —‘return’ from Athens.
Ἀπαγγέλλοντες —Intr. p. lxxviii.
Ξύμμαχοι —in B.C. 520.
περιόφεσθαι —sc. ἀδικου‐ μένους. ἐπισκήπτουσι—regular word for a solemn order; esp. used of a dying person's last requests.
πρὸς —the only case of this use in Thuc.
Ἐβουλεύσαντο ... ὁρῶντας ... πάσχοντας —the accus., where the nom. is expected, is due to εἰ δεῖ, which interrupts the subject.
ἀδύνατα —c. 72, 2.
Ἐντεῦθεν δὴ —marking the decisive moment. Cf. c. 58, 2.
πρῶτον μὲν —answered by τοσαῦτα ἐπιθειάσας c. 75, 1.
Ξυνίστορες —a solemn word. Aesch. Ag. 1055 , Soph. Ant. 542 , Eur. Supp. 1174 .
οὔτε τὴν άρχὴν ἤλθομεν —‘we did not at first attack.’ This is answered by οὔτε νῦν. δὲ —answers ἀδίκως. τὸ ξυνώμοτον—the oath to aid in giving freedom to Greece. It would certainly be supposed that the oaths then taken were only binding in the war against Persia. Cf. c. 72, 1.
γῆν τήνδε ἐν ᾗ —the art may be omitted with demonstratives when a relative clause follows.
αὐτὴν —c. 4, 5.
ἐναγωνίσασθαι —c. 20, 4. Eur. Bacchae, 507 ἐνδυστυχῆσαι ... ἐπιτήδειος. ἤν τι ποιῶμεν—litotes; cf. ἤν τι πάσχῃ ‘in case he die.’
καὶ εἰκότα —the emphatic member, as always when καὶ is inserted between πολὺς and another adj.
ἀδικίας —depends on κολάζεσθαι and ὑπάρχουσι. τοῖς ὑ.—these dats. depend on ξυγγνώμονες ἔστε = ξυγχωρήσατε.
περιεσταύρωσεν —sc. ὁ βασιλεύς. τοῦ μηδένα—to fetch supplies.
χῶμα ἔχουν —this was not quite close to the wall; but nearly touched it. Cf. c. 77, 3 τὸ μεταξὺ τοῦ τείχους καὶ τῆς προσχώσεως. αὐτῶν—the Plataeans.
Κιθαιρῶνος —the town lay at the N. foot of Cithaeron.
ἐκατέρωθεν —sc. τοῦ χώματος, on both sides the mound was strengthened by planks crossing one another at right angles.
ἀντὶ τοίχων —cf. c. 3, 3. The mound did not run all round the town, and its purpose was to support the siege engines.
ὑλὴν —‘loose wood’) ( ξύλα, timber.
διῃρημένοι —middle, sc. τὸ χοῦν. ἀναπαύλας— ‘relief-parties.’
ξεναγοὶ —the Lacedaemonian commanders of the allies, who were superior to the generals sent by the allies themselves.
ξυνεφεστῶτες — i.e. with the officers of the allies.
ξύλινον τεῖχος —a frame-work of timber, in which the bricks were secured. Buildings are sometimes constructed in this way in Germany. τεῖχος is not really ‘a wall’ here, any more than in Pindar, Pyth. III. 38 τείχει θέσαν ἐν ξυλίνῳ σύγγονοι κούραν, σέλας δ’ ἀμφέδραμεν λάβρον Ἁφαίστου, of which Thuc. was probably thinking.
ξύνδεσμος —sc. τῶν πλίνθων. πυρφόροις—a common expedient in ancient sieges.
μέγα —pred. Cf. Demosth. 2, 8 .
διελόντες —the wooden face of the Spartan χῶμα sloped towards the wall of Plataea, so as to touch it at the ground; hence προσέπιπτε. ᾔρετο ... καὶ ἀντανῄει—parataxis, expressing well the simultaneous advance of wall and mound.
ταρσοῖς —this word describes almost any series of parallel lines, as in basket-work; here reed wattles, (Used also of the ‘tarsal’ bones in the hand and foot; of a bird's wing, and of a bank of oars. The Atticists and their followers notice the word extensively.)
καλάμου —gen. of material.
ἐνίλλοντες —the primary sense is ‘to twist, roll.’ It is connected with ἰλλός, a squint, and Pausanias the Atticist gives ἐνίλλειν’ τὸ ὀφθαλμοῖς καταμωκᾶσθαι (to mock at anyone by winking). From this notion of twisting the word comes to mean ‘to squeeze.’ (This word is much noticed by the Atticists. L. and S. are unsatisfactory; Arn. has a good note.)
τὸ διῃρημένον —‘the hole’ in the χῶμα. διαχεόμενον —sc. αὐτό, what has just been described, viz. the χῶμα as repaired with the wattles. Cf. c. 75, 2.
Τοῦτο —accus. of respect. [
καὶ ξυντεκμηράμενοι ]— as the χῶμα was close to the wall and touched it at the base, it is plain that the Plataeans would not need any τεκμήρια to discover how far to burrow. The edd. speak of calculating distance and direction, but the Peloponnesians had nothing to do but to dig straight ahead, until the χῶμα began to subside.
χοῦν —the earth of the χῶμα, as it fell into the mine.
Ὀλίγοι πρὸς πολλοὶς —a common antithesis; c. 100, 5; I. 110; III. 112; IV. 26; V. 80; VII. 87. ἔνθεν καὶ ἔνθεν—as the enemy gained on them, the Plataeans built a crescent-shaped wall, concave to the besiegers, starting from the extremities of that part of the wall opposite the χῶμα, so that in case the enemy should take the raised wall by storm, they might find another wall behind.
αὐτοῖ — i.e. τοῦ μεγάλου τείχους) ( τοῦ βραχέος = the part which had not been raised.
ἐκ τοῦ ἐντὸς —‘inside,’ like a parte.
μᾶλλον
— they had not been exposed to a cross-fire before. Thuc. means that the further in to the crescent the Peloponnesians got in building the
χῶμα, the more exposed they would be to a fire from each side:
προχωροῦντας ἔσω belongs to
γίγνεσθαι also. (There is no need to explain this, as one scholar does, as for
ἐν ἀμ. γιγνομένους μᾶλλον πονεῖν,) Cf.
Tac. Hist. v. 11
, of the siege of Jerusalem,
τοῦ μ. οἰκοδομήματος —after ἐπὶ μέγα, which = μέγα μέρος and replaces the accus, after κατέσεισε, as in IV. 100 it replaces a nom., ἐσεσιδήρωτο ἐπὶ μέγα τοῦ ἄλλου ξύλου. κατὰ —‘by.’ Cf. c. 99, 1. Aeschin. 2, 124 εἰσπλεῖν κατὰ τὸν ποταμόν. κατέσεισε —‘shook.’
ἄλλας —sc. προσῆγον. καὶ δοκοὺς—the rel. sentence is changed to a principal; this is due to the length of the second clause.
ἀπὸ τῆς τομῆς ἑ. —‘at both ends,’ sc. τῶν δοκῶν. This belongs to ἀρτήσαντες, as also does ἀπὸ κεραιῶν, stout poles, like a ship's yard-arm, made fast to the wall and projecting from it above the siege engines.
ἀνελκύσαντες —on the double partic. with ἀφίεσαν, see c. 15, 2.
ἐγκαρσίας —at an angle to the μηχαναί, χαλαραῖς—‘by letting the chains go.’
διὰ χειρὸς —c. 13, 2.
τὸ προέχον —‘the point.’
ἐμβολῆς —‘head’ of the ram.
χώματι —after ἀντιτείχισμα. Cf. c. 61, 2 δήλωσις ἅπασι. Thus μεῖζον is not required before ἐγίγνετο. Cf. v. 116 ὡς αὐτοῖς τὰ διαβατήρια ἱερὰ οὐκ ἐγίγνετο. ἀντιτείχισμα — i.e. τὸ μηνοειδὲς τεῖχος. δεινῶν—‘means of coercing them.’
πειρᾶσαι —c. 19, 1; also for πᾶσαν ἰδέαν.
φακέλους —an archaism, according to Marcellinus' life of Thuc. 52. It is found in Herod., Hippocrates, once in Eur., and in later authors.
παρέβαλλον —‘threw side by side.’
τοῦ τείχους —the wall that had been raised, τὸ μέγα οἰκοδόμημα. The object was to set fire to the wood-work of the superstructure. Cf. c. 75, 5.
τῆς ἄλλης —after ὅσον. πόλεως — inside the wall, the space between it and the new μηνοειδὲς τεῖχος.
ὄρεσιν —cf. Pindar, Pyth. III. 36 πολλὰν δ’ ὄρει πῦρ ἐξ ἑνὸς σπέρματος ἐνθορὸν ἀἰστωσεν ὕλαν, Hom. Il. 2 , 455 πῦρ ἐπιφλέγει ἄσπετον ὕλην οὔρεος ἐκ κορυφῆς, Eur. Ino. fr. μικροῦ γὰρ ἐκ λαμπτῆρος Ἰδαῖον λέπας πρήσειεν ἄν τις. Thuc. naturally mentions the proverbial case of a forest on fire.
ὑπ’ ἀνέμων —a very common phrase. Cf. c. 85, 6. [
ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ ]— explained as = ἀπὸ τοῦ τριφθῆναι, or ἀπὸ τοῦ πυρός. In either case it is quite superfluous.
ἐδέησε —subject τοῦτο. ἐπεγένετο αὐτῇ — i.e. τῇ φλογί. ἐπίφορον —sc. ἐς τὴν πόλιν.
ὕδωρ —this clause is in apposition to τὀδε, both γὰρ and a finite verb being dispensed with.
μέρος ]—Intr. p. xliii.
κατὰ πόλεις — ‘dividing the space among the different contingents.’
ἐντὸς — i.e. between the circumvallation and the city wall) ( ἔξωθεν .
πλῆθος τὸ ἄ. —c. 2, 2.
ἄχρηστον —c. 6, 4. Here οἱ ἄχρηστοι, the general term is distinguished from οἱ πρεσβύτατοι, the particular, and means those whose incapacity was due to other causes than age.
ἐγκαταλελειμμένοι
—c.
6,
4. Plat.
Phaedo, p. 91 C
ὥσπερ μἐλιττα τὸ κέντρον ἐγκαταλιπών.
σιτοποιοί—pred; so in Lat.,
Livy, XXI. 30, 8
τ. οἱ ξύμπαντες —cf. ὁ πᾶς ἀριθμός c. 7, 2.
τοιαύτη —pred., with κατεσκευάσθη = τοιαύτη ἦν ἡ τῆς πολιορκίας κατασκευή, these were the arrangements.
ἐπιστρατείᾳ —cf. ἐπίπλους c. 17, 4. Thuc. would have written τοῖς Πλαταιεῦσι were it not for the proximity of so many datives. Cf. ἐπιβοήθεια τῇ νήσῳ III. 51; ἐπιδρομὴν τῷ τειχίσματι IV. 23; for the obj. = gen. cf. VII. 70 τῶν υὲν φυλακὴν τῶν δ’ ἑπιβουλήν. Βοττιαίους—in the N.W. of Chalcidice, which was called Βοττική. ἀκμάζοντος —c. 19, 1.
τρίτος αὐτός —Intr. p. lxxvii. He had power superior to that of his colleagues for this expedition.
Σπάρτωλον —between Olynthus and Apollonia.
προσχωρήσειν ὑπὸ —pass. of προσάγεσθαι c. 30, 2.
ἔνδοθεν —regarded from the Athenian point of view.
πρασσόντων —c. 2, 3.
ὁπλῖται τε καὶ στρατιὰ —‘hoplites and other troops,’ the general being again added to the particular. Cf. c. 78, 3.
ἐς —‘as a.’
Χαλκιδέων —those from Olynthus.
ἱππέας —the Athenian cavalry were defeated in 431 twice during the invasion of Attica, c. 19, 22.
Εἶχον —sc. οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι. Κρουσίδος—on the Ther- maic Gulf.
ἐπιβοηθοῦσιν —sc. τοῖς Χαλκιδεῦσι.
Προσγιγνομένοις —‘by the arrival of this reinforce- ment’
ἀναχωροῦσι —sc. οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι.
ᾟ δοκοίη —cf. c. 100, 5, per occasionem adequitantes.
ἐπὶ πολύ —of space, as c. 75, 2.
Ὑποσπόνδους —see c. 92, 4.
τοὺς αὑτῶν —contrasted with those of the enemy; not implying that the Chalcidians and Bottiaeans separately took up their dead. Cf. IV. 97, 1.
Ἀμπρακιῶται —they had made an attack on Argos in concert with the Chaones and other tribes of barbarians in the autumn of 430 B.C. c. 68, 9. The Chaones were possibly a remnant of the Pelasgi. Hence they are sometimes treated as Greeks, though Thuc. always calls them barbarians. Grote, II. p. 234, Curtius, Hist. G. I. 104 ‘In later times they were regarded as barbarians ... but, according to their origin, they could claim perfect equality with the other branches of the Greek people.’ (Cf. Matthew Arnold, Lit. and Dogma, init.)
πᾶσαν —this elaborate undertaking is in marked contrast, with the issue, c. 82; and it is quite in Thuc.'s manner to make the opening imposing under such circumstances. Cf. c. 7, 2.
Ἀθηναίων — the Ambraciots were actuated by the tribe hatred existing in that quarter, and they had an old grudge against Phormio (c. 68 ). Now that Athens was in difficulties, they took the chance of revenge, and were at pains to demonstrate to Sparta that they were very important friends to her.
ἀδυνάτων — through being occupied with the fleet, and in protecting their coasts. τῶν ἀπὸ θ. Ἀ.—ἀπὸ is for ἐπὶ by attraction to ξυμβοηθεῖν, ‘the Acarnanians on the sea-coast would be unable to aid’ the inland tribes.
κρατήσουσι ἔσοιτο —the indic. and opt. in the same sentence in Or. Obl. M. T 670.
ὁμοίως —‘would not find it so easy to.’
ἐλπίδα ... λαβεῖν — ἐλπίς ἐστι regularly has aor. infin., like εἰκός ἐστι c. 11, 8.
Ναύπακτον —this appealed equally to the Spartans, Corinthians, and Ambraciots; as the position of the conquered Messenians was a chronic insult to Sparta, Phormio interfered with the western trade of Corinth, and the Ambraciots too had their grudge against him.
Ἔτι —c. 66, 2. Cnemus' year of office had not yet quite expired. For ἔτι of a period nearly complete, cf. c. 59, 3.
ἐπὶ ναυσὶν —the dat. only here and IV. 10, 3. The gen. is regular, as c. 57, 1. So Demosth. 45, 30 says τὰ ἐπὶ τραπέζης ὄντα, 27, 11 μνᾶς ἐπὶ τῇ τραπέζη?; Aristoph. Eq. 754 ἐπὶ ταυτησὶ καθῆται τῆς πέτρας, ib. 783 ἐπὶ ταῖσι πέτραις καθήμενον. There is no difference of sense, but the dat. is rare except with names of places. (Rutherford, Babrius, p. 7, wrongly denies the existence of this dat. in comedy.)
ναυτικῷ —abstract for concrete.
Λευκάδα —an ally of Sparta, c. 9, 2, and a convenient point from which to attack Acarnania.
Ἦσαν ... ξυμ —c. 12, 2.
ἐν παρασκευῇ —c. 17, 5.
ἐκ Λευκάδος ... ἀφικόμενον ἐν Λευκάδι —a convement inaccuracy, as in c. 70, 3. For ἐκ Λ., αὐτόθεν would have been more accurate.
Λαθόντες — i.e. he passed the mouth of the Gulf of Corinth on his way to Leucas without being detected.
εἴκοσι —c. 69 .
Ἀρχικοῦ —the presidency was in the hands of a particular family. The Chaones, then a powerful tribe, subsequently lost their importance, and were little more than a name in the time of Augustus. Verg. G. I. 8; II. 67. They, with the Molossi and Thesproti were the chief Epirot tribes.
Μολοσσοὺς —became under Pyrrhus the rulers of Epirus.
Ἀτιντᾶνας —bordered on the Parauaei near the river Aous.
Ὀροίδῳ —both with ξυνεστρατεύοντο and ἐπιτρέψαντος .
Κρύφα —he was supposed to be an ally of Athens, c. 29, 6.
ὕστερον —c. 5, 3.
Ἐπορεύετο —he started from Ambracia.
Λιμναίαν —between Argos and Anactorium, now Kravassara, and the natural point of departure from the Gulf of Ambracia to the Gulf of Corinth. The first object of the expedition was to obtain control of this route.
Στράτον —on the Achelous, now Sourovigli. In 168 B.C. Livy says it was urbs validissima: now it is a poor village.
Οὔτε ... τε —the two results, like the two causes, are introduced by parallel clauses.
ἔπεμπον κελεύοντες —c. 6, 2.
Οἱ Π. καὶ οἱ ξ. —the former=those sent with Cnemus, the latter the Ambraciots and barbarians. See c. 9, 2.
λόγοις ... ἔργῳ —the antithesis gives a good idea of their confidence that they would succeed.
Μέσον —art. omitted, as with δεξιὸν κέρας. προς‐ ῇσαν— i.e. ᾗσαν πρὸς την πόλιν.
Διὰ φυλακῆς ἔ. —cf. c. 13, 2, but here ἔχειν is intrans., as in VII. 8, 3.
ἀξιούμενοι —‘considered,’
οὔτ’ ἐπέσχον —sc. τὸν νοῦν, ‘had no intention.’ This description is slightly sarcastic.
τὸ στρατόπεδον — i.e. the camp which they had arranged to form, 2 above.
καταλαβεῖν —‘occupy,’ establish themselves in, as III. 31 τῶν πόλεων καταλαβεῖν τινα. (According to Behrendt's conjecture, the sense would be ‘did not pause in their effort to occupy Stratus before the Greeks’; τὸ belonging to the infin., cf. VII. 33, 3 ἐπέσχον τὸ εὐθέως ἐπιχειρεῖν.)
αὐτοβοεὶ —noted by Marcellinus as ἀρχαιότερον τῶν κατ’ αὐτὸν χρόνων. Cf. c. 77, 3 φακέλους.
Ἔτι προσιόντας — i.e. that they had not halted, like the Greeks. Cf. ἔτι προσελθεῖν below and c. 21, 1.
ὁμοίως —‘as they had intended.’
ὁμόσε χωρήσαντες —c. 62, 3.
Καταστάντων — i.e. τῶν Χαόνων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων. M. T. 848.
Οἰηθῆναι —sc. τοὺς Ἕλληνας. For the change of sub- ject, cf. c. 3, 4.
καταληψομένους —sc. τοὺς βαρβάρους.
ἀνελάμβανον —as they arrived in scattered bodies.
ἄνευ ὅ. κινηθῆναι —without arms they could not stir, and even ξὺν ὅπλοις it was dangerous for small foraging parties.
τοῦτο ποιεῖν — i.e. σφενδονᾶν. Cf. c. 11, 8.
Ἄναπον —a tributary of the Achelous.
Οἰνιαδῶν — an important town on a hill in marshy ground near the S. W. coast of Acarnania, W. of the mouth of the Achelous. See c. 102. It had a considerable trade. In 450 B.C. the Messenians of Naupactus had tried to get possession of it, but failed, though Pericles himself laid siege to it with a large fleet. In 428 Asopius, son of Phormio, with the Acarnanians, started from Naupactus on another attempt to get hold of the place, but failed. In 424 the Acarnanians made it join Athens. It was captured and strengthened by Philip of Macedon in 219 (Polyb. IV. 65); and restored to the Acarnanians by Rome in 168, from whom it had been taken by the Aetolians in 213 (Polyb. XXII. 15, Livy, XXXVIII. 11). It was connected with Apulia by trade.
κατὰ φιλίαν —c. 9, 4; with ξυμ. which probably means that the Oeniadae had been with Cnemus from the first, having joined him at Ambracia, though they are not mentioned, c. 80, 5.
ξυμβοήθειαν —sc. τῶν Ἀκαρνάνων.
Ἀπὸ θαλάσσης ἄνω —‘that the Acarnanians on the coast might not aid those in the interior.’ For the attraction of ἀπὸ θαλάσσης, cf. c. 80, 1. ἄνω adds nothing to the sense, and is in fact synonymous with ἀπὸ θ.
ἠναγκάσθησαν — plur. after ναυτικὸν as often. [
τῆς κ.τ.λ. ]— ὁ αὐτὸς always takes the dat.
εἴκοσι —c. 69, 1.
Παραπλέοντας —‘as they were sailing out of the gulf along the coast,’ i.e. ἔξω belongs to the partic.
ἐν τῇ εὐρυχωρίᾳ —‘in the open sea,’ so as to have space for manœuvring.
Στρατιωτικώτερον — i.e. ἐπὶ στρατείαν μᾶλλον. Cf. c. 87, 2. They intended to make descents on the coast of Acarnania, cf. c. 80, 1.
κομιζομένων —belongs in sense to ἀντιπαραπλέοντας far more than to ἑώρων αὐτοὺς which only makes a periphrasis for ἀντιπαρέπλεον. Cf. εἶχον ἐμπείρους c. 4, 2.
Πατρῶν —now the largest town in Peloponnese, but its importance only dates from the 1st century A.D. Its greatest distinction is that here the patriots in 1821 first rose against the Turks.
διαβάλλοντες — = διαβαίνοντες. This intrans. use elsew here only in Herod. and poets.
Χαλκίδος —on the coast of Aetolia, now Varassova, at the mouth of the Euenus, now Phidhari. It had belonged to Corinth, but had been taken by the Athenians 456 B.C. It lay at the foot of the mountain of the same name.
Εὐήνου —Ovid, Met. 9, 104 fol. relates how Hercules slew Nessus here.
ἀφορμισάμενοι —‘though they had slipped from their moorings in the night’; in order to elude the Athenians, the fleet tried to cross over to Acarnania before daybreak. The battle took place soon after dawn, c. 84, 2. ἔλαθον precedes κατεῖδον in time, and is plup. in sense.
πορθμόν — i.e. in the middle of the Gulf of Patrae, in the open, as Phormio had planned; and therefore between Patrae and Chalcis.
Παρεσκευάζοντο —cf. c. 7, 1. The imperf., as Cl. says, is due to the distributive nature of the act described.
Διδόντες —belongs to ὡς μἐγιστον, the circle was as large as possible without leaving an opening. μὴ shows that the partic. implies preference or prohibition: ‘so as not to afford.’
διέκπλουν —this famous manœuvre consisted of ‘rowing through the intervals of the adversary's line, and thus getting in their rear, ... and before the ship of the adversary could change its position, of striking it either in the stern, or in some weak part.’ Grote. τὸ ἐμβάλλειν καὶ διασχίζειν τὴν τῶν ἐναντίων τάξιν. Schol.
τὰς πρῴρας —sc. ἐτάξαντο. This chiasmus is pronounced by F. Stein to be ‘librarii additamentum prorsus supervacaneum.’ Anyhow it is detestable. ( πρῴρα σὺν τῷ ι—, Herodian.)
διὰ βραχέος — with παραγιγνόμενοι, masc. in spite of ναῦς; ‘might be at hand to sail out.’
εἴ πῃ —they were uncertain at what point of the circle the Athenians would attack.
Κατὰ μίαν —‘in a single line,’ one ship behind the other.
ἐν χρῷ — i.e. as near as possible. Cf. ad vivum resecare.
δόκησιν —c. 35, 2.
ἐμβαλεῖν —fut. Cl. quotes IV. 55 δόκησίς τι πράξειν. προείρητο ... ὑπὸ—the construction is due to αὐτοῖς.
Εἰώθει —sc. αὐτὸ from ὅπερ, cf. c. 4, 5.
ὁπόταν — cf. c. 11, 6.
τότε — i.e. when the wind threw them into confusion.
γίγνεσθαι —might be ἔσεσθαι—‘quod enim fit non est, sed erit.’ Sta. Cf. IV. 24 ἤλπιζον .. χειρώσεσθαι, καὶ ἤδη σφῶν ἰσχυρὰ τὰ πράγματα γίγνεσθαι.
Κατῄει —c. 25, 4.
ὑπ’ ἀμφοτέρων —with προσκει‐ μένων.
βοῇ τε —the τε adds the third fact. For the disturbance, cf. Eur. Hec. 607 ναυτική τ’ ἀναρχία | κρείσσων πυρός. ἀναφέρειν—owing to the stiff breeze and heavy sea they could not clear the water.
ἀλκὴν —‘resistance,’ robur. So Herod., common in poets and found frequently in Xen. as Ages. 10, 1; but not found in any other Attic prose.
Δύμην —W. of Achaea; the exact site doubtful.
Μολύκρειον —a small town near Antirrhium.
Πο‐ σειδῶνι —cf. Aristoph. Eq. 561 ὦ Γεραίστιε (Poseidon, from Geraestus, the site of a temple) παῖ Κρόνου, Φορμίωνί τε φίλτατ’ ἐκ τῶν ἄλλων τε θεῶν Ἀθηναίοις, referring to Poseidon's victories, and to the success at Pylus.
Ῥίῳ —cf. c. 86, 2; called also τὸ Ἀντίρριον, now Kastro Roumelias, 11/4 mile from the Rhium on the opposite coast. See L. and S. s.v. ῥίον .
Κυλλήνην —opposite Zacynthus, and a port of im- portance, of which there are no remains.
Λευκάδος — Cnemus was left at Oeniadae. Thence he had crossed to Leucas.
Τῷ Κ. —belongs to ξυμβούλους. The despatch of ξ. to aid the commander was not an uncommon occurrence, and shows with what jealousy the ephors controlled the officials.
βελτίω —observe the truculence of this laconic message.
Πρῶτων — i.e. in the Peloponnesian war.
πειρα‐ σαμένοις —see c. 5, 5.
δῑ ὀλίγου —not post, but per breve, as in διὰ παντὸς τοῦ χρόνου. ἀπέστελλον —like ἔπεμπον, c. 6, 1.
Ναῦς περιήγγελλον —cf. c. 10, 1, and we expect ναῦς παρασκευάζεσθαι or πέμψαι. ὡς ἐπὶ—cf. c. 83, 3.
Ἀγγελοῦντας ... καὶ κελεύων —cf. c. 6, 2. It is clear from the answer to this urgent message that the government did not realise the situation.
Τῷ κομίζοντι —it is strange that the commander is not named, and possible that he is a substitute appointed in place of Pericles, who was then dangerously ill.
Ἀπλοίας — i.e. rough weather. Had they been merely becalmed, they would have rowed. Only found in Herod. of prose writers.
ἐνδιέτριψεν —c. 18, 2.
Πάνορμον —just inside the straits, close to Rhium.
Παρέπλευσε δὲ —cf. c. 7, 1 for the anaphora.
Ῥίον —c. 84, 4.
ἐξω —Antirrhium and Rhium (Kastro Moreas) formed the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. Phormio anchored W. of Antirrhium.
Ἑπτὰ —probably rather under the distance in those days. Thuc. judged by his eye. Strabo is still less exact; he calls the distance five stadia.
Ὁ πεζὸς —for ὁ π. στρατός. The ellipse of a masc. non-personal noun is rare: this one is found only in Herod. and Thuc.
ἐπειδὴ καὶ —cf. et ipse common in Livy.
εἶδον —sc. ὁρμισαμένους. Cf. c. 11, 8.
Ἐπὶ —c. 25, 3.
μελετῶντες —absolute, only παρα‐ σκευαζόμενοι governing ναυμαχίαν. γνώμην ἔχοντες—with infin. like γνόντες. For the double partic. see c. 15, 2.
οἱ μὲν —the subject subdivided; cf. c. 5, 3.
πρὸς ἐκείνων —‘to their interest’; cf. c. 83, 2.
Ἔπειτα —answers ἐπὶ μὲν in 5.
ποιῆσαι —‘to bring on,’ the act. of the generals; contrast c. 83, 3, mid. of the men.
ἀπὸ τῶν Ἀ. —more formal than ἀπ’ Ἀθηναίων. ἔλεξαν—Intr. p. lviii.
Ἔχει — = παρέχει: ‘does not support a conclusion which can justly cause you alarm.’ [ τὸ] ἐκφοβῆσαι— omitting τὸ take ἐκφοβῆσαι with δικαίαν, as in IV. 17 δίκαιοί εἰσι καὶ ἀπιστότατοι εἶναι. The conclusion they drew from the preceding battle was that they would be defeated in the coming battle: and this conclusion caused them φοβεῖσθαι τὴν μέλλουσαν. But the battle, they are told, does not afford the τεκμήρια for such a conclusion. ( τὸ ἐκφοβῆσαι cannot be accus. of respect, as in c. 53 τὸ προταλαιπωρεῖν, because such an accus. would here certainly contain a reference to the expected issue of the coming fight. The usual translation ‘ground for fear’ gives a wrong sense to every one of the three words. If πεφοβῆσθαι were read, the construction would be δικαίαν πεφοβῆσθαι, = ‘which it is right to fear,’ ἡ τέκμαρσις δικαία ἐστι —πεφοβῆσθαι being equivalent to δἰκαιόν ἐστι τὴν τέκμαρσιν πεφοβῆσθαι, infin. of purpose.)
Ἐπὶ στρατείαν —c. 83, 3.
τὰ ἀπὸ τῆς τ —the wind and sea, c. 84, 3.
καὶ πού τι καὶ —the expression barely does more than suggest the possibility of what was certain. The object is to blame τύχη and excuse γνώμη.
Κατὰ —‘owing to.’
προσεγένετο —much like ἐπι‐ γίγνεσθαι, c. 4, 2, but the defeat is regarded as an unavoidable occurrence added to their other disad vantages ( τὰ ἀπὸ τῆς τύχης). Cf. Vergil's ‘nec Teucris addita Juno | usquam aberit, Aen. VI. 90.
τῆς γνώμης τὸ μὴ κατὰ κράτος νικηθέν —= ἡ γνώμη μὴ νικηθεῖσα. Cf. c. 59 τὸ ὀργιζόμενον τῆς γνώμης. Militibus fortuna victis invictus ipsorum animus opponitur. Hache. ‘It is not right that our minds, which we feel ( μή, not οὐ) were not conquered by force but have still some answer to give, should be depressed by the result of mere accident.’
κατὰ κράτος — vi, as in κατὰ κ. αἱρεῖν. ἀντιλογίαν —sc. πρὸς τὸ κατὰ κράτος νικηθῆναι , viz. the answer that the disaster was due to ἀπειρία, τύχη, want of παρασκευή. A familiar word in Plato.
ξυμφορᾶς —opposed to γνώμης above.
νομίσαι —sc. δίκαιον. ἀνδρείους ὀρθῶς—‘really brave,’ ὀρθῶς as in Aristoph. Eq. 1085 .
ἀπειρίαν ... προβαλλομένους —‘make in experience an excuse.’
τοῦ ἀνδρείου π. —‘while courage remains.’
ἔν τινι —neut.
Ὑμῶν δὲ —topic τὸ δυνατόν. Index, s.v. τόποι. λείπεται —sc. τῆς ἐκείνων ἐμπειρίας. μνήμην—‘presence of mind.’
ἄνευ εὐψυχίας —the insinuation that the Athenians lacked courage is wholly unsupported by argument.
ἄνευ ἀλκῆς —‘without boldness,’ as in c. 84, 3 robur; it is the result of εὐψυχία.
Ἀπαράσκευοι τυχεῖν —for the omission of ὄντες, cf. c. 39, 4.
Πλῆθος —c. 11, 3.
τὰ δὲ πολλὰ —adverbial accus. For the γνώμη, cf. c. 13, 2.
Προσγενόμενα —here of additional advantages; con- trast 3 above.
διδασκαλίαν —cf. Aesch. Ag. 185 Ζῆνα τὸν πάθη μάθος | θέντα κυρίως ἔχειν. Arn.
Τὸ καθ’ ἑαυτὸν —cf. c. 11, 3.
τις προσταχθῇ —the change from the plur. to the indef. sing. is due to the intervention of ἕκαστος. On the juxtaposition of 2nd and 3rd pers., ἑαυτὸν . . ἕπεσθε etc. see c. 11, 1, 44, 1.
Πρότερον —Cnemus, Machaon, Isocrates and Aga- tharchidas.
οὐ χεῖρον — meiosis, not to offend the others.
ἐνδώσομεν —as in c. 49, 4.
ἢν δέ τις —this vague threat shows that the officers suspected there had been cowardice in the former battle. Cf. c. 85, 2.
Ὀρρωδίαν —the noun is used by no other prose writer but Herod.
αἰσθομένους ὅτι —a substantive clause after αἰσθάνομαι is not very common, cf. I. 50, VII. 49, 1. ὅτι and opt. is found, e.g. in IV. 122 ; V. 2 ; VIII. 100, but the partic. is far commoner.
ξυνιστάμενοι —cf. c. 21, 3.
ἐν τῷ π. —c. 41, 2.
παραίνεσιν ποιήσασθαι —= παρακελεύσασθαι, the harangues of generals being called παραινέσεις or παρακελεύσεις or λόγοι προτρεπτικοί (cf. p. 48); of the three εἴδη or γένη of speeches, viz. λόγοι δικανικοί (forensic), λ. ἐπιδεικτικοί (of which ἐπιτάφιοι are a branch), and λ. συμβουλευτικοί, παραινέσεις belong to the last.
Καὶ προπαρεσκεύαζε —does not influence the construction, ὡς really depending on ἔλεγε. Cf. c. 2, 4. So Livy, XXI. 18 nostra haec quaestio (atque animadversio) in civem nostrum est, nostro an suo fecerit arbitrio.
ὄχλον ... ὑποχωρεῖν —a poetic construction. Cf. Eur. Hec. 812 ποῖ μ’ ὑπεξάγεις πόδα ;
Πρὸς —cf. c. 22, 1, 59, 3.
τοῦ θαρσεῖν —cf. IV. 17, 3 ὑπόμνησιν τοῦ καλῶς βουλεύσασθαι ἡγησάμενοι: ‘council them to take heart.’
οὐκ ἀξιῶν —for the double partic. ὁρῶν ... ἀξιῶν, cf. c. 59, 3.
ἐν ὀρρωδίᾳ ἔχειν —c. 59, 2.
Οὐκ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἴσου —the neg. of τὸ πλῆθος, as in c. 13, 1 παραλίπῃ καὶ μὴ δηώσῃ. ᾧ — i.e. τοῦτο ᾧ, the τοῦτο belonging to θαρσοῦσιν, lit. ‘as to that in which they feel confidence,’ viz. ὡς προσῇκον σφίσιν ἀ. εἶναι, the courage which they have shown so often. For the construction, cf. Livy, XXI. 10 id de quo ambigebatur, eventus belli, unde jus stabat, ei victoriam dedit.
κατορθοῦντες —antithesis to ού δῑ ἄλλο τι. Cf. c. 65, 8. διὰ ... ἐμπειρίαν depends on κατορθοῦντες. τὰ πλείω— because they had so seldom fought at sea.
καὶ οἴονται — ‘and so they think.’ For the change from partic. to indic., cf. V. 61, 4 βουλόμενοι ἄλλως τε ... καὶ ὅμηροι ἦσαν. So Eur. Bacchae, 225 πρόφασιν μὲν ὡς δὴ μαινάδας θυοσκόους (sc. οὔσας ), τὴν δ’ Ἀφροδίτην πρόσθ’ ἄγειν τοῦ Βακχίου. ποιήσειν —subject τὴν ἐμπειρίαν.
Τὸ δ’ — i.e. τὸ κατορθοῦν. ἐκ τοῦ δικαίου—cf. c. 44, 3, = δικαίως. περιέσται—‘will be found on our side.’
ἐν ἐκείνῳ — i.e. ἐν τῷ πεζῷ. εὐψυχίᾳ—answers the statement made in c. 87, 5.
προφέρουσι — = προέχειν, only used by Herod., Thuc. and poets.
τῷ δὲ —‘owing to our superiority in experience, we are more confident.’
Τε —adds the third fact to πρῶτον μὲν. ἔπειτα above, and so gives another reason for the conclusion μὴ δείσητε διὰ τὴν—‘for the sake of,’ with ἡγούμενοι. The statement is general.
οὐκ ἂν —the prot., ‘if they had had their own way’ is implied in ἄκοντας. ἐπεχείρησαν —emphatic.
παρὰ πολὺ —‘decisively’; cf. c. 8, 4
Κατὰ ... καὶ ὅτι —cf. c. 65, 7 for κατά. τοῦ παρα‐ λόγου —cf. τῷ οὐκ εἰκότι below; explained in οἱ δ’ ἐκ πολλοῦ ... ἀντιτολμῶσιν: ‘worthy of our astonishing action,’ in offering battle with such inferior numbers. ( τοῦ παρὰ πολὺ is explained to mean τοῦ παρὰ πολὺ προνενικηκέναι, but (1) this is not clear, (2) the previous victory has just been referred to and the probability of another sufficiently implied in κατὰ τὸ προνενικηκέναι: a new reason is now wanted, (3) the next section, introduced by γὰρ, is meaningless.)
Ἀντίπαλοι —‘most men, when they are a match for the enemy.’
πίσυνοι —found also V. 14, 3; VI. 2, 6; otherwise only in Herod. and poets. Cf. Ruth. New Phryn. p. 21. The ordinary word is πιστεύων, as in 2 above.
ἐκ πολλῷ ὑποδεεστέρων —sc. ἐπιόντες: cf. ἀπ’ ἐλασσόνων ὁρμώμενος c 65, 2, ‘whose means are far inferior.’
τῆς διανοίας τὸ β. —‘strength of will.’
τῷ οὐκ εἰκότι —‘because of what they never expected than on account of our expected preparations.’ (Ste. gives up this passage, and other edd. put a sense upon it which the words will not bear.)
κατὰ λόγον —the Peloponnesians were expecting the immediate arrival of reinforcements from Athens; cf. c. 86, 6.
Ἡμεῖς —he hints that the enemy are both ἄπειροι and ἄτολμοι.
Τὸν ἀγῶνα —topic τὸ ξυμφέρον; cf. c. 11, 3.
εἶναι —infin. of limitation, in this phrase almost confined to neg. sentences.
ἐμβολὴν —charge broadside, with the ἔμβολον) ( προσβολή, charge prow to prow.
ἐκ πολλοῦ — e longinquo.
ἀναστροφαί —turning back after any manœuvre to regain the original position of the ship.
ἐν τούτῳ —‘in these circumstances’; cf. ἐν ᾧ c. 1.
Τούτων —in the analysis the peroration is made to begin here. There was in antiquity some doubt about the place where the πίστις ends. The schol. on 10 ὁ δὲ ἀγὼν remarks τινὲς ἀπὸ τοῦ δὲ τοὺς ἐπιλόγους, and the same writer puts οἱ ἐπίλογοι to 11. Cf. the opening of the peroration in c. 11, 9, 87, 8.
παρὰ ταῖς ναυσὶ —Intr. p. xliii. παρὰ is rarely used thus with things, cf. c. 43, 2; but the frequent personification of πόλις, ναῦς, etc. renders the phrase possible. The Athenians, up to the beginning of the action, were on shore, c. 90, 3.
δῑ ὀλίγου —local; cf. c. 29, 3.
κόσμον
καὶ σιγὴν —cf. c. 11, 9.
ἔς τε τὰ πολλὰ ... ναυμαχίᾳ —for ἐς, with ξυμφέρει, cf. IV. 26, 5. The only other passage in which an impersonal noun is in dat. with ξυμφέρει is VI. 83 λόγου μὲν ἡδονῆ? τὸ παραντίκα τερπομένους, τῆ? δ’ ἐγχειρήσει ὕστερον τὰ ξυμφέροντα πράσσοντας.
Ἀγὼν ... καταλῦσαι —generally περί, ὑπέρ, or ἕνεκα, as c. 63, 1, but here the infin. are epexegetic.
ἐλπίδα τοῦ ναυτικοῦ —cf. πενίας ἐλπίδι, c. 42, 4.
Αὖ —‘again.’
ἐθέλουσιν — = εἰώθασι, φιλοῦσι, as in Herod. and Xen.
Ἐπὶ τεσσάρων —‘four deep,’ in four lines.
ἐπὶ τὴν ἑαυτῶν γῆν —with ταξάμενοι, ‘drawing up their ships with the coast of Peloponnesus at their backs’; the four lines extended back towards the coast. (This is obscure enough, but it is the only possible sense. ἐπὶ cannot mean παρὰ ‘along.’)
ἔσω [ἐπὶ] —these are not possible together; but? ὡς ἐπὶ τοῦ κ. The Peloponnesians were moving N.E. from Rhium, and therefore in the direction of Naupactus.
δεξιῷ κέρᾳ —when they began to move up the gulf, the four lines of ships turned to the right, so that there were now four abreast, the right wing leading.
Εἴκοσι —the Peloponnesians had 77 ships (c. 86, 4); as the right wing consists of 20 ships 4 abreast, the rest of the lines were probably so arranged that every fifth line consisted of only 3 ships abreast instead of 4, which would give 3 groups each consisting of 19 ships.
ταύτῃ —‘in this direction,’ towards Naupactus.
διαφύγοιεν —into the open part of the gulf, eastwards.
πλέοντα τὸν ἐπίπλουν —‘the attacking line when it bore down on them.’ Cf. 4 below ἐπιστρέψαντες τὰς ναῦς μετωπηδὸν ἔπλεον.
Ἐρήμῳ — i.e. deprived of its protection, Phormio being at Antirrhium. For the sense, not implying that there were no people in Naupactus, cf. c. 25, 1 ἀνθρώπων οὐκ ἐνόντων. κατὰ σπουδὴν—cf. c. 94, 2.
ἐμβιβάσας — imponere; the object omitted as constantly in naval and military phrases. For the double partic. see c. 4, 4.
Μεσσηνίων —from Naupactus.
Ἐπὶ κέρως —‘in single file.’
ἀπὸ ς. —cf. c. 92, 1. μετωπηδὸν—τὰ μέτωπα, ὅ ἐστι τὰ πρόσωπα τῶν νεῶν, παρεῖχον τοῖς ἐναντίοις. Schol. i.e. they turned to the left, into four lines, as they had been at first.
τάχους —depends on ὡς εἶχεν ἕκαστος. Xen. Hel. 4 , 5, 15.
Τῶν δὲ — i.e. τούτων δὲ = πασῶν τῶν νεῶν. τὸ κέρας — i.e. the right wing, τὰς εἴκοσι ναῦς of 2 above.
τὴν ἐπιστροφὴν —cf. τὸν ἐπίπλουν in 2 above; ‘the sudden turn.’
ἐξέωσαν —technical, ‘to force an enemy to run his ship aground.’
ὅσοι μὴ — = εἰ μή τινες.
Ἀναδούμενοι —the imperf. partic. in this phrase expresses the lashing of each of the vessels. The aor. is used in VII. 74. εἷλον ἤδη—‘had already taken.’
ξὺν τοῖς ὅπλοις —c. 2, 1.
Ἐκράτουν ... διέφθειραν —‘were successful and had disabled.’
φθάνουσιν ... προκαταφυγοῦσαι —aor. partic. here coincident in time with the historic pres. Cf. c. 2, 3 ἔλαθον ἐσελθόντες. αὐτοὺς— = τοὺς ἐν ταῖς ναυσί. ἴσχουσαι— ‘riding at anchor.’
κατὰ —shows the point of the coast. ἴσχω also takes ἐς or dat. παρεσκευάζοντο ἀμυνούμενοι—ὡς omitted, as in c. 18, 1. al.
Ὕστερον —)( φθάνουσιν. Cf. c. 5, 3, 80. ἐπαιά‐ νιζον—it was in honour of Apollo, a curious coincidence.
ἄμα πλέοντες —together.
Μετέωρος —in the middle of the gulf.
περὶ ἣν ... φθάσασα . . διωκούσῃ —‘several MSS. omit καὶ περιπλεύσασα. But φθάνειν περί τι does not appear sanctioned by usage.’ Linwood. Probably Thuc. meant περὶ ἣν to be governed by διωκούσῃ, and the ship was struck broadside when in the act of pursuing the enemy round the anchored vessel.
Διώκοντες .. αἱ μέν —cf. 1 above. In διώκοντες ... καθεῖσαι ... ἐπέστησαν ... δρῶντες ... βουλόμενοι, the first partic. is causal to καθεῖσαι, which is temporal to ἐπέστησαν· δρῶντες defines ἐπέστησαν as in c. 90, 1 ἀναγόμενοι ἐπλεον· βουλόμενοι is causal to ἐπέστησαν. ἐπέστησαν τοῦ πλοῦ—lit. stopped in their course. Cf. IV. 47 ἐπετάχυνον τῆς ὀδοῦ. πρὸς τὴν ἐξ ὀ. ἀντεξόρμησιν—refers to the 11 ships mentioned in 1 above, which ἴσχουσαι ἀντίπρῳροι παρεσκευάζοντο, ‘as the enemy were near and could charge them.’ Both ἐξ ὀλίγου and δῑ ὀλίγου mean ‘suddenly’ or ‘at a short distance.’ Cf. c. 11, 4, 85, 2, 89, 9.
βράχεα — brevia, Verg. Aen. I. 111; found only in Herod. except here.
Ἀπὸ —cf. c. 90, 4.
ὀλίγον μὲν .. ἔπειτα —para- taxis.
Πάνορμον —see c. 86, 4.
ἀνηγάγοντο — equivalent to a plup., as often in rel. clauses. M. T. 58.
Ἓξ —sc. οὔσας. ἄνδρας τε—τε adds the third fact connected with the pursuit.
διαφθείραντες τὸ πρῶτον —c. 90, 5. The whole Peloponnesian fleet, not only the 20 ships on the right wing, fled to Panormus, as the main body of 57 ships had gone to aid the others, and so abandoned their prizes.
Περὶ —‘near.’
ἐξέπεσεν —‘his body was washed up.’
Ὅθεν — = ἐνταῦθα ὅθεν. Cf. Demosth. 45, 81 ἀνάγειν ὅθεν εἴληφας, Andoc. 1, 64 θεραπαίνας ἔλαβον ὅθεν ὁρμώμενοι ταῦτ’ ἐποίουν. ἀναγαγόμενοι — viz. κατὰ τὸ Ἀπολλώνιον c. 91, 1.
ἔστησαν ἔστησαν δὲ καὶ —cf. c. 7, 1, 86, 1 and 2.
ὑπόσπονδα —thus the Peloponnesians acknowledged themselves defeated.
Τροπαῖον τῆς τροπῆς —the same gen. VI. 98, 4; VII. 54. ἥνπερ —c. 90, 6.
ἀνέθεσαν ἐπὶ —the same use of ἐπὶ as in c. 52, 4 ἐπιτιθέναι νεκροὺς ἐπὶ πυράς, 76, 2 ἰζάνειν ἐπί. Ῥίον—in honour of Poseidon, c. 84, 4.
Ἀθηναίων —see on c. 86, 6.
καὶ Κόρινθον — i e. Lechaeum, the port of Corinth.
Αἷς —‘with which.’ Cf. c. 85.
Ἀφύλακτος —yet in c. 24 Thuc. said φυλακὰς κατε‐ στήσαντο κατὰ θάλασσαν; from which Pp concludes that the vessels there mentioned were not armed. Thuc. however seems to imply that the guard-ships had been withdrawn, or at least were not always on the spot. Probably Pericles would have disapproved of this.
ἄκλῃστος —see c. 94, 4. Probably Brasidas planned this attack.
εἰκότως —cf. c. 8, 1.
ἐπικρατεῖν —sc. τοὺς Ἀθηναίους. πολὺ —ἐπικρατεῖν takes the place of the usual comparative.
Τροπωτῆρα —from τροπός, leather, and so a thong which attached the oar to the σκαλμός, thole-pin. The ancients did not use rowlocks like ours.
ἀφικομένους ... καθελκύσαντας —see c. 15, 2.
Ἦν ... προφυλάσσον —cf. c. 67, 1.
προσδοκία ... μὴ ἄν —after the analogy of φόβος, cf. c. 13, 1. If the time were pres., the sentence would be προσδοκία ἐστι μὴ ἂν ἐπιπλεύσειαν. There are very few cases of this construction, and no others in Thuc.
ἐξαπιναίως —see c. 3, 1.
ἀπὸ τοῦ προφανοῦς —a regular formula: cf. ἀπὸ τοῦ εὐθέος III. 43, 5; but ἀπὸ in such phrases is less common than ἐκ. ἀπὸ τοῦ ἴσου however is often found in Thuc. This use of ἀπὸ is not found iu the orators.
τολμῆσαι ἄν —depends on the idea of thinking implied in προσδοκία ἦν. Sc. ἐπιπλεῦσαι. καθ’ ἡσυχίαν —sc. ἐπιπλεῦσαι, ‘to make an attack without meeting with opposition.’ Intr. p. xliv. Cf. Arist. Eccles. 288 κατὰ σκότον = clam.
μὴ οὐκ —cf. I. 141 τὸ οὐ βἐβαιον ἔχοντες μὴ οὐ προαναλώσειν. M. T. 817.
οὐκέτι —again there is irony in the narrative. Cf. c. 80, 1.
Σαλαμῖνος —first for emphasis. Cf. c. 7, 2, 11, 2.
ὁρῶν — cf. c. 55, 1.
νεῶν τ. φυλακή —cf. c. 69, 1. ἐπ’ αὐτοῦ has a slightly different meaning with φυλακή, as though it were περὶ αὐτό. With φρούριον ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀκρωτηρίου contrast τροπαῖον ἐπὶ τῇ ἄκρᾳ VIII. 106. See c. 80, 2.
τὸν πόλεμον —see c. 1. ἂν ... ἂν—caused by the breaking of the sentence.
Καθεῖλκον —imperf. throughout, describing the action going on.
τῷ πεζῷ δὲ —notice the variation in the order.
Ὡς ᾔσθοντο —c. 3, 1.
ἔστι γὰρ ὅ τι καὶ —cf. καί τις καὶ c. 93, 3, καί τι καὶ c. 87, 2. ἔστιν ὅ τι is part of the object of ἐφόβουν, as φοβῶ σε τοῦτο = I make you fear this.
Οὐκέτι καταλαβόντες —cf. c. 56, 6.
καὶ ... ἅμα — this adds a new fact of importance, like καὶ δὴ καί. κλῄσει —‘the walls, being carried down to either side of the harbour's mouth, were prolonged from thence across the mouth upon shoals, or artificial moles, until a passage only was left in the middle for two or three triremes abreast between two towers, the opening of which might be further protected by a chain.’ Col. Leake, Top. of Athens, p. 311. κλῃστοὶ λιμένες were common. ‘It was not until Athens was in danger of being surprised by the enemy's fleet that the Athenians saw the necessity of fortifying the Peiraeus in the manner customary among the Greeks.’ ib. l.c.
Ἀλεξάνδρου —had sided with the Greeks in the Persian war.
ἐπὶ Χαλκιδέας —cf. c. 79. Athens suffered more annoyance from the north than from any other quarter outside the Peloponnese. Probably the generals who granted terms to Potidaea (c. 70 ) were brought to trial at the instigation of Cleon. Now at last the government hoped to pacify the Chalcidian towns, which had revolted with Potidaea, by means of Sitalces.
δύο ὑποσχέσεις τὴν μὲν ... τὴν δὲ —the object subdivided. Somewhat similar is c. 44, 1.
Ὅ τε ... τοῖς τε Ἀ —the double τε as in c. 22, 1 and 84 marking parallelism.
ὑποσχόμενος —‘made promises.’ What these were is unknown. Intr. p. lxxix.
τῷ πολέμῳ —Cl. proposes τοῦ πολέμου, but probably Thuc. means κατ’ ἀρχὰς τοῦ πολέμου πιεζόμενον αὐτῷ; for in 432 B.C. Athens had made alliance with Philip and was at war with him till August 431 B.C., c. 29, 6.
Φίλιππον —formerly king of upper Macedonia, c. 100, 3; expelled by Perdiccas. He had recently died.
ἐπὶ βασιλείᾳ —purpose, as ἐπ’ ὠφελίᾳ c. 29, 3.
καταλύσειν —c. 29, 5.
Ἡγεμόνα — i.e. as his chief adviser.
Ἅγνωνα — c. 58.
ἔδει ... παραγενέσθαι —cf. c. 5, 1, ‘were to aid him,’ according to an arrangement.
Ἀνίστησιν —c. 68, 1.
ἐντὸς — citra.
Αἵμου — the Balkan.
Ῥοδόπης —Despoto.
ὑπερβάντι —cf. c. 49, 5; here = ultra. The Getae lived then between Mt. Haemus and the Danube, in Bulgaria.
μέρη = ἔθνη. κατῴκητο— this use of the mid. of persous is found ouly in Herod. and Thuc., and is confined to perf. forms. Dion. Hal. fiuds fault with Thuc. for using the mid. where Attic writers use the active.
Ὀρεινῶν —)( ὅσοι πεδία εἶχον c. 101, 3.
αὐτονόμων —)( ὅσων ἦρχε 1 above.
ἄλλα ὅσα —cf. 3 below.
μαχαιροφόρων —a well-known mark of some of the Thracian tribes.
Ἀγριᾶνας —at the source of the Strymon (Struma) and round Mt. Rhodope
Σκόμβρου —another mountain iu the Balkan chain, south of Sophia. The Laeaei were north of the Agrianes.
τὰ πρὸς Παίονας —‘on the side of the P., who from that point were indepeudent.’
Τριβαλλοὺς —in Servia.
Ὀσκίου —a tributary of the Danube (the Isker).
ἐκ τοῦ ὄρους —part of Rhodope.
Νέστος —the Kara-su. The Romans in B.C. 167 made it the northern boundary of Macedonia.
Ἕβρος —the Maritza.
Ἐγένετο —Thuc. probably knew more of Thrace than any other Greek owing to his property, infleuce, and sojourn there.
μέγεθος —accus. of respect.
ἐπὶ μὲν θ. καθήκουσα — ‘extended along the coast line,’ cf. c. 27, 2) ( ἐς ἤπειρον. The construction is ἐγένετο καθήκουσα, like ἦν καθήκουσα, cf. c. 80, 2, 93, 2; lit. extended down to the sea.
μέχρι Ἴστρου ποταμοῦ —cf. Isocr. VII. 80 ἐντὸς Ἅλυος ποταμοῦ, the only case in Attic outside Thuc. where the art. is omitted with the name when ποταμὸς is inserted. The omission is common in Herod.: there are six cases in Thuc.
περίπλους —with τεσσάρων ἡμερῶν. Cf. VI. 1 Σικελίας ( ‐α Kr., Hw.) περίπλους ἐστιν .. ὀκτὼ ἡμερῶν. τὰ ξυντομώτατα —adverbial.
ἱστῆται — stet, of anything which does not shift its position.
νηὶ ς. — = ὁλκάδι .
Διὰ πλείστου .. ἐγίγνετο —‘for in this direction it extended furthest into the interior.’
ἁνύσαι —epexegetic to ἦν ἡ ἀρχή.
Ἦρξαν —ingressive, as ἀρχθῶσι c. 8, 4.
Σεύθου — nephew of Sitalces.
βασιλεύσας —ingressive, as c. 15, 2. Coutrast c. 80, 6.
δύναμις —sc. ἦν, ‘amounted in all to about.’
δῶρα —not voluntary, but like Edward IV.'s benevoleuces.
ὅσα —see c. 13, 4. Cf. I. 16. λεῖα—‘plain,’ unembroidered. κατασκευή—ὑφαντά etc. are reckoned among these ‘effects.’
αὐτῷ —emphatic.
παραδυναστεύουσι —‘princes.’
Περσῶν —probably refers to the practice of giving bounties as rewards for public services.
λαμβάνειν —hinting that these presents were really exactions.
κατὰ τὸ δύνασθαι —‘owing to their power’ (to exact money).
ἐπὶ πλέον — = μᾶλλον. αὐτῷ — i.e. τῷ νόμῳ. ἐχρήσαντο —sc. οἱ Ὀδρυσαί.
Ἐπὶ μέγα ἰσχύος —cf. c. 17, 4.
τῶν γὰρ —sc. βασιλειῶν. ὅσαι—cf. 3 above.
εὐδαιμονίᾳ —of wealth, as beatus. Cf. Eur. Bacchae, 16 Ἀραβίαν εὐδαίμονα. πολὺ δευτέρα μετὰ—‘far inferior to.’ (Arn. trauslates ‘easily second,’ quoting Soph. O. C. 1228 μὴ φῦναι τὸν ἄπαντα νικᾷ λόγον· τὸ δὲ ... βῆναι κεῖθεν ὅθενπερ ἥκει πολὺ δεύτερον ὡς τάχιστα, but there too the δεύτερος πλοῦς is ‘far inferior’ to the πρῶτος πλοῦς .)
Ἕν πρὸς ἓν —cf. Herod. IV. 50 ἓν πρὸς ἓν συμβάλλειν. οὐκ ἔστιν ὅ τι— = οὐδέν, otherwise οὐκ would not be inserted here after οὐδέ. οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ—‘not that they are on a level with other nations in general prudence and intelligence in the employment of the ordinary resources of life.’
ξύνεσιν — meaning that the Scythians, with their natural advantages ( τὰ παρόντα ἐς τὸν βίον), might have been a great nation if they had been blessed with the sense to pursue a definite policy.
Ἑτοῖμα —c. 3, 4.
Κερκίνης —between the Axius (the Vardar) and Strymon.
Σιντῶν —on the right bank of the Strymon.
τεμὼν —by felling the mountain-trees.
Μαιδούς —also on the right bank of the Strymon.
Δόβηρον —‘in one of the first high valleys on the Paeonian (western) side (of Cercine), from which the way to lower Macedonia would be a continued descent, first down the valley of one of the tributary streams of the Axius, and then by the valley of the Axius itself.’ Arn.
Ἀπεγίγνετο ... προσεγίγνετο —a paratactic παρονο‐ μασία. After he had left his own kingdom, it might have been expected that his forces would dwindle down, owing to their miscellaneous character, and the slightness of the ties by which they were connected.
τὸ πᾶν —c. 7, 2.
γενέσθαι —c. 13, 3.
Καταβάντες —attributive, as in c. 30, 1. This order is only possible when the noun, here αὐτόνομοι, has other attributes beside the partic.
ξύμμεικτος —with ἠκολούθει; they were not separated into contingents, but were what histories call ‘a horde.’
πλήθει φ. —‘chiefly formidable on account of their numbers.’
Ἐν —would be ἐς had not the muster at Doberus already been referred to.
κατὰ κορυφὴν — = ἄνωθεν, κατὰ via like κατὰ κράτος, expressing the manner; cf. c. 76, 4. τὴν κάτω Μ.—τὸ παράλιον. Schol.
Τῶν γὰρ —‘for, besides the lower Macedonians, there are also Macedonians in the upper country, amongst whom are iucluded the L. and E.’ Note in Jowett.
Λιγκησταὶ — the district called Lyncestis.
Ἐλιμιῶται —divided from Thessaly by the Cambunian mountains.
βασιλείας —‘have kings of their own.’ J.
Τὴν δὲ περὶ —not παρά, because the regions en umerated below are not merely those actually on the coast, but comprise ἡ κάτω γῆ generally.
Τημενίδαι —hence Philip and Alexander claimed to be Greeks, and their claim was generally admitted.
ἐβασίλευσαν —ingressive.
Πιερίας —between Mt. Olympus and the Thermaic Gulf, the origiual home of the muses and birth-place of Orpheus.
ὑπὸ τὸ Πάγγαιον —after this both the Pieres and Orpheus were connected with Thrace.
κόλπος —see L. and S.
οἰκοῦσιν —their new home was Bottice. They originally dwelt near Pella.
Στενήν —the Paeonians had possessed ‘a narrow strip on the bank of the Axius, down to Pella and the sea.’ Grote points out that this would leave hardly any room for the Bottiaeans, who dwelt north of the Pierians, between the mouth of the Haliacmon (the Indjeh Kara-su) and that of the Axius. Probably Thuc. is mistaken in saying μέχρι θαλάσσης, and the Paeonians did not extend so far east.
Μυγδονίαν — Herod. VII. 123 says the Axius divided Bottia on the south from Mygdonia on the north. Iu this region lived also the Edonians, Crestonians, and Bisaltae (6 below), but the Mygdonians must have been the most important.
Ἐορδίας —east of Lyncestis. N.W. of the Elimiots.
Φύσκαν —somewhere between the Strymon and Axius.
κατῴκηται —c. 96, 1.
Ἀλμωπίας —some where near Eordia and Pieria.
Οὗτοι —= οἱ κάτω; the tribes who were led by the Temenidae and conquered all lower Macedonia, the part which has been described from 3 above. Contrast Μακεδόνες αὐτοὶ below, = the original Macedonians before the conquests, οἱ ἄνω, who remained partially independent, c. 99, 2.
αὐτῶν — those just mentioned were not of Macedonian stock.
Οἱ Μ. οὗτοι—οἱ ὑπὸ Περδίκκου βασιλευόμενοι. καρ‐ τερὰ —secure places in the hills.
Ἀρχέλαος —reigned 413-399 B.C. Eur. wrote a play named after him, and the ‘Bacchae’ was written at his court. It is strange that Thuc. should go out of his way to make this remark about his reign: he must have considered these improvements very important.
ὁδοὺς εὐθείας —cf. c. 98, 1. Andoc. 2, 11 says that Archelaus gave him the right to cut down and export as much timber as he chose.
τἆλλα accus. of respect, τὰ κ. τὸν πόλεμον being object of διεκόσμησε. ὀκτὼ—cf. the position of ἕξ in c. 92, 2.
Τὴν Φιλίππου —the upper part of the Axius.
ὁμολογίᾳ —with προσχωροῦντα) ( κατὰ κράτος .
Ἀριστερᾷ — i.e. ‘east of Pella, as Sitalces was marching southwards.’ Arn.
ἔσω — i.e. further south.
Ὅπῃ δοκοίη —with ἐσέβαλλον, which is used here of a cavalry charge. They charged wherever they chose, as the Thracians were not disciplined. Cf. c. 79, 6.
Ὑπὸ δὲ π. περικλῃόμενοι — = ὁπότε ὑπὸ π. περι‐ κλῄοιντο, corresponding to ἧ? μὲν προσπέσοιεν: hence pres. partic. ‘Whenever (after charging) they were hemmed in by superior numbers, they placed themselves in danger, as they were far outnumbered by the enemy.’
πλῆθος —as in c. 11, 3.
πολλαπλασίῳ —dat. of cause.
Λόγους ἐποιεῖτο —‘had a conference.’ Livy would have reported this conversation at length.
οὐ παρῆσαν — c. 95, 3. The incompetence displayed by Athens against Perdiccas is so strange that the ambassadors sent to Sitalces may have been bribed: for they might easily have sent word when Sitalces really did start. The muddle which followed the death of Pericles is as great as the confusion in the English government during the Bute ministry after the fall of Pitt in 1761. Perhaps it is partly due to the same cause.
ἀπιστοῦντες —Sitalces had become an ally two years before, and his promise had been unfulfilled till now. Cf. c. 29. ἔπεμψαν—‘had sent.’
Ἐν π. ἦσαν —c. 80, 3. The Thessalians and the other Greeks rightly regarded Sitalces now as a mere plunderer.
Θρᾷκες —the tribes living in the plains on the lower Strymon, near Amphipolis.
Παρέσχε λόγον —on the analogy of φόβον παρέχειν, as μὴ below shows: ‘even as far as the ... he caused questionings.’
ἐπὶ —denotes distance, as in ἐφ’ ὅσον, c. 62, 2.
ὑπ’ αὐτῶν ἀγόμενοι —‘induced by the Athenians.’
κατὰ τὸ ξ. —c. 22, 2.
χωρήσωσιν —The change to the plur., suggesting Θρᾶκες, adds a notion of vague terror to the narrative. This small artifice shows how perpetually Thuc. produces pathos by saying the least that cau possibly be said. Cf. Eur. Hec. 277 μή μου τὸ τἐκνον ἐκ χερῶν ἀποσπάση?ς | μηδὲ κτάνητε.
Ἅμα ἐπέχων —‘as he overran them.’
εἶχεν αὐτῳ —cf. c. 102, 2.
ὑπὸ χειμῶνος —one would have supposed that Sitalces would have foreseen this.
ἀναπείθεται —c. 14, 1.
Σεύθου —he succeeded Sitalces. Spardacus was brother of Sitalces.
ὥστ’ —cf. c. 2, 4.
ἐπ’ αὐτῇ —‘along with.’ Cf. Isaeus, 2, 5 ἐπὶ τῇ ἀδελφῆ? προῖκα. προσποιεῖται — sibi conciliat.
Τὰς πάσας —‘in all.’
κατὰ τάχος —again Thuc. contrasts the slightness of the result with the vastness of the plan. Cf. c. 7, 2.
ὑπέσχετο —contrast c. 95, 2.
Ἀστακοῦ —the Corinthians had restored the tyrant Euarchus who had been expelled by the Athenians, c. 31, 33. Cl. thinks the place must have since joined Athens.
Στράτου —c. 80, 8: Coronta is unknown.
Οἰνιάδας —c. 82. As Oeniadae had helped Cnemus effectually, it would have been advantageous to puuish it and prevent it from doing more harm to Athens.
ἄνωθεν μὲν — sc. ῥἐων, ‘flowing past Stratus high up the stream.’
ἐξιεὶς —of water discharging itself into the sea, only in Thuc. and Herod. The meaning reappears in Polybius.
περιλιμνάζων —this applies to the winter only.
Ἐχινάδων —the object of this digression is probably to show that it was as difficult to attack Oeniadae by sea as by land.
προσχοῖ —‘forms deposits.’
ἠπείρωνται — = ἤπειρος γεγένηνται. οὐκ ἐν πολλῷ—c. 17, 2.
τοῦτο παθεῖν —pass. of τοῦτο δρᾶν, as c. 11, 8, 49, 5. This has not happened, as the sea carries away the deposits. Cf. Herod. II. 10.
Τό τε ... αἵ τε —the double cause, as c. 95, 2.
μέγα καὶ πολὺ —cf. c. 5, 2.
ἀλλήλαις —‘help one another to bind the deposits together.’
ἔχουσαι — = παρέχουσαι, as c. 61, 2.
Ὅτε δὴ ἀλᾶσθαι —cf. c. 13, 5, the infin. by assimi- lation to χρῆσαι . M. T. 755. In temporal sentences in Or. Obl. Thuc. generally retaius the mood of the Recta, except III. 95 ἔως καταβαίη, representing ἕως ἂν καταβῶ, IV. 117 πρὶν παρασκευάσαιντο, representiug πρὶν ἂν παρασκευασώμεθα, VII. 48 ὁπότε βούλοιντο, representing ὅταν βουλώμεθα, and III. 22, 8.
μητρός —Eriphyle, c. 68, 3.
χρῆσαι —this meaning occurs in Herod., Thuc., and tragedy only. The Attic is ἀναιρεῖν. οἰκεῖν—pres. (or aor.) infin. after words meaning to give an oracle. M. T. 98.
ὑπειπόντα —‘saying besides,’ as in I. 90, 4.
λύσιν τῶν δειμάτον —technical words of the oracle. Cf. Pausan. 2, 29 . 6 ἐς Δελφοὺς ἀπἐστειλαν ... αἰτήσοντας λύσιν τοῦ κακοῦ. Soph. El. 635 ἄνακτι τῷδ’ ὅπως λυτηρίους | εὐχὰς ἀνάσχω δειμάτων ἃ νῦν ἔχω. εὑρὼν —sc. ταύτην τὴν γῆν. ἥτις μήπω—hypothetical rel., ‘such as was not.’ The vague form is well suited to the oracle.
αὐτῷ —agent.
Ἱκανὴ ἂν κεχῶσθαι — i.e. κεχωσμένη ἂν εἴη, ‘it would be by this time.’
δίαιτα —‘to make a habitation,’ pred. with χῶσθαι. ἐδυνάστευσε—ingressive, as ἐβασίλευσαν c. 99. 3.
ἐπωνυμίαν —it was called Κουρῆτις before.
Ἐλευθέρους —the slaves had been sold.
Τῷ πολέμῳ —c. 47, 1.
ἐτελεύτα —the anaphora is probably unintentional, this being a formula, which, though to us it may become tedious, is quite in accordance with the Greek method of ending quietly. Cf. the closing lines of any Greek play, and the finish of any Greek speech except the de Corona. (I cannot in the least agree with what Dr. Rutherford says on this formula.)
θέρους —Thuc. divides the year into θέρος, consisting of about eight months (Elaphebohon to Pyanepsion) and χειμών, consisting of about four (Maimacterion to Anthesterion).
ἅμα τῷ σίτῳ ἀκμάζοντι —‘just when the corn was ripening’; about the middle of May, 428 B.C., before the harvest ( καρποῦ ξυγκομιδή).
ἐγκαθεζόμενοι —the form serves as an aorist as well as a present.
ὥσπερ εἰώθεσαν —sc. γίγνεσθαι, in the two previous invasions. The plan had been started by Pericles.
ὅπῃ παρείκοι —impers., though strictly ὁ θεός is the subject implied.
τὸν πλεῖστον ὅμιλον —cf. II. 31 ὁ ἄλλος ὅμιλος ψιλῶν, ‘the main body.’ Outside Thuc. ὅμιλος is found only in Herod., in tragedy, and in late authors.—The wasting of the country was a tedious task that would devolve naturally on the light-armed troops.
εἶργον τὸ μή —for the constr., which is common with verbs and phrases signifying prevention ( Aesch. PV. 252 ἐξελυσάμην βροτοὺς | τὸ μὴ . . μολεῖν, and often in Aesch.) cf. VI. 1 διείργεται τὸ μὴ ἤπειρος εἶναι (where the MS. οὖσα is shown by many imitations of the sentence by later authors to be a mistake).
τῶν ὅπλων = τοῦ στρατοπέδου, strictly the space in front of the quarters where the arms were stacked; here the word marks the fact that the light-armed could not with safety be withdrawn from the hoplites. 10. τὰ ἐγγὺς τῆς πόλεως—i.e. houses, trees, vineyards: we are not to suppose that the Athenians cropped their lands annually for the benefit of the Peloponnesian invaders.
οὗ —the gen. as in μισθὸς τριῶν μηνῶν. The enemy remained in Attica about thirty days: the longest invasion, that of 430 B.C., lasted forty days, the shortest, in 425 B.C., fifteen days.
Λέσβος ἀπέστη —the gravity of this event lay in the fact that Lesbos and Chios were the only two islands in the Aegean that retained the position of independent allies of Athens. These furnished manned ships, but not infantry or money. For the narrative see Introd. p. xiii.
Μηθύμνης —Methymna, the second town in Lesbos, was under a democracy, Mytilene under an oligarchy.
βουληθέντες agrees κατὰ σύνεσιν with Λέσβος: this change, in the case of peoples, is especially common in Thuc.; and cf. c. 67, 3 ἠλικία . . ῶν. So with στρατιά, στράτευμα.
τῶν . . τήν serve for all three pairs of nouns.
χῶσιν —the harbours were to be turned into λιμένες κλῃστοί ( II. 94, 4): walls were carried across the mouth on artificial moles, and the narrow opening left could be closed with a chain.
ἐπέμενον —showing why they had put off the revolt. The constr. with ἐπιμένειν is here double: (1) τὴν . . ποίησιν τελεσθῆναι, as in VII. 20 περιέμενε τὸν Χαρικλέα . . παραλαβεῖν: (2) ὅσα . . ἔδει ἀφικέσθαι, an accusative clause. (It is objected that Thuc. elsewhere uses ἐπιμένειν only as intrans., but he uses e.g. μένω and ὑπο‐ in both ways; and why not ἐπι‐?)
τοξότας —as mercenaries.
μεταπεμπόμενοι ἦσαν —cf. I. 99 ἦσαν . . ἄρχοντες, II. 80 ἦσαν . . ξυμπροθυμούμενοι. Of course, the periphrasis with pres partic. is much less common than with perf., but it is not different in principle. Passages like II. 67 οὗ ἦν στράτευμα πολιορκοῦν ‘where there was a blockading army’ are quite different, the partic. not belonging to the verb. In yet another case, like I. 38 τοῖς πλείοσιν άρέσκοντές ἐσμεν, the partic. is a predicative adj.
ἰδίᾳ —in contrast with what the government was doing κοινῇ.
κατά —often of the motive or reason, e.g. II. 87 ξυμπαραγενομένων κατὰ φιλίαν.
πρόξενοι —the fact that there were more representatives of Athens than one at Mytilene might show that the office was hereditary in a family, but more probably the title of πρόξενος καὶ εὐεργέτης had been granted by Athens to members of different Mytilenean families. Aristotle in Pol. 1304 a says that Dexander ἦρξε τῆς στάσεως καὶ τοὺς Ἀθηναίους παρώξυνε πρόξενος ὤν: he had a private quarrel with a member of the aristocratic party; from this small matter πολλῶν ἐγένετο ἀρχὴ κακῶν. In any case it would have been the duty of the Proxenus to inform Athens of movements in Mytilene unfavourable to her interests even before the war; but doubtless the quarrel was now an exasperating motive to him, and led directly to the outbreak of stasis, for it was a dispute about property and intermarriage between families of the opposed parties.
ξυνοικίζουσι —i.e. attempting to make the island into a single πόλις under one government, and in this case, an oligarchy.
ξυγγενῶν — Lesbos being of Boeotian (Aeolic) origin. To intervene on behalf of kinsmen was under all circumstances deemed justifiable among Greek states.
εἰ μή τις —‘unless they mean to,’ the fut. indic. marking the urgency; cf. VIII. 91 εἰ μή τις ἤδη φυλάξεται.
νόσου —during 430 and 429 B.C.
ἄρτι καθισταμένου —‘just becoming established’ (i.e. settled, chronic). Cf. I. 1 ἀρξάμενος ( ξυγγράψαι) εὐθὺς καθισταμένου. If we render thus, it makes no difference whether Thuc. means the ten years' or the twenty-seven years' war. In either case, ἀκμάζοντος shows that ‘in its infancy’ is wrong. But Classen's ‘in the middle period’ seems impossible: for it is inconceivable that καθισταμένου τοῦ πολέμοι should mean either ‘just beginning,’ as he understands I 1, or ‘in the middle’ at will. In V. 25 εὐθὺς ἄλλη ταραχὴ καθίστατο the verb means not merely ‘arose,’ but ‘tended to become permanent,’ applying to a period, not to a moment. ἀκμάζοντος—ἄρτι does not extend to this. A period of ἀκμή is of course meant. Athens was now beginning to feel the strain on her finances (see c. 19 ); and her position in Chalcidice was very precarious. (Vollgraff proposes to add ἤδη before ἀκμάζοντος, but this is not necessary.)
μεῖζον μέρος νέμοντες —‘attaching greater importance to their wish that it was not true’ (than to the allegations). For ἀληθῆ cf. I. 8 πλωιμώτερα ἐγένετο νἐμειν μέρος or μοῖραν several times in tragedy: Aesch. PV. 294 , Soph. Trachin. 1238 , Eur. Supp. 241 ; cf. τὸ ἴσον νέμειν I. 71, ἔλασσον νἐμειν VI. 88, πλέον ν. Eur. Hec. 868 , c. 48, 1.
παρασκευήν refers of course to the preparations of c. 2, 2 (cf. c. 2, 3).
δείσαντες —ingressive.
ἐξαπιναίως —like ἐξαπίνης, found only in Thuc. and Xen. among Attic prose writers (for ἐξαίφνης or αἰφνιδίως).
περὶ Πελοπόννησον πλεῖν —both in 431 and 430 B.C. when the Pel. invaded Attica (II. 23, 56), a fleet had been sent out to make descents on the coast of the Peloponnese, as a counter-move. For the operations of this year see c. 16, 1; for those of 426 B.C. see cc. 91, 94.
Μαλόεις was a local name of Apollo in Lesbos; its origin is unknown.
πανδημεί —the whole people together, not by families or clans.
ἐλπίδα εἶναι like εἰκός ἐστι, is commonly followed by pres. or aor. infin.
ἐπειχθέντας is conditional.
ἢν μὲν ξυμβῇ . . εἰ δὲ μή —a common idiom, found already in Homer; cf. e.g. Plato, Prot. 325B ἐὰν μὲν ἑκὼν πείθηται· εἰ δὲ μή.
εἰπεῖν —this depends on the sense of ‘order’ implied in the passage; cf. Andoc. de Myst. 20 ὁ γὰρ νόμος οὕτως εἷχεν· εἰ μὲν τἀληθῆ μηνύσειέ τις, εἶναι τὴν ἄδειαν, εἰ δὲ τὰ ψευδῆ, τεθνάναι. Of course εἰπεῖν = κελεῦσαι. (This passage is brief and peremptory in tone: its dramatic manner is quite characteristic, and there is no ground for suspecting the text.)
παρὰ σφᾶς —put briefly for παρὰ σφᾶς παραγενόμεναι καὶ παροῦσαι: similarly παρεῖναι is often found with εἰς or ἐπί with accus.; but there is no precise parallel to the present case.
ἐς φυλακὴν ἐποιήσαντο —so VIII. 1 ἐς άσφάλειαν ποιεῖσθαι. Cf. Andoc. de Myst. 117 θυγατέρες αἳ ἐγίγνοντο ἔς τε ἐμέ καὶ Λέαγρον.
διαβάς .—the sentence, containing five participles, is an example of what Dionysius calls τὸ πυκνόν of Thucydides; Cicero speaks of him as pressus, Quintilian as densus. The participles that denote closely connected parts of the same action are joined by καί.
ἐπιτυχών = ὡς ἐπέτυχε.
πλῷ χρησάμενος —‘after a good passage.’ πλῷ = εὐπλοίᾳ, as in I. 137 . (Some make πλῷ χρησάμενος merely = πλεύσας, but Antiphon V. 24 πλοῦς ἡμῖν ἐγίγνετο καὶ ἀνήγετο πλοῖα ἄπαντα seems decisive.)
οὔτε . . τε —a common idiom (cf. neque . . que or et), by which emphasis is thrown on the second clause.
τά τε ἄλλα . . ἐφύλασσον —‘and besides ( τὰ ἄλλα, adverbial) having protected with rapidly constructed defences all round the half-finished (works) of the walls and docks they guarded them.’ This is the best way of taking this puzzling sentence. None of the changes in the text that have been proposed is an improvement.
περί is an adverb = πέριξ, as in Homer (Wilamowitz on Eur. HF. 1035 ).
οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι —the subject of the subord. verb is put at the head of the sentence to contrast the action of Athenians and Lesbians sharply; a good parallel occurs at VII. 32 οἱ δὲ . . πρέσβεις . . ἐπειδὴ . . ἔμελλον ἄξειν τὸν στρατόν, ὁ Νικίας . . πέμπει. The imperf.,
ἑώρων (sc. τὰ γιγνόμενα), is used because the action overlaps that of ἀπήγγειλαν.
ἀπαράσκευοι qualifies πολεμεῖν, and is therefore co-ordinate with ἐξαίφνης: cf. e.g. I. 39 προύχοντα καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἀσφαλοῦς, and c. 13, 2 θᾶσσον γεγένηται καὶ ἀπαράσκευος .
ἔκπλουν τινα —for the use of τις cf. II. 22 ἱππομαχία τις βράχεια ἐγένετο.
ναυμαχίαν —both dat. and accus. seem to occur with ὡς ἐπί of intention; but the MSS. often vary, as here.
πρὸ τοῦ λιμένος —i.e. that harbour which was used by the fleet (cc. 3 , 6; 6, 1), in which their ships had lam. (Steup's suggestion that τοῦ ἑτέρου λ. should be read is unnecessary.) Presently they were driven back into this same harbour. The northern harbour is meant. See Introd. P. xiv.
ὀλίγον is accus. of space (cf. 104, 2); of time II. 8 ὀλίγον πρὸ τούτων.
τὸ παραυτίκα . . ἀποπέμψασθαι —‘get the ships withdrawn for the time being,’ i.e. in order to gain time.
καί ‘accordingly.’
τῶν διαβαλλόντων —see c. 2, 3. The partic. becomes a subst, as in οἱ ἐπαγόμενοι II. 2, οἱ προδιδόντες II. 5.
τὰς ναῦς is not object of πείσειαν, but only subject of ἀπελθεῖν, τὰς ναῦς ἀπελθεῖν being an exact citation of the proposal they would make in the Ecclesia, which was to be for a permanent withdrawal. The constr. is strange, however, and ποιήσειαν has been proposed.
ἐν τῇ Μαλέᾳ πρὸς β. πῆς πόλεως —the Malea that is known is the SE. point of Lesbos, 70 stadia from the city. A solution of the difficulty has been found, Introd. p. XV. (Those who suppose that the SE. point of the island is meant, take πρὸς β. τῆς πόλεως with ἀποστέλλουσι. But from the narrative that follows, it is clear the A. were lying to the north of the city (esp. c. 6, 1); and it is not likely they were so far distant as 70 stades. Some are driven to suspect that ἐν τῇ Μαλέᾳ may be corrupt or spurious.)
τοῖς is neut., and
προχωρήσειν is epexegetic.
διὰ τοῦ πελάγους —crossing the Aegean directly instead of sailing down the coast of Asia Minor, between Chios and Erythrae, before crossing among the islands. The alternative routes are clearly explained in Odyssey III. 170 f. and the risks of that across the μέσον πέλαγος are indicated. (Cf. Tozer, Islands of the Aegean, p. 170.)
αὐτοῖς prob. = the Lesbians, and is dat. commodi with ἔπρασσον, as in V. 76, where those acting for Sparta at Argos are called οἱ τοῖς Λακεδαιμονίοις πράσσοντες. (Others take αὐτοῖς with ἥξει, or refer it to the Lacedaemonians.)
ἐβεβοηθήκεσαν —‘were there to aid.’ Thuc. is remarkably partial to the pluperf., as e.g. I. 128 ἐνεγἑγραπτο, ‘the contents of the letter were.’
Ἴμβριοι καὶ Λήμνιοι —closely associated with the Athenians throughout the war. The islands had been secured for Athenian ‘cleruchs’ by Miltiades; and along with Scyros they were regarded as very peculiarly the possessions of Athens.
πανδημεί —equivalent to πανστρατιᾷ in this connexion, as II. 31, 1 clearly shows.
στρατόπεδον —north of the city, where the fleet was lying.
οὐκ ἔλασσον ἔχοντες describes a state of things, like κραποῦντες, vικῶντες.
ἐπηυλίσαντο —‘did not encamp on the field,’ which was necessary to maintain a disputed victory (Bloomfield). What they did and what they felt are here balanced by οὔτε . . οὔτε.
ἐκ Πελοποννήσου καὶ μετ’ ἄλλης —this appears to stand for εἰ πρ. τι ( παρασκευῆς) ἐκ Π. καὶ ἄλλοθεν, ‘to try their fortune with remforcements from the Pel. and elsewhere, if any should come.’ Bloomfield and others have supposed that καί is intensive here, ‘again with fresh preparations’; but with the order of the text, the sense would necessarily be that some reinforcement had already come from Peloponnese. As for μετ’ ἄλλης, they might hope for ships from Megara, Leucas or Ambracia: Thebes had none.
αὐτοῖς . . ἀφικνεῖται —the dat. with verbs of motion—which is strictly a dat. of mterest rather than of motion—is common in poetry, but does not occur in Attic prose outside Thuc.; cf. e.g. Aesch. PV. 35 δ’ ἀλλ’ ἦλθεν αὐτῷ Ζηνὸς ἄγρυπνον βέλος .
μετὰ τὴν μάχην ὕστερον —i.e. they did not get there immediately after the arrival of the A. fleet (c. 4, 1), but only after the battle (§ 2).
οἱ δέ —co-ordinate with οἱ μὲν ἡσύχαζον.
οὐδὲν ἰσχυρὸν ἀπό —‘no sign of energy on the part of.’
περιορμισάμενοι τὸ πρὸς νότον —‘changing their position and casting anchor south.’ As Malea πρὸς βορέαν remained still in their hands as a ναύσταθμον, it is evident that a part only of the ships was sent to this new station.
τὸ πρὸς νότον is adverbial as IV. 23 περιώρμουν πλὴν τὰ πρὸς τὸ πέλαγος.
ἑκατέρωθεν τῆς πόλεως —explaining δύο. Logically Thuc. should have written στρατόπεδον, as there was but one on either side.
μὴ χρῆσθαι —epexegetic.
ναύσταθμον —the roadstead where the supply-ships lay.
μᾶλλον means rather than the new στρατόπεδον south of the town.
ἀγορά is Kruger's probable alteration for ἀγορᾶς, on the analogy of such phrases as ἀγορὰν παρέχειν, VII. 39 τὴν ἀγορὰν τῶν πωλουμένων . . ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν κομίσαι. The idea of a site seems always present, and ἀγορά is not a synonym of τὰ ὤνια or τὰ πωλούμενα.
τά is probably subject, not adverbial accus., so that we have the pass. of τὸν περὶ Μ. πόλεμον ἐπολέμουν: cf. VIII. 18 τὸν πόλεμον κοινῆ? πολεμούντων (imper.). The act. of πολεμῶ does not seem to occur with an adverbial accus.
περὶ Πελοπόννησον —in the previous year the Pelo ponnesians had attempted an offensive war on a considerable scale in Acarnania, which, with the exception of Oeniadae, was in alliance with Athens. The idea was, to suppress the influence of Athens in the NW. (Naupactus, Zacynthus, Cephallenia, as well as Acarnania); and so to put an end to the harassing expeditions of Athenian fleets περὶ Πελοπόννησον. But the scheme failed completely; and a squadron under Phormio that had been stationed at Naupactus in 430 B.C. to close the Corinthian gulf to Peloponnesian trade, gained two brilliant victories. After the departure of the enemy's fleet, Phormio made an expedition into Acarnania, but was prevented by severe weather from attacking Oeniadae. Early in the spring of this year (428), Phormio returned to Athens; and it is evident that he was now dead or out of health. His statue was placed on the Acropolis and an inscription in his honour was set up at Delphi. (For περὶ some MSS. give ἐς: and perhaps ἐς τὰ περὶ Π. was the original form; cf. II. 7, 3. See, however, c. 3, 2.)
σφίσι as direct reflexive, referring to the nearer subject, is an Ionic use.
Λακωνικῆς depends on χωρία.
ἀναστήσας —the verb occurs in a similar connexion in II. 68 and 96; in IV. 90 άναστήσας Ἀθηναίους πανδημεί.
κατὰ τὸν Ἀχελῷον —‘by way of the A.’; not the technical use of κατά meaning ‘down’ a stream (cf. Aeschines II. 124 εἰσπλεῖν κατὰ τὸν Λυδίαν ποταμόν); Oeniadae was an important town on a hill in marshy ground near the SW. coast of Acarnania W. of the mouth of the Achelous. Cobet conjectured άνά for κατά.
φρουρῶν —the contrast with αὐτόθεν suggests that these were not Leucadians.
ἀποπλεύσαντες —i.e. the ships withdrew to Acarnania, and from there the negotiation was carried on.
Δωριεύς —a Rhodian athlete, who won prodigious fame and became the typical Olympic victor. He was son of the Diagoras for whom Pindar wrote the seventh Olympian. Besides three Olympian victories he won many at the Isthmian and Nemean games. (References to his career: VIII. 35, Xen. Hell. I. 5, Pausan. II. 7. )
καθεστός —MS. evidence and analogy favour the form in ‐ός for the neut.; but etymology ( ‐άος) and the ancient grammarians are for ‐ώς.
τοὺς γάρ —cf. I. 40 τὸν νόμον μὴ καθιστάναι ὤστε τοὺς ἑτέρων ἀφισταμένους δέχεσθαι.
ἐν ἡδονῇ ἔχουσι —so ἐν αἰτίᾳ, ἐν ὀργῇ, ἐν ὀρρωδίᾳ etc., cf. c. 34 , 3 and ἐν ἡδονῇ εἶναι I. 99.
χείρους —think worse of them for being traitors.
οὐκ ἄδικος . . ἐστιν, εἰ τύχοιεν —like I. 120 ἀνδρῶν σωφρόνων ἐστίν, εἰ μὴ ἀδικοῖντο, ἡσυχάζειν. Here οὐκ ἄ. . . . ἐστιν= δίκαιόν ἐστι χείρους ἡγεῖσθαι, and in such cases (see Goodwin, MT. § 555) the opt. is not seldom found. The idiom should certainly not be regarded as abnormal. Cf. e.g. Plato, Gorg, 482 B ἔγωγε οἶμαι κρεῖττον εἶναι . . διαφωνεῖν χορὸν ᾧ χορηγοίην. Bayfield on Antig. 666 collects passages from Soph. Presently
διακρίνοιντο is by assimilation to τύχοιεν.
γνώμῃ —‘feeling,’ ‘sentiment’;
εὐνοίᾳ ‘loyalty’ to each other. These words, so frequent in Thuc. and orators, have various shades of meaning; and of γνώμη it would be rash to say that we can always be sure of its precise significance— Classen has discussed γνώμη at length in his Intr.—but here the parallel παρασκευὴ καὶ δύναμις show that the two are closely similar in sense ( εὔνοια is the intellectual aspect of γνώμη); and c. 10 ἐν τῷ διαλάσσοντι τῆς γνώμης καὶ αἱ διαφοραὶ τῶν ἔργων, where the meaning of γνώμη is fixed by μετ’ ἀρετῆς δοκούσης and ὁμοιό τροποι, bears this out. ( εὔνοια of course implies ‘between equals’ here, not loyalty to a superior.) Cf. also c. 12, 1.
μηδέ τῳ —here and again at c. 67, 2 there should undoubtedly be only a comma before μηδέ. Thuc. never uses οὐδέ, μηδέ=‘and not,’ unless a neg. clause precedes; and it is quite plain from what precedes— οὐκ ἄδικος αὔτη ἡ ἀξίωσις, viz. χείρους ἡγεῖσθαι, εἰ τύχοιεν—that ὃ . . οὐκ ἦν and μηδέ τῳ χείρους δόξωμεν εἶναι adhere closely together.
ἐν τοῖς δεινοῖς —for Athens; often used of the troubles of war.
περὶ γὰρ τοῦ δικαίου καὶ ἀρετῆς —to be asking for a ξυμμαχία when you have just abandoned one is a position that needs some justification; so first they will show that they were not guilty of ἀδικία (cf. c. 12, 2) since they were in danger of being ‘enslaved,’ and that they were actuated by the highest of motives, by ἀρετή, unselfishness, regard for others, in that they wanted to ‘free Greece.’ Hence their διπλῆ ἀπόστασις (c. 13, 1) might well commend them to their hearers.—Only one article is used because τὸ δίκαιον and ἀρετή are the two motives combined in the διπλῆ ἀπόστασις.
πρῶτον —this ‘first’ point—the question of political morality—occupies in point of fact most of the speech.
βέβαιον —always of two terminations in Thuc. Stobaeus gives βεβαίαν here: βέβαιον ἂν has been suggested.
μετ’ ἀρετῆς δοκούσης ἐς ἀλλήλους γίγνοιντο —the subject, as Bloomfield saw (and so Steup), is ἰδιῶται καὶ πόλεις: many edd. from Poppo onwards understand φιλία καὶ κοινωνία, but ἐς ἀλλήλους is a serious objection to this. It does not seem, how ever, that a case has been made out for explaining γίγνεσθαι μετά ‘to behave with’ (majority of edd.); in the parallels proposed, such as κατὰ ξυλλόγους γίγνεσθαι, the verb means ‘to come into a certain condition or situation’: and as γενέσθαι μετά τινος=‘to be in the company of’ (e.g. Dem. L IV. 34 ), so μετ’ ἀρετῆς γίγνεσθαι should mean ‘range themselves with,’ and so, ‘to adopt,’ ‘work with’ άρετή: ἀρετὴ (as above) δοκοῦσα ἐς ἀλλήλους=‘the supposition or assumption of mutual unselfishness, that each in his dealings with the other is acting unselfishly.’ So we may render ‘unless both begin with the assumption that the other is behaving unselfishly.’
τἆλλα ὁμοιότροποι εἶεν —‘and in all other respects (besides that just mentioned) be like minded.’ Goller thought φίλοι was to be supplied out of φιλία as subj. to γίγνοιντο. Vollgraff thinks γίγνοιντο spurious and alters δοκούσης to δοκήσεως with Herwerden, so that μετ’=‘besides’ and καί =‘also.’ γίγνοιντο and εἶεν are both needed, and are distinct m meaning. So long as the union between Lesbos and Athens was to further the resistance to Persia, both parties to the compact held to the belief that the other was actuated by άρετή: but when Athens began to pursue another purpose, Mytilene gave up this belief, and the inherent difference of intention became manifest.
ἐν γὰρ τῷ διαλλάσσοντι τῆς γνώμης —‘ in animorum discrepantia’; the neut. partic. as abstract subst. (cf. the corresponding διαφοραί) is a favourite device of Thuc., though rare in other prose; Xen. Cyr. IV. 5, 39 τὸ ἐλλεῖπον. Cf. e.g. II. 59 τὸ ὀργιζόμενον τῆς γνώμης, VII. 68 τῆς γνώμης τὸ θυμούμενον, for ὀργή and θυμός. Thuc. likes to show the quality at work. The constr., as Krüger says, is freely imitated by late authors.
καθίστανται —‘become manifest’; cf. on c. 3
ξυμμαχία ἐγένετο —referring to the transference of the hegemony of the allies from Sparta to Athens in 476 B.C. ( I. 95 ). In reality this transference was an ἀπόστασις from the Spartan alliance ( Ath. Pol. c. 23 ); and the anxiety of Sparta to be quit of the war against Persia ( ἀπαλλαξείοντες τοῦ Μηδικοῦ πολέμου I. 95 ) was not shown until after the transference took place. Samos, Chios and Lesbos were at the head of the movement in favour of Athens (Plut. Arist. c. 23 ). (This passage well illustrates the freedom with which Greek orators habitually manipulate history when they refer to the past.)
ἀπολιπόντων ἐκ —this use of άπολείπειν seems to result from such phrases as ἀπολείπειν τὴν ξυμμαχίαν (c 9), so that the full sense is ἀπολιπόντων ( ἡμᾶς καὶ ἀπελθόντων).
Ἀθηναίοις and
τοῖς Ἕλλησι depend on ξύμμαχοι εγενόμεθα: τοῖς Ἕλλησι is the exaggeration of rhetoric; for in reality they entered the Delian confederacy.
μέχρι —‘so long as,’ a very rare use, not noted in L. & S.; Xen. Hell. I. 1, 6.
ἐπαγομένους —this word, very common in Thuc., regularly means ‘to invite,’ ‘call in.’ But here, in contrast with ἀνιέντας, it is slightly different, ‘procure for themselves,’ as in ἐπαγωγὴ τῶν ἐπιτηδείων (Herbst).
ἀδεεῖς —‘free from anxiety.’
διὰ πολυψηφίαν —with ἀδύνατοι ὄντες. Each constituent state had a vote in the synod of the League, but the allies were unable to combine against Athens through their disagreements.
ἐδουλώθησαν —i.e. became subject allies. Cf. I. 98 πρώτη αὕτη πόλις ξυμμαχὶς (Naxos) παρὰ τὸ καθεστηκὸς ἐδουλώθη.
παραδείγμασι τοῖς προγιγνομένοις χ. —‘drawing our proofs (that they were no longer πιστοί) from what was previously happening,’ i.e. ‘taking warning from the line of action that they had adopted.’ παράδειγμα is an example by which a conclusion may be supported. τοῖς προγιγνομένοις=‘the line of conduct that they were pursuing previously, and had not ceased to pursue.’ (The aor. or perf. partic. is conjectured here as in I. 23 τοὺς Ἀθηναίους ἡγοῦμαι μεγάγους γιγνομένους . . ἀναγκάσαι ἐς τὸ πολεμεῖν, which alludes to the conduct of Athens during the same period—between the formation of the Confederacv to the beginning of the war—from a different point of view. In both places the pres. partic., describing something still in progress, seems better.)
οὐ γὰρ εἰκὸς ἦν . . . μὴ δρᾶσαι τοῦτο —to understand this sentence, it is necessary to realize that δρᾶσαι refers, not to the future, but to the past, as in c. 40, 5 ἐνθυμηθέντες ἂ είκὸς ἦν αὐτοὺς ποιῆσαι κρατήσαντας ὑμῶν. The sense is ‘it was not likely that they . . would not have treated those who were left in this way, if only they had found any opportunity.’ We should have been ‘enslaved’ had circumstances been favourable to Athens: cf. I. 98 ( ἐδουλώθησαν) καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ὡς ἑκάστῃ ξυνέβη. (Dobree's δυνηθεῖεν makes the ref. to the future.)
βεβαιότεροι —the personal constr. often found with ἄξιος, δίκαιος, ἱκανός.
καὶ πρὸς τὸ πλέον . . ἀντισουμένου —(I should prefer to insert ἂν before ἀντισουμένου, see Introd. p. xlii). The text means ‘since in contrast, moreover, with the majority who were already yielding, we alone still tried to keep on an equal footing with them.’ These words do not add much to what has been already said in ὑποχειρίους . . ὁμιλοῦντες, but, as Classen put it, refer to the conduct of the Lesbians as viewed by Athens.
τὸ ἡμέτερον , not ἡμεῖς, is used for the sake of the verbal contrast with τὸ πλέον. μόνου, if the text is sound, is (as Steup points out), not a proper antithesis to τὸ πλέον, and it is an awkward anticipation of the next clause, ἄλλως . . ἐρημότεροι.
τὸ δὲ ἀντίπαλον δέος —‘it is reciprocity of apprehension alone,’ as distinct from one-sided δέος. There is no objection to δέος, and no inconsistency with the opening words of c. 12, if the emphasis be put on ἀντίπαλον, as on προύχων in the next sentence, and if μόνον be taken as qualifying ἀντίπαλον rather than πιστόν.
γάρ —‘for in that case.’
ὅσον — quatenus, ‘so far as.’
ἐς τὴν ἀρχήν ‘with a view to their empire.’ (I see no reason whatever for rejecting these words, as Kruger and Steup do. They give the true object of the Athenian policy, and the mention of ἀρχή is appropriate enough in the presence of those who so strongly disliked it; cf. I. 75, with II. 8. )
γνώμης μᾶλλον ἐφόδῳ ἢ ἰσχύος —‘by means of policy and not of force.’
τὰ πράγματα . . καταληπτά —‘they might make themselves masters of the situation.’
ἅμα μέν .—this is the λόγος εὐπρεπής that they used as evidence that they were upright. The allies whom we attacked, they eould say, must have been in the wrong; otherwise those who have a vote in the confederacy equal to ours would never have been found at our side. The
μή is due to the protest implied in μ. ὲχρῶντο. If ἄκοντας is right, it must be put briefly for ἄκοντας ἂν ὄντας, ‘but would have been unwilling, unless’ etc. But this, even if possible, is extremely awkward, whereas ἑκόντας, read in a good scholium on this passage, gives the natural constr. and sense.
ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ = ἅμα: so IV. 73.
τὰ κράτιστα —for τοὺς κρατίστους.
[τὰ] τελευταῖα —it is clear that τὰ κράτιστα is object of λιπόντες, and τελευται—α is predicative; so that as there is no parallel for the article, it should be omitted.
τοῦ ἄλλου —neut. collective, and gen. abs.
αὐτῶν —in contrast with πρὸς ὅ τι χρὴ στῆναι (aid from others): πρὸς ὅ τι χρὴ στῆναι = ἡμᾶς τοὺς δυναμένους ἡγήσασθαι αὐτῶν (schol.). For the simple ἵστασθαι ‘rally’ with πρός cf. IV. 56 πρὸς τὴν ἐκείνων γνώμην ἕστασαν.
ἐχειρώσαντο —sc. τοὺς ξυμμάχους.
τό τε ναυτικόν —“a third reason is here given for the policy of the Athenians, of leaving the M. still independent,— namely, the apprehension of danger from driving them to unite their navy with that of the Peloponnesians” (Bloomfield).
καθ’ ἓν γενόμενον —standing alone this phrase would certainly mean ‘concentrating,’ ‘becoming united,’ as is proved by such passages as Xen. Hell. V. 2, 16 πῶς είκὸς ὑμᾶς τῆς μὲν Βοιωτίας ἐπιμεληθῆναι ὅπως μὴ καθ’ ἓν εἴη, πολὺ δὲ μείζονος ἁθροιζομένης δυνάμεως ἁμελῆσαι; This would give no point here, since the whole fleet is of course meant by τὸ ναυτικόν. The accepted meaning ‘uniting with others’ is only to be got through the addition, ἢ . . προσθέμενον, which must be regarded as an explanation. (Steup suggests that προσθέμενον should be removed, so that καθ’ ἓν γ. can be taken with the datives. I do not think it a likely note—in fact there is a scholium, ἐς ταὐτὸ ξυνελθόν, here—but I do think there is a difficulty, and possibly the first ή should be removed.)
τὰ δὲ καί —‘to some degree also’; a fourth and minor reason why the M. retained their independence. The schol. divides θεραπεία into flattery of the Athenian people and gifts to the leaders of the demos; no doubt these are included.
οὐ . . ἂν ἐδοκοῦμεν δυνηθῆναι = οὐκ ἂν ἐδυνήθημεν, ὡς ἐδόκει. δοκοῦμεν, read by Kruger ( ἔτι δοκοῦμεν Steup) is simpler, but the imperf., referring to the time of the revolt, does not exclude the pres., and cf. c. 13 ἐνομίζομεν ἀποστήσεσθαι.
τοῖς —‘what had happened.’
τίς —‘what form of trustworthy friendship or freedom was this turning out to be?’ i.e. how could we put any confidence in a friendship or a freedom like that? (Dion. Hal. Antiq. VI. 78 τίς οὖν ἡ τοιαύτη φιλία καὶ πίστις, ἐν ᾗ παρὰ γνώμην άλλήλους θεραπεύειν ἀναγκασθησόμεθα ; seems to have found ἡ, not ἢ, after αὕτη in his MS., and our MSS. have ἡ.)
παρὰ γνώμην —‘without sincerity,’ οὐκ ἀπὸ γνώμης ἀλλ’ ἀπὸ γλώσσης μόνον.
ὑπεδεχόμεθα —this word can be used of every kind of reception or welcome afforded to a ξένος, short of rejection: e.g. in Lycurgus § 133 οὐδεμία πόλις αὐτὸν εἴασε παρ’ αὑτῇ μετοικεῖν is repeated in the form τοῦτον δὲ τίς ἂν ύποδέξαιτο πόλις;
ὅ τε . . πίστιν βεβαιοῖ, ἡμῖν τοῦτο . . ἐχυρὸν παρεῖχε — passages sometimes cited as parallel to this (as II. 40 δ τοῖς ἄλλοις άμαθία μὲν θράσος, λογισμὸς δὲ ὄκνον φέρει and IV. 125 ὄπερ φιλεῖ μέγιστα στρατόπεδα ἀσαφῶς ἐκπλήγνυσθαι) bear little resemblance to it. If πίστιν, which Stahl bracketed, is sound, we should assume, with Kruger, a conflation of relative with epexegetic clause— ὃ εὔνοια βεβαιοῖ with εὔ. πίστιν βεβαιοῖ. A schol. already takes this view; and unless the text is corrupt, no other explanation can be entertained. (The other scholium is a mere paraphrase, but its conclusion— διὰ τοῦτο ἄπιστος ἦν ἡ φιλία ἀμφοτέρων—shows that the writer discerned that in the whole passage, from τίς οὖν to παραβήσεσθαι ἔμελλον, the underlying idea, not clearly expressed, is that of a πίστις ἄπιστος. Both πιστή above and πίστιν here have been removed by critics more intent, perhaps, on the language than on the thought. ξύμμαχοι ὑπὸ δέους πιστοί are ξύμμαχοι ἄπιστοι.)
παράσχοι —representing ὁποτέρους ἂν παράσχῃ in past sequence. 10
ἀσφάλεια —‘sense of security.’
καί —‘as a consequence’ of the θάρσος.
διὰ . . μέλλησιν refers to δοκοῦμεν ἀδικεῖν: this might be a reason for objecting that they should have waited till some wrong was inflicted on them.
τὰ δεινά =‘methods of coercion’; for the whole cf. I. 25 κατὰ τὴν Φαιάκων προενοίκησιν τῆς Κερκύρας .
εἰ γὰρ δυνατοί .—with the text before us, which (except for ἀντιμελλῆσαι) follows the MSS., we must render, ‘had we been in a position both to intrigue like them and to delay like them (i.e. to put off our attack, but at the same time to have our plan of attack ready), what need was there for us to remain, nevertheless, at their mercy?’ The M. might of course defer the attack, but if they waited for the Athenians to attack they were lost. This is fairly satisfactory, the only difficulty being that ἐκ τοῦ ἴσου and ἐκ τοῦ ὁμοίου (‘just as we were,’ aeque atque fuimus) have no correspondence. It is in connexion with the next sentence that doubts arise. (1) ἐπιχειρεῖν clearly corresponds to ἀντεπιβουλεῦσαι, and προαμύνασθαι to ἀντιμελλῆσαι (or ἀντεπιμελλῆσαι); (2) the statement ‘we need not have remained in their power’ is hardly equivalent to ‘we need not have revolted because we should have retained our independence’; (3) ἐπ’ ἐκείνοις εἶναι looks suspicious before έπ’ ἐκείνοις ὄντας. A great many changes have been proposed, and those of Heilmann and Kruger indicated in the crit. note and adopted by Classen give a much better correspondence and an improved sense. Yet I do not feel that the objections to the MS. reading are decisive. The general sense is: we cannot be blamed for taking the first move merely because they delayed to take action against us.
τοιαύτας —the asyndeton when a demonstrative pron. sums up what precedes is common.
αἰτίας is ‘grievances’ (Cornford), not synonymous with προφάσεις.
σαφεῖς τοῖς ἀκούουσι γνῶναι as in κάλλιστον ίδεῖν τοῖς φίλοις Xen. Oec. VIII. 6 ; but an unusual kind of example. The words are appropriate to a pleader.
εἰκότως —‘reasonably.’
βουλομένους —what is to be supplied?
ἀποστήσεσθαι δ. ἀπόστασιν —the figura etymologica, as in VI. 56 τοὺς τὴν πομπὴν πέμψοντας, VIII. 58 κοινῇ πὸν πόλεμον πολεμούντων. It is usually said that Thuc. plays upon the double meaning of ἀφίστασθαι here. (1) ‘abstain from.’ (2) ‘revolt from.’ With Poppo and Classen I cannot think this is so. The passage clearly corresponds to c. 10 , 3 ξύμμαχοι ἐγενόμεθα οὐκ . . Ἀθηναίοις, ἀλλὰ . . τοῖς Ἔλλησι, and the M. had ‘revolted from’ the Greeks who formed the Delian league just as much as they had ‘revolted from’ the Athenians. Nor is the view of the majority borne out by ἡ μέντοι ἀπόστασις κτλ.
ξὺν κακῶς ποιεῖν —referring to καταδούλωσις τῶν Ἑλλήνων c. 10. Cf. Xen. An. V. 5, 21 ἂν μέν τις εὖ ποιῇ, ἀντ’ εὖ ποιεῖν ( ἀντευποιεῖν MSS.), ἂν δὲ κακῶς, ἀλέξασθαι (Stallbaum on Plato, Gorg. 520 E).
προποιῆσαι = προ‐διαφθεῖραι.
χρή —sc. ὑμᾶς .
ᾗ καὶ μᾶλλον i.e. in addition to the δίκαιον and ἀρετή (c. 10, 1) or doing so.
βοήθειαν ἀποστέλλειν —the M. really suggest two plans, both of which were adopted (c. 15 , 1; 16, 3; cf. 25, 1), viz. (1) that a fleet shall be sent to Lesbos, and (2) that there shall be another invasion of Attica, though there had already been one this year. But the second proposal is put forward only as according with the interest of Sparta (either the enemy will not resist you, or—if they do—they must withdraw from the Peloponnese (cf. § 3) as well as from Lesbos, § 4). The second proposal only was at first carried out, but it did not have the desired effect (c. 16 , 2). In the following year, accordingly, both schemes were to be carried out concurrently (c. 26 ), but even then the Pel. were slack about no. 1 (c. 27 , 1). (I see no ground for thinking the text deficient here, as Steup supposes. The two courses are not proposed as alternatives, and, on the other hand, they are with good reason not announced as two parts of a scheme for helping Lesbos.)
καὶ ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ —this point is explained in what follows: so far it has not been touched upon. To this
καιρὸς . . πρότερον refers.
ἐφθάραται —the old plur. terminations in ‐αται, ‐ατο, are rarely found in Attic prose, as Xen. An. IV. 8 , 5: Thuc. varies.
αἱ μέν —see c. 7 .
περιουσίαν νεῶν ἔχειν —a number large enough to protect the harbours and coast of Attica without recalling those that were out. This forecast was entirely falsified by the event; but it might very well be entertained because (1) in spite of the fall of Potidaea (in 429 B.C.), no Athenian fleet had been sent out to the Peloponnese in 429; (2) only thirty ships had been sent out this year in answer to the Spartan invasion of Attica, whereas in 431 and 430 the number had been 100; (3) late in 429 a Peloponnesian fleet had made an abortive attempt to seize the Piraeus: reflexion on the result of this mismanaged affair may have led them, with good reason, to underrate the naval resources of Athens.
ἐπεσβάλητε —‘make an additional invasion’: τὸ δεύτερον emphasizes the ἐπ‐.
ᾧ γὰρ δοκεῖ . . παρέξει —‘if anyone is thinking that L. is far away, the advantage will be given to him close at hand’; that will come home to him.
ἐν τῇ Ἀττικῇ ἔσται —‘will turn on Attica, but (on the country) through which . . ,’ i.e. ἐν τῇ ξυμμαχικῇ; the issue depends on the action of the ξύμμαχοι The need is to transfer the resources (cf. ὠφελίαν . . ὠφελεῖται) of the ξύμμαχοι from the Athenian to the Spartan side. Cf. Tac. Hist. II. 28 sin victoriae columen in Italia verteretur.
οἱ πρὶν δουλεύοντες —i.e. those who were made ὐποτελεῖς before us.
βοηθησάντων —a remarkable ex of the gen. abs. where the subject of the verb is the same; cf. c. 112 , 6.
εἴχετε —‘have up till now’ is the meaning given by Poppo; but ‘had’ before the war is more natural, and more in accordance with the action of Sparta.
ἐλευθεροῦντες —a good point: at the outbreak of the war the Lac. had claimed to be ‘the liberators of Greece.’
ἐς ὑμᾶς —‘with regard to you . .’
ἴσα καί —adverbial, as ὁμοίως καί.
ἴδιον . . παραβαλλομένους —instead of the external accus. usual with παραβάλλομαι, i.e. τὰ σώματα, we have here the internal accus., κίνδυνον.
τὴν ἐς τὴν Ἀττικὴν ἐσβολήν —‘as regards the suggested (c. 13, 4) iuvasion.’ ἐσβολήν is the ‘accusative of anticipation,’ for which cf. I. 33, 3 τὸν δὲ πόλεμον . . εἴ τις ὑμῶν μὴ οἴεται ἔσεσθαι. In both these instances the verb that follows ( ποιησόμενοι, ἔσεσθαι) of course supplies a governing word to the accus. as in V. 36 τὸ Πάνακτον ἐδέοντο Βοιωτοὺς ὅπως παραδώσουσι, and in general. But sometimes the accus. has no strict regimen, but the constr. is changed in the dependent clause, as in the well-known case Aristoph. Av. 1269 δεινόν γε τὸν κήρυκα . . εἰ μηδέποτε νοστήσει πάλιν.
παροῦσι . . ἔφραζον ‘gave them orders while they were on the spot,’ i.e. did not wait to send round after the delegates had left.
κατὰ τάχος and
τοῖς δύο μέρεσιν belong to ίέναι: cf. II. 10 ξυνῆ?σαν τὰ δύο μέρη . . ἐς τὸν Ἰσθμόν. The dat. is sociative, as constantly with words like στρατός and ναῦς. The subject of ἔφραζον and ἀφίκοντο is ‘the Lacedaemonians’ only. 3/4ths= τὰ τρία μέρη; but 3/8ths= τῶν ὀκτὼ τὰ τρία μέρη. ὡς ποιησόμενοι belongs to ἁφίκοντο as well as to ἔφραζον.
καὶ (‘and then’)
ὁλκοὺς (cf. ἐφ‐ολκίον, a boat towed, νεωλκεῖν, to beach a vessel with a ὁλκός. The instrument for pushing heavy weights was called ἕλιξ, but it was not invented till Archimedes)
παρεσκεύαζον —the ships which had been used against Phormio in the Corinthian gulf (at Lechaeum) were to be hauled over the Isthmus along the track, called δίολκος, to the Saronic gulf. The ships must have been put on some kind of truck. The exact nature of the ὁλκοί is unknown; possibly they were rollers fixed in the δίολκος. ὑπερφέρειν, διαφέρειν, διακομίζειν and διέλκειν are used of this.
οἱ δὲ ἄλλοι ξύμμαχοι —the ‘exclusive’ use of ἄλλος.
ἐν καρποῦ ξυγκομιδῇ like ἐν παρασκευῇ εἶναι: ( ἐν)
ἀρρωστίᾳ like ἐν ἀθυμίᾳ εἶναι.
διὰ κατάγνωσιν ἀσθενείας σφῶν = διὰ τὸ καταγνῶναι σφῶν ἀσθένειαν, i.e. σφῶν depends on κατάγνωσιν. On what the ‘imputation’ was based can be seen from c. 13.
τὸ ἐπὶ Λέσβῳ ναυτικόν —the suggestion of the speaker in c. 13 was απ’ αμφοτέρων (Lesbos and Peloponnese) ἀποχωρήσονται: but what is mentioned in c. 7, 3 had meantime occurred.
αὐτοί —these, as the restriction shows, consisted of the ζευγῖται and θῆτες. The two higher classes served on board only in times of great danger.
παρὰ τὸν Ἰσθμὸν ἐπίδειξιν ἐποιοῦντο ‘made a demonstration along the coast of.’ With ἀναγαγόντες instead of the ordinary ἀναγαγόμενοι cf. Herod. VI. 12 ἀνάγων τὰς νέας.
ἀποβάσεις —the plan of making descents on the enemy's coasts as a counter-move to the invasion of Attica had been started by Pericles.
ἄπορα νομίζοντες —‘thinking (the situation) difficult,’ a characteristic use of the neut. plur. without subst., as in I. 8 πλωιμώτερα ἐγένετο.
καὶ αἱ περὶ τὴν Π. τριάκοντα νῆες ‘the thirty ships that were about (off the W. coast) the Pel. as well.’ If the text is sound, the thirty ships of c. 7 must surely be meant: it is true that c. 7, 3 shows that the majority of these ships, at any rate, were no longer ravaging the coasts; but the Lac. are misled by an inaccurate report. Chambry, however, suggests that the eighteen ships referred to in c. 7, 3 had subsequently rejoined the other twelve; if so, it is strange that Thuc. has omitted to mention this.—The edd. who delete τριάκοντα point out that from c. 13, 3 it is clear the Lac. knew already about the doings of this earlier fleet. But (1), the Lesbian speaker does not say that the fleet was actually ravaging the coasts; and (2) in any case, if c. 13, 3 is in point here, so is c. 13, 4, and there the expectation is that the fleet will be withdrawn. Why should not the Lac. have fresh information—inaccurate—that the expectation had been falsified? The second
καί =‘also,’ i.e. as well as the new fleet which was making ἀποβάσεις (§ 2). Those who omit τριάκοντα understand the fleet of 100 ships mentioned just before. This is of course possible, but the passage admits of a simple explanation as it stands; and it is hardly likely that the 100 ships could so soon be reported as ravaging the coasts.
τὴν περιοικίδα —land belonging to the περίοικοι in Messenia seems to be meant.
ὕστερον —it was not sent at once, c. 25. ὅ τι πέμψουσιν—ὅστις because of the purpose.
ἐπήγγελλον —a technical word for sending out a formal notice, which may amount to a command. Cf. περιαγγἐλλω.
ναύαρχον —an office held for a year. The admiral in war was almost as important as the kings, who eommanded the land-forces. His power increased when the Spartan navy became greater.
εἶδον —sc. ἀναχωρήσαντας: cf. e.g. II. 11 δῃοῦν μᾶλλον ἢ τὴν ἑαυτῶν δρᾶν, sc. δῃουμένην.
κατὰ τὸν χρόνον τοῦτον ὅν —i.e. καθ’ ὄν, according to a common idiom; cf. Soph. OC. 748 ἐς τοσοῦτον αίκίας πεσεῖν | ἔδοξ’, ὅσον πέπτωκεν ἥδε .
ἐν τοῖς πλεῖσται δή —for the fem. cf. c. 82, 1 ( στάσις) ἐν τοῖς πρώτη ἐγένετο. Pre-eminence is not necessarily implied in any of the examples of this idiom, and Herbst is perhaps right in saying that prominence only is meant. The latter must be the point here, because of παραπλήσιαι δὲ καὶ ἔτι πλείους.
δή heightening the superlative is not elsewhere added to this idiom.
αὐτοῖς —with ἐγένοντο.
ἐνεργοὶ †κάλλει makes no sense. ἐνεργός, though not elsewhere applied to ships, is well suited to them, ‘on active service,’ ‘in commission’; and it may be that the note in Hesychius αἱ μὴ ἀργαί alludes to this passage. But κάλλει must be corrupt, for the rendering ‘effective by their fine condition’ is not possible. Herbst's conjecture ς/ καὶ λ/, i.e. 230, is plausible; but in order to make up so great a total, he assumes a fleet of sixty ships for guarding the eoast of Attica. Were this so, we should surely have heard of it at c. 16, 2 among the reasons that caused the Pel. to abandon the invasion; and even though we are left to collect the number of ships at sea in 428 B.C., this large item in the total must have been mentioned somewhere. Still, the interpolator may have reckoned the total at 230 by the same proeess, whatever it was, that led him to 250 for 431 B.C. below. The number, however, does not come in naturally after ἐν τοῖς πλεῖσται. A very good sense would be got by μιᾷ πόλει (Widmann).
τήν τε γὰρ Ἀττικήν —referring to the first year of the war; but there is no mention of such a fleet in the account of that year.
περὶ Πελοπόννησον —this fleet had been sent out by Pericles as a counter-stroke to the invasion of Attica.
χωρὶς δέ —‘besides,’ sc. ἦσαν, which is implied in the context.
τοῦτο —i.e. the sending out of these armaments. In a somewhat similarly vague way
μετὰ Ποτειδαίας is used for μετὰ τῆς Ποτειδαίας πολιορκίας, with which should be compared II. 13 ἐς Ποτείδαιαν ἀπανηλώθη, ‘money was spent on the siege of P.’ It is strange that the expenses of the army at Potidaea, as distinct from the expenses of the fleet there, should be brought in so vaguely.
δίδραχμοι —half a drachma a day was the ordinary pay for a hoplite: here it is one drachma for the hoplite and one for his servant.
ἐλάμβανε —we should expect ἕκαστος ἐλάμβανον or ἐλάμβανεν. It is the omission of a singular subject to which the verb is attracted that is remarkable: edd. note that this omission is frequent in Herod.
ὧν οὐκ ἐλάσσους —when Potidaea revolted in 432 B.C., 3000 Athenian hoplites had been sent to besiege it. It seems that the permanent force was maintained at this number throughout the siege.
οἳ προαπῆλθον —these 1600 had been sent to blockade Potidaea from the south ( I. 64 ) soon after the revolt. They were withdrawn from Chalcidice before the place fell.
τὸν αὐτὸν μισθόν —viz. one drachma per man, or double the ordinary wage ( VI. 31 ).
τοσαῦται δή —referring still to the παραπλησίαι καὶ ἔτι πλείους (§ 1); so that the digression extends to the end of the chapter.
ὅν —see c. 17, 1.
Μήθυμναν —see c. 2, 1.
ὡς προδιδομένην —‘in the belief that it was going to be betrayed’; cf. Aristoph. Pax 408 προδίδοτον τὴν Ἑλλάδα. MT. § 32.
ἐπίκουροι —for these mercenaries see c. 2, 2.
καταστησάμενοι . . βεβαιότερα —cf. I. 118 τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐγκρατεστέραν κατεστήσαντο.
πληγέντες —in an old poetical meaning, found several times in Thuc.
ταῦτα . . κρατοῦντας . . ἱκανοὺς ὄντας —the partic. phrase in apposition to ταῦτα, as in Soph. Antig. 17
οὐδὲν οἶδ’ ὑπέρτερον | οὔτ’ εὐτυχοῦσα μᾶλλον οὔτ’ ἀτωμένη, Philoc. 1355 πῶς ταῦτ’ έξανασχήσεσθε, τοῖσιν Ἄτρεως | έμὲ ξυνόντα παισίν ;
εἴργειν —‘isolate.’
αὐτερέται
—it was unusual in Thuc.'s day for fighting men to serve as rowers: in Homeric times it was usual; cf.
Il. 2.719
ἐρέται δ’ ἐν ἑκαστῃ πεντήκοντα
ἐπεμβάσαν, τόξων εὖ εἰδότες ἶφι μάχεσθαι.
ἐγκατῳκοδόμηται —see crit. note. The verb means to build into a wall. Clearly the forts were built at the same time as the wall at the points strong by natnre. If the perf. is right, we must take it as historic, like the presents, and render ‘there are forts built in at various points,’ so that the perf. points to the condition of the wall and forts when completed. But as no parallel to such a use of the perf. is known, the plup. should probably be read (I do not think ἧ? for οἷ necessary; but these forms are often confused in MSS.).
ἀμφοτέρωθεν is explained by καὶ ἐκ γῆς καὶ ἐκ θαλάττης.
καὶ αὐτοί —bringing their own contribution into connexion with that levied from the allies.
τότε πρῶτον —probably meaning that the extraordinary war-tax was aetually levied for the first time (cf. τότε πρῶτον in I. 96 ) in 428 B.C., though the arrangements for it existed before. Some think that Thuc. means for the first time in this war. There is no evidence that the tax had ever been levied before. (About the details of the εἰσφορά before the age of Demosth. little is known, but the burden fell mainly on the rich, being ‘a progressive income-tax on property.’ The amount was fixed by the Ecclesia. Gilbert, Inn. Gesch. 129 f. gives good reasons for supposing that Cleon took the initiative in promoting the vote before the Eeclesia. See also Neil on Aristoph. Eq. 771 , 923.)
διακόσια τάλαντα —in apposition to ἐσφοράν.
ἀργυρολόγους ναῦς —to eollect an ἐσφορά—not, in this ease, arrears of tribute. The sending out of such ships is expressly attributed to Cleon in Eq. 1070. (
Λυσικλέα —this Lysicles does not belong to the family of Habronichus ( I. 91 ), but is the προβατοπώλης of obscure origin whose connexion with Aspasia brought him into prominenee; Aristoph. Eq. 132 , 765, Plutarch, Per. 24.)
πεμπτὸν αὐτόν —meaning that Lysicles had the ehief command. The large number of στρατηγοί sent is probably due to the difficulty and delicacy of the mission.
Αναιιτῶν —cf. c. 32.
ἄλλης —‘as well.’
ἔτι γάρ —about the middle of September in the previous year the Pel. had turned the siege of Plataea into a blockade They had withdrawn the greater part of their army, leaving a garrison to guard half their lines, while the other half was guarded by the Boeotians.
τῷ τε σίτῳ ἐπιλείποντι —equivalent to τῇ σιτοδείᾳ. ἐπιλιπόντι all MSS.: other aecounts are not deeisive in favour of the present.
τιμωρίας = βοηθείας, as often in Thuc. The Athenians had promised to help Plataea when the siege began, but their hands had since been full owing to the plague, the siege of Potidaea and the revolt of Lesbos. See further, Introd. p. xvi.
ἐσηγησαμένων —cf. VI. 99 οὐχ ἥκιστα Ἑρμοκράτους ἐσηγησαμένου.
ἀνδρὸς μάντεως —together.
ἐστρατήγει —the opinion of a general supported by a μάντις would carry great weight.
ἀπώκνησαν . . τὸν κίνδυνον —cf. c. 30, 4.
ἐς δὲ . . . μάλιστα —the phrase with prep. stands as subject of the verb. In Andoc. I. 37 εἰς τριακοσίους is presently repeated in the form μάλιστα τριακοσίους. For ἐς and μάλιστα often used together cf. e.g. c. 90, 3 περί and μάλιστα, Dem. XX I. 154, περί and ἴσως, Herod. III. 159 μάλιστα ἐς.
ἐνέμειναν —as in ἐμμένειν τοῖς ὅρκοις etc.
τρόπῳ τοιῳδε is added κατὰ σύνεσιν.
ξυνεμετρήσαντο —it is possible to supply τὸ τεῖχος or τὰς κλίμακας, but § 4 strongly favours the latter.
ἐξαληλιμμένον —‘whitewashed.’ The ἐξ‐ probably denotes completion: the whitewashing had not been finished at one part of the wall.
ἠριθμοῦντο . . ἀριθμοῦντες —for the rapid passage from mid. to act. ef. II. 9 ναυτικὸν παρείχοντο . . πεζὸν παρεῖχον.
ἐς ὃ ἐβούλοντο τοῦ τείχους —sc. καθορᾶν, or perhaps rather ὁρᾶν : τοῦ τείχους agrees with καθορωμένου, and ἐς ὃ έβουλοντο=‘as far as they wanted to see it,’ i.e. a sufficiently wide piece was visible. The objection to this is that ἐς ὅ for ὁσον or ἐς ὅσον does not oecur elsewhere. In Herod. ές ὅ means ‘until’ with aorist or hist. pres. or iterative imperf.; but in Thuc. V. 66 ἐς ὃ ἐμέμνηντο= so far as (of time), a use not found elsewhere; and it is possible by Gk. usage of a prep. and neuter adj. or pron., that the phrase should denote time or place: e.g. ἐξ ὀλίγου of time II. 11, of place II. 91, and so with ἐκ πολλοῦ. Two other views of this passage, not involving change of the text, must be noticed: ( a) taking τοῦ τείχους as agreeing with καθορωμἐνου ‘as the wall was completely visible to the desired point’ i e. to the foot of the wall, viewed from above; but we should expect this meaning to be expressed directly and clearly. ( b) Taking τοῦ τείχους as depending on ἐς ὅ, ‘as they easily looked down upon the part of the wall that they wished to see,’ i e. καθορωμένου ( τούτου) ἐς ὃ τοῦ τείχους ἑβούλοντο ( ὁρᾶν). This is very awkward and we should expect καθορῶντες. The alterations proposed are ( a) ὅσον for ἐς ὅ, Stahl, or ( b) to insert an infin., as ἀναβῆναι after ἐβούλοντο (Stein).
τὴν ξυμμέτρησιν . . ἔλαβον —for the periphrasis with λαβεῖν cf. e.g. Soph. Phil. 1078 φρόνησιν λαβεῖν. Presumably the height arrived at by the majority was accepted as correet.
τῆς πλίνθου —collective; so in II. 9, 4 λίθοις καὶ κεράμῳ, cf. e. 74, 1, II. 76 κάλαμος. The meaning is that, having counted the layers, they found the height of the wall by multiplication.
οἰκοδομήσει —Thue. is partial to nouns in ‐σις· ὀλόφυρσις, ξυμμέτρησις, κατάφευξις etc.
πρός —‘on the side towards,’ an idiomatic use common with localities, πρὸς τοῦ λιμένος, τοῦ ποταμοῦ and so on.
τὸ οὖν μεταξὺ τοῦτο —‘this intervening space was oceupied with buildings assigned as quarters to the sentries.’ So Stahl, who views τὸ μεταξύ as subjeet, and οἰκήματα as internal accus., as in τὸ ἐναντίον ὄνομα μετωνόμασται I. 122. Steup agrees with this rendering, but he is inelined to retain οἱ ἑκκαίδεκα πόδες and he regards οἰκήματα as pred. nom. Another view, which is to be rejected, is that τὸ μεταξὺ τοῦτο is adverbial accus., ‘in this space,’ and οἰκήματα subject of ᾠκοδόμητο: the constr. is then very strained, and the perf. partic. διανενεμημένα unnatural, implying that the quarters were distributed before they were built.
ἦν ξυνεχῆ —I agree with Steup in rendering ‘it was (all) continuous,’ without any definite subject, as in I. 8 πλωιμώτερα ἐγένετο, and cf. II. 3 ἁμάξας . . ἐς τοὺς ὁδοὺς καθίστασαν, ἵν’ ἀντὶ τείχους ᾖ, for it was not only the guards' quarters, but the two parallel walls as well that ‘looked like one thick wall.’
διὰ δέκα δὲ ἐπάλξεων —‘at an interval of ten,’ i.e. with the plur., ‘at intervals of ten,’ as in Isoer. IV. 46 αἱ πανηγύρεις διὰ πολλοῦ χρόνου συλλεγεῖσαι .
ἰσοπλατεῖς —cf. ἰσομηκής, ἰσοπαχής, ἰσοπληθής.
καὶ τὸ ἔξω —for καὶ ἐς τὸ ἔξω, cf. c. 44 περἱ τοῦ μέλλοντος μᾶλλον . . ἢ τοῦ παρόντος. The first καί, ‘and,’ is deleted by Herbst, but the predicative οἱ αὐτοί can eome in the second clause.
παρὰ πύργον —Thuc. might have written παρὰ τοὺς πύργους, but the art. is omitted and the sing used collectively as in II. 13 παρ’ ἔπαλξιν, for which we might have παρὰ τὰς ἐπάλξεις. (This is better than ‘past a tower,’ because of δῑ αὐτῶν .)
παρεσκεύαστο —impers., as often.
τηρήσαντες —cf. τηρεῖν ἄνεμον I. 65, τ. πορθμόν (‘passage’) VI. 2.
τάφρον —between the town and the τεῖχος. See Introd. p. xix.
προσέμειξαν —‘reached.’
ἀνά occurs only twice in Thuc., here and IV. 72 : with the temporal use here cf. Herod. VIII. 123 ἀνὰ τὸν πόλεμον τοῦτον. “In the local sense espeeially, but also in the temporal, ἀνά frequently occurs in Homer and Herod. The constr. is eommon in Xenophon, but seems to oceur in no other Attic prose writer” (C. F. Smith).
ψόφῳ depends on ἀντιπαταγοῦντος only, κατακουσάντων being absolute, like προϊδόντων. The gen. abs., in spite of the aceus. ( φύλακας), is eommon in Gk.
μή belongs to both partic. and verb.
αἴσθησιν παρέχοι —cf. II. 4 αἴσθησις ταχεῖα ἐπεγένετο.
τὸν ἀριστερὸν μόνον πόδα —instead of both feet, as would normally have been the case. The plain statement of Thuc. therefore is that by leaving off the right sandal the men expected to get a firmer footing in the mud. (The schol. says ὑπεδέδεντο τὸν μὲν ἕνα τῶν ποδῶν δῑ ἀσφάλειαν, τὸν δὲ ἕτερον γυμνὸν εἶχον διὰ κουφότητα, and many edd. follow this view; but this is eertainly not what Thuc. says, and it is not a question of what we might think to be the effeet of sandals or no sandals. Thuc. took it that the right foot was meant to get the firmer hold.)
προσέμισγον πρὸς τὰς ἐπάλξεις —I should prefer a comma at προσέμισγον, because πρὸς τὰς ἐπάλξεις does not go closely with the verb, but is added to make κατὰ μεταπύργιον clear. (As Steup says, the towers had no battlements, so that πρὸς τὰς ἐπάλξεις does not refer to the wall as a whole. But there is no need to alter the text with him.)
μετὰ δὲ αὐτὸν . . ἀνέβαινον —this still refers to the ψιλοὶ δώδεκα, and merely repeats the previous ἀνέβαινον with the addition of the intention of this party: on reaching the top they were to turn to left and right. The awkward repetition is due to the breaking of the thread of the previous sentence by the words καὶ πρῶτος ἀνέβη .
ἀντιλαμβανόμενος is absolute.
δοῦπον —as the rarer word this may be right, but ψόφον is an early variant.
βοή —‘an alarm.’
ἐπὶ τὸ τεῖχος —the garrison troops came out and made for their posts at the wall. See Introd. p. xviii.
ὅ τι ἦν —contrast v. 54 ῃδει δὲ οὐδεὶς ὅποι στρατεύουσιν. Goodwin, MT. § 674 3
καὶ ἅμα . . προσέβαλον —this gives another reason why they did not know ὄ τι ἦν τὸ δεινόν: hence strictly we should have καὶ ὅτι οἱ κτλ.: cf I. 110 τοῦτον δὲ διὰ μέγεθός τε τοῦ ἕλους οὐκ ἐδύναντο ἑλεῖν, καὶ ἅμα μαχιμώτατοί εἰσι τῶν Αἰγυπτίων οἱ ἕλειοι.
τῶν Πλαταιῶν —partitive gen., which Thuc., differing from other authors, often puts between an art. and partic., as I. 9 οἱ τὰ σαφέστατα Πελοποννησίων δεδεγμένοι, ib. 48 ταῖς ἄριστα τῶν νεῶν πλεούσαις, and below, c. 36, 5.
ἐκ τοὔμπαλιν ἤ —cf. τοὐναντίον ἤ, which generally shows a variant reading ᾖ. In Xen. Anab. III. 5, 13 εἰς τοὔμπαλιν ἢ πρὸς Βαβυλῶνα is probably incorrect, but the text shows the idiom.
ἐθορυβοῦντο μὲν οὖν —‘thus, remaining at their post (on the wall), they were in a state of excitement. yet not one dared to move from his own station, but they were at a loss to make out what was happening.’ ἑαυτῶν goes back to the subject of ἐθορυβοῦντο. ἑαυτῶν here is to be preferred to αὐτῶν: but in c. 91, 2 τοὺς Μηλίους οὐκ ἐθέλοντας ἐς τὸ αὐτῶν ξυμμαχικὸν ἰέναι ἐβούλοντο προσαγαγέσθαι, the pers. pron. may be right, since ipsorum, not suum may be meant.
ἐχώρουν ἔξω τοῦ τείχους —i.e. they descended from the wall on the outer side, supposing that the alarm meant that some force was approaching from Athens. In the darkness and excitement these 300 had not communicated with the men in the towers who had raised the alarm. 44 φρυκτοὶ πολέμιοι—λαμπάδες πολεμίους δηλοῦσαι schol.
ὅπως ἀσαφῆ . . ᾖ καὶ μὴ βοηθοῖεν —the timehonoured example of interchange of subj and opt after a past tense. Cf. VI. 96 ἐξέκριναν ὅπως εἴησαν φύλακες καὶ . . . παραγίγνωνται, where no difference of meaning can be detected. See M.T. § 321. Analogous is the interchange of moods in c. 113, 2.
οἱ δ’ ὑπερβαίνοντες —all who were attempting to escape, whatever they were doing, are regarded as one body; but presently they are divided into οἱ μέν, those already on the wall, and οἱ δέ, those who were still below. The result is a very ugly sentence. 4. ἑκατέρου—see c. 22, 3.
τάς τε διόδους —Steup, following Poppo, renders ‘and,’ making the parenthesis extend from ὠς to ἐπιβοηθεῖν, because, if τε is regarded as correlative to καί, the sense of τάς τε διόδους . . ἐπιβοηθεῖν is absurdly repeated in κάτωθεν (i.e. ἀπὸ τῶν διόδων) εἶργον. It will be noticed that, if ἐφύλασσον μηδένα δῑ αὐτῶν ἐπιβοηθεῖν were absent, the sentence would be perfectly iegular in outline: οἱ δ’ ὑπερβαίνοντες τάς τε διόδους ἐνστάντες καὶ κλίμακας προσθέντες, οἱ μὲν καὶ κάτωθεν (i.e. ἀπὸ τῶν διόδων) καὶ ἄνωθεν (i.e. ἀπ’ ἄκρων τῶν πύργων ) εἶργον κτλ. I think that this is a sign, not that the interrupting words are spurious— they are quite in Thuc.'s manner—but that Thuc. wrote them without working out the sentence to its end, as if after πλείους he had intended to continue, not with οἱ μέν, but in the form ἀπὸ τῶν πύργων τοὺς ἐπιβοηθοῦντας ἄνωθεν εἶργον βάλλοντες: on reaching πλείους, he shifted his plan and as the general subject was to be kept up, bifurcated the sentenee with οἱ μὲν . . οἱ δέ, instead of making a separate sentence of the οἰ δέ clause. This view of the matter is confirmed by the ugly repetition of κλίμακας προσθέντες and πλείους in different senses.
δῑ αὐτῶν —coming from the other πύργοι through the passages to the μεταπύργιον over which the P. were escaping.
πλείους —as in c. 22, 4 init.
οἱ μέν includes those in the δίοδοι and those on the top of the πύργοι.
κάτωθεν καὶ ἄνωθεν —with εἶργον.
οἱ δ’ —those who were at the foot of the wall.
αἰεί —as Kruger says, this belongs to the partic, and the verb alike.
τῆς τάφρου —for this outer trench see c. 24, 2.
παρὰ τὸ τεῖχος —‘by the wall,’ on the outside.
κωλυτὴς γίγνοιτο —a favourite periphrasis with Thuc., especially with nouns in ‐της; examples occur in ec. 2, 40, 58, 59; with διδάσκαλος c. 42 ; with ἡγεμών c. 105.
πάντες —meaning οἱ πλείους of § 1.
οἱ τελευταῖοι —best taken by itself, between commas, i.e. ‘as they were the last,’ like οἱ δ’ . . οἱ πλείους above. But Steup makes οἱ τελευταῖοι partitive apposition to οἱ . . πύργων and joins χαλεπῶς οἱ τελευταῖοι κ. The men on the towers waited till the rest were safely across.
τὰ γυμνά —the unprotected side.
βιαίως —like βιαιότερον ἀναγαγόμενοι II. 33, ‘hard pressed.’
οἷος ἀπηλιώτου —sc. ὄντος, as in Soph. OC. 83 ὡς ἐμοῦ μόνης πέλας, se. οὔσης. It is very rarely that the partic. is omitted in gen. abs where the noun does not itself suggest a partie. as in Soph. OT. 966 ὧν ὑφηγητῶν, sc. ὄντων: but the omission is softened in this case by the analogy of the gen. of time, as in νυκτός .
ἢ βορέου —perhaps a marginal note, intended to fill up the sense of μᾶλλον. (It has been suggested (1) that βορέου should be ehanged to εὔρου, or (2) that μᾶλλον should be transposed before ἤ.) But possibly two propositions are eompressed into one; and the full sense is ‘as it is when the wind is east: it is, in fact, more watery then than when the wind is north.’ (So Chambry, Rév. de phil. '97.)
ὑπονειφομένη —ef. Herod II. 13 ὕεται ἡ χώρη, Xen. Hell. II. 4, 13 νειφόμενοι ἀπῆλθον: for ὑ. is properly ‘being thinly besnowed.’
ἐγένετο . . ἡ διάφευξις —cf. VII. 41 τὴν κατάφευξιν ἐποιοῦντο ‘were seeking refuge.’ The idea of success is contained in δια‐. (I eannot agree with Classen that ἐγένετο here means ‘proved suceessful’: that sense is confined in Attic to old phrases like ἐγένετο τὰ ἱερά, cf. ἐ. τὰ διαβατήρια V. 55. In VI. 74 and VIII. 57 γίγνεσθαι=merely ‘take place.’ καὶ ἡ διάφευξις=‘the means of suecessful escape too (as well as the difficult crossing)’ was mainly owed to (i.e. more than to any other cause: meaning that it was a narrow thing).
διὰ τοῦ χειμῶνος τὸ μ. —the order as in Herod.; cf. e.g. I. 32 μετὰ τῆς ξυμμαχίας τῆς αἰτήσεως.
τὸ τοῦ Ἀνδροκράτους ἡρῷον —shrine of a Plataean ‘hero,’ a well-known landmark on the road, evidently in Plataean territory and not far from the Asopus. Introd. p. xix.
ἥκιστ’ <ἄν> —after such words as μάλιστα the accidental omission of ἄν is so frequent in some MSS. where the error is obvious that it seems unlikely that νομίζω σε ποιῆσαι can= ‘I think you may do it.’ Cf. Xen. Oec. 11, 14 ἡνίκα for ἡνίκ’ ἄν, 18, 1 πότερα for πότερ’ ἄν, Mem. IV. 3, 8 μάλιστα for μάλιστ’ ἄν, in whieh instances the verb, being in opt., betrays the error. In our passage if ἥκιστα is read, we should render ‘thinking that the enemy had not formed a suspicion.’
σφᾶς —subjeet of τραπέσθαι.
πρὸς Κιθαιρῶνα καὶ Δρυὸς κεφαλάς —i.e. making for the pass of the Oak's Heads from which they would descend to Attica. For the roads see Introd. p. xix.
τὴν πρὸς τὸ ὄρος —they turned SE. and crossed Cithaeron at a point E. of the road taken by the enemy. It is not meant that they actually touched— Ὑσιάς τ’ Ἐρυθράς θ’ αἳ Κιθαιρῶνος λέπας νέρθεν κατῳκήκασιν. (Eur. Bacchae, 751.)
πλειόνων —c. 20, 2.
κατὰ χώραν ἐγένοντο —‘went to their station.’ κατὰ χώραν usually with μένειν ( certa sede manet); with ἐᾶν Demosth. XX VII. 60. For γενέσθαι κατά ef. καθ’ ἓν γ. ‘to concentrate’; τὴν χάλαζαν εὐχόμενοι μὴ καθ’ ἑαυτοὺς γ. Demosth. IX. 33.
ἐσπένδοντο — σπονδὰς ἐζήτουν ποιεῖσθαι schol. With the internal accus. ἀναίρεσιν cf. c. 109 ἀναχωρησιν ἐσπείσαντο ἄπασι.
πλεύσας ἐς Πύρραν καὶ ἐξ αὐτῆς πεζῇ —two stages in the scheme by which διαλαθὼν ἐσέρχεται: and so πεζῇ ‘by land’ is co-ordinated with πλεύσας, and is equivalent to πεζῇ ἐλθών.
ῃ ὑπερβατὸν ἦν —edd. do not agree whether this means (1) that the ‘torrent-bed’ interrupted the Athenian wall, or (2) that the wall, though unbroken, was lower at this point. ὑπερβατόν hardly admits of (1). A third suggestion (3) is that ὑποβατόν should be read, meaning that Salaethus crawled under the wall through an outlet. As for (2), if we eompare c. 18, 4-6, it seems strange that the A. should have been so simple as to leave the wall low at the χαράδρα: but Thuc. has omitted some detail that would have made things clear—as he is apt to do. See Introd. p. XV.
προέδροις — τοῖς ἄρχουσι schol. For the
νῆες see c. 16.
προαποπεμφθῆναί τε —cf. I. 87 εἶπον ὅτι . . δοκοῖεν . ., βούλεσθαι δὲ . .
τούτων ἕνεκα . . ἐπιμελησόμενος —cf. I. 80 ἐμπειρίᾳ . . νομίσαντα.
πρὸς τοὺς Ἀθηναίους —from passages like V. 44 πρὸς τοὺς Ἀ. μᾶλλον εἶχον τὴν γνώμην it is clear that ὥστε ξυμβαίνειν does not govern these words, but is an epexegesis.
δύο καί can hardly be right, as the number is repeatedly given as 40, e.g. cc. 25 and 29, and the suggestion that the two Lesbian triremes (cc. 4 and 5) are here ineluded is not probable. Rather than suppose that a eommentator wrongly added in the two Peloponnesian ships mentioned in cc. 5, 4 and 25, 1, I prefer to think we have a confusion as the outcome of mistaking μ’ (40) for β’ (2).
ἄρχοντα . . προστάξαντες is a phrase in Thuc. for appointment to a special command, and even the order is exactly as in VII. 19 : so ἄρχοντα for ἔχοντα is a certain correction.
ναύαρχος means that he held the annual office of high admiral.
ἀμφοτέρωθεν —through the dispatch of the ships and the invasion.
ταῖς ναυσὶν . . καταπλεούσαις —the transl. ‘send out a fleet against the ships sailing to M.’ is impossible, because (1) the partic. cannot be attributive unless ναυσίν is placed after Μυτιλήνην, and (2) ἐπιβοηθεῖν+dat.=‘hasten to help.’ Hence either we must alter the text—Steup brackets καταπλεούσαις —or, better, render ‘when they were sailing.’ So Stahl refers ταῖς ν. καταπλεούσαις to the Athenians and renders ‘sail with their ships to M. and come to help,’ as if we had καταπλέοντες.
νεωτέρου ‘too young.’ The
δέ after πατρός is not justified by the constr., since no description of Cleomenes has preceded; hence Krüger suggests that ἐπίτροπος has fallen out after ἔτι. There may, however, be a slight anacoluthon.
[καὶ]—εἴ τι ἐ. is clearly added as an explanation to τὰ . . τετμημένα.
μετὰ τὴν δευτέραν —i.e. that of 430 B.C., see last n. on c. 1. The present invasion is the fourth.
ἐπιμένοντες —equivalent to προσδοκῶντες, hence fut. infin.: the aor. inf. in c. 2 expresses result, not expectation; cf. Soph. Trach. 1176 μὴ ἐπιμεῖναι τοὐμὸν ὀξῦναι στόμα.
ἐπεξῆλθον with τέμνοντες, ‘pressed forward with,’ not ‘over-ran.’
ὁπλίζει —to make hoplites of them, the defensive armour, shield and breastplate, had to be distributed.
κατὰ ξυλλόγους γ. —these meetings were, of course, informal.
οἱ ἐν τοῖς π. — οἱ τὰ τῆς πόλεως πράττοντες.
ἀποκωλύειν —the MSS. give fut., but the infin. after δύναμαι and its equivalents is prolate.
Ἀθηναίοις μέν —the conditions are stated in the loose form frequently found in treaties, etc.: (1) two points in favour of the A. are connected; (2) some supply ἐξεῖναι to άποστέλλειν, but it is better to make the latter depend directly on ὥστε; (3) δῆσαι, ete. also depend on ὥστε.
ἐν ὅσῳ = μέχρι οὗ, cf. e. 52, 3. It is a similar constr. to that in Tityre, dum redeo. Classen saw a combination of (1) ἐν ὅσῳ ἂν ἀπῶσι and (2) ἕως ἂν πάλιν ἔλθωσι.
ὅμως —in spite of the guarantee; cf. c. 49, 1 n. (Vollgraff brackets as a dittography from βωμούς.) καθίζειν ἐπὶ βωμόν, άναστήσας (= ἀναστῆναι πείσας), and κατατίθεσθαι ἐς are technical in this connexion. With ἀναστήσας ὤστε μὴ ἀδικῆσαι cf. ἀναστήσαντες ἐφ’ ᾦ μηδὲν κακὸν ποιήσουσιν I. 126.
μέχρι οὗ without ἄν, as in Herod. ( μέχρι οὗ is not nsed in verse). M.T. § 620.
προσεκτήσατο —the common object, as usual, accommodated to the partic., πέμψας .
ἐνδιέτριψαν —Steup thinks that we should read ἐνδιατρίψαντες or remove, mainly because τοὺς μὲν . . ἑάλωκεν gives the result of the slowness in both parts of the voyage; more prob. Thuc. would have written ἐκομίσθησαν below, but altered the form of the sentence at that point to add the result of κομισθέντες in λανθάνουσι τοὑς Ἀθηναίους—for the ships could not have been detected by the Athenians ἐκ τῆς πόλεως so long as they were on the Peloponnesian eoast (there was no Athenian fleet out there now).
τοὺς μὲν ἐκ τῆς πόλεως Ἀ. —those remaining at home in contrast with those at Lesbos. (The attempt to fix upon any definite fleet seems to be a mistake. Ships in port may, of course, be meant.)
πρὶν δὴ τῇ Δήλῳ ἔσχον —though no actual neg. precedes, the whole effect is neg.; cf. c. 104, and M.T. § 635. With the dat. constr., whieh is poetical, for ἐς or κατά, cf. c. 5 αὐτοῖς . . ἀφικνεῖται, (which is nearer to the dat. of interest), and c. 33, 4. After leaving Delos they had no fear of A. ships.
Ἰκάρῳ καὶ Μυκόνῳ —the goal ultimately reached is mentioned first, as not uncommonly.
ἡμέραι δὲ . . ἑαλωκυίᾳ —lit. ‘M. now reekoned seven days’; cf. I. 13, 4, Herod. II. 145 Ἡρακλέϊ ὅσα φασὶ ἐ=ναι ἔτεα ἐς Ἄμασιν, Xen. Hell. II. 1, 27 ἡμέρα ἦν πέμπτη ἐπιπλέουσι τοῖς Αθηναίοις. The insertion of μάλιστα even with small numbers is a mannerism of Thuc.
ἐκ τῶν παρόντων —‘under the circumstances.’
ὥσπερ ἔχομεν —‘as we are,’ without change of plan, here implying ‘at once,’ but not always so: the meaning implied depends on the context.
ἀνδρῶν depends on τὸ ἀφύλακτον, equivalent to τῶν; the gen. with neut. adj. or partic. as noun is a common constr. with Thuc.
καὶ πάνυ —‘most certainly,’ ‘undoubtedly,’ as in II. 11 καὶ πἀνυ ἐλπίζειν: here in contrast with είκὸς δέ . .
καὶ ἡμῶν ἡ ἀλκὴ τ. μάλιστα οὖσα —the version ‘where our strength chiefly lies’ is open to the objections (1) that the fleet was not stronger thau the Athenian fleet at Lesbos; that could not for a moment be maintained after Phormio's exploits; and (2) that the strength of the Pel. fleet, being unknown to A., could be no reason why there should be πολὺ τὸ ἀφύλακτον on the part of the enemy. Another rendering is ‘where defence happens to be in the main our rôle,’ but I cannot find that ἀλκή is ever used for ‘the defensive’ in opposition to ‘attack’; it means, on the contrary, ‘defence or resistance’ in opposition to ‘flight or submission’—something positive, not negative. In spite of the objections, the first rendering is prob. right; the reasoning that Thuc. puts into the mouth of speakers is not always exact: the strength of the Pel. is not intended to be compared with that of the A., and should have been referred to iu an independent sentence, but the love of antithesis has led to the connexion of ἐκεῖνοί τε . . καὶ ἡμῶν. τυγχἀνει οὖσα marks the circumstance as unusual, and the real comparison is between the military aud naval strength of Alcidas.
ὡς —‘conscious that.’
τὸ καινὸν τοῦ πολέμου lit. ‘the strangeness of war is just this sort of thing’; i.e. the carelessness of the victor with the corollary of a sudden and wholly unexpected attack. In φυλάσσοιτο and ἐνορῶν only the carelessness of the victor is kept in view, but that the corollary is included in τὸ τοιοῦτον is proved (1) by the vague inclusive pron. in place of τοῦτο, (2) by τὸ καινόν, which could not mean τὸ ἀφύλακτον merely, but must include τὸ ἀπροσδόκητον. (Steup conjectures τὸ κοινόν, ‘where war shows itself notoriously impartial’: this makes the sentence easier to understand, but I do not think καινόν impossible Many edd. see in τὸ καινόν a reference only to sudden attack— τὸ προσπεσεῖν ἄφνω. I do not understand how καὶ τοῖς πολεμίοις ἐνορῶν can be explained on this view. τὸ κενόν, ‘the vanity,’ is as tolerable as τὸ καινόν in itself, but is more likely to be a mistake for τὸ καινόν than vice versa.)
ὅ —governed by φυλάσσοιτο and ἐνορῶν, or perhaps—in strictness— αὐτό is supplied from it to ἐνορῶν, for the position of τε does not make this impossible.
οἱ Λέσβιοι —for these see cc. 4, 4, 5, 4.
ἐλπίδα δ’ εῖναι —sc. ἀποστῆσαι.
ἀκουσίως —i.e. ‘no one was unwilling to see them come,’ the adverb applying to οὐδενί, not to the subject of ἀφῖχθαι: cf. Soph. Antig. 70 ἐμοῦ γ’ ἂν ἡδέως (sc. ἐμοὶ) δρῴης μέτα.
καὶ τὴν πρόσοδον . . ὑφέλωσι —parallel to ἀποστήσωσιν, ‘(that) they might gradually draw away this which was the main source of A. revenue.’ Not ‘ one of the chief sources’; and the position of ταύτην renders a second τήν unnecessary. The φόρος from the Carian and Ionian cities is meant; they had been grouped together and treated as one since 436 B.C., and the lists in CIA. vol. i. show that this combined φόρος was the largest item in the Athenian πρόσοδοι. ( ἢν before ὑφέλωσι can scarcely be right: the loss of the φόρος would be the necessary outcome of the revolt of Ionia, and could hardly be stated as an independent condition of what follows, however that be understood.)
καὶ ἄμα . . . δαπάνη γίγνηται —‘and at the same time, in case the Athenians should blockade them (in the Ionian port), the Athenians might be put to expense.’ (A majority of MSS. gives ἢν ἐφορμῶσιν αὐτοῖς—or αὐτοὺς—δαπάνη σφίσι γίγνηται, i.e. ‘if the Peloponnesians should blockade the Athenians, they (the Pel.) might have a fund to draw on, viz. the φόρος.’ The objections to this are, as I think, ( a) ἢν ἐφορμῶσιν αὐτοῖς is too vague: surely the Lesbians and Ionians cannot be thinking here of a blockade of the Attic coast—c. 15, 1 —and an undertaking of such magnitude—see c. 16, 1— could not possibly be suggested in this casual way—and the alternative explanation, that the proposal is that Alcidas shall ‘maintain a squadron of observation in Ionian waters,’ with a victorious Athenian fleet of equal numbers at Mytilene—cf. especially c. 33, 1—is out of the question. ( b) It is true that δαπάνη can mean ‘money for spending,’ where the context makes the drift clear, but it is hardly possible that δαπάνη τινὶ γίγνεται can mean anything but δαπανᾶται ὑπό τινος, according to the idiom; and there is force in Kruger's remark that the previous sentence here decidedly suggests the idea of ‘loss.’)
Πισσούθνην —Ionia and Caria were included in his satrapy. As Persia claimed and did not receive tribute from the Greek cities, it was by no means unlikely that the satrap might be induced to aid the enemies of Athens.
τὸ πλεῖστον τῆς γνώμης εἶχε —‘strongly inclined to,’ ‘regarded it as decidedly best,’ like the Herodotean πλεῖστος γνώμην εἰμί.
Μυτιλήνης ὑστερήκει —‘too late for’ means here ‘too late to help,’ as in Xen. Ages 2, 1 ὡς ὑστερήσειε τῆς πατρίδος.
παρέπλει —down the coast of Ionia.
ἐς τὴν Ἔφεσον —though part of the Athenian empire, E. could not hinder the fleet from entering the harbour.
Σαμίων —the Samian exiled oligarchs living on the coast opposite Samos; cf. c. 19.
οὐ καλῶς τὴν Ἑλλάδα ἐλευθεροῦν —that she was the Liberator of Greece was the claim of Sparta in the war, her ἀξίωσις τῆς ἀρετῆς ( I. 69 ). The most striking comment on this claim comes in Xen. Hel, III. 5, 13, in the speech of a Theban at Athens thirty years after this time: οὓς ὑμῶν ἀπέστησαν φανεροί εἰσιν έξηπατηκότες· ἀντὶ γὰρ ἐλευθερίας διπλῆν αὐτοῖς δουλείαν παρεσχήκασιν.
εἰ διέφθειρεν —(1) εἰ in the sense of ὅτι or ἐπεί, (2) for διέφθειρεν, where we expect διαφθείρει, see M. T. § 691.
χεῖρας ἀνταιρομένους —so Herod, VII. 209, Xen. Cyr. V. 4, 26 ἐἀν τις ὅπλα ἀνταίρηταί σοι.
ὁρῶντες γάρ —showing how it came that Alcidas had so many prisoners. The connexion is a little loose.
μὴ . . παραβαλεῖν —the inf. appears to be fut,; the μή is produced by the preceding neg. and might have been omitted; the constr. is unusual. παραβάλλω intrans., as with δια‐, ἐς‐, etc.
ὤφθη —pluperf. in sense; he must have touched at Clarus while sailing from Embaton to Ephesus.
Σαλαμινίας καὶ Παράλου —for the two state triremes see a dict. of antiquities.
τῆς Ἐρυθραίας —see c. 29.
καὶ ὥς —although, by the defenceless condition of Ionia, it was easy to stay.
ἅμα with reference to παραπλέοντες.
αὐτάγγελοι δέ —it is better, with Classen, to regard ἀτειχίστου . . πόλεις as a parenthesis, and this sentence as a direct continuation from καὶ πανταχόθεν.
οὐκέτι ἐν καταλήψει ἐφαίνετο —sc. ὁ Ἀλκίδας, ‘was clearly no longer to be caught’; cf. VI. 60 ὡς οὐκ ἐν παύλῃ ἐφαίνετο ( τὸ πρᾶγμα). (I do not venture to disturb this traditional explanation; but I think it possible that Paches is the subject of ἐφαίνετο, and that ἐν κ. ἐ. means ‘was clearly likely to catch him’; cf. c. 15 ἐν καρποῦ ξυγκομιδῇ ἦσαν.)
μετεώροις —sc. ταῖς Ἀλκίδου ναυσίν.
οὐδαμοῦ ἐγκαταληφθεῖσαι . . παρασχεῖν —‘they were not caught any where and (so) compelled to entrench themselves and to cause the Athenians the trouble of guarding and blockading them.’ For παρέχειν with words denoting trouble cf. VII. 70 ἔκπληξίν τε καὶ ἀποστέρησιν τῆς ἀκοῆς παρέχειν, and πράγματα π.
πάλιν —‘back,’ see ἐπανεχώρει, ‘turned back,’ above.
κατῴκηντο —cf. I. 120 ἐν πόρῳ κατῳκημένους. Thuc. uses the mid. forms only in the perf. and pluperf.; so Herod. Notium was the port of Colophon. Aristotle tells us that Colophon and Notium were not well suited to form a single state: hence στάσις. It was an exaggerated case, he says, of Athens and the Piraeus; and the Piraeus is more democratic than the city. Now Colophon had been under an oligarchy of the rich; and at the beginning of the Peloponnesian war, this oligarchy, it appears, wanted to get the city out of the hands of Athens, and invited in the ‘barbarians,’ favouring, apparently, reunion with Persia. The majority migrated to Notium, but a fresh στάσις broke out, and one party got help from the satrap Pissuthnes and was joined by the oligarchs from Colophon. The expelled democrats now sought aid from Paches. (We do not know who Itamanes was.) κατὰ στάσιν ἰδίαν—ἰδίαν cannot mean ‘intestine,’ and ἰδίᾳ, ‘by one of the parties,’ is very probable; cf. c. 2 It is possible, however, that ἰδίαν means ‘confined to Colophon,’ not extending to Notium
μάλιστα —‘about.’ The date is 430 B.C.
οἱ μὲν . . οἱ δέ —partitive apposition.
ἐπικούρους Ἀρκάδων —i.e. Arcadian μισθοφόροι. They served as mercenaries already in the Persian wars, and are familiar as such in the expedition of the Ten Thousand. The mercenaries must have been in the service of Pissuthnes.
ἐν διατειχίσματι —a place divided by a wall from the rest of the town. διατειχίζειν is ‘to separate by a wall.’ With the force from Pissuthnes came also the pro-Persian party from Colophon, which was now part of the citizen body cf Notium.
ὑπεξελθόντες τούτους —for the accus. Kiuger quotes Eurip. frag. Alcmene ὅμως ἀγῶνα τόνδε δεῖ μ’ ὑπεκδραμεῖν.
ὁ μέν after προκαλεσάμενος involves an anacoluthon, like that of Il. VI. 509 ὁ δ’ ἀγλαίηφι πεποιθὼς | ῥίμφα ἐ γοῦνα φέρει; but it is not usual in Homer. Here we have a sing. nom. followed by two contrasted subjects. For the opposite form, a plur. nom. followed by only one subject, cf. Il. III. 211 ἄμφω δ’ ἑζομένω γεραρώτερος ἦεν Ὀδυσσεύς.
προσδεχομένων —the subst. to be supplied, as in I. 3 ἐπαγομένων αὐτούς, II. 52 ἐναποθνῃσκόντων (sc. ἀνθρώπων). Cf. c. 55, 1.
οἰκιστάς —the ‘oecists’ or ‘founders’ settled the government and started the new colony, as was usual. Cf. VI. 5 οἰκιστὴς γενόμενος κατῴκισε Καμάριναν.
τοῖς δὲ λοιποῖς —the dat. of accompaniment, frequent with words like στρατός and ναῦς.
παρεχόμενον —‘propose,’ ‘put forward.’
γνώμας ἐποιοῦντο —‘offered various opinions’ or ‘made proposals,’ in the Assembly, of course.
ἐπικαλοῦντες —anacoluthon, as though a personal constr. had preceded. Cf. II. 53 θεῶν φόβος οὐδεὶς ἀπεῖργε, τὸ μὲν κρίνοντες , VI. 24 ἔρως ένέπεσε . . εὐελπίδες ὄντες, Eur. Hec. 971 αἰδώς μ’ ἔχει . . τυγχάνουσα.
τήν τε ἄλλην . . καὶ προσξυνελάβοντο —(1) they reproached them with revolting under specially grave circumstances, οὐκ ἀρχόμενοι; (2) their rage was largely due to the appearance of a Pel. fleet on the Ionian coast. As the sentence stands it is illogical, since τήν τε ἄλλην should be followed by something like καὶ ὅτι τὰς ναῦς ἐπηγἀγοντο. (As to Classen's insertion of καί after ἀπόστασιν—on whieh there has been some subtle argument—we may regard it as possible, but scarcely necessary.) For the change from partic. to finite verb cf. V. 61 βουλόμενοι ἄλλως τε . . καὶ ὅμηροι ἦσαν. It is frequent in Herod.
προσξυνελάβοντο —for this reading ef. IV. 47 ξυνελάβοντο τοῦ τοιούτου οὐχ ἥκιστα οἱ στρατηγοὶ κατἀδηλοι ὄντες. The emphasis is, of course, on the partic. ( τολμήσασαι), as often.
οὐκ ἐλάχιστον is adverbial. The other reading, προσξυνεβάλετο, ‘contributed,’ τὸ ἐ. (sc. μέρος) τῆς ὁρμῆς being object,—cf. Ath. Pol. 19 συνεβάλλετο οὐκ έλάττω μοῖραν τῆς ὁρμῆς—is defended by IV. 25 αἴτιον δὲ ἦν οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι προειπόντες and VIII. 9 αἴτιον δὲ ἐγἐνετο . . οὶ πολλοὶ οὐκ εἰδότες, but the present instance goes further.
οὐ γὰρ ἀπὸ βραχείας διανοίας —‘it was no small design, they thought, that had led them to revolt,’ viz. the design of bringing about a revolt of Ionia with the aid of the Pel. fleet.
ἄγγελον —pred. to τριήρη.
ὠμὸν . . αἰτίους —in the tragic style, and unusually rhythmical for Thuc. ( πέφευγε τὸ εἶδος, says Hermogenes): the sentence breaks into two corresponding halves after πόλιν, μέγα being elided and ἢ οὐ, of course, counting as one long. μᾶλλον ἢ οὐ—ἤ implies a negative, and any sentence implying a neg. is apt to be strengthened by an expressed neg. ( M.T. § 815): cf. II. 62 οὐδ’ εἰκὸς χαλεπῶς φέρειν μᾶλλον ἢ οὐ . . ὀλιγωρῆσαι.
πρέσβεις —c. 28.
τῶν Ἀθηναίων —the order as in c. 22, 5.
παρεσκεύασαν — ‘got them to.’
οἱ ἐν τέλει are the ‘government,’ i.e., presumably, the Strategi, who, in time of war, could have a special meeting of the Ecclesia summoned.
αὖθις γνώμας προθεῖναι —‘allow a fresh debate’: to re-open a matter that had been settled in a recent meeting of the Ecclesia seems to have rendered the person responsible to impeachment; but the Ecclesia, as the sovereign power, could by a majority of course do anything, provided that the Prytanies and the president of the meeting consented to submit a proposal for discussion. (The evidence on the point is doubtful; but the account here given reconciles the various passages that bear on it.)
ἔνδηλον ἦν —the personal constr., esp. common with δῆλος.
τινας —‘persons’: after τοὺς ἐν τέλει we should expect αὐτούς; but the speakers, rather than the officials, are referred to A special Assembly ( σύγκλητος ἐκκλησία) was summoned for the purpose. (G. Gilbert, B. zur innern Geschichte Athens, 142, assigns the debates on Mytilene to the end of the official year 428-7. It is probable that Cleon was in that year Strategus, having replaced Lysicles the προβατοπώλης, who had been killed in Caria in the winter. Busolt, however, places the debates in the first prytany of the following year, 427-6, wheu Cleon and those like him were replaced in the strategia by Nicias and Laches, men strongly opposed to Cleon. In either case, it is obvious that party-feeling must have run very high just at this time.
τὴν προτέραν —sc. γνώμην, ‘proposal,’ from γνῶμαι above:
νικᾶν is ‘to carry,’ as in νικᾷ ἕτερον ψήφισμα Φιλοκρἀτης, Aeschin, III. 63. (I do not think that the sense of γνώμη shifts here from ‘views’ to ‘decree,’ and that consequently τῇ προτέρᾳ ‘on the previous day’ should be read.)
βιαιότατος —this is the first time that Thuc. mentions Cleon, though he had been rising for some time. The views of him expressed by ancient authors, whether as politician or as orator, are almost uniformly unfavourable. As regards Thuc.'s opinion of him, and the following speech, see Introd. p. xxxvii.
δημοκρατίαν —object of ἔγνων, but in sense subj. of ἄρχειν. ἀδύνατον, ‘incapable of,’ the neut. as in Homer's οὐκ ἀγαθὸν πολυκοιρανίη.
ἐν —of the cause.
ἀδεὲς καὶ ἀνεπιβούλευτον give the same thing from two sides: you neither fear your neighbour nor cause him to fear you.
ὅ τι ἂν . . ἁμάρτητε ἢ . . ἐνδῶτε —we know too little of the working of the Athenian empire to specify acts of clemency on the part of Athens. From what we do know we should say that Athens was severe enough; but we must remember that the standard of the times was very different from ours: any right that Athens did not take from her allies she regarded as a privilege granted to them.
οἴκτῳ is parallel to λόγῳ πεισθέντες; supply αὐτοῖς to ἐνδῶτε.
ἐπικινδύνως . . ἐς ὑμᾶς —the emphasis is on this: hence the disloeation of the order. Tr. ‘you think that such weakness does not . . bring danger to you.’
οὐκ ἐς τὴν . . χάριν —‘without gaining the gratitude’; they take a concession as a sign of weakness.
τυραννίδα ἔχετε τὴν ἀρχήν —repeating words attributed to Pericles at II. 63.
καὶ πρὸς . . ἀρχομένους —paralleI to τυραννίδα, the constr. with πρός (after ἀρχή) like φιλία or πόλεμος πρός.
οἵ —very weakly supported by MS. evidence. There is a similar case at IV. 10, where the MSS. give τὸ δυσέμβατον ἡμέτερον νομίζω· μενόντων μὲν ἡμῶν ξύμμαχον γίγνεται, but Dionysius quotes the passage with ὃ μενόντων etc. Without the rel., we must assume an epexegesis of ἄκοντας ἀρχομένους with asyndeton.
ἐξ ὧν . . περιγένησθε —for ἐξ ἐκείνων ἄ, internal accus. to π., ‘as a consequence of the superiority you have established over them by strength (hinting at the successive reductions to the status of tributary subjects) and not by their willing obedience.’
εὔνοια as Arist. Eth. IX. 5, 3 says, δῑ ἀρετὴν καὶ ἐπιείκειάν τινα γίνεται, ὅταν τῳ φανῇ καλός τις ἢ ἀνδρεῖος.
ὧν ἂν δόξῃ πέρι —for περὶ ἐκείνων ἃ ἃν δόξῃ, ‘as regards measures that we have passed.’ Thus the neut. nom. ἅ is here attracted as in VII. 67 βλάπτεσθαι ἀφ’ ὧν ἡμῖν παρεσκεύασται. In ( ἃ) ἂν δόξῃ the allusion is to ψηφίσματα passed in the Ecclesia.
χείροσι νόμοις . . ἀκύροις —it has been thought that there is an allusion here to definite νόμοι that forbade a psephism to be reconsidered, perhaps within some fixed period (cf. n. on c. 36, 5); but the reference seems more general. (The objection that Cleon would, if there were such an allnsion, definitely threaten a γραφὴ παρανόμων has not much force, for (1) Thuc. does not deal in the technicalities of Attic legal procedure, which were not of sufficiently ‘universal’ interest for him, with his view of history; and (2) in VI. 14 sqq., where Nicias alludes to some rules about the re-discussion of a psephism, Alcibiades, in his rejoinder, makes no capital out of the rules at all—does not even allude to the point.) Arnold thought that the psephism under revision is itself meant under νόμοι, and that the confusion is meant to be intentional on Cleon's part. It is best, I think, to consider the passage intentionally vague and rhetorical: revision of psephisms leads easily to revision of laws in a democracy. This general application is borne out by ἀμαθία τε κτλ., which would be an odd addition to a clause containing a precise reference.
κρείσσων ἐστίν —the personal constr.: ‘it is better for a state to have.’ (This explanation is strongly supported by ὠφελιμώτερον (sc. πόλει) and ἄμεινον οἰκοῦσι τὰς πόλεις. Classen says ‘is stronger’; but the point is what is good for a state, not what a state can do.)
ἀμαθία μετὰ σωφροσύνης —‘ignorance when combined with self-restraint,’ no doubt a hit at the πεπαιδευμένοι, and the sentiment so outrageous to an educated Athenian, that we must assume that it was really uttered by Cleon in substance. For the evil results of ἀμαθία note the following passage (Euripides, frag.): γνώμαις γὰρ ἀνδρὸς εὖ μὲν οἰκοῦνται πόλεις εὖ δ’ οἶκος, εἴς τ’ αὖ πόλεμον ἰσχύει μέγα· σοφὸν γὰρ ἓν βούλευμα τὰς πολλὰς χέρας νικᾷ σὺν ὄχλῳ δ’ ἀμαθία πλεῖστον κακόν. σωφροσύνη and ἀκολασία are often contrasted in the language of popular philosophy: εὑρήσετε τὴν μὲν ἀκολασίαν . . τῶν κακῶν αἰτίαν γιγνομένην, τὴν δὲ σωφροσύνην τῶν ἀγαθῶν, Isocr. de pace § 119. In οἵ τε φαυλότεροι κτλ. we meet a sentiment that is frequent in Euripides.
πρός —‘as compared with.’
τῶν τε νόμων σοφώτεροι —hence they despise the laws: a reference back to μηδὲ γνωσόμεθα etc.
τῶν τε αἰεὶ . . περιγίγνεσθαι —the τε . . τε puts the contempt for laws and the opposition to all counsel on the same footing as joint parts of their conduct. περιγίγνεσθαι, ‘to get the better’ of it, by opposing it.
ὡς ἐν ἄλλοις μείζοσιν . . γνώμην —‘as though they could not find any greater subject on which to display their talent’; the subject in debate is just the one, they think, on which they are qualified to give an opinion. (Cf. VII. 64 οὐκ ἂν ἐν ἄλλῳ μᾶλλον καιρῷ ἀποδειξἀμενος .)
ἀδυνατώτεροι δὲ . . λόγον —in form exactly parallel to the preceding clause; but τοῦ καλῶς εἰπόντος is certainly possessive gen. to λόγον, together with which it refers to τῶν αἰεὶ λεγομένων ἐς τὸ κοινόν above. To ἀδυνατώτεροι supply ἢ οἱ ξυνετώτεροι.
ἀπὸ τοῦ ἴσου —‘fair,’ free from personal bias, cf. c. 42; more often ‘on equal terms.’ For ἀγωνιστής as a ‘rhetorical prize-fighter,’ Bloomfield cites several exx. 34
ὀρθοῦνται —‘have a prosperous course’; cf. particularly II. 60 πόλιν ὀρθουμένην )( σφαλλομένην. Here ὀρθοῦνται τὰ πλείω corresponds to πολλὰ σφάλλουσι τὰς πόλεις above. There is an exactly similar passage in Soph. Antig. 673 -6. (The rendering ‘judge rightly’ is certainly wrong.)
ὥς —for οὕτως, usually only with καί, οὐδέ, μηδέ, in prose.
παρὰ δόξαν —‘contrary to our opinion,’ not, as in the other cases in Thuc., ‘unexpectedly.’ (The conjecture παρὰ τὸ δόξαν, ‘contrary to what has been decided,’ is plausible; but I agree with Bloomfield that this is not really in point here: it is not borne out by τῶν αἰεὶ λεγομένων . . περιγίγνεσθαι and τοῦ καλῶς εὶπόντος μέμψασθαι λόγον.)
ἀμβλυτέρᾳ —‘with anger more dulled,’ when there is delay.
ἀμύνεσθαι —for ( τὸ) ἀμύνεσθαι as in Aesch. Ag. 191 παρ’ ἄκοντας ἦλθε σωφρονεῖν, and elsewhere in Thuc. The addition of κείμενον (and perhaps ὄν) makes the omission ugly and unusual. Cf. the schol. εί τὸ ἀμύνεσθαι τῷ παθεῖν ἐγγὺς τεθείη.
ἀντίπαλον ὂν . . ἀναλαμβάνει —‘is most adequate when it recovers satisfaction’: the main emphasis on the partic., as often. If ὄν is omitted, ἀντίπαλον agrees with τιμωρίαν—cf. ἀμβλυτέρᾳ τῇ ὀργῇ above—and both form and sense are improved. (Hude reads τοῦ παθεῖν, takes κείμενον as accus. abs., ‘when it is proposed to take vengeance,’ and makes ὁ παθών subj. of ἀναλαμβάνει, omitting ὄν with Haase. But what is the point of saying κείμενον ἀμύνεσθαι where the sense calls for ἀμυνόμενος?) Some think ὰναλαμβάνει should be λαμβάνει or ἂν λαμβάνοι, as in δίκην, τιμωρίαν, λαμβάνειν.
θαυμάζω δέ .—there might be reason in opposing the vote, if it were shown that either (1) the revolt is advantageous to Athens; or (2) though troublesome to us, it is indirectly a gain because it does harm to the allies and renders them less an object of fear to us.
τὸ πάνυ δοκοῦν —‘the universal opinion of men’: he must try to prove a paradox. (According to another view, the allusion is to the psephism. But (1) τὸ πάνυ δοκοῦν, ‘what is generally agreed upon,’ would hardly be a true description of the vote; and (2) τὸ δόξαν would certainly be natural.)
κέρδει —a suggestion of bribery: the charge was a common one against public men, and was often true. The contrast in
ἢ . . ἤ is between an opponent who wants to show his skill in oratory and one who is bribed to mislead.
ἐκπονή· σας is co-ordinate with πιστεύσας, and ἐπαιρόμενος gives the motive that prompts him ἐκπονεῖν.
τὸ εὐπρεπὲς τοῦ λόγου —‘what is plausible in the words.’ The whole of this section is a hit at the bad side of the new rhetoric: it is piquant, because Cleon himself indulges in rhetoric freely; this elaborate comparison to an ἀγών of rival rhetoricians is itself full of it.
θεαταὶ μὲν . . ἔργων —‘spectators of words and hearers of deeds’ is an artificial way of saying: you are content to take the facts from what the orators say, and look on at the debates, thus inverting the natural order of things at an ἀγών, in which one would watch the athletes' deeds and listen to the literary men's words: so badly do you, who are at once the directors and the people attending, manage the ἀγῶνες. (The explanations usually given of this passage do not seem to me to give an intelligible meaning to the whole: ( a) κακῶς ἀγωνοθετεῖν does not mean ‘to be wrong in instituting a contest,’ but ‘to do so in the wrong way’; cf. the second and third failings— ἀπατᾶσθαι ἄριστοι and ζητοῦντες ἄλλο τε κτλ.: all indicative of a topsy-turvy mind and ( b) only with the latter meaning—which is a natural one—does οἵτινες κτλ. given an intelligible reason.)
ὡς δυνατὰ γίγνεσθαι —‘as practicable’: sc. ὄντα, cf. VI. 40 τοὺς λόγους ὡς ἔργα δυναμένους κρινεῖ.
τὰ δὲ π. ἤδη —sc. σκοποῦντες.
οὐ τὸ . . ἀκουσθέν ‘not taking what has been done as more trustworthy through having seen it, than what you have heard (about it).’ (It has been objected to ὄψει that we need ἀκροάσει or ἀκοῇ to contrast with it; but the whole clause corresponds to ὡς δυνατὰ γίγνεσθαι, and = ὡς τὸ ἀκουσθὲν πιστότερον ὂν ἢ τὸ ὀφθέν; τὸ ἀκουσθέν itself contains the contrast to ὄψει: instead of saying τὸ ὀφθέν, Thuc. says τὸ δρασθέν in order to introduce again the contrast between ἔργα and λόγοι —δρασθέν and ἀκουσθέν.)
ἐπιτιμησάντων —the readiness of speakers to criticize adversely the action of public men, if opponents, is often insisted on; but it is odd that Cleon, who was ever ready to censure, should talk so.
μετὰ καινότητος —equivalent to a dat, of cause, as I. 32 μὴ μετὰ κακίας, δόξης δὲ μᾶλλον ἁμαρτίᾳ: cf. c. 42, 1.
ἀπατᾶσθαι ἄριστοι — sc. ὄντες, co-ordinate with κακῶς ἀγωνοθετοῦντες, the second way in which you are αἴτιοι· εὐπαρἀγωγος εἶ, θωπευόμενός τε χαίρεις κἀξαπατώμενος, Aristoph. Eq. 1115 .
μετὰ δεδοκιμασμένου —sc. λόγου, ‘when an approved argument is stated’; ξυνέπεσθαι means ‘go with the speaker.’ (Another way is to take ξυνέπεσθαι μετά closely together, ‘to follow the lead of’: I prefer the former.)
δοῦλοι ὄντες —the whole down to ἀποβησόμενα is epexegetic of ἄριστοι ( ὄντες ).
καὶ μάλιστα μέν —co-ordinate with δοῦλοι ὄντες. βουλόμενοι would have made the sentence more symmetrical, but cf. already Iliad IX. 656 οἱ δὲ ἕκαστος ἑλὼν . . ἴσαν.
ἀνταγωνιζόμενοι τοῖς τοιαῦτα λέγουσι —i.e. τοῖς τοιούτοις ῥήτορσι, who applaud that one of their number who happens to be speaking; ‘vying with speakers who use such arguments,’ viz. ἄτοπα. (It is objected to τοιαῦτα that it cannot be referred to τὰ ἄτοπα only, after what has preceded. But it is to be noted that ὑπερόπται δὲ τῶν εἰωθότων is merely parenthetical: had there been a μέν after δοῦλοι, the objection would have been serious.)
τῇ γνώμῃ —not to lag behind the rest ‘in insight.’ To understand ‘plan’ or ‘purpose’ of the speaker ( γνώμῃ governed by ἀκολουθῆσαι) is not so good, because it is the external form, not the meaning, that rivets their attention.
ὀξέως with λέγοντος, because λέγοντός τι cannot here mean ‘says something important or sensible.’ On the other hand, ὀξέως, when taken with λέγοντος, is rendered ‘shrewdly,’ ‘cleverly’; but (1) ὀξύ, adj., would be natural, and (2) it seems that λέγειν ὀξέως means not ‘speak shrewdly’ but ‘speak rapidly’; it is only with words denoting mind that βραδύς, ὀξύς mean ‘slow,’ ‘quick’ of wit. I should prefer to render ‘when any one is speaking rapidly.’
προεπαιvέσαι — sc. δοκεῖν, generally understood ‘to approve’ it before it is uttered, but perhaps ‘to be first with their approval.’
πρόθυμοι εἶναι —this may depend on ἀνταψωνιζόμενοι or, more probably, on δοκεῖν, but, in either ease, ( εἶναι) βραδεῖς does not give very good sense, and can hardly be excused on the ground that the main emphasis falls on πρόθυμοι εἶναι; for—to mention only one objection— προαισθέσθαι and προνοῆσαι are plainly meant to be equal in importance. We require εἰωθότες to make sound sense. The best solution proposed is to consider καί before προαισθέσθαι and εἶναι as spurious: the whole would then be closely connected with προεπαινέσαι.
ζητοῦντές τε —again going back to αἴτιοι δ’ ὑμεῖς, ‘seeking something different—one might almost say— from the world in which we live;’ dreamers.
ἁπλῶς τε —a resumption of the substance of the whole sentence.
σοφιστῶν θεαταῖς καθημένοις —‘men sitting as spectators at a display of sophists,’ as shown in the Protagoras, for example.
ὧν —neut. (
θεαταῖς is pred.; but as the comparison is between θεαταί and βουλευόμενοι, καθημένοις is possibly, as Lincke says, interpolated.)
μίαν πόλιν —cf. c. 113, 6.
οἵτινες —the dat. antecedent omitted. Distinguish between οἵτινες μή and οἵτινες οὐ below.
νῆσον . . μετὰ τειχῶν —thus secure against enemies. The contrast to the previous sentence is stated in inverse order: subjection—compulsion; security—freedom. This is a common arrangement of clauses in Thuc.
ἐν ῳ —of their condition.
καὶ αὐτοί —independently of our help.
ἐπανέστησαν μᾶλλον ἢ ἀπέστησαν —an armed rising contrasted with a secession; but the application of the contrast to the circumstances of Lesbos is not exact, since ἐπανάστασις implies a dominant power, which Athens ex hypothesi was not.
μέν γε —‘secession anyhow,’ whatever be the truth about ἐπανάστασις. For the suppression of the δέ-clause after this combination cf. Aristoph. Ach. 154 τοῦτο μέν γ’ ἤδη σαφές. (Append. i., Neil, Aristoph. Equites).
βίαιόν τι πασχόντων —this is far-fetched; and the implied contrast about ἐπανάστασις would too obviously not hold: hence the statement of it is suppressed.
καίτοι —‘surely.’
καθ’ αὑτούς —‘by themselves,’ not μετὰ τῶν πολεμιωτάτων στάντες.
κτώμενοι —probably conative.
παράδειγμα δὲ αὐτοῖς —as παράδειγμα means example, both as a warning and as an encouragement, it might have been applied to both clauses with οὔτε; but the second has taken an independent form, cf. c. 96, 3.
τῶν πέλας —‘of others.’
τὰ δεινά —often of the dangers of war.
τὸ μέλλον —‘the future’ )( παροῦσα.
μακρότερα . . βουλήσεως —‘having come to hope for what was beyond their strength, but less than their ambition.’ Clearly what they hoped for was the destruction of Athenian power— ἐζήτησαν ἡμᾶς διαφθεῖραι. But how was this ‘less than they wanted’? what more could they want? Probably we have here a sample of Cleon's exaggeration and abuse, and no definite meaning is to be looked for. It is enough for his purpose that the Lesbians had wanted to revolt sooner than they did (c. 2 ). (Herbst's explanation, Zu Thuk. p. 82, that μακρότερα means the power of Mytilene, and ἐλάσσω that of Athens, seems far-fetched, and his rendering of τῆς βουλήσεως is scarcely intelligible.)
ἐν ᾦ —‘the moment that.’
γάρ —justifying the charge that they put might before right. They had suffered no wrong, and they chose a time when Athens was in difficulties.
αἷς ἂν . . ἔλθῃ —the clause forms the object to τρέπειν. μάλιστα καὶ δῑ ἐλαχίστου, ‘most fully and most suddenly,’ refers to the moment just alluded to in ἐν ᾧ ᾠήθησαν; it was καιρὸς ὡς οὔπω πρότερον, c. 13, 3. The revolt was not really the unpremeditated thing that Cleon represents it to have been. The
ἀπροσδόκητος εὐπραξία refers to the difficulties in which Athens was. (The objection to δῑ ἐλαχίστου that the change of fortune on the part of the Mytilenaeans was not sudden, but was gradually brought about by the events of the war, rests on a confusion of facts and the rhetorical presentment of them.)
τὰ δὲ πολλὰ . . εὐτυχοῦντα ἀσφαλέστερα —‘in most things prosperity according to calculation is safer than prosperity that is a surprise.’ It is an extraordinary explanation that makes τὰ πολλά, after the schol., adverbial accus., and κατὰ λ. εὐτυχοῦντα equivalent to τὰ . . εὐτυχοῦντα. The constr. intended is clearly ἀσφαλέστερά ( ἐστι) τὰ πολλὰ εὐτυχοῦντα= εἰ εὐτυχεῖ: cf. II. 13 ( ἔφη) τὰ πολλὰ κρατεῖσθαι. And there is no doubt about the reading being right: εὐτυχία, a stable condition, is in contrast with εὐπραξία. a single event (cf. I. 33 ); a calm life unmarred by misfortune constituted εὐτυχία (cf. II. 44 ). Of course παρὰ δόξαν ( εὐτυχοῦντα) gives a different and paradoxical meaning to εὐτυχία. This doctrine of Cleon seems to be based upon the philosophy of life professed by his opponent Nicias. Cf. V. 16, of Nicias, διασώσασθαι τὴν εὐτυχίαν .
ὡς εἰπεῖν ῥᾷον —‘almost more easily.’
χρῆν δέ —they would never have gone so far in their indulgence in ὕβρις had we long ago kept a tighter hand on them.
μηδὲν διαφερόντως τῶν ἄλλων —the adverb (EM) is better than διαφέροντας, and has, at any rate, as much MS. support as χρῆν just before, and it has, in addition, the support of the text of the schol. and of Dio Cassins.
καὶ ἄλλως — ‘in other cases as well,’ making the application general.
τοῖς μὲν ὀλίγοις . . τὸν δὲ δῆμον —the oligarchical government had caused the revolt.
οἷς γ’ ἐξῆν —as this sentence refers especially to the δῆμος, it would be better, perhaps, to put πάντες . . ἐπέθεντο in a parenthesis—unless, with Stahl, we understand πάντες ( οί τοῦ δήμου) and ὁμοίως ( τοῖς ὀλίγοις).
πάλιν ἐν τῇ πόλει εἶναι —‘reinstated in their rights.’ For the sense of πόλις cf. IV. 106 πόλεώς τε. στερισκόμενοι.
βεβαιότερον —sc. τοῦ μεθ’ ἡμῶν κινδύνου.
τῶν τε ξυμμάχων σκέψασθε . . τίνα οἴεσθε ὅντινα οὐ —(1) the old explanation of this passage (given by Goller, for instance) was that τίνα οἴεσθε ὅντινα ού was equivalent to ἕκαστον. c. 46, 2, where τίνα οἴεσθε ἥντινα οὐ is independent, is strongly against this. Classen said that οἴεσθε merely repeats σκέψασθε owing to the length of the sentence; and this is accepted by subsequent edd. Classen's view involves also an anacoluthon, since σκέψασθε would be followed by τίς ὄστις οὐ with ind., not by τίνα ὅντινα οὐ. Against this view is to he urged ( a) the complication of the constr. introduced by σκέψασθε, ( b) the gen. τῶν τε ξυμμάχων, which, as Classen says, depends not only on τοῖς . . ἀποστᾶσι, but also on τίνα οἴεσθε ὅντινα οὐ, so that Thuc. had a clear view of the constr. from the start. It is not unlikely that σκέψασθε is meant to be parenthetical. (2) τίς ὄστις οὐ is treated as a single word.
παθείν —a second subject to ᾖ.
ἀποκεκινδυνεύσεται —‘we shall find exposed to utmost peril.’
τῆς ἔπειτα προσόδου, δῑ ἣν ἰσχύομεν —the relative clause applies to τῆς προσόδου only, the revenue generally, not to τῆς ἔπειτα π., the future revenue; hence ἐκεῖθεν or ἐπετείου has been conjectured for ἔπειτα, which the schol. already had in the text. Neither conjecture wholly removes the difficulty; and so δῑ ἣν ισχύομεν is thought by some to have been brought in here from the very similar passage in c. 46, 3. It would be better to read ἰσχύσομεν, ‘through which we may support our power.’
τὸ λοιπόν is pleonastic after ἔπειτα, and perhaps belongs to δῑ ἣν ἰσχύσομεν.
στερήσεσθε —‘will have to go without.’
προθεῖναι —of the orators.
πιστήν —‘hope relying on (the speaker's) eloquence,’ is contrasted with ‘hope gained by bribery (of the speaker),’ cf. c. 38, 2; one speaker's eloquence, another's venality, may prompt him to take up the cause of Lesbos.
ξυγγνώμην ἁμαρτεῖν ἀνθρωπίνως λήψονται —‘that they will be excused for having erred humanly,’ i.e. through human frailty not deliberately: πῶς ἂν τό γ’ ἄκον πρᾶγμ’ ἂν εἰκότως ψέγοις; Soph. OC. 977 . 4
ἄκοντες —the οὐ applies to this also, but is attracted to the verb.
ξύγγνωμον = ξυγγνώμης ἄξιον, as also, perhaps, in IV. 98, but not elsewhere.
τότε —supply διεμαχεσάμην (the same idiom in I. 86 and VI. 60 ). But μὴ λύειν τὰ π., which came into question only in the second meeting, causes some difficulty. We must assume either (1) that the sentence is developed as it proceeds, μὴ λύειν τὰ π. not being supplied with τότε, or else, (2) that πρῶτον ( διεμαχεσάμην) means that Cleon had already in the previous meeting seen that there would be an agitation for revision. (I prefer the second solution. Brevity would excuse προδεδογμένα as applied to a vote to be passed. The voting at the first meeting must have been close; and c. 36, 3 suggests anxiety about getting it carried out. Krüger had noticed that τότε πρῶτον is unsatisfactory according to the usual explanation: I think there must be a point in πρῶτον, as in Aristoph. Eq. 339 πρῶτα διαμαχοῦμαι.)
ἐπιεικείᾳ —‘generosity,’ ‘consideration for others.’
τοὺς ὁμοίους —variously rendered as ‘like minded,’ or ‘situated as we are,’ i.e. equals, not subjects. For the latter, it is claimed that ἐξ ἀνάγκης points to unwilling subjects; and sentiment so arrogant might well be attributed to Cleon.
ἕξουσι . . ἀγῶνα —sarcastic, implying ‘if they must have their ἀγών’; cf. c. 38, 4.
καὶ μή — there is implied prohibition, hence μή The choice of the constr. is no doubt influenced by the previous καὶ μή.
τὸ παθεῖν εὖ —the excellent return they will get is a bribe from the Mytilenaeans. It appears that a few years later Cleon himself was said to have made something out of the troubles of Mytilene.
καὶ τὸ λοιπόν —‘in the future as in the past.’
ὁμοίως . . ὑπολειπομένους —the conjecture ὁμοίως seems to be clearly right. Even when ὁμοίους is rendered ‘consistent’ and taken as pred, with ὑπολειπομένους, it remains very awkward that ἐπιτηδείους and πολεμίους imply ἡμῖν, whereas ὁμοίους must imply ἑαυτούς. The previous ὁμοίους used in a quite different sense in this series of closely connected sentences is against the adj. ὁμοίως τε καὶ οὐδὲν ἧσσον is a Thucydidean way of saying ‘just as must as before.’
πειθόμενοι μέν —the steps of the argument, which is difficult to follow to ἀνδραγαθίζεσθαι and has given rise to much discussion, are as follows: (1) if you punish M., you will act as Justice and Interest alike demand; (2) it may be said that Justice is on their side and against you ( εἰ γάρ); (3) even if it is, you must follow the dictates of Interest ( εἰ δὲ δή).
οὐ χαριεῖσθε —because they will still hate you.
δικαιώσεσθε —‘you will punish yourselves’ (instead of them) by proclaiming to all that you have no right to exert authority. εἰ γάρ—γάρ does not introduce the reason for the preceding statement, but = ‘it is true that,’ as in c. 43, 5 (Stahl in Rhein. Mus. 1901). οὐ χρεών is acc. abs. On the form of condition (cf. I. 38, VI. 92 ) Goodwin points out that it is “a perfectly natural combination, each part having its proper force.” If they were justified, you must have no right to your empire: εἰ δὲ δὴ . . κολάζεσθαι (mid ) proceeds on this assumption. If you persist in ruling ( τοῦτο δρᾶν), even though you have no right to do so, then your interests require that you punish them, as you have others. The only alternative ( ἤ=‘otherwise’) is, you must give up empire; you must run no risks ( ἐκ τοῦ ἀκινδύνου= ἀκινδύνως) and play an honourable part.
παύεσθαι . . ἀνδραγαθίξεσθαι — Cleon echoes words attributed to Pericles at II. 63. ἀνδραγαθίζομαι was, it would seem, in use among the aristocrats who favoured a peace policy; cf. for the noun with ‘a political or social reference’ c. 57, 1, 64, 4 (Neil, Append. to Aristoph. Eq.).
τῇ τε αὐτῇ ζημίᾳ —viz. as that by which τά τε δίκαια . . καὶ τὰ ξύμφορα ποιήσετε—the one I recommend. ( a) This is usually explained, after the schol., ‘the same that they would have inflicted on you had they succeeded.’ But (1) it is unlikely that ζημία would be used without explanation, of the destruetion Mytilene had sought to bring on Athens: and (2) τῇ αύτῇ can only be so explained by the assumption that the sentence, simple in form, is strangely confused in thought. We need such an addition as in II. 67 τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἀμύνεσθαι οἶσπερ καὶ . . ὑπῆρξαν. ( b) Steup explains ‘the same as you agreed to yesterday,’ but this seems a strange way of saying ‘uphold your decision.’ Also the reference in τῇ αὐτῇ should be found in the context immediately preceding; c. 62 τῇ μέντοι αὐτῇ ἰδέᾳ. VII 39, 1. The reference in the version given above is. it is true. a little remote. but εἰ δὲ δὴ . . ἀνδραγαθίζεσθαι is practically parenthetical.
οἱ διαφεύγοντες —cf. οἱ διαβάλλοντες c. 4, οἱ ἐπαγόμενοι II. 2, οἱ προδιδόντες II. 5. The temporal force is lost, and the partic. becomes a substantive. But the plot is referred to in aorist, as having preceded the escape.
ἐπεξέρχονται καὶ διολλύναι —‘follow up (the wrong they inflict) even to the length of destroying their enemy utterly.’ The MSS. have διόλλυνται, which can only yield a very artificial sense. Their own utter destruction is not what they seek. The inf. is of purpose.
ὑφορώμενοι ‘eyeing with misgiving.’ All edd. refer to the famous ‘odisse quem laeseris’ of Tac. for the sentiment.
ὁ γὰρ . . παθών —this applies to Athens, which has been attacked ἄνευ προφάσεως. ‘He who has been injured needlessly is more dangerous when he has escaped (the plot to destroy him), than an enemy on equal terms,’ i.e. where equal offence has been given on both sides. Mytilene knew Athens would be implacable if she escaped.
γενόμενοι . . τῇ γνώμῃ —‘place yourselves in thought as near (the moment of) the injury as possible, and (think) how.’ γ. τῇ γνώμῃ= διανοηθέντες ( I. 143 ). (Possibly τότ’ is lost after παντός.) 44
ἀνταπόδοτε ‘repay.’ Cf. “Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord: I will repay.”
πρὸς τὸ παρὸν αὐτίκα with μαλακισθέντες, ‘at their present plight,’ for τὸ αὐτίκα παρόν: the position of the adv. is not very rare in tragedy, e.g. Aesch. PV. 1013 τῷ φρονοῦντι μὴ καλῶς (Jebb on Soph. OT. 1294 ). Here αὐτίκα gains emphasis in contrast with ποτέ by its position. For the pleonasm edd. compare I. 95 ἐν τῷ τύτε παρόντι, I. 123 τῶν ἔπειτα μελλόντων. ( παραυτίκα has been conjectured for παρὸν αὐτίκα, and τότε for ποτέ.) 48
παράδειγμα σαφὲς καταστήσατε . . ζημιωσόμενον —for the partic., as with δηλοῦν, δῆλον or φανερὸν ποιεῖν, cf. Soph. El. 24 σαφῆ σημεῖα φαίνεις ἐσθλὸς εἰς ἡμᾶς γεγώς . τόδε—ὅδε referring to what precedes, as often in speeches.
Διόδοτος —not elsewhere heard of.
μεμφομένους —equivalent to μεμφομένους καὶ ἀξιοῦν‐ τας, the brachylogy being made easier by the preceding τοὺς προθέντας τὴν δ., the persons censured.
δύο . . ὀργήν —some make τάχος τε καὶ ὀργήν subj. of εἶναι, removing the comma, comparing cc. 40, 2, 57, 3, 75, 1. The parallels do not seem to prove the point.
τὸ μέν = τάχος. This passage is directly aimed at Cleon, who had deprecated χρόνου διατριβήν, thus showing his own follv, and had displayed the vehemence to which the ignorant and shallow-minded are pione.
γίγνεσθαι ‘to be found.’
μὴ διδασκάλους τῶν πραγμάτων γ. —‘are not to explain affairs,’ i.e. how they are to be conducted.
λόγοι personified, like πειθώ. διαμάχομαι as in c. 40.
ἰδίᾳ τι αὐτῷ διαφέρει —‘he has some private interest.’
φράσαι —‘give guidance.’
τι αἰσχρὸν πεῖσαι —‘to carry a disgraceful proposal.’ Cf. c. 59, 2. οὐκ . . ἡγεῖται—οὐ can appear after εἰ . . μέν, provided the indic. is used, as in I. 121 εἰ οἱ μὲν . . οὐκ ἀπεροῦσιν, Xen. Anab. VII. 1, 29 εἰ βάρβαρον μὲν πόλιν οὐδεμίαν ἠθελήσαμεν κατασχεῖν.
εὖ δὲ διαβαλών —Cleon got a name for skill in διαβολή, as several passages in Aristoph. Equites show.
χαλεπώτατοι δὲ . . ἐπίδειξίν τινα —‘most difficult to meet are those in particular ( καί) who by anticipation impute (to an opponent) a sort of rhetorical display to get money.’ χαλεπώτατοι does not mean to exclude the εὖ διαβαλών, who also—as the καί shows—is χαλεπώτατος as imputing to his opponent a desire to display his rhetorical skill; cf. c. 38, 2. But those who say that bribery is the motive are singled out. The emphasis is on ἐπὶ χρήμασι, which accordingly is in an unusual order: it belongs to ἐπίδειξιν. The point of τινα is that an ἐπίδειξις proper was not delivered in the Ecclesia.
ἀξυνετώτερος . . ἀδικώτερος —‘judged more of a fool than a knave.’ The double compar. as regularly where two qualities in the same ohject are contrasted: ἰὼ στρατηγοὶ πλέονες ἢ βελτίονες.
μετὰ ἀξυνεσίας —‘besides his (seeming) folly,’ a characteristic substitute for μετὰ τοῦ ἀξύνετος γίγνεσθαι.
ἂν πεισθεῖεν —viz. the state. The change to plur. is made easy by the intervention of τῶν πολιτῶν.
ἀπὸ τοῦ ἴσου ‘on equal terms,’ is parallel to ἐκφοβοῦντα.
σώφρονα —a very moderate criticism of the dangerous tendency now manifesting itself in Athenian public life, since the death of Pericles, to give too much weight to the πιθανώτατοι (c. 36, 6). σώφρων was esp. associated with those opposed to extreme democracy; cf. c. 62, 4. For τῷ πλεῖστα εὖ βουλεύοντι, ‘he whose connsel is generally good,’ we should expect, at first sight, something like τῷ πιστὰ ξυμβουλεύοντι (conjectnred by Weil), ‘he whose counsel is followed,’ in contrast with τὸν μὴ τυχόντα γνώμης, in the sense, ‘he whose advice is rejected’; cf πείσας and μὴ τυχών in § 3, κατορθῶν and ἐπιτυχών below. But in stating the principle that ought to be followed, the moderate Diodotus criticizes what the people professed to wish, viz. to reward good (not merely persuasive) counsellors. But in rewards the persuasive was mistaken for the good. And τὸν μὴ τυχόντα γνώμης is no doubt intentionally ambiguous, for, in contrast with πείσας, it does mean ‘he who fails to carry his opinion’; but, in contrast with τῷ εὖ βουλεύοντι, ‘not fortunate in his advice’ means ‘ wrong’ ‘Who fails in counsel’ will keep up the two meanings. Cf. Aesch. PV. 204 τὰ λῷστα βουλεύων πιθεῖν . . οὐκ ἠδυνήθην. (The intentional ambiguity of this passage has escaped notice.)
ἀλλὰ μηδ’ ἐλασσοῦν —‘but not to curtail . . either,’ as might happen in the case of his being charged with corruption.
οὐχ ὅπως . . ἀλλὰ μηδέ — non modo ( non) . . sed ne . . quidem. For the sentiment cf. Demosth. III. 18 οὐ λέγει τις τὰ βέλτιστα; άναστὰς ἄλλος ειπάτω, μὴ τοῦτον αἰτιάσθω.
πρὸς χάριν —‘to please’ the people.
ὀρέγοιτο —sc. ἥκιστα ἄν. τῷ αὐτῷ is explained by χαριζόμενος κτλ.
καὶ ὑποπτεύηται —‘if a mere suspicion that a man is speaking for gain, and is offering the best advice in spite of it.’ We cannot render ‘ though he offers the best advice, he does so for gain,’ as is commonly done, for the μέν-clause must be our though (cf. Jebb on Soph. OC. 1536 ). But there is no need to supply δοκῇ from ὑποπτεύηται to suit the δέ-clause if we notice that μὲν . . δέ is inserted merely for the sake of a verbal antithesis, and that the sense is simply κέρδους ἕνεκα τὰ βέλτιστα λέγειν.
φθονήσαντες . . κερδῶν —‘feeling jealous of the uncertain impression of his gains,’ i.e. jealous of his supposed gains. That his advice is helpful is ex hypothesi certain.
τῆς πόλεως ἀφαιρούμεθα —the same constr. c. 58, 1.
καθέστηκε δέ —‘it has come to this, that.’
ἀπὸ τοῦ εὐθέος is opposed to ἀπάτῃ below.
τὰ δεινότατα . . πεῖσαι —‘to get the most atrocious proposals adopted.’
μόνην τε πόλιν —‘so we are the only state which it is impossible to benefit openly, without recourse to deception.’ It is disputed whether μόνην πόλιν means (1) ‘a state alone,’ as distinct from the individual citizens, or (2) ‘(ours) is the only state which,’ as pred. to ἡμᾶς supplied. The latter is surely right, for (1) Athens is contrasted with ἡ σώφρων πόλις in c. 42, 5, and this contrast is kept up through c. 43, 1, and (2) there is no suggestion in the context that the state is more suspicious than the individual.
διὰ τὰς περινοίας —‘excessive shrewdness,’ by which it thinks it detects self-interest in the honest speaker. The word only here.
ἀνθ‐υποπτεύεται —‘is in return suspected.’
χρὴ δὲ . . σκοπούντων —‘but in dealing with the most important interests and in such a case as this it ought to be assumed that we speakers take a somewhat wider forecast than you whose view is circumscribed,’ i.e. whose judgment is formed in a short debate
τι with περαιτέρω, as in μᾶλλόν τι. ἐν τῷ τοιῷδε : its possible meanings are ‘at such a time,’ and ‘in such a case.’
ὑπεύθυνον —a speaker was liable to the γραφὴ παρανόμων.
πρὸς ἀνεύθυνον . . ἀκρόασιν —‘as opposed to your attention to it, which is irresponsible.’
σωφρονέστερον ἂν ἐκρίνετε —‘you would be more circumspect (cf. c. 42, 5) in your decisions’ ( II. 40, 2).
πρὸς ὀργὴν ἥντιν’ ἂν τύχητε —‘in the anger of the moment.’ Grammatieally ζημιοῦντες is supplied to τύχητε, and πρός, according to a common idiom, is repeated to ἥντινα; but no doubt the speaker would not be conscious of such ellipse. ἥντινα without ἄν is according to epic idiom; but it is very probable that ἥντιν’ ἂν is the true reading. (No other emendation is to be thought of: ἤν τι ἀτυχῆτε is impossible, if only because ἀτυχεῖν in this context means ‘to fail in a request’ Nor must σφαλέντες be supplied to τύχητε: for this would mean that punishment is inflieted in the same mood as that in which the error was committed. But that is not the point.)
εἰ = ὅτι .
ἤν τε καὶ . . ἐᾶν —for εἶεν most edd. accept ἐᾶν= ‘(I shall not bid you) spare them.’ ἔχοντας, se. ἀποφήνω, is a conjecture for ἔχοντες, and unsatisfactory. The correction is uncertain, and it is doubtful if οὐ κελεύσω can be supplied legitimately. It is likely that something is lost before εἶεν: e.g. Bergk suggested οὐ διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἄξιοι ἂν ξυγγνώμης. ( εἶεν as exelamatory which Classen, with some doubt, kept, is impossible. Its use is in assent to what precedes and in passing on to a new point it is not appropriate here.)
τοῦτο ὅ is rendered ‘as for this that.’ (1) There is no authority for this phrase used adverbially in this way: hence the conjecture τούτου, governed by τἀναντία. Otherwise we must assume an anacoluthon. (2) But CG read τοῦτο ᾧ, and quite possibly this is right. τοῦτο ἀντισχυριζόμενος ᾧ Κλέων ἰσχυρίζεται=‘while maintaining this in opposition to what C. maintains’ (cf. τοῖς ἐγκλήμασι ἀντεροῦντες I. 73 ). περὶ τοῦ . . ἔχοντος is then epexegetic of τοῦτο, just as ἐς τὸ λοιπὸν . . ἔσεσθαι is of ᾦ (= ἐκείνῳ ὅ). Both insist on the future, but one on τὸ ξυμφέρον, the other on τὸ καλόν.
προθεῖσι —depending on ξυμφέρον ( ὑμῖν), eonditional.
πρός —‘in view of.’
τῶν δικαίων —‘arguments of justice,’ as in Demosth. de Cor. 6, 9. To
δεῖν and
χρησίμως ἕξουσιν supply ἡμῖν.
τῷ ἐπιβουλεύματι —instrumental.
πόλις τε ἀφισταμένη —‘so in the case of a state.’
τῇ δοκήσει —‘in its own opinion.’ An effective reply to Cleon's argument from the fact that M. had taken Athens at a disadvantage.
τούτῳ —revolt.
ἐπεὶ . . γε —not a common combination; Iliad IX. 425 ἐπεὶ οὔ σφισιν ἥδε γ’ ἑτοίμη, Pind. Ol. IX. 40 ἐπεὶ τό γε λοιδορῆσαι θεοὺς ἐχθρὰ σοφία. The γε merely emphasizes διεξεληλύθασι.
προστιθέντες —‘continually adding to them.’ For
εἴ πως with a perf. preceding see M.T. § 489, esp. Aristoph. Av. 120 .
παραβαινομένων —there are two tenable explanations of this: (1) impersonal gen. abs. as in I. 116 ἐσαγγελθέντων M. T. § 848, ‘transgressions being committed’; (2) sc. τῶν μεγίστων ἀδικημάτων, which would be internal accus. to παραβαίνω in the act. form, as in ἀδικῶ ἀδίκημα. The matter is rendered impossible of certain solution by the perplexing καὶ τοῦτο παρα· βαίνεται. We expect, of course, the sense ‘mild penalties being disregarded,’ and presently, ‘the death penalty is disregarded,’ but how this can be got out of the Gk. as it stands is not apparent, unless we take an etymological sense of παραβαίνω, ‘pass by,’ which is found occasionally in the orators, and interpret τοῦτο below as put loosely for ἡ ζημία τοῦ θανάτου. Against this is not so much the fact that Thuc. does not elsewhere use παραβαίνω thus, but much more that παραβαίνω ζημίαν is stranger than any instance in the orators and that the proximity of ἀδικημάτων makes it unnatural.
καὶ τοῦτο ὅμως παραβαίνεται —the conjectures are (1) κἀν τούτῳ (Kruger) ‘and under these circumstances,’ with παραβαίνεται impers. But it should be ἐν τούτοις (cf. Jebb on Soph. Ant. 39 ); ἐν τούτῳ=‘meanwhile,’ or ‘in this point.’ (2) καὶ ταῦτα, sc. τὰ ἀδικήματα (Hude; cf. 2 above). I should prefer καὶ ταὐτά ‘and the same offences are committed.’
δεινότερον . . δέος —‘a terror more terrible’; cf. VII 68 ἐχθροὶ καὶ ἔχθιστοι.
ἢ τόδε γε —‘else this,’ with emphasis on the second alternative (Neil on Aristoph. Eq. 413 ). Notice τόδε after τούτου, not very rare; e.g. Soph. Ant. 296 .
ἡ μὲν πενία —to πενία is opposed the power— ἐξουσία —that results from wealth. A poor man is emboldened by necessity, as a rich man is made covetous by insolence and pride.
αἱ δ’ ἄλλαι ξυντυχίαι . . κινδύνους —‘the other condi tions of life,’ as they arise—temporary rather than permanent: these fill men with a sudden passion ( ὀργῇ), ‘as each ( ξυντυχία) is overpowered by some irrepressible power’—such e.g. as an overwhelming desire for independence. ὀργῇ τῶν ἀνθρώπων coriesponds to τὴν τόλμαν παρέχουσα and τὴν πλεονεξίαν π. of the other clauses, while ἀνήκεστόν τι corresponds to ἀνάγκη and ὕβρις καὶ φρόνημα. Of the many alterations proposed, only τὸν ἄνθρωπον for τῶν ἀνθρώπων needs notice. It is not an improvement; for there is a point in τῶν ἀ., ‘passion in those men’ whom they befall, always there, like πλεονεξία and τόλμα, and ready to be called out by a favourable ξυντυχία. ( Not ‘mankind,’ which would here be άνθρώπων, as ὀργῇ is without article. It has been proposed to refer έκάστη τις to ὀργῆ?, but this would leave ξυντυχίαι too vague, and there would be little point in ἑκάστη τις.)
ἐπὶ παντί —‘in every case’ of those just alluded to; cf. ἐπ’ οὐδενὶ τῶν τοιούτωι Demosth. XX I. 65.
ὁ μέν —first comes Desire, next Hope—and then the attempt. Note the personification here.
τὴν . . ἐπιβουλὴν ἐκφροντίζων —‘thinking out the plot.’ The schol. has ἐγχείρησιν on this word, so that the writer of it must have found ἐπιβολήν, ‘attempt,’ which most MSS. give, the only objection to which is that the subst. is not found elsewhere in this sense before Polybius.
τὴν εὐπορίαν τῆς τύχης —‘suggesting the ready help of Chanee.’ Hope deludes them into a fancy that at the critical moment Chance will favour them. Though a subjective gen. does not occur with εὐπορία elsewhere, τῆς τύχης is plainly subjective here; cf. VII. 61 τὸ τῆς τύχης κἂν μεθ’ ἡμῶν ἐλπίσαντες στῆναι , V. 113. ( τύχη cannot=‘success’ here, cf. § 7, nor ‘their fortunes.’)
ὄντα ἀφανῆ —i.e. ἔρως and ἐλπίς, ‘because (not though) unseen.’ Were they φανεραί, men would see that they could not be counted upon. As it is, πλεῖστα βλάπτουσι by luring them on. Cf. v. 103 ἐπὶ τὰς ἀφανεῖς ( ἐλπίδας) καθίστανται, and the next sentence.
ἐπ’ αὐτοῖς —besides ἔρως and ἐλπίς .
καὶ ἐκ τῶν ὑποδεεστέρων —‘even with insufficient means.’
οὐχ ἧσσον —i.e. even more than men.
περὶ τῶν μεγίστων τε —sc. κινδυνεύουσι. For the τε, which, though found only in C, is probably right, cf. IV. 80 ἑτοίμων ὄντων τρέφειν τε καὶ ἐπὶ ἀποστάσει σφᾶς ἐπικαλουμένων.
μετὰ πάντων . . ἐδόξασεν —‘each individual acting with the whole community . . rates himself considerably above the reality,’ i.e. exaggerates his own strength. The reading of the best MSS. is αὐτῶν for αὑτόν. For δοξάζω with personal obj. cf. Xen. Cyr. V. 5, 46 ἀλκιμώτατος δοξάζεται εἶναι. ἐπὶ πλέον τι together.
ἁπλῶς —c. 38, 7.
πολλῆς εὐηθείας, ὅστις —‘(it is a mark) of much simplicity, if anyone supposes.’ Cf. Xen. Hell. II. 3, 51 νομίζω προστάτου ἔργον εἶναι οἵου δεῖ, ὃς ἂν . . μὴ ἐπιτρέπῃ. It would be more usual to have πολλὴ εὐήθειά ( ἐστιν) ὅστις, or εὐηθέστατον ὅστις.
ἐχεγγύῳ —affording a good ἐγγύη, security that other states will not follow the example of Mytilene.
βουλεύσασθαι —‘come to a decision.’
οὐκ —redundant.
ὅτι ἐν βραχυτάτῳ —notice the regular order with ὅτι and ὡς+superl.
καὶ ἀποστᾶσα —‘when revolt has actually taken place.’
τὴν δαπάνην ἀποδοῦναι καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν ὑποτελεῖν —here, naturally, the least is made of the terms dealt out by Athens to revolted allies who submitted. Independent allies, when reduced after revolting, had also to pull down their walls and to hand over their ships to Athens. In I. 98 Thuc. gives a summary of the treatment dealt out to them much less favourable to Athens. By ὑποτελεῖν is meant φόρου ὑποτελεῖς εἶναι.
τίνα οἴεσθε ἥντινα —see on c. 39, 7.
παρατενεῖσθαι —‘be strained to the utmost extremity.’
τὸ αὐτὸ δύναται —cf. I. 141 τὴν αὐτὴν δούλωσιν δύναται.
τῆς προσόδου . . ἀπ’ αὐτῆς —the art. not repeated with a verbal substantive ( πρόσοδος—προσιέναι). The words necessary to complete the sense of the subst. generally follow it, as in I. 18 τὴν κατάλυσιν ἐκ τῆς Ἑλλάδος, but occasionally precede, as in II. 18 κατὰ τὴν ἄλλην πορείαν ἡ σχολαιότης.
τῷδε —viz. τῇ προσόδῳ.
ἀκριβεῖς —‘exacting’; so in I. 99 Thuc. says ἀκριβῶς ἔπρασσον of Athens in relation to her allies. ἐς χρημάτων λόγον—ἐς λ. is ‘on the score of.’ The phrase occurs also in Lysias (XIX. 61), and εἰς χρήματα is found.
ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων τῆς ἐπιμελείας —‘by practical precautions.’ Some render ‘by taking care of our actions’; but the former seems more natural, and cf. VI. 40 ἔργῳ φυλασσομένη.
ἐλεύθερον by right;
βίᾳ ἀρχόμενον in fact. βίᾳ= ‘in its despite’; cf. I. 43 μὴ ξυμμάχους δέχεσθε βίᾳ ἡμῶν, 68. Diodotus alludes to the true position of Lesbos; cf. c. 10.
πρός —‘to the side of.’
τούτου —i.e. τοῦ ἀφίστασθαι.
ὅτι ἐπ’ ἐλάχιστον —viz. of the inhabitants.
τοῦτο —internal aecus., ‘in this.’
ἀποστήσασι —sc. τὴν πόλιν.
τῆς ἀντικαθισταμένης —‘which is ranging itself against us.’
ἐς πόλεμον ἐπέρχεσθε —either ἔρχεσθε ἐς πόλεμον or ἐπέρχεσθε alone would be usual. Here we must supply αὐτῇ, and take ἐς of the end in view.
εἰ with fut. indic., ‘if you are going to.’
ἀδικήσετε . . κτείνοντες —‘you will be guilty of the crime of’; a legal use.
καταστήσετε —‘bring about,’ unusual without a predicative adj.; cf. (Classen) IV. 92 πολλὴν ἄδειαν κατεστήσαμεν.
προδειξάντων —‘as you will have published abroad.’
καὶ εἰ ἠδίκησαν, μὴ προσποιεῖσθαι —‘even if they did wrong, to pass it over.’ μὴ προσποιεῖσθαι , dissimulare, which occurs in several authors, is on the principle of οὔ φημι .
ὅ —‘the element.’ Thuc. is partial to the neut. sing. collective for a masc. plur.
δικαίως —i.e. as strict justiee allows.
δεῖ refers to interest, as in § 4.
τὸ Κλέωνος .—made in c. 40, 4: ‘Cleon's claim, namely the identity of justice and expediency in the punishment, is found to be impossible of being realized at once in such a punishment,’ viz. ἐν τῷ διαφθεῖραι. The sentence is illogical, for either τὸ αὐτό or ἅμα should have been omitted.
τάδε —viz. the proposals about to be made.
πλέον νείμαντες —see c. 3, 1 n.
οὐδὲ ἐγώ —see c. 40, 2.
προσάγεσθαι —middle, as regularly in this sense; the indef. subject must be supplied.
ἀπέπεμψεν —see c. 37, 1.
καθ’ ἡσυχίαν —‘calmly.’
τοῖς πολεμίοις —thinking of the Peloponnesians. That Athens should show wisdom (1) calmly judging the guilty, (2) acquitting the democratic party, would be more effective against her enemies than a hasty exercise of brute strength, of vis consili expers.
πρὸς τοὺς ἐναντίους is to be taken with κρείσσων ἐστί.
ἐπιών —‘if he goes to work.’
ἀντιπάλων —‘equally matched’ (here, in argument), a common meaning of ἀντίπαλος in Thuc.
ἦλθον μὲν ἐς ἀγῶνα ὅμως τῆς δόξης —‘engaged in a conflict of opinion after all,’ i.e. in spite of the revulsion of feeling (c. 36 ). ὅμως, as Poppo pointed out ( Proleg. i. p. 290) implies a clause which is omitted; and, in spite of the remoteness of reference, the interpretation seems warranted by such passages as c. 28, and VII. 1. Some render τῆς δόξης ‘about the decree,’ but the gen. should express the feeling, as in νῦν ἀγὼν εὐψυχίας Eur. Med. 403 , and βούλευμα or ψήφισμα would be expected for ‘decree’ here.
προτέρας —the best MSS. have δευτέρας, as the result, no doubt, of an unfortunate conjecture, based on εἰ φθάσειαν below.
οἴνῳ . . πεφυραμένα —‘barley-meal kneaded with wine . .,’ into cakes, μᾶζαι, of the kind called οἰνοῦτται. φυρᾶν, not φύρειν, is the form of the word in this sense.
ὅσον . . ἀνεγνωκέναι —‘as for him to have read,’ like ὅσον ἀποζῆν in I. 2. ὅσον practically= ὤστε.
ὑστέρα αὐτῆς —as this is predicative, the ἐπι‐ in the verb is pleonastic, if, as elsewhere, the verb=‘is brought into port after.’ It is possible that ἐπι‐ implies haste, as in ἐπιβοηθεῖν: we expect such an allusion here, and Steup suggests αὐτίκ’ for αὐτῆς.
παρὰ τοσοῦτον . . ἦλθε —this and similar phrases— παρὰ μικρὸν ἐλθεῖν, παρ’ οὐδὲν ἐ.—are followed either by gen. or, more often, infin.; e g. Herod. IX. 33 παρ’ ἕν πάλαισμα ἔδραμε νικᾶν. παρὰ τοσοῦτον=‘within, up to, so short a distance.’ κίνδυνος means the danger of destruction, and the gen. is the same as with ἐγγύς.
ἀπέπεμψεν —to Athens; see cc. 28, 35, 48.
χιλίων —the number is astonishing, and nothing approaching it is suggested by anything in the preceding narrative. Hence it is thought that *<*>α= χιλίων is a corruption of Λ’= τριάκοντα.
κλήρους . . ποιήσαντες —i.e. the late owners became hereditary tenants and paid an annual sum to the Athenian ‘cleruchs.’ Thuc. (and Ephorus, as copied by Diodorus X II. 55 ) assume that all the land was thus divided, except that of Methymna: this would bring each κλῆρος to about 96 acres (as Chuton says); but, of course, not the whole of the κλῆρος would be under eultivation. Apparently all the land was owned by oligarchs. The new κλῆροι would, of eourse, cut across the boundaries of former estates.
κληρούχους —2700 poor citizens chosen by lot They doubtless served to form a garrison; but in 412 B.C. there cannot have been anything like this number of Athenians in Lesbos ( VIII. 22 ); it is assumed that many of the cleruchs subsequently returned to Athens.
ἑκάστου with κλήρου. The mid. denotes a reciprocal arrangement.
ἀργυρίον is prob. object of φέρειν, and
δύο μνᾶς with the gen. is in appos. to it.
τὰ ἐν τῇ ἠπείρῳ —several places called Ἀκταῖαι πόλεις—Antandros being one. These became tributary allies.
Νικίου —first mention of him in Thuc.
ἣ κεῖται . . ἐχρῶντο δὲ αὐτῇ —it is not usual to have the rel. repeated in the second clause ( VI. 4 τὸ χωρίον οὗ νῦν ἡ πόλις ἐστὶ καὶ ὃ πρῶτον ἐτειχίσθη), unless the one is pos., the other neg., as in II. 43 οὐκ ἐν ᾧ κεῖνται μᾶλλον, ἀλλ’ ἐν ᾧ ἡ δόξα καταλείπεται. In the second clause the rel. is often replaced by the required case of αὐτός. A similar omission or substitution is frequent in Lat., esp. in Livy, as XX III. 8 cum quo steterat nec eum patria maiestas sententia dcpulerat. So, too, in Engl., as Hooker ‘ Whom though to know be life, and joy to make mention of His name,’ Macanly ‘ To whom she seemed to listen, but did not hear them.’
τὴν φυλακὴν . . εἶναι —Athens had at least one φρούριον at Salamis, and a few ships there maintained a not very efficient blockade of the port of Megara.
τούς τε Πελοποννησίους —parallel to τοῖς τε Μεγαρεῦσιν . . ἐσπλεῖν, and probably, like that clause, depending on τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις φυλακὴν εἶναι= τοὺς Ἀθηναίους φυλάσσεσθαι. This κατὰ σύνεσιν constr. cannot be paralleled in prose, but it would be ordinary in tragedy: see Jebb on Soph. Antig. 216 . Thus τοὺς Π. is the anticipatory accus., for ὅπως οἰ Πελοποννήσιοι κτλ.: the differing constr., first ὅπως, then infin., after a single verb, is not unusual. (Several emendations have been proposed, of which πρός τε Πελ., depending on φυλακὴν εἶναι and τούς τε Πελ. σκοπῶν are worth notice.)
μὴ ποιῶνται . . αὐτόθεν —viz. from Nisaea, the harbour of Megara. The allusion in αὐτόθεν is not quite the same as in the previous case.
τὸ πρὶν γενόμενον —‘the previous incident’ occurred in the autumn of 429 B.C. The Pel. intended to surprise the Piraeus, but contented themselves with a descent on Salamis, which caused great alarm at Athens, and led at once to measures for the protection of the Athenian harbours ( II. 93 ).
ἑλὼν οὖν . . προύχοντε —when, as in the case of Megara ( I. 103 ), a city had long walls running down to its harbour, it was usual to prolong the walls aeross the mouth, and to leave only a small passage between two towers, forming what was called a κλῃστὸς λιμήν. ἀπὸ τῆς Νισαίας προύχοντε are to be taken together. The order is unusual, but (1) ἀπὸ τῆς N. gains prominence by its position (cf. Jebb on Soph. Antig. 325 ), (2) it is certainly not stranger than II. 7 πρὸς ταῖς αὐτοῦ ὑπαρχούσαις ἐξ Ἰταλίας καὶ Σικελίας τοῖς τἀκείνων ἑλομένοις, where ἐξ . . Σικελίας goes with ἑλομένοις. (If taken with ἑλών, ἀπὸ τῆς N. is rendered either ( a) ‘on the side toward N.,’ or ( b) ‘on the side away from N.’ But (1) in either case δύο πύργω then raises a difficulty, because they are then both on the island, and above, it was one tower: (2) neither meaning has really been proved possible: in the passages quoted for ( b) ἀπό=‘at a distance from’ with a verb of rest. If not taken with προύχοντε, ἀπὸ τῆς N. would naturally=‘starting from N.,’ with N. for a base; (3) with ( a) it is impossible to explain καὶ τὸ ἐκ τῆς ἠπείρου, which must denote a different place from ἀπὸ τῆς N.)
ἐς τὸ μεταξὺ τῆς νήσου —supply καὶ τῆς ἠπείρου, as in Dem. de Cor. 26 τὸν μεταξὺ χρόνεν τῶν ὅρκων, ‘the interval between (that time, and) the oaths,’ Aristoph. Av. 187 ἐν μέσῳ δήπουθεν ἀήρ ἐστι γῆς, and often. Sometimes the other limit is expressed. (It might mean ‘to the part of the island lving between,’ as Isocr. IV. 70 ἐν τῷ μεταξὺ τῆς χώρας, but on the whole this seems less likely.)
ἀπετείχιζε καὶ τὸ ἐκ τῆς ἠ. —‘he proceeded to build a wall on the side facing the mainland as well,’ apparently at the island end of the bridge. The καί refers to πρῶτον.
καὶ ἐν τῇ νήσῳ τεῖχος —the καί refers to ἀπετείχιζε τὸ ἐκ τῆς ἠπείρου. (We cannot be confident about the interpretation of these operations at Mmoa, because (1) the account— as is often the case with Thuc. when he writes of topographical details—is not clear, and (2) the coastline has changed, and there is no longer an island at all.)
πολιορκεῖσθαι —‘endure the siege,’ a use of the inf. frequent with ἀδικεῖσθαι, and found occasionally both in Greek and Latin.
εὶρημένον γὰρ ἦν —sc. βίᾳ μὴ ἑλεῖν. But this is just what the Pel. had tried to do in 429 B.C.: their views had changed.
ὅσα πολέμῳ χωρία ἔχουσιν —the original intention of Sparta had been to destroy the Athenian empire: since the failure at Lesbos they expect much less. That failure had evidently strengthened the peace party at Sparta.
λέγοντα —as in VII. 3; contrast II. 85 πέμπουσι ξυμβούλους κελεύοντες.
εἰ βούλονται . . οὐδένα —in this perplexing sentence, it is best (1) to make παραδοῦναι and χρήσασθαι depend on βούλονται: (2) to make τους τε . . οὐδένα the apodosis to this protasis. Then (1) τε . . δέ eorrespond ( I. 11, 1, 25, 3, VI. 83, 1, VII. 81, 3, and in other authors not very seldom); (2) κολάζειν=‘they are ready to punish,’ unless we accept the conjeeture κολάσειν. For the outline of the syntax cf. VII. 3 προπέμπει . . λέγοντα, εἰ βούλονται ἐξιέναι . . ἑτοῖμος εἶναι σπένδεσθαι. (It is impossible to render εἰ ‘whether,’ as though λέγοντα were ἐρωτῶντα.)
ἐν ὅσῳ —cf. c. 28, 1.
ἀγαθόν τι —the second τι is not impossible, but, in view of 53, 2, 68, 1, it is improbable.
προτάξαντες σφῶν αὐτῶν is generally rendered ‘having appointed as their advocates,’ but, in view of VI. 100 τριακοσίους σφῶν αύτῶν . . προύταξαν (cf. c. 112 below), Hude is probably right in taking the gen. as partitive.
Αἰειμνήστου —a eelebrated man, who had commanded the Plataeans at Marathon and Plataea.
πιστεύσαντες . . οἰόμενοι . . καὶ . . δεξάμενοι . .
ἡγούμενοι —this series of partieiples is perplexing, and their relation depends on whether (1) the sentence is meant to be antithetic, so that πιστεύσαντες καὶ δεξάμενοι form a pair, and οἰόμενοι and ἡγούμενοι stand in causal relation to these respectively; or (2) οἰόμενοι καὶ ἡγούμενοι give the two grounds of πιστεύσαντες, and ἐν (with the MSS.) ἄλλοις δεξάμενοι is subord. —either conditional or causal—to ἡγούμενοι: or (3) the sentence is developed as it proceeds, so that ( a) οἰόμενοι καὶ δεξάμενοι—with either ἐν or ἂν ἄλλοις—give the cause of ἐποιησάμεθα, and ἡγούμενοι gives the cause of δεξάμενοι: or (4) with δεξάμενοι subord. to ἡγούμενοι, πιστεύσαντες is similarly subord. of condition to οἰόμενοι. I decidedly prefer (3), because it gives a form of sentence to which Thuc. is certainly partial (Hache, de Partic. Thucyd. ii.); the main verb is followed by a partic.—here οἰόμενοι καὶ δεξάμενοι—that gives the cause; then this partic. itself develops another causal to itself; cf., for instance, c. 110 ἀγγέλλεται τοὺς Ἀμπρακιώτας ἐπιβοηθεῖν, βουλομένους . . ξυμμεῖξαι, εἰδότας οὐδέν. The order of πιστεύσαντες tells against (1) and (4), and (2) is very artificial. The incoherence of § 1 is doubtless intentional, as in the case of the opening of Soph. Antig.
ἐν δικασταῖς οὐκ ἂν ἄλλοις δεξάμενοι —the MSS. have ἐν άλλοις, and for the repetition of the prep. in apposition VI. 68 ἦλθον ἐπὶ τὴν μητρόπολιν ἐφ’ ἡμᾶς is quoted. But (1) in that passage and others like it, such as Lysias VI. 14 ἐν Ἀρείῳ πάγῳ, ἐν τῷ σεμνοτάτῳ δικαστηρίῳ, we have a second noun added to explain the first (cf. Jebb on Soph. Trach. 695 ): this is not so with ἐν ἄλλοις here (so Kruger). (2) Taking constr. (3) as explained in the last note, ἂν δεξάμενοι, ‘would have consented to appear before no other judges,’ gives a better sense than δεξάμενοι.
ὥσπερ καὶ ἐσμέν —‘as we are actually doing.’
ἡμαρτήκαμεν —the subj. perf., of what may turn out afterwards to have been the case, might have been used.
λόγον —i.e. μακρότερα εἰπεῖν, c. 52, 5.
τό τε ἐπερώτημα βραχὺ ὄν —accus. abs. co-ordinated with the preceding gen. abs, both expressing cause.
τὰ μὲν ἀληθῆ is obj. of ἀποκρίνασθαι; the infin. clause is subj. to γίγνεται. Hence
ἐναντία sc. ήμῖν, is for ἐναντίον, which is awkward after τὰ άληθῆ: some think ἐναντίον should be read. (The other view, that ἀποκρίνασθαι is epexegetic, ἀληθὴς ἀποκρίνασθαι, is most improbable, and ᾧ is then grammatically impossible.)
τὰ δὲ ψευδῆ —sc. ἀποκρίνασθαι.
ἔλεγχον ἔχει —‘can be confuted.’
εἰπόντας τι κινδυνεύειν —‘to say something and take our chance’=here ‘to say something if we must risk our lives’; the emphasis, as often in Gk. and Lat., on the partic., as in I. 20 βουλόμενοι δράσαντές τι καὶ (‘then’) κινδυνεῦσαι, Soph. OC. 1038 χωρῶν ἀπείλει ‘threaten, but go,’ Trach. 592 εἰδέναι χρὴ δρῶσαν ‘you must act, if you would know.’
ὁ μὴ ῥηθεὶς λόγος = τὸ τὸν λόγον μὴ ῥηθῆναι, a frequent constr. in Greek and Silver Latin; cf. c. 66, 3, Demosth. Olynth. III. 34 οἴκοι μἐνων βελτίων= τὸ μἐνειν αὐτὸν βέλτιόν ἐστι. See also c. 66, 3. The neg. in the phrase is regularly μή, whether the partic. is in attributive, or—as much oftener —in predicative position.
αἰτίαν —‘grievance,’ meaning probably ‘self-reproach,’ as in I. 140.
ἀγνῶτες . . ἐπεσενεγκάμενοι —the subject contracts, being first both parties, but then the Plataeans only: this freedom is characteristic of Thuc.
πρὸς εἰδότας πάντα λελέξεται —‘you know all that can be said.’
ἡμῶν with προκαταγνόντες as well as ἀρετάς, ‘having formed the prejudice against us, that our merits’; cf. c. 45, 1.
αὐτό —viz. τὸ ἥσσους εἶναι κτλ.
ἄλλοις χάριν φέροντες —‘gratifying others,’ viz. the Thebans. The subject of φέροντες would more naturally be the Lacedaemonians: if the text is sound— φερόντων has been conjectured—we recall the principle qui facit per alium facit per se.
δίκαια —cf. c. 44, 4.
πρὸς . . ἐς —no difference of meaning.
Θηβαίων = πρὸς τοὺς Θηβαίους.
φίλους νομίζοντας = εἰ φίλους νομίζετε ( ἡμᾶς).
τὰ δ’ ἐν τῇ εἰρήνῃ —adverbial. The art. covers πρός.
καὶ γάρ —(1) this could be taken together,= etenim, or (2) a correlative for καί could be sought in what follows, or (3) καί could be supposed to emphasize the concessive force of ἠπειρῶται ὄντες: most probably (1) is right, though some deny this use for Thuc.
μάχῃ —temporal, without ἐν; this dat. is used several times by Thuc. The Plataeans were always proud of the fact that the battle had been fought on their soil.
καὶ ὑμῖν . . ἰδίᾳ —as distinct from their services to the common cause.
ὅτεπερ δή —‘at the very time when,’ in 464 B.C.
τῶν . . ἀποστάντων depends on φόβος. For the position of the attrib. partic., not rare in Thuc. when other qualifying words are added, cf. II. 18 ἡ ἐν Ἰσθμῷ ἐπιμόνη γενομἐνη, c. 67, 3.
δεομένων γὰρ ξυμμαχίας —in 519 or 509 B.C. (see on c. 68, 5) Plataea, πιεζεύμενοι ὑπὸ Θηβαίων (Herod. VI. 108 ), applied to king Cleomenes to be admitted to alliance with Sparta.—Note (1) absence of noun with δεομένων, see c. 34, 3 n.: (2) gen. abs. though ἀπεώσασθε follows, a common sacrifice of form to sense in Herod. and Thuc.; for this variety cf. II. 5 ἀναχωρησάντων δὲ πάλιν (sc. αὐτῶν) ἐκ τῆς γῆς ἀποδώσειν αὐτοῖς.
ἀποικούντων —for the case here cf. II. 8 ἐς τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους, ἄλλως τε καὶ προειπόντων .
ἐν . . τῷ πολέμῳ —viz. ‘this war,’ as often in Thuc.
ὑμῶν κελευσάντων —this occurred in 429 B.C, when the Peloponnesians marched against Plataea. The demand was that Plataea should either join the Lacedaemonian alliance or remain neutral.
εὖ παθών —what services Plataea had received from Athens before she ‘won the alliance’ of 519 (or 509) B.C. is not known.
τις of course, means the Plataeans.
πολιτείας μετέλαβεν —this passage and c. 63 clearly imply that Athenian citizenship in some form was granted to Plataeans settling at Athens since the original alliance; and Isocr. Piat. 51, Pan. 49, Lysias XX III. 2, and [Dem.] c. Neaer. do not make this assumption impossible. But in II. Thuc. speaks only of a ξυμμαχία between Plataea and Athens, and possibly Thuc. here anticipates. It is certain that citizenship was conferred on the Plataean refugees after the destruction of Plataea. For the ὧν omitted see c. 51, 1 n.
πολλὰ μὲν . . ἠδίκησαν, τὸ δὲ τελευταῖον . .
ξύνιστε —the form of the sentence shows that Θηβαῖοι is purposely placed in a prominent place; cf. what the Plataeans say at II. 71 μετὰ Θηβαίων τῶν ἡμῖν ἐχθίστων ἐπὶ δουλείᾳ τῇ ἡμετέρᾳ ἥκετε.
καταλαμβάνοντας —conative.
ἱερομηνίᾳ —the attack occurred τελευτῶντος τοῦ μηνός ( II. 2), but whether the holiday was connected with the new moon is unknown. The attempt was made at about ten o'clock ( περὶ πρῶτον ὕπνον) on the night, probably, of April 4, 431.
εἰ γάρ —‘if you are going to base your estimate of Justice on your present interest (which is, to favour Thebes) and their hostility.’ The repetition of the art. before ἐκείνων would be more usual; but it is not necessary. The position of τε is defended by the contrast between ὑμῶν and ἐκείνων. λαμβάνειν is here ‘to feel about’ a thing. (Stahl and Classen agree in this explanation, which is no doubt correct) For λαμβάνειν, ‘to feel about’ in a certain manner, cf. δῑ οἴκτου λ. ( Eur. Suppl. 194 ), and c. 59, 1.
ἠμεῖς —sc. ἦμεν, as the sense shows.
μείζονι —viz. than you now are, from the Athenians.
ἐν καιροῖς οἷς —i.e. ἐν οἷς, according to a common idiom, e.g. Dem. XIX. 342 ἐπὶ τῆς αὐτῆς ( ἐφ’) ἦσπερ νῦν ἐξουσίας . . μενεῖ. To ἐν καιροῖς, as to μείζω, the partic. must be supplied; cf. c. 30, 1: contrast c. 47, 5.
μᾶλλον —i.e. than now when their services are forgotten.
τὰ ξύμφορα . . αὑτοῖς —(‘arrange terms) which were to their own advantage in view of the invasion.’ πρὸς τὴν ἔ. belongs to ξύμφορα rather than to πράσσοντες: cf. II. 3 ῃ ἕκαστον ἐφαίνετο πρὸς τὰ παρόντα ξύμφορον ἔσεσθαι.
ἀσφαλείᾳ —‘securely,’ as in c. 82 ἀσφαλείᾳ δὲ τὸ ἐπιβουλεύεσθαι, ‘to make plans in security,’ Soph. OT. 51 ἀλλ’ ἀσφαλείᾳ τήνδ’ ἀνόρθωσον πόλιν.
ὧν —partitive.
ἐπὶ τοῖς αὐτοῖς —i.e. because we have again chosen τὸ ἀγαθόν (cf. δικαίως presently) rather than τὸ ἀσφαλές (cf. κερδαλἐως).
τῶν ξυμμάχων τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς —lit. ‘when, while feeling ( ἔχουσι with ὑμῖν) lasting gratitude towards brave allies, what is perhaps ( που) your interest at the moment is also secured.’ The chief emphasis is, of course, on the participial phrase, which states the permanent condition or test of the righteousness of pursuing one's own interest. (The conjecture ἔχουσι for MSS. ἔχωσι, which cannot be satisfactorily explained, seems certain. For the dat. τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς depending on a dat. ἔχουσι cf. [Xen.] de Rep. Ath. 1 6 τοῖς ὁμοίοις σφίσιν αὐτοῖς ἦν ἀγαθά ‘for those like theniselves.’ It is impossible to find a subject for ἔχωσι, and Mr. Spratt's rendering of τὴν χάριν ἔχωσι ‘command a recognition’ is incorrect. That this passage, however, is completely restored by reading ἔχουσι, it would be rash to assume.)
προσκέψασθε —as προ‐σκοπεῖν always implies a look into the future, there is much to be said for the conjecture προς‐σκέψασθε ‘consider besides’ here, for advice to consider the future has already been given in the preceding chapter. But as the Spartan reputation for ἀνδραγαθία was based on the venerated institutions of Lycurgus, they might be supposed to be specially sensitive about the future of that. 2
ἀνδραγαθίας —a merit for which Dorians especially valued themselves: here and at c. 64, 1 “the point is the special Dorian claim to an aristocratic strain of feeling and conduct” (Neil: see above on c. 40, 4). Perhaps ‘good breeding.’
μὴ τὰ εἰκότα —a neg. is not seldom placed before the article or preposition ( οὐκ ἐν ὀλίγῳ).
ἐπαινούμενοι —viz. as models of ἀνδραγαθία.
οὐδ’ —‘no more than you.’
ἐπιγνῶναι —after γνώσεσθε above, the ἐπι‐ can scarcely have its usual force, ‘to decide further’: the sense is probably merely ‘to arrive at a decision.’
τοὺς μὲν πατέρας . . ὑμᾶς δέ —‘if you, whose fathers . . ,’ the first clause being subord. to the second. Generally δεινόν is followed by εἰ in such cases.
τὸν τρίποδα —i.e. on the bronze pedestal of three intertwined serpents that supported the gold tripod set up at Delphi from the tithe of the Persian spoils dedicated to the Pythian god. It stood close to the altar before the temple. The pedestal was taken by Constantine to Byzantium, and still exists, with the names of the states inscribed on the lower part of the spiral. The tripod was appropriated by the Phocians. (Herod. IX. 81, with Stein's notes.)
πανοικεσίᾳ —after πόλιν and Πλάταιαν this means (as Steup points out) ‘with all its houses,’ not ‘household and all’ as in II. 16.
τοῦτο —referring to what precedes.
ἀπωλλύμεθα —Plataea was burnt by Xerxes. The rendering ‘we were all but destroyed’ is borne out by other passages; e.g. Andoc. de Myst. § 41.
ἐν —as in κρίνεσθαι έν
ἀγῶνας —‘hazards.’
τότε —referring to the siege of Plataea, τότε being frequently used of a well-known occasion.
περιεώσμεθα ‘we are outcasts.’
ράντων is probably masc.; cf. ἐκ παντὸς τοῦ ’Ελληνικοῦ above.
ἀτιμώρητοι —‘unsuccoured.’
βέβαιοι —‘faithful.’
ξυμμαχικῶν —i.e. the gods by whom the oath to be true to the alliance was taken.
τήν τε δωρεὰν . . πρέπει —‘and (we call on you) to ask in your turn the favour of them—that you do not kill men whom it disgraces you to kill.’ ἀντ‐απαιτῆ?σαι means, in answer to the favour they have asked of you—viz. κτείνειν ἡμᾶς. To this explanation rather than ‘in return for our services,’ εἴ τι ἐπείσθητε and ἀντὶ αἰσχρᾶς ( χάριτος) point, and this is the natural force of ἀντι‐, as in δρῶν ἀντιπάσχω χρηστά, and so on; cf. ἀντιλαβεῖν presently. The subj. of ἀνταπαιτῆσαι is ὑμᾶς, and αὐτούς means the Thebans. The μή after οὕς is because the rel. clause is subord. to an infin. In this series of four co-ordinate infin. clauses, the second and third have τε, the fourth has καί .
σὠφρονα —from us, in contrast with
αἰσχρᾶς from them.
κακίαν —‘ill-fame,’ character of κακοί, as e.g. in Soph. Ant. 924 quoted on c. 82, 8
κατ’ ἀνάγκην —as explained in c. 55, 1.
ὥστε καὶ . . ποιοῦντες . . καὶ προνοοῦντες —this is not clearly expressed, for the first participial clause states what follows from the previous sentence; but καὶ προνοοῦντες κτλ. contains a new point ( ἑκόντας . . προισχομένους), and should scarcely have been co-ordinated with ἄδειαν ποιοῦντες.
ποιοῦντες —supply ἡμῖν: it is not clear whether ἡμῶν is similarly to be supplied to προνοοῦντες .
νόμος the unwritten law; cf. cc. 66, 67. Prisoners who had not surrendered voluntarily were often killed. Appeals to the νόμος ἄγραφος, πάτριος νόμος, νόμιμα πάσης Ἐλλάδος are very frequent; and of course the Antigone is full of the άγραπτα κἀσφαλῆ θεῶν νόμιμα. In Xen. Mem. IV. 4, 19 Hippias defines the ἄγραφοι νόμοι as οἱ ἐν πάσῃ χώρᾳ κατὰ ταὐτὰ νομιζόμενοι.
ἐσθήμασι —robes burned as offerings, probably, and not worn by the officials. The plur., joined with νομίμοις and ἀπαρχάς in this connexion, is surely mentioned as part of the ἐναγίσματα. Plutarch in Aristides 21, giving an account of the ceremony as performed in his day, makes no mention of robes among the offerings; but the details may well have been modified by his time. On the contrary, he does say that the Provost wore a purple coat and carried a sword; but the present passage does not lead like a ref. to that. That clothes were burnt as offerings to the dead is well known, e.g. Eur. Hec. 573 .
ἐπιφέροντες —specially used of offerings to the dead; II. 34.
ξύμμαχοι . . γενομένοις —the object of the speaker is to emphasize the lasting effect of the old alliance and to say nothing of the alliance with Athens.
ὁμαίχμοις is an oldfashioned word, perhaps intended to recall the old times.
αὐθένταις —as having sided with the Persians. Another old-fashioned word.
ἱερά τε . . ἀφαιρήσεσθε —there are three difficulties here:—(1) ἐρημοῦτε, present, among a series of futures. This can hardly be defended by passages in which a single pres, and fut. are combined, such as II. 44 οὐκ ὀλοφύρομαι μᾶλλον ἢ παραμυθήσομαι. StahI reads ἐρημοῦντες after Goller; Steup proposes to leave the word out If sound we must render ‘you are making desolate.’ (2) What is the constr. of τῶν . . κτισάντων? The natural answer is that it depends on ἀφαιρήσεσθε (‘you will take from’), not on θυσίας. The objection, that the Plataeans will ex hypothesi be dead, is hardly serious, for τῶν . . κτισάντων includes the whole Plataean people of whom no small part was safe at Athens. Neither is there any need to render ἀφαιρήσεσθε ‘you will deprive,’ a sense that ἀφαιροῦμαι no where has when the object is inanimate. (3) Is ἱερά or θυσίας the object of τῶν . . κτισάντων? My reason for preferring θυσίας is that θυσίας τὰς πατρίους must refer to commemorative sacrifices to the gods founded after the victory of Plataea: otherwise the Lac. could have no interest in them, and the speaker could not seek to influence them by such an argument. These sacrifices are to the gods, and they were offered on behalf of Greece— ὑπὲρ τῆς Ἑλλάδος (Plut. Arist. 20, 21): hence the last sentence duly accords with ἠλευθερώθησαν οἱ Ἕλληνες and ἐκράτησαν ( οὶ *))ελληνες). (The νόμιμα τῶν Ἑλλήνων are not in question here.)
ἑσσαμένων —this archaic form in place of ἑσαμένων has by far the best MS. authority, and perhaps is meant to accord with ὁμαίχμοις and αὐθένταις.
τάδε —the conduct deprecated in the last c., which conduct is now summarized in οὔτε . . οὔτε.
οἴκτῳ σώφρονι λαβόντας —‘regarding (the case) with prudent compassion.’ The point of σώφρονι is given in ἀλλ’ . . ξυμπέσοι. The obj. of λαμβάνειν in this sense is omitted also in VI. 61.
ὡς . . ξυμπέσοι —the subj. of ξυμπέσοι—τὸ τῆς ξ.—is anticipated.
πρέπον —sc. ἐστί .
ὁμοβωμίους ; not found elsewhere; ‘having the same altars’ may mean either ‘worshipped at the same altar,’ of several gods worshipped together, or ‘having like altars’ throughout Greece; hardly ‘whose altars are common to all worshippers.’ The second suits the context best.
θ’ —this is a necessary addition, as the passage cannot make a fresh start at προφερόμενοι.
μὴ ἀμνημονεῖν —Cobet pronounced these words spurious: the only constr. they can fairly bear is with προφερόμενοι ὅρκους, but, as ἡμεῖς is the subj. of the other infins., this is awkward. ( ὤμοσαν would require fut. or aor. infin.: order and the addition of τῶν π. τάφων are against ἱκέται γιγνόμεθα.) τῶν π. τάφων is rendcred ‘by . . tombs,’ but the gen. can hardly be so understood with ἱκέται, on which it directly depends.
ὑμῶν —emphatic.
τοῖς ἐχθίστοις —sc. to your dead (not to us). “The dead are implored to prevent the Pl., their best friends, being surrendered to the Theb., their worst enemies” (Widmann). ᾗ . . ἐν τῇδε—ἐν should not be made to apply to ᾗ, as this kind of idiom ( Aesch. Sept. 1032 μητρὸς ταλαίνης κἀπὸ δυστήνου πατρός) is confined to poetry (Wilamowitz on Eur. HF. 237 ).
πράξαντες . . κινδυνεύομεν —a compressed form of ἐπράξαμεν, νῦν δέ κτλ. For νῦν we might have expected the εἶτα of inconsistency.
ὅπερ δέ —the rel. clause qualifies παυόμενοι, for which we might have had ποιοῦντες.
λόγου τελευτᾶν —epexegetic of ὅπερ. The gen. with τελευτᾶν again in c. 104. If you ‘ begin’ with a gen., you may naturally ‘ end’ with one.
μετ’ αὐτοῦ —viz. τοῦ τελευτᾶν.
ἐς τὰ αὐτὰ καταστήσαντας —i.e. as we were before we capitulated.
τὸν ξυντυχόντα —‘any that comes’; cf. ό τυχών.
ἱκέται ὄντες —‘as suppliants.’ The likeness of this peroration to the poignant appeals in Euripides should be noticed.
καὶ αὐτοί —‘they on their part’; I. 51, Xen. Hell. VII. 1, 7.
τὸ ἐρωτηθέν —cf. Xen. Mem. IV. 2, 23 τὸ ἐρωτώμενον ἀποκρίνεσθαι.
οὐδὲ ᾐτιαμένων —best taken as agreeing with αὑτῶν, ‘and moreover when they have not even been accused.’ The alternative, neut. depending on ἀπολογίαν, ‘of conduct that was far from being made a charge against them,’ produces tautology with ὧν οὐδεὶς έμέμψατο. καὶ ἅμα adds something of special importance, often in Thuc.; Xen. Cyr. I. 4, 25 καὶ διὰ τὸ φιλεῖν αὐτὸν καὶ ἄμα ἐλπίδας ἔχων.
πρὸς μὲν τά —cf. c. 82 ἐπἱ δὲ τῷ. This is the ordinary order when a prep. occurs with ὁ μέν or ὁ δέ, e.g. Isocr. II. 18 ἵνα τὰς μὲν φεύγωσι, πρὸς δὲ τὰς προθυμότερον ἔχωσιν.
κακία referring to the κατηγορία, δόξα to the ἀπολογία καὶ ἔπαινος of the Plat.: not ironical, as the schol., but the use noticed above, c. 58, 1.
τούτων is masc.; cf. ἡμετέρα and οὗτοι below.
ἡμῶν —the Boeotian migration from Thessaly.
ξυμμείκτους —Pelasgians, Thracians, Hyantians (Strabo).
ἡγεμονεύεσθαι —i.e. to acknowledge the ἡγεμονία of Thebes in Boeotia.
προσηναγκάζοντο —an attempt to make them observe τὰ πάτρια. See c. 65, 2.
οὐ belongs to μηδίσαι.
Ἀθηναίους —attraction to case of αὐτούς.
ἰδέᾳ —‘method.’
καίτοι . . εἴδει —‘you must surely consider the conditions under which.’
ἐτύγχανεν . . πολιτεύουσα —‘was in point of fact’: τυγχάνω, as often, not of a mere accident, but of the true state of things, as distinct from what might appear to be.
ἰσόνομον —where all the nobles are equal, and their rights are fixed by laws. But in a δυναστεία the few rulers are a law to themselves.
τῷ σωφρονεστάτῳ —‘the best order,’ i.e. an aristocracy or moderate democracy. No doubt this is said with reference to the constitution of Thebes, as existing in 427 B.C., with its two Boeotarchs and four assemblies confined to τοῖς κεκτημένοις πλῆθός τι χρημἀτων, as Theopompus or Cratippus says. (Several conjj. have been made on this unusual expression, e.g. τῷ σώφρονι πἀντων Herw.: τῷ σωφρονεστέρῳ Hude.)
τυράννου —for τυραννίδος: so δῆμος for δημοκρατία.
οὗτοι . . σχήσειν —‘these in the hope of winning power for themselves in yet greater degree.’
καὶ . . ἔπραξεν —‘so the city as a whole could not control her actions when she acted so, and it is not fair to blame her, for any crrors she fell into when she had no constitution.’
γοῦν —‘thus for example’; illustrative of the previous statement.
ἐπιόντων τήν τε ἄλλην Ἑλλάδα καὶ . . πειρωμένων —as τε cannot mean ‘and’ here, but must be correlative to καί, it is clear that ἐπιόντων governs τὴν . . Ἑλλάδα, and that the introduction of πειρωμένων changes the constr.; cf. cc. 67, 6, 94, 3 (so Steup).
ἐχόντων —after the battle of Oenophyta, 458 B.C. The battle of Coronea in 446 forced the A. to abandon Boeotia.
πάσης —‘any,’ inclusive, a common use of πᾶς and its derivative adverbs.
ἡμετέρᾳ —objective; II. 42 τὴν τῶν ἐναντίων τιμωρίαν .
τὰ πρὸς ἡμᾶς —adverbial, ἵνα ἡμᾶς τιμωροῖσθε.
ὑπάρχον —sc. μὴ ξυνεπιέναι. γε gives a causal sense to a partic.
προβάλλεσθε —as a defence; cf. I. 37 τὸ εὐπρεπὲς ἄσπονδον προβέβληνται.
γε —not a common use of γε, where it serves to connect, and at the same time throws feeling into the sentence: ‘Ah, yes.’
παρέχειν —sc. ὐμῖν.
δέ γε or δὲ . . γε is used to cap a previous statement or, while accepting it, to bring in a consideration on the other side; it is common in retort (Neil).
κατα‐προδοῦναι —‘ utterly to betray’; so prob. in καταδουλουμένους .
τοῖς δέ = ἐκείνοις δέ.
καίτοι . . ἀποδιδομένας —‘surely failure to return favours with like favours (cf. ἴσην above) is dishonourable; and not failure to return debts of gratitude that were justly incurred (cf. ὐμεῖς . . ἀδικούμενοι) but of which the payment leads to injustice’ (cf. τοῖς δὲ ἀδικοῦσιν). You should have waited till they were ἀδικούμενοι to return the service they had rendered to you.
ὅτι . . τἀναντία —‘because the A. did not either, and we did, from your wish’ etc. ἡμεῖς is much better than ὑμεῖς, giving antithesis to Ἀθηναῖοι, as in τοῖς μὲν . . τοῖς δέ: cf. c. 63, 3.
βουλόμενοι applies to the Plat.
ἀπὸ τούτων —emphatic resumption of the attracted rel.
ξυναγωνίζεσθε —‘continue their allies,’ in mockery.
Αἰγινήτας —Aegina was reduced in 457 B.C. to the status of a tributary ally.
ἄλλους τινάς —thought to be the Euboeans, who had fought at Plataea, and against whom Pericles may have employed the Plat. in 445 B.C.
διεκωλύετε —sc. ἄλλους καταδουλοῦσθαι.
περιτειχίζεσθαι —‘before the siege was begun.’
ἡμῶν —‘on our side.’ This demand had been made by K. Archidamus, but the Theb. adopt it.
τοῖς Ἕλλησι —the dat. of agent with other parts than perf. of pass. is not uncommon in Thuc.
ἀνδραγαθίαν —in remaining true to Athens.
οὐ . . ἐπεδείξατε —‘you have now shown not to belong to your nature.’ Thuc. does not use ἐπιδεικνύναι in this sense elsewhere, but other authors, e.g. the orators, do. It is prob. unnecessary to read ἀπεδείξατε or ὐπεδείξατε. Steup renders ‘you showed afterwards.’
ἐξηλέγχθη ἐς τὸ ἀληθές —‘has been conclusively demonstrated.’
ἀδικοῦμεν —‘are guilty,’ as often.
κοινά —‘common to.’ Plataea had remained outside the Boeotian league as reconstituted in 446 B.C., and of course had no representatives in the General Assembly of the league which met at Thebes.
καταστῆσαι —‘bring you into line with.’
πλείω παραβαλλόμενοι —they were οὐ τῶν ἀδυνατωτάτων ( II. 3 ); cf. § 2. For the verb cf. c. 14, 1.
φιλίως, οὐ πολεμίως κομίσαντες —cf. the αὐτοί and πολέμιοι of § 2, and c. 66 οὐ πολεμίως ἐπράσσομεν which show that the adverbs cannot apply merely to the Plat. and mean ‘with friendly, and not hostile intent to their fellow-citizens’; but must refer to the Theb. For this reason, and because κομίσαντες lacks an obj., Steup reads φιλίους and πολεμίους. But ‘in a friendly manner’ implies here ‘us as friends of Plataea,’ and κομίζειν is used like δέχεσθαι. It is not necessary to have an obj. expressed; cf. ἐπεκαλέσαντο above. The rest of the sentence shows that there is an intentional vagueness in the terms chosen: it was ‘a friendly transaction.’
ὑμῶν —partitive, in unusual position; cf. c. 22, 5. μηκέτι μᾶλλον γενέσθαι—χείρους and ἀμείνους have a political meaning here, and are scarcely felt as comparatives: hence μᾶλλον is natural; ‘should henceforth not get more so.’
σωφρονισταὶ . . οἰκειοῦντες —adopting Weil's view that γνώμης and σωμἀτων must be under the same governance, and that there must he a real antithesis between ἁλλοτριοῦντες and οἰκειοῦντες, tr. ‘seeking to regulate opinion and persons, not alienating their city (handing it over to strangers), but bringing it home to the union of their kinsmen’ (the Boeotian confederacy). It is usual to take τῶν σωμἀτων with τὴν πόλιν, ‘not depriving the city of your persons’: this is very strange for τὰ σώματα τῆς πόλεως ἀλλοτριοῦντες. σωφρονισταί of the party opposed to extreme democracy; cf. c. 82, 8. (For the antithesis of σῶμα and γνώμη, Andoc. de Red. 24.)
ἐχθροὺς . . ἐνσπόνδους —“sc. ὑμᾶς; not breaking your peaceful relations with any state, e.g. Athens, but putting you in them on a footing with every other state, i.e. Thebes. Plataea was still, as they sophistically say, to enjoy the σπονδαί, but not on conditions peculiar to herself. ἅπασι depends on ὁμοίως” (Prof. Lamberton).
προείπομέν τε —the account corresponds very closely with the narrative of the attempt on Plataca in II. 2 f.
πλήθους —often used of the majority.
μήτε . . ἐξελθεῖν —explaining τὰ ὁμοῖα.
οὓς μὲν . . ἀλγοῦμεν —the sentence takes an unexpected turn: instead of τοὺς μὲν ἀπεκτείνατε we get a comment on that action. The rel. in each case is causal, = ὅτι τοὺς μέν: cf. I. 68 τί δεῖ μακρηγορεῖν, ὧν (= ἐπεὶ ἡμῶν) τοὺς μὲν . . , IV. 26 ἀθυμίαν δὲ πλείστην ὁ χρόνος παρεῖχε, οὓς (= ὅτι αὐτοὐς) ᾤοντο ἐκπολιορκήσειν.
παρανόμως —see c. 58, 3.
κἀνταῦθα —this emendation of καὶ ταῦτα seems necessary, since ταῦτα τρεῖς ἀδικίας for ‘these as three wrongs’ is unexanipled.
λυθεῖσαν —for the constr. see on c. 53, 3.
κτείνειν —the pres. depends on the subst.: but the verb ( ὑπισχνοῦμαι) always has the fut. αὐτῶν—αὐτά referring to what has been mentioned, as often.
ἡμεῖς δέ —to supply εἰδῶμεν is grammatically necessary; ‘that we may know after your condemnation that we have yet more rightly taken vengeance on them.’ To ἔτι ὁσιώτερον we must surely supply ὐμῶν: you will act justly: we shall have acted yet more equitably We are the parties chiefly aggrieved. But it is said (already by Bloomfield) that for εἰδῶμεν we need ‘feel’ or ‘appear,’ since the Theb. do not discover anything from their own speech: hence 1. φανῆτε for εἰδῆτε Rauchenstein; or 2. take εἰδῆτε as a zeugma; or 3. read ἠμᾶς . . τετιμωρημένους Kr. But notice (1) the speech would lead to condemnation by the judges; (2) the condemnation would show the Theb. that their action had been justified. The only alternative, I think, is to supply ὦμεν, and to assume an assimilation of finite verb to the previous partic. clause, as Hude, who compares Xen. Mem. II. 3, 17.
ἀκούοντες —‘by the account of.’ ἀκούων, like κλύων, is often used where we expect an aor. partic.
διπλασίας ζημίας —the influence of the rel. does not extend to this clause.
οὐκ ἐκ προσηκόντων —i.e. contrary to what was to be expected of them.
ὧν —see on c. 2, 1 l. 3.
οἱ δὲ . . λελειμμένοι —‘others left behind in old age and their homes desolate.’ The emendation κατ· οἰκίας or καὶ αἱ οἰκίαι, is necessary. The latter is better, because οἰκίαι ἐρῆμοι should certainly be co-ordinate with οὶ δέ, so as to correspond with τὴν σφετἐραν ἐρημίαν.
τὰ ἐναντία —adverbial.
ἐπίχαρτοι —sc. ἄξιοί είσι.
δίκη κρίναντες together correspond to υίσει.
οὐκ ἀνταποδόντες —i.e. they will not have done so, because the penalty will be ἔννομα: whereas our suffering was ἄνομα (§ 6; cf. παρενόμησαν); the aor. partic. alluding to fut. perf. time as if the main verb were fut., cf. ἐκστρατευσἀμενοι c. 102. (Various changes have been proposed: (1) to alter ἀνταποδόντες to fut., pres., or ἂν άνταποδόντες, or to read ἀνταποδόντες ἐς νῦν: (2) or, keeping ἀνταποδόντες, to start a new sentence at καὶ οὐκ, placing ἔννομα γἀρ in parenthesis. It does not seem possible to separate the latter from πείσονται. It is best to suppose a slight break after κρίναντες, as though the rest were an afterthought.)
καὶ ἡμῖν —instead of a second obj. corresponding to καὶ τῷ νόμῳ, a new verb follows: cf. c. 71, 1.
ὧν πρόθυμοι γ. —see § 3.
τοῖς λόγοις —dat. of cause.
ὧν . . ὄντων depends on ἀπαγγελία.
ἔπεσι —‘fine phrases,’ = ῥήμασι.
κεφαλαιώσαντες —for the point see c. 52, 4.
πρὸς τοὺς ξύμπαντας —‘with referenee to all,’ i.e. (as Classen) ‘as a warning to all.’ A summary question followed by a decision will serve to check rhetorical defences. (Weil conjectures πρὸς τὸ ξύμπαν.)
ποιήσησθε —attraction to ὺμεῖς, as in I. 82 ὅσοι ὥσπερ καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐπιβουλευόμεθα.
εἰ . . πεπόνθασι is the ἐπερώτημα.
τὸν ἄλλον χρόνον —‘all along.’
δῆθεν —always ironical, signifying that this is not the true reason.
μετὰ τὸν Μῆδον —usually μετὰ τὰ Μηδικά.
καὶ (
ἠξίουν )
ὅτε . . οὐκ ἐδέξαντο —it is impossible to make grammar of the sentence with ὅτε . . ἃ . . ὡς in. Each word has been altered: the removal of ἃ seems most likely; ‘and particularly, when afterwards the offer that they made of remaining neutral according to that convention was refused.’
ἡγούμενοι —this gives the reason for νομιζοντες . . ἐδέξαντο.
τῇ . . βουλήσει —‘by their own just intention,’ i.e. they had tried their best to conform to the σπονδαί: it was the fault of the Plat. that the Lac. have fair grounds for regarding the σπονδαί at an end.
τὸ αὐτό —obj. of ἐρωτῶντες, so that παραγαγόντες καί breaks the constr.; cf. Soph Antig. 1279 τὰ δ’ ἐν δόμοις | ἔοικας ἤκειν καὶ τάχ’ ὄψεσθαι κακά, where τὰ δ’ ἐν δ. is governed by ὅψεσθαι.
ἠνδραπόδισαν —‘sold as slaves.’ From II. 78 we know that 110 women were among the besieged Plat. (all the others had found refuge at Athens) and that these were all slaves already.
Θηβαῖοι —removed by Classen, who maintained that the true subj. of ἔδοσαν is the Lac.; but cf. c. 58, 5 εί . . χώραν τὴν Πλαταιίδα Θηβαΐδα ποιήσετε. τὰ σφέτερα certainly seems to refer to the Thebans (cf. II. 2 ). (Herbst and Busolt defend the MS. reading.)
κατὰ στάσιν —the circumstances are unknown.
ἐκ τῶν θεμελίων —take with ᾠκοδόμησαν.
πρὸς τῷ Ἡραίῳ —the site of the Heraeum and remains of the νεὼς λίθινος have in all probability been discovered ( Am. J. of Archacol. 1891). It is likely that the temple previously existing was pulled down and replaced by the new one mentioned here.
καταγώγιον —for those who came to worship at the temple: otherwise they would have had no shelter after the destruction of the city.
πανταχῇ is put with διακοσίων ποδῶν (200 ft. square) by some edd., but more prob. belongs to κύκλῳ=‘all round,’ as in VII. 79.
οἰκήματα —for sleeping: they were in two stories.
τοῖς ἄλλοις —instrumental, with κατασκευάσαντες.
τείχει —i.e. inside the city. The sacred precinct lay ‘before the city’ (Herod. IX. 61).
καί —intensive.
ἄρτι τότε καθιστάμενον refers to the fall of Plat., not to the beginning of the siege. Cf. c. 3, 1.
τρίτῳ καὶ ἐνενηκοστῷ —519-427 B.C. But Grote showed that 509 B C. was the probable year of the alliance; hence it has been suggested that ἐνενηκοστῷ is due to an early error in an uncial MS., and that Thuc. wrote the uncial signs for ὀγδοηκοστῷ.
ἐπειδή —cf. I. 6 οὐ πολλα ἔτη ἐπειδὴ πέπαυται.
τότε —see c. 33, 1.
ἐκ τῶν )Αθηναίων —the other places in Thuc. in which ἐκ ‘on the part of,’ practically = ὐπό are I. 20, II. 49, V. 104, VI. 36. The use is Ionic; not found in ordinary Attic prose.
σποράδες —correl. with the preceding partic., as in c. 82, 1 οὐκ ἂν ἐχόντων πρόφασιν οὐδ’ ἑτοίμων παρακαλεῖν, but Classen points out that ἀπ’ αὐτῆς σπορἀδες goes more closely with κατηνέχθησαν, and regards καί before ἀπ’ as spurious.
Κυλλήνῃ —the port of the Eleans.
ξύμβουλον —because the ναύαρχος had shown his incompetence.
περὶ Ναύπακτον —see c. 7, 3.
πρὶν . . προφθάσωσι —the constr. is ὅπως δὲ προφθάσωσι (a second reason of the plan adopted), πρίν . . , but for the sake of the antithesis between δώδεκα . . παρόντων and πλέον τι ἐπι. the order is changed.
ἦλθον αὐτοῖς —see on c. 5.
ἐκ τῶν . . ναυμαχιῶν —there were two battles fought near the islands called Sybota. 250 of the principal Corcyreans were taken prisoners in the second battle, and were conveyed to Corinth, where they remained about five years.
ὀκτακοσίων —the ransom for not more than 250 men is very high, but the prisoners were very important. The price paid for a man varied very much, of course, as it does still. The lowest heard of is two minas (Herod. v. 77 ), the highest— in the case of an ambassador of Philip—nine talents. The sum here mentioned need not be thought so great as to rouse suspicion.
τοῖς προξένοις —i.e. the Corinthian representatives of Corcyra had gone bail for them.
ἀφικομένης . . ἀγουσῶν —edd. say ἀγουσῶν must be plur. because both ships had πρέσβεις on board. Yet we find pred. in sing. applying to several subjects; I. 42, 1, IV. 31, 2, VI. 31, 1, VII. 44, 6, 58, 4. For the attraction cf. e. 72, 2.
καταστάντων —sc. τῶν πρέσβεων.
ξυγκείμενα —it was a defensive alliance only.
πρότερον means before the convention with Athens, when Corcyra had been on good terms with the Pel., though not in alliance with any one.
ἦν γὰρ . . ὑπάγουσιν —the reason stated in advance in parenthesis; cf. c. 107, 3.
ἐθελοπρόξενος —only mentioned here; it prob. means that P. had not been appointed by Athens; and hence he could be prosecuted for his Athenian sympathies.
προειστήκει —unofficial leader.
χάρακας —‘vine-poles,’ Corcyra having many vineyards. The sites of the τεμένη are unknown. Alcinous is the Homeric king.
στατήρ —of silver, worth 2 1/2 Attic drachmas, the only form of stater coined in Corcyra.
ταξάμενοι ἀποδῶσιν —‘pay by a mutual arrangement,’ prob. on the instalment system.
τῷ τε νόμῳ ἐξείργοντο —nothing is to be supplied; ‘the law forced them, allowed them no escape.’ Cf. Herod. IX. 111 ὑπὸ τοῦ νόμου ἐξεργόμενος.
τοὺς αὐτοὺς . . νομίζειν —i.e. to substitute a ξυμμαχία, offensive and defensive alliance, for the existing ἐπιμαχία .
τῆς αὐτῆς γνώμης —sc. ὄντες.
ταῦτα . . δουλωθεῖεν —for the position of the first καί see c. 67, 6. It is usual to supply from ταῦτα (i.e. what they had done) a οὕτως to ἥκιστ’ ἃν δ.: better, I think, without; ‘that it was not likely that they would be made slaves by the A.’
δέχεσθαι —the meaning of εἶπον passes into that of κελεύω.
ἀλλ’ ἤ — VII. 50, 3.
μιᾷ νηί —cf. II. 7.
ἡσυχάζοντας applies to the Corcyreans.
ὡς —‘as.’ They were to put matters in a good light.
ἀνεπιτήδειον —to Corcyra.
ἐπιστροφή —lest ‘notice’ should be taken by Athens, resulting in some action against Corcyra. The πρέσβεις must have completely won over part of the refugee friends of Peithias to their side, since it was thought necessary to intern them in Aegina (B. Schmidt).
ἐλθόντων —sc. τῶν πρέσβεων.
ὅσους ἔπεισαν —sc. τῶν ἐκεῖ καταπεφευγότων.
ὀλίγα —adverbial ace. like βραχέα and μεγάλα in c. 40, ἴσα in c. 14. The constr. is widely diffused in Thuc. The appeal to the slaves is a most unusual feature, and shows the extreme bitterness of the strife.
πλῆθος —of the ‘majority,’ as often.
ἡμέρας —the day referred to in c. 73.
χωρίων —this word is specially used of strategic positions.
κεράμῳ —collective, as e.g. in II. 4. So κάλαμος II. 76 ; in Livy XX III. 16 vallum ferre=vallos f.
δείσαντες —ingressive, ‘becoming afraid.’
αὐτοβοεί —said to be an archaie word.
νεωρίου —in the Harbour of Alcinous.
ξυνοικίας —situated between the Agora and the Acropolis. The gen. adjj. that follow refer to both οἰκίας and ξυνοικίας. No doubt some of the ὀλίγοι had invested money in the tenements, and let them out, like the plutocrat pork-butcher in the Knights of Aristophanes.
ἐκινδύνευσε . . διαφθαρῆναι —cf. c. 40, 5.
ὡς ἑκάτεροι —‘on either side,’ an idiomatic phrase, to be taken with ἡσυχἀσαντες, which is ingressive (A. G. Laird in Am. J. of Phil. 1906, p. 43).
Νικόστρατος —he had command of the Athenian squadron at Naupactus, from which he could reach Corcyra in a day. The Messenians had been settled in Naupactus after the Messenian Wars.
ἕπρασσε —conative.
δέκα —oligarchs.
οἱ τοῦ δήμου προστάται —a bronze plate found on the site of the Corcyrean Agora and now in the Brit. Mus. contains a decree of the Corcyrean Assembly ( ἁλία) appointing an Athenian ‘proxenus’ of Corcyra. Among the Corcyrean authorities mentioned in the decree, which is assigned to the 4th cent. B.C., oceurs προστάτας Γνάθιος. The προστάται therefore appear to have been a board of magistrates in Corcyra ( Anc. Gr. Inscr. in the Brit. Mus. Pl. ii. p. 50).
ξυμπέμψειν —sc. ἔφασαν, by an idiom to which Thuc. is partial.
τὸ Διοσκόρων ἱερόν —the site is unknown.
τῇ τοῦ μὴ ξυμπλεῖν ἀπιστίᾳ —‘by their distrust in sailing (i.e. in the proposal that they should sail) with them.’ The μή is added because the whole result is neg., as often; cf. II. 49 ἠ ἀπορία τοῦ μὴ ἡσυχάζειν, Plato, Apol. 38 D ἀπορία τοῦ μὴ ἐθέλειν.
οἱ ἄλλοι —oligarchs, not confined to those who had refused to go on board the five ships.
τὸ Ἥραιον —see the map, with notes. The removal from the shrine of Castor and Pollux to the Heraeum is to be accounted for by (1) supposing that the latter was the principal shrine of the city, and (2) the necessity of getting 400 men into the τέμενος. (Bloomfield's view that the Heraeum was superior in sanctity is fanciful.)
γίγνονται —of the sum-total, as often.
τὴν . . διακομιδήν —example of the liking Thuc. shows for a subst. derived from a verb.
Κυλλήνης —c. 69. For
ἐφ’ ὅρμῳ οὖσαι we say ‘which had lain at anchor’ (at Cyllene), οὖσαι being imperf. partic. ( MT. § 140). The MSS. have ἔφορμοι for ἐφ· ὅρμῳ, but there seems to be no authority for ἔφορμος as adj. ἐπέπλει—ἐπιπλεῖν is used of the commanders: ἐμπλεῖν below of the crcw.
πολλῷ θορύβῳ —the democratic authorities in Corcyra had received no warning of the approach of Alcidas. No organization for getting information of the movement of fleets existed.
τῶν ποιουμένων —not very common. for τῶν γιγνομένων.
Σαλαμινία καὶ Πάραλος —see c. 33, 2. They had been with Paches at Mytilene; but must have joined Nicostratus at Naupactus.
ἁθρόαις —with ταῖς . . τ.: the Athenians shrink from attacking the enemy thirty-three strong in the centre.
μὴ ὅπερ ἐν Ναυπάκτῳ γένοιτο —in 429 B.C. when the Athenian admiral Phormio with twenty ships gained a great suceess over forty-seven Peloponnesian ships by similar tactics. Then, too, the enemy had adopted a similar circular formation.
ὅτι μάλιστα with προκαταφυγεῖν, ‘as much as possible.’ It might be taken equally well with ἐβούλοντο, but the general sense of the passage favours the former.
ἑαυτῶν —cf. c. 13, 7.
τοιαύτη —cf. c. 97, 3. (Heitland's idea that there is some irony in τοιαύτη is quite groundless: ἦν δὲ οὐδεὶς κόσμος in c. 77 refers to only one incident in the battle.)
τοὺς ἐκ τῆς νήσου —see c. 75, 5.
κρατοῦντες —concessive.
ὄντας —see on ee. 2, 2; 80, 1.
Λευκίμμην —at SE. of the island, still called Leokimo.
τοῖς ἄλλοις —the other ὀλίγοι besides the ἱκέται.
ὅμως —in spite of the eonfusion.
μέχρι μέσου ἡμέρας —Thuc. generally uses μέσος as an adj., but Xen. often has μέσον as a noun.
ἀπέπλευσαν —to Sybota.
προσπλέουσαι ἀπὸ Λευκάδος —no doubt the fleet was not yet past Leucas when the signal was given. It appears presently (c. 81, 1) that Aleidas feared to sail round the island lest he should be seen by the Athenians. (It is not necessary to construe ἀπὸ Λευκἀδος with ἐφρυκτωρήθησαν, as many do. Aleidas could not know how far on its way from Leucas the Athenian fleet had got; and his fear was not wholly groundless.) This is the first mention of Eurymedon, who afterwards served in Sicily and was killed during the siege of Syracuse.
πυνθανόμενοι —‘on hearing of the strife and of the intention.’ Notice that the verb has a double constr. here. Commentators point out (1) that the Athenian fleet doubtless consisted to a large extent of ships returned from Lesbos: (2) that the news of the στάσις was carried to Athens by the ship mentioned in c. 70.
τῆς νυκτός —‘that night.’
τὸν Λευκαδίων ἰσθμόν —the isthmus connected Leucas with the mainland: there is now an artificial channel.
λαβόντες —if genuine, best considered pleonastic (with Stahl), as we say ‘took and brought.’ Some think it a gloss on εἴ τινα λάβοιεν below. To supply τὴν πόλιν (with L. Herbst) is forced, and involves an artificial, and highly improbable, explanation of the meaning. See crit. note.
τοὺς Μεσσηνίους —see c. 75, 1.
περιπλεῦσαι —from the harbour of Alcinous. The oligarchs who had been induced to embark would now be separated from their comrades in the Heraeum and the agora.
ἐπλήρωσαν —c. 80, 1.
ἀπεχρῶντο —very rare in this sense; cf. διαχρῆσθαι in c. 36.
τὰ γιγνόμενα —i.e. from the Heraeum on high ground they saw their comrades being led off to execution.
ὡς ἕκαστοι ἐδύναντο —the sing. might be expected, as in πάντες ἔφυγον ὅπη? ἐδύνατο ἕκαστος (Xen.), but the distinction is not always kept up.
παρέμεινε —it seems from this that Nicostratus had left by now. Thuc. has neglected to give his movements after his Messenians had been taken into the city.
σφῶν αὐτῶν —partitive.
ἐφόνευον —rare word outside Herod., tragedy, and late writers.
τὴν μὲν αἰτίαν . . καταλύουσιν —‘bringing the charge on the subverters of the democracy,’ i e. openly it was the oligarchs who were the object of their attack ( τήν does not need explanation in the context after δίκην ὑποσχεῖν above. Only oligarchs—and they not in all cases—were put on their trial.)
ἀπέθανον δέ —transition from partic. to finite constr., as often; II. 47 λεγόμενον μὲν . . ἐμνημονεύετο δέ, VII. 13 τῶν ναυτῶν μὲν ἀπολλυμένων, οἱ δὲ θεράποντες . . αὐτομολοῦσι, sc. τὰ χρήματα. Frequent throughout Gk.
ὑπὸ τῶν λαβόντων —‘by their debtors,’ with ἀπέθανον. The Gk. justifies another way (Bohme), viz with ὀφειλομένων, ‘by those who caught them,’ but the point is not so good.
πᾶσἀ τε ἰδἐα κατέστη θανάτου —Virgil's et plurima mortis imago ( Aen. II. 369); cf. Tac. H. III. 28 varia pereuntium forma et omni imagine mortium.
καὶ ἔτι περαιτέρω —sc. οὐδενὸς ὅτου οὐ, i.e. παντός, but the gen. is habitually omitted. Demosth. XL V. 73 has δεινόν, ὦ γῆ καὶ θεοί, καὶ πέρα δεινοῦ .
μᾶλλον —sc. ὠμὴ προχωρῆσαι.
ἐν τοῖς πρώτην —see on c. 17, 1.
ὡς εἰπεῖν —qualifying a sweeping statement (never apologizing for a metaphor): ‘I might almost say,’ ‘almost.’
τὸ Ἑλληνικόν —c. 57, 2.
ἐπάγεσθαι —“sense” constr., διαφορῶν οὐσῶν implying ‘attempting.’
καὶ ἐν μὲν εἰρήνῃ . . ἐπορίζοντο —the transition from μέν+partic. to δέ+finite verb here is considered perhaps the most extraordinary anacoluthon in Thuc. It is quite different from cases like c. 81, 4, since there is here no finite verb for the μέν-clause. To put a comma only at Λακεδαιμονίους instead of the usual full stop helps to some degree. ἐτόλμων for ἑτοἱμων (Vollgraff and Classen) is a conjecture worth notice.
οὐκ ἂν ἐχόντων —sc. αὐτῶν, the leaders of both parties in any given state.
ἑτοίμων —sc. ὄντων, an unusual ellipse except when the adj.+omitted partic. is supplementary to a verb, as in τετύχηκε τὸ ἐπιτήδευμα ἄλογον, sc. ὄν , I. 23.
αὐτούς —Athenians or Lac., as the ease might be.
πολεμουμένων —mase. from πολεμόω, of the Ath. and Lac. (to refer this to the two political parties is very strained).
καὶ ξυμμαχίας ἅμα . . αἱ ἐπαγωγαί —i.e. καὶ αἱ ἐπαγωγαὶ ἅμα ξυμμαχίας. The point of καὶ άμα is that parties no longer carried on their rivalry amongst themselves at home, but readily called in the help of allies too. ἐπαγωγαί is ‘opportunities for calling in.’ ἑκατέροις is ambiguous: it may be (1) by the Ath. and Lac., agent to ἐπορίζοντο, or (2) to either party in a state <*> then τοῖς . . βουλομένοις will be in limiting apposition to it. In either case τοῖς . . βουλομένοις is probably not dat. of agent.
τῇ . . προσποιήσει —the two ideas are parts of one whole, so that one art. suffices. The dat is that of motive, esp. common in Thuc., mostly with single words such as φιλίᾳ, ἔχθει, εὐνοίᾳ Thompson, At Syn. p. 150. σφίσιν αὐτοῖς is governed by προσποιήσει, ib. p. 155. The whole sentence has the appearance of a series of notes that have not been put into their final form.
γιγνόμενα refers to time absolutely present, not contemporary with the main verb. MT'. § 141.
μᾶλλον . . διηλλαγμένα —i.e. varying in intensity and in form: μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ ἡσυχαίτερα form the first idea, adv. and adj. being combined, as either is possible separately with γίγνεται. μᾶλλον καὶ ἡσυχαίτερα γίγνεται might also mean ‘it rises and falls in intensity’ on any given occasion, but the emphatic position of γιγνόμενα shows that it corresponds in sense to the emphatic ἔστι, not to the mere copula ἐστί.
ὡς ἄν —‘according as.’
ἐφιστῶνται —‘impose themselves,’ like a doom: κῆρες ἐφεστᾶσιν Il. XII. 326, Soph. OT. 776 , Eur. Hipp. 819 .
τοῦ καθ’ ἡμέραν —some think that βίου has fallen out before βιαίου, and certainly τὸ καθ’ ἡμέραν is odd; but cf. τὸ παρόν and τὰ παρόντα.
ὀργάς —‘dispositions.’
ἐστασίαζέ τε —this passage down to the end of c. 83 is severely criticized by Dionysius Hal. de Thuc. iud. cc 29 f. for its artificial and far-fetched expressions
τὰ ἐφυστερίζοντά που —‘the later cases,’ the cities that followed the example of discord set by others; a strange expression, as Dionysius says, but occasioned by τὰ τῶν πόλεων. Notice that ποῦἔν τινι πόλει.
πολὺ ἐπέφερε —‘brought on much,’ i.e. carried much further.
διανοίας —‘plans.’
τῶν . . ἀτοπίᾳ —lit. ‘through extreme ingenuity in their enterprises and strangeness in their revenges.’
ἀξίωσιν belongs to ἐς τὰ ἔργα, ‘in relation to facts,’ as well as to ὀνομάτων. It is not necessary to repeat the art. before ἐς because ἀξίωσις has another qualifying word.
τῇ δικαιώσει —by the arbitrary construction they put on them.
τὸ δ’ ἐμπλήκτως ὀξύ —‘impulsive rashness’: cf. Plutarch, Eum. 3 ἔμπληκτον καὶ φορᾶς μεστὸν ὀξείας.
ἀνδρὸς μοίρᾳ προσετέθη —‘was ascribed, or set down, to the part of a man.’
ἀσφαλείᾳ δὲ . . εὔλογος —this appears to have been obscure already to Dionysius, who, while commenting on what precedes and what follows, discreetly leaves this alone. The usual explanation is as follows: (1) ἀσφαλείᾳ is dat. of manner, in contrast with ἐμπλήκτως; (2) τὸ ἐπιβουλεύσασθαι= ‘reconsideration,’ or ‘further reflexion’; (3) the verb to be supplied is ἐνομίσθη. Each of these suppositions is surprising ἀποτροπή=‘evasion.’ It has been proposed to supply προσετέθη (with Herbst and Fr. Müller) and to take ἀποτροπῆς π. εὔλογος as apposition to τὸ ἐπιβουλεύσασθαι. We should then transl. ‘to form a hostile design was regarded as a measure of selfdefence, (being) the specious pretence of fending off enmity.’
ὁ μὲν χαλεπαίνων —viz. about the political situation.
ἐπιβουλεύσας . . τυχών —‘if one had succeeded in a plot.’
δεινότερος —of ability.
αὐτῶν —viz. τοῦ ἐπιβουλεύειν καὶ ὑπονοεῖν.
ἐπικελεύσας —sc. κακόν τι δρᾶν. ἐπικελεύω ‘to encourage,’ of an authority, has dat; here κελεύω sets the constr. and ἐπί is intensive.
καὶ μήν introduces a new and important point (it never means ‘and yet’).
τοῦ ἑταιρικοῦ —‘the tie of party.’ To this ἑτοιμότερον refers.
ὠφελίᾳ —‘to render help’ cf. the principle συγγνώμη ἀδελφῷ βοηθεῖν. This seems more likely than the usual explanation ‘for the public advantage.’
ξύνοδοι —of political meetings, a word of sinister meaning in the political life of Gk. states, suggesting intrigue and treason. The verb is ἐγένοντο and had Thuc. written ὠφελίας ἕνεκα and πλεονεξίας above, all would have been clear.
ἐς σφᾶς αὐτούς = ἐς ἀλλήλους, a common use.
τῷ θείῳ νόμῳ —i.e. it was not the oaths witnessed by the gods— θεῶν ὅρκοι—that bound them when they exchanged pledges. Cf., for example, Eur. Med. 21 βοᾷ μὲν ὅρκους, ἀνακαλεῖ δὲ δεξιάς, | πίστιν μεγίστην, καὶ θεοὺς μαρτύρεται, and the celebrated passage in the same play, 439 βέβακε δ’ ὅρκων χάρις, οὐδ’ ἔτ’ αἰδὼς Ἑλλάδι τᾷ μεγάλᾳ μένει, with Verrall's notes.
τά τε ἀπὸ τῶν ἐναντίων —the sense (says Prof. Lamberton) is, ‘when fair proposals were made by the adversary, the other party, when they had the advantage of superiority, would receive them not in a spirit of generosity, but only with practical precautions’ Thus οἱ ἐνδεχόμενοι, not οἱ ἐναντίοι, is the subject of προύχοιεν. This is surely correct, though the passage is usually taken as if οἱ ἐναντίοι denoted the stronger party, and the subject of ἐνεδέχοντο were ‘the weaker.’ The right version is given by Herbst, who says “How can it be supposed that from the party that had the upper hand at the moment proposals should emanate that were generous to the weaker side, and how can any one conceive that generosity ( γενναιότης) should lead the weaker side to accept them?” For ἔργων φυλακῇ cf c. 46, 4.
ὅρκοι . . ξυναλλαγῆς —‘oaths to confirm a reconciliation’; cf. Andocides, de Myst. 103 διηλλάγητε καὶ ὅρκους ὠμόσατε.
πρὸς τὸ ἄπορον ἑ. διδόμενοι —‘as they were administered to either side only to meet an emergency.’ It is surely unnecessary to regard ἑκατέρῳ as dat of agent, as is usually done.
οὐκ ἐχόντων applies to those who took the oaths tendered—i.e. it applies by sense to ἑκατέρῳ—and explains πρὸς τὸ ἄπορον. ὅρκον δίδωμι generally means ‘I administer an oath,’ but in Eur. Hipp. 735 ‘I take an oath.’ The ordinary meaning gives an equallv good sense here.
ἐν δὲ τῷ παρατυχόντι —‘when a chance occurred.’
ὁ φθάσας θαρσῆσαι —see MT. 903. 8, where grave doubts are raised as to the possibility of the infin. with φθάνω in place of the ordinary partic. As φθάσας θαρσήσας is intolerable, it is best to give the text as it stands, leaving the point undecided. The paraphrase of Dionysius is worth notice: εἰ δέ που παρατύχοι τινὶ καιρὸς καὶ μάθοι τὸν ἐχθρὸν ἀφύλακτον, ἥδιον ἐτιμωρεῖτο ὅτι πιστεύσαντι μᾶλλον ἐπέθετο ἢ φυλαττομένῳ. διὰ τὴν πίστιν applies to the enemy, as having confidence in the oath.
ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ προφανοῦς =‘than when he attacked openly,’ giving the other side a fair chance.
ῥᾷον δ’ οἱ πολλοὶ . . ἀγαθοί —‘most men are more readily called elever if they are knaves than good if they are ignorant’ Another way of taking this is: ‘most men prefer to be called clever knaves rather than honest fools.’ The Gk favours the first. the connexion with the previous sentence the second. To make the latter way easier Steup brackets ὄντες.
πάντων δ’ αὐτῶν αἴτιον —‘the cause of all that was office (i.e. the desire of office), resting on covetousness and ambition.’
ἐκ δ’ αὐτῶν —viz. πλεονεξίας καὶ φιλοτιμίας.
καθισταμένων —masc., ‘when men were settling down to.’ The καί belongs, not merely to ἐς τὸ φιλονικεῖν, but to the whole phrase to πρόθυμον .
πλήθους . . σώφρονος —these are the fine names that were used for δημοκρατία and ὀλιγαρχία. ἰσονομία was a catchword with democrats, σωφροσύνη with aristocrats.
ἆθλα —this suggests several of the words that follow— ἀγωνιζόμενοι, περιγενέσθαι, ἐπεξῇσαν (the last unusual with object)—the general idea being that of a desperate struggle between enemies. (Very like is Xen Cyr. II. 2, 18-19.)
ἔτι μείζους —as compared with the τολμήματα.
προστιθέντες —from Dionysins, in place of προτιθέντες of the MSS., for ‘to threaten’ hardly suits with what precedes.
ψήφου ἀδίκου —best taken as subjective gen. depending on καταγνώσεως.
χειρί —the contrast is between force and the forms of law.
ἐνόμιζον —with dat., as χρῆσθαι.
εὐπρεπείᾳ δὲ λόγου —since εὐσέβεια and λόγου εὐπρέπεια are not a proper contrast, many suppose that the contrast to the former is to be found in ἐπιφθόνως τι, and consequently attach εὐπρεπείᾳ δὲ λόγου to the rel. sentence, ‘those who managed to hide some malicious act under fair words.’ But the μὲν . . δέ contrast is not between single words, but between the two sentences as a whole: εὐσέβεια is ‘ a name for piety,’ as e.g. in Soph. Ant. 924 τὴν δυσσέβειαν (‘reputation of being δυσσεβής’) εὐσεβοῦσ’ ἐκτησάμην, ‘on this pretence, covering an odious act, earned a better reputation.’ Thuc not seldom puts two similar words ( εὐσέβεια—εὐπρέπεια) in contrast that do not really form an antithesis.
τὰ δὲ μέσα τῶν πολιτῶν —for the moderate element and the preference given to it by so many thinking men cf. Eur. Suppl. 244 τριῶν δὲ μοιρῶν ἡ ’ν μέσῳ σῴζει πόλεις.
τὸ εὔηθες —in the earliest, good sense of the word, according to its etymology (Plato, Rep. 400 E).
πλεῖστον μετέχει —‘in which nobility of character is the chief element.’ Or, less probably, ‘which is a very important element of a noble mind.’ Cf. I. 84, 3.
ἐπὶ πολὺ διήνεγκεν —‘gained the upper hand.’ ἐπἱ πολύ of space, ‘far and near.’
ὁ διαλύσων —‘there was nothing to . . neither.’ The fut. partic. as in Aesch. PV. 27 ὀ λωφήσων γὰρ οὐ πέφυκέ πω. (Steup is mistaken in supposing that ἦν must be the copula in our sentenee, if ὁ διαλύσων is taken as above.)
κρείσσους . . βεβαίου —the best way of taking this is as follows: (1) all men when they had the upper hand, by reflecting on the hopelessness of security took precaution rather against attack than were capable of trust in others.’ Thus λογισμῷ . . βεβαίου is to be taken together and refers to προεσκόπουν. But two other versions must be noticed: (2) ‘finding more strength in calculation against the unexpected than in pledges.’ Then τοῦ βεβαίου= ἢ τῷ βεβαίῳ. (3) ‘Being more inclined in their calculations to despair of security’ (or ‘ than to security’). The last seems an impossible version of κρείσσους ὄντες. The passage prob. repeats the thought of c. 82, 7.
γνώμην —‘understanding.’
ἐκ τοῦ πολυτρόπου —‘in consequence of their’—resemblance to Odysseus.
φθάνωσι προεπιβουλευόμενοι —Gildersleeve is surely right in reading φθάνωσι here, in accordance with the law that φθάνω ποιῶν and ἔφθασα ποιήσας are the correct forms.
καταφρονοῦντες —causal. For the constr. cf. Xen. Hell. IV. 5, 12 κατεφρονοῦν μηδένα ἂν ἐπιχειρῆσαι .
αὐτῶν —vaguely referring to the ill deeds previously described. προυτολμήθη—προ‐ denotes before the rest of Greece.
καὶ ὁπόσα —the καί is probably answered by οἴ τε μή κτλ. below. The first clause requires ἄν, which has perhaps fallen out either after ὁπόσα or δράσειαν.
ὑπὸ τῶν . . παρασχόντων with ἀρχόμενοι. Hitherto they have been ruled oppressively by those who now give opportunity for revenge. Instead of παρασχόντων something like ἤδη παρεχόντων seems required. The oligarchs are meant.
διὰ πάθους . . ἔχειν —there has been much discussion of these words. τινες and μάλιστα δ’ seem to show that διὰ πάθους must be intended as a contrast to πενίας . . ἀπαλλαξείοντες, passion versus sheer poverty. But πάθος=‘emotion’ or ‘passion’ occurs nowhere else before Aristotle: in Thuc. it=‘a disaster.’ (To take τὰ τῶν πέλας as equivalent to τοὺς πέλας, and διὰ πάθους ἔχειν like δῑ ὀργῆς ἔχειν does not get over the difficulty, and does not yield a proper contrast.)
ἐπὶ πλεονεξίᾳ —i.e prompted by oppression, poverty or downright passion
ἀπὸ ἴσου —‘on equal terms’ with their adversaries already. Only here in Thuc. in place of ἀπὸ τοῦ ἴσου.
ἐπέλθοιεν —sc. ἄν from the previous sentences. The omission is rather awkward and unusual in so long a sentence.
ὠμῶς and
ἀπαραιτήτως only here in Thuc.
ἐς τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον —‘at this crisis,’ like ἐς μίαν ἡμέραν in VI. 16, Aristoph. Pax 366 εἰς τίν’ ἡμέραν;
καὶ παρὰ τοὺς νόμους ἀδικεῖν —cf. c. 82, 6 παρὰ τοὺς καθεστῶτας ( νόμους). As Stahl says, we expect κρατήσασα after τοὺς νόμους, ‘even when the laws are generally respected.’ Steup suggests the loss of πρίν after καί but Dio Cass. knew the passage as it stands.
ἐδήλωσεν . . οὖσα —obj. of δηλῶ replaced by the partic., as often; cf. I 21 ὁ πόλεμος δηλώσει μείζων γεγενημένος.
τοῦ προύχοντος —neut.
ἐν ᾧ —lit. ‘in a case in which,’ amounting to εἰ. Cf. II. 35 χαλεπὸν τὸ μετρίως εἰπεῖν ἐν ᾧ μόλις καὶ ἡ δόκησις τῆς ἀληθείας βεβαιοῦται.
ἀξιοῦσί τε —the sense is clearly given by Arnold thus: Men in their violence set the example of doing away with those common laws of humanity which all parties alike might have appealed to in their adversity, and by their own previous conduct put themselves out of the pale of those laws, when they themselves might have occasion to solicit their protection. By the κοινοὶ νόμοι the κοινὸς νόμος ὁ κατὰ φύσιν, as Aristotle ( Rhet. I. 13 ) calls it, is of course meant. See n. on c. 58, 3. Plato in the Laws (p. 793) says these observances are the δεσμοὶ πάσης πολιτείας .
ὑπολείπεσθαι —middle.
ταῖς πρώταις foreshadows the further disturbances, described in book IV., which occurred when Eurymedon returned.
διεσώθησαν —aor. as plup., a common idiom in parenthesis.
τείχη —built by Corcyra to protect its territory on the mainland against the neighbouring tribes, Chaones and Thesprotians.
ἐλήζοντο —viz. the fertile central part of the island, ἐξειργασμένη παγκάλως καὶ πεφυτευμένη χώρα, as Xenophon calls it ( Hell. VI 2, 6).
ὕστερον χρόνῳ —always of a considerable interval. It is most probable that the crossing occurred in the spring of 426 B.C.
τὴν Ἰστώνην —in IV. 46 we have ἐν τῷ ὄρει τῆς Ἰστώνης. It has been made highly probable (by B. Schmidt) that Istone is the whole mountain- range in the NE. of Corcyra. It is possible that the name belonged also to a particular height in the range.
ἐς Σικελίαν —this is the first intervention of Athens in Sicily. Under Pericles (who had died in the autumn of 429 B.C.), Athens had concluded alliances with Leontini and Rhegium in 433 B.C, perhaps also—though we have no direct evidence—with Naxos and Catana. But the idea of conquest in Sicily (§ 4) was entirely outside the policy of Pericles. See Introd. p. xxiii.
Λάχητα —the first mention of this well-known man. See c. 115. He was a supporter of Nicias in arranging the peace of 421. Plato's Laches is named after him. He is the dog Labes in Aristoph. Wasps. He was attacked by Cleon. He was killed at the battle of Mantinea, 418 B.C.
καθέστασαν —when the war had broken out is not known.
πλὴν Καμαριναίων —Camarina, founded circa 600 B.C. from Syracuse, was dependent on the mother-city, revolted in 553 B.C. and was destroyed. In 492 B.C. it was restored by Hippocrates, tyrant of Gela, but shortly afterwards was again involved in war with Syracuse, and was again destroyed. Its third building occurred circa 460 B.C.
τὸ πρῶτον emphasizes ἀρχομένου.
Χαλκιδικαί —Naxos, Catana, Himera. They are so called because their origin was Chalcis in Euboea.
Ἰταλίας in the confined sense that it bears in Greek authors, the modern Calabria, the peninsula reaching to the Laus on W. and to Metapontum on E.: ἀπὸ ἄκρας Ἰαπυγίας μέχμ πορθμοῦ Σικελικοῦ is the definition of Dionysius.
κατὰ τὸ ξυγγενές —Rhegium, too, was Chalcidian.
πέμψαντες —this is the famous embassy that was headed by Gorgias of Leontini. The reticence of Thuc. on the matter is characteristic.
παλαιὰν ξυμμαχίαν —the only alliance we know of is that of 433 B.C., but six years seems too short a time to be denoted by παλαιός. Hence it is assumed that an earlier alliance existed. But some have thought that Thuc. wished to obscure the fact that Pericles was responsible for the alliance with Leontini, in order to make it appear that Pericles was in no sense responsible for the intervention in Sicily.
βουλόμενοι δὲ μήτε . . πρόπειράν τε ποιούμενοι — to make the sentence quite symmetrical, ποιεῖσθαι should have been written in place of ποιούμενοι.
δυνατὰ εἴη —personal constr.
καταστάντες —i.e. they chose Rhegium as their base.
ἐκλιποῦσα μὲν . . ἐγένετο δέ —c. 81, 4.
τὸ παντάπασιν —this curious phrase, occurring only here, is to be compared with τὸ παράπαν.
μᾶλλον ἐκάκωσε —no doubt this passage was written before the disastrous Sicilian Expedition of 415 B.C.
ἐκ τῶν τάξεων —i.e. ἐκ καταλόγου, from those liable to serve as hoplites, those of the three higher (Solonian) elasses who wcre on the lists. Men were liable to ordinary service between the ages of 20 and 50. The fourth class— θῆτες— served only in the fleet; these with μέτοικοι and δοῦλοι are included in ὁ ἄλλος ὄχλος. The number of the hoplites on the lists at the beginning of the war was about 15,500. The cavalry numbered 1000.
οἱ —as being well-known.
Βοιωτίῳ —the other was in Arcadia.
στρατεύουσιν ἐπὶ τὰς Αἰόλου νήσους —as this affair is one of the λόγου μάλιστα ἄξια (c. 90, 1) we can see how insignificant were the incidents left unrecorded.
καλουμένας —second attribute, hence the order; c. 54, 5.
νέμονται —the word is used of enjoyment of profits derived, which may or may not be combined with occupation.
ἐν τῇ Ἱερᾷ —still called Vulcano The coins of Lipara show Hephaestus seated, with a hammer. The group of islands, seven in all, is still called Liparian or Aeolian. The full name seems to have been Ἱερὰ Ἡφαίστου— Vulcani nomine sacra it is called in the Aetna.
Στρογγύλη now Stromboli, is there described as cui nomen facies dedit ipsa Rotunda.
ὡς —very unusual constr. with νομίζω.
Ἀταλάντην — Talantonisi: it had been fortified by the Athenians in order that they might prevent the injury caused to Euboea by piratical craft sailing out of Opus and the neighbourhood.
τοῦ τε φρουρίου —at the beginning of the war Athens had 2,500 men in such permanent garrisons in and out of Attica (Aristot. Ath. Pol. c. 24 ).
αἴτιον in apposition to the sentence, ‘as for the cause of such an oceurrence.’ Cf. I. 23 τὴν ἀληθεστάτην πρόφασιν τοὺς Ἀθηναίους ἡγοῦμαι . . ἀναγκάσαι ( αὐτοὺς) ἐς τὸν πόλεμον. The great earthquake at Messina has afforded a striking illustration of this chapter.
ἀποστέλλειν —the subject of this and of ποιεῖν is τὸν σεισμόν. The MSS. give ἐπισπωμένην, but either επισπωμένων ( mid.) or ἐπισπωμένης ( pass., sc. τῆς θαλάσσης) seems necessary. βιαιότερον is best regarded as fem., as in δυσεσβολώτατος ἡ Λωκρίς c. 103, unless, indeed, in a confnsed passage, βιαιοτέραν should be read.
ἄν with ξυμβῆναι .
καὶ ἄλλοι —it is impossible to explain these words with certainty. The reference appears to be to the Sicels, but it is a strange way of designating them. καὶ ἄλλα is read by some, but (1) it is doubtful if ἄλλα ἐπολέμουν is a possible constr., and (2) even so, the change of subject in the antithetic clause— ἃ δὲ μάλιστα ἄξια κτλ.—is surprising. It is clear that Thuc. felt little interest in the affairs of Sicily in this year. The capture of Messena was the only important event.
ἐρύματι = φρουρίῳ .
οἱ Μεσσήνιοι —strangely placed in the middle of the gen. abs., but the order is not without parallel. Messena commands the strait between Sicily and Italy, and was therefore a valuable acquisition.
πιστὰ παρασχόμενοι —‘giving trustworthy assurances.’ πιστά is to be taken as pred., not as substantive.
περὶ Πελοπόννησον —see on c. 3, 3.
Δημοσθένης —the first mention of this celebrated general, conspicuous for boldness and enterprise. There is no doubt that Thuc. obtained from him much information about the expeditions in which he was a leading figure.
Νικίας —c. 51.
Μηλίους —Melos, like Thera, had, as a Lacedaemouian colony, held aloof from the Athenian alliance. But they had taken no part in the war. It is known that Thera now submitted.
αὐτῶν —it is hardly necessary to read αὑτῶν here. Cf. Xen. Cyr. I. 1, 5 ἐδυνάσθη ἐπιθυμίαν ἐμβαλεῖν τοῦ αὐτῷ χαρίζεσθαι.
ἐς Ὠρωπὸν τῆς Γραϊκῆς —on the horders of Attica and Boeotia. It belonged to Athens. For τῆς Γραικῆς cf. II. 23 τὴν γῆν τὴν Γραικὴν καλουμένην. The name belonged to the coast opposite Eretria. In II. 23 it is corrupted into Πειραϊκήν.
οἱ ὁπλῖται ἀπὸ τῶν νεῶν —prob. to be taken together in spite of the absence of art. before ἀπό. In II. 80 we have τὸ ναυτικὸν ἐκ . . , and in II. 18 κατὰ τὴν ἄλλην πορείαν ἡ σχολαιότης.
πανδημεί —i.e. with the whole available army. 16
Ἱππονίκου τοῦ Καλλίου —son of that Callias who negotiated peace with Persia in 470 B.C. The family was reputed the richest in Greece. The younger Callias, son of Hipponicus, was a very well-known man. Hipponicus was proxenus of Sparta. He fell at the battle of Delium, 424 B.C.
ἐν τῇ Τανάγρᾳ —i.e. in the neighbourhood of Tanagra.
τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ μάχῃ —to be taken separately, τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ having ἡμέρᾳ supplied. Herbst, who investigated the use of the phrase, came finally to the conclusion that alone it means ‘on the next day,’ but that sometimes a subst. is supplied from what precedes, in I. 44 ἐκκλησίᾳ, in VII. 11 μάχῃ.
Ἡράκλειαν —the importance of this undertaking (sec § 4 and c. 93, 1) seems to lie in the faet that it marks an extension of the area of the war by Sparta, a counter-move prompted no doubt by the operations of Nicias on the Locrian coast. Sparta could not match Athens at sea and little more was to be gained by invasions of Attica (cc. 1, 26) even if they were not prevented by exceptional events (c. 89 ).
προσθεῖναι —the verb is used of bringing into permanent relationship, whether as friend or foe or dependent: so πρόσκειμαι .
μητρόπολις —from this region the Dorians were sprung. A fragment of Tyrtaeus says of them: προλιπόντες Ερινεὸν ἠνεμόεντα | εὐρεῖαν Πέλοπος νῆσον ἀφικόμεθα.
καθίστασθαι —notice the pres. and contrast I. 36 καλῶς κεῖται (of Corcyra) τοῦ παράπλου (the voyage to Sicily). quod fit non est, sed erit, says Stahl. The gen. τοῦ πολέμου depends on the phrase, on the analogy of χρησίμως, καλῶς ἔχει, ὡς ἔχει etc. ἡ πόλις is, of course, the colony to be.
τῆς ἐπὶ Θρᾴκης παρόδου —it was from Heraclea that Brasidas started on his dash through Thessaly, to the great injury of Athens in Chalcidice ( τὰ ἐπὶ Θρᾀκης ).
τό τε ξύμπαν —summing up.
τὸν θεὸν ἐπήροντο —the usual custom before sending out a colony.
περιοίκων —the descendants of the old Achaean stock, without political rights, living mainly by trade. They were largely drawn upon for military service outside Peloponnese.
Ἀχαιῶν —some Achaeans afterwards settled there notwithstanding.
Ἀλκίδας —c. 16, etc.
ἐκ καινῆς —adverbial, like ἀπὸ τῆς ἴσης I. 15, ἀπὸ ( τῆς ) πρώτης etc.; δῑ ὀρθῆς, ‘aright,’ Soph. Ant. 994 .
εἶρξαν τὸ κατὰ Θ —‘barred the (approach) on the side towards Th.,’ i.e. built a barrier across the pass ( στενόν), to protect harbour and arsenal from the Thessalians.
ξυνοικιζομένης —the ξυν. points to the concentra tion in the colony.
ἀπέβη —impersonal.
αἴτιον δὲ ἦν οἵ τε —the other passages in Thuc. which are introduced by αἴτιον, show the following constrs.:— (1) αἴτιον δ’ ἦν ὅτι II. 65. (2) αἴτιον ἦν οἱ with nom partic. IV. 26. Here we have a third variety. Compare τεκμήριον δέ, usually followed by γάρ. (It does not seem necessary to alier the text here. If anything is wrong, it is most prob. that ἦν should be bracketed, and a comma paced at δέ, as in the constr τὸ δ’ αἴτιον, ἐν τοῖς πένησιν ἦν τὸ λῃτουργεῖν, Demosth. de Cor. 108.)
οἵ τε Θέσσαλοι . . καὶ ὧν —i.e. both the Th. and (those others, besides the Th.) whose land was threatened by the new colony, viz. the Dolopes, Oetaeans, and other tribes. This is decidedly simpler than making ὦν apply still to the Thessalians and taking τε as co-ordinate with οὐ μέντοι below.
πάνυ πολλούς —we do not know the number: Diodorus' figures, amounting to 10,000, are untrustworthy.
οὐ μέντοι —the combination οὐ δέ being avoided.
οἱ ἀφικνούμενοι —perhaps annually.
ἅ — internal accus., ἐξηγούμενοι being here absolute.
Ἐλλομενῷ —“probably on the bay of Vlicho (Klimino), on the E. coast of the island” (Oberhummer).
τῆς Λευκαδίας —sc. γῆς. Corcyra, Cephallenia and Zacynthus were already allies of Athens. For a previous attempt on Leucas see c. 7, 5. Sparta had, besides Leucas, Oeniadae, and Ambracia.
ἔξω —sc. τοῦ ἰσθμοῦ, the land they had in Λcarnania. For the isthmus see c. 81, 1.
τὸ ἱερόν —at the southernmost corner of the island.
οἱ δὲ Ἀκαρνᾶνες —Leucas and Anactorium (c. 114, 3) Corinthian colonies, controlled the entrance to the Ambracian gulf.
ἀποτειχίζειν —‘to cut them off from the mainland.’ In c. 95, 2 this projected wall is referred to as περιτείχισις, i.e. wall from sea to sea.
ὑπὸ Μεσσηνίων —the Messenians of Naupactus (see c. 75 ) probably had Aetolians for immediate neighbours (Woodhouse, Aetolia p. 336).
ὡς καλόν —se. ἐστί.
Ναυπάκτῳ τε . . καὶ ἤν —the second cause is expressed in an independent form—infin. with verb of saying supplied. A good parallel is IV. 3 λιμένος τε προσόντος, καὶ τοὑς Μεσσηνίους . . πλεῖστ’ ἂν βλάπτειν.
διὰ πολλοῦ —‘far apart.’
Ἀποδωτοῖς —this tribe is to the NE. of Naupactus.
Ὀφιονεῦσι —N. of the Apodoti.
Εὐρυτᾶσιν —N. and E. of the Ophioneis. All three tribes belong to New Aetolia, Αἰτωλία ἐπίκτητος, as distinct from Old Aetolia, ἡ ἀρχαία, of the Iliad. (All that can be known about the tribes will be found in Woodhouse, Aetolia.)
καὶ τἆλλα προσχωρήσειν “refers back to the expression τὸ ἄλλο ἠπειρωτικὸν τὸ ταύτῃ—by which we must understand the Messenians (or Thucydides) to mean that the Athenian ‘sphere of influence’ in Western Hellas would be enormously extended if the three Aetolian tribes were subjugated. It would be diffienlt, however, to state precisely what tribes were in the historian's mind” (Woodhouse).
Μεσσηνίων —objective.
μετὰ τῶν Αἰτωλῶν —i.e. when he had forced them to join.
κατὰ γῆν ἐλθεῖν ἐπὶ Βοιωτούς —this exceedingly bold plan was due to Demosthenes only. No doubt Thuc. heard all about it from D. himself. The territory of the Ozolian Locrians, on the Corinthian gulf, S. of the Apodoti, lay between Naupactus and Phocis. The Locrians were allies of Athens ( II. 9 ).
Κυτίνιον —an important strategieal position, chosen by Philip of Macedon in 339 B.C. It was one of the towns of the ancient Dorian tetrapolis.
Φωκέας —nominally allies of Sparta, but there was a powerful demoeratic party in sympathy with Athens.
οὖν —resuming after the parenthesis, like igitur.
Σόλλιον —probably this Corinthian colony lay some distance from the sea, but possessed a piece of the coast with a harbour.
τριακοσίοις —ten to a trireme, as usual at this period.
ἐστράτευσεν —most probably he sailed up the gulf to Naupactus and thence to Oeneon in Locri where he landed (cf. c. 89, 3). (The site of the latter is fully discussed by Woodhouse, l.c.)
οὗτοι —as distinet from the Opuntian and Epicnemidian Locrians who were allies of Sparta.
ἔδει —‘were to.’ The Locrians showed no alacrity, and seem to have done nothing to help Demosthenes in the expedition. They were not keen allies of Athens (Woodhouse, Aetolia, p. 351).
ἐν . . τῷ ἱερῷ —this must have been W. of Oeneon, within a short march of the frontier.
χρησθέν —accus. abs
ἐν Νεμέα —of course ambiguous. We learn from Plutarch and Pausanias that Hesiod and his servant were murdered by two young men because they believed that the poet had insulted their sister. Their bodies were cast into the sea. Hesiod's was carried “by dolphins’ to Molycria. Thence it was taken to Orchomenns in Boeotia and buried there.
Ποτιδανίαν —“situated exactly opposite to the only ford of the river Mórnos” (Woodhouse). The ancient name of the river was probably Daphnos. The town is at the extreme SW. of Apodotia, just over the border.
Κροκύλειον . . Τείχιον —Demosthenes marched to the NE. from Potidania into Apodotia, attacking the towns in succession. Both places have been identified (by Bazin and Woodhouse). Teichium is close to the border of Ophioneia.
Εὐπάλιον —now Sulés, near Potidania.
τὰ ἄλλα καταστρεψάμενος —i.e. the rest of Apodotia, before advancing into Ophionea. The Locrian light-armed troops had not yet turned up, and Demosthenes had gone only a very short way when he found it desirable to modify his plan considerably.
ἐς Ναύπακτον —as the best base for operating against Ophionea.
οὐκ ἐλάνθανεν . . οὔτε ὅτε . . ἐπειδή τε —“ οὔτε,” says Prof. Lamberton, “is before ὅτε, because the contrast connects itself most closely and naturally with the different points of time.” The sequence is irregular, but the sentence is quite clear.
οἱ ἔσχατοι . . Καλλιῆς —these tribes, then, must be the easternmost of the Ophioneis. καθήκοντες is not to be understood to mean that they extended right down to the Malian Gulf, but rather marks the direction. (It is possible that οἱ . . καθήκοντες is an addition to the text, a note made after Heraclea became part of Aetolia, which happened in 280 B.C.)
ἀναδιδάσκοντες —because at Teichium Demosthenes showed signs of appreciating the formidable nature of his undertaking.
τὴν δ’ ἐν ποσίν —sc. κώμην. Cf. Soph. Antig. 1327 τἂν ποσὶν κακά, ‘what lies in one's way.’
τῇ τύχῃ ἐλπίσας —causal dat., ‘rendered sanguine by his fortune.’ His confidence is amazing.
ἐχώρει ἐπὶ Αἰγιτίου —recent authorities have made it highly probable that Aegitium is Velúchovos, which, Woodhouse says, is the strongest fortress in Aetolia. It is in Ophionea. If this is so, notice (1) that Demosthenes has completely accepted the original plan of the Messenians, (2) that he has crossed the river Daphnos since advancing from Teichium. It is likely that Thuc. did not know of this river.
ὀγδοήκοντα —the distance is really a little over a hundred stades—thirteen miles The difference can scarcely be regarded as a serious argument against the identification of the site. (Possibly H, i.e. ἑκατόν, in an early uncial MS. reappeared as Π’ by a copyist's error.)
βεβοηθηκότες γὰρ . . ἦσαν —viz. the relief force; see c. 96, 3. The delay at Teichium had given them the opportunity.
ὁπότε —this, and not ὄτε, is prob. correct, as elsewhere Thuc. uses ὄτε only with indic.—The country through which the Athenians retreated on Oeneon was exceedingly wild and difficult.
μέχρι —c. 10, 3.
αὐτοῖς —ethic, but in unusual position.
οἱ δέ —the τοξόται: an epic and Ionic usage, since the subject is not a new one. The nse occurs occasionally in Attic prose. Thompson 2 At. Syn. § 47, note.
αὐτοί —the main body, in contrast with
οὗτοι the archers.
καί before ἐπὶ πολύ is ‘quite.’
ὁ ἡγεμών —“the wonderful precision with which the [guide] possessing local knowledge selects the proper path is only equalled by the ease with which he loses it when working in an unfamiliar region. Chromon was, perhaps, a shepherd picked up at Eupalion” (Woodhouse).
κατὰ πόδας —‘promptly,’ ‘rapidly.’
ἡλικία ἡ αὐτή —‘and men of the same efficiency.’ The phrase is so compressed that it has become obscure. Thuc. means οὗτοι ( οἳ) τοσοῦτοι ( ἦσαν) τὸ πλῆθος καὶ ἡλικία ἡ αὐτὴ ( ἦσαν); and ἡλικία is collective. It is impossible to render ‘in the prime of life too,’ because it is obvious that all who were serving must be part of the ἡλικία, or those of military age.
φοβούμενος —doubtless he feared impeachment ( εἰσαγγελία), possibly on a γραφὴ προδοσίας. As soon as Demosthenes should return, he would be a private citizen, since he had not been elected Strategus for the official year 426 (summer)-425 (summer).
Λοκρίδα —the Italian, of course. The Halex formed the boundary between Locri and Rhegium, and no doubt this expedition was undertaken at the request of the latter.
προπέμψαντες πρότερον —pleonastic. The time of this embassy was doubtless when the Aetolians got wind of the expedition of Demosthenes (c. 96, 3). The sentence is not clear, hut what was done seems to be this: the three ambassadors went first to Corinth; then, having got no promise of help there, they went on to Sparta, and there they succeeded; but by the time that the force was ready to start, Demosthenes was back at Naupactus. The delay is doubtless partly due to the fact that the 3000 hoplites sent (§ 2) were all mercenaries (see c. 109, 2 note) from different quarters; and it took time to collect these.
ἐπαγωγήν —by the Messenians, c. 92, 1.
πεντακόσιοι —these 500 adventurous Heracleots are not mentioned again. The reason why they are mentioned at all is their surprisingly large number.
ξυνηκολούθουν —according to the Spartan custom, in case anything happened to Eurylochus.
ἐς Δελφούς —a natural place to choose for an army that was to march to Naupactus.
Ἀμφισσῆς —extreme E. of Loeri, near to Phocis. As for the Phocians see n. on c. 95, 1. Locri and Phocis were on opposite sides.
οὖν —‘to be sure,’ or ‘indeed,’ as in γὰρ οὖν. It has nothing to do with μέν here.
Μυονέας —i.e. Myonia lay on the natural route through Locri. The names of the places that follow need not be considered.
δυσεσβολώτατος —for the fem. form cf. c. 89, 5.
Κυτίνιον τὸ Δωρικόν —c. 95, 1.
Οἰνεῶνα αἱρεῖ . . καὶ Εὐπάλιον —the Athenian influence in the W. of Locri was stronger. For the towns see c. 95. (It used to be thought that there is a reversion of the geographical order in the mention of the places; but this has been shown by Woodhouse to be an error.)
γενόμενοι —viz. the force under Eurylochus.
ἐπὶ τῶν νεῶν —for ‘on board their (Acarnanian) ships’ we should expect ἐπὶ τῶν σφετέρων νεῶν. If the text is right, it is probable (as Widmann says) that some of the thirty Athenian ships had not returned home and that c. 98, 5 is therefore inaccurate.
ἐς τὴν . . Καλυδῶνα . . Πλευρῶνα —‘to the Aeolis that is now (so) called, Calydon and Pleuron,’ i.e. to New Aeolis. We know that the name Aeolis was once confined to the territory of Calydon; but Pleuron had been added to it. Calydon and Pleuron are two of the five cities of Old Aetolia mentioned in the Iliad (The usual rendering ‘to Aeolis which is now called Calydon and Pleuron’ really makes no sense, for Thuc. could not refer so to two cities far more famous in the heroic days than in his own.)
ἐς τὰ ταύτῃ χωρία
—other parts of Old Aetolia.
Ἀμπρακιῶται —Amphilochian Argos now belonged to Amphilochians and Acarnanians. But the Ambraciots, who had once possessed it, and had been turned out by the help of Athens, in 437 B.C., wanted to recover it. They had made a vain attempt to do so in 430 B.C. The Ambraciots were in alliance with Sparta.
πᾶν τὸ ἠπειρωτικόν —cf. c. 94, 3. In 429 B.C. the Ambraciots had held out hopes to Sparta of acquiring (1) Acarnania (2) Zacynthus and Cephallenia, (3) Naupactus. It is noteworthy that nothing is said this time about the islands, doubtless because the crushing naval defeats the Peloponnesians had sustained from Phormio in 429 and their rough experiences again during the troubles in Corcyra made any project for the acquisition of these islands hopeless. Since the latter events, it is hardly surprising that Athens did not trouble to acquire Leucas (see c. 94, 2).
ἐκστρατευσαμένοις —‘when they (should) have taken the field.’
περὶ τὸ Ἄργος —with βοηθεῖν.
τῶν Ἑλλήνων —i.e. the Siceliots, whereas the Sicels are βάρβαροι.
ξύμμαχοι —“the name allies shows that they remained distinct though subject communities” (Freeman).
αὐτοῖς —with ξυνεπολέμουν.
Ἴνησσαν —identical with Aetna, not far from Catana. It had been an important Sicel stronghold.
Καϊκῖνον —unknown. Take κατὰ τὸν Κ. with ἐκράτησαν.
ἐκάθηραν —doubtless in gratitude for the cessation of the plague. The oracle perhaps gave directions how the plague might be kept away. It has been pointed out that Nicias had much to do with this ceremony of purification. His great interest in the event and his benefactions to Delos are known from Plutarch.
δή —explanatory. The “purification” by Pisistratus is noticed by Herodotus ( I. 64 ).
θῆκαι —‘coffins.’ Notice the not very common attraction of the antecedent into the case of the rel., though the antecedent is not placed in the rel. clause. Thompson 2 § 50 D. In Latin this eonstr., familiar from urbem quam statuo vestra est, is an old colloquialism.
Πολυκράτης —he ruled 532-521 B.C. According to Herod. III. 164 Samos was πολίων πασέων πρώτη in his time.
Νήσων —the Cyclades.
ἄρξας is ‘making himself master of,’ ingressive.
τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι —Apollo was worshipped much earlier than the time of Polycrates in the rocky island of Rhenea; Hymn to Apollo 44—see on § 4—written not later than 600 B.C. Cf. Theocritus XVII. 70 ἶσον καὶ Ῥήναιαν ἄναξ ἐφίλησεν Ἀπόλλων.
τὴν πεντετηρίδα —the first celebration probably took place in March (Anthesterion) 425 B.C.
τὰ Δήλια —‘(namely) the Delia.’ The words are bracketed by some edd., but Diodorus, whose account is derived from Thuc. (through Ephorus), says ἑποίησαν πανήγυριν τὴν τῶν Δηλίων.
ξύνοδος —in celebration of the god's birth.
ἐθεώρουν —‘attended the festival.’
ἐς τὰ Ἐφέσια —in honour of Artemis ( ἡ Ἐφεσία θεός).
χορούς τε ἀνῆγον —from the meaning ‘lift up’ a cry, etc, ἀνάγω comes to mean ‘set going,’ ‘start’; Eur. Tro. 325 ἄναγ’ ἄναγε χορόν. Notice the metrical χορούς τ’ ἀνῆγον αἱ πόλεις.
Ὅμηρος —the blind bard “of Chios,” who wrote this prize poem, was, according to a scholiast on Pindar, Cynaethus of Chios.
ἐκ προοιμίου —the quotations are from the famous “Homeric hymn” to Apollo; it was actually sung at the festival, where it received a prize.
ἀλλ’ ὅτε . = Hymn to Apollo 146-150, with important variations from the version of the hymn as found in the extant MSS. ‘But when your heart rejoices most in Delos.’
ἑλκεχίτωνες —alluding to the long robes of the Ionians in early times, almost obsolete in the days of Thuc.
σὴν ἐς ἀγυιάν —meaning uncertain; the square before the temple of Apollo, where the ἀγών was held, is the suggestion of Sikes ad loc. The I. in the MSS. of the hymn stands αὐτοῖς σὺν παίδεσσι καὶ αἰδοίῃς ἀλόχοισιν.
καθέσωσιν ἀγῶνα —‘have made the assembly sit down,’ to start the contests. ἀγών is ‘an assembly at games’. see Leaf on Iliad XV. 428. The MSS. of the hymn have στήσωνται ἀγῶνα.
τὸν γὰρ Δηλιακὸν χορὸν τῶν γυναικῶν —the enlogy of the κοῦραι Δηλιάδες, Delian women who sang the chorus, immediately precedes the passage about to be quoted.
τοῦ ἐπαίνου —viz. of the Delian women. For the gen. cf. c. 59, 4.
ἀλλ’ ἄγεθ’ .= H. to Apollo 165-172.
ὑποκρίνασθαι ἀφήμως —‘answer with one accord,’ i.e. ὁμοφήμως. The scholiast gives ἁθρόως. The reading ἀφήμως is supported by that of the MSS. of the hymn, ἀφ’ ἡμέων (or similar). Inferior MSS. of Thuc. give εὐφήμως.
τυφλὸς ἀνήρ —“this line,” says Sikes, “was at least partly the origin of the tradition that Homer was blind, and lived in Chios.”
καὶ τὰ πλεῖστα —‘and most parts’ of the ξύνοδος.
ὑπὸ ξυμφορῶν —when Persia set her heel on the necks of the Ionians.
πρὶν δή —see on c. 29, 1.
ὥσπερ ὑποσχόμενοι . . κατέσχον —‘in accordance with the promise to Eurylochus by which they had detained his force.’
Ὄλπας —on the Ambracian gulf.
ὃ . . τειχισάμενοι . . ἐχρῶντο —the more ordinary constr. by which, when partic. and verb that govern differeut cases have a common object, the case of the obj. is accommodated to the partic.
ποτε —this occupation of Olpae by the Acarnanians probably took place at the time when the Ambraciots had first become powerful in Argos. The meaning is clearly that the A carnanians had now ceased to hold it, and that it belonged to the Amphilochians. The Acarnanians had used Olpae as a common place of justice.
ἐπιθαλασσίας —if Argos lies where it is usually placed, it is some distance from the sea, but the inaccuracy need not be pressed. Still there is some reason to think that Argos and Crenae should change places on the maps, Argos being placed on the coast, S. of Olpae, and Crenae inland. The site marked Argos would be a suitable position from which to watch for an enemy advancing from Acarnania to join his ally at Olpae, of course avoiding Argos.
πέμπουσι —to Naupactus. Demostheues was not, strictly speaking, Strategus now, but he still had charge of the defence of Naupactus, and therefore continued to hold an official position until he should be relieved by the arrival at Naupactus of the twenty ships here referred to.
πόλιν —Ambracia.
ἡ μἀχη γένηται —the expected battle. The phrase is passive of τὴν μάχην ποιεῖσθαι .
Ἀχελῷον —frontier between Aetolia and Acarnania. The route:— Through the territory of Stratus, the greatest city in Acarnania, westwards to the territory of Phytia (Phoitia); thence northwards through Eastern Medionia, which brought Eurylochus to the Ambraciau gulf; thence eastwards across the district of Limnaea, avoiding the town (of doubtful name) at the SE. corner of the gulf; and so across the low hills called Thyamus, and through the friendly territory of the Agraei; hence down into the territory of Argos, between that city and Crenae, to Olpae.
αὖθις —‘then,’ or ‘afterwards.’ It is usual to make Μεδεῶνος depend on παρ’ ἔσχατα; but Herbst seems right in taking Μεδεῶνος with διά, and making παρ’ ἔσχατα modify the namc of both districts; i.e. they went along the border of Phytia and also of Medionia.
Ἀγραϊκόν for ἀγροῖκον of the MSS., which is not used of districts, is a certain emendation.
καθίζουσιν —sc. τὸν στρατόν, but practically intrans.
Ἀθηναίων —doubtless a small force stationed at Naupactus. Demosthenes used the ships referred to in c. 102, 4. Oberhummer thinks that from Limnaea he went by land, following the line of Eurylochus, that he joined the Acarnanian division at Crenae, and accompanied it to Argos. This seems most probable.
τὸν λόφον if genuine, is in apposition to τὰς Ὄλπας, but the description does not seem likely or necessary after c. 105, 1.
Ἀμφιλόχων —i.e. those of Amphilochia generally; for the reason why the majority were restrained from taking part in the fighting see c. 114, 3.
μετά —Demosthenes was to be Commander-in-chief.
χαράδρα . . μεγάλη —this has been recognized in a brook, the banks of which are overshadowed with plane-trees; cf. the ὸδὸς κοίλη καὶ λοχμώδης.
κατὰ τὸ ὑπερέχον —where the enemy's line (the left wing, c. 108, 1) outflanked them.
ὀλίγων —a strange way of referring to the sixty Athenian archers: we should expect simply μετὰ τῶν Ἀθ. Possibly ὀλίγων is an addition to the text.
ἐπεῖχον governs τὸ δὲ ἄλλο. The Acarnanians were in separate contingents, each under its own commander.
ἀναμίξ —on the right wing the Ambraciots evidently were the principal troops; cf. e. 108, 2.
ἐς ἀλκὴν ὑπομεῖναι —‘stand their ground to the point of resistance.’ For ἀλκή see on c. 30, 2.
τὸ κατ’ Εὐρύλοχον —‘that part where Eu. was.’
τὸ πολὺ τοῦ ἔργου ἐπεξῆλθον —both έξ‐ and έπεξ‐ can have the accus.: the latter is the normal constr., and it is not certain that there is any parallel for the former in Thuc. In I. 70 the MSS. vary in the same way as here. § 2 l. 15.
μαχιμώτατοι —this refers to οἱ Ἀμπρακιῶται only, not to οἱ . . κἑρας, who are the few Peloponnesians on the right wing. This restricted reference is so awkward that it is not unlikely that καί after Ἀμπρακιῶται ought to be removed, so as to render ‘the A. on the right wing.’
ὡς . . νενικημένον —this is what they found on returning from the pursuit of the enemy's left. The inference is clearly that τὸ πλἑον also retreated to Olpae; cf. ἐς φυγὴν . . καταστῆσαι above. With a colon instead of the usual comma after Ὄλπας, the difficulty that has been found in making αὐτῶν presently refer—as it must do—to the whole army, disappears.
αὐτῶν —‘of the armv.’ It cannot mean ‘of the right wing’ only, since the Mantineans were posted almost on the left wing.
προσπίπτοντες —‘while rushing to the fortress of Olpae.’
αὐτός —‘single-handed.’
πολιορκήσεται —‘to stand a siege.’ § 2 l. 13.
ἀποθανόντας = νεκρούς.
Ἀκαρνάνων depends on ξυστρατήγων, possessive gen.
σπένδονται —for the plur. verb, rare with a sing. subj. followed by μετά, see Thompson 2 § 7. βουλόμενος following makes the conjecture σπένδεται probable.
τὸν μισθοφόρον ὄχλον —i.c. the Peloponnesian forces, exclusive of the Mantineans, the ἄρχοντες and ἀξιολογώτατοι. The Peloponnesian troops were mercenaries, it would seem. τὸν ξενικόν is prob. a mere gloss on μισθοφόρον.
διαβαλεῖν ἐς —‘to damage them with.’
Ἕλληνας —Steup places the comma at χρῄζων so as to make Ἕλληνας object of καταπροδόντες, i.e. the Ambraciots and the ὄχλος μισθοφόρος. This is better than ἐς τοὺς ἐκείνῃ . . Ἕλληνας together, i.e. the Ambraciots only, because (1) the Amphilochians too would be naturally included under the τούς, and they were not Ἔλληνες, (2) the mercenaries should certainly be included in the object of καταπροδόντες.
ὥσπερ ὑπῆρχε —‘as well as circumstances allowed.’
οἷς ἐδέδοτο —sc. ἐκεῖνοι.
πόλεως —c. 105, 4. The force from Ambracia had to march to Idomene (c. 112 ), then through the hills into the plain of Argos.
προλοχιοῦντας —referring to the collective μέρος.
τὰ καρτερά —strong positions in the hills.
οἷς ἔσπειστο —see c. 109, 2.
πρόφασιν —the so-called accus. in apposition to a sentence, best regarded as a free use of the internal or adverbial accus. The actions described are the πρόφασις (Bayfield on Soph. El. 130 , Hardie, Latin Prose, p. 7).
οἱ ἄλλοι —i.e. the Peloponnesians who were not included in the secret agreement.
ὅσοι . . ξυνεξελθόντες —‘as many, that is, who had chanced to go out (from Olpac) in a body fortuitously with the others.’ This is the best interpretation of a passage that has been very much discussed. Notice (1) μέν. with no corresponding δέ, implies a contrast: part remained behind in Olpae; (2) οὕτως= ὡς εἶχον, ‘just by chance’; (3) the aorist partic. with ἐτύγχανον is unusual, the rule being ἐτύγχανον+ pres. or perf. partic. ἔτυχον+ aor. partic.; (4) ξυνελθόντες, the other reading, would mean, ‘to have met together in Olpae.’ A great number of emendations have been proposed, but the reading of the MSS. gives a satisfactory sense. If (3) is a fatal objection, then ( a) a comma must be placed at οὕτως, and the latter must be considered to point forward to ξυνεξελθόντες— then ἐτύγχανον οὕτως without a partic. is strange; or ( b) μέν must be altered to μεμονωμένοι or μένοντες; or ( c) a comma must be placed at ἁθρόοι, so that ἐτύγχανον οὔτως ἁθρόοι sc. ὄντες=‘happened by chanee to be together.’ Such an omission of a partic. with τυγχάνω is not impossible where an adj. is added.
οἱ δὲ Ἀκαρνᾶνες —only their leaders knew of the secret compact.
τις —often explained as collective for τινες: this is doubtful, because of the sing. νομίσας following. § 4 l. 22.
ἐς τὴν Ἀγραίδα —the Agraei were independent and friendly to the Pcloponnesians. Woodhouse thinks that they were not Aetolians.
Ἰδομενήν —twin heights in the hills, the exact site uncertain.
ἐπὶ τῆς ἐσβολῆς —to the pass that led to Ambracia.
διὰ τῶν Ἀμφιλοχικῶν ὀρῶν —i.e. inland, among the hills, in order to stop up the roads.
ἅμα ὄρθρῳ —the time between first cock-crow and the dawn: ὄρθρος ἐστὶν ἡ ὥρα τῆς νυκτὸς καθ’ ἢν ἀλεκτρυόνες ᾄδουσιν. ἄρχεται δὲ ἑνάτης ὥρας ( circa 2 A.M.) καὶ τελευτᾷ εἰς διαγελῶσαν ἡμἐραν (Phrynichus).
Δωρίδα τε γλῶσσαν —it was only thirty years since the Naupactian Messenians had left the Peloponnese. The Ambraciots spoke Doric.
τῇ ὄψει —‘with the eyes,’ pointing the contrast with what they heard. Here as in other passages (e.g. VII. 75, 2) it is disputed whether the phrase means this or ‘by their appearance.’
τῶν δὲ . . ἀνεπιστημόνων —for the gen. abs. though it refers to the subj. of the verb see c. 13, 7, 55. 1.
παραπλεούσας . . ξυντυχίᾳ —‘sailing along the coast from Olpae) just at the time when the action (the fighting) occurred.’
σκυλεύσαντες —the Athenians themselves were not above this on occasions
καὶ αὐτοῖς .—the incident as related inevitably reminds us of a Greek tragedy—e.g. the Persae.
τῶν νεκρῶν οὓς ἀπέκτειναν —cf. II. 52 νεκροὶ ἑπ’ ἀλλήλοις ἀποθνῄσκοντες.
ξυνεξῇσαν —‘tried to depart with them.’
τὸ πάθος —‘the catastrophe’ of Idomene.
τῶν μετὰ σφῶν —i.e. that they had belonged to those who had fought with his own comrades—i.e. with the body that escaped over the border.
θαυμάζοι . . τεθνᾶσιν —the change of mood from opt. to indic. has nothing to do with the sense: it is purely styhstic Cf. c. 22, 8.
αὖ —‘for his part.’
τῶν ἐν Ἰδομεναῖς —edd. compare II. 34 τοὺς ἐν Μαραθῶνι where, however, ἐν should prob. be omitted (see Neil on Aristoph. Eq. 785 ). In most cases a partic. is expressed; but ‘those of Idomenae’ is, of course, sufficient.
τὰ ὅπλα ταυτί —the omission of the nnmber— διακοσίων—here appears to be impossible: ‘these are not the arms, then,’ would be natural, were it not for the contrast following. The schol. already did not find διακοσίων in the text.
μαχομένων —imperf.; cf. c. 62, 5.
εἴπερ γε —‘yes if,’ taking up τῶν . . ἐστίν, exactly as in dramatic dialogue the retort is apt to catch up the question. ( I have put a note of interrogation at ἐστίν in place of the usual full stop, because the remark seems to be a query as well as a denial: ‘then they are not . . ?’)
ἀλλ’ ἡμεῖς γε —‘nay, but we.’
καὶ μὲν δὴ . . γε —‘why I assure you it was with these’; for the particles cf. Plato, Symp. 197 Α καὶ μὲν δὴ τήν γε τῶν ζῳων ποίησιν.
πάθος —‘this disaster was the worst that . . ’ The number of days is three. The qualifications are very precise, and suggest that Thuc. is conscious that other events might be suggested.
κατὰ τὸν τόλεμον τόνδε —many think that only the Ten Years' (Archidamian) war is meant. It is impossible to attain certainty on the question. If Thuc. wrote this soon after the event, the expression is quite natural.
ἄπιστον —pred. not to γενέσθαι, but to λέγεται γενέσθαι together, i.e. ‘the total that it is said to have amounted to is incredible.’
πλέοντα ἑάλω —when or how is not explained.
ἐξῃρέθησαν —the number is prob. influenced by the apposition πανοπλίαι .
κατέπλευσε —to Athens. He was once more elected Strategus at the following elections (in spring of 425 B.C.) for the year 425-424. A statue of Nikē was set up on the acropolis as a memorial of this victory: an inscription relating to its repair is still extant. The Messenians and Naupactians set up a Nikē at Delphi: a fragment of the inscription upon it is extant.
ἀναχώρησιν . . ἐξ Οἰνιαδῶν —i.e. by sea, the ships obtained from Oeniadae, which was friendly. These Ambraciots had prob. got to Oeniadae from Agraeis by crossing the Achelous and marching right across Aetolia. They could hardly have got safely home to Ambracia by sea without leave from the Acarnanians. ( οἶπερ for οἵπερ and Σαλυνθίου for Σαλύνθιον are certain corrections.)
ἐπὶ τοῖσδε —no attempt is made to modify the ξυμμαχίαι of Acarnania with Athens, or of Ambracia with Sparta.
βοηθεῖν of defensive, στρατεύειν of offensive, operations.
ἐπὶ Ἀνακτόριον —the Corinthians had added fresh colonists to this important place in 433 B.C. A year after this agreement (autumn 425 B.C.) the Acarnanians, supported by the Athenians at Naupactus, took Anactorium. § 4 l. 27.
διέλυσαν τὸν πόλεμον —Ambracia never recovered from its effects.
ἄνωθεν —from the interior, where the Sicels dwelt: τὰ μέσα καὶ τὰ πρὸς βορρᾶν τῆς νήσου ἔχουσι ( VI. 2 ). Σικελῶν τῶν for Σικελιωτῶν is fairly certain: the Siceliots were being hard pressed by Syracuse.
τὰ ἔσχατα —Freeman says that the extreme eastern part of the Himeraean land must be meant.
ἐπὶ τὰς ναῦς διάδοχον —it is hardly necessary to supply a partic.: διάδοχον in itself implies ταχθέντα. It appears that Laches, on retorning to Athens, was prosecuted for embezzlement of public money.
ξύμμαχοι —the Siceliots.
ἔπεισαν —plup. in sense.
ὡς οὐ περιοψόμενοι —with παρεσκευάζοντο.
καταλυθήσεσθαι —by establishing themselves in Sicily.
μελέτην . . ποιεῖσθαι —it has been pointed out that this is prob. intentional irony on the part of Thuc., who repeats the statements of the war-party of the day. There was an unlimited field for Athenian naval activity round the coasts of Peloponnese without sending fleets to Sicily.
Πυθόδωρον —the three commanders are mocked at by Aristoph. Acharn. 598 .
φρούριον —see c. 99.
τῶν Καταναίων —Catania, now the second city in Sicily, has survived many terrible disasters, due partly to its wars, and partly to its proximity to the mountain.
πεντηκοστῷ ἔτει —if the number is exact, the previous eruption would be in 475 or 474 B.C. There is a magnificent description of an eruption of Etna in Pindar's first Pythian (474 B.C.), and in Aeschylus, Prometheus Vinctus ( circa 468 B.C.). An eruption is recorded as occurring at the time of the battle of Plataea, 479 B.C.
λέγεται shows that Thuc. was not quite sure as to the exact date.
τρὶς γεγενῆσθαι —the ‘first’ eruption is legendary. A fourth is recorded in 396 B.C.