History of the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides. Élie-Ami Bétant (Translator). Paris. 1863.
Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.
History of the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides. Élie-Ami Bétant (Translator). Paris. 1863.
Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.
Histoire de la Guerre du Péloponnése (French) (Thucydides. Histoire de la Guerre du Péloponnése. Bétant, Élie-Ami, translator. Paris: Librairie de L. Hachette, 1863.)
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.