Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War 5.16

[1] But when also this other overthrow happened to the Athenians at Amphipolis, and that both Cleon and Brasidas were slain, the which on either side were most opposite to the peace, the one for that he had good success and honour in the war, the other because in quiet times his evil actions would more appear and his calumniations be the less believed, those two that in the two states aspired most to be chief, Pleistoanax, the son of Pausanias, and Nicias, the son of Niceratus, who in military charges had been the most fortunate of his time, did most of all other desire to have the peace go forward. Nicias because he was desirous, having hitherto never been overthrown, to carry his good fortune through and to give both himself and the city rest from their troubles for the present, and for the future to leave a name that in all his time he had never made the commonwealth miscarry; which he thought might be done by standing out of danger and by putting himself as little as he might into the hands of fortune; and to stand out of danger is the benefit of peace. Pleistoanax had the same desire because of the imputation laid upon him about his return from exile by his enemies, that suggested unto the Lacedaemonians upon every loss they received that the same befell them for having, contrary to the law, repealed his banishment.

[2] For they charged him further that he and his brother Aristocles had suborned the prophetess of Delphi to answer the deputies of the Lacedaemonians, when they came thither, most commonly with this: that they should bring back the seed of the semigod, the son of Jupiter, out of a strange country into his own; and that if they did not, they should plough their land with a silver plough;

[3] and so at length to have made the Lacedaemonians, nineteen years after, with such dances and sacrifices as they who were the first founders of Lacedaemon had ordained to be used at the enthroning of their kings, to fetch him home again; who lived in the meantime in exile in the mountain Lycaeum, in a house whereof the one half was part of the temple of Jupiter, for fear of the Lacedaemonians, as being suspected to have taken a bribe to withdraw his army out of Attica.

[1] Now, however, after the Athenian defeat at Amphipolis , and the death of Cleon and Brasidas, who had been the two principal opponents of peace on either side—the latter from the success and honor which war gave him, the former because he thought that, if tranquillity were restored, his crimes would be more open to detection and his slanders less credited—the foremost candidates for power in either city, Pleistoanax, son of Pausanias, king of Lacedaemon , and Nicias, son of Niceratus, the most fortunate general of his time, each desired peace more ardently than ever. Nicias, while still happy and honored, wished to secure his good fortune, to obtain a present release from trouble for himself and his countrymen, and hand down to posterity a name as an ever-successful statesman, and thought the way to do this was to keep out of danger and commit himself as little as possible to fortune, and that peace alone made this keeping out of danger possible. Pleistoanax, again, was assailed by his enemies for his restoration, and regularly held up by them to the prejudice of his countrymen, upon every reverse that befell them, as though his unjust restoration were the cause;

[2] the accusation being that he and his brother Aristocles had bribed the prophetess of Delphi to tell the Lacedaemonian deputations which successively arrived at the temple to bring home the seed of the demigod son of Zeus from abroad, else they would have to plough with a silver share.

[3] In this way, it was insisted, in time he had induced the Lacedaemonians in the nineteenth year of his exile to Lycaeum (whither he had gone when banished on suspicion of having been bribed to retreat from Attica , and had built half his house within the consecrated precinct of Zeus for fear of the Lacedaemonians), to restore him with the same dances and sacrifices with which they had instituted their kings upon the first settlement of Lacedaemon .

Seitdem waren die Athener nun auch noch bei Amphi­
polis geschlagen und Kleon und Brasidas gefallen, die Männer,
welche auf beiden Seiten die Hauptgegner des Friedens ge­
wesen waren, dieser, weil der Krieg ihm, dem glücklichen
Feldherrn, Ruhm und Ehre brachte, jener, weil er fürchtete,
in ruhigen Zeiten möchten seine schlechten Streiche eher anS
Licht kommen und seine Lügen und Verdächtigungen nichts
mehr verschlagen. Um so eifriger traten jetzt zwei Männer
für den Frieden ein, welche beide in ihrer Heimat nach der
Führerschaft tsrebten, Pleistoanax, der Sohn des Pausanias,
König der Lakedämonier, und Nikias, Nikeratos' Sohn, ein
damals besonders glücklicher Feldherr. Nikias, der bis dahin
immer Glück gehabt hatte und in diesem Rufe stand, wollte
sein Glück nicht aufs Spiel setzen und wünschte, nicht nur
selbst keine schwere Zeiten mehr zu erleben, sondern auch seine
Mitbürger davor zu bewahren und der Nachwelt den Namen
eines Mannes zu hinterlassen, unter dem seiner Vaterstadt
niemals ein Unglück zugestoßen sei. Zu dem Ende, glaubte
er, müsse man sich vor Gefahren hüten und sich auf keine
gewagten Unternehmungen einlassen, der beste Schutz vor
Gefahren aber sei der Friede. Pleistoanax dagegen wurde
seiner Zurückberufung wegen von seinen Gegnern angefeindet,
die, so oft den Lakedämoniern ein Unglück zustieß, ihnen be­
ständig damit in den Ohren lagen, das komme davon, daß
man ihn rechtswidrig zurückberufen habe. Sie gaben ihm
nämlich schuld, mit seinem Bruder Aristokles die Priesterin
in Delphi angestiftet zu haben, den Lakedämoniern, wenn sie
das Orakel beschickten, immer wieder den Bescheid zu erteilen,
sie sollten den vom Halbgotte, dem Sohne des Zeus, Ent­
sprossenen aus der Fremde wieder in ihr Land versetzen, sonst
würden sie mit silberner Pflugschar pflügen, wodurch die Lake­
dämonier endlich bewogen seien, ihn vom Lykaion, wo er
unter dem Verdacht, seinerzeit zum Abzüge auS Attika be­
stochen zu sein, als Verbannter lebte und aus Furcht vor
den Lakedämoniern ein zur Hälfte im Heiligtume deS ZeuS
befindliches Haus bewohnte, nach neunzehn Jahren unter
Tänzen und Opfern zurückzuführen, so wie man bei der Besitz­
nahme von Lakedämon die ersten Könige eingesetzt hatte.

XVI. Après la défaite des Athéniens à Amphipolis, la mort de Cléon et de Brasidas changea la face des choses : c’étaient les adversaires les plus déclarés de la paix dans les deux États, l’un à cause de ses succès militaires et de la gloire qu’ils lui valaient, l’autre parce qu’il sentait qu’en temps de paix ses crimes seraient plus en vue, ses calomnies moins facilement acceptées ¹ . ^{2 3 4} Après eux, les hommes qui avaient les prétentions les mieux fondées à la direction des affaires dans les deux États, Plistoanax, fils de Pausanias, roi des Lacédémoniens, et Nicias, fils de Niceratos, le général le plus heureux du temps, inclinaient fortement à la paix : Nicias voulait, tandis que la fortune ne l’avait point encore trahi, au milieu de sa gloire, mettre en sûreté son bonheur, goûter dans le présent le repos après ses fatigues, en faire jouir ses concitoyens, et laisser à l’avenir la réputation de n’avoir jamais trompé les espérances de son pays : le moyen d’arriver à ce but était, il le sentait bien, de ne rien risquer, d’abandonner le moins possible au hasard; et la paix seule permet de ne rien risquer. Plistoanax était en butte aux attaques de ses ennemis à propos de son rappel : ils ne cessaient, à l’occasion de chaque revers, de réveiller les scrupules des Lacédémoniens, en disant que c’était là le résultat de son retour illégal. Ils l’accusaient d’avoir, de concert avec son frère Aristoclès, engagé la prêtresse de Delphes à répondre aux théores ⁵ lacédémoniens qui venaient souvent consulter l’oracle, « qu’ils eussent à ramener chez eux de la terre étrangère la race du demidieu fils de Jupiter ⁶ ; qu’autrementils laboureraient avec un soc d’argent ⁷ ; » d’avoir ensuite, — dans le temps même où il vivait réfugié au mont Lycie, sur le soupçon d’avoir évacué l’Attique à prix d’argent, et où la crainte ^{8 9 10} des Lacédémoniens le forçait à habiter une maison située mi-partie sur l’enceinte de Jupiter ¹¹ , — fait conseiller par cette même prêtresse de le rappeler, après dix-neuf ans, avec les mêmes sacrifices, les mêmes choeurs, qui avaient été établis autrefois pour l’inauguration des rois ¹² , lors de la fondation de Lacédémone.

Après la défaite des Athéniens à Amphipolis , après la mort de Gléon et deBrasidas, les deux plus fougueux partisans de la guerre, — l’un, parce qu’il lui devait ses triomphes et sa gloire, l’autre, parce qu’il sentait qu’en temps calme, ses prévarications seraient plus flagrantes et ses calomnies moins écoutées,—les hommes qui, dans les deux villes, aspiraient à jouer le premier rôle, savoir Plistoanax, fils de Pausanias, roi des Lacédémoniens, et Nicias, fils de Nicératos, le plus heureux des généraux de cette époque, élevèrent la voix en faveur de la paix. Nicias voulait, pendant que sa renommée était encore intacte, mettre son bonheur à couvert, procurer quelque repos à sa patrie et à lui-même, enfin, s’assurer la réputation de n’avoir entraîné l’État dans aucun malheur. Pour cet effet, il avait besoin d'écarter les dangers et de s'exposer le moius possible; la paix lui était donc indispensable. Quant à Plistoanax, il était en butte aux attaques de ses ennemis, qui ne cessaient d’attribuer à l’illégalité de son retour tous les revers de Lacédémone. Ils l’accusaient d’avoir, conjointement avec son frère Aristoclès, suborné la Pythie, pour qu’elle répondît aux Lacédémoniens chargés de consulter l’oracle de Delphes, qu’ils eussent à rappeler delà terre étrangère dans sa patrie la race du demi-dieu, fils de Jupiter ¹ , sous peine de labourer avec un soc d’argent ² . Ce Plistoanax avait été exilé dan£ le temps comme suspect d’avoir reçu des présents pour évacuer l’Âtti· que. Il s’était réfugié sur le mont Lycée, où, par crainte des Lacédémoniens, il habitait une maison à moitié attenante an temple de Jupiter ³ . Au bout de dix-neuf ans, conformément à l’oracle, il fut enfin rappelé par les Lacédémoniens, qui fêtèrent son retour par les mêmes chœurs et les mêmes sacrifices que lors de la fondation de Lacédémone et de l’installation de leurs premiers rois. Fatigué de ces clameurs, et persuadé que le rétablissement de la paix et la délivrance des prisonniers ôteraient à ses ennemis toute prise contre lui, au lieu qu’en temps de guerre la mauvaise fortune est invariablement imputée aux chefs, Plistoanax travaillait de tout son pouvoir à une solution pacifiqqe.

[1] But when the Athenians had met defeat at Amphipolis also and both Cleon and Brasidas had been killed—the men who on either side had been most opposed to peace, the one because of his success and the reputation he had derived from the war, the other because he thought if quiet were restored he would be more manifest in his villainies and less credited in his calumnies—then it was that Pleistoanax son of Pausanias, king of the Lacedaemonians, and Nicias son of Niceratus, who had been of all the generals of his day most successful in his commands—men who had most zealously supported the cause of peace each in the interest of his own state—urged this course with greater zeal than ever. Nicias wished, while his record was still free from disaster and he was held in esteem, to preserve his good luck to the end, and not only at present both to rest from toil himself and to give his fellow-citizens a rest, but also to hand down to after times a name as of one who had lived his life through without injuring the state; and he thought that a man might achieve such a result by keeping out of danger and by least exposing himself to the caprices of fortune, and that it was peace only that offered freedom from danger. Pleistoanax, on the other hand, was for peace, because he was constantly maligned by his enemies about his return from exile, and because, whenever any reverses occurred, he was always spitefully recalled to their thoughts by these persons as though these misfortunes were due to his illegal restoration.

[2] For they charged that he, along with his brother Aristocles, had bribed the priestess at Delphi constantly to answer the Lacedaemonians, whenever they came to consult the oracle: “Bring back the seed of the demigod, son of Zeus, from the foreign land to your own; otherwise you shall plough with a silver plough-share” ¹ ;

[3] and that in course of time she had induced the Lacedaemonians to bring him back from banishment in the twentieth year ² with like dances and sacrifices as when at the founding of Lacedaemon they had first enthroned their kings. For he had fled for refuge to Mt. Lycaeum, ³ on account of his retreat from Attica, that was thought to be due to bribery, and through fear of the Lacedaemonians had occupied at that time a house whereof the half was within the sanctuary of Zeus.

[1] And when, moreover, the defeat at Amphipolis had befallen the Athenians, and Cleon and Brasidas were dead, who on each side were most opposed to the cause of peace-the one, because he was successful and honoured in consequence of the war; the other, because he thought, that if tranquillity were secured, he would be more easily detected in his evil practices, and less believed in his calumniations-then the individuals who in either country were most desirous of taking the lead, namely, Pleistoanax son of Pausanias, king of the Lacedaemonians, and Nicias son of Niceratus, who of all his contemporaries was most generally successful in his military commands, were much more anxious for peace than ever. Nicias was so, because he wished, while he had met with no disaster, and was in high repute, permanently to secure his good fortune; and both at present to obtain a respite from troubles himself and give his countrymen the same, and to hand down to futurity a name for having continued to the end without subjecting the state to any disaster; and he thought that such a result is secured by freedom from danger, and by a man's committing himself as little as possible to fortune, and that such freedom from danger is afforded by peace. Pleistoanax, on the other hand, took the same view, because he was calumniated by his enemies on the subject of his restoration, and was continually being brought forward by them as the object of religious scruple on the part of the Lacedaemonians, whenever they met with any defeat; as though it were owing to his illegal restoration that these things befell them.

[2] For they charged him with having, in concert with Aristocles, his brother, prevailed on the prophetess at Delphi to give the following charge to such Lacedaemonians as went, during a long period, to consult the oracle;

[3] And so they said that in the course of time, when he had gone as an exile to Lycaeum, (in consequence of his former return from Attica, which was thought to have been effected by bribery,) and had then, through fear of the Lacedaemonians, half his house within the sanctuary of Jupiter, he induced them, in the nineteenth year of his exile, to restore him with the same dances and sacrifices as when they appointed their kings on first settling in Lacedaemonian.

[1] Postea vero quam et ad Amphipolin Athenienses cladem acceperunt, et Cleo et Brasidas mortem oppetierunt, qui utrinque paci maxime adversabantur, hic quidem, quod rem in bello feliciter gereret et honores ideo consequeretur, ille vero, quod rebus pacatis sua flagitia manifestiora fore, suamque autoritatem in obtrectando imminutum iri putaret, tunc vero in utraque civitate duo, qui ad principatum maxime properabant, Plistoanax Pausaniae filius, Lacedaemoniorum rex, et Nicias Nicerati filius, qui eorum, qui tunc vivebant, in re militari longe illustrissimus erat, multo magis animis erant propensi, Nicias quidem, quod interea, dum cladium expers et erat et habebatur, felicitatem conservare, et quum in praesentia tam ipse laboribus liber esse quarn cives liberare, tum etiam posteritati nomen relinquere vellet, quod omni vita rempublicam in nullum discrimen unquam adduxisset, existimans, boc ita demum contingere posse, si nullum periculum adiretur, et si quis se ipsum fortunae ininime committeret; hanc vero periculorum immunitatem a pace praeberi; Plistoanax vero, quod propter suum ab exilio reditum ab inimicis per obtrectationem accusaretur, et Lacedaemoniorum animis, quotiescunque cladem aliquam accepissent, ab illis quasi religio semper objiceretur, quod propter ipsius reditum contra leges ipsi concessum haec acciderent.

[2] Criminabantur enim ipsum cum fratre Aristo-cie vatem, quae Delphis erat, induxisse, ut Lacedaemoniorum sacris legatis haec diu responderet, ut Jove sati semidei prolem ex alieno solo in suum reducerent; alioqui argenteo vomere araturos;

[3] tandem vero eam Lacedaemonios impulisse, ut eum, qui in Lycaeum confhgerat, propter suum ex AUica reditum, ad quem muneribus adductus videbatur, et qui dimidiatas aedes templi Jovis Lacedaemoniorum metu tunc incolebat, undevicesimo post anno ejusmodi choris atque sacrificiis reducerent, quibus, quum prunum Lacedaemonem condiderunt, reges creatos prosequebantur.

Ma poiché furono rotti gli Ateniesi ad Amfipoli, e morirono Gleone e Brasida che dalle due parti si opponevamo sommamente alla pace, questi perchè riconosceva dalla guerra la sua fortuna e gli onori, quegli perchè stimava che nella bonaccia sarebbero più palesi i suoi misfatti e men credute le sue invettive ; allora coloro che principalmente ambivano in amendue le Repubbliche il primato, cioè a Sparta Plistoanatte di Pausania re dei Lacedemoni , ad Atene Nicia di Nicerato generale allora di gran lnnga il più fortunato degli altri, si mostravano viepiù propensi alla pace. E ciò perché Nicia , mentre noii avea patito ancora verun disastro, voleva mantenere la sua prosperità, por fine di presente ai propri travagli e a quelli de’ cittadini, e all’ avvenire lasciar di sé nome di non aver mai messo a repentaglio la salute della Repubblica ; stimando questi beni essere la sequela di un tranquillo reggimento, e toccare a chi meno si dà in balìa della fortuna ; e l’allontanamento dai pericoli venire dalla pace. Plistoanatte poi, perchè a cagione del suo rimpatriamento gli avversari lo diflamavano, e d’ogni sinistro che avvenisse, faceano coscienza ai Lacedemoni, quasi che di ciò fosse causa l’illegittimo suo ritorno. Conciossiachè r incolpavano che d’accordo col fratello Aristocle avesse indotta la gran profetessa di Delfo a rispondere per un pezzo nella seguente maniera ai Lacedemoni spediti a consultarla. — Che dal paese straniero richiamassero appresso di sé la semenza del semideo figlio di Giove ; se no arerebbero con vomere d’argento —. L’ imputavano inoltreche poiché fu bandito dalla patria a cagione della ritirata dall’Attica creduta fatta per doni, egli per tema dei Lacedemoni rifugiatosi nel Liceo, ed abitando allora mezzo il fabbricato del tempio di Giove, avesse finalmente dopo diciannove amiti messo su essi Lacedemoni a ricondurlo in patria coi medesimi cori e sacrifizi, come quando da prima nella fondazione di Sparta vi stabilirono i regi.