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κρατησάντων γὰρ
—the
διήγησις (
narratio). (This excellently illustrates Aristot.
Aristot. Rh. 3.16.11
ἐν δὲ δημηγορίᾳ ἥκιστα διήγησίς ἐστιν, ὅτι περὶ τῶν μελλόντων οὐθεὶς διηγεῖται ἀλλ’ ἐάν περ διήγησις ᾖ, τῶν γενομένων ἔσται, ἵν’ άναμνησθέντες ἐκείνων βέλτιον βουλεύσωνται περὶ τῶν ὕστερον.)
μάχαις ταῖς πλείοσι
—why this order? to emphasize the adjective. Cf.
II. 2.2
ἄνδρας τοὺς ὑπεναντίους.
Συρακοσίους
—Classen notes on
I. 108
that Thuc. constructs
κρατεῖν with accus. when it is connected with
μάχῃ or
μαχόμενος (or when one of them is clearly imphed in context); otherwise with gen. This rule is generally observed, for
κρατεῖν with gen.=
κρείσσων γενέσθαι. Cf.
Dem. 8.32
ὃν κρατήσαντας τοῖς ὅπλοις;
Dem. 19.319
Φωκέας ἐκράτησε (sc.
μάχῃ ).
[Demosth.] 13.17
ἐν τοῖς ὅπλοις κρατεῖν τῶν ἐχθρῶν is bad.
ἐφ’ οὓς ἐπέμφθημεν
—this remark is mtended as a defence, by reminding the Athenians of the original plan of campaign. Hence
ἐπέμφθημεν, not
ἐστρατευσαμεν.
ἔκ τε . . . καὶ ἀπὸ
—one of the commonest interchanges of prepositions, esp. in Isocrates. In some uses
ἐκ and
ἀπὸ are different; e.g. of
descent,
ἐκ is used of
direct ,
ἀπὸ of
indirect descent. Even as used here,
ἐκ generally expresses the more important or immediate cause.
ἔστιν ὧν
—in the
nom. plur.
always
εἰσὶν (
οἳ, αἳ); in
oblique cases
always
ἔστιν (
ὧν, οἶς, etc) in Thuc., except when words intervene, as in c.
25
ἧσαν τῶν σταυρῶν οὕς.
νικᾶται . . . ἀνεχωρήσαμεν
—for the hist. pres. followed by aor., cf. on c.
3.4
. (Notice the extreme simplicity and beauty of the style here.)
τῇ δ’ ὑστεραίᾳ
—sc.
μάχῃ, as in
III. 91
. In
I. 44.1
ἐν τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ = in the next day's
assembly; and so in
v. 46.1
. But when no noun precedes,
ἡμέρα is meant.
ἀκοντισταῖς βιασθέντες
—in c.
43
βιασθέντες ὑπ’ αὐτῶν The dat. is not ‘agent,’ but that used in
military and naval phrases, of the general's
παρασκευή. Hence
ὑπ’ αὐτοῦ is to be supplied. Note also that with
βιάζομαι and all verbs denoting
force ,
ὑπὸ and gen. is common with
non-personal agents, as
βιασθεὶς ὑπὸ τῆς νόσου. See on c.
13.2
.
Commentary on Thucydides: Book 7. Edgar Carew Marchant. London. 1919.
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