Edgar Carew Marchant, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 7, 7.5.4

[4] διανοεῖσθαι οὕτως — to convince themselves that they would find their resources ample, and that they would be guilty of intolerable lack of determination unless.

τῇ μὲν παρασκευῇ )( τῇ δὲ γνώμη?, the material con trasted with the moral resources. A common antithesis. which we should not make so prominent. γνώμῃ goes with ἀξιώσουσι. 23

εἰ μὴ ἀξιώσουσι — unless they mean to bind themselves.

Πελοποννήσιοι . . Δωριῆς, Ἰὠνων . . νησιωτῶν — chiasmus Πελοποννήσιοι is addressed to the Syracusans by their allies, thus reminding them of the origin of which they were very proud. Cf. Theocritus 15.90-92

Συρακοσίαις ἐπιτάσσεις
ὡς εἰδῇς καὶ τοῦτο, Κορίνθιαι εἰμὲς ἄνωθεν
ὡς καὶ ὁ Βελλεροφῶν· Πελοποννασιστὶ λαλεῦμες·
δωρίσδεν δ’ ἔξεστι δοκῶ τοῖς Δωριέεσσι

. The Athenians, on the contrary, did not at all care for the title ‘Ionians’

νησιωτῶν —the Syracusans regarded themselves as ἠπειρῶται. Cf. c. 21 .

ξυγκλύδων —cf. Livy 22.43 milites mixtos ex conluvione omnium gentium. The word is rare in Attic, but is common in late authors. (Cf. Photius συγκλύδων· συμμίκτων, ἐπηλύδων.)

κρατήσαντες ἐξελάσασθαι —when partic and verb govern a different case, a common object will nearly always follow the construction required by the partic.

ἐξελάσασθαι —the mid., which is unusual, is found also in IV. 35 .

Edgar Carew Marchant Commentary on Thucydides: Book 7 7.5.4

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