ἐβούλοντο
—‘the word is here (as in Xen. Hel. III. 4, 2, and elsewhere) used not so
much of will as of
intention (Bloomfield). This is not accurate. Trans. ‘felt a
wish.’ βούλομαι expresses a vaguer
wish than διανοοῦμαι: it never
means ‘make up one's mind,’ and consequently cannot, like διανοοῦμαι, be constructed with a fut.
infin.
αὖθις
—with ἐπὶ
Σικελίαν πλεύσαντες. It is the habit of Thuc. to place the
prominent word early in its clause. For the previous A. expeditions
see Intr. p. x.
μείζονι παρασκευῇ
—the
numbers that sailed under Laches are not known. [Pythodorus and]
Eurymedon took forty ships with them.
Αάχητος
—in Sicily 427-426 B.C.; replaced
in winter of 426 by Pythodorus. He was a supporter of Nicias in
arranging the peace of 421. Plato's Laches is
named after him. It has been conjectured that he is represented
under Tydeus in the
Supplices of Euripides (produced circ.
420 B.C.). He is the dog Labes in Aristoph. Wasps.
He was attacked by Cleon.
καί
—joins the names of two commanders
who were not in power at the same time. Hence the full form would be τῆς
μετὰ Λάχητος καὶ τῆς μετὰ Εὐρ.: but it
is worth noticing how with the second of two expressions joined by καί it is possible to omit (1) the article, (2) the
preposition. Such omissions are common even when the connected
expressions are quite distinct.
Εὐρυμέδοντος
—on returning to Athens from
Sicily in 424, he had been tried on a charge of taking bribes (γραφὴ δώρων or
δωροδοκίας), and was fined. He was not στρατηγός again until 414 B.C. This
long period of retirement is probably connected with his trial and
condemnation.
ἐπὶ Σ. πλεύσαντες
καταστρέψασθαι
—it
is regular to construct the common object of a partieiple and verb
so as to suit the participle.
ἄπειροι οἱ πολλοί
—in limiting apposition to Ἀθηναῖοι. Thuc. enlarges or contracts
the subject at will.
τοῦ μεγέθους . . τοῦ πλήθους
— chiasmus
is so common in Thuc. as to amount to a mannerism. Cf. V. 61
τήν τε τοῦ
τείχους ἀσθενείαν καὶ τοῦ στρατοῦ τὸ
πλῆθος. (On μέγεθος
and πλῆθος τῶν ἐνοικούντων in
reference to the City see Aristot. Pol. 1326 a, with Fowler's
City-State, p. 276.)
καὶ ὅτι
—a clause introduced by ὅτι in either of its meanings is often
co-ordinated to a noun, as in VII. 58,
4 διὰ
μέγεθός τε πόλεως καὶ ὅτι (‘because’) ἐν μεγίστῳ κινδύνῳ ἦσαν. Cf. Demosth. VIII. 71
οὐδὲν ἂν
τούτων εἴτοιμι, ἀλλ) ὅτι . . οὐδὲν πολιτεύομαι. (1) A
similar use of ‘and that’ is common in eighteenth-centnry English
prose; as also is (2) the habit of using together two constructions
after a single verb or governing expression—here τοῦ μεγέθους . . καὶ ὅτι after ἄπειροι ὄντες. Thus in VIII. 4, 1 we have παρεσκευάζοντο
δὲ . . τήν τε ναυπηγίαν καὶ Σούνιον τειχίσαντες: Addison
has ‘It was his design to marry her to such a
gentleman, and that her wedding should be
celebrated on such a day’; ‘They believe the same
of all works of art . . and that, as any one
of these things perish, their souls go into another world’; Cowper
has ‘The fine gentleman would find his ceilings too low, and that his casements admitted too much
wind’; Johnson, ‘They think veneration gained by such appearances of
wisdom, but that no ideas are annexed to the
words.’ Thackeray, Carlyle, and Ruskin also indulge in this and
similar constructions.
οὐ πολλῷ τινι
—Hudson wrongly says ‘τινι
videtur
πλεονάζειν.’ Greek has three words for
our ‘very,’ ‘really,’ or ‘actually’ (quidam
with adjeetives)—(1) τις
(generally with adjectives of degree); (2)
πάνυ and σφόδρα (often
with words other than numcrals which cannot be
compared. See Class. Rev. VIII. p. 152b). With negatives
τις or πάνυ or both
together can be used. (See Stein on Herod. V.
33.)
ὑποδεἐστερον
—antithesis to μεγέθους καὶ πλήθους, as in II. 89, 6 ἐκ
πολλῷ ὑποδεεστέρων . . μέγα τι τῆς διανοίας τὸ βέβαιον ἔχοντες
: V. 20
ὑποδεέστερον
ὂν τὰ μέγιστα τιμήσει.
ἀνῃροῦντο
—the pres and imperf.,
especially of -γίγνομαι and -δίδωμι, often express
intention or attempt; as Aristoph. Pax 408 προδίδοτον
τὴν Ἑλλάδα: Eur H. F 538 καὶ τἄμ’ ἔθνῃσκε τέκν), ἀπωλλύμην δ’ ἐγώ
liberi mei morituri erant, ego autem peritura.
Σικελίας
—here follows a description of
Sicily, in which Thuc., ‘like Herodotus, retains the spirit of the
older geographers and logographers,’ and writes with something of
the grace that characterises the style of Herodotus. It has been
commonly supposed since Nicbuhr that Thuc. borrows from his
contemporary Antiochus of Syracuse—so Goller, Wolfflin, Classen,
Mahaffy,—but there is no certainty (see Freeman, Hist.
Sic. I. p. 456). Thuc. probably visited Sicily during his
exile.
ἔλασσον
—not
ἐλάσσων: the adverbs πλέον,
ἔλασσον are regularly used in such cases. Cf. c. 95, 1 ἐπράθη ταλάντων οὐκ
ἔλασσον πέντε καὶ εἴκοσι. The repetition of οὐ πολλῷ τινι emphasises the vastness
of the undertaking.
ἡμερῶν
—so II. 97,
1 περίπλους
τεσσάρων ἡμερῶν. The length of the coasts of Sicily is
512 miles. In ancient times, astronomy not being applied to
navigation, distance round the coasts of a country of which the
measurements were unknown, could be reckoned only by the time
occupied in the voyage.
τοσαύτη οὖσα
—Thuc. ‘seems to think that
there is a geographical incongruity in so large an island being
separated from the mainland by so narrow a channel’ (note in
Jowett); or rather, he adds as a second proof of the geographical
importance of the island—and consequently of the magnitude of the
new undertaking—the fact that Sicily, in addition to its size, is so
close to the mainland as to be almost part of the continent. Athens
was in the habit of reducing islands— πλεύσαντες
καταστρέψασθαι—but she had not the means for reducing a
large continental country. (Stein explains
similarly.)
ἐν . . μέτρῳ
—a difficult use of ἑν in its quasi-instrumental
sense, ‘res
in qua aliqua actio vel qualitas cernitur.’ c. 16, 5 ἔν τινος λαμπρότητι προέσχον is the
same use. It is from this use that adverbial phrases like ἐν τάχει come.
τὸ μή
—Soph. Phil.
1141 ἔστιν
τις ἔστιν ὅς σε κωλύσει τὸ δρᾶν.
M.T. 811: Wecklein on Agam. 1588. It is internal accus.
εἶναι
—see crit. note. Poppo defended οὖσα here as a confusion between two
constructions; but Classen is probably right in thinking that οὖσα got in from τοσαύτη οὖσα above.
Among recent critics, only L. Herbst defends
οὖσα: he thinks that τό
does not affect the construction here and in other places, but is
used as a demonstrative particle. Would μή
then be possible?
ᾠκίσθη δέ
—answering to περίπλους μέν above. cc. 2-5 are
generally described as a digression; but the passage is perhaps
rather a continuation of the description of the greatness of Sicily.
‘The greatness of Sicily,’ Freeman says, ‘was essentially a colonial
greatness, the greatness of communities which did not form whole
nations but only parts of nations, nations of which other parts
remained in their elder homes.’
τὸ ἀρχαῖον
—distinguish from κατὰ τὸ άρχαῖον (‘in the ancient
manner’).
ἔσχε
—sc. αὐτήν.
τὰ ξύμπαντα is nom., agreeing with
ἔθνη. When the art. precedes πᾶς
and its compds., the whole is regarded as the sum of its component
parts. (To take τὰ ξύμπαντα as
accus. is wrong. A complete list of tribes is what Thuc. gives;
their geographical distribution is also described, but that is
already referred to in ὦδε ᾠκίσθη.
Cf, the last sentence of c. 2, where the same ideas recur in inverse
order.)
λέγονται—λέγομαι used personally
or impersonally is regularly constructed with an infin.
Κύκλωπες
—Homer does not say that the
Cyclopes dwelt in Sicily (
Od. IX); but the scene of his story was always localised by
later writers (as by Euripides) in Sicily.
Λαιστρυγόνες
—mythical beings (Od. X. 81) like the Cyclopes, dwelling, like
them, in fairy-land. The story that they lived in Sicily is the
product of Greek fancy. (See Freeman
l.c. pp. 100, 106.)
ποιηταῖς
—esp.
Homer. Observe that the perf. pass., when the subject is
non-personal, regularly has the agent in dat.
ὡς ἕκαστος γιγνώσκει
—so in II.
48, of the origin of ‘the Plague.’
περὶ αὐτῶν
—Classen takes αὐτῶν as neut., ‘these questions,’ i.e.
γένος,
ὁπόθεν ἐσῆλθον κ.τ.λ. Of this rather vague use of αὐτά Thuc. is fond. But μετ’ αὐτούς below is strongly in favour
of making αὐτῶν masc.
Σικανοί
—some modern critics, including
Holm, think that
Σικανοί and Σικελοί
are ‘simply dialectal differences of the same name.’ Freeman combats
this view l.c. pp. 472 fol.
ἐνοικισάμενοι
—‘settled there.’ The next
words mean ‘or rather (καί = immo) before them, according to their own
account.’ There is an instance of the sarcastic humour of which Thuc. is rather fond in ἐνοικισάμενοι
. . αὐτόχθονες: if ‘original inhabitants,’ they could not
be ‘settlers.’
ὡς μὲν αὐτοί φασι
—this
is placed early in order to bring out the antithesis sharply. It is
a very common trick of order in Thuc.
διὰ τὸ . . εἶναι
—the inf. with διὰ τό is very common in Thuc. (63
cases according to Behrendt), but διὰ
τοῦ with inf. is not found. The inf. with art.,
commoner in Thuc. and Demosth. than in any other author, is in Thuc.
found chiefly in the speeches and the loftier parts of narrative.
The construction and usage of the Eng. inf. in -
ing (as distinct from the verbal noun)
are precisely similar to the Gk. inf. with art., except only that
the Eng. inf. can be qualified, not only by the def. art., but by a
pronoun and by a substantive in the possessive case.
Ἴβηρες
—great value attached to a
well-authenticated claim to be αὐτόχθονες:
hence Thuc. marks the antithesis to διὰ τὸ
αύ. εἶναι, instead of writing
ὕστεροι in contrast with πρότεροι.
Stein reads <ὕστεροι>, Ἴβηρες.
Σικανοῦ
—has
been thought to be the Sègre or even the Seine, but it is unknown.
It is not certain from what quarter these Iberians really immigrated
to Sicily. 14
Τρινακρία
—Freeman points out that this
name, derived from τρεῖς
ἄκραι, is probably a mere corruption of the Homeric Θρινακίη, with which island Sicily was
identified, the supposed reference being to the triangular shape of
Sicily. Ov. Fast.
IV.
419
Trinacris a positu nomen adepta loci.
καλουμένη
—this tense of the partic.
(imperf.) is invariably used when a name now obsolete is referred
to. κληθείς= ‘called’ (timeless),
or ‘having received the name,’ and is used of names given under some
definite circumstances referred to, as in c. 4, 1 τοὺς Ὑ. κληθέντας, and c. 4, 5.
τὰ πρὸς ἑσπέραν
—adverbial. For the expression
cf. τὰ πρὸς βορρᾶν § 5 and τὸ πρὸς νότον
III.
6. πρὸς
ἑσπέραν also means ‘towards evening,’ sub
vesperum.
ἁλισκομένου
—Classen makes this historic
pres.; but it cannot be shown that the historic pres. is used in any
mood but the indic. Stahl takes it with
διαφυγόντες—‘escaped at the time of the capture.’ This is
possible; but Goodwin (M.T. § 27) classes ἁλίσκομαι with ἀδικῶ,
φεύγω, νικῶ, etc., so that the pres. may here resemble a
perf.: but observe (1) when the pres. indic. of ἁλ. refers to the past, it appears to
he historic pres.; (2) ἁλισκόμενος is either (a) coincident in time with the main verb, or
(b) approaches to the perf., like άδικῶ. (An imperf.
partic. in gen. abs. joined to a historic pres.
sometimes gives the cause of the verb; as I. 136
δεδιέναι
φασκόντων Κερκυραίων ἔχειν αὐτόν, διακομίζεται ἐς τὴν ἤπειρον
.)
ἀφικνοῦνται
—verbs
of ‘going’ and ‘sending’ are especially common in the hist. pres.
ξύμπαντες μέν
—Jowett renders ‘they
settled near the Sicanians, and both took the name of Elymi’; but
Freeman says ‘I certainly always understood this simply to mean that
the whole people were called E. . . . but that there were two
separate Elymian cities.’ Freeman is clearly right. The Sicanians
had given their name to the island, and they remained quite distinct
from the Elymi. Also, is J.'s rendering of
ξύμπαντες possible? ξ.
is often contrasted with κατὰ πόλεις,
whereas it never means in Thuc. ‘they with
the others.’ And Thuc. is clearly giving the name and the cities of
the new settlers.
Ἔρυξ
—the
story of the Trojan origin of Eryx is accepted and elaborated by
Virgil m Aeneid V.; but Freeman shows that the older legend did not
assign to it a Trojan origin.
Ἔγεστα
—this is the Greek name; but the
native name, retained by the Romans, was Segesta. It is the Acesta
of Aen.
v. 718.
To the Romans is due the tradition that it was founded by Aeneas,
who named it after Acestes.
προσξυνῴκησαν δὲ . . καί
—a characteristic anaphora of ὅμοροι .
. οἰκήσαντες. Thuc. does not in
narrative balance the clauses exactly by
anaphora, whereas in Xenophon such balance is very frequent.
Cp. c. 20, 4.
Φωκέων
—the statement that Phocians
settled in Sicily receives no support except from a single passage
in Pausanias. And this testimony is really of slight value, as P. is
enumerating the Greek settlers in Sicily, as distinct from the
barbarians, among whom he places the Elymi (Phrygians, i.e Trojans). The correction Φρυγῶν is not really supported, because
when later writers speak of Phrygians in Sicily they mean Trojans.
It looks as if in τῶν Τρώων τινές
above Thue. refers to that arrival which appears under a
much-developed form in Dion. Hal. as the return of Acestes. Whether
in Φωκέων τινές we have an early
form of the legend that reappears in the story of Aeneas, is much
more doubtful. Dion. Hal. assigns an Areadian origin to Aeneas: and
it should be borne in mind that the Trojans are barbarians in Thuc.
and Pausanias, but Hellenes in Dion. Hal. and Virgil. Dion. Hal.
speaks of the Trojans under Aeneas as τὰς
πόλεις συνοικίζοντες τοῖς Ἐλύμοις έν Σικελίᾳ. These faets
only show how great was the confusion in the stories
concerning the settlement of the Elymi, and how impossible it is to
correct Φωκέων with any
confidenee.
τότε
—refers back to διαφυγόντες (Stahl).
ἐς Λιβύην
—it is not impossible that this
suggested to Virgil the bringing of Aeneas to Carthage.
πρῶτον, ἔπειτα—πρῶτον without μέν is always followed by ἔπειτα without
δἐ, unless καί follows ἔπειτα, when δέ
is always added, as in VII. 23
τὸ μέγιστον πρῶτον, ἔπειτα δὲ καί κτλ.
ἀπ) αὐτῆς
—this pronoun, referring to a
preceding noun or pronoun, corresponds to is
in Lat There is in Thuc. a use of αὐτά
which corresponds to haec omnia, ‘our
empire,’ as in Cic. pro Sul. § 28.
κατενεχθέντες
—cf. IV. 120
πλέοντας
δ’ άπὸ Τροίας σφῶν τοὺς πρώτους κατενεχθῆναι ἐς τὸ χωρίον τοῦτο τῷ
χειμῶνι ᾧ ἐχρήσαντο Ἀχαιοί.
Σικελοί
—it
is generally agreed among ancient writers that the Siculi were
Italian, and had been driven into Bruttium from Latium.
Ίταλίας
— i.e.
only the modern Calabria, in ancient times
the peninsula reaching to the Laus on W., and to Metapontum on E.
Dion. Hal. I. 12 defines Italy in this
sense as άπὸ ἄκρας
Ἰαπυγίας μέχρι πορθμοῦ Σικελικοῦ.
Ὀπικούς
—identified by Strabo with the
Oscans. They were enemies of the Latins, who regarded them as
barbarous. Cf. Jovenal's opici
mures.
ὡς μὲν εἰκός
—there are two uses of εἰκός—(1) to introduce what is probable, but is incapable of proof; (2) of
the reasonable conduct of persons.
ἐπὶ σχεδιῶν
—cf. on c. 101, 3. In this
use, the gen. with
ἐπί differs from the
dat. in that it expresses the means
as well as the place.
τηρήσαντες
=
φυλάξαντες, as III. 22, and
Demosth. 28, 1 τηρήσας τὴν τελευταίαν
ἡμέραν. πορθμός generally in prose= ‘strait,’ but
‘passage’ suits τηρήσαντες better
‘Watching for the passage when the wind blew,’ means that they
waited till the wind blew from Italy. The danger of the πορθμὸς
Σικελικός is proverbial. Cf. the mare
Siculum of Roman poets.
κατιόντος
—technical word. <ἐς> τὸν π.
Stein.
τάχα ἄν
—sc.
διέβησαν,
M.T. § 244. The contrast is between what they
probably did and what they may possibly
have done.
δέ—τάχα δ’ ἄν would be more
usual, but expressions like τάχ) ἄν
occasionally displace δέ. Thus
Andocides has δῆλον ὅτι δέ for δῆλον δ’ ὅτι.
ἀπὸ Ἰταλοῦ
—this remark is of no value as
history. Cf. Aen.
I.
532
nunc fama,
minores | Italiam dixisse, ducis de nomine, gentem.
οὕτως
—referring back to ἀπὸ Ἰταλοῦ after the parenthetical
remark τοὔνομα τ. ἔ.
στρατὸς πολύς
—predicate, =ἦλθον πολλοί.
κρατοῦντες—κρατῶ with μάχῃ or
μαχόμενος—or when one of them is clearly implied—takes
accus. in Thuc., otherwise gen. Cf. Demosth.
8, 32 ὃν κρατήσαντες τοῖς ὅπλοις, ib. 19, 319 Φωκέας
ἐκράτησε (sc. μάχῃ). κρατῶ with gen.= κρείσσων γίγνομαι. [Demosth.] 13, 17 ἐν τοῖς ὅπλοις κρατεῖν τῶν ἐχθρῶν is
wrong.
τὰ κράτιστα τῆς γῆς
—‘the best parts’; cf. VII. 19
τῷ πεδίῳ
καὶ τῆς χώρας τοῖς κρατίστοις.
ἐπεί
—‘from the time that.’ The edd.
compare ἐπειδὴ
ἐπαύσαντο
I. 6, and note
that the sense is the same as that of ἀφ)
οὗ, ἐξ
οὗ. The use is characteristic of tragedy and early
prose. See L. & S.; in I. 14, 3 ὀψέ τε ἀφ) οὗ is doubtful.
τὰ μέσα καὶ τὰ πρὸς βορρᾶν
—comparing τὰ μεσημβρινὰ καὶ ἑσπέρια above, we
notice that τά is inserted a
second time. For the repetition see note on
καί in c. 1, 1. The omission is impossible when the first
member is an adj.—
μέσα —and the second is a participial expression—πρὸς βορρᾶν Cf. Hyperides I. xxi. 19
ἔξω τῶν
βασιλικῶν καὶ τῶν παρ’ Ἀλεξάνδρου. Thuc. I. 18
οἵ τε
Ἀθηναίων τύραννοι καὶ οἱ ἐκ τῆς ἄλλης Ἑλλάδος. Isocr. 3,
22 ἐν τοῖς ἐγκυκλίοις καὶ τοῖς κατὰ τὴν
ἡμέραν ἑκάστην γιγνομένοις.
τὰ πρὸς βορρᾶν
—c. 2 § 2 Cf. Demosth. 18,
301 οὶ πρὸς
Πελοπόννησον τόποι.
ᾤκουν
—it
should be noticed, (1) that the object of the Phoenician settlements
was trade with the Sicels; (2) that the Phoenicians were the
earliest to send out colonists to Sicily.
ἐπὶ τῇ θαλάσσῃ
—of points
on the coast, whereas παρὰ ( τὴν ) θάλασσαν
implies extent along the coast. But the
distinction is not carefully observed. II. 9
Καρία ἡ ἐπὶ θαλάσσῃ: Isocr. 5, 21 (Ἰλλυρίων) τῶν
παρὰ τὸν Ἀδρίαν οἰκούντων.
ἀπολαβόντες
—the
constant use of participle and verb in the sentences that describe
the various settlements lends a special character to these chapters.
Whether or not the whole is based on Antiochus of Syracuse, the
style is simple and annalistic.
ἐπικείμενα
—the
Aegatian Islands are meant.
ἕνεκα
—MSS.
ἕνεκεν, but the form in -ν
is very doubtful in older Attic. The order of ἕνεκα allows of (1) τῆς πρὸς τοὺς
Σ. ἕνεκα ἐμπορίας, (2) ἕνεκα τῆς πρὸς τοὺς Σ. ἐμ., (3) ἐμ. ἕνεκα τῆς πρὸς τοὺς Σ. On the other
hand, ἕνεκα is not placed last in a phrase of this kind, where the
epithet contains a preposition— τῆς πρὸς τ.
Σ.
ἐπεσέπλεον—ἐπ-, as in ἐπάγεσθαι, = insuper,
Sta., who adds that κατὰ θάλασσαν
lacks point. But it has often been noticed that a simple word (πλἐω), when compounded, loses something
of its force. Hence, to show that it was by sea that the Gks. came,
and not by migration from their settlements—the sea being
all-important in the struggle between Gk. and Phoenician —κατὰ θ is naturally added. This kind of
tautology is to be met with in English: e.g.
Johnson, Idler 48 ‘Mons. Le
Noir is made miserable . . by every account of a privateer caught in his
cruize.’ Burke, Mr. Fox's East India Bill,
‘I have been long very deeply engaged in the
preliminary enquiries, which have continued
without intermission for some years.’
ἐκλιπόντες . .
ξυνοικήσαντες
—Thuc.
joins two and even three unconnected participles to a verb, provided
that the participles are not absolutely parallel.
τὰ πλείω
—referring to περὶ πᾶσαν τὴν Σ. This vague use of the
neut. is very common.
Μοτύην
—an
island about five miles N. of Lilybaeum. It was joined to the
mainland by a mole, which, though under water, is still used as a
track. In 397 the Carthaginians were driven from Motye by Dionysius
and founded Lilybaeum.
Σολόεντα
—Soloeis,
the Roman Soluntum, became the eastern stronghold of the Phoenicians
against the Greeks. It was a fortress, not a mere trading station.
The present remains go back only to Roman times.
Πάνορμον
—the modern capital Palermo, ‘la
felice.’ The following list gives the principal events in the
history of this famous city:— 254 B.C. Taken by the Romans from the
Carthaginians. 409 A.D. Sicily conquered by Alaric. Belisarius
recovers Sicily and takes Palermo by siege. The
Byzantine Period begins. The Saracen Period.
Palermo made capital of Sicily. Conquered by Norman adventurers. The
Norman Period.
The Sicilian Vespers
at Palermo end the dominion of the French. The
Spanish Period, leading to the attachment of Sicily to the
kingdom of Naples. Garibaldi takes Palermo. Sicily united with
Italy.
ξυνοικήσαντες
—Stahl points out that this
is contrasted with ᾤκουν
περὶ π. τὴν Σ. The three towns were not new
settlements of the Phoenicians.
καὶ ὅτι
—cf. c. 1, 1. Two causes are
constantly given in different constructions by Thuc.; a clause with ὅτι is sometimes joined to a prep. (διά, κατά, πρός) and case.
Καρχηδών
—the tradition generally
accepted at a later time was that Rome and Carthage were founded on
the same day; but there is good evidence that Carthage was founded
shortly before 800 B.C. Freeman shows that the Phoenicians were
probably confined to the three towns after the Gk. settlement of
Selinus, i e. after 628 B.C.
τοσοίδε
—the
violation of the rule that these forms refer to what follows, occurs
most commonly in speeches.
Ἑλλήνων
—the following tables exhibit the
Gk. cities:— I. CHALCIS in Euboea (Ionian)
Naxos, 735 Zancle, c. 715
Catana, 728 Leontini, 728 Hunera, 648
II. CORINTH (Dorian)
Syracuse, 734
Acrac, 664 Casmenae, 644 Camarma, 599
III. MEGARA (Ionian and Dorian
)
Thapsus, removed to Megara Hyblaea, 726
Selmus, 628
IV RHODES (Dorian)
Gela, 688
Aciagas, 580.
The above dates are not to be considered as more than approximate.
Νάξον
—never
an important town. It was destroyed in 403 by Dionysins, who founded
Tauromenium in its place. Though the site of N. is now occupied by
orange-groves, there are remains of the ancient walls. Pausanias
exaggerates when he says that there were no traces of the city in
his day. (Such exaggeration by Pausanias is found in other cases.)
Ἀπόλλωνος
—thus
Naxos remained the spiritual centre of Greek Sicily, though it was
not the political centre. Freeman well compares the position of
Canterbury.
ὅστις
—a strange use of ὅστις, the ordinary rules for which as
a relative are as follows:—1. Referring to an
indefinite antecedent: (a)=such
that, as in οὐδεὶς οὕτως ἠλίθιος
ὅστις
οὔχι κἂν πρῶτος εἰσενέγκαι. (Thus
ὅστις often replaces ὤστε
after οὕτως.) (b)=whoever, as in ὅστις
ἂν ᾖ. 2. Referring to a definite
antecedent: (a)=quippe qui. (b)=of the kind that, any that. It has been
supposed that Thuc. took at least this note from Antiochus of
Syracuse, because Dion. Hal. I. 12
quotes from him the expression τὴν γῆν
ταύτην ἥτις νῦν Ἰταλία καλεῖται, and the inference is
that Antiochus used ὅστις for ὅς. On the other hand, Dion. Hal. is
scarcely to be trusted in a minute linguistic point, and it is
strange that Thuc., even though he may have used Antiochus, should
follow him in such a use of ὅστις.
Stein on Herod. IV. 8 collects exx. of ὅστις for ὅς
after οὗτος in Herod. We may
compare with this the use of σφῶν
in Thuc. for ἑαυτῶν or σφῶν αὐτῶν, and of ὅδε, τοιόσδε, τοσόσδε referring to what
precedes (cf. c. 2 end). All these uses are charaeteristic of Ionic
rather than of Attic.
τῆς πόλεως
—Naxos
no longer existed after 403 B.C., and Tanromenium did not stand on
the same site. Hence this appears to have been written before 403.
θεωροί
—to
festivals and to distant shrines.
Συρακούσας
—the
brevity of this notice of the foundation and growth of S. is in
striking contrast with the prolixity of modern historians when they
introduce the antagonists of ancient powers
τοῦ ἐχομένου ἔ
—an unusual phrase, found only
here. Thuc. generally writes τοῦ
ἐπιγιγνομένου ἔ.
Ἡρακλειδῶν
—of
these one branch, the Bacchiadae, had recently established an
oligarchy at Corinth, and it is probable that Archias was himself a
Bacchiad.
νήσου
—Ortygia, to which modern Syracuse
is confined. Livy, XXV.
24
insula quam ipsi Nason vocant.
περικλυζομένῃ
—about 540 B.C. Ortygia was
joined to the mainland by a mole. Cf. the lines of Ibyeus of Rhegium
quoted by the Schol. on Pind. Nem.
I. 1 . . παρὰ
χέρσον | λίθινον
ἐκλεκτὸν παλάμαισι βροτῶν . . But in Cicero's day the
mole had been replaced by a bridge. At the present day the junction
is a mole. Freeman, Sicily II, Note XV.
ἡ ἔξω
—Achradina,
a name first found in Polybius. It probably included the ‘eastern
part of the hill and the low ground between the hill and the
island.’ (The precise extent of Achradina is a matter of dispute.
See Freeman II. Note V. It was joined to the island by Gelon
(485-478), the ‘second founder’ of Syracuse.)
προστειχισθεῖσα
—‘this προστειχισμός I understaud to be the
work of Gelôn. He joined Ortygia and Upper Achradina by fortifying
Lower Achradina.’ Freeman II. p. 447.
πολυάνθρωπος
—cf. [Demosth.] and c. Neaeram 75, a speech that contains
imitations of Thuc., Θησεὺς
συνῴκισεν αὐτοὺς καὶ δημοκρατίαν ἐποίησε καὶ ἡ πόλις
πολυάνθρωπος
ἑγένετο: Xen. Vect. 4, 50 ἰσχυρῶς γὰρ ἂν καὶ αὕτη πολυάνθρωπος γένοιτο
πόλις.
Θουκλῆς δὲ καὶ οἱ Χαλκιδῆς
—this passage is
introduced as separate from the previous statement about Thucles.
Hence the article is not required with Θ.:
on the other hand, the article is always inserted with proper names
when any special definiteness attaches to them, as here where a
special class of Chalcidians is meant, viz. those who had founded
Naxos.
ὁρμηθέντες—ὁρμῶμαι, like many
other verbs with pass. aorists, is really passive. See Rutherford, New Phryn. p. 188.
ἔτει πέμπτῳ
—the art. is generally
omitted with ἔτει and μηνί.
μετὰ Σ. οἰκ
—Index S.V. μετά: this predicative use of the
partic. after a prep. is much less common in Gk. than in Lat. It is
generally found in expressions indicating time, and oftenest with ἐπί (gen.) or
ἅμα. M.T. § 829. (See some
characteristic remarks by Prof. Gildersleeve in
A.J.P. July 1892, p. 358.)
Λεοντίνους
—close to the modern Lentini. It was the only Gk. city of Sicily
that was inland. For its opposition to Syracuse see c. 6 § 2.
Κατάνην
—the modern
Catania, which dates only from the earthquake of 1693. The city
has survived many terrible disasters, due partly to its wars, and
partly to its proximity to Aetna.
οἰκιστὴν ἐποιήσαντο
—presently οἰκιστὰς ποιήσαντες, the active being
used of the founders who make the appointment for a colony, the mid.
of the citizens who choose for themselves ‘Some distinction,’ says
Freeman, ‘is here hinted at between the foundation of
Leontinoi and the foundation of Katanê. It may point to some
possible dissension or secession.’
κατά
—a common use of κατά, and one which is not confined to
words denoting time.
τὸν αὐτὸν χ
—Megara
was encouraged no doubt by the reports of the foundation of Syracuse
by Corinth.
ὑπὲρ Παντακύου ποταμοῦ
—(1) for this use of ὑπέρ ‘on,’ ἐπί
w. dat. is an alternative; (2) the rule in Attic prose is that, when ποταμός is added to the name of a
river, the art. is inserted before the name.
But Herod. does not use the art. in such a
case, and in four passages of Thuc. it is wanting. (So also in the
MSS. of Isocr. 7, 80 ἐντὸς Ἅλυος ποταμοῦ,
and Xen. Anab.
IV. 7,
18 ἐπὶ Ἅρπασον π.)
Παντακύου
—now the
Porcari. Trotilon, Leontini, Thapsus, Megara all lay between
Catana and Syracuse.
ὄνομα
—cf. II. 37
καὶ
ὄνομα μὲν . . δημοκρατία κέκληται. This adverb. accus.
is commoner than ὀνόματι, for
which see n. on c. 10, 2.
χωρίον—χωρίον, πόλις, νῆσος, etc.
regularly follow the proper name when they have no article. For the
order of words Classen compares I. 45,
3.
ξυμπολιτεύσας
— i.e.
μετοικήσας ἐς
Λεοντ. καὶ ἐκεῖ ξυμπολιτεύσας τοῖς Χαλκ.
Θάψον
—a low-lying peninsula, now known
as Magnisi, but scarcely occupied, except for
its salt-works. Freeman quotes Aen.
III. 688
vivo
praetervehor ostia saxo | Pantagiae
Megarosque sinus Thapsumque jacentem.
ἀποθνῄσκει
—the historic pres., esp.
common with such verbs as τίκτω, γίγνομαι,
θνῄσκω, may be co-ordinated with another tense—ᾤκισαν—which may equally well precede
or follow it.
παραδόντος
—Freeman says: ‘The M. were
helped by a Sikel king who betrayed the place to them’; but Stahl
with the older edd rightly explains τὴν
χώραν as the region in which M. was situated.
Bloomfield, keeping the MSS.
προδόντος, renders ‘having conceded,’ and probably
Hyblon granted the land because he was unable to defend it.
Classen's correction παρα- is
almost certain, being in accordance with the language of Thuc.,
whereas προ‐ τὴν χώραν is a most
unusual phrase.
Μεγαρέας
—the city, which was never
important, was destroyed by Gelon (see c. 5, 3), but was rebuilt
after the Sicilian expedition and made an outpost of Syracuse. Gelon
had intervened in a civil war at Megara. (The single sentence of
which this section consists illustrates the great power of the Gk.
participle. οἰκίσας
καὶ ξυμπολιτεύσας καὶ ἐκπεσὼν καὶ οἰκίσας
expresses a succession of events that are detailed in the briefest
and simplest form of words possible. The style is periodic, though
the period is not worked up in the rhetorical manner. Observe that τε belongs to the first καί, the two longer participial phrases
making one pair, and the two shorter a second pair. Although this
cumulation of participles is of course impossible in English, yet
the outline of the whole sentence resembles the modern English
period, strictly so ealled, rather than the more artificial Gk.
period.)
ὕστερον ἢ . . οἰκίσαι
— M.T.
§ 655. This is the only passage in Attic in which ὕστερον ἤ is constructed like πρότερον ἤ (=
πρίν). Poppo compares Plut. Luc. 5.
It is well known that πρότερον ἤ
is very rare outside Herod., Thuc., and Antiphon, but reappears in
late authors such as Plut., Pausan., Arrian. 15
αὐπούς
—the accus., in spite of the faet
that the subject of κτίζουσι is
the same. This is apt to happen when a contrast is implied, as here
between the building of Megara and the building of Selinus. Cp.
Isoer. Ep. 9, 16 οἶμαι
καὶ λέγειν ἐμοὶ προσήκειν . .
καὶ καλῶς βεβουλεῦσθαι πρός σε ποιούμενον τοὺς λόγους.
When a plur and subject of infin. includes the subject of the main
verb, the nom. and aeens. are used indifferently with the infin.
οἰκίσαι
—sc.
Μεγαρέας. Classen reads οἰκῆσαι,
but most recent edd. follow Ullrich in reading οἰκίσαι after CG. κτίζουσι favours οἰκίσαι, for which, by a common device
of composition, it is a substitute; and, though οἰκῆσαι gives good sense as ingressive
aor., it is awkward after οἰκήσαντες
in another sense.
Σελινοῦντα
—captured
by Carthaginians in 409, when the diums of columns that still lie in
the quarry of S. were abandoned. At least two of the seven temples
of which there are splendid remains were built soon after 628.
Hermocrates of Syracuse, when exiled, refounded a city here in 407;
but it was destroyed in the first Punic War, and the site has since
remained deserted. 16
καὶ . . ξυγκατῴκισε
—this is added by way of
explanation, so that καὶ
. . αὐτοῖς might have been οἷς.
For the abrupt change of subject, ef. II. 2,
4 γνώμην ἐποιοῦντο . . ( καὶ ἀνεῖπεν ὁ κῆρυξ . .), νομίζοντες . . For the explanatory καί Stahl compares IV. 52, 3 ἐπὶ
Ἄντανδρον, στρατεύσαντες . . λαμβάνουσι τὴν πόλιν. καὶ ἦν αὐτῶν ἡ
διάνοια . . ἐλευθεροῦν . . τὴν Ἄντανδρον, where καὶ αὐτῶν might be ὧν. [The sequenee would be considerably
improved by μεταπέμψαντες for πέμψαντες, i.e.
‘sending home for P.’ We should have expected καὶ ἐκ Μεγάρων . . to be a parenthesis,
as commonly with the explanatory καί.
So with et; as Livy, 23, 1 ubi
fines
intravit, Numidas partim
in insidiis—et pleraeque cavae sunt viae
sinusque occulti—quacumque apte poterat, disposuit]
αὐτοῖς
—with
οὔσης and ἐπελθών
(Sta.). Cf. VII. 64
οἷς αὐτοὶ
ἴστε οἵᾳ γνώμῃ ἐπήλθετε. ἐπελθεῖν is ‘to come to with
a purpose’ either friendly or hostile.
Γέλαν
—the
first Gk. city founded on the south coast of Sicily. Hippocrates,
its tyrant, raised it to great prosperity: see c. 5, 3. Aeschylus
died there 456 B.C. Gelon moved half of its citizens to Syracuse.
Γέλα
—the
Gelas, so called from its coldness by the Sicels, whose language was
akin to Latin.
χωρίον
—Freeman says: ‘It would seem that
Gela was a later, perhaps in its beginning only a popular, name. To
the first spot which the Rhodian settlers occupied and fortified,
the spot which became the akropolis of the later city, they gave, in
memory of one of the four cities of their own island, the name of
Lindioi.’ Cf. Herod. VII.
153
κτιζομένης Γέλης ὑπὸ Λινδίων
τῶν
ἐκ Ῥόδου.
ἡ πόλις
— i.e.
acropolis; but the change of meaning is awkward.
καὶ ὅ
—‘ attende
rariorem syntaxin,’ says Stahl. It would be more usual if ὅ were omitted. Were the pronoun in an
oblique case, the ordinary form would be that of II. 4, 5 ὁ ἦν τοῦ
τείχους καὶ αἱ θύραι ἀνεῳγμέναι ἔτυχον
αὐτοῦ: but even then Thuc. sometimes omits the pronoun
altogether in the second clause, as in VII. 29,
5 ὅπερ μἐγιστον ἦν αὐτόθι καὶ ἄρτι ἔτυχον οἱ
παῖδες ἐσεληλυθότες, sc.
ες αὐτό. If, however, the first clause
be neg. and the second positive, the rel. must be repeated; as II. 43, 2 οὐκ εν
ῷ κεῖνται μᾶλλον, ἀλλ’ ἐν ᾧ ἡ δόξα αὐτῶν . . καταλείπεται
. II. 44, 2 λύπη
οὐχ ὧν ἄν τις . . ἀγαθῶν οτερίσκηται, ἀλλ) οὗ ἂν . . ἀφαιρεθῇ.
In Lat. the same omission of or snbstitution for the rel. is
frequent in Cic.; and cf. Livy XXIII. 8
cum quo . . steterat, nec
eum . . patria majestas sententia depulerat.
In Eng. cf. Hooker, Eccles. Pol., ‘Whom
though to know be life, and joy to make mention of
His name.’ Johnson, Tour in the Heb.,
‘We treated her with great respect, which she
received as customary and due, and was neither elated by it, nor confused.’ Macaulay, Warren Hastings, ‘He hired musicians to whom she seemed to listen, but did not
hear them.’
καλεῦται
—B was thought to have
originally contained
καλοῦνται, but this seems doubtful. Herw., in support
of the plur., quotes IV. 102
τὸ χωρίον τοῦτο, ὅπερ πρότερον Ἐννέα ὁδοὶ
ἐκαλοῦντο, V. 49
ἡ καταδίκη δισχίλιαι μναῖ ἦσαν But it
is clear that the verb is not necessarily plur: cf. Herod. VI. 47
μεταξὺ
Αἰνύρων τε χώρου καλεομένου: I. 168
ἔκτισαν πόλιν Ἄβδηρα, τὴν
. . οὐκ ἀπόνητο: V. 115
τῶν πολίων
ἀντέσχε . . πολιορκουμἐνη Σόλοι τὴν . . εἷλον: VII. 193 (
Παγασαὶ) ἔστι χῶρος: IV. 20
τὸ ἐμπόριον
τὸ καλἐεται Κρημνοί: VII. 201
καλἐεται δὲ ὁ χῶρος . . Θερμοπύλαι.
νόμιμα Δωρικά
—introduced from Crete
(Aristot. Pol.
II.
7, 3 ἔχει δ’ ἀνἀλογον ἡ Κρητικὴ
τάξις
πρὸς τὴν Λακωνικήν), and perhaps from Rhodes, though
of Dorian institutions in the latter nothing is heard elsewhere. But
the Tripolis of Rhodes —Lindus, Ialysus, Cameirus—belonged to the
Dorian Hexapolis, which had a common centre in the temple of Apollo
at Triopium (Herod. I. 144). There is
nothing against the assumption that before Athenian influence was
felt in Rhodes, the Dorian institutions had prevailed. In later
times the constitution of the island was generally democratie. The
family of the Eratidae, who formed a Dorian aristocracy in Ialysus,
were banished between B.C. 428 and 412.
ἐγγύτατα—ἐγγύς is used four times in these opening chapters in plaee of
the ordinary μάλιστα. This use is
found nowhere else.
Ἀκράγαντα
— Girgenti,
‘fairest of mortal cities,’ καλλίστα βροτεᾶν
πολίων, Φερσεφὀνας ἕδος (Pind. Pyth.
XII. 1). It was destroyed by the
Carthaginians in 406, but restored subsequently. The river from
which the town was named is S. Biagio, the
smaller of two streams that flow into the sea through one mouth.
ὀνομάσαντες . . ποιήσαντες
. . δόντες
—these aorists do not
refer to things that occurred before the action of the main verb, ᾤκισαν, but express merely the manner of the foundation. That this is so is
elear from δόντες. (Cf. Forbes,
Thuc. I. 2 p. 143.)
νόμιμα δέ—μέν . . δἐ . . δἐ serve
rather to co-ordinate the details than to contrast them.
Ζάγκλη
—now Messina,
a city which, after suffering from every form of calamity in both
aneient and modern times, is now second only to Palermo as a
commercial centre. Thuc. gives no date for the foundation of Zancle
and Himera (Freeman,
Sicily, I. 586).
Ὀπικίᾳ
=Samnium
and Campania.
λῃστῶν
—‘As
regarded the Sikel inhabitants all Greek settlers were alike
pirates. . . What is meant is that these settlers were private
adventurers who were not sent forth under an aeknowledged founder,
with the traditional ceremonies observed in the sending forth of a
colony’ (Freeman).
ἀπὸ Κύμης
—in the second and formal
foundation.
Χαλκίδος
—as
mother-eity of Cumae.
ὄνομα
—accus, according to FI. Muller,
cf. II. 37
ὄνομα
μὲν . . δημοκρατία κέκληται. But Kruger rightly takes it
as nom.; sc. αὐτῆς from above.
ἧν . . κληθεῖσα
—translate, ‘its name was at
first Zancle, having received the name from the S. because . .’; i e. this is not a periphrastic form for ἐκέκλητο, but the passage is the same
as Plat. Crat. 412 ἀνδρὶ
ἦν ὄνομα Σοῦς: Aristoph. Av. 1293 Μενίππῳ ἦν
χελιδὼν τοὔνομα: Demosth. 21, 32 ούδενὶ
θεσμοθέτης ἔστ’ ὄνομα, and many others. The dat. is
usual with ὄνομα ἔστι, but the
gen. is also found, as in Demosth. 21, 32, after the passage above.
For κληθεῖσα we might expect κληθείσης (
αὐτῆς), but, as αὐτῆς= τῆς Ζάγκλης, the attraction to Ζάγκλη is quite natural. For the
partic. following ἦν in this
manner, cf. II. 67, 1 οὗ ἦν στράτευμα τῶν Ἀθηναίων πολιορκοῦν
.
Σικελῶν
—therefore
Z. was not occupied for the first time by Gks.
δρεπανοειδές
—‘The
sickle-shaped peninsula is the distinguishing feature of the place;
this natural breakwater has enabled the city under all changes to
keep up its character as a haven of the sea’ (Freeman).
τὴν ἰδέαν
—slightly pleonastic after -ειδές, but wrongly suspected by Haacke.
This meaning of
ἰδέα is not common.
ζάγκλον
—the Etym.
Mag. quotes Callimachus for ζάγκλον
in the sense of δρέπανον. The
coins of Z. before the name was changed bear the forms δανκ, δανκλ,
δανκλη.
αὐτοί
—the
Chalcidians.
Σαμίων
—the story is told in Herod. VI.
When Miletus and Samos fell to Persia in 494, the Ionians were
invited by Scythes, tyrant of Zancle, to settle in Sicily. Fugitives
from Samos and Miletus adopted a suggestion of Anaxilas, tyrant of
Rhegium, that they should seize Z. while Scythes and his army were
absent, being occupied in the siege of some Sicel city. Cf. Aristot. Pol. 1303a Ζαγκλαῖοι
Σαμίους ὑποδεξάμενοι ἐξέπεσον αὐτοί .
Ἀναξίλας
—made
himself tyrant of Rhegium 494 B.C., and quarrelled with Scythes of
Zancle, though hitherto the two cities had been closely connected.
Between 493 and 476 he drove out the Samians in turn.
ξυμμείκτων ἀνθ
—taken with οἰκίσας, which is constructed like πληρώσας (Clas.). Widmann compares Eur. Hec. 875 Λῆμνον
ἀρσένων ἐξῴκισαν.
Μεσσήνην
—Freeman,
Sicily II. Appendix IX. gives reasons for thinking that the
change of name may have been later than the time of Anaxilas.
τῆς ἑαυτοῦ
—Rhegium
was peopled soon after Zanele by Chaleidians and by settlers from
Peloponnesian Messene.
ἀντωνόμασε
—Class. supports this word
from Dio Cass. (I. 55), from whom also
Bloomfield quotes ἀντωνομάσθη,
with the note that the word is extremely rare.
l. 1. Ἱμέρα
—marks
the western limit of Gk. eneroach ment on the N. coast. It was
apparently intended as a stronghold against Phoenician Solus and
Panormus. It disappeared for ever in 408, when Hannibal, grandson of the
Hamilcar whom Gclon had defeated at Himera in 480, eaptured the town and
utterly destroyed it.
Εὐκλείδου
—probably
these founders came from Chaleis, as metropolis of Zancle.
στάσει
—Aristot. Pol.
1303 b speaks of early factions in Syr. The banished clan, as
Frceman points out, is strong enough in numbers to affect the
dialect of Himera.
φωνὴ μεταξὺ . . ἐκράθη
—this is the only place in
Thuc. in which μεταξύ applies
neither to place nor to time. The construction would be more regular
if μεταξύ were ἐκ.
τῆς τε Χαλκιδέων καὶ Δ
—it is usual to omit the 2nd art.
after μεταξύ when the gender is
the same. Δωρίς, Ἑλληνίς,
Περσίς are the ordinary forms with
γλῶσσα or φωνή.
ἐκράτησεν
—this
probably hints at some difficulty that arose between Ionian and
Dorian settlers.
Ἄκραι
—a fortified outpost of Syr.
against the Sicels. It was not a separatc city. Freeman, Sicily
II. p. 20 f.
Κασμέναι
—the
foundation of this second outpost of Syr. came but four years after
that of Himera. The exact site is doubtful.
Καμάρινα
—its
foundation marks the extension of Syracusan power in the S.; Syr.
retained some sort of control over it.
ἀναστάτων
—the
revolt in favour of independence occurred in 553 B.C. (Scymnus).
χρόνῳ
—viz. 492 B.C. The war between
Hippoerates of Gela and Syr. is mentioned by Herod VII. 154. Syr. was defeated at the
Helorus; H. restored the Syr. prisoners in return for the cession of
Camarina. He then restored C. as an outpost of Gela against Syr.
Ἱπποκράτης
—tyrant
of Gela 498-491 B.C.
λύτρα
—for the plur. form in the pred.
noun, Bloomfield quotes Ov. Met.
II. 695
nitidam cape
pracmia
vaccam.
γενόμενος
—this use of the aor. partic.,
for which see c. 4, 4 l. 27, is not infrequently
found after another partic., λαβών,
so that the first partic. is in sense subordinate to the second—
‘when he had received . . he made himself founder’—and the two are
accordingly not usually co-ordinated.
ὑπὸ Γέλωνος
—tyrant
of Gela 491-485, and of Syracuse 485-478. He seized the tyranny of
Gela on the death of Hippocrates. Camarina would not accept the
wrestler Glaucus, of the famous Enboean city Carystus, whom Gelon
set over it, and Camarina was consequently destroyed, and its
citizens transferred to Syracuse. This destruction occurred about
the same time as that of Megara. See c. 4, 2.
τὸ τρίτον
—this occurred about 461 B.C.
The Olympic victory of Psaumis of Camarina, assigned to 452, is
celebrated by Pindar, Olymp. 4 and 5. This
lends point to the words of Pindar: ἀπ’
ἀμαχανίας ἄγων ἐς φάος τόνδε δᾶμον ἀστῶν, and again, αἰτήσων πόλιν εὐανορίαισι τάνδε
κλυταῖς δαιδάλλειν.
Γελῴων
—see
critical note.
τοσαῦτα κτλ
—observe the chiastic form of the summary: Ἑλλήνων=c. 3, 1; βαρβάρων=c. 2, 6; τοσαῦτα ἔθνη=c. 2, 1; τοσήνδε οὖσαν=c. 2, 1 (previous
senfence). The same arrangement occurs in II. 7,
8, 9.
προφάσει
—in one other passage of Thuc.
of the real motive, I.
23, τὴν
μὲν γὰρ ἀληθεστάτην πρόφασιν, ἀφανεστάτην δὲ λόγῳ. Cf.
Demosth. de Cor. 201 ὅτι
τὴν μὲν ἀληθῆ πρόφασιν τῶν πραγμάτων ἀπεκρύπτετο. In this
use πρόφασις is the excuse which
the writer gives as the true one in contrast
with the alleged cxcuse. C. D. Morris quotes Bacon's ‘the truest cause of this war, though least voiced.
’
ἄρξαι
—ingressive, as often with the aor.
of ἄρχω.
ἅμα
— i.e. Thuc.
admits this as a secondary motive, and says that it was the one
avowed in order to attract ( εὐπρεπῶς ).
τοῖς ἑαυτῶν ξ
— i.e. the
Chalcidians of Naxos, Catana, Leontini, as Ionians.
προσγεγενημένοις
—Kruger, Hude, Stein,
Sitzler accept this reading against προ-.
‘The allies who had jomed them’ in addition to their kinsmen. Thus
in III. 86 we have αἱ Χαλκιδικαὶ πόλεις καὶ Καμάρινα
aiding Leontini in 426; in v. 5 Phaeax
in 422 persuades Acragas and Camarina to join with the allies of
Athens against Syr. The Sicels also had joined in 426, III. 103. For Segesta see § 2.
[
τε
]—those who retain τε—Classen, Böhme, Muller,
Sitzler—assume an anacolnthon, supposing the construction to be
broken by ὅμοροι γάρ, and to be
resumed at § 3 ὧν
ἀκούοντες: so that Thuc. intended Ἐγεσταἰων τε πρὲσβξις . . καὶ οἱ ξυναγορεύοντες.
But, as Stahl points out, if this were so, the parenthesis would be
added from a wish to say something about Ἐγεσταίων
πρὲσβεις as distinct from οἱ
ξυναγορεύοντες. But, in fact, the explanation applics to both, as § 3 shows. It often happens in the
MSS. of Thuc. that τε is found in
some MSS. and not in others. Each passage has to be dealt with on
its own merits.
προθυμότερον
—‘earnestly.’
γαμικῶν τινων
—‘Notwithstanding
difference of origin, not withstanding frequent quarrels, a right of connubium must have existed between the Greek
and the barbarian city’ (Freeman).
γῆς ἀμφισβητήτου
—the
Mazarus formed a boundary between the lands of the two cities.
ὥστε
— quamobrem,
a use of
ὥστε and indic. common in Thuc. and other prose
authors, and by far the commonest use of
ὤστε with indic. in Soph. and Eurip.
ἐπὶ Λάχητος
—see
on c. 1, 1. This alliance with Segesta is not mentioned before; but
an alliance is here plainly implied. [
Λεοντίνων
]—has been taken with πολὲμου, which is not a proper
definition of the war of 426, and with
ξυμμαχίαν, which is contrary to fact, since the alliance
with Leontini—as is known from an inscription—was made in 433, not
in the previous war.
ἀναμιμνῄσκοντες
—with two accus., as
Demosth. 45, 34 τοῦθ) ὑμᾶς
άναμνήσω.
αὐτῶν—τῶν Ἀθηναίων. Syr. had already destroyed Leontini in 422. The only
remaining question was whether the act was to go unpunished: if it
was not punished, then Syr. might proceed to destroy the other
Athenian allies as well, and so get possession of all Sicily.
διαφθείραντες
—this is much better than
the pres. partic. (see crit. note), which would mean time concurrent
with σχήσουσι. Clas. explains the
pres. of the successive conquests But this use of the pres. partic.
to express a process not contemporary with the time of the main verb
can only be shown to exist where the time of the partic. is absolutely past (see the exx. in M. T. § 140), as in II 51 ἕτερος ἀφ) ἑτέρου θεραπείας ἀναπιμπλάμενοι ὥσπερ
τὰ πρόβατα ἔθνῃσκον, whereas
διαφθείροντες would refer to time absolntely future. Krüger understands ‘they will get
possession of the whole power of S. while destroying’; but this is
scarcely satisfactory. Moreover, the order τὴν
ἅπασαν shows that the sum of all the items that make up the power is meant; and it is illogical to
combine this with a distributive expression.
κίνδυνον εἶναι—λέγοντες has here
the infin.; cf. vii. 21
λέγων . . εἶναι: but in II. 5
λέγοντες ὅτι
. . The pres. partic. with infin. is found in I.
38;II. 13;III.
70;IV. 22, 70; v. 49
λέγοντες μὴ
ἐπηγγέλθαι πω τὰς σπονδάς, 46; VI.
52, 58 λέγοντες οὐδὲ ἐπαγγεῖλαι
τὴν
άρχήν, 79; VIII. 70, 93.
In v. 49 the μή
is due to ἀντέλεγον μή . .
preceding. In none of these passages does
λέγω mean ‘to command.’ There are at least as many
instances in Thuc. of λέγων=‘saying’
with infin. as of λέγων with ὅτι or ὡς
.
Δωριῆς τε Δ
—the figure called polyptoton.
It is a common means of emphasising an idea both in Gk. and Lat.
ἐκείνων—τῶν Ἀθηναίων, so that it
applies to the same persons as αὐτῶν
above. Cf. c. 61 κατέγνωσαν αὐτοῦ τε καὶ τῶν
μετ’ ἐκείνου, where see n.
τόν—τὸν μέλλοντα, Schol.
ἀκούοντες
—the pres. is used because the
partic. is influenced by ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις.
There were several meetings of the Ecclesia
specially held (ξυγκλητοὶ ἐκκλησίαι)
to hear the arguments. Cf. Demosth. 3, 4 πολλῶν
δὲ
λόγων καὶ θορύβου γιγνομένου παρ’ ὑμῖν, ἐψηφίσασθε τριήρεις
καθέλκειν.
τῶν ξυναγ
—Alcibiades
and his followers. These gens. are absolute.
πρῶτον
—before
finally deciding.
τὰ τοῦ πολέμου . . πρὸς
τοὺς
Σελινουντίους
—unless πόλεμος can be considered as (a) a verbal noun, this order is impossible,
because there is (b) no other epithet to πολέμου than πρὸς
τοὺς Σελ. Cf. (a)II. 52
ἡ ξυγκομιδὴ
(verbal noun) ἐκ τῶν ἀγρῶν: (b)I. 110
τὰ κατὰ τὴν μεγάλην στρατείαν Ἀθηναίων.
οἱ ξυμ. πλὴν Κορινθίων
—the relations between
Corinth and Sparta since the Peace of Nicias, early in 421, had been
somewhat complicated: Corinth stood ont of the Peace. Autnmn of 421,
Corinth initiated a new leagne under Argos, v.
27, on the ground that Sparta was arming at ‘enslaving the
Peloponnese.’ In May 420 Athens concluded an alliance with Argos,
Elis, and Mantinea; from this Corinth held aloof, v. 48, and was inclined to join Sparta.
In 418 Corinth joined Sparta against Argos, v.
58. But Corinth was never a cordial ally of Sparta after 421.
τὴν Ἀργείαν
—in June 417 there had been a
democratic revolution at Argos, which had then again joined Athens.
In the antumn of both 417 and 416 the Spartans had
invaded Argos.
τινα
—Stahl takes this with σῖτον, Clas. with ζεύγη. If it be genuine (see crit.
note), it probably belongs to σῖτον.ζ. κομίσαντες
‘having brought waggons (for the purpose).’
Ὀρνεάς
—formerly an ally of Argos, but
occupied by Sparta as a fort (ἐπιτείχισμα)
from which to threaten Argos. For the capture of Orneae cf.
Aristoph. Av. 395.
φυγάδας
—oligarehs
who fled at the time of the revolution at Argos, and had since been
living at Phlius.
παρακαταλιπόντες
—a ἅπαξ λεγ.
ὥστε
—‘on condition that,’ a use of ὥστε and infin. common in Thuc., who
uses ἐφ) ᾧ, ἐφ)
ᾧτε only with fut. indie. Cf. M. T.
§ 110.
ἐκδιδράσκ. οἱ ἐκ
—a common case of attraction
of preposition. Cf. Andoe. οἱ ἐκ τῆς ἀγορᾶς
ἔφευγον. If the text is sound, Cie. ad
Fam.
vii.
1 has ex illo cubiculo, ex quo . . tempora consumpseris.
ὡς ᾔσθοντο
—a favourite substitute for αἰσθόμενοι in the vicinity of another
partic.
Μεθώνην
—the addition is made in order to
distinguish this M. from the M. in Messenia, which was attacked by
the Athenians in 431 B.C., II. 25.
φυγάδας
—they
had been supporters of Perdiccas' brother Philip, whom Perdiecas had
expelled from Upper Macedonia.
τὴν Περδίκκου
—P.
II. of Macedon, son of Alexander the Philhellene. His relations with
Athens are not elearly explained by Thuc., and the omission is
serious, as we cannot without such explanation understand fully the
political position in the north-cast. The following table is
compiled from Thuc.:— (1) Perdiecas was in alliance with Athens
before 432. (2) In 432 he encouraged Potidaea to revolt. (3) 431:
reconciliation with Athens. (4) 429: Athens projected an expedition
against him. In 427 and 425 we know from inscriptions that Athens
negotiated with him to prevent him from injuring Methone. (5) 424:
he encouraged Brasidas to go to the north. (6) 424 autumn: he made
terms with Athens. (7) 418: he joined Sparta after Mantinea. 417:
the Athenians blockaded him ineffectually. (8) The present incident.
(9) 414: he is again on good terms with Athens.
Χ. τοὺς ἐπὶ Θ
—it is unknown when the truce was made between A. and the Chal., but it was probably in
417.
δεχημέρους
—Clas.
explains ‘renewable every ten days’; but such relations between A.
and eities so distant are surcly impossible. Grote is probably right
in explaining it ‘an armistice terminable at ten days' notice.’
ἐτελεύτα
—the anaphora of this word is
remarkable; but we have
almost the same form of expression: ‘and winter ended, and with winter ended the year.’ Procopius
imitates this expression of Thuc.; but for the second ἐτελεύτα he regulaily substitutes ἔληγε. The object of Thuc. in thus
repeating ἐτελεύτα is doubtless to
mark the fact that the end of winter and the end of the year of war
coincide.
ἧκον
—‘returned,’
as often.
ὡς
—with μισθόν.
According to the figures, each member of the crew of 200 is to
receive one drachma a day, which was double the ordinary pay.
ἐκ. ποιήσαντες
—cf. Andoc. I. 82
ἐκ.
ποιήσαντες ἐβουλεύσασθε καὶ ἐψηφίσασθε. Technically only
the πρυτάνεις could summon the
Assembly, the technical phrase being προγράφειν
τὴν ἐκκλησίαν. (Aristot. Ath. Pol.
c. 43; Schomann de Com. Ath. p. 53; Gilbert,
II. p. 269.)
πρέσβεων
—this must have oceurred either
at the third or the fourth Ecclesia of the seventh Prytany, in the
latter part of the month Anthesterion, Ol. xcii. (Cf. Aristot. l.c.) Four meetings of the Eeclesia were held
in each Prytany.
Ἀλκιβιάδην
—Intr. p. xii. αὐτοκράτορας does not, as is often
asserted, imply that the generals were released from the obligation
to render accounts (εὔθυναι), but
only that the details were left to them. It was apparently—and quite
naturally— usual to give to one or more generals such extended
powers for distant and important expeditions (Gilbert, Bcitrage, p. 39). Aristot. Ath.
Pol. c. 61, speaking of the Strategi
gencrally, says κύριοι δέ εἰσιν, ὅταν
ἡγῶνται, καὶ δῆσαί τιν’ ἀτακτοῦντα καὶ ἐκκηρῦξαι (expel) καὶ ἐπιβολὴν ἐπιβάλλειν (fine). Lys.
13, 67, says that Lamachus during the expedition executed a soldier
who was deteeted signalling to the enemy. This may have been an
exercise of his special powers.
ξυγκατοικίσαι
—inf. of purpose, M T. § 770.
ἤν τι περιγίγνηται
—observe the tense: the
aor. would express the sense, but the pres. gives the meaning ‘if
they should find that they were succeeding.’ M.T.
§ 88. τι goes with τοῦ. π. Stein renders ‘if they had
anything left from.’
ἐκκλησία . . καθ’ ὅ τι
—for καθ’
ὄ τι=
how cf. I. 69
σκοπεῖν καθ’ ὅτι ἀμυνούμεθα.
τοῖς στρατηγοῖς
—another object of the
mecting. This dat. depends directly on ἐκκλησία
ἐγίγνετο—cf. Andoc. I. 11
ἦν μὲν γὰρ
ἐκκλησία τοῖς στρατηγοῖς τοῖς εἰς Σικελίαν—and the
inf. ψηφισθῆναι, subject εἴ του προσδέοιντο, is added as an
epexegcsis. (It is absurd, as Hude points out, to make ψηφισθῆναι depend on χρή, as though they were to discuss
‘how’ to vote. But the insertion of τοῦ
is unnecessary.) ψηφισθῆναι is not
inf. of purpose, but depends on ἐκκλησία
ἐγίγνετο, which is constructed like ἔδοξε: it gives the terms of the
resolution proposed.
βραχείᾳ
—‘slight.’
μεγάλου ἔργου
—this is taken as in
apposition to Σικελίας, though in
sense belonging to ἐφίεσθαι τῆς
Σικ. Stahl refers to Eur. Herc.
323 ὡς μὴ τἐκν’ εἰσίδωμεν, ἀνόσιον θέαν,
ψυχορραγοῦντα, which is quite different, because τέκνα ψυχορραγοῦντα=θέα α·νόσιος is possible, whereas Σικελία=ἔργον
μέγα is impossible except as a brachylogy. Hence perhaps ἔργου μεγάλου was in apposition to <ἄρξαι> (ingressive) τῆς Σικελίας.
ἀποτρέψαι
—on
the action of Nicias see c. 14.
δεῦρο
—i.e. you
have not to think only of the enemies you will find in Sicily.
Already before the Pel. war Sparta had applied for help to Sicily:
now the friends of Sparta there would be provoked to send it.
ἐπαγαγέσθαι
—a vox
media, being used equally of inviting in good and evil.
σπονδάς
—the
Peace of Nicias; Thuc. has more than once pointed out that it was
delusive; but considering the enthusiasm felt for Nicias at Athens
in 421 when the Peace was signed, it is curious to find Nicias
admitting his failure.
ἔχειν τι βέβαιον
—‘afford
you some security’ (Bloomf.), because, if the Spartans refused to
break the peace, no enemy from Sicily could come to attack Athens.
αἵ
—‘so long as you refrain from action,
the treaty will last as a nominal treaty—thanks to the action of
certain persons at home and on the other side.’ ἡσυχάζειν,quiesco,
is often contrasted with πολεμῶ:
ὀνόματι
—‘as
far as the name goes’: it will not be a reality.
ἄνδρες
—at Athens Alcibiades, at Sparta
certain of the ephors.
ἔπραξαν αὐτά—πράσσω not
infrequently suggests the bad side of diplomacy, αὐτά=τὰ τῶν
σπονδῶν, the matters connected with the treaty. The use of αὐτά referring to things connected with what has been mentioned is common; e.g.
II. 43, 1 τὴν δύναμιν . . αὐτά, Eur. Bacchae 202 παραδοχὰς
. . αὐτά.
σφαλέντων
—sc.
ἡμῶν, the gen. abs. as often in spite of the proximity of
another case having the same reference. This has the effect of
strongly emphasising the participial clause. ἀ.
δυνάμει with
σφαλέντων.
ἐπιχείρησιν ποιήσονται
—see Index s.vv.
ποιεῖσθαι
and γίγνομαι.
διὰ ξυμφορῶν
—‘in a condition of’=διὰ ξ. ὄντες: cf. 34, 2; 57, 3. ὴ Λακεδαίμων, says Thuc., μάλιστα δὴ κακῶς ἤκουσε καὶ ὑπερώφθη
διὰ τὰς ξυμφοράς (v. 28)
just after the Peace.
ἐκ τοῦ αἰσχίονος
—‘in a manner more
disereditable than we, that is, of necessity.’ We
accepted peace voluntarily; they perforce.
There is not much ground for this boast.
ἐν αὐτῇ ταύτῃ
—‘while
the treaty is actually in force’ we have many disputes; referring to
the omission to carry out certain clauses of the treaty These
disputes were concerned mainly with Amphipolis, Pylus, and
Panactum.—A principal sentence is co-ordinated with a rel. clause.
οὐδὲ ταύτην
—partial
and unsatisfactory as it is.
οἱ μέν
—the
Corinthians. See c. 7, 2 n.
οἱ δὲ καί
—the Boeotians and Chalcidians of
Thrace. It is not uncommon to find καί
thus inserted after οἰ δέ to
emphasise the antithesis. καὶ αὐτοί
=‘similarly.’
δίχα
—part
being in Sicily.
πρὸ πολλῶν
—sc.
ἀνθρώπων. ‘Aliter enim πρὸ πολλοῦ
aut πρὸ
πολλῶν χρημάτων dicendum erat’ (Stahl); cf. Andoc. 2,
21 ἐδεξάμην δ’ ἂν ἀντὶ πάντων χρημάτων.
Isocr. 13, 11 has ἐγὼ δὲ πρὸ πολλῶν ἂν
χρημάτων ἐτιμησάμην τηλικοῦτον δύνασθαι τὴν φιλοσοφίαν.
τινα
—instead of
ἡμᾶς. Cf. vii.
61
ἢν κρατήσωμεν . . ἔστι τῳ τὴν .
.
πόλιν ἐπιδεῖν. This use of τις
increases the solemnity of a statement.
αὐτά
—cf.
§ 2
τῇ πόλει
—see crit. n.: ‘verba μετεώρῳ τῇ πόλει bene exponit Schol.,
dicens: τῆς πόλεως ἡμῶν
οὐκ ἐν τῷ ἀσφαλεῖ ὁρμούσης μετενήνεκται δὲ τὸ ὄνομα
(‘the metaphor is taken’) ἀπὸ τῶν μήπω
ὡρμισμένων’ (Stahl). For the sentiment cf. Aristides 30,
35 τῆς παροιμίας οὐ πόρρω θέομεν τὸ
νῦν<*>
ἐπιθυμίᾳ γὰρ τῶν πλειόνων καὶ ἀπόντων—ἀλλ) ἐάσω τὸ βλάσφημον.
See c. 13, 1.
πρὶν . . βεβαιωσώμεθα—πρίν
without ἄν appears four times in
Thuc. with subjunct., but in other Attic prose writers the use is
doubtful. See M.T. § 648.
ἔτη
—sixteen
years.
κατὰ τὰς ἠπείρους
—this
is purposely left vague. The subject allies showed great readiness
to revolt after the disaster in Sicily.
ἐνδοιαστῶς
—this
word does not occur in any Attic prose writer except Thuc.
ἡμεῖς δέ
—this clause does not, as
Classen thought, depend on εἰ . . γε,
but clearly stands in antithesis to χρὴ
σκοπεῖν τινα, as Stahl explains. What we
are doing is quite different from what we
ought to be doing. The contrast between
σκοπεῖν and ὀξέως (
μεταχειρίσαι) is repeated in c. 12, 2.
δή
—with βοηθοῦμεν
Ἐγεσταίοις. The verbal contrasts between οὖσι ξυμμάχοις and πάλαι ἀφεστώτων, ἀδικουμένοις and αὐτοἰ ἀδικούμεθα, βοηθοῦμεν and ἀμύνεσθαι are good examples of
antithesis in the enthymeme, or rhetorical
inference. The enthymeme, which is very common in the speeches of
Thuc., is ‘a syllogism drawn, not from the premisses proper to any
particular seience—such as medicine—but from propositions relating
to contingent things in the sphere of human action’ (Jebb): thus
here:—proposition 1, we aid Segesta; proposition 2, we neglect our revolted
subjects. The inference is that we are neglecting the city's
interest in not reducing the revolted to obedience. The most
approved form of enthymeme according to later
rhetoricians is this, which Cieero calls sententia
ex contrariis conclusa: e.g. Cic. pro Sulla
§ 22 an vero clarissimum virum generis vestri ac
nominis nemo reprehendit qui filium suum vita privavit . . : tu
rempublicam reprehendis, quae domesticos hostes . . necavit?
One of the two premisses is often omitted, in which case the enthymeme becomes a mere statement backed up
with a single reason.
καίτοι . . κατεργ. κἂν κατ
—the
alliteration renders the assertion more incisive.
διὰ πολλοῦ καὶ πολλῶν
—cf. below § 6 περὶ πλεῖστον καὶ διὰ πλείστου, and c.
87, 4 ἐν παντὶ γὰρ πᾶς χωρίῳ. The γε gives a
causal force to the partic.
ὧν
—common object to κρατήσας and
κατασχήσει, following, as usual, the coustruction of the
partic.
καὶ μή
—the rel. is not repeated in this
clause, but the second μή carries
on its force.
μὴ ἐν τῷ ὁμοίῳ
—cf. II.
60
ἐν
ἴσῳ εἶναι,III. 22
ἐν ἀπόρῳ εἶναι, and many others.
καὶ πρὶν ἐπι.—καί ‘as’; so after ἴσος (e.g.
III. 14, 1) and other similar words.
Failure to capture a city by assault or siege was an experience of
the Athenians: it had not hitherto led to disastrous
consequences. But a failure in Sicily would mean a combined attack
from Sparta and their Sicilian friends, an invitation to doubtful
allies to revolt, and great loss of treasure and prestige.
Σικελιῶται δ’ ἄν κτλ
—this is explained in two
ways: (1) After ὥς γε
νῦν ἔχουσι supply οὐ δεινοὶ
εἶναι by an ellipse such as Herbst thinks characteristic
of Thuc. and calls ‘beautiful.’ Clas. thinks that there is a lacuna
after ἔχουσι. The Schol. and
others support this view. Cf. note in Jowett. (2) ‘Looking at the
actual state of Sicily, I should say that the island would be even
less formidable to us’: so Arnold, Bloomf., Stahl, etc. This version
misses the antithesis between ὤς γε νῦν
ἔχουσι and εἰ ἄρξειαν
which is carried on in νῦν . . ἐκείνως.
Now it is not certain that νῦν μὲν γάρ
. . is epexegetic of ὤς γε νῦν ἔχουσι:
for καὶ ἔτι ἂν ἧσσον may quite
well=καὶ ἔτι ἂν ἧσσον ἢ νῦν εἰσι.
The real difficulty is to settle the meaning of ὤς . . ἔχουσι. According to Stahl ‘the
present state of the S.’ means ‘their state while they are
independent.’ Much more probably ‘uninvaded as they are by us’ is
the sense. Should we invade Sicily, the conditions would be altered.
If we won, we should not gain: if we lost, then Syracuse might get
the upper hand, and of course then would join Sparta. Cf. Class. Rev. July 1895.
ἄρξειοιν
—ingressive.
ὅπερ
—internal acens. to ἐκφοβοῦσι.
ἕκαστοι
—‘separately.’ The statement is
put vaguely, because after the experience of Sparta with regard to
her Sicilian allies there could not be much ground for Athens to
fear that the Siceliots, if
undisturbed, would send help to Sparta. Observe that ὥς γε νῦν ἔχουσι is still implied both
with νῦν μὲν γάρ and with ἐκείνως δ).
ἐκείνως—εἰ ἄρξειαν αὐτῶν Συρ .
εἰκός
—generally takes aor. inf.,
occasionally present. The argument (πίστις)
from τὸ
εἰκός is common in Thuc. Antiphon,
Tetral. A, α, 4 is an example
of a charge resting on τὸ εἰκός,probabile.
ἀρχὴν ἐπὶ ἀρχήν
—the
argument is not that it is unnatural for one empire (Syracuse) to
attack another (Athens); but that if the Athenian power, the common
enemy of Sparta and Syracuse, were destroyed, Sparta would soon come
to regard the Syracusan power as the successor of the Athenian, and
would grow jealous of it.
τῶν αὐτῶν
—the Peloponnesians.
σφετέραν
—the (secondary) reflexive, not ἐκείνων or
αὐτῶν, because the thought of the Syracusans is
represented.
διὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ
—neut.=‘similar means,’ i.e. by combination with other states. For
the change from the dat. ᾧ ἂν
τρόπῳ to the gen. with διά,
cf. Isocr. 15 τούτῳ (τῷ λόγῳ)ἐξελέγχομεν
καὶ ἐγκωμιάζομεν· διὰ τούτου παιδεύομεν καὶ δοκιμάζομεν.
ἡμᾶς δέ
—after
explaining that A. has nothing to fear from a Syracusan empire,
Nicias proceeds to explain by what means A. may inspire the
Siceliots with most fear.
ἔπειτα δὲ καί
—the
less desirable course.
δῑ ὀλίγου
—temporal, with ἀπέλθοιμεν.
διὰ πλείστου
—the edd. quote the maxim
aseribed to Tiberius (Tac.
An. 1, 47) major e longinquo reverentia,
Virgil's minuit praesentia famam, etc. See
crit. note.
πεῖραν ἥκιστα
—‘and whatever affords
least opportunity for testing its reputation.’ Cf. Pericles' remark, II. 41
τῶν ἔργων
τὴν ὑπόνοιαν ἡ ἀλήθεια βλάψει. Nicias in making this
remark is making a point against the party of Alcibiades. Cf. c. 13,
1.
διὰ τό
—asyndeton after a demonstrative (which is here replaced by ὅπερ) is fairly common. Cf. II. 60, 4 ὃ νῦν
ὑμεῖς δρᾶτε· ταῖς κατ’ οἶκον κακοπραγίαις . . ἀφίεσθε.
παρὰ γνώμην
=παρ’
ἐλπίδα, ‘contrary to your expectation’; contrast c. 9, 2. αὐτῶν probably belongs to περιγεγενῆσθαι, but is put early in
order to contrast it with Σικελίας.
Stein thinks παρὰ γ. αὐτῶν=praeter
vestram ipsorum opinionem.
πρὸς ἃ ἐ. τὸ πρῶτον
—this use of πρός, ‘in comparison with,’ is commoner
in Thuc. than in other Attic prose writers. (These words are
inserted because Nicias does not mean ‘having, contrary to your
expectation, attained the mastery,’ as Bloomfield renders: but, on
the contrary, that the success of Athens has been considerable if
viewed in the light of her fears at the beginning of the war, in the
days when Pericles strove to calm her fears)
μὴ πρὸς τὰς τύχας—τὰ τῆς τύχης, or αἱ τύχαι are the manifestations of the
inscrutable τύχη that so often thwarts
human γνώμη. According to Thuc. events
are the outcome of ascertainable causes, except
when τύχη comes in. Nicias himself in VII. 61 expresses a hope that τὸ τῆς τύχης may side with the Athenians:
he seems to think that the conduct of the gods may be reasoned about (VII. 77, 4), but that
τύχη is unaccountable. The context here gives to τ. the sense ‘misfortunes.’
τὰς διανοίας κρατήσαντας θ.—διανοίαι=‘designs,’
the results of διανοία. If τὰς δ. goes with
κρατήσαντας, it is strange that the gen. is not
used, in accordance with the otherwise invariable rule of Thuc., except
when μάχη is expressed or implied.
Clas, takes τὰς δ. as accus. of
‘respect,’ and supplies αὐτῶν to κρατήσαντας. It is better to take τὰς διανοίας as object of θαρσεῖν, and to render ‘to defeat (the
enemy) and (then) to have no fear of his (further) plans.’ For the
sentiment, cf. Demosth. proem. 32, 2 οὐκ ἐπὶ
τῶν λόγων θρασύν, ἀλλ) ἐπὶ τῆς παρασκευῆς ἰσχυρὸν εἶναι δεῖ, οὐδ’
ἐπὶ τῷ τοὺς ἐχθροὺς μὴ δυνήσεσθαι θαρρεῖν, ἀλλ) ἐπὶ τῷ κἂν δύνωνται
κρατήσειν.
μηδὲ Λακεδαιμονίους
—the paraphrase of
the Schol. is a good example of the skill with which a good
scholiast imitates the diction of Thuc.: “μὴ
νομίζετε Λακεδαιμονίους ἄλλο τι σκοπεῖν ἤ, διὰ
τὸ αἰσχρῶς ἐσπεῖσθαι, σπεύδειν ὅτῳ τρόπῳ δύναίντο (!)ἔτι νῦν καθελόντες ἡμᾶς ἀναμαχέσασθαι τὴν πρόσθεν
ἀδοξίαν.”
εὖ θέσθαι
=‘to
settle satisfactorily.’
ὅσῳ
—‘in so far as’: ‘a point upon which
their anxiety is
proportioned to their long and passionate pursuit of
military glory’ (Wilkins). ὅσῳ is
thus used with comparatives or superlatives, and with precisely the
same freedom with regard to the presence or absence of a correlative
(τοσούτῳ), or of the comparative
(or superl.) in one or the other clauses as it appears in Tacitus in
the case of eo . . quo, tanto . . quanto. Cf.
c. 78, 1 τοσούτῳ ἀσφαλέστερον ὅσῳ . .
ἀγωνιεῖται.περὶ πλείστου
=‘above everything.’ For περί see
Index.
ἀρετῆς
—here
in its earlier sense, ‘courage,’ not in the sense that it has
already in Thuc., ‘virtue.’
ὁ ἀγών
—sc. ἐστί
.
δῑ ὀλιγαρχίας
—‘by means of an
oligarchy.’ Nicias had experienced the cunning of the Spartan
government in the matter of the peace. It had been reduced to a name
(c. 10, 2) through Spartan diplomacy aided by those in Athens who
played into the hands of Sparta. This is a direct appeal to the
extreme democrats, who were eagerly supporting the expedition. Cf.
Demosth. 15, 30 εἷς ἀγών
ἐστιν ὁ πρὸς τοὺς προδήλους ἐχθρούς. Stein thinks δῑ ὀ.=
ὀλιγαρχικῶς.
φυλαξόμεθα
—M.T.
§ 339.
λελωφήκαμεν—λωφᾷ· παύεται Hesych.: λωφᾷ τῆς ὀδύνης, Plat.
Phaedr. 251 C; cf. II.
49, 5 μετὰ ταῦτα λωφήσαντα,
of symptoms abating.
χρήμασι καὶ τοῖς σώμασιν
—for the rather unusual
art., cf. Demosth. 16, 12 καὶ
χρήματ’ εἰσφέρειν καὶ τοῖς σώμασι κινδυνεύειν: 22, 55 εἰς χρήματα τὴν δίκην προσήκει λαμβάνειν. ὁ δὲ
εἰς τὰ σώματα . . ἐποιήσατο τὰς τιμωρίας. Clas. thinks
the art. is added to give prominence to the more important item.
ηὐξῆσθαι
—the perf. infin. is rare after ὥστε, but it is here required to
express a state in the present.
δίκαιον
—sc.
έστί. It is probably right to omit
εἶναι after ἐνθάδε with
C; for, apart from the awkwardness of construction, it is far more
pointed to state dogmatically that justice (to ourselves) demands
that we should use what we have recovered for ourselves, than to say
that we should think it just to do so: and
δίκαιόν (ἐστι) is in
antithesis to χρήσιμόν (ἐστι) below.
ἐνθάδε
—within
the limits of our own empire.
ἀναλοῦν
—old form of ἀναλίσκειν.
φυγάδων
—an exaggeration: only the
Leontines could be ealled φυγάδες.
Cf. c. 6, 2.
τό τε ψεύσασθαι
—‘whom
it suits to lie plausibly,’ by promising help and advantage to those
who would help them.
τῷ τοῦ π. κ
—‘while others face danger, and they
themselves provide nothing of their own but pretenees, either, if
they succeed, to make no adequate return, or, if they fail at all,
to involve their friends in disaster.’
χρήσιμον belongs to ξυναπολέσαι,
and the sentiment that ‘there are states which it suits to involve
their friends in their own failure’ is in aceordance with a maxim
well known in ancient times that trouble is lighter when the burden
is shared by many. It was at least recognised in the ease of individuals, and nothing is clearer than that
Nicias here, as elsewhere—as he did apparently throughout his
career—confuses the political attitude of states with the ethics of
the individual. There is therefore nothing strange in χρήσιμον. Nor is there a zeugma in τῷ τοῦ πέλας κινδύνῳ· it belongs
equally to κατορθώσαντας and to πταίσαντας —whether they succeed or
fail, the danger to their friends is the same.
τις
—Alcibiades,
as eager to accept the command as Nieias was reluctant.
ἄρχειν
—sc.
στρατιᾶς, chosen from the board of ten strategi to command
the army. Nicias does not mean, as is generally assumed, elected
strategus. Alcibiades had held that office, (1) July 420-419, (2)
July 419-418, (3) July 416-415, and had at this time been elected to
hold office a
fourth time, 415-414. Jokes had been made, especially by
the comic poet Eupolis, about Alc.'s youth in 419. He was now about
thirtysix, but was ‘young for his age.’ For
ἐς sec Index.
μόνον
—instead
of the interests of the state. This, says N., is what Alc. is doing,
and one reason is that he is too young for so responsible a post.
θαυμασθῇ μέν
—from the rather strange
expression we must assume N. to mean that Alc. wanted
the command in order to
increase his establishment and to get means to pay for it.
There is nothing ‘disordeily’ in this sentence, as is sometimes
said.
ἱπποτροφίας
—‘so expensive was the
keeping of horses in most parts of Greece (see Pind. Isth.
iv. 49,
Aesch. Pr. V. 475, Aristot.
Pol.
VI. 7), that such was regarded
as an evidence of ample fortune, and, when attached to any one's
ancestors, of high gentility. In Hdt. vi. 35 it is mentioned as a proof of
Miltiades' gentility, that he was descended οἰκίης
ἀπὸ τεθριπποτρόφου’ (Bloomfield). Cf. Isocr. 16, 33 of
Alc., ἱπποτροφεῖν ἐπιχειρήσας ὃ τῶν
εὐδαιμονεστάτων ἔργον ἐστίν: and the νόσος ἱππική of Aristoph. Nub.
μηδὲ τούτῳ
—‘do
not allow him either,’ any more than Segesta.
ἐλλαμπρύνεσθαι
—i.e.
λαμπρύνεσθαι ἐν
τῷ . . κινδύνῳ.
μὴ οἷον νεωτέρους β
—‘not one for young men to decide
and to carry out in a hurry.’ οἷος
=τοιοῦτος
ὥστε, as often.
παρακελευστούς
—Goller quotes Photius s.r.,οἱ
ἐκ παρακελεύσεως καὶ παρακλήσεως συλλαμβάνοντες. It
was deemed contrary to order (εὐκοσμία)
in the Ecclesia to appeal (παρακελεύεσθαι)
to persons, except of course while making a
speech, and it appears that there were penalties for any
interruption of the kind. (The evidence for this is Aeschines 1, 61,
where παρακελεύηται is surely
misunderstood by Schomann de Com. Ath., E T.
119.) It was the business of the πρυτάνεις,
on whom see c. 14, 1, ἐπιμελεῖσθαι εὐκοσμίας
.
ἀντιπαρακελεύομαι
—‘appeal
in turn,’ and in the regular manner, not irregularly as Alc. has
done.
καταισχυνθῆναι . . ὅπως μή
—‘i.e.
not to be shamed into fear lest he may seem
to be weak,’ M.T. § 370.
μηδ’ . . εἶναι
—co-ordinate with μὴ καταισχυνθῆναι.
αὐτοί
—i.e. even
without Alc. to encourage them.
δυσέρωτας
—this
word is found in Lysias and Xenophon; then not in prose until
Lucian, Aristides, Plutarch, Dio Cass., Aelian.
μέγιστον δὴ τῶν πρίν
—as I. 1
ἀξιολογώτατον τῶν
προγεγενημένων, and several other cases in Thuc. There
are familiar imitations in Milton. Cf. ὠκυμορώτατος
ἄλλων.
ἀναρριπτούσης
—Phrynichus in Bekker's Anecdota, p. 18, 1 ἀναρρῖψαι
κίνδυνον, παρὰ τὸ ἀναρρῖψαι κύβον, περὶ
τῶν ἀφειδῶς ἑαυτοὺς εἰς κινδύνους ἀφιέντων. After
Herod. and Thuc. the phrase does not occur in Gk. prose until
Aristides and Aelian.
οὐ μεμπτοῖς
—we
have no fault to find with legard to boundaries. This is a thrust at
the envoys of Segesta; cf. περὶ γῆς
ἀμφισβητήτου c. 6, 2. The boundaries are those ‘which
nature has fixed’ (Freeman). Ἰόνιος κόλπος=either
the whole of the Adriatic, or, as here, the southern part of it
(Poppo). Σικελικὸς κόλπος=the sea
S. of the Ionian, from the E. eoast of Sicily to Crete. (Horacc,
however, gives to Siculum mare a different
sense. See edd. on Odes
II.
12, 2. A Roman naturally understood by mare
Sic. the sea between Italy and the north
coast of Sicily. In Acts c. 28
Ἀδρία=Ἰόνιος κόλπος
.)
διὰ πελἀγους
—sc. ἤν τις πλέῃ. It was not usual to take
this route to Sicily, but, as Freeman says, it is assumed as
possible.
καθ) αὑτούς
—a common use of κατά with reflexive pron., esp. with ἑαυτόν (-ούς).
Sometimes a further definition is added, such as μόνος, ἰδίᾳ, αὐτός. Aristoph. Vesp. 786 κατ’
ἐμαυτὸν κοὐ μεθ) ἑτέρου.
τοῖς δ’ Ἐ. εἰπεῖν
—depends on ἀντιπαρακελεύομαι.
ἄνευ
—without consulting the Athenian
Ecclesia, ἄνευ τῆς
ἡμετέρας γνώμης.
καὶ ξυνῆψαν . . καὶ κατ
—the double καί serves to balance the clauses.
ὠφελίας δέ
—cf.
on c. 11, 1.
καὶ ἐς τἆλλα
—since
the Peaee of Nicias, which Alc. had opposed.
διαβόλως ἐμνήσθη
—‘he
had made a disparaging reference to him.’
στρατηγῆσαι
—see c. 12, 2 n. on ἄρχειν.
δῑ αὐτοῦ
=διὰ
τοῦ στρατηγῆσαι.
Καρχηδόνα
—according to Plutarch, Per. 20 and
Alc. 17, it was already in the time of Pericles a dream of
many to conquer Sicily, Etruria, and Carthage, Cf., probably,
Aristoph. Eq. 174.
ἅμα
—with
ὠφελήσειν.εὐτυχήσας
=‘by
succeeding’: the word is often used of strategi.
ὢν ἐν ἀξιώματι ὑπό
=τιμώμενος
ὑπό: cf. πολλὴν τὴν αἰτίαν εἶχον
ὑπὸ τῶν στρατιωτῶν c. 46, 5.
οὐσίαν
—Alc. had recently married
Hipparete, sister of Callias, son of Hipponicus, ‘the
richest of the Greeks’ (Andoc. 1, 130), and by her dowry had added
to his wealth, which before was computed at 100 talents. The era of
Callias and Alc. is spoken of both by Andoc. and by Demosth. as ἡ εὐδαιμονία. Both of them were
outrageously extravagant. Callias married a first cousin of
Andocides.
ὅπερ καί
—the
haughtiness and extravagance of Alc. brought Athens to ruin, because
they deprived Athens of the services he might have rendered and led
to his joining the enemy at a critical time.
φοβηθέντες γάρ
—‘fearing
the greatness of the lawlessness with which he indulged his whims in
private life, and of the spirit that he showed in his behaviour in
whatever situation he might find himself.’
καὶ κράτιστα διαθέντι
—‘and though he administered
the war (in Sicily) excellently, yet the citizens became indignant
with him because of his behaviour.’ (So Bohme-Widmann, rightly, I
think, supposing the text be sound. Stahl takes καὶ . . ἀχθεσθέντες with πολέμιοι καθέστασαν, and explains καί as concessive. Stein reads ἀχθεσθέντες <
κατέπαυσαν>. Only Stahl is satisfied. Kruger thinks
that after πολέμου some word like εὖνοι has fallen out. Herbst, keeping διαθέντα, thinks that ἀφελόμενοι is lost after ἀχθεσθέντες, and that the construction
is δημοσίᾳ ἀφελόμενοι τὰ τοῦ πολέμου
(αὐτὸν)κράτιστα
διαθέντα.)
ἰδίᾳ
—his
ability as a statesman is contrasted with the disgust that he caused
as an individual. Cf. Bolingbroke.
ἐπιτρέψαντες
—sc. τὴν πόλιν. The Schol. says τὰ τοῦ πολέμου, but (1) this would be a
charge against the other generals in Sicily such as Thuc. nowhere
makes; (2) the sense is not so forcible; (3) the order of words is
against it.
οὐ διὰ μακροῦ
=δῑ
ὀλίγου,i.e.
ὕστερον of § 3. It should be noticed that Thuc. traces the
ruin of Athens, not to the incapacity of Nicias, but rather to the
measures taken by the Ecclesia after the departure of the
Expedition.
καὶ προσήκει μοι
—the speech displays with great
power (1) the temperament of Alc., (2) the reckless energy of the
advanced democrats. The expedition to Sicily would not have been
rash had it not been for the difficulties that were unsolved in
Greece. Such seems to be the view of Thuc. (II.
65;VII. 28), who seems to think
too that the forces should have been reealled when Nicias wrote home
in the winter of 414. So too Isocrates, who has a long passage about
the expedition (8, 85). ‘The terms προσήκει
μ. and ἄξιος
εἷναι are not convertible; the former having referenee
to his
right to the office, on
the score of his birth, wealth, and lavish expenditure for the
benefit of the state (in which view cf. Plato, p. 491 D τούτους προσήκει τῶν πόλεων ἄρχειν)’
(Bloomfield). Many passages (Gilbert, Bcitrage,
pp. 2-5) show that in the fifth century B.C. the στρατηγία was associated with such
advantages.
μᾶλλον ἑτέρων
=
μάλιστα.
ἄρχειν
—as in c. 12, 2, though the claims
of birth, etc. only cntrtled a man to hope for the
office, not necessarily the command
abroad.
τοῖς μὲν προγόνοις
—thus he reverses the
ordinary idea that a man gains δόξα
from, rather than confers it on his ancestors. So Statius, Silv. 1. 4, 68 genus ipse
suis, praemissaque retro | nobilitas.
Nec origo latet, sed luce sequente | vincitur.
ὑπὲρ δύναμιν μείζω
—‘greater even than her (real)
strength warranted’; compared with the notion they had before, their
respect for her was increased, and went even beyond what the facts
justified. (There is no ‘mixture of constructions’ here: there is
only an instance of the πολύνους βραχυλογία
of Thuc.) In 420, the probable date referred to, there were not
wanting ‘spiteful rumours, that A. had been so much impoverished by
the war, as to be prevented from appearing with appropriate
magnificence’ (Grote).
τῷ ἐμῷ δ
—‘by my display as one of the
embassy to O.’ There are many stories connected with this embassy
and the private display of Alc. on the occasion: some of them are
given by Grote. The edd. compare II. 61,
2 τῷ
ὑμετέρῳ άσθενεῖ τῆς γνώμης.
ἅρματα μὲν ἑπτά
—Isocr. 16, 34 ζεύγη καθῆκε τοσαῦτα ὅσοις οὐδ’ αἱ
μέγισται τῶν πόλεων ἠγωνίσαντο.
καθῆκα
—demittere in
certamcn.
ἐνίκησα
—‘won the (first) prize.’ Pliny, N.H. 34, 19 mentions a group by Pyromachus—
‘Alcibiades driving a chariot.’ Aglaophon the artist painted two
pictures to celebrate the victories (Athenaeus), and Euripides
(Plut. Alc. c. 11) wrote the ode.
τἆλλα
—Isocrates speaks of the
magnificence of Alc. ἐν ταῖς
θυσίαις καὶ ἄλλαις ταῖς περὶ τὴν ἑορτὴν δαπάναις.
Athenaeus says that he gave a magnificent banquet.
νόμῳ . . ἐκ τοῦ δρωμένου
—‘a new disgnise of the old
opposition between
λόγῳ and ἔργῳ’ (note
in Jowett). ‘Custom regards such success as an honour, and what is
done leads men to infer power as well.’
χορηγίαις
—orators constantly claim
credit for the λῃτουργίαι that
they have fulfilled. The Choregia was the most
important of the ordinary, or encyclic,
liturgies; cf. Ath. Pol. c. 56 § 5, of the
Archon, χορηγοὺς τραγῳδοῖς καθίστησι τρεῖς,
ἐξ ἁπάντων Ἀθηναίων τοὺς πλουσιωτάτους.
λαμπρύνομαι—ὅσα is internal
accus.
καὶ αὕτη
—assimilated to the complement,
as often in Lat., but not when there is a definition. Thus GK. can
say πάντες οὗτοι
νὀμοι εἰσὶν οὓς τὸ πλῆθος ἔγραψε (Xcn.), whereas Lat.
has quod ita erit gestum, id lex
crit (Cic.). With αὕτη ἰσχὺς
φαίνεται cf. quae apud alios iracundia
dicitur, ea in imperio superbia appellatur
(Sall. Cat. 51: Riemann, § 25
).
ἥδ’ ἡ ἄνοια
—sarcastic; but the description
was not applied by his enemies to the
λῃτουργίαι or to the display at Olympia.
ὃς ἄν
—c.
14.
τέλεσι
=δαπάναις
.
ἐφ) ἑαυτῷ μέγα φρονοῦντα
—cf. Isoer. Ep. 9, 16 οὕτως
ἐπ’ ἐμαυτῷ μέγα φρονῶ, ὥστ’ οἶμαι λέγειν ἐμοὶ προσήκειν μάλιστα.
‘It is not at all unfair that he should have a high opinion of
himself, and should not be on an equality, since he who is in
trouble shares his adversity with no one.’ The noun to φρονοῦντα and ἴσον
εἷναι is τὸν . . ὠφελοῦντα;
the man who has a light to think much of himself is he who benefits
the state as well as himself: such a man is entitled to indulge in
the self-satisfaction of a prosperous benefactor. This is fair, says
Alc., because no one shares his misfortunes with others so as to be
equal with them. There is not much real value in this rather
quibbling (as to ἴσος)enthymeme.
προσαγορευόμεθα
—
salutamur.
ἢ κτλ
‘or else let him claim equality (with the prosperous) by grauting it
(to the unfortunate).’
τοὺς τοιούτους—τοὺς εὐπραγοῦντας
καὶ
ὅσοι
‘and in fact all
who surpass others through distinction in anything.’
ἐν
lit.=‘in respect of.’ Cf. Isocr. 10,
197 προέχειν
ἐν τούτοις, and διαφέρειν ἐν
often.
ἐν τῷ κατ’ αὐτοὺς β
=lit.
‘in the life of their own time.’
τοῖς ὁμοίοις
—‘their
equals’ are more jealous than others who do not aspire to rival
their distinctions.
ξυνόντας
‘while they are with them’
προσποίησιν ξυγ
.—‘a claim to
relationship even when the claim is fictitious.’ Some persons go so
far as to invent a claim to descent from him. This must refer to
such persons as tried in the time of Alc. to make out a relationship
with the tyrants, e.g. with the Pisistratids:
cf. Andoe. 2, 26. where he claims that his great-grandfather
Leogoras might have married into the family of the
tyrants. Alcibiades was descended on the mother's side from
Cleisthenes of Sicyon.
αὔχησιν . . περί
—the noun taking the
construction of αὐχῶ. The
partiality of Thuc. for verbal nouns in -
σις has been often noticed.
καταλιπόντας
—gnomic,
M.T. § 159.
ἀλλοτρίων
—hints at ἀτιμία in the case of certain offences
against the constitution, which involved a complete loss of rights,
so that the ἀ(τιμος was said οὐ μετέχειν τῆς πόλεως. Similarly ἁμαρτόντων probably refers to
ostracism.
μεταχειρίζω
—referring
to what Nicias said in c. 12, 2. The active is an Ionic use.
τὰ δυνατώτατα
—viz.
Argos, Elis, and Mantiuea in 420 B.C.
ὑμῖν
—belongs to
ξυστήσας=ὑμῶν ξυμμάχους ἐποίησα
(Isocr. 16, 15) as well as to κινδύνου κ. δ
.
κινδύνου
—Alc. is described v. 52 as taking with him to the Pel. only
a few Ath. hoplites and archers.
ἐς μίαν ἡμέραν
—‘in one day’: cf. Aristoph. Pax 366 ἐξόλωλας . .
εἰς αὐτίκα μάλα, answering εἰς
τίν’ ἡμέραν; to be joined with
ἀγωνίσασθαι, which is governed by
κατέστησα—‘I made them fight.’
ἐξ οὖ
—with
θαρσοῦσιν. Though they won in 418, yet even in 415 their
confidenee is not fully restored. This boast is of no value.
ἡ ἐ. νεότης καὶ ἄνοια
—joined
also by Andoc. 2, 7.
παρὰ φ. δοκοῦσα εἶ
—with
ἄνοια only, which is added as an
alternative for
νεότης. ‘This was the way in which my . . in dealing
with the power of the Pel. was associated with reasonable arguments,
and by its vehemence won credence and persuaded men.’ For the
readings see crit. n. The antithesis in
ἄνοια and λόγοις πρέπουσι
contains the chief point of the sentence.
ἐς . . δύναμιν
means the
hostile power of Pel., not the alliance
formed by Alc.
ὀργή
is ‘impulse’ rather than ‘anger.’
αὐτήν—νεότητα, which throughout
is uppermost in the speaker's mind.
πεφόβησθε
—M.T. §
107.
δοκεῖ εἶναι
—carries us back to δοκοῦσα εἶναι, and is somewhat
sarcastic. Nicias worshipped
εὑτυχία.
ξυμμείκτοις
—referring, not to the
immigrations, but to the ehanges among the inhabitants under the
Sicilian tyrants or at their fall. ‘Observers in Old Greece did not
fail to contrast these constant changes with the comparative
stability of things in their own cities. . . No man looked on the
land in which he dwelled as really his country; each man in his
schemes reckoned on the chance of having to leave the
city where he lived, and of finding house and lands elscwhere’
(Freeman).
ἐπιδοχάς
—the
acceptance of new constitutions means really the acceptance of
democracies, which in 415 were not so unstable as Alc. represents.
καὶ οὐδείς
—‘the result is that no one
has obtained a supply of arms for his personal equipment or of
suitable (νομίμοις =ἱκαναῖς Schol.) defences for the public
property.’ κατασκευαί=permanent
works, for which no proper provision has been made since the fall of
the tyrants.
ἐξήρτυται
—mid.
ὅ τι δέ
—‘but each man seeks to get only
that which either by persuasive argument or by political strife he
hopes to obtain and in case of failure to settle (with it) in
another land.’ The money which ought to go in ὅπλα and
κατασκευαί goes instead into the pockets of individuals:
the politicians there think only of providing themselves with funds
in view of the chance that they may be driven out. ταῦτα after ὅ
τι is a slight anacoluthon of a common kind.
ἐκ τοῦ λέγων πείθειν
—an allusion to the rise of
rhetoric and oratory in Sicily. Diodorus 11, 87 speaks of the number
of demagogues at Syracuse,
circ. 450 B.C., καὶ λόγου δεινότης
ὑπὸ
τῶν νεωτέρων ἠσκεῖτο. If the pieture as given in Diod.
is at all accurate, the deseription of Alc. contains much truth, at
least as applied to the Syracuse of a somewhat earher time.
στασιάζων
=ἐκ
τοῦ στασιάζειν. Diod. l.c.
στάσεων
γιγνομένων πάλιν . . ἡ πόλις εἰς συνεχεῖς καὶ μεγάλας ἐνέπιπτε
ταραχάς.
ὅμιλον
—this
word is confined to poetry, to Herod., Thuc., and late authors.
ὡς
with ἕκαστος
and ἑκάτερος without a verb, after
Herod. and Thuc., first reappears in Aristotle.
καθ) ἡδονήν
—i.e.
would be ready to join any one who could show by argument that he
could serve them.
οὔτε οἱ ἄλλοι Ἕλληνες
—‘neither did the rest of .
. prove to be so numerous as the forces of the several states
reckoned themselves to be; on the eontrary G., finding she was
greatly deceived about their number, was with difficulty provided
with an adequate force of hoplites in this war.’ As Alc. is not
referring only to Athens and Sparta, and there were certainly
hostilities in the Peloponnese, there is no difficulty in τῷδε, nor is there any ground for
rejecting καὶ μὴν . . ὡπλίσθη as
spurious with Classen. Alc. himself was no believer in the Peace of
Nicias.
κομπῶ
—is
an Ionie word.
βαρβάρους γάρ
—explaining εὐπορώτερα. The Sicels did in fact join
the A. in large numbers.
οἱ γὰρ πατέρες
—i e.
from 478 to 449 B.C.
ἀνέλπιστοι
—active,
‘despondent.’
νῦν
is aecommodated to εἴ τε . . ἔρρωνται, where τε corresponds to οὔτε, ‘even if they are ever so
confident, to invade us is in their power.’
τὸ μὲν ἐσβάλλειν
is aecus. of ‘respect,’ as
in II. 53
τὸ μὲν
προσταλαιπωρεῖν οὐδεὶς πρόθυμος ἦν (M.T.
§ 795).
βλάπτειν
—the real question is, Would Athens
still have a fleet large enough to retaliate on the Pel. in ease of an
invasion by making effective deseents on the coast of Pel.? ἐστιν means after subtracting the fleet for
Sicily: but ἀντίπαλον begs the
question.
τί ἂν λέγοντες
—‘by what reasonable
assertion can we hold back ourselves or make excuse to our allies
there for refusing to aid them?’ Thus τί ἂν
εἰκός belongs to both clauses.
αὐτά is somewhat artificially contrasted with πρὸς τοὺς ἐκεῖ ξυμ .
μὴ βοηθοῖμεν
—the μή because
prevention is implied (M. T. § 292).
καὶ ξυνωμόσαμεν
—‘we actually exchanged
oaths with them.’ Classen says this refers to the παλαιὰ ξυμμαχία, for which see on c. 6,
2. The A. cannot have bound themselves by any oath which was
unconditional, and they would be false to their oath only if they
could not show that it was impossible for them to send help.
ἀντιτιθέναι
—this sense of the verb may
be compared with its noun ἀντίθεσις,
Quintihan's contrapositum.
ἡμῖν sc.
ἐπήμυναν. Muller notes that Thuc. is very fond of
compounds of ἀντί, which are well
adapted to his style.
προσεθέμεθα
—se. πρὸς
τὴν ξυμμαχίαν.
ἐχθροῖς
—Sparta
had applied for ships from her allies in Sicily at the beginning of
the war, but without result.
οὕτως
—explained by παραγιγνόμενοι.
ἦρξαν
is ‘ingressive’ aor.
ἡσυχάξοιεν
—like
quiescere, often opposed to armed intervention.
φυλοκρινοῖεν
—this rare verb, besides
being explained by Hesychius and Pollux and in Bekker's Anecdota, is used twice by Aristides, and,
according to Bloomfield, by other late authors.
βραχὺ ἄν τι
—‘while making only a small
addition to the empire, we should be more likely to lose what we
have already’; i.e. we, the Athenians, οἱ προύχοντες, should soon find
ourselves isolated if all Athenians were to act on the prineiples re commended by Nicias; and thus in any undertaking,
however slight, we should be more likely to lose than to gain. (This
sentence is generally wrongly rendered.)
τὸν γὰρ προύχοντα
—‘for against a superior
power men not only defend themselves when attacked, but to eseape
being attacked take action beforehand’; i.e.
against a promincnt state which is isolated,
smaller states can combine, and do so from fear of an attack, when
they see that the superior power is bent on increasing its
influence.
ταμιεύεσθαι
—Bloomfield quotes three
instances of this verb used in this metaphorical sense by Xen. ‘We
cannot regulate at will the limits that we choose for our empire,
but being established in the position we occupy (
i.e. as a ruling state) . . and not relax our hold on others.’
ἀνιέναι
with personal object, though not found elsewhere in Thuc., is
common.
διὰ τὸ ἀρχθῆναι ἄν
—either
we must retain our own rule or fall under the rule of others. This
statement is true of the ancient city-states, but would not hold
nowadays.
ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ
—with τοῖς
ἄλλοις=ὁμοίως ὥσπερ τοῖς ἄλλοις:
‘you cannot regard inaction from the same point of view as others,
unless you mean to alter your methods to the pattern of theirs.’
τὸ ἥσυχον
is the general conception of ἡσυχία apart from special
circumstances; but much more often the neut. adj. expresses the idea
of the corresponding noun under special circumstances, the noun
being the universal concept.
ἐπιτηδεύματα
are the concrete outcomes
of ἐπιτήδευσις .
τάδε—τὰ ἐνταῦθα πράγματα Schol., in
antithesis with ἐπ’ ἐκεῖνα .
στορέσωμεν
—met. from quelling a storm at
sea. The edd. quote Aeseh. P.V. 190 τὴν δ’
ἀτέραμνον στορέσας ὀργήν, and Bloomfield compares the
same use of sternere, as in
Aen.
VI. 858
sternet
Poenos
Gallumque rebellem.
ὑπεριδόντες
—i.e.
that we stand in no need of the present rest
from hostilities.
τῶν ἐκεῖ
—neut.
ἐν ᾦ
=‘while,’
as often.
τὸ δ’ ἀσφαλές
—obj. to παρέξουσι, καὶ μένειν καὶ ἀπ. being
epexegetic of ἀσφαλές.M.T. § 749. The suppression of the
alternative to ἤν τι προσχωρῇ is
in accordance with the Gk. love of avoiding distinct allusions to
misfortune.
καὶ ξυμπάντων
—i e.
all the Siceliots together. This is an answer to the argument of
Nicias, c. 11, 4, that in case of any reverse the Siceliots would
despise them.
Νικίου
—depends on τῶν λόγων: the speech of N. was
characterised by or contains (1) ἀπραγμοσύνη,
(2) διάστασις τοῖς νέοις ἐς τοὺς π.
This is one of the passages in Thuc. that prove that not only the possessive gen. is placed between the art.
and noun. See e. 62, 5 n. The dat. τοῖς
νέοις is somewhat unusual: ‘the difference for the
young with the old’ is the lit. meaning; for there is no ground for
taking διάστασις as causal.
ἀπραγμοσύνη=
‘avoidance of trouble’ for all the citizens,
and
διάστασις, ‘a dispute for the young,’ are the two
jarring notes of the speech. ‘Let not the avoidance of effort and
the dispute . . which N. sets out in his speech . .’
ὥσπερ καὶ οἱ πατέρες
—Classen
notes that these words recall sentiments expressed by Pericles.
ἐς τάδε
—deictie.
αὐτα·
applies to the matter being discussed, as in c. 10, 2.
τό τε φαῦλον
—‘Bauer says there is reference
to the three ages of man—the juvenilc, the virile, and the senile;
thus understanding
φαῦλον to denote the first. . . There is an allusion
to the position they may be thought to occupy
in the exercise of counsel—the raw, the mature, and the quite
consummate judgments’ (Bloomfield). It is supposed that Alc. is
speaking sarcastically, himself meaning
rather the old by φαῦλον. But all
this ingenuity is needless. Alc. only means that it is wrong to
imply, as N. did, that only the old are fit to settle the matter.
The right way is for all—young or old—
whether their ability be ‘inferior,’ ‘average,’ or ‘consummate,’ to
take part in affairs. The best result is obtained by this fusion of
abilities.
ξυγκραθέν
is conditional. Cf. VIII. 97
μετρία ἤ
τε ἐς τοὺς ὀλίγους καὶ ἐς τοὺς πολλοὺς
ξύγκρασις.
τρίψεσθαι
—passive, also in VII. 42, 5 αύτοὺς
περὶ ἑαυτούς occurs in the same sense in VIII. 46. Poppo, I.
1, 192 gives a collection of fut. mid. used by Thuc. in
pass. sense; cf. ἀδικήσομαι c. 87, βλάψομαι c. 64. Alc. argues as though
Athens had not already enough to occupy her energy in counteracting
the infiuence of Sparta within her empire: ἐὰν
μὲν ἡσυχάζῃ begs the question. Kr.'s ἐάν is probably right.
πάντων τὴν ἐπιστήμην
ἐγγηράσεσθαι
—the position of τε after
τρίψεσθαι and
προσλήψεσθαι shows that τὴν
πόλιν is the subject of all the infinitives. Hence trans.
‘as regards her knowledge of everything, she will grow old therein.’ πάντων is neut.; ἐγγηράσεσθαι=γηράσεσθαι
ἐν (τῇ ἐπιστήμῃ), the
compound being one of several compounds of
έν that require a personal or quasi-personal subject. The construction is
the same as in Eur. Bacchae 508 ἐνδυστυχῆσαι τοὔνομ’ ἐπιτήδειος εἶ. See
Sandys' note. According to Stahl
ἐγγηράσεσθαι=γηρά‐
σεσθαι ἐν τῷ τρίβεσθαι;
but this construction cannot be got out of the passage.
καὶ τὸ ἀμύνεσθαι
—‘and will be more
accustomed to defend herself by action rather than by mere words.’ οὐ λόγῳ ἀλλ) ἔργῳ belongs to τὸ ἀμύνεσθαι, the policy of Nicias
being described as τὸ λόγῳ
ἀμύνεσθαι.
γιγνώσκω . . μοι δοκεῖν
—‘on the whole I judge
that in my opinion a state accustomed to activity would quickly be
ruined by a change to inactivity.’ For
γιγνώσκω with infin, see M.T. §
915. μοι
δοκεῖν is not superfluons, but is intended to
emphasise the contrast between the views of Alc. and Nic.
καὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων κτλ
—this sentiment has become a
commonplace, but is capable of being variously applied. The datives
go with
διαφόρως.
ἐπὶ τῷ παρόντι
—‘under the circumstances.’
Cf. ἐπὶ τούτοις c. 45.
οὔθ) ὑπηκόους . . οὐδὲ δεομένας
—their
internal freedom is here insisted on. It is not possible for
Athens to raise the cry of ἐλευθερία
in Sicily as Sparta had done in Greece. With one or two exceptions,
says Freeman, such as that of the relations between Syr. and
Leontini, ‘this is a perfectly true description of the politieal
states of the Greeks of Sicily at the time. Since the fall of the
tyrants, the great body of the Siceliot cities had been truly free
and independent.’
ἐς . . χωροίη
—expressing eagerness, as in ἐχώρησαν ἐπὶ τὴν ἄντικρυς
ἐλευθερίαν
VIII. 64.
οὔτ’ ἂν τὴν ἀρχήν
—their
foreign relations are now contrasted with their internal condition.
τό τε πλῆθος
—‘as for their number, the
cities of Greek origin are many for a single island.’ τὰς Ἑλληνίδας is added emphatically at
the end. πόλις is the only noun
with which Thuc. uses the adj.
Ἑλληνίς.
ἑπτά
—Selinus, Syracuse, Gela, Acragas,
Messene, Himera, Carnarina. Acrae and Casmenae are not reckoned, as being merely outposts of Syracuse, using the same
coinage and possessing no separate history.
τοῖς πᾶσιν
—cf. II.
36
τὴν
πόλιν τοῖς πᾶσι παρεσκευάσαμεν.
ὁμοιοτρόπως μάλιστα
—‘so
as to closely resemble our own power.’
δυνάμει
is not ‘the armanent’ that is to
be sent out, but includes all the details that make up the power of
A., in the same sense as δύναμιν
of c. 21. Cf. VII. 55
πόλεσι . .
ὁμοιοτρόποις ἐπελθόντες, δημοκρατουμέναις τε ὤσπερ καὶ αὐτοὶ καὶ
ναῦς καὶ ἵππους καὶ μεγέθη ἐχούσαις.
ἔνεισι
—i.e. in
Selinus and Syracuse.
ὁ πληρώσων
—M.T.
§ 826; II. 51, 5 ἀπορίᾳ τοῦ θεραπεύσοντος. 20
ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς
—public
money stored in temples and the sacred treasures of the temples
themselves.
ἔστι Σελινουντίοις, Συρακοσίοις δὲ
καί
—the first clause refers
specially to Selinus; but the καί
of the next shows that Syracuse is not excluded from the statement.
‘Selinus has money . .: Syracuse receives in
addition . .’
ἀπαρχὴ ἐσφέρεται
—‘first-fruits are
contributed.’ Some of the Sicels were dependent on Syracuse, and
lived on their land on sufferance, paying a rent in kind. Hence in
c. 45 to the dependent Sicels φύλακες
are seut by Syr. to seeure them ou the coming of the Athenians. Some
Sicels had even become serfs at Syracuse in the earliest times of
the city, under the title καλλύριοι
(Freeman, Sic. II. Appendix II.) For the
variant ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς φέρεται see not, crit.
ἵππους
—cf. Pindar,
Pyth.
II. 1
Μεγαλαπόλιες
ὦ Συράκοσαι, βαθυπολέμου τέμενος
Ἄρεος, ἀνδρῶν ἵππων τε σιδαροχαρμᾶν δαιμόνιαι τροφοί.
Soph. O.C. 507 γυναῖχ’
ὁρῶ |στείχουσαν ἠμῶν ἆσσον,
Αἰτναίας ἐπὶ |πώλου βεβῶσαν.
Athens, on the contrary, had to buy her horses from Boeotia and
elsewhere.
σίτῳ
—Sicily has always been famed for its
corn. (See Freeman, Sic I. pp. 67, 91.) On the
contrary, Athens had to import corn, mainly from the ports of the
Euxine, also from Euboea, and shortly after this time from Cyprus. She
was on several occasions in great straits on this account when an enemy
controlled the sea.
φαύλου
—the sense cannot be ‘mean,’
‘poor,’ as L. & S. say, since N. would appear to be disparaging
the A. naval power by the connexiou with ναυτικῆς.
ὁ δῆμός ἐστιν ὁ ἐλαύνων τἀς ναῦς καὶ ὁ
τὴν δύναμιν περιτιθεὶς τῇ πόλει ([Xen.] Ath.
Pol. init.). φαῦλος στρατία
is the ordinary or conventional force
required for a naval expedition. It is a feature of the
Sic. expedition that there were soldiers in unusual numbers on
board.
δεῖ
—constructed with infin. in the
clauses that follow. It is a recognised principle that a verb that
admits of two constrnctions may appear in the same sentence with
both: e.g.
VIII.
4
παρεσκευάζοντο . . τήν τε
ναυπηγίαν
. . καὶ Σούνιον τειχίσαντες, where we have παρασκευάζομαι constructed first with
the accus. and theu with the partic.
εἴπερ
—‘that is if,’ or ‘assuming that.’
Cf. Xen. Oec. 1, 8 οὐ
χρήματ’ αὐτῷ ἐστιν ὁ ἵππος; Οὔκ, εἴπερ τὰ χρήματά γ’ ἐστὶν ἀγαθόν.ὁ πεζός
=ὁ π. στρατός is Ionic.
ἄξιον . . δρᾶν
—equivalent to ἄξιόν τι δρᾶν. Cf. II. 91
ἀξύμφορον
δρῶντες.
ὑπὸ ἱππέων
—N.
‘fears that the eities will combine, and that Segesta alone will be
left to give auy help against the horsemen. But he says nothing
about bringing together auy force of cavalry on the A. side. That
Segesta was likely to supply horse appears from c. 37, 1; 62, 9; 98,
1’ (Freeman).
ἄλλως τε κἂν ξυστῶσιν
—all the good MSS. give εἰ with subj. here only in Thuc. It
occurs occasionally in tragedy, and is frequent in Lucian. Probably ἄλλως τε κἄν should be read, as in I. 141.
ᾧ ἀμυνούμεθα
—final rel. sentence: sc. ἱππέας πολλούς.
αὐτόθεν
—‘at
once,’ at the start, instead of waiting to send for reinforcements.
οὐκ ἐν τῷ ὁ.
στρατευσόμενοι
—co-ordinate with ἀπὸ τῆς ἡμετέρας αὐτῶν. Hence to στρατευσόμενοι supply μέλλομεν πλεῖν. The lit. rendering is
‘we are about to make a voyage to serve in a campaign not as you
served, where among your subjects here you attacked any one as
allies.’ The contrast is between an offensive alliance near home and
an offensive alliance in a distant country; and the difference lies
in the placc. When the neighbourhood is
friendly, there is no such difficulty as will be encountered in
Sicily. ξύμμαχοι does not mean
that A. was in the habit of making an alliance
specially to attack a place (as Aruold thought), but is used
for the sake of the antithesis of the ordinary
relation existing between A. and her ὑπήκοοι,
which is ξυμμαχία, with the unusual
ξυμμαχία
in Sicily.
καί
—‘as,’ so that ἐστρατεύσασθε is implied from στρατευσόμενοι. On the readings see
crit. n.
ὅθεν
—sc. ἦσαν.
The copula is frequently omitted after rel. words, esp. after ὅσος. In Lat. prose the corresponding
omission is rare before the silver period.
προσέδει
—necessary in
addition to what had been taken αὐτόθεν
.
ἀπαρτήσαντες
—sc. στρατευσόμενοι. The word is explained
by the Schol.: ἀπαρτηθέντες,
ἀπελθόντες, καὶ πολὺ τῆς οἰκείας χωρισθέντες. The only
passage that supports the supposed intrans. use of the act. is Dio
Cass. 51, 4, 2 quoted by Pape and Clas. Now to ἀπαρτήσαντες supply ἀπὸ τῆς ἡμετέρας αὐτῶν from above—the
main point being that the armament is separated from, cut off from
home, and transferred to a distant land. Thus ἐς . . ἀπαρτήσαντες repeats with an
addition πολὺ . . μέλλομεν πλεῖν.
The object of
ἀπαρτήσαντες (τὴν παρασκευήν)
is implied in the preceding words, and its omission is no more than
the ordinary omission of an object with military words. The phrase ἐς γῆν ἀπαρτᾶν is a brachylogy for ‘to
cut off (and place) in a country.’
οὐδέ
—misplaced, if the sense is—what it
is always assumed to be—‘from which not even a messenger can easily
come in the four winter months.’ But what no onc can tell is why N.,
if he means this, should say ‘from which not even
within four months, I mean in the winter months, is it easy for
a messenger to come.’ Surely N. means what he says. He puts the case
in its worst light. Should it be required to send at beginning of
winter, it would be difficult for a messenger to go, and he might
have to wait for spring, or put into an Italian or even a Libyan
port for refuge. The months are Maimacteriou, Posideon, Gamelion,
Anthesterion, corresponding roughly to November, December, January,
and February, and they are taken not singly, but as together making
up the time when voyaging was dangerous.
καὶ λόγῳ
—there is a play on the double
meaning of λέγω, λόγος —statement and pretence.
αὐτοί
—belougs in seuse to ἀντίπαλον παρασκευασάμενοι: ‘with a
force of our own not merely equal to that of the enemy’ (Jowett).
πλήν γε
—if τὸ
ὁπλιτικόν is made part of the parenthesis, the meauing is
open to grave doubt. (a) The note in Jowett
explains: ‘While exhorting the A., he is secretly discouraging them.
“You must do all you can to be a match for your opponents” is the
general drift of the previous chapter, and yet he throws in by the
way, “but in the great arm of war [the hoplites] you caunot be a
match for them.”’ But (1) Nicias nowhere introduces this disparity
of hoplites, of which so much might have been made as an argument
against the expedition. (2) How, after an exception so vital, could
he add ὑπερβάλλοντες τοῖς πᾶσι?
(3) How in c. 31 could Thuc. say of the A. force that its
superiority over that of the euemy was conspicuous, if in the great
arm of war N. can assert that it will of course be inferior? Would
not such a statement from a responsible general be ridiculous? (b) Classen makes τὸ
ὁπλιτικόν refer to the A. hoplites, and makes the sense
‘except as regards our hoplites as compared with their whole
fighting force’; but Stahl rightly objects that the comparison should then be between part
and part, not between part
and whole, of the rival forces. The remedy is
not to read τὸ ἱππικόν with
Urlichs,—for N. had proposed to take a force of σφενδονῆται and
τοξόται which should be ἀντίπαλον
to the enemy's cavalry,—but to make τὸ
ὁπλιτικόν the object of παρας
κευασάμενοι. Hence trans. ‘not only with a
force of hoplites a match for them, except when compared with their
fighting strength (i e. with our hoplites equal to their hoplites),
but actually surpassing them in every point.
τὸ μάχιμον αὐτῶν
—this is the whole of the
enemy's forces. The A. were in the habit of relying on their
hoplites in the field: N. reminds them that there are other kinds of
troops to be reckoned with besides hoplites. He is referring back to
his remark in c. 22, 1. Not only must the hoplites be a match for
them (excluding of course their cavalry), but hoplites and light-armed troops must be more than a match for their whole fighting
force, and even thus it will be hard to deal with them. τὸ ὁπλιτικόν is in an emphatic
position, because it is contrasted with τὸ
ἐκείνων ὶππικόν, as in c. 22.
ὑπερβάλλοντες
—the antithesis between
this and ἀντίπαλον
παρασκευασάμενοι τὸ ὁπλιτικὸν πλήν γε πρὸς τὸ μάχιμον αὐτῶν
is more formal than real: for the former words already imply that
the A. hoplite force taken separately will be superior to the
enemy's hoplite force taken separately.
τοῖς πᾶσι
—omnibus
rebus. Of course A. cavalry are excepted after what has been
said in c. 22.
τῶν μὲν κρατεῖν, τὰ δὲ καὶ διασῶσαι—τῶν μέν
is neut.; but different explanations are given of the meaning. (a) Stahl renders ‘aliis potiri, alia (quibus
potiti erimus) etiam in tuto locare,’ thus referring both τῶν μέν and τὰ
δέ to the enemy; ‘to seize on some positions and to hold
permanently others’ (Wilkins). (b) Classen
accepts the Scholiast's note: τῶν μέν
=τῶν
ἐκεῖ πραγμάτων, τὰ δέ=τὰ
οἰκεῖα; ‘to conquer Sicily, or indeed to preserve
ourselves’ (Jowett). That (b) is right is
shown by the sentence that follows. It will be hard, says N., to
conquer what we require to conquer, and even to preserve what we
require to preserve: we should consider ourselves to be men who have
to found a city in a hostile land—who have to fight for the soil— τῶν μὲν
κρατεῖν—and to protect what we bring—τὰ δὲ καὶ διασῶσαι.
διασῶσαι
—not
ingressive, but giving the result,=‘to bring safe through.’
πόλιν τε
—‘and
(further developing the previous idea) we must consider that it is a
city among an alien and hostile population that our men are setting
out to found.’ The warning that in setting out to make new conquests
one runs the risk of losing what he has already in case of failure,
is common in Thuc. To
ἰέναι
supply
τούτους.
κατάσχωσιν
—sc. τὰς
ναῦς:
appulerint.
κρατεῖν τῆς γῆς
—explains τῶν μὲν κρατεῖν above, while
πάντα πολέμια ἕξουσιν
is a rcason for saying μόλις οἷοι τ’ ἐσόμεθα
τὰ δὲ διασῶσαι.
χαλεπὸν δέ
—sc. πολλὰ
εὐτυχῆσαι. The edd. make χαλεπόν
depend on εἰδώς, sc. ὄν; but it is better to supply ἐστί, and to regard the sentence as a
parenthesis. This remark is very characteristic of N., who made εὐτυχία the chief object of life.
Observe the personal tone of this section. N.
betrays a fear that his spell of ευ·τυχία may be broken.
παρασκευῇ . . ἀσφαλής
—antithesis to τῇ τύχῃ παραδούς. So in VII. 67
παρασκευῆς
πίστις is coutrasted with τύχης π
.
ἀπὸ τῶν εἰκότων
—i.e.
so far as human calculation can ensure safety. Human γνώμη is always liable to be crossed by
divine τύχη .
ταῦτα γὰρ . . βεβαιότατα . .
σωτήρια
—see Index II. fines,τελικὰ
κεφάλαια,i.e. the points on
which a speaker insists in order to persuade. Here they are τὸ βέβαιον and τὸ
σωτήριον, and these may be considered varieties of τὸ συμφέρον.
εἰ δέ τῳ
—i.e. if
any of the ten strategi not appointed to the command takes a
different view. It is indeed probable that other members of the
board besides Nicias, Alcibiades, and Lamachus were going to Sicily,
but with powers subordinate to theirs. Thus an inscription (Hicks, Gr. Ins. p. 96), referring to the official
year July 416-July 415, mentions Antimachus among the strategi sent
to Sicily along with Lamachus and Alcibiades.
τῶν πραγμάτων
—‘by the scale of the
requirements’: cf. c. 19, 2 παρασκευῆς
πλήθει. The second ἢ
=εἰ δὲ μή: the first is probably
spurious.
εἰ ἀναγκάξοιτο
—if
nobody would take the command instead.
ἀσφαλῶς
—another
of N.'s catch-words, to which there is a sarcastic reference below.
τὸ μὲν ἐπιθυμοῦν
—the partic. used as a noun
occurs fairly often in Thuc., especially in the speeches. Like thc
articular infin., and the frequent use of nouns in ‐σις and ‐τής,
it is a mark of the σεμνότης,
‘dignity,’ of Thuc. Very similar is Dr. Johnson's use of long nouns
of Latin origin.
τοῦ πλοῦ
—this is not the geu. usually
employed with the noun-participle: in the ordinary type the partic.
expresses a quality belonging to the substantive, as in τὸ ἡσύχαζον τῆς νυκτός
VII. 83;τὸ
θυμούμενον τῆς γνώμης
VII. 68.
ἀσφάλεια—δοκῶ, ‘seem,’ usually
has thc personal construction. Goodwin, M.T.
§ 754.
νῦν δή
—‘now
there would be no risk,’ since N. had explained the measures by
which even he admitted it could be avoided.
ἔρως ἐνέπεσε
—cf. Aesch. Agam. 332 ἔρως
δὲ μή τις πρότερον ἐμπίπτῃ στρατῷ |πορθεῖν
ἃ μὴ χρή.
τοῖς μὲν γάρ
—sc. ἔρως
ἐνέπεσε.
καταστρεψομένοις ἐφ)
ἃ ἔπλεον
—cf. VII. 11
κρατήσαντας
Συρακοσίους ἐφ) οὓς ἐπέμφθημεν.
ἢ (ὡς) οὐδὲν ἂν σφαλεῖσαν μεγ.
δύναμιν
—the accus. abs., which with
personal verbs requires ὡς or ὥσπερ. Goodwin, M.T.
§ 853.
ἡλικίᾳ
—i.e. the
age for military service.
τῆς ἀπούσης κτλ
=ποθοῦντες
ἰδεῖν καὶ θεωρεῖν τὰ ἄποντα, the expression being, as
Bohme says, poetical. ὄψεως καὶ θ.
= ‘sights and wonders,’ being passive in sense.
εὐέλπιδες ὄντες
—anacoluthon, as though οἱ δὲ ἐπόθουν had preceded. Cf. II. 53, 4 θεῶν
φόβος . . οὐδεὶς α·πεῖργε, τὸ μὲν κρίνοντες :III. 36
ἔδοξεν
αὐτοῖς . . ἐπικαλοῦντες: Eur. Hec.
971 αἰδώς μ’ ἔχει . . τυγχανοῦσα.
ὁ δὲ πολὺς ὅμιλος
—sc. εὔελπις
ὤν.
καὶ στρατιώτης
—Kruger quotes Plut. Per. 12 τὸν
θητικὸν ὄχλον καὶ ἰδιώτην, and
στρατ. is best taken as an adj., so that the phrase = οἱ πολλοὶ καὶ στρατιῶται. Classen and
Bohme object that this leaves καί
unexplained, and take καὶ στρατ.
as part of the pred. with Dobree. But ὁ
πολὺς ὄμιλος = that part of the
ὄμιλος which was not so far
στρατιώτης—had not, for whatever
reason, served before. Thuc. makes two distinct points in the
section: (1) all alike were eager to go, both young and old, and
were confident; (2) the multitude and all those who had served
before hoped to make money. These points would be much clearer if he
had begun a new sentence after θεωρίας
.
ἀίδιον μισθοφοράν
—this is explained by
editors to mean that the addition of Sicily to the empire would lead
to continual campaigns; but Gilbert rightly paraphrases: ‘they hoped
to get permanent employment out of the acquisition somehow’: μισθοφορά is used loosely for pay for
any services.
ὑπάρξειν
—the
attraction of short rel. clauses into infin. in reported speech is
less rare in Gk. than in Lat. Thuc. has nine instances.
ἄθροισιν
—cf. Ath. Pol.
c. 24 χρημάτων
ἠθροισμένων πολλῶν.
ὅσοι Ἑρμαῖ ἦσαν
—Plutarch says τῶν Ἑρμῶν οἱ πρεσβύτεροι ἄχειρες καὶ
ἄποδες. See Mayor on Juv. VIII.
53. Grote's account of the mutilation should be read.
ἐν τῇ πόλει
—Plutarch
says that Hipparchus the Pisistratid set up several of these
figures. They were also put up from time to time by tribes,
magistrates, and individuals, especially abont the Agora, through
which ran the street of Hermes.
ἡ τετράγωνος ἐργασία
—‘the
well-known square figures,’
οἱ πλεῖστοι
—according to Andocides (de Myst. § 62) the bust before his house was
the only one that escaped, and this is repeated by Nepos, Alcib. 3; perhaps
also by Philochorus (280 B.C.) ap. Schol. on Aristoph. Lys. 1094 τὴν δ’
αἰτίαν οἱ μὲν τοῖς περὶ Ἀλκιβιάδην προσέγραφον, ὡς Θουκυδίδης, οἱ δὲ
Κορινθίοις ὡς Φιλόχορος μόνον δέ [leg.
δ’ οὔ]φησι
περικοπῆναι τὸν Ἀνδοκίδου Ἑρμῆν.
μεγάλοις μηνύτροις
—the
reward was 100 minae according to a proposal of Pisander, 1000
drachmae according to a proposal of Cleonymus. The sums were
snbsequently awarded to two informers by the Thesmothetae (Andoc. §
27).
ἐψηφίσαντο
—from Andoc. we learn that the
Ecclesia delegated the duty of investigating the
outrage to the Council— ψηφισαμένης
τῆς βουλῆς, ἦν γὰρ αὐτοκράτωρ. The Council appointed (Andoc. 1.10) special commissioners (ζητηταί) to receive and examine the
evidence.
μηνύειν—μήνυσις is an information
given privately by a slave, metic, woman, or by a citizen who
preferred not to raise an
εἰσαγγελία (‘impeachment’) because he was implicated.
It could be given either εἰς τὴν βουλην
or ἐν τῷ δήμῳ. The matter, if
serious, was settled in a court of heliasts. The μηνυτής often received a reward if the
accused person was convicted, and if a slave received freedom. If
his information was proved to be false, he was put to death. εἰσαγγελία =delatio:
μήνυσις =indicium.
ἀδεῶς
—the ἄδεια
,i.e.
impunitas, exempted a μηνυτής
from punishment in case he incriminated himself. Ordmarily the
Ecclesia alone was competent to give the
ἄδεια: but the Conncil, when as here it was αὐτοκράτωρ, could confer it on each
individual μηνυτής. (Cf.
Goldstaub, De
ἀδείας
Notione et Usu p. 99.)
τὸν βουλόμενον
—stereotyped phrase, as
also καὶ ἀστῶν καἱ ξένων .
μειζόνως
—the
form is found in Herod., Plato, Eur., and Xenophon, often in
Aristides. For
λαμβάνειν
cf. c. 53, 3; 61, 1.
οἰωνός
—ominous
of evil, because it was a gross insult to the protecting deity of
market and home.
ἐπὶ ξυνωμοσίᾳ
—cf.
c. 60, 1.
δήμου κατάλυσις
is one of the crimes to
which the νόμος
εἰσαγγελτικός applied. The crime was first dealt with
by Solon, and is often alluded to.
ὄψοιντο
—this and c. 34, 5 εἰ ὑποδέξοιντο, are the only two examples
of εἰ with fut. opt. in Thuc., and
they may both be regarded as interrogative uses of εἰ. In conditional sentences Thuc. almost
invariably retains the indic. after εἰ
in O.O.
μετὰ κινδύνων
—c.
72, 4; ‘in dangerous circuinstances.’
αὐτοὺς ἐσῄει
—‘in
mentem venit periculorum.’
τὰ δεινά
is commonly used of danger.
τῇ παρούσῃ ῥώμῃ . . τῇ ὄψει
—cf. VII.
71
ἀπὸ
τῶν δρωμένων τῆς ὄψεως καἱ τὴν γνώμην . ἐδουλοῦντο:ib. 75 τῇ τε ὄψει
ἑκάστῳ ἀλγεινὰ καὶ τῇ γνώμῃ αἰσθέσθαι. In διὰ τὸ πλῆθος . . ἑώρων, which explains ῥώμῃ, we have the cause of the θάρσος in a material
form: ‘owing to the strength in which they were present, through the
vastness of the forces that they saw, they were cheered by the
sight.’ The addition of διὰ . . ἑώρων
is due to the fact that ῥώμη is
not wholly a concrete word, but means ‘spirit’ as well as ‘strength’
and suggests high nervous tension. This inserted clause enables
Thuc. to proceed naturally from τῇ ῥώμῃ
to τῇ ὄψει.
ἑκάστων ὧν ἑώρων
—cf. II.
59
αἴτιον
πάντων ὧν ἔτυχον. The adj. is not often inserted
before such noun-relative sentences.
οἱ δὲ ξένοι
—strictly speaking, a participle
parallel to
προπέμποντες above ought to follow. Such an
auacoluthon is not uncommon, and is to be found in Tacitus: e.g.
Hist.
IV. 2
nondum
ad curas intentus, sed . . filium principem agebat.
κατὰ θέαν ἧκεν
—as in v.
7, 3; cf. Isocr. 7, 32 ἐκπέμπειν
κατ’
ἐμπορίαν.
διάνοιαν
—‘enterprisc’;
cf. c. 21, 1.
παρασκευὴ γὰρ αὕτη κτλ
—‘this was the first
expedition that sailed out from a single city with a Greek force
that eclipsed all that had ever been sent out in costlmess and
magnificence.’ For πολυτελεστάτη
δὴ . . τῶν ἐς ἐκεῖνον τὸν χρόνον cf. c. 13, 1. See on
this passage Intr. p. XXXII.
ἡ ἐς Ἐπίδαυρον
—this expedition was sent out
in 430 B.C., and Epidaurus was the most important place the
Athenians attacked. It lay on the route to Argos, which was then
neutral. The attack failed. The fleet was then sent on to Potidaea,
where the Athenians wished to concentrate a force large enough to
carry the place by assault. But Hagnon was compelled to return
because the plague broke out among the crews.
αὐτῶν Ἀθηναίων
—comparing
the numbers of the two forces, we get—(1) 430 B C, 4000 Athenian
hoplites and 100 triremes, with large forees from the allies in
addition; (2) 415 B.C., 51,000 hoplites inclusive of all
contributions from allies, and 134 triremes, also inclusive. Hence
the numbers of the earlier expedition must have been the greater.
φαύλῃ
—‘ordinary,’
as in c. 21, 1.
οὗτος δέ
—sc.
ὡρμήθη. Then τὸ μὲν ναυτικόν
and τὸ δὲ πεζόν are in apposition
to στόλος
κατ’ ἀμφότερα
—explained by καὶ ναυσὶ καὶ πεζῷ. The phrase means,
not ‘on both elements,’ but ‘in both ways,’ ‘in both respects,’ as
in κατὰ πολλοὺς τρόπους, κατὰ
πάντα, κατὰ πολλά. Cf. Aristoph.
Birds 451 δολερὸν κατὰ πάντα δὴ τρόπον.
Dinarchus 1, 50 κατὰ δύο τρόπους ποιεῖσθαι
τὰς ἀποφάσεις.
οὗ ἂν δέῃ
—Poppo takes this with ἐξαρτυθείς = ‘equipped with whatever
was necessary’; but
οὗ is better explained as local, ‘wherever they might
be needed.’ The point is that the army and the fleet could operate separately, though in experience Nieias found
that the absence of cavalry prevented his employing the army away
from the fleet. The Athenians had not in previous expeditions
contemplated the independent action of army
and fleet.
μεγάλαις δαπάναις
—Gardner
and Jevons, p. 659. The trierarchs were selected by the Strategi.
The expense to the trierarch came in the extras—the ornamentation of
the ship and the comforts and extra pay of the crew.
δραχμήν
—this
is double the ordinary wage, and is the same as that paid at the
siege of Potidaea.
ὑπηρεσίαις
—see
Gardner and Jevons on the trireme, p. 650.
θρανίταις
—(1)
they rowed with the longest oars; (2) they were exposed to greater
danger than the other sailors.
σημείοις
—‘he either means standards
strictly, as in the case of armies, or, as some say, the figures
outside the vessels’ (Schol.). There were also the σημεῖα, figures of Athena as guardian
of the ship, that stood at the stern. Such figures are often
referred to; and cf Ovid, Met. XV. 697 Deus eminet alte, | Impositaque
premens puppim cervice recurvam | Caeiuleas despectat aquas. See
Conington on Vergil, Aen. X. 166. (Cf.
Aristoph. Frogs 933.) The outside figures,
properly παράσημα, were at the
prow. Surely all of these σημεῖα are meant, the ornamentations
being unusually elaborate. (Bloomfield misunderstands the Schol.) In
the first explanation the Schol. probably alludes to flags, though
the exaet meaning of the
σημεῖα placed on the general's tent and on certain public
buildings is, I believe, unknown.
κατασκευαῖς
—‘fittings.’
ἐς τὰ μακρότατα
=ἐπὶ
τὸ πλεῖστον (Schol.).
αὐτῷ τινι
go together and = ‘each for himself.’
καταλόγοις χρηστοῖς
—see on c. 26, 2. The
Strategi were careful to select the most efficient men from the
names on the στῆλαι. The lit,
rendering is ‘by honest enrolments,’ for
κατάλογος = both ‘list’ and ‘levy.’ χρηστοῖς =
ἀληθέσι (Schol.). The lists were not always drawn up χρηστῶς: Aristoph.
Eq. 1369 ὁπλίτης ἐντεθεὶς ἐν καταλόγῳ
|οὐδεὶς κατὰ σπουδὰς (through
influence) μετεγγραφήσεται (get
his name placed lower on the list, with the hope of eseaping
service), ἀλλ) ὥσπερ ἦν τὸ πρῶτον
ἐγγραφήσεται (see Kock's note). Cf. Pax
1179 τοὺς μὲν ἐγγράφοντες ἡμῶν, τοὺς δ’ ἄνω
τε καὶ κάτω |ἐξαλείφοντες δὶς ἢ
τρίς, of the taxiarehs, who acted for the Strategi. Aelian
13, 12 has a story that Meton, the astronomer, was on the κατάλογος for Sieily, and tried to get
off by feigning madness. (On κατάλογος
H. Schwartz, ad Athen. rem militarem c. 1.)
ἐκκριθέν—δοκιμασθἑν καὶ προκριθέν
(Schol.).
σκευῶν
—‘clothing,’ or ‘uniform,’ σκευή being used for an official dress,
as of soldiers or priests.
ἁμιλληθέν
—the
verb occurs only here in Thuc.: ‘vying with one another.’ The aor.
is more commonly middle in form.
ᾦ τις ἕ. προσετάχθη
—‘in
their several stations.’ See next note
ἐς τοὺς ἄλλους Ἕ
—Jowett renders: ‘While at home the
Athenians were thus competing with one another in the performance of
their several duties, to the rest of Hellas the expedition seemed to
be a grand display of their power and greatness’; and the note says:
‘Thuc. presents the expedition under two aspects, of which the
connection is not obvious.’ This is all wrong. With both γενέσθαι and
εἰκασθῆναι we must supply τοῖς
Ἀθηναίοις, and the sense is τοῖς
Ἀθηναίοις πρός τε σφᾶς αὐτοὺς ἔρις ἐγένετο
ἅμα καὶ ἐς τοὺς ἄλλους Ἕλληνας ἐπίδειξις ᾐκάσθη: ‘The
result was that among themselves they fell to quarrelling over the
expedition at their posts (as to who was best equipped), while to
the Greeks at large (through the splendour of the equipment) a
display was portrayed of their (internal) power and (external)
influence, rather than a force equipped against an enemy.’ The edd.
are mistaken in supplying a subject τοῦτο
or τὸν στόλον to εἰκασθῆναι. See Intr. p. xxxiii.
εἰ γάρ τις
—the reason of the statement (τοῖς Ἀθηναἰοις )ἐπίδειξις
ᾐκάσθη κτλ. is now given. The explanation of the previous
clause—ἔρις ἐγένετο—had been
already given in what preeeded.
προετετελέκει
—i.e.
in the preparations, before the expedition was ready.
καὶ τριήραρχος
—sc. τις, ‘and, if a trierarch.’
χωρὶς δ)
—‘and besides’; cf. II. 97
χωρὶς δὲ
ὅσα ὑφαντά τε καὶ λεῖα.
ἄνευ
, ‘apart
from,’ ‘beside,’ opposite of ξύν,
which = ‘including.’
ἐφόδιον
—viaticum.
μεταβολῇ—ὠνήσεως δή (Schol.),
‘for barter’: ‘not a few looked to profit in the distant land by
trade as well as by warfare’ (Freeman). Nicias refers to this fact
in VII. 13.
τὰ πάντα
—more commonly τὰ ξύμπαντα in this sense.
καί
—‘in
fact,’ giving the general result.
οὐχ ἧσσον τόλμης τε θάμβει
—‘no less through astonishment
at its boldness, and through the splendour of its appearance, than
the superiority of the foree in eomparison with those against whom
they went.’ Cf. II. 65 of this
expedition οὐ τοσοῦτον γνώμης
ἁμάρτημα ἧν πρὸς οὓς ἐπῆσαν. The
τόλμα is the courage shown in undertaking a new war
before the Peloponnesian war was done with, as Thuc. explains in VII. 28 that the A. παράλογον ποιῆσαι τοῖς Ελλησι τῆς δυνάμεως καὶ
τόλμης.
καὶ ὅτι
—see
on c. 1, 1.
μέγιστος διάπλους
—‘this
is said because, though Egypt (against which they had formerly gone
[460 B.C.] was farther in direct distance, yet the circuitous
navigation to Sieily made a greater distance’ (Bloomfield).
ἐπὶ μεγίστῃ ἐ. πρός
—‘with the greatest hopes in
comparison with their present position.’ The note in Jowett misses
the point, which is that they looked forward to an
enormous extension of empire: ‘Had Athens succeeded . . she
would soon have added to her dominions part of Italy, and perhaps
Carthage—the whole of Greece, and perhaps Maeedonia and Thrace’
(Bloomfield). See c. 90, 2.
Ἑρμοκράτης
—leader
of the aristocratie party, and ranked by later writers with Timoleon.
His chief doctrine, compared by Freeman to the Monroe doctrine, was
Sicily for the Siceliots. He had persuaded the Greek cities of Sieily to
make peacc in 424, and thus had already dealt a heavy blow to Athenian
designs in the island. Dionysius I. married his daughter.
ὥσπερ καὶ ἄλλοι τινες
—referring
to others who had spoken before him.
τοῦ ἐπίπλου τῆς ἀ
—Thuc. often places the objective
gen. first when it is specially emphatic. In other authors, except
Herod, and Hippocrates, it is rarely found. Andoc. 1, 15 περὶ τῶν Ἑρμῶν τῆς περικοπῆς .
λέγοντες
—i.e.
what they judge to be the case, as distinct from the information
they have received.
καταφοβηθεὶς ἐπισχήσω—ἐπέχω is
often used absolutely. In VII. 33
ἐπέσχον τὸ ἐπιχειρεῖν = ‘refrained from
attacking.’
πείθων γε—γε gives a causal sense to a partic. Cf. Andoc. 1, 70 ὥς γ’ ἐμαυτὸν πείθω. The phrase occurs
several times in Plato and the orators.
ἑτέρου
—often used with a compar. of an exceptional case. Cf. the common phrase μᾶλλον ἑτέρων. Here ἑτέρων would have applied rather to
those who had already spoken.
πάνυ
—gives a superlative force to θαυμάζετε =δ
θαῦμα μέγιστον ἐμποιεῖ.
πρόφασιν
—the accus. also in III. 111. The dat. is also used.
ξυμμαχίᾳ . . κατοικίσει—ξ. is
dat. of cause,
κ.
of purpose.
εἰ σχοῖεν . . ἕξειν
—as this follows a principal
tense, it must represent εἰ σχοῖμεν . .
ἕξομεν of the O.R., as e.g. in Antiphon Γα 4
εἰ τοὺς ἀναιτίους διώκοιμεν,
δεινοὺς ἀλιτηρίους ἕξομεν. (This passage is wrongly
explained by F. Roth, Oratio Obliqua bei Thuk.
p. 16.) Cf. M.T. § 499.
ἀπὸ τῶν ὑπαρχόντων
—with άμυνεῖσθε, ‘with the means at hand.’
ἄφαρκτοι
—not
ἄοπλοι (Schol.), but ‘insufficiently protected.’
ληφθήσεσθε
= ‘be caught.’
πιστά
—refers to
ἀπιστήσαντες: ‘monet ne ex summa incuria
in extremum terrorem
irruant’ (Oehler, In Herm. Orationem).
Sc. αὐτά ἐστι.
ἢ πάσχειν
—‘they
will not be in a position to inflict more on us than they suffer.’
ἀνωφελές
—‘is
it disadvantageous.’ See crit. note.
ἢν ἄρα
—‘if
in the issue’ (Wilkins).
δὴ . . γε
—these particles, as Herbst shows,
are added to οὐ
γάρ or μὴ γάρ to
increase their force.
κάλλιστον ἔργον
—II.
42
κινδύνων
κάλλιστος,VII. 68
κινσπανιὠτατοι.
κάλλιστον δὴ ἔργον ἡμῖν
—the same number of
syllables follows ξυμβήσεται
καί: this is called παρίσωσις
.
ὀλίγοι γὰρ δή
—e.g.
the expedition of Cimon to the Thracian coast in 469, and to Egypt
in 460.
πάντα γάρ
—i.e.
not only
ἐνοικοῦντες but ἀστυγείτονες
as well. The whole of this passage is general
down to καταλείπουσιν. Hence it is
wrong to explain ἐπιβουλευθεῖσιν =ἡμῖν, as Classen does.
κἂν περὶ σφίσιν αὐτοῖς
—I. 69
τὸν
βάρβαρον αὐτὸν περὶ αὐτῷ τὰ πλείω σφαλέντα. Soph. Ajax 828 πεπτῶτα τῷδε
περὶ νεορράντῳ ξίφει. Herod. 9, 101 μὴ περὶ Μαρδονίῳ. Aristoph. Pax 905 περὶ ταῖσι
καμπαῖς . . πεπτωκότες. The other ordinary prose use of περί with dat. is after verbs of fearing, as usually in Thuc. (cf. Aristoph. Eq. 27 περὶ τῷ
δέρματι δέδοικα). ‘As examples of a striking deviation
from his usual construction may be mentioned III.
102
δείσας περἰ αὐτῆς . .VIII. 93
ἐφοβεῖτο
περὶ τοῦ πολιτικοῦ, for elsewhere Thuc. has περί with dat, after verbs of fearing,
according to the usual Attic construction (cf. Phrynichus in B.A.G. p. 37 δέδοικα
περὶ τῷδε, κατὰ δοτικὴν ὠς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ οἱ Ἀττικοί)’ (Prof.
C. F Smith). But Phrynichus speaks too strongly: the construction
occurs but once in Aristoph., never in the orators,
unless in Antiphon, Fr. 77 we should alter δεῖσθαι περὶ τοῦ. But it is wrong to
pronounce περί with dat. ‘poetical
and Ionic’ with Du Mesml. (There is great variety in the use of
prepositions in Attic, and in the dictum of the Alexandrine
grammarians there is some truth: παρὰ
Θουκυδίδῃ ἐνηλλαγμένως πάσας εὑρήσεις τὰς προθέσεις κειμένας
.)
ὅπερ . . ηὐξήθησαν
=ἥνπερ
αὔξησιν ηὐξήθησαν (Poppo).
ἐπὶ τῷ ὀ
—VII. 64
τὸ μέγα
ὄνομα τῶν Ἀθηνῶν: ‘owing to their reputation as the city
that he had attacked.’ That ὄνομα does
not mean ‘fiction’ or ‘mere statement’ here is shown by καὶ ἡμῖν τὸ τοιοῦτο: it has the same sense
as ὄνομα above. To have been the
object of the Persian attack constituted that glory of Athens that led
to her rise. ᾔει, which is in O.O., represents ᾔει
of O.R.: men said, after the war, “ἐπ’ Ἀθήνας ᾔει ὁ Μῆδος.” Syraeuse too will
grow great έπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι ὡς ἐφ) ἡμᾶς ᾕει ὁ
Ἀθηναῖος. See Index s.v. ἐπί
.
τοὺς μέν
—i.e.
τοὺς ὑπηκόους :
τοῖς δέ
—i.e.
τοῖς αὐτονόμοις ‘The difference is
clearly marked between the Sikels of the east coast, familiar to
Syr. as subjects, neighbours, or enemies, and the Sikel towns of the
interior, now fast beginning to advance in power and in Hellenic
culture’ (Freeman).
τὴν ἄλλην Σ
—i.e. the
Siceliots.
ἢξυμμαχίαν ποιώμεθα ἡμῖν
—Stephanus reads ποιῶνται and Classen revives the
reading. If we keep the MSS. reading we must make ἡμῖν =ἡμῖν
αὐτοῖς ‘for ourselves,’ as Thuc. sometimes uses σφίσιν for σφίσιν
αὐτοῖς: cf. II. 71
οὐ δίκαια ποιεῖτε οὔτε ὑμῶν οὔτε πατέρων.
The phrase is, however, very unusnal.
ἄμεινον
—e.
19, 1.
ἀνέλπιστον
—taken in two ways: (1) ἄφοβον (Schol., Kruger), se. μή ποτε . . ἔλθωσιν,
i.e. they are expeeting an attack on
Carthage; (2) ‘the invasion of Sicily
will not surprise them’ (Poppo, etc.). But (3) surely the key to the
passage is in ἄμεινον
εἶναι πέμψαι? To ἀνέλπιστον
supply τὸ πέμψαι ἡμᾶς. ‘Our
mission will not surprise them.’
διὰ φόβου εἰσί
—c. 59, 2. The construction is
frequent with εχειν,
γίγνεσθαι, ἰέναι, εἶναι.
τάδε
—‘our cause.’ προήσονται, κἂν . . εῖναι:O.R.
προησόμεθα, κἂν .
. εἶμεν.M.T. § 505.
ἤτοι . . γε . . ἤ
—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.
ἢ ἐξ ἑνός γέ του τ
—‘or by some means or other’; the
Schol. remarks that ἤ is
superfluous, there being no other way except either κρύφα or
φανερῶς. But the addition is not an unnatural inaccuracy,
and the removal of ἤ by no means
improves the sense. Aesch. Septem 202 ἤκουσας
ἢ οὐκ ἤκουσας ἢ κωφῇ λέγω: Plat.
Laches 199 B οὐ γὰρ μελλόντων μόνον
πέρι ἐπαίει,
ἀλλὰ καὶ γιγνομένων καὶ γεγονότων καὶ πάντως ἐχόντων,
where καὶ πάντως ἐχόντων is
equally superfluous.
εὐπορεῖ
—‘by which war . . prospers’; cf. I. 83
δαπάνης, δῑ
ἣν τὰ ὅπλα ὠφελεῖ. Nothing further is heard of this
proposal of H. to send to Carthage. (Freeman,
Sicily III. Append. vii.)
ἐς τὴν Λ. καὶ ἐς Κ
—Thuc.
repeats the preposition where different things are elearly opposed
to one another, omits it when they are thought of together. Contrast
§ 4.
τὸν ἐκεῖ πόλεμον
—cf.
c. 36, 4. Freeman remarks that we should have looked for some more
marked reference to Corinth, as metropolis of Syr.
διὰ τὸ ξύνηθες ἥσυχον
—v. 68
τὸ
ἀνθρώπειον κομπῶδες: and c. 55, 3 τὸ
πρότερον ξύνηθες φοβερόν. ‘I will now tell you what I
think would be most advantageous, though you with your habitual lack
of cnterprise would by no means readily aceede to it.’ Cf. Plat. Laws p. 918 D γελοῖον
μὲν εἰπεῖν ὅμως δ’ εἰρήσεται: Demosth. 14, 24 παράδοξον μὲν οἶδα λέγων, ὅμως δ’ εἰρήσεται
.
περὶ τῆς Σικελίας
—it appears necessary to
read the gen. here, because ὁ ἀγών,
ἀγωνίζεσθαι, μάχεσθαι, πολεμεῖν in Thuc. always take περί τινος not περί
τινι elsewhere; and it certainly does appear that τοῦ περαιωθῆναι is also governed by περί here Thomas Magister connects ὁ άγών direetly with τοῦ περαιωθῆναι, for which ef. Eur Sup. 665 νεκροὺς
ὄπισθεν θέμενοι, ὧν ἔκειτ’ ἀγών. (The MSS. reading is
defended by Herbst, and by C. F. Smith in A.J.P.
25 p. 67.)
ἐς λογισμὸν καταστήσαιμεν
—cf. Isocr. 15. 169 εἰσέπεσον εἰς τὸ λογίζεσθαι. The
substance of the refleetions is given in all that follows down to
the end of § 5.
ἐκ φιλίας χώρας
—viz. Tarentum, as explained by
the parenthesis—i.e. ‘we have the friendly
haven of Taras as a base of operations and a place of shelter in
case of need’ (Freeman).
φύλακες
—of
Sicily. Notice
αὐτοῖς
and
ἐκείνους
τὸ δὲ πέλαγος κτλ
—‘whereas they have before them a
passage which is long for the whole of their armament, and it would
be difficult owing to the length of the voyage to keep in line, and
consequently their forees would be exposed to our attack, as they
would come up with us slowly and in divisions.’ πολύ (ἐστι
)
περαιοῦσθαι, as c. 42 ῥᾴους
ἄρχειν. Most edd. regard
χαλεπὸν δὲ .
. μεῖναι as a parenthesis; but the clause leads up to καὶ ἡμῖν . . εἴη, and the whole = χαλεπὸν (ἂν εἴη
τῆ παρασκευῇ)ἐν τάξει μεῖναι, καὶ
εὐεπἰθετος ἂν εἴη ἡ παρασκευή.
εἰ δ’ αὖ
—‘on the other hand, if they
transfer their baggage (to the transports), and attack us with their
fast ships in a body’—
i.e. if they leave behind the transports and do not attempt
to cross from Corcyra μετὰ πάσης τῆς
παρασκευῆς .
εἰ δὲ μὴ δοκοίη
—se. ὴμῖν
ἐπιθέσθαι, if we found that they had not been rowing hard,
and so decided not to attack them.
ἔστι
—so the Athenians would reflect when
the Syr. were off Tarentum. ἔστι ὑποχωρῆσαι
is equivalent to ὑποχωροῖμεν ἂν εἰ
βουλοίμεθα.
μετ’ ὀ. ἐφοδίων
—the result of κουφίσαντες ὡς ἐπὶ ναυμαχίᾳ .
κατὰ χωρία ἐρῆμα
—‘the enemy,’ says Freeman,
‘will have to shift for himself how he can along desert or
unfriendly coasts, where the Sikeliots will be able to attack, or
harass, or bloekade him at pleasure.’ By χωρία
ἐρῆμα Bloomfield rightly says that the eoast from Tarentum
to Rhegium is meant: ‘the country itself was doubtless then, what it
is now described as being, alike uncultivated and savage.’ Finding
themselves ἐν
ἀπορίᾳ κατὰ χωρία ἐρῆμα, they will have to choose
between two eourses: (1) waiting for their transports, (2) trying to
gain admission to eities—Thurii, Croton, Locri, Rhegium.
πολιορκοῖντο ἄν
—se. ὑφ) ἡμῶν. The Syr. would of course not
remain inaetive in the harbour of Tarentum if the Athenians lay off
the coast awaiting the arrival of their transports. ‘The sanguine
orator does not stop to discuss how or where the Athenian fleet is
to be blockaded by any force which the Sieiliaus could bring against
it’ (note in Jowett).
πειρώμενοι παραπλεῖν
—if,
instead of waiting for the rest of the fleet, they try to continue
their voyage along the coast (of the Gulf of Tarentum, it being
necessary for them to get supplies, if not by waiting, then by
sailing along the coast and seeking them), they would be
disheartened by the uncertainty whether the cities along the coast
would receive them.
οὐκ ἂν κτλ
=οὐκ ἃν
βέβαια ἔχοιεν καὶ ἀθυμοῖεν (ἄν).
“οὐκ
εἰδότες βεβαίως εἰ αἱ πόλεις ὑποδἐξονται” (Schol.).
τούτῳ τῷ λ
—with
ἀποκλῃομένους: ‘hampered by these eonsiderations.’ Cf.
Plat. Rep. p. 487 B in the sense ‘to receive
a cheek’ in playing.
ἐξωσθῆναι ἄν
—Arnold compares Herod. I. 31
ἐκκληιόμενοι
τῇ ὤρῃ: cf. ἐξανάγκεσθαι,
ἐξείργεσθαι. Caes. B.G.
v. 24
anni tempore
excludi; cf. in
annum excedere. ‘Through spending time in prolonged
indecision and in sending scouts to recon noitre our
numbers and our position, they would be overtaken by winter.’ The
aorist partic, does not express time past, relative to
χρώμενοι, but is timeless.
There is no reason why χρώμενοι
should not have been χρησάμενοι,
other than that with verbs like πέμπω
the pres. partic. is much affected.
πρόφασιν
—sc. του—
καραλυ—σαι τὸν π.
ἀξιόχρεων
—‘some
considerable action on our part.’
ἀγγελλοίμεθα
—personal,=ἀγγελλοίμεθα πλείους εἶναι, ‘our
numbers would be exaggerated by report’; cf. I.
10
ἐπὶ τὸ
μεῖζον κος μῆσαι.
πρὸς τὰ λεγόμενα . . ἵστανται
—metaphor
from sails set in any direetion. ‘Men's minds veer in the direction
of what they hear.’
ἢ . . γε
—‘or
at least.’
ἰσοκινδύνους
—discrimini
pares, Haase; and so recent edd. The Schol. says ‘either ἐν ὁμοίῳ κινδύνῳ
καταστήσοντας αὐτούς, or
ἰσοπαλεῖς’: in II. 39 we have ἡμεῖς ἀνειμένως διαιτώμενοι οὐδὲν ἧσσον ἐπὶ τοὺς
ἰσοπαλεῖς κινδύνους χωροῦμεν, where some edd. explain
‘dangers as great as they face,’ others ‘struggles in which equal
but not superior forces oppose us’; probably the first is right and
here the sense is ‘equally ready to face danger.’ If so, ef. ἰσοτελής, contrast ἰσάργυρος.
κατεγνωκότες
—‘looking down upon us
because we did not support the attempt of the L.’ In 431 Sparta had
appealed to Italy and Sicily for ships, but none had been sent, II. 7. Stein thinks the obj. to κατ. is lost.
παρὰ γνώμην—παρὰ τὴν δόξαν αὐτῶν
(Schol.).
ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀ
=ἀληθεῖ.
Such phrases are used as adjectives with
nouns, or as adverbs with verbs. Cf. ἀπὸ τοῦ ἴσου, τοῦ προφανοῦς, τοῦ ἀδοκήτου
.III. 43
τἀγαθὰ
ἀπὸ τοῦ εὐθέος λεγόμενα, ‘the best advice when offered in
plain terms.’
πείθεσθε . . τολμήσαντες
—‘follow my advice,
if possible, by taking this bold step.’ The aor. is ingressive; by entering upon this τόλμα. Again the time of the partic. is
independent of the verb.
ταῦτα
which some edd. construe as object
of
πείθεσθε, goes with the partic., because of the order.
τἆλλα . . ἑτοιμάζειν
—sc. πείθεσθε: it is not unusual to find two
constructions after a verb in this way. Cf. note on c. 1, 1.
παραστῆναι παντί
—this infin. is by some
explained as= an imperative, but it is more natural to supply πείθεσθε, which in passing through ἑτοιμάζειν has assumed a somewhat
different meaning. (
παραστῆναι often has this sense: c. 68, 3; 95, 2. Andoc. I. 54
εἴ τῳ παρέστηκε γνώμη τοιαύτη) Cf. II. 39
περιγίγνεται
ἡμῖν . . μὴ προκάμνειν, καὶ .μὴ ἀτολμοτέρους . . φαίνεσθαι, καὶ ἔν
τε τούτοις τὴν πόλιν ἀξίαν εἶναι θαυμάζεσθαι καὶ ἔτι ἐν ἄλλοις,
where also, when εἶναι is reached,
the meaning of περιγίγνεται is
lost. This is a good example of thuc.'s πολύνους
βραχυλογία.
καταφρονεῖν τοὺς
ἐπιόντας
—Thomas Magister
quotes this passage for καταφρονεῖν
with accus. In only one place has Thuc. the gen. of direct objeet
with καταφρ.—viz. VII. 63
καταφρονἠσαντες
Κορινθίων.
ἐν τῶν ἔργων τῇ ἀλκῇ
—ef. Herod. VII.
49
ἀνὴρ
οὕτω ἂν εἴη ἄριστος εἰ βουλευόμενος μὲν ἀρρωδέοι ἐν δὲ τῷ ἔργῳ
θρασὺς εἴη: ‘resistance in action’; ἀλκή,robur, is
found in Herod. and Xen., but not elsewhere in prose.
τὸ δ’ ἤδη
—take τὸ
δ’ ἤδη ὡς ἐπὶ κινδύνου πράσσειν together, ‘to act at
present as in time of danger.’
ἐν πλῷ . . εἰσί
—cf. ἐν
ὁδῷ εἶναι, ἐν τειχισμῷ, ἐν
παρασκευῇ, ἐν κινήσει, ἐν στάσει, etc.
τῆς . . ἐπιούσης
=τῆς
νῦν ἐπιούσης ς. Thuc. often places an attributive partic.
after a noun when there are other modifications.
οἷς γε
—antecedent στρατιᾶς.
οὔθ) . . οὐδ’ . . οὔθ) ὁπλίτας . .
τήν
τε ἄλλην
—this series really consists of οὔτε . . οὔτε . . τε, with an οὐδέ clause inserted as a climax to the
first.
ὁπλίτας
—sc.
άκολουθήσοντας. They will not have a large force of
hoplites, as the hoplites will have come by sea.
αὐταῖς
—‘alone’;
κούφαις
‘without lading.’
παρὰ τοσοῦτον γιγνώσκω
—the Schol. explains ‘So
much do I differ from my opponents.’ But lit. ‘to such an extent I
know,’ i.e. ‘so confident am I’ that they are inferior to us. Cf. § 1 ἱκανωτέραν ἡγοῦμαι Σικελίαν κτλ., and
below τοσούτῳ τὴν ἡμετέραν παρασκευὴν
κρείσσω νομίζω.
μόλις ἄν
—with οὐκ
ἂν διαφθαρῆναι.
εἰ πόλιν . . ἔλθοιεν ἔχοντες
—‘if they brought with them a
city great as Syracuse, and set it up upon our borders, and carried
on the war from it, scarcely so could they escape utter ruin.’ By πόλις he means, of course, the men and
the things necessary to make a permanent hostile settlement.
οἰκίσαντες
for
οἰκήσαντες is necessary, because the sense required is not
‘settle in’ a place already existing, hut ‘found’ a new settlement.
With this change there is no need to bracket
ἔλθοιεν or ἔ. ἔχοντες.
ἦ πού γε δὴ κτλ
—(the γε
only adds further emphasis to ἦ που δή—‘of
course, then’;) sc. μόλις δοκοῦσιν οὐκ ἂν
διαφθαρῆναι.
ἐν πάσῃ πολεμίᾳ
—cf. c. 21, 2 ἐς άλλοτρίαν πᾶσαν.
ξυστήσεται γάρ
—‘for
Sieily will unite’ against them.
στρατοπέδῳ τε
—‘and in (sc. ἐν from above) a camp which they form
with what their ships bring.’ στρατοπέδῳ
is in contrast with πόλιν above,
ἱδρυθέντι with οἰκίσαντες.
Stahl gets into endless difficulties (1) by supplying εἰ πόλεμον ποιοῖντο to ἐν πάσῃ π. Σικελίᾳ, (2) by rendering τε ‘both’ instead of ‘and,’ (3) by
totally misunderstanding ἐκ νεῶν ἱδρυθέντι
.
καὶ ἐκ σκηνιδίων κτλ
—‘and
when they depend on mere tents and supplies of the barest, while our
cavalry prevents them from moving for any distance.’
τό τε ξύμπαν
—sums
up the whole argument.
κρατῆσαι . . τῆς γῆς
—i.e.
obtain possession of so much land as is necessary for
the
στρατόπεδον. Cf. c. 23, 2 εὐθὺς
κρατεῖν τῆς γῆς.
ἄνδρες
—quidam,
hinting, as that word sometimes does, at definite opponents.
ἤτοι . . ἤ
—c.
34, 2.
καὶ δέδοικα μέντοι
—‘and I really fear lest their
repeated efforts may at last be crowned with success’ (Wilkins).
This is the affirmative μέντοι, as
in answers of assent.
ἡμεῖς δὲ κακοί
—‘we
show no spirit in taking precautions before we suffer, or in
stopping such men when we detect them.’
αἰσθόμενοι
is opposed to πρὶν ἐν τῷ παθεῖν ὦμεν—for which see c.
10, 5.
δῑ αὐτά
—going back to τάδε κινοῦσι e. 36, 2. ‘Hence it is
that such sehemes allow our state but seldom to rest.’
τυρραννίδας
—such
as Gelon and Hieron:
δυναστείας
—
such as the power of the aristocratic party of Hermocrates.
ὧν
—with τι
below.
περιιδεῖν γενέσθαι
—the infin. after περιορᾶν occurs only in Herod. and
Thuc.; the verb then=ἐᾶν .M.T. § 903, 6.
ὑμᾶς μὲν τοὺς πολλούς
—contrasted with τοὺς δ’ αὖ ὀλίγους, who are also meant
in τοὺς . . . μηχανωμένους. Weil's
conjecture (see crit. note) is necessary because there is no
distinction between the plotters and the oligarchs, and because only
the people can be said κολάζειν.
αὐτοφώρους
—correspouds to αἰσθόμενοι ἐπεζελθεῖν above, and ὧν βούλονται μὲν κτλ. to προφυλάζασθαι.
ὧν βούλονται
—after κολάζειν. Cf. II.
74, 3 τῆς
ἀδικίας κολάζεσθαι. So
ὧν δρᾷ
and
διανοίας
depend on προαμύνεσθαι.
εἴπερ καί
—‘inasmuch
as.’
τὰ μὲν ἐλέγχων
—‘now
by convicting them (when they have formed a design), now by watching
them (to keep them from forming one), now by counselling them (to
change their methods).’
καὶ δῆτα
—he proceeds to give an instance τοῦ διδάσκειν. The use of δῆτα is in emphatic statements,
questions, and appeals.
νεώτεροι
—the
younger members of the oligarchic party.
πότερον
—there follows an example of ὑποφορά,altercatio,
in which an orator puts words into an opponent's mouth and supplies
the answer.
ἀτιμάζειν
—infin. of purpose, ‘to keep
out of office.’
ἰσονομεῖσθαι
—liberty
and equality,
ἐλευθερία and
ἰσονομία, were the cardinal principles of Greek
democracy.
τοὺς αὐτούς
—members
of the same state.
ἐκ τῆς Ἐγέστης
—attraction
of the preposition to the verb.
φαίνεται
—‘are forthcoming’)(ἀφανὴς εἷναι.
οἱ Ῥ. οὐκ ἐθελήσαντες
—sc. ἀντεκεκρούκεσαν. Cf. IV. 26
αἴτιον δὲ
ἦν οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι προειπόντες ἐσάγειν σῖτον.
πρῶτον ἤρξαντο
—often
combined to emphasise the moment of beginning.
πείθειν
—of
attempt.
εἰκὸς ἦν
—sc.
ξυστρατεύειν, as also with πείθειν
.
προσδεχομένῳ ἦν
—this idiom is found also
with γίγνομαι. The same in Lat.
with volenti esse, and once with other words,
viz. Tac. An.
I. 59
ut quibusque
bellum invitis aut cupientibus erat.
καὶ ἀλογώτερα
—‘even more
incomprehensible’ than it was unexpected. The
antithesis clearly implies οὐ
προσδεχομἐνοις ἦν. (These words are explained in
various ways: (1) ‘even more incomprehensible than the defection of
the Rhegians,’ Stahl, Jowett; (2) ‘even more unexpected than it was
expected by Nicias,’ Fr. Muller, etc.; (3) ‘upset their calculations
all the more because they had believed the reports of the envoys,’
Classen; (4) ‘somewhat disconcerting,’ Hertland, Journ.
Philol. XXIV.) Stein reads άπορώτερα
.
τότε ὅτε
—both this and τότε ὅταν are fairly frequent.
οἱ πρῶτοι π
—c.
6, 3; 8, 1.
ἔς τε
—answered by καὶ ἰδίᾳ.
τὸ ἐν Ἔρυκι
—founded, according to legend,
by Aeneas. Aen.
V. 759
.
ὄντα ἀργυρᾶ
—Grote and Freeman understand
‘silver-gilt,’ but this can hardly be right, unless ἐπάργυρα ‘overlaid with silver,’ or ὑπάργυρα ‘silver overlaid with gold,’
be read. With άργυρᾶ the sense
must be that, being silver, the number was imposing, though the
value was comparatively small.
αἰτησάμενοι
—‘borrowing.’ Lys. 24 § 12
after ἀλλοτρίοις ἵπποις χρῆσθαι
speaks of οἱ ᾐτημένοι ἵπποι.
παρεῖχε
—sc.
αὐτά, the spectacle, the gen. abs. being used in
conjunction with πάντων .
. χρωμένων, though strictly πολλὰ
φαινόμενα is required. The substitution of the gen. abs.
for a dat. is not very rare, but the
substitution for a nom. is unusual; cf. VII. 48, 2 χρημάτων
άπορίᾳ ἐκτρυχώσειν, ἄλλως τε καὶ . . θαλασσοκρατούντων
(for ‐ες). Livy XXIII. 24
pontem fluminis
petentes, obsesso ante ab hostibus ponte.
αἰτίαν εἶχον ὑπό
—see
c. 14, 1 n.
τὸ γάρ
—the introduction of this episode
causes great surprise to modern critics. There are discrepancies in
the account of the affair as given here and in the Ath.
Pol.: ‘we cannot tell which story is the truer, and the
probabilities which may be alleged on either side are not decisive’
(Forbes,
Thuc. i.). Thuc. makes reference to the story in I. 20. We must remember that the matter
was of first-rate historical and political interest to the
Athenians, and that Thuc. writes for students.
τόλμημα
—the conspiracy was in 514, but
H. and A. were popularly regarded as heroes who had actually
destroyed the tyranny. The famous scholium of Callistratus quoted by
Athenaeus (ἐν
μύρτου κλαδὶ τὸ ξίφος φορήσω κτλ.) is earlier than
Thuc.
ξυντυχία
=‘adventure.’
τελευτήσαντος
—527
B C
οἱ πολλοί
—as
distinguished from students.
ἔσχε
—‘received.’
Thuc. does not use
ἀστός
sing. 12
μέσος πολίτης
—belonging
to the middle class, like Solon.
Ἱππάρχου
—the Ath.
Pol. makes Thessalus, younger brother of Hipparchus, the
cause of the dispute.
ὡς ἀπὸ τῆς ὑ. ἀ
—‘as best he could with such
influence as he had,’ μέσος ὤν.
παρεσκευάζετο
προπηλακιῶν
—the omission
of ὡς with
παρασκευάζομαι is very rare except in Thuc., who has it
several times. Xen. Hel.
IV.
1, 41 παρεσκευάζετο
πορευσόμενος.
τὴν ἄλλην ἀρχήν
—‘his rule generally was mild’;
he was not tyrant, but, as Ath. Pol. c. 18
says, both he and Hippias ἦσαν κύριοι τῶν
πραγμάτων διὰ τὰ άξιώματα .
ἀνεπιφθόνως
κατεστήσατο
—sc. τὴν ἀρχήν, ‘he maintained it without
exciting ill-feeling.’
καὶ ἐπετήδευσαν κτλ
—‘and as tyrants they for the
longest time displayed virtnous principles and good sense,’ i.e.
πολιτικὴ
ἀρετή such as Plato speaks of.
εἰκοστήν
—Pisistratus had levied a tax of
10 per cent on produce: Ath.
Pol. c. 15 συνέβαινεν αὐτῷ καὶ τὰς
προσόδους γίγνεσθαι μείζους ἑργαζομένης τῆς χώρας· ἐπράττετο γὰρ ἀπὸ
τῶν γιγνομένων δεκατήν. The tax was thus rednced by his
sons.
καλῶς διεκόσμησαν
—
e.g. they are said to have adorned with columns the spring
Callirhoe, and to have set up Hermae. No doubt they continued the
building of the Olympieium, begun by Pisistratus; and
they greatly added to the importance of the worship of Apollo,
Athena, and Dionysus.
διέφερον . . ἔθυον
—two of the most important
duties of the sovereign: they carried through their wars and
attended the temples to offer sacrifice. With the brachylogy ἐς τἀ ἱερά cf. II.
4
ἔκλῃσε
στυρακίῳ . . χρησάμενος ἐς τὸν μοχλόν, and II. 49
ἔδρασαν ἐς
φρεατα. Aristoph. Plut. 741 ἠφάνισεν αὑτὸν εἰς τὸν νέων.
αὐτή
—i.e.
without interference from the tyrants.
τοῖς πρὶν κειμένοις
—the Solonian
constitution. The phrase ὁ ἐπὶ
Κρόνου βίος, Golden Age, was applied to the period
both of Pisistratus and of Hippias. What Thuc. says of the sons the Ath. Pol. says of the father, and of the sons συνέβη διαδεξαμένων τῶν υἱέων πολλῷ γενέσθαι
τραχυτέραν τὴν άρχήν.
ἀρχαῖς
—especially the archons. Cf.
Aristoph. Wasps 682 ἐν
άρχαῖς εἶναι.
Ἀθηναίοις
—the
dat. is frequent, and does not imply inferiority like the gen. It is
official.
τῶν δώδεκα θεῶν βωμόν
—this altar stood in the new
Agora, as instituted by the Pisistratids, who made the Cerameicus
the centre of Athens instead of Cydathenaeon (S. of the Acropolis).
The altar marked the completion of their changes (Curtius, Stadtgeschichte von Athen, pp. 79 f.).
τὸν ἐν . . Πυθίου
—‘in the precinct of the
Pythian Apollo,’ i.e. the Pythium (close to
the Olympieium), which was the work of the Pisistratids. As archou,
Pisistratus celebrated the Thargelia in honour of Apollo.
νῦν
—the inscription was discovered in
1877 near Callirhoe (
C.I.A.
IV. 373).
ἀμυδροῖς
—Classen
remarks that the letters are mostly clear enough at the present day.
But it is very likely that the inscription was restored later.
ἀκριβέστερον
—that
this alludes to some tradition in the family of Thuc. is clear, but
it is not certain that he was related to the Pisistratids, as stated
by Hermippus (3rd cent. B.C.) ap. Marcellin. 3
αὐτῷ τούτῳ
—the arguments are: (1) on a
certain monument only Hippias's children are mentioned; (2) on the
same the name of H. immediately follows that of the father; (3) it
is unlikely that if Hipparchus had been tyrant Hippias could have
secured the power on the day of the murder. The tyranny would have
come to an end. (This evidence does not amount to
much, but it scarcely deserves the contempt Junghahn pours on it)
τῶν γνησίων ἀδελφῶν
—apparently Hippias,
Hipparchus, and Thessalus, also named Hegesistratus (Ath. Pol. c. 17; cf. Herod. v. 94). Thessalus is called νόθος by Herod., because he was son of
a ξένη. The Ath.
Pol. mentions a fourth son, Iophon (Plut. Cat.
m. c. 24, and so the Schol. on Wasps l.
502), but nothing is known of him.
ἡ στήλη
—one
of the pillars on which were inscribed the names of criminals
condemned to death or banishment.
πρεσβεύειν
—‘was
the eldest next to him and became tyrant.’
αὐτὸς δὲ . . καθίστατο
—‘and he had attempted to
make himself ruler,’ sc. ἐς
τὴν ἀρχήν.
τὸ πρότερον ξύνηθες . . φοβερόν
—c. 34, 4: ‘but on the one
hand (καί), partly because the
citizens had become accustomed beforehand to fear him, and partly
becanse of the strict discipline he had enforced on his body-guard,
he retained his power with abundant security, whereas on the other
hand he was not at a loss, as he would have been had he been a
younger brother so circumstanced that he had not constantly been
used to govern.’ πρότερον is
adverb, and διὰ τὸ πρότερον ξύνηθες
goes both with the μέν and the δέ clause. Cf. II.
44
τὸ δ’ εὐτυχές, οἳ ἃν τῆς
εὐπρεπεστάτης λάχωσιν, ὥσπερ οἵδε μὲν νῦν τελευτῆς, ὑμεῖς δὲ λύπης,
where the epithet belongs to both nouns.
ἐπικούρους
—is specially used of
mercenaries and bodyguards. Pisistratus had instituted a body called κορυνηφόροι. Cf. Plat. Rcp. p. 566 τὸ
δὴ τυραννικὸν αἴτημα . . αἰτεῖν τὸν δῆμον φύλακάς τινας τοῦ
σώματος .
πολλῷ τῷ περιόντι
—‘with
a superabundance.’
οὐχ . . ἠπόρησεν ἐν ᾧ κτλ
—‘was not in difficulties
in-asituation-in-which he had not previously grown accustomed to
rule.’ The phrase ἐν ᾧ ,quo statu, has at times a vague reference to
what precedes, and here=‘(in the sitnation of a younger brother) in
which.’ Cf. c. 92 n. τό τε φιλόπολι οὐκ ἐν ᾧ
ἀδικοῦμαι ἔχω. For ἀπορεῖν ἐν=‘to
be in difficulties in circumstances,’ cf. Aeschin. 1, 159 ἀπορεῖν ἐν τῷ λόγῳ. (Most edd. connect ἐν ᾧ ... ὡμιλήκει with οὐχ ὡς ἀδελφὸς νεώτερος ὤν, but then
Stein's ὡς <ἄν> would be necessary; and the
above explanation is simpler than taking ἐν
ᾧ as for ἐν τούτῳ ὅτι
or ὅτι ἐν τούτῳ, as some propose.)
τοῦ πάθους τῇ δυστυχίᾳ
—‘through
his tragic fate.’
ὀνομασθέντα
=ὀνομαστὸν
γενόμενον (Schol.). The accus. when a dat.
(Ἱππάρχῳ) or gen. precedes is very
common, though it is not necessary.
ὧν
—neut.
μιμνῄσκομαι
here takes accus. neut., (ἐκεῖνα)ὅσα:
otherwise the relative would be ὅσων,
attracted as always in a rel. sentence replacing a noun.
ὡς αὐτῶν κτλ
—cf. Andoc. 1, 48 ἐπειδὴ ἐδεδέμεθα πάντες ἐν τῷ
αὐτῷ.
ἐφαίνετο
—sc. τὸ
πρᾶγμα. Andoc. l.c.
τὴν πόλιν ἐν
κακοῖς οὖσαν τοῖς μεγίστοις καὶ ὑποψίαν εἰς ἀλλήλους ἔχοντας
.
εἷς
—viz.
Andocides. He was persuaded by a cousin named Charmides to give
information. See crit. n.
εἴτε . . καὶ τὰ ὄντα . . εἴτε καὶ οὔ
—a remark thrown in by Thuc.,
‘which may equally well have been true or false.’ The double καί only serves to balance the two
phrases.
ἐπ’ άμφότερα
—‘both
opinions are held conjecturally.’ With
τότε
supply
εἷχεν: so I. 86, 2; III. 40 The speech of Andocides de Mysteriis was not delivered till 399 B.C.;
and it looks as if the account of Thuc. had been written before that
event.
εἰ μὴ καὶ δέδρακεν
—‘if he is not really
guilty.’ Cf. II. 11
εἰ μὴ καὶ νῦν ὥρμηνται=‘if they have
not started already.’ It is generally assumed
that καί is out of place; but
there is no need for this, since καὶ
δέδρακεν is properly contrasted with αὑτὸν ἄδειαν ποιησάμενον σῶσαι, which
clearly implies αὑτοῦ κατηγορεῖν.
ἄδειαν ποιησάμενον
—‘obtaining for
himself a free pardon.’ See c. 27, 2. According to Andocides the ἄδεια was afterwards cancelled in his
case.
βεβαιοτέραν κτλ
—so Andoc.: τοῖς μὲν οὐδέπω βέβαιος ἦν ἡ σωτηρία
. . εἰ μή τις ἐρεῖ Ἀθηναίοις τὰ γενόμενα.
ὁμολογήσαντι
—this cannot belong to διὰ δίκης ἑλθεῖν
because
Andocides was immediately released. Hence strictly either ὁμολογῆσαι or
ἐλθόντι is required.
καθ) ἑαυτοῦ
—that Andocides did inculpate
himself is clear from the speech de Reditu,
and is shown by implication even in the de
Mysteriis.
κατ’ ἄλλων
applies, if Andoc. speaks the truth, to four persons only who had
not been included in Teucrus's list.
ὡς ᾤετο
—with τὸ
σαφές.
δεινὸν ποιούμενοι
—imperf. partic.; cf. οὐκ ἀνάσχετον ποιεῖσθαι. δεινὰ
ποιεῖν is to declare a thing
intolerable)(δ. ποιεῖσθαι to think
it so.
κρίσεις ποιήσαντες
—this no doubt is a
brief statement to imply that the persons informed against generally
were tried, excepting the victims of Dioclides. Cf. [Lys.] 6, 23.
They were not all tried as the result of Andocides's information.
The proceedings were under the νόμος
εἰσαγγελτικός, and the trials were before the heliasts
ἐπανεῖπον ἀργύριον
—their goods were
confiscated, C.I.A.
I.
274; Hicks n. 55; [Lys.] 6, 18 τοὐς
φεύγοντας ζητεῖτε συλλαμβάνειν,
ἐπικηρύττοντες τάλαντον ἀργυρίου δώσειν τῷ ἀπαγόντι ἢ
ἀποκτείναντι. So Philochorus ap. Schol. on Aristoph. Birds 766.
περιφανῶς
—antithesis to ἀδήλως. He means because the panic was
allayed. The rewards to informers were then distributed at the
Panathenaea.
ἐναγόντων
—esp.
Androcles and Thessalus, son of Cimon.
μετὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ λόγου . . δήμῳ
—the edd. who retain the text
explain καὶ τῆς ξυν. (1) as
hendiadys with τοῦ αὐτοῦ λόγου,
(2) ‘with the same plan as the conspiracy,’ which supposes an
unparalleled attraction of case in τῆς
ξυνωμοσίας, (3) καί
explanatory, ‘that is to say’; and repeat
μετά. It is, however, better to take καὶ τῆς ξυν. ἐπὶ τῷ δήμῳ together=τῶν ξυνωμοτῶν ἑπὶ τῷ δ.: the outrage is
done (1) with the same object, viz. the destruction of the
constitution, (2) in collusion with the conspirators. The omission
of the second μετά is not without
parallel, VII. 60, 4 ἐξ ἀναγκαίου τε καὶ τοιαύτης διανοίας,
and c. 37, 2 ἐκ σκηνιδίων καὶ ἀναγκαίας
παρασκευῆς, where the two nouns are dissimilar. ἐπί ‘against’ w. dat. is poetical.
καὶ γάρ τις
—Andoc. 1, 45 also says that the
Boeotians were astir on the frontier. What was feared was a
concerted attempt to subvert the democracy by force. The proximity
of hostile forces was no doubt due to a wish to know the meaning and
extent of the Athenian preparations, and had nothing to do with the
outrages.
ἔτυχε . . παρελθοῦσα
—‘happened
to come.’
πρός
—‘with,’
of negotiation.
ἥκειν
—often
used of coming by appointment. According to Andoc. this scare
happened before he gave his information.
τινα μίαν
—c.
31, 4.
ἐν Θησείῳ
—Andoc. says ἀνακαλέσαντες τοὺς στρατηγοὺς ἀνειπεῖν
ἐκέλευσαν (1) τοὺς μὲν ἐν
ἄστει
οἰκοῦντας ἰέναι εἰς τὴν ἀγορὰν τὰ ὅπλα λαβόντας, (2) τοὺς δ’ ἐν μακρῷ τείχει εἰς τὸ Θησεῖον.
The Theseum alluded to by Thuc. contained the relics of Theseus; κεῖται ἐν μέσῃ τῇ πόλει παρὰ τὸ νῦν γυμνάσιον
(Plut. Thes. 36), that is, in the Agora near
the Gymnasium of Ptolemy, now Stoa of Attalus. But the Theseum
alluded to by Andoc. (2) is not this building, but another by the
Long Walls. It must therefore be assumed that Andoc. (1) alludes to τὸ Θησεῖον τὸ ἐν πόλει. It is well
known that the Theseum of Thuc. was used as a place for mustering in
arms. Ath. Pol. c. 14 speaks of Pisistratus ἐξοπλισίαν ἐν τῷ Θησείῳ ποιησάμενος.
(The famous building now called the Theseum is now believed not to
be a temple of Theseus.)
οἵ τε ξένοι
—friends
whom he had made during his expedition to the Peloponnese.
ὑπωπτεύθησαν . .
ἐπιτίθεσθαι
—personal
construction: lit. ‘were suspected to be making an attack on.’ This
pres. inf. is usually explained as being used for the fut.; but the
verb is used in its metaphorical sense, not meaning that the
political action was more than begun.
τοὺς ὁμήρους
—300
Argives belonging to the oligarchs had been placed by the Athenians
under Alcibiades himself in various islauds in 416.
διὰ ταῦτα
—because
of their supposed connexion with Alcibiades's friends.
περιειστήκει . . ἐς
—‘gathered round.’ With
the construction ἐς, which is
unusual, cf. τρέπειν τὴν ὀργὴν εἴς
τινα. The same construction is used in I. 78.
οὕτω
—‘with
this intention.’
ὧν πέρι ἄλλων
=ἐπὶ
τοὺς ἄλλους περὶ ὧν.
θεραπεύοντες
—as though εἰρήκεσαν preceded. See II. 53, 2. For
θεραπεύω=ἐπιμέλομαι with
inf. cf. VII. 70
ἐθεράπευον
. . μὴ λείπεσθαι. τό goes with πρὸς
τοὺς ἐν τῇ Σ.·μὴ θορυβεῖν
is final: the length of the sentence accounts for
βουλόμενοι
instead of a new object to θεραπεύοντες: ‘being anxious not to
cause a disturbance among their troops and their enemies in Sicily.’
Before πολεμίους (noun) repeat πρὸς τοὺς ἐν Σικελίᾳ . It
is less well, as in Intr. p. xxiv., to take
τό with
θορυβεῖν. The above trans, is in agreement with Stein.
Μαντινέας
—see
c. 43, 2.
τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ναῦν
—apparently his private
property. It does not seem to be a pecuhar circumstance. Plut. Per. 35 τοῦ
Περικλέους ἀναβεβηκότος ἐπὶ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ τριήρη.
Θουρίοις
—the
name of the people, as often, for the name of the place. The town
was on the site of Sybaris, and was colonised by the Athenians in
443.
οὐ φανεροί
—‘could
not be found.’ They hid until the state ship departed.
ἐπὶ διαβολῇ
—‘with a prejudice against
him,’ ἐπί giving the condition
under which he would return.
ἤδη
—‘from
that time.’
ἐρήμῃ δίκῃ
—‘by default.’ The trial had
been instituted already before the Salaminia
left, by Thessalus.
θάνατον
—his
goods were confiscated, and the Eumolpidae, in which family the
pricsthood of the Mysteries was hereditary, invoked a curse upon
him. His goods were confiscated.
ἔπλεον
—it
was a grave blunder after showing them selves at Syracuse to sail
away to Segesta. Nicias now took np his own plan of action, for
which see c. 47.
ἐπὶ Σελινοῦντος
—they would come first to
Segesta; but Stahl wrongly doubts the reading, for places are not
uncommonly mentioned in Greek in the reverse
order, the ultimate destination being given first: II. 7, 3; 93, 1. The opening lines of the Bacchae (13 f.) proceed on the same
principle.
τὰ διάφορα
—‘the
points of difference.’ Thuc. says nothing further about this matter.
παραπλέοντες δ’ ἐν
ἀριστέρα
—‘coasting along S.
on the left,’ i e. along the north coast.
Usually ἐν ἀριστέρᾳ (δεξίᾳ)ἔχοντες,
or λαβόντες, but Stahl, followed
by Classen, notices that the partie. would mean that they were
sailing with some other destination in view than the north coast
itself.
Ἑλλὰς πόλις
—for
Ἑλληνίς: for this, and not
Ἑλληνική, is Thuc.'s ordinary adj. with πόλις. The form
Ἕλλην as an adj. can probably only be used with persons,Ἕλλην πόλεμος
in II. 36 being open to doubt. The use
of these forms as adj. is poetical and Ionic.
αἱροῦσιν Ὕκκαρα
—‘by this time some
horsemen from Segesta had come . . It was from them, doubtless, that
the A. learned that the people of H. were enemies of Segesta’ (Freeman). Thuc. ‘subjoins πόλισμα
Σικανικόν etc., because, from the circumstance of the town
heing of Sicanian origin, it might be expected that the Hyccarines
should be on friendly terms with Egesta, which was of the same
origin, or nearly such’ (Bloomfield). See c. 2, 3.
αὐτοὶ δέ
—the
army now marches back through the heart of Sicily to Catana. They
thus left room in the ships for the prisoners.
αἱ δὲ νῆες
—the fleet is for a very short
time divided, Nicias going on with part to the harbour of Segesta,
while the other part prepares to sail for Catana. Nieias then
rejoins the rest of the fleet, and with it παρῆν
ἐς τὸ στράτευμα, joins the army at Catana.
περιέπλευσαν
—sc. ἐς Κατάνην.
εὐθύς
—without
waiting for the prisoners to be got on board and for the army to
start; possibly also without waiting for the fall of Hyccara. (The
narrative is obscure here.)
ἀπέδοσαν
—the act. (see crit. note)
certainly cannot= ‘sold,’ but must mean ‘gave back’ or ‘paid’ or
‘delivered.’ Grote says it ‘seems to mean that the prisoners were
handed over to their fellow-countrymen, the natural persons to
negotiate for their release, upon private contract of a definite
sum,’ but this does not suit παρῆν ἐς τὸ
στράτευμα. Bloomfield thinks ‘exposed for sale’is a
possible meaning of the active. The difficulty really comes from the
obscurity of the passage that precedes. If Nicias left Hyccara
before it fell, and rejoined the main fleet on the way back to
Catana,
ἀπέδοσαν may mean ‘they delivered the prisoners to
Nicias.’ ἐγένοντο ἐξ αὐτῶν is
enough to show that they were then sold.
ἐγένοντο
—the plur. verb with neut.
subject, not persons, appears in all MSS. only in v. 75
Καρνεῖα
ἑτυγχανον όντα,v. 26
ἁμαρτήματα ἐγένοντο, and here. In I. 126
ἐπῆλθον
Ὀλύμπια
CEG read ἐπῆλθεν, and in II.
8
λόγια ἐγένοντο
CG read ἐγένετο.
ἀπέλυσαν for ἀπέδοσαν
Argyriades.
τοὺς τῶν Σικελῶν ξυμμάχους
—the gen. here is elearly
partitive, and this is the only passage in Thuc. in which the
partitive gen. is placed between art. and substantive: in all other
passages that resemble this the last word is either a partic or an
adj.; cf. cc. 87, 2; 102, 1. In Herod. the same order is
found, almost always with adj. or partic.; the order is not found in
Attic. (This passage is defended by H. Kleist, N.
Jahrb. 143 p. 110, O. Diener de sermone Thuc.
p. 77, and by Darpe de verb. ap. Thuc. collocat.
p. 25.)
περιέπλευσαν
—if this is the right word,
the meaning is that the fleet again sailed along the
north coast, as Freeman and Holm explain. (It is strange that
apparently the whole fleet should go on such a mission. But see
Intr. p. xxiii.)
Ὕβλαν
—see
c. 2, 5. They attempt to take the city by storm.
ἄγειν . . ὅτι πλεῖστον
—‘draw
them as far as possible.’
ἐν τοσούτῳ
—‘in the interval gained’:
here of a considerable time; in Aristoph. Eq.
420 of a short time. Demosth. 4, 37 ἐν ὅσῳ
ταῦτα μέλλεται.
ἐν ἐπιτηδείῳ
—‘in
some suitable spot.’
καθ) ἡσυχίαν
—‘undisturbed,’
as often.
οὐκ ἂν ὁμοίως
—Thuc. often nses οὐχ ὁμοίως as a
meiosis for an absolute negative.
καθίσαι
—see erit. note; sc. τὸ στράτευμα, as with ἐκβιβάζοιεν.
τοὺς γὰρ . . ὄχλον
—object of βλάπτειν, τῶν Σ. τοὺς ἱππέας
being subject. ὄχλον
=camp-followers, turbam castrensem. The
ground between Catana and Syraeuse is mostly flat, so that cavalry
would have a great opportunity.
οὕτω δέ
—i.e. by
the method proposed.
ὅθεν
—Stahl regards this as an instance
of the rare attraction of the adverb,=ἐκεῖθεν
ὅπου. Rather ὅθεν=ὅθεν
ὸρμώμενοι.
βλάψονται
(pass.).
ἄξια
—‘will not suffer any considerable
injury.’ The neut. plur. is very common with
βλάπτω.
πρὸς τῷ Ὀλυμπιείῳ
—the
temple of Zeus and its precincts south of the city. Two pillars
still stand. See plan.
ὅπερ καὶ κατέλαβον
—there
could not be attraction of the rel. here, as the remark is
parenthetic.
Συρακοσίων φυγάδες
—political
exiles. For the party in Catana favourable to Syracuse see cc. 50,
3; 51, 2.
οὖν
—resuming after the parenthesis, as
in e.g.
VII. 6, 1.
So igitur,
sed, autem.
πρὸς ἃ ἐ
—‘in
order to realise their wish.’
πέμπουσιν
—asyndeton after the
demonstrative τοιόνδε.VII. 73, 3 is a very similar instance.
τῇ δοκήσει
—‘as
they thought.’
καὶ ἠπίσταντο
—the
relative not repeated. Cf. c. 4, 3 n.
ἀπὸ τῶν ὅπλων
—‘“apart from their place of
arms, or encampment” . . as at I. 111.
This name was given because it was, as Dr. Arnold observes, the
place where the spears and shields were kept piled’ (Bloomfield). ὅπλα is used for one or more camping
stations as distinct from the fortifications—τὰ
τείχη—whether the stations are inside or outside a town.
The word might be applied to such buildings at Athens as the Theseum
and the Anaceum (see c. 61, 2 n.).
ἐπὶ τὸ στράτευμα
—esp. that part of the army
which was not sleeping in the city. This must have been represented
as considerable, else it would have been absurd to suggest that they
should come
πανδημεί. Still the prospect put before Syr. is that
of capturing the whole army. The σταύρωμα round the ὅπλα must be on the side of Catana away
from the sea, and the ships are represented
by the messenger to be drawn up on shore, as would be natural in
winter.
αὐτοί
—for
the case see nn. on cc. 4, 2; 48, 2.
τὸ στράτευμα . . αἱρήσειν
—‘would capture the (whole)
army,’ including those in the city (τοὺς
παρὰ σφίσι)—for the gates would be shut and the ships
would be burnt—‘after attacking the palisade’ that surrounded the
camp.
ἡτοιμάσθαι κτλ
=ἑτοίμους
εἶναι τοὺς ἄνδρας παρ’ ὧν αὐτὸς
ἥκει (Schol.).
στρατόπεδον
—often
used for an army stationed in a permanent camp.
ἀπροσδόκητοι
—active:
‘were not at this moment expecting an immediate engagement.’
ἀπεληλύθεσαν
—sc. ἐς τὴν πόλιν.
οἱ δέ
—‘others,’
who were returning from Cataua (c. 65, 3), or coming from Syracuse.
There was no time to form up regularly.
ἐς ὅσον . . ἀντέχοι
—iterative opt., referring to
several battles (οὔτ’ ἐν
ταὐτῃ οὕτ’ ἐν ταῖς ἅλλαις).
τῷ δὲ ἐλλείποντι αὐτῆς
—‘owing
to its short-comings they unwillingly abandoned their inteutions as
well.’
ὅμως δέ
—answering ἀπροσδόκητοι μἐν. οὐκ ἂν οἰόμενοι
. . ἀμύνασθαι is concessive, the
ἄν belonging both to ἐπελθεῖν
and ἀμύνασθαι: ‘though they did
not think that the A. would make an attack on them and that they
would suddenly be forced to defend
themselves.’ (According to this version οἰόμενοι
ἂν ἀμύνασθαι ἀναγκαζόμενοι is the construction. The edd.
make ἀναγκαζόμενοι govern ἀμύνασθαι, and Stahl, seeing that by
that construction ἀναγκαζόμενοι ἀμύνασθαι
ought to be causal, not concessive, is
reduced to bracketing οὐκ ἂν οἰόμενοι . .
καί as spurious.)
ἀναγκαζόμενοι
—‘by
compulsion.’ They had thought to choose their own time
οἱ λιθοβόλοι
—Wasse and Bloomfield quote
several passages to show that these men threw
stones and are therefore distinct from slingers.
οἷα
—sc. ποιεῖν.
Cf. II. 54
οἷα
εἰκὸς
ἀνεμνήσθησαν, and ὡς εἰκός
.
ἐποίουν τροπάς
—‘put one another to
flight.’ ποιεῖν τροπήν is to
‘cause a flight’ where the enemy returns to fight; ποιεῖσθαι τ. is ‘to defeat’ outright.
μάντεις
—some
are known to have gone with the A. to Sicily.
ὀτρύνω
and its cmpds. are Ionic.
τῆς ἰδίας
—governed by περί, and applying to σωτηρίας and
ἐλευθερίας. See II. 44,
quoted on c. 55, 3.
τὸ μὲν αὐτίκα, τὸ δὲ μέλλον
—‘present . . future.’ With τὸ μέλλον cf. τὸ
ἀρχαῖον, τὸ παλαιόν, τὸ λοιπόν.
περί τε τῆς ἀλλοτρίας
—sc. μαχούμενοι, on which also depends σχεῖν, the addition being due to the
contrast with τὴν οἰκείαν μὴ
βλάψαι. Cf. I. 50
πρὸς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐτράποντο φονεύειν μᾶλλον ἢ
ζωγρεῖν.
οἱ αὐτόνομοι
—see
c. 68, 2. The force of the distinction between the independent and
dependent allies is this: for the former love of country was a
principal object; for the latter the chief object was safety at the
moment, and it might be that by a victory their country would become
more worth living in.
ἀνελπίστου
=ἣ
ἀνέλπιστος ἦν.
ἔπειτα δέ κτλ
—‘and a secondary motive was
the possibility that by helping to subdue others they might find
their subjeetion to Athens (αὐτοῖς)
less oppressive.’
ἄλλο τι
is object to ξυγκαταστρεψάμενον, to which supply τὸ ὑπήκοον. The return to the neut.
sing. is influenced by τι
ἄλλο, which stands for τινας
ἄλλους.
ἐς τὴν Νάξον καὶ Κατάνην
—the
order is the same as in c. 61, 2, the more remote place being
mentioned first. For the stay of the fleet at Naxos see c. 74, 1.
Thuc. here gives in summary the action of the A. during the rest of
the winter before passing to the action of the Syr. during the same
time.
ἐποίουν
—‘called,’
of the authorities.
ἀνὴρ κτλ
—as this is the third
interposition of Hermocrates (IV. 58
and VI. 32), it is rather strange to
find him lishered in with this eulogy; but Thuc. means to mark the increase of his reputation κατὰ τὸν πόλεμον.
ξύνεσιν
—the
dat. is commoner.
ἐμπειρίᾳ
—i.e.
the experience he had gained in previous
wars was of service to him in this
war.
κατὰ τὸν πόλεμον
is not general, but refers to this particular war.
οὐκ εἴα
—‘urged
them not to take the result seriously.’
γνώμην
—‘spirit,’
virtus.
εἶναι
—attraction of rel. sentenee in O.O.; cf. c. 24, 3. See crit. note.
χειροτέχναις
—sc. μάχης, the contrast being between
skilled and unskilled workmen—veterans chosen καταλόγοις χρηστοῖς and new levies.
μέγα δὲ βλάψαι καὶ τῶν ς. τὴν π
—‘they
were greatly hampered too by the number of generals in command . . .
and the disorganised confusion of the rank and file.’
παρασκευάσωσι κτλ
—‘improve the hoplites,
by providing arms for those who had none (i.e.
because they were too poor to huy them) . . and by enforcing a
thorough system of training.’
ἄλλῃ
means the other details besides the use of arms.
εὐταξίας δέ
—‘and
since they would acquire discipline in action’
προσγενομένης
is equivalent to a fut. perf.
ἀμφότερα
—i.e.
τὴν ἀνδρίαν (=
εὐψυχίαν)καὶ
τὴν εὐταξίαν.
αὐτά
—‘naturally,’ ‘automatically,’ since
‘by association with danger their discipline would be called into
practice, and their courage would be bolder than ever by association
with the confidence that knowledge gives.’ Cf. II.
40
τὸ
πιστὸν τῆς έλευθερίας. In
ἔσεσθαι
there is an anacoluthon, ἐσομένην being strictly required to
match μελετωμένην. Cf. c. 35, 1.
ὀμόσαι αὐτοῖς
—the
whole people were to take this oath. It was not to be confined to
the troops
ἀπροφασίστως
—‘with
resolution,’ without having to offer reasons for their conduct.
τὸν Τεμενἰτην
—(1) the wall was built so
as to en close the T., or precinct of Apollo's temple, which was
part of the Neapolis; (2) it was πρὸς τῇ
πόλει, adjoining the city wall; (3) it was παρὰ πᾶν τὸ πρὸς τὰς Ἐπιπολὰς
ὁρῶν, ‘running all along the ground that looks towards
Epipolae.’ This is not clear; but it implies (a)
a wall of considerable length, (b) a wall
that did not project far to the west. 3
ἐντὸς ποιησάμενοι
—‘taking
into it.’
δῑ ἐλάσσονος
—‘that the shorter distance
(at which the A. would otherwise be able to build) might not render
it easy to invest them in case of a defeat’; i.e.
the object of the new outwork was to increase the length of wall
that the A. would have to build if they attempted to invest Syr.
With δῑ ἐλάσσονος ‘at a less
distance’ cf. διὰ πολλοῦ, δῑ
ὀλίγου, διὰ τοσούτου. It was esp. from the cliff to
the harbour that the distance was increased; and from c. 103, 1 it
appears that the A. had to cover a distance of some eight stadia in
this direction.
τὰ Μέγαρα φρούριον
—‘as an ontpost,’ sc. ἐτείχιζον. Cf. II.
32
ἐτειχίσθη
Ἀταλάντη φρούριον. Megara was before deserted; see c.
49, 4 and c. 4, 1 n. It now becomes a northern outpost of Syr.:
Poppo explains that the object was to prevent the A. from making
Megara a naval station.
ἐν τῷ Ὀ
.—see
c. 70, 4. The palisades were not constructed at Leon and Thapsus (c.
97, 1), and so must have been chiefly for the great harbour (Poppo).
αὐτῶν—τῶν Καταναίων. The camp was of
course empty, and the Athenians apparently did not think it worth while
to hinder the Syr., though why they allowed the land of Catana to be
ravaged is not clear.
τὴν ἐπὶ Λάχητος
—sec c. 1, 1 n., and cf. c.
6, 1. From c. 52, 1 it appears that Camarina held that this treaty had been superseded by the treaty of Gela in 424
B.C., and in c. 67, 2 we hear of Camarina sending some slight help
to Syr. But now Camarina acts with caution. The treaty of 424 was
only σπονδαί (IV. 65), a cessation of hostilities,
whereas the treaty of 427 between Cam. and Athens was ξυμμαχία. In 422 Cam. had sided with
Athens. In c. 78, 4 Hermocrates exaggerates the importance of the σπονδαί of 424 in the words μὴ μαλακῶς ὥσπερ νῦν ξυμμαχεῖν: and in
c. 79, 1 he mmimises the importance of the
ξυμμαχία of 427 by treating it as an ἐπιμαχία, or defensive alliance—which
it was not. The resnlt of the debate that follows is that Cam.
remains nentral. She joined Syr. in 413 (VII.
33).
πέμψαι ἂ ἔπεμψαν
—expressive of blame or
contempt; cf. Herod. II. 49
ποιεῦσι τὰ ποιεῦσι.
μὴ οὐκέτι β.—ὕποπτοι has the
construction of a verb of fearing, as also
have ὑποτοπῆσαι, ὑποπτεύειν, ὑπόνοια
.
προσχωρῶσι
—sc.
μή.κατά
= ‘owing to.’
προδιαβάλλειν
—‘prejudice
them against the A.’
τὴν π. δύναμιν
—obj. of δείσαντες, while αὐτήν is obj. of καταπλαγῆτε.
καταπλαγῆτε
—i.e.
that fear may induce Camarina to join the A.
τοὺς . . λόγους
—depends on δείσαντες. μέλλοντας is contrasted with παροῦσαν, λόγους with δύναμιν. ‘We sent out our cmbassy, not
from a fear that . . but from a fear that the words that they
intended to address to you before you could hear what we have to
say, might persuade you.’ Notice that πρίν
τι . . ἀκοῦσαι precedes μή,
and consequently belongs to τοὺς μέλλοντας,
not to πείσωσιν.
ᾗ πυνθάνεσθε
—sc. ἥκειν: but ἥν
is direct obj. of ὑπονοοῦμεν. (So
Classen; Kruger and others explain ᾗ
as attracted for ἥν, and ἥν as left unattracted for the sake of
variety, but this is scaicely probable.)
κατοικίσαι . . ἐξοικἰσαι
—paronomasia, adnominatio; cf. c. 76, 4 ἀξυνετωτέρου, κακοξυνετωτέρου: 79, 2 ἀλόγως . . εὐλόγῳ. It is very common in
Thuc. See c. 72, 4.
τὰς μὲν ἐκει = πόλεις
—Aegina,
Scione, and Melos are especially referred to.
Χαλκιδέων
—see c. 3, 3. The Chalcidians
of Euboea are said to be ‘enslaved’ because their independence is
gone. δουλεία often denotes the
opposite of αὐτονομία .
δουλωσαμένους ἔχειν
—cf. c. 39, 2 n.
There is again an enthymeme here. See on c. 10, 5.
ἰδέᾳ
—‘method.’
ἐκεῖνα
—i.e.
τὰ ἐκεῖ, their possessions in Greece.
ἔσχον
,
‘obtamed.’ With
πειρῶνται
supply
σχεῖν, the infin. or partic. being often omitted with
verbs that require the completion: e.g.
v. 80
οὐ μέντοι
εὐθύς γε ἀπέστη ἀλλὰ διενοεῖτο (sc. ἀποστῆναι)ὅτι
καὶ τοὺς Ἀργείους ἑώρα (sc.
ἀποστάντας).
ἡγεμόνες γάρ
—the likelihood that the
view expressed is correct is shown by an example from previous
events. This is the argument known as τὸ
εἰκός supported by παραδείγματα.
There is another instance in c. 79, 1.
ἑκόντων τῶν τε Ἰώνων
—cf. I.
95
ἐν
τῇδε τῇ ἡγεμονίᾳ ἤδη βιαίου ὄντος (sc. Pausanias) . . οὐχ ἤκιστα οἱ Ἴωνες . . φοιτῶντες πρὸς τοὺς
Ἀθηναίους ἠξίουν αὐτοὺς ἡγεμόνας σφῶν γενέσθαι. Herod. VIII. 3
ἀπείλοντο
τὴν ἡγεμονἰαν τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους.Ath.
Pol. c. 23 ἐπὶ τὴν ἀπόστασιν τὴν τῶν
Ἰώνων ἀπὸ τῆς τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων συμμαχίας Ἀριστείδης ἦν ὁ προτρέψας.
This was in 478-477 B.C.
ἀπὸ σφῶν—τῶν Ἀθηναίων,i.e.
ὅσοι ἄποικοι
αὐτῶν ἦσαν (Schol.). Poppo quotes I.
12
Ἴωνας Ἀθηναῖοι καὶ νησιωτῶν
τοὺς
πολλοὺς ᾤκισαν (Ionia and the Cyclades).
ὡς ἐπὶ τοῦ Μ. τιμωρίᾳ
—this
was the primary object of the new confederacy.
τοὺς μέν
—depends on κατεστρέψαντο.
λιποστρατίαν
is obj. to ἐπενεγκόντες. Plut. Cim. c. 11 of the allies, ἄνδρας καὶ ναῦς ὡς ἐτάχθησαν οὐ παρεῖχον
.
ἐπ) ἀλλήλους στρατεύειν
—sc. ἐπενεγκόντες: others were charged with
making war on one another. This occurred in the case of Samos and
Miletus (I. 115).
τοῖς δέ
—governed by ἐπενεγκόντες, in accordance with custom
where a common object of a partic. and verb is near the partic. Cf.
c. 77, 2.
εἶχον
—sc.
ἐπενεγκεῖν. Cf. I. 99
αἰτίαι ἄλλαι
τε ἦσαν τῶν ἀποστάσεων καὶ μέγισται αἱ τῶν φόρων καὶ νεῶν
ἔκδειαι .
κατεστρέψαντο
—cf. Ath.
Pol. c. 24 λαβόντες
τὴν ἀρχὴν τοῖς συμμάχοις δεσποτικωτέρως ἐχρῶντο.
1. 21.
καὶ οὐ περὶ κτλ
— ‘so, it seems (ἄρα ironical), Athens was not
contending for the freedom of Greece nor Greece for her own when
they resisted the Persians: Athens resisted them in order to
substitute dependence on herself for dependence on them; Greece
resisted to secure a change to a new master, who had not less sense,
but made a worse use of his cleverness’;
i.e., as Freeman says, ‘the other Gks. had simply exchanged
the Mede for a master of greater understand ing, but
of understanding used only for mischief,’ as they found afterwaids.
οἱ δ’ ἐπί
—strictly this should be οἱ δὲ δ. μεταβολῆς, still depending on περὶ δέ.
δεσπότου μ
.—cf.
c. 18, 7 n. The artificiality of this passage is censured by Dion.
Hal.
ἔχοντες παραδείγματα
—the ‘examples’ are
of two kinds: there aie (1) the experience of the subjects of
Athens; (2) the repetition of the deception. Both of these
demonstrate the folly of not combining. Hence τῶν τε ἐκεῖ Ἑ. is answered by καὶ . . σοφίσματα, in apposition to παραδείγματα. Then κατοικίσεις and
ἐπικουρίας are the explanation of
σοφίσματα— ‘tricks such as the restoration of L.,’ etc.
ξυστραφέντες
—‘combining’; cf. Demosth.
9, 60 συστραφἐντες ἄνθρωποι
πολλοί.
οὐκ Ἴωνες τάδε
—‘here are no Iouians.’ τάδε ‘usitatum ubi dicere volunt: haec quae hic vides circum te
jacentia’ (Goller). είσίν
is constructed to suit the complement.
Ἴωνες . . Ἑλλησπόντιοι . .
νησιῶται
—three of the districts
into which the citics of the Athenian Empire were grouped. Cf. I. 89
οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι
καὶ οἱ ἀπὸ Ἰωνίας καὶ Ἑλλης πόντου
ξύμμαχοι. For the νησιῶται
see c. 76, 3.
αἰεὶ μεταβάλλοντες
—‘with occasional
changes.’ The middle is usual. So Thuc. has
μεταχειρίζειν for μεταχειρίζεσθαι,
πειρᾶν =πειρᾶσθαι, προιέναι
=προίεσθαι.
δουλοῦνται
—‘are
dependent upon.’
Δωριῆς
—they
affected to despise the Ionians.
Σικελίαν
—Freeman points out that Sicily
is here dealt with as
ἤπειρος (cf. on c. 1, 2), and is contrasted with νησιῶται.
ἢ μένομεν
—‘what, are we waiting?’ So in
colloquial Latin quid ago? is more lively
than quid agam?
εἶδος
—the
‘method’ that is explained in what follows.
ἡμῶν
—depends on τοὺς
μέν.
ξυμμάχων ἐλπίδι
—‘hy the hope of
obtaining allies’—i.e. alliance with the
Athenians is the temptation offered.
ἐκπολεμοῦν πρὸς ἀλλήλους
—cf. c. 91, 6 τὰ ἐνθάδε χρὴ . . ἐκπολεμοῦν ‘stir up
to war.’
τοῖς δὲ κτλ
—this depends on λέγοντες, being attracted to the dat.
by ἑκάστοις. Hence the sentence = τοῖς δὲ ὡς ἑκάστοις . .
λέγοντες δύνανται (κακουργεῖν
),κακουργεῖν (αὐτούς), ‘and to injure others in any
way they can while using smooth words suited to the case.’
Hermocrates detects three designs on the part of the
A.: (1) to sow dissension by reviving the differences that had been
suppressed in the treaty of Gela 424 B.C.; (2) to invite the cities
to join Athens against the Dorian states; (3) most insidious of all,
to speak fair and play foul. Two examples of the last had occurred
already: (a) the entrance into Catana, e. 51;
(b) the false message from Catana to
Syracnse, c. 64. For
προσηνές
see Index s. v.
καὶοἰόμεθα κτλ
—‘and while our countryman
at a distance is perishing do we imagine that the danger will not
extend to every one of us?’ The distant countryman is Syracuse; the
subject of
οἰόμεθα still the Siceliots at large (§ 1 ἡμᾶς αὐτούς).
προαπολλυμένου is temporal,
coincident in time with οἰόμεθα.
οὐ καὶ ἐς αὐτόν τινα
—this is the inclusive use of τις often found close to a plur., as in VII. 39
ὅσα τις
ἔχει, πάντας ἀναγκάσαι πωλεῖν. For ἥκειν
ἐς ‘penetrate to’ cf. II. 48
καὶ ἐς τὴν
ἄνω πόλιν ἀφίκετο (ἡ νόσος),
and for the opinion, I. 120
κἂν μέχρι σφῶν τὸ δεινὸν προελθεῖν.
πρὸ δὲ αὐτοῦ κτλ
—this stands for μᾶλλον δὲ τὸν πρὸ αὐτοῦ πάσχοντα
καθ) αὑτὸν δ., ‘but rather that he who suffers before
one confines the trouble to himself,’ i.e.
isolates it, prevents it from spreading. For the order, which is due
to the emphasis laid on πρὸ αὐτοῦ,
cf. II. 7
ἐξ
Ἰταλίας τοῖς ἑλομἐνοις for τοῖς ἐξ
Ἰ. ἑ.
καὶ εἴ τῳ ἄρα
—‘now
if by chance it has occurred to any one.’ The sing. is used
throughout this section where the plur. would be commoner.
ἑαυτὸν δέ
—for the accus. in a contrast
where the subject is the same as that of the main verb, cf. Andoc. i. 64
εἶπον αὐτοῖς
. . οὐκ ἐμὲ δεινὸν εἶναι, ἀλλὰ
μᾶλλον αὐτὸ τὸ ἔργον:ib. 113 ὑπ) αὐτοῖν με φημὶ σεσῶσθαι.
ὑπέρ γε . . περὶ τῆς ἐμῆς
—this variation of ὑπέρ and περί
is very common.
ἐν ἴσῳ
—‘equally’; so ἐν ὀμοίῳ.
τῆς ἑαυτοῦ
—sc.
περί.
ἐρῆμος
—the opposite of ξύμμαχον ἔχων.
τόν τε Ἀθηναῖον κτλ
—‘let him reflect too that the A.
do not wish to punish Syr. for her hostility so much as to use nic
as a pretext in order to confirm her friendship with him.’ Poppo
(see crit. note) objected to this rendering on the ground that there
is nothing in the design τὴν ἐκείνου φιλίαν
βεβαιώσασθαι to cause Camarina (τὸν
δεινὸν ἡγούμενον ὑπὲρ
τῶν Συρακουσῶν κινδυνεύειν) to suspect Athens. But (1) three courses that are open to Camarina are
dealt with here: (a) alliance with Syracuse (καὶ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ . . ἀγωνιεῖται); (b) friendship,
i.e. alliance with Athens (τόν τε Ἀ. . . βούλεσθαι); (c) neutrality (all of § 2). What (b) entails, in the speaker's opinion, has
been clearly explained in c. 76, 3. (2) Euphemus in reply repeatedly
refers to this φιλία and what it
entails in the opinion of Athens; c. 83, 4 τὰ
ἐνθάδε ἥκομεν μετὰ τῶν φίλων ἀσφαλῶς καταστησόμενοι, c.
84, 3 (ξύμφοροι)τὰ ἐνθάδε . . οἱ φίλοι . . αὐτονομούμενοι,
and c. 85, 1 throughout. (I do not see that there is irony here in φιλίαν,
as some edd. say.)
τῇ δ’ ἐμῇ προφάσει—τῇ προφάσει τῆς ἐμῆς
ἔχθρας.
οὐχ ἧσσον
=
μᾶλλον.
ἀμφότερα
—sc. φθόνον
καὶ φόβον which are meant by αὐτά
below.
τὰ μείζω
—‘greatness.’ The argument is
well put by Freeman: ‘It was vain to say that it was the interest of
any other cities that Syr. should be, not destioyed, but so far
weakened as no longer to be dangerous to her neighbours. That was
not the way in which human affails could be managed; none of them
conld undertake that Syr. should lose just as much strength as
suited him, and no more.’
σωφρονισθῶμεν—ταπεινωθῶμεν
(Schol.).
οὐκ ἀνθρωπίνης κτλ
—‘his desire is a wish that it is
beyond the power of man to realise.’
βούλησιν is internal accus.
οὐ γὰρ οἷόν τε κτλ
—‘it is not possible for one and
the same man to be at once arbiter of his wishes and of fortune
alike’ —i.e., as Bloomfield explains, a man
cannot regulate his own wishes and at the same time the event of the actions resulting from those
wishes. ‘You may,’ says H., ‘prefer to remain neutral in the hope
that we may suffer a moderate blow: but how are you to regulate the
sevcrity of the blow? Your design will perhaps be frustrated by τύχη, which crosses the purpose of
man.’ With ταμίαν γενέσθαι cf. ταμιεύεσθαι, c. 18, 3.
εἰ γνώμῃ ἁμάρτοι—γνώμη, as often, is
contrasted with τύχη. What if Syr.
should be destroyed as the result of your neutrality? γνώμης ἁμαρτάνειν is also found, as in I. 33. So γνώμης
and γνώμῃ σφαλῆναι.
ὀλοφυρθείς
—the rendering of this as
middle, ‘having come to sorrow through his own troubles’ (Schol.),
is open to the objection that the middle form is used elsewhere by
Thuc., as by other authors. Henee Classen and Stahl, following
Elmsley, render ‘brought into a lamentable condition through his
troubles.’ II. 46 has ἁπολοφυράμενοι,VII.
30
ὀλοφυράσθαι. But the form
ὠλοφύρθην occurs nowhere else, so that it is impossible to
settle the qnestion, and the evidence of the Schol. ἐπὶ ταῖς ἰδίαις συμφοραῖς ὀλοφυρόμενος
is all that we have.
τάχ) ἂν ἴσως
—cf. c. 10, 4; 34, 2. The
tendency to redundancy in the use of adverbs is noticeable both in
Gk. and Lat.—e.g. unde domo ,πόθεν οἰκόθεν, αὐτοῦ ἐκεῖ. In Lat.
comedy it is very common.
καὶ τοῖς ἐμοῖς ἀγαθοῖς
—i.e.
he may wish that Syr. still had power to defend him in his trouble,
may have reason to regret that she has no longer prosperity for him
to envy. ‘In τάχ)
ἂν ἴσως . . φθονῆς αι we have a refined turn
occasionally resorted to by thetoricians, of which the purpose is to
set forth the value of anything present by
adverting to its absence or loss’
(Bloomfield).
ἀδύνατον δὲ κτλ
—sc. τοῖς ἐμοῖς ἀγαθοῖς αὖθις φθονῆσαι. The
speaker employs the argnment from τὸ
δύνατον: cf. Intr. p. xlviii. and Index under fines. ‘That is impossible if he abandons us
and refuses to take his share of the common dangers, in which are
involved not allegations but realities.’
οὐ περὶ τῶν ὀνομάτων . . ἔργων
—this depends on κινδύνους, and κίνδυνος
περὶ τῶν ὀνομάτων = a danger in which are concerned the phrases (that will be used); as we say ‘to
fight for a name.’ The ὀνόματα
which they would not be fighting for, but
which would naturally be used, are instanced in ἡ τῶν
Συρακουσῶν δύναμις: the ἔργα
for which they would be fighting are
instanced in ἡ αὑτῶν σωτηρία.
Hence the whole = τοὺς αὐτοὺς κινδύνους οὐ
περὶ τῆς ἡμετέρας δυνάμεως ἀλλὰ περὶ τῆς ἑαυτῶν σωτηρίας.
Cf. II. 42
μὴ
περὶ ἴσου ἡμῖν εἶναι τὸν ἀγῶνα. ὑπέρ and ἕνεκα are also used with such words.
The use of the plur. ὀνομάτων . . ἔργων
is rhetorical, and is a very common device of language, being found
even with proper names.
λόγῳ μὲν γὰρ κτλ
—this explains οὐ περὶ . . ἔργων.
τὰ δεύτερα κινδυνεύς οντας
=τὸν
δεύτερον κίνδυνον κ.: cf. c. 57, 3.
αὐτά
—‘the
facts’; cf. c. 40, 2.
ξυμμαχεῖν
—see
note on c. 75, 3.
αὐτούς
—‘of
your own accord.’ In
ἅπερ κτλ
the order is φαίνεσθαι παρακελευομένους
ταῦτα ἅπερ δεόμενοι ἂν ἐπικαλεῖσθε, ‘you ought to be
openly encouraging us, so that we may not give way, exactly as you
would have appealed to us and called for our help.’ ταῦτα is obj. of παρακελευομένους, ἅπερ of δεόμενοι.
ἐπεκαλεῖσθε
—‘to
call to one's aid,’ as often.
ἐκ τοῦ ὁμοἰου
=
ὁμοἰως, adverbial phrases with ἐκ
being very common in Thue.—as ἐκ τοῦ
προφανοῦς, τοῦ φανεροῦ, τοῦ εὐθέος, τοῦ
εἰκότος, τοῦ εὐπρεποῦς, τοῦ δικαίου, etc.
ὅπως μηδὲν ἐνδώσομεν
—this explains ἅπερ and ταῦτα,
and the construction is on the analogy of that which
follows verbs of precaution,ὁρῶ,
ἐπιμελοῦμαι, etc. The note in Jowett says that ‘there
is a slight flaw in the double reference of the words, which apply
better to the actual than to the supposed case.’ But in the supposed
case—that Athens had attacked Camarina instead of Syracuse—it would
still have been in point for Camarina, while calling in the aid of
Syr., to urge her not to give way before Athens, viz. for the sake
of the other Siceliot cities. To refrain from supporting Camarina
would have been a surrender to Athens. There is, in fact, only a
different nuance in the meaning of ἐνδώσομεν as applied to the two cases.
Precisely the same happens in VII. 61,
where the one word πατρίδος is
applied to the Athenians and Syracusans with a different
implication.
δειλίᾳ δὲ κτλ
—‘perhaps from cowardice you
will regard your duty in relation to us and to the invaders by
saying.’ Stahl and Fr. Muller think τὸ
δίκαιον is ironical, since the plea of ξυμμαχία with Athens would not be
justice to Syr. But Meyer points out that it would be just to both
sides for Camarina to nrge ‘we have a
ξυμμαχία with Athens, and only
σπονδαί with Syr.’ See n. on c. 75, 3. The speaker
contemplates Camarina supporting Athens on this ground of duty.
ἥν γε
—restrictive:
‘you only entered into it.’
ἐπὶ τοῖς φίλοις
=κατὰ
τῶν φ.: cf. c. 61, 1.
τῶν δὲ ἐχθρῶν ἤν τις
—‘but in case an enemy,’ the
order being due to the antithesis.
τοῖς γε Ἀ.—γε restrictive; βοηθεῖν of purpose: ‘to help the A.
only when.’ The order is again modified to bring τοῖς Ἀ. into contrast with τοῖς φίλοις: otherwise ὅταν γε ὑπ) ἄλλων ἀδικῶνται βοηθεῖν τοῖς Ἀ
.
ὅταν ὑφ) ἄλλων
—sc.
ἀδικῶνται from the ἀδικῶσιν
following. Bauer compares II. 11
τὴν τῶν
πέλας δῃοῦν μᾶλλον ἢ τὴν ἑαυτῶν ὁρᾶν, sc. δῃουμένην.
Ῥηγῖνοι
—see
c. 44, 3.
καὶ δεινὸν εἰ ἐκεῖνοι μὲν . . ὑμεῖς δέ
—the two inconsistent thoughts are
frequently so placed after δεινόν, αἱσχρόν,
δεινὸν ἂν εἴη, δεινὸν ἄν μοι
δοκεῖ εἶναι, etc. The tense and mood are not
necessarily the same in the two clauses as they are here —σωφρονοῦσιν . . βούλεσθε—and when a
neg. is required either οὐ or μή can be used in the εἰ clauses. (Cf. Shilleto on I. 121; Gentsch in Com.
Phil. Jcn. iv. p. 299.) The former clause must be made
subordinate with ‘whereas.’
τὸ ἔργον τοῦ καλοῦ δ.
ὑποπτεύοντες
—‘suspecting the real meaning of the specious claim’ to their help on
the ground of kinship. καλοῦ is
ironical. δικαίωμα is a claim just
in the eyes of those who put it forward,
δικαίωσις the act of putting it
forward. Cf. ἐπιτήδευμα, ἐπιτήδευσις
:ἀξίωμα, ἀξίωσις.
ἀλόγως
—‘without
reasonable cause,’ ‘show an unreasonable prudence,’ because abstract
reason would require that as kinsmen they should help the Athemans.
εὐλόγῳ προφάσει
—‘urging a logical
pretext,’ viz. that you have a
ξυμμαχία with Athens. εὐλόγῳ,
like ἀλόγως, is ironical, the
contrast throughout being between logic and prudence.
φύσει πολεμίους
—they are only λόγῳ or ξυμμαχίᾳ
φίλοι.
ἔτι μᾶλλον
—becanse
besides being Dorians they were also close neighbours.
ἀλλ) οὐ δίκαιον
—sc. διαφθεῖραι
κτλ. Notice the commonplace argument from τὸ δίκαιον .
ἀμύνειν δέ
—sc. δίκαιον
τοῖς φύσει ξυγγενέσι.
ὅπερ οὗτοὶ ς
—cf.
c. 10, 4.
τάναντία
is adverbial.
πρὸς ἡμᾶς μόνους
—alluding
to the previous battle, c. 65 ff.
ἁθρόους
—sc.
ἡμᾶς, both Syr. and Camarina, which are also meant in ἰέναι ἐς τὴν
ξυμμαχίαν.
ἰέναι δὲ ἐς τὴν ξ
—this describes entering into a ncw relation (cf. v. 30,
5); it shows that the σπονδαί are
to be changed into a ξυμμαχία.
προθυμότερον
—this applies strictly only
to Camarina (cf. c. 67, 2); but it is quite necdless to assume a
change of subject between ἀθυμεῖν
and
ἰἐναι as some edd. do, explaining
ἀθυμεῖν sc. ἠμᾶς, ἰέναι
sc. ὑμᾶς.
οἴ
—the plur. after ἀπὸ Πελοποννήσου: cf. cc. 32, 2; 35, 1;
94, 1.
τὰ πολέμια
=τὰ
πολεμικά, an Ionie use.
ἐκείνην τὴν προμηθίαν κτλ
—sc.
εἰκός: ‘nor should any one think that that caution which
consists in refusing to help either side, on the ground that you are
allies of both sides, is alike fair to us and safe for you.’ (Why
many edd. say that ἐκείνην τὴν προμηθίαν
= ‘that boasted prudence of yours’ is not clear. The speaker deals
with the third plan that Camarina may adopt. In c. 78, 4 he
developed the first coursc which C. ought to
have adopted already—εἰκὸς ἦν ὑμᾶς κτλ.
In c. 79 he deals with the second course—a
resolution to help Athens. In c. 80 he discusses the third course—neutrality.)
δή
—explanatory. (Many explain this,
after Bauer, as ironical.)
οὐ γὰρ ἔργῳ ἴσον
—‘this
course is not in reality fair. as the plea of justice represents
it.’
δἰ ὑμᾶς μὴ ξυμμαχήσαντας
—for this construction
see on c. 3, 3. It is amusing to notice how the inaccurate use of
the word ξυμμαχία in this
speech—see on c. 75, 3 n.—leads to a confusion here between ξυμμάχους, used in the loose sense
above to include σπονδαί, and ξυμμαχήσαντας, used in the strict sense
here. μὴ ξυμμαχήσαντας (μηδετέροις) is here substituted for μηδετέροις βοηθήσαντας.
ὅ τε παθών
= the Syracusans. The aor. has
the force of the fut. perf., = qui victus fuerit
(Baner).
οὐκ ἠμύνατε . . οὐκ ἐκωλύσατε
—the aor. is here
substituted for the fut. for the sake of bringing the inevitable
result vividly before the hearers. M.T. § 61.
The speaker looks forward to the time when the defeat has actually
taken place. Cf. St. James Epistle c. v. ἐθησαυρίσατε ἐν ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις, with
Mayor's note. For the perf. so used see II. 8, 4.
σωθῆναι
—inf.
of purpose, in which the use of the pass. is somewhat rare.
καίτοι
—‘and
surely,’ resuming the main thought that the right course is to aid
Syr.
κάλλιον
—than neutrality, with its
consequences. Observe the argument from τὸ
καλόν.
τὴν κοινὴν ὠφελίαν
—‘the common welfare,’ = τὴν ἐλευθερίαν τῶν
Σικελιωτῶν (Schol.).
φίλους δή
—ironical,
‘your good friends.’
οὐδὲν ἔργον
—‘no
need,’ used also with a genitive.
δεόμεθα δέ
—answering ἐκδιδάσκειν μέν, ‘we entreat you’ to
act on your knowledge, that being more to the purpose than ἐκδιδάσκειν.
καὶ μαρτυρόμεθα ἅμα . . ὅτι
—‘we
solemnly declare, if we fail to persuade you (by our speech), that
while the Ionians our inveterate enemies are plotting against us,
you our fellow Dorians are betraying us.’
εἰ μὴ πείσομεν
—it is difficult to say
whether this is protasis to μαρτυρόμεθα
or to έπιβουλευόμεθα μὲν . . προδιδόμεθα δέ.
(1) We might understand προδιδόμεθα ὑπὸ ὑμῶν
εἰ μὴ πείσομεν, the pres. being used—as esp. often with δίδωμι and
γίγνομαι and compounds—for an action only beginning. (The
clause ἐπιβουλευόμεθα μέν is in
sense subordinate to προδιδόμεθα δέ.)
(2) But it is better to understand μαρτυρόμεθα
εἰ μὴ πείσομεν. For the syntax cf. Lysias 24, 13 εἰ τοῦτο πείσει, τὶ με κωλύει κληροῦσθαι;
(where Frohberger reads κωλύσει,
as Hude πείθομεν
here), and esp. Andoc. 3, 21 εἴ τις ὑμῶν
ἀχθεσθήσεται, παραιτοῦμαι, where the pres. is exactly
parallel to μαρτυρόμεθα.
καὶ εἰ καταστρέψονται
—Classen thinks that
the whole section depends still on
μαρτυρόμεθα. But Stahl is probably right in regarding the
sentence as a transition to the O.R. Thus κρατήσουσι is parallel to μαρτυρόμεθα, and we have to supply εἰ μὴ πεἰσομεν. ‘(If we fail to
persuade you, then,) in case they conquer us, their victory will be
due to your decision’ (
γνώμαις, like sententiis vestris,
the resolution resulting from the votes).
τῷ δ’ αὑτῶν ὀ
—‘the honour will fall to their own
name,’ not to yours. For this use of ὄνομα
cf. VII. 64
τὸ
μέγα ὄνομα τῶν Ἀθηνῶν.
τιμηθήσονται
—rare for τιμήσονται. So ὠφεληθής
ομαι is rarer than ὠφελήσομαι
.
ἆθλον
—‘prize,’ neut., predicate to ἄλλον τινά.
τῆς αἰτίας κτλ
—lit. ‘you will equally pay the
penalty of being the cause of our dangers.’ Edd. do not agree on the
meaning of these words. (a) Recent edd.
follow Portus and take τῆς αἰτίας
as the
charge for which the penalty will be exacted—
i.e. ‘we shall punish you for having caused our dangers.’ (b) Arnold and Bloomfield understand τῆς αἰτίας as
defining the τιμωρία, ‘you
will suffer the penalty of (having been) the cause of our dangers,’
by refusing to help us; and of course that position would be an
unpleasant one. According to (a) the woids
convey a threat; according to (b), only a
hint of unpleasantness.
ἤδη
—‘without
hesitation.’
τὴν αὐτίκα ἀ. δουλείαν
—Wilkins, following Bauer,
renders ‘slavery with its temporary immunity from danger,’ so that αὐτἰκα qualifies ἀκινδύνως. But the sense is ‘immediate
(and certain) dependence which involves no risk,’ in contrast with
the hope of avoiding subjection to Athens by facing the risk
involved in fighting with Syracuse. ‘If you refuse to join, you
escape danger but accept dependence: if you consent, you accept
danger but escape dependence.’ Hence both
αὐτίκα and ἀκινδύνως
qualify δουλεία. Cf. I. 22
ἡ ἄντικρυς
ἐλευθερία,VIII. 64
ἡ ἄντικρυς ἐλευθερία, and perhaps στρατιὰ ἔτι = ‘remforcements,’ though
when no art. is present the adv. belongs in some measure to the
verb.
δουλείαν
—opposed to μὴ δεσπότας λαβεῖν below. The speaker
in this section talks as though only two courses were open— either
to join the Athenians (= δουλεία),
or to join Syr. He adroitly leaves out the third course—neutrality,
which accord ing to § 4 is out of the question. On δουλεία and
δεσπόται see c. 77, 1.
ἢ κἂν κτλ
—lit. ‘or else (choose) not to
submit disgracefully to these men and to avoid our enmity—which
would not be small—in which case you would share in our victory.’ I
agree with Stahl that κἄν belongs
to
περιγενόμενοι only, and that
λαβεῖν and διαφυγεῖν
depend directly on αἱρεῖσθε: there
is nothing hypothetical about the choice; it is immediate (ἤδη) and fiual, being either δουλεία or μὴ
λαβεῖν τι καὶ διαφυγεῖν τι. περιγενόμενοι ἄν is in
apodosis, implying εἰ αἱροῖσθε, περιγένοισθε
ἄν. Others take ἄν
either with the infins. only or with the partic. and the infins. The
placing of ἄν before a partic.
frequently produces difficulty.
τὴν πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἔχθραν
—‘enmity with us’; cf. φανερὰν ἔχθραν πρὸς Κορινθίους
κτήσασθαι
I. 42.
μὴ ἄν
—with
γενομένην only = ἣ μὴ ἂν βραχεῖα
γένοιτο, i.e. the generic or characteristic
μή
piobably. We might, however, say that the passage implies a warning or command; it
is solemn and emphatic. Cf. c. 102 νομίσαντες
μὴ ἂν ἔτι ἱκανοὶ γενέσθαι. (There is difference of opinion
about this
μή. Goodwin (M. T. § 688) views
it as an ‘irregularity’; Bohme-Widmann say that ‘μή with potential
inf. or partic. after verbs of saying and thinking is common’; Fr. Muller says the μή is ‘under the influence of the inf. διαφυγεῖν.’ This lends point to Prof.
Gildersleeve's remark that ‘to understand οὐ
and μή a certain mobility is
necessary.’ A.J.P. July 1892, p. 259.)
βραχεῖαν
—probably ‘small,’ a common
meaning in Thuc., though some passages are certainly ambiguous. In VII. 14
βραχεῖα
ἀκμὴ πληρώματος, the Schol. and Plutarch understood βραχεῖα as ‘short-lived,’ whereas
modern edd. render ‘the efficient part of a crew is small.’
ἀφικόμεθα
—our
intention when we came was to renew the treaty (see c. 75, 3), but
we now find it necessary to defend the imperial policy of Athens.
ἐπὶ τῆς πρότερον . . ἀνανεώσει
—cf. c. 33, 1 περὶ τοῦ ἐπίπλου τῆς ἀληθείας. The art.
is often omitted with the governing noun.
ἔχομεν
—sc.
αὐτήν.
μαρτύριον
—sc. ὡς
εἰκότως ἄρχομεν. It is necessary for us, as hereditary
enemies of the Dorians, to secure ourselves.
ἔχει δὲ καὶ οὕτως
—‘moreover the case stands
exactly as follows.’ Classen and others explain this οὕτως as referring to what precedes,
which is further dealt with in what follows. But the δέ forms an
antithesis to what precedes. The general
principle, says the speaker, is enough to justify us;
but there is besides the following special
circumstance. οὕτως ἔχειν often
refers to what follows.
Ἴωνες ὄντες
Πελοποννησίοις
—‘being Ionians in
the eyes of the P., while they were Dorians and superior in numbers
and near neighbours of ours.’ In § 2 he has said οί Ἴωνες πολέμιοι τοῖς Δωριεῦσίν εἰσιν.
So now, instead of saying πολέμιοι ὄντες
Πελοποννησίοις, he ingeniously says Ἴωνες (=
πολέμιοι)ὄντες Πελοποννησίοις.
(The edd. have, I believe, missed the meaning of this sentence. For
the alterations of the text see the crit. note. The old explanation,
that αὐτῶν is a repetition of Πελοποννησίοις in a different case by
anacoluthon, is quite untenable. Herbst believes there is an ellipse
of πολέμιοι, but I do not see the
need of this.) This sentence admirably expresses the contempt of the
Dorians for the Ionians (cf. c. 68), who were only fit in their view
to be their subjects.
vαῦς κτησάμενοι
—this refers to the
building of a fleet, which was due to the advice of Themistocles,
probably in 483. Hence μετὰ τὰ
Μηδικά belongs to ἀπηλλάγημεν
rather than to κτησάμενοι.
τῆς μὲν Λακεδαιμονίων κτλ
—the speaker has to represent
Athens as an upholder of liberty, and yet he cannot say that she
strove to get free from a δουλεἰα,
as that word has been used against her. He therefore admits that
Sparta, so long as she was superior in power, had justly led the
confederacy (ἡγεμονἰα) and
exercised dominion (ἀρχή).
πλὴν καθ) ὅσον
—cf.
c. 54, 6.
ἐν τῷ παρόντι
—‘for
the time being.’
οἰκοῦμεν
—the edd. explain this as
intrans., meaning either ‘live’ (for ἐσμέν,
διάγομεν) in the position of
ἡγέμονες, or ‘find ourselves’ in that position. For the
conjectures see crit. note. It is much more likely that the verb is
trans., sc. τὰ ὑπὸ β.
πρότερον ὄντα= ‘manage their (external) affairs,’ as
though he said οἰκοῦμεν τὰ τῶν ξυμμάχων,
the word being used here metaphorically, like ταμιεύεσθαι and
ταμίας (cc. 18, 3; 78 2). This forms a good antithesis to ἀπηλλάγημεν τῆς Α. ἀρχῆς, and is in
keeping with the context. It also contrasts well with ἐπιτάσσειν. See Intr. § 21. <ἀσφαλῶς>
οἰκοῦμεν Stein.
οὕτως
—i.e.
οἰκοῦντες τοὺς .
. ὄντας.
ἐς τὸ ἀκριβές
—‘accurately.’ Cf. c. 104, 2
n. ἐς τὰ μάλιστα.
εἰπεῖν
—absolute: M.T.
§ 777.
ἐφ) ἡμᾶς
—‘that is against us.’ The prep.
is not often repeated before an apposition.
οὐκ ἐτόλμησαν κτλ
—‘conld not bring themselves to
revolt (sc. τοῦ
Μήδου) and sacrifice their property, abandoning
their city as we did,’ or ‘whereas we
abandoned our city.’ This sort of attraction with οὐχ ὤσπερ is very common (see e g. Shilleto on Thuc. II.
42, Kock on Aristoph. Eq. 784, or
DeuschleCron on Plat. Gorg. 522 A).
δουλείαν δὲ . . ἐβούλοντο—βούλομαι
only here with a subst. as obj.: Bohme-Widmann compare τὴν αὐτὴν δύναται δούλωσιν
I. 141. We should also expect ἐβουλήθησαν, if the sense is ‘they
chose slavery.’ Heibst understands ἐνεγκεῖν
to ἐβούλοντο from ἐπενεγκεῖν, but such an ellipse is
surely impossible. δουλεύειν of
the inferior MSS. is very tempting. See crit. note.
τὸ αὐτό
—after the fem. δουλείαν, by a common change. With ἐπενεγκεῖν supply ἐβούλοντο
ἄξιοί τε
—this is answered not by καί but by ἅμα
δέ below; cf. I.
25
κατά τε τὸ δίκαιον . . άμα δὲ
καὶ
μίσει:VII. 81
θᾶσσόν τε γὰρ ὁ Νικίας ἦγε . . ὁ δὲ Δημοσθένης.
Generally where τε is not answered
by καί there are many intervening
words, sometimes a parenthesis.
ἐς
—‘towards,’ the prep being
accommodated to προθυμίαν: cf.
Hyperid. 4, 14, 42 ἀνδραγαθίαν
παρασχέσθαι εἰς τὴν τῆς πόλεως ἐλευθερίαν, Andoc. 1,
50 προθυμότατος εἰς σέ.
καὶ διότι καί
—‘and
also because.’
τοῦτο δρῶντες
—sc. ναυτικὸν καὶ προθυμίαν παρεχόμενοι. It
is the regular phrase for referring to an action just described.
τῷ Μήδῳ
is accommodated to the
construction of the original verb,
παρεχόμενοι, exactly as in II. 49
πολλοὶ
τοῦτο ἔδρασαν (i.e.
σφὰς αὐτοὺς ἔρριψαν)ἐς φρέατα.
οὗτοι
—i.e.
οἵ τε Ἴωνες καὶ
νησιῶται.
ἅμα δὲ . . ὀρεγόμενοι
—having
disposed of the right, he now comes to ‘the inducement by which they
were to he led to take the dominion, and now hold it—namely, their
own security’ (Bloomfield).
οὐ καλλιεπούμεθα
—‘we do not use fine
words.’ Plat. Apol. p. 17 B contrasts λόγοι κεκαλλιεπημένοι with τὰ ἐπιτυχόντα ὀνόματα, and Aristoph. Thesm. 48 applies
καλλιεπής to the tragic poet Agathon, who, we know, was
extremely fond of using the figures of language (σχήματα λέξεως), especially antithesis.
As these ‘fignres’ were associated with the name of Gorgias,
Euphemus is meant to contrast the plain, even blunt, language in
which the Athenian defends his right to rule with the studied
subtleties of Sicihan objectors, esp. of Hermocrates.
Then he states two grounds on which Athens does
not claim empire over the Ionians and islanders.
μόνοι καθελόντες
—this is dealt with at
length in I. 73 ff., not that the
Athenians claim even there to have overthrown the Persians μόνοι.
τῶνδε
—Ionians
and islanders.
πᾶσι δὲ ἀνεπίφθονον
—‘no man can be
reproached if he provides for his security as circumstances
require.’ ἡ προσήκουσα ς. is the
safety that suits the character of a man and the circumstances in
which he finds himself, and requires different measures at different
times. ‘It was σωτηρία that
obliged us to reduce the Ionians, etc. to subjection: it is σωτηρία that brings us here.’ προσήκουσαν means something more than δέουσαν: it means what suits the character as well as the
circumstances.
καὶ νῦν κτλ
—‘so now it is regard for our
safety (ἀσφαλεἰας =σωτηρίας) that brings us here, and we
see that you have just the same interests as we. We base this
statement on the calumnies that they utter against us, and which you
with excessive anxiety regard with suspicion—in that we know that
when men are anxious and suspicious they are pleased for a moment by
statements that humour their feelings, but afterwards when they take
action they follow their interests.’
ἐξ ὧν διαβάλλουσι
—i.e.
we admit the statement that we reduced the Ionians: that was
required by our
σωτηρία then. But now our σωτηρία requires that we help our
friends here, and so our interests are identical with yours.
ἐπὶ τὸ φοβερώτερον
=ὤστε
φοβερώτερα ὑμῖν φαίνεσθαι. Cf. on c. 34, 7 init.
εἰδότες
—causal:
we know that it is easy for Syracuse to use the fact that we reduced
the Ionians to prejudice and alarm you; but when it comes to taking
action you will consider your interests, and will realise that the
same motive that led ns to reduce the Ionians leads us now to
protect you.
λόγου μὲν ἡδονῇ
—i.e.
words skilfully used to encourage suspicion and fear of opponents.
Here the argument was that Athens would act in Sicily as she had
done in Greece.
τῇ δ’ ἐγχειρήσει
—a good example of a quasi-temporal word used without ἐν, as τῇ
ἐσβολῇ, τῇ μάχῃ, τῷ πολέμῳ.
τήν τε γὰρ κτλ
—‘we have told you (c. 82, 3)
that apprehension causes us to keep our empire in Greece, and (c. 82 ἀφικόμεθα . .
ἀνανεώσει) that the same motive (viz. apprehension
that Syracuse may obtain Sicily and then threaten our empire) has
brought us to settle matters here,’ etc.
γάρ
—explains the reason for grounding
the assertion (
ἀποφαίνομεν) of identity of interests on the διαβολή of the Syracusans.
ἥκειν
—see crit. note. This without φαμέν is not an accurate reference to
the statement with which the speech opened. But ξυμμαχίας ἀνανέωσις possibly implies
what is here stated.
ἀσφαλῶς
—‘for
our safety.’
δουλωσόμενοι
—sc. τὰ ἐνθάδε.
ἀνδρὶ δὲ τυράννῳ
—Sicily was intimately
acquainted with the ways of despots. Here the frankest description
of the Athenian ἀρχή is given, as
by Cleon in III. 37
τυραννίδα ἔχετε τὴν ἀρχήν. 2
οὐδὲν ἄλογον ὅ τι ξυμφέρον
—this statement could not
be made by a modern imperial power, but it is none the less the principle on which under diplomatic disguises modern
states frequently act.
οὐδ’ οἰκεῖον
—‘there
is no tie of blood unless there is eonfidence.’ The Chalcidians of
Euboea are kinsmen of Athens, but they are distrusted.
πρὸς ἕκαστα κτλ
—‘in
each case a hostile or friendly attitude must accord with
circumstances.’
καὶ ἠμᾶς
—applying
the previous doctrine to the present case. ‘Now in our case our
interest here is furthered, not by injuring our friends, but if we
reduce our enemies to impotence through the strength of our
friends.’
τοῦτο
applies to what follows.
ἀπιστεῖν
—referring back to πιστόν above. ‘You must not distrust
us,’ and we will then trust you, and those that we trust we treat as
friends.
τοὺς ἐκεῖ ξυμμάχους—ἐξηγοῦμαι
takes either accus. or dat., but the sudden change from dat. (see
crit, note) to accus. (Χίους) is
scarcely probable. αὐτονόμους <ἔχοντες> Stein.
Μηθυμναίους
—the
only Lesbians who retained their autonomy after Lesbos revolted from
Athens in 428.
νεῶν παροκωχῇ
—in VII.
57 the Chians are described as οὐχ
ὑποτελεῖς φόρου, ναῦς δὲ παρέχοντες, and the Methymnaeans
in the same way.
βιαιότερον
—sc.
ἐξηγούμεθα. Cf. I. 141
αἱ βίαιοι
ἐσφοραἰ.
ἐλευθέρως ξυμμαχοῦντας
—those who in VII. 57 are called οἱ ἀπὸ ξυμμαχίας αὐτόνομοι, like
Corcyra, Zaeynthus, Cephallenia.
πρὸς τὸ λυσιτελοῦν
—‘in accordance with our
interest and with the fear of Syr. of which we speak’ (c. 83, 4).
With δέος ἐς Συρακοσίους cf. Eur. Her. Fur. 66
ἔρωτι
σώματ εἰς εὐδαίμονα.
ὑμῶν
—referring to all
the Sicilian cities, as opposed to Syr.
ἐπὶ τῷ ἡ. ὑπόπτῳ
—‘on
the ground of the suspicion we excite.’
ξυστήσαντες
=ξυμμάχους
ποιήσαντες, as in c. 16, 6.
βίᾳ ἢ καὶ κατ’ ἐρημίαν
—with ἄρξαι, ‘to acquire empire for
themselves over Sicily by force or else through mere lack of
resistance.’ Jowett renders ‘first they must unite you in a common
suspicion of us, and then, either by force or through your isolation
when we have failed and retired, they will dominate Sicily.’ But (1) βίᾳ refers not to
ἀπράκτων ἡμῶν ἀπελθόντων, but to ἐπὶ τῷ ἡ. ξυστήσαντες ὑπόπτῳ: they want
to unite your forces with their own, only that they may force
themselves into the position of head of a Sicilian alliance, which they will turn into empire. (2) Only ἢ καὶ κατ’ ἐρημίαν refers to ἀπράκτων ἡμῶν ἀπελθόντων. If they fail
to seeure empire while we are still in Sicily, nevertheless they
will secure it when we are no longer here to resist them. (3) That
this is so is shown by οὔτε γὰρ κτλ.,
where the ἰσχὺς τοσαύτη refers to
the means by which Syr. would assure herself of empire βίᾳ, and ὴμῶν
μὴ παρόντων means that Syr. would turn against the
Siceliots when the Athenians were gone, and would acquire empire κατ’ ἐρημίαν, through laek of
resistance. Thus (4) there is no reference to a struggle with the
Siceliots in βίᾳ, but only to the
struggle between a Sicilian confederation and Athens, in the course
of whieh Syr. might assure herself of empire.
κατ’ ἐρημίαν
—se. τῶν
κωλυσόντων (Stahl).
ἀνάγκη δέ
—sc. αὐτοὺς
ἄρξαι τῆς Σικελίας. (H. Kleist points out that this ehapter is
an example of the ἐπιχείρημα, or
conclusion based on a major and a minor premiss: (a)
major premiss —propositio—ἀνδρὶ
δὲ
τυράννῳ . . γίγνεσθαι: (b) minor
premiss —assumptio—καὶ
ἡμᾶς τοῦτο ὠφελεῖ. This is supported by a proof—assumptionis probatio—in ἀπιστεῖν
δὲ . . Πελοποννησίοις: (c) conclusion—complexio—ὤστε καὶ
τἀνθάδε . . καθίστασθαι. The
ἐπιχείρημα differs from the syllogism essentially in that
neither of the premisses need be true.)
τὸ ἔργον
—i.e.
the fact mentioned immediately afterwards.
τὸ γὰρ πρότερον
—in
427.
προσείοντες φόβον
—the metaphor is from
shaking swords or spears at an enemy to alarm him (Bloomfield). Cf.
Eur. Her. Fur. 1189 τί
μοι προσείων χεῖρα σημαίνεις φόβον; and V. 17
ἤδη
παρασκευή τε προεπανεσείσθη ἀπὸ τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων.
(The other meaning of προσείειν,
‘to entice animals’ with food, is not in keeping with the present
passage)
μείζονι πρὸς τὴν τῶνδε ἰσχύν
—most edd. render ‘with a
force larger (than necessary) in comparison with the strength of S.’
But in the note in Jowett it is pointed out that the speaker's
objeet is to minimise the power of Athens in Sieily. Henee μείζονι=‘greater’ than before, viz. in
427, and πρός=‘with a view to,’
‘so as to cope with.’
ὑποπτεύεσθαι
—sc. ἡμᾶς.ἀπιστεῖν
—sc. ὑμᾶς.
ἡμεῖς μέν γε
—‘we
at least’ are powerless in any case to keep possession of Sieily, or
even to obtain a footing in it without your aid.
οὔτε
is answered by τε.μὴ μεθ)
ὑμῶν
=ἄνευ ὑμῶν.
κατεργασαίμεθα
—sc. ὑμᾶς. This is an answer to the argument
of cc. 76, 77.
ἀπορίᾳ φυλακῆς πόλεων κτλ
—‘through the difficulty of
garrisoning large eities that possess the forces of a continental
power’—i.e. cavalry and infantry as opposed
to a fleet.
οὐ στρατοπέδῳ
—sc. ὥσπερ ἡμεῖς.
τῆς ἡμετέρας παρουσίας
—‘than
the force we have here.’
ἐποικοῦντες
—the
proximity of Syr. is as bad as a permanent hostile settlement.
καιρὸν . . ἑκάστου
—‘an opportunity for any
particular attempt.’
ἑκάστου is best taken as nent., and not as masc., ‘an
opportunity for attacking each of you.’
ἄλλα
—internal
accns., ‘in other cases.’
τολμῶσιν κτλ
—‘they have the boldness to
ask for your aid against the men who try to prevent this and
hitherto have saved Sicily from falling into their power—as though
you were blind’ and could not see through their design. From Athens
really proceeds the opposition (κωλύοντας)
that saves Sicily from being subject to Syracuse.
τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν κτλ
—‘the safety that we and you
alike gain from each other.’ ἀμφοτέροις
belongs to ὑπάρχουσαν. ‘Nous ne
pouvons sauver les uns sans les autres’ (Tanaquil Faber).
παρασχήσειν
—impersonal, commonest in the
form παρασχόν: an Ionic use of παρέχει.
τῷ ὑπόπτῳ
—‘through suspicion.’
ἔτι βουλήσεσθε—ἔτι is often so
used in threats and prophecies.
ὅτε
—‘at a time when.’ ὅτε is the regular particle for
introducing a reference to a date.
ἀλλά—ὥστε, οὖν, and ἀλλά are the commonest particles for
introducing a new division of a speech.
ἐν κεφαλαίοις
—such
a recapitulation is especially appropriate to the peroration.
ὑπ’ αὐτῶν βλαπτώμεθα
—for
the result of their joining Syr. see c. 84, 1.
πολλὰ δ’ ἀναγκάζεσθαι
—‘the expression here, πολλὰ πράσσειν, is susceptible of both
a bad and a good sense: and such is its use in Eur. Sup. 576, where the Theban herald says to
Theseus πράσσειν σὺ πόλλ’ εἴωθας ἥ
τε σὴ πόλις, and Theseus replies τοίγαρ
πονοῦσα πολλὰ πόλλ) εὐδαιμονεῖ’ (Bloomfield). πολυπραγμοσύνη was characteristic of
Athenians and was thought a reproach to them. In II. 40 Pericles says that at
Athens ὁ ἀπράγμων, the man who
held aloof from public affairs, was thought
ἀχρεῖος—of no use to the state.
πολλὰ φυλασσόμεθα
—‘we
have to guard against many dangers.’
οὐκ ἄκλητοι, παρακληθέντες δέ
—Bloomfield quotes Aesch. Choeph. 825 ἥκω μὲν
οὐκ ἄκλητος, ἀλλ’ ὑπάγγελος. The figure is a common one.
Cf. Lys. 13, 19 ἄκοντα
. . καὶ μὴ ἑκόντα μηνύειν.
l 14.
δ χαλεπόν
—refers to ἀποτρέπειν, which does not mean, as is
usually thought, ‘to divert us from
our scheme’ or enterprise, but ‘to divert us from our
fixed, settled course of action’—i.e.
τῶν ἡμῖν ποιουμένων, as in c. 38, 4 ἀποτρέπειν τῆς κακουργίας. See below on τρόπου. We are not submitting our general conduct to your judgment, but are
claiming your votes in this particular case. In δικασταί and
σωφρονισταί there is a reference to the coming division,
which Hermocrates wished to make a vote of censure on Athenian
poliey and charaeter. As for the construetion τὰ ἡμῖν ποιούμενα, Thuc. by no means
confines the dat. of the agent to perf. pass.: he is as free as the
poets in the matter. In the orators any other tenses than perf. very
rarely has the dat. See on c. 1, 2.
τῆς ἡ. πολυπραγμοσύνης καὶ τρόπου
—depending on τι. ‘as far as any phase of our
intermeddling, or rather our character, is of
service to you as to us (ὑμῖν . . τὸ αὐτό,
lit. ‘to you in the same way’), avail yourselves of that phase, to
the exclusion of the rest.’ The τι
refers to the intervention in Sieily, which Camarina may turn to
aceount. πολυπραγμοσύνης refers to πολλὰ πράσσειν above.
καὶ τρόπου
—sc. τοῦ
ἡμετέρου. It refers to the personal characteristics of a
people, and the mention of it here is to show that it may be substituted for
πολυπραγμοσύνη, so that καί
=immo. There is also a reference baek to ἀποτρέπειν (τῶν
ποιουμένων) above, which is thus ἀποτρέπειν
τοῦ τρόπου. The τρόποι
of the Athenians are fully dealt with by Pericles in the Funeral
Oration.
τούτῳ ἀπολαβόντες χρήσασθε—τοῦτο
would be the more ordinary construction; see c 46, 3, but cf. VIII. 87
ὄπως
μηδετέρους προσθέμενος ἰσχυροτάτους ποιήσῃ. The partic. in
such cases may be regarded as absolute.
αὐτά
—se. τὴν
πολυπραγμοσύνην καὶ τρόπον, subject of βλάπτειν.
ἐν παντὶ γὰρ κτλ
—‘in every place, even where we
are not at hand, the man who thinks that he will suffer wrong and he
who plots mischief—because they have a lively expecta
tion, the one of obtaining from us a return in the form of help, the
other that if we come he will be in danger of suffering for his
wrong—are both alike compelled, the one to restram himself against
his will, the other to accept safety without taking action.’ In this
extremely difficult passage the speaker explains the effect of
Athenian prestige —that
prestige which arises from her
πολυπραγμοσύνη. It is a guarantee of tranquillity in
states in which Athens has no footing. And how? Because the
certainty of her intervention on behalf of the oppressed prevents
attempts at oppression. This theory is similar to the modern theory
that great armaments are a guarantee of peace.
ἐν παντὶ γὰρ πᾶς
—traductio;
see c. 11, 2 n.
ὑπεῖναι
—i.e.
present in his mind.
ἐλπίδα
—hope as
applied to the one, fear as applied to the
other.
ἀντιτυχεῖν—ἀντι‐, as a return for
joining our alliance, for frankly accepting our interference. (This
is better than Haack's explanation, adopted by Stahl, that ἀντι‐ =‘in redress of the wrong,’
because it is more in accordance with the advice that is being given
to Camarina χρήσασθαι τῇ πολυπραγμοσύνῃ
.)
μὴ ἀδεεῖ εἶναι κινδυνεύειν
—on the reading see crit.
note. (a)κινδυνεύειν
depending on μὴ ἀδεεῖ. Stahl
rightly objects to Classen's rendering ‘that he will have to fear a
conflict with us,’ on the ground that the inf. κινδυνεύειν is most unusual in the
sense μὴ κινδυνεύῃ, and that ἀδεής does not mean ‘liable to fear’
but actually ‘afraid.’ Others render ‘that they will not be without
fear of danger’; but Stahl says this puts the point very feebly: not
the chance that they may be in danger, but
only the certainty of danger if the Athenians
intervene, would deter men from plotting;
κινδυνεύειν greatly weakens the passage. (b)μὴ ἀδεεῖ
εἶναι depending on κινδυν
εύειν. Then the rendering given by edd. is ‘will be
likely to have reason for fear.’ But (1) nowhere else in Thuc. does κινδυνεύειν=‘to be likely’; (2) the
sense given to ἀδεής is weak. It
remains to give to ἀδεής its legal meaning, ‘exempt from punishment,’
‘privileged, though guilty,’ for which see c. 27, 2. This suits ἀδικήσεσθαι and
ἐπιβουλεύειν, and gives a forcible meaning to the passage.
See Intr. § 23.
ἀναγκάζονται
—both parties are compelled
to abstain from action; and thus to the stronger comes σωφροσύνη, and to the weaker σωτηρία. There is a certain humour in
applying ἀναγκἀζονται to the side
that obtains σωτηρία. The force in
both cases is moral.
ὁ μέν
—corresponding to ὁ ἐπιβουλεύων,ὁ δέ
to ὁ οἰόμενος ἀδικής εσθαι, by
chiasmus.
ἀπραγμόνως
—a verbal reference back to
Athenian
πολυπραγμοσύνη, which means
ἀπραγμοσύνη for others.
ταύτην οὖν κτλ
—‘do
not reject the gift of safety open without exception to any who ask
it and to yourselves.’
ἐξισώσαντες
—sc. ταύτην
τὴν ἀσφἀλειαν τὴν ὑμῖν παροῦσαν: while τοῖς ἄλλοις is a brachylogy for τῇ τῶν ἄλλων. Hence lit. ‘making this
safety that is open to you equal to that of the rest,’ i.e. ‘availing yourselves of this gift as
others do.’ In τοῖς ἄλλοις he
alludes especially to Segesta and Leontini. (All edd. previous to
Stahl explain ἐξισώσαντες as
intrans.; but there is no need for this, and the passages cited in
its support are very doubtful parallels. Stahl, however, takes τοῖς ἄλλοις with ἀντεπιβουλεῦσαι, and brackets τοῖς Συρακοσίοις as a gloss upon τοῖς ἄλλοις.) Stein reads δεομένῳ <ἀεὶ>
above.
καὶ ἀντεπιβουλεῦσαί ποτε
—‘at length change your plan and
resolve to plot against the S. likewise in return.’ ἐκ τοῦ ὁμοίου, ‘as they plot against
you.’ ἀντεπιβουλεῦσαι is object of
(μετα)
λἀβετε, and τοῖς
Σ. of ἀντεπιβουλεῦσαι
.
ἐπεπόνθεσαν
—‘the
feeling was as follows,’ already before the speeches.
πλὴν καθ( ὅσον
—‘except in so far as.’ Classen
defends εἰ after καθ’ ὅσον, but subsequent edd. rightly
reject it.
κατὰ τὸ ὅμορον διάφοροι
—‘border
enemies’ (Freeman).
τοὺς ὀλίγους ἱππέας
—see
c. 67, 2.
καὶ τὸ λοιπόν
—the
policy adopted is to continue to render slight help to Syr., but to
answer that they were neutral.
μᾶλλον
—lather
than the Athenians.
ἔργῳ
—contrasts the actual intention with
the diplomatic answer ἐν τῷ παρόντι
μηδετέροις ἀμύνειν.
μετριώτατα
—of amount. ὡς <δ’
> ἂν Stein.
ἔλασσον δοκῶσι νεῖμαι
—‘appear
to have shown less respect to.’
καὶ οὕτω βουλευσάμενοι
—‘accordingly
after considering the matter in this light.’
ἀμφοτἐροις οὖσι
ξυμμάχοις
—cf. c. 78, 4.
Remember that Camarina really has with Syr. only an ἐπιμαχία—a defensive
alliance, ἀλλήλοις βοηθεῖν, ξυνεπιστρατεύειν
δὲ μηδενί (v. 48); but with
Athens a full ξυμμαχία. But
Hermocrates in his speech adroitly exaggerated the ἐπιμαχία into a
ξυμμαχία, and (c. 79, 1) minimised the ξυμμαχία into an ἐπιμαχία. These two treaties are both,
however, ‘treaties of guarantee’ of some kind; and in all history it
has been difficult to secure the fulfilment of such
guarantees, especially where there are conflicting treaties, as in
the present case.
εὔορκον
—refers
to the oaths taken when the treaties were made.
τὰ καθ’ ἑαυτοὺς ἐξ
=ἑαυτοὺς
ἐξηρτύοντο.τὰ πρὸς τοὺς Σ. ἔπρασσον
refers to cc. 48 and 71, 2; cf. Intr. p. XV.
ἐν τῇ Νάξῳ
—see
c. 74, 2.
πρὸς τὰ πεδία μᾶλλον
—‘the
plains’ near the sea ‘rather than’ the inland parts.
ἀφειστήκεσαν
—from
Syracuse. See crit. note.
αὐτόνομοι οὖσαι κτλ
—‘their
settlements, being independent from time immemorial, with but few
exceptions immediately joined the A.’
οἰκήσεις
=oppidula,
κῶμαι. πλήν is here constructed as an
adverb, and ὀλίγοι is masc. κατὰ σύνεσιν. Freeman thinks οἰκήσεις a strange word to apply to the
Sicels of the interior, who had under Ducetius (died 440 B.C.)
reached a high degree of unity. In 451 he had even defeated the
combined forces of Syr. and Acragas (Diod. xi.
91). He was aided by another chief, Archonides, against whom
Syr. declared war when Ducetius died. Ducetins built Menaenum, still
called Mineo; and this was doubtless among
the towns that joined Athens. No doubt Thuc. uses οἰκήσεις in contrast with the larger
cities of the Siceliots.
κατεκόμιζον
—to
the coast from the interior.
εἰσὶν οἵ
—in the
oblique cases Thuc. much more often uses ἔστιν (ὧν, οἷς,
etc.); but cf. VII. 25
ἦσαν τῶν σταυρῶν οὕς.
τοὺς δέ
—sc.
προσαναγκάζειν, depending on
ἀπεκωλύοντο.
τόν τε χειμῶνα κτλ
—‘for
all these purposes Katanê was a better centre than Naxos. They
therefore came back to their old quarters for the rest of the
winter’ (Freeman).
ὃ κατεκαύθη
—see
c. 75, 2.
ἔπεμψαν μὲν . . ἔπεμψαν δέ
—cf. I.
85
πέμπετε
μὲν . . πέμπετε δέ. The examples of epanaphora in
Thuc. are not very numerous; the μέν
is sometimes omitted.
ἐς Καρχηδόνα
—nothing
came of this embassy This shows that at least Athens hoped to gain
some influence at Carthage. See c. 34, where Hermocrates suggests
the possibility of an alliance between Carthage and Syr. against
Athens.
Τυρσηνίαν
—Etruria, north of the Tiber,
the south being Ὀπική (c. 4, 5)
(Arnold). In 415 the Etruscans were still powerful. They carried on
trade with Athens and Sicily. In 480 they with the Carthaginians had
been defeated by Syr. with Agrigentum at the great
battle of Himera. They actually sent help, and are included among
the allies of Athens in VII.
57
Τυρσηνῶν τινες κατὰ
(‘owing to’) διαφορὰν Συρακοσίων.
καὶ αὐτῶν
—‘of
their own accord.’
τὸν περιτειχισμόν
—cf. c. 71, 2 init.
ὅσα ἔδει
—sc.
ἑτοιμάζειν.
ἀποσταλέντες
—see
c. 73, 2.
ἐκείνοις . .
ἐπιβουλευόμενα
—‘that the plots
were directed equally against them,’ both ταῦτα
ἐπιβουλεύεταί μοι and
ἐπιβουλεύομαι being used. Nothing seems to have come of
these appeals.
λόγους ἐποιοῦντο
—‘made
overtures.’
ὥστε
—M.T. § 588.
τὸν αὐτοῦ πόλεμον
—cf.
c. 34, 2: ‘to put an end to the uncertain state of things at home by
making open war upon Athens’ (Freeman).
μετὰ τῶν ξυμφυγάδων
—see c. 61, 6.
τότ’ εὐθύς—τότε is often used to
refer back to events already mentioned. See c. 61, 7.
ἔπειτα ὕστερον
—often
used together.
τὴν περὶ τῶν Μαντινικῶν πρᾶξιν
—see cc. 16, 6; 17, 1; 61, 5.
The reference is to the events of 418 B.C. τὰ
Μαντινικἀ alludes to the fact that the Athenians and
Mantineans attacked and took Orchomenus, and attempted to take
Tegea.
τῶν ἐν τέλει ὄντων
—‘the other
officials.’ καί joins part to
whole.
κωλύοντας
—the pres. partic. is very
common with verbs of ‘sending.’ The partic. is placed either in nom.
or accus. at will—ἔπεμπον
ἀγγέλλοντες or ἔπεμπον
πρέσβεις
ἀγγέλλοντας.
παρώξυνε . . ἐξώρμησε
—‘stimulated
their passions and their energies.’
ἀναγκαῖον
—the abruptness of the opening
is a fine touch. On the
dispositio of the speech see Appendix.
περὶ τῆς ἐμῆς δ
—‘about the prejudice against me,’ i.e. of being an enemy of Sparta. The pron.
is objective gen.
ἐς ὑμᾶς—ἐς is often used with λέγω in the sense ‘to address an
assembly.’
χεῖρον τὰ κοινὰ κτλ
—‘listen with less
impartiality to what concerns the public interest because you
suspect me.’ χεῖρον is ‘with a
bias.’ Lacuna after ἀκροάσησθε
Stein.
τῶν δ’ ἐμῶν
—‘now,’ etc.; δέ marks the transition
to the details. The grandfather of Alcibiades had dropped the office
of πρόξενος,
circa 508, and the family was closely connected with the
Alcmaeonidae, Alcibiades' mother being granddaughter of Cleisthenes.
This connexion throws light on κατά τι
ἔγκλημα. The complaint doubtless arose out of the visit of
King Cleomenes to Athens to support Isagoras against Cleisthenes.
τὴν προξενίαν
—Gardner
and Jevons, p. 599.
αὐτὸς ἐγώ
—‘I
of my own accord offered to resume it.’ The offer was declined
τὴν ἐκ Πύλου ξυμφοράν
—he refers to the Spartan
prisoners taken at Pylus in 425. Cf. v. 43
of Alc τοὺς
ἐκ τῆς νήσου αὐτῶν αἰχμαλώτους θεραπεύων. Aristoph. Eq. 1201 τοὺς ἐκ
Πύλου. Alc. no doubt exaggerates his services.
διατελοῦντος
—the only instance of διατελῶ with partie. in Thuc. is παρασκευαζόμενοι . .
διετέλεσαν
VIII. 38.διατελῶ, τυγχἀνω, and φαίνομαι are often constructed with
adj. only.
τοῖς μὲν ἐμοῖς ἐχθροῖς
—i.e.
Nicias and Laches. The former became very popular in 421 as the
result of the Peace that he had promoted. Since Cleon's death in 422
Alc. had opposed peace. In 420 he brought about the alliance between
Athens, Argos, Mantinea, and Elis.
ἀτιμίαν περιέθετε
—esp. by declining his
offer to become πρόξενος .
πρός τε κτλ
—the construction is ὑπ’ ἐμοῦ πρός τε . .
τραπομένου ἐβλἀπτεσθε καὶ ἐβλἀπτεσθε ὅσα ἄλλα ἐνηντιούμην,
‘you deserved all that you suffered from me when I looked for help
to Argos and Mantinea and opposed you in many other ways’—e.g. by attacking the Peace of Nicias and by
invading Epidaurus, an ally of Sparta, to force it to join the new
league.
οὐκ εἰκότως
—‘unreasonably,’
because my opposition was deserved.
μετὰ τοῦ ἀληθοῦς
—so μετ’
ἀληθείας, occasionally μετὰ τῆς ἀ.
Here μ. τοῦ ἀληθοῦς σκοπῶν is
contrasted with οὐκ εἰκότως.
διότι καί
—in
addition to opposing you.
τῷ δήμῳ προσεκείμην
—‘I
inclined to the popular party’ rather than to the oligarchs. His
idea was to draw together all the democratic elements at home and in
the Peloponnese against Sparta. But the battle of Mantinea was fatal
to the scheme.
οὕτως
—‘on
that ground.’
τυράννοις
—an ingenious point, because
Sparta also opposed the tyranny.
διάφοροί ἐσμεν
—i.e.
the Alcmaeonid family, by which Pisistratus and Cylon had been
opposed.
πᾶν τὸ ἐναντιούμενον
—‘any power that
opposes despotism is called democracy.’ This alludes to popular
opinion at Athens, where the opponents of the tyrants were by
tradition regarded as δημοτικοί,
since Cleisthenes was the great προστάτης
of the δῆμος.Ath.
Pol. c. 20. Cf. Andoc. 2, 26, where the orator boasts that he
is a democrat by descent on this very ground.
τῷ δυναστεύοντι
is neut.
ἀπ’ ἐκείνου
—i.e.
owing to the fact that the family opposed the tyrants, and that the
Athenians regarded that opposition, followed as it was by
Cleisthenes’ ‘settlement of the democracy,’ as bestowing a
hereditary connexion with the people.
ξυμπαρέμεινεν
—i.e.
has remained along with the traditional opposition to tyranny.
ἡ προστασία
—i.e.
since the days of Cleisthenes.
τὰ πολλά
—with
ἕπεσθαι.τοῖς
παροῦσιν
=‘the
existing conditions.’
τῆς ὑπαρχούσης ἀκολασίας
—‘we (
i.e. the whole family) tried to show a moderation in political
life that contrasted with the prevailing license.’
ἄλλοι δ’ ἦσαν
—the extreme democrats are
meant, including the demagogues of his own day—Cleon, Hyperbolus,
and Androcles. As for ἐπὶ
τῶν πάλαι, this contrast being a mere assertion of
Alc., it is hardly necessary to look for a precise reference; but in
the Ath. Pol. c. 24 stress is laid on the
influence of Aristides in this direction.
πονηρότερα
—see
Index.
ἐξῆγον
—see
Index.
τοῦ ξύμπαντος
—not merely τοῦ δήμου: they were for the
constitution, and were no mere party leaders. In the case of some of
the Alcmaeonidae there is truth in this, but Alc. was not a party
leader only because he pursued a purely selfish policy. He is not
even mentioned in the Ath. Pol., where the
statesmen who held a commanding position are enumerated.
ὅπερ ἐδεξατό τις κτλ
—‘to
help to preserve what he had inherited.’
δικαιῶ
is Ionic.
ἐπεὶ δημοκρατίαν γε κτλ
—‘though,
to be sure, the nature of democracy was quite well understood by
every man of insight.’ The
καί
implies ‘in addition to having received it as an inheritance,’ and
the words are sarcastic, meaning ‘we knew too much about it to
approve of it.’
καὶ αἰτὸς ἂν κτλ
—i.e.
καὶ αὐτὸς
οὐδενὸς ἂν χεῖρον φρονοίην, ὅσῳ κἂν λοιδορήσαιμι, ‘and
the superiority of my insight (the insight that you
would attribute to me) would be measured by the amount of abuse I
might pour on it’; only, he continues, it is impossible to say
anything new of a constitution of which the folly is admitted. (It
is usual to assume that the text of this much-disputed passage is
corrupt. See crit. note. Only Herbst among lecent clities defends
it; and he understands οὐδενὸς ἂν χεῖρον
(γιγνώσκοιμι)ὅσῳ
καὶ (οὐδενὸς ἂν χεῖρον
)λοιδορήσαιμι: but the sense so
obtained is by no means clear. The rendering of Wilkins, ‘perhaps,
indeed, it was better known to me than any one, as I have had more
reason to complain of it than any one,’ does not correspond to the
Greek, and is itself obscure.) Alcibiades says ‘I might exhibit the
extent of my insight by the amount of knowledge I might show of the
nature of democracy, i.e. by abusing it’;
but, he says, the task is superfluous. Then, by a common rhetorical
trick, he throws in a specimen of abuse (ὁμολογουμένη
ἄνοια). Thus λοιδορἡσαιμι
corresponds with ἐγιγνώσκομεν: the
knowledge would be extensive and peculiar, being gathered from
experience of the tyranny of democracy, and it would be expressed in
a λοιδορία. The Scholium is αὐτὸς ἂν ἐγὼ οὐδενὸς χεῖρον λοιδορήσαιμι, ὅσῳ καὶ
μέγιστα ὑπ’ αὐτῆς ἠδίκημαι, which gives in a paraphrase
the trne meaning, but is incomplete.
ὅσῳ καί
—see
on c. 11, 6.
λοιδορήσαιμι
—this would not have been
seemly in a public address at this time. Cf. Ath.
Pol. c. 28, of Cleon, πρῶτος ἐπὶ τοῦ
βήματος ἀνέκραγε καὶ έλοιδορήσατο
. . τῶν ἄλλων ἐν κόσμῳ λεγόντων.
ὁμολογουμένης ἀνοίας
—a phrase made to
please his audience. Theognis l. 847 λὰξ
ἐπίβα δήμῳ κενεόφρονι.
καὶ τὸ μεθιστάναι
—goes back to δικαιοῦντες . . τοῦτο (τὸ σχῆμα)ξυνδιασῴζειν.
αύτήν=τὴν δημοκρατίαν.
Wilkins quotes Napoleon III.'s Julius Caesar,
‘All political change is fatal in the presence of a foreigner
invading the soil of a fatherland.’ And even the desire for
political change vanishes in the presence of a war—as the same
Napoleon well knew.
ὅσοι
—the edd. all say that Nicias and
Lamachus are meant, and Reiske even proposed ὼς
οἱ as a correction; but ὅσοι
ὑπόλοιποι means ‘all those who remain now I am withdrawn,’
‘all the generals left behind, including those who
have not gone to Sicily,’ and not ‘those whom I have left in
Sicily.’ That this is so is shown by the following facts: (1) the use of
ὑπόλοιπος
in Thuc.: I. 105
τὸ πρὸς
Αἰγίνῃ στρἀτευμα is contrasted with οἱ ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ὑπόλοιποι:IV. 2
στρατηγοὶ οἱ
ὑπόλοιποι are contrasted with ὁ
ἤδη προαφιγμένος ἐς Σικελίαν:VII.
64
τοὺς ἐκεῖ (i.e. at home) ἡμῶν
ὑπολοίπους: cf. also ib.
ἡ ὑπόλοιπος πόλις and c. 17 ὑπόλοιπον ἡμῖν ἐστὶν ἀντίπαλον
ναυτικόν: (2) in c. 62, 1 the generals left
in Sicily are called οἱ λοιποὶ τῶν
Ἀθηναίων στρατηγοὶ ἐν τῇ Σικελίᾳ: (3) in II. 65 Thuc. speaks of the support given
to the expedition at home after it sailed out; and of course the στρατηγοί in Athens would have to
advise about this, and some of them might be sent out to replace
Alcibiades: (4) αὐτἀ =all the schemes including the καταπολέμησις of Peloponnese. It would
be absurd to attribute the whole of this work to Nicias and Lamachus
alone.
ὁμοίως
—i.e.
‘though I have withdrawn.’
οὐ περιέσται τἀκεῖ—οὐ σωθήσεται τὰ ἐν τῇ
Σικελίᾳ.
ἀπειρότεροι
—sc. τῶν
Ἀθηναιῶν.
ξυστραφέντες
—c.
77, 1.
πανδημεί
—c.
68, 2.
ἔχεται
—‘is in their power.’ The pres.
denotes the certainty of the event. Stahl, Q.G.2
p. 12
κίνδυνον ἐκεῖθεν
—‘danger
from that quarter.’
οὐκ
belongs to
μακροῦ: cf. c. 15, 4.
ὥστε
—‘and thus’; M.T.
§ 602.
εἰ μὴ ποιήσετε
—‘unless you mean to do
this.’ With the construction οἰέσθω
βουλεύειν, εἰ μὴ ποιήσετε cf. Lys. 13, 93 εἰ γὰρ ἀποψηφιεῖσθε . . τῇ αὐτῇ ψήφῳ
καταψηφίζεσθε, and § 3 above.
στρατίαν τε πέμψετε
—epexegesis of τἀδε ποιήσετε. For
οἵτινες
cf. ἀπὸ
Πελοποννήσου . . οἵ c. 80, 1.
ὡς ἂν . . ξυντάξῃ—ὡς ἄν only here
in Thuc.; M.T. § 326. The construction is
poetical, ὄς with fut. indic.
being the ordinary prose form of expression. Several constructions
that are familiar in Thuc. are found on examination to be poetical: e.g. the dat. with verbs of motion,
expressing interest or the
goal, as ἦλθον αὐτοῖς c. 46,
3; ἐπί with dat.=
against c. 61, 1; and others already noticed. (See C. F. Smith, Trans. of Am. Phil. Association 1894 p. 61
ff.)
ξυντάξη
—‘organise.’
τοὺς μὴ θέλοντας
, sc. παρεῖναι. The form θέλειν for
ἐθέλειν is regular after μή
.
οἱ ἐνδοιάζοντες
—such
as Camarina. An Ionic word.
τὰ ἐνθάδε
—this may be either adverbial,
‘in Greece,’ or direct object of ἐκπολεμοῦν,
‘the Greek states.’
ἧσσον . . πέμπωσι
—‘may
be prevented from sending.’
τειχίζειν δὲ χρή
—the passage that follows
is written with a knowledge of later events. The chief results of
the occupation are to be: (1) the capture or surrender of most of
the property, (2) the loss to Athens of the revenue from the mines,
(3) the tribute from the allies will not be paid. These are the
results that in VII. 27 are actually
stated to have followed (Jebb,
Hellenica p. 290).
Δεκέλειαν
—it
commands the road from Athens to Oropus, and thus the route to
Euboea, whence came a great part of the corn supplies of Athens. The
fort built there overlooked the richest parts of Attica.
ὅπερ
—i.e.
τὸ τειχίζειν. For
αὐτοῦ
in place of οὗ see c. 4, 3 n.
τῶν ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ
—the A. had adopted this plan
against Sparta at Pylus. ‘The only suffering incidental to the war
of which they have not had a thorough experience.’
βεβαιότατα δ’ ἂν κτλ
—‘the
surest way of injuring an enemy is to bring on him that which one
ascertains from clear in formation that he fears most.’
εἰκὸς γάρ
—‘it is natural that every one
should have the most accurate knowledge of the particular dangers
that he fears,’ i.e. he realises best the
nature and extent of the danger he is in.
κωλύσετε
—sc.
ὠφελεῖσθαι.
αὐτόματα
—this refers to ‘the desertion
of slaves, included in the κατασκευαί
as household chattels or “live stock”’ (Jebb).
ἥξει πρὸς ὑμᾶς
—‘will
come into your hands.’
τῶν ἀγυρείων μ.
—Aesch. Persae
237 ἀργύρου
πηγήτις αὐτοῖς ἐστὶ θησαυρὸς χθονός. They were farmed
out on hereditary leases. τὰς <ἀπὸ> τοῦ Λ.
Stein.
ἀπὸ γῆς
—produce
to the tenant and the rent paid to the state.
δικαστηρίων
—fees and fines to the state
and pay to the dicasts. The business of the courts would be at an
end. This may be somewhat exaggerated. In VII.
28 it is explained that all citizens were required for
military duty. (The conjecture δεκατευτηρίων—see
crit. note—is too technical to be satisfactory; and the tithes and
taxes on land are included in ἀπὸ γῆς.)
For the omission of the prep. with
δικαστηρίων cf. ce. 6, 2; 26, 2.
τῆς . . προσόδου
—the most important source
of revenue. For the change from accus. to gen. with ἀποστερήσονται ef. c. 85, 2 n.
ἧσσον διαφορουμένης
=‘less regularly
transmitted.’ There is no other instance of this sense of διαφορεῖν, the nearest being in c. 100,
3, where it=‘to transfer.’
τὰ παρ’ ὑμῶν . . πολεμεῖσθαι
—‘that the war is being
condueted on your part.’ τὰ
πὰρ’ ὐμῶν is prob. subject, not adverbial.
ὀλιγωρήσουσι
sc. τοῦ
διαφορεῖν τὴν π.
γίγνεσθαι δὲ κτλ.
—‘the
prompt and efficient execu tion of these plans rests with you.’
οὐδὲ ὑποπτεύεσθαι κτλ.
—‘nor do I think suspieion
should be cast upon my words on the ground that I display the zeal
of an exile.’ For ἐς the edd.
quote VIII. 88
βουλόμενος
αὐτὸν ἐς τὴν φιλίαν διαβάλλειν. The gen. μοῦ separated from τὸν λόγον has the force of an ethic
dat., as often in Thuc.
φυγάς τε γὰρ κτλ.
—‘an exile, indeed, I am from
the villainy of those who banished me, but not from the power of
aiding you’ (Wilkins). This refers to ἐς τὴν
φυγαδικὴν π., but the extreme artificiality of the
expression is not redeemed by its ingenuity.
φυγάς is used in two senses.
καὶ πολεμιώτεροι κτλ.
—referring to μετὰ τῶν πολεμιωτάτων
above. Enemies within are more dangerous (to Athens) than enemies
without.
ἤ
—strictly ἀλλά
is required, as οὐχ follows
πολεμιώτεροι. For the opposite,
ἀλλἀ in place of ἤ. cf. II. 43
οὐκ ἐν ᾧ κεῖνται μᾶλλον, ἀλλ’ ἐν ᾧ ἡ δόξα . .
καταλείπεται. (The Scholiast is wrong in saying οὐχ οὕτως ὑμᾶς πολεμίους ἡγοῦμαι, ὡς Ἁθηναίους
.)
οἱ . . ἀναγκάσαντες
—referring
to his own enemies at Athens.
τό τε φιλόπολι κτλ.
—‘love of country consists for me
not in suffering injustice, as I now am doing, but in the feeling
that I once lived securely as a citizen’ (Hampke,
Studien p. 11). ἐν ᾧ=ἐν τούτῳ
ὅτι. Cf c. 55, 4. Classen wrongly supplies εἶχον to ἐν ᾧ .
. ἑπολιτεύθην. Alc. ‘is not saying that he was once a
patriot and had now ceased to be one, but he claims or pretends to
be still a patriot’ (note in Jowett), as is shown by what follows.
οὐδ’ ἐπὶ πατρίδα οὖσαν κτλ.
—‘nor
yet do I think that I am now attacking (a city) that is still my
country, but rather that I am trying to recover one that is not my
country.’ by helping you to defeat Athens, to destroy her power, and
to start a new hegemony founded on good will and independence (§ 5).
καὶ φιλόπολις κτλ.
—Jebb
suggests that in these words, written after the end of the war,
Thuc. may have been thinking of Thrasy bulus and the downfall of the
Thirty. ‘Just after the restoration of the democracy the point would
have been peculiarly effective.’ Cf. Isocrates 16, 14, where the
comparison between Alc. and the patriots under Thrasybulus is made.
ἀπολέσας
,
‘lost.’
διὰ τὸ ἐπιθυμεῖν
—cf. Andoc. 2, 10 εἰσῆλθέ μοι ἐπιθυμία τῆς μεθ’
ὑμῶν πολιτείας. ‘The true patriot is not he who
abstains from moving against the country from which he has been
unjustly banished, but he who, in his passionate love for her,
strives by all means to regain her’ (Jebb). The whole of §§ 3 and 4
is sophistry.
ἐμοί τε
—answered by καὶ αὐτούς.ταλαιπωρία
often means the suffering that war or disease brings
προβαλλόμενον
—‘put forward’; cf. I. 73
τὰ δὲ Μηδικὰ
. . αἰεὶ προβαλλομένοις (mid.) ἀνἀγκη
λέγειν (a passage which is, I think, misundcrstood by the
edd.).
εἰ πολέμιός γε κτλ.
—we should expect rather to have a general statement: the plea is ‘just as I
injured you greatly as an enemy, so I should help you effectually as
a friend.’
ὅσῳ
—‘inasmuch as’ (oftener with compar.
or superl. following). ‘I only conjectured your intentions, whereas I know those of the Athenians.’
διαφερόντων
—‘interests.’
βραχεῖ μορίῳ
—‘with
a small part of your forces.’
μεγάλα
is considered by Poppo
predicative, by Classen proleptic; but perhaps the order is only due
to the antithesis between βραχεῖ
and
μεγάλα—‘a slender aid to secure great interests’
(Bloomfield’).
τὴν μέλλουσαν
—referring
to the Athenian designs as he had foreshadowed them.
τῆς ἁπάσης Ἑλλάδος
—he
contrasts the mildness of the coming Spartan hegemony with the
oppression of the present Athenian Empire. The contrast is of course
imaginary.
κατ’ εὔνοιαν
—‘in
virtue of their goodwill.’
καὶ αὐτοί
—‘even
unasked’ they were thinking of sending an expedition against Athens,
but were ‘hesitating and looking about them.’
ἐπερρώσθησαν
is opposite of ἀρρωστεῖν: cf. VII.
7
ἐς τἆλλα
πολὺ ἐπέρρωντο: the ἐπ‐
denotes addition.
διδάξαντος . . καὶ
νομίσαντες
—the
participles are timeless. They were encouraged ‘by his explanation
and by the thought that he knew.’
προσεῖχον ἤδη τὸν νοῦν
—‘from
this moment they set their minds on it.’ The plan was not carried
out until March 413. The Peace of Nicias was still nominally
observed: Sparta shrank from violating it openly.
καὶ τὸ παραυτίκα
—with πέμπειν. which depends on προσεῖχον τὸν νοῦν in a slightly
different meaning.
τιμωρίαν
=
βοήθειαν (Schol.), Ionic. No troops were sent immediately.
Γύλιππον
—see Freeman, Hist.
Sic. III. p. 201. His arrival in Sicily was the turning-point
of the war. His father, exiled for taking bribes from Athens, had
settled at Thurii in 445 B.C.
προστάξαντες ἄρχοντα
—Thucydidean
expression for the appointment of a commander.
τοῖς Συρ
. is dat.
commodi.
μετ’ ἐκείνων
—sc. the Syracusans, though
only the envoys are meant, as also in
Κορινθίων.
ποιεῖν ὅπῃ . . ἤξει
—‘to
devise how help may reach their friends in Sicily most effectually
and speedily.’
ἐκ τῶν παρόντων
—‘under
the circumstances,’ viz. those explained by Alc. in c. 91, 2.
οἱ
—the
only case of the sing. of this pron. at all frequent in prose.
Ἀσίνην
—in Messenia, mentioned also in IV. 13. It is strange that it is not more
clearly defined, esp. as there is a place of the same
name in Laconia. The further movements of Gylippus are recorded in
c. 104.
ὅταν καιρὸς ᾖ
—it
was now winter, and so not time to sail.
ἡ . . τριήρης
—see c. 74, 2. τροφήν is money to pay the troops. The
sum is 300 talents (c. 94, 4). Cf. the inscription given in Hicks,
p. 79 ‘επὶ τῆς Ἀντιοχίδος
ὀγδόης πρυτανευούσης τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ (this date would be
somewhere in March, which fits in with the text here) τῆς πρυτανείας’: a sum of 300 talents
is paid as a loan from the treasure of Athena (cf. II. 13) to Aristocrates, Euonymus, and
the other strategi, who pay it over for the army in Sicily. Then
follows an account of a further loan of 4 talents, 2000 drachmas,
for the ships that were to convey the money to Sicily.
ἐτελεύτα
—see
on c. 7, 4.
Μεγάρων, οὕς
—for the change from
place-name to inhabitants, which is very common, cf. cc. 48; 74, 1;
75, 2. Observe that unless gender and number are in agreement with
the antecedent, attraction of rel. is impossible. Cf. c. 20, 3 Νάξου καὶ Κατάνης, ἂς ἤλπιζον .
ὥσπερ καὶ κτλ
—at
c. 4, 2.
ἐδῄωσαν τούς [τε] ἀγρούς
—for the wrong insertion
of τε see on c. 6, 2. It is
improbable that Thuc. would write such a sentence as ἐδῄωσαν τούς τε ἀγροὺς καὶ . . τὸ πεδίον ἐδῄουν
for ἐδῄωσάν τε τοὺς ἀ. καὶ ἐδῄουν τὸ πέδιον,
for in all other places where τε
is misplaced the verb in the second clause is different; the second
clause refers to the return journey and should not be joined to the
first by τε . . καί: if so joined τὸ πεδίον ought to refer to a plain at Megara. Herbst, who brackets τοὺς ἀγρούς as well, says that there is
no passage in Thuc. in which τε is
a real parallel to this. His objections to τοὺς
ἀγρούς are, however, less forcible. By these words we are
to understand estates about Megara that were held by Syracusans; cf. II. 13
τοὺς ἀγροὺς
τοὺς αὑτοῦ, of Pericles' estates.
ἔρυμα
—‘Thuc. had already twice
mentioned Megara as a
φρούριον of Syr. in cc. 49, 75. . . This ἔρυμα is surely something smaller than τὰ Μἐγαρα φρούριον in c. 75’ (Freeman).
αὖθις
—refers to
ἐδῄουν, in the sense of ‘next’; cf. c. 90, 2.
παρακομισθέντες
—this goes with πεζῇ and ναυσί:
all returned along the coast, some by sea, some by land. The Terias
forms the boundary between Syracusan and Catanean territory.
τό τε πεδίον
—i.e.
τὸ τοῦ Τηρίου πεδίον.ἀναβάντες
applies only to the land forces. Notice the three participles, ἑλόντες, παρακομισθέντες, ἀναβάντες.
Cf. c. 97, 4.
Κεντόριπα
—Centorbi,
one of the Sicel towns that refused to join the A. It is close to
Inessa and Geleatic Hybla.
τῶν Ἰνησσαίων
—the exact site of Inessa
is unknown. In III. 103 it is τὸ Σικελικὸν πόλισμα. In 426 the
Athenians tried to take it and failed. For the attempt to take Hybla
see c. 62, 5. Both were overlooked by Centuripa. Freeman notices
that the article is wanting to Centuripa, as also to Hyccara c. 62,
3, and thinks that they were much less well-known places than
Inessa, which was a famous place in the time of Ducetius.
τοὺς ἱππέας
—see
c. 93, 4.
τῶν ἵππων
—‘the
required horses’ were to be got in Sicily.
[
τε
]—cf. c. 94, 2 n. As Stahl says, there
is no parallel in Thuc. to such a ‘trajection’ of τε as this for τοὺς
ὶππἐας ἥκοντάς τε.
Ἐπιπολῶν
—Epipolae
includes all the high ground west of Achradina which was not within
the fortifications of the city.
σφᾶς
—should strictly speaking be σφεῖς: but the accus. marks the
contrast—here with
Ἀθηναῖοι—more strongly when the pronoun is far from
the subject to which it refers.
τὰς προσβάσεις
—i.e.
the approaches at the western end. It is strange that the Syr. had
not posted a guard here before; but still stranger that the A.
afterwards, when they gained Epipolae, left the approaches open.
αὐτῶν
=τῶν
Ἐπιπολῶν.κατὰ ταῦτα
=
‘by this road.’
δυνηθῆναι
—sc. λαθεῖν
ἀναβάντες. The reason for this confidenee is given in what
follows.
ἐξήρτηται κτλ
—‘the rest of Epipolae
(with the exception of the western extremity) is elevated and slopes
down to the city, and inwards (i.e.
ab urbe, as Bauer explains) it is exposed to view,’ because
it rises gently. (1) ἐξήρτηται=suspensa est. Stahl and others read ἐξῆρται, arguing that the Schol. read
it, for his note begins μὴ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐξῆρθαι
καὶ μετεωρίσθαι ὰκουέσθω. But, as Classen says, this does
not settle the reading. (2) μέχρι τῆς πόλεως
and ἔσω are the opposite one of
the other; for ἔσω=landwards from
the city.
ἐπιπολῆς
—‘above.’
τὸν λειμῶνα
—north
of the confluence of the Anapus and Cyane.
ἐτύγχανον . .
παρειληφότες
— with the tenses
here contrast ἔλαθον
σχόντες in c. 97, 1, and
φθάνει (historic pres.= ἔφθασεν
)ἀναβάς. See M.
T. §§ 144, 146, 147, 887. The aor. partic. expresses time
coineident with the aor. of these verbs.
οἱ περὶ τὸν Ἑρμοκράτη
—see cc 72, 5, 73, 1.
Freeman thinks that Thuc. gives the names prematurely in c. 73, 1,
and that the election had only just taken
place. But Thuc. means that the election took
place in the winter, and the new generals only entered
on office in the spring, with the beginning of the new
campaign.
λογάδας
—see on c. 66, 2. In c. 100 λογάδες and
ἐκλεκτοί occur together.
ὅπως . . εἶεν . .
παραγίγνωνται
—cf. VII. 17
ὅπως
. . ἀποπειράσωσι . . κωλύοιεν. ‘As the two forms are
equally correct, we sometimes find both in the same sense.’ M.T. § 321.
ταύτης τῆς νυκτὸς κτλ
—as the passage stands in the
MSS., the construe is ‘on the day that followed this night the A.
held a review,’ i.e. on the day following the
night that preceded the Syracusan review, they having sailed from
Catana to Leon during the night. But serious objections to this are
the intolerable harshness of the sentence, the absence of καὶ αὐτοί after
ἐξητάζοντο, and above all the absurdity of supposing that
the A. would hold a review at Leou while the Syr. were doing the
same on the Anapus, instead of making the best of their way to
Euryelus, their whole object being to seize the height unknown to
the Syr., as the night voyage shows. And § 2 below, ἐχώρει εὐθύς δρόμῳ, is inconsistent
with the supposition. Again, the review cannot have been held at
Catana, as then the voyage must have been made when day was well
advanced. The choiee lies between inserting
ᾗ with Poppo before
τῇ and striking out καί
with Madvig, so as to refer ἐξητάζοντο
to the Syr.; and with Kruger regarding τῇ
ἐπιγιγνομένῃ . . ἐξητάζοντο as an adscript on ταύτης τῆς νυκτός, intended to explain
its meaning. This has then been attached to the text by καί.
τὸν Λέοντα
—the site is not known. All
that is certain is that it was within a nule of the point of ascent σχεῖν κατά, as distinct from ἐξέβαινον ἐς τὸ κατά in c. 65, probably
shows that it was on the coast, though Arnold, Grote, and Freeman
thought not. Holm points out that the A. would land at a point south
of Thapsus.
Θάψον
—now Magnisi.
The naval force protected itself by a stockade across the narrow
isthmus.
ἐν στενῷ ἰσθμῷ
—cf. IV.
45
ἰσθμὸν
. . ἐν ῷ ἡ Μεθώνη ἐστί:IV. 113,
2.
κατὰ τὸν Εὐρύηλον
—the ‘Broad Nail’ extends
in its widest sense from
Mongibellisi, where stands the Dionysian Castle, to the
Belvedere Hill, which forms the head of the nail and is the western
extremity of the hill. The point meant here is the former, where the
northern wall of Dionysus springs from his castle. The same path was
used by Gylippus afterwards, and again by the A. general Demosthenes
in the night attack on Epipolae. For
πεζός
see Index.
ἐκ τοῦ λειμῶνος καὶ τῆς ἐ
—with
παραγενέσθαι.
τάχους
—the
gen. denotes the sphere in which lay their power.
προσμεῖζαι
—sc. τοῖς
Ἀθηναίοις. The Syr. of course ascended Euryelus by the south side.
ἐπικαταβάντες
—the
A. march down the hill and then back again. For the succession of
participles cf. c. 4, 1.
ἐπὶ τῷ Λαβδάλῳ
—east of the point of ascent,
on the north brink of the cliff, ‘on the extremity’ (ἀκροῖς). This site would be convenient
with the fleet stationed at Thapsus. Its disadvantage was that it
was not visible from the κύκλος
which the A. presently built. It was subsequently taken by Gylippus.
When he took it there were apparently no stores there; these were
apparently removed to the κύκλος:
cf. c. 102, 2. (See Heitland in Jour. of Phil.
'94 p. 57.) ‘A safe place was needed for their money and stuff,
while they themselves went forth to fight with the enemy, or to hem
in his city by a wall across the height which was now their own’
(Freeman).
τὸ πρὸς βορέαν τοῦ κύκλου τεῖχος
—either ‘a wall to wards the
north of the fort,’ or ‘the wall north of the fort.’ It is not clear
whether τὸ πρὸς β. agrees with τεῖχος or not. Thuc. distinguishes κύκλος from
ἀποτείχισμα.
αἰεί
—with
παρέβαλλον.
βραχύτατον
—the distance from the κύκλος to Trogilus (ἐπὶ τὴν ἐτέραν θάλασσαν) would be about
a mile and a half, and the same from the
κύκλος to the harbour.
ἐγίγνετο
=ἔμελλον
ἔσεσθαι, Schol.
ὑποτειχίζειν
—‘build an intercepting
wall’; cf. ὑπομόσαι .
ἀποκλῄσεις γίγνεσθαι—ἀποκλῄσεις
is subject of (ἔμελλον). The plur.
may allude to the fact that, as the A. were building two walls, Syr.
would be shut in in two directions.
ἐπιβοηθοῖεν
—sc. οἱ
Ἀθηναῖοι. ‘If they sent to prevent them while they were
building.’
ἀντιπέμπειν αὐτοῖς
—sc. ἐδόκει ἄμεινον εἶναι. At καὶ φθάνειν ἄν the passage is continued
in O.O.
τὰς ἐφόδους
—either ‘attacks’ on the wall
which would be ‘checked’ by a stockade, or else the ‘approaches’
which would be ‘occupied’ before the wall itself was built. In
either case the sense is the same: the
σταυροί are to protect the builders, and are a temporary
shelter.
ἀπὸ τῆς ς. πόλεως
—from
some point in the wall of Temenites.
κάτωθεν τοῦ κύκλου
—‘south of the fort.’ The
reasons for the choice were—(1) the A. would be prevented from
reaching the Great Harbour, (2) the north was unsuitable, because
the A. fleet was at Thapsus, and a counterwork there would be
exposed on two sides to an attack, (3) the A. were busy at the
north, and their attention was withdrawn from the south. (Leake,
Arnold, Grote, Holm, and Classen place the wall at the south. But
Göller, Dunbar, Didot, and Stahl place it north
of the κύκλος, rendering κάτωθεν ‘on lower ground than.’ But (1)
c. 100, 2 κατέφνγον ἐς τὸ
προτείχισμα τὸ περὶ τὃν Τεμενίτην is against this. (2)
If the wall was north of the κύκλος, why did the A. leave off
building at the north wall after destroying the counterwork? They
would have pressed on in that direction to prevent the Syr. from
repeating their attempt to traverse the north wall. But if the Syr.
built south, between the κύκλος
and κρημνός, Nicias had a good
reason for building at once across this space, instead of continuing
on the northern wall. (3) As κάτωθεν
can mean ‘south of,’ it is unlikely that Thuc. would have used it to
describe a wall north of the κύκλος,
as such a description would certainly mislead.)
ἐγκάρσιον
—at
right angles to the A. wall.
τοῦ τεμένους
—i.e.
in the Temenites, for which see c. 75, 1.
πύργους ξυλίνους
—probably
on the south side of the wall.
αἱ δὲ νῆες κτλ
—this explains on the one hand how it was that the Syr. were not
open to attack from the harbour, on the other why the A. were able
to get provisions in spite of the Syr. counterwork and possession of
the harbour.
ἐτείχιζον τὸν κρημνόν
—‘they proceeded to
build a wall on the cliff,’ not ‘built a wall along the cliff,’ as
Classen. This is the short piece of wall that ran from the κύκλος to the Portella
del Fusco, and is more accurately described in § 3 as
τὸ πρὸς
τὸν κρημνόν. (Arnold, Grote, and Freeman understand
‘they fortified a point on the cliff,’ and assume that Nicias
subsequently filled in the space between this new fort and the κύκλος with a wall which Thuc. does not
mention. They increase the difficulty by placing the κύκλος too far north. Lupus, Stahl, and
Fr. Muller read <ἐς> τὸν κρημνόν, but this is not necessary
when the κύκλος is rightly placed,
the distance now built being so short that the wall ‘to the cliff’ can be fairly called a wall ‘on the cliff.’)
ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἕλους
—Lysimeleia, now Pantanelli.
τῶν Ἐπιπολῶν
depends on ταύτῃ.
διὰ τοῦ ὁμαλοῦ
—a
lower level than Epipolae, but not so low as the marsh.
αὖθις
—again
they built out westward, and made another effort to prevent the A.
from reaching the harbour, but this time on the lowest level.
Probably the palisade and ditch were not completed.
τὸ πρὸς τὸν κρημνόν
—see
on § 2.
ἐκ τῆς Θάψου
—
it was a mistake to abandon Thapsus altogether.
περὶ ὄρθρον
—cf. IV.
110
νυκτὸς
ἔτι καὶ περὶ ὄρθρον. Phrynichus says ὄρθρος ἐστιν ἡ ὥρα τῆς νυκτὸς καθ) ἣν ἀλεκτρύονες
ἄδουσιν. ἄρχεται δὲ ἐνάτης ὥρας καὶ τελευτᾷ εἰς διαγελῶσαν ἡμέραν
.
καὶ διὰ τοῦ ἕλους
—Classen takes this with διαβαδίσαντες, so that ᾗ πηλῶδες . . ἐπιθέντες is
parenthetical; whereas Krüger joins it with
ἐπιθέντες, which makes an awkward expression. Stahl
renders ‘in fact over the marsh,’ apparently regarding it as an
explanation of ἐς τὸ ὁμαλόν: but τὸ ὁμαλόν and τὸ
ἕλος are different levels. Classen is probably right.
τὸ δεξιὸν κέρας
—the
Syr. line was facing towards the north, so that the right wing made
for the city, the left ran along the left bank of the Anapus to the
bridge by which the Helorine road crossed it (the Syr. had restored
it since the incident mentioned in c. 66, 2); they hoped to reach
Polichna, which was in the hands of the Syr.
οἱ . . λογάδες
—see
c. 100, 1.
ἦσαν γὰρ κτλ
—this
gives the reason for what follows, not for what preeedes.
αὐτοῖς
=the
Syr.
ξυνεφοβήθη
—‘was also put to confusion,’
like the 300. Observe the correction φυλή
for φυλακή of the MSS. In Xen. Hel.
IV.
2, 19 there is a false variant,
φυλακαί for φυλαί.
Λάμαχος
—see Intr. p. xiv.
ἑαυτῶν
—the
plur. is often so used where one general among several is mentioned.
εὐθὺς κατὰ τάχος
— an instance of the
tendency to multiply words, esp. adverbs, in order to obtain
emphasis—e.g.
πόθεν
οἰκόθεν· αὐτοῦ ἐκεῖ. The same tendency is seen in Latin,
esp. in comedy.