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Φιλοκαλοῦμεν—these words have been assidu- ously translated, paraphrased, and burlesqued. They not only defend Athenian ἀνδρεία, but contain sound advice to his hearers not to let their love of art degenerate into bad taste and mere display, nor their culture undermine their manliness. εὐτελείας—‘simplicity,’ avoidance of the gorgeous ornamentation that afterwards characterised Asianism. φιλοσοφοῦμεν—‘combine culture with manliness.’ Observe the ἰσόκωλον (equal number of syllables in two clauses), 11 syllables on each side of καί: this is a variety of παρομοίωσις (Intr. p. lii.), and the παρονομασία in φιλοκαλοῦμεν, φιλοσοφοῦμεν. ἄνευ μαλακίας—Demosth. 3, 24 and 25 has a passage probably suggested by this, in which he contrasts the magnificence of the public buildings with the simplicity of the private life in former times. Pericles refers to the Spartan idea, that learning was unsuited to men of action. The idea is not confined to Sparta. πλούτῳ—‘we employ our wealth as means for action, not as a subject for boasting.’ Cf. c. 41, 2. τὸ πένεσθαι—put First, because emphatic. ‘To admit poverty is no disgrace.’ Cf. c. 37, 1. There were penalties for idleness at Athens. αἴσχιον—another γνώμη in the form of an antithesis. Cf. c. 11, 5, and 2, 3 and 4 below. The comparative implies ‘even if poverty were disgraceful (as some say).’ Plat. Apol. p. 39 A μὴ ού τοῦτ᾽ ἦ̣ χαλεπόν, θάνατον ἐκφυγεῖν, ἀλλὰ πολὺ χαλεπώτερον πονηρίαν: the first member must be negative in this idiom, in which opposition is mixed with comparison. Cf. οὐδὲν ἄλλο ... ἀλλ᾽ ἢ in Plato.
Τοῖς αὐτοῖς—sc. ἡμῖν, all the citizens being meant. ‘In attending to our private business, we do not neglect the state.’ It was Pericles' object to induce all the citizens to take part in politics. ἕτερα πρὸς ἔργα—i.e. trade, manufacture and agriculture. τετραμμένοις—c. 25, 2. ἀπράγμονα—to many, πράγματα were tiresome. Cf. c. 64, 4, and Intr. p. lxxii. αὐτοὶ—‘we in person,’ the citizens in the ecclesia, as contrasted with the Spartan government, which was almost entirely in the hands of the Ephors and Gerusia. ἤτοι κρίνομέν γε—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. ‘At any rate we are sound judges, if we cannot originate.’ This contains an encouragement to the citizens to exercise their right of voting in the ecclesia, since they were capable of pronouncing an opinion on any policy proposed to them: but there are cases in which the citizens conspicuously erred in their judgment. Here, as in other parts, Pericles states his ideal of the constitution. ἐνθυμούμεθα—of the statesmen. τοὺς λόγους—alluding to the ‘laconic’ brevity of the Spartans. ἀλλὰ μὴ—i.e. μᾶλλον βλάβην ἡγούμενοι μὴ προδιδαχθῆναι; the compar. as in 1 above. προδιδαχθῆναι—by the orators, to whom, in after years, the people became accustomed to look for political guidance. πρότερον ἢ—for πρότερον ... πρίν, a very rare construction except in Herod., Thuc., and Antiphon. Cf. c. 65, 12. ἢ ἐπὶ ἃ δεῖ ἔργῳ ἐλθεῖν—i.e. ἣ ἐργῷ ἐλθεῖν ἐπὶ ἃ δεῖ (ἔργῳ ἐλθεῖν). Cf. Plat. Phaedo, p. 114 B οἳ ἂν δόξωσι διαφερόντως πρὸς τὸ ὁσίως βιῶναι, i.e. οἳ ἂν δόξωσι διαφερόντως βιῶναι πρὸς τὸ ὁσίως (βιῶναι), where, though Stallbaum's quotations are irrevelant, his explanation is right, in spite of Archer-Hind's objection. The verb really belongs to the 1st member, and is ‘understood’ with the 2nd. ἐπὶ ... ἐλθεῖν—cf. ἐπεξελθεῖν of actions) (διεξελθεῖν of words.
Ὥστε—explains what precedes, as though it were ὅτι τολμῶμεν. ἐπιχειρήσομεν—‘mean to undertake.’ ἐκλογίζεσθαι—sc. μάλιστα, ‘give the fullest consideration.’ ὃ— adverbial accus. ‘on the contrary.’ Cf. quod before si. (This is the old explanation, that of Hudson; but it was generally abandoned in favour of the view that ὃ is nom., and to be explained by anacoluthon. The edd. of the last decade have returned to the old view, especially since 1883—Schneider in N. Jahrb. '83, p. 457.) Cf. τὸ δέ. It refers to the whole of the preceding sentence. ψυχὴν—only here in Thuc.= ‘spirit’; elsewhere ‘life.’ Cl. compares εὔψυχος. οἱ κ.τ.λ. —this defines courage, as distinct from θράσος. Aristotle (Eth. II. 2, 7) places the virtue ἀνδρεία midway between the vices δειλία and θράσος. Cf. Plat. Protag. 351 A, Aristot. Eth. III. 7, 11 fol. δεινὰ—of the hardships of war. ήδέα—of the pleasures of peace. σαφέστατα—courage is one of the four cardinal virtues (justice, temperance, wisdom, and courage). Socrates held that courage consists, not only in being used to danger, but also in the knowledge of good and evil. μὴ ἀποτρεπόμενοι—this sums up the preceding sections, in which the statement φιλοσοφοῦμεν ἄνευ μαλακίας has been expanded. διὰ ταῦτα=ὅμως.
Ἀρετὴν—in its restricted sense, as Aristot. Rhet. I. 9, 4,=the power of doing good; not in the general sense of the Ethics (= perfection of man and of his functions). ἐνηντιώμεθα—the perf. denotes ‘we have always been unlike,’ a regular use of the perf. In Aristoph. Av. 385 the MSS. give ἠναντιώμεθα against the metre. δρῶντες—cf. Pliny, Ep. III. 4, 6 conservandum veteris officii meritum novo videbatur. τοὺς —‘our.’ βεβαιότερος—‘a firmer friend,’ cf. Aristot. Eth. IX. 7, 2 οἱ εὖ πεποιηκότες φιλοῦσι καὶ ἀγαπῶσι τοὺς εὖ πεπονθότας. ὸ δράσας κ.τ.λ.—i.e. ὁ δράσας τὴν χάριν ἐστι βεβαιότερος ὥστε σῴζειν τὴν χάριν ὀφειλομένην δι᾽ εὐνοίας ἐκείνου ᾧ δέδωκε τὴν χάριν. Here, as often, ὥστε is inserted where the simple infin. might have been used. Cf. c. 2, 4; Plat. Protag. p. 338 C ἀδύνατον ὥστε σοφώτερόν τιν᾽ ἑλέσθαι. τὴν χάριν—regarded from the side of both giver and recipient, thus combining the meanings ‘favour’ and ‘gratitude,’ as with gratia. ὀφειλομένην— ‘as due to him’ (i.e. to the giver). ὀφειλομένην and σῴζειν are connected, being properly used of property given in trust to another's keeping. Plat. Rep. I. p. 332 A compared with ib. p. 333 C. δι᾽ εὐνοίας—‘by (the continuation of) his goodwill towards him to whom he showed the kindness.’ δέδωκε —as in Acts, 20, 35 μακάριόν ἐστι μᾶλλον διδόναι ἢ λαμβάνειν. Livy, XXII. 13 sub fin., Sallust. Cat. 6, 5 σῴζειν—as this means ‘to retain the good-will or gratitude of his friends whom he has benefited,’ the middle might be expected: but the object of the act. is to represent the result of the benefit, not on the mind of the doer but on the mind of the recipient; the doer is said to ‘keep safe’ what the recipient ‘keeps safe’ for him, viz. τὴν χάριν. ἀμβλύτερος—‘more indifferent.’ Is it not true? ἐς—‘as a.’ Cf. Andoc. II. 23 εἰς χρήματα μεγάλας δωρέας. χάριν—free service which will win him gratitude. χάρις, a free gift, is contrasted with ὀφείλημα, a loan, and so a debt. τῆς ἐλευθερίας τῷ πιστῷ— ‘the confidence due to our liberal ideas.’ Cf. c. 37, 2 ἐλευθέρως. (Not ‘liberality.’) ἀδεῶς—‘without fear,’ lest, by helping others, we should be injuring ourselves.
Commentary on Thucydides Book 2. E.C. Marchant. London. MacMillan & Company. 1891.
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