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5.
21. ἐπ̓—to, not against.
23. οὐ τῶν ἀδυνατωτάτων = τῶν δυνατωτάτων.
κέρδους ἕνεκα—a frequent phrase. Notice the place of ἕνεκα, which is usual when it applies to two nouns, as e.g. Antiphon 6, 7 διαβολῆς ἕνεκα καὶ ἀπάτης, Lys. 32. 10 καὶ τῆς ἀδελφῆς ἕνεκα καὶ σφῶν αὐτῶν. But the rule is not absolute.
24. τοῖς ἀσθενέσι τροφῆς—cf. Dem. 1.22 τὰ τῆς τροφῆς τοῖς ξένοις. ἀσθενεῖς = ‘weak.’
25. πόλεσιν ἀτειχίστοις—i.e. village communities. We cannot help thinking of the great aphorism in 7.77. 7 ἄνδρες γὰρ πολις καὶ οὐ τείχη.
27. βίου—livelihood. ἐποιοῦντο = ‘would get,’ a sense more familiar in the corresponding passive forms, ὁ βίος ἐγίγνετο αὐτοῖς.
ἐποιοῦντο—see L. & S. A. II. 2.
ἔχοντος—synonymous with φέροντος. 2.37.3 νόμων ... ὅσοι αἰσχύνην φέρουσι, 2.41.3 τῷ πολεμίῳ ἀγανάκτησιν ἔχει.
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2. δηλοῦσι—i.e. show the truth of the preceding statements: there is even in the present day evidence for what I have said.
τῶν ἠπειρωτῶν τινες—i.e. those dwelling in the coast towns of the mainland.
3. καλῶς—cleverly, as often in καλῶς λέγειν.
τοῦτο δρᾶν—a regular expression for referring to a previous verb.
4. οἱ παλαιοί—sc. δηλοῦσι.
τὰς πύστεις ... ἐρωτῶντες—lit. everywhere agreeing in putting the stock question to strangers who come by sea, ‘are you pirates?’ thus showing that the persons addressed were not accustomed to disown the occupation, and that those who made it their bussiness to know did not censure it. Of ‘the old poets’ Homer is one (Od. 3.71 and 9.252); and there is the Hymn to Apollo l. 452; but of course Thucydides knew other passages. The wording of the sentence has been questioned; but Thuc. seems to have had in mind ἡ πύστις τῶν καταπλεόντων ἐστὶν εἰ λῃσταί εἰσιν. The poets are said to ask the question: for the characters are the mouthpiece of the poet.
6. οὔτε ... τε frequently correspond, as in Lat. neque ... et
πυνθάνονται ... ἐπιμελὲς εἴη—the forms of the recta and obliqua are combined, as frequently in Xen. = ὧν πυνθανόμεθα ... οἷς ἂν ἐπιμελὲς ᾖ. It expresses the thought of the poets. (Others seem to consider πυνθάνονται as hist. pres. and εἴη as pure iterative opt.)
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8. καὶ κατ᾽ ἤπειρον—i.e. they not only carried on piracy at sea, but plundered one another on land as well. κατ᾽ ἤπειρον = κατὰ γῆν. That Thuc. is thinking here of the towns near the coast is shown by c. 7.5 αἱ δὲ παλαιαὶ(πόλεις)διὰ τὴν λῃστείαν ἀπὸ θαλάσσης ᾠκίσθησαν.
10. τῷ παλαιῷ τρόπῳ—i.e. κατὰ κώμας οἰκούμενα καὶ ἁρπαζόμενα.
περί—in the parts about. The names of the people are used by Thuc. indifferently with the place-names.
12. τε—and so.
13. σιδηροφορεῖσθαι—below we have the act.: the mid. means to provide one's self with, see that one has. Such compounds of φορῶ (cf. κανηφορῶ, χρυσοφορῶ) are not ordinarily used in mid.; but cf. Aristot. Pol. 2.1268b ἐσιδηροφοροῦντό τε γὰρ οἱ Ἕλληνες, καὶ τὰς γυναῖκας ἐωνοῦντο παρ᾽ ἀλλήλων.
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