Harold North Fowler, Commentary on Thucydides Book 5

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οὐ γὰρ: see on c. 97. 1.— 2. ὅσοι ἠπειρῶται ποιήσονται, τοὺς νησιώτας παροξυνομένους: the inhabitants of the mainland are opp. to the islanders. The Athenians wish to show that they are in danger not so much from the former as from the latter. “The people of the mainland will in their freedom (the dat. τῷ ἐλευθέρῳ denotes not so much cause as merely an attendant circumstance, and is nearly equiv. to ἐλεύθεροι ὄντες) defer indefinitely any measures of precaution they may take against us, which is not the case with the islanders, whether they are, like you, free from restraint, or irritated by the necessity of submission to our rule.” For other explanations, see App.— 6. τῷ ἀλογίστῳ: rash or ill-considered action, in consequence of παροξύνεσθαι.

ἐς κίνδυνον καταστήσειαν : so also in ii. 100. 25. Similarly ἐς ἀπορίαν, ii. 81. 37; vii. 75. 14; ἐς ταραχήν, iv. 75. 10; ἐς ἔκπληξιν, vi. 36. 7. The Schol. explains this chap. as follows: οὐ γὰρ νομίζομεν τοὺς ἐλευθέρους τῶν ἠπειρωτῶν ἡμῖν ἔσεσθαι πολεμίους: μὴ δεδιότες γὰρ ἡμᾶς, ὡς ἂν κατὰ γῆν οὐ μέλλοντας αὐτοῖς ἐπιστρατεύειν, πολλὴν μέλλησιν τοῦ φυλάττεσθαί τε ἡμᾶς καὶ πολεμεῖν ποιήσονται. τοὺς δὲ ἐν ταῖς νήσοις ἐλευθέρους ὥσπερ ὑμᾶς, καὶ τοὺς ὑπακούοντας μὲν ἤδη, διὰ δὲ τὸ ἐξ ἀνάγκης καὶ μὴ ἑκοντὶ ὑπακούειν παροξυνομένους καὶ ταραττομένους τούτους ἡγούμεθα, εἰ περιίδοιμεν ὑμᾶς ἐλευθέρους (so Cl. for ἡμᾶς: “if we should permit you to be free”), ἐπαρθέντας ἀλογίστως καὶ ἀντιστάντας ἡμῖν αὐτούς τε καὶ ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς ἐς κίνδυνον καταστήσειν.