Speech of the Corinthian envoys. Chaps. 120-124.
After the example of the Lacedaemonians, we ought all to declare for war without
further hesitation, free equally from cowardly desire of repose and from excessive
assurance of victory.
τοὺς μὲν Λακεδαιμονίους: placed thus at
the beginning to emphasize the change of sentiment, which no longer requires the rebukes
of c. 68 ff., and in opp. to
ἡμῶν δέ of 6.
καὶ ἡμᾶς ἐς τοῦτο ξυνήγαγον: this clause
also depends on
ὡς οὐ, referring especially to the
reproach of the Corinthians, c. 69. 8. To
οὐδὲ ἐπὶ
φανεροῖς there is here opp.
ἐς τοῦτο, i.e.
the distinct purpose
τοῦ τὸν πόλεμον ψηφίσασθαι. See
Stahl, Jahrb. 1863, p. 477.—
γάρ:
introduces the reason for the commendation of the action just implied. Sh. renders it
‘of course.’
τὰ ἴδια: the special interests of
particular members of the league (cf. c. 82. 26), including especially those of the
Lacedaemonians themselves.—
ἐξ ἴσου
νέμοντας:
administering impartially, without claiming
any preference. Cf.
iii.12.12;
iv.62.21; 117. 14; and for
νέμειν,
viii.70.9; Hdt.
i.59.34;
v.92.33; and see on c. 71. 6.
ὥσπερ...προτιμῶνται
: in contrast with
προσκοπεῖν.
For the thought, cf.
Xen. An. iii.1.37.
“As on other occasions (meetings for counsel, conduct of war,
etc.; cf.
v.29.14) the foremost
place is conceded to them by all.” For
ἐκ =
ὑπό, mostly Ion. and poetic, see Kühn. 430,
2, 3 c. See on c. 20. 10;
iii.69.3;
vi.36.9.
ἡμῶν: includes all the
ξύμμαχοι, divided into
ὅσοι μὲν . . .
ἐνηλλάγησαι and
τοὺς δὲ . . .
κατῳκημένους.
ἐνηλ. λάγησαν
: not found elsewhere, though recognized by Thom. Mag. p. 80, 1,
and by the Schol., who explains
συνέμιξαν καὶ
ὡμίλησαν. Since this verb elsewhere always means
‘exchange,’ Madvig,
Adv. I. p. 308, proposes
ἐν ἀλλαγῇ ἦσαν,
in commercio
fuerunt. —
ἤδη: often used of
an appeal to experience. See on
ii.77.15.—7
ὥστε: after
διδαχῆς, as in
viii.45.20 after
διδάσκειν. See on c. 119. 7.— 7.
τὴν μεσόγειαν...κατῳκημένους
: elsewhere
κατῳκῆσθαι has only
adverbial designations of place. Cf.
ii.96.7; 99. 20;
iii.34.2;
v.83.13. The
acc. would properly require an act. form as in
viii.108.19. v. H. proposes to insert
κατά.
ἐν πόρῳ
:
in the track of commerce, particularly
on the coast. Cf.
vi.48.8.
τοῖς κάτω: Schol.
τοῖς παραλίοις: placed for emphasis before the conj. Cf. c. 19. 4; and
see on c. 77. 6.—
χαλεπωτέραν
κτἑ.: a favorite turn of Thuc. for
χαλεπωτέρα αὐτοῖς ἔσται, used often in expressions of
change. Cf. c. 82. 18;
ii.62.7;
iii.11.16; 13. 36; 82. 16;
iv.10.13; 62. 7; 92.
24;
v.69.13;
vii.63.10;
77. 18;
viii.45.16.
τὴν κατακομιδήν: prop. of conveyance to the
coast, implies also subsequent exportation; as also
ἡ
ἀντίληψις does importation. Both being necessary parts of commercial
exchange, are included, with their gens. and the adv.
πάλιν (which belongs closely to
ἀντίληψιν), under one art. Cf. c. 54. 4;
ii.64.26;
iii.2.6; 56. 7;
v.5.1; Dem. II. 9.—
τῶν
ὡραίων:
the products of the land. Cf.
iii.58.18.
μὴ κακοὺς...εἶναι
:
and not to be careless judges of the things
now said as if they concerned them not.
μή with
προσηκόντων
from the imv. force of
χρή. Cf.
vii.77.35; Ar.
Ran. 128,
ὡς ὄντος γε
μὴ βαδιστικοῦ. See Kühn. 515, 3.
ποτε: belongs to
ἂν
προελθεῖν =
ὅτι ἂν προέλθοι, the prot.
being
εἰ προοῖντο (cf. 17 and 22), the ideal form of
the cond. sent. giving greater generalty to the supposition than the anticipatory (with
ἤν) would do, which might seem more natural here.
See on 16. —
τὸ δεινόν:
the danger. Cf. c. 70. 11; 84. 8;
iii.22.26.
βουλεύεσθαι: does not depend, as Cl. says, on
χρή, but on a verb of thinking implied in
προσδέχεσθαι. “They must understand that their own
interests are at least as much involved in the present deliberation as those of
others.”
μεταλαμβάνειν:
to take in
exchange. Cf.
vi.18.19; 87. 25.—
ἀνδρῶν σωφρόνων:
men of
discretion. Cf. c. 40. 8. This term is not opp. to
ἀγαθῶν (‘courageous,’ ‘resolute’),
but the latter is set forth as the higher quality. In the view of the Corinthians it is
ἀδικία on the part of the Athenians to menace the
interests of the inland states.
εἰ μὴ ἀδικοῖντο: this opt., for which, as
P. says,
ἐάν with subj. would be more usual, occurs
chiefly in dependence on an inf., and is to be regarded as a relic of the epic use of
the mood. See examples with rel. in Kühn. 560, 4; Kr.
Spr. 54,
14, 4. Cf. c. 121. 13;
iii.10.5. In 13
εἰ προοῖντο appears formally regular through the apod.
κἂν προελθεῖν=
ὅτι
προέλθοι ἄν, which is, however, merely an aoristic
future.—
ἀδικουμένους: not
attracted to gen., the inf. not being that of a copulative verb. Kühn. 475, 2
a.—
ἐκ μὲν εἰρήνης:
ἐκ used of immediate transition from state to state. Cf. Dem.
XIX. 133,
ἐκ πολέμου ποιούμενος εἰρήνην.
παρασχόν
:
παρέσχεν and
παρασχήσει (in Hdt. also
παρέχει,
παρέξει,
iii.73.2; 142. 10) impers. of an
opportunity presenting itself. Cf.
iv.85.8;
vi.86.22; most freq. in abs. partic.,
v.14.11; 60. 25; 63. 3. GMT. 110, 2; H. 973.
τῷ ἡσυχίῳ
κτἑ.: for neut. adj. as subst., see on c. 36. 3.
ἡσύχιος (Hdt.
i.107.13) expresses a constant and habitual tranquillity more than the commoner
ἥσυχος. ἡδόμενον is for
ἡδομένους, as if
τινα had preceded;
from the pleasure one takes in the tranquillity of peace to allow
himself to be wronged. For this permissive use of the pass., see Kr.
Spr. 52, 11, 3. Cf.
iii.82.51.
ὅ τε γὰρ
κτἑ.: the order of the clauses here is chiastic to the
preceding.
τῆς ῥᾳστώνης:
undisturbed enjoyment; in this sense rare in early writers. Plat.
Gorg. 459 c;
Rep. 460 d, ‘facility’;
Hdt.
iii.136.8, ‘compliance with.’
εἰ ἡσυχάζοι:
if he give
himself up to inactivity, carrying out his character as
ὀκνῶν.
πλεονάζων
:
presuming on; probably here only in this
sense; different in
ii.35.12.—
ἐντεθύμηται: with partic; cf.
ii.62.5;
vi.78.3. Usually with
ὅτι,
ii.43.9;
v.111.4;
vii.64.11. The pf.
expresses the firm hold of a conviction. (Intensive pres. pf.; Curtius,
Verbum, II. p. 156 ff.) Cf. Plat.
Phaed. 86
b.—
θράσει ἀπίστῳ:
ill-grounded self-confidence.
τυχόντα: so Cobet (
ad
Hyp. p. 46), for
τυχόντων of the best Mss., to
which the preceding words might easily have led. “Many ill-contrived schemes
have succeeded because by good luck they have had to deal with adversaries yet more
ill-advised.” But Herbst, Philol. 1866, p. 651, and Stahl. Jahrb. 1863, p.
412, decidedly prefer
τυχόντων (with omitted
ὄντων: see on c. 32. 9, and cf., for this omission even with
gen. abs., Pind.
Pyth.
IV. 5,
οὐκ ἀποδάμου Ἀπόλλωνος
τυχόντος). Herbst says that when
τυχεῖν in
Thuc. means ‘hit,’ it implies previous aim; cf.
iii.39.42; 42. 18, 26; 82. 31;
iv.22.13.—
κατωρθώθη:
empiric aor.; cf. c. 69. 31; 70. 24. The mid.
κατορθοῦσθαι only with thing as subj.,
ii.65.28;
iv.76.21;
vi.13.7, while the act. is used in same sense of things (
v.111.27;
vi.33.26) and
persons (c. 140. 8;
ii.42.20; 89. 8;
iii.14.5; 39. 39; 42. 28;
vi.11.5; 12. 7; 17. 14; 38. 8;
vii.42.34; 47. 4;
66. 7; 68. 9;
viii.2.7; 109. 7).—
καὶ ἔτι πλέω (
ἐστὶ)
ἅ: Cobet wrongly omits
ἅ, connecting
πλέω
περιέστη directly. For thus
πλέω and the
opposition of
καλῶς and
αἰσχρῶς would be less prominent.
περιέστη: see on c. 32. 15; 76. 21.
ἐνθυμεῖται γὰρ
κτἑ.: this clause gives the reason of what immediately
precedes.
ἐνθυμεῖσθαι is here, as in
ii.40.9; 60. 20;
viii.68.6,
form a plan (not, as usual, ‘deliberate,’
‘consider’); and to this
ἔργῳ
ἐπεξέρχεσθαι is opposed (cf. c. 84. 17). To both verbs belongs
ὁμοίᾳ τῇ πίστει: “no one forms a plan and
carries it out with unchanged confidence.” See App.
δοξάζομεν: takes the place of
ἐνθυμεῖσθαι in an unfavourable sense,
we
form fallacious notions, just as
ἐν τῷ ἔργῳ
ἐλλείπομεν repeats what precedes with greater distinctness.
