E.C. Marchant, Commentary on Thucydides Book 1

3. τὰς σπονδὰς λύσῃ—i.e. if he has not been convinced by what we have said on this point; see c. 35. 1. Legally, the speaker has already explained, there will be no breach of the truce; but the alliance might be considered by Corinth as a breach of its spirit.

4. τὸ δεδιός—a favourite construction of Thuc. 2.59. 3 τὸ ὀργιζόμενον τῆς γνώμης: below c. 84. 6; τὸ μέλλον 90. 2; 142. 8. The neut. partic. with art. as noun is rarely used by other prose authors: Xen. Cyr. IV. v. 39 τὸ ἐλλεῖπον.

ἰσχὺν ἔχον—as the result of alliance with us.

5. μὴ δεξαμένου—if he rejects our request.

7. ἀδεέστερον—less formidable: here in passive sense. Cf. the double meaning of φοβερός, formidolosus.

οὐ ... τὸ πλέον=ἦσσον.

10. ἐς τὸν ... ἐνδοιάζῃ κτλ.—hesitates to secure for her in view of the war ... a place which beeomes friend or enemy with most important consequences to you (in either case).

13. τῆς ... Σικελίας depends on παράπλου, the coasting voyage to I. and S., Corcyra being the half-way house when the ordinary route to Sicily and Lower (Greek) Italy was taken —viz. round the coast of Peloponnese and to Corcyra and thence across. The gen. παράπλου depends on καλῶς in the phrase καλῶς κεῖται constructed on the analogy of καλῶς ἔχει, ὡς ἔχει (e.g. c. 22. 3)etc.

[2] 16. ἐπελθεῖν—generally go to attack, here to help. Sparta hoped for sueh help from the west.

τό τε ἐνθένδε—a fleet going from Athens to Italy or Sicily. This passage was prob. written by Thuc. later in the war, when Athens had sent out such fleets via Coreyra.

[3] 18. βραχυτάτῳ κτλ. — ‘this is the briefest summary, including the whole situation and the details, by which ...’ τοῖς τε ξύμπασι καὶ καθ᾽ ἕκαστον is taken by Classen as adverbial =‘on the whole as well as in detail,’ but there is no parallel for the phrase in dative. It is awkward, but better, to make it apposition to κεφαλαίῳ (Kiuger). It is true that only one general matter is presently referred to (viz. the naval strength of Corcyra), so that τὰ καθ᾽ ἕκαστον seem wanting (Stahl); but the speaker means if you think out this summary, you will find it includes all detailed arguments too. If we look at the ξυμφέροντα to Athens that are brought forward in this speech, we shall notice (1) that the speaker in each case leads up to the fleet of Corcyra as the crowning argument, (2) that he is well aware that this is the argument that will really impress Athens. It is therefore right to insist on it at the end. κεφάλαιον means summary of the points previously raised. Edd. seem to overlook the fact that this passage is rhetorical, and not necessarily strictly accurate. (The remedy proposed is to make τοῖς ... ἕκαστον masc., either as dat. commodi depending on β. κεφαλαίῳ (Poppo, Steup) or placed after or before ξυμφορώτατόν ἐστι.)

20. τρία μέν—sc. ἐστί: ὄντα belongs to λόγου ἄξια. (There is no anacoluthon here.)

26. πλείοσι κτλ.—‘with our ships in addition (to yours). For this use of πλείων cf. e.g. Aesch. Ag. 755 τὸ δυσσεβὲς γὰρ ἔργον ... πλείονα τίκτει. (To take ταῖς ἡμετέραις as dat. of measure dependent on πλείοσι gives an ugly construction.)