Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 3

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You, however, when you discovered how small was the number of the Thebans, treacherously and cruelly took vengeance on them; so that even for this alone you deserve punishment.

τεκμήριον δὲ . . . γάρ: as in ii. 15. 19; 39. 10; without γάρ in ii. 50. 7. See on i. 8. 3.—

ὡς οὐ πολεμίως ἐπράσσομεν: braecketed by St. and v. H., following Meineke (Hermes iii. p. 365), on the ground that τεκμήριον refers to what immediately precedes, ἐχθροὺς οὐδενὶ καθιστάντες, ἅπασι δ᾽ ὁμοίως ἐνσπόνδους. But there the reference is to the attitude of the traitorous party in Plataea, here to the Thebans again, esp. to the idea expressed in c. 65. 4 εἰ μὲν . . . πολέμιοι. Besides, the sent. οὔτε γὰρ ἠδικήσαμεν κτἑ. would not answer for a proof of the concluding words of c. 65 ἐχθροὺς . . . ἐνσπόνδους.—οὔτε γὰρ κτἑ.: cf. ii. 2. 3.

τὰ πάντων Βοιωτῶν πάτρια: Hude (Comm. Crit. p. 108) would insert (with Laur.) τῶν before πάντων, as in c. 65. 8; ii. 2. 27; Cf. also οἱ πάντες Ἕλληνες, c. 63. 13; iv. 78. 11; τοὺς ἅπαντας Μυτιληναίους, c. 36. 6; τοὺς ἅπαντας Μεγαρέας, iv. 68. 7. But against these, cf. βοηθείας γενομένης πάντων Βοιωτῶν, iv. 89. 11; ξυμπάντων Σικελιωτῶν, vi. 18. 28; Ἀκαρνᾶσι πᾶσιν, c. 94. 6.—

κατὰ . . . πολιτεύειν: see on c. 62. 8.

χωρήσαντες: sc. πρὸς ἠμᾶς. Cf. ii. 3. 5 πρὸς ξύμβασιν ἐχώρησαν.—5.

κατανοήσαντες kte(.: cf. ii. 3. § 2.— 6.

εἰ ἄρα καὶ ἐδοκοῦμεν . . . πρᾶξαι: i.e. εἰ ἐκρίνετε ἡμᾶς πρᾶξαι, to which corresponds the apod. οὐκ ἀνταπέδοτε ἡμῖν κτἑ. For εἰ ἄρα, if possibly, see on c. 56. 15.—7.

ἀνεπιεικέστερον: found elsewhere only in late writers, like Dio C. and Arrian.—

οὐ μετὰ τοῦ πλήθους: without the consent of the majority. οὐ μετά (cf. μὴ μετὰ νόμων, c. 62. 16)=ἄνευ, as in i. 98. 5; 128. 11, etc. Kühn. 515, N. 2.— 8.

μήτε νεωτερίσαι . . . πείθειν: explanatory of ὁμοῖα. The pres. inf., πείθειν, is necessary to indicate the attempt to persuade—not πεῖσαι (one Ms.) or πείσειν (all the rest). νεωτερίσαι, resort to violence, as in c. 79. 3; ii. 3. 7.—9.

ὥστε: see on c. 31. 10. —

ἐπιθέμενοι δὲ kte(.: antithesis to τὰ μὲν ὁμοῖα οὐκ ἀνταπέδοτε ἡμῖν. Instead of simply stating the facts, the speakers express also their judgment of them, and an involved const. results. A more natural const. would have been ἐπέθεσθε δὲ παρὰ τὴν ξύμβασιν ἐν ᾦ οὒς μὲν κτἑ. (St.), or ἐπιθέμενοι δὲ παρὰ τὴν ξύμβασιν τοὺς μὲν ἡμῶν ἐν χερσὶν ἀπεκτείνατε, τοὺς δὲ χ<*>ῖρας προισχομένους . . . διεφθείρατε (Steup). Kr. thinks the rel. sents. are respectively the objs. of ἀλγοῦμεν and εἴργασθε, comparing for ἀλγεῖν the const. ἀλγεῖν πάθος. But it seems better, with Bm., to supply περὶ τούτων from οὓς μέν, or, with Cl., to consider that both the rel. clauses hold rather the relation of loosely connected protases, “as to those whom, etc.”— 10.

ἐν χερσίν: in battle, i.e. with arms in their hands. The phrase is here applied to the combatants, as in iv. 96. 14; 113. 6; v. 72. 10; vii. 5. 6; to the combat (hand to hand), iv. 43. 8, 14; vi. 70. 1.—12.

χεῖρας προισχομένους kte(.: the three grounds on which the Thebans base the guilt of the Plataeans are expressed by three partics., the first agreeing with the obj., the two last with the subj., and these are connected by καί (Kr. Spr. 56, 14, 2) and τε (introducing third member). The Thebans ignore, of course, the contrary assertions of the Plataeans, as stated by Thuc. ii. 5. § 6. See on c. 56. 4. For the expression χεῖρας προισχομένους, cf. c. 58. 12; 67. 22; and for the facts, cf. ii. 4. § 7.—

ζωγρήσαντες ὑποσχόμενοί τε: ζωγρήσαντες, as opp. to ἀπεκτείνατε, implies the intention not to kill the captives, while ὑποσχόμενοι adds the express promise, which the Plataeans, it is true, deny.—13.

ὕστερον: Hude (l.c.) would put after μὴ κτενεῖν and const. with διεφθείρατε, comparing ὕστερον θάνατον in But the reference to the ὕστερος θάνατος does not exclude, of course, the possibility of the promise having been made ὕστερον. —παρανόμως: i.e. παρὰ τὸν τῶν Ἑλλήνων νόμον. Cf. c. 67. 25.

κἀνταῦθα . . . πράξαντες kte(.: κἀνταῦθα is Naber's conjecture (Mnem. N. S. xiv. p. 137) for καὶ ταῦτα of the Mss. If the common reading be retained, Cl. is prob. right in explaining ταῦτα as obj. of πράξαντες and τρεῖς ἀδικίας as pred., and committing these three wrongs in a short space. But parallel expressions seem to be wanting. Besides, ταῦτα can refer only to the acts of the Plataeans, whereas, in the foregoing, judgments also are expressed (cf. l. 14 πῶς οὐ δεινὰ εἴργασθε;). Cf. c. 45. 14, where a similar slip of the copyist occurs. —15.

τήν τε λυθεῖσαν ὁμολογίαν: cf. l. 9 ἐπιθέμενοι παρὰ τὴν ξύμβασιν, and for the const. of the partic. here and in l. 17, cf. c. 53. 14 ὁ μὴ ῥηθεὶς λόγος. —17. ἡμῖν: for which Badham pro posed ἦ μήν, is construed with the verbal subst. ὑπόσχεσιν, not with ψευσθεῖσαν. Kr. Spr. 48, 12, 4; Kühn. 424. See on i. 63. 9; 122. 3.—

μὴ κτείνειν: with ὑπόσχεσιν, as c. 58. 5 with δωρεάν. St. writes, with v. H. Stud. Thuc. p. 46, μὴ κτενεῖν, on the ground that everywhere else in Thuc. ὑπισχνεῖσθαι is followed by the fut. inf., though he does not consider it absolutely necessary here. See Qu. Gr.^{2} p. 11.—

ἢν τὰ . . . ἀδικῶμεν: cf. ii. 5. 21 τὰ ἔξω ἔλεγον αὐτοῖς μὴ ἀδικεῖν.

οὔκ: abs., as in v. 101. 1, i.e. οὐ τοῦτο γενήσεται (ὑμᾶς μὴ δοῦναι δίκην). Kr. Spr. 67, 13, 1.—

ἤν γε οὗτοι τὰ ὀρθὰ γιγνώσκωσι: answering to c. 56. 8 τοῦ ὀρθοῦ φανεῖσθε οὐκ ἀληθεῖς κριταὶ ὄντες, c. 57. 2 εἰ . . . γνώσεσθε μὴ τὰ εἱκότα, and c. 58. 21 μὴ ὀρθῶς γνόντες.—20. αὐτῶν: emphatic, of the matters under discussion, as often. See on i. 1. 10.