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καὶ οἱ κ.τ.λ. rather than οἱ δὲ, as this sentence properly forms a continuation of c. 85, thus, ὁ δ᾽ Ἀλκιβιάδης διεβεβήκει . . . καὶ οἱ ἐκ τῆς Δήλου . . . ἀφικνοῦνται. τότε viz. c. 72, § 1. ἀναδιδάξοντας The force of ἀνα- is often inappreciable in such compounds. In Plat. Rep. 381 E ἀναπειθόμεναι simply = πειθόμεναι. In 1. 32, iii. 97, the sense of getting one to change one's mind (meliora docere, alia probare) can still be extracted. The present envoys were sent διδάξοντες (c. 72, § 1). In the interval a μετάστασις has occurred, and a change of mind has now to be worked. They come ἵνα διδάσκωσι, they find there is need ἀναδιδάσκειν.
ἀποκτείνειν ἐβόων i.e. ἐβόων “ἀπόκτεινε.” Cf. inf. § 8, εἰπὼν . . . παρεῖναι. The verb is treated as a verb of command. καταλύοντας ‘trying to put down the democracy,’ by addressing the assembly in this way. ἡσυχάσαντες for tense cf. c. 24, § 4.
οὔτ᾽ ἐπὶ . . . οὐθ᾽ ἵνα, contrasting the internal and external ruin of the state (Cl.) These two form the denial; the affirmation begins with τῶν τε . . . γίγνοιτο the present tense, is used because the general revolution to oligarchy (ἡ μετάστασις) is not yet complete or assured, the consent of the army in Samos being required; the optative because the reason alleged may or may not be true. ἐξεῖναι γὰρ. ἂν should not be supplied The possibility actually occurred. Their own words would be ἐξῆν γὰρ, ὅτε ἐσέβαλον (sc. οἱ πολέμιοι, in c. 71, § 1) ἤδη ἡμῶν (sc. τῶν τετρακοσίων) ἀρχόντων κ.τ.λ. τῶν τε πεντακισχιλίων . . . μεθέξουσιν either (1) πάντες τῶν πεντακισχιλίων μεθέξουσι τῶν πραγμάτων (c. 65, § 3) or τῆς πολιτείας; cf. c. 72, § 1, πεντακισχίλιοί τε ὅτι εἶεν καὶ οὐ τετρακόσιοι μόνον οἱ πράσσοντες: or (2) πάντες μεθέξουσι τῶν πεντακισχιλίων, ‘all should have a share in the 5000,’ i.e. all shall share their functions in turn. Against the latter it may be urged that the statement was contrary to their orders (c. 72, § 1), and contrary to the principle involved; nor does it appear natural Greek. c. 93, § 2 seems to settle the matter, λέγοντες τούς τε πεντακισχιλίους καὶ ἐκ τούτων ἐν μέρει, ᾗ ἂν τοῖς πεντακισχιλίοις δοκῇ, τοὺς τετρακοσίους ἔσεσθαι. The partitive genitive with πάντες as in c. 21. κακὸν ἔχουσιν οὐδὲν said of οἱ πάσχοντες as κακὰ παρέχειν is said of οἱ ποιοῦντες. Cf. πόνον ἔχειν (ii. 76), αἰτίαν ἔχειν, etc. ἐπὶ τοῖς σφετέροις αὐτῶν ‘in possession of their own belongings.’ ἕκαστοι the plural for each man's set of οἰκεῖοι.
πρῶτον. πρῶτος the common reading, should perhaps mean ‘in an eminent degree,’ with the sense of c. 68, § 4, ἐν τοῖς ξυγκαταλύουσι τὸν δῆμον πρῶτος ἦν. πρῶτον cannot be taken in the sense of ‘for the first time,’ since Alcibiades had done good to his country before (vi. 16), and, as Jowett points out. Thucydides does not elsewhere summarily condemn his conduct. Nor is the combination πρῶτον καὶ οὐδενὸς ἔλασσον natural with that sense. It does not appear to have been noticed also that the salutary prevention exercised by Alcibiades in c. 82, § 2, was on an earlier occasion than this. At the assembly at which he was restored he had prevented the rash undertaking (c. 82, § 2). He had since gone to meet Tissaphernes (c. 82, § 3), and it was not till he had returned (c. 85, § 4) that the envoys of the 400 came and the project of attacking Athens was mooted again. πρῶτον must therefore be taken with ὠφελῆσαι in the same construction as πολὺ, πλέον, μέγα ὠφελῆσαι, ‘he did capital service.’ The words καὶ οὐδενὸς ἔλασσον are epexegetical. Cf. vii. 44, μέγιστον δὲ καὶ οὐχ ἥκιστα ἔβλαψεν, which forms an exact parallel. Cf. also vii. 27, ἐν τοῖς πρῶτον ἐκάκωσε τἀ πράγματα. ὡρμημένων of eagerness. Cf. c. 11, § 3. ἐπὶ σφᾶς αὐτοὺς i.e. ἐπ᾽ Ἀθηναίους or τὴν ἑαυτῶν πόλιν. ἐν ᾧ Cf. iii, 84, vi. 55: ‘when, in such a case.’ σαφέστατα . . . εἶχον Dobree's σαφέστατ᾽ ἂν naturally suggests itself. On omission of ἂν see Goodwin, M. and T. § 49, 2, whose statement would not include an instance like the present. Jelf, § 858. Constructions like καλὸν ἦν, ὑπῆρχε, ἐβουλόμην, ἐκινδύνευσε (iii. 74) without ἂν should not be quoted as parallel to this. ‘He ran a risk,’ ‘it was within possibility,’ etc., are often quite interchangeable with ‘he would have run a risk,’ ‘it would have been possible,’ etc. σαφέστατα εἶχον is rather to be defended on the ground of vivid realisation, like Horace's ‘sustulerat . . . nisi levasset.’ Cf. vi. 55, καὶ οὐχ ὡς ἀδελφὸς νεώτερος ὢν ἠπόρησεν, ἐν ᾧ οὐ πρότερον ξυνεχῶς ὡμιλήκει τῇ ἀρχῇ. Plut. Alc. 26 has τοῖς πολεμίοις εὐθὺς ἔχειν ὑπῆρχεν Ἰωνίαν κ.τ.λ.. κωλυτὴς γενέσθαι grammatically dependent on δοκεῖ, but actually a statement of fact.
ἰδίᾳ ‘individually.’
τὴν βουλὴν . . . τοὺς πεντακοσίους i.e. τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ κυάμου. Never τὴν β. τῶν πεντακοσίων. εἰ δὲ ἐς εὐτέλειαν κ.τ.λ. with reference to the measure proposed in c. 65, § 3, and passed c. 67, § 3, that only οἱ στρατευόμενοι should μισθοφορεῖν.
τἆλλα ἀντέχειν see c. 63, § 4. πρὸς μὲν γὰρ σφᾶς αὐτοὺς κ.τ.λ. ‘for as to their relations with each other (=πρὸς ἀλλήλους) . . . there was great hope of their ultimately (καὶ) coming to terms.’ σῳζομένης ‘so long as it was being kept in safety.’ See on ὀρθοῦσθαι c. 64, § 4. τὸ ἕτερον ‘the one division or the other,’ the democratic body at Samos or the oligarchic Athenians at home. ὅτῳ ‘with whom to be reconciled,’ not instrumental.
Ἀργείων. The Argives have taken no part since the previous year (c. 27, § 6). τῷ ἐν τῇ Σάμῳ τῶν Ἀθηναίων δήμῳ The full title implies formal recognition. The Athenians in Samos are considered by the Argives to represent the proper democratic government with which to treat. ὥστε βοηθεῖν Cf. c. 45, § 3 for ὥστε. Lit. ‘making favourable propositions with a view to assisting them.’ ἐπαινέσας perhaps with the notion (frequent with ἐπαινῶ) of ‘thanks’ for assistance which is declined, at least for the present.
τότε sc. c. 74, § 2. τῇ . . . νηὶ the one mentioned c. 74, § 2. [πεμπτοὺς]. The reading here is very uncertain. The weight of authority is for πέμπουσι, which makes no construction. πεμπτοὺς, on the other hand, is a formation which should have an adjectival, not a verbal, meaning (i.e. not = πεμφθέντας or πεμπομένους). λεκτός, πλεκτός, ἐκλεκτός, etc., are similarly formed, but have an adjectival force. No word of sending is wanted, and therefore a gloss might be suspected (though cf. c. 89, § 1, οἱ ἀπὸ τῶν τετρακοσίων πεμφθέντες πρέσβεις, where, however, there is more excuse for its appearance, v. loc.) More probably both πέμπουσι and πεμπτοὺς are misreadings. It appears from c. 89, § 2, that only a part of the oligarchy were concerned in the negotiations with Sparta, and that there was some secrecy about the proceedings. It is not impossible that as τῶν τετρακοσίων has occurred just before and as τετρακοσίων would be written υ<*>, the true reading may have been ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν ὑποπέμπτους and not ἀπὸ τῶν υ<*>πεμπτοὺς. In such case αὐτῶν would refer to the before-mentioned τετρακοσίων, and ὑποπέμπτους, ‘secret,’ would have its adjectival value. Cf. ὑποπέμπειν, iv. 46. In Xen. Anab. iii. 3, 4 ὑπόπεμπτος is now read for ὕποπτος. Λαισποδίαν mentioned in vi. 105. Ἀριστοφῶντα The name was not uncommon, and there are no data for identifying him with the orator of the deme Azenia. Μελησίαν Grote seeks to identify him with the Melesias in the Laches of Plato, conjecturing that he was the son of Thucydides ὁ Μελησίου the opponent of Pericles. [οἳ]. Though this word may possibly be due to an anacoluthon, as if a genitive clause had preceded instead of the relative οἳ ἐτάχθησαν κ.τ.λ., it seems more probably an interpolation. τοὺς πρέσβεις viz. those of the Argives, mentioned above.
Commentary on Thucydides Book 8. T.G. Tucker. London. MacMillan & Company. 1892.
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