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Stratagem of Aristo. The Syracusans prepare to take their midday meal on the beach, with a view to surprising the Athenians.

1. τῆς μὲν ὥρας πρῴτερον: earlier in the day (than before). Cf. iv.93.3, τῆς ἡμέρας ὀψέ. For such adverbs with the gen., see G. 168; H. 757 a; Kr. Spr. 47, 10, 4. For the form πρῴτερον, see on c. 19. 1.

τῇ ἐπιχειρήσει τῇ αὐτῇ: in the same manner of attack, as described in c. 37. § 3; 38. § 1.

4. αὖθις: referring to τῆς δὲ ἡμέρας . . . ἀλλήλων, c. 38. 1.—ἐπὶ πολὺ τῆς ἡμέρας: see on c. 11. 18.

πειρώμενοι: the mid. used like the act. (cf. c. 38. 2), as also in ii.81.10; 85. 6; iv.132.13.—πρὶν δή: till at last; before critical events. Cf. c. 71. 26; iii.29.5. On the const. with indic., see GMT. 67, 1; H. 924; Kühn. 568, 1 a; Kr. Spr. 54, 17, 6.—Ἀρίστων: mentioned with praise also by Plut. Nic. 20, and Polyaenus, v. 13. Acc. to Plut. Nic. 25, he fell in the great sea-fight (c. 70).

τῶν μετὰ Συρακοσίων: i.e. of all on the side of the Syracusans, those from abroad included.

σφετέρους: bracketed by Cl., as having no prop. connexion; but St. explains, “σφετέρους, sc. τῶν μετὰ Συρακοσίων, ex quibus ipse Aristo erat.” Cf. c. 4. 10, ἀπήγαγε τοὺς σφετέρους. See on c. 1. 27.

τοὺς ἐπιμελομένους: sc. τῆς ἀγορᾶς = τοὺς ἀγορανόμους.

τὴν ἀγορὰν τῶν πωλουμένων : “the market of all wares brought for sale”; in the army, of course, = ὅσα τις ἔχει ἐδώδιμα. Cf. Polyaenus, v. 13, τὴν ἀγορὰν τῶν τροφῶν μεταγαγεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν. Kr. and St. bracket τῶν πωλουμένων as unnecessary and without parallel.

μεταναστήσαντας ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν: so Vat., the rest of the Mss. παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν μεταστῆσαι κομίσαντας. But παρά is not used for ἐπί with inanimate objects in Att. prose. Kr. Spr. 68, 36, 1. Besides, ἐπί is confirmed by the passage cited above from Polyaenus. μεταναστήσαντας indicates not only the change of place, but the removal with all the utensils necessary to the market business, i.e. the σκηναὶ καὶ γέρρα, of which Dem. (XVIII. 169) speaks in a like case. μεταστήσαντας would be nearly equiv. to κομίσαντας; but μεταναστήσαντας signifies the activity that must precede the κομίσαι, and therefore takes more prop. than κομίσαι the form of the partic. But Kr. and St. write μεταστήσαντας, because μεταναστῆσαι seems to be used nowhere of things in this sense, while μεταστῆσαι is so used in Eur. Bacch. 49; Polyb. ii.17.11.

αὐτοῦ: Portus's conjecture for αὐτοῖς, on the spot, i.e. just on the shore, which seems to be confirmed by c. 40. 4. But αὐτοῖς might be ethical dat., as Arn. and Lamberton explain.

ἀριστοποιήσονται: in the mid., prop. of the leaders, but implying also the sailors. Cf. viii.95.11, γὰρ Ἀγησανδρίδας ἀριστοποιησάμενος ἀνῆγε τὰς ναῦς. For the fut. in final clause (though some Mss. have the aor.), see GMT. 44, 1, N. 1; H. 881 c.—δἰ ὀλίγου: temporal as in c. 15. 13; ii.85.9.

ἐπιχειρῶσι: co-ord. with the fut. ἀριστοποιήσονται. The same change of mood occurs in reversed order in ii.72.20, 21.

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