Ἀναπαύλας—an old Attic word, frequent in trag.

τῇ γνώμῃ—‘for the mind,’ referring to the humanising and artistic value of the festivals.

ἀγῶσι—namely, at the πανηγύρεις, the chief festivals, when business ceased. Such were the Panathenaic Festival and the Dionysia.

θυσίαις—not the ordinary sacrifices, but those performed at the ἑορταί, the most important of which were πανηγύρεις. διετησίοις— ‘which succeed one another throughout the year.’ At Athens the festivals were more frequent than elsewhere, and perhaps ridicule was cast upon them by the Spartans, just as the Romans ridiculed the Jews and Christians for wasting time over their weekly sabbath.

νομίζοντες—= χρώμενοι: an Ionic use, cf. I. 74, end.

κατασκευαῖς εὐ—c. 65, 2.

καθ᾽ ἡμέραν ἡ τέρψις—i.e. ἡ καθ᾽ ἡ. τέρψις. Cf. c. 18. 3. For the reason of this transposition, see Intr. p. xl. The object here is to contrast καθ᾽ ἡμέραν with διετησίοις, in which there is a legitimate gain, since καθ᾽ ἡμέραν is always used of ordinary business, whereas διετησίοις applies to the holidays: also to extend the force of καθ᾽ ἡ. to ἐκπλήσσει and τὸ λυπηρόν, as in c. 7, 2 ἐξ Ἰταλίας belongs partly to ποιεῖσθαι. τὸ λυπηρὸν— of the petty worries of life, which oppress the middle classes, and take all the pleasure out of life. Pericles allndes to Sparta. Cf. Burke, On American Taxation, ‘If I were to detail the imports, I could show how many enjoyments they procure which deceive the burden of life.’