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Ἔχει— = παρέχει: ‘does not support a conclusion which can justly cause you alarm.’ [τὸ] ἐκφοβῆσαι— omitting τὸ take ἐκφοβῆσαι with δικαίαν, as in IV. 17 δίκαιοί εἰσι καὶ ἀπιστότατοι εἶναι. The conclusion they drew from the preceding battle was that they would be defeated in the coming battle: and this conclusion caused them φοβεῖσθαι τὴν μέλλουσαν. But the battle, they are told, does not afford the τεκμήρια for such a conclusion. (τὸ ἐκφοβῆσαι cannot be accus. of respect, as in c. 53 τὸ προταλαιπωρεῖν, because such an accus. would here certainly contain a reference to the expected issue of the coming fight. The usual translation ‘ground for fear’ gives a wrong sense to every one of the three words. If πεφοβῆσθαι were read, the construction would be δικαίαν πεφοβῆσθαι, = ‘which it is right to fear,’ ἡ τέκμαρσις δικαία ἐστι —πεφοβῆσθαι being equivalent to δἰκαιόν ἐστι τὴν τέκμαρσιν πεφοβῆσθαι, infin. of purpose.)
Ἐπὶ στρατείαν—c. 83, 3. τὰ ἀπὸ τῆς τ—the wind and sea, c. 84, 3. καὶ πού τι καὶ—the expression barely does more than suggest the possibility of what was certain. The object is to blame τύχη and excuse γνώμη.
Κατὰ—‘owing to.’ προσεγένετο—much like ἐπι- γίγνεσθαι, c. 4, 2, but the defeat is regarded as an unavoidable occurrence added to their other disad vantages (τὰ ἀπὸ τῆς τύχης). Cf. Vergil's ‘nec Teucris addita Juno | usquam aberit, Aen. VI. 90. τῆς γνώμης τὸ μὴ κατὰ κράτος νικηθέν—=ἡ γνώμη μὴ νικηθεῖσα. Cf. c. 59 τὸ ὀργιζόμενον τῆς γνώμης. Militibus fortuna victis invictus ipsorum animus opponitur. Hache. ‘It is not right that our minds, which we feel (μή, not οὐ) were not conquered by force but have still some answer to give, should be depressed by the result of mere accident.’ κατὰ κράτος— vi, as in κατὰ κ. αἱρεῖν. ἀντιλογίαν—sc. πρὸς τὸ κατὰ κράτος νικηθῆναι, viz. the answer that the disaster was due to ἀπειρία, τύχη, want of παρασκευή. A familiar word in Plato. ξυμφορᾶς—opposed to γνώμης above. νομίσαι—sc. δίκαιον. ἀνδρείους ὀρθῶς—‘really brave,’ ὀρθῶς as in Aristoph. Eq. 1085. ἀπειρίαν ... προβαλλομένους—‘make in experience an excuse.’ τοῦ ἀνδρείου π.—‘while courage remains.’ ἔν τινι—neut.
Ὑμῶν δὲ—topic τὸ δυνατόν. Index, s.v. τόποι. λείπεται—sc. τῆς ἐκείνων ἐμπειρίας. μνήμην—‘presence of mind.’ ἄνευ εὐψυχίας—the insinuation that the Athenians lacked courage is wholly unsupported by argument. ἄνευ ἀλκῆς—‘without boldness,’ as in c. 84, 3 robur; it is the result of εὐψυχία.
Ἀπαράσκευοι τυχεῖν—for the omission of ὄντες, cf. c. 39, 4.
Πλῆθος—c. 11, 3. τὰ δὲ πολλὰ—adverbial accus. For the γνώμη, cf. c. 13, 2.
Προσγενόμενα—here of additional advantages; con- trast 3 above. διδασκαλίαν—cf. Aesch. Ag. 185 Ζῆνα τὸν πάθη μάθος | θέντα κυρίως ἔχειν. Arn.
Τὸ καθ᾽ ἑαυτὸν—cf. c. 11, 3. τις προσταχθῇ—the change from the plur. to the indef. sing. is due to the intervention of ἕκαστος. On the juxtaposition of 2nd and 3rd pers., ἑαυτὸν . . ἕπεσθε etc. see c. 11, 1, 44, 1.
Πρότερον—Cnemus, Machaon, Isocrates and Aga- tharchidas. οὐ χεῖρον—meiosis, not to offend the others. ἐνδώσομεν—as in c. 49, 4. ἢν δέ τις—this vague threat shows that the officers suspected there had been cowardice in the former battle. Cf. c. 85, 2.
Commentary on Thucydides Book 2. E.C. Marchant. London. MacMillan & Company. 1891.
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