E.C. Marchant, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 3

καὶ ὑποπτεύηται—‘if a mere suspicion that a man is speaking for gain, and is offering the best advice in spite of it.’ We cannot render ‘though he offers the best advice, he does so for gain,’ as is commonly done, for the μέν-clause must be our though (cf. Jebb on Soph. OC. 1536). But there is no need to supply δοκῇ from ὑποπτεύηται to suit the δέ-clause if we notice that μὲν . . δέ is inserted merely for the sake of a verbal antithesis, and that the sense is simply κέρδους ἕνεκα τὰ βέλτιστα λέγειν.

φθονήσαντες . . κερδῶν—‘feeling jealous of the uncertain impression of his gains,’ i.e. jealous of his supposed gains. That his advice is helpful is ex hypothesi certain.

τῆς πόλεως ἀφαιρούμεθα—the same constr. c. 58, 1.

καθέστηκε δέ—‘it has come to this, that.’

ἀπὸ τοῦ εὐθέος is opposed to ἀπάτῃ below.

τὰ δεινότατα . . πεῖσαι—‘to get the most atrocious proposals adopted.’

μόνην τε πόλιν—‘so we are the only state which it is impossible to benefit openly, without recourse to deception.’ It is disputed whether μόνην πόλιν means (1) ‘a state alone,’ as distinct from the individual citizens, or (2) ‘(ours) is the only state which,’ as pred. to ἡμᾶς supplied. The latter is surely right, for (1) Athens is contrasted with ἡ σώφρων πόλις in c. 42, 5, and this contrast is kept up through c. 43, 1, and (2) there is no suggestion in the context that the state is more suspicious than the individual.

διὰ τὰς περινοίας—‘excessive shrewdness,’ by which it thinks it detects self-interest in the honest speaker. The word only here.

ἀνθ-υποπτεύεται—‘is in return suspected.’

χρὴ δὲ . . σκοπούντων—‘but in dealing with the most important interests and in such a case as this it ought to be assumed that we speakers take a somewhat wider forecast than you whose view is circumscribed,’ i.e. whose judgment is formed in a short debate

τι with περαιτέρω, as in μᾶλλόν τι. ἐν τῷ τοιῷδε: its possible meanings are ‘at such a time,’ and ‘in such a case.’

ὑπεύθυνον—a speaker was liable to the γραφὴ παρανόμων.

πρὸς ἀνεύθυνον . . ἀκρόασιν—‘as opposed to your attention to it, which is irresponsible.’

σωφρονέστερον ἂν ἐκρίνετε—‘you would be more circumspect (cf. c. 42, 5) in your decisions’ (II. 40, 2).

πρὸς ὀργὴν ἥντιν᾽ ἂν τύχητε—‘in the anger of the moment.’ Grammatieally ζημιοῦντες is supplied to τύχητε, and πρός, according to a common idiom, is repeated to ἥντινα; but no doubt the speaker would not be conscious of such ellipse. ἥντινα without ἄν is according to epic idiom; but it is very probable that ἥντιν᾽ ἂν is the true reading. (No other emendation is to be thought of: ἤν τι ἀτυχῆτε is impossible, if only because ἀτυχεῖν in this context means ‘to fail in a request’ Nor must σφαλέντες be supplied to τύχητε: for this would mean that punishment is inflieted in the same mood as that in which the error was committed. But that is not the point.)

εἰ=ὅτι.