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

τῷ ἐπιβουλεύματι—instrumental.

πόλις τε ἀφισταμένη—‘so in the case of a state.’

τῇ δοκήσει—‘in its own opinion.’ An effective reply to Cleon's argument from the fact that M. had taken Athens at a disadvantage.

τούτῳ—revolt.

ἐπεὶ . . γε—not a common combination; Iliad IX. 425 ἐπεὶ οὔ σφισιν ἥδε γ᾽ ἑτοίμη, Pind. Ol. IX. 40 ἐπεὶ τό γε λοιδορῆσαι θεοὺς ἐχθρὰ σοφία. The γε merely emphasizes διεξεληλύθασι.

προστιθέντες—‘continually adding to them.’ For

εἴ πως with a perf. preceding see M.T. § 489, esp. Aristoph. Av. 120.

παραβαινομένων—there are two tenable explanations of this: (1) impersonal gen. abs. as in I. 116 ἐσαγγελθέντων M. T. § 848, ‘transgressions being committed’; (2) sc. τῶν μεγίστων ἀδικημάτων, which would be internal accus. to παραβαίνω in the act. form, as in ἀδικῶ ἀδίκημα. The matter is rendered impossible of certain solution by the perplexing καὶ τοῦτο παρα: βαίνεται. We expect, of course, the sense ‘mild penalties being disregarded,’ and presently, ‘the death penalty is disregarded,’ but how this can be got out of the Gk. as it stands is not apparent, unless we take an etymological sense of παραβαίνω, ‘pass by,’ which is found occasionally in the orators, and interpret τοῦτο below as put loosely for ἡ ζημία τοῦ θανάτου. Against this is not so much the fact that Thuc. does not elsewhere use παραβαίνω thus, but much more that παραβαίνω ζημίαν is stranger than any instance in the orators and that the proximity of ἀδικημάτων makes it unnatural.

καὶ τοῦτο ὅμως παραβαίνεται—the conjectures are (1) κἀν τούτῳ (Kruger) ‘and under these circumstances,’ with παραβαίνεται impers. But it should be ἐν τούτοις (cf. Jebb on Soph. Ant. 39); ἐν τούτῳ=‘meanwhile,’ or ‘in this point.’ (2) καὶ ταῦτα, sc. τὰ ἀδικήματα (Hude; cf. 2 above). I should prefer καὶ ταὐτά ‘and the same offences are committed.’

δεινότερον . . δέος—‘a terror more terrible’; cf. VII 68 ἐχθροὶ καὶ ἔχθιστοι.

ἢ τόδε γε—‘else this,’ with emphasis on the second alternative (Neil on Aristoph. Eq. 413). Notice τόδε after τούτου, not very rare; e.g. Soph. Ant. 296.

ἡ μὲν πενία—to πενία is opposed the power—ἐξουσία —that results from wealth. A poor man is emboldened by necessity, as a rich man is made covetous by insolence and pride.

αἱ δ᾽ ἄλλαι ξυντυχίαι . . κινδύνους—‘the other condi tions of life,’ as they arise—temporary rather than permanent: these fill men with a sudden passion (ὀργῇ), ‘as each (ξυντυχία) is overpowered by some irrepressible power’—such e.g. as an overwhelming desire for independence. ὀργῇ τῶν ἀνθρώπων coriesponds to τὴν τόλμαν παρέχουσα and τὴν πλεονεξίαν π. of the other clauses, while ἀνήκεστόν τι corresponds to ἀνάγκη and ὕβρις καὶ φρόνημα. Of the many alterations proposed, only τὸν ἄνθρωπον for τῶν ἀνθρώπων needs notice. It is not an improvement; for there is a point in τῶν ἀ., ‘passion in those men’ whom they befall, always there, like πλεονεξία and τόλμα, and ready to be called out by a favourable ξυντυχία. (Not ‘mankind,’ which would here be άνθρώπων, as ὀργῇ is without article. It has been proposed to refer έκάστη τις to ὀργῆ̣, but this would leave ξυντυχίαι too vague, and there would be little point in ἑκάστη τις.)

ἐπὶ παντί—‘in every case’ of those just alluded to; cf. ἐπ᾽ οὐδενὶ τῶν τοιούτωι Demosth. XXI. 65.

ὁ μέν—first comes Desire, next Hope—and then the attempt. Note the personification here.

τὴν . . ἐπιβουλὴν ἐκφροντίζων—‘thinking out the plot.’ The schol. has ἐγχείρησιν on this word, so that the writer of it must have found ἐπιβολήν, ‘attempt,’ which most MSS. give, the only objection to which is that the subst. is not found elsewhere in this sense before Polybius.

τὴν εὐπορίαν τῆς τύχης—‘suggesting the ready help of Chanee.’ Hope deludes them into a fancy that at the critical moment Chance will favour them. Though a subjective gen. does not occur with εὐπορία elsewhere, τῆς τύχης is plainly subjective here; cf. VII. 61 τὸ τῆς τύχης κἂν μεθ᾽ ἡμῶν ἐλπίσαντες στῆναι, V. 113. (τύχη cannot=‘success’ here, cf. § 7, nor ‘their fortunes.’）

ὄντα ἀφανῆ—i.e. ἔρως and ἐλπίς, ‘because (not though) unseen.’ Were they φανεραί, men would see that they could not be counted upon. As it is, πλεῖστα βλάπτουσι by luring them on. Cf. v. 103 ἐπὶ τὰς ἀφανεῖς (ἐλπίδας) καθίστανται, and the next sentence.

ἐπ᾽ αὐτοῖς—besides ἔρως and ἐλπίς.

καὶ ἐκ τῶν ὑποδεεστέρων—‘even with insufficient means.’

οὐχ ἧσσον—i.e. even more than men.

περὶ τῶν μεγίστων τε—sc. κινδυνεύουσι. For the τε, which, though found only in C, is probably right, cf. IV. 80 ἑτοίμων ὄντων τρέφειν τε καὶ ἐπὶ ἀποστάσει σφᾶς ἐπικαλουμένων.

μετὰ πάντων . . ἐδόξασεν—‘each individual acting with the whole community . . rates himself considerably above the reality,’ i.e. exaggerates his own strength. The reading of the best MSS. is αὐτῶν for αὑτόν. For δοξάζω with personal obj. cf. Xen. Cyr. V. 5, 46 ἀλκιμώτατος δοξάζεται εἶναι. ἐπὶ πλέον τι together.

ἁπλῶς—c. 38, 7.

πολλῆς εὐηθείας, ὅστις—‘(it is a mark) of much simplicity, if anyone supposes.’ Cf. Xen. Hell. II. 3, 51 νομίζω προστάτου ἔργον εἶναι οἵου δεῖ, ὃς ἂν . . μὴ ἐπιτρέπῃ. It would be more usual to have πολλὴ εὐήθειά (ἐστιν) ὅστις, or εὐηθέστατον ὅστις.