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

πολιορκεῖσθαι—‘endure the siege,’ a use of the inf. frequent with ἀδικεῖσθαι, and found occasionally both in Greek and Latin.

εὶρημένον γὰρ ἦν—sc. βίᾳ μὴ ἑλεῖν. But this is just what the Pel. had tried to do in 429 B.C.: their views had changed.

ὅσα πολέμῳ χωρία ἔχουσιν—the original intention of Sparta had been to destroy the Athenian empire: since the failure at Lesbos they expect much less. That failure had evidently strengthened the peace party at Sparta.

λέγοντα—as in VII. 3; contrast II. 85 πέμπουσι ξυμβούλους κελεύοντες.

εἰ βούλονται . . οὐδένα—in this perplexing sentence, it is best (1) to make παραδοῦναι and χρήσασθαι depend on βούλονται: (2) to make τους τε . . οὐδένα the apodosis to this protasis. Then (1) τε . . δέ eorrespond (I. 11, 1, 25, 3, VI. 83, 1, VII. 81, 3, and in other authors not very seldom); (2) κολάζειν=‘they are ready to punish,’ unless we accept the conjeeture κολάσειν. For the outline of the syntax cf. VII. 3 προπέμπει . . λέγοντα, εἰ βούλονται ἐξιέναι . . ἑτοῖμος εἶναι σπένδεσθαι. (It is impossible to render εἰ ‘whether,’ as though λέγοντα were ἐρωτῶντα.)

ἐν ὅσῳ—cf. c. 28, 1.

ἀγαθόν τι—the second τι is not impossible, but, in view of 53, 2, 68, 1, it is improbable.

προτάξαντες σφῶν αὐτῶν is generally rendered ‘having appointed as their advocates,’ but, in view of VI. 100 τριακοσίους σφῶν αύτῶν . . προύταξαν (cf. c. 112 below), Hude is probably right in taking the gen. as partitive.

Αἰειμνήστου—a eelebrated man, who had commanded the Plataeans at Marathon and Plataea.