E.C. Marchant, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 6

ἄξιοί τε—this is answered not by καί but by ἅμα δέ below; cf. I. 25 κατά τε τὸ δίκαιον . . άμα δὲ καὶ μίσει: VII. 81 θᾶσσόν τε γὰρ ὁ Νικίας ἦγε . . ὁ δὲ Δημοσθένης. Generally where τε is not answered by καί there are many intervening words, sometimes a parenthesis.

ἐς—‘towards,’ the prep being accommodated to προθυμίαν: cf. Hyperid. 4, 14, 42 ἀνδραγαθίαν παρασχέσθαι εἰς τὴν τῆς πόλεως ἐλευθερίαν, Andoc. 1, 50 προθυμότατος εἰς σέ.

καὶ διότι καί—‘and also because.’

τοῦτο δρῶντες—sc. ναυτικὸν καὶ προθυμίαν παρεχόμενοι. It is the regular phrase for referring to an action just described.

τῷ Μήδῳ is accommodated to the construction of the original verb, παρεχόμενοι, exactly as in II. 49 πολλοὶ τοῦτο ἔδρασαν (i.e. σφὰς αὐτοὺς ἔρριψαν) ἐς φρέατα.

οὗτοι—i.e. οἵ τε Ἴωνες καὶ νησιῶται.

ἅμα δὲ . . ὀρεγόμενοι—having disposed of the right, he now comes to ‘the inducement by which they were to he led to take the dominion, and now hold it—namely, their own security’ (Bloomfield).

οὐ καλλιεπούμεθα—‘we do not use fine words.’ Plat. Apol. p. 17 B contrasts λόγοι κεκαλλιεπημένοι with τὰ ἐπιτυχόντα ὀνόματα, and Aristoph. Thesm. 48 applies καλλιεπής to the tragic poet Agathon, who, we know, was extremely fond of using the figures of language (σχήματα λέξεως), especially antithesis. As these ‘fignres’ were associated with the name of Gorgias, Euphemus is meant to contrast the plain, even blunt, language in which the Athenian defends his right to rule with the studied subtleties of Sicihan objectors, esp. of Hermocrates. Then he states two grounds on which Athens does not claim empire over the Ionians and islanders.

μόνοι καθελόντες—this is dealt with at length in I. 73 ff., not that the Athenians claim even there to have overthrown the Persians μόνοι.

τῶνδε—Ionians and islanders.

πᾶσι δὲ ἀνεπίφθονον—‘no man can be reproached if he provides for his security as circumstances require.’ ἡ προσήκουσα ς. is the safety that suits the character of a man and the circumstances in which he finds himself, and requires different measures at different times. ‘It was σωτηρία that obliged us to reduce the Ionians, etc. to subjection: it is σωτηρία that brings us here.’ προσήκουσαν means something more than δέουσαν: it means what suits the character as well as the circumstances.

καὶ νῦν κτλ—‘so now it is regard for our safety (ἀσφαλεἰας = σωτηρίας) that brings us here, and we see that you have just the same interests as we. We base this statement on the calumnies that they utter against us, and which you with excessive anxiety regard with suspicion—in that we know that when men are anxious and suspicious they are pleased for a moment by statements that humour their feelings, but afterwards when they take action they follow their interests.’

ἐξ ὧν διαβάλλουσι—i.e. we admit the statement that we reduced the Ionians: that was required by our σωτηρία then. But now our σωτηρία requires that we help our friends here, and so our interests are identical with yours.

ἐπὶ τὸ φοβερώτερον = ὤστε φοβερώτερα ὑμῖν φαίνεσθαι. Cf. on c. 34, 7 init.

εἰδότες—causal: we know that it is easy for Syracuse to use the fact that we reduced the Ionians to prejudice and alarm you; but when it comes to taking action you will consider your interests, and will realise that the same motive that led ns to reduce the Ionians leads us now to protect you.

λόγου μὲν ἡδονῇ—i.e. words skilfully used to encourage suspicion and fear of opponents. Here the argument was that Athens would act in Sicily as she had done in Greece.

τῇ δ᾽ ἐγχειρήσει—a good example of a quasi-temporal word used without ἐν, as τῇ ἐσβολῇ, τῇ μάχῃ, τῷ πολέμῳ.

τήν τε γὰρ κτλ—‘we have told you (c. 82, 3) that apprehension causes us to keep our empire in Greece, and (c. 82 ἀφικόμεθα . . ἀνανεώσει) that the same motive (viz. apprehension that Syracuse may obtain Sicily and then threaten our empire) has brought us to settle matters here,’ etc.

γάρ—explains the reason for grounding the assertion (ἀποφαίνομεν) of identity of interests on the διαβολή of the Syracusans.

ἥκειν—see crit. note. This without φαμέν is not an accurate reference to the statement with which the speech opened. But ξυμμαχίας ἀνανέωσις possibly implies what is here stated.

ἀσφαλῶς—‘for our safety.’

δουλωσόμενοι—sc. τὰ ἐνθάδε.