CHAPTER CVI
ἀλλοιότεροι—‘more changed’ or ‘somewhat changed’: cf.
ii. 59,
ἠλλοίωντο τὰς γνώμας. In the following clause the subject
οἱ πολλοί is divided by partial apposition into two sections
βραχὺ μὲν...τὸ δὲ πλεῖον: for neut. cf. ch. 61, 12,
τὸ Χαλκιδικόν.
πρὸς τὸν φόβον—‘in their fear’, lit. ‘looking at’, or ‘measuring it by’: cf. ch. 39, 9,
πρὸς τὴν ἐξουσίαν.
ἐλάμβανον—the better supported reading, for which some manuscripts have
ὑπελάμβανον. There are sufficient instances in which
λαμβάνω means ‘to take’ in the sense of regarding (accipere in aliquam partem); e.g.
ii. 42,
ποθεινοτέραν λαβόντες:
iii. 38,
πιστότερον λαβόντες:
vi. 53,
πάντα ὑπόπτως έλάμβανον. Here however the reading is more doubtful, because of the infinitive construction, which is not found elsewhere with the uncompounded verb.
οὐκ ἐν ὁμοίῳ—this seems an instance of
μείωσις (ch. 13, 22), the sense being that the Athenians thought that they were in greater danger than the rest of the inhabitants: so
vi. 11,
μὴ ἐν τῷ ὁμοίῳ καὶ πρὶν ἐπιχειρῆσαι, ‘in a worse position than before the attempt’. Classen takes the meaning to be that the Athenians thought that they would incur less danger by accepting the terms which Brasidas offered; but this does not agree so well with the context, especially considering the emphatic position of
σφίσι and the statement that the Athenians ‘would be glad to depart’.
ἐν τῷ ἴσῳ—Poppo ‘aeque atque antea’; others ‘on equal terms’. Classen however seems right in taking the phrase as connecting the two following participial clauses, ‘at the same time’ they both retained (
οὐ στερισκόμενοι) their rights as citizens and were freed from danger. The present (or imperfect) participles denote what was sure to be secured by the capitulation. For
οὐ στερισκόμενοι ‘undeprived of’ cf. ch. 64, 22.
διαδικαιούντων—‘advocating’, not found elsewhere before Dio Cassius.
αὐτά, in the general sense of ‘this’, denotes the claims of Brasidas, or the acceptance of his terms: cf. note on ch. 18, 7.
προσεδέξαντο—sc. Brasidas, or his terms.
κατέπλεον—the use of the imperfect is to be remarked. Even as the ships ‘were sailing in’ Brasidas was in possession of Amphipolis and preparing an attack on Eion. Note the promptitude and energy with which this really great soldier followed up his success.
παρὰ νύκτα—‘he came within a night of taking Eion’: cf.
viii. 76,
παῤ ἐλάχιστον ἦλθε...ἀφελέσθαι, ‘came within a very little of taking away’:
viii. 34,
παρὰ τοσοῦτον ἐγένετο αὐτῷ μὴ περιπεσεῖν τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις, ‘such a narrow escape had he of encountering the Athenians’:
ii. 89,
ἡσσηθἐντας παρὰ πολύ. Hence we get the phrase
παρὰ τοσοῦτον ἐλθεῖν κινδύνου of a narrow escape from danger (
iii. 49 and
vii. 2).
ἅμα ἕῳ ἂν εἴχετο—‘it would have been in his hands at daybreak’: so
ἐχυμένης at the beginning of ch. 108.
