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καὶ τοῦτο, sc. ἐστί, ‘there is also this fact’: τοῦτο is explained by the whole of the following sentence. Some prefer to render ‘suppose even this to be the case’; but it is not easy to arrive at this sense. βέλτιον, sc. ἡμῶν ἐπιμελεῖται. When a verb serves as predicate to more than one subject, it frequently agrees with the nearest subject only. This occurs sometimes even when the subjects are, as here, not co-ordinate; cf. Thuc. 1. 82 ὅσοι ὥσπερ καὶ ἡμεῖς ὑπ᾽ Ἀθηναίων ἐπιβουλευόμεθα (sc. ἐπιβουλεύονται). For the thought, cf. Aristoph. Clouds 587 sqq., and compare the modern Briton's pride in ‘muddling through’ difficulties in public affairs. ὄντες, equivalent to εἰ εἴητε, antithetic, verbally to ὡς νῦν ἔχετε, and in sense to ἀπηρτημένοι. ἐπιστάντες, as well as διοικήσαισθε, is modified by the ἄν; the sense is that of ἐπισταῖτε καὶ διοικ. Render ‘intervening’ as in Isocr. 167 D ἐξαίφνης ἐπιστὰς τοῖς γιγνομένοις. In this sense the word connotes suddenness or unexpectedness. ὅπως βούλεσθε. We might rather expect βούλοισθε, as it seems more natural in this case that the speaker should conceive the wish as part of the imaginary conjuncture. δέξασθαι, as denoting mere passive acceptance, gives a stronger force to the assertion than λαβεῖν. Amphipolis is selected as the most important and most deeply regretted of former Athenian possessions in that quarter. ἀπηρτημένοι, sc. τῶν πραγμάτων (Liddell and Scott appear to supply ἀλλήλων, with which it is impossible to give a proper sense to ταῖς παρασκευαῖς), ‘far removed as you are from the field of action.’ Cf. Dem. 18. 59 ἀπαρτᾶν τὸν λόγον τῆς γραφῆς. Those who would give the word a different sense fail to produce any parallel from Attic prose.
Demosthenes: Philippics I, II, III with Introduction and Notes. Gilbert A. Davies, M.A. 1949. Cambridge University Press.
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