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§ 23-24 I think this force sufficient because for the present we cannot meet Philip in regular warfare but must content ourselves with harassing him (23). And citizens must serve, because in the past mixed forces of citizens and mercenaries have done good service, whereas now that mercenaries are employed alone they devote their attention to their own interests (24).

τοσάυτην takes its construction from the preceding sentence (sc. ἀποχρῆν οἶμαι).

τὴν used, as frequently, with the future participle expressing purpose, where definiteness seems to us to be out of the question. The idiom seems to be due originally to the speaker's having a definite conception of what is required to fulfil the purpose. Cf. Xen. An. II. 4. 5 ἡγησόμενος οὐδεὶς ἔσται.

παραταξομένην, of regular fighting, or pitched battles; so παράταξις in Phil. III. 49.

λῃστεύειν, ‘make forays,’ like pirates by sea or freebooters on land; so λῃστεία of guerilla warfare in Thuc. IV.41, VIII. 40.

τὴν πρώτην, indistinguishable from τὸ πρῶτον in meaning. There is ellipse of some feminine substantive which cannot be recovered, as in many similar phrases, e.g. τὴν ταχίστην, διὰ κενῆς, ἀπὸ τῆς ἴσης.

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  • Commentary references from this page (1):
    • Thucydides, Histories, 4.41
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