E.C. Marchant, Commentary on Thucydides Book 1

3. εἴπερ βεβαιότατον κτλ.—inasmuch as the surest ground (for taking common action) is that both cities and individnals have the same interests. This is the only natural way of taking the words, for the order does not allow καὶ πόλεσι καὶ ἰ. to go with βεβαιότατον, as Classen supposed (Stahl and others alter the text to make this constn. possible). The meaning is explained by οὖσι Δωριεῦσι κτλ.: it is the interest of every city and every individual member of the confederacy that Dorians should be protected from Ionians. (The MSS. have ταῦτα for ταὐτά, and this is transl. ‘since it is most certain that this course—to go to war—is to the interest of,’ etc.)

7. οὗ πρότερον ἦν τ.—in former times Dorians were recognised as supertor in war to Ionians. In such a rhetorical statement we need not look for any specific historical reference.

9. ὡς οὐκέτι ἐνδέχεται κτλ.—for it is now out of the question that we should wait (for common action by the confederacy), and that some of us (e g. we Corinthians) should now be suffering and others ... should shortly have the same experience. Cf. vii. 42 νομίσας οὐχ οἷόν τε εἶναι διατρίβειν οὐδὲ παθεῖν ὅπερ ὁ Νικίας ἔπαθεν.

[2] 16. αὐτοῦ—τοῦ πολέμου.

17. διὰ πλείονος—of time, in contrast with αὐτίκα.

ἐκ πολέμου μὲν κτλ.—the sentence becomes clear when τοῖς ἐς ἀνάγκην ἀφιγμένοις is supphed from above, i.e. where war becomes a necessity. πολεμῆσαι is ingressive.

[3] 23. διανοεῖσθαι—cf. c. 1. 1.