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23. ἥν γε κτλ.=ἀλλὰ ταύτην γε οὐκ ἐκεῖνον δς προύχων καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἀσφαλοῦς προκαλεῖται, so that προύχοντα, from a position of superiority (gained by the use of force), is coordinate with ἐκ τοῦ ἀσφαλοῦς.
25. λέγειν τι—talk seriously.
26. ἐς ἴσον ... καθιστάντα—this clause is in contrast with προύχοντα καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἀσφαλοῦς, and must mean that in order that a demand for arbitration may be entertained, the party making the demand must first set himself on a level with the other party not merely in free discussion with him, but (what is more important), by giving up any advantage he has gained till a decision is arrived at. Transl. ‘but he who, before having recourse to arms, puts himself in deeds as well as in words on a level.’ πρὶν διαγωνίζεσθαι may mean before any solution, whether by arms or arbitration; but πρὶν πολιορκεῖν favours the more confined sense. The meaning of ἐς ἴσον ... καθιστάντα cannot be, according to the old explan., ‘whose deeds square with his words.’
Commentary on Thucydides Book 1. E. C. Marchant. 1905. London. MacMillan and Company, Ltd.
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