Harold North Fowler, Commentary on Thucydides Book 5

ἐδόκει: not ἔδοξε. As presently appears, it was only a proposition, not a decision.

Κορινθίοις κτἑ.: that the envoys of these states had come to Thebes has not been stated, but is evident from the context. See 20 f.— τοῖς ἀπὸ Θρᾴκης: cf. c. 31. 26.

ἐν τῷ παρατυχόντι: “under the circumstances that might at any time arise.” παρα- has the force of ἀεί, and hence the sing. See on i. 122. 6; iii. 82. 47.

τῷ δεομένῳ: general, like τὸν βουλόμενον, i. 26. 3, and freq.

οὕτως ἤδη: thereupon, “then and not till then.” οὕτως denotes the fulfilment of certain conditions. Cf. i. 37. 4; iii. 96. 8; iv. 88. 8; v. 55. 8.

τὸ γὰρ αὐτὸ ἐποίουν: like c. 31. 27, τὸ αὐτὸ λέγοντες, and c. 36. 10, ταὐτὰ γιγνώσκειν, denotes, esp. in the impf., general agreement in act and word.

ταῖς τέσσαρσι βουλαῖς: they are not mentioned elsewhere, and the organization of the Boeotian confederacy is altogether but imperfectly known. See Hermann, Griech. Staatsalt. § 179, 11. Gilbert, Griech. Staatsalt. II. p. 57.

ἐπ᾽ ὠφελίᾳ: cf. i. 3. 9, ἐπαγομένων αὐτοὺς ἐπ᾽ ὠφελίᾳ ἐς τὰς ἄλλας πόλεις.

τοῖς ἐκείνων ἀφεστῶσι: cf. c. 27. § 2; 30. § 2 ff.

οὐ γὰρ εἶπον: they had not informed them.

τῶν τε ἐφόρων: part. gen. opp. to καὶ οἱ φίλοι. Cf. c. 37. 2.

παραινοῦσιν: sc. τοῖς Βοιωτοῖς, as in c. 36. 9 f.

μετ᾽ αὐτῶν: rightly restored by St. for μετὰ τῶν (on this error of the Mss. see App. on c. 16. 6); for upon this the whole plan of the ephors and their party depended. They wished first to induce the Boeotians to form an alliance with Argos (and Corinth, which was already in the Argive confederacy), and then to bring about an alliance between these and Sparta, so that Athens should be entirely isolated. Where the reconciliation of Argos and Sparta is the main point, we read in c. 36. 11 f., μετὰ Βοιωτῶν Ἀργείους Λακεδαιμονίοις ποιῆσαι ξυμμάχους; here where the restoration of the somewhat loosened alliance between Thebes and Sparta is most prominent, the same idea is expressed somewhat differently: (τοὺς´ Βοιωτούς, for this is the obj. of παραινοῦσιν and subj. of γίγνεσθαι）μετ᾽ αὐτῶν (sc. τῶν Ἀργείων καὶ Κορινθίων）Λακεδαιμονίων (sc. ξυμμάχους）γίγνεσθαι. The way to the goal is in both cases the same: Ἀργείων πρῶτον（καὶ Κορινθίων, which is omitted as superfluous in c. 36) γενομένους ξυμμάχους. Only the difference between ποιῆσαι and γίγνεσθαι occasions that between μετὰ Βοιωτῶν and μετ᾽ αὐτῶν, i.e. μετὰ τῶν Ἀργείων καὶ Κορινθίων.

σφίσι : refers to the subj. of ψηφιεῖσθαι: “they would adopt no other measures than those which they (the Boeotarchs) recommend to them after previous deliberation.” The indir. refl. pron. often refers in Thuc. to the subj. of a de pendent verb. Cf. i. 20. 10; 30. 14; 58. 7; iii. 3. 19; iv. 113. 11. Kühn. 555, N. 9. The change to σφεῖς or ἐν σφίσι, which has been proposed, is therefore unnecessary.

ἀντέστη: see on c. 4. 22.

εἰ ταῦτα ἔπεισαν: the aor. indic. is chosen under the influence of the failure of their attempt (“if they had succeeded, which they did not”); μέλλοντες πειράσεσθαι would otherwise lead us to expect here a fut. prot., ἐὰν πείσωσι or εἰ πείσειαν. GMT. 49, 2, N. 3. e.

καὶ τὴν ξυμμαχίαν: the alliance with the Argives, which has been previously mentioned, is the important one; hence the art.

ἐσήνεγκαν: ἐσφέρειν, propose for deliberation, occurs also in viii. 67. 5 and 9.

οὓς ὑπέσχοντο: cf. c. 37. 25.