Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides Book 7

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Demosthenes is decidedly against the continuation of the siege, and insists, if they may not leave Sicily without orders from Athens, that they go back to Thapsus or Catana, whence they could ravage the enemy's territory with their land-force, and where they would have the advantage of the open sea for the movement of their fleet. On account of this difference of opinion much precious time is lost.

1. λέγων ἰσχυρίζετο: as in 23, insisted emphatically. The idea is, asserted confidently, rather than asserted persist- ently. Cf. iii.44.9; iv.23.6.

πολὺ τὸ βουλόμενον: the correction πολύ, for the unintelligible που of the Mss., is due to Linwood (Jahrbb. 1862, p. 202), who refers to the imitation of the passage in Dio C. xlv. 8, πλεῖστον γάρ ἐστι τὸ βουλόμενον πάντας . . . ἀλλήλοις διαφέρεσθαι. Cf. Plut. Nic. 21, ἦσαν ἄνδρες οὐκ ὀλίγοι διαλεγόμενοι τῷ Νικίᾳ κρύφα ὥστε μὴ ἀπανίστασθαι. The art. is prop. with βουλόμενον, since reference is had to c. 48. 13.—τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις γίγνεσθαι: Cl. is doubtless right in explaining τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις as dat. of possession with γίγνεσθαι, though in the examples he cites (iii.23.26; v.55.14; viii.57.8) γίγνεσθαι seems rather = contingere, evenire. St. adds ὑποχείρια before γίγνεσθαι, citing iii.86.18.

ὥστε: see on c. 48. 19. —ταῖς γοῦν ναυσίν, ᾗ πρότερον, ἐθάρσησε κρατηθείς: this is St.'s reading for ἢ πρότερον θαρσήσει (Vat. ἐθάρσησε) of the Mss.: “and at the same time though beaten, he placed confidence in the ships at least, as before.” See App. For ᾗ πρότερον, cf. c. 4. 22 ff. The connexion of the finite verb ἐθάρσησε with the partic. αἰσθόμενος raises no difficulty. The anacoluthon is essentially the same as in c. 47. § 2. Cf. i. 57. § 4.

7. περὶ...τοῦ προσκαθῆσθαι : as to the question of continuing the siege. See on c. 47. 18.—οὐδ᾽ ὁπωσοῦν: cf. c. 60. 20; i.77.9; viii.90.16; 91. 21.

ἐνεδέχετο: here, as in v.15.9, without def. obj., which is easily supplied from the context.

αὐτοῦ: there, i.e. in Sicily. Kr.'s emendation, adopted by Cl. and St., for αὐτούς, which as the subj. of τρίβειν is without force and unnecessary, even if admissible.

Θάψον: where the fleet on the voyage out had lain for some time. Cf. vi.97.9.—Κατάνην: here too the fleet had made a long stay, vi.50.10 to vi.97.3.

ἐπὶ πολλὰ τῆς χώρας: see on c. 11. 18.— θρέψονται: = τὸ στράτευμα θρέψουσι, the fut. in rel. clause of purpose, as in vi.21.7.

πρὸς τῶν πολεμίων: in the enemy's favour. See on c. 36. 18. For the facts, cf. c. 36. § 3, 4.

ἐν ᾗ τά τε τῆς ἐμπειρίας χρήσιμα σφῶν ἔσται: where the advantages of skill will be theirs. Some editt. take χρήσιμα as pred. and σφῶν with ἐμπειρίας, but in this case σφίσιν would be more natural.

οὐκ ἐκ βραχέος καὶ περιγραπτοῦ: belongs to the parties. ὁρμώμενοί τε καὶ καταίροντες, though in form appropriate only to the former, since with καταίροντες we should prop. have ἐς with ace. The parties. stand too in chiastic order as compared with ἀναχωρήσεις and ἐπίπλους.

ἕξουσι : “they will have in their power.” See on c. 36. 37.

τὸ ξύμπαν εἰπεῖν: inf. used abs. in parenthetical phrase. GMT. 100; H. 956. Cf. i.138.17.

ὅτι τάχιστα ἤδη ἐξανίστασθαι καὶ μὴ μέλλειν: so restored by Haase (Lucubr. Thuc. p. 58) instead of ὅτι τάχιστα ἤδη καὶ μὴ μέλλειν ἐξανίστασθαι. Cf. v.30.29, ἐκέλευον τοὺς Κορινθίους ἰέναι ἐς τὴν ξυμμαχίαν καὶ μὴ μέλλειν, which proves that in our passage there has been only a careless change in the order of the words. ἐξανίστασθαι means to withdraw from their position. Cf. ἀπανίστασθαι (5) depart, ἀναστῆναι (10) retire, remore.

ξυνηγόρευεν: cf. vi.6.26.

22. ἐγένετο: so Vat., confirmed by the imitation of Jos. A. I. Prooem. 2, ὄκνος μοι καὶ μέλλησις ἐγένετο. Some other Mss. have ἐνεγένετο, which Thue. uses with the dat. Cf. c. 80. 12; i.2.16; ii.49.32; 62. 29.—τι καὶ πλέον εἰδώς: cf. v.29.12, πλέον τέ τι εἰδότας.

διεμέλλησαν : they came to delay (aor.).