Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides Book 7

1. λαμπρᾶς: pred., the victory of the Syracusans haring been decisive. Cf. Luc. Ver. Hist. i. 17, τῆς δὲ τροπῆς λαμπρᾶς γεγενημένης. Cl. proposes to write λαμπρῶς, rendering, “vietory on the sea having also clearly decided for the Syracusans”; but there is no necessity for the change, since the pred. adj. has this force. See App.

ἤδη καὶ τοῦ ναυτικοῦ: καί, even (also), which Vat. omits, is indispensable, since the reference is to the defeat of Demosthenes in the battle on Epipolae, c. 43.—μέν: without a direct correlative, but answering irregularly to δέ above.

ἐπελθούσας: for the position of the attrib. partic., see on c. 23. 14. G. 142, 2, N. 5.

ἐν παντὶ ἀθυμίας: in the greatest despondency. For const., see on c. 2. 16; 33. 28. Cf. Plat. Rep. 579 b, ἐν παντὶ κακοῦ; Hdt. vii.118.3, ἐς πᾶν κακοῦ ἀπίκατο.

ὁ παράλογος : see on c. 28. 17.

τῆς στρατείας ὁ μετάμελος: regret over the expedition, objective gen. Kühn. 414, 4. δ̔ μετάμελος is not found elsewhere in Att., but occurs again in the later writers.

6. πόλεσι ταύταις κτἑ.: the placing of the subst. first gives it a character of generality, with nearly the effect of the part. gen.: “of all the cities with which they had gone to war, these were the only ones at that time of kindred organization.” The order is the common one in Thuc., in which a pron. subj. is placed after a pred. subst, and before a sup. adj. (here represented by μόναις) which belongs to the subst. See on c. 29. 29.—ἤδη: at that time, as in vi.31.46.

μεγέθη: though the pl. does not occur elsewhere in Thuc., it is found in Ar. Ran. 1057; Xen. Cyncg. 4. 1; Plat. Prot. 356 c; Criti. 115 d; Legg. 860 b, 861 e. Kühn. 348, note 3. It refers to the size of the cities, as well as to their noteworthy buildings and improvements, esp. those for warlike purposes.

ἐκ πολιτείας τι μεταβολῆς: “by a change of constitution in any respect.” τι is adv. acc., a const. esp. common after negs., as in c. 57. 4, οὐ κατὰ δίκην τι μᾶλλον.

τὸ διάφορον : as in c. 75. 39, the change, the revolution. Kr. takes τι with τὸ διάφορον, and this in the sense of discord, explaining: τὸ διάφορον ὃ αὐτοῖς ἐδύναντο ἐπενεγκεῖν οὐδὲν ἦν. Cf. i. 140. 27, τὸ γὰρ βραχύ τι τοῦτο πᾶσαν ὑμῶν ἔχει τὴν βεβαίωσιν; iv.27.21, ὡρμημένους τι τὸ πλέον.

ᾧ προσήγοντο ἄν : by which they might have brought them into subjection, i.e. εἰ ἐδύναντο τοῦτο ἐπενεγκεῖν. Cf. ii.30.7; vi.94.14. Kr. Spr. 54, 12, 9.— 10. οὔτ᾽ ἐκ παρασκευῆς πολλῷ κρείσσονος: Cl., Kr., and St. write κρείσσονος instead of the vulgate κρείσσους. See App. The phrase is manifestly opp. to οὔτε ἐκ πολιτείας τι μεταβολῆς, and both are to be connected as means with οὐ δυνάμενοι ἐπενεγκεῖν. The sense of the sent. thus far is: “these were the only cities at that time similar in character to their own, against which they had gone to war; for they had a democratic constitution, as they themselves had, and possessed ships and cavalry, and were not inconsiderable in size; therefore they could neither by a change in their constitution in any respect, nor by very much superior military forces, bring about among them the change (either by inward factions, or by a defeat in open field) by which they might have hoped to bring them under their rule.” The three partics. ἐπελθόντες (6), οὐ δυνάμενοι ἐπενεγκεῖν (8), and σφαλλόμενοι δὲ τὰ πλείω (11, of the results of the undertaking) contain the successive causes of the following ἠπόρουν κτἑ. See App.— 11. τὰ πρὸ αὐτῶν: adv., before this, i.e. before the unsuccessful sea-fight. αὐτά of the matters under discussion, as in i.1.10, and often.