Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides Book 7

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In the meantime the Syracusans, learning that the Athenians had withdrawn during the night, pursue them eagerly. They overtake Demosthenes first, who had been left considerably behind with his division, and compel him to halt. He takes shelter in a walled enclosure, where he resists their continual attacks until his men are completely exhausted.

1. ἡ ἡμέρα: i.e. that following the nocturnal occurrences just described and referred to c. 80. 13, ἅμα τῇ ἑῳ; hence the art.

ἐν αἰτίᾳ...εἶχον : = ἐπῃτιῶντο. See on i.35.10. With following inf. also in v.65.24. Kr. Spr. 50, 6, 6.

οὐ χαλεπῶς: with ᾐσθάνοντο.

8. τῆς νυκτὸς τότε: refers back to c. 80. 18. See on c. 31. 12.

δίχα δὴ ὄντας: Schol. κεχωρισμένους ἀπὸ τῶν μετὰ τοῦ Νικίου. δή referring to ῥᾷον and giving with the partic. the reason. Cf. iv.59.14; vi.80.14.

ξυνῆγον ἐς ταὐτό: they drove them together. See on c. 36. 31.

12. καὶ πεντήκοντα σταδίους: Vat. has ἑκατὸν καὶ πεντήκοντα, and so Valla read, centum quinquaginta. But such a gain in so short a time is impossible. St. proposes τρεῖς καὶ πέντε（γ́ for ρ́) but so exact a statement is hardly admissible under the circumstances. καί = vel. The Schol. says, περιττὸς ὁ καὶ σύνδεσμος.

θᾶσσόν τε γάρ : τε correlative to δέ before Δημοσθένης, as in iii.52.13; v.9.35; viii.16.12. τε γάρ = καὶ γάρ (etenim) does not occur before Aristotle. Kühn. 544, note 3.

ἑκόντας εἶναι: this seemingly pleonastic expression occurs generally only in neg. sents. GMT. 100, N. 2; H. 956 a. Cf. ii.89.29; iv.98.14; vi.14.8.—σωτηρίαν: cf. vi.60.17.

τοσαῦτα ὅσα: in restrictive signification (see on ii.12.1; Kr. Spr. 46, 5, 4), only so much as. Cf. c. 49. 1. The acc. is cognate.

16. τὰ πλείω ἐν πόνῳ ξυνεχεστέρῳ ὤν: for the most part under more continual pressure, i.e. than Nicias.

καὶ τότε: and now also, opp. to τὰ πλείω.

οὐ προυχώρει...ἐς μάχην ξυνετάσσετο : “he was trying to keep his troops ready for battle, rather than to press forward.”

[Ἀθηναῖοι]: considered a gloss by Kr., St., and Cl., as not all were Athenians. Cf. c. 82. 6, τινες πόλεις οὐ πολλαί. But in c. 86. 17 Συρακοσίων includes also the allies; why may not Ἀθηναῖοι here?

ἀνειληθέντες: Schol. συστραφέντες. “Driven back into a small space.” Lobeck proposed ξυνειληθέντες; but later writers have ἀνειλεῖν in the same sense. Cf. Arr. An. iv.5.8, οἱ δὲ τοὺς διαβαίνοντας ἀντιμέτωποι ταχθέντες ἀνείλουν ἐς τὸν ποταμόν.

ἔνθεν τε καὶ ἔνθεν : on both sides. Supply ἦν from περιῆν. Kr. Spr. 62, 4, 1. Grote explains (VII. c. 60, p. 180, note), “a road which passed through the walled ground, entering at one side and coming out at the other.” But the Greek does not mean this.—ἐλάας δὲ εἶχεν: free continuation of the rel. sent. without repetition of the pron. See on c. 29. 27. Plut. Nic. 27 calls this place Πολυζήλειον αὐλήν. He adds from Philistus, that Demosthe nes had before this made an attempt to take his own life; so too Paus. i.29.12.

περισταδόν, ξυσταδόν: both adv. forms found only here in Thuc. The latter is connected, even without the art., with μάχαις, = σταδίαις μάχαις. Kr. Spr. 50, 8, 19. Cf. iv.38.30, ἡ μάχη οὐ σταδία ἦν.

26. ἀποκινδυνεύειν πρὸς ἀνθρώπους ἀπονενοημένους: “to risk their lives against despairing men.” Cf. Xen. Hell. vii.5.12, τοῖς ἀπονενοημένοις οὐδεὶς ἂν ὑποσταίη; Zon. Ann. vii. 25, μὴ διακινδυνεύειν πρὸς ἀνθρώπους ἀπονοίᾳ χρωμένους.

φειδώ τις ἐγίγνετο : = φειδώ τινα（σφῶν αὐτῶν）ἐποιοῦντο, or ἐφείδοντο σφῶν ἁὐτῶν.

ἐπ̓ εὐπραγίᾳ ἤδη σαφεῖ : on the ground that success was now assured. Cf. e. 59. 2; 62. 1.

μὴ προαναλωθῆναί τῳ: dependent on φειδὼ ἐγίγνετο, with which τῳ (i.e. τινι Συρακοσίῳ) is to be construed. The inf. with μή comes under the const. after verbs of hindrance or freedom. GMT. 95, 2; H. 1029. The Schol. gives in free connexion the proper sense, ἐφείδετο αὐτός τις ἑαυτοῦ, ὥστε μὴ προαναλωθῆναι.

καὶ ὥς : Schol. χωρὶς τοῦ αὐτοὶ προαναλωθῆναι καὶ κινδυνεῦσαι.

ταύτῃ τῇ ἰδέᾳ : Schol. ἤγουν τούτῳ τῷ τρόπῳ τῆς μάχης, i.e. by surrounding and shooting them down from a distance, not engaging in a ξυσταδὸν μάχη.