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"If, as is likely, you will make an end of the war, what better time will you find than the present, in which you will make your humane treatment of the prostrate the occasion for friendship? For do not assume that the Athenian people have become completely exhausted by their disaster in Sicily, seeing that they hold sway over practically all the islands of Greece and retain the supremacy over the coasts of both Europe and Asia. [2] Indeed once before, after losing three hundred triremes together with their crews in Egypt,1 they compelled the King,2 who seemed to hold the upper hand, to accept ignominious terms of peace, and again, when their city had been razed to the ground by Xerxes, after a short time they defeated him also and won for themselves the leadership of Greece. [3] For that city has a clever way, in the midst of the greatest misfortunes, of making the greatest growth in power and of never adopting a policy that is mean-spirited. It would be a fine thing, therefore, instead of increasing their enmity, to have the Athenians as allies after sparing the prisoners. [4] For if we put them to death we shall merely be indulging our anger, sating a fruitless passion, whereas if we put them under guard, we shall have the gratitude of the men we succoured and the approbation of all other peoples.

1 Around Memphis; cp. Book 11.74-77 passim.

2 Of Persia; cp. Book 12.4.

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