Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 3

δ̓ οὖν: acc. to Thuc.'s usage, resumptive after a digression. See on i. 3. 19.—

αὐτῶν: referring with emphasis to the ills described in the two preceding chapters, or perhaps, as Arn. explains, to τὰ ἔργα in c. 83. 12. See on i. 1. 10.—

προετολμήθη: cf. c. 82. 2 ἐν τοῖς πρώτη ἐγένετο. The word is not found elsewhere except in late authors. Cf. Dio C. xlvii. 4; Herodian vi. 7. See Steph. Thes. s.v. —2.

καὶ ὁπόσα kte(.: explanatory of τὰ πολλά, both whatsoever—. ‘The three principal causes of the crimes committed in civil disturbances: 1st, the desire of vengeance for oppression and insolence in the ruling party: 2nd, the thirst of plunder, which urges the needy to covet the property of the rich; 3rd, the mere bitterness of party spirit, which men contract by being habitually opposed to one another.’ Arn. The const. is, ὁπόσα . . . δράσειαν . . . γιγνώσκοιεν . . . ἐπέλθοιεν. After καὶ ὁπόσα ὕβρει the natural const. would have been καὶ ὁπόσα πενίας, but the insertion of μέν causes the slight change.—

ὕβρει μὲν . . . παρασχόντων: “ruled more with insolence than with moderation by those who had now afforded them opportunity for revenge.” With τὴν τιμωρίαν παρας<*>εῖν, cf. δίκην παρασχεῖν, Hes. Op. 710; Eur. Andr. 1107; Phoen. 1654.—4.

δράσειαν: the opt. may be explained as that of general rel. cond. (all that men would naturally have done who). GMT. 532; H. 914, B 2. Cf. vii. 71. 22 ἄλλα ὅσα ἐν μεγάλῳ κινδύνῳ μέγα στρατόπεδον πολυειδῆ ἀναγκάζοιτο φθέγγεσθαι. If this explanation be adopted, the ἄν of l. 5 must be construed not with γιγνώσκοιεν, but with the partic. ἐπιθυμοῦντες, forming with it a sort of parenthesis, as Kr. explains, μάλιστα δ᾽ ἂν διὰ πάθους ἐπεθύμουν τὰ τῶν πέλας ἔχειν, and who would be above all men passionately covetous of their neighbour's goods. Or ἄν may be taken with γιγνώσκοιεν and supplied with δράσειαν and ἐπέλθοιεν. It might indeed have easily dropped out after δράσειαν.—ἀπαλλαξείοντες: found only here and i. 95. 24.—5.

διὰ πάθους: in passion, a use of the word which seems not to occur elsewhere before Aristotle. Nor does it seem appropriate to the context. Why should avarice of all the desires be esp. mentioned as passionate? For the const., cf. δἰ ὀργῆς, viii. 43. 24.—6.

γιγνώσκοιεν: determine on, purpose. Cf. i. 70. 7, 27.—

οἵ τε: the particle introduces, acc. to Thuc.'s usage, the third member. —7.

ἀπὸ ἴσου δὲ μάλιστα ἐπιόντες: i.e. ‘those who enter into revolution on an equality with their adversaries —not as oppressed men thirsting for vengeance, nor as needy men desiring plunder—and whose cruelties are owing merely to the fury of party spirit which they acquire in the course of the contest.’ Arn.—

ἀπαιδευσίᾳ ὀργῆς πλεῖστον ἐκφερόμενοι: carried away for the most part by the ungovernableness of their passions. Cf. Eur. (apud Stob. Flor. 20. 12) πόλλ̓ ἔστιν ὀργῆς ἐξ ἀπαιδεύτου κακά, Jos. Antiq. xvii. 11. 3 ἀπαιδευσίᾳ τοῦ πείθεσθαι τοῖς νόμοις, xix. 2. 2 ἀπαίδευτον τὴν ὀργὴν ἐπαφιείς. See on ἀπαιδευσία γνώμης, c. 42. 6.

ἐς τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον: at this crisis. For similar use of ἐς, cf. iv. 89. 6; vi. 16. 33. Or can the sense be, to this point, degree?—10.

καὶ τῶν νόμων κρατήσασα: having got a complete mastery over the laws, i.e. no longer regarding them. For partics. in different cases thus co-ord., see on c. 66. 12; i. 65. 2. Kr. Spr. 56, 14, 2.—11.

εἰωθυῖα καὶ παρὰ τοὺς νόμους ἀδικεῖν: cf. Dio C. lii. 34. 6 ἡ φύσις καὶ παρὰ τὸν νόμον πολλοὺς ἁμαρτάνειν ἐξάγει, 34. 7 ὁ νόμος . . . οὐ δύνα- ται τῆς φύσεως ἀεὶ κρατεῖν.—ἀσμένη ἐδήλωσεν . . . τοῦ δικαίου: took delight in showing that its passions were ungovernable, that it was stronger than justice. Cf. c. 45. § 7. Bl. cites, as imitations of this passage, Jos. Antiq. xvii. 8. 1 (of Herod) ἀνὴρ ὠμὸς μὲν εἰς πάντας ὁμοίως, καὶ ὀργῆς μὲν ἥσσων, κρείσσων δὲ τοῦ δικαίου, xix. 2. 2 κρείσσων μὲν τοῦ δικαίου γενόμενος, ἥσσων δὲ τοῦ κατ̓ ἰδίαν ἡδονήν, and xviii. 8. 8. But, as St. says, this imitation is uncertain, since such use of κρείσσων is freq.— 13.

πολεμία δὲ τοῦ προύχοντος: cf. ii. 35. 16 τῷ δ᾽ ὑπερβάλλοντι αὐτῶν φθονοῦντες ἤδη καὶ ἀπιστοῦσιν, Hdt. vii. 236. 7 τοῦ τε εὐτυχέειν φθονέουσι καὶ τὸ κρέσσον στυγέουσι.—14. προυτίθεσαν: for the const., see on c. 39. 20.— 15.

ἐν ᾧ . . . τὸ φθονεῖν: when (lit. in a case where) envy had not its fatal power. ἐν ῷ μή = εἰ μὴ ἐν τούτῳ. Cl. renders, “in which case envy would have had not its fatal effect.” But with this view, though the omission of ἄν would give no trouble (cf. vi. 55. 18; viii. 86. 22), it requires a strained interpretation to justify μή.

ἀξιοῦσί τε kte(.: Arn. well expresses the sense, “Men in their violence set the example of doing away with those common laws of humanity which all parties alike might have appealed to in their adversity, and by their own previous conduct put themselves out of the pale of these laws, when they themselves might have occasion to solicit their protection.” ἀξιοῦσι, presume, as in i. 42. 2; 74. 12; iv. 66. 9; vii. 63. 21.—17.

ἐλπὶς ὑποκεῖται: cf. vi. 87. 18 ὑπεῖναι ἐλπίδα, Dem. xix. 24 πάντα [τἆλλ̓] οἶμαι τότε δεύτεῤ ἦν τῶν ὑποκειμένων προσδοκιῶν καὶ τῶν ἐλπίδων.—σφαλεῖσι: in case they should be unfortunate.—18.

αὐτούς: after preceding dat. G. 928, 1; H. 941; Kühn. 475, 2 a. See on i. 31. 10.—19.

ὑπολείπεσθαι: mid., to let them stand, i.e. the laws.—

εἴ ποτε ἄρα: if ever perchance.