- Source
- Thucydides. Historiae, Vol 1-2. Jones, Henry Stuart, editor. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1910. (1942 printing).
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.71.1-1.71.7
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-25
The Corinthian envoys point out that Sparta's practices are outdated compared to Athens' innovation, and urge them to quickly invade Attica to aid Potidaea and other allies, concluding with a warning of a potential alliance shift.
‘ταύτης μέντοι τοιαύτης ἀντικαθεστηκυίας πόλεως,1 ὦ Λακεδαιμόνιοι, διαμέλλετε καὶ οἴεσθε τὴν ἡσυχίαν οὐ τούτοις τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ἀρκεῖν οἳ ἂν τῇ μὲν παρασκευῇ δίκαια πράσσωσι, τῇ δὲ γνώμῃ, ἢν ἀδικῶνται, δῆλοι ὦσι μὴ ἐπιτρέψοντες, ἀλλ’ ἐπὶ τῷ μὴ λυπεῖν τε τοὺς ἄλλους καὶ αὐτοὶ ἀμυνόμενοι μὴ βλάπτεσθαι τὸ ἴσον νέμετε.2
’Yet, though such a city is established against you, Lacedaemonians, you delay and do not think that quiet is longest preserved for those men who, while they do what is just with their preparations, make it clear that their mind will not submit if they are wronged; rather, you measure out fairness on the condition of not hurting others and not being hurt yourselves even when defending.
μόλις δ’ ἂν πόλει ὁμοίᾳ παροικοῦντες ἐτυγχάνετε τούτου·3 νῦν δ᾽, ὅπερ καὶ ἄρτι ἐδηλώσαμεν, ἀρχαιότροπα ὑμῶν τὰ ἐπιτηδεύματα πρὸς αὐτούς ἐστιν.
Indeed, you would scarcely have obtained this if you were living next to a state like yourselves; but now, as we have just shown, your practices are old-fashioned compared to theirs.
ἀνάγκη δὲ ὥσπερ τέχνης4 αἰεὶ τὰ ἐπιγιγνόμενα κρατεῖν· καὶ ἡσυχαζούσῃ μὲν πόλει τὰ ἀκίνητα νόμιμα ἄριστα, πρὸς πολλὰ δὲ ἀναγκαζομένοις ἰέναι πολλῆς καὶ τῆς ἐπιτεχνήσεως δεῖ. δι’ ὅπερ καὶ τὰ τῶν Ἀθηναίων ἀπὸ τῆς πολυπειρίας ἐπὶ πλέον ὑμῶν κεκαίνωται.
And it is necessary, just as in an art, that what is newly developed should always prevail. While for a quiet city unchanged customs are best, for those who are compelled to go into many enterprises, there is need of much new invention. For this reason, also, the institutions of the Athenians have been modernized far more than yours, owing to their great experience.
μέχρι μὲν οὖν τοῦδε ὡρίσθω ὑμῶν ἡ βραδυτής· νῦν δὲ τοῖς τε ἄλλοις καὶ Ποτειδεάταις, ὥσπερ ὑπεδέξασθε, βοηθήσατε κατὰ τάχος ἐσβαλόντες ἐς τὴν Ἀττικήν, ἵνα μὴ ἄνδρας τε φίλους καὶ ξυγγενεῖς τοῖς ἐχθίστοις προῆσθε καὶ ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἄλλους ἀθυμίᾳ πρὸς ἑτέραν τινὰ ξυμμαχίαν τρέψητε.
Let your procrastination, then, be bounded at this point. Now, aid the rest of your allies and the Potidaeans, as you promised, by making a speedy invasion into Attica, so that you may not betray men who are your friends and kinsmen to their worst enemies, and turn the rest of us in despair to some other alliance.
δρῷμεν δ’ ἂν ἄδικον οὐδὲν οὔτε πρὸς θεῶν τῶν ὁρκίων οὔτε πρὸς ἀνθρώπων τῶν αἰσθανομένων· λύουσι γὰρ σπονδὰς οὐχ οἱ δι’ ἐρημίαν ἄλλοις προσιόντες, ἀλλ’ οἱ μὴ βοηθοῦντες οἷς ἂν ξυνομόσωσιν.
In doing so, we should commit no injustice either before the gods of oaths or before men of understanding; for treaties are broken not by those who, because they are abandoned, go to others, but by those who fail to assist those with whom they have sworn.
βουλομένων δὲ ὑμῶν προθύμων εἶναι μενοῦμεν· οὔτε γὰρ ὅσια ἂν ποιοῖμεν μεταβαλλόμενοι οὔτε ξυνηθεστέρους ἂν ἄλλους εὕροιμεν.
But if you are willing to show zeal, we will remain; for we should neither act piously by changing our course, nor should we find others more congenial to us.
πρὸς τάδε βουλεύεσθε εὖ καὶ τὴν Πελοπόννησον πειρᾶσθε μὴ ἐλάσσω ἐξηγεῖσθαι ἢ οἱ πατέρες ὑμῖν παρέδοσαν.’
Deliberate well on these things, and try to lead the Peloponnese in no less a state than your fathers handed down to you.’
- 1.71.1ταύτης μέντοι τοιαύτης ἀντικαθεστηκυίας πόλεως
This is construed as a genitive absolute, rather than a genitive governed by a verb or adjective. The perfect participle ἀντικαθεστηκυίας (instead of a present participle) emphasizes that the state of Athens' hostile presence is already established and confronting them.
- 1.71.1οὐ τούτοις τῶν ἀνθρώπων... ἀλλ’ ἐπὶ τῷ... τὸ ἴσον νέμετε
This is a contrastive structure: 'not for those men (A), but on the condition of... (B) you administer/define fairness (τὸ ἴσον)'. The phrase τὸ ἴσον νέμειν (literally 'to deal out equal shares/fairness') here criticizes Sparta's passive foreign policy, which defines 'fairness' solely within the limits of not harming others and defending itself only to prevent harm, rather than maintaining active preparedness to deter aggression.
- 1.71.2μόλις δ’ ἂν πόλει ὁμοίᾳ παροικοῦντες ἐτυγχάνετε τούτου
This is a contrafactual apodosis (ἂν ... ἐτυγχάνετε) with the protasis implied in the conditional participle παροικοῦντες ('if you were living next to...'). The demonstrative τούτου refers back to τὴν ἡσυχίαν (quiet) or τὸ ἴσον (fairness) in the previous section.
- 1.71.3ὥσπερ τέχνης
The genitive τέχνης stands after ὥσπερ as an elliptical expression for ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τέχνης ('just as in the case of an art/craft'). This leads into the general principle that newer developments (τὰ ἐπιγιγνόμενα) must always prevail (κρατεῖν).