- 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-grc2:1.72.1-1.72.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-25
After the Corinthian speech, an Athenian embassy present in Lacedaemon requested to speak before their assembly in order to urge them not to make a hasty decision, and their request was granted.
τοιαῦτα μὲν οἱ Κορίνθιοι εἶπον. τῶν δὲ Ἀθηναίων1 ἔτυχε γὰρ πρεσβεία πρότερον ἐν τῇ Λακεδαίμονι περὶ ἄλλων παροῦσα, καὶ ὡς ᾔσθοντο τῶν λόγων, ἔδοξεν αὐτοῖς παριτητέα ἐς τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους εἶναι,2 τῶν μὲν ἐγκλημάτων πέρι μηδὲν ἀπολογησομένους ὧν αἱ πόλεις ἐνεκάλουν,3δηλῶσαι δὲ περὶ τοῦ παντὸς ὡς οὐ ταχέως αὐτοῖς βουλευτέον εἴη, ἀλλ’ ἐν πλέονι σκεπτέον. καὶ ἅμα τὴν σφετέραν πόλιν ἐβούλοντο σημῆναι ὅση εἴη δύναμιν, καὶ ὑπόμνησιν ποιήσασθαι τοῖς τε πρεσβυτέροις ὧν ᾔδεσαν καὶ τοῖς νεωτέροις ἐξήγησιν ὧν ἄπειροι ἦσαν, νομίζοντες μᾶλλον ἂν αὐτοὺς ἐκ τῶν λόγων πρὸς τὸ ἡσυχάζειν τραπέσθαι4 ἢ πρὸς τὸ πολεμεῖν.
Thus spoke the Corinthians. Now, an Athenian embassy happened to be present in Lacedaemon beforehand on other business, and when they became aware of the speeches, they decided that they must come forward before the Lacedaemonians, not to make any defence against the charges which the cities were bringing against them, but to show concerning the whole matter that they should not deliberate in haste, but should consider it at greater leisure. At the same time, they wished to declare how great the power of their own city was, and to bring to the minds of the older men what they already knew, and to give the younger men an exposition of what they were inexperienced in, thinking that they would be more likely, as a result of these words, to turn to quietness than to war.
προσελθόντες οὖν τοῖς Λακεδαιμονίοις ἔφασαν βούλεσθαι καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐς τὸ πλῆθος αὐτῶν εἰπεῖν, εἴ τι μὴ ἀποκωλύοι. οἱ δὲ ἐκέλευόν τε παριέναι, καὶ παρελθόντες οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι ἔλεγον τοιάδε.
Accordingly, they approached the Lacedaemonians and said that they also wished to speak to their assembly, if there was nothing to prevent it. They bid them come forward, and the Athenians came forward and spoke as follows.
- 1.72.1τῶν δὲ Ἀθηναίων
The genitive at the beginning of the sentence results in an anacoluthon due to the parenthetical clause ἔτυχε γὰρ πρεσβεία..., which changes the main sentence structure. Although a genitive absolute or similar construction might have been intended, it is ultimately resolved into the context of ἔδοξεν αὐτοῖς and ἐβούλοντο.
- 1.72.1παριτητέα ... εἶναι
The neuter plural of the verbal adjective παριτητέος (from παρίημι or πάρειμι) is used impersonally to express obligation ("they must come forward"). The logical subject is expressed by the dative αὐτοῖς.
- 1.72.1ὧν αἱ πόλεις ἐνεκάλουν
The relative pronoun ὧν would grammatically be the accusative ἅ as the direct object of the transitive verb ἐνεκάλουν, but it has been attracted into the genitive case of its antecedent ἐγκλημάτων (relative attraction).
- 1.72.1μᾶλλον ἂν αὐτοὺς ... τραπέσθαι
The infinitive τραπέσθαι (aorist middle of τρέπω) with the particle ἄν represents a potential optative (ἂν τράποιντο) or an indicative past (ἂν ἐτράποντο) in indirect discourse, indicating probability or possibility ("they would more likely turn to quietness").