- 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-grc2:1.76.1-1.76.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-25
The Athenian envoys point out that Sparta also organizes its league for its own interest, arguing that Athens maintains its empire in accordance with human nature—honor, fear, and self-interest—and that the rule of the stronger has always prevailed over the argument of justice.
ὑμεῖς γοῦν, ὦ Λακεδαιμόνιοι, τὰς ἐν τῇ Πελοποννήσῳ πόλεις ἐπὶ τὸ ὑμῖν ὠφέλιμον καταστησάμενοι ἐξηγεῖσθε· καὶ εἰ τότε ὑπομείναντες διὰ παντὸς ἀπήχθεσθε ἐν τῇ ἡγεμονίᾳ, ὥσπερ ἡμεῖς, εὖ ἴσμεν μὴ ἂν1 ἧσσον ὑμᾶς λυπηροὺς γενομένους τοῖς ξυμμάχοις καὶ ἀναγκασθέντας ἂν ἢ ἄρχειν ἐγκρατῶς ἢ αὐτοὺς κινδυνεύειν.
You, at any rate, Lacedaemonians, lead the cities in the Peloponnese after organizing them for your own advantage; and if at that time you had remained to the end and incurred hatred in your leadership, as we did, we know well that you would have become no less burdensome to your allies, and would have been forced either to rule with a strong hand or to run risks yourselves.
οὕτως οὐδ’ ἡμεῖς θαυμαστὸν οὐδὲν πεποιήκαμεν οὐδ’ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀνθρωπείου τρόπου, εἰ ἀρχήν τε διδομένην ἐδεξάμεθα καὶ ταύτην μὴ ἀνεῖμεν ὑπὸ 〈τριῶν〉 τῶν μεγίστων νικηθέντες, τιμῆς καὶ δέους καὶ ὠφελίας, οὐδ’ αὖ πρῶτοι τοῦ τοιούτου ὑπάρξαντες, ἀλλ᾽ αἰεὶ καθεστῶτος2 τὸν ἥσσω ὑπὸ τοῦ δυνατωτέρου κατείργεσθαι, ἄξιοί τε ἅμα νομίζοντες εἶναι καὶ ὑμῖν δοκοῦντες μέχρι οὗ τὰ ξυμφέροντα λογιζόμενοι τῷ δικαίῳ λόγῳ νῦν χρῆσθε, ὃν οὐδείς πω παρατυχὸν3 ἰσχύι τι κτήσασθαι προθεὶς τοῦ μὴ πλέον ἔχειν4 ἀπετράπετο.
Thus we too have done nothing remarkable or contrary to human nature in accepting an empire that was offered to us and not giving it up, overcome as we were by the three greatest things—honor, fear, and self-interest. Nor, again, were we the first to begin such a course, but it has always been an established rule that the weaker should be kept down by the stronger; and we at the same time thought ourselves worthy of it, and used to seem so to you, until now when you calculate your own interest and appeal to the argument of justice, which no one yet, when an opportunity offered of acquiring something by force, has ever put ahead of self-interest and turned aside from taking advantage.
ἐπαινεῖσθαί τε ἄξιοι οἵτινες χρησάμενοι τῇ ἀνθρωπείᾳ φύσει ὥστε ἑτέρων ἄρχειν δικαιότεροι ἢ κατὰ τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν δύναμιν γένωνται.
And those are worthy of praise who, while following human nature so as to rule over others, yet prove to be more observant of justice than their actual power demands.
ἄλλους γ’ ἂν οὖν οἰόμεθα τὰ ἡμέτερα λαβόντας δεῖξαι ἂν μάλιστα εἴ τι μετριάζομεν· ἡμῖν δὲ καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἐπιεικοῦς ἀδοξία τὸ πλέον ἢ ἔπαινος οὐκ εἰκότως περιέστη.
We think, therefore, that others, if they took our place, would show most clearly whether we practice moderation; but for us, even from our fairness, ill repute rather than praise has unfairly resulted.
- 1.76.1μὴ ἂν ἧσσον ὑμᾶς λυπηροὺς γενομένους ... καὶ ἀναγκασθέντας ἂν
The accusative participles γενομένους and ἀναγκασθέντας, modifying ὑμᾶς, function as the object of εὖ ἴσμεν in indirect discourse. Accompanied by the particle ἂν, they represent a past contrary-to-fact indicative in direct discourse (ἂν ἐγένεσθε and ἂν ἠναγκάσθητε, "you would have become" and "you would have been forced").
- 1.76.2ἀλλ᾽ αἰεὶ καθεστῶτος
καθεστῶτος is the neuter genitive singular of the perfect participle of καθίστημι, here used in an impersonal genitive absolute construction ("it being an established rule"). The following accusative and infinitive clause τὸν ἥσσω ... κατείργεσθαι serves as the practical subject or content of this state.
- 1.76.2παρατυχὸν
The neuter aorist participle accusative singular of παράτεστι, used as an accusative absolute ("opportunity offering" or "it being permitted/possible"), governing the infinitive κτήσασθαι.
- 1.76.2προθεὶς τοῦ μὴ πλέον ἔχειν
The direct object of the participle προθεὶς ("having preferred") is the relative pronoun ὃν (referring back to τῷ δικαίῳ λόγῳ). The genitive clause τοῦ μὴ πλέον ἔχειν ("than taking more") functions as a genitive of comparison.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — note 1