Warning Against Alienating the Allied Commons — Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War Book 3 (3.47.1–3.47.5), Greek & English

§3.47.1

‘ὑμεῖς δὲ σκέψασθε ὅσον ἂν καὶ τοῦτο ἁμαρτάνοιτε¹ Κλέωνι πειθόμενοι.

’And do you consider how great a mistake you would make in this also, if you obey Cleon.

§3.47.2

νῦν μὲν γὰρ ὑμῖν ὁ δῆμος ἐν πάσαις ταῖς πόλεσιν εὔνους ἐστί, καὶ ἢ οὐ ξυναφίσταται τοῖς ὀλίγοις ἤ, ἐὰν βιασθῇ, ὑπάρχει τοῖς ἀποστήσασι πολέμιος εὐθύς, καὶ τῆς ἀντικαθισταμένης πόλεως τὸ πλῆθος ξύμμαχον ἔχοντες ἐς πόλεμον ἐπέρχεσθε.

For now, the commons in all the cities are well-disposed to you, and either do not join the oligarchs in revolting, or, if they are forced to do so, become immediately hostile to those who led the revolt; thus, when you go to war, you have the multitude of the hostile city as your ally.

§3.47.3

εἰ δὲ διαφθερεῖτε τὸν δῆμον τὸν Μυτιληναίων, ὃς οὔτε μετέσχε τῆς ἀποστάσεως, ἐπειδή τε ὅπλων ἐκράτησεν, ἑκὼν παρέδωκε τὴν πόλιν, πρῶτον μὲν ἀδικήσετε τοὺς εὐεργέτας κτείνοντες, ἔπειτα καταστήσετε τοῖς δυνατοῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὃ βούλονται μάλιστα· ἀφιστάντες γὰρ τὰς πόλεις τὸν δῆμον εὐθὺς ξύμμαχον ἕξουσι, προδειξάντων ὑμῶν² τὴν αὐτὴν ζημίαν τοῖς τε ἀδικοῦσιν ὁμοίως κεῖσθαι καὶ τοῖς μή.

But if you destroy the commons of Mytilene, who not only took no part in the revolt, but, as soon as they got possession of arms, voluntarily surrendered the city, you will, in the first place, do wrong by killing your benefactors, and, in the second place, you will bring about for the influential men exactly what they desire most. For when they induce the cities to revolt, they will immediately have the commons as their allies, since you have shown beforehand that the same punishment is laid down alike for those who are guilty and for those who are not.

§3.47.4

δεῖ δέ, καὶ εἰ ἠδίκησαν, μὴ προσποιεῖσθαι,³ ὅπως ὃ μόνον ἡμῖν ἔτι ξύμμαχόν ἐστι μὴ πολέμιον γένηται.

And even if they had done wrong, we ought to pretend not to notice, so that the only ally still left to us may not become our enemy.

§3.47.5

καὶ τοῦτο πολλῷ ξυμφορώτερον ἡγοῦμαι ἐς τὴν κάθεξιν τῆς ἀρχῆς, ἑκόντας ἡμᾶς ἀδικηθῆναι⁴ ἢ δικαίως οὓς μὴ δεῖ διαφθεῖραι· καὶ τὸ Κλέωνος τὸ αὐτὸ δίκαιον καὶ ξύμφορον τῆς τιμωρίας οὐχ εὑρίσκεται ἐν αὐτῷ δυνατὸν ὂν⁵ ἅμα γίγνεσθαι.

And I think this is far more advantageous for the retention of our empire—that we should voluntarily suffer wrong rather than that we should, however justly, destroy those whom we ought not to destroy. As for Cleon’s assertion that the same punishment is both just and advantageous, it is found to be impossible for both to coexist in it.’

Syntax notes5 items

3.47.1ὅσον ἂν καὶ τοῦτο ἁμαρτάνοιτε
The indirect question introduced by ὅσον features the optative with ἄν (ἁμαρτάνοιτε ἄν), expressing potentiality ('how great a mistake you would make'). The conditional force is implied in the participle πειθόμενοι ('if you obey').
3.47.3προδειξάντων ὑμῶν
A genitive absolute construction expressing cause ('since you have shown beforehand').
3.47.4μὴ προσποιεῖσθαι
An infinitive governed by the impersonal verb δεῖ. The verb προσποιέομαι ('to pretend, claim') used with the negative μή functions here in the idiomatic sense of 'to pretend not to notice, ignore, overlook.'
3.47.5ἑκόντας ἡμᾶς ἀδικηθῆναι
An accusative-and-infinitive clause serving as the object of ἡγοῦμαι. The adjective ἑκόντας agrees predicatively with the subject accusative ἡμᾶς, meaning 'that we should voluntarily suffer wrong.'
3.47.5οὐχ εὑρίσκεται ... δυνατὸν ὂν
A construction where the verb εὑρίσκω is used with a participle ὄν (δυνατὸν ὄν) to mean 'is found to be.' With the negation οὐχ, it translates as 'is found not to be possible' or 'is found to be impossible.'

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25)urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:3.47.1-3.47.5