- 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-grc2:4.19.1-4.19.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-28
The Spartan envoys propose peace and alliance to Athens in exchange for the return of the men on the island, arguing that true and lasting reconciliation is achieved when the stronger party shows moderation and generosity rather than forcing unequal terms.
‘Λακεδαιμόνιοι δὲ ὑμᾶς προκαλοῦνται ἐς σπονδὰς καὶ διάλυσιν πολέμου, διδόντες μὲν εἰρήνην καὶ ξυμμαχίαν καὶ ἄλλην φιλίαν πολλὴν καὶ οἰκειότητα ἐς ἀλλήλους ὑπάρχειν,1 ἀνταιτοῦντες δὲ τοὺς ἐκ τῆς νήσου ἄνδρας, καὶ ἄμεινον ἡγούμενοι ἀμφοτέροις μὴ διακινδυνεύεσθαι, εἴτε βίᾳ διαφύγοιεν παρατυχούσης τινὸς σωτηρίας εἴτε καὶ ἐκπολιορκηθέντες μᾶλλον ἂν χειρωθεῖεν.2
”The Lacedaemonians invite you to a treaty and an end to the war, offering peace, alliance, and a broad range of other friendship and intimacy to exist between us, while demanding in return the men on the island, and thinking it better for both sides not to run the risk, whether they should escape by force if some means of safety should present itself, or, being completely blockaded, should be more easily subdued.
νομίζομέν τε τὰς μεγάλας ἔχθρας μάλιστ’ ἂν διαλύεσθαι βεβαίως, οὐκ ἢν ἀνταμυνόμενός τις καὶ ἐπικρατήσας τὰ πλείω τοῦ πολέμου κατ’ ἀνάγκην ὅρκοις ἐγκαταλαμβάνων μὴ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἴσου ξυμβῇ, ἀλλ’ ἢν παρὸν3 τὸ αὐτὸ δρᾶσαι πρὸς τὸ ἐπιεικὲς καὶ ἀρετῇ αὐτὸν νικήσας παρὰ ἃ προσεδέχετο μετρίως ξυναλλαγῇ.
And we believe that great enmities are most reliably settled, not if one retaliates and, having gained the upper hand in most of the war, binds his opponent by oaths under compulsion and makes an agreement on unequal terms, but rather if, when it is in his power to do the same, he inclines toward moderation and, conquering him in generosity, reconciles on moderate terms contrary to what the other expected.
ὀφείλων4 γὰρ ἤδη ὁ ἐναντίος μὴ ἀνταμύνεσθαι ὡς βιασθείς, ἀλλ’ ἀνταποδοῦναι ἀρετήν, ἑτοιμότερός ἐστιν αἰσχύνῃ ἐμμένειν οἷς ξυνέθετο.
For the opponent, now owing a debt not to retaliate as one who has been forced, but to return the generosity, is more ready out of a sense of honor to abide by what he has agreed to.
καὶ μᾶλλον πρὸς τοὺς μειζόνως ἐχθροὺς τοῦτο δρῶσιν οἱ ἄνθρωποι ἢ πρὸς τοὺς τὰ μέτρια διενεχθέντας· πεφύκασί τε τοῖς μὲν ἑκουσίως ἐνδοῦσιν ἀνθησσᾶσθαι μεθ’ ἡδονῆς, πρὸς δὲ τὰ ὑπεραυχοῦντα καὶ παρὰ γνώμην διακινδυνεύειν.
And people do this more towards their greater enemies than towards those with whom they have had moderate differences; for they are naturally inclined to yield in turn with pleasure to those who voluntarily give way, but to run risks, even contrary to their better judgment, against those who are overbearing.”
- 4.19.1ὑπάρχειν
An infinitive phrase dependent on the participle διδόντες ("offering"). Along with "peace and alliance," it introduces "a broad range of other friendship and intimacy to exist (ὑπάρχειν) between each other" as part of what is being offered.
- 4.19.1ἂν χειρωθεῖεν
In the εἴτε... εἴτε... clause, while the first verb διαφύγοιεν is a simple optative (representing a mere hypothesis or due to oblique oratio), the second is a potential optative with ἂν. This shift emphasizes the latter outcome (being subdued after a siege) as a highly probable and realistic danger rather than a mere hypothetical alternative.
- 4.19.2παρὸν
The neuter accusative singular participle of the impersonal verb πάρεστι. It is used in the "accusative absolute" construction to express concession ("although it is in his power / although it is possible"), governing the infinitive δρᾶσαι and its object τὸ αὐτό.
- 4.19.3ὀφείλων
A participle agreeing with the subject of the main clause, ὁ ἐναντίος ("the opponent"), expressing cause ("because he owes a debt"). It governs the infinitives μὴ ἀνταμύνεσθαι ("not to retaliate") and ἀνταποδοῦναι ("to return"), explaining the psychological dynamic where the defeated party feels a moral obligation to reciprocate the victor's generosity (ἀρετή).