- 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-grc2:4.29.1-4.29.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-29
Cleon chooses Demosthenes as his colleague and prepares for a speedy departure. Demosthenes, who had previously hesitated to land on Sphacteria due to its dense woods favoring the enemy, is now encouraged by a recent forest fire that cleared the island.
καὶ πάντα διαπραξάμενος ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ καὶ ψηφισαμένων Ἀθηναίων αὐτῷ τὸν πλοῦν, τῶν τε ἐν Πύλῳ στρατηγῶν ἕνα προσελόμενος Δημοσθένη, τὴν ἀναγωγὴν διὰ τάχους ἐποιεῖτο.
And having settled everything in the assembly, and the Athenians having voted him the expedition, Cleon chose Demosthenes, one of the generals at Pylos, to associate with him, and made his departure with all speed.
τὸν δὲ Δημοσθένη προσέλαβε πυνθανόμενος τὴν ἀπόβασιν αὐτὸν ἐς τὴν νῆσον διανοεῖσθαι. οἱ γὰρ στρατιῶται κακοπαθοῦντες τοῦ χωρίου τῇ ἀπορίᾳ καὶ μᾶλλον πολιορκούμενοι ἢ πολιορκοῦντες ὥρμηντο διακινδυνεῦσαι. καὶ αὐτῷ ἔτι ῥώμην καὶ ἡ νῆσος ἐμπρησθεῖσα παρέσχεν.1
He chose Demosthenes because he heard that he was planning a descent upon the island. For the soldiers, suffering from the difficulties of the place and being rather the besieged than the besiegers, were eager to run any risk. And the burning of the island also gave Demosthenes additional confidence.
πρότερον μὲν γὰρ οὔσης αὐτῆς ὑλώδους ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ καὶ ἀτριβοῦς διὰ τὴν αἰεὶ ἐρημίαν ἐφοβεῖτο καὶ πρὸς τῶν πολεμίων τοῦτο ἐνόμιζε μᾶλλον εἶναι· πολλῷ γὰρ ἂν στρατοπέδῳ ἀποβάντι ἐξ ἀφανοῦς χωρίου προσβάλλοντας αὐτοὺς βλάπτειν.2 σφίσι μὲν γὰρ τὰς ἐκείνων ἁμαρτίας καὶ παρασκευὴν ὑπὸ τῆς ὕλης οὐκ ἂν ὁμοίως δῆλα εἶναι, τοῦ δὲ αὑτῶν στρατοπέδου καταφανῆ ἂν εἶναι πάντα τὰ ἁμαρτήματα, ὥστε προσπίπτειν ἂν αὐτοὺς ἀπροσδοκήτως ᾗ βούλοιντο· ἐπ’ ἐκείνοις γὰρ εἶναι ἂν τὴν ἐπιχείρησιν.
For previously, since the island was mostly woody and pathless owing to its constant desertion, he had been afraid, and thought that this was rather in the enemy’s favor; for he believed that even if a large army landed, the enemy, attacking from unseen positions, would do them harm. For while the enemy’s mistakes and preparations would not be equally manifest to them because of the wood, all the mistakes of their own army would be visible, so that the enemy would fall upon them unexpectedly wherever they wished; for the initiative would be in the enemy’s hands.
εἰ δ’ αὖ ἐς δασὺ χωρίον βιάζοιτο ὁμόσε ἰέναι, τοὺς ἐλάσσους, ἐμπείρους δὲ τῆς χώρας, κρείσσους ἐνόμιζε τῶν πλεόνων ἀπείρων· λανθάνειν τε ἂν τὸ ἑαυτῶν στρατόπεδον πολὺ ὂν διαφθειρόμενον,3 οὐκ οὔσης τῆς προσόψεως ᾗ χρῆν ἀλλήλοις ἐπιβοηθεῖν.
On the other hand, if he should force them to come to close quarters in the thickets, he thought that the fewer who knew the country would be superior to the more numerous who were inexperienced; and that their own army, though large, would be imperceptibly destroyed, since there was no possibility of seeing where they ought to help one another.
- 4.29.2αὐτῷ ἔτι ῥώμην καὶ ἡ νῆσος ἐμπρησθεῖσα παρέσχεν
An instance of the dominant participle (or ab urbe condita construction), where the phrase ἡ νῆσος ἐμπρησθεῖσα acts as the subject, meaning 'the burning of the island' rather than 'the burned island'. The dative αὐτῷ refers to Demosthenes.
- 4.29.3πολλῷ γὰρ ἂν στρατοπέδῳ ἀποβάντι ἐξ ἀφανοῦς χωρίου προσβάλλοντας αὐτοὺς βλάπτειν
An infinitive clause in indirect discourse depending on the main verb ἐνόμιζε. The particle ἂν goes with the infinitive βλάπτειν, representing the potential optative (ἂν βλάπτοιεν) in direct speech. The unexpressed subject of βλάπτειν is the 'enemy' (plural), with which the accusative participle προσβάλλοντας agrees. αὐτούς is the pronominal object referring to the Athenians. The dative phrase πολλῷ ... στρατοπέδῳ ἀποβάντι is best taken as governed by the participle προσβάλλοντας, which takes the dative.
- 4.29.4λανθάνειν τε ἂν τὸ ἑαυτῶν στρατόπεδον πολὺ ὂν διαφθειρόμενον
The verb λανθάνω construed with a participle (here the passive διαφθειρόμενον) to express the idea of 'doing something or being acted upon imperceptibly'. This is part of the indirect discourse introduced by ἐνόμιζε, where the particle ἂν modifies the infinitive λανθάνειν (representing ἂν λανθάνοι ... διαφθειρόμενον in direct speech). τὸ ἑαυτῶν στρατόπεδον is the subject of the infinitive, and the participle/adjective πολὺ ὄν agrees with it, functioning concessively ('although being large').
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1