- 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-grc2:4.59.1-4.59.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-30
Hermocrates begins his speech representing the interests of all Sicily, analyzing how nations still rush into war despite knowing its hardships due to conflicting self-interests, and urges them to accept the counsel for peace.
‘οὔτε πόλεως ὢν ἐλαχίστης, ὦ Σικελιῶται, τοὺς λόγους ποιήσομαι οὔτε πονουμένης μάλιστα τῷ πολέμῳ, ἐς κοινὸν δὲ τὴν δοκοῦσάν μοι βελτίστην γνώμην εἶναι ἀποφαινόμενος1 τῇ Σικελίᾳ πάσῃ.
”Siceliots, I shall make my speech not as one from the least of cities, nor as one from a city most afflicted by the war, but to declare publicly for the common good of all Sicily what seems to me to be the best opinion.
καὶ περὶ μὲν τοῦ πολεμεῖν ὡς χαλεπὸν τί ἄν τις πᾶν τὸ ἐνὸν ἐκλέγων ἐν εἰδόσι μακρηγοροίη; οὐδεὶς γὰρ οὔτε ἀμαθίᾳ ἀναγκάζεται αὐτὸ δρᾶν, οὔτε φόβῳ, ἢν οἴηταί τι πλέον σχήσειν, ἀποτρέπεται. ξυμβαίνει δὲ τοῖς μὲν τὰ κέρδη μείζω φαίνεσθαι τῶν δεινῶν, οἱ δὲ τοὺς κινδύνους ἐθέλουσιν ὑφίστασθαι2 πρὸ τοῦ αὐτίκα τι ἐλασσοῦσθαι·
And as for the fact that war is hard, why should anyone make a long speech, enumerating all the details to those who already know them? For no one is forced to engage in it through ignorance, nor is anyone deterred by fear if he thinks he will gain some advantage. But it happens that, to the one side, the gains appear greater than the dangers, while the others are willing to undergo the risks rather than suffer any immediate disadvantage.
αὐτὰ δὲ ταῦτα εἰ μὴ ἐν καιρῷ τύχοιεν ἑκάτεροι πράσσοντες, αἱ παραινέσεις τῶν ξυναλλαγῶν ὠφέλιμοι.
But if both parties should happen to be doing these very things out of season, the exhortations to make peace are useful.
ὃ καὶ ἡμῖν ἐν τῷ παρόντι πειθομένοις πλείστου ἂν ἄξιον γένοιτο· τὰ γὰρ ἴδια ἕκαστοι εὖ βουλευόμενοι δὴ θέσθαι τό τε πρῶτον ἐπολεμήσαμεν καὶ νῦν πρὸς ἀλλήλους δι’ ἀντιλογιῶν πειρώμεθα καταλλαγῆναι καί, ἢν ἄρα μὴ προχωρήσῃ ἴσον ἑκάστῳ ἔχοντι ἀπελθεῖν,3 πάλιν πολεμήσομεν.
And this, if we comply with it at the present, would be of the highest value to us; for indeed, it was with the desire to settle our own private interests well that we first went to war, and now we are trying to come to terms with one another by means of discussion, and if indeed it does not succeed for each to depart with equal terms, we shall go to war again.”
- 4.59.1ἀποφαινόμενος
The present participle ἀποφαινόμενος describes the state or intention of the subject "I", standing parallel with the participle ὢν at the beginning of the sentence, and functions adverbially with the main verb ποιήσομαι to express manner or purpose ("declaring publicly").
- 4.59.2ξυμβαίνει δὲ τοῖς μὲν τὰ κέρδη μείζω φαίνεσθαι τῶν δεινῶν, οἱ δὲ τοὺς κινδύνους ἐθέλουσιν ὑφίστασθαι
A clear example of anacoluthon. The first part is governed by the impersonal verb ξυμβαίνει with an accusative (or dative) and infinitive construction (τοῖς μὲν ... φαίνεσθαι), whereas the second part breaks this structure, shifting to an independent clause with the nominative and indicative (οἱ δὲ ... ἐθέλουσιν) instead of τοῖς δὲ ... ἐθέλειν.
- 4.59.4ἴσον ἑκάστῳ ἔχοντι ἀπελθεῖν
An infinitive clause acting as the subject of the impersonal verb προχωρήσῃ ("to go well, succeed"). The dative ἑκάστῳ serves as the logical subject of the infinitive ἀπελθεῖν, with which the dative present participle ἔχοντι (taking ἴσον "equal terms" as its object) agrees.