- 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-grc2:4.61.1-4.61.7
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-30
Hermocrates points out that the true aim of the Athenians is not to mediate ethnic conflicts but to dominate the wealth of all Sicily, urging the cities to end internal strife, unite, and pursue a peaceful settlement.
‘καίτοι τῇ ἑαυτῶν1 ἑκάστους, εἰ σωφρονοῦμεν, χρὴ τὰ μὴ προσήκοντα ἐπικτωμένους μᾶλλον ἢ τὰ ἑτοῖμα βλάπτοντας ξυμμάχους τε ἐπάγεσθαι καὶ τοὺς κινδύνους προσλαμβάνειν, νομίσαι τε στάσιν μάλιστα φθείρειν τὰς πόλεις καὶ τὴν Σικελίαν, ἧς γε οἱ ἔνοικοι2 ξύμπαντες μὲν ἐπιβουλευόμεθα, κατὰ πόλεις δὲ διέσταμεν.
”And yet, if we are wise, each of us on our own territory, rather than harming what we already possess, ought to call in allies and take on dangers when we are acquiring what does not belong to us, and we must consider that factional strife especially destroys cities and Sicily, whose inhabitants, though we are all collectively plotted against, are divided city by city.
ἃ χρὴ γνόντας καὶ ἰδιώτην ἰδιώτῃ καταλλαγῆναι καὶ πόλιν πόλει, καὶ πειρᾶσθαι κοινῇ σῴζειν τὴν πᾶσαν Σικελίαν, παρεστάναι δὲ μηδενὶ ὡς οἱ μὲν Δωριῆς ἡμῶν πολέμιοι τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις, τὸ δὲ Χαλκιδικὸν τῇ Ἰάδι ξυγγενείᾳ ἀσφαλές.
Recognizing these things, individual must be reconciled to individual and city to city, and we must try in common to preserve the whole of Sicily, and let no one harbor the opinion that while the Dorians among us are enemies to the Athenians, the Chalcidians are safe because of their Ionian kinship.
οὐ γὰρ τοῖς ἔθνεσιν, ὅτι δίχα πέφυκε, τοῦ ἑτέρου ἔχθει ἐπίασιν, ἀλλὰ τῶν ἐν τῇ Σικελίᾳ ἀγαθῶν ἐφιέμενοι, ἃ κοινῇ κεκτήμεθα.
For they do not attack the races because they are divided into two, out of hatred for one of them, but because they covet the good things in Sicily, which we possess in common.
ἐδήλωσαν δὲ νῦν ἐν τῇ τοῦ Χαλκιδικοῦ γένους παρακλήσει· τοῖς γὰρ οὐδεπώποτε σφίσι κατὰ τὸ ξυμμαχικὸν προσβοηθήσασιν αὐτοὶ τὸ δίκαιον μᾶλλον τῆς ξυνθήκης3 προθύμως παρέσχοντο.
And they made this clear just now when they were called upon by the Chalcidian race; for to those who had never yet aided them in accordance with their alliance, they themselves eagerly provided what was due under the treaty, and even more.
καὶ τοὺς μὲν Ἀθηναίους ταῦτα πλεονεκτεῖν τε καὶ προνοεῖσθαι πολλὴ ξυγγνώμη, καὶ οὐ τοῖς ἄρχειν βουλομένοις μέμφομαι, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ὑπακούειν ἑτοιμοτέροις οὖσιν· πέφυκε γὰρ τὸ ἀνθρώπειον διὰ παντὸς ἄρχειν μὲν τοῦ εἴκοντος, φυλάσσεσθαι δὲ τὸ ἐπιόν.
And there is much allowance for the Athenians to be grasping and planning ahead in this way, and I do not blame those who wish to rule, but those who are too ready to submit; for it is always the nature of mankind to rule over what yields, but to defend against what attacks.
ὅσοι δὲ γιγνώσκοντες αὐτὰ μὴ ὀρθῶς προσκοποῦμεν, μηδὲ τοῦτό τις πρεσβύτατον ἥκει κρίνας, τὸ κοινῶς φοβερὸν ἅπαντας εὖ θέσθαι, ἁμαρτάνομεν.
But as many of us as know this and yet do not make proper provision, and if anyone has not come here holding it as of first importance to settle well the common danger for all, we are in error.
τάχιστα δ’ ἂν ἀπαλλαγὴ αὐτοῦ γένοιτο, εἰ πρὸς ἀλλήλους ξυμβαῖμεν· οὐ γὰρ ἀπὸ τῆς αὑτῶν ὁρμῶνται Ἀθηναῖοι, ἀλλ’ ἐκ τῆς τῶν ἐπικαλεσαμένων. καὶ οὕτως οὐ πόλεμος πολέμῳ, εἰρήνῃ δὲ διαφοραὶ ἀπραγμόνως παύονται, οἵ τ’ ἐπίκλητοι εὐπρεπῶς ἄδικοι ἐλθόντες εὐλόγως ἄπρακτοι ἀπίασιν.
And the speediest riddance of it would come about if we should make peace with one another; for the Athenians do not set out from their own land, but from that of those who invited them. And thus, differences are settled without trouble not by war with war, but by peace, and those who were called in, having come with fair pretexts though unjust in reality, will depart with good reason without having accomplished anything.”
- 4.61.1τῇ ἑαυτῶν
A feminine singular dative article and pronoun combination, where γῇ (land, territory) is generally understood as omitted, meaning 'on their own territory'. The following accusative participial phrases τὰ μὴ προσήκοντα ἐπικτωμένους (when acquiring what does not belong to them) and τὰ ἑτοῖμα βλάπτοντας (when harming what is already theirs) agree with ἑκάστους, the accusative subject of the infinitive ἐπάγεσθαι (to call in allies). The sentence structures a contrast: each state should call in allies and take on risks when seeking to acquire new territories, rather than when destroying their own existing resources.
- 4.61.1ἧς γε οἱ ἔνοικοι
The relative pronoun in the genitive ἧς (referring to Sicily) depends on οἱ ἔνοικοι (the inhabitants), forming the subject 'we, the inhabitants of which'. However, the verbs of the relative clause, ἐπιβουλευόμεθα (we are plotted against) and διέσταμεν (we are divided), are in the first person plural. This shift in person (anacoluthon) occurs because Hermocrates, the speaker, includes himself among the 'inhabitants' of Sicily.
- 4.61.4τὸ δίκαιον μᾶλλον τῆς ξυνθήκης
τὸ δίκαιον τῆς ξυνθήκης means 'the justice of the treaty' or 'the obligations under the treaty'. The adverb μᾶλλον (rather, more) can be interpreted in two ways: either modifying the verb παρέσχοντο (they provided) in the sense of 'they eagerly provided rather than [refusing to do so]', or modifying τὸ δίκαιον in the sense of 'more than the strict justice/obligation of the treaty'. The translation adopts the latter interpretation, emphasizing that the Athenians eagerly offered services exceeding what was legally required, showcasing their deceptive zeal.