- 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-grc2:4.85.1-4.85.7
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-30
Brasidas addresses the citizens of Acanthos, asserting that his expedition is meant to fulfill their original war aim of liberating Greece, and expresses surprise and concern over their reluctance to receive him.
‘ἡ μὲν ἔκπεμψίς μου καὶ τῆς στρατιᾶς ὑπὸ Λακεδαιμονίων, ὦ Ἀκάνθιοι, γεγένηται τὴν αἰτίαν ἐπαληθεύουσα ἣν ἀρχόμενοι τοῦ πολέμου προείπομεν, Ἀθηναίοις ἐλευθεροῦντες1 τὴν Ἑλλάδα πολεμήσειν·
’The sending out of myself and of this army by the Lacedaemonians, men of Acanthos, has been done to verify the cause which we proclaimed at the beginning of the war, that we would fight the Athenians to liberate Greece.
εἰ δὲ χρόνῳ ἐπήλθομεν, σφαλέντες2 τῆς ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐκεῖ πολέμου δόξης, ᾗ διὰ τάχους αὐτοὶ ἄνευ τοῦ ὑμετέρου κινδύνου ἠλπίσαμεν Ἀθηναίους καθαιρήσειν, μηδεὶς μεμφθῇ· νῦν γάρ, ὅτε παρέσχεν, ἀφιγμένοι καὶ μετὰ ὑμῶν πειρασόμεθα κατεργάζεσθαι αὐτούς.
And if we have come late, because we were disappointed in our expectation of the war there—by which we hoped by ourselves, without risk to you, quickly to overthrow the Athenians—let no one find fault. For now, when the opportunity has presented itself, we have arrived and will endeavor, in cooperation with you, to defeat them.
θαυμάζω δὲ τῇ τε ἀποκλῄσει μου τῶν πυλῶν, καὶ εἰ μὴ ἀσμένοις ὑμῖν3 ἀφῖγμαι.
But I am surprised both at the shutting of your gates against me, and if my arrival is not welcome to you.
ἡμεῖς μὲν γὰρ οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι οἰόμενοί τε παρὰ ξυμμάχους, καὶ πρὶν ἔργῳ ἀφικέσθαι, τῇ γοῦν γνώμῃ ἥξειν καὶ βουλομένοις ἔσεσθαι, κίνδυνόν [τε] τοσόνδε ἀνερρίψαμεν διὰ τῆς ἀλλοτρίας πολλῶν ἡμερῶν ὁδὸν ἰόντες καὶ πᾶν τὸ πρόθυμον παρεχόμενοι·
For we Lacedaemonians, thinking that we were going to allies, and that even before we arrived in deed, we had already come in mind at least and would be welcome to you, ran so great a risk by marching through foreign territory for many days and showing all readiness.
ὑμεῖς δὲ εἴ τι ἄλλο ἐν νῷ ἔχετε ἢ εἰ ἐναντιώσεσθε τῇ τε ὑμετέρᾳ αὐτῶν ἐλευθερίᾳ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων Ἑλλήνων, δεινὸν ἂν εἴη.
But if you have something else in mind, or if you are going to oppose both your own liberty and that of the rest of the Greeks, it would be a terrible thing.
καὶ γὰρ οὐ μόνον ὅτι αὐτοὶ ἀνθίστασθε, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἷς ἂν ἐπίω, ἧσσόν τις ἐμοὶ πρόσεισι, δυσχερὲς ποιούμενοι εἰ ἐπὶ οὓς πρῶτον ἦλθον ὑμᾶς, καὶ πόλιν ἀξιόχρεων παρεχομένους καὶ ξύνεσιν δοκοῦντας ἔχειν, μὴ ἐδέξασθε· καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν οὐχ ἕξω πιστὴν ἀποδεικνύναι, ἀλλ᾽ ἢ ἄδικον τὴν ἐλευθερίαν ἐπιφέρειν ἢ ἀσθενὴς καὶ ἀδύνατος4 τιμωρῆσαι τὰ πρὸς Ἀθηναίους, ἢν ἐπίωσιν, ἀφῖχθαι.
For not only is it that you yourselves resist, but also those to whom I may go will be less likely to join me, thinking it strange if you, to whom I came first, and who present a substantial city and are thought to have wisdom, did not receive me; and I shall not be able to show a credible reason, but rather it will seem either that I am bringing a false liberty, or that I have come weak and unable to protect you against the Athenians if they should attack.
καίτοι στρατιᾷ γε τῇδ’ ἣν νῦν [ἐγὼ] ἔχω ἐπὶ Νίσαιαν ἐμοῦ βοηθήσαντος οὐκ ἠθέλησαν Ἀθηναῖοι πλέονες ὄντες προσμεῖξαι, ὥστε οὐκ εἰκὸς νηίτῃ γε αὐτοὺς τῷ ἐν Νισαίᾳ στρατῷ ἴσον πλῆθος ἐφ’ ὑμᾶς ἀποστεῖλαι.
And yet, against this very army which I now have, when I went to relieve Nisaea, the Athenians, though superior in numbers, did not wish to engage; so that it is not likely that they will send against you a force equal to their army at Nisaea with a fleet.’
- 4.85.1ἐλευθεροῦντες
Present participle, nominative plural. Since the subject of the infinitive πολεμήσειν is identical to the subject of the main clause (the 'we' implied in προείπομεν, i.e., the Lacedaemonians), the participle agrees with it in the nominative case.
- 4.85.2σφαλέντες
Aorist passive participle of σφάλλω. It expresses cause ('having been disappointed in' or 'because we failed in') and governs the genitive of separation/deprivation τῆς ... δόξης ('our expectation').
- 4.85.3ἀσμένοις ὑμῖν
An idiomatic construction using the dative of interest/reference, meaning literally 'to you being pleased'. Thus, ἀσμένοις ὑμῖν ἀφῖγμαι means 'my arrival is not pleasing to you' or 'you do not welcome my arrival'.
- 4.85.6ἀσθενὴς καὶ ἀδύνατος
Nominative adjectives in the clause ἀσθενὴς καὶ ἀδύνατος ... ἀφῖχθαι (infinitive of ἀφικνέομαι), which is coordinated with the accusative-and-infinitive construction ἄδικον ... ἐπιφέρειν. Since the subject of the infinitive ἀφῖχθαι is identical to the subject of the main clause (Brasidas himself), it is in the nominative rather than the accusative case.