- 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-grc2:5.111.1-5.111.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-06
The Athenians warn the Melians that their hopes are unsubstantiated and caution them against the destructive power of "shame," urging them to accept Athens' moderate terms in this single, critical decision for their country.
ΑΘ. τούτων μὲν καὶ πεπειραμένοις ἄν τι γένοιτο καὶ ὑμῖν1 καὶ οὐκ ἀνεπιστήμοσιν ὅτι οὐδ᾽ ἀπὸ μιᾶς πώποτε πολιορκίας Ἀθηναῖοι δι’ ἄλλων φόβον ἀπεχώρησαν.
ATH. Of these things, some experience might indeed come to you also, and you are not ignorant that the Athenians have never yet withdrawn from a single siege through fear of others.
ΑΘ. ἐνθυμούμεθα δὲ ὅτι φήσαντες περὶ σωτηρίας βουλεύσειν οὐδὲν ἐν τοσούτῳ λόγῳ εἰρήκατε ᾧ ἄνθρωποι ἂν πιστεύσαντες νομίσειαν σωθήσεσθαι, ἀλλ’ ὑμῶν τὰ μὲν ἰσχυρότατα ἐλπιζόμενα μέλλεται, τὰ δ’ ὑπάρχοντα βραχέα πρὸς τὰ ἤδη ἀντιτεταγμένα περιγίγνεσθαι.2 πολλήν τε ἀλογίαν τῆς διανοίας παρέχετε, εἰ μὴ μεταστησάμενοι ἔτι ἡμᾶς ἄλλο τι τῶνδε σωφρονέστερον γνώσεσθε.
ATH. But we notice that, while you said you would deliberate about your salvation, you have said nothing in so long a speech upon which men could rely and think they would be saved; on the contrary, your strongest grounds of hope are deferred in the future, while your present resources are too scanty to prevail against those already arrayed against you. You will show a great lack of sense in your thoughts, unless, after we have withdrawn, you still find some other counsel more prudent than these.
ΑΘ. οὐ γὰρ δὴ ἐπί γε τὴν ἐν τοῖς αἰσχροῖς καὶ προύπτοις κινδύνοις πλεῖστα διαφθείρουσαν ἀνθρώπους αἰσχύνην τρέψεσθε. πολλοῖς γὰρ προορωμένοις ἔτι ἐς οἷα φέρονται τὸ αἰσχρὸν καλούμενον ὀνόματος ἐπαγωγοῦ δυνάμει ἐπεσπάσατο3 ἡσσηθεῖσι τοῦ ῥήματος ἔργῳ ξυμφοραῖς ἀνηκέστοις ἑκόντας περιπεσεῖν καὶ αἰσχύνην αἰσχίω μετὰ ἀνοίας ἢ τύχῃ προσλαβεῖν.
ATH. For surely you will not turn to that sense of shame which, in dangers that are disgraceful and plain to see, ruins men most of all. For to many who still foresee into what they are being carried, that which is called shame, by the power of an enticing name, has drawn them in, so that, vanquished by a word, they have voluntarily fallen in fact into irremediable disasters, and have brought upon themselves a disgrace more disgraceful because accompanied by folly than any brought by fortune.
ΑΘ. ὃ ὑμεῖς, ἢν εὖ βουλεύησθε, φυλάξεσθε, καὶ οὐκ ἀπρεπὲς νομιεῖτε πόλεώς τε τῆς μεγίστης ἡσσᾶσθαι μέτρια προκαλουμένης, ξυμμάχους γενέσθαι ἔχοντας τὴν ὑμετέραν αὐτῶν ὑποτελεῖς, καὶ δοθείσης αἱρέσεως πολέμου πέρι καὶ ἀσφαλείας μὴ τὰ χείρω φιλονικῆσαι· ὡς οἵτινες τοῖς μὲν ἴσοις μὴ εἴκουσι, τοῖς δὲ κρείσσοσι καλῶς προσφέρονται, πρὸς δὲ τοὺς ἥσσους μέτριοί εἰσι, πλεῖστ’ ἂν ὀρθοῖντο.
ATH. Which you, if you deliberate well, will guard against, and you will not consider it unseemly to be worsted by the greatest city when she makes moderate proposals—namely, to become her allies, holding your own land and paying tribute—and when a choice is given to you between war and safety, not to persist obstinately in the worse choice. For those who do not yield to equals, behave well to superiors, and are moderate towards inferiors, would succeed most of all.
ΑΘ. σκοπεῖτε οὖν καὶ μεταστάντων ἡμῶν καὶ ἐνθυμεῖσθε πολλάκις ὅτι περὶ πατρίδος βουλεύεσθε, ἧς μιᾶς πέρι καὶ ἐς μίαν βουλὴν τυχοῦσάν τε καὶ μὴ κατορθώσασαν ἔσται.4
ATH. Consider then, when we have withdrawn, and reflect often that you are deliberating about your country, which is only one, and whose fate will be decided by this single deliberation, whether it succeeds or fails.
- 5.111.1τούτων μὲν καὶ πεπειραμένοις ἄν τι γένοιτο καὶ ὑμῖν
τούτων is a neuter plural genitive meaning "of these things," governed by the participle πεπειραμένοις ("having experienced"). The datives πεπειραμένοις and καὶ ὑμῖν function as the logical subjects of the impersonal expression ἄν τι γένοιτο, yielding the sense "of these things, some experience might indeed come to you also." This is contrasted with the following clause stating they are already "not ignorant" of Athenian history.
- 5.111.2τὰ μὲν ἰσχυρότατα ἐλπιζόμενα μέλλεται, τὰ δ’ ὑπάρχοντα βραχέα πρὸς τὰ ἤδη ἀντιτεταγμένα περιγίγνεσθαι
This clause contrasts τὰ μὲν ἰσχυρότατα ἐλπιζόμενα ("your strongest hopes") with τὰ δ’ ὑπάρχοντα ("your actual resources"). In the latter part, the infinitive περιγίγνεσθαι ("to prevail" or "to survive") limits the adjective βραχέα ("too scanty"), indicating that their present resources are insufficient to overcome the forces already arrayed against them.
- 5.111.3πολλοῖς γὰρ προορωμένοις ἔτι ἐς οἷα φέρονται τὸ αἰσχρὸν καλούμενον ὀνόματος ἐπαγωγοῦ δυνάμει ἐπεσπάσατο
The subject is τὸ αἰσχρὸν καλούμενον ("that which is called shame") and the verb is the gnomic aorist ἐπεσπάσατο ("has drawn in"). The dative phrase πολλοῖς ... προορωμένοις ("for many who still foresee") acts as the logical subject of the following infinitives, περιπεσεῖν ("to fall into") and προσλαβεῖν ("to incur"), describing how they are dragged down voluntarily into ruin.
- 5.111.5ἧς μιᾶς πέρι καὶ ἐς μίαν βουλὴν τυχοῦσάν τε καὶ μὴ κατορθώσασαν ἔσται
A highly condensed Thucydidean construction. The relative pronoun ἧς refers back to πατρίδος, governed by πέρι. The verb ἔσται is used impersonally or in the sense of "the issue will depend on/be decided by," combined with ἐς μίαν βουλὴν ("on a single deliberation") and the participles τυχοῦσάν τε καὶ μὴ κατορθώσασαν ("whether succeeding or failing"), meaning that the fate of their country hangs entirely upon the success or failure of this one council.