- 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-grc2:5.98.1
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-04
The Melians question the Athenians' definition of security, warning that conquering Melos will alarm other neutral states and force them to become Athens' enemies, thereby strengthening its foes.
ΜΗΛ. ἐν δ’ ἐκείνῳ1 οὐ νομίζετε ἀσφάλειαν; δεῖ γὰρ αὖ καὶ ἐνταῦθα, ὥσπερ ὑμεῖς τῶν δικαίων λόγων ἡμᾶς ἐκβιβάσαντες τῷ ὑμετέρῳ ξυμφόρῳ ὑπακούειν πείθετε, καὶ ἡμᾶς τὸ ἡμῖν χρήσιμον διδάσκοντας, εἰ τυγχάνει καὶ ὑμῖν τὸ αὐτὸ ξυμβαῖνον, πειρᾶσθαι πείθειν.2 ὅσοι γὰρ νῦν μηδετέροις ξυμμαχοῦσι, πῶς οὐ πολεμώσεσθε αὐτούς, ὅταν ἐς τάδε βλέψαντες ἡγήσωνταί ποτε ὑμᾶς καὶ ἐπὶ σφᾶς ἥξειν; κἀν τούτῳ τί ἄλλο ἢ3 τοὺς μὲν ὑπάρχοντας πολεμίους μεγαλύνετε, τοὺς δὲ μηδὲ μελλήσαντας γενέσθαι4 ἄκοντας ἐπάγεσθε;
MELIANS “But do you not recognize security in that? For here again, just as you have forced us away from the argument of justice and persuade us to submit to your interest, we too must try to persuade you, by showing what is useful to us, if it should happen to be the same for you. For as for all those who are currently allied with neither side, how will you not make them your enemies, when they look at these actions and believe that you will one day come against them too? And in this, what else are you doing than strengthening your existing enemies, and bringing upon yourselves against their will those who had not even intended to become so?”
- 5.98.1ἐν δ’ ἐκείνῳ
The demonstrative pronoun ἐκείνῳ (neuter singular dative) refers to the opposite of what the Athenians just proposed (i.e., leaving Melos neutral and free, rather than subduing it).
- 5.98.1δεῖ γὰρ αὖ καὶ ἐνταῦθα ... ἡμᾶς ... πειρᾶσθαι πείθειν
An accusative and infinitive construction governed by the impersonal verb δεῖ. ἡμᾶς (accusative) is the subject of the infinitive πειρᾶσθαι (to try), agreeing with the participle διδάσκοντας (teaching/showing). πείθειν is the complementary infinitive of πειρᾶσθαι.
- 5.98.1τί ἄλλο ἢ
A common elliptical expression for τί ἄλλο [ποιεῖτε] ἢ ... (what else [are you doing] than ...), functioning as a rhetorical question to state emphatically that they are doing precisely this.
- 5.98.1τοὺς δὲ μηδὲ μελλήσαντας γενέσθαι
The complement to the infinitive γενέσθαι (to become), namely πολεμίους (enemies), is omitted and must be supplied from the context.