- 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-grc2:7.13.1-7.13.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Nicias reports that the Athenians have no surplus of ships to allow for drying and cannot relax their guard, and that their crews are severely depleted due to cavalry attacks, desertions, and a lack of discipline.
ἡμῖν δ’ ἐκ πολλῆς ἂν1 περιουσίας νεῶν μόλις τοῦτο ὑπῆρχε καὶ μὴ ἀναγκαζομένοις ὥσπερ νῦν πάσαις φυλάσσειν· εἰ γὰρ ἀφαιρήσομέν τι καὶ βραχὺ τῆς τηρήσεως, τὰ ἐπιτήδεια οὐχ ἕξομεν, παρὰ τὴν ἐκείνων πόλιν χαλεπῶς καὶ νῦν ἐσκομιζόμενοι.
On the other hand, for us, this would have been possible only with a great abundance of ships and if we were not compelled, as we are now, to keep guard with all of them. For if we relax the guard even in the slightest degree, we shall not have provisions, since even now we bring them in with difficulty, passing close to the enemy’s city.
τὰ δὲ πληρώματα διὰ τόδε ἐφθάρη τε ἡμῖν καὶ ἔτι νῦν φθείρεται, τῶν ναυτῶν [τῶν] μὲν διὰ φρυγανισμὸν καὶ ἁρπαγὴν καὶ ὑδρείαν μακρὰν ὑπὸ τῶν ἱππέων ἀπολλυμένων· οἱ δὲ θεράποντες, ἐπειδὴ ἐς ἀντίπαλα καθεστήκαμεν, αὐτομολοῦσι, καὶ οἱ ξένοι οἱ μὲν ἀναγκαστοὶ ἐσβάντες εὐθὺς κατὰ τὰς πόλεις ἀποχωροῦσιν, οἱ δὲ ὑπὸ μεγάλου μισθοῦ τὸ πρῶτον ἐπαρθέντες καὶ οἰόμενοι χρηματιεῖσθαι μᾶλλον ἢ μαχεῖσθαι, ἐπειδὴ παρὰ γνώμην ναυτικόν τε δὴ καὶ τἆλλα ἀπὸ τῶν πολεμίων ἀνθεστῶτα ὁρῶσιν, οἱ μὲν ἐπ’ αὐτομολίας προφάσει ἀπέρχονται, οἱ δὲ ὡς ἕκαστοι δύνανται (πολλὴ δ’ ἡ Σικελία), εἰσὶ δ’ οἳ καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐμπορευόμενοι ἀνδράποδα Ὑκκαρικὰ ἀντεμβιβάσαι ὑπὲρ σφῶν πείσαντες τοὺς τριηράρχους τὴν ἀκρίβειαν τοῦ ναυτικοῦ ἀφῄρηνται.2
And our crews have been ruined and are still being ruined now for the following reason: some of the sailors are killed by the cavalry while going far for firewood, plundering, or fetching water; the servants, since we have come to a deadlock of equal strength, are deserting; and of the foreigners, those who went on board under compulsion depart immediately to the cities, while those who were at first induced by high pay and thought they would make money rather than fight, when they see, contrary to their expectation, both the navy and other forces of the enemy standing against us, some go off under the pretext of desertion, and others as each of them can (for Sicily is large); and there are some who, carrying on trade themselves, have persuaded the trierarchs to embark Hyccarian slaves in their stead, and have thus destroyed the efficiency of our navy.
- 7.13.1ἂν
The particle ἂν belongs to the following past indicative ὑπῆρχε, forming the apodosis of a past contrary-to-fact condition ("would have been available"). Its placement within the prepositional phrase ἐκ πολλῆς ... περιουσίας anticipates and emphasizes the hypothetical condition ("if we had a great abundance...").
- 7.13.2ἀφῄρηνται
Third-person plural perfect middle-passive of ἀφαιρέω (to take away). In the active voice, this verb takes a double accusative ("to deprive someone of something"). Here, used in the passive, the persons deprived (the sailors, represented by the subject of εἰσὶ δ’ οἳ) become the subject, while the thing taken away (τὴν ἀκρίβειαν, "efficiency") remains in the accusative case. It can also be understood as a middle voice expressing that they have damaged their own navy's efficiency.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-22)
- 2026-09-22 AI review — source 1