- 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-grc2:8.53.1-8.53.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
Peisander and the other envoys return to Athens and attempt to persuade the citizens that limiting the democracy and recalling Alcibiades are necessary to gain the Persian King's alliance and ensure safety.
οἱ δὲ μετὰ τοῦ Πεισάνδρου πρέσβεις τῶν Ἀθηναίων ἀποσταλέντες ἐκ τῆς Σάμου ἀφικόμενοι ἐς τὰς Ἀθήνας λόγους ἐποιοῦντο ἐν τῷ δήμῳ κεφαλαιοῦντες ἐκ πολλῶν, μάλιστα δὲ ὡς ἐξείη αὐτοῖς Ἀλκιβιάδην καταγαγοῦσι καὶ μὴ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον δημοκρατουμένοις1 βασιλέα τε ξύμμαχον ἔχειν καὶ Πελοποννησίων περιγενέσθαι.
The Athenian envoys sent from Samos with Peisander, on arriving at Athens, made speeches before the people, summarizing many points and saying especially that it was possible for them, if they recalled Alcibiades and did not maintain their democracy in the same manner, to have the King as an ally and to prevail over the Peloponnesians.
ἀντιλεγόντων δὲ πολλῶν καὶ ἄλλων περὶ τῆς δημοκρατίας καὶ τῶν Ἀλκιβιάδου ἅμα ἐχθρῶν διαβοώντων ὡς δεινὸν εἴη εἰ τοὺς νόμους βιασάμενος κάτεισι, καὶ Εὐμολπιδῶν καὶ Κηρύκων περὶ τῶν μυστικῶν δι’ ἅπερ ἔφυγε μαρτυρομένων καὶ ἐπιθειαζόντων μὴ κατάγειν, ὁ Πείσανδρος παρελθὼν πρὸς πολλὴν ἀντιλογίαν καὶ σχετλιασμὸν ἠρώτα ἕνα ἕκαστον παράγων τῶν ἀντιλεγόντων, εἴ τινα ἐλπίδα ἔχει σωτηρίας τῇ πόλει, Πελοποννησίων ναῦς τε οὐκ ἐλάσσους σφῶν ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ ἀντιπρῴρους ἐχόντων2 καὶ πόλεις ξυμμαχίδας πλείους, βασιλέως τε αὐτοῖς καὶ Τισσαφέρνους χρήματα παρεχόντων, σφίσι τε οὐκέτι ὄντων, εἰ μή τις πείσει βασιλέα μεταστῆναι παρὰ σφᾶς.
But while many others spoke in opposition concerning the democracy, and the enemies of Alcibiades at the same time clamored that it would be a terrible thing if he should return by violating the laws, and the Eumolpidae and Kerykes testified concerning the mysteries because of which he had fled, invoking the gods not to recall him, Peisander came forward in the face of much opposition and indignation, and, bringing forward each one of the objectors, asked them if they had any hope of safety for the city, seeing that the Peloponnesians had no fewer ships than they did facing them on the sea and more allied cities, and the King and Tissaphernes were supplying them with money, while they themselves had none left, unless someone should persuade the King to change sides to them.
ὁπότε δὲ μὴ φαῖεν ἐρωτώμενοι, ἐνταῦθα δὴ σαφῶς ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς ὅτι ‘τοῦτο τοίνυν οὐκ ἔστιν ἡμῖν γενέσθαι, εἰ μὴ πολιτεύσομεν τε σωφρονέστερον καὶ ἐς ὀλίγους μᾶλλον τὰς ἀρχὰς ποιήσομεν, ἵνα πιστεύῃ ἡμῖν βασιλεύς, καὶ μὴ περὶ πολιτείας τὸ πλέον βουλεύσομεν ἐν τῷ παρόντι ἢ περὶ σωτηρίας (ὕστερον γὰρ ἐξέσται ἡμῖν καὶ μεταθέσθαι, ἢν μή τι ἀρέσκῃ), Ἀλκιβιάδην τε κατάξομεν,3 ὃς μόνος τῶν νῦν οἷός τε τοῦτο κατεργάσασθαι.’
And whenever, on being asked, they said they had none, he then clearly said to them: “This, therefore, is impossible for us to happen, unless we both conduct our government more prudently and put the offices rather in the hands of a few, so that the King may trust us, and do not deliberate at present more about the constitution than about our safety (for later it will be possible for us to change this too, if anything does not please us), and recall Alcibiades, who is the only one of those now living capable of accomplishing this.”
- 8.53.1καταγαγοῦσι καὶ μὴ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον δημοκρατουμένοις
The dative participles καταγαγοῦσι and δημοκρατουμένοις agree in gender, number, and case with αὐτοῖς, the logical subject of the impersonal verb ἐξείη. They function as adverbial participles expressing condition ("if they recalled... and did not maintain...").
- 8.53.2Πελοποννησίων ναῦς τε οὐκ ἐλάσσους σφῶν ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ ἀντιπρῴρους ἐχόντων
This is a genitive absolute construction with Πελοποννησίων ... ἐχόντων as the core. σφῶν is the genitive of the indirect reflexive pronoun referring to the Athenians, serving as the object of comparison after the comparative οὐκ ἐλάσσους. The subsequent clauses βασιλέως τε ... παρεχόντων and σφίσι τε οὐκέτι ὄντων (with χρημάτων understood as the subject of ὄντων) are also coordinated genitive absolutes.
- 8.53.3εἰ μὴ πολιτεύσομεν ... Ἀλκιβιάδην τε κατάξομεν
Four future indicative verbs (πολιτεύσομεν, ποιήσομεν, βουλεύσομεν with the negative μὴ, and κατάξομεν) are coordinated under the single condition εἰ μὴ ("unless"). The final clause Ἀλκιβιάδην τε κατάξομεν is thus also governed by εἰ μὴ, meaning "unless we recall Alcibiades," expressing it as an indispensable condition.