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§7.102.1-7.102.3

Demaratus on the Courage and Resolve of the Spartans

Demaratus tells Xerxes that Greece possesses "virtue" backed by law and wisdom, and asserts that the Lacedaemonians will never submit but will fight regardless of their numbers.

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§7.102.1

ὡς δὲ ταῦτα ἤκουσε Δημάρητος, ἔλεγε τάδε. βασιλεῦ, ἐπειδὴ ἀληθείῃ διαχρήσασθαι πάντως κελεύεις ταῦτα λέγοντα τὰ μὴ ψευδόμενός τις ὕστερον ὑπὸ σεῦ ἁλώσεται,1 τῇ Ἑλλάδι πενίη μὲν αἰεί κοτε σύντροφος ἐστί, ἀρετὴ δὲ ἔπακτος ἐστί, ἀπό τε σοφίης κατεργασμένη καὶ νόμου ἰσχυροῦ· τῇ διαχρεωμένη ἡ Ἑλλὰς τήν τε πενίην ἀπαμύνεται καὶ τὴν δεσποσύνην.

​When Demaratus heard this, he spoke as follows: “O King, since you command me by all means to speak the absolute truth, telling such things as will not cause one to be caught by you later as a liar, I say that poverty has ever been a lifelong companion to Greece, but virtue is an acquired thing, achieved by wisdom and strong law; by employing this, Greece defends herself both against poverty and against despotism.

§7.102.2

αἰνέω μέν νυν πάντας Ἕλληνας τοὺς περὶ ἐκείνους τοὺς Δωρικοὺς χώρους οἰκημένους, ἔρχομαι δὲ λέξων οὐ περὶ πάντων τούσδε τοὺς λόγους ἀλλὰ περὶ Λακεδαιμονίων μούνων, πρῶτα μὲν ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι ὅκως2 κοτὲ σοὺς δέξονται λόγους δουλοσύνην φέροντας τῇ Ἑλλάδι, αὖτις δὲ ὡς ἀντιώσονταί τοι ἐς μάχην καὶ ἢν οἱ ἄλλοι Ἕλληνες πάντες τὰ σὰ φρονέωσι.

​Now, I praise all those Greeks who dwell around those Doric lands, yet I am going to speak these words not concerning all of them, but concerning the Lacedaemonians alone: first, because it is impossible that they will ever accept your terms which bring slavery upon Greece; and second, because they will stand against you in battle, even if all the other Greeks side with you.

§7.102.3

ἀριθμοῦ δὲ πέρι, μή πύθῃ ὅσοι τινὲς ἐόντες ταῦτα ποιέειν οἷοί τε εἰσί· ἤν τε γὰρ τύχωσι ἐξεστρατευμένοι3 χίλιοι, οὗτοι μαχήσονταί τοι, ἤν τε ἐλάσσονες τούτων ἤν τε καὶ πλεῦνες.

​As for their number, do not ask how many they are that they are able to do this; for if they happen to have marched out to the number of a thousand, these will fight you, and whether they are fewer than this or even more.”

Syntax notes3 items
  1. 7.102.1ταῦτα λέγοντα τὰ μὴ ψευδόμενός τις ὕστερον ὑπὸ σεῦ ἁλώσεται

    Meaning "to tell such things, in telling which one will not later be caught by you as a liar." The participle λέγοντα (masculine accusative singular) agrees with με ("me"), which is omitted as the logical subject of the infinitive διαχρήσασθαι or the object of κελεύεις. τὰ is the relative pronoun referring to ταῦτα. ψευδόμενος ... ἁλώσεται uses the verb ἁλίσκομαι with a participle to mean "to be caught lying."

  2. 7.102.2οὐκ ἔστι ὅκως

    The impersonal expression οὐκ ἔστι followed by the adverb ὅκως ("how") means "there is no way that..." or "they will certainly not..." representing a strong denial of possibility. Here it is construed with the future indicative δέξονται to express a confident and strong refusal.

  3. 7.102.3τύχωσι ἐξεστρατευμένοι

    The verb τυγχάνω ("happen to") with the perfect participle ἐξεστρατευμένοι ("having marched out") forms a construction that expresses contingency or the actual state of affairs in a conditional clause ("if they happen to have marched out" or "even if they are actually out on campaign").

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
  • 2026-09-21 AI review — note 1
urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.102.1-7.102.3