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Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §1.38.1-1.38.6

Corinthian Accusation of Corcyra's Impiety to the Mother City

Passage 38 of 917 · Greek

Summary

The Corinthians charge the Corcyraeans with being unfaithful to their mother city despite being colonists, contrasting them with other respectful colonies. They further accuse the Corcyraeans of insolence, wealth-driven arrogance, and the unjust seizure of Epidamnus.

§1.38.1ἀλλ’ οὔτε πρὸς τοὺς ἄλλους οὔτε ἐς ἡμᾶς τοιοίδε εἰσίν, ἄποικοι δ’ ὄντες ἀφεστᾶσί τε διὰ παντὸς καὶ νῦν πολεμοῦσι, λέγοντες ὡς οὐκ ἐπὶ τῷ κακῶς πάσχειν ἐκπεμφθεῖεν.
But they are of no such character either towards others or towards us, and though they are colonists, they have stood aloof from us all along and are now making war upon us, saying that they were not sent out to be ill-treated.
§1.38.2ἡμεῖς δὲ οὐδ’ αὐτοί φαμεν ἐπὶ τῷ ὑπὸ τούτων ὑβρίζεσθαι κατοικίσαι, ἀλλ’ ἐπὶ τῷ ἡγεμόνες τε εἶναι καὶ τὰ εἰκότα θαυμάζεσθαι.
And we ourselves also maintain that we did not plant the colony to be insulted by them, but to be their leaders and to receive proper respect.
§1.38.3αἱ γοῦν ἄλλαι ἀποικίαι τιμῶσιν ἡμᾶς, καὶ μάλιστα ὑπὸ ἀποίκων στεργόμεθα· §1.38.4καὶ δῆλον ὅτι, εἰ τοῖς πλέοσιν ἀρέσκοντές ἐσμεν, τοῖσδ’ ἂν μόνοις οὐκ ὀρθῶς ἀπαρέσκοιμεν, οὐδ’ ἐπιστρατεύομεν ἐκπρεπῶς μὴ καὶ διαφερόντως τι ἀδικούμενοι.
At any rate, our other colonies honor us, and we are greatly beloved by our colonists; and it is clear that, if we are pleasing to the majority, we cannot be displeasing to these alone with any justice, nor should we be making war upon them in this extraordinary way unless we were being signally wronged in some way.
§1.38.5καλὸν δ’ ἦν, εἰ καὶ ἡμαρτάνομεν, τοῖσδε μὲν εἶξαι τῇ ἡμετέρᾳ ὀργῇ, ἡμῖν δὲ αἰσχρὸν βιάσασθαι τὴν τούτων μετριότητα· ὕβρει δὲ καὶ ἐξουσίᾳ πλούτου πολλὰ ἐς ἡμᾶς ἄλλα τε ἡμαρτήκασι καὶ Ἐπίδαμνον ἡμετέραν οὖσαν κακουμένην μὲν οὐ προσεποιοῦντο, ἐλθόντων δὲ ἡμῶν ἐπὶ τιμωρίᾳ ἑλόντες βίᾳ ἔχουσιν.
It would have been honorable for them, even if we were in error, to yield to our anger, and shameful for us to do violence to their moderation; but in their insolence and the license of wealth, they have committed many other wrongs against us, and in particular, when Epidamnus, which belonged to us, was being harassed, they paid no attention to it, but when we went to its rescue, they seized it by force and now hold it.
§1.38.6ὕβρει δὲ καὶ ἐξουσίᾳ πλούτου πολλὰ ἐς ἡμᾶς ἄλλα τε ἡμαρτήκασι καὶ Ἐπίδαμνον ἡμετέραν οὖσαν κακουμένην μὲν οὐ προσεποιοῦντο, ἐλθόντων δὲ ἡμῶν ἐπὶ τιμωρίᾳ ἑλόντες βίᾳ ἔχουσιν.
But in their insolence and the license of wealth, they have committed many other wrongs against us, and in particular, when Epidamnus, which belonged to us, was being harassed, they paid no attention to it, but when we went to its rescue, they seized it by force and now hold it.

Notes

  1. §1.38.1ἐκπεμφθεῖεν — The optative in indirect discourse (optativus obliquus), representing the Corcyraeans' original statement 'we were not sent out to be ill-treated' after a historic present verb of saying (`λέγοντες`).
  2. §1.38.2ἐπὶ τῷ ὑπὸ τούτων ὑβρίζεσθαι κατοικίσαι — The preposition `ἐπί` with the articular infinitive in the dative (`τῷ ὑβρίζεσθαι`) expresses purpose or intention. `κατοικίσαι` (aorist active infinitive) has the subject of the main clause `ἡμεῖς` as its implied subject.
  3. §1.38.4τοῖσδ’ ἂν μόνοις οὐκ ὀρθῶς ἀπαρέσκοιμεν — A mixed conditional construction, where a protasis in the present indicative (`εἰ ... ἐσμέν`) is combined with an apodosis containing the potential optative (`ἂν` with `ἀπαρέσκοιμεν`), expressing a strong inference about a present possibility.
  4. §1.38.5καλὸν δ’ ἦν — The past tense of an impersonal expression denoting propriety (`καλὸν ἦν`) is used without `ἄν` to express a past unfulfilled obligation or a counterfactual statement ('it would have been honorable, but it was not').

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §1.38.1-1.38.6. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.38.1-1.38.6

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