Humanitext Reader

Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §2.46.1-2.46.2

Public Support for War Orphans and Conclusion

Passage 192 of 917 · Greek

Summary

Pericles concludes his speech by stating that he has fulfilled the requirement in word, declaring that the city will support the children of the deceased at public expense as a prize for virtue, and telling the citizens to depart after mourning.

§2.46.1‘εἴρηται καὶ ἐμοὶ λόγῳ κατὰ τὸν νόμον ὅσα εἶχον πρόσφορα, καὶ ἔργῳ οἱ θαπτόμενοι τὰ μὲν ἤδη κεκόσμηνται, τὰ δὲ αὐτῶν τοὺς παῖδας τὸ ἀπὸ τοῦδε δημοσίᾳ ἡ πόλις μέχρι ἥβης θρέψει, ὠφέλιμον στέφανον τοῖσδέ τε καὶ τοῖς λειπομένοις τῶν τοιῶνδε ἀγώνων προτιθεῖσα·
‘I too have spoken in word, according to the law, what I held to be fitting; and in deed, those who are being buried have on the one hand already been honored, and on the other hand, the city will support their children at the public expense from now on until they reach manhood, offering this as a useful crown to these men and to those who are left behind after such contests.
ἆθλα γὰρ οἷς κεῖται ἀρετῆς μέγιστα, τοῖς δὲ καὶ ἄνδρες ἄριστοι πολιτεύουσιν.
For where the greatest prizes for virtue are offered, there also the best men live as citizens.
§2.46.2νῦν δὲ ἀπολοφυράμενοι ὃν προσήκει ἑκάστῳ ἄπιτε. ’
And now, when you have finished lamenting each for his own, depart.’

Notes

  1. §2.46.1εἶχον — It can be interpreted either as the 1st person singular imperfect ("I had") or as the 3rd person plural with the relative pronoun ὅσα as its subject ("they had"). It is standard to take it as 1st person singular, meaning "as much as I had ready as appropriate to say," which fits the personal tone of the speaker.
  2. §2.46.1τὰ μὲν ... τὰ δὲ — Adverbial accusatives used to contrast two aspects of the action ("on the one hand... on the other hand..."). Rather than agreeing directly with the subject οἱ θαπτόμενοι, they divide the two treatments provided for them: the funeral already completed and the future public maintenance of their children.
  3. §2.46.1ὠφέλιμον στέφανον — An accusative in apposition to the action expressed by the verb θρέψει (will support), symbolically indicating the result or purpose of the state's public maintenance of the children.
  4. §2.46.1οἷς ..., τοῖς δὲ ... — The relative pronoun οἷς contains its own antecedent ([to those] for whom). The subsequent demonstrative pronoun τοῖς δὲ refers back to and strongly emphasizes the same group of people (or the state) designated by the relative clause.
  5. §2.46.2ὃν προσήκει ἑκάστῳ — The relative pronoun ὃν is in the accusative, containing its antecedent ([him] whom), and serves as the direct object of the participle ἀπολοφυράμενοι (having lamented). ἑκάστῳ is the dative complement of the impersonal verb προσήκει (it belongs to, is fitting for). Together, the phrase means "him whom it is fitting for each to lament."

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §2.46.1-2.46.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:2.46.1-2.46.2

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.