Humanitext Reader

Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §6.12.1-6.12.2

Nicias' Warning Against Exiles and the Young General

Passage 628 of 917 · Greek

Summary

Nicias argues that Athens should not waste its recently recovered resources on untrustworthy foreign exiles, and warns against following the advice of a young commander who advocates for the expedition out of personal ambition and extravagance.

§6.12.1‘καὶ μεμνῆσθαι χρὴ ἡμᾶς ὅτι νεωστὶ ἀπὸ νόσου μεγάλης καὶ πολέμου βραχύ τι λελωφήκαμεν, ὥστε καὶ χρήμασι καὶ τοῖς σώμασιν ηὐξῆσθαι· καὶ ταῦτα ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν δίκαιον ἐνθάδε εἶναι ἀναλοῦν, καὶ μὴ ὑπὲρ ἀνδρῶν φυγάδων τῶνδε ἐπικουρίας δεομένων, οἷς τό τε ψεύσασθαι καλῶς χρήσιμον καὶ τῷ τοῦ πέλας κινδύνῳ, αὐτοὺς λόγους μόνον παρασχομένους, ἢ κατορθώσαντας χάριν μὴ ἀξίαν εἰδέναι ἢ πταίσαντάς που τοὺς φίλους ξυναπολέσαι.
'And we must remember that we have only recently recovered a little from a great plague and war, so that we have grown both in money and in men; and it is just that these resources should be spent here on our own behalf, and not on behalf of these fugitive men who are begging for assistance, for whom it is useful to lie plausibly, and who, at their neighbor's risk, while contributing only words themselves, either, if they succeed, show no adequate gratitude, or, if they fail anywhere, involve their friends in their own ruin.
§6.12.2εἴ τέ τις ἄρχειν ἄσμενος αἱρεθεὶς παραινεῖ ὑμῖν ἐκπλεῖν, τὸ ἑαυτοῦ μόνον σκοπῶν, ἄλλως τε καὶ νεώτερος ὢν ἔτι ἐς τὸ ἄρχειν, ὅπως θαυμασθῇ μὲν ἀπὸ τῆς ἱπποτροφίας, διὰ δὲ πολυτέλειαν καὶ ὠφεληθῇ τι ἐκ τῆς ἀρχῆς, μηδὲ τούτῳ ἐμπαράσχητε τῷ τῆς πόλεως κινδύνῳ ἰδίᾳ ἐλλαμπρύνεσθαι, νομίσατε δὲ τοὺς τοιούτους τὰ μὲν δημόσια ἀδικεῖν, τὰ δὲ ἴδια ἀναλοῦν, καὶ τὸ πρᾶγμα μέγα εἶναι καὶ μὴ οἷον νεωτέρῳ βουλεύσασθαί τε καὶ ὀξέως μεταχειρίσαι.
And if anyone, glad at having been chosen to command, advises you to sail out, looking only to his own interest—especially since he is still too young to command—in order that he may be admired for his horse-breeding, and on account of his extravagance may also gain some profit from his command, do not afford to this man, at the danger of the city, the opportunity to make a personal display; but consider that such men do wrong to the public interest while wasting their private estate, and that the matter is too great and not of a kind for a younger man to deliberate upon and hastily handle.

Notes

  1. 6.12.1ὥστε καὶ χρήμασι καὶ τοῖς σώμασιν ηὐξῆσθαι — A result clause introduced by the conjunction ὥστε followed by the infinitive ηὐξῆσθαι. It expresses the actual consequence of the preceding verb λελωφήκαμεν ('we have recovered a little'). The datives χρήμασι and σώμασιν are datives of respect ('in money and in bodies/men').
  2. 6.12.1κατορθώσαντας χάριν μὴ ἀξίαν εἰδέναι ἢ πταίσαντάς που τοὺς φίλους ξυναπολέσαι — The accusative participles κατορθώσαντας and πταίσαντας agree in gender, number, and case with the implied subject ('them') of the infinitives εἰδέναι and ξυναπολέσαι. Although they refer back to the dative relative pronoun οἷς at the beginning of the clause, they are put in the accusative because they function as the subject of the infinitives (accusative with infinitive construction).
  3. 6.12.2μὴ οἷον νεωτέρῳ βουλεύσασθαί τε καὶ ὀξέως μεταχειρίσαι — The relative adjective οἷος followed by the infinitives βουλεύσασθαι and μεταχειρίσαι expresses suitability or capacity ('of such a kind as to...'). With the negative μή, it means 'not of a kind to...'. The dative νεωτέρῳ functions as the dative of interest or agent for the infinitives ('for a younger man').

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §6.12.1-6.12.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.12.1-6.12.2

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.