Humanitext Reader

Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §6.13.1-6.13.2

Nicias' Appeal to Elders and Proposal for Non-Intervention

Passage 629 of 917 · Greek

Summary

Nicias urges the older citizens not to yield to the pressure of the young and vote for war, proposing that the Siceliots be left to manage their own affairs and that Athens decline to assist Egesta.

§6.13.1‘οὓς ἐγὼ ὁρῶν νῦν ἐνθάδε τῷ αὐτῷ ἀνδρὶ παρακελευστοὺς καθημένους φοβοῦμαι, καὶ τοῖς πρεσβυτέροις ἀντιπαρακελεύομαι μὴ καταισχυνθῆναι, εἴ τῴ τις παρακάθηται τῶνδε, ὅπως μὴ δόξει, ἐὰν μὴ ψηφίζηται πολεμεῖν, μαλακὸς εἶναι, μηδ᾽, ὅπερ ἂν αὐτοὶ πάθοιεν, δυσέρωτας εἶναι τῶν ἀπόντων, γνόντας ὅτι ἐπιθυμίᾳ μὲν ἐλάχιστα κατορθοῦνται, προνοίᾳ δὲ πλεῖστα, ἀλλ’ ὑπὲρ τῆς πατρίδος ὡς μέγιστον δὴ τῶν πρὶν κίνδυνον ἀναρριπτούσης ἀντιχειροτονεῖν, καὶ ψηφίζεσθαι τοὺς μὲν Σικελιώτας οἷσπερ νῦν ὅροις χρωμένους πρὸς ἡμᾶς, οὐ μεμπτοῖς, τῷ τε Ἰονίῳ κόλπῳ παρὰ γῆν ἤν τις πλέῃ, καὶ τῷ Σικελικῷ διὰ πελάγους, τὰ αὑτῶν νεμομένους καθ’ αὑτοὺς καὶ ξυμφέρεσθαι· §6.13.2τοῖς δ’ Ἐγεσταίοις ἰδίᾳ εἰπεῖν, ἐπειδὴ ἄνευ Ἀθηναίων καὶ ξυνῆψαν πρὸς Σελινουντίους τὸ πρῶτον πόλεμον, μετὰ σφῶν αὐτῶν καὶ καταλύεσθαι· καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν ξυμμάχους μὴ ποιεῖσθαι ὥσπερ εἰώθαμεν, οἷς κακῶς μὲν πράξασιν ἀμυνοῦμεν, ὠφελίας δ’ αὐτοὶ δεηθέντες οὐ τευξόμεθα.
'Seeing them now sitting here, summoned as supporters by this same man, I am afraid, and I in turn urge the older men not to be ashamed, if any of these sits next to one of you, lest he should seem to be soft if he does not vote for war, nor to be sick with love for what is absent (which is just what they themselves might experience), knowing that very little is achieved by desire, but most by foresight, but rather to vote against them on behalf of our country, which is risking indeed the greatest danger of any before, and to vote that the Siceliots, keeping to the very boundaries they now have with respect to us—which are not to be complained of, namely, the Ionian Gulf if one sails along the coast, and the Sicilian Sea if one sails across the open sea—should enjoy their own possessions by themselves and settle their own affairs; and to tell the Egestaeans in particular that, since without the Athenians they also joined war against the Selinuntines at first, they should also end it by themselves; and for the future, not to make allies, as we have been accustomed to do, whom we must defend when they fare badly, but when we ourselves have need of help, we shall not obtain it.'

Notes

  1. 6.13.1ὅπως μὴ δόξει — The combination of ὅπως μὴ with the future indicative (δόξει) follows a clause expressing precaution or fear (μὴ καταισχυνθῆναι), meaning 'lest he should seem' or 'to prevent his seeming.'
  2. 6.13.1γνόντας — The participle γνόντας ('knowing') is accusative masculine plural. Although it refers to the dative τοῖς πρεσβυτέροις ('older men'), it is in the accusative because it agrees with the implied subject (accusative) of the infinitives καταισχυνθῆναι and εἶναι.
  3. 6.13.2εἰπεῖν — An infinitive dependent on ψηφίζεσθαι ('to vote'). It means 'to tell [the Egestaeans]' and introduces the indirect command with the infinitive καταλύεσθαι ('that they should make peace').

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §6.13.1-6.13.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.13.1-6.13.2

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.