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Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §6.24.1-6.24.4

Rising Athenian Zeal and Silence of the Dissenters

Passage 640 of 917 · Greek

Summary

Nicias' attempt to deter the expedition backfires, as the Athenians are instead filled with a uniform passion to sail, with even dissenters keeping silent out of fear.

§6.24.1ὁ μὲν Νικίας τοσαῦτα εἶπε νομίζων τοὺς Ἀθηναίους τῷ πλήθει τῶν πραγμάτων ἢ ἀποτρέψειν ἤ, εἰ ἀναγκάζοιτο στρατεύεσθαι, μάλιστ’ 〈ἂν〉 οὕτως ἀσφαλῶς ἐκπλεῦσαι·
Nicias spoke thus, thinking that he would either deter the Athenians by the multitude of the requirements, or, if he were forced to campaign, that in this way they would sail out most safely.
§6.24.2οἱ δὲ τὸ μὲν ἐπιθυμοῦν τοῦ πλοῦ οὐκ ἐξῃρέθησαν ὑπὸ τοῦ ὀχλώδους τῆς παρασκευῆς, πολὺ δὲ μᾶλλον ὥρμηντο, καὶ τοὐναντίον περιέστη αὐτῷ·
But they were not deprived of their desire for the voyage by the burdensome nature of the preparation; on the contrary, they were much more eager, and the opposite of what he expected happened to him.
εὖ τε γὰρ παραινέσαι ἔδοξε καὶ ἀσφάλεια νῦν δὴ καὶ πολλὴ ἔσεσθαι.
For he seemed to have given good advice, and it was thought that there would now indeed be great safety.
§6.24.3καὶ ἔρως ἐνέπεσε τοῖς πᾶσιν ὁμοίως ἐκπλεῦσαι· τοῖς μὲν γὰρ πρεσβυτέροις ὡς ἢ καταστρεψομένοις ἐφ’ ἃ ἔπλεον ἢ οὐδὲν ἂν σφαλεῖσαν μεγάλην δύναμιν, τοῖς δ’ ἐν τῇ ἡλικίᾳ τῆς τε ἀπούσης πόθῳ ὄψεως καὶ θεωρίας, καὶ εὐέλπιδες ὄντες σωθήσεσθαι· ὁ δὲ πολὺς ὅμιλος καὶ στρατιώτης ἔν τε τῷ παρόντι ἀργύριον οἴσειν καὶ προσκτήσεσθαι δύναμιν ὅθεν ἀίδιον μισθοφορὰν ὑπάρξειν.
And a passion fell upon all alike to sail: on the older men, from the belief that they would either conquer the places for which they were sailing, or that so great a force could suffer no disaster; on those in the prime of life, through a longing for the sight and contemplation of a distant land, and being in good hope of returning safe; and on the great mass of the people and the soldiery, from the prospect of receiving money for the present and of acquiring additional power from which a permanent source of pay would be available.
§6.24.4ὥστε διὰ τὴν ἄγαν τῶν πλεόνων ἐπιθυμίαν, εἴ τῳ ἄρα καὶ μὴ ἤρεσκε, δεδιὼς μὴ ἀντιχειροτονῶν κακόνους δόξειεν εἶναι τῇ πόλει ἡσυχίαν ἦγεν.
So that, owing to the excessive desire of the majority, even if anyone did not approve, he kept quiet, fearing lest by voting against it he should seem to be disloyal to the state.

Notes

  1. §6.24.1τῷ πλήθει τῶν πραγμάτων — Dative of cause or instrument. It refers to the huge amount of preparations and requirements Nicias demanded, intended as a means to deter the Athenians.
  2. §6.24.2τὸ μὲν ἐπιθυμοῦν τοῦ πλοῦ — Substantivized neuter singular of the present participle (τὸ ἐπιθυμοῦν), equivalent to the abstract noun ἡ ἐπιθυμία ('desire'). This is a stylistic feature highly characteristic of Thucydides.
  3. §6.24.3οὐδὲν ἂν σφαλεῖσαν μεγάλην δύναμιν — Accusative absolute, or accusative subject and participle dependent on ὡς expressing subjective reason. The participle σφαλεῖσαν with ἂν expresses potentiality: 'that so great a force could not possibly fail'.
  4. §6.24.3ὁ δὲ πολὺς ὅμιλος — An anacoluthon (shift in grammatical construction) where the sentence starts with datives (τοῖς μὲν... τοῖς δ’...) but transitions into a nominative subject (ὁ δὲ πολὺς ὅμιλος καὶ στρατιώτης).
  5. §6.24.4ἀντιχειροτονῶν — Participle expressing condition ('if he voted against'). It functions as a conditional clause modifying the main verb δόξειεν.

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §6.24.1-6.24.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.24.1-6.24.4

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