§6.86.1καὶ ὅτῳ ταῦτα μὴ δοκεῖ, αὐτὸ τὸ ἔργον ἐλέγχει.
And to whomsoever these things do not seem so, the reality itself refutes him.
τὸ γὰρ πρότερον ἡμᾶς ἐπηγάγεσθε οὐκ ἄλλον τινὰ προσείοντες φόβον ἤ, εἰ περιοψόμεθα ὑμᾶς ὑπὸ Συρακοσίοις γενέσθαι, ὅτι καὶ αὐτοὶ κινδυνεύσομεν.
For formerly you brought us in, holding out no other fear than that, if we should allow you to come under the power of the Syracusans, we ourselves also would be in danger.
§6.86.2καὶ νῦν οὐ δίκαιον, ᾧπερ καὶ ἡμᾶς ἠξιοῦτε λόγῳ πείθειν, τῷ αὐτῷ ἀπιστεῖν, οὐδ’ ὅτι δυνάμει μείζονι πρὸς τὴν τῶνδε ἰσχὺν πάρεσμεν ὑποπτεύεσθαι, πολὺ δὲ μᾶλλον τοῖσδε ἀπιστεῖν.
And now it is not just to distrust that very argument by which you deemed it right to persuade us, nor to suspect us because we are present with a greater force against the power of these men, but much rather is it just to distrust these men.
§6.86.3ἡμεῖς μέν γε οὔτε ἐμμεῖναι δυνατοὶ μὴ μεθ’ ὑμῶν, εἴ τε καὶ γενόμενοι κακοὶ κατεργασαίμεθα, ἀδύνατοι κατασχεῖν διὰ μῆκός τε πλοῦ καὶ ἀπορίᾳ φυλακῆς πόλεων μεγάλων καὶ τῇ παρασκευῇ ἠπειρωτίδων·
For we, on our part, are unable even to remain without you, and even if, becoming traitors, we should conquer you, we would be unable to hold you down, both because of the length of the voyage and due to the difficulty of guarding great cities and their continental-style military preparations.
οἵδε δὲ οὐ στρατοπέδῳ, πόλει δὲ μείζονι τῆς ἡμετέρας παρουσίας ἐποικοῦντες ὑμῖν αἰεί τε ἐπιβουλεύουσι καὶ ὅταν καιρὸν λάβωσιν ἑκάστου, §6.86.4οὐκ ἀνιᾶσιν (ἔδειξαν δὲ καὶ ἄλλα ἤδη καὶ τὰ ἐς Λεοντίνους), καὶ νῦν τολμῶσιν ἐπὶ τοὺς ταῦτα κωλύοντας καὶ ἀνέχοντας τὴν Σικελίαν μέχρι τοῦδε μὴ ὑπ’ αὐτοὺς εἶναι παρακαλεῖν ὑμᾶς ὡς ἀναισθήτους.
But these men, dwelling near you not with a mere camp, but with a city greater than our present force, are always plotting against you, and whenever they find an opportunity for each thing, they do not let go (as they have already shown in other matters and especially in what concerns Leontini); and now they dare to summon you, as though you were senseless, against those who prevent these things and who have held Sicily up to this point from being under their sway.
§6.86.5πολὺ δὲ ἐπὶ ἀληθεστέραν γε σωτηρίαν ἡμεῖς ἀντιπαρακαλοῦμεν, δεόμενοι τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν ἀπ’ ἀλλήλων ἀμφοτέροις μὴ προδιδόναι, νομίσαι δὲ τοῖσδε μὲν καὶ ἄνευ ξυμμάχων αἰεὶ ἐφ᾽ ὑμᾶς ἑτοίμην διὰ τὸ πλῆθος εἶναι ὁδόν, ὑμῖν δ’ οὐ πολλάκις παρασχήσειν μετὰ τοσῆσδε ἐπικουρίας ἀμύνασθαι·
But we, on our part, issue a counter-summons to a much truer safety, requesting you not to betray the security that exists for both of us from each other, and to consider that for these men, even without allies, the way against you is always ready because of their numbers, whereas to you, the opportunity to defend yourselves with so great an auxiliary force will not often be presented.
ἣν εἰ τῷ ὑπόπτῳ ἢ ἄπρακτον ἐάσετε ἀπελθεῖν ἢ καὶ σφαλεῖσαν, ἔτι βουλήσεσθε καὶ πολλοστὸν μόριον αὐτῆς ἰδεῖν, ὅτε οὐδὲν ἔτι περανεῖ παραγενόμενον ὑμῖν.
If, through suspicion, you allow this force either to depart without having accomplished anything or even to meet with disaster, you will yet wish to see even a tiny fraction of it, when its presence will no longer achieve anything for you.