CHAPTER XXX
ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ Αἰτωλικοῦ—the disaster which Demosthenes sustained the year before, as related
iii. 97, 98. The Athenians were deficient in light-armed troops, and after holding out for some time against an enemy who could not be brought to close quarters, but harassed them at every point, they finally took to flight. Many lost their way in a wood, and were destroyed by fire. The Athenians lost many of their allies, and 120 of their best heavy-armed men. It is not a little remarkable that Cleon (ch. 28) at once announced his intention to bring troops of the very kind which Demosthenes had lacked in Aetolia, and which had operated against him with fatal effect. This certainly suggests the probability of some understanding between the two commanders.
μέρος τι—‘in a great measure’, an adverbial use of the determinant accusative: cf. ch. 16, 17, note.
οὐχ ἥκιστα— ‘mainly’. These are instances of
μείωσις: cf. ch. 13, 22.
ἐσῄει—‘occurred to him’:
vi. 30,
μᾶλλον αὐτοὺς ἐσῄει τὰ δεινά.
τῆς νήσου τοῖς ἐσχάτοις—‘on the edges of the island after
προσίσχοντας.
διὰ προφυλακῆς—‘with a guard posted in advance’:
ii. 81,
διὰ φυλακῆς ἔχοντες.
κατὰ μικρὸν τῆς ὕλης—these words are the object of
ἐμπρήσαντος, κατὰ μικρόν forming as it were a single word: cf. note on ch. 3, 13,
ἐπὶ πολύ.
ἄκοντος—‘unintentionally’,
ἄκων implying sometimes the absence of will, sometimes its contravention:
Plat. Rep. 520 B, of philosophers,
αὐτόματοι ἐμφύονται ἀκούσης τῆς πολιτείας. ἀπὸ τούτου, if the text be right, goes with
ἐπιγενομένου, meaning ‘after this’ or ‘thereupon’. It usually means ‘from this cause’. Classen therefore omits
καί, and takes
ἀπὸ τούτου with
ἔλαθε κατακαυθέν. ἐπιγενομένου—‘having sprung up after’, see note on ch. 26. 14.
ἔλαθε κατακαυθέν=‘got burnt down accidentally’.
οὕτω δή—this sentence extends to
ἑτοιμάζων, line 15. As it stands in the text there is one principal verb,
παρεσκευάζετο, line 13; the participle
κατιδών, in agreement with the subject of this verb, governing the two clauses
τούς τε Λακεδαιμονίους...ὄντας, and
τήν τε νῆσον...οὖσαν. The clause
ὑπονοῶν... ἐσπέμπειν is parenthetical.
πλείους ὅντας—‘to be more numerous’ than he had thought.
ὑπονοῶν πρότερον—this refers to the arrangements for provisioning the island in the truce, ch. 16.
ἐλάσσοσι—for a smaller number than was stated, or than now appeared. Demosthenes had been under the impression that the enemy had overstated their numbers in order to get a store of provisions.
ὑπονοῶν and
ἐσπέμπειν are imperfect.
αὐτοῦ—the invariable MSS reading. Professor Kennedy considers it to be the genitive, referring to
τὸν σῖτον and governed by
ἐλάσσοσι, and translates ‘suspecting that he (Dem.) was sending in the corn for a smaller number than the corn itself’, i.e. smaller than corresponded to the rations imported according to the terms of the armistice. It is true that in ch. 16, lines 9 and 13, the words
ἐκπέμπειν and
ἐσπέμπειν are used of the Lacedaemonians, which is an argument in favour of their being here also the subject of
ἐσπέμπειν. The Spartans however would not be allowed by Demosthenes to convey the corn into Sphacteria themselves, and so to have constant intercommunication with their men on the island. Whatever the particular arrangements were, the rations would be delivered by the agency of the Athenians, and therefore
ἐσπέμπειν is here used of Demosthenes, who actually ‘sent in’ the corn.
It has also been proposed to take
αὐτοῦ with
ἐσπέμπειν as equivalent to
αὐτόσε, but this seems impossible, the occurrence of such words as
ἐνταῦθα and
ἐκεῖ with verbs of motion (e.g.
ἵνα περ μ̔́ρμηντο, ch. 48, 31), being no warrant for such a use of
αὐτοῦ, which as an adverb means ‘on the spot’.
αὐτόσε, αὐτοῖς, αὐτούς, and
αὐτοὺς πέμπειν have been suggested as emendations. Of these
αὐτούς, which is read by Classen, gives the best sense and supplies a subject to
ἐσπέμπειν: though it is open to the objection that its meaning must be gathered from the context, those who sent in the corn not being identical with
τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους, line 9. (See Appendix.)
τήν τε νῆσον—I have adopted the transposition of the clauses
την τε νῆσον...οῦσαν and
τότε...ποιεῖσθαι, which is approved by Krüger and followed by Classen. It has the advantage of avoiding grammatical difficulty, and greatly improving the sense. The fire disclosed the number of the enemy, and made landing easier. Demosthenes then saw the prospect of effecting a capture, which was in truth worth a struggle, and accordingly prepared for the attempt.
It must however be noted that according to manuscript authority the clause
τότε...ποιεῖσθαι follows
ἐσπέμπειν. If this order be retained, the inf.
ποιεῖσθαι depends on
ὑπονοῶν or the sense of thinking implied therein and it is necessary to insert
δέ after
τότε (Poppo). We thus get the meaning, ‘thinking that the Athenians were now the more eager, as for a prize worthy of their efforts’. Arnold reads
τό τε...ποιεῖσθαι dependent on
κατιδών, but the arrangement is extremely awkward.
εὐαποβατωτέραν—the island was ‘easier to land on’ because the fire had destroyed the cover in which the enemy could have posted themselves.
τότε ὡς ἐπ᾽ ἀξιόχρεων—following
τὴν ἐπιχείρησιν παρεσκευάζετο, ‘as for a prize worthy of a more earnest effort on the part of the Athenians’, or perhaps ‘a risk which called for’ such an effort.
ἀξιόχρεων, ‘worthy, adequate’, is here followed by an infinitive clause. We have,
v. 13,
ἀξιόχρεων ὄντων δρᾶν, in the sense of ‘competent’: also
Hdt. iv. 126.
μεταπέμπων—‘sending for’. In this sense the middle would be expected; Thucydides however uses active and middle indifferently: cf. ch. 15, 4, note on
βουλεύειν.
προκαλούμενοι εἰ βούλοιντο—‘proposing, if they would, etc.’ sc. that they should agree to these terms: the force of
βούλοιντο extends to the end of the sentence, which is partly elliptical: cf. ch. 37, 8,
ἐκήρυξάν τε εἰ βουλοίντο.
σφίσι—the Athenians, referring to subject of
πέμπουσι, = ‘to us’.
σφᾶς αὐτούς—i.e.
τοὺς ἐν τῇ νήσῳ.
ἐφ᾽ ᾧ...τηρήσονται—‘on condition that they shall be kept’:
i. 113,
ἐφ᾽ ᾧ τοὺς ἄνδρας κομιοῦνται, ‘on condition that they shall have their men restored’: so
i. 103,
ἐφ᾽ ᾧ τε ἐξίασιν. For this use of
ἐπί cf. ch. 16, 24,
αἱ σπονδαὶ ἐπὶ τούτοις ἐγένοντο: it gives the ground or understanding on which the truce was based. For fut. indic. see Goodwin, § 65, especially beginning and note 5.
φυλακῇ μετρίᾳ—an order not uncommon in Thuc.; cf. ch. 10, 8,
κινδύνου τοῦ ταχίστου. The definite article here seems to imply a particular kind of imprisonment, which would be called
μετρία, the conditions of which were supposed to be known to the Lacedaemonians.
ἕως ἂν...ξυμβαθῇ—‘till terms should be arranged concerning the general issue’.
τοῦ πλέονος—the question of the war in general, as opposed to the smaller part of it which concerned Pylos in particular: so ch. 117, 7,
ξυμβῆναι τὰ πλείω, ‘to make general terms’, as opposed to a temporary truce: cf. note on ch. 17, 17,
τοῦ πλέονος. ξυμβαθῇ—aor. pass. of
ξυμβαίνω (so ch. 23, 8,
παραβαθῇ): the perf. pass. inf.
ξυμβεβάσθαι occurs
viii. 98.