E.C. Marchant, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 3

ἐχεγγύῳ—affording a good ἐγγύη, security that other states will not follow the example of Mytilene.

βουλεύσασθαι—‘come to a decision.’

οὐκ—redundant.

ὅτι ἐν βραχυτάτῳ—notice the regular order with ὅτι and ὡς+superl.

καὶ ἀποστᾶσα—‘when revolt has actually taken place.’

τὴν δαπάνην ἀποδοῦναι καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν ὑποτελεῖν—here, naturally, the least is made of the terms dealt out by Athens to revolted allies who submitted. Independent allies, when reduced after revolting, had also to pull down their walls and to hand over their ships to Athens. In I. 98 Thuc. gives a summary of the treatment dealt out to them much less favourable to Athens. By ὑποτελεῖν is meant φόρου ὑποτελεῖς εἶναι.

τίνα οἴεσθε ἥντινα—see on c. 39, 7.

παρατενεῖσθαι—‘be strained to the utmost extremity.’

τὸ αὐτὸ δύναται—cf. I. 141 τὴν αὐτὴν δούλωσιν δύναται.

τῆς προσόδου . . ἀπ᾽ αὐτῆς—the art. not repeated with a verbal substantive (πρόσοδος—προσιέναι). The words necessary to complete the sense of the subst. generally follow it, as in I. 18 τὴν κατάλυσιν ἐκ τῆς Ἑλλάδος, but occasionally precede, as in II. 18 κατὰ τὴν ἄλλην πορείαν ἡ σχολαιότης.

τῷδε—viz. τῇ προσόδῳ.

ἀκριβεῖς—‘exacting’; so in I. 99 Thuc. says ἀκριβῶς ἔπρασσον of Athens in relation to her allies. ἐς χρημάτων λόγον—ἐς λ. is ‘on the score of.’ The phrase occurs also in Lysias (XIX. 61), and εἰς χρήματα is found.

ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων τῆς ἐπιμελείας—‘by practical precautions.’ Some render ‘by taking care of our actions’; but the former seems more natural, and cf. VI. 40 ἔργῳ φυλασσομένη.

ἐλεύθερον by right;

βίᾳ ἀρχόμενον in fact. βίᾳ= ‘in its despite’; cf. I. 43 μὴ ξυμμάχους δέχεσθε βίᾳ ἡμῶν, 68. Diodotus alludes to the true position of Lesbos; cf. c. 10.

πρός—‘to the side of.’

τούτου—i.e. τοῦ ἀφίστασθαι.

ὅτι ἐπ᾽ ἐλάχιστον—viz. of the inhabitants.