E.C. Marchant, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 6

τῶν χειμερινῶν—by no means a gloss on τεσσάρων, as some have supposed, but absolutely necessary; for without them the statement made by N. would be a manifest absurdity. With them the statement is a debater's argument of a quibbling character.

ὁπλίτας τε—answered by καὶ τοξότας.

ξυμμάχων—these are divided into (1) τῶν ὑπηκόων, (2) ἤν τινα κτλ.

πεῖσαι—the Argives and Mantineans joined thus. See on c. 29, 3 n. The Areadians joined μισθῷ, being in the habit of serving as mercenaries (VII. 57).

ναυσί τε—τε adds the third particular, as often in Thuc.

τὸν δέ—Stahl renders ‘and take other supplies from home,’ as though we had above σῖτον τὸν μὲν ἐσκομίζεσθαι. This rendering accounts satisfactorily for the order of καὶ αὐτόθεν, which belongs to ἄγειν, and appears to be right. Stahl quotes several parallels. ἐπιτήδεια and σῖτον mean the same thing; and ναυσί, ships in general, is contrasted with ἐν ὁλκάσι.

πρὸς μέρος—with ἐκ τῶν μυλώνων, i.e. in proportion to the number of bakers in the several mills These slaves are to be requisitioned by the state (ἠναγκασμένοι); but, as they belong to private owners, they are to receive pay for their services, like state slaves.

πολλὴ γὰρ οὖσα—with the personal construction used here Fr. Muller well compares II. 36 αὐτὰ οὐκ ἂν ἀπρεπῆ εἶναι λεχθῆναι. Cf. Soph. O.T. 393 τό γ᾽ αἴνιγμ᾽ οὐχὶ τοὐπιόντος ἦν | ἀνδρὸς διειπεῖν.

τὰ παρ᾽ Ἐ. . . ἑτοῖμα εἶναι—as in I. 69 τὰ παρ᾽ ὑμῶν ἀξίως προαπαντῆσαι. ‘The support of Segesta’ is that promised in c. 8, 2.

λέγεται—the passive is used both personally and impersonally, and regularly with infiu.