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

ἀλλ̓—repeated below in ἀλλ̓ ἤτοι, on account of the long parenthetie vocative ὦ άζυνετώτατοι . . ἢ ἀδικώτατοι.

τὸ τῆς πόλεως ζύμπασι κοινόν—‘the interests of the state that are shared by all’; still referring to his definition of democracy above.

τοῦτο μἐν—i.e. τὸ αὔζειν τὸ τῆς πόλεως κοινόν, as Stahl; not τὸ τῆς πόλεως κοινόν merely, because εἰ δ᾽ ἄλλα βουλήσεσθε clearly means ἢ τὸ αὔζειν τὸ τῆς π. κ. ‘That this share which the good citizens among you will receive will be equal or even greater’ than that borne by others. τοῦτο is internal aceus. to μετα- σχεῖν, as in οὐδὲν τῶνδε μετέχω II. 40, οὐκ ἔλασσον . . πολὺ πλεῖον μετείχετε VII. 63. [ἤπερ . . πλῆθος]—see crit. note.

ὡς πρὸς αἰσθομένους—‘assured that you are dealing with men who . .’

ἔρχονται—‘are on the way.’

αὐτἀ—‘the matter,’ i.e. the details of the defence.

καί—‘and,’ not ‘even.’

αὐτῶν=τῶν άγγελιῶν. With

πρός cf. II. 64, 6 πρὸς τὰς ζυμφορὰς λυποῦνται.

δουλείαν—here the bondage incurred in democracy by giving power to a dangerous person. In c. 78 of political dependence of one state upon another.

αὐτὴ δ᾽ ἐφ̓ αὑτῆς—‘without reference to others,’

ἀφ̓ ὑμῶν—‘words that come from you.’ The art. is not necessarily repeated with prepositional phrases after verbal nouns. Cf. on c. 6, 3.

ἀκούειν—sc. τοὺς λόγους άφ̓ ὑμῶν.

ἐκ τοῦ ἔργῳ κτλ—‘by taking precautions in action not to permit that,’ i.e. τὸ ἀφαιρεθῆναι τὴν ἐλευθερίαν. Thus she will take notice of the words ‘as if they were deeds’; and the ‘deeds’ meant are of course efforts to obtain control of the government; c. 36, 2.