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τούς τε Ἀ. κ.τ.λ.—Those of you who are A. I once again remind that you have at home no ships in the docks like these, no men fit for service, and that in the event of any other issue than victory, your enemies here will immediately sail thither, and our friends who are left there will not be strong enough to repel our enemies on the spot together with the invaders. And so, while you will immediately be at the mercy of Syr.—and you know yourselves the purpose you had in attacking them—your countrymen will be at the mercy of Sparta. οὔτε ναῦς—at the beginning of the Pel. war, the A. had 300 ships ready, and shortly afterwards a reserve fleet of 100 ships was created. The normal strength of the fleet during the war was over 300. ἡλικίαν—conerete, like νεότης, and juventus. The abstract term represents the young men as a power in the state. τι ἄλλο ἢ τὸ κρατεῖν—Euphemism in alluding to defeat is very common, and Gk. authors habitually avoid close reference to the scene of a disaster. ἐπ᾽ ἐκεῖνα—alluding, like ἐκεῖ, to Athens; both words were often so used by persons abroad.
Ὥστε κ.τ.λ. — ‘Therefore, in this one struggle having to defend both yourselves and them, stand firm now, if ever, and reflect each and all that you who are now to embark are also to the Athenians infantry and ships and all that remains of the state, and the great name of Athens. In defence of these, if any man excel in skill or courage, let him show them now; he could not find a better chance to display them for his own henefit and for the safety of all.’ In this epilogue the end proposed by the speaker (τὸ τέλος Arist. Rhet. B. 19, 26; τελικὸν κεφάλαιον Hermogenes calls it) is τὸ συμφέρον, having before been τὸ καλόν. These two topics (τόποι) are extremely common in military harangnes. ὑπὲρ ἀμφοτέρων—alluding to οἱ μὲν in l. 9 and οἱ δ᾽ in καθεστῶτες — with ἐν as in Herod. VII. 139, but far commoner with ἐς. Cf. παρεστάναι ἐν τῇ γνώμῃ Andoc. II. 24. καθ᾽ ἑκάστους τε καὶ ξ.—the mass is to act as a whole, and yet each individual is to feel that the safety of the mass rests with him. It is again brought out below in αὐτός τε αὑτῷ . . . καὶ τοῖς ξύμπασι. ὑμῶν . . . εἰσὶ—with ‘partitive’ gen. 1st or 2nd person, the verb is generally in the 3rd pers. καὶ νῆες—the statement οἱ ἐν ταῖς ναυσὶ νῆες εἰσί is not very sane. Apparently Thuc. has in mind that the ships which are to take part and which cannot be replaced will not manœuvre—ἠν αγκάσμεθα πεζομαχεῖν ἀπὸ τῶν νεῶν—so that the A. would be depending much less than usual on their ships and much more on their men. A ship when manned was to the Gks. a living thing. Here the ships will be manned, and yet will be inert. Before condemning the words right out we must notice the train of thought that has led Thuc. to write them. (The speech from c. 63.3 to the end is not a good example of composition. Sce Appendix I.) τὸ μέγα ὄνομα—Isocr. 6.110 μὴ καταισχυνθῆναι τὸ τῆς Σπάρτης ὄνομα. 18 περὶ ῶν—prob. neuter, applying to πεζοὶ καὶ νῆες, etc. προφέρει = προέχει, but used so only by Herod., Thuc., and poets.
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