Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 3

ἐν οὖν ταῖς πόλεσι kte(.: the diseussion announced above (c. 44. § 3 f.), as to whether the interests of Athens will be subserved by inflicting the death-penalty on the Mytileneans, is introduced with a general remark on the inadequaey of punishments, even of the death-penalty, to suppress crime. At the beginning of the next chapter the transition to the present case, for which Cleon had maintained (c. 44. 9 f.), ἐς τὸ λοιπὸν ξυμφέρον ἔσεσθαι πρὸς τὸ ἧσσον ἀφίστασθαι θάνατον ζημίαν προθεῖσι, is made with οὐκ οὖν χρή. Kühn. 508, N. 2. This chapter represents the earliest attempt to combat the theory that men are deterred from crime by fear of punishment. See M. Büdinger. Sitzungsberichte d. phil.-hist. Kl. d. Wiener Akad. xcvi. p. 384.—

πολλῶν: be longs with ἁμαρτημάτων, from which it is only locally separated by the almost parenthetical οὐκ ἴσων . . . ἐλασσόνων.—θανάτου ζημία: although, acc. to the analogy of c. 44. 10 and ii. 24. 9, θάνατος might have been expected (as Cobet suggests, Nov. Lect. p. 771), still the gen. is sufficiently protected by c. 46. 1 τοῦ θανάτου τῇ ζημίᾳ. Also in Isocr. viii. 50 θανάτου τῆς ζημίας ἐπικειμένης, θανάτου must be considered a limiting genitive.—

πρόκειται: pass. of προθεῖναι, c. 44. 10.—3.

τῇ ἐλπίδι ἐπαιρόμενοι: as i. 81. 11. See on c. 37. 28; 38. 12.—4.

καταγνοὺς ἑαυτοῦ μὴ περιέσεσθαι: passing sentence of failure on himself, lit. deciding against himself that he will not succeed. καταγιγνώσκειν of unfavourable judgment, as in vi. 34. 51; vii. 51. 3; Xen. Cyrop. vi. 1. 36 αὐτὸς ἐμαυτοῦ κατέγνων μὴ ἂν καρτερῆσαι. See on c. 16. 1. Kühn. 476, 2.—5.

ἦλθεν ἐς τὸ δεινόν: as in c. 39. 17.

πόλις τε: and so a state. The subj. placed first before the interr. pron. has almost the same character of generality as before the dem., having nearly the effect of the part. genitive. See on i. 1. 8.—

τίς πω: no exception to the general rule that πω is used in neg. sents., since the interr. sent. is here equiv. to a negative.—6.

ἥσσω τῇ δοκήσει: in its view insufficient. See on c. 43. 3.— 7.

ἢ ἄλλων ξυμμαχίᾳ: co-ordinated with οἰκείαν the phrase has almost the force of an adjective.—

τούτῳ: sc. τῷ ἀφίστασθαι.

πεφύκασι δὲ . . . ἁμαρτάνειν: cf. c. 84. 10, and Dio C.'s imitation, lii. 34. 6 πολλὰ γὰρ ἡ φύσις καὶ παρὰ τὸν νόμον πολλοὺς ἁμαρτάνειν ἐξάγει, Soph. Ant. 1023 ἀνθρώποισι γὰρ τοῖς πᾶσι κοινόν ἐστι τοὐξαμαρτάνειν, Eur. Hipp. 1433 ἀνθρώποισι θεῶν διδόντων εἰκὸς ἁμαρτάνειν. Cl. writes δέ, for τε of the Mss., making the clause epexegetical. Cf. i. 55. 9; v. 10. 21.—9.

διεξεληλύθασι διὰ πασῶν: cf. Dem. ii. 5 πάντα διεξεληλύθαμεν, and Xen. Cyrop. i. 2. 15 οἱ γεραίτεροι διὰ πάντων τῶν καλῶν ἐληλυθότες.—10. προστιθέντες: always adding to, aggravating the punishments. Cf. Dem. iv. 20.—

εἴ πως: if haply. The real apod. is distinctly implied, but not formally expressed. GMT. 489; H. 907; Kr. Spr. 65, 1, 10. Cf. i. 58. 2; ii. 67. 5; iv. 11. 12.— —11.

καὶ εἰκός: not introducing a new consideration, but confirming the foregoing general remark (διεξεληλύθασί γε . . . κακουργῶν).—12.

κεῖσθαι: here and c. 47. 13 (ἐπικεῖσθαι, c. 70. 17; viii. 15. 6) of punishments, as ii. 46. 6 of rewards, ii. 37. 17 of laws, always as pf. pass. of τιθέναι. —παραβαινομένων: as transgressions occurred. So with Bm., who compares, for the gen. abs. without expressed subject, i. 7. 2 πλοϊμωτέρων, i. 116. 15 ἐσαγγελθέντων. GMT. 848; H. 972 a. But St. understands τῶν ζημιῶν as subj., and gives παραβαινομένων the more general sense of disregarding, citing Aeschin. iii. 204 οὐ τοὺς νόμους μόνον παραβέβηκεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν καιρὸν τῆς ἀναρρήσεως καὶ τὸν τόπον, Dem. xxiv. 32 παραβὰς τὸν χρόνον τὸν ἐκ τῶν νόμων. Cf. also Din. i. 36 παραβεβηκὼς ἅπαντας τοὺς παρεληλυθότας καιρούς.—13. τῷ χρόνῳ . . . ἀνήκουσι: cf. Lycurg. in Leocr. 65 (οἱ ἀρχαῖοι νομοθέται) ὁμοίως ἐπὶ πᾶσι καὶ τοῖς ἐλαχίστοις παρανομήμασι θάνατον ὥρισαν εἶναι τὴν ζημίαν. The phrase ἀνήκειν ἐς, to express highest intensity, occurs only here in Thuc., and is elsewhere unusual in Attie (Soph. Trach. 1018), but common in Hdt. (ii. 104. 8; v. 49. 16; vii. 9. γ 4; 13. 6; 134. 13; viii. 111. 12).—14.

κἀν τούτῳ ὅμως παραβαίνεται: and under these circumstances transgressions occur all the same. κἀν τούτῳ is Kr.'s conjecture for καὶ τοῦτο of the Mss. Cf. i. 37. 15; 81. 9; ii. 89. 37. If the reading of the Mss. be retained, St.'s explanation is best, namely τοῦτο =τὸ ἐς τὸν θάνατον τὰς πολλὰς ἀνήκειν, and παραβαίνεται, is disregarded, as in Jow. explains: ‘τοῦτο refers to θάνατος, but παραβαίνεται is said inaccurately, not of death, but of the law which is sanctioned by the penalty of death. So παραβαινομένων really refers to the idea of a law contained in ζημιῶν just above.’ See App.

δέος: terror; fear, for the thing feared, as metus for periculum. —

τόδε: used perhaps to avoid repetition of the same pronoun (τούτου). Cf. Soph. Ant. 296 τοῦτο καὶ πόλεις πορθεῖ, τόδ̓ ἄνδρας ἐξανίστησιν δόμων. —ἐπίσχει: Schol., κωλύει.—16. ἀλλ̓ ἡ μὲν . . . κινδύνους: but porerty, making men bold from necessity, and wealth, making them ambitious from insolence and pride, and the other relations of life, through passion, as each relation is enslared by some mighty and invincible impulse, lure mankind to destruction. ἀνάγκῃ and ὕβρει καὶ φρονήματι belong to παρέχουσα, while ὀργῇ belongs to ἐξάγουσιν and answers to the παρέχουσα clauses above. Cl. changes τῶν ἀνθρώπων of the Mss. into τὸν ἄνθρωπον. St. rejects these words and writes ὀργήν (libidinem) for ὀργῇ, on the ground that it is demanded by the correspondence to τόλμαν and πλεονεξίαν. See App. With the sentiment, cf. Eur. El. 375 πενία ἔχει νόσον, διδάσκει ἄνδρα τῇ χρείᾳ κακόν, Arist. Rhet. i. 12 ἀδικοῦσι, ὅσοι ἂν ἐνδεεῖς ὦσι: διχῶς δέ εἰσιν ἐνδεεῖς: ἢ γὰρ ὡς ἀναγκαίου, ὥσπερ οἱ πένητες: ἢ ὡς ὑπερβολῆς, ὥσπερ οἱ πλούσιοι, Dion. H. i. 25 ἡ ἀνάγκη ἱκανή ἐστι τοῖς ἀπορουμένοις βίου: τόλμαν παρασχεῖν.—17. ἐξουσία: opes, Va. Cf. i. 38. 13; 123. 6; vi. 31. 33.—

φρονήματι: in Thuc. always self-confidence, spirit. See on i. 81. 14.—18.

ξυντυχίαι: conditions of life, as in c. 82. 14. Cf. c. 112. 26; i. 33. 1; v. 11. 17; vi. 54. 2; vii. 57. 5.—19.

ὑπ̓ ἀνηκέστου τινὸς κρείσσονος: it is possible to supply simply ὀργῆς, but better perhaps to take κρείσσονος as neut., as most of the editt. seem to do, and render, by some mighty and invincible impulse. ἀνήκεστος has the meaning insatiable, unappeasable, acc. to the const. ἀκεῖσθαι παθήματα. Cf. also Hom. N 115 ἀκεσταί τοι φρένες ἐσθλῶν.—ἐξάγουσιν: as in vi. 89. 22 = παράγειν. Cf. Eur. Alc. 1080 ἔρως τίς μ̓ ἐξάγει, Herc. Fur. 775 ἅ τ̓ εὐτυχία φρονεῖν βροτοὺς ἐξάγεται, ibid. 1212; Ion. 361; Suppl. 79; Dio C. lii. 23. 2; 34. 6.

τε: introduces a new consideration, besides; not correl. to καί.— ὁ ἔρως: passionate desire. Schol. πρῶτόν τις ἐρᾷ, εἶτα ἐλπίζει, εἶτα ἐγχειρεῖ. —ἐπὶ παντί: comprehends all the above definite and indefinite cases. Cf. i. 20. 2; iv. 11. 13; v. 100. 4.— 21.

τὴν ἐπιβουλήν: the plot. So Cl. and Steup, with three Mss., for ἐπιβολήν, undertaking, which most Mss. have. Hude calls attention to the fact that ἐπιβούλευμα is used in the same sense in Cf. i. 93. 23; iv. 77. 1; 86. 22; viii. 24. 38. But see App.—

ἐκφροντίζων: thinking out, a rare word found also in Ar. Nub. 695, 697.—22.

ὑποτιθεῖσα: of the delusive suggestions of hope, similarly in i. 138. 8; iv. 65. 18. For the thought, cf. iv. 18. § 3; vii. 61. § 3.— 23.

καὶ ὄντα . . . δεινῶν: and being unseen they outweigh the dangers that are seen. ὄντα neut., with the two nouns of different gender. G. 924 a; H. 617 a. ὁρώμενα opp. to ἀφανῆ, as in ii. 42. 21; v. 113. 4.

καὶ ἡ τύχη kte(.: as hope had suggested that fortune would lend its support, so the latter too contributes toward leading men astray. τύχη is here almost personified, now unexpectedly favouring, but again by that very means luring into danger.—

ἐπ̓ αὐτοῖς: besides these. Schol. μετὰ τὸν ἔρωτα καὶ τὴν ἐλπίδα.—ξυμβάλλεται: see on προσξυνεβάλετο, c. 36. 10. —26.

ἐκ τῶν ὑποδεεστέρων: even with inadequate resources. Schol. ἀπὸ μικροτέρων ἀφορμῶν. Cf. ii. 89. 22.—

προάγει: leads on, even against their will, as in c. 59. 9.—27.

οὐχ ἧσσον: i.e. μάλιστα, as in i. 8. 1, and freq. —

ὅσῳ: in so far as, because, even without comparative. See on i. 68. H. Kr. Spr. 51, 10, 5. κινδυνεύουσιν, or, perhaps better, ὁ ἀγών ἐστι is to be supplied. See on iv. 63. 12.—

ἐλευθερίας ἢ ἄλλων ἀρχῆς: Cl. explains that ἤ offers not a choice, but an alternative, and ἄλλων is subj. gen. But it would seem more natural to render, with Goell. and Jow., freedom or empire. So Valla.—28.

καὶ μετὰ πάντων . . . ἐδόξασεν: the force of ὅσῳ continues. The causes by which states are drawn into dangerous undertakings are two: 1) for the whole, greater advantages may be won; 2) the individual, in company with many, easily overestimates his own strength. This overestimate on the part of individuals, however, has a hurtful influence on the decisions of the many.—

μετὰ πάντων: Schol. τοῦ κοινοῦ.—29. ἐπὶ πλέον τι: the indef. pron. added to the comp. πλέον, as in ii. 11. 32. Cf. ἧσσόν τι, c. 75. 11; ἀμελέστερόν τι, ii. 11. 14; μᾶλλόν τι, i. 49. 9; τι μᾶλλον, ii. 22. 4; iv. 21. 16; vii. 57. 4; τι ἀνεπιεικέστερον, c. 66. 7.—

αὑτὸν: for the unintelligible αὐτῶν of most good Mss.—

ἐδόξασεν: esp. used of erroneous estimate. Cf. i. 120. 28; Dio C. lxxv. 9 ἐπὶ πλεῖον ἐδοξάσθη. The aor. is gnomic. GMT. 155; H. 840; Kühn. 386, 7. See on i. 69. 31.

ἁπλῶς: see on c. 38. 31.—

ἀδύνατον: const. with ἀποτροπήν τινα ἔχειν . . . δεινῷ.—30. πολλῆς εὐηθείας: sc. ἐστίν. Cf. i. 83. 4; 142. 24. G. 1091, 1; H. 732 d. This elliptical gen. is much less freq. than in Lat. —

ὅστις: so very hypothetical in foree that it is loosely connected, almost like εἴ τις, with the leading clause. On this free connexion of the pers. rel. pron. with a neut. adj. or pred. gen., see Kr. Spr. 51, 13, 11; Kühn. 563, 3 d. Cf. the similar const. with ὃς ἄν, ii. 44. 4; vi. 14. 7; vii. 68. 4. So the eonst. is usually explained, but Steup thinks, if ὅστις οἴεται were so intended, Thuc. would have written πολλὴ εὐήθεια. He pre fers to take ὅστις as used by Diodotus c. 42. 7; 48. 7, and to construe πολλῆς εὐηθείας (sc. ἐστὶ with pers. subj.) as γνώμης τινὸς εἶναι (see on i. 113. 10). Cf. Hdt. i. 107. 13 οἰκίης μὲν ἐόντα ἀγαθῆς, τρόπου δὲ ἡσυχίου. Kr. Spr. 47, 6, 10.—31.

ἀποτροπήν τινα ἔχειν: can be deterred. Cf. Dio C.'s imitation of the passage (lv. 16), ἡ φύσις ἡ ἀνθρωπίνη πάντως ἁμαρτάνειν τινὰς ἀναπείθει, καὶ ἀμήχανόν ἐστιν αὐτὴν πρᾶξαί τι ὡρμημένην ἐπισχεῖν.