T. G. Tucker, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 8

οἷς = οἷστισι (P-S). Another, though less probable, syntax is ἀπορεῖν ἂν (τούτων), οἷς κ τ.λ.

ἀπορεῖν ἂν αὐτὸν sc. Tissaphernes, not the king. since the clause with βασιλεῖ ἐξεῖναι is dependent on ἐᾶν, of which the subject is Tissaphernes. So Tissaphernes is the αὐτὸς . . . ἑαυτοῦ . . . αὐτῷ . . . ἐκείνῳ of the following passage.

ἀναστάς of standing up to fight. Cf. Il. xxiii. 635.

εὐτελέστερα δὲ τάδ᾽ εἶναι κ.τ.λ. This emendation of Classen and Madvig (Adv. Crit. i. p. 28), though not certainly right, is at least an improvement upon the εὐτελέστερα δὲ τὰ δεινὰ of MSS. The MS. reading literally rendered is ‘the danger would be a cheaper one to run, to wear out, etc.,’ the infin. κατατρῖψαι and its clause being in exegetical apposition to τὰ δεινὰ, i.e εὐτελέστερα δὲ (εἶναι) τὰ δεινὰ, (sc.) κατατρῖψαι κ.τ.λ. Bnt τὰ δεινὰ is a curiously inappropriate expression to use of a case in which no danger is involved (cf. inf. μετὰ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ἀσφαλείας). There is still left, when the emendation is made, some tautology in εὐτελέστερα and βραχεῖ μορίῳ τῆς δαπάνης, which, however, can be relieved by giving to εὐτελής the not uncommon sense of φαῦλος, apart from a pecuniary aspect. ‘But, he said, this was a course which made less demand upon him, etc.’ The objection to the emendation lies in the a priori unlikelihood of τάδ᾽ εἶναι passing into τὰ δεινὰ; and it may more probably be the case that ΤΑΔΕΙΝΑ should be redivided into τάδε, ἵνα with κατατρίψει (or -οι) to follow, i.e. ‘and that his proposed course would be an easier one, being a case in which he (T.) would wear out, etc.’ Copyists, either through negligence or because unfamiliar with this use of ἵνα (cf. Antiphon, 142, 9, ἵνα μὲν ἐξῆν αὐτοῖς . . . τιμωρήσασθαι . . . ἐνταῦθα οὐδεὶς οἷός τε ἐγένετο . . . ἐλέγξαι), would naturally divide ΤΑΔΕΙΝΑ as τὰ δεινὰ; they would not all alike commit the same error with τάδ᾽ εἶναι.

αὐτοὺς περὶ ἑαυτοὺς Cf. vi. 18, τρίψεσθαι αὐτὴν περὶ ἑαυτήν.