E.C. Marchant, Commentary on Thucydides Book 1

21. τὰς ξυμφοράς=τὰ συμβαίνοντα, events; so below.

τρεπομένους—passive.

22. ὁμοῖα καὶ παραπλήσια—these occur together several times, without substantial coherence of sense.

24. τοῖς κ. δόξασιν—fut. perf. in sense=ἃ ἂν δόξῃ.

27. τὰς ξυμφορὰς τῶν π.—the issues of things (lit. “events following from affairs”) can be as incomprehensible in their course as man's thoughts, so that failure is no proof that a resolution was wrong.

29. ὅσα ἄν—whenever anything=(ἐν πᾶσιν）ὄσα ἄν.

3. εἱρημένον—in the thirty years peace.

δίκας διδόναι καὶ δ.—cf. c. 28. 2. The best MSS. give διαφορῶν from διαφορά: the parallel passages, as cc. 56. 1 and 78. 4 favour διαφόρων from διάφορος, but cf. cc. 23. 5, 146.

[2] 8. διαλύεσθαι—middle.

[3] 12 τελευταῖοι—pred. with ἥκοντες.

[4] 15. περὶ βραχέος—about a trifle; cf. c. 78. 1.

16. ὅπερ—accus. de quo, becoming the subject of καθαιρεθείη. προύχονται=προφασίζονται.

18. ὑπολίπησθε—after the war has begun.

[5] 20. ἔχει—involves: ὑμῶν depends on γνώμης: ‘the confirmation and trial of your resolution’ are explained in chiastic order by the two clauses that follow.

21. οἷς—masc.=ἑκείνοις γάρ.

24 σαφὲς ἂν κ.—make it clear to them that they must deal with you on an equal footing rather than as superiors.

28. καὶ ἐπὶ μεγάλῃ καὶ ἐ β. π.—be the reason great or small for yielding. The constn. changes from infin. ὑπακούειν to partic. εἴξοντες ... ἔξοντες, with the intention of not. It would be more usual, but it can hardly be necessary, to have ὡς after προφάσει.