The English Works of Thomas Hobbes (1839) 2 vols. - Vol. 8 (54 page)

[“Were divided in opinion, as to whether they should assist them.”]

[ἐπικρ̧άτησιν: Getting the mastery over.]

[παρ̧ὰ τὸ νικᾶν: Are blind to every thing “for the sake of conquering.” Arnold.]

[“For they (those about to attack their enemies) consider as a friend, him that then serves their purpose, even though heretofore he may have been his enemy; and as an enemy, him that withstands him, even though he chance to be his friend: for they sacrifice even their own affairs to their eagerness of present contention.”]

[ἀμύνεσθαι: “To requite us with the like.” Duker, Goeller, Arnold. See also lib. iv. 63: τὸν εὖ καὶ κακῶς δρ̧ῶντα ἐξ ἴσου ἀμυνούμεθα.

[See chap. 103.]

[“Excited by the immediately apparent.”]

[Hobbes seems to have read δέχεσθαι, which is found in one MS. (See Arnold). Bekker and the rest read δέχεσθε: “and receive not,” c.

[“But they gave them orders not to fight,” c.]

[“And they gave these orders, because,” c.]

[πρ̧οσέμιξαν: when they had touched land. “And when sailing from Leucas they touched land over against Corcyra, they station themselves at Chimerium in the country of Thesprotis.” It is only necessary to look at the map, to see that ἀπὸ Λευκάδος πλέοντες, belongs to προσέμιξαν, and not to ὁρμίζονται; that is to say, that they sailed from Leucas
before,
and not
after
reaching land opposite Corcyra.]

[“It (Chimerium) is a haven, and
by
it lies,” c. Thucydides distinguishes the port of Chimerium from the promontory.]

Cestrine, the territory of Cestria, part of Chaonia.

[“In this part of the continent then the Corinthians station their fleet and pitch their camp.”]

[ἀεἰ ποτε εἰσίν: Are “never not” their friends. Goeller.]

[They descried the galleys of the Corcyræans “at sea, and sailing down upon them”.]

κέρας. The galleys stood all one by one in a row; and the right wing were those that were on the right hand from the middest; and the left wing, those on the left hand.

[“But the rest” (the centre and the left wing), “they occupied themselves; making three divisions of their ships, each of which was commanded by one of the three generals.”]

σημεῖα: A picture or image held up, as the eagle amongst the Romans.

[ἐπὶ τῶν καταςτρωμάτων: upon the decks. “Both sides having upon the decks many heavy–armed soldiers and many archers and slingers, being still somewhat unskilfully appointed after the old fashion.
And
the battle was,” c. The want of skill was displayed in crowding their decks with fighting men, instead of relying upon their ships. The word
but,
inserted by Hobbes, quite alters the sense.]

[“For whenever they happened to run aboard each other, they did not easily disengage themselves, both by reason of the number and crowding of the ships, and from trusting rather to the men at arms on the decks, who made a standing fight,” c.]

[διέκπλοι. περ̧ίπλοι. ἀνακρούσεις. ἀναϛροϕαὶ. These various manœuvres may be described thus: διέκπλους, breaking through the enemy’s line, so as by a quick turn to strike their opponent on either the side or the stern, and so sink it: περίπλους, taking a circuit round the enemy’s ships, and bearing down upon them whenever the opportunity seemed favourable: ἀνάκρουσις, rowing back or astern, so as to gain space for making another charge. ἀναστροϕὴ is understood by Arnold to mean the return to the charge, after gaining space enough by either περίπλους or ἀνάκρουσις.]

[More without pretext or disguise. “They aided them now more undisguisedly; at first indeed forbearing from making assault upon any: but when they fled,” c.]

ἂς καταδύσειαν: “Which they might happen to have sunk”: not meaning, sunk “to the bottom”, but damaged and made waterlogged. Goeller, Arnold.]

[“
But
after the Corinthians had chased the Corcyræans on shore, they betook themselves to collecting the wrecks,” c.

[καὶ ὅσαι ἦσαν λοιπαὶ. Goeller and Poppo agree in the opinion, which is also seemingly adopted by Arnold, that by λοιπαὶ are here meant the ten vessels, out of the one hundred and twenty in all belonging to the Corcyræans (see chap. 25), which were not present at the battle; they having but a hundred and ten in the action (see chap. 47). It should therefore be “with such galleys as they had fit for sea,
and
those which were not in the action, together with,” c.]

Pæan, a hymn to Mars, in the beginning of fight: to Apollo, after the victory.

[“For they descried twenty Athenian galleys making towards them: which, after the first ten, the Athenians sent as a reinforcement; for fear,” c.]

[ὀλίλαι ἀμύνειν: “Few” to defend: that is, “too few.”

viz., More behind their backs.

[εἶπον ὅτι νῆες ἐκεῖναι ἐπιπλέουσι: “Said, there are ships yonder sailing down upon us.” Goeller, Arnold.]

[“Ended at night”: anglice, did not end till night. Goeller, Arnold. See lib. iii. 108. ἡ μάχη ἐτελεύτα ἕως ὀψέ.]

[These Corcyræans were those encamped at Leucimna, the footsoldiers and the thousand Zacynthians mentioned in chap. 47. Valla, as well as Goeller, interprets ὡρμίσαντο: “the Corcyræans received them (the Athenians) into their station”: and not, the Athenians “stationed themselves there”.]

[And that being in a desert place, “there was no repairing of their ships”.]

[The common reading was προπέμψαι: but Bekker, Poppo, Goeller, and Arnold, all agree in reading προσπέμψαι. Without herald: that is, as if in time of peace.]

[If therefore you be resolved, c. “
and
you break the treaty, lay hands first upon us that are here,” c.]

[“So far as in us lies, we will not overlook it.”]

[They had the better all day, “so as to carry off the greatest number of the wreck,” c.]

[“About thirty galleys.”]

[And for that when “the Athenians” went to Sybota. This is according to the reading of Bekker, and also of Arnold, who refers to chap. 52 in confirmation of the opinion, that the Athenians are the subject of the verb ἦλθον. Hobbes has followed the common reading, omitting ὁι Ἀθηναῖοι, which is adopted by Stephen and Valla, and approved of by Poppo and Goeller, both of whom include those words in brackets; considering the Corcyræans as the nominative to ἦλθον.]

[“And establishing in it Corinthian colonists, departed,” c.]

[δοῦλοι: Slaves. “But two hundred and fifty they kept in bonds,” c. These prisoners are met with again in iii. 70.]

[περιγγίνεται. Arnold, “survived the war”; Poppo and Goeller, “bello Corinthios superat.” It is at all events hardly correct to say “was delivered from the war”; this in fact being only the commencement of it.]

[πρασσόντων: practising. See iii. 70. note.]

[Anciently Phlegra.]

[That is, the wall towards the sea, which was therefore a defence against the Athenians, masters of the sea. The Lacedæmonians, on the contrary, were accustomed to destroy the walls towards the continent.]

[ἐπιδημιουργοι: magistrates of the Dorians, a name expressing their doing the work of the people. The preposition ἐπὶ is considered by Goeller, to indicate that they were magistrates sent by the mother country, in addition or as assessors to the magistrates (δημιουργοὶ) appointed by the colony.]

King of Macedonia.

[τοὺς ἐπὶ Θρᾴκης: “The people
Thrace–ward,
” or living in the direction of Thrace; a general term applied to the Greek states situate on the northern coast of the Ægean Sea from Thessaly to the Hellespont. The Chalcidian colonies hereabouts, amongst which were Olynthus, Torone, Sermyle, and Arne, were planted from Chalcis in Eubœa. Arnold.]

[“Had been rendered hostile to them.”]

[τὸ τεῖχος: “The wall.” See the last chapter.]

[ἔπρ̧ασσον. This word is included in brackets by Bekker and the rest. If omitted, the sentence would run thus: “The Potidæans having sent to Athens, c., and also going to Lacedæmon, in order to secure aid, if wanted, c.: when they found, after much negotiation, that they got no good at Athens, but that the ships sent against Macedonia attacked them also; and when the government of the Lacedæmonians promised, c.: then at last they revolted”, c.]

[“
And
Perdiccas persuades,” c.]

[“He gave them part of his own territory, Mygdonia, to live in.”]

[This does not accurately express the idea in the Greek, which is literally: “And so they destroying their cities, went higher up the country and prepared themselves for war.” The destroying, and going higher up the country, was part of the preparing for war.]

[“Both of themselves such as volunteered, and of the rest of the Peloponnesians such as they could induce by pay.”]

Archers, darters, and the like, that wore not armour on their bodies, and were called ψίλοι, naked.

[Valla, as well as Hobbes, omits ουχ ἥκιστα: “for whose sake chiefly most of those from Corinth went as volunteers”.]

[“With four others.” See chap. 62.]

Therme, after called Thessalonica, now Salonichi. [“These on first coming into Macedonia, find the former thousand had just taken Therme, c. And they too stationed themselves there and besieged Pydna.”]

Or scarce honourable. [It means no more than, a league forced by circumstances.]

[Berœa. Bekker and the rest.]

[“And their galleys, seventy in number, sailed by them. And marching forward by slow marches, in three days they reached Gigonus, and encamped.”]

[πρὸς Ὀλύνθῳ. This is the reading of Haack and Bekker, as well as Hobbes. The common reading, which is that also of Valla, is πρὸ Ὀλύνθου,
before
Olynthus. Poppo, Goeller, and Arnold read πρ̧ὸς Ὀλύνθου, on the side of Potidæa
towards
Olythus.]

[This was, that the men might have no excuse for leaving their posts to go into the town for provisions. Arnold.]

The isthmus of Pallene, where they were. [In the isthmus on the other side of Potidæa: not in
Pallene.
]

[“And when the Athenians should march upon themselves”: upon Aristeus and his army.]

[“And saw the rest of the army worsted”.]

[“In the end he resolved to draw those with him into as small a space as possible, and run and force his way into Potidæa.” Goell.]

[παρὰ τὴν χηλὴν. So called from its likeness either to the claw of a crab, or the cloven hoof of an ox. It seems to have comprised not only the mole or pier of the harbour, but also the breakwater that protected the sea–wall. The walls of Potidæa extending to the sea on both sides of the isthmus, and the gate towards the continent being shut, Aristeus was obliged to get in at the gate towards Pallene; which he could reach only by the breakwater under the sea–wall.]

[“And the standards were raised.”]

[The stadium, always translated by Hobbes
furlong,
used to be reckoned six hundred feet; but has been fixed by recent surveys at five hundred and seventy–five. A furlong being six hundred and sixty feet, the stadium is much nearer to the ninth than the eighth part of a mile. The word
for,
in “for it is” c., is not in the Greek.]

[“Being torn down.”]

[“
And
neither side, c. ἱππῆς δὲ. It no where appears as yet that the Potidæans had no cavalry in the battle.]

[“
From
the isthmus”: that is, towards Olynthus.]

[Who “marching from Aphytis, led his army by slow marches to Potidæa”, wasting, c.]

[“Desiring to do what was the next best thing to be done”, and make the best, c.]

[Bekker and the rest have ξυνεπολέμει: “amongst other acts of
assistance
in the war.”]

[πρ̧οσγεγένηντο. Goeller, Bekker. προεγεγενηντο, Arnold. “These were the quarrels which had before this time arisen between the Peloponnesians and the Athenians.”]

[“They summoned the allies to Lacedæmon.”]

[κατὰ τὰς σπονδάς. Arnold considers that the treaty here meant, that is, that the treaty which the Æginetæ would naturally appeal to, must be the latest treaty, or the thirty years’ treaty. Mueller observes that in strictness the Æginetæ could appeal to neither treaty, neither the five years’ nor the thirty years’ treaty, being under the dominion of the Athenians before the date of either; and that by neither was any alteration made in their condition. He inclines to refer the words τὰς σπονδάς to τὸ ξυμμαχικôν, made by the influence of the Spartans, amongst the Greeks in general, and the stipulation for mutual liberty made in that treaty.]