21st Century Classical Greek -- more on obliques

Book I section 35. Now the Kerkyraeans deal with the treaty violation issue.

λύσετε δὲ οὐδὲ τὰς Λακεδαιμονίων σπονδὰς δεχόμενοι ἡμᾶς μηδετέρων ὄντας ξυμμάχους:

[2] εἴρηται γὰρ ἐν αὐταῖς, τῶν Ἑλληνίδων πόλεων ἥτις μηδαμοῦ ξυμμαχεῖ, ἐξεῖναι παρ᾽ ὁποτέρους ἂν ἀρέσκηται ἐλθεῖν.

[3] καὶ δεινὸν εἰ τοῖσδε μὲν ἀπό τε τῶν ἐνσπόνδων ἔσται πληροῦν τὰς ναῦς καὶ προσέτι καὶ ἐκ τῆς ἄλλης Ἑλλάδος καὶ οὐχ ἥκιστα ἀπὸ τῶν ὑμετέρων ὑπηκόων, ἡμᾶς δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς προκειμένης τε ξυμμαχίας εἴρξουσι καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ἄλλοθέν ποθεν ὠφελίας, εἶτα ἐν ἀδικήματι θήσονται πεισθέντων ὑμῶν ἃ δεόμεθα.

[4] πολὺ δὲ ἐν πλέονι αἰτίᾳ ἡμεῖς μὴ πείσαντες ὑμᾶς ἕξομεν: ἡμᾶς μὲν γὰρ κινδυνεύοντας καὶ οὐκ ἐχθροὺς ὄντας ἀπώσεσθε, τῶνδε δὲ οὐχ ὅπως κωλυταὶ ἐχθρῶν ὄντων καὶ ἐπιόντων γενήσεσθε, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ὑμετέρας ἀρχῆς δύναμιν προσλαβεῖν περιόψεσθε: ἣν οὐ δίκαιον, ἀλλ᾽ ἢ κἀκείνων κωλύειν τοὺς ἐκ τῆς ὑμετέρας μισθοφόρους ἢ καὶ ἡμῖν πέμπειν καθ᾽ ὅτι ἂν πεισθῆτε ὠφελίαν, μάλιστα δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ προφανοῦς δεξαμένους βοηθεῖν.

[5] πολλὰ δέ, ὥσπερ ἐν ἀρχῇ ὑπείπομεν, τὰ ξυμφέροντα ἀποδείκνυμεν, καὶ μέγιστον ὅτι οἵ τε αὐτοὶ πολέμιοι ἡμῖν ἦσαν, ὅπερ σαφεστάτη πίστις, καὶ οὗτοι οὐκ ἀσθενεῖς, ἀλλ᾽ ἱκανοὶ τοὺς μεταστάντας βλάψαι: καὶ ναυτικῆς καὶ οὐκ ἠπειρώτιδος τῆς ξυμμαχίας διδομένης οὐχ ὁμοία ἡ ἀλλοτρίωσις, ἀλλὰ μάλιστα μέν, εἰ δύνασθε, μηδένα ἄλλον ἐᾶν κεκτῆσθαι ναῦς, εἰ δὲ μή, ὅστις ἐχυρώτατος, τοῦτον φίλον ἔχειν.

Subsection 2 has an oblique areskitai.  In the Middle Liddell entry, part III points out that this verb is used to represent a political party voting on a resolution to do something or not. Jowett’s “pleases” is at the top of the entry, but LSJ points to this specific section as an expression of the will of a representative body. You also have the an flipping the focus of areskitai elthein from those being voted for (opoteros) to those doing the voting.

Subsection 3 almost seems to have a conditional, ei plus an imperfective conceptual in base voice, and in the counterpoint clause eirksousi in the imperfective conceptual oblique. On the face of it, this would be one of Goodwin’s conditionals implying nothing about its truth, and he allows for the i.c. in the protasis but only if it is like a promise. That’s not the case here, the Kerkyraeans are saying something more like, when they’re doing this they’re prohibiting us from trying to do something similar to protect ourselves. The subsection closes with another i.c. about the Korinthians unjustly accusing Athins of being unjuct if they were to help the Kerkyraeans.

Jowett moves the opening clause from subsection 5 into the end of subsection 4 which, again, destroys Thucydides’ style. From polla de on is an introduction in subsection 5 to what Mr. T says in subsection 5. Jowett treats it as a summary of everything before subsection 5, which it is not, because prior to subsection 5 the Kerkyraeans have shown the dark side of what is going on, not the advantage helping them would be to Athins.