Page:History of Greece Vol VI.djvu/83

 ATHENS BEFORE THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR. 61 between the Peloponnesian alliance and Athens, such a contin. gency was as yet uncertain, and might possibly never occur at all, if Athens dealt justly, and consented to conciliate Corinth on this critical occasion : but it would assuredly occur if she refused such conciliation, and the dangers thus entailed upon Athens would be far greater than the promised naval cooperation of Korkyra would compensate. 1 Such was the substance of the arguments urged by the con- tending envoys before the Athenian public assembly, in this momentous debate. For two days did the debate continue, the assembly being adjourned over to the morrow : so considerable was the number of speakers, and probably also the divergence of their views. Unluckily, Thucydides does not give us any of these Athenian discourses, not even that of Perikles, who determined the ultimate result. Epidamnus, with its disputed question of metropolitan right, occupied little of the attention of the Athenian assembly: but the Korkyraean naval force was indeed an immense item, since the question was, whether it should stand on their side or against them, an item which nothing could counterbalance except the dangers of a Peloponnesian war. " Let us avoid this last calamity (was the opinion of many) even at the sacrifice of seeing Korkyra conquered, and all her ships and seamen in the service of the Peloponnesian league." " You will not really avoid it, even by that great sacrifice (was the reply of others) : the generating causes of war are at work, and it will infallibly come, whatever you may determine re- specting Korkyra : avail yourselves of the present opening, instead of being driven ultimately to undertake the war at great comparative disadvantage." Of these two views, the former waa at first decidedly preponderant in the assembly ; 2 but they grad- ually came round to the latter, which was conformable to the steady conviction of Perikles. It was, however, resolved to take 1 Thucyd. i, 37-43. iKKhqaiae, ry plv Trporepa ov% i)fiaov TUV Kopivtiiuv une6e^avTo rwf Aoyowc. sv 6e rij vcTEpala pereyvuaav, etc. Oi>x TIOOOV, in the language of Thu :ydides, usually has the positive oieaning of more.
 * Thucyd. i, 44. 'Adrjvaiot. 6e unovaavTec u/n^orfpuv, ^evofiiv^ Kal Alt.