Page:History of Greece Vol VII.djvu/296

278 278 HISTORY OF JREECE. here on their own account, bribe the trierarchs to accept Hykka rian slaves as substitutes, and thus destroy the strict discipline of our marine. And you know as well as I, that no crew ever con- tinues long in perfect condition, and that the first class of seamen, who set the ship in motion, and maintain the uniformity of the oar-stroke, is but a small fraction of the whole number. " Among all these embarrassments, the worst of all is, that I as general can neither prevent the mischief, from the difficulty of your tempers to govern, nor can I provide supplementary recruits elsewhere, as the enemy can easily do from many places open to him. We have nothing but the original stock which we brought out with us, both to make good losses and to do present duty ; for Naxus and Katana, our only present allies, are of insignificant strength. And if our enemy gain but one farther point, if the Italian cities, from whence we now draw our sup- plies, should turn against us, under the impression of our present bad condition, with no reinforcement arriving from you, we shall be starved out, and he will bring the war to triumphant close, even without a battle. " Pleasanter news than these I could easily have found to send you ; but assuredly nothing so useful, seeing that the full knowl- edge of the state of affairs here is essential to your deliberations. Moreover, I thought it even the safer policy to tell you the truth without disguise, understanding as I do your real dispositions, that you never listen willingly to any but the most favorable assurances, yet are angry in the end if they turn to unfavorable results. Be thoroughly satisfied, that in regard to the force against which you originally sent us, both your generals and your soldiers have done themselves no discredit. But now that all Sicily is united against us, and that farther reinforcements are expected from Peloponnesus, you must take your resolution with full knowledar<) that we here have not even strength to contend Even before the Peloponnesian war was begun, the Corinthian envoy at Sparta affirms that the Athenians cannot depend upon their seamen stand- ing true to tb*tn, since their navy was manned with hired foreign seamen rather than w} oiKeia (Thucyd. L irU. The statement of Nikias proves that this remark was tc
 * great extent veil founded.