Page:History of Greece Vol VII.djvu/297

279 FEELING AT ATHENS. 279 ngainst our present difficulties. You must either send for ua home, or you must send us a second army, land-force as well as naval, not inferior to that which is now here, together with a con- siderable supply of money. You must farther send a successor to supersede me, as I am incapable of work from a disease in the kidneys. I think myself entitled to ask this indulgence at your hands, for while my health lasted I did you much good service in various military commands. But whatever you intend, do it at the first opening of spring, without any delay : for the new succors which the enemy is getting together in Sicily, will soon be here, and those which are to come from Peloponnesus, though they will be longer in arriving, yet, if you do not keep watch,will either elude or forestall you as they have already once done." i Such was the memorable despatch of Nikias, which was read to the public assembly of Athens about the end of November, or beginning of December, 414 B.C., brought by officers who strengthened its effect by their own oral communications, and answered all such inquiries as were put to them. 2 We have mHich reason to regret that Thucydides does not give us any idea of the debate which so gloomy a revelation called forth. He tells us merely the result : the Athenians resolved to comply with the second portion of the alternative put by Nikias ; not to send for the present armament home, but to reinforce it by a second powerful armament, both of land and naval force, in pros- ecution of the same objects. But they declined his other personal request, and insisted on continuing him in command ; passing a vote, however, to name Menander and Euthydemus, officers already in the army before Syracuse, joint commanders along with him, in order to assist him in his laborious duties. They sent Eurymedon speedily, about the winter solstice, in command of ten triremes to Syracuse, carrying one hundred and twenty talents of silver, together with assurances of coming aid to the suffering army. And they resolved to equip a new and formida- ble force, under Demosthenes and Eurymedon, to go thither aa reinforcement in the earliest months of the spring. Demosthenes ' Tli icyd. vii, 11-15. * Thueyd. vii, 10.