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46 46 HISTORY OF GREECE. for him a secret interview with the envoys, and enabled him to address them with greater effect, on the day before the meeting of the public assembly, and without the knowledge of Nikias. He accosted them in the tone of a friend of Sparta, anxious that flieir proposition should succeed; but he intimated that they would find the public assembly turbulent and angry, very different from the tranquil demeanor of the senate : so that if they proclaimed them- selves to have come with full powers of settlement, the people would burst out with fury, to act upon their fears and bully them into extravagant concessions. He therefore strongly urged them to declare that they had come, not with any full powers of settle- ment, but m rely to explain, discuss, and report : the people would then find that they could gain nothing by intimidation, explanations would be heard, and disputed points be discussed with temper, and he (Alkibiades) would speak emphatically in their favor. He would advise, and felt confident that he could persuade, the Athenians to restore Pylos, a step which his opposition had hith- erto been the chief means of preventing. He gave them his solemn pledge confirmed by an oath, according to Plutarch that he would adopt this conduct, if they would act upon his counsel. 1 The envoys were much struck with the apparent sagacity of these suggestions, 9 and still more delighted to find that the man from whom they anticipated the most formidable opposition was pre- pared to speak in their favor. His language obtained with them, probably, the more ready admission and confidence, inasmuch as he had volunteered his services to become the political agent of Sparta only a few months before ; and he appeared now to be simply resuming that policy. They were sure of the support of ' Thucyd. v, 45. M^ovurat de n-pdf avroiif rolovSi TL o 'AA./a/3ia(5;?f Toijf AaKstiaifioviovf Treidei, Triariv avrolf doi)f, TJV pi o/zoAoy/ytrucuv iv rip !//<.) avTOKparopec JJKEIV, Iliihov TE aiiroig airoSuoeiv (TT e i as i v y a p a i> r i> f '/.i?/vaiovf, uairep Kal vvv uvrAeyeiv) Kal ra/Ma ^vvaAAu^eiv. boi>?.6- ftevof de avroi'f NLK'IOV re uTroarf/aai ravra ;rparre, Kal oTtuf tv T<J dTtfiu fiiafia/.uv uvroiig <Jf ov&ev a/lT/iJef tv v ij E^OVOIV, oijfie At- yovffiv ovtifKOTE TavTii, T o i) f 'A p y i o v f f up fj. u x o v f 'Plutarch (Alkibiad. c. 14). Taiira 6' eixuv dpKovf eduKsv Kal (j.fTt.arr;ae:v urro T3t) NIKIOV TTOV Tuiraat KUITE vovraf atT6J, Kal ZOVTCIC uua ri/v 6 e LVUTTJT a KOI aitv eatv, U ou TOV rv%6vTOf uv Spin "'aav. A<-:uii, rititar h, Nikias, c. 10.