Page:History of Greece Vol VIII.djvu/180

 158 HISTOKY OF GREECE. succeed, he would not have committed the fault of quitting iria fleet and leaving it under the command of a lieutenant like Anti- ochus. If, therefore, Athenian sentiment towards Alkibiades underwent an entire change during the autumn of 407 B.C., this was in consequence of an alteration in his character and be- Aavior ; an alteration for the worse, just at the crisis when every- thing turned upon his good conduct, and upon his deserving at least, if he could not command success. We may, indeed, observe that the faults of Nikias before Syracuse, and in reference to the coming of Gylippus, were far graver and more mischievous than those of Alkibiades during this turning season of his career, and the disappointment of antecedent hopes at least equal. Yet while these faults and disappointment brought about the dismissal and disgrace of Alkibiades, they did not induce the Athenians to dismiss Nikias, though himself desiring it, nor even prevent them from sending him a second armament to be ruined along with the first. The contrast is most instruc- tive, as demonstrating upon what points durable esteem in Athens turned ; how long the most melancholy public incompetency could remain overlooked, when covered by piety, decorum, good inten- tions, and high station ; l how short-lived was the ascendency of a man far superior in ability and energy, besides an equal station, when his moral qualities and antecedent life were such as to provoke fear and hatred in many, esteem from none. Yet, on the whole, Nikias, looking at him as a public servant, was far more destructive to his country than Alkibiades. The mischief done to Athens by the latter was done in the avowed service of her enemies. On hearing the news of the defeat of Notium and the accu- mulated complaints against Alkibiades, the Athenians simply voted that he should be dismissed from his command ; naming 1 To meet the case of Nikias, it would be necessary to take the converse of the judgment of Thucydides respecting Alkibiades, cited in my last note, and to say : Kal dripoaia KU KIOTO dta&svra ra TOV nofapov, I6ia litaaroi T& kirirtjti evftara aiirov ayaadevTef, Kal aiiTy inc~ rpeipavTee, ov dtu fiaKpov IC$T]?MV TJ)V 7r6A.iv. The reader will of course understand that these last Greek words are net. an actual citatisn, but a transformation of the actual words of ThncydidSs, for the purpose of illustrating the contrast between Alkibiades and Nikiaa