Page:Thucydides, translated into English Vol 1.djvu/139

 30-32] SPEECH OF THE CORCYRAEANS 23 to create a great navy : rowers were collected from the Peloponnesus and from the rest of The Connthians pre- Hellas by the attraction of pay. The pare to renew the war, Corcyraeans were alarmed at the re- a»d the Corcyraeans in . r ._ • .• T^i alarm send ati embassy port of their preparations. They re- to Athens, whMer thfy fleeted that they had not enrolled are folloived by Corin- themselves in the league either of the '^"''" "'^'^r^- Athenians or of the Lacedaemonians, and that allies in Hellas they had none. They determined to go to Athens, join the Athenian alliance, and get what help they could from them. The Corinthians, hearing of their intentions, also sent ambassadors to Athens, fearing lest the combina- tion of the Athenian and Corcyraean navies might prevent them from bringing the war to a satisfactory termination. Accordingly an assembly was held at which both parties B.C. 433. came forward to plead their respective causes ; and first ^^' ^^' ^" the Corcyraeans spoke as follows : — 'Men of Athens, those who, like ourselves, come 1032 others who are not their allies and to speech of the Corcy- whom they have never rendered any faeans. - * considerable service and ask help of them, are bound to show, in the first place, that the granting of their request is expedient, or at any rate not inexpedient, and, secondly, that their gratitude will be lasting. If they fulfil neither requirement they have no right to complain of a refusal. Now the Corcyraeans, when they sent us hither to ask for an alliance, were confident that they could establish to your satisfaction both these points. But, unfortunately, we have had a practice alike inconsistent with the request which we are about to make and contrary to our own interest at the present moment : — Inconsistent; for hitherto we have never, if we could avoid it, been the allies of others, and now we come and ask you to enter into an alliance with us:— Contrary to our interest; for through this practice we find ourselves isolated in our war with the Corinthians. The policy of not making alliances lest they should endanger us at another's bidding, instead of being