Page:Thucydides, translated into English Vol 1.djvu/343

 59-6 1 ] SPEECH OF THE PLATAEANS 227 friends to their bitterest enemies. We remind you of the day on which we shared in their glorious deeds— we who on this day are in danger of meeting a fearful doom. And now we say no more ; to men in our case, though we must, there is nothing harder than to make an end ; for with the end comes the decisive hour. Our last word is that we did not surrender Plataea to the Thebans,- far rather would we have perished from hunger, the most miserable of deaths,— but to you, in whom we trusted, and, if you will not listen to us, you ought at least to replace us in the same position, and allow us to choose our destiny, what- ever it may be. We adjure you not to deliver us, the Plataeans, who were so loyal to the cause of Hellas, and who are now suppliants to you, O Lacedaemonians, out of your own hands and your own good faith, into the hands of the Thebans, our worst enemies. Be our saviours. You are liberating the other Hellenes; do not de- stroy us.' Such were the words of the Plataeans ; whereupon the 60 Thebans, fearing that the Lacedae- The Thrhans also monians might give way, came forward obtain leave to speak. and said that since, against their judgment, the Plataeans had been allowed, instead of answering the question, to make a long defence, they too wished to speak. Permis- sion was granted, and they spoke as follows : — 'We should never have asked to speak, if the Plataeans 61 had briefly answered the question which ,p^ ^/^^^^^^^ ,,„^ ;,„^,^ was put to them ^, and had not turned spoken if the Plataeans upon us and arraigned us while they /""/""''• But you must ,, 1-1 ^ r r heai our ease as well as made a long and irrelevant defence of ^;,^,..^^ They separated their own doings, excusing themselves themselves 'from their from charges which nobody brought """' ""''"« "'"^ "'""^, ... , , , over to the Athenians. agamst them, and praisuig what nobody blamed. We must ansv/er their accusations of us, and look a little closely into their glorification of themselves, "• Cp. i. 37 init. 73; vi. Cii. Q 2