Page:Thucydides, translated into English Vol 1.djvu/36

 XXXII THUCYDIDES he hastily restores it according to some preconceived idea, and he confuses in his mind or in his tablets his own restoration and the actual copy; he commits himself to some inference which he deduces from it, and the work of imposture is complete ; he ' Makes such a sinner of his memory, as To credit his own lie.' A lively imagination, the love of creating a sensation, the habit of poring over the same words or letters during many years, may create a state of the intellect in which the distinction between truth and falsehood is lost. Theories crowd upon the discoverer thick and fast, and the facts, of which he never had a firm grasp, are easily, and perhaps unconsciously, bent or altered to suit them. But we need not pursue further the analysis of imposture. Before accepting unhesitatingly the testimony of any archaeologist to an ancient inscription, we must ask the old question, ' Where are the originals ? ' The inscriptions which confirm or illustrate the narrative of Thucydides may be arranged in four classes: — I. Those relating to finance, in which are included — i. An estimate of the tribute to be paid by the allies, framed in 425 b.c, called ra^i? </)opov. ii. The quotas of the whole sum actually received which were deducted year by year from the tribute and paid over to the Goddess Athene, being J^th or a mina for a talent. (There were doubtless accounts of the larger sums received, but none of these have been discovered.) iii. Inventories of gold and silver plate and of other valuables contained in the Parthenon. iv. Accounts of sums paid out of the treasury and spent in expeditions, buildings, festivals, etc., and of debts owing or repaid to Athene and other deities. II. Decrees of the PovX-rj or iKKX-qata (not financial) re- lating to persons, events, or institutions commemorated in