Page:Thucydides, translated into English Vol 2.djvu/200

 192 SPEECH OF ALCIBIADES [vi one day? And even to this hour, although they were vic- torious in the battle, they have hardly recovered courage. 17 * These were the achievements of my youth, and of what A„d uozv ahul,' by '^ Supposed to be my monstrous folly ; your iitteutioH. There thus did I by winning words conciliate is noihiug to fear in j]^^. Peloponnesian powers, and my Sitily. The Sicilians,. 1 .1 u i- ■. , ,,, / heartiness made them believe in me are a ini.xrU ntult.tnde, ill provided with in- and follow me. And now do not be fantry; and many of afraid i^ of me because I am young, but the barbarians will 1 1 t • ^1 n r j„.,^ ^ ■/ A4i^.,.,.,. whi e I am in the flower of my days assist tis. At home ive •[ -' are more than a match and Nicias eiijoys the reputation of for the Pehponnesians. succcss, use the services of US both. Having determined to sail, do not change your minds under the impression that Sicily is a great power. For although the Sicilian cities are populous, their inhabitants are a mixed multitude, and they readily give up old forms of government and receive new ones from without. No one really feels that he has a city of his own ; and so the individual is ill provided with arms, and the country has no regular means of defence. A man looks only to what he can win from the common stock by arts of speech or by party violence ; hoping, if he is overthrown, at any rate to carry off his prize and enjoy it elsewhere. They are a motley crew, who are never of one mind in counsel, and are incapable of any concert in action. Every man is for himself, and will readily come over to anyone who makes an attractive offer; the more readily if, as report says, they are in a state of internal discord. They boast of their hoplites, but, as has proved to be the case in all Hellenic states, the number of them is grossly exaggerated. Hellas has been singularly mistaken about her heavy infantry ; and even in this war it was as much as she could do to collect enough of them. The obstacles then which will meet us in Sicily, judging of them from the information which I have received, are not great; indeed, I have over- • Adopting the conjecture vopuPtjaef, and placing a full stop after iiruaf.