Page:Thucydides, translated into English Vol 2.djvu/376

 368 THE BALANCE OF POWER [VIII land into the same hands. Let the dominion only re- main divided, and then, whichever of the two rivals was Tissapherues should troublesomc, the King might always balance lite conieiiding use the Other against him. But if one powers against one defeated the Other and became supreme anolhcr and thially gel 111 1 1111 ridofboih. TheAihen- on both elements, who would help ians are ilie more Tissaphernes to overthrow the con- natural allies of li.e queror? He would have to take the King because Ihey only ^,. c 1 • u l desire empire alsea.and field Ul perSOn and fight, whlch he do noi profess lo be might not like, at great risk and &y.- lUcliberaiors of Hellas, pgnse. The danger would be easily Tissaphernes approves,, -. -, .1 and at once begins lo averted at a fraction of the cost, and pursue the policy indi- at no risk to himself, if he wore out catedtohim. j.j^g Hellenes in internal strife. Alcib- iades also said that the Athenians would be more suitable partners of empire, because they were less likely to encroach by land, and both their principles and their practice in carry- ing on the war accorded better with the King's interest. For if he helped them to subject the element of the sea to themselves, they would gladly help him in the subjugation of the Hellenes who were in his country, whereas the Lace- daemonians came to be their liberators. But a power which was at that very moment emancipating the Hellenes from the dominion of another Hellenic power like them- selves would not be satisfied to leave them under the yoke of the Barbarian =» if they once succeeded in crushing the Athenians". So he advised him first to wear them both out, and when he had clipped the Athenians as close as he could, then to get the Peloponnesians out of his countr}'. To this course Tissaphernes was strongly inclined, if we may judge from his acts. For he gave his full confidence to Alcibiades, whose advice he approved, and kept the Peloponnesians ill-provided, at the same time refusing to " More literally : * unless they failed at some time or other to crush the Athenians'; or ' unless the Persians got the Lacedaemonians out of the way ' : sec note.